#kung fu liveblog

[adobe-outdesign]

Kung Fu Panda 4 Thoughts/Liveblog Thing

Just caught this at the theater for a grand total of five whole dollars, so I thought I'd do some quick opinions while it's fresh.

Non-spoiler opinion: It was Okay(TM), but the movies were considerably stronger as a trilogy. It's worth seeing one (1) time if you're a KFP fan (and really, who isn't), but I wouldn't bother paying full price for it or anything

SPOILERS FOR ALL 4 MOVIES UNDER THE CUT:

A list of things that slap:

The animation is stunning and fast-paced. Really loved the use of Chinese-style paint brush strokes to accentuate the action

Also I'll talk about the 5 later but I also really liked the animation change when describing where they are—all KFP movies have at least one animation shift and I'm glad this one kept up with it

Some of the fight scenes were super good, I liked the one that uses the tilting bar on a cliff in particular

(side note: the Missing Link did something similar, just on a ship. Go watch the Missing Link)

The Chameleon served straight cunt the entire time she was on screen and I kind of loved (almost) everything about her. Character design was incredible, voice was perfect, palace design was amazing, abilities were sick

Also the way she rides up chilling in a golden tree branch of all things? Fellas, we have no choice but to stan

Also I just appreciate the choice to both do a female villain for a change and to get a reptile in here after having only mammals and one (1) bird as villains previously

Speaking of character design there were a few really good ones in there, like a pangolin that moves Sonic the Hedgehog-style, a cool looking female boar, and a bunch of Komodo dragon henchmen. Good stuff

The jokes were a very mixed bag for me, some hit and some didn't. I will say that Zhen just going "that's great for you" in response to Shifu stating he's a red panda got me for some reason

If anyone hurts Po's gay dads I'm killing everyone in this room and then myself

Jack Black's cover of Baby One (1) More Time is unironically better than the original

A list of things that Do Not Slap:

Pacing/Plot:

This movie lacked a color scheme? KFP 1 was blue (also some gold), KFP 2 was red, KFP 3 was green. These colors weren't subtle either, there are entire scenes in each movie drenched in these colors and it was really obviously missing here

The whole first half the movie feels really breathless and too fast-paced. Apparently it was a studio mandate to have it not go over an hour and a half which is A) stupid and B) hurts the pacing

As much as I love Po's two gay dads we REALLY should not have been wasting time on their journey when the runtime is so tight

Also them tagging along felt off? Mr. Ping was worried sick about Po in KFP 2 but he doesn't tag alone because obviously he needs to let his son have his space. It's more in-character with Li Shan but it doesn't come across like he's talking Mr. Ping into it or something

In general there are so many plot points in this movie that feel under-developed. You could've made an entire movie out of the previous villains returning, Zhen and the Chameleon's relationship (see below), etc.

Po's Character:

People not knowing Po is the dragon warrior is weird, I'm pretty sure he would've been more well known than that

The entire thing with Po needing to give up his role as the Dragon Warrior doesn't really make sense? The Dragon Warrior is literally a made-up title. There's no need to have a Dragon Warrior because there is no such thing technically, it's why Oogway denied Tai Lung the title and then waited years and years to give it to Po. Like it's not a role that needs to be passed down, that's missing the entire point of the Everything

Also Po's only been like Dragon Warrior for a few years? I don't think we're ever given a time scale but it wasn't that long

The jokes about Shifu and Po having trouble with inner peace/mediating feels off given that was the entire plot of the second movie

It felt like Po regressed a bit character wise. He acts like he has no idea how to be a teacher in this movie but he already was a teacher by the end of the third, that was the entire point??

Also he seemed like he was more gullible in this movie but I could be wrong

Why is Po so impressed with Juniper city. He literally spent most of KFP 2 in Gongmen hello?? I think(?) Juniper is bigger but he shouldn't be acting like he has no idea what a city is

Zhen/Chameleon:

Zhen's character design doesn't match anything else, which is weird because most of the new characters in this film keep the distinct style in some form or another

Her wanted poster shows her with the bold markings KFP is known for and it looks SO much better

The plot twist with Zhen working for the villain was so obvious I did not realize it was supposed to be a twist at first

Also, the entire thing with Zhen was entirely unneeded? The Chameleon could've just just stood up and announced her plan to take over and Po would've shown up on her doorstep with the staff

I guess the idea is that Po needed to hand over the staff willingly for it to work? But if that's the case the Chameleon could've just impersonated Tigress or something and gotten it that way in like 1/3 of the time

Originally she was supposed to have kidnapped Shifu which would've been a much better plot point as it would've given Po extra motivation

