#its about the parallels between choosing to be out despite the danger it puts you in v choosing to remain in the closet for your own safety

[t-cognoscente]

They need to bring back Tarantulas if only so that he and Bumblebee can have a conversation about Tarantulas' refusal to change his alt mode despite the difficulty it causes for him since he can't disguise himself, vs Bumblebee giving up his old alt mode which he loved for a new one for the sake of his mission and his search for Breakdown.

[starcurtain]

Hello! Wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed your analysis on Aventurine’s theming - and yea big agree that part of the charm of the guy is that he’s a weird paradox (he got everything one should technically want, and he also lost absolutely everything he cares about) - and also I like your comment that he is, as a character, actually pretty obnoxious (it’s an odd character charm point to me)

Also your post on the way he interacts with the ladies in the cast kinda reminded me - I know folks tend to focus in Ratio’s note but I ended up zoning in on his convo with Acheron more than anything else - because a lot of Penacony is Aven butting heads with other aeon-touched people (Acheron, Sunday) - but Acheron seems like a fun foil because she also has a pretty double-edged metaphysical blessing that is associated with losing everything she loved, but she ironically hasn’t given in to full meaninglessness.

I think one of Aventurine's defining character traits is that he "tests" everyone he encounters to judge whether they are trustworthy or whether they are a danger to him (I guarantee you, he has some kind of mental ranking scale for how likely people are to dislike or mistreat him), and I think his being obnoxious is actually a direct offshoot of this.

Kakavasha clearly was raised with manners; he knows how to be polite and to tone down his responses to social situations as appropriate, which means that, in every other scenario, he is actively choosing to be obnoxious, even in situations where it seemingly won't benefit him (like talking back to the slave master or being too forward when first meeting Sunday, for example) because it allows him to gauge exactly how others feel about him and exactly how much they will let him get away with.

People who play along are potential allies (Robin, the Trailblazer) and people who act grumpy but actually tolerate the obnoxiousness are safe (Ratio, Sparkle, most of the rest of the Express Crew), while people who respond poorly (Sunday, basically everyone else Aventurine dealt with in the past, etc.) are forced into showing their true colors. If minor obnoxious behaviors can provoke them, then it means their core response to Aventurine is likely to be one of dislike and disrespect. He's just forcing that response from them out into the light sooner, rather than later, by being obnoxious from the get-go.

(And, to a certain extent, I think he also just finds it fun to be a bit obnoxious. Like, he's free to say and do whatever he wants now--who is going to stop him from being a brat if that's what he feels like doing?)

But on to Acheron... Yes, I do think there are a lot of parallels between Acheron and Aventurine (came from a doomed people, lost everyone, both determined to hold out against nihility and live just for the sake of living, "blessed" by aeons), but I think narratively speaking, the story puts Acheron in a different position when her tale entangles with Aventurine's: the surrogate big sister role.

Acheron's a very good parallel to Aventurine's sister in numerous ways: First, she essentially sacrificed herself to defeat the evil threatening her people, but is ultimately unsuccessful, resulting in the permanent loss of all she knew.

This loss also resulted in Aventurine's sister actually dying, while Raiden Mei experienced a symbolic death, taking on the name "Acheron" to evoke the Underworld, getting a ghostly, bleached white form, and prowling the river of nihility like a wandering spirit of the dead.

Second, the philosophy Acheron espouses is nearly identical to Aventurine's sister. When even as a child Kakavasha was doubting the value and meaning of life, his sister was the one constantly reaffirming that life has meaning, despite its hardships, and that continuing to exist is the way to honor those who have sacrificed for you. Just as Aventurine's sister expresses that people must hold on to faith, Acheron reminds everyone she encounters to cling to the last bit of color and light in their lives.

This ends up being echoed by the role of guidance that she plays for Aventurine, with him both directly relying on her for his continued survival:

And turning to her in his moment of greatest emotional need:

(Sound familiar? It should. This is the exact same question Kakavasha once asked his sister.)

But there's also a very, very nice visual parallel that goes on with Acheron and Aventurine's sister: the dusk rain that accompanies her.

For Aventurine, the rain has complicated emotional connotations. For the Avgin, it was desperately needed, life-giving water, and thus was considered a direct blessing from Gaiathra. Rain on Aventurine's birthday was the sign of his being favored by the aeon, and yet it also rained on the day he lost everything and had to flee from the only home he had ever known (conveniently also his birthday, dude this guy's life sucks).

Meanwhile, the rain for Acheron is equally complex--rain can bring life, the renewal of barren, lifeless lands... But we also see the rain accompany Acheron through her worst loss, the final collapse of her planet:

It also is said to rain constantly within the shadow of nihility, a lightless gray that washes away all that people wish to cling to.

For both Acheron and Aventurine's sister, the rain accompanies the end of their "lives," the backdrop to their ultimate sacrifices.

Yet it is also in the rain that they both send Aventurine onward, escaping from the cage of his destiny into a "better" life. From beneath the shadow of the storm, they both bid him to go and not turn back, freeing him and permanently changing the course of his life.

The rain that took everything from both Aventurine's sister and Acheron is ultimately what saves him.

It's all a very tidy and well-written parallel.

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

Analyzing Marinette’s hairstyles

So, I’ve actually seen a bunch of different posts and takes of what Marinette’s hairstyles represent and symbolize especially in regard to the episode “Heart Hunter”, but I wanted to go through all the different styles of hair instead of solely focusing on the pigtails/hair down of that particular episode.

With that being said, in no particular order, here we go:

The Bun

This hairstyle is almost exclusively seen in the episode “Animaestro”. However if you’re paying close attention, you will see Marinette wearing this hairstyle, in the old class picture, featured in “Reflekta”. I find the fact that the show made this connection between these two (scenes? examples?) incredibly interesting and very telling. Putting the class picture aside for a moment, one must analyze Marinette’s behavior in the episode “Animaestro”. To be sure, it isn’t great. For the most part, Marinette acts foolishly and immaturely and her actions in this episode, indirectly lead to the akumatization. Marinette, in her jealous state, goes so far as to join up with Chloe (a person she despises), and attempt childish pranks on Kagami. In short, I think that the bun hairstyle symbolizes a sort of immaturity for Marinette. The fact that she wore this hairstyle when she was younger only goes to prove my point. Marinette is not a perfect character, but her actions in “Animaestro” are arguably some of her worst, and naturally when she has hit a low in her maturity level, she reverts back to a hairstyle of her youth.

The Braid

The braid can be easily shoved aside as not holding any symbolism, as just a way the design team chose to incorporate the tail in her costume. However, there were a number of ways the tail could have been incorporated into the Ladynoir costume, and as such the braid must be analyzed. Now, a braid can be considered an almost restricting thing, it carefully tucks back locks of hair and traps them better than an ordinary ponytail can. However, the Ladynoir braid almost has a ‘fun’ twist to it (pun not intended but appreciated). It is long (like really long), and we even see her flick it playfully over her shoulder. I think that the braid is supposed to represent that dualism between responsibility and fun that the job of superhero can have. I have heard a lot of people criticize “Reflekdoll” for its lack of parallels. In other words, Chat Noir learns something and better appreciates Ladybug, but the reverse isn’t true, and I would say that in many ways this is true, Ladybug is not privy to the lesson that Chat Noir is. However, I would argue that she did learn something. Ladybug learned that it’s okay for her to have fun and to joke around. Towards the beginning of the episode we see Ladybug chastising Chat Noir for his joking around, however by the end we see Ladybug embrace this approach and even make some jokes herself. The braid shows Marinette acceptance of balance, of the combination of enjoyment and responsibility within her life.

The Space Buns

This design as well can be attributed to the design team finding a way to show mouse ears, but I’m still going to try to analyze this. I have two different ways to possibly explain this hairstyle. The first being to draw parallels to the bun hairstyle as this is essentially the same thing but two instead of one. The correspondence between the two hairstyles could be seen through Marinette’s feigned naivety in front of Chat Noir. She “accidentally” reveals herself as Marinette and pretends to be less informed than she really is. The other way to translate this hairstyle is as a security blanket so to speak. I haven’t gotten into the metaphorical interpretation of Marinette’s pigtails yet, but I will briefly explain a part of it now (and go into depth a little later). The pigtails serve as a sense of security for Marinette, as a source of status quo. The space buns are that, but elevated. In the episode this hairstyle is featured, “Kwamibuster” (I don’t think I mentioned this before), Marinette is desperate to keep her identity a secret from Chat Noir and develops a convoluted plan (including Multi-mouse) to accomplish this. She wants the security of her identity and wants to use her comfort style at this moment. However, Marinette is trying to distance herself from Ladybug and as such she uses a slight variation of her pigtails in her alternate hero form.

The Ponytail

I’m gonna be honest and say that I can’t fully analyze this hairstyle as we have not yet seen the episode where this hairstyle makes its second appearance. So I’m just focusing here on the ponytail from “Optigami”. I might make another analysis on the ponytail after “Sentibubbler” comes out but it might make more sense to wait until after the whole season comes out, in case there are new examples of ponytails (or other hairstyles for that matter). I don’t want to say anything about Pegabug’s ponytail, because as I’m sure you know, Miraculous trailers can be very misleading. Anyways, after that ramble, I now focus on Ladybee’s ponytail. To be frank “Optigami” was a bit of a doozy. I watched that episode with a sense of dread that did not lighten by the end of the episode. This isn’t a bad thing, but it was intense for a typical episode of Miraculous, a show where my usual reaction is a mix of “oh this is cute” and cringe (to be fair I cringe easily). But what I like so much about season 4 is that we get more than that (I won’t go into this now because I’m straying from the topic too much). Ladybee comes at a time of great stress for Marinette, she gets stuck in an elevator with someone and is thus unable to transform (let alone the fact that that “someone” is Adrien), she is without the help of Chat Noir and most of the other heroes, and (unbeknownst to her for a majority of the episode) her friend has been replaced with a sentimonster. Yet, despite all of this, Marinette remains cool, calm, and collected. She, unlike Alya, does not fall apart and despair when Senti-Nino is revealed, she knows she has to get the job done. A ponytail gives an image of “getting the job done” of focus. Although the situation is dire and dangerous, Marinette displays her competence in crisis and the ponytail magnifies that trait. I have a feeling that the same will be true for Pegabug, but only time (and the episode coming out) will tell.

Hair Down

In the two episodes that we have seen Marinette wearing her hair down, they were both in connection with Adrien and her relationship with her. I want to separate the two examples because though they both wind up achieving similar goals in regard to their symbolism, they do it in different ways. Focusing first on “Chat Blanc” Marinette wears her hair down in part to distinguish to the audience the difference between the two timelines. Though the surface level explanation of her hair would be sufficient explanation, this choice of hairstyle also has a deeper interpretation. This being as a metaphor for Marinette’s vulnerability. She is allowing her feelings to be known to Adrien, she is allowing herself to be open and honest about her emotions and with that freedom she lets her hair free as well. It is also significant that she is free from her secret identity (albeit unknowingly) and as she allows Adrien to see the full spectrum of her personality, she frees her hair from its restraint. In “Heart Hunter” too, this hairstyle signifies vulnerability and freedom. In this episode we see Marinette having fun with Adrien and Kagami, without the worry of how she is being perceived by Adrien, without the stress about her feelings for him. It is of great significance that when she lets her guard down, when she “lets her hair down” (both literally and metaphorically), Adrien comments on her beauty. We already know, as viewers, that Adrien has fallen in love with Marinette’s personality as Ladybug. But as Marinette, Adrien has not been privy to her full personality. He has only been given glimpses, as in this episode, to the full extent of her persona. Marinette is seen later on in the episode to revert back to her old hairstyle once she is no longer comfortable, when she feels inadequate compared to Kagami. She puts back on her guise when she feels she needs the security. Which leads us to that source of security.

Pigtails

I feel a bit bad as I have simplified this hairstyle in earlier paragraphs to a symbol for security. While this definition is a correct one, this hairstyle has more than one explanation. As Marinette’s primary hairstyle, in both her every day and hero outfits, we see this hairstyle A LOT. Because of this, there is an array of interpretation as to what this hairstyle could mean. Starting with the aforementioned, this hairstyle works as a form of security for Marinette. The style required her to hold her hair back, to keep it in check, away from possible disasters and viewers (wind can tangle hair very easily). The pigtails are the antithesis of letting her hair down, a common symbol for freedom and relaxation. The pigtails therefore show that she is on her guard and is protecting herself. The pigtails also represent her quality of being a do-er. She likes to do things, she is an active person, she doesn’t stand aside or wait for things to happen, she works to make them happen. As a do-er she needs focus, she needs a restraint for her hair that could get in her line of sight, and the pigtails do that well. As Ladybug, the same is true. She is focused and determined to accomplish her goals, to succeed in her battles and she needs to tie her hair back to best accomplish this. There is importance in the fact that she chooses to focus herself with pigtails rather than the equally practical ponytail. This can be attributed to the child-like quality that pigtails have. Marinette, simply put, is still a child. Though as a whole she is particularly mature for her age, at times she can show a bit of immaturity. It is interesting to note that as the seasons progress, the more we see her with other hairstyles. As she matures she wears the pigtails less. The pigtails are also a girly hairstyle and show how Marinette is a girly-girl in a plain and easy way. Additionally, the pigtails give her the approachable, girl-next-door look. In simply looking at Marinette one gets the image of her sweetness and good nature. In visual media, it is important to make a connection between personality and visage. In cartoons especially, a character’s design should fit with how they interact with their world, and the pigtails are an immediate signifier as to Marinette’s character. This about sums up my analysis of her pigtails. I know that there are more ways to interpret them, and feel free to comment if you think of any other interpretations!

[crossovereddie]

Actually, here is an alternative thing for you to occupy your time with, and a question I have been meaning to ask you for a while. I have finished 911 finally! So I'm ready for the new season. And I wonder, realistically, what do you think the roadmap would be for a buddie endgame?

I absolutely see how their story has been framed and filmed in a lot of parallels to how a romantic storyline would be set out. But there has been no outright mention of either of them being bi - although the conversation about Maddy setting Buck up with whassisface was very casual and could very easily have been an example of canonically bi Buck - and they are both at the end of season 4 in 'relationships' with women.

So, in your estimation, what's the timeline? What's the transition? How do they go about this and how long does it take? I wanna know your thoughts 👀

okay yes i have lots of thoughts on this and it's actually one of my fave questions i get asked. I've always watched a lot of tv shows so I'm just estimating on what I've seen before and what I would personally do. IMO this love story is a slow burn. We only have four seasons so far and only three of those seasons have Eddie in them. This unsurprisingly got long so ill put it under the cut.

So I'll go by seasons bc to me its important to look at everything that has happened so far by seasons and by love interests and not as a whole. Its the best way i can form a timeline that I think would make the most sense and why

S1: So we don't get any hints at Buck being anything other than straight and I think this is because he was supposed to be. They hadn't planned for Eddie yet and they definitely hadn't planned for the chemistry Oliver and Ryan were gonna have. S1 Buck was this reckless kid who didn't take anything serious. He was definitely super immature. Then he meets Abby and he starts to get serious about his job and his love life. I'm not gonna say "Abby changed him" because she didnt. He saw the person he was and the person he was becoming and decided on that change himself.

S2: Eddie!!!! So we get introduced to this army medic turned firefighter in the least heterosexual way. Then Buck is angry because Eddie is hot and really good at his job. they work together and Eddie compliments Buck and now they're smiley bffs. Seriously wtf was all that? Anyway this is all sus bc from what ive seen before in other shows when a main love interest leaves and a new main character replaces them, that means something. JLH replaced Connie Britton as far as big name actress but i really believe Eddie replaced Abby as far as importance in Buck's life. Do i think they brought him in with the intentions of turning him into a LI? No but they sure fueled the narrative from the get go. I think they saw fans reactions and started testing the waters.

Moving on to LIs in this season. We find out Eddie has a kid and the mother is not in the picture (eddie made sure buck knew that right away). Then later on we find out he's technically still married. shannon comes back and we get Eddie finally getting to confront this head on. He tries to get his family back together for the sake of his son. Its big for Eddie's character bc all he does and all he's ever done is for his son. Then Shannon asks for a divorce then she dies bringing this arc to an abrupt end and leaving eddie heartbroken.

meanwhile Buck is still waiting for Abby. Then he finally accepts that shes not coming back and decides to move on. He goes right back to being "Buck 1.0" with Taylor and feels bad about himself because that really isnt him anymore. He wants a real relationship. So then Ali calls and asks him on an actual date and he agrees. This is his first try at a relationship after a heartbreak. in tv these don't usually work out but are used to develop the main character's growth. We don't really see much of her but she breaks up with him so.

S3: This is Eddie finally dealing with his feelings/guilt season. This is also the season I think we really see how important Buck is to the Diaz boys. S2 had cute buckley-diaz family moments but those could still be interpreted as a best friend and his best friend's kid. This season though... after the tsunamic episode was when i really started to fully believe buddie was going canon. This season is solidifying their bond not only as Buck and Eddie but as Buck Eddie and Christpher. As I'm writing this I realized neither of them really has a love interest in this season do they? Ana is introduced but then is clearly presented as definitely NOT the right choice for eddie and especially for Chris. Then they counter that with Buck helping Eddie build a skateboard for Chris that he can use as opposed to Ana's ablest remarks about how he can't do it so just move on to something else. Then we get Buck's reaction in Eddie Begins. Buck has seen his team his friends his family get hurt on the job before but he has never reacted the way he did when it was Eddie in danger. Again solidifying just how much these two mean to each other. Don't even get me started on this season being when Eddie changes his will offscreen. Anyway we get Abby back and Buck finally gets the closure from that relationship that he needs to move forward into a serious relationship.

