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sundayswiththeilluminati · 3 years

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Continued from this post, Part 3 of my discussion of Essek Thelyss in the context of real-world espionage. This time: what happens to espionage assets in the long run? Do they break contact, and why? What might have been in store for Essek?

At the treaty meeting Essek tells Ludinus to his face that he wants no further contact with the Assembly, not even to learn what the Assembly discovers via their own beacon. He’s far from the first asset to try to sever their relationship, and it ends in one of three ways: they don’t manage to break contact, they break contact but voluntarily return, or (rarest of all) they end the relationship permanently.

Most attempts don’t go beyond option 1, because intelligence agencies are not in the business of respecting their assets’ choices. Handlers are skilled in keeping the upper hand in their asset relationships and will take any further opportunity to gain leverage by compromising the asset. For instance they’ll often pay for information even if the asset hasn’t requested it, because money changing hands makes it far harder for an asset to frame their activities positively to their own side if they attempt to confess (”You expect us to believe they were blackmailing you when you got $10,000 to hand over the secret manual?” etc.) And when push comes to shove most people aren’t willing to accept the severe punishments for espionage. An asset’s threat to confess is more likely a negotiating ploy than a serious option.

Some assets, especially nervous or ego-driven ones, get the carrot: the KGB did a strong line in awarding secret medals to convince them they were doing important, well-regarded work and that the KGB would protect them - not an empty reassurance, as highly-placed moles like Aldrich Ames warranted elaborate ops involving double and triple agents to avert suspicions. And some assets get the stick: the handler tightens the screws using whatever leverage they’ve gained, implies that they’re already “too far in to go back,” or gives some time for those who were blackmailed into spying to think about the consequences of exposure.[1]

Those who get as far as option two, breaking it off and later returning, are usually driven away by fear but back by finances. Fantasy spies have all sorts of motives but in real life the majority are in it for the money. Assets, as you might imagine, make bad choices. About half start selling secrets just to stave off massive debt from overspending and poor financial decisions (the rest feel underpaid.) So even if these assets stop temporarily, the circumstances that drove them to espionage in the first place are still very much present. In these cases all a handler has to do is shrug and say, “You know where to find us.” Infamous FBI mole Robert Hanssen broke off contact with his Russian handlers when the Soviet Union collapsed, fearing he might get outed in the chaos, but linked back up with them just 10 months later when, surprise surprise, he needed some cash.

And then there are the rare handful who stop completely. There’s a bit of survivor(?) bias here because anyone who passes along secrets, breaks off the relationship before being caught, and manages to get away with it is by definition someone we don’t know about. Those who do manage to break contact long-term are usually able to do so because they left the situation that gave them access to interesting secrets and therefore the controlling agency determined they were no longer a useful resource and not worth pursuing. But even if an asset stops working for an agency, they’re far from forgotten - and far from off the hook. Names and evidence of their espionage would be kept on file for potential use as blackmail, leverage in state-to-state negotiations, or expendable material to prove bona fides in ops involving fake defectors or triple agents. A surprising number of spies are caught/outed years after their espionage ended.

Very few assets permanently sever their espionage relationships the hard way: making a genuine confession and accepting punishment. But it’s not unheard-of, especially if the espionage was brief and the asset believes the damage can be repaired. In 1989 Army signals analyst Michael Peri disappeared from his post in West Germany along with a portable computer containing numerous classified documents. Eleven days later he returned to his previous post with the computer and voluntarily confessed to the theft and sort-of defection to East Germany. When interrogated, Peri - who had been a model soldier until that point - said he felt overworked and underappreciated by his superiors, though he couldn’t entirely explain his decisions either to leave or to return (a sexy female Russian agent might also have been involved). He received a 30-year sentence.

Marine Clayton Lonetree, a guard stationed at the US Embassy in Moscow in 1985, was blackmailed over an affair to hand over details on the embassy compound for a year, but his conscience finally got the better of him and he confessed in late 1986. Being a Marine he faced the very real prospect of death by firing squad, but the court martial ended up giving him a 30-year sentence. It was later reduced to 15 after the Marine Corps Commandant wrote a letter to the Navy Secretary on his behalf attributing the young Marine’s actions not to treason or greed but to loneliness, naivety, and poor judgement.[2]

Going back to Essek’s case, he’s already in the minority of espionage assets because he doesn’t want money in return for the secrets he passes along; though the knowledge the Assembly promises him in return fulfills a similar desire, Essek doesn’t need that knowledge to pay off the equivalent of debt or to maintain his lifestyle. He has no pressures at home that force him to continue spying. With the beacons returned, the fall guys in place, and their tracks seemingly covered, he tells Ludinus that all he wants is to be rid of the entire affair. That rules out option one (he sincerely means to cut the Assembly off) and option two (he won’t be driven back by need.)

Essek is also in an unusual position in that the worst of the damage he caused is repairable - just return the beacons.[3] A secret, once compromised, can’t be un-compromised. If an asset hands over a cipher machine they can’t fix the situation by stealing the cipher machine back; the foreign agency they sold it to has already studied the machine and learned its secrets, meaning it’s now effectively useless. But returning the beacons restores what the Kryn lost. While keeping dunamancy secret gives the Kryn a tactical edge, and I’m sure the Dynasty would prefer to keep the magical soulstones of their elite hidden from their long-time rival, the beacons don’t need to be secret to work. Essek therefore has a much better chance than most to simply repair the damage, cut off his handlers, and try to forget the whole affair ever happened. He might even think that, now that the Assembly has their own beacon, they’ll have no further use for him and will just leave him alone.