The other problem with treating Zhen as a plot twist is that it hampers the relationship she has with the Chameleon effectively being her mom, which is FASCINATING. They had some really interesting chemistry together (the whole "stand up straight" thing as one example) and I could've seen it as a Mother Gospel from Tangled kind of deal, but we barely get any interaction between the two and it's like AAAAAAA

Fanfic writers fix this shit. I believe in you

I'll have to chew on it more but my pacing thought would actually be to start with Po finding out about the Chameleon's "take over everything" plan very early due to Shifu's kidnapping. He breaks into the lair like at the 1/3 mark or earlier and he meets Zhen inside which then leads into why she's doing what she's doing and the mother angle, etc etc blah blah

The Chameleon needed to just straight-up murder someone, comically shoving them down the stairs isn't good enough. I know stairs are Po's greatest enemy but I don't think that applies to everyone

Shen was allowed to stab someone on-screen so I think the Chameleon should be a allowed to strangle someone or something. as a treat

If violence was the concern just keep it off-screen like Master Rhino's death in KFP 2

The shapeshifter turning into a giant monster trope is overrated and I'm glad it was just used briefly here and not even for her defeat

Also the Chameleon's thing with her being rejected from Kung Fu because she's too small makes no sense b/c Mantis, which I'm pretty sure everyone's pointed out already. She does say "lowly" I think but was she ever poor? Could make a very interested parallel to Zhen if that was the case but it was never brought up again

I've heard some argue body image parallels w/ Po in KFP 1 but if that was the intent it's not explored, like, at all, which is a shame because it could've been an interesting angle

Also If they wanted a better excuse related to body image just say she was too frail instead of too small. I haven't owned chameleons but I've heard from people who have that they are very frail and very hard to keep alive, which would be a much better reason to turn her away

Cameos:

Yes I'm devoting an entire section to five second cameos don't judge me

I have mixed feelings on the Five not being present (save for the end cameos). On the one hand they are sorely missed but on the other hand they would've just made the plot bloat even worse

Lack of speaking was also bothersome. Part of me is glad they weren't recast with cheaper VAs because it's disrespectful to interchange them, but on the other hand that might've been better than just not having them speak and not paying anyone anyway

Tai Lung had all the best lines and was also the best used out of all the cameos, even if it would've been nice to have him on screen for longer. Also if they stuck with Shifu being kidnapped those two could've had some much-needed dialogue

Side note, while I don't think it contradicts anything from KFP 3 the spirit world having only kung fu masters in it feels off? It makes it seem so small and limited

Kai being there is weird. He's like. dead dead. Deader than dead. I guess you could argue that you can't kill something that's already dead but there's nothing even acknowledging this

Trying to take Shen's kung fu is really weird because the entire point of the fight with Master Rhino in KFP 2 is that he is not? a master?? like he's GOOD but he's not amazing, like if a master is like a 10/10 he's like an 8/10.

"The Chameleon has the powers of all my old nemesises!" WHAT'S SHEN'S POWER EXACTLY. HIS ONLY POWERS ARE GUN AND MOMMY/DADDY ISSUES

She does summon him way later than Tai Lung and Kai so maybe she was just camp spawning every single person she could think of regardless of skill level? she also uses his wings at one point so maybe she just wanted those, I don't think(?) there were other birds summoned

Though speaking of which she claimed she was using his wings but very clearly wasn't? not only were they black but they were raggedy and lacked the five longer feathers on the tips

Also Shen's model was super off, it looked way too fluffy and like an entire row of eyespots were missing from the edge of the train (which might have been a clipping error? unsure) it's been said the new models were made out of glue and popsical sticks and I believe it

Tai Lung has a habit of just like Grabbing anyone that's smaller than him and it amuses me

It's honestly really weird that everyone would just agree to go back into the spirit world willingly?

Like I think it works for Tai Lung because he's a noble person who just goes into a disassociative state and commits atrocities. Like I think he'd be willing to accept his death

Also it checks out for Shen because he killed himself and given his "dead belong in the past" mentality I can't imagine him wanting to stick around, he'd probably think it was unnatural

But Kai?? Kai was FURIOUS at being dragged back into the spirit world at the end of 3, like hell he'd just go quietly

Also I can see Tai Lung maybe respecting Po enough to bow to him but everyone else is pushing it unless they have therapists in the spirit world. Po offered Shen some nice advice at the end of KFP 2 and his response was to kill himself on the spot, I don't think him or Kai would be bowing

All of them were definitely in the middle of a mahjong match and were experiencing the equivalent of being woken up in the middle of a nap so they were just going along with things

Chameleon: I'm going to steal your kung fu

Everyone:

Misc:

I did like some of the more subtle callbacks. Stuff like Po seeing his reflection in the blade the way Shifu did or the "I can't even beat you to the stairs" scene were nice and not overly overt or in-your-face

If Po actively refers to himself as the "Kung Fu Panda" one more time I'm going to end it all

anyway that was not supposed to be a 12 page essay but it's too late now, goodbye

[infini-tree]

on the other hand i think the fact that they essentially gave mr. ping oogway's backstory (ie. old man with a shady past trying to do better) is kind of funny

[nonbinary-octopus]

it came up in conversation today that I had not watched Kung Fu Panda 3. My husband insisted we rectify this immediately.

