#that episode was criminally short btw

[vivitalks]

oh but it is GOOD watching percy and annabeth fall in love in real time. to see the looks on their faces as they slowly discover that they would, actually, go to the ends of the earth to protect each other. "if i have to stick with someone," percy says, and then can't bring himself to say i'd choose you, because mere days ago he expected annabeth to stab him in the back at the first opportunity, and now he trusts her more than he trusts his own father, a literal god. "i thought we don't ask for help," percy says, but of course annabeth will swallow her pride (HER FATAL FLAW!!) and ask for help if it means saving percy. annabeth has wanted a quest since she arrived at camp half-blood, and yet she tries to sacrifice herself so the quest can continue without her. percy doesn't give two shits about the gods, and yet he chooses to sacrifice himself, not for the gods, but for his friends - so annabeth doesn't have to. they have been tentative allies for like three days and already they've both decided that nothing is more important than each other. just. man oh man

[kustas]

Do you have reccs for "ugly" art (manga, comics, movie, etc.)? Thanks for the Tekkon recs btw I really liked it

That really depends on your own personal media landscape and what your definition of "ugly" is! As a random example, I've seen many people call ONE's art ugly because of the wobbly linework when I think it's lovely. Ugly could also mean something a bit shocking/crass in its themes. Etc, etc... I'm going to go with the definition of "something that's a bit jarring to look at or go through" here :)

Disclaimer: a lot of these tackle sensitive topics, sometimes for fun and not always tastefully. If there's themes you really can't handle in media, do your research before looking into them.

Manga

I keep recommending yes because it rules but Dorohedoro and its scratchy messy art and gore galore. talking about the manga exclusively here the anime is too polished for my taste

God's Child (Kami no Kodomo): tbh this one is for the art only I hated the writing. very gruesome & unique looking short story

I hesitate to recommend this one because it's edgy as hell but I shan't lie I had a lot of fun with Hellsing. it's "bad" in the same areas as something like berserk but unlike that one it does not take itself seriously

if you liked Tekkon i strongly suggest trying out more stuff by its author (saying this with immense biais). the most ugly/messy thing i've read of his, which isn't a lot because i find his work very delicate, is No. 5 which i would less describe as "good" than "very compelling to me". i also recommend this wonderful essay tearing it down

Comics (non JP)

FLEEP: a short story about a man who wakes up in a phone cabin seemingly encased in concrete. one of the comics i always recommend for its length and storytelling. (link leads to the artist's website where you can read it for free!)

The Astonishing Exploits Of Lucien Brindavoine: a young artist gets drafted in the first world war and goes through a series of almost supernatural adventures. beyond the adventure book aspect, a harsh criticism of nationalism/patriotism that's still awfully relevant

Animation

Ruben Brandt: Collector: a psychiatrist suffers from strange art related nightmares ruining his life. his clients, a bunch of high profile criminals, decide to help him fight off his demons by organizing one long vacation where they steal every painting involved. extremely unique visually, a fun heist movie with thriller elements.

Junk Head: goofy post apocalyptic movie about a man on a quest to save, who keeps losing sight his goal because cartoony violence episodes have his head tumble into new lows, literally. this is, perhaps, one of my favorite animated films ever, it's earnest and fun and lovingly crafted. very unique of a watch

The Apostle: freshly escaped from prison, a thief is on a mission to find treasure hidden by his old cellmate, and finds himself stuck in an ancient village who's strange looking elderly inhabitants are way too insistent on his stay. classic spooky folktale with its millennial curses and foreboding warnings, it's also a nice peek into the culture of Galicia and old world medieval weirdass catholicism. you can buy a DVD on their website

MKFZ: dumb as hell high adrenaline animated B movie with excellent animation. there's a plot about alien living undercover in fantasy california but you don't watch this kind of film for the plot. fair warning this is adapted from a french comic so of course, it's crass and racist

Blow to the Head - Lightning bolt: awesome music video (YT link)(warning for flashing/strobing lights if you're sensitive to that!)

Canon Fodder: from the Memories omnibus film. little slice of the life of a fantasy war obsessed industrial nation

with its new movie on the horizon, it's a great time to get into Mononoke, despite traditionally pretty visuals its got a unique style and gets pretty offputting

Live action cinema

7:35 in the morning: short film about the fear in improvised musical numbers where you don't expect any. it's on youtube in bad quality

The Draughtsman's Contract: an artist is hired by a Lady to draw several vistas of her house, in exchange for money, good drawing condition, and the Lady. follows a good hour of cunts in powdery wigs being awful to each other for their own gain. if you're into dark humor it's a good test, otherwise it has a really satisfying murder mystery to follow too.

Three Kings: during the gulf war, a group of US soldiers decide to steal Hussein's gold for themselves under the mighty standard of kuwait's loot repatriation. extremely caustic take on good ol murican international politics. i was shocked at how far it goes and it's express, low budget treatment which i did not expect from a hollywood film. the movie tires itself fast and becomes less good in its second half but the it's opening acts are interesting

Delicatessen: a sliver of humanity survives in an old timey stone building in the middle of nothingness on top of a functional butcher's shop. gossip follows the arrival of a new roommate. how does one even maintain a butchery in a no man's land? weird film with a unique(ly goofy) take on the post apocalyptic genre

Other

For traditional artists, I like the works of Beksinski (<3), Schiele, Giger. For modern artists Oleg Vdovenko (heavy gore warning for that one), Jeff Simpson

I'm less a fan of the MV and live performances they got infamous for than their music proper but I really like the band Cardiacs, who's judged by many of my friends to be extremely hard to get into lol.

[gyarucoded]

Loki s2 Ep 5 Review

this will be short but SPOILERS AHEAD

ok so this is basically the umbrella academy season 2 in one episode except nobody remembers shit (loki = five ?)

O.B IS SO PRECIOUS HELLO

casey being a fawking criminal on the time line is not what i was expecting, but what especially caught me off guard is that he is based on a real person 😭😭 helppp

b-15...just b-15 🥹

ofc mobius' son would want a snake, i can smell future scene of loki conjuring him one or something. also love how the other boy seems to be mischivious?? they are adorableee

btw yall i wouldn't really bother worrying if mobius is donald blake cuz let's not forget that in the sacred time line he was a scientist who used to date jane. thor merely used it as an alias, mobius is NOT thor alright

not loki getting nervous then checking if he looks good before approaching mobius 😭 my dude

was that a...confession? hmm

o.b is actually impressive

yess go off sylvie, call him out ! 💀

sylvie's arms 😵‍💫 good day to be a lesbian

what's up with the tension between o.b and casey..? this series is full of homosexuals /j

here we go with the parallels again, loki talking about why he wants the tva back (his friends/mobius) is highkey giving me deja vu about how mobius was dodging loki's questions about why he wouldn't leave the tva (i'm delusional)

not casey catching strays 😭 leave him alone damn

oh we are all getting infinity war flashbacks right.

ok this may be biased but why does it feel like loki is the current "main character" of the mcu? he's like the tony stark of phase 4-5. like, that power moment ???

and again, the soundtrack ‼️ we freakin love you natalie holt 🫶

[daincrediblegg]

Two questions: top 5 things that the Inexperienced Jared Observer should watch him in

Which Terror ep would you rate as Thee best and why?

OOOH HO HO AND I SHALL ANSWER WITH GUSTO Ok. Barring the obvious three choices (i.e. Foundation, The Terror, and Chernobyl, which are really the biggest powerhouses of Jared's acting abilities to date, and then the tier two shows: Carnival Row, Mad Men (it is a very good show overall but if you're there just for jared it takes a while to get to him and it takes a LONG time to get over him), and The Crown), these are my recommendations:

Certain Women His part in this movie is very short, but honestly. it really shows how much this man can do with such a little character, really proving the "no small parts only small actors" adage that folks like to throw around. I still think about him a lot. really showed such a range with so little and it baffles me to this day. Also it's an anthologized narrative and his part and also Lily Gladstone's role in it (her first film role ever btw) as being a horse lesbian with Kristen Stewart really makes it worth the watch a lot more than some of the other bit part things I've seen him in.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows I genuinely think he's my favorite Moriarty of all time. Full stop. he's just such a wicked delight, and it will forever make me curse Guy Ritchie for only giving him bit parts in some of his other films. absolutely criminal.

The Devil's Violinist @prismatica-the-strange and I absolutely did not go into this film expecting it to be as good as it is. we thought it was gonna be a flop. that Jared Harris was gonna play the devil and we'd have a laugh and that would be that. Incorrect. Turns out the guy playing Paganini is actually a bonafide child prodigy violinist and he blows a LOT of the musician biopic performances out of the water because he REALLY DO BE PLAYING THAT VIOLIN LIKE THAT. Oh and also Jared plays his manager who is literally the devil and he has a pincer beard. and he's a sarcastic little shit and he's just a delight.

