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baixueagain · 3 years

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The Gendo & Rei Question, Part III

For the Intro and Part I, go here.

For Part II, go here.

Part III: The Gaze of the Prodigal Son

Both Rei I and Rei III are “alive” for only a short period, and it is Rei II—the clone active from roughly 2014 through most of 2015—that we as the audience get to know the best. This is also the clone that has the most developed and complex relationship with Gendo, and we learn most of what we know about how Gendo views Rei as a whole from his behaviour with Rei II.

Rei II and Gendo’s relationship during 2014-15—especially how they feel about it for themselves—is nevertheless one of the more difficult relationships to understand, since they’re two of the most mysterious characters in Evangelion. We rarely get glimpses into Rei’s point of view, and Gendo only truly speaks about his own emotional and psychological state in the final moments of his life during EoE. Even then, he only speaks of his feelings about Yui and Shinji, not Rei. In fact, he virtually never speaks to others about Rei unless he is talking about her involvement with piloting or the HIP. We only get a few glimpses of their direct interactions, and while these are highly charged with multiple layers of innuendo, those same layers of innuendo make the situation all the more opaque.

One of the best perspectives we have on Gendo and Rei’s relationship, I argue, comes from Shinji. Granted, he’s the main character and most of the story of Evangelion is told from his point of view, but his perception of Gendo and Rei is just as valuable for another reason: he’s an outsider. NERV is by its very nature a place of secrecy and high strangeness, and it stands to reason that most of the people working there have long since become desensitized to their Commander’s odd personality quirks and the strange, solemn girl serving as his first pilot. Even Misato, who has only just recently started working in Tokyo-3 proper, has been in NERV/Gehirn’s general orbit since her childhood and thus seems fairly used to Gendo Ikari’s personality and the odd way things are done under his supervision. But now we have Shinji in the picture, who’s had minimal contact with his father and who has spent most of his life in the “normal” world, sequestered from the truth of the family business. His perspective is that of the everyman, and he is thus primed to see the unusual parts of NERV that other characters take for granted. Moreover, unlike virtually everyone else at NERV (except for Ritsuko, whose perspective I will be addressing in the future), he is uniquely invested in both Gendo and Rei as people: Gendo being his estranged father, and Rei being his co-pilot and thus someone with whom he feels a sense of camaraderie (even if he barely knows her).

Shinji arrives at NERV shortly after Rei has a serious accident—one that he does not yet know about. His first-ever interaction with Rei happens in tandem with his first interaction with Gendo in years, and this consists of Gendo dangling a wounded, crying girl over Shinji’s head to manipulate him into piloting Unit-01. It is a brutal, cruel tactic, and Shinji seems to recognize this for exactly what it is. He has already accused Gendo of just using him (something to which Gendo openly admits); from his perspective, it at first seems that his father cares just as little for the poor young woman on the gurney who can barely stand, much less pilot.

This viewpoint is only challenged when, unknown to Gendo, Shinji spots the burn scars covering his father’s palms in Episode 5. His reaction to being told the truth—that Gendo freed the wounded Rei from her overheated entry plug bare-handed (a scene I will discuss in later essays)—clearly stuns him after seeing the cold, calculating way Gendo used her condition to manipulate him earlier. “Father did that?” he blurts out. The concept clearly seems unbelievable to him, defying everything he thinks he knows of Gendo being a heartless, cold, selfish man.

Interestingly enough, as Ritsuko describes Gendo’s heroic deed to Shinji, the “camera” momentarily moves outside the limits of Shinji’s perspective and shows us what Gendo is doing at that very moment. He is bare-handed (a rarity for him during the A-plot) and for once he has an open, receptive expression on his face as he examines the Angel’s core in obvious wonder and fascination. His lips almost form an excited little smile and the harsh lines of his face are softened. His naked hands touch the core gently, practically caressing it with just his bare fingertips. Considering Evangelion’s repeated use of hand- and touch-related symbolism, it is likely meant to reflect something of his inner emotional world. This is the first time during the A-plot (that is, the plot following Shinji’s perspective and experiences) in which we see Gendo with his emotional guard down. And it comes at the exact moment Shinji learns of his father’s act of self-sacrificial vulnerability for Rei’s sake.

The idea that his father might allow himself to be hurt for anyone is utterly alien to Shinji, and this in turn is what prompts him to become more curious about Rei. Notably, the next scene is one of immediate contrast: “The burns on his palms are from then,” says Ritsuko, recalling the searing heat of the plug. The shot instantly cuts to a young girl’s body plunging into water. It’s just a small touch, but yet another masterful moment in the way Evangelion uses visual language and careful word choices to create an unspoken discussion on themes. This, we are being told, is going to be an episode about contrasts and subversions. It will also be an episode about sex.

The poolside scene is the first in which Rei is first explicitly treated as a sexual being—at least from others’ points of view. Shinji is teased twice about his interest in Rei, the first time by his friends Toji and Kensuke, both of whom clearly see Rei as a beautiful (if unapproachable and intimidating) girl. The two of them (being high school boys) describe her body in explicitly sexualized terms, much to Shinji’s embarrassment. At the same time, we’re treated to shots of Rei sitting quietly in her bathing suit, oblivious to their chatter. She is small and vulnerable, but her bare skin and curvy form has still been made into something with sexual energy and potential.

Back at NERV HQ after school, Shinji watches Rei without her knowledge, still clearly curious about her. Notably, up until this point he has never seen any emotional expressions from her (unless you count her agony in Episode 1). She has kept her distance entirely, and he realizes that despite working together for at least a couple weeks now, he knows virtually nothing about her. There are no relationships in which he can observe her behaviour with others…except for Gendo.

As he secretly watches within his cockpit, Shinji watches his father approach Rei. Rei suddenly begins acting her age in her body; instead of moving stiffly, she skips and hops eagerly down onto the walkway and begins chatting with Gendo, a cheerful smile on her face and her eyes bright and alert.

What’s even more shocking to Shinji, however, is Gendo: unlike the scene with the angel core, here Shinji can actually witness his father’s change in demeanour for himself. The Gendo that Shinji knows is a stern, unfeeling man whose rare expressions are that of irritation or a cruel smugness. But as Gendo chats with Rei, his eyes are soft, and a happy smile is on his face. His cheeks even look a bit flushed. Just as important is the way they’re both speaking to each other: although we can’t hear them, we can see their body language and their interaction. They are standing face-to-face, gazing into each other’s eyes, each speaking in turn. They are practically interacting like equals.

Is it little wonder that Shinji’s jaw is on the floor?

As always, Anno’s masterful direction creates an unmistakable atmosphere laid across what might otherwise look like a pleasant scene. Shinji’s hidden vantage point, the oblivious radio chatter from the control room, the low single chord of background music, and the fact that we can’t hear a word that Gendo and Rei are saying: all these things contribute to the sensation that we, along with Shinji, have just witnessed something intensely private. Something that neither we nor Shinji were meant to see.

The scene immediately following this is, once again, Shinji being teased for showing an interest in Rei—this time by two attractive older women. Again the pressure to see Rei as a sexual being is mounted, and the additional overtones of a discussion about sex between a teenager and adults is added. This rapid switch back and forth between Shinji learning about the relationship between Gendo and Rei and being repeatedly asked if he’s interested in Rei himself (all the above scenes take place over the course of about ten minutes) creates an uncomfortable dissonance that charges the episode with a confusing, unnerving sexual tension. At the same time, Rei and Gendo are explicitly brought up and compared to one another: both are terribly awkward, we are told, at life in general.

And that’s when the climactic scene of the episode drops on us like a N2, bringing all these interweaving themes to an awkward, disgusting, hilarious, and horrifying head. Shinji goes to Rei’s apartment to drop off her new NERV ID card. Nobody answers the door, which he finds unlocked, so he enters. The room is filthy and spartan; the girl who lives here clearly does not care much about her surroundings or her possessions.

But Shinji is drawn to the room’s one treasure: a pair of broken glasses carefully set on top of Rei’s dresser. We as the audience are let in on a higher degree of discomfort by knowing something Shinji does not: those once belonged to Gendo, who dropped them when he recklessly pried open the plug door to rescue Rei. Gendo is thus made extremely present in the scene to the audience, even if Shinji cannot sense him.

I should note here the significance of Gendo’s glasses as a part of his personality. I have noted before that they are an additional layer that he puts on himself as a means of separating himself from others. Though he used to wear clear lenses, after those break he switches to tinted ones, making his expressions even harder to read and representing the increasingly rapid withdrawal of his personal investment and motivations from the rest of NERV and SEELE. His glasses frequently reflect the light, making it difficult to see his eyes even when he’s wearing the clear lenses. The direction of his gaze is thus frequently hidden, and with it his thoughts, feelings, and motives.

And yet the glasses reflect other things on occasion, too, informing the audience of what Gendo is looking at and what he’s concentrating on. Shots of his face thus have a doubling effect of simultaneously hiding and revealing his gaze: we can see glimpses of what he is gazing at, but only by looking directly at his face and into the glasses which reflect his vantage point. His perspective is simultaneously revealed and hidden.

So as Shinji approaches the broken glasses on Rei’s dresser, his face is reflected in them—something we rarely (perhaps never?) see happen when Gendo is actually wearing them. His gaze on his son is thus simultaneously present and absent, accentuating the deep dichotomies of their relationship.

That’s when Shinji does something that feels even more shocking (almost taboo) from the viewpoint of the audience, based on our prior knowledge: he puts them on. It is an incredibly childish gesture, reminding us once again that he’s nothing more than a curious fourteen-year-old boy, but at the same moment he—in the audience’s eyes—becomes his father (emphasized by their similar physical appearance).

And what is the first thing he sees through his father’s eyes after he turns around and looks behind himself?

It’s Rei, fully naked, staring back at him.

Yet at the same time, his view of Rei is blurred and cracked, reminding us definitively that these are not his glasses.

This, the shot suggests, is not his sight to see. This sight of Rei’s nakedness “belongs” to someone else. Already we are being told exactly what Gendo has seen, how much of it, and that he owns this sight—or at least thinks he does.

The events that follow are on their surface hilarious due to the awkward nature of the situation, but the staging and shots used (for lack of a better word) are a recollection of the scene down in the cage: Shinji has entered in on something that he should not be witnessing, something that is not for him. Rei strides forward to seize the glasses from him, Shinji slips and topples onto her, his tote catches on her dresser drawer and sends bras and panties flying everywhere. He lands on top of her, covered in her private items, in a slapstick missionary position with a hand on her breast—and in showing us this, the introductory focus in the pan is of her own hand clutching the glasses. Gendo’s presence is again invoked, even in this deeply awkward, intimate, and violating moment. He is the third, invisible character in this deeply sexually charged scene.

At the same time, this is the moment where we as an audience begin to see what makes Rei tick. She seems to have no reaction to Shinji seeing her nakedness (leading us, of course, to wonder why), but it is the first moment in which she has a direct emotional reaction to Shinji: anger. But instead of hiding herself, she walks towards him and seizes the glasses away. Shinji walking in on her bathing was not a violation in her eyes, but his wearing his father’s glasses is. Once again, we are given the uncanny message that Rei’s body is treated as a commodity—including by Rei herself. This time, however, we are given an alternative source of her identity. She does not derive her sense of self from her embodiedness, but from something more intangible, represented by the one item in her life treated with reverence: the glasses. She is given her sense of identity through Gendo’s gaze, and it is Shinji’s appropriation of this gaze that she finds violating. Even as Shinji lands on top of her, a hand on her chest, her anger is gone because the issue is resolved: she has the glasses back in her possession and Shinji is no longer invading that space (even as he inadvertently invades other spaces).

Shinji’s next violation provokes an even stronger response. Despite the horrifically awkward event, it has at least broken the ice, and as they travel together to NERV HQ he begins trying to make conversation about their commonality: Eva piloting. This then invokes the silent third party in this entire exchange: Gendo. Rei asks if Shinji has faith in his father’s work, and when he furiously denies it, she turns, looks him square in the eyes, and slaps him hard across the face.

And this, of course, seems odd (even humorous) until one realizes why she perceives this as such an insult: she is his father’s work. An insult to her person is of no consequence in her eyes, but an insult to Gendo is an insult to something far more intrinsic to her identity and her emotional world. Between these two scenes, we have seen just how wrapped up Rei’s sense of identity is in Gendo, and in further essays I will argue that the reverse is true as well. Gendo cannot conceive of Rei as existing outside of himself, her identity is so deeply wrapped up in his own. If he ever did conceive of her as a separate being, he will have lost this ability by time Instrumentality arrives.

Yet at the same time, between all these questions of identity and sexual violation, we see toward the end of the episode that there is a layer that is far more simple and human: Rei takes Gendo’s glasses with her into the entry plug when it’s time for her resynchronization, and she hangs them where she can look at them when she feels afraid.

Because she is, in the end, also a fourteen-year-old who wants someone to make her feel safe.

To be continued in Part IV: Green-Eyed Monsters

Like my meta? Buy me a coffee!

#gendo ikari #rei ayanami #shinji ikari #neon genesis evangelion #nge #meta #bai xue writes

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uselessheretic · 3 years

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banri day?? banri????? i dont have anything new but ill post a scene from wip that will never be finished where juza goes to camp for two weeks and banri experiences realizashuns

Banri rolled through morning practice like a derailed train.

“What the fuck,” he repeated for what may have been the twelfth time that day.

“Well,” Omi said while cocking his head and squinting at the screen. “I’m glad he’s making friends!”

“Since when did Hyodo have friends?” Banri asked.

“We’re his friends.”

“And that’s a fat fucking L on your part, but me? I’m built different.”

Omi frowned as he puzzled over Banri’s words. “I’m sorry. I do not know what most of that sentence means.”

“God Omi,” Banri said while sucking his teeth. “You’re so old.”

“I’m three years older than you.”

Banri furrowed his perfectly tweezed eyebrows as he considered that. “Nah, that’s fake.”

Azami, interested in the conversation for the first time, took one of his earbuds out. “I have theories,” he stated.

“About Hyodo?”

“Why would I––Nevermind. Anyways, I think Omi is evading tax fraud.” The way Azami stated it made it sound like he had put a lot of thought into this. It was a convincing argument.

“Hm…” Banri considered it.

“I’m a student…” Omi defended himself.

“Yeah, tell that to the government, Boomer.”

“I have an ID!”

“And I’m from a Yakuza family. I know that shit’s easy to fake, but whatever.” Azami gestured to his eyes signalling a I’m watching you warning.

Banri slapped Omi on the back of his freakishly broad shoulders. “Come on, you are kinda a whole ass mom. I don’t know what aged you up like that.”

Azami scratched at his head, also thinking about it. “Trauma?”

“Maybe?”

They both looked to Omi, who just shrugged in response.

“I mean, yeah, probably,” he agreed.

Mystery solved, Banri was more than ready to go back to the subject at hand.

“I wanna see!” Taichi made grabby hands towards the phone still in Omi’s hands. Omi tossed it to him, and Taichi, only fumbling a little, made a triumphant noise when he caught it. His eyes flew wide when he pulled up the screenshot of Kazunari’s post.

“She’s cute!” Taichi announced in a shocked voice.

“It’s insane!” The beginning of a tension headache was starting to form. Banri rubbed viciously at his temples, as if trying to drill into his skull and rip the migraine out of his head.

Taichi wasn’t helping as he cried out in jealousy. “No fair! I want to talk to a girl who’s that cute!”

“She’s not that cute,” Banri mumbled.

“Yes, she is!” Taichi insisted. “Azami, what do you think?”

Azami yelped as Banri’s phone was shoved in his face. Reluctantly, he took a quick peak. “She has nice skin. It looks smooth and healthy. I think she needs a lighter moisturizer though. Juza better be wearing sunscreen out there.”

“See, even Azami said she was a total babe!” Taichi said, triumphantly.

“I didn’t say that!” Azami sputtered out.

“When did she become a babe?” Banri complained. “What happened to cute?”

With a serious expression, Taichi placed a hand on Banri’s shoulder. “Bro, you can be cute and a babe at the same time. Girls are versatile like that.”

He put a little too much force in slapping Taichi’s hand away. “Shut up. Anybody would look cute next to Hyodo’s busted up mug.”

Omi hummed in thought. “Do you think you might be a bit jealous, Banri?”

“Huh?” It was a ridiculous assumption, so ridiculous that it left Banri devoid of words and with his mouth hanging open in shock.

Jealous? Jealous of what? That Hyodo could talk to some girl that wasn’t even that cute?

Okay, maybe she was a bit cute in a tomboy-ish way, but “babe” was still going too far! She was just some girl. One with nice skin and a pretty smile who happened to be talking to Juza.

There was no reason for Banri to be jealous because Banri was perfectly capable of walking outside and finding a girl twice as attractive to chat up. There was nothing special about getting lucky that a chick could stand his presence for long enough to engage in what was probably a dry and awkward conversation.