It is an excellent movie and I am very glad we watched it

[nimblermortal]

Tamora Pierce: Liam is sooooo good at fighting, he can incapacitate someone very quickly with no weapons and without breaking any bones or making any mess even. Nimbler: Why'd he throw his opponent into an unrelated person's table, then? Hasn't he got the control to dump them in the path of the floor? A REAL warrior wouldn't need to disturb some bystander's lunch to take out his opponent. Pathetic.

[lingeringscars]

My life goals are basically 1) get everyone to read the legend series by Marie lu and 2) get everyone to watch kung fu (cw)

[avengerphobic]

damn zheng zu tried to blow up mount rushmore thats so funny i wish he had

[assiraphales]

you havent really been liveblogging your one piece experience much, but since you seem to be through Alabasta at this i was wondering if youd be willing to share any thoughts about the series so far/your takes on the characters in their original forms?

-luffy is a little gremlin who was fed after midnight but stayed cute. 10000 points in mischief. has THE biggest heart and would die for a stranger if he thought it was a worthy cause. much more intelligent (in an unconventional way) than he's given credit for. figuring out crocodile's weakness almost immediately?? hello??

-i like how all the crew mates have different (but very valuable and nourishing) relationships with each other. usopp n luffy's is very sweet because they're still kids at heart (and probably always will be, at least a little) who live by their imaginations and for fun/joy. zoro washing chopper in the bathhouse. usopp and nami being voices of reason for very different reasons, usopp making her a weapon bc she admitted one of her weaknesses to him. nami's love for luffy coming out in concern and sternness because she knows what he's capable of but also how hard he can fall

-some of the emotional moments that affected me the most; nami getting a tattoo for belle mere, nokijo, and genzo. pell sacrificing his life for alabasta and flying the bomb into the sky. sanji n zeff's relationship.

-klahadore is the biggest lil bitch thus far. but shout out to his kitty cat crew for supporting him and trying not to deadname him

-really liked the mihawk fight bc even tho zoro got WHOOPED mihawk was clearly impressed, and let him live for a reason. he also said after watching luffy and zoro together that they were a good team. which.

-luffy and zoro making each other better and worse (depending on how u look at it) and the crew just having to accept that "ok yah. that's their relationship. they're crazy bastards who enable each other and they're dreams are entwined."

-zoro being a secret goofball. I could go on about it. but one of my favorite small moments was when he told the usopp pirates that they were cannibals and ate usopp

-nami has such big dreams but she's so scared to get her heartbroken again. she lost her mom, she thought she lost her town and sister when she went along with arlong..... everything is a defense mechanism. she's a survivor. and she's so hurt. but everyday, from the crew's love to luffy's kindness, she's learning to accept that the world isn't that bleak. that good people exist

-ace's tattoo. um. JUMPSCARE. but he is neat and loves luffy lots

-tony tony chopper I would die for u. kureha is an icon and now I totally understand why people want jamie lee curtis to play her

-i'm glad that luffy n co were able to heal the giants relationship on little garden and now they're broskis who can fight n drink together without worrying about the whole "TO DEATH!!!" thing. zoro trying to chop off his legs and then posing so that he'd look cool if he died is another notable highlight from that arc

-princess vivi and nami. I know what u are. but in all seriousness she was just sixteen and infiltrated a secret assassin organization for her kingdom!!! I love that she had igaram pose for her so she could say goodbye to the strawhat crew properly

-there's just so many good people trying to do the right thing in the face of massive adversity. no matter what the odds, they'll fight to their last breath for what they believe in. and if luffy's there, he'll make sure they don't have to (die, that is)

-luffy managing to befriend the weirdest animals that want to kill him and them eventually saving him (the lapins and the kung fu dungongs)

-luffy asking zoro to save smoker's life because he couldn't swim, and smoker letting luffy go instead of arresting him so he could try and save alabasta

-sanji smoking cigarettes in the middle of a fight and constantly wearing a suit for Aesthetics

-mihawk hunting down the red haired pirates in his coffin throne boat just to show shanks the bounty on luffy's head (also way to go bestie getting it up from 30 million to 100 million in like two weeks)

-zoro sleeping everywhere but mostly near the rest of the crew so he can eavesdrop / be close to them

-the straw hat crew being a bunch of wild animal ragers and turning any event into a PARTAAYYYYY

[tranquilspot]

[S] STRIFE!

