#they are the closest bond out of all the cast members in stranger things

[chirpsythismorning]

IM SORRY BUT I JUST REMEMBERED THIS AND

[skarlette1]

Making It Tick #2: Getting In

So, another look at influences of the stories I’ve written:

Mnemonica: Confession time: Mnemonica didn’t start out being a superheroine. And, although Getting In was the first story I published featuring her, it was the third one I started writing. However, it was the one that cinched that she would be a superheroine in a world of superpowers.

Originally, Cheshire Chase was going to be a psychic spy in a world with very, very few people with psychic powers. There would be a little super-science, but not much more outlandish than something you might see in a James Bond movie. I wrote early drafts of what became chapters 4, 5, and 6 of Club Absinthe with that sort of world in mind. I wrote a draft of chapter 1 of Rescue Gone Wrong with Cheshire hiding in the room while a fellow spy is interrogated by a criminal mastermind.

My next idea upended everything (for the better, I hope). I thought about Cheshire trying to go undercover in a kinky secret society. She’d fake her way through the initiation ritual, only to learn that she’s actually helping to cast a spell that would enslave her to the secret society. It had sex and mind control and a good twist.

But it totally relied on ritual magic being an actual thing that actually worked in that world. That was one step too far. I could have done “spies plus telepathy.” I could have done “spies plus magic.” But once it’s “spies plus telepathy plus magic” the only way it works in my mind is to throw it all into one big superheroic blender. It was no loss, as I also had stories focused on a magnetic heroine, an armored heroine, and a sorceress heroine.

She just needed a superheroic name! In psychology, a “mnemonic” is a pattern people use to help remember things. Adding an “a” to the end makes it sound like a feminine name while also alluding to the mind, thought and memory. It’s one of my favorite heroine names I’ve come up with.

Incidentally, Club Absinthe has one review on Amazon (5 stars!). The review mentions that Mnenonica’s secret identity name should be “Monica” instead of “Cheshire”. The reviewer is absolutely right! Since “Cheshire” was her original name, when I gave her the superheroic name, it never occurred to me to change her real name. Sadly, with two full-length stories and a novel out, it’s way too late to make such a fundamental change.

But we may yet see Monica in something else I’m working on right now. Wink.

Apart from that topsy-turvy origin process, I’ve got to be honest that almost everything I know about telepathy comes from Chris Claremont’s Uncanny X-men and related comics from the ‘80s and ‘90s. The book was full of sexy psychics: Jean Grey, obviously, but also Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock / Psylocke (particularly before she got turned into a ninja).

The version of Mnemonica we see in Getting In is probably closest to Rachel Summers. She’s got hidden potential, but it’s hard for her fully access it. Her power doesn’t make her invulnerable to harm. In fact, in certain circumstances, it makes her more susceptible to certain influences. Rachel was always getting overwhelmed or knocked out by some sort of psychic scream or something. In Getting In, Mnemonica nearly drowns in the combined lust of the Indoctrinated Circle surrounding her.

The Indoctrinated Circle: A secret society of strange, sensual indoctrination rituals and even stranger, dark powers. They get their fashion sense from Claremont’s Hellfire Club, which, of course, mind controlled Jean Grey into becoming a member. Here’s the kind of thing she wore, back in 1980:

But dark cults and chanting and weird sex rituals are all over the place in fictional worlds, from Cthulu-worshippers in H.P. Lovecraft stories to the Death-Eaters in Harry Potter to half the vampire clans in Vampire: The Masquerade to real-world conspiracy theories that ran rampant in the Satanic Panic of the ‘80s.

I like that the magic of the Indoctrinated Circle is limited. It’s about group rituals and magical runes or symbols. This is just riffing on a bit of historical rune magic, where magical symbol formed in the actual world can be potent, whether it is forged into a piece of Celtic-knot-like jewelry, or carved out of stone, or shaved into the shape of a heroine’s pubic hair.

So, what did you think of Getting In?

---

Like what you read? Will you buy me a coffee and request something rich to sink my teeth into? Or peek into the depths of my longer fiction?

Libido League #2: Getting In, is available at Smashwords and Amazon.

[sternbilder]

Hi!! Stumbled on your blog via the buried stars tag and I'd like to say thank you so much for the kr>eng translations! There aren't many english-speaking fans so I was happy to read about the game & its characters. I was wondering, what do all the characters call each other in Korean? Or what honorifics they use? I could hear it in the audio sometimes (Gyu-hyuk: "Do-yoon-ah", or I think Seil: "Inha-ssi" ?) but I didn't catch all of them. Google tells me some of it is based off of (1/2)

(2/2) Google tells me some of it is based off of respect, friendship/closeness, or just being older/younger than one another, but I'm still new to the intricacies of what it implies about the characters' relationships and how their individual personalities are. If it isn't too much trouble, I'd love to know ^^

Hello!! You're very welcome and in fact thank you for the question, I'm always receptive to more excuses to talk about this game!

It seems like you already have some context on rules surrounding Korean honorifics. There is a lot of nuance, obviously, but to put it simply...Yes, I'd say the speech patterns the cast (particularly, the TOP5—the others are a bit more complicated) uses are what you'd see in a casual social setting between people who already know each other somewhat, but aren't necessarily friends, which is what I think I would expect from a group of twentysomethings who probably had a chance to bond socially as a cohort throughout the whole audition process (it's explained in the Q&A that they lived together in a dorm for most of the show, too). And as you've pointed out the rules there I would say are much more tied to age and closeness. I'd generally characterize their speech patterns as informal, but polite—basically, you have to use the polite form with people who are older than you, but you can use casual speech (banmal) with people who are the same age or younger. The exception is if you are close enough with someone that you mutually decide it's OK to drop honorifics despite the age difference. More on that later.

The order of the age of each of the main cast are as follows: Seungyeon (33), Juyoung (28), Gyuhyuk (27), Doyoon and Inha (25), Seil (24), and Hyesung (20). So with no other caveats we'd expect, for example, Doyoon to use polite form with Juyoung and Gyuhyuk but not with Inha and Hyesung, etc. Now, with that as the basis, here are some notes based on what I can remember, though disclaimer that my memory isn't perfect, and there are also things I might have missed because I haven't done a full playthrough yet with Korean text.

(Character spoilers for the "Other" section at the end; otherwise a few minor spoilers)

TOP5

Juyoung (28)

Juyoung is the oldest of the main cast, so she uses banmal with pretty much everyone and refers to them by name, or name + ah/ya (which is the casual vocative marker), and it's perfectly acceptable for her to do so.

The rest of the TOP5 call her 언니/누나 (unni/noona, lit. "older sister" but more generally used to refer to any slightly older female acquaintance; which one is used depends on the speaker's gender). They also sometimes call her 영이 언니/누나 (Young-i unni/noona) for short, which I thought was cute. There's actually a Q&A question that asked about this because it is a very familiar/affectionate nickname, and the director explained that Juyoung asked the others to call her that because she was afraid of seeming unapproachable due to her age and because of the fact that she was a former idol.

Gyuhyuk (27)

As the second oldest, I believe he uses banmal with everyone but Juyoung. The younger male characters all call him 형 (hyung, lit. "older brother", see above), though I can't seem to remember Inha calling him 오빠 (oppa). I might be projecting that assumption onto her based on her somewhat brash personality, since 오빠 can come off as a bit...Girlish? Cutesy? Flirtatious? in certain contexts? Idk.

