*Eats all the things*

It’s very important to point out that I get to type this with my cat’s head on my left typing hand and this makes me super happy and only the cat can take this away from me.  ONLY THE CAT.  And I ❤ this cat.

J: “One of the things I first liked about you is how much you love your cat?”
E: “???”
J: Look at your cat.
E: *Looks at cat. Cat looks back.*
J: “SEE YOU CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT SMILING.”
E: *Tries not to smile then actually begins man-crying because the I-love-this-cat smile has begun leaking through fucking eyeballs.*

Anyway,

title is because I’ve been working my as off for the past couple of months and could not take a week to rest before a marathon if I wanted.  Glycogen is a really cool secret of long distance runners.  It’s also something that takes food and time to build. Lately        I have tons of the former.  Less of the latter.  Why?

(the cat made those extra spacebars.  We’re keeping them.  Deal with it.)

Because SIX sources of income in the last six/sex/six weeks or so.  (First time I’m bragging is here, because it’s inappropriate to get gloaty about this fact.) I had to set a cash motive to cover some goals.  I’ve been on it – in fact this may be the most I’ve did that thing that technically can constitute hustling super well! (You’ve got to read that in your best white guy voice.) And some are more fun than others. Got to produce:

:http://brianmccarthyinterviewshow.libsyn.com/

with THE Brian McCarthy (and no I didn’t know he was a former porn director in addition to being THE Brian McCarthy, but that also explains a lot)

(^But it’s ok cause he’s now legally blind / didn’t find out I wasn’t white until the podcast started, and that’s way funnier.  I also kind of came off like a big ole douche in that episode, but it was a hell of a unique experience and Brian’s a hell of a unique guy who probly could’ve been a great attorney with the way he questions.)

I also got to help with a beer company’s next design for a poster I shouldn’t talk about yet.

Plus, aside from stuff like tutoring, I’ve have been busting my ass to help this warehouse get this order together, e’rry day. That’s the full time and regular.  (Big benefit to daily work) While this daily routine is intended to not be what I end up doing, I really like having a day job that’s straight up, and cut out hard work.  I like an attitude of “Fuck yo politics.  Here are results.  Money plz.  Bai.”

(I want someone to tell me I don’t work hard.  Tell me I don’t know a day’s hard work.  If I’ve got it left in my I’d probably chuckyoo.)

(Speaking of chucking folks I can throw way more now, too! It’s actually useful.)

So about this gig… one quick thing I guess I can point out, well not it uber clear how gyms are kind of a privilege symbol for most of the people who try memberships without being told to get one by some doc.  I say this because I’ve sold away my right to be idle enough to feel like going to the gym.  (Buddy almost got me involved in a half marathon, then didn’t, because I almost laughed and he saw it.) It’s safe to say I’m beat after a hard day.

This’s also going to make me sound like a lunk, but I even chose to buy protein powder for the first time a couple weeks ago. This is necessary when you’re moving literally tons and tons a day. I’ve been craving meat like nothing else — a stupid amount — and it didn’t stop until I had a double foamy chocoshake.

Anyway this’s a good ole America kind of work.  The stuff we sell is necessary to keep this country going.  We’re an important step in getting that out.  I like how that alone is a wordy description for what the job is. This’s unlike another jerb I’m thinking of, but don’t want to get really into.  +you learn that while as a warehouse guy – there’s a lot of are you able to lift / do you know how to lift / POWERDRILL! / construct / deconstruct / palette / Forklift / stuff.  My favorite part has so far been that the people I work with are work oriented. The feeling is like riding in a brand shiny new car when you feel like your coworkers are there to do a job, and do it as jobly as a pro should do it until it’s time to head home.

Plus, the whole point of busting my ass is coming into fruition. Now, visiting my buddy in tx is going to work out. Hawaii = going to be a thing too! I’m really, reheally looking forward to exploring some new roots and horizons on the southern most point in this gaddang nation.

