#criminal case analysis

[asharkapologist]

Criminal Case’s Subversive Portrayal of Cheerleaders Part 1/3: Introduction + Madison Springer, Part 1

A/N: This was written a bit later than expected, but life got in the way. Either way, enjoy! And thank you to everyone who voted in my poll! 

Cheerleaders do not always have the most positive representation in media. 

I feel like that’s hardly a controversial statement. Books, movies, shows, games, etc., especially those in the 2000s and 2010s, often portrayed cheerleaders in a very stereotypical, unflattering light. Cheerleaders are the mean, popular girls. They’re not very smart. They’re very clique-y. They’re bullies, and cheerleading is definitely not considered a sport. Portrayals of cheerleaders like this often cross over and are related to how femininity/girls interested in stereotypically feminine things like clothes, makeup, male attention, the color pink, etc., are often demonized, too, portrayed as mean, vapid, and shallow. (That’s a topic for a whole different analysis.) But my point being, if a female character is a cheerleader, even in media from the 2020s, chances are fairly high that this character is going to be mean, stupid, vapid, or a combination of all three.

I used to be a cheerleader in junior high and my first year of high school, and this always frustrated me. I was an avid reader of YA novels in junior high/high school, and it always frustrated me when the cheerleader characters were always written the same. I still pick up the occasional YA novel, and portrayals of cheerleaders continue to annoy me. (I recently read a novella published in late 2019 that fell into the trap). I may no longer be a cheerleader, but I will continue to defend cheerleaders with my life, take issue with how they’re portrayed in fiction, literally make OCs who are cheerleaders (one of my OCs is literally a college cheerleader majoring in Information Systems who works in IT), and insist that cheer is a sport (if anyone disagrees with this, I dare you to look up cheer routines on YouTube and say that what those people do isn’t a testament to incredible athletic skills). Point being, by the time I really got into Criminal Case near the end of my high school career, I was very tired of unflattering cheerleading representation.

Then a miracle happened. While playing University in Grimsborough (I played these games out of order), I met a character who defied multiple stereotypes associated with cheerleaders and made me fall in love with her: Madison Springer. And upon returning to Grimsborough in The Conspiracy (which I started only sometime earlier this year and which, along with Save the World, are the final two games I haven’t played; like I said, I played these games out of order), I met two more characters who defied stereotypes associated with cheerleaders: Vicky Lopez and Chelsea Bloom. And even in her own weird way, Polly O’Brien also defies some stereotypes associated with cheerleaders. 

SPOILERS FOR GRIMSBOROUGH AND THE CONSPIRACY BEYOND THIS POINT.

Something common amongst all four young women, including Madison, is that all four characters start out seeming to conform to stereotypes, before being revealed as far more complex and much kinder than initially let on, in Madison, Vicky, and Chelsea’s case, or crueler, in Polly’s case. Both Grimsborough and The Conspiracy subvert expectations and stereotypes that their cheerleader characters appear to fall into. Madison is initially introduced as a sorority president before it’s revealed she’s a cheerleader in Murder on Campus, where a freshman who had just been invited into Madison’s sorority, Rani, is murdered. The first impression Madison gives off is not terribly flattering. There is a “massive portrait of her in the sorority common room,” as Jones says, and she makes some unfortunately racially/culturally insensitive comments about Rani and Misha Goshwalla that there’s no defending. She also slut-shames girls of other “skanky sororities.” Jones hardly likes her upon this first introduction, saying that “she’s lying through her teeth” and saying “I’m convinced there’s evil lurking behind those big puppy eyes.” And Madison conducts some sort of hazing on the sorority rushees (although this isn’t what killed Rani), and lies when she insists no one under 21 drank champagne. Additionally, when Rani passed the hazing “with flying colors,” as her sister Misha says Madison said, Madison called up Misha and said that Rani was much cooler than Misha, all of which added/contributed to Misha’s long-standing envy of her sister, which made her susceptible to Tess’ hypnotism, and led to her killing Rani, upon Tess’ prompting that “it was the right thing to do.” After Misha is arrested, Madison surprisingly nicely (probably trying to use emotional manipulation) asks the player and Nathan to help her find her missing sorority president pin, and makes it clear that she is not happy with her sorority sister who presumably stole her pin, and despite Nathan’s prompting not to do so, plans on punishing said “traitorous” sister.

Whew.

Bit of a yikes. When I was rereading the transcript for Murder on Campus while writing this, it really brought back how unlikable Madison was in her first appearance. Jones doesn't like her, and I doubt people playing the game are supposed to, either.

However, technically it’s not mentioned that Madison is a cheerleader in this case, just a sorority president, so technically, there’s no cheerleader bashing going on. And the next time she’s a suspect in a murder, in Dead Man Running, where it is revealed she’s a cheerleader, she gets more nuance and sympathy--although it doesn’t start out this way. 

During that case, it’s revealed Madison was dating the victim, quarterback Troy Takiguchi, which Jones correctly declares as cliche. When Jones and Player talk to Madison, she says she’s more concerned with being dateless to the upcoming prom ball, once again showing her as rather shallow, not seeming to care for very valid/sympathetic reasons that her boyfriend of six months is dead, still more concerned about herself. Still not a very flattering portrayal of a cheerleader--but we’re about to make progress. 