But from the Cerberus Assembly's perspective, this fruit still has plenty of juice in it and they risk nothing by continuing to squeeze. Now that they have their own beacon Essek’s knowledge becomes even more valuable. He has access to hundreds of years of dunamantic spellcrafting - and more importantly the rite of consecution, since the Assembly were probably after beacons in the first place to make themselves immortal. If Essek is caught, it’s treason for him, but the Assembly doesn’t suffer; they were doing it for the good of the Empire, learning about dunamancy to help the war effort. So if he refuses to keep spying voluntarily for the Assembly, they’ll just have to find another way to motivate him.

As part of evaluating Essek before recruitment, Assembly operatives would have noted that he’s, well, highly motivated to save his own skin. Ludinus’ goal therefore becomes to make Essek see further espionage as the only way to stay alive. So instead of confronting Essek then and there, Ludinus shrugs and goes, “Okay. Sure.” Then he activates the Volstruckers, maybe leaks a little info to the Dynasty about a traitor in their midst, and sets up Essek to stew in fear, feeling isolated and attacked from both sides - targeted by the Assembly for his defiance, under suspicion from the Dynasty, unable to ask for help because of his crimes. Ludinus sits back and waits for Essek to re-establish contact on his own. Of course Ludinus didn’t know that the M9 had confronted Essek and gotten him to confess, making a return to spying impossible even if he tried.

While Essek’s motives revolve around ego, frustration, and rebellion, his situation is more like those of people who end up defecting because they’re unable to pursue their careers or live as they want to back home. He has virtually no social/family ties to leave behind, no loyalty to Dynasty authority, and no religious fervor to defend the Luxon, while the Assembly promises him the company of like minds and free rein in his experiments. Assuming no intervention by the M9 I think Essek would have ended up defecting to the Cerberus Assembly. If he did it early enough in the story he might have even joined the Volstruckers to complete the narrative foil transformation.

If the crew had confronted him at the treaty but not offered mercy I think he would have defected purely out of fear, thinking the Assembly were the only people who could protect him from both the Dynasty and the M9. He was already on edge watching the guy he'd set up to take the fall getting walked away in chains and with the Assembly's Wind of Aeons ship right there it would be the ideal time to make the move. Assuming the treaty confrontation went as it did (the crew makes him confess but lets him live) but the M9 hadn’t shown up in Eiselcross, Essek would likely have fled the outpost and gone into hiding in a bid to outrun his crimes (and probably gotten caught two weeks later given how awful he was at being “Dezrain Thane.”)

Essek is far from the first recruited asset to regret what they did even as they kept doing it. Those who can sell out their nation and not feel even a pang of guilt are thankfully thin on the ground. Most start off doing what seems to be a favor for a friend - or accepting a favor from a friend who wants to help with their “financial difficulties” - and end up so deep they can’t see any way forward other than to keep handing over secrets. He’s one more in a long line of those who compromised information out of frustration, especially through the appeal to shared professional interests (that’s how industrial assets tend to be recruited.)

But he’s also in a much better place to make up for it than most assets. Since he primarily compromised property, not secrets, returning said property can (somewhat, mostly) repair the damage done, which goes a long way towards buying leniency from the powers that be. And now I’m realizing that this post actually needs one final part, which is: how do you try someone for espionage, and should you charge them with it in the first place?

[1] While spy dramas love sexy blackmail, and handlers will happily collect it to leverage against a balky asset, it works far less often in reality as a main reason for espionage. Social penalties for extramarital affairs pale before actual legal penalties like the death sentence for treason. On the other hand, those with foreign relatives are sometimes coerced by threats against those relatives.

[2] Lonetree’s case for leniency got a boost in 1994 when Aldrich Ames was finally caught and some serious breaches of embassy security that had been attributed to Lonetree were found to be Ames’ work instead. In 1996 Lonetree was released after having served 9 years total.

[3] Although I did just think of a really messed-up Cerberus Assembly plan: consecute a handful of completely loyal Volstruckers, kill them, and send the beacons back so said agents will be reborn in the Dynasty and work to undermine it from within. How fucked up would that be?? Campaign 3 plot hook anyone?

(This accidentally turned into a series on Essek & IRL espionage: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4)

#Critical Role #Essek Thelyss #Critical Role spoilers #not really but just to be safe #CR meta #I guess #is that a thing people tag things with?#anyway let's talk about espionage!#I can't stop thinking about Volstrucker!Essek #jesus can you imagine that confrontation #Caleb staring him down? flanked by Astrid and Eadwulf?#then again I think Essek hates Trent in every timeline so #but still seriously #the narrative foils!#the foilssssssss #it's been a long pandemic

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twordytings · 4 years

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Christmas Chronicles

Word Count: 2,148

Ah... Christmas Eve... the day before Christmas but also the most tempting day to peek at presents. Well, maybe just for you.

AN~ MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I don’t even celebrate but I just wanted to give a lil gift for everyone who’s taken the time to follow me, like any of my posts, or just shown any kind of support towards me or my blog. I came into this not expecting even half of the love that I’ve gotten, and I just wanted to say thank you so much. Hope you enjoy the fic:))

It was the morning of Christmas Eve, and all of the Avengers were gathered at the compound to finally take a bit of a break. None of them were planning on celebrating the holidays; it was something they didn’t think was important, not to mention there was never any motivation to celebrate. But being Peter’s best friend and all, you were practically family to all of them, and you were gonna make sure they celebrated Christmas if it was the last thing you did. So, as you sat on the living room couch, snuggled up with a blanket, you had a tender feeling inside of you knowing that all these Christmas decorations and the giant Christmas tree (not to mention the plethora of presents underneath) in the corner of the room were up because of you. Light shining ever so bright into the room making it feel so cozy, even though it was bitterly cold outside.

