#criminal that she wasnt in the other two episodes this part

[calypsoccult]

me when sevika

[fanficsandfluff]

That Damned Laugh

To the anon who informed me of Rainbow Rowell's RACISM, i am writing this for my love of the characters, not the author's writing skill or fame. fuck her. i am still very much aware of what she wrote about and how she portrayed a character, but i cannot stop this inspiration when it comes to me. (wait to be clear to everyone reading this who hadn't seen the anons and my discussion, carry on wasnt the accused racist book. that was something else.)

If you, anon, end up seeing this and maybe don't like what I'm doing or whatnot, I'd love to hear from you again.

For those of you who maybe do practice Death of the Author, I hope you enjoy!

Fandom: Carry On

Characters: Simon Snow, Baz Pitch

Words: 1,905

~~~~~

BAZ

Simon Snow does not laugh, full stop.

(Well, to be fair I'm not a cackler much myself, but I do at least guffaw from time to time.)

Snow spent so much of his youth being weighed down by the 'Chosen One' moniker and being tormented by yours truly. Still, I know of that little list he kept of things he liked about Watford and all its experiences and people. It seemed he did take joy in most of it all. After all, I'm sure he had fun at Bunce's house on many an occasion.

But just being around him and in this way for a while now, you start to notice. He's seen me laugh. A few times, in fact. And hard. I'm not very proud of it; what that man can do to me and make me do. He doesn't like when I cover my hand over my smile. It's habit, though, I've reminded him countless times. The fangs and all. We're working on it.

But Simon may just smile or huff. I've giggled with him on our particularly soft nights or togethertimes.

All this to say... I've found a new hobby/goal/obsession recently.

Make Simon Snow laugh.

My cheekiness all these years has kept my humor to cruel, lowbrow tones. Maybe it makes me less funny, I don't know. But once or twice I'd nail a comeback or snarky one-liner (of course with a bit of flirt thrown in) and Snow will giggle and shake his head. But that's all I've achieved! A small, pandering, boring -- though still admirably adorable -- (Damn that Snow) giggle.

I've moved on to physical humor. I tried throwing myself dramatically over him when he's in bed, but he just seems to think it's all part of my Pitch flair.

Today I made a minor breakthrough.

I was in the kitchen trying to mix myself a smoothie. Bunce has been gushing about a smoothie craze for weeks now, so I finally figured why not. The damn lid wasn't on tight enough. Not-yet-smooth smoothie shot everywhere. There was a pause as it happened, my one hand on the Liquify button, my other resting nonchalantly atop the lid that didn't do any lidding, dammit.

Snow looked up at me from his seat by the kitchen counter, eyes drawn from his phone. A beat. He barked out a laugh. A much louder one than I think I'd ever heard him make.

"Put a sock in it, Snow," I growled, to keep with my facade, though inside I was jittery with glee. I wanted to hear more.

Snow convinced me to binge a new show. Crime Minds. Something like that. No, criminal. It's Criminal Minds.

You wouldn't expect this to be a series fit enough for a cuddle, but Snow and I are an unexpected couple. So it works.

A few dumb jokes are littered throughout the show, in between corpses and the same police station set being reorganized and shot from different angles every episode. One such joke was so inconspicuous and so nothing that I cannot even recall it now. But both Snow and I chuckled at it. Then Snow made an additional comment to it, making me laugh. And soon we were both giggling together like schoolboys, like we had early on when we were maybe still a bit bashful with each other.

He shoved his face into my ribs and snorted when I whispered the new inside joke much later on in the episode. I was also grinning like a madman, but the soft tickle his action gave me didn't exactly---

Oh.

In bed. Perfect. Lovers fool around all the time in bed. Not fool around as in sex--well, no, of course sex, but I mean they also play around-- never mind.

SIMON

Baz has been acting off lately. I can't quite put my finger on what it is. He seems distracted. More like how I act. I'm always thinking of something else, not able to stay focused on one thing for long. He's like that, but trying to act like he isn't.

We're doing something odd today. We're in bed at sunset. It's hardly sunset, as a matter of fact. The sun isn't seeping orange and red into the flat yet. Penelope took us out on a hike today. It tuckered the both of us out. Baz drained a buck when we got home.

I'm laying perpendicular to Baz (or is it parallel? composite? I could never remember mathematics), my legs resting over his stomach. He's reading and I'm playing a puzzle app on my phone.

BAZ

Now's the time, Baz. Just do it, don't think.

His socked feet are right in front of me. There's only been a handful of times we've sat in this position, half of them being my lower half resting on Simon's sturdier upper half. It's now or never.

I stare at his feet for too long, zoning out and forgetting that I was left staring at them, so it definitely looked like I have a fetish for feet. Which I don't. Focus, Basilton.

I take a finger-- no, two fingers. I scratch quickly at his heel. His leg jerks, foot being pulled back.

"What?" he asks me, as if I hadn't been plotting this for weeks. As if I just did it to get his attention.

"Something on the bottom of your sock, love."

Simon went right back to his head hanging upside down off the side of the bed, phone held out in front of his eyes.

Well, that proved one thing. He's ticklish.

He places his ankles right back where they originally were, crossed, atop my stomach. I try again, this time on his arch. I apply more pressure.

"Bahaz!" Simon shakes his foot out, "Is that how you start a foot massage?"

"Would you like a foot massage?"

"No. Not if it's going to tickle like that."

My cheeks heat up. Damn that buck. I'm rosier than I usually am.

"You're ticklish?" I ask, coolly. I barely stuttered.

"I wouldn't try it," he's back to looking at his phone again, "Penny did once and I nearly broke her elbow or something. She wouldn't stop talking about it for days."

"So you're very ticklish, then."

"Don't," this is the first time Snow seems to tense up.

There's a moment of quiet between us. A tense quiet. I lunge for his ankles and he shoots up into a sitting position. I scratch at his arch with four fingers now and he screams.

"Baz!" Simon whines a bit and he somehow yanks his legs free, not without losing one of his socks in my grip.

SIMON

He's grinning at me. No. Sneering.

I still hate when he does that. Reminds me of back when I wanted to throttle him. Sometimes I still do.

"Baz," I warn. His whole posture changes into a predator's, like he's the lion and I'm his fresh zebra. The new stance sends a shiver down my spine, with his shoulders hunched and all, ready to pounce.

"Baz... Baz, Baz, Baz..." I say over and over again because he's smiling at me, and then I start to smile, too, "Bahaz!" I try once more, but his name is all that's coming out, and now I'm giggling. I'm nervous. He did this to me.

BAZ

He's already giggling and I haven't even laid a hand on him.

"Yes, Snow?" I respond to his many calls of my name before I lurch forward, sending my whole body crashing on top of his and trying to pin him. I dig my fingers into his sides and don't stop for as long as I can maintain contact through his squirming.

"Gehehet off!" he's already crumbling, words being broken up with short laughs.

I slide my fingertips to his stomach and scratch there; Snow bucks. It gets even better when my cold fingers make contact with his warm skin beneath the shirt he's wearing. He yelps like I've never heard him yelp (like he's burnt his finger, but he's also 11-years-old again), and he dissolves into loud, beautiful laughter.

"St-Stohohop! Baz! I'm going to end you!"

"Isn't that how we always said it would end? Snuffing each other out? I'm perfectly happy that it's now going to end in my favor. You should've told me you were this easy to defeat earlier on, Snow."

"Shut up!" he cackles, legs kicking wildly behind me, as my body is thrown over his torso. Now I have both my hands buried into his sides, squeezing and squeezing. I get curious, my cheeks still burning with blood, and I lean down to his neck and... (no, I don't bite) I start nibbling. Snow loses it.

His whole face scrunches up, as I watch when I pull my head back. His smile is huge and bright. And the laughs bubble up from his stomach, releasing softer into the air like he sucked a little of the joy from it before releasing to keep for himself.

"Dohon't do that!"

"I thought you love my kisses."

"Not tha-HAAT!"

He shrieks again, hands too slow to stop my face from moving in. I nibble and even lick a few times, careful not to touch him with my fangs.

Did I mention that my hands are still tickling at his sides and ribs while I'm nibbling? Oh yes, I've waited so long for this sound. I wasn't going to make it come out lightly.

I blow a raspberry and that's when Snow's laughter catches and turns all hiccuppy. The noises are infecting me, starting to make me giggle. I shift, and my face now descends towards his stomach, which is bared after I rucked the shirt up.

SIMON

"TYRANNUS BASILTON G-GRIMM FUCKING PITCH-- OR WHATEVER YOUR LONG STUPID ARSEHOLE NAME IS--"

He's laughing at me. I keep laughing even without him tickling me.

"I swehehear I'm going to fucking kill you and your whole family if you do that dohown thehere--" I'm hiccuping. Crowley, how embarrassing.

BAZ

He's got me. I can hardly breathe from laughter. I keel over into him or he into me, but soon we're a laughing pile together on top of the mussed up sheets on the bed.

I make a loud snort and that reels us both back in again, laughing til we're red in the face and til my cheeks hurt.

Simon is giggling away, taking deep breaths to try and calm himself, but he just keeps on giggling. I'm able to sit up a little more and Snow's head is in my lap. He's beaming and looking up at me through squinted, teary eyes.

"That was fun," I say, and I don't think it's the brightest or smartest thing to say. But I say it.

"I love you," Snow's smile is still wide, like he's drunk from it. There's a moment where I feel like I've died again, color drained from me.

It doesn't seem to bother him, that he's said that. For the first time. I run my fingers through his reddish curls once, letting them tangle in the locks towards the back of his head. I hunch myself down so I can kiss him.

"I've wanted to hear that for so long," I whisper.

"That I love you? You haven't figured it out by now?"

"No, you idiot," I say with nothing but fondness, brushing my nose along Simon's jaw, "Your laugh."

[plusultrcs]

Okay so now that i’m done crying about shadow and bone to my friends i want to make a controversial statement. Don’t bite my head off for my opinion bc 1. idc i said what i said and 2. it aint that serious these are fictional characters moving on though. I don’t think the show is bad AT ALL i really enjoyed it and seeing the inclusion of leigh and her books was so fucking cute but i will say i think combining both series into one did a huge disservice to the character development of most, if not ever, character. and i’ll explain why so (obviously) sab spoilers ahead. this also obnoxiously long so if you dont read it thats fine <3 lmao

I know going into it everyone, including leigh pretty much, was saying not to expect it to be like the books. That it was going stray away and be more like a fanfiction than the original works. Which was true, but only for the six of crows characters. The show leaned heavily and relied heavily on the plot of shadow and bone. Which, of course, makes sense but because of the inclusion of a heavy heavy re-worked six of crows plot that didnt fit the plot of shadow and bone at all it left them feeling incredibly displaced. Like on shadow and bones part every single major and sometimes even the minor plot points were followed to the number, but on the six of crows front the only thing closely followed was the nina and matthias backstory. I wont talk about every single character because i anticipate this to already be long, but the ones i noticed the most were done a disservice.

For instance Alina. Despite shadow and bone being followed so closely you dont really get to see the natural progression of alina’s character the way i was hoping we would. And that’s definitely because of the time restraints. They had to find a way to somehow balance the screen time for both separate plots so that they could hold the audiences attention for both. Like when nina and matthias plot wasnt on the screen for i think 2 episodes i almost forgot about them and what they were up to so i understand why they timing had to be so split, especially when you only have 8 hours to cover the characters of 2 over 300 page long books yknow? But that means important moments alina had to herself in the books were completely cut, and so a lot of that growth we got went with it. The the biggest thing i was disappointed to see go was the defeat she felt when she was first captured and collared by the darkling. She was feeling absolutely helpless, mal was in their hold, she had no power to do anything but sit there and let him use her. All the training she did felt pointless to her and she really was at the point of giving up. She went quiet, wouldnt speak,was basically a zombie until that moment in the fold when she saw innocent people suffering when she knew she could stop. And she found a way to break free. There were other moments like this in the book, like moments at the little palace where shelt herself getting further and further from mal and feeling like an outside on her own all over again. They tried to show it in the show but without the time to develop her life on her own at the little palace it definitely fell short.

Speaking of mal: THANK YOU WRITERS FOR FIXING HIS WHINY ASS. And while he was annoyingly whiny in the books, he is not a boring character. Not to me at least, honestly he never was. While i do appreciate them not making him so whiny, I would have appreciated seeing that same dissonance realizing alina was grisha brought about in the books. Its just like alina said, grisha were people they scoffed at and talked about in a joking way. Their lives felt miles and miles away from their own, and then to learn that she had been one the entire time. I know i know, it has nothing to do with, and alina didnt know either. BUT THAT IS STILL HIS BEST FRIEND. And obviously girl he’s in love with even if he wasnt aware of it at the time. it made him question everything he thought about grisha, and more importantly brought both of their biggest fears to light: being torn apart. In the book he doesnt deal with this well at ALL and while leigh bardugo does a great job throughout the series showing him growing to me he never got where he should have been, and the show did place him there but i think they do so prematurely. I definitely wanted him to be as understanding as he was, to take notice of how much healthier and stronger she looks since she’s not withholding her power anymore, but i did still want the tension of him wondering what it means for them, how their lives would change, because just based on laws alone she is a grisha and would typically never be someone he would have the chance to befriend but neither of them would be okay with that.

AND ON THE TOPIC OF MALINA. THEY ARE NOT A BORING SHIP. I think the only person other who would work for alina is nikolai (dont fight me on this im right), and that is who i wanted her to end up with. However, I understand why Mal was the choice. Alina has always been someone who just wanted to belong, to fit in somewhere, AND THAT IS OKAY. IT’S NOT A CRIME TO WANT TO BE ORDINARY. I know shes the main character, and has the prophecy of being the ~chosen one~ but that doesnt mean she suddenly has to alter change and rearrange herself entirely. she never wanted to be a saint, and even by the end of the series she still doesnt. Choosing to let the world believed she died so she could live a quiet life. tHAT’S ALL SHE’S EVER WANTED. And Mal is the perfect person to give her that. People who claim she gave up her life for mal, to me, didn’t understand her character. She bounced around from needing mal by her side, and when she couldnt have him there she still sought acceptance in the only other person willing to give it to her, i.e. the darkling. and then when she couldnt have it from him she’s forced to find it in herself and while she learns she doesnt need him or mal she doesnt need anyone, she still chooses mal bc she wants to be with him. she doesnt feel obligated and even later on in the books makes plenty stands on her own without him but she loves him and they honestly make perfect sense. a softer ship doesnt make it a boring one js.

