fanfic and original writing by ar (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
witticaster) wrote2011-01-01 11:36 pm
witticaster) wrote2011-01-01 11:36 pm
Entry tags:
0270
Unneccessary-but-necessary close reading of "Far Beyond The Stars." What is my life. Also, here's the script for that episode.
• Julius and Herb clearly can't stand each other in general, but the fact that Herb's an Ellison-alike perv who's probably hit on Kay before doesn't help. (In the script but not the show, after Kay remarks that Benny might as well publish his Sisko stories in sidewalk chalk: "You tell him, Kay. I know a good divorce lawyer if you need one.")
• Julius' suggestion that Benny go and publish privately is intriguing and, if we give the show the benefit of the doubt w/r/t whether they considered Siddig's origins at all when writing this show, rather telling. Do it quietly for your own self, but don't fight too hard for it. An elegant but ultimately private solution, one that he thinks ought to be satisfying.
• "Science fiction needs more strong women characters. I'm always saying that, aren't I, Jules?" "Ad nauseum, my dear." Canon endearments and story ideas, eee. This is a capital-O Opinion Kay is willing to argue basically all the time. It's worse if she's had a glass of wine.
• Julius is frowning like someone kicked his puppy when Albert announces he's sold a novel. SOMEONE'S JEALZ.
• Things Kay doesn't do: mince words. Worry about whether it's ladylike to swear. Things Kay's mother does: despairs.
• One imagines that they invite Benny over for dinner reasonably regularly; Kay at least seems quite fond of him. Whether he accepts is another question.
• They look at each other in dismay in a way I find weirdly adorable when Pabst announces the magazine's been pulped for the month. Also, she has either got her hand on the desk and he looks back at her anyway, or she totally reached for his ass. Probably the former, but I find the possibility of the latter hilarious tonight, probably because it's nearing 11:30, and I am now an old person for whom that is late.
• "What about 'It Came From Outer Space'?" "It's a smashing title. I wish I'd thought of it." This dialogue's not in the script, but it is in the episode.
• Know what else would be adorable? Darlene/Albert. If this was its own tv show, anyway, where I'd be its biggest fan evar. For the purposes of the au, I argue in favour of bringing Keiko in somehow if needed.
• Herb totally says "bless you, my child," which amuses me more than is strictly necessary.
• Kay finds Herb annoying as hell, but amusing, too. Basically. She's not at all averse to winding him up, nor to rejecting him any time he makes a pass.
• Speaking of things which amuse me. "Calm down, dear boy. We're writers, not vikings."
• "Julius is a refined, elegantly dressed Englishman wearing an ascot, a cigarette holder clutched in his hand. His wife, Kay, sits perched on a table. She's a no-nonsense attractive woman, with a cutting sense of humor." THE ASCOT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
• Also, they have White Rose products. Just for the record.
• Julius' apparent uniform: Three-piece suit with an ascot. Yes to vest, no to tie (THE ASCOT IS VERY IMPORTANT), sometimes no to the vest (of his three suits, her wears a vest twice). In any case, let's stare at Alexander Siddig in a suit a little longer. Favours brown and grey over black or dark blue, though one assumes he has suits in those colours, too. ONE IMAGINES HE LIKES HIS SUITS.
• Kay's apparent uniform: Also three-piece suits, l-lol. LADY SUITS. Nah, but she has totally got the matching skirt-and-blazer thing going on, at least in one scene. I love ladies' clothes and think hers are really cutes, let's just outline her three different outfits:
• Outfit 1: Pencil skirt and fitted blazer with cuffed 3/4 sleeves in a taupe colour that basically matches Julius' suit, lol. Gold bracelet, red lipstick, and seriously, that is the weirdest top I've ever seen. It appears to be multiple pieces in a way that wouldn't make sense in the 1950s. WE'LL JUST IGNORE THAT. Oh, wait, no, a better look shows us that it has a shawl lapel, two sets of buttons, a really bizarre set of darts at the breasts, and a plain white blouse underneath. Clearly wearing a thin bracelet on her left wrist, too, though I can't tell what it looks like beyond that, a pair of earrings that matches the heavy bracelet, and has definitely got a fairly large wedding ring. Undoubtedly wearing heels, though we can't see them. OH, the thin bracelet is a gold tennis bracelet with dark stones (onyx? poorly lit garnets? the latter would be appropriate if her birthday was January) inlaid. She's got what appear to be two gold bands on her left hand, which is weird, because normally people get stones for an engagement ring. >> What glance we get of her shoes indicates a) black and b) heels.
• Outfit 2: A weird notched-collar striped blouse with two buttons down the front, cuffed full-length sleeves, of grey, red, and maroon and...are those supposed to be decorative pockets on it? God, it's such a weird shirt, but I kind of like it. Same tennis bracelet, red dot earrings (all her earrings are studs, these ones are dot-shaped), no bracelet on right wrist. Oh, wait, no, a bracelet on her right wrist that was hidden by her cuff. Probably the same one--no, wait, definitely the same one, presumably because nobody except me cares what accessories she wears.
