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felassan · 4 years ago

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Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 annotations & additional pages/art compilation

Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1 is a hardcover collection of some pre-existing Dragon Age comics that was released in 2014. It comprises of all issues of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep. In places, it includes additional annotations/commentaries by the illustrators and authors, as well as a few additional pages with additional art. iirc these additional annotations and pages/art aren’t featured or available anywhere else (in the franchise I mean; other people have probably put them online at some point I’m sure).

From what I can see at least, Library Edition Volume 1 is no longer in print, and as such listings for it on resale sites etc are.. price-inflated & prohibitively expensive (~£100+, which I’m sure we can all agree is just not reasonable or accessible to most people). Due to this, I’ve compiled the additional annotations and pages here in this post. Thank you and credit to @artevalentinapaz, who kindly shared the material with me. This post has been made with their permission. The rest of this post is under a cut due to length.

These commentaries are in the context of The Silent Grove, Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep. If you notice any errors or annotations missing, or need anything clarified, just let me know. I think the annotations are in chronological order. In places I elaborated in square brackets to help explain which part of the comics an annotation is referring to. A note before you proceed further: some of the topics referenced in the annotations/additional pages are heavy or uncomfortable. The quotes here are word-for-word transcriptions of dev/creator commentaries, not my personal opinions or phrasings.

(Also, I do recommend always supporting comic creators by purchasing their comics legitimately. I own each issue of these comics having bought other editions of them all legitimately. The reason I put this post together is because this specific Library Edition volume has been discontinued and the consequently-inflated cost is so high, rendering the additional material inaccessible to most.)

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The Silent Grove annotations

Illustrator Chad Hardin: “I used to be an environmental artist for video games, so I built a 3-D model of Antiva City using the program Silo. Many of the buildings are simple cubes, but a few are more detailed. Overall, I spent the better part of a day building it, but I used it again and again throughout The Silent Grove to maintain continuity in the backgrounds.”

Script Writer Alexander Freed: “Even working with David Gaider, it took me several drafts to find Alistair’s voice. His narrative had to convey his humor and self-doubt from Dragon Age: Origins while suggesting a newfound weariness earned during his years on the throne. For readers familiar with the character, he needed to seem like a changed Alistair - but Alistair nonetheless.”

Chad Hardin: “If you read a lot of comics, you might wonder why the majority of the heroes wear skin-tight suits. Well, I can tell you: they are easy and quick to draw. In video games, you build the model once and then animate it, so details don’t slow you down. In comics, everything has to be rendered by hand. Varric and Alistair’s outfits were quite detailed. It took me a long time to get used to them, and even longer to memorize the designs until drawing them was second nature - Varric’s knee armor in particular! Oy vey!”

David Gaider: “One of my favorite scenes in the entire series [when Varric and Isabela are disarming traps and picking locks together while Alistair looks on]. Isabela and Varric, doing what rogues do. I had a suggestion for how to put it together, but Alex managed to make it fit and did a great job with it.”

Chad Hardin: “I never used to keep any of the artwork I created for comics. I would just hand the pages over to my agent to sell. This page [when Alistair, Varric and Isabela are in a tavern together, with hookah in the foreground] I kept for myself. I love the hookah-smoking elves in the second panel and Isabela’s face in the last panel. I rendered the first four chapters of The Silent Grove in grayscale using ink washes, gouache and Copie markers.”

David Gaider: “For a little while, Varric [in these comic stories] was supposed to be Zevran from Dragon Age: Origins, which would have made sense, Zevran being Antivan and all. I know that some fans would have loved to see him, but the dynamics of the group just didn’t work as well. Then a planned cameo later had to be cut for space. Ah well, Zev, another time.”

Alexander Freed: “Isabela at her most dangerous [climbing up the side of the cliff]. This scene - featuring a scantily clad, dripping-wet woman who tends to flaunt her sexuality - could easily have come across as exploitative, but Chad did a lovely drop portraying Isabela as purely focused and deadly.”

Chad Hardin: “Isabela rising out of the water and scaling the cliff with the knife in her mouth is one of my favorite parts of The Silent Grove. It is one of those moments where the writing really inspired the art. Hats off to Alex and David. This is another page I kept for myself.”

Colorist Michael Atiyeh: “This is one of my favorite Dragon Age pages. Chad is such an amazing artist; I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.”

Chad Hardin: “I love that this page [when a guard spots Varric and shouts ‘Intruder!’] made it in uncensored. So many times in comics, I draw something and some stuffy lawyers come out of the woodwork and tell me to tone it down. Dark Horse and BioWare always let me have fun, and this turned out to be one of my favorite pages with Varric and Bianca. Any guesses to which word he is mouthing in the second panel?”

Alexander Freed: “Note the simple decency of Alistair as he gives his cloak, without comment, to Isabela. For all his flaws, he’s genuinely kind at heart - a rare enough trait in Isabela’s world that I think it’s much of what she values in him.”

Chad Hardin: “I love the opening panel to this chapter [the opening panels to Chapter 3, when the team are on a ship at sea]. It’s the image I use on the homepage of my website. This page was a gift to my cousin Wendy, who loves pirates. Seascapes with sailing ships might be clichéd in fine art, but for me it was a first.”

David Gaider: “I wanted to have this story center on the group travelling to a Witch of the Wilds other than Flemeth, and originally I had set it somewhere else - until I remembered a Codex entry from Dragon: Age Origins that offhandedly mentioned a witch in the Tellari Swamps. Brilliant! It’d look like I planned it all along. I didn’t.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love opportunities where I can show a change in the time of day as you move from panel to panel [when the ship heads towards and the team arrive in the Tellari Swamps]. I feel the palette of each panel is very distinct and beautiful.”

Alexander Freed: “Why did Alistair choose two people he barely knows to be his companions on this quest? We never make this explicit, but of course Varric is on the right track. Alistair wants to surround himself with people who don’t know him and won’t judge him, yet it’s Alistair’s idealism that Isabela and Varric work to preserve.”

Chad Hardin: “Another page where the writing inspired the art [when the group suddenly encounter a dragon]. I love the dragon bursting onto the scene and Isabela’s stare. Some writers will try to cram six or seven panels on a page like this and the pacing just doesn’t allow the artist to give each moment the right punch. Can you imagine if the first panel was crammed into a single square inch?”

Chad Hardin: “Yavana was one of the only characters that we did no preliminary sketches for. I don’t know how that happened, but thankfully it worked out.”

David Gaider: “I love how Yavana looks like a cross between Flemeth and Morrigan. Flemmigan? She’s totally Chad’s design, and it’s great. Typical for these witches, she never says things straight. In my mind, this Alistair is the one who did the Dark Ritual in Dragon Age: Origins - and I was half-tempted to have him lose his cool in this first scene [opening panels of Chapter 4] with her. Too early, though.”

Alexander Freed: “Through this whole sequence [the page when Varric aims Bianca at Yavana], Yavana is dropping cryptic hints and Alistair is refusing to play along. He’s met Flemeth and Morrigan - he knows Yavana won’t give him a straight answer, and he won’t give her the satisfaction of asking needlessly.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Sometimes it’s the little things on a page that spark my interest. Here [when the team navigate vines and mud to get to the temple], the sunset panel came out great and the mud looks really thick and gooey. It’s fun to focus on these details and make them stand out.”

Chad Hardin: “I hated drawing this scene [when Isabela gets kicked] where Isabela gets the boot to the face. Call me old fashioned, but I was raised to believe that only a coward would ever hit a woman (even a battle-hardened pirate adventurer). I draw at home, and my girls often watch me work in my studio. This was a page I didn’t want them watching me draw. I do like, though, that Isabela gets up, yanks the arrow out, and then soldiers on (and later extracts brutal revenge).”

Michael Atiyeh: “Poor Isabela. It seems I gave her more bruises and black eyes than any of the other characters. [when Isabela is yanking the arrow out]”

Chad Hardin: “It’s always interesting to go back and look at artwork because it reminds me of what was going on in my life at the time. I inked this page [opening panels of Chapter 5] at a ‘draw night’ session at an anime convention in St. George, Utah. I was one of the special guests, but I missed the first day because I was at my grandfather’s funeral in Las Vegas, Nevada. Seeing this page brought back those memories.”

David Gaider: “‘Bianca says hello.’ [quoting the panels being referenced] I adore Varric. I was tempted to have him narrate the entire series [in reference to these three comics], but then again I liked the idea of having each series center on one of the trio’s viewpoints. This book belongs to Alistair, but that doesn’t stop Varric from getting all the best lines.”

Alexander Freed: “Claudio, of course, is not a terribly sympathetic figure. But I wanted to emphasize that he takes this fight as personally as Isabela - he sincerely loved Luis and blames Isabela for the man’s death. I think it’s important to give every character, even the most loathsome, some dignity. [when Isabela and Claudio are fighting]”

Chad Hardin: “Payback! Here is where Isabela extracts her revenge on Claudio [when Isabela stabs Claudio]. I never enjoyed killing off a character so much. I particularly enjoyed putting the look of shock in his eyes. He had it coming. There is something satisfying about killing a ‘made man’.”

Chad Hardin: “Every now and then when drawing comics, I wish I could animate some panels and watch them as a cartoon. It would be great to see this sequence [when Yavana catches Claudio’s soul] in full motion as Yavana snatches Claudio’s soul, makes it reenter his corpse and then extracts information from him until he bursts into flame. It was a very Hellboy-ish moment. I enjoyed the movie that played in my mind while drawing this scene. Hope everyone liked the result.”

