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variousqueerthings · 4 months

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Personally, I think that's a hell of a bird.

Heaven Sent! (we'll do Hell Bent separately!) it's an episode! that is going to be difficult to talk about! because yes it is good, but I am. I have mixed feelings about it, because I think parts of it rest on everything leading to this point and as we know, looking back at M*ffat's era, everything Did Not lead us to this point. however, if we pretend that it did and do some creative reading of narrative, that is how we'll try to engage with this story

luckily I have a system! otherwise this would become totally incomprehensible (although, this could still happen... watch out)

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 1/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 7/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 5/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 5/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 9/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 8/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 6/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 67/100 (if I can count….)

according to this rating's system this episode is worse than Face The Raven, which is patently untrue on a quality level, but we're looking at some very Specific criteria, so what canya do

OBJECTIFICATION: Clara is a figment of the Doctor's hallucination and he's not weird about her. I mean, also why would he be, because this Doctor has not been categorised as a lech (I have a theory that it was very much Capaldi's influence that lead to lechery going down basically 100% by this point -- I mean, he did say he didn't want to have any will-they-won't-they with JLC because she's just way younger than he is, and that is incredibly fair, if kind of funny, because of course, regardless of the age of the actor, the Doctor-as-character is usually always much much older than all the Companions. BUT THAT ASIDE LECHERY IS OUT! SCHOOLTEACHER COMPANION IS IN!)

PLOT-POINT: that being said... I know Clara is "dead," and that this episode isn't about her in the slightest, but I get this feeling... you know that one Twitter thread that comes around on this site sometimes about someone who was at a funeral and the dead woman's husband gave eulogy and spoke entirely about himself/what his wife gave to him, and not a single thing about who she was as a person. that's... that sums up Clara to me, and this episode really hammers it home

the Doctor is out for revenge for Clara, but this episode gives us a Doctor who's so sad she's dead, and yet not a single thing in this episode explores that particular sadness. Instead, that sadness is a catalyst for an exploration of the Doctor, with Clara's ghost doing exactly the same as Clara did throughout her run as his Companion -- asking him questions that only he had the answers to. Clara is dead, and yet this barely feels different to her presence, in *spins the wheel* under the lake/before the flood or idk, the caretaker or listen

and the thing is, that Clara wasn't originally categorised like this, and there are still episodes where she has emotional reactions to things (cold war my beloved), it's something that I think actually got worse throughout her run, rather than better, which is a shame, because for the most part everything generally was getting better throughout Twelve's era

COMPLEXITY: this is both quite simple and quite complicated, but it's complicatedness comes from things around the episode, rather than the format of the episode itself, so. divide it into two

in the episode itself, the Doctor wakes up in a transporter, explores a weird cog-like castle, eventually discovers that there's a massive wall of stuff that'd take, ooh 4 billion or so years to punch through that could be the escape, and proceeds to punch, while a mysterious creature stalks him, kills him, and he manages to send himself back through the transporter to start again

this is super cool and brings up a bunch of questions about various things -- the nature of life and linear time (after all, the Doctor doesn't remember being killed over and over and over again, but also kind of lives for 4 billion years), the Doctor's relationship to dumb, stubborn perseverance in the face of complete hopelessness, but also to avoiding their own pain by continuing on and on and on, there's the oddness of the castle itself and the creature within it which is surprisingly toned down for a M*ffat-written thing, allowing Capaldi to take the centre without distractions, and then there's also the Doctor's monologue, because this is almost entirely Peter Capaldi, and so a neat little insight into ways the Doctor interacts with situations

there's even stuff that I usually dislike with M*ffat that I enjoy here -- the idea of monologuing genius who does some seemingly random shit that turns out to be Very Clever And Necessary is such a M*ffat hallmark, but in this one it works because the Doctor is working through problems with themself. yes, one could say there's a meta-look-at-me-I'm-so-clever element to it, since there is an audience (us) but because there's no internal audience, we get to see how this technique functions not to show off, but to do a multitude of things, like stave off fear in a tense situation, make a distraction, resist loneliness, simply help the Doctor understand a situation by verbalising it, etc

so yes, woo to this plot, woo especially to Peter Capaldi and to Murray Gold for supporting the narrative so well, the music really is part of what Makes this episode

2. the second, wider plot concerns itself with "why is the Doctor here," "what is this place," who set in motion the events that killed Clara," "who the fuck cares about the Hybrid plot" (pedantic, I apologise), "what is the Hybrid," things along those lines. they are. technically important questions. and some of them are well-answered -- what is this place? it's the Confession Dial, and the Doctor got stuck in there by being teleported from the end of the last episode (genuinely had forgotten until I reread the transcript of Face The Raven, woops, but we remembered again!) and the people who hired Me, as it turns out, are Gallifreyans, because at the end of the episode, the Doctor returns to Gallifrey

and that... is next episode fuckery, but I will say that I did scratch my head about it at the end of this one. how'd they hire Me from wherever the Time Lords are stuck? did we miss an episode that explained that actually the Doctor did find the Time Lords?

for that matter, there's this short before the season starts where the Doctor is chatting with The Sisterhood Of Karn, and we last saw them back in s7 in the Eighth Doctor short -- they're the ones that made the War Doctor. And they turn up in the first episode of this season as well, and again, I'm like. wait did I miss something here?

