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kc-anathema · 4 years

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I’m so sorry I did another long post so soon...

So a long time ago, I received a flame on Spec Ops 98: Jazz's Interrogation at Soundwave's Pedes. I hadn’t received a flame in a long time, and I haven’t received one since (which is amazing, since this was on chapter 26 back in...dear heavens, 2015. This fic is officially an epic.)

In fact, I stopped reading the flame once I realized it was a flame, about four chunks in. 2015, five years ago, I was changing principals, changing schools, trying to figure out how to marry my Canadian then-fiance and figure out immigration. (Fun type--marry her in Vegas, wait a couple years, bring her over. Use a lawyer to make sure it’s all kosher.) So yeah, didn’t read.

And then a concerned reader mentioned to me that I didn’t deserve this awful flame and that they loved the story. And I thought...oh yeah, there was a flame on this. That was a couple months ago.

I finally decided to break the flame apart like I used to. This feels very nostalgic to me. I found out that this is really the flamer’s only claim to fame--they flame fics and troll writers. I’m not going to name them then, although you can find the easily on the ff.net review page for this fic.

My father once told me that, if anyone ever spraypainted slurs across my house...leave the slurs up. Don’t pay to remove them. Let the awful words stay up until everyone in the neighborhood is begging us to take them down again.

I think leaving the review there says more about her than me. And I’m going to enjoy clawing this apart, I think, like a cat scratching apart a lizard.

Flame begin:

We’ve got a problem if Soundwave is involved here and he’s not pulling his usual ‘Decepticons, Superior’ line. Add on a fic about perverts and we get this. Ah, well. What are you gonna do?

Remember the character Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, and how he said “Bazinga” all the time? That kind of went from a joke to an overused character crutch. Like ‘dynomite!’ or ‘did I do that’? Is it really good to rely on a character line to the point where we can call it ‘usual’?

“I’ll take my pleasure and that sweet aft” – Sounds like a cheesy commercial for Robot Chicken. Fireflight is locked up in a dungeon and is about to be whipped by a BDSM Starscream. That’s not at all OOC. Basically it’s a fanfiction that talks about fanfiction.

I...um. Yes. Yes, it’s an OOC line modeled directly after pulp fiction zines and tijuana bibles. I literally looked up several of those on the Internet Archives and various old men’s magazines covers. It’s not fanfiction directly, although it’s certainly what fanfic evolved out of.

Do these look subtle? Low key? Classy? Tasteful? It’s cheap trash and it’s fun as hell. I don’t think readers at the time thought that these were in any way true. This is right along the lines of drawn hentai. So I think the flamer admitted despite themself that I did good.

“We’re stuck here in the middle of a war...we don’t have time for sex” – That’s right. But that fact doesn’t apply does it?

...reading trashy, porny magazines is not sex. It’s actually something you do when you can’t get sex for whatever reason. I would know. A lot of us would know. Apparently not the flamer. No one thinks that “hey, I got a chick/dude willing to bang right now...but the new issue of Men’s World is out! Can’t miss that!” Unless you have some serious fetishes that your partner is too weirded out by, I think this does indeed apply.

Then Jazz gets captured and lo and behold, Soundwave is revealed to be the Christian Grey of the story. I hope he has some maid outfits for Jazz.

...our flamer hits the sludgy bottom of the joke well and grabs their shovel. They do not try very hard for originality in their insults. And, while Grey was a jerk, Fifty Shades wasn’t quite a prisoner of war scenario. No, that was a cheap romance for chicks. I’m writing more akin to men’s...oh.

The flamer is a chick.

Their only bdsm or bad romance experience is with Fifty Shades.

I don’t think they read much.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we have a shower scene. Damn if it’ll be Carrie!

Iiiiiiiiiiiii did not write a shower scene?

Dudette, did you even do the reading you say you did?

There’s no point in adding moral ambiguity, especially in regards to Soundwave. He won’t be swayed easily, or at all, by Jazz’s speech. He’s cold hearted for a reason. He serves the Decepticon cause until the very bitter end. He’s a lot like Shockwave that way. Highly doubtful he would find meaning or even the relevance of writing pornographic fanfiction, but eh, this was never meant to be serious, was it?

...no. It’s a humor fic. The flamer is criticizing a humor fic for being humorous. Kudos for identifying the genre? I mean, the flamer is also complaining that I did not write Soundwave as a one-dimensional factionalist without examining what that means for him and how the mission creep has left the original political crusade behind. It’s not like I took pieces of Soundwave from Gen1, IDW, and the comics and blend them all together.

This reminds me of the fanboys in the TMNT fandom who keep pushing for every iteration to simply rehash their nostalgia boner for the original toon. I feel like I’m getting the Transformers version of wanting less of this:

because it isn’t the familiar characterizations of this:

“So what’s the down low?” – You, Jazz. You’re going to give the down-low to Soundwave. I can’t wait to read how shiny his robo-vagina is.

...wow. Classy there, flamer. Also I really don’t think they read anything. This whole fic is plug n’ play. There’s exchanging of cables, talk of code and positronic souls and sparks and revving engines. There isn’t a drop of sticky, spike, or fluids.

Chapter 15’s sex scenes bore me. Nothing is worse than having a guy ask to remove every bit of clothing. Just do it already! And why is Jazz a virgin? Come on!

Look--the thing about sex and fetish and whatever revs your engine is that it’s not going to rev everyone’s engine. You don’t like the type of interfacing here? Fine. I don’t like those kind of sex scenes in my porn either. But I wasn’t write that scene for porn. I wanted write warbuild Jazz dealing with violent subroutines while interfacing with Prowl. I had fun with it.

Why is Jazz a virgin? The previous 15 chapters discuss that.

I really don’t think the flamer read the fic.They scanned for anything remotely sexual, so I don’t think I’m going to take anything they say about this fic being ooc for perversion’s sake.

“Everyone here is damn pervy” – In which a character talks about the author.

“We gotta get Soundwave to finish writing his story” – Why? I mean, what’s the point? It’s not doing anything for them, unless it’s to show how castrated Soundwave is. I’ve seen him act better in Mary-Sue fics.

There is a whole plot about Starscream and Skyfire, and I thought I could trust the readers to be intelligent enough to make the leap with the parallels between Soundwave and Jazz.

This is literally the only review that questions why Jazz said that.

The Mary Sue shot just echoes the Fifty Shades swipe. I think this flamer did most of their flames roughly ten years ago--the insults are pretty dated.

The Decepticons don’t know about Ratchet? Why? I mean, he’s one of the oldest dudes there. He has a reputation. When you have a reputation, people know about you. It’s inevitable. I think your inner logic slips a lot.

At this point, I literally have 21 previous chapters of world building.

I am not surprised that the story’s logic was slipping away from one of us.

It’s funny to read the forum responses in the story. It’s like the author is trying to make fun of detractors yet ends up making fun of herself.

Okay, this part is hilarious for a reason only briefly noted in the fic. I think that the only things this can refer to are the comments from the chapter titled Flames of the M4gn1f1c3ntSkyPr1nc3--because those are literally the first flames/comments I put in the fic. And I didn’t write them!

My wife wrote them! I don’t write Starscream well but she just poured those out like water--she’s seen more of the hysterical side of fandom, particularly the earlier TF fandom, and I snipped out pieces for the fic.

So...I mean, we’re pretty happily married, so I don’t think she counts as a detractor. ^___^ Ultimately I started writing this fic for her.

“Your optics make me crazy” – Not at all a cliché.

Good thing I didn’t write that, then. Here is that little section in the Prowl/Jazz section. (Took me a bit to find it since I plugged that into the Find and couldn’t bring it up.)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I like what you do to me. Jazz allowed him in, tilting his helm. I never really understood it, y'know? How mechs could lower their guard so much. Let someone this close.

And now? Prowl drew back, wanting to see Jazz for the answer. With a quiet ping, he warned the other mech even as he raised his hand, touching Jazz's visor.

I still think you're crazy always going on about my optics, Jazz said, venting even as he disengaged the locks and let Prowl gently remove the blue polycarbon.

Your optics are perfection, Prowl corrected him. And you let me see them. Hundreds of mechs wondering what's under that visor, but I get to see.

Still shy about letting someone else see them, Jazz turned his head, only for Prowl to touch his cheek and turn him back, coaxing his optics to open with a soft brush of his thumb.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not bad for an asexual, I think. I mean, it’s not like I have a ton of hands on experience, being kinda broken that way. But I have read plenty of pulp magazines and pulp radio shows!

This didn’t take long. I skimmed through this work, because there was so little content. Lots of ridiculous shit, though. Soundwave writes fanfiction, the Autobots are weirded out/turned on, capture Soundwave, Soundwave realizes that his whole life was a life and decides to defect. Yeah, about that. He wouldn’t do it lickety split, let alone EVER. Hell, the reactions in the forum bits show what some would think of this, if they weren’t too busy fapping.

The funny thing is I don’t think the mechs can even fap. I don’t write them doing that. But yes, flamer, I do believe that you skimmed through the work. Particularly since you’ve recounted it backwards...Soundwave captures Jazz as the capstone to a long internal conflict within himself, but rather than go through chapters of internal monologue and Decepticon politics, I started the story as close to the inciting action as possible, not quite in media res.

I won’t hash out why Soundwave defects. I mean, I spent 22 chapters at that point explaining it. But it’s my fault the flamer skimmed, I guess?

Needless to say: the romance bored me senseless. It was poorly written, and overall there’s really no skill attached to this. You don’t grip the audience and Jazz’s virgin mode made me roll my eyes. Reads like a first-time waifu manga.

Nah.

I’ve been writing way too long and am more than self-aware enough of my own failings that I’m also pretty self-aware of my own strengths, too. And no. It’s not poorly written. I definitely feel I could improve the first few chapters a bit, but that’s because I wrote those over five years ago and I’ve improved since then, too.

Empty insults. Maybe if the flamer had gone so far as to give a critique beyond a couple of misquoted lines and their own headcanons, I might have listened, but there’s literally nothing of substance here beyond a child tantrumming that I’m stupid and bad and should feel bad.

As for the other pairings, booooooooooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring.

Usually I have a fun time setting these fics on fire, but this one bored me senseless. Yes, it was stupid, but the author’s attempt to authenticate it are just as sloppy as anything else.

“Authenticate”?

Is this person talking about using fandom tropes as my setting?

There are 22 chapters at the time, and now 51 chapters, building up this world and using roughly 20 years of fandom background to inform the fic.

Maybe if they hadn’t skimmed, they might have found something interesting. But considering that they skimmed over anything character related and stopped for the sex scene--I don’t think that says anything about my writing and more about their own proclivities.

They were trying to read one-handed. A plug n play fic. A long meta look at fandom in war in a humor fic. And they came here for the sexy times.

I don’t have to draw the conclusion here, do I? Well, for the flamer, probably. And then they’d glance at it for a second, call it sloppy, and say I showed nothing, and what I showed was boring, and that boring stuff was ooc anyway.

One thing I am thankful for is the fact that it is not long.

51 chapters later and I’m still not done.

Nothing’s worth remembering in this and I don’t need to tell you that these characters either act like simpering imbeciles, or are virginal waifus. All I’m missing is a senpai in the bed, some tissues, and some high quality lotion.

...why do they keep referencing gay human sex? I mean, I get it, they’re saying that it’s similar to yaoi fics, but.

This is anti-yaoi with its last hurrah, isn’t it? The late 90s, early 2000s, rising from its sludgy well to try to shame the easily cowed and intimidated, the young writers easily startled by long lines of text. No wonder the citations used are so...15 years ago. I mean, who was talking about Sues even 5 years ago. That criticism kind of faded a long while ago, even then.

I think the sad thing is, even the badly written Sue sex fics end up being more interesting than this. If Ebony Darkness D’Mentia Raven Way were to come along, I think this story would get better. What with her ‘I shot him a gazillion times’ lines.

...and there’s the cherry on the top. Third cheap shot firing blanks. Sue + Fifty Shades +...shit, I can’t even remember the title for that infamous fic. It’s that old.

...this fanfic flamer is old.

Like, don’t get me wrong. We’ve got fandom moms and grandmoms who cut their teeth on fandom print zines in the earliest conventions. They’re not “old” in the same way.

This person has lost any joy, humor, or playfulness that fanfic comes from. No one should go into fanfic expecting fine art. I mean, sure, it happens sometimes, but this is a playground of pulp, experimentation and just plain childish fun.

All in all, not worth remembering. It’s makes me tired to read it. It’s not even stupid enough to make me laugh. You’ll still get a fail rating for me, especially with the shitty version of Soundwave here.

Yes, fanfic flamer. You are indeed tired.

He should be on Big Brother. He’d be great making soy lattés and purees.

Big Brother in 2015 was in its 17th season. There were roughly around 6 million viewers at the time. The demographics for the tv viewing audience were graying even by the 2000s, and by 2015-18, it was significantly older.

Granted, it’s a very tenuous conclusion to draw, but combined with the old fandom references, the anti-yaoi vibes I’m getting, and the fanboyish desire to curate their own headcanon of a character to the point of insulting writers on the internet...

Flamer grew from being a reader to a bitter, old person angry and the whipper snappers for writing stupid, trashy crap that they criticize with broad, unspecific insults.Flamer is the stereotypical mean adult in any 90s cartoon or heavy metal rock video.

A little depressing. Poor flamer. I do hope they found more creative, engaging, and positive things to do.

Me? I just wanna rock.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk on pulp fiction and bitter cultural creators.

#in a nutshell #sorry for another long post #I just wanted to finally do this #after thinking about it for awhile #felt like a loose end #fandom #fanfiction #transformers fanfic

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joeys-piano · 5 years

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1, 2, 8, 10

TL;DR: Joey talks about his shipping preferences in a lot of detail. You kind of figure out that I’m a passionate, quiet lover of soft romances.