Chad Hardin: “As I mentioned on page 17, I rendered the first four chapters in grayscale, which made the black-and-white art look great, but had a neutralizing effect when it came to colors. By the time I drew chapter 4, I had seen the effect it was having and decided to stop using the grayscale so the colors would pop. When I saw this page [when Alistair says to Yavana ‘And we helped you find it’] in print, it confirmed to me that I made the right decision. I honestly feel this art was the best of The Silent Grove.”

Chad Hardin: “I practically painted these pages [when Yavana says ‘It is permitted. Tonight and only tonight’] in thumbnails hoping it would help me choose how to render them in ink. It is so hard trying to figure out how to get a full range of value out of just black and white. There are some artists and inkers that make this look easy. Mark Schultz comes to mind. Michael saved my bacon. Colorists really do so much work when it comes to rendering; this page came out awesome because of him.”

David Gaider: “Here we reveal the existence of Great Dragons (as opposed to High Dragons), and also that Yavana was the source of the return of dragons to Thedas after their departure for so many centuries. But why? There’s the rub, and not even Alistair can trust that she’s telling him the truth.”

David Gaider: “Here’s the controversial scene [Alistair killing Yavana]. I think some fans don’t like that Alistair did this, and have said they consider it out of character. I don’t. From his perspective, Flemeth and her daughters have been toying with the world for reasons that can’t be trusted. They dragged Maric away from his family, from him. One might think his judgement foolish, but considering what Alistair was capable of deciding even back in Dragon Age: Origins, it’s certainly not out of character.”

Chad Hardin: “[same scene as above] This was a controversial page, and there were a lot of people who thought it was out of character for Alistair to kill Yavana (I didn’t see it coming - I mean, you just don’t kill a Witch of the Wild), but here is the thing: this page is Alistair acting as a king. Yavana has been manipulating him, trying to play him like a pawn, and he just can’t allow that. There’s too much at stake, for himself and for his subjects.”

Alexander Freed: “The end? An end, at least [the trio walking off into the distance]. The series needed a note of closure while leading into Those Who Speak (which wouldn’t arrive until many months later). David tweaked the ending in the outline several times, and I did my best to balance resolving Alistair’s emotional journey without resolving the quest. It’s not as clean as I’d have liked, but fortunately, now it’s all in one volume...”

Those Who Speak annotations

Alexander Freed: “Capturing Isabela’s narrative voice was much easier for me than capturing Alistair’s - partly because I’d already written The Silent Grove, and partly because of my own writing proclivities. Rereading now, I wonder if I laid on the (mild) profanity a bit too thick. I’ll leave you to judge.”

David Gaider: “I like the additional detail Alex and Chad put in, letting us see more of Qarinus and more of Isabela’s crew. Alex wanted to give her crew more of a presence, and let her first mate have some face time, so they weren’t just parts of the scenery. Good call on his part.”

David Gaider: “I’m really fond of the formal getups Chad made for the party. Isabela’s actually comes from a concept we didn’t use from the cancelled Dragon Age 2 expansion, if I remember right. And Maevaris came from me asking for ‘someone who looks like Mae West’ - with the wonderful outfit all Chad’s doing.

Chad Hardin: “Maevaris. I love Mae. When David and Dragon Age art director Matthew Goldman spoke to me about designing Mae, they wanted her to be fully female with the exception of her biology. They told me to think ‘Mae West’. Well, when I think of Mae West, I think of her... womanly shape. So, drawing Maevaris was always walking a fine line between portraying Mae’s identity and her biology. The process endeared her to me.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Just like in The Silent Grove, we are introduced to another gentleman from Isabela’s past [when the team meet Lord Devon and Isabela threatens him]. As was the case with Claudio, he will meet his fate at her hands.”

Chad Hardin: “When I was drawing Titus, my kids asked me why I was drawing ‘angry Jesus’ or ‘evil Jesus’. I can’t remember which term they used exactly, but it made me chuckle. I was going for a mix of Rapustin and Joe Stalin, but ‘evil Jesus’ would do.”

David Gaider: “I’m not sure it’s apparent here [when Alistair says ‘I’d really rather not’], but Alistair was supposed to be using one of his Templar powers on Titus (that’s why Titus recognizes what he is on the next page) and disrupting his magic.”

Alexander Freed: “Isabela is witty and charming enough that it can be easy to forget that she’s not, in fact, a nice person. Even after finishing the outline, David was concerned about making her too unsympathetic - but I loved his approach in this series. The dark deeds Isabela commits - this murder included [Isabela killing Lord Devon] - are what make her guilt tangible and no easy matter to overcome.”

Alexander Freed: “I thought the notions of Isabela’s pride in her captaincy and dedication to her crew were some of the most interesting aspects of her character in David’s story. In scenes here [when Isabela is on her ship saying ‘Keep them focused and keep them sober’] and elsewhere, I did my best to emphasize their place at the core of Isabela’s world.”

Chad Hardin: “Most of the time I draw from imagination, but because of the complexity of this page [Qunari trying to board Isabela’s ship] I decided it would work better if I had photo reference. On this page are my nephews Jared (Varric) and Adam, my niece Melissa, my kids Erica, Tasey Michaela (Isabela) and Chad (Alistair), my friend’s daughter Amy, my wife Joy, and the neighborhood kids as Isabela’s pirate crew. (The crew member mooning the Qunari is out of my ol’ noodle.) I paid their modelling fee in pizza and root beer. Also, I had originally drawn cannons on Isabela’s ship, so if there are parts of it that look slightly wonky, chances are there was a cannon there.”

David Gaider: “Ever since the BioWare artists finally did a concept for female Qunari, I’ve been itching to include one in the game. It’s always slipped through my fingers, so I was going to be damned if I’d have a Qunari plot in a comic - without the same technical limitations - and not have one present.

Chad Hardin: “I had no idea this was the first time anyone outside of BioWare had seen a female Qunari.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I really like the lighting in this sequence [Isabela in her cell thinking ‘I haven’t eaten in days’], especially the strong white light and the characters in shadow.”

David Gaider: “The entire sequence of Rasaan interrogating Isabela was something I plotted out in detail when this series began. Here they discuss names - something treated in a manner peculiar to the Qunari, considering how much importance they apply to what things are called (and not called), because it forms the core of their identity. Isabela brushes it off, but as we find out later it’s also at the core of her identity. I liked that parallel.”

Alexander Freed: “To balance out the relatively static talking pages elsewhere in the issue, I hoped to make the interrogation and flashback sequences beautiful and full of information. I proposed an approach to Chad, and he wisely reshaped it into what you see here [the page with the scene where Isabela says ‘I’ve made a lot of stupid mistakes’]. Anything that succeeds on these pages should be credited to him; anything that fails is my fault.”

Chad Hardin: “Probably the most challenging spread I have ever done. My friend Stacie Pitt was the model for Isabela on this page, and my wife Joy was Rasaan. I saved these pages [around the scene when Rasaan says ‘Mistakes can be corrected’] for myself.”

David Gaider: “Sten from Dragon Age: Origins becoming the new Arishok of the Qunari was something we'd planned even during Dragon Age 2. This was a great opportunity to show that, and also to show that Sten didn’t acquire horns even despite the makeover the Qunari received in DA2. Hornless Qunari are considered special, and Sten is no exception.”

Michael Atiyeh: “I think that David, Alex and Chad handled Isabela’s flashback [to when she was sold by her mother] in an interesting way, and it created a nice flow to the story.”

David Gaider: “This was a controversial scene [what happened to the slaves Isabela was transporting], the end result of a lot of discussions between me and Isabela’s original writer on the team, and it went through a lot of revisions over that time. It needed to fit with the story Isabela told the player in DA2, but fill in the blanks of what she didn’t tell. We didn’t want Isabela to be someone who became who she is because she was ‘broken’ but instead as a result of her own actions - yet also not be completely beyond redemption.”

Chad Hardin: “These were hard pages [as above] to draw. It was difficult knowing that events such as this are part of human history, such as the Zong massacre in 1781, where the British courts ordered the insurers to reimburse the crew of the Zong for financial losses caused by throwing slaves overboard when faced with a lack of water. Horrifying beyond words.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Here, Isabela visits here crew, and I wanted to play up that she was in the light and they were in a dark cell. The light streaming through the bars gave me the opportunity to highlight Brand, who also had dialogue in the scene.”

Alexander Freed: “I struggled to find a way for Varric to contribute to victory without distracting from Alistair and Sten’s big fight. I’m happy with the solution: a brazen lie seemed appropriate to the character without taking away from the main show.”

David Gaider: “I believe my original plan had Isabela’s and Alistair’s fight scenes happening separately, but I like how Alex intertwined them in the script and I especially like how this ends up highlighting the differences between their characters when their fights are resolved. Isabela is defiant, revealing her name not because Rasaan demands it but because it’s her choice. In both cases, mercy is strength.”

Michael Atiyeh: “The brush I created for the clouds really gave them a nice watercolor effect here [on the deck of the ship, Sten calling Alistair ‘kadan’]. That brush has become a staple in my toolbox.”

Alexander Freed: “With the strong theme of names running through these issues, I liked the notion that Isabela had outgrown being, well, ‘Isabela’. When her name comes up in Until We Sleep, it’s largely played with ambiguity.”