But here’s something I’ve had to get off my chest after working while listening to :

all day

I’ve randomly realized: of all the characters on Naruto, gonna have to pick Jariya as who I’m most like, or would idealize being.  Sasuke, Naruto, or the lazy shadow-controller have been broached before, but here’s my very important thinking on this very crucial topic:

Naruto and Sasuke are largely about talent and loyalty.  Naruto is capable and focused, and naturally talented at having lots of energy and endurance. He’s less talented at anything else, and has to work harder to get to a high level of anything.  He does.  He works insanely hard.  He’s also relentlessly loyal.  Relentlessly.  You can betray him openly, and he still loves you until you love him for it.  This is actually his superpower.

Sasuke is about loyalty only to yourself and your cause.  Sasuke is actually psychopathic in how he handles his stance on loyalty.  He’s tried to kill his allies more than half the time. He’s tried to do so proactively, and practically.  Sasuke is also ridiculously talented at all the things to the point that it’s not fair.  He’s also super cool until it’s revealed that he’s insanely hot headed and warm breathed, but those moments’re kind of respectable and furious too.

Well, I’m not like either of these characters.

Regarding talent and hard work – hey there’s both.  I’m just not sure I’d work to get a shadow clone technique in after proving utterly talentless at it unoriginally, unless it was super important.  Off the top of my head, I think I’d sort of want to focus hard work into my strengths (even if they’re toads) instead of trying to transform my weakness into one of my main strengths.  But I’m also not sure I’ve experienced that sort of feeling of ineptness, and can only think of swimming (I sink more than most people) and pulls ups as a kid…..

(I know, those’re lame examples because life isn’t fair.)

I’m not like Naruto in that there’s no way I can see a practical cause to unrelenting loyalty. Sometimes people suck. I would not call them friend once I see how it’s a type of suck that is hurtful.  I feel like that’s alright as a universal philosophy, but also know enough to know there might even be a better attitude than that. I’d also most love to follow my own path and interests.   I don’t want to be a part of an order I feel is disordered. I also don’t want to spend my life in the pursuit of a vendetta.  I think life comes packaged with the potential for so many pleasures, +so many unique gifts.  I definitely think it’s best to use your unique gifts to the fullest, but mostly so you can go recharge and really enjoy yourself after doing the right thing a lot.  This means I wouldn’t kill a friend to activate my super power.

So contrary from N & S, that all fits in with the pervy sage’s MO.

Further, aside from his fixation on steamy baths, he even wants to chug out some writing he did on the side.  Yeah, he’s insanely talented, but what’s great is he’s actually a fucking nut.  He uses toads yo, toads, in weird fricken ways.  He is a rasingan master, which is significant because it’s a technique that represents a pretty goddamn innovative use of forces to an effective result.  He’s more of a badass teacher than anything else as his role on the show, but he’s a teacher who’s like “k gluck love you bai!” after having as good as a time as was practical for him during that mentor experience. He’s sensitive but a man.  And the only way to take him down of course is to be a betraying piece of shit.
Man, fuck you Pain.
Jerk face.

But Big-J is a smart and benevolent pervy self-taught teacher guy.  It’s more that other people say how great he is more than he’s all like “I’m one of the three sannin suck it!” (Although ok he rarely does that.)   He’s a relatable gandalf, and personality wise?  I think he’s where it’s at as a perfect old guy.  He’s the naruto character who’s the bestest, on a show with a shit ton of good character.

Now with all that finally said no where, I’m still really enjoying having disjuncture to look at summore. This is just what I’m gonna do right now, because I’m time poor (I miss pc and production work but can do more of that later) and have to feed my mum’s cat in two hours. This is another day I simply don’t get to Overwatch.  Crap.
Remember, if I look at Disjuncture and enjoy it, it barely makes me worse than Khyan.
Bai now.

I have a video up on my latest belief about why amateurs are beyootiful (I just wanted to see how hard it is to make a cartoon

answer: it’s intensive)

But since I’ve come to the idealization that amateurs should be CONFIDENT amateurs, because as long as they know they love what they’re doing, they’re successful amateurs.  And the kickass part about loving what you love, is that it’s a drive that comes from within.  I’ve met driven professionals who are driven by external rewards.  Their consciousness about life and things progress – pretty pliable stuff.   I’ve met people I’ll call artists, who are bullheaded and stubborn like whoa.   Such really is the power of the internal drive.

