Kimbar: I hereby begin this session of We Rock Your Zebra Print Socks - otherwise known as the Cast Commentary Chat #2. Let's talk about something interesting that we get to see in this episode: we get a really good look at one of our male characters who has autism. I like that Mariel Cove has the depth to go places like that and do it so realistically. What do you guys think?
Skye: Gabe is tied for my favorite character. I've worked with autistic children for almost a decade and I see so many children I've known and loved reflected in Gabe in realistic ways. That means a lot to me personally and makes for a fascinating character.
Noel: One of the amazing things about Mariel Cove is that -- even though it's a series for queer women -- it has these incredible male characters.
Noel: Gabriel, then later in the season, Robbie. Tatiana's son and Madison's twins.
Noel: Writing an autistic character was influenced by two things for me:
Noel: My nephew, who is autistic and nonverbal, and the series creator's son, Maxwell, who has Asperger’s.
Kimbar: My brother also has Asperger’s.
Noel: Isn't that mind-blowing?
Noel: How could this series *not* have an autistic character?
Noel: This isn't some over-diagnosed condition.
Noel: It is part of all our lives.
Kimbar: I always like to talk to my brother about different autistic characters that I run across, and usually he's very critical of the characters, but when I told him a bit about Gabe he gave an appreciative "Hm - cool." Which, from him, is high praise =P
Noel: That sounds like something Gabe would answer =)
Skye: And such a powerful character! One thing I adore about Gabe is that he's not just "the autistic character." He has all kinds of traits and purposes that go beyond his autism.
Noel: Yes. Gabe is also deaf, of course, and he's set up almost as a type of seer.
Noel: Not in an over-the-top way.
Noel: Just in an insightful, quiet magic way.
Noel: Celeste is a twenty-two big sister trying to raise her fourteen year old autistic brother. I think all of us would do that to keep our brother out of foster care.
Kimbar: I've always been the go-between for my brother and my mother, so I loved the relationship between the two. That's definitely how I would be with my brother in a similar situation.
Kimbar: There's a protectiveness there that you just feel in such a situation, and it really comes across between the two.
Noel: I'm glad I painted Celeste and Gabe realistically then =) Thank you. Though, again, I need to thank Jennifer. She crafted the relationship between the characters.
Kimbar: Gabe also has a very deep wisdom to him that I just love...and there's a touch of humor there, too, in the way that he's so matter-of-fact about things that blow Celeste away because it never would have struck her like that.
Noel: I think if someone is as quiet and insightful and observant as Gabe, he really would see connections that others might not.
Noel: It's funny because though I love writing Gabe, some of the most powerful moments are when Celeste doubts herself.
Noel: Doubts whether or not she's enough for Gabe. If she's making the right decisions as a "mother."
Noel: After all, she's twenty-two. Single. Parentless. Totally on her own with Gabe.
Skye: I definitely agree. There are moments throughout the series where I almost feel like Gabe is quietly mothering Celeste or knows Celeste is doubting herself and softly encourages her. I feel like their relationship is one of the strongest and most realistic because of these moments of doubt and mutual care.
Noel: I tried really hard to achieve that realism and honesty.
Skye: You succeeded, Noel.
Kimbar: You definitely did.
Kimbar: I think you hit it...I think everyone with a kid thinks that sometimes - it's natural when you're responsible for taking care of an entire person and helping them shape who they're going to be. That's another thing I love about this series - the relationships between parents and children that get to come across. Mariel Cove isn't just about hot sex between lesbians - it's about real people, some of them in amazing family units. We really get to show all kinds of people in this series.
Noel: So true, Kimbar!
Noel: The hot sex is nice but the relationship between all the characters, the interactions, is what makes us *care* about *who* is having all that hot sex =D
Skye: And yes, Kimbar, I totally agree. Some of my favorite moments in this series involve children and family units not often featured in erotica but are major parts of many people's everyday lives.
Skye: And speaking of hot sex, can we please talk about Dante Dangerous for a minute? Because my heart may explode if we don't. I fell in love with Celeste because of that scene with Dante.
Kimbar: Can we talk for a bit about one of our other characters - Roisin, who has Huntington's? We see her struggling in the beginning of the episode, and by the end she has that painful scene where she finally tells two of her close friends about it.
Kimbar: Oops! Two questions at the same time! Take your pick =)
Noel: Wow, talk about two ends of the spectrum!
Skye: LOL, yeah. That's what I was thinking, too.
Noel: With Dante (a woman from Celeste's past in New York City as a bike messenger) I had a chance to play with a really sexy character and to show off Celeste before she became the "mom" we know she became.
Noel: But as brave as Gabe and Celeste are, and as spicy as Dante made things (and how many secrets exist between Celeste and Dante), the Roisin plot is more brave.
Noel: To write a character facing a terminal illness takes a type of courage.
Noel: How much do you give yourself over to the character? Does the character become all about the disease?
Noel: Do they still have a love life? Do they still get mad unduly?
Noel: Do they make mistakes? Can they still be a jerk some days?
Noel: Or do we make them saints because they know how they're going to die?
Noel: I applaud Rowan for her work with Roisin.
Skye: Definitely.
