#just love it bro. love the narrative difference bro. really cool literary analysis bro.

[nomorejust1ce]

jake is like everyone has to be in love with me!! and vriska is like due to consequences of my upbringing in a society that enforces violence and a mother that makes being violent necessary i predispose myself to believing that everyone must hate me and in doing so treat them poorly in order to build a wall between myself and the people that i hurt therefore creating a never ending self destructive cycle where i hurt other people because i feel like it’s the only thing i can do!!

[warlordgab]

What makes a Potent Pairing stand out? (LuNa Edition)

"Love is Friendship caught fire; it is quiet, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times." 

"It’s the day-in and day-out chronicle of irritations, problems, compromises, small disappointments, big victories, and working toward common goals."

- Laura Hendricks 

When it comes to potent relationships featured in literary works, several people often look for something that resonates with their perspective of what they would like in a relationship with a significant other. 

Sometimes, that creates highly subjective views on what the story presents for characters and their connections with others. So, it's fair to ask: what makes a relationship stand out from the rest? 

Logically, it has to stay true to both story and characters, while displaying some factors already explained in a previous analysis: meaningful behaviors, significant gestures, emotional support, all within multiple major and minor moments. 

Also, as stated by the concept of Potent Bonding, the story gradually and consistently stresses on their relationship.

These are minimum requirements for a well-written relationship as any premise lacking actual development and build-up falls within the realm of bad/lazy writing forcing half-baked connections.

Now that we cleared that up, what does LuNa offer that other premises don't? What makes such relationship stand out from the rest? 

One element would be a remarkably solid chemistry. Something that started with these characters both actively and passively challenging each other's perspectives; a conflict that reached its peak at Arlong Park when Nami after losing all hope chooses to rely on Luffy who personally provides her with the strength and emotional comfort she needed so badly in a very impactful scene...

...this is something that Luffy had to personally resolve with Nami to earn her trust and loyalty. Notice how the scene didn't need much dialogue, in fact, most of that emotional narrative is told through actions and meaningful gestures instead of exaggerated and corny lines.

What adds more to LuNa would be the fact that Luffy not only actively tried to reach out to Nami, he did it without knowing anything about her background nor the reason behind her despair, he did it without having any real reason to put faith in her. All he knew were two things: he wanted her in his crew, and someone made her cry... that was the only motivation he needed, even though her life wasn't in danger, to personally become the emotional crutch of a girl who tried to push him away.

This came to a point that even when Nami’s father figure made him promise not to take away Nami’s smile, Luffy’s final response was this...

...he took Nami’s happiness as his responsibility, and he did it with a smile. This adds a sense of compromise to their relationship.

But it doesn't end there. Using this as the foundation of their bond, the story stressed their relationship at several points and arcs.

By the time of the Drum Island arc, Nami started to return that faith/trust put in her by placing her life in Luffy's hands as he decides to climb a mountain to get Nami medical attention.

At this point, we should remember that when writing chemistry between characters it should never be implied that one owns the other a relationship because of favors done. Saving someone is not enough to establish a solid chemistry, so it's not about the fact that Luffy helped to save Nami, instead, it's more about the mutual confidence between them and how that affects the characters.

This is something that makes LuNa different from other premises, as shippers often like to rely on the argument of "he saved her, so they should be together." Instead of that, we get a strong bond that consistently grows through the loyalty and virtues of a deep companionship without the need for overly mushy stuff.

Moving on to Skypiea, we find out Luffy's struggle to earn Nami's faith/trust was not over yet. When going through a crisis (most of the crew getting easily stomped by Enel), Nami ended up giving into fear and the uncertainty of their situation filled her with doubts even when Luffy was fighting the big bad of the arc. What was Luffy's response?

He reminded Nami that as a the companion of the future Pirate King she didn't need to fret so much. Through a meaningful gesture, he managed to quell Nami's anxiety and provide her with the courage to face Enel by herself. While this is a moment that had been considered several times in the past its importance in the context of the Luffy/Nami relationship stands out in future showings.

The first result is obvious, Luffy solidifies his role as Nami's emotional anchor. Something that doesn't need much explanation at this point and doesn’t rely on scenes or words taken out of context.

But the aftermath of this moment is felt much later in Oda's works. She opens herself to Luffy at Water 7 while revealing Robin's true motives, and during the movie Oda wrote (Strong World), we saw how her first reaction when dazed or anxious is to look for Luffy.