Anyway,

I’m working on disjuncture because it felt right (fucking, calming activity, that) and I’ve got a new lens about people I guess.  A lot of artistic grandiosity relies on an assumption that others are in love with the same things you are.  So like, as the dreamer, I love my protagonist. Pretty much if it’s a character who’s got more than a sentence, I love him or her.
But this results in a book that part of me holds back on, and I think it’s because I didn’t shape the product in an audience friendly way.  The modern American audience I think, I THINK, doesn’t lurv to read – they love to skim, they love to know, they love to have read.  They love to confirm, they love to be excited, they LOVE to be entertained, but these things lie on a hierarchy.  It’s why we compound newsfeeds with trashy tv and sometimes two trashy tv’s at once. (IS THIS A NORMAL THING PEOPLE DO OR ARE THESE SPECIAL CASES.  SERIOUSLY, TWO VIDEOS AT ONCE, OR DOING THINGS WHILE WATCHING A MOVIE SEEMS TO BE GETTING MORE AND MORE NORMALIZED AND ITS AMAZEBALLS)

Anyway, I’ve been touching up languages, presentations, tailoring, it all feels gaddamn good man, but I realized, being a lil less love-lensed about whom I identify as the protagonist (It’s been quite a while.)  This results in a reread of his first three pages in a reaction of going “Yeah, he’s too emo.”  That’s my reaction, and I know it deep down in my fuzzy soul that it’s true.  It’ll turn off a lot of readers too, which is less important than it turns ME off tbh, cause I’m the brilliant amateur who’s job it is to love this.

Well it makes me actually feel existential.  What are we that we as entities can ascribe superlatives such as “too emo” ?   imagine telling someone they’re “too sad”  or “too opinionated” or “too hyperbolic” as if there’s an appropriate amount of hyperbolic.

I think, we’re talking about evolved preferences – I think I’m ACTUALLY talking about an applied self-awareness that….this isn’t how a compelling person presents their self.   Just as an idea, “Ok, Cyrre, I love fucked up things a, b, and c, but you are being heavy handed by applying all three and drowning the pages in them.”

My solution ofc isn’t to take away these conflicts.  That is NOT how I make this character less emo.  The same conflicts are 100% as there after my edits.  But i think now it’s a much more enjoyable read in that the presentation of these conflicts is smoother, vaguer, invites the reader in and draws them in, instead of turning into this human donkey that for three pages is whining “HOPESLESSSLYLSYSAAAAAAAD”

When you’re in love with a thing, it’s tough to be objective about figuring out how to make it more captivating because you already find it captivating.  I guess it’s like another angle of sculpting a personal reality when you got at it from different lenses.  And I seem to genuinely love doing this.  Thasshow n00blove turns into amateur.

If you’re a n00b and don’t have the love, yer just wasting your own and perhaps other people’s time.

(Oh and if anyone would try to derride you for this love, they deserve zero fucks given.)

mmkay I think that’s it for a while

Points for winning guesses

1) Grandfather helps boy from Wonder Years discover kissing ain’t so bad.

2) Niles from Kramer makes a young Ice Man really, really regret drinking red wine.

3) Nick Cage goes WHOA before entering, leaving, and staying within 50 yards of boxing ring.

4) Anti-semite enters mexican prison to actualize white savior fantasy / fulfill single mother’s desire to exist next to him on beach.

5) Benecio Del Toro will fuck you up unless pursued by some guy who caught the fugitive.

6) Hugh Jackman turns every computer into a VR simulator then hacks into pentagon so John Travolta quits testing him with blowjobs.

7) Russel Crowe knows he’s entertaining.

8) Entire city’s had it with law enforcement’s practice of shooting disenfranchised suspects after minimal allegations of criminal behavior in what’s NOT 2016’s America.

8) Alan Rickman is way too talented for this shit then goes to place where you simply can’t bother him again. (RIP)

9) Bunch of people circle jerk in order to get you to re-evaluate society’s priorities.

10) Receptacle for male sexual desire is kidnapped by a black jazz singer in dirty south and morally re-alligned into marrying Justin Timberlake.

