#great episode. uh. i am going to kill myself

[maxphilippa]

Fucked up shit Taco has done on this episode:

- Force the contestants into talking about issues they still weren't ready to talk about.

- Immediately replaced Mic with Mepad, because, well. She said it herself. Having someone helps her think. Mepad was the closest and easiest to manipulate on doing that. After all... Mepad just left Mephone4's side. Of course Taco would use that against him.

- Sing about "how much she regrets everything" while still purposefully, AND CONSCIOUSLY, wanting to make things worse for everyone.

- Made fun of Suitcase's situation and messed with her, despite the fact that Suitcase genuinely thought that Taco was an hallucination.

- She PRACTICALLY FORCED SUITCASE TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING SHE STILL WASN'T READY TO TALK ABOUT. INFRONT OF EVERYONE. PUSHING SOMEONE TO TALK ABOUT HER HALLUCINATIONS IS KIND OF MESSED UP.

- Keep feeling bad about herself but never did anything to actually TRY to be better.

- Used Mic's self elimination as a reason to why everyone should leave, despite the fact that she WAS the reason as to why Mic left on the first place.

- Kept pushing Knife to talk about Mic and to expose her.

- Died from the stress because despite the fact that she willingly did all of that, she couldn't face Pickle. Not yet.

- Made it all about herself and completely disregarded how everyone felt under the excuse of "this is the best for all of you".

- Made Baseball and Suitcase end up in TERRIBLE terms when they were just reworking their relationship.

- Essentially manipulated Mepad because of not showing him the full story aside from her regrets.

- "No more hiding" despite the fact that she veryyy well knows Pickle doesn't answer her letters for a reason, and that Mic left from how much pain she caused her.

- there's a lot more but i need to get onto that.

[banamine-bananime]

one thing that always perplexes me is how often i see takes on tucker where the work positions him as a great dad*, fluent in sangheili language and culture, and most of all, a great diplomat.

i'm not here to yuck anyone's yum and i, too, am absolutely transfixed and enraptured by this man's oscillation between "my one purpose in life is to constantly test the human limits of Annoyingness" and "sudden, shocking extreme competence with no warning" like a little Newton's cradle. like, i just spent 7000 words indulging myself in thinking about a version of tucker that listens a lot more to the "do whatever you gotta to protect the people you love and do what you think is right regardless of what people think" cartoon angel on his shoulder and less to the "that sounds hard i just wanna mouth off, jerk off, fuck off, and negg church" devil. i cannot throw stones and clearly i think that's a fun and valid interpretation of how his character could evolve. but evolve is the keyword there and it baffles me when this gets treated as the fact of how he immediately snapped into being as soon as he had junior, you know?

like. obviously tucker ended up doing some massively impressive shit as an ambassador in sandtrap. but that's because he wasn't being an ambassador, he was being The Final Girl in il/ct's slasher flick. getting trapped in a beseiged temple is, traghilariously, the best thing that could have happened for him in terms of being good at that job. if tucker were a pathfinder character he would have 18s in "dealing with your life suddenly being taken over by ancient alien religion bullshit", "surviving crazy shit through sheer spite and the adrenaline rush of pissing off whatever asshole has made it their life's mission to kill you this time", and "being the only person who knows what fucked up shit is going on while the rest of the bgc ignore you". he would have a 2 in "saying things that make people want to kill you LESS". de-escalation is not in this man's skillset. he cannot even handle being normal about human women. appreciating the intricacies of sangheili culture and politics, human culture and politics, and sangheili-human relations?

Tucker: People learn English all the time, it aren't that hard.

Church: Maybe you should try learning his language.

Tucker: Fuck that, we got here first, and that makes this a colony. Those're the rules, dude. Earth colony, Earth language.

Church: Tucker there's thousands of languages spoken on Earth.

Tucker: Hyeah, but only one that kicks ass. And that's the one we're teaching. English 101, remedial kick-ass.

i know this is pre-junior and doubtlessly, he is more interested in this stuff after junior (because junior's life does depend on sangheili politics and human-alien relations) and MUST be less dense about it after HAVING to do it as a job. like by osmosis at the very least something must have permeated his brain. but the gap between this^ and "knowledgeable enough to be an asset in this career, one people need at least one relevant degree for" is, uh, bigger than a few months between leaving blood gulch and being sent out to the field

sometimes i think about what a fucking trip it would be to be on the UNSC diplomatic team with tucker LMAO can you imagine how unpopular he must have been. a bunch of polisci and IR nerds like fists clenched shaking like leaves trying to restrain the urge to give this guy a swirlie because he cannot stop sounding like a fucking family guy episode while you're trying to, like, convince the warrior queen of some isolated Sangheili heretical sect to ally with the Swords of Sangheilios and the species they've been dead set on annihlating for decades. and also you know he's only an ambassador as like the weirdest most fucked up variation of a nepo baby. nepo forced interspecies religious incubator. the token chestburster virgin mary hire. the simultaneous Hatred for this guy making your job hell, the impotent rage of knowing that it is, actually, important that he be there for Symbolic reasons, and feeling sympathetic to him. you know part of why he's Like This is literally just because he's 20 and should be at the club but has had the year from hell and didn't ask for this. it's easy to forget that because he doesn't complain about any of the actually bad things that happened and just rolls with whatever crazy shit comes his way. complaining is reserved for being an annoying little bitch about petty shit.

ANYWAYS i'm not saying stop having fun with very competent versions of tucker. we're all just here to have fun. i just like what a weird combo of competent and disaster he is, as i interpret him, and i, personally, am incapable of interpreting him as being actually very good at his job as ambassador

*the only two options are not "bad dad" and "great dad". having an alien parasite non-consensually implanted in you by a manipulative fraudster to force his own involvement in a prophecy - oh and also their species is trying to exterminate yours - and going, "well, this baby didn't choose this, they're just a baby, and you know what? my baby. i love this baby unreservedly and unconditionally, fuck you." shows a capacity for love and forgiveness that's frankly fucking insane, both in the good-impressive way and the what-is-going-on-in-your-brain-and-how-did-this-kind-of-decision-making-not-get-you-killed-yet way. and tucker very clearly loves junior a lot and does his best - which, i want to reiterate, is absolutely wild considering the circumstances - but he wasn't ready for a kid, is bad at accepting responsibility especially for others, and the way that Things Never Stop Happening in his life mean he is really not very present. and it's not JUST because of things happening outside of his control - there were periods after season 8 and after season 13 he probably could have permanently reunited with junior and didn't.

[umbrellasareforever]

Empire of Death

Alright I'm so fresh off watching it and normally I want to give myself time to think before I say anything but also to think I need to get it out somehow so ya'll are getting my thoughts as I process them and then maybe I'll make a more intelligent post later.

Let's start with things I enjoyed!

Mel was fantastic, as always. Bonnie Langford is a treat and honestly, watching her this episode made me almost wish she could be the series companion again.

The Memory TARDIS! A genuinely unexpected surprise and while it made not have made 100% sense, it was a fun reference and a unique way to get around the fact that the TARDIS wasn't available to them.

I enjoyed the scene with the Doctor and the woman in that ramshackle hut. It was a sweet, somewhat slow moment that let you feel the universe a bit. Honestly, I wish the episode had started with that, it would've been a great hook.

As much as I adore my Paradox Baby™️ theory, I do think that having Ruby discover that her mother is, in fact, just a person was quite sweet. It was nice to see a RTD companion actually have a happy ending for once (although we know she's coming back, but hey, it's still a sweet moment).

Okay uhhhhh let's get into my problems...

If Ruby's mother was really just a person why the hell did it snow every time her mom was mentioned? I get the whole "the more significance you give something, the more important it becomes", and I know that the universe is now more supernatural than it was before, but was that the supernatural bleeding in? And while we're on Ruby's mother, why did she point so dramatically to the sign? No one was looking, no one would've known that's what she named her daughter. Is it just a total coincidence that she ended up with that name? Am I crazy?

The moment Rose died so unceremoniously I knew that it was going to end up being one of those "no consequences" episodes and I felt incredibly deflated. I get that Russell needs to make the stakes feel high but I really don't think this is the way. You can't have every season end with a universe shattering event and then just as quickly put everything back to the way it was and expect me to still feel like there's a threat.

Piggybacking off that, whyyyyyyyyyyy the HELL did Mrs. Flood have to say the whole "end in abject terror" thing? I'm so sick of it. I'm so sick of every season ending with or being advertised with "OHHHHHH this next one is gonna be the biggest threat the Doctor has ever faced! Nothing will ever be the same!!" STOP!!! STOP IT!!!!!! YOU ARE KILLING ME JUST STOP IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of Mrs. Flood, as curious as I am about her and whatever the hell she is (Iris, Romana, Susan, the Trickster, something else entirely), I also think that the lack of any answers about her and the constant cutting back to her really pulled me away from the story as a whole. Whether it was because I'm more interested in her or because seeing her so much made me think her story was going to be more important in the episode, it just took away from the already limited time we had.

Which kind of brings me to my biggest problem; time. All season every episode has felt like we were rushing through, as if we didn't have nearly enough time to actually tell a story, and it sucks. It leaves stories feeling like first drafts and unsatisfying and meh. I know pacing is hard, but there's gotta be a way to make this stuff work.

On another note, the whistle was... uh... yeah. I'll accept the Doctor having Intelligent Gloves™️ and Intelligent Rope™️ and Psychic Earrings™️, but when a whistle falls out of a cupboard and he puts it on with 0 explanation and then uses what we can only assume is a normal whistle to control the TARDIS to *checks notes* shoot a cannon out of the console and fly it over to him and Ruby... Yeah I just... that's a bit much for me.

Also Sutekh's been on the TARDIS for how long??? Since Pyramids of Mars??? What happened to him in Flatline? What happened to him when the Master turned it into a Paradox Machine? Or when it was blowing up constantly in Series 5? Or when House took it over in The Doctor's Wife? He was just straight chilling?? Honestly this is less of a genuine complaint and more of a "Wow, Doctor Who is wild!"

Now this is VERY much a nitpick and I need to get over it, I know, but God I need 15 to wear more Doctor-esque clothes. Seeing him walk around this whole time in blue jeans and a t-shirt or combat cargo pants and a t-shirt just felt so off. Seriously, when he had that leather trench coat outfit back on at the very end I felt a moment of relief.

