#< le namesake... sorry its fitting

[lyvenex]

There's a million, billion, trillion stars But I'm down here low Fussin' over scars on my soul On my soul, on my soul On my soul, on my soul, I am so 「INFINITESIMAL」, oh

「INFINITESIMAL」 initially manifests as a pair of large, semi-corporeal hands with raptor-like talons. It starts with a moderate range of approximately 8 meters and is capable of moving at impressive speeds. While quite sharp, the talons are not particularly deadly. They have a strong grip and are capable of physical attacks, but that is not their intended use.

「INFINITESIMAL」 has a signature ability referred to as "transference". Should its talons pierce both the user and another individual, the user can transfer "something of theirs" to the individual. The exact parameters of what constitutes as such are unclear, but some examples of what can be transferred include: physical sensations, emotions, and souls. It is possible for the user to "retrieve" things that have been transferred if a subject is pierced again.

[anniestvramblings]

Part 2!

(I didn’t get to the Zoe stuff akjshkjshks sorry. Basically my thoughts are that she was treating Zoe like how Laurie treated her while she was back in Paris, in order to feel in control after having dealt with the lack of agency she has over her brand in relation to the Dreamscape deal.)

Part 1 | Part 2

So, Mira talks with Rene - who’s currently undergoing a crisis over whether he’s “fit” to remake Les Vampires. However, his deeper reasons center around the dream he had last night. Where Jade Lee, his ex-wife and the actress of his original Les Vampires offshoot (I believe referenced as “Irma Vep”), came to him, reflecting over their lives having separated from one another and how Rene feels about redoing Irma Vep without her. Obviously this is a very meta dilemma, as Rene almost feels like a stand-in for the series creator/director himself - Oliver Assayas. And this dilemma is a classic mirroring of how any creator feels remaking an old work for the modern era.

Is it worthy of its original namesake? Will it capture the singular feel and context of the original, something that can never really be replicated? Rene’s dream is thus a representation of these anxieties. That he’s afraid of sullying the original magic of Irma Vep, and thus ruining what it represented for him. Because no movie can be made free of its surroundings, and every product is thus born from them. When those surroundings change, does the product change? Should it change? Will it changing ruin what made the original product so special?

All heavy questions. Enough to send an anxious wreck like Rene spiraling. And it’s thus extremely fitting that Mira’s the one to try to console him. Because Mira’s having a somewhat similar dilemma. Only instead of trying to capture something new out of what once was, Mira’s trying to capture a new feeling altogether. And this new take on Irma Vep is what’s spurring her onward.

Take some of the parallels - throughout their conversation, Rene is continually being interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

In Part 1 we talked about one of the earlier scenes comprising of Mira arguing with her agent about Silver Surfer. Mira, taking on the Irma Vep suit and grappling with what it means to her, also dealt with a phone.

And within that scene, I believed the phone represented “reality” itself. The reality of her agent and their differing beliefs, the reality of what Irma Vep truly means to Mira from the outside looking in - and how that’s all still so vague for her. Even the music reflected the low electronic hums of a cell phone, the high tingy bells of a new text message - only for the acoustic melody of Irma Vep to eventually drown it all out. Irma Vep is Mira’s escape from reality. 

But it was short lived. Like Rene, there’s no true, continuous escape from reality. She had to go back to discussing the Dreamscape deal on-call the next morning. And Rene knows that he must go to work eventually. Hell, their similar situations are practically directly connected in the fact that they’re both burdened by this Dreamscape deal - Gautier having made it clear earlier in the episode that it was the only reason he was financing Rene’s remake.

(If I can get a little film snobby...curious that “Dreamscape” is the thing preventing them from achieving their dreams 🤔🤔🤔.)

To be clear, this is what I’m getting from their dichotomy; for Mira, her desire to be authentically herself is dampened by her obligations to her brand image - Dreamscape paramount at the moment. Irma Vep is her way of escaping that, however she must also grapple with what Irma Vep means to her. For Rene, his desire to make his authentic art is dampened by his obligations to his financers - to other people - and Dreamscape also paramount at the moment. Thus the Les Vampires remake is his way of escaping that, when he’s able to consume himself fully in his art. Right now, though, he is grappling with what this remake means to him. To a severe extent. So much so that he can’t even bear himself to disappear into his art for fear of ruining his artistic integrity itself. It proves he’s much more self-conscious than Mira about his escapism, and that he believes there are great consequences should his escapism be for all the wrong reasons.

It’s enough for him to believe that he should’ve never gotten involved in any of this.

“I should have never gotten involved in this.”

Mira, though, disagrees. For one - if he’s not involved, the remake doesn’t happen. Thus Mira will no longer be able to chase after this Irma Vep persona that’s given her so much comfort. Like Rene, she disappears into her work - and has specifically disappeared into Irma Vep. To the extent that the idea it could be taken away frustrates her.

“Uh...hello.” (Chuckles.) “Uh, what about me?”

