wingedbeast (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wingedbeast) wrote2016-01-19 01:45 am
wingedbeast) wrote2016-01-19 01:45 am
Entry tags:
Black Hat Brigade: Episode 24
Setting: An opulent meeting room with wide, clear windows showing a high view of the New York skyline.
Queen Narissa wears a smart, black, pinstriped pantsuit.: Do you have any idea what we're looking at?
Susan Pevensie wears a thigh-length, black business skirt, exposing just enough of her black nylons. Her suit jacket and blouse are fitting enough to reveal that she has a figure, but not much detail.: I suspect you mean for an answer other than "New York".
Queen Narissa: Oh, this is even better than New York. This is Live Action, not-a-musical New York. An entire cosmopolitan city, an international hubb of live action people living complex lives that cannot be bound up in a single song.
Queen Narissa: Not just easily slotted roles, like hero, villain, damsel, and comic relief, but characters, with individual motivations and their own lives to live.
Queen Narissa: There must be some word for that. Call it heaven or just...
Jafar: Opportunity.
Queen Narissa turns with what could, in other contexts, be mistaken for an evil grin: Nicely said. Sometimes, I wish-
Jafar: Please don't finish that sentence.
Queen Narissa: My appologies, that seems to slip out.
A woman, both older than Queen Narissa and Susan and more heavy set, wears a long, sequened black dress: Yes, yes, we all have our weaknesses. We're all poor unfortunate souls. Let's not get bogged down.
Susan smirks: Exposition can be entertaining when you see it coming. The lantern is usually a que.
The phone buzzes and the voice of a stepsister speaks out: Excuse me, your 1:30 is here.
Queen Narissa: Do let them in.
A moment later, Aladdin steps in, immediately followed by Jasmine.
Jasmine: Is it just me, or does live action make you feel heavier?
Ursula: They never draw women to realistic dimensions, dear.
Aladdin: You only said Jafar would be here. You never said anything about Ursula or... whoever?
Queen Narissa: Queen Narissa, from Enchanted.
Aladdin looks to Jasmine. They share a shrug.
Queen Narissa: Honestly! People loved that satire.
Jasmine: I... think I remember you. You weren't much a part of that story.
Aladdin: Yeah, your only character traits where cliched evil and abusive.
Susan steps between the two sides, waving off the topic: Let's step past this. We didn't mention other people would attend. You didn't mention Merida would take up a sniper's position.
Jasmine: I don't know what you're-
Susan: Oh, please.
Susan presses on the intercom button: If you could please bring over the binoculars... and a white board and a marker, please?
Aladdin: We would never do something like that. We're the good guys.
Someone steps in to set a pair of binoculars, a white board, and a black marker on the table.
Secretary: Will there be anything else.
Susan: That will do, thank you. *hands the binoculars to Aladdin* Third floor down from the top, fifth window over from the left.
Aladdin looks through the binoculars, then his shoulders slump.
Jasmine: Okay, how did you spot her?
Susan: I simply looked where I would position myself.
Susan starts writing something on the whiteboard.
Ursula: Oh, we don't blame you, you scared little things. You just wanted some protection.
Jafar: But, as you know, you don't need protection from me. I cannot kill you.
Jasmine narrows her eyes: As you once told Iago, you'd be surprised what you can live through.
Jafar: That applies as much to a nation as to an individual.
Susan holds the whiteboard up to the window.
Jasmine: We're not going to dignify that fan-theory.
Jafar: I don't see why not.
Aladdin: What fan theory are we talking about?
Jasmine: Just your usual attempt to pretend the bad guy's really the good guy.
Jafar: Oh, it's more than that. It's a recognition of the incompetence of Agrabah's leadership.
Jasmine: My father is not incompetent.
Jafar: In the first movie, he was an easily manipulated old man who was more concerned with lavishing his spoiled daughter with impractical gifts, such as a tiger, than the public good or the economy of Agrabah.
Jasmine: You're blaming my father for poverty? Poverty was a regular reality of the time period when the story is set.
Aladdin: That's no excuse, not when there were things he could do about it.
Jasmine: Are you taking sides with Jafar, now?
Aladdin: Well, I'm not taking sides against myself. A more flourishing Agrabah economy might have had me not needing to be a thief.
Jasmine: Come on, the movie is limited to the time of its setting. It's not like father could institute universal education. Even if he would be allowed to think of it, the logistics, at the time, would be impossible.
Jafar: But, he could build great buildings. Statues, buildings, even something like the building and maintaining of an Aqueduct would be beneficial as a make-work project, as well as improving the health of the nation for generations to come.
Susan's cellphone buzzes. Heads turn. Susan: Oh, don't mind me. *proceeds to text*
Jasmine gives Susan a sidelong glance before turning back to Jafar: Listen, nothing of that was even mentioned in the movie, so you can't go assuming.
Jafar: But, I can acknowledge that he did not impress, upon his daughter, the importance of service to the nation. Literally his only responsibility was to ensure that a male heir would take the throne and he allowed you to stymie his efforts not out of any revolutionary spirit or feminism, but just the over-done romantic notion that your right to choose your own spouse outweighed the needs of an entire nation.
