#but that we as an audience know to be true

[oblivious-aro]

This was pretty much my exact same thought process a week before I made this post. I do get where you're coming from, but here's a question: when does the episode explicitly condemn Danny for cheating? Does TUE actually say “cheaters deserve to watch their family die”?

Furthermore, consider this line from the end of the episode:

Remembering this line was my turning point. Clockwork is a very wise character (he was literally just established to be omniscient right before saying this), and he’s the one teaching Danny the lesson TUE wants him to learn. If the lesson is supposed to be ‘cheating is bad’, wouldn't that be completely undone by having Clockwork immediately turn around and, by his own admission, and in those exact words, “cheat”? It’s a very prominent line with a lot of attention called to it, too.

“Cheating is bad” is the kind of moral you’d expect this kind of kids cartoon to make, so I think a lot of us preemptively filled in that blank without truly listening to what the episode was actually saying. I get it, I watched my sister struggle through the public education system while getting practically no help or sympathy from it, and I'm sure a lot of viewers were in the same boat as her. Academic pressure can be a sensitive subject, especially if it looks like a character is being chastised for struggling, but that's not what’s happening here. We jumped the gun. The text doesn’t look down on Danny for wanting to cheat. He’s in a difficult position, and being forced further and further into a corner is a feature of the story, not a bug. Danny's situation feels unfair so that the audience understands why he wants to cheat:

"OK! I get it! You're brilliant, I'm stupid, and I'll never be able to get as high a score as you."

"Guys, come on. I'd love to have spent the last month studying, but I was fighting ghosts! Besides, if you two think this test is so meaningless, why do you even care if I cheat? Why shouldn't I open this up and study the answers, huh?"

TUE’s stance isn’t that “cheating is evil”, it’s “cheating isn’t worth the risk”. Despite what Danny’s been led to (erroneously) believe, he’ll have other chances and opportunities if he does badly on a test, even one this big. There are people in his corner looking out for him (Mr. Lancer gives him to come forward even when he knows Danny stole the answers, and literally offers him a make-up test. Clockwork messes with the timeline just to tell Danny that he’s a good kid who deserves more than one chance), but getting caught cheating really could screw up his future. You could still say that’s an anti-cheating message, but the writers do show more sympathy for Danny than people give them credit for.

I don't think the concepts are that abstract. Everything that happens in the present is presented directly, and the main idea you need to get out of the future stuff (bad stuff happened because Danny got caught cheating) is pretty simple and clear. Everyone I've heard talk about the episode seems to get the basic idea.

As for all these events caused by Clockwork… yeah that's 100% true. But given that Clockwork is all-knowing, the master of time, and clearly sympathetic to Danny, it can only be assumed he’s doing what he can to help Danny. Omniscient/psychic characters are kind of weird like that. They make the stories they’re in a bit messy, and you can't really judge their actions by typical standards (ie. Garnet from Steven Universe). Same with time travel, but I won't go into much into detail, because this post is long enough and discussing rules around time travel can get overly technical, but the gist of it is Clockwork is on Danny’s side, but he’s working under some very specific restraints, either from The Observants or from the natural laws of the timestream.

Danny isn’t being taught that cheating makes him bad, he’s being taught not to place such unhealthy (and unrealistic) importance on his academic performance. Sure, this lesson isn’t explicitly stated in exact words, much like the themes in Teacher of the Year, but I don’t think it’s fair to say that the writers were just trying to condemn Danny in either intent or execution.

And as was the original point of this post, the episode really speaks for itself:

"Maybe that's all anybody needs…a second chance."

"I guess the future isn't as set in stone as you think it is."

"And here we are with you, a fourteen-year-old child, risking everything to save the people you care about. You've given everyone else a second chance. Why not you?"

Me for years: I can't believe The Ultimate Enemy is telling kids they deserve something as horrible as watching your entire family die for cheating on a test!

the Ultimate Enemy:

[chenlezip]

not here.. ♡

PAIRING : na jaemin x fem!reader

SUMMARY : you just wanted a cute day out with your boyfriend and his friends at the beach. but jaemin can’t keep his hands off you.

WARNING : suggestive, getting caught..

you spent the day with your boyfriend, jaemin, resting on the beach and enjoying a well deserved break for the both of you. the boys had tagged along - as always - but you didn't seem to mind it too much. it was nice to have a bit more company.

jaemin had you on his lap, watching the ocean sway back and forth to his friends who kept chasing it. you smile softly at the view, "they're having fun, aren't they?"

the latter looked up at you and nodded, admiring how beautiful you looked in the moment. you weren't paying attention to him, watching the sunset. you intertwined your fingers with jaemins, feeling true happiness.

he chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around your waist, holding you closer to him, "so pretty my angel..." jaemin murmured in your ear as he began to kiss that sensitive spot on your neck gently.

"y'know," he began to speak against your neck, "I can think of something more fun we could be doing right now." he slowly began to move his hand further up your waist, gently caressing the skin as he landed his hand just at the hem of your bikini top.

there was a small shiver that trembled through your body from the feeling of him touching your skin. you could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he spoke, "what could you possibly be thinking of?" you asked, attempting to hide how the simple touches were affecting you.

he grinned at you, moving his hand provokingly slow under your bikini top, "what do you think, baby?" you blush and swat his hand away, "not here.. they can see, you know?"

jaemin shrugged, "not like i care.. i want you, baby." he placed his hand back to where it was, moving your bikini top over one breast, gulping as he took it in his hand and massaged. you whimper, "jaem.." you look over at the boys and see renjun looking over, eyes widening.

"what?" jaemin moves his gaze up to where you're looking and notices renjun, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips, "oh.. we have an audience?"

[bird-inacage]

The Heart Killers EP6-EP7: "You think I'd go on living if you died?"

I'm sure everyone is still wiping away the snot from their face thanks to Episode 6's brutal ending. I want to talk about how next week's preview shows we're leading into the best invitation for reconciliation as far as Bison and Kant are concerned. Let me explain.

In the wake of Bison being confronted with the awful truth, he will likely assume (in the immediate instance) that everything - every single thing Kant has said and done was a total lie - a strategically crafted fabrication to get him hooked, including Kant's feelings. That Kant never loved him at all, it was all an act. We as an audience know that's not true but Bison doesn't.

With Bison getting shot next episode, this forces Kant to drop his mask in the most revealing way possible. In the face of losing Bison, this becomes the catalyst for Kant turning the tables, and proves twofold:

Kant's panic over Bison possibly dying indicates he genuinely cares about him. His entire demeanour during this incident will be under the eyes of everyone present including Fadel and Style. If there was any doubt about Kant's feelings, there won't be now.

Kant can no longer lie to himself. He can't live without Bison (by his own later admission). Throughout EP6, Kant's been trying to assure Style he will move on once this whole situation has blown over, but Kant's simply telling his best friend what he wished he could convince himself of. He tries to believe that he can give up Bison and be okay, that it will all be worth it if it means protecting Babe. But deep down he knows he won't be. This confirms it.

So firstly, Bison will witness just how much Kant cares about him. It doesn't deny the fact that Kant lied to him, but the truth is Kant has also undoubtedly fallen in love with him. The man sits by Bison's bedside sobbing and inconsolable, and I anticipate Kant may well confess why he did what he did whilst Bison is 'unconscious', who may recall some or all of what he says when he wakes.

Secondly, Kant will decide that he can no longer put Bison in any kind of jeopardy and that means: 'fuck the mission'. He's going to have to turn on Chris, and aid Bison and Fadel to escape the pursuit from the police that he helped them gain progress with. Chris already suspects that Kant has fallen for Bison which makes him a huge liability. Sealed by either by his own active choices to defy the police, or in Chris' eyes, Kant has effectively chosen to put a huge target on his back. By extension Babe is no longer safe either.

In the preview, we also see Bison disappear from the hospital, just as Chris plans to apprehend him. It's likely that the next time they meet, Bison has been in hiding (probably watching Kant from the shadows) before he intervenes to help. It could be that Kant is being hunted down by the cops or Mother. For Bison to do this shows he's already on the road towards forgiveness, having observed Kant and processed what he now knows. It's far more complicated than he first assumed, and he's willing to hear Kant out. They're ready to start the path to reconciliation and face what's to come together.

On a final note, I've been speculating who may be the ones leading the attack at the bowling alley. The obvious guess would be the police. But for some reason, I have a wild feeling it could be Keen. (I remember Pepper being on set when these four were filming for this scene). It's possible for example that Mother finds out it's Kant and Style who are the informants and Keen tries to score some brownie points by taking them out. In the heat of the moment, Bison protects Kant on instinct and gets shot. Now that would make this all the more heart-wrenching wouldn't it?

You can keep tabs on bird-inacage’s BL meta directory for my other long-form posts around The Heart Killers, which I’ll be updating in real time as the show airs.

[1001galaxygal]

spoilers for link click bridon arc ep 1

ive seen some people criticizing the new link click episode for being confusing or sidetracking the main plot, and i think they are missing a lot of what The Point of this episode is.

so first i wanna talk about WHY i think this episode is structured the way it is and then i wanna talk about the new information we've received in terms of the lore and timeline shenanigans and generally ramble about how great of a set up episode this!