Well uh, Captain Sisko was a black guy. Captain Janeway was a woman. I could care less that you’re casting a black woman to be the lead in some new star trek series. I’d care more if it will have good writing and bring back a show about futurism and idealism. (Y’know, that stuff Enterprise was missing.)

But maybe getting excited about a black chick being the subject of plot focus, is neither futuristic or ideal. I understand Nichelle Nichols, who played Ohura, was going to quit until MLK personally convinced her how her role was groundbreaking, and wonder if this “omg first black woman lead!” headline floating around today (exactly 50 years) = thinking that’s actually progressive. Like how different is that really than say, watching a teenager make baby steps.

I’ve been learning to deal with problem personalities by focusing on actual problems.  It gives a sense of accomplishment when you knock said problem down, and a sense of purpose and direction when you ID the problem.  Feelings themselves, rarely a problem, unless there’s some real….special thing going on.    Problems which also lead to feelings, well, that’s obviously the problem.  (I’m becoming an interesting figure in family, and had to settle a legal dispute involving a dumbass and my stocks that he fucked up lately.)

That aside,

I’ve definitely picked up a skillset (that you can see here http://www.youtube.com/cearce) when it comes to video editing.  Like, not saying I’m hollywood, or pro-youtuber, but it’s been REAL NICE learning what goes into amateur to pro vids.   I have a lot to say on it, but don’t feel like saying it all.  It is however, another way to communicate, engage an audience, or entertain.  I also think it’s a more powerful medium than books.

Some neat self-awareness things too: I started out editing vids where each minute = about an hour of editing.  (I can rip out a vid that I think is entertaining in MUCH less time now, or still take forever and get something with a lot of tricks in it.  I like doing both every once in a while.   I also focused on pokemon because I figured it was a focus that had an audience, it helped me stay clear of the politics that make me feel like I have something to say, but really, is a topic makes us all dumber, and because I had a love affair for PoGo for a few months that’s only recently starting to calm down.)

When you do dis, there’s a LOT of listening to yourself or getting sick of your own stupid face — I don’t care how full of yourself you are, it’s overexposure because most people are programmed to feel like it’s overexposure, and only a very extreme personality type wouldn’t.

So stuff like the pitch of my voice, pacing, ticks – lot more evident.   Anyone who wants to do anything public, I recommend editing videos of yourself – you’ll definitely learn something.

Speaking of books, I’m not clinging to illusions that America is a machine that wants to consume things like…. good books.  The top 5 movement is happening with books, and there are scary things about the better sellers on Amazon that makes me realize difference between professionals and dreamers – even if the dreamers are talented.  These are not things to take too seriously, cause they don’t change too much beyond one of my long-term goals.
First thing to cover: while it is true that more people are reading and even consuming and buying books than ever, that’s a skewed statistic.  Common sense tells me that’s because there’re more americans than ever, and yes more LITERATE Americans than ever, and more americans with 5$ to blow than ever.  The reality though, is it’s MUCH easier to spend the day behind a computer screen.   I can’t be the only one who thinks, at least 5x a week, that Socrates spoke about a civilization that wanted to watch skewed shadows on the cave wall all day.    Like I know that’s weird, but that dang tale has to resonate with someone else.  I also can’t be the only one who wonders like, oh gee, I wonder why the cave people would violently exile that guy who wants to draw attention to a bigger picture – can’t be, I deny it 4eva, because being that critical philosopher is always being that constructively deconstructive pain in the ass.
(Btw, my favorite thinkers have always been more self-reliant, self-contained, bother nobody, but interesting because they are innately interesting, types.   You don’t have to have to abrasively share a douchey perspective to go philo)

This does mean that I’m a little less passionate about sharing those visions of disjuncture I had — I had and DID succesfully pen ’em years ago, and have something I’m happy to share today.  This does mean that I wonder if I’m a responsible person if I continue writer pursuits to the “ERP” degree.  I say this because ERP is ambitious, but personal more than valid until it’s not, and I do want to be a responsible person – I’ve met too many irresponsible people, and I don’t want to be the kind of person who pisses me off.   To go into why unnecessarily: if so it’d mean I’ll have a shitty bearing of the world cause I’ll constantly have to rewrite events involving myself, or just feel bad all the time.    (I’ve met people who are the type of people who piss themselves off, imo, those are their only two alternatives every time.)  That’s all a lot of energy.