“Banny? You in there?” Taichi’s voice broke through like a lighthouse through fog, snapping Banri out of his thoughts as he waved a hand in front of his face.

“Why would I be jealous of Hyodo?” Banri finally spit out. “I can pull girls way hotter than that.”

Omi chuckled awkwardly and turned away. “Not exactly what I meant, but sure.”

“It’s just a surprise is all! Since when did Hyodo talk to girls? Forreal, when has anybody ever seen him talk to any girl?”

“He talks to The Director!” Omi said.

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t figured out that The Director’s a girl.”

And in a show of impeccable timing, that was the exact moment Izumi decided to enter the practice room with Sakyo trailing behind her.

“Come again?” Izumi asked.

“What the hell are any of you talking about?” Sakyo’s voice was practically a snarl.

“No, really. Come again?” Izumi repeated herself, a smile on her face as she cocked her head in a questioning manner.

Deciding that Sakyo was the less frightening of the two options to deal with, Banri held his phone up as he called out to him. “Furuichi! Hyodo’s being a whore on Instablam!”

A fascinating mixture of exhaustion, anger, regret, and even more exhaustion colored Sakyo’s expression. Knowing he didn’t want to hear an answer, but aware that there was no way to avoid it, Sakyo asked, “What?”

Omi tried to reign the conversation in as a voice of reason. “Banri’s just a bit worked up is all.” And then, in a stage-whisper that was completely useless, he said, “He’s jealous that Juza’s talking to a cute girl.”

“I’m not fucking jealous and she’s not fucking cute!” Banri yelled at a reasonable volume considering the circumstances.

“Christ on a fucking cracker,” Sakyo had reached the limits of his patience. “Everybody shut the hell up! Practice begins NOW!”

The small group of actors broke up, taking their cue to start setting up for practice, something they should’ve done fifteen minutes earlier.

“She is cute though! Director, you should see!” Taichi said as he tried to carry too many chairs at once to clear the floor.

“Banri’s just being mean,” Omi agreed as he took the majority of the chairs out from Taichi’s arm who had begun to tilt dangerously.

“No, this whole thing is just bullshit is all,” Banri argued. “That has to look bad for the company, right? Isn’t he supposed to be acting, not slutting it up in the woods.”

“What?” Izumi asked. “What does any of that even mean, Banri!”

Banri handed her his phone, pouting as he saw Sakyo take a half-interested peek over her shoulder.

“Aw, he’s making friends!” Izumi said with not even a hint of slutshaming.

“How is that allowed?” Banri asked. “And since when did he talk to girls? Come on, I can’t be the only one stumped by that!”

The others in the room made some vague mumbling noises.

“I mean, did he lie though?” Azami said.

“He’s allowed to make friends. That’s what camp is for! Do you think girls and boys can’t be friends, Banri?” Izumi’s voice was tactfully disappointed.

“Don’t try to trap me, I took a Women's Studies course last semester,” he said while crossing his arms. “I know chicks and dudes can hang, or whatever.”

“I–Chicks? Seriously, Banri?”

Banri blinked in confusion. “What? It’s not like I said bitc–”

Before he could finish his sentence, Sakyo smacked him in the back of the head. Hard.

“Watch yourself,” Sakyo warned him. He sighed as he watched Banri rub at the sore spot pouting. “What would you even want me to do? Give him the birds and the bees speech?”

Banri balked at the suggestion. “Gross… I can’t even imagine what that’d be like.”

“What?” Sakyo asked. “Do you need it explained too, Settsu?”

“It’s awful,” Azami spoke with blank eyes that had seen horror. “Don’t do it. Save yourself.”

“Juza and lady sitting in a tree,” Taichi sang out. “K-I-S-I-N-G!”

“Shut up!” Azami shoved at Taichi with a bright red blush. “That’s disgusting!”

“Agreed,” Sakyo said with an affirmative nod.

Omi mouthed the letters while ticking them off on his fingers, “I think you may have missed a letter, Taichi. There should be two S’s,”

“Huh? Are you sure? K-I-S-Ohhh!” The world’s smallest lightbulb sputtered on above his head.

“No, it’s S, Taichi. S,” Omi tried to correct him. “K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“Yeah, I got that!” Taichi said. “Juza and lady sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-”

“No!” Azami yelled.

“Huh?” Omi said while furrowing his eyebrows. “It’s definitely two S’s. K-I-S-”

“Stop talking about kissing!” Azami begged. He covered his ears, sinking to the floor in a horrified teenaged ball.

Meanwhile, Banri stood off to the side. Tired. Defeated. “Izumi?” he called for The Director weakly.

“Yes?” she asked with concern in her voice.

“I think I’m in hell.” He could barely speak above a hoarse whisper.

Izumi patted him on the back, gentle and caring. “It’ll be okay, Banri. Although we will need to circle back to that ‘bitches’ thing later, kay?”

#writings #a3:pcu

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sebastbu · 4 years

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My Top 40 Movies of the Decade

***just my opinion***this list is not set in stone either***

1. 12 Years A Slave (2013)

What Steve McQueen has managed to do with this movie in nothing short of the best thing art is capable of. He takes the horror of humanity and turns it into a heart shattering tale of the best of humanity. A film that could have sunk easily among the brutality it contains, instead soars with Solomon’s survival. It is one of the most life-affirming, uplifting works of art I’ve ever seen. It makes you cry, it makes you shout, it makes you cheer, it makes you breathless. In short, all the things movies are best at. Not just a definitive movie, but a definitive work of art.

2. The Act of Killing (2012)

This has my vote for the best documentary film of all time. What begins as a transfixing profile of the mass murders responsible for the 1965 Indonesian genocide quickly transforms into a Brechtian nightmare as director Joshua Oppenheimer somehow convinces these men to stage scenes for a fake movie reenacting their crimes. As the film progresses you can hardly believe what you’re witnessing. Horrifying, yet you can’t look away. Oppenheimer holds your attention for every second. What’s captured for film here is truly unique, ground-breaking, soul shaking. A statement about the banality of evil as profound as Ardent’s essays.

3. The Tree of Life (2011)

Malick has reached his final form here. An organic art form, pure cinema, visual poetry, whatever you want to call it. Nothing but a movie could be this. The images he crafts here are as close to a religious experience as I’ve ever had watching a movie, and probably ever will. In exploring childhood memories, Malick’s style perfectly matches his subject manner. He use of ellipsis and fluidity mirrors the way memories flash through our heads. It is as if we are witnessing memory directly, unfiltered. This movie will move you in ways you didn’t know a movie could.

4. The Social Network (2010)

That Facebook movie? Hell yeah that facebook movie. What Fincher and Sorkin have managed to do is take what could be a standard biopic, or dull tech movie, and made it into an epic tale of betrayal, greed, friendship, coming of age, and identity. Ross and Reznor’s score pulses, as does the dialogue. This movie starts the instant you press play and it doesn’t let you catch your breath for one second until the very end. Endlessly quotable, perfected acted. A masterclass.

5. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

What can I say about this movie? Every shot is perfect. Every joke, beat, pan, zoom. Well, I guess I’ll say this. This movie disarms with its charm, its facade. But at its heart is a wrenching tale of loss, nostalgia, and the fleeting nature of everything, especially those we love. A jewel of a film. Anderson makes sure you’re cozy and then pulls the rug out from under you, and suddenly you’re crying.

6. The Master (2012)

Career best performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Lushly shot. Greenwood delivers another ground breaking score. PTA has made an aimless film about aimless characters that nevertheless is riveting. At the end, you may not know exactly how far you’ve progressed, but you’re sure glad you went on the journey.

7. Drive (2011)

This is not an action movie. It’s a love story. The now famous dream pop soundtrack. Ryan Gosling doing so much with so little. Refn’s breathtaking cinematography. Diluted dreams. Crushed hopes. Silent gazes, filled with more emotion than dialogue could ever render.

8. The Revenant (2015)

An achievement of pure cinematic insanity. I still have no idea how they got some of these shots. A brutal, thrilling story of survival among nature’s cruelty. Inarritu’s camera is like magic in this film, uncovering the previously thought not possible.

9. La La Land (2016)

A reinvention of a genre that somehow manages to have its cake and eat it too: a nostalgia trip that also subverts expectations. Right up there next to Singin’ in the Rain, in my book at least. How on earth was that only Chazelle’s second ever movie?

10. The Lighthouse (2019)

TELL ME YE FOND O ME LOBSTER! WHYD YA SPILL YOUR BEANS? IF I HAD A STEAK ID FUCK IT. That about sums it up.

11. Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon Ho has made a beautifully twisted psychological thriller that is also hilarious, touching, and a lasting commentary on class and social mobility.

12. The Florida Project (2017)

Baker’s approach of setting this story from the viewpoint of children makes it a glorious romp through a world of innocence as well as tragedy, and also makes it all the more emotionally impactful.

13. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

It’s all about the cat. Alongside the Coen’s mastery of dialogue and the side character, as well as the beautiful folk music, this film acts as a deeply moving portrayal of depression, and how sometimes we are our own worst enemy.

14. Moonlight (2016)

Expertly crafted. Expertly acted. Expertly shot. A gorgeously rendered coming of age story. I’m not really the person who should speak of its importance. I’ll just say: it is. Very. A movie that will stun you.

15. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Practical! Effects! Yeah, that really is Tom Hardy swinging fifty feet off the ground on a pole as explosions go off behind him. A feminist, post-apocalypse, road trip movie brought to you by the director of Happy Feet and Babe 2. What more could you want?

16. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

A wonderful celebration of childhood and of fantasy. Anderson crafts a world you want to return to again and again. Anyone else get jump scared when they realized Lucas Hedges was in this???

17. Arrival (2016)

I love Denis Villeneuve’s films for so many reasons. The most important I think is that he balances entertainment and artistic depth so well. Like all great scifi Arrival is not really about aliens, it’s about us.

18. Inception (2010)

A film that runs on all cyclinders. Smart, funny, jaw dropping, just plain fun. Nolan manages to build some surprisingly moving moments as well.

19. Gone Girl (2014)

Ah Fincher and his twists. Rosemund Pike at the top of her game. Ross and Reznor return with another gripping score. Around the narrative, Fincher creates a fascinating portrayal of the media and marriage, one with endless twists and turns. You never quite know where it’s headed.

20. Sicario (2015)

A second thing I love about Dennis Villeneuve: he does point of view characters better than anyone else.

21. Enemy (2014)

A third thing I love about Dennis Villeneuve: he plays with genre and narrative structure unlike anyone else working right now.

22. Incendies (2010)

A fourth thing I love about Denis Villeneuve: he’s given us some of the best female lead characters this decade.

23. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

A fifth thing I love about Denis Villeneuve: he somehow managed make a Blade Runner sequel work. Here’s hoping for Dune.

24. The Look of Silence (2014)

The companion film of The Act of Killing. Oppenheimer does it again, this time focusing more on the victims of the genocide. Groundbreaking cinema.

25. Shame (2011)

Slow clap for Michael Fassbender. Slow clap for Carey Mulligan. Slow clap for Steven Mcqueen.

26. Hereditary (2018)

Using horror to examine mental illness and family trauma. Aster has made a new classic of genre, taking it to new heights.

27. Under The Skin (2014)

How to make a movie about an alien descended onto earth in order to capture men and engulf them in her weird black room of goo? Make a very alienation movie. Chilling. Otherworldly. Haunting.

28. Son of Saul (2015)

In making any holocaust film there’s always the risk of feeling exploitative. Nemes’s radical camera work, focusing almost entirely on the main character’s face in close up leaves this concern in the dust. The horrors enter only at the corners of the frame, while humanity is firmly centered the whole time. An important film everyone should see.

29. Whiplash (2014)

As visceral and heart pounding as the solos performed, the film as a whole is a perfectly made portrait of a obsession.

30. Amour (2012)

Haneke takes his unforgiving approach and lays bare a topic with incredible emotional depth. The result is deeply moving without ever being sentimental. I’m hard pressed to find another film about old age that is this poignant.

31. Birdman (2014)

A whirlwind of a film. A high wire act. The long takes turn it into something more akin to a play. A pretty damn good one at that.

32. Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (2011)

What’s Chekhov doing in the 21st Century? He’s in Turkey. He name is Nuri Ceylan.

33. The Favourite (2018)

Lanthimos turns down his style and turns up his humor. The result is the best of both worlds: a dark, twisted tale of power and a hilarious parody of monarchy and British costume drama.

34. Phantom Thread (2018)

PTA delivers again. What could easily have been another tired tale of the obsessive artist and the woman behind him is instead a fairy tale-ish ensnaring of two people’s ineffable pull towards each other.

35. A Hidden Life (2019)

Still fresh in my mind. Malick’s late style is given the backbone it needed in the form of a relevant tale of resistance and struggle. A meditative, prayer-like film about the power of belief.

36. Prisoners (2013)

A sixth thing I love about Denis Villeneuve: his movies have layers, but only if you look. Otherwise, the ride is pretty great as well.

37. Manchester By The Sea (2016)

A masterclass in doing less with more.

38. Foxcatcher (2014)

Bennett Miller does biopics unlike anyone else. That is to say, maybe better than anyone else working today.

39. The Witch (2015)

Eggers’s first foray into historical New England horror. A chilling commentary on the evils of puritanism.

40. The Kid With A Bike (2011)

The Dardenne brothers managed to make a gut-wrenching tale of childhood, masculinity, abandonment, the power of empathy, belonging, and redemption in 84 minutes. Here’s a suggestion. Watch this movie. Then watch it again. A better use of the same amount of time it takes to sit through The Irishman. Oh wait, no you still have 30 minutes left over.

#movies #top10 #decade list #movies list #2010s cinema

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knightbird · 3 years

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Frankenstein (1930) - John Balderston

Frankenstein (1930) is a curious play. I came across it at the end of Steven Forry's "Hideous Progenies" along with the other scripts. This play was an adaptation of another Frankenstein play by Peggy Webling, and the 1931 James Whale film was loosely based off of it- a bit more on that at the end of the post.

The play swaps the roles of Henry and Victor, with Henry Frankenstein as the mad scientist and Victor Moritz as the literary-inclined childhood friend. Dr Waldman also gets a much larger role and is there throughout the play.

[id: Victor: (Forgets in his enthusiasm that he was going, comes down stage toward Waldman). I know nothing of science. The best I can hope is to write his biography when he’s famous, if he doesn’t kill himself with overwork. Waldman: (amused). And what will you say? Victor: I’ll tell how we played together beside the lake at Belrive, how he was always looking for the philosopher’s stone, read books on alchemy when he was thirteen and talked about turning base metal into gold. Waldman: He has deserted his alchemy for the new facts, new experimental truths. They fascinate me as a man of science, though sometimes they terrify me as a priest. end id]

[id: Victor: No, it was Amelia. We had been engaged since we were children - last year she - well she said she loved Henry. Waldman: (Gently). Are you giving up everything to your friend? Victor: (Vehemently). No. Why shouldn’t she want him? He has brilliance, he has strength, he will be a great man. I am a weakling- Waldman: He has some uncanny power- (Noise of bolt shooting in door R, door opens. Enter Henry. Young, thin, nervous, good looking but now at the point of hysteria. He crosses rapidly to them.) end id]

The play's creature is much less eloquent than his novel's counterpart, though he's not a mindless animal. He learns and is capable of basic speech, and understands far more language than he is capable of formulating himself. He is also shown to have learned how to read. The creature is drawn to and appreciates beauty, and is shown to like the sight of nature, the sun, women, domestic white doves, and shimmering water. He has difficulty understanding some concepts such as death, and the different ways to cause death, and has trouble controlling his own strength. The creature is actually referred to by the main characters as "Frankenstein," and there is an explanation given for this in the text.

[id: (Frankenstein gets up, goes to window, holds out arms again, draws deep breaths). Henry: That is my garden. Say it! Garden! Frankenstein: Gar-den. (Frankenstein points, eager questioning in his motions and his grunts). Henry: Trees. Frankenstein: Trees! Henry: Flowers. Frankenstein: Flow-ers! (Looks up, pointing above, with similar gesture). Henry: Great soft fire, the sun. Sun. Frankenstein: Sun. Henry: The blue Heaven, the sky. Frankenstein: Sky. (He continues to gaze, panting, excited, enraptured.) end id]

[id: Frankenstein: No man touch Frankenstein - fear. Hit Frankenstein. Master beat - not now. I kill! You woman, you not hate? Katrina: You mean people hate you? Frankenstein: Hate Frankenstein. All people. Hurt Frankenstein. Katrina: I don’t hate you, my poor friend. Frankenstein: Friend? Katrina: Don’t you know what friend is either? Somebody one’s fond of. I should like to help you. Frankenstein: You woman, you beauty like... like garden. Like sky. No pain like... like other woman. Katrina: I don’t understand you. end id]

Upon creating the creature, instead of abandoning him, Henry locks him up in his lab and treats him cruelly. The creature eventually escapes and, like in the novel, is rejected by society, goes on to commit multiple murders, and eventually arrives at the house of Frankenstein where he asks his creator for a female companion. While he is at the house, he accidentally kills Henry's sister, Katrina. Out of fear for the safety of his fiance, Henry agrees to make a second creature and sequesters himself in a hut in the mountains, where he sets up a lab. The ending somewhat differs to the novel - Henry's friends find him in his hut, and there is a final violent conflict in which both the creator and the creature die. However, both Victor (the childhood friend) and Amelia (the fiance) survive the story, unlike in the novel.