Two of Us This was genuinely the first film that made Jared a lifelong stand-out name to me at age fourteen. iykyk. He also fulfilled every McLennon shipper's dreams with this movie by kissing Aidan Quinn full on the lips. So if you want an explanation of why he queer codes a lot of his roles, this is it.

It's really hard to choose between The Beast Must Die, The Quiet Ones, and the 2015 Poltergeist remake, so I suppose I'm gonna go with The Beast Must Die because he's a saucy little asshole and he absolutely looks the prettiest in that. But that's the bitch of it with : this man has made a career of making himself a highlight no matter what kind of bit part you throw at him, so like honestly anything in his filmography is worth watching. But yeah he's so pretty in the beast must die. That's all I got. As for the second question... man why can't I choose all of em? why??? 😭😭😭 I can't pit all these bad bitch episodes against each other at any given moment in time man. I love this show too much. I simply cannot choose. it's all so good. I would like to say it's ep 5 for the way jared acts drunkenly (best drunken performance I've ever seen in my entire life), but then I think about him on the gunwale with blanky talking about the reindeer and laughing and how much Jared literally changed from the script to make that moment so goddamn endearing and human. but then I also remember the moment blanky leaves him like??? DUDE. I can't. I cannot choose. my favorite episode is the whole show.

[amplifyme]

Going to keep this short because A. life and B. not a ton of progress made! :DDDD

Cat and Mouse 

It’s an even richer reading experience now that I have faces and voices to put to each character. Correct me if I’m wrong, but Sam was the man killed in the episode Snow, right? 

Nan’s extrapolations on Vincent being named after a saint makes me wonder if perhaps I did hit on a grain of an idea by drawing parallels between the injuries of Jacob from the biblical canon and  Jacob Wells/Father. At the very least, I’m going to pat myself very prematurely on the back. XDDD 

Mitch, unlamented? Was he the criminal in S1? If so, great callback, Nan! 

Nan’s notes on Cullen are really incredible, honestly-- she sets so much up already by going backwards in time. Great reread. 

Cullen needing to be more cautious with the children around. Kanin not yet knowing all the ways of Below. Vincent telling Father but not telling him about Cullen's deal of silence. All interesting.

I prodded sis about her thoughts on Nan's "version" of Father. Sis: “I still think she does Father really funny.” 

“Better to volunteer, he thought, than to wait for the inevitable to be forced, however courteously, upon him.”-- OOoooooh, like The Alchemist and The Outsiders. Cool stuff, Nan. 

“Vincent slid his palm across, beyond the timber-reinforced doorway, were water-carved: this slightly tilted, tall cavern was a section of the channel of a lost subterranean river. No one knew why or when the river had stopped flowing.” Is that… is that a reference to the INCIDENT in Part III when Vincent lets the water loose? “Where a river had been, a river might suddenly return. The possibility of flood couldn't be ignored.” IT IS A REFERENCE. 

“He ruefully slapped his bad hip—an old injury, aggravated by arthritis.” So, Sis relayed to me about Roy's story at con about the origin of Father’s injury coming about because of Roy’s back luck with hips and swimming pools-- which, that’s perversely hilarious and makes moments like the above hit a little bit different (aside from Nan’s backstory, of course.) 

Btw, sis inhaled most of the con and has been telling me bits and pieces. Thus far, I’m hooked on Nan and she’s hooked on any BATB 1987 bts content.  

“Accept my warm welcome to the ranks of the chronically uncertain.” What a hilarious line from Father-- and what weight this conversation has, especially with Nan’s backstories she will continue to unfurl in the coming chapters. LOVED it. 

Father and his chess and Vincent’s “Sixty-two… if one happened to be counting” was exquisite. 

Vincent pondering over the boy huddling in the dark, hungry and alone, for “reasons he could put no name to”-- incredible. 

Gotta scuttle off! Be back soon with more~! :DDDDD

Hey! Sorry for the delay responding. I just pulled myself out of the rabbit hole.

Let's Talk about Cat and Mouse, one of my favorite "Young Vincent" stories.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Sam was the man killed in the episode Snow, right? 

I think that's safe to assume.

Mitch, unlamented? Was he the criminal in S1? If so, great callback, Nan! 

Yep, Mitch Denton from the episode The Beast Within. He also plays a small but important role in my fic The Possibility of Being. Nan and I shared a certain curiosity about a few of the one-off characters on the show.

I prodded sis about her thoughts on Nan's "version" of Father. Sis: “I still think she does Father really funny.” 

Like funny as in amusing, or funny as in not in character?

“Better to volunteer, he thought, than to wait for the inevitable to be forced, however courteously, upon him.”-- OOoooooh, like The Alchemist and The Outsiders. Cool stuff, Nan. 

And on many other occasions over the years, I'm sure. There's just so much fodder for fanfic in the BATB universe, so many unanswered questions, so many missing years.

No one knew why or when the river had stopped flowing.” Is that… is that a reference to the INCIDENT in Part III when Vincent lets the water loose? “Where a river had been, a river might suddenly return. The possibility of flood couldn't be ignored.” IT IS A REFERENCE. 

Another of the many seeds Nan planted from early on. She had a remarkable gift for that sort of thing. She was very much a gardener. I'll post a quote from GRRM when I'm finished here, where he distinguishes between two types of writers.

Btw, sis inhaled most of the con and has been telling me bits and pieces. Thus far, I’m hooked on Nan and she’s hooked on any BATB 1987 bts content.  

I wish there was more video of Nan. She was a blast to hang out with. But your sister certainly has lots to discover and enjoy with all the con videos.

“Accept my warm welcome to the ranks of the chronically uncertain.” What a hilarious line from Father-- and what weight this conversation has, especially with Nan’s backstories she will continue to unfurl in the coming chapters.

I love Nan's Father. Yet another character that she absolutely nails. There are some fans who don't care for Father and I've never understood that. I always loved him as his own person, as well as the relationship he and Vincent have. You'd have to be blind not to see how much they love and respect each other. That's part of why the events of the trilogy was such a blow to Vincent's peace of mind.

Father and his chess and Vincent’s “Sixty-two… if one happened to be counting” was exquisite. 

Though we don't see it often on screen, I'm convinced Vincent has a very wry sense of humor and he and Father likely took affectionate shots at each other all the time. Life Below couldn't possibly have been all drama and angst. These folks liked to have fun too.

Vincent pondering over the boy huddling in the dark, hungry and alone, for “reasons he could put no name to”-- incredible. 

Perhaps a bit of Buster's memories of abandonment bleeding through to Vincent? That's what I've always thought anyway.

Okay, time to wrap this up. I've got to do one more read-through before I post my new V & D fic. 😁

[freakinbads]

get to know the mun, repost don't reblog !

what's your phone wallpaper: jake bc why are we surprised last song you listened to: criminal love by enha currently reading: the song of achilles by madeline miller (YES I KNOW IM GOING TO CRY STOP TELLING ME ;^;) last movie: dc league of super pets (it was for work I don't usually watch movies) last show: episode 15 of true beauty bc suho is stupid what are you wearing right now: shorts and huge t shirt how tall are you: tall I'm tall don't let anyone tell u otherwise. piercings / tattoos: I have my ears pierced but I'm planning my first tattoo for my birthday next year and get my second piercing. glasses / contacts: I'm unable to see so yes last thing you ate: a potato favorite color(s): ocean blue current obsession: the love of my life (I'm talking about junji btw) any pets: a doggo do you have a crush right now: I keep all my feelings right here and then one day I'll die favorite fictional character: UHM jinwoo from solo leveling. i am preferential to an exact type of stupid. last place you traveled: apparently in some people's minds bc I still am rent free in some people's heads.

tagged by: no one i stoles it tagging: u tf?

[xyberangelzparadise]

My current spn fic ideas

Succubus!sam - canon divergence where everything is the same except that Sam has Succubus powers that he cant really control. Humans and monsters will at random fall obsessively dangerously in love with him. (Not all of them but it happens often enough that its a problem) It does affect all demons he meets though. Weaker and lower demons will literally worship the ground he walks on and will be compelled to follow his every command while more powerful demons will be attracted to him but not subservient to him. This would most likely be a Cram fic btw

Fic based off this post- the apocalypse happens when Sam is in his teens. The fic I want to write is basically a rewrite of s4 but sam is 16 and Dean is 20 and they r 10x more emotional and irrational bcuz they r in the most insane situation that a 16 yr old and a 20 yr old could be in.