Doyoon (25)

What's notable about Doyoon is that he uses the polite form with Juyoung, but not Gyuhyuk. He calls Gyuhyuk 형 (hyung), of course, but he uses the casual form, which suggests that they're close enough with each other that they've already agreed to drop formalities. Their first rapport event gives me the sense that they're especially close, too, compared to the other contestants (as does just like...waves in their general direction, but anyway,)

Inha (25)

Inha is the same age as Doyoon, so you would also expect her to use polite form with Juyoung and Gyuhyuk. However, she doesn't with either of them IIRC.

As for Juyoung, I don't remember how much of this came through in the text of the game itself, but I would guess they were probably already pretty close in a way similar to Doyoon and Gyuhyuk were. At the very least, I think I remember one of the Q&A answers indicating that they kept in touch very frequently after the events of the game.

I don't really remember too many interactions between Inha and Gyuhyuk, tbh. I do recall that she (not sure if any others do) refers to him as 규 (Gyu) at least once, which I think is adorable, LMAO. This might indicate that they may have been on close enough terms to use casual speech? But then again, she did seem to resent Gyuhyuk at least a little bit for the scholarship thing, and according to the Q&A she took much longer than Juyoung and Doyoon to see him again after the game, so??? She could just be kind of disrespectful like that, which...Kinda tracks, honestly??? 🤷‍♀️Like I said, I don't remember too much about these two, so don't take my word on this.

Hyesung (20)

Hyesung is the youngest, so you would expect him to use polite speech with everyone, but he, uh, does not. With anyone. LMAO. Maybe he's just super tight with everyone, but something tells me it's more because he's a rude little shit who's just Like That. (I mean, he uses banmal with Seil, who does hate his guts, so.) He does call everyone 형/누나 (hyung/noona), though, at least—though, now that I think about it, Seil might be an exception to that, LOL.

Since he's the youngest, everyone just calls him Hyesung.

Also, this is tangential, but I also just wanted to throw in that Hyesung notably has a slight "old man" dialect in that he sometimes uses expressions and slang that you would expect from the older generation, because growing up his only friends were the other vendors at his mom's fish market. This is unrelated to politeness, but it does come off as really funny considering how young he is, and definitely gives his speech a unique vibe.

Staff

Seil (24)

The speech patterns between Seil and the TOP5 are pretty similar to speech patterns within TOP5 itself, which is to say, fairly informal but still polite. He uses polite form with everyone older than him, and uses banmal with Hyseung. I actually wouldn't necessarily have expected this to be the case since he technically has more of a professional relationship to the TOP5 than they do with each other (so I wouldn't have been surprised if he actually used formal speech, rather than just polite), but it's probably because he's in that same age range and because he was the staff member who was closest to them socially.

I believe you are correct that he calls Inha, and Inha alone, -씨 (-ssi), which is actually formal, rather than simply polite. Probably just indicating his high level of admiration for her in particular.

The rest of the main cast just call him Seil. Hyesung also occasionally calls Seil 세일 FD님 (Seil FD-nim) which is technically extremely formal, but obviously said in sarcasm.

Seungyeon (33)

I believe she calls everyone by their full name, and uses casual speech with them. Makes sense. She's the boss.

Everyone else calls her PD님 (PD-nim, formal). Including, notably, Hyesung. AFAICR Seungyeon is the only character Hyesung shows even an ounce of deference toward in this game. 😛

Other

Suchang (27) & Suyeon (18)

AFAIK Suchang only really has in-game interactions with Doyoon and Suyeon, and Suyeon only has interactions with Suchang, who she of course calls 오빠 (oppa), in the familial sense. Though IIRC at the very end she does once refer to Doyoon as 그분 (geubun, lit. "that person") and 도윤님 (Doyoon-nim), both of which are extremely formal/deferential in tone but in kind of a "little girl talks about her crush as if they were Prince Charming" sort of way...Which causes Suchang to hilariously go into overprotective/jealous older brother mode.

The Ha siblings use casual speech with each other, which is standard among siblings. However, Suchang also talks down to Doyoon, which is pretty audacious of him considering they're strangers—he basically talks to Doyoon as if they're already friends. He's kind of an audacious guy in general, though, so I'd say that kind of fits his character.

Doyoon, on the other hand, being the polite young man that he is, uses polite speech with Suchang. There's a funny scene where he accidentally slips up and uses banmal, and then immediately gets called out by Suchang, who chews him out for talking down to someone older than him. (Though ofc Doyoon had no way of knowing this, and also, Suchang shouldn't be using banmal with a stranger in the first place.) At the very end of the true ending when they finally meet, Doyoon actually takes it up a level and calls Suchang 수창씨 (Suchang-ssi) but Suchang tells him to drop it and just call him 형 (hyung). It's sweet.

[sliceofsky]

introducing : cary o’hare

〔 scott foley, 49, cis male, he/him ) cary o'hare was seen listening to “ just haven’t met you yet ” by michael buble. cary is the town’s weatherman and known to be bubbly & insecure

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚜

full name ~ cary michael o’hare birthday ~ OCTOBER / 15TH / 1971 job status ~ employed as a weatherman at the local news station relationship status ~ (currently) single orientation ~ gay (closeted)

𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚘

tws for : strained family relationships , homophobia , discussion of sex

cary o’hare was the first born child of the upper-middle class o’hare family, named after his mother’s favorite movie star. it was one of the rare concessions at the o’hare patriarch gave to his mother, and he’d never let her forget about it.

from a young age, cary was the picture of raw charisma. grocery store trips took forever, with his mother being halted at every aisle by enchanted older women who wanted to catch a glimpse of the adorable baby cary. his cuteness almost made up for how busy his mom was at all hours of the day, especially when his younger sister became cary’s irish twin, born a little over 9 months after cary was.

his younger sister becomes the bane of his existence as soon as they’re both conscious enough to get on each other’s nerves. they’re close enough in age that the competition is always there, fueled by the teachers, friends, and extracurriculars that they share. they found their niches soon enough: cary was good at sports, while his sister was good at dancing (which elementary-age cary would vehemently insist was the exact OPPOSITE of a sport). their father would go to cary’s games, but not his sister’s recitals, a fact that he accepted without much thought. 

cary’s world, until middle school, was very small. the only people on his mind were him, his family, and his ever-shifting cast of close friends. there wasn’t much room in that world for insecurity or introspection, not when his biggest issue was the occasional fight he and his sister would get into over who’s turn it was on the remote. this all changed when cary was introduced to a fact about himself that made the world so much scarier: people were talking shit about him behind his back. it was the little things, of course- a comment about how stacy from english told someone who told someone who told someone that she thought he was short, or hearing a rumor about himself filter through the grapevine. it was startling, and cary reacted in kind, putting much more thought into his everything. he began to think about the way he dressed, and the way he smiled, and the way that when he answered questions in class, people would remember whether he got them wrong or right. 

suddenly, nothing was more important than his image. he wanted to smell nice, but not too nice, or else his dad would make some mean spirited quip about his son being fruity. he also needed to date girls, but not too many girls, or else they’d think he was a jerk. it was a careful, obsessive balance that he kept, one that dictated everything about the way he acted. 

against all odds, his mission was successful. he was generally well-liked. he had middling grades, and he wasn’t especially happy, but things were working. even the fact that his parents still picked his closest friends based on whether or not mr. o’hare liked their parents couldn’t break his stride. only one thing could truly break his stride, and that was the events of sleepaway camp, the summer before his sophomore year of high school.

sleepaway camp was fun. too fun. he was fast friends with jonah, who lived in a town four hours away from cary’s. over their three week stay at camp timber lake, cary and jonah ended up doing everything together. they shared secrets, snuck out of the cabin late at night to explore the woods, and on one memorable instance, went skinny dipping in the lake. near the end of their time at camp, things changed, suddenly and without warning- cary would blame the full moon. if you interrogated him, he’d insist that the only reason he kissed jonah was because the moon was full, it was the last night of camp, and they were alone in the woods in the dead of the night. he’d also insist that he didn’t mean anything by it, and that it didn’t mean he was gay. the truth, however? temporary insanity didn’t push cary to kiss jonah, and it wasn’t the reason that jonah pushed cary away with a horrified look on his face. much to cary’s relief, neither of them ever spoke about it. it became a secret just as soon as it became a memory, one that cary would agonize over for years after the fact.

cary walked into his sophomore year of high school with this secret heavy on his chest, paired with a desperate need to distract himself from it. he loaded his plate with all kinds of new activities, but the first one (aside from his regular slate of sports) to catch his fascination was learning to drive. he liked driving. he liked being the friend who knew how to do it, and he liked having jovial conversations with his dad about different types of vintage cars. he was the first of his friends to learn how to drive, and he used it to his social advantage. 