I found the change in ending interesting. Henry's character by the end does not have the loneliness and haunted aspects that novel Victor's did, and his hatred of the creature did not seem to initially be born from fear, though he did feel disgust towards his creation. Though the creature has killed people, the only person he's harmed by the end of the play who Henry knows personally is his sister. Henry does not go on the final chase for the creature in the end, but dies at his creations hands. The creature has some sort of religious revelation and is killed by an act of god, being struck by lightning after calling upon him.

[id: Waldman: Pain - that kind of pain is not felt by animals, it comes from the soul. Even when you killed him, you felt pain - (points to corpse on the floor). Yet you - I do not understand. Frankenstein: Soul - what is soul? Waldman: It is the part of God he gives to every man who lives. It is the part of man God calls back to himself after man dies. (Frankenstein murmurs: not man.) That’s why I’m not afraid to die. You can kill the body, but not the soul. Katrina is with God; I think that after all he suffered, Henry’s spirit is with God too. Frankenstein: Where is God? I thought he - (points to Henry) God - my God. Waldman: (Holds crucifix up). No - God is here. Here - everywhere. Frankenstein: Your God hate - Waldman: God loves the birds, the beasts, as well as men. Frankenstein: Love Frankenstein? Waldman: Yes. Whatever you are, you have taught me, a priest, something about God. He loves you. Frankenstein: He - friend? Waldman: Yes. end id]

Like the novel's Victor, this Henry is self-interested, arrogant, and snubs his friends and family without thought, but is also more prone to fight over flight, unlike the other Victor. I found him more flat and less relatable, but I think part of it is the format - characters in a play tend to be more one dimensional compared to a novel, because a play lacks the ability and run-time needed to deeply immerse the reader in the character's rich inner thoughts and details. Because the play starts soon before the creature is brought to life, we did not get to experience Henry's early life or truly understand his reasons for creating the creature.

[id: Henry: (Wildly). You see how impossible it is. I know I oughtn’t to hate him, Dr Waldman, but he’s part of me and I hate myself. He oughtn’t to exist. It would be no sin, no sin I tell you, and it’s the only way... (Grasps Frankenstein’s throat from behind, chokes him). (Screams). He’s worse than a corpse, a corpse mustn’t walk and talk, a corpse mustn’t think - (Victor from window, Waldman from fireplace, rush on Henry, shouting, but before they reach him, Frankenstein grasps his wrists, throws him off and almost to the floor and rises - fully erect for first time. Henry staggers to feet). His hands are like steel, he could kill us all. Frankenstein: (Fiercely, questioning but questioning triumphantly). Kill? Kill? Kill!! Henry: (Recovering himself, picks up whip, strikes Frankenstein violently with butt). Slave; dog! How dare you throw me down? (Frankenstein steps back, shrinks a little but does not cringe as before). end id]

The play contains much more heavy-handed religious references than the novel, usually relating to Henry's transgressions and the creature's existence. Because Victor and Waldman learn about the creature early on, they are able to have multiple onstage discussions about it, often entailing arguments on the nature of life and souls and their relationship to god. I believe part of the heavy-handedness can also be attributed to the format as well - the play doesn't have very long to deliver its key themes and cannot use long-winded and nested narratives like the novel, and it must deliver almost everything through dialogue. Therefore, like the characters, the play's themes are also shallower in comparison to the novel. It could be that the writer shifted the focus of the play more strongly onto religious themes to make up for this, though it could also be because of the time in which it was written. I admit, thematic analysis is not my strong suit and most people could probably pull more to analyze out of this play than I could.

[id: Waldman: Impious! A century ago the Church would have burned you - Henry: Is he who saves a dying man impious? This young man was dead. If I could give him life, would men regard me as a criminal, or as a saviour? Waldman: The doctor does not interfere with the will of Heaven, Henry Frankenstein. He restores the sick before their souls have gone to God, not afterwards. Victor: Your studies have been too much for you, Henry. I will help you rebury the corpse. Henry: You need not bother - I reburied it. (The men are terrified). Why are you so horrified, Dr. Waldman? I merely let his life run out. I was simply not interfering with the will of Heaven! (They remain speechless, Dr Waldman crosses himself). end id]

[id: Waldman: Enough of this. Henry: (Hysterically). You can’t have it both ways, priest! If this thing that I made has no soul, is not human, it’s a beast, and a beast can be killed without sin! Waldman: Who am I to know what relation God has decreed between you and this thing that you and the Devil, your rays and your Elixir brought into the world? But it is linked to you more strongly than son to father. And this I know, that it is part of yourself and that you cannot destroy the unholy life that you have dared to breathe into that body. Henry: then it will destroy me. Waldman: (Turns away, Henry’s remark strikes him deeply and he seems to agree, as he turns back to Henry). This is in God’s providence. end id]

Authorship & history

The play is written by John Balderston, published 1930. According to Hideous Progenies, this is an adaptation of Peggy Webling's 1927 "Frankenstein: An Adventure in the Macabre," and was meant for Broadway. The rights to it and to Webling's script were purchased by Universal Studios and after much revision, it resulted in the script for Frankenstein (1931).

I have not been able to find Webling's script and therefore cannot specifically identify what in Balderston's script is from Webling's work and what is his own. According to Hideous Progenies, the names Victor Moritz and Henry Frankenstein are from Webling's play, as well as Dr Waldman's extended involvement, and the creature being called "Frankenstein."

I was not able to find anything else online about this play except for brief mentions on some Wikipedia pages, so if anyone knows of other sources on either of them or knows of where I could read An Adventure in the Macabre, I'd be glad to hear it.

Sources:

Hideous Progenies: Dramatizations of Frankenstein from Mary Shelley to the Present - by Steven Earl Forry (1990)

Wikipedia pages for John Balderston, Peggy Webling, and Frankenstein (1931)

#frankenstein #frankenstein 1930 #posts about media #victor frankenstein #henry clerval #henry frankenstein #victor moritz #doctor waldman #plays #my posts #not art #media review #writeup #this thing has been in my drafts for 2 weeks its time to set it free #my writing

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slusheeduck · 6 years

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For the writing questions, what would you say is your number 8?

Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

THIS IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE DIALOGUE IS MY #1, UNABASHED STRENGTH AND IT’S VERY HARD FOR ME TO CHOOSE.

I honestly really adore all the dialogue I wrote in “From War to Science”. Writing Gaster and Toriel’s interactions was a complete delight, and I think I caught the hesitant yet deep fondness they felt for each other.

BUT I also really, really adored writing scenes between Gaster and Chara. I’m still super proud of Chara’s adolescent frustration and trying to balance their cutthroat attitude with not making them a complete monster, and showing Gaster being repulsed at having to interact with a human while simultaneously being fascinated by Chara’s Determination, as well as finding someone who felt as out of place amongst the monsters as he did.

This bit takes place after Asgore was poisoned by the buttercup pie, and I think it really did the best job in capturing these two characters the way I saw them (also it’s long, so, yanno, brace yourself.)

Gaster knew there was no way he’d be able to rest after the past few hours. The stress of needing to save Asgore’s life and the rush of succeeding meant his mind was buzzing like mad. He’d be wide-awake for at least several more hours—possibly days, if previous experiences were anything to go by. Going to his home would be pointless; yes, the walk all the way to Snowdin might burn off some of the energy, but not all of it.

So, naturally, he went to the Core. True, the main controls didn’t need to be recalibrated for another month or so—and, honestly, he could get one of the workers to do it by this point—but doing it himself right now meant he wouldn’t be sitting in Snowdin debating on running the entire length of the Underground. So, thankful he’d kept his ID card in his pocket, he entered the Core and got to work.

He really ought to have been surprised when he heard footsteps come up the stairway behind him. But, honestly, he knew better at this point.

“Whose card did you take?” he asked, not looking up as he examined the temperature gauge for the Core’s upper levels. The feet shuffled slightly on the metal floor, and he heard the little clicks of a locket being opened and closed.

“Mom’s.”

“Mm.”

“I haven’t done it before!”

“Because it does not work when I am not in the Core.” He finally looked up, sighing as he looked down at Chara. “Why are you—”

“It wasn’t on purpose, okay?” they said flatly, crossing their arms.

“Er, what?”

“What happened with Dad. I didn’t want to hurt him.”

Gaster looked at them in surprise, then turned back to the gauge. “I did not say anything regarding what happened with your father.”

“Yeah, but you thought it.”

“I did not.”

Chara huffed, walking over to the railing. “It was just supposed to be funny.”

Gaster blinked. “Funny?”

Chara glanced up at him, dark eyes serious. “Y’know, buttercups instead of cups of butter. He’d think he was eating a butterscotch pie, but get a mouthful of flowers instead. I didn’t think they’d poison him.” They leaned against the railing, looking down at the magma below them.

Gaster sighed as he shut the gauge’s case. “You should go home and to bed, Chara. Today has been hard.”

“You aren’t in bed.”

“And when you are an adult, you can also manage stress in unhealthy ways.” He sighed and rubbed his skull. “Why are you here? I do not think you would willingly hurt your father, so there is no need to plead your case.”

Chara stayed quiet for a long moment, then dug in their pocket and pulled something out. Gaster leaned over curiously as he heard the crinkle of a wrapper.

“Is that…candy?” he asked with a frown. Chara nodded.

“Yeah, chocolate from the Surface. Mom got it for me.” They broke a chunk of it off, then frowned and threw it down into the magma below.

“Chara!”

They looked up. “Will it hurt the Core?”

“Er…” Well…it probably evaporated before any damage could be done, honestly. “No. But…if that’s from the Surface, then it must be very hard to get, and you should not…”

“It doesn’t matter.” They broke off another chunk and tossed it down. “Mom’ll get me more, somehow. She always does.” They scowled, breaking off a bit more. “I didn’t even say I wanted it. I just said it was the one thing I kinda missed.” They heaved it down with a little grunt. “And y’know what happened when I said I put the buttercups in the pie? Mom just said ‘Oh, you did not mean to’ and patted my head.” They gritted their teeth as they threw down another piece. “I didn’t get in trouble! I didn’t even get yelled at, and I almost killed Dad!” They pulled out the last piece of chocolate and heaved it down with a yell trapped behind clenched teeth. “It’s no wonder you guys got pushed down here! Monsters let anyone step all over them!”

Gaster couldn’t do anything but stare at Chara as they screamed their frustrations down toward the Core. Well, this did explain some of their…recent developments. His hands fluttered as he tried to find what to say.

“Chara, they are trying to make things easier on you…”

“No! Shut up!” Chara gripped their head with a frustrated noise. “You’re just saying what Mom and Dad want you to say! You think the same thing I do!”

Gaster blinked, then let out a breath. “No,” he said evenly, “I do not.”

Still holding their head, Chara let out a little whine. “Don’t lie. You’re the only one who doesn’t lie.” Their voice had quieted into a whisper. “Monsters won’t fight. Even when they need to, they don’t.” They looked up at him, dark eyes wide. “I really could kill them all. And they’d probably still tell me it wasn’t my fault.”

Gaster sighed. Slowly, reluctantly, he reached a mangled hand out to touch Chara’s trembling shoulder.

“You would not intentionally hurt them. It is…not in your nature.”

“God, stop lying!” Chara pleaded. “I’m human, I know that! I’ve got Determination and…and that makes me dangerous!” They looked up at him, narrow chest heaving as they took several deep breaths. “I want to help. I want to break the Barrier and get monsters back on the Surface. But…but why should I help those who…who just make things harder? Why should I help anyone who brushes off the bad things humans do because it might hurt my feelings?”

“Because it is the kind thing to do,” Gaster said without hesitation.

“I don’t wanna do the kind thing, I wanna do the right thing!” Chara snapped, tugging their shoulder out of Gaster’s grip. “And it’s…it’s stupid that they’re trying to get in my way!”

Gaster pulled his hand back, watching Chara warily. When they remained quiet, he rubbed his skull again before meeting their gaze. “Chara. It has been a…a rough few months, and I understand. I do,” he said firmly as Chara opened their mouth to argue. “You want me to be honest? Then I will be. I would like nothing more than to study Determination further and try to find a way to use it to break the Barrier. But your parents do not want me causing you any…undue stress. So, because I respect them and I respect your own peace of mind, I have done as they asked and cancelled my remaining experiments.”

He kept eye contact with them for a moment longer, then leaned against the railing with a sigh, looking up above them in slight exasperation. “When you are grown, you, Asriel, and I can discuss what is to be done about the Barrier, and if we would like to pursue anything further with Determination. But for now, we both will follow what your parents have said.”

He looked back over to Chara, who was now shooting him an impressively cold glare. However, after a moment, they sighed and walked back to the railing, hopping up to sit on it.

“Asriel will agree with it,” they mumbled. “He agrees with me now. He wants to help.”

“Yes, well, there is not much two children can do against complicated wizardry,” Gaster said shortly.

“Actually, if…” they started, but as Gaster stared down hard at them, they looked back down at the magma. “Nevermind.” They rested their chin on the metal bar, staring down below.

For a long while, the two were silent, merely staring down at roiling magma below, Chara contemplatively and Gaster worriedly. This was…concerning, to say the least. Not only Chara’s attitude, but an outburst like this only reminded him of the frenzy they had worked themself into during the test. As much as Toriel and Asgore didn’t want to admit it, Chara had every potential to be dangerous. They had to take every precaution to…

“Do you think a lot about the scientists who died?”

Gaster blinked, the question completely throwing his thoughts out of his mind. “Er, beg pardon?”

Chara’s brow furrowed. “Y’know, in the explosion. Do you think about them?”

“Y…yes, of course.”

“Did you ever think that they needed to die?”

Gaster gaped. It took all his effort to force enough air out to ask, “What?”

“I mean, it was a safety issue that killed them, right? Well, if they hadn’t died, maybe you wouldn’t have fixed the Core, and then a whole bunch of people might’ve died.” Chara shrugged. “So…it might be a good thing that only seven scientists did instead.”

Gaster stared down at them with wide sockets. He wasn’t sure what was more horrifying: the fact that Chara could even suggest that the interns’ deaths were a good thing, or that…the logic was fairly sound. He stayed very still for a long moment, then huffed a breath through his nasal cavity as he turned his head away.

“How old are you again?” he finally asked.

“Eleven.”

“Sometimes it is hard to believe you are so young.” He shook his head. “Death is never good. The interns were people, with families and hopes. And they…”

“And they kept those families safe in the end. And that’s good, isn’t it? I…I think it is.” They brought their head up and looked straight ahead, brow furrowed thoughtfully as the magma once again turned their dark eyes red. After a moment, their face relaxed, and they sent a smile up at Gaster.

“Guess that got a little dark, huh?” They swung their legs around to stand up. “Thanks for the talk, Dr. Gaster.”

Gaster’s head was reeling from the child’s abrupt change in demeanor. “Chara, wait…”

They shook their head. “I’m sorry,” they said, fiddling with the clasp of their locket again. “I…Dad being so sick kinda shook me up. I didn’t mean to…to freak out so much.”

“It is…all right.” He clenched his jaw slightly. He didn’t want to offer this, but…well. It may be for the best. “Chara, if you would like…it would be all right if you wanted to talk to me about…Determination or anything along those lines. If you would like someone to speak frankly to you about it.”

Chara smiled up at him. “You don’t want to, but that’s okay. I think I can figure things out on my own. I should head back home.” They turned and started walking to the stairs. They paused, though, and glanced back at Gaster. “Dr. Gaster?”

“Er, yes?”

“If I was a monster, d’you think you would’ve liked me?”

Gaster was immediately about to deflect, but…well. Even if Chara was a human—a potentially dangerous one, even—it seemed he was their only source of honesty. He shrugged.

“I do not know. Possibly, yes.”

Chara sent a smile his way.

“Thanks for being honest, Dr. Gaster. I really appreciate it.”

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braindamageforbeginners · 6 years

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Side effects

Week 10, day 71, post-infusion #6 by 24-ish hours.

So, this is less an uplifting or entertaining post, and more one to help me keep track of various side-effects (especially the Captain America serum).

You’ll all remember me airily (and naively, it turns out) saying the left-side/injection side pain wasn’t too bad. Again, I really should be aware that this bravado will be slapped down. The good news is today’s nasty pain isn’t as bad as previous injections. The bad news is that the pain in my left bicep is eye-watering when I move it. So, anything involving two arms is out (thankfully, that just means it’s leg day in the gym). And I had a super-realistic, near-hallucination nightmare last night, which, again, sucks but that sort of thing is correlated to better patient outcomes. In short, at this point, I’m almost pumping my arm when I get some dreadful new side-effect. “Almost” being a key word in that sentence, because this thing makes me sore as hell.