And while I'm nitpicking, I know they didn't even really play a part in the episode but I want to, once again, voice my frustration with how much UNIT is a part of RTD2 so far and how it feels like there's not even a hint of military critique about it.

Yeah okay, those are my thoughts for now. If you really read all this, I appreciate and applaud you, and I very much hope you enjoyed the episode. I wish I did.

Here's to the Christmas special, I suppose!

[madameminor]

A Hunter Perspective - another unintentional essay

I guess ima put this out there, just for myself.

I'm fully on Hunter's side.

Don't get me wrong, I am madly in love with Crosshair, madly, passionately. I'll pick smut with him over Hunter any day. I see his faults and love him for them even as they drive him further into misery and darkness.

I also will fight fiercely that Hunter has done/is doing all he can to protect his family. And truthfully, I don't think he's made any mistakes.

"But he left crosshair behind in episode 1!" Crosshair was trying to kill him and his squad, and he had no idea why. He thought his brother had betrayed him. I also would have gotten the hell out of there, in massive pain at the betrayal, wondering what the hell was happening. I have also been someone with access to money and supplies - who has then suddenly not had any money or supplies and had to take care of my household (and thats just with my cat. Three brothers and a kid? Nuh uh). Then I find out he's being mind controlled - how the fuck am i supposed to fix that? And again, with no resources or money? Now guilt is eating me alive, but I can't do anything about it, I have no idea what to do. THEN I find out there is a way - and Wrecker might be going the way of Crosshair? Fuckin yes I'm going to go get that shit out of all of them and myself. Oh, and then the mind controlled one comes and tries to kill us again, and the ONE. THING. that I know that can save his ass and keep him from killing us is destroyed in the process. Like, I no longer have access to it. Great. So NOW what do I do?

"They pointed their guns at Crosshair when he was going to save Omega!" Uuuuh, yeah. He just admitted that his chip had been REMOVED. They didn't know when and if he'd TRIED TO KILL THEM after it was removed. He also shows open hostility to Omega. I'd be jumpy, too. Even Tech, the SMART ONE, who just explained his perspective, had his gun out. So it wasn't that far fetched. Is that their fault, OR HIS? Natural consequences, bro.

"They abandoned Crosshair on that platform in Kamino!" Dude, they gave him chance after chance, saying "come with us." Sure, maybe they didn't trust him fully, but after that whole episode, they trusted him enough to let him back on their ship. And he. said. no. In a way, he said "fuck you, no". And since he's still showing loyalty to the empire, how do they know that if they knock him out and drag him along, he isn't going to somehow contact the Empire and get them all captured or something?

"He didn't immediately go get Crosshair!/ He didn't listen to Crosshair and stay in hiding!" Aye caramba, this guy just can't win. First premise, again, traps laid, betrayal happened, how does he know this isn't a trick? And he's still hurting, with fewer resources, and he just found a HOME for them all. If they fall into a trap, they're also putting Pabu at risk. Second premise, his squad made the choice - and he knows who his squad is. If he put his foot down and said "no, we're not doing this, he's warning us to stay away", THEY WOULD HAVE GONE ANYWAY. He knows his team, his family - they don't follow orders. They would have snuck off without him, and he wouldn't have been able to help.

"He's being mean to Crosshair when Crosshair is hurting!" - Yeah, Ima allow this man to be petty and angry for a second. His brother who betrayed him, turned his back on him twice, blamed it ALL ON HIM instead of taking responsibility for his own actions (which he finally does at the end of this episode), tells him ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about what happened, and just shows up expecting trust again? Actively, fuck you (said to Crosshair in this situation). Even Omega is like "YOU HAVE TO TALK TO THEM." Hunter has never been allowed to be openly hurt and angry. Not once this whole show. And now the one he can be vulnerable with is back, he's feeling his emotions - he's PISSED and HURT and ANGRY. He's tired of being the good one, and all of this guilt and other stuff laid at his feet. And what does he ask? "What did you do to betray someone ELSE? You're not even going to TRY and explain why you're here now? Just going to silently simmer and expect us to be all hunky dory?"

Maybe this is just cause I'm an older sibling, and sober in a 12 step (a community that actively acknowledges hurt, but taking responsibility for the lives you've hurt), and taking care of recovering teens who also whine about how the world is so unfair and never want to take responsibility that their actions are their own. (They all have pain, but thats an explanation, not an excuse. You don't get to call someone by their dead name and gender or spread rumors that another client is a pedophile and then act the victim. No.). But I'm team Hunter. I understand him, and he doesn't deserve half of the hate he gets.

I also understand where Crosshair is coming from. I know his hurt and his fear and his rage and everything. I've been him, too, in my active addiction. But guess what, buckaroo? The only difference between you and a droid is you are in charge of your actions, and you have to live with the consequences. I had to do it. Rex and Cody had to do it. Hunter has been doing it (warranted or not). Now, its your turn.

And this last episode - he started to.

[animaticaskblog]

Epilogue.

...

...

...so what are we gonna do with doodle's corpse exactly?

LETS BURN IT!!

why would we burn it.

Hey man! youre the one WHO hates him. Lalala

...that's fair. i don't ... think it's fair to leave him dead though. the...people want him back. and i'm forcing myself to respect that.

WELL LETS ASK LINEART!!

who?

MEEMKJMEMEME ME! ME. it's me. I AM THE ONE

is he just a more annoying version of you.

pretttty much!

yaaaaaay.

lineart what do we do with the corpse!

...FORTNITE. CHUG JUG

ok! *whips out fortnite chug jug*

...what is that??

is a chug jug

yes. i know. what does it do.

maxes your shields in fortnite!

ok??

*animatic forcefeeds doodle the c hug jug*

wh...where am i?

DOODLE YOURE NOT DEAD! YAY!

oh. right. i got killed by YOU.

sorry i was just. mad i guess

ok.

...what are we even supposed to do now?

well, i don't know about you guys, but i gotta pay someone a visit.

oh uh. ok. bye doodle.

go fuck yourself purple boy.

...ok?? ill. probably head out too to be honest.

i think this place is too much for me. i can find...my own adventure. be more than just a recolor of you animatic. i'm gonna be someone. do something. it'll be great. later!

GOODBYE WHATEVER YOUR NAME WAS! now lineart its just you and me! are you gonna go anywhere!

...

I WILL LEAVE TO SOMEWHERE CLOSE. I WILL NO LONGER LOOK LIKE HOW DO I DO NOW. ONCE YOU SEE THE GREEN, YOU'LL KNOW IT'S ME. I WILL FOLLOW YOU ALL TO YOUR GRAVES. I WONT SOUND THE SAME. I WONT LOOK THE SAME. YOU WILL KNOW. I WILL BE THERE. YOULL SEE ME AGAIN SOON.

FEAR MY RETURN.

*lineart collapses into a green goop and dashes away*

wow! ok! uh. IT'S TIME FOR EPISODE 4!! *animatic walks over to get the eliminated contestants*

Thank you for asking. Thank you for liking. Thank you for reading. Thank you for everything, everyone.

[imzadi-caskett-huddy]

CHARACTER ASK GAME: Kate Beckett, 1-14 (all) + 25., if it's not a problem. :) Thank you!

I'm not gonna lie, I 100% wanted someone to send me this ask about Beckett! Sorry it took a little bit to answer, I'm on vacation so I've been occupied. But here we go!

1. I like this character because she's not perfect. She has flaws, but she still always tries to do the right thing. She's badass. She's strong. She's independent. She's incredibly well written because real people aren't perfect. There are qualities she has that I share. There are qualities she has that I admire and strive to emulate. And... not gonna lie...Stana's portrayal I'm sure has something to do with it as well.

2. Fav canon thing... um...I love that she was a fan of Castle's before they began working together. I also love that she was the youngest woman in the history of the NYPD to make detective. I also love her motorcycle though we never really saw her ride.

3. Least fav canon thing... that she felt she had to try to be separated from Castle in Season 8 to protect him... also she's not great at communication in relationships, like with Castle. Use your words!

4. Any other media... not gonna lie, I would LOVE a SVU/Castle crossover where Beckett and Benson shared time together, either with Benson as her captain, or as the two captains dealing with the men in their lives or their precincts.

5. First song that comes to mind...Superman by 3 Doors Down

6. Something Beckett and I have in common... we both suck at talking about our feelings.

7. Something the fandom does that I like... use her hairstyle to tell the season and sometimes the episode... does that count? This one was hard, lol

8. Something the fandom does that I despise... say her eyes are green in fics. Also there is a fair amount of Beckett hate inside the Castle fandom...I don't understand it.

9. Beckett and I would probably be okay roommates. I keep to myself the way she does. I'm slightly more messy I think than she'd probably like, but we'd most likely get along ok.

10. I could totally be best friends with Kate Beckett! Similar personalities... similar likes...we'd get along great.

11. Um...no. If I'm dating anyone from the world of Castle, it's Castle himself.

12. Headcanon I have...She made her Detective rank in vice. I'm reasonably sure this was never stated in the show, but it's just a strong feeling I have. She's too good at certain aspects of her job to not have come up through the ranks in vice before she became a homicide detective. Also that she was a chronic dater before Castle came along.

13. Emoji... nothing reminds me of her, but if I had to pick one she probably uses a lot, it would be the facepalm because... well... she did marry Castle. And I feel he requires that one a lot.

14. Fashion aesthetic... leather jackets

15. Favorite ship... uh, Caskett, duh!

16. Least fav ship...Josh. Definitely Josh. He was a serious problem who hung around way too long. And I KNOW Marlowe kept him around solely as the reason Castle and Beckett didn't hook up at the end of season 3 in episodes like LA

17. Ship that I don't hate but am fine with...um, there isn't one. She's Castle's girl. I don't like her with anyone else... I'm not fine with her with anyone else.

18. Canon relationship I admire with another character...I love her relationship with Martha. I also love her relationship with Espo, especially in episodes like Kill Shot. And I LOVE Lanie and Kate screentime!

19. Relationship from Canon that I don't like... I don't know that there is one outside of the guys she dated. Not a fan of her dealings with Sorenson, Demming or Josh, but I feel that's pretty standard.

20. Ideal best friend... Lanie is a pretty great girl best friend. Castle is a pretty great guy best friend... which is good considering they got married.