Until We Sleep annotations

Alexander Freed: “The story of ‘Arthur’ is one of my favorite minor sequences [Varric infiltrating and fighting his way into the fortress]. It tells us something about Varric and it delivers plot information - and it’s also a reminder that our heroes kill an awful lot of people during these series and cope with it in their own ways. In general, writing Varric let me skirt the edge of metacommentary, which I greatly enjoyed.”

David Gaider: “Varric, as always, is my ‘voice of the narrator’. Here he’s expressing some of my own amusement at Alistair’s growing list of peculiarities [‘Your majesty is quite the special snowflake’]. To think, back at the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins he was just the player’s goofy sidekick who grew up in a barn.”

Michael Atiyeh: “By the third series, Until We Sleep, I really started to have a complete feel for what I wanted the final art to look like. As an artist, it’s important to continue to evolve and grow. The close-up of Sten’s face [same page as above] is a perfect example of how I wanted the rendering on the characters to look.”

Alexander Freed: “David’s outline called for a short, somber reveal of the Calenhad story by Sten. Fueled by my desire to avoid ‘talking heads’ sequences, I scripted it as a full-on storytelling flashback. David made sure the history worked (at least from the Qunari point of view), and Chad did a beautiful job handling it in a mere two pages.”

David Gaider: “Blood is important in Dragon Age, as a theme. Here we tie in the dragon blood that was mentioned all the way back in The Silent Grove and explain what it means at last. I was a bit hesitant to tarnish the legend of Calenhad the Great in this way, but I comfort myself with the knowledge this tale is but a viewpoint and not necessarily the entire truth.”

Michael Atiyeh: “Titus melting the attacker is a great example of classic comicbook storytelling and exactly what made me fall in love with the medium.”

David Gaider: “I was really happy with how Chad handled the reveal of Mae as transgender [the scene with Mae in the cell]. My worry was that Varric finding her disrobed might be potentially titillating, but I think he handled it nicely. I only wish there was more time to have Mae properly respond to being exposed in this manner, even to a friend.”

Chad Hardin: “I originally drew Mae as female [same scene as above], then changed her anatomy, so the psychological violation and humiliation she felt would be the focus. Hope that came across.”

Chad Hardin: “When in doubt, have Bianca shoot it [Varric shooting the artifact].”

David Gaider: “This scene [Varric and Bianca the dwarf] with Varric was one I wanted to do for a very long time. We’ve hinted that Varric’s crossbow was named after a real person, someone he never wants to talk about. Now I finally had the chance to show why.”

Chad Hardin: “Of all my Dragon Age pages, this scene was hands down my favorite, because Varric is my favorite. It was awesome to get to draw Bianca in her dwarven form. These scenes give you a glimpse of the love Varric and Bianca shared. It doesn’t tell you the whole story, but you can assume plenty from what is shown. You get to see Varric mostly naked (you’re welcome), but most of all you witness Varric’s heartbreak. I felt privileged to draw it. I got so obsessed with drawing this page I did an entire watercolor painting based on the last panel [Varric gets up to leave, ‘This isn’t right’ - ? or perhaps the scene where he opens the door to leave].”

Alexander Freed: “Unreliable narrators are always tricky - done wrong, they can just confuse the reader. But I’m fairly happy with Varric’s lies throughout this series, most of which are used to downplay the emotional cost of events rather than whitewash the events themselves.”

Michael Atiyeh: “This palette worked perfectly [Varric standing in front of the doorway/portal in the Fade proper], but I can’t take all the credit because BioWare provided reference for the Fade. I added the hot orange energy for the doorway, which looks great with the sickly green sky.”

David Gaider: “This scene [Isabela’s Fade nightmare] was actually inspired by a fan named Allegra who did a cosplay as a Qunari version of Isabela. I knew I wanted something like this for Isabela’s Fade section of the comic, but it didn’t really solidify until I saw the cosplay.”

Chad Hardin: “Isabela is more affected by her encounter with Rasaan than we were led to believe. A portent of things to come?”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love this shot of Mae in the fourth panel [on the page where Isabela is affected by vines]. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention what a great character she is in the series, and Chad captures her beautifully in this shot.”

Alexander Freed: “I saw this issue as a sort of downbeat victory lap. Over the course of the previous series, our protagonists largely came to terms with the inner demons the Fade confronts them with here. The fact they’ve come so far lets them win this last battle... but they still have scars that will never completely disappear.”

David Gaider: “Maric was in the first two novels I wrote for Dragon Age. Seeing Chad’s rendering of him as a regal, grown-up version of Alistair made me incredibly nostalgic. Some characters you just never let go of.”

Alexander Freed: “I feel Varric’s lines (‘tell yourself the stories you need to tell’ but ‘never live your own lies’) are the natural endpoint of all the exchanges he’s had with Alistair, starting from the end of Chapter 1 of The Silent Grove. And of course it plays off the story of ‘Arthur’, as well.’’

Chad Hardin: “I’m happy with the way Titus came off in these pages [Titus attacking and saying ‘The last magisters of Tevinter were so close’]. He looks threatening and powerful when fighting Alistair, Isabela and Varric, but genuinely confused by his inability to defeat Maric. Bye-bye, evil Jesus.”

Alexander Freed: “I can’t help but feel for Titus. He was unthinkably corrupt, but I see him as genuinely motivated by Tevinter’s glory. (The fact Alistair reads zealous ideology as a lust for power says a lot about both characters.)”

Michael Atiyeh: “I love the seamless transition of color from Titus’ magic to the dragon breath and then back into the orange remnants of his magic in the smoke. This was a really fun panel to color [Titus saying ‘Die by what wrought you’].”

David Gaider: “‘You are not the dreamer here. I am.’ I always have a scene or a line that’s in my head when I begin a tale, and this line of Maric’s was one I wanted all the way back when I started working on The Silent Grove.”

Chad Hardin: “I love this page [Maric and Alistair clasping hands]; Mike’s colors are spot on. We get to see all our heroes in an ideal state for the last time. This is the last Dragon Age page I saved for myself.”

David Gaider: “This scene kills me [Alistair destroying the Magrallen]. I knew it needed to happen; I knew I wanted it to happen even back when I began the story. Alistair lets Maric remain in the Fade rather than dragging him back to a world which has moved on. Alistair’s ready to move on, but forcing him to give up that hope... it makes me feel like a bad person.”

Chad Hardin: “Heartbreak for Alistair as he realizes that once again, as a king, he must kill: this time, his own father (granted, the Magrallen did most of the work). I really like how Maric crumbles away in the end. This was my last page, and the emotions on the page and in my studio were very final. Altogether, this was a year of my life in the making. On my last page, I wrote a thank you to everyone involved, the crew at Dark Horse and the crew at BioWare. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them again. It was a thrill. Finally, a huge thank-you to the Dragon Age fan community, whose support was overwhelmingly awesome.”

Michael Atiyeh: “As the story came to an end, I knew I was going to miss these characters. Writing these annotations reinforces the fact that I hope to work with this great creative team again one day. Many thanks to Dark Horse and BioWare for the opportunity to work on Dragon Age.”

Alexander Freed: “The tension between the art and the narration on this page [the one with Alistair sitting on his throne while nobles argue] is something you can only pull off in comics. Neither tells the full, bittersweet story alone. Similarly, these issues wouldn’t have been possible without everyone on the team; thanks to David, Chad, Michael, and everyone I lack space to list!”

Additional pages / art

Library Edition Volume 1 also came with some additional pages, with additional art and commentary. These are as follows (I’m including them for the sake of completion, click the links to see):

1. Alistair and dragon concepts

2. Rasaan and Maevaris concepts

3. Sten, Titus and Yavana concepts

4. A series of cover pages 1

5. A series of cover pages 2

In case anyone has trouble reading the notes that accompany these images, I’ve transcribed them below:

1. Dragon Age Sketch Book

Alistair Concept

Dragon Age / Dark Horse

Chad Hardin: “The headshot of Alistair is from a finished sketch with a rejected armor design. In order to save time, the redrawing was completed on the computer, where tweaks and changes are quick and easy, if somewhat less glorious.”

[Dragon] Head #1 / Head #2

Chad Hardin: “Everyone liked this dragon sketch so much that Dark Horse printed it for signings at conventions. You can see I did multiple proposals for the dragon’s head. It was more effective than drawing the body over and over.”

2. [arrow pointing to Mae’s sleeve] concealed [I think that’s what it says anyway] daggers / shurikens?

Chad Hardin: “When designing Rasaan and Maevaris, I wasn’t exactly sure how their roles would play out in the series. Maevaris’ outfit was inspired by brothel madams of the Wild West. I thought it would be cool to have some weapons concealed in the formal wear. These never came into play in the series, but they were there in my mind.”

3. Chad Hardin: “Although we only see Titus in his battle garb in one issue, I really liked the design of his armor. The sketch of Yavana was done on the fly and served as both a rough preliminary sketch and as a panel layout. You have to work hard and smart in comics to keep up with the deadlines.”

4. Cover Artist Anthony Palumbo: “This was my first assignment for Dark Horse, and I was both excited and nervous. I drew pencil sketches of the main characters, scanned them and played with different arrangements, poses and color schemes in Photoshop.”

5. Anthony Palumbo: “Fellow illustrator Winona Nelson helped me by sitting for photo reference. I created the mock-jewelry with gold-painted Sculpey. That’s a quick photo of my own gaping maw, to help with the image of Varric.”