Because, later, Jones and Player discover Madison’s beaten-up phone in Troy’s room, and with Alex’s help, find out that Madison knows, thanks to her friends telling her, that Troy was cheating on her, which leads to this exchange:

I honestly really like this, and is perhaps the first example in the game of Madison being likable, because this is a very positive example of her showing that she knows her worth. She’s rightfully angry, and allows herself to be, without being condemned by Jones/the narrative or accused of murder. When her cheating boyfriend tried to blame her for his infidelity, she snaps back that it was not her fault, and breaks up with him, not giving him another chance. An example of toxic masculinity/patriarchy is when men blame their partners for said men’s infidelity, and Madison is having none of that. In reality, compared to what she said in her first interrogation, she would rather preserve her dignity and self-worth rather than attend the university dance with her unfaithful boyfriend. She cares about her reputation, yes, but she also cares about her self-worth and knows she deserves better. And this is the fork in the road and the turn for the better in terms of how Madison and cheerleaders are portrayed. 

Madison still keeps some of her rude personality, though. In the additional investigation of that same case when Jones and Player go to check up on Madison before the Quails’ football team plays, and see her saying:

Honestly, I’m not sure why, but this line made me smile--and the rest of the interactions Player and Jones have with her come off as less of her being nasty and more as rude, but…good natured in a way? More light-hearted? Less serious than a sorority girl hazing new recruits. Just a cheer captain being impatient with her team, still not incredibly flattering, and she obviously isn’t kind, but better. And then she then says, “I know it’s a bit impolite to ask you, but I really need your help. As I said, I lost my new cheerleader's pom-poms, the blue and gold pair I'm supposed to use during the match!...Please, can you look for them while I try to create something at least resembling a cheerleader's performance with my team?” Still a bit rude, perhaps manipulating Jones and Player, but much more light-hearted than the last time she asked you to find something of hers that was lost. And when you find her pom-poms, Jones says the following:

The last line is said with a smile on his face. I do think there is maybe a touch of sarcasm with the “charming girl” part, even if she is more likable in this case, but either way, I find the message on her pom-poms rather amusing (I wonder who this eponymous Beth is), and I like how Madison being like a drill sergeant, as Jones puts it, isn’t used to insult her or call her out for being bossy and loud. She’s being stern as she’s yelling at her team, but it’s not really portrayed as her being mean or nasty. And when you return her pom-poms she’s complimenting her team and allowing them a break. And with one last little dig at Jones’ lack of popularity during his schooling days, she tells Jones and Player to go get a hamburger/hot dog at the vendor stands, saying they’ll get the food for free if they say Madison sent her--and that wraps up the interaction you have with her in that case, and interactions with her end on a much more positive note here in comparison to Murder on Campus. She’s cast in a bit more likable light in the case she’s introduced as a cheerleader. 

…And that actually wraps up part one of this analysis, because this is getting a bit long.

But stay tuned for the next part, where I talk about how Madison is written in The Devil’s Playground, Spring Break Massacre, and The Rorschach Reaper, where things get even more interesting.

[theunholyvirginemilyprentiss]

Lesbian icons with soft names >>>

— Emily, Jennifer, Elle, Penelope, Tara

Case in point.

[k0koii-yu]

For those who want to to see the Angela doc…

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DEiCZ-fGCGcAIkk7nL5UCaL2WhI-wK5EAwlwrnhsAnI

Behold. THE doc which I hope could explain Angela as a character, why I personally like her, and the fandom’s reception and treatment towards her. Also featuring: analyses on her which have stuck by me and have made a ton of good points; which make up 30% of the doc. So I would also like to give this time to thank @celestiarambles and @ticcory . You both have made some really good points and they have really stuck by me since.

I initially made the doc with my non-CC friends in mind in case I have to explain my obsession over this particular Facebook game character I really like for some reason and thus tried adding additional context where I think it’s needed. So yeah. I hope y’all enjoy this read!!

[celestiarambles]

here’s another criticism of the tropes fans put in the cc tv tropes page, and it’s mostly about angela (another defending angela post i’m so sorry, long post and spoilers ahead!)

angela haters like to look and nitpick certain things she does that could probably hint at her being the mole, but fail to gloss over the good things she actually did do.

for example, her character arc in south asia, especially in plagued by death where she showcases her talents in biology and medicine is severely overlooked. here’s an example:

if you look at the recap page of plagued by death, shweta and warren are the ones listed as the big damn heroes. while yes they did do those things, they probably wouldn’t have done it if angela hadn’t intervened.

sure, shweta did tell angela all about the final ingredient needed for the cure and she did say that she was planning to share her findings with the bureau later on, but it’s hard to say whether she actually planned to share it or not. after all, angela and lars had been studying and working on finding a cure for WEEKS, but during that timespan shweta had not reached out to them even once, especially since she knew that she was the one who had created that virus. hell if the bureau didn’t find patient zero and flagged shweta as a suspect, would she actually say something to help out? if angela didn’t yell at her for hiding information from the bureau, would she still go to help them? bottom line is that shweta knew that she created the virus that caused the epidemic, and while she did help in finding out the cure, she never said anything about it to the bureau until she was first interrogated. not even basic information or anything. and basically, she only said that she was planning to TRY out the flame lily for the cure, but angela was the one who made it work.

other than that if angela didn’t find the cure, obviously warren wouldn’t have any medicine to distribute. in fact, she and the player were the ones who inform him about it personally. i don’t know if angela was aware that warren was sombra or not (given that she is sombra as well), but she still warned him about o.m medilab too.

i’m not saying that shweta and warren didn’t do enough to help with the epidemic, but it’s kinda off-putting on how angela and lars have been working their asses off to the point of sleep deprivation just to find the cure, and when angela was the one who discovered it the cc community just blatantly ignored that and said that shweta and warren were the ones who saved the day.

