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katyatalks · 3 years ago

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Mob Psycho 100: The Stage Play 3 - Final performance content spoilers

Here are all the notes I compiled after getting the chance to see the final performance for ‘Mob Psycho 100: The Stage Play - A Clash with Claw’s Seventh Division!’ live. Note this is essentially a write-up of the play from beginning to end - this will also likely be the version of the play that is used for the DVD release in December. I will also edit this when the recording becomes available for viewing and I can gain some clarity on sections I missed...

PRE-SHOW

- Reigen and Mob do a pre-show announcement relating to covid prevention measures (referred to not by name as Covid but an evil spirit) plus standard theatre etiquette rules (don’t use your phone, put it on silent, etc.)

SHOW

- Begins where stage 2 left off as a ‘Previously…’ segment for the audience. We once again witness Koyama knocking Mob out with the spray and kidnapping Ritsu.

- In the Teru/Dimple/Mob discussion part of the stage 2 recap, Teru takes the bird’s nest off his head and throws it off stage - we hear the birds within fly away.

- ((We immediately see how the reduced audience affects the play - a funny physical gag where Teru and Dimple bash heads happens but this receives no response from the audience))

- We reach the end of stage 2 recap with Mob stating he’ll destroy Claw as he does at the end of stage 2. The screen goes black and we hear the echo of a voice saying ‘Give [it] back… give [it] back, [It’s] mine, give [it] back…’ - this is implied to be Mob talking about Ritsu but the lights turn on to reveal S&S and turns out it’s Shou talking to Reigen about Touichirou’s card

- Reigen gives the card back to Shou, calls him a ‘baggy-clothed asshole’ and tells him to leave since Reigen is busy. Reigen puts his feet up on his desk and goes on his phone, leading to;

S: “What are you doing?”

R: “Reading the news.”

S: “You’re not busy, you’re bored!”

- Shou mentions that he’s also got 10k yen missing from his wallet and accuses Reigen of stealing it - Reigen insists he didn’t but starts doubting himself

- When Shou leaves, Reigen salt splashes in his direction (An English translation is now given under each of Reigen’s special moves ala Olympic parody)

-Reigen calls Mob, leading back to the Mob/Dimple/Teru scene - Terada and his cronies enter and Mob tells Reigen he can’t talk right now, hang up which leads to…

***

OPENING

- Yoru no Honki Dance - Call Out (as the previous two plays)

- Action takes place on the upper and lower stage - Ritsu and the lab kids on the lower stage with Ritsu in anguish with Mob, Teru, Dimple on the top stage

- Action shot with the show’s “Yeah!” line focuses on Reigen and Mob on the top level

***

- Teru tortures Terada with a taser rather than water - Terada is also wearing a ballgag with multiple kazoos inside it leading to a great sound whenever he screams

- Mob and Dimple are terrified of Teru’s taser torture whenever he does it

- Matsuo’s performance is sensual and slimy - great stage presence

- Ishiguro’s voice is distorted using a pitch filter resulting in something creepy rather than the female voice used in the anime

- Ritsu and the lab kids are seen in the jail cell - great banter with them and their Claw guard (Guard to Rei: “I won’t hit you because you’re a girl!” Kids: “A gentleman!”). Guard tells them they won’t get any food and they start rioting

- Mutou is VERY creepy and accompanied by terrifying music - he skulks around the stage with his ridiculous silicone chin

- When Mutou “kills” Kaito off screen we get a ridiculous extended segment featuring Daichi reacting to what is initially cries of his brother’s pain that turn into pleasure as if he is getting a massage - then turns back into pain

- Kaito is wheeled back on in a luggage/weight carrier with 4 knives in his chest

- Teru vs Terada is visually very fun - movement choreography is great, lots of Teru’s dance techniques that got cut from the anime

- Back in the jail scene Ritsu states he doesn’t remember the kids names so they re-introduce themselves to the audience

- Asahi and Hoshino heating up the spoon/bending spoon/on repeat is very well performed

- Ritsu tries to high-five with with one of the other kids when they escape the jail but finds he has no-one to do it with :(

- Back to Dimple/Mob/Teru - when Dimple-chan(puppet) says “Oh who’s that good looking guy? A model?”, Nadagi pulls a whole bunch of model poses

- When Teru tries to knock the security guard out he screams for AGES leading to one of the funniest moments in the play - he finally is knocked out but when Dimple tries to possess him he takes ages to be possessed - Taa (Teru) breaks character completely and doubles over laughing and Itou (Mob) refuses to face the audience making it clear he is losing it as well

- Muraki is creepy looking but his cloak is see-through and sparkly - his actor plays him as quite a timid guy

- Great visual gag with Mob throwing Koyama around and then sending him through the stage wall

- Ishiguro has a moment where he talks to the audience/the new recruits where he shows off the Claw face mask available as part of the merch

- Great fight choreography between SG!Dimple and Gen (played by Baba) - ends with SG!Dimple pulling his trousers down

- Teru tasing people left and right in this play…

- Great stage effects in Teru vs Miyagawa - Teru tases Miyagawa as well

- Tsuchiya calming down Mukai is lovely - followed by Mukai finding a puppet that she believes hasn’t been destroyed by Mob and getting excited - but the head rolls off so she breaks down crying again

- ((My stream cut here so I didn’t see the start of the Ritsu vs Shou interaction and whether or not he recognised Shou from their interaction in stage 2))

- We see a little Shou vs Ritsu - Ritsu flings an array of spoons at Shou - Shou lands a punch that sends Ritsu off stage

- Character design for Takeuchi has been corrected slightly from the anime

- Matsuo vs SG!Dimple stage effects are great. They’re both very flashy actors which creates fantastic visual comedy

- Matsuo takes off his jacket like he’s at a strip club - it’s all very flamboyant and fun

- ((Stream cut again so I didn’t actually see the joke, but some kind of adlib happens with Reigen in the taxi scene that causes Baba to break character))

- When Mob uses his powers to blow Takeuchi away someone comes on stage with a leafblower to blow his hair away

- Screen goes black and we cut back to Shou delivering the final blow on Ritsu. Shou says someone interesting is coming and leaves stage for Mob’s entrance

- Mob finds Ritsu passed out and holds him, finds he’s breathing but won’t forgive who did this to him

- Mutou enters and stalks around the back and creates the image of Ritsu dead on the floor with a knife in his chest for Mob which causes his freak out

- “What a great pair of brothers” - Shou leaning over Mob and Ritsu’s passed out bodies

- Shou floats Mob and Ritsu into the room with Sakurai/Teru/Ishiguro

- Small cut away to Reigen - he sees 500 yen on the ground and immediately runs to go pick it up

- Mob and Ritsu’s hug is very emotional - Ritsu is more panicked asking Mob if he’s okay and Mob is more emotional responding than the anime

- Mob pats Ritsu’s head to calm him down

- Visual gag where Shou steps on Ishiguro’s shoe - Ishiguro freaks out trying to clean it and Muraki offers emotional support

- Guy walks into the room with Sakurai/Muraki/Ishiguro/Matsuo/Shou and informs them “The boss is coming”, which piques Shou’s interest and he comes along to meet “the boss”

- Play then gives us a “5 minutes earlier” scene. Baba’s performance in the Claw break-in is more on the eccentric/aggressive side than the calmer calculating tone Sakurai had - changes the atmosphere for the scene

- The whole scene with Reigen saving the lab kids is redone to be so eccentric with everyone chanting BOSS! BOSS! BOSS! at the end for Reigen

- When Reigen starts making a comment about Teru’s wig and cuts himself off to not offend him, he goes to Mob like “wtf” and Mob whispers in his ear what happened

- Shou included in the scene when Ishiguro etc. face off against Reigen

- ((ARGH my stream cut out again, when it came back Shou had moved over to Reigen’s side - probably some good dialogue there between them that I missed))

- Shou says to Reigen ‘Give me back my 10,000 yen’ - Shou decides to stand back to watch the show

- When Ishiguro attacks, Mob protects Shou as well as everyone else

- We have Shou/Teru/Mob/Ritsu/Reigen all on one side vs the Claw guys on the other (Ishiguro/Sakurai/Muraki/Matsuo)

- When Reigen does his Anti-Esper Drop Kick, they choose to translate this in English as “Dropkick to the espers”

- Shou: ‘You’re really taking [Muraki] on? lol’ Reigen: ‘Shut UP you brat’

- When Sakurai attacks Reigen (first time), Ritsu helps him up

- Lots of good banter between Shou and Reigen (”Stop calling me ‘old guy!’”)

- Shou sits to the side and enjoys the show while Sakurai/Muraki/Ishiguro/Matuso vs Reigen/Mob/Ritsu/Teru happens, makes some comments (ie. “Damn you’re in a pinch, whatcha gonna do now?”)

- When Reigen is getting sucked up by the anti gravity bubble, Shou helps Teru/Mob/Ritsu out with saving him

- Sakurai cutting off Teru’s wig is made into such a Dramatic moment

- Shou joins the fight against Ishiguro - Ishiguro manages to knock him out of the field and Reigen expresses concern (‘Oh crap! Kid are you okay!’)

- Lots of stage theatrics - now that Shou is no longer in play scene plays out as it does in the anime

- Lots of Reigen protecting Mob and leading him away from danger until the climactic moment where Mob decides to fight

- Mob’s scream of ‘Shishou!!!’ is filled with emotion - Reigen collapses quickly and without theatrics, facing the audience

- He doesn’t get a cut in his jacket, nor does he remove it

- When Reigen destroys Matsuo’s pet - ‘Oh Jesus I’m sorry I didn’t mean to destroy your toy’

- More protective Reigen - puts his arm out to protect Teru and Ritsu & get them behind him

- Reigen’s “Purifying Salt Punch” -> English given as Prime Salt Punch

- ‘It’s rude to wear a mask when talking to people!’ - here his mask doesn’t come off - unsure if intentional

- ((The bento story is REALLY well performed comedically but doesn’t land with attending audience))

- Sakurai shoots Reigen and Reigen catches the bullet

- Reigen uses the spray to spray his armpits

- Reigen at Muraki’s forehead “what is this? A doorbell? Ding dong ding dong”

- Lab kids start making fun of Muraki as well (Rei: What is that, cosplay?)

- Rei has a crush on Reigen in the same vein as her crush on Ritsu - Calls him cool and stuff and tries to reach for him

- Mob: ‘Having powers doesn’t make you popular’ Rei: ‘Lame.’ Reigen: ‘Well there you have it.’

- Shou comes back in centre stage and knocks Ishiguro out - goes to Reigen and says it’s time to repay the debt he owes Reigen - knocks Ishiguro out fully as per anime/manga

- As Shou leaves he pats Ritsu on the shoulder

- When Reigen says ‘is this an evil spirit?’ He hold his nose as if Dimple stinks, then grabs his head and shakes him around. Gets some salt from his pocket and throws it at Dimple

- Rei goes up to Sakurai and asks to date him

- Shou goes on the phone on stage top level and calls Touichirou as per manga/anime lines

FINAL SCENE

- Shou returns to S&S - as it turns out Reigen had the 10k stuck in his pocket the whole time and returns it to Shou

- Mob and Ritsu (with a bag) enter S&S while Shou is still there but leaving - Mob thanks Shou for helping them and asks Ritsu to do the same - Ritsu complies

- Shou looks back at Reigen, then toward Ritsu and Mob and tells them all they’ll meet again

- Mob and Ritsu share a heartfelt moment - “Ritsu, you’re amazing” - “No you’re the amazing one Nii-san”

- Ritsu gets out Takoyaki for Reigen/Mob/Ritsu to enjoy and Dimple joins them

ENDING SONG - ‘mob.’

https://katyatalks.tumblr.com/post/659597484715278336/mob-ed-for-mp100-stage-3-a-clash-with-claws

- Itou’s voice is STUNNING

CAST COMMENTS

- Kawaharada Takuya (Teru) addresses the fact that he’s the person who laughed the most out of everyone

- Nadagi says he wants to do a stage 4 and that’s the general vibe with everyone and it’ll be nice if the anime gets a S3 too

- Lots of talk about stage 4 and it only being possible if everyone comes together

- Itou: ‘Us being able to do this again out of the blue so suddenly is thanks to all of you’

ENCORE

- Itou and Baba

- Lots of crying from Itou relating to covid and how it has cut the audience - he is grateful but he’s still upset about it - Baba gives him a huge hug

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #mp100 stage play #shou stans we won

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houseofsannae · 3 years ago

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A Fistful of Munny - Extended End Notes

Notes for A Fistful of Munny that don’t fit within the character limit under the cut!

Please, read the fic before reading this post

All right! Welcome to the extended notes, in which I go into excruciating detail over a bunch of stuff that doesn’t matter, because I like the sound of my own voice!

Let’s start with some more broad stuff that didn’t make the exclusive end notes space. To do the Fistful of Dollars homage, I needed a place where I could have two villainous factions intersecting for Strelitzia to play against one another. After some brainstorming and asking for help from other people working on the Entwined in Trine Sorikai zine (and ultimately ignoring all their very good suggestions (Sorry, guys!)), I eventually realized that the Wasteland from Epic Mickey was a perfect place for this story, both in the sense of having mooks to destroy without Strels committing actual murder, and in the thematic sense of forgotten characters. There was just one issue.

I hadn’t played Epic Mickey.

And that is how I spent my summer, playing both Epic Mickey games. Both, because I was looking for a good location to set the story in in-world. Since the Wasteland is based on the Disney theme parks, I was hoping to find one based on Frontierland, their Western section. Such a location did exist – Disney Gulch – but only in the second game. Which meant I had to play Epic Mickey 2, as well. (The first one is a better game, but that’s not really the fault of the developers; they were not given the time they needed to make it as good as the first one. Here’s a video with trivia about the series that goes a little into the development.) I also needed to learn the Mad Doctor’s ultimate fate, since I wanted his Beetleworx/Blotworx to be one of the two villainous factions. In the game, depending on whether you chose the Paint (Paragon) or Thinner (Renegade) path, the Doc is either redeemed… or dead. Neither of which was helpful, so I had to invent.

But let’s talk about characters and why I picked them in order. The short version for why these choices, at least on the Final Fantasy side, is set-up for later. Obviously I can’t go into detail why. Before that, let’s talk about the Beanie Baby.

Chi is, as I hope you were able to guess, Strelitzia’s Chirithy. I’ve brought it up several times, but I personally do not like mascot characters. There are a few exceptions, but Chirithies are not one of them. Like I said, KHUx isn’t what happened in this AU, so you’ll have to wait for in-universe answers on why it’s a cat now. Out-of-universe reason is this was the only way I could make it palatable for myself. I arbitrarily decided on a gender for it because as a real cat, it would have a sex. Canonically Chirithies appear to be genderless, and in Japanese refer to themselves with the gender-neutral (but masculine-leaning) boku. I would’ve left Chi that way, save for the fact that he’s a completely normal cat now. (And before you ask, no, not every real cat that appears in KHΨ from this point on is a Chirithy.)

As for Strelitzia herself, it’s hard for me to pick up a character’s voice when they’re… not voiced. Intonation and cadence do a lot for me mimicking the way a character talks, so it’s a bit more difficult when they don’t technically speak. I tried for a mix between Sora and Kairi, while still keeping her defining character traits of being shy, but also impulsive.

You may notice that while she’s started remembering faces, if not names, the Player’s name and face still eludes her, despite her (canonical. Deal with it.) crush on them. There is a story reason for this, and will become clear once Luxu takes centre stage.

The name “Jane” was chosen with more consideration than just “Jane Doe” being the standard name in (at least my corner of) the English-speaking world for a woman of unknown identity. See, the Man With No Name actually has three names. In A Fistful of Dollars, he is referred to (by one character in one scene, once) as “Joe”. “Joan” might have been a more clear homage, but I figure Jane makes sense. And as you might guess, in the next fic, Strels will be going by a different name, still not her own. She’ll remember her name… eventually.