Jasmine: Is my father, in your evil little mind, obligated to keep me under control?
Jafar: He is obligated to impress, upon you, that this is more than just you at stake. The two of you could have been coordinated, seeking someone who would both meet Agrabah's needs as a future Sultan and yours as a husband. But, he was more interested in pleasing you than doing right by the country he rules and you weren't interested, at all, in that country.
Aladdin: Okay, that's a lot of... whatever the PG word for bullshit is. You know what I wish?
Jafar narrows his eyes: Don't.
Aladdin: I wish you would just be honest with us.
Jafar's face darkens for a moment. Then, in a flash, the dark-genie Jafar image grows over Aladdin and Jasmine.
Jafar: The truth is that the monarchy that gives you legitimacy as a princess is an insult to us all!
Jafar: I was a learned Vizier, learned in history and politics and, need I add, magic! The best I would ever be is someone the Sultan graciously allowed to tell him things that any educated man should know, already! No matter how much wisdom I gain, I would always be the lesser to a man who gained his position through the defining achievement of being born!
Susan finishes and sends a text.
Aladdin and Jasmine look intimidated for a bare moment, then place palms to the table and slowly stand.
Susan opens a window. A split second later, a framed picture breaks opposite the window.
Everybody startles and looks over at the broken picture.
Susan: Merida has just provided a reminder to be calm during this meeting. Jafar, dial it back.
Jafar begrudgingly returns to his human shape and sits down.
Ursula: In an earlier draft of the script for The Little Mermaid, I was the sister to King Triton. As it was, I was a woman with magical abilities, but pushed to the dark for whatever reasons. Where was a tentacled woman to go with her ambitions? What allowable option could there have been?
Queen Carissa: And, yes, evil being one of my two character traits. But, Andalusia's only known political trait was in being a monarchy. What was my option? And, in a monarchy what safety can a woman have but her own power?
Jafar: Ambition can have many a cause. I could as easily be the man who saw the needs of a nation as just someone who wanted power for its own sake. Whatever the cause, my ambition was stymied by a social and political system that tells people that they are meant to stay in their place. Imagine what could have happened in a freer, more democratic society, that could have channeled my ambitions rather than refused them.
Aladdin (skeptically): Maybe... but I don't think so.
Jasmine: It's not like political or Wall-street ambitions are all channeled to the perfectly constructive. And, even were that so, you aren't the only one in that system. Hundreds of people don't resort to such things. What would you have us do all for you little old you?
Jafar: Not just for little old me. Let me make my Case.
Queen Narissa wears a smart, black, pinstriped pantsuit.: Do you have any idea what we're looking at?
Susan Pevensie wears a thigh-length, black business skirt, exposing just enough of her black nylons. Her suit jacket and blouse are fitting enough to reveal that she has a figure, but not much detail.: I suspect you mean for an answer other than "New York".
Queen Narissa: Oh, this is even better than New York. This is Live Action, not-a-musical New York. An entire cosmopolitan city, an international hubb of live action people living complex lives that cannot be bound up in a single song.
Queen Narissa: Not just easily slotted roles, like hero, villain, damsel, and comic relief, but characters, with individual motivations and their own lives to live.
Queen Narissa: There must be some word for that. Call it heaven or just...
Jafar: Opportunity.
Queen Narissa turns with what could, in other contexts, be mistaken for an evil grin: Nicely said. Sometimes, I wish-
Jafar: Please don't finish that sentence.
Queen Narissa: My appologies, that seems to slip out.
A woman, both older than Queen Narissa and Susan and more heavy set, wears a long, sequened black dress: Yes, yes, we all have our weaknesses. We're all poor unfortunate souls. Let's not get bogged down.
Susan smirks: Exposition can be entertaining when you see it coming. The lantern is usually a que.
The phone buzzes and the voice of a stepsister speaks out: Excuse me, your 1:30 is here.
Queen Narissa: Do let them in.
A moment later, Aladdin steps in, immediately followed by Jasmine.
Jasmine: Is it just me, or does live action make you feel heavier?
Ursula: They never draw women to realistic dimensions, dear.
Aladdin: You only said Jafar would be here. You never said anything about Ursula or... whoever?
Queen Narissa: Queen Narissa, from Enchanted.
Aladdin looks to Jasmine. They share a shrug.
Queen Narissa: Honestly! People loved that satire.
Jasmine: I... think I remember you. You weren't much a part of that story.
Aladdin: Yeah, your only character traits where cliched evil and abusive.
Susan steps between the two sides, waving off the topic: Let's step past this. We didn't mention other people would attend. You didn't mention Merida would take up a sniper's position.
Jasmine: I don't know what you're-
Susan: Oh, please.
Susan presses on the intercom button: If you could please bring over the binoculars... and a white board and a marker, please?
Aladdin: We would never do something like that. We're the good guys.
Someone steps in to set a pair of binoculars, a white board, and a black marker on the table.
Secretary: Will there be anything else.
Susan: That will do, thank you. *hands the binoculars to Aladdin* Third floor down from the top, fifth window over from the left.