• Outfit 3: Basically the red version of outfit 1. Same accessories, bright red blazer, full length non-cuffed sleeves, plain blouse underneath. Ten dollars says she's got a red pencil skirt on underneath. And it looks like...God, this outfit is weird. Okay, she's wearing a bajillion layers: plain white blouse (or dickey, probably), thin black sweaterthing in what looks like a bateau neckline, red blazer with a collar (no lapel). The other possibility is that the red jacket is some kind of overcoat she hasn't taken off yet, and she either has a sweater-blouse combo or a Kitty Foyle dress, but it doesn't look like the white collar's sewn to the black fabric (THANK GOD).
• Outfit 4: It's a dress this time, brown-flecked-with-white, looks like tea-length? Has a full skirt like you'd expect, buttons down the front (front of the skirt as well as the bodice), nipped waist with belt of the same colour/fabric, definitely heels (dark, round-toed), though I can't see the actual heel part. Silver brooch (a hoop with some decorative thing on half of it, I don't know what) on her left breast. Collared, 3/4 length sleeves, tea-length skirt, usual accessories.
• Fuck it, a detailed description of all his suits, too. I MIGHT AS WELL, I'M RIGHT HERE. I'm still terrible at differentiating between the three main kinds of suits, though I think his are continental cut? Suits: THEY ARE FUCKING HARD.
• Suit 1: Single-breasted grey-brown notched-lapel suit (you know that colour? the one where it's...if grey and brown had a baby). Three-piece, though unlike his other three-piece suit, the vest isn't the same material; it's a more red-brown, has white buttons down the front, and looks like it'd be silk (the kind you use to make neckties, not party dresses) rather than whatever woolly thing his suit's made of. It's all nice and crease-y at the pants, which always amuses me, idk. Some kind of gold lapel pin or something on the blazer--no, that's a fountain pen. DERP. His ASCOT appears to be patterned here? What tf is that, seriously. Also, CIGARETTE HOLDER.
• Suit 2: Unbuttoned tan suit, notched-collar, presumably also single-breasted, white shirt, black ASCOT, cigarette holder, no vest. One supposes he looks like this a great deal when writing, unless he's at home, when the suitcoat probably comes off.
• Suit 3: Brown flecked with white suit, all the other usual details (notched-collar, single-breasted, buttoned, a pen in the pocket instead of a pocket square), white shirt, light-coloured patterned vest (looks like checked or houndstooth?), grey silk ASCOT, cigarette holder. Exactly the kind of shoes you'd expect with a suit, since I caught a glimpse at them. VEST PATTERN is cream with black lines on it--I think it's called tattersall? IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME TO KNOW THE RIGHT NAME. Yes, definitely tattersall. Actually, would not be surprised if this is the same suit as suit 1 except with a different vest. We never get a close enough look at the colour of suit 1 for me to definitively say it isn't.
• Suit 4: SHINY BLACK SHOES. Grey suit with usual details (probably my favourite of all he wears), grey vest, white shirt, patterned ASCOT, cigarette holder. God, he must smell like an ashtray, even with the cigarette further from his mouth. No fucking clue what the ASCOT pattern is, but it looks like white and black and a little maroonish colour? idekkkk. Frowny face at Albert's successes.
• So overall clotheswise (in case you want to skip the BSC-inspired details), Kay dresses to blend in at work. Aside from a piece that might not really be part of her outfit at all (bright red jacket!), she's in very bland colours. All her shit is nice, and she clearly takes the time to put herself together, but it's a fairly drab look overall, which reads very "I want to be taken seriously" to me. (Compare to Darlene's adorable and dressy but very feminine dresses and colours--when Kay does wear a dress in the same style as Darlene's dresses, it still basically looks like a suit, fabric-wise.) One imagines she wears brighter colours on weekends.
• Julius, meanwhile, is immaculately put together and wears nicer suits than...well, definitely nicer than Albert, who looks like he's lucky to have gotten himself into a suit at all on any given morning. I don't know for Herb, who dresses pretty well as well, but yeah, in any case, Julius' goal for dressing seems to be "look as classy (and English!) as humanly possible." Dunno how much his outfits change when at home. Maybe he wears cardigans.
• I just noticed that they put their heads together and read over the contents list of the latest Galaxy while nodding/shaking their heads over the names. Clearly, reading together stories need to happen.
• "The world needs more people like you." MOAR LADIES WHO READ SCI-FI, STAT. One imagines Kay gets rather lonely on occasion for just that reason.
• Also, I hate the phrase "tough cookie." Have I mentioned this? It's so annoying.
