#VA isn’t a horror story | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle · 11 months

Text

Pregnancy AU- Drabble 2

Holaaa! Aqui estoy nuevamente escribiendo pequeños trozos de mi Pregnancy AU. Esto no es un fanfiction y no crel que nunca vaya a conectar los escritos para hacer un fanfic completo, así que edte y todo el otro contenido de este AU son todo lo que hay sin ninguna estructura real.

This isn’t a fanfic and I don’t think I’ll ever connect the drabbles to make a full fanfic, so this is just a short piece of a story with no real structure.

Si te gusta, puedes encontrar el otro pedacito que escribí aquí here! No está nada edcrito de forma cronológica! Di te intereda ver TODO lo que he escrito respecto a este AU lo puedes encontrar en el Pregnancy AU tag al final del post! Y de antemano pido perdón de que está en Español, sé que mis posts tienden a ser en inglés, pero éste simplemente fluyó en Español!

Contexto: en este AU Betty queda embarazada tras la primera noche, asi que ella aun no sabe del Plan. Esto ocurre poco después de que Armando se entere del embarazo.

Armando Mendoza ni siquiera se dio cuenta en qué momento había llegado a la oficina de Mario Calderón. Se había movido en automático, llevado por una fuerza ajena, arrastrado como mera basura en las calles inundadas de Bogotá. Las nubes negras, turbulentas, y enfurecidas nublaban su juicio.

Lo último que recordaba hacer, y sólo lo recordaba con relativa nitidez, era sostener a Beatriz en sus brazos y murmurarle con el poco aliento que tenía que se fuera a su casa, que descansara, y que se veían de nuevo aquí en la oficina al día siguiente. No recordaba haberle dado ningún beso, pero en sus labios aún quedaba la sensación de uno y la grasa de su capúl. Sus dedos aún tenían la humedad de las lágrimas, pero no sabía a quién le pertenecían.

-¿Armando, me escucha? -sonó entonces la voz de Calderón. Armando despertó de su estado muerto en vida para encontrarse ahí, en la oficina de Calderón, parado frente a la puerta cerrada y dándole el perfil al escritorio de Mario. Su cabeza agachada casi rozaba la madera de la puerta, y su vista se perdía en el relucir de sus zapatos siempre bien boleados. Armando reaccionó con su voz, y con la cabeza aún turbulenta, sólo lo miró, sin saber qué decir o cómo explicarle su horror, su pánico, su terror, su… su todo.

No sabía a qué había venido.

-A ver, hermano, venga, venga para acá -dijo Calderón, poniéndose de pie, sin que Armando dijera aun nada. Se acercó a Armando y lo tomó por los hombros guiándolo hasta su escritorio para sentarlo en las sillas frente a la suya. Apenas hizo falta un pequeño empujoncito para que las rodillas de Armando se doblaran, desplomándolo en la silla.

Armando sintió la poca fuerza que lo había sostenido hasta entonces reventarse, y sintió sus piernas débiles.

Seguía sin poder decir nada. Su mente estaba nublada, sus oídos taponeados. Apenas escuchaba como ruido de fondo a Calderón hablar por teléfono con alguien para pedirle un tinto. Lo vio levantarse y entrar a la sala de juntas, servir un vaso de agua y traérselo. Lo sintió todo ajeno.

-Tenga, tómeselo. Ahorita le traen un tinto -dijo Calderón, sentándose en su lugar. Armando dio apenas unos traguitos de su agua, y la frialdad del hielo le caló en los dientes con suficiente fuerza para hacerlo sentir más vivo. Para cuando se terminó el vaso, había llegado el tinto humeante. Se abalanzó sobre él como si su vida dependiera de ello, y se lo bebió tan rápido que le quemó el esófago.

-Hey, hey, Armando, cálmese, ¿quiere? Deje eso, se va a vomitar -dijo Calderón y le quitó la taza de la mano-. Respire.

La había cagado. La había cagado de manera tan infinitamente profunda, que ni siquiera sabía cómo procesarlo.

Oh, su Betty. Su pobre, inocente, ingenua Betty…

Los ojos de Armando se aguaron al tiempo que la nausea lo invadió, y se dijo a sí mismo que sólo era por el dolor de dientes causado por el hielo del agua y la quemada del café.

Armando entonces cerró los ojos, tomó una bocanada de aire, y lo expulsó lentamente por la nariz.

-Armando, ¿qué le pasa? -le dijo Calderón en un tono que Armando jamás había escuchado. Era suave, como si estuviera hablando con un niño, pero a la vez parecía querer ocultar algo detrás de toda esa suavidad.

Los sentidos de Armando estaban anestesiados por el shock y terror que le inundaba la sangre, pero si hubiera estado más alerta, se habría dado cuenta que Calderón había empezado esa conversación con molestia por el susto del portazo, burla por su cara de espanto, y terminando en genuina preocupación ante la poca respuesta de Armando. Mario en ese momento tenía muchísimas posibilidades nadándole en la cabeza, pero se mantenía mayormente sereno, esperando y deseando que se tratara solamente de alguna exageración de Armando por cosas sin importancia.

Mario se decía a sí mismo que esa era la causa probable del estado de Armando, pero lo pálido que estaba su amigo, empezaba a hacer sudar las palmas de las manos de Mario en nerviosismo. Se imaginaba lo peor: que se había descubierto el embargo; que Terramoda había quebrado; que descubrieron su intento fallido de contrabando de telas; que la policía venía por ellos; que- que-

Mario no dejó que el pánico se le subiera a la cabeza si no tenía fundamentos para ello.

-¿Armando? -repitió Calderón, y Armando ni siquiera sabía cómo contestar.

Así que apenas pudo regurgitar las dos más escalofriantes palabras que lo decían todo:

-Está embarazada.

Armando sabía que había dicho él esas palabras, y aún así le sonaban tan distantes.

-¿Qué? -dijo Calderón.

-Está embarazada, Calderón -repitió Armando, y está vez, las palabras cobraron sentido en su cabeza. Las sintió heladas, duras, e intratables, pero lógicas. Al menos, sonaban a español.

-¿Pero quién, Armando? ¿Marcela? -preguntó Calderón. Armando estaba demasiado sumido en su horror para notar que Mario había recobrado el aliento.

-Betty.

-¿Qué? ¿Betty? -repitió Calderón sorprendido-. ¿Beatriz Pinzón Solano? ¿La fea? ¿esa Betty?

-¡Sí, Calderón, Betty, Betty, mi Betty! ¿¡Quién más si no esa Betty?! -exclamó Armando, explotando repentinamente mientras se ponía de pie de un movimiento rápido y brusco.

Fue como si repentinamente se rompiera su coraza de shock, y ahora todo le cayera encima, como un súbito golpe de electricidad que le había revivido los tejidos muertos al monstruo de Frankenstein. Se levantó de la silla y llevó una mano a su frente, frotándola con un gesto inconsciente de desesperación. Su otra mano sostenía su propia cadera en frustración. Empezó a andar por la oficina como una bestia enjaulada y fúrica, mientras todos sus horrores se le escurrían de la boca:

-Dios mío, Calderón. La embarré, la embarré demasiado. Beatriz está embarazada. ¡Embarazada! Va a tener un niño. Por dios ¿Puede creerlo? -exclamó Armando-. ¿Se da cuenta de lo que significa? ¿Se da cuenta de lo que le hice?

-Sí, sí, yo también aprobé biología en la secundaria -murmuró Calderón, y fue sólo entonces que Armando se detuvo en su frenético andar y volteó a mirarlo, con ojos desorbitados y la vena en su frente saltada.

Calderón estaba reclinado en su silla, con su expresión tranquila y pensativa. Uno de sus codos estaba en el descansabrazos de su silla, y la otra mano estaba relajada sobre el escritorio.

-¿Usted piensa que estoy bromeando, Calderón? ¿Esto- esto le parece gracioso? -preguntó Armando, su voz calmada y sin ocultar su desdén-. ¿Cómo demonios está usted tan calmado? ¿Acaso no ve el horror de esta situación?

Calderón se encogió de hombros.

-No me malentienda, pero claro que veo el horror de la situación. Pero si mal no recuerdo, mi querido presidente, cuando YO tuve una amenaza de embarazo con la Fernández, usted tampoco se mostró muy preocupado por mí, ¿o sí? -le dijo Calderón sonriendo-. Este es su karma por abandonar a un soldado amigo.

Y Armando entonces explotó.

-Calderón, ¿escucha siquiera usted un poco de lo que dice? ¿Procesa las idioteces que dice antes de que se le escurra la baba al hablarles?-dijo Armando en un susurro suave que apenas contenía el grito que sele formaba en la garganta-. ¿Cómo puede siquiera comparar las situaciones? Patricia Fernández es una arpía, Calderón, una chupa plata que sólo se revolcaba con usted porque quería marido rico que le resolviera la vida. ¿Cómo puede comparar a Betty con esa vieja? Betty- Betty nos ha ayudado en todo, Calderón, ¡en todo! Los balances maquillados, las coartadas con Marcela, la empresa de papel, ¡rechazó plata por mí, por Dios! Cualquier cosa que le he pedido me la ha dado en bandeja de plata. Todo y hasta más que eso, ¿y cómo le pago? ¡usándola! ¡usándola y arruinándole la vida, maldita sea!

Armando había terminado ahogando un grito. En algún momento, se había terminado abalanzando obre el escritorio de Calderón, con las palmas abiertas presionadas contra el escritorio, las venas de su cuello y manos saltándose en la absoluta rabia qud sentía, sosteniendo el peso de la mitad superior de su cuerpo. Quería ahorcarlo en ese mismo momento.

-¿Tiene idea de lo que debe de estar sufriendo ella en este momento? -continuó Armando, sin moverse de su lugar, mirando al asqueroso de Mario Calderón a los ojos, sintiendo la rabia pulsarle en cada latido del corazón-. Para ella su papá es su vida. Lo más sagrado que tiene. Don Hermes es un hombre recto y de valores ¿se imagina la decepción que será para él esta noticia? ¿Saber que su única hija, el amor de su vida, salió embarazada por ser la amante de su jefe? ¿No se da cuenta también de las burlas que va a sufrir? ¿De lo que le espera de ahora en adelante? ¿De la humillación que será para ella?

