#so that the intense shift in dynamics and characters once she's gone makes sense

[navree]

How can you humanize Maegor , if you will make a show about him?

It depends on how far back you're willing to go in his life, because really up until he takes the crown, you can do quite a bit to humanize him and make him someone people want to engage with, without woobifying him or trying to excuse the truly heinous things he does. Starting backstory onwards, there are lot of ways to do this. There's a lot of room to play with in his childhood and the interpersonal relationships that should be his strongest tethers to humanity, but aren't: his relationship with his brother, his relationship with his mother, and his relationship with his father.

Aenys and Maegor are a relationship that was doomed to fail since birth. For one, while the age gap isn't huge, five years is still pretty significant in terms of differences in development as children, which definitely got in the way of any bonding. For two, they also appear to have largely grown up separately, with Aenys spending most of his time by Aegon's side in King's Landing, and Maegor being raised on Dragonstone with Visenya, before the two essentially switched places with Aegon at Dragonstone and Visenya overseeing the construction of the Red Keep in King's Landing. For three, there's also the external factors, such as their incredibly different personalities and viewpoints on basically everything, as well as the fact that, when Maegor was born, Aenys was only very recently removed from the complete breakdown he had due to his trauma over his mother's sudden death, and likely still wasn't in a state to be trying to forge new bonds with anyone who wasn't Quicksilver (and Aegon, but Aegon's grandfathered in by being his literal dad). So Maegor, who we know wasn't making friends on Dragonstone and just in general was probably really isolated from kids his own age due to it being Dragonstone (not unlike how we see with Shireen Baratheon) also isn't getting any kind of connection from anyone close to his own age throughout his entire childhood.

Really, the only person Maegor is close to in any capacity is his mother, Visenya. She's the parent he grew up with, his primary caregiver and his closest relationship not just in childhood, but likely throughout his entire life. In the nature vs nurture debate on childrearing, she's the one who was providing the nurture. Nearly everything about Maegor, his personality and his view of the world and his personal philosophies and his love map in his brain, among many other things, all of that was shaped by Visenya and her influence on him and her care and devotion for him. And with no one else really around to provide him any sort of companionship that he might have needed, and with his other parent being incredibly distant and barely a parent, Maegor likely latched onto her incredibly strongly. I think, if asked, Maegor would say that, should he be found capable of love, Visenya would be the person he loved the most in his life (I'm of the opinion that his relationship with Tyanna was him trying to find a significant other that most reminded him of his beloved mother, not entirely dissimilar to the way that Henry VIII felt that an ideal wife would be one who was almost identical to Elizabeth of York). And we know that this is something that persisted long after childhood, into his adulthood Visenya was his strongest supporter and Maegor relied on her a lot early in his reign, and was publicly devastated when he learned that she had died. His mother was the only parent he ever really knew as a parent, certainly the family member he loved most, adored even, especially in such sharp distinction with Aegon as a distant father. And speaking of that distant father...

I love Aegon, he's one of my absolute favorite Targs, but he was practically just a parent in name only to his second son. And that's going to do a number on someone, no matter who they are. Maegor's father doesn't much care for his mother, certainly doesn't seem to care for him at all personally, and despite the fact that Maegor is probably far more like Aegon, and a far worthier successor, than Aenys, Aegon still dotes on his eldest while barely spending any time with Maegor. And it's not because of anything Maegor's done, or even anything Aenys has done: it's entirely because of Aenys's mother. Aenys is Aegon's favorite, his precious son, not because of anything Aenys has done to earn that, but simply because he is the son of Aegon's beloved Rhaenys, and that his very existence is a way of having Rhaenys still with him after her disappearance/death. We know that Aegon was forever incredibly affected by what happened to Rhaenys and that he never stopped loving her, given that he openly wept when he held Rhaena and was informed that she was named after her grandmother. Meanwhile, there's Maegor, whose own mother's relationship with his father was never very good (marriage of duty for them vs the Aegon/Rhaenys marriage of desire) and had become incredibly cold and distant by the time that he was born, and you can very easily see how that might ultimately affect a kid. He's watching his mother be completely ignored by his dad just for being the wrong woman, he's dealing with himself being completely ignored and passed over in love and affection just because he's the son of the wrong woman, because his mother isn't the lost ghost that Aegon loved and won't ever be able to stop loving. How much of Maegor's prowess in fighting, not to mention the unchecked aggression he showed during training, was borne of trying to impress his martially skilled father and being upset when it didn't work? How much of his continued presence in tourneys and melées was to show Aegon that he was a much better son than Aenys, that he deserved the love Aegon was freely giving his brother just as much? Was there ever a time when he resented Visenya for being his mother when that was enough to make Aegon uninterested, and did he ever hate himself for blaming the wrong person, or blaming anyone at all? How much did he internalize his own feelings about it as the relationship never got any warmer? How did he feel when Aegon finally noticed him enough to knight him himself, and make him the youngest knight in the realm at that? Did Maegor ever want to talk to him about it once he was a young man, did he ever want to try and forge a stronger relationship on his own merits as an adult, did he ever even try?

There's also the matter of Balerion, which is as much its own relationship as a subset of anything that can be played with as it pertains to Aegon and Maegor. For one, we know that Maegor point blank refused to claim any dragon because he felt that Balerion was the only one worthy of him. And you can take that at face value, but you can also go deeper into it, into the ideas that Maegor might not be consciously aware of. Maybe he wants to try and connect with his father on some level through the dragon bond. Maybe he looks at how Aegon gives Aenys so much, his companionship and his throne and his sword and his love, Hell he even gives Aenys a Valyrian bride (Alyssa Velaryon) but demands that Maegor settle for a simple Westerosi, as if he's lesser than and not the blood of old Valyria. And still he waits to see if maybe Aegon will give him something. Maybe once Aegon is too old for dragonriding, he'll give Maegor Balerion, or at least give Maegor the opportunity to try, to prove himself as Aegon's son, to have that connection. And when Aegon doesn't, when it's still Aenys getting everything Maegor might not even realize he wants, that's just another disappointment for him.

But Maegor does get Balerion anyway, once Aegon dies. He finally gets a connection to Aegon that's his alone, and it's after Aegon is already dead and likely after Maegor was already hardening into the man he would ultimately be remembered as. Not to mention, even on its own, Balerion and Maegor's bond is a good way to show a human element to the man. I've always maintained that, when it comes to Targaryens, the most unconditionally loving and the most openly affection and emotional we should see them should really be with the dragons. With their magic and their Valyrian blood and old world roots and just everything about them, even if you don't subscribe to Targaryen exceptionalism, they are pretty far removed from the place they actually live; culturally and ethnically and socially, they are not Westerosi and certainly in Maegor's time, don't see themselves or are seen by others as Westerosi. The dragons, products of Valyria's heyday, are the closest living beings that Targaryens can relate to, and this is doubly important when it comes to Balerion, who was born during the reign of the Valyrian Freehold, who was alive before the Doom. Balerion is a living cultural heritage, and for someone as isolated as Maegor is (and, as we see in his actions re: his marriages and the Faith, as divorced from Westerosi customs and standards as he is), having that connection is probably the deepest one he'd have, bar maybe his mother, and even then, despite that closeness and love, their mutually cold personalities probably made it hard to be open in any deep affection once Maegor started growing up. Dragons and their riders are practically one being, they feel each other's pains and pleasures and angers and grudges and triumphs, and Maegor having something like that, along with the connection to a father he never really was connected to, adds a human element to the man that he was, despite the fact that he used Balerion to do terrible things.

You can also do a lot with Maegor's actions before his own kingship, specifically the reign of his half-brother Aenys. In spite of their differences and distances, in spite of the shadow of Aegon and the relationships he had with his sisters that affected his relationship with his own sons in turn, Aenys does embrace Maegor with open arms. He gives him Blackfyre, another possession of Aegon's that Maegor must have coveted, and he promises that they'll rule together. They're both adults now, and Aenys seems emotionally sensitive enough to have realized that Maegor probably has some deep rooted issues borne out of things that were set in motion before he was even conceived. And while Visenya might have scoffed at the gestures Aenys made for Maegor, Maegor appears to have taken them really seriously. He personally crushes a rebellion against Aenys in the Vale, and makes huge showings of his loyalty by fighting really hard for his brother against his foes. When Aenys makes him his Hand, Maegor takes that responsibility really seriously and is willing to obey Aenys as his Lord and King, as well as protect him. This seems to have been loyalty that was reciprocated, since it's noted that, when Aenys exiles Maegor for his bigamy, he does it because he felt he had no other option than to be mad at Maegor for what he did, due to the huge public outcry, and even then he still offers Maegor a way out. He only exiles him because Maegor refuses to set Alys aside (another way to humanize Maegor, he takes Alys as a wife despite it being a big taboo for most Westerosi and in spite of her being from a pretty minor noble House, and he refuses to leave her even at the cost of losing his home, he keeps her by his side and he refuses to give her up when there were likely a shitton of better options to deal with his childlessness, to say nothing of women from greater Houses with more potential for him politically, but he CHOSE Alys), since Aenys felt that this was the only choice left to him. And Maegor abides by the exile. Yeah, he takes Blackfyre even though Aenys asked him to leave it, but he still goes into exile, and he stays in exile. Aenys rides Quicksilver and Maegor rides Balerion, the two dragons literally go toe to toe with each other and it's so massively onesided because Quicksilver doesn't stand a chance. If Maegor wanted to, he could have very easily repudiated his exile and decimated Aenys if he tried to enforce it. But Aenys told him to go, so he did, and he stayed gone until Visenya came to fetch him back with the news that Aenys was dead. He respected Aenys's word as king, his sovereign authority as liege lord and as the elder brother, and even if he might not have entirely thought the man worthy of what he had, that does speak to a sort of deference in spite of the complexities of their upbringing, and a willingness to obey Aenys despite everything about their personalities.

So, by the time Maegor comes back from Pentos to usurp the throne, there's a lot that can be used to humanize him and make him a compelling protagonist. A close but somewhat stilted relationship with the only parent to have ever tried with him, an unfulfilled, desperate need for approval and affection from a parent who couldn't give that to him due to circumstances entirely outside his control, a brother he didn't know well in his youth and might not have thought worthy of what he had and certainly been jealous of but that he still respected as king and fought hard to defend and that he deferred to even when he didn't have to, at least one marriage that, in spite of what little it offered him and the clusterfuck it caused, he valued enough that he refused to set aside, and an intense bond with a fearsome dragon that you can make him value more than almost anything or anyone. All of that set up can then be used for an extraordinary fall from grace, to watch the potential and nuance slowly grow darker and darker and darker as Maegor does increasingly horrible things, treats the people in his life increasingly badly, descends further and further into the tyranny and madness that will utlimately kill him. There's bright spots that can be used as well, like the fact that he does have Jaehaerys as his heir and doesn't seem to have had him or Viserys treated that badly, even though they were prisoners, and that he didn't actually set out to kill Aegon the Uncrowned at all until Aegon decided to take back his throne and amass an army. Then, as we've watched Maegor slide further and further down, we can watch with a sinking dread as he annihilates Aegon beneath God's Eye, as he turns on Alys and extinguishes her family, as he has Viserys literally tortured to death to punish Alyssa and Jaehaerys and Alysanne for their escape from Dragonstone. So that, by the time we get to shit like the completion of the Red Keep and the Black Brides, we see that Maegor is incredibly far gone, and we can only watch as all the complexities within him are swept aside by the monster he's become, so foul and loathsome that the eldritch abomination that is the Iron Throne finally kills him to stop the madness.

It's not about woobifying Maegor or excusing him. It's about providing a reason for the audience to look back on who he was as he becomes what he was always going to be, to give explanations for why he does the things that he does (how much of his initial militarism and violence and heavy-handedness, before he went doolally, was borne out of not just his martial prowess as a kid but also watching Aenys's version of ruling not work, for instance), and to get people to understand and feel his initial motivations so that the later stuff also makes sense, and so that you're watching something akin to a doomed fall when he becomes Maegor the Cruel. These are, at least to me, some of the most important and influential ways you can humanize Maegor as a character if you're planning to center him in a proper narrative story, without filing down his edges and keeping him as the kind of person he is. Extrapolate on why he is the way he is, and then show him how he is throughout his lifetime and what he does, along with the how and why of what he does.

[bloodstained-ballgowns]

i just rewatched ‘the woman who fell to earth’ a couple of days ago for the first time since it aired back in 2018 and the more i think about it, the more i like it.

thirteen is the only doctor for whom i feel a tangible, rose-tinted nostalgia. she wasn’t my first doctor, but she was the first doctor i watched live, the first doctor that i spent an actual extended period of time with over the episode rollout. her intro episode has middling parts (as can be expected with most episodes of Who) but there’s also so much good that i really want to highlight.

first of all, there are some really great character dynamics set up here. much more interesting than i remember, tbh. ryan is a guy who loves mechanics but is stuck in a warehouse job he hates, a guy who obviously wants to connect to people, a guy who by the end of the episode has lost both his mother and grandmother in the space of a couple of years and the step-grandfather he didn’t really want is all he has left (minus his absent father). that’s interesting.

yaz has a keen sense of justice and this raw, intense yearning to help people, to do something worthwhile, something more - the way she has chosen to express that is through law enforcement, but it’s not quite giving her the satisfaction she wants. that’s interesting.

graham’s experience with cancer means that he constantly feels like he’s living on borrowed time. meeting grace gave him purpose, gave him family, gave him the will to fight when he fought it was all but over, but now grace is gone. he and ryan aren’t related, but they’re family, and now they’ve got to figure out how to care for each other without the very lynchpin that brought them together. once again with feeling: interesting!

