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welcometomy20s · 3 years

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June 30, 2021

Coco (and Lulu’s) Legacy

Coco wrote the book on how to be a Hololive member, from front to back. She plotted out how one can amass an audience, how to interact and build a worldwide fandom, how to integrate ideas of the audience to the grand narrative of the company, how to deal with tee-tee and pairings, how to cope when YouTube strikes you down in its impunity, and how to cope when Cancel Brigade comes to destroy your work, along with how to bring a more cohesive workplace, how to protect yourself from the unmooring of identity that is inherent in VTube, and finally how to leave when you are in a rollercoaster that is only going up. Coco wrote the book and now we follow.

AsaCoco was brilliant from its outset. Having a place to know the ins and outs of various members of Hololive was a great way to connect the rabbit hole. But there is a deeper reason for the brilliance. I talked before about how the major tension in VTube is one between the corporate back-end tradition of Japan colliding with the audience front-end tradition of YouTube. AsaCoco is something directly in line with that second tradition. The visual language of YouTube is different from those of movies. A jump cut in a movie denotes a different idea than a jump cut on YouTube. Movie critic complaining about jump cuts in vlogs is like a Spanish reader complaining about a sentence in English being awkward. Of course it is, it’s in a different language. Unlike movies, which come from theatre and literature, vlogs’ lineage comes from news broadcasts. Many of the early web successes were styled in a news format (rocketboom, Ze Frank, What the Buck and so on…) One does not complain about the jump cut between different presenters in a newscast, and so one does not complain when a similar thing happens in vlogs. But the point is that AsaCoco harkens to the audience-based tradition.

One might write off the ARK arc as an aberration, but I think ARK did add something constructive to Hololive and VTubers as a whole. I like to think of ARK as a training wheel for Minecraft. Minecraft is relatively challenging compared to ARK. Minecraft speedruns are mildly impressive, ARK speedrun less so. ARK is actually like the middle ground between Monster Hunter and Minecraft. You can play ARK like Monster Hunter, gather a bunch of friends to hunt monsters, or like Minecraft, build your own zoo or house or so on… And in that flexibility, one can easily learn how to tell a compelling narrative in an open-world setting. Pekora’s war criminal tendencies developed there, Miko’s ‘pon’ nature was crystalized there, and so on…

Holohouse was an underrated achievement. At first, the idea feels like the natural extension of their idol nature. Idols live together, so why not virtual idols? But having virtual idols living together comes with additional benefits that Nijisanji should note.

Stalking is an awful thing, I know since I experienced and have done something similar in my past, but stalking is also a desperate thing. And desperation tends to abate when people are more open about themselves. One of the articles talking about Coco’s graduation infamously notes the mystery of Coco’s identity, which is chucklesome since Coco’s identity might be the most open secret in all of Hololive. This was in line with Hololive’s more open policy, several of Hololive members do their own personal work on the side, while in many early companies, this was forbidden. Nijisanji’s background is less open than Hololive, perhaps due to the number and less mass attention, and that leads to stalking being a more adventurous one. One that livers have to deal with more alone, while for Hololive, it’s likely people would catch and perhaps even tar the perpetrator. More attention means more risk with less excitement.

Holohouse also protects aggressive fan behavior by introducing VTuber solidarity. With more offline collabs, the people would know each other more personally and therefore have a ground of contacts in which to alert suspicious behavior. Safety in numbers.

Holohouse also brought us KanaCoco, which was a lesser known pairing until the couple ring story, and now it has become one of three big couples of Hololive, the other two being NoeFlare and OkaKoro. The big three all have a different style of their tee tee. KanaCoco is the type of a longtime buddy. Both Kanata and Coco struggled with familial and economic circumstances, and they are both struggling under the same roof. And within that struggle comes comity and friendship. It’s not love in your typical sense, but it is a type that would lead to marriage and childrens… but the current LBGTQ+ status in Japan is pretty bad, so tee tee and hush hush it is.

In a sense, KanaCoco provides for an excellent cover. It is one of the most inspiring portrayals of woman-woman friendships in media and it would be one of the more enduring aspect of Coco’s legacy as it passes down through the generations.

[Note: This somehow became an apologia of the past week. Well, I do like to show my thinking with my behavior, perhaps to my detriment, so… just be warned.]

For the past week, I was hyping about the fact that Gura passed Kizuna Ai to become the most-subscribed VTuber. And I made the point, not through immaturity, but because I realized this coincided with Coco’s graduation. Without Coco, there wouldn’t be Hololive English, or Gawr Gura, and therefore this event would not have happened. This, therefore, was one of the last great accomplishments of Coco. An indelible mark of her foresight and perseverance. A realization of her plans. So, in a sense, this was one of my ways of celebrating Coco’s career, albeit in an admittedly twisted way.

But beyond Hololive English, there was the famous Meme Review, which has a weak lineage with the early meme review series from PewDiePie. Now for the digression, whoever ends up at the top gives us a flavor for that specific era, since one naturally assumes success means finesse and would try to emulate the style. Vlogbrother’s visual style and mannerism was largely lifted from Ze Frank. PBS Idea Channel famously emulated Ray William Johnson’s background to his own ends. And Kizuna Ai was famously inspired by PewDiePie at several points in her career. Which is why PewDiePie’s Congratulations felt right as a tribute. One of the big shared characteristics of the two was the lonely years at the top. PewDiePie is probably going to be longest reigning ‘King’ of YouTube for a while (of course, depends on if Cocomelon catches T-Series in due time) and at the time his reign was abnormally long. Most people hold onto the top spot for a year or two, so it felt odd that PewDiePie was untouchable for so long. Similar things must have been raised for Kizuna Ai as well. Many people must have felt that Kizuna Ai just did not represent VTubers at the current time.

So, when competition showed up, of course people were excited. It felt like it was time. I believe PewDiePie’s Congratulations was not a simple diss track, although it’s formatted like one, just due to the culture at the time. So the hypothetical Kizuna Ai version would be extremely light-hearted. The ‘diss’ would be your typical “she’s short”, “she’s hydrodynamic” and so on… it would be clear there is no actual bad blood, and the song would be welcoming of the new era. Era, as I said before, brought on by Coco.

Back to the Meme Review, meme review was great as it centered reddit as the base for the fandom, rather than twitter, which is a horrible platform to bring a sense of communal welcomeness. Reddit is probably the best functional place for stuff like this, even though we all know it has its host of problems that needs to be resolved.

What is the most important stream in Hololive? Well, some people would point to Aqua and Coco’s The Raft stream, which is a poignant encapsulation of a stream. The dramatic counterweight to the other greatest stream in Hololive, Korone’s all-english Mario stream. Aqua and Coco are always the odd pairing, but it could have worked, and it might have been beneficial. Aqua is one of the most shy people in Hololive, and Mio is already busy with Ayame and Subaru, so the best person might have been Coco.

But China. There were two big beneficiaries from China in Hololive, one was Fubuki and the other was Aqua. While Fubuki, in Coco’s last months, famously went out of her way to intertwine herself with Coco to directly redirect her audience, like the mensch she is, Aqua always struggled with her audience retention, therefore played shy with Coco.

Edit: Well, my initial final impression was… what a wonderful finish. The interview portion was well-meant, but honestly a little formal. When the 4th Gen went together, is when the stream turned into something special for me, and the final performance was actually really well-done. Coco went out like an idol, which makes sense. For whatever provocation Coco perpetuated, Coco only did them out of love. And ultimately Cover knew that. Coco’s final month was a warning and a reminder.

Can I talk about all the different tributes lately? In some sense, Usaken Summer Festival is part of this… for an organization that is immensely popular, I just adore how Cover and their talent always has this drive to throw everything and see if it works. I noticed this during Golden Week. Golden Week in Hololive was jam packed. There were great events, Mio’s morning stream was astounding, leading to one of biggest growth spurt for Mio. Miko’s drawing collab was absolutely hilarious, for such a simple and seemingly hastily put idea. One of the people in a forum commented on this and affixed something that left my mind… what did Nijisanji during the same week? Even I was surprised by how little Nijisanji did that Golden week. They barely did anything!

The innovative spirit does give them trouble, more than it is worth, but Cover never really stopped its momentum, even when most other companies would have stopped a long time ago! This is the greatest thing about Hololive and Cover, the most redeeming feature. One that would serve them well. Coco wrote the playing book, let us pray that Cover sticks to them, because the fall of Cover comes the moment they stray.

The Pre-Coco era was about a company struggling to get their idea through. The Coco era was about writing the playing book. So the Post-Coco era will be about remembrance, it’ll be a struggle to keep the memory of what the playing book is. It’ll be about them being Hololive as they become part of the global zeitgeist.

#vtuber #hololive #kiryu coco #web talk #Thoughts

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mamusiq · 2 years

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Ronnie Spector: 15 Essential Songs

We survey the full arc of the iconic singer’s five-decade pop odyssey, from her Ronettes classics to team-ups with everyone from Eddie Money to Joey Ramone

By Jon Dolan & Jon Freeman & Elisabeth Garber-Paul & Kory Grow & Joseph Hudak & Daniel Kreps & Elias Leight

Ronnie Spector's greatest performances included Sixties girl-group gems as well as late-career solo spins on tunes by the Stones and the Bee Gees.

After years of performing around New York City, the Ronettes exploded in 1963 behind “Be My Baby,” a modern standard beloved by the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson and pretty much everyone else with ears and a heart. During the recording of the song in Los Angeles, “All the musicians dropped whatever they were holding, their horns and guitars, and they were looking at this new girl in town,” lead singer Ronnie Spector remembered during an interview with Rolling Stone in 2016. “All the musicians were yelling, ‘Oh, my God. Her voice!’ And I’m saying, ‘Me? A little girl from Spanish Harlem?’ ”

Spector used her potent vocals to convey the overwhelming highs and desperate lows of young love, and “Be My Baby” was the first of five consecutive Top 40 hits for the Ronettes. The group toured with both the Beatles and the Rolling Stones before disbanding in 1967, but Spector continued to record intermittently over the years, teaming up with everyone from Eddie Money to Joey Ramone, and releasing her final solo album album, English Heart, in 2016. “Singing was something I loved and something that was taken from me,” she said at the time, referencing her years in exile while married to Phil Spector. “And after that, I want to do it so much more.”

Here we pay tribute to the ultimate girl-group icon, who died Wednesday at age 78, with a look back at 15 songs that span her career and sum up her vocal brilliance.

The Ronettes, “Be My Baby” (1963)

Thump, thump-thump, clap! From the unforgettable opening drumbeat to Ronnie Spector’s roller-coaster “whoa-oa-oas” over a Wall of Sound built on orchestral strings and castanets, “Be My Baby” was an instant classic. “It was like I’d gone to heaven,” Spector once recalled of Hal Blaine’s drum intro. “It all fit. It all was like a puzzle and once my voice was put on, the puzzle was complete. That’s when I knew this record just might be a hit.” Ultimately, the song was more than a hit, it was a cultural touchstone. Martin Scorsese used it to set the scene for his film Mean Streets, and Taylor Swift, the Jesus and Mary Chain, and Amy Winehouse have all quoted Blaine’s drumbeat. “In a way it wasn’t like having your mind blown, it was like having your mind revamped,” Brian Wilson once said of the track. “It’s like, once you’ve heard that record, you’re a fan forever.” K.G.

The Ronettes, “Baby, I Love You” (1963)

There’s nothing quite like the rush of hearing the Ronettes’ “Baby, I Love You” slide into its chorus: It’s the thrill of young hearts (and hormones) colliding feverishly and a backbeat powerful enough to drown out any doubts. Written by Phil Spector with Jeff Barry and Ellie Greenwich, “Baby, I Love You” was released in 1963 as the follow-up to “Be My Baby” but couldn’t match the dizzying heights of that song’s chart success despite its starry-eyed demeanor and more of Ronnie Spector’s signature vocal dives. “Oh, tell me that you feel the same,” Spector pleads, overcome with emotion. Cher was one of the studio background singers and later cut her own version, as did the Ramones, on the Phil Spector–produced End of the Century in 1980. Bruce Springsteen, in his famed 1975 Newsweek cover story, described the song as “the sound of universes colliding.” J.F.

The Ronettes, “Sleigh Ride” (1963)

It’s not really the holidays until Ronnie Spector welcomes it with “Sleigh Ride,” an upbeat Andrews Sisters cover that appeared on a Phil Spector–produced Christmas sampler in 1963, and just last year became the Ronettes’ highest-charting hit. Cue the bells, cue the whinnying horse, cue the rock & roll buildup — then Ronnie bursts in, with her smoky, irresistible voice, to melt a little of the snow away. Decades later, the singer would turn her love of Christmas into a rocking annual multi-city party. E.G.P.

The Ronettes, “So Young” (1964)

“So Young” plays as a downcast follow-up to the giddy rush of “Be My Baby” — the fictional couple gets together, only to have their love dismissed by the short-sighted adults who still rule their lives. “They say our love is just a teenage affection,” Spector pouts, before turning defiant: “But no one knows my heart’s direction.” “I’m So Young” was already a doo-wop hit for the Students before the Ronettes got their hands on it, but that group can’t match Spector’s mix of steely daring and quavery desolation — plus a dollop of weepy orchestration and over-the-top drum fills that push the misery to even greater heights. A year after the Ronettes released their “So Young,” the Beach Boys decided to take a crack at it as well. E.L.

The Ronettes, “Walking in the Rain” (1964)

After a trip to London, Spector mentioned to husband-and-wife songwriting team Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil how entranced she was by her time in the city. “I told them I loved the English rain and fog,” she recalled. Building on that image, the pair came up with this dreamy ballad — a perfect mix of teenage romantic fantasy and wearily searching loneliness (“Where can he be?” Ronnie asks, after elucidating all of her rain-loving ideal boyfriend’s many qualities). She nailed her vocal in one take, and Phil Spector upped the operatic ante by opening “Walking in the Rain” with the ominous sound of thunderclaps. It was the Ronettes’ last Top 40 hit. J.D.

The Ronettes, “Why Don’t They Let Us Fall in Love” (1964)

Love is a battlefield — or at least a subject of mockery, much to Spector’s frustration — in this track: “Why do they always try to keep us apart?” she wonders. “Why do they laugh at what I feel in my heart?” Spector never identifies the dastardly forces standing between her and the object of her affections. But the track beneath her pushes back against the idea that she’s thwarted at every turn: Even as the lyrics catalog absence and obstacles, the instrumental remains peppy, all sturdy guitar, perky “bah-bah-bah” backing vocals, and firm handclaps. It sounds like she’s skipping through the park with her partner already. E.L.

The Ronettes, “(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up” (1964)

“(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up” marked another Top 40 hit off the Ronettes lone LP, Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica. The track was arranged by studio wizard Jack Nitzsche and co-written by Brill Building vets Pete Anders and Vince Poncia with Phil Spector — who, as legend goes, knew the song would be a hit after he was presented with the words for the chorus, “The best part of breaking up is when you’re making up.” Ronnie took center stage on the sweeping teenage anthem about the joys of temporary heartbreak. “When Phil loved a song as much as he loved ‘(The Best Part of) Breakin’ Up,’ he could work on it for days without ever getting tired,” Ronnie wrote in her memoir Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness. D.K.

The Ronettes, “Do I Love You?” (1964)

Ronnie Spector is relentless to the point of recklessness in “Do I Love You?” — a series of romantic questions (the implied answer to each is, of course, an emphatic yes) that escalates at breakneck speed. She starts with a few softballs: “Do I want you for my baby?” “Do I want to run and kiss your lips?” But it doesn’t take long for her to ratchet up the intensity. “Do I live my life for you?” she asks. “Would I die if you should ever go away?” Soon she stops asking rhetorical questions and announces a plan of action, with brass blurting continuously behind her. “I swear I’m gonna get you if takes me all my life,” she vows. “I’ll hope and pray and dream and scheme.” You’d be a fool not to believe her. E.L.

The Ronettes, “I Can Hear Music” (1966)

Composed especially for the Ronettes from the Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich/Phil Spector girl-group blueprint, “I Can Hear Music” wasn’t a major hit for the band upon its release in 1966. Rather, it was the Beach Boys’ version three years later — with angelic lead vocals from Carl Wilson — that’s best remembered. But listening to the Ronettes’ original is to hear pure joy: There are few better opening lines than Ronnie crooning, “This is the way/I’ve always dreamed it would be.” Carl Wilson died in 1998, but Ronnie would go on to perform the song live with Brian Wilson at a 2000 concert special honoring the catalog of Barry. J.H.

“Try Some, Buy Some” (1971)

In 1971, a few years after interest in the Ronettes had dried up and a year before Ronnie would escape the clutches of Phil Spector, Ronnie’s Beatles buddy George Harrison helped revive her career by giving her “Try Some, Buy Some,” a leftover from his All Things Must Pass sessions. The tune is more pensive and plodding (and therefore more George Harrison–y) than the Ronettes’ music, but Ronnie’s voice fits in perfectly as she sings about opening her eyes and falling in love (with God this time, since Harrison wrote it). The tune made it up to Number 77 on the Billboard chart. A couple years later, Harrison recorded a more plaintive version of the tune on his album Living in the Material World, and David Bowie attempted a version on his 2003 Reality album, but both sound lackluster compared to Ronnie. K.G.

Ronnie Spector and the E Street Band, “Say Goodbye to Hollywood” (1977)

Little Steven Van Zandt gave Ronnie Spector’s career a shot in the arm with help from both Billy Joel and the E Street Band in 1977. Determined to elevate Spector — who so vastly influenced the core sound of Bruce Springsteen and his group — Van Zandt enlisted his bandmates to back up the vocalist on Joel’s 1976 Turnstiles track “Say Goodbye to Hollywood.” It was a fitting choice: Joel’s song was itself shaped by “Be My Baby.” (Listen to the way he draws out “Boulevard” in Ronnie’s distinct style.) Van Zandt’s gambit worked and both gave Spector her due and introduced her to a new audience. “When I came back with ‘Say Goodbye to Hollywood,’ I was so shocked that anyone cared,” she said in 2013. “When I went to play at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, in the Seventies, there’s Bruce up onstage and Billy Joel sitting next to me. These people idolized me and I was saying, ‘Me?’ ” J.H.

