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fuckyeaharthuriana · 4 years ago

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“Cursed” minor spoilers review

This is basically most of the points I talked about when I was at episode 8, plus something extra because I actually finished the series. You can also read my super long spoilers up-to-ep8 opinion here.

GENERAL STORY + THE SHOW

The show is generally enjoyable. While it starts slow, in an attempt to explain what all the characters are, it finally picks up by episode 5, when the characters finally collide in one unique storyline. The scenery is pretty, the world building is vague but not as vague as other shows in some parts (*coff*Merlin BBC): the show has a lot of information about gods (and not the vague “old religion”), even if we still don’t know everything about it, furthermore we know that the “new religion” in the conflict is Christianism and the show uses historical elements (the Church).

I am not usually a fan of religious conflict unless done very well, and I wish the show had focused a bit more on the political aspect of things. We never know how the kingdoms are distributes, how powerful they are, what are the relationships between the various forces and powerful allies/enemies. Where are they? How big is Uther’s kingdom? Did the Pope travel to England?? The mix of historical with fantasy facts, doesn’t work very well when there is not a lot connecting the dots and filling the gaps. Characters move through speed-movement and instant teleportation, and any character can virtually be anywhere at any time (example: when Nimue manages to reach Arthur and the Green Knight during their battle), without showing us how effortless/or full of effort that journey was. This annoys me because it lowers the stakes of what is happening, as, if every character can instant travel then everyone can be instantly saved or ambushed by everyone else. To combat this, the show could have easily started by showing us a map, with the classic exposition voice over that delineates the kingdoms and the power conflicts, and where all the main places are. Or, instead of the plot-transitions, we could have had map movements transitions.

The show doesn’t show

Maybe because of budget, the show ends up not showing a lot of things. We know that the fae have magic, but Nimue is the only one using it, while all the other fae show no sign of magic. Maybe they don’t all have magic? In that case, why are they persecuted? Is it because of their religion? It cannot only be because of the way they look, as many fae are just as humans. The show never explains it, and leaves me wondering if the fae actually have magic and the show didn’t have budget, or if magic is something rare.

Another thing the show doesn’t is... showing. There are some battles that are not shown, and I wanted to talk about a twitter that the Netflix Cursed account recently published, showing how “wow, we are so surprised at knowing who the widow is!!”... the problem is that we cannot be THAT surprised when we don’t know the rules of being a widow: is it a title? what are the limitations? Why is it that being the Widow is a bad thing? Sounds like a great deal to me! Furthermore, the big battle that ends up with the new Widow is never shown, we are simply told that it happened, and we are supposed to be surprised.

The same happens with the Sword. We are told many times how many kings want the Sword but we don’t really know what is the position of the Sword in the world. They never explain if everyone knows about it, if some people do, what people know about it, which ends up making me go “okay”, when I am surprised to say something like “oh wow! THEY have the sword now!”.

The plot

I really enjoyed the idea of the Sword, as I generally love good characters being corrupted (or bad characters getting redemption). I found the rest of the plot (religious war) a bit generic, but I suppose it makes sense to give conflict to the story, but the addition of Uther ended up clashing a bit, for me. I think it was too much (and the tone of his character was all over the place). Regarding the end, it seemed a bit like cheating to me, as it looks like the main political points of the world never changed and are still the same. At least the characters end up with an interesting journey.

Characters’ arcs

My favorite part of a show are usually the characters, and I enjoyed a lot of Cursed’s arcs. Arthur had, in my opinion, the best character arc, even if his character was introduced so weirdly (it was like the show was afraid of introducing him as a thief/kind of opportunist and cowardly decided to never actually go there), but ends up being quite well defined by both his actions and his past, not to mention that the show actively demonstrates how he could and will be a great leader, and shows us his increasing easy with leadership.

In second place, definitely Morgana, as she started from the most interesting place to end up into what we would expect will be her path of corruption (maybe?). I cannot say much more, because of spoilers, but I can say that even if the show played with the bury your gays trope, I still enjoyed finally having a wlw Morgana on screen (not to mention that the show buries other character’s love interests). She brings the personal conflict of rage and duty to the show!

Uther was also one of my favorite even if it felt like he was a bit unnecessary in the first part of the show. I suppose his character arc will be necessary for the second season, but I wish they had picked one feeling (comedic vs serious) for his scenes. And now that I am talking about Uther, let me add that I found Merlin useless for most of the show. I am not sure what the Fisher was supposed to achieve, why we needed so many Merlin scenes? It felt more like the show wanted to talk about these characters, instead of telling a story about Nimue.

The Green Knight was lovely as well, he had a nice character arc that I really enjoyed, and same for the Weeping Monk, they both starts from one point and ends up completely different by the end of the show so it was excellent.

Now, regarding Nimue, I am not sure what to think. She doesn’t really grow, or at least, I couldn’t tell. She starts from one point (hating her village because she is discriminated) and ends up helping the fae, but the discrimination part is never resolved and never come back again, as she is later readily accepted by all the other faes. So I wasn’t really sure why we needed to see her people hating her at the beginning, if not to add some angst that she didn’t really need. For the rest of the story, she seems a bit taken by the flow. She immediately accepts anything, and doesn’t seem to interested in learning more, she just accepts her fate, accepts her mother’s quest, accepts that she has to do this etc. Sadly, she felt like a necessary bland character, and clearly the story would not progress without her, but she had some good moments when she interacted with Morgana and Kaze.

About the Arthur and Nimue, while I didn’t mind them together that much, I felt like the best of their characters came out when they were interacting with others, and not each others. The show seemed to really want us to see Arthur and Nimue as lovers, and never gave them the chance to interact in anything but love scenes, while, on the other side, we had Nimue showing her leadership skills to Morgana, learning from Kaze, confronting Merlin, and we see Arthur overcoming the Green Knight’s prejudice, showing his valor to the fae, even analyzing some deep character trait with Morgana.

Arthurian elements

I was very VERY annoyed by the constant switcheroo. A character would get introduced and then would reveal their real arthurian name, and this happened at least five times if not more. Other arthurian elements were mixed in a bag and picked up at random (Bors? the Fisherman if he is the Fisher King? The Green Knight?), which is nothing surprising.

Also I had to actively force myself to forget anything I knew about Arthur’s family to be able to enjoy the show, and someone the show decided that Kay was not necessary at all, instead we have a guy named Charles, because, who cares, right?

Also, we are told Merlin is so smart, but the show doesn’t show it to us, we just see him telling us that he is smart and old and powerful.

#cursed #cursed spoilers #cursed netflix #nimue #merlin #and stuff #review

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cookiedoughmeagain · 4 years ago

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Haven DVD Commentaries: 5.06 - The Old Switcheroo II

Commentary with Adam Copeland (who play Dwight) and Adam Higgs (writer on Haven though not for this episode).

Adam Copeland: Ah, beautiful Lunenberg. And I think that’s Chester. Adam Higgs: So when was this, I think this was one of the earlier episodes. We did 26 episodes last year, so we started in … July? AC: No, we started in April. AH: Right, so this would be …? AC: June? AH: Yeah June maybe, because this was the third block. AC: I remember it was starting to get warm by this point. AH: Because it was snowing when you guys were there. AC: Yeah. And it ended and it was snowing again. AH: It book ended everything. AC: Here’s how I related to it is, it was in the hockey play offs when we got out there and then it was back in the hockey season by the time we were leaving. And that’s when I know it’s been a long time. AH: That’s a while.

[As body swapped Nathan and Duke are talking on the balcony outside Audrey’s apartment] AH: Gotta love this. This is one of my favourite scenes. Any time you’ve got the characters together. We were watching the dailies of these and laughing. And some of the stuff they were saying to each other; Lucas and Eric behind the scenes was fun too. Like, ‘What was that you were doing?’ / ‘You do that thing.’ / ‘I don’t do that!’ AC: Yeah. ‘I don’t do that?!’ / ‘No, you do do that.’ And it’s interesting too just to be taking on someone’s traits or their character’s traits in front of them because, as you say, they might not even know that they do it. AH: So true. And I think there were some times where it was either Lucas or Eric did something and then, they just couldn’t continue the scene - someone broke into laughter. It was so much fun. We’d put these on at the end of the day in the writers’ room through the course of the whole episode because we were just having so much fun watching this stuff. AC: It was fun to perform. It was a lot of fun, and to watch everyone else do their portrayal of the other. *Both descend into laughter for the rest of the scene* AC: Look at them walk. AH: Our teasers are usually fraught with peril, and people dying … AC: Yeah, and that ended with a double strut. AH: Fantastic stuff. It really sets the tone. It’s like you were saying in the last commentary, even though things are tense (and we get very tense by the end of this episode), there’s still time for humour and fun and comedy. AC: Well, any story there has to be those dips and moods or swells, and I think this is a swell of fun before you go down the wave.