Natasha came into the room looking confused as ever, “Y/n, have you seen the wrapping paper with all those kittens on it? I’ve been looking everywhere but I can’t find it.” You were so surprised that Natasha, of everybody would be celebrating the holidays, but you weren’t complaining.

“Umm it’s probably in the storage room next to the elevator.”

“Ok thanks!” and she was off.

Just then Steve barged in. “Y/n. Where. Are. The bows. You know, the sticky ones that you can just slap on and call it a day?”

“They’re definitely in the attic.” It was Steve, so of course you had to mess with him a bit.

“Cool. Thanks.” Right about when Steve left, Tony came in. (With his Santa onesie on, of course)

“Let me guess, you either need wrapping paper, bows, or ribbon.”

“Nope. Just a cup of coffee.”

“Thank go-“ just then there was a loud crash.

“WHAT WAS THAT!?”

“Just Steve.” you said with a chuckle.

“Oh ok. For a second there I thought it was someone important.”

You were both laughing your heads off as Steve came in walking heavy like a giant, covered head to toe in dust and debris.

“They weren’t... in... the attic” Steve said with a furious look on his face.

You threw a pillow at him as a form of defense, but obviously he didn’t find it funny since all he did was catch it and throw it beside him. You got another one ready to throw at him but before you could he said, “Throw a pillow at me again and see what happens.” You immediately put your hands up in surrender since you didn’t feel like being attacked at that very moment.

***

It was about eleven o’clock now and you were snuggled up in your sleeping bag but you weren’t going to sleep just yet. You were staying over at the compound for Christmas this year since your parents were out of town and wouldn’t make it back for Christmas. You were really upset at first but you were happy that you practically had two families: your real parents and the Avengers. You wondered what everyone got you. Could it be a new fluffy blanket? Slippers? A phone? Thinking about about all the possibilities made you extremely impatient, so you thought up a plan. While everyone was sleeping, you’d quietly tiptoe downstairs and give a little peek at what everyone got you. Then, you would go back upstairs as if you’d been sleeping the entire time. Perfect idea, right? Wrong But if you were gonna do it, you didn’t want to do it alone. So of course, being your best friend, you asked Peter to come along for the adventure. “Hey Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“I’ve articulated a master plan to do something extremely awesome! Are you in?”

“Your gonna look at what everyone got you when they all fall asleep, aren’t you?” You were in awe. How’d he know?

“How’d you know?!”

“You’re kinda my best friend y/n. Sometimes I think I know you too well.”

“Alright well are you in?”

“Nope. You’re gonna have to do your dirty deed without me this time. If anyone finds out we’ll be done for.”

“Awww c’mon. No one’s gonna find out. Please?”

“Goodnight y/n.” Peter said as he ignored your pleas. You’d guessed you had to do it alone this time.

***

It had been a good hour until you were sure everyone was sleeping. Waiting for the entire compound to be quiet was agonizing, and you obviously weren’t a very patient person considering the fact that you thought up an entire plan to sneak a peek at your Christmas presents. You made sure to bring your phone for its flashlight so that you wouldn’t bump into anything, and so the plan began.

You first very carefully pulled off your sleeping bag to leave Peter’s room and made your way downstairs. As you left his room, you saw that everyone’s doors were closed except for Tony’s, but you weren’t worried since Tony was a pretty heavy sleeper. Little did you know that Tony checks the security cameras every morning, so even if no one saw you now, Tony would find everything out as soon as he woke up.

You made it all the way downstairs to the beautifully lit up tree, and took a look at all of your presents. You were so happy! You’d gotten the best presents including that fluffy blanket and pair of slippers you pondered about receiving. You were satisfied with what you saw so you made your way back upstairs and went straight to sleep, as if nothing had happened.

***

Christmas morning came and you immediately got up and shook Peter awake. “PETER PETER GET UP! IT’S CHRISTMAS!”

“Ugh just five more minutes!” he said groggily and went back to sleep. Drastic times called for drastic measures so you stood up on his bed and began to jump up and down as crazily as you could so that he would get up.

“PETER! GET! UP!”

“OK OK IM UP.”

“Good.” You made your way to Steve’s room and instead of jumping on his bed, you screamed in his ear, which probably wasn’t the best idea. “STEEEEEVE IT’S CHRISTMAAAAAS!”

“AAAAAH- oof.” He had fallen of his bed during your effort to wake him. But he was awake so you put your hands on your hips in satisfaction. You then eventually woke everybody else up including Natasha, Bucky, Clint, Sam, and Bruce and as of now were all brushing their teeth and getting ready for present opening. You were already ready so you hopped downstairs with the biggest grin on your face, knowing that today would be a great day.

You got to the last few steps and saw Tony at the bottom. “Good morning Tony!” you said as you gave him a big hug. Again, he saw what you did last night, and he had most definitely not forgotten.

“Good morning!” he hugged you back. “Did you wanna tell me anything?”

“Uhhh no? What do you mean?” There was no way he could’ve known, or could he have?

“I mean did you wanna talk about how you snuck out of your room in the middle of the night to look at all your presents?” Busted.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” you said innocently as you could with your crossed your arms over your chest.

“Oho really?”

“Hey y/n! Hey Tony! Merry Christmas!” Peter came down to greet you both.

“Merry Christmas Peter! You wouldn’t happen to know about y/n’s little doing last night, would you?” Peter looked at you in total surprise. He was terrible at keeping secrets, and if this one slipped, you didn’t even want to think about what would happen.

“Uhm...” you gave him a serious look. “of course not! I... uh... was... sleeping! Yeah I was really tired and... sleeping.”

“Sorry kid but you’re a terrible liar. And I didn’t even need you to tell me. I looked at the security cameras from last night and they showed me everything.” He had the most evil smile on his face. You silently cursed yourself since you should’ve known he checks the cameras.