: :

Mario había retrocedido ligeramente en un gesto inconsciente de intimidación, con la espalda aún presionada contra el respaldo de su silla, pero ya no en relajación. Su cuerpo apenas mostraba la menor señal de tensión, mientras sus ojos no perdían un instante del aparente colapso emocional de Armando. Tampoco se le escapaba que todo lo que Armando estaba diciendo, era sobre ella y cómo la afectaría a ella, sin siquiera mencionarse a sí mismo.

Mario había disfrutando momentánea y ligeramente de la satisfacción de ver a Armando sufrir lo que él mismo había sufrido con Patricia meses atrás. Escuchó a Armando en su crisis nerviosa, y fue sólo hasta que golpeó su escritorio sonoramente con las palmas abiertas y se abalanzó sobre este, con los ojos desorbitados y las venas saltadas, que Mario cedió.

La momentánea satisfaccion de la venganza divina fue disminuyendo hasta recordar todo lo que estaba en juego. Mientras Armando seguía parloteando sobre Betty y todo lo que significaba para ella, Mario ya había pasado el tema y ahora se estaba concentrando en las verdades inminentes e importantes.

-A ver, hermano, cálmese. No quise desearle mal a su mostrete, ¿sí? No me arranque la cabeza, por favor -dijo Mario, levantando las manos en señal de rendición. Casi se quería reír, pero también entendía que la situación era grave para Armando-. Ya, ya, tranquilo. Siéntese, ¿sí?

Armando lo siguió mirando lleno de rabia. Pero finalmente se sentó, dejándose caer como gorila en su silla.

-Bien. Yo sé que la noticia fue completamente inesperada, pero hay que pensar las cosas con claridad-

-¿Con claridad? Mario, no me pida claridad ni calma en este momento. Estoy ardiendo. ¿No se da cuenta todo lo que Betty va a perder, lo que le causé?

-Sí, sí, yo entiendo -dijo Mario para evitar que Armando cayera en un espiral de auto desprecio sin fondo, y redireccionó la conversación a lo importante-. Primero que nada, ¿es suyo el chino?

Armando inmediatamente se volvió a poner de pie, sin duda a punto de darle otro discurso o ahorcarlo.

-¿Es usted imbécil? ¿De quién si no, ah?

Mario lo miró un instante en silencio. Era bastante lógica la respuesta, ¿o no? ¿Acaso había algún otro hombre en todo el universo que estuviera suficientemente loco, desesperado y que tuviera terrible gusto como para acostarse con muecielaguín, además de Armando Mendoza y Nicolás Mora?

-Nadie, nadie, tiene usted razón- le contestó Mario. Pensando bien las cosas, no era prudente ni necesario discutir esa posibilidad. Sólo causaría qur Armando perdiera la poca cordura que tenía estos últimos días, se bebiera tres botellas enteras de whisky, y se mandara a sí mismo a un coma etílico.

Pero la posibilidad de una paternidad fraudulenta no se podía descartar, principalmente si esto resultaba más complicado de lo esperado, así que Mario se guardó ese argumento en la manga para sacarlo después si se llegaba la ocasión.

-Pero creo yo -siguió Mario- que la respuesta a este problema es muy sencilla: dígale que no lo tenga, y se acabó.

-Ella nunca aceptaría eso, Calderón -contestó Armando. El presidente se había reclinado en la silla pero seguía evidentemente tenso. Sus manos en forma de garra parecían apenas contener la necesidad de rasgar la fina madera del escritorio de Calderón. Su quijada se tensaba y destensaba.

-Betty es inteligente, hermano. Ella sabe que esto no puede pasar. Usted está por casarse, su padre la mataría, la empresa está en crisis, y Marcela lo mataría a usted sino es que la humillación social lo amta primero. Usted sabe lo rápido que corren los chismes por Bogotá. ¿Se imagina usted la humillación que sería para su familia y para Marcela que usted esté teniendo un hijo con vampirín? Sin mencionar que se está arruinando los genes -dijo Mario-. Que se haga un favor y no nos complique más la vida a todos, y que no se la arruine a ella.

#ysblf pregnancy au #ysblf #betty la fea #yo soy betty la fea #armando mendoza #beatriz pinzon solano #marcela valencia #nicolas mora #mario calderon #ysblf au

40 notes · View notes

matt0044 · 9 months

Text

You know something that internet personalities or those with large platforms can do in light of the Writers and Actors striking?

Recommend shows. Be it from last decade or way back in the day. Especially whatever Streaming Services slept on in their Self-Fulfilling prophecy of cancellation. Movies that were slept on also count.

I get that something like that isn’t very trendy or (let’s be real here) algorithmic friendly but at the very least, it can be a direct refutation to those claiming that there will be no more stories to enjoy.

For Anime, Netflix’s Ultraman is a recently completed hype as hell reboot/sequel to the famous Tokusatsu hero. You don’t need to have seen the original to enjoy it as it’s of the son Shinjiro inheriting the mantle with all the catch-up that’s required. It may have the stereotypical CG Anime framerate but other times will have smooth as hell scene, especially for action.

The VAs are union with Steve Blum living it up as one of the villains if that’s a selling point.

Netflix’s Lupin might not have the Anime incarnation we know and love but Omar Sy’s Assane Diop lives up to the OG Gentleman Thief with heists and gambits that can and will make you drop your jaw. Think Sherlock but with a faaaaaaar better sense of story. So far. We’ll see.

Though originally in French, those who might not do well with subtitles might find the dub so good, it might trick you into thinking it was filmed in English.

A Netflix movie, The House, is a British stop motion horror anthology in which three act show the titular house being owned by three separate homeowners. Each one are challenge psychologically and supernaturally, a tone only enhanced by the stop motion’s inherent uncanny valley effect.

While the first two acts end in tragedy and morbidity, the third gives a different sort in comparison. It’s something a lot of viewers come away from with differing interpretations.

Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop... is a bad adaptation... but a good show. I’m sorry but the acting and even the wackadoo script wasn’t not entertaining.

Anybody got any show or movies that streaming slept on and deserve a look-see with the coming slow-down?

21 notes · View notes

staytilspringday · 1 year

Text

Thoughts on Saintmaker (2023)

A haunted convent. Statues that move on their own. A buried past. Welcome to Saint Idelora’s convent, where becoming a saint comes with a price.

Yangyang did it again! I was very excited to play their latest game and I’ve been meaning to sit down and talk about it, so this might be a lengthy post. Also, haven’t 100% completed so I might miss some things! WARNING: Spoilers

1. Themes There’s an emphasis on family, religion and being as close to saintly as you can (omg she said it har har). I think that one of the strengths of Yangyang’s visual novels, is the relationship between the characters, and this is no exception. Holly does have to go through a lot (and by that, i have no idea how long the recollection in game is supposed to be but it can’t be a month so its a lot over a few days) but it’s clear that her relationship with her family has shaped her into being a peace keeping doormat, as much as she hates it. 2. Choices, Choices On my second playthrough, I played with a friend who was frustrated that Holly wouldn’t follow through with the choices she choose but it makes perfect sense. Holly spent years as the peace keeper to not rock the boat, a random voice in her head isn’t going to make her suddenly snap and yell at other people. You influence her actions, but you don’t get to choose if that makes sense. In this regard, it reminds me of Cupid, in that you tell the protagonist this or that, which can affect their actions but they can rebel against you. There are brief segments where you get to play Adira, the presiding nun for the recollection, as she fixes and repaints the statues in the convent. It was only until near the end, when she asks for any message from her former sisters, the choices are in red and horror-esque text and both are to urge her to continue the abusive treatment the Sisters of St. Idelora subjects their girls under. My first thought was that it was Idelora herself, the woman who founded the Order and the person every nun wanted to emulate. She certainly had no problems justifying her choices--which proved to be fatal for one character and gravely traumatizing for another--while maintaining a calm and maternal approach to all everyone. But as the story went on, I was wondering if it was the land itself or whatever was causing the convent to act up.

3. The Story

Despite being a shorter read, Saintmaker has a very moving story. The relationships between characters was my favorite parts of the Letter, and I’m so happy to see this return stronger than ever in Saintmaker. The cast is much smaller but this decision has given us a more in depth look in their relationships and the characters themselves—from Holly and Gabbie’s strained relationship to becoming friends, how Adira still has a sense of humor even when she’s a stern old lady, Holly’s constant remembering of her sister Liana.

It’s a tale of tragedy, of relationships and their loss, of fighting against what is the norm for you. It was gut wrenching to realize Holly reimagined her memories with Liana to keep herself from remembering how it really was or how Adira forced herself to forget Cordelia, no matter how attached she was. Holly did so because her parents decided not to bring her up anymore and basically erased her while Adira had to forget because she believed her sisters were doing the right thing, even if she disagreed with her.

(Sidenote: all of the VAs, you truly made these characters come to life. I would not be as devastated if it weren’t for your talents, love yall for that you have a nice day now 💗)

BONUS THINGS I WANTED TO SAY:

1. Holly praying when she got scared reminded me of Isabella’s Quick Time event in the letter. I was on edge for jumpscares in the game, but most of the creepiness was from the brilliant atmosphere that was set up.

2. There’s also the persistent ghost in both games. Takako, who’s a malevolent spirit after death and then there’s Cordelia. Takako actively pursues the protagonists while Cordelia is just stuck and tried to find a way to break the routine in the convent. She was terrifying at first (Cordelia’s faceless because everything about her was erased and forgotten—nameless, faceless, brilliant btw) but I did get used to her and just felt so awful for her.

Yup. Saintmaker drew me in with the premise of religious horror (and I was like ‘from a Filipino team?? Understandable’) and trauma and I had to go and give my own sister a hug afterwards. It’s eerie, it has its moments of lightheartedness that keeps you attached to the characters, and it’s story is goddamned good. This whole thing’s a mess but I just had to let it out. That’s all but I’d love to hear your thoughts on the game!

