#one of the most iconic lines to exists in this podcast

[mydirtyvalentine]

and she wants you to tell that voice in your head that my mother-

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Greta Garbo (Camille, Anna Karenina, Queen Christina)—Enigmatic and alluring and made me bisexual. The perfect example of the eroticism in silent films that literally transcends text. Could literally not change anything about her expression but you knew by looking at her eyes what she was thinking. She’s so gorgeous.

Kay Francis (Jewel Robbery, I Loved A Woman, British Agent)— kay francis was an icon of glamor in her time and a top star of the 30s - she was the highest-paid actress at warner bros from 1930 to 1936. she tended to play characters who were charming, sophisticated, and elegantly dressed, and starred in at least one legitimate masterpiece, the sublime 1932 comedy trouble in paradise. her first big role was in the marx brothers movie the cocoanuts in 1929, and she and william powell made seven movies together between 1930 and 1932. even in her sillier movies she always elevates the material with her charm and presence - she never phones it in and there’s a sort of warm, knowing wittiness about her. a really good short promo from a retrospective of her movies that i think really gets her Vibe across

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Kay Francis:

Jewel Robbery clip

"From 1932 through 1936, Francis was the queen of the Warner Bros. lot, and, increasingly, her films were developed as star vehicles. By 1935, Francis was one of the highest-paid actors, earning a yearly salary of $115,000, dwarfing the $18,000 Bette Davis – who would one day occupy Francis's dressing room – made. From 1930 to 1937, Francis appeared on the covers of 38 film magazines, second only to child sensation Shirley Temple's 138." Source: Wikipedia. Kay Francis is like the MOST FAMOUS Actress from the 1930s you've never heard of--and it was her and Norma Shearer who wore and made classic the 1930s tall, slim, bias cut silhouette. She ALSO has a WHOLE PODCAST episode devoted to her life and career in Hollywood--it's fascinating! She is both tough and a total wet cat.

One of the TALLEST Warner Brother stars at 5’9” and known as a “clothes horse” for her glamorous roles wearing the height of 1930s fashion. She fell out of popularity in the 40s, but her 30s work sizzles. The scene with her and Herbert Marshall in Trouble in Paradise where she says she doesn’t care about his reputation (because she’d rather sleep with him?) HAWOOGA

melted my gay heart with her butch look in stolen holiday

"My life? Well, I get up at a quarter to six in the morning if I'm going to wear an evening dress on camera. That sentence sounds a little ga-ga, doesn't it? But never mind, that's my life ... As long as they pay me my salary, they can give me a broom and I'll sweep the stage. I don't give a damn. I want the money ... When I die, I want to be cremated so that no sign of my existence is left on this earth. I can't wait to be forgotten." —From Kay Francis's private diaries, c. 1938

Garbo:

A cold-ass Swedish WLW Sphinx. Had plans to murder Hitler that she never got around to. "She will remain always a child of vikings, moved about by a snowy dream."

First of all, she's on the money; that's how much of a treasure she is. She's beautiful in such a distinct way you need very few lines to draw her. (Drawing by Einar Nerman) She managed to be mesmerizing in both silent and sound films. She kissed a woman in Queen Christina (and probably several more in real life). She was super dry and really funny in Ninotchka. She got the hell out of Hollywood and stayed out, living for almost 50 years after her retirement.

Garbo is one of the many reasons why I'm gay. If you haven't seen Queen Christina please do, She is so gender in that film. Also her accent makes it sound like she's always talking in cursive and it's so hypnotic (or at least I think so).

She's a gay introvert, like all of us here on Tumblr.

Mysterious and aloof, charismatic and enigmatic, with beautiful androgynous characteristics, Garbo is undoubtedly the most eccentric and unique Hollywood vintage star. Her aversion to fame and stardom makes her even more desirable to the audience, and her insane chemistry with the camera, an actress one of a kind! Her particularity and her oddity is what discerns her strongly from her hollywood co workers at the time, noone was like her and would never be like her. I think, to the utmost extent, that she deserves the title of the hottest vintage star, even though that would be an understatement of what she is!

SO gorgeous, her thick Swedish accent makes will turn your brain into pudding

Probabaly a lesbian, absolutely a mood when she retired

[the-ghost-bracket]

Lup propaganda:

"A kickass, dimension-hopping elf wizard and the twin sister of Taako (you know, from TV?). Technically a lich (which, in TAZ:B canon, is an incorporeal undead made wholly of magic, so that's pretty ghost-adjacent). Helped save the universe from total assimilation by the Hunger. Spent years trapped inside her own umbrella. Is canonically a trans woman."

"Spoilers for TAZ: Balance- an actual-play Dungeons and Dragons podcast ||

Lup (pronounced ""loop"") is a lich, which, while not being a ghost specifically, is still a type of undead being. However, Lup's brand of lich is that she's tied to this mortal plane and kept from dissipating not by a phylactery with souls, but by an emotional tether- in this case, that emotion would be love.

She's died, been ghostified, and been revived repeatedly due to what was basically a time loop. Once she and her found family were able to break the time loop (or temporarily stave it off), she then got poisoned and accidentally spent around a decade stuck in an umbrella that swallows the essence of defeated magical users (which she counted as). She, a lich powered by love, spent a decade in an umbrella, unable to contact anyone in the outside world or do anything but struggle to EXIST. It would have been so easy to give up, to let go and just stop, but instead, what does Lup do? She saves up her strength, over days and months and YEARS, to be able to control the umbrella instead. She does this several times: to influence the umbrella's reaction to others and get it to her brother (repeatedly); to protect him once it was by his side; to protect the umbrella from the Grim Reaper that was probably going to kill her since liches are illegal; to send a message to him, scorching her name into a wall in an attempt to tell him that she was still alive; and to channel the occasional spell, including the one that led to her brother realizing that she was in the umbrella and snapping it to free her. Asides from being an actual ghost, she is a ghost in the narrative too, haunting the entire story via absence ever since the early episodes, where the protagonists picked up her umbrella, so she's a ghost many times over at this point. Learning of her existence almost completely changes how you view the first few episodes. But that's just a bit of a fun fact; let's get back to why Lup is amazing.

She's VERY COOL. Her specialty is Evocation magic, and what she is MOST known for is fire spells. When she was broken out of the umbrella (it was snapped), her first action is to release a wave of fire that destroys every last bit of The Hunger (antagonistic force that swallows up worlds) in the room while leaving her allies untouched. Her second? To turn to her brother and ask gleefully, ""You're dating the Grim Reaper?!"" ICONIC. (Also she made the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet that has the potential to destroy entire towns or something.) In addition, she has other talents besides just magic and iconic lines. For example: Cooking! She and her twin brother Taako acted as chefs and arcanists for a ship powered by bonds and called the Starblaster.

While dabbling in transmutation (the school that her twin brother eventually chose), she made a fifteen dollar bill that duplicates itself (the duplicates don't create duplicates), but Greg Grimaldis stole it from her. So, what did she do? At the plane's most-watched press conference, she went up on stage and vowed, for the whole world's watching eyes to see, that she would be getting it back (and then dropped the mic). This is called back to repeatedly during said time loop (""I believe that, one of these times, we’re gonna get it right. And we’re gonna find a way to defeat The Hunger and... save everybody inside of it. I have to believe that, to keep doing what we do. Because I have to believe [choking up] that I’m gonna get...those fifteen dollars back from Greg fucking Grimaldis!""). And guess what? ~20 or so years later after the hundred-year time loop, she, her brother, and the other two player characters hold a heist on Greg Grimaldis's casino to get it back.

Also, she can play the violin, which was part of a scene that led to this beautiful narration that I'm only going to quote part of: ""Our capacity for love increases with each person we cross paths with throughout our lives, and with each moment we spend with those people. But too often we neglect that part of ourselves in favor of others. And by the time we realize just how important it is, we find ourselves with fewer folks around to practice with. But the seven of you have something that nobody else ever had: time. All the time in the world. Time enough to grow indescribably close. Time enough to learn how to care for each other, how to allow yourselves to be cared for. And in the case of Barry and Lup, time enough to fall deeply and truly in love."" She and Barry (also arcanist) spend several decades pining. Her first canon words to him are ""Nerd alert"". They became liches together in the same ceremony. They're part of each other's emotional tethers. Barry ghostified to avoid magical memory-wiping and made his sole goal for a decade plus just to find her and when Barry thought she was permadead he almost completely lost control of his lich form.

Other fun fact: One loop, the Starblaster team was being judged for sins the justices perceived them to have committed. When it was her turn, Lup correctly listed off each sin the justices were going to accuse her of, before they said anything other than her name. Boss move right there.

TL;DR: Lup is a ghost several times over, she's a girlboss, she's amazing."

"She is phantasmal and resplendent"

[viiridiangreen]

TL;DR i got a spotify recommendation for podcast about """""Toltec philosophy""""" sponsored by a huge pawnshop chain, IMMEDIATELY smelled bullshit and clocked a full on made-up-yoga cult for wealthy whitexicans within minutes.

Okay so first off the Toltecs may have been one of the most influential cultures in Mesoamerica or... not a thing at all lol

100+ episodes… no names or faces, only the pawnshop folks' icon and 'TOLTECA NATION'?

Like. Listen. A moneylending chain with 400 locations in this country HAS TO be a mafia and integrated into narco-govt cartels in order to exist.

And then on their website there is this!!!

WE ARE ALL QUETZALCOATL

At Fundación Dondé we are convinced that the greatness of Mexico is in its Civilization Legacy of more than 8,000 years; We proudly exalt this Legacy and we aim to share it so that more and more Mexicans know it and feel proud of who they are.

The history of Mexico is much bigger than what they taught us; Toltec Nation is an educational initiative to rescue the Toltec legacy of Anahuac (Territory of which Mexico is now a part) and to publicize the foundations and principles of Toltequity as a philosophy of life, as well as to propose a feasible response to contemporary challenges.