But Rene does not see the problem.

“No, you’re - you’re great. You’re...you’re always great. You, you, you are genius.”

“Don’t go overboard.”

“You are magic. You have some magic. I’ve lost it. If ever I had it.”

I think part of this is due to him not really seeing it from Mira’s perspective. As discussed here, Rene has difficulties relating specifically to people - and perhaps specifically to women. He’s more concerned with the “image” of people rather than who they are. Thus he doesn’t see how Mira could be suffering with the same problem he is. And it’s true, he’s far more anxious and self-conscious about his art than Mira is. And perhaps that’s why he thinks Mira simply has it all figured out - that she’ll always be able to find another role to absorb into, and play it with aplomb.

But of course, that’s not true. Mira has her own doubts about Irma Vep. And while it’s easier for her to escape into the role without thinking, it doesn’t mean she’s not thinking. Not to mention that Irma Vep isn’t just any other role. She can’t replace it. Something about it specifically gives her the feeling of authenticity she craves. Thus she needs it.

Mira seems to call him out for this, too. Accusing him of being so self-interested that he hasn’t even considered it from Mira’s perspective.

“Wow. You’re being self-indulgent.”

...Of course, it’s not like Mira hasn’t been self-indulgent in this way too. She did it to Laurie. She does it Regina. Later on in this episode, we’ll see that she sort of does it with Zoe, too. Maybe that’s why she acquiesces that she can help Rene with this. Or maybe it’s because of what she perceives as her experiences with “self-indulgent” people - specifically Laurie. Who she’s come to believe has manipulated her throughout their relationship while still playing the victim. 

“She played you like a puppet. Clever girl, she ended up getting what she wanted.”

“And now she says I was abusive.”

Either way, she feels qualified to help him with it.

“I can help you get over that.”

Which is exactly what Rene wants - help. Of any sort. 

“How?”

Though her advice is less than helpful.

“First of all - stop whining.”

...But such advice may say a lot about her. Depending on if either of my speculations are correct. That she believes herself to be self-indulgent, and thinks the best advice for herself would be to stop whining? Or that she believes Laurie was self-indulgent, and believes she needs to stop whining. Or, neither, again - they are speculative :P.

Either way, afterwards - Rene decides to open up to her about his dream. As soon as she says Jade Lee visited him, Mira immediately assumes it has something to do with her;

“Was she angry with me?”

“About...me taking over her part. About someone else playing Irma Vep.”

Throughout the production of Irma Vep, Mira has struggled with trying to match Musidora. So some of these anxieties over whether she’s “worthy” of Irma then seemingly manifest in her wondering whether Jade Lee would be angry with her taking on the role.

Rene denies this, simply stating that the movie he made with Jade was created under “unique circumstances.” Something Mira exclaims would be true of any art. But something Rene states specifically means this edition of Les Vampires will be “stained, compromised.”

This naturally upsets Mira. She needs this film.

“Doesn’t sound very encouraging.”

But Rene says she can save it. And though she isn’t sure at first, she does resolve that she “has to”.

“Well I have to. This is all we have right now.”

Rene insists that she HAS been saving the film.

“That’s what you have been doing. You are making it relevant again.”

“How am I doing that?”

“You have faith.”

Because she has faith in the project. Genuine investment in Irma Vep as a character. And a genuine passion to see it through. Perhaps he doesn’t exactly know why, the extent to which Mira sees Irma Vep as her sense of freedom in a restrictive, celebrity environment - but he does see that she has genuine dedication and resolve to her character. He attributes it to a “pure heart.”

“And, and, your heart is pure.”

But I think that may be his ignorance as to what Mira is going through shining forth. As we know, Mira can be pretty toxic - but as we also know, Rene is not good with people. He’s much better with art. So he attributes Mira’s fascination with her art as something that makes her “pure”.

He believes she does not doubt herself and her art as much as he does, therefore she is the ideal, “perfect” artist. But as committed as she is, she does have her doubts. And even her commitment itself may not be the purest thing.

Even Mira admits she doubts this.

“I don’t think my heart is pure.”

“You don’t believe in fairytales?”

(Pause.)

(sidenote: this is great material for a reaction image)

“I do.”

“It’s why I texted you. You understand. Movies are fairytales.”

“Not all of them.” 

“Yeah but, only the best.”

Mira agrees with him on the basis that, she does believe in fairytales - movie roles can be a fairytale for her. Irma Vep is. This magical bit of escapism she can’t explain. That simply “came” to her in the moments she needed to let go the most. But not all of them are. Her other roles have left her feeling shallow - but this one. This one she does believe in.

Rene called her because he believes she believes in the project, and that she can be his “muse”. His source of inspiration. But in a more specific way, his reminder that there is a “magic” to this piece of art that Mira understands more than him.

It’s enough to motivate them both to go back to work, anyways.

[amindamazed]

top 5/bottom 5

tagged by @margoleon​ and @sanguinarysanguinity​

Rules:  Tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!