3 girlfriends, 2 state championships, and 1 prom king crown later, cary was a senior in high school, choosing between two football scholarships while desperately trying not to think about the gay thing. he would ask his parents for advice, if not for the fact that his dad would kick him out for even considering “the homosexual lifestyle” while his mom would tell him to “not think about it and move on”. he picks his college based on a coin flip, and keeps his mouth shut.

college is a new beast for cary, who’s suddenly thrust into a whole new world. the only time he’d lived somewhere other than the o’hare house (lovingly referred to as the o’house) was at sleepaway camp, but uni? that was a sleepaway camp where there were no rules. his major was undecided, and his time was mostly spent juggling gen eds, the football team, and the rowdy parties that he was invited to. 

the thing that made him decide his major, funnily enough, was a pregnancy scare. he’d hooked up with a cheerleader, more because she was a cheerleader while he was a football player than for any other reason, and three weeks later, she called him in tears, talking about a late period. on the drive to the doctor’s office to check, they got to talking about how they landed in this position. she admitted that she slept with him because he “reminded her of a weatherman”, and his career path was set. once his former hookup was given the clean bill of “not pregnant”, cary felt free to go along his way, rocking every public speaking class and doing pretty-okay on his meteorology courses, his road in life officially planned.

cary didn’t realize that he was capital g Gay until he actually had sex with a man. the process itself was undignified, beginning with eye contact across a dance floor and ending in a stranger’s bed. he was in a strange city, telling all of his friends that he was sick in the hotel while they were out at a bachelor party. he was paranoid at the gay bar, until he let himself get swept up in the music, and consequently, the spirit of lighthearted experimentation. even if when it happened, he’d already graduated from college, it still counted, right? either way, the end product was the same: him, in a stranger’s bed, trying to catch his breath. the guy’s name was paul, and the sex was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. it was electricity, and nerves, and magnetism, and cary was left without a doubt over the fact that he was exactly what he feared.

the years after that encounter moved in a predictable pattern, a cycle that he couldn’t break. first, he’d find some success in his career. then, he’d find a nice girl and try to make it work. then, the relationship would crash and burn. finally, he’d break again, and allow himself a weekend of gay debauchery. sometimes the cycle would take a few weeks to complete, and other times it would take a few years. this cycle filled up years, and then it filled up two decades, until he was 42 years old and truly exhausted. 

his parents wanted him to get married. more than anything, they wanted him to get married. it was one of the few things his mom and his dad agreed on, and in a way, they bonded over it. the whispers about why the local weatherman was a perennial bachelor certainly didn’t help his nerves, neither did the scores of posts from his high school and college friends announcing marriages and pregnancies. 

the big break from his cycle came in the form of hazel robson, a fellow member of a book club that he joined (he wasn’t super into reading, but the flow of a book club was deeply calming to him). their relationship blossomed over the book club pick of “love in the time of cholera”, following an especially insightful note from hazel. he asked her out to coffee, wanting to learn more about her opinion. their initial coffee date was legendary, their conversation lasting through two cups of coffee and an extended walk in the park. cary loved seeing the world through hazel’s eyes- she talked about literature with such a vivid intelligence that it was practically contagious. cary left that first date invigorated, like he was scores more intelligent just from having been in her vicinity. 

cary couldn’t put into words exactly why it worked so well with hazel, even though he didn’t like her that way. he knew, logically, that he was gay, and that he’d never wake up and love hazel the way she deserved to be loved. emotionally, however? he still kind of hoped that that day would come. their relationship continued to progress, without the dramatic endings that he’d gotten used to. what they had wasn’t going down in flames like his attempts at romance before- it was working. when he proposed, it was at the coffee shop where they had their first date, and he refused to let his guilt show on his face. 

things were exactly how his parents wanted it: he was married to a lovely woman, his career was booming, and the for-fun football team that he was a part of kept him in shape. it should’ve been perfect, but cary couldn’t help but feel restless. incomplete. not even his pre-game catchphrase (”my name is cary o’hare, and we are gonna win this thing fair and square!”) could keep that itch of the unfulfilled at bay. it only got worse when he met the living embodiment of everything he couldn’t have: liam lexington.

his father joked that a wandering eye was a normal part of being a married man, but cary suspected that his dad didn’t mean it like this. liam was bold, attractive, and shameless- cary couldn’t quite tell if he wanted to be him or be with him. he decided on the former, after some meaningful eye contact/hand on knee action at an applebee’s post-game celebration. it escalated into a torrid affair, one that he pointedly refused to talk about with liam or anyone else. 

it all fell apart on his 46th birthday. hazel walked into their house, ready to deliver his birthday surprise, only to walk in on liam delivering his birthday surprise. first there was the yelling, then there was the crying, until finally there were divorce papers. right after they both signed, there was a long stretch of silence, standing across from each other. then, cary broke the silence. “you know, hazel, i know it doesn’t feel like it right now, but i think one day, you and i are going to laugh about this. i know it’ll be far off in the future, and you hate me right now, but… one day, maybe when we’re old, we’ll be sitting on a porch, and we’ll be laughing about what happened.”

the official party line for the cause of the divorce was the question of kids, leaving cary right back at the start. he was a childless divorcee, and no longer his dad’s favorite. he’s gotten back into the routine of being single and publicly straight, something helped by his now-ex wife moving away. now that she’s back in town, and cary is finding less and less reasons to stay in the closet? it’s about to be a wild year for cary o’hare. 

[sutekiyomitsu]

[TRANSLATION] Live Spectacle Naruto ~Song of the Akatsuki~ Special Talk 02

[TRANSLATION] Live Spectacle Naruto ~Song of the Akatsuki~ Special Talk 02 The catharsis of the last 30 minutes

Rachi Shinji (Uchiha Itachi) and Sato Ryuji (Uchiha Sasuke)

Please do not repost any of my translations.

You may also read this translation on my Wordpress here.

Rachi: I heard from the staff that Sato-kun was shy with strangers, but even from our first meeting, he spoke [to me] normally.

Sato: I really am shy with strangers, but for some reason I was fine with Rachi-san.

Rachi: Are you messing with me!?

Sato: No, no… But that, isn’t it strange!?

Rachi: I tend to do things at my own pace, so when I don’t have to talk, I won’t talk at all, but even when I’m sitting next to Sato-kun, I do not feel concerned about having to talk, so I feel kind of comfortable with him.

Sato: Me too.

Rachi: I think that we are both similar in how we both tend to do things at our own pace.

Sato: Come to think of it, even from our first meeting, we were [physically] extremely close, right?

