#major crimes rewatch before and after

[jasonswh0rre]

The Psychological Analysis of Jason Todd

I am a psych major, and my professor is allowing us to make an analysis of any character of our choice, so I figured who better to write then Jason Todd. This was very fun to write and I very much enjoyed rewatching Batman: Arkham Knight. Please enjoy. ☁️ Warning(s): Trigger Warning for Trauma, Mental Health Content, Violence, Graphic Imagery, Spoiler(s)☁️ Word Count: 2.6k ☁️: Authors Note: I am working on fanfics, more headcanons for Arkham Jason, unfortunately I am busy with classes, assignments and deadlines. I will try to be punctual but it may take time. Thank you for your understanding.

Introduction 

Jason Todd is the secondary villain in Batman: Arkham Knight, which has the same moniker. He is the second Robin and Bruce Wayne's adoptive son.

Jason Peter Todd was born in the slums of Gotham City to two drug-addicted parents, who would eventually try to settle a debt they had by giving Jason away when he was a baby. Jason received no parental figure to help guide him, leading him to petty crimes such as theft to nourish his survival. Jason is a character who takes what he needs if it means prolonging his survival; his lack of a parental figure leads him to an identity crisis between longing for a parental figure and convincing himself he is better off without one. When the simple truth is that every human needs a mother and a father, we respond positively to a nurturing environment, and through early adolescence, our brains crave the structure needed to build us into well-rounded adults. 

At fifteen, Jason inadvertently met Batman while committing robbery when Batman was fighting Gotham's notorious supervillain, The Joker. Believing Batman is in trouble, Jason jumps between pushing the hero from harm's way. Despite life's misfortunes, Jason possesses a remarkable code of morality enough to want to save someone. Jason, attempting to rid Joker of his breath, aims a pistol at the clown and, before firing, is knocked out of his hands by Batman's batarang. Unfortunately for him, Joker would leave Jason with a cryptic message, one for the young man to head.

Jason would later be apprehended and taken into custody in the back of a police car by Batman after Batman retrieved his gun and stolen money. However, rather than being charged, Jason receives a blessing through a Wayne Industries project that helped troubled teens; through the program, Jason was able to turn his life around. All attract the man who helped Jason find a new purpose: Bruce Wayne. Months after being released, Batman appeared in Jason's dorm, again offering Jason another opportunity. 

2nd Robin and Kidnapping

Taking Jason in as his ward as well as dubbing him Robin after Dick Grayson, Jason sought justice and enjoyed being a hero. Like the previous Robin, he showed a keen aptitude for it; unlike his predecessor, he possessed a fiery temper and willingness for more lethal force. While Jason's temper is directed towards the criminals that harm the innocents, Batman views this as inexcusable, fearing the day that Jason will kill instead of reprimanding. 

In the most twisted sense of irony, Jason's morality inevitably becomes his downfall. The Joker has blown up a school with kindergarteners; this leads to Jason's resolve that Joker needs to die. Knowing that Bruce would try to stop him, Jason abandons his comms and tracker so he can kill Joker. However, it is a trap, and Joker ambushes Jason. Jason was kept in a wheelchair, bonded by barbed wire that kept Jason leaning hunched over in excruciating pain. Throughout his pain, Jason's mind remained still; he was confident that Batman would find him; his sheer will at the beginning of his torture is, with all honesty, remarkable as Joker has been known for his mental abuse and mind games he plays with his victims including his sidekick, Harley Quinn. 

In the six months of his torture, Jason's unwavering mental resolve was slowly crippling as Joker had wanted; throughout the game, Jason's voice mixed with crippling fear and small doubts about Batman coming. The Joker feeds into his doubts by showing him a photo of Batman with his replacement, Tim Drake. This leaves Jason troubled as he slowly loses hope for Batman. 

The last act of Jason's torture involved a video sent to Batman via The Joker of Jason, who has undergone all his brainwashing; in the video, Jason is sitting down in a chair; he is not chained, barbed, handcuffed, or kept sitting still in any way by all means Jason could easily walk away. This is a significant and crucial part of Jason's torture as it symbolizes just how much mental anguish and emotional exhaustion Jason went through to the point that he no longer had a yearning for freedom—making him downright timid and submissive towards Joker enough to out Batman's identity when asked by the latter. This results in Joker shooting Jason point-blank in the chest, as Joker "never could stand a tattletale." However, this was only a ploy to make Batman believe Jason is genuinely dead.

On the contrary, Jason was kept alive for another year, endeavoring more torture, mistreatment, and malnourishment. Harley Quinn did the final touches of Jason's emotional and mental brainwashing; a former psychiatrist who manipulated Jason into believing that Batman was the cause of his anguish and his pain was his doing; she did this long enough, even punishing Jason by waterboarding him and electrocuting him when he refused to say Batman, indicating he still had some level of awareness of who was torturing him. 

However, once Harley could get Jason to say Batman's name, Jason was drugged and beaten by two prisoners dressed like Batman; he was given a gun by The Joker and was ordered to kill them. Jason's resolve and humanity were a cord, still entrenched in him before Harley convinced him further, snapping his humanity and getting him to shoot the two dressed-up prisoners dead.

During the riots of Arkham Asylum, The Joker paid mercenary Deathstroke to keep Jason there and shoot him if he escaped. However, Jason convinces Deathstroke that Joker will not keep his promise and that if he helps, Jason will triple whatever Joker plans to pay. Accepting the offer, Deathstroke assists Jason in escaping, stealing a helicopter, and flying to Wayne Industries. Jason steals millions of dollars from his former guardian. Ironically, crossing paths with Tim Drake, who assumes Todd to be Deathstroke's sidekick, when Jason's ankle is caught between Tim's grappling hook, Jason cuts the cord, allowing Tim to fall when suggested by Deathstroke that killing Robin would bode well for them with the Dark Knight. Jason Coldy says that if he dies in a fall like that, Batman needs to pick his sidekicks better. 

Jason's psyche has been torn and scattered, leaving him a hollowed carving with a mocking J branding etched onto his face, from birth his eyes were already met with darkness, born to parents who never showed him recognition, let alone love, and through the Wayne Industries Project and his adoption by Bruce his eyes were wide, and remarkably hopeful, to be free of the weight of Gotham's misfortunes finally; those eyes that looked with gleam forced shut until he saw nothing but blackness.

Arkham Knight's Birth

Jason adopts a new persona built on the pain and suffering in the wake of his escape from Joker. He feels betrayed by the one person he only had in the world and wants vengeance. Jason works alongside Scarecrow, one of Batman's enemies. The two begin a plan on Halloween to take Gotham and Batman's legacy along with it. Jason gathers all Batman's enemies to join, assembling a militia with Deathstroke. While working with each other, Scarecrow "tests" his fear toxin on the young man, sending him on a psychological spiral. One of his more apparent fears is the Joker, who can be found near, in the background, or standing right in front of him laughing and mocking him, but beyond the clown prince of crime's appearance, Jason also sees his replacement, Tim Drake, and "fights" him.

The fight has Jason severely outnumbered in the beginning, with Tim succeeding, even using his staff to choke Jason, forcing him to the ground as the Jokers around him laugh. Further into the fear toxin, Jason appears in front of Wayne Manor, where he throws down his helmet and says the following: "Someplace warm, someplace safe, someplace where I'm needed, someplace where I'm loved," Joker once again appears in front of him laughing and mocking him on whether he even deserves it, this is Jason's internal struggle in a manifested form of the person who caused him harm, of the person who convinced him from the start that he was alone and would not be saved. Jason is mischaracterized as always being angry or standoffish, but anger has more truth than any lie detector can scoop. Jason feels this anger is not just because of some personality trait; anger is his cry out, and he's shouting to be seen and loved. This is most likely due to being tortured at 15 or so, which, despite the fact that at the time of Arkham Knight, he was in his early 20s, his mental age was regressed to the age when he was captured. This makes Jason appear at first glance as someone emotional, cocky, and arrogant. He values safety and love; he doesn't want to be on his guard 24/7, but he's grown up in an environment where letting your guard down gets you killed. He follows Joker into Wayne Manor, where he sees Bruce; suddenly, several versions of Batman appear in the room. They beat him and told him they never wanted a partner or even a son. This is a conflict that has always waged war in Jason's mind. Jason's biological father attempted to give him up and then belittled him when he explained that Jason's worth was so low that he couldn't even leave him; he has low self-esteem that he internalizes into rage in the way that he fights to prove his strength. 

This is why Jason has a strong attachment to Bruce/Batman it maybe due to an underlying desire to seek his approval especially by the time when he adopts him. Bruce gives him everything he could ask for and anything he could think of, and Batman gives him a purpose. Ironically, this is still the case despite Bruce himself having an avoidant attachment style. 

Conclusion and Diagnosis

Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" exhibits a complex interplay of psychological factors that align with the diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). One prominent feature of BPD is emotional dysregulation, characterized by intense and rapidly shifting emotions. Jason displays various emotions throughout the game, from anger and hostility to vulnerability and despair. His reactions often appear exaggerated or disproportionate to the situation, indicating difficulty regulating his emotional responses.

Furthermore, Jason's sense of identity is notably unstable, which is another hallmark feature of BPD. Having grown up in a dysfunctional environment with absent parents, Jason lacks a stable sense of self and struggles to define his identity. This is evident in his adoption of various personas, including Robin, the Arkham Knight, and, later, the Red Hood. His shifting identities reflect a profound inner conflict and a desperate search for validation and purpose. Jason's interpersonal relationships also reflect the interpersonal instability characteristic of BPD. He forms intense and unstable attachments to figures such as Batman, vacillating between admiration and resentment. His interactions with other characters are marked by rapid shifts in perception, alternating between idealization and devaluation. For example, while Jason initially idolizes Batman as a mentor and father figure, his feelings of betrayal and abandonment lead to resentment and hostility towards him.

Moreover, Jason exhibits self-destructive behaviors as a coping mechanism for his emotional pain, another hallmark of BPD. He engages in reckless actions, disregarding his safety to seek vengeance against those he perceives as enemies. His confrontations with adversaries are often fueled by a desire for self-assertion and control, masking more profound feelings of emptiness and despair.

Underlying Jason's behaviors is a pervasive fear of abandonment, stemming from his traumatic upbringing and experiences of betrayal. This fear drives his desperate attempts to maintain connections with others, even as he pushes them away with his volatile and unpredictable behavior. Jason's fear of abandonment manifests in his interactions with Batman and the Bat family, where he oscillates between seeking their approval and rejecting their authority.

Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" embodies many of the core features of Borderline Personality Disorder, including emotional dysregulation, identity disturbance, interpersonal instability, self-destructive behaviors, and a fear of abandonment. By analyzing his actions, relationships, and psychological struggles within the context of the game's narrative, it becomes apparent that Jason's character aligns closely with the diagnostic criteria for BPD, providing a compelling framework for understanding his complex and multifaceted personality.