“well that’s because angela is the mole! she can’t do good! she’s evil!” in later cases (and seasons), both shweta and warren also became killers as well. how come they get credited with this but all that they can say about angela here is that she was “determined”? regardless of her connections with sombra, angela was the one who CREATED the cure.

“angela only worked on finding that cure because lars got infected!” even before lars got sick, they were BOTH working on it together. yes, it was obviously a factor as to why angela was determined to find the cure, but of course no sane person would want a virus like that to plague an entire country. and she’s a scientist. it’s her job. and imagine trying to find a cure knowing that someone you love’s life is on the line and only that cure would save them: there was a ton of pressure on her part during that case, more so when lars got infected too.

“but angela is sombra, she must’ve wanted that to happen since sombra’s motto is that the weak die! she’s probably been helping o.m medilab too!” she probably was aware of what o.m medilab was doing given her ties with sombra, but she seemed to be most likely against it, given that she’s in the medical field and that their actions harmed a lot of people. here’s another overlooked detail, this time in bad medicine:

if angela wasn’t against the crimes that o.m medilab had done, she wouldn’t have told elliot that dracoxia is dangerous. this may have been another case of “angela pretending to help so that the bureau wouldn’t think she’s the mole”, but if she wasn’t genuine she would’ve told elliot surface-level information about the drug. she could’ve omitted the part about how the pills weren’t tested yet and claim plausible deniability if they confronted her about it. but she still told him EVERYTHING she knew. she was clearly against their actions from the start.

“but angela’s loyal to sombra!” that’s another pet peeve i have in tv tropes’ perception of angela. the fans who put her tropes there think that she is completely loyal to sombra even though she disagrees with some of their methods and that lars is her ‘morality pet’. i really couldn’t blame them because pretty simple had written her poorly in the darkest hour, but i don’t think she was actually THAT loyal to sombra at all. she was just afraid of disobeying them because of the harm they could do to her and her family so she had to comply. and when she got arrested, everyone in the bureau was basically aware that sombra was everywhere at that point so angela had to put on this act that she did agree with sombra.

look at the sequence of events in save the world. in south asia, angela created a cure to a virus that o.m medilab, a sombra front, bought from shweta, then the bureau found out that said sombra front was embezzling funds. in east asia, the bureau discovered sombra’s child trafficking scheme, something angela was CLEARLY AGAINST to the point she feared for her children’s lives. (what didn’t help was that sombra was the one who initially took her in in the first place when her parents died, so the investigation probably made her remember her own trauma in the murder games and the death of her parents.) then in oceania, the bureau found out about the experimentation they did to the children who won the hunt, something that angela wasn’t aware about because it had never happened to her when she was raised by sombra. add the fact that elliot, their teenager colleague, was kidnapped as well.

after everything she had discovered, angela had enough. she probably wanted out of sombra that time. which is why sombra made the bureau’s plane crash in africa to keep her in line. to threaten her.

i’m not trying to say that angela didn’t do anything wrong. i just think that she isn’t as bad as people make her out to be. she clearly knows what’s right and what’s wrong, even if she wasn’t married to lars. she just had to make a lot of difficult choices that time just to protect herself and her family. players know her for all those choices and for all the bad things she did, but fail to acknowledge the good things that she actually did do. i mean girlie won a whole NOBEL PRIZE for god’s sake, which in real life is difficult especially for a woc like her. and even if she did it out of guilt, she created this whole charity to help orphans and adopted children, and it’s even deeper when we acknowledge the fact that she herself became an orphan.

TLDR: angela committed crimes and did a lot of bad things, but whether you like her or not, she still did some good things as well. don’t ignore or downplay that just so that she could fit into this villain narrative.

[mazelicious]

The trio that never was:

Elle Greenaway: Fuck men.

Emily Prentiss: Fuck the police.

Alex Blake: Now class as many linguists will tell you words commonly have multiple meanings and these statements can go either way. However, fascinatingly, these two statements are meant to be interpreted literally in both ways based on context we gather from the speaker's perspective.

Alex Blake: Any Questions?

JJ: I volunteer.

[youling-the-ghost]

I wonder if Gabriel ever felt guilt during his time at the GPD

While he's no therapist, Gabriel definitely has qualities of one. His concern for Julian went past a police officer wanting to prevent a juvenile delinquent from becoming a criminal again. He genuinely wanted Julian to have a successful and happy future despite his past. He has genuine compassion for these criminals, and want them to live their best lives.

This brings me to my main point: does Gabriel ever look at these criminals and think "I can fix them," not from the perspective of a hopeless romantic who fell in love with a toxic person, but from the perspective of a criminal psychologist who wants to help these criminals, but knows deep down that he can't? Seeing all these criminals, many of which were victims of circumstance, and locking them away behind bars for years or even decades. All of it must take a toll on Gabriel, despite the fact that his job states no requirements of him helping the criminals.

And this brings us to another topic: Gabriel's job as profile. A profiler is defined as "a person who records and analyzes someone's psychological and behavioral characteristics, so as to assess or predict their capabilities or to assist in identifying categories of people." Gabriel's job is to simply analyse these criminals and suspects, not help them. While his kind and compassionate nature doesn't allow him to simply turn a blind eye to people who clearly need psychological assistance, he also understands that his job isn't to help criminals but to analyze them. The battle between compassion and responsibility is one that Gabriel has probably fought for as long as he's worked in the GPD, and will continue to fight as long as he's the GPD's profiler.

So...yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Gabriel holds a lot of guilt and emotional baggage because of his job.