SO first: the structure of the episode. ive seen quite a few people confused or unhappy with the plot lines this episode, and i think first its important to understand that that was two episodes mushed into one.

1st episode - anime con

2nd- scammer girl

soooo lets talk about what these two episodes do for the overall narrative AND our understanding of the characters.

in episode 1, we see cxs die - and there is a LOT of mystery still surrounding this event but i think what we're supposed to gather is that there are two main timelines. timeline a (the original where we see cxs die) and timeline b (the timeline were following for the rest of the season and in s1 and s2). we've been shown no reason to believe lu guang has traveled back more than once. this is the first time that we see lu guang travel - evident by his emotional reaction to seeing cxs die. its not resignation, its shock. he didnt expect him to die at all. and his reaction to seeing cxs again in their first meeting in timeline b.

so what is the anime con sideplot doing there? firstly i think its evident by the way lu guang turns away near the end that he is planning to stay away from cxs. but he chooses not to BECAUSE of the way we get that classic feel good adventure with a problem and resolution- cxs LIKES being helpful and kind, it makes him happy. and seeing cxs happy makes lu guang happy and so he decides to abandon the idea of leaving. in a meta sense the episode returns us to a sense of normalcy not just to the audience but to lu guang too. secondly, this episode shows us how lu guang introduces his powers to cxs and qiao ling. he tells them its divination, and while he eventually tells cxs that thats not true, it does show us how qiao ling would know to get them jobs in s1 while not knowing about their powers.. she thinks lu guang is psychic lol! also in this timeline (timeline b) this is the shiguang meetcute!! this is how they became friends! this is re-contextualizing all of season 1! super cool and exciting!

so for episode 2- what the purpose here? mainly its too show us a rudimentary form of what shiguang's missions are like! think about it! this episode is the first ever time cxs goes on a mission with lu guang in his ear telling him what to do! this is SO IMPORTANT for contextualizing their relationship with each other! also cxs being accidentally put in danger and lu guang being able to save him this time? this is cathartic for lu guang as well, to trust he can keep cxs safe, this is why he asks to live w cxs at the end of the episode!

tldr: this episode's structure might feel kinda all over the place but thats kind of the point! lu guang as well as the audience are having to resettle in a new timeline, and the stories her serve as the avanues to understanding the characters and timeline better!

so what did we learn about the LOREEE?

1st: timeline a shiguang were messing with the past which is why vein comes to kill them - what they were messing with and why is still yet to be revealed, but it wasnt due to lu guang traveling to save cxs cuz cxs hadnt died yet

2nd: the 12 hour limit is there because if you stay for longer than 12 hours in the photograph you stay there forever - you become part of the photograph, which is why lu guang's eyes return to normal from the yellow. we do not yet know if this means that lu guang no longer has cxs's power or if he still has it.

3: there is likely only two timelines - timeline a where cxs dies and timeline b- the current one were in and the one that takes place in s1 and 2.

4: cxs probably gets his powers from someone in london dying in his arms

5: Powers are passed down through death, which means in s3 qiao ling will have li tianxi's powers!!!!

6: lu guang is absolutely weak to cxs puppy eyes! that man folded immediately

thats all ive gotten from just this episode! in conclusion, this episode does a great job of confirming SO MANY theories, giving us an insight into the characters (especially lu guang) and setting up the adventure going forward that leads them to london! really excited to see how the next episodes play out!!!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Your most recent post about how you would(n’t) use Lila was interesting, because after I read how you’d handle a Chloe redemption I thought Lila would make a good counterpart to Chloe for Adrien, an object lesson about how some people can’t/don’t want to be redeemed.

Start out before or near the beginning of the redemption arc with Chloe as the bully with a long history of misdeeds to make up for, and Lila as (Adrien and the audience thinks) a nervous newcomer who told some lies for attention/popularity. Adrien might even think of her situation as Easy Mode or good practice for helping Chloe. Then time goes on, and as Chloe shows signs of improvement, Lila gradually reveals her true nature.

(Chloe post and Lila post for context)

I don't totally disagree. There are versions of canon where Lila and Chloe would be good choices for a nuanced discussion on redemption. For example, if canon was all about the teenage characters and had no adult villains, then Lila would be a great choice for damnation! The problem is that canon didn't take that route or really any route where Lila feels like a good addition to the cast, let alone someone worthy of being Chloe's counterpart in a lesson about the nuances of redemption.

The main plot of Miraculous should have been Gabriel's reveal and downfall. The point of Chloe's redemption should have been prepping Adrien for said reveal and downfall. Through her, Adrien first learns how to cut off someone you love and then learns how to decide if you want to bring that person back into your life. That is a full and complete lesson. Trying to repeat the lesson or supplement the lesson with Lila feels unnecessary for the same reason I don't like her as the new main villain: she's no one. A total rando with no close ties to Adrien or anyone else. Adrien wanting to help her is fine in theory, but hard to see as a valuable addition because she doesn't matter to his character. We have his father, his close childhood friend, and a random girl he barely knows. One of these things is not like the other. That lack of depth removes most or even all of the emotional impact that a failed Lila redemption would have on Adrien. It's not going to have much of an impact on the audience either unless you make some serious changes to Lila.

One of the show's biggest flaws is that Lila is not a functional character. She has no clear motivations, backstory, or even a strong tie to the main plot of seasons one to five, making it hard to care about her. To have her damnation have any sort of emotional impact on the audience, you need to give her those things and have her develop actual relationships. Without that depth, she's an incredibly weak addition to the story who is only here to be a two-dimensional villain. The audience doesn't want her to be redeemed. We want to see her go down! Those are the wrong emotions for a lesson on failed redemption. Failed redemption should be a tragedy if you want the lesson to hit properly. It's easy to give up on people we don't really care about. It's hard to give up on people we love.

Add in the facts that Miraculous already has too many characters and that Chloe's redemption would be a subplot amidst everything else that's going on and I just don't see Lila being worth the screen time it would take to let her have a proper damnation when you're already giving Gabriel a damnation. Plus it's kind of depressing to have one redemption against two damnations and I like to keep the sad elements limited so that they really pop. Damning Lila and then Gabriel would make Gabriel's damnation feel less powerful.

Even if the plan was to redeem Gabriel, I still wouldn't use Lila as our damnation case study. I'd use Nathalie. She's far more interesting and has an actual tie to the overall plot, making her super easy to involve. Her and Gabriel share the screen constantly, making it very easy to contrast them as the story goes on. You can't really do that with Lila and Chloe because Lila and Chloe would never team up in a story where Chloe gets a redemption arc. Canon had to add Chloe's Marinette obsession to make the Lila & Chloe plot work and Chloe's redemption doesn't work if she hates Marinette to that extreme. I don't think that version of Chloe is beyond redemption, but I would never redeem her into Marinette's friend group. Seasons-four-and-five Chloe needs a fresh start with people she hasn't hurt. I don't know if she could ever be friends with Marinette and I don't particularly care to see it.

I love a good redemption, but part of writing those is knowing that there are lines that a character can't cross if you want them to be forgiven and accepted by your core cast later on. It's that whole romanticizing the cycle of abuse thing that I've discussed before re enemies-to-lovers stories and the general concept of redeeming Gabriel. I get why people like it, it's a wonderful fantasy, but for me it's an incredibly hard sell. My suspension of disbelief almost always breaks, leaving me feeling sad and unsatisfied.

[aakaneeee]

well people. . It's time, aka Akane's monthly revival because there's Luka content. And gosh do I have a lot to say about this. Except.. I'm not going to market these as theories, but as predictions. I think as an og fan I've seen enough to be this confident in my abilities LOL

Quickly, I'd like to address the lyrics and the title, because I will reference it later and I don't want to have to explain mid-prediction.

Wiege has two meanings, and both are so fitting:

1. Cradle. It feels.. perfect, for me. It makes so much sense. Luka was a cold child.. but I'd like to say only physically. I feel like he genuinely warmed up towards Hyuna and Hyunwoo as a child. And I'm going to bring an idea that might get me a bit of backlash but.. I've gotten worse, and that is, that Hyuna is at fault for Luka's approach on his feelings. (Audience boos) From the little we know about Hyunwoo, I feel like Hyuna treated both him and Luka.. at least a little bit similarly. Or at least, Luka couldn't discern a difference, if there was any. Luka is a tube baby, he probably doesn't know (and I am not babying him here, I'd like to add!) what "siblings" he has. For him, affection might just be all and the same. Yes, it wasn't Hyuna's responsibility to teach him, but I feel like a hint was there "Your life is mine", and she could've explained, in a way. But, back to our discussion, Hyuna was Luka's cradle. She burns as bright as the sun, while he's colder. But most importantly, she was his only true friend (Considering I don't think his relationship with Hyunwoo was extremely close, even though they were 'friends'), someone he thought truly cared about him. Hyuna was Luka's cradle, holding him close, comfortable... until at one point, he outgrows that cradle (Hyunwoo's death).