I think that this season has a lot of that for me, there's a lot of questions I have that I will make a separate post on. things that may very well have been properly built up and explained and I just missed, but genuinely at the moment I'm going... huh?

and for this purpose, end of this episode, it's... wait how'd you just get back to Gallifrey??? I thought you were still looking for it, how'd the Confession Dial get there?

while the s5-7 arc certainly had a lot of things that went "eh trust me, this'll aaaaall lead somewhere" and then... I mean, kinda did but badly and last-minute, s8 didn't really lead into the events of s9, so the whole Hybrid and Confession Dial was this season's... mystery I guess? except idk why it suddenly matters, why did Davros bring it up?

maybe I need to rewatch that episode. but also seriously where did Gallifrey come from???

I also question the plan to put the Doctor in there -- so he's in there in order to interrogate him on the Hybrid but... is that.... really the best way to do that??? I don't think that makes a whole lotta sense unless I missed something there as well. I mean, this creature kills the Doctor, it doesn't really set out to torture for information, even though the Doctor interprets it as such. the intent is lacking in logic I think

point is, if we ignore the wider plot happening around Heaven Sent, it's thematically strong. ignore why the Doctor is there and the episodes around it for a second, have a good time (well, the Doctor isn't having a good time!)

also wtf was with that creature in there. I mean, it was cool and all and it made the plot go, but... why was it there again? maybe I'll add that to my questions post

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: we learn bits and bobs about the Doctor in this one, like for example that they didn't run from Gallifrey because they were bored but because they were "scared" (which I'm sure surprised nobody, but the point is hearing the Doctor admit it outright -- therapy under pain of death, literally), and generally that they're afraid of dying

technically this episode is the least lore and plot heavy of the three at the end, when you think about it. it's very much there to make you read into the Doctor, because there's no one else there

I think. if there was one thing. I would have really really wanted from it, in terms of this point. it's an understanding of why the Doctor was travelling with Clara, beyond "she's my friend." I feel like on sooome level I can suss out why Clara travels with the Doctor (she is emotionally all over the damn place and seeking those thrills without thinking about consequences), but I never did understand the Doctor travelling with Clara in s9. it feels like they're together in that season because... well, they were together before. and there's this "duty of care" line that comes up a few times this season, which is kind of a new one from the Doctor at Clara, considering their last two seasons together, and I kind of wish there'd been a bit on that

I get it, this is an episode All About The Doctor, but it's set nearly immediately after Clara dies. even as the Doctor is essentially resurrected over and over again for billions of years, to them Clara died a few minutes ago every single time. there's something slightly jarring to me about making this relatively quiet, contemplative, philosophical episode all about the Doctor, with Clara functioning as a crutch to the Doctor's emotions and explorations... but she's dead. it goes back to what I was saying about the eulogy. this episode tells me nothing about Clara and the Doctor, other than that he's sad she's dead and she asked questions (but even then, these questions aren't actually being asked by Clara, he's just imagining it's her)

COMPANIONS MATTER: see I put this one at a five, because I acknowledge that the Companion doesn't always have to be there and that is true, AND although she's not there she does help out about as much as she usually does

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: I've scored this one quite highly, despite it literally being "all about the Doctor," but it's only "all about the Doctor" because it's the Doctor's Confession Dial -- the next episode may score somewhat lower on this point, because then we really do get a fair bit of Doctor is centre of all important events and we all just orbit around them, but in this case it is fair

and if we actually look at what the episode is saying about the Doctor, it really does follow a fallible, questioning person who needs time to figure out what's happening, and then is like "the answer is to really painfully punch for 4 billion years" which... yeah that tracks

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: this episode isn't very classic lore heavy. idk if it should be, considering it's about the Doctor, but it might have taken up too much space in a relatively stripped back character study. it does interact with the "ran away because I was bored" line which goes as far back as Two, so there is that less in-your-face reference, that also adds to the Doctor as we've gotten to know them in especially nu!who

“SEXINESS”: C U R E D of bad sexy talk (at least, until Husbands of River Song, but even that is shockingly parred back)

INTERNAL WORLD: we're in a Confession Dial, specifically the Doctors. maybe the Confession Dial should've gone up in lore, but I'm going for it as a world for now. the Doctor's confession dial is a turning castle with an endless ocean beyond it. I don't know if all Confession Dials are the same, or if it's just this one

I do actually have questions about how it's meant to work, because in the next episode (yes, cheating) the Doctor says it's meant to be this meditative, important process, and it was abused in order to "interrogate" them about the Hybrid, so is big clockwork creature always there? or is that a the Doctor must suffer special or???

idk what the consensus on the inside of the Confession Dial is. do we like this design? does it make sense for the Doctor? is it the Doctor's own mind that supplies the imagery? lot of questions I have there, add those to the question-pile

I like the Confession Dial as Vibes, but I don't know what the imagery of this place has to do with the Doctor as character, is basically my summary of this point

POLITICS: there's not really politics in this episode, which means.... let's look for the politics that's not in here. No, in many ways it doesn't need to be politically focused. it leaves us with the writing of female characters, which wasn't greaaaat but not technically the point eitherrrrr but also it Culminates in this one, so I do have to mention it on this particular point.

As a general, if there were political undertones in this episode, what do we think they could have been on? the ethics of Gallifreyan society prompting the Doctor to run away? the philosophical nature of the Doctor's tendency to run? ideas around trying despite it being all-but-hopeless as something one could relate to real-world causes? I'm spitballing, I'm not saying this episode needed that. I'm just musing

FULL RATING: 68/100 (if I can count….)

the more I think about this episode, the more questions arise -- most of them in connection with what happens next, but I do think it's flawed to not think about what happens next if one is trying to do a deeper dive into the story, as I'm doing. one can enjoy it as its own thing for its strong themes, Capaldi's acting, the music, the Vibes, but I do think it still suffers from aaaalmost every M*ffat limitation (minus the outright sexism) in that it sets up questions that will never be answered and goes more for Vibe than... idk what to call it, this is Doctor Who, but... realism? wider internal world consistency?

this is a good episode, and I think I'd enjoy it a heck of a lot more if it was a standalone, a la God Complex (which did some similar things to this episode, and personally is still my favourite of the M*ffat era), but all the questions keep bursting in

still, that's a hell of a bird (do we ever apply this story to Doctor Who gifsets/fanfics and the like? I'm sure we do, I just haven't engaged with Twelve-era much because this is only my second watch of it)

actually another question: why is it called heaven sent?