#saintmaker #saintmaker vn #cupid vn #the letter vn #yangyang mobile

8 notes · View notes

fortesp89 · 1 year

Text

Digimon Realms

Story “Have you heard the rumors?” Strange creatures have begun to appear around Meguro City, tales of mysteries and adventure, of ghosts and yokai. Some believe it to be a new species that evolved without our knowledge, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. From another world, monsters made of data have materialized into the real world, they are known as Digimon. Four youths become wrapped up in this enigmatic turn of events as worlds collide, approaching down either a path of inevitable destruction or renewed hope.

60 episodes episodes 1-12 (Strange Creatures arc) rookie/champions debut episodes 13-22 (D-Brigade arc) ultimates debut episodes 23-39 (Lost in the Digital World arc) megas debut episodes 40-47 (Aegiomon Refugee arc) alt evos debut episodes 48-59 (Encroaching Darkness arc) episode 60 (Epilogue)

Characters

Tenya Nakamura (VA: Himika Akaneya): 15 years old. Tenya, while outgoing he tends to keep to himself most of the time. He believes that even if you should do good in life, one shouldn’t stand out too much among the crowd. Thinking that he can get through life just fine as is, his life is turned upside-down when he meets Sunarizamon. Digimon partner - Sunarizamon (VA: Daisuke Ono): A Digimon partnered with Tenya. Sunarizamon is curious of the world he now finds himself in. Polite and affable, Sunarizamon seems wise beyond his years. (Sunarizamon - Golemon - Vulturemon - Bancho Golemon)

Nao Fukuda (VA: Sayuri Hara): 16 years old. Energetic and cheery, Nao isn’t your typical girly-girl, she’s got a competitive streak a mile wide. She tends to like horror stories and isn’t afraid to show her love for it. Digimon partner - Ghostmon (VA: Junya Enoki): A Digimon partnered with Naomi. Ghostmon comes and goes as he pleases, he loves to spook people at night using hitodama floating in the air. Ghostmon and Naomi get along rather well. (Ghostmon - Ponchomon - Black Weregarurumon - Boltmon)

Himeno Matsuno (VA: Yumiko Kobayashi): 17 years old. Aloof and stand offish, Himeno tends to dress in more gothic tones in opposition to her upper-middle class background. Its hard for people to approach her during school, some believe she’s actually leaving behind curses wherever she goes. Digimon partner - Phascomon (VA: Ai Kayano): A Digimon partnered with Himeno. Hovering around Himeno like a bound spirit, Phascomon rarely speaks, only what sounds like muttering to no one. Its hard to know just what she’s thinking, but she understands Himeno without question. (Phascomon - Troopmon - Metal Tyranomon X - Rust Tyranomon)

Soh Watanabe (VA: Ryōta Suzuki): 18 years old. Lacking self-esteem and confidence, Soh just seems to blend into the background. He wants to change for the better but continues to have trouble coming out of his shell. Digimon partner - Dokunemon (VA: Yuka Iguchi): A Digimon partnered with Soh. Playful and and curious, Dokunemon follows Soh like a loyal pet, but that doesn’t stop Dokunemon from going off on her own when something’s piqued her interest. (Dokunemon - Snimon - Toropiamon - Lotusmon)

Digivice

The Digivice of the season is called a WayFinder Digivice (WFD), its comprised of the digivice and a wristwatch-like bracelet that the digivice can slide into in order for the Tamer use in tandem. When slotted into the bracelet, the WFD’s functions greatly expand. When a Tamer uses a WFD for the first time, touching the screen will scan the Tamer’s fingerprint, causing it to confirm/recognize and only recognize the person who touched it that’s worth enough to use the digivice. The bracelet acts as a hologram projected from the digivice for a variety of uses. Functions Channeling the emotional energy of the Tamer to: - Evolve an In-training Digimon into a Rookie Digimon or a Rookie Digimon into a Champion Digimon - Super Evolve a Champion Digimon into an Ultimate Digimon - Mega Evolve an Ultimate Digimon into a Mega Digimon - Protean Evolve a Mega Digimon into a comparable Mega Digimon and vice-versa through a specialized D-Card Displaying a Digimon Analyzer profile of any Digimon whom the partner Digimon is currently seeing Has built-in mapping and tracker functions that can: - Plot the locations of other nearby Digivices relative to the user as red dots on a simple geographical map - Detecting and reacting to the nearby presence of a Digimon, or to evidence that a Digimon has recently been nearby - Displaying a compass that points the user toward where their partner Digimon is Displaying a clock (can be customized) Can allow a human to read Digimoji

D-Card A specialized card that manifest when the heightened emotions of both Tamer and Digimon synchronize causing the WFD to glow with a blinding light and undergo a change in color. A card-like object is created that can be scanned to induce a Protean Evolution in a Digimon. The D-Card contains this power, after being scanned, the WFD stores the D-Card’s data for future use. Lesser D-Cards can also be used but are usually temporary to update the WFD’s stats or to upgrade the OS of the Digivice.

Protean Evolution Protean Evolution is a catch all term for an alternate evolution of the Mega stage depending what kind of evolution used which is unique to each Tamer that invokes its power. Bancho Golemon - Blastmon (Slide Evolution) Boltmon - HiAndromon (Blast Evolution) Lotusmon - Rafflesimon (Jogress) Metal Tyranomon X - Rust Tyranomon or Darkdramon (Dark Evolution)

Digimon Groups Witchnely - A group of Digimon that hail from a different system in the Digital World, forced to Earth, they seek to return to their world. They have little understanding on how the human world works, causing trouble without meaning to for society at large.

Olympus XII - A group of powerful Digimon that reside over one system in the Digital World, some believe this group has become inactive for some time, others believe that they hide themselves away. A lone Digimon is seeking this group out while allying with the Digimon of Witchnely; Aegiomon.

Seven Great Demon Lords - Seven powerful evil Digimon that wish to rule all systems in the Digital World, their influence is vast, many have been swayed under their control. They employ both the D-Brigade and Big Death Stars under their command.

Ten Legendary Warriors - A group of Digimon that live long ago in the ancient Digital World, said to saved it from destruction of Lucemon’s previous rampage. Though they perished in the battle, their presence still thrives in the Digital World with the gifts they left behind in their descendants.

Ogudomon - When each of the Demon Lords is defeated, their data is absorbed by the Gate of Sin, a back up plan if they were ever routed, that data would combine into the ultimate Demon Lord. Lucemon Falldown Mode’s plan was to use the Gate of Sin to increase their power and acquire X-Antibodies for themselves, but with him being the only one to acquire it and unable to master it before his defeat. His last action before his death is out of spite, destroying the doors to the Gate. Absorbing the X-Antibody’s power as well causes Ogudomon to retain some semblance of itself as to not become a mindless beast.

I still want to do some splash art of the main characters when I get the time but this was still a fun little project to do on the side.

#Digimon #anime concept #custom evolution lines #Digimon Realms #work still in progress #ideas when bored #what if

19 notes · View notes

catsvrsdogscatswin · 2 years

Text

Hellsing Commentary 1 Notes

This commentary is done by Taliesin Jaffe, the voice director and script adapter of Hellsing, and Crispin Freeman, the voice of Alucard. Direct quotes may vary in accuracy, as these are written down from audio without transcripts. I also didn't write down every joke or piece of trivia because I feel like people who watch the commentaries should get to have some nice surprises for stuff that isn't covered here.

-Taliesin jokes that Hellsing Ultimate is very Hammer-film/horror-film and should have a smell-o-vision. "Scratch and sniff a little red dot every time someone dies, oohhh it smells of dead meat."

-Both Taliesin and Crispin pause mid-conversation to approvingly mention how Integra's younger VA "gets shot well" when she screams.

-The reason Taliesin took the job directing the dub in the first place was because he was a big fan of the manga.

-Taliesin is very pleased with Ultimate's title card because "if you're gonna quote the Ripley Scroll, you're gonna do it right." He has also seen Fullmetal Alchemist at some point.

-Taliesin owns occult books, including (possibly) a fifth printing of Dracula, and the first time they dubbed Hellsing, Taliesin read "every vampire book I could get my hands on" to get a feel for the theme and idea of the series, "looking into the origins of the story and what the creators originally were thinking about..."

-Crispin repeatedly states that he could listen to Integra's VA all day long. "I don't have to do a whole lot of acting when she orders me around, I just sort of respond to her voice and do whatever she says." (Ending in a giggling laugh)

-Taliesin acknowledges that the theme, concept, and structure of Ultimate are all very different from the TV series. The original anime was trying to be a very serious horror film in which everything was taken very seriously, whereas with Ultimate they eased up and interjected more humor.

-Crispin also adds that he could listen to JB Blanc (Maxwell/the Cheddar vampire's VA) all day as well.

-Taliesin likes to annoy his British friends (including JB Blanc) by saying incredibly British words in the thickest American accent he can manage, i.e. bloody hell, scones, clotted cream, bugger, etc.

-JB's performance for the Cheddar vampire was "camped up" significantly and turned into a "mustache-twirling villain" for Ultimate.

-Crispin wants Alucard's glowing sunglasses.

-Crispin and Taliesin joke that Alucard's cravat is the source of his power, since everything else goes (glasses, coat, hat) when he's been shot to pieces but the cravat always stays.

-Hirano has met with Taliesin Jaffe on multiple occasions and been "very nice and deeply apologetic" about various issues. He was also incredulous that Talisen translated some of the symbols involved in the series. "'You actually deciphered that thing? Oh good god, what's wrong with you?! You're not supposed to do that. Stop!'"

-Apparently OVA 1 was recorded in a day and the production as a whole was only five days.

-When the cast came back to do Hellsing Ultimate, Crispin had to make sure that he did not just repeat what he did four years prior. His prior experience with the TV series was useful to get into the character's head/mindset, but Ultimate was an entirely different take. The original TV series was very serious and wanted to be taken seriously, but Ultimate had many campy elements to it. Crispin thus had to stay in the moment with Ultimate and not bring back his performance from the original anime, as it wouldn't fit. ("Same texture, new architecture.")

-Taliesin states that he likes the relationship Seras and Alucard have in Ultimate a lot better than their relationship in the TV series and "the sexual tension has been cut down between the two of you. We've matched you properly against Integra now, where it should be."