TOLTEC NATION

EDUCATION AND ACTION

From this wisdom of ours, we seek to move to support our communities, keep their traditions alive, recognize their languages ​​(68 today spoken in Mexico!), know-how, the environment, and reconnect with a more conscious Mexico.

Our field of action is comprehensive, in addition to spreading the story, we rescue an ancient physical practice based on the Toltec positions of power called KINAM. To start practicing visit Agoralucis.

the alleged 'tOlTeCa nAtIoN' is just... their own org?? Like a subdivision of the pawnshop corp? Sure smells like some whitexican / corpxican self legitimising HorseShit & not an organic endeavour by indigenous ppl. And now they mention a new agey cult sounding name w/ no added context, just, like, "look em up if you really wanna". so I did! lol

Glorious. Really digging the space glitter background on the lady who claims to cure hypertension, DIABETES AND CANCER by just, like, BREATHING RIGHT, DUDE! TRULY TUBULAR

DSLKDJFSSJDKLSFJ

Anyway. the shit we were looking for is right after her in the carousel

Some certified whitexican flavor... anddddd

THERRRRRE WE GO! Give us 400-800 USD to become a Certified Instructor of Totally Real NonYoga (which btw is OLDER THAN YOGA!!!!1!111!)

In, predictably, a huge fuckoff space nestled in one of the peak "Rich Pieceoshit" parts of town, decked out in full "cult chic" blindingly white decor

Or you can get the vacation package! That includes:

"3 days and 2 nights of lodging. Food, drinks and snacks, 2 temazcales, cocoa ceremony, 1 practice of KINAM daily, meditations, breathing techniques, NAHUALIC TECHNIQUES, talk about toltequity and dance five elements"

---

Eventually, I hit the motherlode, a blog with glorious "2000s lunatic" aesthetic and deranged contents to match

I MEAN......

The title goes: "WIZARDS TURN BACK TIME - TOLTECA SCHOOL"

The stuff in the caption is "The wizards' secret is that they know time can be manipulated. For example IT IS POSSIBLE TO REVERT THE EUROPEAN INVASION OF AMERICA."

I SURE FUCKING WISH IT WAS, JULIO, BUDDY!!! MAYBE THAT WAY YOU & THE SHIT YOU PEDDLE COULD'VE BEEN AVERTED 💀💀💀

There's also a video of a talk the guy gave at the fancy schmancy yoga place, but he apparently usually does events along... Crunchier lines, graphic design and location-wise:

The events apparently emphasise the PROPHETIC ASPECTS of sacred maya & nahuatl literature 💀 and the "CEACM", the "Center for Archaeoastronomic and Calendaric Studies of Mesoamerica", is populated by Grifters Galore alongside our deranged friend Julio

"SCIENTIFIC ADVISER" SURE 💀

And finally... a post where he rages against the horrible terrible no-good "ONLY FAKE RETIRED EX-NAHUAL" who exposed their bullshit:

"At this web address, the only retired fake nagual that exists in Mexico makes a series of malicious, defamatory and insulting comments about me and some friends, especially Master Frank Díaz. The title says it all: "a sect destroyed". The funny thing is that there has never been a kinam sect, so you can't destroy something that doesn't exist. This leads me to consider that being the product of the sick imagination of this guy, he really IS the creator. So then you could believe that now it is "destroyed". A creator can destroy his work as many times as he wants."

the giiiirls arrrrrre FIGHTINNNNGGGGGGGGG!!!

---

So we have a happyish ending: this shit is sooo fucking shameless and out in the open that there is already a pretty great, comprehensive site exposing it. It looks like they're only parting goofy ass whitexicans incapable of googling with their money, so not as bad as it could be.

The site is here ( https://kinam.org/ ) and it's SUCH a gem lmao:

TITLE: Kinam: Chronicle of a Destroyed Sect

MENU: (including this bc it's hilarious trust me)

Start

The Impossible Toltec Yoga

Consequences

Contact

The other Kinam

FAQ

Faith of Facts

New Fire

Gallery

Loud and rude 😹😭

Legal

Links

GALACTIC MAYANS

More about

Summary

Sustained Reaction – Funny Interview

Sustained Thread

Notice of Privacy

"Summary 2017 : Julio Diana, a Uruguayan, tried to sell courses to a circle of friends with a good economic level, but when he was rejected, he and his partner Frank Diaz created the KINAM sect. This sect affirms that the world has been under an extraterrestrial attack led by Tezcatlipoca for two million years. The sect also speaks of spiritual dimensions, that the Olmecs are Toltecs and Julio Diana claims to be the current exponent of another sect called Linaje1723 founded 5000 years ago. The KINAM sect has been destroyed, but its founders still try to promote their vacillates using aliases."

It goes on a little bit and includes links to proof & shit...

---

TRULY I feel invigorated, amused, entertained beyond measure. I fucking love rabbit holes into silly cults, especially when nobody dies (that I know of? also this whole post is like. Allegedly™, In Minecraft™, none of this happened for real 😊).

i'm....................... need a drink after this lol

[aspd-culture]

do you have any suggestions or advice for people with ASPD who experience strong homicidal thoughts (or thoughts about acts of strong violence in general)? I feel like this topic is already so rarely talked about, and even when it is most resources focus on people struggling with intrusive thoughts, not genuine fantasies. (just to clarify: not in crisis or actually planning to do anything, just annoyed of constantly thinking about this). People usually just say to “get help”, but I’ve been getting help for years now and nothing has changed.

To be honest, most of my current coping mechanisms for violent thoughts are unhealthy but not destructive (most often w**d which is legal where I am and/alcohol), so I don't recommend them. I agree that getting help for these types of thoughts is extremely difficult, especially while balancing the dreaded "danger to yourself or others" mandated reporter line. I do have some ideas, though.

Check google to see if there is a "wreck room" of some kind around you. These are safe places with safety practices and PPE that exist to allow people to take out aggressive anger on items (aka smash things) in ways that are not destructive to your or other's property or person. These are showing up more and more nowadays as we realize that this outlet can be done healthily if people are given the access and tools to do it in a healthy way. While it isn't the same as hurting someone, it stimulates many of the same parts of the brain. Also, doing it in a wreck room means you don't have to do the cleanup. Major bonus there.

If you can't afford that but have things you can break and a safe area you're willing to fully clean later, you can do the same type of thing at home. Make sure you always wear PPE like goggles and gloves, and if you are doing it outside make sure anything a child or animal running through your yard (even if you don't have kids or animals, kids wander and strays exist) is fully cleaned up. Please inform the people you live with if you take this method, as it can be scary to walk in on this type of thing and you could get the cops called on you if you don't inform them. Lie if you have to: "my friend needs broken pieces of XYZ for an art project", "this is really bulky and took up too much space in the garbage can so I'm breaking it down", or the ever iconic "my ex gave it to me", for example.

I sometimes find other replacement behaviors via video games like COD and Apex Legends helpful, but they don't always help everyone.

Punching bags are one of my preferred replacement behaviors, but they are often expensive and difficult to set up, making them inaccessible.

Watching violent movies or documentaries or true crime podcasts on real violent crimes often helps me, but that kind of thing makes things worse for some people.

Gross motor activities like walking, running, swimming, etc can be helpful as they stimulate similar parts of the brain to the ones violent actions do.

I know you mentioned you are not in crisis or active planning, but for anyone who may be, a disclaimer: If you or anyone reading this honestly feels they may be a threat to themselves or others, I can only advise getting help and speaking to a professional about this. Top priority should always be safety above all else, and checking yourself in to get help before you do something drastic is always going to be easier and better for everyone than trying to hide from or handle the repercussions of that event later. There are emergency systems and programs in place to help you learn to cope or find medications that can help you if you are in an urgent situation, before something bad happens, but tumblr is not one of them; I am not one of them.

Whatever you do, please keep yourself and others safe. I hope this helps.

[navdurga32]

How do I get apps' ranking in the iOS app store?

Achieving a high ranking for your app in the iOS App Store is crucial for its visibility and success. With millions of apps available, standing out from the competition requires a strategic approach. Here are several key strategies that can help improve your app's ranking in the iOS App Store:

1. App Store Optimization (ASO)

App Store Optimization is the process of improving your app’s visibility in the App Store. The primary elements of ASO include:

Keyword Research: Identifying the right keywords is essential. Use tools like Apple's Search Ads, Google Trends, and keyword analysis tools to discover what potential users are searching for. Focus on both high-traffic and niche keywords relevant to your app.

App Title and Subtitle: The app title is one of the most critical factors for ranking. It should be unique, descriptive, and include primary keywords. The subtitle allows for additional keywords to be included without making the title too lengthy.

App Description: While the description does not directly influence rankings, it plays a crucial role in conversion rates. Clearly articulate your app’s benefits, features, and unique selling points within the first few lines, as only the first few sentences are visible without tapping “more.”

2. High-Quality Visual Assets

Your app's icon, screenshots, and preview videos significantly influence downloads.

App Icon: Design an eye-catching app icon that is both distinctive and relevant to your app’s functionality. A well-designed icon can improve click-through rates.

Screenshots: Use high-quality screenshots to showcase your app’s features and user interface. Consider including captions that highlight key functionalities.

Preview Video: An engaging preview video can help potential users understand your app’s value quickly. Keep it concise, focusing on the primary features that set your app apart.

3. Positive User Reviews and Ratings

User reviews and ratings play a vital role in your app’s ranking.

Encourage User Feedback: Implement prompts within your app asking satisfied users to leave a review. This can significantly boost your ratings.

Respond to Reviews: Engage with users by responding to their reviews, whether positive or negative. This shows potential users that you value feedback and are committed to improving the app.

Manage Negative Feedback: Address issues raised in negative reviews promptly. Consider implementing updates based on user feedback to improve the overall experience.

4. Regular Updates and Maintenance

Keeping your app updated is crucial for maintaining its ranking. Regular updates signal to both users and Apple that your app is actively maintained.

Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements: Regularly update your app to fix bugs, enhance performance, and add new features. This can improve user satisfaction and retention.

Seasonal Updates: Consider thematic updates or new features based on current events, holidays, or user trends. This can re-engage existing users and attract new ones.

