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lesbian-bird-talks · 4 years

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On: Appare-Ranman

This is my first official post, so hello and welcome! My name is Pidge, pronouns in the bio.

This blog is entirely for me to just rant and rave about the anime I’m watching, probably long after they’ve finished because keeping up with seasonal anime would take much more out of me than I am willing to give.

I don’t know how to work Tumblr well so don’t mind me too much if things look shitty! I’ll figure stuff out eventually. Also, everything will be going under the break for people who’d like to avoid spoilers! Appare-Ranman came out in April of this year, but I know there are people like me who like to wait until a series is fully out before you go back and binge it. There will also be a TLDR at the start if you’d just like to read that!

TRIGGER WARNING FOR MENTIONS OF RACIST IMAGERY

TLDR; The anime is okay. My favorite part was the relationship between Kosame and Appare, but I really wish they had done more with the interpersonal relationships between the other characters. The fight scenes are lackluster, there are large plot holes that aren’t ever explained, and most importantly one of the more important side characters is a black man with a noose around his neck. I’d give the anime a 2.5 - 3/5.

STORY

Lets start this off with a basic summary of the narrative. Appare-Ranman centers around the duo Appare and Kosame. Appare is a genius inventor with big dreams and a lot of ambition, but less than great social skills. Kosame, on the other hand, is a cowardly swordsman who’s tasked with the job of looking after Appare. Due to a series of events, the pair end up in the middle of the ocean, stranded on a steam ship Appare built, and have to be rescued by a freight ship. The pair end up stranded in America, and enter a cross-continental race to earn the money to head back home.

When I first saw the plot synopsis of this show I was super excited! I really like the idea of having such a contrast between old-school Japan and 1700′s America. On that aspect I wasn’t disappointed. What DID disappoint me were some of the more gaping plot holes in the story. The first of which being how in the HELL are two Japanese men fresh off the boat communicating with Americans?

A freight ship captain might be able to speak Japanese since his business is overseas, although him having a translator would be more realistic. But what about the other citizens? Why can Appare walk right up to the owner of a car shop and ask him for a job? Eventually I let it go while I was watching, but it irritated me that it was never explained. The plot itself doesn’t have too many big twists and turns. And when it did, I can’t say I cared about them all that much?

Jing’s race helped to reinforce the themes of doing the impossible and not letting others define what you’re capable of, but it felt very hamfisted in it’s message about femininsm and “girls can do the same things boys can”. I got tired of them repeating that so much, and I really wish Jing had been the one to punch that smug bastard at the end of the race instead of her boss. He doesn’t get the right to defend her after not even giving her a chance until she nearly crashed.

Kosame killing the person who killed Hototo’s family felt,,,very rushed. And something that should have been used as an experience to develop Hototo’s character, who I believe stayed pretty static along with the rest of the cast, was instead used to develop KOSAME, who apparently lost his mother as well. Speaking on that - I laughed at the scene that showed Kosame’s mother getting killed. I giggled at that shit and you wanna know why? Because the way it was set up was ridiculous.

The murderer hops out of the bushes, he slashes his sword across the mother’s back, and then just... runs away down the street.

We do not learn why he does this, we just see it happen. It’s meant to be a dramatic reveal about Kosame’s past and yet it’s almost comedic in it’s suddenness. But I also laugh at a cockroach singing scat so what the hell do I know?

The latter half of the story doesn’t really contain any huge flaws, and most of it’s weaknesses come from the fact that the cast itself is fairly weak and I just couldn’t get invested in the stakes. When Sofia got kidnapped I just didn’t care all that much. The only two things I knew about her character was

a. she could drink a lot

b. she took up her mother’s role as Al’s caretaker

That was virtually it. If she lived or died I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. Which is really bad when this is meant to be the climax of your show, this is when I should be the most invested.

CHARACTERS

Most of the characters are fairly one note, with none of them having anything that makes them particularly stand out beyond their odd choice in fashion.

Speaking of odd choices in fashion, lets talk about Crazy TJ

The singular black character in the show, and you put a noose on him? Your singular black character, and you decide that you want to make him violent with questionable morals? Your singular black character, and you make him as unempathetic as you possibly can? I love anime god BOY HOWDY do I hate how racist anime can be.

Crazy TJ isn’t the only one-note character, though. Most of the supporting cast don’t have much going for them. What can I say about Jing? That she’s a feminist who likes to race? And what about Al? The only three words I can think of to describe his personality are “rich white boy”.

I’m unsure of how I feel about Gil, though. On the one hand I think he pairs well with the idea of “the only limits you have are the ones you set for yourself”, with Gil being the immovable object to Appare’s unstoppable ambition. But at the same time he just felt very...over the top. And there was never any time given to explain just how he rose to power or why he may be the way he is, or even why he’s doing what he is. He’s just an indiscriminate killer, and those sorts of characters can be fun, but it’d be nice to know a bit of his history so we can know more about why he is the way he is.

