#valerie... shes just my nicest character what can i say

[perenlop]

🍀🍃🌸💮

🍀 Who has the best luck of your ocs? The worst?

the one with the best luck is probably valerie! shes always on good terms with everybody (at least in her head) and she’s pretty lucky when asha and skylar find her in the beginning of the story and throughout most of the first arc. although she may not be able to count on it all the time...

the one with the worst luck is probably either castor or quinn, quinn’s very hatching was out of bad luck because she was picked from a clutch of eggs (that were left alone for perfectly normal lives once she was gone) and her whole life has just been her getting tripped up and hurt by events that, if they weren’t initiated by horrible pokemon already, weren’t in her control anyways. it’s not the sole reason why, but its part of why she’s pretty miserable in the present day. and then castor is a whole bunch of spoilers, im keeping the details on these two vague bc i really wanna tell their story in professional form sorry but ill get there!

🍃 Who of your ocs would love to travel? Who has traveled the most/farthest?

valerie! its a dream of hers to leave serenade falls and travel the other continents and see what the world has to offer her! but of course, she’s by far the oc who has done the least.

as for who has traveled the most, definitely asha. she’s been traveling and crossing through dimensions her entire life. the ones who could rival her are possibly team silverwind, but they probably were nowhere near as constant about it

🌸  Who is the most innocent of your ocs? The most guilty?

valerie is nailing these questions. her again! anything she’s done is out of a desire to help, and she has a very hard time being abrasive so she doesn’t really like hurting anyones feelings, much less try to do anything bad. she’s done some, of course, but compared to anyone else she’s a saint.

the most guilty is atlas, he’s also spoilery bc again i want to write that prequel but he was kind of a bystander when growing up with quinn (something he tries to make up for by being with her and it influenced the “if you hurt kids im gonna brick you” mentality), he hates how he reacted to certain things in his youth (like becoming a criminal, hes got unresolved feelings about stuff, if i get any less vague its spoilers for both the prequel and starfall so ill stop here but yeah he’s happy now but he feels guilty over a LOT of stuff, whether it was in his control or not.

💮 What are your oc’s best skills?

i answered val on the others so lets go all the way, her best skills are singing, performing, and sewing! she wants to be versatile in a lot of things because she loves to help others, but thats what she’s best at! one of the reasons she wants to travel is so she can be a traveling performer! and in the story she’s trying her best to develop into a decent battler as well!

[phantom-does-a-thing]

10 question tag

 Ahhh @phantom-stargazer thank you so much for tagging me <3333.

So the rules: answer 10 questions and ask 10 questions, then tag from friends.

1) What’s the most annoying/frustrating thing happened recently while writing? Plot hole? Flat character? Got very stuck on some scene/chapter?

I’d have to say that, recently would be having to try to figure out what I want to do with my story and how I’m going to go about doing it, how much I’m going to change and keep the same.  Because like that’s stressful, and annoying.

2) What’s the nicest thing that your OC did for another OC?

So I’d have to say Madeline joining Johnathan’s weird game thing (it’s really complicated) and helping Nathaniel banish Johnathan and get Nathaniel’s freedom back.  Because like Madeline didn’t even know Nathaniel and Nathaniel’s a bit of a butt in the beginning.

3) What about the worst thing that your OC did to another OC?

Ah, Jack stabbed Valerie, in the back, literally with a knife.  And they’re childhood friends too :(((((.  Haha jk I had that planned out for a while.

4) What’s your brainstorming process? How do you come up with new ideas/scenes?

Non existent, or well I kinda go with whatever I’m writing or if I’m trying to write a scene, sometimes it just comes to me.  Or sometimes I’ll just sit and think for a while trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my life story

5) Have you ever shared your writing with your family/IRL friends? If so, how did they react?

Yes, I shared it with my parents and my aunt and uncle (they wanted to read it) they all loved it but me and my mom disagree a LOT about what I want to do with the story and our opinions differ a lot.  I want to get her opinion on things but that’ll just result in an argument.  But all of them love the story.

6) What’s your favorite place to write?

I don’t really understand this question?  I’m going to answer it like “where” instead of what sorry if that’s not how it’s intended and I’m just dumb.  I mostly write in my room because I’m most comfortable there and I can do whatever I want but sometimes I try to get stuff done in the kitchen at the table.  Only sometimes.

7) Have you ever had a project that was…just…not working for some reason? If yes, what did you do once you realized it?

Yes, my current WIP I’m struggling a lot with.  When I realized it, I just died.  Or well, by that I mean when I realized too much that it wasn’t working, I scrapped (not really) what I had written and started over.  This is the fourth time I’ve started over so far.  If you can’t tell I am struggling.

8) Would you get along with your main characters? Why/why not?

Honestly, I don’t really know.  She’s a bit like me in a way of more brave and what not,  I would never explore an abandoned house or try to deal with demons, I’d just ignore and die.  But I guess we could get along since I try to get along with anyone.  I don’t really know lmao.

9. Do you have a routine or do you write whenever you have the time for it?

I write whenever I have the motivation, I’ve always got time to write, but like motivation my friends is a thing I never have.  It’s annoying.

10. What would you love to do/try out in 2020, be it writing related or not?

I want to write, I mean also catch up on listening to Welcome to Nightvale (It is KILLING me right now, but I love it)

My questions (spoilers, they’re gonna suck):

1) What OC(s) do you disapprove of their actions the most, and why?