Besides indicating various symptoms of BPD, I would also consider diagnosing Jason with Complex Post post-traumatic stress Disorder (C-PTSD). Given Jason's background of severe trauma, including childhood abuse, neglect, and prolonged torture at the hands of the Joker, it's worth considering Complex PTSD. C-PTSD typically develops in response to chronic trauma and is characterized by symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, disturbed self-concept, difficulties in relationships, and a persistent sense of threat. I would include diagnosing Jason with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): Jason's experiences of profound loss, trauma, and betrayal may contribute to symptoms of depression, such as feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and a loss of interest in activities. His struggles with emotional regulation and chronic feelings of emptiness could also align with depressive symptoms. Following my diagnosis, I am also inclined to believe he suffers from attachment disorders; given Jason's tumultuous upbringing and experiences and a multitude of parental figures involving neglect and abandonment, it's possible that he may have developed attachment-related difficulties. This could manifest in insecure attachment styles, fear of abandonment, and challenges in forming and maintaining healthy relationships. 

Furthermore, I would consider Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD): While Jason displays empathy and compassion at times, his willingness to engage in morally questionable or violent behavior, as well as his disregard for societal norms and rules, may align with some features of ASPD. However, his capacity for genuine care and loyalty makes this disorder out of sorts with his character.

Lastly, Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED): PTED is a proposed diagnostic category characterized by intense feelings of injustice, betrayal, and embitterment following a traumatic event or series of events. Jason's experiences of betrayal and abandonment, particularly by Batman and the Joker, may resonate with the symptoms of PTED. 

In conclusion, the character of Jason Todd in "Batman: Arkham Knight" presents a compelling portrayal of psychological complexity shaped by a tumultuous history of trauma, betrayal, and profound loss. Through a comprehensive analysis of his experiences and behaviors throughout the game, it becomes evident that Jason embodies many psychological struggles, warranting consideration for various diagnostic possibilities. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) emerges as a primary candidate, given Jason's emotional volatility, identity disturbances, and interpersonal difficulties. His tumultuous relationships, intense fear of abandonment, and self-destructive tendencies align closely with the diagnostic criteria for BPD. Furthermore, Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) offers another lens through which to understand Jason's psychological profile, considering his history of chronic trauma and its pervasive impact on his functioning.

Additionally, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) may contribute to Jason's experiences of profound despair, hopelessness, and emotional emptiness. His struggles with attachment-related difficulties suggest the possibility of underlying attachment disorders stemming from his early experiences of neglect and abandonment.

While Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder (PTED) offer alternative perspectives, they may not fully capture the complexity of Jason's character, given his capacity for empathy and genuine care, despite his propensity for morally questionable behavior.

In essence, Jason Todd's character in "Batman: Arkham Knight" is a poignant exploration of the human psyche's intricacies, illustrating the profound impact of trauma on identity, relationships, and emotional well-being. By delving into his psychological struggles within the context of the game's narrative, we gain valuable insights into the complexities of mental health and the enduring resilience of the human spirit.

[qilingxiong]

九龍城寨之圍城 | Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)

I've rewatched this movie more than once, since seeing it in theatres back in August, and each time was just as good as the first if not better. Given that, I now have many thoughts so I'm subjecting y'all to listening to why you should watch it:

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (九龍城寨之圍城 or gau2 lung4 sing4 zaai6 zi1 wai4 sing4) is a martial arts action/crime film directed by Soi Cheang. It is an adaptation of the manhua City of Darkness by Andy Seto, and its source novel of the same name by Yuyi. The film's cast has established Hong Kong names folded in with newer-generation actors, starring Raymond Lam, Louis Koo, Sammo Hung, Richie Jen, Terrance Lau, Philip Ng, German Cheung, and Tony Wu (Aaron Kwok gets a cameo role, too).

At a broad glance, the movie follows several major triads in 1980s Hong Kong and their power struggle to control the Kowloon Walled City (a densely populated urban enclave, which for decades evaded direct governance by either the British colonial or Chinese powers in the area). We're introduced to the KWC and the triads' major players through the eyes of Chan Lok-Kwan (Raymond Lam), a man fleeing Vietnam and attempting to make a life for himself in HK. He winds up seeking refuge in the KWC, and comes to call both the city and the people he meets in it a home worth defending.

The narrative itself is not the most complex, but if you enjoy '80s Hong Kong films in these genres, it's solid fare and a harkening back to that decade. All the major themes like brotherhood (and brotherhood vs blood), vengeance, and struggle with conflicting loyalties are there, alongside an internal search for identity and belonging within Hong Kong. But the highlight in it is that the plot connects feast after feast of utterly stunning fight choreography, made all the more impressive by the fact that, according to Louis Koo, quite a few major cast members had never filmed this kind of action before. All their training was done just for TotW, and oh, does it pay off. I can't make good gifs, so you'll have to watch and see for yourself. It's not action for action's sake, either; listening to the head stunt choreographer discuss how different characters' fighting styles were crafted shows off how fight scenes aren't breaks in the story, they tell the story, and deepen our understanding of the characters.

The setting of the Kowloon Walled City truly makes the action in TotW stand out. It's a unique space to stage all these major fights, as the KWC's buildings at the time were packed together close enough to resemble a singular block from the outside. Once inside, it's a stacked, dark maze of uneven paths, stairs, and rickety roofs, with electrical and television cabling snaking over/around/through everything. Fight scenes in these streets feel thrillingly claustrophobic, with lots of acrobatics and near-dodges as characters navigate these tight alleys of the KWC. Each impact as a character goes flying into a wall, or is launched down a flight of stairs or onto a roof, is wonderfully visceral to watch.

All credit and hopefully awards are due to the production and set design teams for their work, in crafting this environment for the story and its fights. The visual/spatial representation of the KWC is the film's other glorious highlight, alongside the choreography. Whole streets of the KWC were recreated for this, filled with every mundane, period-accurate detail from the lives of ordinary people who would have lived there. It's impossible to catch all the intricacies put into making the KWC come to life again onscreen, just from watching the film. Shots like the credits sequence offer close-ups of harder-to-see details, and videos like a tour of the KWC set by Terrance Lau, acting as his character Shin, show off things from the drinks in the fridge at the corner store to the scribbled writing on the walls by the public taps. This film was designed with a drive to faithfully represent what the Kowloon Walled City had been like, how it looked when it was lived in, and they achieved it to an incredible degree.

That dedication extends to more than just the sets, though. The emotional core of TotW revolves around the KWC's inhabitants, and how they were the ones who made the city what it was, a home for about 35,000 people at a time. The film doesn't treat the KWC as just an eye-catching location to stage some fights; its characters might be fictional and overloaded with jianghu powers, but it goes out of its way to show how ordinary people might have lived, worked, and socialized within the historic city. It shows off why, despite its (not unwarranted) dark reputation, so many chose to live in a place that was once the densest urban center on the planet.

And this brings us to the acting, because the cast all do a very good job bringing their characters to life as the heart of the KWC. Louis Koo is fucking fantastic and arguably the scene stealer of the film as Cyclone, the triad leader in current charge of the KWC. He's grumpy, magnetic, and dangerous when he must be, but he also cares so very, very deeply about the inhabitants within his jurisdiction. Terrance Lau's Shin acts as his charismatic and capable right hand man, as well as protégé to Cyclone, befriending Chan Lok-Kwan and helping him become accustomed to life in the KWC. These two, along with the snarky Twelfth Master (Tony Wu) and the masked + imposing AV (German Cheung) become a quartet with great chemistry and friendship, the next generation to watch over and protect the Kowloon Walled City. Outside the KWC cast, antagonist figures like Sammo Hung, Philip Ng, and Richie Jen's characters are intimidating and compelling as threats to the city, and the lives people have etched out within its walls.

All of these things put together, and Twilight of the Warriors is a deeply fun, enjoyable, and rewatchable film (so good, in fact, that Hong Kong has submitted it as its nomination for the 2025 Oscars). The movie doesn't lose its emotional throughline in the promise of an action-packed ride it fully delivers on, and it uses its narrative, setting, and choreography to pay tribute to an earlier era of Hong Kong, as well as highlight + humanize a piece of the region's history that might not be quite as well known to some.

(The Kowloon Walled City was demolished and its inhabitants relocated in 1993. The area where it once stood is now a park, with some historic buildings preserved. If you're curious about people in the KWC before demolition, City Of Darkness: Life In Kowloon Walled City (1993) by Greg Girard and Ian Lambot is a collection of photographs and first-hand recountings from residents, recording their lives and stories. I'm in the midst of reading it right now.)

If anything I've said has piqued your interest whatsoever, I say to give Twilight of the Warriors a try, if you have a free two hours to spare. Something in it will be worth it for you. And if I've failed to convince you with any of this, or you need one more push, here's the trailer for the film:

And if I did manage to actually get anyone to seek out this movie, please tell me! I'd love to know your thoughts.

[takemetodragonstone]

in succession 2x08 dundee when logan says “the past is all made up” i really do think that’s the thesis of the entire show btw.

like, the roy kids’ conflicting memories of their childhoods that are never clarified through any kind of flashbacks or confirmation, the entire fucking cruises scandal and the coverups of major crimes, kendall’s accident and how he even tries to rewrite the past in the finale (“that didn’t happen. I made it up”) as logan so often did in both big and small ways (from denying his knowledge of the cruises crimes before congress to small moments of “I told you this already” and “did I even make contact?”)

the fucking poem Dreamsong 29 by John Berryman that all the season finales are named after. this is just the last stanza:

“But never did Henry, as he thought he did, / end anyone and hacks her body up / and hide the pieces, where they may be found. / He knows: he went over everyone, & nobody’s missing. / Often he reckons, in the dawn, them up. / Nobody is ever missing.”

And we never have real confirmation that logan did know about cruises because the characters (minus kendall) deny it to the last. but we know. we keep our plausible deniability because we don’t know, but we know. the show essentially makes us complicit in the same way that the characters are. most of them don’t know that he knew, because they never had any explicit proof, but as kendall says in season 3 “C’mon. We knew.”

the narrative continually shows us that logan “keeps a watchful eye over his whole empire” with perhaps the best example being how he buries the evidence of kendall’s accident and manslaughter at the end of season 1. that’s a very clear parallel to the cruises situation and that’s so skillfully and subtly woven throughout season 2 when the cruises scandals are coming to light and kendall is still reeling from the accident and his guilt.

and all that’s not even touching on the whole matter of ATN and the debate over how involved logan really is in what news stories and political views his network pushes (which could be a whole separate post of its own). very similar to how the cruises thing is handled, the line is always that logan isn’t involved, while the narrative shows us otherwise.

there are a million other examples both big and small that i could pull but this post is already such a disorganized mess. someday i’ll write an essay about it i swear, or maybe somebody else out there already has, but i just needed to point out how brilliant and subtle the show is about this as i’m rewatching season 2

[good-beanswrites]

My thoughts on how the Milgram mv machine works based on the evidence we have:

(I know there’s been discussion about where exactly the interrogations take place, but wherever they are,) the prisoners are made to sit in a specific chair near the wall that houses the machine.

