#they’re both main characters that deal with difficult shit both individually and together

[girl4music]

WAVERLY: “Even though you were in the thrall of a powerful, super-evil demon and her unearthly baked goods, you said…”

NICOLE: “I said… that you are the only luscious, funny, hot as hell baby that I need. And she got super pissed and threw me into the dresser and that’s when the ring fell.”

WAVERLY: “And it burned her?”

NICOLE: “Yeah. Then she got even more pissed and tossed me into the closet. Ironically.”

WAVERLY: “Ugh.”

NICOLE: “Hey, she’s gone now. That’s what’s important, right?”

WAVERLY: “Right. But the ring coming back to you was…”

NICOLE: “Yeah, kind of creepy boomerang vibe.”

WAVERLY: “Mm. But it kept you safe from her. I’m sorry. Sometimes things are so completely nuts. And you, you… Well, you seem okay. And sane. Safe. So I forget to give you the completely-nuts update.”

NICOLE: “Yeah. How about you just… update me later, okay?”

You’re all nuts. So you all need to keep each other in the know-how of the nuttiest updates. Stop hiding things from each other. It’s never a good thing. Even when it’s out of love or the need to protect each other.

Be transparent. You’re all warriors. Proven many many many times. You can handle the pain of the truth. So always give each other the cold hard truth. No matter how much it hurts - because when you have each other, the hurt can be comforted and the wounds made from it can heal. That’s what it means to love.

[davidmann95]

Velvet's battle is a great choice, though I'll always have a special place in my heart for the fight against the Grimm Deathstalker and the Nevermore in Episode 8. That said, what do you think of the individual members of Team RWBY?

I decided to wait on this until I caught up on the series thus far, which I just finished doing the night before last in pretty much the only time in my life I’ve ever really properly binged anything other than comics, and…wow. I knew RWBY was a thing just as a matter of course from being on this site and Youtube, and from watching Death Battle, so I picked up some major beats by osmosis. But my main impression was that it was a charming pseudo-anime online thing of decent quality that unsurprisingly got heavier as it went along as such things tend to do, with extremely rad fights and music along the way; figured it’d be more than serviceable to watch while I was on the treadmill as a disposable distraction from the agony of propelling my wheezing, sweating, loathsome meat-scaffolding forward.

I did *not* expect it to eventually end up after growing pains a - while far from flawless - intensely engrossing story of all-consuming personal and generational pain and people who choose to love and do the right thing in defiance of that trauma and loss and hopelessness, where also occasionally a corgi gets fastball specialed at mechas. Though once it became clear that’s what it is, it pretty clearly sat at an intersection of a hell of a lot of my favorite things, especially when characters copped in-universe in both the main series and spinoff material that this is basically a superhero thing. My initial impressions re: the fights and music were on-point though.

I actually have quite a few thoughts on pretty much all the protagonists of note at this point (other than I suppose Oscar and Maria. Like them both though, and I do hope that nice boy’s brain somehow doesn’t dissolve into the blender of Ozpin’s subconscious), but I’ll just stick with the core four here as requested for now unless someone asks otherwise. Weiss is the simplest to get at the core of, I’d say: her arc is learning that fuck rich people, actually. She’s a seriously difficult character to get onboard for at first - especially if you’re watching those first episodes for the first time in 2019 - as the mean unconsciously racist rich girl who learns to be less mean and racist but still kinda mean. But after you’ve extensively seen the hideously toxic environment she grew up in, and fully understand her efforts to grow past the empty values it inculcated in her in favor of everything she was raised to think of herself as above, she becomes a hell of a figure to root for. Assuming RWBY is gonna go, say, a respectable 10 seasons given it was just renewed through 9, I could easily see the upcoming 7th be the climax of her arc with her return to Atlas and likely further reckoning with the consequences of her families’ actions beyond how they’ve hurt her personally.

Yang is also, in a certain abstract narrative sense, simple, in that she’s built around the very oldest trick in the book for characters whose main deal is ‘can punch better than absolutely anyone’: give them problems that cannot be solved by punching. Except in her case it’s less a material “well, this person is invulnerable to punching!” or “well, actually this other person can punch most best of all” issue blocking her path than “punching cannot solve depression, abandonment issues, questioning whether what she considers her purpose in life is one she’s truly pursuing for noble reasons or if she even has the resolve for it anymore after what’s happened to her, or PTSD”. Yet, while it may not be the kind that manifests in the form of punching people with a smirk and a bad pun anymore (much as she still definitely does that all the time) what ultimately drives her and defines her is still her strength: to move forward, to forgive, to let go, to do the right thing in spite of the risks. Which could easily come off as some unpleasant “you just have to get over your moping!�� dismissal - there’s a bit with her dad that means it saddles riiiiight up to the edge of that - but there’s a weight to how her traumas remain a consistent factor in her life and have shaped her outlook even as her circumstances and day-to-day disposition improve that makes it feel thematically like it’s coming from a place of acknowledgment and endurance rather than denial, even if it’s not handled perfectly. Great to see her apparently recapturing some more of her joie de vivre based on the trailer for Volume 7, and how that’ll interact with how she’s grown should be interesting.

Blake is…tough, because you fundamentally cannot talk about Blake without getting into the Faunus, which is maybe the biggest aspect of RWBY that leaves it in the realm of Problematic Fave. It really, really wants to have something substantial to say about the proper response to racism, and every now and then it pumps out a “capitalism greases the wheels of systemic oppression and vice-versa” or “it’s perfectly reasonable for the oppressed to seek to fight back directly against their oppressors, and even the pacifist in the room can recognize that’s a defensible approach that deserves its place”. But then Abusive Boyfriend Magneto literally murders nuance in Vol. 5 episode 2, and it descends into some borderline “but what about black on black violence” respectability politics shit. It’s the classic X-Men setup - this persecuted race of often superpowered folks torn between pacifism and efforts to prove themselves to their oppressors, and those who think they should rise up and annihilate the flatscans - with most of the same pitfalls, but also we haven’t had over 50 years to get used to that just being how it works here, and it doesn’t have the excuse of having to expand as best it can on a metaphor that was originally devised before most of the people currently handling it were born. All of which would be rough enough, but given I watched this right as Jonathan Hickman’s been completely refining the entire X-Men paradigm outside that outdated binary, it especially grates. I’d love to be directed to any solid counterarguments - I’ve heard it might actually be an analogue, and a well-done one, for The Troubles, which I am one million percent unqualified to evaluate - especially since apparently one of the writers grew up in a mixed-race household, and at the end of the day I’m a white guy who may well be talking completely out his ass. But it sure comes off at a glance as some well-intentioned dudes stumbling through stuff that’s not their business, and that’s inextricable from Blake’s character when so much of her story is her navigating through that metaphor. Hopefully with new writers coming onboard this is something that can be navigated more insightfully in the future.

On a purely personal basis however, Blake’s a standout in terms of relatability when her story comes down to a pretty universal shared horror: how to climb back from having fucked up. She tried really hard to do the right thing, was taken advantage of and led into doing things she eventually realized were wrong, was so shaken that she couldn’t tell who to trust, and then the situation spiraled out of control on every possible front just as things finally seemed to be stabilizing. The way a single mistake - enabled and exacerbated by an abusive past relationship in her case - expands into a self-loathing far beyond the bounds of anything she could possibly be responsible for is brutal and completely understandable, and seeing her start put her self-esteem back together with the help of those closest to her and the power of her original convictions is arguably the single strongest, most clearly conveyed individual character arc in the series. I’m very curious where it goes from here: Adam’s finish represents a logical climax and the setup for a happily-ever-after with Yang (or Sun if they end up going that way after all) for her to coast through the remainder of the series on, but the way emotional consequences have played out in the series thus far I doubt her demons are going to be put to bed that simply.

Finally there’s Ruby, and I am contractually obligated to note up front: she is clearly not a Superman analogue. There is precisely zero percent chance that she was conceived as such or was ever deliberately executed in such a way that mirroring him was kept in mind. Though she IS a super-powered idealist raised in the middle of nowhere with a significant deceased parent who wears a red cape, flies, gives inspiring rallying speeches, has black-ish but primary color-tinted hair, and has a mysterious birthright that involves being able to shoot lasers from her eyes, plus she has a dog who also essentially has superpowers, plus she tells someone they’re stronger than they think they are, plus Yang basically quotes a bit from Kingdom Come regarding her in Rest and Resolutions. But it probably goes a ways in explaining why she works so well for me.

There’s more to it than that of course, though it does bring up the closest way in which she relates to the superhero paradigm: she doesn’t go through an arc in quite the same way as the others, instead being an already solidly-defined character who is simply illustrated by how she interacts with the people and situations around her. She learns and grows and matures, but her most basic motivations and goals and outlook haven’t really changed since the day she enrolled at Beacon. She’s a good, caring person, a leader archetype who still has more than enough personality to spare to keep from falling into the genericism that can often plague that role. A big part of the key I believe is that she’s the audience surrogate in a profound way beyond the obvious touchstones of her frequent awkwardness and self-doubt: the reason she does this is because she was inspired by stories. She’s a fan, ultimately, but one who learned all the right lessons, whether recognizing from day one the way reality falls short of the tales she was raised on but still believing in the ideals they represent, or openly holding up Qrow as a role model while being willing to call him on his shit when push comes to shove. It’s a romantic, hopeful perspective that stands out sharply from even our other heroes even as it mirrors their struggles, but as of yet there’s little to suggest it comes from a place of naivete so much as a belief that it’s the only way to bear the pain of the world and continue to believe in it. Bit by bit it’s clear she’s heading for a breaking point, but all signs point to that being a matter of her ability to withstand what she’s been through, rather than any doubt that it’s necessary, and should that time come she’s inspired plenty who’ll be able to help her back onto her feet the way she has for so many others. So while I understand her speeches apparently grate on some, as far as I’m concerned keep them coming, they’re the beating caring heart of the series and often the sole respite in the eye in the storm.