2) Have you ever (that you know of) made someone cry with your writing?

3) How do you create and develop your characters?

4) What do you do when you’re in a slump (or having writers block)?

5) What are some of your favorite things to see in other stories and to write in your own?

6) Do you listen to music while you write? (A common question, but I’m curious)

7) Who is your favorite OC to write and why? 

8) How long have you been working on your current WIP, and if you know, how long do you want to work on it/want the WIP to be?

9) What is the most interesting thing that you like about your WIP, or the thing you’re proudest of?  (Like characters, plot points, quotes, things in the universe)

10) What does your work space look like (Desktop, open tabs, window, the space around you, where you work, all that cool crap)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

I wrote this at 6 in the morning, I’m so tired and having to fight the time because I have school today.  So tagging that’s left to do, lets see.

I tag (If you’re up for it because I still don’t know who would like to be tagged or not):

@writingonesdreams-main

@heywriters

@adayforducks

@inbetweener35

@wordsofpaintandsmoke

@the-kids-are-not-okayy

AAAAA thank you again so much for the tag AAAAAAAAAAA I have to go to school now I’m out of time.  LOVE YOU ALL <3

[ayankun]

GOTHAM

insanely rambley HUGE spoiler-ridden seasons 1-4 thoughts under cut

FIRST OFF LET ME TELL YOU I GOT CHILLS

Secondly, let’s think back to how I felt about season one.  A little loose in the narrative, not so much weaving threads as having threads, ones that you keep expecting to pull tight but more often than not just get dropped for other, shinier threads.  All leading to a surprisingly effective character-driven season finale that hopes to prove to you that a few meandering plot points can still add to a sum greater than the parts.

(Oswald goes from umbrella boy to King of Gotham, Bruce Wayne starts at the site of his parents’ murder and ends up taking his first steps into the Batcave, Jim enters as this black-and-white idealist and winds learning from a mob boss that even good men sometimes get their hands dirty to get the job done.  A socially awkward unrecognized genius has a psychic break, leading ultimately to the fall of Edward Nygma and the rise of the Riddler.)

Season two is a blur.  A period of transition from Jim “Good Cop” Gordon Fistfighting Corruption into... Gotham City: Arkham Asylum’s Backyard.  Think how much season one was about only Fish Mooney vs Falcone vs the GCPD and Cobblepot doublecrossing everyone he meets, and how much seasons two and three and four were about the Riddler and Valeska and Tetch and Ra’s al Ghul (and Valeska).  We have the bring-everyone-back-to-life at Indian Hill period to thank for the sudden left turn into the Strange.

WHICH IS NOT A COMPLAINT.

There are so many types of Batman stories, and there’s a time and a place for both Joe Chill and Killer Croc.  Gotham started in one and always knew it was headed for the other.

And B.D. Wong as Strange is a DELIGHT and I really appreciated his dynamic with Miss Peabody.  Speaking of, the bomb defusing scene was a real gem omg lololol give the woman some damn water already.

At the same time, the Fish storyline was like WHOA what EVEN is haPPENINg at any given moment.  And it ultimately didn’t amount to much?  There’s so much waffling between the surviving gang camps where everyone’s either got a kill-on-sight order or a owed-life-debt to each other and the pendulum swings back and forth so quickly it’s not really worth holding onto how anyone feels about anyone else.  That dead/MIA character will come back or the rivalry will be revived or the long-held grudge will be recalled if and when that plot point is going to be drafted, but other than that everyone’s friends and that’s ok.

And like.  Ivy??? Ivy Pepper???????  Why is that ride so wild???  There is no cause and effect, only next next next.  It’s insane.  Maybe watching this all at once rather than over the course of four years lends a different perspective, but holy cow.  Such a ballsy way to do whatever with a character you never had a plan for.

Which brings us to Barbara Kean?!  Season one she was there because they knew she was a Mythos Character but then they were like, wait, whateven is she for though?  Which is a fair question, since having her be the Little Lady Trophy Fiance meant she was a boring and needless character wasting space, not standing on her own and hardly informing Jim’s character either.  So what to do, what to do.  How about we kidnap her, put her through some insanely cruel physical and psychological abuse, make her a psycho-revenge-bride, put her in a coma, have her come back as a 100% Arkham Villain, give her a hench(wo)man, have the henchman KILL HER, have Ra’s al Ghul waltz up out of literally nowhere and say “lol, borrow this arcane mojo for a minute, I’ll want it back later or will I” and now she’s a kingpin of Gotham’s underworld with her own mini League of Assassin?!!!!!!!   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Like.  Even if they never had a plan going into it, I’m pretty okay with most of what they came up with.  Better than the lil wifey hanging out at home and having one passing remark about curating a gallery that we never saw and was never mentioned again.

Better off a once-crazy, once-dead mafiosa than the less inspired handling of Miss Kringle.  I won’t even get into that trainwreck I-only-exist-to-validate-manpain-of-my-murderer wait I said I wasn’t going to get into it.

So Nygma!  Like I said when I got started with the show, the season one Edward Nygma was crafted as this painfully unsympathetic offbeat loser and I think they fully succeeded with that characterization.  The emergence of the Riddler persona was a welcome change, an upgrade, a spit-shine into something clean cut and confident and stylish.  But I like that, compared to the Penguin, the posterchild for evil-psychotic-villain!Protaganist, for example, they held on to a lot of Nygma’s unlikeablilty in that he’s still an ass, even more of an insufferable egoist, and SO CRAZY he can’t even read himself (which was a big thing about the character before he split in half, so in itself that’s pretty great).