Send Joey some Shipping Preferences

List 3 shipping tropes you love

The “Almost Kiss”

As a writer, this is one of my favorite romantic things to write for. You think something is going to happen. The scene is building to that moment. The eye contact, the breathing, how the characters are slowly leaning closer, maybe someone is having second-thoughts and is wondering if this is okay, maybe someone is letting the other know that it is okay, and both characters are so near each other both metaphorically and physically that it almost feels like the right thing to do.However, the intimacy isn’t fully-realized in that moment. The scene is emotionally and maybe even physically charged, but there’s still that air of hesitation and one or both characters concede to that before bridging the last few inches between them. As much as a kiss scene or the Big Damn Kiss is important, depending on what the story is about, I like to draw things out a little more. Kissing to me is something that I don’t want to rush, especially if someone is going to kiss someone that they care for a whole lot. Kisses can signify a lot of things about where a relationship is, where it’s going, and the conscious act of holding back and saving that kiss for later speaks volumes of its own.It adds a touch of emotional-depth into what’s going on. That right now is not the best time to do it, but at least both parties know that the other is okay with it. Also, FYI, I feel like there’s more value to an almost-kiss than an actual-kiss.

Couple’s Dance

Oh my gosh. I love this so much. Whether it’s a waltz, a tango, dancing in your lover’s arms while soft jazz music serenades in the background, feeling open and feeling free with the person that you love, and just having the time of your life. That’s freakin’ goals. I’m loving the intimacy that scenes like this can come with. This is one of my top 5 scenes to write for. I love a good couple’s dance and showing the progression and nature of a relationship through how they lead and follow the other. Also as a visual writer, it’s a stunning and compelling way to illustrate how much trust and value the characters have in each other through actions rather than words. It’s just a tender, sweet moment.

Emotional Vulnerability

One of the reasons why this appeals to me so much is because I, myself, have difficulty with being emotionally vulnerability. It’s incredibly hard and it’s easier to just wear a facade and not express what you’re actually feeling inside. So when a character that has this does find someone that they feel comfortable enough to open up to and just be their whole, true self, that means so much to me.Emotionally vulnerability is not a hop, skip, and a leap away. It takes time, it takes dedication and building trust, it takes time getting to know each other and ourselves, and what I love about it is that it can’t be rushed. Everyone reaches emotional vulnerability at different rates and some people get there sooner than others. The point behind emotional vulnerability is taking things at your speed while being mindful of what your partner’s speed is. It’s not a compromise. It’s taking the time to understand each other at a deeper level and letting each other grow naturally into the relationship rather than turn things up a notch and speed-run the entire thing.Like I mentioned before, I have a difficult time with emotional vulnerability. Talking about feelings, matters of the heart, and being open and honest is quite taxing. And even moreso when it’s rare for me to find fictional relationships out there that go through and engage with emotional vulnerability. This is something I hold onto, dearly. For me to find a ship that has this and it feels just right…I can’t describe in words how much that means to me.It’s why a ship like Odazai is something I don’t want to let go of. It appeals to the very nature of who I am as a person and in a sense, it’s personal reassurance.

List 3 shipping tropes you don’t love

Quick & Dirty

I know some young people follow this blog, so I hope I don’t have to explain what this means. I’ve come to accept that I’m an old-school romantic that resonates more with slow, long-term relationships than what’s prevalent today. Not to say that modern fictional relationships can’t be slow or lead to something long-term, but I more commonly see the “quick and dirty” version than the former.Depends on the fandom, depends on the ship, depends largely on the preferences of what people want to create out of a ship. It’s just that my preferences don’t align and that’s okay. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t like a certain ship or how it’s commonly portrayed and written. That’s why more than one ship exists so you can find something that you resonate more to.

Infidelity

Or in layman’s terms, cheating.

If there’s something going on between two characters, I’d rather have them talk it out and be civil and honest with one another. Rather than going behind someone’s back and….yeah.

Certain Kinks

We don’t aim to kink shame on this blog. You got your own kinks, I have my own kinks, a lot of us more or less have a preference for kinks. Putting that out there, I don’t want to know what your kinks are. However, some of y’all have asked me what my kinks are. So yeah, Tumblr is an interesting place.

It’s all a matter of preference, really. There’s just some that make me uncomfortable. That’s it.

If the ship is physical, reversible or not?

Hell yeah, reversible all the way.I’m familiar that ships tend to have a designated lead and follower. There are other terms to use, but I’m using these ones because shoot...I’m wary about using the other terminology. But the thing about overly using those fandomly-conceived or even canon designations is that it evokes this feeling of a power imbalance. For instance, two characters can never feel equal to each other. It starts to go into a trend where one character is a subordinate for the other, and that’s a WHOLE conversation for another ask.If a ship is physical and there’s a reversible nature to it or if a fic writer gives the nod and shows/portrays it, there’s not enough words in the English language to describe the respect I have for that writer. It’s not necessarily about taking turns, but it gives a more down-to-earth, realistic element to the ship and the intimacy involved.

How important is the sexual part (if any) of your ship?

If you’ve gotten this far and have ready everything, I think you’ll understand that I don’t care/give a damn about the sexual part of a ship. If it’s there, it’s there. If it’s not, it’s not. I care more about emotional intimacy than anything of a sexual nature.

Being biromantic may play a part into why I answered in the way I did, but who really knows?

#i'm more of an emotional intimacy writer than a physical one #while my romance does have some physical aspects to it it's more focused on the emotional side #one of the reasons why i like writing for married couples #i'm not the writer to go to for a whirlwind romance of the ages

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relishredshoes · 5 years

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Interview given to The Severus Snape and Hermione Granger Shipping Fan Group. (sharing here Admin approved)

https://www.facebook.com/groups/199718373383293/

Hello Aurette and welcome to Behind the Quill, thank-you for letting us get to know you a little better.

I'm deeply honoured to be asked.

A true titan in the world of SS/HG fic, many of our readers will have broken their hearts over your story The Tattered Man.

Okay, let’s jump right in.

What's the story behind your pen name?

Honestly, it was a whim. Long before I thought of writing, I needed a login name to read fanfic. It was a play on Auror. I had no idea it was an actual name.

Which Harry Potter character do you identify with the most?

Hands down, Snape. I know that might sound strange, but he was the one that clicked. My niece introduced me to the books. Being in my 30s at the time, I already had kids of my own, so I didn't identify as one of the students. I loved Harry from the start but he had this uncanny ability to keep being wrong about nearly everything. The character who best expressed adult annoyance with that was Snape. And I do love a good jerk. Snape was a jerk.

Do you have a favourite genre to read?

I'm a sucker for fantasy and science fiction. I hated reading as a child. All there was available when I was a kid was Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and it was insipid. I glommed on to mythology early but once I'd read all the books in my library on the subject, I gave up reading at all. That was about 4th grade. Children's books in the 70s were total garbage and YA books only had one author: Judy Bloom.

Ironically, my first job was working in a bookstore. It was a college bookstore, so it was all textbooks. I wasn't even a student, so I had no interest in any of them. One semester. A Lit prof assigned Fahrenheit 451. The cover art caught my eye and I read the blurb. Then started reading the book. I finished it in about 5hrs. It blew my mind. I had no idea writing like that existed. And the book was about someone discovering the value of books. It was intellectual Inception waaaaay before that was a thing.

After that, it was like a switch flipped in my head. I sucked up books air. I was never without a book or two. Or three...

Do you have a favourite "classic" novel?

Obviously Fahrenheit 451. I'm going to go ahead and say Les Miserables as well. I was in my 30s when I finally read it and sobbed like a baby at the ending. The care and tenderness Hugo showed when portraying these disposable lives were so unique for that age. Sadly, even today. A lot of our culture is wrapped around the belief that only the wealthy have value and beauty is a pathway to wealth. The poor and ugly are a constant plague to be shunned or dealt with, not humans with crushed dreams that deserve to be valued in their own right. Look at how often fanfic recreatesSnape as handsome or Hermione as gorgeous. Those are always the least interesting stories. (hops off soapbox)

At what age did you start writing?

Whatever age I was when I wrote Safe House. Probably 40ish? That terrible little fanfic is literally the first thing I ever wrote beyond shopping lists and emails. It's an ugly child, but my first, so I love its pointy head. I intentionally leave it up so new writers can see my learning curve. No one starts out good. Read my stories in reverse chronological order and you'll see they get a little worse each time. That's how much I grew as I learned the craft.

How did you get into writing fanfiction?

Reading tons of it. I was at a total loss after the book Deathly Hallows came out and it was all over. Reading it had become an event in my house. My husband and I would snatch the book out of each other's hands "You've had it long enough. My turn." And then there were no more...

I couldn't even tell you how I found fanfic, but it kept me sane. I keyed in on SS/HG because at the time there was a noticeable difference in the talent level in that ship. I must have read SS/HG fanfic for a solid 2 yrs before I took a leap and wrote my own. I was inspired by the amazing stories, but also by the crappy ones. "Heck, I could do better" became its own form of allowance. So I had a small 'what if' and just went for it. Of course, it was crap, everyone's first is. But taking the leap and writing it was a huge thing for me to have done.

What's the best theme you've ever come across in a fic? Is it a theme represented in your own works?

I'm a sucker for a story where characters overcome emotional adversity, both external and internal. If you squint. You'll see that theme repeated throughout my fics.

What fandoms are you involved in other than Harry Potter?

None. Nothing else ever grabbed me as a sandbox I wanted to play in before or after HP.

If you could make one change to canon, what would it be? Do you have a favourite piece of fanon?

Gosh, I don't think I would change a thing about JK Rowling's work. Things I would change would only be me forcing her story to fit my preferred ideal. However, if you think about it, her world, the good and the bad, challenged all of us to churn out 100,000+ what ifs. Some out of anger. Heh.

As for fav piece of fanon, probably that Malfoy jr was Snape's godson. He's totally not, but whoever started that created a great layering of the dynamic between them that you can share in so many tones.

Do you listen to music when you write or do you prefer quiet?

I was a stay-at-home mom when I was writing most of my fanfics, so I wrote in a chaotic and very noisy environment. I didn't listen to music when I wrote, but music was often the inspiration. When I would get stuck in writing, I would leave it and go listen to music that was emotionally similar to where I wanted the story to be while I thrashed out plot points. Colossus by Afro Celt Sound System is amazing for plotting a prelude to a battle.

What are your favourite fanfictions of all time?

Gosh, there are so many. Sadly, many of the authors who first inspired me are gone and pulled their fics off the web, like my fanfic bestie Dressagegrrrl. I would have to call out Pet Project by Caeria as the one I found most inspiring. Anything by ApolloniaV is pretty high up there in my book. There are dozens I'm forgetting. There was one called Resurrection Man about Snape accidentally creating a hilarious Zombie apocalypse. Best. Fic. Ever. It disappeared from the web when the author moved on. An incredible loss.

Are you a plotter or a pantser? How does that affect your writing process?

Total pantser. The obvious effect is to drive the story right off a cliff and be unable to salvage it. It's why I vowed to never start posting until I had a rough draft ending. Too many dead stories waiting for an ending that never came. But an outline for me is a killer in disguise. I lose interest in telling the tale because I already did in the outline. The fun part is over. Sitting at a keyboard typing your fingers off, while muttering, "What the hell are these people doing? Who's writing this stuff?!" is an amazing experience.

What is your writing genre of choice?

In fanfic, I ran with every genre there was. Mostly I wanted to see if there was one I couldn't tackle. Most of my o-fic is a hard-to-define mishmash of fantasy and sci-fi. I want to write romance, but it always turns into something complicated and angsty that no longer fits the box.

Which of your stories are you most proud of? Why?

The Tattered Man.

Did it unfold as you imagined it or did you find the unexpected cropped up as you wrote?

It came off exactly as I'd planned in my head. A rare occurrence for me.

What did you learn from writing it?

I could make people cry with my words. Up to that point, I'd made readers laugh and yell and blush, but to get a reader to the point of actually weeping? That's not easy. JK Rowling did it with ease. It was a challenge.

How personal is the story to you, and do you think that made it harder or easier to write?

It's very personal. My father had just died. He'd had cancer, and it might have got him in the end, but what actually killed him was being sent home with a feeding tube and the wrong instructions. None of the homecare nurses realized the mistake until his kidneys shut down. It was devastating. When I next took up writing, I was still hurting so I tried to make others feel what I felt at a death that didn't have to be. It was crazy easy to write. I wrote it all in one day. Based on the reviews, I achieved my goal. It helped me work through my loss. Pretty sure I gave a few readers PTSD. My bad.

What books or authors have influenced you?

My all-time favourite book is Iain M. Banks' Use of Weapons. Definitely a classic among the eighteen people in the United States that read it. The man was a shockingly gifted author and I was devastated when he passed away. His ability to just drop you into the action from the first page and not bother to explain what's going on is sadistic genius.

How do you think that shows in your writing?

It led to my belief that a writer is always better when they assume their readers are smart. Grab their interest and just run. They'll catch on and even pass you with their theories of what's going to happen next. I've no patience with stories that spell out everything in minute detail. They're tedious and insulting. Less really is more. On the other hand, writing over your reader's head is just as annoying. Intentionally using obscure SAT words in your story just makes you a pretentious twat. Unless your character is a pretentious twat and it's part of the dialogue. In that case, twat away. *gigglesnort*

Do people in your everyday life know you write fanfiction?

My family all knew. They were tremendously supportive. Especially Mr. Aurette, my personal Snape. Outside of my family, I was less forthcoming. Mostly because it was so crazy hard to explain. I think it's a lot less weird now, but back then? It was far more stigmatized.

How true for you is the notion of "writing for yourself"?

That's a hard one. For someone who'd never tried to write a story before, it was an amazing journey to realise what I could do. That changed me forever. Having the instant feedback of reviews was intrinsic to that experience. The downside is you can get sucked into writing for reviewers, and they will tell you clearly what they want and expect. That can stifle. I knew no one wanted The Tattered Man to end the way it did. I was pretty terrified of the reaction. But it's what I wanted. It was the entire point. I wrote that ending for myself, but I cowered after posting.

How important is it for you to interact with your audience? How do you engage with them? Just at the point of publishing? Through social media?

I absolutely loved interacting with my readers. I made some real-life friends and some really great fic buddies all over the world. I watched them become friends in reviews too. It was a really great experience. Spam-posting a fic would often take on a festival atmosphere. Unfortunately, when my review count started to really take off, I couldn't cope with the sheer numbers the same way. There weren't enough hours on the day to reply to everyone. Trying to personalize my response to a review grew overwhelming. I actually grew quite depressed over it. Connecting on a more removed, professional level seemed cold. I connected the most on Livejournal when that was a thing. But I had to back off. "Aurette" became far more witty and wonderful than I was in real life. Everyone wanted a piece of her. I couldn't keep up with the bitch. Lol. I faded away from most interactions on social media out of self-preservation. Even tiny fame can make you whacko.