“i’m just a traveller. sometimes i see things that need fixing. i do what i can.” i like that they circle back to the ‘just some guy’ portrayal of the doctor here, both because it’s the one i’m partial to and because it feeds particularly well into the whole ‘the doctor is an unreliable narrator’ aspect, especially in the wake of the increased deification in the moffat era. it's a nice set up, even if it gets completely overhauled circa series 12/13. in fact, having thirteen keep this as a persistent attitude throughout the Timeless Child of it all could have been really effective re: her reticence with her companions and refusal to address or deal with her past.

the scene where thirteen builds her sonic screwdriver might be one of my favourite sequences in nuwho. i love that it’s a hybrid of alien tech and sheffield steel. i also love that they highlight the ‘mad inventor’ side of the doctor here (her teleportation circuit is based around a microwave?) and wish that they had carried it forward more. it would have been the perfect basis for her to bond with ryan over. jodie also pulls off the humour of the episode well, considering the significant shift from moffat dialogue.

i enjoy thirteen's outfit: the vibrancy of it as mirroring her childish excitability, but also as another part of the mask - if i dress all colourful then maybe i can ignore/outrun/masquerade my great capacity for darkness! etc etc. the shopping trip with yaz and ryan is a bit shoe-horned in at the end but it's cute that she finds it in a charity shop. (back in 2018 i bought a t-shirt with a couple of stripes across the chest solely because it remotely resembled the one she wore lol. nerd from a young age, me.) jodie also looks soo hot in capaldi's outfit though so a spin on the traditional suit would also have been appreciated.

some miscellaneous points: i like that she tells Karl off (“you had no right to do that”) right after saving him. i like that she gets it wrong at first and makes it clear that she’s working on the fly. she’s following her instinct, and that instinct is to help people. doctor who has been beautiful before but the cinematography takes such a huge step this era. “it’s been a long time since i bought women’s clothes” i am choosing to believe this is about river thank you and good night.

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

A Cowgirl in the King’s Court

(Out on an errand, Akira finds herself accosted by a familiar face.  Akiruru oneshot.)

A woman in a suit emerged from the subway entrance, speaking brusquely into her phone.  She’s worked at the same law firm for a decade. Finally, she’s been given the opportunity to be made partner, but the coworkers she’s stuck with for this case are such a nuisance they may cost her this shot.

On the other side of the street, two women sat on a park bench arm-in-arm, one repeatedly flipping a coin absent-mindedly while the other simply rested on her shoulder.  They’ve been happy together for a long time now, and have begun to think about marriage.  But she’s apprehensive, and her partner is so happy she hasn’t even noticed.

A taxi deposited someone on the corner.  Their head jerked about as they took in their surroundings, and then they awkwardly ambled down the street.  They’ve come to participate in their uncle’s funeral—not that they were ever all that close.  It’s the first time in years they’ve seen most of their family, and no matter how hard they think, they have no idea what they’re walking into.

From where she sat, Akira’s gaze slid from one passer-by to the next, envisioning each as a role to be played with their own story, own goals, own struggles.  It may not have been especially in-depth, but these brief snapshots of potential characters helped her keep her skills sharp (or, at the very least, helped her stave off boredom).

All the world’s a stage.  I mustn’t let any opportunity to improve my skills slip by.

She checked her watch.  After taking one last—

“Akira-chan!”

Akira locked up as a pair of arms were thrown around her.  A moment later she finally registered the blonde-haired girl who had pounced on her from behind, murmuring, “Otsuki...Aruru?”

Aruru grinned at her. (Akira wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Aruru do anything but smile.) “How lucky running into you!  Did I surprise you?”

“...Slightly.”  Akira quickly recomposed herself.

Aruru ran around the bench, hopping onto the seat next to Akira. “What brings you here?  You’re awfully far from Siegfeld!”

“I came to inspect a potential venue for an upcoming production. Now that that’s done, I thought I might take in my new surroundings.”

“You mean like sightseeing?  There’s not much to see in this part of town.”

Akira shook her head.  “There is plenty.  In a busy place like this, there are countless people to observe.”

“Oh, so you’re people-watching!  That sounds so fun!  I love to come up with little stories for random people I see, don’t you?”

“...I find it a fruitful exercise, yes.”

“What about her?”  Aruru pointed to a woman on the edge of the park, hastily setting up a food cart.

Akira hesitated a moment.  …Any opportunity.  “She has a passion for cooking, and dreams of opening her own restaurant one day. However, her parents’ financial situation has taken a drastic turn, and that dream seems farther away than ever now that she needs to support them.”

Aruru’s eyes twinkled.  “Oooh!  I’m sure she’ll find a way to make it!”  Turning, she then pointed to an elderly woman scanning shop windows.  “She’s the last descendant of a prestigious ninja clan, one that’s been tasked with guarding a cursed katana able to bring untold ruin! Now, she has to find an apprentice to carry on her work, but a rival faction is closing in to make things even harder!”

Akira stared at the woman a moment before looking back to Aruru.  Curious…

Still grinning, Aruru said, “Your turn!”

Akira turned her gaze towards the park.  “Do you see the person reading next to the fountain?  They were a sailor many years ago, and their heart still yearns for adventure on the waves.  However, they are not as young as they once were, and soon will have to face the fact they may never set foot on a ship again.”

Bouncing in her seat, Aruru said, “That’s so cool!  Oh, and that girl on her phone by the bike rack: she’s an ex-magical girl who’s been called on to defend humanity again, but her new weapons aren’t cutting it!  But when her friends are in danger, she reignites the powerful magic sleeping inside, and finally saves the day!”

Akira couldn’t help but chuckle.  Aruru looked right at her, eyes somehow growing even brighter, and she did her best to stifle the laugh as she scanned the area.

“Hehe…”

She turned back to find Aruru staring, entire face alight in a smile. Akira blinked.  “What?”

“That’s the first time I’ve made you laugh, isn’t it?”

“...I don’t keep track of such things.”

Aruru threw her hands up, as if cheering over her victory.  “Well I do!  It took a while, but I finally managed to make you laugh!  I can’t wait to tell everyone!”

Akira’s gaze drifted up towards the sky.  “Hm.  I wonder if they’ll believe it?”

Aruru tilted her head as her arms lowered.  “Huh?  What do you mean?”

“I’m sure they think me stiff and humorless.  Not without reason, of course.”

“No way!  I mean, you do come across as super-serious, but no one thinks you’re humorless!”

Akira looked back to Aruru, holding her ambiguous expression even in the face of the other girl’s brightness.  “...Very curious.”

“Huh?”

She faced forward, her tone sounding very matter-of-fact.  “It surprises me that you’re so willing to reach out like this.  I would expect everyone from Frontier to hate me.”

Aruru practically leapt back.  “What?!  Why would we hate you?”

“I dismissed you without a second thought the first time we met. I assumed, based on virtually nothing, that you and your friends did not belong on the stage.  I would expect such treatment to be met with resentment.”

Aruru blinked, seeming genuinely confused by her question. “That?  I already proved you were wrong, right?”

Akira thought for a moment.  Then, she turned to look at Aruru, nodded once, and said, “Yes.  You have.”

Aruru smiled brightly.  “Then why would I be mad?  I’m not gonna hold a grudge for something like that!”

For a few seconds, Akira could only stare at her.  Then, turning in an effort to hide the small smirk forming on her face, she said, “Hm…it seems you have a knack for proving my assumptions wrong.”  She rose to her feet before she could get a response.  “I need to stretch my legs a bit.”

Aruru sprang up immediately.  “Okay!  Lead the way!”

Akira began walking, Aruru excitedly bouncing around her as she went.  She asked about all sorts of things: what Siegfeld was like, what Akira’s favorite food was, if she’d ever seen an UMA.  Akira asked a few questions back.  The signs and store windows they passed provided plenty to talk about, but Akira was sure that Aruru didn’t truly need the help.  She was overflowing—with brilliance, like any proper Stage Girl, but also with passion for every little thing around her, everything she could possibly think of.  Akira could feel the pull of that passion.  She did not submit to it (a long-standing principle she couldn’t quite remember the reason for at the moment), but she also didn’t fight against it…and that surprised her.

“I think the Abominamole got my point eventually,” Aruru said, taking several unnaturally-long steps ahead.  “More importantly, we all got way closer, and we’ve been practicing harder than ever since then!  Being a Stage Girl is so much fun!  Right, Akira-chan?”

Akira realized they had come to an empty square.  The sky had grown dark by now, leaving only the light of the street lamps, reflecting off the fountain at the square’s center like a flame beckoning for the company of moths.  Aruru noticed how far ahead she had gone and hopped back to Akira’s side, giggling to herself.  That was when Akira began to make sense of it.

“That’s what’s different,” Akira said quietly.

Aruru cocked her head, now walking backwards.  “What’s that?”

“I’m lacking experience when it comes to this sort of dynamic. You…”  Her steps slowed to a halt.  “I’ve spent most of my life focused on nothing but honing my skills. I’ve gone out of my way to be recognized as the best whenever I could.  It has served me well; however, when people engage someone like that, there tends to be...distance.”

Aruru stopped as well.

“I don’t much mind it.  Normally I don’t even notice it.  But you...you approach everyone as an equal, and even I can see the difference. It’s a philosophy I’m not familiar with...but I find it a refreshing one.”  She smiled to punctuate the sentiment.  “You have my gratitude.”

“Aw, you don’t have to thank me for that!” Aruru said with a grin. “Thank you for hanging out with me today!  I’ve been wanting a chance to spend more time with you, I just never figured out how to make it happen.  You’ve got such amazing skills, and that intense focus!  But I can tell that, no matter how hard you’re working on-stage, you’re always having a blast!”

Akira chuckled.  “Of course. The most important thing for a Stage Girl is to love the Stage.  But then, you already know that.”

“Yep!”  Aruru darted to the side then, leaping onto the rim of the fountain.  She pointed skyward and declared, “‘And since I’ve known all along, there’s no way you can stop my plans!  I’ve accounted for every possibility!’”

Not missing a beat, Akira stepped forward, slashing an arm through the air.  “’That’s where you’re wrong!  There’s one secret I’ve never shared with anyone…one I can use to topple your entire operation!’”

Aruru crossed her arms.  “’Hah hah!  Is that so? No matter!  All I have to do is defeat you here, and it will make no difference!  Prepare yourself!’”

Akira shifted her stance, raising one hand over her eye.  “’Prepare yourself, my nemesis…this is my final contingency!’”

As Aruru prepared to make a move, an electronic chime sounded off. She nearly lost her balance, but she managed to keep her footing with a few awkward flails, giggling from start to finish.  Akira checked her phone to find a text from Michiru.

“Hey, where are you?  I was sure you’d be done by now—is everything okay?”

Akira quickly replied: “Fine.  Just got a little sidetracked.  I’ll be back shortly.”

Facing Aruru, she said, “My apologies, but I’ve been summoned back to Siegfeld.  We’ll have to pick this up some other time.”

“Oh, okay!”  Aruru jumped down and ran over, producing her own phone in the process.  “Let’s exchange numbers then!  It’ll be way easier to meet back up that way.”

“…Very well.”

“Alright, so what’s yours?”

“It’s…um…”  Akira scanned her phone’s home screen, realizing she had completely forgotten where such information was stored.  “…Hm…”

After watching her squint at the screen for a few seconds, Aruru held a hand out.  “Mind if I take a look?”

Akira felt a shade of reluctance, but handed the device over nonetheless.  Aruru swiftly typed into both phones, and in a matter of seconds, she cheerily returned the phone to Akira’s grasp, its screen now showing a new contact labeled “Aruru-chan!”.

That might be too familiar, but…I don’t know how to change it…

“Thanks again, Akira-chan!” Aruru said, fervently waving despite how close the two of them still were.  “I’ll text you later!  Take care!”

And just like that, she was gone.  To her own surprise, Akira felt a bit sad to see her go.

A Stage Girl whose brilliant passion for life fills the hearts of all in her orbit.  She’ll never waver in sharing that joy, never let it be taken from her or anyone.

She smiled.  Pocketing her phone, she walked off in the direction of the train station.

Otsuki Aruru…I eagerly await the day we perform together.

[blarfkey]

director’s cut, director’s choice of ⭐️Dear Fen’Harel⭐️? (Though generally speaking, I’m intensely curious as to how you develop characters because everyone you write is so brilliantly layered)

So um, this exploded. And I apologize. I am very much a character-driven writer versus a plot-driver writer. Also, how I develop characters is not a process I think about, it just happens, so this is also me finding out for myself how my own brain works, haha. If you want the full fucking three page essay this turned into, there’s more under the cut.

If not, and I don’t blame you, TLDR: I break a canon character down to their parts based on what I see in-game, I look at how their personal quest affects them, and I try to find a modern day equivalent to that. Each character has an issue they need to get past and I create situations to challenge those issues. And Ellana was created to be a foil for Solas and I dumped all my negative traits into her because neither she nor I can afford therapy so this is our best bet.

First of all, developing characters in fanfic is different than OC characters because I have a pre-set personality to work with rather than making someone from scratch. So for this, Ellana’s development is different from the rest of the cast.

For fanfic characters, obviously I look at the source material and see how they’ve reacted to certain situations and what they have canonically expressed about themselves in both deed and word. Honestly, I pay more attention to what they have DONE versus what they have SAID because a lot of characters tend to fool themselves into thinking they’re one way when they’re not (here’s looking at you, Solas).

Because DF is a modern AU, I take what I have seen in Canon (which is a lot because Bioware is very good at giving so much material to work with having all those different dialogue trees) and I apply it to the Modern Day. Some characters fit very easily – Dorian was made for Academia. Krem seems a more modern character anyway with how he constantly roasts Iron Bull. Josephine’s prowess in DA:I translates very easily to political science. Varric kind of has a modern writer’s career anyway.

Some are not easy – Solas is actually super hard for me to write in DF than he is in Thick as Thieves because so much of his characterization, his world views, his prejudices, are rooted in the fact that he is an ancient being out of time – which is impossible to have in this AU. I have crafted a sort of back story for him that might explain some things later, but it’s flimsy at best, haha.