[unohanadaydreams]

hi, i was wondering if you could do headcanons for the royal guard, please?? they're so incredible as your blog!

I’m honestly so disappointed that we never got much info involving them, so ofc I will! (Also I know there are novels and such that include info on the Soul King, but my only point of reference is the manga considering CFYW hasn’t been translated officially yet, so if I’m way off then I’m way off!)

Royal Guard:

Their main goal is to keep the Soul King incomplete and to keep what is left of the royal family imprisoned. There were some characters who foreshadowed this as being sort of the case but since the arc was cut really short and was being pulled in weird directions to satisfy the publishing powers that be, we may never know for sure (But, two Sternritter members comment on the Soul King being both the enemy of shinigami and being a disgrace in his PRESENT state. Also the parts of the Soul King like his arm were DUNKING on Gotei 13 members). This implies that the Soul King was either betrayed by the Shinigami, captured by them, or made some deal with them in order to protect something (he could see the future so). This also implies that if there IS royal family left in the palace, they’re being held prisoner. I’m guessing worst case scenario they were fine with Aizen replacing the Soul King even though RG members showed adamant vitriol towards him, so who knows? Maybe they knew Aizen wasn’t powerful enough to stop them. Either way, Yhwach scared the shit out of them and my guesses are it being because he KNOWS the history behind everything and he knows what the RG and Gotei 13 want not to happen.

Their security is TIGHT. Aizen, one of the most prolific of the Gotei 13, and most beloved, was never approached by the RG and I’m taking that as a sign that they knew enough about him, but didn’t really care enough to say anything. The RG seems really detached from worrying about SS in general, but I think part of that is because to do anything else would mean they would need to loosen their security. As is, the entrances and exits into the palace are one way, difficult to pull off, or you take the stairs (that are not always there) and that takes a minimum of days. I also base this off of the fact that Mayuri Kurotsuchi seemed like he was on good terms (for him lmao) with Senjumaru Shutara more so than any of the other captains (who acted like they hadn’t seen any of the RG in a long time) and I think Mayuri/Shinigami Research and Development Institute help by reporting more directly to the RG than to even the Gotei 13. (I also think Shutara helped make Nemu but that’s a whole other thing).

Personally, I think the RG probably vacations in the human world a lot (not all together, of course) and view their position as a kind of retirement, except with the crushing burden of everyone’s lives hanging on their shoulders should someone start messing with the status quo of the Soul King as a slight stressor. None of them have squads to command and I’m sure their paperwork is minimal or doesn’t exist. The atmosphere of the RG also seemed really relaxed, which leads me to believe they’re up there partying a LOT in between honing their individual crafts. They probably pay up a good amount to Shutara and Mayuri for all the good gossip and place bets on how things pan out, since their information network (based off the comments they all made about what had happened in the Gotei 13) seems really good.

They absolutely get into nasty fights about who the next RG should be. They’re all former members of the Gotei 13 or former free shinigami who still have ties to the SS, so I’m sure they all have their biases as long as the people they want are clean (aka not fucking Aizen) and I can imagine they have some REALLY drawn out dirty prank wars, except the pranks are like an axe to the face if you aren’t quick enough to dodge when you stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I imagine this devolves into a somber night of drinking where they all talk about the people they left behind, but in a way where they can all pretend they aren’t being vulnerable with each other (ie pretending to fight about whos loved ones are superior), because in the SS you’re a fake bitch or you die.

[anxious-acushla]

Fanfic asks, please. H, S, T, X and Y (sorry I tried to cut it down but am feeling curious!)

Why would you EVER apologize to me for being your usual wonderful self? How dare you! 

Thank you for the questions, queenie! ♡♡♡

H: How would you describe your style?

We talked about this today actually! Very Irish...ie. why use 1 word when you can use 813474912065? Verbose. Flowery. I’m a girl who is mostly indifferent to standard poetry (ie. I can respect it but never had a fondness for writing it myself) but love to make my writing poetic? Or, at least, I try...

S: Any fandom tropes you can’t resist?

This feels like the same question as ‘guilty pleasure in fic?’. Hmmm. Not really sure if it’s a trope but I love using Ned Dayne as a foil to Gendry. More broadly, nearly all of my OTPs are based on two wildly different individuals (often from different socio-economic classes) who usually start as friends and usually even that’s frowned upon and then they fall in love despite the world really not wanting them together. Pretty much all of my OTPs fit that standard. Not really a trope persay but *shrugs*

T: Any fandom tropes you can’t stand?

Answered!

X: A character you enjoy making suffer.

People would probably say I like making Jon suffer...but I don’t. I really don’t like making *any* characters suffer. I’d like to think I give my characters exactly what they can handle. I write what’s real. I’m not some fiction-sadist. I guess you could say I do like putting Arya and Gendry in difficult situations because they’re both so extremely resilient and I like the idea of them overcoming things together.

Y: A character you want to protect.

Any of my mains, aka each half of my chosen OTP. They’re usually always dealing with adversity and even though I put them in these situations I wish I could protect them from the world and just let them be happy and fluffy like they deserve...but that wouldn’t be much fun to read and they all have shit the need to work through so here we are :)

In relation to CFDD, I actually stick up for (or at least play devil’s advocate) when it comes to Jon. I didn’t intend for everyone to hate him as much as they do...though I certainly see why. But Jon’s got trauma of his own and trauma causes people to react to things in ways that would seem nonsensical to most. Not at all defending his ridiculousness, but I do love Jon and want him to be happy just like I believe that’s what he wants for the people he loves. Ironically, Jon often things he is the one doing the protecting...

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

the writers of the show seem to think veronica can't be a strong woman if she has a romantic relationship lol Rob Thomas said: “It’s just hard to imagine a detective show with a 35-year-old woman with a boyfriend. I just don’t want to write that (..) But I feel like for this show to work as a detective show, it has to be with Veronica as a single woman."

Ugh, I hate comments like that. Rob, there's this newfangled notion going around, you might've heard about it, where women are having both families and careers now. It's this kind of backwards feminism I can't stand. Obviously we don't want women to be living in the dark ages where rearing children was their only identity and the only significance they were allowed to have in society but at the same time, women in this day and age shouldn't be looked down upon for wanting their status as an individual along with romance and family. They're all things that some women desire and we should be allowed to desire those things. I think of myself as a strong independent woman, but at the same time I also do want romance and all that other sappy shit as well. And I hate when society throws shade on that idea that I can't have both because I can and it doesn't make me an affront to feminism for wanting those things.

And seeing Veronica tackling both her marriage and her detective work, how does that not make for a good story? Adding on to the fact that Logan is in the military so missions and deployments just add an even further interesting aspect to the story, plus it's a convenient means to write him out for a few episodes if you can't figure out what to do with him for a few episodes.

And Hollywood just has this really strange idea that once a couple gets together, they become boring and difficult to write for. That's only if you're a crappy writer. One of my favorite OTPs is Chandler and Monica from Friends. They got together in the second half of the show and they stayed together for the rest of the show's remaining duration. And I never thought of their relationship as boring. In fact, they were my favorite ship on the show. I loved seeing them tackling their relationship woes in just this very healthy respectable manner, it was awesome and for teenage me, it was eye opening to see such an amazing relationship so I would look at them and would think, "that's the relationship I want one day". Meanwhile, I was giving Ross and Rachel the side eye and saying, "you two should just give up, you're clearly not meant for each other."

There's another interview out there with Rob where he says he killed off Logan because he wanted to shake off the teenage soap opera feeling from the show. And first off, if you want to shake off the teenage feel, maybe not have Veronica still act like she's a snarky 17-year-old when she's in her 30s, just a thought there. But also, just because you want to shake off the teenage feel doesn't mean you need to kill off a ship to do it. Just explore the relationship in a different way. Killing the ship isn't edgy and honestly, it's a very cheap move that really shows how creatively bankrupt a writer is, it's even worse that it seems like Logan's death was more of an afterthought on the writing end to begin with. But there are so many things that could still have been explored in an adult relationship like this. Like for instance, the LoVe ship started because Logan and Veronica were these two very tragic and traumatized individuals who wanted to be with someone who was as messed up as they were. But now that they're older, start having them explore who they are as a couple past what initially brought them together. Have them help eachother work through their individual traumas...really showcase that it was their trauma that brought them together, but who they are behind the trauma is why they work so well together and want to be together. Too often, Hollywood makes the mistake of a character's trauma being the sole basis for their personality so the writer can never truly get the character to work through the trauma because once the trauma is dealt with, they don't really have a character after that (hello, Dean Winchester). So they just keep their character in this perpetual sense of trauma and never have them grow from it. And I think that's what was happening with Veronica in season 4. The writers were just not comfortable with showing character growth in Veronica because they were unsure of who she is behind the trauma. I know who she is behind the trauma, Veronica's awesome behind the trauma so I don't know what the writers had to worry about with that. But that's just an opinion of how I think things went down in the writer's room.