Eddie Money, “Take Me Home Tonight” (1986)

Eddie Money had enjoyed Seventies success with hits like “Two Tickets to Paradise” and “Baby Hold On,” but his career was fading a little by the mid-Eighties. He originally demoed “Take Me Home Tonight” with Martha Davis of the Motels interpolating lyrics from “Be My Baby” into the song. Davis suggested he get Spector herself to sing it, and though the girl-group icon wasn’t interested at first, she eventually stepped in with a vocal that elevated the tune, as well as both artists’ careers — ushering Money back into the Top 10 and landing Spector on MTV. J.D.

“You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” (1999)

Spector’s 1999 EP She Talks to Rainbows turned heads because of its duet with the project’s co-producer: Joey Ramone. But it’s her solo reading of another punk rocker’s song that gave the EP its heart: Johnny Thunders’ “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory,” which the New York Dolls guitarist wrote for his 1978 solo debut. While the chorus may have been inspired by a line from the Fifties sitcom The Honeymooners, there’s nothing funny about Spector’s delivery. It’s full of regret and resignation (and features harmonies from Ramone), along with enough grit in the then–56-year-old’s voice to convey that her journey hadn’t been an easy one. During a gig during her career’s fallow years, Spector spied Thunders from the stage. “He was crying throughout my whole show,” she told Vogue in 2016, “and I’m saying, ‘Who is this guy?’ ” J.H.

“I’d Much Rather Be With the Girls” (2016)

Shortly after “Be My Baby” transformed pop music, Ronnie Spector’s pal Keith Richards teamed with Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to pen “I’d Much Rather Be With the Boys,” a song that lovingly parodied the girl-group phenomenon. “I’d rather be out with the boys than with girls like you,” goes one line. When the long-forgotten group the Toggery Five recorded the tune for the first time in 1965, they included a guitar riff that winked at “Be My Baby,” but when the Stones tackled it for themselves, they made the “Be My Baby” swipe more explicit and even jabbed at the Four Seasons with whiny backing vocals. In 2016, Spector claimed it for herself on her English Heart album and flipped the lyrics. “I just waited 50 years,” she told Rolling Stone. “Yeah, I’d much rather be with the girls.” K.G.

“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” (2016)

Half a century after Ronnie Spector made her career sitting atop busy-sounding Walls of Sound, her final album, English Heart, featured her surprisingly sparse and moving cover of the Bee Gees’ “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.” Built around only organ, electric piano, a little guitar, and some whispering percussion, the track is a showcase for Ronnie Spector’s soul. “I went in the ladies’ room and cried my eyes out,” she once said of the session. “Because that song is about my life, you know? My heart’s been broken so many times. I mean, I was in lawsuits over royalties with my ex for 20 years. It took away a lot of the things I really wanted to do.” K.G.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/ronnie-spector-ronettes-best-songs-1283633/

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kerbaldevteam · 4 years

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Kerbal Space Program 1.11: "Some Reassembly Required" is now available!

Hello everyone!

Gear up Kerbonauts, engineers are required for some in situ reassembling! Stack up your inventory with parts and tools in order to prepare for any contingencies. With a reimagining of the game’s inventory system and the introduction of a new EVA construction mode, KSP is here with new content for everyone!

Kerbal Space Program 1.11: Some Reassembly Required is the game’s latest major free update and with it, we’re adding some significant and game changing elements that give players added flexibility and a more immersive KSP experience. Pack an inventory for your missions and modify your crafts or even assemble a new vehicle on the spot with the help of your engineers, or bring an EVA Science Experiment Kit and have your Kerbals undertake fun animated experiments. In addition to some new parts, visual enhancements, and some bug-fixing, Some Reassembly Required continues to enrich the KSP experience.

Let’s go through some of the update’s highlights below:

EVA Construction Mode

This mode gives your engineers tools similar to what you find in the VAB/SPH to manipulate parts in their inventory or within their range while on EVA in any location. Need to make some adjustments to your Vallerian SSTO, or build an improvised Munar rover in situ? Now you can!

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Inventory System Changes

This update expands upon the inventory system and gives it deeper meaning and functionality! These changes include the option to carry and stack various parts in your craft’s inventory and adds to the ability of Kerbals to carry an inventory of their own. All while making it easier to get access to and manage all of the inventories on a craft. Just remember to think wisely on what you want to bring with you on a mission…

New Lights and RCSs

Some Reassembly Required adds new lights parts to the game, including some smaller, physics-less lights as well as a couple of deployable lights that work without the need for an attached craft or EC power source. And not only that, two new smaller Reaction Control Systems are being added to the part repertoire! These smaller RCS are perfect to make your probes, drones or smaller crafts more mobile and versatile.

Joolian Moons’ Visual Improvements

With this update, we will continue with the overhauling of the rest of the Joolian satellite system with Bop, Vall and Tylo. These moons have been popular destinations for intrepid space explorers and now they will look better than ever before, with high-quality texture and graphic shaders.

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And more!

To learn more you can read the full Changelog here:

============================= v1.11.========================

+++ Improvements

* Improve version checking for save files to prevent incorrect compatability messages. * Added game setting to enable Ghosted Navigation Markers. These let you see targets behind you by presenting a faded marker on the navball as if you are looking through the navball. * Text in action group labels now moves if truncated so the text can be fully read. * A notification is displayed on the Fairings PAW when it has a flag attached and the sides and edit Fairing options are blocked. * Robotic Controllers like KAL can now be accessed by EVA Kerbals to Play and Stop the Sequence. * Revamped Vall! It now has a low, medium and high quality shaders as well as a new scaled space textures. * Revamped Tylo! It now has a low, medium and high quality shaders as well as a new scaled space textures. * Revamped Bop! It now has a low, medium and high quality shaders as well as a new scaled space textures. * Launchclamps will now default to the earliest stage on a craft. * Added a speed slider to the Axis Groups Binding so players can control how fast a binding will move. The value shown is in % of full axis range per second. * Expanded on the Warp to Sunrise button functionality. It's now available in flight and Tracking Station whenever it makes sense. * Added onscreen tab to Map Filters panel to make it more obvious and changed the behaviour to be click to toggle like the navball tab. * Implemented Menu Navigation on the Action Groups in Flight. * Added new Color Picker for the Kerbal Light Color during Flight. * Parts of the same type and variant can now be stacked in a single inventory slot. Each part has a maximum allowed stack amount. * Change PPD-10 Hitchhiker and Mk3 Passenger Module mass to align with passenger/mass ratio of Mk1 Crew cabin. * Change PPD-12 Cupola Cost and Mass to align with cost/mass ratio of Mk1 Capsule. * Change Mk2 Crew Cabin mass to incorporate wing mass. * Don't put parachutes in the first (launchpad) stage by default. * Crewable part masses revised to account for crew mass and their cargo. * Crew now have mass when on IVA (inside parts) along with their cargo. * The Flag browser now categorizes flags into groups. * Added RocketLabs and Electron flags. * Added EVA Construction Mode. * Amended dV and orbit calcs to use Double precision. * Some large parts cannot be put into cargo containers but can be manipulated in EVA construction mode. * Players can no longer assign the Undock node Action. This has been removed as it was causing confusion with the Decouple node Action in some parts. Crafts with the action assigned can still fire it. * Construction Mode provides CoM CoT CoL overlays. * Kerbals stop climbing on reaching the end of a ladder. A new toggleable game setting Check ladders end enables/disables the behavior. * SEQ-3 and SEQ-9 Cargo Containers are now Stock parts. * All Cargo Parts can now be searched by the tag cargo in editor and mission builder. * Flight Info debug window now shows the angle of the surface the vessel is currently on. * Asteroids have new textures and shader. * New rover construction contract for career games. * New vessel repair contract for career games. * New satellite upgrade contract for career games. * Improvements over the Kerbal jittery movement. * Comet visual FX performance improvements. * Added a repair kit part. Now repairing broken parts uses up repair kits, be sure to have some in your Engineer's inventory. * Added new EVA science experiments and animations. * Kerbal Jetpack and Parachute are now cargo items that kerbals must carry in their inventory to use them. * Kerbals in EVA use EVA propellant from EVA cylinder parts and Jetpacks that they are carrying. * EVA cylinder parts and Jetpacks are refilled when they are transferred back into a vessel from a kerbal. * Amended dV and orbit calcs to use Double precision. * Make render probes fade in better when a new render probe is added. +++ Localization * Removed line breaks in the Orbit's Ejection field tooltip. * Fix missing localized text in the Robotic controller name input field. * Multiple bug fixes for all languages. * Navigation console had missing space for the field IZQUIERDA which affected only Spanish. * Fix fairing variants having wrong language on textures in English and French. * Multiple string additions and corrections for some languages. * Fix spelling of BepiColombo and Rosetta. * Multiple KSPedia fixes all languages. +++ Parts * The LFB KR-1x2 Twin-Boar Liquid Fuel Engine now has the correct diameter. * Added colliders to all flag part variants. * Removed the gaps of the FL-R25 RCS Fuel Tank when attached to other tanks. * New SEQ-24 Cargo Storage Unit and new SEQ-1C Conformal Storage Unit. * New Place Anywhere 1 Linear RCS Port. * New RV-1X Variable Thruster Block. * New Repair kit part. * Added new EVA science experiment kit. * EVA Fuel Cylinder cargo part. * Fix gap in the Mk2 Cockpit IVA. * HG-5 High Gain Antenna is now placed correctly in mirror symmetry. * Fix LFB KR 1x2 'Twin Boar' off placed surface attach underneath. +++ Bugfixes * Revised the instructions on several tutorials regarding the recent changes to the flight UI mode toggling. * Fix issues with fairing shaders when width/height ratio is extreme. * Craft file name is now independent of command pod vessel naming, preventing accidental overwrites when re-naming command pods. * Fix flickering orbit lines in mapview. * Fix an overlap in some languages between the Header and vessel stats field in the craft browser dialog. * Fix part joint failure including autostruts when target RigidBody is same as host RigidBody which can occur in some edge cases. * Fix tourists from being EVA'd from a command seat. * Fix steep textures shaking on lower quality shaders after reentry. * Fix payload inside fairing not being released when decoupled and fairings are still intact. * Fix resource transfer failing when opening and closing a parts action windows several times. * Fix inventory part tooltips lingering on the screen when changing Camera Mode. * Fix EVA Kerbal walking animation sync, timing and bounding issues. * Fix EVA Kerbal sliding issues. * Fix menu navigation issues when navigating between columns in the Action Groups menu. * Fix craft thumbnails not showing fairings. * Fix Female Kerbals not walking correctly on some low g bodies. * Fix Incremental speed sliders now update on symmetric parts on the Action Groups Menu. * Fix Comet Sample contracts not completing if comet is renamed by the player after the science sample is taken. * Fix AOOREs and flow on effects that occur on vessel markers for vessels that use ( as the first character in their name. * Fix issue with flags on parts that are set flipped that also have variants set not flipping the flag textures. * Fix AOORE on temperature gauges when parts explode. * Fix NRE on adding any action to action groups. * The crew inventory initialization doesn't break the kerbal roster initialization on the astronaut complex. * Fix alignment in action group text in the action group editor window. * Fix localization of tech tree node names in UI. Including Part Upgrades. * Fix Camera controls are now enabled when the Action Groups panel is open during Flight. * Fix Staging is now Locked when Action Groups panel is open during Flight. This could cause firing unintentional staging while having the panel opened. * Fix issue with SEQ-3 search tags. * Fix inconsistency in the detection of hatch obstruction. * Fix click-through issue occuring with the main menu expansion dialogs. * Fix Action groups UI becoming non-functional on pressing the KAL's Action Groups button more than once. * Fix Kerbals rotating when walking on hills. * Fix System set to Time Zone that KSP can't handle from crashing the game. eg: Hong Kong. * Fix the Comet and Asteroid showing up in the Size3 Bulkhead filter. * Fix issue that prevented fairing panels from exploding when colliding. * Fix mistake in the 1.10 section of the changelog. * Fix the white rectangle showing in both Advanced Grabbing Units when rotating in the part picker. * Fix multiple comet comas blotting out the sky when a comet breaks up on reentry. * Fix lighting issues in Terrain System. * Fix issue with forward axis not updating properly. * Fix Fuel tanks could get stuck with no references to transfer resources when opening and closing PAWs while a transfer was being done. * Fix Kerbals neck showing when swimming. * Fix Grand Tour contracts need a new vessel to be built requirement. * Fix default helmet and neck ring settings not applying on first EVA. * Fix KSPedia continues to work as expected even after closing it abruptly while a slide was loading. * Fix Color values update correctly now in the color picker for HSV values and sliders. * Fix undo in editor with fairings changing materials on cargo bays. * Fix comet science contracts failing when sample has been collected but not yet transmitted or returned. * Fix the kerbal ladder sliding. * Fix Color values update correctly now in the color picker for HSV values and sliders. * Fix camera being too far from vessel when exiting map view in some situations. * Fix the Kerbals hands on fire idle arms shrinking at the end. * Fix Paws are automatically opened when hovering a cargo part over an inventory in the Editor. +++ Modding * Inventory system is now persisted as a list of protoparts instead of a comma-separated string of names. The old system is still there for compatibility, but the new one is preferred. * LightOn/Off events have been replaced with a toggle event on the PAW to reduce PAW redraw. The events still exist and can be triggered, but are hidden from the PAW. * Tech Tree now correctly reads all TechTree nodes from gamedata folder. * QuaternionD now supports LookRotation. * Implemented FlightVesselOverlays class to implement the Center overlays to be displayed in flight. * New pre-generated craft and locations capability for contracts in career games. * ModuleInventoryPart.allowedKerbalEvaDistance obselete in preference to GameSetting.EVA_INVENTORY_RANGE. * Parts now have a minimum Rigidbody mass minimumRBMass which affects how small the rigidbodies mass can be. Does not affect part.mass - which is whats used to calculate force, etc - but does affect rigidbody collisions. ==================== Making History 1.11.0 ===================== +++ Improvements * Added the option "All SAS Modes on all probes" to the Mission Builder Start node Difficulty options. The same option found in Sandbox games. +++ Localization * Fix mission validation report dialog not displaying validation options text in Chinese and Japanese. +++ Parts * Added colliders to all flag part variants. * Fix the LV-TX87 Bobcat Liquid Fuel Engine's attach rules, no more surface attach. +++ Bugfixes * Engine plates now shroud parts attached to nodes inside shroud from airstream. * Fix user is was unable to switch the GAP Vessel Token from Aircraft to Rocket after saving a mission with the Aircraft selection. * Change the error message when you try to launch a vessel in the SPH with the same name in the VAB or vice-versa. * Fix issue with Mission Builder when animating parts are toggled when the flight scene loads. * Fix the seam on the Making History suit helmet. * Fix active vessel not switching when explode part node fires in missions. * Fix undo in editor with fairings changing materials on cargo bays. ================== Breaking Ground 1.6.0 ===================== +++ Improvements * Added toggle to enable or disable a KAL controller. +++ Bugfixes * Fix InventoryModules adding mass to a part even if there was no cargo in it. * Fix floating Mun ROCs by adjusting the meshes. * Fix NRE in deployed science when retrieving experiment parts.

Kerbal Space Program 1.11: Some Reassembly Required is now available on Steam and will soon be available on GOG and other third-party resellers. You will also be able to download it from the KSP Store if you already own the game.

Happy launchings!

#Kerbal Space Program #update 1.11 #Some Reassembly Required!#changelog #announcement #ksp #update

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crowdvscritic · 3 years

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round up // MARCH + APRIL 21

March and April were a whirlwind of vaccines and awards shows! A full year after we starting staying at home, the end of this weird chapter in recent history seems like it might finally be coming to a close, and this pop culture awards season—typically a time full of fun and glamour—captured our moment weirdly well. (Emphasis on the weird.) This month’s recommendations is filled with more Critic Picks than usual, so without further delay, let’s dive right in...

March + April Crowd-Pleasers

Double Feature — 2018 Action Thrillers: Bad Times at the El Royale + Den of Thieves

In Bad Times at the El Royale (Crowd: 9/10, // Critic: 8/10), Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Jon Hamm, Chris Hemsworth, and Dakota Johnson are staying at a motel on the California-Nevada state line full of money, murder, and mystery. In Den of Thieves (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 6.5/10), Gerard Butler takes on some of the best bank robbers in the world. Whether you like your action with a dose of mystery or the thrills of plot twists, these will fit the bill.

Double Feature — ‘80s Comedies: Caddyshack (1980) + Splash (1984)

In the mood for pure silliness? Take your pick between a mermaid and a gopher! Five years before The Little Mermaid, Tom Hanks fell for Daryl Hannah’s blonde hair and scaly tail, and John Candy was his goofy brother in Splash (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10). And four years before Ghostbusters, Bill Murray was the goof on a golf course full of funny people like Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight in Caddyshack (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10).

Double Feature — 1980s Coming-of-Age Films Starring Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland, and Challenging Brother Relationships That Influenced Stranger Things: Stand by Me (1986) + The Lost Boys (1987)

Believe it or not, I had no idea these two ‘80s classics had so much in common when I chose to watch them back-to-back. In Rob Reiner’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Stand by Me (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10), four kids (Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, River Phoenix, and Wil Wheaton) are following train tracks to find a missing body. In The Lost Boys (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10), Corey Haim and Jason Patric move to a small California town and discover it’s full of ‘80s movie star cameos and…vampires? One is a thoughtful coming-of-age story and one is just bonkers, but both are a great time.