Now S4: jfc s4....IMO this is the only logical season to get the ball rolling on Buddie and they sure did that with 4x14 despite everything else. So i never thought they would be the first serious relationship for each other after the heart break theyve both experienced. It wouldn't be fair to their character developments. Buck tries dating Veronica and that clearly doesnt work but we know hes now open to dating again. We get Buck Begins where we see why Buck is the dare devil he is. The only way he got his parents attention as a kid was to put himself in danger. They bring back taylor and how to they ultimately get together after she friendzones him? She thinks hes in danger and suddenly wants him. As much as i hate it this is really gonna be a relationship where Buck finally stands up for himself and sees his own worth and realizes he deserves more. He deserves someone who sees him and loves him for who he is. He deserves to be chosen, something Abby Ali his parents dont do and what i think taylor wont end up doing. I feel like shes gonna choose her career over him. Maybe not in a "I'm breaking up with you" way but maybe she takes a new job and want to do LD (hes tried that twice and it didnt work for him. hes not gonna want that) or she could ask him to go with her but he wont. His family is in LA. His job is in LA. Eddie and Chris are in LA and he won't leave them. Then we have Eddie finally deciding to move on and try dating again so they bring back ana. To me it's not gonna work out so I'm not bothered at all lmao. It's interesting that they'd choose her though. Someone we already know Eddie doesn't trust with his son. There's also more buckley-diaz family scenes of them being coparents. The hildy episode, Chris running to Buck when hes mad at eddie, Buck being the one to tell Chris Eddie got hurt, then Buck staying with Chris and taking on the guardian role without him even knowing just how much that role really does belong to him. He didn't do it out of obligation. He didn't do it because he was asked to. He did it because he thought it would be best for Chris. Finally to 4x14. This is by far the biggest "Oh shit this is it. This is the beginning of buddie". We find out Eddie changed his will a year ago and has just been sitting on this info. I think Eddie knew back then what it meant but he wasn't in the right mindset to accept what it means so he kept it to himself. I think he finally started allowing himself to go there during treasure hunt. The man was jealous yall. Carla coming back and her comment about doing whats best for him and not chris is his oh shit moment. I think he wouldve broken up with Ana a few days after that if he had the time lol. He gets caught up in the mother/son sl then this poor mf gets shot by a sniper. The way that whole scene was filmed btw was not in a bff way. That was a lover watching his beloved almost die in front of him. Buck again puts himself down and Eddie decides this is the moment. He needs Buck to see how important he is. He wants buck to know how loved he is. So he sits there talking himself up to it and finally lets Buck know just how big of a part he is in Eddie's family. Buck's previous scene is him saying he wants someone who wants him back then here is Eddie saying he needs him...Chris needs him. wtf.

So with S5: I think Eddie knows and Buck has a feeling but he's not sure so what i would do is spend s5 with Eddie basically showing Buck his feelings but not exactly getting in the way of Buck's new relationship because Buck has to be the one to make that choice. Id also have chris feeling the different shift with buck having a gf like he did with Eddie. This newfound info wasnt just dropped on us for a "Aww so sweet" moment. This will business is gonna be a part of a bigger storyline. I'm hoping its with Eddie's family during maybe 5b.

So what I think would be the best timeline for canon buddie is 5a eddie already having either broken up with ana or is gonna break up with her, Buck choosing himself and ending things with Taylor by midseason finale, them bringing in Eddie's family in 5b and maybe then being when Eddie confesses his feelings for Buck. Then 6a we could get them walking on egg shells around each other not really knowing what to do bc this is all so new for both of them. This could bring just the right amount of comedy and angst especially them awkward and flustered around each other at work. A big blowup can happen between them for added angst (maybe an arguement before one of them or both of them is put in danger) then a midseason finale kiss. Then trying to find the balance between their personal relationship and their work relationship during 6b.

I don't know how long Fox shows last but procedurals can last a long time. I'm not sure thats gonna be the case for 911 especially with all the main cast staying that long so i think this would give us at least a whole season (S7) of canon buddie.

As far as then being presented as straight, there's been more seeds planted about buck being bi. A few i can remember off the top of my head: all of 2x1 lmao, maddie's comment about bucks boy crush on eddie, buck hinting at thinking eddie is cute when he thinks maddie is talking about him, the christmas elf, the comments on the instagram livestream, idk if youve watched it or not but TK's comment to Buck in the crossover episode, and like you mentioned Maddie's casual comment about setting him up with Josh. All we really know about Eddie's love life is he married Shannon when they were young and is trying with Ana so it could turn into a whole storyline for him.

I'm so sorry this is so long and took forever but i I hope i actually answered your question and didnt just get lost in rambles lmao.

[uomo-accattivante]

Great article about Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter - a poker movie that’s not really a poker movie...

Some filmmakers write a hit movie and spend the ensuing years trying to escape its shadow. Paul Schrader never flinched. Forty-five years after his “Taxi Driver” script put him on the map, the writer-director has developed a body of work loaded with alienated anti-heroes compelled to violent and reckless extremes for the sake of a higher calling.

That includes “The Card Counter,” in which Oscar Isaac plays guilt-stricken Abu Ghraib vet William Tell, a man with a gambling addiction compelled to help the revenge-seeking son (Tye Sheridan) of a former colleague. Taking justice into his own hands, Isaac’s William Tell slithers through the Vegas strip in search of questionable salvation, not unlike a certain Vietnam vet named Travis Bickle did from the driver’s seat. As if to cement the comparisons, “The Card Counter” features Martin Scorsese as an executive producer, marking the first time the two men share a credit since 1999’s “Bringing Out the Dead.”

For Schrader, “Taxi Driver” comparisons are inevitable in all his work. “My tendency is to look for interesting occupational metaphors,” Schrader said in a recent interview. “‘Taxi Driver’ hit the bull’s eye of the zeitgeist and it doesn’t die. There’s no way I could’ve planned for that, but it does inform the stories I tell.”

At 75, Schrader continues to churn out movies much like his compatriot Scorsese, albeit on a much smaller scale. “The Card Counter” is the latest illustration of the secularized Christian dogma percolating through his work. “Our society doesn’t like to take responsibility for anything,” he said. “But I come from a culture where you’re responsible for everything. You come into the world soaked with guilt and you just get guiltier.” In his own prickly fashion, Schrader makes movies steeped in empathy for lost souls in search of redemption despite the daunting odds. “We’re all certainly capable of forgiveness,” he said, and chuckled. “Anyone who says otherwise is wrong.”

The “Taxi Driver” dilemma looms large in nearly all of Schrader’s work, from the dazzling high-stakes activism of “Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters” all the way through Ethan Hawke’s eco-conscious priest in “First Reformed.” While the latter, Oscar-nominated effort brought Schrader new fans, “The Card Counter” is an even more precise distillation of his aesthetic — a moody, philosophical drama about the vanity of the personal crusade.

Schrader, who has labeled his homegrown character studies as “man in the room” dramas, embraces the parallels as usual. “There is this kind of myth that the taxi driver was this friendly, joking kind of guy who was a character actor in movies,” he said. “But the reality is that it’s a very lonely job, and you’re trapped in a box for 60 hours a week.” He saw the same logic with gambling, a wayward profession generally depicted in the movies in the context of escapist romps, rather than the somber rituals that afflict most players. “I thought about the essence of playing cards every day, or sitting in front of a slot machine. It’s kind of zombie-like,” Schrader said. “You see commercials of people in casinos laughing. But it’s a pretty glum place. Today with slots you don’t even have to pull the lever. You just sit there and let the numbers roll.”

The gambling figure led Schrader to the bigger picture of his character’s conundrum. “I was wondering why someone would choose to live in that sort of purgatory,” he said. “He doesn’t want to be alive, but he can’t really be dead, either. What could cause that? It can’t be a simple crime, murder, or a family dispute. It has to be something unforgivable. And that was Abu Ghraib.”

After the fallout of that debacle, William did time in a military prison, and reenters society before the movie begins. That was a world the filmmaker wanted to understand in clearer terms. Though Schrader has received blowback for his controversial Facebook posts in the past, in this case, the platform was an asset: He used it to track down soldiers who had done time in the United States Penitentiary in Leavenworth, the only military prison in the U.S., to better understand the initial claustrophobic world that Tell endures, as well as the conflict between the justice he’s received and what he deserves. “This man has been punished by his government, set free, and paid his due, but he doesn’t feel that,” Schrader said. “What does he do then? How does he fill his time? That’s how it all began.”

Schrader himself toyed with gambling when he lived in Los Angeles early in his career, but soon gave it up. “I very quickly realized I was only interested in gambling if it was really dangerous and I didn’t want to expose myself to that kind of danger,” he said. Years later, though, the experience helped inform his story. “There is this whole fantasy of gambling movies from ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ to ‘California Split,’” Schrader said. “But poker is all about waiting. People will play 10 to 12 hours a day and two to three times a day, a hand will happen where two players both have chips. Now you’ve got a face-off. But that doesn’t happen very often. Most guys who are there are running the numbers, the probability.”

He envisioned “The Card Counter” as a repudiation of the traditional poker movie, which builds to the giddy release of a final tournament. When that moment arrives in the movie, Schrader takes the movie in a bleak, shocking new direction. “It’s not really a poker movie — that’s a red herring,” he said.

William is immersed in his casino journey when he encounters Cirk (Sheridan), the crazy-eyed son of another Abu Ghraib soldier who committed suicide. Cirk blames the soldiers’ former commander (Willem Dafoe), and hopes to loop William into the plan. Instead, the older man decides to take Cirk under his wing to talk him out of the act, which doesn’t prove so easy. In the process, the gambler forms a curious bond with La Linda (Tiffany Haddish), a gambling agent and pimp whose icy, relentless drive to make the most out of the poker circuit brings William some measure of companionship on his wayward journey.

It should come as no surprise that the “Girls Trip” breakout is nearly unrecognizable in the role of the calculated La Linda, which is also a distinctly Schraderish touch: From his work with Richard Pryor in 1978’s “Blue Collar” all the way through Cedric the Entertainer’s supporting turn in “First Reformed,” Schrader has made a habit of seeking out comedic actors willing to play against type. That’s partly opportunistic on his part. “They’re eager to do it because they want to expand their palette, so you can get them for a price,” Schrader said, chuckling again. “That’s necessary, given the kind of films I make.” But that’s not all: “They will always find a way to be interesting, even when they’re not getting a laugh.”

Which is not to say that the process comes easily to them. Haddish recently told the New York Times that Schrader had to coach her out of speaking in a comedic sing-song. The filmmaker put it in blunter terms. “On the first reading of the script we had, frankly, she wasn’t very good,” he said. “I told her to go back and read every single line without emotion. Then I said, ‘You’re not going to do that in front of the camera, but you can’t hit every line either. So let’s pick five or six lines you can hit where you get a smile or reaction.’ Quickly she got that it was a different rhythm.”

As for Isaac, whose disquieting turn suggests a maniac lingering just beneath the surface, Schrader once again turned to metaphor. “I told him to imagine himself on a rocky coast in the ocean,” Schrader said. “Waves are going to come up and get you all day every day. They’re going to try to batter you. Let them. The waves will go away. You’ll still be there. Don’t compete. In the end, the rocks will win. You have to learn to trust that the way these things are put together has more power than the individual movement.”

William’s routine includes an odd ritual in which he covers all the furniture in his various Vegas hotel rooms with white paper. While the motivation is never explained, Schrader said it stemmed from an experience with production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti on the set of 1982’s “Cat People,” when Schrader realized the man was doing the same thing. “He said, quite simply, ‘I have to live here surrounded by these ugly hotel furnishings,’” Schrader recalled. The concept inspired the new movie’s most compelling visual motif. “Casinos are very ugly places. There are no exceptions,” Schrader said. “Often you aspire to finding pockets of beauty and there weren’t really any here except the only place he could control, which was his hotel rooms, where he could privatize his visions. I came up with this ritual for him to control those visuals.”

At a certain point, Schrader himself couldn’t control the visuals of “The Card Counter” for more prosaic reasons: After an extra tested positive for COVID-19, the production shut down last March, with five days of shooting left, and couldn’t resume until July. Though Schrader initially took to Facebook to fume at his producers, the pause eventually opened up an opportunity to tweak his vision. “I edited the film and put in placeholders for the five or six scenes of consequence that I hadn’t shot,” he said. “I didn’t have a fully finished film but I could screen it for people. Normally you only get that privilege if you have a big-budget film and you’re allowed reshoots.” The early audience included Scorsese, who provided a crucial note. “I asked Marty, ‘What am I missing?’ He said to me that the relationship with Tiffany and Oscar was too thin. So I rewrote those scenes.”

Schrader asked Scorsese to take on the executive producer credit as a favor. “I said, ‘Marty, wouldn’t it be nice to share a card again? I thought it would help sell the film but it would also be a cool thing to do after all these years,’” Schrader said. “Then a couple of weeks later his agent called wanting to work out a deal. What deal? I asked Marty and he said yes. That’s the deal!” Now, the pair are trying to collaborate on a new long-form TV series based on the Bible, though the timing has been delayed by production on Scorsese’s upcoming “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

In the meantime, Schrader has been mulling over the way “Taxi Driver” not only continues to inform his storytelling but the world at large. “Hardly a week goes by that I don’t notice or hear some reference to it,” he said. “But I don’t know how you’d tell such a story today. A number of writers have tried and I don’t think they’ve succeeded because it has to come out of a certain place and time. We have plenty of these incels around, but they’re not as original or revealing as they were 45 years ago when that character came on the scene. I wouldn’t know how to write about it.”

Instead, his next project is a love triangle called “Master Gardener,” which he hopes to shoot in Louisiana before the end of the year. He has several other potential scripts ready to go after that. And while he has expressed trepidation about the future of cinema in the past, he’s not convinced that audiences have given up on it yet. He recalled a conversation he had with Cedric the Entertainer when “First Reformed” made the rounds. “He said off-handedly to me, ‘You know, I didn’t realize there were so many people who liked serious movies,’” Schrader said, and chuckled once more. “Well, yeah, there are.”

“The Card Counter” premieres next week at the Venice Film Festival. Focus Features releases on September 10, 2021.

###

[itsclydebitches]

The lack of action from our "heroes" is eerily similar to a Nostalgia Critic sketch I saw when I still watched his show. The idea was that to parallel what was reviewed in the episode, Fantastic Four, where the heroes barely did anything for most of it, Doug and his friends got superpowers and only choose to sit on the couch and watch Netflix while the world is under attack. The only difference is that was meant to lampoon the movie, and wasn't meant to be taken seriously.

Massive replay incoming! I haven’t seen the Fantastic Four, but I do still have a lot of thoughts on this choice and how badly it came across... 

Though we can absolutely debate the merits/detriments of having 3/4ths of your title characters keeping to the sidelines while the Big Bad is here, I 100% believe that this could have been improved immensely if RWBY a) were more consistently written and b) allowed its characters to tackle conflicts central to what’s currently going on, not conflicts made up just for the sake of having a conflict (Yang randomly fights with Ruby, Ren has criticisms and then never brings them up again, etc.) 

So what do I mean by this. I mean that the fandom isn’t necessarily wrong to argue things like, “RWB needs to be there to help Nora and Penny” or “They need time to regain their aura.” The problem is that the show never established these needs as necessary. The viewers have simply assumed those needs are there and judge the group’s actions accordingly. But for those of us asking questions like, “But how does Ruby standing by the window benefit Nora?” or “How long does it really take them to regain their strength?” we’re never given answers and thus are left with the belief that these needs do not exist and the group’s choices are not justified. It becomes, as you say, akin to a parody. 

So how do we fix this? By having the show acknowledge those questions and provide believable answers. A few minor tweaks might include: 

Having someone ask how long they’re just going to sit there. Let another character argue that they need to rest up before they do anything else. They can’t help others if they’re collapsing themselves. Then, keep these limitations consistent across the volume. In the last episode, Ren was suddenly using his semblance again, despite his aura breaking with very little time having passed between the two moments. So if he only needs a tiny chunk of time in horrific conditions to recover, why does team RWB supposedly need the whole day and night in complete safety, with heat, food, etc.? If “We have to recover” is meant to be a justification, show us elsewhere what lacking that results in: Ren, Jaune, and Oscar do not get their aura/energy back, they’re making mistakes, at the end of their rope, and generally not functioning because look, their conditions are so much worse. This is why a mansion break is necessary. 

Have the group actively be trying to solve their problems. We didn’t start with “Someone needs to watch over Nora” we started with “Nora is incredibly injured and needs help”... but no one ever tried to get her help. Have them cycle through and reject some possibilities. Then have Weiss think of calling Klein and approach Whitley to see if he knows how to contact him. There, your protagonists are active and Weiss is helping to repair this relationship. As it stands, the group appears content to continue sitting around while Nora suffers, despite knowing she needs medical attention. We know, emotionally, they’re not actually content, but that’s what the actions imply. Where’s the scene where Ruby frantically asks May if the Happy Huntresses have any doctors and is it possible to bring one here? Where’s Blake hesitantly asking if it’s worth going back to Ironwood to get her help? The fandom assumes that sitting in the mansion = devotion to helping Nora, but we don’t actually see them trying to help Nora. Not in any meaningful way beyond putting cold towels on her head. What are they willing to risk and sacrifice for their teammate? Because sitting drinking tea while they hope things will magically fix themselves doesn’t convey much. We’re not talking here about how much the fandom assumes the group will do for Nora, we’re talking about what their actual actions read like. 

Establish then why it takes three powerful fighters to watch over one unconscious woman already being cared for in a comparatively safe environment. The fandom acts as if Nora is a target when she’s not. No one is explicitly after her. If anything, given the initial assumption that the Hound was after Ruby as a SEW, she puts Nora in more danger by hanging around. Have the group debate the merits of being here to defend her if, by chance, something happens vs. putting their skills to use during a battle where very few huntsmen remain. 

This debate should include the fact that half their team is missing. Not gone, missing. Last RWB saw they were going down to Mantle to help with general needs and low-level grimm activity. Now they’ve been MIA for hours. Blake, as the assumed love interest, and Ruby, as the sister, should be particularly desperate to find out what’s happened to Yang. If the group has to stay in the mansion for plot reasons, have Weiss talk them out of running into Mantle without a plan. What if what happened to the others happens to you too? The point is, May shouldn’t be the one concerned about the rest of the team and May shouldn’t be the one out looking for information. 

Let the group actually decide something for once. Show us that they were going to help Mantle or Atlas and then, oh no, Penny interrupted those plans. As it is though, that scene frames it like Ruby will happily continue hanging out in the mansion until something else  — something more dangerous than May’s demand to choose  — forces her to take action. Indeed, that’s precisely what happened with the Hound. 