What is the best advice you've received about writing?

There's a few that come to mind.

1-If you want to be a better writer, kill every adverb you come across.

2-Read your words out loud to yourself. If you run out of breath, your reader will run out of patience at that exact point.

3-Dressagegrrrl was the one that finally made me see how playing POV ping pong within a scene was something that marked my writing as an amateur.

4-Stop trying to be clever. Be clever, if you are clever, but don't try. It comes off hamfisted every time. Readers hate that.

5-Never, ever, ever post something you wrote that day. You've left half of it in your head and you can't tell. It's awful.

6-If you're not even a little embarrassed by something you wrote 6 months ago, you're no longer growing as a writer.

What do you do when you hit writer's block?

That's a bit of a sticking point. Stress is a muse-killer. Anything you can do to rid yourself of stress will help. Writer's block is usually the result of something going on elsewhere in your life. Fix that and the creativity will come back.

That said, my life has turned into constant stress with the result being I no longer write at all.

Has anything in real life trickled down into your writing?

Everything has. 'Write what you know' is true for fantasy too. Whether it's heartbreak, or a drunken hookup that turned into love (Hello, Mr. Aurette) or a moment when you were a child and ignored or teased, or maybe the bully, all of it makes it's way into the emotional truth of a scene or character, no matter how outlandish the setting.

Do you have any stories in the works? Can you give us a teaser?

I have a Dropbox full of stories I've run into the wall or had to leave half finished, both fanfic and o-fic. No teasers, because at this point I don't think they will ever see the light of day. Never say never, but the light of hope is dim.

Any words of encouragement to other writers?

Anyone can write and everyone has something to say. Be open to the process. Part of that process involves having a stranger tell you that your shiny new love is really shit. Being defensive only prolongs your shittiness. Embrace criticism. Sometimes, the process of justifying something can actually buttress your choice, so you double down with better results. Other times, you'll see your idea wasn't working after all. Be ruthless in your editing, but don't delete. That scene you cut because it caused everything to go off the rails could be a different story trying to get out. Take that leap, you fail at everything you don't try, so why not try something you really want?

Thanks so much for giving us your time.

It's been my pleasure. Thank you for the opportunity. *waves to my readers*

#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #severus snape #snape #pro snape #pro snape community #snamione #hermione granger

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panelbypanelshow · 4 years

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Why I’m Excited for “Crisis On Infinite Earths”

With the premier of the “Crisis On Infinite Earths” fast approaching, I recently began to reflect on why I’m so excited for it. Sure, I’m an avid Superman and DC comics fan and Crisis is an iconic story, but it’s more than that.

If you were to ask me “When did you know you were a Superman fan?” I would say, “Somewhere between 7 and 8 years old when my upstairs neighbor gave me his copy of The Death of Superman trade paperback.” Of course, at that age, I didn’t know what a “trade paperback” was. To me, it was a comic book; and like so many other children have done with their favorite comics, books, and toys, I carried it everywhere and read it to the point that I nearly had it memorized. I still have it. It’s beat to hell; but it’s bagged, boarded and stored in a safe place.

My copies of The Death of Superman TPBs. The one on the left I took everywhere with me when I was a boy.

If you asked me when I became a serious Superman fan and collector I would tell you “My 14th birthday, February 2000.”

My Aunt Susan gave me the Superman Masterpiece Collection for my birthday that year. The set came with a reprinted copy of Superman #1 (printed to the exact specifications of the comic books of that era), a hardcover book chronicling Superman’s Golden Age, and a limited edition statue designed by Alex Ross, made available only with that set.

I still have that, too. It’s a little worn along the edges and corners, but otherwise in excellent shape. I keep it on top of my bookcase. It’s one of my favorite pieces of memorabilia.

Even then, as much as I enjoyed comic books, I only saw them as a form of escapism; another way to keep people entertained. With explosions, science fiction, action, adventure, and romance; it was the modern version of the Greek mythology stories I read as a boy. They were a great way to keep myself entertained but not much else.

That perception changed when shortly after I graduated high school in 2004. I had received, among many other gifts, Barnes and Noble gift cards at my graduation party; and when I redeemed them, there were only two books I had my eye on:

Crisis On Infinite Earths (1985) and Kingdom Come (1996)

Crisis on Infinite Earths brought a new perception to these fictional characters that I had never before considered. There was depth, drama, and serious world-ending – in this case universe-ending – stakes. Universes were literally obliterated from existence , beloved characters were killed off, and the DC Universe was never the same again.

George Perez even introduced a character, Pariah, whose sole purpose was to witness the destruction of every universe, particularly every Earth, with no way to warn or save anyone. I even remember my jaw dropping at the beginning of the story when Earth 3, the home of the Crime Syndicate of Amerika – evil alternate versions of the Justice League, kicked off the story by being destroyed.

Crisis on Infinite Earths saw the teaming up of characters of the same name from different Earths with similar, but still different, backstories and abilities. The Superman of Earth 2, for example, was the Golden Age Superman; who’s abilities are limited to that of early Superman stories, “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” While the Earth 1 Superman was the modern incarnation with all of the abilities we are familiar with today, namely flight.

What made Crisis so successful, however, wasn’t just that there were variations of the same characters fighting side-by-side to save the multiverse from being wiped from existence, but that no one is safe. One of the most iconic covers of all-time is Crisis on Infinite Earths #7.

Cover of Crisis On Infinite Earths #7.

That basic design, a hero holding the body of a partner/friend/lover, has been used all throughout comic books; but Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 remains iconic not just because it features the world’s most powerful hero holding the dead body of his cousin, who’s abilities are nearly equal to his, reduced to a groveling mess, but because it was proof that absolutely no one was safe. By issue 7, everyone knew the stakes, and the heat was on.

What made Supergirl’s death so memorable and iconic, however, wasn’t just that she died in battle, but that she sacrificed herself, knowing what she was doing would kill her.

Following Crisis, DC rebooted the entire universe and in that reboot, they intended the Superman to be the last Kryptonian rather than the last son. So rather than letting Supergirl become another faceless casualty, she received a hero’s farewell by protecting her cousin - the entire reason she was sent to Earth in the first place.

The death of Kara Zor-El.

The story didn’t slow down there, either, the following issue saw the death of Barry Allen, A.K.A. The Flash. While the cover isn’t nearly as iconic as the previous, Barry’s death is because it, again, involves self-sacrifice.

Cover of Crisis On Infinite Earths #8.

Throughout the story, Barry’s “ghost” would occasionally pop up, looking less and less ghastly each time; and that was finally explained in issue #8 when Barry ran to create a speed vortex that would draw power from the weapon designed to destroy Earth. The power became too much for his body to handle and he literally ran backwards in time until he disintegrated and became the very lightning bolt that gave him his abilities.

The Death of Barry Allen.

Crisis On Infinite Earths upped the ante in comic book storytelling. It showed that just because the characters aren’t real doesn’t mean they’re immortal and, more importantly, it shows that we can feel connected to them just like we get with a character in our favorite TV show. When I finished reading Crisis I began to take a deeper look at comic book characters and was able to identify what made each character great and different in their own way. Sure, Batman has the money, gadgets, and the car - but it doesn’t mean he won’t long for his parents anytime he sees Superman with Jonathan and Martha. There is much more to comic books than colorful costumes and wacky villains; and it was Crisis On Infinite Earths that helped me realize that.

After Crisis, I picked up Kingdom Come.

Wow.

Let me say that again.

Wow.

Putting aside the writing for now. The art alone is enough to sell the book. Alex Ross is a legend, and his art speaks for itself. I had only ever seen his work in single images, not in comic book panels and I was in awe with how well everything seamlessly flowed together. To this day, Alex Ross’ work in Kingdom Come is among my favorites and will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Now. The story.

Mark Waid could walk into a convention and my heart would stop.

He ranks among some of the very best comic book writers and when you read Kingdom Come, you’ll see why.

Like Crisis On Infinite Earths, Kingdom Come opened my eyes in comic book storytelling that I had never before considered; this time with politics. In my last YouTube video, I talked about how comic books have always been, in some way, political. As children we don’t notice it as much but when we grow, mature, and begin to notice how the world works, we finally become aware of topics we were blissfully unaware of as children. Politics in comic books is one of them.

With Kingdom Come the politics covers not only generational gaps between yesterday’s heroes and the story’s current heroes, but we also see the government get involved out of fear of the destruction the two groups of heroes could cause should they not resolve their differences. Within that narrative was the conflict occurring among the primary characters. Superman and Wonder Woman, while working together, did not see eye-to-eye, Batman wanted nothing to do with their efforts while (shockingly) assembling his own team in accordance with his own plan that involved Lex Luthor and other classic supervillains, and a brainwashed demigod as the wildcard.

Most of all, the story portrayed a war and how the biggest victims aren’t those fighting in it, but those they claim to be fighting for; the unintended casualties. Sure, we feel for the casualties of the war, but it wasn’t until an enraged Superman nearly brought the roof down on the government who did what they did not out of malice, but fear.

Superman nearly loses control in Kingdom Come #4.

Kingdom Come is easily one of the most powerful stories I have ever read and remains in my top 3 favorite stories. It’s one that I would recommend to anyone, even if they aren’t a comic book fan. Hell, the first Superman shirt I ever bought for myself was Kingdom Come.

I need to get a new one.

Then there’s Brandon Routh.

Routh (rhymes with “south”) was cast to play Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns. While the movie itself was a bit of a disappointment and divisive amongst fans, Routh’s performance as the Man of Steel was not.

Brandon Routh as Superman in 2006’s Superman Returns.

I was 18 and in my first semester of college when the news of Routh’s casting hit. I was excited. Excited that he was an unknown actor. Excited that he was young and that a franchise could be built around him, excited that he grew up a Superman fan, excited that – like me – he grew up in a part of the country where Superman’s values are ingrained in everyday life. I was truly excited, even if other Superman fans weren’t.

Brandon Routh received, in my opinion, an unfair amount of criticism when he was cast, when pictures of him in the suit were released, when trailers were released, when the movie was released, and even to this day. Honestly, I feel fans and critics weren’t willing to give him a fair chance because he wasn’t Christopher Reeve and was compared to Reeve before the first picture of him in the suit was released. I was one of those fans who tirelessly defended him on the internet. I was insulted by fans, my family was insulted, called names, I was even accused of not being a “real Superman fan” because I was giving the movie my support. I was young, though, and didn’t realize then how pointless it was to argue over the internet; so I kept at it.

I was so excited for the movie I ordered my ticket for opening day the day tickets went on sale. I set out the Superman shirt I wanted to wear to the movie, drove an hour and a half from Limon, CO to Denver to see it, and arrived early to make sure I got a good seat. I had waited my entire life to see Superman on the silver screen and nothing was going to stop me from making it the best experience possible.

I’ll be honest. I enjoyed the movie. I was a bit underwhelmed because I had hoped for more action sequences and felt the story could have been stronger; but that didn’t stop me from walking out of the theater with a smile on my face, seeing it a second time, or looking forward to what the sequel had in store. Hell, at the time Superman Returns came out, I was an aspiring actor and I DREAMED of being cast as John Corben, also known as Metallo, in the Superman Returns sequel and going blow-to-blow with Routh’s Superman.

Ultimately, I think the premise had more to do with my excitement than anything else. I loved – LOVED – the idea of Superman being gone for 5 years and returning to a different world; especially with everything the world had been dealing with between 2000-2006.

From Superman Returns. The date of the article is March 3, 2000.

What if we had Superman on 9/11? What would have been different? How many lives would have saved? Would he have stopped the second plane from hitting the south tower? Would he have prevented it altogether? There was so much that could have been done with that premise that, I feel, was left on the table.

To this day, I believe that instead of being a continuation of the Christopher Reeve films (a decision I supported at the time) I think Superman Returns should have featured a young Superman who fled back to Krypton when he heard the rumor it might still be there. Jason should have been Lois and Richard’s child, Martha should have died while Superman was away, Lex Luthor or Cadmus Labs (both?) should have been trying to clone their own Superman that would turn into Bizarro, Superman should have spent less time pining over his lost love with Lois, and I have always, and firmly, believed there should have been a scene of Clark sitting alone in the Daily Planet film room, glasses in hand and tears in his eyes, watching footage of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Those elements would not only have given Superman Returns a stronger story, it would have made him much more relatable to the casual moviegoer and still would have provided plenty of action for fans.

Despite all of that. I still enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed it so much that when it was available for pre-order on Amazon, I bought the Two-Disc Special Edition.

I still have it.

When Routh made an appearance at Rose City Comic Con in 2018, I made damn sure I met him.

He signed my copy of the Superman Returns comic book adaptation and I’m still geeking out about it.

Of everything I enjoyed in Superman Returns, the plane sequence, the bank robbery, Kevin Spacey’s Lex Luthor, Superman flying around saving the city; if I had to pick one thing that I enjoyed the most in the film, it would be Routh himself. While his portrayal of Clark Kent was clearly inspired by Christopher Reeve, his Superman is where he shined. He stood tall, walked and spoke with confidence, and could intimidate someone by his presence alone – until he smiled that warm Superman smile and said something that would calm even the most nervous person like he did with an upset Lois Lane on the roof of the Daily Planet.

“Will I see you around?”

“I’m always around.”

Because Superman Returns didn’t fare as well in the box office as the studio had hoped, the sequel never happened and that was the end of Routh’s tenure as Superman. I was disappointed, but I understood. It’s a business. Making money comes first and Superman Returns, while profitable, didn’t make nearly enough.

Time marches on and we got more comic book adaptations. Smallville continued for another 5 seasons, ending its run after season 10 and inspiring a spin-off series about the Green Arrow, inspired by Justin Hartley’s popularity of the character in Smallville. Arrow, set apart from the Smallville series, came out swinging and quickly rose in popularity. Then in season 2, came future superheroes as recurring characters: Barry Allen, played by Grant Gustin, and Ray Palmer, played by Brandon Routh.

I was SO excited to see Routh back in the comic book medium. The only thing that would have made me happier was if they brought him back to play Superman; but alas, I knew it didn’t fit with Arrow’s reality.