But also, I just think Rob has something against Logan (maybe even something against Jason Dohring). I saw this GIF set a couple of days ago where Jason was answering an interview question about what his last moments were like on set. Were there any tearful good-byes or anything? And Jason says that there was basically no one there on the day he wrapped his final scene. Which is really weird. Because typically on TV shows, doing "final wrap-up and final calls" is a really big deal, particularly if it's a long-running franchise and definitely if you're a part of the main cast.

So yeah, Rob doesn't know anything about what his audience might've wanted. He wrote to the story he wanted, not necessarily the story the audience wanted and that seems to be a big thing that's happening lately. Shows have been ending on a really disappointing note because the writers aren't writing for an audience, they're writing for themselves. And writing for yourself isn't a bad thing, in fact I encourage writers to write for themselves first and foremost...but at the same time, you also have to think about how how your writing will affect the audience. It's fine to write something that might sadden your audience and make them cry (everyone needs a good tear-jerker from time to time) but it's also important not to spit on the face of your audience as well. Especially an audience as dedicated as the Veronica Mars fanbase. I mean, how old is this show? Like 10-20 years old or something like that? I think this show ended in the early to mid 2000s, and this fanbase has been doing petition after petition after fan-funded movie for a Veronica Mars revival...and this is what the writers give to that fanbase?

[serafxn-a]

(( Hey guys. Mun here. I know, I know, I’ve been relatively quiet lately. For... a while now. I should probably give a life update. A bit more of a comprehensive one.

After a simultaneously wild and dull 10 years of my life beginning with university, which included a lot of online and a little offline drama, the end of a 7 year relationship that I’m still kind of reeling over several months onward, and a whole lot of paranoia and health problems both mental and physical... My life situation IRL took a drastic turn and almost brought my online presence to a screeching halt. Around May-June of this year, I moved back in with my parents, got a job at a major UK toy store chain, and have no longer been able to sustain my wild-ass 10am-5am living due to changes in schedule and having major responsibility for the first time in my life. One such responsibility being not keeping my parents awake til fuck knows in the morning, ahaha. And, y’know, actually getting decent sleep before work... (something I’m failing a little at right now,,,)

I’ve got mixed feelings about it, but overall... it’s actually been a pretty positive experience. Being definitively useful, wanted and moreover needed does a lot for one’s self-esteem. Knowing I’m good enough at doing something that people will take my advice, and that I will get called into work for more hours instead of having my hours cut, is kind of a good buzz, even if it’s taken a lot of getting used to and been stressful for my RP life. Not having any friends IRL sucks hard when I can’t talk to my online ones as much but... I’m trying to deal as best I can.

But right now, let’s forget all that. It’s time for me to be sappy, because it’s late at night, I’m sick, and it’s almost Thanksgiving. ))

(( Now, I know I’m not American, so when it comes to Thanksgiving, I don’t go there. I might have humoured a “turkey” dinner of my own for a couple of years just so I wouldn’t be left out. Which I guess might be kinda sad but I prefer to think of it as an act of sentimentality.

And, what can I say? I’m a very sentimental person.

That sentimentality is what leads me to make this post. There’s so many important people I’ve met that I’m grateful for. I’d like to talk about some of them, because I don’t think I should be particularly shy about this. I might not get all of them, because I’m kinda scatterbrained (and at least as of making alterations to this part of the post mid-way through typing it it’s 11:30 and I have to get up at 8).

First off: if you’re in the Sunny Day Café server? You fucking rock! Even if you don’t talk too much in there, your continued support of my first real attempt to run a relatively public RP server is really appreciated. In particular on this front I’d like to thank Rose (blogs: @kxndncss​ @grxxnheart​ @hopxlcss​), Shad (blog: @flapsinhands​) and Ozi (blog: @magicbyhalves​) for helping me with moderating the place. I’ll be the first to admit that my moderation skills are a bit... well, 👋. I’m often not a good judge of situations, and find it difficult to trust my own judgements. It’s something I’m having to learn. So the help is really important to me.

Of course, these three (who I will dedicate more time to in this post later for sure) have also been really helpful with plot stuff. There’s a particular group of people who’ve been helpful with plot stuff, actually, aside from these three, and I’d like to mention them too.

Let’s start with Ziz! (blogs: @unseenbutnotgone​ @seenbutgone​ @unheardanduncaring​ @distastefulblossom​ @setebcs​)

My memory is trash, but I think Ziz and I started talking over Wings wanting to get to know Fin back when he was Sleazy? Because he was getting involved with his son, and of course a good dad would want to make sure his son is in good company. He wasn’t, but Fin grew from that, and I’m thankful for that too, but also I’m thankful for what happened when Fin ended up applying this relearned kindness when Wings’ son was forcibly fused with a corrupt fragment of his.

And then it all went really gay from there, and now they’re married and have spread the gay even further. It’s not even over yet, there’s so much potential for Reset and Fin still and I’m eager to explore it and fit them into this intricate new world that I’ve never really touched on in RP before. And to write with someone as caring, empathetic, funny and smart as Ziz? I’m really honoured. They’re really inspiring to me and I adore RPing with them. They put so much work into their muses, visually and historically and meaningfully and I just... 💋👌 Mwah. Ziz as a writer, and an artist, and as a person too - I look up to them so damn much.

And I definitely cannot mention inspiring people without coming to talk about Rose. She and Ziz were ultimately the reason I started to invest so much in my Gasters, they’ve provided constant encouragement with my writing, I’ve been able to bounce ideas off of them not just for my stories but for theirs too. They’ve been emotionally supportive and emotionally constructive too, which is honestly fantastic. I know I’m someone who has a lot of growing to do. I appreciate that there’s people who’ll stick by me while I’m doing it and help me along.

Rose is such a pleasure to write with. Her prose is utterly gorgeous to read, it feels like seeing the individual threads coming together in a tapestry. Her talent for finding mood music is fantastic and something I honestly aspire to, because mood music for writing or setting a scene is so so important. Her characters are always really well researched and have so much depth to them, and it’s really great seeing her influences because damn she has good taste too. And what’s more, I honestly do look up to Rose, because while her life experiences may not be perfect she’s accomplished a lot of things I would love to accomplish myself. She’s really inspiring to me.

While these are the two folks I talk to most, particularly about RP stuff, there’s a whole gang of bastards I’m thankful for... I’ll have to bullet point these guys because there’s a good few blogs associated with them and I want to try and include all the active/main ones?

Rav - @imbreaking-sans​ @imdespondent-sans​ @mraudio-the-audacious​

Bets - @fellythealphaskeleton​ @xa-eviterx​

Situ - @shadowbirdsitu​ @sourtrout​

Del - @skellie-bean​ @pocketpunk666

Collectively these are people I know I can come to when I need help with things, RP or otherwise, people I can vent to, people I can share experiences with, and people I can laugh with and listen to and just generally hang around and be myself with. Which is kind of really important, especially when I don’t entirely feel like I can be myself IRL still.

Rav honestly has such a good way with words, both when it comes to people and when it comes to prose, and seems wise way beyond her years at times. Her level-headedness has sometimes been a little intimidating to me, but possibly because it’d been a rare quality in people I’d known prior, and something I’m often lacking in myself. I look up to pretty much everyone for different reasons, or sometimes similar ones. Rav is one of these people I look up to, in part because of this level-headedness. (And also because holy shit she’s dealt with so much and still come out on top!!) She’s a lot of fun to write with and a very trustworthy person I’m honoured to call a friend.

I think, if my memory serves me right, when I was really starting to talk to this group as a group - not as it is now, but as it had been, with a few different people there or not there - it was Bets I’d first encountered. And, well, I didn’t make the best first impression, I don’t think... but I like to think it got way better afterwards. Bets is honestly a really fun and wild character whilst simultaneously having that level-headedness I really admire in people? And like, she has wack plotlines (I’m looking at all the Felly stuff especially with fuckin BIRDSCAPE), but it’s so much fun to see them unfold and be a part of them! I consider her one of the comic masters of the group alongside Ziz, and though their styles are fairly different I have a high respect for both of them. And what’s more, I’ve always found Bets super easy to approach, which is invaluable to me as someone who is very shy and unsure of themselves.