And the second meaning, beginning. In the picture we got, Luka is centered, he's in the middle.. but he's so small, and overshadowed by the tree. Luka is the best performer of the ANAKT, always first, but has no friends. But perhaps, he was better that way. Then, Hyuna comes, and it's a new beginning. He's finally not alone. What I've noticed in the new banner, Luka is missing, but across the tree trunk, in his place, is a taller shadow. Perhaps, a shadow of who Luka was, hopefully still left in there. Or, the other way around, it symbolizes his real self being left there.

And the lyrics:

When I close my eyes,

Play in paradise.

These, to me, remind me of the interview where Luka said his favorite game was hide and seek. In a way, his whole ANAKT life was a game of hide and seek: hiding all the time, but no one trying to seek him. Until Hyuna did, and found him. Something that intrigues me is the "paradise", which to me sounds like what Mizi once said: Dying in competition means returning to the Great Anakt, which I suppose is to them like Heaven.. or Paradise. This will be important later, so remember it.

And now, my predictions for the HyuLuka episode

! First of all, I think the song will be lullaby-like. When I first saw this teaser, with the lyrics, as weird as it sounds, it reminded me of Richard's song in The Hero in TAWOG, a song that always gets me to cry for some reason, and I've been really stuck on that . It would be interesting, because it would fit Luka's voice (as does everything else), but probably not Hyuna's, even though 6FU; would eat it.. which to me, sounds like their "love", where Luka loves her, but it isn't returned. I'd love to see more German in it than just in the title. And considering the nostalgic, pastel, very cutesy artstyle (that reminds me of the memory part from Jordan River animation!), it seems very viable. But the art style is also noisy, which gives an unsettling vibe. It feels like a 2020's dreamcore wallpaper.

I might be crazy, but the hand holding the flower (with only 3 stamens, like the 3 friends) looks dark-skinned, like it would be Hyuna's or Hyunwoo's, but I doubt it would be his, considering it's the account's profile picture. If this is some kind of reference to.. perhaps, an unrequited Hyuluka but the other way around, with Hyuna still not over Luka.. probably won't happen, but God, would that be awesome.

So, how do I think the round will go?

First of all, I have to say, I'm not sure if this will be a round or a Mizisua type episode.😭 I'd say "oh the wait time is way too small" but also... do you guys remember the production announcement of Round 7? Yeah. You can never be sure.

This isn't necessarily a prediction, but more of a suggestion of what could be: It would be SO cool if it would be both.. in a way, merged. This idea just appeared in my mind and I was like OH. MY. GOD. Imagine if almost the whole thing was just them, as children, having fun, a whole backstory.. but then, when Hyunwoo dies, it pans on his face, and then it's back on stage, the loser's face instead of his. It would be so heartwarming, and then DEEPLY DISTURBING and traumatizing. I also really want some Luka and Heperu backstory so I can hate Heperu even more.

On the topic of the loser... It's going to be Luka. I'm an insane Luka lover and it was hard to get accommodated to this idea, but there is no way that he will survive. First of all, the shadow in the account's banner, in place of Luka. It's implications... are quite obvious. Second, the pattern of characters shown in Sweet Dream, and he is next. Third: "In my arms, you would be protected." I feel like Luka would consider the competition "In his arms". I don't think he would break his promise: hear me out for a second. He wouldn't let Hyuna die this way, because I feel like his sense of possession over her also comes with responsibility and protectiveness. And fourth, the Paradise lyric, to me, is a foreshadowing of his death.

I also think he will die by self sacrifice. First of all, there's no way Hyuna could defeat Luka by pure odds. Yes, her stats are better, but lets be honest, her mental power would NOT be as good infront of Luka, and also, the aliens wouldn't vote her. She's a rebel, wanted for so much time, with technically no guardian: they wouldn't want her to defeat their prince, probably. And second, I have made two categories:

The "perfects": Sua, Ivan, Luka

The "rebels": Mizi, Till, Hyuna

See something similar? Both the perfects that are dead, have died by self-sacrifice. The only other dead character, Till, has been shot while reaching for his freedom, so you can't say this is for all characters. And let's be honest.. Patterns are usually being followed in this series. Id also like to add, even though it's a reach, that in a tier of how 'perfect' they are, it'd be:

1. Luka

2. Sua - not so obvious self sacrifice

3. Ivan - obvious self sacrifice

So, I'd say that Luka's might be even more backstage, as if to sabotage himself in a way that seems viable. It also kind of goes in line with his character, he's not one to break facade on stage.

I think this episode will be quite a deep-dive into their true selves. We know the least about them, so this will be GREAT. I'd love to see a more morally gray Hyuna in this. (Since I'm genuinely kind of tired of only Luka being villainized in the ship, which honestly..  is kind of in line with the other perfects. Let's let Mizi, Till and Hyuna be little freaks too) I also want to see atleast a little bit of Hyunwoo, like a little snippet of his mind, what he saw in Luka.

In conclusion, I'm SO happy and hyped about this HyuLuka episode, they're so mysterious and I really really want to see more of L- I mean, more of them. Getting 2 episodes where Luka is present one after another is literally THE dream to me. Basically, Wiege is killing me and I'm gladly letting it.

@4listr Since you asked to be tagged and also, @rockwgooglyeyes I REALLY want your opinion on this

[thoughtfulchaos773]

3x09's Misdirection/Sleight of Hand

Just my opinion on the misdirection(s) in the Apologies episode.

All the screen stills of the episodes on Hulu give you a good indication of what(who) the episode is about. This is the still for this episode:

Just wanted to put that out there.

Paying attention to Martin Scorcese's There's something else happening here" - subtext is what he's talking about in film- reading between the lines.

Another quote- Magic at its best. For it to be a truly magical moment, it has to be spontaneous. It has to be something that just happens.

In my opinion, this quote will become significant later in the show. We should focus on the 'sleight of hand' in magic, known as misdirection in film.

I think like Carmy- we don't know the spontaneous moment- and we're being misdirected like Carmy is being misdirected, it's like a magic trick happening in his mind.

So the magic trick begins with Carmy and the Faks breaking down boxes and Ted Fak stating that Claire is the one pissed. She's the one haunting Carmy, and they make sure to really distract you by carmy driving this point home:

She's the peace- but some of us were tricked; people see Carmy saying she's peaceful for him. Are eyes are not deceiving us- this same peaceful person he had a panic attack about is peaceful for him? He's saying 'the' peace. He's saying she's peaceful- but realize he's not saying she's the peace for him.

The audience knows this because we're consistently reminded of Claire almost every episode. This serves as general information given to both Carmy and the viewers—a red herring. He thinks about her every day, but why is he thinking about her so often?

Fast forward to the Faks advising Carmy to apologize, and he tells them it's too hard. Why is it too hard for him to end things with Claire? The show, or Carmy, won't reveal this just yet because it will be significant information in the narrative.

More misdirections with information that the viewer is tricked into accepting. We've been getting callbacks that Fak is Carmy's best friend. We're given this information, but it's not true. Carmy answers truthfully the first time Claire asks if he's his best friend (hint- Sydney is his best friend).

Fak gives us another hint he's not Carmy's friend, naively pointing out he knows all of Carmy's nuances. Later on in this episode, we get key information about Carmy's nuances that shows Fak is wrong about what or who Carmy is truly thinking about.

Carmy then with the fak's influence tells us claire is the one haunting him.

Right after the declaration, we cut to Sydney. She's the clue, with a poster of the movie "Say Anything" behind her. Throughout this episode, we witness the struggle between Carmy and Sydney, where they say very little to each other—essentially, nothing at all. If they would just say anything, they could get somewhere- perhaps have their magical moment. I also want to point out that in the film "Say Anything", the girl’s father reassures her that she can tell him anything. Emmanuel has a similar presence in Sydney’s life; he wants her to confide in him about her relationship and business partner's troubles.

Before this line of being grateful- Sydney says "I just wanted to say"

This is more clue that the apology and truth that it is Sydney Carmy is always thinking about that he hasn't realized yet. In this scene Carmy is trying to understand his dish- he's trying to 'crack' it, he says- and he's determined- meaning solve the mystery or the magic trick of what he made (his whole mind is playing tricks on him, and he's trying to crack where his mind is at).

Before this moment, he says, I've been meaning to talk about- so he has been thinking about Sydney often and what he wants to tell her something- and we (Carmy) are distracted with what he wants to say to Claire- really it's about what he's been wanting to say to Sydney.

Then this is all Carmy can say for now. But it's clear he wants to say so much more to her. It's too hard for him to talk to Claire, but what about this situation with Sydney? It's difficult, but you can tell he longs to face what they need to discuss.

This is Carmy after she leaves, taking another 'crack' at the trick he's made- almost discovering the misdirection. Nearly solving the puzzle.