Rachi: Yeah. Despite it being our first meeting, we were suddenly close.

Sato: Hey, it was during the shooting for the photographs to be used in the pamphlet, right? We were face-to-face in a very, very close position. For 2-3 minutes we had to keep on staring into each other’s eyes and we were told to just stay like that.

Rachi: Yes, yes (laughs). Doesn’t it feel like from being the closest during our first meeting, the distance between us gradually opened up? By the time we reached the first day [of the performances], we were almost facing completely opposite directions.

Sato: (hurriedly) No, no… Actually, before I knew that it was Rachi-san who was going to be Itachi, I was told by the staff, “The person who plays Itachi has an aura that is similar to Ryuji’s.” At that time, I didn’t have the slightest idea [whether it was true] though.

Rachi: I wonder if we’re similar.

What is “blood ties”?

Sato: I’m an only child, right? Until now, even though I have played roles in which my character has a sibling, this was my first time playing siblings in such a serious manner. I was thinking about what it might be like to have a sibling… Rachi-san, do you have any siblings?

Rachi: I have an older brother.

Sato: Well then, you’re in the opposite position, eh?

Rachi: My siblings aren’t that close to begin with, but even in this role, looking at things from the standpoint of an older brother, I think that, ah, even the one who is older has his own challenges. Although, well, in reality, my older brother doesn’t think about me to that extent.

Sato: That may not be true.

Rachi: Because Itachi really thinks about Sasuke a lot, doesn’t he?

Sato: Sasuke also thinks about Itachi.

Rachi: I wasn’t a very talkative child, and my older brother was very mischievous, so I didn’t really like my older brother. But around the time I became 20 years old, for some reason or another, we became close, and now we phone each other and discuss things with each other. It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? But that is also something that happens with those who share the same blood, I think.

Sato: That’s the way it is.

Rachi: This time the relationship between Itachi and Sasuke is also like this, but usually with people of the same blood, if one of them is excellent, then the other is thought to naturally be able to do it as well. It’s the same way for parents and children, I think.

Sato: Aah. In my case, both of my parents are smart and can do sports. But for me, during my time as an elementary school student, all I did was study, and I couldn’t do sports at all. My parents said, “Even though we both can do sports...” I remember that I was really vexed by this and worked really hard.

Rachi: But now you are really moving [your body] a lot, so your parents must be surprised, huh.

Sato: Ahahaha.

Rachi: Speaking of blood ties, there’s also the idea of ’how much is determined by fate’. This time the relationship between Itachi and Sasuke is exactly that, I think it’s a story about the responsibility that our blood causes us to be burdened with. What makes Naruto interesting is that you can feel how Naruto, the protagonist, finds connection in things of the heart like bonds and friendship, while on the other hand, Sasuke is bound by his blood ties such as his clanship, or his relationship with his father and his brother. It is not about which is right and which is wrong, but if one of them is good for something, the reverse is also true.

The “kill or be killed” pair

Rachi: Looking at the site [of the stage production], the thought that struck me was how amazing it is that, recently, the young ones are really hard-working. When I was young, I was considerably different. Sato-kun and Matsuoka-kun, they are the ones who took the initiative and pulled this company together. Furthermore, they move amazingly, don’t they? I’m watching them with a feeling of, ’there was a time I was able to move like that too’.

Sato: For me, when I was watching Rachi-san rehearse… I thought that it was extraordinary.

Rachi: Eh!? “Extraordinary”?

Sato: It was the songs. The level [of Rachi-san’s singing] was entirely too high, I became anxious about whether or not I could keep up with it.

Rachi: Songs, huh... This time, even for me the songs were a challenge. To begin with, the key for Itachi’s spoken lines and for the songs are different. It is also difficult to sing without connecting emotionally [with the songs]. Itachi is a character that probably doesn’t display his personal feelings so openly, so I had to purposely do that, I think.

Sato: I didn’t think so far as to consider the difference between the key for the spoken lines and the songs. I just did what was given to me quietly...

Rachi: It’s amazing that you are able to do that.

Sato: (laughs) Thank you.

Rachi: It’s just that… To start singing immediately upon my entrance on stage, it was a seriously high hurdle to cross. I felt like, “Just when I’ve just come out, I have to sing!?”

Sato: But, you were really, really cool. Like, entering from the centre with a ‘bang’. Even during the play, the difference between your face as an “Akatsuki” member and your face as an “older brother” was amazing. Immediately upon arriving at rehearsals, when you said, “Shall we try sparring once?”, I was already overwhelmed.

Rachi: No, no, no… (laughs)

Sato: From our very first performance [in 2015], the actor who plays Kakashi-sensei, Kimisawa-san, would always watch my acting on stage, and occasionally give me advice, but after that rehearsal, he came and said to me, “At this point, you’ve completely outdone me.”

Rachi: I hadn’t memorised my lines at that point, so I was doing it while looking at the script as if it was a reading play….. (wry laugh). But, if you’re talking about the whole story and not just in that scene, Itachi is a cool character, so when he makes his appearance on stage, he appears to be at the peak [of his abilities], but actually that is not naturally the best [part of him]. I think it was that part that was difficult [to portray]. For that, I relied on Sato-kun, I entrusted it to him… I had to entrust it to him. Isn’t the last scene with Itachi and Sasuke an amazing climax? For the feelings of the people who are watching to reach their peak at that moment, we had to build it up to arrive at that point.

Sato: That is certainly so.

Rachi: It’s a “sorrowful” story about siblings, so I really wanted it to be keenly felt by the audience, that kind of heartrending anguish.

Sato: When we were reading through the script on the introductions day, in that scene in rehearsals that we were just talking about, (Kako) Lion-kun and the people around us said [to me], “That scene, isn’t it terrific?”

Rachi: As for me, nobody said anything to me, so I went home alone, lonely. I was just by myself… Okada Ryosuke approached me, but all he said was, “Rachi, good work~” (laughs). That’s all, you know!

Sato: Everyone said they were going to cry [during that scene].

Rachi: But actually, there were no other scenes except that last scene where I was seriously acting with Sato-kun.

Sato: That’s right. But that being the case, we used projections and images a lot, I thought that was an amazing point of interest. It looked like Icchi-san (the fight choreographer, Ichinose Hidekazu) also gave it his all.

Rachi: While watching Sato-kun, I thought, I should also work harder. In order to do things like deepen the trust between the cast members, I want to do something simple like go out to eat together.

Sato: ...Actually, well… (pause) I have not gone out to eat with this company yet…

Rachi: Eh!? Besides me, you haven’t been out with everyone else?

Sato: (like it’s difficult to speak about) Er… Ryosuke-kun and Rachi-san… that’s about it, you see?

Rachi: Ah, I see. To come to think of it, before this, they invited us, didn’t they? Because everyone’s going to out eat, they said.

Sato: That’s right.

Rachi: That day, I had an appointment… Because I would have joined everyone before, if they asked.

Sato: In that case, how about eating breakfast and then coming to the rehearsal place together?

Rachi: That would be new, right? But, I’m really not a morning person, is that all right?

Sato: I’m also bad with mornings!

Rachi: For both of us low-tension people to silently eat our breakfast [together], it might be interesting, don’t you think!?

For the shadows to shine more and more

Sato: This time, the scenes that I have been hoping and waiting for have finally made an appearance, so I think that there are also a lot of people in the audience who will be looking foward to them too. I am hoping that those who watch it will also keenly feel the impatience that I personally feel regarding the siblings, Sasuke and Itachi, [and their story].

