#his intro scene is always too much ti handle!!

[mossmx]

merlinktober DAY 29: bulky

[bronx-bomber87]

Saturday afternoon review. Another glorious episode. The intro of their fur child. Kojo-Chen-Bradford baha A pup we all know and love. Also that we hope to get to see in S6. This is a very solid Tim backstory ep I’m excited. I’ll delve little more into the actual ep than normal. Just because it’s so tied into everything in this ep. Especially Tim’s past. I always love delving into his past. As I always tell my friend D, When I get into Tim's past I go off a lot haha I can't help it I relate so much to him. So bear with me while I rant off about him in this one. He is a subject I am very passionate about. But let’s get this ep started.

2x14 Casualties

We start our episode with our fav canine. Destroyer of chew toys Mr. Kojo. He really is a beautiful dog. The dog lover in me adores him so much. Jackson is awoken by this sweet boy and honestly handles it better than expected haha Lucy clearly has gotten him for post DOD reasons. Smart on her end. I know my dog has helped me a ton emotionally. I totally understand why she did this.

I think Jackson is very aware of reasoning and doesn’t push it. Look how cute this dog is I can not. Also how happy Lucy is to have him. She’s literally beaming and so adorable with him. Another reason I don’t think Jackson says anything to Lucy. He isn’t happy about it but won’t fight her on it either. Such a good friend putting her ahead of his discomfort about this. He knows how much she has been through so he's not going to tell her no...Oh the power Lucy Chen holds over the men her life ha

Lucy tells Tim about Kojo and he instantly thinks it’s a mistake. Discouraging her owning him. (Of course he does). Lucy is her sassy self and tells him she didn’t remember asking him. LOL Tim tells her tough. He’s there to teach her how to succeed. That adding a dog into the mix is only going to distract her. Lucy shows him a picture of Kojo. Says what if he is cute and snuggly?

You can see Tim also thinks he’s cute and snuggly when she shows him the pic haha but says that’s not the point he’s trying to make. Can tell he loves Kojo but isn’t going to give her that satisfaction right now. Lucy is too damn happy about her new pup to let Tim ruin it. He continues his interrogation and asks who’s watching him while she’s at work? Lucy replies she paid a neighbor let him out. Then asks if Jackson is ok with it? Lucy being clueless (which is a rarity for her as we all know) replies 'Why wouldn’t he be?'

First off I always love when we get tall and smol shots. They make my soul so very happy. Their height difference always gets me in the feels in a way I can not describe. This whole scene cracks me up though. Both trying so hard to top the other with who's right. It’s what they do and they do it so damn well.

It’s so cute how Tim defends himself about dogs when Lucy says he doesn't like them. ‘Wrong. I love dogs.’ LOL He is definitely not wrong about the responsibility part. They are a lot especially for a rookie trying to survive her training. Lucy mocks him and says he’s about to go off on a ‘But you were when you were my age?’ rant. Tim then does just that haha Our marriage moment of the episode.

Telling her all he’s done at her age. How he already did 2 tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Second in charge of his squad of ten soldiers. Lucy is not indulging him this time, scoffs loudly and calls him a show off haha You know he heard her but says ‘What was that?‘ Her face in those two last gifs. Be more married you two please.

They knock on the door of their call. Someone has reported a peeping Tom. They head back with the husband to their pool area. He says his wife likes to tan in the morning. A drone has been watching her the last few mornings. Tim says they can put out an alert but they’re tricky to track down.

The wife comes in and and is instantly checking Tim out. I can’t say I blame her. The man is sinfully delicious especially in uniform. She shamelessly flirty with him. He could not be cuter being embarrassed about it. That smile of his as his reaction. He’s always so caught off guard when women hit on him. Lucy’s face during the whole thing is hilarious. She’s so awkward and uncomfortable as this goes down. His polite ‘ma’am ‘ and shyness we rarely see in him. *fans self* Can’t blame a girl for trying LMAO

Lucy gets a call from her apt about Kojo shortly after they return to the station. Tim says they’re not going unless it’s a crime scene. It kinda is...One of her apt. Lucy opens the door and we see the destruction the poor boy has caused. Lucy clearly has no control over this sweet angel. He just jumps up on her when she arrives. Clearly so stressed being alone. He wants her attention. Kojo won’t get down until Tim shouts a firm command at him to sit and he does…Oh my...

Tim barking out orders like that shouldn’t be so hot and yet here we are. I am a puddle. This man does things to me I can't properly put into words haha Also his sexy and confident ‘Come on.’ afterwards. Lucy girl, it’s a miracle you get any work done around this man LOL Kojo you just met your dad and you have no idea. They go through the destruction that is her apt. Tim basically beaming with an ‘I told you so.’ energy as they explore the wreckage.

He is so pleased with himself. They enter Jackson's room and it is trashed. He is at the height of his smugness at this point. He starts taking pics of her and the damage to Jackson's room. These two and their pics of one another I love it so much. Tim says ‘I don’t have to say anything do I?’ Poor Lucy.. ‘I rather you didn’t…’ Already feeling the massive guilt for Kojo destroying Jackson's room the most.

After they leave their fur baby, Lucy and Tim join in on a suspect Nolan is chasing. He was sharing a shady SRO with the man who was found killed earlier. He took off and they end up catching him in an ally. It’s here we find out he and Tim have a history. The shock on Tim’s face gets me. There’s so much going on in that look that we don’t understand right now. Eric is conveying so much in just this small window.

We rejoin them at the station booking him. Tim looks like he's in a state of shock. Thought Mitch's life was going well post-service. Definitely wasn't expecting him to be living on the streets. Knowing he's not in a good place is bringing back all his guilt in waves. There is so much Tim is carrying in these interactions with Mitch. He asks what he's even being charged with? Lucy tells him resisting arrest to begin with. The DA will sort out the rest.

Mitch is all over Tim about what’s going on. He tells him he can’t violate the victims privacy. Mitch then pieces together his friend Joe is dead. Tim refuses to give him anymore info. Says detectives will be by shortly to talk to him. He looks so damn distraught walking away from the holding cell. Lucy points out the obvious tension between them. Tim lets her know exactly what their history is. I’m so proud of him for not brushing her off or being angry with her for asking. He’s just defeated and tells her why.

Like he wants to share this emotional burden with her instead of holding onto it solo. How far we've come. Truly. When just Isabel's name would set him off for most of their shift. Now he just tells her when she asks him. Telling Lucy things is a safe place for him at this point in their relationship. It’s a beautiful thing to watch him not even fight that. To let her know with no pretense. Allowing her to know something from his military past is huge. Something he keeps quite guarded. Watching him feeling comfortable enough to share with her. My heart. I'm not crying. You are.

Tim watches Armstrong and Nolan interrogate Mitch. The emotions in his eyes as he does is killing me. You can feel his guilt through the screen. There seems to be more than just Mitch's guilt there to me. But we will touch on that later....Nolan lets him know Joe had his neck snapped. It seemed like a professional. Mitch tells them he didn’t kill him. That Joe came to him about finding a lot of money. Pallets of cash in the millions. Found it in a building with a bunch of weaponry. Being guarded by heavy duty guys. Lots of machinery too.

Mitch says he and Joe were tight cause they were both vets. That’s why he shared the cash. But he begged him not to go back there for any more. Mitch says he feel guilty. Wishing he would’ve gone with him, because Joe would’ve gone with him. We go back to Tim and see more guilt flitting across his handsome face. The weight of what he is carrying is so evident. Kills me to watch it him bearing it alone. Harper comes in and tells them all that money is counterfeit. Really good but fake none the less. They figure out the machinery could’ve been printers from Mitch. Armstrong decides to get a search warrant and go to the building Joe found.

Naturally when they make it to the warehouse it’s empty. They ask Tim if he still believes his army buddies story? He says yes. That they must’ve cleared out of here after they killed Joe. Nolan finds some evidence. It’s linking them back to a security guy who was “fixing” a camera at their crime scene. They were about to run his face off his body cam when Grey calls them back to the station. Says they are to leave that area immediately.

Once they’re back Grey says their search warrant sent an alarm all the way up the food chain. Telling them to stop. That the path they’re on isn’t allowed for their investigation any longer. Tim asks what if it’s the path that leads them to his killer? Grey looks conflicted. Harper asks what they’re really into? He says he doesn’t know and tried to push to find out. All he knows is it’s non-negotiable. They all look very frustrated especially Tim. Grey tells them to take the night to reset. Tim goes off saying this isn't right. Armstrong says no it's not but it's a direct order.

Harper looks at Tim and he knows what he needs to do. Earlier in the episode we learned about LA Clear. Used to prevent blue on blue situations. It’s the best way for them to find out who is behind all this. What higher up agency is preventing them from investigating further. Only higher up officers can use it. i.e. Tim. They were told at the beginning of the ep the feds were in town for something. Sounds like this could be it. Harper asks what Tim thinks. He says this is clearly a federal operation and they don’t have enough information to proceed.

Tim asks Lucy how they get more clarity on a federal operation? She proudly produces the right answer and says LA Clear. He tries to get them all to step outside while he calls. Lucy being her sassy self says not a chance. Her wifey look is so cute I can not. You know he loves it when she’s fresh with him. Tim having to answer his personal security questions is too damn funny. Lucy is enjoying the hell out of this. His answers are so sporadic and funny. 'Lady Marmalade' and 'Xanadu' LOL He gets off the phone says they’ll get back to them within an hour.

Tim goes to see Mitch. Tells him he’s free to go. Naturally he wants more info on the case. Tim tells him they haven’t found anything yet. The money is gone. They’re working late on it though. Lets him know he just needs to go home. Then realizes how insensitive that is. Mitch tells him just to find his killer. That he served his country with honor. He deserves as much. You know that's hitting Tim right in the gut.

The ever present guilt on his face with Mitch hurts to watch. There’s an undercurrent of something else going on with this whole thing for Tim. More than just what happened with Mitch coming to the surface. It’s coloring everything he’s doing and saying in this episode since Mitch showed up. He gets the call from LA Clear and tells Mitch to take care of himself.

They find out it’s a defense intelligence agency OP. Harper says that’s national security. Nolan asks if they told him anything else? Tim says just a contact name. Colonel Norman Jangus. Nolan asks what a National security agency is doing printing counterfeit money for? Harper chimes in and says this is bigger than they thought. That they should take the night like Grey said. Tim says an off the books op isn’t great on a good day and today definitely isn't that.

Nolan gets a visitor. It’s Colonel Jangus. Tells him he is DIA, but his team works in the shadows. Does things people don’t want to admit to. John asks why he came to him? This is a great part and accurate. Says he’s the weak link. Lists why above. He’s not wrong those three are certified bad asses and John is well John LOL sorry dude. I'm so mean to Nolan I know ha I do like him but he is the weak link out of the four of them.

Tells him you always push on the weak link. Wants him to relay something to the other three. That it was a mistake to call LA Clear, to leave it alone. Nolan tells him they just want Joe’s murderer that’s it. He leaves with telling him every war has its casualties. That if they don’t stop he’ll end up being their next one.

Harper, Tim and Lucy show up lurking in the shadows. They were expecting him to show at Nolan’s. Do love them all in black street clothes. Looking ever bit the bad asses they were just explained as earlier. Tim was able to get a tracker on his car while Jangus rambled on. Tim says now they can follow him wherever he goes. Lucy is ready to go when Tim tries to stop her. (Why he think's he'll win this fight I do not know) No way in hell she was going to let him do this alone. She’s his partner through and through.

Harper telling them they’re more likely to survive the storm if this goes wrong than her and Nolan. She has a golden ticket and Tim has unblemished record. Says they don’t even need a reason to fire them as rookies. Lucy replies like the BAMF she is ‘ I’ve been buried alive by a serial killer. This rabbit hole doesn’t scare me.’ God I love her. Her resolve is rock solid. Nolan’s reply pales in comparison tbh LOL That unshakeable drive is one of the reasons why Tim falls for her. He doesn’t fight her any further. He's just hopes Jangus leads them to the money.

Now comes one of my favorite parts of the entire episode. Also another iconic OTP line stemming from it. They pull up together in Tim’s truck (LOVE them riding together) Lucy wastes zero time asking about Mitch’s leg. Just like earlier he doesn’t fight her on it. Doesn’t shut her out like he used to. Not even a little. I can not emphasize enough how huge this is for him. The beautiful place he has gotten to with her. This is confession time right now for him. He'd been letting it build up all day. Now he was letting the damn loose with her. Makes me so happy to watch his growth. I never tire of watching her chip at his wall one section at a time. It’s about to have another piece break off and shatter to the ground.

There is so much to love about this scene. I love her challenging him to open about this. It’s been so obviously eating at him all day. I'm just like him where I need my anxiety off loaded by someone I trust or I'll self destruct. It's clear he needs it off his chest. Lucy knows this. Knows him and it's why it's the first thing she asks when they're parked. They have a moment alone. She is going to take advantage of that. Lucy reads Tim like a book and knows he needs to talk about it. I've said this a lot but I am a lot like Tim. The more I analyze him the more that fact becomes true. I get his mentality towards things.

Where you think everything is your responsibility or your fault when things go wrong. Because when you grow up in a volatile household like he did (As did I) it was. A mistake was the worst thing you could do. So it's beaten into you that its your fault and you're given no grace by those around you. It's almost like a reflexive shame you feel when you make a mistake. It's how it is for me. I know it is for him too. So why would you give yourself any grace even when its warranted? When you are like this you need that 'Lucy' to unburden you. To have that safe space to off load that burden. To let you know not everything is your fault.

Lucy is that person for Tim and has been for quite some time. He confesses his sin to her. Like it’s a dark part of his soul he’s expecting to repel her. News flash it does not. She loves every part of this man especially the damaged parts. What he finds as absolutely shameful Lucy sees as something redeeming and wonderful. You can see above how much he is beating himself up over it. Even as he speaks the words he's chiding himself. The way his eyes dart around and how can't face her. He'a so ashamed of himself for not being by the book. To him he slipped up and it cost Mitch his leg. That's unforgivable in his book. He's so hard on himself. I relate so much it makes me wanna cry for him. Because I know that moral pressure.

I love her little smile before she tells him 'It's the most Tim Bradford thing she’s ever heard.' Because it really is. She just knows him so well. Lucy wants desperately for him to cut himself a break. To lower his high standards of himself just a bit. He won't but damn if she won't try to to change his POV on this. The reason she says that line is she KNOWS the depth of which he beats himself up for things. This is the type of situation where he is going to fault himself and flog himself mentally over it until someone stops him. i.e. Lucy.

I empathize with this on a deep level. I know that guilt driven anxiety you get when you feel you’ve wronged someone. It consumes you and feels like that feeling is bottomless. Lucy is very aware he will destroy himself over this. The reaction on his face below when she tells him it wasn't his fault. That he showed humility. Gets me right in the gut. Telling him that it’s nothing to feel guilty about is everything to him. Tim can't believe she's absolving him for this. Not only doing that but commending him for what he did. By praising him for that humility he showed Mitch.

I want to delve into his reaction above a little more for a couple reasons. One. Once again what Tim sees as weakness Lucy views as a strength. Knowing he is wracked with guilt over this. Trying to give him absolution for it. His sunshine human is striving to let him know not EVERYTHING is his fault. As much as he would like to think so. Beautiful thing is Lucy being in his life has lightened that emotional load he carries. Whether he realizes it or not she's shouldering part of it now.

Two. I said earlier there was an undercurrent of something else coloring Tim’s guilt in this episode. Something unspoken in the way he was carrying that guilt. Like it was more than just Mitch's guilt he was lugging around. I know he’s comparing what happened to Mitch to what happened with Lucy. By not being by the book he put Lucy in danger. The guilt about Mitch has also brought up the burden he still inflicts upon himself. Which is what happened to her in 2x11. There is some deep subtext in this scene. The way he looks at her when she says he doesn’t need to feel guilty. It's very telling to me.

In a way she is absolving him of what happened with Caleb. Because the situations are similar, in the fact that Tim wasn't by the book and something bad came of it. Lucy does this without even knowing she is doing so. Because in her mind she never blamed him. Doesn't even know he's added that to his emotional load. For Tim her acceptance of what happened with Mitch is hitting close to home with him. It feels like she is also absolving him of his immense amount of guilt he still feels about Caleb. It’s not something they’ve talked about yet. It’s coming but I felt this scene was a good precursor to that. Lucy reminding him not everything is on him like he thinks it is.

Even though it seems to him he's been absolved of both things he still defaults to being a stickler. That is his default mode. He just can't help himself. Letting her know ‘Rules matter boot. ‘ You can see the glimmer of tears in his eyes when he says this. Still feeling unworthy of her kindness and understanding of what he thinks he’s done not only to Mitch but to her. Lucy once again having that sassy smile asking him ‘Then what the hell are you doing out here? Sweetly calling him out for being a living and breathing contradiction.

The way he looks at her and says ‘Some things matter more.’ *heart clutch* Eric and his wonderfully expressive face. We are lucky to have him everyone. He is a blessing to have as our Tim Bradford. By saying this he is saying she matters more. That what they're currently doing matters more. Tim showing Lucy his moral compass for Mitch and Joe means more. I’ve said this before but I feel Lucy is never more attracted to Tim than when his moral compass is on fire.

It’s a raging inferno in this episode to find Joe’s killer. That bending the rules a bit to do the right thing means more. to him. That doing the right thing and the easy thing are rarely the same. Her respect and honestly love for him grows for him in this scene. As his does for hers with the previous moment. It's a slow climb to the top with them but what a view it is when we get there. It's so worth the wait.