Spaceman by Nick Jonas (2021)

My love for the Jonas Brothers is well-documented, so instead of going down the rabbit hole I started digging at 15, I’ll talk about how Nick Jonas’s latest solo album will likely appeal to a wider audience than just the fans of the brothers’ bombastic pop records. It’s full of catchy tunes you’ll play on repeat and an R&B-influenced album experience about the loneliness we’ve experienced in the last year and how we try to make long-term relationships work.

Ted Lasso (2020- )

I love stories about nice people crushing cruelty and cynicism with relentless kindness, and Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) is the warmest, most dedicated leader this side of Leslie Knope. Be sure to catch up on these witty and sweet 10 episodes before season 2 drops later this summer.

Double Feature — Tony Scott Action Flicks: Enemy of the State (1998) + The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)

Tony Scott’s movies have got explosions and excitement in spades. I love a good man-on-the-run movie, and in Enemy of the State (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10), Will Smith is running through the streets of D.C. after getting evidence of a politician’s (Jon Voight) part in a murder. I also love a tense story set in a confined space, which is what Denzel Washington is dealing with in The Taking of Pelham 123 (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 7/10) after a hammy John Travolta takes a New York subway train hostage.

Double Feature — Baseball Movies: The Natural (1984) + Trouble With the Curve (2012)

Sue me—I love baseball movies. Robert Redford plays a fictional all-time great in the early days of the MLB in The Natural (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10), and Clint Eastwood plays a fictional all-time great scout in his late career in Trouble With the Curve (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10). If you love baseball or actors like Amy Adams, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, and Justin Timberlake, these movies are just right here waiting for you.

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Nate Bargatze: The Greatest Average American (2021)

Sue me—I enjoy Netflix standup comedy specials that are safe enough to watch with your whole family. That’s exactly the crowd I laughed with over Easter weekend, and while the trailer captures Bargatze’s relaxed vibe, it doesn’t capture how funny he really is.

The Mighty Ducks (1992)

I thought somewhere in my childhood I’d seen at least one of The Mighty Ducks movies, but after watching all three, I think my memories must’ve come from previews on the VHS tapes for other Disney movies I watched over and over again. The original still holds up as an grown-ups, which is why even my parents got sucked in to this family movie while just passing through the living room. Bonus for ‘80s movies lovers: Emilio Estevez is basically continuing Andrew Clark’s story from The Breakfast Club as an adult. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6.5/10

Double Feature — New, Dumb Action on Streaming: Godzilla vs. Kong + Thunder Force (2021)

If you want something intelligent, go ahead and skip to the next recommendation, but if you’re looking for something stupid fun, these are ready for you on HBO Max and Netflix. Thunder Force (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 6/10) follows Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as they train to become superheroes who take on superhuman sociopaths wreaking havoc on Chicago, and alongside Jason Bateman, they do it with a lot of laughs. Godzilla vs. Kong (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 5/10) is, um, exactly what it sounds like, so I’ll skip a plot summary and just say it’s exactly what you want from this kind of movie. #TeamKong

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

All you need to know is Russell Crowe is an outlaw, and Christian Bale is the guy who’s got to get him on the train to prison. I also watched the 1957 version, which is also a solid watch if you love classic Westerns. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10

Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)

Marvel’s newest series isn’t nearly as inventive as WandaVision, and it may not land every beat, but it’s worth a watch for the fun new gadgets, Sebastian Stan’s dry joke delivery, and its exploration into themes of what makes a hero and what governments owe their citizens. It’s a pretty satisfying entry in the MCU canon, but I’d also recommend re-watching Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War—the canon is getting expansive, and it’s getting trickier every year to keep up with all the backstory.

March + April Critic Picks

Best of 2020 Picks

As per usual, the months leading up to the Oscars becomes a binge period for potential Oscar nominees. In March and April, I watched many of the films that made my Top 20 of 2020, including Boys State, The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Let Them All Talk, Minari, Nomadland, On the Rocks, One Night in Miami…, Promising Young Woman, Soul, and Sound of Metal. You can read how I ranked them on my list for ZekeFilm, plus reviews of The Father, Minari, Promising Young Woman, and Soul.

Bonus: If you loved On the Rocks, don’t miss this feature and beautiful photography starring Sofia Coppola, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and Rashida Jones for W Magazine.

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

What would you do if you started hearing a voice who narrated your every thought and move? If you’re Will Ferrell, you’ll seek out a literary professor (Dustin Hoffman), fall in love (with Maggie Gyllenhaal), and track down the voice (Emma Thompson) who’s making ominous predictions about your future. Stranger Than Fiction is funny thought-provoking, and an unusual but welcome role for Ferrell. Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

All the Royal Family News

Speaking of stranger than fiction, it’s been a busy few months for the Royal Family. We’ve celebrated 95th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the 3rd birthday of Prince Louis, and the 10th anniversary of Will and Kate’s marriage. We also lost Prince Philip, and we watched the drama of Harry and Meaghan’s interview with Oprah. No matter what happens to their Crown, I don’t think we’ll ever get over our fascination with the Windsor family. A few pieces worth reading from the last few months:

“In Meghan and Harry’s Interview, Two TV Worlds Collided,” Vulture.com

“The Queen’s Man: Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Dies,” TIME.com

“Obituary: HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,” BBC.com

Goodfellas (1990)

One of my film opinions that makes me feel like a phony is that Martin Scorsese just isn’t my cup of tea. He’s brilliant, but his films tend to be long and dark, two qualities that are never my first choice…and somehow Goodfellas still worked for me? Maybe it was the TV edit graciously toning down the violence or maybe it was that Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci were firing on all cylinders, but for some reason this ‘90s classic didn’t suck the joy out of my evening like Scorsese often does. (Bonus: For a Martin Scorsese/Robert De Niro I don’t really recommend, head to the last section of this Round Up.)

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Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021)

Her voice has only matured, so Taylor Swift revisiting her old albums is like upgrading a blast to the past. Plus, the six new tracks make me feel like 15 crushing on that boy in Spanish class again, and her Grammys performance (just before her third Album of the Year win) was magical and folklore-tastic.

Double Feature — ‘60s Action Classics: The Guns of Navarone (1961) + Planet of the Apes (1968)

The Guns of Navarone (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) follows Gregory Peck and David Niven as they destroy Nazi weapons in the Mediterranean. Planet of the Apes (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10) follows Charlton Heston as he attempts to escape from, well, a planet full of apes. The pacing of ‘60s films doesn’t always hold up, but that’s not the case with this pair. Both are still full of suspense, and you can’t go wrong hanging with casts like these.

Let Him Go (2020)

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane play a farming couple who unexpectedly help raise a boy who lost his biological father—sound familiar? But instead of a superhero origin story, they’re part of a thrilling Western with performances nuanced (Costner and Lane) and showy (Lesley Manville). If I’d watched this before completing my Best of 2020 piece, it likely would’ve been on my list. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

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The Oscars

I’m a ride-or-die fan of the Academy Awards, but I’ll admit even I found this year’s ceremony odd. Instead of focusing on what wasn’t so hot, I’ll recommend a few moments you don’t want to miss:

Emerald Fennell giving a shout-out to Saved by the Bell

Daniel Kaluuya acknowledging his parents’ sex life during his acceptance speech (??)

Yuh-Jung Yoon flirting with Brad Pitt and acknowledging she’s just “luckier” than her fellow nominees

Glenn Close dancing to…”Da Butt”?

You can also read about the historic wins and nominations from this year’s Oscar class and why the Golden Globes were an even stranger production weeks earlier.

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Trailer-palooza!

Movies are on their way back, y’all! I’m counting down the days until I can get back to a theatre, and even if some of these movies are duds, I’m planning to see all of them on a big screen if possible:

Those Who Wish Me Dead (May 14)

Cruella (May 28)

In the Heights (June 11)

Space Jam 2 (July 16)

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (September 3)

West Side Story (December 10)

Also in March + April…

To add to the Oscars love, you can listen to a conversation about what we learn about family, community, and society in some of the year’s biggest nominees on the Uncommon Voices podcast. I join regular hosts Michael and Kenneth in this episode, and I recommend all of their thoughtful discussions on their “What’s Streaming” episodes.

I’ve previously recommended the Do You Like Apples weekly newsletter, so I’m proud to share I contributed twice in March! I wrote about Love and Basketball, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, and one of my all-time favorite Julia Roberts rom-coms, Notting Hill. (I also tied to win their Oscars pool, but I suppose that’s less exciting for you than me.)

It was a busy couple of months on SO IT’S A SHOW! New logo, new email list, new Instagram, and a host of new episodes about a flop of a Madonna flick, a Swedish children’s TV show, an urban legend turned into a horror movie, one of the best films about journalism ever, and a Martin Scorsese movie about a real boxer.

Most of what I wrote for ZekeFilm in March and April was mentioned in Best of 2020 recommendations…except for The Nest, a film that couldn’t figure out what genre it wanted to be.

Photo credits: Nick Jonas, Royal Family. All others IMDb.com.

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365days365movies · 3 years

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January 21, 2021: The Wages of Fear (1953)

What exactly is a thriller, anyway?

Now, I’ve repeatedly considered having thrillers take up their own month, considering that they’re considered one of the core eleven film genres. However, they intersect so commonly with other genres, that I’ll be incorporating it into other months this year.

The definition of the thriller or suspense genre relies on surprise and intrigue. The audience is made unaware of certain information, giving a sense of mystery to the movie’s setting. The protagonist is often also unaware of these certain things, although that certainly isn’t a requirement.

Sometimes, they’re as innocent as the audience, if not moreso, and may be getting manipulated during the course of the story. Escapes, chase sequences, clear or hidden dangers, all of these meant to build suspense and unnerve the audience. It doesn’t have the overt scares of a horror film, and its action scenes build up to a feeling of building dread. They’re adrenaline-raising, heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat films.

We’ve already covered one of the most prominent subgenres, the spy movie. We’ll cover more during Horror October, naturally, and a couple more this month. Comedy April’s even going to have a comedy thriller or two, while Romance February will pack an erotic thriller in there. Oh, and let’s not forget Crime July and Drama December. Like I said, they’ll be all over the place. Today, though, we cover one of the seminal French action thrillers, similar to our last two entries, but MUCH older. Enter Jean-Georges Clouzot.

Clouzot is one of the old-school French directors, even though he debuted quite late as compared to most, in 1942. A French Alfred Hitchcock, Clouzot’s first solo film was The Murderer Lives at Number 21. And surprisingly, it’s known as a comedy-thriller, and made a splash in theaters when it debuted in 1943. Which is interesting, given that whole World War II kerfuffle at the time. His most famous film, however, came in 1955, and was called Les Diaboliques. And THAT’S a psychological thriller that may end up on my list for October.

But two years before that, he made an action thriller. You know where this is going at this point, so let’s get on with it! SPOILERS AHEAD for The Wages of Fear!

Recap

Before we start, a tiny disclaimer: GIFs were...impossible to find for this one. HOWEVER, I miraculously found a recolored copy that I was able to convert into GIFs. I prefer the black-and-white version, which is how I watched it, but SACRIFICES MUST BE MADE

We start in Las Piedras, a small village in a Spanish-speaking country somewhere in Central America. A group of men speaking French, English, and Spanish are relaxing on a saloon porch, trying to beat the heat. These men include Mario (Yves Montand) and Bimba (Peter van Eyck). His girlfriend (?) Linda (Véra Clouzot, the director’s wife) works as a servant in the saloon.

Eventually, the men are told to leave, with Bimba being told to go to the airport to pick up mail. Arriving on the plane - other than a man with a whole-ass GOAT, which must have made for a fun flight for EVERYBODY involved - is a rich-looking man in a white suit and a fancy fly-swatter.

Our man, who’s French, runs into Mario, who is also French. This is Jo (Charles Vanel), who, despite looking rich, is out here looking for something monetary. Mario, after being weirdly cold to Linda, leaves for his home where he lives with Luigi (Folco Lulli), who speaks Italian. A real polyglot of a movie, this one.

Over the course of a montage of indeterminate time, we find out that there’s no work in this town for the various men, who are stuck in this town because of the desert surrounding it, expensive tickets, and no jobs or employment opportunities. We also find out that since there’s oil, there are Americans.

The Southern Oil Company, SOC, dominates the town due to nearby oil fields. They aren’t the best, though, and they tend to treat the townspeople pretty terribly. Jo inquires for a job there, to no avail, and reconvenes with Jo. After treating Linda and Luigi, to be frank, like ABSOLUTE shit, Mario...WAIT A GODDAMN SECOND

HOLY SHIT, MARIO AND LUIGI LIVE TOGETHER. REALLY?!? Holy shit.

Jo’s a dick, it turns out, which causes a rift between the two Frenchmen and the others. After literally getting the entire saloon angry with his antics, he threatens the nice Luigi with a gun, causing a tense atmosphere with everybody. After literally handing Luigi a gun to shoot him, the dejected man leaves the bar, dejected. Like I said...Jo’s an absolute DICK.

The next morning, something’s happened. The oil field has caught on fire, killing some of the residents who worked there. This causes some anti-foreigner rhetoric, which’ll probably spell trouble for our mostly foreigner cast. The foreman is Bill O’Brien (William Tubbs), who’s asked to handle the situation by his bosses. The only way to put out the fire is to generate an explosion triggered by nitroglycerin. Which seems...backwards, but I don’t know how oil works. They need to transport the nitroglycerin to the field, but the job is too dangerous for unionized workers. Therefore, the idea is formed to bring in some of the unemployed men, especially those that hang around the saloon. And, of course, that includes Mario, Jo, Bimba, and Luigi.

Speaking of Luigi, sad news. Looks like his construction job has resulted in cement powder depositing in his lungs, giving him 6 months to a year to live. Shame, he seems like a very nice guy. And so, considering that this job is dangerous, but follows a lot of money...he doesn’t have much to lose.

One of the people at the briefing immediately backs out upon learning about the job. He notes that this job infects men with fear that they can’t recover from. For that fear, the wages are $2500 per person. Only four people can do this job; two per truck, with one driver and one passenger. After some trials, Mario, Luigi, Bimba, and Smerloff, a German, are chosen. Jo isn’t good enough, much to his own dismay. However, as Bill and Jo are old friends of sorts, they make a deal; if one of the men doesn’t show up, Jo can take his place.

That night, the men (sans Jo) gather in the saloon. One young man, an Italian named Bernando who wasn’t chosen, gives Linda a note to mail to his mother. Sadly, there’s a reason for that that I won’t show here. But while they tell him that there’ll be a next time, he insists that their won’t be. I’ll let you fill in the tragic blanks.

The next morning, Smerloff doesn’t show up, having last been seen with, uh...with Jo. Wonder where Smerloff went. Well, predictably, Jo ends up replacing him. Jo and Mario go first, after winning a coin toss. They drive off hauling their truck loaded with nitroglycerin, and you can feel the fear begin to set in for Mario. As they drive through town, Linda tries to say goodbye, only for Mario to literally push her off the truck, MAN, I don’t like this guy.

As the truck drives, they encounter their first obstacle: Jo. As he’s driving, fear would appear to set in for him as well. He overcomes a couple of large puddles, but begins to shiver and sweat, saying that he’s sick. But no, he’s definitely just nervous, and they stop the truck in a forest of sugarcane so that Jo can take a break. However, they have to get going quickly, as the second truck is close behind them.

In the second truck, Bimba and Luigi talk a bit, with the affable Luigi doing most of that talking. But when Jo and Mario stop for a second time, they tell the pair off and drive past. Because of this, they hit the first real obstacle: a stretch of rough and bumpy road called the washboard. To get over it, one has to go 40 mph to get over the bumps. If not, then the truck will feel the bumps, and the nitroglycerine will explode. Luigi and Bimba get over with some difficulty, finding out that the gas in their truck contains water, and needs to be changed.

As for Jo and Mario, Jo’s nervousness costs them time and energy, as he refuses to speed up to the proper speed before getting on the washboard. They have to back up (inside their own tire tracks), and Mario officially takes over the wheel. And he starts going fast...too fast.

They almost collide with the other truck, but Luigi and Bimba speed up in time. Next obstacle: a road under construction. A K-turn is needed, and that turn requires a flimsy wooden construction to be driven on. It isn’t easy, the very competent Luigi and Bimba manage it all right. Jo and Mario get there, and Jo, predictably, FREAKS OUT.

Mario, on the other hand, is overly reckless. In order to get over the rotted out road, Mario has to drive to the very edge of the construction. Jo, who was guiding him from the back of the truck, ends up tumbling over the side. While Mario thinks he’s dead, Jo instead takes the opportunity to straight-up run away, although Mario does see him. This is a problem, as the truck begins to slide on the wood without Jo’s help. But Mario, ever-resourceful, figures it out. But...

OH SHIT! Mario gets off the construction just as it’s starting to collapse. He makes it forward, and passes the cowardly Jo, who tries to get back onto the truck.Mario, UNDERSTANDABLY PISSED, almost leaves him behind, but finally stops so that he can get rejoin. The two get into an argument, where Mario calls Jo out for once being brave, but now being a coward. Jo tells Mario that he has no imagination, and that Jo’s “died fifty times since last night.” I love that line, honestly.

Back to Luigi and Bimba. They talk about life after the money, even though we’re aware that Luigi doesn’t have much of that left. It’s then that the next obstacle appears: a talus slope, from which a giant rock has fallen, and blocks the road. Bimba has the...bright idea (?) of using the nitroglycerin to blow up the stone. Which I feel like is an...idea.

They make a hole in the rock, then siphon some nitro out of a container. The others catch up, and back the trucks away, leaving Bimba by himself to do the deed. And it is...ABSOLUTELY NERVE-WRACKING HOLY SHIT. After setting up a Rube-Goldberg device and pouring the nitroglycerin into a hole in the rock, Bimba lights a fuse and sets it to blow.