So I’ve had to really look at what Solas is like in Inquisition when he’s pretending to be a “normal” hedge mage hermit from nowhere and how he behaves in his romance and extract from that. Solas is a nerd, he’s socially awkward from self-imposed isolation, he constantly struggles with what he wants and what is the morally correct thing to do and the temptation to be loved usually wins out over his convictions until the last second when he gets his common sense back and ruins everything.

It helps that in both DA and DF Solas is keeping a massive, massive secret from the Inquisitor about his identity that will shift the power balance between the two, so I’ve used that to guide me when I’m unsure. He still feels off to me, but it’s whatever at this point, lol. I did my best.

Once I’ve boiled a character down to their usual traits, I figure out how I’m going to have them grow throughout the fic and use their growth to help Ellana’s growth. I try to pull from their personal quests as much as I can, when I can get it to fit.

Some people, like Iron Bull, are static because they’ve already gone through their journey and have reached acceptance. I didn’t really know how to work his Leaving the Qun story line in the modern day, since it is tied so closely with war and potentially killing the Chargers, so by the time Ellana meets him, he has already left the Qun and made his peace with it. I use his static nature to help guide Ellana when she’s conflicted about her identity.

Some people, like Josephine, have personal quests that don’t fit with a modern era but I want to show them grow anyway, so I create something else for them. Right now, Josephine is mired in family drama and trying to figure out how to balance shouldering the weight of her responsibilities to her family with being her own person. That I drew from my own personal experience with being the only sane person in my family with their shit together, haha.

Or Cassandra, who is definitely NOT going to be Divine here, lol. So instead she gets to struggle with her art and how she can express herself in a way that leaves her vulnerable to scrutiny and yet can be so freeing.

Some people, like Krem, get a character arc that I think should have been explored but never was. Krem being trans is something that’s mentioned and talked about a little and never explored. I mean, he’s not a main character, so I get it. And I liked that Being Trans wasn’t his entire character. But there was no way to put him in the modern AU without his trans identity impacting some of his story and growth, even if he had already made his peace with it.

Now, I will say this upfront: I am not trans, and I haven’t had the opportunity to be close friends with a trans person, but I have done a lot of research on what trans people have said about their own experiences, and combined this with other research I’ve done over the years with other minorities and tried to put together what could be lingering insecurities for him and how he could overcome them.

I’m  definitely not saying that I’ve done this perfectly and I’m always open to any trans reader who would give me correction, but being trans was not an aspect of Krem’s character that I wanted to ignore just because I wasn’t familiar with it.

I will say that his romance with Josephine was Not Planned. It just kinda happened and I happily ran with it, haha.

Varric’s arc with Bianca is just wishful thinking because I hate her so so much and Bioware just dropped that bomb in Varric’s lap and then just lets him keep holding on to it and it’s bullshit.

The other character journeys are just ways to explore vulnerability in them that I didn’t think got enough attention in the game or I think they could realistically have even if it wasn’t in canon. Like Dorian dealing with his father. Now, in the game, Halward doesn’t have a disease and he dies unexpectedly. But I wanted Dorian to have a realistic reason why he would reach other to his estranged father in this AU and a ticking countdown to an inevitable death seemed right.

Now we get to see Dorian really struggle with this new-found connection with his father that he always wanted to have and now it’s temporary and heartbreak is inevitable and is it still worth it to him? I think Dorian has similar feelings in Trespasser when he found out his father was murdered because he still invested himself to rebuild a lost connection, only to lose it so soon after.

Zevran’s past with the Crows is also something that I really wanted to explore because in the game he is sad for a hot second and then moves on with the Warden and his newfound goal of destroying the entire Crow organization. So I wanted to see Zevran struggle with his inner worth, the fact that he can’t hide forever and his past puts his loved ones in danger, the fact that he can even HAVE loved ones and how it scares the shit out of him.  I wanted to have a character who puts on such a good front about not giving a shit about anything to hide how very deeply afraid he is. We are going to see more of this also before the story is over, lol.

Now, Ellana. Like all original characters, Ellana has a lot my personal experiences tied in her. But I originally created Ellana to fill a need for a type of character that I wanted to see with Solas and don’t really get to. I mean, I have not scourged the corners of the internet to find it so I’m sure there are other characters like her, but I haven’t found very many.

I see a lot of very beautiful, very delicate and feminine, very kind and gentle Disney Princess kind of Lavellans. I see a LOT of them. And I don’t hate that necessarily. I mean, Josephine is all of those things and more and I adore her and I sort of crack ship her with Solas anyway, in the secret recesses of my heart. And I love seeing a female character who is the epitome of a “weak” female use those “weak” traits to succeed.

But I am also not very beautiful, I am NOT delicate at all, I’m not gentle. I am not anywhere close to a Disney Princess or a Josephine. And it was disheartening to see Solas romance all these Ocs that were nothing like me after a while because it kind of gave me the message that someone like Solas, a character that I admire and def have a fictional crush on, would never want someone who looks like me or acts like me. That even with unlimited freedom in creating a romantic counterpart for him, I saw so much of what society already reinforces as an ideal that I will never match up to. It doesn’t help that Bioware’s body diversity for elves ranges is nonexistent.

So I made Ellana for me. Not because I want to hate on other Ocs or prove that mine is superior, but so that I would have something that I connected to. And I wanted to explore a dynamic with Solas that I didn’t get to see very often.

So when I first imagined Ellana, I wanted her to be strong and tall and muscular and powerful in a way that makes a lot of unenlightened men uncomfortable. I wanted somebody used to manual labor and dirt and the outdoors and solving problems with their fists and just totally unrefined because I wanted her to be the complete opposite of Solas. (So like Cassandra but in elf form, haha).

I did not want her to be soft or conventionally attractive at all. Ellana doesn’t shun femininity, because I don’t think femininity is inherently wrong, but she is uncomfortable with it and she doesn’t indulge in it.

(Just FYI I am NOT built like Ellana at all either, haha. This is the wish fulfillment part of the OC. I greatly resemble the dwarves, which is why I love them so much.)

But I also needed her to have a reason to leave home, and to have some points of commonality with Solas, so I made her a nerd. A jocky nerd who is insatiably curious and stubbornly independent. And then because I wanted Ellana to feel like a real person instead just a wish fulfillment fantasy, I needed her to grow. So I gave her all my complicated anger issues, my bluntness, my struggles with homesickness, the way I compartmentalize negative events in my life so I don’t have to deal with them just so they can bite me in the ass later, my experiences of going from a lifestyle where all my needs were met and I was oblivious to how great I had it to living with serious poverty for the first time.

And then I devised situations with her life and the other characters where Ellana has to confront these issues and learn to accept them and either move past them or learn to control them. Sometime she gains wisdom and imparts it to people like Sera or Dorian when their struggles come up. And her biggest challenge has yet to arrive, so she’s still cooking, so to speak. Ellana still has a long way to go before she really reaches maturity.

As far as her relationship with Solas goes, I wanted her to challenge him and give him a total upheaval everything he thought he knew about his own culture and his own self. And I wanted him to do the same for her. And then when all the pieces are done falling, they have grown into two people who can handle being together.

So that’s basically it. If there is any character in particular you want to know more about or why I made certain decisions, always feel free to ask!

[dweemeister]

Pinky (1949)

Hollywood’s plodding shift to featuring films starring and/or made by non-white people has produced stories and perspectives that have never graced cinemas before. Some of the American films that have stirred me are rooted in racial identity. The 1934 and 1959 adaptations of Imitation of Life are two such examples, and both tackle a subject that has not been addressed in Hollywood for decades – a black person passing as white and the conflicts of identity that inspires. Both versions of Imitation of Life are blessed with heartbreaking acting and ideas rarely uttered or depicted in film history. But I can imagine some viewers dismissing both films without attempting to engage them – the two adaptations have a black female lead that assumes certain “mammy” stereotypes and the 1959 version’s passing daughter character is mixed-race but is not black.

Released by 20th Century Fox, Elia Kazan’s Pinky (based on the novel Quality by Cid Ricketts Sumner) casts Jeanne Crain, a white actress, as the titular character: a fair-skinned black granddaughter who passes as white. It is without question that Crain’s casting undermines Pinky’s wonderful and nuanced message. Fox’s chief executive, Darryl F. Zanuck, and the Breen Office (which enforced the Hays Code) noted that because the title character loves a white man, the film – if it chose a black actress to play Pinky – could face an intense public backlash from "a number of sections of [the United States].” All but twelve states had anti-miscegenation laws in their books in 1949. Compromises were struck between Zanuck and the Production Office. Fox could make the film and keep the interracial romance (the screenplay was written in consultation with NAACP Executive Secretary Walter White) only if a white actress played Pinky. With Crain’s casting, the production moved forward, despite director Elia Kazan’s opposition to Crain’s selection.

On a sweltering day in the Deep South, Pinky Johnson (Crain) has returned to her impoverished rural hometown, hoping to see her grandmother Dicey (Ethel Waters) one final time before returning to the North. Dicey raised Pinky through her childhood and teenage years, with no mentions of allusions to biological or foster parents. Dicey is heartbroken to hear her granddaughter has downplayed her blackness during her time at nursing school, but is happy to learn that Pinky has graduated. To complicate matters, Pinky also tells of her love of a white doctor, Thomas Adams (William Lundigan), to whom she has revealed nothing of her black ancestry to. In addition, while attempting to collect her grandmother’s debts while in town, Pinky is involved in an incident with a Dr. Canady (Kenny Washington) and his significant other, Roselia (Nina Mae McKinney). The police arrive at the scene and apprehend all three. After being fortunately released from custody with just a warning – black people have been killed for far less by American police – Dicey learns that her elderly white neighbor, Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore), is dying and needs a nurse. Pinky, remembering how Miss Em was cruel and disparaging to her during her childhood, decides to extend her stay.

Also appearing in this film are the town’s doctor Joe McGill (Griff Barnett) and the gossiping Melba Wooley (Evelyn Varden, whose character is lacking a moral compass). Juanita Moore has a cameo as a nurse.

From the opening shots of Pinky, it almost feels as if it was shot on location somewhere in the Southern United States. Early in the film, there is an uncut tracking shot clocking in at almost ninety seconds as Pinky walks from the front of Dicey’s shack to the low cast iron gates of Miss Em’s slave-built estate. The sets, almost entirely constructed on a soundstage, are deep enough so that the audience cannot pinpoint the soundstage’s back wall. The foliage looms over dirt roads and buildings – the canopies, blowing in the wind, are never seen. Kazan, in retrospect, criticized his own film for not including the dirt and grime that need not be manufactured with location shooting. But these fabrications – thanks to cinematographer Joseph MacDonald (1958’s The Young Lions, 1966’s The Sand Pebbles) and art directors J. Russell Spencer (1936’s Modern Times, 1946’s Dragonwyck) and Lyle R. Wheeler (1939’s Gone with the Wind, 1956’s The King and I) – still evoke the small-town South. One can feel the humid heat permeating through the night, amid Spanish moss and the racial inequality built into public spaces and homes*. For those who do not live in such places, small dots on a regional map, the scenery envelops the viewer, allowing them to further understand the cultural disorientation of any visitor to Pinky’s hometown.

Though the film is a drama, Kazan borrows horror elements to frame the setting and highlight the racial tension that pervades this Southern town. Expressionist lighting overhangs shots of foggy forests, a graveyard, tight roads, and derelict/near-derelict buildings. During the night, these surrounding appear as if taken from a disturbing lucid dream. The lurking dangers are embodied through the racist and sexist characters that Pinky encounters. With this marriage of setting and supporting cast of flawed characters, Pinky could be classified as a Southern Gothic tale – a subgenre that uses the grotesque to comment on the American South’s culture. Kazan’s filmmaking here awakens the audience to Pinky’s inner turmoil over her racial identity and belonging. Freed from worrying about racial prejudice in the North due to her passing, she is terrified about what it means to be a black woman in the place of her childhood. Miss Em’s cousin, Melba, perhaps exemplifies the white residents’ racial animosity when she meets Pinky for the first time. What she says is a statement of curiosity, an expression of Southern gentility, and a veiled threat all at once: “I heard you were light, but I had no idea. Why, you’re practically white.”

Does Pinky still feel like she belongs to this poor village? That question, among others, has an answer. She must first navigate this racism, for the first time, as an adult. By film’s end and despite all outward appearances of success, it is unclear if Pinky is satisfied with the answer she has uncovered.

The interrogation of Pinky’s blackness truly begins when Miss Em quickly realizes the identity of the young woman tending to her bedside as a hospice nurse. Miss Em, though bedridden, attempts to reinforce her authority over Pinky – a relationship assuming Pinky’s immaturity and based on tacit racial subservience (for the latter, refer to both Imitation of Life films even as the white mother characters fully realize Louise Beavers/Juanita Moore’s humanity). No longer a child, Pinky will not tolerate Miss Em’s racial condescension. It matters not that the patient is drifting in and out of consciousness during her final hours. Miss Em will be more respectful towards Pinky in the face of this bedside manner. Perhaps she is chastened by Dicey’s friendship and the favor that Pinky need not return; perhaps she is admiring of the newfound strength in the young girl she used to berate; perhaps it is due to the drugs coursing through her body. That all or some of these factors can be interpreted as true empowers the film’s final act, as screenwriters Philip Dunne (1941’s How Green Was My Valley), Dudley Nichols (1938’s Bringing Up Baby), Jane White (no other film credits), and Kazan obfuscate any simple resolutions to the film’s sense of racial justice. Pinky validates anyone who might see the film as confirming that the harshest of souls can cool their racist predispositions, or that it is impossible to reform such persons.