#dragon age #bioware #video games #artevalentinapaz #alistair theirin #fav warden #morrigan #queen of my heart #long post #longpost

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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January 23, 2021: The Fast and the Furious (Epilogue)

So, this movie was FAR different from the most recent entry in the franchise, not that I’m complaining! Not the greatest movie in the world, but I did still like it! So, OK, how’d it do in my little rubric? Shall we?

Review

Cast and Acting

This is the role that Vin Diesel’s best known for, and I will argue that it was the role he was born to play. It ain’t Brando from On the Waterfront or anything, but it’s definitely a Diesel role. And honestly, he feels far more genuine than he does in the last movie. Paul Walker also plays the pretty-boy undercover cop role well enough, although, again, it ain’t Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (I assume, I haven’t seen it yet). But, yeah, for an unercover cop “gone native,” he serves his role well. And everybody else? I mean...yeah. They’re cool, I guess. Jordana Brewster is the only one amongst them that really stands out, because she also plays her role well as conflicted little sister. Look, what I’m saying is...you get what you expect here. The performances are never really distracting, but they aren’t Oscar-worthy either. So...6/10? Serviceable, but not stellar.

Plot and Writing

It’s Point Break. That’s the plot. It’s Point Break with cars instead of surfing. Yyyyyyup. Nothing for to see here, move along folks. That said, though, I really like Point Break, so I’m not complaining. This just isn’t an original plot, Gary Scott Thompson, Erik Bergquist, and...David Ayer. Like, Suicide Squad David Ayer? Huh. Y’know, actually, that makes sense. This movie is kinda Suicide Squad-y. But, yeah, not the most original plot, although still entertaining. As for the writing? It’s fine, not overly dramatic or inefficiently superfluous. It sits solidly in the average, to be honest. So, for this category, another 5/10.

Directing and Action

Absolutely the star, at least in terms of the action. The driving sequences in this movie are absolutely stellar, and credit to the many stunt drivers who most certainly worked on this movie. They don’t have quite the same bombast that the franchise showcases these days, but they’re certainly still entertaining! How about the direction at large, though? Again, this was fine. Still learning how to properly judge direction, but it’s not much to write home about, other than the action sequences. Rob Cohen, you did well, even though it’s not the best directing I’ve ever seen. Still, 7/10 ain’t bad.

Production and Art Design

Set and filmed in the ever-enigmatic Los Angeles, this movie’s look is surprisingly memorable. They take advantage of the setting appropriately, and it all looks good. And, of course, the cars! The cars look fantastic, seriously. Understandably, they take the cake here. Not to mention the time-period authentic costumes and the general 2001 atmosphere here, and this category gets some good scores! 8/10!

Music and Editing

Ja Rule not only makes a cameo for this movie, but also sings its end credits song which is OK. But, outside of the guest songs, this movie’s soundtrack comes in two parts, LITERALLY. It’s so large, two albums were released for it. The first contains songs by Ja Rule, Armageddon, Ashanti, Black Child, Boo $Gotti, Caddillac Tah, DMX, Faith Evans, Fat Joe, Funkmaster Flex, Limp Bizkit, Method Man, Nate Dogg, N.O.R.E, O-1, Petey Pablo, Redman, R. Kelly, Scarface, Shade Sheist, Tank, and Vita. YEAH. YEAH. These mostly play in the credits, and form the backbone of the diegetic background music. As for the non-diegetic score, you’re headed towards the second soundtrack album, which contains songs from Saliva, Injected, Hoobastank, Primer 55, Machine Head, Roni Sie, Digital Assassins, Greenwheel, Benny Cassette, Molotov, and FINALLY, the film’s ACTUAL COMPOSER, Brian Wayne Transeau, better known as BT. And in case you’re wondering...it’s good music, and while it isn’t my personal taste, it’s definitely playlist download worthy. I mean, look at that LIST; somebody good’s in there. So, high marks for this one.

As for editing, there are some fantastic shots here, and the composition of the movie doesn’t drag...too much. It does drag a little bit, but it isn’t too bad. So, with all of this taken into account, let’s give this one a 7/10. A lot of effort went into this movie’s music, and it deserves it for that.

At a 66%, this isn’t exactly a crown jewel. BUT...

It is still a lot of fun! I understand why a franchise was made of this film, and I’m tempted to watch the rest of these at some point. We’ll see what happens there.

For now, though, I’ve got one more day of Car Action Weekend left! So, let’s finish it off with a movie that’s good? Bad? the reaction is mixed, but I’ll be making my own decision on this one, obviously. Go, go, go...

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samcedesvegas · 5 years ago

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Movie Set || Samcedes || Mercedes Trailer

Mercedes Jones made her way onto the set, today was the first table read for her new Romance Comedy, which she was thrilled about. She had cameos and guest star spots. Even as a supporting actress in a blockbuster hit but to be the Leading Lady in her own movie, that was huge. Acting wasn't her first love but it was a fun distraction. She was fresh off her Every Woman Tour and ready to work.

Walking into the big conference room, she and her Manager/Best Friend Tina were the first ones there. Taking off her sunglasses and smoothing down her purple and pink tie dye Jersey Dress she sighed. "Still can't believe we are here. We are doing this." Tina smiled. "Well you are ready, you know your lines, and your co star is pretty hot right now."

Mercedes took her seat and grabbed her script looking back over it. "Yeah well hot and a playboy doesn't really make you a great actor now does it? But I won't judge..." She lied she totally would judge him, she knew his reputation. All men were dogs, period. And that included her dog of an ex who dumped her and got right with a groupie. Jackass.

Reluctantly, Sam Evans spent the latter part of his evening indulging in countless free shots of tequila. He felt like crap but luckily his bloodshot eyes were hidden behind dark Ray Bans. He pulled the hot coffee cup away from his lips, regretting how much he seemed to indulge in the perks of his newfound fame last night.

From the rural plains of Tennessee to sunny Los Angeles, Sam could finally say he made it. Where he was from, not many people did. It was either a nine to five at the piggly wiggly, prison, or a grave. There was no in between in that small town. Sam had played his fair share of smaller roles but this was the one. His entire team was sure of it. So, he was going to make sure no one knew how hungover he was. Especially not his beautiful songstress of a co-star. The last thing he wanted was to make a bad first impression on her.

Mercedes felt her phone vibrate, another photo of her ex Gabriel Norris with another female. The Quarterback was certainly enjoying being single. She rolled her eyes as she glanced up watching people filed inside, they were supposed to be "mingling" to get to know each other. Personally Mercedes wasn't really looking forward to it. She put the script down as Tina told her to be nice and moved over to her costars. Their conversations though, were not what she wanted to be a part of.

Her "best friend" in the movie was played by Jane Hayward, a lesser known actress but from what she heard, the girl was good. Not wanting to interrupt their riveting conversation about the best bars, she turned to see her love interest Sam Evans standing alone. Walking over to him she extended her hand. "I guess we are working together." she said a little more flat than she intended.

The room full of people gave Sam a small inkling of anxiety. This wasn’t his first rodeo, he’d done a host of tv sitcoms and supporting acting roles before but this was his first leading role. That made him nervous as hell. But he was an actor so it was easy for him to paint on the brave face. After all that was his area of expertise. This was the moment he worked his entire career for and he wasn’t going to ruin it by being a complete spaz.

“Guess we are.” He smiled extending his own hand to meet hers. Again, he was trying not to be a spaz but he couldn’t contain his excitement. He’d been around his fair share of celebrities but none as famous as Mercedes Jones. A force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Sam would shamelessly admit to having heard every one of her albums, even the ones from her girl group days. Didn’t hurt that she was also easy on the eyes. In his words...smoking hot. “Pleasure is all mine m’lady.”

Mercedes had to admit, the casting director did a great job at casting Sam. He had the look that was for sure. Tall, handsome, sexy, if she was into that kinda thing and at the moment she was not. He would get the girls and let's not be biased guys in just off his looks alone and she would have her own fanbase so as long as they did their part and gave a great performance the movie should do well. If Twilight could do it then so could they.

However the moment he spoke she understood why people called him a playboy. Those green eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses inside gave off a sense of coolness why his accent and tone would drive a woman crazy, yes he was a playboy and she would not be played by him. She pulled her hand away and nodded. "We should probably make a schedule to see if we can run lines together. Make this process as painless as possible."

A lady who was about her business, Sam could definitely appreciate that. The women that seemed to keep him company as of late were all either brainless supermodels or dense socialites that wanted nothing more than the perfect photo op. Be seen on his arm and boost their own careers. Not saying he got nothing out of it, he was a man with needs of course. But this was certainly a breath of fresh air. A woman of substance. But he was going to hold off on the questions about her girl group breakup. Those questions had been lingering around in his head for years.

“Oh sure, but I’m totally not good with numbers, dates, and all that junk so I’ll follow your lead.” As they took their seats, Sam couldn’t help but admire her natural curves. In fact he was pretty obvious with his glaring. “So what made you wanna’ jump into my world? I mean it’s not like you need the gig. You’re already one hell of a star.” He complimented hoping it’d gain him some brownie points. Plus a little harmless flirting never hurt anyone...right?

Mercedes took her seat glancing at her script, they would be starting in about ten minutes and she was ready to get it over with. As Sam started to speak again she was at first appreciative that he wouldn't be that hard to work with, but then his next words caused her to roll her eyes. "His world"? was he serious? There went another person who felt because she had been singing for the last 15 years that she couldn't possibly act as well. What did people think Music videos were?