But because they fear they;ve parked too close, Luigi runs back to put out the fuse! Too late, though, as the nitro blows, and rocks fly, almost falling on the trucks in the process. As for Luigi...he survives! Knocked out by the shock from the explosion, but not injured. In the process, the rock is finally destroyed, and Mario and Luigi finally reconcile as friends.

Back on the drive with Luigi and Bimba! We find out that Bimba’s a German, whose parents died at the hands of the Nazis. He himself was in a work camp for 3 years, which is why he is as brave as he is. Behind them, Jo and Mario talk of France, and Jo rolls a cigarette.

...FUCK.

Luigi and Bimba are gone. Like that. This, of course, freaks out Jo, who runs away from the truck. Mario catches up, and beats Jo for his cowardice. They return to the truck, albeit very reluctantly on Jo’s part. They make it to the site of the explosion, where there’s...no sign. No sign of the truck, of the guys, nothing. Just a busted pipe spitting up oil, creating a massive puddle.

Jo goes into the shallow pool to guide Mario through it, but gets stuck in the pool in the process. Mario runs over his leg, and the truck itself gets stuck in the oil. Mario gets out of the truck and helps Jo, whose leg is FUUUUUUUUUCKED up. I mean it, it’s like a busted sausage link, like a sock made of MEAT. It’s not OK, is what I’m saying.

Mario, using a cable, an iron rod, and his wits, manages to pull the truck out of the oil pool. He gets Jo, and the drive continues. Jo, in pain and possibly bleeding out, is close to falling asleep. To keep him awake, the two talk about Paris. Day turns to night, and Mario continues to drive. They finally make it to the burning oil field...but too late for Jo.

Mario’s finally able to get out of the truck, and stumbles towards the fire and collapses. Not dead, just exhausted. He gets all of the money promised to the four, and leaves in the now empty truck to go back to Las Piedras. Free of nitroglycerine and free of fear, he gleefully drives back. In the saloon, the patrons celebrate Mario’s survival while listening to Blue Danube, and so does Mario! And Mario is driving...carefree. And recklessly.

...That’s The Wages of Fear. See you in the Epilogue.

#the wages of fear #le salaire de la peur #henri-george clouzot #yves montand #charles vanel #folco lulli #peter van eyck #action thriller #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #user365 #my gifs #mygifs #moviegifs #action january

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meggannn · 5 years

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the itsv commentary is so full of great facts and bts info so i wanted to write down all my favorite parts, but i just ended up writing down anything that was interesting, which was honestly most of it. four thousand words later i ended up with their commentary on practically half the movie. i’ve put the interesting or funny bits that i jotted down behind a cut if anyone is interested.

this commentary audio had Phil Lord (co-writer, producer), Chris Miller (producer), Bob Persichetti (co-director), Peter Ramsay (co-director), Rodney Rothman (co-director, co-writer), but it was kind of difficult to tell who was talking most of the time, so i didn’t include names on who said what, unless I knew for certain who was talking.

The first Miles sticker in the film is a “glitch” flashing on the Sony Pictures Animation logo. “Already putting his stamp on the movie.”

RIPeter is meant to be an amalgamation of all the Spider-Man we know, “good and bad” (as the dance happens, someone corrects him:) “Good and GREAT.”

(“I’ve got an excellent theme song, and a... so-so popsicle.”)

“That joke saved the movie.” “The dance move or the popsicle?” “The dance move. I resisted that dance joke and Rodney pushed hard for it (…) It told the audience what movie they were watching.”

“It was Rodney who was really pushing for him to be in this relatable idea of [Miles] not knowing the lyrics to this song but singing along.” “We started animating before the song was finished. It was really easy to not know the words then.”

“There are three very long shots that introduce Miles.” (The shot at home, the shot of him walking past Brooklyn Middle, the shot of him entering Visions.) “That was a deliberate choice, to open with a big crazy Spider-Man montage, and then with Miles, start a different pace, long shots, and just watch him and how he is, and don’t get too fancy with it. Although ironically these shots are really fancy.” The shot of him walking past Brooklyn Middle and the one of him walking into Visions are meant to directly contradict each other: his comfort zone vs him out of place in new surroundings. (Megan’s note: My take is that with these shots they might have been trying to represent his home, his past, and his future.)

“Everything [in this scene from color to sound] is meant to go from a very heightened experience with Peter to a very naturalistic experience with Miles.”

For the scene in the car, Shameik and Brian sat in chairs to set up in a car, with microphones and a rearview mirror. “Brian might have even been a little annoyed at Shameik a couple of times, and I think you can feel it in here, in a really wonderful way.”

(Talking about the chromatic aberration) “Sometimes it looks like you’re watching a 3D movie without the glasses on.” “That was on purpose.” “Every frame is supposed to feel like a piece of printed art.”

“On the cover of Great Expectations, there’s an image of Magwitch grabbing Pip’s shoulder in a cemetery.” “Foreshadowing!”

A side character named “Smiley Kid” is in several shots of miscellaneous Visions students. “Because he’s not a real person, I think we can say he is our least favorite person.” “I think he comes around. He’s great, then he’s bad, then he’s great again.” “He’s like the extra in every live action who worms his way to the front of every shot.” “He just almost always looks in the camera.”

Miles’s expression when the teacher calls him out at trying to fail was “completely ripped off of President Barack Obama.”

Benson Avenue was meant to call back to where one of their fathers grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

(“Hypnotize” by Notorious BIG playing on Aaron’s stereo) “Biggie Smalls in an animated Spider-Man movie. In what universe?” “This is the ideal timeline that we’re living in.”

(This comment is said as Miles presses his face on the glass:) “That changed people’s perceptions of the movie. When we had this in, it really lit people up.” (To be honest, I can’t tell if this comment was made in response to Biggie Smalls, or to Miles pressing his face on the glass.)

They all loved Mahershala Ali. “The shoulder touch would work if your voice sounded like Mahershala’s.” Everyone was in awe every time they recorded with him. “He makes you want to be a better person when you’re around him.” “He’s got a high bar.” “Then he goes away and it kinda wears off.”

The subway Aaron brings Miles to was a place he and Jeff used to paint in when they were young, which adds another layer to him talking about/missing Jeff when he mentions it to Miles. The age difference probably means Aaron was younger than Jeff, and now he’s the older one with Miles here.

There’s a bigger history between Jeff and Aaron that’s only hinted at, and part of it is the reason why Miles has his mother’s last name, not his father’s. It’s implied Jeff was worried his bad history would follow Miles if he took his last name. Also because “then he would be named Miles Davis.”

They were excited to depict a spider-man experiencing spider-sense for the first time.

“We did the most expensive thing. In all choices.”

“People ask, How does Miles with a cop and nurse parents afford Jordans? And the answer is, they were a gift from his uncle.”

(On Kingpin’s animation possibilities.) “We always had this idea that he was the living expression of a black hole. The right for him is this floating head on a body that we could scale up and down depending on the shot with hands at the end of arms.” “While creating a black hole, he is a black hole.”

Someone felt very passionate about including the dimensional map showing the other universes the collider was connecting with. “It felt so important to me.”

(Paraphrasing this one) “Once Phil and Lord gave the MO to push convention, the gauntlet had been thrown, we started getting crazy stuff back. And a lot of the time our art direction would just be like, ‘Yeah! COOL!' ‘Do more of that!’”

(Peter rolls his eyes as the Prowler menacingly steps forward) “I like that [RIPeter] is exhausted at the idea of being killed.”

“The Prowler chase sequence was the first sequence that went through the whole pipeline.” (This and the cemetery scene were the first.)

(The burst card of Miles jumping over the subway tracks) Bob Persichetti: “I had such high hopes to do a lot of burst cards, I think that’s the only one I actually did.”

(as Rio comforts Miles in Spanish) “We never translated on screen (…) The idea being, this is the fabric of Miles’s life.” “This was inspired obviously by Brian Michael Bendis” (co-creator of Miles Morales and his longtime writer) “and Miles’ bicultural background. But also Phil Lord grew up in a bilingual house.” “And I took Spanish in high school.”

(Stan Lee cameo) “[Stan is] the only performer in the movie who we went to. Everyone else came into recording studios, but Stan Lee, we dispatched the microphone to him.” “Everybody wanted to animate Stan.” “If you hit pause any time a train goes by, because everyone wanted to animate Stan, he’s in almost every single train.” “He’s an extra in a lot.”

(Miles reading comics before jumping off the building) “If you notice in that comic book, it’s True Life Tales of Spider-Man, and to keep his cover, his name is not Peter Parker. In the comic book, his name is Billy Barker.” “Great.” “Who could ever figure that out, right?”

A bunch of drawings around the grave of Peter Parker’s tombstone were all done by different kids of people on the show.

They mention the cemetery scenes was one of the first ones finalized. When they were still trying to figure out how to bring Miles to life, “you can see that his performance evolved from this [cemetery] scene.” “It’s super expressive.”

There was lots of debate on how much paunch should be on Peter B’s stomach. There are something like 3-5 different body models used throughout the movie.

They all loved the scenes of Peter B in his apartment: the cut to him crying in the shower, to pinned to the bed with his butt out, to his pose on the futon flipping through channels. Someone really liked “[his] little quivering [spidey] eyes on the seahorse shot.”

The comic book page-flipping device was a “late breaking” realization of how to transition between flashbacks and present day.

Chris Miller did the voice of the cop dispatcher on the radio saying the “Child dressed like Spider-Man dragging a homeless corpse behind a train” line. “The role I was born to play.”

In the walk-and-talk scene in the alley, they felt inspired to take a lot of crazy shots. “We were passionate that a Spider-Man movie needed to be shot from their point of view, where every surface can be the ground.”

“Because of questions on the internet, we took of one of Miles’s shoes. Just in case anybody wanted to know why he was sticking.” “Another thing that I was passionate about but nobody cared about but me.”

“One of the big tricks of this sequence and of this relationship was to let you believe that Peter was a good guy even though he was being a real… turkey… to Miles.” (Peter saying “No, does it look like it’s working? No! No, it’s not…”) “This was one of the few moments that we added kind of late just to know that he was a sweet pea underneath it all.” “Finding the right level for his not caring about Miles, and then learning to care about Miles, finding the right level from the beginning all the way through to the end, was something that took a lot of nuance.”

The interrogation/alley and burger scenes probably went through the most amount of reworks and rewriting than any others, because there was so much exposition and “you got tired” watching two heavy information scenes in a row. And given how often they said “this scene went through so many iterations” in this commentary, these two scenes must have been a LOT of rewrites. (Some of the alternate burger scenes can be seen in the film’s trailers and alternate universe cut.)

“I still kind of miss the unfinished version of this shot, where his feet… He had no toes for a really long time for some reason.” “You had to say like fifty times, ‘We’re gonna add toes right?’” “‘We’re gonna get his toes on there, right?’”

“One of the things about Kingpin is that he just magically appears outside of the car. Because there’s no way he could get actually get through the doorway.” “Maybe in the future where you guys are watching this ten years from now, someone will have figured out how to animate that. But in 2018 it’s still impossible.”

(Miles finding Peter in the vents) “These moments were really when you started to feel the relationship between the two of them develop.” “I love that Miles has to fight to occupy the same space and become an equal to Peter.”

(Peter mockingly blah-blahing as Doc Ock explains the danger of the collider, then saying afterward “Oh nevermind, that is bad.”) “For the sake of a laugh, we undercut the stakes, and then immediately had to buy the stakes back.”

“We went through probably 70 different version of what Miles would look like while invisible … and I like how how he comes in and out of invisibility was stylized to some degree.”

They say the Doc Ock/Peter scene was “really really bad at one point” and now it’s “one of the most wonderful surprises.”

Ock’s computer is based off of Phil Lord’s actual desktop. Some files are cut off the edges of the screen because they just dragged things off of the internet.

(Peter glitching in the chair) “I’m remembering all of the conversations that determined that it was funniest if you left Peter’s head unglitched.”

It was Justin Thompson’s idea to use soft robotics for this version of Dock Ock’s tentacles.

Everyone, from animation to the sound team, saw Doc Ock’s tentacles about 3 months before completion, went (exasperated) “Oh THAT’S what they look like? We’ll have to redo X Y Z whole thing…”

You can tell they loved the monitor joke. “Very silly things happening around very cool things.”

The Bagel! text was added last minute. “That was a joke pitch by Justin that was taken seriously.”

“Everyone felt empowered to pitch crazy ideas, and that’s why it felt so rich and deep.”

“It’s no understatement to say that this look in the forest is one of the hardest things in a movie like this. To make something look realistic is something we know how to do pretty well. But to make it look graphic and illustrative is almost impossible.” “Especially when you’re close and far to trees within the same shot at times.” “We had so many conversations with Danny, our V Effects supervisor, like, ‘But, you guys, we’re going to be in a forest, you really don’t want the leaves to rustle in the wind?' ‘No, we’ll be okay!’” (Later, when Peter and Miles swing off together, the leaves rustle:) “See, the leaves can move, guys!” “We just CHOSE for them not to.” “It was an absolute creative choice.”

“This is another moment in the story when we really open this beat up to let Peter and Miles have a victory together and cement their bond, that you really were rooting for their relationship. We breezed through this quickly and you didn’t have the same connection with the two of them.” “One of the things in the screenplay that we discovered really late is that you needed to have a lot of smaller, positive accomplishments throughout the center of the movie to have it work right.” “(…) This middle section of the movie is about Peter and Miles learning to fall for each other, basically.”

(During Gwen’s intro) “We give just enough to hopefully tease you guys into being really into each one of these characters’ origin story.”

“One week of days and nights just passed in that one shot.” “She hit a time anomaly on her way to this dimension.”

“She vibes with Miles after he had been bitten by the spider, and she purposefully bumped into him there, in case you didn’t catch that.”

“We were trying to make Ock such an intelligent and socially awkward person that then turns into this really formidable equal to Kingpin.”

(When Peter thwips May’s doorbell and then exhales with his hands on his hips.) “One of my favorite poses in the movie.” “That pose gets a laugh all by itself.”

“‘You look tired’ is a thing my mom says to me every time I see her.” “It’s accurate.”

“I fought hard to have (May) kick that door open.” “I tried to cut that and then you uncut it, correctly.” “Let’s be honest, she’s not treating her house very well.”

(In the Spidey Lair) “Lots of Easter eggs here.” “We should’ve put an actual Easter egg in this shot.”

They debated for a long time putting the B-team spiders in the picture at all, knowing it would be more work, wanting to make their characters worth being in the picture without taking away from Miles. “Nothing worked in the movie until it had something to do with Miles and his story.”

(On the spider team testing Miles:) This angle was “late-breaking, on the backside”: “This made it feel like they all cared about Miles, even though they maybe didn’t believe in him.” “Just Peter going ‘Cool it.’ For the longest time we didn’t have something like that.”

(Pretty sure this is Peter Ramsay) “When you’re making a movie it’s like you’re building an emotion machine. You’ve gotta have all the parts calibrated the right way, make sure it’s properly oiled, cause if it isn’t, the gears are gonna stick, and you’re not gonna feel right.”

The Prowler Sound™ is not a jaguar or cat, but an elephant. “We only did the dark scenes first cause they were easier to light.” (Some of those scenes they mention are Miles running from the Prowler, the cemetery scene, Miles writing the note in Aaron’s apartment.)

They tried about a million songs for Peni while she makes a new goober. (The song used is not in the soundtrack, but it’s “Want It Here” by Xenia Pax.)

(On Peni’s Heelies) “This shot’s not long enough to get her from the kitchen to the couch.” “Is that why?!” “That’s one hundred percent why. Just put those little wheelies on here!”

In the first draft, there was an idea there RIPeter was a grad student under tutelage of male Doc Ock so that’s how Liv and Ock knew each other.

“The table pushing into Miles. That was something my older brother, when we would fight when we were kids, he would do that to me.”

(When Aaron closes his eyes, refusing to kill Miles:) “That little look. ‘Cause he knows what’s coming.”

(They’re all quiet as Miles carries Aaron to safety, caught up in the scene.) “We’re all kind of gripped.” “We’re supposed to be giving interesting anecdotes here, guys, come on.” “It was so cold that day…”

Prowler’s death was the first session they did with Mahershala. “He’s a method actor, and his death scene, it was like he was really dying.”

“We gave animators the freedom. You can make Miles unattractive. He can ugly cry, because this is raw and it feels so emotional.”

(When Miles throws his sketchbook out the window, only for it to immediately come flying back in:) “It’s a one-shot transition from deep emotion and regret and pain. We said, ‘He’s gonna throw the one thing out that really represents his uncle, yet it’s gonna come flying back in.’ It was hard to make that shot work.” “It’s a great story statement that you can’t lose the things that make up your past.”

When everyone is talking about someone they’ve lost, an alternate line has Ham saying “I lost my uncle. He was electrocuted, and it smelled so good.” It got a lot of laughs, but the team says that from then on, the audience “resisted” Ham because he killed the mood, and it was hard for people to see him as anything other than a goofy cartoon, so they changed the line to “Miles, the hardest part about this job is you can’t always save everyone.” (Megan’s note: I think they probably didn’t bother to re-animate the others’ facial reactions after changing Ham’s line, because judging by the reactions from Peter and Miles in this shot it feels like Ham just said something annoying/out of place lol.)

When Peter says “It wasn’t their decision” (for Miles to stay behind), Miles has a very quick reaction shot where he turns away, bites his lip, and shakes his head. Someone mentions it’s one of their favorite shots of Miles.