Slight deviation from analysis to headcanon here, I like to think that Gabriel becomes Julian's mentor and teaches him psychology so that he can open up a clinic to help those with criminal records. It's almost poetic in a sense; one of few criminals that Gabriel was able to help becoming his disciple and becoming the one to make his wish of helping criminals come true.

[blugnettabutterflies]

Waiting room.

Spoilers from Season 5, Case 52.

( @ccornersstone hehe)

Waiting rooms are something that a lot of people call a surreal kind of experience, from the moment they walk in to the moment they get out, depending on their experience. Each person who enters that place feels a sensation or emotion, and those are usually multiplied by a hundred. Whether it is anxiety, fear, happiness, dread… sometimes anger and joy are mixed together into a mess that no one can truly understand. All of them cope in different ways, some pace around the room, some overthink, some are trying to keep calm, and some pray. Others just shut down and feel nothing.

Others, is a mix of two or three. And others are just everything at once.

The only feeling that bring all the strangers together, is the feeling of ambiguity. An uncertain sensation, where you can just wait and hope for the best outcome.

That’s the same feeling Gloria, Gabriel, Amir and Player were feeling inside of that waiting room.

It’s only been a few minutes since they last knew about their partner. For all of them, it feels like hours. Eternal hours.

They all remember the moment vividly. He is up, then he is on the ground, and someone is calling 911. The ambulance came while someone was giving air to him on mouth-to-mouth technique, and that person was pushed away by the paramedics, so they can do what they have to do.

The rest is a blur. Some went on a car, and one of them went on an ambulance.

Gabriel remembers having the pill bottle in his hand, and still can’t wrap his head around it.

Gloria remembers driving, and still can’t wrap her head around it.

Amir and Player are in the back of the car, and both still can’t wrap their head around it.

Getting in the hospital was also a blur. They don’t remember when they got out of their respective car, and ran to the hospital. They don’t remember the time, or who they talked to. They don’t even remember the day, if it was tomorrow or yesterday.

But there they are, at the waiting room. And yet they can’t still wrap their head around what happened.

----

Amir is pacing around. He knows that if he sits down, his leg will start trembling. He is thinking and thinking of every outcome possible.

“He will be okay, there’s a chance that the overdose wouldn’t be so bad. It was just respiratory depression, no slow heartbeat…”

Or maybe the heart palpitations were getting slower when the ambulance came. He doesn’t remember if the person giving the respiratory procedure stopped before. He doesn’t remember how many minutes he was left without air.

Respiratory depression over an overdose can cause brain damage. Benzodiazepines can cause multiple organ failure, and can kill you fast, depending on the drug. And that depends of the time it lasts on the body, the action time, the lasting time...

He wasn’t in time. Just like with Rupert, he wasn’t there to stop it. All he could hear was his Chief yelling for someone to bring a gurney or an oxygen mask or something. He called 911. It’s all he could do. Giving shaky and very shocked answers, as he enters the room and sees his body, being surrounded by people he knew and talked with. He doesn’t remember what he said, but by the very blurred memory of it, he was as frantic as he was now. Maybe a lot more, he can’t tell.

He can’t lose another member. He can’t lose another friend. He wouldn’t forgive himself if he does it, with how much he knew about science and chemistry, he should have known about the chemical imbalance that the body has when they experience someone’s death. It destroys you. He knows it does, he has been there, he knows it first-hand.

Then why didn’t he see the same imbalance? Why didn’t he see that? He could have stopped it.

“This is not about you Amir not now, not now; he is right now being intubated. If the Benzodiazepines were pure, he can be given Flumazenil and will start breathing in due time. Its’ protocol, every 15 second it has to be given 0.1 milligrams of that until the minute passes. He will start breathing. He has to it's …”

The overdose. He could try to ask the doctor or whoever is at charge, once it’s due. Is he at the Emergency Room? Did he pass to the Intense Care Unit? He has to know this he is the Lab Chief. He should know this. He has to know if Gabriel’s medication doesn’t have an opioid involved.

Why he doesn’t know this? He has to know, because he would know what to do. And he thinks he knows what to do because he is okay. He is going to breathe; he is not declared dead yet. Not even when benzodiazepine overdose is one of the main causes on death in United states regarding suicide. Not even when organ failure can cause terrible consequences to his body, and that can result in death. Not even when even if he survives, there is a chance of brain damage. Even if it’s not as probably, but it can happen.

“He has to be okay. Right?” Is all he can think. But all of the outcomes are confusing. He can be alive, he can be dead right now, or in a few hours. Or he cannot talk with them anymore, or maybe he is in a comma where he is not going to ever wake up from, and he is a ventilator, forever. And they will have to say goodbye and disconnect. Or maybe he will not be like that, and will wake up, but in the mental exam he will be declared mentally unable, and will have to be out of the force, and being taken care of. Or maybe he will be okay, and act like nothing ever happened. Is that even possible?

All of those thoughts were mixed into a blender, he doesn’t know what the right answer is anymore. So, he can just walk, hoping those can organize it. Maybe he could call Jasper. Probably he has an answer.

Or maybe just to talk He wants to talk; his throat feels like it’s going to explode. But he is occupied, occupied at work, work that he was supposed to be there, and being useful not like here where he wasn’t and now his friend is being treated and they know anything about it. He can’t interrupt it. Can he?

No one sees it, but his eyes are full of tears. He is not speaking, nor yelling.

His train of thought is only interrupted when he trips as he tried to sit down because of Gloria who is still looking at the door, sitting. It’s all that she has been doing.

----

Looking. Looking everywhere. Looking at everyone.