One might think I could’ve picked any old Cid, and one would be wrong for reasons I can’t explain yet. In fact, I can’t explain much of anything surrounding him yet. What I can say is no, Cidney Aurum is not dead, she’s just not related to Cid Sophiar in this fic verse. An unfortunate consequence of where I wanted to put each of them in the narrative; making them not be related was the only way it made any sense, geographically speaking.

Hyperion on the other hand, I can talk about. He’s one of the Gremlins in Epic Mickey, and… wait, first things first. Gremlins are from an abandoned Disney film based on a Roald Dahl book, itself based on the cryptids that supposedly haunted airplanes and caused them to malfunction, the earliest known written-down mention of the concept being from the 1920s. The film never got made, but the designs Disney would have used were adapted into a second printing of Dahl’s book, and they were later used in Epic Mickey. Hyperion is, like the publishing imprint that Disney owns, named after a street that Walt Disney used to live on. In-game, Hyperion is in Bog Easy (based on the Haunted Mansion), not Disney Gulch, but his name stuck out to me as being particularly fun, so I picked him instead of trying to figure out what Gremlins actually are in the Gulch (they have names in the files of Epic Mickey 2, but not in the actual game, so it would have been a hunt).

Regardless of where the setting ended up, for the second villainous faction, I was always going to plop down the good old Don. More things I can’t talk about. For everything FF7, know that I’m always going to be pulling from a mix of the original game, Remake, and Machinabridged. Hence, Corneo’s outfit is a mix of his original and Remake designs (which basically just means he’s wearing blue jeans instead of brown). I didn’t think bringing in his three lieutenants from Remake was necessary, especially since this was supposed to be a kind-of small operation.

Leslie is picked up and dropped from Remake pretty much unchanged. I needed someone to do the murders Strels couldn’t, and even if he’s not a complete asshole, he’s still mostly an asshole. Have we ever seen small, Materia-like balls used to cast magic before…?

Onto the fun bits, which is the Disney characters. We’ll start with Percy, who is from a Goofy short called “How to Ride a Horse”, from 1950. And that’s about it. The conceit in Wasteland is that all of the Toons there were basically actors, and they wound up in Wasteland if they were forgotten (that’s not exactly correct, but I’m generalizing). This is interesting, since two of the Toons in Epic Mickey are Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow, both of whom… are residents of Disney Town in Kingdom Hearts, having shown up in Birth by Sleep. So that’s an interesting continuity snarl that I’m going to just ignore.

Persephone and Pluto, on the other hand, are from an earlier short called “The Goddess of Spring”, from 1934. It was one of the projects Disney tried as practice for Snow White. If you’re about to protest that his name should be Hades, not Pluto, then you’re going to need a time machine so you can tell them back in the 30s. The Goddess of Spring is a musical, in the sense that every single line is sung. Watch it for yourself. There’s a video with better quality floating around YouTube, but for some reason it’s the French dub. And that’s why both of them sing most of their lines. I tried matching the meter of their actual parts, but Persephone’s doesn’t actually follow a syllabic pattern that I could make out. I eventually gave up and just gave her the meter from the start of the short. Pluto’s was easier to manage (and more consistent).

The skeletons are Disney veterans, presumably the same ones from “The Skeleton Dance” (1929), but more specifically they’re mimicking what they did in “The Mad Doctor” (1933), the first appearance of our other villain. They’re fun.

The original Mad Doctor was supposedly named “Dr. XXX”, according to the name on his door. This was before the modern film rating system was put in place; it was a different time. In the original short, the Mad Doctor kidnaps Pluto (the dog) with the intent of cutting him in half and putting his front half on a chicken For Science!, and Mickey follows him to his castle to rescue the purloined pooch. The short wasn’t a musical in the same vein as “The Goddess of Spring”, but… the Mad Doctor’s only spoken lines were a song (aside from evil cackling). While I had already decided to do the “Toons that sang in their short can only communicate through song” with Persephone and Pluto before starting on Epic Mickey 2, I hilariously discovered that the game developers had done the exact same gag with the Mad Doctor, most of his lines in the game being sung. (In Epic Mickey there were no fully voiced lines, so he speaks as normally as anyone else does). Which made it easier to write his songs here, since I could just rewrite his songs from the game. I used to write alternate lyrics for songs back in high school, so this was an interesting trip back in time for me. They were stuck in my head for weeks afterwards, but it was worth it.

I believe that’s everything for the characters. Let’s talk about Keyblades.

It irks me that three people in KHUx have the same Keyblade. Ephemer, Skuld, and Strelitzia all have variations of Starlight. Now, in KHΨ, there is only one Starlight, and it belongs to Luxu, so I’m going to have to decide on different Keyblades for each of them. (Ephemer’s has already been decided, and I haven’t started brainstorming for Skuld yet. No I do not need suggestions, thank you). Pixie Petal bears a noted (by KHWiki) resemblance to one of Marluxia’s alternate scythes, so that tangential connection was enough for me. Both siblings have flower-themed Keyblades – it makes sense to me.

You might notice a few disparities in the magic. These are on purpose, and will eventually make sense. And that’s all I can say on that at the moment. ;)

Oh, yes, one important thing I probably should have said on the main notes: I’m not going for a realistic depiction of amnesia here. Anything I got right was entirely accidental, and I’m fairly certain there’s not much. There might be a story reason for why it works the way it does… and it might be the same reason why other people from KHUx have or had amnesia in the present day…

You know what’s funny? Although Orcuses look more impressive than Invisibles, their stats in Days are actually worse. I’m fairly sure that this is because the only time we see an Orcus, it’s actually an illusion cast over Xion so that Roxas will fight her to the death. There are no other stats for them (according to KHWiki), since they’ve never been used elsewhere.

A friendly reminder that Apprentice Xehanort invented the term “Heartless”, which was why Aqua didn’t know what to call them until Mickey told her. Thus, nobody from the era of the Keyblade War should know the term “Heartless” without being told by someone in present day. “Darkling” was the term they used instead. I’m fairly certain KHUx ignores the continuity on this (so why should we trust its continuity for anything else, hmm?)

I think that covers everything! Or at least everything I’m willing to share at this point. If you’ve read this far, thank you! I appreciate your dedication! ^_^

#kingdom hearts Ψ #fanfic #kingdom hearts #strelitzia #fic notes #a fistful of munny

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palmtreepalmtree · 4 years ago

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Alright, this one is long overdue for an anonymous friend who really wanted me to review The Healer. So after a short pause, here is another edition of

The Worst Movie on Netflix Right Now™

Heavy sigh.

Alright. Let’s talk about this one.

First off, I have to do some pretty serious content warnings, cause I know some people have been receiving some bad news recently and this review goes someplace you might not expect so, I love you guys, but please be aware that this review deals with: cancer, terminal illness, kids with cancer.

Now back to the bullshit.

This is basically a movie about a fucking dumbass dude who has trouble making obvious decisions.

SPOILERS AHEAD (are you new here?)

The main character Alec Bailey, begins the film as a total fuckwit. He lives in England (somewhere about) and owns a failing electronic handyman business that he calls “The Healer” (in the most pathetic stretch of narrative bullshit, but okay) and is in deep gambling debts to the Russian mob.

As our story begins, Alec discovers that he has a long lost rich uncle who makes him an offer: the uncle will pay off Alec’s debts if he agrees to live in Nova Scotia for a year. The uncle will make all the arrangements: plane ticket, work visa, place to live, etc. All Alec has to do is stay in Nova Scotia for a year.

OH NO! WHATEVER SHALL I DO?!? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO IN REMOTE NOVA SCOTIA FOR A YEAR AFTER ALL MY FINANCIAL CONCERNS ARE TAKEN CARE OF?

HOWEVER WILL I SURVIVE IN SUCH A HORRIBLE PLACE?11?!?

I BETTER THINK IT OVER.

*eyeroll*

He finally makes his decision after getting chased by mobsters trying to collect on his debts. ...like I said. He’s a fuckwit.

So he moves into this beautiful house in Nova Scotia. There’s no internet, which is a legit bummer, but his uncle has arranged a car for him to get to town. Seems like a pretty good gig. Even if it is going to be brutally cold come the winter months.

Well as soon as Alec arrives in town, everyone seems to know and be expecting him. He puts an ad out for his mechanical engineering services, again, under the name “The Healer.” Well........... that goes awry in ways you would expect. Suddenly, people start showing up requesting his physical healing services.

The thing is, the people from town seem to expect him to actually be a healer. They keep referring to a secret and to him being “the chosen one.” There’s no explanation for this.

Then there’s like... this whole weird interlude where Alec seems to kill the town priest, played by Jorge Ramirez (can someone please find this dude a good acting gig? my dude has decent comedic timing, he’s better than this shit). And Alec gets arrested. Even though the priest got up and walked away. All of this seems like a weird spinning of wheels before the actual plot. Like why is this happening. Why?

Eventualllllllly......... his uncle shows back up and fesses up (in the most elaborate way possible). People in his family have a gift. Every other generation, someone is chosen. And they have the gift of healing. Based solely on being near to someone who is destined to be saved.

The gift can only be activated around their 30th birthday (if this sounds unnecessarily elaborate, that’s because it is -- and I’m even cutting shit out like the secret basement and portraits on the wall, blahblahblah). The day after the birthday, the chosen one must decide. They can choose to accept or decline the gift of healing. Alec is given until midnight that night to make his decision. WILL HE BE THE CHOSEN ONE? WILL HE BE THE HEALER?!?!1?1

I mentioned that Alec is a fuckwit right?

*Hagrid voice* YOU’RE A FUCKWIT, ALEC!

*squints*

Annnnnnyhow. Alec goes to the town church where everyone is gathered at midnight (with thank you signs and a big round of applause) and he dashes their hopes. HE WILL NOT BE THE HEALER, NO! Even though it comes with no readily apparent downsides or costs. And he’d be able to relieve the suffering of others with no cost to himself. No, fuck it. He’s going to go home.

The town takes it pretty well, all things considered. The few people who had already been healed by being near him make speeches of gratitude. They all wish him a happy birthday and tell him he’s welcome to stay. Like these people are insanely understanding about him declining the gift of healing. INSANE.

It’s worth noting that we’re about halfway through the movie at this point and we haven’t met one of the main characters of the movie.

IN COMES ABIGAIL. Cancer kid extraordinaire. She is 14 years old. Her parents have driven 7 hours to see Alec. Their daughter is dying of terminal cancer, and all they want is for Alec to spend some time with her and give it a shot. But she’s a pretty self-possessed kid. She convinces the reluctant Alec to just hangout with her for the weekend to buck up her parents and give her parents some hope. She doesn’t believe in the healing, so no harm, no foul.

And finally we’ve hit the meat of our story. Will Alec be able to save Abigail now that he’s declined the gift? Will he regret it? WHY DID HE DECLINE THE GIFT!?1?

SPOILERS (really can’t discuss this movie without them)

It turns out, Alec had a brother who died of cancer. And they were incredibly close. In Alec’s words, “he was my everything.” But now he deeply regrets giving up the gift. Now he’s worried he can’t save Abigail.

You know what, man? Same.

SO WHY THE FUCK DID YOU TURN DOWN THE GIFT!??!?

Listen. Listen, listen. I don’t know a single person who has been touched by cancer who wouldn’t jump at the chance to have a healing gift. I mean, what the fuck. Death sucks. Losing someone you love from any kind of illness sucks. Especially when it feels even remotely too soon. And cancer is a particular type of FUCKING BULLSHIT. It sucks.

So it’s really fucking hard to understand why this FUCKWIT turns down the gift to begin with. Death and suffering is not abstract for him when this movie starts! So why we should feel sorry for his resulting anxiety, now that he has met someone who is directly negatively affected by his fucking BAD DECISION.

Anyhow, the rest of the movie is basically an exercise in how charming Abigail is and how much fun we can have with her before she goes off to die. Which like......... OH-FUCKING-KAY!

It should go without saying that this movie has a happy ending. The music swells where it should. The romance is consummated. Abigail is healed. All is going to be well with the world.

As a movie, this one has some weird fucking choices. First, all of the music cues in this movie are just wrong. “Faith” by George Michael is not a song about believing in something --- unless that something is having sex with someone who hurt you before. And the lighting in this film is so beautiful all the time, it looks like you’re in a fucking ciallis commercial, even when you’re in the freaking police station, wtf?

And last, the writing is just weird in places. Like why have the love interest lie about being a lesbian through 90% of the film? Why? It’s not a good joke! And It is COMPLETELY fucking baffling to me why the good news of this story is delivered off-screen instead of on-screen. If Abigail is going to be okay, why couldn’t she come back to Nova Scotia to tell him? Why couldn’t she deliver that news in person!? That’s just bad writing. What the fuck is that?

But whatever.

On the credit side, I think Oliver Jackson Cohen knows what he’s doing as an actor. He’s not Oscar-worthy yet, but I believed him. When he talks about his brother, I felt that. And that could not have been easy in such a fucking weird script.

But as much as I’d like to end this review right here, there’s more. Cause...

..........that’s not where the movie ends. Not entirely.

As the end music plays, the movie is dedicated to Paul Newman who established summer camps for seriously ill kids. And then we see images and videos of the kids all over the world enjoying activities at these camps.

And that’s where this critique stops. Sorta. Paul Newman was a legitimately good person. And his legacy of caring for sick kids carries on to this day, as was evident from all the footage.

But here’s the thing: healing as it’s depicted in this movie does not exist. But easing the suffering of others does. I wish this movie had been about that. I wish it had been less focused on miracles and weird family legacies and selfish fuckwits and more about the kind of healing that Paul practiced. But I guess that movie isn’t as fun, and it isn’t as hopeful and uplifting.

In the non-movie version of this story, Abigail Bryant died in 2014 at the age of 20. Her obituary still appears online. And it is still receiving comments and photos from cancer survivors and fighters, many of them who found her through the film. And they talk about how the movie touched them.

On that level, it doesn’t matter what I say here. It doesn’t matter that there are weird parts of this script or that healing like this is a fantasy. This movie does its job. It touches people. And if it inspires just a few more people to give money to help relieve suffering, then that’s all that matters.

Ronald McDonald House Charities Cancer Research Institute Hole in the Wall Gang (Paul Newman’s org) Serious Fun Children’s Network (established by Paul Newman)

#ptpt reviews #the worst movie on netflix right now #i guess #sorta #cw: cancer #sorry for the long post #this one was complicated

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pancakexspacexdragon · 4 years ago

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Long ass post ahead. TL;DR I found an old set of questions and decided to answer them again 7 years later because why not.

1: What are you wearing?

2014: Some Shorts and a shirt I accidentally stole from my brother.

2021: Panic! at the Disco shirt and some running shorts

2: Ever been in love?

2014: Oh yes, sadly...

2021: pfft.

3: Ever had a terrible breakup?

2014: Not technically, but I once had my homecoming date hook up with another girl.

2021: hahahahahaha. Yes.

4: How tall are you? 2014: like 5 foot 1, maybe 2? I dunno.

2021: 5’4”, apparently

5: How much do you weigh? 2014: How about no...

2021: Who’s to say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

6: Any tattoos? 2014: Yes! I got one on my left shoulder blade not too long ago. I often forget I have it, actually lol.

2021: I’m up to five, and six is planned.

7: Any piercings?

2014: I do. I have double lobe piercings, and my left ear at the top. No non-ear piercings. Those seem uncomfortable to get, tbh.

2021: Uh...double lobe, helix, forward helix, tragus, nose, and septum.

8: OTPs? 2014: Marshall and Lilly on HIMYM. I mean, I think that's what this is asking. Right?

