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blackjack-15 · 4 years ago

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Adoration to Ashes, Dust to Just — Thoughts on: Alibi in Ashes (ASH)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN, DAN, CRE, ICE, CRY, VEN, HAU, RAN, WAC, TOT, SAW, CAP

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraphs above, along with my list of previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: ASH; mention of a whole host of previous games with the Hardy Boys in them; mention of SCK; mention of STFD; mention of FIN; mention of DED; small spoilers for SPY; unflattering mention of the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series; brief mention of erotic-shifter-romance book Bearllionaire.

The Intro:

Welcome to the Nancy Games, lads!

Before we begin, since we’re at the beginning of a new “section” of games, let’s go over exact what the “Nancy Games” entail. Unlike the other games, this section (which runs from ASH through SPY) of games is most concerned with Nancy’s personality, growth, and showing her through a different character foil each game.

These games not only give us a better picture of who Nancy is, but also how she fits (or doesn’t fit) into the world around her and with the people that she meets. Rather than solving the case, these games are made to make Nancy react to things; rather than ‘where is Nancy Drew’ or ‘what case is Nancy Drew tackling’, the preeminent question for ASH and the four games after it is simple: ‘Who Is Nancy Drew?’.

Though only possible because of the nature of the miscellaneous games (WAC, TOT) and the Faerietale Games (SAW, CAP), the Nancy Games have been sorely needed since the series graduated past the first few cases. For a lot of the series, the games weren’t really concerned with the main character of the series, preferring her to be a blank slate that players could superimpose themselves onto…which, as recent media (such as Twilight, and Twilight But With Bondage This Time), isn’t a good basis for a character outside of a dime-store bodice ripper.

But these games aren’t Bearllionaire, they’re detective stories, and detective stories need a strong main detective to carry the story — not to mention the stakes.

That’s where these games come in. Building obviously to the story in SPY, each game explores another facet of Nancy’s personality, and shows what she could become — or could have become, in a few instances — should she let the more negative sides of her personality take over, or if she trusts the wrong kind of people and makes the wrong friends.

How better to illustrate than by showing exactly the kinds of people that Nancy’s friends are? That’s what ASH is primarily concerned about — showing who Nancy is by showing the reactions of people who have known her all her life to a crisis. The only difference between Nancy and her Foil in this game is the fact that Nancy has good people — good friends — fighting for her. It’s how she gets herself out of jail, and how she manages to solve the crime.

And it’s a fun (if a bit clunky) game mechanic as well.

This is why this story can only happen in Nancy’s hometown. Not only is it delightful for fans to see (modern-day, as we saw the old version in CLK) River Heights for the first time and get to explore a bit around the town, but hometowns in media are quite significant when looking at who a character is.

Almost always, a hometown is used as sort of a microcosm for the character, giving us a bit of a cheat sheet into who they are as a person just by showing their environment. Think about it — how many times in cop shows (which are the most blatant offenders by far) are we told that a character is from a small town, and thus they’re intent on proving themselves, probably a ridiculously hard worker (to get out of “that place”), and a bit more innocent than their inner-city colleagues? Or that a character grew up overseas to justify their interest in international crime, establish them as a bit of a wildcard, and handwave them knowing about 16 languages? Or that they grew up “on the streets”, justifying a hidden juvenile record, skills in hand-to-hand combat, and a soft spot for Youths Just Like Them?

(But enough about Criminal Minds. I’d rather focus on something that actually has thought put into it.)

The same thing is happening here in ASH; from River Heights, we can extrapolate that Nancy is well-off, straight-forward, comfortable largely around adults (think about it — ignoring the usual phone characters, we only meet one person around Nancy’s age in RH, and she hates her), and has a drive to be Somewhere Other than her small town.

Another interesting point is that River Heights is chosen as the backdrop for something that has only happened twice in the series, and only once been done well: a personal revenge story against Nancy herself. Sure, RAN attempted it, but RAN’s story is — if you haven’t read that meta, spoilers — hot, flaming garbage, and the personal revenge plotline is bungled to the extreme, resulting in it not putting across that theme very effectively.

ASH is different; from the very beginning, it’s obvious that whoever is doing this is working off of a person grudge against Nancy specifically — and burned down the town hall in order to implicate her, so they’re not playing around. It’s the reason that the culprit search is so focused, which really benefits the games as well. The question isn’t really “who would want to get rid of Town Hall”, it’s “who hates Nancy enough to burn down a building to get her in trouble”. It makes questioning so much more interesting — and very full of mines, which is Great — when it’s the person, rather than the specific crime, that matters.

The last thing I’ll touch on in this introduction is a question that the fandom has posed both seriously and jokingly many times over the last….almost exactly 10 years (10 years!!! I need to lie down my land!!!) since the game first came out: where are the Hardy Boys? Surely, if there was ever a game where they made sense to appear, it would be this one; their friend is in prison and needs the help of practiced investigators — you’d think that even if Carson wouldn’t think of hiring them (which, as desperate as he was, he totally would have), that Nancy would have given them a call, if only to see if ATAC had anything on the suspects.

There are two reasons why the Hardy Boys don’t appear, from a storytelling perspective (ignoring the issue of how much money it would cost to include them or any other technical considerations), no matter how much I would have liked them here, or how much sense it would have been to at least name drop them, if not make them phone friends.

The first is to keep the game centered on River Heights. Everyone in the game — both suspects and allies — is from River Heights and is a part of the town’s makeup. Our suspects reporter, a politician-slash-ice-cream-store-owner, an ex-detective-turned-antiques-dealer, and a college student born and raised in RH. They represent different facets of the town — the media, the political, the business, and the rising generation — and so each represent a part of the town. Nancy’s allies all fall under the “rising generation” — the “Future of the Town”, if you will — or under the justice system category, with Carson. Even the Chief represents another facet — the law — that can both hurt and help Nancy in turn. By keeping all suspects and allies tied to the town, the mystery and the story can focus on exactly what’s going down in River Heights, without any distractions.

The second reason that the Hardy Boys don’t appear is a little less obvious and a little less cut-and-dried plain fact, but I find it compelling enough to mention here: Ned is present. Other than as a foil in CAP (and an oddity in CRE/VEN), the Hardy Boys don’t appear in the games where Ned is present — it tends to be an either/or thing as far as phone characters are concerned. The why of this is, admittedly, conjecture, but I do find it fascinating that the two (three, technically) don’t intersect — and when they do, it’s to compare them.

Also there are not enough fics of the time Nancy sent Ned to hang out with the Hardy Boys like their house was a vacation kennel and Joe broke Ned’s car. Just saying.

Ned represents River Heights, safety, security, constancy, and comfort — the same things that the other River Heights phone friends (Carson, George, Bess, Hannah) do, albeit to a slightly lesser extent. The Hardy Boys, on the other hand, represent excitement, danger, the unknown, new discoveries, and growth — as do, in different extents, the non-River Heights returning phone friends (Hotchkiss, Savannah, Prudence).

Nancy sits squarely in the middle of these two extremes; she’s from River Heights, but she’s not exactly of River Heights, if you get my meaning. As the games have progressed, they’ve shown Nancy moving further and further away from safe, small, friend-related cases to professional jobs with more than a few people actively trying to kill her. For me, that’s the reason we don’t see the Hardy Boys and Ned mostly in the same games; they represent different spheres of Nancy’s life.

And, had competent writer(s) stayed and the games not, well, imploded due to Penny being one of the worst business people I’ve ever encountered, it would have been interesting to see that push-and-pull dynamic being expressed in Nancy’s relationships. As it is…thank Heaven for AO3, am I right?

Now, let’s refocus on ASH in specific, and talk about its composite parts, shall we?

The Title:

Other than being catchy and evocative (and telling us exactly what crime was committed here — that of arson), Alibi in Ashes is also a notable title for its flexibility in meaning. Like CAP, there are so many different connotations for “fire”, and all of them apply neatly to this game.

First, we’re dealing with the literal fire that sends Town Hall up in smoke, and the inciting incident for our mystery (and Nancy’s jail time). Next, we have the word “fire” standing in for “emergency” — as in “where’s the fire” — and there seems to be a new emergency every five minutes in this game — the fire, Nancy’s arrest, Bess breaking the vase, Carson’s absence, etc.

After that, we venture even further down the abstract hole, and dive into the political — whistleblowing, which is often referred to as “setting a/the fire”. This is partially what Nancy does, and is also what Brenda likes to do, no matter the accuracy of the report. Finally, we stay with Brenda for the term “media wildfire” – which is exactly what Nancy’s arrest (due to Brenda’s machinations) causes.

The title in total — “Alibi in Ashes” — also works in a few different senses. Literally speaking, Nancy’s alibi — and the evidence to prove it — is in the ashes of Town Hall, waiting to be discovered. More metaphorically, due to the work of the culprit, Nancy’s alibi (aka her innocence) is in pieces, in ashes — it’s been destroyed. Finally, in a literary sense, Nancy’s situation can be shown in the “ashes” of a past life — in the “wildfire” that destroyed Alexei’s life and career as a detective.

Its acronym being “ASH” is also pretty awesome, not gonna lie.

It’s the multifaceted nature of the title that really gives it its staying power, catchiness aside. Many titles are just as good as ASH’s, but almost none work harder at having so many possible meanings that are all represented in the text of the game itself.

The Mystery:

Sufficiently chastened into spending more time at home (at least for a few days), Nancy comes home in order to spearhead her team (consisting of Ned, Bess, and George) to victory in the River Heights Clues Challenge. This friendly little competition that included No Cheating Whatsoever on the part of Other Teams heats up, however, when a clue leads Nancy to the historic Town Hall — only to have it erupt in flames minutes later. Coughing but still moving, Nancy escapes the inferno…only to be greeted by the suspicious press, declaring her guilty of setting a beloved building on fire.

Things only get worse when Chief McGinnis shows up the next day, taking Nancy into custody due to political pressure in the town. An arsonist is afoot in River Heights, and unless her friends can dig up some dirt on someone — or everyone — else, it looks like Nancy Drew won’t just be convicted by the press, but by the town that raised her…

As a mystery, ASH has some great personal stakes — for Nancy and for our suspects — and pretty layered motivations. The cast comes alive through their relations to Nancy, especially as she’s unprotected with Carson being in Australia. The shift in the mystery that occurs when Nancy can finally get out and speak to the suspects — and seeing how differently they treat her than how they treated the other members of the cast — really helps to add something new to a mystery that’s tying itself up a bit, and give it the last push of gas it needs to get us to the conclusion.

While it’s not the most involved, complex, or thematic Nancy Drew mystery ever, it does what it needs to do, and does it well – and that’s honestly all I want in a game more devoted (as it should be) to character than it is to a twisty plot.

The Suspects:

ASH has a rather full cast (not because of the size of the suspect pool, but because there are so many people involved that should be mentioned), so let’s get started with our suspects, then move on to our other cast members.

Brenda Carlton, resident Reporter of River Heights News and perpetual thorn in Nancy’s side, is both our first suspect and our culprit, proving once again that the media cannot be trusted. We haven’t had a reporter be our culprit in 21 games (TRT’s Lisa being the previous example), so I guess we were due, but Brenda is a delightfully hateful example of just how bad the media can be, so kudos for that.

And this game didn’t even come out in an election year. How refreshing.

As a suspect, Brenda is awesome. Catty, arrogant, and with a penchant for dressing up as Nancy – titian wig and all! – to perform her dastardly, dastardly acts, the game doesn’t try to be subtle for one second that she’s up to no good. While Nancy and Brenda are equally as interested — and equally as talented, by all appearances – in ferreting out a good story, Brenda takes it a step further and makes one if she can’t find one – and nurses a grudge against Nancy for exposing her for it.

Up next is ice cream shop owner and scaly politician Antonia “Toni” Scallari, a woman with a bright-eyed, smiling public face — and if you don’t like that face, don’t worry…she has others. Toni is your typical politician — pretends to be nice and pleasant, is actually a scheming villain, hates people who do honest work, and thinks that fairness in government is a luxury – but the game does stop shy of making her The Villain, preferring instead to show the crimes she’s committed in her search for money and power and letting her quietly bow out of the election.

So definitely better than she deserved, but at least the game shows her corrupt nature rather than sweeping it under the rug.

As a suspect, Toni would have made a decent villain, but it would have turned the game into a tale of cold political expediency and machinations, rather than hot-blooded revenge, and that would have been a shame. I’m a fan of how the games from about TOT on always have multiple characters who Do Crimes and Bad Things, and Toni is a prime example of a bad guy who just happens not to be The Bad Guy.

Third on the docket of suspects is our resident grumpy old man (and Nancy’s foil in this game) Alexei Markovic, who provides not only some of the best voice work in the game, but whose age is also proof that Nancy’s dad really is the silver-haired DILF we’ve been waiting for.

C’mon, he prosecuted Alexei when Alexei was 20. The youngest Carson could have been was 25 if he booked it through college, took no breaks to study for the LSAT, and blazed through law school — and immediately got a job the day after graduation. And seeing as Alexei has the “old coot” personality and grey hair…well, Carson is probably straddling the line between DILF and GILF.

(I’m so sorry for that aside, guys, it got away from me. I’m equally sorry for the first recorded use of the term “GILF” in the Nancy Drew fandom. It’s not the legacy I wanted, but perhaps the legacy I deserve.)

Back to Alexei!

Alexei is a great character, full-stop, and his VA just improves the experience more. Bitter and jaded, but by no means uncaring or evil or myopic about his troubles, Alexei is, where Nancy is concerned, a bleeding heart whose blood happens to run cold. While he could be bitter about Carson playing a part in taking away everything he had, and thus treat Nancy poorly, he instead empathizes deeply, wants to help, and, in effect, treats her the way that somebody — anybody — should have treated him.

As a suspect, Alexei, as Nancy’s foil in the game, would have been a poor choice; he’s not really there to be suspicious, he’s there to show the stakes of the mystery. No matter if Carson could find a world-class defender to get Nancy off the charges, no matter if they couldn’t even indict her, the stakes aren’t “Nancy will go to jail for Realsies” — the stakes are the town turning its back, she loses those she loves, and is unable to do the job that is the essence of who she is. In other words, if things go poorly, Nancy becomes Alexei.

One of the reasons that Alexei is such a good character is that he recognizes this immediately, and is determined to do all he can to prevent that. Sure, he knows the odds are stacked against him, and the whole town is his enemy, and he won’t get anything for helping out — but at his heart, he’s still the Magnificent Markovic; “no case too big, no fee too small,” remember?

Last of the actual suspects is noted red-light runner and girl in envious, envious green, Deirdre Shannon. Deirdre’s a rather divisive character in the fandom — especially of late — but is a character I stand firmly on the side of great, for a few reasons.

The first is that the games took a 1-dimensional, wouldn’t-cast-a-shadow-if-you-turned-her-sideways character from the Girl Detective books, there purely to make Nancy look good, and instead gave her a fully realized character, sympathetic motivations, and a whip-sharp tongue.

The second is her hilarious banter with the River Heights crew and wry sense of humor, which would be enough to make her a favorite character of mine alone.

Annoyed by constant, unflattering comparisons to Nancy from her parents (her father also being a lawyer in River Heights), she’s amused when Nancy’s arrested — though, if you read in between the lines, never suspects Nancy actually set the fire nor thinks Nancy will ultimately get the blame — though not as amused at Bess’ spying on her. She harbors a not-secret crush on Ned and enjoys spending time with him, girlfriend or no girlfriend — though it should be noted that even Ned isn’t spared her sharp tongue.

As a culprit, Deirdre would have been the obvious choice for writers who were the caliber of…well, of the Girl Detective series writers, but thankfully we’re on a higher playing field with Nik, Cathy, and the rest of the crew behind ASH. Deirdre is a snarky observer, but that’s as far as her ‘evil’ goes — and looking at her methodology for solving the Clues Challenge clues (and her commentary on her compatriots) is a joy — real detective work, indeed!

After our suspects, let’s talk about our players on the side of Right — or at least, on the side of Nancy — starting with the girl detective herself (as we will for all of the Nancy Games). ASH provides a better look at Nancy than we’ve had before (as befitting the first of the Nancy Games)

Nancy Drew is our main character, sometimes-protagonist, and at times villain protagonist — especially in the eyes of our culprits — when it comes to unearthing long-buried hurts and wrongs. Stuck in jail for a crime she didn’t commit due to political and community pressure, for the first time, the girl detective can’t really do anything by herself, and is relegated to “phone friend” while her boyfriend and childhood friends are running around frantically trying to introduce reasonable doubt in a frame-up par excellence.

Our source in SPY refers to Nancy as an autodidact — one who teaches themselves — and that’s a perfect summation of Nancy’s character. She’s no museum expert, nor cowgirl, nor entomologist, nor any other hat she’s put on — but she can fake it if someone hums a few bars. Her other big pluses as a detective are (once again according to the source in SPY) in interrogation and code/puzzle breaking — and the differences in the questions that Ned et al pose and the questions Nancy poses to our suspects does bear out the first point, at the very least. Her code and puzzle skills are the usual fallback for the games’ mysteries, more so in the modern games than in older ones (which is both a good and bad thing, depending on what types of puzzles you like).