And it's easy to notice that after the timeskip this hasn't really changed, as Nami continues to rely on Luffy the most to the point she was completely confident on him being the one that would beat Yeti Cool Bros. to rescue her. Not to mention the way she received him at Zou is quite consistent with their moment at the Aqua Laguna in Water 7, while she's happy to see them Nami runs to Luffy's arms seeking for hope and comfort

Notice that while other premises rely on gags, jokes, or claims of sexual tension, this relationship offers strength and emotional support when most needed, along with mutual faith/trust without being overly corny/clichéd or putting a heavy load on the story.

The effect this connection has on Nami even subverts the expectations of many readers. When she saw a Sweet Commander sending Luffy flying through several trees, several readers expected her to leave Luffy fighting alone and proceed with their mission by her own.

But, what did she do?

She stood by Luffy's side and helped him to fight in the ways she could at the moment. Her loyalty and bravery shine through this arc.

When people saw a wounded and exhausted Luffy was about to fight the Enraged Army, several readers expected Nami to run away, let Luffy fight on his own, and find a better chance to continue their mission.

But, what did she do?

Once again, she stood by Luffy's side. Nami tried to convince him to hide, but when Luffy refused because he was determined to wait for Sanji there, she supported Luffy and fought alongside him against overwhelming odds. A stark contrast to Skypiea; here Luffy didn't need to provide her with courage. In this case, Nami displayed a remarkable bravery and faithfully supported Luffy even when facing these dreadful circumstances.

On the other hand, when it comes to Luffy, he is defined by Oda himself as someone very "straightforward about what he wants to be and how he feels," and this is reflected in the way he bonds with other characters. He's like an open book that doesn't hide his feelings; he easily expresses his excitement about the wonders he gets to see, and at times he shows his mettle during serious situations.

After Nami made an impression on him during the Buggy arc, Luffy knew that he wanted her in his crew to the point he wasn't willing to let her go. We know he never doubted Nami or gave up on her even when given enough reasons to do so. And when given the chance to learn why Nami was refusing to join him, he didn't care; Luffy just wanted Nami as his navigator and acted on his feelings.

One example that shows how their chemistry stands out is the way Oda wrote Luffy's character in Strong World...

We previously saw how Luffy did his best to strengthen the trust and faith between him and Nami. So, how does he react to the prospect of Nami doubting him and not relying on him anymore...

If you want more information about why would a man react this way, feel free to check this detailed analysis on Strong World and LuNa

Now, Luffy demands absolute trust and loyalty from Nami, and as the story shows, he's willing to fight to earn them. Something that holds a greater meaning than exaggerated flirting or physical appeal.

This relationship also offers him far more than other premises do...

We can find an example of this in an interesting detail about their emotional chemistry. A friend of mine pointed out a contrast provided by this scene...

...when the crew read about Luffy's great loss during the Marineford War, they tried their best to reach the place where they were going to reunite. When we get Nami's response to this matter she has a flashback about Luffy's concern for Ace despite his choice of letting him be. So, she wanted to be there for him because she knew what Luffy needed the most at that moment was emotional support, something he gave to her several times in the past.

While a smitten woman was simply offering food to Luffy while fantasizing about him, Nami was going to offer what Luffy truly needed: support, relief, and comfort. Granted, the entire crew was trying to go back to Luffy as soon as they read the news, but that doesn't change the fact Nami wanted to give Luffy something far more meaningful and thoughtful in the context of an actually healthy and strong relationship. Partly based on what she knew and remembered of him along with everything they went through until that point.

It's true that Nami has a fiery temper, but despite this fact, Luffy is still willing to keep bonding with her. This is another aspect that helps them to stand out, not for the bickering, but rather how Nami tries to put a rein on Luffy due to how much of a reckless daredevil he is.

In this regard, they complement each other in the way she later explained in Weatheria; she's like the compass that keeps Luffy from losing his way allowing him to venture into the sea. And going by the story and the flashbacks that reveal how she felt throughout her speech, to her Luffy is like the rock that gives a firm hold of her emotional turmoil in times of distress.

The fact they complement each other is not a coincidence either. Most of the companions Luffy got on his journey have skills or personalities shaped around his needs, and this is somewhat highlighted by Luffy himself during Arlong Park.

To put it in other terms, he's not very bright and he's left to go on his own in the sea he won't go far. That's why he needs someone that can, as other people already explained, navigate him through his decision-making; someone that could challenge a poor course of action and provide with a brain for his brawls all while being willing to go on adventures and crossing the seas.