No monsters au/serial killer john au- i read this criminal minds/ spn crossover fic and became obsessed so I really wanted to write a criminal minds crossover of my own. Specifically i wanted to write a pre series fic where john and dean get caught but neither of them are talking so the cops bring in a 13 yr old sam and grill him but hes too traumatized to talk. However him being traumatized is interpreted as him being a stone cold psychopath and when the story gets out the media paints him as a serial killer in the making and 10 yrs down the line this reputation is still haunting him

Casifer gets trans woman Sam pregnant with Jack - Sam thinks that shes having sex with Cas but shes actually having sex with lucifer possessing cas. They of course do it raw and afterwards Sam begins noticing some strange things going on with her body but brushes it off as nothing until Lucifer reveals himself. However Lucifer also hadnt realized that hed gotten Sam pregnant until the soul fisting scene. At some point after the whole deal with Amara is resolved Lucifer kidnaps Sam and stashed him with Dagon (and yes i realize that i am ripping off Kelly Klines entire storyline for Sam) However sam of course wins Dagon over with her puppy dogs eyes and compelling personality and Dagon ends up deciding to help Sam and bcuz i refuse to kill off a woman of color she lives and becomes a part of team free will

(Additional Girl!sam fic- i also just want to write another girl sam fic that takes place in the early seasons. my idea of girl!sam is literally just kristen Stewart if she were 6'3. Shes super awkward. Also Jess is a dude and hes Josh Hutcherson bcuz short king)

Every sam girls favorite: Sam visions returns - After the episode which the name for im blanking on rn, bit its the one where they kill that one demon and get the spear of Michael. Anyway after sam kills that demon it ends up triggering his visions returning. Sam does not realize this but the visions are all about an unborn Jack bcuz yeah. Also probably some sam amd mary relationship weirdness bcuz you know. Also probably some Sam and Mary relationship tension bcuz she has once again altered his fate and inadvertently allowed the state of his "humanness" to be altered

But yeah these r the fic ideas that i have so far. Please let me know if any of them sound interesting and u think that i should write them!!

[alpona]

Geats episode 14 liveblog:

What an episode full of delicious info! Obviously spoilers.

- lol, Game master getting annoyed at predictable winner situation?

- Keiwa-kun being the super nice guy again

- yes Neon, I'm also wondering about Ace's secret plan.

- woo, Keiwa using command twin buckle already! Good good, no drama like boost.

- punkjack didn't write aaanything for a wish, not even a silly one.....

- *gasp* yesss! Jamatos showing traits of dead riders, because they're grown from broken ID cores!! What did I write in that episode.... Ah, so Jamatos are kinda like... Reborn...plant...people....??

- hmm, So red-hat girl was an illusion created by the Jamato, and it can make hallucination inducing pollens. Very cool.

- Ace directly asking important questions.

- btw, punkjack may not know about Ace's wish to join every game, but Ace definitely realized that simply eliminating him won't accomplish anything, right? His memory will only be lost for this game, he'll get it back when the next game begins. Killing him is the only option for game master.

- Neon's valid concern. Sigh... Sometimes you do need certain people...

- hello bodyguard-san! What's Neon's gonna ask...

- I expected punkjack to betray game master, but he betrayed punkjack first? Ahaha

- sweet exposition time! My favorite!

- the superstar wish had deeper reasons after all. This kinda has a parallel with Neon making videos to get noticed too.

- yay, detective bodyguards!

- woahh Ben and John already used to be riders!! That means definitely on screen henshin in future episodes too!

Congrats Tom Constantine for becoming a rider on top of joining the cast! Woah, what a dream come true!

What are the motifs, white tiger?

- 'sponsor' huh. And DGP even needs funds. Curious how these things actually works considering the reality bending powers they have...

Is there an alien with superpower 'sponsoring' these things? Lol.

- punkjack backstory. His music career wasn't a lie, woah

- Ace's mom was a navigator? Ok! Did she became the main boss behind everything, or did something and got banned or something... I wonder.

- Yeah, we're also thinking you should know game master's identity, Ace-kun.

- oh, thank you! Thank goodness it was Ace's plan to deliberately let Michinaga take the driver, I'm glad the slyness isn't totally gone 😁

- "what am I doing with my life" thats what I wonder everyday too, dear punkjack.

- by the way, Neon has a very practical hairstyle this episode.

- little deception lesson Punkjack and game master should learn: don't reveal your plan before fully achieving your goal. (I'm not a criminal consultant btw)

- Game master henshin time! Vision driver huh, a totally different system than regular riders. With fingerprint scan n all. Girori become glare. The suit is cool

- and he can even do mind control, wow, scary!

- episodes almost ending, when's that preview scene of Ace worriedly looking at his ID core at... I had some ideas about that scene.

I was thinking maybe Game master will 'deactivate' Geats ID core, to ensure he can't even henshin with ANY driver at all.

- Ace just went poof eliminated? The scene was so short, nooo Takahashi-san, there could've been much more drama here..!

More twists please (lol)

But again, Game master can't seriously be content with just eliminating Ace, unless... He's planning the murder while Ace doesn't remember anything and is vulnerable, outside the game, with some trick that doesn't revive him👀😳? *Dan dan daaan!*

- lol at the rule!

Well well, we got the visual of Ace-kun being eliminated! That's actually not a big deal, cuz anytime he can come in contact with an ID core and remember everything, most likely Keiwa himself will go ahead and do that. Plus the upper management seems to be on his side, heck, wouldn't be surprised if he already has a backup plan and hid a spare ID core in his room! Basically, he can very easily join again very soon, maybe next episode. So Geats isn't gone yet. But I'm actually waiting for his apperant 'death' sometime.

(I'm starting to sound like an ominous witch with all the 'Ace will die' talk 😝)

[lostgirl1428]

Morning Pre-Ritalin ADHD Rant

Hot take. I don’t WANT season 3 to be the end of what we see with Din and Grogu BUT I could LIVE with it.

My generation and older gens are so used to like 13 season runs of shows with 25-28 episodes per season. LISTEN GUYS WE DON’T NEED THAT….

Fuck I DON’T want that. I mean look at what they did to Supernatural 🤦🏻‍♀️ I can’t even finish that show I stopped at season 10. I will however, (personally) make an acceptation for The Walking Dead…to be honest you can do A LOT with comic book adaptations.

Industry standard is now 3-5 seasons (typically 5) and 10-13 episodes per season.

I think it’s given elder Gen-Z (or zillenias as I like to call myself), Millennials, and Gen-X some whiplash. Don’t get me wrong though, done right, some episodic shows can go on for mad time, IF DONE RIGHT (i.e Criminal Minds).

However, these Disney shows specifically are so cinematic, each one is like a short film, I’m sure production costs and through the roof. Let’s be honest, despite what you may think of the direction the story line has gone in, it’s still absolutely breathtaking cinematography. Shout out to the SFX teams, puppeteers, both digital and practical effects artists and prop designers. They REALLY do manage to bring you to another world.

ANYWAYS. What I’m trying to say is, I WANT more Din and Grogu, however, I wouldn’t mind the show either ending there, or having a spin off for the other Mandalorians on their quest to retake Mandalore. 🤷🏻‍♀️

If they DO bring them back (and shit I’m sure they will because Grogu is a money maker let’s be real here) I’d like to see it turn into an episodic series. Granted I know some fans got annoyed with the side quest layout. However, if they continue with it, they literally set it up for an episodic run. Besides, I’m annoyed how they fucked up the storyline anyways, what was even the point if getting Grogu to Luke if he was gonna come back in TBOBF (AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THAT SHOW BTW, that’ll be another post)

Anyways, this is getting long, if you made it this far, share you opinions I guess 🤷🏻‍♀️

[castle-dominion]

5x11 under the influence PLOT HEAVY more like plot Javi. But it is not really plot heavy more like backstory heavy. Like the ike thornton episode.

Wow they just went around her for josie lang making her sound old hoodie kid? labelmaker playlist

captions say Zito & he is leaning on the cement all comfy You should lose two turns ryan pretty, esposito also nice shirt Shut the up (also how young of a girl scout, kinda sus) 11-midnight? How did she work the party until 1? (btw that tarp is way to square to have unwrapped a body)

lol KILLER party

check by the pool XD

starting the morning with... booze? It can be good for a hangover but... Ah she left early that's how she died before she was scheduled Good response from Regina: Great. Now I feel bad for complaining.

Becks is pretty enough with that turtleneck Oof. I mean music saves ur life like that!

What is dripping from her hair? KFC has more MSG than most chinese places

KR: If Tyrese is such big time, why is the entrance to his studio in an alley? JE: Because. Celebrities don’t want paparazzi taking their picture all the time. (he looks over to see KR: run a hand through his hair and he stops short) Yo. Did you just do the hair thing? KR: What hair thing? JE: Every time you’re about to meet a celebrity or a pretty girl you run your hand through your hair. KR: (he ignores that) TMZ said that Tyrese was at that party with Josie Lang. He’s producing her new album. JE: Yeah well, she’s no Regina. KR: I understand the image of her as a girl scout is seared into your memory, but Josie is a real vocalist. JE: Whose fan base consists of 12 year old girls … and you.

KR: Hey, since Josie was at the party I should probably take her statement, right? You got this, right bro? Thanks. XD

Been shot like seven times!?!?

"kev" & also jenny uwu

that was JUST for this year's awards!? What has he done before that!?