I friggin love this shot of them. Forever adore how in sync they are in the field. All dressed in their black ops gear. Sexy Af watching them be poetry in motion together. The aesthetic is very pleasing to the eye. Watching them doing an off the book ops together. It ticks a box for me I love. They decide they need to make sure those pallets are actually the money first. Once they do that they can get Joe’s killer during the arrest. Harper asks how they’re gonna do this? Tim says no idea. LOL

Tim goes off to check it by himself. He’s so tall and you can see that as he ducks under a semi to check the container. Sexy af how tall he is to me. I would say I’m sorry but let’s not lie shall we? Ha Tim gets caught confirming the pallet has the money and sees the rest have been caught too .You can see the panic on his face when he sees Lucy has been caught. Jangus rants that he warned them and they didn’t listen. Harper then signals Angela with her sniper rifle. Trained right on Norman.

They’re at a stalemate with this. Tim wants to negotiate a settlement. I love how Tim takes control of this whole situation. Sexy af. Saying all they want is Joe’s Killer. If they give him up they walk away. Norman considers this. Then asks about the money. Tim says 'Not our problem.' Lucy pipes up and Tim looks right at her and repeats himself. Now that she’s in danger he’s not taking any more risks. That game is over. He’s gonna break one more rule tonight to keep her safe. Letting the money go.

I love him so much. If bailing on the money keeps her safe and gets them their killer it’s a win win for him. The way he stares the Colonel down as he decides. *Oh my lord* Causing me repeated ovary explosion in this one. Protective Tim is one of my fav Tim flavors haha He’s got me going more in this episode than normal. I would say I’m sorry but I’m very much not. LOL

It works and they give up one of their men as the killer. The plan worked for the most part...They didn't get everything they wanted but getting Joe's killer was the most important. It gets back to Grey and he does some rule breaking of his own. Just accepting their wild unrealistic story of how they found Joe’s killer just walking the docks. Says the paper work better be spotless on this. Harper smiles and says yes sir. This is an excellent episode all around.

Next morning Jackson wakes up and notices Kojo is gone. Lucy says she’s really not ready for a dog yet. (Or his new owner heh) That he is gone. Lucy continues on to apologize for getting him without asking his input. That she was going to pay to replace all his things. How sorry she was about all his stuff. Jackson quickly breaks and is sweet and says he did like Kojo but hopes he went to a good home. Lucy smiles and says he did.

I want to talk a little bit about Tim taking Kojo. The amount this man cares about not only Lucy but animals is prominent in this moment. He knew how much this dog meant to Lucy therefore he was important to Tim. Also taking him so she could come visit him and have access whenever she wanted. The depth of caring this man shows for her in his actions are unreal. They legit became co-parents to this dog in this episode and we all loved it. They own a dog together long before they were together. Makes me so happy I can not.

We then get this GLORIOUS shot of Tim walking Kojo. Tim looking fine as hell walking his new fur baby. Basically a model walking down the street. That sweet smile on his face as he looks down at him. He loves this dog so much already. Tim meets up with Mitch and does something I know Lucy would be beaming over. He put in a good word to get him a live in guard job. Tells him it’s not a handout. That it’s a job and a roof over his head. Mitch thanks him and he hugs Tim. He looks like he’s gonna cry. My boy. Mitch can still see the lingering guilt in his eyes.

Tells Tim ‘It’s not your fault you know?’ That what happened to him is nobodies fault. Tim is grateful for his words. Getting forgiveness for a weight he’s been carrying around for far too long. Such a good way to end the episode. Tim wipes a tear from his eye and looks down at Kojo. Tells him ‘Not a word’ LOL I love this man so much and how much he’s grown. Makes me want to cry. Damn good episode holy moly.

As always thank you to everyone who like/comment/reblog. You all make my whole day with them. I enjoy doing these so much and you make it all worth while :)

No non chenford notes this ep was pretty intertwined. See you all in 2x15 :)

[bioticgoddess]

MK1: Khaos Reigns

As promised, here's my take on the DLC. What I liked, what I didn't, and my overall opinion. Reminder, I don't play Mortal Kombat. Not my cup of tea but this I've been exposed to this lore since I was a wee baby millennial. So mind you my take is lore and story based not game play. From what little I've played, the game play is usually pretty good.

Below the cut for everyone's sanity and to save any folks who haven't already be sucked in from spoilers.

What I liked:

Harumi. She can fight and she's alive. I suspect if she's not a Kombatant in MK2 (or a future DLC) then she'll be an NPC with more voice lines or at least more story relevance. (If she dies, we riot.) Loved her interaction with Johnny and how both Kuai Liang and Liu Kang agree that she's wise and should be listened to.

The Sektor/Bi-Han confirmation (reveal?). I saw it and was like "omg...they did it. THEY FUCKING DID IT!" Giddy happy moment. There was a lot of speculation and NRS didn't hide that, bare minimum, she would be in love with him, but it was done very well. I also appreciate that it's a conversation topic in their tower intros with other characters. They are gonna make each other worse but I think it will keep them from some of their bad/negative choices from the original games.

Cyrax. No further explanation required (Cyrax and Tomas have always been some of my faves so that the New Cyrax is on the list should surprise no one).

Empress Tanya and Emperor Rain. His death hits us in the feelings not because of how he went but because of how well those characters and that relationship was written. A+ to the writing team. That's how you introduce a character and kill them in quick succession and make your audience care! (The actor playing Tanya's reaction is also on point.)

"Cyber Lin Kuei", that it's armor is great. This makes a lot more sense to be overall than converting people into robots. Though I do wonder what plan Sektor has for she and Bi-Han to maintain greater control over the Lin Kuei following Cyrax's defection. It'll be interesting.

Titan (OG) Havik is still a Full Tilt Diva.

They canonized a bunch of the intros from the tower in the main story, it's a good look.

What I didn't like:

Bi-Han/Noob Saibot. We knew it would happen and while he's technically not dead I don't like how they handled him. They've slotted him right back in the same space his occupied in the original games/timeline of antagonist to Kuai Liang/Scorpion. Could they reform/redeem him in later games, maybe but I'm not holding out hope given his tower ending.

Sektor's and Bi-Han's relationship...they are gonna make each other worse if they are left in the roles they currently occupy and I'm not looking forward to a re-cast retread of old story lines with them. (I will be pleasantly surprised if this is used to make them better both as characters and from a story telling standpoint.)

How did the previous Lin Kuei Grandmaster die? Tell us more than Bi-Han abandoned him to die...or killed him? They've said both in game.

I reposted something from another Tumblr earlier (and that poster went into much more detail) so I'll summarize: I don't think there was any good reason for leaving Tomas out of the story. Even Kuai Liang giving a throw away line of "I've tasked him with leading the Shirai Ryu." or something to that extent was better than just blatantly forgetting about him when they're supposed to be brothers despite their lack of blood ties. Calling out Kuai Liang there.

This story was too short and felt rushed. Like they had to get it out and didn't have time to put in as much as they wanted. I will compare it to the script that was leaked via pastebin and Reddit, but that was the script. They removed Sektor, Cyrax, and a few other characters/scenes but overall what we saw there was what we got and it felt lacking. Why didn't we get to see some of Cyrax and Kuai Liang going through the maze with WWII Johnny? The stuff with Empress Tanya and Sektor was great but they had opportunities to give us more and didn't or couldn't and you can tell.

How did Bi-Han/Noob tearing off Havik's limbs and head actually stop him? Dude could grow literal clones that way and regenerate limbs? Is he like a Highlander where taking off his head (and keeping it from his body) stops that? What about the Time Crystals/Kamidogu, shouldn't those have made him Bi-Han/Noob proof? (I like that Bi-Han got most of his payback and someone NOT Liu Kang ganked the villian but they established Havik could do some next level nonsense.)

This one bothered me a lot: NO ONE thought about the fact that Bi-Han knew all of the defensive capabilities of both Earthrealm and Outworld and that rescuing him should be as high a priority as Geras. They were still gonna fail but NO ONE thought of that reason except him after Liu Kang restored his mind.

My overall take:

It's not good. It has good bones and if it had been longer and more fleshed out it would have been much better. For a Mortal Kombat story DLC it's passable.

This felt like it should have been saved for a second game or that they should have taken another 6-12 months to give us a longer DLC. As a villain Titan Havik and his minions (especially Chaos Kenshi & Chaos Takeda) felt underutilized to the point of waste.

Have an intense staring Tomas as thanks for reading my rambling about Mortal Kombat 1's DLC story. (If they hurt him in a subsequent game/DLC...we RIOT).

[unorthodox-soundwave]

Okay, so now what I've slept and the episode is up on YouTube, I'm gonna dump all my thoughts on For The Future out in a single (very long) post like I did for Thanks To Them.

Of course, that means heavy spoilers, so do not click keep reading unless you've seen the episode (or if you don't care about spoilers for the ep, which makes me wonder how you even got to this post).

Okay so. Oh my titan. Where do I start? Beginning's probably the best choice.

I had a hunch they'd do the 'End of King's Tide from the other perspective' thing, but I can't say any of that quite went how I was expecting. I kinda thought—and I think a lot of other people did too—that King was gonna be fully separated from the rest of group on the BI from the moment the Collector was let out. Lilith and Eda both attempting to confront the Collector and save King immediately was not at all what I really expected.

I'm a little curious as to how the three of them made it to the point that they did after the intro, though. I get that Lilith made new elixir for Eda's curse, but then how did Lilith get un-puppetified ahead of that? I might've missed a detail somewhere, but as far as I can remember that wasn't really elaborated on. Maybe King asked the Collector to un-puppet her?

I do love the new designs for Eda and Lilith though. Lilith's hair being back to her natural color does make it really feel like it's been a long time (plus it makes her color palette look a bit more like the aroace flag hehehe). I also like that Eda's arm hasn't been replaced by anything, just bandaged. I feel like I saw a lot of people's design-guesses for her had given her a new arm in some capacity, and I always kinda felt like it was more in-character for Eda to not really see it as something that needs a replacement.

At least they still seem to be a bit happy.

But, moving on from that, I'm absolutely going absolutely insane over the fact that the Hexsquad and Eda/Lilith/King still haven't actually gotten to reunite. Like, the Hexsquad saw King, but other than that, nobody's really aware of how the other group is doing at this point. It hurts so bad.

But speaking of the Hexsquad, there's a lot to unpack with them. I'm kind of amazed how many personal arcs are still getting fit into the show with so few epsiodes.

Willow's arc especially kind of surprised me, though it's a welcome one for sure! It was—for better or worse for myself—a very relatable thing to see portrayed how it was. And the way it tied into Hunter's whole deal as well was so artfully done.

Like, damn, this hurts.

Immediately following up the Hunter-saves-Willow scene of that arc with Luz's "The only thing I've ever really wanted was to be understood" felt like it was equally calling me out. Like damn, all these characters are so relatable it hurts.

The way Camila and Luz's arcs in this episode informed one another was super elegant. Their daughter relationship is so wholesome.

Amity getting her chance to finally confront Boscha fully was another thing I really wasn't expecting to still make it into the season with it cut down so much. In fact, I can't say I was expecting Boscha to get a chance for any sort of active role. I really need to stop underestimate how well Dana and her team are managing to work with the small number episodes, they clearly know what they're doing.

Which, as it stands, I guess the only member of the Hexsquad who hasn't had a significant season 3 arc is Gus (outside of his role in Hunter and Willow's arcs), but he went through so much in season 2 that I kinda hope he doesn't have to go through anything more.

However, a character I DO hope has to go through more BS is Belos. I'm still kinda reeling from the fact that he apparently already had a new grimwalker on the way, and then tried to POSSESS it. I'm a bit relieved that it didn't work, because I don't think I could've handled it (nor could Hunter, frankly), but Raine being the second option isn't great either.

Moving past main characters;

Getting actual characterization of The Collector has been very interesting, mainly because it seems like everyone seemed to get it pretty right that they're an Enzo Gabriel. I really do wonder how aware they are of the harm they're doing, because it seems to be getting kept a bit vague on the actual truth of that. They seem pretty largely oblivious to the fact that it's anything other than a game, but the edit to the 'bedtime story' seems to imply that they at least know some amount of it.

What affairs? "Seal them up so they never fade"??

Mom-dalia??? How in the name of the titan did she manage to pull off getting to be The Collector's mom-figure instead of getting puppeted immediately. It kind of implies that she somehow hasn't managed to actively do a single thing that annoyed the Collector this whole time, which I'm amazed by. Though, to be fair, Terra apparently hadn't done so either, so the bar might not be that high.

Caleb and the past grimwalkers have me a little confused. Are they ghosts? Guilt-formed hallucinations? Something else? Is there a link between grimwalkers and their creators that means Belos has been getting haunted by all of them this whole time? Regardless, seeing a bunch of the past grimwalkers was not something I expected either.

This shot is haunting as hell.

Mattholomule's name actually being Mat Tholomule does feel like it makes sense in retrospect, but it's also very cursed.

Edric and Emira's reunion with Amity was the first part of the episode that got me to start crying (though it was far from the last.)

Moving past characters...

The scene that revealed String Bean was kind of funny to me because "A dragon? A bird?! Oh, an otter! A spooky bat? Uh, a snake?" is almost definitely a direct callout of the fandom's guesses as time went on. Though, all of the respective guesses are also very in-character for each person (Hunter's "A bird?!" does hurt my heart a little).

The design of The Collector's House/The Archives is a little interesting to me because the way it's floating over The Titan's head makes it look like a halo. Or a crown? I feel like there's some symbolism I'm missing.

New Hexside was a very fun concept in general. I feel like the idea of "a town/society that's entirely composed of schoolchildren" was very accurately portrayed.

I dunno if the scene right at the end was meant to be the 100% canon confession or just lead-up to something in the next episode but I sobbed either way!!!!!

*chanting* Huntlow! Huntlow! Huntlow!

I think I've finally run out of things to say (though that might change).

[panharmonium]

next round of in-progress naruto thoughts under the cut

[i actually haven’t progressed that far from where i was last time, honestly, but i could feel myself getting to a stage where i had some things i needed to write up.]

fyi, this one is a little more gripe-y than usual - still enjoying myself, but there are some things in the current arc that are bugging me.

[spoiler policy disclaimer first, as always: I am watching naruto for the first time and have only gotten to the point where naruto and bee break out of the island barrier and leave to join the war.  i am trying to avoid spoilers, so please don’t interact with this (tags included, because the notifications now show them to me automatically) with any spoilery commentary, including even general things like “oh i love this show but it gets less good after X point” or “X season is better than Y season” or any general assessments of quality/likability/etc re: future seasons.  Thank you! <3 ]

anyway, to go ahead with my grousing -

there are a couple things about this current arc that have me feeling "ehhh.”

1) too many dead people

i’ve personally always been lukewarm on the “revive/reanimate dead characters for the Confrontation Value” trope, which is probably due to me having been a comics fan for so long (i was pretty deep into DC-land during Blackest Night, and that’s not even the first/last time this sort of thing has been done there, so).  i’m not saying it CAN’T be done in an interesting way, but most of the time my experience with it has been that it’s kind of cheap/redundant storytelling.  it usually doesn’t add much to an emotional arc, for me, and when it retreads an emotional arc that did have a strong conclusion, i feel like all it does is weaken the original story.  

so like - places where i feel like shippuden does this well are with minato and kushina.  i found both of those scenes with naruto to be powerful moments that added something new to the story/to naruto’s development.  (but they’re not even part of the whole reanimation jutsu plotline, which is what i’m mostly feeling “eh” on, so it’s not even the greatest example.)

a place where i’m kind of in the middle is with asuma.  on the one hand, i really don’t think that this needed to happen, because the original story arc with him was SO strong.  however, they did kind of redeem themselves in a way by focusing the redux on choji instead of shikamaru, so at least they were still saying/exploring something something new.

places where i’m still pretty dubious are pretty much...everyone else.  i’m just not sure...well, i don’t know.  i can’t really say definitively how i feel about it until i get to the end of the arc and see how it ends, but at the current moment, i’m just not sure what we get out of seeing people like zabuza+haku, lady chio, itachi, nagato, etc....ALL of those stories had such powerful endings; it just makes me leery of these “resurrections” invalidating everything we saw previously/weakening the impact of what came before.