Though Jeanne Crain’s casting captured the headlines, the best performances in the film are from the two Ethels. As Miss Em, Ethel Barrymore has little physical acting, so she must rely almost entirely in her verbal deliveries. Alternating between exhausted observation, acidic riposte, and resignation, Barrymore navigates these final hours of her character’s life with the requisite modulations in tone. Despite being on screen for less time than Crain and Waters, Barrymore – as Miss Em – inhabits a character with the most dynamic development, routinely stealing scenes even while confined to bed. Six years after starring and “taking a chance on love” in Cabin in the Sky (1943), the deeply religious Ethel Waters commands yet another accomplished performance in Pinky. As Dicey, she plays probably the least dynamic of the three principal characters, but Waters’ anguish and understated sense of egalitarianism is a fascinating contrast to Pinky’s drifting stoicism upon her arrival at Dicey’s shack. For the Ethels, they are playing roles analogous to those they had previously assumed. But Barrymore’s elderly curmudgeons rarely commented so directly on race; Waters’ hardened maternal figures seldom interacted with white people. Together, they form an imperfect, uneasy coexistence – a postbellum relationship grounded in necessity and deferred acceptance of the other.

Prior to Kazan’s arrival on set, John Ford (1939’s Stagecoach, 1946’s My Darling Clementine) had already directed a significant bulk of Pinky. Viewing the rushes, Darryl F. Zanuck was embarrassed by the footage Ford had shot, stating that, “Ford’s Negroes were like Aunt Jemima caricatures. I thought we [were] going to get into trouble.” Indeed, Ford was a dreadful fit, given the source material and the director’s reputation (Ford’s reputation on making introspective films about racial relations was dire, and he would not possess the basic skillset to make such a film until 1960’s Sergeant Rutledge). The cast, upon learning they were going to work with the best director in Hollywood at the time, were ecstatic the decision until it became clear his abrasive demeanor intimidated Crain and especially Waters. Zanuck quietly dismissed Ford in favor of Kazan (coming off 1947’s Gentlemen’s Agreement, which decried anti-Semitism), stating in public that Ford came down with a case of the shingles. Ford, as you have correctly guessed, never had the shingles. None of Ford’s work survives in the final print of Pinky.

Pinky was justifiably attacked by black critics for Crain’s casting over Lena Horne (who had lobbied for the role). The film, a compromise between 20th Century Fox and the Breen Office, contains mixed messages about racial integration and the nature of interracial friendship and love. The thematic confusion interferes with the film’s obvious, well-meaning intentions and the stellar performances from Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters. In its final form, one can only imagine how damaging Pinky may have been if John Ford remained with the production rather than Kazan. Within the artistic constraints of Hollywood studio filmmaking and the regressive perspectives of too many Americans, Pinky inspires a torrent of conflicting emotions as it struggles to form a coherent thesis. In a peculiar way, the muddled messaging is also a reflection of Pinky and mixed-race persons themselves, as they strive to understand what to make of themselves.

My rating: 6.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. Half-points are always rounded down. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

* In the scene where Pinky goes to a general store late in the film, notice the racial composition of the customers and how they react to Pinky. Also, Dicey’s shack is aesthetically reminiscent to sharecropper hovels or slave living quarters.

[spockandawe]

don't worry about it if you're getting tired of these character asks, but what you said about Pharma in the last few was so tasty i'd love to see you do one for him as well

YEAHHHH MY FAVORITE DUMPSTER SON!!

LET’S DO THIS!

First impression: I thought he was interestingly slimy, but I assumed he was gone after Delphi, so I didn’t really bother to think too much about him. And then of course he came back with Tyrest, and WOW was there a lot to take in there, I was a bit overwhelmed my first time through XD

Impression now: Holy shit. What a complicated, tragic asshole. I love everything about him. He’s brilliant, he’s vain, he’s a total jackass. He was put in an unsustainable, insanely stressful situation on a dead-end planet, and he made a terrible judgment call on how to get out of it, but I can totally see how it happened. When Prowl’s at his lowest points, he gets so brittle, but also escalates his everything to something almost manic. And Pharma definitely does the same thing, especially on luna-1. It’s so hard to watch, because he’s the one escalating any given situation, but he’s also clearly in a bad place and more fragile than he should be, and unless he backs down there’s no way this will end well... and he has no intention of backing down. I just want time to rewind for Pharma so he could get a do-over, or that someone gets him in a place he can chill out long enough to re-center himself and calm down. I’m so weak against characters who are cold assholes, but also carry a lot of intense, vulnerable feelings at the same time. Pharma’s less obvious about that than Prowl is, but it’s still there.

Favorite moment: A shout-out to Pharma failing to get through the Aequitas-tech force field and everything that means about his self-image, but you know what this is going to be. ‘My beloved Ratchet’. How could it be anything else? My beloved Ratchet!!! His backstory already hurt me, and there was totally subtext there to read that into his character, but god. There wasn’t any better way to punch me in the feelings right there. It breaks my goddamn heart, because everything is so ruined, Pharma isn’t even necessarily alive in any conventional sense of the word anymore, and there’s an ancient prime piloting his body, but still. ‘My beloved Ratchet’. 

Idea for a story: Okay. I’m not going to go into full detail. But I’m ALL about post-LL aus where actually pharma is alive and on board the ship and being reluctantly rehabilitated, and doing doctory things in a setting entirely free from djd adventures. And he and Ratchet... are not going to get along. He and First Aid will get along even less So......... Pharma mentors Velocity, y/y? That’s tasty enough, but then. I realized. There’s two other medics-ish lurking around. I don’t think Nickel is going to be very interested in participating in this autobot medbay, she needs a break. But. Spinister. Spinister. He’s like ‘oh hey, I’m a doctor, I want to play.’ And Pharma and Ratchet are both like ‘NO!’ But Ratchet is ultimately in charge and manages to shunt Spinister off into Pharma’s shift and Pharma is forced to deal with LL-typical silliness right in his face, while he’s just sitting here trying to do his job.

Favorite relationship: RATCHET. No contest. No contest. All that history between them, it hurts so exquisitely. Ratchet’s opinion mattered to him so much when he was trying to ask for advice about the Delphi post, Ratchet was willing to just make him CMO even though they haven’t even talked for years, they’re so... aware of each other, if that makes sense. They’re almost always in conflict once Delphi gets rolling, but they understand each other so well. It’s so tragic seeing everything that plays out. They know each other that well, but once things start to go to hell, they go to hell so hard. And even then, at the end of all that, it’s still ‘my beloved ratchet’. And even after everything Pharma’s done to him and his friends, Ratchet still seeks comfort from Drift after he dies. It’s all pain, all the way down. They’re cut from the same cloth. Even when they’re trying to hurt each other, they both go to ‘you know what? you’re a shitty doctor!’ Pharma has some interesting dynamics with other people, and I can see other potential interesting dynamics with characters like Velocity and Megatron, but this... it has to be Ratchet.

Favorite headcanon: Via Drift and some other stuff, we get to see Ratchet being caustic, and his profile thing is all ‘compassionate, but not as compassionate as he used to be’. We see that Ratchet can hurt people with his attitude, and doesn’t always even notice. The flashback glimpse we get of Pharma and Ratchet is Pharma trying to ask his advice about taking the position on Delphi, and Ratchet just... bails in the middle of the conversation. He doesn’t finish listening to Pharma’s question or give him an answer. He just bails. And then we’ve got ‘my beloved Ratchet’. It sets the stage so beautifully for a past where Pharma cared a lot, and Ratchet wasn’t meeting him in the middle, emotionally, and it hurt. I think that really ate at him, and not just that, but then later when he’s made his terrible call on the rust plague and Ratchet shows up and doesn’t consider what DJD blackmail means and is just like ‘ffs, asshole’, I think that old pain floods back and really contributes to the further terrible decisions he makes. It’s just like ‘fuck it! everything i ever cared about is fucked, who gives a shit anymore.’ And then we have him doing ‘lengthways’ and making fun of First Aid’s reaction to Ambulon’s death. It’s not just who Pharma is naturally, it’s a lot of contributing factors plus Pharma actively trying to torpedo the last shreds of his life and provoke First Aid into killing him.

[mindibindi]

Gene/Alex Scenes That Made Me Go Whoa… [6/6]

How can I write about this scene? How can it possibly be put into words? The feels. The atmosphere. The epic fucking chemistry. The undiluted and irredeemable angst of this missed opportunity…

(You can bet I’m gonna try).

First let me say that this whole episode makes me go whoa. Whoa #1 occurs when Gene glances about at the mourning crowd gathered in Luigi’s and mutters: “Where’s Bolly?”. Whoa #2 happens during that intimate scene in his office when they tentatively arrange their date. Whoa #3 comes as they each get ready for this long-awaited evening, knowing or at least suspecting – hoping, anticipating – how it might end. Whoa #4 comes when they both show up – Gene resplendent in his tuxedo, with his golden mane swept back, Alex Goddess-like from top to toe and wearing the fur coat he first picked her up in. The effort they have each gone to in preparing themselves – their bodies, faces, outward appearance and inner equanimity – wordlessly betrays how deeply invested they are in each other, in this moment and its rapidly approaching outcome.

I say rapidly because everything seems to happen all at once in this ep. There’s no gradual build-up. The third series of this show is so much about the differences and difficulties that divide these two radically different characters. It’s a brilliantly frustrating move on the writer’s part, one that’s clearly deliberate and clearly intended to build to this incredibly URST-y crescendo in Alex’s flat. The whoas keep coming with just the opening of a door between them, the expressions on their faces as that final physical barrier falls. It is Gene that seeks Alex out, after their date is interrupted. This, along with his attentive personal grooming, I find so touching. This is a man who reveals so little, who refuses to invest personally, brushing off any attempt to create personal, sincere connection. Revelling in his “un-reconstucted” nature, he can become dangerous if the boundaries round his heart are threatened or breached. Yet here he is, putting himself out there for a woman he utterly adores but never thought would bestow on him a first, let alone second, look. There’s uncertainty in his stance as he hovers on her threshold, unsure as to whether her earlier offer of intimacy remains valid. As so often happens in the show, Alex’s eyes offer the emotional barometer of not just where she is at but where they are headed. The incredible depth and range of emotion Keeley is able to express through her eyes gives this show its emotional language and drive. So when the palpable uncertainty in every cell of Gene’s poor, primed body is pointing out that they were just about to sleep together and enquiring whether that was still going to eventuate, the straightforward sympathy in Alex’s gaze answers unequivocally: “Yes. Yes, it is.”

Further whoas arrive with the scene on the couch. Because this is what Gene needed earlier in the ep when he couldn’t find the one person he wanted at his side during Viv’s wake. He looked about, seeking his comforter, his voice of reason, his emotional support. Everyone around him shuffled, knowing that no one else would do. No one but Alex’s can fulfill this role for Gene. When Ray tries to tell him that everything will be alright, the assurance has zero effect. Ray is someone who needs Gene to lead, to be strong, to be the legendary Manc Lion. In moments of doubt – though he’d never admit to them or their antidote – Gene needs someone equal, someone who can match his own strength and determination. He needs his Bolly. Of course this time, in this scene, he doesn’t get the comfort he requires. He doesn’t get her looking at him with only half guarded affection and telling him he’s a good, kind, decent man. He doesn’t get her clinking her glass with his and agreeing that they will stand tall against any and all threats of police corruption. He doesn’t get her whispering in his ear that it’s okay to be scared. Or conceding with identical world-weariness that everything is indeed shit. This time, when he swings his head her way and questions whether things really will be alright, Alex avoids answering. In fact, it’s possibly only because they both sense that things aren’t going to be okay, that they aren’t going to ever be the same again, that they’re allowing themselves what they have so long denied.

It’s Alex that shifts them along, moving them out of the professional and into the personal, out of their routine of comforting companionship and into something more sensual, more sexual. Of the two of them, she has always been the more forward. Most of the overtures Gene has made have been veiled in smutty innuendo or braggadocios indifference. Such (unconvincing) indifference also veils his response to her suggestion of a dance, to her insistent, extended hand offering him contact and closeness. Her insistence is probably made a little easier by the fact that she knows (as we all do) that he’s been itching to get his hands on her for years. How Philip Glenister plays this scene is so perfectly pitched because he doesn’t just simultaneously conceal and reveal the hidden desires of the man behind the self-created persona but also the doubt and insecurity of the boy whose past is about to be uncovered. I gotta say, the first time Alex pressed play and the Spandau Ballet song came on, I laughed a little and thought: “Come on, Alex, could you pick a song that made it anymore obvious that you wanna make out?”. I stopped laughing real fast though, because this scene demands that this song – now thought so laughable, so corny, so daggy – be taken seriously. It returns it to its original context and makes you listen to it anew. And the lyrics certainly seem to fit this couple and the moment they have come to. The unapologetic sentimentality of the song also suits Alex’s purpose. She needs to make her intentions clear here because Gene Hunt has proven tougher to get between the sheets than anyone would originally have thought. You can see in the way she looks over her shoulder at him on the couch that there remains a fear of rebuff. And a Gene Hunt rebuff is far rougher than that of any ordinary man. But the rewards of taking such a risk are also much greater than those of any ordinary man. So she lets the layers of protection fall away, hoping that he will do the same.

For me, there is a major whoa in just the way Gene moves in and takes her in a loose dance hold, one hand holding hers as the other unseen hand presumably moves around her waist. Fucking WHOA... What is that?! And how do men know how to do that?? Do they learn it at some point? Do they take boys aside when they’re of appropriate age and give them instruction in how to sexily manoeuvre women into a slow dance? Well…some men. Actually, I don’t know if it’s a male thing or just yet another spectacularly sexy Philip Glenister thing. It may well be the latter. With his bowed, golden head and his reticent, pouted lips and his aura of cool…jeez. It gets me. Every. Single. Time. And from here, it’s just whoa upon whoa upon whoa upon whoa. Gene makes a last ditch attempt at humour, at dissipating the heat and saving some face. Alex looks him in the eyes, clear and knowing, and doesn’t let him get away with it. If he wants his chance to be with her, he needs to really be with her. She wants the man beneath the façade, not the façade itself. I love that they leave them dancing for a while, moving closer, all obstacles and defences removed. It feels like a real slow dance. Wordless, slightly awkward and filled with intense longing. Lingering here feels earned too, after all the words these two have exchanged. After all the difficulties and resolutions, all the confusion and suspicion and separation of this series. Now, words become redundant and acts take over.