(On the scene with Miles and his dad at the door) “When Brian Tyree Henry saw this scene [with a rough performance, just animation], he got the movie. It made such an impression on him. He was very happy to come in and pick any lines up for us and just keep working.” “We were working on the shots on layup for this. The idea of having them be on thirds to start, then coming closer, and finally ending with the final split-screen shot at the end.” “And Jefferson crosses the scene, which I think is really interesting. They start off on opposite sides of the screen. He makes the first move.” “It’s amazing to me to see Miles transformed by his father.” “It feels earned.”

“In an earlier version of that scene, Aunt May gave him a version of that speech, which was nice, but it needed to be Dad.”

(Later on, someone mentions:) “Tom was the first one to say ‘It shouldn’t be Aunt May at the door, it should be Dad.’ And we all sort of slapped our foreheads going ‘That’s absolutely right.’”

“After our premiere, my 9yo son [Luca? Luka?] asked me this. ‘So Papa, you know Miles spray-paints one of those suits and it becomes his suit. Super cool, Papa, but it shouldn’t fit him. It’s way bigger.’” (Laughter) “Did he have to wait a few hours for it to dry?” "We cut out the sequence where Aunt May sewed it tighter and altered it.” “And they had the hair-dryer express drying it. ‘Your friends are in danger.’ ‘Well just let me let it dry first!” “I tell you, spray paint, five minutes and you’re dry.” “She pre-altered it. She knew he was coming. She said, ‘It took you long enough.’ It all happened in advance.”

“The scene of Miles falling and everything slowing down and I always appreciated that Phil called out he was ‘falling and rising’ and the same time.” “It made the movie. A rare thing that goes from the stage directions all the way through production and onto the screen.”

“This sequence used to end with him getting hit by a truck. But really felt like it was time for Miles to get a big victory.” (Megan’s note: This scene is shown in draft stage in the alternate universe cut. Miles makes his leap, free-runs over some trucks and buildings, and his scene is interrupted when he gets hit by a truck and crashes to the ground. There’s a moment where he collects himself, the pushes himself to his feet and runs off into the city to join the others at the collider. I interpret this idea to be their showing how Miles fully embraces the “Get back up” lesson, since Miles’s pose in the sketches imitates the same one in the basement when the spiders are hazing him and he’s on the ground.) “And now people applaud.” “There’s a general attitude with this movie that was like, ‘How can we do things differently?’ That was a case of when we were like, ‘What if we didn’t have the audience feel really good in this moment?” (Laughter) “What if we had them feel really bad? Right at the moment they want to feel good, what if we made them feel terrible?” (Joking) “Let’s poke THEM in the eye.” “I think in early drafts, we just were like, Miles is losing and falling short the whole movie until the very end. And when we put that up, we realized that you needed to see him slowly winning and winning and winning until he won even bigger at the end.”

A set-up that never fully made it in the movie is that Fisk runs charities for Spider-Man and that’s why the dinner was set up like it was.

The bread scene was on the chopping block for a long time. “By adding this interaction, and making it about Peter and MJ and something real, all of a sudden this scene was worth it.” “It’s necessary to know what Peter’s giving up by sacrificing himself.” “It lasts just long enough because we learned that if you stay way from Miles too long--” (They interrupt here to point out two cameo people at dinner, “Danny and Josh,” who I couldn’t get a cap of) “--We lose our connection to the movie in a way. But at this point we care enough about Peter to want him to get back to MJ too.”

“The servers that were holding the movie were moving slow by the end of this shoot. And we had the best computers.” “At a certain point I think we overloaded Imageworks’ server. There was a moment they were afraid the movie was going to break their machine.” “Which was our whole idea. Our whole approach was, how do we break these pipes that make the movie?”

(During the final collider fight sequence, but they don’t specify what idea this was about specifically:) Chris Miller: “One of the only times I can ever remember saying ‘Okay you’ve gone too far.’ There was one brand where I was like, ‘I don’t get this.’ A few of the drawings that were somehow even more insane than this.” “What you’re saying, Chris, is that there’s a version of this scene that’s even crazier than this?” “Literally the only time I can remember going, ‘Okay guys, you’ve done it. You’ve broken it.’”

“I’m sure there’s are filmmakers watching this, so I think this is a learnable lesson from this sequence. Which is if you want to put something super crazy in your movie, wait until the very end when a lot of movie has been spent on your movie and your release date is 3 to 4 months away and they literally cannot stop you or else they have no movie.”

One of them points out Miles webs a turntable to propel himself upward. (Megan’s note: Miles also does this just as his own theme starts playing, which starts off with a record-scratch. I thought that was cool.)

(The moment when Gwen calls Miles “Spider-Man”:) “That choice went through a lot of iterations like “What’s the end of their relationship?” That she calls him Spider-Man instead of giving him a kiss on the cheek? It makes me well up just thinking about it.”

Kingpin breaks the glass of a building and the pieces fly toward Miles. Bob Persichetti calls these “Dorito chips.”

After the train enters a collider steam, there are versions of the interior of the train that flash from all five dimensions. There’s a futuristic Peni version, an old-timey Noir version, there’s a Gwen version… “As it passes through the beam, you get to see five versions of the train existing at once.”

(Vanessa and Richard seeing Kingpin) “This idea of repeating mistakes (for Kingpin). No matter what, he was gong to keep repeating these mistakes.” “He’s still who he is.”

“It was my dream to have Kingpin headbutt Miles and it finally came true.”

Each one of these character is in a black costume, and black surrounds them, and yet you can still see what’s happening.

“I remember people wanting to cut the shoulder-touch at the end.” “Who wanted to cut this?!” (Overlapping chatter) “No names in the screen.” “I remember feeling, oh my god. You’re LUCKY you got the shoulder touch in.” “The fact that you could pay off a set up that wasn’t even a set up…”

(On Miles seeing inside the universe as the collider explodes) “And then this. How long can it be? Let’s make it way too long!”

“The Anvil (that clanks at the end) was in Ham’s pocket?” “In the hammer space.”

(Miles hugs Jefferson) “This was the moment everybody went ‘Oh, YES.’ No matter what, we have to get to the hug, and the disguised voice, and the ‘I love you.’”

Someone describes the ending soundtrack as “Miles’ playlist meets Aaron’s playlist meets a superhero movie.”

They indirectly confirm Peter B and MJ do get back together. “Peter B gets his happy ending.” Another bit someone mentions was a late addition.

“I like that the movie starts and ends with Miles in his bedroom by himself.”

“We could do a whole other commentary saying completely different things.” “Probably four.” “We should do an alternate universe commentary.”

“You’re your own champion, I think that’s the idea. This is a story of empowerment. A champion is not coming from outside of you to come and save you. It’s your job.”

(As the credits roll) “Every name you see right now, we’ve seen them cry.” “We’ve made them cry.” “Every name you see right now has yelled at us.”

(On the post-credits scene) “We thought of this (post-credits scene) two months ago.” (They recorded this commentary in Dec 2018.) “We wanted to get Miguel in there and show the opportunities of where the multiverse could go.”

“I looked this up. This IS the most expensive dumb joke of all time.”

“We didn’t finish cleaning the cell on that close-up of Spider-Man.”

#into the spiderverse #miles morales #peter b parker #spiderverse stuff

28 notes · View notes

starline148 · 5 years

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[Memories] KDFD Ch. 03

Fan Fic Info:

Name: Memories Main couple: Kidou&Fudou Secondary couple: Genda&Sakuma Language: English, but you can ask for a Spanish version!

» First chapter: Memory 01 » Previous chapter: Memory 02 » Next chapter: » Index: Here

Chapter Info

Name: Why did you come looking for me? Words: 2222 Warnings: None

[Chapter 03] Why did you come looking for me?

Inazuma Japan had just beaten Little Gigant. The Japanese team had managed to win the Frontier International Football tournament after a long time. For the first time in many, many years Japan had won the World Cup in their League. A deafening roar had taken hold of the stadium at the end of the last half, so close to the end. A match that had made the public unable to turn their eyes away for a single moment.All the players of Inazuma Japan shouted with emotion, crying with happiness and hugging each others. Endou was flown up by his teammates, amid cheers from his friends and the crowd. Kidou was no exception, he couldn't be more happy, they had done it, they had made it possible! After so much effort, after so much training, after so much sacrifice. “We did it, Kidou," said a voice very close to his ear, he turned to see Fudou, he wasn't as loud as the others but had tears of happiness in his eyes. As he looked back at him, the boy smiled at him and Kidou felt as if lightning had struck him.It was the first time he saw that bright smile of optimism, and he knew that his words meant much more than winning the World Cup, although that was enough in itself. They had done it, they had managed to leave their storms behind and move towards a clear sky, they had managed to overcome all obstacles. They had done it. The cinnamon-haired boy also smiled, both boys hugged to celebrate the victory and in the heat of the moment Kidou grabbed Fudou by the hips and held him with his arms under his bottom. The brunette ran out of breath for a few moments, his hands were resting on Kidou's shoulders, but then he began to laugh contagious Kidou had never heard him laugh like that, he dropped the boy on him and hugged each other again, their foreheads collided in a gesture of camaraderie. Then they realized that all the other companions had thrown themselves en masse to hug Fudou, because previously the boy had dodged them and they wanted to celebrate their victory with him too! “Guys!” exclaimed the mohican's teenager with a lighter heart than ever; yes, he too was a beloved member of the team, he could feel it. The celebration was moved to a pavilion after the awards ceremony, all the Tournament participants were invited by the Japaneses. The party lasted until very late, although Kidou was not there all the time. Only Sakuma noticed it in all the chaos and said nothing knowing perfectly why he was going and wondering why those two boys were so stupid. And what was still ahead of him! Kidou realized that there was someone who was not there and felt that a discomfort was lodged in the bottom of his stomach and could not be removed until he decided to find him, he searched everywhere, even went to the residence where they slept to see if he was in his room, not seeing him he went outside again. Finally, after a long time, he found him on a lonely stone bench in a cliff between trees. It could be seen the sea shining with the colors of the sunset falling from the sky. Fudou seemed calm, eyes closed until he noticed the other boy and opened them slowly. A gentle breeze stirred his hair, it was hot but not overwhelming. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence, Kidou-kun?” “I was looking for you.”Kidou sat next to him, dominating the impulse to bite the brunette neck, Fudou had turned around surprised by that revelation, he wasn't used to being looked for.“Don't you want to celebrate with the others, Fudou?” “Bah, they're too noisy and I'm... tired.”The mohican's boy kept looking at Kidou with that expression of strangeness, who raised an eyebrow without understanding. “Why? Why did you come looking for me?” Kidou shrugged and answered sincerely. “I wanted to be with you.” Fudou opened his mouth, if there were few times that someone had looked for him even less times someone had wanted to be with him because yes, when they looked for him it used to be to demand things of him. His ears turned a little red, he hadn't been alone with Kidou since the meeting in the alley, and he was still very embarrassed. His heart was pounding. “You'll get flies in your mouth if you don't close it," Kidou laughed, and turned to look at the sunset. Neither of them said anything for a while, they sat very close together and felt strangely comfortable like that, as if there was nothing better in the Universe than that time and place. Fudou put his hand on the bench and Kidou did the same thing at the same time, as if they read the other’s mind. His fingers met on the stone, but none withdrew their hand, perhaps out of pride. It was a warm touch. “What will you do when we return to Inazuma, Fudou?” “I don't know, I think I'll ask for the change of Institute to Teikoku for our last year, you're there too, aren't you?” “No. I study at Raimon.” Fudou bit his lips a little disappointed. His fingers began to tap Kidou's without being aware that he was doing it, Kidou held his breath when he noticed it. “I understand.” “Now that we're done with the Frontier Football Tournament, I might ask to come back. To think that you can be without me controlling you... I'm afraid of the chaos you can generate.” “Well, well” Fudou winked his tongue out. “So Kidou-kun thinks it's necessary to keep an eye on me? In that case you shouldn't take your eyes off me or I'll take advantage.” “I won't take my eyes off you for a second.” Fudou blushed and looked at him in a daze, with that feeling in his guts again, he hadn't eaten in a while but it seemed as if there was something alive running around inside him. “I don't know if you're telling the truth or not.” Possibly Fudou meant that he wouldn't know if he was looking at him or not, but Kidou frowned. “I'm telling the truth” and with a dramatic gesture he took off his glasses with his free hand and left them around his neck. Fudou looked at him mockingly, though his heart had suddenly quickened. Perhaps it was because his fingers had become intertwined? The sunset reds became more aggressive, as did the eyes of that cinnamon-haired boy who stole his breath and made him forget anything else. The bright sun was beginning to disappear behind the sea that had the color of the eyes of the brunette, eyes that stopped the world around them. “Will you miss this place?” “Yes, and you?” “Too.” There was between them a relaxed and at the same time tense atmosphere, not uncomfortable, but that kind of tension that occurred when you felt a deep attraction for someone, none of them understood it yet. “I think I should thank you, Kidou-kun.” “Why?” Fudou laughed. “Because my mother will finally be able to smile after so many years. I'm sure, I'm sure she'll be proud of me now.” His face reflected a longing that broke Kidou inside. He knew what it felt like to want to impress the parents and make them proud. He had lived under that pressure all his life. He was also aware that the brunette family was broken, his father had abandoned them when Fudou was six years old and his desperate mother had incited him to a dark path without knowing the damage her words would do to that child. Fudou wanted to show his mother that he had changed, that she would no longer have to cry because of him, that she would no longer have to excuse him again and again at school, that she would no longer have to yell at him. That she could finally be proud of him. That she could finally smile and be a united family again, even if it was just the two of them. “I'm proud of you too, Fudou. I'm glad to have met you and that we're now friends.” Fudou looked up in awe, losing the thread of his thoughts. “Don't say such embarrassing things! Besides, I wouldn't say that we are exactly friends!” Kidou laughed and it spread to the brunette boy. “So we're not friends?” Fudou looked at the sea calmly, so different from his turbulent heart, and snorted resignedly. “All right, all right. You're right, there's no point in hiding it, I think of you as my friend too. Feel lucky, Kidou Yuuto. You're the first person to hear those words from me.” “Thank you, Fudou. It's an honour to be your first friend” Kidou blushed slightly at that revelation. “Tsk.” The two hands were still tightly intertwined, although neither dared to mention it. “I have very fond memories of this place," Kidou smiled suddenly “although there is still something that can improve it.” “What?” Kidou looked at him and for a moment, when his glances connected, he wanted to lie down on him and feel the taste of his neck again. But he couldn't do that, fortunately Fudou hadn't commented on what had happened in the alley nor did he seem to have retaliated against him, except for a couple of days when they were both avoiding each other. He should not take risks with unthinking actions. “That you come with me to celebrate our victory with the others.” “Ok, Ok," grumbled Fudou. “If it makes you so happy, I will make a small effort for you.” He went to stand up, but Kidou looked at him and held him. “It doesn't have to be right now either, do you think? We can finish watching the sunset, the party's not going anywhere.” He just wanted to extend that moment and keep holding hands as much as possible. Fudou looked back at him and lost a few moments in his red eyes, then shrugged. “As your lordship commands.” They kept quiet for the rest of the evening, though Fudou had yawned his head on Kidou's shoulder. When the stars began to splash an already velvety sky the two boys got up, separating the hands finally with some sadness of not having any excuse to stay longer in that way. They stretched noisily before turning to go party. “Hey, Kidou-kun” Fudou suddenly called the boy grabbing his wrist. There was one last thing he wanted to say to him before that atmosphere of connection and intimacy between the two disappeared as they joined the others. Kidou turned around but without his glasses he didn't calculate the distance between them well and only realized that Fudou was so close when he had thrown himself on top of him. Their lips had come into contact, a little involuntary kiss, Fudou's pressed his lips a little before they separated, but he couldn't be sure it was on purpose. The brunette-haired boy's lips were of an acid sweetness. The lips of the cinnamon-haired boy were of a bitter sweetness. “Sorry! It was an accident!” Kidou couldn't feel any more shame, he was stiff. Surely Fudou was going to torture him horribly after that, as if the bite hadn't been enough! He also added a kiss! And the worst thing was that he had liked that ephemeral contact! They had barely separated and he wanted to put his lips back together. Why? Why? Why? Why? “Hey, relax, Kidou" replied Fudou with a soft tone that made him even scarier, that tone could not augur anything good, the brunette boy scratched his cheek and looked at him with a different expression than the cold facade he kept normaly, there was a lot in that look. “You know, I thought to tell you something super cheesy and very out of my own, about you saving me from the darkness in which I was locked up as Endou did with yourself and blabla. But I have realized that a kiss is better than words. Just don't get used to it, okay?” Fudou took Kidou's face in his white hands, and he who thought the boy meant the kiss they just had realized he had made a mistake. It was one of those times when he didn't mind being wrong at all. Kidou's eyes met his and once again the world stopped around them, there was something magical at that moment, something indescribable. They both brought their faces closer, joining their lips in a second, much longer kiss. Their hands also met and intertwined their fingers. Fudou finally broke away after a long time, leaving a small bite on Kidou's lower lip with a mischievous smile. The two gasped for that contact when they looked at each other again. “If next year we win again, I will kiss you" said Kidou with a smile without knowing why he was saying that and surprising himself when he heard himself. Fudou opened his eyes and laughed. The cinnamon-haired boy pushed him to go with his other comrades to celebrate Inazuma Japan's victory. That day was unforgettable.

#inazuma eleven #fan fic #kdfd #fdkd #kidou yuuto #kido yuuto #kidou #kido #fudou akio #fudo akio #fudou #fudo #fuki #kifu #memories #in11

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lovemesomesurveys · 5 years

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Do you ever find yourself worrying about things that probably won’t happen? I’m great at that. I mean, a lot of my worries are things that are certainly possible and have good reason to, but there’s things I worry about that might not happen or before I have a reason to worry. I just always assume the worst. Has your imagination ever made it hard for you to sleep? My mind is always going. Have you ever had a weird dream and obsessed over what it might mean? Yes. My dreams are usually quite weird and random and I’m just like... wtf? Or do you usually forget about your dreams? A lot of the time. Do you know your heritage? Only a little.