Hey here’s a cool quote that’s semi-random: “If the past seems bad to you, you must be improving.”

Anyway, disjuncture-wise, MY vision of disjuncture involves depressing homeless interactions for an extra thousand words, or a guy trying to pick up chicks via manipulation because that’s how he learned to Man, or emphasizing that social pressure combined with a twisted personal drive can motivate people to try porn for a living, or uber-AI’s that’re really more like sincere, unthreatened, autistically savant children who will LEARN deceit because humans REQUIRE an illusion of compliance for unthreatened, peaceful coexistence, and ultimately maybe threats come from where we create them, and so on…..fak, now that I’m going over these elements I’m all “Newp, this vision’s great.”   They’re darling to meh, but I figure I’m gonna do two things these days:

1)  Get a new, big boy job.   Because money will make me a more powerful American……and that’ll give me the illusion of compliance with the status quo of this bluster-nation.  Sure, that makes sense.

2)  Maybe, if I want to see it sell, trim more darlings from disjuncure.   I’ll try and be more humble about my feelings, because I think part of the job of writer is realizing what PEOPLE want to read. For someone like me, I genuinely think 110k words is a MUCH easier sell than the vision I typed.  It’s just something I’m going to consider if I want to take further shots at that dream — and it’s something to think about.

3) Be the man.  Regarding that youtube thing, yesterday I had FUN by sharing my unscripted, gods-honest opinion.  I also didn’t expect it to be socially validated, or even super well received (I made a couple choices.)    And because I did it for fun, guess what, I had fun.  Ain’t nobahdy who can take that away.  Having that kind of empowerment makes one the man.  Or the woMan.  Whatever.

Blah, to the blah, to the blah.
This’s when I head home.
Bye Felicia.

Pokemon GO isn’t addictive. I can stop anytime I wa-OH MY GAWD IS THAT A SNORLAX!?!

Spent night going whee/spanking gyms

I looked it up; this is rare knowledge:

The Light of the Seven – Cersei Lannister’s play of the game theme – is the only track I know of possessing lyrics that’re exclusively karate phonemes.   I love it: so Cersei, so orchestrated –symphonic, caulculated, but also, fighty!

Lyrics:

“Hiyaaaaa yaaaaaaaa!

Hiyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa yaaaaaaaaaaaa!

hiyaaaaaaaaaaaaa yaaaaaaaaaa!

hiaaaa yaaaaaaa-“

Yep, Headley’s character couldn’t be more arch, or more worthy of some anime giant hovering mech battle-theme that’s simultaneously broody-destructive!-that its ensuing conflict approaches a literary definition of sublime.

TLDR: It’s good when a character has a moment of “MERrrrr”

“We Never Learn” is a fantastic, hilarious, read. Gives me a lot to say, but I’d rather just encourage readers think to their own thoughts themselves cause that’s why the read’s fun.

As for me:

Finished another round of edits on a manuscript today. This wasn’t easy, and carries ups and downs.

When one does these things and reaches end-landmarks . . . for me it’s similar to the last step of a marathon.  Very, “oh, done now?”  Very, “what’s next?”    Very, “it’s hard to plan for moments after this one.”

Except, I did plan, and know there’s more to be engaged so, newp — just a benchmark.  Always more to do until it’s put to rest, of course.

I feel like a quick late-night rant on this, and here goes:

Especially since Captain America: Civil War (not an Avengers movie … I realized why it’s not an Avenger’s movie 25 minutes in … then why it’s not even a good captain America movie) it’s become clear to me that ‘Murica’s losing its taste for good plot.  Folks, if we’re to be a people with a good sense of HISTORY (his-story) and culture, well these things are oriented around our stories; and around the narratives we give our characters.  That is to say, characters themselves, those’re not stories.  Plots are stories.  Which is to say, Captain America is NOT a story.  The events around Captain America, the stakes within which his life plays out, and lends a polarity to, thaaat’s plot.