People have talked about what staring at the surprise means, but I want to emphasize that it connects back to the beginning of the episode. For a magical moment to occur, it must be spontaneous. This is something Carmy wants with Sydney, but he isn’t ready to accept that spontaneity and fun just yet. He needs to end certain things in his life before he can truly begin anew.

This provides more clues about his relationship with Sydney and not necessarily Claire. None of these actions, such as trying to have closure with Claire in the walk-in, occur until Sydney shuts down with him and stops talking. It doesn't happen until Carmy cracks a bit of the dish he made. I think he realizes that at least part of him understands the dish was about Sydney; it's been about Sydney all along, and Claire is the misdirection. As for the dish also pointing to Chef Terry wearing the same hair accessories, it's Sydney reminding him of the good things in his life.

But back to more clues: this is about Sydney- after the I really love you from Claire, we cut to Sydney.

Mentioned before but giving us another clue about who's haunting Carmy, who's pissed at Carmy, who Carmy really needs to apologize to...

Then, the episode concludes with another twist for the audience, who must accept the surface-level information of the trick still being done- that Carmy's mind still lingers on Claire with the symbol of the scrunchie. They're misdirecting the audience once again.

It is really fun to point out all the possible clues and thoughtful making of a relationship in a TV show. Imo, the spontaneous moment is telling us for the magical moment/ the sleight of hand to be revealed, for the ship to happen, carmy has going to be in a place of fun, surprises, and spontaneity, and the big moment between them will happen when we least expect it (or least nonshippers won't expect it).

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s5 episode 20 thoughts

last episode of the season!!!

things have seemed… tense lately between my best friends mulder and scully. i hope they can work it out. 

anyway, it says here that there is a boy with psychic powers… another child case. they deal with these so often!!!

but maybe he can unlock the secrets of the x files?? how?? i guess i will have to tune in!

post-episode thoughts: scully, i want to hug you. CSM, count your days. destroying information is a crime in my realm, and it will be punished with banishment. mulder, you need to learn how to talk about your feelings. i am no longer suggesting this politely. it must be done. now. skinner, you are the star on top of my metaphorical christmas tree. spender, my feelings towards you are pretty neutral.

we begin in vancouver, where a chess tournament is going on between a grown man and a child. there is a very large crowd and a guy who seems to be up to no good in the ceiling. 

the kid hears voices in his head as this sniper loads up a bullet… can he figure out what is about to happen?? but the voices just sound like weird noises!!!

noooo, don’t kill this little boy!!! he wins just in time, stands up, and the bullet hits the other guy!!! 

so he knew it was going to happen and won just in time to stand up…

leave this little boy alone!! don’t piss me off!!!

OHHH shortened intro AND new words on the screen today… “THE END” <- now there is a movie coming up shortly so i KNOW this is a lie!!!

i am preparing myself for some sort of cliffhanger….

ohohoho kryek is here today, according to the “guest starting” list…. getting ready for some rat-like activities

CSM is buttoning up his shirt as some people arrive upon his frosty property. they have guns… and his alarms are going off… 

BLAM! he shoots one man dead right then and there!! you really cannot underestimate this guy!!! unless we’re talking about his abilities to write fiction!!!

so he’s running barefoot into the snow??? yowch! bloody feet!

the guy in the mask catches him! OH SHIT! IT’S KRYCEK!! “go on! take your shot, alex” <- HOT DAMN! not the first name usage!

he says he was sent to being CSM back…….. by whomst?

there is a sticky note on mulder’s poster. i can’t tell what it says!

OH mulder has a picture of him and scully pinned to his board🥹that's fine that's super fine and i'm not gonna cry!

it’s skinner poking around their office!!! what is he doing down here??

HE WANTS TO KNOW MULDER’S LONG TERM PLANS?! and mulder says they’re right in his hands, referring to the x files

skinner loves his most special and difficult agents. it's true!

“what do you hope to find? i mean, in the end” (mulder looks at skinner suspiciously) “whatever i hope to find is in here. and maybe i’ll know when i find it”

now what is going on…..? something is afoot. somehow i doubt skinner just got randomly curious and started reading through the x files for the funsies.

skinner has a case for him: the assassination of a russian chess player. and agent spender was put in charge of the case by someone from OUTSIDE the bureau!! oh, that must be what has skinner so freaked out. who tf is just putting people in charge of cases?

(i mean, we, the audience, know the answer to this. but if i were skinner, i would be deeply uncomfy at the thought)

“he was very specific that you be excluded” (mulder smiles) lmaoooo

skinner's messy for that!!! and i giggled!!!

BAHAHA scully is in the room listening to spender debrief, and when mulder walks in, spender looks SO mad!! “please continue”, mulder says, after spender gets so caught off guard by seeing him that he literally cannot finish his sentence

you can try to separate mulder and scully, but the universe will find a way to reunite them. like a bonded pair of kitties. 

mulder asks him to rewind the tape and spender says basically no LMAOOO

“let me get through this, if you have any questions, we can talk later” “i-i don’t have any questions, no, i just think you’re wrong” <- LMAOOOOOO i’m at once giggling and cringing in second hand embarrassment 

mulder hates this dude, i'm crying!!!!

scully asks wtf mulder is doing, and he explains he thinks the killer was aiming for the boy!! spender reluctantly does rewind the tape, and mulder points out that the kid pushes back right before the bullet is fired. 

who is this random lady agreeing with mulder that the kid could sense the bullet coming…? he looks utterly shocked to hear her say this!!

and skinner says rewind it again so we can all see for ourselves LMAO everyone hates this spender mfer

(listen. sorry to this man, but i think it would also piss me off if some random guy got put in charge of an investigation because outside forces decreed it to be so)

sure enough, when spender rewinds the tape, the kid looks right at the camera!!! mulder turns to this random woman again in amazement 

meanwhile, krycek is bringing CSM back to the syndicate on a random side street. OH SHIT!! CSM calls them out right then and there for trying to kill him LMAOOO

that had to be awkward as hell! i'm giggling

CSM moves on from that pretty fast. he seems like the type to hold grudges, so perhaps this is part of his secret plot for revenge.

the well-groomed man (and i know that isn’t his name, but i can’t remember what it actually is, and when i tried to google it last time i got spoilers so: to me, he is WGM) says: the boy is a problem to us!! and i say: leave him alone!! let him play chess!!

CSM offers to kill the kid and well-groomed man says “dear god”... umm, well y’all were just trying to do that, so why now are we getting squeamish...!!!

this other dude is called “first elder” by the subtitles! good to know

CSM says he’ll do it… and walks off.

so this lady that was sticking up for mulder is named agent fowley, and scully is making polite small talk as mulder drives them... somewhere. she requested reassignment. hmm…

“1991, that’s about when you started work on the x files”, scully points out. “more or less, yeah”, mulder says. and does not elaborate.

(long lingering eye contact between mulder and fowley)

now… is this woman who i think she is……?

the boy (named gibson) is watching the simpsons. OH SHIT!!! “my name is fox… this is dana and diana”

SHE IS WHO I THOUGHT SHE WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh man. oh man. okay, so i know a tiny bit about this. going bonkers rn.

what i DO know is enough to realize that diana is a controversial topic among the fandom, but i vow to speak my truth. as i always do. and i hope you will treat me with the grace you typically have afforded me.

gibson says he lives in the philippines, that mulder has a dirty mind, and he does NOT want to play any chess. yes, he truly is a psychic.

scully is like wtf is he going on about…. and mulder accuses the boy of being able to read minds

“i know what’s on your mind. i know you’re thinking about one of the girls you brought” (mildly amused scully look) “one of them’s thinking about you”

diana laughs and asks which one… gibson says mulder doesn’t want him to say.

(shakes head) hey! what’s going on?

mulder declares that gibson needs around the clock protection

oh, a canon-typical fight in the hallway between our agents on if this is possible or not… diana is listening in…. “you know what to do, diana”, mulder says before leaving <- hey. i don’t like that. the tone with which he speaks nor the implication of there being some pre-scully lilith-like figure.

“so you two know each other”, scully points out. “it was along time ago” (long lingering scully glance)

OHHHH spender is NOT letting mulder talk to the assassin… “you’re insulting me when you should be taking notes”, he says <- DAMN!!! the ego on this man! he isn't entirely wrong, but there is no humility about him!

he pushes past spender and gets into the cell, where the shooter claims spender hasn’t given him food or water. mulder orders him off to go get some. 

ohhh he’s playing hardball… he tells the dude that he’ll tell spender he fessed up to the kid being psychic… and if he cooperates with him, maybe he can get him into the witness protection program… does mulder hold this kind of influence?

mulder steals the food that was being brought for him. mulder! you're being a dick! on many fronts!