Ha ah! Halloween season jumpscare~ You thought you'd seen the last of me (and this liveblog)!

This 'fight' is funny and laughable. It isn't really to be taken seriously. DAD lighting the candles on the cake can be seen as threatening (and dangerous!) if you was none the wiser that is. It's the boy's birthday, and his dad is aggressively celebrating it. Makes me wonder if strifing really is a custom in Homestuck, or if it's specific for the universes that will play SBURB/SGRUB. Whichever is the case, it's a mock battle is this situation. Or perhaps ageing IS threatening to John. Adulthood (or rather adolescence here) is a scary thing.

Colors, logic, art appreciation

I can't stop appreciating the art style and the dedication to its scarce (for now) details.

Like here, the very moment the candles are lit the flames go bworh! (damn and all at once?)

That's a transition frame, right? So neat. The nuance between the predominant black and white style and the colors is well-done. Less is more. The 'STRIFE!' logo thingy appears (two colors, kinda echoing to the candles. Flames = threat; but also Rochefoucault's quote from earlier?! hmm thoughts for later) and we have a brand new concept shown to us: Strife options. Aggrieve and abjure. By the way neon green and sky blue goes well together, it almost hints at John's and Jade's exchanged colors duality. Color theory is great once you get the hang of it! Aggrieving is offending someone. Rather than a physical attack, it suggest an emotional one. "I don't want your overwhelming love dad, or your stupid cake". Something among those lines. Also, he's such a dork making those movements with his hands. It looks like pseudo kung fu moves. He attacks and a lot more green appears on screen. Freakin' love the flash game effect on the background, and the simplified Slimer looming behind John, as if it was his familiar/symbolic beast having his back. Comical and kinda scary, with his ridiculous small eyes and large mouth. So he strikes, and is auto-pastried which is a pun on Auto-parry, a term and running gag from its predecessor Problem Sleuth. Still on my color observations (what can I say, I'm an artist that love art) this AUTO-PASTRY! is magenta kinda (but not really) close to the batterwitch's fuchsia. Guess I was too eager with that one. However it's nice to see there's different hue of the same color

The flashing dual color thing will also be used later for kernelsprites and ^2 sprites (this duo is Jasperosesprite^2's). The joker magnet echoes to the 'auto-pastry!' text, emphasizing the fact that the cake has comical properties.

Then he slides back into his previous position, simple and efficient (battle and artistic choice wise). If Aggrieve was an offensive and active tactic, Abjure is its opposite.

But before he reacts, it's DAD's turn to attack with a RPG naming system, like the Final Fantasy series (probably a tribute). 'Guardian Rubric: Coddlebrand'. Rubric is a title, but can also be a rule or a explanatory note (school). Is 'guardian' here a category or is he actually grading John on the spot? Perhaps the remaining word will shed some light.

Coddle is overprotecting, so that's what John could rejecting. Brand is a label, so is it a category or insincere 'marketing'. Depends on the point of view we position ourselves: Dad's or John's.

But here's a succinct (even subliminal) text that appears during the cake attack: 'Dotesmite!' What does it could mean? *do some research* Ooooh I see. Crushed by fatherly affection. Smite is hit, but according to world reference there's also a biblical meaning: kill/strike down. John in itself is a biblical name, but I don't see Dad Egbert being cruel to his son. He ain't Abraham. From there there's not much left to do in this flash. I'll just note that the movement effect during the Abjuring is reminiscent of John's windy powers, the blue and yellow colors coincident with his future God Tier outfit. Harmonious improvisation on Hussie part, for sure. Welp! We're done with this first Strife flash. It's writing was very laborious for unknown reasons and I'm very very sorry for 2 months of inactivity. Thank you for your patience, and I'll see you soon for the rest of Act 1. —> Coming soon