"Well gosh I guess I figured if brainless oafs could do it why should I give it a try?" She said annoyed. "Just because I am a singer, doesn't mean I don't have talent, because I do. I am a damn great actress and I earned this part. So don't go thinking I got it because I know the director or some bull like that!" she hissed.

“Whoa, whoa...I wasn’t saying that. I know you’re talented as hell. I’ve been following your career since I was a kid. Ever since Cinderella, I’ve been a fan. Sorry I wasn’t trying to offend you. Just curious is all.” Crap he was ruining his chances before they even started. Was it wrong that her sassiness kinda sorta turned him on? She was hot, she was feisty, and the woman knew how to speak up for herself. How could Sam not like that.

Taking a deep breath he began looking over his lines as well, dialing it back a bit. So clearly she wasn’t fond of his charm which wasn’t to be expected, but a decent man always knew how to bounce back. “What I meant was, what made you wanna’ do a movie? I mean your career in music is far better than anyone here. Didn’t think you needed anything like this.”

A fan. Great, not only was she stuck with the playboy of L.A. he was a fan. This was the man who was rumored to sleep with every female he worked with. They did a spread and then he made them spread, their legs. And Mercedes was not about to be a notch on his belt. She may have been dating a Quarterback but she was not easy, she prided herself on her reputation. Sam was bad business for her good girl image.

She cleared her throat turning towards him. "Lets just clear this up right now. I am not going to sleep with you. I took this job because I am a sucker for romance. This story where boy and girl fall in love but realize it too late, it's a beautiful love story about second chances. Yes you are hot which makes my job easier and your accent...well whatever but make no mistake the closest you are gonna come to getting between my legs, is the fake sex scenes we have on screen."

Sam was undoubtedly captivated by the songstress. The way she protested, yet still managed to acknowledge how hot he was extremely gratifying. As humble as he was with his career, his ego when it came to women was a whole lot bigger. Now he wasn’t the “womanizer” the media painted him out to be. Sam Evans was actually the biggest sweetheart. He didn’t get a kick out of smashing and dashing. He was a stand up guy. The man just enjoyed the company of women, was that such a bad thing?

“Look Mercedes, I in no way plan on getting between those beautiful legs of yours...unless you want me to. I know the tabloids can kinda make me seem like a player but that just ain’t true. I just crush a lot.” He chuckled hoping his little joke would lighten the mood. Of course he was attracted to Mercedes, how could he not be? She was fine, confident, and had a whole lot of attitude. “Seriously though, I want you to feel completely comfortable with me. So although it’ll be hard not to, I’ll dial back the flirting and keep this thing strictly business.”

Everything that came out of Sam's mouth was trouble. He was definitely a smooth talking player, but right now she was immune to him. No matter how hot he was and no matter what his accent was doing to her. She rolled her eyes at his comment. "Cute." she said going back to her script, this was going to be a long night.

The table read was not bad once they got started, they read through it fairly quickly, and even though Sam seemed like a player, he was a good actor, she could give him that. The last few days were met with getting acquainted, with getting their trailers and revisions, with trying her best to not let Sam know he was getting to her. She asked him to meet her in her trailer so they could go over the revision of the first scene they were shooting. It was a love scene that she was both regretting but looking forward to. Wearing a white and pink sundress she threw her hair up into a messy buy and put her glasses on going over the script and making sure she knew her new lines.

Sam had the paper with his lines clutched in hand as he walked across the studio lot to meet Mercedes in her trailer. He already had most of his lines memorized but he still jumped at the chance to have someone on one time with Mercedes. Even if they were just handling business. He actually enjoyed being around her. She was funny, quick witted, and kept him on his toes. Not to mention her smile. It did something to him. That smile could light up an entire room.

Sam did a quick breath check in his hand and ate a couple breath mints to be safe. He took a deep breath before knocking on the trailer door and awaiting Mercedes' answer. In the meantime he began doing his daily mouth exercises to loosen up his lips. Just in case she wanted to have a few practice runs at the steamy kiss on page three.

Mercedes closed her eyes going over the lines and then opening to see if she got them right. She was on a roll when she heard someone knock. Knowing it was Sam, she cleared her throat moving to the couch and smoothing her dress. "Girl stop! He's just a coworker, get over it." She shook it off reaching down and grabbing a piece of gum. "Come in." She said pushing her glasses up and going back to the script. She did not like Sam Evans; he was a playboy who she was not gonna fall for. Plus she was on a men detox.

Sam let himself in once he heard her voice from the other side of the door. Keep it cool he thought to himself as he closed the door behind him. Mercedes made it very clear that nothing would happen between them beyond what was written in the script but for some reason Sam felt differently. To him there was already an undeniable chemistry between them. He just had to get her to see it. In due time. “So where do you want me?”

Looking towards Sam she smiled softly. "You can sit next to me, we are filming page three tonight so we might as well make sure we know what we are doing. So let's get right to it." She opened her script to the page, just in case. "So remember these two are talking about love and life, looking out at the stars, they both broke up with their partners and are consoling each other."

She closed her eyes getting into the headspace. Opening her eyes she got into character. "You ever wonder if anyone in this world can truly be happy? I thought so...once, but now i am divorced and raising my son on my own, and I don't think it's possible."

Sam took his seat next to Mercedes and settled in comfortably. He placed the sheet with his lines on the table in front of them and turned to her. As she began her lines Sam kept his own rolling around in his head. Because of his dyslexia, reading off paper was never his thing. Luckily for him, he had the memory of an elephant so his strategy was to memorize and it usually worked for him. When he wasn’t staring at his co-worker.

“Crap wait, I screwed up. Start over.” He nervously shuffled as Mercedes repeated her line. Then a complete one-eighty. Sam transformed into Ryder Stone in that very moment. “I know they can. I felt it for years...my Isabel made me believe in love. After I lost her I still felt grateful that I got to experience true happiness in the first place. I keep that with me always.”

To say Mercedes was underwhelmed was an understatement, though once he started again, she could see him getting into character so she continued her lines as Brooklyn Myers. "Yeah but what you and she had, it was raw and passionate. Nate and I never had that and I suppose that's why it didn't work out. Hey, maybe if I followed you to school and not went on my own path we would have gotten together." She said as she laughed softly, looking past Sam as if really seeing their past and future. "I don't regret my son I never could, but I regret his dad. He never truly loved me, and now I wonder if anyone besides my family ever could." She glanced at Sam longingly before looking down to her hands, as per the script.

She was really good, not that it was surprising to him or anything. From the few short days that he’d known her she was always on top of her game. This was clearly no different. Sam reached out and titled Mercedes’ chin up with his index finger, following the script. “Maybe stop looking so far and stop thinking so hard. Nate was a prick and he didn’t deserve a good girl like you.” Their eyes were now locked on each other’s as Sam stroked his thumb against the smooth skin of her chin...not in the script. A strange flutter happened in his stomach. They were acting but for some reason he was really into it. Really really into it.

Mercedes' eyes met his, his word delivery was impressive and he was improvising which was working, maybe a little more than it should since she was melting against his touch. Eyes never leaving his she continued. "I am a thinker, you dream and I am practical. It's why we are best friends why we work. Why I love you." She said softly. "If the one man I thought loved me didn't deserve me, then who does?"

His eyes never left hers, it was like they were staring into one another’s souls. At first he wasn’t completely sure about the role but he definitely felt connected to the character now. “Maybe a man who’s been right in front of you all along. One who’s always been in your corner right or wrong.“ He paused before delivering his next line. “Brooklyn what if it’s us that’s meant to be? Has that ever crossed your mind?” He cupped her cheek lovingly, his face serious but soft at the same time.

She started at him for a moment letting it seem she was taking his words seriously. "Us?" She looked away from him, pulling away and standing. Thank goodness her trailer was basically a mini house so they could move freely. "I'm not-" she wrapped her arms around herself as the script said, since it was a cold night. "You don't have to pity me Ryder. I know Isabel was the love of your life and we all know you only get one."

He quickly got up meeting her in the center of the trailer floor. His arm resting on the small of her back. “Pitty? Never. Don’t you get what I’m trying to say? Brooklyn I love you...as more than just my best friend” He slowly turned her around to face him again. He stopped momentarily really getting into character. He had to because the next line called for his lips to meet hers. “Yes, I loved Isabel and I always will. But she’d want me to be happy. You’re that for me...” without hesitation he went in for the kiss.

Mercedes knew his hand on her back was coming, but what she wasn't prepared for was the way it made her feel. She closed her eyes gathering her bearings as he spoke. He turned her towards him and she stared up at him. She knew the kiss was coming, but she figured they would stop beforehand. She wasn't prepared for him kissing her. Even more so she wasn't prepared for the way it made her feel. She had to pull away before a moan hit her lips. "Umm okay, that was great but the kiss. It really needs work." She liked moving away from him.

Sam was taken aback because he was so sure that his kissing skills were definitely on point. He damn sure wasn’t expecting that reclamation but he was a man of pride. He wasn’t going to let her see him sweat. Removing his hand from her back, he shoved them into his pockets. “Please you know it was good.” He started with a smug smile on his lips. “You were really good though. Somebody’s been practicing their lines. A proud co-star.” He winked before plopping down on her couch. “So you wanna run it again? Or you think you’re good?”