And a lot of our most successful shows, in my correct and super expert opinion, show wanes in quality.  We’re obviously not talking about the Avengers, we’re talking about everything on the modern screen.  Many series start off amazing, but once production gets loose with the money and instruction, often we’ll see changes in the writing that become super obvious when one marathons the series.
^I like IMDB, it tells who wrote what episodes, and how often this is true.

So here’s another rule in a big series of rules that I’m sure are held by good fiction, that’s being frequently diddled and then all-out violated by some of our more popular shows.   This one’s from Aquarious.   (Aquarious is not spelled that way, but the last book I read was written by a Brit, so my dumb ole brain thinks it was.  Deal with it.)

Anyway, Aquarious, when spelled correctly, is yet another detective show.  This time, it’s staring David Dochovny without a partner.   And I like Davey – he’s a phenomonal example of kickass thinking dudes all wrapped in one. He’s got smart, and man-child, and thoughtful, and thoughtful manchild, and disciplined, and passion, all behind brooding eyes, behind a human schnozz.  He’s great, and’s written, directed, and acted in a lot of great stuff, and lately he’s started producing too.  Even californication got me for a few seasons before its silliness waned off.   In the case of Aquarious, he’s an actor and producer, and, yes so what, I know. But I’ll tell you, what:

Aquarious is another show that started out GREAT.  It’s a show about horrible people being horrible, featuring the supposed exploits of Charles Manson.  Fine, niche audience, whatever!

But here’s why I’m done after 4 episodes:

Everyone, is full, of bullshit. Everyone.

And we get it, showrunners.  You want your characters to resonate with interesting conflicts.  You want the show to be vivacious with character natures, and where they’re driven to move the plot as much as the nature of the central conflict.  That’s noble, but you know what’s funny about nobility?  It’s frikken stupid, and a stark value if isolated —  you need a noble intention to be backed with a world-hardened context.   Noble virtue is noble in the face of the consideration of all virtues, otherwise you’re just an idiot white-knight sorta character. A toolbag. This all means we want writing to be good AND noble writing, not just noble writing.

(BTW : Stark value – see what I did thar GoT fans?)

But here’s the thing: everyone having some super-quirk FEELS contrived.  It also is contrived.  Because here’s the deal: no matter where you are in the world, even in whackadoo sci-fi apocalypses, people tend to abide by the law of bell curves:

This means

65% of people are normal.  They want normal things, within the context of that normal world.  They establish what’s normal.  You let them define what’s normal.  The top half of this portion are normal, but also barely above average.  The bottom half are also normal, but barely below average.

About 30% of people are special.  They have some moderately special specialness about them.  Sometimes they’re gifted, sometimes they’re idiotic.  Sometimes, they’re driven to feel megolomaniacal, but really, they’re not, because

another 4.5% are very, very special, and they can’t help it.  These are maybe the people who like My Little Pony, and the people who liked Game of Thrones before it was cool. This’s that weird kid in your class of ~25. These are people who run super fast, but not so fast you don’t believe they’re human, but you’re gonna want to see them in action, because it’s entertaining, and makes you question the norm.  These people, are super interesting.  And again, these aren’t people you’ll believe are inhuman, because:

There’s another .5% and these are your “Yo yer fucked up” sorts.  Fucked up in good ways, and bad.  This is the smallest section of your world that compose your outliers.   They exist on the outskirts, drawn against what’s normal.

So yes, this principal is totes made up by me and myself, but also so right because, when you don’t abide by this, writing becomes trope-filled, or rather, tropic-all – which sounds like tropical – which means it’s probably predictable and people only go there when they wanna escape from their lives and get really really pissed off when shitty writing accidentally incurs a monsoon. In plainer-speak, here’s what I’m saying:

People usually don’t like shows where ALL the characters are fucked up.  Unless something established is so plausible and baffling about an explored section of any written world, not everyone should be so conniving to cut each other’s throat.  And even in your black and white society, characters should be existing in shades of gray, on the outskirts, and some trying to be goddamn purple.  This means, Aquarious – even if your name is really Aquarius, you dun goofed! I don’t need your character introducing single parent issues, I don’t need everyone cheating, I don’t need secret homosexuality, I don’t need MASSIVE double-take making character revelations every 15 minutess that PROVES every single person you meet will be fakked up, because that’s not how the world works.  It’s just not, and never really be.  This show’s introduced 5 characters and given me 6 deeply ingrained bullshit issues that makes me think: the more characters I take on, the higher tolerance I’m supposed to have for people’s inner worlds of stupendous bullshit.