5. Effective Marketing Strategies

Beyond ASO, implementing effective marketing strategies can drive downloads, which, in turn, impacts your app's ranking.

Social Media Marketing: Leverage social media platforms to create awareness and buzz around your app. Engage with potential users through contests, giveaways, or by sharing user-generated content.

Influencer Partnerships: Collaborate with influencers relevant to your target audience. They can promote your app to their followers, leading to increased visibility and downloads.

Content Marketing: Create blogs, videos, or podcasts related to your app's niche. This not only establishes authority but also drives traffic and potential downloads.

6. Utilize App Store Analytics

Analyzing your app’s performance through metrics can help refine your ASO strategy.

Track Rankings: Monitor your app’s rankings for specific keywords. This will help you understand what works and what doesn’t.

User Acquisition Data: Analyze which channels are driving the most downloads. Adjust your marketing strategies accordingly to focus on the most effective channels.

Conclusion

Improving your app's ranking in the iOS App Store is a multi-faceted process that requires a blend of ASO, user engagement, regular updates, and marketing efforts. By implementing these strategies diligently, you can enhance your app’s visibility, attract more downloads, and ultimately achieve greater success in the competitive app market.

[eliana-nguyen]

Week 4: Reality TV case study

Reality Bites: Love It or Hate It, We Can't Stop Talking About It

Raise your hand if you've ever scoffed at reality TV, claiming it's trash TV, mindless drivel, a low point in human civilization. Now, keep it raised if you still secretly tune in, eyes glued to the screen as drama unfolds, cringing at cringe-worthy moments, and maybe, just maybe, shedding a tear for the heartbroken contestant. Awkward silence...followed by a sea of hands frantically rising.

Yeah, we have a paradox on our hands. Surveys may scream "No way, José!" to reality TV, but the Nielsen gods tell a different story. It sits there, the queen bee of TV genres, ruling the ratings even while we pretend it's beneath us. And guess what? This love-hate game has taken a fascinating turn – thanks to the wild world of digital communities.

From Passive Viewing to Digital publics

Remember when reality TV was confined to the TV box, a one-way street where producers poured manufactured drama onto our screens and we, the passive viewers, simply absorbed it? Not anymore. Social media has unleashed a digital community, churning out memes, gifs, and hot takes faster than you can say "blindside eviction." Twitter explodes with live commentary, Instagram stories dissect every wardrobe choice, and TikTok dances erupt around iconic catchphrases. Suddenly, we're not just watching, we're participating, creating, and yes, even judging.

Public Spheres Beyond Manufactured Drama

But this hyper-connectivity comes with a hefty side of responsibility. Digital communities have the power to hold shows accountable, exposing exploitative practices and highlighting the emotional labor contestants endure. Imagine the outcry if a meme goes viral, showcasing how producers manipulated a situation? The court of public opinion on social media can be swift and unforgiving.

And let's not forget the public sphere aspect. Reality TV, once dismissed as mindless entertainment, now sparks meaningful conversations about relationships, social issues, and even mental health. The online buzz becomes a platform for diverse voices to be heard, challenging stereotypes and fostering new perspectives. Suddenly, the "trash TV" label feels awfully flimsy.

Reality TV: A Paradoxical Powerhouse

So, the next time you find yourself glued to the screen, judging someone's fake tan or cheering on the underdog, remember – you're not alone. You're part of a complex, contradictory, and surprisingly impactful digital community. We may judge, we may cringe, but we also laugh, cry, and engage. And through that engagement, we have the power to shape the future of reality TV, pushing it beyond fabricated drama towards something more authentic, more reflective, and maybe, just maybe, more real.

So, let the love-hate battle rage on, fueled by memes, hashtags, and passionate rants. After all, in the age of digital communities, reality TV isn't just about watching – it's about talking, creating, and ultimately, shaping the narrative. And that, my friends, is something worth buzzing about.

Beyond the Screen: The Rise of Digital Reality

It's worth noting that reality TV's reach extends far beyond the traditional television screen. Social media has played a crucial role in diversifying the market and audience participation. The more reality TV appears on platforms like Twitter and Instagram, the more engagement it generates, attracting new viewers and offering existing fans more ways to connect with the shows and their stars.

Podcasts, recaps, conventions, and cameos are just a few examples of how social media has created a thriving ecosystem around reality TV. This digital sphere fosters interaction between fans and stars, further blurring the lines between the on-screen world and the real world.

The Paradox of Performance: Authenticity or Amplification?

One of the most intriguing paradoxes of this digital age is the pressure on reality stars to perform amplified versions of their private lives. As Jacquelyn Arcy points out in her study "The digital money shot: Twitter wars, The Real Housewives, and transmedia storytelling," reality stars' primary job is to generate engaging content for social media, often competing with their co-stars for attention, status, and even salary.

This focus on online performance raises questions about authenticity. Should we trust what we see on TV or social media? Are these carefully curated personas, or glimpses into the real lives of everyday people? This blurring of reality and performance is one of the defining characteristics of contemporary reality TV, and it's something that viewers and scholars alike are still grappling with.

REFERENCE:

Arcy, J. (2018). The digital money shot: Twitter wars, The Real Housewives, and transmedia storytelling. Celebrity Studies, 9(4), 487–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/19392397.2018.1508951

Cambridge Dictionary. (2020, January 29). reality TV | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary. Cambridge.org. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/reality-tv

Deller, R. A. (2019). Reality Television in an Age of Social Media. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-021-920191007

[queerofcups]

Dear Yuletide 2023 Writer

Hi Yuletide writer! This is my first time doing Yuletide, so thank you SO much for the fic you’re gonna write. It probably doesn’t exist yet, but I already love it. Please don’t take my chattiness as directives (other than my DNWs), I’m really just putting you in the general arena of stories I wanna read, go wild from there.

Requests: Worlds Beyond Number (Podcast)

I know Word of God is that Suvi, Ame, and Eursulon are faaaaamily, but I think it’s legal to think the kid you went to summer camp with turned out to be a hottie actually.

There’s so! much! tension! Between these three and its nearly all unspoken and I think that’s very sexy and interesting

OT3 endgame, but totally fine with pre-endgame hookups & feelings between any two members of our little party

Plotwise, go nuts here, I’ll take anything from silly falling into bed together to the serious, hard work of making a relationship work with people with VERY different politics, or even the aforementioned, “oh damn, such and such got hot???” fic. I just want more of these three together.

The Bear (TV 2022)

Carmy and Sid hooking up would be a TERRIBLE idea, professionally speaking, and probably also emotionally speaking. I want to read about the ways that it could go wrong and why they do it anyway. Do they keep it a secret? Do they fail at keeping it a secret? Is it incredibly obvious to the rest of the crew?

I’ve read a lot of very sweet fics where they fall in love and all is great, and those are wonderful, but I think messy power dynamics are hot and interesting and they’ve got bad idea written all over them.

Bonus bonus points if you engage with what food, cooking and meals mean to both of them.

Barbie (Movie 2023)

Let Barbie be gay!!!! Greta Gerwig was trying to tell us something with all that Indigo Girls and Birkenstock and I wanna read someone picking up what she’s putting down. Barbie’s first gay hookup! Barbie’s first, third and fifteenth u-haul! What does it mean for an idea that’s an icon of heterosexuality to become a person who…isn’t straight!

Whether it’s funny or deadly serious, I’m interested in what people imagine might happen if Barbie turns out to be a lesbian, specifically.

Joy Ride (2023)

I can’t be the only one who saw some sexual tension between Lolo and Kat. Do they become rivals for Audrey’s affections? Is it a competition to see how many people they can sleep with (and then they end up sleeping with each other?). Does Kat realize that her hubby is great, but actually can’t keep up with her and has to outsource? The world’s your oyster here, anon!

General Likes:

Emotional introspection from characters

Descriptions of setting, food, sensations, etc

Messy lines between friendship, romantic relationships and sexual relationships

Messy & fucked up power dynamics - Not necessarily dead dove, but any semi-realistic takes on people who, due to their positions, really shouldn’t be doing this

A lot (most?) of my request involve at least one person of color. I like fic that acknowledges that those experiences mean something. I don’t need an anti-racism TED talk or anything, it’s just nice to know that someone’s thinking about that kind of stuff.

Gay shit! Similar to the note above, I’m not looking for a TED talk, but I like fics to contend with what it might mean to be a queer person in the world (if its a canon where that matters)

Smut wise: public sex, sex pollen, ABO (if you’re gonna say something thoughtful about sex/gender/sexuality), casual kink, edging, descriptions of sensation

Tropewise: I like curtainfic, I don’t mind an AU (love mail-order bride AUs, arranged marriage AUs, anything requiring people to get used to each other)

A note on femslash: I’m not interested in fic that’s gender swapped men. Also, I love fic about trans women, but I’m not interested in futa fic.