“Y/n. You should run.” Peter said seriously. You would thank him for that later since you were in the midst of escaping for your life.

“Get back here!”

“No way! You’re gonna kill me!” you said while running. Tony could’ve easily caught you by now, but he wanted to let you enjoy the upper hand for a little while.

You had now ran around the stair case about five times, through the kitchen once, and almost ran straight into the fireplace at one point. But you knew that Tony catching you was inevitable. You thought running into one of the rooms was the best idea. Maybe you could lock yourself in there and Tony would forget about everything. But just as you thought you were about to get away you ran straight into Steve. “Steve! Help! Tony’s gonna kill me!”

“Well Merry Christmas to you too y/n. What’d you do this time?” Before you could say a word Tony grabbed from behind and threw you over his shoulder.

“Gotcha.”

“Would someone like to explain to me what happened?” Steve said.

“Well, someone...” Tony said as he poked your stomach. “decided to sneak downstairs and peek at her presents last night.”

“Y/N!” Steve gasped dramatically, “How could you!?”

“Steve, I believe we should handle this in a civilized manner, don’t you?” Tony gave Steve a knowing look.

“But of course. I’ll help!” Tony brought you over to the couch and straddled your waist. Steve took the pleasure of holding your arms. So frankly, you were screwed.

“Ihihim sohohorry!”

“You don’t think you’ll get away with it that easy, do you?” Tony said.

“Steeheheeve pleehease!”

“No can do y/n. If anything, you deserve this.”

“What?! How? All I di- AHHAHAHAHAHHA TOHOHONY STAHAAP!” Tony wasted no time in tickling you to pieces. It felt like a billion ravenous spiders were crawling all over you. Not to mention Steve was also tickling your underarms, and there was no way of escaping. All you could do was stay along for the ride.

“You should’ve thought about this before sneaking around y/n.” You couldn’t even hear what Tony was saying over your own laughs. Just then, Bucky came into the room.

“Hey what’s going on here?”

“Oh hey Bucky!” Steve said. “We were just tickling the crap out of y/n! Wanna help?”

“Uh, yea!”

“NONONONONONOOOO!”

“Aw what’s wrong y/n? Afraid of a little tickling?” Bucky said as he switched places with Tony.

“I’m gonna go make a cup of coffee, anybody want one?” Both Steve and Bucky exclaimed a, “Me!” and continued with their attack.

“Now, where should I start?”

“NOWHERE!” you screamed.

“Y/n, that’s not very nice. We’re only trying to show you that what you did was wrong.” Steve said.

“By tickling me?!”

“Exactly! Now you’re catching on.” You were so furious so you stuck your tongue out at him. He obviously didn’t like that.

“Bucky. Go for her sides. She hates it.” Steve said as he grinned mischievously at you.

“Aye aye, captain!” Bucky’s fingertips instantly made contact with your sides and you couldn’t contain yourself. You were shaking your head, thrashing you legs every which way just in case there was a chance to get out of your predicament. Unfortunately, there wasn’t.

“BUHUHUCKY DOHOHONT!”

“Don’t what?”

“TIHIHICKLE MEEEHEHEHE!”

“I’m so glad you asked!” Bucky said in excitement.

“NOHOHOOOHO THAHATS NOOHOT WHAT IHIHI- AHAHAHAHA!”

“That’s not what you... what? Sorry I couldn’t hear you. Can you speak up a bit?” Bucky said as he paused his attack. Steve on the other hand was still tickling your underarms.

“Ihihi sahaid thahats noohot whahahat I meheheant.” Steve finally paused his fingers.

Steve wasn’t tickling you anymore but he was still holding your arms just in case you tried to get away. “Are you sorry about what you did?” He said as his face was no more than an inch away from yours.

“YEHES!” you said as residual giggles poured out of you.

“And are you going to do something sneaky like that again?”

“NO! Now can you let me go?!”

“What’s the magic word?”

“PLEASE!”

“Ok. Bucky. Release.” Bucky hesitated to get off but he did eventually and offered you a hug but you denied.

“Meany.” Bucky said with a frown as he walked away. Tony then came over and handed you a cup of hot chocolate as everyone else came downstairs.

“Merry Christmas Munchkin.” He said as he sat down and put an arm around you.

“Merry Christmas Tony.” you said with a huge smile on your face.

You’d realized that day that it was never about the presents on Christmas. It was about who you spent it with, and you didn’t want to be spending it with anyone else.

#tickle #ticklish #tickling #tickle fic #ticklish!reader #ler!tony #ler!steve #ler!bucky #tickle community #marvel mcu #mcu #mcu tickle #mcu tickle fic #fiction #reader fic #marvel fic #captain america #iron man #winter soldier

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kingofthewilderwest · 6 years

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Which Big Hero 6 character is your favorite? Who do you think you'd be friends with? Which superpower/gadget from the movie would you choose, and if you could make your own, what would it be? Which part made you the saddest/cry the hardest? A lot of people want Tadashi to come back in a sequel, do you? Why or why not? What's your favorite message in the movie? Thoughts on the animation quality? Is Tuffnut Fred's ancestor? You don't have to answer all these unless you want to, but thank you! =D

O.O WHOA BARRAGE OF QUESTIONS WHAT??????

Heehee, I’m going to teasingly slip in this gif, but know I didn’t make the gif with any intention of being mean - I’m just making a joke. ^.^ This is a tidal wave of questions - feel free to send multiple, more manageable asks anytime you like - but it’s also way fun to be able to talk Big Hero 6 with someone. Feels like I haven’t had a good conversation about this wonderful story in ages, and seriously, I’m in THE MOOD to have a conversation about this story. So thanks so much for sending a BH 6 conversation starter!!!

Which Big Hero 6 character is your favorite?