AWWW, scully and gibson are holding hands as she walks him down the hall :( he didn’t like the tests! poor kid! and he says scully’s wondering about “that other girl” and “she’s wondering about you, too” 

hey…. i get the sense we are pitting two bad bitches against each other via this little boy's mind reading. not a narrative choice i am fond of.

now a group of people are testing gibson for psychic abilities by holding up cards only they can see.

diana says she’s seen clairvoyants, but never of this skill level. she says she spent time with mulder is psychiatric hospitals?? scully.exe is not working 

she has to leave because she is weirded tf out…

(i don't blame her, though. i would also be very weirded out if my partner of 5 years had another partner he very evidently has a history with and never bothered to mention until she suddenly materialized. if i were scully, i'd be like hey mulder... remember all those times i tended to your wounds and held your sobbing body and broke the law for you? yeah, that was super cool. i love how we trust each other. anyway, wtf else are you hiding from me?)

((and i'm not saying that is necessarily the RIGHT or RATIONAL thing to feel, but c'mon. you can't look at me and tell me you wouldn't also be equal parts stung and curious))

shooter guy is being handed a note. it’s on a cigarette pack!!! and it says "you’re a dead man"!!! oh brother... not the CSM on the loose! how is he getting into these buildings still?!?!

LMAOOO???? WHAT IS SCULLY DOING WITH FROHIKE?!?!

look at her looking up into his camera system... she is just so PRETTY!!

bro is in his pajamas and has an absurd number of locks on his door. and i'm giggling!

she’s bringing the whole crew scans of gibson’s brain!! “and you want us to what?” “analyze the data. with an eye to the parapsychological” <- OHHH they’re gagged by that... and i am too! scully opening herself up to extreme possibilities?! or simply trying to anticipate and counter mulder's argument in favor of the kid's clairvoyance?

OHHHH.... SHE WANTS TO KNOW WHO TF DIANA IS LMAOOOOO 

i can’t tell if she’s jealous, or nosy, or both. but i can tell you that i love when scully is nosy. 

frohike says she was mulder’s “chickadee” (LMAO, crazy phrasing) out of the academy. she was with him when he discovered the x files. and she has some sort of background in parascience. whatever that means.

NOOOOO scully looks so sad 💔💔💔 MULDER, DON’T HIDE THINGS FROM HER!!! SHE’LL CRY

stop. stop!!!

gibson is watching cartoons while diana watches him. and here comes mulder. OH, she called him fox. don’t like that. i thought he was adamantly anti-being referred to as fox! is that a development from the past 5 years, or does she not care about what he thinks?

“i sense you could have used an ally, though- someone who thinks like you, with some background” HEY. WATCH HOW YOU TALK ABOUT SCULLY!!!

“oh, you mean scully?” now is that defensiveness i see in his eyes? he doesn’t sound like he’s laughing.

“she’s not what i’d call an open mind on the subject” <- well, diana, you don’t even know her!!! and just because you're right doesn't mean you should go around judging her!

he laughs, but it doesn’t feel like he really means it….

(i was trying to psychoanalyze everything in this godforsaken scene and i had NO idea what the vibe actually was LMAOOOO)

“she’s a, uh… she’s a scientist. she just makes me work for everything” <- HEY!!! what happened to her being “rigid, but in a wonderful way”??? defend her honor in her absence!

“yes, but i’m… i’m sure there were times when two like minds on a case would have been advantageous” <- well girl, from what i've heard, it sounds like you left and went to germany!

“i’ve done okay without you” okay. are we setting boundaries now? is this progress?

NO. it does not appear that this is the case. she is grabbing his hand. “hey. i’m on your side” side eye. from me. sounds like she is implying scully is NOT on his side, which i loathe. and please don’t kiss... i don’t want to see all that. 

where is scully going….? OH NO!!! she walked by and saw them holding hands!!

oh my god, she is leaving….. and i don’t blame her!!

the sad music!!!! stop!!!!! look at her sadly getting in her car!!!!! sadly staring at the wheel!!! sadly buckling up!!!! 

she sounds like she’s going to cry as she calls mulder and says she wants to show him something. and she doesn't want to show it to him there.

now why is agent spender rolling up as she heads out?! we have enough problems to deal with at this time that aren’t him!!!

OH SHIT!!! CSM IS TALKING TO HIM!!!! saying he gave him the case!!!!

he’s trying to give him some fatherly advice despite the fact this dude has no idea they are related. “you’re a bright boy” okay… well that is certainly an avuncular thing to say. perhaps uncomfortably so when coming from a guy you literally just met. “know which men to sacrifice and when” <- now that's some standard CSM advice.

OH SHIT!!!!!!! MULDER SEES HIM!! CSM retreats into the shadows. “i was told he was dead”, mulder pants. “well obviously whoever it is, he’s not” spender has literally no idea who tf this guy is………..

(laughing even harder at his response as i edit my notes. spender must think this mulder fellow is the weirdest dude alive)

i’m kinda laughing, because spender has no idea wtf is going on, while mulder’s world just got rocked upside down and inside out. that’s the devil that killed his dad and took his scully and killed scully’s sister!!! he thought the evil was defeated and it is back!!! poor spender is just here to chat with a stranger. he truly doesn't know anything about the situation! it's comical!

scully and mulder and all of spender’s team are in skinner’s office!!! she has the brain test results from gibson… and she is finding the results hard to believe…

something something about him having intense brain activity in the god something or other. maybe he is the next einstein??? well, that would be cool! yeah, get the little boy into nuclear physics!

but mulder thinks that maybe this intense brain activity will allow him to also explain all sorts of unexplained phenomena. 

i guess i can see the correlation between intense brain activity and psychic abilities, but how will it let him explore the jersey devil?

mulder proposes giving the killer immunity to explain wtf is going on, which spender immediately shoots down: “you want to give a murderer a free ride for the secrets to the pyramids?” <- well that is an oversimplification!

ANGRY SCULLY!!! “you mischaracterize what i’ve said” <- GET HIM AGAIN FOR ME!! “this would be quantifiable scientific proof of everything that agent mulder and i have investigated over the past five years”

i don’t really see the correlation from a plot perspective but okay ❤️ yay ❤️

oh diana, i am suspicious of you…. “how do you quantify the spiritual? it can’t be done. you ask for immunity for a killer on that basis, the attorney general’s gonna go off. you’re allowed to investigate the x files as an indulgence. but draw the wrong kind of attention and they’ll close you down”

okay………… rude. but not necessarily wrong. in fact, she seems quite right, at least about the attorney general shutting down the case part. clearly, some levels of spirituality can be quantified if the results show up on brain scans; scully will use science to find a way. scully glances at mulder, who is staring at diana

“put an end to all your work. something i happen to have an interest in myself” WELL NO ONE ASKED???? girl! it isn't your project!!

perhaps i am the one who will need immunity from the attorney general as i bravely ask the question i am thinking: am i bad feminist, or is diana supposed to piss me off?

scully’s watching mulder stare at diana……. skinner says, everyone go take a break. but you may absolutely NOT leave my office, mulder. 

he says that diana is right. if they poke around too much they’ll get shut down- but mulder is willing to risk it!!!!!

“if what agent scully’s found is true- and i have every reason to believe that it is- then the answers i might have spent a lifetime searching for may fall together like a million puzzle pieces” <- OHH!! FAITH IN SCULLY!! FAITH IN SCULLY GIVING HIM THE TRUTH!

“you’d risk the x files?”, asks skinner.

“how soon can you call the attorney general?” 

so, there is your answer.

mulder is always having some sort of power struggle with skinner. hey. can mulder, buddy. can we use a "please" and "thank you" every now and then? your old pal skinner has put up with a LOT of your nonsense!

bro is in his cranky era.

ohhhh, so he goes and tell the shooter that he gave his request for immunity, but the attorney general needs more information before she can make a decision… “i need answers from you” UH OH!! will he have them before CSM breaks in? because we know he is stalking his prey!

he says the kid is a missing link; he’s genetic proof. spender wants to know of what, and this is very convenient, because so do i. so he thinks the kid is part alien….. spender is heckling him for this. but CSM is on the prowl… we don't have time for interpersonal conflict!

(so, maybe he's part alien but distantly? or maybe they made one of the alien hybrids like emily, but this one didn't die? why did emily die, again? because we know there are plenty others of the alien hybrids because they had that whole bit about saving "their mothers" back in... i think it was s3? maybe a bunch of them, like emily, die, but some of them do survive, and gibson is a son of the half alien? so he is a quarter alien? or maybe he is from a different alien race?

everything is a bit foggy when it comes to mytharc, i suppose. i guess it all comes down to the writers wanting to torture my best friend agent scully)

well-groomed man and krycek pull up to heckle CSM, which is an important part of their job description. they’re saying he failed them, but CSM says it’s all part of the plan. take their pieces one by one. 

hey, you’re gonna kill the kid, aren’t you?

at least JFK was a grown man!!!

do you think he bulk ordered the cigarettes from like, the cigarette equivalent of sam’s club, and had them sent to his snowy canadian hideaway? i mean, the number he goes through, it should have raised some red flags for the people trying to find him!

scully is watching the boy watch cartoons. she is pondering. 