• Julius is pacing for ideas during Suit 3. JUST FOR THE RECORD. And Kay is taking notes in pencil.
• Julius and Herb clearly can't stand each other in general, but the fact that Herb's an Ellison-alike perv who's probably hit on Kay before doesn't help. (In the script but not the show, after Kay remarks that Benny might as well publish his Sisko stories in sidewalk chalk: "You tell him, Kay. I know a good divorce lawyer if you need one.")
• Julius' suggestion that Benny go and publish privately is intriguing and, if we give the show the benefit of the doubt w/r/t whether they considered Siddig's origins at all when writing this show, rather telling. Do it quietly for your own self, but don't fight too hard for it. An elegant but ultimately private solution, one that he thinks ought to be satisfying.
• "Science fiction needs more strong women characters. I'm always saying that, aren't I, Jules?" "Ad nauseum, my dear." Canon endearments and story ideas, eee. This is a capital-O Opinion Kay is willing to argue basically all the time. It's worse if she's had a glass of wine.
• Julius is frowning like someone kicked his puppy when Albert announces he's sold a novel. SOMEONE'S JEALZ.
• Things Kay doesn't do: mince words. Worry about whether it's ladylike to swear. Things Kay's mother does: despairs.
• One imagines that they invite Benny over for dinner reasonably regularly; Kay at least seems quite fond of him. Whether he accepts is another question.
• They look at each other in dismay in a way I find weirdly adorable when Pabst announces the magazine's been pulped for the month. Also, she has either got her hand on the desk and he looks back at her anyway, or she totally reached for his ass. Probably the former, but I find the possibility of the latter hilarious tonight, probably because it's nearing 11:30, and I am now an old person for whom that is late.
• "What about 'It Came From Outer Space'?" "It's a smashing title. I wish I'd thought of it." This dialogue's not in the script, but it is in the episode.
• Know what else would be adorable? Darlene/Albert. If this was its own tv show, anyway, where I'd be its biggest fan evar. For the purposes of the au, I argue in favour of bringing Keiko in somehow if needed.
• Herb totally says "bless you, my child," which amuses me more than is strictly necessary.
• Kay finds Herb annoying as hell, but amusing, too. Basically. She's not at all averse to winding him up, nor to rejecting him any time he makes a pass.
• Speaking of things which amuse me. "Calm down, dear boy. We're writers, not vikings."
• "Julius is a refined, elegantly dressed Englishman wearing an ascot, a cigarette holder clutched in his hand. His wife, Kay, sits perched on a table. She's a no-nonsense attractive woman, with a cutting sense of humor." THE ASCOT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
• Also, they have White Rose products. Just for the record.
• Julius' apparent uniform: Three-piece suit with an ascot. Yes to vest, no to tie (THE ASCOT IS VERY IMPORTANT), sometimes no to the vest (of his three suits, her wears a vest twice). In any case, let's stare at Alexander Siddig in a suit a little longer. Favours brown and grey over black or dark blue, though one assumes he has suits in those colours, too. ONE IMAGINES HE LIKES HIS SUITS.
• Kay's apparent uniform: Also three-piece suits, l-lol. LADY SUITS. Nah, but she has totally got the matching skirt-and-blazer thing going on, at least in one scene. I love ladies' clothes and think hers are really cutes, let's just outline her three different outfits:
• Outfit 1: Pencil skirt and fitted blazer with cuffed 3/4 sleeves in a taupe colour that basically matches Julius' suit, lol. Gold bracelet, red lipstick, and seriously, that is the weirdest top I've ever seen. It appears to be multiple pieces in a way that wouldn't make sense in the 1950s. WE'LL JUST IGNORE THAT. Oh, wait, no, a better look shows us that it has a shawl lapel, two sets of buttons, a really bizarre set of darts at the breasts, and a plain white blouse underneath. Clearly wearing a thin bracelet on her left wrist, too, though I can't tell what it looks like beyond that, a pair of earrings that matches the heavy bracelet, and has definitely got a fairly large wedding ring. Undoubtedly wearing heels, though we can't see them. OH, the thin bracelet is a gold tennis bracelet with dark stones (onyx? poorly lit garnets? the latter would be appropriate if her birthday was January) inlaid. She's got what appear to be two gold bands on her left hand, which is weird, because normally people get stones for an engagement ring. >> What glance we get of her shoes indicates a) black and b) heels.
• Outfit 2: A weird notched-collar striped blouse with two buttons down the front, cuffed full-length sleeves, of grey, red, and maroon and...are those supposed to be decorative pockets on it? God, it's such a weird shirt, but I kind of like it. Same tennis bracelet, red dot earrings (all her earrings are studs, these ones are dot-shaped), no bracelet on right wrist. Oh, wait, no, a bracelet on her right wrist that was hidden by her cuff. Probably the same one--no, wait, definitely the same one, presumably because nobody except me cares what accessories she wears.