NOW THE SIX OF CROWS GANG. I hate to say it, i do but they felt reduced to a form comedic relief. they had their serious moments ofc but for the most part whenever they popped up on the screen i knew a joke or gag was soon to follow. i will say kit as jesper? best decision that could have possibly been made he fucking did what he had to DO. Kaz’s development for me felt really really rushed and forced. Like he was saying things to inej he wouldnt have said so quickly and especially not while he wasnt under stress??? it honestly felt like fan service??? which im not mad at because again i dont think the show was bad at all the actors brought really great life to the crows, but it just makes me sad to see all that development and build up go out the window.  i think if they were that set on combining the crows story with the shadow and bone story it would have been so much nicer to get a sort of prequel on the crows. like they should have given them the same treatment they gave nina and matthias. so that we could see their backstories as explained in the book happening in real time like how they all came to ketterdam. i know theres no point in wishing that now since whats done is done and again I DONT THINK ITS BAD. Im just sad about all the character development and strong subtle points lost because leigh bardugo always does such a great job in dropping subtle hints and always bringing them back in the end, and that was sadly lost. STILL A GOOD SHOW STILL LOVE THE BABIES. STILL PRAYING FOR A SEASON TWO.

EDIT: IT ALSO MADE ME SAD TO SEE THEM LOSE SO MANY TIMES??? ESPECIALLY AFTER SOC WHERE THEY ALWAYS MANAGED TO WIN?? Like ofc it made perfect sense for them to be unable to capture the damn sun summoner !!! but kaz and all of the crows are meant to be the best of the best when it comes to criminals top tier and they were bested by a ball of light and a jog???? and them going home basically empty handed was kinda :// like i got it but also where did alina get that necklace lmao so yeah once again still great still love it questions had to be asked 

[wherehaveallthekiwisgone]

The new Carmen Sandiego show is so good though? 

Like, I’ve been a fan of this franchise for over 25 years. I played a lot of the games, watched and loved both game shows and the cartoon, I had a board game and, like a choose your own adventure style book, among other things. So I’m pretty familiar with this franchise.

What I love is how it manages to reimagine Carmen into a very likable and relatable anti-hero, while still managing to keep her a lovable rogue. I wasn’t super thrilled when I first learned that Carmen in the new series was the hero, not the antagonist. Despite the fact that franchise bears her name, Carmen was never the protagonist. In the cartoon, it was Ivy and Zach, the game show had the contestants, and in the computer games, the protagonist was you, the player. Carmen was always the antagonist, the one that had to be stopped. She was a likable and memorable antagonist, to be sure, but she was still a thief who stole rare and often random treasures just because. Some incarnations have her as more sympathetic than others, with the darkest incarnation probably being the game Carmen Sandiego: Word Detective. The 90′s cartoon made her more of an anti-villain, giving her a pretty sad backstory, a firm code of ethics, and making her beef with the two young heroes more personal by making her a former agent of ACME. These elements would become further cemented into the mythos of Carmen when later computer games in the franchise would work them into their canon.

What this show does is turn that backstory on it’s head, and giving Carmen the protagonist spot for the first time. As in the 90′s cartoon, She’s still an orphan, (probably) from Argentina, and is very against killing to get what she wants. Instead of being the former golden girl of ACME, she’s raised by VILE operatives, and has aspirations of being a thief all her life, as opposed to just becoming one out of boredom. When she finds out that VILE is more evil than she had been lead to believe, she escapes her childhood home and sets out to thwart them before they can hurt anyone. Where it gets interesting is the way the rest of the world sees her. The show doesn’t really gloss over the fact that she is still breaking and entering and making off with valuable goods, which does still make her a technical criminal. The first episode gives us two agents of Interpol in pursuit of Carmen on her latest heist. One of these agents, Chase Devineaux, sort of plays the Inspector Javert to Carmen, relentlessly pursuing her for her crimes, while not knowing her more noble motivations. His partner, Julia Argent, is more analytical in her approach, and theorizes that Carmen’s intentions are mostly good. 

This show also excels at being a love letter the entire franchise. There are so many shoutouts in this show. Some are more obvious, like lifting and reimagining entire characters from various sources, some are much more subtle, and wouldn’t be recognized if you weren't familiar with that element of the franchise. It keeps the educational element of the franchise, giving a rundown of each location they visit in a familiar, albeit clunky way. The way ACME is incorporated is very interesting, and didn’t end up playing out the way I thought it would, which I appreciated. 

I would recommend the show, especially if you’re a fan of the franchise (any part of it). It’s a lot of fun, and a great homage to what’s come before. If you’re turned off by Carmen’s new heroics, I’d still recommend giving it a watch with an open mind. You might be surprised how certain elements come together, and give an interesting new perspective on the Lady in Red. 

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s5e05 – Pena Dura

 As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Selina went stab stabbity stab. Alfred told Bruce he can’t save Selina from herself.  Ed woke up on a rooftop.  Jim gave speech #357 on the value of hope. Then Haven exploded, proving that hope can only do so much against an RPG. Jim’s been promised help for weeks!  He also won’t stop until he finds who’s responsible for Haven.  Ed was responsible for Haven, albeit in a weird trance-like state.  Jim stared at the charred remains of Haven.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

In a church, a man is watching an old black and white film.  From what I can figure out from the actors involved and the character names, it’s a George Brent film called Tangier Incident.  It’s not a particularly interesting film.  He is, however, in a good creepy film called The Spiral Staircase, which I recommend.

Anyway

Jim and Harvey approach him, guns drawn, and ask him turn around.  Apparently, he’s the one who sold the RPGs.  He seems pretty unimpressed by them, and rather insolently asks if they’re going to arrest him.

Jim says he wants a name. Old film guy addresses some unseen minions

What do you say boys?  You wanna show the lawman how we feel about uninvited guests?

No-one is backing down. The stand-off is broken up by the arrival of lots of large people dropping through the stained-glass ceiling, who promptly take the thugs out.

While this is happening, Jim wrestles the weapons dealer/film enthusiast.  He still wants a name.  The fight is pretty even until the old guy is shot in the head.

We now get a slow-motion shot of shiny army boots approaching to some foreboding music.  Jim rises, frowning in confusion as shiny boots man removes the mask covering his face.

Eduardo?

Nice shot right?

We get the military music we last had with Barnes to let us know that Jim likely met this man in the army. His men are still pointing guns, one at Harvey, so he tells them stand down.

Jim asks Eduardo what he’s doing here.  He tells Jim he last saw him running through sniper fire to save him from a burning truck.

Jim claims he had the old guy where he wanted him – but he’s glad he’s here. Eduardo says he is too

 They wander through the church chatting. Jim tells Harvey they hated each other in boot camp. Jim thought Eduardo did things too fast, while Eduardo thought Jim was too careful.

A sarcastic Harvey says that Jim’s taught him a thing or two about being careful.  

Jim and Eduardo lapse into military jargon – talking about the mission plan. Eduardo says that they’re helping Walker (the woman Jim’s been talking to on the radio). They’ve to make this hellhole safe.

Jim, disgruntled, comments that all it apparently took for them to be sent help was the murder of hundreds.  Eduardo says they’ve to remove all criminal elements and make the city safe.  He introduces his second in command, who hands Jim a ledger they’ve found.  On it – we see Ed’s name against two RPGs.

Jim turns to Harvey. He and Eduardo will go after Ed. Harvey is to set up a command centre at GCPD.  Harvey protests.

I’m not as fast as I used to be, but I still got some fight in me. I’m not some desk jockey – I’m a street guy

Jim says Harvey’s the best cop he knows.  Ed tends to think ahead.  If this goes sideways, Harvey will need to take over.

I need your help buddy

Harvey nods.

GCPD where Bruce runs into Alfred.  Alfred tells him Jim isn’t there – they’ve got a strong lead in the Haven bombing. He asks Bruce what’s wrong.

Bruce tells him worriedly that he can’t find Selina anywhere. Alfred replies that Selina is capable of looking after herself.  Bruce says that she’s not herself, though.   Alfred pulls a face and tells him that Jeremiah deserved to die.  A resentful and upset Bruce says that Jeremiah made Selina a murderer – just like Ra’s did him.

(An aside.  Much like Alfred, I don’t really have a problem with Selina stabbing Jeremiah.  But this is only one of many times this episode will get a bit forgetful.  Selina was a murderer before she killed Jeremiah, Bruce.   You were there when she shoved that guy out the window.  Not that I really have any time for Alfred’s ex-army friend who stabbed him and robbed you – but Jeremiah wasn’t the first time she’s killed)

Alfred quibbles this, claiming that Ra’s goaded Bruce into murder, but Selina did what she did with open eyes

And you’ve got to learn to respect that son

Bruce wants to find her, though, and leaves – as Alfred watches.

(An aside - Eh.  On one hand, yes – Selina can make her own decisions.  She has autonomy.  On the other hand – Selina did what she did while still struggling to cope with the trauma of Jeremiah shooting her.   Alfred excusing Bruce but condemning Selina – even though he agrees Jeremiah needed to be removed – doesn’t really sit well with me.  On top of all that – Selina’s endangered herself for Bruce on a number of occasions, gone out of her way to help him, in fact.  She’s clearly not coping now – and leaving her to her own devices seems off to me.)

In the library, we see Ed listening to his blackout recordings.  He howls with frustration, unable to establish a pattern.

It makes no sense!

He catches sight of himself in a nearby mirror

You're not a murderer, Ed.  Except Kristin Kringle, and Officer Doherty.

He goes on

But all those people.  And children. How could you do it?  Why?

He roars

It doesn't matter – it’s you - not me

(An aside.  This is really a bit of a mess.  So.  Am I to assume that Ed is being a massive hypocrite, and selectively editing his criminal record?  Or am I to assume that Ed differentiates between murders committed by Ed and those committed by The Riddler?  Maybe, that doesn’t really work here – since some of these were committed before he discovered that persona.  Besides – wasn’t one of the features of his ‘becoming’ his personalities becoming fused?  Or are the writers choosing to forget some of Ed’s other murders?  Who knows.)

Hearing a sound, he turns. It’s Jim and Eduardo – who have arrived to arrest him.  He holds his hands up defensively.

No - Jim - I can explain

Jim is taken aback.

Explain?  You son of a bitch - you actually did it?

(Interesting. Although Ed’s name was in the ledger, Jim doesn’t seem to have thought that Ed was truly responsible – or didn’t want to believe it might be true.)

Eduardo tells Ed to get on his knees.  That’s three Eds in this show now – not counting Ed’s many personalities.  For reference, if they’re all ever in the same scene, the dog is Ed1, the lanky green one is Ed2, and beardy army guy is Ed3.

Ed protests, and says he didn't – but he needs a little bit of time

Eduardo is still pointing his gun – and tells Jim to just say the word.

Ed pleads.  You know me, Jim.  People that I have...hurt - they hurt me first

(Eh? There are multiple gif sets going around which show how ridiculous this remark is.  Ed’s hurt plenty of people just because he wanted to.)

I didn't know a single person in Haven

Eduardo glances at Jim

Your call, buddy – he basically confessed

Ed watches carefully as Jim thinks and then decides,

Bring him in – he stands trial

We’re saying this again? What kind of court will this be? Who is the judge?  Lawyers?  Jury?

Ed isn’t enthused by this. He touches a book from the bookcase. Eduardo is apparently standing on pressure-plated ied.  One twitch, and he’ll repaint the room with his organs.  He smiles.  

Jim points his gun. But apparently Ed has also devised some sort of watch that monitors changes in Ed’s heart rate if it deviates by more than 10 bpm up or down, and can cause an explosion - if necessary - from as far as a mile away. Whatever. Apparently, in a fit of sexual frustration after his recent contact with Lucius, Ed sublimated his lustful stirrings into an inventing binge.

Ed and Jim try and stare each other out a bit.  Jim says Ed will be a target once news of his guilt gets out.  Eduardo says he thinks Ed’s threats are bluffs.  Jim says Ed doesn’t bluff.  Well – there was the time with all the cops and the poison gas that turned out just to be sleeping gas, but - hey.  This episode is having severe difficulties remembering details, storyline, characterisation….take your pick.

Jim lets Ed leave. Summarising because this recap is lengthy – Jim uses his cat-like reflexes to leap across the room and finds the right book to free Eduardo – whose whole take on the puzzle is that he’d like

to wring this nerd’s neck

Jim gives him a welcome to Gotham.  Wanting to wring Ed’s neck is just part and parcel of visiting. He adds that the city grows on you, before contacting Harvey and telling him to put the word out: Ed is wanted for the attack on Haven

Bruce strides into Sirens, looking for Selina.  A fairly happy-looking Barbara leads him towards a booth.   With a flourish, she tells the crowd to raise their glasses for the killer of Jeremiah Valeska.  The crowd parts, and we see Selina sitting in a booth with a group of girls.  Is this the booth of Bruce’s downward spiral?  Is this the ‘I am having a long dark night of the soul’ booth?  Do you have to book ahead?  

Selina raises her glass, but her smile is more ironic than anything else.

(An aside. Barbara seemed happy.  It's hard to say whether having the killer of Jeremiah Valeska at her club is bring extra cachet, whether her one-night stand with Jim brought her some closure and happiness, or whether she and Jim are still having sex and she’s pleased about this.)

In some abandoned building, we hear a radio send out the message about Ed being wanted by the police.

A tall skinny man wearing a green suit and eyeglasses

They left out his BritPop hair.

Outside an angry mob gathers and chants.  We see Ed hiding from them, before slipping off.

 At City Hall, Oswald stands, flanked by his henchmen, as a visitor opens a box for him.  Whatever it is seems to make him happy – and he pays the man 200 bullets in return – telling him to go have fun and keep up the good work.  