In ASH, we learn about a key trait of Nancy’s — self-sufficiency, and, more importantly, the limits of that self-sufficiency. Able to fake most things until she makes it, Nancy is finally put in a situation where she can’t do anything by herself, and it’s a source of frustration and impatience to her that overrides other feelings (“Also, I’m in jail, and I would really like to get out,” anyone?). It’s rather stunning that Nancy goes from a triumphant Girl in the Dress to stuck in a police station, relying on the phone and her own intuition, and it does some good for her character exposure and development.

Next up is Edward “Ned” Nickerson, erstwhile boyfriend and long-suffering Emerson College student, Ned is part of an honors fraternity and is in River Heights for the Clues Challenge — and to see his girlfriend, of course. While his attempts to be Detective Ned have really only resulting in finding the keys that were in his pocket, Ned is nevertheless quite useful in getting information out of Deirdre (and is responsible for one of the funniest bits of dialogue in the game that’s not spoken directly by Deirdre).

According to the files from SPY, Ned’s defining characteristics are his honestly and his loyalty, both of which mean that he’s the ideal ‘phone friend’ when Nancy’s in a pickle — and means of course he’d be front and center, ready to do anything he needs to in order to help clear Nancy’s name. His main role in the game, however (and very interesting, as one of 6 or so Neirdre shippers in the fandom!) is to be the object of Deirdre’s window-shopping affections and to be made fun of (good-naturedly, of course) by his friends.

Because of his relationship (such as it is) with an overtly antagonistic character, Ned’s a lot of fun in ASH. I feel like he gets a lot of characterization that he often lacks in most other games (excepting CAP and SPY, of course), and it just makes me like him more.

George Fayne is also here to help — though, irritatingly, not required the same way Bess and Ned are — with her knowledge of technology and impeccable Togo-watching skills. George is a great character in the OG Nancy Drew books – the ultra-modern, straightforward, clumsy flapper, to contrast Bess’ more genteel sensibilities and Nancy’s down to earth, practical, yet fashionable nature — and one of the greatest disservices that the 60s rewrites, post-60s ND books, and, yes, the game series has done to the ND universe is to turn her into a “hurr-durr tomboy because name George like boy name” sort of mockery of her original character.

And no, I’m not crediting her as “Georgia”, because that was not her name in the books. Her name was George, full stop — once again, quite fashionable of her to have a “boy’s” name in the 20s/30s — named after her grandfather. You may fight me on this, but you will not win.

George is noted to have above-average skills in mechanical engineering, and indeed creates a jammer to stop Brenda’s broadcast in the game, but is otherwise…well, kind of pushed to the side in favor of Bess and Ned, her enmity with Deirdre notwithstanding. I’ll address this issue more in The Un-Favorite and The Fix, but a few tweaks while developing the game would have gone a long way towards defining George as a character — we’re ignoring MED wholesale, don’t worry — and helping the gameplay be a bit more varied.

George’s maternal cousin, Elizabeth “Bess” Marvin, on the other hand, is basically required to get what you need to know from Toni, but is very much not the favorite person of Alexei, due to her breaking an antique vase upon coming into his shop.

When a vase can survive the Nazis but not Bess Marvin, it seems a shame that Bess didn’t go to France with Nancy during DAN. They would have found that secret room with the artwork in like a minute and a half.

Bess is mentioned to lack judgment (her reveal of George’s crush on the snack shop boy illustrates that pretty well) but to have above-average intuition and, while manipulated easily enough, is too honest for that manipulation to really cause any lasting harm. Because of her sweet, open nature — and her open pocketbook when it comes to ice cream — she’s a favorite of Toni’s, and uses that in order to try to clear Nancy’s name and discover just what illegal, corrupt pies Toni has her grubby little politician hands in.

Going a little less friendly and a little less college-aged for our next helper, we turn to Chief McGinnis, a grumpy pushover of a cop who’s really only important for letting Nancy walk around a Police Station and solve a crime while under arrest because he didn’t wanna do his job, and for a hilarious diatribe about Pancake City.

Seriously, I go and watch that scene every so often when I need a good laugh. ASH has some fabulous comic writing, and McGinnis’ rant is a prime example.

McGinnis is pretty ineffectual as a helper, but he does allow for the first 2/3 of the game to happen by locking Nancy up (“You cannot leave jail! This is a very basic concept!), and for that, we salute him.

Rounding out our cast of Nancy-supporters is Carson Drew, who is (frustratingly, to him) stuck in Australia when all this goes down, and thus cannot use his legal prowess to free her.

Of course, as a prosecutor, I’m not sure how much help he’d be anyway, but hey, a lawyer is a lawyer is a lawyer, at least in the ever-wise eyes of HER Interactive.

Carson’s really just there (or not there, as the case may be) to explain how Nancy can be locked up with such a powerful lawyer father, honestly, but he gets some good lines in, so we’ll forgive it. He’s also there to round out the “River Heights Cast”, but I can’t help feeling that, if we were gonna have another Drew in this game, I would have taken the puppy over the golf ball. #Togo4Ever

The Favorite:

There’s a lot to love in ASH, so I’m going to focus on the biggest things. Suffice to say if a part of the game isn’t in this section but isn’t in the Un-Favorite, I love it.

I’m going to start off just by saying that the dialogue in ASH is wonderful. We’ve got distinct individual voices, sarcasm galore, enough cattiness to fuel the Halle Berry movie, and great interpersonal work, especially with Alexei.

One of the places Nik truly shines is dialogue, and a small-town environment like River Heights really shows off his skill. I sometimes hear the charge that “no one talks like this!!” leveled against the Nik games but, honestly, I talk to people every day who speak similarly to Nik’s characters, allowing for the differences in written and spoken speech, and so do most people I know. Allusions, analogies, metaphors, and aphorisms aren’t just for English class — they’re part of speaking well.

If you really wanna see dialogue where “no one talks like this,” look at the early ND games. FIN is a particularly bad offender, but SCK and STFD aren’t much better.

My favorite puzzle in the game is the letter swap puzzle inside of Scoop, by far. Sure, I enjoy other puzzles — Alexei’s number box, fingerprinting, the suspect board — immensely, and have a blast doing them, but I can spend hours figuring out old quotes on that aqua background and not notice the time passing one jot. It’s fun, references old games, and is exactly the kind of puzzle that gets me excited anyway, and I love it to pieces.

My favorite moment in the game is probably the moment Nancy takes control and goes and talks to Toni, oddly enough. The stark difference in what Toni says about Nancy while she’s in the station to what she says to her face is like a brick wall to the chest, and is, every time, the moment when you see exactly how River Heights turned on Alexei so completely as to push him out of his job and into the antique business. It’s a moment of almost stomach-sinking disgust, and I absolutely adore the game for not pulling its punches and instead keeping true to one of its major themes — that you need to see who people are in the dark, not when they’re facing you.

In the light of day, Alexei is just a cantankerous old man; Toni is a smiling, motherly ice cream store owner, Brenda is a hard-hitting reporter, and Deirdre is a vapid Queen Bee type. Under the cover of darkness, however, we see Alexei’s charity and heart, Toni’s corruption and two-faced nature, Brenda’s unethical and illegal means to her ends, and Deirdre’s soft center. And I love the game for pointing out the world of difference it makes to see what someone truly is.

For my last point, there are two characters are of note in this game that I love for very different reasons.

The first is Alexei, who is the inspiration behind the title of the meta. There’s something incredibly compelling about Alexei’s down-to-earth nature and the way he deals with being dealt the poorest hand in the world without ever dipping into “woe is me” or any other self-indulgent crap. Insatiably curious, bright, and caustic, Alexei feels like the perfect person to sit down, drink a cup of something warm, and talk about puzzles, antiques, and harsh truths with.

He’s a character who watched his entire life fall apart with one bad person’s actions — “one time, just once, I tried to speak truth to power, and man if I didn’t pay the price” — but still had it in him to keep going, even if it wasn’t what he was doing before. He went from being the town’s golden boy to a pariah, and yet still looks after River Heights and its history, even becoming the curator of the River Heights Museum (when it opens). The difference between his reaction to being falsely accused to, say, Noisette Tornade’s (DAN) reaction to being “falsely” accused is huge and, I think, rather inspiring.

The second is Deirdre Shannon, if you couldn’t tell by my gushing about her above, and, can I just say, I love everything about her. There’s a temptation to assume at first blush that she’s your average boy-stealing popular rich girl a la WAC, but actually looking at her tells a different story.

Sure, the rich part is true — but so is Nancy, and from the looks of their houses and all the trips/vacations they do, the Marvins and Faynes seem pretty well off as well. She shares the tendency for a sharp tongue with Nancy as well (as befitting her status as Nancy’s foil in DED, stay tuned!). Deirdre also doesn’t qualify as popular — her two “friends” that she hangs out with in ASH for the Clues Challenge are still in their “free trial”, and aren’t really her friends.

And her feelings for Ned? While she openly flirts with him (even if Ned doesn’t get it until the girls tell him), Deirdre isn’t looking to actually cause damage (if only because she sees Ned as completely unobtainable), and is up-front about everything she does to Nancy’s face. Putting yourself in her shoes, she’s a bright girl, in love with a boy who is the definition of out-of-reach, is constantly (and negatively) compared to the boy’s girlfriend, and feels stuck in her small town, desperate to move beyond the boredom. In other words, in any other story, she’s the protagonist. It just so happens — as she’s acutely aware — not to be her story. And that’s the kind of character that it’s impossible for me not to love.

And speaking of things impossible to love…

The Un-Favorite:

My biggest problem with ASH, as was mentioned above, is the fact that George is relegated mechanically and interpersonally to the “unimportant” bin. Nancy, Bess, and Ned all have suspects that like and don’t like them, while all George gets is a note that her and Deirdre particularly don’t get along — no extrapolation, no explanation. It makes the decision to include her as a playable character feel a bit like a last-minute decision, like Bess and Ned were planned and George was supposed to be watching Togo until the very end when she makes the jammer or something.

My least favorite puzzle in the game has got to be the stacking of the boxes and crawling towards the exit at the start to escape the fire; it’s a time-sensitive puzzle, which are usually my least favorite, and takes the mechanics of Renate’s bag puzzle and small visual distinctions, which we’ve already noted in the last meta are not particularly my jam either. I wouldn’t replace or get rid of it, it’s just my least favorite. I tend to start my game from a save I have after the puzzle — while I have to refresh on the opening occasionally, it’s better than the frustration from the combined puzzle.

I don’t have a least favorite moment from the game, to be quite honest, so let’s move on to the last section of this meta.

The Fix:

So how would I fix Alibi in Ashes?

The big thing I would change would to be to ensure that each member of Team Danger should have one culprit that likes them and one culprit that hates especially them. Nancy already has Alexei for her plus and Brenda for her minus, and Bess should keep Toni and Alexei, respectively, but both Ned and George need one more. Luckily, with four friends and four suspects, they’ll divide up evenly very easily.

My fix would be to have Ned keep Deirdre as his plus and give him Toni as his minus (local business owners usually don’t like football players for being rowdy and taking up a lot of seats, plus he’s Nancy’s boyfriend and staunchest defender).

George, meanwhile, keeps Deirdre as her minus (though flesh it out a bit more — what exactly went wrong there?) and gains Brenda as her plus. Not only would this make the endgame where she creates the jammer a little more interesting, I’d note that George and Brenda have a bit in common, due to Brenda’s technical and mechanical prowess that we see throughout the game. Throw in something with George having done a technical internship with the River Heights broadcasting network or something during high school, and we’d get a slightly different side of Brenda, even though George still dislikes her privately.

Just fixing this issue would be enough to where nothing in ASH would stand out as a real negative, but for my second, smaller fix, I’d make the friends able to call each other to change off, instead of having to call Nancy, then have her call the other person. That slows the game down and is needlessly clunky, and I’m still not quite sure why they did it.

Once those two things are fixed, there’s nothing in the way of ASH being a truly excellent game. Sure, it’s not as thematic as the few games preceding it, but it’s not supposed to be — it’s supposed to have an entertaining mystery while showing us a little more of who Nancy really is and why she does what she does, and on those (and most other) fronts, ASH is an incredibly solid, enjoyable game that I replay whenever I get the chance.

#nancy drew #clue crew #nancy drew games #alibi in ashes #nancy drew meta #long post #my meta #ASH #video games

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an-american-teen-against-crime · 4 years ago

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Why You Should Watch CW: Nancy Drew

Now hear me out- if you’re reading this post, you’re either one of three people.

1. You’ve already seen the show! So you can either skip this or read it to reminisce about the show

2. You don’t give a flying fig about this show and haven’t really interacted with it much

3. You’ve seen some stuff about the show, at least enough for you to decide it looks like crap

Well, allow me to recount why this show is actually amazing and you should give it a chance/second chance :) (heheh since that’s...that’s yakno....second chance...okay im sorry)

Preface:

Now, I was really skeptical about this show at first too, don’t get me wrong. When I heard it was going to be on the CW I was like “.....good luck with that.” I have watched a lot of CW back in the day and they are certainly deserving of their reputation. I saw the casting and I was like WHAT !?!??!!?

When the trailer came out, like everyone else I was salty about the inclusion of ghosts/the supernatural and hoped this wasn’t just another Supernatural taking on the name of Nancy Drew. (I enjoyed the first few seasons of Supernatural but not after and also these are two very different stories)

However, the trailer was indeed intriguing and made me decide to give it a chance, despite it having that darker undertone.

I watched the first episode, and while still a little skeptical, I was hooked.

The Actual Show Content:

Writing:

The actual structure of the show is really well done. It has an overarching plot, in fact, several plots, two intertwined mysteries, as well as character and relationship development. There is a balance of answers given to the viewer over the course of the season, while still leaving questions to keep you intrigued so that it doesn’t get frustrating while also not revealing everything at once, so every reveal feels earned.

The mysteries are also very well written, leaving clues along the way, that helped me solve what was going on but on the times I missed the clues I could re-watch and see what I missed. They are set up well in a way that the viewer can figure it out themselves, but not so much that it’s crazy obvious. And honestly making theories and predictions about this show is one of the many fun parts. The ending to the mystery is ultimately very satisfying which made me happy.

Sure, you have your classic CW relationship drama, but I think it was actually toned down for this show. There are a lot of changes, but the show has a very distinct feel to it, and I think ultimately holds the core feelings of what makes Nancy Drew such a special character. They have so many references to the books, and show so much care for the character’s lore and despite the changes, there were so many times I really felt I could see the original character coming out in them- it’s a different version, but honestly ever form of Nancy Drew media is different- this is just this specific version.

Before I get into characters, I would like to mention the fact that while there is an additional element of the supernatural, it works really well for the plot and ..... no spoilers but I’m actually so glad they put it in. Despite the supernatural angle it still very much works as a mystery structure which is the most important thing to me.

Characters:

I love Nancy so much in this version. Kennedy McMann is what I think of when I think of what Nancy’s face looks like. She’s a lot colder than the Nancy I’m used to, but that’s understandable considering her circumstances- and I think you see her grow and open up over the course of the show.

She IS Nancy though in my mind- her witty remarks, putting the case above her own well being, the breaking and entering, the clever tricks to find information, putting the pieces together, all that. And the emotion Kennedy is able to portray is amazing- this show made me cry. You really feel for Nancy.

One of my favorite things about this show is the classic “I work alone” and a bunch of friends being like “do you now”. But it works so well as you see the group grow to trust each other and work together and care for one another. I am a SUCKER for found family stories and the Claw gang is wonderful.

Bess is her usual bubbly self, probably the casting I was the most disappointed with, but the actress does a wonderful job. Her whole story is a lot different and she’s not George’s cousin, but the personality??? Is perfect.

George is probably one of my favorite characters to come out of this show. Well... I love them all so much but she really sticks out to me. She had a completely different arc from what I was expecting and at first I was like “really...this is what they’re going for...” but honestly I think they really turned it around and.....I just love George and I care about her and want her to be happy. Also she does seem a bit different but she has that brash, kind of tough personality that I feel is classic George. :)

Nick/Ned: I still forget to call this man Nick, but oh well. I love him. Probably one of the best actors on this show. He’s so sweet. Like so many times there are things he says and I’m like OMG THATS NED!!!!!!! Like one time they ask him what he found out from following someone and he just replies “that I don’t like following people.” Like tell me that’s not something Ned would say. He’s. He’s a great man. I would date him. He is a comforting soul.

Ace is a new character for the show that made me so confused I was wondering why he was here- but the Claw gang...Claw Crew would not be complete without him. He’s got some of the best lines and is basically this show’s version of Joe Hardy. He’s also really smart,,,,, and got some secrets but I’ll leave them for you to find out. ;)

Also side note Carson is amazing and honestly perfect. On point. Very solid characterization.

Anyways....I love this show. If you wanna try it out before season two comes later this month, it’s free to binge the full season on the CW website, or you could probably buy or rent it if you’re feeling boojee.