While I say Bets was one of the first people in this group that I encountered, but as the group stands now it was actually Situ. Prickly and Fin had this thing going between them that grew into joke-flirting that became actual flirting, because when you do something like that it’s almost certainly going to stop being a joke if you keep doing it. If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for it’s slow burn and these two delivered so wonderfully. Situ has always been super friendly, super eager and super full of enthusiasm! And while I regretfully haven’t always been able to match that, I have always had fun RPing with her. I love her art, her muse designs, and - honestly this might seem out of left field one day could you gimme a hand with my hair? Yours always looks so good!! ... Er, that aside, you’re another really approachable person who I appreciate a lot. (I also admire your muse dedication like holy shit how many blogs do I have now)

I absolutely have to open with the Del paragraph by stating she is fucking hilarious. There’s a reason she’s using the Jevil icon on Discord at the moment; she’s definitely our Joker. I’m legally obligated to state she’s full of beans (it’s funny because the beans are her muses), and I respect her so much for sticking with child muses and RPing them so well when it must be really damn difficult at times. There’s a lot of challenges that come with child muses for sure. Del is also a great listener, an enthusiastic plotter, and an incredibly sweet person. Fun fact: she sent me a plush jackalope a while back and he’s sat by my bedside ever since, receiving cuddles when I needed them most! Another fun fact: she’s usually the person who initiates the “hewwo??” in voice calls. Chaotic alignment as hell.

I’ve talked a lot about a particular group of friends but they aren’t really the only people I interact with... and while the people I interact with regularly has dwindled a little, there’s two people not in this specific group who are still super important to me, who I mentioned earlier, actually.

I’ll mention Shad first - blog linked further up - as someone who I’m really glad I grew closer to? We’d shared a few friend groups but it took a bit for us to really start interacting, and I’m so glad we did. She has a fucking killer sense of humour and it bleeds into her RPing in the best way. Being involved in her plots in any way is freaking awesome, and she’s been super great about getting involved in mine in a way that’s really fleshed them out and given them direction and form. Not to mention she was one of the reasons I got back into Guild Wars 2 and we have such a good time playing together and talking.

I think at least for now the last person and absofuckinlutely not least I’ll talk about is Ozi... whose friendship with me long pre-dates my current blogs, as we started RPing together in the League of Legends community. She’s a really positive influence in my life, and I’m honestly really grateful that she’s stuck by me through our changes in fandom. Seeing her grow and improve as an artist has been an absolute pleasure, and her writing has always delighted me. The development turns she takes are fantastic and really well thought out, and that she can work with so little and make so much is inspiring as all hell. (I’m mostly talking about the amount of work she managed to put into fleshing out Thresh back when we were in the LoL fandom but damn she’s doing such a good job with Shantae in this regard too?? Thresh was just a lot more... bare-bones. Ba dum tsch.)

It’s about now that I’ve run out of steam and it’s past my bed time but I would like to say that this list is by no means exhaustive. There’s a lot of people who have put me on the path I’m on today, some who I may not talk to as much, some I talk to more, some who I don’t talk to anymore at all. Maybe they left my life on a good note, maybe on a bad. But each and every person we meet leaves some kind of mark, however big, however small.

I’m grateful for all the people who’ve not only left kind marks on me, but stayed, too. ))

[a-lily-briscoe]

CTM CS 2017 Thoughts (aka me getting on my soapbox for a lil bit about all things plot- and character-development-related, regarding all storylines, relationships, and sexualities)

Hi loves -

I know there are lots of opinions on the Christmas Special floating around the wonderful world of tumblr, and I respect all of them, and I’d like to add mine to the mix. They are quite long, as you’ll probably notice. Feel free to agree, disagree, or ignore them completely!

First off, my general impression: it was a lovely episode, but with a little less substance than usual. I think they tried to do too much in one ep, and I didn’t feel as connected to the individual storylines of Linda and Mabel - however heartbreaking and impactful they may have been at certain parts. Also, we’ve seen the Christmas-pageant-gone-to-ruins-and-miraculously-resurrected plot one too many times, I believe, and though the final part of the episode was fun, I felt there was a missed opportunity to do something a little different.

Regarding Linda’s story, I thought Vanessa Kirby did a fantastic job displaying the rollercoaster of emotions that that birth involved - both before and after the baby was born. I’m really excited to see what’s in store for Val this season - as we still haven’t learned what her secret is (my guess is she might have had an abortion or a baby out of wedlock that she had to give up, but that’s just wild speculation), and I think Vanessa will do wonderfully well with whatever Heidi gives her. The actress playing Linda was also brilliant, and I had a huge lump in my throat during the whole stillbirth process. I absolutely lost it when the baby started crying in Val’s bag. It was well done for the most part, but as I mentioned before, it was a little difficult to get as invested in Linda’s character because the episode seemed so all over the place in terms of focusing on the recurring characters’ personal lives and rescuing the ill-fated Christmas fête. 

Mabel’s plot also somewhat fell victim to this phenomenon, and I wasn’t particularly convinced that Sister J’s handling of the situation was the right thing. Let me preface this by saying that, thankfully, I have never experienced physical or emotional abuse, and I have never been in a situation of support for someone who has, so I am no authority on how to be the best source of support to someone who has suffered something like Mabel and Anthea did. That being said, I found Sister J’s treatment of Anthea to be less than helpful, in that she pushed her to face the demons of her past with such immediacy in an already emotional time. While the reunion of mother and daughter was one that I was glad to see happen, it seemed like Sister J tried to push it on Anthea too soon, and her last remark about Anthea’s family seemed almost to guilt her into seeing her mother again. I don’t believe Anthea was given enough time to process the death of her father and the emotions that brought up again for her, and I think Sister J could have given her more of that time and not used guilt as a tactic to promote her own idea of what reconciliation looked like. As ever, though, I admire CTM’s willingness not to sugarcoat the horrors of domestic abuse and other all-too-common nightmares that people endure in their daily lives, especially in a culture that has become so inured to the existence and impact of sexual assault - something that is rightfully and courageously being challenged by so many people of all genders, and I hope will continue to be so.

The Turners were just a joy (other than Patrick being a bit of a shit who can’t do much without the women in his life). The kids are growing up beautifully, and watching Shelagh with Teddy was like a dream come true. (Watching Shelagh trying to get that girdle on, on the other hand, was a nightmare, but a raucously hilarious one. Laura Main deserves a BAFTA for those twenty seconds alone.)

As for Babs and Tom, I think they’re lovely together, and I just adored Babs’ little hat. She is such a gem. She spreads sunshine wherever she goes, and she makes a great vicar’s wife. Do I sometimes wish she’d branched out a bit and had some more single adventures? Sure I do. But she and Tom seem happy, and I’ll miss her terribly (if not him - I’ve always found him very blah personality-wise, if somewhat pleasant to look at) during her time away.

Trixie is a lovely Nonnatus stalwart, as always, but I fear Christopher is just another Tom - lovely face, but not much beyond handsomeness and chivalry. Am I happy that the female characters in this show are more nuanced than the male ones? Of course I am; that’s as it should be in a show about female power, strength, and love, and I’ve always considered it a point of pride that this show passes the Bechdel test with flying colors. Still, I wonder what this relationship adds to the series if it’s not an escape route for Helen, should she want to take time off - whether to care for her and Jack’s new adorable baby, or to do other projects. Additionally - and this may be overthinking it - I was a little concerned about how much Trix was talking about her own appearance relative to what she thought Christopher wanted. It called to mind the episode with Cathleen Baker, the gal with varicose veins, and I don’t want Trix to dissolve into self-consciousness like that when she’s always been a woman who’s found her looks a source of confidence and independence rather than the sole sign of her worth. That was just a knee-jerk thing in a couple of scenes, but I was happy she was such a great support for Val - as was Sister MJ (of whom I wish we could have seen a little more).

Phyllis Crane. God bless the woman. She was essential as always, and I loved her fingerless gloves. So comfy and stylin’. My snobby ass thought her cop adversary was a bit too much of a caricature, but I was glad to see she’s heading the rota/appointments - not to mention the Cubs - in as fine a fettle as she ever has. Fred and Reggie made for fantastic helpers (especially Reggie in his fabulous hat). Four for you, Phyllis; you go, Phyllis.

Now for the big one - the issue of the missing characters. I’d like to start with Sister Mary Cynthia, whom I missed dearly. With all the buzz about Emerald and Kate (which I’ll get to later, believe me - if you’ve made it this far, I applaud and thank you for dealing with my ramblings), I wasn’t sure if Bryony would be returning this season or if she’d moved onto other projects. For those who might not know, the BBC offers three-year contracts, so the end of the sixth series provided an opportunity for people to take other gigs if they wished to do so. Whether or not Sister MC will be back in this series, I would have liked to have heard a mention of her progress at Northfield, since Heidi and the other writers - not to mention Bryony herself - did such an incredible job of portraying her mental illness and giving that kind of visibility onscreen last season. I think it is important to give some sort of update on her recovery while recognizing that one never truly recovers from the scars that mental illness leaves, though much healing is possible.

In the same vein, we come to Pats and Deels. My darling, darling lesbians. Though I knew that both Emerald and Kate had moved on to other projects - and bully for them - it still came as a blow not to see them in the CS. As with Sister MC, there was a strange gap (not to mention that we haven’t heard hide nor hare from Chummy in donkey’s years), and I was truly disappointed that there was no mention made of where their characters had gone. However, I do not hold with the idea that CTM is being homophobic or participating in queer-baiting. As a queer woman who began watching this series as an unconsciously questioning high-schooler in 2013 - during series two when there was no whiff of gayness to be had - I recognize the value of this show beyond its representation of queer visibility; yet I also acknowledge that, when that visibility did appear, it was instrumental to my understanding of my own sexuality and my ability to come to terms with and to celebrate it as something beautiful, right, and true - even when people I love in my life may not have done so. (Never mind the fact that Emerald - in combination with Dana Scully - finally hit me over the head re my penchant for redheads with perfect skin, cut-glass cheekbones, and an appreciation for a well-tapered pair of slacks). 