2021: I’m still not 100% sure what this means but I’m doubling down on Marshall and Lilly.

9: Favorite show? 2014: I'm still recovering from the ending of How I Met Your Mother, but I also love Criminal Minds, and the Big Bang Theory.

2021: HIMYM, Criminal Minds, Stranger Things, and Masked Singer.

10: Favorite bands?

2014: I pretty much love anything, so I'll try to shorten it to Love and Theft, Newsboys, t.A.T.u, Beast, and Fun.

2021: My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, twenty one pilots, Maroon 5, Relient K.

11: Something you miss?

2014: Going to the park and just lying in the grass with my friends or crushes. I know, I'm Cheesy.

2021: Not having responsibilities or bills to pay.

12: Favorite Song? 2014: ...why do they even bother asking this? Tbh, “I'll Be” by Edwin McCain, and “Hello, My Name is” by Matthew West

2021: “you should see me in a crown” by Billie Eilish and “no body, no crime” by Taylor Swift

13: How old are you? 2014: Nineteen. I feel old.

2021: ...twenty-six.

14: Zodiac sign? 2014: Aries, barely.

2021: (not) shockingly, I’m still an Aries.

15: Quality you look for in a partner? 2014: Just someone who's willing to go on cheesy dates at the park, and love me for who I am. And a Christian. Yea, I'm one of those people. Sorry...

2021: dude just someone who’s gonna stick with me.

16: Favorite quote? 2014: It's actually a verse. I love Jeremiah 29:11. It's actually part of what's tattooed on my shoulder; right below a cross.

2021: “it do be like that sometimes”

17: Favorite actor? 2014: Uhhhhh. Matthew Gray Gubler, or David Tennant. I love them both :)

2021: Matthew Gray Gubler.

18: Favorite color? 2014: Green, or pink. Depends on the shade and whatnot.

2021: pastels. mostly green.

19: Loud music or soft? 2014: If I'm alone in the car? loud. Anywhere else I enjoy my soft music.

2021: If I’m by myself loud but if there’s others I like to keep it low enough so we can still talk.

20: Where do you go when you’re sad? 2014: My Room, or the park not to far from me. I like parks, if you haven't noticed.

2021: My room

21: How long does it take you to shower? 2014: Uh, probably about 10 minutes.

2021: Either 10 minutes or 45 minutes. There is no in-between

22: How long does it take you to get ready in the morning? 2014: About 30 minutes. I like to sleep tbh.

2021: Maybe 20 minutes at the most. Cutting off all my hair really took some time off my getting ready list.

23: Ever been in a physical fight? 2014: heck no.

2021: hell no.

24: Turn on? 2014: Cute shy smiles, and geekiness. I love someone who I can be comfortable with.

2021: dorks with a lame sense of humor. I am all about the dad jokes.

25: Turn off? 2014: Those guys who try to make you uncomfortable, or act like they're super cool. I guess that would be douches, huh?

2021: the “oh you should smile more” men.

26: The reasons I joined Tumblr? 2014: I was trying to find a place where I could post stuff without my parents seeing it tbh. I like having a place where like 2 people actually know me.

2021: Because where else can I release the true psychotic chaos within me?

27: Fears? 2014: Being abandoned. And darkness, for sure.

2021: Finding out people only stayed in your life out of obligation and not out of their own choice. And spiders.

28: Last thing that made you cry? 2014: The guy I liked totally looked past me and started telling me about this other girl, after I told him how I felt (not RIGHT after, it had been about two months...but still).

2021: My mom manipulated me into showing up to something I didn’t want to because “I should really go visit family”

29: Last time you said you loved someone? 2014: My best friend and I say I love you after we hang up the phone Lol.

2021: Other than normal parent “Love You”’s, it’s probably been about 3 years.

30: Meaning behind your Tumblr name? 2014: I'm short, totally socially awkward in new situations (and with old friends, now that I think about it) and Idk about the fox. I just like foxes, I guess...

2021: There is no meaning. I like pancakes, space, and dragons.

31: Last book you read? 2014: If you don't count my English Lit book, then it was probably "Only the Good Spy

Young" by Ally Carter, but I don't remember.

2021: oh geez. It was probably “George” or “Rick” by Alex Gino

32: The book you’re currently reading?  2014: Nothing yet. I do have that last Gallagher Girl book to read though. I'll probably start it this weekend.

2021: Nothing. But I never got to that last Gallagher Girl book...

33: Last show you watched? 2014: The Big Bang Theory.

2021: The Masked Singer

34: Last person you talked to?  2014: My dad lol. We were watching the NFL draft.

2021: Guy friend of mine. I went to his place for dinner and some video games.

35: The relationship between you and the person you last texted?  2014: Good Friend

2021: hahahahahahahaha. We’re just friends.

36: Favorite food? 2014: Cajun. Blame my grandparents, that's what they cook a lot lol.

2021: Pasta

37: Place you want to visit? 2014: I wanna go to Alaska. Even though I know it's super cold.

2021: Europe. Specially Spain or France.

38: Last place you were?  2014: I honestly left home like twice today, to bring something to my brother at the High school, then to bring him to a friends house. He has a better social life than me.

2021: Friends place to hang out. We played Stardew then ordered wings and watched a movie.

39: Do you have a crush? 2014: Yes. See question 28 lol. Also, there's this other guy who I got close to last year, but I haven't spoken to him in weeks, and it's killing me.

2021: See guy referred to in 34, 35, and 38.

40: Last time you kissed someone? 2014: Never. I have never kissed anyone. Well, besides like a kiss in the cheek from family. Yeah...

2021: wow it’s probably been about three years.

41: Last time you were insulted?

2014: Recently lol. I guess... I don't really pay attention, or care...

2021: I don’t know. Probably recently.

42: Favorite flavor of sweet? 2014: I'm just gonna act like this doesn't exist, cause idk what it's asking.

2021: Chocolate.

43: What instruments do you play? 2014: I can play the French Horn and Mellophone! I also want to learn the flute, but I can't unless I have something to practice lol.

2021: French Horn, Mellophone, and Ukulele. Still want to learn the flute.

44: Favorite piece of jewelry?

2014: My purity ring. If I forget to put it on, I can seriously feel the emptiness, and it bothers me...

2021: My septum ring! I feel like it’s the first piercing I got for myself, and not just something I thought others would like on me.

45: Last sport you played?

2014: Maybe Soccer? Idk.

2021: pfft. Sports.

46: Last song you sang?

2014: “I'll Be” by Edwin McCain. But I really don't sing well, so it doesn't happen much, unless I'm alone.

2021: “You Belong with Me (Taylor’s Version)” by Taylor Swift and I 100% sang it to my dog.

47: Favorite chat up line?

2014: I don't have one

2021: It’s been 7 years and I still don’t have one.

48: Have you ever used it?

2014: Since i don't have one, no.

2021: Nah.

49: Last time you hung out with someone?

2014: I hung out with my future roommate before I left college yesterday.

2021: When I went to the previously mentioned Guy’s house earlier today.

50: Who should answers these questions next?

2014: Well, I guess any of my followers can choose to, if they want.

2021: Bold of you to assume anyone’s actually going to see this.

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sol1056 · 5 years ago

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hey! i noticed that you’ve written a lot about how voltron fails as a mecha series, and it got me curious about what a GOOD mecha series looks like. do you have any recs for someone whose only experience with the genre, quite literally, is voltron?

note: that is NOT where I wanted the cut. who knows what the devs are doing over there at tumblr hq.

-----

Welp, there’s more than one kind of mecha. There’s super robots -- where (in general) the robots are ultra-powered and relatively indestructible. Then there’s real robots, which will break down and/or run out of ammunition at the most dramatically critical moments. And then there’s a category that at best might be nearly-sentient robots, which have minds and motivations of their own -- but I wouldn’t say that’s a true category (in terms of the genre) so much as a distinction I've noted.

I’ve never been big into the super robot series (with a few exceptions), and I mostly find the combining robot genre to be frustrating. Former mechanic and engineer who currently works with AI, so a lot of the hand-wavey aspects are frustrating for me, especially in super robots where things mysteriously repair themselves and there’s never a struggle to upgrade/repair. (And don’t even get me started on the idea of controlling a bipedal reactive machine with only two foot pedals and a damn joystick.)

Which is all to say, I suppose I should recommend that you watch the classics, except I’m not really sure what they are because I’ve forgotten most of them. And frankly a lot of them are really shoddy animation by today’s standards, and life is too short to waste time on that. I’ll need to refer you along to other mecha fans to add their recommendations, instead.

Well, I can at least recommend Gundam and Macross, but that’s kind of like saying I recommend Doc Martens and Aididas -- that barely narrows it down, since there’s so many options within each brand. Everyone’s got their favorites in each, as do I, but any mecha series that’s stayed with me is one that found a way to either twist the core trope, or explored implications that other series glossed over.

Note: I’ve never seen any version of Eva, and never felt the urge to, either. Sorry. Ask someone else for input on that. Plus there’s also ones I’ll leave off here ‘cause they’re veering over into AI/robots/tech and less what would usually be called mecha, but they’re still worthwhile: Battle Fairy Yukikaze, Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, Broken Blade, Last Exile, and Voices of a Distant Star all come to mind.

Gundam

For me, I adore the technical geeky touches in Gundam F91, but the story is total spaghetti, so you might want to skip that until you’re more familiar with the gundam tropes. (It was meant to be a series, iirc, got shut down, and they took the pieces and made a movie from it, so it’s... kind of compressed, to put it mildly).

Gundam Wing and Gundam 00 are considerably less geeky on the technical (though they do satisfy the mechanic itch, with a bit more real robot, at least on the technicalities). I like the international core cast, and the way each series explores geopolitical dynamics. (That said, skip the second season of Gundam 00. It just goes totally off the rails into some really wild and wacky directions.)

A long-running concept like Gundam is recognizable across the series thanks to core concepts, and in Gundam’s case it’s the conflicts between imperialism and colonialism, war versus justified rebellion, and pacifism versus a first-strike as self-defense. What I liked with Wing and 00, in particular, was its central pilots felt more tied to (and aware of) the political ramifications of their actions.

I did watch about half of Iron-Blooded Orphans, which struck out in a new direction by having Mars as the colony instead of the lagrange points, but didn’t bother finishing. From what I hear, watch it with a box of tissues, as it’s a return to the classic kill-em-all perspective of the original Gundam series.

Macross

I’m sure someone else will tell you to watch the original Macross (the american version being Robotech, albeit highly edited). I know lots of people adore the first Macross series, but it’s just too late-80s for me. (The hair, my god, the hair.)

Personally, I prefer Macross Frontier -- the amination is much improved, though the fact is I also adore the voices of Yuuichi Nakamura and Aya Endō. Macross has some politics, but it’s mostly internal -- that is, the opponents aren’t human, so whatever debate there is about who’s right or wrong is mostly one-sided, since we only ever see humans doing the talking.

I tried to watch Macross Delta but it just didn’t do it for me -- and therein lies some of the issues (for me) with both Gundam and Macross. Because both have some core elements that they tackle in every series, it can start to feel a bit repetitive.

For Macross it’s always music, Valkyries (the mecha type for Macross), and a love triangle -- which sometimes isn’t even resolved. (I’ve read all kinds of debates about whether Alto ends up with Sheryl or with Ranka, but the series leaves it open.)

A good writer can explore these themes over and over, but between the two, I personally think Gundam has done a bit better of pivoting to take a new angle with each series. But at the same time, Gundam is pretty consistent about not building on a previous series -- with a few notable exceptions, most of its series are alternate-universe stories to each other. In Macross, they’re all continuations of the previous -- so if you’re not into its setup about aliens and weird diseases and whatnot, you’re only going to get more of the same in the next series.

Everything else

So here’s the series I like, but I’m not sure all of these would be counted as ‘true’ mecha by other fans (a debate I mostly ignore, so I’ll leave it to others to argue about that).

Escaflowne -- one of the rare breed of fantasy-styled mecha (Broken Blade being another one that comes to mind). The animation is strongly 80s, but the voice acting is superb, the story (originally meant to be longer, then budget cuts forced a much longer story to squeeze into half the episodes it really deserved).

[It’s also a series I’d call a harbinger, similar to tripping over little-known movies from twenty years ago and realizing every single actor including walk-on parts went on to be massive names. Escaflowne’s got that, but that also extends to its animation team, its director, its composer, on and on. All of them went onto work on some of the greatest hits of anime. That makes Escaflowne immensely (if quietly and somewhat subtly) influential, both for the genre and animation overall.]

Eureka Seven -- another not-on-Earth story. At first the mecha movement -- almost like surfing in the sky -- was odd, but they took some interesting physics concepts and made them not just worldbuilding, but integral parts of the story. Okay, I’m not keen on how the female lead gets successively down-graded as the hero ramps up, but there are some emotional implications of Massive Destructive Machines where Eureka Seven lingers that a lot of other series gloss over.

Fafner in the Azure -- another aliens-against-humans, but first off, I’m gonna say it: you either love Hisashi Hirai‘s character designs or you want to torch them with total prejudice. If you can get past that, Fafner is brutal to its characters well beyond most other series, excepting the earliest Gundams. Although (of course) the pilots are all kids, there are in-story reasons, and there are still adults running the show. And there are consequences, small and large.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion -- because what would life be if we didn’t have at least one mecha series with character designs from CLAMP. (Which, admittedly, I loathe, but somehow it worked here.) Can’t speak for the second season, but the first season played up something a lot of mecha bypass for just plain banging on each other, which is strategy. It caught me at the time, at least.

Full Metal Panic -- watch this after watching Gundam Wing and/or Gundam 00, to get the tropes they’re playing on with Sousuke Sagara (the ostensible protagonist who just cannot seem to relate to real human beings). I saw one description of him as “about as well-adjusted as a feral child” and that kinda fits. It’s more real robots, and of course parts require some hardcore suspension of disbelief (the commanding officer who looks 14, sounds like she’s 12, and has boobs that never occur in nature on a frame that teeny). But all told, a lot of fun and plenty of explosions.

RahXephon -- this is another oddball one, because the mecha aren’t mecha, they’re golems (as in, creatures made from clay). For all that, there’s a lot of significant mecha influence and tropes at work. It’s held up pretty well, animation-wise, considering its age (from 2002). and while it’s the same ‘strange aliens attack earth’ plotline, it spins all that off in a completely different direction.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (aka Gurren Lagann) -- don’t watch this one until you’ve seen plenty of others, though, because it’s a fondly affectionate send-up of nearly every possible trope from combining to super to real robots. Cranked up to eleven.

Knights of Sidonia -- of all the ones on this list, KoS is possibly my most favorite. It was an early all-CGI series, and a lot of people were turned off by that, but once you get used to it, the story can carry you along. Like Macross Frontier, it takes place in deep space, where a colony of humans fight for survival with an incomprehensible (and nearly unstoppable) alien foe. But KoS is true science fiction, with a lot of solid science driving its dramatic points. Also--unlike most of the others series--although the characters are technically human, they’ve also evolved as a result of their time in space. For one, they have three genders, for another, they don’t eat; they photosynthesize.

#mecha #sol thinks about stuff #recommendations

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that-curly-haired-lesbian · 6 years ago

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The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo + Taylor Swift: a master post - Part 6/6

Hi guys, welcome to the final part of my masterpost regarding parallels between Taylor Swift and Evelyn Hugo, the fictional actress from the book The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo by author Taylor Jenkins Reid!

Before proceeding please be aware that there will be

**MAJOR SPOILERS**

for the book ahead and please also read my disclaimer!

It’s very important that you read these in order so if you haven’t yet go ahead and check out the previous part right here, thank you and enjoy!