And I woke up with a miserable headache, because I usually sleep on my left side, and the right side of my skull is where all the action was (my left side is the weak, non-dexterous side these days because the right side of the brain physically controls the left side of the body), so I don’t think that’s the Cap serum (not directly, anyway).

The weird nightmare, though, that I’m very sure is the experimental stuff because hallucinations are one of the worst side-effects associated with this stuff (and Research Coordinator recently said something that made me wonder if they don’t get worse with repeated injections). Not that I’ve slept well or had good dreams since this thing started; I’m pretty sure I won’t sleep well for the rest of my life (not that I was exactly doing great in that department previously). However, I’d previously blamed my weird, midnight jolt-awake insomnia on the Temodar; which happened again even without the Temodar (so, another side-effect of the Cap serum), which isn’t my baseline - I usually have trouble falling asleep, and wake up several times for 10-20 minutes. Of course, that was back when I had far fewer, immediate problems, so maybe I should discount that. Either way, I’ll mention it to Research Coordinator and the Warlocks next time I see them.

Still, if it gives me a slightly greater chance of survival, I’ll put up with it (and even occasionally take good notes on the process. Side-note for future cancer patients, if your doctor recommends chemo, most modern chemo regimens use multiple drugs (I suspect that’s the eventual end-stage goal of the Captain America serum - to establish another chemo drug for GBM), because cancer is like bacteria (the cellular biologist in me could wax on about the similarities), in that, if you don’t wipe it all out completely the first time through, it comes back resistant to the drugs you used the first time. Which is seriously bad news with GBM, because, although you can have as many surgeries as you can survive (and that’s a thought that terrifies me), you only get one course of radiation, which is the crucial factor. I’ve blown through that one, so now it’s time to double-down on the chemo. Literally.

Speaking of which, if you get chemo - for any cancer - you’ll experience “Chemo brain,” which is a sort of mental fogginess and forgetfulness. I believe I discussed it previously, I’m now pretty certain - based on the number of times I’ve misplaced stuff today (I never do that) the Cap serum is not inconsequential (good news, I only get 11 months on that)(or not, as I mentioned, it’s far more heartening to hear, “This treatment is working so well on you that we’re extending the treatment period and upping the dosage”)(but I’m a long way out even from that).

Speaking of which, a brief incident worth recounting from yesterday in the chemo ward, Fun Chemo Nurse (they’re all fun, but she’s the only one who makes margarita jokes)(also, even if she’s not my assigned nurse for a session, there’s usually a good chance I’ll see her, because she’s one of only three people in the ward who know how to program the infusion pump). LOUDSPEAKER: Anyone interested in a Reiki session can schedule an appointment at the ward desk. SELF: Isn’t that one of those really weird alternative therapies? FUN CHEMO NURSE: It’s basically witchcraft. SELF: You’re standing next to guy who’s letting you put experimental, potentially-dangerous substances in his veins, so I’d be careful with that accusation. Also, “Fun Nurse” gets that title because, when I asked her about her chemo playlist, she mentioned that she can’t get that idea out of her head whenever listening to the radio (not exactly; she said that she’d been listening, and heard several new contenders she’d add to her personal list)

I also overheard in the chemo ward another (presumably non-GBM) patient complaining about GI issues, which hasn’t been a problem for me (well, the night is young). Again, I’ll give full credit to Dad on that one. If you get cancer and chemo, get lots of fiber. Like, homework-on-the-weekend amounts of fiber. Now that I know that little secret, I’m eating a fibrous plant and protein shake-based diet (with the odd beer thrown in)(just to maintain a basic level of carbohydrates, mind you).

Also, very strangely, I gained about 20-ish lb. while in the initial post-surgery treatment phase. Which is probably due to my exotic new antidepressants (weight gain is a side effect; my psychiatrist warned me about this; I told her that weight gain seemed like a good thing, heading into a heavy-duty chemo regimen). It could also be due to the vast amounts of Gatorade I drank (before I found my new Lord and Savior, Vitalyte; which tastes like the physical manifestation of Florida public transport, but at least I don’t have to drink anywhere near the same amount of it as I did Gatorade)(also, based on how truly awful it tastes, it has to be healthier than Gatorade). Because I’ve dropped ten pounds since stopping the initial treatment, I did look up Gatorade, and it’s surprisingly sugary. It’s not as bad as soda, but there’s almost 60 grams of sugar in a liter. So if you lead a lifestyle that requires 3-5 L of Gatorade consumption a day, you’d better be on a the treadmill every waking minute. Or you can switch to Vitalyte and spend those non-treadmill hours hating yourself (the reason why I stick Vitalyte - even though it tastes unbelievably horrible - is that I only have to drink 2-3 liters to get similar results with Gatorade).

And the Cap serum has serious, nasty nausea.side effects, too. I know that because I lost track of time last night, and didn’t get my zofran on schedule (sort of; I didn’t plan to take it before 10, when I take all my other night-time meds)(again, I have that humiliating, multi-day, mutli-pill Grandpa pill box/planner, because when I’m on Temodar, timing is very, very important)(fortunately, after a few minutes of queasy, gurgly tummy, I decided to take my evening meds and go to bed early)(I also took one this morning, just to be sure)(I’m treating zofran like chemo - more of it, please, and now; I don’t want this thing getting out of control in the immediate future). Still, the Warlocks are generous with the zofran, so I’ll tough that one out.

Also, in other news, Mad Scientist Oncologist (the original one, from Northern California) called to say that she’d gotten the latest MRI records/images, and had consulted with Senior Warlock. I will admit that I’m a little superstitious about phone calls from her nowadays (she’s a very smart, compassionate person, but when the same person delivers horrifying medical news three or four times in the same year, you do get a little nervous when you see that number on the Caller ID screen), however, good news (or interesting news, anyway) all around. She said that the scans looked as good as she could reasonably hope for, which, for her, is about as close as I’ll get to a definitive, affirmative life expectancy (sort of; she said that, based on how things look at the moment, she’d expect several years before a “recurrence,” which is pretty damned good for this disease). She also recommended that I stick with the Cap serum, if I’m tolerating it well (as I mentioned, “well” is not accurate, but I’ll stick through it for another decade on Planet Earth). AND, she mentioned that, although she’d had my genome sequenced (again, this is why you try to get Mad Scientsts involved in your survival, they can do things that just aren’t available down at your local HealthMart), and there weren’t any big, red-flag things in my genome, she’d discussed it with another shadowy group of mad scientists (that’s my rather melodramatic phrasing; I think her description was, “the molecular tumor board”). And they were apparently fascinated at one person getting two completely different type of brain tumor (Tumor #1 was a neurocytoma, Tumor #2 was a low-grade astrocytoma, Tumor #3 is a glioblastoma - which starts life as an astrocytoma) without some sort of obvious risk factor. And there’s a similar group associated with the Warlocks, so, there is a rather distinct possibility of more mad scientists and/or necromancers in my immediate future. As you should all know - just like the chemo, the flatulence-inducing healthy diet, and all the rest - my life strategy is to double-down on all bets. So if a group of geneticists wants to meet me in the near-future, you can bet I’ll be only too happy to provide them any tissue samples required (well, maybe, I'm not going to give them any bone marrow, because that’s painful and dangerous, and I draw the line at two painful and dangerous procedures in a 12-month period).

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shmosnet2 · 5 years

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Real phenomena that people used to think were fake

Shutterstock Back in the day, people believed in some funny things. Seriously, go back a few centuries, and you'll find ordinary folks thinking that every shot of sperm contained a tiny, pre-formed human inside. Not silly enough? How about the popular belief that mice "spontaneously generated" from mud? Yeah, that didn't age well. Now, that doesn't mean these folks were stupid. Honestly, give it a few decades, and everybody today will look stupid, too. Perhaps the craziest thing, though, are those moments in history where some crazed genius pops up out of nowhere, points to a scientific truth … and the establishment shreds them to pieces. Remember what happened to Galileo when he was audacious enough to point out that the Earth rotated around the sun? Not pretty. Heliocentrism has hardly been the only scientific reality that got mocked in its time, sadly, and the world is full of all-too-real phenomena that people used to think were fake. Ball lightning is a super freaky phenomenon

Shutterstock The notion that glowing orbs of electricity can generate from thunderstorms, move through walls, and even kill people sounds like something from the latest Thor movie, but nah, it's a real phenomenon. It's called "ball lightning," according to HowStuffWorks, and the cool kids have been talking it up for centuries. Just ask the ancient Greeks. People in the Middle Ages witnessed it, too, and while those folks weren't the most reliable (they also believed in dragons), ball lighting was also reported in the 1800s by a young Czar Nicholas. Then there's Georg Richmann, the famed electricity pioneer, who's believed to have been killed by one of these luminescent death orbs. Now, given how insane and supernatural ball lightning sounds, you can't blame people for yawning, snickering, and rolling their eyes at these reports. Experts wrote it off completely until 1963, according to Nature, when — finally! — an honest-to-goodness scientist got involved. This dude, Robert Clifton Jennison, was riding a red-eye flight from New York to Washington. As the plane passed through a thunderstorm, one of these freaky electric balls emerged from the cabin, floated down the aisle, and vanished. Nightmare fuel? Sure, but also fascinating, so Jennison decided to study, you know, whatever the heck he'd just seen. Since then, ball lightning has been openly examined, theorized about, and even recreated in a lab. As for why it happens? That's still being figured out, according to National Geographic, but theories abound. Cataclysmic floods can really happen

Shutterstock Every culture has its own flood myth. You've certainly heard of Noah and his ark, but there's also a version in Hindu mythology, a Mesopotamian version, as well as a flood in North American indigenous legends, just to name a few. While there's probably no way that a single flood could've decimated the globe, you wouldn't be the first person to propose that certain countries might've experienced their own so-called "cataclysmic floods" — i.e., floods capable of sinking entire geographic regions — as an explanation for these myths. However, back in the 1920s, geologists thought cataclysmic floods were a bunch of crock, according to Discover Magazine. They considered the notion so ridiculous, in fact, that when a guy named J Harlen Bretz claimed that he'd found evidence that one such flood had sunk the state of Washington about 15,000 years ago … well, let's say they laughed him out of the room. To them, Bretz's apocalyptic vision of Washington being buried beneath waters over 100 feet high sounded more like fanaticism than science. Here's the thing, though. Bretz was right, and he knew he was right. As he dug through dried up waterfalls and bizarre granite boulders, he pieced together that this great flood had originally spilled out of Montana's Lake Missoula, and a few decades later, further studies showed that his "Missoula Floods" had really happened. The best part? Once Bretz's work was vindicated, other geologists located similar evidence of various cataclysmic floods from around the world. Flood myths, explained! Everybody thought reptile dreams were fake

Shutterstock All animals have to sleep sometime, right? Surprisingly enough, The Washington Post says that's been a matter of some debate. Until recently, it was widely believed that most animals, other than mammals and birds, don't actually "sleep" in the way that humans define it, but instead, they simply "rest." Insects and amoebas, for example, might slow down and reduce their activity, but there's been no evidence that they experience the same restorative, REM states that mammals and birds enjoy. That's not sleep, and hence, they don't have dreams. And for a long time, scientists thought that humankind's scaly friends, the reptiles, couldn't dream, either. That notion got rocked in 2016, as reported by Scientific American, when a sleep study was performed on five Australian bearded dragons. Probes were placed inside their lizard brains, and it was found that each of the little green guys experienced REM sleep cycles nightly, making it highly probably that — bizarre as it sounds —these lizards also probably experience dreams. This was a big surprise to researchers, and even more intriguingly, it points toward the notion that reptiles and birds probably shared common ancestors who also had dreams. Unfortunately, there's no way to go back and ask a Tyrannosaurus Rex what kind of dreams it had, but you can probably wager that they involved meat, sun, teeth falling out, or weird insecurities about having such tiny arms. Sound the alarm, the continents are moving!

Shutterstock In the early 20th century, according to Smithsonian.com, a German meteorologist named Alfred Wegener proposed the idea that all of Earth's continents, which seem so static, were actually just moving fragments of a prehistoric supercontinent he named Pangaea. This hypothesis, called continental drift, is now accepted science. Back when Wegener was alive, though, his concepts and character were torn apart by the establishment, like a hungry pack of coyotes lunging for the best bits of meat. The big problem, as one geologist so unintentionally pointed out, was that believing Wegener's theory undid everything that geologists had built over the past 70 years, requiring a near-total reset. Not fun! And so, instead, continental drift was written off as "delirious ravings." An American paleontologist referred to it as "Germanic pseudo-science." Who was this strange little man, trying to claim that the ground beneath a person's feet was perpetually moving? How were those things moving, huh? So basically, everybody thought this guy was a kook, and those who suspected otherwise wanted him to be a kook. Rather than crumbling under the criticism, though, Wegener used it to refine his theory, correcting all his mistakes, and advancing forward. In the 1960s, a new generation of geologists unseated the old guard, and were far more open to Wegener's ideas. Unfortunately, by that time, it was already too late for Wegener to see his own exoneration. In 1930, while making a lifesaving delivery of food to meteorologists stranded in Greenland, Wegener died. Ulcers are caused by bacteria, not stress