I don’t know.  Maybe you like him and I’m supposed to like him.  I think he’s exactly what he ought to be, and while I'd never want to see him marched off a peer with a bullet in his back, I’m more than happy to see his fellow villain-Protagonists knock him around once in a while.  Penguin and Mooney and now Lee (?!) and Zsasz even are the kind of villan!Protagonist you really root for.  But if it’s any one of them vs. the Riddler, they’re definitely not going to lose.  Nygma’s like in his own category of villain!Protagonist Antagonist.

Of course, the post-Arkham-proto-Riddler who was running Oswald’s mayoral campaign, now HOT DAMN that was a storyline I could get behind.  I almost actually believed they were going to do something great in the Nygmobblepot arena and that was a magical moment.  I think the resulting blood feud, as painful of a 360 as they come, was a sounder storytelling decision and more in line with the show’s Schroedinger’s Frenemies mentality.

And his season four storyline with the Ed Nygma persona challenging the Riddler was a nice full circle.  Sort of closing the gap between this raging banana nutball and the razor-sharp criminal mastermind he could be if tried.  Not SUPER THRILLED with his creeping on Lee but, with all due respect, that’s par for the character so again I say I don’t think I’m meant to like him??

I just spent half this rant on the Riddler so I guess they’re doing something right.

Ok so Cameron Monaghan’s VALESKA TWINS.  Let’s get right into it, shall we.

Holy smokes they did everything right on this one.  Loved the Primal Fear treatment of his introduction, and the way this random circus kid just so happens to start displaying jokey traits that astute viewers will start to suspect that this could be the big bad we’ve all been waiting for --

and then they kill him.

WOW

I was so ready for this kid to grow up to be the Joker, and they rip that dream away and replace it with an idea that anyone can grow up to be the Joker, and damn if that isn’t the nicest treatment of the character’s fractured and obfuscated origin story.  But.  THEN!

THEY BRING HIM BACK and it’s everything you wanted him to be.  He’s just so good.  There’s just the right amount of (IMO, anyway) Hamill-homage in what is otherwise a fully imagined Character who is instantly recognizable as one of many iterations but at the same time outclasses them all.  The high-level narrative and dialogue stuff, the stuff they create for him to do, I mean, is all great.  And then Monaghan brings this manic A++ game to the table and blows it out of the water.  Best Joker performance?  Arguably so, especially when you consider

JEREMIAH VELASKA because this kid can’t stop having stellar Joker performances.  He’s like, two and a half, three of the best Joker performances on the books.  Jeremiah’s distinct visual style, the characterization, AGAIN with the obfuscated we-are-legion origin story hocow.  NO COMPLAINTS HERE.

Anyway so if that’s what we get in return for sending Fish Mooney through a narrative meat grinder, then I guess it’s an even trade.

Pengiun.  What to say about Penguin.  I loved what they gave him in season two, a ton of character stuff because his plot stuff of rags to riches had played itself out.  I felt real bad for his mom, but I really liked that he went and made himself mayor, and even while his story arcs tend to go riches to rags and back again, it’s never not a pleasure watching him claw his way up to where he thinks he ought to be.

For the most part they do a good job stringing together these different Protagonist story-groups, keeping in mind that most of these groups serve mainly as antagonists amongst themselves (when they’re not being buddy-buddy to serve some winding end).  So when you get the villain!Antagonists you can really tell the difference.  I got a little yawny while we were setting up Fries, and by the time we finally locked Tetch up for good I was very grateful.  These will never be main characters and the show knows it and wants you to know it, too.  So while they’re the main on-screen villain, it can get a little stale because the same effort isn’t being put into their lasting appeal.

Um.  Jim Gordon.  Another thing I liked about season four was a strong return to GCPD bidniss.  Season two there was a lot of GCPD, but with Captain Barnes and the strike force and Galavan, so it was a completely different narrative animal than what Gordon was throwing down with in season one.  Then Gordon goes to prison and after that he doesn’t go back to GCPD until well into season three, and by then the story’s about Mario and Tetch and Lee and omg I forgot about Valerie Vale until this very moment whoops.

As was hinted in the season one finale, Jim Gordon went on a very twisty path through the mud before he figured himself out again.  Killing Galavan was like WHAT JIMBOY and that wasn’t even the worst of it.  What I liked most about his stint as a PI was the character’s eventual acceptance that the law isn’t the be all and end all of righteousness, and that there are other means available when enforcing peace and justice.  Not necessarily by killing every evil mayor you come across with your own two hands, but the eye-opening to the virtues of vigilantism is super important when you realize he’s going to be Batman’s main ally down the line and this time in his life is going to be what ultimately allows the future police commissioner to legitimize this kind of shadowy ninja behavior.

Anyway, in season four, Jim kind of comes back to roost at the GCPD, and finally ousting Bullock as Captain was rough but obviously warranted, and with only one season left that was a good time to do it.  Harper was a nice addition and I’d like to see more of her as a standalone character.  (Similarly, Fox has fit in nicely with the cops, but I’m not overly hankering to see more of his day to day antics.) 

What was my real point?  I really liked the Gordon vs the GCPD dynamics of season one, and while obviously that’s not a story you can tell forever, it did inform the sense that the police force is a living entity that can serve you very well if it trusts you, but before that can happen you really have to jump on its back and break its will LOL.