Alex’s head lolls and drops to Gene’s shoulder in an act of absolute acquiescence. To me, this is a deeply significant moment for her character. Since she arrived in his world, she has resisted it, resisted him. She has resisted being there, staying there. She has resisted engaging with him, siding with him, investing in him, relying on him. She’s resisted needing, wanting and loving Gene Hunt. And this here is her final capitulation. She is done. She is here. Finally and completely. No part of her longs to be anywhere else. She is content. She is at peace. Gene seems to register the significance of this act with a little whoa of his own. His eyes close and brows raise and for a moment he looks overwhelmed by sensation. Not just the sensation of her physical proximity but the weight and importance of her emotional surrender. There’s a moment in which they just sway, then Gene responds with a telling act of his own. A soft, protective, affectionate kiss on her hairline. I say protective because, as we all know, Alex has a thing for daddies (her own, Evan, Mac a little bit, and even Keats). Her trauma around her father’s early death and betrayal has turned into a bit of a kink. Gene is older than her, the one constant authority figure in her world. He’s the booming father of CID. He is also the angel-man who shielded her on that hill in the moment she lost both the idea and actuality of her own father, the man who was meant to protect but instead endangered her – a dynamic that was repeated with Evan. And – this is the fear Keats taps into – may be repeated with Gene.

But however chaste the forehead kiss may seem, it also seems to be a bit of a gateway kiss, a way of him working up to the real deal. Alex’s eyes flutter open but her head doesn’t lift straight away. She’s noticed the slight pressure of his lips, noticed that Gene is at last making a move. His lips move a little lower, resting against her forehead. And perhaps he plans to continue downwards, kissing her brow…then nose…then lips… But Alex lifts her head, nudging them along when Gene is struggling to muster the courage. There’s really no writing about the near kiss. Not just because it’s inexpressible in words but because if I think about it too long and hard I’m gonna cry and throw stuff. Suffice to say, it’s so amazing to see the tenderness between two characters who started out so different, so divided, so exasperated by each other. To think of the Alex Drake and Gene Hunt of s1, with their endless sniping and insults and tantrums, and see how they have become this tender, complex, uncertain but deeply invested couple. All the petty hurts of the past melt away as they begin to heal, to make love instead of war. Even during the hottest and most volatile of their battles, there has always been sexual tension. But this coming together is not rash and passionate and fierce, as it might have been back when they first met. It is heated, no doubt. It is intense and fraught. But there is certainty as well as uncertainty, love as well as lust, passion without force.

It’s worth mentioning here that Gene and Alex are both dressed in black and white, Alex having changed out of her white dress. She has often been dressed in white, her signature jacket from s1 & 2 being the most significant example. Gene’s signature coat is as black as the looks he shoots from under his furrowed brows. It’s not just 80s aesthetics that matter here though. The monochrome colour scheme taps into the life-and-death themes of the show. Black and white represent a series of polarities: light/dark, day/night, good/bad, angel/devil, dead/alive, heaven/hell, redemption/damnation. This man and woman are no longer polarised though, no longer opposites. They are each a mixture of light and dark, good and bad, alive and dead. They have learned from each other, drawn from each other, grown more like one another. Gene has developed his Alex aspect while Alex has developed her Gene genes. She is not just white and he is not just black. They are black and white fused together in a complementary pattern. Or at least, they are about to be fused. They are this…fucking…close.   

The only other thing I will say about the near-kiss is this: I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY TOOK AWAY THEIR KISS. Just in case anyone wasn’t sufficiently frustrated by this scene, I will let you know that the original script did actually have Gene and Alex kissing before being interrupted. I give you Exhibit A:

Now, objectively speaking, if I were one of the showrunners, I would probably have made the same call. It just makes for a more memorable love story if their first/last/only kiss is postponed until those last moments outside The Railway Arms. And I would probably be happy (happier) with this scenario if that kiss expressed even some of the intensity and longing present in this scene. It’s a different kiss, it expresses different emotions. It is tender, intimate, affectionate, sad. But a little underwhelming. It is, after all, the very last kiss either of them may ever have, certainly the last kiss they will share together in this universe. It is the last time Gene will see the woman he waited decades in purgatory to meet and fall for. And it is the very last act of Alex’s sadly truncated life. It might be worth making it count. Just a little. For this reason, I can’t help but find their final kiss wanting and longing instead for the aborted kiss here to have gone ahead uninterrupted. There is a bittersweet angst about it as it stands and leaving the audience wanting more is a smart strategy. So, yes, objectively, rationally, I see the reasons behind making this call. Emotionally, however, my lil shipper heart just can’t get over it. Which is, I assume, precisely what they want – people still crying over this pairing a decade later. Nicely played, A2A team, nicely played. In recompense for this deliberate cruelty, however, I vow I will loathe Keats for all eternity for his epically bad timing. I will sigh wretchedly every time Gene’s head dips in defeat, as what he wanted for so long and thought he was about to get is snatched abruptly away. And I will forever (internally) brandish a fist at the heavens at Alex’s whispered directive to wait in the bedroom for all that sentence promises but doesn’t deliver.

Again, I am in two minds about the ending of this ep. Part of me thinks that Alex emotionally surrendered to trusting and loving Gene in that moment at the end of their date when she told him he’d pulled. Not to mention the physical acquiescence to relying on him, needing him when her head fell to his shoulder in this scene here. These moments communicate such faith, such unswerving devotion. As a result, her last minute dash feels a little contrived. On the other hand, I understand that Alex is still working through the daddy/trust issues that she is in limbo to resolve, issues that deeply implicate her relationship with Gene as well. Because of these unresolved issues, Alex can’t fully love Gene Hunt until she truly knows him, until she solves the mystery of who he really is. She pursues the truth about her enigmatic angel/tormentor/boss/other half as the intrepid investigator she trained to be in her first life, ruthlessly unravelling his story and its connection to hers. This is the ultimate and shatteringly beautiful irony of Ashes to Ashes – for, while it is only in knowing Gene that she can really love him, knowing him completely also means leaving him, at long last putting her own issues to rest and entering The Railway Arms alone, parted forever from the love she died in order to find.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT Rewatch: 1X02 - The Thing You Love Most

How in Merlin’s tree trunk did this post end up being longer than the one for the freakin’ Pilot?!

I better watch it, or this is gonna be one wordy rewatch!

If you want to join in on my rewatch train and hear my thoughts, head below the cut because this is another long one! (Here’s what to expect if you do: Fawning over dynamics, getting lost in sexy ladies both on their own and together, fanfiction bunnies a plenty, and a squigin of analysis! Bring a shaker, because there’s hardly a pinch of salt here!)

Chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga, TWO TWO!

Press Release Regina does everything in her power to force Emma out of Storybrooke and out of her and Henry’s lives forever. Meanwhile, the chilling circumstances of how the Evil Queen released the curse upon the fairytale world is revealed. General Thoughts Following up the pilot, a remarkable - practically flawless - episode was a hard task and this episode delivered! It kicks off right from where we ended last time in the present, and we get a cool change of perspective in the past. Speaking of which, let us start off in the past. I love the transition between Regina in the wedding hall to her castle and immediately, we give her some people to talk to and set up her power dynamics. Not only do we get to see two servants, but people closer to Regina’s level, and that’s so important as an audience member to get a feel for her strengths and weaknesses going forward and to paint a picture of someone who has truly exhausted every resource to get what she wants. That makes the twisted tragedy at the end of the episode so much more complicated, though no less evil. Of course, Regina comes out of this episode with so much development. The moonlit scenes (both by the fire pit and in the castle) with Henry Sr (Whose identity was one of OUAT’s greatest twists) spoke to how Regin’s lust for revenge has eclipsed not only her sensibilities of right and wrong, but the love that others in her life (most notably Henry Sr. himself). Finally, I want to point out the scene between Rumple and Regina, because it was so close to being my favorite dynamic of the episode. There’s a level of comfortable tension between the two of them. You can see it in the way that Regina’s not surprised when Rumple asks for more in his deal, and despite Rumple’s silly and insane antics and requests, she’s able to hold steady. Their relationship also contrasts the scene with Regina and Mal. In that scene, Regina was able to take what she wanted. In this scene, she must relent and gagree to Rumple’s terms, and that speaks to the matter of sizing up Regina that I mentioned before and in a way that doesn’t skimp on character development for either Mal or Rumple. In addition, the scene just made me laugh. Fuck! Robert Carlyle is too fucking good! Now let’s blast to the present! The opening is really delightful and gives off a feeling of something being both familiar and new, and it’s a great metaphor for the waves that Emma is already bringing to Storybrooke. In fact, the whole episode - characters and stories - show a shift. Everyone acts just a little closer to either the direction of their character arcs (Ex. Emma and Archie) or to their fairytale selves (Ex. Regina, Rumple, and Archie), and it’s played very subtly. Just like the tick of a clock. Not gonna lie, I laughed hard during the famous apple tree scene. Between Emma’s satisfied smile, the way Regina freakin’ wooshed from her window to go investigate, and how Regina was screaming had me cackling like a hyena. However, in addition to being funny, we also got some more characterization out of Emma, namely impulsivity and external fearlessness. What I mean by external fearlessness is how while Emma is afraid of intangible things like forming connections and trusting, a threat like an intimidating person is a lot less scary to her, and she has no trouble taking Regina up on her threats. I feel that these traits are expanded on, but given a suitable level of retention throughout the rest of the series. Insights I immediately realized how weird it was that we had an actual voice-over intro to the show in Season 1. I totally understand why it disappeared after the curse broke, but just remembering it again was like a cup of cold water to the face. Also, I really wish that we could have somehow had the narrator who did the intro as well as the famous “previously, on Once Upon a Time” be an actual character a-la “Into the Woods,” or hell, make him Isaac or an older Henry! Of course, keep Andrew West, but maybe a Henry who is the Apprentice’s age! XD Between this episode and the pilot, I notice so much pop music in the show’s soundtrack! In later seasons, apart from the rare instance of “Only You” and a couple of 80’s songs at Roni’s or the arcade, we really don’t get instances of contemporary tracks. I’m stuck between that being important or not. On one hand, the change to classical could reflect on the reformation of Storybrooke to its fairy tale origins with the end of the curse and the return of magic, but the contemporary music, at least here, also goes along with the theme of things changing in Storybrooke, and for the better. ALSO, along the lines of music, I couldn’t help but notice how the lyrics of the song specifically resonate with the specific character on screen as they’re sung (Ex. “Don’t be shy” to Mary Margaret, “Don’t wear your fear” to Emma, and “Let your feelings out instead” to Graham’s car and Archie). Neat! Aesthetic stuff that pleases me: Regina’s outfits in this episode are all among my favorite (And her hair in the flashback - high ponytails are the way to go if you’re a fairytale character!), Emma’s bug (So, I won a model of her bug in an auction at NJ con last year and I was sad to see a gray dent in the middle, and just now, I saw that same dent in her bug in the show! I’m so happy), Emma in that tank (How the hell did I not realize I was bi until nearly a year after I started this show?!), The smoke when characters poof around (It looks so good in the beginning of the show - no offense to later seasons - I like the smoke there too, but this smoke is so puffy and like a mix of cotton and its accompanying seeds as they flutter in the breeze), and Lana’s makeup (I normally don’t pay attention to makeup, but with the lighting of this episode, I couldn’t help but notice it) I also really wish we had an episode about Regina’s apple tree! Along those same lines, we see Regina with a horde of baddies, and a lot of them have really cool designs. I’m not saying we needed their stories per se - sometimes a minion can just be a minion - but I wish we could’ve seen a bit more of them. These are some of the “darkest souls,” after all. This episode really made me think about how I felt about Maleficent and the consistency between the character we see here as well as in bits and pieces throughout Seasons 1 and 2 and the one who reappears in Season 4. Now, obviously, we see her story out of order, as Lily not only was already gone but in a meta-sense, not created yet (Some would call it a retcon, but I agree with the perspective suggested once that retconning isn’t really a thing on OUaT due to the non-linear timeline method of storytelling and Mal’s motivations - while somewhat set up - aren’t loosely defined at this point in the series). Some things not evaluated on - the horse, most notably - give me pause, though as to its importance. Arcs I’ll be honest: I’m not exactly sure how to expand upon this section. Here’s my best attempt. Emma journey of belief - I’ll elaborate on this a bit, but Emma’s journey with belief is tied to her relationship with Henry, and as their relationship developed here, as did Emma’s journey. However, as I will also mention, she has a long way to go. The power struggle against Regina - This episode painted a much more elaborate picture of Regina and her power dynamics with others in her life. We see her acting as mayor and the levels of influence she holds over the whole town. The corruption of Storybrooke is clear to all but the most naive. At the same time though, she is not infallible, and those who choose to stand up to her are indeed victorious, but give rise to a Regina who is not only more vicious, but also more sinister and calculating. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Henry! I feel like this episode shows their dynamic even better than the pilot did. Here, they get a bit more banner, and while there’s an intense push-and-pull still there, we get to see more of Henry’s likable and precocious traits and how they mix with a jaded, but less-so Emma. They also get a lot of funny moments! Between and Henry owning up to sending the hot cocoa, more or less demanding Emma walk him to school, and throwing the apple in the hammiest fashion, I could hardly keep a straight face. But more than that, I feel like there’s a good mix of Henry explaining himself, but also not letting a moment of character building drop in his grasp, and not only does he ensure that, but every character that brings him up does the same (Specifically, Archie). Also, Henry’s much more self aware here. Now that the threat of Emma going is averted for the time being, he’s able to express his own understanding of her doubts and build on that logically without letting his belief falter. I love when Regina’s trying to convince him that Emma’s a conwoman and he’s just having none of it. All of this just makes the scene where Regina sets Emma up to hurt Henry by dismissing his beliefs so tragic, especially because it comes from this honest and caring place on Emma’s part. She wants to look out for Henry’s well being, and yet her words are twisted, undoing any good that could come of her well-meaning intentions. When the scene is resolved, it’s not a step in Emma’s journey of belief, per se (She’s very clearly lying about the fairy tale world being real), but in her relationship with Henry, and that’s revealed to be one and the same. I also want to point out the specialness that is their relationship based on the conversation that Emma and Mary Margaret share. Mary Margaret brings up a good point: most everyone who knows and cares enough for Henry are under Regina’s thumb. She controls their livelihoods and make it near impossible to do too much to act in Henry’s best interests. However, Emma, an outsider who is not dependent on Regina (At least at this moment), exists outside this paradigm and is the only one both in a position to and fearless enough to create the change in Henry’s life that will actually improve his situation. It creates a meaningful reason for Emma to remain in Storybrooke and adds a unique challenge to Emma’s usual instinct to not - as Sidney says - “sit still.” Writer A&E are once again at the helm of this episode! Right now, as I work with two episodes, I consider their main strengths to be their depictions of character relationships of all kinds (With one weird exception that honestly surprised me). As for weaknesses, as I know I’ll be expanding on this in due time, overambition. There’s so much set up in this episode as well as the one before it, and while most (within the scope of only these two episodes) gets meaningful resolution, there are some elements that don’t. Rating 10/10...I was conflicted about what to give this episode. It’s great. It’s very fucking great, and a Golden Apple - however repetitious from my last episode. However, this is a rewatch, and with a rewatch comes the acknowledgment and recognition of unused potential of story elements in hindsight, and this episode does show a lot that was never truly acted upon. In addition to background events and characters, some story elements like Emma and Henry pretending to be non believers don’t come back. That having been said, that unused story potential only holds in regard to smaller character and story elements, things that I want to be built on, and that’s a weak criticism at best. The important story elements - the main story points and the integral characters - are treated well by this episode. There’s nuance and charm galore added to our central cast and the story propels us from the powerful pilot into a well-written continuation. So, I took away its * and left it as a 10/10. Flip My Ship Swan Queen - I love the bickering so much! Regina calling Emma “dear” had me giggling like sparkly Rumple after eight cups of coffee! Oh damn, and those intense looks at the hotel! AND the freakin’ apple tree scene! That tension was so thick, you could only hope to cut it with a chainsaw! Dragon Queen - Regina and Mal’s scene is a long and strong, and while I don’t start really feeling it with them until Season 4, I do still love the connection between them. That only friend line implies so much history, and knowing at least the start of their connection really gives extra meaning to that line.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