Please go watch the show and then come talk to me about it!! Or live blog your reactions. Either ways, just please get in on this great piece of content. :D

Also I wanna tag @naancypants and @nancydrew-onthecase queens of this show and the Nace ship :3

#nancy drew #clue crew #nancy drew pc games #nancy drew books

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hnybnny · 4 years ago

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properly introducing my main fanservants!!!

LOTS OF PHOTOS/ART AND SUCH UNDER THE CUT BUT LIKE,,,, THIS IS JUST. A QUICK INTRODUCTION. TO MY PRIMARY SERVANT BASTARD CHILDREN- (in order of appearance; Sebastian Moran, John Watson, Enola Holmes, Columbia, Thomas Edison (True), Nicolas Flamel, Captain Stormalong, Edgar Allan Poe)

Feel free to hop in my ask box if you wanna talk about them or have any questions!!! Thank you for reading ily-

Colonel Sebastian Moran (Assassin)

My primary servant OC by far! Professor James Moriarty’s chief-of-staff and right hand man- the second most dangerous man in London, after the Napoleon of Crime himself. Nicknamed ‘Basher’ or ‘Tiger Jack’, among others..

Moran is- or was- the most skilled marksman in the British Army, before he was dishonorably discharged. There are only a handful of men on the face of the continent able to shoot as well as he. As well as being an unnaturally skilled shot, he is a devoted sportsman and big-game hunter, and has notoriously tangled with tigers by himself in India- a predator that rather aptly describes the man himself. He authored two books, and his feats are still legendary in India, where his record 'bag of tigers' still goes unmatched. Although his outwards appearance was that of a respectable London gentleman and honorable military veteran, he gained a reputation in the evil underworld and was recruited by James Moriarty, serving as his 'chief of staff' of his criminal empire as well as his personal assassin for jobs that required his peculiar skill with a rifle.

The man is, as one Chaldean staff member puts it, a 'stone-cold badass'. He has a nerve of iron, and is vehemently loyal to both Professor Moriarty and his Master. He lives for danger, and the thrill that comes with 'kill or be killed' situations. Moran is also extremely easy and obvious to read- smiling 'like an idiot' when happy, and 'frowning like thunder' when angry. He does rather enjoy killing people, and is overall a man of few morals (although still having more than the Professor)- which, paired together, is what led to his leave from the military as he's practically a walking example of the 'Colonel Kilgore' trope. The more challenging the kill, the more enjoyment he gets out of it. As a strange upside, Moran has no illusions of how he's a right bastard.

"Ask anyone who knew me in the army, and you'll hear the same things about Basher: tiger in the field, bounder in the mess; a good man to have your back, but a bad man to show your back to; trust him with a fight, but not your sister, your wallet, or a deck of cards."

His Noble Phantasm, which represents his unmatched skill with a rifle, is called BEBR DER KHANH KHALI - Persian for ‘the tiger in the empty house’.

The bullet shot is, unlike others, a specially-made expanding revolver bullet which makes Moran unable to be likely linked to the kill. Much like a ghost or a tiger stalking its prey, he is completely silent in his attack, and the target can never see him coming before they're already dead- and just as quickly he is gone, seemingly disappearing into thin air without a trace.

No matter the conditions or distance, as long as Moran can see his target in some way- whether by the naked eye or through his scope, or perhaps in some other manner- his shot is guaranteed to hit its mark with deadly accuracy.

Also, if you find him not wearing his coat, it’s probably because he gave it to Jack. He loves knife child. They deserve proper clothes.

(source: amon-sheep on twitter)

(source: manalmmune on twitter)

[[LINK TO HIS CHAPTER IN MY FANSERVANT FIC]]

Doctor John Watson (Caster)

The famed Boswell and best friend of the great detective himself. Aman who is most like his traditional origin, as opposed to the heavyset comedic figure modern media tends to make him out to be- aka the Watson that is described by Doyle as a former rugby player, an army man, and popular among the fairer sex due to his handsomeness, intelligence, and charm.

He quickly becomes a proper ‘fatherly’ figure in Chaldea and especially to Master, due to his big dad energies, despite never having the chance to be a father in his life. Chaldea also appreciates finally having a proper doctor that isn’t a Berserker or... whatever’s going on with Ascelpius. Watson is Holmes’s life compass, the loyal companion always by his side who balances the detective out.

Although he’s a caster, he also wields his trusty wartime revolver, and is curious in that, unlike most casters, he has one offensive Noble Phantasm- it’s his secondary, and his primary ‘Conductor of Light’ crystallizes Watson's role as a 'whetstone' for Sherlock Holmes's mind and unmatched stimulator of his famous flatmate's genius. As Holmes himself summarizes, “It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.” This Noble Phantasm is purely supportive, serving to bring out the absolute best in an ally- whether it be manifested in power, magic, or inspiration- and temporarily unlocking a vast wealth of potential that they might not have even known they had. The exact limitations or bounds of it is not known, as it can seemingly extend in purpose as far as Watson or his Master might need it to in a given situation- able to provide buffs, grant moments of unmatched mental clarity or courage, and even unlock hidden abilities and Noble Phantasms if the moment is dire enough. His secondary NP is one he rarely uses, and hates to do so, because of the bad memories it dredges up- called ‘The Reichenbach Solution’, it creates a reality marble recreation of Reichenbach, with the roaring waters and a single shot from Watson himself sending the enemy tumbling off the falls to their demise.

Watson was old friends with Moran in the army, and reconnect during their time in Chaldea (despite Holmes and Moriarty’s protests), and he also joins the ‘author squad’ and spends much time with them. He is a rational man and sturdy as they come, always there when needed; whether it be to patch up wounds, help solve mysteries, or to help Master deal with all the mental trauma from their adventures (because holy shit they need HELP-). Also Also he probably just straight up adopts Mash, he and Holmes are her new gay dads.

(source: gomooink on twitter)

Enola Holmes (Ruler)

If Sherlock is the representation of all great detectives, then the teenage Enola Holmes is the representation of all female sleuths. Originally far too weak to be a servant- her source material being extremely modern (Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer), she contains the essence of the great detectives of the fairer sex, but most importantly of two Divine spirits- Athena and Persephone (not Ma’at, despite what the image says-), both Greek goddesses. Athena is the dominant of the two, and a maternal figure to Enola, while Persephone is content just to sit back and enjoy the ride.

The younger sister of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes (and sometimes, the mysterious elder sibling Sherrinford), Enola is much like her more famous brother- similar in lanky stature and physical features, including the prominent hawk-like nose. She is plain in appearance but behind bright eyes hides an intelligent, clever mind, albeit a stubborn and hard-headed one. She is a rebel at heart, resisting the efforts of society to shove her into the mold of a perfect subservient Victorian woman. Enola often uses being underestimated due to her sex and age to her advantage, and, like Sherlock, is quite adept at the art of disguise. With her Spirit Origin also containing figures like Nancy Drew and Miss Marple, Enola is a talented private investigator with a knack for seeing things from angles that other’s can’t- like that of a woman.

Also yeah, she gay. Keep scrolling. She would like to hold hands with Mash very much.

(enola w/ her brother mycroft; source, dewa-chan)

(concepts for her ascensions, mostly cemented, again courtesy of dewa-chan who i owe my life to always and forever-)

Columbia (Ruler)

The Divine Servant calling herself Columbia is a complex individual. At face value, she is the personification of the United States of America, often visualized as a goddess; a quasi-mythical figure first written about by the enslaved poet Phillis Wheatley during the Revolutionary War in her work To His Excellency, George Washington. Columbia is, in fact, an amalgamation of two lesser Divine Spirits. One of them is the Roman goddess of liberty, Libertas. The majority of personifications of liberty are merely aspects and appearances of her, including the Statue of Liberty and the unidentified woman in the painting Liberty Leading the People, leading to Libertas having a more powerful- if rather confusing- Spirit Origin compared to most other minor Roman deities. The other is Columbia herself; a goddess first encountered by Chaldea during the odd adventures with Paul Bunyan. She is the symbol of America, and although she is technically a goddess, she is not worshiped- instead existing as an anthropomorphic personification akin to Uncle Sam. She is a goddess crafted by humankind, a manifestation of the thirst for freedom and equality that resides in the heart of man.

However, her existence is still closely intertwined with Libertas, having come from her 'lineage'; Columbia explains that if other personifications of liberty were to manifest, such as Marianne- the French icon of liberty, they would have to have Libertas accompanying their own Spirit Origin to be anything more than a Phantom. Columbia is not only linked to the nation carrying the name America, but to the land itself- in her earliest incarnations she served as a representation of the Americas- both South and North- to those across the Atlantic. She protects all who walk across the great frontier, and all those who have walked it before. Geronimo often voices his hopes that she is the same goddess that brought the first peoples of the yet-unnamed land delicious maize in abundance; Columbia only ever gives a knowing wink, always keeping the answer to herself.

Columbia tries to speak like a newscaster- that is, without an accent- to hide that fact that her true accent as a Servant is the thickest fucking New York brogue you can imagine. AYYYY, SHE’S WALKIN’ ‘EEEEERE!!!!

She has two Noble Phantasms- a support one, her main, called ‘ TORCH OF THE NEW COLOSSUS: THE DREAM OF A NATION ‘, and an offensive albeit rarely used NP called ‘ STRIKE FOR FREEDOM: DO NOT WEEP, FOR WAR IS KIND ‘ that has anti-Country parameters /because it straight up fuckin’ manifests the american military from all across its history-/

Columbia is just... a big country mom. who can grow to the size of the statue of liberty. whoops.

[[LINK TO HER INTRO CHAPTER IN MY FANSERVANT FIC]]

Thomas Edison (True) (Caster(?))

BASTARD MAN. BASTARD. This Thomas Edison, though being initially called an Alter, is actually the True manifestation of the ‘Wizard of Menlo Park’ without the influence of so many presidential heroic spirits. To match Tesla, he’s a 5*. I have him as Caster but... that’s still up in the air, tbh.

He will steal your Noble Phantasm and claim it as his own. It’s actually one of his Skills- ‘Intellectual Copyright’. It blocks an enemy's ability to use their Noble Phantasm, sealing it for a length of time, while also buffing Edison in return- the strength of the buff received is proportionate to the strength of the sealed Noble Phantasm. This embodies Edison's habit of taking other people's ideas for his own, and while he often improved upon them, he still claimed them as solely his creations. He can copy the abilities of others and shape them to his own needs, always at the ready with a lawsuit in hand if anyone dare complain!

He is not allowed around Ivan or Ganesha due to his history with elephants and electrocution.

His Noble Phantasm (he may have more than one, he gets VERY shifty when asked) is a manifestation of his most terrible and deadly creation- the electric chair. He can also create a reality marble of a fantastical Menlo Park, a thriving center of innovation and invention, using his Territory Creation.

Did I mention he’s a bastard? God, he’s a bastard. He’s incredibly intelligent BUT HE IS A BASTARD. He’s Evil alignment (arguably, may be Chaotic Netural-). It pains Tesla to admit that he actually likes normal Edison (furry man) much more.

Ask him what he did to Louie Le Prince and he’ll sock you in the jaw and take off running (and also not answer).

Nicolas Flamel (Caster)

The Alchemist, the great and immortal Nicolas Flamel himself. He’s a sad old lanky Frenchman DILF dad who misses his wife a lot, and is always ready to throw hands with Merlin and/or Paracelsus. He’s a potential candidate for the Grand Caster class, but is behind Solomon and Merlin in ‘line’. Flamel was a successful French scribe who would gain a reputation as an alchemist after his death in 1418- or at least, his presumed death. He was rumored to have been successful in his creation of the Philosopher's Stone, an artifact with the ability to transmute base metals, and with it was able to create a way to achieve immortality. This Stone was his magnum opus, and he was the first to successfully create it- a fact he makes sure that Paracelsus is aware of at all times.

Also, much like Merlin, he’s not a true Servant. This is THE Nicolas Flamel. But... what happened to Perenelle, his wife? He does not like to talk about it.

He enjoys peace and quiet, educated debate, and reading. Flamel gets on quite well with his fellow Frenchman Dantes, as well as with Waver/El Meloi.

THE DRAGONS OF FLAMEL (Skill): Flamel summons a staff of Cadeceus. Carried by the Greek god Hermes in mythology, it is said "...wake the sleeping and send the awake to sleep. If applied to the dying, their death was gentle; if applied to the dead, they returned to life". In the hands of Flamel, it can stun an enemy or counteract the effects of a stun-inducing skill upon an ally. As well as that, it can channel the effects of its corresponding god-named element mercury, able to dissolve many metals like silver and gold at will. However, like mercury, this skill is extremely volatile and prone to backfiring violently on Flamel if overused.

ELIXER OF LIFE (Skill): The ultimate alchemical creation- the solution, part of Flamel's legend, that granted he and his wife immortality. He keeps a small flask of the elixer on him at all times, and can be used in a pinch to heal all of Flamel's physical wounds, or that of a singular ally. However, it is not enough to grant an ally immortality, nor is it enough to heal multiple mortal wounds. The substance takes exactly one week, given the right materials, for Flamel to remake and refill his flask with some of the elixer.

He has two Noble Phantasms, one being ‘The Stone of the Philosphers’, and the other being ‘The Book of Abra-Melin the Mage’.

[[LINK TO HIS INTRO CHAPTER IN MY FANSERVANT FIC ALSO THERES A LATER CHAPTER WHERE HE ATTEMPTS TO THROW HANDS W/ PARACELSUS]]

Captain Alfred Bulltop Stormalong (Rider)

Captain Alfred Bulltop Stormalong is, plainly put, pretty much a nautical version of Paul Bunyan. Like Bunyan, he can change his size at will, growing to huge proportions. His giant ship was said to have hinged masts so as not to catch them on the moon, and had a stable of Arabian horses on board for his crew to get from one end of the ship to the other! Stormalong is said to have had a lifelong rivalry with the fabled Kraken- but unfortunately for the legendary sea beast, it got summoned alongside Stormalong and has begrudgingly taken up residence in his hat in a somewhat smaller form.

His main weapon (not drawn) is a ship's anchor he wields like a flail. His pipe is really just for the aesthetic as he can't use it to smoke, but it does blow bubbles! His Noble Phantasm is The Courser and the Kraken (Massive all-enemy damage + stun).

He’s a good boy who loves boats, the water, and clam chowder.

Edgar Allan Poe (Foreigner)

The alcoholic author himself, Edgar Allan Poe is a Foreigner-class servant, being linked with the King in Yellow- Hastur the Unspeakable.

Sometimes you can find him locked in a tiny pitch-black closet with Dantes and Sherlock, all three of them puffing away in utter silence on their tobacco. Hastur most often takes the form of a multi-eyed raven chillin’ on his shoulder, and is capable of speech- if prodded, he will shit-talk the patrons of Poe’s fellow foreigners. He really doesn’t like Cthulhu and Yog, even if Poe has psuedo-adopted Abby, WHOOPS. Hastur, to his credit, is the least malevolent Elder God/patron in Chaldea- though if he is seen chatting with Moriarty by any servants or staff, Master must be alerted immediately.

True to form, he’s very macabre, with a unique dramatic way of speaking much like his writings. He’s unsettling and creepy, but has impeccable manners and likes to chat (he’s very lonely-). He enjoys a good mystery, and is prepared to find Arthur Conan Doyle if he be a heroic spirit and beating the snot out of him for treating Holmes so poorly- Poe was the inventor of the detective fiction genre, after all. Most of skills manifest visually as references to his most famous works. His NP is ‘ A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM : THE CRY OF THE YELLOW RAVEN, NEVERMORE ‘

He doesn’t know what a ‘Hot Topic’ is, but it sounds intriguing!

And no, he doesn’t know what the hell was up with his death either. Weird shit happens in Boston.

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thehivemindwrites · 5 years ago

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Hey Hive How’s Quarantine Treating You pt 2

Forgot that I’d done a second part of this. I am... sorry?

Whatever, it’s more of that Nancy Drew thing I did. We’re in week seven of quarantine and nothing matters anymore. Certainly not this shit. Other writing stuff (aka getting back to Vanquisher) is coming along slowly but surely - we’re all just kind of dealing with this shit.

Nancy woke up to the sight of a familiar ceiling which was very much not the one in her office, and instead of being passed out in her chair she was in a bed that was also familiar. The knife was no longer in her shoulder, at least, and instead there were stitches covered by a bandage. She was slightly propped up on pillows; presumably to help her avoid aggravating her ribs. It was quiet, and the light coming through the window was low and orange, a sign she’d slept most of the day away. The unmistakable smell of cigarette smoke filled the air, and Nancy wrinkled her nose in annoyance.

“I can’t believe you smoke inside.” she muttered to herself.

Nancy was startled to get a response to her statement. “Fuck you Drew, it’s my house and I’ll do what I want.”

She sat up a little more, wincing as she did so, and looked around the room. George sat in an armchair, an open book in her lap and a lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth. “I guess I can’t argue that.” Nancy replied, and then added, “I thought you quit.”