Also, remember Renee Montoya and Harvey Dent?  Yeah, I don’t either.

SO BRUCE WAYNE, MY FRIENDS.

Gotham is my very most favorite Bruce Wayne story, and much as Batman: TAS is my forever-reference for most Batmany things, Gotham is going to be my heart-canon for Bruce Wayne origins.

It’s one thing to say, “ok so this rich kid watches his parents get murdered in an alley, and from this moment on he vows to do something about it and makes himself a master detective/martial artist who puts on a mask and a cape and runs around at night smashing thugs’ heads in for justice” like it’s a foregone conclusion, a straight-forward A-to-B process, and a wholly other thing to show us, step by step, how he learns to become the thing we all know he’s going to become.

In season one he was this quiet, morose but driven child who didn’t know what to do with this crisis he’d been handed.  He’s a kid who sits in a pool with his whole clothes on, trying to hold his breath for as long as possible because he has no idea how else to become better prepared for handling his issues.  But he has Selina and he has Alfred and he has Fox and he has Jim Gordon, and he will have the Court of Owls and the Valeskas and Ra’s al Ghul who will all play a part in handing him pieces of himself until he has a full set.

He started with this strong sense of right and wrong, a deeply seated desire to put his talents and his money to some sort of use, an earnest diligence towards bettering himself in all ways, and little by little he gets shown just how much of a fragile and defenseless baby he is.  That time Alfred accidentally-on-purpose clobbered him in the eye -- that was the moment Bruce found out they’d all been pulling their punches with him and that he still had so so so far to go.

Of course, at the particular moment, he was going through a well-earned rebel without a cause phase (which will do him well when he calls on those behaviors for the benefit of a wider audience), so I don’t think that realization hit him at the time.  BUT I NOTICED.  Sure he’s got a bulletproof suit and he can look Jim Gordon straight in the eye now and he can fling himself off rooftops like a champ (and when Alfred gave him the keys to the Batmobile I cried a little), but he’s no Batman.  Not yet.  Not quite yet.

But you can see without a shadow of a doubt that he’s gonna be!  Instead of this “Bruce Wayne woke up as Batman” story, we get a look at all the day by day choices and experiences that inform, shape, and depend on Bruce Wayne’s core identity and the way that they will collectively create Batman.

Now, David Mazouz may not have the character acting chops of a Pinkett-Smith or a Taylor or a Monaghan, and he may not be as comfortable living in a everyday character like Pertwee and Logue do so effortlessly, but there’s a steeliness a Bruce Wayne should have, a hauntedness, an idealistness, that Mazouz emotes in spades.  Sometimes his Bruce Wayne does a stunt or pulls a pose that Mazouz KNOWS is Batman territory, and while his awareness of “I’m doing a cool thing look at me doing it” is a little distracting--it’s also SUPER EFFECTIVE and I fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

I’ve always been one of those fans who’s way more interested in the lives and characters of the secret identities (compared to the heroics of the super identities) so hot diggity dog is this the show for me.  All Bruce Wayne all the time.  When we he does put on the mask, it’s all the more powerful for knowing who exactly is wearing it and what’s driving him to do these borderline insane things.

Not 100% sold on Ra’s’ “I saw this in a dream” strong-arm prophecy, feeling like it steps on four years of Bruce Wayne’s self-determination.  Not 100% on how they introduced him and his aims and his baffling reincarnation(s).  But I am 100% on the pronunciation of “Ra’s” because I’m aware that Kevin Conroy et al figured it out somewhere between TAS and Arkham Asylum, but it’s something that they never quite got in Arrow.  (Oliver consistently uses “raysh” but everyone else is a grab bag between that and “rawz”.)

For that matter, David Mazouz consistently pronounces Ra’s with two syllables, so there’s also that.  Wait, hold on.  In Gotham they also draw a hard line between Ra’s al Ghul, the man, and “the demon’s head,” some sort of mystical power of time travel and flashlightiness.  Give one point to Arrow for not being that bizarre.

Long story short, the shot at the finale where Gordon’s waiting on the GCPD rooftop with the spot light and Bruce Wayne stalks up behind him was BEAUTIFUL.  (They also did the thing some episodes earlier where Bruce peaces out on Gordon when Gordon’s mid-sentence with his back turned and I laughed a lot)

Looking forward to their take on No Man’s Land.  Here’s a short story for you at the end of this long story:

One time I was reading No Man’s Land volume by volume from the library.  It was tough because I checked the first time and they had the full set, but then you never knew that the next one was going to be available when you went in for it.

So I get out of the car one day and look there’s a quarter on the ground.  Neat.  It’s mine now!

Going into the library, there was a cart of used books for sale by the door.  25 cents each.  Hell, I’ve got a quarter now, let’s see what they got.

What they got is the No Man’s Land novelization.  For 25 cents, or, in my case, free.

So I read that instead, and turned out I liked it way better than the source comics.  I have a hard time reading comics?  I tend to not look at the pictures, and certain art styles aren’t my jam.  Also when it comes to narrative capabilities, there are different tools and effects inherent to each form, and I appreciated the literary treatment and the internal voice it brought to the table that the comics couldn’t.

Also the author said in the note that his method was to sit down and jam out minimum 2000 words a day and that’s still a feat I admire.

Anyway, that’s my long winded take on Gotham.  Not perfection, but certainly a respectable and authoritative representation of a subject matter we all know and love.  I give it my second favorite Batman portrayal (behind Kevin Conroy and above Adam West) and my absolute favorite live-action Bruce Wayne, hands down.