-Taliesin has apparently read Hellsing fanfiction on Livejournal and knows "far more about the personal lives of all these characters than I ever wanted to know."

-Taliesin played the male vampire during Seras and Alucard's first mission.

-Crispin noted that Alucard is doing "the same cross thing with my arms that Anderson does, but in the opposite direction on the opposite side of the body." Alucard does it up and to the left and Anderson does it down and to the right.

-Japanese anime apparently tend to have poor gunshot sounds and every engineer Taliesin has ever worked with has gone "we're going to a shooting range with a microphone, this is pathetic." He also knows someone out in Texas who bought an old broken-down Chevy truck and was planning to take it out and shoot it to pieces for audio clips with some specialized equipment so he could get the gunshot sound, the passing sound, the impact sound, etc. for use in anime

-Apparently Taliesin took a lot of cues from Doctor Who in scripting Hellsing.

-Seras's accent was simplified in Ultimate because Taliesin learned his lesson not to be too complicated. In the original anime, it was supposed to be "this fake posh" accent from an ultra low-class girl faking it to fit in with the rest of Hellsing, which Crispin teases Taliesin for. In Ultimate they apparently gave her a "South London roll," which is "simple and easy and uncomplicated."

-Crispin loves how Anderson is "really dangerous" in Ultimate and "could actually cause me many problems" in ways that Crispin never got a sense of in the TV series. He was an obstacle to Alucard, but in Ultimate he is "a threat on a level that Alucard wasn't expecting." Taliesin jumps in at this point and comments how in the manga (and Ultimate) they made him into a polar energy for Alucard, and Anderson is a "chaotic force of order coming in to homogenize and to destroy all that does not -that conflicts with this very narrow worldview that he holds. And it's sort of his mission in life, is to sanitize and, and homogenize –and then you have Alucard, who's this very…the very forces of chaos unbound on earth, and his power manifests as wild multiple-eyed dogs and Cthulhu creatures and shadow power and gnashing teeth of hell, and it's very…it's very much about a loss of control. And his whole character's powers comes from this place of a loss of control, which is almost where he goes every time he has to push a little farther, is how much control can he lose?" He says that this creates a very good archvillain/archrival relationship and continues on to say that "They agree on nothing past the fact that they want less people to be eaten by vampires."

-Crispin makes fun about how they must be pulling their ammunition from the fourth dimension, since neither he nor Seras switch clips that often. While joking about the guns, Taliesin mentions how Schrodinger will show up in the future and Crispin innocently asks if he has a cat.

-Crispin later jokes about how he dresses "nice and fresh and English-patient-y" at cons and it surprises a lot of people. He also apparently had an Alucard costume for Anime Expo/Comic Con in San Diego, and nobody believed he was the official voice actor.

-Crispin asks why Taliesin thinks Hellsing is as popular as it is/was, and after some thought Taliesin tentatively answers that "Every generation has its vampire myth. The vampire myth is one of those wonderful myths that constantly reinvents itself -every ten-fifteen years, it makes itself relevant somehow…What it is that attracts people in this decade to vampires is this chaos and control, and the uh…the fun of it, I'm not quite sure, I-I can't quite peg it. Its funny, considering that I sit and do nothing but sit and think of ways to express it better all the time for the show." He notes later in the commentary that "This was the first conversation we had when we first started working on this years ago. Vampires are about sex. Sigmund Freud wrote a wonderful article way back in the day, back in the 19th century, about vampires as metaphors for sexual frustration and how they play out."

-On the topic of chaos and control, Taliesin comments that Alucard and Anderson also mirror each other in a very yin-yang sense, with Alucard tending to be more controlled with himself and Anderson tending to be "a little bit more all over the place" when he fights. Alucard's ideology is also all over the place, whereas Anderson's is straight, and "Anderson's power comes from these very fine silver blades and his bible while Alucard's comes from the depths of Cthulhu and these creatures before language."

-Taliesin apologizes for anyone who was hoping for Anderson to be Italian (or German). He says that "there's an actual process to this," and he looked up if there had ever been an actual Father Alexander Anderson. There have been several, apparently, one of whom was Scottish, and one of whom actually worked on the creation of the Eusebian canon, which were the papers Anderson was using for barriers/wards in the original TV series. (He apparently uses "the whole bible now" in Ultimate.) The pages of the Eusebian canon are also apparently now 200 dollars a pop, and antique dealers get "a little worried" when they think someone is buying a 400-year-old illuminated manuscript because of a cartoon.

-Taliesin notes that Integra not only has a classic Templar sword hilt, but she is actually a Grand High Arc, and that this may (he also notes that this is him "just making excuses for the manga" and not canon) be why she is Sir and not Dame, as the Templars apparently do not have female Grand High Arcs. "They're Freemasons, they don't do that sort of thing. So she's a Sir Hellsing, 'cause she's gotta be. They made her a male knight so she could take over the family properly."

-Integra is "a bit more amused" in Ultimate, and Taliesin once again adds that the biggest change in Ultimate was that all of the characters have more humor and "Everybody says everything with just a slight grin."

-Taliesin apparently has pages and pages of research notes that really helped for the first series but were almost useless for Ultimate because all the characters were coming from such a new place. Anderson is much more sedate, Walter is less of a smart ass (so far), and Alucard is also extremely different. Crispin's revelation on this specifically came while they were recording the scene where Integra asks Alucard why he turned Seras into a vampire, wherein Crispin apparently stopped and said "This is very odd." to Taliesin.

-When they first started recording the original series, Taliesin asked Crispin what he thought Alucard was about, and Crispin stated "He's bored. He's incredibly powerful, he's this aristocrat surrounded by…plebs, there's no one his equal. And all he's spoiling for is a good fight, 'cause then he won't be bored. Um…and in the TV series his way of avoiding boredom is viciousness and attacking and everything else, and here there's this side of saying 'Maybe I won't be bored if I have a plaything.' Which is really interesting, suddenly there's this sort of humorous, playful side to Alucard, and I thought 'This is odd, I don't remember doing anything like this before. Wow, he's really gonna mess with people.'"

-Crispin's grad school teacher was Romanian and since he became very good at doing a Romanian accent, it was considered at one point that Alucard would have a Romanian accent continuously (as opposed to only when he is in his Level Zero form). Crispin then proceeds to say several of Alucard's lines in that accent.

-At the end of the credits Crispin asks "Who's the girl with the fez?" about Girlycard, to which Taliesin quietly replies "We'll get into that soon."

#Hellsing #alucard (hellsing)#Alexander Anderson #Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing #Seras Victoria

31 notes · View notes

dundunny · 1 year

Text

Gotham Knights

I’m still finishing up Batgirl’s story, but I beat Gotham Knights. I inevitably compare it to the Arkham series, especially considering it’s the same studio that did Arkham Origins, but really it should be its own standalone.

Let me start off by saying it’s not a bad game. The battle system is much smoother than Arkham’s, and there’s quite a bit of variety between the characters, whether it’s Batgirl’s devastating, hard-hitting blows, Red Hood’s instant-kill headshots, Robin’s ability to sneak and take down an area group of enemies before the battle even starts, or Nightwing’s flowing acrobatics. Everyone is well-rounded and I never felt that any character was the weak, useless one. It just depends on your playing style.

I’ve stated before my love is in the environments, and I like Gotham here. The map is on the borderline of being too big, but the developers managed to keep each neighborhood unique with enough landmarks that you’re usually pretty good on mentally figuring out your location. The area around Wayne Industries vs. Robinson Park vs. the industrial area around the Cauldron allows me to subconsciously tell where I am and the general direction of where I have to go. It’s equally fun to climb and jump over the rooftops as it is to drive through the streets with the motorcycle.

The story is solid and pays good homage to the Court of Owls introduction in the comics, although there are some flaws. Like, we’re arresting Kane? For what? We’ve already established the Court gets whomever they want out on appeal. And Judge Moreno may be willing to sign the warrant, but that doesn’t mean she’ll be the presiding judge for the trial. So that whole section of the plot was silly. However other than that, it’s great to see the team come together to try and figure out Batman’s last case. The maze scene in particular is quite poignant. It really portrays Dick and Tim’s insecurities well, and Jason’s fears of being a monster, and I nearly cried with Barbara when I played Montoya’s call to HQ that Gordon got shot.

And it’s nice to see the Batfam act like human beings to each other for once. Batman’s video recordings where he describes his inner feelings, fears, and joys is something you rarely see in the comics nowadays. (Major shout out to Batman’s VA Michael Antanakos. He’s not Conroy, but his crooning voice was very pleasant to hear.) Jason is in therapy and taking steps to move forward. Tim adores his siblings and likes hanging out with them. Barbara and Dick, although broken up, maintain a strong relationship. Particularly post game, if you just sit in the Belfry and listen to the conversations, you can tell they’re moving forward.

However I need to address the biggest problem: There aren’t enough villains, and to compensate for that the developers made the game repetitious. This game has Mr. Freeze, Clayface, Harley Quinn, and Talia al-Ghul, and you fight the first two twice. Let’s compare that to Arkham Knight, where you fight Azrael, Harley Quinn, Penguin, Deathstroke, Firefly, Deacon Blackfire, Hush, Professor Pyg, Two Face, Nyssa al-Ghul, Mad Hatter, Killer Croc, and Black Mask. And you also had very involved plots with the Riddler, Man-Bat, and Mr. Freeze. You’re so busy juggling all these enemies and subplots that there isn’t any reason to fight regular criminals out on the street. Not only does Gotham Knights require you to fight these random criminals over and over, 90% of the sidequests are basically grind quests. Oh what does Montoya need? For me to break up a criminal deal at the same parking lot I’ve broken up six criminal deals in the past? All right, time to make it a seventh. That’s not interesting. You know what is interesting? Boarding a blimp-prison after hearing Killer Croc got out, only to discover they’re hanging prisoners in cages on the ceiling. Or duking it out with the Mad Hatter in this crazy book wonderland. Or the visceral horror and feeling physically sick when you walk in on Professor Pyg and discovering what he was doing to all those people.