There was a wry amusement tinged with exhaustion in George’s reply. “Yeah, well, high stress situations tend to reignite old bad habits.”

Nancy let the words sink in, parts of her consciousness still playing catch-up. “Is that what I am? An old, bad habit?”

A fond smile flickered across George’s features that she covered with a scoff and “My worst habit.”

Nancy leaned back and closed her eyes, the ghost of fondness hurting her more than her ribs did. “How did I end up at your place, anyway? Last I remember was calling you at the office.”

This time the amusement was a little more obvious. “You sure you’re really a detective, Drew?” George rolled her eyes. “As soon as I saw the state of you I stopped the bleeding and carried you to my car.”

Nancy wasn’t sure why she was surprised to hear this. George’s compact frame held a strength she’d never been shy about showing, so the idea that she’d thrown Nancy over her shoulder and carried her out seemed obvious. George had, in fact, served as Nancy’s bodyguard on more than one occasion (and on several other more pleasant occasions had demonstrated the ability to support Nancy’s weight for lengthy periods of time).

“Thank you.” she said, quietly. “You didn’t have to-“

“Yes I did, Nancy. You needed help.”

Nancy was not to proud to admit this. “Yes, but you didn’t have to bring me here. Watch over me to make sure I was going to be okay. You could’ve patched me up and left.”

“Who says I’ve been watching over you?”

“The fact that you’re nearly through that book,” Nancy said, not quite able to suppress a smirk, “and the fact that you’ve got about a pack of cigarettes in that ashtray there.”

“Sure,” George said, with an annoyed sigh, “now she’s back to being a detective.”

For a moment, it felt like things used to be – but then everything that had come after came rushing in to fill the silence. Nancy cast about for something to say that wasn’t another apology for the trouble, because she knew it would just annoy George. So instead, she ended up saying the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked what the hell I got myself into yet.”

It hadn’t been the right thing to ask. George’s walls were back up. “I’ve been trying to decide whether or not I want to know.”

“Fair.” Nancy replied, regretting the question and feeling an old bitterness. “I don’t think I could stand a lecture about how I should let this one go, anyway.”

The statement struck a nerve, because George’s tone immediately carried an aggressiveness to it that signaled Nancy was in dangerous territory. “When did I ever tell you to drop a case, Nancy? You’ll have to remind me, because, you know, it’s been a long time since I’ve talked to you when you’re sober.”

That’s because I couldn’t bring myself to look you in the eye sober, Nancy thought, but she shoved the thought aside and sniped back instead. “I seem to recall a case coming between us.”

“It was never the case, it was what the case was doing to you! What it did to us!” George’s voice was raised, now, and the cigarette fell from her lips. She caught it deftly, almost unthinkingly, and leaned forward. “You think I wanted to have my hands tied? You think I liked watching you go on a doomed crusade knowing that it was going to destroy you and unable to stop it?”

“It was never doomed!” Nancy fired back, her own voice raised. “I could have saved him! Could have pulled him back from the edge if I’d just been…” her voice broke, and she shut her eyes against the sting of tears. “Better. Faster. A little more observant. Maybe I could’ve…” her voice trailed off, and she took a deep breath, trying to regain control.

There was the sound of movement, and George’s hand was suddenly on her shoulder, hesitant, almost not entirely there. “You can’t save everyone, Nance. You know that.”

Nancy gritted her teeth, frustrated and angry. “That doesn’t mean I won’t try.”

“I know you won’t, Nance. It’s why…” George stopped herself, recovering with a somewhat half-hearted, “it’s why you’re so insufferably admirable.” The hand, which had been so hesitantly placed to begin with, vanished.

The loss of contact stung, and Nancy hated that it stung, hated that she was so clearly not over what had happened. Hated everything about the situation and being hurt and weak and short on time. She could have tried to make things right, could have been honest to George about how much she missed her. Instead, she retreated, changed the subject. “It’s a frame job. You’ve heard about the union rep down at Mahoney Anvil?”

“Eunice Jackson?” George seemed surprised. “Yeah, I’ve read the news. Killed her husband, according to the police.”

“That’s the one.” Nancy nodded. “Her son hired me to look into it. Said the cops were botching the investigation. Said his mother was going to use her experience as union rep to run for a seat on the City Council and the idea spooked some people enough they went to take her down.”

“I wasn’t aware City Council politics were so cutthroat.”

“They usually aren’t, but Eunice’s politics aren’t exactly ‘traditional River Heights values.’” Nancy explained, unable to keep a certain tone of annoyance out of her voice. “The worry – or so the young Jackson claims – is that Eunice would be the start of something. That folks might start agitating for change and upset the balance of power that so many find useful here.”

George whistled low. “She must be a hell of an orator to get people that scared.”

Nancy nodded. “I’ve talked to some of the people in the union. Not a one of them thinks she did it, and all of them talk about what she’s done for them. Honestly, I think it might be too late to stop what she’s started already.”

“Strong sense of justice, I assume?” George shook her head and gave Nancy a look. “You believe her when she says she didn’t do it.”

“It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve seen someone framed for political reasons.” Nancy said, tightly. “My father, for one.”

“I don’t doubt it.” George said, shrugging. “But there’s no denying it. You’re taking this one personally.”

“So what if I am?” Nancy snapped, defensively. “Is it so bad for me to be invested in a cause?”

George got up and walked back to her chair, where she fished another cigarette out, but made no move to light it. Tension showed in her posture, and she kept her back to Nancy. “You get reckless when you’re invested.” she finally said, trying to keep her tone flat but unable to keep an undercurrent of worry. “And when you used to get reckless, I always had to patch you up, and… I don’t know that I can do that again.”

“I’m sorry.” Nancy said again. “I never wanted to…” she shook her head and sighed. “No, that’s wrong. Of course I did. I called you.” The words kept coming, either because she was wounded and tired or because she felt like she might not get another chance. “I dragged you back into this because I never could find a replacement for you. It’s like… it’s like I’m missing a limb.”

“Stop.” George said, voice fragile. “You can’t say this shit to me. Not now. Not after I’ve just seen what this job’s done to you again.”

“I’m selfish.” Nancy admitted, and this time she couldn’t stop the tears in time. “I don’t trust anyone else, and these people… they’re going to kill me if I can’t drag this shit into the light in time. If that’s what’s going to happen-“

George turned around and spoke in an almost pleading tone. “That’s not what’s going to happen.”

“It might be, George, because I’m not going to stop trying to clear Eunice’s name and they’re going to have to kill me to stop me.” Nancy was breathing hard, her ribs shot a spike of pain to force her to calm down and she winced, drawing a concerned look from George, who was back at her side in an instant, pressing Nancy gently but firmly back down.

“That’s not what’s going to happen.” George repeated, more firmly, and there was a flash of familiar stubbornness in her eyes.

“They’ve got so much influence and money,“ Nancy said, feeling despair creep up on her. “and I’m-“

“Not alone.” George said, interrupting. “I can’t let you do this alone. You know that.”

The words sent a wave of panic through Nancy. She’d been too open, too honest with George. They would come after her if Nancy patched things up. That couldn’t happen.

“You should, George.” Nancy said, maybe a little more harshly than she needed to. She couldn’t put George through another case. It wasn’t fair to her, and Nancy was increasingly of the opinion that she didn’t deserve George’s help in the first place. “I’m not your problem anymore, remember?” She made to get up out of bed. “This was a mistake. I should’ve left you alone.”

This time George was a little less gentle in forcing Nancy back down. “Too late, Drew. Sorry, but I’m not going to let you run off and get killed. For one thing, Bess would never let me hear the end of it. For another…” George leaned in close, and did not fail to notice Nancy’s sharp intake of breath and blush. “Well, I guess I’m just a sucker for girls in trouble.”

Nancy gave in and closed the distance between them. It was desperate and messy and over far too quickly. George rested her forehead against Nancy’s and breathed in deeply.

“I’ll get you something to eat, and then you should get some more rest. If what you say is true, you’ve got a lot of work to do yet.” George pressed another quick kiss to Nancy’s cheek and stood to leave.

Nancy reached out and grabbed George’s hand, stopping her. “Stay with me?”

George gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I’m not going anywhere, Nance. Someone’s got to keep an eye on you.”

#nancy drew #man i don't know either #quarantine has done weird things to us all

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lesbroona · 6 years ago

Text

So @prouvairism gave me a very specific prompt that involved Billy and Steve babysitting the kids and watching the sky. This got bigger than I thought so here’s the AO3 link if that’s better for you. Thanks and I hope you like it!

Steve should've listened when people told him he shouldn't be friends with his ex. It's just a terrible idea, you'll end up having to babysit her little brother and his friends because you're friends with her and you promised.

"Isn't he too old to need a babysitter?" He had asked her.

"After everything that happened over the last couple of years, I'm surprised my mom even lets us out of the house. She won't let me go if I can't find him a babysitter. Steve, please."

Steve considered the situation. Nancy's parents would be out of town to visit a sick aunt. She wanted to go to a concert in the city with her boyfriend, who once beat the shit out of Steve and then stole his girl. And she needed him to babysit her brother for the night. Only a really stupid person would've said yes.

"Okay," he told her.

So there he was, sitting at the Wheeler’s living room, watching TV while Mike finished his homework. It wasn't so bad, actually.

"Okay, I'm done. I'm gonna call the party over," he informed Steve and collected his books.

"Uh, what now?"

"Mom said I could have them over if I finished my homework. I finished my homework," Mike said like it was obvious. Steve had not been informed of that at all.

"No way! I did not agree to take care of a pack of brats, only one."

"You don't have to take care of us, we saved your ass like three times already!"

"Hey, language." Mike rolled his eyes at him.

"I'm calling them."

Steve just gaped as he left the room. Kids these days had no respect.

Lucas was the first one to get there. He and Mike went straight to the basement without so much as a hello. Then Will showed up with his mom, Steve opened the door for him. He greeted Steve and went off to the basement too. At least he said hi, Steve thought. Finally, Dustin showed up, he hugged Steve as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey Steve, Mike told me you were babysitting. Why didn't you tell me you were babysitting us?"

"Yeah, well, this is not exactly what I wanted to be doing on a saturday night."

"Don't worry, we'll cheer you up, buddy. You're gonna love it! Are they downstairs?" And just like that he left too.

Steve sat back on the couch thinking it was over, but the doorbell rang again. He opened the door to a very excited Eleven, or Jane - he really didn't know which name she was going by these days.

"Hi. Is Mike home?" She asked politely. He looked past her to see Hopper watching them from his car and Steve waved as he left.

"Hi. Yes, he is down..." He interrupted himself as Billy's camaro parked in front of the house. Steve's life couldn't get any better.

"Max!" Eleven smiled at the other girl as she hurried to the house.

"Hey, Steve." Max grabbed Eleven by the hand and dragged her into the house. No respect.

Steve looked over at the camaro. Billy was blowing smoke out his window while staring at Steve, who raised a hand to greet him. He got out of the car and walked towards him. It was pretty warm, so, just as Steve, the other boy was wearing shorts that showed a lot of his legs. Steve loved summer.

"We gotta stop meeting like this, Harrington." He gave Steve his flirtatious smile.

They weren't fighting anymore but they weren't friends either. It was difficult and too confusing to think about what they were now.

"Yeah, your obsession with me is getting out of hand, man." Billy laughed and passed his tongue over his lower lip. Steve swallowed hard.

"So you and Nancy are getting back together?"

"What? No!” Steve burst out. “No, I'm just babysitting, as a favor..."

Billy laughed and shook his head. Somewhere behind him, Steve heard something fall. He took a deep breath before turning his attention back inside the house.

"What is going on in there?" Mike popped his head through the kitchen door.

"Uh, nothing," he said, looking guilty.

Max came out of the kitchen holding a bunch of snacks that barely could fit in her arms.

"What are you guys doing with all that? Are you feeding an army?" Pleaded Steve.

"We're hungry!"

"Maxine, put that back, you're not in your house. And I know your mom, Wheeler, I know she didn't let you eat all of that," Billy said from the doorway.

Max rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen with Mike. They got out a few moments later with just a couple bags of chips.

"That's better." Max gave them the finger and she marched down to the basement with Mike.

Steve turned to Billy with his mouth open in shock.

"How did you do that?" Billy stared blankly at him. "You can control those little monsters!"

"Well, they recognize authority." Billy grinned.

"Can you please stay and help me watch the little shits?"

Billy laughed.

"Not a chance."

"You gotta help me, man. I still have like four hours with them, they’re gonna kill me. They'll listen to you! Please!" Begged Steve. Billy eyed him up and down.

"And what do I get if I do this?"

Steve tried to remain calm.

"Gratitude?" Billy laughed again, apparently Steve was really amusing.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, pretty boy," he said and walked in.

Steve led Billy to the living room. Maybe he shouldn’t have invited him, that wasn’t even his house. They sat far apart on the couch in a awkward silence while Dancing In The Dark by Springsteen played on the TV. Steve looked over at Billy, sitting made his shorts go a little up, showing even more of his legs. His thighs were thick and he was really tanned from working at the pool all day. ...I’m dying for some action, I’m sick of sitting right here trying to write this book... Steve focused so hard on the TV, it could’ve exploded.

“You like him?”

“What?!” Steve asked, startled.

“Springsteen,” he indicated the TV.

“Oh. Yeah, he’s cool. Do you like him?”

“Yeah, he is fucking awesome.”

“Really? Doesn’t seem like your type.”

“He is exactly my type,” stated Billy.

Steve stared at him, he had no idea if Billy meant what he thought he did. The other boy kept watching the clips on the TV as if nothing had happened. Steve was probably reading too much into it. It was just fucking music, nothing else. They commented on every song that came up. Billy hated almost everything, Steve was surprised to learn he liked Queen quite a lot. Also, he hated Wham! which seemed ironic considering how much he looked like George Michael. Steve turned the volume on maximum during Careless Whisper just to spite him.

When the song was over they heard a lot of noises coming from downstairs.

“Should we be worried?” Billy asked.

Steve sighed and got up to see what the brats were doing, Billy followed behind him. They went down to find the kids screaming at each other, they didn’t even notice them there.

“Hey, hey! What’s going on here?!” He yelled over them.

The whole party stopped talking and stared back in silence, looking really guilty. They were definitely up to something.

“Billy?” Max glared at him.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Mike asked.

“Language!” Steve said like a mom. “He is my back up, ‘cause you’re all a nightmare. What are you guys doing down here?”

“Nothing!” They all said, clearly hiding something.

“Why do you have backpacks on?” Billy noticed.

All the brats had backpacks on and they all looked like they were on their way out.

“See? I told you he was gonna find out!” Dustin blurted.

“Shut up, Dustin!” Lucas hit him in the arm and they started the most horrible wrestle Steve had ever seen.

“Enough!” Demanded Billy and they immediately stopped. “You”, he pointed at Will who turned bright red “Talk.”

“W-we’re going to the junkyard... T-to watch the meteor shower.”

“I can’t believe you were going to sneak out on me!” Steve drew his hands to his hips and stared at each of their faces.

“We were going to invite you,” Dustin explained.

“No, we weren’t!” Said Mike, scrunching his face. Steve liked him less by every second.

“It doesn’t matter, you’re not going,” he stated and just like that the fuss started again. Billy yelled to quiet them down.

“Billy, please,” Max pleaded and Billy grinned.

“And what do I get from that?”

Half an hour later they were all headed to the junkyard. Max promised Billy she would wash the dishes for a month if he let them go. Billy had betrayed him for a really terrible deal. They were walking side by side, following their pack of pre-teens. Billy was laughing at their stupid fights and bickering, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

Steve couldn’t relax, though. Walking around in the dark like that reminded him of last year when they were hunting monsters. He kept looking around all the time, half expecting that something would jump from the dark and kill them. If they all died it’d be his fault for being so stupid. He didn’t even bring the damn nailed bat.

The junkyard was almost exactly like it was the last time he was there. Even the tires, barrels and metals parts they used to secure the bus hadn’t been moved. Some of them had huge scratch marks. The kids seemed unaffected by all of it. They found an open spot between the ruined cars and spread a towel that barely fitted all of them. It was cute how uncoordinated and messy they were.

“Yeah, I’m not doing that,” said Billy. He looked around for a second and then started climbing the bus.

“What are you doing?!” Billy kept climbing, Steve tried not to look at his perfect shaped ass in those ridiculously tight shorts. Billy reached the top of the bus and stared down at him, lighting up a cigarette.

Steve looked at his kids, Dustin had brought a fucking telescope somehow and they were all fighting over it. Maybe they could actually survive without him, so he went for the bus too. Only he went inside and climbed the stair to the roof.

Billy was sitting with his back agains the tires, legs spread along the bus.

“Didn’t know there were fucking stairs,” he said, making room so Steve could sit beside him and still have a good view of the kids. Billy offered him the cigarette.

“Nah, I think you’re just a show off,” teased Steve and Billy laughed.