21. Fav thing to do when writing for Beckett is angst. I can't help it...Stana was SO great with those heavy emotional scenes on the show, I love worrying then with her in my head! Something I don't like writing for her is actual police work. I HATE it so much. Also, the few times I've had to write her with Josh drive me crazy too.

22. Something I like in fics when it comes to Beckett is having her call Castle "Rick" sparingly. He calls her Kate way more than she calls him Rick... it should start like that in fics. Something I don't like... and I touched on it earlier... is when writers say she has green eyes. Her eyes are not green. Also, when writers have her just stay crying over everything... Kate is not a random emotional crier. You have to do a lot to get her to re m that point... she's not going to cry over an argument or something small.

23. Fav pic... oh no. No way can I narrow this down.

24. I'm not sure there is another character from another fandom that reminds me of Beckett. She's pretty one of a kind. She's definitely one of the best written characters in TV history, and she towers over everyone else in my list of favorite characters because she's so unique.

25. My first impression of this character was that she has great hair, awesome leather jackets that I want, and that she's a badass hero who at times I see a lot of myself in. Also that she's a fighter. Now after watching the show beginning to end, my impression was pretty spot on. Though I would add I discovered her softer side (I initially saw the show before they got together, so before the Kate side of her personality was really fleshed out). And she's stronger than I initially realized.

These were fun, thanks for asking!

[huesofvioletandpurple]

A few days ago, the DRDT channel made public a “character song” playlist with sixteen songs inside (link). Naturally, considering this means that every character has a theme song of their own, I became Fucking Obsessed and tried matching each song to every character

Out of sixteen, I have exactly Four I am completely and absolutely confident in. That’s like, (checks notes), a quarter of the songs. I wish four was as neat of a number as three but unfortunately I do not get a choice in that regard. This would’ve been a quick post on which song I think matches with who + why but these guys made me recite an essay to myself as I paced around the room. So they deserve their own post <3.

Featuring: screenshots, hidden quotes (link) (required reading), and a shit ton of brainrot. explanations are below cut. tl;dr:

Rose is Cartoons

Charles is Asymptotic

Nico is Drawing Pins

Teruko is Good Grief

=

Rose Lacroix is Cartoons

[plain text: Rose Lacroix is Cartoons]

Track #4 is Cartoons by Louie Zong, and I have decided this is Rose’s track too. This is one many, many others have suspected as well. Starting it off with this first because it’s the simplest to explain: Rose is an artist, the lyrics are about art; or, at the very least, uses animation and drawing as metaphors.

Abstractions how I live my day to day, [...] Hard to explain, And to express, Forever just a work-in-progress.

The song in general uses drawing to explain feeling burnt out/not passionate about. Well. Your passions. Rose states herself that her work can only give her catharsis, considering none of it technically “hers” anymore.

[ID: Two screenshots of  Rose from chapter 2 episode 5. She is in the dressing room talking to Teruko, and has her hand on her neck as she looks downwards. Transcript: All I do is make paintings on other’s beck-and-call. It’s been so long that I don’t think I remember how to paint something original anymore. / There’s no value in the creations of someone who’s fallen so far from artistry. The only thing I can get out of art is catharsis. End ID]

Which is even more tragic, considering how she had huge ambitions as a child

[ID: One screenshot from the same episode. Rose now rests her chin in her fist. Transcript: I wanted to be a great painter when I was a kid, but things didn’t turn out that way. None of my original stuff ever sold well. End ID] 

There’s also these lyrics here

Can't hold a pencil or a thought. (Oh uh oh) Can't paint myself something I'm not.

Tryin' to make that ol' deadline, But all I've got are two dots and a line.

Rose knows she’s talented; in fact, I’d argue she’s one of the most secure about her talent than anyone in the class. She understands how useful it is in the killing game when paired with her photographic memory. In chapter 2, however, she hesitates, despite knowing this more than anyone.

[ID: Three screenshots of Rose from chapter 2 episode 8. She is sitting against a wall, knees drawn to her chest as she buries her face in her arms. Transcript of her dialogue: I don’t want to find out what kind of corpse Arei left. It’s easier for me to pretend nothing bad happened and forget about everything tomorrow. / That’s why I’m sitting here, wallowing in my own guilt, unable to do anything helpful. / You probably need me to draw a picture of a crime scene, like last time. That’s something only I can do that can help everyone. End ID]

She doesn’t want to use her talent that way—she can’t “paint herself something she’s not”, and she would “make the deadline”, but she can’t just will herself to simply Do Something when it’s draining and linked to her trauma from the previous case—and she’s more self conscious of it than anyone, that she only has “two dots and a line” —an upset face.

There’s also her hidden quote from the inspect elements of her character page: “In the end, all I can do is watch my wretched life go on.” I think it fits with the general theme of being incredibly discouraged and burnt out. “Forever a work in progress” indeed.

=

Charles Cuevas is Asymptotic

[pt: Charles Cuevas is Asymptotic]

I’ve chosen Asymptotic by (once more,) Louie Zong as Charles’ song. I could say it’s because of the mathsy theming and Charles is literally a fuckging chemist and leave it at that—I almost chose this as Min’s song because of how groovy and nerdy (affectionate) it was. I’m sorry to say it’s because of angst.

We’re aymptotic, Divided, by the smallest, slimmest line

Hey, so you know how Charles has an older brother ?

And you know how he didn’t know this until one of the motives told him ? So now there’s a good chance he won’t remember him fully for a long, long time ?

[you’re] Not imaginary. But it's complex! The limits are infinitely great

Charles now knows of this family member he has no recollection of. He most likely existed at some point—every other secret, though written to show the worst of the cast, are based on some sort of truth. I have a pet theory that his phobia of blood is connected to his brother, considering amnesia of a traumatic event is a common occurrence, and he doesn’t recall the origin of his haemophobia either, which opens up the possibility of them being linked. As long as he has this amnesia, any memory of his brother will always be far from his grasp.

As close as we could ever get, you'll be just out of reach

His hidden quote is about how it’s better to just forget; that means those events weren’t worth keeping.

if you forgot it, then it probably wasn’t important to begin with. none of those memories should ever be kept anyway.

In the context of the creator looking at the lyrics of the song and going “omg that’s blorbo from my brain”, the song refers to him as believing that he and his brother are asymptotes—lines that greatly resemble each other that will never reach, existing in different planes altogether.

=

Nico Hakobyan is Drawing Pins

[pt: Nico Hakobyan is Drawing Pins]

So.

Drawing Pins by Nothing but Thieves ! This song in particular fucking Stumped me. The lyrics are good, they slap, the Creator has fantastic taste in music; I just couldn’t figure out who the Hell it could be. Then, I had an epiphany.

This epiphany, by the way, is also probably one of my BIGGEST reaches. It completely redefines the song—even MORESO than how I treated asymptotic—and focuses hard on One aspect of Nico’s character.

(In my defense, it’s a really huge part.)

I don't feel like I belong Here at all

Tell me what you did it What you did it What you did it for 'Cause I can't figure it out

What do I have to do To be loved, loved by you

These are the lyrics in particular that made me go “wait a god damn Second”.

Firstly, not feeling like they belong.

[ID: Two screenshots of Nico from chapter 2 episode 6. They hold their arm and look nervously to the side in the first screenshot, then bury their face in the collar of their shirt in the next. Transcript: I thought you would laugh at me. I was worried you would pick up rocks and start throwing them at me or pick up clumps of mud and start throwing them at me. / I’m sorry, this never happens! Usually people call me abnormal or say that I’m just trying to be special, in a derogatory way. End ID]

Nico has been a frequent victim of bullying. Even though their current classmates are accepting, that just made them wary that something was off, because their past experiences stuck with them ! I feel like it should go unsaid that that, already on its own, is pretty fucking isolating !

[ID: a screenshot from the same episode. Nico is in the same pose. They say “And then they leave me out of everything and never talk to me again because there’s something wrong with me.” End ID]

So, self-explanatory line in the context of Nico. Cool. Cool. What am I seeing in the other lyrics, though ?

Tell me what you did it What you did it What you did it for 'Cause I can't figure it out

Okay, so. You know Nico’s hidden quote ? It’s “why should I own up for the mistakes someone else made?”, if you’re wondering.

There’s another reason they don’t feel like they belong.

There’s this running thread of Nico misunderstanding social cues, causing conflict and being scorned for it, but never being explained why those social cues exist, leading to them confused on why something so arbitrary is held to such importance. This causes this cycle that they’re just expected to escape, yet not being given the understanding or tools to do.

[ID: Three screenshots of Nico from the same episode. Nico looks down at their hands, then scratches their chin, then buries the bottom half of their face in their shirt. Transcript: If you’re having dinner and want someone to pass the salt, you can say, “Please pass the salt,”  or you can say “Give me the salt.” / One of those things is supposed to be more polite than the other, right? But why? They both meant the same thing. They’re just slightly different mixes of words. / It’s like that. I don’t understand why some mixes of words come off as ‘rude’ and some don’t, even if they mean tthe same thing. End ID]

I suspect the hidden quote is of Nico snapping, of not caring about being polite or nice anymore. They are already honest, which escalated their animosity with Ace, but this time they’re not caving if someone tells them that they’re being “too blunt” about it.

What do I have to do To be loved, loved by you

But it was never on purpose. They are not “blunt” or “brutally honest” to Ace or David whoever because they want to build that kind of reputation. I think these lyrics are suggesting a culmination of their arc, “What can I do to be loved ? Why should I apologise in place of the person who did hurt you ? Why am I constantly apologising for my existence ?

How do I win over people like you?”

I am fully aware that I may be reaching, but if you see the song as a representation of Nico’s rage and resentment that they had to “hold down by drawing pins”, you can at the very least see where I’m coming from.

=

Teruko is Good Grief

[pt: Teruko Tawaki is Good Grief]

Good Grief by Bastille, aka the last song on the playlist !

I’ve seen people say it’s a Whit song, or a Charles song, and I see it ! Death is very important in both of their arcs, and so is their way of mourning. However, I feel like it couldn’t be anyone but Teruko, and I also feel like there’s a very important part of her that people often forget.

[ID: Two screenshots from the episode 1 of the first chapter. They are lines of Teruko’s inner monologue. Transcript: His name, her face, it’s just barely out of reach. I claw and grasp through the dusty haze of my memories. / Choking on my nostalgia, I keep begging for you to come back. End ID]

[ID: A screenshot from chapter 1 episode 9 of Mai Akasaki turning around and smiling at the viewer. End ID]

Teruko mourns.