Please take those rambling sentences to mean that, while I adored Pats’ and Deels’ onscreen relationship and will miss it terribly, the show communicates many messages beyond those sent by that relationship. This program offers beautifully told and righteously argued forms of social commentary, and above all, it is an ensemble show. There is no one central character or relationship, and the writers do their best to balance all of the storylines equally - regarding characters’ personal and professional lives. Would I have liked to have seen more than a kiss from Pats and Deels? Of course I would have, because I’m a deviant heathen who loves a little lady-lovin’ where I can get it. However, do I recognize that it was the 60s and that this show’s primary demographic is fairly geriatric, so representation had to be limited to a certain degree? Of course I do. I think both Pats and Deels were wonderful and nuanced characters - both together and apart - and the writers and actresses did a wonderful job in terms of queer visibility onscreen, even if they could have given us a bit more closure on where the characters had moved on to in the CS.

Which brings me to the question of Val as “the new gay one.” Do I think it would be fabulous if Val turned out to be gay? Absolutely I do. Everything is better when it’s gayer (though every form of relationship and sexuality is valid!). However, do I believe she’s a nuanced character in and of herself who provides an opportunity to bring more visibility of underrepresented forms of identity and background to the fore? Absolutely I do. I don’t feel that queer visibility is an obligation, a chore to be carried out and dispensed with once it’s filled its quota, or brought in just to fill a gap. It should be something that arises as organically as possible because it is something natural, something ever-present no matter the time period, and it should be represented in an honest, true, and - when possible - celebratory way. I do not think Val should simply “replace” the queer element in the show for the sake of filling a perceived void. I’m excited to see what happens with her character this season, irrespective of her sexual proclivities. I’m also excited to meet our new midwife, as she might provide a more regular perspective from a woman of color on the show and remind us of even more ways we can learn from our history and take action to ensure its darkest moments find no repetition in the light of today.

Okay - getting off my soapbox now. I had a lot of feelings about this episode, so thank you for listening (if you, by some miracle, made it down to the bottom, for which I adore you). Would love to hear your thoughts about any of this, and looking forward to seeing what pops up in the tag from all of you. Love to everyone, and excited for the rest of the series to come!

[21tailsofwoe]

top 10 ships? ,not just Naruto but in general?

Wow interesting question. I had to wrack my brain to come up with these haha. I wasn’t the most shipping kind of person so most of these ships are pretty straight-forward and simple lol. 

I restricted the list to one-ship-per-series because if not, it would be difficult for me to rank these ships. So here goes (in a very traditional #10 to #1 manner)

10. RONMIONE (Ron Weasley x Hermione Granger from Harry Potter) 

This was my childhood OTP shut up. They’re good in every way and I will not tolerate people tearing Ron down for the sake of their other Hermione ships. Book Ron is a sweetheart and Book Ronmione is god-tier. I love this “basic” ship. It’s cute. It’s wholesome. It’s life.

9. LAWLIGHT (L Lawliet x Light Yagami from Death Note) 

I don’t know why, I just ship them. Like, a lot. Yeah, Light killed L or whatever but still. They’re my first anime ship so they deserved to be on this list.

8. ROYAI (Roy Mustang x Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist) 

Hands down the best shonen couple lol. Two badasses being badass together? Sign me the fuck up. I don’t think I can say much about this couple, they’re just REALLY GOOD. Also, EdWin is adorable.

7. TSUKKIYAMA (Tsukishima Kei x Yamaguchi Tadashi from Haikyuu!!)

I recently finished my rewatch of Haikyuu!! and looking at these two, I was like “I??? Ship them??? A lot???” It must be mostly because I love these two as individual characters and I just really love the dynamic they have, be it very minimal. They’re so supportive of each other. Other than that, all Haikyuu ships are heavenly, especially KageHina. Throw any ship my way and I’d be like ya das some good shit.

6. MONDLER (Chandler Bing x Monica Geller from F.R.I.E.N.D.S) 

What’s not to love about these two? They’re not only lovers, but best friends. They are each other’s support. They have had their share of happy moments and sad moments. And I love how they bring out the best in each other??? Like, goals??? [Another similar couple that comes to my mind is Marshall and Lily from How I Met Your Mother. These two couples are a LOT underrated in their respective shows, especially compared to the disgusting “main�� pairings in these shows.]

5. TODODEKU (Shouto Todoroki x Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia) 

I just recently became a fan of them lol. GOSH I JUST WANT MORE OF THEM FDJADKFHDA. Again, this is a ship I ship because I love these two individually as characters and would LOVE them together. Their match in the tournament seals the deal for me. The way Deku was like “It’s your power!!!” and then Todoroki blasts his fire quirk and smirks while just standing there all epic. And then their battle against Stain. Good shit 11/10

4. YOWZAH (The Doctor x River Song from Doctor Who) 

POWER COUPLE. I can give you no better reason as to why I ship this other than Yowzah being a fun couple. Their story is all messed up when it comes to their timeline, but in this vast, vast universe, they somehow always find their way to each other. They are so happy and out-going. Always chilling around each other, flirting constantly. And their story is so tragic at the same time??? ALSO THE DOCTOR IS GOING TO BE A WOMAN SO WE’RE FINALLY GETTING OUR LESBIAN POWER COUPLE HOLY SHIT.

3. PERALTIAGO (Jake Peralta x Amy Santiago from Brooklyn Nine-Nine) 

I was the happiest person alive when they got together lol. Jake and Amy love each other so much. What they share is so, so beautiful. They have mutual respect for each other, great trust and understanding. I love how their story starts off with them being kinda like arch-rivals, and along the way they recognise how competent the other one is. Their friendship is a great foundation for their relationship. Some of their interactions are hilarious lol. I love them a lot.

and now….*drumroll*

2. NARUSAKU (Naruto Uzumaki x Sakura Haruno from the never-ending ninja manga with an unsatisfying ending) 

Oh, big surprise. What can I say other than the fact that they have the best development throughout the series and love each other so much and that they should’ve been end-game? Sigh. We just can’t have nice things. They sparked the inner romantic in me, and long story short, I owe NaruSaku my life.

1. OKAKURI (Okabe Rintarou x Makise Kurisu from Steins;Gate)

oh god this ship physically hurts. it hurts so much.

Okabe has to go through the worst time in his life, jumping from timeline to timeline, living in different worlds, suffering the same terrible fate over and over again. When it’s just all chaos around him, Kurisu is the one constant for him through and through. No matter what happens, she’s always there for him. Even if she has no memories of the other timelines, she believes in him every time. And then when they finally figure out how to deal with this mess…GAAAAHHHH and now I’ve got to watch Okabe live his miserable life without her in Steins;Gate 0 despite the fact that they got their happy ending in Steins;Gate??? Destroy me. Just destroy me right now.  

Other than that, they’re such a fun couple??? 

Always joking around, having silly arguments, figuring stuff out together, poking fun at each other. They’re both so passionate about science/time travel. Being all blushy blushy around each other, especially with Makise’s Tsundere-ness. And then there’s Daru’s comment about them: “They’re the OTP of the fanfic called my life.” And I’m like, same??? 

Anyway, congratulations if you read this far. These were my top 10 ships. Bye.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #155 - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #429.

Format: Blu-ray

1) Before anything else, I will say this: you never need to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture unless you are a MAJOR fan of the series. Wrath of Khan is a much better first film for the series and just a much better film in general, and the original motion picture has no bearing on the plot of ANY of the sequels that I’m aware of. Spare yourself the boredom.

2) I don’t often talk about how great the opening credits of a film are, but the movement through the stars and James Horner’s grand score creates a rousing score which helps you get in the mood for the space adventure to come.

3) The Kobayashi-Maru.

The opening of the film is great largely because it plays with expectations vs reality. You EXPECT Kirk in the captain’s chair, and while it plays out like a standard scene from “Star Trek” but it ends with everyone dead. And even though it turns out to be a simulation, the image of watching almost all the series regulars die before you prepares you for the darkness to come. It is an incredibly great and memorable opening to a film which can be described as the same.

4) Kirstie Alley as Saavik.

Despite being Vulcan (and, depending on what you consider canon, half-Romulan) Saavik has more in common with Kirk than she does with Spock. She may have the appearance of being a logical and decisive creature, but she is stubborn and proud. And I love her for that. I think Saavik as at her best in this film when played by Alley (she would be replaced in Star Trek III and IV). Alley gives Saavik a unique flavor, making her more than just your typical Vulcan and holding her own with the original cast.

5) The scene where Bones and Kirk “celebrate” his birthday is great.

This is the introduction of Kirk’s key conflict and possibly the best analysis of it the film features.

Kirk: “Galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young, doctor.”

Bones [later]: “This is not about age and you know it.”

Kirk’s conflict here is not about aging, it is about aging INTO something. About being stuck behind a desk and bureaucracy. Of becoming obsolete. Age on it’s own does not result in that, but the choices we make as we age. It is in this film that Kirk will have to determine his future when faced with a threat from the past.

6) Carol Marcus and her son David.