It was a real laugh this time, his head fell back and his eyes squinted, it was really cute. Steve felt all warm inside and he couldn’t blame it on the smoke. He looked over to the kids to calm himself down. The kids were taking turns to look through the telescope, they seemed really excited, looking up and pointing to the stars.

“Are you okay?” Billy asked him and took the cig back. “You’ve been a little off since we left the house.”

“I’m fine. It’s just... I don’t like to be out here, some weird things have been happening in this town.” That was the simplest he could put it without bringing monsters and secret labs into the conversation.

“Yeah. Hawkins turned out to be way more interesting than I thought.”

“Do you miss your hometown?”

Billy took one last drag from his cigarette before throwing it out.

“Yeah... There was this beach we would go to, it was a bit outside of town so it was pretty quiet and you could see the stars perfectly. They shone really bright and they seemed so close you’d think you could reach them. The stars look smaller here.”

He looked really sad all of a sudden. Steve would bring the stars down if it meant he could see Billy laughing like he was before. Laughing for him.

“Well, we might not have that but we got James Dean, so jot that down.”

And just like that Billy was laughing again, maybe making him laugh was Steve’s superpower. Billy rested his head on the tires and looked up with a smile on his lips. Steve smiled too.

“Hey, I think I saw one.”

“One what?” Asked Steve.

“A shooting star,” he explained.

“You gotta make a wish.”

Billy closed his eyes for a moment. Steve studied his face: his big and dark eyelashes; the freckles on his nose from sun exposure; the shape of his pink lips; that stupid mustache. He took it all in. Billy was beautiful. When Billy opened his eyes Steve didn’t look away.

“What did you wish for?” Steve quavered.

“If I tell you it won’t come true,” he replied.

Billy held the front of Steve’s shirt and drawed him closer, locking their lips together. They kissed for only a second before Billy pulled away, but it was enough for Steve to loose all his remaining brain cells. He leaned in and kissed Billy again, moving his hand to the back of the other boy’s neck to keep him there. That one lasted some good ten seconds before they heard metal creaking and quickly jerked apart.

“Hey guys,” Dustin’s voice echoed inside the bus, “I brought you snacks. I’ve got Reese’s, nougat, Magic Middles...”

His head popped through the hatch behind them.

“Which one do you guys want?”

Dustin didn’t seem traumatized so Steve guessed he hadn’t seen them. He tried to slow his breathing enough to answer. He looked over at Billy who seemed really relaxed.

“Gimme the reese’s,” he told Dustin. When Billy reached out to take it, Steve noticed his hand was shaking.

“Steve?” Dustin called.

“Nougat is fine.” Dustin smiled, satisfied.

“Have you guys seen any shooting stars?”

“About a million, kid,” Billy chuckled, sticking his tongue out. Steve smiled at him.

Dustin stared between the two like they had lost their minds. Maybe they did.

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington

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thebrothershardy · 6 years ago

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While I'll admit Vanessa, Callie, and especially Iola are a little flat and while I still ship Francy and Joe w/ Bess and w/ Ned, Iola's fridging aggravates me so much that I still low-key stan both her and Callie (who is awesome if undeveloped). Just like...I understand the need to shake things w/ love drama but like ND didn't kill off Burt or Dave (Bess's + George's bfs from OG ND). Plus Iola is Chet's sis(which is ignored for Joe!pain) which makes it even more shitty imo.

yeah, killing off iola was obviously a shitty move, but those books definitely came out at a time when no one thought all that hard about the laziness/offensiveness of murdering a girl just to further a guy’s personal journey, even if the people writing it probably though they were just getting rid of someone who was a disposable character anyway. i’d like to believe that society has come under enough of a microscope nowadays to not repeat that mistake should a similar storyline ever appear in a hardy boys series! like you said, there are thousands of ways to create drama and to send a character on a journey of self-development without killing off the important female figures in their life, and most (competent) writers these days realize that. i haven’t actually read the casefiles though, so i have no clue on how everything was handled with chet afterwards, or just how deep joe’s Man Pain ran.

as for killing off burt and dave (lmao), not only would this never happen for obvious reasons (i honestly don’t recall one instance in the media/literature world where a man was killed off just for a woman to grieve and grow through it), but they’re also like…. the sidekicks of the sidekicks. bess and george are already side characters, so i feel like the equivalent would be more around the lines of killing off ned, the thought of which is as hilarious as it is eye-roll-worthy.

but honestly, at the core of it, killing off love interests is pretty sloppy writing overall and usually just used for shock factor. i would love to see an instance in which callie and iola are both deservedly fleshed out and given substantial traits! it would be utterly amazing if the hardy boys were given their own string of video games like her did with nancy drew if only for that very purpose!

#asks #anonymous #End Pointless Man Pain 2k18 #and yes given the opportunity i think iola and callie have the potential to be SO interesting

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thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 7 years ago

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Character Names in Eleutherophobia

Since I’ve had a few people ask me about the character names in Eleutherophobia, I figured I’d run down the whole list. These names are approximately in order of appearance in my various fics. To be clear: this is not crossover fiction. These are supposed to be nods to these characters, not the characters themselves. Bearing that in mind, in approximate order of appearance:

Day the Earth Stood Still

Essa 412: a yeerkanization of “Boy 412,” the main character of the Septimus Heap series. In my opinion, the second best treatment of the impact of war on children ever written into a modern fantasy series.

Leslie Burke: the deuteragonist of Bridge to Terabithia. The character always reminded me of a younger Rachel, so I chose to give the name to the bearer of Rachel’s death.

Anne Shirley: the main character of Anne of Green Gables, who often goes underestimated for the extent to which she is a tough, complex, socially awkward heroine written in 1908.

George Little: the younger brother of the title character of Stuart Little. Mostly named because I wanted to give David a last name that implied cowardice without being ridiculously obvious about it.

Lost World

[Steve] Carlsberg: the not-quite-antagonist of Welcome to Night Vale.

Akira

Dr. Miranda Franklin: named for Miranda of Dr. Franklin’s Island. Kind of a pun on my part: the plot of that book involves one of the main characters involuntarily turning into an anaconda.

Jennifer Murdley: titular character of Jennifer Murdley’s Toad, one of the books in Bruce Coville’s Magic Shop series who learns the very hard way to love herself.

Mrs. [Hannah] Gruen: Nancy Drew’s housekeeper.

THX 1138

Joey Costello: the deuteragonist of Tangerine, a story about two boys who have very different sets of troubles with their respective older brothers.

Dr. Pendanski: one of the incompetent counselors from Holes by Louis Sachar.

Jodi O’Shea: far and away my most pointed literary allusion. Jodi is a minor character in The Host by Stephenie Meyer, a book which I love (except for the extremely problematic ending, but I’ll get back to that). The Host is essentially a love story between a yeerk (Wanda) and a human (Ian) whose entire plot is driven by consent negotiations. It’s about Wanda and Ian wishing they could be together but knowing they never will because they can’t be without violating the right to consent of the yeerk’s host, Melanie. Melanie, meanwhile, is in love with a different guy... Who can’t be with her either without violating Wanda’s right to consent.

[SPOILER WARNING] Eventually Ian resolves this love quadrangle by putting Wanda inside a human (“Pet,” and don’t get me started on that name) who has been a controller for so long that she has forgotten how to exert her own conscious will. Wanda and Ian presumably do the horizontal tango using that host instead, AND THIS IS TREATED AS A HAPPY ENDING. Jodi O’Shea also meets the same fate as Pet: Jodi has forgotten how to feed herself or move on her own, so her own husband decides that they should just put her yeerk, Sunny, back in her head. Sunny claims that Jodi is brain-dead... But Sunny is also strongly motivated to lie. (There are also implications that Jodi’s husband becomes romantically involved with Sunny instead, a plot which is so horrifying it deserves its own blog post.) Most importantly, all the main characters are really happy that these poor hosts are vegetables. There is an entire subpopulation of humans who have become entirely dependent on their alien slave masters for survival... and this fact is treated as the solution to all the characters’ problems. It’s celebrated. And, yeah, both THX 1138 and Ghost in the Shell contain some pretty pointed commentary from me on why I find this ending to be so deeply unfortunate. [END SPOILERS]

Ghost in the Shell

Mary Lennox: the main character of The Secret Garden, the first book without pictures I ever read on my own.

Rose Rita: main character of The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring, and arguably one of the first genderqueer characters to make it into a children’s fantasy novel.

Margaret White: the antagonist of Stephen King’s novel Carrie, obsessed with preserving the innocence (and thus the dependent ignorance) of her teenage daughter.

Sophie Hatter: main character of Howl’s Moving Castle, who does in fact make her own clothes.

[Mr.] Broxholm: the titular alien from My Teacher Flunked the Planet by Bruce Coville, one of the most awesome and profound children’s sci-fi novels I have ever read.

Anita Psammead: a nod to The Five Children and It by E. Nesbitt, one of the first ever fantasy novels written for children.

Miss Zarves: the teacher from Sideways Stories from Wayside School who doesn’t exist, because she was accidentally assigned to teach on a floor that was never built.

Nikto 770: nod to the code phrase in Day the Earth Stood Still (the original movie, not my fic).

Kit Rodriguez: the deuteragonist of the Young Wizards series, known for his passion and tendency to care deeply for others.

Aristotle “Ari” [Mendoza]: main character of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

Dante [Quintana]: main character of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

Gabriel “G.T.” Stoop: the main character’s mentor in Hope Was Here.

Elijah Springfield: a teen detective from the Veritas Project series.

Lydia [Bennett]: supporting character from Pride and Prejudice.

Nick Adams: a recurring Ernest Hemingway character.

T.J. Avery: next door neighbor to the Logan family in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry.

Cecily Tallis: the narrator’s older sister (and unwitting victim) in Atonement by Ian McEwan.

Maybeth Tillerman: one of the main characters in Homecoming by Cynthia Voight, a book that critics like to describe as “the anti-Boxcar Children” for its unflinchingly realistic portrayal of childhood homelessness.

June Boatwright: one of the protagonist’s mentors in The Secret Life of Bees.

Caitlin Somers: a Judy Blume character from Summer Sisters.

Alex Morales: main character of The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Cooper-Trebond: shortening of “Alanna Cooper of Trebond” the name of the main character of Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness series.

Jesse Hauptman: the protagonist’s stepdaughter and mentee in the Mercy Thompson series.

Timmy Dugan: lesser-known real name of WWII comic book hero Dum Dum Dugan, sidekick to Nick Fury and Howling Commando as part of the Marvel universe.

Luke Castellan and Chris Rodriguez: two of the supporting characters from Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I wouldn’t say that Luke Castellan is the first meatsuit I ever fell in love with (despite him being basically a voluntary controller and also a human dumpster fire), but I would say that he made my tendency to care too much about meatsuits in general about 1000 times worse.

“Cornelius”: okay, this one is in fact a crossover—that’s meant to be Tyler Durden, main character of Chuck Palahnuick’s Fight Club. He’s a schizophrenic, lonely guy who goes to support groups for various traumas that he never actually survived (usually under the fake name Cornelius) because that’s the only way he knows how to connect to people.

Odette: the protagonist of Swan Lake and several subsequent adaptations, including Mercedes Lackey’s awesome The Black Swan.

Rod Allbright: another character from My Teacher is an Alien, because I love that series.

Officer Nice: a nod to the song of the same name by Vio-Lence, one of my few non-literary allusions.

Gerald “Jerry” Cruncher: a guy who works as a porter (and remover of bodies) in of A Tale of Two Cities.

Paul Edgecombe: main character of The Green Mile, a deeply conflicted prison guard who gets cast as Pontius Pilate in a modern-day gospel retelling.

Kate Malone: narrator of Laurie Halse Anderson’s amazingly powerful novel Catalyst.

Mae Tuck: matriarch of the titular immortal clan from Tuck Everlasting.

Annie Hughes: one of the main characters from The Iron Giant.

Kirsten Larson: one of the first characters from the American Girl series, an immigrant from Sweden who struggles to acclimate to the United States.

Adah Price: one of the co-narrators of The Poisonwood Bible, a disabled polymath who loves palindromes and puzzles.

Iris Chase: a society lady and heiress from The Blind Assassin, which chronicles family dysfunction and its unique impact on women over several generations.

Dawn Schafer: part of the enormous rotating cast of protagonists from The Babysitters’ Club series, and one of my favorite characters as a kid.

Henry Case: main character of the genre-creating cyberpunk novel Neuromancer.

Parvana Weera: a tough, outgoing young woman whose struggle to keep her family safe during the American invasion of her home in Afghanistan forms the main plot of The Breadwinner.

Raven Madison: main character of Vampire Kisses, who spends a little too much time in her intense fantasy worlds and not quite enough connected to reality.

Mr. [Bob] Grey: pseudonym used by the creature also known as Pennywise the Clown and simply “It” in several of Stephen King’s novels.

Ms. [Mary] Logan: mother of the main character in Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry, because I love that book.

Karana Nicoleño: although Karana, the main character of Island of the Blue Dolphins, doesn’t technically have a last name, her tribe is historically referred to as the Nicoleño.

Total Recall

Vicky Austin: main character of A Ring of Endless Light, a book about coming to terms with dying—and about the many complex shades of victim blaming that can occur in light of unquantifiable tragedy.

Samuel Cornick: roommate to the eponymous Mercy Thompson of the bestselling Patricia Briggs series, a werewolf-doctor who continuously struggles to find meaning in an excessively long life and one of my favorite characters of all time.

The Thing from Another World

Seth Clearwater: a minor character in Eclipse, one of the youngest werewolves of the Quileute pack.

Captain William Nasland: one of the more obscure characters to hold the title Captain America; retconned into the role following Steve Rogers’s “death” in 1945. Acts as both a hero and a villain because he has a well-intentioned but also closed-minded idea of what Captain America should be.

Allison Chapman: main character of Sharing Sam, K.A. Applegate’s lesser-known novel about teenage basketball geeks who back their way into understanding the life, the universe, and everything.

Simon Grace: one of the main characters of the Spiderwick Chronicles.

Giselle Villard: one of the main characters from the Mystic comic book series who is awesome, tough... and more than a little power-hungry.

As far as I can tell, that’s it for the character names in Eleutherophobia. I mentioned here why Marco’s last name is Alvarez and Cassie’s is Day in my series. There are a few dozen other allusions as well (Tom and Bonnie bastardizing the “tears in the rain” speech from Blade Runner, Cassie quoting the epigraph from Home of the Brave, several nods to Remnants and Everworld and The One and Only Ivan, Marco making jokes about Lost World and Alien) and obviously all my fic titles are from classic sci-fi movies while all my song nods are The Best of 1990—2000, but as far as I know that’s it for allusions. If there are any that I missed, or that you’re still wondering about, let me know and I’ll happily clarify.

#eleutherophobia #animorphs #animorphs fic #writing #ya sf

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janvba2film-blog · 7 years ago

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Post R: Collated Quotes

Never Sleep Again:

“Speaks to these adolescent fears of not having control“ + “you can only trust other kids of your own age“ - These delve into the messages and values of the film, thus relating to themes Craven may repeat in films.

“Universal theme of the bad dream, the nightmare, and the boogeyman“ - Robert Englund. Once again exploring thematic motifs of the film. This is important when approaching the topic of auteur as the theory suggests a director will repeat behaviours and themes across their work to enforce that they are an individual when it comes to filmmaking.

“I wanted to do a strong, female lead who didn’t trip over“ - Wes Craven: this is important as it is one of the classic horror tropes, and there is a line in Scream which directly relates to this. “The survivor girl, one of the classic leading ingredients in contemporary horror“ - Englund: this supports the point but the phrasing brings into question.

“A lot of monsters of the past were misunderstood - they were quite innocent - Freddy was not innocent” - This quote is significant because it brings Wes’ contribution to horror into perspective.

Apparently they had to “soft-pedal” a lot of the sexuality (such as the paedophilic aspect) in the film to get it passed the MPAA and audiences, showing me that sexuality is definitely a strong theme in Wes’ work.

[In regards to NoES 3: Dream Warriors]

“Using a sexuality trap” (in reference to Joey’s trap). This may establish a section on theme.

“If an original character is in the sequel usually they don’t last until the end because they either aged, or the studio would feel like “Now we have to have new characters”” – Craven. He believes this to be a feature of his direction, as an auteur (not self-professed).

“The fact that they made Freddy more and more jokey took him farther and farther away from that child-molester thing that kind of sticks to you in a way you don’t like” – Craven; Wes was not in control and so the character changed

[In regards to New Nightmare]

“Wes has a very narrow mind in the sense that “this is what will scare people” and a very broad mind to “extract”” – Mark Irwin (cinematographer). Commentary of Craven’s style.

“Nancy and Freddy’s relationship has always had a sexual component” – Langenkampf in reference to ‘Lust’ on the wall. Possible link to the topic of theme, in particular sexuality.

“I think it was the pre-cursor to, like, ‘Scream’. ‘New Nightmare’ was made for the people who made the film; kind of adults. ‘Scream’ was made for the audience who watches the film, and those were the central characters.”. An argument against Craven not being an auteur in regards to ‘Scream’, as Craven already had experience in this sort of field.