All in all, there wasn’t much that stood out to me character-wise. They were all fairly bland, although there were a few interactions outside of the main three that I found to be really cute, like the relationship between Tristan and Hototo. But for the most part none of these characters would be all that interesting for me to watch go on an adventure outside of the happenings of the anime.

The exception to this being Appare and Kosame. Mostly Appare.

Out of all the cast I really do think these two have the most character development, with Appare learning how to care for and rely on other people more and Kosame learning how to take risks and opening his mind up to new possibilities. I really love their dynamic, and seeing them interact was probably the best part of the show for me. Kosame and Appare are like an uncle and his weird nephew who have a really wholesome relationship. If these two didn’t play the lead roles then I don’t think I would have even finished this show.

And I especially love Appare. He is my son. My little baby boy. I love him with all my heart

CLOSING REMARKS

All in all Appare-Ranman is an okay anime. The concept is interesting, and I did enjoy watching the characters race cross-country, but a majority of the cast is fairly bland, the plot and writing fall short in areas I feel are important, and there’s literally a black man with a noose around his neck. It has quite a few problems, but I like the overall message of not letting other people define your limits for you, and I really enjoyed watching Appare open up to Kosame and the other people taking part in the race.

If there was another season, I’d like it to possibly be done with a different writer. And for Crazy TJ’s design to lose the noose. That shit is gross and I don’t understand what the character designer was doing when they put it on there.

This rating is pretty arbitrary and not based on any scoring system, but I’d give Appare-Ranman a 2.5 - 3/5!

This isn’t the best review by a long shot but it’s just my personal experience while watching the anime over a three-day period. At the end of the day, these are all my opinions! If you disagree feel free to tell me, or maybe point out something you think I overlooked, just please keep it respectful~

#appare ranman #appare-ranman #anime #animeblr #spring anime 2020 #anime review

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vriskadyke · 5 years

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excerpt: gods of earth c

when i started writing 'someone will remember us (even in another time)', i knew i had to limit myself to certain characters. some of them aren't heroic, and therefore wouldnt be seen as gods; some are just irrelevant. i eventually settled on having the alpha kids, the beta kids, calliope, and the surviving trolls (vriska, terezi, kanaya, karkat, aradia, sollux) be the gods. i did, however, write short bios for other characters (such as the dancestors)! here's a list of some of the god names i came up with for them.

tw for mentions of canon sexual assault, the use of the c slur, misogyny, ableism, and generally stuff i dont agree with. part of the point of this series is just how badly earth c misinterprets everything bc for Me earth c is like. This world but also we have trolls and carapacians and consorts and some people can do magic and religion is different. but homophobia/transphobia & misogyny & ableism etc still exist.

tavros: page of breath, the eternal child, peter pan, keeper of the little ones, animal whisperer, the cr*ppled god (derogatory, ill fight them), the boy blessed with flight, he-who-will-soar-above, the cowardly bull (modern, can be derogatory).

nepeta: rogue of heart, the longing one, the clawed goddess, the watching lover, catnip, she-who-loves-but-has-sharp-teeth, huntress of hearts, the woman of the pairings, cat lady (modern, can be derogatory)

equius: the heir of void, the archer, the horseman, he-who-has-everything, the maker of hearts, the broken tooth, the cavalryman, the builder, the obedient servant, the sweaty one (modern)

gamzee: the bard of rage, the clown, the raging beast, the butcher, he-who-cannot-die, the unkillable, the painted man, son of salt, the fucking juggalo (modern, derogatory)

eridan: the prince of hope, the betrayer, he-who-is-the-killer-of-angels, the admiral, the white villain, the scientific alchemist, the turncoat, the jealous one, incel (modern, derogatory, and also true).

feferi: the witch of life, the uncrowned princess, she-who-is-the-last-of-empresses, mother sea, bitch of life (derogatory, relatively modern, and also fight me), heiress of the deeps, carer for the horrorterrors, queen of dreams

damara: the witch of time, slave of the white doctor, the scorned girl, daughter of green, the handmaid/en, the betraying bitch (modern, derogatory, shut the fuck up) she-who-was-broken-by-time (much of my interpretation of damara comes from the fic "all the corpses stare back")

rufioh: the rogue of breath, the breath-stealer, the handsome one, he-of-revolutions-and-wings, the cheating bastard (modern, derogatory, also its true), the communer, the summoner, he-who-laughs-flying

mituna: the heir of doom, the broken son, he-who-was-bright-and-then-dimmed, the psiioniic, the helmsman, the retard (modern, derogatory, also everyone who says this gets killed by sollux, and also me), the honeyboy,

kankri: the seer of blood, the man without signs, the preacher, the speaker, the blood dreamer, he-who-was-born-again, son of scarlet, the sjw (everyone who calls him this does it for the wrong reasons, modern)