[folklore-musings]

After School Special Part 3

Summary:  In an alternate universe where Jughead greases his hair more than Danny Zuko and Betty Cooper gives Sandy Olsson a run for her money at being the nicest girl in town. (No Danny Zuko and Sandy do make an appearance in this fic). Set in the early 1960s at Riverdale High. Slow burn leads to rapid fire (all the bughead smut you can imagine)

Part One     Part Two

Tags: @thejugheadshow @xobughead @de6ressive

If you want a tag please don’t hesitate to ask :) My inbox is always open (literally I love to talk and gossip about bughead)

Thank you and enjoy! 

It had been three weeks since Jughead joined the Blue and Gold and his column was the talk of the school. It was a series of comics about Riverdale and the rumors that whispered their way through the halls. Betty never expected Jug to be such a gossip, but she assumed that it went without saying. He was indeed the head of the most revered group of guys in school. The greasers knew everybody’s business.

He’d settled on the alias of Samuel Clemens and it certainly was fitting. No one except the treasured few he told knew about his little secret and Betty held it over his head every chance she got, especially whenever he used one of the many ridiculous nicknames he had for her. Although, despite his being a constant annoyance, she was beginning to actually enjoy the time she spent with him after school.

“Hey Betts,” Ronnie joined her at her table in the Library for study hour. “Admiring your work, are you?” The raven haired girl nodded towards the Gazette lying on the table, open in front of her best friend.  “Who is this new Samuel Clemens character anyway?”

Betty made of show zipping her mouth shut. “Sorry Ron, but my lips are sealed.”

“As long as this nomad writer doesn’t publish any dirty little secrets about me, I’m fine with living in the dark.”

“Jolly, because I’ll never tell.” Betty attempted a return to her reading, but to no avail, Ronnie snatched the magazine from her hands.

Ronnie arched an eyebrow. “Betty its perfect, stop criticizing it. Besides, it’s Friday. Are you going to the opening of the Twilight with us tonight?”

“And by us you mean-?”

“Kevin, Moose and I. Come on girl I need you. I don’t want to be a third wheel. Plus I’ve been dying to see Breakfast at Tiffany’s, you know that.” Betty did know that. Veronica had an obsession with the lavish life of New York City. Two summers ago her family had traveled there on a vacation for her dad’s business. When she returned she spent weeks gushing about the bright lights and city life. Her daddy had bought Ronnie her first set of pearls that week. Pearls she refused to take off and swore it made her feel like Audrey Hepburn’s soul sister.

“Why don’t you ask Reggie to come along? That boy loves you Ronnie, you just refuse to see it.”

“You really need to ice it on the whole Reggie front Betty. He’s not my type.”

“Tall, dark and handsome is not your type? You’re the only paper shaker in school who doesn’t bend over backwards for the jocks.”

Ronnie scoffed at Betty’s comment. “I am not.  And look who’s talking. You’re a River Vixen. I don’t see you getting all hot and bothered in a jock’s rag top down at Blue Bend Park.”

“Sorry I’m not Cheryl Blossom.” Betty joked, tugging at the hem of her cheerleading uniform. “I’ve got more class than that.”

“I’d rather be sassy than classy. So…you’ll come then? To the movie that is? I’m so jazzed Riverdale finally got its very own passion pit. We’ve definitely needed it around here. Life in the River was starting to get dull.”

Betty groaned. “Fine I’ll go. But you owe some me popcorn and a box of Razzles.”

“Can we share?”

“Deal.”

                                                                                         ◊◊◊

“Seriously, what’s the point of having a Drive In grand opening at the end of October?” Jughead asked, stomping his finished cigarette in the dirt.

“No clue, but it’s perfect. Cheryl will be on my lap before the opening scene. The heat’s busted in my dad’s old Thunderbird.” Archie lied. “We’ll stay nice and cozy that way.”

“You’re a pig.” Jughead shoved Archie. “I need to get me a girl.”

“Ronnie Lodge is looking quite lonely over there,” she was sitting next to Kevin and Moose in the back of a deep green Chevy pickup. “Go ruffle her feathers.”

Jughead shook his head. “No, there’s someone else.” Without saying anymore, Jughead watched as Betty Cooper strutted across the parking lot to meet her friends. He didn’t understand it, but something about that golden blonde hair drove him absolutely wild. The more time he spent with her the more he fantasized about twirling the soft curls around his fingers. He didn’t understand where these feelings were coming from but he had no buffer. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t get the doll out of his mind.

“Jug? Juugggg?” Archie called his name. Jughead nodded his head in response. “I thought I lost you there for a second. Hey, Cheryl’s coming this way; I’ll catch you later at Pop’s, OK?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you there.”

Jughead sat alone through the movie. He wasted more time watching Betty’s silhouette in the shadow of the film more than the actual movie. Not that he cared, the movie was a bust anyway, definitely a chick’s flick. He didn’t know why he was there in the first place.

He gave up about halfway through and hauled ass out of the parking lot. He needed a place to get his head straight, so he headed down the street to Pop’s. A burger and some fries would do him good.

Pop’s was empty, with everyone in town parked at the Twilight. Jughead walked up to the bar and ordered his usual before tossing some change in the Jukebox. Good old Johnny was a quick fix to a better mood. He doodled in his journal until Archie met him up.

When Archie stumbled in he had Cheryl cuddled under his shoulder. Jughead called them both over. “How was the movie?”