Hiro Hamada, by a long shot. I feel as though Hiro has an endearing, natural charisma to his personality. The young cockiness combined with a lack of forward direction, the powerful intellect juxtaposing his obvious youthfulness, the sincere expression of his emotions jutting against how he attempts to hide his more vulnerable sides. From the very start of his character introduction, I was hooked. There’s so much to enjoy about his character.

On top of that, the writers delve into Hiro deeply. He’s treated with far more nuance and emotional complexity than other characters in the film - given as Big Hero 6 is, first and foremost, a story about how a young boy handles loss. Hiro is the one whose grief is explored. He’s the one where we see how someone can lose motivation, can become listless at grief… who can get wrapped up in anger, can make dark emotional decisions from the pain of his past… who can attach to old relics, find love in his brother’s legacy… who can find hope in overcoming, who can become determined, who can grow past the wounds of mourning and rise to a strong future. Watching Hiro go through all these understandable and powerful emotions, it’s impossible for me not to sympathize with him or relate with him.

I do find it interesting… increasingly less do I identify with teenaged characters. Their personal struggles, their mental stage in life, it’s become increasingly distant from my own mindset and current life challenges. It’s often easier to relate with characters who are at about the same maturity stage as oneself. But despite me being… eleven… years older than Hiro, and me definitely feeling our “age” gap, I connect to him far more than anyone else in Big Hero 6. His story, his emotions… they are the ones that I can relate most to.

And there is something to be said that the movie’s focus on him makes him skewed to be more dimensional and appealing.

Who do you think you’d be friends with?

Potentially none of the characters from San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, if I’m going to be honest. It’s not that we wouldn’t get along - I don’t think we’d have those issues. But I do think it’d be hard for me to befriend people who are in the world of innovative physical sciences STEM, for as much as I appreciate that branch of science and read up on it for fun, it’s also not my strength, specialty, and expertise. For better or for worse, a lot of friendships in the college world come through sharing disciplines. Again, not always, and I did make friends from the engineering program when I was at the university, but it does make it more likely if we’re in more adjacent fields. I wouldn’t spend as much time with them, I wouldn’t be able to have classes with them, I wouldn’t relate as much to them, I wouldn’t feel like “part of the group” with them, I might not even have the chance to meet them.

Especially because… let’s be real… I wouldn’t go to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.

So that, combined with me being with a severe introvert who enjoys making friends but usually doesn’t interact with buoyant socialness, means I probably wouldn’t make friends with that cohesive clique.

I think the person I’d be most likely to befriend would be Fred. Hands down Fred. Someone with his level of enthusiasm is hard for me to say “no” to, and I do appreciate friends like Fred in my life! I’d have a great time with someone dressed up in a mascot costume who adores superheroes and comic books and nerd culture. I’d find his presence quite welcome. We’d have lots to talk about. Should be fun!

Which superpower/gadget from the movie would you choose?

Baymax’s ability to fly. Or the ability to ride on Baymax like Hiro does. ;)

If you could make your own superpower/gadget, what would it be?

Realistically I don’t think I’d be able to make my own gadget. But let’s assume that I could, or that I had people helping me. I’d first and foremost want invisibility. That has an infinite number of uses, not to mention keep me pretty safe in conflict. After that, I’d figure out some cool things to go along with it.

Thoughts on the animation quality?

It’s a pretty movie with some fascinating lighting and color choices in a few scenes. There’s much that’s nice on the eye.

I think the design of San Fransokyo is my favorite part of the artistic choices - the combination of Eastern and Western architecture, all the tiny little details, the signs and billboards and posters and people, it’s very fun. There’s always more for the eye to appreciate and love there.

Oh, and I own the art book, so methinks that says something about my opinion of the movie’s animation!

Here, let’s post some appreciative screencaps since we’re talking about it:

Ahhhhhh… like seriously? Aren’t these screencaps nice??? Isn’t this barrage of images WONDERFUL?

I like how there’s even a bit of scuffing on Hiro’s mask and armor during his fight with Callahan - as would only happen in the midst of action!

Also, the more I’m thinking about it and browsing through screencaps, the more I’m seeing some REALLY fascinating potential metaphors with the color red, so. Maybe I’ll need to talk about that sometime in depth. But yeah I’ve got more or less zero major complaints with how BH 6 is animated.

Is Tuffnut Fred’s ancestor?

I prefer to keep characters who are voiced by the same voice actor separate according to the fact they are separate characters. Yes, T. J. Miller has a very distinctive voice and ad-lib style, and there is much to be compared between Fred’s personality and Tuffnut’s, but I don’t like the idea of theorizing characters are related due to some sort of meta detail like VA. Feel free to headcanon as you like! I’m personally going to keep Fred and Tuffnut in the separate, respective realms they are. They’re separate characters and I enjoy them best thinking about them separately.

Which part made you the saddest / cry the hardest?

Big Hero 6 has never made me cry, but it is touching and meaningful. When Tadashi first dies is always raw, so I’ll probably go with that. That’s when you feel him being missing - feel that hole - the “loudest.” But there are other scenes that deserve to be talked about for how they touch the heart regarding loss.

A lot of people want Tadashi to come back in a sequel - do you? Why or why not?

A few flashbacks could be okay, done right and not blatantly repeating the theme of the first movie, but that’s where I’d want it to stop. Tadashi in the past is fine. But Tadashi turning out to be alive would be a disappointment to me in such a hypothetical sequel - which as far as I’m aware, they took away the movie sequel prospects in favor of the current show.