meulin: the mage of heart, the disciple, the lioness, she-who-heard-and-was-deafened, the deaf listener, recorder of truths and teachings, apostle of the bloodseer, that deaf one (people dont consider this derogatory, but 1) it is and 2) its dismissive as hell and rude, modern)

porrim: the maid of space, the dolorosa, the maiden mother, she-who-nurtures, daughter of darkness and light, the lady jade, the cavern dweller, the unsilenced woman, the raging feminist (derogatory but absolutely something she’d be like “yes, and?” about)

latula: the knight of mind, the neophyte, redglare, she-who-swings-from-nooses, the betrayed lawyer, dragonwoman, the quiet lover, she-who-was-burdened-with-a-broken man (NO she wasnt earth c, her relationship w/ mituna is a happy one and the fact that hes disabled doesnt make him a burden), the lovesick idiot (modern, derogatory- YES shes in love with mituna, NO that doesnt make her an idiot)

aranea: the sylph of light, the pirate marquise, the mind & the fang, the betrayer, the twice killed, the captain, she-who-escaped-the-noose, the rapist (derogatory, reference to her sexual harassment of jake and her sexually assaulting the dolorosa as mindfang)

horuss: the page of void, the executor, darkleer, sparer-of-the-disciple, the mistress, he-who-let-loose-that-final-arrow, homewrecker (derogatory, modern- not exactly true. rufioh did cheat on damara with him, and he knew that rufioh was dating damara at the time, but horuss didnt set out to seduce rufioh)

kurloz: the prince of rage, the highblood, the grand clown, the god with the threaded mouth, the laughing king, he-who-no-longer-speaks, son of the paint & blood, breaker of the disciple (i wouldnt call this derogatory as much as ‘blaming’- it refers to kurloz making meulin deaf and also ghb torturing the disciple by forcing her to see the sufferer’s torture)

cronus: the bard of hope, the orphaner, dualscar, the breaker of spades, the smirking son, he who makes much music, the hipster douchebag (modern, derogatory, and absolutely correct)

meenah: the thief of life, the imperial princess, the rebel daughter, she-who-killed-friends-to-save-them, commander of the dreaming dead, the sleeping queen, daughter of gold & tyrian, the bitchy tyrant (modern, derogatory)

caliborn: the lord of time, lord english, the skeleton king, he-who-eats-the-world, the breaker of clocks, the enemy

the condesce: the condesce, the condescension, the evil trollqueen, she-who-searches-forever-for-a-throne, the mother of the sea, queen of darkness and derse

thats pretty much it for the Big Titles. theyve also got names for other, smaller characters:

davepeta is the wandering knight of change. (dave is a knight, and nepeta was a rogue: therefore a ‘rogue knight’, a wandering knight. the time aspect is about, well, time, and the heart aspect is about the understanding of self; as time goes on, one’s understanding of oneself changes and grows, therefore their aspect is change- so the wandering knight of change.)

arquius is the royal of secrets. (i hc hal as being a prince of mind, and equius is an heir of void. both heirs and princes have an element of royalty to them (even if heir isnt strictly royal). mind is about ideas and knowledge, and void is about hidden things and nothingness- so hidden ideas & knowledge is secrets. thus, a royal of secrets.)

jasprose is the lioness of the sun (she doesnt have much of a class; jasprose doesnt act like much of a seer tbh, but she definitely has a light aspect. she doesnt fit within many classes, and her ‘catness’ is something she emphasizes and is very comfortable with. she’s very strong and powerful as seen in the collide fight, and she has the light aspect and is connected thru jasper to the land of light and rain; thus, a lioness (big cat) of the sun.)

nanna is the nurturer of creation (she fits well as a maid of life, but that’s jane’s title, and we cant give her that, so nurturer because nanna is very nurturing- helping john throughout the game, raising dadbert (most well-adjusted character of all time)- and because creation is a synonym of life)

#fae.txt #life on earth c

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scripttorture · 5 years

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So I'm not sure if you'll have an answer, but I thought I'd try-- I have a character who has to knock out soldiers fairly quickly. I thought about him shooting them with a silencer, but honestly, silencers are quiet loud and I knew it would attract the attention of others. Choke holds only last for about 30-40 seconds, and I need longer. Chloroform takes roughly 5 minutes to knock someone out. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you so much!

I’ma little confused about whether you mean ‘kill’ or ‘knockunconscious’ here because some of these suggestions are lethal andothers aren’t. (I asked and either is fine).

Ican’t really help with ways to knock a character out ‘safely’and silently. I think @scriptmedic generally suggested using drugs forthose sorts of plots (specifically ketamine, but double check herposts).

Ifyou mean ‘kill’ then I can probably help. But I’m not coming upwith many ideas.