She is waiting for someone to come out of there. No one has come out of there.

She is looking everywhere. Looking if someone can give her an answer as for why. If she missed a clue, or if someone is looking back, and tells them something they may have forgotten.

She was technically the newest in town, in relations of knowing him. Even Player had more knowledge.

But it feels like she met him for a while back, even if it was just a year ago. She knows how mad he can get when there’s injustice, how sad he could be when something hits him personally, and how irrational his actions sometimes are on a bad day… how many puns he can get he’s nervous and how bold and passionate he is towards his job, friends, love… everything. He is passionate.

Then when did she lose track at the moments, he stopped being passionate, when he became sadder, when he became angrier, and more irrational. Did anyone notice it at all?

She is supposed to be a mother. She is supposed to know where this kind of stuff happens, when suddenly someone changes their mood, meaning that there is something had happening. Then why didn’t she notice it?

She hopes she is able to see it on Carter because if she cant look at it on a grown man then-

“This is not about you Gloria, not now; maybe he just took a harsh decision?” Is all she tried to hope.

“What a stupid idea” it’s the next thought. A sudden decision. This is not a sudden decision. She has been taught the basics of depression, and depression is not sudden.

Its accumulation. Accumulation of feelings. And one day, they pop, they teach you that in courses to catch a teenager’s depression back in Chicago schools.

The moment was still fresh to her, she can still sees it. She was taking about Zoe, and suddenly he appeared. He should be with Gabriel. He wasn’t supposed to be there. He thanked everyone. His voice was cracking like glass and wobbly like jelly. He had eye bags from crying. His tie was untied, his hair looked like he just woke up from a nap.

And suddenly he had the pills. She didn’t react in time, when he said goodbye, saying how worthless he was, when he downed tall of the pills at once, and swallowed them all without even drinking water. (“Why is water so important now?”)

And at the brink of a moment, he was on the ground, with a loud thump. He probably has a bad bruise of that, no one was able to hold him. He fell flat. Chief Parker also saw it, and suddenly went to see his pulse.

There was a pulse. There was no breathing. His mouth was open and un-responsible. She has the idea of the hospital, and saw his chest wasn’t moving, but aside of that, she didn’t know what to do.

She only obeyed orders. Orders of activating a protocol, and waiting for the ambulance to come, as Parker yelled for someone to call 911. She saw how many people were entering the room, and how many were going in and out. It was all in stop motion, as she was slowly walking to the entrance of the precinct to wait for the ambulance to come, so she can guide them to the room.

Looking, waiting. It’s all she could do. Even now.

She is the only one who looks at the clock. She is the only one who knows the track of time. Carter is probably at her house by now, or he is walking there. He will be alone, probably for the rest of the day… maybe even night. Maybe her ex-husband will take care of him. She hasn’t told him that she is still at work. Is she even at work right now? This doesn’t feel like work.

She has to tell him. Yet she feels stuck.

There is more work to do. They still have no answer as for why Zoe was “levitating stuff” given by her killer’s word. What a stupid and selfish motive. For the news. To gain a star in the hall of fame.

Stupid, stupid, so stupid. She only could look at how stupid that stupid motive from that stupid person was. And yet she has to investigate that. She has to talk with him. She and Player. Both together have to ask.

She wonders how her Chief is doing. She didn’t want to go, because she had to still fill a protocol. “Work issues, I’ll meet you there later" were her words, but something tells her that she wanted to come. She is probably in her room. Maybe she is not phased? She looked worried.

Maybe she was. And has to push that away, for the sake of the job.

This job sucks. Sometimes, it does suck.

She looks again, this time to confirm If her seat mate was there. He’s still there, same position as he positioned himself ever since they got there.

Correction. Physically, he was there. Mentally , he was long gone.

-----

When the rest of the group were at the hospital, they already saw Gabriel seated at the chair. He was looking at the ground. He didn’t have the pill bottle in hand. But his hand gestures looked like he had them.

His last words were while seated in that chair. He said with a steady voice that he was admitted at the emergency room, and he had to stay there. That was the last time he looked to the rest, before giving a big sigh, and looking down.

His muscles are not hurting by the position of it, which is good and at the same time, bad. Good because it doesn’t hurt.

Bad because his back was actually hurting. But his mind was so immersed into a mind work world, that he couldn't feel it anymore.

His palms are open together, at times turning into a praying position. He is not so sure if he’s religious, or if anybody in that room is, but he found himself some solace into believing that some powerful superior sense would help them out, even if it’s a little push.

Maybe this is why he was acting so on line at the cult. Maybe he was used to this. He was able to trick his mind into it, believing in something that doesn’t have facts.

But that's only because that's something he can control. And this situation is something that got out of his control. He had it in control, he was supposed to control it.

Ever since he found himself comforting him at the psych hospital, while keeping him away from the body of his deceased loved one, he knew that he had to be in control of this.

He had to. He was he one capable to medicate him enough so he would stop crying and would rest his aching body.

He had to pay attention to it multiple times. He slipped up one time and suddenly he was in the main room, promising to bring hell upon the killer, grabbing someone’s collar to the point of breaking down. He had to be more careful and more in control than ever.

So it wasn’t a surprised that his panic heavily increased when he found that his medicine cabinet was open.

And his pills weren't there.

It was only a matter to connect the dots to realize what the screaming was about second later.

He just went to the bathroom.

He tried to look for the empty bottle, on the ground. And he froze when he found it. Because it's all he could do. Freeze, while thinking how out of control this situation got, and that he has no power to change things drastically like with a pill to calm the nervous system.

