PTSD and Mal. Really?
POSTED BY: Bytemite
UPDATED: Monday, January 27, 2020 20:08
VIEWED: 36442
PAGE 12 of 12
How sweet. You got the double reference. Definitions comin' up. But you'll have to wait a few clicks. I have a day job ya know. who are you most wondering about?
another sky
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Well, seeing how River's signs of PTSD (and a 'lil bit of psychosis, poor girl) are slightly more obvious... I'd like to hear about Zoe.
Aside from the Shepherd (because I'm not a religious person) she's the hardest character on the show for me to wrap my mind around. This thread's been particularly helpful with that, and anything more would be even better. So much of her way of communicating is non-verbal, and even then her emotions aren't always readable.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Coming soon. I've got some feds wanna visit on my ship. Can't be too browncoaty till this blows over. I'm lookin' at coupla days. Send you a wave then.
--another sky
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Thanks, looking forward to it. :)
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
This thread WILL return, most likely by tonight. :D
Lost my Zoe observations, but now I know where they are.
Going for a ride.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Huzzah. Notes have been located. Took a lot of gouqui jiu and part of a small moon to get them back, but that's a tale for another time.
*caution here there be spoilers*
Again, the format isn't anything specific, just things that occur to me. Zoe's also pretty hard for me too, more imagery, so you see anything out of place, holler:
1.)The word that comes to mind when describing Zoe is “statuesque”. I think of two things—the walk of fashion models(to some extent, and not the hyperextended weird tripping in vogue now) and horses, or deer.
2.)Her back is ramrod straight, she stiffens/expands her personal space out through the ribs when she’s uptight (angry). Nostrils flaring, as with Mal, is a good sign that she is rather surprised or pissed and holding it in. Followed by the dead-eye expression, which while Mal also uses it occasionally, is largely her province out of the whole crew.
3.)Her body needs to be able to move at a moment’s notice—in her largest movements it’s automatic, not reactionary. Watch the scene in serenity where Mal throws Simon on the galley table after River’s cantina antics. Kaylee jars back, all limbs tightened up like a marionette, shoulders clamped.
...Zoe, on the other holster, has already smoothly moved obliquely backwards into the background. She is ready to get Mal’s back or do whatever else is necessary. This type of motion is largely automatic: it *is* her startle mechanism—to get a little space. This is her reaction to fights, explosions, violence—get moving to where YOU want to go, before someone else does it for you.
There are COUNTLESS examples of this—the Battle of Du Khang, the fire in the engine room, about half of serenity, even including the reaver battle after she’s lost Wash, so I think it’s either natural or so ingrained we’ll never tell…
4.) Any movement that isn't plain walking: the legs seem separated from the body—not antithetical to the upper, as in River’s, but just one well-oiled part of the machine, as if she had shock absorbers to continue with the metaphor. Going up the stairs for instance we see the model gait again. This is how she manages to be so stiff and so fluid simultaneously. It appears that the integrity of the torso length must be maintained at all times.
No scrunching allowed.
Whereas Mal is all screwed up in the upper torso—where all his tension seems to be, Zoe’s is in her joints. Let me qualify. Mal is not constrained in the physical space around him—he can flail outside of his shell, while being messed-up muscles-wise.
5.) Movementally speaking, Zoe’s muscles are uncramped, but she seems confined to an enclosing space, albeit one that is dynamic and shifts with her. This is difficult to explain—not quite “unncecessary movement”—she doesn’t have much of that.
Overall most similar to (surprise!) Shepard.
Shepard has a stiffness overlying his smooth-explode speed, the slow strength, as befits his age. Zoe's is younger, but it's still the smoothest of the entire crew, even River in fight-mode.
6.)All that said, she is still very uptight, with energy aligning her legs and torso. Very conscious that every muscle, her outward person is on display—if not in those exact words. May be a function of her clothing, or her upbringing.
7.) The most important thing you need to understand about Zoe’s gait is boots. They help Mal clunk around, but they are integral to Zoe’s walk—as if her body has calculated the exact bootspace that carries her weight. She’s just as aware of her feet as River, but in a different way.
8.)The other interesting thing about Zoe, which would fit with her career military background, is the fact that unlike Mal (in whom you can sometimes see a lanky teenager), Zoe is always polished, and there’s a hefty dose of natural grace under there.
9.)Opposite of Mal, you always see her neck—in fact her chin is frequently tilted up (in confidence? Defiance? Mask? All three?) Her physicality seems to be one of minimalist moderation, at least when Serenity is in crisis. Which
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Whatcha bouncin' fer?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME