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postmodernmulticoloredcloak · 4 years ago

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The shifting narrative of God’s interventism and how it reflects on the narrative on John

This post will ignore the issue authorial intent entirely because I can, but it’s also about authorial intent in a way, but I also don’t like to talk about things as happening “accidentally” because a) a serialized story like Supernatural, especially one that got renewed for much longer than anyone could possibly expect or hope in their wildest ambitions, structurally relies on serendipity, because that’s how stories work when they’re work in progress, b) a television show is an extremely multi-authored text and the chance that something happens out of the intent of any of the multiple layers of creators is kind of... statistically negligible. So, yeah, that’s my stance on the topic. Anyway.

The shifting narrative about God is simultaneously something that hangs on fortunate storytelling clicks on an essentially programmed narrative. At first, we don’t know where the fuck God is. Cas starts looking for him with little success. Raphael says he’s dead, Cas doesn’t believe it. Dean relates to his struggle because he knows the feeling of not knowing where the fuck your father is and going looking for him with little success, not knowing if he’s even alive. Then the theory that gets assumed as the truth is that God has left. He fucked off who knows where, who knows why, leaving his creation to struggle alone. Also essentially how Dean had felt after John had died; in that case there was guilt for his demon deal and everything, but the most cruel weight on Dean’s shoulder was that John left him alone to struggle with his devastatingly horrific instructions he doesn’t understand. The angels are also left with horrific instructions they don’t understand. No wonder Cas does his own ‘demon deal’ in season 6, as he desperately tries to do what he assumes his father wants from him, but he doesn’t actually know what that is.

“God has left” is maddening, and everyone is angry about it, but it has its own dignity. God has left us without clear instructions, we are confused and in pain and evil runs amock but at least, we suppose, the evil of it is our own doing. We are alone and we do our best, our best is simply not enough. We wish he gave us guidance, but he won’t. He wants us to figure it out ourselves, possibly. We don’t actually know what he wants. But maybe that’s the point. It’s possible he doesn’t even know what’s happening, he just has left the building entirely.

But then Chuck reveals himself. We find out that he never actually left. He was there. “I like front row seats. You know, I figured I’d hide out in plain sight”. He simply chooses not to intervene. He chooses not to answer. He chooses to be hands-off. He presents himself as a laissez-faire parent, because, he says, it’s better for his children to have the responsibility they need to grow up. He’s absent, but in a different way than we thought! It’s not that he doesn’t know what’s happening or isn’t interested in knowing what’s happening. He’s here, he knows what’s happening, he just stays there and watches as you stumble and struggle and scream. It’s worse, and it pains Dean so much he isn’t even afraid to yell at God. You know we’re suffering and you just don’t give us any support, any comfort.

You’re frustrated. I get it. Believe me, I was hands-on, real hands-on, for, wow, ages. I was so sure if I kept stepping in, teaching, punishing, that these beautiful creatures that I created... would grow up. But it only stayed the same. And I saw that I needed to step away and let my baby find its way. Being overinvolved is no longer parenting. It’s enabling.

But it didn’t get better.

Well, I’ve been mulling it over. And from where I sit, I think it has.

Well, from where I sit, it feels like you left us and you’re trying to justify it.

I know you had a complicated upbringing, Dean, but don’t confuse me with your dad.

At that point of the show, the writing team almost certainly didn’t have the s14-15 twist in mind. So this was probably intended to be Chuck’s truth. Later it gets twisted (retconned?) into a lie, but about that later.

Here, Chuck is really good at manipulating the conversation. Dean has a perfectly valid point, because there IS a middle ground between being overinvolved and not being involved at all. There is a middle ground between enabling your children and abandoning them completely. But Chuck hits Dean where it hurts, plays the emotional card, basically tells him that he’s too emotional to understand, too emotional to think rationally about it, because he mixes his feelings about his father to the issue and thus cannot see it clearly. He basically tells him he’s too close to it to get it. You don’t understand parenting, Dean, because you’re too blinded by your emotions about your own little life and cannot see the big picture.

It doesn’t really matter here if he’s telling the truth or lying, it already says a lot about Chuck that he’s emotionally manipulating Dean, silencing him by hitting the painful spot.

But the thing is, 11.20 immediately presents Chuck as a liar. He makes Metatron read his autobiography and the very first line is a lie (“In the beginning, there was me. Boom – detail. And what a grabber. I mean, I’m hooked, and I was there.” “I’m hooked too, and yet... details. You weren’t alone in the beginning. Your sister was with you.”) and the stuff he talks about his experience as Chuck is not exactly truthful about anything (“That, you know, makes you seem like a really grounded, likable person.” “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” “You are neither grounded nor a person!”). Metatron calls him out (“Okay. There are two types of memoir. One is honest... the other, not so much. Truth and fairy tale. Now, do you want to write Life by Keith Richards? Or do you want to write Wouldn’t It Be Nice by Brian Wilson?”). Chuck SAYS he chooses truth and gives Metatron a different manuscript, supposedly containing the truth, to which Metatron reacts positively. Metatron believes it, and we believe it with him.

Oh! Oh, this! This is what I was talking about. Chapter Ten “Why I Never Answer Prayers, and You Should Be Glad I Don’t”, and Chapter Eleven “The Truth About Divine Intervention and Why I Avoid It At All Costs”.

Nature? Divine. Human nature – toxic.

They do like blowing stuff up.

Yeah. And the worst part – they do it in my name. And then they come crying to me, asking me to forgive, to fix things. Never taking any responsibility.

What about your responsibility?

I took responsibility... by leaving. At a certain point, training wheels got to come off. No one likes a helicopter parent.

This is sort of what he later says to Dean, except that to Dean he talks about “beautiful creatures” “my baby”, talks about helping, none of the harsh tone he’s using here. When Metatron accuses him of hiding from Amara, he retorts “I am not hiding. I am just done watching my experiments’ failures”. What a different language, uh? Then Metatron asks him why he abandoned them, and Chuck answers “Because you disappointed me. You all disappointed me”. Then, he admits he lied about “learning” to play the guitar and so on, because he just gave himself the ability, and then appears to Dean and Sam, after Metatron’s passionate speech about humanity.

So, no matter the authorial intent at the time - the truthiness of Chuck’s words was already ambiguous. He kept lying and being called out, or silencing the conversation with some good ol’ gaslighting.

The season 14 finale introduces the big twist: it was, indeed, all a lie. The whole of it. Chuck didn’t abandon shit. It was all him, minutely controlling the narrative of the universe, putting the characters through all the pain and struggles for his own amusement.

The “absent father” narrative was a lie.

What does this tell us about John? Nothing, according to the authorial intent that shines through Dabb’s Lebanon. But we don’t give a crap about Dabb’s authorial intent about John! He’s just one dude and plenty of other authors have painted a different picture. So I’m going to read the narrative the way I want, because I can, and the narrative allows me to. It’s all there.

I’m suggesting that the fact that Chuck lied when he talked about being a hands-off/absentee father parallels how Dean and Sam prefer to think of their father as an “absent father” when that’s not exactly a reflection of the truth.

You left us. Alone. ‘Cause Dad was just a shell. [...] And I-I had to be more than just a brother. I had to be a father and I had to be a mother, to keep him safe.

Setting aside how “I had to be a father and I had to be a mother” sort of retcons and cleans up the Winchester family picture painted by ealier seasons, the fact that John didn’t really count as a functional father figure and Dean and Sam were essentually alone is not incorrect or anything. It is true that John would leave them to their own devices a lot, thus the long stays in motels, the hunger, the food-stealing, and all. But John wasn’t always absent, at all. He trained them as soldiers, he disciplined them, he was around enough for them to be intimately familiar with what happened when he drank. He drove them around.

It’s almost like it’s preferable to Dean and Sam to spin their own “absent father” narrative, putting the accent on the time they spent alone, painting their childhood as a time they had to grow up on their own, rather than acknowledge they grew up under the thumb of a controlling, looming figure they would regularly live in fear of, even when he was not physically present.

The “absent father” narrative is what Dean and Sam need to use to avoid confronting the reality of the father figure whose moods and whims they had to dance around. “I know things got dicey... you know, with Dad... the way he was. And I just... I didn’t always look out for you the way that I should have. I mean, I had my own stuff, you know. In order to keep the peace, probably looked like I took his side quite a bit.”

John shaped their lives. He shaped their identities. Even in the episodes where he abandons Dean or both children somewhere, he’s portrayed as the figure who drives the car. He symbolically drives the car, you know? John shaped Dean and Sam’s relationship with each other, both on a surface level (the conflicts) and on a deeper level (the parental dynamic).

Heck. The entire first season of the show plays on John’s disappearance as the “elephant in the room”. John is there by not being there, you know? And after he dies, his death - his absence - is again the elephant in the room for Dean, the weight on his psyche that he shatters under.

It is not wrong that Dean and Sam had to spend long periods of time without John. But John structured their lives in quite minute detail. Where they needed to be, what they needed to do, what they must not do, everything had to follow John’s instructions. A drill sergeant, the narrative called him, ordering how his sons needed to live their lives. That’s no absence, except on a level where Chuck not showing himself and pretending he’s not there can be considered absent. That’s a presence, not necessarily always physical, but semiotical and psychological.

John is an absent father as much as Chuck is a hands-off god. He even writes himself into the story around the time Cas has the “season 1” phase (let’s go look for dad/let’s go look for god), which is when John actually was alive and appeared. Then he was no longer physically there, but he was still shaping his characters’ lives, just like he’d always done.

The “absent father” narrative on John is that - a narrative. Spun by the characters themselves because it’s easier and actually kinder on John. Or, better, it allows them not to be crushed by the psychological implications of having to accept that their father was such a looming, minutely formative figure in their lives. They know, but they can wave the “absent father” idea around to avoid thinking about it.

“I had to be a father and I had to be a mother” is something easier to tell yourself. I was the one who did it all. But he wasn’t, and that’s the problem. The fact that John was their father - Dean’s and Sam’s - is the problem. But ironically, blaming himself for every failure is a better option for Dean than fully acknowledging John’s abuse. As long as he blames himself, he has control over it. The moment he acknowledges the extent of John’s influence, he loses control over the entire narrative of his own identity and the family identity, the family dynamics. That’s scarier, just like realizing that God manipulated everything is much scarier than the alternative. “God abandoned us” was indeed a better option, and “John left us alone” was a better option. But neither was true, and the characters faced the implications of the cosmic level, but never got to face the implication of the familial level, because the narrative always danced around it and then Dabb’s apologist version “won”.

But what’s been put in the show is still there. The narrative of John’s abuse is still there. Nothing can take it out of the story.

#my spn thoughts #spn meta #dean and john #dean and sam and john #dean and chuck #dean and god #spn 11x20 #spn 11x21 #spn 14x20 #spn 12x22 #et alii #spn #long post

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cultofbeatles · 5 years ago

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parts of pattie boyd’s book wonderful tonight that involved george that stuck out to me:

pattie didn't have any of the beatles records at first and only bought please please me since she was going to be in their film

“on first impressions, john seemed more cynical and brash than the others, ringo the most endearing, paul was cute, and george, with velvet brown eyes and dark chestnut hair, was the best looking man i’d ever seen.”

during a lunch break pattie and george sat next to each other and were both very shy

george asked pattie “will you marry me?” and after she laughed he said, “well, if you won't marry me, will you have dinner with me tonight?” and she turned him down.

she deadass invited george to hang out with her and her boyfriend at the time.

pattie and george are both pisces.

once reshoots for the film were happening george asked pattie about her boyfriend, she said she had dumped him, and george once again asked her for dinner. she accepted this time.

brian epstein joined them for their first date.

they sat side by side and were too scared to even hold the others hand.

george got along great with pattie’s family.

pattie liked cynthia lennon but found her difficult to make friends with.

“she wasn't like my friends, who enjoyed a giggle and some fun: she was rather serious, and often, i thought, behaved more like john’s mother than wife.”

there was a rumor that john and pattie were having an affair and pattie worried cynthia believed it. it wasn't true.

maureen cox (ringo’s girlfriend) was another beatles girl that pattie had a hard time being friends with. but said that she was “jolly and friendly, more relaxed than cynthia.”

pattie got along best with jane asher but saw her the least.

“i felt there was definitely a north-south divide among the wives and girlfriends. and i had the definite impressions that the girls from the north (maureen and cynthia) felt they has a prior clam to the boys.” okay shade, we see you.

(talking about going on holiday with john, cynthia, and george) “it was a good way to split the group. john and paul were the closest in some ways and immensely creative together, but they clashed if they were in each other’s pockets for too long.”

george asked pattie to cut his hair while on holiday and one of the cleaners found his hair and kept it.

(talking about george) “he was so beautiful and so funny.”

once a “weird looking man” tried to force his way into pattie and george’s house. pattie thought he was either a salesman or a jehovahs witness. it turns out it was paul in disguise.

george said the only place he got peace was in the bathroom of his hotel suite.

pattie got a lot of letters saying that if she didn't leave george there would be a curse put on her.

pattie’s cleaner was a male ballet dancer and “a terrific duster.”

pattie would count the days till george came back. once he jumped into the bed early in the morning to wake her up.

those two would deadass not lock their doors and were surprised that clothes were going missing...what is with older generations and not locking their doors i -

george would be in the studio from 11 am - 11 pm. sometimes midnight.

george’s mom loved when john would visit and would always ask him for an “upper.”

when john lennon is your drug dealer.

pattie wasn't a good cook but was optimistic.

“i loved listening to him (play guitar), loved the sound of the guitar in the house. sometimes i would start to talk and he'd be so deep in thought about the lyrics or the melody he was writing that he wouldn't answer. we’d be the same room but he wasn't really with me: he was in his head.”

pattie developed a kidney disorder.

(talking about the beatles dynamic) “in many aspects they were still children. they had few real friends apart from each other, and when they were asked questions they could answer as one - they were so much on each other’s wavelength. if one went to a gallery opening, they all went; if one bought a new car or new house, they all did. if one seemed in danger of taking himself too seriously, the others knocked it out of him.”

one evening george stopped the car and said, “let’s get married. i'll speak to brian.” they went to brian’s house, george went inside, and when he came back in the car he said, “brian says it’s okay. will you marry me? we can get married in january.”

briannnnnnn, is it my turn to get married yet pleaseeeee

pattie invited her absent father to their wedding but he did not come.

at the train station everyone left cynthia behind as she was carrying the suitcases and john was carrying nothing. peter brown had to go back and get her.

pattie’s quote from the lsd in the coffee moment is hilarious to me. “you've just had lsd. it was in the coffee.” john lennon: “how dare you fucking do this to us?”

pattie and george didn't go to brian’s funeral in liverpool but george sent one single sunflower.

pattie stopped modeling because george didnt like it. and she felt like she lost a part of herself.

maureen was afraid of flies.

during the India trip, mia farrow told john that maharishi was inappropriate with her and john wanted everyone leave after that.

after India george and pattie’s relationship changed.

(talking about george) “some days he would be all right, but on others he seemed withdrawn and depressed. this was new: he had never been depressed before, but there was nothing i could do. it wasn't about me, but i found that my moods started to mirror his...so bad indeed, that at times i felt almost suicidal. i don't think i was ever in any real danger of killing myself, but i got as far as working out how i would do it: i would put on a diaphanous ossie clark dress and jump off beachy head.”

george became more obvious about his cheating. it hurt pattie.

george was gaslighting her.

cilla black was staying at george and pattie’s house and was uncomfortably close to george so pattie left. six days latter george called to tell her the girl was gone and she could come home.

“..but my ego was too fragile and i couldn't see it as anything other than betrayal. i felt unloved and miserable.”

“jane asher came home unexpectedly from new york and found another woman in the house, an american girl - and did what i should probably have done with george...”

george would start to talk about his feelings about paul or john but would stop bc he never wanted to admit that he felt left out.

“we had once been so close, so honest and open with each other. now a distance had developed between us..”

(about yoko contributing to the beatles break up) “the four had never allowed anyone into the recording studios with them, but yoko not only sat by john throughout every session, he consulted her about the music they were making, which upset paul.”

during the let it be sessions there was a time with george and paul got in a fist fight and george left.

the same day john told George he was leaving the beatles, george’s mom told him she was ill and in critical condition.

i love that she vibe checked george. “he was bringing home bad vibes.”

george continued cheating and they continued arguing.

“my diary is full of entries about my unhappiness and the disintegration of our relationship.”

john came to visit george and pattie’s new mansion and said that it was so dark he didn't know how they could live in it, and george recommended that he took of his sunglasses.

eric clapton being a piece of shit and saying “if you won't be with me pattie i will become addicted to heroin.”

pattie said the only thing she had left was cooking and george took that away.

the couple was suppose to go on holiday together but george cancelled last minute bc he didn't want to go with her. he ended up going to spain.

“when i challenged him, he denied it and tried once again to make me feel as though i was paranoid.”

i'm not even...the whole fucking story of the george and maureen affair PISSES ME OFF more than i can describe. maybe i’ll make a whole other post but omfg i'm fuming. fuck them bothhhh. they deserve no rights.

george harrison, mere days before their wedding anniversary: “let’s get a divorce this year.” what an amazing new years resolution jerk.

ringo offered pattie a job.

when george told ringo about the affair pattie was so mad she dyed her hair red.

george loved pattie’s little brother and was his role model but he wouldn't come to the man’s wedding even though he was invited.

the night pattie told george she was leaving him george came to bed in sadness and said, “don't go.”

“i'm going.”

george invited pattie to dhani’s eighteenth birthday party bc she “had to be there. she was family.”

george had become more of an older brother to her now.

pattie had learned about john’s death from eric clapton and immediately went to the beatles office in london to hang out with everyone there.

(after finding out about george’s death) “i couldn't bare the thought of a world without george. when i left him for eric, he had said that if things didn't work out, ever, i could always come to him and he would look after me. it was such a selfless, loving, generous thing to say and it had always been tucked away at the back of my mind. now that sense of security had gone.”

the last time they saw each other was when george called saying he wanted to visit her new cottage and see her.

pattie didn't go to his funeral nor did she go to the memorial concert that took place a year later. but she spent that day high on the mountains thinking of george. “i was happy to mourn him alone and in my own way.”

she would have dreams of george after his death. “oh george, it’s so wonderful that you are alive after all, this is so fabulous; i knew they had all made a mistake.”

and then she’d wake up.

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silenthillmutual · 5 years ago

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what Classic Film(TM) you should watch based on who your fave Danganronpa 1/2 character is

disclaimer - obviously as a film dude i’m gonna say you should watch all of these. but maybe watch the one correlating to your fave first!

Makoto: 12 Angry Men (1957, dir. Sidney Lumet) - strong themes of justice, it’s about a jury trying to determine a man’s guilt. it’s basically what Makoto does for the entire game. you’ll also like it if you’re a fan of Phoenix Wright.

Sayaka: A Star is Born (1954, dir. George Cukor) - it’s all about a girl’s rise to fame and how her relationships change with that. there’s three versions of this film, most recently with Lady Gaga.

Mukuro: Vertigo (1958, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - themes of murder and hiding your identity, losing yourself to a cause.

Leon: Animal House (1978, dir. John Landis) - a comedy about a fraternity. it’s THE college frat movie and i think Leon would enjoy it a lot.

Chihiro: WarGames (1983, dir. John Badham) - two teenagers might have accidentally started a world war during the cold war by trying to play computer games...fitting for the series, no?

Mondo: On the Waterfront (1954, dir. Elia Kazan) - struggling to do the right thing and being sort of frustrated about your circumstances as they pertain to class and missed opportunities. being dragged into bad situations by family. also Marlon Brando is a bicon and very hot in this movie.

Taka: Rebel Without a Cause (1955, dir. Nicholas Ray) - a lot of turbulent shit happens to three teenagers over the course of 24 hours. one of - if not the first canonically gay teenager on film. i think we all know by now that James Dean was mlm, but so were the director and Sal Mineo. big bi polyam vibes; if you like chishimondo as a ship you’ll probably like this film too.

Hifumi: Akira (1988, dir. Katsuhiro Otomo) - had a hard time figuring out what to put for Hifumi, but overall i think if nothing else he’d appreciate how impressive the animation was (and honestly, still is) along with the fact that the mangaka was also the director. so although there’s a lot cut out (the manga had not finished before the film came out), it’s still roughly the same plot as the manga.

Celes: Dracula (1931, dir. Tod Browning) - probably the most iconic iteration of Bram Stoker’s novel, this is the one staring Bela Lugosi. not terribly true to the novel from what i remember, but it’s peak aesthetic and exactly the kind of thing she’d enjoy.

Sakura: Rashomon (1950, dir. Akira Kurosawa) - finally getting onto films i haven’t actually seen but that are on my list. sakura’s another person i had a hard time deciding on a film for, but the “several characters telling different accounts of the same plot” reminded me a bit of her case in the game.

Hina: West Side Story (1961, dir. Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins) - admittedly i had a different film in mind for her to start with, but Maria’s final monologue fits with Hina’s motivations during Sakura’s case.

Toko: Gone With the Wind (1939, dir. Victor Fleming) - another one i haven’t actually watched yet, but it’s based on a famous novel, described as “epic historical romance.” i think that vibes with Toko pretty well.

Byakuya: Citizen Kane (1941, dir. Orson Welles) - if you’re really interested in film, you’re gonna be made to watch this sooner or later. famous for being the “best film ever made”, it’s more or less about newspaper moguls like William Randolph Hearst - who is also the main reason why this film is famous at all. it’s not exactly a flattering depiction of those kinds of people and boy, did that ever piss Hearst off. if he hadn’t made such a big deal trying to keep Citizen Kane from seeing the light of day, something much better might have made it to the top spot.

Hiro: The Music Man (1962, dir. Morton DaCosta) - based on the Broadway musical of the same name, a “travelling salesman” (read: con artist) starts to work his latest con on a gullible small town, but actually starts liking the people in it.

Kyoko: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - not to be confused with the other Hitchcock film from the 30s also titled The Man Who Knew Too Much. this is the one with James Stewart and Doris Day. it’s a highly suspenseful film that gave us the song “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)”.

Junko: Gaslight (1944, dir. George Cukor) - ever heard the term “gaslighting”? this is where it comes from! based on a play in which a woman’s husband psychologically tortures her into believing she is going insane.

Monokuma: Duck Soup (1933, dir. Leo McCarey) - all Marx Brothers films are as utterly silly (and sometimes as incomprehensible) as one of Monokuma’s MonoTheatres. i watched about half of Duck Soup and had to stop because it was finals week and i was supposed to be doing something other than losing my shit.

Hajime: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946, dir. Frank Capra) - you probably already know this film. if you’re Christian you know it as That Film Your Parents Watch Every Year On Dec 24th Around Midnight. if you have seasonal depression, don’t watch it then; warning for suicidal ideation. it’s supposed to be uplifting. your mileage may vary on that one.

Impostor: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962, dir. Robert Mulligan) - i don’t have a good reason to pair these two up other than gut feeling. as far as film adaptations of books go, it’s pretty damn good, and Atticus Finch is the original DILF. themes of childhood innocence and racism.

Teruteru: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961, dir. Blake Edwards) - apparently much different from the novella on which it is based, but i think Teruteru would really dig the aesthetic and romantic vibes of the film. Holly Golightly is probably the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl.

Mahiru: Rear Window (1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - like It’s a Wonderful Life, chances are good you know this film - or at least, you’ve seen its plot recycled a hell of a lot. a professional photographer recovering from a broken leg thinks he witnesses a murder take place and is determined to get to the truth.

Peko: Seven Samurai (1954, dir. Akira Kurosawa) - another one on my to-watch list, but it’s oft referenced and remade in film. a village hires seven ronin to protect them from bandits who will return to steal their crops.

Hiyoko: East of Eden (1955, dir. Elia Kazan) - i’ll be honest here, i didn’t really know what to put for Hiyoko because i’m not sure i understand much about her, but i seem to remember her family playing a pretty big role in her being Like That and for “shitty family” the first two things to come to mind were this and Giant. and unless you like 3-hour long movies about the state of Texas, i’m not about to recommend you watch Giant.

Ibuki: A Night at the Opera (1935, dir. Sam Wood) - another Marx Bros film in which they help a girl both to be with her lover and to achieve her dreams of stardom as an opera singer. the kind of silly, manic thing i think Ibuki would like.

Mikan: The Shining (1980, dir. Stanley Kubrick) - i hate hate hate putting this on here, but since this is for film and not books i couldn’t exactly state to read the book. the book is about the cycle of abuse. the movie is more about... a trapped man going crazy in a spooky hotel.

Nekomaru: It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963, dir. Stanley Kramer) - comedy about five groups of people racing to get to a large sum of money buried by a recently escaped convict they stopped to help out after his car crash. it’s a comedy, and just kinda seemed like Nekomaru’s thing.

Gundham: The Seventh Seal (1957, dir. Ingmar Bergman) - i watched this in like 10th grade and all i really remember is a man playing chess with Death and if that doesn’t say Gundham Tanaka to you, i don’t know what does.

Nagito: North by Northwest (1959, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - i don’t really have a reason for this one either but it’s a spy film and i think komaeda could get behind that kind of intrigue.

Chiaki: Metropolis (1927, dir. Fritz Lang) - not to be confused with the anime, this is a 1927 German expressionist film that seems to be about socialism and unionization. it’s also famous for its (purposeful) use of the Male Gaze and being one of the first sci-fi films ever made. be warned: it is a silent film.

Sonia: Strangers on a Train (1951, dir. Alfred Hitchcock) - another one of those films you’ll get told to watch if you’re interested in the queer history of film, i was gonna put something else but honestly the character of Barbara kinda reminded me of Sonia. a famous tennis player meets a man on a train who attempts to plan a double-murder with him.

Akane: My Fair Lady (1964, dir. George Cukor) - i was trying so hard not to double up on the post about musicals, but Akane really does have Eliza Doolittle vibes. they’re both feral and nothing would be able to really domesticate them. for whatever it’s worth, this film and the musical on which it is based is itself based on the play Pygmalion, in which your typical rich cishet white dude bets he can turn any street urchin into a real lady because he’s just that good. you might know the plot better as Pretty Woman.

Kazuichi: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, dir. Elia Kazan) - i don’t really have a good excuse for this one, either; i haven’t even watched it yet (although i have read the play on which it is based). all i’m gonna say is i want Souda to have his gay awakening via Marlon Brando, as we all do.

Fuyuhiko: Casablanca (1942, dir. Michael Curtiz) - despite his love and adoration for Ingrid Bergman, Humphrey Bogart decides fighting Nazis is more important. i think Fuyuhiko would like the aesthetic, and the film. don’t let him know but i think he’d probably cry watching it.

Usami: To Sir, With Love (1967, dir. James Clavell) - issues of race and class intersecting in a film about a teacher working with inner city students. i was going to put Singin’ in the Rain here, because it’s what Usami would want people to watch...but i think this better fits the effect she wants to have as a being.

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gracie-p8-officialblog · 5 years ago

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Defending Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny

Ah oxymorons, one of my favourite literary devices... If you don't know what an oxymoron is, let me enlighten you: it's a phrase that contradicts itself (kinda like verbal irony), like "jumbo shrimp", "chilled hot chocolate," "clearly confused" or "defending Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny".

Because, you know, Raoul doesn't need much defending. Seriously. If there's going to be any defending going on here, Raoul's the one who does the defending for most of the play (up until Final Lair where the roles are reversed and Christine is now the one who does the defending but more on that later.) Are we clear on that? Good.

And it has come to my attention that Raoul has got a lot of flak from phans for various reasons. And in this post, I'm going to refute the stupidest Raoul bashing arguments.

Also, we're not counting Love Never Dies because I think it's just an alternate universe and that it ruined Raoul's character for the sake of that fanfiction.

It is a truth universally acknowledged (or at least in the wee Raoul Defense Squad Circle) that Raoul is one of the greatest and most underrated boyfriends to ever exist in musical theatre. There seem to be two kinds of people in this world: those who appreciate Phantom of the Opera, and those who don't know what they're missing. The ones who appreciate Raoul as the hero, prince charming and cinnamon roll he is, and then there's the other camp. The ones who villainize Raoul and think he is nothing but a stupid, wimpy, abusive fop who crushed the Phantom (aka. Erik's) dreams and never truly loved Christine. They seem to be laboured under the mistaken delusion that Raoul is a cowardly pretty boy who is pretty much Gaston 2.0. (Technically, there's a third group: those who know nothing about Phantom of the Opera (POTO) but we can only hope that they will come out from under their rocks as soon as possible)

In case if you couldn't tell, I'm Team Raoul. And the bashing he recieves is unfair tbh. This is where I will appreciate and explain why I love him.

First of all, I'd like to combat the theory that he is boring. Ladies, puh-leeze. He's much more relatable than you admit and that we all have a little bit of Raoul in us. Failure to see things staring us in the face, saying or doing the wrong thing at the wrong time, having a 'see it to believe it' attitude when we have little-to-no evidence on something... yeah, don't pretend you don't see a trend. Raoul is relatable whether we want him to be or not.

And just because Raoul has boy-band hair and dresses well, that doesn't make someone a fop. He's a navy man and a nobleman so he is expected to look nice. But Erik is the one who takes it to the extreme. I mean, c'mon, a fedora?

I also noticed that when he asked Christine out for dinner after reuniting with her ruffled the feathers of many phans. What right has Raoul to fall in love with Christine? What does he need from her? He only fell in love with her for her voice and beauty! And he only noticed her when she was in Hannibal! Can't he just go get someone else?

News flash people. It's been YEARS since Raoul last saw Christine. And they were kids when they last saw each other, along with the fact that he travelled in order to train as a navy man! So it's understandable on why he got excited to see Christine again after so long. Plus, his love for her is more than just her voice and beauty. Sure, they have mutual memories and he likes the way she sings, and he likes how beautiful she is. But there's nothing wrong with thinking of how beautiful a girl is AND how beautiful is her voice (within reason).

I admit, Raoul and Christine's relationship at first struck me as being sappy and overdone. You must know that I was only nine or ten when I first discovered POTO, and so excuses must be made. By the time I listened to it again at fourteen, I was completely won over. Raoul fell in love with her because she was a nice, beautiful person (both on the inside and out) and they knew each other since they were kids! His love is genuine AND stable for Christine. He represents everything she needs- stability, protection, a guiding hand and affirmed affection. She represents everything he needs, in turn, someone to show affection to and the woman he has loved since childhood. Plus, he was brave enough to ask Christine to marry him despite their class differences, risking that his family might disown him for being married to someone inferior to his rank. It just shows how strong his love for her is.

And now, let's get this point clear, I believe the claim that he was gaslighting Christine is bogus. He's been raised as someone who doesn't believe in the supernatural and 'phantom' literally means 'ghost'. But here’s the kicker. He doesn’t leave. Like, no matter how much he doubts her love of what she says, he still loves her and stays with her. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with him thinking Christine is a little delusional with all the Phantom stuff. None of it added up to him, and it all seemed illogical. Its natural for any human being to not believe those kinds of things, so stop using that to make him look bad. Plus, if he said something like "Oh Christine, you're SO stupid!" and laughed at her about it, phans could definitely have a valid reason to hate him. But he doesn't do that! Instead, he tries to find the Phantom's voice calling out to her and when he saw nothing, he began to comfort her and was like" There, there, shh... Don't worry... Everything's gonna be alright. I'll help you make all the bad things go away." And due to dramatic irony, he has little-to-no evidence to prove the Phantom's existence compared to the audience who saw it all!

If you still aren't convinced, then listen very closely to what I'm about to say: Here's some 'Raoul's I highly recommend to look up before y'all hate on him.

I highly recommend John Cudia, Michael Shawn Lewis, Jordan Donica and Patrick Wilson who play VERY princely and adorable Raouls. Trust me, their Raouls are IMPOSSIBLE to hate!

One last point before I wrap this up: The only reason Raoul asked her to agree to be the lead is because he realized that if Christine does that, the Phantom would be there. And he knows it's their chance to get rid of this elusive Opera Ghost. And the only reason Christine doesn't want to is because she is afraid of what the Phantom will do. Now this annoys many Raoul-haters and call me a broken cassette tape but... Even though I agree it was a teensy bit callous of him to persuade Christine into performing her stalker's opera, Raoul hoped it would catch the Phantom, and he was willing to do it to get protect Christine from the Phantom in the future. Was his plan risky? Probably. Did he honestly think Christine would be in danger? No! He was going to get all the cops to come and protect her. How was he supposed to know the Phantom had other plans? Plus, running away is a big no-no for Raoul. Because as shown in "Why Have You Brought Me Here/Raoul, I've Been There" and "Wandering Child", whenever and wherever they run to, the Phantom ALWAYS finds them! Therefore, to his naive, young mind, he believed that doing Don Juan Triumphant would stop the Phantom from doing more harm to Christine and the opera house. So stop using this to vilify him!

I should like to also take this time, while I still have your attention (you are paying attention, right? Right? Hey! Wake up!) to point out some other important events that showed Raoul's character and bravery; namely, him fighting his way through the French sewer system (aka. The yuckiest parts of France) to save Christine, he didn't keep his hand to the level of his eyes to comfort a terrified Christine, he dodged some fireballs thrown at him in the graveyard just so he could protect Christine AND last but not least, he nearly died for Christine in order to save her from Stockholm syndrome/an abusive relationship!

In short: Raoul de Chagny is a knight in shining armour who loves Christine more than his own life. He stands by her, fights for her, comforts her AND was willing to sacrifice everything for her! And how the audience writes him off as an one-dimensional bad guy who does not love Christine, I will never know why. Are you convinced yet? If not... *hands list of what are the differences between a healthy and unhealty relationship* Yours, I believe.

#raoul de chagny #Raoul defense squad #phantom of the opera #POTO #just some tea #Defending Raoul de Chagny #no raoul bashing or you get a timeout #spilling tea

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podrickpaynest · 5 years ago

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Speaking from the context of the film do you think that Bernie and/or Ray ever tried to warn Elton that John was a user and if so, do you think that Elton dismissed them or perhaps put it down to jealousy? And when do you think that he realised that he was being played? I've a asked this before, but earlier on, did Elton tell Stanley about Sheila cheating? Or did Stanley find out himself? it was ambiguous. Also why did Elton bite John in the DGBMH scene? This seemed aggressive

OMG, hi Anon, thanks for stopping by!I hope you don’t mind (and yes, we are all singing this line in our heads now) if I put my answer in two parts, because what I’m going to have to say about John Reid is going to be long enough. That’s the basic rule around here: you don’t get me started on John Reid unless you are prepared for it to be long and incoherent.

But let me start on a lighter note: did you mean this bite?

Frankly I don’t find it aggressive at all. The word I would use is voracious. I mean, he literally does this moments earlier:

And later he bites on Reid’s lip, and then he tries to destroy his thumb, all the time looking at him like this:

(You can see this boy had one brain cell to spare, and this brain cell is gone)

He gets this charming man looking for him, telling him all the right words, leading him to the dark, private space?? Elton is not being aggressive, he’s being excited, greedy for love and lust; and you can see how he feels it physically in every inch of his body, and he’s going to burst if he’s forced to hold it back for just one more second. He wants to devour this man whole.

And now let’s visit the darker parts of your message. Just a disclaimer: as you mentioned, it’s going to be my opinion based only on the context of the film. Please don’t go after me, I don’t even pretend I have any right or tools to dissect lives of real people pictured there.

More under the cut:

As for Ray, I’m not sure! He doesn’t seem to me like the parent!friend of the group, he keeps his distance all in all. He doesn’t really react when John Reid disturbs the session in that DGBMH scene - he just confirms with Elton they are done for the day, rolls his eyes, leaves. Elton is the star now and does whatever he likes, Ray no longer needs to deal with his crisises (BTW the way Charlie acted in this “now get out there and play, you little twat” scene makes me think it was the first and only time in his life when he had to do something like this; he’s obviously like !!!what!!!now!!!Dick!!!is!!!going!!!to!!!murder!!!us!!!all!!!)

Bernie, now… The thing with Bernie is that he never tries to pressure Elton against his will too hard (well, he kind of does, but those scenes were deteled so I’m not taking them under consideration here). He is always present, yes, he offers his help, but basically the only comment on Reid we get from him is You don’t have to put up with this. It’s not even DON’T put up with this any longer, Reg - plus at this point the harm is already done. I’m not sure if he would be very vocal about it; maybe put some remark here and there if he noticed just how toxic this relationship starts to look like, but my guess is Elton would ignore that completely. Especially I think Bernie might’ve actually miss some red flags himself at the beginning?? At least up very closely to the point when it was too late. He could’ve thought that Elton knows what he’s doing - besides surely it must have felt nice to see Elton in love and successful. This is the part of Bernie we don’t really get to see in the movie, but one can assume he was also quite sucked into rock'n'roll star lifestyle and had issues of his own, and it probably was easy to believe Elton is doing all well.

The first person that comes to my mind who could actually try to warn Elton is actually Dick - and I’m pretty sure Elton would’ve dismissed that, blaming it on jealousy. I know Dick’s portrayal in the movie is not the most popular among people whith people who knew him in real life, but for me it feels like he actually cares for Elton and genuinely likes him. Yes, he’s demanding and sometimes brusque, he definitely doesn’t beat around the bush, but at the same time he never just dismisses Elton and Bernie, he really wants them to come back with the best stuff they can possibly produce, and yes, he always knew the boys could make it. In the post-Honky Cat scene he furiously throws a slur into Reid’s face but really keeps it civilized towards Elton.

So yeah, I think he could’ve noticed and tried to warn Elton, but naturally that would look a lot like a jealousy.

And when do you think that he realised that he was being played?

Please hold my poor heart as I type this: I don’t think he fully knew until the therapy.

Even when things turn sour between them and they start to fight; when John treats him like a sulking child and commands him around, and obviously steers him whichever way he wants, Elton has no idea.

John Reid has a master degree in gaslighting from the scene fucking one (I WILL REPEAT IT FOREVER: FROM THE SCENE FUCKING ONE) and by this point they had it established between them that he’s right. Reid gives Elton the exact same treatment his parents did, it must feel only natural to Elton he’s the party responsible for fucking things up; he feels like there’s no choice but to obey and go with whatever John says.

Let us please remember that even they just had a fight, when Elton ends up conversation with his mother?? he still seeks for comfort from John; when he stands there completely defeated and dazed in front of the only person who can save him at this very moment and make it all remotely okay. But then John Reid doesn’t.

And even after everything else happens ELTON STAYS for the longest time in this relationship, even though it’s now obvious this is not going well. And I’m going to bet he stays because he believes he doesn’t deserve anything better because he is, in fact, everything John tells him he is. And the way Reid uses and abuses him surely feels a lot like care sometimes: after all he is putting up with him, managing his life, when no one else did.

And I think the guilt went away only when Elton finally reached out for help and went to therapy.

I hope it made any sense at all and thank you so much for letting me vent.

#anon #ask #reply #rocketman #elton john #john reid #bernie taupin #ray williams #dick james #i'm going to answer the second part of your ask shortly!#thanks

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squidproquoclarice · 6 years ago

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Something I think about a lot is how Dutch managed to turn Arthur into this perfect and dependable killer/enforcer.. Like, I know Dutch basically saved him and therefore could use Arthur's gratefulness as a manipulative tool, but still - how did he manage to shape a teenage Arthur so precisely into what he needed him to be? (I never really questioned this before, but I've been working with/teaching teenagers lately and it's so fucking hard to get them to do basically ANYTHING??)

(part 2) I guess what I’m trying to get at is: Teenagers are so different from children, and I think teaching/influencing them is a LOT harder? (let alone shaping them into violent right-hand thugs, looking at you Dutch) Or maybe teenage Arthur was already like that so Dutch just had to use that rather than change or manipulate him? I just find it so hard to believe this whole thing worked out as well as it did…(I meant to ask for your thoughts on this but instead I just rambled, I’m so sorry)~~~~~~~~~~No need to apologize, Nonny. If I remember the phrase right, Arthur is described in his official bio at the point Dutch and Hosea took him in as “the life of a criminal is all he’s ever known”, “living on the streets ever since losing his parents at an early age”, and “particularly angry and damaged”/”seemingly a lost cause who responded well to some structure and mentoring”.We also know he barely remembers his mother, he watched his father die, his dad was a criminal, and he remembers his father with absolutely no fondness. We see he’s overly anxious to please Dutch, to the point all Dutch has to do is issue a casual challenge implying Arthur’s doubting him or not measuring up, and Arthur scrambles frantically to fix that. So what I’m thinking we have here is a kid who grew up suffering both psychological and physical abuse from his father, who was probably forced into learning criminal talents early (pickpocketing, in my headcanon). He learned very young that he had no worth as a person, and the only value he had was to produce results. He seems to have loathed his father so I doubt he worried about winning Lyle’s love, but he recognized that succeeding meant approval, at least insofar as probably being abused less.His father dies. Arthur’s left living on the streets for several years, probably in a big city that he could so utterly disappear. The message that he has no worth is further reinforced. He’s alone, scared, fighting to survive, and there’s no Sister Calderon or anyone else to save him or tell him he’s worth saving. Given the need to fight for food, sleeping space, safety, etc. against other street kids, he certainly lived in an environment of heightened aggression and anger and violence here. He’s living the life of Dutch’s social Darwinism: the (violently) strong survive, the weak perish.So you’ve got a kid with shitty self-image, a history of abuse, and a lot of capacity for anger and violence. Then Dutch and Hosea take him in at fourteen and things change. He’s given a place to belong. Clothes that fit and aren’t ragged. A safe place to sleep. Enough food to eat. He learns to read and write.And Dutch isn’t hitting him, so Arthur assumes this new father figure is how it’s supposed to be. But he’s missing the other facet: the psychological abuse. The same produce results or you’re worthless to me mentality he likely got from his father, but Dutch is far cleverer than Lyle Morgan in it. He gaslights. He manipulates. He alternately flatters and praises, and then insults and questions, so that Arthur’s left always hungry for earning that love and approval again.You’ve got a pissed off teenager, and given Arthur’s got plenty of sarcasm I imagine he was, as I have Hosea put it fondly, “a smart mouthed little shit”. But he’s also a scared boy who’s been repeatedly taught he’s dispensable trash. He’s started to like this life he has and its comforts and security compared to the bleak hell he had before, started to become comfortable in it. He’s terrified that if he screws up, if he gives Dutch reason to not value him anymore, he’ll be thrown away again. So yeah, he’s going to jump through every hoop Dutch presents him eagerly, and even be trying to anticipate the man’s needs and wants if possible. Because in his mind his place in this family, his continued survival, absolutely depends on this man still finding value in him. The question of having worth as an intrinsic right as a human being doesn’t even register with him. All he can see is constantly proving his having external value. So he doesn’t have the luxury of typical teenage defiance and sometimes telling his self-proclaimed dad to go get fucked as part of the pursuit of discovering and asserting his own identity. Because honestly, Arthur doesn’t have much in the way of his own identity.Given the emotional damage he’d already suffered, and the fact he’s being further abused and taken advantage of, that’s the status quo for the next 22 years. Arthur doesn’t ever really get the chance to grow beyond that blind loyalty and eagerness to please and be regarded as valuable, and really form his own identity and principles, until the 1899 crisis forces him to do so.So if Dutch wants to teach Arthur to shoot, wants him to learn to rob a stagecoach, wants him to go teach someone a “lesson” with his fists? It’s absolutely “Yes, Dad, I’ve got this.” Anything at all to make Dutch happy and make himself more valuable to the man. He’ll work until he drops to become the best man for the job, the one Dutch absolutely can’t do without. If he protests at all, it’s a token grumble, but he’ll give in readily and go do it, because he prides himself on being able to get the job done. Dutch clearly only values his brutal and violent skills–it’s Hosea who encourages other things in Arthur.I also think this is part of why Dutch openly favored and identified more with John as his clear “golden boy” while relegating Arthur to being the gang workhorse. Arthur’s snarky defiance largely died down and transformed into awkward gratitude and absolute loyalty when he realized he could stay. John stayed something of a cocky brat. Arthur is far more versatile and useful, but Dutch enjoys John’s “unbroken spirit”–so long as he doesn’t question too much.

#arthur morgan #dutch van der linde #hosea matthews #john marston #thank you for coming to my red talk #Anonymous

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aaronmaurer · 5 years ago

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TV I Liked In 2019

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

The era of “peak TV” has never been more apparent to me than the past year. I am very aware of the many shows I have not seen (don’t have Amazon Prime, for example), and yet I expanded my list from a top 10 to top 15 and still had to leave out A LOT of stuff I really liked! These picks include my legitimate favorites, ranging from truly important looks at the criminal justice system to ensemble comedies that I couldn’t wait to return to. In another year I may have been able to include the latest seasons of Barry, Stranger Things, Queer Eye, Bojack Horseman, Glow, or the finale seasons of Legion, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Veep, Silicon Valley and The Deuce, all of which I’d still recommend. But these stood out even more.

14 (tie). Chernobyl (HBO) / The Hot Zone (National Geographic)

Two limited series focusing on real-life disasters in the 1980s: the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and an Ebola outbreak outside of Washington DC. Chernobyl is an incredibly harrowing account of humanity’s inability to believe things that don’t mesh with their interpretations of reality and the destructive power of lies and cover-ups. The Hot Zone adapts the non-fiction Richard Preston book, a revealing look at pandemics, the power of fear and human resolve. Taken together, they raise interesting questions about governmental gatekeeping, professional competence and personal sacrifice.

13. Mindhunter: Season 2 (Netflix)

Joe Penhall and David Fincher’s look at the early days of the FBI’s criminal profiling department goes broader and deeper in its second season. There are still chilling interviews with incarcerated serial killers and criminal minds (including Charles Manson this time out), but the season really revolves around the Atlanta child murders. This focus provides a compelling look at who the justice system helps and who it ignores, and the investigative – and bureaucratic – work it takes to put together a case.

10 (tie). A.P. Bio: Season 2 (NBC) / The Last O.G.: Season 2 (TBS) / Schitt’s Creek: Season 5 (Pop)

Three great hangout comedies that really came into their own in their most recent seasons. A.P. Bio transcended its first-season preoccupation with revenge and leaned into its fantastic supporting cast – one of the best comedic ensembles around – to become a show I loved spending time with each week. (Thank goodness it’s coming back via NBC’s upcoming “Peacock” service.) The Last O.G. has had a lot on its mind since it began, but its second season covers privilege and the opportunity gap among other issues, ending with a note-perfect homage to Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, making it an unexpectedly resonant comedy. Schitt’s Creek is obviously having a moment right now, and Season 5 (the first season I watched as it aired) was perhaps its best yet. While the whole cast is great, as a big fan of Best In Show and A Mighty Wind, I love seeing Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara share the screen again.

9. Crashing: Season 3 (HBO)

The first two seasons of Pete Holmes’ show made my list in previous years so I’d be remiss not to include the final one, which may be its finest. Pete spends the season making a lot of mistakes – saying yes to things (gigs, relationships) that he probably shouldn’t – and although they provide growth, he doesn’t come across as the “good guy” in how he deals with all of them. This adds additional nuance to the show, questioning its straight white male protagonist’s actions rather than merely rewarding him for following his passions, while still leading to an uplifting and fitting finale.

8. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4 (Netflix)

Netflix split the final season of Kimmy Schmidt into two parts, so technically only the final six episodes premiered in 2019. Those alone warrant a spot on the list, as the show concluded by following its idiosyncratic bliss to the end. The final group of episodes includes a (pre-movie) takedown of Cats, a Sliding Doors homage and an unexpectedly moving series finale. If this one fell off your radar a few years ago, it’s worth revisiting and seeing through.

7. What We Do In The Shadows: Season 1 (FX)

Based on the horror-comedy film of the same name, this series follows a different crew of vampires who live together on Staten Island. I was initially skeptical because I love the movie and couldn’t see how a television version could do anything but dilute its charms. On the contrary, the show broadens the universe in hilarious ways by introducing characters like “energy vampire” Colin Robinson and the incredible Vampiric Council (with so many incredible cameos!). The core actors are all wonderful, but the MVP has to be Matt Berry’s louche and libidinous Laszlo whose line readings are simply hysterical.

6. Les Misérables (BBC/PBS)

Although it aired in the UK in 2018, the BBC/PBS production of Victor Hugo’s epic didn’t grace American screens until early 2019 so I’m including it here. I am a big fan of the musical adaptation and find it quite successful at cramming so much story into a three-hour runtime, though it obviously has limits to how much of the source material it can explore. This (non-musical) adaptation’s six episodes allow for more of Hugo’s tale of forgiveness versus retribution to live and breathe. The terrific cast includes Dominic West as Jean Valjean and David Oyelowo as Inspector Javert, as well as Lily Collins as Fantine whose backstory is more fully realized here than the format of the stage show allows.

5. Our Planet (Netflix)

Essentially a sequel to the Planet Earth documentaries, with the same production team and David Attenborough narration, this Netflix series presents another stunning collection of nature footage that showcases the incredible diversity and beauty of animal life on Earth. Each episode includes a haunting reminder of man’s impact on the featured habitats and serves as a rallying cry in the fight against climate change.

4. The Good Place: Seasons 3-4 (NBC)

The Good Place has been high on my list since its first season and shows no signs of dropping in quality or esteem as it enters its final stretch of episodes. 2019 encompassed the end of Season 3 (including the hilariously imaginative visit to the Interdimensional Hole of Pancakes) and the beginning of Season 4 (with its crew of new characters and just as many reversals and rug-pulls as you’d expect). The final episode before its winter break was “The Answer,” a touching spotlight on William Matthew Harper’s Chidi, which might have been enough to make this list all on its own. (And given the surprise cameo/quasi-crossover in its first episode of 2020, I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up here again next year too.)

3. Unbelievable (Netflix)

The true story of a serial rape case adapted from journalism by ProPublica, The Marshall Project and This American Life, Unbelievable is one of the most simultaneously heartbreaking and satisfying procedurals I have ever seen. As crushing as it is to watch the initial investigation completely mishandled and devolve to gaslighting, it is powerful and inspiring to watch compassionate public servants and actual good detective work be carried out as the series progresses. Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever and Toni Collette are uniformly excellent here (as they also were in their respective film roles in Booksmart, Marriage Story and Knives Out this year).

2. Watchmen (HBO)

Showrunner Damon Lindelof (LOST, The Leftovers) takes some incredibly bold swings in his limited-run sequel to the groundbreaking 80s graphic novel that deconstructed the ideas of vigilantism and superheroics. Picking up in the same alternate reality as that story but in present day, the main action is shifted to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the central theme is race relations. It could have gone way off the rails in a million different ways, but I found it to be incredibly successful. Each episode is a captivating work of art and it somehow seems to top itself with each subsequent installment. While I appreciate the book, I don’t love it; this series takes that source material seriously and, to me, completely transcends it.

1. When They See Us (Netflix)

As compelling as it is devastating, this miniseries from Ava DuVernay (who directed and co-wrote all 4 parts) dramatizes the lives of the wrongly convicted children the media dubbed “the Central Park Five.” Even with some familiarity of the story from watching Ken Burns’ documentary years ago, I was utterly gutted by the depiction of the injustices and systemic racism that stole these childhoods. Everyone in the cast shines, but Jharrel Jerome’s portrayal of Korey Wise (the only one of the group played by the same actor as a child and adult – and so convincingly) is truly phenomenal. Not a comfortable watch but an essential one.

Bonus! Musical Comedy Specials:

The Unauthorized Bash Bros. Experience (Netflix) – This “visual poem” from the Lonely Island presents “an album of raps” recorded by Jose Canseco (Andy Samberg) and Mark McGwire (Akiva Schaffer) at their steroid-fueled 80s peak with the Oakland A’s. Your likely enjoyment is probably about equal to your reaction to that description. The songs are great, catchy and hysterical on their own, but the videos take it to another level, parodying everything from 80s infomercials to Enya to Beyonce’s Lemonade. There is no 30 minutes of TV I rewatched more in 2019.

John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch (Netflix) – Debuting on Christmas Eve, this children’s television homage/parody snuck in just under the wire. The words of the day could be fear and mortality, as the group of kids Mulaney interacts with reveal their personal phobias and several skits revolve around existential angst. By the end of the first musical number I was sold, by the time David Byrne showed up I was committed, and by “Mr. Music’s” madcap finale I wished it could last forever.

#tv #television

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journeysintowebcomics · 5 years ago

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Homestuck Liveblog #187

UPDATE 187: Love Confession

Last time Dirk took back the narrative, and Jade was knocked out for months. Also, Jane won the election, it’s a victory for the neoliberal austerity measures. Viva la Crocker! So what now? Let’s see.

We make a quick stop back at Rose’s apartment. She understandably wants to pack a few things before we leave this planet forever.

...okay, the update has barely started and there’s already some big news. So Dirk’s leaving the planet with Rose? Why? Is this an important part of his assimilation plan? Or is he doing this just to spite Kanaya, because he clearly has dedicated a lot of effort to making her run in circles? Dirk, explain!

She’ll have to leave her current body soon if she’s going to survive the absolute realization of her Ultimate Self. The new body I’ve made for her won’t have much use for her usual ensembles. That’s all I was saying.

The first thought I had was that she was going to ascend and turn into some kind of metaphysical existence, then I read the part about ‘the new body I’ve made for her’. Could it be a robot? I remember Dirk is superb with robotics. Pretty creepy of him to shove Rose’s consciousness into a robot, really. Kanaya isn’t going to be happy at all with this.

At least there’s still enough Rose in that head she wants to pick up stuff because of the memories. There’s still hope if she’s taken away from Dirk, perhaps? Hard to know. Rose hardly will be safe as long as Dirk has control over the narration, anyway.

Apparently Dirk knows nothing about jewelry, because he calls a necklace a ‘rock rope’. I know it’s unlikely the version of Earth he came from had any use for jewelry given...well...he was one of the two humans that remained alive and also everything was ruinous and gone, but seriously, Dirk, pay attention, haha! Rock rope, seriously...

I expect at least an aggravated retort, but nothing comes.

I glance back and see that her eyes have grown glassy and distant, like two round-cut amethysts. Her smile seems due less to fondness than stupefaction. The circles under her eyes are dark, and her head is cushioned on an arm bent beneath it. Keeping her eyes trained on me seems to be the only energy she’s able to expend anymore. The omniscience sickness is wreaking havoc on her. I should hurry up.

I’m glad I never had to feel whatever she’s going through. Not everyone can be built like me. It just means I carry a greater responsibility to take care of those more fragile. Especially the ones most important to me.

It sounds like Rose would have been going through a lot of trouble even if Dirk hadn’t been messing around with her head, but nothing of what he has done is good for her. Since she’s not in any condition to make sure Dirk picks up the right things, he just shoves everything in a bag or something and calls it a day.

ROSE: Are you sure Kanaya is going to be ok with this?

She’s so far gone she can’t even tell Kanaya of course wouldn’t be okay with this. Damn, Rose, this epilogue hasn’t been kind to you at all. First it makes you omniscient and have killer migraines, now it’s drying your brain like a raisin so maybe you can be shoved into a robot while you’re being taken out of the planet to who knows where. Then again, who has this epilogue been kind to?

Dirk states he’ll make Kanaya understand, by which I imagine he means he’ll make her go around the Earth as if she was playing Where in the World is Rose Lalonde. Given how Kanaya won’t accept anything that isn’t Rose being freed, talking to her won’t be an option.

Speaking of Kanaya, she’s currently rushing towards the apartment, possibly having noticed Rose is there, and stop to take out her phone and plan what she’ll say to Dirk.

Is she sure she’s not misunderstanding something? Could she have misread the signals, or falsely assigned nefarious intent to a perfectly innocent series of events?

Honestly at this point I doubt anything of what Dirk has said to her can be construed as a ‘perfectly innocent series of events’. I mean, almost all of it has been left up to imagination, but Dirk already admitted he’s okay with messing around with Kanaya, so I doubt he has even pretended to make it look like this isn’t a kidnapping.

By now it’s pretty clear where there’s orange text there’ll be gaslighting. He takes advantage of his narrative powers to fill Kanaya with doubts and make her think she’s misinterpreting so many things. He’s even making her doubt of maybe being with her is good for Rose. It gets to the point where she tries to call Rose again and, this time, Dirk lets her answer, most likely because he knows he has managed to get the reactions and feelings he wanted her to feel.

KANAYA: Rose Its Okay

KANAYA: I Know Everything

ROSE: You... you do?

KANAYA: Yes

KANAYA: I Understand Whats Going On Now

KANAYA: I Just Want You To Know

KANAYA: How Happy You Made Me

ROSE: Oh, Kanaya...

KANAYA: I Wont Be Long

KANAYA: I Just Need To Say A Couple Things

KANAYA: While I Can

KANAYA: Before I Get Too Emotional About This

KANAYA: I Finally Get It

KANAYA: I Know You And He Belong Together

KANAYA: I Really Hope You Will Both Be Happy

KANAYA: Wherever Youre Going And Whatever You Decide To Do

KANAYA: I Will Always Be Thinking Of You

KANAYA: And Be Grateful For The Life We Had Together

ROSE: I...

ROSE: I’ll always remember you, Kanaya.

ROSE: Thank you so much for understanding.

And with this the path is clear and Kanaya won’t interfere anymore. Dirk has once again gotten away with whatever he’s trying to do. Congratulations, Dirk. Now what? He takes the phone to speak to her. Now that Kanaya isn’t upset and raring to rescue Rose, they have a short conversation.

DIRK: You’ve probably heard by now that Jade is sick.

DIRK: In a coma or something? She’s in the hospital.

KANAYA: Yes

DIRK: I’ve got an antidote for that. Medicine of sorts.

DIRK: If you give it to her, it should wake her up almost immediately.

DIRK: I left it here on the counter in your apartment.

I sure as hell don’t trust anything Dirk can give them. I’m almost certain that supposed antidote or medicine is none of that, and will make her worse. What’s more, won’t this make them suspicious? This would certainly show Dirk knows more about what happened to Jade than what he has told them. Heck, as I mentioned last update, this isn’t the first time he has used tranquilizers. Someone should have been able to make the connection, no?

Dirk sedates Rose with his trademark horse tranquilizers and takes her away. Also...

It slips my mind to bring along her bag of stuff.

I find that impossible to believe. No way Dirk just forgot, he intentionally left that behind, Mr. Multitasking, the guy Jane said would be unlikely to forget even little details.

Back at Dave and Karkaroni’s home, they still were in denial about their defeat in the political world, and now are watching Jane’s inauguration. This is such a bad spectacle for them Dave immediately proposes to get drunk. He’s down with alcoholism now. Oh boy. He also has been wondering for a while if there was anything they could have done different that could have led to their victory. Hardly, as Jake’s endorsement was going to be the cornerstone of their victory, but he still wonders that.

DAVE: i just keep imagining what wouldve happened if that absurd rube goldberg machine of life ruining humiliation had been stopped at any point

DAVE: maybe just being backstabbed by his endorsement alone was something we couldve recovered from with some rigorous counter campaigning

DAVE: but what if i had been fast enough to cut him off before hed even said anything

DAVE: what if i hadnt accidentally fallen on him on the stage when i was rushing over there to stop him

DAVE: what if he hadnt freaked out like i set off fireworks next to a nam vet and started trying to fucking scrum me

DAVE: what if id just backed away from his punch with my legs like a normal person instead of warping the flow of time to escape causing him to become so startled he shit his pants

DAVE: what if i hadnt gotten so visibly grossed out by the smell that even the people watching it on tv could tell what had happened

DAVE: what if he hadnt started sobbing when the audience in the front rows started throwing up

DAVE: what if wed had better security and stopped that lady from running onstage during the fracas and announcing that jake has been dodging paying child support for their 3 kids

Ah.

...

You know, I’m not really a fan of Jake. He’s okay as a character, but I don’t like him that much. Still, I keep having the impression his entire existence in Homestuck for quite a while is to be the author’s punching bag. The guy can’t have any dignity, can he? That aside, Dirk wasn’t in charge of the narrative back then because he was busy ogling over John and Terezi’s heartfelt conversations, so all that happened without his intervention. Poor Jake...

Also, so many people are very into getting Karkaroni and Dave together. While I like that thought, it feels rather invasive of everyone to be so invested in it. At this rate they’ll make the relationship fail before it has even started.

Karkaroni is a bit relieved he didn’t win, but...after the humiliation of losing to anyone in such a public manner I imagine he’s not going to be thrilled with the attention. Even if he’s loved by the public it still will get some comments and words of support, and he’s not the type to take those things quietly. Good thing he almost doesn’t leave the hive.

If Karkat had anything resembling a spine, he’d turn to Dave with those big, sparkling shoujo eyes and finally open his tsundere heart to consummating their painfully obvious and mutually reciprocated passion

How quaint, my eyes somehow went blind momentarily as soon as the words ‘sparkling shoujo eyes’ were said in reference to Karkaroni. What a curious phenomenon.

Somehow, trying to manipulate Dave into confessing his feelings towards Karkaroni is the line Dirk refuses to cross. Really? That’s your line in the sand? Okay then. So he’s going to let these two handle things their way, although with some prodding via narrative, I suppose. Oh, that’s what this page will be about! I see! Alright, continue.

Karkaroni begins by thanking Dave for everything.

KARKAT: EVEN IF WE DIDN’T WIN, I’M GLAD WE TRIED.

KARKAT: I’M GLAD WE WENT THROUGH THIS TOGETHER.

DAVE: me too

KARKAT: MORE THAN ANYTHING, I... YOU...

KARKAT: YOU BELIEVE IN ME IN A WAY NOBODY EVER HAS BEFORE.

KARKAT: MORE THAN I’VE EVER BEEN ABLE TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF.

Aw, that’s sweet! He really appreciates the support and it’s easy for him to believe Dave means everything he says. When anyone else tells him they like and support him it feels like condescending kindness, but it’s different with Dave. That’s what Karkaroni is saying.

KARKAT: YOU’RE ON MY LEVEL. AND I’M ON YOURS.

KARKAT: I BELIEVE THAT YOU SEE ME IN FRONT OF YOU THE WAY I ACTUALLY AM, FOR BETTER OR WORSE, AND STILL LIKE ME ANYWAY.

KARKAT: SO EVEN THOUGH IT’S STILL HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE IN MYSELF A LOT OF THE TIME,

KARKAT: I BELIEVE IN YOU, SO I DON’T NEED TO.

DAVE: so what youre saying is you believe in me who believes in you

They’re kindred spirits, pretty much. Even if they don’t get together, they’re likely to be good friends for a very long time, if not forever. That’ll do them both some good, especially in these coming times of bad economy and neoliberal austerity measures. Besides, without Jade messing around with ridiculous threesome thirst, things are bound to be less tense around here. The future is...not looking bright, but at least they’ll have each other as support.

KARKAT: YEAH, KIND OF?

KARKAT: FUCK, MAN. THAT’S KIND OF DEEP.

DAVE: i know

KARKAT: SO, YEAH.

KARKAT: THAT’S WHAT I’VE NEVER REALLY FELT BEFORE.

KARKAT: AND I’M GLAD YOU’RE...

KARKAT: THAT WE’RE...

Come on. You’re so close.

KARKAT: I’M GLAD YOU’RE MY FRIEND, DAVE.

Aw, that’s fantastic! Look at that, Karkaroni said aloud he appreciates Dave this much, and he did it to his face! This kind of thing is real difficult for him, so the fact he felt the spontaneous need to tell this to Dave is pretty nice. They have come quite a long way since their first interactions in like Act 3 or so.

Dave pretty much says ‘oh. Same.’, which is as much emotional reciprocation as Dave can give, I suppose, so I can’t give him much of a hard time. Dirk, on the other hand, is pretty much dying. If Dave and Karkaroni’s conversation is what makes Dirk quit controlling the narrative I’ll be so amused. This is going so well Dirk decides to press things a little, making Dave have some weird mental images and similes, but it does get Dave to continue talking.

Kind of rude to forget what you were talking about Karkaroni’s feelings, pal. Top notch friendship/almost romantic effort. But yeah, it’s now Dave’s turn to talk about his feelings, saying ‘same’ in more words.

DAVE: like maybe we feel the same way about certain things

DAVE: but what were saying and what were feeling

DAVE: maybe those arent exactly the same thing

DAVE: and maybe... we should...

KARKAT: WE SHOULD WHAT?

DAVE: maybe its time to

DAVE: talk

DAVE: about... that

Well, I guess this is progress?

KARKAT: THAT???

DAVE: yeah, like

DAVE: how... when you say were friends

DAVE: what... does that mean

KARKAT: THAT WE’RE FRIENDS?

DAVE: yeah but

DAVE: is that it?

DAVE: just friends

Oho, he’s pushing for it! Maybe Dave really feels something romantic towards Karkaroni. I’m actually a bit surprised he’s acting on that. While I personally did believe he did, I wasn’t really going to take it for granted unless more indication was given in the text and here it is. Alright!

KARKAT: OF COURSE NOT.

KARKAT: YOU’RE MY...........

KARKAT: B......

KARKAT: ......EST FRIEND.

DAVE: oh

DAVE: i see

It’s so unlike Karkaroni to hesitate like that. Does he feel the same too? I feel like, if he had no doubts about it, he’d have outright said ‘best friend’ without any ellipsis. Something in your mind, Karkaroni? Dave accepts it anyway, and that’s that. At least until Dirk keeps pressing things forward again. Geez, give them a break.

Alright, Dirk, can you not. Being too descriptive is a thing, you know.

Dave’s actually leaning forward for a kiss, Dirk making sure every little action Karkaroni does seems like he’s receptive to romantic overtures, until Dave realizes he’s having thoughts he’d never have. Which is true, really. The narration is really invasive.

KARKAT: WHAT’S WRONG?

KARKAT: DID I DO SOMETH—

DAVE: no

DAVE: i just cant

DAVE: shit

DAVE: it just feels like

It feels like nothing, Dave. Don’t worry about it.

DAVE: what the fuck is going on

DAVE: this feels really off

KARKAT: ????

DAVE: idk

DAVE: i just keep having thoughts i know id never think

He’s right. This is precisely why I say forcing things to happen is not a good idea. Look at that, it’s interfering. Way to go, Dirk, now stop metaphorically holding their head together as if they’re dolls you’re making kiss. All you did is make Dave all confused.

I take a deep breath and get myself under control. My light psychological intrusions may have only made things worse. Invested as I am in the outcome of this encounter, I know forcing their hand would be a mistake.

NO KIDDING.

If Dave passes that threshold not of his own will, it’d be a hollow victory anyway. There’s nothing I can do but settle down, step it back, and trust my boy to bring it home.

I think if Dirk forced things to happen this wouldn’t last, unless Dirk keeps his attention on their romantic relationship 24/7, and he obviously wouldn’t want to do that. Things would fall apart irreparably, I’d say, because these two are so emotionally constipated they would refuse to even consider the possibility of trying again. Just let things happen, if they happen.

What follows is several paragraphs of prose so purple I’m surprised the font is orange. Despite that it’s pretty well written, it’s descriptive and paints the scene pretty vividly. This may be the one time I like Dirk’s narration. Also, all that is being funneled into Dave’s head, so it’s like he has a narrator describing everything, which he doesn’t like. Dirk once again ruins everything when Dave had already progressed, and let me tell you, your loved one shouting in your face to some unseen influence is not attractive.

Before Karkaroni can ponder if Dave is losing his mind right in front of him, Dave just goes ahead with the kiss. There they go! What they wanted has happened. Now the thing to wonder is if it’ll last. Good luck to them!

God damn. I’m sorry. I’m blowing the description here, and missing a lot of good shit. It just caught me so off guard.

Honestly it’s better this way. No need for more, that was all that was needed. Brevity is the soul of wit, Dirk. Not that you have ever known the meaning of the word ‘brevity’.

I’m not going to intercede with a single word further, and I won’t let you, either. I won’t cheapen this beautiful moment with my base editorialization just to satisfy your voyeuristic curiousity. Frankly, I’m offended you’d even expect me to.

I expected it because you have as much tact as a baseball bat to the teeth, pal.

What they’re getting up to here is nobody’s business but theirs.

Davekat is canon, and that’s really all there is to say on the matter. Let’s give these crazy lovebirds some privacy and move on.

Thank goodness, make this twice I’m okay with Dirk’s narration. I better check outside and see what color is the moon right now. Oh, look, it’s blue. No wonder he’s being discreet.

So after these parts where Dirk was acceptable as the narrator, naturally he has to go and ruin it by meeting Jake the next page, where he immediately showers himself with rose petals and preens by bragging about any virtues he thinks he has. I’m not looking forward to him talking to Jake, especially not after the way he was talking about Jake back at the stadium for the endorsement speech. At the first sign of ridiculous gaslighting I’m calling this a day.

My guy Squarewave is here too. I need his help today, because there’s a lot of cargo to wrangle. He’s wheeling something around on a hand truck. Something about the height of Rose, roughly Rose-shaped, and wrapped in a cloth. I know she’s gonna love it the first time she sees it. But the only way she’ll be able to do that is when she’s awake and looking in a mirror.

Okay, it definitely will be a robot for Rose. Golly, there’s something really creepy about transferring a friend’s consciousness to a robot, especially when she’s in no condition to do anything about it. Then again, I suppose a robot’s processing power would help to deal with the sensory overload of all the visions and stuff. That must be Dirk’s reasoning, no? I wonder for Rose will react once she’s inside the robot, able to think clearly – if Dirk doesn’t stop her from thinking, of course.

Dirk goes straight to the point, telling he needs a spaceship, although he doesn’t mention it’s to run away from the planet. All he wants is something fast, to run away as quickly as he can to where nobody can bother him while he keeps his iron grip on everything from a distance, I suppose.

Apparently Jake thought he was going to join Dirk, so Dirk sets that straight. Now that this matter is settled, Jake asks a sensible question:

JAKE: So um... how long will you be away? Does kanaya know about all of these shenanigans?

DIRK: Yes.

DIRK: We’ve discussed it. She’s ok with it.

JAKE: Whew good to see theres no trouble in paradise. Theyve always had the most lovely marriage.

Boy that’s going to be awkward to discuss, if they ever do. There’s plenty of trouble in paradise, and all of them are shaped like Dirk.

Jake hasn’t gotten over his failed relationship with Dirk, and he asks him when he’ll be back from this romp in space. The news Dirk is never coming back devastates him. Oh hey, I just realized: is Terezi coming? This is what Dirk meant about letting her come along, right? Is she going to join them, dragging John’s corpse in a wallet? Should I expect a Terezi robot in the future?

Jake can’t come, not only because Dirk doesn’t want him anywhere near him, but also because he’ll have to support Jane in a reign that’s likely to last millions of years. Jake argues he knows nothing about strategy or policy, so I suppose he’ll stay because of his political capital? Whatever political capital he has left after the...shameful spectacle of the endorsement speech.

DIRK: Uh, Jake. Nobody wants you to do any of that.

DIRK: Well, I know Jane sure doesn’t.

JAKE: Then... what...

DIRK: You’ll just be, you know.

DIRK: Her candy boy?

JAKE: CANDY BOY???

DIRK: Yeah. Being on call.

DIRK: Serving a multimillion-year term of giving her the right kind of “presidential action” she needs to keep going. To keep her morale up and such.

DIRK: To provide her with many heirs.

DIRK: Doesn’t that sound cool?

I’m losing my patience with this ass and also with Condesce Jane. Scrolling down. Jake basically confesses he can’t live without Dirk’s presence, and Dirk puts all the blame on Jake. Where’s the arrow for the next page...ah, there it is.

Kanaya is looking for Jade’s hospital room, antidote in hand. She finds it and shows Roxy the antidote, ready to apply it to Jade. She doesn’t even explain what it is, she just injects it right away, and it doesn’t take long at all for Jade to start moving. An effective antidote! And when Jade opens her eyes, they’re green instead of black. She’s not possessed. Ah, so that’s why Dirk was okay with letting Jade wake up, she’s not under Dead Calliope’s control anymore.

Looks like during her trance there was still some sort of consciousness in her. She knows a lot, possibly in the same way Dirk, Rose and Terezi know a lot – by seeing a lot of alternate Jades. She’s taking it all rather well, without headaches or anything debilitating like what Rose had before going to see Dirk. She does have something, though: wrath. And it’s all directed at one person.

JADE: DIRK STRIDER HAS TO BE STOPPED!!!!!!!!!!

Damn right! Buuuut he’s kind of getting on a spaceship, so you’re running out of time for that. Then again, this is Jade, the one with space powers. That has to be some sort of advantage.

The next page is Dirk’s justification for his actions. It’s nothing really worthwhile, mostly that he wanted to be a good person and thought of himself that way, but given what he had to do and what powers he had, it was impossible to come across as anything but the villain, and that he admitted he was the villain now. From all this page there’s only a couple things worth going deeper into, I’d say. Let’s see...

If my agenda was to try as hard as I could to make sure no one thought I sucked, what the fuck would ever get done? How would I go about taming this world, or shaping reality for the better? And if I didn’t bother pursuing those goals, and thereby tacitly accepting the untold suffering that resulted from my inaction, wouldn’t that make me a bad person? If I try and succeed, I’m a hero, right? And if I try and fail, at least I made things interesting on my way to the grave. There would be a tragic nobility in that. And the way I see it, settling for anything less from my arc would be, frankly, pathetic.

Right. Can’t say I understand what Dirk’s plan is, other than it seems like it’s to assimilate everyone under one big god or something – most likely in a metaphorical manner – but other than that there hasn’t really been any kind of information about it. That aside, there’s something else to touch in this part.

Be okay with everyone hating you because you know what you’re doing is for the better? It’s more than fine. Has a lot of potential and grounds for some good personal conflict. It’d indeed be tragically noble. Buuuut none of what I read in this epilogue says it’s a tragically noble. In terms of writing, Dirk seriously is going to succeed on making every character in Homestuck loathe him, judging by the way Jade already woke up and is ready to scream her head off about how Dirk has to be stopped, so he has that much right. All that is more than fine, and it certainly would be a hella interesting story if it wasn’t an epilogue.

The problem is that Dirk controlled the narrative and showed exactly what was going on in his head. The reader could see very clearly what he thought of everyone, the reader saw what kind of choice words he had to say about people like John or Jake or anyone else. The reader saw all the disdain towards pretty much everything and how Dirk kept patting himself on the back. After all that, this entire page of Dirk justifying how it’s okay if he’s the villain comes across as very delusional. It’s pretty hard to think of any of this as ‘tragic nobility’ when the narrative showed very well he’s pretty rotten to the core.

Which would have been excellent if this had been anything other than Homestuck, really. It’d have been such an interesting thing, and so enjoyable. Alas. Still going to talk about that once I’m done with the epilogue.

The other thing I think is worth seeing is this:

That’s why when someone finally comes knocking for the price I owe, I’ll fully welcome it. By then it’ll have been a long time coming, and I’ll probably have done more than my share to make sure, somewhere along the way, it all got put into motion. What good is a villain who doesn’t have a satisfying dramatic comeuppance in store for him? So yeah, the next time I die, let’s pencil it in as a Just Death. And let’s also have it on good authority that the next time Dave cuts off my head, it’ll be for good.

I’ll be looking forward to that day just as much as the next guy.

He already has decided how it’ll be. I don’t doubt he’ll let it happen because, well, he controls the narrative, and my guess is that he wouldn’t let anyone but Dave kill him. Who better than him? And in what other manner but making the meme happen once again? Even during death Dirk Strider has to stick to his memes. Wouldn’t be surprised if when the time comes he intentionally writes things so Dave decapitates him instead of, say, stab him through the gut with the sword.

Aaaalso, is this implying said ‘satisfying dramatic comeuppance’ isn’t coming in this epilogue? Kind of say that coming, really. I heard the Meat epilogue has forty-something pages and this is page 41. There’s not really a lot of space left to do a dramatic confrontation that’s not rushed, unless you forgo everything like setting it up and just teleport everybody to the moment of Dirk’s death. Then again, this is Homestuck. Clean, tidy conclusions aren’t really its thing, haha, so I didn’t really think there’d be any kind of confrontation with Dirk. If Lord English didn’t get one in the story itself, why would Dirk Strider of all people get it?

The next page starts with quite the long conversation. Let’s see...

So, Jade is immediately alarmed while Kanaya is appeasing her, saying everything is okay. Roxy is going to be so confused, being the only one here who hasn’t been involved in Dirk’s antics at all. Now that I think about it, Roxy is the only one who hasn’t been kicked to the curb by this epilogue, I suppose it’s because she’s been pretty much a nonentity during the epilogue except for a conversation or two that didn’t really have anything to do with the other plots. Then again, Calliope had even less and she ended traumatized.

KANAYA: Hes Going To Take Good Care Of Rose

KANAYA: Probably Much Better Than Id Ever Be Able To

KANAYA: Ill Miss Her But Im At Least Thankful For That

JADE: THANKFUL??

JADE: kanaya...

JADE: did

JADE: did dirk KIDNAP ROSE?!

Yes! He very much did! Make sure when you rescue her her mind is in her body instead of inside a robot. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to convince everyone to take an empty husk away, saying she’s in a coma or something.

Things are so bad Roxy sounds indignant. I feel bad for her, it’s going to be tough to hear such things about one of her oldest friends. Jade asks questions to find out if Kanaya being okay with these developments was an attitude she arrived to by her own volition or if Dirk influenced her in some manner. As soon as the answer is said she knows it’s Dirk’s influence.

It’s fine, Kanaya. Why don’t we just say I’m invoking the mercy rule here. Jade is onto me obviously. But I wouldn’t have even let her wake up if there was anything you all could do about it by now. As the cherub resurfaces in her mind, I’ll be fading out of here soon anyway. I don’t see any reason to keep my dear friends in limbo any longer than they need to be.

So he doesn’t mind if Dead Calliope takes over Jade again – and possibly the narrative. Sounds to me like Dirk got away with whatever he was doing, then. If he can let go of the narrative, then he doesn’t need it anymore. Oof, not good. He cares so little he even gives Kanaya her own sane judgment back. How smug of him.

KANAYA: Wait

KANAYA: I Dont...

KANAYA: Im Confused

ROXY: ???

KANAYA: Why Didnt I At Least

KANAYA: Demand To See My Wife Before They Departed While I Had Dirk On The Phone

ROXY: omg u didnt even SEE her before she left??

KANAYA: No

KANAYA: At The Time It Didnt Feel Right To Ask I Guess

KANAYA: I Was So Devastated I Thought

KANAYA: That I Should Just

KANAYA: I Dont Know What I Thought

KANAYA: What

KANAYA: What Was I THINKING?

JADE: :(

She must be furious. It’s not everyday she lets go of her quirk like that. From the position my scrolling bar is at right now, I see more full caps. Kanaya, do you still have chainsaws? I can imagine Kanaya revving up the chainsaw right now. Dirk should consider himself lucky he may be already in outer space.

Seriously, it’s pretty hard to think of Dirk’s actions as ‘tragically noble’ when he’s patting his own back so hard he’s going to sprain his shoulder.

Without even knowing the details Kanaya is already certain Dirk has corrupted her in some manner, because otherwise Rose wouldn’t have acted like she did. She’s not wrong! And then she vows to make him pay, and pay dearly he will. That part I’m afraid won’t happen, as I’m pretty sure Dave will be the one to give the final blow, and chainsaws kind of make deadly injuries so she can’t do anything.

Since Jade’s the one with the answers, Kanaya demands to hear them, impatiently ignoring Jade’s words about anything that doesn’t seem related to Dirk at first. True to dramatic yet cheesy writing, all Jade manages to say is...

JADE: im trying to get to that!

JADE: the thing with dirk is...

JADE: is...

Whooops, here comes Dead Calliope. Hi! And this time Dirk is okay with it because his plans are already underway, so he doesn’t mind giving the dead cherub this advantage. Dead Calliope will give Jade back only when Dirk is so far away he’s not a danger to anyone, and given how he’s already far away and in control...well that’s going to be a long while.

they will know what to do, when they are ready.

Ha ha. Sure. They’ll all just hop in a spaceship and go on a wild goose chase trying to hunt me down. I know that already. It’s really not rocket science. Except for the fact that it literally is.

Can it really be called a wild goose chase when it’s a foregone conclusion they’ll succeed? You know they will, you’re even expecting that with some eagerness. It may take them a looooong time, but they’ll reach Dirk someday. A few of these people have an eternity to do so, after all. I imagine others will come along once they find out what happened, too. I’m pretty confident Jane would be the only one who wouldn’t, and that’s because she’ll be too busy implementing her reign of terror.

kanaya drops to the floor and begins weeping again. she feels the sorrow anew from her wife’s departure, with a sense of rage and pain unshrouded by the veil of the prince. neither she nor her friends will have to worry about him anymore, so long as they remain on this planet and under my protection.

Well! Sorry to disappoint, Dead Calliope, but the odds they’ll remain on this planet and do nothing after two of them stated pretty clearly Dirk has to be stopped and kidnapped someone are...pretty low. I just hope Dead Calliope isn’t going to get in their way when they finally get going.

KANAYA: He Has To Be Stopped...

huddled on the floor, she repeats this pledge to herself. theoretically, he could be stopped before he leaves, if they hurried. they would need to know what to do, where to go, and to have the motivation to do it, but time is short. i could push them to, with a certain degree of intervention, but i will not. my unwillingness to do so is what separates me from him. and what corporeal life needs now is someone presiding over them who is nothing like him at all.

So Dead Calliope would just be an observer narrating everything, I guess. She wouldn’t intervene or push anyone around unless they were insulting the mighty lollipop. That’d be the extent of her actions, hm...having free will sounds really nice, I must say. It wouldn’t be so bad for this to be the status quo.

This is the end of the page. This update is already quite long, so I’ll cut it here. In the next one I’ll finish the meat epilogue.

Next update: next time

#homestuck #homestuck liveblog #webcomics #liveblog #webcomic liveblog

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moonfireflight · 6 years ago

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Things about the me

Thank you for tagging me, @joz-stankovich ! I squee’d :D

• How tall are you?

5’7″ish?

• What colour and style is your hair?

Butt-long, straight, no bangs, and a meh color between blond and brown. I don’t often dye it but when I do, I go for a dark purple-y red and I need to do it again.

• What colour are your eyes?

Blue

• Do you wear glasses?

Yes! I have since I was in elementary school. I love my current pair so much. After years of very minimalist ones with nearly non-existent frames, I managed to find some that were as close to 707′s as possible and I feel like I look so much more me-like with big, chunky, bold frames.

• Do you wear braces?

Never have, but I have 9 fillings that are basically ticking time bombs because they are uh, well past their normal lifespan.

• Full name?

Hooboy that’s sure a thing I’m not comfy associating with my fic. I will say I’m named after one or more of the characters from the book “The Little Women”

• When were you born?

June 5th, and I’m old.

• Where are you from and where do you live now?

The SW vicinity of the US

• What school do you go to?

I’m one class away from finally getting the degree I gave up on about a decade ago. I attend online courses paid for by my work.

• What kind of student are you?

I was a good student ages ago, pegged as gifted in 3rd grade. The moment things weren’t instantly easy, I became a C student, pretty much. Gifted impaired and uninterested. Since I’ve been at this online college I managed to turn myself around into a 3.92 GPA.

• Do you like school?

Sometimes. Generally, I would rather teach myself a skill I need or watch educational videos on YouTube.

• Favourite subject?

I never gave myself a chance to learn math well enough to do what I wanted, but I love science (especially astronomy). Wasted a lot of time in college trying to go that route but not putting in the work or admitting I needed tutoring. Otherwise, psychology and philosophy.

• Favourite tv show?

I’ve been madly in love with “The Good Place” lately and “My Hero Academia”.

• Favourite Movie?

Repo! The Genetic Opera, The Boondock Saints (I watch it every year for St. Patrick’s Day), V for Vendetta, The Lion King, Ink, Quills (wow, those last two might sound related but they are a;sldkfj NOT).

• Favourite Books?

A weird one that has always stuck with me is “Lives of the Monster Dogs” by Kristen Bakis. Also: “His Dark Materials” series, “Childhood’s End” by Arthur C. Clarke, “Inferno” by Dan Brown, “John Dies at the End” by David Wong.

• Favourite pastimes?

Reading, writing, mucking about in FFXIV, playing random visual novels, spacing out, chilling on my back porch and looking at my tiny garden.

• Do you have any regrets?

For sure. I wish I had started writing earlier in life. I REALLY wish I had figured out what I was interested in when I was in college initially. I have a generic major kind of and I wish I had known about my interests in law and technology before I was in my late damn 30′s and almost done with my degree.

• Dream Job?

Just... something not stressful. If I had the proper education something in law, criminal psychology, or IT. But now, I’m just trying to get off the phones at work because I’ve done call center life for 16 years.

• Would you ever like to be married?

It’s not a big deal to me either way, really. I have a long time domestic partner and we got rings recently but nothing on paper for various reasons.

• Would you like to have kids?

Nope.

• Do you like shopping?

As long as I’m not rushed, sure. Grocery shopping is more fun to me than like, clothing shopping or whatever.

• What countries have you visited?

Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland, Scotland. (My parents saved like crazy so we could see a lot of the world together)

• Scariest nightmare you ever had?

I used to have recurring dreams about house fires or volcanoes, so I have a long standing fear of the former.

• Any enemies?

Not really. There’s one gaslighting scumbag that I was friends with for far too long and a few other people I wouldn’t smile at if I saw them again, but they are so far in the past now and in other states.

• Any significant other?

My boyfriend of 15 years, and my 2D husbando Saeyoung :3 Man, he’s going to read this and pick on me for including Saeyoung but shhhhhhh

• Do you believe in miracles?

I don’t know about miracles but I believe in a lot of weird shit while also maintaining pretty high levels of skepticism, even when Obviously Weird things happen.

• How are you?

It was the best of times, and often the most annoying of times.

I probably went overboard with this because I should be writing, and the mood to type words is there, but not to work on the particular thing that needs working on >_< If you read this and do it, please tag me! Consider this a mass tag to all of my followers because I don’t have the social energy to pick and choose!!!

#ask meme #this was fun!#even without my name #in the wrong hands this would be pretty obvious #but oh well

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otnesse · 5 years ago

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Got banned from All the Tropes for a year at the very least (and knowing DocColress, he's probably going to bump it up due to his being an intolerant leftist). Won't matter at this point since he's made up his mind, but I'll definitely address some bits about his response regarding whether or not Maleficent is a Complete Monster or not, same goes for Frollo.

"(Like, from a moral standpoint, Hugo crushing on Djali is nowhere near as heinous as every atrocity Frollo committed, including absolutely wishing to rape Esmeralda no matter how much you try to deny that to yoursel and to others. And never did I say Satan didn't qualify; many versions of him do, and the original New Testament version of him is still cited.)"

The New and Old Testament versions are one and the same, actually. And when you claim the Old Testament version's not a Complete Monster, that essentially means he's not one in the New Testament, either. God wrote both. And going back to the Frollo bit and Hugo/Djali, 1. God would beg to differ there, since he specifically said, and I quote, "A man shall not lie with another man as with a woman, for it is an abomination". Leviticus 18:23, I believe. If anything, God most certainly would have considered it far more heinous than what Frollo did, and would be even more disgusted that it was one of Notre Dame's gargoyles doing that. 2. Frollo did not wish to commit rape. One of my biggest pet peeves is the whole redefinition of rape that's going on now, with the whole Kavanaugh hearings and how he's falsely accused of being a rapist couple years back and currently. He did wish for her to be his bride, and he DID intend to coerce her into marrying him, which is undoubtedly bad, but that is absolutely NOT the same thing as rape (any more than the whole blackmail scheme Gaston concocted in Beauty and the Beast). Want a 100% definition of rape, successful or attempted? Look at the scene where Josey is sexually assaulted by her teacher in North Country. Not even Frollo ever got that close (besides, I can name plenty of other Disney villains predating Frollo who DID attempted rape, like Ursula from The Little Mermaid [especially going by her "so long, lover boy" comment to Eric], or Jafar when wishing to have Jasmine fall in love with him [which would necessarily entail robbing Jasmine of her free will and fall for him via hypnosis].).

"And yet Frollo still has a more apalling rapsheet of vile deeds than Maleficent. Maleficent's villainy is bog standard fairy tale evilness in comparison to Frollo."

Actually, two of Maleficent's crimes entailed Child Murder (and yes, her death curse on Aurora was indeed intended to be child murder. She wouldn't have sent her goons out to track down Aurora's hiding spot for the intervening sixteen years for what was implied to be a constant search if she solely intended to wait out the years) and Mind Rape (the whole scene with Prince Phillip, which BTW was based on a scene involving Queen Grimhilde in Snow White, and it was certainly considered sufficiently heinous enough for Merriweather to nearly blow the fairies cover to try and get at her), which more than went beyond Bog Standard villainy. And he ought to know, because he recently added those bits to the Complete Monster Criteria.

"If we don't see all the evil she committed not related to Aurora or Philip, then that Mistress Of All Evil thing is an Informed Attribute."

Not really. This is more like the Galactic Empire and the Emperor in Star Wars, where we don't actually see their crimes (Alderaan nonwithstanding), yet it's still very clear they were heinous despite technically lacking on-screen atrocities. And for the record, Palpatine in the Original Trilogy still qualifies as a Complete Monster despite a complete lack of on-screen atrocities that can be firmly applied to him (No, Alderaan doesn't count as an atrocity by Palpatine, since the original movie made no indication on whether the Emperor actually ordered for the attack, and the Expanded Universe has been iffy on whether or not he did or did not do so, and if anything, the Foster novelization would point against it being the Emperor's wishes due to Vader having to step in and tell Tarkin that the Emperor needs to be consulted first, only for Tarkin to arrogantly refuse.). And considering the whole reason she was not invited to the party was specifically because of her evil nature, it's pretty clear her Mistress of All Evil title was not a mere informed attribute. Besides, The Evil Queen barely had any atrocities under her belt that didn't relate to Snow White, yet she still firmly qualified for trying to arrange for Snow White to be buried alive, so that's yet another fail on that argument.

"And Queen Grimhilde is made the leader of the Disney Villains just as often - ever seen Fantasmic?"

Yeah, and considering Grimhilde's explicitly considered a Complete Monster on here, I fail to see how that disqualifies Maleficent. Actually, if anything, the fact that Grimhilde ties with Maleficent as the leader would strongly suggest that Maleficent DOES qualify as a Complete Monster.

"I fail to see how a guy who murders,"

Evil Queen murdered people, and last I checked, trying to inflict a death curse on a baby, not to mention trying to kill Phillip nearing the end does count as murder. Heck, Ursula also tried to commit murder, as did Gaston, Jafar, and even Prince John and Ratcliffe (and let's not forget Scar either), and that's not even counting the later additions. If he's really going to claim that has him stand out compared to most Disney villains, let alone Maleficent, that's really reaching here.

"attempts outright infanticide (kill the baby AS A BABY rather than curse the baby to die when she's grown up to be 16),"

In case DocColress had forgotten, the 16 years old bit was meant to be the deadline, meaning the very last possible moment of fulfilling that curse. And Maleficent did not willingly wait that long. That scene where she congregates and punishes her minions was meant to show she was in fact spending the past sixteen years issuing a manhunt for Aurora, with it being very clearly implied that had she found her MUCH earlier, like when she was two days old or even a week old, she would have made sure the curse was fulfilled long before then (meaning, yes, she most certainly intended to kill Aurora as a child, and only failed to do so thanks to her minions' incompetence. Not to mention it's implied that despite Fauna's claims that she doesn't understand love, she actually understood it enough to quickly realize it to be a threat to her plans. She wasn't just sitting on her butt waiting for her to become 16 and doing nothing, which is what that statement DocColress would imply.). There wouldn't have even been a point to that scene if she were merely content with wait out the curse, sitting around and doing nothing. If in fact she DID just sit around, wait, do nothing to even get intel on Aurora, let alone issue a manhunt against her, then yes, that won't be qualification for being a Complete Monster.

"abusive parenting,"

For goodness sakes, even Lady Tremaine was guilty of abusive parenting, and she failed to qualify as a Complete Monster (and that's not even counting King Triton who's parenting of Ariel in The Little Mermaid was a LOT less than stellar, even blowing up her grotto out of rage for going good Samaritan over a human, and he's one of the good guys.). When even one of the good guys (who BTW obviously can't qualify as Complete Monsters) is guilty of this, that's definitely not even close to being enough to qualify in Frollo's case. Besides, Frollo's actually a better father figure to Quasimodo than the Dursleys were to Harry Potter, and THEY failed to qualify (certainly Uncle Vernon Dursley failed, and he's the least sympathetic of all of them, as even Petunia and Dudley at least reformed to some extent).

"controlling tactic and gaslighting,"

King Triton and Lady Tremaine were guilty of controlling tactics as well, last I checked, they failed to qualify (and Triton's one of the good guys), and don't get me started on Gaston or even Jafar regarding controlling tactics. And as far as gaslighting, Ursula and even Mother Gothel were exceptionally guilty of gaslighting (the former via the whole Poor Unfortunate Souls sequence as well as her stunt as Vanessa, and the latter via her entire relationship with Rapunzel, especially the song "Mother Knows Best"), and last I checked, they failed to qualify as Complete Monsters (personally, I'd probably consider Ursula a Complete Monster even WITH her genuinely caring for Flotsam & Jetsam, especially when genuinely caring for their closest minions didn't exempt Voldemort or Volgin from the trope, but whatever).

"attempted genocide,"

Maleficent was guilty of that in Maleficent Returns (and before anyone claims that she relented, let me point out that she ultimately only did that because 1., she can't actually turn Aurora into a statue thanks to the Three Good Fairies's defenses on her being stronger than her spells, 2., she ultimately had a self-serving reason that proved beneficial to her alone, and that was so she could exact revenge on Phillip, and 3., keeping one's word isn't exactly enough to disqualify them from the trope. Joker from Dark Knight is notorious for "keeping his word", yet he's a complete monster, same goes with President Snow in Hunger Games, even WITH President Coin proving to be an even worse monster than Snow.). That if anything reinforces why Maleficent counts as a Complete Monster. Besides, Ursula's little con-game that results in the stealing of souls most likely would come close to genocide, or at least mass murder, and she failed to qualify.

"torture,"

Maleficent also used torture on her own henchmen for failing her (and last I checked, zapping people with lightning isn't exactly pleasant and comes a lot closer to torture than mere abuse.). If he's going to claim she fails to qualify merely because she zapped them with lightning instead of killing them, DocColress will going to have to discount that with Frollo since he didn't kill the previous captain of the guard either. No one can have it both ways.

"lust and attempted rape,"

Gaston and Jafar were both guilty of lust as well. That didn't qualify them in the slightest. And quite frankly, Frollo's actions were more coercion than actual attempted rape, so that's not enough (and besides, Gaston did the exact same thing in Beauty and the Beast, and he still failed to qualify). And quite frankly, Jafar and Ursula came far closer to actual attempted rape with their planned third wish and Vanessa stunt, respectively. Heck, King Stefan in the awful Maleficent movie half a decade ago came far closer to attempted rape than Frollo did when he sheared off Maleficent's wings (and yes, it's been made clear by the guys in charge that that scene was specifically meant to highlight rape).

"mass arson,"

Maleficent also was guilty of mass arson as well (or had DocColress forgotten about her torching the immediate area during her final battle with Prince Phillip), and besides which, Prince John committed mass arson on his own castle as did Sherriff of Nottingham just to kill Robin Hood, and that failed to qualify him.

"religious hypocrisy,"

Well, okay, I'll give DocColress that one, at least regarding Disney villains.

"abuse of power,"

Ah, King Triton did a LOT of abuse of power, as did Jafar. Neither of those guys qualified as Complete Monsters.

"and attempted murder of the lowest kind"

Ah, attempted murder of the lowest kind is kind of a stock bit for many villains in fiction, let alone Disney villains. Heck, if anything, Ursula's attempt at killing Ariel literally seconds after making a deal with her father to spare Ariel's life (not to mention the other daughters) was actually an even lower form of attempted murder than Claude Frollo's attempt EVER was.

"fails to stand out compared to a generic fairy tale villain, but that might be just me. And several other people."

Nope, just DocColress and maybe GethN7 (who, BTW, also agreed that Maleficent most certainly did count as a Complete Monster). I can name a few people who definitely didn't think of her as generic and failing to stand out. Like, I don't know, StargateBB, or KillRoy231, or Eszterrrka, to name a few. And when we've got people who did rigged deals to rob people of their souls, being the epitome of evil, among others, yeah, he does ultimately fail to stand out. I go by the sheer scope of villainy, and let's face it, Maleficent and Ursula alone committed FAR worse crimes than he did, with or without powers.

""Can it and include her as well?" You mean include Maleficent, as though you're forcing me at gunpoint to include a character you personally think is an example? Yeah, that will absolutely not fly here. Consider yourself blocked indefinitely."

No, if I wanted to force DocColress at gunpoint, I would have been a LOT more threatening in my tone toward him. Also, not just my personal example, also some others thought she qualified as well when I pointed it out to them. And quite frankly, if I were to strictly go by those I personally thought as an example, I would have tried to list Solid Snake, The Boss, and Zeno as Complete Monsters and even claim that Zeno was even worse than Zamasu with his Tournament of Power business. Yet I didn't, and in fact, I took it a step farther and made sure they were listed as excluded from the trope largely because they're depicted as good guys DESPITE personally viewing them as complete scumbags. I think the fact that I not only tried to avoid listing Zeno as a complete monster even with the Tournament of Power, but also went out of my way to make sure he was listed as someone who should NOT be listed on the trope in the first place, despite clearly having nothing but complete disgust for the character even with the ending of that saga sort-of redeeming him should be a pretty big hint that my adding Maleficent in had NOTHING to do with whether I personally thought she was a Complete Monster. Heck, if anything, I viewed her as being one of Disney's best villains, and she still qualifies despite her being very well-written as it was.

"She's the worst that her story and setting has to offer for sure, but when her worst deeds are cursing a newborn princess to die in 17 years time, forcibly mentally manipulating that princess to almost kill herself years later, and being sadistic towards the prince she's locked up,"

Yeah, and last I checked, the criteria indicated at least TWO moral event horizon crossings (three if we count the torture of her minions with lightning over their failure), and she MORE than met that criteria there. Not to mention had her minions found her when she was, say, 3 years old, she would have done that mental manipulation of her back then as well. Actually, scratch that, make that FOUR moral event horizon crossings that were beyond generic villainy as DocColress himself admitted.

"with the rest of her deeds being standard villainy such as abusing (but not even killing) her minions"

Ah, first of all, not even Claude Frollo attempted to kill his minions (Phoebus doesn't count, as he defected from Frollo and thus is NOT a minion by the time he issued the execution for high treason order.). In fact, other than Rourke, the only Disney villain who actually HAS tried to kill his minions was Ratigan (Ursula doesn't count as F&J's death was more Ariel's fault than Ursula's, not to mention Jafar clearly did not anticipate that Gazeem would be killed by the Cave of Wonders for not being worthy, and Ratcliffe's shooting John Smith doesn't count either since that was an obvious accident since he was aiming for Powahatan. In fact, the closest before Rourke ANY Disney villain got to deliberately killing minions was Scar with his "You won't get a sniff without me" lyric, and even that was left ambiguous as to whether he intended to get him shoved down a molten crevasse due to it coming over instantaneously, and it being left ambiguous as to whether he actually had any power over that). For goodness sakes, The Evil Queen, who most certainly counted as a Complete Monster, didn't even ATTEMPT to do anything to the Huntsman even after she learned he deceived her regarding killing Snow White, not even abuse him, let alone kill him. Second of all, I wouldn't call zapping her minions with lightning as mere abuse, if anything that's more like torture, which DOES qualify as being beyond standard villainy (and if torture qualifies as a reason to count Frollo as a monster, it sure as heck counts in Maleficent's case). Abuse would be more whacking her minions silly with her staff. So if anything, that's THREE instances of non-BOG Standard villainy she's conducted.

"and trying to kill ther heroes,"

She tried to kill Aurora when she was still a baby, death curse taking into account aging or not. That MORE than qualifies for non-BOG villainy, even if she was the heroine. Besides, technically, Phillip and Aurora AREN'T the heroes the story, it's the fairies who were that, so if anything, that makes her MORE of a qualifier than before.

"she doesn't really hit the necessary horrible vileness needed to qualify for this trope, especially when other, non-powered Disney Villains such as Frollo, Sykes, McLeach, and Rourke stand out in their villainy in ways far worse."

He mean "stand out in their on-screen villainy in ways far worse." And quite frankly, Maleficent already stood out for her villainy far more than Frollo, or heck, any of the other groups (otherwise, he'd be the head of the Disney Villains and NOT her or Evil Queen). And it's very safe to assume she's been guilty of far more crimes than Frollo, Sykes, McLeach, and Rourke were, probably doing their crimes as Tuesday material to reference a classic villain line. Heck, McLeach, Sykes, and Rourke aren't even listed as members of the Disney Villains Line, and Frollo's fairly low on the list.

Besides, going strictly by the actual crimes they've conducted, even if we are to ignore Maleficent for one minute, most of the Disney Villains, at least the ones who aren't Complete Monsters, managed to commit a lot more heinous crimes of various levels than Frollo did, barring MAYBE genocide. Gaston? He tried to threaten Belle with locking up Maurice in an insane asylum under trumped up charges if she didn't marry him, and had far less shame in coming up with that plan than Frollo did since he, you know, boasted the plan in front of the entire tavern (and it's obvious that Frollo did have some shame, as "Hellfire" wouldn't have happened if he didn't). Ursula? Aside from explicitly cursing many merpeople with rigged deals and stealing their souls (which quite frankly is even WORSE than just killing them and is a whole lot closer to genocide as it is), she also attempted to kill Ariel by zapping her with the Trident literally a second after Triton signed the deal to take Ariel's place despite being implied to have promised to not harm her/kill her ("Contract or not, I'll..."), while even the like of Frollo still made darn sure to honor his word and penance by even raising Quasimodo to adulthood (to say little about Ursula's little stint as Vanessa and how she was implied to have possibly raped Eric in that form after brainwashing him). Jafar? Well, aside from attempted murder of Aladdin after nearly getting the lamp, despite implicitly promising a reward minutes earlier, he also deeply considered being a Black Widower to Jasmine, robbed free will constantly, and also was considering using his third wish to essentially rob Jasmine's free will and make her his sex slave queen, and when the Genie refused, he accosted him and tried to force him to break that rule. Maleficent? Explicitly cursed a baby to die at a certain age, with there being quite a few hints that she wanted to make sure Aurora died LONG before the deadline was to occur, oh, and fled laughing in delirious joy without bothering to at LEAST allow for a way out of the curse or softening it (while even Frollo at least stayed his hand of killing Quasimodo after being talked out of it). It's actually kind of rich that they list Frollo as a Complete Monster and the worst of the Disney villains when, genocide aside, most of the non-Complete Monster villains when one actually bothers to stop and think about it had even WORSE crimes under their belt than Frollo did. If anything, Frollo WAS standard and flat (that's even one of the complaints about his home movie, that they watered down the themes significantly from the original book). Sure, he might have been more impressive than, say, Lady Tremaine, John Ratcliffe, and maybe Gaston if I'm feeling generous, but that's not exactly something to brag about since they're even LESS impressive. That's also one reason I'm not fond of how they did Frollo in the movie, since not only did they make him into a villain for no real reason other than to just have a villain, but they didn't even bother to make him evil enough for my tastes (I can assure everyone that Ursula, Jafar, Maleficent, and Scar were many levels worse than he ever could amount to in terms of overall villainy). Maybe if they depicted him more like, say, Phillipe Augustine from Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, or even Barthandelus/Primarch Dysley from Final Fantasy XIII, or heck, even Agent Smith from the Matrix Trilogy, he genuinely could rival Maleficent in terms of sheer villainy, and thus certainly could qualify as a Complete Monster. But as it is, he really doesn't (ironically, the closest he ever got to truly qualifying was in Dream Drop Distance in Riku's scenario, and that's only because unlike in Sora's scenario or the film, he clearly was happy to go to Hell as he was shown laughing like a loon as he falls down).

And how on earth does Maleficent fail to hit all the necessary amount of vileness to fit in? Last I checked, the trope required two moral event crossings, which she has already done with Aurora and Phillip, and she tortured her minions for their failure (not merely abused, but tortured. Zapping them with lightning last I checked is torture, not abuse. Or maybe DocColress ought to claim Palpatine just "abused" Luke at the ending of Return of the Jedi, then? Or maybe that the French "abused" people with electricity during the French-Indochina wars?), so that makes three instances of a moral event horizon/heinous act. And quite frankly, I fail to see how Maleficent's a flat character. We know she's a sadistic psychopath who revels in doing carnage and clearly has a massive ego to her, which isn't the makings of a flat character. If she's a flat character, then Palpatine is a flat character as well, as well as the Joker and Kefka Palazzo, since they're not much different and they still qualified as Complete Monsters. The only way I could see how she might be considered flat is if she were thinking along the lines of how Hideo Kojima writes his villains (especially when Colonel Volgin by Metal Gear standards is pretty flat, as is Hot Coldman.). Other than that, she really isn't flat.

The only thing this whole thing proved is that DocColress is such a shill for Maleficent that he cannot envision her being a complete monster even when the evidence is far too obvious to discount.

EDIT: Okay, I did admittedly suggest reporting to GethN7 around the time he was in hot water if he didn’t add Maleficent in, but I wasn’t threatening him (if I were, I would have been a LOT more vicious about it based on prior experience of how people threatened me).

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mrfredgar · 6 years ago

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Ok this is gonna be LOOONNNGGG

Exploring the RDR2 tag on Tumblr, I’ve seen many people label Dutch a plain old narcissist and shitty person, but I don’t think that’s right. And let me explain why 🤓

Let’s start at the beginning. When we start the game, we can see that Dutch gaslights Arthur, and based on Arthur’s reactions (brushes it off), he’s been doing it for some time and Arthur doesn’t care. Now people use that to say Dutch is just a shit head. But I think there’s more to it. First we know that Dutch’s relationship with his mother was rocky at best, and she most likely either physically abused him or neglected him outright. So we see issues with self-esteem and love right there. Now we also know that Dutch’s father fought in the Civil War and died. Dutch has resentment towards Southerners, but he also might resent his father a bit as well. When a child looses a parent when they’re young, they have a hard time processing it, and for little Dutch who already has a shitty mom, having his father leave (and leave him with her) and never return, he might resent that. But he might also believe he just wasn’t good enough for his father to want to stay (because of the issues arising with his mother). So right off the bat we can deduce that Dutch has issues with abandonment, self-love/esteem, and self-doubt. Now with all that in mind, when Dutch accuses Arthur of not being loyal, we can translate that into “Am I no longer good enough?

Next we have the trolley crash, which the fandom has determined caused severe brain trauma. So we have this self-doubting, abandonment-issue riddled man, who constantly thinks people will no longer like or believe in him, who now has a brain injury that was left untreated. These two things alone could have caused the erratic and violent Dutch we see by the end. But that’s not all.

Hosea dies. The only person Dutch could fully trust. His best friend. His loyal companion. His possible lover. The balance in his life. The person who keeps him sane. This person dies. But not only does he die. He dies violently and in front of Dutch. So Dutch has lost this very important person, but he’s not allowed to grieve, which as @vandermatthews pointed out, can cause damage to a persons psyche. So now we have essentially three different forces working against Dutch.

And finally, we have fucking Micah, the REAL shit head. Micah sees his opportunity to slither his way into being Dutch’s new right-hand man when Hosea dies, but he also uses Dutch’s brain injury AND his grief to manipulate the poor man into believe Arthur and John are no longer loyal to him and he needs to cut them loose. Also, he either knows or senses Dutch’s issues with self-doubt/love and abandonment and uses those to his advantage, by again convincing Dutch that Arthur no longer loves or trusts him. So Micah uses all of Dutch’s issues to get what he wants, adding a fourth dimension to Dutch’s problems.

So here we see this sad, lonely man, with mental health issues, brain trauma, and a shitty person whispering in his ear. Dutch is a lot of things, but I don’t think he’s entirely bad. Sure he should not gaslight his adoptive son, but I think these problems arise from his own shitty childhood. As the saying goes, “abused people abuse people.” Does this absolve Dutch of this abuse? No of course not. But we can see why he is the way he is. So he’s not a narcissist who has no redeemable qualities and is just a bad person with no reason for it *cough Micah cough* But instead is a sad, broken man who needs PROPER 21st century therapy and a hug. And I honestly believe had Dutch received proper care for his mental health issues and his brain trauma, he would have been a completely different person. Probably a good person. But it was 1899 and emotions were for the weak.

Ok, analysis over.

#dutch van der linde #red dead redemption 2 #emotional abuse #gaslighting #hosea matthews #arthur morgan #analysis #long post #dutch is a sad broken man who needs a hug and therapy #but being abused never justifys abusing someone else #but we see why dutch is the way he is #micah bell #john marston

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postmodernmulticoloredcloak · 6 years ago

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Speculation time~~

So, to recap where I am aboard the speculation train:

a) Michael has effectively left Dean’s body. Dean said so. When an angel leaves a vessel, you can see/feel that, and Dean knows. The alternative would be to assume that Michael fabricated the perception in Dean’s mind of an angel leaving the body, light and all, but that, unless proven otherwise, is too far-fetched to be assumed as valid speculation at this point. Occam’s razor and all.

b) Michael has done something to Dean’s soul/body that leaves the vessel still connected to him even after he’s left. We know that there’s a “line” between angel and vessel, especially in the case of archangels and their ‘true vessel’. The scar in 14x02 is probably the physical manifestation of that link.

Curiously, I’ve seen spec on my dash that, with names and little else changed, could pretty much have been written during the Amara arc - the fandom has long speculated about the handprint left by Castiel being a “brand” that connects Dean and Castiel (the line from 6x03 “when a claim is laid on a living soul, it leaves a mark, a brand” has sparked a lot of speculation, although in that episode they were talking about “buying” souls, and I wouldn’t talk about Castiel “owning” Dean’s, but it is possible that some kind of connection was made, although I’m more of a fan of the idea that there’s nothing supernatural linking them, just “human” feelings and experiences).

When Amara was connected to Dean but his bond with Cas was still more powerful than that connection, people also speculated that the handprint had been the physical manifestation of a spiritual bond, and the Mark of Cain had then bonded Dean and Amara, but Dean’s soul already had that pre-existing bond with Cas and that’s why Amara’s bond could never be fully implemented.

Now I’m seeing posts speculating where this new scar on Dean’s body is something similar to Castiel’s handprint or the Mark of Cain, signaling a bond of Dean’s soul to someone else. Some people are speculating that again, in Michael’s case, the archangel won’t be able to fully implement a bond with Dean because Dean is already bonded to another. I am not a fan of this specific scenario, because I don’t like to think of Dean and Cas’ bond as a metaphysical one, but I can see how it’s perfectly possible that there is something in common between the handprint, this new scar, and maybe the Mark of Cain, because we are in the territory of angels, human souls, bonds, all that jazz.

Of course we will have some answers when 14x03 airs, for now I’m accepting as plausible speculation that the scar is the physical manifestation of some kind of link between Dean(’s soul) and Michael, that it belongs in some form to the same family of phenomena as the s4 handprint (vague enough :p) and possibly of the Mark of Cain (if the name means something, we can infer that Lucifer’s own 'lock’ for the Darkness did not have the appearance of the Mark of Cain, but it took that shape in Cain and Dean, two humans, so maybe on Lucifer it looked like it did on Amara - more like a tattoo than a scar - and it looked like a scar when Lucifer, an angel, did the thing to Cain, a human).

c) This is just a theory, but I think that it’s possible that this link between Michael and Dean will be used by Michael to gaslight Dean in some form. Imagine a storyline that is a parallel and reversal in certain ways to the Hallucifer storyline: Sam hallucinated Lucifer and doubted his perception of reality; Dean might have his perceptions manipulated by Michael (this time not a mere hallucination, but the real deal, thus the reversal) and question his reality.

It is also possible (again, theory that could be 0% true, but since it’s speculation time...) that Dean will act somehow ‘weird’, sort of Michael-like maybe (or simply do little things he doesn’t remember doing, that sort of stuff), and thus attract suspicion and mistrust from the hunters in the bunker. Cas himself will wonder whether Dean has been damaged by the possession and become a bit more like Michael, like he has seen Nick being damaged by the possession and acting a bit more like Lucifer. Regardless of what is true for Nick, whether he killed his family or not, etc - Cas believes that the possession damaged Nick’s psyche and a bit of Lucifer’s personality bled into him, and it would be interesting to have him suspect that the same might have happened to Dean, whom he obviously holds dearer than Nick. (Of this theory I like how it makes the Nick storyline a narrative tool for Dean’s).

Maybe Michael will remotely manipulate Dean in order to create distrust and suspicion among the hunter community, and even inside Dean himself who won’t be sure of what’s happening himself. It wouldn’t be out of character for Michael, who had Zachariah use his talents on Jack before, who used Kevin to break Jack’s spirit, and so on. Jack and the humans from the AU world have - understandably - a strong sense of Michael’s dangerousness, and this is where the fracture could happen: they realize something wrong is going on with Dean, and suspect that Dean might work as a webcam for Michael (or even as a spy!), or even that Dean could personally, like, snap and attack them (possibly in the meanwhile somebody finds out that Nick is doing unsavory things, and they are afraid whether Dean might do the same...). Maybe Sam and Cas themselves start suspecting that Dean is highly dangerous, but they don’t exactly master common sense when it comes to Dean, so.

In all of this, Michael - who represents the trauma, repression and the whole good ol’ baggage Dean carries because of John’s parenting - symbolizes how the trauma and repression have distorted Dean’s perception of reality, for instance his perception of his self-worth as a person (interestingly, the 14x05 summary makes me think of 3x10, when Dean confronted himself and the issue of how his father shaped his sense of self-value as zero, and 14x02 also contained an interaction between two ‘faces’ of Dean via the mirror that reminded of the dream scene) but also the possibilities in his relationships with others, especially the ones closest to him.

Thoughts?

#my spn thoughts #spn spec #spn 14x02 #spn 14x03 #i am tempted to go with bichael as a tag #dean and michael #spn

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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Ed Asner: The Most Memorable Animated Roles From the TV Legend

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We lost a great one this weekend with Ed Asner. The lovably gruff actor died at 91. Asner was a prolific actor, not only having well over 400 credits to his name, but also still performing roles to the end. Sure, every obituary is going to talk up how well known he was for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and all that, but for many of us, he was a huge part of our childhoods.

Ed Asner did plenty of voice work. More than I can talk about here, but his deep, growly, and at times friendly voice lent itself well to a lot of cartoon characters. Not just the old man from Up, but lots of villains and supporting characters in superhero shows. He was also in FoodFight, but we don’t need to talk about FoodFight.

Here are our favorite animated characters that Ed Asner gave voice to…

Roland Daggett (Batman: The Animated Series)

It really says a lot about how high-quality Batman: The Animated Series was when they had Ed Asner doing a bang up job playing Roland Daggett and he was probably considered the least interesting recurring villain. Giving Batman his own Lex Luthor wasn’t as strong a dynamic as it should have been and other than being a side villain in the Clayface origin episodes, Daggett’s episodes don’t really stand out among the rest.

When you do watch one of those episodes and remember that Daggett exists, Asner’s charm definitely does some heavy lifting. He absolutely pulled whatever blood he could out of that stone.

Hoggish Greedly (Captain Planet and the Planeteers)

Ah, Captain Planet. Incredibly cheesy, but honestly way better than it really had any right to be. Asner played Hoggish Greedly, one of the various go-to villains on the show and one of the villains who was so on the nose that he’s made to look like a literal gross animal to drive the point home how evil he is. Greedly was half-pig/half-Trump, which led to Asner doing oink-based laughter that went on way too long. I’m sure that saved on the animation budget.

Asner’s Greedly also did a lot of yelling at his sidekick Rigger and that guy was voiced by John Ratzenberger. Forget all the pollution and trying to murder children and eco-Jesus. Being mean to Cliff Clavin is going too far!

Hudson (Gargoyles)

Third season excluded, Gargoyles was one of those shows that was so good that you can’t help but look back in wonder at how fortunate we were to have something so good. Asner was the team’s resident grizzled mentor character Hudson (who named himself that after thinking that naming a river is stupid as hell). He brought his A-game, plus a Scottish accent, but was a bit overshadowed by the team’s leader Goliath. Asner may have had a gravely voice, but he was a silver medalist to Keith David’s gold in that regard.

Despite being a battle-weary soul, Hudson always brought a weird sense of optimism to the show whenever he was around. He acted like living as long as he had was something to be celebrated and that he was lucky for it.

Mike Cosgrove (Freakazoid)

As the story goes, Asner was prepared to voice Sgt. Cosgrove with more pep and emotion, but when he blandly read through the lines to get them down first, others told him to just go with that. Cosgrove’s complete lack of enthusiasm in contrast to Freakazoid’s over-the-top behavior is what makes him so memorable and likeable. He was like the anti-straight man.

There’s a real Dadaist charm to Cosgrove, who is entirely competent (he once caused a Cthulhu-like being to back off via a threat to bust his lip), but really outlines the utter weirdness of Freakazoid’s world with his mild banter. It doesn’t matter how dire the situation is, if Cosgrove invites Freakazoid to some random distraction, it will almost always work. Then he’ll tell him something odd like how pigs are smarter than bears, but they can’t ride bikes. Then he’ll convince Freakazoid to get back to the plot and move on.

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This did lead to the biggest BS moment of the show, though. One time Freakazoid couldn’t go get a yogurt with Cosgrove, so Cosgrove asked the viewer if they wanted to join him, followed by reacting as if we said no. Don’t you put that evil on me, Steven Spielberg! I don’t appreciate the gaslighting and I know I’m not the only one.

Asner did get to reprise the role one last time in a recent episode of Teen Titans Go! that guest starred Freakazoid. Once again, he got distracted from a life-or-death situation because Cosgrove wanted to buy him a donut and then discuss the different types of donuts.

J. Jonah Jameson (Spider-Man: The Animated Series)

When it comes to Jameson, it’s all but unanimous that JK Simmons is THE portrayal. Even in terms of animation, people tend to think of Paul Kligman for nailing the character back in the 1960s. That said, Asner played him a different way and it worked. Asner’s Jameson wasn’t a motormouth with an inflated sense of importance. He was a gruff and, for lack of a better term, menacing boss who was a thorn in the side of Peter Parker’s two identities.

While he did come off as a jerk, they made sure to emphasize that he wasn’t a bad guy, just a grouch with an axe to grind. That made it all the better in the aftermath of Peter’s wedding when he revealed in secret that he paid for the whole thing, but didn’t want Peter to know he actually liked him.

Even though Asner was able to play Peter’s cantankerous quasi-father figure, he did get a brief shot at Peter’s more loving one in Spectacular Spider-Man. As Uncle Ben, Asner showed some real grizzled warmth that really stood out despite being a very short role.

Granny Goodness (Superman: The Animated Series)

I already mentioned Daggett earlier, but Asner has done his lion’s share of DC characters. The animated adaptation of All-Star Superman had him as Perry White, which is so obvious in retrospect that I can’t believe it took that long to do (Asner had also been considered for the role as far back as Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie). He was also Hephaestus in an episode of Justice League Unlimited, which was overshadowed by the extremely inspired casting of the brothers from Wonder Years as Hawk and Dove.

Just as inspired was Asner as Granny Goodness. A cosmic evil in the form of a “loving” grandmother type is one of the most Jack Kirby of Jack Kirby ideas. Having Asner trying to use his menacing gravel voice for a female character is just so fun to check out, especially once you figure out it’s him. Granny didn’t get too much use, but I would love to see the footage of Asner in the booth trying to make it work.

Carl Fredricksen (Up)

While I can talk about Cosgrove and Jameson for days, Asner’s most famous role is that of Carl, the crotchety old man from Up. It helps that by the time we first hear Asner’s voice in the movie, we’ve already seen Carl through his whole life, including the heartbreaking tragedy that comes with it. It lets us know that underneath the harsh growling, there’s a sensitive man underneath and Asner’s performance opens up throughout.

Though again, he’s mean to John Ratzenberger and I can’t abide by that!

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Up is a great companion piece to A Goofy Movie, in how it hits differently for each generation. Much like how kids identify with Max while adults identify with Goofy, Up has Russell the scout and Carl. When Kevin the bird gets kidnapped, Russell can only scold Carl in disbelief for letting it happen. Carl, whose house and belongings were literally just on fire a moment ago, responds with the emotional and fed-up, “I DIDN’T ASK FOR ANY OF THIS!” which is probably my favorite Asner line read.

I’m really not looking forward to rewatching that movie. I love it, but it’s going to break me. Let’s see what else Disney+ has to offer… Oh, Dug has his own series of shorts! …Oh man.

Santa Claus (Various)

One of roles people these days remember Asner for is Santa Claus in Elf. That was neither the first time nor the last time Asner portrayed Jolly Old Saint Nick. He’s played the character various times in various projects. For some reason, Ed Asner just made for a fantastic Santa. It’s not like he was playing him the same way every time.

His performance in The Story of Santa Claus was your regular vanilla take. The version in Elf (which had an animated spinoff short, so it’s on-topic!) felt like a well-meaning but flawed take on the legend. Olive, the Other Reindeer added some real cynicism to Santa while Regular Show went even further to the point of absurdity. But yet no matter the version, Asner added warmth and wisdom to his portrayal of the seasonal gift-giver.

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Honestly, an Ed Asner Santa marathon isn’t the worst idea for this December. It’s a good way to remember such a beloved talent that I’m certainly going to miss.

The post Ed Asner: The Most Memorable Animated Roles From the TV Legend appeared first on Den of Geek.

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