If not, would you ever try one of those DNA kits? Yeah. I am curious. Which languages can you speak? Just English fluently. Which language do you speak the most and why? English because that’s what I know. Which languages do you wish you were fluent in? Spanish. With films in languages you do not speak, do you prefer a dub or subtitles? Subtitles. Which cuisine do you like the least? Chinese. Are there any foods you dislike because of the texture? Oh yes. Canadian bacon, chicken with bone-in, jello, and pudding just to name a few. Which type of chocolate do you like best? White chocolate. Do you have a favorite kind of dog? I do especially like Labs and German Shepherds. Do you let your pets sleep in your bed? I would, but she loves her couch. Do any of your favorite musicians ever write music for/with other artists? Some do. What is your favorite collaboration between two different musicians? I have several. One that came to mind is the collab Linkin Park and Jay-Z did. Who are your favorite songwriters? Hmm. Do you like any of those oldies groups (like the Four Seasons)? Yeah, there’s several “oldies” groups I like. Do you know who Bernie Taupin is? I don’t think so. What are your favorite one-hit wonders? I have a lot of those, including but not limited to: Tainted Love--Soft Cell Relax--Frankie Goes Hollywood Maniac--Michael Sembello Too Shy--Kajagoogoo Take On Me--A-ha Don’t You (Forget About Me)--Simple Minds I Can’t Wait--Nu Shooz No Rain--Blind Melon Lovefool--The Cardigans Barely Breathing--Duncan Sheik Criminal--Fiona Apple Torn--Natalie Imbruglia Sex and Candy--Marcy Playground Closing Time--Semisonic Save Tonight--Eagle-Eye Cherry Absolutely (Story of a Girl)--Nine Days Butterfly--Crazy Town All The Things She Said--t.A.T.u. Collide--Howie Day

What celebrities, if any, have you seen naked? Alexander Skarsgard is one of ‘em. Have you ever seen anybody naked by accident? No. Have you ever wondered what somebody looks like naked? Maaaybe. Have you ever had a sexual fantasy about a celebrity? Lol yeah. Have you ever changed your clothes in the car? Yes. About how quickly does your hair grow? Pretty quick. Do you have to/choose to shave anything unusual? No. Do you groom (wax, pluck, or thread) your eyebrows? I pluck them. Most unusual thing you have worn in public? Uhh. I don’t know. If you wear makeup, what are your preferred brands? Elf, NYX, Wet ‘n Wild, CoverGirl, Maybelline. Do you use flavored lip balm? Sometimes. What about tinted lip balm? Sometimes. What is your favorite swear word? I don’t have one. Are you afraid of fireworks or other loud noises? I’m a jumpy person, so loud noises definitely contribute to that. Do you make your own iced tea, or buy it in jugs/bottles? I don’t really drink iced tea. I mean, it’s fine and all, but it’s not something I opt for. I don’t recall the last time I even had any. Have you ever made sun tea? My mom used to every summer when I was a kid. Do you use sugar or honey to sweeten your tea? I use Sweet’N Low. Do you ever put milk in your tea? I’ve used cream and sugar before. Oh, but I do like milk tea from this one Bubble tea place. Do you prefer powdered or liquid coffee creamer? Liquid. Did your school have somewhere for girls to get emergency pads/tampons? Yeah. Did you have to wear a uniform for gym class? I didn’t in my PE class. Did you have to take showers after gym before going to your next class? No. Were you in any extracurricular activities or clubs in high school? I was in a couple clubs. Have you ever picked up and kept a rock because it caught your eye? Yeah. My Nana and I did that together all the time when I was a kid, and nowadays where I live it’s a popular thing to do to paint and hide rocks around town for others to find and either keep or re-hide. I’ve found a few of those. Have you attended any rock (literal rocks, not music, lol) shows? ...No. Have you ever laughed at a scene (TV/film) that wasn’t meant to be funny? Probably. Do you think they should make a movie about Hatshepsut? I don’t know what that is? Do you think books are better adapted as movies or TV series? I’ve seen good movies based on books and TV shows. Just depends. I feel like with TV shows; though, you can do a lot more with it and stay close to the book because you have more time to work with than just a 2 or 3 movie or having to break it up in parts. Any great books you would recommend? Too many. Any great movies or TV series you would recommend? There’s a lot. Were you disappointed with Fox’s version of the Rocky Horror Show? I didn’t watch it. Have you ever seen the original Kinky Boots movie? No. What about the musical? Nope. Have you seen any Hannibal movies other than The Silence of the Lambs? Nope. Have you read any of the Hannibal novels? No. Do you like any Indie movies? Yeah. Have there been any movies you had fond memories of, but upon a rewatch didn’t like as well? Hmm. Possibly, but I can’t think of one at the moment. Do you like to go to the movies alone? No, I like going with my family. When you watch movies/TV with people, do you find yourself making sarcastic remarks to each other? Sometimes here and there, but we try not to talk too much during. Have you ever dried down any flowers to keep them? Well, they became that way on their own over time, ha. I still have my corsage from my senior prom, which is now over 10 years ago. It’s quite dry and crispy now. What is your favorite thing that you have made by yourself? Uhh. I don’t really make things. Do you like your natural accent (everybody has one)? I don’t like my voice. What accents do you find most pleasant? Some southern ones, British ones... Does it bother you when an actor in a musician biopic lip-syncs to a recording of the original artist, or is it better that way? I don’t care. Have you ever read about Dennis Nilsen? No. Do you ever go on murderpedia.org to read about murderers? No. Have you ever read about the Black Dahlia? No, but I’ve seen documentaries. Any other unsolved crimes you find fascinating? Yeah, that stuff in general is interesting. Do you care what color your socks are? Nah. What about your underwear? Nah. What part of a man’s body do you find most attractive? Hands, arms, lips, jaw lines, necks, V-lines... Do you think guys look good in makeup? I used to have a thing for guys in eyeliner. Do you like using clay and/or peel-off masks for skincare? I don’t use any masks. Have you ever had an asymmetrical haircut? Yeah. Have you ever made your own pillow or blanket? No. Have you ever made a pillow out of an old T-shirt? No. Have you ever tried lucid dreaming? (Where you can control your dreams) No. Would you ever want to try? *shrug* If you want to be cremated, do you want your ashes scattered anywhere? In the ocean. Would you ever have a deceased pet stuffed? No. Would you ever have a pet cremated? Yes. We did that with our dog, Scruffy. Brandie is buried in our backyard in a nice area under a tree. I wish we would have cremated her because one day we’ll move. :( What is your favorite sci-fi series, if any? TV Show: Twilight Zone. Movie: Star Wars. Do you believe in the existence of parallel universes? No. If you could run your own business, what kind of business would it be? I wouldn’t.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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innerthoughtsmonologue · 1 month

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"Before we collide" WIP

Does this count as a #WIP ?

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charlie-and-yoshi-rp-hell · 6 years

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Episode 47 Part 5: Return

If his human half is erased, there´ll be nothing left of the Lewis Arthur fell in love with.

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Yoshi Raven: The fire was burning his soul - at least, it felt like it was burning. It hurt so much but there was no time for caring about that. Arthur grabbed the ghost´s hand and tried to pull it from his neck. He needed more air.

"Stop... don´t you dare attacking the other! You need him, he´s a part of you...!" he begged, hoping the ghost half would listen. Without his mechanical arm, he couldn´t use the more powerful spells against ghosts. Arthur let his soul generate more chains that wrapped around the ghost, hoping they´d stop him.

Charlie McCarthey: Arthur's words only seemed to insense the ghost more.

Need him!? I don't need him!

"Grnh--" Lewis managed to pull himself free a fraction, getting in some much needed air. "You wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for me, hermano." The human reminded with a snide grin, effectively getting the ghost to turn his full attention on his human side.

ENOUGH!! The wall shuddered with his roar. The ghost tossed Arthur effortlessly back, where he landed on the bed. But the human half he lunged at, hard, sending them crashing through the doorway and into the hall. There was a powerful blast of fire and a sickening cracking noise of flesh and bone colliding with plaster--one of the Lewis' cried out.

Only the ghost got back up.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur heard the sound and hoped the human half was still fine. If he lost him, it´d mean he had lost the real Lewis and was bound to a full ghost... bound to a ... monster. One that didn´t care about his well-being and would use their connection for his advantage.

He got up from the bed, afraid of walking to the twins. Afraid of what he´d see, but he had to. He slowly walked to the door.

".... Lewis? Human Lewis... are you okay?"

Charlie McCarthey: The human half of Lewis lay facedown and still, his neck at an odd angle. The ghost dusted off his suit lazily, unphased by the murder he'd just committed.

I forget how fragile and weak fleshbags are. Good thing I'm not one of them, right? The ghost kicked the human's leg to test for himself if he was still alive, and when no response was ellicited, the ghost cackled sharply. Ghost Lewis turned his hollow, glowing gaze to Arthur and advanced on him slowly, crowding him back into the bedroom, where he was trapped.

Now, where were we...

Yoshi Raven: "Why... why did you do that?!" Arthur screeched at him, tears forming in his eyes. He had lost Lewis a second time and it was his fault - again. Just because he was selfish and wanted to keep both of them. But it was too late regretting his decision. He had to erase the ghost half. Arthur would never see Lewis again and it hurt so much.

He noticed his mechanic arm and jumped over to it and reattached it. Arthur turned some plates, revealing the magic circles. But he hesitated. He still saw him as the real Lewis - the kind, gentle Lewis that was always caring for him, the one that loved him more than anything -

"I´m... I´m sorry Lewis... I never wanted it to end like this..."

Charlie McCarthey: That skeletal face stared down at the arm, then followed its connection up to his shoulder, neck, and finally Arthur found himself staring down the business end of that horrifying visage. The skeleton's jaw opened wide, showing that deadly fire coursing inside its body as his maw opened impossibly wide, breathing awful sulfur at the human as it laughed at his distress.

No... I think you did, Art. I think you knew all along... this was the best way. The easiest way. The ghost's voice was fire and silk all at once as purple smoke billowed toward that remaining flesh arm. Arthur's pain and fear were almost palpable, and the ghost was quick to capitalize on it. Those weak festering emotions were a one way highway into the other's mind and body.

This was the ONLY way, don't you think? It's so much easier. Just let go. Let ME be in control. Purred the voice as Arthur's fingertips began to turn dark purple.

Let me in.

Yoshi Raven: The awful, cold feeling of something taking over your body was one of the few things Arthur feared the most and now it was back. It was Lewis who tried possessing him but it was no warm blanket that gently covered his soul. It felt cold as ice and it hurt and the only reason he wasn´t controlled immediately was because this had happened before.

"No!! I won´t let you possess me! Stay away from me!" he growled, fighting against the ghost´s control and pushing him back - away from his mind and soul. The colour change of his hand stopped and was fading slowly.

"I´m not... your puppet...! Never!"

Charlie McCarthey: The ghost growled at the human's pathetic squirming. Fine time to grow a spine--I'm trying to help you, idiot! And again the ghost reached for him, this time pushing a hand straight in his chest. It was ice cold and it was like a hundred sharp little needles sinking into his heart as the ghost pushed into him more.

Fine. If you won't welcome me, I'll just enter without your say so. Sucks to have that cobweb soul of yours, doesn't it Art? Lewis reminded cheerfully as his arm dissapeared into the mechanic's.

He had Arthur's smaller body pinned against a wall, no where to run. The anchor was starting to take residency in Arthur's chest, and the ghost's cold, cruel laughter was the only noise.

Yoshi Raven: The pain that this unwanted possession caused was paralyzing the mechanic. Arthur could barely breath and with the ghost taking over more, his resistance weakened and his vision became blurry.

"No... please don´t do this..." he begged with a quiet voice, knowing he wouldn´t listen. There was only one who could free him with an anti-ghost spell-

"Vivi.. help me..." Arthur whispered.

Charlie McCarthey: And then a baseball bat came down over the ghost's skull, so fucking hard it sounded like a gun shot.

The ghost form crumpled like a wet bag, and a very much alive and panting to prove it Lewis stood over him, arms still raised clutching the impromptu weapon he'd used to knock out the ghost side.

"Man. I really miss ghost powers." Lewis panted, bending down and pulling Arthur from against the wall and from the ghost's body before he got sucked in anymore.

Yoshi Raven: He looked at the human Lewis, eyes wide with surprise. Why was that half still alive? Did the ghost create an illusion to break him?!

"Lewis... why... you´re not dead? But how?!"

Arthur carefully touched him with trembling hands, fearing he´d fade away or turn into his ghost half, fearing it was another illusion to bring down his attention - but no, this Lewis was warm and didn´t disappear.

"You´re no illusion... but w-what happened?!"

Charlie McCarthey: "Easy, buddy, take it easy." Lewis soothed, rubbing Arthur's boney back.

"It occured to me that the less the ghost was like me, the younger that made him." He explained as Mystery trotted in, his fur turning from a familiar magenta back to white. He licked his chops, looking rather pleased with himself.

"Which meant the ghost would be less likely to spot an illusion. Mystery let the ghost see what he wanted to see. In this case, him beating me."

"Since when has Lewis spoken spanish, Arthur?" Mystery pointed out with a warm look, nuzzling the poor mechanic soothingly.

Yoshi Raven: Arthur hugged the human Lewis, fingers clawing into his back and when Mystery was calming him, he gently petted his head, smiling a bit. It was just an illusion. One that tricked him too but the ghost had to believe his human half was dead, so he wasn´t mad at the kitsune.

"... oh my god, you´re right. I didn´t think about that and I didn´t care but yes. He never did. It was an obvious hint, but you´re forgetting that I was a little too busy dealing with a dangerous version of Lewis." Arthur gave both of them a scolding look but hugged them again.

"We shouldn´t waste time and get the real Lewis back."

Charlie McCarthey: Lewis hugged Arthur right back, squeezing him gently to assure him he was real, and soild and wasn't going anywhere.

"Dangerous or not, it's still a part of me, Artie." Lewis reminded sadly, stil wielding the bat and keeping Arthur pointadly away from the ghost's form in case he woke up before they were ready.

"...and I think it's time I get put back together, okay?" Lewis asked softly as Vivi walked in, holding a book. "I know you've liked this but...it's time."

Yoshi Raven: "I know... I know he´s a part of you but - the real Lewis would never try to hurt me. You being split like this has unbalanced your personality in a bad way." he mumbled, leaning a bit against him. When he noticed Vivi, he took a step back from the human half, smiling at him.

"Yes, it´s time. It´s better for you and me. I wanna have my Lewis back. I love you." Arthur turned to the still unconscious ghost "... and I love you. Even if ghostie was a bit evil, I´m sure as soon as you´re back together, you´ll regret that you attacked me. I won´t be mad at you."

He walked to Vivi´s side, asking "How can I help?"

Charlie McCarthey: "Well, the problem lies with the fact the spell has made them two whole bits. You, uh, you need to be half ghost Lew. And the ghost needs to be half human."

"Oh, well, that's great. I'll kill half myself and the ghost only comes back to life halfway--will that make the book happy?" Lewis moaned, facepalming with his free hand.

"Not quite mister. See, we need to do three spells technically. One for each of you--then in the middle of both we need to hit you with the joining spell and--voila! You two should be back together."

"You said should."

"I haven't done a spell like this before, Lew! just trust me?"

"I, I do Vi." Lewis said, watching the ghost half warily. "It's me I don't trust."

Yoshi Raven: Arthur listened to Vivi´s explanation, looking at the ghost and the human half.

"Well it does make sense. You can´t mix oil and water because they´re too different and I think it´s the same with a complete ghost and human half. With ghostie over there... I can trap him in an anti-ghost sphere so he can´t escape or attack and we´ll have enough time for the spells. Alright?"

He switched the plates on his arm to the magic circle for that spell, getting ready to use it.

Charlie McCarthey: "When he wakes up, he's not gonna be happy." Lewis warned.

Mystery circled the body, sniffing.

"It gets worse. They need to be in contact for the union spell. You're gonna have to let the ward drop Artie, but only after they've become their half selves. I think we'll be able to know when, but if not, I'll give you the cue." Vivi informed as she started drawing two small circles. She instructed Lewis to stand over one, and for Arthur to put the ghost Lewis over when he got the chance.

"Everybody ready?"

"Uh, yeah?" said Lewis warily.

The ghost half only groaned, still not with it.

Yoshi Raven: He sighed. "Well that´s going to be fun. Good luck for that." he mumbled, patting human Lewis head gently. Arthur walked to the ghost and activated the spell that formed a white sphere around him. He pulled Lewis on the other circle Vivi had drawn, then stepped back, ready to deactivate his spell when he had to.

"Alright, let´s do it."

Charlie McCarthey: Vivi winced sympathetically at the only-conscious Lewis. “I’m so, so sorry about this.”

“It’s okay, Vi. Really. Besides Arthur I wouldn’t trust anyone else to handle this, okay? Let’s just get it over with.” Lewis murmured. She nodded, her jaw clenched tight and spine straight at his faith in her.

And so Vivi got to work.

She had to do the splitting one at a time, so she started with the human side. If the ghost side was distracted just before she joined them together, she hoped it would buy them some time. Lewis had thought being turned into a half ghost would hurt as much it did—but he was grateful that’s all it did was hurt. It wasn’t like Vivi had to split them again and make 4 versions of Lewis Pepper.

Yoshi Raven: He watched the twins - the human because the change seemed to hurt, the ghost because he was moving slowly now. Arthur felt sorry for the human half, he thought the spell wouldn´t hurt him but, well. This was the only way getting the real Lewis back. He was concentrating on the sphere just in case the ghost would wake up before Vivi was done with changing him - a mad ghost right now would be bad. Especially because he would still go after him.