At the very least, she tries. She misses people. She grieves. That is what drives her distrust—she knows how much love hurts, and doesn’t want to feel that way.

[ID: A screenshot from chapter 2 episode 3. Teruko playing with succulents in her room as if they are dolls. One succulent has an eyepatch and knife, and the other has a knife and a sticky note, with a cowlick resembling Teruko’s. End ID]

Even in this silly moment of Teruko playing with cacti—it shows she didn’t WANT Xander to die ! She misses him. She wishes it could’ve gone better and blames herself for trusting—and notice how Xander in this scenario stands by her side.

Every minute and every hour I miss you, I miss you, I miss you more

She “chokes on her nostalgia” when she thinks of two unnamed people, “begging them to come back”. Will she ever admit it? Fuck no are you kidding me she couldn’t be emotionally vulnerable to save her Life. But Teruko constantly loses and is never given time or space to mourn (That is what I meant when I said she tries), and it’s led her to bottling and hiding them to further isolate herself, to prevent her from losing the ones she loves again.

In my thoughts you're far away And you are whistling the melody, Whistling the melody Crystallising clear as day Oh I can picture you so easily, Picture you so easily

Again, the two people are “far away”, she’s half forgotten after all. But Mai Akasaki’s image is as clear as day. Her memories are one of the only traces of Mai we have at all.

I could repeat myself over and over with pretty much every lyric of this song in particular, so I suggest seeking it out and listening to it yourself. I cannot stress enough how much this song SCREAMS Teruko to me

=

Overall, I’m fully ready to be wrong. I do not have a great track record when predicting story arcs. However, I have thought about this for a very intense bit of time, so this is to work as a way to get my thoughts out there.

I have a few hunches, like Shun-Ran for David or Jotaro’s theme for Xander, but both are just hunches, and neither are as strong as the four above.

Anyways, have a great day ! holy shit this is over 1.7K words excluding the image descriptions.

[vaguely-concerned]

I binged through all of Dragon Age: Absolution today and honestly I really really liked it! I was allowing myself only some very cautious optimism after watching the twitch premiere of the first episode, but freed from the need for infodumps and setting up the characters the rest of the show actually rapidly gets better from there (some pacing issues here and there excepted but hey they were given 6 episodes, I think they did pretty well considering those constraints)! If like me you HUNGER for, you YEARN for, you CRAVE more Dragon Age right the fuck now, this is not at all a bad thing to help keep some of that hunger down while we wait for the next game, and has a few loveable new characters to get into and some great action animation to boot.

More idle thoughts/reactions under the cut!

first and foremost I love Roland and Lacklon so much haha, a surprisingly well paced romance considering it mainly happens in quick background-ish moments! I'm especially interested in Roland's backstory, since he's very chill and openminded for what seems to be a decently well-trained/educated Orlesian? Lacklon being like 'I want to hold his hand and suck his dick 😔 fml' every time Roland did something cool in battle was just *chef's kiss* too, it was kind of smart to have their fight scenes double as foreplay as well on a writing level since they're arguably the least plot-important characters overall (though they and Qwydion are definitely the heart of the story as far as I'm concerned)

I understand why Miriam clung to Hira so much since she just lost literally everything in her life, good or bad, moments before and that relationship was the only time she had tasted anything like real love since her brother died, but girl... girl when people show you who they are, believe them. marry Qwydion instead you deserve so much better (Hira gave me the Bad Vibes right away from how she didn't respect anything Miriam said or expressed and kept pushing in ways that made me really uncomfortable, so I won't say I was shocked or anything lol.) There is the (??deliberate??) mirror of Hira hugging Miriam from behind in the blood magic dream and Qwydion coming up behind her in very much the same way to rest her hand on her shoulder in the real world afterwards, so I have hope maybe?

can you imagine Dorian watching shitshows like this go down every other week all around Tevinter and tearing at his perfectly sculpted hair because Andraste's tits if you motherfuckers would stop acting stereotypically for FIVE MINUTES! could any of you go take a PISS without resorting to blood magic! Dorian's job is a shit job and he's probably been doing it for a while by the time of Dreadwolf so y'know. get my son a drink

speaking of Qwydion, I am so glad for further support for my theory that vashoth born away from the Qun are actually some of the most well-adjusted people in all of Thedas. they've dodged the Qun from birth by definition, they don't seem terribly interested in the Chantry or grand politics of any kind, they don't have a caste system hanging over them, they can step on anyone who tries to mess with them even if they don't have magic... truly the only sane people running around out here

so you're telling me the Inquisition screws Fairbanks over no matter what you do, b/c either he dies or he's forced into Orlesian politics. Oh buddy I'm sorry we should've just let you frolic around in the Emerald Graves on your own you didn't deserve this

Poor Tessa. she is probably better off without him in the long run but that's a rough week

I was so excited to see Kirkwall again, I saw the horrific chain statues and went 'OH HELLHOLE MORE LIKE HELLHOME'. it's so grim and awful I miss it so much lol

meredith, huh. so uh. hawke really has failed at everything, pretty much, then. even the few people they did manage to kill to protect everyone didn't stay dead. I'm just waiting for the dragon they killed in the Bone Pit to come back and ravage the city as well now, just to top it off. celestial punching bag of thedas hawke. babyyyyyyyyy if it helps I still love you the most and so does your collection of bi weirdos found family

rezaren wasn't even that good a mage, as far as we can tell, so you have to wonder what the FUCK dorian's ancestor was pulling to have created this thing that he could barely control with half a dragon's worth of blood (and what someone like Dorian, who helped crack time like an egg in his student days sort of just to see if he could, it seems, could do with it if they didn't have like scruples or other pesky things like that. everything we see about tevinter magisters makes me more impressed with how comparatively not fundamentally shitty Dorian has managed to turn out (no wonder Bull is kind of impressed with him for having actual integrity, if this is the competition he's up against). can you tell I miss him lol)

I found it genuniely interesting how much rezaren and hira are thematic mirrors to each other and mutually cannot see it, right down to treating miriam ultimately as an object. same self-centered idiot, different hairstyles. what a scathing indictment of Tevinter high society that even Hira, who's family was notoriously progressive and trying to enact change, still treats people exactly the same way as the other magisters when push comes to shove.

thank u to Lacklon for pessimistic cynical bastard representation, he is right that that dragon is going to ravage the countryside and someone on the crew has to keep clear eyes for that sort of thing even when it's a downer

[go-to-the-mirror]

Every Time Mirrors are Mentioned in Welcome to Night Vale that is Halfway Relevant

[Plain text: "Every Time Mirrors are Mentioned in Welcome to Night Vale that is Halfway Relevant"]

Unabridged

Episodes featured: 19A, 26, 30, 33, 67, 87, 106, 108, 120, 122, 137, 148, 149, 160, 171, 209

Liveshows featured: "The Librarian," "The Investigators,"

CECIL: And now, a look at financial news. A fallow wheat field, grey sky, cut by black Vs of black birds. There is a child dragging a hatchet. His eyes cast down. His eyes tight. His eyes white and red and superfluous. He know not what he sees, but he knows what is there. A single black-wingéd beast, beak cracked, feathers rotting, alights roughly on the child's shoulder. They stop. The bird picks at the cartilage of the boy's ear, as if biting secrets into it. The boy groans, not unpleasantly. Heavy, slow clouds roll and rise, starkly contrasted against the flickering daguerreotype hills, which stoically keep the poisonous rains at bay. A sudden little river, partially walled by palsied shafts of grain, rolls by. The boy walks to it. He bends forward. His blank eyes stare into his reflection. Neither he nor his mirror knows the other is there. But the bird. The bird knows. The bird cackles. Or perhaps cries. Even the bird is uncertain. The boy takes a palm full of the dark water. Most of it runs out through his long, zig-zagging fingers. He licks the remainder from his dusty skin. A sound. Like thunder. Like drums. Like steps. The boy turns and hurls his hatchet behind him. The bird flies up and away. There is a hideous thump. The boy knows not what he has hit, but that it has been wounded. He waits for its retort. This has been financial news.

(Episode 19A - The Sandstorm)

CECIL: Maybe you should try paying more attention when you're at home. Or better yet, destroy all of your mirrors. As my mother used to tell me: "Someone's going to kill you one day, Cecil, and it will involve a mirror. Mark my words, child." and then she would stare absently through my eyes until I giggled. I miss her so much. 

(Episode 26 - Faceless Old Woman)

CECIL: McDonald’s wants to remind you that the most important meal of the day is Breakfast. So why would you let a morning go by without staring deeply into the mirror until you no longer recognize the face staring back at you, mimicking your every gesture, mocking your every movement.

(Episode 30 - Dana)

TEENAGE CECIL: My mom seems really proud of me too. She hid from me for three days, the longest ever! And she’s covered all the mirrors in my house. I’m not sure why, but I think it must be because of pride. Being proud does all sorts of things to a...person. Uh, sorry, got distracted. That weird movement is back. It’s closer now.

TEENAGE CECIL: Interning is going great! Mom is gone. Leonard is super nice to me. My brother is gone too. Family, right? I think I’m learning a lot at the station. All of the mirrors in my house are uncovered now. Not sure who did that. I’m standing in front of the hall mirror right now. Am I changed? Am I becoming an adult? I look more grown, I think, more professional. Leonard said if I work hard, maybe I’ll be a radio presenter myself some day. Leonard said he once was smaller too, but that he is larger now, that everything is larger, that everything in the universe is growing to towering sizes, but all at once, all in unison, so no one notices and it is all the same relative to itself. Leonard lolls his tongue out of his thick purple lips. Leonard hisses. Being an intern is great. That flickering movement is everywhere now. Especially looking in this mirror. I see the flickering movement and I know. I know it. I think the radio station is fun. I think the radio station is hidden. I think the radio station is like a dark planet, lit by no sun. I think, therefore I soon won’t be. I’m looking in a mirror. The mirror is not covered. The flickering movement is just behind me. I- [He screams. There is gurgling. A body falls to the floor. Tape hiss continues. The tape shuts off. End teenage voice]

CECIL: No matter! I’m taking the tape, just now and I’m [GRUNTS] crushing it into little pieces. None of us have to think about it again. I’ll just double check that the mirror in the station bathroom is covered as usual and then that will be that. Done. Forgotten. 