Rachi: For me, in any case, I’m thinking about how to make the audience think, “Sasuke is good, isn’t he?”, “Sasuke was excellent, wasn’t he?”. Because, even from just reading the script, and moreso after the rehearsals had started, I thought, this time, it is Sasuke’s story. ...There is a pressure [on you] because of this, right?

Sato: Yes.

Rachi: I think, if Sasuke is able to truly shine, doesn’t that mean that this [performance] is successful? Even as Sasuke’s shadow shines more and more, Naruto’s light also stands out, right? This time then, my theme is to make Sasuke shine.

Sato: Thank you.

Rachi: That’s why, if Matsuoka-kun starts to shine, I’ll have to pull him down.

Sato: Ahahaha (laughing hard).

Personal Note:

Here’s a little New Year’s Eve present for everyone! This interview is at the back of the Live Spectacle Naruto ~Akatsuki no Shirabe~ pamphlet. I hope there’s a re-run of this performance just so that these two can act together again (and so that Rachi can call him Ryuji-kun instead of Sato-kun www)

As usual, a special thanks goes out to @rz-jocelyn​ for helping me proofread this! Thanks for everything in 2017 and cheers to the new year ahead~

[agron-rps]

relationship with Cory.

Oh man. 

I’ll never be able to say enough nice things about Cory. He was just one of the kindest, most generous and absolutely amazing people I’ve ever met. I was the last main cast member cast for the pilot and I only got to set a couple days before filming so I didn’t really know anybody. I was familiar with Lea and Matt’s previous work but I didn’t know them and they didn’t know me. Besides those two, I didn’t even know who else was cast at that point. I literally didn’t meet anyone. I didn’t even read for Ryan. So I was worried that everyone had already gotten to know each other and bonded before I even showed up. I walked in, with my head down and kind of feeling like an outsider, and then out of nowhere Cory magically appeared. He introduced himself, hugged me (he gave the best hugs, by the way. God do I miss them) and then whisked me off to meet everyone else. Literally everyone because by then he had already become the best of friends with everyone and the de-facto ringleader that was going to become the Glee circus. As soon as we were in the group and he introduced me, he immediately made a joke and blamed me for something that I did not do, and I was so embarrassed and it made me even more nervous because these people were absolute strangers but everyone laughed about it and he gave me that playful smile of his and told me he was just messing with me, and it was like from then on I was okay. I was officially part of the group. 

We were all so close on that set. Seriously, most of us like brothers and sisters (I say most because some of us did end up hooking up with each other... but those are stories for other days) and we all had a bond that I’ll never experience with another group of people in my life, but I had something a little extra special with him, and Lea, that set our friendship apart from my friendships with everyone else. The three of us worked together a lot early on, so we kind of just ended up almost always being together. Even when we weren’t working, or we were but not even in scenes together, we’d still be hanging out. We weren’t called the three musketeers for nothing. Which, in a way, is why I have to give him credit for why Lea and I are so close. We hit it off pretty instantly, don’t get me wrong, but I think having a mutual friend in Cory really helped us become closer. Along with Naya, they were the two people I considered myself closest to; and Cory was the one I gravitated towards when I was stressed and needed words, and hugs, of encouragement. He was a great listener, and he really cared. You felt like you could tell him anything, and you could trust that what stayed between the two of you stayed between the two of you. Even when I was upset, he made everything better just with a hug and a smile. When he told you everything was going to be okay, you believed it.

As soon as the show blew up and became what it was, everyone fucking loved and absolutely adored him; but he never let any of that or the success we all experienced go to his head. He remained the most down to Earth, humble person, and that was really inspiring. He never changed. I think that’s why we all looked up to him so much, and why he really was our quarterback. You could rely on him to keep things real and remind us all that what we were experiencing was a blessing and that we were so, so lucky to be doing what we were doing. We were all so fortunate to do some of the most amazing things and meet some of the most incredible people during our time on the show. We even traveled the world together. He absolutely cherished and appreciated each moment, and each and every fan that supported him and the show. He genuinely loved them.

I miss him. I miss him so much. Even though it’s been a few years now, every once in a while I still have the urge to pick up my phone to text him or check his Twitter. Reminiscing about him like this will always make me happy because I have all these wonderful memories of him and I always will, but it makes me sad, and mad, because he should still be here. He shouldn’t have missed out on everything else life had to offer him, because he had so much more to give, and I’m gutted that Rae will never know him. Since the show ended, quite a few of us have gone our separate ways, but I know for a fact he and I wouldn’t have. And that’s cathartic in it’s own right. There isn’t a week that goes by that I don’t think of him in one way or another, and I hope that never goes away.

He was, and will always be, my quaterback and my brother, and he’ll forever hold a special place in my heart just for him

[hqhaleyluhoo-archive]

isn’t she lovely?

TAGGING: AJ @hqmichalkas​, Haley.

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA.

TIMEFRAME: October 7th, 2019.

NOTES: AJ gets to hold baby Dier for the first time.

Haley had spent 8 hours in labor with her best friend, husband, and mom by her side. When the doctor finally laid Eleanor Lu Dier in her arms, Haley realized she would’ve suffered through another 8 hours if this tiny human was what she got out of it. Just as soon as she was laid on Haley’s chest she was removed to get checked out and cleaned up. The next hour felt like a blur. Brett had cut the umbilical cord and then a nurse brought her back to Haley. Her mom had gone to get her dad and when they both returned they were given chances to hold their granddaughter. AJ had offered to grab some food for everyone to allow the little family time to bond so when she came back it would finally be her turn to meet her goddaughter. In the time that AJ was gone, they had stitched Haley up and moved them to a room in the mom and baby unit. Brett had sent a text to AJ to inform her about the switch and a few minutes later the blonde was making her way into the new room. Haley slowly pushed herself up in the hospital bed as her mom handed Ellie back to her, she was in desperate need of a shower, but that could wait. “Are you ready to meet your goddaughter now?” Haley asked as she flashed a weak and tired smile at her best friend who had just reentered the room. Brett sat by the window calling up their closest friends to share the good news and her parents had stepped out to call different family members. Right now was the perfect time for AJ and Eleanor to bond. 

AJ had been grateful that her schedule worked out just in the nick of time to where she was able to head back to California right when her goddaughter was about to be born. It worked out, but even if it hadn't she would have canceled her appearance just to be at the hospital when it was time. She wasn't about to leave her best friend and future godchild without her. Especially not when she promised that she would be in the delivery room when it happened. The morning at the hospital was long but worth it, and by the time she had attended to everyone's needs as well as her own, there was nothing stopping her from stepping into the room to see her favorite little family. And of course, she still had an extra bit of sustenance leftover in case Haley was hungry after that massive ordeal. AJ would definitely be if it was her. Quietly, she slipped inside the room, hanging over by the door and waiting until Haley's mother left, before stepping fully inside. She had been there, but amidst the chaos, AJ hardly had time to see the baby, especially now that she was all cleaned up and used to being out in the world. For a second, AJ froze at Haley's question. Was she ready? She remembered being at the appointment, hearing the baby's heartbeat and wondering if she was ready, but that was nothing compared to seeing a living, breathing infant. Still, she shook off her fear, placing the food down on the secondary visitor's chair by the door and stepping forward, hands gripping onto the bed's railing. "Are you ready to have someone steal your baby?" She teased, walking along the side of the bed. "Because I can't promise that I won't walk out with her the second she's in my arms."