...So much for keeping these rewatch pieces short, am I right? Hope you liked them and thanks once more to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales for putting this rewatch together! Season Tally (20/220) Writer Tally for Season 1: A&E (20/70)

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #201 - Predator

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) There is very little in this film to make it a sci-fi movie (because for the large part it isn’t, but more on that later), but the very first scene of the alien ship sending down SOMETHING leaves no doubt as to the origins of the Predator. It’s not demonic, it’s not a government experiment gone wrong. It’s extraterrestrial, plain and simple. Which means the film can jump right into the story past sci-fi exposition.

2) This initial “hand shake” between Dillon and Dutch really shows the very basic conflict at the heart of their relationship. A conflict of strengths, each needing to be better than the other. Arnie has fun with it but Dillon seems to be a bit more insecure. It is this conflict which is at the heart of their relationship.

3) Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch.

Dutch is actually my favorite character played by the legendary action performer. Upon first meeting Dutch you easily understand who he is as a character. There’s a sense of honor and morality, a strength to him (both physical and - you can sense - emotional), and he’s not eager for a fight. This last one is important. Dutch is the leader of rescue team. He’s not looking for a life, he’s not looking to take life. He’s looking to save it. But he will do what is necessary to save his objective. Dutch is also able to keep a straight head constantly and work through bad situations, something which will save his neck more than once. The thing that transcends Dutch above other Arnie characters for me, like The Terminator for instance, is that he just feels unique from those other characters. It’s a little more than just Arnold Schwarzenegger while also being very full of life and just interesting.

4) When you are working with an ensemble cast in a 107 minute runtime, you have to establish things quickly and you have to establish them well. The chopper ride into the jungle gives the audience a clear sense of not only the team dynamic but each character as an individual. They transcend basic stereotypes to be unique. You understand their sense of humor (or lack there of), their relationship with each other, their bravado, you just get who they are.

Language warning: use of f****t.

5) There is a simple base difference between Dutch and Dillon which speaks greatly to the conflict they will have.

Dillon [about the mission]: “Never knew how much I missed this, Dutch.”

Dutch: “You never were very smart.”

Remember, Dutch isn’t itching for a fight. But Dillon is. Dillon is very much a hit first kind of guy, while Dutch is a hit second but hit hard kind of guy.

6) The first scene in the jungle and later the skirmish between Dutch’s men & the guerrillas does well to establish how tough/capable they are. How dangerous they really are. The scene with the guerrillas in particular does this in an entertaining action movie way, but more than anything else it helps to also establish how deadly the Predator is. It takes a LOT to take this guys out, as we see in these two scene. They’re not some drunken teenager at a cabin in the woods, they’re fucking killers. So the fact that the Predator ends up killing pretty much all of them speaks greatly to how dangerous IT is.

7) The skinned victims is our first indication about how fucking deadly the Predator is. These weren’t random people in the jungle, at least one of them was a green beret. It creates a greater sense of tension and fear, while Billy’s analysis of how the fight went (they fired in all directions but there’s no blood or tracks) continues to set up a great sense of danger.

8) The Predator’s heat vision is akin to the point of view shots used in Jaws. It builds suspense by giving the audience info the characters don’t have (that the Predator is near and could easily kill them) while also playing into our fear of the unknown. We know it can see them but we don’t see it. We don’t know what the Predator really looks like for most of the film.

9) Ah, cheesy 80s one liners.

According to IMDb, this was improvised by Arnie.

10) This is…I just…I laugh at this every time but maybe I shouldn’t.

(GIF originally posted by @drivingmradam)

Poncho: “Huh…okay.”

Like, it’s kinda stupid and even Poncho knows it! Like what kind of hyper masculine bullshit is, “I ain’t got time to bleed?” But it’s so fucking awesome in how fucking ridiculous it is! This is one of the most iconic lines from the film and it’s just…it’s a lot. I’m laughing as I write this! I love that stupid line!

11) I really like this film but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out it had literally only one female character who doesn’t pass the sexy lamp test. She’s basically an exposition device (and not a great one) who acts as an obstacle for the guys more than a character.

12) Carl Weathers as Dillon.

Weathers plays Dillon REALLY interestingly. You understand that you’re never seeing the whole picture with Dillon. There’s something always beneath the surface. Something always mysterious about the character. He plays the part with a wonderful amount of snake-likeness and gives the strongest performance outside of Schwarzenegger. He’s just really good to watch.

13) Fun fact: that’s 80s screenwriter and current writer/director Shane Black as Hawkins.

Producer Joel Silver wanted Black close around to review the script in case there were issues. Black didn’t have to make any edits though I think, liking the script as it was. He is currently directing the sequel/reboot of the series with The Predator (coming out in August of 2018).

14) Sound design is a surprisingly important aspect for the Predator’s design. Not only the vocals provided by legendary voice over actor Peter Cullen (best known as Optimus Prime in the Transformers franchise), but the way he plays with soundbites from other characters to creep the audience out. It works really well.

15) The tone shift once the Predator kills Hawkins is striking and powerful. You know shit just went sideways as the tension skyrockets. This is no longer an action movie with a war setting. This shit just got scary.

16) Predator really isn’t a typical action or sci-fi film. It doesn’t concern itself too much with space jargon or big explosions (although the film does have some of the latter). The bet way to label the film would be as a survival movie above all else. Through heavy elements of suspense and still the inclusion of solid action, we know what the goal of the movie is for these characters: to live through it. And that works really freaking well.

17) SAVE SOME FREAKING AMMO GUYS!

Poncho: “We hit nothing!”

The look on Dutch’s face and how scared shitless all these badass military dudes are upon hearing this continues to set up just how bad a situation this is. These guys don’t scare easily, if at all.

18) So after Blain dies Mac freaking loses it.

Mac: “He was, um, my friend.”

THIS IS PURE HEADCANON BUT I think Blain and Mac were dating. People on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum weren’t allowed to serve in the military in 1987, so they have to stay closeted (which would also explain why Mac talks so passionately about his sexual appetite with women on the chopper; he’s overcompensating). The hesitation in Mac’s voice before he says, “friend,” makes me think they were more than just friends. And we get a sense of just how incredibly deep their relationship was as the film progresses, with Mac talking to the sky alone thinking Blaine is looking down on him and going so passionately after the Predator which killed his love. It’s probably NOT this, I’m probably just looking for a little more gay in my movies, but I think I’m just going to head canon it this way because it’s fun.

19) Survival isn’t an easy thing, not in the circumstances set up by the film. But there is always that possibility. If there’s no hope this wouldn’t be a movie about survival, it would be a movie about death.

20) Tension comes from slowing things down not speeding them up. A scene which represents this idea well is when the surviving party is waiting for the Predator to fall into their trap. The tension is so raw, so intense. It could be watching them already for all they know. And just when the film lets the tension relax just a little bit THAT’S when the figurative bomb drops.

21) A similar scene which gets high tension out of slow pacing comes from when Mac and Dillon move in on the Predator. It’s slowly paced and the audience never knows quite what to trust. If the voice of Mac calling to Dillon is really him of the Predator’s recording. It all just works very well.

22)

Dutch: “It didn’t kill you because you’re unarmed. No sport.”

Then why are you all carrying around your weapons? (Below is “How Predator Should Have Ended”.)

23) I don’t know why, but this line has become super iconic with time. I think it’s Arnie’s accent.

24) Every good movie has a low point. A place where there’s no clear way out. Dutch laying in the mud, waiting for the Predator to kill him, and the audience totally expecting that to happen, is this film’s low point.

25) The design of the Predator.

It’s at this point in the film when we start getting good looks at the Predator (albeit not its face, but more on that later). There is a nice almost tribal look to it, with the mesh and the way the armor looks on its body. When you see it you just understand that this is a hunter above all else. These elements help to differentiate the Predator from other movie aliens (like the Xenomorph from Alien or the invaders of Independence Day). It’s striking, simple, elegant, and above all else memorable. THAT’S what works.

26) The climax of this film works well because it does away with sci-fi and action film tropes. Gone are the blasters and big machine guns, no more explosions (until the very end), it’s all very old school and analog. It takes what the story is most basically about - survival - and boils that idea to its core. That’s what Dutch is fighting for right now, that’s what is at stake. Not the planet, not a war, not for ideals. He is fighting for his right to live.

Beyond just what the scene is about, it’s wonderfully paced. With strong tension through and through, it’s born from a clear visual palette and (again) slowed down pacing. But it picks it up when necessary, throwing in the surprise and monkey wrench into Dutch’s plan as well (such as when the Predator approaches from behind Dutch). It just really fucking works.

27) It is worth talking about that the Predator is not some mindless, purely animalistic creature. the Predator IS a character. There is a personality and flavor to its actions. A sense of pride in the way it hunts, a sense of honor. There are multiply times where it can EASILY key its prey but it has to be done right. I always got a vibe that this was a younger Predator too, although I can’t explain why. This feels like more of a right of passage than a trip to a game reserve. It makes mistakes, which I think makes it a little more inexperienced. It’s incredibly important that it succeed at its task and to me it’s so it can be considered an adult now.

28) The face of the Predator.

The reason the face of the Predator works, why that reveal works, is because it matches perfectly what we know about the character while still being surprising. Its large teeth represent its viscousness, its eyes are fierce and piercing, the whole thing just FEELS threatening.

28.1) It’s worth noting that the Predator mandibles were James Cameron’s ideas.

29) Tying into note #27 about how the Predator is a character, that final laugh it has before killing itself is so wonderfully freaky. It is the honorable thing to do, taking its own life so this “lesser” being can’t. And the laugh is because it believes that by killing itself Dutch will die too, completing the task it set upon itself. Even when it loses you feel like it’s still a threat.

30) Is it me or do these end credits feel like the opening credits for a cheesy 80s show?

Predator is an excellent gem in the sci-fi/action genre. By doing away with many of the tropes which define both of them, we are treated to a richly suspenseful story of survival. There is a wonderful sense of pacing to the film which supports its suspense, while its elegantly simple plot (survive) is a clear motivator for the characters. The Predator itself is an amazing monster to grace the screens of cinema, but the human characters are nothing to sneeze at. Not when you have performers like Schwarzenegger and Weathers throwing their hats into the ring. All in all, Predator is just a really great film.

[azlissian]

Voltron Season 3 Review - CAUTION: RANT INBOUND

I just finished watching the newest season of Voltron: Legendary Defender, and holy cheeseballs on a cracker I need to get some of these emotions out because I was NOT. READY.! 

I never use Tumblr. In fact, I make an effort to steer away from it. But with such a large fanbase, it’s hard to find anywhere else to rant in such detail. So, here we go.

WARNING: As you might expect, this contains extreme spoilers. Look away now!

To start off, I just want to congratulate the Voltron team on creating yet another amazing addition to the series, even if it’s only 7 episodes long. This was probably the most heart-wrenching, scream-inducing, absolutely bonkers and overwhelming season to date, and I commend you for managing to make me feel approximately 543859746 emotions in the space of a few seconds constantly throughout. These 7 episodes - these nuggets of purest space-tastic beauty - are simply glorious..

..and here are my reasons why. My long, long reasons why.

1. Strap yourselves in boys, this is going to be a long one. The raw emotion in every. single. scene. - in every single character - is indescribable. The Paladins are adjusting to things they never thought would happen, and you can see it taking a toll on each character right from the get go. 