Routh’s performance as Ray Palmer was different than I expected. Ray always came off as a serious character in the stories I read, not as the “Aw shucks” kind of person Routh portrays him as. It made sense, though. Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen had enough serious to go around for everyone; there needed to be a lighthearted superhero to balance that – like Superman is to Batman.

It worked too! Routh became popular on the show and before too long, was starring alongside other actors who portrayed those lesser known heroes in Legends of Tomorrow. As the Arrowverse continued to up the ante and bring in other shows and characters, so did the expectations; and like the comics the shows are based on, annual crossovers became a thing.

They started small with the first 2 being two-parters with The Flash and Arrow, then expanded across all four shows for Invasion! and Crisis on Earth X, dropped to a 3-parter with Elseworlds while also setting up the Batwoman series, to an epic five-part series based on one of the most iconic stories of all time that showed me how serious comic book storytelling could be.

Then there’s Brandon Routh.

Not only is he returning to play Superman, he’s playing the Kingdom Come Superman!

I can’t take it anymore. Seriously.

The first actor I ever saw play Superman in theaters – the first Superman actor I have ever met in person, is playing the version of Superman that helped me realize the kind of message that comic books can tell, in an adaptation of an iconic story that showed how serious a comic book can get. Both of those stories, Kingdom Come and Crisis On Infinite Earths, made me into a comic book fan. Not just a Superman fan, but a comic book fan.

Now I have another comic book that I need to get signed by Routh the next time he visits the Pacific Northwest:

It’s gonna happen – and I’ll be sure to get a picture with him while wearing a Kingdom Come Superman shirt.

Fans can always remember what made them fans of their fandom. Crisis on Infinite Earths and Kingdom Come is that for me. Add the casting of Brandon Routh as Superman in Superman Returns shortly after reading those two iconic stories, and It was a done deal for me.

Seeing all of these impactful moments that helped mold my fandom being rolled together like this is, to say the least, emotional. Never in my life did I expect to see any type of live action adaptation of Kingdom Come or Crisis On Infinite Earths; and I certainly never imagined I’d see Brandon Routh play Superman again. It really is a fanboy’s dream come true.

The only thing that could make it better, for me anyway, would be if Routh’s final line as Superman is his best line as Superman:

“I’m always around.”

#crisisoninfiniteearths #kingdomcome #superman #supermanreturns #arrowverse #arrow #flash #supergirl #legendsoftomorrow #brandonrouth #deathofsuperman #raypalmer #theatom #dccomics #cwtv #dctv #dcuniverse #dcmultiverse

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nightmareonfilmstreet · 6 years

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The Fraught and Remarkable Production of James Cameron’s ALIENS

In 1979, director Ridley Scott took the genres of horror and science fiction by storm with his groundbreaking film Alien. As is often the case with runaway successes such as this, a sequel followed. However, unlike Alien – Aliens was to be an altogether different kind of beast.

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Aliens Conception

After the success of Alien, producer David Giler declared in 1979 that production house Brandywine were intent on making a sequel. Initially having the full support of 20th Century Fox’s president Alan Ladd Jr, that year Ladd left amid Fox’s transition to new owners. The new management at Fox had no interest in the sequel. In the meantime, Giler and partners Walter Hill and Gordon Carroll sued Fox regarding the disbursement of the Alien profits after reneging on Ladd’s promise. The subsequent lawsuit would not be settled until 1983. By this time, Fox had once again acquired new executives that were more interested in continuing Alien as a franchise. Giler pitched the project to the new management as a cross between Hill’s Southern Comfort and The Magnificent Seven.

Enter James Cameron

While the producers sought a writer for the proposed sequel, Development executive Larry Wilson came across James Cameron’s screenplay for The Terminator. The screenplay was passed on to Giler, the general feeling was that Cameron was the man for the job. Giler approached Cameron, who was completing pre-production of The Terminator at this time. A fan of Alien, Cameron was interested in helming the proposed sequel and began work on a concept for Aliens. Cameron produced a 45-page treatment in just 4 days. Fox management once again put the film on hiatus. The pitch was met with mixed feelings and cold feet that Alien had not generated enough profit to warrant a sequel.

Filming of Cameron’s The Terminator was also delayed by nine months at this time. Due to its star, Arnold Schwarzenegger filming Conan the Destroyer, production was delayed. This was a serendipitous turn of events allowing Cameron additional time to write a script for Aliens. While still filming The Terminator, Cameron wrote 90 pages for Aliens. Even in its unfinished state, the work piqued the interest of Fox’s new president Larry Gordon. Cameron was told that if The Terminator was a success, he would be able to direct Aliens. Bringing aboard Gale Ann Hurd to produce, The rest, as they say, is history.

Express Elevator To Hell: A Change Of Approach

Where as the original Alien is oft quoted as being a “haunted house in space”, Cameron’s approach for the sequel was to be something entirely different. The extra time Cameron had been afforded to work on his treatment for Aliens had been well utilised. The story he came up with took the series in a brave new direction.

Ellen Ripley has been drifting in space for some time after the events of the first movie. To be more precise, Ripley has drifted through space for 57 years. Picked up in her EEV by Wayland-Yutani, the ever-present, shadowy “Company”, Ripley’s tasked with returning to LV-426, now a terraformed colony. All communication with LV-426 and its inhabitants has been lost. Accompanying a squad of kick-ass colonial marines, they need to establish why contact has broken down.

Aliens is Bigger, bolder, and much more action oriented than its predecessor. Where as the original was more a traditional thriller, Aliens was to be all out war. Perfectly pacing exposition, slow building suspense and intense action, Cameron certainly knew what he wanted to deliver. From its bombastic James Horner score, to its groundbreaking Stan Winston effects, This is how a sequel is done right.

Hard Times

Cameron now had his film and a $18 million budget, he now needed to secure his leading lady. Sigourney Weaver was reticent about the project. Weaver met Cameron who explained his ideas, piquing the actors interest in revisiting her character. Fox, however, refused to sign Weaver over a payment dispute and asked Cameron to write a story excluding her character. Cameron refused on the grounds that Fox had indicated that Weaver’s involvement when he began writing his treatment for Aliens. Cameron doggedly insisted in Weaver’s involvement and Fox signed the contract. Weaver obtained a salary of $1 million, a sum 30 times what she was paid for Alien.

Bringing together the likes of Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton, who had all worked with Cameron on The Terminator. They were joined by Paul Reiser, Janette Goldstein, William Hope and newcomer, Carrie Henn to round off the principal cast.

Us & Them

Filmed over the best part of a year at Pinewood studios in the U.K., the production was notoriously fraught. The U.S & U.K crews would frequently butt heads. Notoriously tensions strained over, of all things, was the Great British ‘tea break’ frequently bringing production to a halt. A very much ‘us & them’ attitude punctuated the production. Many of the experienced crew had worked under Ridley Scott on the original film and believed Cameron to be too young and inexperienced to carry so large a film. Tensions reached their peak when Cameron fired D.O.P Dick Bush over negative approaches to schedule and difference of opinion, causing the crew to walk out on the production. Hurd, working her production magic, managed to coax the crew back. With such a pervasive atmosphere, it is a wonder the film turned out as well as it did.

Praise has to be given on the magnificent sets that were built. Production converted part of a disused power station in Acton to become the alien nest. An interesting piece of trivia, the set that was used for the atmosphere processor was reused a few years later as The Axis chemical factory in Tim Burton’s Batman. I was never aware of this until recently and must confess to geeking out a little.

Building A Better Movie

Robert and Dennis Skotak were hired to supervise the visual effects for Aliens. Two stages were utilised to construct the colony on LV-426. Cameron used these miniatures and several effects to make scenes look larger than they really were. Namely through methods including forced perspective, rear projection, mirrors and foreground miniatures. Practical effects supervisor John Richardson (who earned the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for the film in 1987) declared his biggest challenge was creating the power loader. Requiring three months work, The model could not stand on its own, requiring either wires dangling from the shoulders or a pole through the back attached to a crane. While Sigourney Weaver was stood inside the loader, a stunt man standing behind it would move the arms and legs.

Aliens Reborn

Stan Winston designed alien suits were made more flexible and durable than the ones used in Alien to allow more freedom of movement. This new suit allowed the Xeno’s to crawl and jump. Dancers, gymnasts, and stunt men were hired to portray the aliens. 8-foot-tall mannequins we’re constructed to make aliens that stood could have charges detonated to simulate gunshot wounds. Winston’s team also created fully articulated facehuggers that could move their fingers; these were moved by wires hidden on the scenery or the actors’ clothing. This was a remarkably simple trick that allowed the facehuggers to appear more real than ever.

The Queen Lives!

The alien queen provided one of the most difficult challenges to film. A life-sized mockup was created by Winston in the U.S. to act as a dry run to see how it would operate on set. Once the testing was complete, the crew working on the queen flew to England and began work creating the final version.

Standing at 14 feet tall, it was a phenomenal physical creation. The Queen was operated using a mixture of puppeteers, control rods, hydraulics, cables, and a crane above to support it. Two puppeteers inside the suit operated its arms, and 16 additional were required to move it. All sequences involving the full-size queen were filmed in-camera with no post-production manipulation. Let’s just consider that for a moment. The majority of the queens shots, excluding some minimal miniature work, all happened on set. Even by today’s standards, that is remarkable.

Now That Sounds Like A Franchise: The Success Of Aliens

Aliens was released in North America on July 18, 1986. In North America, the film opened in 1,437 theaters with an opening weekend gross of $10,052,042. It was #1 at the North American box office for four consecutive weeks, grossing $85.1 million. The film’s worldwide total gross has been stated as high as $180 million, making Aliens one of the highest-grossing R-rated films at the time. Due to its resounding success, the Xenomorphs would return to our screens again in 1992 for Alien3, helmed by first time director David Fincher. In the subsequent years that followed their would be another 3 Alien movies and a further 2 Alien vs. Predator spin-offs.

The Alien series has proved to be a franchise that refuses to lay down and die. Arguably its real turning point came with the leap of faith taken by James Cameron in taking the series in a bold new direction and expanding upon the mythos of the Xenomorph race in such an inventive and breathlessly engaging way.

The post The Fraught and Remarkable Production of James Cameron’s ALIENS appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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D.B. Cooper in Pop Culture: 15 Best Movie and TV Moments

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On November 24, 1971, a man calling himself Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305 from Portland to Seattle (a trip known as a “milk run” due to the short distance involved). A few minutes into the voyage, he got the attention of a flight attendant and made it known that he had a bomb that he intended to use unless his demands were met. What did he want? $200,000 in unmarked bills and four parachutes.

After the plane was on the ground in Seattle, the passengers were let go, the plane was refueled, and Cooper was granted his money and chutes. He instructed the pilot to head towards Mexico City, making it clear that the wing flaps were to remain at 15 degrees and landing gear to stay deployed, the cabin remain depressurized, and that the craft was not to exceed an altitude of 10,000 feet.

Some time after the trip to Mexico City began, he strapped the cash to himself, put on a parachute, and exited the aircraft in flight via the aft staircase. He was never seen again.

It was a bold and brazen move that instantly captivated the world’s imagination. In the confused rush to get the story out there, the skyjacker was misidentified as D.B. Cooper, and the false name stuck. Suddenly everyone was transfixed by the Cooper story. Who was he? Did he survive the jump? Why did he do it? These unanswered questions only served to build up Cooper’s mystique and his legend grew exponentially.

To this day, no one really knows who D.B. Cooper was or what became of him. Other than some of the money being discovered by a kid who was building a campfire along the Columbia River in 1980, there have been no verifiable leads in the case. In 2016, the FBI closed the case. D.B. Cooper had committed the perfect crime, and gotten away with it.

And still, people continue to obsess about the enigmatic, and, by some accounts, charming skyjacker.

Because his crime didn’t harm anyone, D.B. Cooper became an instant folk hero. He was a living representation of the “sticking it to the man” ethos of the era. And before you knew it, a pop culture phenomenon – one that continues to this day – was born. Cooper has been the focus of countless books, a few movies (including the Seth Green comedy Without a Paddle), songs, and has impacted the general consciousness in unexpected ways. (David Lynch and Mark Frost were rumored to be inspired by the skyjacker when naming Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper on Twin Peaks).

These are the most memorable ways he impacted pop culture. Let’s take a look.

The Mystery of D.B. Cooper

Almost 50 years on and we still have no idea who D.B. Cooper was and what his motives were. Or do we? HBO Max’s The Mystery of D.B. Cooper, an in-depth documentary that aims to be the definitive word on this true-crime saga.

You can read our review of The Mystery of D.B. Cooper here.

In Search Of…

One of the earliest, and still the greatest, examination of the Cooper case is a 1979 installment of Leonard Nimoy’s cheesy/sublime 1979 investigational series In Search Of…

Over the course of 22 odd minutes, a delightfully porn-stached Nimoy runs through the particulars of the case. Complete with ominous re-enactments and insights from FBI agent Ralph Himmelsbach (whose obsession with the solving the case would eventually reach Captain Ahab proportions), this episode is the perfect starting point for aspiring Cooperphiles.

The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper

Due to the strong intrigue surrounding the Cooper skyjacking, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood tried to profit off of the crime. Thus in 1981, The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper hit theaters. The film starred Treat Williams, a slumming Robert Duvall, and the late, great Paul Gleason.

Loosely inspired by J.D. Reed’s novel Free Fall, the popcorn flick aimed more at entertaining audiences than actually delving into the hardcore mystery surrounding the man and his confounding actions. As such, the finished project is an amiable adventure that owes more to The Dukes of Hazzard and Smokey and the Bandit-type diversions than actual history.

HA HA HA

In 1983, interest in all things D.B. Cooper had already waned. Yet despite this, Signum Books LTD. published this purported autobiography that suggests that Cooper is just as good at spinning a wild yarn as he is jumping out of airplanes and ripping off the government.

The most interesting aspect of this novel is how it was also a contest. Readers could unravel clues hidden in the book to win $200,000 of their own. We have no idea if anyone ever made good of this offer, but this form of interactive fiction could be seen as a precursor to similiar and more mainstream literary experiments like J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst’s S.

Prison Break

Before it broke our hearts by downfalling into mediocrity, Prison Break was one of the most engaging Fox shows of its time. One thing that bugs us though? Somehow we never pictured Cooper — portrayed in the series by character actor great Muse Watson — as a cat owner.