Have Weiss or Blake begin to question why Ruby isn’t doing anything. Weiss has a whole conversation with May about how she wants to protect her home now. Blake is all about faunus rights and protection, with a whole faunus population freezing to death down below. Have one of them threaten to walk out, or actually do it with a, “You don’t need me to watch Nora sleep. I’m going to go do what I can.” These characters are supposed to be people with differing motivations and goals, yet whenever that should matter they’re suddenly happy to follow Ruby, even if by all logic there should be disagreement. 

Have Nora wake up and tell them to do something other than waiting by her bedside. Let her be the one to get them back on their feet, showing them that she’s fine  — she will be fine  — and imploring them to help even though she can’t right now. 

Explain to the audience what the group plans to do with all these civilians once they’re in the ships. Are they coming to the mansion? Try to fly them out of the kingdom? This is the one thing they’ve done since Amity and we’re given no indication what the actual plan is, let alone any debate about its merits. 

Have Ruby be the one to see Penny in her controlled state, not Whitley, and give us some insight into what that means for her. I’ve likewise seen a lot about how Ruby doesn’t just need to look after a sick Penny, she needs to be there to protect Penny and others from her... but does Ruby even know what’s going on? Penny clash-lands without an explanation, she’s busy with the Hound, Whitley and Willow see her heading to the vault, the Hound knocks Penny out, Ruby is distracted by reunions and Ironwood’s threat. The imagined scene where Ruby learns what’s happening to her friend and weighs the dangers of leaving a controlled Penny alone in the mansion are just that: imagined. 

That’s really just a small sampling of options here. As said, there are plenty of ways to tweak this plot to make the heroes seem far less passive than they come across here. The fandom often claims that those who criticize this plot-line don’t understand “show don’t tell.” Meaning, RWBY supposedly showed us something rather than telling us in a hand-holding way and we just didn’t understand it. It becomes more of an insult than an argument, the claim that RWBY wrote something nuanced, it’s not their fault you couldn’t grasp it. But it’s not that we missed the answers here, they simply don’t exist, and the fandom has made up their own answers instead, mapping it onto the canon and assuming that’s what RT intended all along. One individual’s ability to come up with a answer does not mean the story actually gave one, it just means we’re all writing RWBY fanfic in our heads while we watch the show. 

And this is by no means an isolated incident. It happens every episode. Our latest bout of headcanons has come about due to the questions, “Why does kinetic energy only hurt grimm?” and “If it only hurts grimm, why was Hazel supposedly destroyed?” Each viewer is providing a different answer  — “Kinetic energy is different in this world,” “It has to do with the amount of dust in Hazel’s body,” “The blast went in one direction, towards Hazel, and decimated everything in its path, but the aftershocks only hurt grimm”  — all of these complicated, unsubstantiated, and ultimately noncanonical explanations... rather than just saying, “Yeah, it doesn’t make sense based on what the show has told us.” The mansion issue is just a particularly egregious example because we recognize that there’s a major problem with taking your main characters out of the action like that. Yet rather than acknowledging the problems with the writing, many fans are determined to fill in those answers themselves until it makes sense. And it does make sense! So many of these explanations would work, but right now they do not exist within RWBY. If we’re supposed to have an answer like, “The group knows they need to go help, but they’re just too traumatized and exhausted to do it. They know it’s wrong, but they can’t move” then tell us that. Show us that. Make it clear for the audience what the takeaway is. Because when you leave it entirely up to viewer interpret, you might indeed get a lot of “They’re just traumatized and need a break” explanations... but you’ll also get a lot of, “Wow, they’re a really cowardly and callous group, huh?” explanations too. One half of the fandom shouldn’t be mad at the other half for interpreting a completely subjective plot-line differently from them, everyone should be mad that our writers didn’t bother to include the canonical explanations from the get-go. 

[whopooh]

Thoughts about Miss Fisher and Antony and Cleopatra

I saw Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra from National Theatre on Youtube the other week, and I really want to talk about the parallels between Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and the play – since this is the Shakespeare play that is most referenced of all in the show. Having finally seen the play, I want to explore this a bit!

Antony and Cleopatra is very present in MFMM. In “Ruddy Gore”, when Phryne challenges him to perform, Jack quotes lines about Cleopatra from the play for her and to her: 

Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale  Her infinite variety: other women cloy  The appetites they feed: but she makes hungry  Where most she satisfies. 

It’s beautiful and so fitting to Phryne, and to Jack’s view of Phryne, and the way he speaks the last line is amazing (it also stops perfectly before the quote starts talking about “vile” things). Later, in “Murder in the Dark”, Phryne tries to persuade him to dress up as Antony to complement her Cleopatra in the masquerade. Jack replies with another quote from the play, suggesting he would then become “The triple pillar of the world transform'd / Into a strumpet's fool” – one of the harsh characteristics of Antony being in Cleopatra’s thrall. Phryne dismisses the charges, pointing out that he is rather a single pillar, and has been for rather too long. (Especially poignantly put since he has only been divorced for a few hours at this point, which Phryne doesn’t know.) Finally, when they find the corpse in "Murder à la Mode”, Jack quotes a line from the play after Phryne has shown him the pearl: “He kiss'd, – the last of many doubled kisses, – / This orient pearl”, rather suggestively apostrophing the closeness between them (the pearl is a token of love sent from Antony to Cleopatra) and at the same time making a cunnilingus joke. Phryne smiles and diffuses the tension by pointing out that even Mark Antony probably wouldn’t want to kiss that pearl (which has just been used as a murder weapon).

So, you want me to perform, Miss Fisher?

For a reference, then, this is used unusually consistently.

Why? I would say that it’s used in several ways. Most easily, it’s a way to show the depth of Jack (he is more than “just a copper”, he knows his Shakespeare) as well as of Phryne and her flirting  – which also shows how well-matched they are. It brings out the sensuality of Phryne, and the energy between Phryne and Jack and how it could become much more, by bringing out the likeness to one of literary history’s famous love couples. But most of all, it interests me how the play simultaneously works as a parallel and a contrast to the duo we are watching – and how that says so very much about what the show is doing.

Antony and Cleopatra, National Theatre (Sophie Okonedo and Ralph Fiennes).

The parallels are many. Most strongly resonating is, I think, that both are love stories about adult, mature, accomplished, and independent people, who happen to find a strong passionate love in an age far from the teenages of Romeo and Juliet. They are capable, they have their own lives already before they meet – and then they meet someone they feel passionately about, and that love is depicted as so very tangible and real. Both Cleopatra and Phryne offer sensuality, pleasure, and fun to a person usually ruled by duty. Cleopatra is famed for her beauty, but also for her cleverness and capability (even if Shakespeare downplays that part, I’d say), and Phryne is as beautiful as she is clever. They are not afraid of “what people think” and very alluring to a man of honour who is used to follow the male order of the army and the police, accustomed to carry an “armour”. Antony and Jack are both competent, handsome, and worth to be admired. They are bound by duty, and by promises.

And this is where the contrasts take over from the parallels – because what is made of this are two very different things. Antony and Cleopatra, despite all the love, will end in tragedy, because love overrules duty. Antony will lose everything because he abandons the duty-bound ideal for pleasure and love (and a lot of horniness, to be frank), a chosen path that cannot be allowed in his world. [Note: It is very clear, though, that the characters around him still admire and love him, both his allies and his enemies; they simultaneously seem to feel he has gone astray and admire him for what he was.]

But this is not the case with Jack and Phryne. MFMM is not a tragedy, and the development of the plot shows us (and Jack) that a man can choose sensuality and love without losing his dignity. To go along with Phryne and her shenanigans is not to lose the path of duty, but a way to both complement and enhance it. Where Shakespeare’s play puts the male and the female as a kind of opposites, where the struggle between them threatens to bring the male down, in MFMM it is a mutually beneficial meeting.

“To be or not to be Mark Antony, that is the question.”

It is really notable in MFMM how the “norm” on the male/female division is challenged and proved to be unnecessary. We have all noted how Phryne and Jack have traits that traditionally are seen to belong to both genders, and they are mixed up in a great way. Phryne doesn’t lure Jack away from something, she is not dangerous or allowing lust to override rationality. Rather, with Phryne the creators have taken what could have been that, and completely upended it, filling it with so much humanity, care, and interesting traits. Phryne is utterly female, but she is not female in a way that is opposite, dark, threatening, or alluring like a siren. She may look like Cleopatra, but she is no Cleopatra.

And by this I don’t mean to downplay the power of the character Cleopatra – she is interesting and there are many nuances also in her, of course. But she is still depicted as the downfall of an honourable man – the fact that he follows her is his flaw, taking away his bravery and leadership to instead disastrously follow her lead: “My heart was to thy rudder tied by the strings, / And thou shouldst tow me after: o'er my spirit / Thy full supremacy thou knew'st, and that / Thy beck might from the bidding of the gods / Command me.” 

This is not what Phryne does. She is not here to apologize, but she is also not here to be someone’s flaw or downfall.

In Antony and Cleopatra, the talk about male and female, and the threat of them becoming mixed or swapped, is really overt. More than once, Antony is depicted in female terms and Cleopatra in male, and since the outcome is tragic, this has the potential to be seen as a bad thing [the power of the characters, despite the tragedy, can also say the opposite, that it can be seen as a good thing but in the wrong world, but I’ll use the first line of thought here]. One example is this description of Antony: “he fishes, drinks, and wastes / The lamps of night in revel; is not more man-like / Than Cleopatra; nor the queen of Ptolemy / More womanly than he.”

And this will be my final point here, that this mixture of gendered traits is a parallel with MFMM – but in MFMM this is unanimously depicted as something good. The fact that Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries in this sense isn’t anything like (for example) Antony and Cleopatra is its real strength, and a place where the show feels so incredibly hopeful.

“Come on, Jack, Just one gaudy night,” Phryne says, echoing Cleopatra’s “Come, / Let's have one other gaudy night” in the play.

Oh, and one more point! In the play, when Antony is going to war, Cleopatra helps buckle him up. In the show, Phryne helps to unbuckle Jack, or at least his tie, at the masquerade. That is such a fun parallel, and we get to see Jack a bit dishevelled – but again, this never compromises him, and when they need to chase a murderer, he is instantly ready to work.

*

PS. I would love to hear your thought about this! Please feel free to both agree and disagree or pick out other parts of the parallel!

*

[minourp]

Mermaid Au

I know I said this would probably be a one off idea but it invaded my dreams the other night so I had to write it out. It ended up being much longer than I expected.

Quick background: Most people avoid the sea because it's dangerous and unexplored. Rey is seen as an outsider because he doesn't stay away. Ty and the trux teamed up before meeting the others (for the same reason though).

~~~

It was a dim night, no moon to illuminate the inky waves. The boat rocked and swayed beneath Rey’s feet, a storm approaching. He hadn’t meant to stay out so late but there was this fascinating coral reef he had been cataloguing and lost track of time. He had hoped he could make it back before the storm arrived but the clouds seemed faster than him.

The wind picked up outside the cabin, salty mist spraying the windows. Rey steered the boat back towards the town. He knew exactly where he was going, he was practically his own compass. But something was fighting the rudder. Of all times for it to break, he thought.

The dark storm clouds began to block out what few stars were visible above. The only light now came from the small boat, though it did little to cut through the encroaching darkness. The waves were higher now, washing over the deck as the boat tilted back and forth. Anything not tied down was rolling around on the floor behind Rey. Fortunately that wasn’t much: It paid to be prepared.

It was a fight to keep the boat straight. Straying from his course now would mean being parallel to the oncoming waves. Being parallel meant capsizing. Capsizing meant… well, you know.

He heard a thunk below the ship. Now normally in a situation like this you pay little attention to “thunks”. It could be a number of things: something heavy fell over in storage, debris hit the underside, etc. However, when the “thunk'' is immediately followed by the boat course correcting itself, you stop and think twice.

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Rey kept his focus on leading the boat back to dry land. Or at least he tried. Who wouldn’t be intrigued? Of course he couldn’t leave the wheel now so he was left to speculate.

And speculate he did. He couldn’t have hit a reef, this area was quite deep. Had he hit an animal? But that wouldn’t explain the ship steering itself through the storm. It just didn’t make sense. Rey loved a good mystery.

As if to interrupt his thoughts, the lights of the town dock broke through the rain. Rey quickly pulled up to it and wasted no time hopping out to tie the ship down. As he looked up, he saw a dark shape in the water. It disappeared before he could make it out. He shook his head and went to grab his bag before departing. The others wouldn’t be happy.

Within a couple minutes, Rey arrived back home. “Home” was relative of course, he considered the ocean his home. But for now, this apartment was where he resided with his friends. Speaking of, he hoped they had already gone to bed and wouldn’t notice his late return. He opened the front door.

“Well well well,” greeted a condescending voice. Waldo’s voice.

“Hello,” Rey greeted, stepping fully inside and shutting the door behind him.

“Where were you? We were so worried!” Conner cut in, instantly hovering right next to Rey. Ace also stood nearby, behind Waldo’s chair. So everyone was here.

“Nothing to worry about, I just stayed out later than planned,” he explained, taking off his jacket and boots.

“But the storm!” Conner objected, a clap of thunder punctuating his point and making him jump.

“I made it back safe. I told you, it is fine.”

Rey walked between them and headed for his room. Technically it was a shared room but they’d leave him alone in there.

“Those are dangerous waters.” Waldo’s voice followed him.

Once in, Rey shut the door behind him and turned on the lamp. He set his bag next to his bed and began to unpack. Today's research was the first to come out, the photos being carefully tacked onto his map and the rest filed in its place.

The map was of the local seafloor. Rey had taken to cataloguing and studying the various plant and animal life. Most people in town believed the nearby ocean was dangerous and mysterious but that’s what interested Rey! So much to explore and discover! He knew no one understood.

As he moved on to pull out some of his equipment, there was a soft knock at the door. He looked up as Conner entered slowly, closing the door behind him. A moment of silence passed.

“He’s right, you know.”

“Oh not you too,” Rey sighed, setting down his camera on the nightstand.

“Tonight you were lucky! What if you’re not next time?” Conner said, wringing his hands anxiously.

“I know what I am doing. Today was a fluke,” Rey assured, sitting on his bed to take off his damp socks.

“Well I still think you’re crazy.”

“I am? Conner, you are afraid of pinecones.”

“Everyone’s afraid of pinecones!”

“No one is afraid of pinecones.”

“Well they should be.”

“Goodnight Conner.”

“G’night.”

With that, Rey flicked off the lamp and laid down. He could hear Conner do the same across the room. On the far wall he could see his map, dimly illuminated by Conner’s nightlight. His eyes settled halfway between the new reef and home. Whatever had happened out there, he considered a mystery. And mysteries need solving.

~~~

The next morning, Rey got up as soon as the sun shone through the windows. Careful to not disturb Conner, he changed clothes and exited the room. Once out, he could see Ace in the kitchen. That’s a little… scary.

“Good morning,” he greeted, walking over to the kitchen island and taking a seat.

“Hey. I was just making some toast. You want some?” she asked, holding up the bread bag.

“Sure, thank you.”

“Yeah, just don’t tell Waldo. He’s convinced I’ll burn the place down.”

“To be fair, there was that one time--”

“That was an accident! I’m never gonna live that down.”

She facepalmed exaggeratedly, giving Rey a chuckle. He noticed today’s paper on the counter and picked it up, skimming through.

“So… find anything cool yesterday?” Ace asked, waiting for the bread to toast.

Rey paused for a moment. “I was checking out a new reef to the northwest. It’s ecosystem seems quite vibrant in contrast to the one closer by.”

“Probably from not being overfished.”

“Perhaps, but I would like to study it more.”

“You’re going back out there?”

“Well yes, there is… I do not know.” He tried to busy himself with the paper.

“What is it?” Ace pressed, suddenly intrigued.

“Nothing. It was probably nothing.”

“Probably?”

“It was nothing. I am sure of it,” Rey concluded, setting the paper down.

Just then the toaster went off, saving Rey from this conversation. Ace turned and plucked the hot pieces out, dropping them on two plates. She brought both plates to the island and grabbed some butter and jam. She took a seat next to Rey, drawing her plate closer.

They both dressed their toast and ate in silence. It wasn’t long before Conner came out and joined them for breakfast, choosing a plain bagel. With the counter full, he sat on the couch, legs carefully tucked underneath him. Before long, Ace started to rave about her latest project. Eventually Waldo emerged too, groggy as usual.

It wasn't long before it was time for Ace and Waldo to head to work. They both worked at an auto repair shop, owned it in fact. Waldo stopped on his way out and turned to Rey.

“You’re not going out again,” he started.

“Of course not. I am going job searching again like I told you,” Rey answered.

Waldo seemed unconvinced but left anyway. Rey watched him close the door and heard the footsteps fade out.

“You’re going back out, aren’t you?” Conner asked.