Unless you my momma

Nice rings on this man tho fancy shirt poofy hair lol The bitch had an assistant bitch? Reichle probably had fun "different girl" like that one tiktok audio "leah, amy, you know why we call her brianna right?" XD good it helps my street cred My man brought a lighting guy for his mugshot?

Wow that is a lot of money!

Kinda rude but she paid u anyway & was "helping her cousin" so that's good Variety in the "this one that one" stuff

mayb ethey haven't FOUND anything missing yet people are GOOD at ignoring hired help PRINTS

Ooh hooeey becks is pretty af today!! didn't holly grow up in a bunch of different places? foster care?

RC: "Monster." Now that sounds like the kind of ganged up thug that would shoot you dead and leave you in a dumpster someplace. Probably half man, half mountain, full of prison tats. Or is he quietly dangerous? Like Javier Bardem in any movie where he’s got weird hair. JE, while walking beside him: *kind of smiling/frowning at the same time* *it's a kid*

Oof mama commit suicide? the drug od was bad enough. how does this poor boy already have priors a kim long? Careful becks he is still nicknamed monster As an FNMI person this episode just... oof

KB: Hi Joey, I’m Detective Kate Beckett. Joey Malone: A major hottie is what you are. you're 14 lmao JM is just not talking at all double negative Ah he was chill denying it before this but then when murder came up he was shocked. I believe he did not do it. *camera focusses on esposito*

& then another flash to esposito Nice how he plays viddy games sito's right, you have a pimp/agent/manager JE: The brains behind this operation, that’s who. A kid like Joey goes from smash and grab to stealing a half a mil in jewelry? I don’t think so. Someone put him up to this. KR: No, it makes sense. Some savvy criminals use minors to do their dirty work. RC: Of course. A Fagin to Joey’s Oliver Twist. KR: And if Holly’s involved, that makes her the Artful Dodger. Or the Artful DJ. RC: Ooh, nicely played. also ryan is pretty you GET this kid. Yeah man. I love getting a little backstory. I just wish one of these characters was native, & I mean technically esposito is native, but I mean like, I want an iroquois person maybe. or a cree person. Heck a Metis person would be mind blowing.

JM; Hey, where’s the super hot detective? JE; Oh, you’re lookin’ at him. XD

Yeah genuinely. That's what they are like. Frickin cops. (& esposito's face kind of falls, possibly bc he was planning on saying that, possibly bc he feels for the kid & joey has been thru this before & cops made empty promises too) I p much never make promises.

So you admit there is a "he" Yeah lol this kid

Beckett & esposito are the ones talking to her hhh Yeah family is usually the best place to go for foster care temporarily while the parents get their crap in order. Heck this is why icwa exists. Tho I heard the other day that they were overturning that or smth Real prize.

KB: What about his uncle? Where is he now? Ms. Cooper (social worker): We’re trying to track him down. He may be in AC. He’s a card player. JE: Guy sounds like a real prize. CSW: You want the best option for these kids, and sometimes all you have is the least bad option. Which brings me to the issue of what to do with Joey. Are you charging him with theft? KB: We were hoping not it. CSW: (nods) So. I’ll put him in temporary foster care. JE: Whoa, whoa, whoa. He’s not safe out there in the world right now. The guy that we’re after killed a woman. He could do the same thing to Joey. CSW: Then you can put him in protective custody in juvenile hall. JE: I - I can’t just throw him in juvie. I’m trying to gain his trust here. KB: Ms. Cooper, this boy is the key to us solving a murder. CSW: Well, I’m sorry, but those are the choices. JE: hesitates. He catches sight of JOEY outside the room. JE: What if I take him? KB: *turns to look at esposito, surprised. Who is this man?* JE: That way he’s not locked up and I can keep him safe. (to KB) And I can continue to work on him. KB: * turns back to cooper* It’s an idea. KB: What about that? CSW: (sighs, shakes her head) I – I suppose I could delay his paperwork. But this would be for one night. And it means that Joey Malone is your responsibility. JE: That’s cool. I got this. The kid doesn’t have a father. He probably just needs someone to connect with. lmao sure bud like that's going to work out. I mean you may be right but u've also had years to figure out what it means, this kid might not even know.

Ok I have three clips here, but I flilmed the second two at once

INT – ESPOSITO’S APARTMENT JE walks in and stops to pick up the mail. JM follows him. Also neither of them remove their shoes. ew. JM: I’d rather have a pajama party with the lady cop. ((XD)) JE: Yeah well, it looks like I drew the short straw. ((still a little bit of bad cop in there, love it.)) JE, lookin at this teen: Literally. ((XD)) JE: hits the lights JM: looks around JM: Man, no wonder you’re single! JE: JM: No woman would spend time here unless it was against her will. ((u’r 14. But I mean 14yos date, heck I had classmates who had sex)) JM: starts hitting a sparring bag which is just in the middle of espt’s apartment, like yeah no girls wouldn’t like that JE: Yeah? What about you, Martha Stewart? What’s you place supposed to be? Shabby chic? Emphasis on shabby? JM: It’s a dive. But it’s not my fault. My uncle would rather blow all of his money at the tables. JE: Must be why he’s too busy to call us back. JM: Don’t wait by the phone. He only cares about claiming me as a dependent. makes himself comfortable on espt’s couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table. JE: My parents split up when I was 5. ((lol ok trying to connect)) JE: pushes Joey’s legs Man, get your feet off my table! (they share a glare.) Dad moved to Florida with his new wife. Most I ever got after that was a phone call and a post card. JM: Post card? JE: (nods) Yeah. JM: How old are you, anyway? ((bruh.. I send postcards still,, like if I’m traveling)) JE: Ancient. he looks dead & deadpan JE: But I’m young enough to remember what it was like. (he is quiet for a second) JM: smiles & looks off to the side ((btw I’m glad that the 14yo has acne, that’s what being 14 is like)) JE: Must miss your folks. ((bro don’t try to dig too much)) JM: … JM: After my dad died, my mom kept going. You know, she tried to pretend that we were still a normal family. She did her best to take care of me until … she couldn’t do it anymore. JE: Now you take care of yourself. ((Good line. Also sounds like experience there)) JM: Yeah. (his attitude changes) Look, man. I know you didn’t have to do this. Take me in, I mean. So uh, thanks. JE, nodding: I’ll go grab you a blanket; pillow. JM: Hey, at least you didn’t skimp out on the audio visual budget. ((Heck yeah. We love video games in this house. Well & board games. & all play, adults need play too, dogs never really outgrow their need for play, why should humans?) JE: You know that’s right. Oh, and I’ve got Assassin’s Creed 3. ((& a bunch of other stuff I assume?)) So go ahead and knock yourself out. ((Nice art btw)) JE: Oh, and uh … put it on dual player mode so I can come back and school you. He’s in the closet pulling linens for Joey JM: $20 bucks says you won’t make it past level 1. ((OMG I NOTICED HIS VOICE CHANGED DURING THAT PHRASE– HE WAS LITERALLY IN THE PROCESS OF IT AS HE SAID THAT,, POSSIBLY TO IMPLY HE WAS STILL IN THE ROOM)) JE: (scoffs) You’re crazy. Leaves the light on JE: comes back into the living room with a smile but stops short. It’s empty. Joey’s gone, but the window is open. Esposito sighs heavily. He is so annoyed

Oh gosh darn! When I copypaste smth from my ctrl-h google doc (where I change the names from ESPOSITO with a bunch of blank lines between the phrases like the transcript to what u see on tumblr) to tumblr, the * maked it italicized! Crud!

INT – TWELFTH PRECINCT BULLPEN JE walks in with JM handcuffed to his wrist. KR: … gives the setup an odd look. JE: Sit down. Joey does, and Esposito transfers the cuff from his wrist to the desk. KR, spinning his chair to face them: O~kay. Care to explain? JE: What? The handcuffs? KR: No, no. The stylish shoes that you’re wearing. Yess, the handcuffs. JE: Well, junior here tried to pull a Houdini on me last night. JM: Who the hell is Houdini? ((espt was not born in the late 1800s idiot)) JE: (harshly) Shut up. KR: Out the window? JE: Yeah. *sits* KR: Down the fire escape?? JE: Yeah. And then on to a moving garbage truck. Then on a skateboard for five blocks that took him all the way to the L-train. ((Whose? Also where was this kid going?)) JM: *picks up a signed baseball from espt’s desk* ((Kid has some neat gloves)) KR: (smiles) How’d you keep up? JM: He didn’t. JE, turning to face him so he can talk to him: Shut up. (sees the baseball) What the – (he grabs the baseball) Give me that. (he puts the ball back) Commandeered this dude’s bicycle. ((YOU KEPT UP TO A MOVING GARBAGE TRUCK AND SKATEBOARD ON A BIKE?)) KR: *Nods & smiles so big & bright, checks his nails while listening to the story* JE: Then he lost me in the subway. (Joey laughs) But then I caught him. At the next stop. Kid’s wily. But I’m wilier. KR: * just is enjoying the story with a smile* Wow. Just like The French Connection. JE: ..?