It’s ordinarily hidden, but the wall panels shift aside to reveal it when the mechanical sounds play in the dramas. As well as the walls moving, the chair transforms to restrain the prisoner and attach whatever it takes to access their brain. The fact that none of the more frightened prisoners try to run or break it makes it seem like they physically cannot. This is why Fuuta sounds so panicked, and why Amane is suddenly helpless in front of Es in their T1 vds.

(My mind conjures very classic sci-fi mad scientist machines with wires, pipes, lights, nodes, needles, etc, but I’d love to hear how other people visualize it.)

In some vds (maybe all? I’d need to check,) you can hear Es take some steps right before their iconic line -- it would make sense that for safety reasons, the power mechanism is placed across the room. Once again it could be anything, but the sound effect makes me think of one of those giant wall-mounted levers you have to pull down.

The voice dramas don’t really provide the type of crime details that an actual interrogation would reveal, and it’s odd that they’re placed before the extraction rather than after Es gets to see the new details. This leads me to believe the machine functions with priming. All Es needs to do is get them talking about their murder, so it’s on their mind.

The video produced is much like a (non-lucid) dream. Even if the prisoners figure out that this is how it works, they can’t control it just by thinking really hard about something else. The murders produce the strongest emotional affect, and that’s what it picks up on. If someone else used the machine, it would default to whatever gave them the strongest emotional reaction in the ~15 minutes beforehand, hence why Es’ video focuses on their daunting task ahead. (The Undercover theory is still a bit loose, though, given the private shots that Es wouldn't have known about). It’s why the videos are usually closely linked to the vd topics/beats. I also like to think that the reason their prisoner colors appear so much is because they’re looking at those colors on their uniform 24/7.

The bell rings to inform Es that it’s the optimal time to use the machine -- the prisoner has been thinking about things for long enough that the video will be about their crime, and if the conversation lasts much longer they’ll start thinking of other things. It’s at a different time for each prisoner because it’s based on the specific conversation. I guess Jackalope is listening in to the interrogation, timing it perfectly. (The only one that kind of messes with this theory is Yonah, because they just keep talking afterwards lol, but it could just show that the interrogation is still in Es’ control.)

Their “Sing your sins” is the final priming nudge to get them to think of their actions as a sin, revealing their guilt.

Once activated, the prisoner enters a sort of trance/sleeping state. It’s very much like REM sleep, with the machine forcibly activating neurons and recording the output. The prisoners have asked Es what they saw, meaning they don’t remember the mvs. I like to think the prisoners do experience the mv in real time, acting as the major version of themself that appears, but can’t remember it afterwards. It’s when you experience a dream, but as soon as you wake up you’re just left with fleeting emotions and memories right on the tip of your tongue.

The video plays immediately upon extraction -- whether on a huge projection or little screen depends on which room it’s in. It simultaneously saves the memory so that Es can rewatch it later (on those old TVs in the jailbreak mix). The machine downloads the song and video together, but requires special parts to retrieve them. The technology is pretty new and fragile, so if one is broken, there might be a delay between when Es can hear the extracted song and see it with the video. (That’s my justification for Kotoko’s delays -- after 9 prisoners the parts wear out, or maybe Mikoto himself overheats it with his complex situation.)

Based on the lack of conversation we get afterwards, I picture Es leaving before the prisoner wakes from the trance. The machine adjusts their brain back to normal before they awaken, restraints freed and able to return to the rest of the prison.

It’s very much like a dream, so it’s not harmful despite the amnesia/head injuries the prisoners have. It does, however, exhaust them. Brain activity alone takes a lot of energy, so forced brain activity with added emotional strain would cause them to feel pretty drained the rest of the day.

[pterodactylterrace]

*less than two months ago*

Beloved? You sure about that Condal? Just… forgot about the mass murder at the coronation? Never happened? Not one of those small folk remembered when she killed hundreds of them for absolutely no reason other than to stare at Aegon and then fly off?

If you were going for a more realistic reaction, they would have been cheering that the dragon and dragon rider that slaughtered so many of them answered for their crimes.

So, according to Condal, hanging a dozen rat catchers (I believe?) to ensure no other assassination attempts befell the royal family would turn all the small folk against Aegon, but the dragon that killed HUNDREDS of them was “beloved”? Did Aegon not meet the quota for small folk slaughter to be beloved or something? Is that it? You have to kill at least 200 before they go from hating you to loving you?

Someone get Condal’s dumbass out of the writing room. Let like 3 hardcore fans take his place. One TB, one TG, one Team Smallfolk. They will make a MUCH better and balanced show. And maybe something interesting will happen. I mean, do we really need five episodes of Rhaenyra’s council not listening? And huge chunks of those episodes just being a bunch of old men squabbling about “women can’t!” While Rhaenyra continues doing fuck all but getting upset about it?

Jesus, show us Aemond decimating the blockade with Vhagar now that Meleys’ patrolling isn’t an issue. Show us Sunfyre’s wounds and the men left to guard him! FFS, stop just standing around talking about what they should do and actually DO something already! Fuck, after Jaehaerys assassination why didn’t they all jump on their dragons and just burn down Dragonstone in the middle of the night? Riders without their dragons are just people. Dragon fire can cook them through the stone walls (see Harrenhal) but nooooooo. Just have a bunch of scenes of people blaming each other and doing nothing about it. Super compelling TV.

Season 1 I rewatched several times because there was usually something going on. Season 2, I was able to catch husband up on the entire season in under two minutes. “Aegon wants to be a good king, his son gets killed by assassins, Rhaenyra grieves the loss of her son, Daemon left for Harrenhal after Rhaenyra found out he sent the assassins. Cole leads an army through the crown lands, sets a trap at Rook’s Rest, Aegon drunkenly interferes and ends up getting roasted by Vhagar. Aemond is now regent.” Tada, five episodes summed up. Hit all the major plot points. Most of which weren’t even impactful.

The only two major events have been B&C and RR. We are over halfway through the season, and we have had less action and interesting things happening than the last three episodes of season 1.

We were promised all out war. Is the all out war in the room with us?

[flower-boi16]

Why "The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck"'s Message Doesn't Work

Ducktales 2017 is one of my favorite cartoons of all time and used to be my No. 1 favorite until I saw TOH, but I still hold a very deep love for the show, especially when it comes to a lot of the character writing. That being said, the show…isn’t perfect, and I think the third season has a few problems that make it weaker than the first two (though I’ll have to finish rewatching the season to be fully sure).

The Life and Crimes of Scrooge Mcduck especially isn’t a particularly good episode with how it handles it’s whole message about "accepting responsibility for your actions" and in this post I’m going to analyze why it falls apart.

As I said before, this episode’s message that its trying to send is that you should take responsibility for your actions rather than make excuses for it. The premise of the episode is that Scrooge and Louie are transported to a magical courtroom thingy where Scrooge is accused of being responsible for Glomgold, Ma Beagle and Magica’s turn to villainy, and Louie has to prove Scrooge innocent.

The episode has Glomgold and Beagle show proof of how Scrooge "made them evil" and Louie refuting those claims, proving Scrooge’s innocence…until Magica comes along and shows her first time facing Scrooge, where, he ended up getting Magica to accidentally turn her brother into a bird and refused to catch him for her, leading Magica to lose her brother forever and never be able to find him.

The show treats this as a big moment where, Louie CAN’T defend Scrooge here, being an example where Scrooge DID have a part in one of his enemies turning evil because of him, and after that, he says that he might have some influence on each of his enemies becoming evil…

…except for the fact that Scrooge did not make Magica evil. Scrooge had no effect on Magica turning evil; Magica was already directly shown to be evil to begin with, mainly with how she and her brother…ya know…literally in slaved a town into giving their goods to them and then made a spell that attracted money directly to them?

Was Scrooge not catching Po a dick move? Yes. Does that mean he is inherently responsible for Magica turning evil? No, because Magica was already evil to begin with and Scrooge changed nothing about her.

Same thing goes for the other villains as well, who the episode also tries to say that Scrooge might’ve had an influence in becoming evil as well after saying the exact opposite up until this point…?

Scrooge is not responsible for turning Glomgold or Ma Beagle evil either, Scrooge was trying to give good advice to Glomgold, its not Scrooge’s fault Glomgold was a brat, and Scrooge won the wrestling match far and square, and, like the episode shows, Ma Beagle was also always a brat from the start.

So the episode’s message of accepting responsibility for your actions doesn’t work because Scrooge was not responsible for any of them turning evil, they were ALWAYS bad people from the start.

The same thing applies to Louie who the episode has learn this same message, with him accepting responsibility for how his actions might have hurt Doofus Drake, which would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that Doofus was shown to a spoiled brat from the beginning and the first time him and Louie met he literally tried making him his "best friend".

I’m sorry, is Louie seriously supposed to apologize to Doofus for getting his parents to grow a spine discipline him just a tincy bit? Cuz I don’t think so.

Really, The Life and Crimes of Scrooge McDuck has a decent message on paper but it falls apart when you actually think about it for more than five minutes. The episode has other issues like introducing a major revelation near the end of the show, or just how underwhelming it is as the penultimate episode of the show which just further solidifies it as my least favourite episode of the show, but this is the biggest issue with it to me.

So ya, that’s why this episode’s lesson doesn’t work…goodbye.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Terrible Fic Idea #89: House, but make it Once Upon A Time

My dash has inexplicably been filled by House lately, leading me to rewatch the entire first season - which in turn naturally led me to think: how could I shoehorn a crossover with Once Upon A Time into this?

Or: What if Allison Cameron was replaced in the House lineup with OAUT's Emma Swan?

Just imagine it:

Following her stint in juvie, Emma Swan radically turns her life around. She gets her GED, goes to college and medical school, and lands herself a job at Princeton-Plainsboro on Dr. House's diagnostic team. She remains sharp and prickly and hesitant to trust others - less the moral center Jennifer Morrison's character was intended to be and more a House-in-the-making, though less willing to lie to patients or causally break the law to get a diagnosis.

Then early season two Henry appears on scene, casually walking into the conference room while Emma and the others are researching a case and declares himself to be her son. (For maximum impact, this should be during "Daddy's Boy," but definitely before "Hunting" and Cameron's HIV scare.)

This naturally causes some consternation, and after Emma takes Henry back home she's compelled to stay in Storybrooke and become part of the hospital staff there.