#im watching nu!who #im watching capaldi who #episode heaven sent #the measurement

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stair-blocks · 3 months

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multiple classes want me to write blog posts; namely my animation studio and my japanese language and culture class so . godspeed kings

animation/art posts will be tagged as [ anim ]

japanese language/culture posts will be tagged as [ jlc ]

#[ anim ]#[ jlc ]#[ gen ]#love this image its so silly

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meowmeowuchiha · 2 months

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Ranting about the new Borderlands movie under the cut

Okay I'm just gonna say it

The Borderlands movie trailer? Doesn't look AS BAD as I thought it would, but still awful.

Most of the characters are extremely miscast

But honestly? I don't think Kevin Hart is that terrible of a miscast.

If it was Borderlands 2 and pre sequel Roland then yeah he'd be awful and I feel like that's what most people are thinking of.

But if you're going based off of first game Roland? He's not that bad. Just listen to the voice lines from Roland from the first game. Can find it on YouTube easy enough.

On to everyone else!!

Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina: Honestly, I'm gonna just say that it's both miscast and miswritten, but I acknowledge that it's probably gonna be pretty damn hard to find someone who could pass as a younger teenager (since Tina in the 2nd game is 13) who could also feasibly act as Tina. She's a very very unique character and I feel like acting as her, even if she WAS written properly, would be incredibly difficult. Getting that combination of batshit insane, childish naivety, and actually knowing what she's doing would be TOUGH. Ariana Greenblatt, from what I've seen, does well enough as bratty snarky teens. Tina was written as that for some god forsaken reason.

JLC as Tannis (aside from the fact that JLC is a fucking zionist. I'm only critiquing casting based on how they are as actors, not whether or not they're decent people.) isn't...terrible? It's odd, and I can't give a definitive opinion on it because hardly anything is heard from her in the trailer.

Jack Black as Claptrap: Honestly, personality wise, not a bad fit for Claptrap. However, voice wise, absolutely a terrible fit. Claptrap's voice I'd supposed to be shrill, nasally, and just overall ear grating. That's part of his CHARM. The rest of the fault in how awful they did with Claptrap lies in the writing. I will admit, I'm not certain who I would've cast as Claptrap instead, but I at the very least would have tried to see if Jack Black could try and at least imitate Claptrap's voice??? Or just...like I said, found someone better.

Cate Blanchett as Lilith: Yeeeaaaah, very miscast. I'm not even all that upset by the age thing. That's like....a tiny tiny gripe that tbh I think people are focusing way too much on. When the real problem is the fact that Lilith was HORRIBLY written for the movie. Lilith, in the games, is this hotheaded, snarky, cocky woman. She's the woman who's told "hey, for strategy reasons, we need you to stay behind for this fight" and responds with "no I'm going >:(" and shows up anyways. She's the one who goes "I...liquefied a guy. It was AWESOME!! This eridium stuff is the TITS!!!". She is not the stone cold badass bitch that she seems to be in the movie. I will admit, I haven't seen anywhere NEAR Cate Blanchett's full filmography. I've only seen a tiny handful of movies. But from the ones I've seen, she doesn't tend to play characters like Lilith. Her characters tend to be more serious. Less snarky and sarcastic. She just....doesn't seem to fit in the Borderlands universe at all really to me??? She'd be miscast in pretty much any role. The only one I could MAYBE see her managing would be like....Athena. Again, not her fault, just...the vibes. Lilith was terribly written for the movie, and was also terribly miscast.

I can't really say anything regarding anyone else, as I didn't really see enough of them to form even the barest hint of an opinion. Either way, the movie is going to be awful, even if it might not be as terrible as I'd thought it would be before the trailer.

If you're gonna watch it, pirate it if you care about Palestine. The director and at least a couple of the actors (JLC, Edgar Ramirez) are zionists, and yet more of them (Jack Black, Gina Gershon) are of the mind that it's a two sided conflict and they want both sides to make peace and their hearts go out to both sides.

#Borderlands #Borderlands movie #Ranting #Lmao I highly doubt any of my followers will give a shit about this but I felt like saying it anyways #Also gonna say that if I'm being honest Borderlands was never meant to be made into a movie it just doesn't work #They should just stop making video game movies in general ngl

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creatureshrieks · 3 months

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As a disclaimer to my Laurie post please keep in mind that for my personal writing and interpretation of Laurie, I stick specifically to the original Halloween film released in 1978. I am only going to be discussing this film in this post, too. I stick specifically with this idea of Laurie when it comes to my headcanons, how I write her personality, and her interactions with Michael. I do not follow any sequels, reboots, or continuities, though I do sparingly take minor inspiration from some (as in Laurie going to college to be a teacher due to her one timeline where she works at a school or for her slasher verse where she kills a innocent man and is put into a sanitarium due to them believing Michael damaged her too much). If I did have to pick any timeline, however, I most likely would default to the 2018 timeline specifically because this the only timeline in which Laurie not only survives, but also is not connected to the Thorn continuity in any capacity. Michael might be the face of Halloween, but I can't see him without Laurie, too. They're two halves of the same coin - which is what I'll get into later! It also continues with JLC's Laurie which is where I base my Laurie from. I do know there was a reboot with Rob Zombie and, though I have seen it, due to that Laurie being drastically different in age and personality and even ending with her death, I will not follow it for my own personal writing of Laurie's characterization. That said I don't... really delve too deep into Kills/Ends either. I'm fine with the original movie, thank you. This is, of course, subject to change when it comes to writing with fellow Halloween muses, especially with different interpretations of Michael, but I will not incorporate that into my main timeline for her just to keep things simple. My Laurie's timeline is completely original following the first movie. Thank you<3