There it was, that smugness that annoyed her. Nate had it and now she saw Sam did and she couldn't stand it. Turning towards him she folded her arms across her chest. She was gonna let him off the hook because yes she did enjoy the kiss but he was asking for it so she broke it down. It was good, not mind blowing. "Good? Your technique was sloppy, delivery was weak and F.Y.I. you don't have to use that much tongue right away. You wanna make her beg for more." She moved to her fridge and grabbed a water bottle. "And of course I am really good. Mercedes Jones doesn't do mediocre."

She was faking hard and Sam knew it. However, he was going to let her have her moment. Clearly she needed it. He had the best lips in town, who wouldn’t wanna’ kiss em? “Damn...that’s pretty harsh. But I’m a strong man, I can take a little constructive criticism.” He nodded with confidence. “So Uhh...what are you doing after this. A couple of us are going out for food and drinks. Y’know mingling and all that junk. You wanna tag along?”

She knew he didn't believe her and for good reason but for some reason she just couldn't get behind him being that cocky. It oozed off him like a stench and she wasn't here for it. "Can you? Cause it seems to me you are a man with a huge ego who can't possibly imagine a woman not wanting him. News Flash, you are not God's gift to women." She shook her head. "No I am good. I wanna run my lines a few more times."

She turned from him but stopped; she wanted to further prove her point and maybe kiss him just once more. "And by the way, this is how you give a mind blowing kiss." She said moving towards him and pulling him towards her. Her lips met his in a soft kiss at first and then deepened it pushing him against the wall as her arms wrapped around his neck. Her tongue swiped across his bottom lip before she took his lower lip and nipped it gently before pulling away and stepping back. "That is how you give a memorable kiss."

Indeed the kiss was very memorable, no denying that. Sam swore he’d lay off the flirting but he couldn’t help himself. That’s just the way he was around pretty ladies. But by the way she was shutting him down maybe she just really wasn’t interested.

He was fine with that. He wasn’t a pusher and he damn sure didn’t want to pressure her, that wasn’t his style. If anything were to happen between them he wanted it to be mutual. “I can stay here too and run lines, drinks will always be there. Plus I sorta wanna get this scene right. Since my kissing is so weak and mediocre.” He chuckled.

Mercedes watched him for a moment. Then moved back. "Fine if you really wanna get this right then let's go. But look it wasn’t bad it's just. You rushed in there like a preteen having his first kiss, not like a man in love who knows this kiss, this kiss is gonna determine if she loves him back. Ryder is putting everything on the line with this kiss. She stands in front of him. "Like this." She clears her throat. “Yes, I loved Isabel and I always will. But she’d want me to be happy. You’re that for me...” her hand went to his face, softly holding it there as she leaned in. "I love you." She improvised as she kissed him softly, gradually growing deeper. Then pulled away. "Now you try."

His blood was rushing to places and quick. Sam was lost in the kiss, so much so that he hadn't even noticed that she pulled away. He slowly opened his eyes and let out a breathless "Damn". That was the only way to properly describe the kiss from Mercedes. Though he was pretty sure nothing was wrong with his kiss before. He had to admit though, she was a damn good kisser. He cleared his throat and shook his shoulders as he repeated his lines once more and mimicked Mercedes' actions, except this time he fully committed. He dipped her back, planting a feverish kiss to her lips. "Hmm how about that?" he asked, lifting her back up.

Mercedes smirked hearing his response. Yeah she was good, and that kiss was fire. She stood back waiting for him and yeah the kiss was great but he still wasn't getting it. "Sam, now you are just over doing it, you need to connect with Ryder. With why he loves her. He's her best friend, she was always there for him and he knows he can depend on her, forever. Every touch and action proves that. It's a touch during a kiss." She said touching his face. "Now try it again but be in love."

Huffing under his breath he closed his eyes. He liked the way Mercedes seemed to push him. Was it because she saw his potential? Or maybe she was just as happy to keep kissing him as he was with her. Either way Sam had no complaints. “Yes, I loved Isabel and I always will. But she’d want me to be happy. You’re that for me...” He placed a hand softly on her cheek, caressing her soft skin. His eyes stayed locked on hers as he stared intensely. Her lips were in view and he just went for it. Pulling her face inches from his, he closed his eyes letting his lips work their magic.

Mercedes waited for Sam to start again, and was pleasantly surprised at the way he looked, the way he spoke. His hand on her cheek sent shivers up and down her spine, and his kiss proved that with a little work, Sam could make the most of his talents. His kiss, this kiss was amazing. It took everything in her not to go weak in the knees but she couldn't help herself wanting more. Her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.

Sam wasn’t expecting for Mercedes to match his energy but she did. It took everything in him to break away, not even realizing his hands had fallen to her hips. “When we shoot that scene on Monday, the entire cast in crew are gonna’ be in awe. Totally gonna crush it.” He winked. “Now if you’ll excuse me I think you took off all my chapstick with that last one.” He joked as he pulled his hands off of her with a smile.

Mercedes let her hands fall, shocked at her actions, not missing a stride she shook her head with a smile. "Yeah, considering that I acted my ass off and you improved, I think they are gonna be shocked at your improvement." She teased. She walked over to her water and took a sip. "Do you want some water?"

Sam nodded as Mercedes supplies him with some water. Much needed for the amount of times they ran that kissing even. If she hadn’t made it clear that she had no intentions on falling for his charm, he would be pretty sure that she liked him. Maybe not on a deep level but the chemistry was undeniable. “You sure that was all acting?” He teased as he fanned himself. “Because woo! I’m impressed if so.”

Mercedes rolled her eyes going back to her water and sitting on the sofa. "Trust me you will know if I liked you. A real kiss from me, a real true Mercedes Jones kiss, it'll leave you speechless, it will make you lose all train of thought other than wanting to kiss me again." She said staring at him.

#glee #samcedes #samcedes 1x1 #mercedes jones #sam evans

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clarkgriffon · 6 years ago

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The 100 Ask Game

I was tagged by @foreverandalwayscrysis @loveisalwayswise @hostagetakerandhistraitor @talistheintrovert aka four of my true loves

1. What Station on the Ark would you be from? Alpha because I’m a fancy bitch

2. What would you get arrested for on the Ark? God... probably something dumb. Maybe stealing food? But not out of desperation, because I wanted like lemon cake or some dumb shit.

3. Would you take off your wristband when you landed on the ground? No chance. I’m a rule follower through and through.

4. What would the necklace Finn would make for you look like? (Clarke: deer/Raven: a raven duh..) A zebra

5. If you could resurrect any MINOR character who would it be? Wells BABEY.

6. Create a squad of 5 characters to go on missions with. Who are they? Clarke, Bellamy, Monty, Harper, and Miller.

7. What Grounder Clan would you belong to? Maybe Trishanakru. A humble farmer.

8. What would your name be in Trigedasleng? uhhh... i don’t know. Mira doesn’t really have any way to clip it to sound more grounder-y. So probably just Mira.

9. Thoughts on Finn? Some people hate him, and others love him, so I’m curious. I don’t like Finn as a dude, but I controversially enjoyed the writing of his character in season 1. He’s such a dick, but he’s a well-written dick. Like, we ALL know that guy, and they really hit the nail on the head of “guy who THINKS he’s the nice guy.” I think they botched his character in S2 and completely went sideways with it (much like Zeke in 6x01).

10. Be honest. How willing would you have been to take the chip without knowing all the horrible things it does? Probably... pretty willing. Putting myself in the position of a character on the show, knowing something could take away my pain, yeah, I’d be tempted. As a person with multiple mental illnesses, the allure of a magical solution to all pain and misery sounds nice.

11. What character do you relate to most? Clarke, no doubt. I see so many similarities to myself in her.

12. What character do you like the least? In terms of well written villains, where I hate them but it’s because they wrote them so well I had to hate them, Pike. In terms of characters I just dislike because they suck, E/cho.

13. Describe your delinquent outfit. (Would you wear something like Murphy’s jacket with the spikey red shoulder patch or have a trademark like Jasper’s goggles? Be creative, yet practical) Leggings, athletic shoes, black tank top, maybe a jean jacket like Harper’s in S5.

14. Favorite type of mutant animal? Like... in the show? We didn’t really see that many. Just the sea monster, the worms, the random gorilla, and the deer. So, I guess the deer.

15. What would your job be on the Ark? Maybe a teacher like Pike but not evil.

16. Would you have willingly pumped Ontari’s heart if Abby asked? No, I’m so squeamish.

17. If Lexa wasn’t Heda, but she was still alive, then who would have made the best commander? Probably Indra.

18. How would you act if you ate the hallucinogenic nuts like Jasper and Monty? Who knows, I’d be tripping, but hopefully I’d get some awesome lines like “anti-grounder stick” and “the most beautiful broom.”

19. How would you have dealt with Charlotte’s crime? A more John Murphy approach or Bellamy Blake approach? I don’t think I’d be in a leadership position to make the choice, but I don’t believe in the death penalty so probably more like Bellamy.

20. Who should have been the Chancellor, if anyone? I guess it depends at what time. Abby in season 1 made sense. OH. Sinclair. Sinclair should’ve been the Chancellor.

21. Would you have been on Pike’s side like Bellamy or on Kane’s side? Or Clarke in Polis? Kane. I so would’ve joined Harper/Miller/Kane’s Rebel Squad.

22. Mount Weather had a lot of modern commodities. (example: Maya’s iPod) What is the one thing you would snatch while there? Probably the iPod, or any sort of game that could be a time-passer.