Kid just sitting there biting his nails You will go canvass? With esposito? alone? with a uniformed officer?

KB: Unless he gave you a name. JE: Uh … no. Not exactly. wdym not exactly?? Whata does that Look Between Them mean?

JE: Looks like he got his first taste with a B and E when he was 11 years old. Oof KB: He graduated to burglary when he was 12 when he broke into a mom and pop corner store along with an unidentified adult male. Ooof (also how mom+pops are off limits)

Shane Winters HER FILE TOO? also beckett's pretty shiny shirt <3

JE: This dude’s dabbled in everything. Or maybe castle, she did not clean herself up & get herself out, he stopped using her when she turned 18

Ryan's back! (btw every member here is pretty rn. Castle only as pretty as normal tho. ryan also only as pretty as normal but dshkjdh. becks all shiny & espt nice shirt too.) & castle knows the car RC: Yeah, and a roomy trunk for all your body moving needs. Esposito *just walks away* (no explanation anything he just thought for a split sec & then Left)

Poor LT lol he's on babysitting duty ALSO EW SHOES ON THE COUCH *awkwardly tapping his thumbs. It must be a patience test for interrogations when you become detective, he tells himself* JE: Where’s Shane Winters? JM: Where’s my soda? LT is just happy to be out of here he doesn't care that he's on soda duty

Love how espt picks him up like that. Sometimes you need a rough hand. JM: I'm not a rat ... Valid? But bro? Ok what is in it for you? You get a cut of the earnings? you get his protection in terms of him bailing you out...?

JE: Meh, I just want to wring this little bastard’s neck right now. So valid bestie JE: Freakin’ kids, man. (to castle) I don’t know how you do it, bro. RC: Oohhh. No, no. I lucked out with Alexis. At a certain point you realize you’re just dealing with someone who hasn’t been around as long as we have. ((THAT IS SO TRUE)) They have to find their way. JE: The problem is, he’s already found his way. He just doesn’t see where it’s going to put him. ((or maybe he thinks he's Built Different))

Garcia, new name!

"roll" *plays with keys* On your own babe? nice toss. also do they each have their own car or,,?

Boobies. Beer. Western vibes. Cant in the camera. Interesting movement too. Wow big buff guy. *looks him down* ... A bag of ice? It depends on whether it is good for the plot or not if they can beat ppl up or if they get beat up. Everything ends with a kick to the balls. My man must be wearing steel toed boots or knee guards or smth. Or just good aim. man's not having kids any time soon that shaking breath ohhh & "excuse me" lmao

How does he know his name hangin out lol Yeah too loyal. But I respect Monster. Put them on yourself? Esposito is using power & dominance to control the situation. Love it Holy crap the way he PUSHES on the handcuffs is so good! I remember playing with plastic handcuffs like that as a kid

"soft spot for kids" did not come out right hun Weird lighting. This room needs to be brighter; one way glass needs one room to be brighter than the other golden and diamond encrusted NO-- NO NO NOOOOOO (but will fdny find an accelerant?) but whasnt' that car expensive or smth? A minute alone...? Esposito, Javi my man hold on what are you thinking? & ryan agrees to leave? CLOSING THE CURTAINS...

tablet? Joey genuinely looks sad JE: Now I’d beat your skinny little ass for being stupid if it’d change anything Oh computer r u lying? da wanting to try him as an adult? u haven't even charged him... SW: Look, man. The kid did the crime, he’s gotta do the time. SW a couple minutes ago: I have a soft spot for kids (which is why I bailed out the teenager) Did joey malone really think that shane would protect him? carried heat as in gun? Yeah no Monster of COURSE he'd kill her

Yeah he can buy an alibi at least u know it came from his TYPE of car WHERE is her gun? I still say bling...

Ryan's hair lol it REALLY looks like mine Poor chinese line cook lol just doin his job & these detectives are holding open his door & getting in his way near the dumpster Is that blood or is it just gross?

Ah! Temporarily missing! that's why it was on the phone! *cuts himself off* oh god... heeheeHEE this is GOOD

well he's obv /accessory/ to murder espt so angry I can't tell if I'm remembering the ending or if I'm figuring it out but could it be the other musician? the one josie called old?

I love this man with the hat he seems cool Regina: Have you ever tried changing into skin-tight leather pants? It’s time consuming. ((true)) *Judging by their expressions, both CASTLE and BECKETT are intimately acquainted with skin-tight leather pants.* I like how beckett is wearing less makeup this episode than she does in s6 in my family watch Did she have a license to carry?

I love the OTS view going into the bar *lets him in while covering himself* SW: You keep showing up here like this, the boys are going to think you’re sweet on me. XD JE: Not anymore they won’t. he says while smiling.. *gulp* *puts down the gun* I can't remember what I thought the first time watching this. Is he disarming himself so they can have an honourable fistfight? Does he want to prove he's armed? are they going to count down & reach for it? & then I see the second gun. I thought maybe duel then. Also nice gun, rly small. When he says the gun is "yours" I am more sure it is a duel. (btw I think that one on the close side is the personal gun, not the police gun, & the one on the far side is the one he pulled from his boot a couple episodes ago. Like. ten.) His face when he says this. He says it in past tense as if he is in an interview, as if he's quoting himself from the future. That fear on his face. "I HAD to defend myself!" as he shakes his head with wide eyes... So he threatens to kill the guy & cover it up bc he is a detective & he can legit say "I arrested his crime boy so he wanted to kill me" & have it be true except esposito that is your gun... Unless he specifically acquired an unlicensed gun so that he could pretend it was shane's unlicensed gun (but also esposito my man how will you KNOW he recruits another kid? I might like a sequel except I don't want esposito to kill someone even if I agree with his values) Again with esposito using dominance in this play. Slid the gun over to him. I mean, Winters can afford a bodyguard, he may be a crime pimp, but he directs kids & adolescents, not people he considers his equal. No wonder he is so easy to threaten like this.

HPD criminal history information MISDEMEANOR arrest/charge information arrest date: XXXXXX ((so august or is that a random number of Xs?)) XX, 20XX 07:27 PM ((so he must have been under 18 in the year 2000, 17 in y2k at the oldest)) - Name: ESPOSITO/JAVIER ((I can't see if there is a middle name)) - Date of Birth: XXXXX X, 19XX ((april or march 1-9)) - Sex: Male - Race: XXXXXX ((Latino)) - Age at the time of the crime/arrest: XX ((10-17 but often they try 17yos as adults)) - Address: 941 E. 11TH ST/NEW YORK, NY 1009 - Fax Number: 5521250 - Place of Arrest: HPDPD, 021 - ((cropped)) Crime: November 6, 1989 ((unless this is the date of the crime so he would be under 18 in '89 at the oldest, so born in what 1972 at the oldest? & 1990 at the youngest if his age was in the double digits by y2k))

the good old days XD XD

Cycle 1 Arrest date XXXX XX 20XX 07:27 PM ((this one has 4 Xs so june & july except I think this implies that the Xs are not relative to the letters in the blackout, at least that is implied since these are both at 7.27pm, they are both the arrest date)) Court Information Court: Criminal Court New York Case Number: 322((cut off)) Initial Report Of Docket Number: XXXX XX, 20XX

November 19, 1989 ((nearly two weeks after the other date)) ASSAULT PL 160.10 Sub 01 // Class C Juvenile // HCIC 1299 RESISTING ARREST PL 160.05 // Class D Juvenile // HCIC 1299 ((transf?))erred To Superior Court November 19, 1989 UNLAWFUL POSSESSION ((of what?)) PL 160.10 Sub 01 // Class C Juvenile // HCIC 1299 ASSAULT PL 160.05 // Class D Juvenile // HCIC 1299

I love how as Joey reads them out loud esposito cringes. We see him cringe just a bit (wrinkle his nose & squint) at resisting arrest but [cringe like: that inhaling hiss between your teeth out of the side of your mouth] at unlawful possession & he shakes his head

Joey straight up: You were a mess ((coming from u tho? ur priors are a mile long according to the show so u can't say much))