DLC was super lame too. Literally it’s just the same six rooms repeated for twenty-five levels with the same enemies until you get to the bottom and meet Starro. I was excited to fight him, but really it’s just fighting massive group of regular enemies, whom you’ve already beaten just to get here, as you escort Starro to prison. That example I gave in the previous paragraph about the blimp-prison? That was Arkham Knight DLC. Yeah, they definitely could’ve done better.

Besides that, I think one of the best parts of the Arkham series was overhearing conversations from the criminals in the streets. They were so funny and I would stop what I was doing just to listen to completion. Gotham Knights had potential considering this was the first game with normal civilians wandering around, but everything is just one-line quips. They need to get those writers from Arkham back. They definitely worked on Origins, so what happened?

With all my complaints I did enjoy it; after all I played it four times just to see all the cutscenes with each character. The main story is relatively short, I’d give it maybe ten hours, and including sidequests maybe fifteen to twenty. So if you’d like to have a pleasant weekend or two, I’d say try it. And honestly it’s worth it for this scene:

youtube

One question though: Was that lapdog alive, or was she petting a taxidermy?

#gotham knights #batman #nightwing #red hood #robin #batgirl

2 notes · View notes

fearsmagazine · 1 year

Text

FOLLOWERS - Review

DISTRIBUTOR: Terror Films

SYNOPSIS: “What starts as hilariously bad YouTube videos develops into a warning to the world about a shocking new strain of supernatural serial killer. Jonty, a failing influencer with an ambition to reach over a million followers, will stop at nothing to become famous. A new start at university brings with it hopes of a resurgence in his popularity when a demonic presence appears in his student house. Jonty decides to stream his and his housemates’ experiences with this supernatural entity to gain the fame and fortune he’s most been craving. But at what cost?”

REVIEW: FOLLOWERS leans heavily on “from the producers of Anna and the Apocalypse and Monsters.” I gleefully jumped into this film due to my enjoyment of “Anna and the Apocalypse,” a Christmas zombie musical. I loved it! There is a bit of that spirit running through FOLLOWERS, but it is a bit more mean spirited.

At its core it is a “found footage” film with a bit of a twist to it. It has this slight feel of “Big Brother” meets the BBC series “Ghosts.” The main focus, Jonty, is an influencer who is trying to regain his status and followers after his previous nefarious actions. The supernatural elements of the tale are more for window dressing. The story is more of a cautionary tale of influencer culture and the lengths they go to obtain and maintain followers. One of the truths they spotlight is how many of these followers might be aware of the scam these influencers are running and still go along for the ride against their better judgment. There are some interesting moments. I was not sympathetic for any of these characters. I did like the villain setup, but what she is actually doing is trying to create a spectral servant, much like a classical zombie.

Other than the principle cast, the majority of the other actors are social media people and 70% of the film was shot by the actors. As such, the majority of the effects are visual. Given everything done over the years by the J-Horror Films, who took it to a new level, the effects here are solid, they’re just not scary enough. The film doesn't cut too often to the folks who are trying to piece together their version of the story as to be distracting. The cinematography is decent, the score helps serve as a reminder you're not actually watching a found footage film and the locations are functional but nothing special.

I enjoyed the cast, especially the four principals. Harry Jarvis brings a lot of energy to his role of Jonty Craig. He is so unlikeable, but yet there is something charming about the scoundrel. Actress Nina Wadia’s Becky Dubar has a great character arc. Clearly there is something weird about the character but she delivers this slow transformation that adds a nice air of mystery and suspense to the film.

Unfortunately, director Marcus Harben passed away before the US release of the film. In his time as a filmmaker he made ten films. Even though it utilizes some tried and true elements, FOLLOWERS has a fresh feel to it that blossoms in the final act. Harry Jarvis and Nina Wadia bring a lot of energy and creativity to the film that keeps it an entertaining and engaging view. The overall tone isn’t exactly a horror film. It’s more of a plot device that allows them to explore the larger themes of influencers and social media. Come to think of it, that can be a real nightmare!

CAST: Harry Jarvis, Loreece Harrison, Daniel Cahill, Erin Austen, Nina Wadia, Orion Lee, David Sterne. CREW: Director/Screenplay - Marcus Harben; Producers - Giles Alderson, Steve Jarvis & Tracy Jarvis; Cinematographer - Alan C. McLaughlin; Score - Jim Lang; Editor - William Honeyball; Production Designer - Alice Cousins; Costume Designer - Leena Mistry; Visual Effects Supervisor - Ben Honeyball. OFFICIAL: N.A. FACEBOOK: N.A. TWITTER: N.A. TRAILER: https://youtu.be/GejB82nnqGY RELEASE DATE: On Digital and On Demand March 24th, 2023

**Until we can all head back into the theaters our “COVID Reel Value” will be similar to how you rate a film on digital platforms - 👍 (Like), 👌 (It’s just okay), or 👎 (Dislike)

Reviewed by Joseph B Mauceri

#film review #movie review #followers #terror films #marcus harben #harry jarvis #nina wadia #social media #influencer #horror #supernatural #joseph mauceri #joseph b mauceri

1 note · View note

bastard-of-a-bog-being · 2 years

Text

📕 Book Review 📕

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

Eyyyy, I read another book! A real one, with words and for adults and everything. This one will go without a cover image, but let’s talk about the book.

A special thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge / Tor Nightfire for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will be judging this book on its own merit, and not as a retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher. I have not read The Fall of the House of Usher in ages, and as such, I can say with certainty that this book stands easily on its own. I probably should re-read it, as it’s only forty pages apparently, but I digress. (I did sign up for Poe Daily, so with hope, maybe it won’t be long before I do re-read it)

I found the descriptions in the book to be wholly unsettling, which T. Kingfisher is exceptionally good at. There is a mystery afoot, but it’s not a whodunit. It’s intriguing, it’s Gothic, it is dark and brooding and I believe the uncanny horrors thoroughly and without question. The writing is so exceptional that I am very excited to dive into T. Kingfisher’s other novels. I have full faith in her to unnerve me with beautiful, poetic, but unsettling words and descriptions. I trust in her sense of a slow, drifting horror. I would recommend to not read this whilst eating, which was the mistake I made earlier, and if you will be eating anyway, I'd stray away from cold lox straight from the package. T. Kingfisher does not shy away from her descriptions, no matter how gruesome, and I love her for that.

Alex Easton, our protagonist, goes to visit dying childhood friend Madeline Usher, and is immediately aware that something is deeply wrong. The falling, crumbling house of Usher holds many disturbing secrets, and Alex Easton is determined to learn what has caused the immediate decline of Madeline and Roderick Usher, and their growing madness. Something else seems to be growing too, a dark, uncanny horror slowly enveloping the house and those within it.

My biggest issue with the book is the lore. The worldbuilding. Yes, America and England do exist. It is almost our world. Except, there is Gallacia, and Ruravia. There are Gallacian words, pronouns, a language made up of bastardized loan words from other languages. There is a humor to the Gallacian protagonist’s tear-down of their own country, a snide remark here and there to express the vast differences between places. Perhaps the use of fake countries was a means to hand wave away other things, such as the fictional mushrooms and their way of functioning. The author’s note states it to be a sort of nod to a sort of Ruritania romanticism, something I admit I was not overly familiar with, and decline to directly comment on as I’m not well-versed in that knowledge.

Alex Easton, our protagonist, goes by Gallacia’s genderless soldier pronouns of Ka/Kan, which is probably more confusing when our narrator explains that there are seven sets of pronouns, depending on if you’re a child, a nun, a soldier, a man, a woman, God, etc. however, none of these other pronouns really focus much. Occasionally the pronouns for children (va/van) is referred to, but the others are simply mentioned and then never really brought up for use.

The lore isn’t so much of a problem if this were a bigger book and it was sprinkled in subtly, but the story pauses at times so the narrator, even in the middle of expressing the horror being experienced, can explain the history of Gallacia, or the language, or the alcohol in Gallacia, or whatever else needs to be explained as it comes up. At times it's like the main character pulls down a map of the world and says “I don’t blame you for missing Gallacia, it’s so small on the map. A blip. It’s this many miles from Gallacia to Ruravia, if you take a horse, and a hundred years ago, this happened, and it mattered to the history of the world, but probably wouldn’t affect the story if we took it out and set it in a rural English countryside regardless, or never explicitly stated where in the world we were anyway.”

In all truth, the lore feels more like it exists to explain the nonbinary main character and the pronouns used. Frankly, it almost implies the nonbinary-ness of the character couldn’t exist in our reality, but only in one where many rules had to be made up to make it acceptable. Nonbinary people cannot exist without this country and the concept of genderless soldiers, or so it seems to be. I don’t imagine that was intentional, but at times, with how many times it has to be explained even within the first half of the story, I find it… a little inauthentic, but I understand the place it comes from and I genuinely appreciate the representation nonetheless. It’s not often I even GET a book with a nonbinary lead. I just wish that fact could’ve existed on its own merit, as if it didn’t need to be explained. That Alex Easton is nonbinary, and that’s all there is to it, and it’s nobody’s business but Alex Easton’s.

In a larger novel, original, without hint of America, England, Beatrix Potter (well, specifically her aunt, made up for the story, but it’s still implied Beatrix Potter is also a part of this world), I would’ve forgiven the worldbuilding aspects introduced. Language, culture, neighboring fictional countries… but it is wholly out of place in a short horror novel where a good, uninterrupted flow is important for keeping tensions high. As per the author’s note, T. Kingfisher seemed to very much love the character of Alex Easton and ka’s culture, and must have had fun writing kan, but I can’t help but think those aspects could’ve served better in a full-length original fantasy novel where they would have the time to shine. Had they been omitted, this would have made a magnificent short story that would’ve gone straight to the heart of the horror at hand, without constant pitstops for Gallacia history lesson.

I will avoid spoilers, but highly recommend you avoid this book if you cannot tolerate to read about animal death, death of a friend/loved one, gore, or body horror.