Canon proceeds more or less apace in for both series until the end of OUTA 3A, "Going Home". At that point instead of Emma and Henry starting a new life in NYC after leaving Storybrooke, they "return" to NJ. Emma takes up her old position on House's team-

-but for some reason the magic doesn't work quite as it's supposed to on House. Maybe all the Vicodin makes it easier for him to determine when his mind is playing tricks on him, or maybe he's just observant enough to catch all the little contradictions that magic would otherwise smooth over to make things seem normal.

House, naturally, treats it as just another puzzle and spends the better part of a year trying to figure it out.

He's not gotten as far as he'd like (but closer than anyone in from the Enchanted Forest might hope) when Hook shows up a la "New York City Serenade" to bring Emma back to Storybrooke. Emma, naturally, is having none of it, but House is just more intrigued, so he cuts a deal with Hook to have him admitted as their latest case in exchange for finding out the truth.

What follows is a typical House differential - only instead of doing a differential on Hook's "symptoms" House writes up all of the small contradictions and curiosities regarding Emma and her background he's picked up over the years. None of it screams fairy tale princess stranded in a world without magic, but it's definitely suggestive of something - the end result of which is a massive group road trip up to Maine to "search Hook's home", but ends up with Emma regaining her memories.

Emma remains in Storybrooke, ends up taking over the hospital there, and preferably avoids all the mess of OUAT seasons 5-7. The others return to Princeton-Plainsboro, preferably avoiding all the mess House's later seasons became. Everyone lives - if not happily ever after, then at least as the best versions of themselves.

...that's really all I have: the two major scenes of Henry appearing at Princeton-Plainsboro instead of Emma's apartment on her birthday, and Hook doing the same years later to bring her back to Storybrooke. I'm sure it can be padded out significantly, but my mind has latched on to these two scenes and won't let them go.

Bonuses include:

As I absolutely adore the relationship between Emma and Hook, keep the focus there. Her previous relationship with Neal should not be idealized at all - he was an adult, she was a kid, he took advantage of her and let her take the fall for his crimes - and this should be made clear. In no way should Snow and Charming's baby be named after Henry's birth father;

Relatedly, there should be a lot of focus on family - both of blood and by choice - and the idea that true love doesn't have to be romantic love, as is made abundantly clear in the OUAT S1 finale;

All the parallels between Belle and Rumplestiltskin's relationship and that between Chase and House. Dealer's choice on the exact nature of the latter, but I find myself wanting a happy ending for a gay couple in the "real world", so make of that what you will. (And if this skips House's weird obsession with his ex in S2 all the better.)

It's shorter than I usually have, but neither of these have ever been major obsessions for me - I mainly just want to see a cross fertilization of characters, even if its just to bring those two scenes to life. As always, feel free to adopt, just link back if you do anything with it.

More Terrible Fic Ideas

[accirax]

Charles Tawaki: a DRDT Crack Theory

(Spoilers through DRDT Chapter 2 Part 1. Also for Star Wars Episodes 4 and 5, somehow???)

So… I know this sounds crazy (it is), but hear me out, okay?

After rewatching all of DRDT for a second time (as you do), I was left puzzled by Teruko’s final conversation with Veronika before the Chapter 2 motive reveal/body discovery. Y’know, the one about prosopagnosia.

Because, under my current understanding of the case, Teruko’s possible face blindness is completely irrelevant.

Now, I know my comprehension of the crime is nowhere near perfect, and that many popular theories include a culprit either dressing up as or swapping places with Arei. The person who makes the most sense for this is obviously J. She’s the same height as Arei, they’re both girls, and they have similar eye and skin colors. Additionally, J has one extra advantage that no one else does: her talent. J is the Ultimate Effects Artist, specializing in practical theater effects as opposed to digital post production.

Out of everyone in this cast, if someone was going to disguise themselves as Arei, J would have the best chance at being able to use makeup to disguise her face. Maybe her history with actors would even give her a better shot at acting like Arei, if worse comes to worse.

However, there’s a major problem with this premise at its base: even if Teruko is face blind, not everyone in the cast is. If Veronika can see the similarities between Teruko and the actress, wouldn’t she also be able to tell the differences between J and Arei? Moot point, Veronika could notice and still choose to conceal that because it would make the trial more interesting. But, Whit is still a pretty observant guy when he wants to be. Arturo has a particular eye for people’s faces, and has spent a lot of time with J specifically. Rose has a photographic memory. While it’s possible that Teruko wouldn’t be able to see through a disguised killer, between the twelve-or-so other innocent students in the rest of the case, it feels like it would be impossible for the killer to actually get away with dressing up as Arei for any meaningful amount of time, or in front of a meaningful group of people.

But this conversation with Veronika is so suspicious!!! The fact that DRDT’s creator chose to give Teruko prosopagnosia, or at the very least to suggest it, means that it has to be relevant to the story in some way, right? That’s, like, mystery writing 101.

So, I have an alternate theory as to how it could come up: if Teruko has failed to notice that her long-lost missing brother is amongst this cast.

And, that that brother was someone who was present for this very conversation: Charles.

Sound unbelievable? Well then, let me start off with some of my best evidence to get you more on board. That being, their character designs.

Charles and Teruko have pretty similar faces, all things considered. Their eyes are both pretty narrow, and upturned at the end. They also have really similar hairstyles: two bang spikes in the middle, with two longer pieces framing the face. The side opposite their long ponytail has a tuft of hair overlapping the side of the hanging piece, while the other side is more plain. Charles and Teruko also have really similar skin tones, with Teruko’s skin only being slightly redder and darker than Charles’.

Obviously, the two of them have different eye and hair colors. However, as Veronika already pointed out, that doesn’t matter:

(Teruko brings up skin color too, but it’s treated as secondary to eye and hair color.)

Inadvertently, Veronika is telling us that if two people have different eye and hair colors, they can still look similar as long as they have other similarities. Thus, while having different coloration can throw us off the scent, Charles and Teruko can still look similar, and remind us of the other.

Speaking of which, the personality similarities between Charles and Teruko have been highlighted in the story multiple times before. The most obvious one in my memory occurs at the end of the scene where Charles entrusts Teruko with the secret he received, right before Teruko decides to use a Monocredit to get rid of him.

Here, he calls Teruko out for her hypocrisy, directly pointing out that Teruko holds the same apathetic attitude that he displayed in Chapter 1. Beyond that, I think it goes without saying that both Charles and Teruko have displayed some majorly antagonistic qualities throughout the story. Both are intelligent, guarded, and a little sassy. When they banter, they’re able to trade similar insults.

Also, they both have a particular fondness for cacti.

Obviously, siblings do not need to have the same personality, especially if they didn’t even grow up together. I bring this up more to say that these are ways in which the author is intentionally drawing parallels between Teruko and Charles, showing us that they are similar and connecting them in our minds.

Now, let’s take a look at what we know of their backstories. As previously shown, Teruko was an orphan who lived at an orphanage with her brother. When she was five, her brother was adopted, and she was not. She had a pretty rough life after that, with “no family to speak of” while sneaking into schools to get an education, forced to choose between food and rent. Very unlucky, but not particularly relevant to this theory.

Charles’ life, on the other hand, seemed a lot easier.

Charles claims that both of his parents are alive. Additionally, while I don’t think it’s been confirmed, the fact that Charles doesn’t know how to cook or do his own laundry implies that either his parents are very caring and attentive to his needs, or he comes from a rich enough family that they have some sort of housekeeper to take care of their chores. My money is on the latter based on Charles’ overall demeanor, but that’s just speculation.

However, anyone who’s read Charles’ secret knows that his past wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

While Charles believed he had no siblings, in truth, he actually had a brother who died when he was young. Many characters, including Charles himself, also connect his forgotten past to his fear of blood and dead bodies. That means that whatever happened to his brother, it wasn’t pretty.

So, that’s great, right? Another similarity between Charles and Teruko: both of them have a brother! Except, really that’s more of a problem than anything. If Charles and Teruko are siblings, then Teruko should remember having two brothers, and Charles should believe he has a sister. However, there is a way to get out of this.

Here’s my proposed theory for Charles and Teruko’s intertwined backstories. Charles and Teruko Tawaki are born to the same parents, likely as twins, given that they appear to be in the same year in school. While it’s a little odd that Teruko only said she had a brother as opposed to a twin brother, it’s possible she doesn’t remember the details herself, as she doesn’t cite the brother as older or younger, either. Anyways, at some point, their parents die, and the two of them are sent to the orphanage.

Then, when Charles and Teruko are five, Charles is adopted by the Cuevas family– a mom, a dad, and an older brother. I can’t speculate as to exactly why the family would adopt only Charles and not Teruko, but considering that Teruko getting left behind is a canonical plot point no matter who her brother is, clearly the author believes it’s possible. Once Charles is adopted into the family, tragedy strikes, and his new older brother dies in a terribly bloody accident. This event forges Charles’ phobia of blood and bodies. And, in a desperate attempt to save itself, his brain wipes his memory of his older brother… as well as his adoption and his twin sister, too.

Even if Teruko seeing a dead body happened after she left the orphanage, it’s clear that her past was pretty bleak. Having your parents die and being sent to an orphanage at such a young age must have been a traumatic event. So, if Charles was already in the process of developing childhood amnesia about the trauma of his brother’s death, I think it’s possible that his brain could have decided to shut out the trauma of being adopted, too. It’s childhood amnesia. Obviously he didn’t forget enough of his childhood to concern him or tip himself off that something was wrong, but who has super crisp memories from age 5 or prior anyways? And, if Mr. and Mrs. Cuevas simply hadn’t chosen to tell their son that he was actually adopted (possibly for fear of triggering him by reminding him of his adopted older brother), Charles could grow up thinking he had an exceptionally normal childhood.

Thus, while it requires a bit of creative interpretation, I think it’s possible for Charles and Teruko’s backstories to fit together. And, once you clear Charles’ brother dying, the two of them never saw each other again until the killing game began, so anything that happens afterward can still fit under the siblings theory.

This includes their secrets, as well. While we don’t know Teruko’s secret, I’ve gone on the record saying that I believe that hers is “How could I even select what secret to make your motive? Just about everything you’ve done in your life is worth killing for. The killing game is all your fault”. This secret isn’t specific to one event, so Charles being her secret brother would still totally fit. It’s a little weird for Charles that they wouldn’t roll the other half of his forgotten siblings into the secret. But if they wanted to limit it to one secret per person for the sake of fairness (for instance, not having Whit’s secret be that he omits the death of his mother AND that he’s bisexual), I could see them cutting it out.

And that’s not even operating under the theory that Teruko could be the mastermind. In that case, she could have A) chosen to not talk about that secret because it mentions herself and her past, or B) not known it herself, and therefore not have been able to make it Charles’ secret.

From a meta writing perspective, I don’t know how the creator would tell us that Teruko and Charles are twins now that the secrets motive has passed, but I believe they could come up with something.

So, have I convinced you at all that it’s possible yet? I would hope at least slightly, if you’ve gotten to this point in the theory. Sadly, however, that means it’s time to discuss some of the… large potential holes in this theory that almost prevented me from writing it in the first place. Here we go.