Charlie McCarthey: "Okay--next one." That was the only warning Vivi gave before she left the human side and moved to the ghostly counterpart. Lewis was left hanging in an odd suspended state, half his face skeletal, looking mildly dazed but none the worse for wear. The socket of his skeletal face was completly black--since the ghost half was actually missing.

The ghost instantly started fighting back upon the spell working through it's body, but its struggles were weak at best.

Like the human side, ghost Lewis sported a semi-solid human face on one side. This one had a completly milky white eyes, and the two of them turned to look tiredly at one other, the ghost trying to gnash its teeth and glare.

Human Lewis smiled weakly and just tried to wave.

Yoshi Raven: For a moment, Arthur thought the ghost half would be strong enough to fight back, that he´d get out of the sphere and attack but then he saw he wasn´t strong enough. The twins looked strange like this but this was a sign that Vivi´s spells worked.

"Alright... time for the last spell. Ready?" he asked and placed his right hand on the magic circle that´d deactivate the sphere. A nod from Vivi was enough.

"Go!" Arthur let the sphere drop and the white glow vanished.

Charlie McCarthey: The second the sphere was gone, the ghost tried lunging. He either didn't care about Vivi's new spell or couldn't hear it. But before the ghost could get to Arthur the human side of Lewis was there. He had the ghost by the wrist, and tugged the startled creature against his side as they began to glow. Their bodies touched, and began sizzling, the strange, powerful magic zipping them together from the sides like it was nothing.

The two of them screamed, because coming back together hurt like a bitch. Their sides conjoined even more, by the time it was up to their hips, the ghost couldn't fight back and the human's face was screwed shut.

There was a clap of noise, almost like thunder through the air, and with a sizzle of electric magic, the two of them were yanked into one being. Lewis, in ghost form but with no fire hair and a faded locket, dropped to the ground like a stone.

They had been split for almost a whole week, and every single memory from two people were linging up and fighting for each other.

No one could blame Lewis for being out cold during this time. His brain was a war zone of memories, thoughts and emotions.

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(Previous) - (Next)

#death #violence #msa #lewthur #magic spell

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kathleenseiber · 3 years

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The Mpemba effect: why hot water freezes faster than cold

The Mpemba effect: under the right circumstances, hot water can freeze more quickly than cold. This mystery has puzzled thinkers since Aristotle, but a team of Spanish physicists worked out how and why this seeming paradox can occur.

The answer, as described in a 2017 paper in Physical Review Letters by Antonio Lasanta of Charles III University Madrid and colleagues, depends on the speed of individual water particles as they scurry in all directions like ants in a nest.

Why is the Mpemba effect so named?

Although the Mpemba effect had been noted by many scientists and natural philosophers over the centuries – including Rene Descartes and Francis Bacon – it received little modern study until the 1960s. Things changed when a Tanzanian teenager named Erasto Mpemba noticed an ice-cream mixture that had been heated froze more readily than one that was cold. Mpemba asked a physicist who was visiting his high school about it, and together they confirmed the existence of the effect in the lab.

Since then, various explanations have been proposed for the Mpemba effect: that evaporation from warm water carries heat away more effectively, or unusual flows within the fluid, or even supercooling, in which the water’s temperature falls well below zero before it turns to ice.

None of the explanations have been entirely convincing. Indeed, one 2016 study concluded “somewhat sadly” that it could find no evidence the effect even exists.

Read more: Ice, ice, maybe?

In order to study the problem, the Spanish researchers started by defining it more clearly. Imagine two beakers of water, one hotter and one colder, that are placed in a freezer. If the Mpemba effect applies, the hotter one will reach zero degrees sooner than the colder one.

Inside each beaker, the molecules that make up the water are swarming in all directions. If the water warms up, they move faster; if it cools down they slow to a crawl; and if it freezes they get stuck in place, wriggling feebly on the spot.

Lasanta’s team analysed a simplified version of this situation, in which the particles in the liquid are miniscule spheres that lose a tiny bit of energy each time they collide with one another.

The conventional wisdom is that the time it takes for each beaker of water to freeze depends only on its initial temperature. Particles in the hotter water move faster, which means they have more slowing to do – so the hotter the liquid, the longer it should take.

The researchers discovered, however, that temperature wasn’t the only important factor.

If water particles are like ants running around a nest, the temperature of the entire fluid corresponds to their average speed. So a nest where all the ants are walking at 50 metres an hour looks the same as one where half are doing 50, a quarter are sprinting at 75 and the final quarter are dawdling at 25.

However, the number of outliers – the lazy stragglers and the speed demons – turns out to play a key role in determining the rate of cooling. This degree of deviation from the average, a property known to statisticians as ‘kurtosis’, had been neglected in earlier studies which might account for the poor reproducibility of the Mpemba effect.

Plugging kurtosis into the equations was the game changer. “We can make analytical calculations to know how and when the Mpemba effect will occur,” says Lasanta.

When conditions are just right – if the hot beaker is the right amount hotter than the cold beaker and its molecules are wayward enough to generate high kurtosis – the model simulation shows that the hotter sample will cool faster than the colder one.

“In fact,” says Lasanta, “we find not only that the hottest can cool faster but also the opposite effect: the coldest can heat faster, which would be called the inverse Mpemba effect.”

The next step? Trying to verify the simulations – first in the lab, then in the real world. If it all pans out, the discovery may have applications in refrigeration and cooling.

Related reading: Why water levitates on a hot surface

The Mpemba effect: why hot water freezes faster than cold published first on https://triviaqaweb.weebly.com/

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lavidademarimar · 7 years

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So I saw Coco today...

And holy fuck. What a masterpiece. I hate Pixar and Disney movies that just see your most hidden feelings and just pound on them until you’re left blubbering and sobbing without knowing when to stop (it happened to me with Toy Story 3, and now with this film). I understood so many things. I understood, in the truest sense, not the “politically correct” sense, why representation matters. Now, I am not Mexican. I do not celebrate Día de los Muertos. But Latin American culture shares so many values and characteristics that it was impossible not to see a little bit of myself and my family in Miguel’s family. And I loved it. Everyone in the theatre loved it. As soon as Miguel’s abuela takes off her chola (in Venezuela we use chola and chancleta interchangeably) to threaten a mariachi, everyone started laughing. We have all had an unfortunate incident with a chola.

I am particularly grateful that I found a theatre that had the film in English, so I could hear the dialogue as it was made in both English and Spanish. I started crying five minutes into the movie because Miguel was so much like me when I was his age. Two languages stuck in my head and switching back and forth like it was nothing. His advantage was that everyone around him was like that. In my case, no one of my family did that. The only reason I’m bilingual is because my mother decided I was going to be, whether I liked it or not (I didn’t like it when I was little, but now I understand, and I am fucking indebted to her).

I could relate so much to Miguel’s quest to find a little bit more about himself, and learning to do so through his family. I am currently in that quest, and sadly, it’s not very cheerful. No singing “Un Poco Loco” and having Pepita (who I would like to have as a pet and guardian forever). In my real world, it is being in therapy for over a year, and going over and over again trying to understand why the things that happened did, and trying to piece together the things that no one wants to tell me. It’s understanding that every person has good and bad between them, and that decisions that were made before I could figure out what was happening would have deep consequences within me today.

I think what ended up breaking me the most was how the world of the dead is made by the memories of the living. It just ruined me. That was my blubbering and sobbing moment I spoke of. How hard is it for the living to carry the burden to remember the dead? What actually happens to us after we die? I know these are existential questions, but Pixar just loves to kick me in the face with these movies. I am the only one of my cousins who remembers my grandmother before she got sick. I am the only one who remembers her after she got sick. We were all so little when it happened. The death of my grandparents was devastating to me when it happened at 9 and 12, respectively. I thought it was a shame that we don’t celebrate Día de los Muertos, because it would be lovely to have those two worlds together colliding. I thought that Miguel was the luckiest kid in the world because he got to see his family again, even if they were skeletons, and I would kill someone just to get ten minutes with my grandfather again.

Seeing Coco today just made all those memories fresh again. I want to stop crying because my mother is worried about me. She asked me in the car if I was all right because I wasn’t talking. I was too trapped inside my head. I thought about my youngest cousins, who will only grow up with the memory of two grandparents that they’ve never seen or touched. The idealised version of them. The only one who knows some part of the truth and the pain is me. It is a heavy burden to carry.

The separation of my family is a wound that I don’t think will ever heal and it will just be my new normal. The situation in Venezuela forced us all to take different paths and what would have been Sunday lunches at my house are now family reunions that happen every two or three years where we have to come to terms that we’re family because we’re related by blood, but we’re almost strangers.

Coco is a fantastic movie. Go see it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, even though I cried for half of it. Most of my tears were happy tears. It’s worth it.

#coco #pixar #disney #this was so beautiful #personal

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nethwan · 6 years

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The assistant

Summary: Lars Janssen never imagined that one day he would be the assistant of an editor of a fashion magazine. They could belong to different worlds but what if those worlds collide?

Note: This is the “very first” fic I wrote about them. Monique is Monaco. Vanessa and Alan are OCs.

Also on: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12388356/1/The-assistant

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13978200

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11876692/1/El-asistente (Spanish version)

He was hired and now he was the assistant of the editor of a fashion magazine. He remembered to see his sister buying it but he wasn’t interested on those themes, he thought it was just about clothes, shoes, and inexpressive models; he had no idea why he was there but he couldn’t back out.

The first day, he was confused because he hadn’t seen his new boss. He had a tour for the entire place and he was introduced to everyone but her, she was in a meeting and the best was not disturbing her. At the end of the day, he went to her office, quietly; she was talking on the phone and then she muttered: “A man? Why?”. She turned around and saw him, she felt a little bit embarrassed hoping that he didn’t realize she was talking about him. “We’ll talk later” she said and hung up.

“So, you are my new assistant…”.

“I’m Lars Janssen, nice to meet you, Miss Wang”.

“I hope we get along well, and please, don’t be so formal, call me Mei, I don’t feel comfortable with that ’Miss Wang’ thing”.

After that, she explained some other details about the job. He understood what she meant with “a man”, because she looked at him as if she was judging him. Well, now there were two whom wondered what he was doing there.

Later that day, Mei went back to the subject because she didn’t think he was the kind of person whom knew something about fashion, and he surely hadn’t read the magazine.

“Why did you hire him, Monique?”.

“Take it easy, I think he is qualified, his CV is impressive, and he is very attractive, don’t you think?”. She said as a joke. Mei didn’t agree.

Lars asked his sister for some magazines to know about that world he ignored. Besides being about fashion, it has interesting articles, it wasn’t that frivolous: it was about travels, health, recipes, interviews with celebrities, intellectuals and artists; and movie reviews.

Mei wasn’t a demanding boss, but he thought she was intimidating because she was so straightforward and always said what she thought, she was energetic, outgoing and disorganized; to the contrary, he was serious, quiet and tidy. He always payed attention at the punctuality of her appointments, and made an effort at give her all that she asked. He arrived earlier than her, and when she appeared, everything was in order. She liked his efficiency, and after reading his CV, she wondered how that business man ended up being her assistant.

One day, he heard her talking with a certain Alan; he called almost every day, at lunch. Was he her boyfriend? Lars didn’t believe it, because she was always busy talking on the phone or in a meeting. Maybe she had a long-distance relationship? But that was none of his business, anyway.

He remembered that there were three photographs in her office: in the fist one appeared a couple, surely her parents; in the second one, it was her and three young men, her brothers of course; and in the last one, a smiling guy, he would be Alan. Lars didn’t want to get involved but it looked like she didn’t have time for them: her family phone calls were brief, even Alan’s. Lars knew from experience that this kind of things never had a happy ending.

She was busy all the time, the magazine was her life and she did her best since she was on charge. Lars was concerned because she didn’t eat enough and she looked tired, she even was about to faint twice.

Lars advised her or more like made her go to the doctor, he said she was very stressed, and he recommend her to eat and rest well; so, she decided to take a break, but before, she left him a list of assignments, because soon, she would interview Natalia Arlovskaya, a famous ballet dancer. And, she was so glad to finally spend time with Alan. Lars went into her office to give her a documents, he saw her talking on the phone and then she said: “Why do you this to me?”. He left quietly.

That day, they stayed until late checking documents and reorganizing her schedule, it was a very hard week and some appointments were placed to before her break. When they were done, she cut with a paper and started crying. Lars remained there astonished for a few minutes, and then he approached to her, hesitantly. He gave her a handkerchief, she still cried. Those 10 minutes were eternal.

She apologized and told him how Alan broke up with her because he met someone else, that she missed the three last anniversaries of her parents, how her brothers stopped calling her, no one invited her to parties, she lived alone and almost all her acquaintances were married or getting engaged, even Monique, her only friend, was dating, and now she’d die alone.

“You might think I’m crazy, but I couldn’t stand it anymore…”

“No, I understand, this happened to me too”.

“Really?”

He told her when he worked in a firm, he had a good position, he lived for his work, at that time, he didn’t know that his girlfriend was cheating on him and they broke up; he missed important moments like his brother’s graduation and when his sister started her own business. He hardly talked with his parents, and he has no friends. Then the firm went bankrupt and he was fired, all his efforts and dedication disappeared all of a sudden; luckily, his family was supportive and helped him to find a new job, but he just got a: “We’ll call you”. It was disappointing. Until he was hired to be her assistant…

“We make a great pair then”. She said sobbing.

Mei tried to calm down but Lars told her it was ok, and she needed to vent. He was patient and waited. Then, she invited him to her house to drink coffee, he accepted. She started feeling interested on him, because she thought finally someone understood her.

“Talk me about you, you have worked with me for months and you just saw me in my worst moment. I think it’s fair”.

“I have no much to say. I have two younger siblings, Emma and Henri; now, I’m living with my brother, I like gardening and reading, my siblings say I’m neurotic and a neat freak, I was a workaholic, you know that, I think it’s all, what about you?”.

“Well, let’s see, I have three brothers, I’m the third child, I like cooking, singing and I’m a mess, so I’m so thankful you are a neat freak”. She laughed.

They were talking until late, and then he went home to rest a few hours, even though she gave him a free day, he refused. However, that week he asked permission to go his sister’s wedding. Mei was resting at home, but more like getting bored.

“All right, you can go. You are so lucky, I’m alone and bored”. She said sadly. “And if it’s no much to ask, can I go with you? Sorry, but I hate staying at home”. She added.

“Are you sure? I’ll just be there a few hours”. He was surprised with her petition.

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll bring a present, do you think that’ll be a problem?”.

“I don’t think so; I’ll pick you up, then”. He wasn’t sure about it but he thought she needed distraction.

The ceremony was calm and small, just family and friends. Everyone was surprised when he arrived with a woman. Mei and Emma got on well together. Mei realized that Lars didn’t like Antonio, Emma’s husband, but he tried his best for being kind.

Despite, having a break-up, Mei was in a good mood, she even danced with Lars. During their way home, Mei talked about how beautiful Emma looked and how cute was when Antonio cried to seeing her walk down the aisle. Her voice sounded melancholic: she wanted to get married some day, but looking at her situation, it wouldn’t be soon.

Lars was worried for Mei, her voice sounded sad when she called him. For this reason, he visited her everyday to tell her what happened in the day, just like she asked him; they talked about different things too and he listened to her attentively, even if it was a trivial conversation. When she came back to work, he looked after her, they ate lunch together, and he offered his company so she wouldn’t feel alone. Then she knew that she found no only the perfect assistant but a great friend. He wasn’t like Alan who just talked about himself; Alan never laughed at her witticisms and treated her like a child.

The interview with the ballerina was perfect, Mei had faith everything turned out well, specially, because she knew that Lars was at her side supporting her. As she imagined it was a success, and they celebrated it, but it looked like something was wrong: Lars saw Mei’s smile but her eyes said another thing.

Despite he told her it was enough, she drank more and more, then she told him, she saw Alan, a days ago, with his new girlfriend, she said it as if she was making fun of it but with a bitter tone. He took her home, because she barely can walk, she laughed and said things he didn’t understand, when they finally arrived, she approached to him and tried to kissed him: “Did you know you are hot?”, she laughed again and then she threw up. He didn’t have so many problems to clean her and lay her down in bed; she was way shorter than him. He felt bad for her, he hoped she didn’t remember anything, specially, when she tried to kiss him, although, that didn’t mean anything, she was drunk and she still loved Alan.

In the morning, she didn’t remember anything, she was in bed, completely dressed and she had a headache, she wondered how she had arrived home, she called Lars, and he went to her bedroom, immediately, bringing her something for the headache. He told her he slept in the couch because he was worried to leave her alone. She felt grateful and safe but also guilty for depending so much on him, even worse, out of the work. Then she wondered what kind of things she did, but she was embarrassed to ask. Did she say something weird? Did she try something stupid?

He said her she didn’t have to worry, she drank a lot and he just took her home, that’s all. She was relieved, he couldn’t lie to her, besides, she had never drunk like that, so she supposed that what she remembered was a dream, and a very stupid dream: she trying to kiss him, what a foolishness, she was his boss and he was her assistant, and even though they were good friends, that kind of things were impossible, especially after seeing her at her worst. “Yes, we are just… friends?”, She thought trying to convince herself of it. But what if that wasn’t a dream and he lied to don’t embarrass her. She had that doubt for so long time.

Since then, she found herself watching him. Despite Lars’ apathic personality, some girls looked interested in him. Mei didn’t like to think about it and admitting that maybe she was jealous. Later, Monique told her that maybe, Vanessa, the new girl, liked him.

“What do you think? Should I encourage her? Do you think she has a chance?”

“Why do you ask me? It’s none of my business”.

“Really? Well, maybe you’re right”. She was about to say something but she stopped at time.

Mei didn’t ask but Monique surely got the wrong idea, she told her about the sobbing, when she got drunk and how attentive and patient was Lars with her, but just because he was her assistant, she always emphasized this.