Hard Nos: * Noncon (Dubcon is fine, but I need there to be clear signs of the no becoming/being a yes) * Underage * Major Character Death (in which they stay dead) * No scat, no puke, no pee, I feel neutral about blood, sweat, spit, etc. Race play, racial slurs being used in non-reclaimed way

General Dislikes: *Purely sweet, fluffy fics *Grimdark, dead dove, trauma for the sake of trauma *High School AUs *Crossovers w other media *Kink being formally negotiated on screen *Kidfic *Pregnancy fic (but I am fine with dealing with an unexpected pregnancy) *Gen fic *COVID mentions are fine, but no COVID plotpoints

[eleyhsa]

few more things from valtteri's most recent podcast episode:

- valtteri doesn't enjoy the publicity at all and wish it didn't exists, oskari says he thinks valtteri is quite good at faking it in front of the media and quite a good performer

- valtteri says recording a podcast feels quite different and he doesn't have to put his f1 media face on

- oskari and valtteri think they could also do a 2h episode without saying absolutely anything (oskari used to be a paddock presser in f1 back in the day) --- and by the way, valtteri has said before that the whole point of him doing this podcast series is that he's going to be the only finnish driver in f1 next season and he feels that finnish people deserve to know a bit more about him, finland has such a long and rich history of f1 drivers

- "f1 is quite a good school of how to say things for the media"

- valtteri always thinks about and phrases thing in a way that it would greate as little headlines as possible, that's the first thing he thinks before saying anything

- "careful is the word how i deal with the media"

- print media and certain people in it is the most tricky

- valtteri thinks that he has always but more pressure on himself than the media does

- the press recarding his divorce was his worst experience with the media, "there was zero respect towards my ex-wife or the situation", photographers were following him everywhere: "i think the juiciest photo they got was me driving my car"

- he wouldn't change a day with mercedes and stronger than ever

- he says that you usually notice the pressure of this sport in a bad way if you start thinking "don't fuck this up" during a quali lap, compares it to barcelona in 2019 when he had pole by 0.5s, he thought halfway during the lap "damn this feels easy"

- "at the end of the day f1 is just driving cars in circles" an iconic line

- sauna is a holy place

- valtteri has been very careful with his privacy his whole career and feels things in perspective have been quite easy for him because of that

- valtteri is never going to sign a one-year-deal again, he says during the monza weekend when they announced the alfa deal it felt like there was suddenly double the amount of oxygen in the world and even incredibly bad jokes made him laugh (looking at you daniel...wait who said that)

[freddie-mercury-rising]

Day 22: Killer Queen from Sheer Heart Attack

Okay, I’m not lying when I say this has been my anthem far before I was a self-proclaimed “Queen Fan”. I swear, I used to rock out to this song: sassy, tongue-in-cheek, and (before I even knew what it was) queer! 

This song is quintessential Queen, but moreover, quintessential *Freddie Mercury*. I think this is the moment when Freddie really lets that part of himself shine through. And I think there’s no way I can look at this song without noticing the queer undertones, but in such a genius way, Freddie can pull it off in 1974!

This iconic song starts with snapping, and that one sound will always conjure this song… in a way that makes you think it was always there, always in the zeitgeist of the early 70s. That’s the beauty of a particularly good song: it feels as though it is simultaneously the most innovative new thing in existence and also that it has always existed and could have never *not* existed. 

Killer Queen, says Freddie, is about a “high class call girl” and he wanted to show that classy people can be whores too. I think any interviewer asking Freddie what his songs were about were going to get whatever came to the top of his head at that moment. I don’t think he was a Bono type who sat around poring over the minutiae of his lyrics and dwelling over their impact. That’s not to say that Freddie didn’t put his heart and soul and emotions into his lyrics. But in this case, I think this song is fun and—while it may very well be about a “high class call girl” or a critique on class itself—we should all create our own unique interpretations of what it means. Interestingly enough, Freddie wrote the lyrics to this song before the melody, which was the opposite of how he normally worked.

For me, it’s about a bad-ass person (I don’t think the word queen, nor the use of the pronoun ‘she’ necessarily indicates this is a woman…) who does what they want and is both posh and trashy in equal measure, both sweet and polite and also dynamite. I happen to think this Killer Queen could be Freddie himself. Fancy clothing, perfumes, champagne, “guaranteed to blow your mind…” Well, again, we shouldn’t think too much about it. I think we all have a Killer Queen in us, anyway.

As for the music—well, on the surface, this is a catchy little single that climbed to the charts (all the way to #2 in the UK and #12 in the US) and got Queen their first stint on Top of the Pops. Interestingly, Brian May was ill during the recording of this song, so the other band members assembled the song while leaving gaps for Brian to fill in later. 

This song is hugely important for the legacy of Queen. It differentiated Queen from the other progressive rock bands of the time and launched them into a new sector, putting Freddie Mercury’s rock-theatre antics on center stage. It was a new sound, like nothing the general public had heard before. And I can only imagine that Freddie was like nothing they’d ever seen either. 

This song is very much a pop-rock song. It’s smoother than the big heavy numbers that dominated rock and roll at the time. Of course, we still have the multi-tracking harmonies in full swing, and the panning of the music from left to right, and—even though he wasn’t there for all the recording—some really wonderful and imaginative sounds from Brian’s guitar. He used his wah pedal in this song, which creates a lovely glide. 

Freddie’s voice is perfect in this because he can change it to fit the tone of the music and tell the story through the sound. The very first lines are so intriguing: “She keeps her Moet et Chandon in a pretty cabinet.” Wow, how many rock songs start like that? It’s soooo Freddie, and it captivates you entirely. “Let them eat cake, she says, just like Marie Antoinette…” Sooz Kempner, from the Queenpod podcast says “this song has a grubby decadence.” 

The little “bell” sound is so iconic after “she never kept the same address”. I will always do my fingers like Freddie did in the video. Always. And, I always have a little cheeky smile when Freddie says “if you’re that way inclliiiined.” He adds so many cute, quirky, tongue-in-cheek additions, and the backing vocals pump it up. 

I could go on and on and on about the lyrics, because they’re fucking amazing. But I do have to comment on the music. Even though I am not super knowledgeable about all the terminology of why this song just *hits*, I know it does. One thing I do notice is how Freddie’s voice goes into falsetto then back during one single line. Caviar and cigarettes– (goes into falsetto) well versed in etiquette (then he glides back to a deeper note) extraordinarily nice. Okay that was my novice interpretation of that, but I happen to know it’s beautifully and seamlessly done.

“Queen were very good at making complicated things sound simple and simple things sound complicated.” - Derek Shulman (from the band Gentle Giants)

It’s a perfect song and it will always be in my top five. Yes, I said it! My one critique is that I won’t ever be able to listen to Killer Queen for the first time ever again. 

[puppetsoftomorrow]

behrad for the character ask meme?

thanks for this!!

favourite thing about them

i just love him. i love how kind and gentle he is. i love how he's learning to fight for himself and fight for his right to be heard. i love his big brown eyes. i love how he's the most attractive man to ever exist. i love him.

least favourite thing about them

nothing. he's never done anything wrong. he's the best person in the universe.

favourite line

his speech in the reality tv ep made me emotional,, i'm so proud of him,,,

brOTP

nate / ray / behrad was a breif but wonderful time bros iteration. and i like him and spooner? i hope they get to hang out more. they shld also rediscover the friendship between sara and behrad

OTP

oh man, i love him and astra,, but him and charlie was also a forgotten fave?? and for the boys, nate and gary are always classics

nOTP (if I’m feeling brave enough)

uhhh idk like ava? that would be awful lmao

random headcanon

ooh now here's smth. i think he has a podcast about the best sandwiches through time / across the galaxy and he brings on each of the legends as a special guest. his audience assumes this is fiction, but he takes great pains to be Very accurate. his favourite sandwich is the ones nate's mom makes

unpopular opinion

i guess i liked behrad / charlie? out of context of it kind of being weird zarlie confirmation, i think they wld have made a cute couple lol

song i associate with them

i made this post like,, yesterday,, but its 'cool an' green an' shady' by john denver!

favourite picture/gif of them

my icon!! its party B!!

[99-percent-confused]

Podcasts you can Read

Looking through the podcasts in my subscription feed as well as ones I hear about most often to see if they have a transcript, how easy is it to find and access, and is it free (PS: if your transcript is behind a paywall, you’re the worst) All the transcript pages are hyperlinked to the podcast name if it exists and there is a collective location. The order is just the order in which I have listened to them recently, I’m just going through my podcast feed.  The access ranking has no reflection on the podcast, just how easy it was for me to find the transcript on the computer.

***I’m about to finish the semester, so I’m going to go through this list and revamp the criteria and also write up a google doc with the more organized list***

**This Is an Incomplete list of just the podcasts I have listened to, feel free to add your own or request me to do so through this form

SCRIPTED PODCASTS

Janus Descending Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: bad - need to copy link from episode description, then click through multiple pages to access the transcript  - 3-4 clicks from episode to transcripts

Primordial Deep Transcript: Exist Ease of Access: meh - hyperlink from the episode description to the website home - 3-4 clicks from episode to transcript Quality of Transcript: good  - formatting is a bit different than the others, a bit hard to get used to  - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow

Mabel Transcript: Exist Ease of Access: Meh - Need to go to the Mabel Website - Not clearly indicated in episode descriptions that transcripts exist - From the website home, the link to the transcripts is clearly labeled in the side bar or at the top of the page (depending on the size of the screen) Quality of Transcript: Good - Not clear that Anna is the primary speaker - Clearly labeled when not Anna is speaking - Sound effects are clearly labeled and easy to understand - Tone not indicated

Seen and Not Heard Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Good - Transcripts hyperlinked in each episode description - Each transcript is on a different google doc or pdf, so the only collection of transcripts is a twitter thread from the creators Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described  - easy to read and follow 

Hughes and Minks: Ghost Detectives Transcripts: Exist Ease of access: Good - Transcripts are hyperlinked in each episode description - Transcripts also hyperlinked to each episode could not find a collective of all the episode transcripts, if anyone has made one or knows where one is, let me know, it will be greatly appreciated Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines  - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow 

Light Hearts Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: Good - Transcripts also hyperlinked in each episode description I could not find a collective of all the episode transcripts, if anyone has made one or knows where one is, let me know, it will be greatly appreciated Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described  - easy to read and follow 

Wizard Seeking Wizard Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Good - Transcripts also hyperlinked in each episode description  - An collection of episode transcripts are available on their website

Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described  - easy to read and follow 

Valence Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: meh - Website home is hyperlinked  - takes about 2 clicks from the episode description to the transcript collective (”Episodes and Transcripts” box on the website)  - Transcripts not uploaded at the same time as the episodes, time between episode and transcript unstated. - Labeling of episodes could be better - - need to scroll down the page a bit to access the actual transcript Quality of Transcript: Great - character name’s bolded - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow 

The Godshead Incidental Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: Good - Transcript collective linked in description  - Episodes are clearly labeled - Goes directly to the transcript and just the transcript Quality of transcript: Good - Characters clearly labeled - sound effects clearly described - The formatting is a bit inconsistent, especially for the first couple of episodes.