JE: Yeah. But it’s all I knew. My dad was gone, my mom was working two jobs. In my neighborhood, you had to do what you had to do to survive. Not everybody made it. ((Yeah man... this story hits & my life wasn't even that bad)) JM: Is this where you tell me to man up and get my act together like you did? ((no pls no)) JE: No. It doesn’t work like that. ((Yes!! Thank you! Yes!)) JE: You need help. ((cringe but true)) For me it was one of my teachers. ((stereotype. But also,,, so true. My baking teacher, the staff in my special needs class, the FNMI guidance counselor, my culinary teachers)) Saw a future in me that I didn’t even see in myself. But it was up to me to make a choice. To pick which road to go down. I talked to your school counselor – ((first of all ew school counselors I know I lucked out but I don't trust em, second consent much? talk to joey first, except he'd say no so idk bro)) JM: What? ((See?)) JE: She’s going to call me if you keep ditching. ((esposito dad moments, I wish we got to see him with Timmy or Tommy or whatever ike's kid's name was)) JM: C’mon, man. JE: And I’m going to call you once a week. Check in. ((Do you do that for Baby Thornton too? y'all should become friends lol, he's only a year or two younger than you. Baby thornton was what? 10? it has been 2 or 3 years since s2? joey is 14? Yeah 13 & 14 is the same age)) JM: *smiles, then nods* JM: All right. I’ll go. ((go where? to school?)) If you agree to get new furniture. ((making a deal, he really is an adolescent, not a child, & esposito treating him like an adolescent, someone worth talking to, is awesome & important, even if he also knows that adolescence is not complete adulthood & he called the counselor w/o talking to joey first)) JE: *scoffs* JM: You can’t get laid on the regular with that junk you have. ((this man made fun of ryan for alley shopping)) I’m just looking out for you. ((who is looking out for whom now?)) JM: *pats him hard on the shoulder* JE: *does the thing he always does when someone touches him: he looks at where they touched & then back up at them* JE, handing Joey his business card: Here. If you need anything, day or night, call me at that number. ((do you not have your phone on silent overnight...? Maybe "at THAT number" is his other cell phone, one that he doesn't turn off at night idk bro)) JM: Okay. (he unbuckles) You’re all right. For a cop. ((lmao what a mood) JE: I know. Now get out of my car. ((see? sometimes you need that roughness. Btw I think this was the first time I noticed the car in my family watch, but I had seen it before on my binge watch. I didn't know if it was esposito's personal car or what)) JM nods to JE, JE nods back, but also in a gesture like "get going now I already told u" & JM leaves. JE smiles & watches to make sure JM gets inside ok.

I like how they closed loose ends with the winters guy & joey.

Ok but I need an episode in the future that shows that these two have indeed kept in contact! Esposito has been half raising two kids now, Ike's kid & Joey, why can't we SEE THEM?

Also uh in my math earlier I said I'd watch 6 episodes per day, well the thing is I didn't watch 6 yesterday I only got five. The first one was the season premier & I watched it earlier.

[muninnhuginn]

Today in “little features I really appreciate about Ousama Ranking” I want to point out how the show (or manga? not sure where this originated but too wary about spoilers to go search out the manga to check) handles (pun fully intended) Domas’ sword wielding before and after he loses his hand. (I’ve basically grouped together clubs, swords, and short sticks for this and ignored stuff like spears and throwing knives)

Going to chuck this below a read more as I’ve included a load of screenshots to demonstrate stuff, but the tldr is that Domas changes how he holds two-handed swords after he loses his right hand so that rather than the ‘right above left’ that he (and everyone else) uses prior he instead ends up alternating to try and accommodate his new prosthetic.

Before: two-handed sword wielding, right hand above left, closer to where the blade would be on an actual sword.

This is the case for at least Domas, Bojji, Daida, and Hokuro in their instances of holding swords/training swords. This is pretty consistent in all episodes.

And looking up swordfighting more generally, it appears that the typical handling of two-handed swords is either to place the dominant hand higher up on the hilt or to place the right hand above the left in all cases (presumably the latter dates back to when left-handedness was more stigmatised?). The point is though, that left above right is not the typical wielding position.

(Fun fact btw: when checking back through episodes for instances of sword wielding I found out that Daida is actually left-handed as he writes with that hand in episode 5, *but* he wields two-handed swords right above left. Bosse-as-Daida wields clubs left-handed, but in his original body he wields clubs/axes right-handed; see ep 8 for multiple instances of this.)

After:

Episode 12, Domas still tries to put right above left with his prosthetic at first.

The next instance we see him with a weapon in ep 15 though? He’s swapped over. Left hand above right...

Back to right over left...

And back again. He then keeps to left over right for the rest of the episode.

Given the sheer consistency previously and the number of close-up shots of Domas in ep 15 holding his sword the opposite way to almost everyone else* including himself prior to losing his right hand, I kind of have to think this is intentional. It’s not exactly commented on within the show itself but it would fit into a similar vein to how Kage makes sure to repeat for Bojji when people’s lips can’t be read. And if it is intentional then it’s a really nice and subtle way of showing how Domas is adjusting. Physically, that is. I don’t think he’s adjusting so well mentally/emotionally right now :V.

(Misc. notes: It seems that when weapons are just being held casually people just use whichever hand is convenient until they actually have to *use* the weapon. At this point they default to their dominant hand (if single-handed wield) or to ‘right above left’ if two-handed. Domas does use his left hand to parry Hokuro at the end of episode 5 but given he’s a few seconds from shoving his right hand onto a the blade of a sword I feel like that gets a pass.)

*There is one of the released criminals who goes left above right in ep 13

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

THE BOX IS NABOO

That’s it, I’m doing it, I’m writing that stupid meta I’ve had in the works for two and a half years, I’m sharing it with the world. I promised it for last Thursday, my poll was forever ago, but whatever! I’m writing that freaking thing.

(super duper long post, press j to skip)

Enter my rabbit hole.

First thing to establish: the Box makes no sense whatsoever in-universe.

((EDIT: Something I forgot to mention. IRL, the premise of a giant murder cube and the aesthetic - wall patterns, light designs, etc - of the episode come from the 1997 horror movie Cube, (see the episode’s wookieepedia page). However, while the two are very closely linked visually, the Box does not follow the movie structurally or narratively, as you can verify by simply reading the movie’s summary.))

Recap of the context for the "Box" episode (s4e17): Palpatine is planning his own kidnapping. It was never meant to succeed, and while the plan would obviously benefit him (making the Jedi look bad, pushing Anakin closer to the Dark Side, making Republic citizens more afraid -> more docile, etc...) his actual goal is never explained, and it’s weird that he’d go to such extreme lengths for results so minimal that we’re never told what they are.

So Palpatine asks Dooku to kidnap him at the Festival of Lights on Naboo. Dooku hires Moralo Eval to design a giant box-thingy to test bounty hunters to hire the best of them to kidnap Palpatine. Moralo then gets arrested to alert the Republic that something is afoot, and hires Cad Bane to break him out. Obi-Wan - undercover to learn Moralo’s plan - goes with them. They evade capture and go to Serenno, and Bane and Obi-Wan have to pass the box-thingy test. The level of brainkarked logic here... Truly on par with Megamind, Gru and Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

Setting aside the insane plot holes and utterly nonsensical behavior of the villains, the Box itself is moronic from a plot perspective. It’s insanely complex, obviously incredibly expensive and would have taken months (more like years but it’s a short war) to make when it’s not even needed for the dastardly plot! Just hire some guys who have already proven themselves against Jedi! Throw cash at Bane and Embo and a few others! Maybe attack them with your saber and see how they do! 

And after all that, Dooku still ends up trying to kidnap Palpatine on his own. I can’t even... 

So why does the Box exist? Well, apart from being a nerdy callback to Cube, giving us a good thrill and being generally awesome to look at, it has actual narrative purpose within the SW universe.

The box is Naboo.

What the Box lacks in plot relevance, it makes up for with its heavily symbolic meaning. It very closely follows Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s experiences on Naboo - but only certain parts, which I’ll explain later.

We start with clean, sterile environments, SW’s favored way of showing villainy.

Then we have the protagonists locked in a room as dioxis, a poison gas, pours in.

And then they escape... this way.

(Okay, here the shaft is down, not up. And it’s not a ventilation shaft per say, it’s the designed escape route. Same difference).

We then skip most of TPM (namely, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon discovering the droid army, finding Padmé, leaving Naboo, landing on Tatooine, going to Coruscant, etc, etc) to come back to Naboo and go directly to the lightsabers and catwalks.

(Note: in both scenes, Obi-Wan has to propel himself from a catwalk.)

In TPM and TCW, the catwalks are immediately followed by ray shields

And we finally end with the last scenes. Now, they don’t look the same but they are structurally identical. 

Obi-Wan is faced with a challenge unsuited for his abilities (facing Darth Maul // shooting three moving targets when he’s far more skilled with a blade than a blaster) on a narrow space above a melting pit/pit of fire. 

He first watches someone die failing to complete the task...

 ... and has to do it himself, faring much better than expected (holding his own against Maul // shooting all the targets easily). 

He then almost falls to his death and gets saved unexpectedly.

And then there’s the final showdown.

In both scenes, Obi-Wan is angry. And in TCW Dooku eggs him on, banking on his anger. (More on that later.) In both cases though, he centers himself and is able to overcome both his opponent and his own unbalance. But in TCW, he doesn’t go for the kill, because he doesn’t need to. 

The Box, as a literal character-explorator ex-machina, thus shows us Obi-Wan’s growth.  