(Episode 33 - Cassette)

CECIL: The City Council warned that the mess left from Leonard Burton’s death is likely to draw Street Cleaners and that we should all take shelter. Cover your mirrors. Shade your eyes. Stay indoors and mourn. Stay indoors and mourn.

(Episode 67 - [Best Of?])

CECIL: Item: Big Ricos Pizza is looking for a new cashier. Must have retail experience and be good at not talking if they know what’s good for them. No funny business. No secret wheat speakeasies. Why would you even bring that up? Who have you been talking to? To apply, look at yourself in the mirror for a long time, until your face no longer seems to be your own.

(Episode 87 - The Trial of Hiram McDaniels)

CECIL: I was so frightened, but still I looked into the washroom. He was standing in front of a mirror, looking right at himself. I never look into those things. Or at least I haven't in a long long time.  "I think the radio station is fun," he said. "I think the radio station is hidden. I think the radio station is like a dark planet, lit by no sun. I think, therefore I soon won’t be," he said.  I wanted to cry out to warn him. My mother told me to stay away from mirrors. And I knew he was in danger. I opened my mouth and tried to step into the room, but I could not speak, could not move forward.  "I’m looking in a mirror," he said.  "The mirror is not covered," he said. "Stop. Don't look into the mirror," I tried to say. But nothing came out of my mouth, only spit and inaudible wheeze. Tears stung my eyes. I waved frantically, trying to catch his attention. "The flickering movement is just behind me," he said. And then he looked right at me in the mirror. His eyes grew wide and wet. He said "I-. He said again "I-" and then he choked. Then he screamed. Then I screamed, only again no sound came out. He fell to the floor, and for a moment I remembered. I remembered blue lights and blood in my throat and a dark planet lit by no sun. And then I forgot it, or at least what it looked like, only that it was. Or never was. Or still is. His wallet was no longer in my studio. His...my driver’s license was no longer in my hand. My familiar teenage intern was no longer lying on the ground. The mirror he was looking into is now shattered into thousands of intersecting cracks like parched desert dirt. I approached the mirror, hoping to see a face I knew. A young man's face I just barely remember. But I only saw a multiplicity of me, a man divided, unrecognizably, under razor sharp lines. And behind me a glowing slash in the bathroom wall.

(Episode 106 - Filings)

CECIL: "Better not look in the mirror," Cal said as he nervously simulated the sound of laughter. A dribble of blood ran down his chin and onto his chest.

(Episode 108 - Cal)

KEVIN: Jason and Falisha wanted their friends to know they were happy, so they began to practice smiling in the mirror, but even they couldn't see a change in their faces. Plus, mirrors were upsetting because of all the people who would gather behind them in the reflection but that weren't actually there when they turned around to face them.

KEVIN: Their long house was a long pit. And every single mirror in their home was gone, along with the ghastly figures who gathered in the reflections. 

(Episode 120 - All Smiles' Eve)

CECIL: Nazr did not see Barks Ennui. But he was not without his own troubles. He would find, some evenings, that when he looked in the mirror there were two of him. One of him sitting behind the other. He would stand and the second reflection would stand too. It would follow all of his movements from behind his primary reflection. This went on for days. Then, one night, he looked in the mirror and there was only one of him. He sighed, feeling some relief to the tension that had been with him so long as to become his new normal. And that is when, in the mirror, his second reflection stepped into the room, followed by Frances Donaldson. Nazr whirled. The room he was in was empty. He looked back in the mirror. There was his own face, terrified. And behind that, on the bed, there was himself again, with Frances. The two of them were kissing, passionately. He watched himself kiss. And then his reflection and the Frances in the mirror stopped kissing and looked up at him, with startled faces. They stayed frozen that way, and he stayed frozen too. After several moments, the mirror couple smiled. Their smiles got wider and wider, and then they were both dead, blood covered and sprawling at irregular angles. And then they were alive again and smiling at him. He shouted and stumbled back from the mirror. From then on, he took to covering his mirrors, and that worked for a few days, but then one day he came home to find himself in his bedroom, already sitting in front of the covered bedroom mirror. The him that was in his bedroom looked up at him who had just entered with wide eyes and a yawning mouth, and Nazr (who believed himself to be the real Nazr) turned and walked out his house. He checked into a motel and decided to stay there for awhile.

(Episode 122 - A Story of Love and Horror, Part 2: "Spire")

LAUREN: These shadows don't even have faces. We cannot discern their intentions or feelings. They move around in quick jerks and starts, flickering in and out of our vision, sometimes standing just behind us while slowly tilting their heads. And unless you're looking in a mirror, there's no way you can even see that. 

(Episode 137 - The Mudstone Abyss, Part 3)

LEONARD BURTON: Let me describe to you the shape of Cecil Palmer. He is a line of leafless mesquite trees. He is a glass factory. He is golf ball-sized hail. He has a voice like distant highway traffic. He loves coffee and handshakes. He wears tight clothing and has never once worked with modeling clay. He covers mirrors with cloth and has an irrational fear of glowing lights beneath locked doors in dark hallways.  You cannot know any of this because Cecil is my vision, not yours. He is real, all the same. He is to be my replacement when I retire. But he does not exist. So I can never retire. I am your permanent host.

(Episode 148 - The Broadcaster)

CECIL: I can see myself in their reflective face. I... I do not like this. I do not like this at all. Please go. Please leave. I cannot. I... I am covering this window with a sheet. I do not like this mirror. I do not like it one bit. No. 

(Episode 149 - The General)

CECIL: ... [somber] and *that* is what I saw in the mirror that day, and why I do not like to go near mirrors ever. 

(Episode 160 - The Weather)

CECIL: Do you ever stare at yourself for so long in the mirror that you no longer understand what you look like? Is this the same effect as thinking about someone you miss so much that you forget the shape of their face? Why would you do that? Why would you refuse to maintain order? Are you refusing? Or are you a victim of your own mind? Do brain cells dictate souls? Is thought matter? Does thought matter? Who can say? Can the person looking back at you from the mirror tell you the answer? Just because you can see a person, does that mean that person exists?  Is it you you are looking at? Or is it someone else?

CECIL: Basically, why do I know I am me? How many times have I seen myself in the mirror? Is it bad that the answer is rarely? Shouldn’t we all be afraid of mirrors? Or is it just me? How many times, in a fit of dissociation, do we see someone else behind us? Are you, too, too afraid to turn around? Do you really want to challenge the veracity of your eyes? Do you think disbelief in death will make it disappear? Are awareness and manifestation one and the same? So, what did I see in the mirror today? Don’t we all see the same thing? Isn’t it a person who looks exactly like ourselves? And weren’t they making the same physical gestures? And behind that person, in the reflection, did you not also see, just over your shoulder, a pair of eyes? The curve of a head? And did you notice how that head was human in shape but maybe only a third the size?

CECIL: Who is behind you in the mirror? Or what is behind you? Should I speak in present or past tense? Is the face there? Or is the face gone now? Are you no longer at the mirror? Do you feel safer? Why do you assume that because you aren’t looking in the mirror right now that the tiny face and spiny digits are not still behind you?

CECIL: Are you thinking about it? Are you starting to forget exactly what it looks like? Do you want to go to the mirror again? Do you want to stare and stare at it until you can comprehend what it is?

CECIL: What if we went to the mirror together? If we don’t feel alone in our feelings, could we conquer our fears? Are we in agreement, you and I? What are you even looking at? Is your focus drifting to your shoulder? Can you not do that? Can you resist the urge? What will staring directly into your terror accomplish?

CECIL: When was the last time you saw your mother? It’s been since childhood, hasn’t it? Didn’t she warn you about mirrors? Didn’t she tell you they would be your demise? Or was that just a popular bedtime story?

CECIL: What did your mother tell you about swing sets? What did she say to you when you yelled to her for help? Did she lean over your sobbing face and ask you: “Why are you crying when you don’t even exist?” Did she tell you again about the mirror?

CECIL: Did you figure it out? Could you see past your own mental inventions? Who out there looked beyond the long, gape-jawed figure and its inexplicable whines? Did you see the table? There in the mirror image of your house, did you see the table? You hadn’t noticed the table before, had you?

CECIL: Why was the table only in the mirror? Why isn’t it real?

CECIL: What’s inside the drawer of the rickety table in the mirror? What other uncanny discoveries await you if you could just break through? Is it as simple as breaking through?

CECIL: Do you want to know what’s in the drawer below the table? Shouldn’t it be as easy to obtain as a lightweight, wool button up coat, all black? But nothing easy ever is, is it? How do you get to a table that’s right in front of you, but only visible in a mirror?

CECIL: Are you only concentrating on the table now? And you’re sure it only exists in the mirror? You double checked? Do you want to know what’s inside the drawer on the front of that table? Are you willing to break something? Are you willing to break the mirror, yes, but so much more? Are you willing to go to a place from which you cannot return? Are you willing to learn things you cannot unlearn? Do you have a hammer? Or if not, can you find something heavy that you can lift? Will you smash the mirror? Will you do it quickly? Why are you hesitating? Have you let your comfortability lapse into carelessness? Why did you take your eyes off the creature on your neck? Did you see the blood or feel the pain first? Is it tearing into your flesh? Is that why you’re screaming? Can you still break the mirror? Are you losing consciousness? Are you? Are you? Are you?

CECIL: If you look into the mirror you just smashed do you see that the creature is gone? Cool, right? But isn’t it strange that all about you on the floor are shards of the mirror you shattered, yet in front of you, the mirror remains, fully intact? Strange? Or scary? Wouldn’t you think that the mirror being simultaneously broken and unbroken is strange, while the fact that you have no reflection is scary? Is that true though? Do you have a reflection? Do you see yourself? On the floor of the mirror’s world? Is your body crumpled on the floor like a wet towel? Is your lower jaw hanging open because you died screaming, or because of gravity? Do you have a blanket of some sort? Why don’t you cover that mirror up? Why don’t you cover all the mirrors, in fact? While you are walking about your home, do you notice the antique table by the door, with its tarnished, yet ornate, brass bulb knob? Was that table always there? Did you enter the mirror world? Or were you always in the mirror world? What else is different around you?

CECIL: Now what? Will you cover the mirrors and sweep the floor and pretend it never happened? Will this prevent it from happening again? Are awareness and manifestation one and the same?