The Alexandria Archives - Transcripts: none

Fireside Folktales Transcripts: Exist Ease of access: Good - pdf of episode transcription hyperlinked in the show notes  Quality of Transcript: good - formatting is a bit different than the others, a bit hard to get used to - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow

Super Ordinary Transcripts: None

Neighbourly Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: good - 0-6 hyperlinked to episode description - 7-8 available for free on Patreon page - - I don’t care if it is free, if is on your patreon fuck you Quality of Transcriptions: meh - reads like a story, but so does the podcast - some of the paragraphs can be quite long

Hello from the Hallowoods Transcripts: Exist  Ease of Access: Bad - hyperlink from episode description to website home - transcripts button on the top of the tree - the episode icons make me want to rip my eyes out. you cannot read the episode titles, and the color contrast is straining on the eyes. Quality of transcription: meh - also reads like a story, similar to the podcast - the style of the website is similarly hyper-contrasting and makes my eyes hurt

Brimstone Valley Mall Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Very Bad - not even linked to the episode description  - found it through the arsPARADOXICA transcript - found through the whisperforge.org website - thought it didn’t exist Quality of Transcript: Great - Special effects and tone clearly indicated  - speaker clearly labeled - easy to follow and understand

Tunnels Transcript: Coming soon

Gal Pals Present: Overkill Transcript: None

Kalila Stormfire’s Economical Magick Services Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: Good - Individual episode transcripts are linked to each episode description Quality of transcription: great - speaker is clearly labeled  - sound effects and actions clearly stated and easy to understand - easy to read and follow

Outliers - Stories from the edge of history transcripts: none

Time:Bombs Transcript: exists Ease of Access: Bad - not directly linked on the episode description - need to independently seek out website - from the website, it is easy enough to find the transcripts Quality of Transcript: good - formatting is a bit different than the others, a bit hard to get used to - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow

Kakos Industries Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: good  - Linked directly to the description, but it is unclear that it does link to the transcript (the “more...” link in all episode descriptions) - each episode is linked to said episode’s transcripts, but there is a collection of all episodes on the website Quality of Transcript: meh - font is small and paragraphs are long - when there are multiple speakers, it is clearly labeled 

In Strange Woods Transcript: none

Unseen Transcript: exists Ease of Access: Great - Each Episode’s transcript is linked to said episode’s transcripts, and there is a collection of all episodes on the website Quality of Transcript: Great - Speakers clearly labeled  - sound effects are detailed and easy to understand - clear and easy to follow

Next Stop Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Bad - it only takes two clicks to get from the episode description to the episode feed with the transcripts - location of transcripts not clearly labeled, hard to find if you don’t know what to look for - on each episode’s page, you need to scroll down a ways to get to the transcript Quality of Transcript: Great - It is clear who is talking - sound effects and tone of voice are clearly stated and easy to understand - clear and easy to follow

The Love and Luck Podcast Transcript: Exists - Transcribed Videos exist too - - Season 1 - - Season 2 Ease of Access: great - Each Episode’s transcript is linked to said episode’s transcripts, but there is a collection of all episodes on the website Quality of Transcript: great  -it is clear who is talking - sound effects and tone of voice are clearly stated and easy to understand - clear and easy to follow

Scoring Magic Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Bad - it only takes two clicks to get from the episode description to the episode feed with the transcripts - location of transcripts not clearly labeled, hard to find if you don’t know what to look for - on each episode’s page, you need to scroll down a ways to get to the transcript Quality of Transcript: Good - clear who is talking - sound effects clearly stated -tone of voice not indicated

arsPARADOXICA Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Bad - takes 4 clicks from the episode description to the transcription  - location of transcripts not clearly labeled, hard to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for  - website is directly linked to episode feed Quality of Transcript: Good - Special effects and tone clearly indicated - speaker clearly labeled - easy to follow and understand

Less is Morgue Transcript: none 

Death By Dying Transcripts: exist Ease of Access: Good  - linked directly to the podcast description - collection of all transcripts on a separate page of the website Quality of Transcript: Good - Clear when character is talking, but not narrator - sound effects are clear and easy to follow  - tone not indicated 

Zero Hours Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: awful - I literally stumbled across them by accident - not linked to the episode description or clearly labeled on the website - found through the website that is not linked on the podcast Quality of Transcript: bad - hard to understand tone and when exactly someone is talking - it takes a bot to parse out what is being said - sound effects are labeled

Girl in Space Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: good - easy to find from episode description - all transcripts collected on one page of the website  Quality of Transcript: good - color scheme is kind of hard to read on - tone is clearly indicated - sound effects clear and easy to understand - easy to follow what is happening and who is talking

King Falls AM Transcript: None

The Creeping Hour Transcript: None

Customs out of the Closet Transcript: None

The Bright Sessions Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: bad  - not linked directly to the episode description  - not clear how to find the transcripts if you don’t know what you’re looking for  Quality of transcript: good - sound effects clear  and easy to understand - easy to know who is talking and what is happening - tone not indicated 

Attention HellMart Shoppers Transcript: original scripts behind a paywall (aka: fuck you)

Kaleidotrope  transcript: Exists Ease of Access: bad Ease of Access: bad - not linked directly to the episode description - not clear how to find the transcripts if you don’t know what you’re looking for Quality of Transcript: Good - sound effects clear  and easy to understand - easy to know who is talking and what is happening - tone not indicated

Inkwyrm Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Good - Transcripts hyperlinked in each episode description - Each transcript is on a different google doc or pdf, so the only collection of transcripts is a twitter thread from the creators Quality of Transcript: good  - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - tone not indicated 

EOS 10

Transcript: None

Heroics

Transcript: None

36 Questions

Transcript: None

The Once and Future Nerd Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Good - Transcripts hyperlinked in each episode description - Each transcript is on a different google doc or pdf, so the only collection of transcripts is a twitter thread from the creators Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - tone clearly indicated 

The Strange Case of Starship Iris Transcripts: Exist for Season 2 Ease of Access: Good - Link to Transcript collective under each Season 2 episode  - Links directly to each episode’s transcripts  - Each episode title is clearly labeled and easy to follow - Delay between episode release and transcript upload Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - tone clearly indicated

Wolf 359 Transcript: fan transcripts exist ease of access: meh - easy to find if you know where to look - I didn’t even know they exist until someone else mentioned them - not linked to any official sources Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - tone clearly indicated

Welcome to Night Vale Transcript: Exists Ease of Access: Meh - Episodes 173+ Link to transcript collective page linked directly to Episode description  - Not clearly stated that there are transcripts for episodes before 173 - Episodes in the collective are clearly stated - Transcripts sorted by year, not by episode, but can search individual episodes Quality of Transcript: Good - When multiple speakers, it is clearly indicated who is speaking - Later episodes: tone clearly indicated, and sound effects are clear - Easy to read and follow

Where the Stars Fell Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: Good - Transcripts are hyperlinked in each episode description - Transcripts also hyperlinked to each episode could not find a collective of all the episode transcripts, if anyone has made one or knows where one is, let me know, it will be greatly appreciated Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - tone clearly indicated 

Mission to Zyxx Transcripts: None

Transmission Folklore Transcripts: Exist - Text Transcripts - Video Transcripts - - All video transcripts exist, but after episode 5, they are not linked on the website transcript page Ease of Access: Good - Website home linked in each episode description - transcripts tab is clearly visible and labeled - Offered in multiple formats: written out on website page, google doc, and captioned video Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow

Sidequesting Transcripts: Exist Ease of Access: Good - Each episode’s transcript is linked in each episode’s description - Collection of all transcripts available on the website - - Each episode is clearly labeled and easy to read Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - Tone clearly indicated

The Pasithea Powder Transcripts: exist Ease of Access: pretty good - Episode descriptions: full link clearly labeled in the descriptions, but it needs to be copied and pasted - Website: not clearly labeled, but located under the episodes tab - - it is kind of hard to read the episode titles on the website page, as it is light gray text on a white background. Quality of Transcript: Great - Character name clearly stated before lines - sound effects clearly described - easy to read and follow - Tone clearly indicated

Desperado  Transcripts: exist for episodes 1-3 Ease of Access: horrible  - existence is not mentioned in the podcast - no link to the website in the description (I found it through their twitter) - from the twitter link, it opens right onto the episode page with the transcripts linked Quality of Transcript: meh - episodes one and three have the same style of transcript - - sound effects clearly labeled - - speaker only labeled if it is a main character, does not clearly label which side character is talking - - tone not clearly indicated - Episode two’s (2) transcript reads like a traditional script - - side character’s lines are clearly labeled - - sound effects barely mentioned - - tone not indicated

UNSCRIPTED PODCASTS

No Bad Ideas Transcript: None

Overly Sarcastic Podcast Transcript: None

I only listen to the mountain goats Transcript: none

ARCS Transcript: None

Join the Party Transcripts: Exist - Campaign 1 - Campaign 2 Ease of access: Bad - not linked from episode description - unclear how to find the transcripts from the website unless you know what to look for  - need to scroll down a ways to read the transcript Quality of Transcript: good -  sound effects clear  and easy to understand - easy to know who is talking and what is happening - tone not indicated

Spirits Podcast Transcripts: Exist - takes a little while between episode release and transcript upload Ease of Access: good - collective episode page linked directly to the episode description - takes a bit of clever clicking and scrolling to find the transcripts Quality of Transcript: Good - no tone indicators - the few effects that are included - easy to follow who is speaking and what they are saying

Sounds Fake but Okay

Transcripts: exist

Ease of Access: good

- clearly hyperlinked under every episode

- not labeled on the home page of the website, but found under the “episodes” drop down 

- website list is easy to read, although I personally am not a huge fan of the three columns

Quality of Transcript: meh

- speaker clearly indicated

- easy to read

- no tone indicators

- do not follow their words exactly (delete likes and ums) which makes it hard to read and listen at the same time

- moments when they interrupt each other not transcribed well, also hard to read and listen

- shift in tones indicated

[joshjacksons]

Joshua Jackson interview with “Irish Independent”

It was during a childhood visit to his granny’s house in Dublin’s Ballyfermot that Joshua Jackson smoked his first cigarette.