The central message of Big Hero 6 is about loss. It’s about the fact that when someone is gone, they are gone, they aren’t ever coming back, they can’t come back. That’s what’s so emotional, touching, and powerful about Big Hero 6: there’s no magical cop-out whereby Hiro can get that hole in his heart reversed. If Tadashi returns alive, though, that slaughters the truth and importance behind the movie’s message. Suddenly, a story that is about how life can proceed respectfully and healthily forward without someone… is swept over in favor of unrealistic ideal outcomes. For me that would be a complete disrespect to the entire point of the story Big Hero 6 is.

I’m attached to Big Hero 6 because it doesn’t give me the rose-tinted “everything can be mended as before.” It’s still a story of hope and inspiration, but it doesn’t do that by wiping over the legitimate pain and suffering people share. We need to keep the pain and the suffering and the loss of Tadashi Hamada if we want Big Hero 6 to retain its meaning.

What’s your favorite message in the movie?

That’s what I talked about in the first post! XD It’s the message that there’s no way to reverse loss, but there is a way to heal.

There are other wonderful messages in BH 6 - the power of friends, the power of healing, and also one point that I don’t think is talked about enough: how we can react to loss in vengeful bitterness or respectful loving legacy. And I like those messages, too. There is some good content in the heart of this story.

#long post #non-dragons #bh6 #Big Hero 6 #bh 6 #analysis #my analysis #blabbing Haddock #ask #ask me #Hiro #Hiro Hamada

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sparkiesnotes-blog · 7 years

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Thoughts on Dear Evan Hansen

Overall rating: 4.5/5

Plot: 4/5

Songs: 4.5/5

For starters, it 100% deserved that Tony, any naysayers can go away, sorry. I love Great Comet and Groundhog day with all my heart and I wouldn’t have been upset to see them win, but I would have been surprised it wasn’t this wonderful musical.

As someone who has struggled with their mental health pretty much all their life, has gone through having people close to me commit suicide and has always used music and musical theatre as a guide and an escape from it, to hear that a musical was coming to broadway dealing with issues such as depression, anxiety and suicide in teens was too good to be true!

With the conversation surrounding mental health gradually getting more mainstream and more people are talking about it, a musical surrounding these themes couldn’t be more up my alley.

I’ve been excited for this musical ever since the lyrics came out and that was all I had to go off of. I knew all the words to the songs before the cast recording had even come out.

I think the songs perfectly sum up all the mish mash of feelings of when you’re in those low moments, the climactic song towards the end of the second act ‘Words Fail’ is both one of the most powerful performances from Ben Platt (a well deserved Tony, might I add) and perfectly rounds out the self hatred and pity that one can feel for oneself in a depressive state.

I feel like the representation of masculinity in this show is really important. Societal pressures on masculine identifying people tell them to keep quiet about their feelings and to keep them guarded and to not let anyone see. “Suicide is four times more common in men than women, and in 2005, 1,657 men took their own lives (ABS, 2007)” Source

To have the main character be a sensitive, non-stereotypical and intuitive teenage boy is incredibly important and necessary to see.

The only thing that I have a gripe with the show about is it is a little lacking in diversity. Coming from last years season where the four tony actor and actress award winners all went to people of colour going into a season that was back to a pretty whited out run (coughBandstandcough), it was disheartening to see only one black named character, Alana. When you look at the statistics in mental health in teens, the difference in teens of colour compared to white teenagers is astronomical. “A disproportionate number of suicides occurred among young male American Indians during this period—young men 15 to 24 accounted for 64 percent of all suicides by American Indians (CDC, 2001).” Source

So, to not see this represented was disheartening, POC need this representation just as much as white people do. I hope that one day broadway can realise this.

While you can head cannon all you want (Evan and Connor are both trans and literally nothing you can say will stop me from believing it), the queer representation is appalling. From what I’ve researched (I haven’t had time to watch the full bootleg yet, but someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong!), its not even outrightly stated that Jared is gay. Its just the stereotypes played out. Again, in queer teens mental health is a huge issue, the discrepancy between queer youth and cisgender heterosexual youth in mental health is disgustingly drastic.

“Compared to the general population, LGBTI people are more likely to attempt suicide in their lifetime, specifically:

LGBTI young people aged 16 to 27 are five times more likely

Transgender people aged 18 and over are nearly eleven times more likely

People with an Intersex variation aged 16 and over are nearly six times more likely

LGBT young people who experience abuse and harassment are even more likely to attempt suicide”

Source

Obviously, I’m not saying that every story is able to be told in one singular musical, but for a musical to be claiming to represent mental health in teens, and then missing out representing the biggest proportion of teens who have these problems, is very sad to see.

Before I go into a talk through of each song below the cut I want to say that I truly love this musical. On days when it was hard to get out of bed or thought it would be better if I were to disappear, this musical has honestly pulled me out of those gutters.

I completely understand that this musical means a lot to some people, and I 100% empathise with why and I’m so happy for you that this musical was able to help you and I. I’m able to enjoy it despite its flaws, of which there are very few, and I definitely come from the mindset of the people who really love something are the most critical of it.

If you haven’t yet, give Dear Evan Hansen a listen! However I recommend reading the Wikipedia synopsis along with it as the plot can be hard to understand from just the soundtrack! Talk through of the soundtrack/spoliers below the cut

- Sparky <3

Anybody have a map? - I think this is a perfect example and representation of how hopeless and helpless a parent can feel when trying to support a struggling teen. Also, in this show is a wonderful representation of single mothers and I think this song sets it up well.

The harmonies in are beautiful, I love harmonies in any song, add a harmony to anything and I’ll love it I promise.

Waving through a window - Ahhhh I love this song a lot. Close to my favourite. This was the song I first read the lyrics to before the musical came out and I just aGH. It perfectly sums up social anxiety in a string of beautiful and melodic metaphors. The idea of “Waving through a window” and questioning whether anyone is waving back is something that many people, including myself, have gone through or are going through. A beautiful, beautiful song and message for a all too relatable topic.