As the man leaves – Oswald is brought a message

He reads aloud

Edward Nygma is the monster responsible for killing the innocents of Haven

Oswald looks incredulous for a moment, and then worried – wondering aloud,

Ed…what have you done?

The mob from earlier runs past.  Ed hides – but is walloped on the side of the head.

GCPD.  Eduardo tells Jim they’re pushing uptown – but there’s still no Nygma. He’s confident they’ll get him though.  He then asks Jim to tell him about Scarecrow.  Jim says his guys would need gasmasks – but taking him down would be a big one.

We’re on a sort of rural street.  We pan up Ed’s body.  I own those boots.  He’s unconscious and tied to some kind of deck chair.

An older blonde woman leans in towards his face.

Time to wake up!

Forgive me – American readers.  I can only tell that she sounds Southern, which I know isn’t very specific.

She tells Ed she’s the woman who will carry out his execution, along with her two boys – two men, who are sitting in a truck parked facing Ed.

They’ve basically created a makeshift electric chair.  There’s a lot of whooping and laughing as they give Ed a tester jolt.  He yells in pain, gasping when they stop.

The woman tells him that was only a taste.  It’s fair that Ed should die to pay for JoJo, who was in Haven when Ed blew it up.

She holds up a photograph. Ed seems afraid to look at it – then bursts into laughter when he sees it’s a dog.  For good measure – he calls the woman an anthropomorphizing nincompoop when she claimed that JoJo was happy and smiled often.

They give him another burst of electricity.  Ed hallucinates – seeing a spiteful Oswald telling him

I'm going to fix you, Ed

Ed blinks – confused. They jolt him again.  This time he sees a sincere Oswald, repeating the same phrase.

Everything stops when there’s some kind of fault with the electricity.  Ed quickly spots a way to trick them and escape.  In doing so – one of the men’s legs catch fire. As Ed runs off, he declares that he’ll fix Oswald.

 At City Hall, we hear distant explosions.  One of Oswald’s henchmen tells him that the army has invaded and men are heading this way. Oswald asks him if Nygma has been located – to which the man replies he has feelers out.  Oswald tells him the first man to find him gets to live.

Turning, he tells his dog he is surrounded by morons.  If he didn’t have his empire – he’d go get Nygma himself

(An aside – it’s actually something that has been frustrating about Oswald in later seasons. Season One Oswald was very mobile. He moved around a lot: think of all the places we see him.  Fish’s club, Gertrud’s apartment, GCPD, Jim and Barbara’s place, Maroni’s weird lodge, Falcone’s mansion, Loeb’s house…. It helped give a sense of how he had a finger in every pie, but also how much he truly inhabited the city.  He was everywhere.   But after they have him empire building – he becomes much more static.  He’s usually stuck in a grand house or hall, and has to send other people out to do his bidding.)

He spots that the gun on his desk has gone. He turns – and now it’s pointing at his head

It’s Ed2

(Ed gets demoted if the dog is in the same scene)

Hello Oswald.  We have a great deal to talk about.  But first - did you name your dog after me?

(An aside.  You know – that dog is sweet, but the naming decision feels like self-indulgent fic territory.  Unpopular opinion, I know – but there it is.)

 At GCPD, Harvey says Nygma’s been seen at City Hall – he’s going after Oswald.  Eduardo says Oswald is at the top of their list – so this sounds like a twofer

Jim says Oswald has all the ammo in town – so they need shock and awe

Eduardo says that’s his default, and asks Jim if he’s ready to go.

Jim looks a little dubious, and tells him to take Harvey.  He’ll keep things locked down here

(An aside – it’s possible that Jim does this because he wants to salve Harvey’s bruised ego from earlier, although sending him to City Hall with Eduardo to face a heavily-armoured and very irritated Oswald would seem to be a bit of an over-correction of that earlier moment.  It is amusing to consider, though, that Jim did not want Eduardo to witness what would likely have happened at City Hall if Jim had gone instead – i.e. Oswald wheedling his way out of a visit to the precinct, Jim telling Oswald to please be good this time, and then some emotionally vulnerable and sexually charged staring.)

At Sirens, a flippant Selina tells a serious-faced Bruce he’s killing the buzz. Bruce tells her this isn’t her.  Selina smiles, and asks Bruce if he really thinks he knows her. He solemnly tells her better than she knows herself.

Selina smiles.  She tells Bruce that the night his parents were murdered she watched it all and did nothing.

Her eyes fill

She says she watched

That guy shoot your father and shoot your mother and through it all - I did nothing

She lets out a laugh that turns into a sob

I didn't call for help. I didn’t scream at him to stop

Bruce tells her it wasn’t her fault – she was a scared kid.  Selina tells Bruce he was the scared kid.

Bruce has teared up now too. She continues

We are not the same.  I didn't do anything because I was not willing to risk my neck - because I didn’t care.  That's who I was and that's who I am

A different song starts playing.  Selina puts on a faux-smile and says she loves this song.  A tearful Bruce watches her walk away.

 Back at City Hall, an irate Ed is questioning a confused Oswald.

What did you do?

What are you talking about?

Ed is insistent

You!  You are the reason I killed those people!  How could you?  You have made me some murderous puppet!

(Just a reminder here that when Ed found a seriously injured and traumatised Oswald in the woods, he took him home, injected him with God knows what, told him he had no option but to stay there, and rubbed his hands with glee when he figured out the best way to manipulate him to his own ends – which was through his grief for his murdered mother.  You know, just while the story is touching on stuff like taking away someone’s agency, and using them for your own selfish ends.)

Ed rants that he’s spent weeks waking up strange places - driving himself mad, thinking he’d gone mad - now he knows that it’s all been Oswald’s doing

Of everything that you have put me through - this is the most cruel

(Just another reminder that - you know, while we’re discussing cruelty – Ed tried to drive Oswald insane, dug up his father’s remains, humiliated him, attempted to demonstrate that he wasn’t capable of love (so – you know – tried to completely dehumanise him), and then shot him in the gut and pushed him off the end of the pier. Just, you know, in case we’re looking for some kind of gold standard for cruelty).

Oswald blinks in confusion, and tells Ed that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.  Ed quotes the ‘I’ll fix you’ from his hallucination.  He goes on – telling Oswald he didn’t fix him: he broke him

Realisation dawns on Oswald’s face.

Wait - I said that to you on the night the bridges blew!

He tells Ed that he saved his life.  He found him and paid Hugo Strange to save him – but Hugo must have done something when he was patching him up.

Ed is incredulous. Oswald is indignant – asking him what he was supposed to do?  After Butch, Ed was his only friend.  Ed exclaims that he shot Butch, to which Oswald retorts that’s why he needed Ed alive.

Oswald is frustrated. He sighs and turns to him

Edward Nygma - if I wanted you to suffer, I would never do it in some backhanded way.  If we are ever at odds again, you will know without a doubt that I am your enemy.  I promise you that, as a friend.

(An aside.  I have made no bones about the fact I’ve found just about everything they’ve done with this relationship over the seasons to be utterly forced - clunky and leaden.  If anything ever exemplifies a lot of what I don’t like about it, it’s that moment just there.  Compare how natural and nuanced almost any other interaction in this episode was in comparison with this moment.  It’s self-indulgent and melodramatic in a manner usually reserved for bad fanfiction. Bear it in mind particularly when we get that lovely scene later with Bruce and Harvey, and compare the two.)

Ed considers him for a moment, then yells

What a mess!  I might have killed you, Oswald.  And if that day comes, I swear to you that I will stare you in the eye as I stab you in the heart.

We already saw that, Ed. Back when you shot him in the gut

Oswald nods tearfully

(An aside, something else I hate about what they’ve done with this – insta-woobie ooc Oswald)

Oswald tells him to look on the bright side.  If Strange messed with his head, then Ed’s not responsible for what happened.  Ed asks where to find Hugo – but the conversation is interrupted by an explosion.

One of Oswald’s men tells him that GCPD and the army have blown the gates

Oswald whispers to him

Grab Nygma - they want him, not me

(An aside – the speed with which Oswald is willing to sell Ed out is honestly hilarious)

Ed – however – has legged it, leaving a fulminating Oswald behind.

The doors to the main hall are blown open, and a smoke bomb is rolled on. Harvey and Eduardo enter.  Oswald waits amidst all the smoke – probably for the drama more than anything

Why hello Harvey!

He teases him about the ammo situation last time.  Harvey tells him they don’t want his territory. They want him to put down his weapons and hand over Ed Nygma.

The situation, I think, is now more about Oswald being pissed that his turf has been invaded than anything else. He tells them to leave by the time he counts to three, or he’ll shoot everyone.

Harvey stands his ground.

Oswald smiles

You’re not thinking clearly, Harvey.  Maybe call your boss - see what he thinks

(An aside – Oswald is so offended that he’s even having to look at someone from GCPD who isn’t Jim.  Ugh. This day just gets worse.  Funnier yet is his conviction that Jim will tell Harvey to come back to GCPD and stop bothering him)

There’s a staring match. Oswald’s men all wind up shot, and Oswald is taken in to GCPD. 

Ed is in Sirens - on his knees in front of Barbara.  She tells him all Gotham is looking for him

He replies that he needs information – your speciality

(An aside.  What?  Since, like - when?  When did information become Barbara’s speciality?  I know she likes power and money.  She’s also fond of violence and casual cruelty.  But information?  When was that supposed to have happened?)

Barbara says she’s going to cut his face into a jigsaw puzzle.  Ed urgently asks her if he’s dumb.  If – in all the years she’s known him – he’d ever done anything as brutally idiotic as this.  He didn’t kill those people.

Well…. not exactly.

Barbara dismisses her guards.  Ed tells her about Hugo Strange’s involvement, and how he suspects mind control. Whoever is responsible for the mind control killed those people, not him

Barbara says if by some miracle she believes him – why would she help?

Ed piques her curiosity by wondering what kind of powerful person would hire Strange and have Ed adapted in this way.  He says that Barbara must know where Hugo is, and when he finds out who was responsible for the chip – he’ll share the intel.  She’ll want to know, because, after all

Information is your lifeblood

Sure, whatever. 

Barbara doesn’t know precisely where Hugo is, but can direct him to his Igors.

 An interrogation room in GCPD.  Oswald lies on his front on the floor, his lip bleeding.  He looks up at Jim, who is apparently watching, and his face twists for a moment into a combination of pain and an appeal for help

For his part, Jim looks troubled.  He’s not enjoying this – in fact, I would go so far as to say it looks like he can’t stomach it – but he’s tolerating it.

Jim replies to his pained look

You’re protecting a mass murderer - don't look to me for sympathy

(An aside. Yes – I ship this, but even with shipper glasses off – it’s pretty much there in the text. Oswald knows that he can appeal to Jim for sympathy.  In responding to his look as he does, Jim is openly acknowledging that he would usually be a source of sympathy for Oswald.  It’s an admission from them both that there are dimensions to their relationship that go well beyond cop/gangster and – more than that – an admission that they’re both aware of that)

Oswald spits blood

Fine.  But not with that meat head around

Jim nods, and Eduardo leaves

Oswald laughs and rises from the floor

You know – they say you can judge man by the company he keeps

Jim retorts

This from a man who has no friends

(An aside – that sounds meaner than it actually played.  It’s delivered in that slightly schoolyard  tone Jim reserves for teasing Oswald – it’s not earnest or cruel.  Also – as we’ve seen this season, just saw in this scene, and will see again in a moment – it’s just not true.  Jim and Oswald have a relationship beyond work.

On top of that, you know – Jim – if not for the fact that Harvey is an extraordinarily forgiving man, your own friend list would have tumbleweeds blowing through it.)

Jim and Oswald take a moment to give each other a long, complicated look.  This scene is full of long complicated looks.  Neither of them particularly want to be in this situation, but their hands have been forced.

Oswald tells Jim that Nygma is a patsy, not a mass murderer.  He likes puzzles, games, killing – but killing hundreds of people – that’s not him, Jim knows this.

Jim asks who set him up

Oswald laughs, and leans back in his chair.

Jim - you want info, I want to go home

Jim grimaces.  

Eduardo’s not going to go for that.

Oswald smiles before pressing Jim’s button

I'm sorry – I thought you were in charge

Jim grimaces angrily and leans on the table

Even if I were to let you go – the army is going to come after you: things are changing in Gotham

I'll take my chances

Jim blinks.  He seems, to be honest, tired and uncertain.

Do you want Nygma or not?

Jim looks at him, and then glances sidelong at where Eduardo waits outside.

Jim leaves the interrogation room and talks to Eduardo

I know where Nygma’s going

Eduardo looks at him, then past him, nudging the door to let it swing open – revealing an empty room. He looks back at Jim

I trust you know what you’re doing?

They leave to go find Ed

(An aside. Quite a complicated little scene.  Neither Jim nor Oswald want to be in that room – but external forces have shoved them in there anyway.  

There’s a lot of history in the looks that are going back and forth.  Like I said, we have the explicit acknowledgment that Jim is likely to offer Oswald sympathy when others won’t.  We also have the open admittance that Jim knows Oswald sees him as a soft touch, and that he will likely give in anyway – just not in this particular circumstance, because the destruction of Haven was such a big deal.

Oswald also knows that pressing Jim’s buttons over control and power is likely to be effective.

Last up – we have Jim obliquely warning Oswald of the danger the army poses to him.  He’s not threatening him here, or trying to intimidate him.  If anything, his tone is almost pleading.  He doesn’t know how handle this situation.  He’s asked for help – and help has finally arrived – but Jim’s not actually sure what to do with it now it’s here.  Eduardo plainly told Jim that Oswald was at the top of their hit list.  Jim’s response?  Let him go, warn him that danger is coming.)

 In some lab facility somewhere, a body slides down a hatch.

It’s Hugo!

He’s complaining that the last body he was brought was gangrenous and completely unsuitable. When he turns, though, he sees Ed pointing a gun at him

Mr Nygma

Ed want to know how he control of his alter ego.  He’s rambling a little, talking about his Ed side.