• Outfit 3: Basically the red version of outfit 1. Same accessories, bright red blazer, full length non-cuffed sleeves, plain blouse underneath. Ten dollars says she's got a red pencil skirt on underneath. And it looks like...God, this outfit is weird. Okay, she's wearing a bajillion layers: plain white blouse (or dickey, probably), thin black sweaterthing in what looks like a bateau neckline, red blazer with a collar (no lapel). The other possibility is that the red jacket is some kind of overcoat she hasn't taken off yet, and she either has a sweater-blouse combo or a Kitty Foyle dress, but it doesn't look like the white collar's sewn to the black fabric (THANK GOD).
• Outfit 4: It's a dress this time, brown-flecked-with-white, looks like tea-length? Has a full skirt like you'd expect, buttons down the front (front of the skirt as well as the bodice), nipped waist with belt of the same colour/fabric, definitely heels (dark, round-toed), though I can't see the actual heel part. Silver brooch (a hoop with some decorative thing on half of it, I don't know what) on her left breast. Collared, 3/4 length sleeves, tea-length skirt, usual accessories.
• Fuck it, a detailed description of all his suits, too. I MIGHT AS WELL, I'M RIGHT HERE. I'm still terrible at differentiating between the three main kinds of suits, though I think his are continental cut? Suits: THEY ARE FUCKING HARD.
• Suit 1: Single-breasted grey-brown notched-lapel suit (you know that colour? the one where it's...if grey and brown had a baby). Three-piece, though unlike his other three-piece suit, the vest isn't the same material; it's a more red-brown, has white buttons down the front, and looks like it'd be silk (the kind you use to make neckties, not party dresses) rather than whatever woolly thing his suit's made of. It's all nice and crease-y at the pants, which always amuses me, idk. Some kind of gold lapel pin or something on the blazer--no, that's a fountain pen. DERP. His ASCOT appears to be patterned here? What tf is that, seriously. Also, CIGARETTE HOLDER.
• Suit 2: Unbuttoned tan suit, notched-collar, presumably also single-breasted, white shirt, black ASCOT, cigarette holder, no vest. One supposes he looks like this a great deal when writing, unless he's at home, when the suitcoat probably comes off.
• Suit 3: Brown flecked with white suit, all the other usual details (notched-collar, single-breasted, buttoned, a pen in the pocket instead of a pocket square), white shirt, light-coloured patterned vest (looks like checked or houndstooth?), grey silk ASCOT, cigarette holder. Exactly the kind of shoes you'd expect with a suit, since I caught a glimpse at them. VEST PATTERN is cream with black lines on it--I think it's called tattersall? IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO ME TO KNOW THE RIGHT NAME. Yes, definitely tattersall. Actually, would not be surprised if this is the same suit as suit 1 except with a different vest. We never get a close enough look at the colour of suit 1 for me to definitively say it isn't.
• Suit 4: SHINY BLACK SHOES. Grey suit with usual details (probably my favourite of all he wears), grey vest, white shirt, patterned ASCOT, cigarette holder. God, he must smell like an ashtray, even with the cigarette further from his mouth. No fucking clue what the ASCOT pattern is, but it looks like white and black and a little maroonish colour? idekkkk. Frowny face at Albert's successes.
• So overall clotheswise (in case you want to skip the BSC-inspired details), Kay dresses to blend in at work. Aside from a piece that might not really be part of her outfit at all (bright red jacket!), she's in very bland colours. All her shit is nice, and she clearly takes the time to put herself together, but it's a fairly drab look overall, which reads very "I want to be taken seriously" to me. (Compare to Darlene's adorable and dressy but very feminine dresses and colours--when Kay does wear a dress in the same style as Darlene's dresses, it still basically looks like a suit, fabric-wise.) One imagines she wears brighter colours on weekends.
• Julius, meanwhile, is immaculately put together and wears nicer suits than...well, definitely nicer than Albert, who looks like he's lucky to have gotten himself into a suit at all on any given morning. I don't know for Herb, who dresses pretty well as well, but yeah, in any case, Julius' goal for dressing seems to be "look as classy (and English!) as humanly possible." Dunno how much his outfits change when at home. Maybe he wears cardigans.
• I just noticed that they put their heads together and read over the contents list of the latest Galaxy while nodding/shaking their heads over the names. Clearly, reading together stories need to happen.
• "The world needs more people like you." MOAR LADIES WHO READ SCI-FI, STAT. One imagines Kay gets rather lonely on occasion for just that reason.
• Also, I hate the phrase "tough cookie." Have I mentioned this? It's so annoying.
• Julius is pacing for ideas during Suit 3. JUST FOR THE RECORD. And Kay is taking notes in pencil.