What Moves the Dead will be officially published July 12 2022, and I highly recommend it if you want a horror novel that is reasonably unsettling, descriptive, and perfect for a dreary, rainy day. It’s a short read, at about 176 pages. It’s currently available to preorder, or request it at your local library! (As a library assistant, this is a necessary plug for you to support your local libraries as well.)

#book review #book reviews #what moves the dead #t kingfisher #horror review #horror novels #horror Novella #rae's ramblings

1 note · View note

ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

Text

What I Thought About "Echoes of the Past" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who most certainly won’t read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

What probably gets debated the most in the fandom is the legitimacy behind King being the King of Demons. Some believe that there's truth to his statement, while others, like me, like to think that he was just some stray Eda picked up off the streets. Either option seemed likely, especially since Season One never gave an answer that leaned one way or the other.

Then here comes the writers finally answering the question of who King is in episode THREE of Season Two! Because, again, they don't waste time on giving fans exactly what they want.

Fans wanted answers behind King, we got 'em, and analyzing what those answers mean requires going deep into spoilers. So if you haven't checked the episode out yet, I highly recommend that you do. Trust me, it's worth seeing.

Now let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Luz Experimenting with Spells: Hey, look! More proof that Luz isn't an idiot like some people flanderize her to be!

But, seriously though, this is a perfect little thread to introduce into the story. Luz collecting knowledge from Lilith's old books and past work she and Eda made adds to Luz's intelligence while also providing a believable explanation for how she gets new spells. It's also nice to see that she has this little notebook (or spellbook) to help see what works and what doesn't. It's a level of experimentation that proves her dedication to becoming a witch while also exemplifying how she isn't stupid. Occasionally reckless, sure, but you can't say that the person who figured out an invisibility spell through showing her work is also an idiot.

Francios with a Knife: How did Francois get a knife? I don't know. But the fact that a random knife plopped out behind him with little to no explanation is funny, and I will not hear otherwise.

I don't make the rules. I just abide by them.

Luz’s Invisibility Spell: I breezed past this, but I honestly love this invisibility spell. More specifically, I love that there's a limiter. It can turn you, objects, and people you're in contact with invisible, but only as long as you can hold your breath. It helps make the spell something the characters can't always rely on, which is appreciated. Because if it works as long as they concentrate, what's stopping them from sneaking into Belos' castle and assassinating him in his sleep? It's a smart way of explaining why they can't always rely on something, despite how insanely useful it is.

Luz: Let's gush about Luz some more, shall we!

"Echoes of the Past" is another episode that has Luz on top form. She is constantly supportive of King, even if Lilith has a point in the dangers of indulging his fantasy as a powerful tyrant. Doing so would cause more harm than good, especially when King finds out Luz doesn't believe him, but her going along with it was all done with the best of intentions. Luz doesn't want to hurt her friend, and even if she did in the long run, she still makes up for it by helping King learn more about his past.

And, as another reminder, Luz isn't stupid. She's the first to say they should leave when it's clear how dangerous the castle is and is quick to figure out there should be more at the top. Luz is a loyal and caring friend who's also guarded and intuitive when the situation calls for it. This episode understood that, so here's hoping other fans will too.

Lilith: Yeah, she's still growing on me.

I feel like this episode shows a better idea of Lilith's place in the group more than the past two. She's a person who's obsessed with knowledge and learning but considers herself above the jovial nature of King, Luz, and definitely Eda. Therefore, she acts as the perfect catalyst for what jumpstarts this week's adventure. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she almost instantly dismisses King's claims due to considering herself more knowledgeable than everyone else. Still, I like how she's willing to believe King once she finally sees evidence that seemingly proves he really was the King of Demons, to the point of referring to him as "her lord." Hooty does the same thing, but it comes across as him fearing for his own life and choosing to be friends with someone who could maybe kill him in an instant. For Lilith, her newfound respect comes from the desire to learn more, and it's that desire that makes Lilith an enjoyable character to me. It's adorable to see, and it has some comedic flavor in moments like when she dismisses everyone else and their emotional revelations to take pictures of the carvings around her. I'm sure she'll cause some controversy like other characters with rushed reformations, but for me, I'm more than ok with her addition to the main cast.

More of Lilith’s and Hooty’s Friendship: HOW DOES THIS WORK!?

ON PAPER, IT SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD BE A BAD IDEA, BUT IT F**KING WORKS!

HOW?!

WHAT BLACK MAGIC DID THESE WRITERS USE TO MAKE A RELATIONSHIP SO UNEXPECTED COME ACROSS AS SO ENDEARING AND ADORABLE?!

And where can I get some for my stories...just asking.

But seriously: HOW?!

Hooty Making Himself Portable: Ah, yes. The classic bit where a character does something horrifically grotesque off-screen, and we have nothing but character reactions and sound effects to imagine what happened between shot A and shot B. It's an oldie, but given how hard I was laughing (mostly because of Luz's gagging), it's still a goodie.

Eda’s Portable Bathtub Boat Thing: I mean...I was expecting Eda would use something to catch up with the others, but...that thing...well...I mean, I'm still laughing just by thinking about it. That should tell you how well executed this joke was.

John Luke: ...I'm gonna go ahead and add him to the list because HOLY S**T was this guy disturbing! From his design to his movements to even the sounds he makes when moving, everything about John Luke screams as something that will stay in kids' nightmares for a while. Now, this might seem like a complaint, but to be honest, I'm more than alright with how creepy John Luke is. I highly doubt adult viewers will consider John Luke scary, but I guarantee he'll terrify some of the youngins that this series is aimed for. And that's fine. It's good to creep kids out a little bit with something somewhat scary, as it might introduce them to more good horror stories later in life.

Plus, the reveal that John Luke was only a guard for King is pretty solid narratively speaking. You can see how John never really meant to hurt King aside from one accident when Eda escaped with him. If you want to read into it, I guess it might be questionable to tell kids that something that looks dangerous is secretly nice, but that's really nitpicky, in my opinion. John Luke was a fantastic threat that is designed and animated well, with a solidly executed twist. Some might hate what he presents, most will fear him, but we can all agree on one thing: His theme is awesome (can I get the track for that, please)!

King’s Backstory: Finally, at long last, we know who King is, thus putting an end to a year-long debate. And I fully mean it when I say that the writers gave the best possible answer. Because in a way, everyone was right. Yes, King was just an animal that Eda decided to adopt, like the nature-loving hippie she is inside (She's got the hair for it). However, while he may not be the King of Demons himself, he is still the son of someone who deserves that title. So while he isn't the King, there's a chance he might be the Prince. Once again, there's no direct answer, but given how the writers came up with something that pleases everyone while still providing more questions for debate, it acts as a brilliant move, in my opinion. So whatever answer we get next, I'm sure it will be just as perfect.

Baby King:

My heart was not prepared for that level of cuteness!

King’s Breakdown: NOR WAS IT READY FOR THIS LEVEL OF SADNESS!

But in all seriousness, a HUGE round of applause to Alex Hirsch for his performance in this episode. He expertly captured the raw emotions of shock, anger, betrayal, and sadness that King must have felt when finding out that everything he believed he was is a lie. It's one of those moments where I don't hear a person voicing lines in a booth (or wherever the hell VAs are voicing characters nowadays), but instead hear a living person being emotionally torn apart. It was heartbreaking seeing King so vulnerable as he's so guarded with his emotions. Seeing him like this adds so much more layers to a character that many would mistake him as a cute, comedic animal sidekick. But just like with Luz, there's more to him than people will tell you.

“I don’t even know what’s real or fake anymore!”: I'm just pointing out this line because I believe it's what convinces Luz to help King learn more about who he is. Hell, not knowing what's real or fake is the main reason why Luz got sent away in the first place, so I feel like she can relate to King when he's in a similar predicament.

Hooty and Lilith vs John Luke: This was just a cool scene with some epic moments of dodging John Luke's attacks and some funny ones, like how Hooty said the word "pain." It's a ten out of ten that I would rewind to watch again.

King’s Other Horn: I'd question the logistics of how a horn that got broken off when he was a baby still manages to fit perfectly in the present...but it is neat symbolism of King accepting his past and letting it be a part of him, so who cares?

(The fact that the colors of the broken-off piece don't match the rest of the horn is nice attention to detail as well.)

WHAT I DISLIKED

It's a Little Too Predictable: I pretty much figured almost every little twist the episode offers. But, I'm willing to say that's because I'm in my twenties, and I've seen enough stories similar to this one, so I'm more likely to know what will happen. The little monsters watching this will see it for the first time, so they'll most likely get more surprised than me...And that was my only complaint about the episode...which is more of a personal problem than an actual issue...I guess that means it's perfect.

IN CONCLUSION

"Echoes of the Past" is an easy A+ in my book. It gives lore and backstory that furtherly develops the characters that episodes like this should. It also tells a tragic story about King that still sprinkles in a few good jokes every now and again to lighten up the mood. Sure, there are some nitpicks I could mention (how did King remember his own birth?). But when the good stuff is done so well, what's the point of dwelling on small, insignificant issues? This is still a phenomenal episode that flew past all expectations I had for it, and it continues the winning steak this season is having so far.

(But that's still three home runs in a row. Meaning that a stinker is coming. Ooiee, is it coming!)

#the owl house #the owl house season 2 #king of demons #luz noceda #lilith clawthorne #toh hooty #the owl house reviews #what i thought about

50 notes · View notes

writemarcus · 3 years

Text

HITTING NEW HEIGHTS

BY MARCUS SCOTT

ORIGINAL RENT STAR DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA TAKES YOU INSIDE THE IN THE HEIGHTS FILM

Qué quiere decir sueñito?” The disembodied voice of a girlchild ponders. “It means ‘little dream,’” responds an unseen authoritative figure, his feathery tenor with a soft rasp and tender lilt implying there’s more to the story.

Teal waves crash against the white sand coastal lines of the Dominican Republic and a quartet of children plead with the voice to illuminate and tell a story. Usnavi de la Vega (played by Anthony Ramos), sporting his signature newsboy flat cap and full goatee, begins to narrate and weave a tall-tale from the comforts of his beachside food cart: “This is the story of a block that was disappearing. Once upon a time in a faraway land called Nueva York, en barrio called Washington Heights. Say it, so it doesn’t disappear,” he decrees.