A curious Hugo remarks that he is Ed Nygma.

Ed says he’s also the Riddler.

Hugo’s professional side makes a rare appearance

How interesting

He adds, though, that he knows nothing about all that.  He just tinkered and inserted a chip in his brain.  

Ed wants to know who requested this.  Hugo says he’ll write it down, so he can truthfully say that he didn’t tell Ed who was responsible.  His pen, though, contains knock-out gas – which he sprays at Ed.

Hugo says that he’s mystified as to how Ed regained any awareness – and that he’ll just have to open him up and take a look under the roof.  

 Bruce is at GCPD looking for Jim.  Instead, he finds Harvey, working at his desk

Sorry kid – it’s just me

He quickly takes in Bruce’s obvious distress, and takes his glasses off to regard him more carefully.

You all right?

Bruce says he’s fine – just looking for Jim. He remarks that he saw soldiers downstairs, trying to make some conversation – but still seeming distracted.  Harvey watches him, concerned.

Yeah, the Army's finally gotten off their asses and decided to help.  Jim's out with them now.  Are you sure you're all right?

A tearful Bruce says that he doesn’t know.  His usual careful defences crumble.

I see people losing their will to do good.  People I love.  What if we don't make it out of this?

Harvey looks at him. His face is sombre.

I'm not gonna lie, kid.  These past few months, I've wondered the same thing.  And when I don't know what to do, I come up here and I dig into these case files. I sit my ass down and I get to work.  I used to hate this kind of paperwork; now it's the only thing that keeps me going.  Why? Because the little things matter.  Act by act, deed by deed, it means something.  Even if no one notices or cares.

Bruce listens – taking in what he says

Thanks, Harvey.

He then does the classic Batman quick exit – leaving a slightly befuddled Harvey

(An aside - This scene between Bruce and Harvey was really lovely.  Bruce is tired, upset, and worried about Selina.  He's lost his conviction that things will work out, and everything looks hopeless to him right now.  Harvey doesn't have the answer to any of that - but he does have an honest way to go on with things: do the work.  It doesn't have to be showy and praised by all and sundry.  Do something useful - and know that the deed itself and the results are both worthwhile.

It was an understated scene that still got across some very big issues.

There’s the flagging of some key differences between Jim and Harvey – Jim’s need to be seen as a hero, and Harvey not sharing that same concern.  There’s also insight into how someone who is as fundamentally unhappy and alone as Harvey finds a meaningful way of living.  There’s also how much Harvey has changed since we first met him.

It's sweet, too, that Bruce confides in him.  They don't know each other well - but he's still been a constant.  Equally sweet is how Harvey talks to him.  He doesn’t coddle him, or just try to cheer him up in the way that Alfred or Jim might.  He’s simply honest.  No platitudes, and no inspirational speech.  He tells Bruce he’s just as scared as he is, and then offers him a way to deal with his fear.  

Now - compare that simple moment of compassion, all the subtleties and pathos, and all the meaning it holds with the yelling and stilted dialogue at City Hall with Ed and Oswald.  The difference is glaring.)

Hugo has top of Ed's skull off – pretty much like Hannibal tried to do to Will. According to Hugo, the gas he used on Ed immobilised him – but he can still feel pain.  A simple reboot will fix the problem, though.

 A City Hall, Oswald carries his dog along to a hatch in the floor.  He carefully descends a ladder, still carrying him, and turns on a light. It’s a massive vault – full of gold and money and shiny things.  

He smiles and tells the dog that the time has come for a change of scenery

I’ve said this for ages, sweetie.  You’ve got all that crime money.  Buy yourself a flat in Paris, another in Berlin.   Florence, Athens, Barcelona…. go for it.

 Back in the lab.  Hugo says the electric charge must have overloaded the chip – but he’d fixed it.  He will pass the good news to his handler.  His smiles disappears when he realises that a gun is being held to his head.

He protests.  He’s just helping a man who needs medical attention! Hugo is vile – but BD Wong is fantastic.

Jim walks round Hugo to look at Ed, whose eyes are open.  Hugo petulantly says he gave him biomedical anaesthesia – and brings him round.

Ed screams in pain and then immediately protests his innocence

I told you wasn't me!

Jim tells Hugo to talk. He says a contract came along, and developed a tool – gesturing to Ed, who is indignant.

How dare you

Eduardo contacts one of his men and tells him to escort Hugo out.  He leaves with a ta ta

He smirks at an incredulous Jim

Sorry pal - this part of the op is need to know

Apparently Walker – the woman Jim has been talking to one the radio – wants Ed taken out now.  

Jim is puzzled – asking if Walker is behind this - controlling Nygma

Eduardo shrugs that he hates the spooks crap.  He just follows orders

Jim mentions Haven – reeling from the idea that Walker might have been behind it.

Eduardo says Jim is to put a bullet in Ed's brain

Jim replies with a flat no

Eduardo tells him to call it proof of loyalty - what Walker needs to see from him before she implements the relief plan.  He tries to persuade him

Look at him.  He's a loon. A cop-killer.

(An aside – the strong feeling we’re getting from Jim at this point is ‘yeah – but he’s my loon’ – in the same way that this is his screwed-up home, and his tyrannical gangster.  I suspect this storyline might have lasted longer had the season not been truncated – and we’d have seen Jim gradually pull away from Eduardo, the man he thought was his friend, to acknowledge that he belongs to Gotham, and has emotional ties there that he’s not willing to break.)

Jim just wants the truth: did Walker destroy Haven?

Eduardo tells him ours is not to reason why – and says this is his chance to be part of the plan.

He adds that if Jim can’t pull the trigger on Ed – I’ll pull it on you

Jim stares

You’d kill me for some bureaucrat?

Eduardo is unperturbed. There’s really not one thought rattling around in that big beardy head of his

Mission comes first - you taught me that.  What's your answer?

Jim says he saved his life one too many times.  He feints putting his gun down, and then runs and escapes down the hatch in the wall we saw earlier.  Wheeee!

Eduardo presses a button, and orders EdBot to find Jim and kill him

EdBot immediately complies, and also goes wheeeeee down the chute.

Eduardo watches him go – secretly envious that his orders apparently don’t allow him to go wheeee too.

Aha – so this is where that absurdly beautiful image of Jeremiah came from. He’s lying down, eyes shut, in some kind of cave.  We see a rock pulled aside by Ecco

Boss - wake up

Jeremiah winces as he sits up.  Ecco asks sympathetically if the stitches are still sore, and tells him he should have worn the armour she made.

Jeremiah curls his lip contemptuously, and tells her the bullet is making her sentimental – she should gave it a shake.  Ecco obligingly does so – and nods excitedly when he asks her if that’s better.

He tells her he had to let Selina stab him once - verisimilitude trumps precautions.  Ecco nods – and says Bruce and Selina had to think he was dead.  Jeremiah rolls his eyes at her summary, and comments impatiently that he takes it she has news.  She replies that it’s all systems go, and they head out.

(I suppose this is essentially canon, but – wow, does Jeremiah treat his ‘girlfriend’ with contempt).

Is Jeremiah in Wayne Manor? He addresses a man in a white coat, telling the dr he’s hearing good things.  The doctor tells him his assistant thought he’d like to see the results.

Jeremiah is wide-eyed as he approaches two people we can only see from behind – who look, as best as memory serves, to be Bruce's parents.

Jeremiah laughs for a second, then opens his eyes wide – and tells them they look beautiful

I just love family reunions - don't you?

Jeremiah, confronted with the problem of what gift you can buy for your billionaire crush who likely has everything, has seemingly got very creative and cloned his dead parents.

General Observations

Jim is doing a classic Jim. He's been unhappy about the situation in the city for weeks – pleading for help.  But now that official help of a sort has shown up - the kind Jim should want, and should back, and should identify with - he's wobbling. He balks at the idea of shooting Ed.  He had no interest in arresting Oswald, let alone any qualms about letting him go, and looked downright unhappy in the interrogation room.  When push comes to shove, Jim has relationships with these people - whether he’ll acknowledge it or not

To analyse it more closely in terms of Jim's psychology - the army element plays a role too.  He might talk about his time there fondly - but, ultimately, he chose to leave. When Barnes - who was father figure and army past combined - showed up, Jim barely waited until the end of his first episode before disobeying him to going off to see Oswald – leaning on their special relationship and warning him about the new regime.

He repeats that pattern again here.  Jim might want to represent that kind of authority - but a part of him is always looking to buck it, too.  It's part of the reason, I think, that he and Oswald are more likely to squabble during Oswald's particularly tyrannical phases.

And all of that disquiet is even before we find out that Walker is likely corrupt and dreadful.

 The whole thing with Ed. Eh.  I know what they’re trying to do here. The problem, for me, is that it’s not really outside the bounds of possibility that Ed could knowingly have destroyed Haven.  Sure – the whole affair would have been showier, and Ed would have made some kind of speech beforehand – but still.  Ed - and Barbara – actually, both watched from a high window while Gotham tore itself apart under the Tetch virus.  Neither of them flinched at what they saw.

It’s weird – because you don’t need to downplay Ed’s capacity for sadistic violence in order to also entertain the notion that part of him might be horrified by it.  That, after all, is a crucial part of his characterisation: that he is frequently fractured, with various facets of his personality more or less dominant.  In season one, we saw that certain aspects of his personality were almost completely suppressed.  Later, we saw the season one version of him humiliated and berated by darker aspects of his personality, as well as horrified by what it had him do when it ‘took over’.  

So – you can have your cake and eat it really – you can have a character who is capable of dreadful things, as well as the tragedy that some drowned part of him is horrified and disgusted by what he has done, and simply endures it with no ability to speak up. That would work with Ed’s extreme rage and fear at the loss of control he’s been enduring.

What doesn’t work, though, is retconning him to be a better person than he is. I’ve watched Ed torture because he enjoyed it.  Kill because he felt like it.  I’m not entirely sure I buy that he’d be horrified by what happened to Haven.

Miscellaneous

I have no idea whether Selina knows about Tabitha yet.  She must – it makes no sense that she wouldn’t – but there was no indication of her reaction to that.

Similarly – I don’t really understand why no-one has said a word about Lee yet.  I’m guessing it’s because we’re simply not ‘there’ yet in the story – but it makes no logical sense.

Alfred said a lot that was true about respecting Selina’s decision, but – ultimately- his advice to leave Selina alone simply comes off as callous.

Lucius must have had a day off today.

[i-am-the-entertainer]

RevieWBY: Volume 6

This has been stated so many times, but Volume 5 was bad. Okay, it wasn’t terrible, like I don’t feel offended by it being bad (unlike certain folks), but looking back on it I don’t have anything to say to really defend it as something Rooster Teeth should have talked up as much as they did at the time. It had some good things going for it, but the amount of problems it had in terms of animation and writing really put a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. So for Volume 6 to deal with all that fallout, it was going to have to do a lot. And to their credit, CRWBY accepted the criticism in stride, and actively worked to make Volume 6 something that people who despised Volume 5 might enjoy.

Still, one had to go into this season with the understanding that some people were never going to be completely satisfied with whatever CRWBY did. Because at the end of the day, the RWBY that Rooster Teeth currently makes is not Monty Oum’s show anymore. No, this isn’t saying CRWBY is in any way disrespecting his legacy, it’s just Monty Oum had a certain method to running the show that only he could really get away with: epic fight scenes, suddenly throwing giant curveballs into the series’ mythology, taking vital time away from storytelling so the fights looked cool. I mean, there are people who criticize the show for doing that now when they didn’t give two shits when Monty did it, because Monty did it in a manner that somehow worked. I don’t know how he did it, but he did, and, well, he’s not here to do it, and there’s no way even a huge animation team can collectively do things like him. And they shouldn’t: if they can use a better industry standard animation engine than Poser, than the fact that Monty Oum didn’t like animating with Maya shouldn’t stop them.

Blah blah blah...this is all about FNDM reception. What did I think of Volume 6?

Well...

Focus

In my mid-volume review I cited this as Volume 6′s strongest aspect, and as far as I can tell this remains the case. By focusing our hero storyline on one group and for the most part the villain storylines on only a few characters who were paired off, Volume 6 effectively told a story that didn’t force the viewers to juggle multiple things and find some semblance of a continuing story. Everything happened linearly and the whole thing made for a more enjoyable watch overall.

Tone

Building off of that renewed focus, this volume felt like it had more of a consistent tone that lasted from beginning to end. RWBY markets itself as an anime show and uses a lot of that anime-style of humor (slapstick and comedically exaggerated emotions), but honestly it’s always played fast and loose with using that humor in a way that doesn’t feel out of place. In this volume it was more consistently used, and that’s largely thanks to the nailed down focus that allowed character interactions to utilize the humor in a natural way. Ruby and Maria Calavera were especially good sources for humor.

Now, things did get a little more screwball when Cordovin came into the mix, but it was interesting seeing CRWBY take that humor to a logical extreme for the first time in a while (not since the Beacon years). It interrupted the tone for a bit, but not in a manner that overall changed the genre this show is going for.

Animation

Beautiful. The improved production pipeline that we’ve heard about really came through. These episodes were the best they’ve ever looked, minus a few errors here and there, showing just how amazing RWBY can look when you give the animators time to add their own touches. There was some really great fight animation to boot: none of the fights this volume felt awkward, and you could tell the animators had a lot of fun.

Worldbuilding/Storytelling

It feels weird saying that Volume 6 did a better job with worldbuilding than Volume 4, which took place on four different continents and traveled across one, and Volume 5, which took place on two different continents and featured the second major skirmish between the villains and the heroes. I think this has to do with just how well it was integrated into the story: insight into the world came at points where the story needed it and when the viewers wanted it. Nothing ever felt like a massive info dump better suited World of Remnant; where there was just too much information delivered that wasn’t relevant to what was happening in the show. Volumes 4 and 5 had this same problem with establishing the world, often telling us too much in a way that just didn’t feel natural to the story. With Volume 6, almost every chapter up until the final Argus arc included some form of that insight:

Chapter 1 showed us how ordinary civilians deal with traveling through Grimm territory––the steps they take to protect themselves

Chapter 2 showed us some aspects of the Mistral criminal underground, not telling us too much about it but suggesting it was much larger than what Cinder encountered.