23. What would your Grounder tattoos look like? Hairstyle? War paint? No tattoos, but heavy eyeliner (not Lexa level, but a heavy blake eye shadow and black wing). Probably just hair down for my grounder!look. If it was an Ark look, I’d do half-up half-down like Clarke in S1.

24. Favorite quote? God, I can’t choose. “I bear it so they don’t have to,” “May we meet again,” “Be the good guys,” “It’s an anti-grounder stick,” among many.

25. If all of the characters were in the Hunger Games, who would have the best shot at winning? I think Lincoln has a really good shot. People like Roan, Lexa, and Luna would be careers. But I feel like Lincoln would be a random middle-tier district and then be an under-the-radar threat till he won.

26. Least favorite ship? Favorite canon ship? Favorite non-canon ship?

Least favorite: B/echo

Favorite canon ship: Marper

Favorite non-canon: Bellarke

27. A song that should be included in the next season? If there had to be another guest star like Shawn Mendes on the show, who would you want to make a cameo? I’m a huge Kesha fan, so a Kesha song would be nice. Also, I feel like “New Religion” by Alice Smith gives me HUGE S6 vibes and I’ve never been able to pinpoint why. As for a guest star, maybe an actor/singer double threat like Selena Gomez or Hilary Duff.

28. What would you do if you were stuck in the bunker with Murphy for all that time? Chill, not watch the video over and over again like Murphy. Maybe try to learn chess? There was a chess table, right? It had amenities, so I’d probably just lounge.

29. You’re an extra that gets killed off. How do you die? I’m a random delinquent running around like Roma or Monroe and the grounders spear me. I’m mentioned once when Clarke asks Bellamy, “Where’s Mira?” and he just shakes his head because I’m dead. Never again mentioned.

30. A character you’d like to learn more about and get flashbacks of? I desperately want Jordan flashbacks to see how his life was growing up with Harper and Monty. Speaking of Harper, I want to know EVERYTHING about Harper’s life even though I know we never will :(

31. A character you’d bang? Clarke, Bellamy, Harper.

32. Would you stay in the Bunker? Go up to Space? Or live on your own in Eden? Live in Eden, no doubt. That’s definitely the most bearable option.

33. In the Bunker, would you follow Octavia? What would you do to pass the time underground? I probably would’ve had to? Dissenting would’ve gotten me thrown in the pit.

34. What crime would you commit in the Bunker that lands you in the fighting pits? Badmouthing Blodreina and getting caught and reported.

35. Up in Space, who would you bond with first? Who would be the most difficult for you to get along with? Monty and Harper would be my best friends, I don’t think I’d even speak to E/cho.

36. How long do you think you would last on Earth by yourself? Two weeks. Maybe a month.

37. When the Eligius ship lands what do you do? Run. Like. Hell.

38. Favorite Eligius character? Least favorite? Diyoza... is there any other answer?

39. Would you Spacewalk? Hell yeah, I’d Emori the heck out of it.

40. Would you prefer to eat Windshield Bugs, Space Algae, or Bunker Meat? Algae. Whoever picks meat, I’m judging you.

41. Would you start a war for the last spot of green on earth? What would your solution be to avoid it? No, because as Clarke and Monty said many times, that’s a dumb fucking idea!! I’d make... peace... Find a compromise.

42. Would you rather dig out flesh-eating worms or stick thumb drives into bullet holes? Can I pick none? I guess the worms because at least them I’m helping someone.

43. Are you willing to poison your sister for the Traitor Who You Love? What would you do to stop Octavia? Is my sister a psycho murderer? If so, then yeah.

44. Would you go to sleep in cryo or stay awake like Marper? Cryo.

45. Who are you waking up first to explore the new planet? Clarke, Bellamy, and Miller.

I think most people have done this so I’ll just say, whoever hasn’t feel free to say I tagged you

#tag game #mira muses

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canvaswolfdoll · 8 years ago

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CanvasWatches: Death Parade

An anime about death, set in a food-service purgatory where people must play games to be judged and have their ultimate fates decided, with an inappropriately upbeat OP, and a good balance of distinctive characters and intriguing world building?

This is the most on-brand thing for me, it’s literally just missing a couple pairs of glasses and a dog.

I was turned towards the series after hearing it be described on (I think) Desert Bus, and I thought ‘Okay, I’ll add it to the queue’. Then, when trying to decide on what to follow Samurai Champloo, I chose to give this intriguing show a go as my bedtime anime.

I watched the first episode, and thought ‘Eh, I have time for another episode.’ And watched three more episodes.

The next day, I binged through the remaining eight episodes. I so very rarely binge through a series that hard. It’s usually one or two episodes a day, dragged out if I’m watching it with my brother and our schedules aren’t aligning. I don’t typically have the attention to just burst binge.

Death Parade was balanced just right to really grab me.

Now, I must write about it. As is my duty. (Spoilers ahead!)

Okay, let me temper my previous excitement a little bit, because the episodes were arranged in a manner to trigger a skinner box reaction in me. The episodes mostly alternate between one about judging guests (which I loved) and an episode about the world and myth arc, which I was less enthralled with. So I saw the first episode, which established the structure of Two Dead Guys arrive, get manipulated into a classic game ramped up to craziness, and we learn about their lives so we (and Decim) may judge them. That was pretty cool, and I wanted to go another round.

So I went onto the second episode, which flipped the perspective of the first episode to introduce Decim’s new assistant and teach about the world. Which is fine, but I still wanted to see another game! So obviously, I had to move on to episode three, which satisfied that desire and was really cute, and I wanted to see if the games would continue. Which, fortunately, episode 4 delivered on, so I got a nice trio before laying my head down for sleep.

But, as the series continued, the problem remained: I was really into the episodes that focused on the series gimmick, but when it tried to focus on the overarching arc, I became unengaged. Because while the moral question of judging the deceased and what contexts should and shouldn’t be used were interesting, the effort to keep the higher levels and specifics of the organization vague meant I had no context to Oculus or what Nona’s trying to accomplish. I didn’t see enough about the extended cast to care about what they’re trying to do.

What I had hoped to see is more of what they did with Ginti, taking episodes to show how the other Arbitrators perform their duty. Compare and contrast the styles of them to help highlight to inherent problems with the system, and maybe highlight how Oculus is outwardly affable, but deeply sinister under the mask.

If there’s something I wish caught on more in anime, it’s Princess Tutu’s plot structure.

That’s right! Let’s take a detour through ballet time!

One thing that all media (including film franchises and other animated works) needs to learn from Princess Tutu is putting in the ground work.

You know when Princess Tutu gets to its actual premise? Season 2. The first season was entirely a formulaic Magical Girl show, a format series creator Ikuko Itoh learned from her time working for Sailor Moon. The entire first season exists to lure the audience into a complacency and educate them about what a Magical Girl anime is, with a few hints to a larger meta-arc. The end of the first half resolves the collectathon of the series, and would’ve made a passable series on it’s own.

Then the character who’s been acting as a sort of narrator steps up with a chuckle and basically tells the audience ‘Wasn’t that quaint? Well, hold on, because we’re going wild now.’ There are a couple episodes of the second season that seems to be just more of the same Magical Girl trope work, but then the central cast shift roles and the subversions and meta blooms.

And that’s not emotionally possible without spending thirteen episodes establishing a formula and the cast. It’s why Princess Tutu is essential anime.

Boy is that a risky premise. Because to do that, you have to trust viewers to take the first season in good faith.

You wouldn’t be able to pull off Princess Tutu nowadays, with reviewers only giving shows three (and sometimes only one) episodes to sell them. If it’s not a Shonen face-punch show, studios seem reluctant to commit to multiple episodes. 26-episode animes are becoming increasingly uncommon, with thirteen being the norm.

Death Parade is a twelve-episode anime.[1] Less than 288 minutes to tell a complete story, and I’m not calculating out the OP and EP on that. It’s not enough space for the metatextual story it wants to tell. Not enough time to make the audience complacent with the current Judgement system before having someone slide in and say ‘charming fantasy. Now, let’s explore the flaws.’

Decim makes his big judging mistake in the very first episode, and it’s called out in the second episode. I thought of the same objections the Black-haired Girl presented, but was willing to take it for granted the arbitrators were relatively omniscient in their judgement. That’s called into question immediately.

Which would’ve been okay if the thrust of the series (or just the first season) were independent formulaic stories where dead people arrive, play games, remember their lives, and Decim (or other arbiter) makes their judgement while the audience deliberates for themselves how to feel about.

Kind of a Kino’s Journey (2005)[2] thing, you know? No overarching plot for the first 12 episodes. Only in the last episode of part one would someone question the ethics of the situation, then in season two we can unveil and build upon Nona’s schemes. We’d have had the time to know the cast a little better, and give actual weight to attempts to reform it.

Heck, maybe even have time for a solid resolution beyond a ‘Well, that happened I guess’ and Oculus adding a new rule.

Want to go real wild? Have Chiyuki take over Decim’s job at either the end of season one or the end of the series. Either had merits.

As it is… the story is too crowded in the actual twelve episodes we got, so I can only focus on the Death Games, since those were independently strong.

Heck, it was obvious they were intending parallels when Ginti got Mayu hanging around his bar, but the two didn’t receive enough screen time to be properly compared to Decim and Black-Haired Woman.

Do I put too much weight on wanting more episodic shows? No… it’s the industry that’s wrong…

However, this pacing is only the major misstep. The art and animation is fantastic, the writing is good when focused on the gimmick, and the elevator operator manages to toe the line of Yu-Gi-Oh hair yet still remain just understated enough.