This is consistent with Luffy's character. In contrast, by relying on filler, hype, or pandering several shippers promote premises that go against Luffy's straightforward nature, but LuNa offers something that fits into his characters and leaves enough room to grow stronger without hindering the story nor reducing the quality of its writing.

All things considered, what we've seen in Oda's works is the indication of a deep "love" binding them together, poetry that writes itself. While it's not something explicitly romantic in the traditional sense of the word, it's still strong enough for their bond to stand out from the rest as a Potent Relationship.

NaLu Edition here: http://warlordgab.tumblr.com/post/174632047146/what-makes-a-potent-pairing-stand-out-nalu

[margarittet]

Why the SPN mixtape scene from 12x19 is screenwriting gold, and should be taught to the next generations of screenwriters everywhere - analysis

20 seconds. Two lines of dialogue, three gestures, a couple more camera angles. Episode 19, season 12 of a genre TV show “Supernatural”. A single strike of screenwriting and cinematic genius. The mixtape scene.

Robert Berens and Meredith Glynn, I bow before you.

This scene should be used as an example for future screenwriters how you can put maximum of meaning into minimal time and dialogue. Should be analyzed and taught at universities everywhere, how to achieve the most using the least. How to write for TV, where you only have less than an hour to built something spectacular.

WOW.

Let’s just peel off all the layers of these 20 seconds of footage and these 13 words. 13 WORDS.

(Cas knocks, Dean doesn’t say anything. Cas opens the door, apologizes for disturbing Dean in his room, and then takes a cassette tape out of his left inside coat pocket, and puts it on the desk, while tapping the label on it that says “Deans (sic!) top 13 Zepp traxx”.)

Cas: Um, I just wanted to return this.

Dean: It’s a gift. You keep those.

13 tracks. 13 words. The future. So number thirteen is important for the future. I mean, are you trying to tell us something here, writers?

(Dean takes the tape, oustreches his arm, and gives it back to Cas. We see Cas’ hand grabbing the tape, and taking it back.)

That tiny scene is ENORMOUS from the perspective of the narrative and the characterization. Let’s see what we can get out of it. (Prepare yourself: it’s gonna be long. Damn, how much meta can you write based on 20 seconds of television and two lines of dialogue?) (Hint: A lot.)

Thoughts in no particular order.

LotR reference

Let’s start with text, because text is kinda my thing. This is this:

I half expected Dean to roll his eyes at himself for acting like an elvish maiden - maybe he did internally. Anyway, we all remember how Aragorn and Arwen’s story ended, right? (In the movies at least.) 

It’s great how Cas and Dean re never strictly cast as a female mirror or male mirror in any of the romantic pararells that the show does. Their gender roles and characteristics are extremely fluid, and it’s wonderful.

2) The label

Deans (sic!) top 13 Zepp traxx”

First thing: “Deans” - not “Top 13 Zepp traxx”, not “The best of Led Zepp”. DEAN’S top 13 Led Zepp tracks. This shit is personal. Your favourite music says a lot about you, it’s like showing somebody your favourite book, or your favourite fictional character. ONE favourite track says something about what you like, feel, think. 13 songs of your favourite band, especially if that band is Led Zeppelin? You may as well get naked, because you can’t uncover yourself much more than that. This stuff makes you open and vulnerable. They will know what you like, what you enjoy, what you feel, what kind of stories your favourite music tells. It’s a mirror of you. Led Zepp is not a band with three beats and five words in the lyrics. It’s long, it’s literary, and it’s epic. It tells a lot about the person, especially a person who loves music and stories as much as Dean does. By showing Cas that he loves these 13 songs of Led Zeppelin, he told Cas he loves cock rock, sexual innuendos, shameless romanticism, fantasy references, biblical imagery, American blues, stories about life, death, love, sex, angels, Satan, mythology, science-fiction and Lord of the Rings. If this band is not a metaphor for the many sides of the real Dean Winchester, I don’t know what is. Dean showed Cas his non-performing side.

This is not even good gift giving, Dean, darling - a nice gift would be giving Cas music HE would enjoy, not you. Give him Beyonce (“Halo” would be nice, lol), give him rap, give him some Britney Spears. No, you gave him Led Zepp, with a NOTE that these are your favourite songs.

You wanted to show yourself to him. This is fucking intimate.