[As Vince and Dave are outside the house in Manteo] AH: And here’s a nice scene where it’s funny that they’re in different bodies and everything, but at the same time this is some heavy mythology that we’re dropping in about the whole origins of the Teagues. AC: Yeah and scenes where there’s so much information to divulge can sometimes be an interesting challenge, because you want it to be interesting without just being all info, info, info. And I’m sure is a challenge as a writer as well. How do we make that something that people will listen to but it’s also interesting and not overwhelming. AH: Yeah, it’s a line we straddle. Where we don’t want to be expository but we want everyone to be able to follow what we’re saying. At the same time you’re trying to punch it up. So just like you said, it’s not just ‘this is everything we need to say in the scene’ but trying to keep it entertaining, get the point across, but at the same time - because I always feel bad because sometimes, you’ll be in a scene and it’s like, ‘This sucks because in the original version of the scene we wrote, Dwight had a bunch of jokes but then the script comes in we have to cut pages down and all of a sudden all of those cool lines are gone, and you’re basically just saying exposition. We really really try not to do that because we want everybody to have something from character to do in a scene. But yeah it’s difficult. And on a show; on a genre show, on a detective show, there’s always scenes where you have to get that stuff in. AC: Yeah, where there has to be the information. And it needs to be put out there in order for everyone to follow. But it’s also a good challenge too, because you have to figure out a way to get all of that information across and still make it fun. AH: Yeah. You guys do a great job of it, and that’s the thing on every show that I’ve worked on there’s always different actors that you go, ‘OK well we’ll give this to them because they’ll be able to sell it for sure.’ We don’t want to do it, but it is sometimes necessary. And we would in some scenes be like, ‘Adam’s got this, we’ll just have to give it to Adam.’ AC: *laughs* Well cool. This was an interesting scene too [Duke in Nathan’s body talking to Dwight in Gloria’s, in the station] because this was one of the first instances where their other characters aren’t there in the room. So this is actually Dwight and Duke [Lucas and Jayne on screen]. AH: It’s so funny when you say that. Because how weird is that. AC: And I think that was the first instance of that. AH: Yes. AC: Because what’s also interesting about that too is, from Gloria’s perspective, or Jayne’s perspective; what it Dwight’s interaction with Duke? They kind of don’t get along. So you have to know the thread of each … AH: Yeah it’s that continuity you were talking about in the last commentary where just trying to remember where you were in the previous episode, where are you now. Because we turn it on a dime a lot of times where it’s like all of a sudden you guys were friends, now you’re enemies, now you’re keeping something from someone. AC: Well, I would have said that Dwight and Duke were the alpha who were much more alike than either one wanted to admit. So they would always butt heads because of that but at the same time, what they both want is the same thing, they just go about it in different ways. AH: Very different ways. AC: Whereas Nathan and Dwight I think would be buddies. They would go about for a beer together. AH: Yes, they would be friends. They would hang out together in their spare times. AC: And eventually, or at times, Dwight and Duke would. AH: Yes. AC: But then at other times they would get in a fight at the bar. AH: And we vacillate back and forth between these extremes. AC: Yeah, which always made it fun too, because that relationship was always so tumultuous. But back to the point of Jayne having to remember what is the relationship. And for Lucas having to remember; Duke and Dwight don’t always see eye to eye. AH: Did Jayne come to you and ask about that? Or did you go to Jayne at all? AC: Well it was interesting, the first scene we had as each other’s characters was outside in front of the Freddy with Nathan. And we were bumping up against it, like ‘We’re not really getting it right yet are we?’ And it took a few takes to go, ‘OK there it is.’ And so Jayne would say, ‘How would Dwight say this?’ And I’d say, ‘Well he’d drop the g. It’d be cuttin’ not cutting.’ And that’s just how, that’s Dwight speak. AH: Oh! That’s excellent! Those little titbits are always neat. It’s such a family on set, it’s great that you guys are comfortable to do that. No one’s trying to take from anyone else. You guys all talk to each other. You know, you hear those stories of actors who don’t talk to each other on set or can’t be in the same scene with another actor. AC: Yeah. It was a great … pot to be able to grow out of. Because we were all, um … watering each other. Hmmm how about that analogy?

[As we see Vince and Dave talking to Allison Doohan] AH: I think Richard and John have known each other for decades. AC: Yeah, both Nova Scotia. Both well entrenched in the scene out there. They worked together on Trailer Park Boys too. So they’ve definitely crossed paths, and to watch their relationship grow on screen having worked with each other more than they probably ever had before. AH: Yeah because I think they used to compete for the same roles. And so now they get to brothers was kind of nice. AC: Yeah and so completely opposite. But both with great comedic timing. Richard can just make something so powerful and dramatic. And John can bring levity to anything. AH: On a dime too. And that’s the nice thing you have, as writers we look at, when you have them in a scene together, you’re able to do both things. AC: Yeah, drop a huge bomb… AH: And then woah, there’s a funny bit. AC: Or a funny bit ... AH: And then such emotional AC: And then Bam! AH: And we’ll get to it actually in this episode there’s a couple of scenes between the two of them where it goes from that levity moment to an incredibly serious, moving heartfelt emotional scene. And those are fun. Having that range and being able to do that. AC: Yeah even just that little look that John just gave there - just the little things that come with experience. I mean they’ve been doing this for so long. AH: And I love that as a writer being able to watch, and the same thing this whole episode with you and Jayne. Like Brian Millikin who was here for the last commentary said; the script is a blueprint and we put a bunch of stuff in there but it’s like building a house. You don’t specify what the colours of the walls are. So being able to see those touches, those things that you can’t really imagine is always fun. And this episode was great for that, just all these little asides and ad libs, nice extra layers of character and stuff that everybody put in there. AC: Well it’s interesting when you put it that way. It’s kind of like, the sketch is there but then it has to be painted in. And as you said, what colour? AH: Yeah, it’s up to you guys, what you want to bring to it. AC: So that’s actually a very interesting way to put it. Well done. AH: Well thank you.

[On screen we see Emily and Eric talking to the nurse outside the Freddy] AH: And this is where we were getting deep. And I remember we were going through this script and we were like, ‘OK. So in this scene, we’ve got Nathan *in Duke’s body* with Mara *pretending to be Audrey* but at the same time Nathan *who is still in Duke’s body* is pretending that he doesn’t know that it’s actually Mara. AC: Yeah, there was a lot to keep track of. And then especially, as I’ve said before, shooting out of continuity. There’s mental gymnastics. AH: And this was more so than for any other season of this show because we were block shooting two episodes at a time. So 505 and 506 are together. So it’s not unrealistic for a day to involve the first scene of episode 505 and then the next scene you’re shooting is the last scene of 506. And you haven’t had that journey but you’ve got to be in a different place completely. AC: Yes, and you have to know what that thread is. And then you could hop back to the 10th scene of 505 and then back to the 24th scene of 506. So it’s … but that’s part of the job, of always being aware of where you came from and also where you’re going too. AH: It’s amazing. Because I don’t think a lot of people at home really know that’s how television is made, is shot out of order. And they’ll be times even when you’re shooting a scene (and this probably happened more this season than any other season) from an earlier episode that we had to hold for a stunt unit or something. And you’d be shooting 9 or 10 episodes down the line and then you’d have to come back and catch it up again. And so it’s like ‘woah I hate this character now’ or ‘I love this character now and I have to go back to that mental place to pull this off’. AC: Yeah. Or a second unit shooting that day and they’re shooting episode 502 and you’re on 515. AH: Yeah. It’s amazing. You guys did a fantastic job with that particular obstacle too. Big credit to you guys. AC: What’s interesting too, and again props to Emily, is that she had to do this tap dance the entire season, and even last season too, of really being aware of all of that and making each character different while also appearing the same. You know there’s subtle differences like the hair and things like that, but it’s still the same face. AH: Yeah, big credit to her. And we were talking about this on another commentary, just even on the table readings where she would sometimes do both sides of a conversation live, and she’s switching character and the voice changes. The writing room is here in LA but everything is shot in Halifax and Chester in Nova Scotia Canada, and we’d look around the table here and we’d be like ‘Is somebody else reading Mara?’ But no, it was Emily. AC: Yeah, she’d drop her voice, everything, even her body language.