2) mixed messaging

this is my bigger gripe, and it’s something i’ve kind of had floating on the edges of my mind for a long time, but this season especially is highlighting it.

the one thing that is guaranteed to make me frustrated about this show (besides its obvious disinterest in female characters) is when it starts to lean super hard into the “Naruto Is The Only One Who Can Do It!” for every single task that needs to be completed.  and i know this is a stupid thing to complain about when the show is literally titled “Naruto,” but the reason it gets frustrating is because the initial message of this show was never “one super special person must do everything on their own and save everyone else.”  the original message of this show was teamwork.  

the very first lesson kakashi teaches the kids (and the foundation upon which the rest of the story has been built) is “you are stronger together.”  if you had all come at me together, you might have been able to take [the bells]!  he specifically criticizes naruto for working alone: “naruto - you do EVERYTHING on your own.  EVERYTHING.”  and that’s understood to be the Wrong Thing; it’s the reason naruto ends up tied to the stump.  but in the last few seasons especially (though there have definitely been previous moments where this has shown up before) the ONLY thing we keep hearing is how naruto has to accomplish everything by himself.  

it didn’t bother me in the Pain arc; i actually thought that confrontation was appropriate and necessary for naruto’s development.  but ever since then, it’s escalated to a point where now it’s like - “naruto is the only one who can fight sasuke!�� naruto is the only one who can defeat madara!  naruto is the only one who can stop the war!  naruto is the only one who can erase everybody’s hatred!”  

and that’s the point at which i start to get frustrated, because my mind is like “okay, and the other characters are going to be doing...what, exactly?”

again, maybe it’s stupid to complain about that when the show is literally titled “Naruto.”  but i don’t think so.  title notwithstanding, this story at its heart was, in the beginning, an ensemble show with four main characters, whereas nowadays, the messaging is that only one of those characters can actually accomplish anything.  so i get kind of resentful, when i’m told that the other members of the team can’t do anything but step back and hold naruto up, because the essential message of this story has ALWAYS been “teamwork is more important than anything.  you are NEVER stronger by yourself.  we ALL have something to contribute.”

right now, the other characters feel like they’ve just been shunted off to do busywork.  none of them have grown or changed at all since the end of season 10 (and even the end of season 10 was starting to slide into the “only naruto can do anything about sasuke in the end blah blah” - yes it’s a huge pet peeve of mine but it is what it is; whatever; moving on).  we haven’t even SEEN sasuke since the end of season 10.  there’s been no consideration given to how kakashi is handling being drafted into a second war and being put in charge of 20,000 lives (and his clash with zabuza was just a vehicle for all the characters to reflect once again on how great naruto is).  there’s been virtually ZERO attention given to how sakura is handling things, minus that one scene where she’s looking at gory pictures from the previous great ninja war.  everybody is just marking time, punching a bunch of identical white zetsus until naruto can come solve the problem and wow everyone with his new abilities.

part of my annoyance might just be due to the fact that the timeline is so wonky due to filler arcs - it feels like ages have passed for me, but in-universe it really hasn’t been all that long.  but i also think there are legitimate reasons for me to be frustrated, when the show introduces things and then just unceremoniously drops them without any indicator of when they might be picked up again.  like - the uchiha genocide reveal was (i thought) a Huge Fucking Deal that should have Major Repercussions - but it’s just kind of.....disappeared as an issue???  and yamato - he’s been CAPTURED!!!!!!  but the show has not shown a single character reacting to this, or even being informed that it happened, and i think that’s shitty, actually.  yamato isn’t a minor character.  he’s been naruto’s personal guardian since season 2.  he has done SO MUCH for the kids, and he is kakashi’s friend, and i think it is shitty to have him get captured by the same people who experimented on him as a child and then not spend a second or two making it clear that other characters CARE about this.  

anyway.  this is just something that’s been creeping up on me as time goes on, and the last few episodes of “Naruto is the Savior of the Entire World” talk just made it feel more immediate, i guess.  plus the new intro (which i know may not be reliable; sometimes they show things that never happen) had a shot of naruto fighting itachi, and i think that tipped me over the edge, lmao, because you know what?  enough!!!!!  naruto can’t be the one who gets to do EVERYTHING!  some stories are not about him!  there are other characters who have relationships that are not about naruto.  there are places where other characters should be able to accomplish things naruto can’t do.  the other main characters should be allowed to complete their personal arcs, separate from (not just secondary to) naruto’s journey.

like - just - this is how i feel: this show started out as a story about a group of four people, and the root theme was “teamwork is everything.”  i don’t like how the show has slowly started to mutate into a story about naruto’s “solitary” quest to save sasuke, when we have seen MANY TIMES that: 

a) sakura was the first of the kids who even knew that something was wrong with sasuke, while naruto remained utterly oblivious all the way through shonen jump (and partway into shippuden, tbh)

b) kakashi in the past has connected with sasuke in ways that NEITHER of the two kids have been able to achieve

i just don’t like it.  i don’t like how S10 had sakura say the line “naruto...you were the first one to ever see the darkness in sasuke...” when she’s reflecting on their fight on top of the hospital, because that is a LIE.  it’s a blatant retcon.  of the kids, sakura was the one who knew from the very beginning that something was wrong with sasuke.  she was the one who was with him when he had that semi-dissociative episode during the bells test.  she was the one who was with him during all the curse mark stuff in the forest of death.  she was the one who knew something was off when he challenged naruto to a fight - naruto was just psyched that sasuke wanted to “spar” with him!  and SHE was the one who suspected that sasuke might do something as drastic as leave the village - naruto explicitly told her not to worry; that sasuke was totally fine; he would never ever do something like that!

like - the show already barely gives sakura anything for herself; now they try to take this away from her, too?  and give it to naruto?  to hammer in a kind of connection between naruto and sasuke that demonstrably did not exist??  (i’m not saying that naruto and sasuke don’t have their own important relationship!  but it is just provably untrue that naruto was the person who understood sasuke best.  shonen jump goes out of its way to demonstrate how clueless naruto is about what sasuke is really like and what he’s going through.  naruto is SHOCKED that sasuke would go to orochimaru.  he doesn’t realize that their fight on top of the hospital is anything more than their usual rivalry business.  when sasuke pops out of the coffin behind kimimaro, naruto waves and starts laughing, because he thinks sasuke is still on their side and is going to run right home!  and even in shippuden, when naruto hears that orochimaru is dead, he gets all excited and goes “so sasuke must be on his way back to the leaf village!!! :D”  like.  he just doesn’t get it.)

and i won’t really get into kakashi’s side of things here, because i would end up writing too much, but suffice to say that i am just...wary of the way it feels like recent parts of the show are trying to minimize or...push aside the real, textually-documented connections that kakashi and sakura had with sasuke in favor of “Only Naruto Can Help!”  it frustrates me.  kakashi made inroads with sasuke that neither of the kids ever achieved.  sasuke talks to kakashi in a more honest way than he ever does with either of his peers, even when he’s out of his head with rage.  and i would prefer to see this show taking the angle that all three of sasuke’s team members are going to be indispensable for saving him.  

you know.  like teamwork.

[the-cookie-of-doom]

Good morning! Whats your favorite show/movie? Who are your favorite characters? Why do you like them so much? Also!! Did you have a good sleep?

Okay so I was a film major for a while, and I have opinions. 

Penny Dreadful 

I love this show. Like, so much. I adore it. I can not get enough of that show. Just all of the imagery, and the fantastic writing and acting. The episode intro alone is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Eva Green is a goddess and I love everything she’s been in. The take on classic horror stories is So Good, and it actually became the inspiration for my Gay Frankenstein story! (Started as a stitch AU, and then went completely OC after I had Ideas) but the show itself is so intimate? I think it’s largely that the period they’re in, everything was so repressed and restricted. So when the characters break out of those moments, it’s more meaningful. And the love-hate relationship between Ms. Ives and Malcolm in season one? Exquisite.  I could literally write essay’s about this show, but I’ll restrain myself and just say: it’s the best ensemble show I’ve ever seen. The characters come together, but they also each have their own distinct lives that sometimes intersect, but in s2 especially, are quite separate. They are constant with one another like ensemble shows usually portray. Also gothic horror and romance? My absolute favorite. 

Anything by Guillermo del Toro

This man Owns My Entire Soul. I’m not even joking, everything he writes and directs is perfection. Crimson Peak is probably my favorite (I have a stitch AU for this too ;) ) because again, Gothic horror and romance. I’m a slut for that shit. Also Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain? Delightful casting. I think it’s obvious by now that I love tragic relationships, so their dynamic is *chef’s kiss* amazing. they’re so damaged. And this quote right here is one of the BEST things I’ve ever read: 

“But the horror... The horror was for love. The things we do for love like this are ugly, mad, full of sweat and regret. This love burns you and maims you and twists you inside out. It is a monstrous love and it makes monsters of us all.”

Engrave that on my headstone, please?? I’ve got a sort-of Dorian Gray AU (it’s delightful) that’s basically built on this entire premise. Mitch makes the mistake of falling in love with Stiles, and does many terrible things because of it. Mostly to himself, at least. 

I think my love of Crimson Peak is very closely tied with The Shape of Water. another beautiful movie, I could wax poetic about this forever. it was beautifully written, and such an artistic movie. I love the way it was filmed, and the set design, and all of the subtle imagery. Such as Elisa’s apartment being cast in cooler tones, it always felt very damp and had evidence of water damage, compared to Giles’, a mirror image of her own, in more warm tones. This is another one I could (and have) write essays about. There is so much packed into this movie, from the themes on toxic masculinity and entitlement, to the conversation on queerness and race and disability, and how all the various relationships are portrayed. Like. there is so much to pick apart in this movie. 

Aside from that, ofc Hell Boy deserves an honorable mention because i grew up on those movies. I’m pretty sure the Golden Army especially is responsible for who I am today, given all the lore on the fae in that universe. Wow, that explains so much about me... Also one of my first WoW characters was an elf named Nuala xD I still have her, too, and it’s been like 12 years lol

Near-Future Sci-Fi

Sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, I am a huge nerd for theoretical and astrophysics. But my favorite kind of sci-fi is the stuff that still takes place on Earth, rather than epic battles in space. Ex Machina and Annihilation are at the top of that list. Alex Garland is another writer/director that I love. He has the same kind of approach as del Toro, where he puts a lot of fine details into his work. And I love that it’s very cerebral; there are so many layers to Ex Machina. My English 101 prof actually refused to analyze it in class when I suggested it to him, because he didn’t think my class could. Basically handle? Dissecting that movie? Because a lot of it comes across as very surface level, but in some cases when you look deeper, it’s actually suggesting the opposite of what you might think at first glance. (And he was right, my fellow students were awful. I miss that class though, it was one of my favorites T_T Mr. Ryder was an awesome dude and super chill.) 

Morgan is another good example. As you can see, I fucking love androids lol. Which brings me to another of my all time favorite movies: Cloud Atlas. I could literally watch this movie endlessly, I love it so much. The acting, the writing, the filming, all of it is top notch. And one thing they did in the movie that didn’t come across in the book, was reusing the same actors through the different eras in the book. That was just so neat, because it really encapsulates how connected these souls are, as we follow the threads of their story throughout time. If you haven’t seen the movie, I can’t recommend it enough.  

Another one I always think of alongside Cloud Atlas, even though they aren’t related at all, is Predestination. It’s a great movie that explores the idea of fate and free will in a really clever way, utilizes time travel in a very organized way that I think was neat (think Umbrella Academy. They even use briefcases! As you can see, I love sci-fi bureaucracy, it’s fun. In fact The Bureau is another movie I enjoyed) and the main character is actually, explicitly trans, which was cool. You basically get to see the entire story of their life, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s just. So good. Mindfuckery galore. 

Shoot, and I almost forgot! Arrival! That is one of the best movies, and another one I could watch nonstop. It focuses on mathematics and linguistics and I swear to god, I almost altered my entire college course because of this movie. Amy Addams is brilliant, Jeremy Renner is so soft and nerdy, and again, it has an amazing take on time travel. I am very particular about how time is handled in Sci-fi, and this portrayal was one of my favorite. (Most of my physics studies have been dedicated to the theory of time, so like. Strong Opinions.) 

Fantasy

Stardust! It wasn’t until Good Omens can out that I realized Neil Gaiman is responsible for most of the stories I loved as a kid lol, and I had no idea he wrote stardust! But that is such a beautiful movie (I have a Stardust AU lol) and it’s definitely one of my comfort movies. Captain Shakespeare is one of the best characters ever, bless Robert de Niro. I would die for him. Fun fact, i had no idea Ipswitch was a real place until like. 2019. I 100% thought it was made up for the movie 😂

Alongside Stardust, I’ve always loved The Golden Compass. It’s fantasy, but also with that old-timey steampunk science feel, which is so fun and surprisingly difficult to find! 

Mortal Engines also has the same kind of feel, and it was such an epic movie in every sense of the word. I’m a little sad that after all the work that went into it, it didn’t get a dedicated following or fan base, because I feel there’s so much potential in it. But at the same time, fandom tends to gather around media that has plenty of flaws for us to repair with gold, and there wasn’t much room for that in Mortal Engines. 

I’m going to put Jupiter Ascending here even though it technically fits with the sci-fi, because that section is long as fuck and also this movie has such a fantastic feel. Mila Kunis? beautiful. The CGI? beautiful. Eddy Redmayne? One of the best villain portrayals i’ve ever seen. The whole oedipal vibe he had was immaculate, as was their portrayal of reincarnation, and just. The world building. GOD. I get so weak for through world building. Also the fkn intergalactic bureaucracy when they’re basically at the space DMV? One of my all time favorite scenes in movie history. 

Horror

I have very little room in my life for horror. As I said, I have strong movie opinions, especially when it comes to horror movies. I don’t like how most of them rely on cheap jump scares and overused gore and gratuitous rape scenes, instead of, y'know, actual good writing. 

Which is EXACTLY why I adore It: Chapter 1 & 2. It has none of those things, but still manages to be so terrifying. They are my favorite horror movies, and I’m saying this as someone who has genuine childhood trauma bc of the novel. Like. I couldn’t shower/take baths alone until I was almost 10 T_T When I was 6-7 and saw kids play by storm drains, I would run over screaming about how Pennywise was going to get them. Like, I had issues man. I was terrified to see the first one, and wouldn’t go until I could go with my best friend after she had already seen it, so she could warn me when something scary was about to happen 😂

And, one of my favorite aspects of the movie, and the thing that gave me Mad Respect for Any Muschietti? The way he filmed Bev and her father. They have a character who is literally being molested, but they never once have to show it. And yet their interactions are still so viscerally upsetting to watch. Sexploitation puts me off of most horror, and the fact that Muschietti doesn’t use it here, even when it would be actually somewhat justified? *chef’s kiss*. I love him. 

I love horror as a concept, I’m just really picky about it because I expect the writing to be good. I don’t like short cuts. But in a lot of cases, even if I don’t enjoy the movie itself, I love to watch analysis videos on youtube! I love to see the philosophy and symbolism in different horror movies, even if i don’t like to watch the movies themselves. It’s a fun hobby. 

Misc. 

Then in general, some other stuff I love in no particular order:

The Internship (Bless Dylan, Stuart is such a bitch and I love him) 

American Assassin (ofc. The writing itself is eh, but Mitch is my man) 

Dylan’s episode of Weird City. (I actually have a lot of feelings about this one. Jordan Peele is another amazing writer/director, I really need to catch up on his works.) 

Dorian Gray (*chef’s kiss*)

Rogue One (Makes me cry every time) 

WARCRAFT (Obviously this is a fav. It made me so happy, words cannot express.) 

Coraline and most other stop motion animation. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for that. 

Literally anything associated with Tim Burton. Fun fact, when I was 12 and in middle school, I planned to decorate my future house inspired by tim burton. Like, i had Plans. 

Most adaptations of Alice in Wonderland!

So! this got long as fuck! But you said you like that kind of thing lol 😂 I had kinda Eh sleep since I was up so late lmao, and I kept waking up (as usual, rip). And I’m so mad I go up for nothing! The dude I was supposed to show my listing to never showed, and is refusing to answer my calls >_> It’s been 2 hours now, and I still haven’t heard from him. But whatever, I already have a full price cash offer on the house so who cares. And that means I can play WoW all day, now! 

[inmytaste-blog]

Señorita (Pt. 2)

Word Count: 2.8k

Warnings: A video music in the making and a very sexual atmosphere.

A/N: Look who’s back! I know I haven’t posted anything in a rather long time but this time will be left behind since I will be working on all the requests I have already received. However, for now I am uploading the 2nd part to Señorita since you all really enjoyed the 1st part which you can read here if you haven’t. I truly hope you enjoy the second part as well and I also hope you can give me some feedback. Requests are still open and till next time happy reading!

______________________________________________________

‘’Tell me, are you happy?’’ Shawn’s voice muffled your thoughts of the tremendous success the song you had recorded and published together was met with, still not being able to wrap your head around the number of people who were loving and appreciating the new piece.

‘’I- Um-‘’

No matter how hard you tried you just couldn’t find the appropriate words to use in order to form a coherent sentence. Your feelings were getting the best of you, trying hard to believe that everyone was streaming and listening to your new creation, embracing your own talent along with Shawn’s. It surely felt nice to know that people were appreciating your hard work and your innate predisposition to offer your absolute best to your audience and it was just now that it became clearer to you that this particular feedback was what was pushing Shawn to keep providing new content.

‘’I’ll take that as a yes’’ Shawn smiled down at you and kissed your forehead.

‘’I am more than happy actually. I feel like I’m flying. Now I know what keeps you going Shawn. It’s the recognition and the people’s love that really makes you wanna offer to them your one hundred percent. Wow’’ you truthfully said, interlocking your fingers with Shawn’s calloused ones.

‘’You couldn’t have put it more accurately. You see, nothing can really top my fans’ smiles so when I know that something might disturb or simply not be their cup of tea, I instantly try to think of where I went wrong and how my next work is going to make up for it. But yeah, deep down I always knew that it was going to be a blast baby’’

‘’Hmm’’

‘’And you can just imagine how hard people are going to lose it when they see the music video. I am so curious to see their response to that one’’ Shawn joked and you immediately shifted from your position.

‘’Wait… When are we going to start filiming?’’ you had completely forgotten about the music video, all the messages and the tabloids regarding the song consuming you altogether not really leaving you any space to think of anything else.

‘’You can relax love. Andrew is all over it and I am waiting for his call. Then we will know’’ Shawn stroked your arm in a soothing manner and you breathed under his calming touch.