What are your five most popular works? (starting with the most kudos)

all for Elementary

In Case of Emergency, Watson & Sherlock, 4700 words They turned left from the hallway into the glare of sunlight from the high windows, and gunfire scattered them. My most popular work by far, in kudos, bookmarks, and hits. Hurt/comfort with Joan injured in the hospital and Sherlock at her bedside; bonus Joan backstory plus Mary Watson and Emily Hankins.

Swayed, Watson & Sherlock, 1200 words When she pushed through the revolving door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, Sherlock was there. Instead of worry buried under scorn, she saw an echo of the haunted man who'd found Irene and blamed himself for what was done to her. Episode tag for 2x22, “Paint It Black”; there was lots of fan interest in what would happen next after that episode aired and lots of disappointment at what we didn’t get in the following episodes, both of which resulted in many of us writing and reading fic to fill the gap.

L’Ombre de ton ombre, Sherlock, 500 words On the first anniversary of the woman’s death, three jurisdictions deem her legally dead, and while that is patently meaningless for someone of her talents and resources, this time he knows what to look for, and there have been no political indications, no financial transactions, no evidence that she is anything but. An insert/alternate scene for @language-escapes La Chanson des vieux amants, and its popularity is 100% due to folks finding it linked as a related work from her amazing story, which you have to read before reading mine.

Outside the Box, Watson/Sherlock, 7500 words Things were different when Sherlock returned from London and different again once Joan moved back to the brownstone, but some changes require a little extra finesse. Friends to something more fic, focused more on the psychological/emotional transition than the physical (sorry). written for 2014 Winter Holmestice during early season 3, so AU for most of what followed after Sherlock returned from London.

[5 & 6 in kudo count are Doubts Don’t Deter Detectives II and III, which are collections of daily prompts for Watson’s Woes July Writing Prompts Challenge in 2014 and 2015, respectively. I still like a lot of what ended up there, but I don’t think they fit the intent of this meme. YMMV!]

For Science, written with @beanarie​, Watson & Sherlock & OFC, 10K words “We are going to have a baby,” she says. “For science.” Cracktastic mpreg babyfic (is that redundant?). A lot of it is silly fluff (and a bit of Joan/Marcus) but there are some serious/introspective installments as well.

What are your five least popular works? (starting with the fewest kudos)

Metamorphosis (switcheroo remix), When Night Is Falling, Camille/Petra, 150 words One fantasy is velvet bedding, fairy lights, and trapeze lovers dancing on air. A short remix of @sanguinarysanguinity‘s vid, Glitter in the Air. I doubt either work makes sense if you haven’t seen the movie, but hey the vid is only 51 seconds and this fic 150 words, so what have you got to lose?

Finding Jack Harkness, Torchwood, Jack Harkness & Original Jack Harkness, 1500 words He'd usurped the man's identity originally because he was dead in another city, and his description was a good match. My first fic! Originally posted in a Torchwood LJ community and added to AO3 years later. It is amusing in retrospect to see that I was drawn in by questions about timelines that had snagged my attention: how many times had Jack passed through WWII, and what did his namesake come to mean to him?

Something About Seeing and Being Seen (Through a Glass Darkly remix), Elementary, Joan/Ms Hudson; Ms Hudson/OFC, 3200 words There are things Joan doesn't want to think about. There are other things Joan doesn't know how to think about. Marthe helps her with both. A remix of @phoenixfalls Your Want Is Bigger Than You; the original character in my fic comes from that story. In addition to the relationships, the fic also explores Joan’s experience at the end of season 2 and during the time Sherlock is in London.

The Little Things, Mary Russell - Laurie R. King, Mary Russell & John Watson, 365 words "Oh, go on and open it Mary, you're as bad as he is sometimes. It's a present, not an exercise in deduction." I wrote one non-Elementary work for the 2015 July Writing Prompts and posted it separately from the rest of Doubts Don’t Deter Detectives III. I read King’s series as chock full of unreliable narrators, and I like to explore that in fic, here reframing Mary’s immature assessment of Watson.

The Story of My Life (The Old Regrets Never Die remix), Elementary, Joan Watson, 800 words It’s possible that Jem would have been killed whether I was there to complicate Le Millieu’s plans or not. (I’ll never know if Aaron Colville would have lived (and the women his mother killed, after) if another doctor had stood up to Fleming.) It still stands that he’s now the last person who died because of me. I don’t even know his full name. A remix of @beanarie‘s Turn the Page. Another post-season-two exploration, using b’s AU in which Kitty was Joan’s student, not Sherlock’s. This is a bitter, brittle Joan who knows she can’t rely on anyone, especially herself, to keep others safe. Good times!

I can’t remember now who’s done this already, sorry! I’ll tag @beanarie, @language-escapes, @nairobiwonders, @quipxotic, @time-converges, @joaneuglassiawatson

17 august 2017