And we’re off, this distant magic kingdom ensnared within the winding urban sprawl of farthest-uptown Manhattan, the music of the neighborhood chiming with infinite possibilities: a door-latch fastening on tempo, a ring of keys sprinkling a sweet embellishment, the splish-splash of a garden hose licking the city streets like a drumstick to a snare fill, a manhole cover rotating like vinyl on a get-down turntable, the hiss of paint cans spraying graffiti like venoms from cobras and roll-up steel doors rumbling, not unlike the ultra-fast subway cars zigzagging underground. So begins the opening moments of In the Heights, the Warner Bros. stage-to-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and librettist Quiara Alegría Hudes (Water by the Spoonful) that is set to premiere in movie theatres and on HBO Max on June 11, 2021.

This stunning patchwork of visuals and reverberations combine to create a defiant and instantly memorable collage of inner-city living not seen since Walter Hill’s 1979 cult classic The Warriors or West Side Story, the iconic romantic musical tragedy directed on film by Robert Wise and original Broadway director Jerome Robbins. With Jon M. Chu at the helm, the musical feature has all the trademarks of the director’s opulent signature style: Striking spectacles full of stark colors, va-va-voom visuals, ooh-la-la hyperkinetic showstopping sequences and out-of-this-world destination locations.

WANT TO SEE MORE STORIES LIKE THIS?

SUBSCRIBE NOW

A Kind of Priestess

Joining the fray of proscenium stage vets in the film is Broadway star Daphne Rubin-Vega, who originated the role of Mimi in the Off-Broadway and Broadway original productions of Rent. She returns to major motion pictures after a decade since her last outing in Nancy Savoca’s Union Square, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. When we caught up with Rubin-Vega, she was hard at work, in-between rehearsals with her In the Heights co-star Jimmy Smits on Two Sisters and a Piano, the 1999 play by Miami-based playwright Nilo Cruz, a frequent collaborator. Rubin-Vega netted a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as the enraptured Conchita in Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics; that same year Cruz was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making him the first Latino playwright to receive the honor. Despite significant global, social and economic disruption, especially within the arts community, Rubin-Vega has been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People around me have [contracted] COVID… My father-in-law just had it. I’m very fortunate,” Rubin-Vega said. “This collective experience, it’s funny because it’s a year now and things seem better. Last year it was, like, ‘Damn, how inconvenient!’ The one comfort was that, you know, it’s happening to every one of us. That clarity that this is a collective experience is much more humbling and tolerable to me.”

The last time Rubin-Vega graced Washington Heights on screen or stage, she acted in the interest of survival and hunger as a probationer released after a 13-year stint in prison and given a new lease on life as an unlicensed amateur masseuse in the basement of an empanada shop in Empanada Loca, The Spalding Gray-style Grand Guignol horror play by Aaron Mark at the LAByrinth Theater Company in 2015. In In the Heights she plays Daniela, an outrageously vivacious belting beautician with a flair for the dramatics, forced to battle a price-gouging real estate bubble in the wake of gentrification.

“She’s like the deputy or the priestess,” Rubin-Vega said. “Owning a salon means that you have a lot of information; you’re in a hub of community, of information, of sharing… it’s also where you go for physical grooming. It’s a place where women were empowered to create their own work and it is a place of closeness, spiritual advice, not-so-spiritual advice. Physical attention.”

She said, “Daniela also being an elder; I think she’s not so much a person that imposes order on other people. She’s there to bring out the best—she leads with love. She tells it like it is. I don’t think she sugar-coats things. What you see is what you get with Daniela. It’s refreshing; she has a candor and sure-footedness that I admire.”

With the film adaptation, Chu and Hudes promised to expand the universe of the Upper Manhattan-based musical, crafting new dimensions and nuances to two characters in particular: Daniela and hairdresser Carla, originally portrayed as business associates and gossip buddies in the stage musical. On the big screen they are reimagined as romantic life partners. Stephanie Beatriz, known to audiences for her hilarious turn as the mysterious and aloof Detective Rosa Diaz in the police procedural sitcom romp “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” co-stars as the fast-talking firecracker, Carla.

It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.

Where Is Home?

“Well, Quiara and Jon really expanded on what Lin and Quiara originally created and now they’re partners—and not just work partners, right? But they’re life partners,” Beatriz said at a March press event celebrating the release of the film’s two promo trailers. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community, and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continued, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home. I thought that they did such a beautiful job of guiding us to this, really, you know, it’s just a happy functioning relationship that happens to be gay and in the movie. And I love that they did that, because it is such a part of our world.”

Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

Stand-out performances abound, especially with regard to the supporting cast; newcomers Melissa Barrera (in a role originated by Tony Award winner Karen Olivo) and Gregory Diaz IV (replacing three-time Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús) are noteworthy as the aspiring fashion designer Vanessa and budding activist Sonny. Olga Merediz, who earned a Tony Award nomination for originating her role as Abuela Claudia, returns to the silver screen in a captivating performance that will be a contender come award season. However, Rubin-Vega may just be the one to watch. Her performance is incandescent and full of moxie, designed to raise endorphin levels. She leads an ensemble in the rousing “Carnaval del Barrio,” a highlight in the film.

Musical Bootcamp

“We shot in June [2019]. In April, we started musical bootcamp. In May, we started to do the choreography. My big joke was that I would have to get a knee replacement in December; that was in direct relation to all that choreography. I mean, there were hundreds of A-1 dancers in the posse,” Rubin-Vega said. “The family consisted of hundreds of superlative dancers led by Chris[topher] Scott, with an amazing team of dancers like Ebony Williams, Emilio Dosal, Dana Wilson, Eddie Torres Jr. and Princess Serrano. We rehearsed a fair bit. Monday through Friday for maybe five weeks. The first day of rehearsal I met Melissa [Barrera] and Corey [Hawkins], I pretty much hadn’t known everyone yet. I hadn’t met Leslie [Grace] yet. Chris Scott, the choreographer, just went straight into ‘let’s see what you can do.’ It was the first [dance] routine of ‘In The Heights,’ the opening number. He was like, ‘OK, let’s go. Five, six, seven, eight!’”

Rubin-Vega said that she tried to bring her best game, though it had “been a minute” since she had to execute such intricate choreography, noting that they shot the opening number within a day while praising Chu’s work ethic and leadership.

“There was a balance between focus and fun and that’s rare. Everyone was there because they wanted to be there,” she said. “I think back to the day we shot ‘96,000.’ That day it wouldn’t stop raining; [it was] grey and then the sky would clear and we’d get into places and then it would be grey again and so we’d have to wait and just have to endure. But even the bad parts were kind of good, too. Even the hottest days. There were gunshots, there was a fire while we were shooting and we had to shut down, there was traffic and noise and yet every time I looked around me or went into video village and saw the faces in there, I mean…it felt like the only place to be. You want to feel like that in every place you are: The recognition. I could recognize people who look like me. For now on, you cannot say I’ve never seen a Panamanian on film before or a Columbian or a Mexican, you know?”

Another Notion of Beauty

Rubin-Vega’s professional relationship with the playwright Hudes extends to 2015, when she was tapped to [participate in the] workshop [production of] Daphne’s Dive. Under the direction of Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and starring alongside Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Orange Is the New Black”), the play premiered Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center the following year. Rubin-Vega also starred in Miss You Like Hell, the cross-country road musical by Hudes and Erin McKeown, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2016 before it transferred to The Public Theater in 2018. With her participation in the production of In the Heights, she is among the few to have collaborated with all of the living Latinx playwrights to have won the Pulitzer Prize; Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful, while Miranda took home the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Hamilton. Speaking on her multiple collaborations over the years, Rubin-Vega also acknowledged having known Miranda years before they would join voices.

“Lin to me is like a little bro or legacy; he’s a direct descent to me from [Rent author] Jonathan Larson, which is a bigger sort of all-encompassing arch,” she said, though she stressed that she auditioned like everyone else, landing the role after two or three callbacks. “Quiara and I have a wonderful working and personal relationship, I think. Which isn’t to say I had dibs by any means because…it’s a business that wants the best for itself, I suppose. […] So, when I walked in, I was determined to really give it my best.”

Life During and After Rent

Rubin-Vega has built an impressive resume over the course of her career, singing along with the likes of rock stars like David Bowie and starring in a multitude of divergent roles on Broadway and off. From a harrowing Fantine in Les Misérables and a co-dependent Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire to a sinister Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show, her evolution into the atypical character actor and leading lady can be traced back 25 years to January 25, 1996, when Larson’s groundbreaking musical Rent, a retelling of Giacomo Puccini’s 19th-century opera La Bohème, premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop. On the morning of the first preview, Larson suffered an aortic dissection, likely from undiagnosed Marfan’s syndrome and died at the age of 35, just ten days shy of what would have been his 36th birthday.

On April 29, 1996, due to overwhelming popularity, Rent transferred to Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, tackling contemporary topics the Great White Way had rarely seen, such as poverty and class warfare during the AIDS epidemic in New York City’s gritty East Village at the turn of the millennium. Rubin-Vega would go on to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as sex kitten Mimi Márquez, an HIV-positive heroin addict and erotic dancer.

The show became a cultural phenomenon, receiving several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Rubin-Vega and members of the original Broadway cast were suddenly overnight sensations, recording “Seasons of Love” alongside music icon Stevie Wonder, receiving a photo shoot with Vanity Fair and landing the May 13, 1996 cover of Newsweek. Throughout its 12-year Broadway run, many of the show’s original cast members and subsequent replacements would go on to be stars, including Renée Elise Goldsberry, who followed in Rubin-Vega’s footsteps to play the popular character before originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

When the screen adaptation of Rent hit cinemas in 2005 under the direction of Chris Columbus, Rubin-Vega’s conspicuous absence came as a blow to longtime fans. The confluence of pregnancy with the casting and filming process of Rent hindered her from participating at the time. The role was subsequently given to movie star Rosario Dawson.