“Absolutely.”

~~~

As Rey arrived back at the docks, he could see his small boat still in place. It looked so dingy in this lighting. Still, it had gotten him through so much. He boarded and set his bag down in the cabin. Stuff was still strewn across the floor from last night.

Despite the unruly appearance, everything seemed in good condition. Everything but the rudder. How could he forget? He grabbed a pair of goggles and went to check it out.

He had put on a wetsuit before he left so he simply slipped into the water. He made his way to the back and found… seaweed? It was tangled around the rudder, restricting its movement.

It didn’t make sense. He had made sure to avoid the boat getting too close to shallow areas where this would normally grow, so how did it get here? Maybe it was floating along and just got stuck. That must’ve been it.

As he worked it off the poor rudder, he noticed it was a single length of seaweed. The two ends almost looked like they had been connected together in a loop. Odd. Maybe some kid on a beach had been playing with it before it drifted away. It certainly didn't seem native.

After successfully detangling it, Rey surfaced and climbed back in the boat, taking the plant with him. He didn’t want it getting lodged back in again. He untied the boat and made his way to the cabin to start it up. Moment of truth.

It started like normal and he was off. The small town disappeared behind him as he made his way to the open ocean. There was no evidence of how hostile the sea had been last night.

It wasn’t too long before Rey made it to roughly where he had been yesterday. He stopped the boat and let down the anchor. He stood on the deck, looking out at the open waters. Now what?

Honestly he wasn’t too sure how to proceed. It’s not like he could recreate the scenario. Something was telling him to come out here though. Maybe he should just have a look around. This area was mostly unexplored by him so far, as he normally stuck to more shallow waters.

Rey got out his diving gear and brought it to the deck. He began to put it on when he stopped. He felt like he was being watched. Out in the middle of nowhere though?

To be safe, he took a look around. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something dip below the side of the ship. Was he not alone out here? He approached the other side of the deck carefully, looking around. Nothing seemed out of place.

He heard an abrupt squelch and turned around to see the seaweed chunk slide over the side through the scupper. Something had pulled it over, it wasn’t near the edge before.

Rey slowly came back over and called out, “Is anyone there?” He was met with silence. “Hello?”

It’s probably just an animal, he told himself. Nothing to worry about. If it took the seaweed, it’s likely herbivorous, right? Perhaps it was a seal. That would be the first he’s seen around here. He needs to see this!

Rey quickly grabbed his camera and finished putting on his gear. He still couldn’t shake that feeling of being watched. Hopefully that meant it was still in the area. Once done, he sat on the wall and let himself fall backwards.

Now in the warm water, he looked around… and saw nothing. Had he scared it off? Disappointed, he began to rethink his plan. That’s when he noticed movement. Something was on the other side of the boat, its tail just visible beneath the hull. The tail did not resemble any seal Rey knew of. It was thick, pale red, and rubbery. In fact, it looked more like that of a… shark.

Okay, stay calm. Sharks don’t typically attack people unless threatened. Just get out of the water before it approaches you. But… sharks don’t swim vertically like that.

Against every instinct, Rey let himself sink deeper. The tail disappeared behind the hull. In its place was a face. A human face. The other person stared upside down at Rey with wide eyes. Rey froze. There was a person with the animal… shark… thing?

But wait, how was he breathing underwater? He must’ve just ducked under. Rey decided to swim around the short end of the boat and approach him. As he rounded the back of the boat, he saw the man had moved to the far end and was peeking around the side.

Head now above the water, Rey took his mouthpiece out. “Hello there.”

The man had risen to the surface as well, though still around the far end. Whatever creature was with him seemed to have swum around the far side too.

“My name is Rey,” he tried again, approaching very slowly.

The other thought for a moment, then answered, “Ty.” He had a slight accent Rey couldn’t place.

“Nice to meet you Ty,” Rey said, setting his stuff on the deck and hoisting himself up to sit on the edge where there was no railing. “You are welcome aboard if you like.”

“No thanks, I’m in a lot of trouble already.”

“What trouble?” Rey asked, suddenly concerned.

“I’m not supposed to talk to… you guys.”

“Me? Why not? Did Waldo put you up to this?”

“Who?”

“You are serious?” Rey asked. He nodded. “Then who told you not to talk to me?”

“My friends say you are dangerous. I don’t think so though.”

“I’m not dangerous though…”

“And I’m sorry about last night.”

“Last night? What--”

Rey heard something breach behind him and turned to look, seeing an unusually blue dolphin’s tail land back in the water. When he turned around again, Ty was gone. Rey stood up, looking all around.

“Ty? Where did you go?” he called, but to no avail.

Maybe the others were right, he concluded. Being out here is frying my brain.

[1,897 words]

[commander-orca]

COTW FANFICTION

CHAPTER 10: SEDITIOUS TALKS, SEDITIOUS TRUCES

Eyes fixed on her pocket watch, Itia grinned when she heard the young caregiver rush into the infirmary. Resting her book on the edge of the bed between the folds of the blanket, she brought her legs up against her, carefully following the large hand of the clock; it had just passed the number twelve again. Near the entrance, the wall clock accompanied the new hour with a few gleeful tinkles.

“I see you’ve made an effort to be on time, Kannavi. That’s good, ”she commented with delight.

His philtrum slightly sweaty, the young man leaned against the large cupboards, his back bent. His hands on his thighs, his half-open mouth was letting out his short, hoarse breath. After a few heavy breaths, he looked up at her and tried to articulate a handful of words before giving in, dipping his head forward. Amused, Itia asked him what frantic race he had just ran and if by any chance he had sprinted around the entire Whale. A few more gasps later, Kannavi replied that he kept forgetting instruments and that he must have ran back a dozen times over. By what miracle had he then managed to be on time ?, was a question Itia could not help asking him, his eyes widening with curiosity. The young man straightened up, going back to his nonchalant self. With his free hand, he took care of some of his locks, stuck to his moist forehead.

"I know it sounds like a lie, but I can run fast ...," Kannavi assured, tilting his head to the side, "Although I don't see the use of it except in case my life would be put in danger. But let's say that it is mainly thanks to the five alarm clocks that Orca gave me in addition to mine ... ”.

Itia gave a small laugh:

"Sure you couldn't sleep after all that racket," she added.

The conversation fell flat and, processing their short conversation, the young woman felt a strong sense of pride radiate from her. All those days spent in the infirmary had mentally worn her down and made her feel more helpless than ever. Knowing that her words had had a positive impact on her comrades soothed the desperate restlessness that weighed on her chest. She had the power to make a difference even locked in here and that was what she wanted to do more than anything from now on. Perhaps it was those suppressed emotions that finally resurfaced, but her freezing apathy on other people's feelings had started to disgust her; she would no longer deign to remain passive in the face of injustice. However, it went without saying that she could not fix everything... Despite the efforts of their two peoples, their reconciliation was still delayed and although it something was off between her superior and the prince of Amonlogia ... She could not force them to find a common ground...

It was unbearable to her. But she also knew it was inevitable. People with strong temperament tended to ram into each other and tread on each other’s toes and there could be no agreement without a little confrontation. Luckily, his boss had seemed little tormented by the exchange - or rather the one-sided taunting - of the incident from the day before. Itia prayed this would not last and that the damage could be lessened by those around them. No, rather, she was confident; Suoh had succeeded in lifting her spirits and in altering her way of thinking in considering only the favorable outcomes.

Suoh being the leader of the Mud Whale had taken her aback at first, but now she fully understood why all of his people respected and loved him. His boundless benevolence and the inner peace he managed to convey to his surroundings as well as his mental stability made him an ideal commander. If he ever allowed them to stay, Itia would be honored to pledge allegiance to him.

Pulling his sleeves up, the young nurse walked up to the sink and began the sanitary procedure. Little by little, the small prickling sounds of the hammering against the sink and those of the terracotta jars colliding with each other shrouded the infirmary in a cottony and reassuring atmosphere. Laying in her bed, Itia no longer knew where all these clicks and tinkles came from, but she noticed vaguely that a saucepan had just been put on the fire and was simmering gently. Water was trickling into the dishes and a scent of jasmine reached her nostrils, mixed with a faint scent of denatured alcohol. Her eyes gradually closed, struggling against a desire to stay awake that had no obvious purpose. The glow of the candles in their copper plinths seemed to have faded, the penetrating light of dawn already, and slowly, entirely eclipsing their glow.

She must have grown soft, she figured, on the threshold of a heavy sleep. She, who could not bear to remain still, now enjoyed remaining idle, snuggled under the saffron sheets, contemplating for hours the walls the ceiling, also saffron-coloured. Everything was a quiet yellow. It felt nice to stay there and not have to worry about anything for once, other than choosing meals or having conversations with other patients. Perhaps for the first time in her life, she was spending time with herself, following her own feelings. And that drowsy state was wonderfully soothing ...

“Ah Itia, don't fall asleep just yet!”, a voice protested above her.

Tediously opening her eyes, the young woman recognized Kannavi's face at her bedside, leaning over her, a roll of gauze in his hand.

"I have to change your compress," he gesticulated, looking a little puzzled and at the same time bewildered, making his face look comical.

“Of course, I forgot”.

The slats squeaked under her weight as she got up and leaned back against the headboard, still sleepy. Her gaze caught sight of two patients in the hallway which was parallel to the windows, sipping their teas in silence and a few bunks away, three more eating breakfast in large spoonfuls. A little unsettled, she asked what time it was.

"It's twelve to twenty. You've been drowsing for three hours, I think, ”, Kannavi said nonchalantly, busy soaking alcohol in a piece of cloth and preparing a clean compress. "Could you lift your top up to the solar plexus, please Itia?" "

Itia did so and turned her uncovered abdomen towards Kannavi who knelt down and began to peel off the bandage. Shortly after, the young woman wiggled a little on the spot, inconvenienced. The nurse was not insensitive to her discomfort; Abashed, he rubbed his palms and fingers vigorously against his apron two or three times, hoping to improve the quality of his care.

"Forgive me, my hands are cold".

With delicacy, he began to peel off the adhesive part and collecting in a cloth the lumpy pieces from the previous poultice before making sure of its effect. Behind his long lashes, his deep-browned eyes were perched on the wound, forming the new diagnosis.

"Looks like the epithem has taken effect. It caused a slight scar keloid, but that did not turn into a general infection and we are lucky to have sterilized equipment here which also prevented nosocomial infection”.

"Uh ... In English, Kannavi?" Itia said, puzzled.

"Hm? Oh ... Well ... Everything is fine. You’ll be able to return to your daily tasks within a few days ”.

Quickly applying the disinfectant to the swollen skin, not sparing his patient from a few grimaces, he finished by placing a new strip of clean gauze on her. Itia thanked him for his work, feeling the compress with the tip of her fingers then readjusting her top on her bare skin. She had looked quite embarrassed some minutes from now.

"Say, Kannavi ..."

The young nurse now didn’t face her anymore, busy gathering his equipment on a medical platform. The velocity in his gestures was a warning sign to anyone who wouldn't even bother to notice that he was overwhelmed with this morning's chores. And yet Itia risked asking the question all the same. It couldn't wait any longer. She waited for him to turn to her and move closer to the edge of the bed to begin asking. Before uttering the words she dreaded, her eyes wandered over the hospital wing door and beyond. It was a calm morning, nothing it would seem, would come to disturb them in their conversation and yet, now that she had been granted the opportunity, she was seized with a violent temptation to run the other way and pretend she only wished a glass of water from him.

"I know you're really busy today but ... It's about Sir Orca."

The moment had arrived; she finally dived in. Kannavi raised an eyebrow, his fingers playing with the pen attached to the front of his white work coat pocket.

"You know him well, don't you?" He said you were his one and only friend ”.

Her interlocutor raised two fingers to his chin, lost in thought for a few seconds.

"… If he told you that, then it must be true," he conjectured, nodding sharply, "Now that you mention it, I have never seen him confiding or having a good time with someone else his age.

- Well ... Kannavi, that seems obvious to me. If he had another friend other than you, he would be here too, ” Itia retorted flatly, stunned by his lack of discernment. "Anyway ... Since you are close, I was wondering if he had let you in regarding ... Something about us ...

- Something about you–?

- Ah, forget it, I should have guessed that with you, I must go directly to the point. Tell me, did he tell you that he’s proposed to me? "

Kannavi looked genuinely rattled; his jaw unhooked and that stunned air now never leaving his face. From the pen his fingers were playing with, a sudden creak rose and the metal bar serving as a retainer and the pen both crashed to the floor.

" Really... ? He asked, after a long painful silence.

Itia replied in the affirmative. Filled with an embarrassment whose origin she did not know, she scratched her forearm lightly, her eyes looking away from Kannavi.

“It happened while we were in the invocation circle. He hasn't spoken about it since… This situation is very embarrassing. And besides, I'm sorry to have to get you involved in all of this. I'm just ... Clueless. And I was wondering if ... If you could ... "

Hearing her, the young caregiver raised a hand to his face, his thumb and index joined to signify that there was no problem and that he would gladly take care of the matter. Then he left quickly, leaving Itia to her thoughts; the day would still be long for him and he did not have time to devote himself to matters of the heart. Falling in love ... That seemed like a poor choice in these precarious times ... Didn't people have anything better to do? But maybe he was asking himself the wrong questions. People who fell in love seemed happy, at least for a while, and hardships were said to strengthen love. Younger, he would have liked to understand this feeling. But could someone find him attractive? The answer so far had been inconclusive...

He was about to go and treat another patient when the front door squeaked in the familiar creak and a silhouette entered the room in a small din of crumpled rain gear and growls. Taking off their shoes and sending their soggy boots waltz under the coat rack, the figure joined Kannavi at his counter as he was thinking sadly of his futile efforts to mop the hallway. Kannavi gave them a glance over his shoulder. The Prince of Amonlogia?

"What a foul weather ...", began the Prince, in order to strike up a conversation, however formulating his request without further time-consuming transition. "Tell me, doctor, don’t you have any herbal infusions left?" "

The young nurse bit his lip for a second, thinking less about the potential they still possessed rather than where they might have been stored. Things went on like this every day, he had a little trouble getting used to the infirmary's tidying up methods, he who usually didn't bother tidying up ...

“I think so…” he said, tiptoeing up to search the cupboards over the sink, “There are several. Which ones would you need? "

"I have visitors, so it would be soothing herbs, preferably."

- How many guests for? Kannavi asked politely.

“Only one. For me, ”Rochalizo retorted, rolling his eyes, his nose wrinkled in annoyance,“ They're already getting on my nerves ”.

                                                         OoOoO

Rochalizo thought he had grown used to being in poor company. The monkeys on this island all had the same irritating idealism as well as a steadfast worship of rules and protocols. If these weren't followed strictly, they then gave in to a frenzied panic, perhaps expecting to be struck by the thunderbolt of their wrathful ancestors. Even if he had been relieved that he could escape for a few minutes the advisers who had come to squat at his house, he now wondered what mess they been causing and if it had been wise to leave them alone there. Well... Suoh was with them. But, no offense to Suoh, he believed he would not be the strong hand he needed to help get them out.

He crossed the threshold, holding little bags of herbs, pushing open the door and sighing hard. Dazzled for a moment by the fire burning in the hearth, he stopped in the middle of the entrance, blinking in the orange light. A slight hubbub filled the small room interrupted from time to time by the creaking embers in the fireplace and the wet sound of water flowing through the gutters under the skylights. The consultants conversed with each other around the oak table, talking with liveliness, surrounded by cushions and other comfortable assortments. They hardly noticed his presence. But at the end of the table, oblivious and inattentive to the conversation anyway, Suoh turned his head, sensitive to the noise and almost instantly, his gaze lit up when he met Rochalizo's. The prince greeted him back, waving his hand discreetly, a smile creeping into his frustrated expression anyway.

The island chief kept smiling at him, so Rochalizo waved vaguely with both his hands, a silent question on the topic of the conversation. The smile Suoh gave him was a heartwarming smile; looking close to laughing, he shrugged casually, the hair wrapped around his neck sliding like snakes down his humerus. Rochalizo wrinkled his nose in amusement too and waved his hand to ask him if it was really important and especially that it all looked extremely boring. A finger pinched on his lower lip, half-hiding a smile, Suoh gave him a fake disapproving look. With his other hand, wrapped in a bandage, he mimick for the prince to leave. "You, get out of here," Rochalizo moved his lips at him silently, his smile so big it hurt a little, then imitated a Suoh bored to death, tongue out. Suoh suppressed another laugh behind his hand and aped back at him that he was stupid before drawing an invisible zipper over his mouth, playfully telling him to shut up. Rochalizo huffed, more and more amused and with a nod, tried to get him to come to him.

"… That's a good idea, isn't it, Suoh?" Kuchiba said at that moment, turning to his boss.

His expression went through several stages of surprise, anger and exasperation within seconds when he realized that Suoh hadn't been listening for a while. Staring at the two young people exchanging inconspicuous signs, annoyance took hold and he crossed his arms, followed by Kanae, looking less accusing and more discouraged. Shinono appeared to be the most entertained of her peers but tried to keep a professional attitude.

“Hey, Suoh. Rochalizo. Would it be too much to ask that you focus a little ? "

The two leaders froze, in a very childlike manner, as if they’d been caught stealing treats. Suoh got out of it faster and smoothed his hair down with his fingertips, looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," he uttered softly.

Rochalizo's cheeks flushed a bit from the shame of being caught in such a ridiculous conversation, but categorically refused to apologize; filling the distance between them, he leaned his elbows on the table and gave the councilors a very annoyed look, an annoyed smirk clearly announcing what he thought of this small assembly.

"Kuchiba, and you guys... How would you like to get the heck out of here?" My home’s not a meeting room! ”

"Ah shoot…" Kanae grimaced, strongly expecting an argument to break out.

Beside her, Suoh sighed desperately, knowing all too well what was about to happen, his forehead in his hand. Kuchiba clenched his fists and raised one in the air, explicitly directed at the prince.

“Maybe I must remind you that we are in war times, there is a lot to do at the moment. And you're supposed to help us just as much as an advisor. We're not just busy escaping the enemy, we also need a plan to get ourselves out of this stressful situation and seek for a new hom, in case you’d forgotten”.

- Oh I haven't forgotten”, Rochalizo stubbornly persisted, his voice dropping a few tones in the low," But your five-hours-a-day-councils is a big pain in arse. Especially if it is to talk endlessly as you do and not even finding a concrete solution. And if I'm hosting Suoh here, it's not so that you can come and piss him off ?! Got it? "

"Of course you don't care," Kuchiba retorted angrily, "You're just a kid. You shouldn't have any responsibility at all!