He is supposed to be the calm one, and he is showing it. But his mind is screaming, yelling that he is not prepared enough that he let the moment go. Those thoughts didn’t go away, not when the ambulance came, nor when he was sitting and answering the questions, nor when he passed the empty bottle and stayed outside waiting for the rest.

When he studied psychology, and got himself to be a profiler, it was so he could be unprepared for everything. Every symptom is measurable, every change into their behavior can be put into a criteria. And you can learn the criteria, and know what to do because you became prepared.

But he didn’t know what to do.

"This is not about you, Gabriel. But it's your fault if he dies."

Everyone has some fault. He showed so many signs, so many events where they could have prevented it. So many criteria fitting into Major depression. The loneliness feeling, the irrational thinking, the despair and possible suicidal thoughts… all in more than 6 months.

Was there overeating? He does… all the time unless…

Everything was there. He didn’t see it, and it was RIGHT THERE.

He can sense his body growing tense by the minute, how all of the guilty thoughts were increasing in his mind, how he could have prevented it. He knew that Benzodiazepines take away the 4th Phase of REM sleep, he knew that he would get cranky and irritable, why did he keep giving them?! Why he left to the bathroom knowing that Gloria and Player found out who killed her?! Why he didn’t lock the cabinet AND WHY SINCE HE KNEW HE KNOWS LOCK PICKING HE KEPT THE PILLS AT THE CABINET AND BOT WITH HIM WHY WHY WHY-?!

“David Jones?”

Suddenly his ear senses come back. And just in time. Everyone heard it.

“David Jones?!” the voice sounds again.

Amir stops his pace, and Gloria looks. Gabriel tries to compose himself, and gets up. He is the controlled one. He is the one at the ambulance, who told everything.

So he is the one who will know what happened. While he walks, he sees Player, making what it appears to be, a call.

----

He can only imagine how Player is feeling. They both know each other for a while. More than anyone else in that room.

And yet, Player wasn’t able to see the signs, like him. The sudden signs. He bets that Player feels guilty.

Player is just at the phone, and is looking at the door. Is calling someone, probably one of his parents. Probably Ramirez, so he could know the news?

Is it even good to call like that? He can still turn out ok, probably the dose he took wasn’t that bad. Gabriel is hopeful.

Not the same can be said of Player. They are indeed calling someone. It’s all they have been doing. Calling, acting, trying to keep themselves on the ground.

Is all they can do. When was having his anger moments, or sad moments, or moments he could joke at the job, they were the anchor to keep him on the ground. It worker with him, it worked with Gloria, Rita, Amir, everyone. It was always them. The one who had to act up, the one who couldn’t shed tears at the very moment.

And yet there they were. Trying to keep themselves on the ground, because they knew that they were tearing up. Trying to this time, act up, not like last time, that they didn’t yanked the pills away, nor grabbed him when he was falling, or giving the breathing technique. Chief Parker did that. Not them. All they could think, just like the other 2… 3 times… Is trying to keep themselves collected because they were at work.

But this wasn’t work. Unlike Gloria, Player is sure of it. This can't be work.

But they cant cry. They cant bring themselves to tears when at any moment they would have to run, if he needs help or if he needs an antidote.

They don’t remember the name of he antidote. They don’t know the name.

They should have known better. It’s what some person, some young psychology student once said. He's a kettle boiling up. They knew they could explode. But didn’t know how. They should have know, when kettles boil you have the chance to turn off the fire before it runs out of water, and the metal starts melting, damaging itself.

That teenager was right. The whole time. And they didn’t listen.

Someone answered to Player’s call, and that someone is getting the news. That someone is freaking out. Is asking with panic how did his happen? No one truly knows.

Yet Player still gives the rundown. And the person tells them to keep them updated, still sounding like they will cry at the ambiguity.

Player stops the call, giving a long sigh.

Worse case scenario.

“This is not about you, Player. Control yourself, you have to make a solution. Because he is not fine. He is dying. This is about him.”

Another long sigh, and comes back to the group.

At the same times, Gabriel comes back as well from talking to the doctor. His face doesn’t inspire hope.

“I’ve spoken to the doctors about Jones condition…”

...

"And it's not good."

...

Worst Case Scenario.

He’s not getting out of the door.

We are running out of time.

This is the 2nd time you didn’t stop it.

...

... this is all your fault.

[simplyforensic]

The Revolutionary Impact of Forensic Genetic Genealogy on Criminal Investigations

  The integration of forensic genetic genealogy into criminal investigations has revolutionized the approach law enforcement agencies take towards solving cold cases and bringing perpetrators to justice. By blending traditional genealogy with the power of modern DNA technologies, forensic genetic genealogy provides a groundbreaking tool for identifying suspects and victims in cases that have…

[blushyslushy]

I know that the analysis times aren't actually canon in-game and that the case is solved in the same day, but it's still kinda funny when there's a situation like "WE ONLY HAVE 2 HOURS TO FINISH THIS CASE" and then they give you a 12 hour analysis 💀

[the-septic-maniac]

A somewhat analysis of Frank Knight

(some of this is based on his wiki entry and some research because my memory is shit from time to time and this is gonna be all over the place)

I can't be the only one that because of knowing what the hell happened to frank before actually playing or watching pacific bay, you can tell just how jaded he is. like he's joking almost all the time when we are around him. then there are those moments when he gets protective of Amy. I can't help but think that he possibly sees his kids in Amy. especially after meeting her momster, he seems like he is trying to keep Amy away from home because he knows something bad will happen.