Aladdin looks through the binoculars, then his shoulders slump.
Jasmine: Okay, how did you spot her?
Susan: I simply looked where I would position myself.
Susan starts writing something on the whiteboard.
Ursula: Oh, we don't blame you, you scared little things. You just wanted some protection.
Jafar: But, as you know, you don't need protection from me. I cannot kill you.
Jasmine narrows her eyes: As you once told Iago, you'd be surprised what you can live through.
Jafar: That applies as much to a nation as to an individual.
Susan holds the whiteboard up to the window.
Jasmine: We're not going to dignify that fan-theory.
Jafar: I don't see why not.
Aladdin: What fan theory are we talking about?
Jasmine: Just your usual attempt to pretend the bad guy's really the good guy.
Jafar: Oh, it's more than that. It's a recognition of the incompetence of Agrabah's leadership.
Jasmine: My father is not incompetent.
Jafar: In the first movie, he was an easily manipulated old man who was more concerned with lavishing his spoiled daughter with impractical gifts, such as a tiger, than the public good or the economy of Agrabah.
Jasmine: You're blaming my father for poverty? Poverty was a regular reality of the time period when the story is set.
Aladdin: That's no excuse, not when there were things he could do about it.
Jasmine: Are you taking sides with Jafar, now?
Aladdin: Well, I'm not taking sides against myself. A more flourishing Agrabah economy might have had me not needing to be a thief.
Jasmine: Come on, the movie is limited to the time of its setting. It's not like father could institute universal education. Even if he would be allowed to think of it, the logistics, at the time, would be impossible.
Jafar: But, he could build great buildings. Statues, buildings, even something like the building and maintaining of an Aqueduct would be beneficial as a make-work project, as well as improving the health of the nation for generations to come.
Susan's cellphone buzzes. Heads turn. Susan: Oh, don't mind me. *proceeds to text*
Jasmine gives Susan a sidelong glance before turning back to Jafar: Listen, nothing of that was even mentioned in the movie, so you can't go assuming.
Jafar: But, I can acknowledge that he did not impress, upon his daughter, the importance of service to the nation. Literally his only responsibility was to ensure that a male heir would take the throne and he allowed you to stymie his efforts not out of any revolutionary spirit or feminism, but just the over-done romantic notion that your right to choose your own spouse outweighed the needs of an entire nation.
Jasmine: Is my father, in your evil little mind, obligated to keep me under control?
Jafar: He is obligated to impress, upon you, that this is more than just you at stake. The two of you could have been coordinated, seeking someone who would both meet Agrabah's needs as a future Sultan and yours as a husband. But, he was more interested in pleasing you than doing right by the country he rules and you weren't interested, at all, in that country.
Aladdin: Okay, that's a lot of... whatever the PG word for bullshit is. You know what I wish?
Jafar narrows his eyes: Don't.
Aladdin: I wish you would just be honest with us.
Jafar's face darkens for a moment. Then, in a flash, the dark-genie Jafar image grows over Aladdin and Jasmine.
Jafar: The truth is that the monarchy that gives you legitimacy as a princess is an insult to us all!
Jafar: I was a learned Vizier, learned in history and politics and, need I add, magic! The best I would ever be is someone the Sultan graciously allowed to tell him things that any educated man should know, already! No matter how much wisdom I gain, I would always be the lesser to a man who gained his position through the defining achievement of being born!
Susan finishes and sends a text.
Aladdin and Jasmine look intimidated for a bare moment, then place palms to the table and slowly stand.
Susan opens a window. A split second later, a framed picture breaks opposite the window.
Everybody startles and looks over at the broken picture.
Susan: Merida has just provided a reminder to be calm during this meeting. Jafar, dial it back.
Jafar begrudgingly returns to his human shape and sits down.
Ursula: In an earlier draft of the script for The Little Mermaid, I was the sister to King Triton. As it was, I was a woman with magical abilities, but pushed to the dark for whatever reasons. Where was a tentacled woman to go with her ambitions? What allowable option could there have been?
Queen Carissa: And, yes, evil being one of my two character traits. But, Andalusia's only known political trait was in being a monarchy. What was my option? And, in a monarchy what safety can a woman have but her own power?
Jafar: Ambition can have many a cause. I could as easily be the man who saw the needs of a nation as just someone who wanted power for its own sake. Whatever the cause, my ambition was stymied by a social and political system that tells people that they are meant to stay in their place. Imagine what could have happened in a freer, more democratic society, that could have channeled my ambitions rather than refused them.
Aladdin (skeptically): Maybe... but I don't think so.
Jasmine: It's not like political or Wall-street ambitions are all channeled to the perfectly constructive. And, even were that so, you aren't the only one in that system. Hundreds of people don't resort to such things. What would you have us do all for you little old you?
Jafar: Not just for little old me. Let me make my Case.
no subject
*quiet delighted squealing*
>>Where was a tentacled woman to go with her ambitions? What allowable option could there have been?
This is one of my favorite takes on Ursula, tbh. And I totally adore me some Sea Witch.
>>Not just for little old me. Let me make my Case.
*chinhands*