(Episode 171 - Go to the Mirror?)

CECIL: Whatever the Distant Prince keeps behind the Narrow Place has left me hollow and shambling. Less and less of me. This time quite literally. When I looked again, I did not have a nose. It is quite upsetting to see your own face but without a nose. Think about this now. Think about looking in the mirror and seeing your face, but the nose is gone. So you will understand why I vomited in the street. And this other me, he vomited too, for exactly the same amount of time, stopping precisely when I did.

(Episode 209 - The Black Coat)

FACELESS OLD WOMAN: I am less good at being seen, but I am working on that using a system of whistles and mirrors. CECIL: Huh. Mirrors.

("The Librarian")

EARL HARLAN: Oh yes! Yes, I will wake up that morning, and I will stare at myself in the mirror repeating, “You can do this, Earl. You can do this, Earl. You can do this, Earl.” Until my reflection says, “You’re right.” And then we’ll brush each others’ teeth, and trim each others’ mustaches, and comb each others’ hair… CECIL: Awwww! EARL HARLAN: …and then step through the mirror and once again switch places in each others’ mirrored world for the day.

("The Investigators")

JEFFREY: Yeah, yeah. Yeah turns out most people are afraid of what they are, so now I’m also terrified of mirrors and reflective surfaces, so…

("ALL HAIL")

[luck-and-larceny]

Meeeeee

This was a nice thing to be tagged in! I have not been feeling great the past few days and my brain is juuust starting to work again. Answer questions about myself? Way easier than answering character questions right now! Thank you for the tag @thefreelanceangel! 1. Are you named after anyone?

Yes and no and kinda? Good answer? Ok. I'll move on then. Just kidding. Time to ramble more! My first name is Rhiannon (Ree-ann-in). I'm named after the Fleetwood Mac song if that means anything to anyone. But my mom liked it so much not -just- because she was a musicophile (she is definitely that) but also because she liked the Welsh mythology. My middle name, which I won't put here so that I can maintain my ever so slight air of mystery, was in honor of my aunt on my mom's side and my uncle on my dad's side who both have variations of the name.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Uh. I cry all the time so asking me to remember specifically when isn't fair. I teared up last night after watching the episode of The Toys That Made Us on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. ^^;

3. Do you have kids?

Like @thefreelanceangel, I've got pets! No kids for a multitude of reasons. That can be someone else's journey to go on.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Nah. Never.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

I used to really enjoy playing soccer, pickle ball, and tennis. I'm far too out of shape to be good at any of those anymore. Now my favorite sport to play is "I walked up and down the stairs to do laundry so, you know, I'm killing it."

6. What is the first thing you notice about other people?

I don't know! I think I take in the whole -motions with hands to indicate the whole everything- first. Not in a nitpicky, judgmental, dumb way (god, then you could do that back to ME and I really would prefer you don't). Just the first thing I notice is the person? And the vibe? Like an immediate: Do I feel comfortable? Am I nervous? Do they seem nervous? Do they seem nice? Oh god, do I seem nice? If I talk to them, how likely are they to want to punt me across the room? Heh. Is that a good opening line that would make us both feel less nervous? "Hi! Nice to meet you. You're not likely to punt me across the room are you?" I may have just given away that I am a very introverted, anxious, and peculiar person above. That's Ok. Please don't punt me.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

Why not both? Depends on my mood! Well. And I suppose the exact kind of scary or happy movie, too.

8. Any special talents?

Ummmmmm... I don't think I'm terrible at writing or singing. I could be a lot better at both, of course, but I could be a lot worse too! Are those boring? I'll try to think of a more interesting answer. I can sing every song backwards, flawlessly, and completely without error. That sounds like a special talent, right? I mean, it possibly (definitely) isn't true, but maybe it's more interesting to imagine.

9. Where were you born?

This reads like a "Just curious, what's the answer to one of the security questions you're likely to get asked frequently?" I was born in the backseat Of a Mustang On a cold night In the hard rain And the very first song that the radio sang Was "I won't be home no more." -Old 97s

10. Do you have any hobbies?

Changing the words to songs to put my cats' names in them, making up entirely new songs to sing at my cats, singing entirely made up songs about whatever task I am currently doing ("Singing while I type about my-se-e-e-e-elf. Singing cuz this quiz ain't about no one e-e-e-else.") ((<-- I didn't say the songs were any -good-) I write. I play video games. I watch a whooole lot of YouTube. I play tabletop RPGs. I daydream constantly about a vast array of other hobbies I want to take up but haven't yet.

11. Do you have any pets?

I do! One big ole fluffy black cat. One lil'r, sleek black cat. One old man leopard gecko. And maybe all the crickets that he hasn't eaten.

12. How tall are you?

5′ 2. The doctor has tried to tell me I'm actually 5' 1 and a half. But the doctor is obviously wrong. You really just can't trust doctors.

13. Favorite Subject in School:

Grade school and high school? Art and English. College: Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics. Though, to be honest, I only really got into Cultural Anthropology in the first place because the professor was really attractive. >.> I later learned to genuinely like the subject though! Despite my social anxiety, I -really- love learning about people and culture and I'm crazy about language.

14. Dream job?

Something that allows me to be myself and celebrates it! So anything that allows me the creative space to write/sing/act/engage with others in my full exuberance would be amazing. I'd really like to own a cat cafe. Or maybe a bookstore with a kitty. I'd just really like jobs that would allow me space to either feel wildly creative or wildly at peace.

15. Eye Color?

Brown. Brownish-green. Hazel, I guess! Or whatever color the oil sheen on my constantly icky glasses makes my eyes. -_- I swear, I can't get these things clean.

TAGGING: @herowren, @faustinebellamy, @argentrenard, @the-wanted-man, @lettersnorth, @unabashedrebel, @damienward-ffxiv, @irascibleblackguard and everyone!

[hurlumerlu]

As usual, badly put together thoughts on Playboyy episode 5 under the cut :

My main thought on this episode is how heavy on melancholy it was. It was a lot less funny and dramatic and a lot more, idk. contemplative ? or at least that's how it felt to me. Also a lot more unsettling, we are definitely not playing anymore. Funnily enough, this gravitas is pretty close to what I hoped for when I started Playboyy, but now that I actually have it I feel wrongfooted and unsure. Which is great ! I've always enjoyed shows where I didn't know what I was in for before starting an episode (perhaps a little too much) and I appreciate the unease.

Related to the above : I like that the Nuth & Phop scenes are packed with tender moments (the piggyback, the very begining of the shaving scene, "haha i'm halucinating him :D/i'm right there", waking up in each other's arms) amidst the constant current of dread. It helps lay out the reasons Phop comes back (drugs aside) on an emotional level, and it also makes the peaks in tension that much stronger because you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and because it could be sweet ! it could. it's good suspense.

Honnestly the fact that Nuth has been so strongly established as suspect n°1 when we're only in episode 5 makes me really doubt that he is, for lack of a better term, our Big Bad. Which does not mean I think of him as an innocent little sweetheart (don't pay people in drugs is imo a pretty low bar and he couldn't even clear that) and he absolutely had something to do with Nant's troubles, but I feel like there is something else at play. Could be way off though ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Unpopular opinion probably but I worry for him too. He does not seem well ! He also doesn't seem to have much of a support system ! If this all ends badly - if it already has, for Nant, because of him - I don't think I'll be able to shake off the feeling that it all could have been avoided.

Please don't kill Phop please don't kill Phop please don't kill Phop

Other characters I would like to not see die are Nont (very much so), Soong, and Jump. (and Puen because I play favourites) the others are fair game for me not because I don't like them but because I can see multiple narrative payoffs for their death. It all depend on how it's done. (honnestly I can also imagine narrative payoffs for Nont's death, and worse endings for him than death, but. uh. I'll be gutted for sure)

Since I mentioned Soong - I told myself I would not gripe about this but I am absolutely going to gripe about this : how did Nont convince him to drink/take drugs with him ? Did he think this was Nant ? it was all very weird and I did not get how we got for point a to point c. You could argue it doesn't matter but it's the kind of things that matters to me ! Anyway, moving on :

Soong keeps having a bad time. And I'm sure many would say he deserved it, but as I'm not generally interested in characters getting their just deserts (unless it's funny) I'm still mostly feeling kinda sad for the guy, in an awkward sort of way

I'm sorry I said Nont was not good at threatening people. turns out he's just not good at threatening people with sharp objects. He's disturbingly into it when it comes to fire though ! (but also Nont baby you're gonna burn your thumb)

Zouey & Teena were very cute. So where Zouey & First trying to investigate Soong.

You know who isn't cute ? Porche. I want to sit that boy down and have a loooong talk with him. It probably wouldn't help but someone has to try.

Anyway we knew that already but the fact that none of these rich little fuckers where willing to help Nant out when they could easily have pooled their money... with friends like these, honnestly.

This may have been a wake up call for Captain ? wait and see I guess.

Captain and Puen being on good enough terms that Captain told him everything about the fake sex tape is interesting. I'm still really interested in their dynamic !

Look. Puen was so charming (and charmed) all episode and Aob was so prickly, it's hard for me not to get into the relationship that is dangled in front of us (and I didn't try). However everytime I watch this series I think of Love Conquers All (2006) and its ironic-ass title, so I look at every single relationships promised by this show with doubt and mistrust

SPEAKING OF WHICH : lmao @Prom and his little evil smile. control your face, sir.

But I still believe he didn't know why Nant was missing, so I wonder what he was smiling evily for. Plenty of options to chose from though ! Maybe he just wants to get back at the ex-playboyys for asserting their independence, which would be bad enough, but I doubt that's all. Oh well, we'll see !

Last thought : I could have sworn I saw the bottom of a brazilian flag in one of Nuth and Poph scene but I can't find it again :(

[eisforeidolon]

Question: I love the episode where The Trickster puts Dean and Sam in different tv shows, and is there a tv show you would like to be in. For example, I would love to see you in the Youtube talk show Hot Ones were you get and eat extremely spicy chicken wings? I would love to see how far you come.

Jensen: [nonverbally reacts to last line] Uh... I have said for several years now, before the show got big?

Question: You know it?

Jensen: Oh! When Hot Ones was just a Youtube show, and nobody had heard of it and they were having, like, random people on it? I was like - Jared and I - we were still shooting Supernatural, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, we've gotta do this show!' And they invited us both to come on the show. And we couldn't work it out with production.