Both Carol and David as individual characters are interesting, but by balancing out each other (with Carol being well reasoned and patient and David being more like Kirk with his stubbornness/rashness) they create an interesting dynamic that entertains in a way beyond their relationship with Kirk.

7) Ricardo Montalbán as Khan Noonien Singh.

Montalbán takes a memorable role from the original series and in this film turns it into not only one of the greatest villains cinema has ever featured but also a career defining performance. Khan is able to be both chillingly collected and show off fear-inducing anger. His intellect, physical strength, and progressing madness/drive is showed off brilliantly by Montalbán. There is a ruthlessness to this character established as soon as we meet him (specifically with his use of brain slugs) that let’s us know, “Oh shit, don’t mess with this guy.” He is totally frightening, with many of his decisions and scenes making your stomach turn. Only open my third (fourth?) viewing of this film did I realize just how long his intro scene is, but it doesn’t feel long. It is perfect, and Montalbán captures your attention for the entire time.

8) Hey that’s...that’s Tony from the Witch Mountain movies!

I would not have noticed that if I didn’t watch the Witch Mountain movies in March for the (Re)Watch.

9) So usually at this point in the (Re)Watch I talk about the writing and performances of the main cast of a film. I find it nearly impossible to do that for Wrath of Khan however as the cast from the original series are such mainstays of cinema and pop culture I’ve no idea what to say. What on earth could I possible say Kirk, Bones, Spock, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu, and Chekov that hasn’t been said before? In my analysis of the 2009 film I probably will, but right now I think I’ll just say they’re great and leave it at that.

10) I love how Kirk is freaking out when Spock lets Saavik pull the Enterprise out of dock.

(GIF originally posted by @readysteadytrek​)

11) I love Saavik and Kirk in the elevator. It speaks not only to how rash she is (which I love on it’s own) but will later show how similar they really are. She doesn’t really believe in a no-win scenario and as we’ll learn later neither does Kirk.

12) I love when Spock hands the ship over to Kirk. There is no bruised ego (as he himself says), there are no hard feelings, it’s not an issue of power or anything. He knows Kirk is the best guy to take the wheel. He trusts Kirk and Kirk trusts Spock back and they can just cut through the bullshit and do what’s best for everyone. I’m a sucker for good friendships like that.

13) Damn, Spock.

Kirk: “I would not presume to debate you.”

Spock: “That would be wise.”

14) There is one scene early-to-mid picture which is recalled HEAVILY later on and I always think it is best when the ending of the movie ties into something at the beginning of the film. You want it to feel like one picture, you don’t want to be sitting at the end going, “Oh right, that part early on was the same movie.” Spock’s speaking of how...

And how he has been and always shall be Kirk’s friend tie together at the end in very heartbreaking ways.

15) I was always impressed with the Genesis visual, keeping in mind this was 1982 and CGI was hardly in its prime.

16) The very first encounter with the ship Khan has taken over - Reliant - before they know it is Khan is incredibly tense and Hitchcockian. Because we as the audience KNOW it’s Khan. Pacing is derived not from faster pacing but from slower pacing. The uneasiness simmers in our bones as Kirk unknowingly wanders into a trap, even though everyone seems to suspect something is up. And it features one of the best quotes in the film:

Khan: “Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish best served cold? It is very cold in space.”

17) And then Khan and Kirk finally encounter one another.

Montalbán and Shatner never share any scenes as Montalbán was making “Fantasy Island” at the time, but that does not undermine just how equally matched these adversaries are. Their very first encounter in particular feels like a chess game. It is not so much a battle of strengths as it is a battle of wits, yet still very interesting. And we as the audience really have no idea who is going to come out on top. Each is able to surprise and throw the other off balance, only to come back and deal another blow. It makes for great conflict. We know Kirk’s disadvantage: Khan is genetically engineered to be better than him. But in this scene we see a weakness of Khan’s which will become greater later on: his ego. He cannot see his own weaknesses and shortcomings. He is hundreds of years old comparatively speaking, so obviously some ways of thinking are foreign to him. But he can’t get past the fact he’s a genetically engineered super being to work on this. I love bad guys with flaws.

18) Oh no! Tony dies!

Preston [Ike Eisenmann’s character, after Kirk arrives]: “Is the word given, admiral?”

Kirk: “The word is given. Warp speed.”

[Preston dies]

Scotty [obviously torn up]: “He stayed at his post when the trainees ran!”

The fact that this death of a character we spent all of thirty seconds with packs such an intense punch speaks greatly to the craft with which this film was made.

19) The scene with Kirk, Bones, and Saavik on the scientist space station feels very Alien and I love it. For just a few minutes we are in a horror film, in an enclosed space where obviously SOMETHING is wrong and some sort of danger lurks. It is pulled off wonderfully well.

20) Part of the tension comes from the fact that we TRUST Chekov. He’s original series cast and he seems to have shaken the alien slug Khan was using on him. Why WOULDN’T we trust Chekov? Making the fact that he and his captain are still controlled later on all the more powerful.

21) This. Freaking. Scene.

This is when both are pushed to their furthest. Khan believes he has killed Kirk only to immediately learn he hasn’t, and Kirk is beyond pissed with Khan for all the death and destruction he has caused. This is where Khan accepts that he has defeated Kirk if only because it has become so difficult to kill him and it is where Kirk hates Khan the most (uttering the film’s famous line, “Khaaaaaan!”). But even through his hate Kirk is trying to play Khan. He is trying to get Khan in the same room with him so he can fight him face to face. But Khan is too smart for that and works against Kirk, leading to that yell. This is one of the best scenes in the film and it is because the conflict plays out so wonderfully.

22) The fact that David is Kirk’s son not only gives Kirk some personal stakes, but it ties into the idea of the choices Kirk must make in life. He is now dealing with two choices which are coming back to haunt him: how he handled Khan and not being a part of his son’s life. And that will directly influence the choices he makes in the future. Because life is too short.

23) This is so indicative of Kirk’s character.

Saavik: “Admiral, may I ask you a question?”

Kirk: “What's on your mind, Lieutenant?”

Saavik: “The Kobayashi Maru, sir.”

Kirk: “Are you asking me if we're playing out that scenario now?”

Saavik: “On the test, sir... will you tell me what you did? I would really like to know.”

Bones: “Lieutenant, you are looking at the only Starfleet cadet who ever beat the no-win scenario.”

Saavik: “How?”

Kirk: “I reprogrammed the simulation so it was possible to rescue the ship.”

Saavik: “What?”

David: “He cheated.”

Kirk: “I changed the conditions of the test; got a commendation for original thinking. I don't like to lose.”

Saavik: “Then you never faced that situation... faced death.”

Kirk: “I don't believe in the no-win scenario.”

24) The climactic chase through the nebula ties into Khan’s biggest weakness: his ego preventing him from admitting his flaws.

Spock: “He’s intelligent but not experienced. His pattern suggest two-dimensional thinking.”

I think this is the past scene to showcase space as a three-dimensional space. Ever watch a space film where characters encounter an asteroid field and think, “Why can’t they just go above or below it?” That’s what this film does. Like the initial Kirk/Khan mental face-off, the time in the nebula greats great tension from slowing down pacing while never being boring. There are surprises, there are twists, and they are on truly equal footing. And Khan, well he’s at his breaking point. How mad must this person be if even his crew - who were established to live and die by his word at the beginning of the film - are questioning his judgment? And what exactly will it lead him to?

That final visual of Khan’s face is also a great presentation of how he is on the inside. He is torn up and burned to a crisp with vengeance, and now he will die that way.

25) Spock’s ultimate fate.

First of all, he KNOWS what he’s about to do. You can see it on his face before he goes to the reactor room to save the ship: he is fully aware that this will lead to his death and it does nothing to change his decision. And even though Khan has died, he has succeeded in his goal to, “keep on hurting,” Kirk from beyond the grave by killing his best friend.

Kirk [trying to get to Spock]: “He’ll die!”

Scotty: “He’s dead already.”

There is this intense feeling of sorrow and helplessness as we watch one of the greatest - if not the greatest - characters to come out of the original series die, tying into the conversation he and Kirk had earlier.

Spock: “The needs of the many...”

Kirk: “Outweigh the needs of the few.”

Spock: “Or the one.”

26) David and Kirk unfortunately don’t get too many moment together, just the two of them. But he did help Kirk through this tough time in his life.

David: “Lieutenant Saavik was right. You never have faced death.”

Kirk: “Not like this.”

David: “You knew enough to tell Saavik that how we face death is at least as important as how we face life.”

Kirk: “Just words.”

David: “But good words. That's where ideas begin. Maybe you should listen to them. I was wrong about you. And I'm sorry.”

Kirk: “Is that what you came here to say?”

David: “Mainly. And also that I'm proud - very proud - to be your son.”

27) But of course, this is a sci-fi movie...

Death is not as permanent as we like to think.

The Wrath of Khan is quite possibly the best film in the entire Star Trek canon. It balances high-stakes action and adventure with the intelligence, philosophy, and thought expected from the series. Ricardo Montalbán is freaking fantastic as Khan, with the rest of the cast delivering standout performances as well. The direction and writing blend together beautifully and it is just an incredibly fun and well done film. If you haven’t seen any Star Trek and you want to, Wrath of Khan is a very good film to start on.