Like a good episode of Kino’s Journey, Death Parade doesn’t dictate what your take away should be. It merely presents the story to you, and the actions and reactions of the characters, and lets the viewer reach their own conclusion. When should a character’s sins condemn them to the void? And how can context shift that? Is the extreme situation built into the games a fair way to judge someone’s character?

Admittedly, I’d probably reincarnate everyone except the police detective,[3] but I’m also a softy frightened enough by the concept of oblivion to not wish it on anyone.

The mystery around the Black-Haired Woman is also compelling, even if it ended with the usual generic Test of Character. I like recurring motifs when they’re actually addressed in the plot, and Chavvot was a good example of that.

Maybe if they focused on how the Black-Haired Woman personally would’ve judged the games she was witness to, it would’ve been stronger. There’s parallels to be drawn for most cases: Death Seven Darts has doubt leading a man to self-destruction; Rolling Ballade is a tale of lost opportunity; Death Arcade[4] is literally about unintentionally hurting your family through selfishness; then episodes 8 and 9 are the most emotionally intense as they pose the question “what is justifiable violence?”

Death Parade is plagued by its raw potential, and failure to give a satisfying ending. It’s a series whose soul deserves reincarnation, if I ever saw one.

Okay, that was cheesy, sorry.

Just watch it, if you can do so legally. It’s good!

If you enjoyed this… stumbling ramble, feel free to send me questions and comments, I love any excuse to over analyze media. And consider supporting me on patreon. You’ll be granted early access to my work. I make good stuff sometimes! Thanks for indulging me.

Kataal kataal.

[1] Not counting Death Billiards, which I haven’t gotten around to yet… [2] I resent that I need to specify between the two series. [3] Also maybe Light Yagami, who makes an inexplicable cameo, and knows what he signed up for. [4] Which my gut reaction was to discount as a filler episode.

#CanvasWatches #death parade #anime #CanvasReviews #desu paredo

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cinemafix · 8 years ago

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PART ONE: MOVIES I’VE SEEN THIS WEEK (04/02-04/08)

SUNDAY

1. Goodfellas (1990)- dir. Martin Scorsese

Let me just start by saying if you’ve waited (like me) for too long to see this-- everybody is right.. this is a phenomenal movie. I came into this movie pretty green like I knew of it but I didn’t have any sort of inclination as to what to expect. The movie is based on the real-life story of Henry Hill, a young kid whose ambition to be a “wise-guy” leads him to grow up into the mobster lifestyle. Scorsese mainly uses voice over narration from Henry (Ray Liotta) to provide a sort of documentary feel to the movie. There’s also minor voice over narration to provide outsider insight by Henry’s wife, Karen (Lorraine Bracco).

I absolutely loved the narration and the use of freeze frames and the (I won’t spoil it) delightful narration switch up at the very end. The infamous Copacabana long take of a scene (in which P. T. Anderson drew inspiration from for Boogie Nights) is so fun to watch because it really just immerses you into Henry’s fixation of the mob’s privileges and his date’s curiosity as to who she is out with. Yes, there are some heavyweight actors in this movie, but I have to just stress how good casting was. I mean, even the kid that played young Henry is on point with the resemblance and behavior.

This movie takes you along a ride with Henry Hill at the driver’s seat and it explores themes of primarily power and status but I also think one’s need to belong somewhere as well. Nobody likes to feel like a nobody.

Fun Fact: Scorsese’s parents have cameos in the movie!

2. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)- dir. Steve Carr

Freely judge me for this, I deserve it. I wanted to hide it from the list but I didn’t want to compromise the game.

Now, in my defense, my dear grandpa picked it out while my mom and I came over my grandparents’ house to visit. Bless him. Guilty, I actually really enjoyed watching this absolutely mind-numbing comedy because of its stupid humor. Stupid, stupid, stupid humor.

If you haven’t heard of it and don’t mind a film led by Kevin James, it’s about this mall cop who takes his job too seriously but in the end he’s the type of hero this mall needs. Don’t take this movie seriously- It’s dumb (we all know it’s dumb) but you’re not dumb for watching it. You might be dumb for watching the sequel...you might be pushing it... jury might be out on that one.

I couldn’t help myself with the legal puns.

MONDAY

3. El Dorado (1967)- dir. Howard Hawks

I blame my grandma because visiting with her requires at least the watching of half a western movie and it’s 90% of the time a John Wayne movie playing. I’m just blaming the grandparents left and right for everything now... She enjoys them so much and I guess I enjoy watching them because she enjoys watching them. All you Internet folk don’t have the chance to watch a good ol’ western with my grandma but I think this is a good western to warm you up to the genre. In interviews, Quentin Tarantino has expressed his admiration for director Howard Hawks-- more specifically for the movie Rio Bravo-- and this movie is the second collaboration John Wayne has done with Hawks since Rio Bravo.

It’s about this wealthy man who is looking to hire someone to send this other wealthy family, the MacDonald’s, out of El Dorado. Sharpshooter Cole Thorton (Wayne) was first offered the job but instead joins forces with his old friend and town sheriff J.P. Harrah (Robert Mitchum) to protect the MacDonald’s.

My grandma says she loves westerns because, “there’s no sex and all action,” and she has her approval stamp on this one.

There’s action, there’s drama, there’s comedy, and there’s a young James Caan. It’s also on Netflix so it’s an easy find!

4. The Philadelphia Story (1940)- dir. George Cukor

Now, I love Cary Grant and I LOVE James Stewart but I was putting this movie off because I am not the biggest Katharine Hepburn fan. Rotten Tomatoes deems this movie, “The Greatest Romantic Comedy of All-Time,” and though I’m not entirely sold on that reputation, I thought it was an enjoyable movie. It’s about this quasi-quirky socialite Tracy (Hepburn) who all her life is treated as this perfect, untouchable goddess and it leads her to hold others to her high standards. C.K. Dexter Haven (Grant), her ex-husband, couldn’t stand her treating him with unreachable expectations so their marriage falls apart and yet he is still magnetized towards her. Reporter Macaulay Connor (Stewart) and his photographer (Ruth Hussey) are led by Grant into Tracy’s home to cover her wedding for Spy magazine. Having C.K. and Connor as guests for her wedding confuses Tracy as she begins to develop feelings diverting her attention from fiancé George Kitteredge (John Howard).

To be honest, even the ghosts of Cary Grant and James Stewart showing up on my wedding day would confuse the hell out of me. There’s romance, second-hand embarrassment, and humor to this dysfunctional wedding story. Ok, I get that it’s Hepburn’s story but like Ruth Hussey’s character was far more interesting than Tracy (IMHO) and only the handsy old uncle paid her any attention.

TUESDAY

5. How to Steal a Million (1966)- dir. William Wyler

This has to be the greatest romantic comedy of all-time. The chemistry between Peter O’Toole and Audrey Hepburn is just as magnetic as O’Toole’s blue eyes. Yes, I went there just like the movie goes there with several close-ups of those baby blues. Hepburn plays Nicole Bonnet, the daughter of a beloved art collector who happens to be a second generation art forger. When a Bonnet-forged Cellini statue ends up in a Paris museum and is awaiting evaluation, Nicole enlists Simon Dermott (O’Toole) to help her steal it back. It’s so much fun to watch not only Nicole react to Dermott’s wild planned and unplanned moments of the heist but also the museum guards as well. It’s a movie that doesn’t take itself so seriously-- it’s silly and it’s fun! Hepburn, of course, delivers some quality “lewks” in her head-to-toe Givenchy ensembles. Watching Dermott go from fascination to infatuation towards Nicole and manage to maintain a cute balance between the two will literally make you want to evaluate your love life (or lack thereof). He is constantly surprised by her and there’s a cute surprise towards the end at the Ritz hotel when things switch up-- love, love, love this movie.

WEDNESDAY

6. Strangers on a Train (1951)- dir. Alfred Hitchcock

This movie is just as relentless as the antagonist, Bruno Antony (Robert Walker). He’s like an itch that you just cannot scratch and the movie just builds and builds and builds its tension to his final breath... literally his final breath.

Currently, I’m writing a short story in which I aspire to create a thrilling tone. I felt compelled to watch the Master of Suspense show me how it’s done and boy was this the movie to get inspiration from. Not only was I on the edge of my seat but I was holding my breath the deeper the story went. If you show me a tennis match, I might dreadfully faint out of Hitchcock anticipation.

The film is about this tennis player, Guy Haines (Farley Granger), who meets the strange Bruce on (you guessed it) a train ride heading towards New York. The pair’s feet clash during the bumpy ride and the two get to talking- Bruce already familiar with Guy’s story insinuates about Guy’s dilemma with getting divorced. Too quickly, he comes up with a plan that could help Guy and in exchange help himself. It’s the exchanging of murders- you kill my problem and I’ll kill yours. Now I see where 2011′s Horrible Bosses drew from for inspiration.

I love Hitchcock’s use of zoom to draw our attention to what he wants us really focus on during a particular scene. The POV shots immerse the audience into the experience rather than sitting as an omniscient viewer throughout the entire film. There was a scene where Guy is punching at the camera and the camera is jerking back as if we are the ones getting punched. I loved it! There’s also a flashlight tracking scene that really made me feel uncomfortably close. Hitchcock also has his fun by making his quick cameo in the first 20 minutes.

#film recommendations #films #classic movies #modern movies #movies #cinema #film review

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