“how do you do it?” “i just hear you thinking… like on a radio. and sometimes there are lots of radios, and i want to shut them off and watch some TV” <- you know what, that is entirely understandably.

gibson says that scully doesn’t care what other people think… “except for her. the other one”

is she trying to impress diana…..? has she moved beyond vying for people's approval after the horrors of cancer and emily, or is it manifesting in a new way as she hopes this mysterious figure from mulder's past will approve of her? does she think that if diana likes her, mulder will let her in about his past? does she feel a solidarity despite their differences in belief because of the fact they are both women in a male-dominated field?

the implications... i must explore them.

ah. and in diana comes. 

scully says they’ll talk about that stuff later. queen of knowing the time and place to have a debrief. and he says “they want to kill me” OHHH poor little gibson :( just let him watch cartoons!

scully promises no one will hurt him :( and he says “i know you do" :(

is diana going to kill the kid…..?

(author's note: LMAO!! listen... i thought they were going with the double agent angle for about 2 minutes. in my defense, i'm still shocked from the whole krycek and marita thing, so i'm trying to expect the unexpected. this is not the most wildly incorrect plot point i have guessed!)

the shooter gets another note…  this time it’s an empty cigarette carton, and BAM!!! CSM SHOOTS HIM!!!

well. there goes any possibility of an explanation.

diana fell asleep watching gibson and he’s looking out the window!!! he says there’s a man with a gun!!! and he says he’s aiming at her!!!! and BAM!! she gets shot too!!

hey guys! once again i ask what’s going on.

mulder and scully are pulling in while diana gets taken into an ambulance. and mulder’s grasping her hand while scully just wants to know where tf the kid is!!!!

the shooter was killed!!! skinner shows mulder the cigarette carton!!!!! 

NOOOO!! CSM has the boy and is bringing him to the well-groomed man. gibson called him a liar when he said he won't get hurt.

“you’ve never had the stomach for our business”

“just not for your practices”

“i’m a necessity. the complement to your cowardice” <- omggg……..

the dichotomy between CSM and well-groomed man... were the girls writing old man yaoi back when this aired? because i bet they would if this show dropped now.

(i was about to joke that if we all work really hard now, we can make that ship trend, but how tf can you write romantic fanfiction between two nameless characters? yeesh. that has to be a pain. "the well-groomed man moved in closer towards the cigarette smoking man, inhaling his burnt, acidic scent; he knew he was as bad for him as the cancer coursing through the other man's bloodstream" <- yeah, i didn't enjoy typing that, and it isn't fun to read either)

“your work is done now” SO WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO TO THE BOY???

“my work is just beginning” nope. do not like that. 

well-groomed man leads gibson into the car driven by krycek, who says he has a nice straight shot at CSM!!! but well-groomed man says not to shoot. you may need him in the future.

krycek is the last man i would trust with a child.

WOAHHHHH mulder is ATTACKING SPENDER saying he will get him PROSECUTED FOR MURDER!!! “you’re wrong, agent mulder, it’s your days that are numbered” <- NOW WHAT DOES *THAT* MEAN??

is he collaborating with daddy to kill mulder or lead him down an incredibly intricate path leading to his peril?!?

NOOOOO, skinner is on the phone with scully in mulder’s apartment 💔 spender is going after mulder and there are talks of reassignment!

his first question when she gets off of the phone is about diana….

NOOO, the justice department wants to close down the x files 💔💔

mulder says this is all part of plan he couldn’t see and walked into

“this time they may have won” NOOOOO💔💔💔💔you have to find some faith!

CSM is in mulder’s office………. looking at the files….. PICKING OUT THE ONE ON SAMANTHA………… WHERE IS HE TAKING IT???

TO SPENDER?!! “who are you?” “i’m your father” <- YOOO, I DIDN’T THINK HE WOULD JUST OUT AND SAY IT??

DID HE LIGHT ALL THE OTHER FILES ON FIRE???

HOLY HELL, HE DID???

mulder is here in his t shirt and scully is here in a lab coat and they find their whole office burnt to a crisp!!!!

she grabs his arms and leans in, putting her head on his chest as he looks around in fury

woah…. woaugh……….

the end.

CSM ruined the work of their whole lives!!!

this is why archivists are so important. because they always keep files saved on at least 3 sources. inshallah the good FBI archivists had them on a bunch of floppy disks. please please please.

(i started to type “on a bunch of flash drives”, but then i realized idk if those were popular, effective, or invented at the time. and a floppy disk really couldn’t hold much. maybe there is a huge cardboard box in one of the back rooms with all of them backed up! i like the ones that were colorful!)

well, now there’s a damn movie i need to watch!!! but first i have to get all of my s5 content sorted out!!!!

i have many questions. i have a terrible feeling that poor boy is gonna end up another sacrificial lamb. and i know that CSM saved the file on samantha to keep the fire burning beneath mulder, just enough so he meets his dastardly plans. damn. this guy really is an evil genius. which does not translate to literary talent.

what is spender going to do? is he going to believe that CSM is his father? will he follow him in dastardly deeds, or will he reject them? i mean, he sure isn't a believer in aliens like mulder is, so learning his father is basically a diplomat to the alien people isn't going to go over well. or is he going to stand up to daddy and save the day, probably nobly sacrificing himself in the process?

what about scully? i just KNOW she blames herself for gibson getting kidnapped because she promised him he would be safe, and she's all torn up about mulder hiding things from her!!! poor scully!

and mulder, what is he going to do about the reappearance of diana and then her sudden death or near-death? will he stop being so cranky anytime soon? it doesn't seem likely, but a girl can hope.

and i wanna know what is going through skinner's mind, too. because he really is like an uncle to me. i remember my earlier posts about not trusting him, and i think that narrative was intentionally cultivated by the writers, but now i'm thinking, man. that's my ride or die. skinner, i should have never doubted you. not only that, i love your little house buddha and desk globes and i wish i could slap mulder across the face for the way he acts towards you!

well, i have a lot of work to do with the s5 wrapups before i can dive into this film, and so work i must. and perhaps i will save the film for next weekend when i can focus appropriate attention.

i also expect that the movie writeup will be VERY LONG. and my writeups are already SO LONG. i tossed around the idea of splitting it up into parts, but i think it will be better to just do it all in one go. unless there is a very clear midpoint spot where i can divide the post in two, which i doubt???

will diana grow on me? will the movie be enjoyable? will scully get a damn break? will CSM and WGM kiss? will krycek continue to be a problematic bisexual?

hmm. well, stay tuned, and share all of your thoughts!

[horse-girl-anthy]

essay on the UFO motif in RGU (and YKA) under the cut

one of the things that makes aliens so interesting is their versatility. YKA uses the classic alien invasion trope as the set up for its narrative; aliens as outsiders, infiltrating human society and sowing paranoia. as anyone who's seen the show knows, this premise is soon subverted. fear of the other is used by the invisible storm girls to justify securitization and eventual militarization, while the main characters work to break down the self-other dichotomy.

RGU doesn't feature its UFO motif so prominently; or anyway, it's not present from the beginning of the show, but instead scattered throughout. this marginality does not make the motif any less important, however. let's take a look at the text to see how the motif itself is used.

in almost all instances, UFOs and aliens are associated with the shadow girls. the first time they're mentioned is in episode 9.

in the skit, A-Ko insists she saw a UFO, while B-Ko says it must have just been a shooting star. they argue about this for a while, until A-Ko changes the topic to disillusionment: she knows that Santa Claus, wizards, fairies, princes on white horses, and kind-hearted, true friends only exist in fantasy. but she begs to be allowed to keep her belief in UFOs.

the inclusion of UFOs in this scene may not seem particularly meaningful. the skit draws a constrast between childhood illusions and adult cynicism, notably including "true friends" on the list of fantasy creatures. with hindsight, though, this choice does seem meaningful. maybe A-Ko wants to believe in what the UFOs represent, which is more clearly spelled out as the show goes on.

in episode 12, the shadow girls list "normal things" for people to do: study normal subjects, get a normal job, fall in love normally, get married normally, have a normal family, and live a normal life. but they conclude that being normal "has nothing to do with them" and proceed to board a UFO so that they can "go back to what's normal for them."

this is an obvious parallel to Utena's arc in the episode, where she rejects how society wants her to act and reclaims her own normal. but it's also telling us something about the shadow girls.

the shadow girls don't just "want to believe" in UFOs--it seems that they are aliens. they're "from Planet Kashira" according to Ikuhara; "Inhabitants of Planet Kashira" is the title of the shadow girls track on the first OST.

I think what this is telling us is that the shadow girls are outside observers. they're not natural citizens of Ohtori but exist at a remove from it. they can interact with the story, but they're a constant reminder that something beyond it exists--that the "rules of the rose crest" are not the laws of the universe.

from episode 13 on, the shadow girls put on their plays after returning to earth from their UFO. episode 24 ends with an encounter between Suzuki, Yamada, Tanaka and the UFO. we see the "monkey-catching-robot" again; once it successfully bags its prey, it enters the craft and flies away.