Skyjack

In 2012, CBS Films optioned the rights to journalist Geoffrey Gray’s Skyjack. Sadly, that project is currently residing in development hell, which is especially upsetting because Gray’s thoughtful analysis of the case and its obsessive, often damaged main players could be the next Argo. It’s a strange and joyous read.

Do Gray’s new leads result in finally identifying Cooper? That would be telling. Plus, as with many things in life, it’s not so much the destination as the strange odyssey that is undertaken along the way that is key.

NewsRadio

The fifth and final season of Newsradio obviously suffered from the creative energy that was lost following the senseless murder of Phil Hartman. However it began to gain some serious steam with a three-part story arc in which it was revealed that Jimmy James (the peerless Stephen Root) might actually be D.B. Cooper. As fun as this all was, nothing could prepare viewers for the joyous shock that came from the revelation that Cooper was, in fact, Adam West.

Journeyman

Journeyman, we still miss you so. NBC’s 2007 time-travel drama starred Kevin McKidd as a successful reporter, recovering gambling addict, and family man who began mysteriously travelling back in time. Because his adventures often resulted in him putting right what once went wrong, the Quantum Leap comparisons never stopped. But Journeyman was so much more than just an adventure of the week story. You see, when McKidd’s character went back in time, the present kept on going, meaning that he could return hours, days or weeks after he mysteriously vanished. This ramped up the domestic and career drama greatly in a way that Sam Beckett’s “oh boy”-worthy exploits could only dream of.

Five episodes in, the installment “The Legend of Dylan McCleen” was a quick exploration of the Cooper mythos, with the name changed to protect the guilty, apparently. As if we didn’t love it enough already, they had to go and bring Cooper into the mix. Why was this show cancelled again?

1971 CBS News Report

When word of Cooper’s skyjacking first hit the media, the news was so audacious that it became a national obsession (and still is, to be honest). Above you see CBS News’ original report about the Cooper case. Join Walter Cronkite and Bill Kurtis for their coverage of this history-making event.

Bigfoot vs. D.B. Cooper

Full disclosure: We’ve never seen this low-budget flick that looks like the next big SyFy sweeps event. But D.B. Cooper and Bigfoot? Together? That’s gotta be a recipe for entertainment, right?

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Skyjacked

While based more on the rash of skyjackings that plagued American skies in the early 1970s than Cooper’s specifically, the 1972 proto-disaster film Skyjacked was clearly impacted by the folk hero’s actions. With stars like Charlton Heston, James Brolin, Rosie Grier, and TV’s Spider-Man, Nicholas Hammond, the film is a tense thriller about a skyjacker who seeks to divert a passenger plane to Alaska. As the terrorist is revealed to be a traumatized Vietnam War veteran, his actions lead to an international incident — resulting in a conclusion that remains gripping to this day.

Everything Is Fine, “Vapor Trails and Light”

In 2005, murky shoegazers Everything Is Fine released their album Ghosts Are Knocking on Walls, a guitar-drenched affair that featured two tracks inspired by Cooper’s antics.

While “D.B. Cooper” was a reverb-heavy instrumental imagining of what the skyjacker’s leap into history might have emotionally felt like, “Vapor Trails and Light” explored the mindset of the plane’s occupants. “You hijack the flight and disappear into the night,” sings vocalist Marc Manning in a delicate growl before adding “vapor trails and light, all we see tonight but it’s all right.”–-indicating that ultimately D.B.’s antics were the sort of victimless crime that resulted in his folk icon status. It’s a fantastic song that brings to mind the works of Slowdive and This Mortal Coil. In other words, essential listening for the 120 Minutes crowd.

Dan Cooper Comics

In the 1950s, France’s Dan Cooper comics chronicled the exploits of the titular Royal Canadian Air Force pilot. Since the skyjacker identified himself to the flight crew as Dan Cooper, it has been speculated that he borrowed his false identity from these comics…something that seems more than plausible given the similarities between both Coopers. The only problem is that the Dan Cooper stories were unknown to Americans in 1971, adding another speculative wrinkle to an already fascinating case.

The Far Side

Gary Larson’s seminal comic strip The Far Side once speculated on Cooper’s final fate. It may not be pretty for him, but it sure is funny.

Todd Snider, “D.B. Cooper”

Folk-twinged alt-country singer/songwriter Todd Snider paid a musical tribute to Cooper on his 2000 album Happy to Be Here, which speculates that D.B. did in fact survive his leap, and celebrated with a champagne toast. “I hope they never see D.B. Cooper again,” Snider croons, echoing the sentiments of those who yearn for this case never to be solved. After all, history needs its mysteries…

What’s your favorite D.B. Cooper pop culture moment? Let us know in the comments! And be sure to check out our D.B. Cooper Spotify playlist!

The post D.B. Cooper in Pop Culture: 15 Best Movie and TV Moments appeared first on Den of Geek.

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silverloreley · 4 years

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To be frank I disagreed with you on the notion that it’s wrong for bakugou to be brought in on the ofa secret especially since the logic for you Is basically that it’s wrong because bakugou bullied izuku etc I have got to be frank bakugou and izuku cooperating with each other is great (and improve the from the previous gen izuku being the all might and bakugous parallels with endeavor (where bakugou got served humble pie when he was young which began his development 1/?

Bakugou’s character development process since day one. Was never simply just arrived at a zenlike conclusion on his own through stern self-reflection or anything like that. his entire story has been him learning and growing from one humbling experience after anotheR had it not been for that he could have become endeavor when he grew up They are improvements to previous gen as shown by how izuku pet bakugou in on the secret and they are working with each other 2/?

I believe that the series is building up to Deku and Bakugou working together to become The Greatest Heroes as a team,

(I received those three together, so I assume they are a single topic. There’s another sort-of-question in my inbox too, but that will have to wait because I already spent an hour for this reply and I have irl things to do today)

We can certainly agree to disagree. Everyone is allowed to have their point of view. Let me make some clarifications before I reply (although there wasn’t a real question here, just an opinion and probably an attempt at making me change my mind... -.-)

First of all, ”Bakugou was a bully” wasn’t the only logic behind my refusal. I have other reasons, that was just the one that probably came out stronger from my fic notes.

About that, this is what I wrote:

“ I mean... do I love Bakugou and his character development? Yes. Am I still waiting for a proper apology to Izuku? Hell yes. Do I think he should have known about OfA? Abso-fucking-lutely NO. That's the hill I'll die on. No, I didn't have a chance to watch the second BnHA movie yet, but I don't think I'll change my mind on that. Plot-wise it was pointless and I can tell you it won't happen here. “

You may notice I don’t discard his character development, it’s actually one of the things I like about him (aside from the obvious traits I see in him of myself, almost as many as I have in common with Izuku, which is another discussion entirely). It’s not his past as a bully the reason I don’t think his involvement in the secret was necessary, although it certainly factors in my head, but the fact the plot didn’t need it AND he wasn’t ready for it.

He didn’t grow enough, he asked to know and he was given what he wanted just like he always had. Yes, he made leaps from where he started, but he didn’t need to be put apart of OfA’s secret. He needed to be told where he went wrong so far and accept the simple life fact you can’t get all you want just because you feel entitled to it. He should have offered to help without knowing how vital it was, how important it was to All Might.

Only after seeing him help because he feels it’s right and not for competitivity/reward I could have agreed to let him know.

Now that I saw the second movie, I am still of the same opinion: this ending was discarded for a good reason. It was all scenography and no actual content, the Twin Stars thing is not the ending I want to see and I hope Horikoshi realized it’s not ideal either. The best part of the movie was, honestly, the way the class collaborated flawlessly, even if it came down to one-on-ones (or two-on-one in Nine’s case) at the end.

I may add the reason I’ve been waiting for an apology (or even just an admission “I was an ass to you”) is mostly for my sake, for the part of me that, like Izuku, was bullied to the verge of breaking, the me who never had a single word of apology for the way I was hurt and had to pick up my pieces alone. I’ll never have it in reality, let me at least get it in fiction.

It’s a very personal thing, okay? I don’t expect people to agree with me (which is funny, since I used to be the kind of person who always felt in the right, again, a lot like Katsuki here. In a way, I could say I was bullied so much without help like Izuku I had to become Katsuki to protect myself. Again, another discussion entirely).

Second: I understand Horikoshi’s artistic choices, it doesn’t mean I have to share them or find them perfect.

Again about my note: you may notice I said “plot-wise”, which should probably be corrected, now that I’m on par with the manga, with “the plot could perfectly work even without that”. What use was it having Bakugou in Toshinori and Izuku’s OfA reunions? He could have helped from the outside, if he wanted to prove he’s a better person, a better person doesn’t need to be apart of every single detail to offer his help, especially because he didn’t add anything of value (think about when they are talking about OfA predecessors, the only thing he does is point out they died young and snarked about how lame their quirks were, what kind of useful input is it?) Even in the last chapters (I won’t delve to keep it spoilers-free), his presence in the fight had no particular relevance save for a couple moments, but he could have been replaced easily and/or decided to go anyway without knowing (just like Todoroki did, to say)

Oh, I do like the idea of the new generation correcting the past, I’m all for an ending that deletes the competition between Heroes and favours cooperation, except I’d like to see a whole cooperation among all Heroes, not the Twin Stars thing Horikoshi is hinting towards. I wanted, from the start, to see Deku become the de-facto leader of a community of Heroes who work together in equality, each depending on their abilities and strengths without trying to outdo each other at every turn but working as different parts of a single body.

The Twin Stars thing defeats this purpose, it’s an artistic choice that hinges on keeping up parallels and foils where things improve from one foil to another, but eventually keeps a similar status quo.

Now that we’re talking about artistic choices, I want to add I don’t like the overuse of parallels in works of fiction. Having too many defeats the purpose of having one in the first place, which is to point out important bits of the story and the difference a single choice or point of view can make. Too many are distracting and don’t allow the reader to decide which ones are really important.

Horikoshi put in BnHA definitely too many for my taste: All Might-Deku vs AFO-Shigaraki should have been the only relevant one. For how much I like the Eri vs Shigaraki, it wasn’t explored, yet, which means so far it’s not relevant. Endeavor vs Bakugou is an interesting one too and I’m fine with it, but making it an All Might-Endeavor vs Deku&Bakugou is a choice I can’t share. To me, the story should get to the point to completely push down the current inefficient Hero system, and not improve it the slight little bit with having a pair of Number Ones instead of an absolute one and everyone below them.

Again, that’s my point of view, agree to disagree.

#question answered #even if it's not really a question #I spent definitely too much time on it and it doesn't even have all my points #but I'm busy so I leave it at that #don't start pester me with this okay?#I won't engage in fandom discourse #I'm not tagging for this exact reason

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sheikah · 7 years

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Did you happen to tag your story as literally "Jealous Jon"? Cuz if so, that explains a lot actually. A vast majority of the stories on archive that have that tag portray Jon as an unhinged, jealous psycho. A borderline rapist as well. A lot of people's guards probably went up when they saw it.

I tagged it that way because if people don’t like it, I was hoping that would allow them to avoid it. Same with the inclusion of Jaime. But it had the opposite effect. Honestly, since I originally posted about it, things only got worse and I got pretty pissed. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to use this ask to rant a tiny bit because I’m annoyed.

As someone oh-so-kindly pointed out on my fic today, comment sections are not only there to “stroke a writer’s ego.” Comments that aren’t positive are allowed. But comments that aren’t constructive, comments that are simply complaining about the story’s existence, are not helpful and are frankly more disrespectful than usual “hate” comments because they’re on a piece of literature that took time and effort to write.

If someone took issue with a particular plot point they felt was OOC, if someone had notes on my writing style, etc, I would welcome suggestions. But I’ve been getting comments basically just bitching about the fact that I am writing something involving Dany and Jaime at all. This pisses me off for two reasons.

1. If you see I tagged the pairing and hate it, why read the fic and take the time to comment telling me you hate that pairing? What the hell?

2. If you did read the fic, you’d know that Jaime and Dany are not at this time in a relationship in said fic, which is why I tagged it “light Dany/Jaime,” that way people who absolutely hate it could stay away, but everyone else could read it and understand that there is no actual pairing but that Jon is paranoid and worried about there being a relationship there–hence the jealousy.

(When I say “you” here I mean the general “you,” not YOU, anon.)

Fanfiction is something that many people write for fun and (in my experience) all people participating do so for FREE. It is still something that takes time and effort, though. So I am getting a little sick of readers feeling ownership over what the authors write. I realize that fanfiction is unique from other fiction in that it utilizes characters already well-known and loved by its readers. But that does not give those readers the right to try and dictate what sort of fanfiction is and is not allowed in a fandom. I had comments on this work suggesting that Dany/Jaime should not be included as a possibility at all and is “OOC” just because those readers don’t want to see it, and don’t want to see Dany ever moving on from Jon.

Look, I’m not here to say it will happen in current canon. It won’t. But it is not out of character for Dany to be attracted to a man like Jaime Lannister. She has a history of attraction to strong, physically powerful, self-assured and even “cocky” men. Sound like anyone you know?What’s more, Jaime is, canonically, charming and exceptionally handsome. It’s not a huge leap for Jon to think, in a moment of insecurity, that Dany would find Jaime handsome and desirable.

Because YES–Jaime is the Kingslayer. But all Dany has heard since she landed in Westeros is what a god-awful man her father was and how he was murderous and evil, the opposite of what she wants to be. That being the case, I think her meeting with Jaime is very timely. She is at the prime time in her life to accept someone like him and to acknowledge that while he might have been disloyal to her family, it wasn’t necessarily out of line or unwarranted for Jaime to kill Aerys when he did.

It’s also in-character for Dany to make marriage alliances with people she doesn’t like *cough* Hizdahr *cough*. Dany, anti-slavery advocate no. 1, was betrothed to a former slaver. She will go to almost any length to protect her people and do what she thinks is best for them and for the realm in general.

And we have to explain Tyrion’s canon reaction to boatsex somehow. My fic offers an explanation for that, and it understandably makes Jon anxious. So put all of this together and I don’t think it’s very strange for Jon to be wary of whatever is happening between Dany and Jaime (which so far is NOTHING).