“My memories of those visits to Ballyfermot are quite sweet really,” the Dawson’s Creek actor recalls. “I was always running around with the neighbourhood kids, getting into trouble. Not bad trouble, just little-kid trouble. Although, technically it’s where I smoked my first cigarette, so that in itself isn’t the sweetest memory.”

Jackson’s handsome face surges with deep laughter lines and quiet dimples at the mention of mum Fiona’s home turf. “She might prefer I’d say she was from Chapelizod”, he jokes, before proudly pinning his mum’s allegiance to “Ballyer”.

Was the young Canadian treated like a shiny, exotic object by the local kids? “I was a bit, but I became less exotic the older I got. Culturally, I was so far away from an Irish kid but in a little pack of children, everyone finds their level. It also helped that I had my own cousins, my own blood, around with us. I had that family connection so I never felt too exoticised.”

An entry on his IMDb profile suggests his late grandparents Rosemary and Patrick were opera singers in Dublin, indicating that performance runs in the genes. The actor seems unaware. “Mum tells me they used to sing to each other a lot. My grandparents lived in council housing with a little kitchen out the back, garden right outside, and they would sing to each other through the window as he was out pottering about while she was cooking.

“But he was known more as a snooker shark around Ballyfermot. And my grandmother, she was known as a sainted mother of seven.”

Having welcomed his first child, Janie, with his wife, the actor Jodie Turner-Smith, last year, it’s obvious family is paramount for 43-year-old Jackson, as he Zoom-calls from a rich hotel suite with dark wallpaper and plump cushions in the background. It stems from an evident bond with his mum, whose presence lovingly peppers our conversation. Just 16 when she left Dublin, Fiona Jackson travelled through Paris, Amsterdam and Geneva before embracing the vibrancy of London’s Swinging Sixties and ultimately making for Vancouver in her early twenties.

In an entry on her blog, she speaks of falling for “the spectacular beauty of snow-capped mountains and the Pacific Ocean” and ultimately scoring an entry-level position at a Canadian talent agency. It led to a career as a successful casting agent, working on film classics including Carnal Knowledge with Jack Nicholson and McCabe & Mrs Miller with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie.

She met and married Joshua’s father, John Carter, and the young family moved to Los Angeles. Sister Aisleagh was born shortly before John walked out on the family, leaving a profound effect.

“My father, unfortunately, was not a good father or husband and exited the scene,” the actor disclosed last year, before adding it’s something he “will never get over”.

Young infants in tow, Fiona returned to Vancouver and, having found early success in casting, helped contribute to the foundation of the burgeoning “Hollywood North” industry on the Canadian west coast.

Accompanying his mum on set, young Joshua’s interests were piqued. “She introduced me to this world and saw from a young age that I enjoyed performing in a way that kids do. She allowed me the opportunity to step into her work world, but it was also very clear that it was work.”

He appeared as an extra on MacGyver and as a child actor’s double in The Fly II, and Fiona could see her son’s talent and genuine desire to impress. So she allowed him to audition. However, permission came with strict caveats.

“I don’t think my mum would have ever put me anywhere near the entertainment industry if I didn’t have something to offer to it. And not just for myself; she’s a prideful woman and didn’t want to be embarrassed by her kid.”

Casting 1991 melodrama Crooked Hearts with ER’s Noah Wyle, Fiona gave Joshua a chance to shine. Impressing the filmmakers, the then-12-year-old secured the part, setting him not only on a path to stardom but away from the troubles of his teen years.

“My mother gave me the guard rails I needed at that time and also recognised, being a working single mum and with me a young boy, transitioning into a teenager, I needed structure in my life. I needed something that I was passionate about and had a respect for, because I was kind of a typical teenage disaster.

“I look back on those times in my life and the two parallel tracks I was running on. On the one hand, getting into all sorts of trouble and, on the other hand, my professional life, where I showed up and learned my lines and did my job in order to be respected by the adults I was around. If I hadn’t had that professional side of my life, the other side would have taken over, and Mum saw that. Who knows where I would have ended up?”

So Jackson was a full-on teen delinquent? “Yeah, I was, to a certain extent. It was relatively innocent — nobody died — but I was a teenage boy who didn’t have a father in the home, didn’t have a man to be scared of, frankly, and as a teenage boy, I think that helps. My mum had to work and she wasn’t always in the house so I learned to get into more and more trouble. I got into just enough trouble to have a good time and learn some lessons but if I hadn’t had my work life, I might have tipped over into the kind of trouble that you don’t come back from.”

Three decades in and Jackson remains one of the hardest-working, most recognisable actors in the game. Hitting pay dirt at 18 as Dawson’s Creek’s Pacey Witter — the wisecracking, teacher-bedding antithesis to James Van Der Beek’s beleaguered titular drip — the actor was a revelation: the soul and bite of a seasoned character performer in the guise of relatable poster-boy idol.

Teens swooned, so did the industry, and alongside Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams and Katie Holmes, Jackson had Hollywood at his feet.

A string of popcorn offerings followed — Cruel Intentions, Gossip, Shutter, Cursed — some quality, others derivative, with the small screen ultimately best utilising his skills. A five-season run on sci-fi series Fringe was followed by an outstanding turn on Showtime’s The Affair. Last year, he maintained a brooding presence opposite Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in Little Fires Everywhere. And this year, he takes on arguably his darkest work yet in Dr Death.

The new miniseries is based on the non-fiction podcast of the same name, and Jackson portrays Christopher Duntsch, a former spinal surgeon who maimed 33 patients owing to gross malpractice while operating in hospitals in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Two of these patients lost their lives. Convicted in 2017, Duntsch is currently in prison and serving life imprisonment. He still maintains his innocence, with his defence arguing that he was merely a bad surgeon, not a criminal.

Exuding a simmering malevolence, the actor showcases Duntsch’s disturbing complexities and terrifying behaviour as a narcissist and sociopath with a keen insight. Did Jackson meet with Duntsch? “I wanted to, but that was going to be really difficult because he’s appealing his case and his lawyers would’ve advised against it. And as I got deeper into the materials and podcast, and got a better understanding of the man, I don’t think it would’ve helped because he still really believes he’s the victim of his own patients, and the lawyers and the legal system. I’m not sure asking a liar for the truth gets you any closer to the truth.”

When it came to the victims, Jackson wanted to maintain a respectful distance. “I didn’t need to drag them through those awful memories again and I’m always a little dubious about asking people to delve into the worst moments of their life just to satisfy my curiosity. The questions had already been asked thanks to the podcast.”

Dr Death came at the right time in the actor’s life. New baby daughter Janie offered a crucial respite from the intense, and often dark, six-month foray into Duntsch’s malignant psyche.

“Inhabiting Mr Duntsch was an ugly space to live in for six months. If I’d been coming home to an empty house every night, it would have been a pretty bleak existence. It was so much better to come back to a loving home. My one-year-old doesn’t give a damn what I was doing that day. She just wants to be loved and hugged and cuddled, and it was the perfect antidote when some days were particularly heavy.”

Recently Jackson confessed that the Dawson’s Creek cast won’t be returning for a retrospective reunion like the Friends stars did earlier this year. “If you put our mid-forties selves together on a couch now, with our creaking backs, it might shock people.”

Quizzed on an actual reboot of the drama, Joshua reckons he’s simply too old to replicate the iconic rapid exchanges of dialogue between the garrulous young characters. “We were like The West Wing for teenagers,” he laughs, referencing Aaron Sorkin’s hit political TV series, also infamous for speedy script delivery. “My 43-year-old brain couldn’t do a show at that pace. Back then, we were doing seven, 10 pages a day and, to deliver dialogue at that speed, you have to have a certain mental capacity for that, and I don’t have it anymore. That’s the real reason why we’re not doing a reunion — I’ve become too dumb to keep up with that script.”

He remains in touch with his DC co-stars, including Holmes, his one-time girlfriend of two years. There’s even a text chain. “It goes through spurts every once in a while. I’ll have a bunch of messages on it and then it’ll go dormant. We’re like college friends — there are moments we’re all in contact and then long, fallow periods as we get on with our lives.”

While maintaining a busy slate, Jackson’s overwhelming purpose continues to circle the women in his life. Turner-Smith is currently shooting a new movie with Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig, so he’s assuming full-time dad duties. It’s an equitable arrangement given the flexible needs of their individual commitments, and one he appears content with.

[wecantseeyou]

a word on color - how line of duty series 6 uses wardrobe color to frame narrative (pt 2)

Author’s note: this is part 2 for this essay on wardrobe color. For part one, read it here. This post covers episodes 2 and 3, which is the close of Act 1 of this series’ arc and the opening of Act 2. Here I discuss… things? Idk. Again, fair warning, I’m American and this is in no way, shape, or form edited and I won’t apologize for it.

ALSO: I’m feeling a bit like I’m losing my mind, and maybe this is just a COVID filming situation, but I think some of the scenes in series 6 are shown to us out of order. Now that I’m tracking every outfit, it’s surprising how frequently Kate and Jo wear the same outfits in scenes together when time (usually days) is meant to have passed in the interim. This is most clear in episode 3. Maybe I’m onto something, maybe I’m over-reading. Who knows!

Anyways, any words on wardrobe below the cut!

EPISODE 2

We open this episode with the team at AC-12, with Hastings, Steve, and gem of series 6 Chloe briefing the team on the inquiry into Operation Lighthouse, the investigation into the murder of Gail Vella. Steve is wearing his standard uniform of a navy three-piece suit, white shirt, and reddish-purple tie (more on this later). (note: the American in me wants to note the nods to nationalism and representing the ‘system’ in this color combination, but I’m actually not sure if that symbolism holds true for the UK). This scene establishes Steve’s position as Jo’s narrative foil - he is the crusader working to root out her corruption. His blue suit is his armor in the battle against bent coppers (unfortunately, not the Battle of Hastings).