Chokeholds only render someone unconsciousfor30-40 seconds but applied for 2-3 minutes after someone isunconscious they kill or cause massive brain damage. Which is why anydecent martial arts instructor will tell you to tap out of a stranglehold as soon as you can feel it working.

Agarotte or noose could be used in this context but keep in mind ahangman’s knot is a heavy thing that doesn’t loosen easily. Itwould be difficult to remove and reapply.

Somestab wounds can kill quickly and quietly but the smell is prettystrong and likely to be noticed. Breaking necks requires a lot ofphysical strength and- well if chickens are anything to go by it alsorequires practice which may mean it isn’t applicable to yourcharacter.

Technicallyyou could kill a character quickly and quietly, with minimal stink,by destroying the brainstem. Devices that slaughter animals in thisway use a big spike driven into the area where the neck meets theskull. Given how thick human skulls are I’m not sure if this couldbe done consistently in a series of struggles/fights.

Ahammer might work, but the depth of the wound is likely to beinconsistent which would mean some characters would survive and somemight regain consciousness after they’re attacked. This reallyisn’t as loud as you’d think. It’s probably quieter than asilencer.

Thereare chemical attacks that could work, but they’d need a reallypoorly ventilated space.

Ourbodies detect rising CO2levelsnot falling oxygen levels. That means that- Basically if you put aperson in a room full of nitrogen gas they keep on breathing normallyand they don’t notice they’re suffocating.

Theyget light headed. They get high. They start stumbling and slurringtheir words. Then they fall over and don’t get up again. (This ispartly from experiments on human volunteers, who were not killed andpartly from experiments on pigs).

Theredoesn’t seem to be any pain. Nitrogen is colourless and odourless.It can be transported in pretty large quantities in liquid form solong as it’s kept cold.

Ona related note this is why you should stay away from an NMR or MRImachine in the event of a ‘quench’. This is when the liquidnitrogen keeping the magnets in the machine cool rapidly rises intemperature. The nitrogen evaporates and fills the room, turning itinto a death trap.

Othercolourless gases can sometimes do similar things, but most of theones I’m thinking of would be more difficult to transport in largequantities and much more difficult to buy/otherwise get hold of.Liquid nitrogen, despite what cookery shows would have you believe,is pretty easy to get your hands on.

Dependingon the setting your character might also be able to clear a building bybursting a sewer line and adding in some spilt (anhydrous) stannicchloride. Tin (IV) chloride is a liquid that fumes on contact withair, smells absolutely terrible and irritates the eyes, nose andthroat. A stronger smell (like sewage) could easily cover up theparticular chemical smell and give a less suspicious ‘reason’ whypeople have to evacuate the area.

Ihad to use this stuff at a previous job and was accidentally exposed.It makes the eyes and nose water to the point that seeing straight isdifficult. It wouldclear a confined space.

Actuallyyou know what else can trigger a panic and clear a building? Thisstuff.It’s not super dangerous (as these things go) but it stinks to highheaven and it’s added to gas cylinders in small amounts so thatpeople can detect gas leaks more easily.

Thatmeans when we smell it, we tend to assume there’s been a massiveleak of flammable gas.

Iknow a university lab that got half a town evacuated when they spiltthis stuff and the cloud drifted into a populated area.

That’severything I can think of that might possibly apply. Aunty(Scriptmedic) used to suggest ketamine injections as a fast actingand relatively long lasting sedative. I’m pretty sure if you searchketamine on her blog you’ll get a lot of information.

Ihope that helps. :)

Disclaimer

#tw death #tw chemical weapons #tw murder #strangles #choke holds #chemical weapons #nitrogen gas #wasnt-expecting-that

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michelles-garden-of-evil · 4 years

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Shadow Over Seventh Heaven Review, Part II: Jenny Wren and Richard Redbreast

Image source: “Da Luna et Ramsès- Doberman – Frère et Sœur -” by ERAL. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

Welcome back to my review series for Shadow Over Seventh Heaven, the second novel by Ian Martin, original headwriter for Strange Paradise and second most prolific writer for CBS Radio Mystery Theater, published under the name of his second wife Joen Arliss. It’s been two and a half weeks, and I have been dying to go back to recapping this not-quite-rare-but-close piece of Martiniana.

In Part I, we learned of the late April Tennant, legendary star of the silver screen, whose glamorous life ended suddenly when she fell from the cliffs on her home estate of San Rafael. We also learned of her husband Richard Morgan, a legendary actor in his own right, and met his overly attached sister Lisa, who is not pleased by his recent remarriage, and Chita, their very Raxl-esque servant who clings to April’s memory. In this installment, we will meet Richard and his new wife, Jenny, themselves as they return from the Philippines to the former Spanish mission which may or may not be haunted by the spirit of his first wife.