‘’Thank God. I thought I had missed something or I was replaced for that matter’’

‘’That is something I wouldn’t accept’’ Shawn said, kissing you softly, making all your disturbing thoughts go away in an instant.

Shawn was really careful and tactic when it came to his job, wanting everything to be in order and arranged. What really helped him hold everything in place was his colleagues who were just like him; organized. So it really was no wonder that he was calm and most of the times restraint regarding his affairs, transferring the exact same feeling to everyone around him, in this case, you.

So, you truly took his words into major consideration when he said that everything was under control, trusting him with your life. Andrew could be a little bit challenging and forgetful when he was flooded with meetings and phone calls and that is why you thought that there was something you had missed or neglected. Thankfully, Shawn was with you in this one, wanting you to fully enjoy yourself with no worries clouding your spirit and reassuring you that you would be informed when something new concerning the shootings would surface.

This day however came sooner than expected and you felt like the floor was disappearing from underneath you. You were sure you had prepared yourself for the shooting sessions and you swore you were ready to handle that but everything felt different when the actual day was announced to you. Shawn was right next to you when Andrew called and he tried to assure you that everything was going to flow just fine but your breathing was impossible to control and your heartbeat was echoing through your eardrums.

‘’Okay okay. Yes I got that. Thanks Andrew’’ Shawn said playfully rolling his eyes before hanging up.

‘’Alright. Seems like we are shooting today! Are you free today baby?’’ Shawn turned his gaze to you and you felt your eyes growing the size of a plate.

‘’W-What do you mean today? As in, today today?’’ you shrieked, swallowing hard.

Shawn was a little amused from your reaction but he soon recollected himself and came to hug your from behind, something he knew gave you comfort and relaxation.

‘’Relax love. Everything is going to be fine. You won’t appear first thing in the video since Dave, the director, suggested the video opens up with a few shots of me and then the stage will be all yours. The team trusts you completely don’t worry’’.

A puff of air escaped your lips, your neck resting on top of Shawn’s arm but deep down you were still uncertain. You didn’t have the slightest bit of idea concerning the video and that left you feeling insecure and lost. You had tried really hard to guess what this video was going to be about and having the lyrics in mind, the only thing you could think of was some heated scenes.

And you couldn’t be more accurate. When you and Shawn arrived at the spot Dave had told you to go to, you were briefly informed about the context of the clip. Basically, you would be a waitress at a diner and Shawn would be a guy with a motorcycle and an ‘admirer’ of the waitress who will get to share some fun moments together.

‘’I know this won’t be very difficult for you guys to pull off that’s why I’m asking you to keep it civil and don’t take it too far. I don’t think that we need to actually see what’s going on in your bedroom’’ Dave commented to create a smoother atmosphere and you felt your face heating up at his remark.

‘’I can’t promise anything mate!’’ Shawn joked and winked at your red face.

‘’Shawn are you ready to start? We will dress you up and style your hair and then we will be ready to shoot. Are you okay with that?’’

‘’Yes of course. Let’s do it!’’ Shawn said enthusiastically and the whole team started clapping, you included.

Shawn was very energetic and buoyant when it came to his passion, so this energy and this happiness to always deliver his absolute best was transferred to everyone around him as well. You had even started to loosen up and to calm down, deciding that you had to give your absolute best too not only for Shawn but for all the other people who trusted you and showed their appreciation.

The shooting had already began by the time you shifted your attention towards the cameramen and Shawn was simply dressed in some light jeans accompanied by a white T-shirt and a black leather jacket adorning his strong arms. You silently cursed at yourself at the fact that Shawn as the only one who could make any outfit look good on him. It was a curse and a blessing all at the same time. What really had you going though, was the motorcycle that Shawn was on top of. You couldn’t help but think how badass he looked and how much you liked this side of him. Before any unholy thoughts jumped into your brain, Dave cut the shooting, announcing that the intro was done with.

‘’Y/N dear, are you ready to get you done and start filming?’’

‘’Yes of course. Just tell me what I need to do’’

‘’Well, nothing much. You are going to be introduced with your waitress identity and you will serve some food to people. And that’s when Shawn comes in. You will be pleasant and smiley whereas Shawn will be indifferent and looking at other directions as if looking for someone else. Do we get it?’’ the director instructed and both you and Shawn nodded in agreement.

‘’If there are no more queries, we can start. Y/N you will appear walking down that corridor’’ Dave motioned towards what seemed to be the inside of the little diner and you hummed.

‘’And go!’’

You tried to remain steady while walking and not wearing heels really helped your legs not break. Your stress was getting in the way but you tried to push it away, deciding that you were doing something very simple. While you were walking, you tied your hair up in a ponytail out of habit, and you remembered that Dave had never mentioned for you to do something like this. Since no one objected to your improvising, you guessed that they might have liked it. You proceeded to serve the food and that’s when you spotted Shawn sitting at one booth.

He was looking very calm and agitated at the same time, trying to impersonate his role the best he could. You placed the food in front of him and you walked away, taking a good glimpse of him and feeling yourself heating up.

‘’We got it! Y/N well done and nice job with your ponytail. It merged in the video beautifully’’

‘’I was worried I messed it up’’ you truthfully said and he laughed.

‘’Not one bit. Now, here’s what comes next. Y/N we are going to be fixed on you for some moments before we turn to Shawn. For starters, you will be in a room with dim lighting and we want you to get a bit sexual. You can slide up and down the wall or you can raise your arms and take them back down, all in a very seductive way. Do you think you got this?’’

You were a bit dumbfounded at Dave's suggestions but you were far too deep to back down now so all you could do was agree and turn your face to Shawn, looking for confirmation and reassurance that you were doing fine.

‘’Yes okay. Yes’’ you finally replied and they started fixing your hair and changing your outfit.

Just when you saw your reflection in the mirror, you instantly felt yourself wanting to shoot and be hot. Your hair was slightly wet, your makeup all natural and the clothing was hugging your body and your curves beautifully.

When you stepped in the room to start filming, your eye caught Shawn looking at you and his gaze was persistent and darker than usual. This only meant one thing. He liked what he was seeing so you decided to give him something to edge him one even more.

Dave shouted for you to start and you were ready to give Shawn a show. You started lifting your neck up and turning to the side in a very specific way and you even looked at Shawn while doing it since he was lost in your movements. Taking it a step further, you looked in the camera and just then your fists engulfed the end of your dress, near your heat. Climbing up the wall again, your gaze shifted to Shawn who looked flustered. Being satisfied with the result, your shooting came to a stop and everyone clapped.

‘’That was fantastic. Well done Y/N’’ Dave said and you thanked him before walking past Shawn and brushing his arm on your way. Before moving too far away he caught your arm and whispered in your ear:

‘’I want this outfit home after this’’

Who knew that a simple sentence like this could send shivers down your spine and make your legs start trembling? Well, no one but it really did.

‘’Talk to the team then’’ you lowly whispered and you moved back, going to get ready for the next shots. You really didn’t know where this confidence was coming from but you secretly liked it and from what it seemed Shawn liked it too.

‘’Okay Shawn you are in this from now on with Y/N. You are going to have a guitar and just hang out with some friends playing, and your eyes will shift to Y/N from time to time who will be talking to some girls opposite of you. After that, you will ask her to dance and I think you get the rest. Any questions?’’

‘’No’’ both you and Shawn said in unison and Dave knew this was going to turn out good.

And it turned out better than good. Shawn delivered his part beautifully, with you being nothing but successful as well. It wasn’t really hard for the both of you to get the concept and pull it off since you were engrossed in the act altogether. The dancing part came right after Shawn finished his ‘guitar session’ and it felt like you were the only ones in the room, making everyone else simply vanish from the place.

However, the real fun started when the scenes from the hotel room came up and were ready to be performed. You were both lightly dressed for the parts but what really had you going was when Shawn had to take his shirt off. It was the most sexual and sensational video Shawn had ever shot and he wanted no one else by his side but his rightful girlfriend who was exceptionally hot for that role as well.

Having you there and being the one he had to get touchier with, was of tremendous help for him because he wouldn’t be faking it at all and he would be more relaxed and calm whilst filming. Having a total stranger perform these acts with was too risky and deep down he knew that it would make him nervous and the video clip would not be so successful and linear.

So when Shawn had to flip and land you onto the soft mattress, he was more than pleased and willing to do so, being fully aware that you would be totally comfortable with it. Truth is, you were more than comfortable. All those parts which were more intimate made you replay all those times you and Shawn had come closer, making you feel a certain type of way. And when Shawn landed on top of you, you really felt yourself getting wetter and Dave's warnings to keep it together seemed to wear off rather quickly.

The director had suggested that no kisses needed to be included in the shootings and you had come to terms with it, thinking that it was already too much for the fans who were used to milder things from Shawn. No matter how hard you two tried though, it was impossible to resist each other’s lips especially when the atmosphere was already heated and both of you were really feeling it. Thanks to this chemistry, the hot scenes needed to be filmed only once, since you were perfectly engaged in them, far too much for Dave's liking.

You couldn’t care less about him though. There was only one thing in your mind and that was Shawn’s hands wandering your body in the gentlest way possible. He was always like that in bed; gentle but passionate at the same time. If there wasn’t that tiny little voice in the very back of your head reminding you that this was one of Shawn’s music videos, you could have sworn that Shawn would have taken off more than just his T-shirt and this clip would be rated R.

‘’And cut! That was a wild ride guys!’’ Dave exclaimed behind the cameras and people hurriedly rushed in the setting to get you both dressed in your previous clothes and to clear everything up.

‘’You tell me’ you said, smirking while looking right at Shawn who was already staring at you.

‘’I think I told you guys to keep it to yourselves and be as restrained as possible’’ Dave remarked, snaking his arm around Shawn’s shoulders in a bro kinda style.

‘’Well-‘’ Shawn said but got interrupted almost immediately.

‘’I don’t mind though. It was about time Shawn got out of his comfort zone and did something more challenging. And it turned out perfect so I can’t really complain’’

‘’Glad to hear that’’ you commented and felt Shawn’s arms wrap around you in an embrace.

‘’When do we get to see the final result?’’

‘’I will email you the finished product when I put all the parts together and I edit some bits because some people couldn’t be less handsy’’.

‘’Oh c’mon. I think we rocked that shit’’ Shawn said kissing the top of your head and rubbing his hands up and down your sides in a soothing manner.

‘’Anyway, you are good to go people. I will be in touch with you and your manager. Thanks again for your amazing cooperation’’ Dave said and everyone, including you two, clapped, glad that everything fell into place and hoping that the video would not be a flop.

‘’So, I think you were very hot with the motorcycle. You should get one’’ you said meeting Shawn’s eyes and interlocking your fingers while walking outside of the place.

‘’I can’t get one now, but I can always use the one I had in the video to go for a ride. I don’t think the team will have a problem. What do you say?’’

‘’I think I wanna ride something else first’’.

[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Fruits Basket 2019 Episode 19: “I’m So Sorry!”

You know, considering how apprehensive I was going into this episode since I knew what it was going to cover, I gotta give them credit for how by the end of it I actually really liked the little things they did to flesh out this part of the story, even if they only had so much time to work with.

I think this is gonna be a divisive episode for a lot of reasons, including the fact that some manga fans might not like that they toned down the comedy [relatively speaking] and fleshed out the character interactions more, but one way or another I think they did a nice job with it.

Anyway, thoughts under the cut [and spoiler warning for the whole manga]

I didn’t expect this episode to give me a whole lot to talk about [in terms of positive stuff, at least] since Ritsu’s intro arc was always kinda short and simple, but they actually made a fair amount of edits to how the whole episode played out. It’s still the same length and covers the same basic plot beats, but with a different sort of execution compared to the manga.

Specifically this adapts chapters 44 and 45 of the manga, though technically Ritsu first appears at the very end of chapter 43. And there was a fair amount of stuff that was cut or replaced in this episode, mainly the couple of scenes with Yuki and Haru that were there to follow up on what happened in chapter 43. Since that hasn’t happened yet in the anime, obviously it had to be cut. I think we’ll be seeing that whole part of the story happen near the start of season 2 at this point, since they definitely don’t seem to be planning to introduce Rin in this season. So in that sense at least this episode played out similarly to how it did in the 2001 anime [where Ritsu’s intro was in episode 23]. But there was also a lot of stuff changed outside of that, which made this more of an entirely unique version of this part of the story.

Basically most of it boils down to how they edited the whole flow of events to give Mitsuru [and her interactions with Ritsu] way more screen-time and focus, which I think was exactly what this episode needed. In the manga their interaction in this whole part is literally just contained to one page worth of dialogue at the very end, and it only vaguely sets up the idea that they might have stuff in common. And for the record, at least in the manga, that’s also basically the only time they ever interact in the story to begin with. After this I don’t think we ever see them again at all outside of one bonus comic page that, at least in the collector’s edition, is compiled at the back of the final volume along with some other bonus material. Both Mitsuru and Ritsu kinda vanish from the manga after this point, and then right near the end we suddenly get told that they’re dating and it’s all just kinda weird and unexpected.

Maybe it’s just the writer in me who likes nerding out about this kinda stuff, but I thought it was really neat how elegantly they managed to incorporate Mitsuru into how almost all of this episode, and how they used some of the scenes from the manga that they cut as inspiration for the more original scenes here. Like how the scene with Ritsu freaking out about cereal and spilling milk everywhere got replaced with him spilling coffee on Shigure’s manuscript. I also liked how instead of having a scene near the end with Tohru and Ritsu talking in private, we got to see Ritsu and Mitsuru talking about the same sorta stuff.

The other really big change, which lead to how they could more or less cut out that one scene between Tohru and Ritsu, was how they heavily fleshed out the scene with Ritsu about to jump off Shigure’s roof by basically inserting his whole talk with Tohru into it, which I think worked surprisingly well. Some manga fans might dislike how it made the scene less comedy-focused, but I think it worked well. I did think it was kinda unintentionally funny how it reminded me that Tohru keeps finding new and exciting ways to fall off, or nearly fall off, dangerously high places, lmao.

I’ve seen some people say that it felt too over the top and melodramatic in a way that made Tohru feel too much like an unrealistically perfect therapist, but honestly that’s just kinda how this part of the story always felt. Tohru’s whole conversation with Ritsu about the meaning of life and whatnot always felt like the part where Tohru’s place in the story felt the most forced. But with the amount of characters the premise of this series demands introducing, it’s commendable that most of the parts where Tohru basically serves as the Soma family therapist don’t feel this way.

It probably doesn’t help that the reboot shuffled this around in the timeline so that it’s right in the middle of two other arcs about Tohru meeting a new Soma family member. This episode coming immediately after one as good as Kisa’s episode really set it up for failure in a lot of ways, lol. But ultimately I think it was a good idea to move this where they did. It makes sense that they’re trying to rearrange things so that all of the zodiac members except for Kureno and Rin get introduced before the end of season 1, and this is the best place in the season to put this episode. I think it at least works a lot better here than it did in the 2001 anime where it happened literally right before the Kyo arc, right near the end of the season, which was just a really awkward place to put it all around.

In terms of other stuff that got changed/removed from the manga, they cut out a whole bit with Hatori getting called over to bandage Tohru’s hand after Ritsu broke a cup and she ended up getting cut, though honestly I’d kinda forgotten about that whole scene so I didn’t even notice it was gone. And along those same lines, I guess they also cut out the minor detail of Ritsu spraining his ankle on the roof and it having to also get treated by Hatori, since they had Tohru have a much more dramatic fall on the roof instead.

Like I said, basically every single scene with Mitsuru was anime-original since in the manga she only really appeared in that final scene, and even that got fleshed out a fair bit in this episode, so that we actually got to see them becoming friends, and they both had the same sorta monologue to tie everything together. Which did a way better job than the manga ever did at setting up their relationship, lol. It’s still kinda forced, but it’s not the gaping void of nothingness that it was originally.

Another thing they changed, which I didn’t even notice until I checked the manga again afterward, was that Ritsu was wearing his kimono throughout this entire episode, whereas in the manga he switches to wearing a more masculine outfit immediately after Tohru finds out that he’s a guy. It honestly felt so natural to have him just keep wearing the same outfit the whole way through that I didn’t think anything of it.

Which finally gets us to the elephant in the room, the hornet’s nest, the can of worms, the grand king of controversy, that is Ritsu’s crossdressing.

I definitely think it felt a lot better in this version of events specifically because they at least let him still wear his kimono and his feminine hairstyle even after the ““““gender reveal twist”“““ without it being some sorta issue, but ultimately the way it’s handled still feels notably dated, and I definitely think there’s gonna be a lot of entirely new fans who immediately view him as being heavily trans-coded. Since he really is.

I feel like this should be fairly self-explanatory, but just to be completely clear, this isn’t a matter of “wearing feminine clothing must mean you’re a girl”. This is more specifically about how Ritsu’s crossdressing is framed completely differently to how characters like Momiji and Ayame crossdress. They just do it explicitly because they’re carefree and self-confident and don’t care what people think about them, and it’s not a particularly major or defining part of who they are as a character. But with Ritsu, it ultimately ends up being one of his defining points as a character if only because this is basically all we ever see of him, and the story goes to pretty great lengths to detail how his motivations for cross-dressing come from an entirely different sort of place. Instead of him doing it because he’s naturally confident enough to not care about societal judgment, he does it because it’s the only thing that *makes him* feel confident in himself at all. It’s shown as being pretty much the one and only thing that alleviates his crippling self-hatred. In particular I think the flashback to him trying on one of Kagura’s dresses as a child and having a moment of realization and euphoria really feels like a distinctly Trans Experience [tm] kinda thing. Not to mention the other flashbacks to how he felt ashamed of himself because his parents were constantly apologizing to other people because of how he is, which comes across even more strongly as being specifically tied to his gender expression since at least in the anime, he’s also wearing a dress in that flashback.