When Evelyn starts telling us about beard #6 she reveals that they got married in Joshua Tree (Pg. 295) which is you know, an actual place and all, but my first reaction was (perhaps understandably given this context)

“You got married WHERE, now?!” and then it took me quite a while to stop laughing and honestly, this is kind of too hilarious not to include!

Evelyn also points out on that same page that she wore an ocean-blue dress for the ceremony.

Though Max Girard (beard #6 and legit husband #2) initially starts out as a non-bearding situation (in a desperate attempt to get over Celia) it soon becomes clear that Max doesn’t love Evelyn, he loves Evelyn Hugo™ He loves the idea of her more than the actual person, he loves the famous persona. Evelyn says:

“I didn’t know how to tell him that I loved her too, but I wasn’t her.” (Pg. 298)

This is that age-old debate of Taylor vs. Taylor Swift™. The two are not the same person and sometimes it feels like (het in particular) fans have as hard a time as Max to make that distinction.

Taylor Swift the public persona isn’t Taylor Swift the person and that is perhaps the most true when it comes to Taylor’s actual love life vs. her fabricated one. There might not be a single fact more important to come to terms with in order to understand Gaylor Swift (and her reasons for being closeted) than that simple one. If you feel lost here, please go read this again!

“When you’re known for being gorgeous, you can’ not imagine a faith worse than standing next to someone and falling short.” (Pg. 299)

And all the young things line up to take your place

In a letter to Celia:

“I hope you will forgive me for being so blunt, but how did we make such a mess of it all?” (Pg. 301)

Oh, we made quite a mess, babe

After years of being separated (yet again) Evelyn finally calls Celia and when they discuss the possibility of getting back together without having to hide Evelyn points out that:

“Everything has changed”

And as proof of this change she brings up the fact that Elton John is now proudly out (this part of her story is set in the late 80’s) to which Celia counters with:

“’Elton John doesn’t have a child and a career based on audiences believing he’s a straight man.” (Pg. 303)

Taylor may not have a kid, but she most certainly has a career based on audiences believing she’s a straight woman and that must be freaking terrifying!!

During that phone call Evelyn explains that she never stopped loving Celia and when Celia questions this by pointing out that Evelyn (in a non-bearding way) got married to someone else Evelyn explains:

“’I married him because he helped me forget you,’ I said, “not because I stopped loving you’” (Pg. 304)

He will try to take away my pain And he just might make me smile But the whole time I'm wishin' he was you instead

During a dinner following the phone conversation Evelyn tells Celia:

“I spent my life hiding so no one would knock me off the mountain. Well, you know what? I’m done hiding. Let them come and get me. They can throw me down a well as far as I’m concerned.” (Pg. 313)

When Celia questions if Evelyn really means that Evelyn assures her that she does.

“Any other line of thinking…It’s how I lost you. I don’t want to lose anymore.”

HELL YEAH, EVELYN IS DONE HIDING!! Also, the “I don’t want to lose anymore”-line reminds me of:

Us traitors never win

And what I said about that line in my analysis of Getaway Car:

What she says I think is that people who pick their career over their love life won’t end up being happy, or “winning” at life in the long-run.

When Celia has made absolutely sure that Evelyn is truly ready to give it all up for her this time she suggests that they move to Spain together, she says she wants to spend her final years:

“On a beautiful beach. With the love of a good woman.” (Pg. 314)

Drinkin' on a beach with you all over me

When Evelyn leaves her sixth husband for Celia he is pissed off and threatens to out her and he does, to untrustworthy magazines and anyone who will listen. (No one believes him, but still) (Pg. 319)

The whole divorce is very bitter and the bitterness of it all kind of reminded me of one of Taylor’s particularly bad bearding situations. But when Max goes so far as to basically say he made Evelyn’s career an even worse taste was left in my mouth……………..

In a conversation with Evelyn about their differing degrees of fame Harry says the following:

“I’m only famous because you’re famous, Ev. They don’t care about me or what I’m doing unless it somehow relates to you.” (Pg. 321)

Here we once again have bearding 101, but also it reminded me of someone…

On page 325 Evelyn refers to Harry as:

“My best friend, my family.”

And while this is obviously said platonically between those two it nonetheless made me think of something that I’m honestly still not over Taylor saying about Karlie!!

Towards the end of her career Evelyn meets a young man named Nick, he wants to be an actor and asks Evelyn for advice. She bitterly considers telling him:

“You have to be willing to deny your heritage, to commodify your body, to lie to good people, to sacrifice who you love in the name of what people will think, and to choose the false version of yourself time and time again, until you forget who you started out as or why you started doing it to begin with.” (Pg. 326) (x)

Evelyn’s friend (and beard) Harry dies tragically in a car accident in 1989

While Taylor has always used the motif of cars/car rides in her music there are A LOT of car mentions on 1989, an album many het Swifties seem to believe to be about Harry Styles, interesting…

After Harry’s death Evelyn and Celia move to Spain together and out of the spotlight they finally get to openly be together and Evelyn “chose the rose garden over Madison Square” if you will and she was extremely happy. About her relationship with Celia during that time she says:

“I cherished every moment we had to ourselves, every second I spent with my arms around her.” (Pg. 344)

When I get you alone it’s so simple

I could've spent forever with your hands in my pockets

Evelyn describes her seventh husband and last beard (Celia’s brother) as so charming that most other women were:

“Enchanted by him” (Pg.344)

Oddly specific word choice!

As happy as Celia and Evelyn were at this point in their lives something was hanging over them, Celia was sick and dying. Evelyn tells Monique that when Celia promised Evelyn she’d never leave her again:

“We both knew she was making a promise she couldn’t keep.” (Pg. 346)

Brokeeeeee the sweetest promISEEE that you neverrrrr should have MADEEE

Listen to that you guys, that’s my goddamn heart breaking!!!

CELIA AND EVELYN’S WEDDING SCENE (pg. 347-349) IS SUPER SWEET!!!!!! A fun little detail is that New York (which is as we’ve previously established significant to the Kaylor relationship as well as the Evelyn and Celia one) was made relevant in a scene taking place in Spain (Celia’s shirt)

ALSO allow we to go into crazy fanfic territory here, but can’t you just IMAGINE the “we can get married”-conversation happening between Taylor and Karlie when same-sex marriage became legalized nationwide????

All wlw just want a wife #ConfirmedOnPage349

Seriously, if you wanna be punched in the feels today go read the wedding scene and imagine Kaylor in Evelyn and Celia’s place. (No one is sick in the Kaylor version, but they are deeply closeted and still at the height of their careers) oh, my fragile, gay heart!!

When Celia does die from her illness Evelyn describes her reaction with:

“I fell to the floor.” (Pg. 350)

I'm HERE on the KITCHEN flooOOOOr

Don’t TOUCH MEEEEEE

After Celia’s death Evelyn truly stops hiding in the closet:

“I could not keep my true self from coming out.” (Pg. 353)

“It cost so much, caring. I didn’t have any currency to spend on it.” (Pg. 354)

“People were still easily distracted from seeing how I felt about Celia St. James, but this time was different because I wasn’t hiding anything. The truth ��had been there for them to grab if they’d paid attention.”

“But of course they got it wrong. They never did care about getting it right. The media are going to tell whatever story they want to tell. They always have. They always will.”

To me this is the essence of the Reputation era, Taylor having realized that she can’t make the media she the truth so she just avoids them and tells the truth to those of us who are paying attention. This time it’s different, because she isn’t hiding anything.

There will be no further explanation. There will be just reputation

Evelyn saying it made her happy to spend money on her loved ones (Pg. 356) makes me think of Taylor being so extra with the fans ❤

“No one is just a victim or a victor. That’s Evelyn Hugo for you, somewhere in the middle.” (Pg. 366)

“She’s painfully human to me now.” (Pg. 371)

Is that Monique saying that about Evelyn Hugo after finding out her true life story or is it me saying it about Taylor Swift after falling down the Gaylor rabbit hole? No one knows for sure…

“Evelyn is going to die when she wants to and she wants to die now.” (Pg.375)

I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now (Ooh, look what you made me do) Why? (Look what you made me do) Oh, 'cause she's dead!

in the death of her reputation she felt truly alive

The huge difference between the death of Taylor Swift and the death of Evelyn Hugo is that Evelyn’s death is literal and Taylor’s is figurative.

Despite this Evelyn’s death is somehow every bit as cinematic as Taylor who just recently killed off her reputation in order to feel truly alive. They’re both still doing it on their own terms, literally controlling the narrative that is their lives up until their last breaths (figurative as well as literal)

“Evelyn trusts me with her story. Evelyn trusts me with her death.” (Pg. 377)

Just as Taylor is trusting us with the death of her false reputation and the truth of her actual story and narrative.

“The tears that come out of me feel as if they were decades in the making. It feels as if some old version of me is leaking out, letting go, saying good-bye in the effort of making room for a new me. Somehow both more cynical about people and more optimistic about my place in the world” (Pg. 377-378)

Okay so this is a lot and it hit me right in the heart! I can only imagine this is just how Taylor felt when she decided that killing of her old reputation and public image was the right move. After everything that happen to her just before she decided to take a break to figure that stuff out (and everything that has happened for her entire career as far as bearding and hiding goes)I bet those tears felt decades (or at least a decade) in the making when they finally came. After all she’s been through in the industry since the age of 16 it’s no wonder if she feels cynical about people, but after taking the break to figure it out and deciding to COME out I’m sure she also feels optimistic now that she’s on the road to being herself publicly. She’s found her place in this world as out and proud and now she’s working towards getting to that place every day.

All these years she’s just been trying to find a place in this world and oh, Taylor, I am so glad you’ve found it! ❤

It must be such a relief to have made up your mind, to not have to be afraid anymore.

“There’s still so much I don’t know about my father. Maybe he was gay. Maybe he saw himself as straight, but in love with one man. Maybe he was bisexual. Or a host of other words. But it really doesn’t matter, that’s the thing.” (Pg. 380)

This is an interesting quote, to Evelyn the word bisexual mattered a lot and to Celia the word lesbian did, as for Monique’s father we don’t know what he would have said on the matter concerning his own identity because he’s been dead since long before the book started. Ultimately Monique comes to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter what her father would’ve identified as, as long as she knew he loved her (which it has been shown throughout the book that he undeniably did.)

In the same way we could argue all day about whether Taylor is gay or bi or straight or a “a host of other words” for the time being we’re in much the same position as Monique, Taylor hasn’t told us and it’s not like we can just ask her, but does it matter? We all love Taylor and we know that she loves us. Her being in love with women and writing her songs about them instead of the men we were lead to believe were her muses doesn’t change that. In the end it’s not a big deal whether Taylor is gay or straight, we still love her, we came for her music that we related to and loved and then we ended up staying for Taylor, the person, because we fell in love with her and her storytelling. Who she loves doesn’t change that. We love her and she loves us and that’s all that matters.

On page 382 GLAAD is mentioned by name as an organization that Evelyn gave most of her fortune to after her death.

The piece Monique ends up writing about Evelyn for Vivant summarizes the main theme of the both and to me it also summarizes what Gaylor Swift is about:

The TRUTH behind the SCANDAL that was her love life.

(Pg. 385)

And now for the final piece in this puzzle

And all our pieces fall�� Right into place

🌈 🌈 🌈

Thank you SO much for reading all of these masterposts, I really hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed reading that amazing book and writing all of these parts!

#tshoeh #tshoeh spoilers #the seven husbands of evelyn hugo #gaylor swift #kaylor #masterpost

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oneofthosecrazycatladies · 7 years ago

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Arrowverse Re-Watch: Arrow season 1, episode 1 “Pilot”

***Disclaimer: I recommend you read the tags before digging in to this review.

So I’m doing my annual Arrowverse re-watch (where I go back and watch all the Arrowverse shows in chronological order) and this year, I decided I would make these reviews/commentaries about each episode as I re-watch them.

So here goes... WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Oliver: The name of the island they found me on is Lian Yu. It’s Mandarin for Purgatory. I’ve been stranded here for 5 years.

Okay, don’t get me wrong, the main reason I love Arrow is because the characters are great and real and the stories are so interesting. And Stephen Amell is a fantastic actor, definitely one of the best in the Arrowverse...but hot damn just look at that body

I really don’t like objectifying anyone (of any gender), but art deserves to be appreciated and this body right here is art.

Okay I literally couldn’t find a gif of it anywhere, but that shot of Oliver looking into the mirror and the lightning flashes and you see him in the hood for like a split second...that shot...yeah I love that shot. Ugh it’s so amazing and just chilling.

Okay so apparently a lot of people hated the flashbacks...which I don’t understand??? But I loved the flashbacks. Mostly because I just love flashbacks in general. I mean, they weren’t always super interesting and a lot of the time the flashback storyline wasn’t really as interesting as the main storyline, but I still really liked the flashbacks. I actually kinda miss them sometimes.

TOMMY!

Like basically everyone else in the Arrow fandom, I miss Tommy sooo much. And I know, I know Colin has Chicago Med now, but I gotta be honest...I still haven’t quite gotten over that Tommy (any Earth version) wasn’t Vigilante. Like honestly, what was even the point of making him Vince (or Vinny they literally changed his nickname). God season 6 was such a fucking mess...but more of that later.

Okay so I have a bone to pick with this little moment where Oliver speaks Russian to Raisa. So like I guess it was supposed to demonstrate how Oliver has changed and all that...but like, Oliver’s not stupid. He wouldn’t be so careless as to speak Russian in front of his family and friends when he knows that they know he didn’t speak Russian before the island (thus revealing something about his time away when he’s usually so careful not to let things about that time slip).

I just don’t really like that moment because it seems a bit out of character for him.

Oliver: I didn’t realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter.

Tommy: Have you noticed how hot your sister’s gotten?

It does kinda make me cringe a little though tbh. Although, full disclosure, the first time I ever watched this show, I did kinda ship them. I thought they had great chemistry. Better chemistry than Tommy and L*urel (but we’ll get to that later).

Tommy: So what’d you miss the most; steaks at the Palm, drinks at the station, meaningless sex?

Oliver: L*urel

Oh god here we go with this bullshit...can we just skip to the part where the writers realized that L*uriver was awful and they all jumped on the Olicity train?

Oh look it’s L*urel L*nce, the Queen Bitch of Starling City.

Okay that was an exaggeration...and I don’t actually hate LL, well at least, I don’t hate the idea of her. (Alright, strap yourselves in.)

I feel like LL was only the “real” LL in the first like 3 episodes of season 1 and then like the last 2 episodes before she dies. Every episode in between those she was like the off-brand version of LL. In the first couple episodes, she’s a pretty great character. She genuinely wants to help innocent people, she’s independent, she fights for what she believes in. Other than her being a totally soulless, cold-hearted bitch to Oliver, I actually liked her. But the whole Oliver drama really ruined her. And I blame the writers for that (namely the notorious misogynists Kreisberg and Guggenheim).

So first, they thought that “you cheated on me with my sister” was a great beginning to an epic love story. And then they made her totally cold to Oliver. Like look, as much as I dislike LL, I will always take her side on this issue. Playboy Ollie was a grade A fuckboy jackass and LL has every right to be pissed at him. But...then he spent five years in literal hell. Whatever mistakes he made before the island, he paid for them and then some. Now I know LL doesn’t know all the particulars of what went on in those 5 years, but she must’ve at least seen the movie Cast Away, right? I mean, from her perspective, Oliver spent 5 years completely alone on a deserted island. In that situation he would’ve had to teach himself to hunt and kill animals for food, he would’ve had to learn how to build shelters, he would’ve had literally no one to talk to or interact with for five years. She would’ve had to know that he probably has PTSD...and he comes back and she says “I’d hoped you’d rot in hell a whole lot longer than five years.” Like, are you fucking kidding me?! Why in the fuck would the writers think anyone would ship them with this kind of beginning? How are we supposed to have any sympathy for LL when she won’t even let Oliver try to apologize? And saying that he deserved what happened to him on the island? Jesus fucking Christ. God I couldn’t be more anti-L*uriver if I tried.