Keith - precious, upset, amazing Keith - oh boy.. I need to hug this kid and never let him go. He lost his role model and basically best friend all in one go, and he’s so caught between anger and grief and anguish he doesn’t know what to do with himself! He is thrust into this new position with the force of an ion cannon and you can visibly see it in his eyes; the fear, the uncertainty, as he tries to take on the role that Shiro left behind. His anger overtakes him on so many occasions, and so many times we think he’s going to lose it completely! (Which, in all fairness, he might as well have). And every time he’s brought back by his team (bless Lance and his perfect face - I’ll get to him later) or shut down by somebody, you can see the emotional frustration. You can feel it. I certainly felt it. This boy is not experienced as a leader, but he is sure as hell trying. 

Although, I am extremely surprised about the lack of discussion about his time with the Blade of Marmora. It is undeniable that he is part Galra, but this was not addressed at all in season 3. Whether this was because the team have simply accepted and adapted to it now, or whether the Voltron crew are holding back some serious angst in preparation for season 4, I am looking forward to seeing where they go with it.

Lance. My goodness. I was expecting some kind of character development this season, but not at all in this direction. He is, undoubtedly, the sharpshooter the team needs, and he’s also the comedic emotional support that keeps Keith and the others from falling apart. Meanwhile, he must abandon the blue lion, who we know he had a strong connection with ever since the beginning, and become the right-hand of Voltron - of Keith. There is hesitation abundance here, but he takes it in his stride and pilots the red lion with confidence. He’s watching out for Keith more, ready to step up and take charge or defend when he needs to, and I think that says a lot about their relationship development. He confides in Keith, something he would never have considered under different circumstances, and bares himself as someone who doesn’t feel needed anymore once Shiro returns. Lance is ready to give up his position to let Keith back in and ‘make the team stronger’, but Keith won’t give up on him, and we can see it means a lot to him to have his old rival, his leader, his friend?, believe in him. I think we’re going to see a much more self-conscious Lance as time goes on, but also a much more stable and prepared one in the aftermath.

Shiro. Need I say more? Yes, because this man has been through hell and back twice now at the hands of the Galra empire, and he deserves a hecking nap. He is captured, again, escapes, again, has to survive on his own, again, and is captured a further time - only to find new allies within the depths of a frozen tundra-like planetoid. There’s a moment during that episode where he takes shelter within the remains of an unknown monster, and I couldn’t help but remember the phrase ‘into the belly of the beast’. He is literally in the belly of a strange beast, but figuratively, he is right back where he started; stuck in a domain where he is alone and must fight to survive. He hijacks a Galra fighter and has Voltron within his grasp, but they’re too fast for him, and the utter despair on his face is heartbreaking. I almost cried. I thought he was done. But the relief on his expression minutes later brought everything back and reminded me how strong of a person he is, but also shows how much he relies on his team - on Keith - who clearly shares a bond with him deeper than we could have expected. The thing is, with two leaders now ready to take command, Shiro finds he cannot pilot the black lion anymore; a moment which in itself was also considerably upsetting. He leads Voltron from the castle, despite Keith’s attempt to make decisions himself, and we’ve come to a crossroad where they will have to decide who is the ultimate voice of command.

Allura has far more development in this season that I ever would have expected. With Shiro gone, the team in shambles, and the Galra threat still imminent, the struggle to make decisions and direct the Paladins is visible in every shot. The blue lion chooses her, and she doesn’t know how to handle it. She doesn’t want to be a disappointment, because everyone is counting on her, but she has to stop thinking like a princess and start thinking like a Paladin in order to get things done. Her crying broke my heart - it’s hard to witness. She’s put through so much within this time and is forced to make horrible choices, but she emerges from them stronger. Uncertain, and still a little inexperienced, but stronger. 

There are real similarities here between her and Keith; both of them must step up to their new positions, to walk in their role model’s footsteps, but both are scared. It’s a side of them I love seeing, but also hate seeing because of how much pain these characters and their fight make me feel.

I’m a bit disappointed as to how little development there is for Pidge and Hunk, but then again, there is only so much they can put into these episodes when they’re already chock-full. Besides, I think Pidge in particular will be getting a lot of screen time in the upcoming season 4 if the pictures and hints we’ve seen are anything to go by.

2. Lore galore. If I weren’t a lover of backstories and intense information-dumps and theorizing, this season would have caught me extremely off-guard. But I loved every single second of it. We learn more about the Paladins of old and how their fate came to be; we learn about Zarkon and Alfor and their relationship, in addition to Haggar; we learn about Lotor and his crew of incredible, strong, and frankly beautiful Galran fighters; we discover the creation and evolution of the lions -- there’s SO MUCH to consider here! 

Lotor is not your regular Galra leader, or at least, not in comparison to Zarkon. He is delightfully cunning and uses tactics that his father may not have even considered in order to get what he wants. He commands troops that most Galra would not even consider giving a place in their ranks (according to Throk - rip). They have abilities other, regular Galra don’t seem to posses - mind control, for one thing - and I feel as though these skills will be shown off more as their battle against Voltron continues. Unlike his father, Lotor believes in alliance rather than destruction. It’s an entirely new take on the Galran conquering system. However, he is also absolutely brutal, as shown when he throws another commander’s severed, robotic arm at Haggar’s feet. He recognizes Voltron’s change and uses it to his advantage. In short, Prince Lotor is a new, fabulous challenge I cannot wait to see more of. 

On a separate note.. To be completely honest, I feel kind of bad for Zarkon, at least when he was younger and, y’know, not evil. He loved working and fighting with the Paladins; he loved his wife; he cared more sincerely about his empire. In reality, I think he just wanted to keep his wife alive, but it developed into more than that, and I think that’s the saddest thing about his situation. Haggar doesn’t remember who he is until the last moments, but this could mean a shift in their dynamic too in the upcoming season; especially with the knowledge that Lotor is Zarkon’s son, but we have no idea who else helped bring him into this world. There was no hints that Haggar - or Honerva, as we discover - ever had a child, or that either of them were caring for a child at the time of their homeworld’s destruction. So, is Haggar Lotor’s mother? Will Haggar resent Zarkon for having Lotor when the two of them are married, even if neither of them remembered? Who knows. I want to find out! But this is one of those things we might never see purely because it’s not yet plot-related, and I accept that. For now.  (I also loved seeing baby Allura and young Coran - I need more of that purity in my life).

Voltron is far more powerful and indestructible than I first thought, and I’ve got to tell you King Alfor; you did an awesome job sweetie. The lions are so complex that they can not only adapt themselves to make them stronger, but also adapt to their Paladin, and in this case, adjust to whole new Paladins! Blue connects to Allura and helps her save the team from the depths of a cloud-covered, tech-jarring storm planet. Red, although subtly, waits for Lance to learn the ropes as he comprehends the increased speed of his lion. The black lion still senses Shiro as he’s drifting in space, perhaps channeling Keith’s desire to locate him, and immediately alerts his pilot of this fact. They’re all learning and forming a new Voltron dynamic; one that I think will change the entire image and perception of the Paladins for the rest of the Universe.

Ok, I think that’s enough for now. I am exhausted and I need some time to go over everything again! It’s just- (ok, fangirl time) such a GOOD SHOW!! It’s crazy, it’s inspiring, it’s beautiful, it’s well-written, well-choreographed, well-animated, has an amazing plot-flow, and the characters are so gosh darn relatable sometimes I want to cry!

Thank you Voltron team for giving us this fantastic show. I’m going to go put up a pinboard and create crazy theories now. 

Bye!~ <3

[deltaengineering]

Spring Anime 2017: I did it for teh awkwardz

We’re already a month deep into the new season, but I’ve had this draft sitting around and I might as well finish it. It’s not much anyway, because a lot of shows just kept going this time. Oh, and just for the record, I also watched episode 1 of The Reflection and that was just a boring, sketchy looking mess without any sort of narrative hook besides “superheroes, right?” Thanks, Stan Lee.

Little Witch Academia

Little Witch Academia was a really cool short movie about little witches doing witch things, followed by another rehash short movie which raised concerns that the  LWA concept doesn’t have any legs besides good production values. Now we got 25 more short movies, and guess what: What worked once for half an hour of random entertainment can’t sustain 10 hours without major writing effort. And “writing effort” is clearly not where Trigger’s core competency is. LWA isn’t badly written in the ways that anime usually is: it doesn’t have terrible ideas, or schizophrenic tone, or a lack of concern for pacing. It just doesn’t really try and seems barely “written” at all. The script always has an air of “first draft” about it, in that it thinks that just winging it until the animators can make a cool action scene or a goofy face is good enough.

This is especially apparent during the first half, where Trigger are taking inspiration from episodic Western animation and just have Akko be bad at magic in various circumstances – but something like Dexter’s Lab actually has very skillful writing, even in absence of an overarching plot. In the second half, a plot rather haphazardly gets bolted on to this, but it’s not a good plot and the one good crisis it raises (an explanation of why Akko is so bad at magic that still fails to explain how she managed to get into a magic school) is so quickly resolved by everyone not actually caring about it much that I wonder if they even realized what they had there. In the end it’s just about the regular “believe in yourself, trust your friends, and ffs don’t try to harness the power of hate and suffering for your own ends” message I’ve seen a million times before, and usually done better.

And there’s more, like the cast: lots of half-assed scripts get by with just parading funny characters around, but LWA is almost always about the exceedingly one-note Akko. Apart from the ending, when Akko suddenly doesn’t matter much and it’s all about Ursula and Croix. Lotte and Sucy, ostensibly major characters, get one focus episode, then just sort of hang around later, and that goes for all the other students too. Diana gets a bit more focus, but that just points out that there isn’t a lot to her either (still more than to Akko, admittedly). There’s bizarre subplots about football. Croix gets introduced late and even then only sits around menacingly until the end. The universe is a Harry Potter knockoff without the depth (yeah, I know), and is decidedly un-whimsical for something that is supposed to run on the boundless power of imagination – just replacing mundane utilities with magic, like “crystal ball facebook”, loses its charm very quickly. And the rest is usual parade of references to things that caught the animator’s fancy that day – yes, there is a mecha episode. Of course there is. It looks good. Of course it does. 

So if the writing is only a means to an end, is at least that end (animation) worth it? Well, that mostly depends on how important you consider the writing. On its own, the look of the show is premium tier, it’s always colorful, expressive, and definitely notable on a technical level for quite a few cuts. But it’s not a notable artistical achievement in its own right, and of course a TV show still can’t afford to be awesome all the time. The animation is just where all the effort went and it should make for some very nice demo reels. And even the action scenes lack engagement, because they’re set to a whimsical wannabe Danny Elfman score with no rhythm or punch.

Overall, I’d consider Little Witch Academia barely mediocre. After all my complaints about the writing, that may sound like letting it off easy. Still, the writing, while beset with endless flaws I could easily spend as much time again on, is just one aspect. All other aspects are at the very least okay, it has a few nice moments, and the visuals are consistently good – the good parts are just nothing you can spend a lot of praise on, but they do exist. Compared to the originals it’s just “more of the same”, but it’s a stark reminder that “more” in itself often makes something not “the same”. Especially 25 times more.

Kabukibu!

After angrily ripping into an superficially easy-to-like, well-made anime, it’s time to be a hypocrite and give Kabukibu, a cheap, forgettable show that nobody cared about, a pass. I just have a soft spot for these little shows that try, and if nothing else, Kabukibu doesn’t feature strange self-owns like when Cheer Danshi introduced a dozen supporting characters between episodes. Kabukibu is just a show about some school kids that really like Kabuki, and that’s okay. It doesn’t excel at anything, but it doesn’t fail hard at anything either. Even the animation knows its limits, it’s obviously cheap but it never outright falls apart. The characters are a cut above the bland nothings they could be. There’s a semi-meaningful conflict about doing something for fun vs doing something as a job, and another interesting conflict of modernization vs tradition – The way that the kabuki club approaches non-traditional kabuki is actually thoughtful. And hey, even some of the jokes land.

I feel like these small stories about niche topics have one big benefit over the designated heavy hitters: They know they’re not pandering to the mainstream, and this means they can afford to be earnest (unless they’re pandering to a niche crowd, but I assume the lobby for amateur kabuki is very small). No, Kabukibu is not even close to a Rakugo Shinjuu, but earnestness is quite refreshing in anime – even if it’s just another fucking school club again. 

The King's Avatar

There’s a very simple elevator pitch for The King’s Avatar: “Sword Art Online, but Chinese”, and you’ll hear that pretty much every time TKA is mentioned. Like just now. But from what I can tell, it’s only surface level. Yes, TKA is about a cool dude who pwns fools in an online game, but that’s pretty much where it ends. What’s actually very true about the comparison, however, is that TKA is Chinese. Very Chinese. Much more Chinese than all the Haoliners anime made for the Japanese market. It’s still basically a very slow, idealized sports show about a bunch of quirky people that climb the ranks in an MMO that also is a hugely popular e-sport, led by a guy who is suspiciously good at it, but playing a game for a decade will do that I suppose.

I don’t know much about MMOs, much less Chinese ones, but the details of the game don’t seem to make a whole lot of sense to me (especially the focus on APM in a game like this seems questionable), but hey, I’ll accept it. It’s not like it’s very important either, since thankfully there isn’t a lot of backseat game design happening here. It’s just people having fights with the occasional random powerup, and that works well enough. The Chinese like their sudden comedic tone shifts even more than the Japanese do, so there’s a bunch of that too. But I like the characters and their schemes, and I like how the fights look – at least up to the standards of a mid-tier Japanese production. It’s pretty cool. To be honest, the culture clash my main draw here: TKA isn’t exactly great, but it feels odd in a way that reminds me of the time when I didn’t know every anime trope and a huge amount of Japanese cultural details. That makes it feel more like “anime” than actual anime does nowadays.

Uchouten Kazoku S2

Uchouten Kazoku didn’t have to do much to be a winner, and sure enough, a winner it was. If you liked the first season, you’ll like this too, since it’s more of the same. And that’s in fact the one major thing I would hold against it, and which makes me like season 2 less than the first one: The surprise factor is gone, but everything else is just... the same. Down to the plotline, which eventually turns out to be almost a replay of season 1. Only this time with an even less conclusive ending because there will be a season 3 eventually – but the book that will be the source material for that one hasn’t even been written, so it’ll be a long wait. 

But stagnating at a level as high as Uchouten Kazoku is operating on is still far from bad. And the few things they did add are top notch: The Nidaime finally gives Benten a counterpart that is able to stand up to her, with glorious results. Gyokuran, Yoichirou’s fiancee, makes for a nice romantic foil for his previously a little bland character. And Tenmaya is just a bastard you love to hate. Add to this some delightfully weirdo happenings like Benten taking a trip to hell to recreationally wrestle ogres, and you’re never lacking for entertainment with this show. It didn’t blow me away the same way the first season did, but it’s still an extremely solid show. Just come up with a few more new things next time, okay.

Tsuki ga Kirei

And finally, we have the hardest sell for a show in quite a while. What is Tsuki ga Kirei about? Well, it’s an understated romance between normal (i.e., awkward) teens. No magical realism gimmicks (like One Week Friends), no intense drama (like every shoujo romance ever), no odd couple dynamics (like Ore Monogatari), nothing. And it’s shamefully heterosexual on top of everything, who is supposed to watch this!? Well, there’s only one actual reason to watch it, and that reason is that it’s pretty damn good. There isn’t much to it, but it just does everything right: The characters are fully formed humans with relatable, relatively minor weaknesses that anyone could have. There are no designated villains; even the romantic rivals just turn out to be good people whose danger comes mostly from being a bit more outgoing that our introverted protagonists. The meddling adults really do have everyone’s best interests at heart, they just have a more cynical outlook on life. The characters develop in a relatable way, without leaving their original setup behind. It’s really good stuff that I would hesitate to call fully “realistic” (it’s a bit too sappy and positive for that), but has a verisimilitude that is almost unmatched in anime of this genre. And that is more important here than brutal realism.

It looks good too; the production falters a bit in the middle, and it has a curious reliance on stiff CG models for crowd scenes, but it’s nothing unusual and nothing that would amount to a major trouble spot since the character design, animation detail, background and and color work is consistently very good. I’m not going to lie, I love Tsuki ga Kirei and it’s the best show of the season, and that is no mean feat considering that said season had a very solid sequel to Uchouten Kazoku in it. Just a nice, small scale story about a bunch of lovable dorks that fully pays off and leaves no questions open.

[thesinglesjukebox]

RED VELVET - PSYCHO

[6.18]

You drive me crazy...

Ryo Miyauchi: Mania as portrayed in "Psycho" is too choreographed to feel like genuine anxiety or horror watching the crash-and-burn narrative unfold. It plays into what you'd expect from dark Red Velvet: goth brass pomp, orchestral plucks, vocal trills that show just enough crack in the otherwise pristine performance. The ease with which they summarize their experience with that titular hook doesn't help either. It's all too controlled for it to come off as the mess they try to make it out to be. [5]

Ashley Bardhan: I do kind of wish we were past the point of self-identifying as "psycho" because we're in love, but since I don't know Korean, I will assume this isn't "Sweet but Psycho" levels of egregious and let it slide. The synth loop sounds like a sugar-high waterfall, which I like, especially when it pours into that brassy, jump-roping chorus. It makes me think of people dancing in slow motion. Nothing too crazy about that. [7]

Jessica Doyle: For those delicate strings, the restrained singing, and the closing refrain that everything's going to be okay, "psycho" is the wrong word to repeat. (Pabo, which means "fool," might have been better.) I suspect the goal was to reach that sense of skewness that powered previous singles -- think the self-deprecating, amused depiction of infatuation in "Dumb Dumb" and "Rookie," or, more to the point here, the combination of menacing lyrics and early-video-game innocence of "Russian Roulette." But here the suggestion of a relationship gone dangerously out of control never quite convinces, and Red Velvet come across as less desperate than bored. [5]

Joshua Lu: I feel like I should be more excited about what's being heralded as a return to form for an excellent girl group with a middling 2019, but "Psycho" isn't nearly demented enough to match Red Velvet's peaks. A title like that coming from a group like this sets expectations of what kind of craziness is to come, but instead they deliver Ava Max levels of psychosis, with bland verses that are too neatly set and a chorus that's mushy and lethargic, with or without the music video version's added strings. Not even the lyrics are capable of adding any tension -- "Hey now, we'll be okay," they chant, but I'm left wishing otherwise in the off-chance that some turmoil leads to something more interesting. [4]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: The music video version is superior: the strings, alluring for their dizzying intensity, add flair to the prim arrangement. Still, the song's chorus isn't quite complete; it could use some affected vocalizing or a catchier hook or some flashy pyrotechnics -- anything to break Red Velvet free from their stuffiest single to date. Still, this sense of suffocation is apt: a reflection of how trapped they must feel in wrestling with (the optics of) a not-so-"romantic" relationship. [7]

Michael Hong: Typically in modern media, when a woman is portrayed as a "psycho," portrayals shift between two phases: 1) the cool, even-tempered women, one who appears to be completely accommodating to the whims of the characters around her; and 2) the unstable woman, prone to random acts of aggression and manipulation, and a general lack of control. Red Velvet's "Psycho" is fixated on that first phase with the instrumental tamped down to a chillingly placid state. Wendy and Seulgi's falsettos adorn the strings and arpeggiating synths with the grace of a tightrope act, but it's the breathless "psycho" that gives "Psycho" a hint of menace. Even the rap, despite Irene bragging that she's "original visual," lacks any surprise and feels relatively tame, even after the bland "Umpah Umpah." The tension is dramatic, but "Psycho" still leaves me yearning for Red Velvet to completely lose it. [7]

Alex Clifton: Red Velvet have now written the quintessential K-pop song about being in love with your straight best friend. It's less experimental than some of their other material, which is disappointing, as I love the wonky moments in Red Velvet's discography where the melody takes an unexpected turn and surprises me. It is, however, super-gay, and I am here for that. [6]

Brad Shoup: When I saw the news that an English version of "Psycho" did not, in fact, make the Birds of Prey soundtrack, my first thought was I guess they already had an Ariana Grande song. This is good Grande-core, sure: the major-label orchestral arrangement woven into the processional click-and-pause R&B. The title is almost incidental, or perhaps refers to the level of detail. [7]

Alfred Soto: The chorus builds to a convincing rattle and blare: the sticky-sweet vs sour dynamic Red Velvet has often handled with aplomb. [7]

Will Rivitz: A few years ago, Red Velvet became my favorite K-pop group thanks to their deeply compelling uncanniness: Their eerie, off-mainstream electronic influences (I maintain that "Peek-A-Boo" remains the best song Murlo never produced; ditto "Zimzalabim" and SOPHIE) consistently speak to me like no other K-pop I've heard has. "Psycho," by contrast, draws its intro from Julia Michaels, its verses from OneRepublic, and its chorus from every electronic-friendly pop singer in 2017. Interchangeable pop from a group I love dearly for their iconoclasm. [5]

Thomas Inskeep: The nearly-classical, stately pace, the surprising oompah horns on the chorus, the swirling keyboards on the verses, the strong vocals: Red Velvet is at the top of their game right now, ladies and gents. "Psycho" is one of those records that sounds like 4 or 5 different songs at once, and gets all of them right, and knows how to blend them. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox]

[creativesage]

(via True Grit: How to Build Up Your Resilience - 99U)

It takes effort to get good at something, and then it takes effort to apply that skill, to create. But determination isn’t enough. You also need to apply yourself with focus. Here are three steps that you can take to increase your ability to persevere.

By Christian Jarrett

Illustration by Giacomo Bagnara

Whether we’re talking about a great novelist like John Irving or an era-defining entrepreneur like Jeff Bezos, it’s natural to conclude that the mega-successful owe their achievements to an almost magical quality that you’re either born with or you’re not: talent.

But according to Angela Duckworth, the University of Pennsylvania psychologist who’s made it her life’s goal to help children thrive, this is mistaken. Yes, the aptitude you bring is important, but few of us ever reach the limits of our natural abilities. Instead what holds us back is a lack of commitment or a lack of focus. “Enthusiasm is common,” Duckworth writes, “endurance is rare.”

Effort counts twice, she explains, because it translates your aptitude into skill. And then it combines with your skill to manifest as achievement. In other words, it takes effort to get good at something, and then it takes effort to apply that skill, to create.

If you look at John Irving’s life story, for instance, it isn’t one that begins with him displaying savant- like brilliance at an early age. Far from it, in fact he struggled at school with English. What distinguishes his lifelong approach to his art is his doggedness. “Rewriting is what I do best as a writer,” says Irving. “I spend more time revising a novel or screenplay than I take to write the first draft.”

But determination isn’t enough, you also need to apply yourself with focus. Rather than chasing a different dream each week or month or year, you need – at least eventually – to settle on a higher calling and never let go. When you have drive and determination combined with single-minded direction, this is what translates into meaningful accomplishment.

Crucially, Duckworth, who has written the book on grit, argues that grit isn’t fixed like your height. Rather it’s something that you can cultivate, more like learning a new language. Here are three steps from Duckworth’s book that you can take to make yourself grittier – and dramatically increase your ability to persevere. 

Find Your Calling

Most high achievers have “an ultimate concern” or what Duckworth calls their “compass” (because it provides a sense of direction) and nothing will stop them in pursuit of this higher goal. How can you find yours if you don’t have one already? The first thing to realize is that you’re not going to find it through introspection. You need to get out there and try things. A relevant misconception is that passions instantly grab us in one magical eureka moment. In reality, the first time you encounter your would-be passion, you likely won’t even realize it. This means you need to expose yourself to as many different pursuits as possible and give any nascent spark a chance to catch.

In time, what overarching passions or concerns have in common is that they have a greater purpose – yes, there is pleasure and fascination in them, but more than that, usually there is a deeper meaning or cause that involves helping other people in some way. In a 2014 study that she conducted with her colleagues Katherine Von Culina at Yale and Eli Tsukayama at The University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth found that people with high levels of grit are as motivated by the pursuit of pleasure as much as anyone else, but what marks them out is their greater interest in meaningful activities that serve a higher purpose.

Of course, we can’t fight every battle. Sometimes it makes sense to change course. If you’re struggling to recognize the difference between your overarching career aim and lesser, more disposable goals, consider visualizing your aims as a pyramid with those at the bottom feeding into your ultimate goal at the top. If they cause you problems, you shouldn’t be afraid to save energy by dispensing with lower-level goals. As you approach mid-level goals and beyond, you should become progressively more dogged. Reserve your never surrender attitude for your ultimate goal or life philosophy that guides all you do.

Practice Smart

Once you know what your passion is, you need to hone your craft through unrelenting practice. Duckworth’s research–including a 2010 study into the winners of National Spelling Bee championships–has shown that gritty people devote more time to what psychologists call “deliberate practice” and that they enjoy it more.

This kind of practice involves more than simply putting in the hours. It’s an arduous process that requires pushing yourself to perform outside of your current ability levels (Duckworth recommends setting yourself “stretch goals” – specific areas of performance where you would like to make gains); getting meaningful feedback on how to improve; and then doing it all over again, implementing that feedback to achieve superior performance.

Duckworth quotes dancer Martha Graham’s description of what it feels like to do this kind of training: “Dancing appears glamorous, easy, delightful. But the path to the paradise of that achievement is not easier than any other. There is fatigue so great that the body cries even in its sleep. There are times of complete frustration. There are daily small deaths.”

Be it sport, acting or art, when we watch superstars perform, their output often seems effortless, which only serves to fuel the illusion that they were born with a supernatural gift. In fact, the reason their performance is so fluid and graceful is because of all the hours and hours of intense, painstaking practice they’ve completed.

Think Like an Optimist

In pursuit of your creative ambitions, it is inevitable that you will experience set backs. As shown in Duckworth’s research involving school teachers working in schools in poor districts, gritty people tend to respond to these setbacks with an optimistic mindset. Optimists see failure as a chance to learn. They consider the changeable aspects of a disappointment that can be addressed and adjusted to make failure less likely next time. Pessimists, by contrast, will tend to blame the failure on a fundamental cause that can’t be changed, such as the belief that they don’t have what it takes. A related concept you’ve probably heard of is whether or not you have a growth mindset. Gritty optimists tend to have a growth mindset, believing that traits like intelligence can be nurtured. Pessimists instead see such things as fixed.

There is a dynamic, interactive nature to these things. Duckworth’s research suggests that encountering adversity–as you surely will–and believing pessimistically that you have no power over events, will encourage you to give up without a fight. You condition yourself to be passive, and you lose your grit. In contrast, responding to challenges with optimism and determination and finding a way through (in Duckworth’s language, this is “adversity plus mastery”), you will nurture your grittiness. Next time you encounter difficulties, you will be even more determined to push on. “To be gritty,” Duckworth writes, “is to fall down seven times, and rise eight.”

If you’re a lifelong pessimist, you might be feeling skeptical at this point, but it’s worth noting that a study last year reviewed all the evidence into whether we can train ourselves to be more optimistic and the results were, well, rather upbeat: the researchers concluded that optimism is indeed something we can learn.

Coda

By finding your true calling, honing your craft through dedicated deliberate practice, and responding to setbacks with an optimistic, problem-solving approach, you will follow in the footsteps of the many outstanding achievers Duckworth has studied, all of whom are characterized by that mix of passion and perseverance.

To believe that only a lucky few are born with true talent, while the rest of us are not, is demoralizing. You might understandably wonder whether the focus on grit simply shifts this concern to a different trait: that perhaps a rare few are blessed with grit while us lesser mortals are destined to weaker will and an absence of purpose. In fact, twin studies suggest that the “heritability” of grit is between 20 to 40 percent, meaning that less than half the difference in grit between people can be traced to genetic causes. This leaves plenty of room for grit to be influenced by other factors such as life experiences and deliberate cultivation. “Like every aspect of your psychological character,” Duckworth writes, “grit is more plastic than you might think.”

[Entire post — click on the title link to read it at 99U.]

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