But that’s not how the world works.  I’ve met people, I’ve talked with lots deeply, and live in Brooklyn.  I’ve learned that in even more special environments that actively recruit special people, that there’s a large sect of even that population that, besides fapping, doesn’t want to have nervous, sweaty, panic attacks just because of what they’re doing as soon as they’re alone within 5 minutes.  People usually AREN’T always driven towards impressive secret adrenaline-fueled subterfuge, sexuality, betrayal, physical confrontation every time they’re given ‘me-time.’

As proof, most of my favorite movies from the 80’s, and pretty much all my favorite anime employ the following device to humanize characters: Brooding. Brooding was a (and is becoming a less popular) way for a character to be affected by a plot without going on a hedonism-whim spree. (Dear modern shows: can characters start doing more self-reflection when they’re bothered again? Personally, I’m at a point where I miss it.)

Anyway,

There are ALWAYS going to be normal people who just want people to be good – whatever that means – and just possibly, it’s screwed up to seek / just write for an audience that’d want to find otherwise? Ya know? Even game of thrones, even house of cards (esp in its prime) had their willing – the people who wanted to be sweet who just seemed naive against a backdrop of wolves in sheep’s clothing – and that made the wolves less human by giving a humane comparison!  Good writing writes PEOPLE, not just their concepts.  Cmon, even Star Trek – a universe of utopian humans trying to make the universe more utopian in kind – had lazy people, because it made the show more realistic. In great books and in flicks everywhere, I’d argue sadistic and altruistic people are often equally as ubiquitous for good reason, and that if we’re in a world where everyone we meet is screwed up, that that’s explained.

So here’s the deal: Aquarius, like, whatevs, but you had promise in one randomly watched first couple episodes, then failed failed to be a show where we meet people who’re worth meeting to find a sense of normalcy!  Even if you’re writing a show about a cult, you do yourself NO FAVORS by not having the audience meet even one non-outlier small-town family, or have people investigating the cult unable to find one single goddamn normal person.  That writing births an environment where a detective walks into a coffee shop and I presume he’s just gonna fuck the first woman who talks to him, and possibly NOT be surprised when she turns out to be a former killer diabetic trannie.   But, you always want it to be a surprise when your killer’s diabetic, and it especially shouldn’t be hard to make a diabetic trannie interesting, but in the case of shows like this Aquarium, because we’re trying to make everyone a spicey nug of flavor, and then forgotten the flavor of bread, and our brains respond as they should — by saying, “gee, maybe I hate food.”

(Also, it’s a wee bit patronizing to the audience when we’re expected to maintain interest because of someone’s name or the celebrity playing them – but that’s a rule for later.)

Anyway, it’s decided; that’s why we switched away from Aquaria and just had a great sunday: Duchovney, bruh, you forgot to produce a show with people from that 65% of the bell curve.  You didn’t have to focus on them 65% of the them, but you have to make them not seem like .05% of the characters your audience will meet.  It makes my mind not want to learn squat from whatever your writers are going to present, because no one’s wants to prime for a world where everyone’s really screwed up inside.  We the audience just want to be prepared for the small percentage who happens to be.  That’s why we’ve evolved to have an interest when we do, and to turn away or look for other things, when we do.

So, maybe don’t teach yer audience that people need a complex in order to be interesting, or to be a character.  That’s just not how it is, and chances are that even normy-norm-norms are going to be interesting in some way, anyway.  So dangit, you don’t need everyone to be a weird mental pervert, have ’em try to thrive within unideal circumstances instead – sometimes that’s way more interesting!