[Mara has just been locked in the room in the Freddy with Nathan in Duke’s body] AH: Here we go, very tense. AC: Yes, and that is so un-Audrey. This whole scene; the intensity - fogging up the glass because she’s yelling so intensely. Not Audrey at all. There were times actually during scenes where I’d go ‘Maudrey. Ahh I mean Mara. I mean Audrey.” AH: We had actually talked for this episode specifically about some of the difficulties of, would the audience be able to realise who was who at all times. And we played briefly - very, very briefly - with the idea of a popup on screen to say ‘This is actually Nathan’ or ‘This is actually Duke’. And thankfully we didn’t actually do that but we were just talking about the difficulty of it. AH: Some smart thinking here on Mara’s part. AC: Yep. She’s evil, but she’s smart. AH: And again turning on a dime for Emily here, where she was in panic mode and now she’s serious. Now she’s armed.

[At the train station] AC: This was an interesting scene with Andrew here who played Jeffrey Doohan. When he dove off here, he was legitimately diving into me the first few takes. And really fighting me here, because he wanted it to be realistic. But I was having to fight him so hard that the dialogue would come and it was my dialogue and it was like … ah trying to ... AH: You’re trying to control that. AC: I’m trying to control the fish out of water here. So it finally got to the point where he was saying, ‘I’m trying to be desperate, he’s finally out.’ And I was like, ‘Well, we can *act* that, or I can legitimately pick you up and slam you on the ground, so which would you prefer?’ AH: I know the correct answer to that question by the way. If Adam Copeland ever asks you that question - there is a right answer. AC: And the entire crew started laughing. And poor Andrew. But at this point I didn’t really know him and I was just ‘Dude you’re making this way more difficult than it needs to be. So let’s work together, or we don’t have to.’ And from that point forward he was very easy to work with and a great guy. AH: And it worked out! AC: It did. AH: But that was again very interesting when we were writing it and we realised that you had switched [Adam is playing Gloria at this point]. I remember that lightbulb went off in the room where we were like ‘What happens when someone fires a bullet? How does that work for Dwight, for the first time - he’s so used to bullets coming towards him and now he’s in someone else’s body, and poor Gloria isn’t used to being shot. AC: And as I said in the last commentary, does Gloria know how to use Dwight’s body, or would she be a little bit awkward? And she can stop Jeffrey just because of the physical nature of the body she’s in, but does she know how to really use it? So that’s why it would have been interesting to get into an actual fight scenario just to see, what would happen? AH: Yeah to see what would happen if there were punches thrown. AC: Would they be good punches? Or would they be these awkward … AH: … awkward slaps? AC: Yeah, who knows? But that would have been a really interesting subject to tackle. AH: We did have it in an earlier draft. I just remember we had to cut some stuff for time and that was sadly one of them. I remember there was a good chunk of the room that was like, ‘We’ve got to have a fight’. I remember also at one point we wanted Jayne Eastwood to take down a guy. It was going to be, in our minds, Gloria in Dwight’s body having difficulty trying to stop somebody and then Dwight in Gloria’s body tackles him or something, shoves him to the ground. AC: Well and going off of everyone else’s, you know because Duke in Nathan’s body moved like Duke, and vice versa. So by that rationale if you’re trying to keep continuity for all of the characters then Dwight wouldn’t know how to use that body. AH: Dwight would have no clue. And so you’d have Gloria having to be the bad ass, kicking down doors. It would have been so much fun. AC: Yeah but then not having the physical strength to do it; knowing how but then not being able to. Knowing how to throw a punch but it having no effect.

[As Vince and Dave talk to Skip/Jeffrey outside the house in Manteo] AC: This is a nice scene to be able to talk about the wardrobe. AH: I was thinking that too. AC: And really just how well dressed everyone is. And makeup and all the departments, everyone just firing on all cylinders, especially by this point. It’s a great looking show. AH: It’s one of the compliments I can give is I was really upset being down here in LA when the set sale was on. And I was, ‘Ah! I can’t get any of that wardrobe.” AC: Yeah, and even just all the lighting; Eric Cayla our DP … AH: Oh yeah, beautiful shots here.

[As Skip/Jeffrey is talking to Vince and Dave] AH: Now if you go back to episode 505 you’ll notice that Skip has gloves on, leather gloves. In this scene he takes them off to try and use his Trouble. And when he first meets the Teagues brothers he is wearing gardening gloves - just a tiny cute little thing we put in there.

[As Vince in Dave’s body is getting pulled into the thinny] AH: Great work by the visual effects team here. AC: Yeah, it’s always interesting to see the finished result because so many times you’re acting to a green screen, or just a wall.

[As Duke and Nathan walk into Dwight’s office] AC: It’s a little thing but the way Jayne is standing there [hands on the desk] is very Dwight. And by this point we’d both gotten to the point where, I think she was really starting to find some of the things that Dwight does. AH: Those little touchstones. AC: Yeah; it’s knuckles on the desk, it’s arms spread out a little bit. AH: Even that little look there, and picking up the phone. And I think being back in a set which Dwight has so much ownership of just allowed her to really get into that skin so to speak.

[Where Mara has Jeffrey tied up] AH: This is a creepy location. AC: It is. Totally is, it just screams serial killer. Great lighting once again Eric Cayla. AH: And this was the first year that we went from using film for the last four seasons to using digital HD. Turned out really well. AC: And I remember that being a huge question mark, as to how it would look and what the differences would be. AH: Especially because it’s a show that shoots outside so much. I’ve been on shows where you’re outside maybe a day, two days, but you’re mostly a studio show. This isn’t a studio show; you’re inside for maybe two days and you’re out on location the rest of the time. AC: Well that’s one of the things I’ve always said; the landscape is one of the stars. AH: Definitely. And it has that creepy but beautiful small town - [cuts himself off at the dramatic moment of Duke in Nathan’s body storming in to taser Mara]. And here’s the stun belt. It took two episodes but it was going to go off. We put that in - it was happening. And a nice little touchstone of, of course Nathan wouldn’t be able to do it but Duke would. We had fun coming up with those. [As the view shifts to outside and a shot full of trees] It’s just so green, it’s just nice to see that, those rich colours. AC: Yeah, you don’t need to bump those colours up any - that’s just the way it is. It’s such an interesting place to be because it is so lush and it just has a little bit of everything, whether it’s forest or ocean and this really kind of rugged coastline. It’s a neat place. AH: Did you get to do any hiking or boating or anything like that? AC: I did a lot of kayaking, a lot of ocean kayaking. AH: Oh that’s nice. AC: And found myself in open water and maybe in over my head a couple of times. AH: Really? AC: But I made it back. And it was nice to be able to discover some of the nooks and crannies of the area, for sure. And having the time over the years to be able to find out what places you like best. Shout out to Mahone Bay, I think a personal favourite of Emily and myself.

AC: One thing that’s interesting about this cast in comparison to a lot of casts is it’s a big cast. Lucas is about 6’1”, Eric’s about 6’2”, Richard’s 6’3”, I’m 6’4”. AH: That’s not regular. Most of the time it may look like it’s a large cast but everyone’s 5’7”. This is by far the largest cast I’ve ever worked with and it’s kind of cool. When you get to that physicality stuff and everything, you remember; it’s big guys against big guys. AC: Yeah it definitely lends itself to that kind of thing. AH: Whenever we’re casting opposition, bad guys for physical roles, we always have to keep that in mind. We can’t bring in a guy who’s 5’5” who’s supposed to look terrifying to our boys. It’s not going to work. AC: As evidenced by the hiring of my buddy Robert Maillet who was Heavy. Who is very heavy, like 380 pounds 6’11” heavy. And that was fun because he was a friend from WWE and has since gone on to The Strain, and 300, and Sherlock Holmes and built a nice little career for himself. Or a big career I guess. AH: I think I can tease this; he also makes an appearance in a future episode of Haven.

[As we see Skip and Jeffrey meet outside the Gull] AH: There’s a lot of brotherhood in this episode. You’ve got these actual brothers, and the Teagues, and Duke and Nathan are functionally brothers. And it was one of the things that we really wanted to play with. AC: Also, always great use of music in Haven. AH: Yes. AC: Also an appearance of Shawn Pillar’s Airstream back there, real briefly.

[As we see Dwight wake up back in his own body at his own desk] AC: Here was my question. Why would Dwight have been there? He wouldn’t have been. AH: OK good question. AC: He would have been in the morgue. AH: Yeah. AC: I brought it up that day and everyone went, ‘That’s a thread you don’t want to pull.’ And I went, ‘I just pulled it.’ Just saying. AH: He uh … Gloria was just taking a nap. She liked that chair a lot. AC: *laughs* Yeah. But that was a continuity thing, I was like, ‘hold on a second guys - but we’re here so OK’. Because I didn’t catch it in the read through. You know, I caught it when we were there and I was like ‘arghh’. AH: I will say that’s definitely on us. We should have caught that one. That should have been in the morgue. We had you in the morgue earlier, we could have shot that. Now I’m going to be thinking about this all day, I’m just going to be stewing in it. AC: *laughs* But you got to bring it up right? AH: You do. AC: Because otherwise there’s someone out there who goes, ‘Wait a minute’.