I get what (I think) they were trying to go for with LL, but they completely fucked up the execution.

LL: ‘Cause her body was at the bottom of the ocean where you left her. It should’ve been you.

“It should’ve been you.”

Okay bitch let’s go. No one talks to post-island Oliver that way. Ever. Oliver Jonas Queen is a gift to the world and I don’t care what dumbass Ollie Queen did you do not get to say that to Oliver. He has lost and suffered so much, too much. JFC where the fuck is Oliver’s unconditionally loving and supportive wifey when he needs her? Don’t worry bb, only two more episodes and you’re home free.

Mercenary Dude: What did he tell you, Mr. Queen?

Oliver: He told me I’m gonna kill you.

God yes where has this Oliver been the past couple years? Not the kill-happy Oliver, just the intimidating hardcore Oliver that can take down half a dozen guys single-handedly. That’s one of the things I hated about season 6 was how they wrote him so out of character just for plot. Ever since they introduced the newbies in season 5 they’ve written Oliver like he literally can’t even function without having like 5 other people out in the field with him. I don’t mind having a team (I love Roy and Dinah for example) but the team is just too big. (I’ll talk about that in much more detail when we get to seasons 5 and 6 [and that bullshit “civil war”])

Mercenary Dude: You’re delusional. You’re zip-cuffed to that chair.

Oliver: Not anymore.

*shivers*

God the MUSIC! Ugh I love the music in this scene when he’s taking down the kidnappers.

Oh yeah...and this incredible stunt...

And I love that you can tell that Stephen did all these stunts himself. But I especially love the above stunt because it’s so incredible, but like he just does it and it’s as if it’s no big deal because he’s just that physically fit.

QUENTIN!!!

With hair!!!

Oh Quentin deserved so much better than all that nonsense the writers put him through in season 6. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

I’m just so happy to see him! And to see the journey that he took in the first 4 seasons. (Seasons 5 and 6 [especially 6] weren’t the real Quentin. It had to’ve been one of his doppelgängers because the real Quentin is smarter than to be fooled by BS’ bs).

Ahh did you see what I did there?!

I love Raisa and I’m so happy they brought her back for season 6! I hope she returns again in season 7! I love the way she takes care of the Queen boys!

John Thomas Diggle is in the building ladies and gentlemen! This man is a gift and honestly I sometimes think we don’t deserve him.

Okay I kinda miss seeing Oliver in regular clothes. It seems like, ever since he became mayor, the only civilian clothes we ever see him in are suits. Don’t get me wrong, that man can fill out a suit, he looks delectable...especially when he’s just wearing a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up (those arms!)

But I also kinda miss just seeing him in like jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe once he gets out of prison we’ll see more of that (since he won’t be mayor).

The whole workout/training sequence is just...

We were completely deprived of shirtless Oliver in season 6 and I just cannot stand for that. We better get like double the amount of shirtless Oliver in season 7 to make up for it.

Tommy: Now, by my rough estimate, you have not had sex in 1,839 days.

Yeah except for Shado and who knows? maybe Sara or even some random girl in Russia.

LL: I’m sorry about saying that you should’ve been the one who died. That was wrong.

Nice apology, LL (this is the real LL I was talking about earlier), but you’re gonna change your mind in like 2 episodes. @jbuffyangel calls this phenomenon “as the Lances turn” (referring to the crazy inconsistencies in how the Lances [especially LL] are written). And I love that phrase I’m totally gonna steal it because it’s so true, but I’ll discuss that more when it flares up in later episodes.

John: I would believe you, Mr. Queen, if you weren’t so full of crap.

John Diggle, ladies and gentlemen, taking none of Oliver’s shit since 2012.

Please, someone, give this man a medal.

Okay but did John and Oliver ever talk about Oliver putting John in that hold and knocking him unconscious? I don’t know why, but I kinda have this headcanon that they never actually did talk about it until like years later (probably after Oliver and Felicity returned from Ivy Town and Oliver and John made up) that John was just like “remember when you knocked me unconscious at your welcome home party”.

Okay I know that it’s Yao Fei’s hood, but I kinda wonder why Oliver didn’t get it lined with Kevlar from the get-go. I mean it’s not like he trained in medieval times and then time-traveled to the 21st century to start his crusade, like he’s aware that guns exist and that a lot of the people he planned to take down would use guns. I mean, he could’ve just gotten Anatoly or someone else in the Bratva, I’m sure they know people who know how to do that.

But at the same time, I guess it kinda fits with his whole persona and his plan. When he first starts out he’s not really waging a full-on war against all crime in the city, he’s just trying to take down the corrupt one-percenters and once he does that he hangs up the hood and moves on with his life. So it makes more sense that his suit is more “raw” because he’s more raw. He doesn’t have a team, doesn’t consider himself a hero. It’s just him and his bow and his list.

So I’m watching the scene where Robert kills himself and it makes me think of the scene in season 5 when Oliver is watching the video that Robert left him and Felicity comes along and is like “wow no prssure” and I’m like yeah! I mean, what a crazy and horrible burden to put on your child. I mean, there they are, Robert’s made all these mistakes, but instead of trying to fix these mistakes himself he’s like “nah I think I’m just gonna tell my son to right my wrongs and then blow my brains out right in front of him leaving him traumatized and completely alone”.

This is Robert:

Like jfc, no wonder Oliver’s so screwed up.

I just don’t get what Tommy sees in LL. I mean, throughout the season they just go on and on about how much Tommy and LL love each other, but I just don’t see anything between them. I mean what did they even have in common besides losing Oliver? I mean the only thing I kind of get about their relationship is LL encouraging Tommy to be a better person. Once again, it’s the idea of LL, but it didn’t really work out that way in execution.

And honestly, you know what the worst part about M*rlance was? Knowing that they only did it to create even more drama between Oliver and LL, but then the fact that the writers ended up dropping L*uriver in favor of Olicity made all that drama pointless. Now obviously I know that the writers didn’t know that L*uriver would be a total bust (though they should’ve) or what Felicity and Olicity would become at the time, but still...hindsight is 20/20 I guess.

Ah Moira, being shady af.

I miss her. I always loved her character and Susanna Thompson is such an amazing actress.

I miss her pretty much for the same reason I miss Tommy: the potential. Both Tommy and Moira never really got to see Oliver become the true hero that he is today. They never got to see Oliver fall in love and have his own family. I feel the same way about Quentin. They could’ve done some great things with him. I always wanted the writers to explore his relationship with Felicity more. They had a great father-daughter kind of relationship in season 2. And especially knowing that Felicity’s father abandoned her and Quentin had lost his daughter, I thought it made so much sense that they sorta would’ve adopted each other as a surrogate family. But no. Instead, the writers went with that BS bs (hehe I did it again). And now Quentin is dead; another great character wasted.

Anyway, that’s all for me about this episode. I hope you enjoyed my ranting and I’ll see you later for episode 2.

#arrow #arrow season 1 #arrow 1x01 #oliver queen #stephen amell #tommy merlyn #thea queen #anti laurel lance #anti merlance #anti lauriver #olicity #felicity smoak #raisa #john diggle #robert queen #moira queen #quentin lance #fandomlife-universe

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sambart93 · 7 years ago

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2017.10.24 Show By Rock (Cross Ambivalence) Review!

I literally had to get this out asap! I stayed up to write this damn thing! xD I saw the very first one when it came out (review here); but I’m not sure we should include it in this new cast/series xD

Official Site here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Video Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4

CAST and CHARACTERS

Shingancrimsonz: Yonehara Kousuke as Crow Teruma as Aion Torigoe Yuuki as Yaiba Naoya Goumoto (Takigawa Eiji) as Rom

Trichronika: Kamakari Kenta as Shuuzo Yutaro as Riku Kihara Rui as Kai

Arcareafact: Itokawa Yojiro as Titan Tanaka Ryosei as Orion Itagaki Rihito as Selen Takikawa Koudai as Argon

Ninjinriot: Tsuji Ryo as Arashi Isaka Ikumi as Oboro Takahashi Kensuke as Rin Akazawa Ryotaro as Kamui

Judas JR: Kubo Yukito, Matsumoto Kento, Abe Daichi, Masumoto Kenichi

Other: KIMERU as Adam Yoshioka Yu as Eve Toba Jun as Jii Kon Takuya as Maple Arisugawa

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: That was so much fun!! It might as well have been a real live! Lots of audience participation, lots of singing, wooing, dancing along etc. It was so. much. fun! I even cried! I cried at one point because it was sad. And I cried another time just because it was so much fun, I didn’t want it to end! It was so good! For me, the MVP was either Yojiro and/or Kensuke xD I’m happy they did a story from the anime. They’ve left it open enough to continue too! I hope we get another stage AND another live! Also I want a CD asap! Rating: 8.5-9/10

Seriously all the stages I’ve seen lately have been amazing! YumeStage, EnStage, (spoiler alert >) Honoo no Mirage, Captain Tsubasa, UtaPuri, now this!!

STORY

The story is about another battle of the bands but, we have the ex-members of Amatelast who are trying to get the band back together and plotting ways of breaking Rom and Shuuzo up from their current bands; with Rom and Shuuzo’s past coming up and both of their groups think they’re going to leave them. We also have a band coming from the future to warn them that everything is bad.

SPOILER REVIEW

Where to start?!??!!? xD

SCENES/COMMENTS

The opening straight away was hilarious because after Trichronika performed, Kai gave Shuuzo some water but Shuuzo/KenKen coughed on his water hard, couldn’t get his line out, and everyone was dying of laughter so he ‘started over’ and take a sip of water again xD Rui’s faced cracked hard when it happened.

There’s a scene where Crow looks and acts trashed out of his head drunk; but he’s just milk-drunk xD it’s so adorable and cute!

There’s a scene with Crow on a bike (he’s doing his part time job), and he ends up banging into Adam twice, and the second time even YoneChan cracked up and laughed his line out.

I was lucky enough to be right next to the break between the front seating area and the back seating area. I got so many good views and closeness from people <3 I was super happy that Naoya and KenKen came in from my side and they were like BAM right there! Also, there’s a scene where KenKen gets carried by Judas Jrs across this aisle area and because I was right next to the exit door for him, he was so slow leaving my eye line <3 and he waved to all of us as he went past too! In fact almost ALL of them walked past at one point because they wall came out in a line when they time traveled back to when Amatelast (Shuuzo, Rom, Adam and Eve) were together. And Akazawa walked so slowly in that outfit of his that he took ages to walk past me xD

Another golden moment thanks to me seat was Teruma headbanging almost AGAINST the girl in front of me - his hair was ALL in her face; she was dying of laughter as was I xD She was super duper happy after he left though - NOT because he left, but she got such direct fanservice. And Torigoe was across from me, leaning over the front area bar to give some girls fanservice too.

There’s a scene where Shingan are in a bar finding out about the Battle of the Bands tournament, but while Rom and Crow are trying to get sense of their manager, Yaiba/Torigoe was pretending to be a cat and was following Teruma’s tail around and Teruma was purposely playing with his tail and putting it in Torigoe’s face. Then Crow ends up with a flower and he uses it on both Teruma and Torigoe who became cats xD I’m pretty sure this is a higawari. Which Naoya/Rom could always perfect stop with his mighty fists and punches xD

OH! One major thing I love about this stage is that EVERYONE’S mics are on so if (for example) 8 characters are on stage, you can hear everything; also they’re pretty much able to play around and do stuff and interact stupidly if it’s not their line or if they’re not a major point to the scene so we saw a lot of hilarious things going on; both planned and unplanned.

Speaking of Rom’s fists! When he punches the teddy version of Manager Maple and then a mini teddy of him drops from the sky xD so funny!

But also speaking of fists and punches; Crow and Rom’s showdown fight broke my heart and it was during such a sad song sung by Teruma, Torigoe and Kimeru too! BUT it was impressive seeing YoneChan have such energy to keep falling almost every time Naoya ‘hit’ him. It was very well choreographed.

Related to Teruma! There’s a part of a song where he has to do screamo and oh my! Teruma’s screamo!!! It was good! His singing is always great but I didn’t know he could do screamo singing too!

OH! And those damn Shingen aprons are back! I was great seeing those again! And when Torigoe and Teruma’s part time ob involved cleaning the Judas Studio and they had to pretend to not be Yaiba and Aion so they could overheard Arcareafact’s conversation. Aion cleaned the floor in front of Argon as if he was playing Curling. And Torigoe put on an old woman’s voice and potted around. At one point Teruma always span around wipping the broom around too which was very funny.

Another funny part is when Kimeru finds Riku late at night but accidentally scares him by shouting, and so Riku runs of stage screaming, BUT Riku’s screaming also caused Kimeru to panic and scream too in return and he sort of ducked where he was. Then Kimeru went backstage to grab a weeping Riku and pulled him back on stage xD

I really love when the Manager actor sings too! There’s two great parrts! The first is when he sings on stage and slowly the rest of Shingan join in except Rom who’s just like ‘wtf are you all doing?’ but eventually Crow drags him to join in xD the other time is when he’s talking to Shuuzo in the aisle and he sings all his lines and also walks off singing. Shuuzo ends the scene by going ‘it seems like someone’s listening to us (meaning the audience xD)’.

I cried so easily and so hard when Shuuzo got to the hospital and was like (to Riku - who had gotten himself into a car accident because he was so miserable and upset about Shuuzo possibly leaving them) ‘YOU IDIOT! I WAS SO WORRIED!’ And then he hugged Riku and Kai like ‘I’ll never leave you two’. Shortly after this moment, we also have Kimeru breaking down which also broke my heart, especially because the scene fades to black with Kimeru just scream-crying his heart out =[ To then have the bands start performing straight after... it took me a good song to calm down and get back to enjoying it. But then I fully enjoyed it! SO MUCH FUN!

You can tell those that have Live/Band experience because they went ALL out and you can hear it in their voices by how well trained their vocals are and how amazing their range it and how they can blast out a song and not get tired: YoneChan, KenKen, Kimeru. Their love of performing just oozes out from them and very obvious to see.

I NEED a second live so I can do and support them!! They were all amazing! All the songs are great!!

I need another LIVE, another STAGE, AND I want a CD released please!!

ACTING

I won’t mention everyone, sorry(!)

Yonehara Kousuke as Crow: YONE IS THE PERFECT CROW! Need I say an more? He has so much DAMN energy and he’s just loud and crazy and does stupid things but also cares so much for his friends; he is EXACTLY as Crow should be. And that tummy, am-I-right?!

Naoya Goumoto (Takigawa Eiji) as Rom: While what happened to Eiji is terrible and unfortunate, I was so happy when Naoya got announced as his replacement. And he did not disappoint; he was enough Naoya as he was Rom <3 Rom is a character both he and Eiji suit very well. And we got to see Naoya WITHOUT a shirt! Like waaah! And he’s well toned too! I was goooogling a lot xD

I assume it’s a higawari but there’s one part when Rom is a salaryman and begging his boss for money and the boss says if he wants the money then he should do a Monomane/Impersonation. A girl in the audience told him to be a bicycle and YoneChan (who was on stage with Kimeru, looking on at Naoya and the boss) pointed to the bicycle on stage like ‘there’s one here!’ . But Naoya did the bicycle and used his tail to make it look like a seat but as he left the room as a bicycle, he blurted out ‘ISN’T THIS THE WRONG SHOW?! (referring to YowaMushi Pedal xD)’. It was hilarious.