Let’s go back to Charles and Teruko’s similar appearances, my “strongest point.” Well, Google tells me that the last name “Tawaki” is most commonly found in Japan, while “Cuevas” is Spanish in origin. Thus I, as well as likely many others, have assumed that Teruko is Japanese, and Charles is Hispanic. If Teruko and Charles are twins, that would mean that Charles’ ethnicity is actually Japanese, and he only gained the Hispanic last name “Cuevas” after being adopted by the Cuevas family. Through the magic of anime stylization, Charles and Teruko might look the same to us. But, in reality, if Charles was the only Asian looking member of a Hispanic family, wouldn’t it be pretty easy for him to realize/remember he was adopted?

While it’s a bit of an uninformed cop out, I did come up with a solution. If Charles and Teruko are both mixed race, specifically Asian/Hispanic, it’s possible nobody could have remembered. Charles could have been born a Tawaki, taking his Japanese parent’s last name, but when he was adopted, his Hispanic heritage amongst his new fully Hispanic family caused him to forget his Japanese roots. Like any child, some mixed race people look more like one parent (or therefore, one parent’s race) than the other. For example, as a mixed race person, I believe this is true of myself. I also think this is true of Whit, who appears to be Asian and white, but passes more as a white person.

(Obviously, it’s a little hard to tell exactly how white passing Whit is when he dyes his hair and we live in multicolored anime land, but the point stands.) So, this theory could be especially viable if Charles happened to look more like his Hispanic parent, while Teruko looked more like her Japanese parent.

Additionally, this could be a bold (mis?)characterization of the Cuevas family, but it is an explanation of why Charles could have been adopted while Teruko was not. If the Cuevas family was Hispanic, they may have wanted a child that “looked more like them,” so they only took the more Hispanic looking kid of the pair. If true, that would also potentially be another reason why Charles’ parents wouldn’t tell him he’s adopted.

For what it’s worth, I also do think Teruko is an American. While she was initially wearing a Japanese school uniform, and MonoTV confirmed she’s been to Japan, the fact that she “hasn’t been in years” makes me think that she currently lives in the US, where it really seems like the series is based. It would make sense if she now resides in the country in which she was born, and she’s never mentioned being a foreigner. She also speaks perfect English with no accent, which implies that she grew up in an English speaking country. If Charles is Teruko’s twin, and Teruko was born as an American, it would make it much easier for Charles to wind up in the United States.

Again, I don’t love this point, as it is extremely speculatory (what about this theory isn’t), but it is an answer. If Mr. Ultimate Chemist could take a DNA test for me real quick, that would be extremely helpful.

Point of contention #2: the existence of Charuko.

Speaking of which, please please please do not let this stupid theory stop you from shipping Charuko. There’s a 99.9% chance it is not true.

Anyways, Charuko is a big problem for this theory, given that I doubt the creator wants to incorporate incest into their story. While it obviously isn’t canon, Charuko is a decently popular ship, and that’s likely because of how their relationship is presented in the story. What was previously cited as sibling-like banter could easily be read as flirtatious teasing, and their similarities could be showing how compatible they are. But obviously, it could be totally platonic as well!

…Okay this is kind of a problem.

Even as more of a CharWhit enjoyer myself, I can’t deny that this is a particularly shippy moment. If you don’t recall, in this part of this scene Charles details how he likes talking to Teruko because she’s never pitied him, blushing all the while. The biggest blow to the theory is the sprite choice in this particular scene.

He has a version of this sprite with no blush. And yet, the creator chose to use the blushing version.

Now it is true that blushing can just be a sign of being flustered, which Charles often is. He could be embarrassed by merely complimenting Teruko at all, especially to her face. However, as any Owl House fan could tell you, blushing is often used as a shorthand for one character experiencing attraction to another. And, if Charles and Teruko are secretly siblings, I can’t understand why the creator would decide to imply the possibility that Charles could be crushing on Teruko. If the creator is a fan of… well, anything, they could probably expect that two of their most relevant characters have a possibility of being shipped together. They wouldn’t need to add any fuel to that fire– if anything, they would need to be throwing the firewood into the trash.

To be honest, I don’t really have much of a defense for this one. More than anything, this is what convinces me that this theory couldn’t be true. Really, all I can come up with is another example of something like this happening before, point at it, and say “if it happened there, it could happen here too.”

Said example is found in Star Wars, with Luke and Leia. At the end of the first movie, they kiss, but in the second movie, they learn that they’re actually twins, and cease romantic relations. Especially if this theory is true, I doubt Teruko and Charles would get to the point of sharing a kiss, but it would be a similar plotline to Star Wars.

Of course, I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan, but I’m pretty sure that when George Lucas wrote the first movie (in which Luke and Leia kiss), he didn’t know at the time that the characters were siblings. Meanwhile, if Charles and Teruko are twins, I would have to assume that it was in the creator’s plans the whole time, similar to Charles’ phobia of blood.

On that note of confidence, the final issue I could come up with: so what?

You’ve just spent 2.8k words+ trying to convince me that Charles and Teruko are siblings. Who cares? What does that actually have to do for the story? How would it ever become relevant?

Good points. Truly, I struggled with this myself. Like many others, I fear that Charles will die in Chapter 3 (after all, he was already pronounced dead at that time). And, given all the other drama that’s already going on with the other characters, and all the additional drama that the end of the second trial may cause, I wasn’t sure that a Charles/Teruko sibling reveal could really fit in that time. Even if Charles makes it past Chapter 3, I wasn’t sure how or why it would make sense for the story. But I did come up with a couple of ideas.

First of all, it could give Teruko another character to trust.

Charles is probably already the character that Teruko trusts the most (yes, even despite the above knife), but if she learned that he was her brother, she might feel even more connected to him. Or, she could pull a classic Teruko, and back even farther away from him in fear that she would come to trust him. At the very least, it would give Teruko an interesting dilemma. It would be interesting for Charles, too– he just learned he had a sibling that he lost, so how would he feel if he had a second sibling who was trapped in this killing game with him?

If Charles dies as an innocent victim, too, Teruko would have to face the loss of another person who’s important to her, but in a situation where he did absolutely nothing to betray her. This could happen even if Charles isn’t her brother, too, but I digress.

Secondly, it could force Teruko to talk about her past.

Given this scene, we know that there are aspects of Teruko’s past that she’s hiding from us, the audience inside her head. And, if she’s not telling us, then she definitely doesn’t want to tell other people.

But if Charles somehow learns that Teruko is his twin sister from a past he has no recollection of, after just receiving his dead brother secret, he would almost certainly want to start pressing her for answers. Although Teruko puts up a tough front, she has had moments of breaking down and showing “weakness” in the face of things that catch her off guard. It’s possible that if Charles genuinely came to her seeking answers about his own life, she would feel obligated to at least tell him something. And in that something, we could find some info relevant to the plot at large.

That is, if she actually knows anything about the situation. If she doesn’t and, say, MonoTV is the one who had to tell them about their siblinghood, part of Teruko’s backstory could also be rolled into the way that MonoTV would tell them that fact. That could be interesting, too, if Charles alone is privy to extra information about Teruko’s life beyond what happened when she was 5.

And, that’s about all that I have to say. As I’ve hinted at throughout this theory, despite being the one who came up with it, I really have my doubts that this theory is true. However, with the apparent lack of face blindness in this case, I can’t help but speculate as to how it could apply to something in the story in later chapters. I feel like I might be onto something, even if “Charles and Teruko secret siblings” isn’t it.

I would love to hear what anyone has to say to bust or support this theory, or if it inspires any other similar crack theories in its stead. Despair Time is a crazy enough series as is, so I wouldn’t be surprised if one of our shots in the dark makes it close to a target.

[klxudykai]

all 26 of my drs

soo as my bio says I have 26 drs!! and today I will be talking about each of them

in all honesty I thought it was a bit of a stretch to shift to that many, but who cares? the universe is unlimited so if I wanna shift to 3, 26, or even 100 I should be allowed to (and so should you!!)

anywaysss lets get into it

Anime drs

MHA - this is literally my MAIN DR. its the first ever dr I thought of shifting to and one of my favorites. I can't wait to shift there omg

MHA (fantasy au) - this isn't one of my top favs but it is def a cool one that I would enjoy fs

AOT (modern college au) - this dr is gonna be so fun I just know it

Haikyuu - volleyball is one of my FAVORITE sports so I already know this is gonna be exciting (I also had a haikyuu obsession ever since 2019 quarantine-)

★ ★ ★

Fame drs

singer - I always wanted to be a famous singer so this made inner 9 year old me SCREAM. I live and breathe music. all kinds of it, too. my playlist will go from SZA to Bone Thugs n Harmony to Billie Ellish and then to Deftones real quick

youtuber - this is another career that 9 year old me wanted. I've always looked up to YouTubers so I knew I would have a trip shifting to where I was one too

street racer - okay Im gonna be so honest and tell y'all rn I don't know jack shit abt cars- all I know is that I wanna have a hot pink car and blast flo milli while dusting a bunch of men in races (hot girl shit I fear-)

90s r&b singer - I love the 90s. the music, the fashion, all of it. absolutely amazing. that's it

band dr - I would love to be the lead singer of a famous ass band. I haven't decided if I was gonna join an existing one or make my own yet but one of the options will be happening

★ ★ ★

TV shows/Movies

hogwarts - when I first got into shifting a LOT of people were shifting to Hogwarts and honestly I understand why. it looks so fun there man

alice in wonderland - this is one of my FAVORITE movies. I love the weirdness of it all and its just so creative and calming for me. (I intend on scripting I live in a cute little cottage on a hill with my two headed cow because I have a major obsession with cows)

diary of a wimpy kid - I got one name for you. and that name is rodrick mf heffley. judge me I do not care but that man is FINE (he probably smells tho but I intend on scripting he isn't cause who tf wants a smelly man??). i also like the idea of being in loded diper

twilight - I've had an obsession with vampires and werewolves (ESPECIALLY werewolves) since I was in 4th grade so this move series and dr is right up my alley (I'm team Jacob btw even tho he's hella childish)

the breakfast club - the first time I watched this movie I was like "I'm officially shifting there". I love coming of age movies especially older ones like this so I didn't hesitate to add it to my list

riverdale - this series was kinda interesting tbh. I heard it got really wacky after the 3rd season though but I guess I'll find that out when I rewatch it (or when I shift idk). SPEAKING OF RIVERDALE- I had two dreams about shifting there and it was so crazy. like the first one was when I was in the diner with the characters and I was looking for my s/o, but I woke up before I could find him. and then the second dream I don't remember but I had the sensation I kissed someone???? so I'm pretty sure I found him LMFAO-

spiderman (itsv-atsv) - absolutely NO words for this one. I've had an obsession with this one ever since it came out. and I almost screamed in the movie theater when the producers hit us with that "to be continued" bs. also hobie brown <33

descendents - I was into every single original Disney channel movie that was released and this was one of them. AND I could be the daughter of Tiana like??? sign me up fr

monster high - these are literally THE monster it girls. it would be a crime to not shift there

total drama - this was the first reality tv show I ever watched and I was so here for it. they got real creative with the drama too

victorious - I LOVE arts. acting, painting, music, dance, you name it. if I could go to a school like this in my cr I would've already been there (oh wait I technically can)

power rangers - SPECIFICALLY the 2017 film. I don't feel like we got a backstory on half of the characters and its so disappointing but oh MAN when my boy DACRE got on that screen I almost hollered. this movie served so hard and it deserved a sequel badly.