[As Vince and Dave are talking in the hospital] AH: And there’s that emotional stuff we were talking about. AC: Yeah it was always so interesting to do scenes with Richard because it was always so easy to dip into the emotions with him because he just carries an aura about him. AH: I love writing scenes for the two of you. It was one of my favourite things. In the next season you can expect to see some of that. Some great scenes and I just liked that relationship that you two built. AC: It always felt like father/son stuff, and that’s how I always thought of that. There’s a few things that when I thought of Dwight it’s always the one thing that drives him is the loss of his daughter. He’s trying to cure this no matter what, and that from a family aspect Vince was his Dad, Nathan was his brother, Duke was the buddy that he kind of hates but kind of loves. AH: Yeah, we all have that person AC: And Audrey is the younger sister. AH: Yeah the kid sister that he kind of wants to protect but wants to respect. That’s so well put. And it was so nice to see those relationships grow. AC: And Dave is the crazy uncle. AH: *laughs* Of course. But I loved writing those scenes and you guys would always kill them.

[As Allison Doohan is talking to the Teagues in Dave’s hospital room] AH: Some heavy mythology here. This stuff is important for season 5b. *stage whisper* Pay attention. It was interesting actually because working on the second half of the season we had set up a lot of threads in this episode and we’re pushing it to 521, 522, 525 and going, ‘Oh wow we’re going back to 505!’ and having to pay off somethings this episode is pivotal for. As funny and light as it is. AC: Yeah that’s just it. It was comedy and a bright spot in the midst of this overcast cloud, but there’s a lot of information that is actually divulged in these episodes. [As Dwight and Gloria are talking where she tells him about his sister] This is actually, up until this point, my favourite scene for Dwight. Just because it’s a range of emotions that I had to try and get in a 30 second timeframe. AH: And you delivered, you really did. I’m actually going to stop talking just to let this play through. AC: This is just one of those instances where nothing seems to go right for Dwight. AH: That’s the thing, we always felt bad AC: And he’s a good guy, so you feel for him I think. AH: You really do. He’s an everyman just trying to do the right thing. AC: Yep. Misunderstood at times but the heart is good. AH: And every moment it feels like what can go wrong does go wrong. AC: So up until that point I think that was my favourite kind of tackle, and how it turned out I was very happy with. But Jayne is someone who is so easy to play off of with those type of things. And also, possible spoiler alert, there may be more scenes like that to come, that I really really enjoyed doing. AH: And you did it so well. And it was so interesting because, like we’ve been talking about, the clouds are coming in … AC: There’s a ray of light … AH: And we took it all away. That’s what we do, we take it away. We make you feel happy … and then you’re sad. But yeah it’s just so interesting that tonal shift of how fun and light this is and then just painful. AC: And then poop gets real again. [As Dave is talking about waking up on the beach] AH: I feel like a good chunk of this episode is going to be used in ‘Previously on Haven’s. AC: Yeah, just because there’s so much, especially in the last half of this episode. Even ten episodes later. AH: 20 even. AC: Yeah, that’s how pivotal this stuff that we’re talking over is.

AC: Duke has the coolest vehicle. That … Range Rover I think, right? Or Land Rover? AH: Land Rover? The Land Rover survives until season 5b, we can spoil that. AC: Yeah sure, why not? AH: Look forward to more Land Rover AC: With the cloth top, and the steering wheel on the British side.

[As Duke and Nathan are getting ready to try and brink Audrey back out of Mara] AC: She’s so angry. And mean. [As Duke is cutting his hand] I cringed every time this happened. I have a thing with knives, they always freak me out. AH: I do as well. I don’t know if you notice every time in this commentary it happens, I always look to you, because I just don’t like looking at it. AC: Yeah and surgeries and all that stuff, really freaks me out. Guns don’t bother me, knives uh huh. AH: And this was a nice reveal, we really enjoyed this. We had this planned and I do think we caught a lot of people off guard.

[Mara on screen; “Nothing happened. You’re both idiots”] AC: *laughing* She’s so evil you like her, at times. AH: She’s fun. In an evil way.

[As we see Audrey] AH: And there’s some trickery of course here, with some body doubles and stuff to make sure that we could pull this off, as Emily Rose sadly does not have a twin sister. It would have been a lot easier on us if she had, but.

AC: Yeah so that’s a pretty big episode. AH: Sure there’s no ramifications from this at all.

AC: Well before the end of the show I would like to say thank you for having me. This was a lot of fun and yeah, it’s always fun to get to talk about the show. AH: Thank you for having me as well. Thanks for listening and keep watching!

#haven syfy #havensyfy #haven dvd commentaries #5.06 - the old switcheroo II #haven 5

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imsuchotometrash · 5 years ago

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Obey Me as Be More Chill Cast

Holy Shit this ended up being so long but I really wanted to explain myself. So I’ve put it all under a cut (hopefully). This is just how I’d cast them, and I did include understudy roles with explanations so if anybody happens to write a crossover fic/ does some art with idea they have options (please feel free to do so and please tag me I don’t trust myself to do it I’d butcher my idea with a meat cleaver but I wanna see it so bad).

Jeremy - Leviathan

Honestly the whole vibe of BMC feels like Levi’s aesthetic.

And Jeremy’s big character flaw is that he’s not satisfied with his lot in life/jealous of the life the popular kids have.

You have to pry my head-cannon of Levi already having “Two Player Game” memorized from my cold dead hands.

Understudy - Mammon

Meet dumbass #2 who just wants people to like him would jump on the chance to have a squip.

Actively argues with the casting director about making him Jeremy until he settles with understudy once he finds out MC’s role.

The Squip - Belphegor

Now, now, listen. Belphie is cannon manipulative, and Belphie is also cannon violent.

So is the Squip.

Also I like the significance of the the Squip being a character that takes a hot second to be introduced to us, and Belphie is the same.

Understudy - certain MCs (like mine for example)

Like my MC would turn “Pitiful Children” into a song just dripping with sex.

And I feel like if Levi had the chance to choose what his Squip looks like that weeb would pick either Ruri-chan or his crush you can fight me on that.

Michael - Lucifer

This seems like a stretch but it’s really not. For one, imagine Luci singing “Michael in the Bathroom”. I need it.

Michael is the only character who doesn’t get squipped, and a main reason for that is because he outwardly embraced his lot in life. I feel like that becomes a sense of Pride, like a certain demon.

I also like Lucifer as Michael because Lucifer does try to understand his siblings, and is very accommodating of Levi’s social struggles. Idk i think it makes him a good candidate to play Levi’s stage best friend.

Let Lucifer live vicariously through Michael and experience a relatively laid back life for just a moment please he deserves it

Understudy - Beelzebub

Would naturally fit the role of a stoner without having to be one just for the munchies alone.

A very good friend who deserves the world and instead ends up having a suicidal panic attack in a bathroom

Christine - MC

Obvious reason #1: both are main love interests. And I am a fan of the theater fic trope of your crush in real life is your love interest in the play. Fight me.

I feel like some of the cannon options provided for MCs naturally give way to Christine’s quirkiness.

I feel like this one is very self explanatory and kinda lazy but c’est la vie.

Understudy - Belphegor.

This is partially because one option for casting of Jake is Beel and I feel like he’d enjoy getting to interact with his brother more than the Squip interacts with Jake.

But it’s mainly because I personally thinking Belphie would enjoy pulling the switcheroo on Levi in “A Guy that I’d Kinda Be Into”

Also Belphie singing “Play Rehearsal” is a hilarious thought

Rich - Mammon

My sad greedy boy who craves attention. Would understand freshman Rich. SO MUCH.

“It’s FrOM JapaAAANNNNN”

Mammon is a hipster. He has to be, you can’t convince me otherwise. This need to know upcoming trends most definitely includes obscure drugs.

Understudy - Leviathan

Rich and Jeremy are actually really similar characters. They have important differences like Levi and Mammon do, and I think both can understand Rich.

Levi would 1000% buy the Squip just because it’s a rare, limited item from Japan

His Squip is Ruri-chan in a bikini

Chloe - Satan

Hierarchy wise, Chloe is above Brooke, just like Satan is above Asmo in the demon pecking order.