Kamakari Kenta as Shuuzo: I love how KenKen just OWNS his mistkes in a way that he pretends they didn’t happen while everyone else is dying of laughter. Before the after event live started, he came on stage and fucked up his own bands name AND the name of the music tournament and he just ignored the fact he made the mistakes, smiled to the audience and continued his lines xD

By the way, Mitsuya Ryo (who played Shuuzo previously) was there tonight; KenKen did sing directly at someone in the audience at once point, so could’ve been him. I have so much respect for Mitsuya; he went to a musical where he was replaced and it’s clearly obvious KenKen is doing the FAR superior performance, yet he is all buddy buddy and smiles with KenKen and it looks genuine. If it had been me, I wouldn’t be going anywhere NEAR stages I get replaced in.

AND I’M SO HAPPY WE GOT TO SEE HIM AS DARK SHUUZO!! I love dark Shuuzo and his outfit was so pretty and sparkly!! *dead*

Yutaro as Riku: His singing has gotten a tad better than Hatsukoi Monster, but he definitely should not be cast in musicals. He’s able to act so he can stay in the stage world but he shouldn’t force his voice vocally so muhc xD BUThe character was so cute and adorable! He was the cutest whenhe was in hospital and had these white pjs on <3 And he was totally cute in the AfterEvent; he was the last one to put his instrument back, and KenKen and Rui waited so patiently for him. When he turned around and saw they were already waiting, he was a little flustered and hurried down to them; so cute! His character in this is very similar to his character in Hatsukoi Monster (review here).

Kihara Rui as Kai: It’s SO weird seeing him so adorable and cute and smiley! The gap between his true self (which I’ve heard is somewhat very straight faced and -__-) and this character is amazing. Also seeing him in Give Up Dance and then in this and seeing the drastic difference even between those characters is amazing! He’s definitely a talented actor and could go a long way. It was totally adorable when Teruma and Torigoe stole his drumsticks xD OH also he does this cool/kakkoi line during his solo song which was so cool yet also laughable xD

Itokawa Yojiro as Titan: Is there anything this mother fucker can’t do? I mentioned in my non-spoiler that he and/or Kensuke are the MVP of this stage for me. His voice is AMAZING! I didn’t expect him to sing SO WELL! But I should’ve because it seems to be part of the Bancho Boys requirements that they can sing (seriously, they can ALL sing from what I’ve heard so far). His voice was so great! He’s definitely his strongest when he’s NOT doing super high notes but still he was soooo good! I want everyone to hear his pretty voice! I’m trying NOT to be his fan because he already has a loyal and big-ish following but damn... he’s a great actor, he’s in a crap ton of popular shows, he can sing, he’s cute, we practically have the same birth, I enjoy everything he does... ugh... someone stop me from falling indeep with yet another actor. Also, his pants looked really good on him.

I really hope the next stage is Arcareafact’s backstory because Titan has a sad but interesting back story that I want to see on stage. Especially if it’s Yojiro! Goddammit boi.

Tsuji Ryo as Arashi: He looked freaking adorable! He was soooo cute!

Isaka Ikumi as Oboro: He looked SUCH cool and interesting. Visually he looked great; I want to see his (and the rest of Ninjinriot) developed more in future!

Takahashi Kensuke as Rin: OMG Kensuke, you know no chill. He was absolutely fabulous in this stage! Surprisingly his boobs become the least interesting part about him very quickly. How he can walk in those heels, constantly up and damn the stairs, with the massive height he already has is IMPRESSIVE. And his skirt was so DAMN short that my eyes were like o_O whenever he was on stage or near me (which he walked past me once and I got a good eyefull of his chest and how flawless his skin is around his arms and back - lucky bugger). With the heels and the skirt, his thighs looked amazing! And then his mannerisms were so feminine and fitted the character so perfectly and he kept in character SO FREAKING WELL! He was so pretty and so beautiful <3 how he suited this character so well is CRAZY! But I just wish he had more lines, more stage time, and actually sang - he didn’t sing at all, just ‘played’ his guitar xD I hope we get to see more of him in future stages/lives.

Akazawa Ryotaro as Kamui: He was so adorable too! But he walked so clunkingly and so slowly in his outfit xD

Judas JR: Were ALL adorable!!

KIMERU as Adam: It’s obvious I’m going to say he was wonderful and perfection in this! Kimeru always is. He KNOWS how to literally put on a show and be entertaining. Kimeru is always fabulous and always the life of the party and you can tell he LOVES performing and singing!

After Event

KenKen is amazing at being awkward but also just brushing it off and being normal xD << I already mentioned this moment above.

The special Trikronika live was so much fun! Especially when KenKen couldn’t even say their name properly and Riku and Kai corrected him about three times but pretend he never said it nor that he didn’t hear them xD

The live was A LOT of fun! They sang INSIDE -- when he said that, even lost their shit for some reason -- tis a good song though.

GOODS

I, and so many other fans, appreciate it so much that they decided to sell Eiji’s stuff too!

And there we have it! I had to get this one out ASAP because I enjoyed it so much!

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larrymullenband-blog · 7 years ago

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U2 in Toronto 06/23/17

aka Elena finally tells you how the concert went!!

You're not surprised, but it was mind-blowing. Transcendent. All that regular U2 stuff. VERY LONG REPORT BELOW.

(All pics by me or my brother. Used with permission. For reference he has the lesser phone camera but I think he did pretty damn well with it considering!)

SO. WHERE TO BEGIN.

The GA line started at four freakin’ thirty, two days before the concert. Thankfully my ticket squad were all down to check in that evening. I was number 87 (like 1987, heyooooo). Our line leaders gave us the option of checking in either the next morning or evening, which was a godsend. We showed up bright and early the day of and got wristbands, then I met Kelseigh @adirondykes which was #blessed. Came back for two, got let in to the stadium for three, sat in a dark rampway til just after four thirty, and then the run of my life.

Months ago my friend and I had chosen our dream spot - between Larry’s “branch” of the Tree Stage and the main, shall we say, frontal lobe of it, where Bono, Edge and Adam are most of the time during the first set. I had been anxious (as I’m sure some of you saw in my posts) for months leading up to the day of about not getting a good spot, and I had tried to lower my hopes. But as luck would have it, our charge led us right into the corner between Tree Stage Laurence and Tree Stage Central. The dream spot. I owe it to my friend who led the charge, bless him. It was super duper unreal. Forever grateful.

The Lumineers were actually awesome. Best opening act for U2 I’ve seen. I had wanted to see OneRepublic or Mumford and Sons instead, both of whom I love, but these guys won me over. They came on to The Chain by Fleetwood Mac (Kelseigh and I went hard) and then played a very strong set. They even froze into tableau in one song which was...really weird? But cool. The whole time I remember thinking “If I’m so moved by this...how goddamn moved am I going to be with my favourite band right in front of my face?!”

There were some very annoying veteran fans behind us who kept talking about how they dislike when U2 play the hits because they’ve seen so many U2 shows (the king of first world problems), and about how the band is winding down. They trashed the shit out of The Lumineers during their set...and also made some muffled comments about how they deserved my friends and I’s spots. Which...no?? I’m sorry people, but having “done your waiting” by being older than my friends and I doesn’t make you entitled to anything. We genuinely love the band. We did our lining up early, and you did not. Suck my diiiiiiiiiiiiiick...

A note on Toronto’s venue: The Skydome (now called the Rogers Centre, but I resist) has a retractable roof. Other artists who play there always have the dome closed, and the dome is usually closed on rainy days, as concert day had been. But every time I’ve seen U2 there the roof has been open, rumoured to be by the band’s special request. The dome was closed when we got in but miraculously, after The Lumineers’ set, it opened to reveal the sunset. Everyone around me had a good cheer and laugh - Bono gets what he wants, dammit! As we watched the GA floor and Red Zone toss a beach ball around, and Dallas, Stuart and Sam get our boys’ instruments ready, my friend smiled and said that every detail of the night so far was perfect.

AND THEN LARRY CAME ON AND HE WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AND EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL IN PERSON!!

He smiled when he came out onto Tree Stage, and waved to someone. Larry? Visibly happy? Wow! That really set the tone for the night. Happy U2 were very happy. It was infectious.

Sidenote, I loved seeing Larry take a lil moment before starting. Holding his sticks in his lap, taking a breath. About to set off a rocket of a show, to send an entire stadium into hysterics, but giving himself this one second to prepare, just for himself.

Back on the topic of Happy U2 Were Very Happy: there was a small mess up in Sunday Bloody Sunday that B+E remedied with a smile and a retry. Seeing such prolific pros mess up a bit and have a laugh about it meant the world to me. Their band dynamic is the strongest and most beautiful thing.

Adam is the cutest and was so damn happy to come over to our side and hear all of us scream for him. He did so very early on in SBS. His smile is the brightest and I love him.

During Bad Bono talked about our lost countryman Leonard Cohen and sang a long, beautiful snippet of one of his songs. Immediately the stadium went up in lights and Bono said “Oh that’s beautiful, thank you.” Pretty sure I saw Edge give Bono a smile and thumbs up for his snippet once the song ended.

Also fun fact: Larry and his drum tech have a secret mic channel through which they talk to each other! Sam stands by the side of the stage and speaks to Lurr into a mic as he drums. And the king of drooms speaks back! T’was cool to watch.

Edge did the solo to Pride right in front of my brother. Pride is my brother’s favourite U2 song and I was so freakin’ happy. When we launched into the “oh oh oh oh” singalong, Edge saw me pumping my fist like hell and gave me a smile. I thought this was a hallucination or something because MY FAVE NOTICED ME but Kelseigh confirms this and I cry. My existence has been validated. This also happened in 2011 so Edge and I have a special connection apparently and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH GAAAAAAAAAH. His smile is the best. I will never be over it.

Their squad poses at the beginning of Streets were the death of me. Seeing them present a proudly united front, I’m just...THEY LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH OKAY!!!!!!!! aaaaaaaaahhhhh

Side 1 of Joshua Tree was a blur. A beautiful blur, and hard to process. Streets was epic, went by like a flash of lightning. Our massive Still Haven’t Found crowd singalong seemed to make happy Bono even happier. I rocked out so hard to Bullet. Bono did them moves on the mic stand and I lost it. The woman on my right and I started singing lyrics to each other, smiling big and getting really into it. We hadn’t talked at all before the show and I only found out her name after! A wonderful unspoken camaraderie. I adored the new version of Red Hill Mining Town. With all of them together in one corner of the stage, Edge and Adam sitting down, it felt very cute and intimate while the song was strong and sweeping. I think it was after that song that Bono turned to Adam and raved, “Great bass! Very lyrical. It takes a real man to be that feminine.” #U2LoveEachOtherSoMuchTour

Before In God’s Country, Bono talked about only getting to know this album now - how friends, countries, and songs can all surprise you even after knowing them for so long. That struck a chord with me somehow, I don’t know quite why. Bono’s anecdotes, even when they’re not the freshest or most poetic, are powerful. He’s such a compelling storyteller by nature, and he just makes you want to listen to him forever. Basically someone you would invite over to read you the phone book.

Bono, as usual at Toronto concerts, kept mentioning how much he loves Canada. He thanked us for taking in the Irish after the potato famine (which was before all of us were born I think, but hey, it’s the thought that counts!). He referenced Canada’s cultural mosaic, which sets us apart from countries with melting pot models of integrating newcomers. As we’re turning 150 in a week (damn) he announced something I’d heard rumoured that day - that he and Edge are going to Ottawa to be part of the celebrations! WOOOOO! He called our country a baby, but an old soul compared to our “adolescent” neighbour to the south. He praised our leaders’ approach to AIDS fighting among other things. The Ultraviolet tribute featured our new foreign minister.

Trip Through Your Wires was so fun live and is now a Gay™ song and no one can tell me otherwise. When Edge went into the solo, dramatically crouched and feeling the music, Bono walked right over into his personal bubble and just stared down at him. Awed. Studying. (...same, man. Same.) Reminded me of that quote about their first practice that I saw on here recently, in which Bono saw Edge magicking the melodies out of his head and basically knew that Edge was his destiny. Of course when Bono turned back to the crowd he gave us the usual “Isn’t this a sexy man?” and everyone went NUTS (yay). And then “Is that the kind of sexy man you want blowing out your birthday candles?” (I swear I heard the slightest pause on “blowing”...but maybe that’s just my dirty mind).

Also. Edge’s voice. It was on point as ever. So. Pretty. FUCK.

One Tree Hill was the first song to bring me to tears. The “stars fall from the sky” line, plus Bono’s opening banter about losing good people arbitrarily and unjustly...the music sounded beautiful, like every album track did, but there was something more to the song that kept me ugly-sobbing.

Bono stole the show with Exit. Seeing him in character for the first time live was so cool. I really envy everyone who was around for Zoo TV. Cause DAMN. Eve comes by it honestly, this man is an actor. I almost didn’t laugh at him repeatedly shoving a camera into his crotch cause it nearly looked more poignant than funny! He paused at the top of the tree stage, bit his thumb and ran a hand through his hair...wow. The bravado, irony and elegance all rolled into one...

(And then he slowly took his coat off and Kelseigh yelled “Take it off! Says the lesbian” and I lost it)

Omaima’s film for Miss Sarajevo/Syria was the second teary moment for me. That shot of her standing, closed eyed and introspective, in the midst of chaos and fear and disorder...some ladies close to me passed me down a tissue and I had that feeling of fan camaraderie once again. I love how U2 choses to speak about things so outright and so beautifully that other artists avoid speaking about. Although I’ll be honest - no idea where to go from here. Issues like these are so massive and it’s hard to know how to start being part of the solution when they’re so complex.

Beautiful Day had me once again jumping so hard I kept banging my elbow on the rail and it hurts to this day. The song soared. The morphing U2 faces on screen were fun to watch and I’m always down for reminders that Edge is an alien being anyway. My only beef was that some of the messages B sent at the end of the song (”When people define their own identity/when women unite and rewrite history as herstory, that’s a beautiful day,”) though I agree with them all, were a little tired. He is so eloquent that it kinda irks me to see him say very simple things about equality and justice that sound rather generic.

Elevation and Vertigo completely kicked my ass. I was still barely recovered from jumping to SBS, Pride, and Streets, but these ones set the whole place on fire. My friend commented later that these were the songs that made him a U2 fan and that he was so glad to have heard them. These are definitely songs that I tend to think would be favoured by us younger fans, and I feared that some curmudgeons who were there mostly for JT would begrudge us our fun, but no one could resist. Yelling “Unos, dos, tres, catorce!” with a whole stadium in the middle of a jumping floor was the best feeling. There was some wonderful power couple Bedgeness at the top of the catwalk during the bridge. And Bono came over to my brother’s rail to tug away his vest and show us the Jesus around his neck and we all swooned. (Also I’m a total sucker for the It’s Only Rock n’ Roll snippet, sue me!)

One sounded perfect. That woman next to me and I emphatically sang “Here us coming, Lord!” together. A true pair of fangirls. It made perfect emotional sense to me as a show closer, and I started to come to terms with my boys leaving us. But Bono had been whispering to Adam and Edge earlier. I had figured that that had been what had spurred the slight rearrangement of the setlist, but as it turned out, Bono grinned big at the end of One and promised us “One more!” We were ECSTATIC. Dallas gave Edge the Gibson Explorer and we launched into I Will Follow, Bono once more hanging off of his mic stand like a lil monkey. We all had more jumping left in us after all! Not as much bouncy Edge as I would have liked, but other than that it was a fantastic end. The band were still completely glowing, seeming to be having as great a time as they had been at the beginning. Not to mention the Bedge cuddle at the end!!! (In this video - in which you can also hear me yelling from like thirty spots away! What a dork.)