With that out of the way, let's get to discussing Laurie, the literal final girl template that arguably pushed that trope into the main spotlight. She is the template that all future Final Girls have come from (I will not discuss her difference with earlier Final Girls and why Laurie is arguably 'the' first iteration of the trope we love and not just a girl who survived until the end. That's too meta for this post).

When we first see Laurie, we immediately get an understanding of her character even from the first handful of minutes, those first bits of dialogue. We even get who she is from the clothes she wears! She's the good girl, the babysitter. She's dependable, she's smart. She's also shy. Let's start with her clothing:

Just look at this outfit! It looks nice on her, it's pretty, but lets compare it to her friends. Her first outfit is a light cardigan that covers a long sleeved turtleneck while she's at school. Her skirt is just above the knee (it's not short!), and it continues into tights and penny loafers. She looks 'mature', but more like an older woman, not a teenager. She doesn't like to show her skin, she's layered. It's sensible, it's mature. She looks like a stereotypical tutor you meet in the library to help you with calculus. Compare this to her friends - They're wearing jeans, blouses. One is smoking a cigarette and the other forgot all her books vs Laurie who is carrying her entire school workload with her. They're also dressed mature, but in an attempt to get attention. They want to be women that men go for, not girls in their last year of high school. We might not view it that way now due to clothing and fashion changes, but these girls are dressing for attention! They want boys to look at them! They want to dress hot (they're both 18 in the film, mind you. The youngest is Laurie who is turning 18 in a few months). Annie is also notorious for literally not wearing a bra, by the way. Also notice that Laurie is the only one that doesn't tie her hair back! She's shy, she's reserved. She says she's too smart. She's different from her friends. Now, her second outfit is put on after school - and after she sees Michael Myers three separate times.

In her second outfit in the movie, Laurie puts on pants. This can probably be inferred to the fact she’s going babysitting and wants to dress for the job, but she also is less “feminine” in pants after being frightened by Michael three times. She's less exposed, more defensive. She doesn't yet think of Michael as a threat that's going to come crashing through her door, but she doesn't feel safe. Now, this might seem similar to what her friends were wearing to school, even if she’s wearing jeans, they’re not so body-hugging as Lynda and Annie. Even when she takes off all her layers, she still keeps a sweater on. When we see Annie later, she's also dressed down even further into loose fitting flannel and tank-top. No matter what, Laurie is always more covered than her friends. Then we get her final look:

Her blue button up tucked into her pants. This final look still covers her - even during her fight with Michael it doesn’t ever get unbuttoned unlike Annie who took off her clothes to clean them and Lynda who was entirely naked when Michael attacks her. Throughout the film, Laurie is the most consistently covered out of all the main victims shown. We never see over her elbows in the entire film until Michael himself tears into her shirt with his knife right after she sees her friends. That's the only section of skin Laurie shows that’s higher than her elbows for the entire film, obviously not counting her face. Keep in mind that Michael is the driving force behind Laurie in this movie, which we get told almost directly. However, for organization purposes let's keep all Michael and Laurie discussion until the end after Laurie has had her time to shine. Alone.

Laurie and her bedroom:

This part will be smaller, but I feel as if it's just as important to talk about Laurie's bedroom because it does offer us some insight into her character - as well as a small easter egg!

It's almost funny how much this room reflects the clothing she wears at the time. Browns, beige. There's no color here and, in fact, Laurie is more decorated than her walls! There's nothing there except a poster, some small pictures, and a hat. Her room doesn't have much personality to it and judging by her bed with how small it is, it's clear this is very much her childhood room. The items here are probably things she's had for years and hasn't bothered to change. She's never had a reason to - and mind you, her parents are not poor. Her father runs a very successful real estate business and her mother stays at home. Laurie is decently well off enough to get a bed befitting of an 18 year old if she wanted. The only item that clearly doesn't look like it's from her childhood is the poster for James Ensor. This is actually a fun detail! James Ensor was a Belgian painter most famous for his macabre and grotesque imagery involving people in masks. :)

Due to how Laurie dresses and the state of her room, we get some defining traits - sensibility, maturity, and innocence.

Innocence is a huge part of Laurie's character and is why she's the one to survive as well as the one to be the obsession of Michael. And you could not have Laurie Strode without Michael Myers.

The very first time we see Michael and Laurie together in any capacity is when she directly approaches his house and leaves a key with her name on it, leaving it right there for Michael Myers to find. We also get a brief look at Laurie's character here! Tommy Doyle mentions that it's a cursed house, a bad house. A "spook house". Laurie shouldn't approach - but she does. She doesn't believe in scary stories or that anything like ghost and the boogeyman are real. She also sings a love song after she drops off the key. Laurie is a romantic, if even slightly! She is jealous of her friends. She wants a boyfriend. Laurie wants what her friends have, but it's exactly the fact she does not have those traits that keeps her alive. She's not like Annie. She's not like Lynda. She's not like Judith. She's innocent and for Michael, innocence is not something he knows.