stranger things - this was another obsession of mine and I couldn't have it any other way. its gonna be terrifying but badass (like nancy wheeler when she had that damn shotgun)

mid90s - this was a decision I made last week because I had JUST watched the movie and it was my obsession for a little bit too. I experienced a little home sickness (more like a lot of homesickness because I was SAD SAD)

★ ★ ★

other drs I thought of shifting to

demon slayer - this seemed pretty fun, but I heard that later down the plot it got boring and sucked pretty bad so I wasn't sure

kpop - I'm not 100% a kpop fan but I LOVE krnb so I was just thinking of making music like that but its still in the works a bit

avatar - I thought it would be cool, but I wasn't in love with the idea like I thought id be. maybe if I shifted to the first avatar I'd like it but idk yet

farm life - like I mentioned earlier I really love cows and thought a farm would be cool, but I kinda fell out of love with the idea so this most likely won't go all the way through

anastasia - this is one of the drs I most likely will still be shifting to because I just love classic Disney movies (and Dimitri was fine..)

ready player one - in all honesty, I completely forgot I intended on shifting there but its a fun ass concept

pitch perfect - okay but this movie was funny as hell plus singing so why not?

tinkerbell - this entire series was my Roman empire. they were my FAV when I was little and still are

10 things I hate about you - early 2000 movies are my favorite so when I watched this, I wanted to shift there asap

★ ★ ★

okay and I think those are all my drs!! this might be a little over 26 too but oh well LMFAO-

i really enjoyed making this and I hope y'all enjoyed reading it <3

stay tuned for more drs because i am always thinking of new ones to go to!!

[aehno]

Duckman Episode Reviews/Analysis: S1 Episode 1: "I, Duckman"

Yeah you thought what I said about reviewing every episode was a joke, huh? Think again. Hahahahaha. For the uninitiated: I'm rewatching all of Duckman right now as a cynical idiot 2 years after my first watch through, and writing an analysis/review/my thoughts.

This is seriously the only thing I feel even remotely motivated to do with my life right now.

Okay let's get started.

Plot summary:

So this episode is pretty straightforward, but complex in it's own way plot-wise. Duckman feels like he's pretty much completely worthless and ignored by everyone. Like he'll never amount to anything in the end.

Pretty valid, me, too.

He then gets a bomb package from someone, and it's like "oh wow someone does care about me!" and he visits the first suspect he can think of in prison, this cannibal he got locked up via wacky shennanigans. The cannibal turns out to be doing well in prison, and actually has a celebrity status because of his crimes. Then he gets a package, and it's another bomb, from the killer, aaaa, eek noo!!

So he's not the one threatening Duckman right now. Duckman tries to say goodbye to his family before he might get killed so they all ignore him. He looks through old home movies (each of which is represented by a reference to a different old cartoon) and ends up seeing one involving his now deceased wife, who thought he would be completely incompetent on his own and stated she would need to give custody of the family to her twin sister, Bernice, in the event that she died. And he says that he missed her and feels like he was better when she was around.

They get another bomb, chase down the killer, killer realizes he had the wrong guy and says he was doing this due to losing his own wife (something which the person he thought Duckman was was involved with) and felt utterly worthless without her. He's too depressed to turn the guy in and asks him to turn himself in, and the killer runs off. The episode ends with Duckman seeing his kids again and actually not being completely ignored by them and is in fact told that they thought he was doing a good job as a parent for them.

Thoughts:

The jokes actually land in this one. Didn't make me laugh, but I appreciate it. It's smart humor, the sort of stuff I'd laugh more at if I wasn't watching it solo on a computer. It goes at a much faster pace than the Simpsons, some truly brilliant "blink and you'll miss it" type gags that beautifully carry along the plot. It's of an enviable quality, frankly!

The dialogue in the series is often a bit verbose from all of the characters, and while it can be grating, it works just fine in this episode, and it actually feels as high brow as it thinks it is this time around. I'm not smart perse, but I would say I have above average encyclopedic knowledge (which really isn't saying much), and some jokes in this episode still went over my head despite that.

Plot is solid, especially by this show's standards, and pretty relatable, too. It's a good pilot as it sets up all the characters and their relationships- and in terms of critique I only really have small nitpicks or issues of personal tastes. This is an episode I would be fine with being walked in on while I was watching, due to its sharp writing and solid narrative. It's not nearly as annoying as some of the later episodes were (as far as I remember). I can 100% see how Jason Alexander mistook this episode for a one off short film rather than a TV episode pilot, as it sets everything up really well, and really could function as its own self-contained work.

Analysis (the annoying part where I start yapping):

I feel like the plot summary speaks for itself. It tells you all you really need to know. Not a super open-ended episode, really the only thing I consider open-ended is the introduction of a major aspect of the show that I have a fairly cynical perspective on: Duckman and Beatrice (his dead wife)'s relationship. It's natural for grief to fuck someone up, and everyone processes it differently. He's been without her for a year, and she was clearly one of the most important people in his life, to the point that he literally feels like nothing without her.

As we'll learn later, Duckman's upbringing wasn't the best, and as we saw in this episode, he was never truly a pleasant person to begin with, not even as a child. Thusly, having someone like Beatrice in his life does two things: makes his life feel less terrible (companionship, affection, satisfaction of sexual urges) and two, makes him feel worthwhile despite not necessarily being the best or most likeable person. She is not a bad person, clearly, given that she's willing to show so much affection to a person like this whom she genuinely loves so deeply despite everything. And it's good that she wasn't trying to "fix" him, as she loved him out of love and not pity or anything else. The dynamic is, as we see in the episode, truly quite comparable to Marge and Homer in that sense.

But as someone with a truly biting and cynical view on romance I also have to state that true love will never complete you, no matter how magical or amazing it feels. It's a good thing to have for sure, but it cannot be something you depend on. I'd consider a relationship where one partner tells the other they cannot trust them on their own "codependent." It should be noted that Duckman displays numerous signs of codependency:

Low self-esteem.

Trouble identifying your own emotions. <-major plot point in this episode, as well as a few others

Trouble making decisions.

Desire to care for others. <-failing at it but is shown to care

Desire to feel important to someone.

An excessive sense of responsibility for the way others act. <-maybe not this one so much, but definitely a little bit in a more inactive sense. Sort of like worrying about it neurotically but never acting on it.

A tendency to fall in love with people you can "rescue" <-we see this in other episodes

Difficulty dealing with change. <-the death of Beatrice in this case would be the change

A strong need for approval or recognition, and feeling hurt when you don't receive it

 A strong need to control other people

Poor communication skills

(List taken from: WebMD. (n.d.). Codependency: Signs and symptoms. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/signs-codependency)

Many of these signs/symptoms are displayed in the episode which, oh right, is about Duckman wanting to feel important after the death of a loved one he relied on heavily for support. And judging by what little we see of her, she does seem to want to feel needed by him, which again, lines up with the codependency theory. While she isn't trying to change who he is, because she loves him, she recognizes that he is hopeless and needs her there to help him.

Does that sound like a healthy relationship?

All I'm saying is, Duckman and Beatrice's relationship could be yet another way he found short term happiness in his miserable life, and he never realized it as being unhealthy. It's like cigarettes, alcohol, porn, all those vices he's known for having, except this time he doesn't know it's bad for him, and he isn't being chastised for it. I mean, the dude's married, good for him. Nobody looks at that marriage and says it's bad, because it looks so wonderful.

The marriage lasted for about 15 years, and Duckman and Beatrice had two point five children together, suggesting that it still seemed fine even after what most couples consider their breaking point, but we can also argue that Duckman tends to idealize his love with Beatrice. Perhaps some negative memories are blotted out...?

That's it for now on the speculative/analytical side of things.

Whenever I have time, I will be writing about S1Ep2: "Tv Or Not To Be"!

[dangermousie]

My rewatch of ep 9 of Bad Guys reminded me how much I hated the cop dude who’s decided that PHJ character is a serial killer and so is bashing his head into the table and raging at how dare he pass the lie detector test and that was before his daughter got murdered and then he decided screw it and went to PHJ’s girlfriend and was all “hey you are broke how about I pay you to lie that he brags to you about his kills and also tried to kill you” and after all of that and he put an innocent man away, he decided that wasn’t enough and hired a hitman to murder him in prison.

In between all that he took a big bribe to put the gangster guy in jail for all the crimes his boss committed.

The other cops/law enforcement who have major roles are (a) ambitious cop lady who is willing to do a lot to advance (b) commissioner who murdered the dude who killed his son after he was arrested and (c ) prosecutor who committed all the murders PHJ is in jail for because they were relatives of criminals so criminals should feel some pain. That’s about the darkest view of law and order structures I’ve seen in a while.

PS I think it’s cosmic justice that PHJ’s girlfriend betrayed him for money and ended living an even poorer life. Heh. Too bad the cop could never get sufficient punishment - like what would that even be, he doesn’t care about stuff after his daughter was murdered.

[claudia1829things]

"THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE" (2013) Review

"THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE" (2013) Review

Over a decade ago, the ITV network aired a television adaptation of Kate Summerscale's 2008 true life crime book, "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House", starring Paddy Considine. The movie proved to be such a success that producer Mark Redhead had followed up with three other television productions featuring the main character, Jack Whicher. The first of these sequels was 2013's "THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE".

The 2013 television movie began with Jack Whicher coming to the aid of a wealthy middle-age woman, when a young thief snatches her purse inside a London pub in London. After retrieving her purse, Whicher discovers that the woman, Susan Spencer, is searching for her missing niece, a 16 year-old girl named Mary Drew. Miss Spencer learns of Whicher's old position as a police detective and hires him to find the missing girl. Whicher eventually discovers Mary's brutally murdered body inside the police morgue. Both eventually learn that before her death, Mary had given birth to a child and someone had stolen a family heirloom from her. Miss Spencer hires Whicher to act as her private consultant and find Mary's killer.