It’s also worth noting that in the manga they placed a fair bit of emphasis, especially in his big talk with Tohru, about how he basically ‘wants to pull himself together and stop needing to dress like a woman’, as if it’s some sort of emotional crutch he needs to move on from, and it seems like that basically got cut out. Which is for the better, I’d say. I’ve said before in relation to Momiji that I also disliked there how [in the long run] his own crossdressing is treated as something temporary that he’ll inevitably move on from, and it stuck out even more in the manga when we also got this whole part later which even more explicitly framed cross-dressing as a ‘phase’ that someone needed to move on from. I guess in a lot of ways it really says a lot about the subtly yet meaningfully different way Ritsu’s framed in the reboot, that he just continues wearing his kimono throughout the whole episode and nobody really talks about it after Tohru finds out he’s a guy. I much prefer this more neutral framing of ‘this is just how he dresses and that’s cool’ more than ‘this is something he needs to stop doing in order to grow up’.

It all still feels a little bit outdated even in this version of the story, but I think it would have been even more noticeably outdated and uncomfortable if they had kept all of that stuff from the manga too. So I’m glad they cut it out. They did technically add an original bit near the end with Mitsuru realizing that Ritsu isn’t actually a woman, but I think that was handled perfectly well. Her reaction was basically just ‘oh I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made assumptions like that’, and him freaking out about it was basically just treated as him getting unnecessarily apologetic for something that isn’t a problem at all. Interestingly enough, I think that little scene between them was at least vaguely inspired by that aforementioned bonus comic page about them.

It’s obvious that it’s not like the reboot’s gonna retcon it so that he’s trans now, but I much prefer this take on his crossdressing compared to the manga.

I’m kinda curious to see if they’re going to do more with him as a character after this in the reboot, since Takaya’s said before that his lack of screen-time and importance is one of her big regrets. Though it’s honestly kinda hard to think of where they could even fit him in, aside from maybe the summer vacation arc. Ultimately he kinda suffers from not really being connected to any of the other zodiac characters, which makes him the odd one out who’s difficult to insert into scenes. I think they could probably at least do something with his apparent friendship with Kagura, though, since that never really got elaborated on in the manga.

I’ve always wondered if him getting sidelined after his intro arc in the manga had anything to do with the fact that his arc was the exact point where Takaya’s hand injury caused the series to go on hiatus. It’s not like we’ll ever know one way or another, but I wonder if the fact that his introduction happened to coincide with such a stressful and draining part of her life made her want to basically ignore him as a character afterward to try and forget about all of that. But who knows.

I do have a feeling that the fact that they edited and fleshed out this episode a fair bit compared to the manga might be because Takaya wasn’t happy with what she did with this arc originally, which probably had a lot to do with her hand issues. It might have lead to her not being able to put as much care and thought into this arc in the manga as she would have liked, so she might have even given the anime staff some pointers on how she wanted it to be improved.

Anyway, that’s a lot more than I expected to say about this episode, lmao. All in all I liked it way more than I expected, and I hope they can find some sorta way to give Ritsu more screen-time than he got in the manga.

And as we basically all knew would happen, it looks like next week’s episode will be Hiro’s introduction. I’m kinda curious to see how that goes, since Hiro’s the sorta character who I think is well written for who he’s meant to be, but it doesn’t stop me from kinda hating him as a person, lmao. At least to the extent that you can hate a preteen kid for being annoying and bratty.

[justgotham]

We always knew they meant New York," novelist, Lawrence Block, wrote in his intro to the first trade paperback of the DC Comics series, Gotham Central. Block was writing both about the inherent New-Yorkness to Bob Kane's initial vision of Batman's Gotham City and of Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka's incarnation in Gotham Central.

Gotham Central, which debuted in single issues beginning in 2004, is maybe the most quintessentially New York comic book imagining of the city of bats and cats, robins and riddlers. It's a story not about how a boy billionaire with a grudge and an endless arsenal of super-weaponry handles someone like Mister Freeze, but about how the boys in blue of the Gotham City Police Department deal with them. There's something endemically and irrevocably New York about people running around in strange costumes while often-flawed cops do their best to keep a tight hold on a city that never sleeps.  

Ten years after Gotham Central first appeared in comic stores, Gotham, the Fox TV series very loosely based on Brubaker and Rucka's stories, found an even better way to make their Gotham City feel like New York: they filmed there.

And while having the literal New York City skyline to draw inspiration from helped, there was another part of Manhattan specifically that helped give each of Gotham's residents that undeniable New York feel: Broadway.

"I worked on Broadway," says Gotham's current costume designer, John Glaser. "Josh, my assistant, worked on Broadway. ... The painters and the sketch artists have all worked on Broadway. We actually approached each episode like a little Broadway show."

And what advanced techniques were brought from the Great White Way to the Dark Knight?

"Paint and tape," says Glaser. "I hate to say it, but paint and tape make things look the way that they should."

As it turns out, that's a very Broadway approach to costuming. Glaser learned from the best, having assisted under the late, great Patricia Zipprodt, who was the original costume designer for iconic Broadway shows like Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Pippin, and the second longest running show in Broadway history, Chicago.

"Everything was painted, painted, painted, painted. I was a costume painter, so that's instilled in me," says Glaser. "The painting part, some people wouldn't do. Once we actually started to paint things in the first season that we were there and went, 'Oh, this stuff looks much better with the lighting, the dark scenery and the shafts of light.' We always made everything light at the top and dark at the bottom, ombré it down."

There are lots of little fun facts to be learned about the basic costumes and how they echo back to Batman comics, too. It's the little things. "On men's suits, we only used black buttons, no matter what suit it is," he explains. "Black buttons because in the comics all the buttons are black."

For Gotham's fifth and final season, there were creative alterations made to the costumes overall that informed the style of the show, each with specific purpose. "Because they are at war, we got rid of all jewelry," explains Glaser. "It's being melted down to make bullets. Without any jewelry, it kind of changes the look of the show. There are no earrings, there are no necklaces. We didn't want a lot of extraneous costume stuff, just what was really interesting in front of you."

Probably what most separates Gotham from Arrowverse shows or the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how the wardrobe team treats the supervillain costumes and suits. Those, too, get the Broadway treatment. Not at first, though. First, suits for characters like Firefly and Mister Freeze are crafted in Los Angeles. "It's like buying a car," according to Glaser. "They know the body's measured, they make an extra layer of the body for them to give them the right shape, they have the right fabrics, they have the right sculptors, the right fabricators."

But Glaser wasn't a fan of the exactness of these initial designs. "What I didn't like about that was that it looked like a movie costume. We actually took Firefly's costume and Mr. Freeze's costume, after they first wore them, and we started to paint them and age them, just because they didn't look like they were from Gotham. They looked like they were from a different world. We took them back, kept painting them and aging them, putting things on them and making them look more like they were from the city of Gotham."

Sometimes the newness of a costume could even be a problem, especially in Gotham's final season, where everyone is living even more rough than usual. "On Ivy's costume," Glaser uses as an example, "the top of it is flesh and it goes into fabric around her breast and we couldn't figure out how to make that transition without it looking like a skating costume."

So how do you solve that problem beyond paint and tape? "We took it to Izquierdo Studios and I was explaining to Martin Izquierdo what the problem was. He said, 'Alright, just go away for an hour.' We went away for an hour, and then when we came back he had cut, hacked, aged, and torn it, and it looked perfect. It was a dress that melted into her body — so it went from flesh, to fabric, back to skin and flesh, so you couldn't pinpoint whether it was a dress, whether it was her skin, or whether it was vines growing on her. It was vague, misty, and painted with lots of sparkle, so you could never pinpoint what it was. That was a very successful costume."

Beyond the desire to make Gotham feel like New York through the lens of a Broadway show, there was one other consistent challenge: working within the confines of the DC Universe. All live-action TV series that exist within the worlds of DC Comics have to accept that they are second banana in the DC hierarchy. The creators of Arrow had to scrub their Suicide Squad plotline when the film of the same name starring Margot Robbie and Will Smith was greenlit, for example. And so, too, Gotham had to contend with these challenges from a stylistic standpoint.

"There's a thing that Josh and I used to say," admits Glaser. "'If you can't tell what it is, then it's great.' If you can't know where it came from or if you can't pinpoint it, then there was never a problem."

Probably the most infamous struggle Gotham faced in the Batman canon relates to the Joker, in that Gotham simply could not have a character named "the Joker." That is why the twins, Jeremiah and Jerome, were created. And, even then, there was some conflict. "We sent a sketch and he [Jeremiah] had some purple in his suit," Glaser explains. "Warner Bros. said, 'No, you can't use purple.' The producers from Gotham talked with them and they let it pass. I think that was an area or a time when they started to loosen up a little bit, with us. We never got too close to the iconic look of anybody. We always danced around it."

One character from whom there was, surprisingly, no pushback at all was Harley Quinn. "The diamond shapes are painted on so that they kind of fade in and out, kind of ghost-like," reveals Glaser of the initial Harley design. "Every time that we saw her it would get a little more refined. When it started out it was like a dull red and a dull blue. By the time we finished, this is on different clothing, but, still, again, painting, it had become red and white, but because of what she does, we made it look like red blood and white."

You may also have heard that Gotham's final season involves a time jump allowing its audience to see something they've wanted since day one: Batman. And while it's too early yet to reveal everything about the first time we see actor David Mazouz in full Bat-regalia, Glaser did reveal one aspect to the costume that was mandated: "They insisted that the Batman logo be on the belt."

There's so much that goes into costuming a show, there could be a whole series just on the topic. Glaser talked with SYFY WIRE about so much: the muscle suits under the character's clothes, the way each character was built up to be taller and longer, and small details — like the custom made ties for all the men's suits, and how they changed from season to season. Even the background actors got their own story. "For every episode, we would pick a color," says Glaser. "Let's say there's a party scene, we would pick a color and we would pick a vague period and focus on that."

Most of these skills are ones that Glaser and his team learned, not from television, but from their time assisting with, designing, dressing, teching down, and rigging costumes on Broadway, all which helped make the Gotham City of Fox's Gotham the most quintessentially New York incarnation of the DC Universe yet.

[sydchan]

Syd’s Games of 2018

Since I did a little better at playing games this year, I thought I'd make a list of all the games I beat and rank them by how much I liked them.  Every one of these games I beat with my sister, since it was a bad year for me completing games on my own.

11. Tokyo Xanadu (PS4)

The worst game I played this year, mainly due to how much it dragged.  My sister and I played this game from April to October with various breaks in between, because it was just that much of a chore to get through.  There's nothing technically awful about the game (and the fighting itself was sort of fun), it just didn't have anything special about it to add that extra zest.  Honestly, I did enjoy parts and wouldn’t say I disliked it, it just dragged too much, thus the ranking. 

10. Yomawari (PS4)

A cute enough horror game, it just lacked substance.  I'm all for atmosphere and drawing your own conclusions about the horrors you see, but I'd like a little more explanation for what I'm experiencing than what this game provided.

9. OxenFree (PS4)

I got this game and Yomawari as a gift from a friend, and of the two, I felt this was the better game.  I didn't care for the explanation of what the supernatural stuff was at the end, to the point it lowered my opinion of the game, but at least it explained what was going on.  The characters and the way dialogue choices were handled were interesting, it just felt like it needed more at the end.  Objectively, this game should be about three spots higher on this list, since it is a solid game. I just don't care for indie games in general as they always feel lacking in content to me.  Short with too much left to imagination, a combination I don't care for (which likely sounds hypocritical, given my love for horror games).

8. Siren: Blood Curse (PS3)

I can't say just how badly my opinion of this game was impacted by the fact I not only adored the original Siren, but also played this game immediately after beating the original.  Regardless, this game is Siren without its heart and soul.  Not only is this game a terrible remake, it’s just not that good in general.  It's certainly easier than the original, but that’s its only pro.  I can't even say the better graphics are an improvement since between the darkness and the grain filter (the screenshot above is a lie, it’s much grainier than that while you’re playing), it's difficult to see in most stages.  The plot changes are for the worse, but the intolerable change for me was the characters.  I have a pretty high tolerance for poorly written characters, but almost the entire cast in this game is annoying as hell. 

Seigo was the only decent character while everyone else ranged from tolerable (Howard and Miyako) to please die so I don’t have to play as you anymore (Sam, Melissa, and Bella).  In fact, this game gets the special honor of being the first game where I honestly wanted the child character I was suppose to protect to die brutally so I didn’t have to deal with her anymore. Also, you can’t take the same major, impactful scenes from the original and just randomly give them to this new, much worse cast and expect me to feel anything.  It just drove home how much worse the plot and characters were.  I’m honestly baffled by how this game managed to mess up from the original as badly as it did.  The only reason this game beat the above was because it was much shorter than Xanadu and I truly don’t care for indie games.

7. Lunar Silver Star Story: Complete (PS1)

The first story based game we ever beat with our friend, Jeremiah, chosen on his recommendation.  It's about what you'd expect, an older RPG with a generic plot, but it was still charming enough to be a pleasant experience.  You can tell whoever “translated” the script took a lot of liberties, so while your mileage may vary on that, it did make the dialogue more amusing as a result.  It's mainly lower on the list due to clearly being a product of its time.

6. White Day (PS4)

This game gets a higher rating than it deserves due to being the amusing horror game we ended up playing with multiple friend groups.  By its own merits, it a mediocre (maybe average if I’m feeling generous) horror game. It gets points for attempting to mix in dating sim elements, but the ghost stories were all over the place and often had nothing to do with anything in the game itself.  While it has some good parts, It felt like the creators had too many ideas and decided to throw them all together, regardless of how little sense it would make.  I still had a lot of fun playing it though, so I can’t fault it too much for it’s nonsensical writing.  It's a “fun” horror game with scenes that are sometimes quirky and others that are terrifying (these’s a certain joy in tricking your friends into hiding in the last bathroom stall and then watching their reactions to what happens next).  

5. Outlast 1, Whistleblower, 2 (PS4)

Considering we bought the PS4 version that had all three games on it, I’m considering this one game (we played them back-to-back and I would have ranked the games next to each other regardless).   Whistleblower was definitely the best of the three, while I liked the other two about equally  The first was more coherent and had the better ending, but I appreciated how the second had more expanded characters.  Plus the more shocking content did get to me.  Honestly, if it wasn’t for how abrupt the ending was in 2, this would have beaten the next entry.

4. Persona (PSP)

We started this game in 2017, but since we beat it at the beginning of 2018, it still counts.  I was pleasantly surprised by how good this game ended up being.  The characters are charming, the plot is intriguing, and the battle system was better than I thought it would be (originally I was worried about every party member being able to change personas, but it worked out much better than expected).  A very solid RPG, even given when it was created. 

3: Resident Evil 7 (PS4)

This game had a much stronger start than an ending, but the start was strong enough to still place this game solidly at #3.  It's not often you get an intro where your protag gets their hand chopped off but it’s not actually a game over.  The scene in the garage stuck with me for a long time as well.  I actually appreciated the fact it tied back with the other Resident Evil games, since what's the point of using the name of a franchise if a game isn’t actually a part of it.  

2. Detroit: Become Human (PS4)

While this game certainly had its plot holes and narrative issues, I adored this game while playing it.  Like almost everyone, Connor’s portions of the game were by far my favorite, while Kara’s and Markus’ were more average.  But considering how tense and convinced I was constantly fucking up my choices and going to get everyone killed, I managed to somehow keep all three protags alive in the end (everyone else died in Kara’s route, but still, 2 out of 3 good endings for a blind first run isn’t bad).  I definitely recommend giving this game a shot, since not only is it gorgeous, but it is one of the few games I've played where I felt my choices made a big difference.  It was close between this game and the next for my fav game this year, but the next game just slightly pulled ahead (my bias for horror games is too strong).

1. Siren (PS2)

I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this game, but this ended up being my top game of 2018 and definitely one of my top games of all time.  It certainly has its flaws (mainly that it’s frustratingly difficult at times without a walkthrough. A couple of those mission objective requirements I truly don’t believe most people could figure out on their own) but the story and characters stole my heart.  An underrated gem of a horror game, and while it has the same issue every Japanese horror game has of leaving too much up to interpretation, it at least revealed enough for me to figure out what was happening behind the scenes.  The way the story isn't told in order is really interesting as well. And while this had the potential to be confusing, the link navigator was very helpful in keeping track of events.   

Siren also goes a lot further than other games of its time period do.  When it comes to plot, characters, and overall horror, it's a lot better than Silent Hill and Resident Evil, the only thing that holds me back from wholeheartedly recommending this game to everyone is just how hard it is.  It's also a fairly long survival horror game, since even using a walkthrough, it took us somewhere between 20-30 hours to beat (our playtime said 13 hours, but it counts funny and doesn't include all the time you spend dying before giving up). If you’re a fan of survival horror games, I highly recommend giving this game a shot (just remember, there’s no shame in using a walkthrough). 

[lovedinapastlife]

Riverdale 3x16 - BIG FUN

BUGHEAD IS BEAUTIFUL~

Oh damn this episode is surreal in a way I’m not entirely comfortable with. But it’s exciting! Everyone’s looking forward to moving on from the craziness of dead bodies, breakups, and…drug trades. Amidst college and running businesses and stuff. Obviously. Normal high school stuff. Kinda reminds me of the nostalgia for season one.