Shutterstock What causes ulcers? Until the 1980s, everyone in the medical community would've told you that they were brought about by stress, according to NBC News. And hey, that's believable enough. Stress does horrible things to the mind, the body, and your overall health. However, when Australian pathologists Barry Marshall and Robin Warren began working together in 1981, they came to a different conclusion about ulcers. They believed their onset was caused by bacteria in the stomach. A bacterium named Helicobacter pylori, to be precise. Their theory didn't go down well with the establishment. At the time, medical schools taught that the stomach was a pool of sterile, corrosive juices, unable to grow bacteria of any kind, so the men's findings were dismissed. However, Barry Marshall was convinced, and like Bruce Banner bombarding himself with his own gamma rays, Marshall made the fateful decision to concoct a drink, filled with Helicobacter pylori germs, and gulp it down. Yikes! Sure enough, the brilliant and brave scientist came down horribly sick, thereby proving his point. Dramatic evidence, for sure, though perhaps a bit less dramatic than hulking out into a green monster. Anyhow, this impromptu experiment completely altered science's perception of ulcer disease. The two men were righteously awarded a Nobel prize in 2005. Big earthquakes trigger little earthquakes across the world Shutterstock Big earthquakes leave a big impact. That's all thanks to "remote triggering," a scientific reality established after 1992, when a massive, 7.3 magnitude earthquake in California sent smaller tremors rumbling all the way into Yellowstone National Park. Back then, the scientific community balked at the notion that colossal earthquakes could trigger smaller ones — particularly if those smaller earthquakes occurred on the other side of the planet, or in areas not prone to quake activity — but a 2008 study by the University of Utah proved that the impossible was all-too-possible. The researchers examined multiple instances of remote triggering, caused by 15 major earthquakes from 1992 through 2006. Most notable of these, perhaps, was the horrifying 2004 earthquake in Sumatra, which remotely triggered quakes in Ecuador, literally on the opposite side of the planet. That's a long reach, no? Remote triggering has since become a hot topic for experts, according to New Scientist, and it's even been estimated big quakes cause other quakes at least nine percent of the time. Whoa! Maybe that also explains why id Software's Quake games keep spawning new Quake sequels, eh? Quasicrystals were considered an impossible phenomenon In 1982, an Israeli chemist named Daniel Shechtman was shocked to observe something which, by all scientific measures known at the time, couldn't exist. His discovery of a crystal displaying fivefold symmetry (as seen above) defied explanation, according to Britannica. At the time, it was believed that crystals could only possess two, three, four, or sixfold symmetries, since a fivefold symmetry would seemingly not be able to provide the necessary repeating structure. Shechtman's crystal, in fact, did not repeat, rendering it "aperiodic," and thus it was even more impossible. His bizarre finding, now referred to as quasicrystals, contradicted with established science dating back to the 1890s, and as The Jerusalem Post points out, Shechtman was villainized, mocked, and even ousted from his research group. It took two years for him to publish his discovery, at which point one American chemist, Linus Pauling, dismissed him by stating, "There are no quasicrystals, only quasi-scientists." Ouch. Except Shechtman had it right, and quasicrystals were real. In 1987, French and Japanese scientists were able to produce quasicrystals big enough to be examined with X-rays, redeeming Shechtman's reputation. A few decades later, in 2011, the former "quasi-scientist" was awarded a Nobel prize. Take that, doubters. Einstein's theory of relativity bumped against common knowledge of the time Central Press/Getty Images Listen, Albert Einstein's messy white hair might now be the worldwide symbol of scientific brilliance, but it wasn't always that way. Back in 1905, a rather young version of the legendary theoretical physicist published a paper on "special relativity," according to JSTOR Daily, proposing that space and time were linked together. Now, this paper was the direct predecessor to his now-famous theory of general relativity. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, this was where he stirred gravity into the recipe. However, while Einstein's later work has been accepted as one of the most important scientific theories ever — and, as USA Today points out, his work keeps getting re-confirmed today — the establishment of 1905 was a lot more skeptical about the guy. See, back then, everybody was convinced that space was filled with this bizarro substance called ether. Widely considered the fifth element, ether was theorized to be the "solid" that filled all the nothing, but … uh, wasn't detectable. Right. Think "ethereal," and you'll get the idea. Anyway, whatever ether was believed to be, Einstein's theory directly contradicted its existence, so other scientists scorned his work as "totally impractical and absurd." However, when Albert Einsten pointed out that there was no evidence for ether, he was right. These days, sure enough, Einstein's theories are the law of the land. The only place you'll find ether is … well, in the ether. Once upon a time, scientists didn't believe in meteorites Shutterstock Meteorites seem like an obvious reality. However, just imagine for a moment if someone told you — in an era before iPhones, before Wikipedia, before cameras — that they'd seen a glowing space rock shoot out of the sky. Sounds stupid, right? After all, throughout history, people have claimed to see all kinds of wacky junk raining down from the clouds, including blood, animals, and milk. Meteorites, though, ended up being the one that was true. By the end of the 1700s, some scientists were starting to warm up to the idea — with great trepidation, since believing in space rocks risked widespread humiliation — but according to Smithsonian.com, the real turning point hit in 1803, when over 3,000 meteorites came raining down over the town of L'Aigle in Normandy, France. People reacted strongly, as you'd expect, and so the physicist Jean-Baptise Biot investigated. Biot interviewed witnesses, noted how all of them came from different walks of life and had no reason to corroborate on some fantasy tale together, and he then published his reports. Biot was a big name, with a lot of credibility, so people took notice. Just a few months later, his fellow scientists finally accepted the strange fact that glowing rocks really did rain down from space. Now, as for blood rain or milk droplets? Nah, not unless someone in an airplane is pouring weird crap over your head. This whole 'platypus' thing is a joke, right? Shutterstock Without question, the platypus is the most bizarre animal on the planet. Seriously, even if unicorns, jackalopes, or mermaids were real, they'd be less freaky than this fella. It's hard to even describe a furry brown water mammal that has the bill of a duck, the tail of a beaver, four tiny legs with webbed feet, and poisonous spurs, to boot. And it all culminates in the fact that, like a reptile, it lays eggs. Super weird. If anything, the platypus' sheer existence seems like a middle finger to anyone bold enough to try classifying animals. Today, of course, everybody knows that these mix-and-match animals are real. However, back in 1799, when a carefully preserved platypus specimen landed on the desk of biologist George Shaw, he thought he was being punked. According to Atlas Obscura, Shaw cut, snipped and poked at the animal's body, with the full expectation that the platypus would reveal itself to be an elaborate taxidermy creation. However, there were no stitches, so Shaw was left scratching his head. How could it be real? Back then, animal classification was just getting underway, and the duck-billed, egg-laying platypus threw a big monkey wrench into the proceedings. Eventually, Australia sent Europe enough platypus specimens that the question of their veracity became moot. Even today, people think climate change is fake Shutterstock When scientists discovered the biggest, deadliest phenomenon in human history, it was — and, unfortunately, continues to be — greeted with mass skepticism. Just like people of the past hated the notion that Earth wasn't the center of the universe, citizens of the late 20th century didn't want to believe that climate change was real, much less that humans were to blame. But hey, sorry, the facts speak for themselves. It's really not a matter of politics, and regular folks can debate this all they want, but when 97 percent of scientists agree on something? Yeah, you should probably trust the folks with PhDs in this stuff. Also, while climate change might feel like a piano that suddenly dropped out of a window, the science isn't new. As National Geographic points out, scientists have known about the greenhouse effect for decades, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was established all the way back in late 1988. The only reason it's taken so long for people to accept it (or react) has nothing to do with the experts, and everything to do with aggressive lobbying from the fossil fuel industries. In recent years, thankfully, Yale reports that an increasing percentage of Americans believe in global warming. However, if today's humans don't want their grandkids to consider them as stupid as Galileo's critics from the 1600s, assuming that there's even a world left for said kids … well, everybody's going to have to become carbon neutral way faster.

https://ift.tt/2nQF986 . Foreign Articles September 30, 2019 at 04:16PM

#. Foreign Articles Real phenomena that people used to think were fake

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zapiarty · 7 years

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Can you write the scene where Garashir get together for Milaverse?

Takes place just after Crossover in season 2.

As beginnings to a relationship went, theirs could, Julian thought, have gone better. It could, for example, have involved less shouting, no actual physical torture and…well, at least fewer lies. It would also, ideally, involve one participant not being a genetic augment whose very existence was a crime and the other not being a former operative of the Obsidian Order who probably hadn’t been lying about all the crimes he’d committed, but Julian probably wouldn’t have been interested if that weren’t the case. Still, that was no reason not to do things the right way now they’d started. Julian had dug out the one outfit he owned that didn’t make Garak wince at the sight of it, gone to some trouble to find a holoprogramme that might appeal to both their tastes and called in a favour from Dax to get her to babysit Mila for the evening. Still, he couldn’t help but feel oddly nervous when he knocked on the door of Garak’s quarters that evening, datarod in hand. Not of Garak himself, exactly, but…well, it had taken a full-blown argument to get Garak to believe Julian was interested at all, and it still wasn’t too late for him to decide to back out.

The door to Garak’s quarters opened a moment after Julian requested entrance, to reveal Garak with a look of mild surprise on his face. “My dear doctor, you’re not only on time for once, you’re early!”

Julian grinned, “Mila pretty much rushed me out of the door the moment I got her to Dax’s,” he said, “I’m not sure what they were planning to do with the evening, but it’s probably going to leave me owing Dax another favour or two.”

“All this, just for a single evening?”

“I live to impress,” Julian said wryly. “Is it working?”

“You are remarkably unsubtle. You’re not supposed to ask…you observe to see it is or not. Asking just ends the game.” Garak teased with a smirk.

“Patience was never my strong suit,” Julian said agreeably. “I’ve booked us a holosuite - thought it might be a bit more private than dinner at Quark’s, and it’s a chance to introduce you to a genre of human literature I don’t think I’ve mentioned before.”

“Oh? Well, I thank you for opting for the more private option, though I think I’ll have a word with Quark before we start…”

Julian raised his eyebrows, “I hadn’t heard he recorded goings-on inside the holosuites.” At least, he hoped Quark didn’t - there were a few things Julian didn’t want anyone knowing, even - make that especially - Garak.

Garak offered a wide smile, “Surely not. But it’s best to err on the side of caution.”

“Great. Shall we go, then?” Julian gestured broadly down the corridor, trying to resist the urge to fidget.

As they walked the hallway towards Quark’s, Garak’s eyes never once left Julian. “Tell me, just what genre are we experiencing?”

Julian grinned. “Spy fiction,” he said, “Do you have that on Cardassia? Or - is it considered seditious?”

For once, Garak’s surprised expression seemed honest. “Spy fiction? You have…a genre of literature where you reveal the secrets of your intelligence agencies?”

“…not quite.” Julian paused, trying to consider how to explain it. “A lot of the first writers in the genre were involved with intelligence - Ian Fleming was, and John Le Carre - but the genre…evolved beyond strict realism quite quickly. Well, Fleming’s did. Le Carre is a bit more grounded - remind me to lend you The Spy Who Came in From the Cold at some point, I think you’d like it. It’s cynical enough to appeal to you.”

“I’m not sure I believe you, from past experiences of you lending me books you think I’d like…”

“You admitted to quite liking Pride and Prejudice,” Julian pointed out, stung.

“Compared to the others, yes, until the end. Really, that book is unfinished.” Garak sniffed, looking for all the world like it was a crime to leave Pride and Prejudice as it was.

Julian stared. “It’s considered to have one of the neatest endings in literature - everything’s tied up, everyone’s married off, we know what happens to everyone…It’s actually been criticised for being a bit too finished.”

“Too finished! We know nothing of what happens next, it really is very frustrating-” Garak stopped and smiled, “But I believe we’ve gotten distracted. Tell me more about this…spy genre?”

Julian nodded, and tried to marshal what he knew. “Well, the genre is divided into several…I tend to think of them as ‘flavours’? The Le Carre-style very gritty, low-key approach, which tends to focus on political double-dealing, grey morality and the awful things people have to do to serve their countries and their causes at the cost of their own morals is one…but it’s not the only one, or even the most popular.” He grinned. “Then, there’s the style I tend to think of as ‘martini-flavoured’. Wildly unrealistic, fraught with improbably over-the-top-danger…there’s usually a deathtrap or two involved…sort of the glamorised image of what spying involved, although there were one or two people out there who actually did live that way, if we’re to believe the historical record. Granted, they usually didn’t do it for very long, but-”

“Fascinating. And which…flavor…are we trying?”

Julian grinned, “That would be option number three. Affectionately referred to in fan circles as ‘dirty martini’. It’s…marrying the two, I suppose. A lot of the absurdity and glamour of martini-style, but with the heavier political themes, grey morality and a bit of the cynicism of the first kind. It seemed like a good compromise.”

“Well, I suppose I’ll withhold judgement until after the game. Though, I’ll tell you now, that I’ll likely not be interested in just the…martini-flavoured. As a tailor, I take these things very seriously.”

Julian raised his eyebrows. “I am shocked,” he said teasingly, “Shocked that you mean to pass up such an opportunity to mock our absurd Federation romanticism.”

Garak slowly looked Julian up and down before give a half smile, “Well…when you put it like that…perhaps I will consider it.”

“Glad to hear it.” Julian coughed. “This particular story is actually a few centuries old, and it’s been retold so many times that no-one quite agrees on what the proper characterisation should be, so we’re more-or-less free to do as we like. The original was actually partly written by Fleming in the early 1960s, so…four hundred years ago, give or take. It’s set around then as well and, unlike Fleming’s other stories, hasn’t been updated with the times. The history is kind of vital to the plot, for this one.”

“Vital? In what way?” Garak asked curiously, looking at least partially interested in the game, even if the rest of his attention was more on what Julian was wearing. He’d apparently chosen well.

Julian took a breath. “For most of the second half of the twentieth century, Earth was engaged in a cold war between two powerful nation-states. The Soviet Union and the…well, mostly the United States, but most of Europe, a fair bit of Asia and South America got involved as well. On both sides. Both sides knew that an all-out war would mean the annihilation of pretty much everything on the planet, so they tended to work through proxies and spies for the most part. The early James Bond stories used this as a backdrop, mostly but for this story it’s actually integral to the plot, as the two lead characters are from different sides of the Cold War. Illya Kuryakin, a Soviet agent, and Napoleon Solo, an American.”

“And what exactly was this war about? The climate?”

Julian shrugged, “Officially, political ideology, unofficially…probably power, control of as much of the globe as possible. And a bit of ideology. America and much of western Europe operated under a capitalist system, whereas the Soviets…at least claimed to have something a bit more like the modern Federation. Except backed up with the threat of horrifying prison camps, mass executions and torture. Oh, and quite a lot of corruption because this was pre-replicator technology and so the ‘sharing out’ of scarce resources tended to favour the ruling elite. It’s actually what led to-” What led to the Eugenics Wars, which had put an end to the Cold War by bombing Washington and Moscow simultaneously, breaking their power and establishing a new player on the board.

Garak raised a brow-ridge at Julian’s half sentence, but appeared to decide not to press him to finish it, “So a Federation that admits to what it is. Admittedly, perhaps a bit harsher in its methods than what would be done nowadays, I’m sure.”

“I like to think we’ve moved beyond that,” Julian said stiffly, and moved on before he could dwell on it any longer. “Either way. The story we’re going to play through is set in 1963, when two agents, one from each side of the Cold War, are forced to work together to solve a problem that affects both their governments. They then get assigned together permanently in an international taskforce intended to help keep their governments from destroying each other and the whole world with them.”

Garak blinked, “Rather a lot to put onto the shoulders of two agents.”

Julian shrugged, “Most adaptations agree it was largely a political gesture. And a way of avoiding any appearance of partisanship on either side, as the two of them would both naturally look out for the interests of their own side and, hopefully, keep each other honest. If you had two agents from either side, they could be accused of advancing their own interests at the expense of the other side, which would lead to an increase in tensions and possibly eventual war. And that’s leaving aside how many maniacal private citizens with access to advanced technology and an insatiable desire to destroy the world for their own profit seem to crop up in these things.”

“And these agents did not kill each other? I hardly see how one master liar could keep another honest.”

Julian smiled, as wickedly as he could manage. “Neither of them wanted the world to be blown up?” he suggested idly. “Also, in every single adaptation there has ever been, they’re at least close friends, and sometimes more.”

Garak snorted, “And their agencies allowed this? Well, you did say this was fictional…”

“In most versions, they go to a great deal of trouble to make sure their agencies don’t know. Same-sex entanglements were illegal in both the Soviet Union and the West during this period, even if they weren’t enemy agents. There are a fair few versions of the story where it ends pretty tragically, even if they aren’t my favourite - the real world’s miserable enough without inevitable defeat in the holosuite as well.”

“I don’t quite understand humanity’s struggle in accepting same-sex liaisons. There’s not even a chance for bastards in that case, just who does it harm?”

Julian shrugged, “Not my area. I think it was mostly religious, but I’d have to look it up. So…” he grinned, “You’ve got a choice of two characters - which side of the Iron Curtain do you want?”

Garak gave him a wry smile, “Which side do you think, my dear doctor? Though, tell me more about the agents themselves, what are their…basic personality traits?”

“…that is the most complicated question in the whole game,” Julian admitted. “They’ve been changed so often over the centuries it’s pretty much a free-for-all. Some bits of backstory have stuck around, though. Um…Solo, the American agent, is a former art thief on a very, very short leash. Got captured by the CIA and decided working for them was a step up from a decade in prison. His actual personality changes a lot between adaptations, though, as do his skills. And since the holosuite version lets you choose between quite a few different options there, it’s not really relevant. The other, one, Kuryakin…” he paused, trying to remember. “Born to a high-ranking member of the Soviet government who got convicted of treason and sent to the gulags - prison camps - after which his mother turned to prostitution to survive. He…varies even more than Solo, honestly. Sometimes to the point of being barely recognisable as the same character.”

“Why keep the names if you’re just going to change the core of the characters…” Garak sighed and shook his head, “I’ll pick Kuryakin. I have a feeling you like Solo more, being from the insufferably idealist State?”

“…what part of ‘capitalist’ says ‘idealistic’? Ideologically, I probably have more in common with the other side.” Julian sighed. “But, yes, I like him.”

“Perhaps not the correct word, agreed. Though I didn’t think you’d ever want to be part of a State that had prison camps, no matter how illusory the setting may be.”

Julian nodded. They were coming up to Quark’s now, the promenade still quietly busy with evening traffic. Quark himself was at the bar when they entered, and Garak smiled, wide and slightly predatory. He turned to Julian and wordlessly asked for his hand, which Julian gave with some bemusement. Garak brought it to his throat, or rather, just below it and held Julian’s hand there for a moment before saying, “If you’ll excuse me a moment?”

Garak disappeared off towards the bar, and Julian watched him go, feeling for a moment oddly giddy. Get a grip, he reminded himself. You’re an adult, act like one. But he was almost bubbling over with excitement now, even as he watched Quark’s expression freeze at the sight of Garak. He was too far away to hear what they were saying, but he got the impression that the conversation was going all Garak’s way.

He craned his neck to try and get a better look, but before he did, Garak smiled, wide and apparently friendly, and stepped away, turning back towards Julian and snaking through the crowds to take his arm.

“Well?” he said. “Shall we, doctor?” and nodded towards the door through to the holosuites.

After choosing their characters on the panel before entering, Julian and he went different directions, to receive their briefings from their superiors. The entire situation was…remarkably close to reality, though he wouldn’t ever admit as much to Julian. Certainly not so soon after his recent visit to the infirmary. The moment his superior started speaking, his back straightened and he had his full attention on the slides as the information and his mission parameters were given.

“-the woman is, in and of herself, unimportant, but the information she holds cannot be allowed to fall into American hands,” his superior was saying. “Bring her back. Alive, if possible, but if not…we will understand. As for your opposite number-”

The slides clicked on. Julian’s face filled the screen. It was, Regnar had to admit, a clever bit of programming - Julian in some sort of military uniform of this century, smiling the familiar sweet foolish smile Regnar had got to know over so many lunches.