Haley noticed how her best friend froze slightly after she had posed the question, but then she watched as her best friend set down the food and came closer to the bed where Haley was sat, her eyes hardly leaving the sight of her daughter. "You wouldn't dare!" she gasped, feigning a look of worry and fear. "A nurse is coming within the next hour to help me feed her for the first time, so I doubt you'd get very far," Haley explained with a knowing look. She looked down at her daughter, kissing her forehead before she lifted her arms to gently pass her off to AJ. "Ready to meet your Auntie AJ, baby girl?" she cooed as the baby was placed securely in AJ's arms. The brunette laid back, reaching out for the cup of water on the tray next to her bed and taking a sip. "How'd we do?" she asked her best friend as the blonde got a good look at the little girl in her arms.

AJ shrugged. "You never know, I could totally pass as the stressed mother of a newborn baby. As long as she's not coming right now I could whisk her away and no one would be the wiser," she said, approaching the side of the bed and settling into the chair next to the bed. She wasn't ready in the slightest, but that was probably the same feeling that Haley was going through. It didn't matter whether she was or wasn't ready, the baby was here and there was nothing she could do to try to be any more ready. It was now or nothing. Thankfully, she was no stranger to holding babies, and carefully she took the infant from Haley's arms, careful not to jostle her as she settled back in her chair. Her heart squeezed, and she glanced up at Haley briefly, eyes shining. "She's beautiful."

Haley "Well, she would realize she was hungry at some point and then you'd be shi- shoot out of luck," Haley protested, raising her eyebrows at her best friend. "Young ears are now present. We have to watch what we say," she whispered. Haley tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at her best friend as she raved over the baby in her arms. "Isn't she?" Haley replied, eyes shining with tears just like AJ's were. Anytime someone new held her baby, Haley felt emotional all over again. These were the happiest tears she had cried in a long time. She laid back, tilting her head to the side to watch as Brett made calls to their friends, sharing the good news with them. Haley honestly couldn't believe she'd done it. The whole morning felt like a blur now that it was all over. "I'm really glad you were here," she said, snapping back to reality and looking at her best friend.

AJ rolled her eyes. "Please. She probably only barely registers that people are talking," she said, though she had already secretly made it a point to stop swearing in front of the infant whenever she could as often as she possibly could. "Thank God she got your looks," she teased, casting a glance at Brett in the corner still on the phone, sure that he couldn't hear her though she made the crack anyway. "You did a good job." She shifted slightly, partially freeing her hand to run her finger over the baby girl's little nose. "There's no place I'd rather be."

Haley sighed, "I know, but we have to start practicing now! Her little ears will eventually pick up on it," she explained. The actress giggled at her friend's next comment. "You hush!" she exclaimed, knowing Brett probably hadn't heard her but still wanting to stick up for him. "You really think she looks like me though?" she asked in a whisper, looking at the sleeping babe in her best friend's arms. "Thank you, I'm exhausted and still in a little bit of pain, but it was completely worth it. I mean look at her..." she said with a smile, still in complete awe at the fact that the baby resting in her friend's arms had still been inside of her only a few hours ago. "Now, what did you bring for me to eat?" she asked with a grin, leaning over to reach for the bag AJ had left beside her bed.

AJ shook her head. "Eventually, but not until she starts mimicking your words and sounds. Until then she's just gonna hear a bunch of mumbling." She looked down at the baby once more, nodding. "Exactly like you. In all seriousness. She's beautiful," AJ assured, looking down at the baby once more. Though she wasn't AJ's by any means necessary (Haley put in all the work), AJ already felt like she would be willing to protect this baby with her life. She was family, after all. "Well, that'll happen. I mean you pushed an entire human out of your body, I don't expect you to look like Kate Middleton after she gave birth. Which is insane, and they definitely gave her time to rest before they put makeup on her and let her walk out looking like giving birth was the most pleasant thing she's ever done." She laughed softly as Haley reached for the food, and she poked her head into the bag to try to remember. "Well, the lady in the cafeteria said you shouldn't have anything too heavy, so I got you a few choices of sandwiches, and I think a Gatorade and some jello."

Haley sighed, "Yeah yeah yeah. That won't be for a while." The brunette's face lit up as her friend confirmed that the baby looked exactly like her. "Except for those baby blues, apparently Brett and I both carry the blue-eyed gene despite not having blue eyes," she smiled. "Yeah, I did just do that," she laughed. "That is very true, I should've brought makeup so you could've dolled me up post-birth. Though I'm not sure many people care and I like it that way," she giggled matter of factly. "Sounds good to me!" Haley exclaimed, pulling a turkey sandwich from the bag and taking a bite. She set one aside for Brett to eat once he got off the phone with Keegan who would be coming to visit later in the day. "What would I do without you?" Haley questioned, trying her best to slowly devour the sandwich so she didn't choke or worse, throw up.

AJ scoffed. "Don't you 'yeah yeah yeah' me, ma'am. Just because you're a mom now doesn't mean you're still not my child." She looked down at the baby. Though her eyes were closed for now, AJ was sure that if she saw Ellie open her eyes, they would be a bright, piercing blue. A virtual angel. "Sometimes recessive traits work in mysterious ways. You never know you know? Hey, come on. I cared if you stepped out looking like a mess versus looking like the wife of the future king of England." She smiled, looking away from Ellie briefly too look at Haley. "Starve, probably." She looked back at the baby in her arms. So tiny and innocent. Still with years of development ahead of her. Still so much time to enjoy life. "In all seriousness," she began, looking back at the new mother once more. "I am so proud of you and what you've accomplished. She's beautiful, Haley, truly."

Haley “You only get the mom title when my mom isn’t in town and since she’s sticking around for awhile you get a break,” Haley said, sticking out her tongue. “I feel like I’m looking like a mess right now, but maybe that’s just me...” she admitted with a smile. “I would definitely starve,” she said, taking another bite of her sandwich. “Not being able to eat for 10 hours is no fun,” she admitted. Haley watched as AJ’s eyes stayed trained on the precious babe in her arms and then looked up into Haley’s eyes. Tears began to well in her eyes as her best friend spoke. “Thank you, that means a lot. I’m really proud of myself too. And thanks for being here, it means the world,” she added, wiping at her eyes. There was so much Haley wanted to talk about that didn’t include her baby, but she figured she could let that go for the moment.

[keenmindspodcast]

About Tom death and casual fans who don't belive in his death. I wish they kill him in more convincent way: blown him away, put 20 bullets. That nobody have doubts he is dead. I wish it was Liz in morgue not Harold. We still don't know forwhat was 10 months gap. I don't want find out reading interviews. When I watch show normaly don't do that.

Hi friend.  I agree with Jen, all of the casual fans I know do not believe in Tom’s death. True, most of them do not follow any of the actors or writers or TPTB in twitter or Facebook, so they do not know about 2 cakes, or even about Ryan Eggold being cast in another show as the lead. (a  NBC’s show set in NYC)

Jen approaches Tom’s death from her perspective of character analysis, and she feels (I think I correctly interpret her feelings her but feel free to correct me Jen) cheated of a show that has hope because Liz has lost her dream.  Red failed his daughter by not going to extreme measures to protect Tom. 

In many ways The Blacklist is a show about families and love. A family love story.  

One thing that is most unbelievable to me about those who hate Tom is that they treat Red as a god, someone whose words must be followed as gospel.   And that is very funny, because I have strong suspicions  that they never listen to their parents, and went out with the boy or girl they parents told them not to, smoke or injected what they were told not to, and had sex when and with whom their parents told them not to.  Yet they expect Liz and Tom to blindly follow what Red tells them to do. Even when Red admits to Dembe that he does not know why he cannot be honest with Liz and accepts Dembe’s accusation that he is still lying to both Liz and Tom.