[anthroparis]

can I liveblog kung fu panda

[hummingbirdsaltimolockia]

another breeze by review of 2023 in books/movies/tv and one play

Books:

the beatryce prophecy - 3/5 v beautiful read. kate dicamillo has my heart

the summer of the swans - 3/5 really liked the dialogue in this, and I like the idea of like. a book in real time

ender’s game - 4/5 a very chewy read. more unsettling than I anticipated

the seven dials mystery - 3/5 a little disappointing in the climax

frankenstein - 5/5 so much better and so different from what I'd been led to believe by popular media. I'm a frankenstein snob now

the phantom of the opera - 5/5 also very different from popular understanding, and much more interesting. I'd really love there to be a faithful mini series adaption

the turn of the screw - 2/5 v longwinded and wordy, and a bit of a let down in the fright department

maus - 5/5 harrowing

lang fairy books (green, grey, crimson) - 3/5 enjoyable but got a bit repetitive after a while. I listened to these from many different readers, so that added to the experience

marlene - 4/5 really liked how frank she was, not only with herself but others too

a dark night’s work - 2/5 too much description, not enough dialogue, and took too long to get to the Event. kinda a drag tbh

the flying girl - 5/5 completely loved this. worth it just for chapter nine

the cruel painter - 3/5 unsettling and unintentionally hilarious

the water dancer - 4/5 beautifully written and v interesting story but kind of odd pacing

the thief - 4/5 already did a whole liveblog on this series so yeah. really enjoyed the myth story telling in this

the queen of attolia - 5/5 wild from start to finish. gen is insane. "I can steal the magus" gen that's just kidnapping sit down

the king of attolia - 5/5 probably my favorite of the series. really liked seeing an outside perspective to the consequences of qoa

tea with the black dragon - 2/5 v disappointing. the guy didn't even turn into a dragon at the end

the fall of the house of usher - 3/5 v atmospheric and unsettling

the sittin’ up - 3/5 lots of fun characters

a conspiracy of kings - 4/5 the pov changes was a interesting choice

true grit - 5/5 v engaging read even though I knew the story already

thick as thieves - 4/5 a little slow, and I would've been angrier longer at the end if I were costis

the house on mango street - 5/5 unexpected gut punch

return of the thief - 5/5 such a satisfying ending,

my sister lives on the mantelpiece - 4/5 borrowed from libby on a whim, and it turned out to be incredibly sad, and I did tear up at least four times

the thanksgiving play - 3/5 only listened to the audio adaption so it wasn't the true experience but. wild

old souls - 3/5 really went to a different place than I was expected. liked the art style but kinda a chewy read too

Film/tv

the last of us (s1) - 5/5 went into this knowing almost nothing about it and really enjoyed experiencing it

the mandalorian (s3) - 3/5 been so long since I watched it I kinda don't remember what happened but at least they got mandalore back. yay

mad max fury road - 5/5 knew it was good, didn't know it was gonna be that good. easily one of my top movies now

shrek 2, 3, and 4 - 4/5 overall, the all made me laugh

kung fu panda 3 - 5/5 the most beautiful one I think?

the sixth sense - 5/5 knew the twist going in but still incredibly well made movie

the others - 4/5 really enjoyed the double twist. gave me chills

the phantom of the opera - 3/5 really weird editing

black adam - 3/5 had a very different vibe from other superhero movies

instant family - 3/5

oh my ghost - 3/5 the only time I've cared about characters having sex

exclusive fairy tale - 3/5 could've used a murder ngl

gifted - 4/5 much deeper than I expected

the quiet girl - 4/5 really got to me in the last ten seconds

high seas (s1-3) - 3/5 liked the sister relationship, esp in s1, but s2 was too dramatic, and s3 was completely unnecessary

shutter island - 3/5 also knew the twist going in but it got worse. v interesting visuals and atmosphere

tom jones - 3/5 I would've made tom wait a year

mission impossible: rouge nation - 3/5 kind of a slow burner ending

mission impossible: fallout - 3/5 they were a little Too smart in this, but really enjoyed the final act

mission impossible: dead reckoning part i - 5/5 actually really enjoyed all of it

beef - 3/5 absolutely wild show. really well acted tho

the bourne legacy - 2/5 unnecessary and kinda weird

jason bourne - 2/5 jason bourne should not be using an smartphone. also had to step away after they ****** *****

man on fire - 3/5

only murders in the building (s3) - 4/5 really enjoyed everyone in this season

once upon a time (s3-s5ish) - 3/5 everyone is so Dramatic and Serious about everything but it's actually very silly

titanic - 5/5 actually a really good movie?? who knew

fair play - 2/5 watched this to see something bad happen and you know what. it did

practical magic - 3/5 darker than I expected. gave me tonal whiplash

one royal holiday - 2/5 enjoyed watching aaron tveit doing an ?? accent

sweeny todd - 3/5 helena bonham carter. carried this tbh. also they didn't have to do johanna like that

the christmas bow - 4/5 genuinely enjoyed this?? would actually watch again

home alone - 3/5 wild.