They both chuckled. Cheryl’s cheeks blushed scarlet, matching her fiery locks. “It was fantastic,” Archie said, knowing full well he didn’t watch two seconds of it. They probably played backseat bingo the whole time.

“I think I’m going to see it again tomorrow with Josie and Valerie it was so good.”

“Uh huh, sure, whatever you say. Hey Arch, if you go up and grab the lady a milkshake, pop some quarters in the jukebox.”

Archie froze. “Shoot, did you want something Cheryl?”

“A milkshake would be heavenly.”

Once Archie was up at the bar Cheryl thanked him. “Archie Andrews may be easy on the eyes, but he’s completely clueless when it comes to chivalry.”

“He’ll get better, he has to learn somehow.”

Within ten minutes of Archie and Cheryl joining him at Pop’s, the entirety of Riverdale’s senior class was packed in the little diner. The jukebox was backed up at least a dozen songs and everyone was having a good time enjoying themselves. Even Betty was there with her friends from the Twilight, throwing her head back laughing at something funny Moose said.

“Jughead what has gotten into you? It’s as if you’re in a completely different world you Kookie.” Archie turned his head and followed Jughead’s gaze to the other end of the diner. There, in her pastel pink poodle skirt and matching ribbon in her hair, was Betty Cooper. “Oh. Is she who you meant earlier, when you said there was someone else?”

Cheryl attempted to follow the conversation but was at a loss. “Archie, stop.” Jughead forced a glare at Cheryl. “Please.”

“Alright, but I’ll give you a dollar to ask her to go up to Blue Bend Park with you.”

Jughead snorted. “She’s not the kind of girl you take to the edge of the river Arch.” Cheryl huffed at his comment and squirmed in her seat.

“Maybe not, I’m just curious as to what she would do. Come on Jug, play along for fun.”

Cheryl finally found her way into the conversation. “OK, what are you guys going on about? Is Juggie here sweet on a doll? Who?” She whipped around and eyeballed Betty and her friends. “Ronnie or Betty, which is it?”

Jughead ignored Cheryl and agreed. “OK I’ll do it. But hand me the money up front.” Archie slid a dollar bill across the wet, tiled tabletop. Jughead shoved the damp dollar in his pocket and stood up. He tugged on his jacket and ran his fingers through his hair. “Watch and learn Archie boy. Watch and learn.”

Jughead’s heart was racing with every step he took. He watched his feet while he walked counting the black and white tiles as he passed. It took only 27 steps until he was at their table. He shoved his hands deep inside his pockets and took a deep breath. He could already feel the slap across his cheek that was bound to come.

“Hey Goldie Locks,” Jughead greeted Betty with a smug grin. He loved watching the way her face heat up with every passing nickname he threw her way.

“What do you want Jug?” she sounded stressed. He thought a good time at the Bend would help calm her nerves.

Jughead swallowed searching for words. “Do you want to take a drive with me?”

The others in the booth started whispering, all eyes locked on the space between him and Betty. “A drive where?”

“Blue Bend Park?”

Betty looked from her friends to Jughead, a beautiful red hue splashed across her cheeks. He noticed the way Ronnie nudged her, as if saying to go for it. Betty bent low and whispered something in her ear. He didn’t catch what she said, but Ronnie made no point of hiding her voice.

“Sass before class Betts.” Ronnie winked and flashed a coy smile.

After making him wait a decade, Betty bit her lip and answered. “Sure. I think a drive would be lovely. Just let me grab my coat.”

Jughead hurriedly scrambled out of his leather jacket and handed it to her. “Here, take mine. I’m cold blooded anyway.”

Betty caught the joke and laughed. Hesitantly, she grabbed his jacket and slipped it over her shoulders, basking in the warmth of Jughead’s body heat . “Thank you.” And they both headed out the door.  He led the way, neither bothering to look back.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #158 - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: No.

Format: Blu-ray

1) This would be the last Star Trek film to feature the entirety of the original series cast (as it was followed by four films with the Next Generation cast and now the three films in the rebooted timeline) and is intended as such. Nicholas Meyers (director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan) returns as director, Gene Rodenberry died just days after seeing a cut of the movie, and it seeks to give the original cast a fitting send off.

2) Even though it at times keeps his involvement in the plot minimal, I like that Sulu is Captain. It shows that there are officers who are as competent as Kirk and who seek to be more than just his inferior officers.

3) The opening of the film (where a mysterious wave knocks around Sulu’s ship only for it to be discovered to originate from parts of Klingon space) is an incredibly strong way of opening the film. It establishes the conflict and sense of mystery which will come to define the story.

4) Sassy Sulu is the best Sulu.

(GIF originally posted by @williamtriker)

5) I think deciding to end the stories of the original characters with a plot based around peace between Klingons and the federation is a great one. It pushes each of these characters into an alliance they are uncomfortable with. Klingons have been antagonists towards them since the original series, that’s 25 years at this point. And it forces all of them to examine things they are uncomfortable with, ESPECIALLY Kirk.

(GIFs originally posted by @readysteadytrek)

Kirk is obviously horrified and disgusted at the idea. He refers to the Klingons as admirals and calls Spock, “arrogant and presumptuous,” after learning he recommended him as a peace ambassador. How many times have Kirk and the Enterprise gone up against Klingons? How many times have they threatened them? And, most relevantly, what was the species of those who killed his son in Star Trek III? He is pushed into a place he never thought he’d be and never wanted to be. It is so much easier to vilify them and hate them than it is to work towards peace. But that is what Kirk has to do over the course of these two hours. Work towards peace. And that is an amazing conflict to see play out.