At the end the most difficult thing about parenthood, and I speak of this from a distance, as I myself am not a parent,  but I am a daughter, so perhaps I have a less involved perspective, is letting go.   Is accepting your child has grown up, and doing a leap of trust to treating them as adults.   Red has made some headway:  he tells Kate that Liz is who she is, and she has chosen to remain close to the criminal side, even as she is on the other side. He calls her Elizabeth, instead of Lizzy.  And he has begun to treat her chosen life partner with a semblance of civility.  

And perhaps the most difficult thing to do for a parent is to accept a child’s chosen partner. To accept that regardless of such acceptance, this person is now part of ones family. That person is never who the parent would have chosen, but it is not the parent’s choice.  Once children are born, that link closes. Even if the in-law leaves, the child creates a bond for life. 

The wise parent accept the choice and welcomes the person into the fold.

So we know that Red could have trusted Tom as being a family member.  He could have shared the identity of the bones, or he could have at least told him why he needed to keep that secret.  

I do not count: 

Your curiosity is understandable. A mysterious suitcasebequeathed to you by a dying woman who insists that Elizabeth must be apprisedof its contents. But what if instead of happiness or closure,giving it to her has the opposite effect? 

the “what if” there pretty much sell it as a clever turn to phrase that allows Red to be honest and avoid the truth.  Like “the way Sam told the story”, and denying he is Liz’s father because Sam is, yet Liz is his daughter.  being honest and being truthful are not the same thing.

The reasons Red gives for not trusting Tom, that he married Liz because he fell in love with her, are very shallow, coming from a man who in appearance fell in love with a soviet soy and had a child with her, carrying the affair for at least 5 years and in theory abandoned his wife and child, and betrayed his country,

But then again, Red has apparently only trusted fully Dembe. Not even Kate knew it all: She did not know that Red is Liz’s biological father and she did not know about Dom, which means she did not know Katarina’s real identity and possible her real relationship to Red.

At the end, it was precisely that which created the big problem, because Kate thought Red was acting above his rights as Liz’s protector, not as her father. 

Red has trust issues, which work perfectly well for his endeavors, but which are not good for family matters.  I suspect part of Red’s secret has to do with shame or fear, which @schadenfreudequeen ‘s excellent Jungian analysis confirmed.  

Most of what Red saw and feared with Tom had less to do with Tom himself, that with his feelings and unresolved issues with Katarina.  Even before we learned that Katarina was a soviet covert agent, a honeytrap, I already was suspecting that Red’s feeling about it were a lot more personal than care for Liz.

Tom was a walking, talking parallel to Katarina.  The show went to great lengths to pummel  these parallels:

Tom is assigned to Liz.

Tom falls in love with Liz and marries her

Tom makes believe his new employer that he did so as a job, masking his true feelings

Liz finds out and stays in the marriage, doing her own spying

Liz and Tom get back together, have Agnes.

Tom is drawn into the suitcase’s business by Mr. Kaplan. He is eventually killed.

Liz finds out when she recovers from her extensive injuries that Tom is dead. 

She feels unable to be a parent, consumed by anger, wanting revenge, and worried about the wellbeing of her child.  She places Agnes with Scottie.

In the midst of her recovery Liz has an incident that propels her forward, one in which she has to resort to extreme violence, and continues forward.

The show also has gone to great lengths to show a fundamental difference between Red and Liz: Liz believes in getting even, and then moving on. Red cannot: he functions in that respect as a binary being: he kills or he does not.

Betraying Red carries death, or in the case of people closest to him, banishment.  Liz, in a trait she shares with her mother in law, believes in punishment appropriate to the offense, and moving on.  She broke Tom’s thumb, shot him 3 times, and she imprisoned him  in a filthy and cold boat for 4 months, exchanging blankets and medical attention for information, and then she was able to move on.  Scottie had Solomon beat him up.

I kept him prisoner in the hull of a ship andtortured him for two months, so in my book we’re even.

Can the score be even now? Can this be over? 

So, where am I going with all this?

To a point that I have tried to make many times.  The parallels work even better if we ask ourselves three questions:

Why is Dom’s identity such a close guarded secret?

Why does Dom have NO pictures in his house?

Why does Red have no pictures anywhere of both the blond child and of Liz?  It is one or the other.

The key to the show resides in those 3 questions.  Because the real identity of Katarina, her real name are of paramount importance.

I think most people imagine that Katarina is not dead.  So, we have 2 fundamental aspects in which Liz’s story deviates from Red’s:

Liz was married to Tom

Tom is dead

So, can I go back now to Cape May?  In his hallucination, when forced to explain the second dish on the table, he says is his wife.  When he is watching Liz as Bubble girl, we have a woman seen from the waist down. Why? Why is there no residence in which Red indulges by having pictures of the blond girl, the one in the swing and of Liz?    He obviously cares about both, Jennifer and Liz?   Red has stressed that biological links are unimportant, that is caring for a child that makes a father, so how could be so detached from Jennifer?

And when we start to think of Dom’s relationship to Red, it is inevitable to me that we arrive at a relationship that most of us know well: in-laws. Either we are an in-law, we grow up seeing our parents relate to their in-laws, we have in-laws.  Forget about the noise of the plot and watch the performance.  Ask a total stranger to watch Red and Dom scene and ask them what he think the relationship is.

And so, I suspect Red was married to Katarina.  Red experienced the betrayal of a spouse but was not able to move forward.  Red believes that Liz is playing house with Tom, when she had him on the boat.   So, watch the scenes with Carla, again forgetting about the plot.  Add that they cannot express any of their real feelings and issues because they are witness.  They have a few moments alone that we see: in the cabin, when we start by Carla punching Red in the mouth.

Now: If Carla is one of Katarina’s many names, then she is most certainly alive, and Red knows where she is.  And Red had prevented her from coming into Liz’s life via their agreement, something Liz calls unforgivable: keeping her from her mother.

And if so, we know that Red believed her dead at some point, in all he tells Ressler and Liz, and that Katarina thought he was dead.  We have a Romeo and Juliet situation.

And so now we have Liz waking up to learn Tom is dead.  Do we have a direct knowledge?  No. It was Harold whom we see in the morgue. We have a tombstone that reads Keen Tom.

And we have a character who learned almost all of the big secret, if not all.

Tom may be alive, and kept away for various circumstances,  But if he is, he will not come back until close to the end, because he learned it all.

So the question is, is The Blacklist close to the spy genre, in which almost inevitably romance and love does not bear well, the very traits that makes a spy good prevent them from that happy family life.  Or will the show be a brilliant caper, in which the protagonists will eventually walk away with the treasure?

That I do not know.

But I would say you are correct in discarding anything you have not learned from watching the show as it aired.  

Tessa.

PS. I am sure Jen will have a different answer than mine.  I hope she answers it too.

[aion-rsa]

The Buy Pile: Bad People & Bad Decisions Make For Good Comics

WHAT IS THE BUY PILE?

Every week Hannibal Tabu (winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt/blogger/novelist/poet/jackass on Twitter/head honcho of Komplicated) grabs a whole lotta comics. These periodicals are quickly sorted (how) into two piles — the “buy” pile (a small pile most weeks, comprised of planned purchases) and the “read” pile (often huge, often including comics that are really crappy but have some value to stay abreast of). Thursday afternoons you’ll be able to get his thoughts (and they’re just the opinions of one guy, so calm down, and here’s some common definitions used in the column) about all of that … which goes something like this …

THE BUY PILE FOR JANUARY 18, 2017

Curse Words #1 (Image Comics)

Jump from the Read Pile. The lure of leisure time and scantily clad romantic partners have felled conquerors of many stripes, from the Zentraedi in “Robotech” to … well, the Invid in “Robotech.” In this crafty new book, an imperialist’s minion gets a change of heart when he experiences New York City. That part is very engaging, and when the bill inevitably comes due that leads to some solid action and the truth needing protection in an extreme fashion. Charles Soule, Ryan Browne, Jordan Boyd, Michael Parkinson, Chris Crank and Shawn DePasquale turned in one entertaining work and watching this struggle between demons and slightly better angels is a great start.