When I first saw "THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE", I had assumed the story began sometime after the events of 2011's "THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: THE MURDER AT ROAD HOUSE HILL". It took a rewatch of this second television movie for me to realize that it was set during the events of the 2011 movie - sometime between the four or five years between Mr. Whicher's failure to get the killer prosecuted for murder and the latter's eventual confession. I was able to ascertain this conclusion, due to the hostile behavior of Police Commissioner Richard Mayne toward Whicher and the one of the supporting character's comments. This setting also explained Whicher's occasional doubts regarding his skills as a detective. Now whether the other two Whicher television movies that followed were also set during this period is a matter I will eventually discover.

Unlike "THE MURDER AT ROAD HOUSE HILL", "THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE" proved to be a genuine "whodunnit" story. This particular case was not some true crime narrative. And Whicher did not discover the antagonist's identity until the finale act. I am not saying that this particular difference made the 2013 television movie an improvement over the first one. But in a way, it felt a little refreshing to view a murder mystery/period drama, instead of a mere true life case set in the far past. "THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE" started as an investigation into the disappearance of a well-born adolescent managed to transform into a lot more. Like "THE MURDER AT ROAD HOUSE HILL", this story also proved to be a family drama beset with murder, betrayal and corruption. But unlike the 2011 movie, greed also play a major role in "THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE". I thought screenwriter Neil McKay and director Christopher Menaul handled the movie's narrative very well, with a minor exception or two. I also admired how McKay used the unresolved events of THE MURDER AT ROAD HOUSE HILL" to not only provide the Whicher character as an emotional obstacle for him to overcome, but also an excuse to place him in the dangerous situation that he found himself in the movie's final act.

I do have a few complaints about the plot for "THE MURDER IN ANGEL LANE". And it centers around a small group of quibbles regarding the television movie's final act. Whicher's investigation led him to a third visit at an insane asylum, where he found himself incarcerated as a patient. A part of me felt relieved that this particular scenario lasted less than five minutes. However, another part of me found this sequence rushed and contrived for it did not take Whicher long to receive help in making his escape. Following on the heels of the asylum sequence, Whicher finally confronted the murderer. But he did so alone . . . and without contacting his old friend, Chief Inspector Adolphus "Dolly" Williamson or other members of the Metropolitan Police. I understand why Neil McKay had written the confrontation scene this way. I simply found it implausible and wish he could have created another way to close the case.

I certainly had no complaints about the movie's production values. David Roger returned to the "MR. WHICHER" series to serve as production designer. As he did for "THE MURDER AT ROAD HOUSE HILL", Roger managed to re-create the look and style of early 1860s Britain with the additional work of Paul Ghirardani's art direction and the set decorations of Jo Kornstein, who had also worked on the "ROAD HOUSE HILL" production. Only in this production, his vision extended to the streets of London. Tim Palmer served as the film's cinematographer. I thought he did a solid job, but his work did not exactly blow my mind. Lucinda Wright also returned to serve as the movie's costume designer. As she did for the 2011 television movie, her work for "THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE" perfectly recaptured the early-to-mid 1860s without being either shoddy or over-the-top.

Paddy Considine returned to reprise his role as Jack Whicher. As he had done in the first movie, the actor did an excellent job of quietly capturing the character's reserve nature, intelligence and skill for criminal investigation. However, Considine managed to add an extra touch of poignancy, as he project Whicher's occasional bouts of insecurity in the wake over the Road House Hill case and his minor failures during his investigation of this case. Both William Beck and Tim Piggott-Smith reprised their roles as "Dolly" Williamson and Commissioner Mayne from from the first film. Like Considine, both actors gave first-rate performances. And both added extra touches to their performances - especially in their characters' attitudes toward Whicher - in the wake of the Road House Hill debacle. Olivia Colman provided the movie's emotional center as the well-born Susan Spencer, who hired Whicher to first, find her niece Mary Drew and later, find the latter's killer. She and Considine, who had co-starred in the 2007 comedy, "HOT FUZZ", worked very well together. Shaun Dingwall gave a very subtle performance as Inspector George Lock, the main investigator of Mary's murder and the only one willing to give him a chance in helping the police. The television movie also featured solid performances from Mark Bazeley, Alistair Petrie, Billy Postlewaite, Angela Terence, Justine Mitchell, Sean Baker, Sam Barnard, Christopher Harper and Paul Longely.

Of the four "MR. WHICHER" television movies, I must admit that "THE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER: THE MURDER ON ANGEL LANE" is my least favorite. I believe the last fifteen to twenty minutes had been marred by some contrived writing that I believe had rushed the narrative's pacing. However, I still believe it was a first-rate production in which screenwriter Neil McKay had created an intriguing whodunnit involving a major family feud, betrayal and greed. And director Christopher Menaul, along with a talented cast led by Paddy Considine had skillfully conveyed McKay's story to the screen.

[urbaneturtle]

DCAU Rewatch: Batman the Animated Series 5: Pretty Poison

Bruce Wayne's friend, and Gotham's District Attorney, Harvey Dent has been poisoned. It is up to Batman to discover just who is out to kill Dent and find an antidote before it is too late.

Credits

Story by Paul Dini & Michael Reaves

Teleplay by Tom Ruegger

Directed by Boyd Kirkland

Music by Shirley Walker

Animation Services by Sunrise

It’s easy to forget that this series was pulled together by a group of  animators who primarily worked on cartoons like Tiny Toons Adventures. Paul Dini had  years of experience at Hanna Barbera. Tom Reugger, who drafted the teleplay from Dini and Michael Reaves’ script, was a major contributor to Animaniacs and Freakazoid. These are people who took experience in slapstick cartoons and put it toward an action series and figured it out as they went.

That sensibility helps keep the show, for all of its dark and dour elements, from taking itself too seriously. That experience becomes evident in small moments of character that are so important in comedies, like Bullock reaching for an extra donut or ironic intercutting of Harvey Dent’s observations about Bruce Wayne’s flakiness with Batman on patrol fighting crime.

There’s an assuredness in the script and storytelling here that elevates it above anything else we’ve seen so far. Paired with animation by Sunrise (the studio best known for anime like Cowboy Bebop and The Big O),  “Pretty Poison” might be the first truly classic episode of the series. Paul Dini’s contributions to the Animated Series are undeniable, and though he is but one contributor to the episode, his sensibility is all over it–for better and worse.

This episode begins with the characters and their relationships–the script immediately highlights the friendship between Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne. They banter with an authentic warmth before Dent passes out, suddenly dying from a virulent poison. Dini loves detective stories, and we see a lot of Batman using his intelligence and wits to unravel the mystery of who tried to kill his friend–and why. It seems elementary, but connecting a mystery to the relationships of your main character makes for a much more engaging story. Dini and Reugger are both great with dialogue and integrating humor, and there’s some excellent banter between Alfred and Bruce early on.

We also get some of Dini’s more troublesome elements–including his occasional reduction of female characters to objects. The seductress angle has long been a part of Poison Ivy’s character but it ages a bit worse every year. It’s pretty tame here but maybe it’s time to retire the lipstick toxin thing.

Poison Ivy presents the most interesting villain in the show so far, as well. As a character, she  had been around for years by this point but had never had a consistent gimmick that matched her name or design. The series reinvented, or at least cemented Ivy’s characterization as an ecoterrorist which makes her both more interesting and more sympathetic. It’s not exactly a shocking revelation that Harvey Dent’s new girlfriend is the one responsible for killing him, but the motivation is strong and the way Batman discovers it is fun to watch. Since Ivy is not much of a physical threat on her own, Batman does battle with some monstrous mutant plants. It's silly but the resulting action scene is fun.

The decision to integrate Harvey Dent into the series well before he becomes Two Face gives that character arc some real gravitas, especially after seeing Batman go through so much to save his friend...

Read the full commentary/analysis on Patreon -- unlocked for everyone.

[deafmangoes]

An Album of Christmas Carols - 5

It's time. The one you've all been waiting for. Somehow universally seen as the best adaptation of Dickens' classic.

"A Muppet Christmas Carol" (1992, Michael Caine)

This was the first full-length adaptation of A Christmas Carol that I recall ever watching, and has pretty much been my favourite to rewatch ever since. I was actually so used to this version that the first time I saw a different one I was confused why there weren't two Marleys.

We open with a sweep over London and an introduction to our narrator, Gonzo the Great Charles Dickens, and his friend Rizzo the Rat. From Brooklyn, NYC. The addition of the narrator is a clever touch (and, I suspect, the only way they could think to use Gonzo), and marks this adaptation as the most "book-accurate", according to the BBC (due to the large amount of text quoted directly from the novella).

Michael Caine really epitomises the role for me. Soft-spoken but hard. Trigger temper. Intimidating and heartless. After the opening song, early scenes with Nephew Fred, the charity men, Kermit Cratchit (and the other bookkeepers), he departs home and Cratchit sings a song that gets stuck in my head around this time every damn year.

Ghosts? Ghosts!

Back home, the doorknocker very creatively morphs into (Jacob) Marley's face. I don't know how they did it. Maybe vacuumed it but reversed the footage. We only get a brief bit of the other 'tells' before Jacob (and Robert) Marley appear to heckle their old business partner. Their song is great, probably my favourite part of the film.

"Doomed, Scrooge! You're doomed for all time / Your future is a horror story written by your crimes / Your chains are forged by what you say and do / So have your fun, when life is done a nightmare waits for you!"

Christmas Past looks to me like the thing that comes out of the Ark of the Covenant in Indiana Jones, right before it turns into the angel of death and kills all the Nazis. And because of that, I never feel very comfortable while it's on-screen. Weird childlike angel spirit whatsit.

(In the outtakes, Gonzo manages to get his grappling hook through his own head. The puppeteers play it off wonderfully).

The scenes in the school are hilarious to me, particularly Sam the Eagle's two major jokes:

"Work hard lad, and some day your life will be as solid as this very building!"

/Gonzo and Rizzo break the shelf in the background

"Hrm. I've been meaning to fix that shelf."

And of course:

"You'll love business. It's the American way!"

/Gonzo corrects Sam

"Ah. Hrm. It is the British way!"

Fozziwig's party is shown, where the filmmakers manage to fit in all the other Muppets they'd be hard-pressed to place, like Doctor Teeth's band and the Swedish Chef. Rizzo ends up on fire for the first, but not the last, time this film.

Now, depending on when you were introduced to this film you may or may not realise there's a big emotional award-bait song here after Belle breaks up with Scrooge. It was in the original cut, and the VHS edition, but got cut for broadcast. When DVDs were first printed, the master had been lost so you could only get the version without the song. Apparently it's now back on Disney+ as an extra.

The song isn't all that, to be honest, but without it the reprise later in the film doesn't hit quite right, so... Swings and roundabouts. Past departs, Scrooge is deposited back in bed, just in time for...

... Okay, this might be controversial, but. Christmas Present is the weakest part of the film. The costume is impressive, and made specifically for this film (well, all three ghosts were), and the song is nice, but this version of the ghost just doesn't have the sarcastic bite that I enjoy so much. Even when he does deliver the ironic echo to Scrooge, it sounds out-of-place precisely because he's been nothing but 'nice' up until that point.