- What did you say ?! Do you think you are more useful, you old man !? "

Both had grasped the other's collar, determined to throw fists when, with a knowing look, Kanae and Suoh both rose from their chairs in an attempt to pull them apart. Suoh circled Rochalizo's waist and tried to forcefully pull him back. Kanae grabbed Kuchiba's left arm.

“Both of you stop !! The young advisor muttered, breathless trying to push her superior as far away as possible.

"Rochalizo, please," the young chef urged him, his whole face crumpled from the slightest physical effort.

“Suoh, let go of me. I'll give him a good beating! "

They struggled a little longer, to the protests of their comrades. When all at the end of their breath, collapsed to the ground, Shinono, who had remained seated without saying anything, took advantage of the silence that had finally settled down to show off his diplomatic skills.

"Are you all calmed down?" How about you all sit down at the table now? She offered, trying to sound cheerful.

Taking a few steps away from them, she picked up the small bags of herbs the prince had brought back from the infirmary.

" Oh ! I found some tea! Anyone wants some tea? "

Not waiting for an answer, she whirled around the kitchen area and hastened to heat some water in one of the large pots that hung on the wall.

“Hey…” Rochalizo grumbled, still breathless, his cheek glued to the ground and his side slumped to the ground, “The tea originally was for me… Because you all get on my nerves”

His last words were muffled in his throat as Suoh put an arm around his shoulders and declared, beaming:

"I would really love a tea".

Having had time to calm down a little, the small group had gathered around the table, all pressed against each other, this poor piece of wood not being used to welcoming so many people. Cups filled with tea let out thin miasmas of white steam and they all had curled their hands around the hot mugs - except Shinono who was telling a story - surprised by the coolness of the night which, despite the crackling fire, had infiltrated inside. Rochalizo had wrapped himself up in a blanket, a little sensitive to the climate of the Whale as soon as the sun went down. Suoh's head was starting to tilt down slowly, though he tried to pay close attention to the anecdotes that were being told. Rochalizo glanced at the window to his right, it must have been around seven o'clock. Their company turned out to be rather pleasant, unlike the first and major part of the day, but he had to admit that he wished for calm now.

"S’cuse me," he spoke up through the hubbub, leaping up from the bench which began stiffening his bones.

Suoh, who hadn't said anything for a while, his chin resting on his arms, looked up at him with a slight smile of relief.

“It was nice, really. But I am compelled to have you leave now. I'm serious this time, ”the prince continued. “You’re as funny as you’re invasive, and all good and bad things must come to an end”.

"What is this half-kind, half-passive-aggressive farewell speech," Kuchiba complained, laughing, extricating himself from his seat and meticulously combing his matted red hair.

"It's a respectable elocution dismissing you all home and strictly forbidding you to come back at least - and please don’t be afraid to abuse of this 'at least' - before eleven o'clock tomorrow morning", Rochalizo clarified, posing, one foot on the bench, arms raised in the air like a statue honoring a war victory.

" Eleven o'clock ?! Kanae choked as she picked up her rain jacket from the coat rack and slipped an arm inside. " It's late ".

The other councilors joined her one by one in the hall, donning their rain gear and soon said their farewells for the day. On the way home, as the small group of elders slaloming between muddy puddles, walking in a comfortable silence, Shinono turned to Kuchiba in order to convey her concerns.

"Kuchiba, are you sure we can let them tell us what to do? These are hard times after all ... "

The latter sighed, his eyes staring in the void. He too was wondering that same thing and had even thought of taking advice from the assembly of veterans and asking them to intervene to get the young leader to take better responsability for his role. Many incidents had started this way in the past and they could not repeat the disaster Dyo's reign had been; each leader had to be under control to avoid any upheavals and he had always revered this rule which for him was of an implacable justice and logic. So why loosen up now? Maybe it was because he was barely sixteen and ended up getting attached? Maybe because he wanted to alleviate his burdens out of compassion? No, it was rather ...

"I meant what I said earlier ... But not in that mean way. They are just kids after all, who have already been given so much responsibility. If we don't let the children live, they will live by force when we need them to be responsible the most... And I'm sure they know what they're doing. I will stop interfering ”.

Shinono's expression brightened, dumbfounded. Her comrade’s response was wise and she slowly nodded, cherishing that hint of comfort that had just dawned within her. Her lids closed over her eyes and let a glimpse of the raindrops that had clung to her lashes.

" You are right. Let's leave them ”.

[runnfromtheak]

tagged by @icosagens!!! such an eloquent and stunning writer with a sharp sense of humor srsly go check him out on ao3! <3 Specifically check out his JayDickDonna fic, CHCl3 which is beautiful and painful and just E V E R Y T H I N GGGGG.

I'll put everything under the cut so there isn't a terrible amount of scrolling for those wishing to skip <3

Rules: list the first lines of your last ten stories. See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line.

Anchors of Mortality

AKA my new passion project where Dick has a savior complex and no self-preservation skills featuring a Constantine who just wants to Tap That, a Zatanna who is tired and also wants to Tap That, and a host of resurrected characters because Dick can't let things lie or die. Ships include JayDick and Magic^2Dick (or Dick/Zee/Constantine)

Life ends and life begins in rain, at least as far as Dick Grayson is concerned. His parents died on a rainy day, ice-cold droplets seeping in through the bright, thick cloth of the circus tents. A drizzle, Haly had called it beforehand, telling them not to worry. But rain is an omen – a warning – of an uncertain future, of conflicting emotions and thoughts. It had been a sign he’d been foolish to ignore, a sign Haly had been foolish to ignore.

everything casts a shadow

AKA SladeDick with Slade being the Worst and Dick straight up not having a good time

Zatanna used to say that rain has a cleansing effect on the heart and the soul – and the cock, Constantine would always interject with a filthy leer of promise. Rain purifies negative energy from a space, murder or magic, and rain settles the anxious mind. The three of them had made love in the rain once, intertwining limbs and the glow of magic refracted throughout the cold droplets. Three hearts aligned in a crystalline world of skin and water, for a perfect moment.

a prayer for which no words exist

JayDick where Dick has issues and needs therapy. Like a true emotional support/projection character, he reads instead.

On nights he can’t sleep, he reads.

Dick’s always enjoyed books, had grown up with yellowed pages musty with the scent of age as comfort and entertainment, but he’d stopped reading frequently when he’d grown up. With everything else, with responsibility atop responsibility atop responsibility as he’d aged, he hadn’t the time or the mental capacity to love reading like he had before. He hadn’t been able to focus or concentrate, always oscillating between too keyed up and too exhausted. The words, when he’d try and sift through the neurochemical adrenaline high and sift through the luring temptress of melatonin and sleep deprivation, would float and float and float away like distant birds migrating to a new land.

i'm addicted to the way you hurt (i don't mind if you fuck up my life)

JayDick where Dick is a female and also depressed but not in a sexy way. Very Spuffy s6 vibes if ya know what I mean.

When she comes back to life, her world is a nuclear green.

She’s embraced by something; it cradles her, like she’s a precious bundle of jewels, like something perfect to be coveted. There’s warmth where she rests her head, breasts pillowed beneath her, and she’s held close enough to feel that rhythmic cadence like a siren call to life.

warning signs can feel like they're butterflies (i won't stop 'till i get where you are)

Johnlock fic because I got into the fandom late where Sherlock just can't say no and everyone is sad.

He shoots her blackmailer on Christmas Day on the front porch of a cold mansion.

It’s a good shot – clean, precise – with an entry wound and an exit wound. Bits of brain matter coated in blood spatter at Magnussen's back, a dead-eyed look of shock in his empty eyes.

hold your breath 'till we're in too deep (my love is a mood ring)

JayDick where Dick just wants to love Jason and people (*cough* Jason *cough*) make this a difficult venture.

The thing is: Jason Todd is dead.

The thing is: Jason Todd is holding a detonator in his right fist and a gun in his left, both pointed in Dick’s direction in a fairly menacing way.

The thing is: Dick’s vision is blurry from what may or may not be a concussion and there are little floating Batmen spinning around his head in diapers like a horrifying rendition of Cupid, so his assessments may not be entirely accurate.

i wanna waste my youth on you

DickDonna where Dick Grayson is a fucking simp for Donna Troy but aren't we all? (the correct answer is yes. if you said no, only god can help you now.)

He’s ten and she’s eleven and she’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

heart on your sleeve like you've never been loved (running in circles now look what you've done)

Johnlock and Adlock where Sherlock picks sex over drugs and John is Not Pleased.

It starts right after the funeral dressed up as a wedding. Tables of decorations he’d picked, dishes he’d selected, color pallets he’d painstakingly coordinated and plotted. John and Mary’s song, weaved from his tears and his blood spilt like ink over the dancefloor as his violin grieves with him.

She’s pregnant. Sherlock smiles, as the best friend is meant to, and John smiles, as the father is meant to, and Mary smiles and it’s all normal and proper and Sherlock’s frozen before she pulls John away with something so horribly knowing in her eyes, before they kiss sweetly on a dancefloor he’d helped pick and lose themselves in throngs of friends and family.

light at the beginning of the tunnel (but he tells me that i'm dreaming)

Johnlock where Sherlock pines and does drugs post T6T.

He hadn’t intended to return. Victorian London holds its own sort of allure, delicious danger at every corner, nothing but pure intellect unaided by modern machinations to solve puzzles of every sort—

(a John Watson that still looks at you like you hung the sun and the stars just for him, like you’re the center he orbits, a gravity he doesn’t care to escape. A place where deductions still evoke tenderness, approval. Where John Watson still wants to hear your voice and cares for you, even with Mary.)

—but it had been dangerous. It had been utterly reckless, a calculated OD with no less than five compounds of varying effects, each boosting the others into a delightful failing of his heart that hadn’t lasted because his transport’s tenacity outweighed his mind’s desires. The fanciful realm where his life hadn’t gone to complete and utter shite had never been a conscious plan. Sherlock hadn’t intended for his brain to grasp for a chain, a link to reality in the form of delusions and hallucinations and awful attempts at honesty. He hadn’t planned for a did you miss me? Despite all his claims to the contrary at the time.

me and you are such a beautiful tragedy (in love with agony)

JayDick Jason wants to be a good person but he's horny. AKA the new pitch for evil: come to the dark side, we have great sex or your ex that can and will kill you if you don't.

The thing about the Lazarus Pit is it consumes you. It’s greedy, like Midas’s touch on a cellular level. It replaces the old with the new – with it – carving a home in blood and soul for its will. For its intentions, passive though they seem at first. Mental stability is only one cost of such a bargain, but it’s by far the worst.

I mean, I used rain as a symbol/parallel twice but mehhh. I don't think I'm super duper set in any formula as far as first lines go. I think my fave would either be the Lazarus Pit line or the nuclear green one. I love my Pit consequences, okay?

Tagging @boyblunder-thedarkheir, @behindtherobinsmask, @luthienluinwe, @stevieraebarnes, and @bitterleafs!! <3

[bittersweetmelxdy]

hey so I’ve been stalking your blog & I loved the scenario where MC hides behind Victor, could I request one for Gavin? (love love lobe you work btw❤️❤️ thanks so much for sharing your writing)

Now, I’m pretty sure ‘Irrational Behaviours’ is to date the most liked request I’ve ever had, so a parallel of this was quite a hard act to follow. But this does read different to ‘Irrational Behaviours’, but’s that’s just because each of the boys has a very different relationship with MC. Also, if you’re wondering about this hyper specific situation.... this may have happened to me... like last week. Mum and I had to shake the entire bed out the next day because I couldn’t sleep. Anyway ramble over, hope you like it xxx

Title: Danger comes in... threes? Pairing: Gavin x MC Words: 1,789

Gavin woke up to the feeling you tossing and turning in your sleep, and he jolted out of sleep, his fight or flight response immediately kicking in. When he realised you weren’t in danger, you were just overheating, he breathed a sigh of relief and after noting your flushed skin he glanced over at the open window. His soft smile grew as he watched the curtains flutter and a cool breeze eased through the window dancing around your sleeping figure, and your figure relaxed as your temperature decreased. After watching your form rise and fall steadily for a few moments, ingraining the image in his mind despite how many countless nights he’d spent with you like this. He was so focused on the stillness of your figure that he wasn’t even aware he’d drifted off to sleep.

Gavin woke up, grasping for your form to draw it closer to him, and he jolted awake once again when he felt nothing but thin air. He sat up quickly, throwing the blanket off the bed, revealing nothing but confirming the fact he was alone. Quickly switching into work mode, Gavin quieted his breathing and took in his surroundings. Hearing sounds of someone shuffling around his kitchen, Gavin, still on his guard padded downstairs to your shared kitchen, keeping his footfalls silent as he drew closer. To his utmost relief the person he was hearing in his kitchen was none other than his wife, you were humming along as you danced around the kitchen, getting breakfast ready for the two of you. Silently, he approached you, surprising you as he wrapped his arms around your waist, tugging you backwards into his chest, and resting his chin atop your head.

“Gavin!” you giggled, resting your hands on his forearms, “Good morning.”

“Morning Love.” Gavin kissed the top of your head, and after detangling from you, he and you made breakfast together in companionable silence.

But soon after the morning rush began, you ran around gathering papers and folders, and Gavin noticing your ‘List Notebook’ on the shoe cabinet by the door, picked it up as he knew you never left the house without it. He allowed you to run around the house, but after hearing you sigh in frustration a couple of times, he decided to ask you what you were looking for.

“Love, what are you looking for?”

“Gavin,” you pouted appearing in the entryway, “Have you seen my-” Gavin held up the notebook and shook it gently it front of you.

“I’m a mess, aren’t I?” you sighed, placing your shoes on your feet.

“Yeah but you’re my mess.” Gavin laughed, knocking his knuckles lightly on your head, and snagging his keys, as the two of you left the house.

Gavin dropped you off opposite of the company, the early morning hour meaning the streets were pretty deserted. So, after glancing around, Gavin drew you close his hands on your hips, and pressed a kiss to your lips, your breaths mingling as you slowly pulled away. You smiled, eyes shining in affection, as Gavin picked up your hands, intertwining your fingers and lifting them up between the two of you. Gavin pressed a kiss right atop the shining silver wedding band on your ring finger.

“I’ll see you at home later.” with his lips still brushing your knuckles, Gavin looked up at you.

You nodded while, smiling brightly at him, “Yeah, see you later Gavin.” then you let go, and crossed the road to your company, stopping at the door to wave at him.

Gavin laughed at the childlike enthusiasm in which you waved at him, and shook his head restarting Sparky and heading off to work.

Later that day Gavin, tired from both patrol and missions, flipped the kickstand on Sparky and trudged slowly towards the front door. Unlocking it, he leaned on the wall, slumping against it as he pulled off his shoes, throwing his keys haphazardly atop the shoe cabinet, he forcibly expelled the air from his lungs, trying to expel the tension still present in his shoulders.

“Gavin, that you?” you called, from the kitchen, appearing soon after, decked in an apron and a messy bun atop your head.  

Looking up the vision that was the love of his life, Gavin wasted no time in gathering you into his arms, nuzzling his nose against yours, “I’m home.”

“Welcome home,” you giggled, welcoming him home with your affection, “come on! I need you to taste for me.”

Gavin allowed himself to be pulled by you through the house, until he was situated in front of a bubbling pot. You dipped a teaspoon in the concoction and brought it up to his lips, Gavin leaned forward dipping his head to cover the spoon with his mouth. He thought about it for a minute, reaching towards the salt container throwing a pinch inside. You watched proud, reminiscing a time when the two of you were dating and Gavin wouldn’t tell you because he worried he would upset you, and you were glad he trusted you enough to voice his opinions.  

The two of you spent the evening in a quiet companionship, after eating dinner, you noticed Gavin’s wandering attention as you washed up the dishes, so you cut off the story you were telling him and laid your hand on his forearm, redirecting his focus back to you.

“Gavin, work really that hard today? You haven’t  

“What? No-I mean, yeah... but I was listening. I promise.” Gavin started, his eyes wide in panic, but you were quick to reassure him.

“Gavin let’s go to bed... no, no, it’s fine Gavin, let me look after you.” you threw puppy dog eyes at him, blinking slowly. Gavin grumbled, trying to avoid your eyesight, but you gripped his face locking eyes with him, and softening his resolve.

“...Fine.” Gavin spun around to replace the dishes in the cupboard, choosing to ignore your quiet ‘yes!’ in the background.

The two of you prepared yourself for bed, taking turns in the shower and when Gavin returned, towel over his shoulders, he watched you climb into bed, snuggling into the blankets as he proceeded to open the window, so it would be easier for you to sleep. He then joined you in bed, pressing a kiss to your forehead and the two of you settled down, and the exhaustion of the day finally caught up to Gavin as he soon succumbed to sleep.

Of all the things that Gavin expected to wake him up, the sounds of your scream and you bolting from the bed, was definitely very very low on the list. Gavin blearily rubbed the sleep from his eyes, focusing on the darkness of the room, locating your figure in an instant. He swung his legs over the edge yawning as he did so, once he realised you were trembling, crouching close to the floor, he became more alert.

“Hey, you alright what’s wrong?”

“T-t-t-t-the bed, it’s on the bed!” you were shaking like a leaf, pointing at the bed.

“What is it, come on its late, let’s go back to bed.”, he grabbed your hands to lead you back, but to his surprise you dug your heels in, pushing against him.

“No, no no! Gavin I’m not going back there!” you struggled, and Gavin soon became at a loss of what to do.

“Love, it’s fine, if it’s a bad dream I’m here...” Gavin continued to try and pull you towards him, despite the struggling.

A sickening shudder ran through your body, your spine becoming ramrod straight in an instant. Your eyes flooded with tears, most spilling over and running down your cheeks, as you felt a flutter in your hair. Ripping your hands from Gavin’s, you then launched yourself at him, and despite his usually quick reflexes, the rollercoaster of emotions had so thrown him off that you knocked him to the floor. Luckily for him, your hands had wrapped around his head and it cushioned the fall, however the pain barely registered as you were still shaking uncontrollably.

“Gavin, get it out!”

“What?” Gavin was still dazed and confused from the fall, that he wasn’t quite putting all the pieces together.

“It’s in my hair!” You buried your face in his neck. “Get it out!”

“Okay, okay.” Gavin gently carded his hand through your hair, pulling back once he felt the twitching insect, and pinching its leg and removing it from your hair, and then patted your head with his other hand, “There, there, it’s out.”

“Throw it outside!”

“Now?” a teasing lilt bled into his tone, as a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.

“Right now!”

“Well, I can’t if you don’t get off me.” you pulled back, glaring as Gavin fully smirked at you.

“Gavin, not the time!” you shakily climbed off him, sitting back and watching as he stood up and threw the bug outside, pulling the window until it was only open a sliver.

Clapping his hands to dust them off, he approached you hoping to coax you back to bed now the threat was over, when he was stopped by you outstretching your hands halting his movements, “Love, the insect’s gone.”

“Wash your hands.”

“... You’re kidding, right?”

“Gavin don’t even think of putting your hands on me again if you don’t wash them right now.” you were stern in tone and your eyes were blazing.