Chapter 3 showed us...so many things.

Chapter 4 offered a sense of the stakes RWBY faced in relation to all of Remnant.

Chapter 5 and 6 gave us a glimpse at another form of non-city life in Remnant.

Chapter 7 introduced us to Argus, my favorite of all the Remnant cities we’ve seen; plus a glimpse into the life of the silver-eyed warriors; and a more representative depiction of what domestic life is like in Remnant

Chapter 8 told us what Atlas personnel who aren’t Ironwood or Winter are like, plus the long-awaited insight into how the silver eyes work.

Chapter 9 shows something of the effect the Battle of Beacon, and by extension Pyrrha’s death, had outside of our core group.

Things kind of teeter off with the finale arc, but that’s because worldbuilding became a little less important to what was going on. This is kind of a stretch, but the mech fight and the arrival of the Grimm in Argus give us an idea of how large non-capital cities defend themselves without just spelling everything out.

All in all, this volume delivered on some impressive worldbuilding, probably the best the series has had in a while. It wasn’t massive info dumps unless it needed to be (e.g. Chapter 3), and it offered just enough for other important things like the storytelling and the action to still be in the forefront.

Characters

Volume 5, despite the fact it involved the major reunion of Team RWBY after two volumes, felt like it was simply putting the main characters through situations without those situations really doing anything to develop them or define them as anything beyond what we already knew. Some characters fared better on the development front, namely Yang, but others, especially Ruby, just seemed to be along for the ride without us getting any insight into them. This is where the writing issue that came from separating everyone starting with Volume 4 really came to a head: too many different characters with their own story to cover, and sometimes those stories just didn’t do much for the character beyond existing as a situation they were in.

Volume 6 feels like the refutal of that, and that mostly has to do with the fact that we’re not juggling so many storylines anymore. When a major event happens to the heroes, everyone gets affected at the same time. The train crashes? DEVELOPMENT! Jinn’s story? DEVELOPMENT AND INSIGHT! Snowstorm? INSIGHT! The Apathy? DEVELOPMENT! Telling team JNR about Jinn’s story? DEVELOPMENT! Adam ambushes Blake and Yang for the first time since Volume 3? DEVELOPMENT! WITH A HEALTHY DOSAGE OF ANGST!

Surprisingly, the same thing is happening to two of our favorite villains, Mercury and Emerald: even though they only really appeared in three chapters this Volume, we actually got a surprising chance to see how their defeat at the Battle of Haven affected them, and their increasingly strong misgivings about working for Salem. We get more of an idea of them as people rather than Cinder’s blind followers, understanding why they stuck with such an evil person for so long. It’s the most we’ve learned about them since Volume 3, and we didn’t even need lengthy flashbacks.

Even Adam got some more insight. RWBY has been following the path that Adam was an abusive ex-boyfriend for quite a while now, but there was always this underlying thought that he got into the White Fang business for a seemingly noble cause. The problem was the show hadn’t depicted how he got from Point A to Point B. The Adam Character Short offered us some of that much needed insight, putting some of his actions up to this point in a new context, even if it was set-up for clearing up some things so they could get rid of him.

Of course, there are still exceptions to characters getting character development, and honestly they’re kind of glaring ones. Oscar’s development arc, where he came to accept he was his own person, completely happened offscreen (for reasons that I’ve brought up before and will reiterate in the final section), robbing us of really witnessing his growth as a person. I enjoyed some of the stuff Cinder did this volume, especially her escape from the vault and her fight with Neo. But honestly she continues to be a pretty bland villain with little hints at her motivations for being such a terrible person: the Battle of Haven was such an utter defeat for her there needed to be some form of consequence that would’ve affected her character while also telling us more about her. Maybe it would’ve been her strategizing her revenge, which would’ve gotten more insight into how she thinks as a master planner. Instead, we get her leaving the vault, more or less going back to what she used to do but in a more low-key setting, fighting with Neo, plotting with Neo, and leaving with Neo. It felt more like “Hey, she’s alive, and here’s what she’s doing,” which while I appreciate it feels kind of a waste of time if you’re not doing anything with her beyond that. Honestly, a post-credits reveal that she was alive and then a pre-Volume 7 character short detailing how she made it to Atlas that covered her and Neo’s entire storyline this volume would’ve been more helpful.

Before I go on to my most major critique of this volume, I need to address the two Goliaths in the room.

Adam

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: they needed to get rid of Adam. The way things have been going, there was only so much more you could do with his character before he became a nuisance that was overstaying his welcome. I understand people wanted some deeper insight into him, but the fact was he was never introduced to be a major villain to anyone beyond Blake and later Yang. They could’ve had him have a thing against Weiss, but they didn’t, they focused the time that would’ve made him a major villain for everyone else on making people like Roman and Cinder and Salem the big villains. They decided on the path of abusive ex-boyfriend a very long time ago, and if you hadn’t figured that out after the Adam Character Short I honestly think you were being willfully ignorant to what’s been building up.

The best I can say is that Adam and his history is a missed opportunity for some pretty interesting storytelling and worldbuilding, but the fact remains: it is not his story that they want to tell, it is not his show. It may make something interesting to think about, but Adam’s story is supplementary, and works better in supplementary material, a la character shorts and maybe mangas.

Jaune

Y’all need to quit it with the “Hrrr drr Jaune took up time again moan moan Miles Luna is self indulgent” talk, he barely did anything this volume beyond Chapter 9 and having a sister that the whole fandom loved.

Pacing

This...this is where Volume 6 ran into trouble.

Overall, from the season premiere to the finale arc, this was probably the best-paced season of RWBY we’ve ever had. Major story events happened right when we needed them, and for the most part they didn’t drag out story arcs for any longer than they needed to be.

Well...until they reached Argus, that is.

At face value, a lot happened in the final couple of chapters. Chapter 8 gave us Maria explaining the silver eyes, Chapter 9 had the scene with Pyrrha’s statue and the mysterious Red-Haired Woman (I’ll headcanon whatever I want about who she is, Jen Brown) Chapter 10 started the Cordovin fight, Chapter 11 reinforced Blake and Yang’s partnership, Chapter 12 killed Adam, and Chapter 13 had Ruby finally use her silver eye powers to defeat a Grimm and they made it to Atlas. Yeah, it was a pretty eventful set of episodes.

So then why did it feel like it dragged? Here are a couple reasons that I’ve identified.

1. The Cordovin Battle sidelined story arcs for too long

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: the finale arc should not have been split up like that over so many episodes. It afforded us some pretty well-animated fights, some of the best the series has ever had, but the volume hadn’t been relying on that action to keep up the forward momentum, but on actually telling the stories of these characters. I get the need for CRWBY to prove that they can do well-animated fights, but as I’ve come to accept action should never take precedence over storytelling (I know, that’s hard to swallow when parts of the fndm spends hours complaining about how Monty’s not animating the fights anymore). And it’s clear to me in this final arc put emphasis on the action over the momentum of the story, bringing the actually pretty good storytelling the volume had had up to that point to a grinding halt.

Now, historically RWBY fights have delayed telling stories, but it’s never been for too long, at most maybe two chapters? But if you spend three chapters on a single fight, thereby devoting three weeks of your viewers’ time to high-octane action, people are gonna notice that the story is basically going nowhere.

What could’ve made this less of a problem? Well, perhaps establishing Cordovin earlier and making her less of a buffoon would’ve eased my hatred of this arc. Volume 6 lacks a clear antagonist for the story, but the way Cordovin was treated as a big deal in this final battle made it seem like she was taking up that role, except we didn’t even see her until the final half of the volume, and in her debut we couldn’t take her seriously as a villain, much less an antagonist, because of the pure comedy they used in her intro. There needed to be something about her at least a few episodes early––take this with a grain of salt because I think following JNR in Argus would’ve killed the balanced pacing of the first half of the volume (and just made the Jaune haters apoplectic), but maybe a few quick scenes of JNR arriving in Argus and getting rejected by her would’ve been helpful. Or honestly easing off on the comedy of her intro. Such a one-note character who we are primed to not take seriously isn’t interesting as a major force, so identifying her as a more threatening roadblock for the heroes would’ve made the stakes of the final fight a little more...present.

2. Important storylines got trimmed for time’s sake and weren’t addressed properly.

@hypeathon (whose excellent production analyses for this Volume are well worth a read) identified a tweet Miles made back in October, prior to the premiere and most likely when they were finishing storyboards, about “killing your darlings.” For those unaware and who may have severely misinterpreted that comment, “killing your darlings” is when writers have to sacrifice something they love or want to do so that the story works better. The timeliness of this tweet (after they would’ve finished the script but before they’d wrapped on storyboards and voice acting for the final episodes) suggests the writers’ room had to cut a lot of material from Volume 6 (what Miles called a massacre of darlings), most likely due to production limits or not having enough time to cover them.

Think about it: the story from Chapters 1-7 was really good: everything was properly spaced out, the scripts felt polished, there was a balance of action and comedy and legit storytelling, the good pacing lasted longer than it ever has within a single volume.

Then we hit Chapter 8 and suddenly it all changes: storylines don’t get the proper time devoted to them, arcs come to a screeching halt due to the big fight. Unlike previous volumes, where the imbalance was pretty much the entire volume, there’s actually a clear point right in the middle of this volume where things suddenly took a turn for the worse. And the fact is, some of the problems with the story in the final arc suddenly make more sense if you accept that time that would’ve been devoted to it got sidelined in this “purge”: Qrow’s alcoholism suddenly getting brushed aside after Chapter 9 hopefully to be addressed next volume, Oscar disappearing and all his development happening offscreen, Adam’s completely unsubtle return after only a vague hint in Chapter 1 that would’ve been stronger if he’d kept popping up in Argus. I’d even go so far to say the odd pacing of the final few chapters could easily have been the result of the writing team not being able to devote a single chapter to such a grand fight, so they needed to stretch it out so CRWBY could actually animate it within reasonable deadlines, which meant sacrificing time for those arcs that so desperately needed development.

So what overall is gonna fix RWBY’s pacing in the future? Well, I think at the moment the show is too ambitious. If it wants to keep to a reasonable production schedule, they need to control the scale of their finales so that it can be completed without needing to sacrifice other storylines. If it wants to hold onto that ambition and make the finales as grand as they want it to be to do their boy Monty proud, then they absolutely need to delay the actual release of the volume so they can put in the proper amount of time to both the story and animation. And I don’t think anyone would mind waiting a little longer for Volume 7 if it meant this show got the care and attention it needs to tell the story it clearly wants to tell.

Conclusions

Evaluating Volume 6 is impossible without evaluating what came before it. RWBY was never a perfect show, but when you lose someone who was responsible for the show’s popularity in the first place and have to change how it’s made to make up for his absence, there’s going to be backlash. Backlash from the fans, and, uh, backlash from inside the company. The fact is, people are never going to be satisfied with the RWBY that Rooster Teeth makes today, and Rooster Teeth is never going to push out a RWBY that will make everyone happy. All they can really do is keep moving forward.

And move forward they did. Despite my problems with the finale, Volume 6 was good. I’ve always been sort of ambivalent about the show (I was drawn to it by my brother shortly before Monty’s death and have been watching it out of respect for him and the company as creative artists), and even if I thought some of RWBY’s critics were being too harsh (or seriously needed to find something better to do), I didn’t find Volumes 4 and 5 enjoyable enough that I felt like defending them. But guys, Volume 6 did something amazing: it made RWBY fun to watch again. Focused, consistent, and compelling storytelling plus gradually eased-in worldbuilding made for a story that I could follow along without having to juggle so many different plots. Improvements in the overall animation made things nice to look at and when fights happened they were always entertaining, never making me cringe or grimace, always making me think “Hell yeah, beat the shit out of them!” Just like I felt back in the old days of the show.

I feel as though what’s holding RWBY back at this point, however, is adhering to the production schedule that its old vision called for in making its current vision. And it honestly cannot keep doing that. RWBY is a show trying to reach grand heights, and its rushed production timelines and lost story arcs are keeping it tethered to the ground. Yet I can’t help but say: Volume 6 is RWBY at its finest so far. It can’t fix the problems that previous volumes have had, but it builds on the void those problems left to build a story that makes this show feel like something worth following once more.

So, I can safely say I’ll be following along when RWBY returns for Volume 7...hopefully later rather than sooner (again, it needs a better production schedule).

[biolizardboils]

i finished binging epic tales!! thoughts under the cut (beware of spoilers tho yo)

aight lemme get some critical thoughts outta the way first, it’ll be quick i promise

potty humor has always been a CU staple but the vomit jokes were a bit too much for me tbh? a couple of them especially so

with all due respect to nat faxon i still really miss ed helms as krupp/cap (rip 2017-2017)... nat’s krupp is hella funny tho

i feel like all but three of the New Kids were criminally underused but hey theres still season 2 (and theres a clip of mr. meaner that wasnt in any episode, so it might be coming pretty soon)

told you it’d be quick! on to the good stuff

my favorite parts of this series isnt even the plot or anything, its every time they showed george and harold being their sweet silly little selves.... playing dress up and bouncing comic ideas off each other......it does my cold adult heart good....if anybody makes a compilation vid of all those moments id die for you

that part where everyone is really sad in ep 4 is meant to be funny but when the boys talk about how meeting each other was the happiest moment of their lives and their voices crack so realistically that i had to pause it and gather myself, kudos to their voice actors for a lot of reasons but especially that

also all the sad stuff sad!Cap talked about? like how he started balding in his teens and never feeling truly loved? sound more like things Krupp would be sad about?? 🤔🤔🤔

speaking of Krupp during his Inside Out moment i fully expected Cap to walk in at some point, missed opportunity there

when i was small i wanted to see all the other teachers become supervillains like Ms. Ribble did and i finally got my wish!!! and not in a heartbreaking way like in Book 12

jerome horwitz finally has a janitor and hes more baller than i ever couldve imagined

Erica Wang is gonna grab life by the horns when she gets outta school and im gonna cheer her on all the way

Gooch and Bo are Very Good Boys and i will protect them with my life

Jessica and the two Sophies deserve a spinoff

my fave villain was the Smelly Socktopus! i love his voice and how he was animated

chupacabra vs bigfoot vs krupp’s shark is the Death Battle we deserve

melvin is a little Piss Boi here like i love him but wow

krupp’s Actual Hair honestly looks great??