So whether I tagged it “jealous Jon” or not, I don’t feel the complaints I’m receiving are warranted. They read as petulant and the result of people who are worried about the future of Jonerys in canon and thus revile any presented alternatives to a happy and smooth course for their relationship.

I’m even getting comments saying it is OOC for Jon to be thinking about this so much. But in a SHORT (i.e. three chapters) romantic angst fic, there isn’t really room for the characters to think about too much aside from one another, now is there? I’m not setting out to rewrite ASOIAF here.

At the end of the day, my fic that people are so riled about is still a Jonerys fic. That seems clear to the vast majority of people who read it. And in it, Jon is neither content to sit by the wayside and cry over his lost love nor trying to start a fight with potential rivals like some OOC, hyper-masculine macho caricature.

I am just still baffled that these couple of people can’t see that. The Jonerys fandom growing has been lovely, and my blog followers should know better than anyone how fiercely defensive I am of this fandom, of Dany’s character, and of Jon’s. So whether I decide to examine a possibility of Jon’s jealousy or not, I think certain people in the fandom in general need to learn some respect when offering their “commentary.”

#ranting #fandom wank #answered

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sherryfundin · 5 years

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Giveaway & Review – Winter Frost by Lauren Carr @TheMysteryLadie @iReadBookTours

Book Details:

Book Title: Winter Frost (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #2) by Lauren Carr

Category Adult fiction, 332 pages

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Acorn Book Services

Release date: January 22, 2019

Formats available for purchase:

paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes)

Tour dates October 7 to November 22, 2019

Content Rating:

PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!

“Filled with twists and turns, Winter Frost reads perfectly well as a stand-alone, although it is part of a series. The author creates tension and suspense throughout by keeping the reader guessing; she keeps readers engaged with well fleshed out characters and a dash of humor. Sterling, the retired German Shepherd police dog turned card shark, is a new favorite. As the story flows, the truth unfolds, layer by layer, leading to a satisfying conclusion. “Winter Frost was an entertaining, at times humorous read with suspense, some surprises, and even cute animals in the mix.” Review of Winter Frost by The iRead Review

MY REVIEW

All right. Back with the Geezer Squad and a freezing cold case.

We start out with Blair witnessing multiple deaths as she runs for her life. No one to trust, it’s up to her to find her way to the director of the CIA, with the disc. She has secrets and comes face to face with one of them…Chris.

Chris has retired to a farm, but when he sees Blair, he has a lot to investigate…so, with the help of the Geezer Squad he begins.

From the opening pages the action begins and it doesn’t stop until the end.

The characters are tough, resilient, trained professionals. Nigel, with his trust guardian Tristan, is also on the case and pulls a fast one of me. I love surprises and this was a doozy.

I love the visual imagery throughout. Here is an example and I think it will easily portray my feelings.

The hundred pound dog repeatedly leaps, all four feet off the floor, to peep through the door.

I cannot begin to describe my love for Sterling and was going to share some of my favorite thoughts about him, then, I thought, I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you. Lauren Carr’s fabulous critters offer many moments of smiles and laughs with their distinct personalities, right down to Thor, the bunny rabbit.

I just want to let you know, if you see a German Shepard with sunglasses and an FBI hat, don’t get in his way. He’s probably on a case.

A conspiracy within the government. A high level official crossed over the line, turning traitor. Car chases. Bullets Flying. Danger rises and they are in a race against time.

I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Winter’s Frost by Lauren Carr.

4 Stars

MY LAUREN CARR REVIEWS

Three Days To Forever

Kill And Run

Cancelled Vows

Candidate For Murder

Killer In The Band

A Fine Year For Murder

Twofer Murder

Ice

Murder by Perfection

Crimes Past

Spring Thaw

It’s Murder My Son

The Root of Murder

You can see my Giveaways HERE.

You can see my Reviews HERE.

If you like what you see, why don’t you follow me?

Leave your link in the comments and I will drop by to see what’s shakin’.

I am an Amazon affiliate/product images are linked.

Thanks for visitingl!

#lauren carr #mystery #series #dogs #a chris matheson cold case mystery #read in 2019 #4 star review

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titleknown · 7 years

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TITLEWave Character Re-Imaginings...

Welp, in the tradition of @dimetrodone I decided I might as well write up copyrighted fictional characters as how they’d exist in my TITLEWave setting.

But, as both a challenge and a proof-of-why-it-needs-to-happen, I’ll be restricting it to copyrighted characters from 1960 and earlier ala my idea of 56 or Bust. Because WHY THE HECK NOT?!

Past the break, because this is gettin loooooong.

Astro Boy- Essentially one of the earliest robots establishing a lot of the groundwork both AI and construction-wise for the androids of TITLEWave, despite his dubious origins as the product of a deranged scientist trying to recreate his lost son Astro’s ended up kind of an icon. So much of what he’s done laid the groundwork for what few rights robots had in this setting, and there’s even some minor religions amongst synthetics in this setting in his name

But, when the world needed him, he vanished. And robot rights backslid, often attributed in large part to a world without his influence. Only to reappear decades later, with no memory of where he had been; except for being trapped in some strange; dark place. And now, having upgraded thanks to years of interest on a bank account set up under his long-dead adoptive father’s name, he works as he always has to try to set the world right, to bring the balance between machines and humans.

Of course, while there are many who profit off the exploitation of sentient machines and present him with a handshake in front but a dagger behind their backs, there are also plenty of new allies for Astro, given the fact that he’s a living legend amongst the robotic community, and there’re a lot of people who’ve been inspired to their own heroism by him

Godzilla- Essentially created less from acts of massive war violence as much as years of societal violence, on a huge New Jersey industrial company town dedicated to the repurposing of nuclear materials and chemical waste into useful products, in a process both grueling; dehumanising and lethally toxic for those on the bottom and a nightmare of crunchtime working conditions for those doing the engineering/research. Said process became essentially automated more and more; leaving more and more people out of work and creating a massive underclass; located right by the heavily polluted coastline.

The problem started when they tried to “purge” said underclass, at first via subtler means by neglect cranking up the pollution levels to unsustainable limits, then by more blatant means, such as experimental toxins and random police experimental-gassings. And, this further added to the primordial nightmare-soup to the point where company scientist Doctor Serizawa tried to raise the alarm about the unsettling; violent biological mutations his research team found in there. To no avail. And then, one night, during the largest gassing raids in historyu; The Midway Street Massacre, the creature came.

Serizawa did eventually destroy it with the Oxygen Destroyer, and sacrifice himself to do so, though millions of lives were lost including several of the company’s highest executives. Curiously, most of the attacks by the creature were centered on the wealthiest areas of the city, much to their chagrin.

But, the story diverges from the fact that, when company scientists came to inspect things, they found the creature’s flesh was growing back onto its bones. And, then they had the alledgedly-brilliant idea to bring it onto land and cyborgize the regeneration creature. This went as well as you’d expect.

The escaped creature now wanders the country, less vicious than its original appearance and now treated more like a natural disaster than a kill-this-abomination-now-level threat. One wonders what goes through its head. Those who have made mental contact with it seem to indicate a creature that is lonely, and in pain. Because like those others living in where it was created, it too is a victim in its own way.

And, there are worrying signs from that original company, because not only do they still posess tissue samples of the creature’s cells, but also there are whispers of whole new strains of creatures they found mutated from the results of the Oxygen Destroyer….

Gandalf/Sauron- A wandering robot that looks superficially like some cheap carnival animatronic of an old man, only to reveal incredibly powerful technology beneath his surface; if it even is technology as we know it. He’s a wise mentor-type to heroic types he finds, but he has an agenda of his own as well.

It involves stopping a similar; but more powerful machine called Sauron, whose original body was destroyed, but who lives on in fragments of his corpus and AI cores; in particular one TITLE-like divice simply known as The Ring.

Nobody really knows where they came from, when asked Gandalf says he simply answers to “A higher authority”

Rick Blaine- Or, rather, Rikki Blaine. Formerly an uninvolved bystander for years running her bar in a place that was essentially a waypoint for those trying to escape from various nightmarish megacorp-owned city states, she finally was spurred to involvement after an old flame of his came with her leftist freedom-fighter husband, which ultimately ended not only in heris aiding in their escape; but also him finding a reason to live; and skimming off a high-level megacorp official to her cause too.

Now she runs an organization called the “Casablanca Foundation” to help people escape not just from Megacorp-states but also the places that are megacorp-states in all but name; or even just generally bad situations. If you know who to call, you can find her.

Bugs Bunny- Called by many nicknames including “the abortion of this age” and “the rough beast Yeats spoke of,” nobody knows where the fuck Bugs Bunnycame from. The best guess of most is that it’s a confluence of multiple biological and parapsychological factors ending up affecting one normal North American rabbit. It is also theorized they came from Brooklyn due to their distinctive accent.

Bugs is essentially an incredibly powerful humanoid lapine organism, unable to permanently die even when flattened; exploded; burned; eaten; chopped to bits; ectcetera, and with remarkable abilities of mental power despite his screwball attitude towards life; with the ability to defy the laws of physics without conscious thought and bar-none high-level abilities of spacial reasoning and behavioral prediction. And able to disguise themselves better than you’d think.

Originally they were much more terrifyingly chaotic, but nowadays they have rules they seem to follow. Namely; no retribution unless either they are provoked or somebody they like gets hurt and no killing. Other than that, if you piss them off there will be hell to pay.

Though, if you can get on their good side (Which is easier than most people think) they can be a jovial; steadfast friend (Albeit one with an often overly-massive ego with a tendency to be overly cocky and quick to fight) and a powerful ally. And, as you can guess by my use of pronouns, they happen to be genderfluid. Because Bugs Bunny

Superman- Despite a more neon 80s-tacular costume, complete with badass bounty-hunter-y mask, he’s still fundamentally Superman, helping people against problems too great for mortal people. He’s the only “proper” superhero in this setting in fact; and while everyone wonders what his real agenda is, nobody suspects that he’s just as genuine as he seems, a Jewish guy from the sticks who happened to be found in a crashed rocketship by a couple of farmers who’s trying to bring Tikkum Olam to the world. Though his reporting is more for television, he still works to report the news of the world at the Daily Star webcast.

Of course, there are a few differences. Like the fact that underneath his human appearance is an anatomy that is far off from human, with him only looking human thanks to the “rebirthing machine” in that original ship that altered him; and in fact perhaps other Kryptonians still out there; into the appearance of the planet’s dominant species.

And, there’s also the fact; with the research into the strange crystal technology linked to his planet and its lethally radioactive corrupted form known as Kryptonite, he’s found that they weren’t quite restricted to one planet. In fact, they were an interplanetary civilization, leaping across solar systems. And then, all at once, they were destroyed. But he’s never been able to find an answer as to by who or by what, or why seemingly relatively so relatively few of them were able to escape. And the few leads bring up disquieting possibilities...

You may ask, why not make expies just like these descriptions?

And I probably will do that in the future with these ideas. But; thing is; there’s power in legacies. There’s power in Superman being a shining neon light in this vicious future, there’s power in Astro Boy coming to set right what has fallen apart in his absence, there is power in Godzilla as the wrath of societal violence, and so-on.

And, while I agree with the truth that even if things are public domain they need to be treated with respect, that’s an argument I’d say for the public domain rather than against it.

Also, if you want to support further content like this, maybe throw a few bucks my way on my Patreon! This was actually decided from two ideas via a poll for those five-dollar donors, and there’ll probably be more in the future...

#titlewave #reimagined #re-imagining #worldbuilding #synthwave aesthetic #copyright #56 or bust #my writing #my art

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penelope1730 · 7 years

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Molly Hooper Unplugged.

Series 4 Sherlock is not what I expected. Over all, I liked it. A lot. It’s not without it’s problems though. From a viewer’s perspective that is. I'm not going to trash the writers because, in fact, I have tremendous appreciate for their creative process, intelligence and brilliance.

As with the books, the writers set out to tell us stories in similar fashion to the canon literature. John Watson is considered the narrator but, in fact, is the peripheral story-teller. Sherlock, himself, is the primary narrator. Not only that, Sherlock tells us his stories retrospectively. Meaning that from beginning to end the story has already happened. It’s done and over, with Sherlock telling us: ‘Okay, this is what went down.”

Mark Gatiss made an interesting comment once that he and Moffat write the stories from end to beginning. It’s the only way they can detail the cases, the story-line and Sherlock’s elaborate deductions. Truly, it’s a clever approach. But, and this is important, it’s also why the audience rarely receives the resolution they want, or feel they deserve. Sherlock – as the narrator – won’t say. He gives the viewer what he chooses and then leaves us to figure out the rest.

As I looked back upon every episode from the very beginning, this particular format is consistent. It also explains why there’s an abhorrent lack of Molly this season. Sherlock is her avenue and narrator, and he’s not talking. Throughout the series, there have only been two exceptions to this: The Sign of Three and His Last Vow.

The writers love Louise Brealey. They adore her and they adore Molly. Molly is introduced to the audience in ASiP with Sherlock. It’s their “meet cute” – which tells us she’s important – even though she was initially considered a one-off character. Sherlock, however, had other plans and wanted her to stick around. He’s the one who’s chosen her fate in the stories, not the writers.

I know, I know – it’s a weird and unusual way to look at this. The writers are, after all, penning this series and in charge, right? Yes, of course. At the end of the day, however, they are two of the biggest Sherlock Holmes fan boys and they have deferred many decisions to this fictional character.

So, strange as it might sound, anyone who writes stories knows there’s more than a kernel of truth in this. We might think we’re in charge of the characters we create, but really – we’re in guardianship. Sherlock is no exception to this because he’s a long established character in literary fiction.

Many years ago, the ground-breaking television series, The X-Files, elucidated this fact (in an extreme way) with an episode called, Milagro. The writer, Phillip Padgett, experiences his character come to life, who creates all sorts of murderous mayhem.

“When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be truth.”

Fox Mulder used that exact quote from Sherlock Holmes in the Milagro episode to convince his FBI partner, Dana Scully, that this is exactly what was happening.

So, if anyone, besides myself, is wondering why we’re not seeing Molly all that much – it’s because of Sherlock. At the same time, he also gives us wonderful clues (because that’s what he does) as to why this is and what happened. All we have to do is observe and don his methods of deductions.