“Grand Passion” #3 breaks all the rules and loves every minute of it.

Grand Passion #3 (Dynamite Entertainment)

Jump from the Read Pile. Not at all safe for work, this twisted gunpoint love story has everything you need to get engaged in the characters and resolve the plot in this issue while pushing you towards the next one. Spoilers would abound with discussing the details, but James Robinson, Tom Feister, Dave Curiel and Simon Bowland deliver a bawdy, enjoyable romp.

WHAT’S THE PROGNOSIS?

New ideas getting their game face together? Gotta love that, especially with so much cool new stuff happening.

THIS WEEK’S READ PILE

Honorable Mentions: Stuff worth noting, even if it’s not good enough to buy

Answers start to come in “Mosaic” #4 with the help of a brain significantly better than the series’ protagonist. There’s a real holodeck feel to it, as a lot of nothing happened just to transfer some information and do a bit of character work. That dragged the plot, which wasn’t so good, but the building of Morris Sackett as a character is fantastic.

Maximus the Mad is like a bored frat boy Loki in “Uncanny Inhumans” #18 where he comes up with a plan that only involves a little bit of murder and mayhem but he figures will be wholly forgiven. Hanging out with two of the worst Inhuman villains aside from himself, this has the feeling of a good crime comedy but hits the brakes sometime during the second act, leaving things unresolved. An improvement with the focus on character, but not enough to make it home.

“WWE” #1 was interestingly written, presenting the story behind the story as a story, reframing actual events in wrestling … “history,” we can call it. In any case, this behind the scenes look plays out as if the characters on the screen are the same when the cameras are off, carrying the scripted nature of the stories to a whole new level. On one hand, that’s brilliant and amazing, especially with the Seth Rollins characterization. On another hand, many of the shirtless characters herein were difficult to distinguish from each other, and that made the story seem to go by in a blur at points.

“Captain America Sam Wilson” #18 took a long time to make what seems like an obvious decision (as stated by almost everybody who matters in these pages), which made its titular character terrible even in the eyes of many people closest to him. It also had a strategy from a young hero that bordered on stupidity, so that was a problem. What was good was Steve Rogers, dancing around double entendres so much that Ben Kenobi might pause and then applaud respectfully. The ideas are better than the execution, and if this issue is right that the cause matters more than the consequences, that’s something to like.

Just when “Star Wars Doctor Aphra” #3 was getting good, after some character development (including her full name) and finding out just how dangerous a single Wookiee can be, when the page count caught up to it, cutting the story off at the climax of a second act. Written as trade bait? Maybe. This was close to making the mark, though, as each cast member did some of what makes them awesome.

The “Meh” Pile Not good enough to praise, not bad enough to insult, they just kind of happened … “Harbinger Renegade” #3, “Aquaman” #15, “Revolutionaries” #1, “Trinity” #5, “Cage” #4, “Hook Jaw” #2, “Green Arrow” #15, “Squadron Supreme” #15, “Jeff Steinberg Champion Of Earth” #5, “Dollface” #1, “Lucifer” #14, “Spider-Gwen” #16, “Black Hammer Giant-Sized Annual” #1, “Venom” #3, “Superman” #15, “Deadpool And The Mercs For Money” #7, “Horizon” #7, “Ultimates 2” #3, “Justice League” #13, “Black Widow” #10, “Athena Voltaire And The Volcano Goddess” #3, “Suicide Squad Most Wanted El Diablo And Amanda Waller” #6, “Divinity III Aric Son Of The Revolution” #1, “Avengers” #3.1, “Raven” #5, “Unbelievable Gwenpool” #10, “Battlestar Galactica Gods And Monsters” #3, “Mighty Captain Marvel” #1, “Justice League Vs Suicide Squad” #5, “Gamora” #2, “Doctor Who The Ninth Doctor” #9, “Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat” #14, “Harley Quinn” #12, “Kill Or Be Killed” #5, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” #11, “James Bond Hammerhead” #4, “Nightwing” #13, “Black Panther World Of Wakanda” #3, “Generation Zero” #6, “Star-Lord” #2, “Cougar And Cub” #1, “All-New X-Men” #17, “Justice League Of America The Ray Rebirth” #1, “U.S. Avengers” #2, “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency The Salmon Of Doubt” #4, “Invincible Iron Man” #3, “He-Man Thundercats” #4, “Night’s Dominion” #5, “Green Lanterns” #15, “Few” #1, “Batman” #15.

No, just … no … These comics? Not so much …

Since “Clone Conspiracy” #4 and “Amazing Spider-Man” #23 have so many of the same story elements, they may as well have the same review. Of course, trusting maniacs and murderers goes as it inevitably has to after pages and pages of moralistic hand wringing and prevarication. These books are so predictably doomed that when the other shoe finally drops, it’s almost a relief to know there’s just the punching and attempted murder to get through now. Subpar concept, adequate execution.

SO, HOW BAD WAS IT?

Not bad.

WINNERS AND LOSERS

Those jumps, though … let’s call this week a winner.

THE BUSINESS

Well, there are 22 pages of a new 72 page web comic on line, there’s another one coming next month while a third just got collected for sale, 44 pages of story for just three bucks through Black History Month. All that and asking the question who is David Chance? It was a big weekend at the Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco, and if you join the mailing list there’s free stuff in it for you, to boot!

The writer of this column isn’t just a jerk who spews his opinions — he writes stuff too. A lot. Like what? You can get “Project Wildfire: Enter Project Torrent” (a collected superhero web comic), “The Crown: Ascension” and “Faraway,” five bucks a piece, or spend a few more dollars and get “New Money” #1 from Canon Comics, the rambunctious tale of four multimillionaires running wild in Los Angeles, a story in “Watson and Holmes Volume 2” co-plotted by “2 Guns” creator Steven Grant, two books from Stranger Comics — “Waso: Will To Power” and the sequel “Waso: Gathering Wind” (the tale of a young man who had leadership thrust upon him after a tragedy), or “Fathom Sourcebook” #1, “Soulfire Sourcebook” #1, “Executive Assistant Iris Sourcebook” #1 and “Aspen Universe Sourcebook,” the official guides to those Aspen Comics franchises. Love these reviews? It’d be great if you picked up a copy. Hate these reviews? Find out what this guy thinks is so freakin’ great. There’s free sample chapters too, and all proceeds to towards the care and maintenance of his kids … oh, and to buy comic books, of course. There’s also a bunch of great stuff — fantasy, superhero stuff, magical realism and more — available from this writer on Amazon. What are you waiting for? Go buy a freakin’ book already!

Got a comic you think should be reviewed in The Buy Pile? If we get a PDF of a fairly normal length comic (i.e. “less than 64 pages”) by no later than 24 hours before the actual issue arrives in stores (and sorry, we can only review comics people can go to stores and buy), we guarantee the work will get reviewed, if remembered. Physical comics? Geddouttahere. Too much drama to store with diminishing resources. If you send it in more than two days before comics come out, the possibility of it being forgotten increases exponentially. Oh, you should use the contact form as the CBR email address hasn’t been regularly checked since George W. Bush was in office. Sorry!

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