6) According to IMDb:

The film is largely an allegory about the fall of Soviet Communism. When General Chang demands that Kirk answer a question without waiting for the translation, it is an allusion to the real-life exchange at the United Nations between U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson and Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Also, the explosion on Praxis due to "insufficient safety measures" is akin to the meltdown at Chernobyl nuclear power plant in present-day Ukraine, which is believed to have contributed to the decline of the Soviet Union. Spock says that there was seventy years of "unremitting hostility" between the Klingon Empire and the Federation, which is not how long the Cold War lasted, but is the approximate length of time that the U.S.S.R. (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) existed in the twentieth century, with a communist form of government.

That makes the conflict all the more ripe in may opinion & I love it all the more.

7) Kim Cattrall as Saavik Valeris

(GIF originally posted by @readysteadytrek)

According to IMDb:

Valeris was originally written to be Saavik, Spock's trainee from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) lending greater impact to her character's betrayal. However, Gene Roddenberry objected to the character's actions, ending up in a battle with Nicholas Meyer (who believed the Saavik character was his to do with as he pleased). Roddenberry won the dispute and the character was re-written into Valeris, who is played by Kim Cattrall. Cattrall wanted to play a different character rather than be the third incarnation of Saavik, following Kirstie Alley and Robin Curtis. Meyer had originally wanted Cattrall to play Saavik back in 1982, but she was unavailable.

I prefer that Cattrall is playing an original character. I don’t see it as being in line with what we’ve seen of Saavik in the past that she be a traitor and I think Cattrall is able to play a unique character because of it. Saavik - for me - will always be the somewhat proud closer-to-Kirk-than-Spock Vulcan in Wrath of Khan (as opposed to her more logical portrayal later on) so allowing Valeris to be her own character works. Cattrall is able to portray her as logical but with her own strong sense of morales and beliefs which leads her to some very interesting places/decisions by the film’s end. I think she’s a worthy character/actress to join the original crew on their final voyage.

8) Look how much Spock has grown!

Spock [to Valeris]: “Logic is the beginning of wisdom, not the end.”

9) I have to say the kinship Spock and Valeris are portrayed as having is done very well. Even though this is the first film she is in, we understand how and why Spock trusts/is proud of Valeris. This makes her betrayal by the film’s end all the more painful.

10) I can never get past the fact that Chancellor Gorkon is played by David Warner who was Sark in the original TRON.

11) There are a lot of lines in this film which allude to the racism the Enterprise crew feels towards the Klingons.

Chekov: “Guess who’s coming to dinner.”

Nichelle Nichols’ Uhura originally had this line but the actress referred to say it. According to IMDb there was another line she refused to say which ended up being dropped from the film and that was, "Yeah, but would you let your daughter marry one of them?"

12) Christopher Plummer as General Chang.

I truly enjoy Plummer’s performance as Chang and the character himself, although he runs out of steam a little bit by the film’s end. He is a poetic man, quoting Shakespeare often throughout the film, but a warrior through and through. A proud man who wishes to see the continuation of his race in what he believes is the best way (which isn’t necessarily the actual best way), Chang has an intense focus which Plummer performs well. A wonderful final villain for the original crew to face off against.

13) Remember how this film analyzes future bigotry?

Crew Member #1: “They all look alike.”

Crew Member #2: “And what about that smell? You know only top of the line models can even talk.”

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

Also the filmmakers are doing a good job of drumming up sympathy for the Klingons right now. I am very much pro-Klingon in that moment.

13) The dinner scene.

There are a lot of mixed emotions at play in this scene. Hope for the future - championed by Chancellor Gorkon - quickly turns into fear, distrust, and discomfort. It becomes apparent that most Klingons are not comfortable with this situation either.

Azetbur [Gorkon’s daughter]: “ ‘Inalienable.’ If only you could hear yourself. ‘Human rights.’ The very name is racist.”

14) And the conspiracy begins.

Kirk [after the chancellor’s ship is fired upon]: “What happened.”

Spock: “We have fired on the chancellor’s ship.”

Honesty I think it is the conspiracy and mystery which makes this film as good as it is. It helps to set it apart from the epic which was Wrath of Khan or the more lighthearted fun if The Voyage Home. It plays out very akin to a Sherlock Holmes or Agatha Christie mystery and I am a sucker for a good mystery.”

15) Kirk may be struggling with peace but damn if he doesn’t immediately do the right thing.

And then Bones - who is always a doctor first - goes with Kirk to tend to the wounded and tries to save the chancellor’s life. They put aside their fears and their prejudices in an attempt to do what’s right and I applaud them for doing so.

16) I don’t know why, but something about this exchange makes me smile.

Scotty [after the data is says they fired at the Klingons, even though all torpedoes are accounted for]: “No way!”

Spock: “I sympathize with you, Mr. Scott.”

I think it’s just Spock being Spock really.

17) Kurtwood Smith (of “That 70′s Show”) as the Federation President.

The nicest part about Smith’s character is that I found this line nicely refreshing:

“This president is not above the law.”

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

18) The trial.

I think the trial of Kirk and Bones for the attack on the Klingon chancellor is the best part of this film. It makes you wildly uncomfortable the entire time, as it is meant to. While this film is an allegory for a post-Soviet-Union world, there is a lot of McCarthyism at work here. Their verdicts were clearly determined before they took the stands, with even Bones’ intentions as a doctor challenged.