“Love-”

“Gavin. Hands.” You pointed at the bathroom, and Gavin resignedly went to wash his hands, however once at the sink he couldn’t resist his next tease.

“You know it’s probably more scared of you than-”

“Gavin finish that and you’re sleeping on the couch.” you glared at Gavin as he returned and he pantomimed zipping his mouth closed, winking at you, before stopping beside you.

“You changed the sheets?”

You turned to the bedsheets, clenching your fists tightly, “I can, I don’t know... I just won’t be able to sleep unless we change them.”

Gavin placed his warm hand atop your head, “Don’t worry, now my darling wife, can we finally go back to bed.” at your assent, he smiled warmly, and you offered him a shaky one in return.

Once settled in bed once again, you yawned, burying your head in his chest and he wrapped his arms around you, your legs entangling beneath the sheets. Breathing in the sweet scent of your hair, he couldn’t help his final comment.

“I wouldn’t have let it eat you, you know.”

“With how deeply you were sleeping, I would’ve been eaten before you even realised.” your retort resulting in sleepy giggles from the both of you, as you both drifted back to sleep, safely in each other’s arms.

[drinkthehalo]

Macro perspective on each Lymond book

I've been listening to the Lymond Chronicles audiobooks, which has given me a different perspective than reading them. With audiobooks, you’re less inclined to stop and dive into the details, to look up an interesting word or obscure historical fact; instead you get swept along with the larger arc of the book.

So, I thought it would be interesting to look at what each book is about from a macro perspective.

Spoilers for the entire series follow.

The Game of Kings

In genre, it's a mystery told in a historical adventure style; it asks the question "Who is Lymond?" and gives us a ton of contradictory clues, then finally reveals the truth - in a psychological sense by stripping away Lymond's defense mechanisms and revealing the human being underneath, as he breaks down in the dell, "the guard was down... every fluent line and practised shade of Lymond's face betrayed him explicitly"; and in a narrative sense via the trial, which examines each "clue" we received throughout the story and tells us what it really meant.

Thematically, it's mainly about "serving honesty in a crooked way" - that morality isn’t simple and that sometimes you need to break the rules to do the right thing.  Nearly all Lymond’s acts are apparently bad things done for a goal that is actually good. We see the theme also in Will Scott (who learns that the world is more complicated than the "moral philosophy" he learned in school) and the various characters who help Lymond, breaking the rules of society by aiding a wanted outlaw (Christian, Sybilla, the Somerviles). 

It is also about the balance of looking out for self vs the obligation to the greater society - Lymond is not completely selfless (after all, he is back in Scotland to clear his own name), but when forced to choose, he always chooses the greater good above his own goals. He is contrasted with Richard, whose great mistake is to put his obligations to Scotland at risk in pursuit of his personal vengeance, and Margaret Lennox, who is purely and grotesquely out only for herself.

The historical context is part of this theme, as we see the various border families playing both sides between England and Scotland, with the heroes being those who ultimately stand up for Scotland, even as we understand that some have no choice but to profess one thing while doing another.

Queens Play

In genre, it's a spy novel; thematically, it's about what Lymond will do with the rest of his life. The question is asked explicitly several times (most obviously, "You have all your life still before you." / "The popular question is, for what?") It's important that Lymond loses his title at the start of this book; he has to figure out who he will be without it.

The main characters all represent possible paths Lymond could take -

O'Liam Roe, who sits back and laughs at the world with detachment, while abdicating all responsibility to use his mind and position to change the world for the better.

Robin Stewart, who loses himself in bitterness about the ways the world has been unfair to him, and in fixating on how he deserved better, fails to take any action to improve himself.

Oonagh, who works passionately to change the world for the better, but whose ideals have become corrupted because she has attached herself to a leader who is more out for himself than for their cause.

And of course Thady Boy and Vervassal, two extremes of himself that Lymond tries on, and (by the end of the series) must learn to reconcile.

The recurring imagery of the first half is the carnival, the masks, the music, the parties, and our hero in danger of losing himself amidst the debauchery. In the second half the imagery every time Lymond appears is of ice, the ultra-controlled, hyper-competent version of Lymond at risk of losing himself by denying his artistic soul. (There’s a wonderful essay here that explores these motifs.)

In the end, Lymond comes to the conclusion that he must not withdraw into detachment or bitterness, that he must find a way to make a positive difference in the world, but that he also must not attach himself to a powerful figure who may be more out for themselves than for Scotland (ie, his refusal to attach himself to Marie de Guise). This sets up the creation of his mercenary army in the next books, as a way he can exercise independent influence in the world.

The Disorderly Knights

This book couldn't be more relevant to the world today. It's a portrait of cynical hypocrisy in pursuit of power; it lays out step by step the tactics of propaganda and manipulation used by despots to build up themselves and tear down their rivals: pretend to be pious, accuse of others of your own crimes, tear down straw men instead of engaging in real debate. It tells us to "look at his hands"; what matters is what a leader actually does, not what he professes to believe.

It shows us how leaders use charisma to manipulate, and, in showing the battle between Gabriel and Lymond for Jerott's loyalty, shows how Lymond takes the harder and more ethical path, by refusing to use his charisma to seduce (a lesson learned from his experience with Robin Stewart) and instead guiding Jerott to come to his own conclusions by means of rational thought instead of hero worship.

At every level the novel advocates for tolerance and internationalism, and against petty sectarianism, as Lymond questions whether the Knights of St John are really any better than the Turks, and as he tries to get the Scottish border families to abandon their feuds in favor of the greater good of the country.

In terms of genre, it’s a pure adventure novel. I never get bored of the masterful action sequences with the battles in Malta and Tripoli, and the extraordinary duel at St Giles in the end. (Also in terms of thematic imagery, there is some crazy S&M shit going on in this book, with Gabriel and Joleta's sadism and Lymond's self-sacrificial masochism.)

I love Disorderly Knights so much. It is nearly perfect - well structured, thematically coherent, witty, fun, breathtaking, and heartbreaking.

Pawn in Frankincense

In genre, this is a quest novel. In several places it explicitly parallels The Odyssey.

In theme, it explores -

Do the ends justify the means? How much sacrifice is too much? Lymond gives up his fortune, his body, and his health; Philippa gives up her freedom and her future; we are asked often consider, which goal is more important, stopping Gabriel or saving the child? We even see this theme in Marthe's subplot, as she gives up the treasure, her dream to "be a person," to save her companions. Perhaps the most telling moment is right after Lymond kills Gabriel; despite all his claims that Gabriel’s death mattered more than the fate of the child, he’s already forgotten it, instead playing over and over in his mind the death of Khaireddin. If you do what is intellectually right but it destroys your soul, was it really right?

The other big theme is “nature vs nurture.” What is the impact of upbringing on how people turn out? In its comparisons of Kuzum vs Khaireddin, and Lymond vs Marthe, it seems to fall firmly on the side of nurture.

It’s also a kaleidoscope of views on love, with its Pilgrims of Love and their poetry, and the contrasting images of selfless, sacrificial love (Philippa and Evangelista for Kuzum, Salablanca for Lymond, Lymond for Khaireddin, perhaps Marthe for Lymond as she helps him in the end) with possessive, needy “love” (Marthe for Guzel, Jerott for Marthe or Lymond, arguably even the Aga for Lymond).

This novel is also a tragedy. Its imagery and the historical background complement the themes by creating an atmosphere lush, beautiful, labyrinthine, overwhelming, and suffocating.

The Ringed Castle

I have to confess this is my least favorite, in large part because I find the historical sequences (in Russia and in Mary Tudor's court in England) go on way too long and have only tangential relationships to the themes and characters.

It seems to be primarily about self-delusion as a response to trauma.  Lymond spends the entire novel trying to be someone he isn't, in a place he doesn't belong, because he is too damaged to face reality. (His physical blindness as a manifestation of his psychological blindness; the sequences at John Dee's, surrounded by mirrors, forcing him to see himself.) 

Lymond convinces himself he can build a wall around his heart to block out all human connection, that he can be a “machine,” but despite his best efforts, he cares for Adam Blacklock and develops a true friendship with Diccon Chancellor. And of course, by far the most important moment is after the Hall of Revels, when Lymond's heart unfreezes and he suddenly sees one thing VERY clearly. (And then tries, desperately, to escape it.)

The only reason I can think of that the book lingers so long on Mary Tudor (so boring omg) is the parallel with Lymond, her false pregnancies as a manifestation of her desire to see the world as she wants it to be, and her failure to see reality as it is. Ivan of Russia also is a parallel: delusional, unable to trust, and dangerous. Their failures, and the failure of Lymond's Russia adventure and relationship with Guzel, tell us that you cannot hide from reality forever.

The book spends so long painting the backdrop of 16th century Russia that it makes me think that Dunnett got too caught up in her research and needed a stronger editor, although there is also a parallel with Lymond in the idea of Russia as a traumatized nation struggling to establish itself, and of course, Lymond subsuming his need to deal with his own issues into a goal of building a nation.

It's also about exploration, about the intellectual wonder of discovering that there is more to the world, as we learn about Diccon Chancellor and the Muscovy Company. It’s wonderful imagery, but I struggle to how this fits coherently into the overall theme of the novel, and am curious how others reconcile it.

I like the idea of this book more than the reality. If you’re going to do to your hero what Dunnett did to Lymond in “Pawn,” there has to be consequences. But hundreds of pages of our hero in such a frozen state is difficult to read.

That said, the Hall of Revels is one of the best things in the series, and I’ll always love this book for that.

Checkmate

Checkmate is about reconciliation of self and recovery from trauma, as Lymond is forced (kicking and screaming) to accept who is and what he's done, and to allow himself to love and be loved. Philippa is his guide, as she discovers the secrets of his birth, understands his childhood, hears his tales of all the terrible things he's done, and loves him anyway. As far as genre, this is definitely a romance.

There are villains in this book (Leonard Bailey, Margaret Lennox, Austin Grey) but they're all fairly weak; the true antagonist is Lymond himself. From the beginning, he could have everything he needs to be happy (he's married to the woman he loves, and she loves him back!); his true struggle is to stop running from it (by escaping to Russia or committing suicide) and to break through his own psychological barriers enough to allow himself to accept it.

The primary parallel is with Jerott and Marthe, who also have happiness almost in their grasp, but never manage to achieve it.

The heritage plot looms large and is (IMO) tedious; it's so melodramatic that it takes some mental gymnastics to get it to make thematic sense to me. It ultimately comes down to Lymond's identity crisis and childhood trauma. His “father” rejected and abused him, so he based his identity on his relationship to his mother, but his suspicion that he is a bastard means he lives in terror that he doesn’t really belong in his family and that, if his mother isn’t perfect, he is rotten. (I love him but, my god, it is juvenile. The only way I can reconcile it is that his fear about the circumstances of his birth is really just a stand-in for his self-hatred caused by his traumas.) He also continues to struggle with his envy that Richard was born into a position with power and influence that Lymond has spent the past six books struggling to obtain, and that Lymond’s terrible traumas (starting with the galleys) would not have happened if he had been the heir. The discovery that he actually IS the legitimate heir is what finally snaps him out of it, since his reaction is to want to protect Richard, and this also reconciles him to Sybilla since protecting Richard was her goal too.

There are some other parts of this book that I struggle to reconcile (Lymond's inability to live if he can't have sex with Philippa; the way the focus on heritage seems to undercut the nature vs nurture themes; that no one but Jerott is bothered by Marthe's death, which undercuts some of the most moving moments in "Pawn”; and I mostly just pretend the predestination and telepathy stuff didn’t happen). On the other hand, I do sort of love the way this book wholeheartedly embraces the idea that there is no human being on earth who will ever be as melodramatic as Francis Crawford.

In terms of the historical elements, in addition to providing the narrative grounding for the character stuff to play out, it sets up the idea that Scotland has troubles coming up (the religious wars, the betrayal of the de Guises) and that Lymond needs to go home, let go of France and Russia, and focus on Scotland where he belongs. I’m sure there is also some political nuance in the fact that our Scottish hero, after spending so much time and energy in France, ends up with an English wife.

The conclusion in the music room is perfect - it brings us back to the amnesiac Lymond who innocently played music with Christian Stewart, to Thady Boy whose songs made the cynical French court weep, and fills the “void” Lymond described to Jerott where there was no prospect of music. The aspects of himself are finally reconciled and he has a partner to share his life with.

I am curious what others see as the macro / thematic big picture meanings of these books. :)  And if anyone can find the key to make “Ringed Castle” and “Checkmate” make more sense to me...

[gascon-en-exil]

Why would CF be considered bad? The devs say that it's the route about fighting for what you believe in, even if others get in your way. You may have to take down good people, but in the end her route ends with no more gods', nothing dangerous lurking anymore, etc. It doesn't seem like a bad route other than maybe killing good people.

I take it you mean “morally bad” rather than “badly written,” although the two are not mutually exclusive. I’d say that the CF we have is bad in both senses of the terms, and that a better-written CF would been have even more obviously morally objectionable but would have succeeded on that basis - a proper villain route where you get to enjoy being a genocidal conqueror (possibly with a side of your self-insert getting to sleep with your preferred flavor of villainous archetype between Edelgard, Hubert, and Jeritza).

Now, as for why it is, despite the muddled presentation, a villain route:

There are still dangers lurking in Fòdlan, and they’re called the Agarthans. CF is the only route where Thales survives, and where you make the least progress in dismantling his organization. AM gets him and potentially Myson in addition to Cornelia, while VW and SS leave out Cornelia but take care of Thales and raid Shambhala with VW additionally getting rid of zombie Nemesis and the Elites along with a handful of low-ranking Agarthans. CF kicks the Agarthans back to a postgame war waged entirely in character endings, which is neither satisfying as a player nor likely to remove the threat entirely, based on CF’s parallels with Genealogy of the Holy War (see below).

Fòdlan only has one (mainline) goddess, and she’s still alive at the end of CF. I’m not really sure where people got the impression that Rhea or any of the Nabateans consider themselves gods, but they don’t. Killing Rhea in CF causes Sothis’s Crest stone to disappear for no apparent reason (note that Rhea also dies by default in SS if you don’t raise your support with her, and yet Byleth’s hair does not revert to its original color in that ending), but Sothis herself “lives” because you can still S rank her in CF. This is two logical inconsistencies stacked on one another, the first being the bit about the disappearing Crest stone and the second being that Byleth survived its disappearance even though based on what we know of their birth their heart would not beat without the stone…meaning they should have died in that moment. When it comes to moral arguments however, Fire Emblem does not as a whole posit that the world would be any better or less prone to conflict without its gods. The “gods” of Fates and Echoes are really dragons undergoing mental deterioration in their old age, something Rhea does not show signs of except maybe in SS, and that only because the game realizes it still needs a final boss. In Radiant Dawn meanwhile, the game that evidently inspired Edelgard’s speech in the CF ending cutscene, Ike himself acknowledges the value of gods, and Ashera is not truly killed but is allowed to combine with Yune and become a complete entity again.

“Killing good people” is kind of a big deal. CF has the highest named character body count of any route, and although it lets you spare some of the people on its hit list you have to go out of your way to allow Claude, Seteth, and Flayn to live. You can never spare Dimitri, with the best you can do for him saving him from a humiliating execution at Edelgard’s hands and Dedue from becoming a Demonic Beast at the same time and letting them die together. CF Dimitri also doesn’t undergo the same trauma he experiences during the timeskip of the other routes, leaving him comparatively lucid and composed and thereby making all the route’s attempts to paint him as this violent madman who needs to be put down as little more than propaganda intended to rationalize conquering Faerghus and killing its king. Everything about CF positions it as the route of a conqueror; you invade two sovereign countries, take out their leaders, trample them underfoot (literally represented by the ending tapestry), and absorb them into a continental Empire. The bit about returning Fòdlan to the control of humans - incidentally also the goal of the Agarthans - means in this case dragon genocide, allowing you to participate in an event similar to the Scouring of Elibe’s backstory while also, like the Elibe games, forcing you to consider the ethical ramifications of such an act by giving you multiple examples of dragons who aren’t crazed monsters who need to be killed to ensure humanity’s survival.

The argument from Arvis. I went into it here, but the gist is that Edelgard’s similarities to FE’s original Flame Emperor are too significant to be ignored and notably do not make for a flattering comparison. Arvis also fights for his beliefs, a desire to unify Jugdral and create a better world with himself as emperor. In the process he allies himself with an assortment of unscrupulous backstabbing nobles as well as a shadowy cult that opposes a revered divine being and in the process commits multiple acts of murder up to and including most of the playable cast of the FE4′s first generation. He is no less an antagonist or a villain because he has arguably sympathetic ideals, and it’s only in the second generation when, broken and impotent (on account of the machinations of the aforementioned cult who only grew stronger under his reign - makes you wonder about CF’s postgame war, doesn’t it?) and with a new crop of playable characters coming for his head, he somewhat redeems himself by secretly delivering the divine sword Tyrfing to Seliph - tacitly acknowledging the inevitability of his impending death and that he was wrong in murdering Tyrfing’s previous wielder, Seliph’s father Sigurd, to advance his ambitions. Edelgard frustrates a lot of longtime fans of the series precisely because she never has any moment remotely similar to this, where her beliefs and actions are ever questioned in any meaningful way that forces her to confront what she’s doing. That’s to be expected when Arvis at the same point in his story was riding high off his triumph and couldn’t yet see how it would all unravel, but the constant echo chamber of Edelgard and her yes-men Hubert and Byleth is considerably more grating because it’s always in the player’s face. This brings me to…