Next, we return to MIT with another briefing. This time, Lomax is briefing Jo and Kate on the CHIS’s whereabouts before his murder. Jo implores him to find a witness in order to get a positive ID on ‘Ross Turner’ - is he really Terry Boyle, or Carl Banks? 

We see Jo in a black turtleneck under a grey suit, and Kate is in a light brown suit jacket with green undertones over a navy turtleneck. Again, Jo’s outfit is hinting at her corruption while Kate’s is both hinting at her philosophical allegiance with AC-12 and her relationship with Jo in the color of her jacket. During this scene, we see Farida watch Kate and Jo share a look before she stands abruptly and heads into Buckells’ office. Once Lomax leaves, Kate tries to discuss the possibility of a leak leading to Alistair Oldroyd’s murder, which Jo says is an obvious line of inquiry before sharing that she believes sometimes the fewer police that know, the better. 

Right after this scene, Jo learns from Buckells that Farida has requested a transfer, citing personal reasons right to the face of her personal reasons. Thought Jo was wearing black without participating in some bent shenanigans? Think again! She convinces Buckells that Jatri was a difficult person to work with and would be best elsewhere, offering to write her a recommendation for the transfer. It’s important to note that yes, Jo is getting rid of Jatri in order to remove an obstacle to her work for the OCG (which she later does to the extreme), but she also makes this choice because she genuinely cares for Farida and is attempting to get distance in order to protect her. Sure, she flips on that in a matter of days, but she does make an attempt.

In part, it’s actually Farida’s subsequent actions stalking Jo outside of her home that show Jo that her ex remains a threat to her ability to manipulate the Vella case in secrecy. You can see in the scene that Jo isn’t on her guard - she’s in her casual clothes outside of work, donning a blue sweatshirt over a grey turtleneck, all under a grey coat. In her personal space, the tone of Jo’s wardrobe is entirely cool, because despite her actions, she is at her heart someone who wants to find justice. Seeing Farida though? That makes her deeply nervous.

We then see Steve and #1 DC Chloe Bishop meeting with Gail Vella’s producer, who shares that Gail had been working on a story about police corruption for a podcast. Steve is wearing his backup uniform, a grey suit with a light blue shirt and red tie. Again, he is seeking out the truth in pursuit of justice. Here we find out the motive for Gail’s murder - she was about to expose the Central Police for what they were. Again, this is Steve acting as Jo’s foil - while she worked on behalf of the OCG to obfuscate the motives for Gail’s murder, Steve wants to seek the truth. Reporting back to Hastings, the gaffer makes Steve a DI in response to Steve hoping to use Kate as an informant on the Hill.

Enter: a right shit hole. Steve organizes a surreptitious meeting with Kate in a graffitied underground walkway (note: y’all we don’t have many of these on the east coast, is this a regular thing in the UK??). Steve is wearing the same outfit as before, but with a navy coat. This navy coat is very similar to a navy trench coat we see Kate wear on multiple occasions, including later in this very episode. This shows both his pursuit of justice, motivating his reveal to Kate about the investigation into Davidson’s team, and also their shared allegiance and connection with one another.  Kate, meanwhile, shows up in a green coat. As noted before, green can be used to demonstrate the space Kate occupies between AC-12 and Jo. It is a cool tone, showing her dedication to anti-corruption, but a cool tone that exists because of the influence of a warm tone.

Steve asks Kate to again act as an informant, which she says she’ll think about, and tells her that an official inquiry into Operation Lighthouse has begun. Interestingly, Kate is actually upset that Steve shares this information with her because it puts her in a difficult position between her allegiance to Jo and her belief in rooting out corruption. She expresses this displeasure, all the way through her parting words when she insults Steve’s choice in meeting location. 

Kate’s rather dramatic stomp off transitions immediately to the murder scene of Carl Banks. 

Quick car interlude here! Now, I cannot for the life of me tell you the make of car that Jo drives because it doesn’t exist in the US, but I would be remiss not to note the very dark, almost red tone of the paint color. Meanwhile, Kate drives a bright blue Audi, and Steve drives a slate grey Volvo (hello Mr. Cullen). The color choices between these characters literally persist through their vehicles, which is a level of attention to detail very few shows can hope to reach.

Back to Carl Banks’ slashed up body - Lomax, per usual, gives Kate and Jo the low down on the crime scene. We then meet Farida’s replacement - PC Ryan ‘the bent bastard’ Pilkington, who conveniently finds the murder weapon. Kate, dressed in the navy coat I previously noted as a parallel to Steve’s, has a moment of recognition, but can’t place him directly. Jo, in her classic grey coat, acts cool as a cucumber at his introduction. Kate is wearing that navy coat to show her critical eye - it’s awfully convenient that they found the murder weapon so close to the body, and her spidey-senses are set off by Pilkington’s presence. 

Back at MIT, Lomax continues to be the only detective at MIT to do any work, and gives Kate and Jo the low down on the forensics at the scene. Ryan quickly interrupts, and Kate asks how she knows him, but he brushes her off. The outfits for the next few scenes are very, very interesting. Kate, for one of the only times in the whole season, is wearing a black suit with a white shirt buttoned all the way to the throat. Jo looks fantastic in a dark blue suit over an orangish brown turtleneck. I’ll break down the symbolism in a moment, because our boy Arnott has gotten approval for a raid on Operation Lighthouse.

And boy does he storm into this raid in full AC-12 style! Navy overcoat, blue suit, light blue shirt, purple tie, moral high horse. But wait, Jo is there to stop the raid in its tracks after getting permission from the Deputy Chief Constable to withhold Operation Lighthouse files for fear of leaks. Steve stands there momentarily aghast, egg on his face, while Kate looks on with resolve on her face. Now, Steve’s outfit here is clear - the cool tones of his suit represent his desire to find the corruption in the Vella murder case. On its face, Jo’s outfit is also pretty clear - the warm tones of her sweater align with the way she stonewalls the AC-12 investigation.

However, it’s Kate’s outfit that I think is the most revealing. Even when the colors are neutral, Kate is almost always dressed in color and is rarely depicted in strict black and white outfits. This is a certain visual irony, as in past seasons we have seen that Kate has the most obviously black and white sense of morality. The show does make it a point to have Kate in a clear black and white outfit here, and her shirt is notably buttoned all the way to the top. This actually highlights the space Kate finds herself in that is not black and white - she is stuck between her desire to help Steve and her loyalty to Jo. This position makes her uncomfortable, and also strips her of any visual allegiance to both Steve and Jo. 

But Kate has made a decision - she chose to warn Jo about the investigation, which gives Jo time to prepare. Unbeknownst to Kate at the time (we assume), this actually allows Jo some time to put others in the frame for her interference in the Vella investigation. Steve calls Kate and is rightfully furious, but she tries to implore him to think of her position, where, as the former anti-corruption officer in the unit, she has to prove her loyalty to Jo and the MIT. 

Steve, not at all understanding of Kate’s position, reports this to Hastings who goes straight to the Deputy Chief Constable and gets permission for AC-12 to raid MIT again. He’s obviously not the focus of this analysis but Ted really has some iconic lines in the scene with the DCC and then after with Steve, and I love our vaguely corrupt gaffer (if he’s the fourth man, I’ll fly to the UK to confront Jed myself).

Armed with new permission from the DCC fashion icon Chloe again raids AC-12, and serves Jo with a Reg-15, which in LoD-speak is a formal request to report to AC-12 for questioning. Cue some lovely eye contact between Kate and Jo.

Speaking of lovely eye contact, here we get the first interaction between Kate and Jo where they’re outside of work. Kate and Jo debrief the AC-12 raid and Jo's Reg-15 notice while at dinner with some wine. The men at the table next to them offer to buy them another round of drinks, but Jo flashes her badge and shuts them down. She then ruefully apologizes to Kate for ruining her chances, to which Kate replies that they weren't her type and they share a smile and lots of eye contact. (Note: two of my exes have said that to me about men in the past, so the accuracy in this flirtation is remarkable.) They’re dressed in the same clothes as they were at the office, with a notable exception - Kate’s shirt is unbuttoned. Sure, is this her just relaxing after a long, stressful work day? Yes, of course. But it is also notable that this relaxation happens with Jo specifically, and she’s the one comforting Jo about the Reg-15. 

Later, as the two are walking to their cars, they’re again wearing their outer layers, a navy coat for Kate and grey coat for Jo. Again, they’re both wearing cool tones, with the expectation of the glimpse of Jo’s sweater, which is a hint of her hidden corruption. They thank each other for a nice time. They do the awkward goodbye-but-no-one-wants-to-leave thing, which did in fact send me straight back to a few awkward nights after the bat. Then Kate invites Jo out for the weekend, which she's initially tentative about. They hug, which inspires Jo to tell Kate she's free since she just got out of a long term relationship, and she'd love to see her at the weekend. 

Unfortunately, sapphic trysts must give way to Jo’s interview with AC-12. For the first time, we see her dressed in an all blue outfit, a dark blue suit over a lighter blue shirt, buttoned all the way to the top, which hints at her discomfort. Steve (along with Chloe in a blue shirt), is dressed yet again in his away game kit, a grey suit with a white shirt and red tie. Now, I won’t go into the details of everything because there’s still a decent amount to cover, but the long and short of it is that Jo denies all corruption, she lies about Buckells, Farida, the armed robbery, basically everything. They're about to arrest her when she says they should search Farida, Lomax, and Buckells as well if they’re investigating her, since they had access to the same information. All the while she knows they’ll find the burner phones at Farida’s and paints her as a scorned lover looking for revenge. Farida wouldn’t walk away cleanly, which makes Jo feel like she needs to more permanently remove her from the situation while protecting herself. She also sets up Buckells, having already planted evidence on him and manipulating the wrong surveillance authority on Carl Banks’ flat. 

Because of this, Farida is arrested and Steve serves Buckells with a search warrant.

At first, this seems like the first time Jo has been dressed with the ‘justice’ color scheme while acting in an evidently corrupt way. It could also be read as AC-12 having ‘trapped’ her, also shown through the framing of the shot above. But as is often with this show, not all is as it appears. More on her outfit later.

