#wren rambles

Of course you pick the scariest one of the lot and:

“Hey!” you shout, half giggling. “Hey—you, in the mask!”

The man turns. You can’t see his mouth with the surgical mask in place but you can tell his eyebrows are raised. He’s fucking huge, towering over his counterparts (who are nothing to sniff at), thick and strong. His head cocks in silent question.

“Can I get your number?” you shout, licking your friend’s hand when she slaps it over your mouth. All your friends rush to brush the guy off, but he’s already ashing his cigarette under his boot, slipping his hands into his pocket, and crossing the street quietly.

He stays a healthy distance away, aware of how it looks: a man his size approaching a group of young, inebriated women. You think he’s come to harass you in return, or maybe just to mock you—either way you are stunned silent, mouth agape, eyes wide. He’s so much taller up this close.

“Got a pen?” he asks.

He only approaches then, shoulders hunched to make himself appear smaller and innocuous. He takes your hand in his own and writes his phone number on your forearm.

It's Doctor Who saying "look the evil alt right podcaster has trapped everyone in a weird heteronormative wish world that's baaaaaad uhb we don't know how to resolve it satisfyingly" vs "Rose dragged along a guy she thought cute and he turned out to be a jerk and used time travel to gain access to future secrets and we see her and the Doctor react to that in a way thar shows us more about their character." It's "the Beatles are here kind of as a backdrop to our drag queen villain isn't that fun woo musical number" vs "let's tell a touching story about Vincent van Gogh's depression and relate that to what our characters are currently going through."

And its not just Doctor Who--it's pervasive. It's "let's tell a character focused story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the darkness and the love around him that wasn't enough" vs "Star Wars is GAY and look at her BLEED her LIGHTSABER." It's "Here's a 19 year old who lost her parents and has to raise her difficult sister, let's see her motivations and love for her sister" vs "Nani is doing the Right Thing for Herself because going to College is Girlboss!"

And this isn't the first time the focus of storytelling has shifted--before it was character focused, we had concept focus. Doctor Who exploring Roman times or a realm made of stories, where characters carry the plot, but aren't the focus of episodes. Episode IV of star wars was certainly a conceptual idea more than character focused, exploring the world and building it as you go. Old Disney like Snow White explored the concept of retelling a fairytale in animation.