Chapter 3

We open with our heroine, Jenny (née Summers), and her new husband Richard at the Manila International Airport, where paparazzi are hounding them. “She had seen [crowds] at fiestas, at rallies for President Marcos or even his opponents [1], at rush hours, church holidays, national holidays. The Philippine Islands abounded in inland fish, and in rice, but most of all, in people. But she had never seen a crowd quite like this” (p. 22). She is a little frightened, but Richard, for whom this is apparently a regular occurrence, tells her to keep moving until they get through the sea of people--which, given the current circumstances around the globe, sounds like a nightmare even though this book takes place about forty years ago.

A reporter starts to interview her and reminds her, almost right after their marriage, that she is replacing the legendary April Tennant:

“Mrs. Morgan--you are the envy of most every woman in the world as well as here in the Philippines. How does it feel to be Mrs. Richard Morgan the second?”

“You don’t have to answer,” Richard said protectively.

“But I want to,” she said. “It feels marvelous! I’m the luckiest woman in the world!”

“Aren’t you a little afraid?” the young man persisted.

Jenny wasn’t going to admit that to a stranger.

“Why should I be afraid?” she said.

“You are replacing a very exceptional woman.”

Now the noose of fear tightened around her neck, so that momentarily she could not answer. It was Richard who did for her.

“My first wife is dead,” he said with barely repressed anger. “For God’s sake let April rest in peace. For her own sake as well as ours. Now please--we have a plane to catch” (p. 23).

They leave him and hounding turns to harassing as rabid Richard Morgan fans begin reaching for them, tearing off pieces of her collar and the Filipino-style flower appliqué on her skirt and stealing Richard’s pocket square. “It was a good-natured, adulating adoring crowd,” the narration insists, “but like every mass of humanity, a possibly dangerous and uncontrollable force” (pp. 23-24). Sorry, narrator, but to me, it still sounds like a COVID nightmare--literally. I’ve had nightmares about this kind of thing for months. Generally, I try to avoid writing about current events on here because I don’t consider it appropriate for a blog about escapist Gothic melodrama, but this scene reminds me of some of my recent dreams.

Anyhow, the crowd and the reporter only reinforce Jenny’s feelings that she’s already in April’s shadow. Before Richard took an interest in her, she was only the daughter of an obscure American ambassador, not even an actress like April. She just got married and already she is having second thoughts, and not because of her husband:

Then that miserable worm of fear began to gnaw at her again, and she so desperately didn’t want to face the truth. But the words said themselves inexorably to her, marching across the inside of her eyelids as though chiseled on some granite rock that revolved before her inner sight, or burned so deeply on an indestructible tape that they could never be eradicated. The trouble is April Tennant. The woman the whole world revered and loved. They only wanted to see Jennifer, weigh her, find her wanting. They knew nobody could replace April--and that nobody had the right to try. Only without realizing what she was getting into, Jenny had done it. For once, she was the big attraction. But they didn’t think she could measure up, and she wasn’t sure she could herself. How had she ever thought she could? (pp. 24-25)

As they head for their flight, a crowd of “smiling brown people” cheer for them to return, and one little Filipina girl even chases Jenny down to give her “a woven garland of sampaguita flowers” (pp. 25-26). I must admit that I don’t know much about Filipino history, but I have trouble imagining that a crowd of Filipino people would cheer on the (presumably white) daughter of an American official who, given U.S. foreign policy at the time, would have backed Marcos’ repressive regime. Do I believe that they cheer for an international celebrity like Richard? Yes. Would they want to wish him a happy marriage? Probably. But I can’t imagine them liking Jenny much, for reasons that have nothing to do with April Tennant.

Chapter 4

This chapter begins with a description of Richard Morgan’s appearance that is an entire page long:

His mouth was full, the lips unusually red, with just the slightest quirk in repose which suggested sardonicism...The nose was classic, intriguingly flawed by some old injury...The eyes were brown, so dark that they were almost black, smoldering under somewhat sullen brows...His hair was a great, tousled, tawny mane, unruly, and resistant to brush or comb. His eyebrows had a fierceness about them that seemed to challenge anyone to cross swords; but this aggressive effect was completely belied by the way one or another would twitch and cock upward as though laughing at the world--or perhaps himself. His chin was probably too prominent, but again the feeling of overconfidence and overwhelming strength was softened by the deep cleft in the middle of it that broke the uncompromising line. He was not a tall man--perhaps an inch under six feet--but he carried himself with the lithe balance of a jungle animal or a trained athlete, and there was hardly anyone who did not think of him as tall and powerful. He was a man who even in repose radiated a sense of kinetic and tireless energy (pp. 29-30).

Richard Morgan, according to the cover artist.

Honestly, I was disappointed the first time I read this passage because he doesn’t much resemble Colin Fox. Virtually the only features the two have in common are the nose and the way they carry themselves--and (if we are talking about Jacques’ portrait) the lips. I always find it interesting how male authors describe the male characters whom others in the story find attractive, especially when said author is straight and writing for a female audience. Therefore, this is likely Ian Martin’s idea of what an incredibly handsome man looks like and/or his idea of what the average straight woman wants.