Ben Platt’s combination of soft almost soothing notes with the belting of the final notes in the song is perfect. I can’t think of another adjective to describe it.

For Forever - A beautiful melody mixed with a beautiful fantasy. The fact that this is him imagining what it would be like to have a friend is heartbreaking. The voice crack on “He’s coming to get me”, gets ME everytime.

Also Ben Platt can hit a high note holy poop.

Sincerely Me - For a pretty dark musical, this song is the perfect uplifting BANGER. Doing the dance to myself in the car on the freeway is dangerous though, would not recommend.

The no homo moment in it is a bit :/ though.

Requiem - I’ve got to admit the first few times I heard this song I didn’t like it. I hated the idea of someone saying that they were glad that their brother was dead and asking why they should miss them. I hated the idea of a person who is suicidal sitting in that audience or listening at home, hearing what they already believed for themselves what Zoe was saying, that they wouldn’t be missed.

But it wasn’t until a friend pointed out what this song was really saying, how it was representing different ways of dealing with grief until I realised that it was incredibly important. I now love this song.

If I could tell her - Ugh. I have so many gripes with this song I’m sorry.

First of all anyone who sees this song as a love song I have questions for you.

This song is so idealising of Zoe, and so ‘manic pixie dream girly’ I die.

I get the social anxiety side of it. I get having all of these thoughts bubbling inside of you and being too anxious to tell someone, I get it, trust me.

But its the fact that he says “I love you”, I’m sorry but you can’t love someone you’ve never spoken to before. You can love the idea of a person. You can like how a person looks or acts. But you cannot love them.

And the fact that this is all being said as if it were Connor, her dead brother is just so messed up. I get that thats the point but, I just worry that people will see this song as ‘goals’ or ‘I wish someone would think/ do that for me’ when it is NOT a healthy outlook on women, love or just people.

It’s a lovely song, but I wish it was less idealising and was phrased differently. Less ‘not like other girls’ please.

Disappear - No one does deserve to disappear. Some days it was only this song that could tell me that.

You will be found - This is my favourite song on the soundtrack. I love this song so much. I have the lyrics as a sticker on my laptop and in a frame next to my bed. I have one distinct memory of this song.

It was a really dark moment, I had woken up from some horrific nightmares, was in the midst of a bad brain time and all I wanted was to go back to sleep, forever. But I had work that day, I had stuff to do. I put on this song and at the end of it, I was crying and getting up to get in the shower, something I didn’t even realise I was capable of that day. This song gives me so much motivation, I do have other songs that do the same things, but the fact that this is up there with other songs, is big for me.

If you listen to one song from this musical, listen to this one. You will not regret it.

“Let that lonely feeling wash away Maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay ‘Cause when you don’t feel strong enough to stand You can reach, reach out your hand

And oh, someone will coming running And I know, they’ll take you home

Even when the dark comes crashing through When you need a friend to carry you And when you’re broken on the ground You will be found”

To break in a glove - Eh. I like the message. But, you know how theres that one song in a musical you always skip over? This is mine :-)

Only us - Can Laura Dreyfuss make a lullaby?? Please?? She has such a soothing and beautiful voice I love it so much.

This song is a really good representation of what its like to date someone with a mental illness. Its a beautiful duet and I love it to pieces.

Good for you - Literally the best song if you just need to be angry. This song ignites a fury in me like little else can. All I want to do is PUNCh stuff after I listen to it, I love it. Amazing.

Words Fail - Ben Platt deserved that Tony and if you want an example of why just listen to this. It’s beautiful, simple, elegant and heartbreakingly sad all at once.

So big/so small - Single mothers need to be worshipped by every person on earth I’m pretty sure its in the Bible. I also think this is really good representation of what a kid needs from their parent when going through a mental health spiral, undying and unconditional support and love.

Finale - :’), Honestly incredible. I don’t know how many ways I can say I love this musical, but I do, I really do.

“Today is going to be a good day. And here's why:

because today, today at least you're you and—that's enough.“

I love this musical and I will cherish it always.

I know the sort of people who would be listening to it though, so I’m going to say that my PM’s are open and so is my ask box, if you ever want to chat.

If you need urgent care/attention, please contact lifeline or the equivalent in your country.

#opinions #reviews #dear evan hansen #deh #ben platt #laura dreyfuss #musicals #musical #musical theatre #theatre #musical theater #theater

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thenatureofnarrative · 7 years

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Best Films of 2016

The basis of my annual list is simple, these are the films that were, for me, mesmerizing and memorable. These were the cinematic experiences that either provoked a depth of emotion and/or provided a whole lot to talk about. These are the films that I could not forget and I cannot wait to see again. After you read this year’s list, you can also find last year’s list here.

1. Jackie

Jackie is a painful and mesmerizing masterpiece, and it was for me, the most meaningful experience of the year. It's impossible to imagine any other actress portraying this role so perfectly; carrying the weight of a story about the inhumanity of celebrity, the chaos of grief, and the uncertainty of one's legacy. If Natalie Portman doesn't win the Oscar, she certainly deserves it. In addition to the performances, Pablo Larrain's direction, with its unrelenting close-ups, places us in the middle of our protagonist's pain; and never before has a film's musical score been so important and affective. Then if that weren't enough, to top it all off, the priestly wisdom of John Hurt's performance towards the end of the film is bittersweet but nonetheless timely and entirely appropriate. On Digital now and on DVD March 7.

2. Arrival

Arrival is also a serious contender for the best film of the year. Director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners, Incendies) is quickly becoming one of the greatest living directors, and Amy Adams' performance is Oscar worthy. This stunning work explores the universal experience of being bound by time and yet yearning for an existence that transcends time in meaning and purpose. Even when we know how it will end we can still savour the journey. For rent and on DVD.