Was the opening Mr. Musical Theater’s big number? Shucks, I wanted more of a sampling. This was mostly talk-singing, which…I’ll take. Kinda like the awkward rocking in the hallway haha.

Lili wearing green makes her eyes pop and my heart go poof. Similarly to Jughead’s adoring fuzzy feelings, I’m sure. DANG. They’re in HIS room now. Are they staying together?! Yay!

Aw I kinda like the idea that Betty and V would help Cheryl look and feel her best after being tossed over (ish)

I love the intros. “Bro it up. Two single straight dudes” like wow.

Chainsaw line is iconic, especially when moving to cut to the title. You think Kevin was subtly trying to dig at Cheryl for forcing him to cater to her?

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR - another theme of this season

Betty rolling her eyes is amazing.

I love that the girls choreo’d their own fanciness. I liked Cheryl’s batch better but tbh I didn’t enjoy the dance-off and it’s hair-whip noises. Maybe it was so hyped in the behind-the-scenes videos that I found myself cringing at the octopus moves? And Toni’s batch wasn’t in sync so it was that much more awkward to watch. But I did love the “SHUT UP, TONI!” and look B+V exchanged afterwards. Yeah just gonna say up front this episode react is probably not gonna sit well with Toni stans.

Hiram dropping dramatic family stuff and racking up a bill at the Five Seasons. Who would’ve thought he’d be the one to instigate that divorce, right? Veronica cries almost disturbingly well. I’m not sure why she’d want them to be together after the assassination attempts and affairs and general shenanigans, but hey—it’s Riverdale.

Oh god is Betty the only one who notices the death-blue drinks and scary Gargoyle Pig person? These kids are stupid. I did catch Sweet Pea/JD with his slurpee which made me happy. FREEZE YOUR BRAAAAAIN~ Judge away the whole party, Betty. They tend not to be great luck in this town.

“Brainiac?!” Did she just call Reggie that?! HA. Oh geez I hate Evelyn (but I love her flouncy scrunchie and graphic shirts) and I hate Kevin and their stupid cult and drugs. Why can’t brownies ever be normal on a teen show?! Also, HI MIDGE!

I do love the idea of throwing a party to take ownership of Sisters of Quiet Mercy. If only it wasn’t so cult-y. Why are there people in swimsuits in the drowning tub while Archie jumps over them? Also, drugged-up dancing got some good Kevin hip waggles and some yikes s1 arrogant Reggie vibes. But Veggie is on again for 30 seconds? Okay then.

Jughead eating in the background as Betty side-eyes the circle share is such a glorious mood. Aw and then hugs for V. I am LOVING this side-eye mood. How did people not know Archosie was happening when they were always in the practice room, at each other’s houses, and walking in the halls together? So much awkward is happening that the cringe levels are through the roof. Kevin’s hand on his heart was so over-the-top. I kinda loved it? And I’m surprised V didn’t have more of a reaction to the Archie stuff, tbh, even if she’s got bigger things on her mind.

Oh no Toni’s got a solo and it’s here for the color of blood. Literally. Is she pointing at their crotches? Ugh her stripping musical threesome was so insulting it made my stomach churn. They just tried to make it seem like Sweet Pea wants something deep and yet he’s ready for a random hookup again? Peaches hasn’t even had any lines or anything to do but stand around looking smug. They’re trying so hard to make Toni sexy and it’s just feeding the lesbian/bisexual slutty stereotype. Can this show do hookups? Ever? There’s been no sexual/attraction buildup to this “threesome” (honestly Toni hasn’t even been a good friend to SP lately) and there was no fallout afterwards either! She was just like, “COME STRIP ONSTAGE WITH ME and this other person you’ve never talked to but beat the shit out of you one time. Oh wait no I’m good with my clingy yet complimentary ghost gf, you two have fun byeeeee”

Jughead and Betty flirting makes me feel slightly better

OH GOD NO KANGS. At this point the bile I’d been suppressing was legit in my throat. Like, why does attraction/love have to be tied to something awful 90% of the time in this show? Kevin and Fangs could’ve been a cute couple if they built up their connection beyond two lines over the course of two seasons. But no. Cult psychedelic weirdness over Midge, just like Moose and Kevin. Maybe even over Joaquin. DO WE NOT LEARN? I’m not even gonna start with the Farmies.

Archosie scene. Fun spin dance, but I still think they’re cute paper cutouts of nothingness at this stage.

Oh, of COURSE Weatherbee joined a cult. Loser.

I love Cheryl’s Heather Chandler vibe and scrunchie. Good call about making Toni test the tea for poison. Aw, I kinda wanted to see Ghost!JJ.

I have basically a folder full of stills of this scene and narrowed it down to these. Aw baby Jug, Betty understands better than anyone what he’s going through. When Betty was trying to get Jughead to look at her I legit felt emotional. And then they were beautiful. Forever. WE FINALLY GOT THEM DANCING! Oh and on his knees! Proposal vibes! I might’ve watched this scene EIGHT BILLION times for the eyes and hands and general endless soulmate love vibes. Like, this scene made the episode for me. They were so emotional and invested and harmonized like angels and I needed that in my life so thank you, universe. I hope Cole and Lili get to do amazing scenes like this together in the future because it was beautiful.

Ch*ni kinda interrupted my mains with their totally different vibe and zero choreography, even though they did sound lovely. Neither of them have changed their behavior to make their relationship work internally, whereas Bughead are sick of the external forces of the town trying to destroy their childhood icons/innocence and bonding over their love for each other despite their familial madness. I need a Bughead exclusive soulmates cut. Thank you.

Haha um...I think closing the drug lab in general would be good? Maybe not during the musical when Betty might be vulnerable again (and the rest of Riverdale) but hey...it’s entirely possible it’s emotional and not logical of me to say that ;) Sheriff FP seems extremely unbothered by mobile drug labs in town so why should we be, right?

HIRAM! SAY IT LIKE IT IS! I love that he called out Veronica’s shock over Hermione trying to have him killed. Twice. How rude.

I actually really liked Cami’s interpretation of “Lifeboat.” It’s pretty, but I’m not sure it added much to her story? Same with her attempt to have her parents go to opening night together. Maybe that song is more of an overarching theme for her story this season. Ish? But she also distances herself from people? Mehhhh overanalyzing Riverdale hurts my brain. And then her ploy to have one last happy memory is just them not looking or talking at each other and she feels worse. Ouch.

Why is there so much old stereo equipment in their house? I know they worked at a garage/scrapyard, but I didn’t see any speakers? I care too much about set dressings but whatever. Poor FP is dealing with hazards of being on the job. Gladys had hilarious delivery like, “Oh nooooo. Drugs. That’s terrible.” Also, she’s totally drinking beer in front of him, a recovering alcoholic. Classy. And also telling. Jughead and Betty are just side-eyeing in the background.

Did Cheryl send herself all those roses?! XD I did think the “blot” moment was cute but I still don’t understand what’s changed. I don’t even know if Veggie is a thing. Probably not. Okay then. Did love Reggie looking in the handheld mirror totally in-character though.

I KNEW THEY’D BURN THE PLACE DOWN ONE DAY! Omg the puns. The fire extinguisher. The kiss—oh oh my. Arson and tender body touching. All right. I’m down. Do they have a car now? Is Bughead gonna live in it? I cannot handle their passion in the best way possible.

The finale choreography was terrible. Oh my god was that cringe. I mean, couldn’t we at least get them looking at each other for a sec like the adorable Bughead moment of holding hands? Or someone helping V when looking at her parents? I get that they’re entreating the audience to be better (like Betty’s speech a billion years ago), but it didn’t hit the mark with me for some reason. My expression was mostly a mix of the Jones’. Was it just me, or did everyone onstage look like they were in some range of pretending really hard not to feel uncomfortable?

HI CHAD! The cult is terrifying. Also, if all the psychos are there, why aren’t Alice and Polly in attendance? The woooooorst. Was no one else inclined to clap like a normal person? Evelyn in general was interesting, trying to earn her father’s approval and everyone’s trust, but it’s usually so messed up on drugs and stuff that I don’t quite enjoy her scenes. Everything with the Farm is usually deferred, which annoys me, but we’ll get our answers soon, I’m sure. I want more Chad. I’m curious if the buildup is gonna pay off ^-^

And people are going through windows next time?

I really wanted the “hell” line from Heathers when Bughead came back from burning stuff down but I will live. Okay. Put our bids in for next season’s musical now and how long it’s gonna take us to get a promise/engagement ring on Bughead. Thank you.

[dorevenge]

where ignorance is bliss - chapter 11: without the hurt

SUMMARY: Maria and Tony are decorating for the holidays while Howard is still tied up with work. [AO3 LINK]

CHAPTERS: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [11] 12 13 14 15 ☆

December 19, 1973 – Manhattan, New York, Stark Manor

“Mama, Jarvis needs a stocking!”

Three green and red striped stockings hang from the fireplace, with “Tony”, “Howard”, and “Maria” printed on them in gold, glittery cursive. They’re accompanied with plastic pine wreaths that shed everywhere and decades-old unopened candy canes. All the decorations smell faintly of dust and abandonment.

“You think so, Bubba?” I reply to Tony. The mantelpiece does look a little empty with just the three of us. It’s a reflection of how big our home is and how little of it we fill up.

“It’s okay. I’ll make it, Mama.” I admire Tony’s independence, already thinking more for himself than I ever did.

Dozens of totes are spread out around us in the living room, dug out of the second garage, in the middle of the process of decorating for Christmas. We normally start the festivities on December first, but Tony insisted we wait for Howard to decorate, and Howard insisted he stay late every night to finish the reactor and whatever new project has his attention. Howard is home, for once, but he’s locked himself in his office, stating he has to finish this tonight while he’s thinking about it.

Tony rips the lids off one of the totes and starts pulling everything out one by one, tossing various ribbons and ornaments behind him.

“Tony, honey, what are you looking for?” I grab what he’s just taken out and put it back in its place, catching his hands before he can throw more out.

“Jarvis’s stocking!”

“They’re in this box over here, Bubba. We have to write his name on it first, nice and neat so Santa can read it. Let me help you.”

“I can write it, Mama. Let me do it.”

I spread newspaper underneath the stocking and the glitter glue, so Edwin’s gift doesn’t turn into another chore for him. I write out “JARVIS” several times on the newspaper for Tony to practice tracing before putting on the real thing. Like everything else he tries his hand at, Tony knocks it out of the park on the first try (he’s already graduated from picture books), and he prints the name on the stocking.

“Good job, Bubba. Where should we put it?” I ask Tony once it’s dried.

“Here! Next to mine.”

We hang Edwin’s stocking on the mantel and continue decorating, setting up the Nativity on the piano next. I hang the ornaments up on the higher part of the tree, and Tony helps where he can reach, and we save the star topper for last for when Howard finally joins us. It’s starting to come together nicely. One of the glass balls slips from Tony’s short, round fingers with a loud “uh-oh!”, and Edwin comes running in.

“Just a decoration, Edwin. No injuries here,” I say. He returns a moment later with a broom and dustpan. Before he can leave again-

“Jarvis, look! Jarvis, c’mere!” Tony’s voice reaches a high note, joined with a burst of giggles. He gives Edwin’s calves a tight hug, before tugging on his hand and leading him to the mantel. “Look, it’s for you! Next to me. Mama and I made you a stocking because you’re my best friend and you’re right next to be. ‘Cause you’ll always be right next to me.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Master Tony.” Always the proper British butler, I think I see Edwin fight back tears. “Did you and your mother have a good time decorating?” The boxes are nearly empty now. I set the empty totes aside to take back to the garage later this evening. To think we’ll have to put everything away again in just a couple weeks.

Tony’s too distracted to answer his question. “Jarvis, I want a puppy for Christmas.”

Edwin and I both laugh.

“I believe it’s a bit too late to file that request with Mr. Claus, Master Tony. Could I interest you with a nap instead, perhaps?”

“No!” Tony takes off down the hall, Edwin along with him, and I realize they’re headed towards Howard’s office.

“Tony, not in there!” I run after him.

He’s faster than both of us, and he’s just tall enough to reach the handle to pull open the door to the office. Tony lets himself in.

The smell of cigars and bourbon pours out of the room in waves.

“Everything is achievable through technology,” Howard begins, having spent the last week going over his lines, sometimes even in his sleep. At this point, I can recite the script he’s written for himself from memory. “Better living, robust health, and, for the first time in human history, the possibility of world peace.” Tony sneaks into the room, just out of frame, ducking under Howard’s Stark Expo model for next year, sprinkled with tiny trees and miniature buildings. Edwin and I stand just behind the doorway, ready to run in and grab him if need be, not wanting to ruin the take.

Howard continues on with the scene, introducing himself, going again and again ‘til his delivery is satisfactory. Always the perfectionist. Tony’s head pops up and, before anyone can stop him, picks up the model arc reactor. Howard sees him out of the corner of his eyes and whips around.

“What is that? Put it back where you got it from. Where’s your mother? Maria!” I step into the office, where on the other side of the room I find a whole production team. A bulky camera sits in front of the model, with our friends Barney and Johnny, the reel still running. One of them yells cut and stops the camera. A small bronze plague on the model reads “The key to the future is here.”

I scoop Tony into my arms, he tries to fight me, wiggling with all his might and calling for his father, but I hand him off to Edwin, standing by, where he instantly becomes more compliant. Edwin promises him some applesauce on their way out of the room.

“Maria,” Howard says raggedly. “I told you we were working in here, and that we were not to be disturbed.”

“We both tried to run after him, and you’ve been at this all day,” I sigh. “You know there’s no stopping Tony once he puts his mind to something, and right now he just wants to spend time with his father. Would it kill you to put this aside for the holiday and do something with him?” I don’t blame Tony for barging in; I miss Howard just as much as he does, even when he is home.

“Everything I do is for him, Maria!” Howard has never yelled at me before. We’ve fought plenty of times, countless disagreements, but never before has he raised his voice at me. Never before has he drunk so frequently, either. “He’s the future. Everything I’m building is a foundation for him to build upon. I’ll never get this fucking reactor to work, I know it, Obadiah knows it, everyone at Stark Industries knows it. Hell, Anton knew it, too. It’s pointless, but I know he will.” Howard points in the direction that Edwin and Tony left. “Tony is the best thing I’ve ever made. Nothing else will ever compare to him. That’s why I’m hard on him.”

“He’s three, Howard.”

“He’s three now, but he’s my legacy. He won’t always be three, and that’s why I’m starting now. Down the road, I don’t want him to be slacking off, wasting his potential. I push him because I know he can make it there. He’ll be better than all of us.”

“And that’s fine for down the road,” I say, taking the glass of bourbon from his hand and setting it on a grassy knoll on the model. “But right now, he needs his dad, and he needs you to pay attention to him. This legacy, the money, the future, even Stark Industries, it will all mean nothing to him if he doesn’t have a relationship with you.”

Howard hangs his head. “This is the most important thing I’ve ever done, Maria,” he says, pointing to the model. He places his hands on my hips and pulls me in, resting his forehead on y shoulder.

I shake my head, dejected, and take a step back. “You’re right; he won’t always be three. Soon enough he’ll be a jaded teenager who thinks you prefer your machines and trinkets to him. When he leaves for college, he won’t ever come back. We’re both going to lose him because of you. You know, you can be a better father than your father was to you.”

Howard doesn’t look at me. He takes a moment, before kissing me on the cheek. “Goodnight, Maria.” Angry, I turn around and leave. The two Starks in my life are the most stubborn people I know. There’s just no changing their mind once they decide they’re right, no matter who they may hurt in the process.

“Barney, let’s do another take. Just keep it rolling, shoot some b-roll. Ahem. Tony, you’re too young to understand this right now…” I hear him trail off as I leave, feeling defeated and trying not to cry. I go to Tony’s room, where he’s tucked in and passed out. Edwin can speak to him like no one else can; their relationship is unique, and I’m glad that even though Tony might not have Howard, he’ll always have his Jarvis. I sit in the rocking chair beside his bed for a just a moment, admiring him now that’s he’s quiet and in one place for once. His dark brown hair curls around his ears, his long eyelashes casting small shadows on his round cheeks. As I fall asleep, I hear Howard’s voice, echoing in from down the hall.

“What is and always will be, my great creation…”

Notes: Parts of scene from “Iron Man 2”, where Howard films the intro for the 1974 Stark Expo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reQs3g5LO8E

[nautiscarader]

Kim Possible season 3 recap

And here is part 3 of my KP marathon notes. Obligatory thanks to @fereality-indy for encouraging me to watch this awesome show. 

So, what will happen this this time? Will Kim Possible save another kitten from a tree? Will Ron discover something better than nachos? Will Doctor Drakken release the Krakken? Will Shego puncture her ego? Will Lord Monkeyfist buy Club Banana just because he is bonkers? Will Duff Killigan finally score?

So, let’s see what’s the first big problem KP has to deal with!

Kim being alone on a Friday evening. Okay.

Also, amusingly, everyone is doing something on a Friday evening, including the villians. 

Motorhead turns out to be Drakken’s cousin. okay.

And people know the address of Draken’s lair bc of mailing list

See, it’s the little touches like those that make this show a very accurate portrayal of superheroes and villians. 

KP gets jealous of Ron’s friend in wheelchair because they spend too much time together playing video games, so she has to find a way to “fit in”.