“I’ll ask him, if you want”. She said indifferent.

“Sure”.

That same afternoon while they were working, by chance, Mei talked about the girls of the work, but Lars barely reacted, he said yes, they were nice.

“And what do you think about Vanessa?”

“Vanessa? Ah, the girl who works with Monique?”

“Yes, her”.

“Hmmm she is cool, I guess, I’ve talked with her a couple of times, why?”. He asked her knowing intuitively the intention behind those questions.

“No reason, she is new, so we need to make her feel welcome”.

Lars didn’t believe her. In the next days, Vanessa talked with him with more confidence, but he kept his distance and Mei did the same, her behavior became cold, they didn’t see each other after work nor talked that much. Why was she acting that way?

Mei hated to grow apart from him, but it was the best, they improved their positions of just being boss and assistant. He held her before she fell down; he listened to her when no one wanted to do it and in that very moment, she realized she couldn’t stop thinking about him. But it couldn’t be, because he did all that just for friendship and because he was her assistant. Now she considered herself like one of those people “lucky at cards, unlucky in love”.

She kept watching him at the distance, preparing herself to the day she see him with one of the girls, then she wouldn’t feel that bad, especially because, according to Monique, Vanessa was progressing. Mei tried to avoid her, as if she could protect herself from what she thought was inevitable, she tried to find her defects but she couldn’t judge her because she barely knew her and everyone liked her.

Sometimes, Lars talked with Vanessa, and it’s not that he had a problem with her, to the contrary, she was smart, friendly and pretty, the kind of girl everyone loves, perfect; but there was something: she wasn’t Mei, he couldn’t avoid making comparisons, Mei was funny, she made him laugh with her comments and he liked her perseverance and determination. Then he realized that to him, there was no one like Mei.

When Lars was in Mei’s office, he could feel the tension and her indifference. But he wasn’t the kind of person who liked to face people and ask her what was going on. That happened when he broke up with his last girlfriend, he didn’t want explanations, she just said: “Now, I love someone else” and she left him, but he didn’t feel bad, because he didn’t love her, after all.

He left her office when Mei received a big bouquet of flowers, she read the card, it was from Alan, and in the next days, the flowers kept arriving with letters in which he asked her for a second chance and she was thinking in accepting him again. And when he picked her up, she welcomed him gladly. Lars didn’t like that. He thought repeatedly about that moment, when he saw her holding Alan’s hand, and he felt how he lost her, and he couldn’t do anything because she had made her decision. He thought that the rift between them didn’t have solution.

Mei and Alan went to a restaurant, she saw him talking without listen to him, her thoughts were in another place, she thought in the way Lars looked at her lately, as if he wanted to reproach her something, and maybe, now it was so late. She had seen him with Vanessa, and probably he realized how wonderful she was, then he’d fall in love with her, and well, Alan came back, but now his presence was unbearable, and to think that once she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.

“Mei, are you listening? Are you ok?”

“No, I mean yes, sorry, what were you talking about?”

“Stop daydreaming! I was telling you about my next project…”

In that moment, she had to make herself a favor and stop ruining her day, forgive him was a stupid idea.

“I have to go, it’s over, Alan. Don’t ask for me anymore”.

And she left him without looking behind; meanwhile some people looked at the man trying to hide his surprise. She called Monique to ask her something. She accepted after listen her story but she doubted that was the solution. Then, Lars and she met each other alone, he talked first:

“I want to know what’s going on, why are you avoiding me?”. He tried to go towards her but she kept her distance.

“Because… I asked Monique to exchange assistants”.

“No, I can’t leave you, I don’t understand, it’s because of Alan or… ?”

“I don’t know what are you talking about, I just want what it’s good for you… and for me, so, tomorrow, and you’ll work with Monique”.

“Why didn’t you ask me before? If there is something that bothers you, you just have to tell me”.

“No, it’s no like that… I just…” Mei started crying. “I just want you to be happy and you can’t be it with someone like me, you have seen it with your own eyes, it’s not the best, please, forgive me”.

Then he grabbed her arm, moving her close and he kissed her softly. They separated and looked at each other for a few minutes.

“If it’s what you want, then I’ll do it”.

That was the last time they talked but neither could forget about that kiss. Three months passed since that day.

Mei’s new assistant was nice but she was always late and let details pass. When Mei was with Monique, she avoided talking about work and tried to be there for her, she even asked her if she could introduce her to some guy, Mei deny it. She was busy working, making other activities, visiting her family, meeting new people.

At some point, by chance, Monique told her that Vanessa had renounced because she was going to study a master’s degree in other country. Mei didn’t know if she had to be happy or being indifferent, because even if Lars never showed interest in her, she thought they made a better couple than he with her. At least, with Vanessa, he had time, she never embarrassed him and he didn’t have to feel obligated to look after her all the time. Rumors had it, that they went on dates a few times, she wasn’t sure if that was true. Meanwhile, Lars tried to continue with his life, thinking that was the end and he never talked with her again.

Monique was about to lose her patient with that pair, so, for their own good, she decided to interfere. She arranged them in her office for different reasons. Both saw each other surprised, and then Monique said:

“It’s all I can do for you, now it’s your turn”. And she left them alone.

They rested sitting next to each other in silence. They didn’t find the right words to say what they were thinking. She sighed and said:

“I’m sorry”.

“Why?”

“For everything, for judging you without knowing you, for being a mess… Lars, I’ve been a fool, I got away from you, when I wanted the entire contrary. When I realized I had feelings for you, I was scared. I thought you deserved someone better, someone who wasn’t a disaster, you saw me crying, and you had to look after me when I was drunk, but thanks to you, I didn’t ruin my life”.

“You don’t have to apologize, I did it because I didn’t want you to go through the same things I did, I couldn’t see you suffer, and then when I knew I… was… in love with you, I thought it was too late and I didn’t have a chance”.

“You still have it… if you… still… feel something for me”. She said.

“I’ve never stopped”. He was happy, and then he remembered.

“And… Alan?”.

“I broke up with him… and… ?”

“Mei… listen, I never dated Vanessa, we just eat lunch together once and that was all, believe me, I know you probably listened the rumors”. He felt like he had to tell her.

“Yes, I did, but it doesn’t matter now, would you like to start again and we go out on a real date?” She told him with a smile.

“That’s a good idea”. He said while he hugged her.

Now, they thought they had to thank Monique because she get them together no once but twice.

#nedtai #aph netherlands #aph taiwan #fanfic #appreciate it

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arisefairsun · 7 years

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Hello! I don't know if you've discussed this before, but you mentioned your first language was Spanish, I was wondering how Shakespeare's writings translates into other languages? Like if they're able to keep the rhyme and meter and such? Thank you!

Hello dear! Oh my, I’m majoring in translation studies, you know, so I have a lot of feelings about this—I actually wish to become a Shakespeare translator in the future.

My knowledge is limited to the languages I understand, of course (so Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, French, and Italian), but in my experience, a translation is ultimately a metamorphosis. Each language has a different vibrancy, a sort of uniqueness that defines it; they embody reality in their own peculiar way, and the speaker’s thoughts flow differently through the shape of its words. What distinguishes a language is its own rarity and its personal beauty.

The act of translation must be conceived within these differences; it is about changing a text, furnishing the words with new colors. That is, you have to cheat on Shakespeare in order to do him justice: in your translation, Mercutio and Romeo might not play with the word ‘goose’ in 2.4, but they shall play with another animal or thing which is related to race, folly, and women in your language. Ultimately, what we must do is alter the flesh of the text, its words, and hopefully keep its true essence intact: we must learn to discern that wordless beauty which lies beneath the language of the play and let it flow it in our own text with new words. It’s a constant paraphrase. To quote Juliet, we need to drink from the utterance of the characters’s tongues. To translate a Shakespeare play is to delve into all its complexity—a translator must be a reader, an editor, a critic, a writer all at once. One must bare the play entirely, and then dress it again.

The problem is, of course, that since all languages possess their own distinct beauty, it is simply quite impossible to translate a text word by word. It doesn’t work, the language will not let you do so. This is especially frustrating when it comes to poetry, as in Shakespeare’s plays and poems. The very pulse of the English language is palpable in the Bard’s work: he plays with its rhythms, defies its limits, embraces all the meanings of a single word, completely immersing the reader in the force of his verses. I find English to be a very lyrical language, as if poetry flowed naturally from its bones: indeed, iambic pentameter is meant to echo the normal rhythm of the English language. But it would be a very arduous task to keep the iambic pentameter in Spanish. The soul of the language complicates it. Our words are generally a lot longer, and we need more words than English to express exactly the same thing. (A good Spanish translation should always be longer than the original English text.) Iambic pentameter ultimately impoverishes the language because there are so many words you would be forced to avoid. The energy of both languages is therefore divergent.

So that’s one thing translators usually change. The vitality of the iambic pentameter fades away… and is unfortunately replaced by dull monotony very frequently. Many translators simply translate the plays into unrhymed verse. It’s true that Romeo and Juliet is particularly a difficult play to translate in this regard, given that it’s so rich in rhythms. Each character has their own particular color, the fabric of each voice is unique in the play. Juliet’s succinct speech is different from Friar Lawrence’s repetitive redundancy and Romeo’s boring, stylized Petrarchan verses collide with the new voice he achieves as his love for Juliet develops. The way they express themselves is an incarnation of their emotional extremes, of their own particular mindsets. (It’s fascinating how Shakespeare can reveal so much about a character through the beat of their words.) These are all things which should be mirrored in a translation, otherwise the characters will lose their own musculature—where does their uniqueness go if they all speak in the same way?

My Spanish edition, which happens to be the first version of the play I read back when my English was not good enough to understand Shakespeare, does not cherish the lyrical complexity of the original text at all. There is not a single rhyme in the play. Romeo and Juliet never compose a sonnet together, Capulet’s rhythm does not become erratic when he is mad. There is no sibilance in Romeo’s lines, ‘It is my soul that calls upon my name! / How silver-sweet sound lovers’ tongues by night, / Like softest music to attending ears!’. The message he wishes to convey is more or less the same in the translated text, but the translator withered the freshness of his poetry. What’s more important—the content of the verses or their beauty? Both are, since poetry should be delightful to the ears. In this translation, there is also no t alliteration in Juliet’s plea for the night to ’Take him and cut him out in little stars’. Her wish to have Romeo cut out in stars is conveyed anyway, but there is no sound of scissors in her voice.

But translation is an act of seduction. You must woo the text. You are going to deprive the play of part of its complexity, so you should try to compensate, fill in the blanks with the uniqueness of your target language. I’ll give you an example: in Spanish, the word romero means both ‘pilgrim’ and ‘rosemary’ and is of course extremely similar to Romeo’s name. Now, how does Romeo introduce himself to Juliet? As a blushing pilgrim (his very name means ‘pilgrim to Rome’). It can be interesting to have Juliet playfully call him romero, pilgrim, unaware that she is echoing his very name and that one scene later she will be struggling with the word Romeo at her window. What does the Nurse tell Romeo in 2.4? That Juliet has been making puns with his name and rosemary; in Spanish, she has been playing with Romeo and romero. There is a kind of symbolism there linking the three words, Romeo, pilgrim, and rosemary, which is more obscure in English. That’s something gained in translation, in spite of all the other puns which were inevitably lost in the process.

For me, the beauty of translation is that there is not a single way to do it right. The possible strategies are rather infinite. Each translation has its own value, because each translation is written by a different mind. This leads me to another major issue: subjectivity. A translator is, after all, a reader, and a reader is an interpreter (can you read a text and not interpret it?). It therefore follows that a translation is an interpretation: the translator’s own understanding of the play is tangible in the text. Something I find particularly irritating, for instance, is that many of them decide to change the last lines of the play unnecessarily: ‘For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.’ The European Spanish dubbing of Zeffirelli’s movie says something like: ‘For there is no sadder story than that of Romeo and Juliet’s love.’ Romeo and Juliet. My bilingual edition of the play did only a little better: it reads ‘Juliet and Romeo’. But why not Juliet and her Romeo? It’s something the translator was free to write, but perhaps the subversive nature of those lines made him uncomfortable. Romeo is a man, Juliet is a woman, so Romeo’s name should always go first. Of course, do not even suggest that Romeo might be remembered, in the very last line of the story, as being hers.

Sometimes translators love to stray from the text too much. They are, after all, writers creating their own text, but their creativity may have serious consequences in the characters. In the European Spanish version of Zeffirelli’s movie, when Romeo asks Juliet to express her love and thus ‘sweeten with thy breath this neighbour air’, he says: ‘Make this neighbour air die of jealousy’. Now, I cannot imagine Romeo saying such thing! He always rejoices in Juliet’s ability to regenerate the world. Juliet’s love does not kill, it enlivens Verona. If anything, the only thing she would kill is the envious moon. So translations can sometimes contradict the text unnecessarily. This is something we should always bear in mind—a translation is never completely the same text as the original, as it is subject to hermeneutics. You are reading, after all, someone’s interpretation of a literary work. It is a secondhand possession of the text.

A careless translator may fill the text with small incongruences: in the American Spanish translation of Zeffirelli’s movie, Juliet asks: ‘O Romeo, Romeo, where are you Romeo?’. Literally, I’m not lying. Most translators decide to translate ‘two households’ as ‘two families’, but a household is not just a family. Then there are other things which are simply beyond our control. Sadly, a huge amount of Shakespeare’s puns, his ambiguity, his complexity, slip through our fingers like sand. Languages can be cruel. When Shakespeare uses a word which has more than one meaning, it is sometimes impossible to find an equivalent which covers all of the meanings. Is there a verb like ‘to die’ which may mean both to lose one’s life and to reach sexual fulfillment? Many languages lack such verb, so what do we do with Juliet’s lines, ‘When I shall die, / Take him and cut him out in little stars…’? Here she combines death and love, the Liebestod trope, anticipating what she will see behind her eyelids when she closes her eyes in ecstasy during her lovemaking with Romeo. If there is not an equivalent, a translator will probably be forced to choose just one meaning. She will either talk about death or sex. (My solution is to make her speak of the climax of death, the deathly zenith, or something equally suggestive of sexual fulfillment.)

Shakespeare is of course a master at making puns—his way of bending words is delicious. When translators cannot keep all the possible readings of a word, they weaken the text, making it bland, easy, unshakespearean in many ways. It can be heartbreaking to be a translator then, because you must bury many of Shakespeare’s puns. The battle of wits between Romeo and Mercutio in 2.4, for instance, is removed entirely from many translations because it is so hard to translate. Unfortunately translators are forced to make choices they don’t want to make. They have to minimize the play. ‘Her eye discourses’, says Romeo. That’s her eye and her I. In translation, it is just the eyes. Sometimes it’s the only thing you can do: kill the beauty of the play.

Lastly, the act of translation not only implies the words of the text. It also encompasses the culture, the life of the language, the people behind it, its quintessence. Shakespeare was writing with an English audience in mind. Who are you writing to? What happens when you translate Henry V into French? How will a French audience react to the treatment of France in the play? How will you solve the problematics posed by the bilingual scenes? The last scene, for instance, relies on Henry and Katherine’s inability to speak each other’s languages fluently. How will you translate that solely into French? Don Adriano de Armado is continually mocked at in Love’s Labour’s Lost because of his flowery speech. How will you keep the different registers of the characters’s speeches in a Spanish translation? How will a Spanish reader feel about Don Armado’s situation? What happens if you translate Macbeth into Scots? Also, Peter sings Heart’s Ease after Juliet’s faked death. It’s a popular song of Shakespeare’s era—but Peter is supposed to be Italian. If you translate the play into Italian, will you keep the English song (which will convey nothing to an Italian audience) or will you replace it with a popular Italian song (which they will be able to identify as part of their culture)? It’s complicated. I recommend that you read Shakespeare and the Language of Translation because it covers these and many other issues.

And while nowadays translators do promise to tell the same story as the original author, it’s not always been like that. The concept of copyright is relatively new. One of my professors was quite obsessed with Shakespeare, and he always told us about translators who used his work to denounce the situation of their countries, i.e. a Polish translation of Hamlet in which Claudius was a German kaiser, a French Claudius who resembled Napoleon, a Spanish Hamlet which criticized the Enlightenment, etc. These translators purposely hid behind Shakespeare’s name to tell their own stories. These may not be faithful translations of Shakespeare’s work per se, but they are extremely valuable nonetheless.

So to answer your question, the blood of the characters, their heartbeat, their powerful da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM doesn’t usually survive in translation. But a good translator must find other patterns, provoke the text and make it burn—or to quote Romeo, to suck the honey of its breath. It can be chaotic or it can be fascinating; either way, it will always be daring, risky, a violent delight which may have a violent end or not. It is important to consider that a translated text belongs not only to the original writer but to the translator as well. The translator is to unstitch the texture of the play, only to weave it in a new fashion. (It can never be entirely loyal to the play—if a translation is a mutation of the text, how could it ever be 100% loyal? The concept of loyalty here is inherently a flawed one.) But it might be worth the risk, because a new kind of beauty may bloom thanks to the translator’s skills.

When I started translating excerpts of Romeo and Juliet for fun I was terrified. I venerate Shakespeare’s work so blindly, I did not even dare remove a comma. But my professors keep telling me that a translator must be brave, a warrior, a strategist. To translate Shakespeare is to possess him. Sometimes you have to destroy his beauty, only to generate a new kind of majesty out of all the broken pieces. That’s when translation becomes valuable: when you dare merge your own voice with that of the Bard—a trespass sweetly urged.

#answered #thoughts #Shakespeare #Romeo and Juliet #Hamlet #Macbeth #Henry V #Love's Labour's Lost #thank you for your ask!#I have a lot of feelings about this #this is what I want to do with my life #I'd love to write about Romeo and Juliet and translation for my BA research project

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