Anyway. We get Nephew Fred's party and the Cratchit's Christmas (the second time Rizzo ends up on fire), with the scene-stealing Miss Piggy giving it her all as Emily Cratchit. "It's a chef thing, dear" was a very common refrain around our house when we were eating something out-of-turn.

As Present fades away, Scrooge is left with the tall, ominous Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, who speaks entirely in deep bassoon audio cues. The tone of the film shifts considerably in this segment, so much so they even have Gonzo and Rizzo depart to make it more serious. Old Joe and the others who benefit from Scrooge's death are all creatively shown as vermin and carrion feeders - a spider, a moth, a crow and a bug*.

(*Well, she's described as a potato in Muppet's Treasure Island, but eh).

The Cratchit household sans Tim is a sad place and Scrooge can only bear so much of it before tearfully confronting his own mortality and begging repentance from the mute spirit.

Then, of course, it's Christmas Day! He hasn't missed it! Scrooge engages the services of the caroller seen previously to haul an absolutely massive turkey downtown. In a departure from the book, he stops only briefly at Fred's to deliver presents then goes directly to the Cratchit household, where Miss Piggy violently threatens him. Misunderstandings cleared up, Scrooge helpfully invites half of the entire city of London into this one-up, one-down Camden house and we close out on everyone singing a happy reprise of Belle's "you suck and I'm breaking up with you" song.

Highlights and Humbugs

Despite anything I said above about the film's few flaws, they really are very few and far between. The serious, professional acting of Caine opposite the Muppets is the thing that sells the whole film, and I really wish they'd do more of this sort of classic literary adaptation.

It also holds a special place in the hearts of those who worked on the film - it was the first Muppets outing after Jim Henson, the creator of the original show, had died. The cast were unsure if they should or even could continue without him, though Jim's son, Brian Henson, was encouraged by co-creator Frank Oz to take up the puppets and the result was this masterpiece. Michael Caine has also spoken about this being one of his favourite roles, and how easy it was to forget that he was acting against puppets.

The songs are great. The jokes are funny. The effects hold up. The core of the story shines through. It's just a very good version overall.

10 out of 10 Humbugs. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

[borreloadsavagedragon]

for the "send you a character" your beloved onion boy

Onion posting...... my favorite

First impression: Ok so Some Jay lore Deadass I thought I was gonna hate him I was so sure Ryouga was where I was gonna go if I had to pick a favorite and, with a lot of the bits I got before actually watching, Kaito just did not fit the characters I was drawn most towards at the time. I used to stick to more light-hearted, sunshine characters, like token dumbasses with hearts of gold with a few exceptions to which Ryouga was gonna be because I IRL am such an aggressive fan of sharks the animals, plus he was the ~bff~ trope character in my eyes and this was someone who lived breathed and died Takeru Homura and Katsyua Jounouchi And while I love Kaiba and Ryoken, it took some time to find love for them

Impression now: Uh. He's alright. Just ignore my social media, how I took Photon to 2 YCSs despite the very poor matchup conditions(AND WENT 2-2 FOR FOUR ROUNDS WITH IT IN PEAK KASH FORMAT!!! SIMPLY BE BUILT DIFFERENT), and the near 10k and growing character analysis oh and like majority of the fanfiction I've written for the last 1.5 yrs now plus this tweet:

sweats profusely To say he's impacted me quite a bit would be an understatement. Everytime something photon related happens in the tcg, I wake up to 10 different DMs and it's all this twink's fault

Favorite moment: omfg how does one pick a favorite when the character has become your entire life for a minute LOL Uhhhhhhhhh I will say I have the clip of him jumping into the cockpit saved on my phone for chuckles ajgkdlsj I love his duel against Ryouga, it's very showing of his character and his impact, also love how they banter His rematch duel with Yuma at the end of Part 1 is also really good, love to see him encounter his own uncertainty and let himself be inspired by Yuma I love that he stares at the footage of Mizael in the monitors in his lab like a freak after their first duel His duel with Shun in Arc V is always a rewatchable one

Idea for a story: Every story you could imagine!!!!! The one I'm currently most actively working on between upcoming ship week work is a semi-complicated post canon AU that has a past life subplot to it because lord I'm just gonna fill in the wasted potential subplots for Kaito myself at this rate ALLEGEDLY Have an OC I'm working on that ties back to him too, that's also lowkey in that lore also Stay tuned :)

Unpopular opinion: UH, the one I wanna say I'll wait for another ask that's currently in my inbox gjdsal So here is another from the analysis from another take I saw awhile ago:

I also think one of the long forgotten truths of Zexal is Yuma rarely sees anyone as a true villain. There are a few exceptions to this of course, Don Thousand and Mr. Heartland both come to mind, but Yuma manages to find compassion in just about everyone he faces and uses dueling as a way to bridge the gap between him and them, even ones who arguably don’t deserve it like Faker, Tron, and… well, beloved mothman Vector. If Kaito was ever supposed to look like a terrible person when he’s at the height of his crime spree, we would have seen that from Yuma’s perspective. Instead we see Yuma's fear, his intrigue, and ultimately, his motivation. Motivation to protect Astral from what’s to come, and then following the conclusion of the Kaito vs Zexal duel, motivation to help Kaito, and finally, the motivation to get to his level. Instead of the same treatment we get for other unforgivable types, we get to see Kaito for what he is beneath the snark, the beatdown strategies, and the unconditional love for his brother: he's lonely, he's incredibly desperate, and he's dangerously selfless for those who are the most important to him, so much so he initially struggled to find his next purpose.

I'm also on record for considering Kaito the strongest of all of the rivals lmao

Favorite relationship: Honestly all of them, family, ships, friends, I love how Kaito is written with others both in the shows(Zexal and Arc V both), the manga, and even Duel Links gives some of his lesser shown rivalries and connections more depth Kaito and Ryouga's rivalry is proooobably my favorite though? Especially including Duel Links moments, they've got so much in common but just will not connect unless it's to show the other up, but you know it's game over when they can find a strong reason to remain on the same page Also the card Photon Emperor exists, which is one, named very suspiciously, two, has a similar cape design to Nasch with the shoulder gems and the cape being attached by those pieces, and 3, very notably resurrects itself when it's sent to GY from hand, deck, or when it's detached as material from an XYZ At the same time, I LOVE Kaito and Mizael's entire story too, both as a rivalry and a relationship, god they're so good and it's truly so hard to put into words how much I love their dynamic, the parallels, how they match each other's crazy, they have my longest ship playlist gjkldadas For Arc V, I'm also a sucker for Kaito and Shun as well as Kaito and Edo Shun went back for him and wasn't going to quit until he convinced him,,, and Edo and Kaito have such strong chemistry for no reason, it's not unwelcome at all-- they just threw men at him for some reason and I'm all for it

Favorite headcanon:

I ALWAYS write him as both touch repulsed and touch starved because he's almost never shown without his jacket during canon except for a handful of flashbacks and exactly that one examination scene, and even in the flashbacks, all you get is his forearms from his one collared shirt

He'd rather die than sacrifice his aesthetic, an icon

[ortegajasmin]

Blog Post #1

Hi, my name is Jasmin Ortega and I am an 18 years old. I am hispanic as is the rest of my family, my mother was born in NYC as well and had lived there her whole life while my father was born in a small village in Mexico, he eventually moved to NYC in his early teens where he met my mom. My name origin is extremely basic and unoriginal and does not have a specific or meaningful origin, my parents just chose it because they liked the sound of it and thought it was nice. If I had the chance to change my name to a fictional character I would probably pick the name Diana, taken from the fictional superhero Wonder Woman, Diana is Wonder Woman's real name. The reason why I would choose this name is because of how important Wonder Woman is in the DC, she is one of the titular characters in the Justice League being one of the founding characters alongside Batman and Superman. 

High school was a bit of a blur for me. I remember that my first day of high school was very anticlimactic and nothing like the movies. I went in extremely nervous to be in a whole new world with a lot of older kids and honestly speaking the first day was a little overwhelming by how many people there were and how big the school was, but after the first day I got used to it and was pretty bored by it. I actually did not go to school on the last day, I had graduated the day before and I decided not to end up going on the actual last day. On my physical last day of school I did not do much but get ready for graduation and say goodbye to my favorite teacher one last time. My favorite moment of high school would usually be when whenever I had gym on specific days and was able to go out with the class and meet up with my friends in the other gym class, it always made the class period that much better.  My least favorite moment would have to be when I had a falling out with an old friend from middle school, leading us to never speak again. If I could do it all over again I would probably go about it by putting myself out there more and trying to make more friends and by also trying for more extra curricular activities. 

 Currently, I am in my freshman year of college, in my second semester and my major is Psychology. Truthfully speaking, I chose this major because of a crime tv show called Law and Order: SVU. The show is about detectives solving cases revolving sex crimes, occasionally on the show they would have a psychiatrist come on to the show and give his professional opinion on the cases and criminals to help solve the crimes. Watching this show and the psychiatrist work to identify motives and reasonings behind a criminal and their crimes was fascinating. This essentially led to my interest in true crime and the way criminals' minds work, it also led to my interest in the human mind as a whole and why we do what we do or feel the way we do. With this major one specific career path I am interested in is of course a criminal psychologist, the other career path would be a child therapist. What essentially inspired me for both of these careers is my want to understand the mind and how it works for specific groups of people as well as helping those who need it. 

I unfortunately do not participate in any recreational activities, I never got into them when I was younger and so I never gained an interest in them when I got older. For my interests and hobbies I would say I have pretty basic ones like reading, playing video games, spending time with my family, listening to music, and watching movies and shows, but if I had to pick a semi interesting interest it would have to be taking pictures of the sky. I never miss the chance to take a photo of the sky, day or night, when it looks pretty and memorable. The main reason for this is because I think it is something that is nice to look at and look back on. 

The last movie I watched was Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones and the last show I watched was a rewatch of Cobra Kai. For movie and tv show recommendations it would be The Boys on Amazon, That 70s Show, Teen Wolf (mainly season 3), Back to the Future, Ready Player One, and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. My favorite film and show are both from my recommendations, The Boys and Scott Pilgrim vs the World. Both pieces of media have great stories and comedy in my opinion and the latter has amazing original music. My least favorite show would have to be a netflix original called Ginny & Georgia, I am just hate watching it at this point, but I would be lying if there weren't moments that absolutely had me laughing. There has not really been anything I have created, no original pieces or nothing. And if I were to pick my last meal to have on my last day on earth it would be tortas. Tortas are some of the best sandwiches my mom has made, they usually include beans, mexican cheese, ham, eggs, hot dogs, and breaded chicken. Now reading it may not seem appetizing but trust it is absolutely amazing and I would absolutely want nothing more than to have a torta as my last meal.