Okay, so they can approach it in a sensible and subtle, or so-cringe-worthy-and-painful-the-skip-button-presses-itself way.

So, which did they choose?

painful it is

Few stupid scenes later, Draken STEALs THE WHEELCHAIR FROM A DISABLED KID

shego: what’s next, stealing lolipop from a baby?

and there is a brilliant running joke about it

is it ableist to say that a joke about disabled person is “running”? Well, this is tumblr you gotta be carfeul

Anyway, turns out that Drakken and Jake the Dog make an actual competent combo, even though they end up in prison. And momma Lipski is still clueless about her son’s profession

Next ep: KIM CHANGED HER HAIR! and she looks cute

Ron is a pickle, but that’s normal

Draken and shego steal moodulators (get it?) from random scientist #464

Shego: if you are so smart why do you always steal instead of inventing things yourself

Draken: it’s called outsourcing, shego

God d amit, that is a smart show. 

And of course moodultaors accidentally fall on KP and SHego, so they act random throughout the day. And boy it is weird when it’s set to loveskick

Shego: steals lolipop from a baby for Drakken because she luvs him

KP turns into  a proper stalker mode for her Ronnie

And Monique is completely fine with it. 

and then kim KISSED him!!!

OMG NOSEBLEED

And then poor Ron has no idea what to do with dating KP so suddenly, and the whole scene where he debates what to do is absolute gold with a punchline that defies expectations. 

Draken and Shego go on a date and boy it is weird. SHE CATWALKS TO HIM

I can already see Disney censors thinking when it’s going to be too much for The Mouse

and kim’s dad threatens to send ron to a black hole when he takes her on a date

Also the random professor wants to sell his no-longer-existent moodulaTors on auction and he thinks about blaming it on the mail. You know, i’ve seen some approaches how to handle a world where superheroes/villians/geniuses live in our society (like in BNHA, for example), but KP so far makes it the best approach, because it makes them so relatable. 

And boy the finale is satisfying because everything completely backfires

Shego and KP got stuck in an anGry mode, and chase their boys. Ron tries to hide in the same place as drakken

Drakken: Dibs!

Ron: Double dibs!

Drakken: all right, you won with your superior dib-calling (ACTUAL QUOTE)

And the day is saved thanks to the power of friendship and not that Kp and ron are definitely in love with each other

KP, Ron, Drakken and Shego somehow manage to get into Tv, where they visit parodies of famous shows

Honestly, meh. I remember a similar episode of Teen Titans, that one was funny as heck.

and then we find out who’s the real villian of the middleton high: THE SCARY LIBRARIAN!

And turns out Ron accidentally put a book Kim rented in his backpack, causing her to get into trouble doing library duties. 

So he goes on a mission to revisit all of the bad guys they fought to see where he might have left it

Okay: calling it now, it’s still in his backpack

Shego: Where’s Possible?

Ron: She’s not my girlfriend!

Shego: Never said she was. 

And Ron accidentally saves the world on that book hunt

Lord Monkey:Ron Stoppable!

Ron: You’re the only one, who remembers my name, I respect that

Okay, so Wade can make stuff invisible. Like, how?

And there we go: the book it was in his backpack all the time. 

Oh, and Ron takes a book from Lord Monkeymonkey contaning a spirit of a monkey demon.

And he returns to the library, saving Kim from being bored to death by retunring the book. 

GUESS WHICH ONE HE RETURNED.

Oh, it was another half-episode. Weird. 

And the next one is about giant bugs. Interesting how Kim tells Ron not to be afraid of bugs, and next moment she’s all squirmish while Ron befriends a giant roach and calls him Roachie. 

KP: Ron, did you start working on the project? it was supposed to be autobiographical

ron: No, I’m waiting for it to write itself.

WE MIGHT GET RUFUS’ BACKSTORY!

Oh, and Drakken tried to take over the world with shampoo. Honestly, it’s funny as heck

he tries smarty mart to sell it

he even makes loreal-style ad, but it doesn’t sell

so he tries product placement in a hip hop song, and the artists is like “Aw, hell no”

And then 

and then

turns out that Shego and Drakken are having karaoke night every friday.

God dammit, i don’t know why but that is beyond funny

and turns out that Drakken can sing. 

and shego points out that he could sing about the shampoo

so he goes to an american idol

And I think I realise what really makes it funny: Kp is barely in this episode, helping ron with homework. No evil-doing is actually done, we only get to see, for the most part what goes behind the scenes of an evil plan that is so insanely and unnecessary convoluted it is beyond belief. 

OH, AND kp GETS TO RIVAL HIM ON STAGE, OF COURSE.

people hypnotised by the shampoo so far: one (1) random henchman

one (1) old TV producer in a sauna 

one (1) Simon Cowell

And...holy shit, his song is actually good. 

And instead of KP, who is busy fighting the mean lean green machine, Ron sings about Rufus. The song is titled “Naked Mole Rap”. And it is FREAKING PHENOMENAL.

Oh, add one (1) Shego to the list. 

Okay, so far that is the most crazy episode. Like, seriously, the quality was through the roof.

SCRATCH THAT NEXT EP is EVEN WEIRDER

So, the Team Impossible, which we have learned about in the movie, is angry at KP for saving the world for free, whereas they actually charge people for it. 

And they try to cut Kim from all of her world-traveling assets and knock her out of competition.

THAT IS FUCKING V ILE

And they hack Wade

AND TURNS OUT YOU DON’T FUCK WITH WADE

YOU DON’T CUT THEIR INTERNET CABLES OF A NERD

SINCE THIS IS ONE WAY TO MAKE AN OBESE SUPER GENIOUS  WALK OUT OF THEIR ROOM

AND HE LOOKS SO FREAKING BAD-ASS WHEN HE STORMS INTO THEIR HEADQUATERS

aaand TI is defeated the same way they would have been defeated had they answered the call. 

Pretty funny, and it does go into the details of how on Earth superheroes work in this world. 

And we have another episode about the secret ninja high school Ron was sent to 

And Yori travels to US for Ron 

And Kim is super jelaus

Wade: Kim, you are jelly

Kim: So not

Monique: You are jelly 

Kim: So not

Kim: *is jelly*

So she pretty much stalks Ron all the way to the school, and nearly fails the mission of trying to save the levitating magical jedi principal. Seriously, he’s OP as fuck.

And he’s escaping from a huge monkey. turns out it’s crazy dna lady who turned herself  into monkey for Lord Britishmonkey. 

Next episode is bascially one huge satire on the movie industry, down to the title (”and The mole rat will be CGI”). KIm and Ron accidentally crash a movie set, after Senior Senior Junior crashes it first since he accidentally applied for a role of a henchman in said movie. 

It was supposed to be set in Britian, but the movie set was in New Zealand, since “it was cheaper”

And I was like 

Is that a “Lord of The rings” joke? Someone tell me if I’m right.

Oh, and we have another long episode WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS ANOTHER MOVIE?

And it looks like it’s a three-part episode again, I wonder if the formula’s gonna work again. 

The beginning feels like a short promo scene for people who might not know what KP is about, and I’m not gonna lie, this sums it up perfectly. Action, drama, explosions, more drama, goofy ron, naked mole rat kicking ass and more drama. By the way, what;s the title? 

I guess the intro is an homage to the James Bond ones, with lots of colourful, surreal visuals floating in the background to the soothing, slow music. Love it, too bad it’s short, but again, it had to fit an episode’s running time.

 wait so the Nakasumi president CAN speak English? Even the movie calls him wacky for whispering all the time as if he couldn’t. 

Okay, now the movie just fucks with us. 

mr and mrs possible almost switch their cloaks with important documents, but she switches them back just at the last moment

mr posible ALMOST deletes his work file worth three billion dollars but undos it at the last moment.

it’s like the plot TRIES to start itself

And I bet the key is under the doormat

So the dating drama IS going to be the theme of the movie, huh. 

Wade: Drakken has been spotted in the Bermuda triangle

Bermuda triangle: *turns out to be a hotel*

And Ron just happened to have his suit under the scuba diving gear.

Shego proves to be once again, way more competent than Drakken.

and we have obligatory fight between two kickass ladies in dresses and high heels. This IS a James Bond movie. 

So, the prom drama continues, and it is sadly kinda goes into the cringe territory, with some new dude falling in love with Kim and Kim falling for him, Ron feeling sad, they both being conflicted, yep, seen it. 

But for once Drakken helps the cause and moves the plot forward, stealing some super project from dr Possible.

he deletes the file like he did in the opening, but GASP drakken has some mind reading machine

I do wonder if the coat switcheroo is going to be part of the plot. 

Holy shit

Drakken’s plan is so crazy that it actually makes sense. Take over the buneo nachos and put kiddy meals in it with robot toys that take over the world. And neither kim nor Shego could have forseen it. 

And more prom drama. Ugh. 

I always like when Possible family work together to stop the evil-doers.

So Drakken’s plan was brilliant, minus the part when the entire army of robots shuts down when the signal goes off-line. Kinda a major fuck-up. 

And they kindapped Kim’s boyfriend to lure her.  

OH, SO HE WAS A SYNTH ROBOT

I genuinely didn’t see that coming. 

Drakken learns Ron’s name, yeah! And it’s shot like Drakken’s yelling a curse to the skies, love it. 

Also, HOLY SHIT, Kim kicks Shego into the tower so hard it looks like she was about to kill her. Like, that was genuinely chilling moment, especially with an ominous, lightning-filled close-up onto her later.

Spoiler: she didn’t die. 

Okay, colour me confused: I didn’t think that Kim and Ron were going to kiss and start dating now, I thought this movie was going to be one huge prequel to a movie by the end of S4. Or more precisely, it feels weird NOW, knowing that there is a whole season ahead of me. Cos that felt like a pretty good end of a series, something akin to the Last Airbender one, so I’m slightly concerned how it’s going to be played into season 4, cos this can go haywire pretty easily. 

Uh, not going to lie, I’ve got mixed feelings about the movie. On one hand, it gave us a proper evil plan from Drakken, one that attacks Kim psychologically, showing that for once, he DID his homework and actually studied Kim’s behaviour. On the other, the prom/dating drama is kinda painful to watch, but fortunately gets resolved in the end. Maybe it’s just me, but I had the same expression as Rufus when he and Ron said that guys don’t talk about feelings. It felt kinda clumsy and not subtle at all, and what’s worse, the show itself did way better job of portraying romance in previous episodes, most notably the moodulator one. But as I said, those last few scenes with Ron and Kim fighting together does make up for it. 

also, Rufus once again is the unspoken hero. He did so freaking much, including, but not limited to: saving ron from the tentacle monster, freeing kim and ron, defeating the synth boyfriend, pushing Kim and Ron together... He really is a badass.    

So, not a bad one, though I preferred the first movie. Also, on the whole Season 3 was significantly shorter than second. Wonder what’s gonna happen in the next season.  

[littlemisssquiggles]

RWBY Remarks: As silly as this might sound on paper, Aaron Dismuke needs to reward himself with the very character he plays in RWBY for that amazing performance he gave in Episode 3. HOLY COW!

What’s up guys! It’s your gyal, LittleMissSquiggles here with another RWBY Episode Review. Not only is today RWBY Tuesday but it’s also October 31st and as a RWBY fan, you all know what that means. No I’m not talking just about Halloween, I’m talking about today being the show’s very own Ruby Rose’s birthday. So happy birthday to Miss Rose.

But as much as today is her special day, I’m not here to talk about Ruby. Not when EPISODE 3 just dropped! WHOOT! WHOOT!

So Episode 3 of RWBY Volume 5; did I enjoy it? OF COURSE I did. So much so that I’ve shamelessly watched it at least three times or more. I mostly watched it for that infamous scene with Team RNJR, Qrow and Oscar.

Firstly, can you just give a round of applause to Aaron Dismuke for his fantastic voice work as Ozpin-Oscar or OZcar as the fandom has sort of dubbed him. Thanks to all the folks who answered me when I asked about how the CRWBY handled Oscar transitioning into Ozpin.

I’m really pleased that they went with Aaron continuing to voice him even though it was a different character and as I’ve mentioned before, he did a commendable job. Although admittedly I did find the whole Shannon/Ozpin voice layered with Aaron’s Ozpin-Oscar voice a bit jarring and unnecessary at times. While it did help to truly sell the disconnection and instability of Ozpin’s curse (y’know talking from a body that isn’t entirely yours which is an amazing effect), I couldn’t help but think there were times when they could’ve just allowed Aaron to carry on talking as Ozpin cause he was already doing a perfect job. That being said, I only had this problem during the ONE moment when Ozpin-Oscar straight up Power Ranger style backflips onto the couch to announce that he was going to train Team RJNR.

The line where he said ‘...Well I believe I was the Headmaster of Beacon’ practically breathing confidence, like I dunno...I felt like we didn’t need the effect then. It didn’t distract me nor was it bad, I just felt like it wasn’t needed there, y’know. I guess you could say I really like hearing Aaron talk as Ozpin so I basically ended up frowning upon any point in his lines that took me out of my full enjoyment of performance, y’know what I mean? Cause as I say again, I REALLY LOVED OSCAR TALKING AS OZPIN! IT WAS SO COOL!

But then again I wonder if it would have had the same impact as it did without the voice layer effect; even with the background music. Not sure.

But overall, I was floored by Aaron’s performance this episode. While I’m not sure if story plans on prolonging the training episode; saving it for Episode 5, I’d love it if they continued the focus being on Team RNJR and Oscar/Ozpin in Mistrel. Even if they plan on saving the training montage til like half way through the season, it would be good to get some episode moments where the members of Team RNJR get to interact with Oscar, just as Oscar as he’s settling down to stay with them. It’d be cute if we got a moment where they show him to his room. The Volume poster did tease Oscar having a close friendship with Qrow.

Not sure whether that was an indication of it being canon in the series or a nice clever nod of nostalgia for those of us ole school FMA fans who know both Oscar and Qrow’s Vas are the original Elric Brothers so seeing them together and having that close brotherly bond again in another series would be a beautiful touch.

Not to mention, Qrow being a big brother to Oscar would be the sweetest thing ever. Things were a bit awkward between them in Episode 1 after Qrow got drunk and Oscar was forced to bring him home but...once he sobered up, things became light. I quite liked the moment where Qrow pulled the reigns in on Team RJNR badgering a very uncomfortable-looking Oscar and to see him smile gratefully at Qrow with a genuine thanks was quite sweet.

 I especially liked the bit where Ozpin announces that he’ll be training the team. As if we didn’t need further confirmation of how much of a badass Ozpin is. Plus this will truly be the first time in the series where we actually get to see Ozpin mentor the students. Yes he was the headmaster but when have we ever seen him really teach if it didn’t meant launching his students into the wilderness and forcing them to fend off the Grimm while searching for chess pieces. I laughed when Oscar’s all like “...Wait...WHAT!” when Ozpin is explaining that not even he will be exempted from his vigorous training regiment. So not only am I excited to see Ozpin train Team RNJR but also Oscar’s own training as well. However I’m curious as to how that’s gonna work though. Is Ozpin gonna teach RNJR the entire time but switchs controls back and forth between himself and Oscar so that he can mentor but Oscar would be included in the training process? Or will it be a thing where Ozpin takes full control of Oscar’s body to train Team RNJR but it will actually be Qrow who will be handling Oscar’s own training (another jab at the possibility of the two developing a strong big brother-little brother bond) with maaaaaaybe some assistance from Ruby. She could be his sparring partner---a worthy opponent (and a healthy distraction).

 I know there is a lot more stuff to cover with this episode; particularly that infamous RosePine/RoseGarden moment that I heard about even before this episode premiered. I’m actually going to save that talk for another musing post to be honest. There is always much for me to talk about regarding RoseGarden and I think having its own post with ties back to this episode will be a good thing. Plus, there are some things I’ve been itching to say about this ship...well...more things than I’ve already said previously.

But yeah, in a nutshell, I really enjoyed Episode 3. How could I not? The whole Ozpin-Oscar scene was flawless and easily my favourite part of this entire episode. Y’know how I love my smol bean farmhand avocado ‘Little Cute Boy Ozpin’ godchild. (I love how even the series itself acknowledges Oscar’s inevitable adorkableness. Thanks for that meta moment CRWBY) 

I know this week’s review was more talk regarding the Mistrel moments however I also enjoyed it for the Weiss moment too. Speaking of which, great introduction to the Spring Maiden character or the potential Spring Maiden candidate. I didn’t really catch her name from the episode. I think the bandit guy said her name was Vernal or something like that. They did hint at that strongly in the intro. Either she is the long lost Spring maiden or just someone who’s gonna have a really antagonistic opposing relationship with Cinder Fall once she gets to the Branwen Tribe.

Either way, I like her overall design and from the brief scene she was in, she’s definitely gearing up to be an intriguing new character this volume. That’s nice.

Well we all know that Weiss is definitely going to make her grand escape next time the season cuts back to her story.  Since Winter’s no longer in Mistrel, where is Weiss going to go? The whole objective of her journey was to rendezvous with with her sister in Mistrel. Does this mean that she’ll spend her part of the volume searching for her sister or...will she still decide to journey to Mistrel; ignoring what the bandits said and heading in that direction to make sure for herself (after all, it’s the only lead she has). That way, even if Weiss doesn’t meet up with Winter in Mistrel, she’ll still end up reuniting with Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren. That’s a plus no matter where you chose to look, actually.