The second time we see Michael is while Laurie is at school. He has followed her, stalked her, and he wants her to see him. He wants Laurie to notice him, to be scared by him. And Laurie sees him, staring at him outside of the school window until her teacher interrupts her to talk about a very interesting topic: Fate.

Teacher: [...] You see, fate caught up with several lives here. No matter what course of action Collins took, he was destined to his own fate, his own day of reckoning with himself. The idea is that destiny is a very real, concrete thing that every person has to deal with. How does Samuels' view of fate differ from that of Costaine's? Laurie? Laurie: Costaine wrote that fate was somehow related only to religion, where Samuels felt that, well, fate was like a natural element, like earth, air, fire and water. Teacher: That's right, Samuels definitely personified fate. In Samuels’ writing fate is immovable like a mountain. It stands where man passes away. Fate never changes.

(Just a fun connection: Samuel Loomis is almost a Cassandra-like character, a man that prophesied Michael's attacks on Haddonfield and was never believed. Funny how he predicted fate like that)

This part is just spectacular. It is genuinely such a spectacular moment that defines so much of Laurie and Michael and their never ending battle and unless you knew about them, unless you knew their tale, this line could fade away into the background. It could be little more than school-related dialogue they threw in for the scene. But it's not. Michael is the personification of Laurie's destiny, her fate. He is immovable, unshakable, his obsession is what drives Laurie and her mere existence is what drives Michael. He is fate. He is Laurie's fate. He is what changes her, shapes her. They are the perfect enemy, two halves of a coin that leave marks on each other that forever change each other. Laurie is no longer the innocent babysitter, Michael took that innocence from her. Michael is no longer contented to sit at Smith's Grove, staring at walls. He wants Laurie and he wants her dead. Fate caught up with several people on Halloween. Michael caught up with several people on Halloween. It stands where man passes away. Fate bonds them, it changes them.

This is also from a deleted scene, but there is also a part where Lynda comes to Laurie's home and asks to borrow a shirt from her while also stating she believes she saw Michael stalking her. While Lynda goes to search for the blouse she wants to wear, Laurie once again sings her song again as she stands by the door and looks for Michael. It's almost funny how even subconsciously she repeats motions when it comes to him, that even if she doesn't realize it yet she has sealed her fate with him. He is only waiting for his time to strike while Laurie, defensive and uncertain, waits for the night to end. Waits for the boogeyman to disappear.

But metaphorical fate is not all that bonds them - Laurie is the only one to actually hurt Michael before Loomis arrives to shoot him. She is his only survivor, the only one that fought back against him. The only one that stabbed him, the one that took his eye. She left him with far more wounds than he left her, though to Laurie his single knife wound to her runs far deeper. It scars her, a permanent reminder of what she lost. Her friends. Her sheltered life. Her innocence.

#eugh im rambling #you dont have to read i just feel so. ugh. laurie my fucking beloved you deserve the god damn WORLD #Michael do NOT touch her get AWAY from her #YOU GET AWAY FROM HER!!!#LAURIE || headcanons

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justzawe · 1 year

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I think she may do some RSL-type events. Idk about her launching a new project this year. However she may be writing or planning to do things next year. Tom has two new projects so her and Baby O night be tagging along. But maybe she'll write or direct something for JLC

I know she’s been saying that she’s writing for awhile now. I’m curious to know if that’s for another book, a play, or writing for a tv show, etc.

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bellamysgriffin · 10 months

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Doctor Who :)

Favorite episode and why

vincent and the doctor <3 it's just such a warm aesthetic and it has a lot of what i love about doctor who. curtis' writing is just so great and i think the whole last act is just wonderful. it's also got some gorgeous visuals.

Funniest/crackiest/it’s-terrible-but-I-still-love-it episode/scene

oh man. i really love love and monsters and i don't care how dumb the alien is it's truly such a comfort episode for me

It’s-terrible-and-I-hate it episode/scene

oof there are a lot of moffat era i don't like. i hated day of the doctor i HAATE let's kill hitler, i hate girl in the fireplace and. i love u chibs but i didn't love the flux storyline

Best episode/scene for my favorite character

oh man. rose tyler has so many great moments but i love her monologue in the s1 finale where she says "it was a better life and i don't mean aliens and spaceships and stuff that don't matter. the doctor showed me a better way of living your life. you don't just give u;. that you don't just let things happen. you make a stand you say no!! you have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away and i can't --" all of that was from memory btw that's how much i luv her. and that's the ep she becomes the bad wolf so it's great for that reason too!

Best episode/scene for my favorite ship

ohhhh man. im pretty obsessed with nine's regeneration scene for him and rose, and i really love tenrose's last scene in end of time it's so gorgeous. and as sad as it is, doomsday is really a great episode for doctorrose.

Best episode/scene for a particular supporting character

so martha doesn't really count since she's for real a main character but.... human nature/family of blood is a GREAT storyline for her

Best episode/scene for a character I don’t usually like

oof i really dislike river song but her introduction episode is awesome. and part of why i dislike her bc how do u. see that much potential and do That

Most visually beautiful or interesting episode/scene

oh god doctor who has SO MANY that's really hard. u know what, returning to the van gogh episode i quite love when the night sky turns into starry night

Most emotionally affecting episode/scene

well i mean... doomsday obviously... but i think i cried the most during i don't want to go and wilfred its my honor. that was BRUTAL

Most powerful use of music in an episode/scene

murray gold is so wonderful he's just brilliant and i could never pick between his themes, but i kind of ADORE a dazzling end like instant chills when that bass line shows up whew

Episode/scene that changed my perspective on the show

dalek is kinda when it all changes bc it just gets so real u know!!!