Bones [after Chang accuses him of incompetence]: “I tried to save him [Gorkon]. I was desperate to save him.”

Bones has always been a doctor, so to accuse him of not doing his best to save a patient is such a painful strike to his soul. The scene also gives us this line from Kirk.

Kirk [after it is suggested some of his crew were the assassins]: “As captain I am responsible for the conduct of crew under my command.”

There is a difference between responsibility and culpability. There is a difference between responsibility and guilt. That is important to know.

18.1) Also we get this wonderful Michael Dorn cameo during the trial!

Dorn is most famous for playing fan favorite Commander Worf on “The Next Generation” which was already airing when he filmed this part as Kirk’s/Bones’ legal council in front of the Klingons. Although he is not credited as such in the film, it is understood that Dorn is playing Commander Worf’s ancestor Col. Worf here. I like the continuity, it’s a nice touch.

19) Ah, the connection between Spock and Sherlock Holmes.

Spock: “If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains - however improbable - must be the truth.”

I love when Spock uses his logic skills in a Holmes-ian nature. Detective Spock is a lot of fun to watch.

20) The prison asteroid Kirk and Bones end up on I think is a great example of place in the film. It’s cold and desolate nature is an incredibly powerful atmosphere which conveys not only where theses characters are physically but emotionally by this part of the movie.

21) Expectations vs reality at its finest.

Spock: “If I know the captain, by this time he is deep into planning his escape.”

[Kirk is in a fistfight with another prisoner, trying not to get crushed.]

22)

Kirk [to Bones, in the prison, while they’re waiting for sleep]: “Are you afraid of the future?”

THIS is Kirk’s conflict right here. He’s TERRIFIED of the future and his place in it. It’s a conflict which goes all the way back to Wrath of Khan: he is afraid of being obsolete. Of the march of time. That’s what truly terrifies him and that’s what he has to deal with in this film.

23) Hey look, it’s Christian Slater!

According to IMDb:

The Casting Director was Mary Jo Slater, mother of Christian Slater. Thus, his small role as a Communications Officer aboard the Excelsior.

Christian Slater wore the trousers made for William Shatner in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). "It was an honor to get into Shatner's pants", he quipped during a BBC interview.

Christian Slater framed his 750 dollar paycheck for his walk-on part.

24) According to IMDb:

Nichelle Nichols objected to the scene in which the crew desperately searches through old printed Klingonese translation dictionaries in order to speak the language without the standard universal translator being used. It seemed more logical to her that Uhura, being the ship's chief communications officer, would know the language of the Federation's main enemy, or at least have the appropriate information in the computer. However, Nicholas Meyer bluntly overruled her. In Star Trek (2009), Uhura specializes in xenolinguistics, intercepts and translates a Klingon communication, and speaks Klingonese in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

I agree with Nichols.

25) So in the prison Kirk makes out with a woman who turns out to be a shapeshifter, and when he learns she was a shapeshifter kind a recoils from her. Then she tries to kill him and Bones (which was her plan all along) and shifts into Kirk to cause confusion. Shatner seems to have a lot of fun playing the shapeshifter Kirk. It’s almost like he’s doing an impression of himself, dialing all the Shatner-isms up to 11. It’s brief but enjoyable.

(GIF originally posted by @trekgate)

26) Damn, Spock is PISSED when it turns out Valeris is the traitor. He is hurting, and the mind meld he performs with her is super intense. It’s a nice side of the Vulcan I haven’t seen much of in Nimoy’s tenure as the character (Zachary Quinto would have some wonderful angry scenes though).

27) Dude, I love this.

Scotty: “Then we’re dead.”

[Beat.]

Spock: “I’ve been dead before.”

28) Spock and Kirk have one last heart to heart before the climax and resolution of this film and I appreciate that the film took the time to analyze their friendship one last time.

Kirk [while Spock is beating himself up over Valeris]: “Spock you want to know something? Everyone is human.”

Spock: “I find that remark offensive.”

29) The film creates some great climactic conflict by creating the dual scene of the Enterprise fighting off Chang’s ship and the nearing assassination at the peace conference. You know they can feasibly beat Chang, but do it in time to stop the assassination which gets dangerously close to fruition? THAT is the conflict. That’s the double jeopardy.

30) And this is the resolution of Kirk’s conflict with time.

Kirk [to Azetbur at the peace conference]: “People can be very frightened of change.”

Azetbur [realizing Kirk just saved the treaty signing]: “You’ve restored my father’s faith.”

Kirk: “And you’ve restored my son’s.”

Kirk has made his peace with the movement of time and is ready for its march.

31) Spock sass!

Spock [after the Enterprise is ordered to return to port to be decommissioned]: “If I were human, I believe my response would be, ‘go to hell.’ If I were human.”

Chekov: “Course heading, captain?”

Kirk [in his final line as captain of the Enterprise]: “Second star to the right, and straight on ‘til morning.”

32) Having the final credits for the main cast be their signatures is a nice touch.

When it comes to the original cast Star Trek films, Star Trek VI is second only to Wrath of Khan in my opinion. The added elements of conspiracy and mystery as well as themes of prejudice and bigotry help to set the film apart from the others. The characters are pushed to a place they’ve never been before personally and the entire cast shines in showing that. It’s a wonderful final film for the original stars after 25 years.