I think Weiss might chose the latter and continue her search to find her sister in Mistrel. But there is still one question that remains unanswered for me. What happened to Atlas pilot guy? Did he survive the crash too and is also being held captive by the Branwen Tribe of bandits? I really hope so because, if Weiss is going to be travelling on her own towards...wherever she believes her sister to be, she’ll probably need a companion. And while I know he was only meant to be a side character, there’s that inkling part of me that really wants him to be alive so that he can, if possible be promoted to a supporting character for Weiss.

I wanna know his name! I wanna see his face, dammit! I didn’t expect to like Atlas pilot guy so much and now that I do, I don’t want him to be gone so quickly. Oh! Oh! Y’know what! Maybe it can be a thing where, after Weiss escapes, she discovers that the bandits are keeping Atlas pilot guy in another camp and she actually puts her journey to find Winter on hold in order to go rescue him. It’ll be a nice parallel back to how she wanted to help those other cargo ships from the Lancers but pilot guy was all like ‘...nah leave em to someone else to save.’

Weiss seems to have grown into the kind of huntress who is willing to step up to help others even if it means deviating from a goal she had originally set out. Maybe we can have her go to risk her life to save Atlas pilot guy; choosing to not leave him behind despite only knowing him shortly.

I honestly liked their dynamic. I liked how friendly he was to Weiss and I genuinely enjoyed their exchange of conversations together. REALLY want him to stick around in the show and stay with Weiss.

Speaking of which, I don’t think Yang is going to meet up with Weiss. I think Shady guy is either gonna double cross Yang leading to her having to battle her way past him (like maybe he was kicked out of the tribe and is leading Yang on) or even if he does lead Yang straight to the Branwen Tribe’s main camp, there is a possibility that by the time she arrives, Weiss would’ve already escaped.

So if Weiss does escape before Yang arrives, I’m hoping the CRWBY made her escape just to go back to rescue Atlas pilot guy (who fans would learn actually has a name) and the two end up becoming travel buddies. 

This is probably an unpopular opinion with RWBY fans but, I actually don’t want any members of Team RWBY to meet up; at least not yet. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying each of the four girls’ separate stories and development; particularly when it crosses with other characters whose roles were otherwise secondary or even tertiary in past volumes (For e.g. in the case of Sun Wukong and the remaining members of Team JNPR).

That being said, I don’t want Weiss to meet up with Yang. Up until this point, she’s been having her own journey so...let her continue to do that. And if she is to have a travel companion upon her grand escape from being sold back to her father by the Branwen Tribe (not like that is gonna be possible. Didn’t Weiss’ lil shithead of a younger brother say that her presence as the Schee family heir isn’t necessary anymore since he’s taken her place); let it be Atlas pilot guy.

I really cannot stress enough, how much I want him to be alive and be another friend and ally to the team. But I guess we’ll see how things go.

So those are my thoughts on Episode 3. Another great episode. I’m really enjoying the way things are shaping up this season. Seriously the more I watch Volume 5, the more I see it becoming one of my favourite seasons for sure. Look out for more of my musings coming out this week. In the mean time, I’ll see you fellow RWBY fans next time! 

~LittleMissSquiggles (2017)

[coderealizeheadcanons]

Code: Realize Episode 5 Review!

We apologize for the delay; here’s the review of episode 5 of the C:R anime! We hope you enjoy it and are still enjoying the anime as a whole. Please feel free to discuss the anime with us, we love to talk! <3

Mod S

I'm a bit on the fence with Episode 5. While I really enjoyed seeing a lot of Victor's route animated, I'm also disappointed by how much they slashed out of his route. Realistically, I know that wanting to keep the majority of it is a bit unreasonable. I just loved the story in Victor's route so much, and that final showdown with Victoria, Leonhardt, Cardia and Victor that it just ended up depressing me not getting to see it animated. 

Despite this, I think that they didn't do a bad job at all working Victor's story into the anime without going into his actual route. Most of the scenes from the common route were the same, save for a couple differences. I liked that Cardia was still played an active role as well. WE ACTUALLY GET TO SEE CARDIA FIGHT THANK CHRIST. Hopefully, they will continue to let her grow as a character. It'll be hard to see during the anime, but I still think that they can do it. 

Victor is in top form in this episode too. He's animated well, and I'm really glad that they kept the scene where he flashbacks to seeing all the dead vampires. That was such an emotional scene, so they honestly couldn't have not put it in. I'm also glad they kept the scene where he wakes up from the nightmare; it reinforces how much Victor's decisions really haunt him. 

I'm also liking how they're handling Victoria in the anime. She seems much more involved than she was in the original game, and this is likely because of her early intro as well as the scenes of her talking to Finis and Herlock Sholmes. Victoria is one of my favorite side characters, so I'm surprised and pleased that they are giving her the attention she deserves. I'm curious as to how she will continue to play a part in the anime, and how much will be similar to Lupin's actual route. 

Yet again I find myself frustrated by Saint G's lack of presence in the anime. I'm certain that they are doing this to make the revelations about his character more impactful to those that have not watched the game. However, it is most certainly frustrating for those who love Saint Germain and/or have played the game. Will they keep in Saint Germain's initial killing of Finis? How much of his route will be in the game? Only time will tell I suppose. 

I'm very nervous about this next episode for multiple reasons: The airship race is amazing, how will they handle Nemo, what are they gonna do with Impey's backstory? Impey is my love, so I'm crossing my fingers but also trying to lower my expectations. Treat my Bimpycane right, anime! Until next time!

Mod Cheshire

Episode 5 was...interesting. My feelings about it were all over the place, haha. On one hand, I’m extremely happy that Fran got the air-time he deserved. He’s been somewhat in the background for the first few episodes, so I’m glad to see him be front and center for once. Anyone who hasn’t played the game can somewhat see why we’re SO OBSESSED WITH FRAN. He’s too cute. 

I also like how they changed Fran’s route. It would have been impossible to add everything from his route, and it’s a nice surprise to see how things are changed. They added in a unique interaction between Cardia and Fran which made their relationship deepen in my opinion. As for the final showdown with the tree and the Zicterium, I feel that the entire thing is too closely tied to Cardia ending up with Fran. It would have been impossible to compile it all into one or two episodes and still have Cardia end up with Lupin (as the anime is definitely implying). 

ALSO, CAN WE SPARE A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT HOW BEAUTIFUL FRAN IS THIS EPISODE!? Fran has always been pretty and handsome and all those adjectives, but he’s SO PRETTY. His animations were flawless this episode and I really hope they keep up the good work! 

On the other hand....I REALLY love how they’re handling side/minor characters like Queen Victoria, Leonhardt, and Sholmes. They’re more active in the story and are actually making an impact instead of being simple obstacles that the Lupin Gang thoughtlessly swat aside. Queen Victoria is becoming a bigger character which makes me REALLY HAPPY since I shipped Victoria and Leonhardt really hard in the game. To see the both of them take the center stage is phenomenal and I can’t wait to see more of them.

As for my thoughts for the next episode: I’m excited to see the airship race and Nemo. Nemo was a character that I feel the game dropped the ball on in terms of his characterization. I want to see more of his descent into madness in the anime and I really hope he takes center stage like Victoria and Leonhardt have. Either way, I have high hopes! 

As for Saint-G, I guess we won’t see much of him until his actual episode. So there’s that, at least.  

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Poster Boy, A Reactionary Post

The Narcissistic Killer

Major Crimes, S2xE11: Episode Review

The intro is filmed like it in False Pretenses. Which makes me believe they shot all of that at one time and just disbursed it through out the season. Using it sparingly to subtlety remind us that Rusty is in danger and someone is after him.

What this episode is about: Butt Monkey Emma Catholic Julio Brandon North, The Killer & The Crime Being at odds Brandon vs Poster Boy Rusty vs Emma & Kris Sharon & Andy vs Taylor Sharon confronts Brandon Declarations Brandon & Grandma: My Only Family Rusty & Kris: A girl who cares Sharon & Rusty: Mother & her Son Sharon & Andy: Emotional Partners  Rusty's Stalker

Butt Monkey Emma "Just observing how horrible it smells in here." I love that Emma remarks how horrible it smells in the living room. To the point where she says it smells like the body is in there. And of course later on we find out that there actually is another body in there. The body that Emma later on unknowingly sits on. 

"Don't Scream." It seems that even Amy isn't having Emma's shit. If your going to be at the crime scene you need to suck it up. Why in the hell is she even there? What purpose is this serving her? None of the other DA's regularly come to crime scenes the way she does. I feel that the only purpose this serves is straight up 'Torture Spoiled Emma'. Other than that I can't think of a logical reason why she is always at crime scenes and the morgue.

Catholic Julio

46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." Always knew that Julio was a devoted Catholic but the fact that he's got Bible verses memorized really shows just how much he studies the Bible. Even though they ultimately turned out to be Joe Fox's pin code that Brandon forced out of him, that verse is still important. It really tells us a lot about what kind of person Brandon is. Irrogant to the point of thinking he's invincible. Also that he plays God by holding people's lives in his hands.

Brandon North, The Killer & The Crime Loving that they flash back to the aftermath of the cleanup of the murder. So that we dive right into the killers mind. This guy is a complete psychopath. Showing how arrogant he is about not getting caught. That he just leaves all kinds of DNA and finger prints behind for the police. This is pointed out again when he destroys one of his victim's cellphones so the police can't track him down through it. He's a complete narcissist and thinks that no matter what he does he won't get caught. 

It's not often that we get the crime from the perspective of the killer. So it's a welcome change of pace. There also doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to how he kills his victims. His weapons of choice seem more based on what he can find more so than what he brings with him. He's spontaneous and messy. He's really only kills those that stand in his way on his way to fame. His would be competition (if he'd gotten on the show) and those that may expose him. 

"It's not the shows fault that he can't handle rejection." Rusty talking some sense here. I do think think that certain things like modeling requirements can be ridiculious. You can do nothing about how tall you are and you shouldn't be punished for something as ridiculous as that. But at the same time rejection is a part of life, period. And if you can't handle rejection then your going to have some real problems. Romance, Sex, Jobs, Parenthood, there's always going to be some kind of rejection that you'll face no matter what you do. No matter how perfect you are.

"That smells way too familiar."- Provenza

Being at odds

Brandon vs Poster Boy

His rejection of not being picked for Poster Boy is what started his killing spree. So in a way he was at odds with Poster Boy and it's contestents.

Rusty vs Emma & Kris Kris proves just how caring a person she is when she spills the beans about the truth of the letters that Rusty has recieved. While Rusty doesn't see and doesn't appreciate it, it's probably what ultimately saved his life. I don't think that Rusty would have ever seen it coming the way he did when Weller did try to kill him. Once Kris tells Emma what's really going on. Emma goes straight to Sharon. And Sharon is so caught up in the case that she blows Emma off. One thing I don't understand is why didn't Emma tell her that Rusty is in serious danger. It would have gotten Sharon's attention.

Sharon & Andy, The Squad vs Taylor

Once again Taylor is all about releasing every detail of their crime to the media. I think in certain situations it's helpful to have the public's input on a crime. But Sharon is very strategic when it comes to how she's going to go about solving a crime and when and when not to hold back on certain information. When Sharon and Rusty see CNN's coverage of Brandon North, her reasoning for not releasing info to the public becomes very clear. Andy brings this up when Taylor pushes to release the info. He points out that North kills when he needs something. Both Sharon and Andy's points are that him getting fame and attention for killing may just prompt him to kill even more. I love how in tune they are with Brandon and his motives and how Taylor is way out in left field. 

But I do love that even though Sharon is put up againest a rock and a hard place. She always does her best to use that shitty situation to her advantage. Such as having Dr. Mohandie reach out to Brandon by placating him. Once again we have Taylor vs Sharon with Andy backing her up. Just think that at one time Andy was so very loyal to Taylor that he went into Brenda's division to spy and attempted to screw things up for her. 

It's amazing even when Taylor is faced with another murder he still thinks that his releasing info to the media was the right call. When in fact the release of the info to the public is what got that girl killed. And then when Sharon tells Taylor they caused the murder he blames it on the media! What an asshole! He takes zero responsibility for his own actions. Then he tries to spin it in a positive light by saying that no one will take him in because he's been plastered all over the news. 

And once again Sharon proves her strategic mind over Taylor's by using what North took against him and turning it into a GPS. As well as internet searches for the names of the victims they hadn't released to the public. This time Sharon isn't letting Taylor have is way. He could make it another order to release the names but Sharon would definitely speak out. 

Taylor always running to the media makes me think that he did that throughout his career. And he did show in TC that he basically used other people to do his own job. When he planted Andy in Brenda's unit as I mentioned earlier.

Sharon confronts Brandon I love that this episode was referenced in Shockwave. And Sharon's hesitation to call the bomber in that case came from her not being able to talk Brandon down for turning himself in. Sadly, Sharon doesn't have the greatest track record for talking killers down. That however is no fault of her own. She does her best by empathizing with them in order to gain their trust. It's just that sometimes things like this are out of our hands. No matter how hard we try. No matter how much we do things in the right way. Like reality, the end of a crime won't always be tied up in a nice neat bow. 

The Squad and their nicknames. 

I'm not sure if Carlo is an actual famous model but the guy can't act for a hill of beans. He's got one line...ONE LINE.

Sometimes I really dig Mike's fashion. Love Mike's glasses.

"I can see three things for sure." "She's dead." Gotta love Morales' amazing sassy sense of humor.

As declarations go...

Brandon & Grandma "You always believed in me, even when other people thought I was crazy."

We finally see some real emotions here from Brandon, regarding another human being. That tell us that he's most likely a Sociopath and not a Psychopath. We did see some of this before. When Brandon would call his Grandma every single day. If he didn't care about her he wouldn't have bothered calling her everyday. Nor would he have bothered to even talk about her in his confession.

Rusty & Kris "I swore I wouldn't tell anyone but if something happened to him." One thing that makes me sad about Rusty and Kris' relationship is that Rusty pretty much writes Kris off after this. She only did it because she cared about him and couldn't stand to see if anything were to happen to him.  

"He can't know that I told you." "He will never hear it from me." One thing that I do like about Emma here is that she's FINALLY starting to see Rusty Beck as a person. If this were Emma at the beginning of season 2, she wouldn't hesitate to say this to Rusty.

Sharon & Rusty

"Whatever happens next, know I love you." What I love about this scene and those words. Sharon is finally telling Rusty whats been in her heart for nearly a year and a half. She has no idea wants going to happen. She has no idea if Rusty will be with her or put in witness protection. She knows that he could be ripped away from her as soon as he walks into that office. So if he is suddenly gone from her life she wants him to know that there is someone out there that loves him unconditionally. There are also no accusations from her on why he didn't tell her about the letters. She knows why he didn't tell her.

Sharon & Andy Sharon unloads on Andy. I feel like it's really the first time that she actively talks about her feelings to Andy (other than about Rusty). This is a huge breakthrough in their relationship. Because really, who does Sharon talk to about her feelings? She's so closed off and so self sufficient when it comes to emotional things like this. 

Sharon hasn't really had a partner she can lean on. She'd had to do all of this on her own. And now Andy is starting to become that person, in the way Jack never was. What I love about this is that Andy has zero motives for doing this. He does it, simply because he cares about her. 

Andy gives Sharon all of the positives as she beats herself up.This is something we see more of as their relationship deepens. We get a very similar scene between the two of them in "Hindsight" pt4. The infamous Hug scene - which is one of my all time favorite Shandy scenes. 

After Andy points out that no one got hurt and that the victims wouldn't have to relive their trauma in a trial. Andy gives her some words of encouragement. 

"Listen Sharon, For whatever it's worth. You did great." At this point in their relationship, Sharon has given Andy permission to use her first name. He only seems to use it when they are not at work. And as I recall the only time we have heard him actually use her first name was when she tells him he has permission to use it. So for Andy to use her name at work is pretty significant. Andy is addressing Sharon the person. Not the Sharon the Captain.

Essentially Andy is saying "I see you. Behind that mask you put on." Going beyond Jack. We could even talk about how no one saw Sharon in TC. Even Andy. In "Dead Man's Hand" Sharon expresses concern about a member of her squad who she suspected was being abused by her husband. And this is what Andy specifically thought about her at that time.

And you know who saw Sharon? Ally Moore. She saw Sharon's heart and used that against her. And it worked.

Rusty's Stalker At the end of the episode we see Rusty's stalker writing more letters. It feels like the same letters but at the last second the Stalker starts addressing his letters to Sharon instead of Rusty. So what is the point in him doing this? I think he felt he was getting no where writing Rusty. He'd written how many times and Rusty just put the letters away hoping that it would all go away. He wanted Rusty's attention otherwise he wouldn't keep writing those letters. 

What I would like to know is? What was the point for bringing Sharon into the Rusty/Stalker storyline? If they were going to do this at least bring some danger to her character. But there wasn't any other than here at the end of this episode. Later on when we met our Stalker Wade Weller, Sharon isn't anywhere near this guys radar.

What I didn't like: Not one of my favorites. I think what I dislike the most about this episode is Brandon's narcissism and how much his life revolved around fame. Just wasn't all that interesting. Brandon as a character...not very interesting. I think for them to do something like this - at least make a somewhat compelling character. 

What I liked: I really liked that we delved deeply into Brandon's mind. I loved that the case did not end up in a nice neat bow with the killer making a deal and behind bars. It's good to be a little messy from time to time. Sharon finally telling Rusty that she loves him. Someone finally spilling the beans about the seriousness of Rusty’s stalker. And the beginning of Andy being an emotional partner for Sharon.