I could probably provide a reading of this scene if I tried, but mostly, I think it's there to round out the Black Rose arc. it's rather tongue-in-cheek; the UFOs are a part of the silly side of RGU. this eccentricity is humorous, but in my view also tied to the theme of individuality, which requires unapologetic strangeness. there's also something to be said for RGU's use of the inexplicable and uncanny, which often have a far deeper impact on the audience than concrete story elements.

in the final arc, the shadow girl plays begin with their UFO crashing into the chairman's tower. this is as clear a metaphor as one can hope for: the shadow girls and their alienness are a destabilizing force. maybe they're not revolutionaries--the crash appears to be accidental--but their randomness, their strangeness, their lack of propriety are a threat to the order, the masculine rule represented by Akio.

that's about it for the shadow girls. but as I mentioned, aliens are brought up in another context: the episode "Nanami's Egg."

the line "Nanami's some kind of space alien" is rather famous, and that part of the episode isn't hard to read. she's worried that she's seen as a freak, an other, by her peers. however, we also get a return of the motif at the end of the episode.

after abandoning her egg, Nanami is unable to put it out of her mind and runs out into the night to find it. she sings and dances with it, but after a bedtime conversation between Utena and Anthy, the show cuts back to Nanami, now bereft of her egg again.

she finds it, grown 100 times larger, propped up in the woods. she promises never to abandon it again, but it seems not to forgive her, shooting strange beams at her in attack. then it fades and lays before her, cracked open.

I think this scene is adding a new dimension to the egg metaphor: in the final moments of the episode, the egg becomes a symbol of Nanami's self. she tried to be rid of it, as she killed the cat--but just as she did then, she found herself regretting it. but she's unable to forgive herself for it, feeling that she's betrayed herself and lost something very important for the sake of a false normality.

to finish this essay, I'd like to reflect on how the motif of alienness is reflected in the larger themes of RGU. in the episode 11 commentary, Ikuhara wrote the following:

I tried to live true to myself. “You’re just like an alien,” someone said to me one day. They must have been telling me, “You’re not normal.” In other words, apparently “living true to yourself” means “living as an alien.” And so I became “an alien all alone in this world.”

alienation, individuality, and deviance are all major themes in RGU. the shadow girls present a positive image of what it means to be an alien: they are carefree and unconstrained. however, for the other characters, being an alien--an individual--is not so easy. it sets them apart from the social order and may even put them in danger. therefore, RGU depicts the defiant joy of deviation, along with the pain that often accompanies it. individuality may be a threat to the system, but that's exactly why it's difficult to achieve.

finally, "alienness" serves as a great metaphor for self-other encounters, as I've brushed on throughout this essay. if we are individuals, that means we are fundamentally separate from one another, because we cannot experience each other's experience. thus, we are each of us aliens to each other.

Anthy asks Utena this question as if she truly does not know, as if Utena is some mysterious being encountered in a dream. they are drawing closer together, and so the fact of their alienness is only becoming more pronounced. it will take the rest of the show to find out if contact is possible.

[biancadoes1]

Ya'll. Nobody is turning on Nicola. There is a super small subset of fandom that is mad she isn't acting exactly how they think she should, but her overall profile with the general audience is still glowing. It's so wild to see people acting like she is getting shit on widely and not just in the niche fandom spaces.

We tend to think this fandom is bigger than life because we're in it all the time but this is true.

The GA does not notice nor do they care about these things. The fandom, however, does. When something happens within fandom spaces it tends to make it a bigger issue than it really is from the outside looking in.

So when we discuss these things and say these things, we're literally talking about within the fandom spaces. I think most people know this isn't effecting her overall profile.

We're just dramatic anon, no big deal.

[denizenhardwick]

trk ch 11 is such a brilliant chapter on so many levels. here is an in-depth analysis.

tw rape

the chapter starts with kevin buying neil a heavy racquet. we learn that heavies are popular with defense, that riko uses one, and that goalie racquets are even heavier. this is setup for both later in the chapter and the end of the third book.

neil and andrew's conversation in the store is absolutely loaded. it also has neil seriously questioning the narrative about andrew that we have been uncritically fed by literally everyone for two books at this point, that he's violent and dangerous to others. he has noticed the way no one really treats andrew like a full person, how they're always more concerned by protecting other people from him than any danger he might be in, and he's frustrated by it.

this is massively, MASSIVELY important. neil came into the story with the same view of andrew that everyone else has and therefore that view has been largely treated as fact by the narrative; neil has realized it might not be true at this point, enough for the readers to know, but he hasn't fully let go of the notion of andrew as the aggressor. keep that in mind.

there's also this bit. which they decide could mean nothing but is important to their whole Thing.

when they get to nicky's parents' house, neil tries to leave the racquet in the car, but andrew grabs it, saying he's going to vandalize luther's car with it. he lets nicky take it, nicky hands to back to neil, and neil brings it into the house.

at this point, the tension is palpable. andrew and aaron are standing side-by-side for the first time. neil, kevin, and the audience are all outsiders, and there's a lot of weight to this dinner. we have nicky's story, that's our main context, and he's talked about aaron as well, but andrew is still a complete enigma. we largely know about him from what other people have said, his behavior seems nonsensical and erratic, and he's made no attempt to share his side of the story, presumably because he doesn't care enough.

that's the perception of andrew that's been built over the past book and a half. andrew is the aggressor. he is violent, dangerous to others, and completely apathetic to pretty much everything. he doesn't care.

the interactions with nicky's parents are uncomfortable on every front, but there's also another level of strangeness that neil picks up on but can't understand because of lack of context:

luther is not interested in reconciling with nicky. he's more interested in andrew.

and then they sit down for dinner. the hemmicks each take one end, and there are three chairs on each side: nicky takes the middle on one side, with aaron sitting next to him as a buffer between him and his mom, and neil and kevin take the other side with andrew between them. neil comments in the narration that they do this to keep an eye on andrew. what is a defensive, protected position for nicky is used to keep andrew constrained.

andrew is the threat here. he's the aggressor.

they talk, the conversation goes sideways, aaron steps up to ask neutral questions until nicky calms down, and then andrew leaves the table.

neil values nicky's conversion with his mom, thinks it's important but doesn't personally care about it so we the audience don't get to read it. which is absolutely baffling the first time you read this, because this chapter is supposed to be about nicky. it's about his attempt to reconcile with his mom! right? right???

it's not. and the chapter is starting to show its hand and cue you into that. because neil is thinking about andrew. he accepts but doesn't care about nicky's reconciliation; he is deeply invested in whatever andrew is talking about with luther and is already thinking about how he can get andrew to tell him later since the eavesdropping isn't working. but also, look at how neil is thinking about andrew here.

"if luther screamed in pain they'd hear it no matter how loud nicky and maria were."

he is still thinking of andrew as the threat! he is worried that andrew might hurt luther! this is such aggressive framing with a book and a half to back it up and only a couple passages of doubt. andrew is the aggressor.

after a while, neil gets concerned that andrew is making good on his threat earlier to destroy luther's car, but his racquet hasn't been moved and andrew is nowhere to be found. maria says that he's speaking to drake, and luther reveals that this whole dinner was set up by drake.

neil puts the pieces together immediately and launches into action with an almost mindless efficiency. and then the narrative shifts, just a bit.

"either drake was dead or andrew was in serious trouble."

he grabs aaron (literally grabs him, and picks aaron solely because he was closer to neil than kevin was), grabs his racquet, and books it up the stairs. he doesn't tell us what he's thinking, he doesn't have time. his singular mission right now is to make sure andrew is okay, because while it does occur to him that drake might be dead he sure as hell isn't planning on using the racquet against andrew.

i love this section a lot. this is neil in his element, completely focused and streamlined. he identifies what kind of wood the door is made of on sight and doesn't elaborate; presumably, because this is something he's done many, many times in his life. he also instinctively calls what he sees a "fight" before he actually processes what he's seeing, because that's what he was expecting, that's what he has experience with.

he was expecting mafia. we were all expecting mafia. the book is about to talk about sexual abuse in the foster system.

it's shocking. there's no way you could have seen this coming and, as is the style of these books, it just throws you in the deep end and keeps going.

this scene is extremely hard to read, because of the content and because of the way the prose changes because of it. neil has a very unique narrative voice. he's very to-the-point, he doesn't use figurative language very often, he hones in on what he finds important to the exclusion of everything else.

this is remarkably vivid sensory detail for neil. the image is burned into his head, everything slows down, he's possibly going into shock. he describes what he's seeing. he notes every little noise and speculates on what it is. and the words he uses are visceral and uncomfortable.

the heavy length of his body. ear-deep in a blood-splattered pillow. ghostly white and bloodless. a wet crunch. blood sloshed against the wall. a meaty thud.

neil does not describe anything in this much detail. that juxtaposition makes what is already a very graphic and disturbing scene even more jarring and impactful for the audience.

he also describes what he is hearing as "[his] world crashing down around him" or saying it "had the entire world tilting underneath his feet."

we hear kevin's reaction, neil walks through the whole thing without even turning to look because he is intently focused on pulling the sheet up to cover andrew because it's important to him to give andrew as much privacy as he can, even if it isn't much.

with that, i have reached my image limit, so stay tuned for part 2.