my happy marriage - 4/5 surprisingly really enjoyed this. I liked how understated the romance was

last holiday - 3/5 a really sweet movie actually

it’s time for him to come home for christmas - 3/5 actually really sad in some parts. and there was actually chemistry between the leads so it bearable to watch

the boy and the heron - 4/5 really bizarre but in cool fantastically way that I could really get into. somehow more beautiful than other ghibli movies. will need to watch again

the little mermaid (2023) - 4/5 liked this more than I thought I would. but disney really thought that we (me) wouldn't notice that they used two different horses interchangeably in the same scene??

polite society - 4/5 amazing leading lady. super enjoyable watch, no notes

attack on titan finale - 3/5 thank GOD this is finally over. zeke's death was really unsatisfying to me tbh but at least he died. and I wish armin had gone harder on eren on his bullshit bc good lord was he stupid. it sucks that the end is the weakest part of the story but at least it's over and levi was there. amazing animation tho

across the spiderverse - 5/5 actually amazing?? does anyone know this??

[loisfreakinglane]

tagged by @thosebrotherslynch THX BABES

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

3 ships: ooooooh rn my mental heavy hitters are carlos/tk, janine/gregory, and liz/max. also ed/stede and asta/harry. these are not my all time otps just...... at this moment in time the ones taking up most of my mental real estate. 

First ever ship: i mean........ probably batcat? bc of the animated series. but also could have been bangel (i did not become hardcore cangel til i was older) or liz/max bc eternal otps. i was also suuuuper into helena/jesse on the bop show. vividly remember refreshing the ffnet page after every episode. clark/lois in movies or animated series or lois&clark. also clark/lex on smallville. also angela/shawn on bmw. 

Last song: mine by alice glass

Last movie: VIOLENT NIGHT WHICH WAS DELIGHTFUL, I’M IN SUCH A HOLIDAY SPIRIT NOW

Currently reading: i’m still in the midst of heated rivalry AS RECOMMENDED MANY MOONS AGO BY @mermaidsirennikita

Currently watching: rewatching elementary, rewatching roswell with @rooftoptag rewatching one tree hill with @saint-cecilias, spiritually rewatching dark angel via @marvelsamwilson‘s liveblogs. watching fear the walking dead extremely on and off, i don’t....... i don’t know why tbh. i don’t know you guys. i mean i’m not bored but the only person i LOOOOOOOOVE is colman domingo. i mean i keep dropping it for months and then watching like 5 eps in a row. idk. also trying to catch up on kung fu. finally caught up on lower decks and ghosts. DYING FOR WINDY TO RETURN TO ME. contemplating rewatching being human us. 

Currently consuming: diet dr pepper

Currently craving: big steak fries and ranch dressing. but they shan’t be mine for many moons rip

and i’m gonna tag: @silvertons @katesharmasheart @acecampbellsaunders @glamaphonic @thraxusboorman @novasforce @fuhriosa @bemybabymp3 ORRRRRRRR WHOEVER ELSE WANTS TO DO THIS plz tag me i wanna see your answers

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

Time for Round 2 of the DreamWorks polls. Before we start I am going to warn that if How to Train Your Dragon wins both this round and the finals I might push it to be my next liveblog just because I don’t know if it’ll be available for long. Also remember Road to El Dorado won the first round so whatever wins here will be up against it.

[castle-dominion]

6x18 the way of the ninja

the ninja episode liveblog

my intention is not to be racist by lumping in asian martial arts together but this kind of reminds me of Kung Fu Crabtree from murdoch mysteries.

Ooh she pretty oof thought that flapping was a gunshot. Oh it's a knife. WAIT IS THIS THE EP WITH THE KARAOKE THAT GAVE ME ANOTHER SONG TO PUT ON MY RYSPOSITO PLAYLIST? (dang there rly was subtext there huh.)

Ooh jazz Ooh friend from high school! Carly. Interesting. Like the other high school friend who owned a restaurant. Love the castle theme in the music here. KB: Definitely not. You are exactly her type. And the last thing I need is to watch someone from my past trying to seduce my fiancé while talking about the goddess that lives in her hoo-ha. RC & me: !?

KB: Please, Castle. You have to promise me. If you don’t hear from me by 10 o’clock you will call me and get me out of there. RC: I am setting an alarm right now. See, this is what having a partner in life is all about. Me: so true bestie.

they LIKE the strange ones Passport? why does she have it here & now? SP: To the untrained eye, perhaps. But what you don’t know about postmortem analysis could fill a book, Mr. Castle. In fact, it has. Numerous times. (Lanie first met him & praised him for his writing of death) & maybe castle should read those books to please permutter. RC: (dryly) Fine. So it was not a knife. SP: Ah, wrong again. It was a knife. But "stabbed" implies the blade was thrust into the victim, whereas this wound was produced by it being hurled into her chest. tbh could clip but won't

KB: Ryan, do we have any witnesses that saw the Great Throwdini or anyone else in the area? KR: Uh … no??? Not so far... (looking between them)

Ryan backstory moments: It’s a drop key. Yeah, I used to scavenge stuff like this from old buildings when I was a kid. I LOVE KEYS I HAVE AN ELEVATOR KEY MYSELF WHICH I HAVE USED TO PLAY WITH MY SCHOOL ELEVATOR BEFORE, I LOVE EXPLORING OLD ABANDONED BUILDINGS RYAN & I SHOULD HAVE BEEN KIDS TOGETHER.)

rehearsals fo rwhat? Oh dancing. Oh that's beautiful actually. Poor Dean he's so broken up over this & still young enough to be living with his parents.