This, by the way, will have little to do with sub-text. That’s a very different animal. Instead, we have to infer and make some logical leaps based upon the evidence given. To be honest, this has been part of the fun of watching Sherlock. But, it can also be frustrating, exhaustive, and even disheartening, when viewers aren’t given any kudos for figuring things out, or for even trying. That does, in my opinion, lie within the hands of the writers. After all, they do have creative latitude.

There are two things that left me saying ‘Huh?’ regarding Molly in series 4.

Her diminished presence.

Her strong resistance to say, ‘I Love You.’

For me to understand, I did a cursory review of Molly’s history, which isn’t hard. Especially as there’s this infuriating, ongoing belief with journalists, casual and not-so-casual viewers, that Molly’s emotional hesitancy in saying ‘I Love You’ to Sherlock is somehow the result of a bizarre form of post-trauma from season one.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Molly / Sherlock ‘shippers’ (and I'm one) know this because we’re not simply watching a television show, we’re observing all the nuances of what’s presented / not presented, that others either don’t see, choose not to see, or believe unimportant.

First, I want to lay the basis that Molly’s “unrequited” love for Sherlock has not remained an issue since A Scandal In Belgravia (s2e1). Nor has she been mocked or ridiculed by Sherlock over her affection for him. The opposite of this is true and also shown.

Beginning with The Reichenbach Fall, Sherlock and Molly have grown closer and share an intimacy that none of the other characters are made privy. It’s not romantic intimacy, that we know of, but a deeply valued and trusted friendship.

Sherlock turns to Molly in one of his greatest moments of need. She becomes his confidant at a time when things are, quite frankly, frightening for him. Molly, along with a host of others, help Sherlock plan his demise. Her role, as Sherlock later reveals, was not only invaluable, but that she is the one person who mattered the most. Whether his comment is based on the Moriarty deal, or a commentary about how he now views her, it doesn’t really matter. What this scene from The Empty Hearse showed viewers is that Molly and Sherlock have grown. Their relationship dynamics have shifted to a new dance. There’s more than a hint of attraction from both, and whether or not you want to ‘friend-zone’ them, the sentiment still stands: they hold a palpable love for one another.

Viewers are also made aware in this episode that Molly has “moved on” and engaged to a guy who is a distorted facsimile of Sherlock’s physical characteristics. We think that scene is about Molly and it is – but it’s also about Sherlock. The look on his face when he meets Tom is priceless.

Sherlock has never dealt very well when confronted with Molly’s involvement with other men. It’s not sub-text or speculation…it’s shown. Given the fact this man lives in a state of emotional infancy, especially during The Great Game, he might not really understand why he viciously cock-blocked Jim-from-IT-Moriarty, angering / embarrassing Molly in the process.

He does learn, however. Otherwise, he’s not a very good genius.

I'm not sure why it’s hard to understand that series 3 Molly is not harboring unrequited love. Sherlock is. Yes, it’s a strange sort of love because he represses his emotions and impulses, I'll grant you. He doesn’t show it overtly, but it’s there.

The tables have been flipped on Sherlock, because although his seeping emotions are masked behind logic and rationalism, or ridiculous excuses – he’s actually the one seeking out Molly.

Molly keeps him on his toes by her openness and authenticity. She even shared that she’s having quite a bit of sex, which really does blow the gasket in his Vulcan mind. He has no idea how to process this info. Ironically, her words are sort of a call back to his from The Great Game, when he’s having a hissy fit and tells John he’s not interested in the solar system, or who’s having sex with who. Molly’s having sex, Sherlock. Does it need mentioning that their romantic involvements have always mirrored one another, too?

Sherlock does find a way to get in another deliberate, but very subtle cock-block regarding Molly’s fiancé during John and Mary’s reception. Of course it bothered her, somewhat. She wasn’t devastated or traumatized over the fact that Sherlock just showed her, again, that her choice in men will always be woefully inadequate compared to him. She’s really rather proud of him in this episode, and swooning a bit.

Truthfully, both Molly and Sherlock have some version of brainiac jealousy / possessiveness going on, but still, Molly adores him, OPENLY, by the way. She’s not hiding it.

All of this gels to demonstrate that Molly’s emotional 180 in The Final Problem over saying ‘I love you’ is NOT because she’s been sitting around for seven years, crying in margaritas over this guy.

It’s about something else entirely. The timeline between TSoT and His Last Vow hold the answer. Something happened between them that came very close to destroying their relationship. Sherlock gives us a few clues in HLV. First, there’s this:

“How dare you throw away the beautiful gifts you were born with. And how dare you betray the love of your friends. Say you’re sorry!”

“Sorry you’re engagement’s over, although fairly grateful for the lack of a ring.”

Great dialogue! Especially if we’re looking through Sherlock’s eyes and know he’s been staying at her beautiful home, which we find out later on. This bit of info comes from Molly, when she breaks the fourth wall of television by interacting with viewers directly.

We can take Molly’s scolding of Sherlock at face value. He’s using (drugs) and by doing so letting down his friends and himself. Bad Sherlock.

I believe, however, this is more than chastising Sherlock for reckless behavior. The following, by the way, is about subtext, because that’s where we have to look and infer. Subtext, while a valid form of information, can be a dangerous little guy, because we project based upon our individual filters and desires. It’s important to keep this in mind when inferring possibilities.

I'm also not being dismissive of drug use, at all, but attempting to fill the blanks that currently hold cognitive dissonance based upon everything we’ve been show up until now. We went from HappyMolly and HappySherlock to ‘what-the-hell-is-going-on’?

Clearly, whatever it is, it’s origin lies in love and betrayal. And, other than in Sherlock’s mind palace after being shot – we only see Molly one more time, when she tells us about her bedroom as Sherlock’s bolt hole.

His Last Vow ends without any resolution between the two. Or so we believe.

But, I'll get back to this.

There’s head canons and fanfic to fill in the missing gaps of HLV, but The Abdominal Bride does a great job at summing things up in a nutshell.

This episode, in which Sherlock sets about solving 121 year old murder case from the Victorian era, is about the long-lasting consequences of using, objectifying, misleading, abusing, disparaging and basically the all around diminished and misogynistic treatment of women.

There’s also quite a bit of symbology wrapped up in Sherlock’s psychedelic trip. He’s solving a crime from another century, but he’s still got his Scooby gang by his side. They’re all consistent with their modern, present day counterparts, filling the same functions and roles when Sherlock isn’t following Alice down the rabbit hole.

With the exception of Molly.

The role of a pathologist / medical examiner was not typically filled by a woman in this era. As a result, Molly has to be concealed as a man. Perfectly reasonable. What’s different, however, is the relationship between she and Sherlock. It’s cold, if not a bit derisory and bitter.

John’s role is interesting regarding Molly because it’s not John, but instead Sherlock’s projection. Victorian John tells ‘Dr Hooper’ that he’s not Sherlock’s puppy, that he can see through her disguise and sympathizes with what one has to do to be recognized in the world.

We can take that conversation at face value. It is what it is. But, maybe it’s worth considering that this might also be Sherlock’s conscience seeping through, imprinting itself on the state of affairs between he and Molly. In Sherlock's words, John is a "romantic" - he sees things Sherlock can't - so there is some validity with the idea that he might need John's 'eyes' to see his way through this. To see Molly past the façade of anger and self-protection. I'm sure there are other great interpretations.

From a symbolic perspective, TAB was Sherlock reconciling, or at least beginning to make amends to Molly (as well as other women he’s used: Janine).

Now is where speculation comes in regarding the timeline between TSoT, HLV and TAB.

Let’s say Sherlock was using Molly’s home as a bolt hole. Maybe not the first time, so he likes it, and it gives him the space and privacy to work on the Magnussen case. If this is true, it’s probably because it’s too complicated for him to work at Baker St, especially as he’s fake wooing Janine to get to her boss.

The other thing that’s taking place is that he’s using. How often and how much is unsure, but he did look pretty strung out at the hospital. And, when Sherlock uses, he’s a very different person.

Molly and Janine mirror one another, although Sherlock’s feelings, thoughts and opinions toward each are drastically different.

Dependent upon when Sherlock began using Molly’s home, if he’s using her home (he does have other bolt holes) – she might still be engaged to Tom. It’s conjecture, but she probably is. Sherlock tells John that he’s been fake dating Janine for a month, which means this started almost immediately after the wedding.

Realistically, I don’t think anyone expected the engagement between M/T to last, but it doesn’t mean Molly wasn’t sincere or didn’t love him. So, Sherlock’s presence and the use of her home – especially her bedroom, a space that implies intimacy - is bound to inflict some legitimate strain on a relationship that’s already falling apart.

Any number of scenarios could have played out. Tom might have given Molly an ultimatum? M/T might have decided to take a time-out? Guess away.

Sherlock might be influencing Molly through subtle means to end her engagement. He might turn up the charm and possibly – in one way or another – woo her as well. Maybe lead her to believe something was possible between them? Which he might consider true, at some point. He doesn't want her with other men, but won't allow a proper resolution to their attraction. His use of drugs could make it easier for him to make those personality / conscience shifts necessary to do what he’s doing.

If this happened, and there’s nothing to say it did – just using TAB as a blueprint since Molly was included with the ‘brides’ – it really is unconscionable on his part. Although, and this is NOT in any way an excuse of his behavior – his superiority and arrogance did slap him hard - because he actually cares and loves Molly, so his potential motivations with her are very different than with Janine. Knowing this does not make it better or right. He’s taking drugs - he’s in ‘the Game Is On’ mode and not making good decisions.

Perhaps Molly found out about Janine and they had a chat? Yeah, it’s a bit soap opera-ish – but how else would Janine know Sherlock used her? John? Magnussen? She was very quick with her ‘for profit’ revenge plan. More than likely Magnussen told her…he enjoys the suffering of others.

However she found out, Molly would have confronted Sherlock. Sherlock might not have shown any remorse for using someone as a ‘means to an end’ (Janine), while attempting to deduce Molly by saying her LOVE for Tom was equally specious. He did say, during his best man speech, that “All emotions, and in particular love, stand opposed to the pure, cold reason I hold above all things.” We know this isn’t entirely true, and he knows it as well. But, if he attempted to make a point to Molly about her actions, as a parallel to his, all while HIGH, wow – it crashed and burned.

I'm not saying this is what happened. Just tossing out the idea. But, it does make the M/S hospital scene even more poignant. It’s their break-up fight.

If Sherlock did any of this, it would be hard to forgive. Molly would have to dig really deep inside her to make a journey back as his friend. Their relationship is fractured and rests on a precariously balanced fulcrum. Betrayal by love is a huge theme in His Last Vow.

There are two external events, which help pull them back into each other’s orbit.

Sherlock is shot. Sherlock murders Magnussen.

I'm sure this would help soften Molly, in as much as tragedy can put things into perspective very quickly. Being deeply wounded by someone you love doesn’t mean you stop loving them – although it’s possible. Maybe the time between being shot and killing Magnussen Sherlock made a sincere effort to make amends with her? I imagine he would, but their relationship has been severely strained and Molly keeps clear distance.

I'm really, really, really speculating on this one – but, maybe Mary reached out to Molly as someone to lean on? We never see these two interact (other than the christening) which is a shame. There is, however, an ever-so-slight seed that might suggest Mary’s involvement, which we got in TAB. Mary is the one who discovers the brides. And, Mary is put on the case by Mycroft. So, maybe Mycroft knows there’s been a fall-out. Again, sounds like a twisted sort of soap opera – but there’s some precedence for this, too.

Mycroft knows Molly. She was a the most significant person in TRF plan. We’ve also seen him request her assistance at the morgue prior to this (ASiB). Who knows. What we do know, is that when Sherlock uses and comes off drugs – Mycroft calls in as many resources as possible. If there is a fracture between Molly and Sherlock, it will be seen as a risk, which requires a fix. Mary could help with this. Furthermore, in TAB, Mycroft tells Sherlock this is a war (women) he (they) must lose. Meaning, Sherlock fucked up. Big time. He’s got to set it right.

Some headway is made, because the bride scene in TAB shows Sherlock acknowledging his mistakes and remorse. We then see where the relationship is left between M/S with two words: “Hooper / Holmes.”

They can face each other, be in the same room, but it’s chilly.

Series 4 reflects this in Molly’s absence as well as her presence. But, she and Sherlock will continue to be pulled together through more external events.

They are Rosamund Watson’s godparents and on speaking terms.

They are also hit with a devastating, irretrievable blow: Mary’s death. This, along with profound grief, is enough to set aside any personal differences to come together and focus on the needs of others. Even though Sherlock takes himself to ‘hell and back.’

Molly speaks with Sherlock in TLD, and even acquiesces to his request for an ambulance. Molly does this on faith - she really doesn’t know what’s going on. There’s still an edge between them. He’s using, she’s stressed, he’s dying. She’s agreed to do her part in watching Sherlock through his withdrawal days, and meets he and John for birthday cake.

Concessions are being made.

Now we come to The Final Problem, where Molly is Sherlock’s third task. He has to get her to say I Love You, but their relationship remains somewhat perfunctory and cool. A lot of water has passed under their bridge and blind trust has not been established.

If anything remotely took place between them such as the above – whoa – it’s no surprise why this scene went down the way it did.

It also makes sense of Molly’s words: “Leave me alone.” “Why are you making fun of me?” “You know why.” “Of course you do.”

There’s two different events taking place that cause an intense emotional build-up and break-down between these two characters.

Molly is unable to push down her stress and sorrow any longer. It’s risen to the surface. There’s been too much, in a short amount of time, and something’s gotta give. We see her ignore Sherlock, which is an eye-opener for him, and even when she does answer her phone she’s direct and not interested in idle chit-chat.

Sherlock’s stress is mounting too. By virtue of Eurus’s game and the previous month’s events. He needs to ask something of Molly that he knows won’t be received well. Even if he tries to convince himself otherwise and feign ignorance.

It was a life or death moment from Sherlock’s perspective, but a ‘push come to shove’ for Molly. Both of them went through an emotional vivisection. Still, they said I love you and it was sincere and authentic.

At the end of that scene, however, neither one knows the consequences of this event. It’s not a happy moment, but instead filled with uncertainty and possibly more loss. Sherlock killed a coffin. Molly looks absolutely forlorn.

The ending montage is disappointingly neglectful of resolution. This is where the writers could have used a more creative latitude – more than .3 seconds of Molly’s happy smile. At least it was nice to get that, but gees, really?