BABY BENNY!!!! B A B Y B E N N Y

DARK DREAMWORKS FINALLY SHOWED US THE FORBIDDEN KRUPP BACKSTORY AND I DONT EVEN CARE THAT ITS MOSTLY PLAYED FOR LAUGHS IM SO HA PPY

i really like how he grew up on a farm thats so cute?? i cant believe hes actually clark kent

“In A Robot-Wedgie-Free World” was actually beautiful

VIL ENDENEMYS’ TRUE NAME REVEAL HAD ME SNATCHED!!!

aight so George Harold and Krupp are banned from the school, Melvin’s teamed up with Evil Future Cyborg Melvin, and theres a Venom-lookin toxic-waste-soaked alien robe lurking in the sewers?? season 2′s gonna be WILD

sorry this is so unorganized, i decided to take tons of screenshots instead of liveblogging ANYWAY 8/10 would bingewatch while eating a whole box of fruit loops again

[ick25]

Rockman.EXE Episode 12 Review.

Roll... Charm? Nah.

Crash or Clash? Im so confused.

We start this episode with Yaito and Meiru at the N-1′s gift shop. You know, since shopping is something girls do.

Meiru-chan tries out a hat only to have it taken from her by Iroaya Madoi.

Because she felt like bothering some kids today.

After insulting Yaito’s shiny big forehead she proceeds to insult Meiru.

The insult was better in the dub.

She finally reveals to be Meiru and Roll’s next opponent and the title card appears.

Midorikawa begins to announce the next two matches, starting with Netto vs Hinouken in the main dome, though she sounds more excited about the match in the B-dome which will be Madoi vs Meiru, the first “Girl vs Girl” battle.

Too bad only ONE of their Navis is actually a girl!

Did she called Madoi old? Also, whats with the poses? Was Madoi fixing her hair before her picture? And Hinouken is like, “Yeap, thats me, I am a fire god”. BTW his real name is Kenichi, turns out Hinouken is a nickname.

After this we cut to Meiru-chan and friends in the locker room, where all the guys are keeping their distance.

This girl is on fire!

As you can guess, Madoi has her compleatly burning with rage, or is it a firery aura as Higure-san says?

Whatever it is, it engulfs Yaito as well when Meiru promises to defeat Madoi using the chips she gave her.

If anything, Tohru should be the head of the Madoi hate club since she kidnapped his father, and are we also forgeting that she is part of the World Three?

Netto doesnt understand why both Yaito and Meiru are so angry at Madoi, (World Three, Netto!) so he asks them what happend, while they’re still burning.

And we get a scene where they are standing face to face with Madoi and the hat from the gift shop flying in the background.

Who paid for the hat anyway?

She is like twelve, of course she has small breasts!

But Meiru-chan fights back and unintentionally calls her old because she said “Obasan” which ticks off Madoi.

She never said “Old hag”, she called her madame, ma’m or old lady XD

Also, 23?! Not with that makeup as Yaito and Meiru tell her before calling her old again. Intentionally this time.

We then get a dramatic scene with the two of them insulting eachother.

It is ON!!!

After that “flashback”, we cut to the cyberworld where Glyde and Roll are talking about how rude Madoi was to both their operators.

Quick, Rockman! Say yes! Say YES!

Saved...

Netto says goodbye to everyone since they will be go cheer for Meiru-chan at her match. Followed by Yaito asking what happend to Masa-san, who was apparently there earlier. I like the way Higure-san starts searching for him.

Netto is runnig down the hall on his way to his match but is stopped by a monitor on the wall about another record being broken.

Yeap! Sharkman, the Navi Rockman met back in episode 5. Turns out he is the Navi of the strange man we saw with Miyuki and Saloma before, who is totally not Masa-san, even though he tells everyone to eat more Calcium.

So thats his theme? Ok.

Netto starts getting excited over this and Miyuki appears next to him saying that the commander is exagerating his “rank”. This, of course, makes Netto ask her if she knows him, and she denies it in such a rookie way.

Come on, Miyuki, you can do better than that.

She leaves and Netto continues his way to the match, and we see Mahajarama coming through the wall just to say something ominous about his battle with Hinouken.

How does he do that? O.O

In the next scene Netto and Rockman’s battle begins, with Hinouken looking suspiciously confident. Once the battle begins, Rockman dashes at Fireman using the same attack and animation he used against Gutsman back in the first episode.

I call it, the “Rock n Rumble”!

As the battle continues, Midorikawa announces that the battle in the B-dome is about to begin. So we cut to Roll in a redish canyon arena where Coloredman attacks her by surprise.

Roll starts her attack with her Heart Flash move, but Coloredman is able to catch them and... Eats them?

So Roll throws candy hearts?

Coloredman throws his ball at her, she dodges and this happens.

He’s lying of course, Coloredman’s ball comes rolling back at Roll giving her TIME to dodge! Seriously, this is how the scene goes.

“Why didn’t you tell me to dodge?!”

Meiru, you had plenty of time to use a battle chip! Who is the operator here?!

This was to create drama before cutting to comertials, and we return with Roll on the ground and Meiru nagging Madoi who is just powdering her face.

Shouldn’t you be helping your Navi?

Madoi just starts mocking her which also angers her friends on the stands where Masa-san takes the oportunity to re-join them.

Told you this was gonna be a thing.

The crowd suddently starts going wild, everyone begins to cheer for someone, starting with this kid who looks like Netto.

Madoi is confused about this until she finally pays attention to the battle.

No wonder they’re going crazy, this is awsome! XD

This results in Coloredman throwing his ball upwards squashing him in a comidic way.

Coloredman gets angry and brings out his mini mes!

But Roll-chan has a new trick up her glove, she throws her hearts at the mini Coloredmen making them fall in love with her, and she then orders them to attack him.

After this, Coloredman literally knocks some sense into them and they then proceed to chase Roll, running her over.

Or should I say, “Roll” her over? XD

We cut to the spectator stands where we focus on Miyuki and Saloma, not only because the light focuses on them, but because they are the only ones who are not brunnetts.

They’re talking about how they can’t arrest Madoi, even knowing she is a World Three member, because Net criminals can only be arrested over the Net. Which is kinda dumb considering how she held someone hostage in episode 6. 

Anyway, its funny how Miyuki says this last line only to follow it with this scene.

Midorikawa tells the audience the progress of the battle in the sub dome, as we cut to Rockman’s battle.

Fireman attacks, Rockman dodges it and lands like this for some reason.

Talk about light on your feet.

In the battle we see that they are evenly matched as they both get pushed back by the others shots.

Netto realizes that Fireman is even stronger than before, and Hinouken confirms his thoughts by telling him that they have train exhaustively ever since they lost the second time, (although it really wasnt Rockman who beat him)

You already had an episode about that, remember? And you failed!

After that, we cut back to Roll-chan who has finally read the mini Coloredmen attack pattern.

Meiru brags about it to Madoi, but she decides to play dirty by blinding Meiru with the Sun’s reflexion on her powder box mirror.

Meiru’s reaction distracts Roll who is attacked from behind by the mini Coloredmen.

With Meiru incapable of doing anything (even less than before), Coloredman takes advantage of the situation and decides to get ready to delete Roll with the Aqua and Flame Towers.

However, Yaito wont allow this to happend and runs down the stairs to where Meiru is to cheer her on. Madoi gets annoyed at this and decides to use her mirror on her too, which turns out be a bad idea.

Yaito, with your forehead so bright, wont you blind my sight tonight?

Yaito’s shiny forehead returns the reflexion to Madoi who falls backwards droping her PET in the process.

This has an effect on the mini Coloredmen who get damaged and blow up, leaving Coloredman confused. Meiru takes the opportunity to FINALLY use one of the chips Yaito gave her which so happends to be a rare chip.

Coloredman gets scared and counters with his ball, but the Triple Lance Battle Chip is too much for him and shoots through the ball hitting Coloredman afterwards, ending the battle.

After Meiru and friends celebrate her victory they decide to go cheer for Netto in his battle.

Speaking of the battle, we see that things are heating up, literally, as Fireman and Rockman are standing back to back, talking to eachother.

Netto slots-in the Elec Sword, Fireman uses a Fire sword and the episode ends with Hinouken saying something suspicious as he looks up at the sun.

My thoughts on this?

Is it just me, or is everytime a shonen anime tries to focus on the girl characters, it ends up being lame in comparison?

Dont get me wrong, I love Roll and the way she battles, but the match felt more like a filler than an actual battle. I know Coloredman isnt the strongest Navi in the World Three... but he is a World Three Navi! It’s like they dumbed him down so he could lose against Roll and Meiru’s rookie fighting style. Rockman delivers punches and kicks from time to time, but Roll just pulls hair and pinches faces. It was pretty fun to watch though.

The dub decided to make this a two part episode, but it is originally two diferent episodes, this being part one and the next episode as part two because it ended in a cliffhanger.

Speaking of the dub, I find it really confusing how they changed Yaito and Meiru explaining Netto about Madoi after he asks them, the dub just cuts over to the flashback without mentioning it as such, it just looked like something that happend later rather than earlier, which makes the hat flying at the begining not make any sense.

This episode was probably a reference to the first game where Roll tried to stop Coloredman from blowing up a bus.

Of course, she couldnt handle it and Rockman had to step in and save her, but Im not saying she did a better job here. Roll did good as always but her operator has no idea what she’s doing. Roll-chan did all the work and Meiru gets the praise because she send a rare chip at the very end, that was literally her only job!

 In the dub, a lot of dialogue was added where there wasnt, like in the part where Roll is about to get hit by Coloredman’s ball, the dub had her saying that it was too late to avoid it, better than just standing there waiting for it to happend.

To be fair, an operator also directs the Navi, telling them where to go or what attacks to use sometimes, but Meiru still SUCKS! Its until Axess where she becomes a little more competent, so we still have an entire season to suffer through her dumb operation. All we can do for now is root for poor Roll-chan.

[orangememory]

Nirvana in Fire 2, Episode 6 Recap

First, A MERRY CHRISTMAS/ HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!

With that short transmission, lets get back! Though the release has sped ahead to Episode 12, with subs I am confined to Episode 6. This episode brings us some more court politics, more sweet family moments, some open secrets, some secondhand embarrassment for Pingjing and the mention of an old LYB fave and the introduction of a new hottie!

Last Episode:

In Episode 5, Pingjing and Co. faced a betrayal, snuck their way out of an evil plot, and the wonderful Da Sao, Meng Qianxue blew us all away. The Minister behind all this evil was arrested, but there seem to be so many loose ends. It will be an interesting ride to see the hidden motivations of these people. Last Episode, we ended with Minister Song’s confession and a list of collaborators, with Grand Secretary Xun turning paler and paler at the thought.

Episode 6 Recap:

- The Emperor reads the list of people who have colluded with Song Fu and remarks derisively that Song Fu is just stalling for time, that he cannot trust the names on the list. He hands this task over to Grand Secretary Xun (Who I will be now abbreviating as Sec Xun for ease) as the Head Minister. You may miss if you dont look for it, but the reporting Minister of Justice looks ever so slightly alarmed and turns his head to Sec Xun. Hmmm.

- The Emperor also bids Cai Quan junior to interrogate PA Qin/Duan Tongzhou and report the results to his brother, because even if his brother doesnt show it outwardly, he is very curious about the case. Its nice how well the Emperor understands Tingsheng, but really bby, dont show it in front of this bunch of connivers? The Emperor definitely has a bit of the buffalo genes, both in good ways and bad ways - he cannot hide the favour of the people he cares for.

- Our two adorabros are now chatting over tea. (Let me just take a detour to mention how much I like the way they have done the tea with the elegant ladles and stuff, quite different from NIF where they had pretty jade teapots and MCS would pour it so delicately aah yes. It looks so normal but so cool at the same time?) Little Diving Dragon mentions that Song Fu, the ex-central secretary and main plotter of the supply line cut, has denied any involvement with General Ji of the Shanliu Army, while General Ji has just said the opposite. Like his uncle, Pingjing thinks one of them is lying. Pingzhang, however, smells a rat and says its possible they both speak the truth, because PA Qin/Firemaster Duan was the go-between for these deals, and he isnt an ordinary man - possibly has his own agenda. Pingzhang asks younger bro to report it to Justice Minister Wu.

- We then have a moment with our flawless Da Sao, who cannot get any prettier in blue and white. They have definitely retained a bit of Nihuang’s aesthetic there. Da Sao visits ice doctor extraordinaire Lin Xi, and thanks her and invites her to Changlin Manor for a follow-up. She also asks Lin Xi to call her jie-jie, looking at her very curiously like she is either interested in her or wants to totally ship Pingjing with her. I prefer the first! (Goddamnit now I want to write Da Sao/Lin Xi/Pingzhang fic YAAAAS)

- The Empress Xun receives her older brother, none other than Sec Xun (Phone please stop correcting this to Sex cunt like what even). From the tip-off last episode from Ancient Chinese Rasputin Pu, she knows something is up in court - and enquires of her brother’s involvement - who declines any role in it, considering he must protect the Empress and the Crown Prince’s place.

- In the meantime, Duan Tongzhou escapes from the Celestial prison. Not really difficult cause he can melt through shit- but it looks like a clean getaway, possibly some help on the inside? Hmm.

- An introduction of a new hottie! On their way back to Changlin Manor, Da Sao and Lin Xi’s carriage runs into Head Priest Pu’s, who comes out in all snakey glory and apologises. This exchange is interrupted by the second broad-chested and upright piece of deliciousness (with Xie Bi’s unfortunate centre part hairstyle) Xun Feizhan, the current Commander of the Imperial Guards (Jinjun). I don’t know who this actor is but wow, does he match our darling Meng-dage in bearing, who used to hold the same position in nIF. He request Da Sao to take another route, citing Duan Tongzhou was seen in this area. When Rasputin Pu also seeks to scurry away, Commander Xun asks him where he was planning to go. Now Feizhan has an ice face but it is clear to hell and back he disapproves of Pu, and thinks he is suspicious. And since Firemaster Duan has escaped in this very area….hmmm….