[lotrewrite]

As a comment on the general theme of the moral greyness/quandary of time travel and changing time I think at this stage since we have all the episodes now and can see what has progressed in terms of conversations/themes, we need to be careful about repetition (I mean this for all of us writers, and the people who volunteered to beta). I’ve seen in crop up in a few episodes, so I’ll think we’ll all have to be careful about over-discussion of this and other topics.

Also, a note to all writers, at some point are we dealing with/acknowledging the fallout from Rip’s actions in shooting everybody across time at the start of the season/trauma from being hunted/brainwashed/his actions whilst brainwashed? Not to mention we may need to insert Queen B in a few extra places, since she seems to disappear for multiple episodes at time, and pin down when exactly O!Len joins up with L!Len.

We also need to better balance the character attention since some episodes focus a lot on certain characters and then others get left behind overall (I think pretty much all of us have an unabashed Mick and/or Len bias lol). But these are all things that’ll get sorted out by the next draft. :-)

LOTREWRITE: Agreed on many points! We definitely have some repetition issues and need to hammer out how the character plotlines will develop. I think the only thing that I feel strongly about is that O!Len leaves to join L!Len in episode 16 (the maze) and returns in episode 18 (the republic) because the main purpose of him "leaving" is so that he can learn his lesson about how he's not actually as evil as the rest. (We definitely need more Queen B involvement - I think people ended up dropping her out because they weren't sure if we were using her or Merlyn or what.) Anyway - thank you for the comments! As always, very helpful and insightful!

Anywho:

Episode 13

-          There’s a good contrast between Episode 11 and this episode, in that 11 was a quandary about changing something that would have a big effect, and 13 is changing something that would end up having no effect at all. It ties in well with the melancholic ending you’ve set up here – the Legends will be finding that there’s no perfect answer, no certainty, and this is the life they’ve chosen.

-          Just a suggestion, maybe finish on a slightly more decisive note than just leaving the team kind of wallowing in their own uncertainty. Like Mick or someone says something like: “Well, maybe that’s why ‘Legends’ have always sounded more right than ��heroes’.” It also ties in with Sara’s lessons in what it takes to be a captain, Ray’s lesson about what it means to be a true hero and all the messiness that comes with, etc…

-          I like the premise overall, and that it’s a new setting entirely instead of the well-known ones that are usually represented (however badly – I’m looking at you, LOT S1 Ancient Egypt…)

-          Good point on Ray not being automatically good at researching, that shit takes work

-          I like this dark side of Rip (even though torture is bad ofc!!)

-          Doesn’t Rip already know that Firestorm can transfuse things, so he wouldn’t be surprised?

-          Although I do like seeing Firestorm use this ability, it’s seriously underutilised!

-          Love Queen B and Amaya interacting, it’s gonna be so tense :-)

-          Do we see Legion!Len’s reaction to Mick at any stage? :3

-          I like the idea of Mick having to use his experience as Chronos to treat Rip (I like it on two fronts: firstly, in that it causes my favourite character angst, and two, it gives him a chance to face up to what happened to him and turn it into something useful/positive), although since it was Queen B who did the brainwashing we may need a bit of a handwave on Time Master technology vs magic technique (maybe Mick and Amaya work together on this?)

-          I also like that people check in with him afterwards

-          Could show a little bit of tension between Rip and the others – Rip because being un-brainwashed is unpleasant, and the others because although they’re glad to have him back, he did a lot of damage when he was under the influence of brainwashing – it also mirrors Mick in season 1 (and it parallels Len’s amputation/Sara’s shooting; both serious injuries)

-          On that note I like your point about Rip ‘rejecting family-ish/team dynamic’ contrasting with Mick becoming more accepted/accepting

-          Really melancholic ending, A+

-          I like the way the Legends get Rip back, I like seeing the Legion concede the planning to Len, Queen B and Amaya potential drama, and the team’s interactions with Mick

-          Nice work, thank you!

Episode 14

-          Oh god I love this era. Can’t wait for this episode.

-          Yep, I like that there’s a conflict in Rip without him realising it yet; he’s verbally relinquished control but still has the knee jerk reaction of needing to be the one who gives the orders. As a suggestion, if episode 13 progresses generally as was set out, you could have Sara still feeling the aftershocks of the uncertainty of the mission and the morals from that episode, and is looking for clean answers, which Rip professes to be able to provide, as someone with more experience. So he says he’s got a plan, and Sara agrees to follow it. He’s offering under the guise of friendship and altruism, but subconsciously he just wants to find his footing again after the Legion awfulness and the role of captain/leader is all he knows.

-          I cannot wait for everybody dressed up in Tudor gear. This is gonna be awesome. I can only hope there will be fanart.

-          What’s their cover story/way of getting into court? They might be able to sneak in, but going unnoticed might be more difficult given the fact that all those nobles are all basically interrelated lol.

-          Maybe at first they could sneak in during a masque! Henry threw those all time, especially when he was trying to impress Anne. And that gives us awesome costumes. Or they can claim to be French relatives of some noble or something, since France was all in fashion then.

-          Speaking of, as a suggestion, instead of placing it at a time when Henry and Anne are about to get married perhaps place it at the start of their courtship, making the prospect that Henry will lose interest more easily if Anne and he quarrel since he’ll still have wandering eye syndrome and won’t have been sucked into his creepy version of courting just yet. This makes his attentions to Sara much more pressing, since they can see time already changing the longer the courtship remains uninitiated.

-          On that note, whoo boy, Sara is gonna have a helluva time getting him to stop sniffing around her once he’s got the scent.

-          Personally I think there’s a line to tread between reminding Rip of the good he’s done and accidentally just enabling his behaviour. There were so many moments in S1 I felt could’ve been improved by Rip just clearly saying ‘I’m sorry, I screwed up, and I’ve learned something from this’ – but instead he reiterates his mission or his lost loved ones and goes doe-eyed and teary and says something like ‘So you see, this is why it’s so important blah blah blah’…he never really says sorry, or at least without adding something on to lessen the blame against him. So I’d like Rip to have an epiphany, and Stein and Ray there to not so much remind him of the good he’s done, but the good he’s capable of doing, if he works with them and understands what it means to truly be part of a team, because that’s what they’ve had to learn too.

-          That bit with Legion!Len, Mick, and Oculus!Len is really really really good, I like that a lot

-          I can see Mick shaking his head and just being a bit sick of it all at that point, constantly seeing Len everywhere – yeah, he’d wanna burn something

-          Frikking love that ending.

-          I really like this episode and I’m looking forward to it!

Episode 15

-          Oh man I love Hex, I like the idea of opening with him

-          I like the suggestion that L!Rip visited him earlier so Hex reacts badly – I think this does several things: 1) it shows that L!Rip wasn’t just hanging out with the Legion, he was an active member while brainwashed and he might not necessarily remember everything he’d done whilst under the  influence 2) It gives Hex a good reason to give his friend (whoever it was) the spear piece, once he clicked that L!Rip was evil and looking for it, which leads into 3) it wasn’t just the Legends being unlucky with their timing, there’s a reason they visited Hex and now there’s a lead on reason for why they’re going to NYC

-          Good link up with Stein and Lily and his motivation for taking the spear piece for himself

-          I cannot wait to see the individual reactions of the team when they’re searching a brothel

-          I like the idea of seeing Lily again, she was a pretty cool character and we could always use more women. Also the next episode uses Lily throughout, I’d consider working her into the episode somehow? She could always stay on the ship while the actual riots are ongoing and help coordinate efforts

-          I adore the idea of Carter showing up in a past life (but just mind the Irish brogue part…Hollywood has corrupted our accents, as they’ve done with so much. If you want help with the Irish accent/slang part – since dialects differ from suburb to suburb, never mind county – just hit me up, I’m Irish).

-          I really like scene 4, very heartache-y.

-          Good build up to the riot

-          Great interaction between Legion members (nice throwaway line about Merlyn!!)

-          I like how Carter seems like less of a dick in this (I confess, I never really liked his character)

-          Great escalation to the riot, and showing how easy it is to start and how difficult it is to finish

-          Love the show of strength from the neighbourhood, being directed by Mick and Carter

-          I like the moments with Ray in this episode – seeing all kinds of heroism, and getting through his residual feelings for Kendra

-          I like the ideas for conversations between the crew you’ve had in scene 13

-          Overall this episode builds up really well, though from the outline it wasn’t clear what the actual ending of the episode was (I’m sure we’ll see that next round!)

-          Thanks!

Episode 16

-          I love the idea of this episode

-          With Lily, we may need to look at the previous episode to work in a conversation about how she’s an aberration and Stein makes a mess of the explanation, so that she’s still annoyed and upset with him in this episode – Stein’s learned a few lessons along the way, so ‘she’ll get over it’ will probably be said in a pessimistic tone of voice, instead of a dismissive tone

-          Some of the characters’ reactions don’t mesh well with what we know now having seen all the episodes together – Ray has already seen lots of kinds of heroism and Rip is learning how to gracefully let Sara take the lead. So instead of being sulky, perhaps they’re willingly staying on the ship? Ray is still trying to figure out how best to be his kind of hero and Rip will be reacting against his instinct to take the reins and will want to give Sara room to work.