If we’re looking at this from Sherlock’s point of view – Molly is happy. More than happy – she’s vibrant. Personally speaking, I can’t see any reason Molly would be presented this way had she and Sherlock not achieved some satisfactory relationship understanding regarding romantic love.

My heels aren’t dug in the sand regarding the above. I am truly open to other interpretations. For now, though, this was my exercise in explaining what wasn’t explained. She might be an insane murdering psychopath and brilliant beyond Newton, but Eurus was right when she said - context is everything.

#molly hooper #molly hooper unplugged #sherlock #molly meta #molly's absence #series 4 #tld #tfp #hlv #tsot #molly #sherlolly

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geekade · 7 years

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Time and Relative Dimension in Spoilers 10-01: The Pilot

Welcome back, readers! Damn, it’s been a long time and also HOT DAMN that was a great episode that looks like the start of a great season. So, to review, we saw the Doctor say farewell (...ish) to Clara at the end of season 9 in the finale, “Hell Bent.” Then, in the 2015 Christmas Special, “The Husbands of River Song,” we saw his final (?) adventures with his Sweetie and were introduced to Nardole, who apparently stuck around, because he also appeared a few months ago as the Doctor’s sole companion in “The Return of Doctor Mysterio,” the 2016 Christmas special. As the special ends, Nardole tells the incidental characters “He's the Doctor. He's very brave and he's very silly and I think, for a time, he's going to be very sad. But I promise, in the end, he'll be all right. I'll make sure of it,” so it looks like he’s here to stay.

We quickly learn in the premiere that Nardole was right, as the Doctor has stayed in one place as a professor at a university, the TARDIS idle in the corner of his office, bearing an “Out of Order” sign and framed photos of lost loved ones (one of River and another of his first companion, his granddaughter Susan) staring at him from his desk. Much as I appreciated the callback, as a classic Whovian, seeing her did strike me a bit funny, but after meeting his new companion, the association makes a lot of sense. As when he lost the Ponds, the Doctor seems to have given up travelling and gone into a funk. I’d ding the show for repeating a beat, but Clara and River were both pretty important to him and he was separated from both of them when their apparent deaths were imminent, so I think a grieving period should be allowed. Still, there are few things he loves more than being clever while others look on, so the lecturer role was a brilliant fit.

Enter Bill Potts. I like her. She’s a natural choice for a companion, she doesn’t seem to think like everyone else. It’s a leap to say that she thinks like the Doctor, but it’s fair to say the way she thinks is the way he likes people to think. As the Doctor gleefully notes, she smiles when she doesn’t know something. She doesn’t get bogged down in the obvious, she doesn’t accept everything at face value, she doesn’t let not knowing stop her from trying to figure things out; in short, she’s not stupid. In asking how to refer to her new tutor, she says “Doctor what?” In all my years watching this show, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone ask that question, even though it’s a completely natural way to phrase it. It would have been so easy to make that question yet another play on the show’s title, but that’s not who Bill is. From her “bigger on the inside” moment to her puzzling out the Pilot’s problem with the Doctor, you can see her learning process and how excited she is by it and that’s where the connection to Susan, an inquisitive teen with a bright mind, starts to click. Everyone involved in Bill’s creation, from the actress to the writers to the wardrobe team, have done a great job of giving a clear, strong sense of who she is from the jump.

The show's powerful theme of the link between memory and reality is as present as ever in this episode. Following their adventure, the Doctor tries to mind wipe Bill and push her away and she calls him on it, asking how he'd feel if someone did it to him. Obviously, given the nature of a mind wipe, he's not going to remember that someone did do it to him, but there was some sort of recognition in his performance that, combined with a quick strain of Clara's theme in the soundtrack, makes me think we will probably see her again. As is usual for Capaldi's masterful performance, I genuinely felt the Doctor’s pain as he honored her request to think about how it would feel if he were mindwiped: either he literally has never considered how it feels or (more likely in my opinion, given his recent experience) he knows the pain all too well but has convinced himself that this is the kinder path. He tried to do the same to Clara when they first met in "The Snowmen," she him resisted then, just as Bill did. That’s another reason I think Bill’s going to be a great companion, she challenges him, in a different way from Clara or River, but in a way that he needs. As soon as he grabbed her hand and ran away from the Dalek with her, I knew she and 12 would be quite a pair.

The monster of the week was a pretty good way to get the adventures going again. It’s not the coolest plot I’ve ever seen, but it served its purpose. The ship in search of a pilot who wants to leave was reminiscent of the ship from “The Lodger,” which we saw again in the “Day of the Moon.” Does this mean the Silence will be back this season? Their story was pretty well wrapped up in “The Time of the Doctor,” but the show is notorious for bringing back popular baddies (see also: the completely unnecessary Dalek, (PLEASE stop trotting them out, it steadily decreases the shock value you’re going for every time you do it, Show)), so I wouldn’t be surprised. The flow of events, from Doctor finds protege to protege has alien contact to protege pulls Doctor out of a funk to deal with alien threat, is familiar and natural, though it appears the Doctor hasn’t sworn off adventuring entirely, as is evidenced by the mysterious set of doors we see him and Nardole investigating in a basement at the university (I do hope we get back to those). I also thought taking Bill on the run from the soaking Pilot was a nice fresh approach to introducing a new companion to the show’s basics, step by step (and I appreciated the mini celebration by the Doctor and Nardole when she “got there”). It wasn’t the most exciting or riveting episode of Doctor Who, but it had a job to do and it got that job done without being too clunky or heavy-handed.

So, for the first time in a while for me, I’m able to watch the episodes live on BBCA, which is an interesting experience. They REALLY want us to watch Class, which I’m not opposed to in theory, but in reality I have two little kids and sleep is important and it’ll be on Netflix someday. I do hope they won’t be continuing the practice of playing the preview of next week’s Doctor Who during Class. Not cool, BBCA. Also lame? Playing a preview of the end of the episode during the episode. This is not some dumb reality show, this is one of the finest science fiction shows in the history of television. You don’t need to do that to get this audience to stick around. That kind of promo-monkeying never ends well.

All in all, I’m excited to see how this season turns out. It’s been too long since the TARDIS crew had more than one companion coming from different backgrounds (Amy and Rory don’t count), so it’s high time for that to return. They used to have multiple companions all the time in classic Who and it really allowed for more diverse storytelling, deeper investment in the characters, and just a variety of perspectives. Simply put, you can do more with more characters. Much as I was critical of season 9, I really do enjoy Capaldi’s Doctor. I’ll be sad to see him go, but I’m very interested to see how they’ll set up the regeneration this time and I have no idea what to expect from his recently announced successor, Kris Marshall, who may be coming into the story earlier in the season than expected, according to reports. There was some buzz surrounding the final season 10 trailer, fans claimed you could see a few frames of regeneration starting, which wasn’t so shocking to me since we know it’s coming. But since Capaldi has teased that his regeneration won’t be as straightforward as we’d expect and Marshall has already left his other gig, I’m just dying to see what they’re going to do this time. On top of that, we’ve got also got both Missy and John Simm’s Master to look forward to, maybe they’ll be involved in the regeneration storyline as well. Two Doctors, two Masters, anything could happen! Can’t wait to find out. See you all next week!

#TV #sci fi #Doctor Who

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Raised by Wolves Review (Spoiler-Free)

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This review covers the first six episodes (of eight) of Raised by Wolves and contains no spoilers.

HBO Max’s new science fiction series Raised by Wolves does itself something of a disservice with the misnomer of a title. If you watch the trailers, in which the android Mother (Amanda Collin) tells her pack of human children the story of The Three Little Pigs, the punchline is that she herself is the Big Bad Wolf: both nurturing the future of the human race on a distant planet, yet willing to kill anyone who would threaten their makeshift family—including, potentially, any runts of the litter.

Yet the crux of Aaron Guzikowski’s (Prisoners, The Red Road) and Ridley Scott’s (Alien, Blade Runner, The Martian) series is not futuristic fairy tale retellings, but the much loftier notion of belief—as the foundation of a people, but also the impetus for so many of humanity’s conflicts. To wit, the reason that androids Mother and Father (Abubakar Salim) wind up on Kepler-22b with a dozen frozen embryos is to escape a war between the Mithraic zealots (space Crusaders who worship their god Sol) and the atheist resistance, which will irreparably destroy 2145-era Earth. Though androids are deemed soulless, they are nonetheless among the ranks of the religious… unless they are reprogrammed for a new purpose, in the case of Mother and Father. The Mithraic contingent is sending an Ark—named, of course, Heaven—with carefully-selected colonists to the same habitable planet. But the atheists get there ten years ahead of them, plenty of time to rear a passel of kiddos, in whom they have seeded the greatest weapon of all: allegiance to no god.

“Belief in the unreal can comfort the human mind, but it also weakens it,” Mother explains in her many moments of quasi-home-schooling. “The civilization we’re seeding here will be built on humanity’s belief in itself, not an imagined deity.” A fascinating thesis, even as the arrival of the Ark’s children challenges Kepler-born Campion’s (Winta McGrath) brutal self-reliance and tempts him toward their faith (when usually these narratives involve being tempted away), and when two Mithraic parents seek to rescue their son from the jaws of Mother’s strict and often deadly parentage.

Unfortunately, any incisive debate over the usefulness of belief is overshadowed by attempts to be clever and reskin old myths and legends. The series is more concerned with looking stunning than in actually stunning its viewers with new takes on what is by now admittedly a pretty archetypal premise.

With that said, there is plenty for the eye to take in. The opening credits, with a haunting song written and performed by Mariam Wallentin and Ben Frost, feature concept art so beautiful that it’s no wonder that Scott was compelled to sign on as producer and director. The series’ vision of Kepler-22b, while oxygen-rich, is nonetheless a bleak landscape that brings to mind the Elephant Graveyard in The Lion King, studded with the intact skeletons of long-dead alien beasts. The atheists’ new home may be uncolonized, but something clearly lived there before androids and humans landed. Survival is harsh, the world unforgiving to its new residents, especially tiny, defenseless children who are about as vulnerable as young’uns in a Grimm’s fairy tale. But Raised by Wolves riffs on the nature-versus-nurture debate by constantly questioning whether Mother poses an equal threat to her young, or if their fates were always out of her hands.

Because before she was Mother, she was a necromancer—a special breed of android that sheds its skin for a bronze chassis and flies through war zones in a crucifix pose, screaming sonic blasts that explode humans into pulpy smears. Her own creator, a human and Campion’s namesake, overwrote her murderous programming to make her a nurturer instead… but he didn’t take away that killer instinct, and it would seem that some wires are getting crossed.

Flashbacks to Earth’s war and the Ark’s digital simulation for the minds of its colonists while they’re cryogenically frozen—it’s Heaven, get it?—will surely engage sci-fi fans. (A warning for any viewers with epilepsy: Multiple episodes feature strobing sequences.) But for all that the show has style, the substance is not up to par.

While the series repeatedly plays up the tension of whether Mother will succumb to her necromantic programming and destroy her children, the character is so shrill and manic that she rarely comes across as sympathetic. Collin is acting the hell out of this unlikeable maternal figure, but the late-stage addition of a “humanizing” backstory does little to retcon the character’s brutality. Mother’s ideals of parenthood and civilization are so rigidly ingrained that she is unwilling to compromise on them, nor take seriously Father’s contributions. Would that there had been more of this dynamic, as he is a standard service android, low-ranking on the food chain and therefore dismissed by Mother as not able to protect their children. Salim winningly plays Father’s frustration with not being taken seriously by his quasi-partner nor by his children, ineffectually making the robot equivalent of dad jokes while slowly challenging his own programming limitations.

Despite the fact that Mother and Father’s flight from Earth toward a better future drives the series’ premise, it’s difficult to ever fully sympathize with them—and this reviewer never thought she’d have a tough time rooting for the atheists and the androids! But while the Mithraic faith is clearly corrupt, built on violence and coercion, its members are sympathetically flawed and questioning of their system. In particular, soldier Marcus (Travis Fimmel) and doctor Sue (Niamh Algar), partners first and later parents, come to challenge their sect’s insistence toward burning up in Sol’s light rather “selfishly” loving their son Paul (Felix Jamieson), which goes against the Mithraic faith’s abhorrence of attachments. Their mission to rescue him provides the real beating heart of the series.

Again, viewers must wade through a lot of noise to get to these poignant moments of character growth. A lot of that noise is retreading of gender-specific and therefore predictable plotlines that, frankly, feel outdated for a supposedly futuristic series.

Raised by Wolves is a thought experiment in big ideas and unprecedented leaps of faith, yet it lands in the same spots as its predecessors. The female-presenting android is reprogrammed to be maternal, yet despite the fact that she must be remade on a cellular level, there is never a consideration to do so with her male counterpart instead. (Part of that relates to Mother’s identity as a necromancer and the oh-so-clever tension between her killer instincts and her new motherly persona, which is an exhausting binary that the series never transcends.)

It’s the same among the children, even despite their differences in being raised by “wolves” versus the Ark: Campion is perceived as the Mithraic prophet, fulfilling a vague Pentagonal Prophecy about how “an orphan boy in a strange land will lead us to a city of peace” despite the layers of chance that contributed to his survival. By contrast, Mithraic teen Tempest (Jordan Loughran) gets impregnated, not by any immaculate conception, but because she’s raped by a high-ranking officer on the Ark while in cryogenic sleep. The boy gets leadership and destiny foisted upon him, while the girl struggles with a violent and violating pregnancy, in a world that doesn’t even have the ability to debate pro-choice versus pro-life.

It’s frustrating to see the same binary gender roles directing both parties’ forays on what is repeatedly referred to as a virgin planet—literally, it’s a blank slate where anything could happen, and they revert to old, problematic, limiting ways. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be a commentary on humanity’s inability to change in the future, but instead an unconscious reflection of our contemporary biases.

And that’s a shame, because this reductive storytelling bogs down the series’ most powerful point—that trying to control humans’ beliefs, no matter from a religious or atheist side, will only lead to tragedy. Perhaps the final two episodes resolve that better, but (as with bad parenting) by then the damage is done. Raised by Wolves would have been better served by retelling parables than fairy tales.

Raised by Wolves premieres its first three episodes September 3 on HBO Max.

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