- Time for a little backstory! And we learn more about Meng Da-ge’s future life! (BAWLS LOUDLY) We already know Qianxue is his grandniece, and Xun Feizhan is her shi-xiong (senior apprentice brother), both having trained under Meng Zhi personally! Meng Zhi had reached the top of the Langya Charts, and Qianxue remembers him being biased, and teaching Feizhan a lot more than her. She thinks of Feizhan fondly, but they rarely see each other.

- I interrupt this recap to bawl a little about Meng Zhi. When Lin Xi called him ‘Lao Daren’ I felt so sad because our funny, goofy, loyal to a fault Meng Da-ge retired as a famous old minister. Meng Da-ge is gone, he isnt around. :’( I always had this headcanon that Meng Zhi adopted Fei Liu as a son. And it would have been so cool if others like Xia Dong were around, giving Meng Zhi a knock and teaching Qianxue how to be badass. There must be fic of this, there must.

- Sec Xun returns to his humble abode, where our escapee Duan Tongzhou makes an appearance. Sec Xun asks him to get lost, while Duan tells Sec Xun he is here to serve him - now that Song Fu has fallen, only Sec Xun understands their common goal. Sec Xun denies any involvement as before, but puh-leez, you’re letting a major criminal escape. You be far from innocent old man. Duan Tongzhou says he will return later to him, and doesn’t want to cause Sec Xun trouble - but then he does juuuuust that by leaving a burned handprint on the furniture which doesn’t help with the decor. Just as Duan leaves, our Commander Xun, Feizhan steps in. Ah, Sec Xun is his uncle! And the Empress is def his aunt then. In the middle of these horrid schemers, Feizhan looks like an upright soul. He does notice the odd handprint though, but he says nothing.

- Pingjing gets schooled by papa and big bro as he rants against the poor Justice Minister for losing Duan ‘deliberately.’ Papa Tingsheng is furious with him, reminding him he has no place to accuse a man like that - while big bro settles papa’s anger. I swear, this series is adorable where they teach Pingjing life lessons. He is unbridled, and needs to learn to be cautious.

- Sec Xun and Feizhan present their parts of the case to the Emperor, where Sec Xun has possibly exonerated some of his own people, saying many officials had been tricked, and implicating 5 officials. Feizhan looks a little askance, suspecting something - but the Emperor is furious that such treacherous subjects exist, and he bursts out coughing badly in his fury. Later, Snakey-man and his golden yo-yo make an appearance, trying to calm the Emperor’s cough - and the Empress entrusts her husband’s health to her head priest. The Emperor looks very unimpressed though - like he doesn’t care about this hocus-pocus.

- Lin Xi attends to her patient Pingzhang, who very casually asks her for her age/birthdate, saying how her bearing is steady unlike boys of the same age like Pingjing. Lin Xi betrays no reaction - but she does do something else that piques my interest. Da Sao talks to her for a bit, while she notices some beautiful boxes, possibly for jewelry or makeup, and again, smells something (literally I mean). While leaving, Lin Xi tells Da Sao how beautiful her hands are, feeling her wrist. I suspect she took a sneaky pulse. But why? We will be soon to find out! (Also Lin Xi completely reminds me of Consort Jing in these situations, sniffing out possible poisons, being generally badass. I love this girl)

- Da Sao asks Pingzhang about the birthdate business, where he mentions that the Old Master Li, Lin Xi’s shifu, had specifically mentioned her age - when it wasnt required or even casually stated during a conversation. Pingzhang also must have a clue about Lin Xi’s identity. 

- Next, Pingzhang and Pingjing head to the Palace to offer their Greetings to their uncle, the Emperor - whom Pingzhang could not report to because of his illness, and Pingjing is plain afraid of being scolded by his uncle. :D On the way, they meet Feizhan, who is on first name terms with the Changlin boys, they must be good friends. (Also, Feizhan and Pingzhang look so suited together as friends). Then follows a most adorable exchange, where it is clear how much the Emperor indulges his nephews. He quickly helps raise Pingzhang from his bow, offers him a seat even, and scolds Pingjing for being away from home. He also ribs Pingjing about the whole prisoner incident, and how he never expected TS to train his boys like that. Pingjing even talks back, saying the Emperor always favours his dad, and wont take his side. 

- WHY MUST THIS FAMILY BE SO HAPPY AND CUTE? As I have said in earlier episodes, it is a major credit to all the actors that they have this natural, easy bond. In NIF1, it was mostly that the Xiao family was fighting in an ugly manner, and most of the friendships were between found families (and sorry but MCS and Jingyan’s bond is a bit too outside familial boundaries for me if you know what I mean ;P). Here it is good to see all these loving uncles and nephews. 

- However, this adorableness is followed by what smells like a third birth secret in this show. (We’re counting Lin Xi and Papa Tingsheng, of course) Pingjing is sent off to visit the Crown Prince, and the Emperor now scolds Pingzhang - referring to that trip he took to Langya Hall and the secret answer he burned away. The Emperor doesn’t explicitly state anything, but that Pingzhang should have asked his father directly for the answers - and that he has a few truths to share with his nephew. 

- When Pingzhang was officially declared the Changlin heir, the Emperor was against it - but soon he accepted Tingsheng’s decision, because Pingzhang is smart as hell and the perfect child for the elders, whereas Pingjing is a free bird. Pingzhang still wishes for Pingjing to inherit, but the Emperor says that he loves Pingjing a lot - and would rather see him happily protected by his brother and dad rather than have responsibilities. Also, he cannot imagine leaving his son to anyone else other than Pingzhang. He then orders a litter chair brought for his nephew for him to travel to the Eastern Palace. Now this is a big, big deal, because only senior royals were allowed such liberties in the Palace. It just warms my heart how NICE this Emperor is. He also says that as long as he and Tingsheng are around, nothing will happen. That foreboding is so so bad.

- So we do not get any clarity about what Pingzhang asked, but suffice to say our boy is possibly adopted, and I think from some objectionable or strange origins, such as TS himself in NIF. My money is on him being some enemy foundling.

- In the meantime, our Toothy Little Dragon has already bumped into Head Priest Pu and rudely shaken him off in a bid to quickly go meet his cousin. Pingjing starts flying across the Palace rooftops because he has forgotten where the Eastern Palace is, when Pingzhang spots and severely reprimands his brother. This is going to become a theme, isn’t it - Pingjing’s lack of finesse and older bro teaching him how to operate? I think maybe this part is shown too often where Pingjing is scolded for his naivete and sometimes flagrant disregard for etiquette. We get it Hai Yan, he is supposed to be carefree and childish - dont drill it into us again and again please. It becomes repetitive after a point. 

 - The cute Crown Prince Yuanshi is every class’ nightmare or the kid who does Algebra on Christmas eve, he has been given a day off yet he insists on practicing calligraphy while Tiger mom looks on and snarks how late Changlin bros are. I swear the Empress is my mom, because my mom at least owns that amount of gold hair jewelry and she does the same snarking whenever I invite my friends over.

- Delinquent cousin (at least in the Empress’ eyes) Pingjing saunters along with a loud ‘Yuanshi!’ lifting his cousin up to make him fly. Both cousins are lost to the world, while Pingzhang looks on them with dawning horror and the Empress burns with barely controlled rage at having been outright ignored and her son just called by name. Pingzhang manages to break them up, bowing several times despite his injury, to apologise to the Empress and the Crown Prince on Pingjing’s behalf. 

-The Empress snarks a bit, and doesnt want to allow Yuanshi to run off from algebra, the secret of ruling an empire - but Pingjing counters it again by saying that Grandpa Jingyan used to ask the boys to train in the inside and outside, so Yuanshi should get some fresh air. The daggers in the Empress’ eyes are also reminiscent of my mum, but really, Pingjing should know how to comport himself better in front of his elders and the royal family. Just because his uncle gives him leeway he should not be running so wild, it gave me a lot of secondhand embarrassment for one. 

- We end with Da Sao and Lin Xi building their womance (yaaaaaas) where Lin Xi uses it to obtain Da Sao’s cosmetics box for a few days, which we learn is gifted from the Empress in Da Sao’s dowry. She’s still doing her sniffing thing - and I have watched too many Inner Palace dramas with tainted boxes so forgive me for being jaded when i realise exactly what intrigue is going on. But for that, we need to go to the next episode.

Thoughts:

Aaaaah why are my recaps getting so long? I think it’s mainly because in NIF, there were so many little things and details that I missed the first 2-3 times I watched, and only learnt to appreciate much, much later when I saw this. I am caught up till Episode 10 of the subs, but recapping makes me remember a lot of things that I tend to appreciate.

I think in this episode I was just looking at all the aesthetics everywhere - so much white and blue in everyone’s clothes, the interesting new uniforms of the Palace maids which are much more opulent. NIF2 seems to have the same care with little details as NIF1, the way things are arranged, the way people move and interact with each other is lovely. It definitely deserves praise for this.

I also really enjoyed the introduction of Xun Feizhan, and from the future episodes we know he will be a key player in our game, and he may have a few heartbreaking decisions to make.

The plot is again, a little sedate with the intrigue currently - but from what I have seen in the future - there are lots of new developments, new revelations and a few crisscrossing lines.Will be back with Episode 7 soon!

[36incheshigh]

Anyway! So I just finished watching the entire Orphan Black show.

OMG, my heart is full!!! Wowee - well done.

good parts - amazing plot, good closure. good characters, although one of them, the villain who does get a lot of screen time, is not very developed :/. good performances by the lead! I thought at first that her job could be do-able but then it expanded to cover more and she ended up nailing it, which was surprising, so I was impressed!

to be improved - was heavy for longer periods of time then i was ready for lol - like if youre gonna be heavy, hopefully you lighten it up periodically! or else its just exhausting to watch, forever! that’s why i think the first season .. and i guess the last one were the best, because they had a better balance.

personally, i really like shows and movies that are really complex, and are good thinkers, are like artistically crafted, explore themes and have a certain amount of feelings lol. oh man, this had a nice amount of feelings! not too much that it would kill me i dont think lol, but enough to move me ah! complex themes poignently and like, artistically explored!, of like, what it means to be family, identity, origins/growth. would be good to watch if you like medical stuff and science and crime/mystery. groovy.

*spoilers below*

omggggg. yeah but if i wasnt paying attention/didnt want a show where i had to pay attention to get it lol, i don’t think id’ve like this show heh. luckily its what i wanted this time. but the good thing is it wasnt asss complicated as like, game of thrones, which i am paying attention, and yet, i still like, don’t really get it..that, for me, would be too hard of a show to watch, like i just wouldn’t want to put that much effort into enjoying entertainment . but it required enough paying attention for me to consider it “a thinker”, to keep you on your toes to keep up with it while youre watching, which was nice.

performance - she nailed sarah, helena and krystal i think lol, which is surprising because those girls are so different-like the most different ! thats what impressed me lol. but i feel like she was a bit uncomfortable at least for a while in the other roles. fun to watch her in all those roles though.

my fav was ..well like i wanna be sarah i think shes the coolest and prettiest heh.. but i actuallyy.. appreciate helena the most. what character development lol, and she has such a distinct sense of humor! I love her because fortunately or unfortunately, she reminds me of myself, like kind of a hot mess, but I admire her like, fiercee loyalty and protectiveness, her humor, - its so, like things just come right off the top of her head, out of no where! and its kind of severe but genuine and matter of fact. brilliant heh xD. she has no reservations and doesnt really care like what people think of her? and she has soo many specific mannerisms, more than the other girls i think, -so expressive! and [a] much more distinct gestures and way of carrying herself in every little scene shes in! even her eye movements/eye shiftiness and the particular way she eats, with slow, inquisitive hand movements inspecting food at first, then clumsily stuffing her mouth lol, then letting it all fall from her mouth to her lap LOL. i like how she has many parts - so buff but also has a really vulnerable and earnest part too. i see it in her sisters but in a different or even maybe less extreme way. and you can really see a connection or see the chemistry/relationship between her and sarah, i reallyy enjoy their scenes together. which is incredible that they can articulate that, even when the actress did the two parts separately, not in the same shot at the same time ! felix was great, esp for comic releif, and i loved how his artistic things kind of tied the story together in the end.

my other fav sister was actually beth too.. even though you didnt see much of her, i saw a lot of me in her too ...a lot of me in a lot of them .. i just wanna be tatiana maslany lols..

nice name for the girl, Kira. perfect. i really like how her mom is usually really tough and cranky but shes soo soft with her daughter. like shes a criminal, then when she faked her death and saw her daughter come to the funeral and thought her daughter might think shes dead, she instantly dropped tears! cute relationship.

yeah they did good on showing some peoples’ relationships , like i also really liked allison and donnys relationship in the later seasons! quirky and fussy.

i also really liked how they were consistent in the girls being twins - even though they ended up all having their own lives and ways of being, you can see how genetically or whatever, they all did have the same character traits, which just manifested in different ways towardss different things in all of them!

the opening song kind of creeps me out, and is almost way more sci-fi -y than the show is, but i guess i get it - i meann the actual show doesnt seem that trippy, but the way that song and visual makes me feel is kinda  how that show makes me feel . - that was the other thing, like ...idk if i just got used to it or the kinds of episodes changed, but for a while, for like the first couple? seasons, the show kind of made me feel uneasy and like paranoid a lot of the time lol but for some reason as you can see i couldnt stop watching the next and next episode lol.

^ wow im a talker huh?! well i just have a lot of thoughtss lols!

[juuuuzou]

No One Cares But Me: A Master List of Why Enomoto Kei From Kagi no Kakatta Heya is Autistic

(aka this angel. lookit him. he has string on his glasses and wears knitted ties. thats bomb as.)

Appearance:

Enomoto wears the same basic outfit just with colour variations: button up shirt, knitted tie, cardigan (a cardigan!!!!!!! what an angel), slacks and some fancy shoes that make clip clop sounds when he walks on hard surfaces. 