The cassette is a symbol for Dean, for Dean's heart, like the necklace was a symbol of Arwen's heart. That is why no matter what Cas did in 12x19, Dean is still on his side. Why he fixed his truck, gave him the Impala keys without thinking, tried to talk to him instead of fighting him, why he was so hurt Cas left before. That's why he didn't even consider taking the cassette back. Because he has made his decision, he gave himself to Cas, and he will not hear of Cas giving it back (you can't give it back, really). Just look how quickly Cas grabs the tape back. He even uses it later to highlight "we", waving it between him and Dean. This moment is showing us Dean has given his true self to Cas, and he is not changing his mind. This happened already, and no one witnessed it but the two of them. Cas only tried to give it back, because he thought that after what he was about to do, Dean would want it back. Nope.

Nothing to see here. Moving on.

“Top 13”

Yeah, these are his favourite songs, but not all of them, just the best ones. Why thirteen? This is actually a weird number of songs for a cassette tape, especially for a band like Led Zeppelin. It’s too few for 90 min, and too many for 60 min (usual lengths of tapes). So I see three reasons:

Dean just chose songs that send exactly the message he wanted to send, so he didn’t need more songs.

It’s a reference to season 13 - which, I believe, will be romance heavy and amazing.

It’s a reference to “13 Reasons Why”, a show about a girl’s suicide and cassette tapes since this is the same episode where Kelly kills herself, dies, and is revived by the Nephilim, (and therefore it’s canon that the Nephilim can bring people from the dead. Cas, anyone?)

All of the above.

“Zepp”

Besides the fact that liking Led Zeppelin says tons about the real Dean Winchester, it has also different meanings:

Led Zeppelin is a shorthand for seduction, but also for a cosmic romantic connection.

We know two situations where Led Zepp is mentioned in terms of seducing somebody. Jo mentions that hunters want to get into her pants with “some pizza, a sixpack and side one of Zeppelin IV”. This means pretty much the same as “they think they can impress me with cool music while they only know four songs played frequently on the radio, fucking posers.” See, I know Dean is better than to put Stairway to Heaven or Rock n’ Roll on his mixtape, since these are the most popular, i.e. impersonal of Zeppelin songs (although he may be partial to “Battle of Evermore”, since he is a huge nerd). Aaaaaanyway, the other time we see Led Zepp as a seduction technique is when Nick the Siren talks to Dean about some more obscure Led Zepp records - he outdid Dean with his knowledge of Led Zepp trivia - and Dean is bought. This is exactly the opposite of knowing only side A of Zeppelin IV. This is a real deal, and Dean is so mesmerized.

And then we have the literal “match made in Heaven” of John and Mary - and we know she used Led Zeppelin to test John as a potential lover. He knew all the lyrics (again, real, deep knowledge of the subject vs the superficial one), and she knew he was worth going for. I don’t think Dean is testing Cas, but I think that since John and Mary connected over Zeppelin LYRICS, the lyrics are as important for Dean as the music is. That’s why he used them to show Cas what he feels. And it also reminds him of his parents.

Plus, honestly, if reciting/playing Led Zepp lyrics to somebody doesn’t feel dirty and/or disgustingly romantic, you’re doing it wrong. “Squeeze me baby, ‘till the juice runs down my leg”? Really? 

Led Zepp is connected to John

Remember how, when we see Dean for the first time connecting with a kid in season 1, he teaches him that “Zeppelin rules”? That’s because Zeppelin is in Deans mind “father’s music”. It’s something you show your kid, something you can bond over. 

It’s a well known thing that we choose partners similar to our parents, so it’s not a shocker that Dean connects John’s music with his love interests. It’s nothing weird. If he was going for a girl, he’d look for somebody who is like more like Mary (and since she also loved Led Zepp - well, remember Jo?)

Led Zepp is connected to Mary. 

Since Dean and Mary are so similar, it’s not surprising that his first thought how to connect with his love interest is through Led Zeppelin (just how her was, when she met John).

“Traxx”

Ha! This one is great. They spelled it this way probably mostly to get our attention. “Tracks” was a legendary gayclub in Washington DC, and even now there is a gay club under this name in Denver, plus there are gay clubs all around the US and Canada that are called “Trax” or “Traxx”. Subtle and awesome. It’s a nice shout out to Dean saying he was in Purgatory in Miami.  