Skye: I also love the range of emotions, conditions, life experiences, ages, etc. in Mariel Cove. That we can have a moment like above, where one person mentions a hot sex scene and another a character struggling with terminal illness.
Kimbar: I like the way she's handled - she's not ready to give up on life but she can feel that future looming and it frightens her. She's going to keep going as long as she can. I loved the way she reacted whenever she lost control of her physical body. It was so realistic - fighting to gain back control, annoyance and fear, but trying to keep face at the same time. You can definitely see the process of coming to terms with what she's going through.
Noel: I find Roisin's annoyance very moving and powerful, strangely.
Skye: I do, too Noel. It's like you mentioned above: so many are tempted to make saints out of people like Roisin, but Roisin is unapologetically real about what's going on with her. And sometimes confronting your future is hard, stressful and can come out as annoyance and hurt. It's powerful because it's real life.
Noel: Yeah, that does really say a lot about our team and the series as a whole.
Kimbar: Mm. Speaking of hot scenes, I loved the way Kennedy was handled in the scene between her and Kitty at the store. The way her insecurities stumble in and the reader gets to see her shove them back and push herself back into that position of playing for power. You can see how that's such a defense mechanism for her. It makes her a character the audience can relate to, rather than simply a two-dimensional evil character.
Noel: My gosh, when she begs Kitty to stay even though Kitty has a customer? That said volumes. No. Boundaries. At. All.
Skye: Kennedy has no boundaries because she's secretly extremely fragile. She needs Kitty not just in her life, but she needs Kitty to want her, to "prove" her affection constantly. Some of this is paranoia from drugs, but much of it is that in vanilla, long-term relationships Kennedy doesn't know where she stands and needs constant praise and validation.
Kimbar: That definitely comes across in the way you write her, Skye.
Kimbar: She's a fantastically multi-faceted character.
Noel: Yeah, it really does work well.
Noel: She really comes alive on the page.
Skye: Thank you both. I wanted to make her more than the "bad guy."
Noel: She absolutely is more.
Kimbar: Okay, we're about out of time. Is there anything else anybody would like to say about episode 2?
Noel: That sums it up for me!
Skye: Pretty much all for me, too. I hope everyone liked it!
Noel: Good chat!
Noel: Wow, talk about two ends of the spectrum!
Skye: LOL, yeah. That's what I was thinking, too.
Noel: With Dante (a woman from Celeste's past in New York City as a bike messenger) I had a chance to play with a really sexy character and to show off Celeste before she became the "mom" we know she became.
Noel: But as brave as Gabe and Celeste are, and as spicy as Dante made things (and how many secrets exist between Celeste and Dante), the Roisin plot is more brave.
Noel: To write a character facing a terminal illness takes a type of courage.
Noel: How much do you give yourself over to the character? Does the character become all about the disease?
Noel: Do they still have a love life? Do they still get mad unduly?
Noel: Do they make mistakes? Can they still be a jerk some days?
Noel: Or do we make them saints because they know how they're going to die?
Noel: I applaud Rowan for her work with Roisin.
Skye: Definitely.
Skye: I also love the range of emotions, conditions, life experiences, ages, etc. in Mariel Cove. That we can have a moment like above, where one person mentions a hot sex scene and another a character struggling with terminal illness.
Kimbar: I like the way she's handled - she's not ready to give up on life but she can feel that future looming and it frightens her. She's going to keep going as long as she can. I loved the way she reacted whenever she lost control of her physical body. It was so realistic - fighting to gain back control, annoyance and fear, but trying to keep face at the same time. You can definitely see the process of coming to terms with what she's going through.
Noel: I find Roisin's annoyance very moving and powerful, strangely.
Skye: I do, too Noel. It's like you mentioned above: so many are tempted to make saints out of people like Roisin, but Roisin is unapologetically real about what's going on with her. And sometimes confronting your future is hard, stressful and can come out as annoyance and hurt. It's powerful because it's real life.
Noel: Yeah, that does really say a lot about our team and the series as a whole.
Kimbar: Mm. Speaking of hot scenes, I loved the way Kennedy was handled in the scene between her and Kitty at the store. The way her insecurities stumble in and the reader gets to see her shove them back and push herself back into that position of playing for power. You can see how that's such a defense mechanism for her. It makes her a character the audience can relate to, rather than simply a two-dimensional evil character.
Noel: My gosh, when she begs Kitty to stay even though Kitty has a customer? That said volumes. No. Boundaries. At. All.
Skye: Kennedy has no boundaries because she's secretly extremely fragile. She needs Kitty not just in her life, but she needs Kitty to want her, to "prove" her affection constantly. Some of this is paranoia from drugs, but much of it is that in vanilla, long-term relationships Kennedy doesn't know where she stands and needs constant praise and validation.
Kimbar: That definitely comes across in the way you write her, Skye.
Kimbar: She's a fantastically multi-faceted character.
Noel: Yeah, it really does work well.
Noel: She really comes alive on the page.
Skye: Thank you both. I wanted to make her more than the "bad guy."
Noel: She absolutely is more.
Kimbar: Okay, we're about out of time. Is there anything else anybody would like to say about episode 2?
Noel: That sums it up for me!
Skye: Pretty much all for me, too. I hope everyone liked it!
Noel: Good chat!
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