Episode/scene where the acting stands out

oh wow i love the whole cast, there's really no main cast actors that i don't think absolutely knocked it out of the park. i guess i would like to mention jenna louise coleman's performance during face the raven, but tbh clara is a character i don't really love writing-wise but jlc is such a talented actress that she breathed a lot of life into what i thought was a somewhat poorly written character

Overall best-written episode

BEST written? that is so hard to do on a show like doctor who. i mean blink is blink and it's brilliant and i could never dispute that. but i might have to go with human nature and family of blood its so brilliant and subversive and well acted and structured

send me a show!

#dana answers stuff

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deadletterpoets · 2 years

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If you had a chance to write for cass cain, what would you write and what would you do with her character? :D

Wow that is a big question that frankly as many answers so I'm just gonna stick with one as to not have this go on forever. Answer under the cut cause this got long lol

I'd really just want to explore her drive that makes her want to be a hero. What motivates her? Why does wearing the symbol matter to her? Does she feel like she deserves it? Like those would be the types of questions I'd want to ask throughout my whole run.

I'd make her panromantic asexual. I'd find someone to cowrite or consult, but that is definitely a journey she'd go on. I always felt like romance and sex would be such unique experiences for her and intimacy for her would be more about kisses and touching and just being around the person more than sex, but I know not everyone agrees with that (and I'm not saying this cause she's Asian or cause I'm trying to woobify her cause Asians can't have sex or whatever. Just throwing that out there cause ppl seem to think that these days. This is specific for Cass not a comment on all Asian characters.)

I'd have her make a LOT more friends outside the batfam. Bring back Brenda from her OG Batgirl run. Bring back Christine from the League of Shadows arc. Let her meet other heroes like Kenan and Baixi, and the whole of the JLC cause seriously she should. Have her go on adventures with Connor, Emiko, and Rose (Damian shouldn't get all the fun with the cool assassin characters). Have her meet Vic Sage (I think he's alive again idk) and Richard Dragon and learn more about her mother's past so she can learn more about her heritage.

And yes I would do something with Shiva as well, though it wouldn't be them fighting (each other at least). I want them to build a respect for each other. Cass doesn't like that Shiva doesn't see the value of life in the way she does, and Shiva doesn't like that Cass is comfortable wearing a Bat symbol and living by such strict morals, but they agree the other won't change and instead just agree to not get in the other's way. But if they ever need the other, they are there for each other as well. (Hopefully this could lead to solo Shiva stories and just fucking stop making everything she does about Cass, please.)

Though I wouldn't ignore the batfam. I've said before I think Cass and Steph, if both are gonna be Batgirl, should be used like how Marvel used Jessica Drew and Carol Danvers. They have separate books, but are basically supporting characters in each others books. That way neither characters story is compromised for the other, but they also aren't Batgirl2009 where one just has to disappear to make the other relevant. Remind ppl that Cass and Tim have a great sibling dynamic. Continue to build on the Cass/Duke sibling dynamic. Bring back Harper into her life ON PANEL. Refocus on her and Kate, they made up off panel, but I'd show the tension still exist and show them working through that. Obviously rebuild her and Babs MOTHER/DAUGHTER dynamic. None of this "older sister" crap. And of course build on her and Bruce and strongly hint that she wants to be Batman.

The types of stories I'd do would have a very wide range. I'd do everything from street level detective stories to cosmic space journeys to fighting tournaments to one shot romance date nights to team ups to whatever else I think of. I want Cass to be given as much range as a character as everyone else (which is something I feel is really missing for her right now). And she'd go up against all types of villains as well. I'm not gonna list a ton of villains cause that'd take forever, but classic and originals for sure.

In the end what drives her as a hero is more than her guilt, but her want to do good. Simple as that. She is the type of character that sees injustice or bad people doing bad and will step in to intervene. Her moral compass and compassion rivals Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman and that would be on full display. Why does she wear the symbol? Again simply because she believes in what it is meant too represent not only to Gotham but the universe. It strikes fear in the criminals and brings hope to the innocent. Whether she feels she deserves it is the question she might never answer, but she'll work forever until she gets there.

That's just a small idea of what I'd do and it's not a perfect idea, nor is it the only idea of a way to do a Cass run. Just one of the ways I'd do it.

Thanks for the question

#cassandra cain #dc #dc comics #batgirl

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thevindicativevordan · 1 year

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Do you have a Superman wishlist for 2023? Personally I'm hoping for: a Gene Luen Yang-written Jon Kent Black Label mini; a successful launch to MAWS; and a "One Bad Day" series focusing on his rogues.

Certainly have a couple hopes and dreams beyond praying that everything already announced is good:

Yang writing either Kenan or Jon in a solo capacity, he will be writing Jon with Waid in Lazarus Planet but Jon needs someone to come in and try to salvage the mess Taylor made. If he's not interested in that (and who could blame him?) then I want him to push his successor Superman the way Taylor is making another attempt at pushing Val. Kenan and the JLC deserve a mini at least

Bloodsport gets a mini or just makes an appearance somewhere, it annoys me how the Superbooks haven't jumped at the chance to capitalize on his newfound public presence. Put out a Black Label book retelling his origin and first confrontation with Superman!

Pak back in Superman's corner. I suspect he's the one writing Steelworks, but if he isn't then he needs to be the one taking over Jon after Taylor.

Dan Watters does a new Superman/Wonder Woman book with Jon and Yara, otherwise give him Jon if Yang and Pak pass

A JL book starring the FS crew, with Avery replacing Jess

Tom King doing a more longform Superman work that really lets him deconstruct and analyze the character the way he's done Batman, Mister Miracle, Human Target, and others. Something more than a short mini would be preferable, but I want a King book with more to say about Superman. Feels like there's a strong possibility of this happening given the new DC Studios head's love of Tom King and his own Superman reboot. Gunn asking DC to have King write a Superman book he can look to for future movies is in line with Jim Lee stating DC is all about being an IP farm for adaptions.

A new Superman & The Authority book to go alongside PKJ and Williamson. PKJ said he's been having discussions with someone to take over the team since Action is switching to the Superfamily, and he recently posted a pic of him talking with King and Steve Orlando. Giving the book to Orlando is a strong possibility given he's bisexual, he's got history with the Authority, and he's a Morrison fanboy too.

Kara gets a new book and graduates to Superwoman. I still want that to happen!

I'd love to see KSD do a Super Mythos project, it's been said she loves Lois Lane, can't confirm but if so imagine her doing a Lois miniseries on the same level as Historia!

New Legion of Superheroes book, either the Retroboot or the Bendisboot is fine with me.

How about some omnibuses DC? Superman is seriously lagging in that department, let's get moving!

Pigs will fly scenario: An announcement that a Superman solo video game is in the works

#superman #2023

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soufflefcrged · 2 years

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The JLC episode(s) of Sandman have me wanting to do an au of Clara where one of her splinters is Johanna bc it would let me play with peeps from that show without having to do another blog and let’s be honest the Clara vibes were way strong with her. “What’s the point of you then?!” Etc. So I don’t know when I’ll have proper icons for it but like / reply for a starter from Johanna!Clara bc I can. If a multi lmk who for. I will be sporadic as I finished my associates last month and am in my first class for my BA & these classes are a lot more writing intensive plus I’m way behind on every blog ever but eh.

#STARTER CALL.#STARTER CALL. ( johanna constantine. )

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japanese-language-institute · 1 year

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Online Japanese language course with certificate:

JLC Japanese language course provides an interactive, comprehensive introduction to the basics of the language. Learn the fundamentals of reading, writing, speaking, and understanding Japanese in a fun and engaging way!

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variousqueerthings · 5 months

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I am totally against bantering

this episode is... odd. I don't hate it. I watched it off the back of the third Doctor's "time warrior" which has sort of a similar plot, and which I also was kind of ambivalent about on the whole, and just... dunno medieval settings -- love'em in stories on the whole, for some reason find them odd in time travel. but also... is it a good story?

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 6/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 3/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 6/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 2/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 8/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 7/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 3/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 50/100 (if I can count….)

this is a lower rating than "deep breath" and I'm not sure that's right, considering how much nonsense was in that episode, but hey, never said this was totally precise and scientific

OBJECTIFICATION: Clara has a couple of "things" in this. and one of them plays into the way I think this episode is constructed quite half-heartedly and it's that she's obsessed with Robin Hood (I can buy this, even if we haven't seen it before) and when they go to meet RH she dresses as random noblewoman (I wrote in a point further down, because I never fill these out in order, that I realised she could have come out as a Merry Man, because it would have made it so much easier for her to have movement + her interest is RH and the Merry Men not "this time period"), point is, it's a nice dress, but then at one point RH makes a grand escape through a window into a moat... pulling her in with him and then carrying her to safety into the woods, where she wakes up the next day

and she wakes up with her hair perfectly waved, the little jewel thing fastened to her forehead still exactly where it was, makeup intact, dress un-muddied and still exactly as pretty as before

Clara in this episode about her enjoyment of Robin Hood Famous Action Hero, is just a pretty damsel who must never be unprettied... it's just lazy, come on. can the dress not be more than just a reason for JLC to look pretty at least? (and she does look very pretty for sure)

it's in interaction with the rest of the episode, which does a less-good version of Robin Hood than many other Robin Hoods, and in which Clara isn't really the point, despite this ostensibly being about her wish to come here and see her hero

we also have the Scene of her "flirting" with the Sheriff of Nottingham to get information, and it's not too bad. Clara is completely alone, the Sheriff has been established as a very very bad guy, the camera seems to make an effort to not box her in too uncomfortably, considering the danger she's in, it's framed more around him being like "oh she'd make a great queen for me," than "oh hey, she hot and vulnerable," so it could absolutely be worse. I think there's other routes they could have gone down, but definitely I've seen more uncomfortable sexual harassment/danger on this show towards women (sigh)

PLOT-POINT: Clara's been brought here for her love of Robin Hood! and after that she Does not matter whatsoever, there's no interaction with how her emotions about this adventure affect her, because it's not well-enough written for there to be any material to draw from. in many ways it's less a failing on the writing of Clara (although that too) and more a symptom of the failing of this whole episode's construction

COMPLEXITY: in some ways quite Doctor Who in its silliness, so I don't hate that. but I think it didn't go far enough. so much of this plot is around the Doctor not believing Robin Hood is real. so much. soooo so so much! it doesn't take until the last big fight sequence to change his mind. either just run with RH being real early on and give space to something more interesting (such as Idk... Maid Marian), or give us a scifi twist, don't untwist the scifi twist when you're building to a scifi twist in a scifi show in which there are a bunch of scifi things happening, I'm here for scifi, not the worse version of a Robin Hood I already know

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: nothing much here to report, which I think is... a bit oof the more I think about it. not one of these?