Ryan comes in looking so excited (Ooh ryan totally was in ballet as a kid or smth lmao. except who can afford that? it was either piano or ballet, not both. Only one extra curricular.)

Ooh a good old yucky chair. Also grabbed a pic of caspockett but not ryan bc he was on the other side. tho had a great look.

point, why an elevator if no elevator? Ooh hanging sheets, can't see anything?

Ooh tatami mats & a shrine!

Castle no touchy! love a good silhouette

love slow motion & a puff of smoke...

... a ninja... stole the murder weapon... ... ho ho ho yeah!!! a cough diversion!

caskett: *married couple bickering* Gates: MURDER INVESTIGATION HERE

KR: Detective Beckett, this is consulate officer Amaya Tagamai calls her detective <3 Amaya Tagamai

Good old accents. Shinto my beloved. I really wish I learned more when I was in Japan & in World Religions class

Actually I heard that ninjas don't exist... in the plural form. But there is one last ninja & he is going to pass away before he can teach anyone else ninjutsu because the era & need for ninjas has passed & assassination is not a pretty thing to be proud of. Or maybe I'm remembering wrong. idk. But yeah as soon as he dies there will be no more ninja! ninja 3 the domination XD

KB & me: I swear she just said that it wasn’t that mysterious.

Actually yeah! bruce lee was a great dancer!

Oof ex(ish)-lovers playing lovers.

esposito said karate nicely <3

Castle mixing up two different east asian ppl, I'm glad that it was a funny bit of "don't be racist" without being to heavy

Lee: Look, if she fumbles a lift I’m the one that blows a knee. That's true He did almost catch the cup bc he does have good reflexes from being physically trained, but yo're right he did fumble. But the cup srs broke? kinda shocked but becks reacted nicely & calmly even tho castle broke the blue mug that she likes. Imagine her getting mad. Then castle tries it again with ANOTHER person he thinks is a ninja & this time breaks Ryan's signature mug. then he's mad too. Then ryckett gang up on him mad for breaking their cups.

WHY was she giving it up? She IS mad abt the cup! He slept thru it!? lol

*castle raises his hand* KR: yes castle! Carly & the goddess lol

bro it DEF looks like a tea import company a warehouse. A limo in the warehouse district.

"& two of us are cops" I was just thinking "only two really count" but he was thinking "there are three of us, plus two more bc we're double-powered bc we're cops" but I was thinking "three plus sokka"

*camera lets them in for some reason*

Ooh music. Ooh glass beaded curtains. Bro: they're shooting a porn? No wait it's an asians themed single club. I mean an asian themed singles club Nice place!

I've worked at a place like this. or it looked like this & I worked serving food. Castle buying these two their fun. Love it. Wow she is faking that accent. Wowie esposito with the girls & poor ryan my married man. "yes" "no" love it when they do the rysposito opposite directions thing *pushes her off*

ryan & esposito making each other all. I love. "private time" RC: I'm fine right here *watching rysposito fight* "what we came here for" good line

I love japanese karaoke. Play the part or they get in trouble? do they... do they have cameras? or ppl watching? Also Castle could ask for a massage where they don't need to play the part so much. oH WAIT THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS I was just remembering it by accident lol. CASTLE SNOOZE THE ALARM

je: Do you think maybe we could get another bottle? Something better? More expensive? they didn't put their badges in their pockets? JE: I’ll stay here and... entertain the ladies. Ryan has two paths: "fine by me I was getting uncomfy since I have a wife" or "why can't I be the sexy one?"

YES NO YES KARAOKE. I hate it I love it I'm excited it's a new song on my playlist kill me kill me kll me second hand embarassment but he's actually good skjfdskdlfjsdklfjlksjd didn't kate have a karaoke stakeout with mike Aww mama-san, like what I call my mom.