CF isn’t about fighting for what you believe in, unless what you believe in is just Edelgard. The developers could make the argument that that’s the driving force behind Edelgard’s actions on any route, but choosing CF is never framed that way for the player via Byleth. It’s a spur-of-the-moment, purely emotional decision that asks you simply whether you should kill Edelgard for invading the Holy Tomb with an army and attempting to steal the Crest stones therein (which are, as a reminder, the remains of Rhea’s slaughtered kin - she’s got a pretty good reason to be as angry as she is). You’re not asked to reckon with the morality of Edelgard’s actions in that moment, and the game does its best to encourage you to forget about everything else she did as the Flame Emperor by simply never bringing up any of it ever again. This is why there are still fans arguing that Edelgard didn’t intend to have Dimitri and Claude assassinated in the Prologue, or that she wasn’t complicit in Flayn’s kidnapping, the experiments on the Remire villagers and students, and Jeralt’s death. The game refuses to let you judge her actions for what they are, even in some dialogue options in non-CF routes where you’re forced to pick one of two options sympathetic to Edelgard. Edelgard herself expresses surprise if you side with her, but there’s no explanation given for Byleth’s choice other than that they believe in her. Fates’s Conquest route has repeated moments where Corrin regrets siding with the family who raised them despite the presence of a more rational alternative (or two), as if they’re only there because they were railroaded into it by the player; Three Houses has the opposite problem, where it’s more prepared to question your decision if you take the less emotionally-driven option and side against Edelgard. To put it bluntly, the only reason from a storytelling/characterization perspective to pick CF is because you like Edelgard - possibly as an object for self-insert romance since the route itself leans hard into that interpretation even if you don’t S rank her.

[josy72]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire 🔥

Intervista del 14 /02/ 2020

The Black List Interview: Noémie Merlant & Céline Sciamma on PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Kate Hagen

My favorite movie-going experience in 2019 may have been seeing Céline Sciamma’s exquisite PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE at the 105-year old Prytania Theatre in New Orleans as a part of the New Orleans Film Festival. Being in an ancient theater only added to my immersion in the film’s sumptuous, sensual world, created by Sciamma and her incredible lead actresses, Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. I spoke to Merlant and Sciamma about how they built a welcoming atmosphere on set, the power of the female gaze in narrative, secrets in cinema, and much more.

Noémie Merlant

What was your experience like reading this script for the first time? What resonated with you about the portrayal of Marianne?

It was a huge experience reading this script, because what I felt is that it represented something we’ve missed — these images, representations, and stories that we’ve been missing so much of. I realized that while I was reading that because we’re in a society and culture that is so inside the male gaze that we don’t even notice that this is the male gaze, this is one gaze — while I was reading it I realized that. And then, everything was so detailed — everything was in the script so the script was alive. There was all the breathing, the looks, the movements, the desire that was crawling…it was slow, and it was taking the time to build this love story of a woman and it was all about details taking the time, building excitement, expectations and desire slowly with new images, like the sex scene.

And so I realized the power of this love story. Marianne touched me really deeply because she’s a really modern character. She’s a curious voyeur, she’s a painter, she doesn’t want to get married. She is modern in that way, and that represents all these women that we’ve forgotten and erased from society and history. These painters — hundreds of women from that period were just erased. Through this love story with Heloise (Adèle Haenel) she finds her style of portraiture, because of their collaboration. She feels so grateful to be a painter that she’s stuck in the rules and the ideas and the way of “do a portrait that’s very good” and she’s stuck in this vision.Heloise wakes her up: “This is not me, this is not you, this is not us. This is not a woman, this portrait is not representing us.” And at that point, my mind changed. This script, for me, was what Heloise was for Marianne.

Throughout the film, we’re breaking out of that idea of the male gaze too — challenging rules by the old masters to create something entirely different. What was the most challenging part of creating this character for you? What was your favorite part about playing her?

There was not one scene that was particularly harder than another. What was hard was to keep something, a feeling, present from the beginning to the end of shooting the movie — there was a lot of restriction because of the period and the costumes and the dialogue and the light and the focus, it’s candle-lit. Every movement was written. I was finding a way to make it alive, and include me and my vision as an artist, too. I knew that I couldn’t move much while I was sitting, that I had to say the lines and do a smile or a gaze…But it was really trying to find a new way to look at Heloise each time, to find a new way to breathe. As the story grows and the desire grows too: Having a smile more open, more large, having movement more free, dresses less tight, and everyone smiling more.

I think the film does a great job of exploring the necessity of the collaboration among women that happens around art, but I also really loved that the film is about female kinship on all levels. Whether that’s making a meal together, sleeping together spending time together. What was the atmosphere like on set as you guys were creating that little bubble of the three of you in the house spending time together?

On set, the way that Celiné works is to create an environment of respect and kindness. But it’s about having fun too— we’re of course being serious because we’re working, but at the same time, we’re having fun. For this movie, we were all together in a house, we called it “Champs Mer.” Like the movie, we were all together in this house, the girls were together, and we were always together in creating and discussing what we did. It was really a parallel of the movie and the experience of the movie.

What do you hope modern audiences take away from PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE, which is a very different take on a period film than we’ve ever seen before.

Despite the fact that it’s a period film, it’s modern because it shows things like the abortion scene that we’re not used to seeing. The sex scene is an entirely new image, a new representation of the lesbian story which has of course existed before, but has never been present enough. The female gaze and intimacy of women…that’s a story that hasn’t been told, with the woman as subject and not as object. This feeling of creating mirrors this new experience of love — the excitement of imagination and artist collaboration, and the desire that grows slowly in details and images.

Céline Sciamma

How did the initial idea for this film spark within you? What was your writing process like knowing you were going be directing the film as well?

Well, I wanted to write a love story, I wanted to dedicate a film to love and to desire. And to have these two emotions embodied very patiently — what the process of falling in love actually looks like, moving away from the conventional idea of love at first sight and romance.

The chemistry between Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel in this film stars with a smolder then becomes incendiary, as you mentioned. How did you work with the two of them in pre-production and on set to make their relationship be viscerally felt on screen?

This chemistry definitely burst in front of my eyes during the casting process. First, I met Noémie alone with my casting director — she made a strong impression. Then during callbacks, the second round was with Adèle, and when I saw the both of them in the frame I knew that this was right.There was this strong physical contrast that I was looking for, very cinematic, but there was a strong also sense of equality, since they’re the same age, same height, and both have very strong intensity. We stopped there! We didn’t rehearse at all, so that they would actually meet on the set and during pre-production. Sometimes I rehearse before shooting, it depends on the film — WATER LILIES we rehearsed a lot, GIRLHOOD we rehearsed a lot, TOMBOY not at all, and PORTRAIT not at all. Because it was about love and all the danger of the unknown, it felt right for all of us to actually also be in that position.

There’s a sort of pervasive sensuality in this film — whether its a smear of paint or crumb of bread, we’re immersed in the same sensual world that the three leads are in. How did you work with your various department heads to make the world of this film come alive?

By being really minimalist regarding set design. It’s a paradox — even though this film is period piece, this is a film where I had less innovation on the set design because we’d come to this castle in the Parisian periphery where we shot most of the film, and it was untouched for… 150 years? So, the color of the walls…we didn’t choose that. [laughs] We entered this room, and we decided that we were gonna leave it that way. And there was a vibe from the past that actually made me super confident — so whereas in my previous film [GIRLHOOD] there was a lot of set construction, even the teenager’s rooms, there was no fourth wall, so then we decided to put very few things in the frame, just wooden boxes and fabric that was very low-key: linen, cotton. This also extended to the costume design, but with fabrics that were silky. To anchor the film and the sociology of that particular moment in Brittany— period pieces are often mundane, you know. We built the bed, we built the table in the kitchen, we felt we were inventing very minimalist furniture.

There are so many elements in this film that reflect modernity and almost an otherworldliness that we don’t often see in period films, whether that’s the abortion scene or the ghostly visions, or the psychedelic sequence. At what point did you decide to bring in these contemporary trappings to a tradition period film?

They all came up along the way, like “Oh, I want Adèle to appear because it’s mostly about ideas. I want Adèle to appear as a ghost because it’s the present of a love story, but also a memory of a love story, the contagion of these two layers.” The idea behind this is the fact that the minute Noémie falls in love and she knows it, she’s already haunted by the last image that she will see of Adèle. And then, when you have this idea, you try to really be brave about it and be generous about it, not make it this little anecdote, but put it all over. That what happens with Orpheus and Eurydice for instance — I was looking for a scene, a sort of “Netflix and chill” scene between the three girls where they would be super involved in a climatic bit of fiction, and then talk about it, and do a whole show of suspense. And then I thought, it’s also a way to see the myth from a woman’s perspective, and from the perspective of Eurydice. Sometimes it’s just an image — like for instance, Adèle on fire is an image that came out of nowhere, but was immediately like “I want this.” Suddenly, it gives you the title, suddenly, you have to find, “Why would she be set on fire?” So it should be outside, it should be a great fire, and then it’s “Maybe it should be a bonfire!” It’s strange to believe in your intuition and connect things that are not supposed to be connected. You begin to build the plot around strong desire for certain images that have mystery, and suddenly, you bring enough in to not rely on the mystery, but to connect them and to build the narrative around them.

Your last four films have been about developing the female identity, however that may look. Do you feel like you’re making a films in similar thematic territory, or is each film its own thing?

Well, after the the sort of adolescence trilogy (WATER LILIES, TOMBOY, and GIRLHOOD) I really felt like I was departing with PORTRAIT because it’s a story about grown-ups, with professional actresses and a love story that is fully lived, whereas before there was always a love interest, but it was mostly desire as a way to discover yourself. With this one, even though they are discovering themselves, it’s about this iconic couple, this duo and how a love story involves immense patience.

I’m still thinking about the last ten minutes of this film — that art show sequence is so breathtaking, especially as it concludes with the book in Heloise’s hand. You were speaking earlier about finding images before finding the plot — did you already have the images in mind for that ending sequence at the start of the film?

The last scene I had in mind since the beginning, I basically did the film to land there. But I didn’t actually think about the fact that there would be three endings, because there are three endings of the film. For instance, from the book, the page 28 reference, that’s a totally different process — it’s really about looking at a lot of painting at the time and the art of portraiture. I liked the fact that there were little secrets involved, and I decided I had to hide a secret in the painting. I thought it would be in the painting that Marianne would do, but then maybe it could be in the painting that Marianne would see. I had a list of different types of secrets, it’s very codified — for instance, in painting at the time, especially for marriage portraits, there’s a cage and a bird inside, if the door is open, it means she’s not a virgin anymore, if it’s closed, she is. I was finding our own little secret code, and also relying on the audience’s pleasure and intelligence that I’m always trying to think the audience has, that the viewers are the most intelligent person. It’s also knowing that the pleasure of being a viewer in cinema is about being immersed in a film and speaking the language of the film, and as the film goes more and more and more, you speak the language of the film, and the page… it’s a fucking number, but suddenly it means something for you as much as it means something for the character. That’s the kind of thing I’m always looking for — I thought about it for months, finding just the right treasure.

[green-blooded]

So, I want to talk about Bread and Circuses. Or, I want to talk about Spock and McCoy in Bread and Circuses... plus the rest of the first half of the second season, because this episode isn’t actually good aside from the Spock and McCoy moments.

We start with this:

SPOCK: Fascinating. This atmosphere is remarkably similar to your twentieth century. Moderately industrialized pollution containing substantial amounts of carbon monoxide and partially consumed hydrocarbons. MCCOY: The word was smog. SPOCK: Yes, I believe that was the term. I had no idea you were that much of a historian, Doctor. MCCOY: I am not, Mister Spock. I was simply trying to stop you from giving us a whole lecture on the subject. Jim, is there anything at all we know about this planet?

(This post got long--nearly 4000 words???--so here’s a cut to save your dashboard!)

Which is kind of an odd argument for them? McCoy gets on Spock for a lot of things, but not usually for talking too much. In fact, it’s usually the reverse. In Trouble with Tribbles (the previous episode by production order), they have this exchange:

MCCOY: Spock, I don't know too much about these little tribbles yet, but there's one thing that I have discovered. SPOCK: What is that, Doctor? MCCOY: I like them better than I like you. SPOCK: Doctor? MCCOY: Yes? SPOCK: They do have one redeeming characteristic. MCCOY: What's that? SPOCK: They do not talk too much. If you'll excuse me, sir.

Far be it from me to accuse Star Trek of having continuity, but don’t these arguments seem related? In fact, both of these episodes have had particularly heated arguments between Spock and McCoy for no apparent reason in the plot. There are also a few heated exchanges in The Deadly Years (about Spock’s health, and then Kirk’s dementia).

Put a pin in this. Let’s return to Bread and Circuses.

MCCOY: Odd that these people should worship the sun. SPOCK: Why, Doctor? MCCOY: Because, my dear Mister Spock, it is illogical. Rome had no sun worshipers. Why should they parallel Rome in every way except one?

Let’s just ignore the fact that yes Rome did have sun worshipers and that there have been a hell of a lot more than one discrepancy, because if we talk about inaccuracies we’ll be here all day. The point is, they’re both postulating about this odd ‘parallel’ Earth, but McCoy’s interjection seems to annoy Spock for some reason... To the point that he brings it up again later, but in the meantime, they also have this exchange:

SPOCK: Even more fascinating. Slavery evolving into an institution with guaranteed medical payments, old-age pensions. MCCOY: Quite logical, I'd say, Mister Spock. Just as it's logical that twentieth-century Rome would use television to show its gladiator contests or name a new car the Jupiter Eight. SPOCK: Doctor, if I were able to show emotion, your new infatuation with that term would begin to annoy me. MCCOY: What term? Logic? Medical men are trained in logic, Mister Spock. SPOCK: Really, Doctor, I had no idea they were trained. Watching you, I assumed it was trial and error.

Hey guys, remember an episode called Amok Time (only 9 episodes earlier in production order instead of a whole season apart), where McCoy said this:

MCCOY: My orders were to give you a thorough physical. In case you hadn't noticed, I have to answer to the same commanding officer that you do. Come on, Spock. Yield to the logic of the situation.

And it, y'know, worked to convince Spock to listen to him that time. BUT let's also look at I, Mudd where they have one of those curiously heated arguments again:

MCCOY: All right. There's something wrong about a man who never smiles, whose conversation never varies from the routine of the job, and who won't talk about his background. SPOCK: I see. MCCOY: Spock, I mean that it's odd for a non-Vulcan. The ears make all the difference. SPOCK: I find your argument strewn with gaping defects in logic. MCCOY: Maybe, but you can't evaluate a man by logic alone. Besides, he has avoided two appointments that I've made for his physical exam without reason. SPOCK: That's not at all surprising, Doctor. He's probably terrified of your beads and rattles.

(Notice, McCoy realizes he’s offended Spock and immediately tries to fix it, but Spock remains annoyed with him.)

A couple of things here. First, like in Trouble with Tribbles (the next episode), Spock seems actually offended by McCoy. This was almost entirely absent from the first season, and not particularly prevalent in the first few episodes of the second season. There was plenty of banter and teasing before, but Spock seems more sensitive to it in this middle section of the second season. Then, again, McCoy brings up logic. McCoy argues that logic can't be the only means to evaluate a person. Then, Spock insults McCoy's medical skills. AGAIN, this is a newer development that makes it into almost every episode in the middle of the second season, including I, Mudd, Trouble with Tribbles, and Bread and Circuses. All back-to-back episodes in production order! 

So we have some things repeating in their arguments over multiple episodes. McCoy's interpretation of logic, Spock being offended by McCoy's teasing/insults, and Spock insulting McCoy's skill as a doctor. PUT A PIN IN IT. Returning to Bread and Circuses again. 

MERIK: There's been no war here for over four hundred years, Jim. Could, let's say, your land of that same era make that same boast? I think you can see why they don't want to have their stability contaminated by dangerous ideas of other ways and other places. SPOCK: Interesting, and given a conservative empire, quite understandable. MCCOY: Are you out of your head? SPOCK: I said I understood it, Doctor. I find the checks and balances of this civilization quite illuminating. MCCOY: Next he'll be telling us he prefers it over Earth history. SPOCK: They do seem to have escaped the carnage of your first three world wars, Doctor. MCCOY: They have slavery, gladiatorial games, despotism. SPOCK: Situations quite familiar to the six million who died in your first world war, the eleven million who died in your second, the thirty seven million who died in your third. Shall I go on?

I think this is one of the better exchanges that speak to the themes of this episode, which they should’ve elaborated on but instead went the Jesus Saves route... Whatever. The important thing is that this is another example of their philosophical differences AND very similar to an argument they had in The Apple a few episodes ago.

SPOCK: In my view, a splendid example of reciprocity. MCCOY: It would take a computerized Vulcan mind such as yours to make that kind of a statement. SPOCK: Doctor, you insist on applying human standards to non-human cultures. I remind you that humans are only a tiny minority in this galaxy. MCCOY: There are certain absolutes, Mister Spock, and one of them is the right of humanoids to a free and unchained environment, the right to have conditions which permit growth. SPOCK: Another is their right to choose a system which seems to work for them. MCCOY: Jim, you're not just going to stand by and be blinded to what's going on here. These are humanoids, intelligent. They need to advance and grow. Don't you understand what my readings indicate? There's been no progress here in at least ten thousand years. This isn't life. It's stagnation. SPOCK: Doctor, these people are healthy and they are happy. What ever you choose to call it, this system works, despite your emotional reaction to it. MCCOY: It might work for you, Mister Spock, but it doesn't work for me. Humanoids living so they can service a hunk of tin.

It’s super interesting to me that Spock is using relativistic contract theory to judge these cultures while McCoy is just a straight up anarchist, let’s be real. He hates hierarchical structures and authority figures, and believes that they go against human nature. Which you might say is weird for a Starfleet officer, but he also yells at people above his rank constantly and gets really upset in episodes like The Doomsday Machine when Spock refuses to ignore rank. He’s in Starfleet because he wants to help people, but I can’t imagine him staying if his captain weren’t someone he totally trusts. I mean, you could forget that McCoy has any rank at all with the way he carries himself. Meanwhile, Spock is Very, Very strict in his understanding of hierarchy and rank.