3. Moonlight

Moonlight is one of those rare films that washes over you with its truth and beauty; a cinematic experience that expands your love, understanding and empathy for others, which is no small feat. With remarkable performances across three generations, and award worthy direction and cinematography, this is one of the most moving films of the year. For rent now and on DVD February 28.

4. Blue Jay

What a delightful surprise! Blue Jay is nearly perfect, and one of my absolute favourite films of the year. This is a wonderful way to spend 80 minutes, with two incredible actors reuniting as high school sweethearts, rediscovering all of their shared joy and regrets. There are very few films that have ever portrayed such genuine friendship, conversation and chemistry on screen. An absolutely beautiful film. On Netflix and on DVD.

5. Manchester by the Sea

Manchester by the Sea is such an intricate and delicate story that it almost seems as if it was engineered for perfection. This is a sad and deeply affecting film, no doubt, but it is also filled with very funny moments, in only the way honest and true relationships can be. So rarely have we seen the experience of grief and the process of closing the book on a loved one's life on screen, but with Kenneth Lonergan's intricate and precise screenplay it is indeed done to perfection. In addition to giving us Casey Affleck's best performance to date. For rent and on DVD.

6. Kubo and the Two Strings

A hand crafted, animated masterpiece. A powerful story about loss and legacy, the fact that every story needs an ending. To pull all of this off in a visually stunning story for children of all ages, and with lots of laughs, is a pretty remarkable achievement! For rent and on DVD.

7. La La Land

Pure joy; an homage, original, and entirely necessary. Classically beautiful and infused with a chemistry, via the stars, sights and sounds, that just keeps getting better every time you watch it. In Theatres.

8. Midnight Special

Midnight Special might be director Jeff Nichols' masterpiece and is definitely one of the best films of the year! Mysterious, thrilling, and ripe with meaning and spiritual analogy; this family-drama-religious-sci-fi (if I can call it that) treats its audience with respect and intelligence as it allows us to fill in the gaps and find our meaning there. Complete with perfect performances, beautiful cinematography and a great musical score. For rent and on DVD.

9. Hell or High Water

A beautiful, perfectly paced, unpredictable, yet familiar contemporary western. A story that holds at its heart a true humanity; people and places living their lives in the real world with real economics and real relationships. A true gem and one of the best films of 2016. For rent and on DVD.

10. The Invitation

A masterfully crafted thriller that is creepy (in the best sense) and perfectly paced, keeping you in suspense the whole time. The performances are perfect, the cinematography is stunning, and the story is surprisingly thoughtful; all of this and an ending to remember. This was a film I could not forget and had to watch twice. On Netflix and on DVD.

Honourable Mentions (alphabetically):

10 Cloverfield Lane: This was the most thrilling and unpredictable film of 2016! At the center of it is John Goodman's best performance to date, a way we've never seen him before; but it's the sheer brilliance of how the film manages its mystery that makes it an unforgettable experience. On Netflix and on DVD.

13 Hours: It's been at least eleven years (if not more) since Michael Bay has made a decent movie, so it's nice to know that with a limited budget and a story that requires restraint, he can actually still pull it off. On Netflix and on DVD.

Deepwater Horizon: This is a film that must be seen and experienced! A powerful and humbling story of survival; revealing the sacrifice and suffering required of human heroics. For rent and on DVD.

Fences: A devastatingly beautiful film, not because of its visuals but because of it's words. This is a talky through and through but with the performances of Denzel, Viola and their supporting cast, Fences is a story that carries a weight of reality rarely seen. Whether we're taking our turn as recipients or perpetuating our family's legacy (curses, blessings and all), when we take our turn wrestling with death we will not escape the equality of judgment/grace that awaits us all. On Digital now and on DVD March 14.

Hacksaw Ridge: Although there are many captivating images throughout this film, none of them glorify the horrors of war. These are scenes of hell, the very worst of our humanity, and yet in the midst of them, rather than heroics, a humility is evoked. A humble and tested truth that, your faith need not be complicated to have an everlasting impact on the world. Almost every other great war film elevates the power of the human spirit, our ability to sacrifice ourselves for others, but this film keeps the motivations of this man's actions in focus. Rather than pacifism being an intellectual debate of hypotheticals this story perfectly incarnates the conviction of non-violence many followers of Jesus Christ hold. For rent and on DVD.

Hidden Figures: A classically structured story that is immeasurably effective due to its powerhouse performances and timeliness. Though Octavia Spencer is always deserving of award recognition, I wish Taraji P. Henson had also been nominated for an Oscar. Nevertheless, this is an important true story and I am grateful to have shared it with my two daughters. In Theatres and on DVD April 11.

Indignation: Based on the sharp and subtle provocation of Philip Roth’s book, this incredible film carries with it Oscar worthy performances and some of the best screenwriting of the year. For rent and on DVD.

The Meddler: An absolutely beautiful and endearing film about family, grief and loss. There are lots of laughs in this movie but it's not a comedy, because Susan Sarandon's performance is so deeply authentic and heartfelt. In fact the whole cast is rather remarkable (especially Rose Byrne as the daughter), but it's the happy and heartbreaking moments that make this film so meaningful. On Netflix and on DVD.

Sing Street: One of the most beloved cinematic experiences of the last decade. This is an absolutely beautiful and joyous film. Incredible music and performances, all from the mind of John Carney, director of Once and Begin Again. On Netflix and on DVD.

Sleeping Giant: This is a remarkable Canadian film that has been overlooked by many. Most stories about youth are nostalgic commentaries but Sleeping Giant is authentic, honest and incarnational. For rent and on DVD.

#movies film

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