COMPANIONS MATTER: as mentioned there's a whole scene in this in which Clara flirts with the Sheriff of Nottingham under quite dangerous circumstances in order to get information out of him, that I don't think matters much in the grand scheme of things. and then off-screen she fills Robin Hood and his Merry Men in on who she and the Doctor are, so that they feel compelled to help

she does have a great little scene with the Doctor + Robin Hood where she takes them to task for competing with each other and mocks them both by using their dramatic titles (prince of thieves and last of the timelords), but on the whole she might as well not be there (it's taken this long in my rating system to remember the term "sexy lamp" and yeah, test failed)

this even odder, because Maid Marian also isn't really in this story until the final scene, except she sort of was, because she was the ward of this random peasant that's taken prisoner and nobody recognises her and she's part of a sort of dull peasant's revolt, and then suddenly oh it's her I guess???-- my point is that Clara ought to have had the Doctor's story in this, in doing the peasant's revolt and working with Marian and figuring out who she is, because it's her favourite story and she's just not really in it (also Marian is... undercover? hiding? unclear, but this is going to be a world-building point, it's just that Marian should have been an interesting character and that Clara should have been hanging with her rather than just standing next to Robin Hood and giving platitudes that he'll find her one day, and not much else...)

(and Marian shouldn't have been presented at the very end from behind the Tardis like K9 was that one time)

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: I guess there's nothing really one way or another. I actually also did laugh at a few of his entries -- lines that would have been stupid coming from Eleven have a sort of unexpected enjoyment to them with Twelve, because of the juxtaposition of grumpy old Scottish guy reveals he's going to fight Robin Hood with!---- a Spoon!

also he hated the near-constant merriment and was he Wrong?? but also is that a bit too meta, because the episode is making fun of it to the point that it all seems highly unrealistic, but then the rug-pull that these people... are? just like that???

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: they reference Carnival of Monsters (Jon Pertwee), which makes me wish this was doing Carnival of Monsters, rather than what it's actually doing. also as the "guy who just watched Time Warrior" it's doing Time Warrior (also Jon Pertwee) but worse. and I already don't think Time Warrior is the Third Doctor's best

“SEXINESS”: this episode could have been a lot worse, considering there's meant to be so much jovial male banter in it, it's not doing a bunch of sexy bullshit

I'm unsure what to do with the whole... Sheriff of Nottingham wants to make Clara his queen thing, it's sort of there, it could have been way more uncomfortable, but it's also just... irrelevant. and is most of what Clara's role is doing in this story

I just realised that Clara's dream is Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and I think she should have dressed as one of them, rather than random noblewoman who never gets dirty or can properly do action in this story, anyway...

it all could be a lot worse

INTERNAL WORLD: this is the worse. we know the story of Robin Hood, Early of Loxley, loses his lands for speaking out against Prince John (not in this story), in love with Maid Marian (completely sidelined in this story), does an archery contest (okay that is there... different but there) and.... well that's about as far as the story gets in this one, and then after that it becomes scifi stuff, which does end with a duel between Robin and the Sheriff

my point is, that the actual Robin Hood stuff is simply worse than in the other Robin Hood's I've read and seen, and the non-Robin Hood stuff feels very awkwardly shoe-horned in, so in the end none of it is very well drawn

it's all just set pieces without depth, and it's so out of place that that's even part of the plot -- the Doctor finds it all so stupid and unrealistic that he doesn't believe it's real, except, in the end, inexplicably it is -- at least if it was a science fiction thing it would explain the sparksnotes version of the story we're getting

I keep going back to Maid Marian who's pretending to be a peasant, and the Sheriff I guess doesn't notice her and nobody else knows who she is, and she's not going through the feminist version of her story that I think this episode is trying to do, and the connection between "random peasant woman in a dungeon" and "woman revealed from behind the Tardis as Maid Marian" is so tenuous I needed to double-check it was the same actress

there's this bit at the end where Robin tells the Doctor that they're both just stories, which is one of those M*ffat-era fourth wall winks that I have grown really tired of, and in this case also seems to brush over any lackluster interaction with the actual story of Robin Hood. I don't think that's the intention, but it makes me go "ok what story were we just told here," and it's not one that makes a lot of sense or is particularly interesting

the idea of the Doctor interacting with legend and mythology is actually quite interesting, it's just that this episode sort of dropped the ball on that roughly halfway through, by saying "nono this totally unbelievable set of events straight out of a children's version of Robin Hood is real," when there could have been more freedom to go into other directions, rather than just rehashing a story told better elsewhere, if this hadn't been entirely "real"

there's just better Robin Hood than this, is my point

POLITICS: uhhh not a lot actually, which is a shame. Rob from the rich, give to the poor is not 100% absent in this (it gets mentioned), and there's some pretty intense nastiness from the Sheriff early on in the episode where he stabs a man to death, but as an extension of the world building, the ideas conveyed in this don't hang together very well, because the world doesn't hang together very well

FULL RATING: 50/100 (if I can count….)

overall this episode isn't awful, it's just kind of boring (well, it may be awful if you're a big Robin Hood fan). Idk if there's a curse on medieval settings, or if I'm prejudiced against them, but overall this episode had weak world-building and narrative construction that spread into most other facets of it and made them less engaging too

still not convinced it's worse than "deep breath" though, past me

on the upside I quite like the Doctor's personality -- he's not a nice man these days, and Clara could be getting tired of that? and the Doctor perhaps knows this? we'll see how that goes down/if it has any proper narrative consequences

EDIT: it's called "robot of sherwood" why would you call it that and then just have it be ordinary Robin Hood, that's not a twist!??? it's just a bait and switch, and one that's worse than if he was a robot! this is science fiction, it's okay for him to be a robot!

#im watching nu!who #im watching capaldi who #robot of sherwood #the measurement

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