“-not typical of American spies,” his superior went on. “Indeed, he barely deserves the title. Less an agent than a useful tool. He joined the army at eighteen and was posted to Europe. When the war ended, he stayed on as part of the occupying forces, and soon discovered that there were vast profits to be made on the post-war black market. He seems to have dealt primarily in art and antiquities, stolen by Nazi forces and then by the Allied occupiers. He seems entirely self-taught, but do not underestimate him. His criminal ingenuity made headlines all over Europe. The police of four countries created a special task force for the sole purpose of bringing him to justice. And even then, it seems to have been pure luck that they caught him. His talents came to the attention of the CIA, who recognised that-” the next slide was put in upside-down, making his superior glare at the unfortunate projectionist, who apologised in a shaking voice. That one would be bound for the labour camps before long, Regnar thought.

“-who recognised,” his superior went on, “That this man’s extraordinary talents would be wasted behind bars. A deal was struck. Since then, Bashir has been their most successful and prolific agent. Kill him if necessary. But he must not leave Berlin with the woman.”

“Yes, sir.” Regnar replied promptly.

His superior nodded. “And, Agent Garak-”

He paused. His mind reeled and he barely resisted the urge to shake his head. Had he just- yes, yes he had, and he hadn’t even meant to… Garak’s posture changed just a bit and he turned his head to hear what the holo-superior was saying.

“-you know the consequences of failure.”

Oh, he most certainly did. “Yes, sir.”

Garak was escorted to retrieve the weapons available to him for the mission. They were all rather primitive, projectile weapons were practically primeval. They also gave him information on where he was going, which Garak was sure wouldn’t have occurred if he were really of this time period, as he’d have been expected to keep up on the state of affairs on his own. He was rather grateful for this further proof of fallacy. The city was cut in half, not for geographical reasons but political. How this was sustainable, Garak didn’t know. The basics of his mission were preventing one person from going from one half of the city to the other. Easy enough, especially with a wall as an obvious indicator of where that line was. Yes, Garak believed this could be a fun game, so long as he remembered it was a game.

Scene-transitions, in the holosuite, were always a bit unrealistic. In this case, Garak stepped out of a building in what he had been assured was Moscow, and into-

The city was grey. As grey as Romulus, almost, and Garak did not say that lightly. Grey and brown and brick and concrete and looked as if it had been levelled and rebuilt from the ground up at some point in the recent past. It was, put simply, the single least glamorous location Garak could imagine. Apparently Julian’s description of the subtypes of the spy genre had been rather more broad-strokes than he had made it sound.

There was a car waiting, and Garak knew this was the least glorious part of spy-craft, the waiting. Garak was exceedingly patient, but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it. Thankfully, he had to have his whole attention on the people passing from one side of the checkpoint to the other, looking for Julian. When he finally spotted him, Garak had to suppress a smile, he looked even more naive and ripe for the picking than when Garak first laid eyes on him. It was surprisingly difficult to resist the urge to recreate that first meeting, the game’s plotline be damned.

Following Julian from a safe distance was simple, though the man was doing actually quite well in covering his tracks. Not enough to throw Garak off his trail, even if Garak hadn’t already been intimately familiar with his appearance, but enough to give him the impression that Julian had some real potential. Potential that only needed a bit of guidance…. Guidance Garak was only too happy to provide, and which seemed to have been paying off, since Julian managed to actually lose him. For a brief moment. The pride that caused him was a bit staggering and he pushed it down and away for the time being.

Julian’s final destination, it turned out, was a shabby little garage in what seemed to be an even-poorer-than-the-rest-of-it area of the city. He disappeared inside, and Garak hung back, and flicked on the rather neat little bug that he’d been informed that border control would endeavour to secret in Julian’s luggage. It buzzed into life without so much as a flicker, and Garak smirked. Julian had potential, yes…but only potential.

“-and a fat little dog named Schnitzel,” Julian’s voice said, coming out sharp and crackly. Garak stared, and wondered for one mad moment if Julian had actually worked out a code so completely bizarre Garak couldn’t work out what was a euphemism. The accent didn’t help - whoever had told Julian he could imitate accents ought to be shot. “All you need to do is sit down for fifteen minutes with my employers and answer a few questions as fully and as factually as you can. I think we both know it’s a step up from spending the evening with the Russians, hanging from a pipe having your toenails removed.”

Garak couldn’t resist the affronted look he gave the receiver at that, he’d be having a few words with Julian over that once this was all over. The day he needed to resort to such methods as ripping out toenails was the day he retired.

There was the start of another sentence, a woman’s voice. “And your superiors? How will they-” And then the reception cut off with a wet sort of noise, and Garak scowled. Had no-one in this insufferably backwards city thought to invent waterproof bugs yet? With a huff, he lightly tossed the now useless receiver onto the passenger seat and returned his attention to the garage. Not long after, a car left it with only the driver in view. Garak was not to be deterred, and started following them in his own. Twentieth-century automobiles were not, he decided, his favourite means of pursuit. Julian and his contact’s car, though, was going at what seemed to be an ordinary, civilised pace - trying to bluff him into thinking this was just an ordinary night driver? - and it should not take him long to draw level, except that every time he got close, they put on another little kick of speed. Nothing excessive, just enough to stay just out of his range. He considered for a moment, stopped, opened the window, leant out, and took aim at the car’s back tyre. The car skidded, half-spinning, and then-

Put on another, absurd, kick of speed. Limping, yes, half-dragging…but slowed. Slowed and obvious. Hmm. There was a small booth across the street, with an old-fashioned telephone inside it. He stepped inside, and called the police.

“Hello?” he said, using his very best ‘mild and harmless tailor’ voice. “Yes. I’d like to report a kidnapping.” He went on to report, sounding as worried as he could, the terrified, screaming child he’d seen bundled into the back of a black-and-white Trabant car with the right back tyre flat, and hung up feeling quite satisfied with himself. Julian would probably not be best-pleased by the nature of the accusations, but he was the one who brought a genuine Obsidian Order agent into a spy game. Really, it was all his own fault.

It wasn’t difficult, either, to hastily rejigger the receiver to pick up on the local police radio, as reports came in of the black-and-white Trabant being spotted, and soon enough, Garak had a location. He called up the map in his head once again - where could they be going, if their route had taken them there? And then, all at once, he had them.

Figuring that in this case the advantage really did lie with the higher ground, Garak infiltrated a building near the Wall, and made his way up to the roof. He allowed himself a sigh, yet more waiting. It took a few minutes - how long was this part of the programme meant to be? But then, on the next roof over, he saw movement. Julian, and a young woman in khaki-coloured coveralls that did absolutely nothing for her. His quarry. He took aim, but Julian’s body was between him and the woman, and he couldn’t get a clear shot at her. Julian was fidgeting with- No. Flashing a light across the wall. A signal. Garak peered through the scope of the rifle, trying to work out what the plan was. And then- something shot across, from the far side of the wall. A cable, or…yes, a cable. Garak grinned to himself. Oh, surely not. Far, far too simple. Julian offered his hand to the woman, grasped something attached to the cable, and jumped.

He was perhaps halfway across when Garak fired, and the woman in Julian’s arms slumped against him, her head lolling, her grip on him going slack. She fell.

Garak drew back, a faint, satisfied smile on his face, and began matter-of-factly taking the rifle apart. Well. That was the end of that. Julian would probably sulk at being beaten, but Garak was quite sure he could find something to cheer him up. Although, he was rather at a loss to see how this could possibly have ended with their characters becoming friends. He could hear Julian’s shocked shout as he left the roof to begin making his way back to his car, but as he opened the door leading to the street, he found himself back in the KGB base. He sighed, he hated holo-scene transitions.

“Agent Garak.” It was his superior again, the same one as before. His handler. “Report.”

“There was no avoiding the target getting across the wall, so I shot them. The American, however, got away.”

His superior nodded. “I heard. His superiors approached us recently.” He smiled tightly, and it did not reach his eyes. “However, this does complicate the situation somewhat. I thought I said alive, if possible.”

“You did. It wasn’t possible.”

His superior glared. It was rather a pathetic glare, as glares went. The memory of Tain’s smile frightened Garak more than this illusion would in a fury. “The most dangerous secret is already out,” he said. “She might be dead, but she didn’t die before telling Bashir the thing we least wanted the Americans to know. The theft of the prototype plans for the next generation of weaponry, the thing which might shift the balance of power decisively in our favour.”

“Next generation of weaponry…sir?” Garak forced himself to add the ‘sir’, wouldn’t do to be perceived as disrespectful or unable to follow orders.

“You don’t need to know what it is, Garak,” his superior said shortly. “But we need to recover those plans, and the Americans are the only ones who know who she sold them to.”

“Does this mean we’re going to have to cooperate with them? It’s very unlikely that is going to work out well.”

“It will work out as we intend it. They’ve put forward a single agent, who will bear witness to the tragic destruction of the plans before either of you can get your hands on them.You will recover those plans, while making it seem to the Americans that they are lost. If they even begin to suspect what those plans are for…” his superior stopped himself. Even that was sloppy - no-one in the Order would even begin to reveal something unless they intended the person they were speaking to to know it. “Well. What happens next will no longer be your concern. They receive very little news in the gulags, I am told.”

“Of course, sir.” Garak almost rolled his eyes, but stopped himself. “And should the American learn things he shouldn’t?”

“You will have received no formal orders to kill him. His tragic accidental death would be…regrettable…but these things happen.”

“I see. Anything else, sir?”

“Walk with me. A meeting has been set up. Best to give the Americans no reason to doubt our good intentions.”

They walked through a doorway, and suddenly he could smell the waterside. Yet another horrible transition. There were tables all along the deck, overlooking the river. Julian was sitting at one, with what Garak assumed was the man’s own handler. Neither of them looked especially pleased to be there.

“Saunders,” his own superior said curtly.

Garak took a seat directly across from Julian, who was glaring at him with a rather adorable pout. Garak let some of his amusement slip through for a moment before schooling his features.

“Vassilyovich. God, your name is a mouthful. Can’t say that curtly at all. How do you take it?”

Garak’s superior smiled, mirthlessly. “It’s my cross to bear. You’ve briefed your…agent…I take it.” He drew out the word ‘agent’, so that Garak could hear the suggestion of something else underneath it, and though he too had been thinking that Julian would never last long in intelligence, he wanted to bristle regardless.

“Oh, he knows what he needs to.” Saunders waved a hand, and Julian looked as if he bit back a sigh. “Just point him in the right direction.”

“We intend to. Now. Your half of the bargain.”

“You’re impatient. I was enjoying a nice drink, I thought we could take in the scenery. Alright, have it your way. Target’s a former member of the British Union of Fascists, arms magnate, noted collector of antiquities. Name of Sir Arthur Galt. Now, your turn?”

Vassilyovich shifted. “What you’re looking for is a disc. Blue plastic, small enough to hold in your hand. Destroy it if you have to, but it cannot be allowed to remain in Galt’s hands.”

Garak nodded and the handlers exchanged a look before standing. Julian was still glaring at him. “We’ll leave you to get acquainted.” Saunders said with a smug smile, “Play nice.” Saunders clapped Julian on his shoulder as he passed him, causing Julian to flinch slightly. Garak’s eyes followed the handler with cold fury, then widened a little as every other group of diners in the cafe stood and walked out.

“Well,” Garak said brightly, as the last of them left. “This isn’t conspicuous in the least.”

Julian glared at him. “I can’t believe you killed her!”

Garak raised his hands up in defence, “I was ordered to! What was I supposed to do, let you take her across the wall and disobey orders? Forgive me if I’m wrong, but isn’t carrying out a mission the point of this game?”

“You could have,” Julian pointed out stubbornly, “It’s a holosuite, they can’t do anything to you if you don’t obey orders. Besides, that wasn’t the mission. That was…a trial run. To get us used to the setting and how the game works before the main plot gets started. I mean, if all we’re going to do is follow orders, we might as well ‘kill’ each other here and now. I know my superiors want me to kill you, and I can guess yours want you to kill me. Does that mean you’re going to?”

“You got orders to kill me? Well that’s unfair, I wasn’t given permission to. Now if you have an accident that’s another story.”

Julian rolled his eyes. “I obviously wasn’t going to!”

“Why not? I killed your informant.” Garak looked around them and waved with an arm, “This is, after all, a holosuite. It won’t actually do anything. At least, it won’t so long as the safeties are on.”

“Yes, but…well.” Julian smiled, wide and bright and startling, “I am trying to get you to agree to another date at the end of the evening. Killing you probably wouldn’t do much for my chances.”

Garak fought the smile that wanted to break through, and instead changed the subject, “My dear- could you please stop talking in that accent. I just, cannot take anything you say seriously.”

Julian actually looked slightly disappointed at that. “If you’re sure,” he said, thankfully without the accent. “I thought I carried it off rather well.”

“I’m not sure who told you that, but they were lying to make you feel better, it is awful.” Garak sniffed and offered a small smile to take some of the sting of his words out.

“We’re supposed to be going to Venice, next,” Julian offered, and smiled again, brighter still, “It’s half of why I suggested this game - Venice is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities on Earth. I thought you’d like to see it.”

“And then probably destroy half of it in our attempts to save the world - you have a curious notion of how to appreciate a place.”

“We don’t have to destroy it,” Julian said, shaking his head, “It just…tends to happen, in these sorts of stories.”

“Of course. By the way…what in the world were you talking about earlier, with the dog?”

Julian groaned and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “You heard that?”

“My dear, of course I heard it. You were bugged, I was supposed to be hearing you. Until you shorted it, which, no water-proof bugs? Really? How low tech is this?”

“Fairly - electricity has been used for…maybe a century, at the outside? The technology’s all still fairly basic.”

Garak put his hands on the table and leaned a bit closer, “So, since you were so upset I shot my target, how was it supposed to play out, in a general run-through?”

Julian shrugged, and Garak felt…was that a foot? Yes, he thought it was…hook itself around his ankle, under his trousers and just above the top of his shoe, warm toes digging into his calf. “I was expecting a much more direct pursuit,” he admitted, “I wasn’t reckoning on you somehow working out where we were going ahead of time, which - actually, how did you work that out?”

That foot was going to be distracting, but Garak would not let Julian cause him to trip over his own tongue. “I memorized the city layout, and there were only so many places where the wall was weak, after following you and gauging your general direction, I picked the most probable that you’d take. Then it was just a matter of slowing you down so I could get there first.”

“…that does explain the police cars,” Julian said, sounding slightly dazed. Those toes flexed against Garak’s leg, and then the foot slid down, pushing at the back of Garak’s shoe as if trying to coax it off his foot. “I never had a chance, did I?”

“Not remotely.” Garak replied, his eyes staring intently at Julian. “You ought to know better than to underestimate me, my dear Julian.” Without changing his expression, Garak slipped the foot Julian had been trying to get at out of his shoe and snagged Julian’s foot with his toe-claws.

Julian made quite an appealing soft sound in his throat at that, and Garak suppressed a grin.

“I suppose I should,” Julian agreed, “Though it’ll be interesting to see how this re-shapes the plot. Traditionally, one of us used her to get at the villain of the piece - Sir Arthur Galt, I suppose. This time we’re going to have to work out another way.” He twisted his foot in Garak’s grip, brushing his toes against the underside of Garak’s foot.

Garak’s hands clawed lightly at the table, though he didn’t take his eyes off Julian’s. “Playing this by ear, are we? Be the invisible man, beneath the notice of the target to get right where you need to be to hear everything?”

Julian tapped a finger against his mouth, considering - or pretending to consider. “Well. We could do that. But this is a holosuite. And a game. And there’s at least a bit of martini in this story…we might as well enjoy it.”

“I have yet to see a martini. In fact, I’m getting rather parched.”

Julian raised his eyebrows. “Well, we can’t have that. Computer? Two martinis, please.”

Two long-stemmed, triangular glasses garnished with strange round greenish fruit shimmered into view.

Julian gave an apologetic smile, “Not quite the same as the real thing, but it should stave it off a little longer. Anyway, like I was saying…this is a game. We don’t have to do what would be the sane or the sensible or the realistic thing. That’s the point of the holosuites - to do things you’ve never tried before, or would never dare in real life, like-”

“Like ziplining over an active minefield with someone shooting at you?” Garak suggested dryly.

Julian smiled, small and slightly sly. “Exactly like that.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t want to hit you.” Garak said as he grabbed one of the glasses, giving it a sniff before trying a sip. It wasn’t as good as kanar, but it wasn’t as bad as what Quark had on stock. The flavour was still lacking, as all holofoods were.

“The safeties are on,” Julian reminded him, “The bullet brushed right past me. But the point is- is that we could do this the sneaky, sensible way, or we could do it ostentatiously, ridiculously and with absolutely no self-restraint without any risk to ourselves. Besides.” His smile widened, became faintly predatory, and he wriggled his toes again against Garak’s foot. “I rather want to know what you make of the death-trap.”

Garak kept eye contact as he drained his martini glass and licked his lips to get the last of the drops of alcohol. If they were going to continue playing this game, then he needed to stop playing the other one…so he let go of Julian’s foot after he gave it a final squeeze. “Alright, I’m curious…what death-trap?”