(Edit: Plus, as many people pointed out to me since I wrote this piece, XX is also a common shorthand for kisses. I knew that, but I wasn’t sure it was something Dean would do. But now I agree. I guess I didn’t give Dean enough credit for being sappy. :)

The whole “Deans top 13 Zepp Traxx” label is Dean “no-homo”ing the tape - “Dude, look how cool I am, ain’t got no time for good grammar and proper spelling, dude. Bro.” You know, in case Sam sees the tape, and there are questions. *eyeroll*

3) Music as a non-textual device

It was said once that even though Led Zeppelin is Dean Winchester’s favourite band, we will not ever hear it on the show, because the royalties are just too. Damn. Expensive. The show can’t afford it in their budget to put Led Zeppelin on the soundtrack, even though the band’s music is crucial to understanding Dean Winchester’s complexity. So instead of scraping more money, they pulled “High Fidelity”, and put music IN THE NARRATIVE. This, my loves, is pragmatism 101. Why to spend a fortune to put ONE Led Zepp song in the episode, when you could just send your viewers to their Spotify account and listen to ALL the songs there, thus creating their own soundtrack for this episode and the relationship between the characters. I wish I would be this smart. This actually achieved several goals at once.

All Led Zeppelin music is now a textual part of the universe and Dean’s character, not just two songs that he mentioned in season 4. We know the tape has 13 songs, but we don’t know which ones, which means all the songs can be there, until we are told differently - “Schroedinger’s Mixtape”. Some viewers can even no-homo the tape by picking the songs that are neither sexual nor romantic, but it will be HARD.

4) Michelangelo’s “The creation of Adam”

In the way this moment is shot, we are reminded where they stand in the beginning of this episode - Cas is the celestial being (who just has been to Heaven), and Dean once again represents humanity - the humanity that Cas is canonically in love with.

(On another note: Michelangelo is one of the most famous gay icons in history.)

5) This short moment showed us as well that there is so much stuff happening off screen that we never get too see. Who knows what else we don’t know? What else happened between these two characters that we never heard about? This made me think we should always be careful with the new showrunners, since they love puzzles, games, and pieces of information peppered over the whole season that are not always what they are. There is ALWAYS MORE. They love playing with meta reading, and it’s glorious. 

Also, instead of showing us the moment where Dean gives Cas the tape (what would be a regular thing to do), they showed us the BACK END of the situation. We have to construct what happened from the end, backwards. We know Cas got the tape, both characters know what happened between them when he received it from Dean, but we HAVE NO IDEA. We don’t get to see it because we were not privy to that moment. It was JUST BETWEEN THEM. It was an intimate moment that no one else got to witness, even the audience. And it makes it so much more important. It adds a new level of privacy and intimacy to their relationship, and it’s amazing, especially since the last few seasons seemed like they never are alone anymore. 

6) Why a cassette tape? Especially since we don’t even know if Cas has a way to listen to it? 

Because it’s a frikkin’ romantic trope!

In the world of storytelling mixtapes scream romance, and not much else (well, parental love, but that is so not the case here). It’s a thing that made me sit up and stare at the screen the moment it arrived, because I couldn’t believe they went there. I thought it was another queerbaiting moment, like the infamous boner prom-shot, but once they started sharing with each other how they felt, ALONE, ON SCREEN, IN WORDS, I knew it wasn’t. It was a way to show more casual viewers a symbol they would understand, while still staying in character. Dean would not write a love letter, or a poem, or even speak openly about his feelings, but he so would take time and effort to create a tape, especially since mixtapes were the language of showing your feelings that was in use when he was young and had his first crushes. And if Cas was more human, he’d understand it immediately. I hope he did anyway, he has got his pop culture references from Metatron, maybe some John-Hughes-references there.

The tape is new, the label is clean, words visible, plastic unscratched. If it was a tape Dean had before, it’s be dirty from lying in his car forever. Plus, noone makes mixtapes for themselves, especially when they already have albums - it’s too much effort for too little gain. It’s not John’s, because it cleary says “Dean’s”. Ergo - it’s freshly made. For Cas.

In conclusion: with the shortest piece of dialogue possible, and exactly three movements of the actors, they shot the narrative onwards and upwards on so many levels: 

Dean’s performing facade falling down,

Dean showing (and giving) his true self to Cas,

Hints of off-screen moments between them that we know nothing about (added a new level of intimacy), 

Cas being linked to the textual and intertextual codes for eternal love and sexual seduction, 

Some hints for the future,

Dean is humanity (and Cas loves humanity),

Bisexual!Dean,

Binding the show to its earlier seasons.

20 seconds. 13 words. I am blown away.

I probably could find more layers, but I think four pages of meta for 20 seconds of TV is enough for now. Thanks for reading! It was fun!