Chloe is vindictive when she feels slighted, and cunning about her execution, just like our resident bookworm which is a trait he picked up from Lucifer BUT I DIGRESS

Short tempered bitches have to stick together

Understudy - Diavolo

Queen Bee of the School meet Prince of the School

For the Prince of Hell fuckers, I bring you a feast: The baby costume (ignore the diaper part and focus on how he’ll most likely be essentially naked)

Jake - Beelzebub

Jake = confirmed jock beefcake. Beel = confirmed jock beefcake. It’s just simple math.

Turns out that Jake has family issues that bother him that he hides behind a happy go lucky, go with the flow attitude and hmmmmm that sounds really familiar.

Also turns out that Jake is decently in tune with his emotions, I swear I’ve seen this before.

He literally becomes wheelchair bound as a result of risking his life to save his friend. Guys they are carbon copies of each other.

Understudy - Lucifer

This mostly revolves around the fact that I think Lucifer’s Pride will not allow him to be anything less than a lead role.

Also, Jake is technically the second antagonist, and Lucifer ends up being an antagonist to his brothers with his strict rules and sadistic punishments.

Jake = Mr. Perfect, always gets what he wants (in Jeremy’s eyes). Lucifer = Mr. Perfect, always gets what he wants (in Leviathan’s eyes).

Jenna - Solomon

Shady characters unite.

Still holds power/prestige because she’s the school’s go to source for gossip because she just knows things. Kinda like Solomon, but I was thinking more along the lines of because he has immense power/so many pacts with demons.

Tricky bitch who is actually the person who almost causes the end of the world because a pretty person told them to do it. (Do I think Solomon is very weak to Asmo because he’s a pretty face? Yes, yes I do)

Understudy - Asmodeous

Our actual resident king of gossip

Third person in the show to be squipped, and honestly I think Asmodeous would also be the third demon to do it behind Levi and Mammon, for a plethora of reasons/head cannons.

Asmo hitting Jenna’s note in “The Pitiful Children” hits me different and I want it.

Brooke - Asmo

First off: “Do you wanna Ride”. That’s it. That’s my argument for this casting.

Actually, Brooke is a very sexualized character, but turns out to be caring and genuinely likes Jeremy at one point, and that fits my specific thoughts of Asmo’s insecurities.

Understudy - Solomon

Is this just because Solomon was last on my list to find a second role? Yes Of course not. I’m classier than that.

In actuality, I think Brooke gets screwed over pretty hard during the play, and us fans don’t particularly play nice with our resident sorcerer, what with our distrust of his shady character.

Mr. Heere - Diavolo

Diavolo playing the dad who is trying to connect with his kids? Sign me up.

Also, Diavolo singing “The Pants Song”. I don’t know if you noticed but I base a lot of these off of people singing certain songs and I’m not going to apologize

For all you Demon Prince fuckers out there, this character decision requires Diavolo to walk around on stage with no pants on for 90% of his stage time. You’re welcome

Understudy - Simeon

A guiding influence in the play, a part of the character Simeon would easily relate to and take some pride in.

For all you angle fuckers out there, Simeon in boxes for 90% of the play. You’re welcome.

Mr. Reyes - Simeon

My main motivator for this decision was Mr. Reyes’ speech during “The Play” because he snaps off and I really want Simeon to loose his shit.

Mr. Reyes is also relatively chill and goes with the flow. He’s got a lot of patience, like our favorite angel boy, and I feel like Simeon could relate to that.

Understudy - Satan

A fellow advocate for the arts.

Mr. Reyes ends up having quite the temper, and Satan would definitely enjoy his blow up scene.

A more background role, which gives Satan ample time to learn more about backstage work or anything else that strikes his fancy during all his free time in rehearsals.

#obey me shall we date #shall we date obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me diavolo #obey me simeon #obey me solomon #obey me headcanons #obey me as be more chill #is my theater nerd showing?#the soundtrack came on today and I just had a visceral vision of Levi = Jeremy #did I listen to the soundtrack while making this?#did I cackle at some of the images of different boys singing the songs?#yes

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stygianking · 6 years ago

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switcheroo!

MEME FRIDAY: Send me “Switcheroo!” and I’ll redesign your muse as if they were from my muse’s universe.

i haven’t ever properly played majora’s mask, but i have played ocarina of time, as well as wind waker and breath of the wild, so i’ll be combining that knowledge of link with what i’ve see of your portrayal of him!

for being a demigod child, for link... it’s hard to say, because all the iterations of him are the same person, but just a little different. like, for example, tp link is much more serious than botw link, who conned a poor man out of BOTH pairs of his boots just because he wanted them and saw an opportunity cuz the man thought he was a cute girl. but considering their universal skillsets and most prominent character traits, i diagnose him with........

APOLLO!

i think, if we were to discuss the different links and what might make them so different in the ways they are, that’s when we would get into the potential for legacies and whatnot. not to say that all children of the gods are the same (one of the defining character development points for piper, daughter of aphrodite, for example is coming to accept that she can be her mother’s child without subscribing to the ‘stereotype’ the rest of her siblings have boxed themselves into, and that she helps them understand that they should define love and beauty on their own terms) but, each link is still a different person, with the obvious exception between oot and mm child links.

but for child link from the oot/mm era, i don’t think he would have any particular legacies-- i picked apollo for link overall because i think it’s the strongest choice, especially considering his ties to music in many of the games, and his affinity for the bow. apollo was known for being both excellent at swordplay and archery, he simply preferred archery, so i think that especially suits link.

unfortunately there’s no way i can think of giving him any kind of fairy companion, but it might be possible to play with the idea of dryads and whatnot instead.

if i had to give child link a legacy, it would probably be demeter, but honestly i don’t think this would apply in this case. we could get into rebirth and stuff irt to the oracle and how legacies would carry over for each link over the years though, but that’s a whole other ballgame...

#💀 | MEME FRIDAY #hope this makes sense! i'm a huge fan of loz so i was excited to see this ;w;#courageousguise

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dingoes8myrp · 7 years ago

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My Beef with Alien: Covenant

I had a lot of beef with this movie, and I didn’t expect to, so it really hit me in the face and left an unpleasant taste in my mouth that’s still lingering two days later. While this wasn’t a bad movie by any means, I personally strongly disliked it and I think it marks the nail in the coffin of this franchise. My reasons why are in a spoiler-heavy review below.

The opening scene really set this movie off on a bad note, in my opinion. I felt like I was in detention sitting in this room watching what looked like a deleted scene from Prometheus they crammed in here to remind us who David is, which made his “surprise” reappearance later a total “No shit” moment.

When Michael Fassbender-As-A-Different-Android was the first person we met aboard Covenant, that was just confusing. Two different androids have never been played by the same actor in the franchise, so the fact that suddenly Michael Fassbender is playing both David and Walter was kind of “Huh?” It made me think “Well, the only reason they did that has to be because at some point in this movie we’re not going to be able to tell David apart from this guy.” That totally took the punch out of David’s sneaky “I’m going to pretend to be Walter to get off this rock” moment and the twist of “Holy shit, it’s David!” because, yeah, no shit. We saw that coming a mile away. It also meant for the first act of the movie I was trying to figure out if Walter was legit, or if it was David in disguise, or what.

Right away, the ship was met with some kind of catastrophe because of course it was. Some guy burns up in a cryo chamber and I don’t care because we have no idea who Deep-Fried is until several scenes later when we gather he’s Short-Hair-Girl’s husband and Underqualified-Billy-Crudup is now our captain. This film lacked the character development we saw in Alien, Aliens, and Prometheus, which made this feel more like some “Random Teens Get Together in A Cabin in the Woods to Be Murdered” movie, only in space.

Speaking of which, we have a totally bloated cast of characters, none of whom are developed further than a few stereotypical surface traits, if that. When everyone starts dying horrifically right off the bat, we learn everyone on this ship was married to someone else. So when a chunk of the cast dies, most of the remaining characters are left emotionally crippled because “Oh my God, my spouse just died!” Literally, if you’re not a shady android, your only options as a cast member of this film were to be an expendable spouse or a grieving spouse. This meant that every single character was making dumb snap decisions because “Ahh! The grieving!” or something. I don’t even think anyone thought it through that much, to be honest. Oh, and of course we have our two non-emotionally-crippled cast members (also married, but we don’t know that until they die later), but they’re just hanging out on a ship awaiting further instructions and have no idea anything horrific is happening because comm problems. What?

Okay, we know this is an Alien movie, which means several cast members are going to die horribly. But, could you maybe not slap us in the face by not even bothering to give us any character development at all? “Here, watch a bunch of people die in space because aliens” really isn’t what made the original Alien great. We had a competent crew with a comradery we got to see before everything went to shit, which made their motives and behaviors make sense. This was like watching an improvised Whose Line is it Anyway skit where everyone got handed a slip of paper with a vague character description, and no one had any clue what anyone else was doing. It was like Crudup’s Wife didn’t even know she was his wife and when she died he only just remembered it himself. When the two Flight Crew people were showering together that was a total surprise. Nothing about them expressed they were at all fond of each other, let alone a couple. The only relationship I bought was Short-Haired-Lady’s and Deep-Fried’s and we don’t even get his end of it at all.