The Film Genre Book

“whilst drawing inspiration from influential films such as Ingmar Bergman’s ‘The Virgin Spring’“ - This is not the first time Craven’s name has been attached to this director. He is obviously inspired by him, so I must explore how much influence has been taken in regards to auteur theory.

“His films…establish editor/writer/director Craven as an auteur…whose works tested both the censors and audience sensibilities and expectations of the horror genre.” - It is often mentioned that Craven reshapes horror and pushes its limits, perhaps it is not completely techniques that provide him with the titles and more to do with his attitude towards horror.

The book notes how previous horror monsters were a victim of circumstance, or had some sympathetic angle to them, but Freddy does not - “he is ugly inside and out”- yet he is a cultural icon. This not only links to Wes’ innovation but also the public’s contribution to Freddy and the series. “No longer was there a clear delineation between good and bad [after the 70s]. If we could no longer trust our leaders then why not cheer for Freddy?”

‘The Final Girl’: the one girl in the film who fights, resist and survives the killer-monster. The final girl…dominates the action, and is thus masculinised. [In] the slasher film like…Nightmare on Elm Street [1984]…the final girl becomes her own saviour. - Christine Gledhill, The Cinema Book 2nd Edition, Ed. Pam Cook & Mieke Bernink, Bfi Publishing, 1999. This is interesting because it raises the question of if Wes took inspiration or inspired it with his debut film.

Scream: The Inside Story

“We took every single horror rule and broke it.” – Wes Craven

“I think what makes the ‘Scream’ films original is the fact that they look at themselves and they look at the horror genre itself, and I think that was a very new concept” – Neve Campbell (Sydney Prescott)

“It was very, very acutely of aware of the genre and kind of slightly announcing to the audience, kind of: ‘We know what you’re thinking and you better hide under your seats because we’re gonna do something different’.” – Wes Craven

“Scream was so brilliant and so smart and funny, but it took the deaths and the scares very, very seriously” - Eli Roth, a new-gen horror director; “It was finally a movie where the characters had seen other movies”. Possible insight into fusion genre (Horror+comedy) or Craven taking horror itself in a new direction.

“One of the most successful elements of the movie was the mystery element, and ‘Scream’ taps into that, and it taps into that beautifully.” - Patrick Lussier. This is important in the exploration of genre as this delves into genre fusion.

Wes craven wasn’t interested for a while. He didn’t want to do “another slasher movie”. This just goes to show the power of ‘Scream’s misdirection and genre-bending. Although it was only because Drew Barrymore came on-board.

“Wes Craven has influenced horror in the 70s, with ‘Last House On the Left’, in the 80s, with ‘Nightmare on Elm Street. You cannot overstate how incredibly influential Wes Craven has been to the horror genre and has continually made horror movies for different generations that feel so contemporary.” - Eli Roth. Such praise from a contemporary horror director indicates the influence Craven has had in the genre. However, Wes did not write Scream, so can he truly be given credit?

Subversive Horror Cinema

As is mentioned in ‘The American Nightmare’, Wes’ disgust for the image of children in Vietnam running after being exposed to Napalm inspired the forced stripping and raping of Mari. Another example of Vietnam inspiring Craven was the 1968 image of the execution of Vietcong soldier Nguyem Van Lem - “That methodical execution style was translated right to the shooting of Mari at the lake”. This is important to me because it makes me wonder if Wes is concerned less with auteurship and more about testing his audiences.

“The Last House on the Left arose partly from the desire, on Craven’s part, to capture the same kind of raw reality as the documentary footage coming out of Vietnam that Craven suspected was being censored” + “It was a time when all the rules were out the window, when everybody was trying to break the hold of censorship“ - Craven relayed to David A Szulkin. This is reflected in the graphic nature of the scenes and truly speaks about what Craven intended his film to do.

“Although the Vietnam footage was censored, Craven felt that it was candid about violence in a way that Hollywood cinema was not. Craven […] objected on moral grounds to the sanitization of violence by Hollywood, and saw it as part of the ideological apparatus that enabled the State to condition Soldiers for warfare. “The more you can know about violence, the more you can walk away from it and not be attracted to it.” Craven stated in 1999.“ This whole passage speaks about the underlying messages and values in the film.

“Part of the film’s power is to create empathy between the audience and the villains, which makes it impossible for us to view them - despite their sadism - as inhuman. Conversely, the film shows the process by which normally empathetic people, such as the Collingwoods, can demonize others in order to justify acts of vengeance. The film examines the way in which a nation casts its enemies as “other” in order to vindicate warfare; and at the same time, in creating empathy between the audience and the villains […], Last House on the Left reflects what Adam Lowenstein describes as the tendency of 1970s counterculture to identify with the demonized other”

The Horror Film

According to Paul Wells, ‘Scream’ is undoubtedly a postmodern horror film, however, to him he feels strongly that by becoming self-referential po-mo horrors “abdicate [their] political responsibility to reflect upon, critique, or challenge its surrounding (and non-generic) culture”. If this it true it contrasts very much with Wes’ earlier style. “Becoming preoccupied with genre conventions rather than external anxieties“. This contrasts with what Wes said - “we need to stop externalizing our anxieties and take a look within ourselves“

Wells goes on to complain that through the safety of franchising (or ‘MacDonaldisation’ as George Ritzer (1998) puts it) horror films lose there socio-cultural vitality and relevance. This is relevant as two of my films spawned sequels, and this is one of the valid comments of this approach.

He also mentions that ‘Scream’ is “sub-Frankensteinian” as its trivialisation of death through conventional arcs cause it to lose its meaning; it is now just a game for the initiated, thus causing it to lose all significance and appeal to the social anxieties of a wider audience. An example of this is Randy’s speech, or the fact that ‘Halloween’ plays during the final murder-spree.

Wes Craven’s Influence in Making the Horror Genre Subversive

“The horror genre, Stephen King once wrote, is innately reactionary, preying on fears of the evil outsider entering communities and lives uninvited. At first, that seems like exactly what Craven is doing here. Krug, with his charisma and hippie-ish affectations, is an obvious stand in for Charles Manson, who’d been convicted only a year before (although weirdly enough, the film is an acknowledged loose remake of Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring). “Mothers, keep your girls at home,” to quote Nick Cave, appears to be Craven’s message.” - This contains a useful quote by Stephen King, a horror master in the eyes of many, which may be useful when writing about the genre and comparing it to Craven’s style. Not only that but there is a mention of Charles Manson, once again proving that he likes to take inspiration from real-life events. And finally, it makes mention of one of Wes’ key inspirations - Ingmar Bergman’s work - even mentioning that it is a “loose remake”.

“This sounds like it could be part of the same reactionary fantasy—the conservative traditional family unit meting out justice to that which violated it—but the way Craven shoots it, it’s not remotely triumphant.Instead, it’s the same sickness that their victims represent infecting them.” - This is very much related to Wes’ social commentary on the Vietnam war, in which there was no clear delineation between good and bad and there was all-out savagery on both sides. The article also argues that Craven speaking out against “right-wing vengeance that had taken hold in Death Wish-era America— [which] was almost completely lost in the shuffle” was later explored in the Nightmare series through the fact that the ‘wholesome’ neighbourhood burning a paedophilic child murderer alive was somehow okay. This also relates to Subversive Horror Cinema.

Origins of an auteur - Wes Craven

“Wes Craven’s The Last House on the Left was released at a time film directors really began to push the boundaries to what you can show on screen. Much like what Wes Craven did in The Last House on the Left, Sam Peckinpah pushed the censors to braking point with a realistic depiction of sexual and violent content in his sadistic and controversial 1971 film Straw Dogs (which could so easily be mistaken as a Wes Craven film).” - Was this a style start by or adopted by Craven? Was he a product of the times?

“The Last House on the Left was Craven’s debut film, it’s a notorious and quite shocking film but one that’s not actually that good. The film’s biggest flaw is the woeful misjudgement of the tone as the film’s jumps from the torture and humiliation of the girls in the woods to a pair of bumbling cops falling off a truck that’s full of clucking chickens. The film was very low budget (about $78,000) and it shows with its crap sound and visual quality, but there are moments that would be deeply horrifying if Craven didn’t misjudge the tone of the film as much as he did.” - Wes came to become an iconic director for the genre of horror, showing that he had indeed learned from his mistakes, and as he went on he found the balance between comedy and horror showing that this is a recurring technique of his (important for genre), but this brings into question his auteur status when looking at his later films; the filmmaking must be of a higher tier than what is standard, which I fear for in regards to Wes.

“Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984 ($1.8million budget) which, like many films of that era (such as Friday the 13th and Halloween), dealt with sexual promiscuity in teenagers.” - Was Wes’ choice of subject a product of the times or did he already have something in mind beforehand?

“One underlying theme between all three movies is how middle class American suburbia deal with savagery.” - This is an important aspect to analyse in the case of whether or not he is an auteur. {…} “Once again, Scream is set in middle class America and once again deals with violence and once again focuses on a female character under attack by her male attacker”

The Cinema Book

“There have been important variations in the nature and volume of teenpics since the early 1960s. I the late 1960s and early 1970s, ‘youth movies’ rew much more on an imagine of counter-cultural rebellion than on an image of irresponsible juvenile delinquency. And as ‘the boundaries between counter (film) culture and mainstream (film) culture all but evaporated, (Doherty, 1986, p. 233), films like The Graduate (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces(1970) mounted serious critiques of the parent culture. Following a crisis wrought by overproduction in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and in the wake of a counter-culture in general decline, the industry resumed production of teenpicks in regular numbers in the late 1970s and 1980s. Some like Halloween (1978), Night of the Comet (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), were low-budget horror, sci-fi and slasher films.” - Obviously I will Paraphrase this, but the basic idea is a question of whether or not Wes’ decisions for his film were of his own or a product of the time. This idea of Wes being inspired by the times is very obviously a key argument I can make in my essay as this idea is present in this source especially. I did not dedicate an entire post to this because I could only find one useful quote in the book.

So the Theory Goes - Autuer: Wes Craven

“Craven almost always worked within horror, with the only real exception being the musical drama Music of the Heart. However, his use of horror is always combined with a range of subgenres which can include thriller, fantasy, mystery or even some elements of comedy.” - This article seems to suggest that he is more of a genre director from my understanding, despite the title.

“One of the more prominent themes within Craven’s work is that of the psychological idea of the villain. His films tend to subvert the idea of the villain/hero leading the viewer to believe they are completely aware of a situation before abruptly leading us in a different direction. One of the clearest examples of this can be seen in his directorial debut The Last House on the Left where our initial antagonists are Krug et al. However, by the end of the film, we see Mari Collingwood’s parents take on this role.” - Many of the sources I have agree with this point.

“Wes Craven’s general style of filmmaking is visually similar to a number of horror film-makers. The conventional use of camera angles, editing to create scares and using lighting to enhance a scene are all evident within his work. However, […] his understanding of the genre and the conventions have allowed him to use them to his advantage. This is most notable in his film series Scream where he dictates to the audience the conventions of the genre which had become familiar to audiences and then used this as a way to drive the narrative, attempting to break each of these clichés. For example Scream’s Sidney loses her virginity despite the fact a friend has already noted that the No. 1 rule of horror-movie survival: “Sex equals death.” Yet this generic convention never comes to pass.” - It is important to note that the sex scene is inter-cut into the rules being explained. This whole paragraph is relevant to the argument of whether Wes is a genre director or an auteur.

The article describes Wes’ filmmaking techniques as generic, stating that it is in fact his use of unique storytelling and character development which offer him the place of auteur. “ With narratives that involve witty villains, the indication of convention, an ability to use sub-genres to great effect and his females are not the dim-witted, hysterical token characters so often seen within horror. Although Craven has directed films written by others, such as Red Eye, the films he chose to direct share similar themes to those he has written and therefore help to indicate his narrative preferences.”. First of all, this quote addresses the important aspects of his narrative style and directorial style (such as the use of subgenres), but, more importantly, it makes mention of the great counterargument for most auteur directors: that they did not write the story. Instead the article shows to us that Wes chose the like of Scream and Red Eye because it suits his directorial style. However, for the case of Scream it has been stated that he only finally came on to the project because of the inclusion of Drew Barrymore.

The article ends by using the term “auteur of the genre”, which is helpful because it offers a blend of both auteurship and genre director. I must do further research into this concept.

Film Genre Reader III

“No critic, obviously, can be free from a structure of values, nor can he or she afford to withdraw from the struggles and tensions of living to some position of “aesthetic” contemplation.” - This tells me that, despite being an individual filmmaker in their own right, people are still confined to some aspects of the process, such as genre.

“One of the greatest obstacles to any fruitful theory of genre has been the tendency to treat the genres as discrete. An ideological approach might suggest why they can’t be, however hard they may appear to try: at best, they represent different strategies for dealing with the same ideological tensions.” - This is relevant because it suggests that, while working within a genre, an auteur cannot help but follow the steps of it. This is important because Wes works primarily in horror, questioning whether or not he can reach the level of auteur.

“It is probable that a genre is “pure” (i.e., safe) only in its simplest, archetypal, most aesthetically deprived and intellectually contemptible form” - This tells me that piece of film may be more than just its genre if it strays far enough from its roots, while still confining itself to its roots. This is important because it saves Wes from being just a genre director.

“The strong contrast presented by the two films [It’s a Wonderful Life and Shadow of a Doubt] testifies to the decisive effect of the intervention of a clearly defined artistic personalty in an ideological-generic structure.” - This helps me because it argues that a director has the ability to take a film beyond its genre by adding in their personality. Could this reign true for a script (Scream) as well?

Trespassing Bergman

“I think more than almost anybody else he was very religious and it felt like a religion that felt similar to the one I had come out of so: very strict and kind of, um, and very channeled lives and, you know, not doing anything that would displease God and having your children in line.” - Wes felt a connection in the way that he used religion in his films. However, Wes defied religion while Ingram embraced it.

Wes Craven: the mainstream horror maestro inspired by Ingmar Bergman

“he was electrified by the work of directors like Ingmar Bergman: it was this that inspired him to go into film-making and he had the idea of remaking Bergman’s 1960 film Virgin Spring as The Last House on the Left in 1972″ - It brings into question whether or not Wes can claim his influential horror movie as his.

“Wes Craven could be said to have invented, or at least popularised the modern rape-revenge genre and ironically did so in the same era when the name “Bergman” became a widely understood talk-show punchline for jokes about Hollywood trash vs highbrow Europeans.” - Once again, Craven is linked to influence from Bergman.

The ‘Nightmare On Elm Street’ Series Is Deeper Than You Know

“ The viewer is even present for a scene representative of Nancy’s first period. As Nancy lays in the bathtub asleep, Freddy’s clawed glove breaks through the surface of the water between her open legs. This isn’t just one of the most intense scenes in horror history. It’s clear foreshadowing of all the trouble that’s about to happen between your legs.”

New American Teenagers

“Nancy and Glen, who never consummate their relationship despite plenty of opportunity, can be understood better as brother and sister than as boyfriend and girlfriend, which, of course, would not preclude sexual desire”. This is important because I am aiming to support Robin Wood’s concept that a director’s personal touch to a film elevates it beyond a genre film. I plan on linking this to the themes of sexuality in the other films and arguing that this tendency to put violence and sexuality in his films is a rebellion against his repressed religious childhood upbringing.

#section 1

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abmcj3a-blog · 7 years ago

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By Dennielle Abolencia

Many people love a good mystery. Whether it’s Scooby Doo, Nancy Drew or that Oldie but Goody Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the audience craves the thrill of a little Mystery. Usually it’s to find out Who Done It? Most mysteries consist of a red herring, and it kills the mood whenever the killer’s identity is too obvious. But with Sara Shepard, it’s different. Just when you think you’ve got everything figured out, a plot twists delivers you back to square one, as dumbfounded and clueless as the very characters in the story. Sara Shepard enjoys toying with her readers’ and watchers’ feelings. The longer it takes to unravel the burning questions of the audience, the more frustrating it becomes. But only when things seem bleak for the Pretty Little Liars, which is the same title as the TV series as is for the book series, Sara Shepard leaves everyone waiting, and wanting more of the suspense and excitement that the story never fails to provide.