That, in turn, makes me wonder if this is how he visualized Jean Paul Desmond and his lookalike ancestor Jacques Eloi des Mondes, especially given that most of the other characters (and many fans, myself included) see them as incredibly handsome. Richard does have several facial features in common with John Bayliss, the actor originally cast in those roles, but there isn’t any evidence to suggest that their resemblance is anything more than a coincidence.[2]

The SP character whose appearance Richard’s description most closely matches, the Reverend Matthew Dawson. Lacks the unruly tawny hair and the sardonic lips and doesn’t carry himself like Richard, but the eyes are similar and they have the same chin. Not ugly (Dan MacDonald was better-looking IMO than the guy on the cover), but also not my idea of male perfection.

While relaxing on the plane, Jenny allows herself the luxury of thinking about herself instead of Matt Dawson’s tawny-haired twin. We learn that her name isn’t actually Jennifer--which contradicts the passage above where she calls herself that--but just Jenny, and that her parents named her after Jenny Wren from the (surprisingly dark) nursery rhyme “The Wedding of Robin Redbreast and Jenny Wren.” She relates in particular to the part where the wren says “I must wear my plain brown gown / And never go too fine,” because she dislikes not just putting on airs, but thinking about herself, period, which she attributes to her strict upbringing. She’s almost cartoonishly modest, which is pretty typical of Gothic ingenues and of Linda Barclay, the protagonist of Martin’s earlier “romantic suspense” book, Nightmare’s Nest, who was even more so.

We flash back to the evening she met Richard, who was apparently an old friend of Nene Ilusorio, one of her late father’s friends who became her close companion following his death in a helicopter crash. At that time, April was not yet dead, so Richard had to keep his dates with Jenny secret. They traveled out to the mountains together, where she showed him the rice paddies the locals constructed on the mountains with their irrigation system and where he won her heart by quoting Robert Burns’ poem “My Heart’s in the Highlands.” Apparently women find men who like Robert Burns irresistible, at least according to this and the Kitty Soames storyline on Dark Shadows. I can’t confirm, though, because no man has ever quoted Burns to me or given me a book of his poems.

Chapter 5

A filler chapter about Jenny and Richard’s flight from Honolulu (where they had a layover) to San Francisco. I got excited at one point when Richard said, “We had a picture half done that had to be scrapped because of her death” (p. 46), thinking at first that he was referring to the portrait and being reminded of two certain other portraits of a certain character from Strange Paradise. But then I realized, no, he means “picture” as in “movie,” not as in “painting,” and got disappointed. We also learn that Richard has an encyclopedic knowledge of all the classic poets and playwrights, not just Robert Burns. In a flashback, Richard recites Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem “How do I love thee?” for her in his amazing voice, leaving her “drunk on love” and “drunk on all [the poets to whom he introduced her]” (p. 54). If he sounds anything like Colin, I can understand why she’s so seduced by him reading poetry. Even so, if I were her, I wouldn’t be able to get past the fact that he’s quoting other people instead of using his own words to convey his love. If Jean Paul could come up with something new to say to his frozen wife four days a week for a month, then surely Richard can as well. He's just being lazy--or is he? The back cover (”WHAT LAY BEHIND THE MASK OF LOVE?”) hints at some possible deception on his part.

Chapter 6

Jenny and Richard arrive back in California, and the story starts to pick up again. This is roughly where “Here Goes the Bride” begins, not counting the teaser at the beginning. They are driving along the Pacific shore in a red Mercedes without air conditioning, and Richard refuses to let her roll the windows down because he doesn’t want anyone to recognize him. He angsts for a while about how, even though actors like him need the audience in order to live and “for the magic to come alive,” the audience has become increasingly like “a great, crouching tiger...a creature of emotion and whim that can turn on you suddenly and get completely beyond your control” (p. 59). He rants about how April’s fans worshiped her and made almost a cult around her, and about how they will most likely go ballistic if they see him with another woman instead of playing “the high priest, ascetic, mourning, forever dedicated to her memory” (p. 60). By driving the car with the windows up, he hopes to avoid the paparazzi and other stalkers on their way to San Rafael.

We learn in a flashback, by the way, that the car is Lisa’s and that Richard had Jenny disguise herself as her by putting on a hat and sunglasses. Jenny asks if she really looks like Lisa--which, if it were true, would imply that he reciprocated Lisa’s feelings for him, at least on an unconscious level--but he says no. Her hair is dark, while Jenny’s is “tawny gold” (p. 63), which I had forgotten, probably because Lisa reminds me too much of Cersei Lannister not to picture her as such. Also, Richard has dark hair now, too? Two chapters earlier, his hair was tawny like Jenny’s. I guess this book’s editor didn’t notice the continuity error--not that it was that important, anyway.