When we get to the “explore a strange planet” part of the story everyone’s brains just fall out of their heads, and this is before everybody’s spouses die horribly. I mean, I get that these guys aren’t yet aware of the dangers of Xenomorphs because these are pre-Ripley films. However, this is still a strange planet they got some kind of weird message from. You would think there’d be some basic precautions like “don’t leave anyone alone somewhere because some screwy animal could jump out of a bush and bite somebody” or “don’t clomp all over strange looking spores with your big ass boots.” I mean, it makes no sense that before they leave Covenant they all pack their weapons as if they expect trouble, but then tra-la-la around the planet with no concern at all for their safety. No shit they all start dying, because everyone’s kind of stupid for no apparent reason. Examples? Alrighty.

Captain Crudup commits two horror movie sins at once by suggesting they split up so half of them can investigate the strange noise, which comes in the form of a garbled radio transmission. Captain’s Wife tries to wander off alone and is saddled with Guy with Cigarette as a sidekick. Doesn’t matter because they split up anyway and he contracts the space asthma and doesn’t let anyone know. Captain’s Wife notices Cigarette Guy’s not feeling well, but ignores it. Meanwhile Obnoxious Dude does the same thing as Guy with Cigarette in his group, going off alone and getting space asthma and not mentioning it to anybody. Captain’s Wife then decides to bring Sick Cigarette Guy back to the ship so he can spread his sick to everyone else, and Panicky Blond Girl lets them in because she doesn’t have a Man in Charge to tell her not to, ‘cause comm problems and Dipshit Captain.

Everything goes to shit quickly as Panicky Blonde Girl tries to handle a back-burster and instead makes the ship into a fiery hellhole. Luckily they have the Covenant crew waiting in the wings in case of this exact thing… oh, wait. Comm problems, so no they don’t. So, we have aliens chomping and bursting their way through this group of useless dummies, but totally-not-a-surprise!David shows up to rescue them. Except David is shady as fuck from his intro and while this is noted, no one seems to care. No one asks questions about all the corpses outside his dwelling either. Seriously, how did these people get their jobs?

The absence of Shaw was troubling to say the least, and David’s “she died in the crash” story stank of bullshit. As David’s sanity began to reveal itself to be absent and the crew got picked off one by one I wondered what the hell happened to this movie. The end of Prometheus set Shaw up to be our answer to Ripley in this collection of films, and suddenly she was unceremoniously killed off-screen between films and we get new underdeveloped characters so we can devote most of our time to David, who has become both the protagonist and the villain. Why did we skip over the cool story we were promised at the end of Prometheus to get stuck with this half-assed slasher film that basically tricked us into watching it?

I had some hope when we got back to Covenant and Short-Haired-Lady seemed like maybe she’d be our new heroine. Except Walter was clearly not Walter because Walter’s wounds healed on their own and we got a whole scene between Not!Walter and Short-Haired-Lady that revolved around her patching him up. Also, why did no one test this fucker when he came hobbling up to the ship, considering the evil twin story we’ve been dealing with since David Single-White-Female’d Walter’s hairstyle? Unfortunately our heroine is also inexplicably stupid and doesn’t figure this switcheroo out until she’s trapped in a cryo chamber being put to sleep by this crazy dude.

I’m not sure what was supposed to happen with this movie, but I know what definitely didn’t happen. We didn’t get a kickass heroine beating the odds, nor did we get a resourceful crew pitted against an unreasonable alien villain. The aliens became a backdrop for David to do his thing in as he played God and puppet-master and we sat and watched the fallout.

Alien franchise, I want my kickass heroine. I want the aliens. I want the scrappy crew. As pretty as Michael Fassbender is, I really didn’t need David to have his own movie. Maybe this direction was great for some people, but not for me. Alien: Covenant, missing the point.

#alien covenant #dingometa

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derpcakes · 8 years ago

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Some things I enjoy about Beach Episode:

The bickering in-laws have ARRIVED

Rin and Shirou are my favourite dynamic in this one, and their relationship is one of the bigger focuses—they’ve gotten past their weird state of sexual tension and come to understand each other as real people rather than idealised visions, and now they have a delightful (for me) awkward but genuine banter-filled friendship. It’s especially fun to play with Shirou’s not-often-seen sarcastic side, which is of course part of his core character since that’s what eventually blossoms into Archer’s raw cynicism and wit in universes where Archer is a person who comes to exist.

The Coffeeverse isn’t one of those (you can tell by his hair--even when it gets slicked back into an Archer-esque do, he will always push it forward again, which is especially significant when he’s interacting with Rin), but it would be doing the dear boy—and his relationship with Rin—a terrible disservice to remove it. Plus, Rin is in a position where she can bite back and engage in banter rather than just getting mad, which, as you’ll see in the chapter, is something she’s consciously trying not to do even if she flares up in her internal narration.

Rin, and Rin’s dynamic with Shirou, is moving on from the foundation of canon, which is a really fun thing for me to explore. You can see this is visual references, eg when she comes to talk to him on the jetty and they sit back to back…

Much like that scene and famous CG. However, she actively moves around so she’s sitting beside him instead, implying a change from their relationship as we would recognise it in canon. Because that’s the whole thing I’m working towards with Rin’s character arc (and oh yes, she gets a character arc): moving forward and growing from her foundations. She’s got a lot of the same traits and issues, but her Coffeeverse incarnation is trying to recognise the bad bits and correct them, eg being honest about her feelings, not getting mad as an instant reaction to being caught off-guard, and embracing the less-elegant natural aspects of her personality and lifestyle that she’s trained herself to cover up to preserve her image.

And Shirou is an integral part of this, as we’ve seen, because he calls her on her shit but also listens to her vent and advises her on how to be better, giving them a nice balance of sarcastic dialogue and meaningful friendship, at the stage where they can address each other as people rather than putting each other on pedestals and freaking out. They can be dorks together, they can make fun of each other, and neither is afraid of what they feel about each other, which is just super important to me and really rewarding to write.

It’s going to be especially interesting to explore Rin’s relationship with Ayako, who, bizarrely, isn’t even impressed by any of the things about Rin that usually impress people. She has to start from zero and earn her respect just by being Rin, rather than being The Tohsaka Heir or any of that jazz. Which is both strange and liberating to Rin, as we shall see in future sips :3c (Ayako was Rin’s friend already in canon, but I’m mixing things up for my own purposes)

While we’re talking canon switcheroos, Shirou (sarcastically, dramatically) covering up his smooth bare chest? Another visual callback to canon, but this time genderbent and role-swapped.

(Also his shellfish intolerance (especially molluscs) is a canon nod because, well, I haven’t actually read the FSN smut scenes, but I have seen enough snippets and memes to know that “mollusc” appears far too often as a descriptor/metaphor. Seafood has no place in the bedroom, Type-Moon.)

In any case, really enjoying coming up with playful dialogue and calling Rin on all her shit, thus enabling her to grow and attempt to become a less angry, better person. There will be plenty more where this came from, because it turns out when she’s not stuck in a goddess image in the eyes of the narrative and everyone in it, she’s super fun to write. And where she’s grown a new relationship with Shirou, it’s going to be a delight to explore the new relationship she grows with Sakura. The pedestal-put perfect big sister is... taking a tumble back to some semblance of balanced ground, and it’s gonna be fun.

And, as with Shirou’s hair, keep an eye on Rin’s luscious locks and the do they’re in in coming sips--and as a bonus, the colours she’s wearing. It all means somethin’.

#coffeefic #I LOVE THEM

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rwby-fan-theories · 8 years ago

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Team JNPR's historical figures are symbols for their lives and possible deaths.

Warning! Spoilers if you haven't finished Volume Three. Minor Spoilers to Volume four as well.

A well documented fact of the former team JNPR was that they each had a connection, in some way, with famous historical/mythological figures who cross-dressed at some point. Jaune Arc is a representation of the famous french general, Joan of Arc, Lie Ren is a representation of Mulan, Nora is a representation of Thor, and Pyrrha was a representation of Achilles.

Now that we have seen the end of one of these characters, we can make some interesting observations. The first thing we see is that Pyrrha obviously died similarly to how the Greek legend, Achilles, died. Achilles was shot in the heel, similarly to Pyrrha, by a royal prince named Paris. If you wanted to stretch the comparison, you could say Cinder is like Paris; an important figure (prince), but not the top (King/Salem).