In TPM, Obi-Wan follows Qui-Gon’s lead. In TCW, he is the leader. He identifies the gas, makes the plans. He doesn’t fall from catwalks anymore - he runs atop moving ones. He doesn’t stay stuck behind ray-shields, he finds the solution. (Btw, how did Moralo know what blood type Derrown the Exterminator was? There was a 50% chance of him dying - thus killing all of the bounty hunters. Was that an acceptable outcome? TCW I need answers!) He doesn’t slay his foes, because he’s become powerful enough, skilled enough and wise enough to survive (and win) without needing to kill.

He’s grown - and, even more interestingly, he’s also stayed the same. In the previous episodes, we see some of the dark aspects of Obi-Wan. How he - like all Force-wielders, all people - could lose himself if he stopped maintaining absolute control.

But in the Box, surrounded by the worst criminals of the Galaxy, the most ruthless, worthless people, he’s still kind and tries his best to keep them alive.

The Box is a reminder and a reassurance for the audience that Obi-Wan Kenobi is still there under Rako’s face. He hasn’t lost his compassion, his restrain. He’s still a Jedi. And he’s an awesome, badass one. 

And now, for what it tells us about Dooku! 

It’s much shorter, don’t worry. Basically, Dooku considers that the best way to pick “the best of the best” of the deadliest people in the Galaxy is making them go through what killed his Padawan. There, I’ve broken your hearts, you’re welcome. 

More seriously, Dooku is a manipulative ass. It’s pretty clear that he knows Rako is Obi-Wan, or at the very least suspects it. 

He has an interesting reaction upon learning Rako’s identity, he keeps praising him despite his usual distaste for low-lifes, he smirks secretively after Eval says “I’ll show you who’s weak” (not included there because it’s a close-up of Dooku’s lips and no one wants to see that) and he tells Rako he’s very disappointed when he doesn’t finish off Eval.

[Later]

(Look at this smug asshole - I can’t. YOUR GRANDSON IS THE BEST, WE KNOW, STOP ACTIVELY RUINING HIS LIFE ALREADY.)

(Dooku... why...)

Now obviously Dooku couldn’t have made the Box specifically for Obi-Wan, because it would have to have been designed months before the Council ever decided to send Obi-Wan undercover, but he has no qualms trying to use it to push Obi-Wan to the Dark Side. Ffs Dooku, making your spiritual grandson relive one of the most traumatic events of his life on the off chance that he’ll join you (and desecrate his Master’s memory in doing so) is not okay!

Final tidbits of analysis: I mentioned that not all of TPM is mirrored in the Box. What’s omitted is the droids (even though Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fight B1′s and droidekas between the dioxis and the ventilation shafts) and anything pertaining to Sidious (all the political stuff on Coruscant). You’ll also note that the fake lightsabers are orange.

=> The Box distances itself from anything that connects Dooku to Naboo. Red lightsabers are the trademark of the Sith, so they’re not used. The bounty hunters will be facing Jedi, so logically the fake sabers should be green or blue - and yet they’re orange, the color closest to red without being red. It fits with Dooku’s special brand of dishonesty - he always tells bits of the real story but twists them just enough to absolve himself of any fault and to justify his choices. 

(”We can destroy the Sith” -> could maybe destroy Sidious with Obi-Wan, but fails to mention he’s a Sith Lord himself; “the Viceroy came to me for help, that’s why I’m attacking the Republic” -> political idealism is a small part of it, but fails to mention he’s Sidious’ underling and is playing the Viceroy like a fiddle; “Qui-Gon would have joined me” -> maybe, still fails to mention he’s working for the man who ordered Qui-Gon’s death; “I told you everything you needed to know” -> debatable, never said that Palps was Sidious; “Sifo-Dyas understood, that’s why he helped me” -> partly true, doesn’t admit to killing Sifo-Dyas right after getting his help)

So we have a twisted version of Naboo, droid-free (as droids are now irrevocably associated with Dooku, even if that wasn’t the case in TPM) and with sabers that aren’t quite red. Keep in mind that Dooku had already fallen by TPM. (We know this because he killed Sifo-Dyas and created the Clone Army - part of Sidious’ plan - when Valorum was still Chancellor, as per the episode The Lost One.) That means Dooku was (in)directly complicit in Qui-Gon’s death. And the Box doesn’t (=refuses to?) acknowledge that. 

(Also omitted in the Box are the Gungans and Tatooine. It makes sense, because Dooku probably wouldn’t have the full details regarding those parts of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s missio as they weren’t as public, and would see them as irrelevant if he did. He utterly despises Anakin, and Gungans are the type of people he always dismisses out of hand). 

Anyway, that’s my two cents about the Box. To quote Lucas...

“It’s like poetry. It rhymes.”

Thanks to @lethebantroubadour @impossiblybluebox​ @nonbinarywithaknife @ytoz​ and @kaitie85386​ for voting for this one. Next up is a compilation of the Jedi being casually tactile with each other (because they’re a warm and affectionate culture, dammit).

Also thanks to @laciefuyu​ for giving me gifs I ended up not using ^^; you rock anyway!

[onyxbird]

@wolves-in-the-world and @darkfinch, delighted we are all on the same page about how dirty they did our boy Anton. Law & Order: Criminal Intent writers (derogatory), you decided to write this plot and you created this ridiculous character to give to Clayne Crawford who ACTED HIS LITTLE HEART OUT with what little he was given to work with and made Anton the most interesting and 3-dimensional character* in the episode. Please make minimal effort to maintain internal consistency and not undermine him single-handedly salvaging your episode.

(Episode spoilers discussed below cut.)

Giving the actor the makeup/costume prep to allows him to portray the character consistently would be nice. (I would probably have barely noticed the lisp itself if it didn't just appear out of the blue--it jumped out at me on first viewing.)

It is really, really not a good sign when you have your protagonists told that one character claimed to be another's "protege," immediately cut to a scene that shows the dynamics are opposite to that, and the interpretation that the show writers don't know what the word "protege" means appears more plausible than it being an intentional plot twist. (It clearly was an intentional plot twist--other lines earlier and later in the episode highlight that there was an intentional mismatch between claimed and actual dynamics, but they never did anything with it or presented it in a way that made it seem relevant to the case.)

Also, when the one-episode character is 1) shown to be innocent of the crimes being investigated, 2) explicitly shown to be a manipulated victim of the actual murderer, and 3) helps the protagonists get the actual murderer (plus, 4) is the only actual emotionally engaging character in the whole episode since everyone else is either wooden, awful, and/or killed off after minimal screentime), I feel like we deserve some closure, even if it's as minimal as "went back to a normal life waiting tables (now with additional fangs)" or "decided to continue his kinky vampire LARP, now without murder and psychological abuse."

*BTW, I am absolutely including the regular protagonists here. After a full episode, I have no idea what any of the protagonists' names are or anything about their characters other than 1) Jeff Goldblum's character (who I will call "JG" for short) is deeply weird and seems to have less respect for boundaries than the actual-human-blood-drinking "vampire" murder suspect, 2) JG's partner has some female child (daughter, probably? niece? godchild?) named Kiara in her life, and 3) all the cops make "deductions" that are shown or implied to be correct despite having little-to-no logical basis in the info they have. (I also just realized that the victim's sister and dad basically just vanish into the ether after barging in to confront Anton. 🤔)

[prncssguya]

Hi ! I am sorry I’m actually just writing to commiserate with you about the devil judge, I saw your post about how everyone just puts everything on Yohan and I agree sooo much, it’s infuriating to me, how Min Jung Ho just like immediately says it’s his fault he got attacked, and don’t get me started on the fucking priest, what the hell bro? He was a child, a lonely, weird, abused child, not the fucking devil. Seriously it is getting me crazy, it feels like the only person who sees him as a human being is Gaon. I know a lot of people have made a parallel between tdj and Hannibal, and like, I really disagree ? I understand where it comes from, but Hannibal and Yohan are vastly different characters, and the whole characterization of Yohan to me feels like the writers are saying that while every one thinks this guy is the devil, he is very far from it, whereas Hannibal is definitely a monster, and his relationship with will is monstrous as well (and very captivating don’t get me wrong). What do you think about that parallel ? It just rubs me the wrong way but I don’t know if I put it into words correctly. Sorry for the really long ask btw 😅

Hi! thanks for the question. I completely understand what you’re saying. I hope I can answer this well because it’s really so complex. Sorry if this turns into a whole dissertation essay, Hannibal is like my favorite show ever.

Yea I can see a lot of people draw comparisons to TDJ and Hannibal saying things like “tdj is just Hannibal in a courtroom” or “tdj is Hannibal without the cannibalism” lol. I think what people are mostly looking at is the dynamic between Yohan/GaOn and Hannibal/Will and how they’re similar to some degree.

Gahan and Hannigram have a similar type of tension with each other. The difference is Ga On already had suspicions about Yohan from the very beginning and was very antagonistic towards him. Will, on the other hand, initially thought Hannibal was just psychiatrist and sought out his help. It wasn’t until a little later that he started suspecting him and grew to understand his true dark nature.