*getting thrown out* just like that time in vegas. This is not the first time these three have been thrown out. Best table, second bottle of more expenseive sake, three people, private time,,, still tho that's pricey (it is not lawful to remove alcohol from their premisis" KR: you're rich it's fine (tho that's a term or even two of college)

JE: It cost you six k and we’ve got nothing to show for it. RC: Ah, I wouldn’t say that. KR: You mean besides lipstick marks on your shirt? RC: I actually got a lead in there that’s going to blow this case wide– oh, whoa. Wait. Lipstick marks on my shirt? Where? Beckett’ll kill m– (he stops and covers his mouth) Oh my God! I didn’t call. (he scrambles for his phone) You guys. Beckett is going to kill me. He pulls out his phone, but before he can dial there’s a ninja throwing star embedded in the screen. KR and JE gape. RC: Ninja attack. (not clipping but I could have)

(or maybe I will & I'll grab this fight scene too.) Yeah clipping. I love how castle slowly backs away. rly edited voice. Look up idiot look up!

Sounds crazy AND you were drunk (possibly) If I was Gates I'd say they're trying to cover for something. mister saito not saito-san? He threw a party. The girls must have been brought by car... Ohhhh catering! Genius! Castle & gates I love them Castle in trouble with gates ryan oh no castle in trouble with his gal. Clipped that genuinely.

Ok but the excuse its valid!

Oh no beckett is afraid that marriage will be boring! Romance my beloved <3 *the music holds for a sec* How bout now?

I have never heard of cronuts until this show. croissant donusts. Ryan with the cronuts "Hey!" Becks, who took one & then stole the box with a second: they're not both for me! What are they already doing here? they already went down to soho & bought cronuts & talked to caterers?

Hoho, the consulate gal

NOT just like! Those ones are decorative, yours were made of steel! (& tbh it looked to me less on the japanese side of the spectrum, but def not as far on the german side of the spectrum. Just judging by the use. I mean, obviously it is far away from the maleable german side, but I wouldn't say it is quite fully there on the brittle japanese side. Tho ofc again if you consider the use, japanese steel would make more sense. & ofc you can't forget that they are literally japanese. but they are a more malleable japanese.)

Love the way beckett said esposito's name to mr saito. Love how he is so... good at talking. No technically her job is to solve what happens AFTER ppl are on the street. (& remove "dangerous people" from society so that yeah no murders happen on the street.)

If it were me I'd say "Of course, I'll have it right over. Can I read through the warrant? Oh, you don't have one? don't you need one? Oh not if I give it willingly? Well I'm not sure how that works so I'd like to read the warrant first, sorry. i just don't want to get in trouble with the law for sharing private information without a warrant or not reading the warrant, because you're legally supposed to read the warrant right? You're saying it is my RIGHT to read the warrant but not my JOB? Hm sounds sus. I'd rather not. I want to be a good citizen of the law."

Wasn't esposito in organized crime for a sec? (btw love the ryan outfit. stripes are smth he has. tho tbh I dislike it.)

tagami was on mat leave for 2 months! imposter! Crazy! Love it! except the orphpangage will be japanese

Aid you in your quest? she's only like 20 years old? I mean yeah she was dating a guy who was still young enough to live with his parents. To me that looks like a burn more than a scar. Then again, my stars aren't that shape even tho they are nearly the size.

Okinawa!

the green dragon wow cool name lol you had jade's bday? she didn't change it along with her name?

But the body type. Was the body type of the ninja close to saito? (also were they feminine? then again, skinny asian ballerinas don't have boobs)

Not wearing their vests? She said behind your head-- you come up with them down & then throw them up rly fast?

The sister survived too? Good on the uncle. Did the brother die?

I REMEMBER THE BUSINESSMAN NOW Ph I remember the green dragon arc now!

Randall: We were property developers. Jade’s father? He was an architect. I was a builder and Saito was the money guy.

He didn't do nothing! He called asked not to hurt her!

*killed just before he shared the name* ah the ninja was waiting to kill him later or see if he got arrested, but he was forced to kill him to protect his secret.

Wow love a good fight scene & also love the score Maybe don't shoot either maybe she told u to get the gun so THEY wouldn't shoot! (looks like a white guy babes) & it's bedford. & IT'S SAYA!

will she get charged with attempted myrder?

Oh no I remember Castle taking out the star. (he's so going to cut himself on that) But remember how in future episodes he has it.. framed almost? In a jar or smth? Ah the theme

Loved that ep! Absolutely loved it!

[bugsongs]

i was busying eating while continuing lok so i didn't rly liveblog episode 2 but i love the tai lung style prisons that everyone in the red lotus gets. thank u kung fu panda for blazing this path

[ohheyalex]

But why did this scene with Zhilan behind Nicky looking for the dagger, feel a little spicy 🙃

[biomic]

oh sick now we can get truly wild instead of relying on like. lobster fist or whatever the fuck ever week