“First of all, if you’re meant to be in a film, you’re meant to be in it,” Rubin-Vega said. “That’s just the way it goes. It took a quarter of a century but this [In the Heights] is a film that I wanted to make, that I felt the elements sat right. I always felt that Rent was a little bit darker than all that. Rent to me is Rated R. In The Heights is not. It’s also a testament. Unless it’s sucking your soul and killing you softly or hardly, just stick with it. This is a business and I keep forgetting it’s a business because actors just want to show art. So, it’s really wonderful when you get a chance to say what you mean and mean what you say with your work. It’s a really wonderful gift.”

Rarely-Explored Themes

Like Larson’s award-winning show and the film adapted from it, In The Heights is jam-packed with hard-hitting subject matter, addressing themes of urban blight, immigration, gentrification, cultural identity, assimilation and U.S. political history. When Rubin-Vega’s character Daniela and her partner were priced out of the rent for her salon, most of her clientele moved to the Grand Concourse Historic District in the Bronx. Her salon, a bastion of the community, is met with a polar response when she announces she’s joining the mass exodus with the other victims of gentrification who were pushed out by rising rents. The news is met with negative response from long-time patrons who refuse to take the short commute to the new location. Daniela counters, “Our people survived slave ships, we survived Taino [indigenous Caribbean people] genocide, we survived conquistadores and dictators…you’re telling me we can’t survive the D train to Grand Concourse?”

The question is humorous, but also insinuates a more nuanced understanding of the AfroLatinidad experience in the Western world. The film also looks at the American Dream with a naturalistic approach. Leslie Grace, who plays Nina Rosario, a first-generation college student returning from her freshman year at Stanford University and grappling with finances and the expectations of her community, noted that while her character “finds [herself] at some point at a fork in the road,” she may not have the luxury to be indecisive because of the pressures put on by family, community and country.

“The struggle of the first-generation Americans in the Latino community is not talked about a lot because it’s almost like a privilege,” Grace asserted. “You feel like it’s a privilege to talk about it. But there is a lot of identity crisis that comes with it and I think we explore that.” Speaking on the character, she elaborated: “Home for her is where her heart is, but also where her purpose is. So, she finds her purpose in doing something outside of herself, greater than herself and going back to Stanford for the people she loves in her community. I really relate to where she’s at, trying to find herself. And I think a lot of other people will, too.”

Worth Singing About

For Miranda, a first-generation Puerto Rican New Yorker that grew up in Inwood at the northernmost tip of Manhattan before attending Wesleyan University where he would develop the musical, this speaks to a larger issue of what defines a home.

“What does ‘home’ even mean? Every character is sort of answering it in a different way,” he said. “For some people, home is somewhere else. For some people, home is like ‘the block’ they’re on. So, that’s worth singing about. It’s worth celebrating in a movie of this size.”

Given the current zeitgeist, it’s no wonder why Chu, Hudes and Miranda decided to pivot with adapting the stage musical for the big screen, leaning in to tackle the plights and predicaments of DREAMers [children of undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship] stateside. In one scene, glimpses of posters at a protest rally read “Immigrant Rights are Human Rights” and “Refugees Are People Too.” Growing up in a multicultural household as a Latina with a Black Latina mother, a white father and a Jewish American stepfather, Rubin-Vega said she was used to being in spaces that were truly multiracial. Nevertheless, there were times when she often felt alien, especially as a du jour rock musical ingenue who looked as she did in the mid-1990s through the 2000s.

“Undocumented people come in different shapes and colors,” she noted. “To be born in a land that doesn’t recognize you, it’s a thing that holds so much horror… so much disgrace happens on the planet because human beings aren’t recognized as such sometimes.”

The film “definitely sheds light on that, but it also talks about having your dream taken away and its human violation—it’s a physical, spiritual, social, cultural violation,” Rubin-Vega said. “There’s a difference between pursuing dreams and being aware of reality. They’re not mutually exclusive. What this film does, it presents a story that is fairly grounded in reality. It’s a musical, it’s over the top… but it reflects a bigger reality, which is like an emotional reality…that people that are challenged on the daily, have incredible resolve, incredible resoluteness and lifeforce.”

She said: “Growing up, looking like me, I got to ingest the same information as everyone else except when it came time to implement my contributions, they weren’t as welcomed or as seen. The dream is to be seen and to be recognized. Maybe I could be an astronaut or an ingenue on Broadway? You can’t achieve stuff that you haven’t imagined. When it talks about DREAMers, it talks about that and it talks about how to not be passive in a culture that would have you think you are passive but to be that change and to dare to be that change.”

Dreams Come True

Dreams are coming true. Alongside the nationwide release of the much-anticipated film, Random House announced it will publish In the Heights: Finding Home, which will give a behind-the-scenes look at the beginnings of Miranda’s 2008 breakout Broadway debut and journey to the soon-to-be-released film adaptation. The table book will chronicle the show’s 20-year voyage from page to stage—from Miranda’s first drawings at the age of 19 to lyric annotations by Miranda and essays written by Hudes to never-before-seen photos from productions around the world and the 2021 movie set. It will be released to the public on June 22, eleven days after the release of the film; an audiobook will be simultaneously released by Penguin Random House Audio.

Hinting at the year-long delay due to the pandemic, Rubin-Vega said, “It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.”

Bigger Dreams

“Jon [Chu], I think, dreams bigger than any of us dare to dream in terms of the size and scope of this,” Miranda said. “We spent our summer [in 2018] on 175th Street. You know, he was committed to the authenticity of being in that neighborhood we [all] grew up in, that we love, but then also when it comes to production numbers, dreaming so big. I mean, this is a big movie musical!”

Miranda continued, “We’re so used to asking for less, just to ask to occupy space, you know? As Latinos, we’re, like, ‘Please just let us make our little movie.’ And Jon, every step of the way, said, like, ‘No, these guys have big dreams. We’re allowed to go that big!’ So, I’m just thrilled with what he did ’cause I think it’s bigger than any of us ever dreamed.”

Speaking at the online press conference, Miranda said, “I’m talking to you from Washington Heights right now! I love it here. The whole [movie] is a love letter to this neighborhood. I think it’s such an incredible neighborhood. It’s the first chapter in so many stories. It’s a Latinx neighborhood [today]. It was a Dominican neighborhood when I was growing up there in the ’80s. But before that it was an Irish neighborhood and Italian. It’s always the first chapter in so many American stories.”

#Marcus Scott #MarcusScott #Write Marcus #writemarcus #Encore Monthly #theatre #Theater #Musical Theatre #musical theater #daphne rubin vega #rent #rent musical #Jon M Chu #lin manuel miranda #in the heights #Anthony Ramos

72 notes · View notes

sarcastic-pasta-games · 3 years

Text

Hello everyone,

We haven’t been updating this page as much as we should. We’re working daily on the game and have made a lot of progress. The reason we keep pushing it back isn’t because of laziness, it’s because we’re probably underestimating the amount of work there is to do. Just because it’s theoretically easy to go in and program a scene doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a lot of tedious testing, checking methods, tweaking timing, and all kinds of other things. A lot of our scenes still have comments in them for sound or visual effects we don’t have yet and, as always, the writing team is on top of things making sure the dialogue is the best it can be before it goes out.

As a playtester noted yesterday, this chapter is the most eclectic thing we’ve ever done, with 4 very distinct individual areas that feel like their own games. We’re also using it to build up a lot of plot elements that will be explored in Chapter 3, which in turn will build up Chapter 4. Adding to that, this chapter has 21 new musical tracks (ranging from some made in 2018 and one made literally yesterday, as of the time this is being written). There are some in progress as well. As for play length, it wouldn’t surprise us if it took a good 3 or 4 hours, depending on how thorough you are. This is definitely longer than Chapter 1 and even feels, in a way, rather like its own game.

I’m putting the rest under a cut because I’m going to discuss things that have been revealed in trailers but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen them. So if you’re up to date on the game, you can read on and there won’t be anything all that new.

The playtester in question absolutely adored Wheatley in this chapter, which made Sushi and me very happy because we’d been working hard on his dialogue for several months. You’d be surprised how accurately you can write it with Stephen Merchant’s original performance being fully available online. Over an hour of nothing but Wheatley talking. You start thinking in his voice after a while. I was in a voice call helping the tester through a section and started improvising some Wheatley lines that were so spot on, we actually wrote them out and intend to add them. So Wheatley fans, rejoice because we had a blast with him! And if you’re not a Wheatley fan... hopefully you can find some enjoyment out of the Portal section because Sushi and I had so much fun writing for him, we couldn’t help but really commit to his character. Shout out to our amazing VA, SoggyEchidna because he’s got a lot of lines. He’s also our Connor VA too! Talk about opposite ends of the AI spectrum...

We’ve pretty much said as much on the server but each member of PSE gets their own section (which is why there are 4). This isn’t unlike the horror section in The BOSS, but it’s far more eclectic. Some of the things you’ll see have also given way for some of the best out-of-context quotes in the entire game’s development, which we’ll share after the chapter comes out. You can expect a bit more information on the things we set up in Chapter 1 and some plot threads that were introduced there will be tied up in this one but don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of new ones introduced in this chapter as well!

And finally egos. I think we revealed one of the egos who will appear but you will meet more egos in this chapter than the others. You can expect them to be as developed as Schneep, for the most part. They get their spotlight for sure, but as we’ve said before, keeping them close to canon or especially well developed would overload the story too much, but I assure you we have given them very distinct and quirky personalities.

I know it seems like I’m saying quite a lot, but I feel like I’ve just found a way to write quite a lot to say what equates to about 1% of the chapter so far, and none of it is particularly new information. I sincerely hope you’ll love it as much as you loved Chapter 1. As for me, I’m most excited for Chapter 4, but I’ve had a lot of fun with this chapter as well! This is somewhat unintentional, due to the fact that a lot of it came out purely by coincidence, but this chapter more than any other serves as a pretty satisfying epilogue for The BOSS and The BOSS Is Nothing. So I’d recommend replaying them before the chapter comes out, because there are probably more nostalgic references here than anything else in the rest of the game.

Right, that’s enough from you, Katie. Don’t overload them. If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much and I’ll try to keep you in the loop more as development goes on.

#sarcastic pasta games #glitch in the system

72 notes · View notes