Audience: Aww.

Jensen: But now the show's so popular that, like, major A list movie stars are doing it, I don't think they're gonna have us on anymore. But I will say that the guy, oh, what's his name -

Question: Sean Evans?

Jensen: Sean! I will say that Sean - so Jeff, Jeffrey Dean Morgan was, he did an episode during COVID. And so he had to do it via Zoom, but I was talking to Jeff about it and I was like, 'Dude, you did Hot Ones! I'm so jealous.' And he was like, 'Are you serious? You wanna do that show?' I was like, 'I would LOVE to do that show. I wanna do that show so bad!' And he's like, 'Sean loves Supernatural, like, he would totally have you guys on.' I'm like, 'Really?!' And then I started watching the show and I was like - Oh, well, like Charlize Theron is doing it. And there's just too many big names, who was the latest person - there's like huge names that do it now.

Question: Yeah, yeah, really huge names. Pedro Pascal -

Jensen: Alright, enough with Pedro Pascal, alright! I've had about enough of Pedro Pascal. The guy is - he's too awesome, and I wanna be him. Did you guys watch This is Us - or The Last of Us? This is Us [laughs at himself] - good show, though. Shout out to Sterling and my boy Justin. Yeah, The Last of Us, so that started floating around Hollywood a couple of years ago, and I was like, 'Alright, who do I have to kill to get this role?'

Audience member: Pedro Pascal!

Jensen: [nods] And it became very clear ... that his name was Pedro Pascal. And because I am a law abiding citizen, I did not kill him. And instead I watched The Last of Us on my iPad, with hate in my eyes.

Audience member: Did you take a selfie?

Jensen: What?

Audience member: Of the hate!

Jensen: All the hate?

Audience member: Did you take a picture of the hate in your eyes?

Jensen: Oh, did I take a picture, did I take a selfie of the hate in my eyes? No, but I can show it to you right now. It looked a little something like this [goes through an extended series of facial expressions flat/annoyed/enjoyment/flat/enjoyment/etc.]

Audience member: What just happened?

Jensen: What just happened? I enjoyed his performance and I got mad at myself, that's what happened. That's what that looks like. God bless you, Pedro, you're killin it. Good for ya. But that's the thing, too, in this industry - am I jealous? Mmm. Yeah. Envious? Sure. But I'm also really happy for him. Like, good for him. He's killing it right now, that's so great. And I think that that's a really cool thing about this industry is that I think the people that really get it, they aren't upset if they're not getting a role. They're happy for the person that gets to succeed, because there's always going to be different stories, there's always going to be other roles. But, you know, sure would I have loved to play that role? Yeah. But I would have done it much differently, and it wouldn't have been what it turned out to be and I think it turned out to be really great. And so for that I'm - I'll just keep my eyes out for the next one, you know?

[whenthechickencry]

Umineko EP2. Replay Part 3

Pretty sure the bet that is being subtly referred to here is winning the epitaph... and therefore how they feel about how Kinzo won that bet.

Pretty much most conversations between Beatrice and Shkannon are very sad in context.

It is interesting considering how strong Beatrice is portrayed in these earlier chapters that Kanon can kill her! Wonder why he would have that specific power...

Piece Battler and Meta Battler are clearly mixing up together here but uh, you really could be doing a lot more stuff here than just sleep around you know?

Gets the trick correct but pivots as soon as he has to accuse Rosa, classic Battler.

Funny how there are a lot of lines that let slip that they know Kinzo is dead... why would she have someone else's will if that other person is alive?

Would be great if you told her your problems then!

R07's roundabout way of explaining Braun Tubes before he had to change plans for ep3 and do it directly lol.

Maria dropping some important hints about Beatrice's existence here!

Rosa's really in denial about having met Beatrice 2, huh?

Other than begging Shkannon to do it, I guess. Though I guess she tries to deny to herself that she knows what's going on at least on some level.

MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO THAT GEORGE

When I was younger is a very interesting line - showing something changed that would impact her dreams.

The acceptance that they have to "make people cry" is pretty sad... they obviously feel bad about lashing out at Jessica but if they didn't they would have had to disappoint them later...

The way this keeps happening so often is pretty funny. It's like r07 shouting that Kanon isn't physical (in these contexts at least)

When you first read this it's easy to just mindlessly fall into the script and go 'Go Shannon show the witch you are better than her', but it really hurts in context where she's basically saying "It's okay if I kill myself, I already was the happiest I could be in my relationship anyways since it's doomed after this."

This dialogue almost feels straight out of Hanyuu in Saikoroshi, to be honest. Another way in which r07 uses your familiarity with his work in order to guide you in a certain way! Here he is using it to make you blindly agree with Shannon instead of thinking about what this conversation really means.

Kyrie you goated the conversation here!

They repeat that line a couple times in early episodes... guess Team Yasu was firm on not confirming whether Kinzo had children with the original Beatrice, which makes sense, I suppose, it's a big clue.

Kumasawa's like "Stop trying to destroy a child's dreams, Battler!"

Maria's just right here, though, Battler won't get anywhere by just thinking what's the optimal path when that's not what Beatrice is doing.

This reaction I think contrasts her earlier conversation where she assured George that meeting together was magic - She has given up on having George understand her now.

George can clearly tell something is wrong with Shannon here but doesn't look into it further, as is usual for George by now.

Shannon perks up when she hears that it's the same thing as marriage for George. because she has no plans of surviving this day so her regrets at not being able to marry get alleviated.

I know R07 has said George would accept Shannon as she is but to be honest I am not in perfect agreement here - I think he would try to but all his future plans are about having children with Shannon. I can't imagine his dreams being broken like that wouldn't affect their relationship at all...

George, I absolutely can't blame you for saying this you had no way to know but STOP

The argument Yasu is having with themselves on this conversation is "Is it okay for me to get into relationships with others even though me being furniture means the relationship will certainly be destroyed" and the thing that really hurts me is how no side ever argues that the relationship won't be destroyed; No part of Yasu considers that a possibility.

Interesting how it's Piece-Beato giving this conversation, hinting that Beatrice's relationship with Battler is something that exists outside of meta as well.

Seeing everyone prostrate themselves to Beatrice here is pretty funny and shows how easy it is to get everyone along with your plan for a couple gold bars.

I wonder what crazy theories about loopers people had when they first played this game, sadly personally I was like a decade late to early reactions! So far Shkannon, Beatrice and Kinzo have shown memories of early loops (because they are all in some way fictional, obviously) but I can imagine people having insane theories based on that.

[thesoulofasurvivor]

The Last of Us Episode 9 FINALE + season review

this entire post is of strictly my personal opinions only, just a disclaimer. I only speak for myself. Another very entertaining episode, there are many scenes that hold so true to the game and those scenes I appreciate.

But I gotta be honest. I'd be lying if I gave Season 1 more than at best a 6/10 rating.

SPOILERS BENEATH THE CUT!! long post warning ahead

Episode 9: we get the giraffe scene, it's very lovely and so goddamn sweet. I love the interactions we finally get between Ellie and Joel, just pure Ellie and Joel content finally, just the two of them with nothing interrupting, plus, we got to see Ellie's mom; it was so great to see Ashley on screen! And wow, they actually blessed us with one single infected. But again... Boy was this ever ridiculously rushed. They spent $500,000 on making a bloater suit and used it once for 3 minutes. Ellie is telling jokes and bam so suddenly the screen goes black and they're already in the hospital. It just happened so goddamn fast I could physically feel the rushing time limit of the episode that was only 42 minutes. Don't lie to yourself. It says 44 minutes but we all know that intro sequence is at least a minute and a half long lol 😂 even my mom was like ?? oh uh, okay... everybody is dead okay, show over. Even SHE acknowledged how rushed this was. The hospital scene was, despite my criticism, done well, it was great. They ended the show how they ended the game, I believe that was beautiful! Though I do admit, I wish we got a glimpse of Abby mourning her father to give the audience that feeling of, "omg, what's going to happen next?"

I support Joel's decision. I don't care what anybody says. The Fireflies wanted to murder a 14 year old child for an "I think," they wanted to kill her thinking they could make a cure from ONE try at it? Nah. That's not how it works. There are many ways an intelligent doctor could have gone about it to keep her alive while running tests and experiments. Vaccines and cures and shit aren't made from ONE try. Killing the person with the antibodies you want is literally so dumb and no one can ever convince me otherwise. #TeamJoel. I love you Marlene but oof. They literally said it's like... Cells or some shit. They can just extract the stuff without killing her. I dunno, I just think it's dumb.

Anyways, I am not going to say anything more about tonight's episode. Why did I rate the show 6/10? I don't hate it, I don't think it's terrible or bad. But I do feel very disappointed and like it was severely lacking. It could have been so much more, clearly, because what we did get is in fact absolutely amazing.

Their biggest enemy is time. They rushed it, and they rushed it badly. They cut corners, they basically strictly took cutscenes from the game and that was the show, which I personally believe is just... Lazy. The story is more than just the game's cutscenes. We get so much wholesome content that happens during the gameplay. Like Ellie's admittance to a fear / dislike of fairies!

The acting? Goddamn, flawless, the actors' performances were amazing and nobody fell short. The visuals? The scenery? The infected? Absolutely gorgeous, breathtaking. They DO stay true to the game for so much of the show, some things they executed better than the game, the music, the audios, it's all so well done.

But the rushing really brings it down for me. They rushed it just far too much, and they made the world so safe it barely feels like a "zombie" apocalypse (and I say "zombie" loosely because the infected aren't such). Joel and Ellie travel hundreds of miles and... I guess just, barely any trouble whatsoever. Marlene asking how they travelled "all this way" and making it sound like some big feat? Really wasn't earned in the show in my opinion as it was in the game. Of course they made it all that way, there was very little trouble along the way.

The infected feel very unimportant. I'm left asking... What's the point of Ellie's immunity? What's the point in the Fireflies quest to find a "cure" ?? The infected aren't really much of a threat, it seems pretty easy to avoid them altogether. I've seen people calling The Last of Us an apocalypse that would be relatively easy to survive based on the show due to the fact that you just rarely ever seem to encounter infected or other hostile survivors.