Yohan/Hannibal— wealthy socialite, sociopathic tendencies, hiding a secret, wearing a “person suit” (more on this later) to fool those around them, misanthrope and thinks humans are beneath them, thinks no one in the world could possibly understand them until they find the one person who does and they can only show their love through violence and manipulation.

Ga On/Will— sensitive, empathetic, intelligent

Will is first introduced as this tortured genius who has an empathetic ability to recreate scenes. In short, he can vividly construct the mentality of criminals and psychopaths. Being able to step into a darkness like that, you have to eventually lose a part of yourself and start sympathizing with the monsters and that’s what eventually happens to him. They’re both capable of murder. Ga On was ready to kill the con artist for his parents if SH hadn’t intervened. They have a moral compass in their corner to keep them grounded (Jack Crawford for Will, Soo Hyun for Ga On—I won’t even mention Min Junho because the guy is sus). They’re both fighting against an internal darkness

Gahan/Hannigram— THE HOMOEROTIC TENSION.

“I want you to admit what you are.”

“Must I denounce myself as a monster, while you still refuse to see the one growing inside you.”

Actual lines from Hannibal. I can’t even mention all the lines that could apply to Gahan (I could hear these words being exchanged between them). Both Hannibal and Yohan bring out the best, and worst, in their partners. Hannigram is toxic as hell. Hannibal would go through all kinds of sick shenanigans to get Will on his side, Yohan has said he would do bad things to get Ga On on his side. Gahan’s relationship is one that starts out tense and mistrustful, then grew to curiousity, comaderie, now Yohan has come to rely on Ga On without him even realizing it or admitting it to himself.

“No one can be fully aware of another human being unless we love them.”

This is obvious. Hannibal is a cannibal, Yohan is not.

I was rooting for Will to finally succumb to his darkness and join Hannibal’s side because he found the truest version of himself in Hannibal. I have different expectations for Ga On because my sweet summer child is more different from Will, he’s not as drawn to darkness as Will is (in the recent episode, he was so horrified at the blood on his hands). Will in the end basks in it.

I agree with you about Hannibal, there’s really no denying that he is a monster. And there’s really no explanation for why he is the way he is; he wasn’t abused (as far as we know) but he was orphaned and left to raise his beloved sister (who died) and later became a serial killer. Yohan, on the other hand, was an abandoned and abused child who only had the love of his older brother. It’s no wonder that he puts up a tough exterior because all throughout his life, people have made assumptions about him without trying to get to know him. I mentioned the “person suit” earlier, this is a mask Hannibal puts on to blend into the human world. He carefully built his life and reputation as a surgeon/psychiatrist and socialite, presenting himself as the sociable doctor while living his philosophy of eating the rude on the other side on the veil.

Yohan’s person suit is a defense mechanism. Whereas Hannibal is using his suit to hide a monstrous nature, Yohan uses it to hide his vulnerabilities. He’s wearing this suit to blend in with the elite he hates, but underneath that exterior is just a lonely and misunderstood man (who’s actually a softie in reality)

Finally, I think these two shows don’t really have a whole lot in common besides the homoerotic tension. Gahan are vastly different from Hannigram. Yohan isn’t a true monster/devil while Hannibal is. Will turned his back on his moral compass and succumbed to the darkness, while Ga On can’t seem to let go of his moral compass and he doesn’t desire to become a monster.

Sooo ultimately…

[silviakundera]

Luoyang episode 2 spoiler-y watch notes

This show is really, authentically GOOD btw. It's early to say for sure how this lines up with my fav dramas, because that really depends on how well the plot plays out, but v promising.

Excellent job setting the stage for the empress. The series establishes her as a powerful character thru the behavior of others - the tension and sweat from the summoned officials and guards.  The paleateable fear in the room. I really love how there is no need to make her bluster or chew scenery.

And huh, looks like that tossing around of the empress' name by Inner Guard wasn't short-sighted after all. This Madam Wu does have the monarch's trust (for now). Makes Lord Gao look more foolhardy in retrospect. He should have had a better pulse on the political situation. So if it's not that he's a dumbass, then the man is crooked. 🤔 Remains to be seen.

Madam Wu actually has seemed so far to have the interests of the empress as her guiding priority, so this trust is likely not misplaced. Which also underlines the impression we have so far of the empress as strong and capable. (The 1 person she trusts to handle the situation is the right one).

The Baili arranged marriage plotline still feeling so reminiscent of how this usually goes for a female character. You see men in these dramas not want their arranged marriage, but the tone is usually different.

We may have finally found someone more unnecessarily extra than Mr Scraggly Man of Mystery: head of the intelligence agency, Lord Chu, who walks around wearing a metal mask with a disguised voice like some DC Comics supervillian

If Scraggles wasn't in lockup right now I would have bet this on being his 3rd secret identity, just because of the drama.

But no, he's busy getting tortured and playing cat & mouse games w the Lord Gao crew for reasons still unknown to the viewer. I admit I'm really intrigued by this dude.

Cut to Baili pacing around w his pretty face and asking all my questions. Thanks for being the voice of the viewer but when u gonna join the plot?

aaaaaand Scraggly Man of Mystery is revealed to have been setting up chess pieces like he's Wei Yingluo, retreating in order to advance. 'Thx for finally coming to murder me during the prisoner transport, so I can beat your ass.' What a legend.

"It's too late." So ominous!!!

Is our Man of Mystery actually stalking a villian w a special signature knife like he's Indigo Montoya? (You killed my father! Prepare to die!)  Loving this journey for him.

He used to patrol the streets as like a city guard?? So he knows every nook and cranny! And he hides out under the shelter of a madam running a brothal/casino! I love me a gritty-dark hero with allies in communities outside of the elite.

And we're back to the arranged marriage plotline and Baili who still is isolated from the plot, but yet again I'm kinda interested in the vibe we got going on here, where dad has set up this marriage so Baili will have someone to protect him, take care of him if the dad dies. Liiiiike this is really so similiar to the cdrama female forced marriage tropes 👀👀. The book-smart, sheltered foodie son who doesn't want to be protected but is being forced into a marriage w a rich family. (even his servant is rather protective) He's so huffy lmaooooo

Ok so Scraggles Man of Mystery is from the slums and this infamous slum is also class-based, where the people there are basically exiled descendants of criminals. INTERESTING.

'This copper is from the Budda Temple by the Ministry of Works...'

Slums Batman: it's that Baili dude yet again

Me: into the plot! the plot! BRING MY BABY BOY INTO THE PLOTTTTTTT

cut 2 poor Baili continuing to NOT be in the plot, instead living that Heyer romance heroine life 🙍

[kim-ruzek]

I'm back!

Hey y'all. I know it's been a while and I basically all but dropped of the face of the earth with no word. I got a couple of messages and I'm sorry for not replying so I'll just explain to everyone now.

Long story short, my health problems I have with my body took a turn which essentially meant that even if I wanted to I really realistically couldn't really do much. I've been in a lot of pain and my joints have not been good. I had to have constant support on my wrists, which meant typing was out of the question and when they were getting better/stronger, my ankles became real bad and yknow. Pain happened. So I essentially had to take a step back from everything and not force my body to do too much, and being on Tumblr (and Twitter) wasn't something I could do.

Which in some senses was good for me. You all know how cpd/one chicago in general has been depressing me and just generally making me feel restless and upset leading me to somewhat take a step back from fandom already. It turns out that getting out of that headspace and literally unable to be even slight bit connected was really good for me. I even shut off a little from NA (mostly bc I couldn't type Which meant I couldn't tweet) and just watched something completely unrelated to the genres.

Which lead to me about two weeks ago or something suddenly thinking about burzek a LOT which made me realize I was probably ready to come back.

I took a while longer tho because one: right after I realized this I started my rewatch of criminal minds so I wanted to finish that and also I put it off because (besides my physical issues this is btw) my anxiety has also gotten worse which affected me feeling confident to catch up, especially because I knew how much cpd made me spiral and I just started feeling more relaxed. (Literally as I was loading up fool's gold to watch the other day I was literally having a panic attack I'm a mess)

Although now I know that wasn't necessary at all because I really loved the episodes and didn't make me spiral at all and honestly made me sad I didn't watch as airing! Which I never expected (especially bc I expected to feel that way about na but instead na is the one that's made me most spirally! Irony in it's finest)

So that's why I disappeared. But I'm back now. I'm not gonna say how present I'll be, I'm thinking a lot, but I don't want to jinx myself. But I am very much looking forward to catching up with you all. I feel optimistic about being around for the rest of summer, but I'm apprehensive about when pd starts airing again bc watching weekly might make me feel ugh again.

I don't know if I'm gonna be writing fanfiction again soon either. Another great thing about this detox I've had is for the first time in ages I feel like writing something original and so if I do start up with fanfiction I'll have to divide my writing time between writing original stuff as well as splitting my ff time between pd and na.

Anyway! This is getting long and I've explained now so I'll leave things here and sorry to anyone who worried/ or thought I was ignoring you! ♥️