its arguable that all of the characters wear the same outfits too (bc the two lawyers are wearing suits and im pre sure aoto doesnt... actually have any other suit than the cream one) 

but THE POINT REMAINS that enomoto has the same outfit in different colours. this is a choice consciously made. hes a fashionista.

Body Language:

or, lack thereof.

His posture and demeanor are very stiff and controlled, especially when he’s walking. he takes precise steps and instead of turning while he walks he stops, turns his body, and then continues. his shoulders and head slump slightly, which is mostly noticeable when he’s in the frame with other characters. when he sits he’s very still and again, his head and shoulders lean in.

He never initiates physical contact. he allows people to touch him but he never leans in or even generally react to the touch. one moment we see him react to a touch is when a little girl holds out her hand for him to take. he really hesitates and is very slow to take her hand, like it makes him nervous. another is when he shrugs off serizawa hand from his shoulder, although that could just probably be because he wanted to move.

Communication:

If this boy doesnt go by social scripts then im jesus. he is always polite, even if the person talking to him isnt. he says the same basic phrases, especially “thank you for waiting for me.” he doesnt say it as if hes genuinely thanking them though, but just as a sort of thing hes expected to say, but also he speaks in monotone. he could genuinely mean it. but we just dont know.

he doesnt understand other people’s thought processes during conversations:

aoto: enomoto-san, do you have a girlfriend?

enomoto: how is that relevant [to the case]?

aoto: i just want to know if you have a girlfriend.

enomoto: how is that relevant?

and then later he asks “why do women always talk about relationship stuff?” to which aoto replies “because its interesting”.

THEN AT THE END OF THE EPISODE enomoto randomly asks aoto if she has a boyfriend. aoto gets confused as to why he’s suddenly asking (theyre just having dinner in his work space, talking about nothing) and enomoto says “i thought we should talk about something interesting.”

he has remembered their earlier conversation and was trying to relate to her by talking about something she had previously told him was an interesting subject. when it immediately falls flat he tells her to forget about it (embarrassed that he failed the social script).

he info dumps. big time. the first time we meet him he just starts unlocking a bank safe (without permission) while wearing headphones (and ignoring everyone around him) until aoto asks him what he’s doing and how it works. and then he just blabs on and on about lock mechanisms and how to unlock certain locks. not only that, but a few times aoto interrupts him to get him to stop but he just blunders on. he asks her if she understands, and when he sees she doesnt, he goes back to explaining. and he says this all REALLY FAST (the subtitles we on and off before i could finish reading them). he continues to do this at least once per episode. his special interest is locks and keys, which is why he agrees to help solve these “locked room” cases in the first place. he just likes the puzzles.

to the point where, sometimes, he doesnt know who the murderer is because “it wasnt part of the locked room puzzle so i wasnt interested”. amazing. he literally stayed in his lane even though they didnt want him to.

he omits information because no one actually asks him for it. he answers if questioned, but beside that he doesnt just give out information, even if the people around him are speculating the answer that he knows. additionally, he doesnt give out information if he doesnt think its relevant to the locked room puzzle.

he also doesnt always elaborate on his answers, especially if the question isnt phrased differently.

enomoto: lets go.

aoto: eh? where?

enomoto: lets go.

aoto: eh? where?

enomoto: lets go.

aoto: eh? where?

enomoto: lets go.

[actual dialogue from an actual drama]

additionally:

serizawa: where did you get all that money to travel the world?

enomoto: my savings.

serizawa: and then where did you get the money to buy your own shop?

enomoto: my savings.

serizawa: how?

enomoto: i worked hard

[they repeated this exact conversation about three times]

he doesnt like answering personal questions. he asked for aoto and serizawa’s help for a friend, but never actually told them how they knew each other (even when directly asked). in fact, we barely know anything about enomoto other than he likes locks.

he also doesnt understand implications. both aoto and serizawa try asking him if a company hes installing security for are criminals, but he doesnt understand what they mean by “one of those”.

he rarely speaks unless prompted and only talks about what he wants to talk about. namely, locks. he doesnt immediately answer when hes called for (if anything i think he just straight up ignores when hes called for and appears when hes ready). he rarely replies when someone is talking casually with him, even as they say goodbye to leave. oft times hes wearing headphones (and can probably hear when someone is talking to him) but doesnt acknowledge them until they forcibly take his headphones out.

he doesnt make eye contact. when he speaks he usually stares off in the distance.

he’s blunt. aoto asks him to subtly ask if this guy is the killer, to be really evasive about it, and he agrees. as soon as he hangs up the phone he says to the guy “are you the killer?” when the guy says no enomoto accepts this. when people share their theories he’s quick to tell them no. at one point aoto asks him to teach her how to play shogi so they can play against each other and enomoto immediately says “no. i dont have to hesitate when i play against the computer [in shogi].” >> meaning at some point someone has told him that when playing against other people he has to pretend to think to spare the other person’s feelings.

Miscellaneous:

he stims. straight up stims. he rubs his index finger and thumb together near his ear (right side) when he’s thinking. the other characters notice and imitate him. the sound effects make it seem the movement it meant to mimic picking a lock, and when he finally figures out the puzzle he turns his hand and the sound effect for a lock opening is played. (then he says one of his catch phrases that could either be cheesy or a social script :) )

he works for a security company but due to an incident he works in the basement. at the end of the season he goes away for a holiday and comes back and opens his own security shop. the layout of the two places are identical. this could be a budget thing but its just so obviously mimicking each other that its immediately noticeable. #habits

often creeping up on people. people just dont notice him until he suddenly speaks.

he builds to scale models of all of the locked room scenarios so he can test his theories without actually being there.

he is very clearly, from the start, marked as different. when they look for him at his workplace, the boss is confused as to why they would want enomoto specifically. enomoto is kept in the basement, away from everybody else. after first meeting him serizawa calls him weird.

anyway enomoto kei is an autism. hes ours now.

[pearlrebs]

I guess i wasnt very clear. Easy to seem angry over the internet unintentionally. I mean to say; rebs url (a small thing) represented something to us. Xe left and we all really miss xer. Xe mattered to us and was a special part of tjlc. 1/8

In many peoples eyes this is an aggressive act. Im sure that you can see at least a little how we would see it that way. 2/8

I wasnt implying that you are not queer or that i hate queers. i was saying that, this is the internet, im not going to always believe everything everyone tells me. 3/8

Most queers i know, try and stick together despite our differences. And the fact that you seem very angry (could be reading into it) at a group of people who are predominately queer tells me that you COULD be something other than queer. 4/8

As you yourself said this is just a tv show...but its more than that isnt it? Why you spend so much thought throwing shade at rebs or the tjlcers or whoever, tells me that theres something else going on and that it is important. 5/8

banding together with like-minded people is the solution to the political shitfest we are in. I'd like to think that we could work thru our differences to reach our common goals assuming, we have common goals. (if im wrong, please let me know) 6/8

I dont see myself as a victim, im only sad. not in a pitying way. Its hard to describe. You were probably the victim of an angry tjlcer on here or witnessed the chaos and theres really no excuse for hatefullness (im admonishing my own camp here). 7/8

debate, yes, but never being mean just to be mean. That doesnt get anyone anywhere. I hope this makes sense and im not trying to offend you. I just think life is too short to hate. And its sad that there has been much on here. 8/8

I’m actually not angry, I think it’s all kinda funny. Though I do try my best to respond seriously to serious messages. The “go fuck yourself”s will always be met with a “sounds good,” but when someone takes the time to send a message like this, I tend to pay attention. Anyways...

First you say you’re not going to always believe everything everyone tells you, then you turn around and say that the tj//lc group is predominantly queer. Who’s telling you that? Hard evidence? Demographics data? A census taken by a neutral third party to determine age range and sexuality, and what direction they believe the show should go? As I answered someone before: anecdotal evidence is inadmissible in science and court for a reason. Of course since you’re a lesbian (a factoid gleaned from your profile, but if this is inaccurate, please inform me. But I could easily say you’re not, but I don’t, because when someone tells me they’re queer, I believe them, who the hell wants to be in a [most places on the globe] hated minority? [by “hated,” I mean high risk of murder, bullying, and homelessness, and possibly being a criminal act depending on where you live]), your experience is going to be skewed towards finding other queer people. You think the group is predominantly queer people, but from the outside looking in, even as a queer person, I’ve mostly seen a bunch of straight women geeking over two middle aged white dudes possibly touching dicks, and using “representation” as a mask. I haven’t mingled with your community — I’ve got my own, who are and aren’t queer all the same.

And again, I say that with full knowledge that it is anecdotal evidence from my viewpoint and experience. I could be wrong. But that doesn’t mean you’re right either. 

Moving on. Most queer people (I don’t like the term “queers” personally, but as a queer person, you can reclaim that word however you want) you know stick together despite the differences. Okay. But if our difference is that you don’t think I deserve rights, or that my life is somehow worth less than a straight person’s (voting Dump/Pence, specifically Mike Pence, who would rather a gay person go to a conversion camp — where the risk of suicide is nearly 70% — than be gay), then that’s not a “difference.” That’s almost a hate crime (and it actually is in some countries). 

I assume you and I have similar goals — stop the carney-handed mango. I assume all but the 14% of LGBT people who did vote for that cheeto in a wig, do. Hence why I make a point of saying I don’t hate Rebs as a person (although the fact that xer Patreon is still up, and xe’s still collecting money, despite the fact xe’s publicly declared xe has no intention on ever making videos again, and even taking the existing ones down, is a little less than the perfect angel everyone is insisting that xe is). 

Tbh, maybe I tend to befriend more queer people irl, but you know what else is important? Straight allies. To me, being LGBT+ is a description of where I put my genitals/my gender identity, and I don’t exactly bond with people over that. A shared struggle, yes, and if I see a queer person being bullied, I will step in. I can support a gay man’s rights, even if that gay man is going out there campaigning for the orangutan in a suit (and some did). I’ll say he should be allowed to get married to whoever he wants, and when his Nazi buddies turn on his ass, I’ll be helping him find a visa out of here, but dear Ahura Mazda, I wouldn’t be caught dead having a beer with him. In fact, they most criticism I’ve ever gotten for being trans, is from other trans people. Yes, they should have rights, but fuck them as individuals, holy shit, don’t tell me how to transition. You can be trans (or any LGBT+) and still be a shitty person. 

But like... about 10%-15% of people are queer. 10%-15% of people couldn’t have voted for our rights and won. Meaning we have a ton of straight people on our side. And that’s what we are: we’re people. I love Steven Universe and pizza. I’ll find people that love Steven Universe and pizza that didn’t vote for literally satan. 

I’ve personally never been wronged by a hateful tj//lcer. But as you pointed out, there was a lot of hatefulness that was slung around. I watched as people attacked Mark Gatiss for not making their ship canon, or call him straight (they really care about representation, don’t they? /s), attacked other queer ships, tags, bullied some other queer shippers into self-harm, etc. 

No, that wasn’t you doing any of that, and that wasn’t anything you participated in... This blog really isn’t about you, I don’t know why you’re so sad about it. This is about everyone’s actions that I’m starting to suspect we both found deplorable. Though I guess if you were a close follower of Rebs, you hated Mary from second one, which was really uncalled for (hate her for shooting Sherlock — I don’t, but it’s a reason — but that didn’t happen until we knew her for two whole episodes, half of a third, and she was just a lovely person until that exact moment). 

The thing is, it IS just a show to me. I’m just responding to hate until I get bored with it. But tj//lc it became so much more to a bunch of people, and that’s why it got so toxic. 

Again, THE PROBLEM is tj//lcers were demanding representation from a show, and writers, who were always honest that they weren’t going to give it. At least not in the way they wanted (and when it wasn’t in the way they wanted, they had tantrums, which is why I say: it was never about “representation” for some of them.). Rebs, even if it started as just a hobby, quickly became, and fed into this mass conspiracy that ultimately did end up hurting a lot of people. Possibly including xerself. That’s why I don’t feel bad taking your symbol: it is just a show, everyone had prior warning that jxhnlock wouldn’t happen, so the conspiracy was always just going to be fanfiction, and Rebs did some shitty things. 

The way people are freaking out... they need to get over it. Or if not, okay, soak in grief forever over a fictional ship, but there’s probably better ways of dealing with all this besides sending me hate. Because honestly, what does anyone hope to accomplish by sending me hate? Me to delete? Sure, let’s say I did that. Jxhnlock isn’t going to be any more canon, and Rebs isn’t going to be any less wrong, and all of the hate xe encouraged is still going to be out there. Oh, and I’ll keep responding, which really just makes it worse. 

Had people just ignored me — never sent any messages — there would be precisely one post on this blog, which was my original announcement that I had it.

Also — what have I said that’s “hateful?” Yeah, okay, I called rebs a “twat” for being a misogynist, I thought it was delightfully ironic, having a misogynistic slur juxtaposed next to that observation (like saying, “don’t fucking swear”), but no one got the joke, so I took it down. But otherwise? Saying John Watson is Straight is just a fact. Jxhnlock never happened, and since it didn’t, the insistence that he’s bisexual has no standing. He’s always said, “I’m not gay.” I never took that to mean he was saying, “I’m not gay, but I like men, I’m bisexual/pansexual.” Jeez, no, if he was part of the community at all, I imagine he’d let it pass, rather than get angry about the assumption (like Sherlock does, who is, said by the writers, to be neither gay nor straight. In fact, I’ve often heard that if you’re a good straight ally, it means not being upset if people assume you’re gay for standing up with them — so in some interpretation, he’s actually a bit homophobic). I’ve also pointed out that xe was wrong, which xe is. My banner is of Gatiss confirm jxhnlock wasn’t happening again — this is a thing that happened. Are facts “hateful” now? 

Also... “life is too short to hate.” I mean... I think I’ve got enough life left in me to hate the sentient tire fire that uses too much fake tan cream, and the apparent resurgence of Nazis in America. Don’t you? Shouldn’t you? 

tj//cers are definitely not on that level, but I don’t hate them, is the thing. I said this before: I hate no one in particular, just what the legacy produced.