The Pretty Little Liars, a name bestowed upon the four friends by the prettiest liar herself , Alison---Aria Montgomery, Hanna Marin, Emily Fields and Spencer Hastings---are determined to rain on A’s—their tormenter’s—parade, even throughout the confusion, losses, pain and with their necks up in hot water, these four Liars refuse to give up on putting A behind bars no matter what cost, even if it meant putting everything on the line---their reputations, college, and quite possibly their lives. Alison DiLaurentis serves as an archetype of a typical high school queen bee. She had perfect golden tresses, piercing blue eyes that went perfectly with her heart shaped face and a figure and confidence every aspiring model could ask for. Unfortunately for practically everyone in her school, Alison wasn’t the kindest hearted person, and even her family was aware of this though they were just as helpless and tainted with dark secrets as their own manipulative and merciless daughter. Little did the Liars know that like them, their leader Alison had as many secrets that could ruin her life if they ever got out. And like with everything else that happened after Alison’s lifeless body was found underneath a slab of concrete three years after her enigmatic disappearance, one lie leads to another until the four liars end up tangled in their own web of lies. In the midst of Alison’s funeral, the Pretty Little Liars begin to receive anonymous text messages from someone named ‘A’. And to their horror, the texts contained secrets about them only Alison could have known, leaving them to believe that Alison was still alive. Sadistically, the messages would arrive at the worst—or is it the best?—timing, controlling the lives of Aria, Hanna, Spencer and Emily until the four friends gradually drown in paranoia, fear and hysteria. Several truths come to light as the four liars dig deeper into Alison’s life and death, cementing their relationships and ruining others’.

The more the readers delve into the story, the bigger their Mean World Syndrome—a term coined by George Gerbner, grows. It was as if Sara had accumulated all the bad and evil in the world and squeezed it all into a book series. Alison’s Paranoid Schizophrenia had turned her into a murderous monster, vowing not to stop until the four liars are dead.

Gerbner's initial work specifically looked at the effects of television violence on American audiences. Violence underscored the larger part of Gerbner's work on cultivation theory, as he and his team speculated that violence had an effect on the way of people and their perception of safety, crime, and general lawlessness in both their immediate communities and the greater population. The Author of Pretty Little Liars has a powerful and persuasive sense of channelling into the mindset of cruel and heartless beings, though the four main characters have a dash of badness in themselves, everyone else around them borders on the line of despicable. The trouble begins once the girls begin to receive the frightening messages, threats and bits of texts convincing enough to influence their thoughts, lives and behaviour. The Dilaurentis family manages to keep everything under wraps, as the most powerful family in their society, they are capable of pulling strings and controlling even the police and the press in order to preserve their image. As much as the four liars continue to investigate Alison’s true killer, their suspects increase in number and their trust in anyone decreases quite tragically. Their lives and reputations crumble to dust as all around the world, everyone recognizes them and judges their actions due to their link to Alison and her murder, living as prime suspects themselves. Every mistake they commit, every secret they work so hard to keep hidden come out of the box due to the media damaging their peace of mind. It gets worse as a TV series inspired by their friend Alison’s murder is created, and everything they do and say are mimicked, exaggerated, and quite possibly butchering their personalities and social lives. The person behind the messages, ‘A’, is always one step ahead of them, watching their every move and anticipating the next. According to Maxwell Mccomb’s and Donald Shaw’s Agenda Setting Theory, if a news item is covered frequently and prominently, the audience will regard the issue as more important. The theory of agenda-setting can be traced to the first chapter of Walter Lippmann's 1922 book, Public Opinion. In that chapter, "The World Outside And The Pictures In Our Heads", Lippmann argues that the mass media are the principal connection between events in the world and the images in the minds of the public. Without using the term "agenda-setting", Walter Lippmann was writing about what we today would call "agenda-setting". Following Lippmann, in 1963, Bernard Cohen observed that the press "may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. The world will look different to different people," Cohen continues.

Alison Dilaurentis. A girl every guy wanted to date and every girl wanted to be, brutally murdered on the night of her End-of-Seventh grade sleepover party. Who could have done such a thing? Is what the public would usually think. But despite all the hatred and accusations being thrown their way, the Pretty Little Liars each have their own distinctive personalities, including strengths and weaknesses, displaying an admiring glow of Feminism. Aria Montgomery, the kooky kind of girl who dresses like she was trapped in the sixties and is a passionate artist, both literature and arts and crafts, and bobbing in a confusing and risky relationship with her English teacher. And there’s Hanna Marin, the insecure but wilful IT girl, who’d taken the place of Alison as the Most Popular girl in Rosewood Day. Spencer Hastings, the Little Miss Perfect of the clique, with a spiteful sister and a family waiting to be broken apart by secrets, Spencer is the leader type and excels in everything she does. Emily Fields, the perfect symbol of equality and Gender sensitivity. Emily is the athlete of the group, sporty and sweet, who came out as a lesbian in the beginning of both book and TV series. Despite having a marshmallow heart and the most conservative attitude in the group, Emily Fields is impressively brave and clever.

The same attributes, except being homosexual, another good example of Feminism is Kimberly Ann Possible, the main character of an American animated action comedy-adventure television series created by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, a Disney Channel favourite with the same title as the female lead herself. This green-eyed redhead has a lot to juggle at the young age of thirteen, maintaining her straight-A report cards, balancing her social and love life, and saving the world between lunch breaks and weekends doesn’t come easy, you know. Like in Pretty Little Liars, and, just to mention, the Japanese-Korean-French CGI series, Miraculous, Kim Possible includes a wide range of ethnicity and social theory. Though Ron Stoppable, Kim’s best guy and sidekick-later turned boyfriend, serves as an ‘under’ or that is to say, Inferior complex, the two are an incredible team, whether it’s troubleshooting on campus or facing villains. As a teenager, Kim Possible has already travelled far and wide due to her missions, meeting new people, making friends and enemies as well. In lieu of this, Kim has made many connections and doesn’t hesitate to use them for favors or easing up on her problems. As a matter of fact, in the opening theme song of the show, it’s rather iconic, the phrase, “Call me, Beep Me if You Wanna Reach me,” referring to her communicator, a device her technologically inclined and socially declined friend Wade invented for her so they can contact one another, since Wade is in charge of informing Kim of her missions and tasks at hand.

However, one unique trait of Kim Possible is that she lacks a secret identity. No mask, no cape and no secrets. Everyone in town knows her and her parents are aware of her occupation, but approve of it as long as she obeys curfew, yet they are more concerned with their daughter’s academic performance and love life. The accomplished redhead, though accepted by her peers, is seldom acknowledged by her teachers and other students, but this does not faze her at all. The show is quite endearing, because, as mentioned, the series does not limit itself in Caucasian characters, and includes many ethnicities, including Kim’s best girl friend, Monique, whose skin color is darker than others, but no one resents this, yet Monique is a bright, cheerful and loyal friend to everyone, especially Kim and Ron.

Kim Possible (The show) represents the line between right and wrong. Good and evil. Left and right. She believes her way is always how to do things, and that her enemies oppose her beliefs. However, in the prominent TV series Teen Titans, in one of the episodes involving Red X (a Frankenstein which Robin, the team leader, had created), an unnamed character posing as Red X in the costume Robin designed, ‘Red X’ has said, “Not everybody likes to play the big villain, kid. I'm a thief. I'm not threatening your precious city, just looking out for number one.” Viewers would assume Red X is trying to convince everyone that he is a lesser evil, or that he’s not harming anybody, so apparently, he shouldn’t be put behind bars? Is there, or is there not a gray area between good and bad?

For example, a lie uttered for a good reason is still a lie, no matter how white it is of a fib. ‘A little white lie doesn’t hurt anyone,’ is that old adage, indicating no harm as long as it’s a simple, small fabrication of words, facts and influence on the affected party.

According to Howard Giles, whom developed the Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT), When people interact they adjust their speech, their vocal patterns and their gestures, to accommodate to others."It explores the various reasons why individuals emphasize or minimize the social differences between themselves and verbal and nonverbal communication. This theory is concerned with the links between language, context, and identity. It focuses on both the intergroup and interpersonal factors that lead to accommodation, as well as the ways that power, macro and micro-context concerns affect communication behaviors. This theory describes two main accommodation processes. It’s commonly, or fairly easy to determine if someone is lying or not. Usually it’s in searching their facial features, inspecting their body language, or in most cases, when it is close friends or family members, signs of lying can be heard through the individual’s voice or vocal movement. Are they making eye contact? Are their hands fidgeting? Do their eyes go wide, their heads tilt to one side? Or perhaps the rapid succession of how they speak is the pink slip of their scheme. Sometimes, a person’s confidence or poker game can waver when caught out on their ticks. Their bits and pieces of confidentiality in themselves that almost no one is aware of, if not perceptive enough.

Kim Possible, young, courageous and doesn’t hesitate to help out anyone in need. Wisdom, strength and influence does not choose anyone. Age, gender, race or religion. Kind and smart alike, Kim mentally and emotionally resembles a certain male character of an underrated and underappreciated film entitled “Pay It Forward.” Pay It Forward is a 2000 American drama-romance film based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It is set in Las Vegas in the present day, and it chronicles 12-year-old Trevor McKinney's launch of a goodwill movement known as 'pay it forward'. The film rolls out the heart-tugging story of Trevor and the life he leads with his alcoholic single mother and Trevor’s physically and emotionally scarred social studies teacher Eugene Simonet, whom assigns his class to come up with a social studies project that could improve people’s lives, or in other’s cases, the members of society.

Pre-Teen Trevor, with a heart of gold and an enthusiasm the size of galaxies, conjures up the most amazing idea, a movement he labels ‘Pay It Forward’, bestowing one random person to help out three equally random individuals, assisting them in any manner, big or small, whether it’s a matter of life and death, one person has to lend a hand to three strangers. The three members of society then have to do the same with three more people, and those people have to do the same with three more, and so on and so forth, the movement is alive and well. Simple, efficient and legendary, Trevor’s project does not go in vain and prospers as more and more people, far and wide, reach out to others: Lending them their vehicle when everything seems dark, letting an extremely asthmatic girl be aided first even though one is bleeding from his arm, as far as allowing an on-the-run criminal hitch a ride in an elderly lady’s car as she passes by him in the midst of his escape.

Each person who had been helped out asks why they did such a thing to someone they barely know, or don’t know at all, and thus the Movement is heard through the very long grapevine.

According to a quick search on Wikipedia, Pay It Forward is a real movement. Though the film was not based on a true story, as far as most people are conscious of, it is still an existent movement, an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor. The concept is old, but the phrase may have been coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 book In the Garden of Delight.

The movement, shown in the American film, slowly but productively took hold a vast majority of society and its image of people and their kindness, Pay It Forward stretching far and beyond its positive influence, a dominance like no other done in the best way possible. The movement in question withholds a certain power and control over countless individuals, swaying their behaviour and decisions not all situations, but in the matters that count most of all. Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann’s Theory, Spiral of Silence, applies to this plot, and vice versa. For this theory to be plausible it relies on the idea that in a given situation we all possess a sort of intuitive way of knowing what the prevailing opinion happens to be. The spiral is created or reinforced when someone in the perceived opinion majority speaks out confidently in support of the majority opinion---or in this present case, Trevor---hence the minority begins to be more and more distanced from a place where they are comfortable to voice their opinion and begin to experience the aforementioned fears. Due to the lack of Technology in the movie, the string of communication is word of mouth instead of online platforms, and in the place of feedback, results are more than enough for reassurance that the current movement is indeed moving forward, hence the name Pay it Forward.

Mccomb’s and Shaw’s Agenda-Setting Theory also plays a role in this particular film, focusing on Trevor’s upbeat and albeit testy patience on his project taking place. Though the absence of importance is palpable, given that Trevor is merely twelve and his is a movement born from an assigned school project, Trevor willed himself and everyone around him to give the movement the benefit of the doubt, proving himself right, much to the benefit of others as it also leaves him preening himself at the eventual verdict. While in general definition, Agenda-setting is the creation of public awareness and concern of salient issues by the news media As well as describing the way that media attempts to influence viewers, and establish a hierarchy of news prevalence, Trevor only required the idea to catch on, which it successfully did.

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travelerbypage · 7 years ago

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Book Review: Hush Now, Don’t You Cry

Book: Hush Now, Don't You Cry

Author: Rhys Bowen

Genre: Historical Mystery/Fiction

Summary: Molly Murphy, now Molly Sullivan, and her husband, Daniel, a captain in the New York Police Department, have been invited to spend their honeymoon on the Newport, Rhode Island, estate of Alderman Brian Hannan in the spring of 1904. Molly doesn't entirely trust the offer. Hannan - an ambitious man - has his eye on a Senate seat and intentions of taking Tammany Hall to get it. When Hannan is found dead at the base of the cliffs that overlook the Atlantic, Molly's suspicions are quickly justified, and as much as she wants to keep her promise to Daniel that she won't do any more sleuthing now, there isn't much she can do once the chase is on. Rhys Bowen's brilliant wit and charm are on full display in Hush Now, Don't You Cry, another outstanding addition to her Agatha Award - and Anthony Award-winning historical series. -Minotaur Books, 2012.

I got through this book fairly quickly because it sucked me in so well. I found this book, like all of them, for the most part, at Barnes & Noble. Besides the obvious fact that I love mysteries, it was the connection to Newport that made me pick up the book. I knew I was taking a chance since it was part of a series, but I think it was a risk well taken.

As always, spoilers are being kept to the minimum.

When I jump into a series that has already been deeply established like this one, I always tend to judge how well the book stands on its own based on the amount of references to previous mysteries. If I don't get that many, to me, it means it's a good series because I think it's lazy writing when a writer continuously refers back to previous mysteries or events in previous novels. If you must do so, do so in a way that makes sense. If you're not, it's just filler and you're aware that you're lacking something in your story. Bowen does not have filler in this book. She makes the odd reference here and there, but there are no pages devoted to previous events. This allows for the book to stand on its own if someone didn't want to read any of the previous mysteries.

As the summary says, Molly and her husband go to Newport to celebrate their honeymoon, but find themselves at the site of a murder. When her husband is incapacitated, Molly sneaks around her promise to stop solving mysteries so that she can solve the crime.

Molly reminds me a spunky, grown-up Nancy Drew. Her husband is Ned and her two society friends are Bess and George. Making that connection, even if it wasn't intended, warmed me to Molly and the other characters. With the high society thread involved, it also gave me a sense of a Miss Marple mystery with the relationship Molly has to the other characters.

The novel itself was very episodic in nature, which isn't a bad thing. It enticed me to read both previous and future novels of the series. Bowen wrote the setting very well - even though I've been to Newport numerous times, I still could visualize the scenery based on Bowen's descriptions.

The mystery itself wasn't bad and since the book was only 306 pages, it resolved itself fairly quickly. The solution took me a bit by surprise, but I enjoyed it. I liked all of the twists and sleights of hand that Bowen plays to keep you on your toes. The only fault I would say that there is in the story itself is how Molly gets the killer to confess. It seemed very choppy and not well put together. The idea too was a little out there for me. I'm surprised the killer confessed at all, really. This doesn't take away too many points though, since the rest of it was still very well done and I enjoyed every moment. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

I give Hush Now, Don't You Cry an A.

~*~

Please support the author by buying the book or by borrowing it from a friend or your local library. Thanks for reading!

#book review #hush now don't you cr #Rhys Bowen

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blackjack-15 · 5 years ago

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Royals, Towers, and the Treasures They Hide — Thoughts on: Treasure in a Royal Tower (TRT)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are notspoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: TRT.

The Intro:

I’m gonna be honest starting out here: TRT is one of my favorite games of all time, let alone one of my favorites in the Nancy Drew series. Part of it is nostalgia — I can’t count how many times my sister and I played it — part of it is my childhood (and adulthood) love for Marie Antoinette, part of it is Hotchkiss, part of it is the bangin’ soundtrack with its heavy use of the harpsichord — it’s just an ace gaming experience altogether.

That doesn’t make me blind to its flaws, nor does it cloud my ability to analyze it as a game. Just know that for some Nancy Drew games, including this one, they really can be more than the sum of their parts.

Let’s sum up the parts anyway.

TRT improves slightly on the mechanics from MHM, as well as its animation. The characters look less like they’re constantly having a seizure, the voice acting is better (well…mostly better; Lisa’s is Truly Horrible), and characters are allowed to say more than one thing and/or have more than one character trait.

There’s also another historical background in this game — Marie Antoinette’s life, particularly against the backdrop of the French revolution — that creates a more complex storyline with two plot threads and some actual emotional weight.

This time, the historical background is tragic (a trend that will continue in most of these games), and so even knowing the end, Her Interactive makes you care about and root for Marie, largely through what you find out about her from Professor Hotchkiss.

TRT is keeping the trend of longer and longer games, as its playtime is slightly more than MHM. It needs the longer runtime, as there’s more story, more locations, more secrets, and (possibly) slightly more dialogue to unpack.

TRT isn’t quite in the era of Nancy Drew games where the dialogue is pivotal (a fact that makes it rather surprising and self-defeating that fans rejoice in skipping dialogue), but it’s certainly important, and you’re expected to pay attention.

Unfortunately, paying even a little bit of attention will reveal the culprit. Oddly enough, this game doesn’t even try to suggest that anyone other than the culprit might be responsible, though it plays at “oh what’s Jacques doing” for a full minute in the middle of the game.

We won’t reach a game where the culprit is partially hidden for a few more games yet, but there’s at least an effort here to play entirely fair (as opposed to SCK), so I applaud that.

Overall, TRT is a strong 4thentry in a puzzle/adventure series, and is absolutely essential for the new player, both for its recurring characters (Bess and George! Ned! Professor Hotchkiss!) and for just simply how wellit performs the at-this-point Tentative Nancy Drew Formula.