The woman on the cover, most likely Jenny.

While waiting for Juan to open the gates, Jenny stares in awe at the fortifications surrounding the estate--which, as you may recall from Chapter 1, Richard had built around the estate, allegedly to keep his and April’s rabid fans out, and even added the broken glass himself. “It’s like a fortress--barbed wire, broken glass,” she exclaims. “And the gate looks as though you borrowed it from the Bastille!” The mention of the Bastille reads like subtle foreshadowing of a later reveal, but, per my self-imposed rule against spoilers, I won’t say any more about it for now. The gates open and we hear Richard’s pack of snarling dogs for the first time, the sound of which makes her uneasy. She asks about them and Richard just says, “They’re our guardian angels. They patrol the grounds at night” (p. 67).

We also meet Juan, “a square-set Mexican...a man of some sixty years, with a sun-whipped face that was as craggy and seared with lines as the landscape they had just passed outside the gate” and “blackened teeth in a dark-brown face dried by so many days of sun that the oil had cooked from the skin until it was tanned like animal hide” (p. 67). Here we have the third piece of evidence of the dystopian nature of life at San Rafael. First, we saw the excessive level of security which Jenny compared to the most notorious prison of France’s ancien régime; next, we heard snarling from Richard’s kennel; and now, it is implied that Juan doesn’t get paid enough to afford either modern dentistry, sunscreen, or a good moisturizer. Combine this with Richard’s refusal to romance Jenny in his own words and his insistence that they drive with the windows up and no air conditioning in southern California, and his behavior abounds with red flags. It does make you wonder what lay behind the mask of love, and it’s quite reminiscent of early Jean Paul and his control-freak tendencies even when Jacques isn’t possessing him.

Unlike Quito, his Strange Paradise equivalent, Juan can speak and often does. Half of his dialogue is in Spanish, the other half in English. Sometimes he will even randomly throw a Spanish word into a mostly English sentence (ex. “They will not be tranquilo till they see you for themselves” (p. 68), which, even with my extremely limited knowledge of Spanish, I know should read “tranquilos,” because he is talking about the dogs). This, combined with his appearance and the mention that he stands “with Indian patience, unmoving and stolid” (p. 70), makes him come across as rather stereotypical. It’s surprising how SP, despite being a decade older, has actually aged slightly better than this book in terms of racial matters--although, given that this book is forty years old, that’s to be expected.

Upon meeting Juan, Jenny feels “an icy whisk of rejection that shuddered between her shoulderblades [sic]” (p. 68), as though she knows before he says anything that he is a card-carrying member of the Cult of April Tennant. He reveals to Jenny that the dogs “are trained to kill...anyone who does not belong here,” and that they will only protect her “if they learn to know you belong” (p. 70). Then he casts a huge heaping of doubt on whether that will ever happen:

Jenny’s voice was hushed and sympathetic.

“You must have loved her very much.”

He lifted his head proudly, the dark deep-set eyes flashing from under the craggy brows. “She was La Senora de la Casa!”

The statement was simple and obdurate. A declaration of faith that shook Jenny because it was so basic. She found herself fighting to keep her throat from tightening up as she answered tentatively, “I hope you won’t blame me too much for taking her place.”

The answer, although delivered with remote courtesy, was flatly uncompromising. “There is no one to take her place” (p. 71).

Richard interrupts them when he returns with all six of his dogs on leashes, which frightens her even more now that Juan has given her reason to suspect that the dogs, too, worship April Tennant and will not accept anyone in her place. He probably wants them to reject her, especially because he never thought to give her some bones or treats to use to win their loyalty. If I were in her position, I would be begging Juan for some good cow knuckles filled with marrow for them to gnaw on. Then--assuming that he obliged--I’m sure they would love me forever.

Chapter 7

Richard introduces Jenny to his dogs, six Doberman pinschers named for “the six noblest Romans of them all. Caesar, Brutus, Cassius, Marc Anthony--Mark for short--Cinna, and Casca” (p. 74). He has them demonstrate their obedience to him--while he demonstrates more of his own control-freak-ness--by ordering them to sit, then charge, then shake hands with her. Much to Juan’s likely chagrin, Richard has every intention on making the dogs recognize her as their new mistress, and so he has her give them dog biscuits.

They all appear to like her except for Casca, who is slightly less quick to obey Richard’s commands and also reluctant to kiss Jenny’s hand, unlike the others. She’s relieved to have found acceptance from them so quickly, but Juan has to rain on her proverbial parade by staring silently “with no solitary hint that he shared the dogs’ enthusiasm for Jenny” (p. 77).