And yes I can understand they seem to have made the infected "more dangerous" and they don't want to "flood every episode with infected," but there's a difference between overdoing it and... Just having zero infected altogether. If you search up, they say over 60% of the population is either dead or infected... Well in the show it seems like they're just all dead rather than infected.

They changed the lore of the game, they changed it completely, and then did absolutely nothing with the new lore. I still honestly barely know anything about the new lore because they really didn't show us anything about it. Not once, NOT ONCE, did we see any character enter a building or any location with the living fungus tendrils where they have to avoid touching it or whatever.

The show is just far too rushed for me to give it anything more than a 6/10. They seriously missed a lot, they cut way too many corners and they made the world seem too safe, and in my opinion, they reduced the threat levels of the infected. Who cares if they are more "crazy" if you barely ever see them?

I really enjoyed it, it was entertaining and it was nice to have those moments of pointing at the screen and going "omg that's from the game!" and if they release it on dvd, guess what? I'm buying it. But it was rushed. Too many cut corners. World is too safe. They went from one extreme to the other; too many infected to practically zero infected... There is infact this thing called middle ground, but I personally feel they just skipped to the extreme of practically zero and that was that.

I absolutely do recommend the show. But... Do I recommend it over just watching the game on youtube? Probably not... If someone said, hey I wanna know the story but I will only watch the show or watch the game on youtube, what one do I watch? I'd tell them to watch the game on youtube, and then if they love it enough, THEN watch the show.

Thank you to everybody who actually reads these! Again, all of this is personal opinion of me myself and I, I speak for nobody but myself.

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

:OOO O.O

Oop yep she said the name

D A N G

Oh gosh that promo looks CRAZY

xDD Like good but CRAZY

Wow

Gosh xdd

That's the end of my last thoughts!!! Woah, that was wild xDD. Now onto the. . .

REVIEW

Wow. That was. . . Wild xDD. Just- straight up crazy lol

Some quick last thoughts, since I said a lot for what I was thinking the liveblog!! Plus some condensing if what I said

Buck, Eddie, and Chim just vibing and seeing if Hen keeps it together is iconic xDd But also Buck's barely keeping it together lol, trying to find peace and all and that situation. Poor guy :((.

Also Evan sir you are gay <3 Just accept it and move on

Nah fr xDD I headcanon him as bi but eh anyway lol

And UGHHH Hen this episode!!! Poor Hen 😭😭😭😭. She does not DESERVEEE THISSSS!!!

I saw something recently that was like I love Henren and I love angst and all but can they have one storyline that isn't super serious or sad, and like xDD Yeah lol

I love the angst but y'all 😭😭😭 You're killing me here lol xD

I like how they're a very realistic couple though and still have emotions even when the other one does yaknow? Like Karen is justified in being upset about Hen forgetting to pick Denny up but also she understands and is still there for Hen <333 Iconic, truly.

Love them :DDDD

Still heartbreaking though xdd. Just watching her go through something like that, something I kind after myself. . . ugh. Torture xdd. I loved it, it was great, but ow xd. ❤️❤️❤️😭😭❤️❤️🥰

And honestly poor Athena :((. And her mom! Beatrice, that's her name. It's so rough when a family member is sick, especially in the hospital, let alone in a coma. I can't even imagine the pain and the stress <33

I hope everything works out with them, besides the uh, yaknow (segue lol)

BODY!!!

LIKE WHAT??? EXCUSE ME???

THAT WAS S H O C K I N G XDDD

More just the fact that there even WAS a body, not who it was lol

Although since that was a prevalent (or at least, more so than any other information about this town) storyline in the past, it does make sense that it would come back up. Still, though xdd. CRAZY.

Also, just. Bathena <333 🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️❤️😭❤️❤️❤️❤️. Crying because they're adorable lol <333 :DD.

Okay I just watched the first 10 minutes and UHH. XDD DANG lol. I kinda figured it was something like that but still xdd. Also a tunnel is a little extra. It was funny and interesting tough lol

And ahhh it was a medically induced coma, okay, I see. Still, it sucks :((. And there's the start (that we see) of her denial too. Poor lady :((. Poor all of them, honestly. Just, oof xdd.

Also, it sucks that he choked a bit (I don't know if I'd call it crashing and burning lol - also I find it funny how with "burning" they had a chance to have the fighters actually fight like. A fire xDD but I get that they're ent more with the crash theme lol - oh wait, back from putting the title at the end, I just remembered it's learn XDD Nevermind then, lol), but I'm sure whatever his face was, 9-1-1 dispatcher boy, will do great :)). He just has to get a little more experience first :D. I think he'll do great <3. Hopefully he's not evil lol.

Overall, I loved the episode. The calls were fun, though a bit sad at times Hen's storyline was amazing, as was Athena's side. Ayy, our besties have an episode :D. Kind of together, but also super far apart lol. Also, poor Buck, honestly. Man is struggling lol. But yeah, I really connected with Hen here so I just feel extra bad for her <3. Anyway, it was a great episode. This season's shaping up to be really good :).

So, that's about it! It was an amazing episode, and I am looking forward to the next one. This has been my review of. . .

9-1-1, Season 6, Episode 2: Crash and Learn

It was awesome! I am so excited for what comes next. It seems like it'll be great! See you next week for. . .

9-1-1, Season 6, Episode 3: The Devil You Know

See you guys then!

[be-side-my-self]

Rewatch of ONLY Murders In The Building to prepare for season 4 (VI)

<Part I> // <Part II> // <Part III> // <Part IIII> // <Part V>

Block #OMITBRewatch if you don’t want to read notes that will have spoilers up to seasons 3. Just to make it clear, while quoting, I use M, O, C for the main characters.

Also I’m putting this under a read more because it gets long.

okay, before I start let me just recommend a really good movie, that you'll enjoy if you like "Only Murders In the Building".

"See how they run"

S3 E1

Next season, we get flashbacks.

C: "Once smitten though, then comes the work of classes and training, of speech and technique... honing your craft,"

Aint that true? And I did not even follow any hobby/passion to become my job.

That apartment is so beautiful.

Meryl Streep! Loretta. Got it.

I guess Oliver does understand the monologue on a deep level.

And I love the parallel of him going to the right side of the stage to watch her more closely, just like Loretta did with that acretss in the theater all those years ago.

O: "Where have you been?"

Love that Howard is Olivers assistant.

*Four months ago.*

M: "Well, you know we're all just so busy-busy, and, who are we without a homicide?"

Lmao... there can only be one peacock and that is Oliver.

... no even though he is gay you can't kiss him like that.

Aristotle Brazzos?

Of course the producer of the Brazzos reboot is on harassment charges.

I feel like stopping people who start to quote Ghandi is a meme in itself.

Ben: "But, in the films, I'm just the friendly zoologist who morphs into a 20-foot cobra and helps the cops save the day."

That sounds so trashy... I'd watch it. At least the first movie.

It's weird... she was casted because of her voice and then she tries something else.

It is a bit awkward but it's a first reading.

Shut up, Ben!

Lmao, Oliver is awful and great at giving pep-talks.

O: "You go. I go."

... they mentioned twitter... gosh. I miss twitter.

Uma is great.

Aww, Mabel missed her old guys.

Someone is smitten...

Someone else is smitten too...

"Congratulations! Death Rattle Cast & Crew We killed 'em!"

Amazing, how everyone is now even more awkward after Ben returned.

He is still an asshole.

The renovated apartment looks amazing.

Aw... Mabel needs to leave. :(

Uma: "You gotta be fucking kidding me."

S3 E2

(sorry in before I had a beer and am super tired)

narrating from the point of view of the victim

"Girl Cop" a weird concept that probably would have been a real hit back in the late 90's ealery 00's

"Tight"

C: "Then you're sleuthing?" M: "Obviously."

Charles knows a lot of random things.

Harry Styles is talking at Ben's funeral.

The security guy - Greg - is just a weird stalker fan.

I like Maxine.

Maxine: "I never hold back. And neither should you."

Uh Oh Oliver.

C: "At least we found the killer. And in record time. Usually, it takes us at least eight episodes."

Detective Biswas.

Oh Oliver, having to reduce stress and cut out the dips... impossible!

M: "PTSD check. How are we holding up?" C: "Okay. I've already repressed it."

Olivers hallucinations are always so fascinating.

"Death Rattle Dazzle!"

Oliver instantly feeling stressed when the other two tell him that they will do another podcast.

S3 E3

(two days later, not drunk or tired)

Oliver is such a good composer

And Mabel got Oliver down to a T.

Donna and Cliff's relationship is so awful...

Mabel is banned from Olivers apartment

Tobert: "Sounds perfectly reasonable. And delivered so naturally."

Not sure if there was something between Mabel and Tobert? I remember thinking so...

Also I think I remember one of the big plot points about Dickie and Loretta.

C: "Oliver, how would you feel if I threw you under a bus?" O: "Knock yourself out. I was about to throw myself in front of one."

Mabel and Tobert are locked in a thight, dark space.

And I guess you can get any girl with the story of rescuing a baby elephant.

Lmao, Charles is so bad at trying to fit in.

Loretta is hitting so hard on Oliver.

"The Nanny's Lullaby" is such a good song.

Yes, Cliff get that Musical!

Okay, the Loretta and Oliver romance is really cute...

And it makes sense, that they think Kimber did it.

I really would love to know who all the characters are in Death Rattle and who wrote it.

S3 E4

Gosh, Cinda's new podcast about self-care is so... awful. Smells like bullshit

The apartment Mabel is looking at... is not the best... but also not the worst and it certainly is way too expensive... but then that is everything close to New York... at least that is what I heard.

Joy owns 62 fish... and moved in with Charles.

Joy: "35 years ago, you sat in my makeup chair, and I thought to myself, 'This man dies alone'. And now, look at us. Shacking up."

C: "Do I look like a guy who can rap?"

RIGHT! THE WHITE ROOM!

Lmao, Mabel taking to Howard about sweaters...

Joy is a freak.

Mabel does has old woman energy.

The next person who is the red herring is Joy...

Right, the one person texting Mabel is Cinda!

lmao, Charles trying to sell the omlet making as a choreo...

Mabel teaming up with Cinda would be a good career move for both tbh. But Cinda is a bitch...

Charles, the last time you lived with a woman she broke your heart.

Oliver and Charles are besties!!

... awful that Charles gets into the white room at that moment with Joy...

lmao... Charles thinking "not again!!" and "help me!"