Sometime around the last two songs was when something really cool happened. My friend nudged me and called out that my younger brother had received Larry’s setlist!! I freaked out, and told my brother to thank the stagehand who had given it to him. Some fans behind us told us that said stagehand was in fact AJ Rankin, Bono’s cousin!! I was completely stunned and my friends laughed very hard at my The Scream-esque reaction. This was my brother’s second U2 concert compared to my fourth, and I had been so excited to bring him back into the world of U2 concerts after having shared our first one together. Not only that, but he had been feeling low self-confident and kinda sad only hours before, and not only did he adore the concert, but he got his own special keepsake. What a total blessing.

So essentially, that was the highlight of my year. Nothing can top that. Super sad that it’s over but so incredibly grateful for it. As usual after U2 shows, I’m feeling kind of in limbo right now. How can I live normally after that?! What do I do with myself without the night of my life to look forward to? How do I keep the memories alive? Still looking for the answers, but I feel a renewed commitment to life now, which is weird but welcome. I want to do things that would make my boys happy. Getting to share in their happiness was the best feeling I’ve had in a very long time.

Big shoutout to @adirondykes and her friend for meeting me and sharing this experience with me and generally being awesome; to all of the friends I met in GA, from the girl with the same shirt as me to the biggest Larry fan of them all to my wonderful singalong partner; and to you Tumble people! To @u2canhappentoanyone and @bonos-grindcore-sideproject for the GA advice and to @dismantlinganatomicbomb and @secret-blog-of-secrets for your lovely comments on my posts the day of, and everyone else on here for making me so happy to be in love this band every day. Big hugs to all of you, and long live the greatest band in the world.

(also if you’re reading this congrats for reading an entire book lol you’re great)

#u2 #u2thejoshuatree2017 #u2 toronto #tjt toronto #my concert #bono #the edge #adam clayton #larry mullen jr #mine

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mirika · 8 years ago

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This weekend I’ve been to my third Dutch Comic Con and it was once again a success. As usual I’m making a post covering both days, but anyone who follows my personal blog may have already seen the details below.

I am tagging this post so that people might be able to find photos of their own cosplay, or have made photos of me: please pop me a message! I can send full size photos out as well!

I was Mimi from Digimon, just like at Rotterdam Comic Con. I also added URLs to all my previous con experiences at the bottom.

Day one!

Travel aside, my first thing to do was visit Sean Maguire’s Q&A session. You know, freaking Robin Hood from Once Upon A Time! He answered a few questions he could answer, a few he couldn’t answer, and of course he was requested to sing.

Thank you Sean, ‘bear necessities’ has been stuck in my head during the entirety of that Saturday. The worst is that I did not have the original English version repeating itself in my head, but the terrible Dutch version. That was, of course, not the one he sung. Would have blown my mind away though!

It was a fun Q&A, but I had to leave my friend alone because she is still at S05E05 of Once Upon A Time, so as any Once fan knows, there are some heaaavy spoilers by now. After the Q&A my friend and I met up and went shopping, until I had to leave her alone again for the photo booth session.

The line took 30 minutes and I was shaking as soon as I saw less than 10 people in front of me in the line, and after I left the photo booth I was still shaking, except that I had now obtained a photo and was super happy with it. Sadly a photo only leaves option for small talk, such as Sean just asking me how I was doing and I returning the same question (and thanking him)... but that did allow me to not feel nervous about focusing on conversation. Also, that was some smooth leather he was wearing, haha.

The result of the photo was this.

Sadly the digital download costs an extra 8,50 euros on top of the 30 I paid for this photo (most actors ask this price). I am actually freaking amazed I wasn’t blushing like crazy, since as I already said I was shaking of being nervous. I had not met an actor before, you know.

Oh, whilst waiting in line for that photo, a friend of mine also found me and gifted me a key chain he found at a stand. I will post about that later. It is worth mentioning.

After the photo, my friend whom I went to DCC with and I went shopping again and made photos with cosplays. These are usually the two key activities at comic cons: shopping and taking photos.

I couldn’t find the Regina cosplay I saw post on Facebook, nor ANY of the World of Warcraft cosplays, but I did find a Hook cosplay! Sadly only a blurry photo.

I should have double checked the photos. I liked seeing Once cosplay (I saw few more through Facebook), I am sure it was because Sean came over. As for Sean, he also said it wasn’t the first time for him in The Netherlands, but considering the last time was like 18 years ago... yeah, doesn’t count. Sorry, I got distracted by the whole ‘I saw Sean!’ thing.

I also found Joel and Ellie!!!!!!

I love that they even thought of accessories and whatsoever. Joel carries a pipe, he’s got a backpack that you don’t see in the photo and Ellie’s holding the nail bomb. I really liked seeing this pair. I accidentally also carry an image in which Ellie was blinking, oops!

Lastly for Saturday’s cosplay photos, I took a photo with Ladybug.

This must’ve been one of the many Ladybug cosplayers from last year, when I was dressed as Ladybug too. For some reason she seems really familiar to me! I love to see that people still dress up as Miraculous Ladybug characters. It appears there was a Chat Noir somewhere too, but I missed it.

And that is it for Saturday, which brings me to merch.

So the gift I got from my friend was the Ladybug key chain below, since we’re on that subject. The gift that I got while waiting in line for Sean. I photographed it with another key chain.

My friend found the Ladybug key chain at a stand that I could not find myself after visiting all the stands. He said there were more I believe, and I really want to see the others, and I wanted to see if there was a Chat Noir one as well so I could use them together. Maybe next time, or maybe I stumble upon it online. I was so happy to get it though, I am sure he noticed how happy a silly little thing like that could make me smile like an idiot.

The key chain on the right is Sylvanas, which will be my first self-bought World of Warcraft merchandise now, hehe. I did consider buying a Murloc plush, but I realized ‘why the heck would I’ considering I don’t understand the whole joke around Murlocs. I’ve seen the music video, and I still don’t understand the joke. But that is me getting sidetracked.

As for the Ladybug one, I do have to show you what it looks like when you flip it, because it’s freaking clever.

Marinette and Tiki! Ahhh. I love double printed key chains. The Sylvanas one is not double printed, but I really wanted to purchase it anyway and it was the first item I purchased at DCC.

I even feared I would not find any other merchandise there at all, but then... the Funko’s appeared...

Lara Croft was the first I found. I had not seen it before other than the email I received about new Funko releases. I also was surprised to see that there were Pets Funko’s! These have been on my birthday wishlist since their release announcement, so I am happy I was able to add them to my collection.

I also found Once Upon A Time Funko’s, which means my Once collection is almost complete.

Belle and Zelena! I was actually super afraid of purchasing Belle as I was not sure whether I had her already, but thank goodness I kept track of my birthday wish list well: when I got home I saw I did not have her yet! Phew!

I must admit it felt wrong to purchase Zelena the same day I’ve stood side-by-side with Sean though, but I had to complete my collection. So now all I need is Regina with the fireball... until they release new Funko’s again. I actually heard this weekend that Rumplestiltskin is going to leave the Funko production and I am extremely surprised by this. Either he didn’t sell well, or he is going to become one of those rare expensive Funko’s. Hmmm.

I also saw the floofy bunnies again like the one I purchased in Rotterdam. The dark blue one and the deep purple one were trying to seduce me, but I resisted. I have yet to see if the floofs purchased from some Chinese website are the same ones, cause that’d be cheaper.

I did make a photo of the floofs.

The deep purple and dark blue ones were at a different stand, so these are not on the photo. The purple in this image is not the one I meant. My friend bought a gray one if I recall correctly. I too own a gray one, although I felt like it had some blue to it. My current headcanon is that these floofs could cause world peace if everyone owned one.

That’ll be it for Saturday, now off to Sunday.

Day two!

Upon entering the building I already saw someone I wanted to take a photo with - a cosplay of Alice Madness Returns, but not the usual common outfit or hysteria look (which are amazing as well, but I like variation).

It’s the dollhouse outfit and she even brought a large hobby horse! I loooove her skirt.

Other than that I also found a World of Warcraft cosplayer. It’s Tyrande.

Last year I would not have recognized a single (World of) Warcraft cosplay, haha. I started playing less than a year ago and I love seeing these people now. I also know I missed a Lich King cosplayer Saturday, but nothing I can do about it.

The next cosplay has a funny story, but was probably more amusing on the spot rather than written out here.

I was combing my friend’s wig after she finished applying make-up. She could not really see what it looked like from behind, so we stood in front of the mirror where she applied her make-up, and suddenly I gasp... and oh, I gasped LOUDLY.

What I saw in the mirror was a Fire Emblem Fates cosplay walk into the bathroom. It was Kaden, whom I refer to as ‘Vossenjongen’ (’fox boy’) ever since I started playing, and I gasped cause I never expected to find a Fates cosplay.

However, I was gasping whilst combing my friend’s wig, right? So the first thing she thought was ‘MY WIG’, fearing that I might have ruined her wig entirely, cause quite frankly why else would I gasp so loud all of a sudden. This Kaden cosplay and her friend (whose name is also Laura) were also afraid it had to do with the wig if I recall correctly, but I quickly pointed out it was because of Kaden (I believe the cosplayer’s name was Brenda, sorry if I am wrong - she’d be the first cosplayer whose name I actually remember so that is amazing enough).

So this what could have been terror ended up fun. I’ll show the photo now.

Kaden’s even got a tail and everything, I love it!

So that was the Kaden story, and how I almost made my friend’s chest implode of shock.

Back on the Alice Madness Returns rollercoaster (or the first game that I did not play), I found another cosplayer. This time it wasn’t Alice at all! It’s the Queen of Hearts, and look at her amazing hands that are creeping up on my shoulder!

I do hope I assumed correctly she’s from that game, but I find it very unlikely that she’s another character from some other media that happens to look so much like the Queen of Hearts, haha.

Lastly I found some Zootropolis Zootopia gems and some photo bombers.

Saw them wandering and knew what I had to do: run after them and take a photo. We look very colourful together, don’t we? Even the photo bombers splash in well. I fear I don’t know who they represent though, so I will call them Purple Person and Mr Pink. Apologies if I should have recognized what they are from.

That’s basically it for cosplay. There was an artist who had drawn herself in a Mimi cosplay though. That was really fun to see! She had a really nice art style. Downside was that she was selling buttons and posters, which are two things I don’t really invest in. I never know what to do with buttons; if she had charms or key chains like the two I purchased Saturday, that would have been perfect (she had a really nice Ladybug and Chat Noir button).

We also tried to find Sean again, but he wasn’t in his seat. He said Saturday during his Q&A it was okay to walk up to him for a hug and I figured I might as well do that, but when I saw a note saying ‘autograph 30 euros, selfies 15 euros’, I was afraid of waiting for him without any purchase at all. I just wanted to ask for a hug and ask him how his stay in The Netherlands has been, but for me it didn’t feel like it would be enough to stand in line for. Too bad, though.

Of course by the end of the event I did not find all the awesome cosplay I’ve seen on Facebook, but I am happy with the photos I took. I just can’t help but think ‘man, I wish I had seen them.’ Oh geez, I just remembered there was a Dirk Gently cosplay wandering around as well...

There was even a cosplay of a Dutch politician apparently, I laughed my freaking ass off when I saw this on Facebook. The name of the politician is ‘Jesse Klaver’ from the politician party ‘GroenLinks.’ This dude was always on TV it always seemed, and I am saying that as someone who is hardly invested in politics. Every time I saw my parents watch debates, I felt like he was always there.

I did bump into a friend whom I did not expect to be there at all on Sunday. Apparently he came to DCC, because you could play the new Fire Emblem game there. He is really excited about it, so that’s good news for the Fire Emblem fans out there. He posted about it on Reddit (he said something about AMA but I only just learnt what AMA means). Considering I don’t know his Reddit username, I can’t redirect anyone to it.

I did not buy merchandise on Sunday, but I did buy food. The salmon onigiri was gone before I could take a photo, but I did take a photo of these:

I never liked Pocky (don’t like the flavour of the sticks), but I figured I would give tiramisu flavour a chance. It appeared to be pretty good. Not sure if I’d really buy it again, but when offered to me I wouldn’t decline it.

As for the Pop Tarts, holy cow! Root Beer flavour? I have never thought this would exist! As a European (or at least as a Dutch person) I don’t exactly get in touch with Root Beer in the first place, nor with Pop Tarts... so this was a great find! They taste good as well. So far the red velvet Pop Tarts are my favourite. Ah, red velvet, also not that common here in my country. It’s trying to make a breakthrough though, as I seem to find red velvet themed things more often.

That summarizes another Comic Con. This time Dutch Comic Con. I had great fun.

Dutch Comic Con will always prove to be the best comic con in my country. I also figured that by now I might want to link to all my previous Comic Con experiences, mostly for myself.

DCC 2017 - Mimi (Digimon) RCC 2017 - Mimi (Digimon) ACC 2016 - Hook (Once Upon A Time) DCC 2016 - Ladybug (Miraculous Ladybug) DCC 2015 - Sunday - Hobbit (Lord of the Rings) DCC 2015 - Saturday - Ellie (The Last of Us)

I have been to Elfia in 2015, but I cannot find this post. I was Donna Noble and I actually had a really bad day, which is why I have never returned to Elfia.

#DCC #DCC 2017 #DCC2017 #Dutch Comic Con #mirikalj #mirika

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ratherhavetheblues · 8 years ago

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MICHAEL MANN’S PUBLIC ENEMIES “What do you want?”/ “Everything, right now!”

The many films of Michael Mann seem to be all of a piece in exuberantly delivering that cinematic Midas Touch of “action adventure.” Hardly a subscriber to settling differences with quiet and surgically elegant precision, there is about his shootouts, in a film like our present concern, Public Enemies (2009), World- War emphaticness.

You could leave Public Enemies at that, and go on to sprinkle biographical, political, ethical and cinematographical appreciations. Or, you could allow the overt but tangled delivery of poetics to bring about a lifetime of delicious toil. In the opening passage where bank robber and gangster, John Dillinger, is introduced to an Indiana penitentiary, that world of ignored drama is alive and well. We might have known that something special was up, when being drawn into the delivery of the prisoner-protagonist from a long-distance perspective such that the tiny vehicle and its complement (one handcuffed and one not handcuffed) could be likened to a visit to the Bonneville (speedway) Salt Flats. Coming closer to the pair, we—who were not only moving upon a lunar surface but sky having more to do with an astronomical observatory than a neighbor of the Gary steel mills—see them approaching the entrance, which could have been constructed by Charlemagne in the 8th century. This mix of the past and the future carries far more perceptual weight than the subsequent (not this again?) jail-break, prepped by the new-con’s contingent of long-termers but requiring that functional violence about which the man of the hour (accompanied by a fake, one-man police detail) excels. That prompt exit of figures easily overtaking normal activity involves a reprise of the uncanny, unearthly surround, before the interior of the getaway car hits us with almost full-scale schemers congratulating themselves. Johnny greets the powers-that-be in that dungeon with the rebel yell, “I’m John Dillinger. My friends call me John. But a son of a bitch like you better call me Mr. Dillinger.” That trash-talk is soon undergoing an antithesis whereby our leader, shown in close-up within the cramped confines of the Model-T, evinces that the road ahead will be a tortuous test. He clasps by the hand a seriously wounded partner sprawled on the running board.; and as the latter dies his face shows not simply the loss of a pal but the loss of coherence within his cogent mission. Prying loose the death grip, he watches the body impact the dusty terrain, with its bedrock in the mix, and feels a distinct absence of the lyricism by which he has navigated for a long time, his 9-year hermitage at that pen being an excellent place for an exceptional spirit to deal with intentional conundrums. (To emphasize how fluent he is with crisis, there is a second passenger flying off that iron-age car, someone within the gang who behaved badly during the escape. Johnny slugs him and then throws him out. We are struck by our protagonist’s effort to regain the savoir faire of the earlier part of the day.) A rally of sorts occurs for him on the dirt farm road where a sanctuary has been engendered. The spare, dark, earthy grassland brings about a calm we must not forget in the ragged hours ahead. (An a capella, Eastern European men’s chorus adds crisis in the form of straining for a disinterestedness which can’t be manhandled.) Nor should we lose sight of the young woman being the lynchpin of the advent of the safe-house on the pragmatic grounds of which the escape succeeds. As Johnny heads for the car to get underway with his perhaps overthought-approach to other people’s money, that sombre but still beautiful factor, precipitating a camera angle showing a firmament, calls to him. And in a whispery voice corroded with harsh disappointment—disappointment that the promise of a long-term life out on that piercingly-true backwater (or elsewhere) turned out to be a cruel ruse—she makes scant verbal sense but towering physical impact notwithstanding. Johnny may be officially an ex-con but our filmic momentum is about to disclose that he’s pretty much all con, especially conning himself. (During his 9 years behind bars, he seems to have mastered a rhetorical sub-genre of preachy fondness about the meek, in the course of happily crippling the rich.) “OK, Doll, I’m sorry,” is the simplism he offers, while getting down to his real register in the car: “Let’s go to Chicago… make some money!” (Somewhat more convincing humanitarianism surfaces during the breaking out of the pen. He forcefully orders an inmate to stop beating a guard; and he’s, momentarily, at least, dismayed that another struggle ended in a low wage-earner’s death.)