Meeting his old partner, Harvey Fitchner, you can tell just how much of a divide has grown between them despite that they had at some point become known as some of the best cops in Pacific Bay. yet looking at both of them, they both just seemly have crumbled into former shells of themselves. Harvey has crumbled because of the case that was solved in Smoke and Mirrors. Frank losing his daughters and kinda dwelling in his own despair.

I almost wonder how much did Frank mask from us. because by joking and being overall sarcastic, he's masking and still very much hurting from the grief of the loss of Laura. This could partly explain why he is so angry and irritable a lot of the time. The easily frightened part kinda makes sense when you look at the fact that he was a soldier. now it was never particularly mentioned what branch he was a part of nor when exactly he served (I personally estimate that if he did actually serve it would've likely been in the mid to late 1980s as he wouldn't have turned 18 til 1981). not to mention he was born in a pretty rough spot during American history no less as he would've been raised during the cold war. possibly fought during it to as anyone who paid attention in history class would know that shit lasted for forever. like til the tail end of 1991.

All in all, Frank at his very core is someone who is a grieving father who just kinda lost his way because of his alcoholism, and no one really from what I have seen is there to pick him up. (sorry for how scattered this was. It was sorta an on-the-spot thing mixed with research :p)

[asharkapologist]

What Criminal Case Analysis Should I Write?

So, I'd really like to try my hand at writing a bunch of short analyses of various aspects of Criminal Case, and I'm curious as to what topic people would be most interested in seeing. I included a bunch of potential topics, so it would be great if you all could vote on what you're most interested in seeing!

[k0koii-yu]

I think I now get where all the Angela hate (and mischaracterization) came from

(Posting another ramble dedicated to my beloved yay)

I might sound like I’m beating a dead horse here since the Angela hate has died down as of recently but I still can’t help but wonder why she had received that much hate in the first place. What warranted her to get this much hate even until recently, whereas other characters who are written similarly to her, or have done much worse, are not as actively hated? Where did the popular fanon conception of her— one that portrayed her as an abuser, stalker and even r wordist at one point— also come from?

After some thinking and also me having known this fandom for 3 years up to this point, I think(?) I was finally able to trace where all this hate came from and where the infamous fanon version of her came to be.

CW: spoilers for WE and mentions of abuse/stalking/sexual assault and other potentially triggering themes. Please proceed with caution.

Also note: I do not intend to harass or call anyone out with this. Therefore, I will not be naming any names (if any) nor will I mention any works that can be triggering. This is simply a meta analysis trying to dissect a character’s fan reception, and while I may give my own thoughts somewhere down the line, I will also try to be as objective as possible with my observations.

0. Pre-C42

Before C42 came out, Angela did not receive as much hate. She wasn’t as popular as Jack or Elliot either, yet people didn’t have a reason to hate her at all prior to IPS. It was likely because she didn’t have much to remember her by other than being “Lars’s wife” or the S3 coroner, either due to the fact that she doesn’t have as much screen time as compared to other characters, or simply doesn’t have anything that makes her stick out as a character or as iconic as others in the team (e.g. Jack, Elliot and Marina for their designs, Lars, Carmen and Elliot for their attitudes towards the team and other people around them in general).

This, however, will be a topic of discussion again in a while, so please keep this in mind as we move on to the next point in this analysis.

1. The aftermath of C42 and C56

This seems to be the starting point of this whole hullabaloo, and understandably so. Angela had just murdered someone, betrayed us, and tried to frame other people for it (C42) and of course, people were upset about it, yet there were still those who had hope for her and tried to sympathize with her. And then came C56, where she returned, but as a colder, more aggressive version of herself that has pledged loyalty to SOMBRA and was willing to carry out their orders so dutifully that she was willing to plant a bomb. This, of course, likely fueled the hate and people had more of a reason to hate her when she made fun of Dupont’s death. Although one take in particular did stand out to me (and not in a good way):

The idea that she doesn’t genuinely love Lars.

Yes, I do understand that this is a very old take from 2016 and things may change from there, but I would just like to highlight how dangerous it is to perceive characters this way. Takes like these erase the complexities of her writing and essentially reduce her— someone who has had to make a lot of hard decisions to even be with Lars, which became the basis of the person she was up to that point— into a nothing more than a caricature of how people think morally gray characters should be based on whether or not they are deemed “good” or “bad” in the traditional sense.

I also do think certain plot holes in PS’s handling of her character in the final case also contributed to it. It felt ridiculous to see how a character whose most defining trait is being family oriented suddenly turned cold and bitter towards her old team, unhesitatingly claiming that they were enemies now as if their previous friendships did not matter. Maybe this was where the idea that she’s manipulative and/or possessive came from: since she was still clinging onto Lars and the triplets (that her literal last wish was to see them again) while showing this lack of compassion that would be unnatural to her past self.

With that said, the fact that she wasn’t as memorable as a main character but was more iconic as a traitor/antagonist did contribute to mixed opinions from the fandom back then. While a lot of people seemed to be mad at the things she’s done, there were some who thought it made her more interesting as a character. I guess it depends on subjective interpretation in this case, though unfortunately, back when WE first came out, many people fell into the mindset of black-and-white morality, and end up hamfisting complex and nuanced characters into extremes based on whether or not they like them.

2. Fanon/“Yandere” Angela

Following the events of WE, this seems to be a very common fandom perception of her. This subject is somewhat hard to accurately put into words, but I will try my best to give my analysis and thoughts on it, so please correct me if I get something wrong.