“There’s always a death-trap,” Julian said, with the certainty of a man declaring the sky was blue. “The hero - well, one of them - always ends up getting put in it, the villain always leaves before they’re actually dead, and they are always so over complicated and take so long that the hero inevitably escapes anyway. It’s the single stupidest literary convention ever invented by humankind.” For someone talking about their world’s stupidest literary convention, Garak thought, Julian sounded surprisingly gleeful.

“I’m glad you realize just how ridiculous that sounded, and accept it.” Garak said wryly, tilting his head to look at Julian from under his ridges.

“Of course it’s ridiculous,” Julian said, “That’s half the fun.”

“Mm, debatable. But, we’ll see.”

Julian raised his eyebrows. “Oh, so you have absolutely no interest in seeing me tied up and dangling over a tank of crocodiles?” he said in a low, purring voice that was as put-on as the accent from before had been, but rather less objectionable. “Completely helpless, bound, entirely at your mercy…”

“Not if I’m not the one who put you there.” Garak replied, “Though you paint a very…tempting…picture.”

Julian grinned. “I’ll add that to the list of future date suggestions,” he said blithely, “We could make it an actual competition - you play the villain and I play the hero and see who comes out on top?”

Garak’s smile was slow and positively devilish, “Enchanting idea, though I think it’ll always end the same… And I’m not one to beg for mercy.”

“Is this entire city floating on the water?” Garak asked, sounding almost breathless as he leaned out of the boat to watch the Grand Canal going by.

Julian laughed, and lent against the bow beside him. “It’s built on a chain of islands,” he said, “It’s mostly held up by anti-gravity, these days - it was sinking for centuries before that.” He didn’t need to ask ‘what do you think’. For once, Garak’s face was entirely readable, and alight with something like bliss.

“I would love to see it now, if this is it sinking.”

Julian swallowed a ‘maybe you will’. It was a very long way from a certainty that Garak would ever be able to, with the way things were tending on Earth right now. “Most of the city’s remained about the same for centuries,” he said instead, “The historic centre has, anyway. I’ve never actually been to the real place, but I’ve heard about it.”

Garak looked back at him for only a moment, but that moment conveyed without words his severe disappointment, “That is a crime. You were on the same planet as this place for how many years, and you never went?”

“I went to other places!” Julian said defensively. “Some of them…about as beautiful. I nearly lived in Paris, and it’s about as famous for beauty as Venice is. Just…not quite the same way.”

“Until I see this Paris, I shall continue to judge you.”

“Next time,” Julian promised, recklessly. “Or- There’s Spain. The Alhambra. I saw that on a school trip once. Or…or Cairo.”

“Cairo?” Garak asked curiously, eyes not on Julian as he was still taking in everything around them.

“I was born there,” Julian said simply. “My parents moved away when I was…pretty young…but I still remember parts of it.” He forced a smile, and added, “And it might be a more accommodating climate for you than Paris or London.”

Garak’s attention had flicked back to him and stayed there, and the Cardassian was quiet a moment. “If this temperature is accurate, then Venice is very similar to Cardassia’s winter.” Garak smiled, “Winter is the best time of year, you know.”

“I’ll take your word for it.” Julian looked around, “We’re nearly there,” he added, “St Mark’s Square - come on.”

True to his word, the boat - an old-fashioned speedboat, not one of the glossy black gondolas drifting serenely down the canal - drew to a stop just minutes later, and Julian clambered out, doing his best not to slip and slide and horribly aware that he wasn’t succeeding.

Garak had an insufferable smile as he watched Julian flounder, but thankfully said nothing. “Where to next, Agent Bashir?”

“The hotel first - then, there’s this.” He produced something from out of his jacket with a flourish that he would never admit to having practiced. “My superiors have a contact who managed to wrangle an invitation for one…Julius Eaton, plus guest. Apparently Mr Eaton is a dealer in antiquities, and Galt has a passion for those.” The alias wasn’t what he’d have gone for - Julius was just a hair too close to ‘Jules’ - but objecting now would draw attention to it, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Do you have my alias as well, or shall I be creative?”

“Nothing hard-and-fast,” Julian admitted, “If your superiors didn’t provide you with one, I’d say you have the choice.”

“Hmm. What is my character’s name supposed to be, again?”

“Illya Kuryakin,” Julian replied, slightly taken aback. “Though, this is the middle of the Cold War, a Russian name might just cause more trouble.”

Garak gave him a wide-eyed look. “I thought you wanted me to take risks, Mr Eaton?”

“I do. All right, then, Mr Kuryakin, shall we go? It’s all on foot from here, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

Waving one arm, Garak motioned for him to lead the way, “After you.”

Their hotel was, according to the travel documents that had manifested themselves during the scene change, on the Grand Canal itself, an old red building that had probably been a palazzo at some point. It was also almost offensively beautiful, with a view that even made Garak stop bitching under his breath about the utter tastelessness of mid-twentieth-century human decor.

“Should I just pause the game and let you stare for the rest of the programme?” he teased, coming up behind Garak.

“No…” Garak turned to face him with a wicked smile and looked Julian up and down, “There are other beautiful things to look at.”

Julian snorted, “And you have the nerve to criticise my lines?”

Garak’s expression turned innocent, “We’ve only seen part of the city, surely there’s more to it?”

“Definitely, I just don’t know how much the makers of the programme thought players would want to explore.” Julian leant a little against the window-frame, watching Garak as much as the canal outside. “If you like we could go and-” Find out, he had meant to say, but he wasn’t given the chance. Garak’s mouth was on his, Garak pressing him up against the window-frame and making it very difficult to concentrate on suspected Soviet weapons or the end of this whole little holographic world.

Hands snaked their way up his sides and behind his back, pressing him even further into the Cardassian’s chest. Garak’s mouth was cool, and tasted not quite like a human’s, no trace of the holographic martini he’d had earlier lingering on his lips or his tongue. His hands were cool too, even through Julian’s shirt, and when they finally broke apart, Garak’s forehead, bumps and ridges and spoon and all, fell against Julian’s and stayed there.

“I knew you’d be warm, my dear, but I didn’t think you’d run this hot.” Garak murmured, his breath ghosting over Julian’s face, “I dare say it’s going to be…very difficult to let go of you.”

Julian kissed him again, to avoid having to reply, and clung on, pulling Garak closer against him. The fork of Garak’s tongue felt strange against his own, and he could feel rough scaling as he slid a hand up and under Garak’s tunic. Just as Julian was losing himself in Garak, there was a chirp from the computer, and that was all the warning either of them got before the holosuite turned off, and suddenly there was nothing at his back.

With the wall no longer supporting their weight, Julian fell back, Garak right on top of him. Julian let out a grunt as he hit the deck’s floor, and the wind was knocked out of him as Garak’s weight crushed into his chest. This was not how he had been expecting to become breathless.

“Time’s up!” the call came from outside, “I’ve got other customers waiting, y’know!”

Garak shifted on top of him, just enough to look over his shoulder and glare at the Ferengi. Julian couldn’t see Garak’s face, but he did see half of Quark’s as the man nearly yelped and scurried off.

“Garak?” he managed to gasp out, “-can’t breathe-”

Garak’s head snapped back to him, surprised concern written all over his face, “My apologies, my dear!” He put his hands to either side of Julian’s shoulders and lifted himself up, so all his weight was now on his knees and hands and thankfully off of Julian.

“…thanks,” Julian managed, and dragged himself to his feet, tugging Garak up after him with maybe a little more strength than a baseline human should be able to muster. “I suppose we should go,” he added, “Er…” He didn’t especially want the evening to be over yet. “Would you like a drink? A real one? Holograms don’t really help, even if it feels like it. And I’d be interested to hear what you thought of the game.”

The smile Garak gave him would have been answer enough, but Julian was still glad when Garak leaned closer until their noses almost touched and said, “That sounds delightful…”

And then, of course, Julian had to kiss him again, and they were quite happily occupied right up until the sound of something metallic hitting the ground jolted them back to reality. Julian looked around.

“…oh,” he said, in a strangled voice. “Um. Hello, Chief. We were just…uh…”

“On our way out.” Garak finished for him, giving his usual respectful bow to the chief. “Pardon us.”

Miles looked so disturbed it was almost comical, but nodded gruffly and moved aside to let them through, carefully avoiding Julian’s eyes. Julian smiled and sort of shrugged as he followed Garak out, the door of the holosuite sliding shut behind him as he heard the opening chords of the Flying Aces World War Two holoprogramme filtering out into the corridor.

“Drinks?” Garak asked and Julian snapped back to where he was, with Garak’s expectant gaze boring into him.

He paused, for a moment, and then caught Garak’s hand. “I’m starving,” he said, “Do you mind if we get dinner as well? I’ve heard good things about that Klingon place at the other end of the Promenade?”

“Loud, crowded, and boisterous? Are you sure that’s how you wish to spend your evening?”

“The Vulcan place at this end of the Promenade?” Julian suggested.

Garak gave him a look as if that were no better, “And be judged for our open emotionalism?” Garak’s gaze flicked down to where Julian still held his hand.

“The Celestial Cafe?” Julian tried.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Garak looked like he was questioning Julian’s sanity. “My dear, you recall I am Cardassian? I don’t think they’ll take kindly to my being there.” Just as Julian was beginning to think Garak was just making excuses not to have dinner with him, Garak pulled Julian’s hand back up to the same place he’d put it before. “How about…my quarters? Guaranteed privacy, quiet, and minimal judgement.”

Julian smiled. “I’d like that.” One last remnant of his common sense flared up for a moment. “I have to pick Mila up from Jadzia’s quarters in an hour.”

Garak feigned a put upon look, “Oh, very well. We shall just have to rush through dinner then. One of these days, my dear doctor, you’re going to sit down for a full Cardassian meal.”

“And just what would that involve?” Julian asked.

“You’ll find out, though perhaps we’ll have to work on your table manners first.” Garak smirked widely at that.

Julian huffed. “There is nothing wrong with my table manners!”

“My dear, I have seen people flee from danger slower than you eat. You practically inhale food.”

“So?”

“So? It is terribly rude.”

Julian stared at him. “…you aren’t just saying that because you happen to dislike it, are you?”

“I’ll have you know, that on Cardassia to eat so quickly is extremely rude, as it is either a sign of starvation or disrespect to one’s host.”

Julian blinked. “Really? Where exactly did that idea come from? Mightn’t a person simply be busy? Or in a hurry for some other reason?”

“Would you like me to lecture on how exactly proper table manners are done, or shall we head to my quarters?”

“…your quarters, please,” Julian said, because contrary to popular belief he did have some idea of when to stop. “You can fill me in on the finer points once I’m there.”

Garak chuckled, “Of course, my dear, I did not assume otherwise.” He took Julian’s arm, in public, without any apparent thought for the damage to Julian’s reputation he’d claimed to be so concerned about during that desperate argument after Julian returned from the other universe, and the two of them set off back towards the habitat ring.

#mila verse #garashir #ds9 #star trek #my writing #thanks to the wonderful #thornfield13713 #for the help in writing this one #Trekkie in Training #Anonymous

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movietvtechgeeks · 7 years

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/battlestar-galactica-supernaturals-tahmoh-penikett-innovative-new-series-deep-six/

'Battlestar Galactica,' 'Supernatural's' Tahmoh Penikett talks up innovative new series 'Deep Six'