Chapter 8

They get back in the car and continue driving (how vast is the estate?), this time with the top down because of the lack of prying eyes. We learn as they drive to San Rafael that April’s mother had it built, something that Richard doesn’t want to admit, but which he makes obvious at least to the reader:

“When April’s mother-” He choked that off and rephrased, biting his tongue for bringing up her name. “I mean, when the property was first bought, some foundations were discovered where the house was to be built; and the architect sold Apr--ah--them on recreating a Spanish mission. It was picturesque, but not very practical for modern living, so when Ap--I mean, when I was married and entered the picture, some changes were made [like the addition of that portrait, I assume]” (p. 79).

Jenny expresses her doubts that San Rafael “will open its arms to [her] and invite [her] in,” and he responds by kissing her, which doesn’t answer her question, but whatever:

He lifted her chin, tilting her face toward him gently, his eyes flickering back and forth across hers, his own gleaming and almost mesmeric as the sun slowly slipped down over the horizon. Then very slowly he touched his mouth to hers, his lips opening against hers as he quite suddenly pressed against her ardently, his tongue lightly touching hers, engaging it, probing and awakening her mouth and the answering touch of lips and tongue, till all the world was blotted out, and there was only the rush of teeming blood, throbbing in the head and along all the nerves to the end, and the surge of desire that blotted out anything else (p. 80).

Unbeknownst to them, Chita and Lisa are spying on them, wondering why the car stopped! (ROFL) When Chita realizes what’s going on, she criticizes Richard in true prudish Raxl fashion: “That he would be so shameless in daylight,” says she. “To take this woman in his arms--” (p. 81). Lisa reminds her that they are married now; although the narration doesn’t mention a twinge of jealousy, I’ve no doubt in my mind that she wishes she were Jenny in that car.

Richard and Jenny get out and Lisa rushes to hug them. Surprisingly, she acts outwardly friendly towards Jenny, who notices that “[Lisa’s] dark blue eyes were penetrating as they took in Jenny in one swift appraisal. They might have frightened Jenny except for the deep spark of interest in them, and the wide smile which she didn’t realize was uncharacteristic for LIsa” (p. 82).

Then he introduces Jenny to Chita, whom she instantly dislikes. “From her long sojourn in the Philippines,” the narration tells us, “she was very conscious of relationships between employer and servant. Not that she subscribed to the sort of feudal system that existed there, but simply because she was an extraordinarily sensitive girl who was responsive to human vibrations. And she could tell that Conchita’s were not right about her” (pp. 83-84).

Conchita, likewise, has a bad first impression of Jenny, thinking her a snob because of her use of Castilian instead of Mexican Spanish. But Jenny doesn’t realize that, instead noticing and fixating on the portrait of April:

Either by accident or design, those were the lights which Conchita had turned on. In the gloom of the hall, the full-length portrait dominated everything. Every detail of that matchless beauty was so sharp and clear that the figure of this lovely woman seemed to be alive and breathing.

And to Jenny, to be warning her and saying, “Why did you come? You don’t belong. How did you dream you could take my place? Did you think I would ever allow you to? This is my home, and Richard is mine. I’ll never let either of them go” (pp. 84-85)!

Compared to the beginning, Chapters 3 through 8 are not very meaty. These chapters are like chicken wings compared to the drumsticks that were the intro and the first two chapters. The main similarities that I found between these chapters and Strange Paradise were (1) the revelation that, like Maljardin-era Jean Paul, Richard is a control freak who is obsessed with his privacy and (2) the introduction of Juan, who fills Quito’s role as loyal male retainer but talks using occasionally inaccurate gratuitous Spanish (the “tranquilo” line). There is a lot of filler and also perhaps a little too much repetition of the idea that no one can ever take April’s place as mistress of San Rafael, so not as enjoyable as Part I or the next part of the story.

Coming up next: We get our first set of hints about April’s mysterious past, while Jenny tries to adjust to life in a house that may or may not be haunted by her spirit.

{ <- Previous: Part I || Next: Part III -> }

Notes

[1] Did Ferdinand Marcos even allow his opponents to hold rallies? As I said above, I don’t know much about Filipino history, but I do know that he ruled over the Philippines as a dictator and tried to suppress any opposition to him. Most likely either the above passage is inaccurate or what Martin is describing are actually political protests, but it’s worded in a way that suggests that he thought of Filipino politics in the 1970s-1980s as more democratic than they actually were.

[2] I did look up Michael Wager, the actor who played Richard in the original radio drama, and he did resemble this description (and was indeed quite handsome, if I do say so myself). However, it would be strange for Martin to have Richard look like his original actor when none of the other characters in the book do. Notably, Jenny’s description in the book as a gray-eyed blonde bears no resemblance to her original actress Ruby Dee--which I suspect may have something to do with the publisher wanting to avoid controversy for depicting interracial marriage, as Ruby Dee was black.

#shadow over seventh heaven #joen arliss #ian martin #cbs radio mystery theater #gothic fiction #strange paradise #related media #review #ian martin's novels #continuity errors #dark shadows #foreshadowing #the irresistible seductive power of robert burns #rebecca

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