For those who don’t know, this is what a yandere is supposedly defined as:

TL;DR: yanderes are known to be violent, possessive and obsessed with a particular love interest. This may even go to the extent of hurting any potential “rivals” or even their love interests themselves.

If you have been in the fandom long enough, and especially if you’re into WE or Angela, you might find that there have been numerous fanfics that described her this way: as an absolutely horrible person who abuses and even stalks Lars in some, along with getting upset when others get close to him.

It may have originated from Wattpad, where there were two fics (afaik) focused on the concept of Angela being a yandere in itself. This, and considering the fact that there is barely any fan material of Angela (most especially fics) and that almost every fic that has her in it at the time either has her play an antagonistic role or use her as a plot device (usually for other ships to happen) may have contributed to the whole idea of her being a “yandere” that was almost universally accepted as the basis of her character in fics.

There is also that perceived manipulation and “sociopathy” from earlier that may have contributed to the idea of yandere Angela. A common fandom perception of her is that Angela has a warped idea of what love is and ends up displaying unhealthy/dangerous behaviors towards Lars as a result of her obsession (which she perceives as “love”). And as a result, she ends up resorting to actual criminal behavior in some of these fics: stalking Lars, physically abusing him and in one extreme case, even raped him. (Disclaimer: I will not be naming any of these fics since I do not condone hate or harassment towards the authors, nor do I want to further trigger anyone reading this by openly naming said content.)

This may have also been a big factor in contributing to Angela hate as the normalization of this depiction of her has led to people almost unanimously accepting this as her actual character.

I would like to say that I very much disagree with this take on her character. While yes, it is true that Angela does have questionable morality (e.g. she understands that what SOMBRA did to children is wrong and actively condemns it, yet was willing to blow up the Bureau hq knowing that Elliot and Sanjay are inside), her love for Lars seems to be genuine and even healthy for the most part. Time and time again, she has shown that she really loves him— hell, her laptop password even has his name on it.

3. Popularization of these misconceptions

As these fics were the only depiction of Angela in the fandom for a time, they are, by far, the most infamous depiction of her. This, along with the “I hate her because she’s a bad person and did bad things” majority, has then led to her getting this much hate from the fandom.

Moreover, there was a time in 2023 where there’s an influx in WE-centered fics, and that also resulted in most of the anti-Angela fics for the most part. This may explain the more recent hate directed towards her as compared to characters from other seasons.

Conclusion

Much of the hate towards Angela in particular stems from both severe misinterpretation of canon events and her character’s actions/intentions, and this version of her being extremely popularized to the point where people treated it like it’s actually her. The former mostly applies to around the time WE was still ongoing to after it ended (2016-2017 ish) while the latter could explain the more recent hate. Fortunately, it seems as though more people have the media literacy to read along the nuances of her character and understand her intentions before forming an opinion.

Anyways this was A LOT— probably even longer than the Carmen/Angela post but I’ve been thinking about this for just as long (there was a time I was afraid to admit I liked her because of how hated she was). Thank you for listening to my TED Talk, I guess.

[airwavesdotblog]

ICC Chief Prosecutor Targets Netanyahu and Hamas Leaders for Arrest Warrants

May 20, 2024 The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking arrest warrants for several high-profile figures due to their actions during a seven-month war. The individuals include Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his defense minister Yoav Gallant, and three leaders from Hamas: Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh. Summary: The ICC has…

[arianasuchi]

Hollywood's Silent Secrets - The Unsolved Case of William Desmond Taylor

Welcome to "The Real Crime Diary," where we explore the most intriguing and high-profile criminal cases from across the Americas. Could the glittering lights of early Hollywood be casting long shadows of secrets and intrigue? Join us as we peel back the curtain on the unsolved murder of William Desmond Taylor, a silent film director whose life was as enigmatic as his death. We follow Taylor's remarkable transformation from an Irish immigrant to a cowboy, and finally, to a heralded director who shaped the silent film era. Alongside our guest expert, we navigate the paradox of Taylor's world, where success and glamour clashed with a dark underbelly, leading to an untimely demise that perplexes us nearly a century later. As the spotlight dims on Taylor's legacy, we turn our attention to the suspects who walked the peripheries of his life. From the young starlet Mary Miles Minter and her formidable mother Charlotte Shelby to the troubled comedic actress Mabel Normand, each character seems to have stepped out of a Hollywood script, bringing with them a tangle of motives and opportunities. We scrutinize the bungled LAPD investigation, marred by a compromised crime scene and vanishing evidence, that has left armchair detectives puzzling over the case for decades. With each narrative twist, our conversation deepens, inviting you to contemplate a riddle that continues to haunt the annals of film history. Thank you for tuning in to The Real Crime Diary. Stay vigilant and informed by following us on: for more true-crime stories and updates. Join our community to engage in discussions and access exclusive content. Remember, the pursuit of justice is ongoing. Until next time, take care. Don't forget to subscribe and hit the bell icon to stay updated with our latest documentaries and crime analyses. Share your thoughts and theories in the comments below, and let's unravel these mysteries together. https://youtu.be/CAuK1lLFHXk

[trans-axolotl]

referring to thesuicidedoula on instagram not you

ohhh okay. yeah to be clear when i linked them that was not necessarily an endorsement of like, every single of their posts or saying that i think that their analysis about suicidality is always correct or helpful. some of their posts have been valuable for me in thinking about what ways mad lib movements sometimes exclude suicidal people from our communities and reframing ideas around autonomy and suicidality. i know some people resonate with some of their ideas, and i know that they're a mad person spending a lot of time talking about suicide in Mad spaces. i don't agree with every post they make and you don't have to either!