In a preamble to a fairly recent absorption of Jarmusch’s Dead Man, I stressed that, though actor, Johnny Depp, is front and center, the film itself is not about him as a media amusement. Here I should amend that dismissal by noting that though Public Enemies is not essentially a Johnny Depp profit centre, no other actor could have contributed more in the role of Johnny to this film’s effectiveness than he. We have, in such contents, appreciated Mann’s sagacity in finding and putting into play in his “crime dramas,” meditative ambitions he shares with the filmmaker, Jean-Pierre Melville, who died in 1973 but is alive and well, courtesy of Mann. With Johnny doing Johnny, however—which of course rains down upon our current focus the satin and thought-provoking frisson of Melville regular, Alain Delon (particularly his role of the chic criminal in Le Samourai [1967]; but, excitingly, also his role of the joyless handsome detective in Un Flic [1972]—there is another precedent invoked, namely, Dead Man (1995). The latter film would have fascinated the crime specialist in its spotlighting the odyssey of an unprepared contrarian (an effete accountant, in fact) becoming a surreal dare-devil under the auspices of a fairly bright aboriginal. The essence of that odyssey has, by 2009, been given a revamp whereby the capacity for a difficult and dangerous circulation within a virtually hopeless world history has migrated from guarded hostility and furtive gratification to the magnification of the currents of sensibility at the root of whatever stories may transpire. Wherever the day-to-day Johnny Depp may live, he is a master of putting forward the night and day shadings of the ways of intent. (The former rock star referred to John Dillinger as a proto rock and roller.) The first Dead Man had his Indian companion and professor, Nobody, egging him on to go for broke. The second (soon to be) Dead Man, Johnny, soon meets up with another (half-) Indian, Billie Freshette, whose informal PhD was all about tempering the self-destructive baggage (the music of Billie Holiday very active in this film) of a social outsider to live long enough to make a difference (the adamant anti-white hatred of Nobody having relocated in the form of Johnny’s vendetta against the rich).

The plural factor in the title, Public Enemies, does indeed emphasize that Johnny and Billie mean business in a comprehensive sense. But their rocky road is not the only threat in sight. A measure of the rigor of Mann’s disclosure in this film is the high prominence given to those opposing Johnny’s way of making money. Forming up to add backbone to the minions of law and order hitherto being no match for the likes of Johnny’s extreme motivation, there is a flank of modern criminology (the year being 1933) sold on applying analytical, systematic attention. The fledgling FBI fixes upon an elite sharpshooter and upwardly mobile corporate player, Melvin Purvis, to put out of business our mystical protagonist. And in doing so it poses the irony that the uptick of rational advantage in the cause of justice dovetails with a hard- to-discern form of public malignancy which Johnny and Billie sense very well; but perhaps not well enough. Purvis, who could be characterized as a joyless handsome detective (a younger Johnny Depp) does spearhead Johnny’s demise, and we learn in a pointed epilogue that soon after that he leaves the law-enforcement field and commits suicide some time later.

Let’s commence with the heart of the currents of these crimes by way of muted shooting star, Purvis, picking off predator, Pretty Boy Floyd, along a row within a sunny apple orchard at an antiseptic distance of a quarter of a mile. Purvis’ up-to-the-minute killing machine and his well-honed craftsmanship in operating it constitute an early stage of a seemingly sterling reign of wiping out low-skilled n’er-do-wells. (In another deployment of the Johnny Depp catchment, the actor, Christian Bale [11 years’ Depp’s’ junior] who downs one Pretty Boy, musters a low-wattage version of Depp’s patented spooky-Surrealist pretty boy, in order to facilitate reflection about the protagonist’s new repertoire.)

Though a bit paunchy, Depp’s degree of charisma is still effective. The first robbery shown takes place in a beautiful art deco bank with black and white chessboard tiles, giving it the air of the early Melville heist-movie taking place in the Deauville Casino, namely, Bob le Flambeur (1956)—Bob being also a bit too old to cut a figure as the latest craze. The cruel threat to the bank president, at the well-designed Chicago interior, “You’ll be a dead hero or a live coward,” is too preoccupied with bullying to be a modern force of disinterestedness. And it serves as an excellent introduction to the film’s most compelling figure. The actress, Marion Cotillard, who had, in 2007 won an Oscar for portraying French musical icon, Edith Piaf, would be more than a pretty face in becoming a Billie-Holiday-tough mainstay (of sorts) in Johnny’s running off the rails. Mann needed precisely a thoroughbred to maintain the possibility of live (though perhaps dead-end) hero in a district of matinee-idol disappointments. The way Billie quietly towers over Johnny constitutes the heart of the drama being nearly buried by bathetic (and yet dynamically present) melodrama. She can read him like a well-worn book and still join his death march. Far from a swooning fun-seeker, she clearly regards herself as his equal (and more) where it counts; and therefore the wild romance is more a learning curve than a curvaceous dream or soppy song. (The several visitations by Ms Holiday [in contrast to a white-bread rendition of “Bye-bye Blackbird” at the nightclub] plying the tonality of their passion into a deep, dark future with no domestic bliss in the offing.)

The ups and downs of being sensitive predators will not detain us very long, Public Enemies being a unique, not a run-of-the-mill, errant nail biter. A night out with the gang in the wake of its knocking over the posh bank involves a bit of strategy with a savvy adviser. There is Johnny refusing to go into kidnapping (“Public don’t like kidnapping…”)—in a situation which the man with smarts describes as, “Robbin’ banks is getting’ tougher;” moving on to a fat target which could net more than a million. The idea-man moots leaving the country after that, but the diplomat-patriot flatly maintains, “No plans…”; this elicits, “Well, you ought to. What we’re doing won’t last forever;” Johnny argues, “We ain’t thinkin’ about tomorrow!” This logic fleshes itself out in Billie’s coming into his view at that same nightclub, a vision of easy-going self-confidence with a smile miles from his grim vigor. He soon tells her at a restaurant later that night, “Where I’m going is a whole lot better than where I’ve been. Want to come along?” She laughs and tells him, “Boy, you’re in a hurry!” Though she’s well aware she’s looking at a crash-test dummy, his approval of her beautiful presence and his wanting to keep it close-by comes through as sincere. Moreover, in her accounting for her name, Billie Freshette, being about a French father and a native Indian mother, she is impressed by his thinking for himself (for better or worse). “Most men don’t like that…”/ “I ain’t most men.” At a posh restaurant on leaving the rather saccharine music at the bar, that topic of the subversion of fat cats gets some development. ‘What is it you do?” she defines. “I’m John Dillinger. I rob banks…” is his welcome to a firm where she’ll never be more than a temp. Her face in close-up registers a trace of disappointment. And then she beams out a rich smile and rich laugh redolent of the minefield which life presents to her interests. (Don’t for a moment compare this emotional volcano to Romeo and Juliette.) He proceeds with the instinct of diplomacy: [I rob banks] “where all the [unworthy] people here put their money…” But she’s far more taken by his suicidal exposure than any of the vapid apologias he might contrive. “Why’d you tell me that?” she asks, with a smile of incredulity. “You could have made up a story” [like anyone preferring not to go to an early grave]. Too sincere to rock (at the bar she tries to teach him how to dance the two-step; he doesn’t enjoy it), he samples some salt-of-the-earth literature: “I’m not gonna lie to you…” She punctures that dime-store sentiment with a cheery, “That’s a curious thing to say to a girl you just met” [recalling the girl he suckered on the raw prairie whom he just met and lacking Billie’s appetite for the intrinsic solitude of life as it is]. Having seen him in a corporate spotlight at the watering hole, she notes that, “Well, it’s me they’re looking at this time. They’re looking at me because they’re not used to having a girl in their restaurant in a 3-dollar dress.” After some more disparagement by him regarding the boring and annoying status quo, she wants to know how he intends to kick ass in the bind she’s well aware of—her cracking the Big Town being stalled in a job as a coat-check nobody. Where are you going?” His answer would be far from cogent for a sensibility lighting up those beautiful and knowing eyes. “Anywhere I want!” On their heading out, he’s interrupted by another of those information-men Chicago was full of in that boom time for outlaws and bust time for those playing by the rules. He tells her, “Go wait for me outside.” Of course, she doesn’t wait, being hardly a candidate for his pet. When he does track her down at the coat check another day, he tempers his typical hard justice for underlings with, “Repeat after me: ‘I’m never gonna run out on you again.’ Say the word.” The word of course is “No,” she not giving a fig for his big and patently unsupported dreams.

However, after watching him childishly saving face by beating up a patron impatient for his coat, and asking, along lines of probing his sanity, “Why’d you do that?” she listens closely to his reply, “‘Cause you’re with me now” [as on the same page]. Her way of settling the dead-end was to state the obvious, “I don’t know nothing about you” [except you’re in for a disappointment, a disappointment that could still have momentum]. He, with characteristically sophist cleverness, cites that his daddy would beat him up as a toddler “because he didn’t know no better way to raise me…” Johnny links that disadvantage to his progressing to fast cars, whisky and women…” Her agreeing to walk away from a steady job in the midst of the Depression does not reach full stature until the scene, later that night, in a pricey hotel room, as they’re making love, and she lines up her early life on an Indian reservation—destitution and child abuse lightly mooted—with his days of hard knocks and chaos. Sure, he’s also provided a dazzling fur coat that was supposed to be her reward for being OK being pushed around. But Billie (Billie Holiday in the air in that shadowy bedroom), by way of skeptical patience, has, far from falling in love, seen fit to take a flyer on his crazy (as yet nebulous) notoriety and do something about her shabby strivings to date. “I had a lot of Indian friends. Nothing exciting happened.” She asks him, again, about his vision of sufficiency—the FBI-build-up including Purvis’ tribute to his boss, G. Edgar Hoover, as a “visionary”—and receives the same busy signal. “Everything, right now!”

Purvis’ dogged information mantra (his body language registering “nothing exciting,” and therewith we have the deadened cop and the hopped-up hood in Melville’s Un Flic [1972]) converts the discovery of Johnny’s overcoat, left at a happy hunting ground, to tracking his latest refuge in Florida. Billie lolls in the tub there (a Venus-in-waiting), the crazy crime-wave still an unaudited platform festering in her designs upon a world-history that will never have a comeuppance. Her enigmatic and chivalrous but intrinsically stupid partner prepares to join her in the tropical paradise of their bathroom (vaguely resembling the mishap of Marat/Sade) and he’s interrupted by a rifle butt in the face by a science-supplement Swat Team.

Thus proceeds the noisy death-rattle of Johnny the John’s death throes in the key of devil-may care, who lacks Billie’s daring to watch and listen for signs of life on Planet Earth. The moment just cited could be seen as her commencement of beholding a (lost) soulmate whereby there are familiar ties to keep playing and a new solitude to master. Her first day of the new term is aptly awkward and dismissive. Rushing out of the half-shell to do what she can to lessen her mate’s distress, she yells, “Johnny! Johnny!” A cop tells her, “Put some clothes on, Miss…” Though Johnny keeps his clothes on, his remaining days merely confirm that “Everything, [truly] right now” requires important craft, light dancing, which eludes him. The old-timey melodrama of putting Johnny’s incoherent enterprise out of business rips and roars as befits a clever, balsy and connected desperado. He had, somewhat fittingly, used as a trademark the tag, “Never work with someone who’s desperate.” But, in showing off to the media contingent on being brought back to the Upper Mid-West, he emits discomposure worse than Billie’s being eclipsed by the stolid preservers of the peace. “I had to go 10 years in State Pen for a $50 theft. At prison, though, I met a lot of good fellows… [his sermon on incarceration teaching harmless lads to be hardened criminals]. So I helped set up the break at Michigan City… Why not? I stick with my pals and my pals stick with me…” The Bauhaus-inspired plane which had brought him back to lousy weather diminishes him, as do the optics of him huddled in handcuffs, surrounded by larger police and circus atmosphere recording-apparatus—the subsequent bluster with his folk following being a jaunty but pathetic bid for recovery of a confidence based on childish hubris. The eventual jail-break. the FBI elites on his and his pals’ tails, the squeaker of a getaway from Purvis and the coup de grace after enjoying a gangster movie spilling over with crude bravado he had found to be as close to integrity as he could tolerate have to be fielded as pertaining to the remarkableness of Billie’s, not his, energies. (Purvis’ zeroing in on Johnny’s whereabouts by way of threatening deportation to a Madam-friend of the fugitive, is essentially a discharge of the nausea driving Billie and, to a lesser extent, Johnny, to the fringes of normal gratifications.)

The real drama of those actions pertains, of course, to Billie. Just before the crash in the bathroom, she had, at a race-track in Florida with him, provided by the casino/bank, been stung by another hood waggishly referring to her flakey associate as becoming known as “Dead or Dead.” Billie glances at Johnny, and the latter, with a tightened face to match hers, snaps at her, “What?” She levels, “Thank you for taking me on the trip… Don’t play me for a fool. We both know it ends up, one way or another… You don’t think past today or tomorrow. They will catch you or kill you. I don’t wanna be here when that happens…” He rattles off his standard rabble-rouser, “I’m gonna die an old man in your arms. We’re too good for them. They aren’t tough enough, smart enough or fast enough!” Her face is a mixture of hopelessness and gratitude; and in the wake of that sign of his being not tough enough, not smart enough and not fast enough, she brings an ardent embrace. After the jail break, she meets up with him by disguising herself as a man (tough, smart and fast being more her role); and on the edge of a frozen lake she smiles when he promises to take her dancing in Rio after a big haul in the works. She goes along with the fantasy for its filigrees of the doability she already knows will be part of her solo ordeal. She’s in the process of fetching for him the keys of a safe-haven in Chicago, but Purvis’ methods have bugged the helper, she is jailed, beaten for information and, refusing to crack, she sends a letter (with the lawyer/partisan who had facilitated the jailbreak) to the Dead or Dead Man telling him not to try to smash his way in and out—Michigan-City style—and that after the two years behind bars she’ll see him, somehow. Not at all surprised by the prompt end of his era, she receives a visit by the special agent who killed him and heard his dying words, “Tell Billie for me, “Bye-bye, Blackbird,” (a Billie Holiday dirge they knew). Mawkishly self-dramatizing to the end though he was and though she sees it clearly, her presence on hearing this is care for the true moments and a tiny smile for what’s ahead.

One of the shootouts in his floundering days takes place at Little Bohemia Lodge, Wisconsin. Perfect for him, Somewhat off the mark for her.

#michael mann

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