[too0bsessedformyowngood]

Do you think the general public in the dc universe knows all the superpowers of each hero in their own city (or the bigger heroes). I just thinking, heroes probably don’t advertise their powers or what abilities they have so the flashier and more used powers are more well known, but the subtle, or not outward powers are probably more obscure knowledge or speculated on.

Just imagine like people making Wiki articles or known powers of each hero and getting in debates of what powers so of them have. Like on Reddit there is a long ongoing article of weather or not Superman has super-hearing and x-ray vision or has echolocation. Like when Batman first showed up some people adamantly thought he was a shadow demon or could control darkness, and there still resents of that with like people trying to spread ‘gotcha facts’ that Batman can actually control clouds and that is why it’s always overcast in Gotham. Or like ‘Top 10 Superpowers you didn’t know these Justice Leaguers had’ videos and on there is like, “Martian Manhunter has Telepathy, there has been reports from people who he has saved of him talking to them in their mind while saving them.” Even misconceptions of what group a hero is a part of. Like some people adamantly believe Starfire is a Super just from a different family and that’s why her powers are just slightly off, like they confidently believe that Tamaraneans is just the group of Kryptonians she is from and refuse to do any research or listen to new information.

Just the general public in the dc universe speculating on things about the heroes that wouldn’t be as well know or known really at all by the general public.

[autisticandroids]

FAMINE: That's one deep, dark nothing you've got there, Dean.

[youtube with closed captions]

dean and his father. dean and his family. dean and how bad it is.

(via @closetoyou1970)

[frontierpsychopomp]

some birds

[dirtheran]

I get the sense that while they had planned for that piece of lore to be true, they didn't want to go all in until they were really confident they had it nailed down, which makes it even funnier that it turned out so poorly in Veilguard, imo.

For example, the two biggest "reveal" banters - both Cole's, regarding Solas not wanting a body and burning Mythal off his face and wanting to give wisdom rather than orders - are in Trespasser, rather than the base game. Obviously that doesn't make them less canon, but it does mean that they nailed down that particular plot thread with the certainty that it was something that was worth noting, rather than hinting at. If there's a gun here, it's this lore reveal.

And then! In Veilguard! Bioware made the narrative choice to confirm a huge amount of lore analysis with something very close to objective truth (Solas relating his own memories to no one but himself - no potentially unreliable narrator in an artist that worshipped him here like in the Trespasser frescos, this is The Guy) in the format of a series of very long, very visually flat cut scenes where there was absolutely no ability to react in any meaningful way to any of it.

Does it make sense from an in-game perspective? I mean. Brother, I fucking guess. Technically there's a reason Rook and the Team™️ want those memories, but jesus it is weak. MAYBE there is something in the memories that can MAYBE redeem Solas and get him to change his mind, forget that he has had these memories all along and presumably he's grappling with them in his own regret prison (look away from that plot point, do not ask questions about that plot point). Technically at this point he's still trapped and not at all a danger, but sure. It works out for Rook and Co because of course it does, but a narratively tight choice it is not.

From an external perspective, it is absolutely brutal. It is an incomprehensible choice, in my opinion, to have the worst things that have ever happened to a man played out in a disjointed sequence, and the man himself doesn't have the chance to. Weigh in. Comment. Mention it. Provide context. God for-fucking-bid Solas get any amount of agency when we're talking about the worst things he feels he has participated in.

And you know what - I could forgive even that (in my opinion) extremely bad narrative choice if we could have the characters question in any way what they're seeing rather than summarizing and then doubling and tripling down on 'so this WAS all Solas' fault!!'

All of that criticism applies infinitely to the Wisdom confirmation, because not a single character involved can use their brains long enough to say 'oh, wait, when Solas says "my people", he can mean spirits too, huh! and they ARE suffering behind the Veil! Suddenly his prevarication about who he's doing all this for makes sense!"

But they can't do that, because Bioware won't write that, and Bioware didn't write that because they really, really, really don't want you to ask if the Veil should come down. They don't want the characters to have the voice to say "maybe Solas has a point" because they're not taking the Veil down and they don't want you as an audience member to stare directly into the question of 'but why?'. You might do it anyway, but it is a very uncomfortable position to put your unequivocally Good Guy characters into if you don't want them to experience any kind of moral quandary and suddenly they're on the side opposite a freedom fighter who wants to tear down the Veil not because he hates the people in this world but because the broken status quo is something that he considers his fault because - indirectly - it is!!!

The Wisdom reveal is a symptom of a long list of things that had narrative support but jesus, the way the characters reacted made me wish they were just still mysteries.

It feels like Bioware built a deck of cards of every single question they made you ask about Solas and Elvhen history and spirits in general and then instead of playing a game with you to show them they threw them all on the table and said, "there, happy?"

If I'm being honest, man, not really!

i know that this is a deep cut, but when people justify a terrible writing choice by saying 'no see there's evidence in the text' it's like. yeah i Know there's evidence in the text. its not a question of whether the thing is true, it's that its stupid.

like yeah i Know that theres a codex entry about how the venatori came to accept being led by the evanuris. i can read that codex entry and still say 'well that was a goofy ass writing choice'

[dxxtruction]

"Louis acting like a pimp to Armand" And what is a pimp exactly? Quickly. And, oh so sexual trauma survivors can't engage in kink now without it being all about that? Pet names? They can't be submissive anymore? Consensually? Sexually healthy? Be serious. I'd hardly say there's much power difference between them during all this anyway, except that Louis is freer than Armand and it's been putting a strain on their relationship. Louis wants more from Armand, and less of this 'being his past' for them both, and so helping Armand with this could fix that. It's healthy to want to help your partners get out of a rough patch?

I mean, the whole exchange was very clearly set up as a "I want to help you" after such a great moment of vulnerability Louis feels just how much Armand is desperate for it. Louis called Armand so they could work out a plan together.

And the bit with the umbrella was Louis' way of asking 'are you willing to listen to me?' and Armand said yes by unfolding it. Louis goes on and explains, Armand is allowed to argue against it, but Louis makes his point. And then he gives Armand a way to make his own choice in it too. Armand's already decided 'I want you, more than anything else in the world', but Louis still asks after if he's sure of his choice, and with a name, Arun, that is the one of his fullest agency, running the point home. Honoring the situation Armand calls Louis Maitre - as a way of being like 'I'll do as you've said then'. To make this work he's going to have to give Louis some of the control, yes. But it's the first time such a role is ever established, and it was his choice to do it. So so what if they do it in a very suggestive way? They can't like doing that? I think it's them having fun.

I struggle to find how Louis is being overly domineering here when really he's giving and offering Armand the most agency he's ever had. Same with finding it manipulative. The manipulation was more earlier in the episode I think, when he was stringing him along, giving mixed signals. He's no longer toying with him like that. Louis might be pushing Armand, leading him on to make a decision, but he doesn't mean bad by it.

But back to this pimp thing. I find it frankly offensive that this is where people are going with this. I get it, but to run with it being the case is, on many levels, wrong.

Louis told us episode 1 this was the only sustainable line of work to support his family and keep their standing, at the time. It was never his choice to be doing this either but his blackness allowed no other options. He did what he did so his family could stay in that house and maintain all their same comforts. It gave him privileges most black men didn't have at the time that he wanted to maintain and even have more of. Anyway, it doesn't and had never defined him the way 'being good at running things' had. And in that case he just likes having that kind of control where he can get it, which makes sense.

The world is what placed that kind of role onto him of what he was allowed to be able to run, not himself. And on that he actually treated the sex workers he employed well and respected them enough to give them more opportunity.** He recognizes they don't have much in the way of options either.

Louis employed sex workers, yes, but he didn't subject them to abuse, (like how Armand was)*. He didn't oversee things in a way that would go against their consent (see; episode 1 again)**. Sometimes a job is just a job. And Sex work is work.

Armand's particular past with sexual abuses may strike a particular cord with Louis, given all that, but the very last thing either is thinking is that Louis' pimping Armand out here. This is merely their decision as companions, and had nothing to do with adding another line in a laundry list of selling Armands body out to people at the command of someone else. Armand rescinds some of his control to Louis' wishes, because he wants him, and he trusts him, that's all.

If you aren't allowing Armand that choice, and are doubtful it's fully his, you're putting him right back in the box of being defined by his abuses. Putting him back into that space where he isn't given any agency over what he does. (Which is exactly opposite of what the intent of this scene is for)*.

*: (edit) added for clarity.

**: (strike through) numerous people are saying I'm misremembering these points so disregard it. (Thought he was siding with Bricks, it was the other way around). (Technically one aspect of those opportunities were for getting around the law). I don't have a perfect memory, it happens. Let's not get mad about it. Doesn't change much of the point which is that Louis, now, Louis then, was always considering more about the running things and for stated purposes. So I guess I'd say he may only have respected the SWers enough sometimes for what allowed him to do that, and there are moments he certainly expressed remorse over the fact, but he has a great deal higher respect for Armand that is genuine. It's incomparable. Please read my added notes in the tags, it should address most other concerns.