This is one of those deep divisions between the two of them. Put a pin in it. Let’s move on to the gladiator fight.

SPOCK: Need any help, Doctor? MCCOY: Whatever gave you that idea? ACHILLES: Fight, you pointed-ear freak! MCCOY: You tell him, buster. Of all the completely ridiculous, illogical questions I ever heard in my life!

The fact that McCoy is not a fighter is really brought out in this episode, and I have a lot to say about it in another post. The main thing here is McCoy bringing up logic again and agreeing with an argument that is, in my opinon, a step beyond something that McCoy would actually say. He makes fun of the ears, but freak is a little far, I think.

And all of this leads to the Big Scene in the prison, which I will break into parts. Part #1:

MCCOY: Angry, Mister Spock, or frustrated, perhaps? SPOCK: Such emotions are foreign to me, Doctor. I'm merely testing the strength of the door. MCCOY: For the fifteenth time...

McCoy is lightly teasing Spock for being more emotional than he lets on, while Spock denies having any emotion at all... this is a pretty typical part of the exchange. What really makes it work is Deforest Kelly's delivery. He says these lines with a degree of affection. He's not yelling, and he's not even using the tone he usually has when teasing Spock. In this moment, you can see that McCoy points out Spock's incongruous moments of emotion because he likes that about him. While it sometimes comes across as a 'gotcha' moment (like at the end of The Galileo Seven), the sheer number of times McCoy mentions Spock's emotions shows more than just a passing amount of interest in them.

Then, McCoy continues:

MCCOY: Spock, I know we've had our disagreements. Maybe they're jokes. I don't know. As Jim says, we're not often sure ourselves sometimes, but what I'm trying to say is-- SPOCK: Doctor, I am seeking a means of escape. Will you please be brief? MCCOY: Well, what I'm trying to say is you saved my life in the arena. SPOCK: Yes, that's quite true. MCCOY: I'm trying to thank you, you pointed-eared hobgoblin!

Before I talk about this, I need to take a moment. I think that McCoy often gets painted at someone with his heart on his sleeve, who feels a lot and expresses all of his feelings. And it's just not true! He's very expressive when it comes to some things, sure. He can yell all day about how much he cares about people in general, but when it comes to expressing how much he cares about an individual? It's pretty damn rare. Look at his words AND his body language in Balance of Terror when he has a vulnerable moment with Kirk.

KIRK: I look around that Bridge, and I see the men waiting for me to make the next move. And Bones, what if I'm wrong? MCCOY: Captain, I-- KIRK: No, I don't really expect an answer. MCCOY: But I've got one. Something I seldom say to a customer, Jim. In this galaxy, there's a mathematical probability of three million Earth-type planets. And in all of the universe, three million million galaxies like this. And in all of that, and perhaps more, only one of each of us. Don't destroy the one named Kirk.

McCoy himself says here that he doesn't usually say this kind of thing, and if you look at the series, that bears out. He does NOT find it easy to tell people he cares about them, and when he does, he does it in this abstract way, barely able to make any eye contact. This is AGAIN why the conflict between Spock and McCoy is NOT logic vs. emotion. McCoy is not fully emotional, and he doesn't find emotion easy to express. I would argue that he has almost as much difficulty expressing his feelings for another person as Spock does. I would also argue that McCoy does not LIKE this about himself, and that is part of why it frustrates him so much when he sees it in Spock. 

 So, when he tries to be vulnerable and thank Spock, first of all, he doesn't just say "Hey, thanks for saving me in the arena." He starts with a lot of waffle, and when Spock interrupts him and insists that he keep it short (again, callback to the arguments in this episode and Trouble with Tribbles about which one of them talks too much), McCoy tries to simply thank him, but gets upset when Spock is still impassive and reverts to his usual way of talking to Spock. One remark from Spock, and McCoy loses his ability to be vulnerable and resorts to a sharp tone and insults. Leading into part three of this conversation: 

SPOCK: Oh, yes. You humans have that emotional need to express gratitude. You're welcome, I believe, is the correct response. However, Doctor, you must remember I am entirely motivated by logic. The loss of our ship's surgeon, whatever I think of his skill, would mean a reduction in the efficiency of the Enterprise and therefore-- MCCOY: Do you know why you're not afraid to die, Spock? You're more afraid of living. Each day you stay alive is just one more day you might slip and let your human half peek out. That's it, isn't it? Insecurity. Why, you wouldn't know what to do with a genuine, warm, decent feeling. SPOCK: Really, Doctor? MCCOY: I know. I'm worried about Jim, too.

The last bit is powerful, and I think generally something people remember more than the rest of the conversation, but I really need to focus on that first exchange first, because there is a LOT going on, and I've been pinning things through this whole overly long post for this moment.

PIN 1: Their arguments have become more heated in the middle portion of season 2.

This is a very clear example of that. McCoy doesn't drop the issue after the insult and Spock insists he wouldn't have saved McCoy if he weren't logically useful to the ship. Ouch.

PIN 2: The repetition in these heated arguments. McCoy's view of logic, Spock getting offended, Spock insulting McCoy's skill as a doctor.

What Spock says here brings up all three of those issues. Spock has been frustrated by McCoy bringing up logic throughout this episode, and now he's shooting back at him with a logical view of why he saved McCoy's life--while still maintaining that he doesn't think McCoy is a good doctor. McCoy's been using logic against him, and now Spock is returning the favor. Spock understands Human interaction better than this! Something as simple as a "thank you" and "your welcome" is everyday for him, not only on the Enterprise but with one of the people who RAISED him. He is exaggerating his own non-Human qualities throughout this conversation to a truly absurd extent, because McCoy has repeatedly offended him for several episodes. However, McCoy seems unaware that his usual teasing has actually gotten under Spock's skin, because he has been surprised, again and again (especially in I, Mudd where he chases after Spock to apologize to him) when Spock actually acts hurt by him.

And then there's McCoy's response.

It's not "damn your Vulcan logic" or ending the conversation. He grabs Spock and forces him to look at him--which Spock has been avoiding throughout the conversation--and tells Spock that he's so afraid to be human that he doesn't fear death, because that would put an end to the fear that his Human side would show.

IF WE ARE ONLY LOOKING AT THIS ONE EPISODE, this doesn't make sense. This didn't build from the conversations in Bread and Circuses, which is why I keep bringing up several different episodes and why I'm insisting on production order.

PIN 3: These two have deep, deep philosophical differences that they are constantly discussing.

As I said in another post, Spock and McCoy have a different standard for morality which causes the two of them to butt heads a whole lot. In the first season, it was pretty much the same argument over and over again (should we risk a larger number of people to save a smaller number of people), but it's been evolving in this season to the discussion of freedom and cultural differences and more.

If these two men did not have any respect for one another, I don't think these arguments would continue. Yes, they work together, but they don't actually need to interact as much as they do, and they are VERY often seeing walking into a scene on the bridge together or walking down a corridor together, etc. It's not just missions. They choose to spend time together.

So, when Spock says he only saved McCoy because he's useful as the ship's surgeon, McCoy doesn't respond to THAT, because 1) he knows he's a good doctor and never seems fazed by Spock insulting him about that and 2) he knows Spock is not being honest with him here.

This is one of the reasons why I think McCoy gets frustrated with Spock because they have a similar difficulty showing how much they care about other people, and they have an especially difficult time showing affection toward one another.

While the ending of Operation: Annihilate! where McCoy tells Kirk not to tell Spock he called him the best first officer in the fleet is memorable, it's hardly the most vulnerable moment for McCoy in that episode. No, it's when he thinks he's blinded Spock because he didn't consider using the non-visible parts of the light spectrum to kill the parasitic aliens. McCoy can't even say for himself the deep guilt he's feeling about harming Spock--he never says that he's blaming himself. It's Kirk who tells him he's not at fault, and McCoy can't even bring himself to respond. If you look at those last lines about Spock being the best first officer in the fleet in context of how devastated McCoy was when he thought he'd blinded Spock permanently, it definitely hits different, right?

And then there are the times in the first season when Spock believes McCoy is badly hurt or dead. In Miri, Shore Leave, and City on the Edge of Forever, Spock has a strong reaction to seeing McCoy injured, but he does not verbalize this obvious emotional reaction at any time.

They don't know how to say that they care about each other, because that's something they both struggle with in general. They also both struggle with being emotionally vulnerable and allowing other people to know them on a deeper level. Spock uses his Vulcan otherness to keep people at a distance, while McCoy uses a the charm offensive of his "bedside manner" as his defense system.

So, McCoy says this thing about Spock not being afraid to die because he's so terrified of his Human side coming out IN DIRECT RESPONSE to Spock being unable to even look at him when McCoy is not only trying to thank him for saving his life but ALSO putting it into the context of how difficult their friendship is and how rarely they show any straight-forward affection for each other. And the most telling thing is, McCoy didn't seem to know for sure that he was right until he sees Spock’s reaction. Look at his expression when Spock turns away from him.

And look at his intensity when he says that Spock wouldn't know what to do with a "genuine warm, decent feeling."

When Spock turns to him and says "Really, Doctor?"

THAT is when McCoy is the one who breaks eye contact and changes the subject to someone that they both feel affection for, but who isn't in the room to hear it. I understand that there are other readings of this moment, and that's fine, but... I don't think this has to do with Kirk specifically. For one thing, it never comes up in the episode when they are reunited with Kirk, and for another Kirk is in the least danger out of the three of them. Instead, this moment is about how both of them struggle so deeply with showing affection when someone's right there in front of them.

By the end of the episode, we can see the two of them spending time together again, apparently by choice, and seeming very comfortable with each other... and the next episode is Journey to Babel, in which they are very friendly again with The Immunity Syndrome only four episodes after that, and the episodes in between showing them with much less contentious banter again.

Dare I say it, but I think this is a legitimate arc! And it's a shame that most people see the episodes in broadcast order, because it makes their relationship much more incoherent and makes this little escalation of frustration with each other more random and may make it seem like they genuinely dislike each other.

Anyway... this was. Not supposed to be such a long post, but I have a lot of Thoughts and Feelings about these two, and I can't help myself sometimes.

[kiss-my-freckle]

Rewatch 8x6: The Wellstone Agency

This episode was gorgeous. 

Alina should've had breakfast with Red. They could've knocked that crossword out together. She seriously needs to be TeamRed. I like that they opened with the crossword puzzle. Three letter word for "It has benefits." JOB. Yeah.... a benefit to have Red cleaning your mess. Red offers her an omelet. Another egg reference. I'm waiting for the egg Krilov scrambled. She asked if he's giving her a case or a history lesson. Seriously... they've opened up her character for so much possibility with her background. She could totally play his girlfriend or his daughter. She doesn't have a Tom Keen in her life that could taint the education he provides. She lies about Cooper being in a meeting. She actually went to Red herself to tell him she thinks what he's doing with Liz is wrong. A bad case of "Girl has no idea. Girl speaks anyway." She doen't know Red is Liz's mother. Best she not think like everyone else... as if she knows what's best for Liz. Red has to pursue Liz because she's the one making it worse.

"Agent Park, next time you feel the urge to unburden yourself, you can rest assured... I've heard it all before. It's a luxury to stand on the moral high ground and critique those of us on the low ground. A lot of people do exactly that. Until they need my help." We saw how this turned out. Alina said she'll never ask for his help, but she did. Ressler said the same in S5. I wonder if they'll be pushing Ressler's in at some point. He didn't ask for Red's help in S5, Red simply offered it. Alina's storyline with this friend of hers feels similar to Ressler's with his brother. Borrowed money from the wrong people. Ressler turned to Liz, Alina turned to Red.  

Red knows very well who works for him. He knew Aram spoke sign language, and he knew Aram would be the one they sent undercover because he can speak more languages than they do. An agency that breaks the language barrier between criminals. Hilarious for Cooper to say sign language definitely doesn't count when it's exactly what Red needed. He needs to speak to the owner who's deaf, best put them on the blacklist. An FBI mole storyline for The Wellstone Agency to parallel the KGB mole that stole the Sikorsky Archive in 1990. The Sound of Silence. The deaf owner of Wellstone. Aram speaking sign language. It all reminds me of Lady Ambrosia and Newton Purcell... silence and screaming.

Marylouise Burke was a great choice for Glen's mother. I love how Dembe lets Red vent about Glen. It's hilarious. He just sits there and listens. They throw in a parallel for Liz, despite its context.

Red: “Huey is, in a word, the reason." Two words. "Which is why his failure to attend my memorial would be seen as a snub so great that I'm afraid it may send Mother into a heartbroken tailspin which she may never recover from."

Basically showing Red was referring to Agnes. 

Red: She might. Some day. But before then - I fear she may do something that she can never recover from.

They also throw Glen in parallel with Kate despite its context.

Dembe: It's his dying wish. Red: No, it's one of his dying wishes.

Red fulfills both dying wishes for Glen.

Nik: I can’t help you. Tom: Whoever is in here, this is the dying wish of a good woman, alright?

Red: I understand the temptation acting on a fine woman’s dying wish. But your quest has cost Nik Korpal his life, and persisting will put whomever you involve in harm’s way.

Liz: She killed herself so I could get the duffel bag. It was her dying wish. Feel free to honor it.

Kate's dying wish has yet to be fulfilled. Liz doesn't know Red's truth because she still doesn't know his identity. Liz is still trying to honor Tom's dying wish.

Red: You won’t miss a day more with her than is absolutely necessary. You have my word. Liz: And you have mine. That I’m gonna honor Tom’s dying wish. For me to know your truth. Before this is over, I’m going to find out what it is.

That's why this story isn't over.

Aram's conversation with Red's contact reminds me of S5. The pill reminds me of Earl King and The Djinn. The blacklister is a great storyline as they cross into the Russian language for Red's KGB background and the thumb drive. Cooper's scene with Alina about her friend's death feels a lot like his scene with Ressler over Audrey’s prior to him going after Mako Tanida. 

Another parallel despite its context. This one, to Red being Ilya.

Red: He told his mother he inspired you to record "Workin' for a Livin'" after a rousing game of beer pong in the back of a bar in Teaneck. Huey: And she believed him?

Ilya: What I can’t figure out is Dom. Why would he tell her all that? Red: In an attempt to help her move on. Ilya: And she believed him?

Aram is getting better out in the field... at thinking on his feet. No Turning Back by Claire Guerreso... great soundtrack for the scene. So dramatic. One of my favorite scenes of Aram... ever. Such a great performance.

"Evidently, Reddington was wearing a wire. One we'll tell the Justice Department that you were wearing." I think Red chose to wear the wire because he's not gonna let The Freelancer's release happen for another blacklister. He's done playing around. It basically removed Red as a CI, leaving the FBI to act as their accusers instead. It not only protects the FBI, it protects Red in the criminal world. His name will no longer come up should others want to face their accuser in court. He gives them a name, allows them to infiltrate, gets the proof they need, and makes it look like they got to these blacklisters on their own.

Cooper is playing a dangerous game with the thumb drive. Making sure Aram keeps it hidden from Red, yet claims to be working with Red at the same time. 

Cooper: As if I'm not already asking you to do too much, I need you to try and open this drive. Aram: Okay. Is this about a case? Cooper: I'm not sure. Which is why I need you to keep this between us. Nobody knows. Especially Reddington.

Aram: Mr. Reddington told you the name? Why? Cooper: Because we're on the same team. And because he knows we have to work together if we have any hope of bringing Keen home safely.

Skipping out on his halfsies, taking control as if Red works for him. 

Aram: Mr. Cooper, um - about, uh - this drive you wanted me to decrypt. Uh, I can't. I reached out to a friend at the NSA. Cooper: Do you trust him? Aram: I do. Cooper: Good. Because if he tells anyone about this, his life could be in jeopardy. Keep me posted. 

I believe this thumb drive will play out like the suitcase of bones, and it will most certainly put Liz’s life in jeopardy just as the suitcase put her in a coma. And I think it will be the NSA friend that makes a move rather than Cooper. I don't think he's gonna be anything like Jennifer's friend checking through Koehler's files. After Cooper said to keep it between them, Aram chose to reach out to his NSA friend. Big mistake. Totally different from the Fulcrum, which Aram handed directly back to Liz. He should've given the drive back to Cooper, but he didn't. That'll be his mistake.

Red: Her husband wasn't who he appeared to be. She was in jeopardy. I had to intervene. Cassandra: And... is she still in jeopardy? Red: I hope not.

I think the opposite of 3a could run through 8a. Ressler putting Liz in danger, Aram saving her life. Aram putting Liz in danger, Ressler saving her life. 

"He gets her hopes up, and I have to be the one to dash them. Glen at his finest." A great dialogue with double meaning. There’s also a parallel for Tom Keen and Ressler, despite its context. 

Huey: And I got to know 'cause I can't get my head around it. Why in the world is Raymond Reddington running errands for a DMV desk clerk?

Ressler: I'm just I'm trying to run my head around all this. So Reddington's not Reddington. 

Red: There is one thing that I can't seem to... wrap my head around. Tom. After all the lies, all the deception and humiliation, how you can just forgive and forget.

Rederina is my favorite parallel with Glen because it’s the part of the episode that I find most beautiful.

Death and rebirth.

Paula: Glenn... transitioned. Red: I don't know what that means.

Ilya: It is a mystery, right? So, we give them the answer. Katarina: What does that mean?

It’s complicated.

Huey: I - I didn't ask you what he did. I asked what made him special. Red: That's a bit more complicated. Huey: Ah, I'm sure it is. I'm sure it's incredibly complicated.

Red: It’s complicated.

Red: Oh, I think you’re very special. 

Weird and strange.

Huey: And weird and strange. But - I like weird and strange. You said I could ask for any favor... that's the favor. Red: You want me to tell you about how weird and strange Glen was.

Waters: Raymond Reddington. Wow. What a name. What a man. And people think I’m weird.

Liz: You have a picture of my mother in your weird, little apartment. Why?

Denner: You must have known how strange all of this was. Liz: Of course I did.

Huey: That'd be good. Uh, but the truth is, you can't do a bigger favor than revealing somebody's [heart and soul.] Red: No, I don't suppose you can. [Insert Dembe.]

I view Red's eulogy for Glen just as much a eulogy for Katarina Rostova - the person Red used to be. That's why I felt the Statue of Liberty was perfect. The glorious feet of two grande dames, Queen Rostova and Crowned Liberty. One of the saddest differences between Glen and Katarina - they can talk about Glen whenever - wherever they choose. Even saying the name Katarina Rostova has consequences, so her memory fades. Like Katarina, Glen was unafraid. I feel that's the biggest reason Red worries about his memories of Glen fading. Because Red's memories of his former self have, which gives reason for Glen's fearlessness to be the thing he'll miss the most.

Earl Fagen: Living a lie was worse than prison. The day I confessed was the day I went to jail. That was also the day I was set free.

I love the bag Red put Glen’s ashes in. It says "thank you" ... as if thanking Glen at the same time he's spreading his ashes. As they pan to the photo of Glen with his mother, I consider the mother-son parallel, still predicting Scottie and Halcyon being the next big bad because of Tom’s death. 

Scotcheroo... a great nickname for Red, I think.