I know we haven't gotten to the actual theory yet, but give me some time to ramble.

Her motives, and the events leading up to it, are also incredibly symbolic for her historical figure. Pyrrha is a born warrior, and that is her achilles heel. She never had a chance to be what she wanted to be. In an ironic twist, Jaune treating her normal wasn't normal. That's part of the reason she was so drawn to him.

Similarly, Achilles was a born warrior, dipped in the river styx, and made invulnerable in all places but his heel. He too was unable to make a choice on what his destiny would be.

Pyrrha's acceptance of being the fall maiden, a mythical warrior with more power than most could possibly dream of, was another example to her of how she was destined to be great, to never lose a fight, to be the hero.

When looking at her decision to fight Cinder in this light, her motives for doing so become a lot more clear than just "I need to save Beacon". This was her way of testing fate. If she could beat Cinder, and become the fall Maiden, then great. She becomes the storybook warrior she was always meant to be. But if she failed, and died, then that's also great. She's finally rid of the chains of fate that bind her. All of these feelings culminate in her final words as she looks up to Cinder.

"Do you believe in destiny?"

A legendary hero, skilled beyond measure, never loosing a fight, seemingly invulnerable, able to take on leagues of opponents, beaten by and arrow to the heel, and killed.

This is where my inner English major decided to come out and play. I already loved the depth of that character that Roosterteeth produced in an economy of words and animation. But what if that's not the end? What if all of team JNPR are tragically beautiful characters like Pyrrha?

What if they each will live, and more importantly, die like their historical characters?

Let's look at how each historical characters die, and how that could connect to team JNPR.

Nora/Thor:

Thor is the Nordic God of Thunder, son of Odin, and the historical comparison to Nora. Thor, in Nordic legend, was prophesied to be killed in the battle of Ragnarok, where he would die by the hands of a giant snake.

There, admittedly, aren't many obvious connections between Thor and Nora yet. They both use lightning in some way, and wield a hammer, but not much beyond that. If there are any ideas someone can come up with, it would be interesting to hear.

The idea of Nora dying at the hands of a snake, or some kind of large beast, isn't too farfetched. The characters are currently traveling through Grim infested woods. We do know that Ren's hometown was destroyed by a large beast, so the idea of that same beast killing Nora would make for a good literary circle.

In fact, my personal belief is that Roosterteeth is pulling a switcheroo on us, and Nora will be the one to die in Volume 4 instead of Qrow or Sun. I don't have evidence for this, it's just a personal thought I like to entertain.

If this is to be believed, then it leads very well into the next character

Ren/Mulan:

Mulan is a character from an ancient Chinese poem about a girl that dressed as a man to fight in the army against an invading threat. Though her death is not mentioned in the original poem, later adaptations have her commiting suicide after coming home and seeing her father is dead and she is to be a concubine for the Khan.

Ren and Mulan have even less connections than Nora and Thor at the moment. Other than Ren's Chinese clothing style and name, there are no obvious current traits that bridge the two.

If Nora does indeed die at the hands of a Grim, then it could possibly lead Ren to suicide. Should Nora die, that means Ren has now lost his family, childhood, hometown, and best friend to the grim. In a similar way, Mulan lost most of her life after fighting a great enemy, seeing as her father died, and her life would be ruined.

Jaune/ Joan of Arc:

Joan of Arc is a historical figure who fought during the hundred year's war against England. She claimed to have a vision from God that she was to lead the French armies, and went to the king to tell him this. She won numerous victories, before she was finally captured and burned at the stake by England.

Jaune is the most connected to his namesake at this point. He has a knight-like appearance, no combat training, he's an unlikely leader of a powerful fighting force, and he seems to be surprisingly good at leading, all like Joan of Arc.

Jaune getting captured by Salem and burned at the stake is a possibility. She would possibly try to use him to lure Ruby, or for some other reason. It would be an interesting scene, seeing Jaune finally able to go to Pyrrha in the afterlife. Other than this idea, though, I see any obvious ways that relate to the story as to why Jaune would die.

#rwby spoilers #jaune arc #pyrrha nikos #lie ren #nora valkyrie #team JNPR #submission

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viralhottopics · 8 years ago

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The 8 Most Common Narc-Sadistic Conversation Control Tactics

Do you often engage in conversations with your narcissist that leave you feeling like you were talking to a brick wall or worse, maybe leave you feeling like banging your head against a brick wall? Perhaps, it has even crossed your mind that you would have been better off conversing with a brick wall because the wall would have more capacity of providing understanding, validation, and empathy than the narcissist in your life!

Real life conversations with a narcissist are exhausting, dizzying, nerve-racking, and make you feel like youre going crazy or at least drive a compassionate person to question their own reality, and even their sanity at times. The circular conversations leave you feeling worse off than if you had never had them in the first place. You begin to blame yourself, doubt your instincts and wonder what the heck is going on?

REVERSE PROJECTION

Before we realize the truth about the narcissist in our lives, we relate to them as if they are normal human beings possessing a conscience, integrity and some degree of self-awareness. We trust their words because we dont deceive and manipulate people and trust that the people who claim to love us will do the same. We give them the benefit of the doubt because we believe they truly love no one who truly loves us would purposely say or do anything to hurt our feelings and us. We are in essence projecting our good qualities on to them, and when they dont respond the way we expect a normal person would, we become confused and hurt, question our reality and believe we must be to blame in some way. The problem is that narcissists dont think, operate or play by the same rules as us, and our failing to recognize this sets us up for manipulation and misery by default.

Conversations with a narcissist, especially if you hold opinions about anything that contradict with their opinion of what is the gospel truth, are jam-packed with a barrage of covert manipulation tactics that are intrinsic to the narcissist and entrenched in their personality. They will make you wish you never disagreed with them in the first place and regret that you had ever dared to express your point of view. A simple disagreement will often incite a full-fledged attack on you. Somehow, they manage to twist the conservation, so you wind up feeling like the bad guy/girl, while they assume the role of the innocent victim of you.

CONVERSATIONS ARE NOT CONVERSATIONS; THEY ARE VERBAL COMPETITIONS

When you challenge your narcissists lies, discrepancies, and groundless accusations; suggest that they are less than perfect; try to get them to understand your point of view; confront them on their cruel behaviors; or approach them about the lack of reciprocity in the relationship, the discussion will likely decay into a crazy-making, chaotic, drama packed, mind-spinning, migraine induced headache that is intended to wear you down and punish you for suggesting or exposing a fact that doesnt support their grandiose view of themselves or maintain their need to feel superior and all mighty.

Narcissists never enter into conversations. They enter into verbal competitions. Their goal is to win at all costs. They have no interest in seeking understanding, clarification or compromise, or in reaching a meeting of the minds. Their conversations are only meant to manipulate, confuse, control, destabilize, deflect accountability, cast doubt, distort reality and create drama.

ENABLERS AND TONGUE BITERS

Narcissists only surround themselves with people who are either so charmed by them that they blindly believe every word they say is true or people who have learned that its easier to keep their mouths shut rather than reap the wrath of expressing an opposing opinion.

Anyone in a narcissists life that doesnt fall into one of the two categories of Enablers or Tongue Biters will certainly be given the boot. But first the narcissist will discipline you with their collection of manipulation tactics, so when they do give you the boot, you will be sure to go out believing the reasons for your dismissal were all your fault.

HERE ARE THE 8 MOST COMMON CONVERSATION MANIPULATION TACTICS

1. TOPIC SWITCHEROO

Heres how this works. You and your narcissist are in the middle of a conversation; its going well until you disagree or present facts that contradict the narcissists point of view. The narcissist knows that your facts are indisputable and you have the upper-hand, so to gain control of the conversation and win the argument, the narcissist will deviate into a tangent of verbal vomit attempting to hoodwink you and pull the ole topic switcheroo. Before you know it, youre discussing something totally unrelated to the original conversation, and you find yourself in defensive mode about some issue the two of you disagreed on last year.

2. THE BLAME GAME

Blame shifting is usually a tactic used subsequently to the Topic Switcheroo. The narcissist, like a magician, successfully changes the topic and diverts your attention by pointing the finger at you, and you suddenly find yourself on the defensive end of the conversation stick. The narcissist will raise questions about any and all of your real or perceived faults and pummel you. You, in turn, instinctively defend yourself, and the narcissist, just like Houdini, makes the original topic of their bad behavior disappear and escapes having to take any accountability for their actions. Meanwhile, youre tricked into taking on the defensive position and accused and blamed for creating problems and drama in the relationship.

3. PROJECTION

Hypocrisy is the narcissists middle name. What they say and do when no one is watching is drastically different from what they say and do in the presence of others. Since they are all about maintaining their false persona they use projection to rid the unwanted traits in their character. But since they are the emotional equivalent of a five-year-old, they magically disown the parts of themselves that reflect negatively on their personas and accuse you of the exact things theyre guilty of doing. Did you ever notice how they will accuse the most generous person of being selfish or having a hidden agenda behind their generosity? The most honest person is accused of being a liar. Their faithful partner is accused of cheating? The narcissists projections are really confessions that reveal what the narcissist is guilty of and/ or believes about himself/herself.

In contrast, emotionally healthy people dont use projection when theyre on the defensive. When and if they resort to character assignation, their comments more closely resemble the truth and tend to resemble slander. Not the outright lies that characterize projection.

4. TURNING UP THE VOLUME

When narcissists act with a disproportionate amount of anger or rage by increasing the volume and tempo of their voice, you can bet that theyre trying to shock and bully you. Their actions are an absolute declaration of psychological warfare. Their increased volume is a ploy to get to you to back off. The sudden, shocking, cruel and disproportionate attack is an offensive maneuver aimed to destabilize, confuse and intimidate you. When youre under attack and in a state of shock, your defenses naturally become weakened. The stress of being attacked and yelled at decreases your mental acuity and leaves you open to suggestion. As a result, your weakened state renders you less of an intellectual threat to the narcissists need for control and dominance.

5. PLAYING THE VICTIM

There is much truth in the quote, Deceits favorite role is playing the victim. Its no wonder why when the narcissist isnt playing the role of the hero, he/she is playing the role poor victim. Through garnering pity, narcissists will play the victim, while vilifying the real victim, as a way of concealing their abusive behavior and avoid taking responsibility for their cruel and deceitful actions. Narcissists capitalize on the compassion of others and exploit their sympathy in any way they can, depending upon what their goal is at the time. If the narcissist doesnt want to keep a promise and you become upset, your feelings wont be validated; there will be no apology or display of empathy. Instead, the narcissist will get angry at you for being upset and blame you for your lack of empathy in not considering that they may be having a bad week, stress at work or so on.

You will be labeled selfish or accused of being needy or demanding for expecting the poor narcissist to honor his/her word. However, if you have a bad week, dont expect to receive the same treatment. The narcissist will expect you to keep your promise and will minimize and invalidate your feelings by portraying themselves as the victim. The narcissist will always one-up you by reciting a litany of reasons why their week was so much worse than yours or lecture you on how your life is so much easier than theirs, and so on. Whatever you can do, they can do better. Whatever bad thing happened to you, something worse happened to them.

6. GAS-LIGHTING

Gas-lighting is a form of psychological abuse so insidious that many articles have been written about it. Narcissists use this tactic in conversations by purposely altering or not sharing information and replacing it with false information. This tactic is designed to systematically dismantle the victims ability to trust their own judgement and undermine their confidence to the point where they begin to doubt their own memories and judgements, thus rendering them highly suggestible to the narcissists opinion.

For example, a narcissist may casually but consistently suggest how their memory is superior to yours, especially if you ever admit to being forgetful about anything. They may even go so far as hiding or rearranging your belongings, intentionally tricking you into believing your memory is faulty. Then when a difference in opinion arises or you expose a discrepancy in their story, the narcissist, with absolute conviction, will use your faulty memory as evidence to make you doubt what you heard or saw and second guess yourself, causing you to ultimately accept the narcissists rendition of the truth.

7. INTERRUPTING

Narcissists are notorious conversation interrupters. They love to be the center of attention and control the focus of the conversation. They have no interest in having a two-way discussion with you. If you dare attempt to get a word in edge-wise or make your point of view heard, if it at all contradicts the narcissists point of view, your opinion will most likely be ignored or dismissed. While many people with ADHD and other mental disorders struggle with problems of poor impulsivity or poor communication and often interrupt others, the narcissist intentionally interrupts to redirect the focus of the conversation back to themselves since they believe their opinions are superior and correct, and that whatever they say should be accepted as the gospel truth.

They genuinely have zero interest in hearing other peoples viewpoints or reaching compromises or win/win solutions to disagreements. They have a my way or the highway frame of mind and interrupting allows them to control the conversation and manage it in a direction that parallels their point of view and agenda. By monopolizing the conversation, they exert their control and avoid taking responsibility or addressing important issues. In their minds, their ability to dominate conversations confirms their superiority.

8. THE SILENT-TREATMENT

The silent treatment is probably one of the most common forms of emotional abuse used by narcissists when all the above tactics have been tried and have failed. Narcissists use the silent treatment as a form of punishment for not acquiescing to their point of view or as the way to gain the upper hand and control in their relationships. Its also a way to avoid discussing important issues in the relationship and avoid taking accountability for their wrong-doings. When a narcissist uses the silent treatment, they will do it in a way that is so out of proportion to the situation. Narcissists will also tend to demand a perfectly delivered apology. If the apology is not said correctly or in the right way, the narcissists will extend the length of the silent treatment. By demanding a perfectly delivered apology, narcissists confirm their dominance and support their exaggerated importance.

The silent treatment is intended to make the victim feel completely unloved, invalidated and insignificant. The use of the silent treatment is usually about control. Sometimes the narcissist will use the silent treatment just to assess the amount of control they have over people. Often, it will be used as a tactic to create distance and free up space to engage in infidelity or pursue new admirers. Victims are left feeling destroyed, as the silent treatment kills any possibility of reconciliation.

THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

The many people whove been expelled from the narcissists life know there is something terribly wrong with the narcissist. However, many of them never bothered or cared enough to connect the dots and define the craziness they were subjected to.

But for those who have had intimate relationships with a narcissist for any length of time, it almost becomes an unsettling necessity to search for answers and put the pieces together to restore their equilibrium and unearth the reality of the absolute insanity that had become their normal existence.

This is what drives most former partners of narcissists to hit the internet and actively Google the WHY DID questions for example: Why did my partner always think they were right? Why did my mother never apologize? Why did my spouse always give me the silent treatment? Why did my sibling always make me feel like I was to blame? Why did my perfect partner change?

ITS ALWAYS SUNNY ABOVE THE CLOUDS

Their Google search queries lead them to articles about narcissism and narcissistic traits. Survivors voraciously ingest the massive amounts of information permeating the world-wide web. The descriptions are so eerily accurate that if they didnt know better, they would swear the articles were written about their relationship. The precision in which the articles depict their relationships, from the golden beginnings right down to the horrid end, to the t becomes the indisputable validation that precipitates the cloud of confusion to dissipate, allowing enlightenment to illuminate the truth of their situation with profound clarity. No, narcissism is not limited to vanity or arrogance, as they originally believed. It is so much more pathological and insidious than they could have ever imagined; and even worse, there is no cure.

Gradually, through their research, they realize that the narcissist never really loved them or anyone for that matter, as narcissists are wholly incapable of love and devoid of a conscience. Survivors slowly accept that the person they were in love with was just a faade and never really existed. Finally, this awareness forces them to mourn the loss of three people, only amplifying and adding to their grief. First, they must mourn the loss of the person they loved who never really existed. Second, they must mourn the loss of the person they believed their narcissist had the potential to be. Third, they must mourn the loss of their identity that had been eclipsed under the crushing weight of the imbalance and inequity of their relationship.

THE LENSES OF AWARENESS

Terms they had never heard of before like love bombing, future faking, false-self, idealization, devaluation, projection, gaslighting, smear campaign, flying monkeys, cognitive dissonance, and triangulation become part of the survivors regular vocabulary. Sadly, they become more adept at explaining the definitions of these terms than most mental health professionals because they are not just terms learned through memorization, but rather words learned through painful, real-life experiences.

Their new-found vocabulary becomes powerfully liberating as they finally offer a palpable term to explain the insanity that once was their reality, but that they were previously at a loss for words to describe. They grow so knowledgeable about the subject of narcissism and traits of NPD; they deserve to earn honorary doctorate degrees in the subject.

The crazy-making conversations of the past start to make more sense through the new lenses of awareness. Survivors begin to finally be able to put the finger on and pin-point the emotional abuse they suffered but failed to perceive was abuse at the time. The layers of blame, guilt, doubt, confusion and uncertainty of their reality that had tormented them start to erode, as they recognize that the layers were deliberately and deceptively deposited onto them by their narcissist. This is the pivotal point, where recovery from narcissistic abuse begins.

Without awareness and education about narcissistic abuse, the chances that a survivor will end up in another abusive relationship are infinitely higher. Emotional abuse is as devastating as any other kind of abuse. Its intentional and malicious exploitation and manipulation of the heart, soul, spirit, mind, and often the wallet of another human-being, cloaked in counterfeit expressions of love and concern.