It’s been a while since I had the pleasure of chatting with Tahmoh Penikett, who memorably played Ezekiel/Gadreel on Supernatural a few seasons ago. Tahmoh just finished shooting on a new digital sci-fi adventure series called Deep Six, which caught my attention as a unique and exciting project. Deep Six is a digital sci-fi adventure series that follows a group of astronauts and their military escort on the first deep space mission. They find themselves stranded after an unanticipated accident, and – wouldn’t you know it – also confronted with a first encounter that may not be very friendly. What makes the series unusual is its focus on realism – the creator is a scientist, and the show has two real life experts as consultants, including a professor of astrophysics and a space historian. With their help, Deep Six aims to portray space in all its beauty and majesty as well as its terrifying silence and endless expanse. Much as sci-fi classics like 2001 and Alien anchored their stories in realism and thus amped up the terror, Deep Six aims to be both accurate and scary. Sign me up! I caught up with Tahmoh today after a week of our schedules absolutely refusing to mesh and me coming down with a truly horrifying cold. But we persevered! You can read our other interview with Tahmoh Penikett here. [caption id="attachment_42462" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Photos: Fangasm[/caption] Lynn: It’s so nice to talk to you again! We miss you at the Supernatural conventions, by the way. Tahmoh: Yeah it’s been a while, thank you. I miss being there; those things are fun. Lynn: Well Supernatural is going into its 13th season, so who knows, you may be back. Tahmoh: (laughing) With Supernatural, you never know! So true. So what if Gadreel sacrificed himself in a moment of heroism? Death is an impediment to returning to Supernatural. Lynn: I was fascinated by what I’ve heard about Deep Six. Is that one of the things that drew you to this project, the focus on realism? Do you think that will make the series scarier? Tahmoh: I think any time that you have a creator and showrunner who is determined to make something as realistic as possible -- being honest about the risks involved with space travel, where we might be in the future, what limitations we might have, whatever exceptional technologies we may have advanced in – but being real about the dangers of space and how hard space is. And that makes it more plausible for the viewer and the audience. In general, to me, as humans, we’re moving ahead at such an incredible rate in terms of technology, and specifically rocket propulsion and traveling to other planets, and eventually getting to Mars has become a priority again. It wasn’t for about 30 years in terms of the major space agencies in the world, and for NASA, it just was not a priority. Now it’s become a priority again, and we’re seeing the possibilities, and you hear we may be getting there in ten to fifteen years. So it’s really fascinating, but there are inherent risks. And here you have a creator like the ones who created Deep Six, and they’re trying to stay true to that. They’re having scientific advisors, and as a result, they have a show that is much more realistic and much more plausible. Audiences, in general, are educated about it because we’re watching all the programs, we’re following Elon Musk on twitter, we’re following NASA, we’re seeing all the updates, and we’re seeing what the limitations are. So in general, we’re quite educated about what is really happening. Lynn: That’s sort of what I was thinking. It seems to me the more realism, the more there’s the potential for really being scared, simply because it seems more plausible. I remember seeing 2001 A Space Odyssey – I was a kid and probably too young to actually be watching it, but that’s part of what made it so scary. Tahmoh: Yeah, Battlestar Galactica is a perfect example of a show I was on that had that – there was, of course, some technology we had, we’re doing space travel – but the Battlestar itself, it was classic, it really looked like a military vessel. It was like a warship. We had the old school phones to communicate. It wasn’t really fancy but a lot of it was science based, we had actual rocket scientists who were consultants on the show, so a lot of the technology had science behind it. And I think that’s what these guys are trying to do, so that’s good, man. [I’ve said this before, but I love the way Tahmoh talks – he’s clearly so knowledgeable and then he just casually tosses in a ‘man’ or a ‘love, , ’ and it’s just like, OH.] Lynn: Yeah, I totally agree. Did you get to interact with the scientist consultants as a guest act or you were just aware of their influence in the conceptualization of the show? Tahmoh: Yeah, I was just aware of their influence. I got the call, and the timing wasn’t ideal, but my agent said, just look at the script, I’ve heard good things, people have been talking about it, and it’s apparently a really good script. So I read the scene they wanted me to do, and it was literally one full day of work they wanted me to do. And once I read the script, I was like you know, this would be great to do, this is really well written. Better than most web series that I’ve seen done. And it just worked out time-wise, but mostly I wanted to do it because the script was so well done but also the consultants on it. So I went out there, and they were selling me on it as we were trying to make it happen, they were selling me on the project with all the information about how they had consulting scientists, how one of the creators is actually a physicist himself. You know, it definitely leant it some real credibility when you know that people like that are involved, and they’re trying to make something as real as that. Lynn: I’m not surprised at the quality of the script just because they seem to be putting so much heart and so much motivation into the entire project. That probably translates. Did it translate also to the day of filming? It sounds like it was a long day, but was it a set where people were motivated? Like the Supernatural set where every time I’ve been there, everyone seems to work so smoothly and even when things go wrong, everyone seems to go with the flow because they all seem to love what they’re doing? Was this a similar set? Tahmoh: Similar. You know, obviously, it’s hard to compare it with some other aspects, these guys were working with a very limited budget, but it definitely didn’t look like it. They were very efficient, everyone I saw on the crew was very good at their job, and on board and invested. So yeah, I guess they did share those qualities like on Supernatural, and that’s always a good thing. You know a project is good when everyone is really pulling their own because they believe in it, they believe in the story. If you believe in the story, you want to be a part of it and bring your best work, because the end product should be great. And I’m excited to be a part of that. Lynn: Can you tell me anything about your character? Tahmoh: I can’t speak a lot on him, I don’t know how much they’ve released. All I can say is he’s one of the astronauts’ commanding officers, so he’s kind of the veteran. He’s been around the block, and he’s someone who a lot of the other astronauts look up to. And you get a sense of his character right away, who he is, how much experience he has. Then the situation takes a turn for the worst, and that’s the surprising hook of my episode is what they encounter, what sort of problems he faces and how he deals with it. And he’s obviously a veteran and very capable and smart and a leader and the others respect him. He’s serious, and he’s also got a joking and playful attitude at times, but it’s also, they’re astronauts and there’s no messing around, so when it comes down to business, and the situation gets serious, he’s by the book. Lynn: I’m glad to hear that he gets at least a little opportunity to do a little bit of comedy because I know from your other projects how good you are at that subtle comedy. Tahmoh: Yeah, I don’t, unfortunately, get the opportunity a lot to do it, but whenever I can squeeze it in there, it’s kinda who I am, and I think most of us have that in us, right? Lynn: Right, I totally agree. I know from talking to you at length in the past about your portrayal of Gadreel how thoughtful you are about the characters you’re portraying and creating a backstory so you can find what their motivation is and so you can understand them from a psychological viewpoint. [See my earlier interview with Tahmoh for that discussion here} When you go in to do something like this, where you have to create a character and their arc in literally one day, is that challenging for someone who likes to really get a handle on the person you’re portraying? Tahmoh: That’s a really good point you just made because it is. Normally if I have two days of preparation, that’s still a very short amount of time. It’s kind of an essential part of my process to write the backstory. This was very very last minute, and I was travelling and there were things going on, so this was so last minute that I literally jumped on a plane after an afternoon of negotiating, flew, time difference, lost three hours, Toronto, out the next morning, shot all day. So I didn’t have the opportunity, I simply couldn’t do the work that I normally would, so I have to trust the script. I communicated to the writers before I arrived and I had a conversation with them where I said, you’re really going to have to lay out for me who this guy is, beyond what’s in the given circumstances and what’s in the script, I need you to tell me who he is and then I’ll work with that as best I can in this short amount of time we have. Lynn: That makes sense. I remember that in our last chat, in the green room at some Supernatural convention, we spent a lot of time talking about your process because as a psychologist, that’s what fascinates me. How actors make sense of their characters and how you bring that through, especially a very complicated character like Gadreel. So that was my first thought, I wonder how he’s doing that because this is a different set of circumstances. Tahmoh: Yeah, that’s very observant of you. Sometimes you just don’t have the opportunity. And I’ve said this before, sometimes you – and it’s rare, unfortunately – but sometimes the script is so good and the character is so good that you connect with the character on such a cerebral and such an instinctual level that you don’t have to make those choices. You CAN and you may, but sometimes you just completely understand that character. Sometimes you understand them so well that you trust in the script 100%, but because I like to do my due diligence, I’ll still – it just makes it that much easier to color his backstory if I do have the opportunity to write some of it, you know? Lynn: Yeah. Tahmoh: It always helps, because it layers the work and it makes it more real, and you don’t just forget about it. Helo (on Battlestar Galactica) I definitely ended up writing a lot of backstory, but also when I had the audition, I just understood him 100%. I got him. I was like, just let me in the room. I didn’t have to use those techniques that you use to get you in an emotional place, whether it be substitution or sense memory or things like that, it was just there for me. Every once in a while in your career you’re blessed with things like that. Lynn: That must feel really good when it happens. Did you have to do more work with the Gadreel character on Supernatural because it was such an unusual character and had such an unusual evolution? Tahmoh: I had to do some work, but for that – and I’ve told this story before – it threw me off at first when I found out that Jared [Padalecki] was already playing the character. Because he’s one of the leads of the show! So Jared and I were playing the same character, and me not knowing that – I thought that I would be playing Ezekiel or Gadreel first, and then when I found out he had already played him – on the day that I was playing him – that threw me off. Lynn: I guess so! Tahmoh: But I got to see, and like I said before, he was doing very specific stuff, so I was able to incorporate it. But it was also not far off from what I was going to do, so that made it easier. And then, getting a sense of where they were thinking of taking the character, that’s when I started changing some of – not changing, but I started adding to who I thought Gadreel was. And I started making some different specific choices. Because the unfortunate thing is when they don’t really give you a sense of where your character is going to go and their arc, but only a loose idea, you also have to remain open to changing some of your choices. You might be making some strong choices, but they just might not work. Lynn: [nodding] Tahmoh: And so you have to be open to that as an actor. And I’ve done it before, I’ve put in a ton of work and made some strong choices, and then you come in, and the producer or director is like, actually no, we need you to do more of this, and you’re like welp okay! Lynn: (laughing) You don’t really think about the amazing flexibility that acting requires. Especially when you’re a guest actor I think, you’re always going in and creating characters who aren’t the leads and so there hasn’t been the amount of backstory given to you. I remember talking with Curtis Armstrong about how he struggled sometimes with Metatron on Supernatural because he was never given the whole story and didn’t know where the character was going. So like you he kept making choices and sometimes they worked and sometimes… Tahmoh: (laughing) Yeah! I totally can relate to that, and Curtis is so fantastic and did such a fantastic job. I could definitely see that was the case with him too, you know? I felt that the writers were taking Gadreel in a very sort of evil nemesis sort of way and I just felt like I wanted to play against that a little bit. And when Jared was playing him, he was doing it too – I could see it clearly in his performance, so he kind of set that up for me also, which was great. Lynn: And I think it really worked out in the end because Gadreel did get to be heroic. I think that all of us who were feeling a fondness for the character – much like Metatron – were second guessing ourselves going hmm why am I feeling this way? We were probably picking up on those subtle things that you and Curtis and Jared were doing, but it made sense eventually because both of them got to be heroes ultimately. Tahmoh: That’s awesome, yeah. Lynn: It was, it was cool. I won’t keep you too long – and I’m astounded that I’ve managed not to have a coughing fit for 20 minutes – but is there anything else you’re excited about or going up for that you want to talk about? Tahmoh: I’ve done three episodes of Incorporated, a new sci-fi series which is really well done. I got to work with an actor I’ve long admired, Dennis Haysbert, and with Allison Miller. I’m having a blast doing that right now! Lynn: It was so great to talk to you again – we really do miss you on the convention circuit, and I hope our paths cross soon. I’m really looking forward to seeing you on Deep Six. Tahmoh: Great talking to you soon – be well, love. ETA: Imdb tells me that Tahmoh is also part of the new series that’s generating a lot of buzz, Netflix’s Altered Carbon, a futuristic show in which your consciousness can be saved when your body dies and then implanted into another. Some big names are attached, with a very diverse and international cast, so stay tuned for that one also! In the meantime, you can come along for the ride with Deep Six. Check out some behind the scenes videos on their IndieGoGo page, follow them on @DeepSixSeries, and stay tuned for more! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/deep-six-a-hard-scifi-with-practical-fx-series-space#/ Behind the scenes stills courtesy of Deep Six.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

#Battlestar Galactica #Deep Six #Featured #Interviews #Supernatural #Tahmoh Penikett

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actutrends · 4 years

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The DeanBeat: My favorite games of 2019

Games grew to a $148.8 billion market in 2019, up 9.6% from 2018 and reaching over 2.5 billion people across the globe. Console games, the lion’s share of the industry a decade earlier, were smaller than mobile games in 2019, a continuation of a multi-year trend, according to research firm Newzoo.

We watched the further growth of esports and game watching expand this year, and we saw the introduction of subscription gaming for Apple Arcade, Google Play, and Google Stadia’s cloud gaming service. Hyper-casual mobile games that last 30 seconds emerged, but big mobile titles like Call of Duty: Mobile emerged to hold their own against the nanosecond attention spans.

I didn’t think we could match last year’s brilliant titles such as Red Dead Redemption 2, God of War, and Marvel’s Spider-Man. For me, last year was the triumph of traditional narrative triple-A games that blended open worlds with deep narratives.

But the highest end of the industry didn’t rest on its laurels in 2019. As usual, I didn’t have enough time to play it all. But I enjoyed everything across the board, from Sandbox VR’s Star Trek: Discovery — Away Mission virtual reality experience to episodic games like Life is Strange 2 to mobile titles like Call of Duty: Mobile and Apple Arcade’s Where Cards Fall. I re-engaged with favorite maps from years past in Call of Duty: Mobile and plunged into battle royale maps with squadmates in the multiplayer action of Apex Legends. And I was scared out of my wits playing titles like The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan.

It felt like I had less time to explore indie experiences that my peers played, so I wasn’t the first to stumble on titles like Untitled Goose Game. But I enjoyed delving into my own passions, such as the World War II real-time strategy game Steel Battalion 2 from Eugen Systems, where I could zoom in on a single tank in a battle or pan out to see an entire division marching across the Russian landscapes. Toward the end of the year, I rushed to finish titles such as Remedy’s Control and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

For the sake of comparison, here are my favorites from 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011. In each story below, the links go to our full reviews or major stories about the games. And be sure to check out the GamesBeat staff’s own votes for Game of the Year and the best individual favorites of the staff soon.

Check out our Reviews Vault for past game reviews.

10) Sayonara Wild Hearts

Above: Sayonara Wild Hearts takes you on an impossibly fast ride.

Image Credit: Annapurna

Developer: Simogo Publisher: Annapuana Interactive, iam8bit Platforms: Apple Arcade/iOS, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Windows, MacOS, tvOS

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this dream-like game, as music games don’t usually get me dancing. But Sayonara Wild Hearts has an artsy combination of dance-fighting, pop music, and high-speed motorcycle chases that clicked for me. I played it on an iPhone with Apple Arcade‘s $5 a month subscription platform, and I used a Rotor Riot wired game controller to play it rather than brave the untrustworthy touchscreen. You can also play it on an iPad or Apple TV.

It’s a high-adrenaline game where you tap, jump, and maneuver to collect little hearts in a beautiful neon-and-black landscape. And it isn’t that long with 23 levels. The neon-on-black art is beautiful. It’s hard to believe a small game studio put it together, because the art is so well-crafted. There isn’t much of a story, but the developers tell you what you need to know.

In Sayonara Wild Hearts, you play as a young woman who suffers a heartbreak. A tarot card pops up and dubs her The Fool, transporting her into an alternate universe. She sets out to restore the harmony of the universe hidden away in the hearts of her enemies. As you take control of The Fool, you speed along on a motorcycle within a tunnel-like view of the horizon.

The fusion of music and gameplay reminds me of music games like Rez from 2001 or that wacky and artistic “Take On Me” music video by A-Ha in 1985. The gameplay in Sayonara Wild Hearts seems impossible, and it takes a lot of skill to avoid crashing. But it’s whimsical and forgiving at the same time, as you can start up right where you crashed to try again. I thought songs like Begin Again were catchy and hard to get out of my head. I’m not going to say that this was far better than many of the triple-A games that debuted this year, but this is my nod in the direction of creativity, fun, and the indie spirit on mobile devices.

9) Rage 2

Above: Rage 2 couldn’t fight the dying of the light.

Image Credit: Bethesda

Developer: Avalanche Studios and id Software Publisher: Bethesda Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows

When id Software’s Tim Willits visited Avalanche Studios in Stockholm, he told his new compadres to ignore constraints. “When I met with the team in Stockholm on the whiteboard, “More crazy than Rage” That was the first pillar of this game,” Willits said.

And he got what he asked for. Rage 2 didn’t get the best reviews, but I thought it was underrated, as I played it through the end of the single-player campaign and played a lot of silly side missions as well. Rage 2 had a lot of environments, ranging from the Mad Max-style desert to jungles and cities. The script was a bit weak, but the enemies were tough and the weapons were glorious. The “nanotrite” capabilities that you discovered along the way are critical to defeating the biggest bosses. The art style was absolutely wild, with plenty of bright pink and yellow colors splashed across the punk habitats. And I enjoyed reuniting with my old friend, the Wingstick, which is like a boomerang that could slice an enemy’s head off.

If it had flaws, it was that it wasn’t Red Dead Redemption 2. It often littered the landscape with side missions and enemies to kill, to no purpose. You could get damaged on your way to an important mission, and then have to figure out a way to recover. It’s good if you stayed on track, built your capabilities up, and stuck to the good stuff.

The final part of the game lasted a lot longer for me because I had trouble taking down General Cross, the bad guy, and his pet monster. But to me, it was a thrill when I finally succeeded.

8) Days Gone

Above: A horde of Freakers chases Deacon St. John in Days Gone.

Image Credit: Sony

Developer: Sony Bend Studio Publisher: Sony Platforms: PlayStation 4

The amazing success of its first Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) hampered this game, as did a couple of years of delays. By the time it came out, many were sick of it, and it suffered from having some of the worst bugs I’ve ever seen in a triple-A game. Others wrong wrote it off as a copycat of The Walking Dead, World War Z, and The Last of Us.

But I admired Sony’s guts in standing by Bend Studio, and I stuck by it too as my colleagues ragged on it. I played it for perhaps 50 hours over several weeks, and I was quite possibly the last critic to review the game. I rated it only as a 75, because of the bugs. But without them, it would have been more like a 90, based on the quality of its story and the thrill of fighting the hordes of zombies, or Freakers.

I was drawn to the story of Deacon St. John, a bounty hunter in the Oregon woods and a broken man in a fallen world. He had a death wish and could ride a motorcycle through a horde of zombies just to get them to chase him. But Bend Studio delivered on the big scene where a few hundred zombies chased the biker through an abandoned lumber mill. It was a thrill to figure out how to beat that challenge, and I was hooked on the story of how Deacon was haunted by the memory of his lost love Sarah.

The adventure took me across the beautiful Oregon landscape into horrifying creature battles, motorcycle chases, infected crows, memorable horde battles, stealth missions tracking the secretive government agency, and just plain-old surviving in the wilderness. It was kind of an art to orchestrate your escape from several hundred Freakers. And it was good to see Deacon change and become the person that Sarah would have wanted him to be.

7) Steel Division 2

Above: Your forces appear as icons when you zoom out in Steel Division 2.

Image Credit: Eugen Systems

Developer: Eugen Systems Publisher: Eugen Systems Platforms: Windows

There are no Metacritic reviews for Steel Battalion 2. I may have been the only one who played it. But I saw the game being played on YouTube by some dedicated influencers with tiny audiences. And I was fascinated. I’ve been playing the Total War series of real-time strategy games since they first debuted more than 15 years ago, and I played Total War: Attila for hundreds of hours in 2015.

And I was glad to pour scores of hours into it this summer into Eugen Systems’ real-time strategy World War II games, which are a niche within a niche. It dwells on a bit of war history I didn’t know much about, Operation Bagration. It was the Soviet Union’s huge summer offensive in Belarus to take back big chunks of Eastern Europe from the Nazis, as the Allied invasion of Normandy was gathering steam in 1944. It was a massive set of tank, infantry, and air battles that left the German Wehrmacht in full retreat on the Eastern Front.

It has a steep learning curve. The game has more than 600 historically accurate units, 18 divisions, and an astounding level of detail in its graphics. You can focus in on an individual scene, such as above, or zoom out to get a birds’ eye view of an entire battle with thousands of soldiers. Your job as general is to constantly feed the right kind of troops into the fray to make the enemy’s forces melt away from you. This is easier said than done, as you can dislodge well-trained enemy squads from a forest trench, even if you’ve got superior armor. The enemy AI is smart, taking out your anti-tank guns on a hill with artillery or air power.

I lost dozens of skirmish matches against the AI before I figured out how to win. On top of the tactical battles, I also got hooked on the Army General mode, where you moved around divisions like chess pieces on a map. But you can still choose to play those huge campaigns, one tactical battle at a time. That’s what is amazing about the title.

6) Gears of War 5

Above: Kait gets here close-up.

Image Credit: Microsoft

Developer: The Coalition Publisher: Microsoft Platforms: Windows, Xbox One

Coalition head Rod Fergusson humbly said that Gears 5 was the best entry yet in the Gears saga. And he wasn’t making that up. I was gratified to see the developer get the balance right when it came to creating a wild action game with an emotional story with strong characters such as the hero, Kait Diaz.

Gears 4 got pretty goofy at certain points in its narrative about the human race losing its battle for survival against the Swarm in a world gone mad. But this story balanced that goofiness that brought us chainsaw bayonets with the moments where you mourn the death of a lost friend. These are tough moments because the cast of characters has survived some very tough times, and they’re a close-knit group. When you rip a character out of that group, it leaves deep wounds.

The campaign’s longer than usual, and it features cool features such as a skiff that sails across both the desert and ice. shoot out the ice under the feet of the Scions, the heavy tank bosses that carry a heavy weapon and are often shielded from attack by flying drones. This was very different from past Gears games. I remember spending an hour battling a blind boss, slowly figuring out a kind of choreography to stay out of its way, replenish my ammo, grab new weapons, and spray it with the frosty freeze guns. The title also had some cool additions to multiplayer and co-op play.

Gears 5 delivers a sense that you’re losing a big war at the same time it delivers the blow of a personal loss. And it generates a resolve to hit back. I like how this team outgrew its urges to be goofy and shocking and instead opted for something closer to fine art.

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