LOTREWRITE: This is definitely something we should discuss - depending on where they are in their story arcs, they could be in the middle of the learning process or they could be rejecting the learning process (i.e. depressed at not getting to the end result they want fast enough) But hey, that's why we did draft outlines!

-          Love the idea of the hosts obnoxiously reciting the titles!

-          I think there’ll be a line to tread between Stein’s development earlier on in the series and this one where he seems to fall back into his privilege/arrogance – maybe play up the Lily+Stein relationship here as his reason? (i.e. he knows the team can take care of themselves, but now his daughter’s safety is on the line and he won’t trust anyone but himself to lead them to victory – which leads to him saying some hurtful/obnoxious things)

-          Monty Python reference, love it!!!

-          The way Sara, Lily, and Queen B escape is actually so hilarious to me

-          I love the idea of a grudging truce between Queen B and the others

-          I love trial 4 interactions in particular (small typo lists two trial 4s, I mean the first one)

-          Flash museum reference, thank you

-          I love the idea of meeting future incarnations of the personas (CC, Heatstroke, MM), but did you mean that they’re actually the police? Is this a comics thing? I’m not sure about the way they’re introduced, it’s a little confusing

LOTREWRITE: I think in the comics they are actually some sort of organized police-ish force? It can definitely be made more clear.

-          Good move with Stein and his humble pie, and the Legion abandoning Len

-          “What is Batman’s real name?” nice

-          (And in my head I immediately heard Mick say: “Who the hell is Batman?”, since I don’t think we have a canonical Batman yet, aside from S1 Rip saying vaguely “I’ve seen dark knights fall and men of steel something something…”? lol)

-          I can very much imagine O!Len being disgusted by a cop CC

-          I sense that this episode has the potential to be very confusing and could stretch out as quite long, so we’ll have to keep our eye on the pace and editing of it (but that’s what betas and proof readers are for!) - I’d suggest a magic number of three trials before the big finale, just to mind the pace a bit.

-          Overall it’s a mega fun, filled with potential episode and I’m really looking forward to it

-          Thanks!

Episode 17

-          I can’t express how delightful the image of the team taking Jax out for his birthday is to me, especially a team member accidentally flirting with his mother omg

-          I have no ideas for potential girl character Jax gets talking to, but I definitely think it should be an Easter egg or something

-          I know the Legion are the bad guys, but in honesty the torture scene is just a bit jarring to me, unless we specify who it is – maybe a former Time Master turned Time Pirate that the Legion are interrogating for intel on potential spear pieces? Merlyn always struck me as the resident sadist, I never really thought that Dahrk could be bothered what with his magic, and Queen B can just brainwash people into telling her what she needs.

LOTREWRITE: This is a good point, though I think it might work best if we seeded more references to their cruelty and sadism earlier it would work better than watering the scene down now - Darhk certainly likes killing people just because (in canon it was actually Merlyn who kept trying to make him choose NON-murder alternatives, such as in their bank heist scene), Queen B we can characterize at will, and we know Eobard's a cold-hearted psychopath, so if we play up some of those traits, we can definitely set it up well.

-          I can see the Legion turning on Len at the drop of a hat though, yeah, and I like the image of Len running for his life from his former allies

-          Oh my gosh they made Jax a cake

-          Dibs on Mick making it since he likes sweets so much (“Dude! You made this?” “It was from a box. Don’t get emotional about it.”)

-          I love how the Legends are actually having quite a peaceful, happy time of it – meanwhile, the Legion are undergoing civil war lol

-          DUN DUN DUN ending indeed!!!

  This is getting kind of long again so I’ll cap it and continue onto the next and final part of my commentary, which I’ll get done today or tomorrow. Hope this was okay and I’m not stepping on anybody’s toes or anything. Thanks for all your hard work!!

[podcake]

February Finds: Our Fair City Review

I always like to give proper credit to podcasts that have pushed me into creating PodCake. I can name a couple who sparked my interest in the audio drama community, the first few I used to compose the original Podcast Palette, the handful of podcast creators I’ve interviewed-they’re all fond memories I hope to make more of. 

Our Fair City is part of this starting stage of audio drama exploration and a find I have yet to give a proper review for until…now. But, this post isn’t about me of course, it’s about my work and admiration for the art form of audio plays and my inevitable procrastination when it comes to these things. For that, I apologize. 

If there is one word to describe Our Fair City, it would be abundant. It is incredibly abundant with characters, with plots and varying themes. It’s the podcast equivalent of a casserole, a combination of flavors that work surprisingly well together due to careful craftsmanship and a large cast with equal amounts of passion coming from writers, actors, editors, and those put in double time as some sort of hybrid of these roles. 

It is self described as a “post-apocalyptic sci-fi radio epic…for the internet”. It deals with the Policies of the HartLife corporation, an insurance company placed in what used to be New England. We follow along with the whereabouts of executives, moles, ants, and scientists as they do what they have to do to thrive in their strange world that keeps pushing back. 

For me the word “epic” is what really draws in my attention. Our Fair City does have a very “epic” vibe to it. Though it came out during 2012, it has a very genuine and one of a kind aesthetic that makes it feel classic and lovingly made from the first word. 

It’s a story about a fucked up world, a personal favorite among podcast fans and creators alike and Our Fair City has a fairly colorful approach to the concept. We deal with some of the basics: the world going to shit due to greed and conflicts of personal interests and everything is just a little bit miserable. 

From this premise alone, Our Fair City is incredibly rich in its world building, one of my personal favorite attributes when it comes to a quality podcast. I’m a sucker for a show that gets lost in its own lore but knows how to use it for the story’s overall progress. 

Our Fair City is the poster child of this sort of storytelling-rich in content but never steering too far away from its central point. To me it’s the ability to understand one’s world but also use it as a device to further motivations and conflict that really makes a story pop and that’s why I can see myself sticking next to shows like Greater Boston for some time. Anyone can make an immersive world but being able to make the people and problems in it interesting is a sign of quality craftsmanship.

The world of HartLife pulls this off with it’s equal parts foreboding and whimsical atmosphere. Much like the tale that allows it to exist, it meshes the silly with the serious without letting one outweigh the other too often-and the serious can get damn serious at times. The tone shifts found in some of these episodes is something to write home about it and I’m sure many can recall some of the graphic details one might encounter that I rather not spoil.

I often consider Our Fair City the podcast for theater fans. It is not always performed live like Thrilling Adventure Hour, though it has a very prominent vibe of theatrics backing it up and this overlaying sense of comedy and tragedy akin to Shakespeare. (That might be an exaggeration but I don’t know many other playwrights.) It is unashamedly campy, a term the show wears with pride. Everything about Our Fair City thrives on the theatricality of its characters, setting, and unique and specific plots. 

This could also be helped by some quality audio editing done by a certain  Ryan Schile. One of my most recent Q&A’s features him mentioning his attempts to hammer in the atmosphere. He puts it as such, “It had to sound dark, it had to sound dirty (any parts that weren’t I felt should sound overly sterile)….That monotonous, repeating thrumming that is present in the background for most of the first few seasons was a device to hammer home the banality and prison-like feel the tenants of Our Fair City experienced.”

I would describe it my own words but the details here are so well said I couldn’t bring myself to mention beyond a direct quote. This is what I mean when I discuss stand out sound design, a feat I know is difficult and I can’t say I’m an absolute pro on, though certainly worth mentioning when it’s done right.

When it comes to audio plays, what you hear is what you get and Our Fair City has taken full advantage of this limitation to milk their world for all it has. 

As I’ve said with Return Home some time ago, the main hurdle of a somewhat silly yet somewhat serious show, no matter how self aware, can be a difficulty to detect tone. It can be a chore trying to find the inner conflicts of a race of mole people or a man obsessed with a shovel to be engaging if the image alone makes you giggle.

It’s not a deal breaker and I will always be the first to spew praise for well written characters you can easily sympathize with, though their gags tied into attempts to humanize their struggles can be a strange boiling pot that may receive mixed reception. But as far as attempts go to make these character intriguing, Our Fair City’s writers certainly know how to pull it off due to some excellent dialogue and narration. Not to mention to acting chops on the recurring and guest voices filing the roles that gives each and every story its zest. 

Speaking of characters, trying to keep up with the large and growing cast and each of their individual problems has proved to be difficult. Though these problems do eventually intersect or get resolved at some point, it can be like figuring out a three hundred piece puzzle with no reference image on the box to figure things out in time before its over and the story has moved on. 

Within such a sizable cast to work with, you’re bound to find a favorite and likely just stick to whatever shenanigans they may be up to save yourself the headache. My personal favorite is Dr. Herbert West simply for his unpredictability and my guilty pleasure for mad scientist tropes.  

That’s not to say the other characters aren’t funny, tragic, and intriguing in their own ways, though it’s highly likely you’ll gravitate towards a specific person one way or another due to personal interests.  

A successful audio drama is the sum of many parts and Our Fair City nails about each and every one these. It’s nicely acted, the story progresses at a decent pace, the characters are likable, interesting lore and setting-and there you have something that’s both memorable and distinct. 

So, I would most definitely give Our Fair City a listen. It’s funny, it’s original, it’s campy and comfortable, and you can just tell it’s made with a lot of…hart.