The Title:

This is one of the most successful titles, simply because it tells you exactly what the mystery is about — the treasure within a royal tower.

The treasure is the focal point of both the A-plot (Nancy’s actively looking for the treasure once you’re 1/4 of the way through the game) and the historical B-plot (Marie Antoinette’s life and her hidden journal which is with the treasure and a treasure of its own).

Spoiler Alert: the real treasure wasn’tthe real friends Nancy made along the way. Mostly because she didn’t make any friends.

There’s actually not much to say in this section because the title is so darn good by itself, so let’s move on to the “reason” behind any Nancy Drew game: the mystery.

The Mystery:

There’s no mystery when Nancy shows up, marking a first (but certainly not a last) in the series. Nancy’s simply on a fun little vacation in a castle in Wisconsin — Wickford Castle, which has a tower carted over brick-by-brick from France’s Château Rochemont — which is owned by a friend of Carson Drew’s, Christi Lane.

Her vacation grinds to a halt when Wickford Castle gets snowed in and the library is (rather brutally) vandalized, causing the caretaker Dexter to lock it up and hide the key, suspicious of the three guests at the castle — Nancy, Lisa Ostrum, and Beatrice Hotchkiss — and the only other staff member, Jacques Brunais.

Instead of continuing her quiet little vacation, Nancy decides to figure out who vandalized the library at Wickford and why, learning about the Royal Tower, Marie Antoinette, the French Revolution, and about her fellow castle-mates at the same time.

Nancy ultimately solves the mystery with a little help from Marie and a little help from Hotchkiss, finding Marie Antoinette’s three medallions, opening up the Royal Tower, discovering the saboteur, and finding the Treasure in the Royal Tower.

As a mystery, the plot of this game largely succeeds. Sure, the culprit is obvious, but the game isn’t really that concerned with keeping her identity a secret.

Rather, the focus is on Nancy maneuvering her way around the castle, gaining trust or information or a clue from the different suspects, collecting the medallions and solving little mysteries that lay the ultimate mystery – the Treasure in the Royal Tower — bare.

TRT is a fair-play mystery, meaning you can figure out everything before Nancy does, but it has enough plot threads that most people will forget or not pay attention to one, and so will end up with one thing they didn’t think of/consider — even if it’s not a main thread.

Most importantly, the mystery succeeds because it changes focus from identity to figuring out Marie Antoinette to figure out where she would have hidden things and how, and that’s much more interesting than “who wrecked the library”.

The Suspects:

Dexter Egan is the caretaker of Wickford Castle, and the big man in charge of Wickford Castle with Christi gone on business. Gruff, cantankerous, and incredibly uninterested in doing his job, Dexter uses Nancy as an errand girl, doing the things that he’s “too busy” to do, while he…honestly faffs about doing nothing.

I think the point is to be like “ooh what is Dexter doing?? THIEVING??” but no, he’s just doing absolutely nothing, and I think that’s a waste. Part of it might be that he’s bothered by the destruction of the library, but everyone else has stuff that they’re doing throughout the course of the mystery, and I think it’s a shame that he doesn’t.

Also just fix the radiator; it’s winter, for heaven’s sake. Nancy’s gonna freeze.

Dexter’s also revealed to be the adopted-then-disinherited son of Ezra Wickford, the original owner of the castle. Ezra was a total dick, keeping contrasting scrapbooks of Dexter’s good things and then bad things, which is Super Messed-Up.

No wonder Dexter didn’t turn out better; every time he messed up his dad was probably like “yeah this is going in the Bad Book”. Yikes.

Lisa Ostrum is a photojournalist and guest of the resort who is stuck there because of the snow, just like Nancy. She’s over-eager to make friends with Nancy and attempts to buddy up with her — a contrast to everyone else in the castle, who either has Nancy earn their trust, or just doesn’t care about her altogether.

She is, as you can gather from the brief description above, the villain of the game, wanting Nancy to find the treasure for her and vandalizing the library over a “mistranslation” that doesn’t make any sense — she translates “journal” in French as “library”, not “journal”, aka the same word in English? Nope.

Lisa also lies about weird things, like greeting Nancy with “Hola!” and then pretending she doesn’t speak any Spanish, even though she does, and even though speaking Spanish wouldn’t make her suspicious? It’s one of a handful of very Weird things about Lisa that singles her out as the villain.

She’s the one who encourages Nancy to go outside to explore, then locks the door behind her, leaving Nancy to die from exposure. When Nancy gets back in, Lisa doesn’t even bother with the act, wondering idly who would do such a thing, as if it wasn’t blatantly obvious.

Nancy in her letter back home is like “to think I almost made friends with a diamond thief!” and I’m like…when did they make friends? When did they almost make friends?

She is a standout as the flattest character in the game, however, making all the rest look even better by comparison. When you can find out that a character has multiple other lives (including IDs!) and they’re still not interesting…that’s not great.

Jacques Brunais, skier non-extraordinaire (according to his Epic Loss at the Olympics on behalf of France) and ski instructor at Wickford Castle, is most likely the third person you’ll meet at Wickford, and is a man with an interesting past in relation to the Castle.

Jacques is a character more lovingly crafted to fit into the story than either Lisa or even Dexter (despite his history in the castle), as his reason for being there is two-fold. He’s there outwardly for his fiancée, Isabelle, who’s studying at a nearby university. He’s anxious to marry her, but can’t do so at the moment.

He has another tie to the area, however — one that runs in the family. His great-grandfather was a part of the team that moved the Royal Tower from France to the equally impressive and historical Wisconsin.

His grandfather discovered the blue medallion and Marie Antoinette’s journal as he was moving the Tower, and made the Obvious, Sensical choice to keep the medallion and re-hide the priceless journal.

Jacques thus spends the entire game attempting to get into the Royal Tower, knowing that the journal sits untouched in there and that he has one part of the puzzle — the blue medallion that his great-grandfather gave him on his deathbed — needed to find the treasure.

\As a culprit, Jacques is actually quite a good choice. He’s actively hiding something from Nancy, he has an alternative motive for everything he does, and is generally cagey in his responses.

He also hangs out in the area where most of the Suspicious Events of the game happen — the broken elevator, the lockers that are Full of Snooping Material, etc. — and sends you on errands rather than leave his post. It’s just small things on top of small things, but it’s effective.

Jacques’ introduction makes him seem like a smarmy, know-nothing French lech, but everything else in the game contradicts this — his loyalty to Isabelle, his feelings of regret of not having supported France well in the Olympics, his consciousness of his great grandfather’s legacy and discovery, his curiosity about the Tower, etc.

Simply put, he’s one of the best characters in the game, but he hides it quite well, leaving a lot of people to just go with their first impression of him.

He ends up helping out Nancy and eloping with Isabelle, giving him a genuinely happy ending — which is a rarity among suspects, who generally get a “life goes on” ending versus a faerie tale ending like Jacques (and Isabelle) gets.

Professor Beatrice Hotchkiss is a university professor of history, specializing in Queens — lost, ancient, displaced, murdered, she runs the gamut. This of course makes her intensely interested in the Royal Tower and in Wickford’s secrets.

At first, she refuses to speak to Nancy properly, cracking open her door slightly to accept the errands that Nancy runs for her and others, ordering 50 chicken drumsticks despite saying that she’s not a big meat-eater, and clacking away at her typewriter.

As the game goes on, the delightfully zany Professor Hotchkiss opens up, visiting the sitting room of the castle in the wee hours of the morning — the “witching hour”, as she delights in calling it — and talking to Nancy about her research and about the history of the tower and of Marie Antoinette.

Hotchkiss has an opinion on everything, making her a delight to talk with and listen to. She doesn’t much care what Nancy thinks of her, preferring instead to focus on what interests her. Her delight at Nancy finding Marie Antoinette’s journal — and her nigh-impossible task of translating the journal in one night — is contagious, exciting not only Nancy but the player as well.

As a suspect, Hotchkiss is TRT’s suspect that’s cleared early in order to be Nancy’s helper — but with a slight twist, as Nancy more works as Hotchkiss’ helper, and it’s Hotchkiss who solves the mystery, allowing Nancy to do the actual footwork.

She’s eccentric, but not really suspicious, and she’s not meant to be — she’s a character with her own agenda, rather than a character there to sneakily hint at their motive and lurk around the crime scenes to alert Nancy’s Spidey Sense.

Hotchkiss’ unique perspective on Marie Antoinette is often a point people make fun of in this game, preferring the Classical Narrative that Marie was a queen, and queens are Bad and Wrong because they’re rich and That’s Terrible. Thus, Hotchkiss’ sympathy and enthusiasm are often mocked when people talk about this game.

As a fellow historian with a soft spot for lost, maligned, or brilliant queens (or queens that were a mix of all of these), I can say honestly that Hotchkiss’ point of view on Marie Antoinette has not only found its place in history as we learn more about her, but it also marks her as a free thinker in academia — something incredibly rare and precious.

Hotchkiss forces the player to ask the question of why this Treasure — not the diamond, but the journal — is so important, and why people are willing to steal, lie, and vandalize in order to get it.

It’s the “edu” in the “edutainment” label that Nancy Drew games have been given, but its job isn’t to teach you math facts nor to quiz you on the French Revolution. Its job is to do something a bit, well, a bit more revolutionary: it’s to ask you to consider history more deeply than drawing lines between those that our more “modern” sensibilities designate as heroes and those we believe to be villains; between those we consider “enlightened” and those that we consider “backwards”.

Hotchkiss is a zany free thinker with a distinct lack of interest in everyday affairs and an obsession with not only studying those that history has forgotten or maligned, but in telling others and sharing her passion. She’s an awesome character, and I’m so glad they saw the chance to have her reoccur and took it.

On a less soapbox-y note, there’s a hilarious and oddly detailed theory out in the fandom that Hotchkiss is actually Future!Nancy, who has gone back in time to help her younger self out. There are not a few similarities between the two women — quirky redheads who are interested in history and delight in not telling people what they mean or want.

If anyone has a link to the big post for this theory, message me and I’ll include the link here. [EDIT: POST FOUND!] It’s worth a read, even if you just wanna giggle for a bit.

The Favorites:

There are a ton of things I love about this game, so let’s get started.

The soundtrack is of special mention in a game series with a lot of excellent soundtracks. Atmospheric, varied, and completely fitting to the theme of the game, TRT’s soundtrack is one to go back and listen to fairly often. It’s also immediately recognizable, which is something that a soundtrack should absolutely be, if it can manage it.

Hotchkiss is a wonder and a joy, and she makes the entire game brighter with her presence. Jacques also is a great part of this game, and the classic three (Bess/George/Ned) are in fine form as phone contacts

I’d be remiss in exploring this game metatextually without recognizing the Castle itself as a character and as one of my favorite parts of this game. Wickford Castle is an entity unto itself; its many winding staircases, dead ends, secret passageways, and rooms that lead to nowhere all build up its character as an old home that protects its occupants, past and present.

It’s as much a character as Marie herself, whose color — purple — dominates the castle. Her tragic story — a woman maligned, gossiped about, imprisoned, violated, and ultimately murdered for the crime of her birth and a marriage — is found in the dungeons, in the library, in the décor, and, yes, in her Royal Tower.

The tower, like the queen herself, is lonely, abandoned, and yet of great worth. It hides a great treasure, though those who seek it only see the basic treasure, rather than the thing of true worth: a primary source of centuries-old conflict and history, and the inner thoughts of a woman embroiled in an incredibly tumultuous time in history, both politically and personally.

My favorite puzzle (besides Hotchkiss’ quizzes, but I was a history nerd when I was a kid and I’m still one today) in TRT is probably escaping the elevator. It’s such a fun thing to do, especially since it seems “forbidden” in a way, and who doesn’t want to climb up an elevator shaft risk-free?

The sheer moment of terror when it breaks is awesome, too.

The Un-Favorites:

Even though this is one of my favorite games, there are some things that aren’t my favorite.

Lisa, as mentioned above, is a completely ineffective culprit, along with being obvious, so that’s the one thing that stands out above all others that I dislike. It takes you out of the story whenever she talks or is involved, which is a shame, because the atmosphere in the rest of the game is very immersive.

It might seem like a small annoyance, but another thing that bothers me is how long it takes to get your radiator fixed. It’s basically the focus of your first day at Wickford Castle, and I have no idea why they chose something that makes that much noise to be a large, over-arching puzzle.

Plus, all you can talk to Dexter about until it’s fixed is just “hey, is my radiator working?”, and let’s face it, Dexter doesn’t need the help to be dull in this game.

My least favorite puzzle in this game (once again, other than slider puzzles, which are my Arch Nemesis) is probably the INCREDIBLY LOUD door puzzle in the dungeon. It’s not a hard puzzle, and I don’t mind the random nature of it. But it is SO LOUD and I hate it a lot XD.

The Fix:

So knowing all of this, what fixes would I make?

The first thing is to give Dexter an actual plot. The game treats him more like a historical character than a present-day suspects, what with revealing him solely through environmental storytelling versus actual sleuthing.

Give Dexter something to do, and he’ll become an actual character with a tragic backstory, rather than a tragic backstory that takes two years to finish fixing the radiator.

An interesting idea might be to have him be searching for the treasure as well. Maybe Ezra hinted at having a medallion or whatever, and Dexter is searching for it in order to stick it to his Old Man for, you know, adopting and then disowning him and then leaving the medallion as “see I was a Good dad after all you can’t be mad” sort of thing.

Make it so Dexter is the one who tears up the library in a fit of frustration at his horrible father, but discovers that Hotchkiss’ medallion has been stolen and knows that he didn’t do that — so he knows there’s at least one other person trying to find the treasure.

He doesn’t have time to fix Nancy’s radiator because he’s so busy trying to find the treasure at the same time that he’s trying to stymie anyone else doing the same thing. He knows Nancy’s not there for the treasure, so he’s comfortable giving her tasks to do so that the Castle is taken care of.

He’s the one who tore up the library (albeit in a fit of rage), but Lisa’s the one who stole Hotchkiss’ medallion, but Jacques is the one sawing through the iron bars in the Tower at night…suddenly, the stakes are a lot higher for everyone involved — not to mention that, now, everyone is involved.

Jacques wants the treasure for family and love, Lisa wants it for money, Dexter wants it for revenge/to settle a past wrong, and Hotchkiss wants it found (but not for herself) so that the world will know Marie Antoinette’s true story.

The best way to flesh out a world, big or small, is to have conflicting motives in characters.

Yes, Hotchkiss wants the journal and treasure found, but she doesn’t want the tower destroyed. Jacques wants the treasure for France and for his future life, but respects his country’s history a little too much to do anything truly illegal. Lisa wants it for money, but doesn’t want to be found out and pay the steep price in prison.

So let’s say that Dexter wants to establish his right to the Castle and to shove it to Ezra, but can’t bring himself to fully disfigure his father’s memory nor his happy memories in the Castle.

The characters would become more complex, and Nancy’s case would be very different, as everyone would hide things from her with different reasons and different ways. Have Hotchkiss clue her in first, then have her discover Jacques, confront Dexter about Ezra, and then discover Lisa at the scene of the crime.

Speaking of Lisa, she’s the source of a lot of the small fixes that would improve the game.

First is her voice acting; I realize that Her Interactive wasn’t exactly a big-budget type game maker, but in a game where everyone else’s VAs are pretty good, she sticks out like a sore thumb. Replace her VA, because you just can’t take that voice seriously.

Another Lisa fix: have her actually be Nancy’s friend. Have Lisa buddy up to Nancy in a realistic way (we’re both young! both girls! both “sleuths”! Anything would do, really) and make friends with her.

Having Lisa share “important” information that she found out (actually information to throw Nancy off the scent) with Nancy, and do little things for her, or give her little gifts — all of this would add up to a seemingly genuine show of friendship, and would give weight to Lisa’s statement that Nancy is the “worst friend a diamond thief could have”.

That leads us right into the last thing with TRT to fix: the culprit reveal and confrontation scene.

Making Lisa active in this scene would be the easiest way to improve it; have her come in right before Nancy solves the puzzle, and Nancy, who knows that the one who’s still after the treasure is Lisa by sheer process of elimination, backs off and tells Lisa she won’t let her steal it.

Lisa pepper-sprays Nancy, and makes her fall to the ground, letting us see the rest of the scene from the side on the ground.

Lisa finishes the last step of the puzzle, casually monologuing the entire time about how she’s gonna get away and have money and how Nancy can’t stop her, etc. etc.

Nancy might murmur to “herself” (the player) that her eyes are clearing up, but she’s gotta stop Lisa somehow. Cue Lisa walking away casually, Nancy hitting the switch, Lisa’s trapped, and the game ends as currently established.

None of these, despite the length of this section, are super big changes, but added up, I think they’d make a game that’s actually more true to itself and its theme and message than the current incarnation.

#nancy drew #nancy drew games #treasure in a royal tower #clue crew #nancy drew meta #my meta #TRT #video games

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