We close the episode back with Jo in the all blue outfit. She is released from custody, and Ryan Pilkington, who asks her if she heard about Farida’s arrest. Here, Jo offers a rather chilling response. “That’s what happens to a rat.” Upon first watch, there’s perhaps no better sign of a bent cop. But we later learn that Ryan was sent by the OCG to keep an eye on Jo after AC-12 began snooping around the Vella investigation. What appears at first to be Jo confirming that leaks from the MIT will not be tolerated. The revelation about Ryan’s role as intimidation changes this interaction entirely. It’s not confirmation from Jo, it’s a threat from Ryan - ‘did you hear what happened to Farida? That’s what will happen to you.’ and he doesn’t move the car until she confirms that she’s heard him and understood.

The final scene takes Jo to an abandoned lot, where she meets a man who gives her a new burner phone. She picks it up, gets back in her car, and has a complete breakdown. 

Now, the outfit. It’s interesting that Jo is dressed in the same color scheme as the group that ostensibly opposes her, especially as we see her lie through her teeth and manipulate the law and truth to her advantage repeatedly throughout her interview. It isn’t until we see the scenes with Pilkington and Jo crying in her car that we see her actions and her true personhood do not align. While the audience is not yet aware Jo has been manipulated not just throughout her career, but starting in her teen years, the creative team is telling us the plain truth: the visuals associated Jo with AC-12 exist because she is ultimately good.

EPISODE 3

Note: Y’all, at this point I stopped tracking Steve super closely because I think they only gave Martin two suits this season?? And honestly I’m only vaguely tracking on the Steph Corbett stuff. The long and short of it is that he’s wearing cool tones all the time because he’s the symbol of AC-12, etc, etc.

Episode 3 opens with Lomax learning about a witness to the altercation between Alistair Oldroyd and ‘Ross Turner,’ where the man identifying as Ross Turner boasted of killing Gail Vella. He quickly gathers Jo and Kate to tell them the news. Kate is wearing a simple grey sweater, while Jo is wearing a grey suit with a blue sweater and blue shirt. 

We then immediately see Jo and Kate watching Lomax’s interview with this witness. She identifies the man going by Ross Turner as a man matching the description of Terry Boyle. This piques Kate’s interest, and Jo tells her to get a positive ID on Terry while they get him in for another interview. These outfits don’t necessarily relate directly to the scenes they’re worn in, but set the stage for both women’s actions throughout the rest of the episode. That’s not to say the outfits don’t relate at all, of course, but they repeat similar themes that I’ve already discussed. 

Cue another interview of Terry Boyle, this time with Kate and Jo. Kate is wearing a green mockneck sweater, and Jo is wearing a navy suit with an orangish brown sweater, an outfit we’ve seen her in before. As Jo and Kate interview Terry, he grows increasingly agitated, not dissimilar to his first interview, which Jo notes to his representation. Kate keeps pushing him, trying to get a clear answer, but Jo repeatedly tries to get her to back off before eventually stopping the interview right as Terry talks about the man who ‘did it.’ The two women then get into a disagreement as Jo tears into Kate for potentially intimidating a vulnerable witness, while Kate thinks they could’ve pushed him harder. This is the first time we see the two of them disagree, which puts them at odds. 

The clothing here serves dual narrative purposes. The first, with the contrasting brown and green of Jo and Kate’s clothing, we see a visual representation of their disagreement. The second purpose is actually a red herring. Kate’s green sweater does its standard job of showing both her allegiance to Jo (yellow) and her pursuit of justice (blue). Jo’s outfit, on the other hand, again ties her actions to the OCG. She stops the interview right as Terry is about to divulge more information, knowing that this will give away the real killer. We think this is because of her work with the OCG, but that’s not true at all.

After the disagreement between the two women, we see Jo watching a recording of the Terry Boyle interview, wearing a grey turtleneck. In contrast to her behavior in the interview and afterward with Kate, Jo actually seems oddly pleased by Terry’s clear statement of the other man having killed Gail Vella. Because that’s the thing about Jo, she knows how to play the game. She played the part of the perfectly manipulative bent cop by ending the interview when it seemed like some vital information was about to leak. This small moment that the show decided to include tells us everything we need to know because Jo wants the truth to come out, she just doesn’t want anyone else to know. Terry said just enough in that interview to raise alarm bells, but her actions look like someone trying to prevent that information from being revealed. That’s why Jo is wearing a grey sweater here, not the orangish brown from the interview - the cool tone shows her true desire for the truth.

I also believe this is why Kate was in the interview instead of Lomax, who we’ve seen in most past interviews. Lomax is far more laid back and passive than Kate, who mostly listens until she sees a line of questioning that she can crack open further. Jo knows her team, and she knows Kate. Getting told off by her boss when she thinks she’s on to something is not enough to dissuade Kate. Jo trusts that about Kate, and uses it to her advantage. It ties back to something we don’t learn until episode 6 - Jo sought Kate out as her new DI specifically because of Kate’s anti-corruption background. This is that reasoning in action. A former AC-12 might just be the person needed to find justice despite Jo’s personal interference.

After this, we see DI Kate “loves a car chase” Fleming tailing the escort taking Terry home, which includes Ryan Pilkington and another PC, Lisa Patel. She immediately notes that they have gone off the planned route, and lo and behold, the bent bastard drives the patrol car directly into a reservoir, drowning Lisa and attempting to drown Terry. Kate is quick to the scene and immediately gets involved, preventing Ryan from carrying out the murder of Terry. She rushes out of her (blue) car wearing a blue coat and blue scarf - she is justice incarnate. 

Lomax and Jo quickly arrive at the scene, and Jo shows concern for Kate. Jo is in the same suit and sweater combination she was wearing during the Boyle interview with the addition of a grey jacket, while Kate is wrapped in a blue blanket. Jo, stuck between the OCG and justice; Kate, wrapped in a symbol of truth. Jo specifically notes that it’s lucky Kate was passing by, to which Kate agrees, not correcting her. I’ll admit, at first I didn’t really understand what Jo is playing at here. Anyone can tell that Kate wasn’t just passing by - the reservoir was well off the main road. What is she talking about?

Well, your honor, she’s leading the witness. She’s telling Kate what she wants to hear before the DI has a chance to speak the truth. Plausible deniability. We also see Jo spend an awful lot of time watching Kate as she traverses the scene, and the framing is set up to make it seem like Jo is wary of Kate. Reality, however, is a little different. This is actually the moment that tells Jo she needs to create distance between herself and Kate, not because she’s worried that Kate will look too closely at her, but because her actions nearly got an innocent man killed and she doesn’t want Kate to be at risk.

Later, we see Kate visit AC-12 in a grey sweatshirt and jeans, willing to work with the navy-clad Steve to find the leak at MIT because of the attempted murder of Terry Boyle. We then immediately see the two former partners doing research on Pilkington’s background - he has clearly caught Kate’s attention. The two trained investigators are clearly paralleled in color, both dressed in cool tones as they work to seek out justice. 

Back at MIT, Jo watches Kate arrive at work from a window, wearing a red shirt under a navy suit. It’s clearly meant to be a menacing cue, especially with the red shirt, but later scenes show that all may not be as it appears. Meanwhile, Kate continues her pursuit of Pilkington by interviewing him about the crash. He seems to have all the answers, and remains polite throughout, but it’s clear that Kate doesn’t trust him. She’s wearing the same orange and blue striped turtleneck from the first episode under a navy suit. Throughout their conversation, Jo is watching from her office, again, something that appears on its face to be menacing, but may not be. 

Kate’s outfit is much the same as the first time she wore it - her combined associations with Jo and AC-12 as she works to catch Ryan. Jo is wearing the same outfit as she did while watching Kate through the window, a subtle red herring from the production team. More on Jo’s seemingly big bad evil behaviour later.

After Kate’s conversation with Ryan, our resident anti-corruption officer comes storming into AC-12 headed straight to Jo’s office, where she sits wearing a grey suit, orange sweater, and white shirt. Steve is wearing his blue suit, with a light blue shirt and green tie. He shows up at MIT to ask Jo about a possible burglary in the Vella case. She doesn't know anything but tells him to ask the team, and he asks her if she hid or removed any files, which she denies. He also asks if she knows if anyone who would benefit from Farida not testifying. Cue guilty look and further denial. She tells him "You should investigate," and he confirms he’s planning to. Throughout this scene, Kate is looking on wearing a green shirt. 

Jo’s outfit is obvious - she’s lying through her teeth to Steve and feels guilty for what she did to Farida. Steve has his classic AC-12 action suit on, with the change of a green tie, visually tying him to Kate, wearing a green top. Kate’s outfit obviously ties her to Steve, but as with other instances of Kate wearing green, it also shows her connection to Jo.

But wait, dear viewer, it’s been so long since our last Lomax low-down! Have no fear, because Kate and Chris are discussing the witness at the pub, and seems dissatisfied with his lack of attention to detail when he admits that he hasn’t done his due diligence to vet her. Kate is wearing a more casual blue zip-up jumper with a white t-shirt, again on her pursuit of justice. Jo watches from her office wearing a green turtleneck and grey suit.

For those counting at home, this is the fourth very obvious shot of Jo watching Kate so far this episode. And that makes sense, because this color change in Jo actually shows how her thoughts and actions are in conflict. She continues to interfere with the investigation, but she doesn’t want to be. She’s nervous about the consequences for those around her, Kate in particular.

It seems only right that this leads to date night part 2, where we get more insight into Jo while Kate grows more confused. They’re at the same restaurant as before, but they’re sitting on opposite sides of the table. Kate is wearing a light grey sweater, and Jo is wearing a grey suit, grey sweater and light blue shirt. The way their wardrobe coloring is coordinated in this moment is done for two reasons: to show that these characters have a connection, and to show that Jo’s actions in this scene are something she believes to be right. 

Jo notes that it's nice to get out of the station and that it's easier to talk there. About Terry. Talk about Terry Boyle they do, and AC-12's interest in interviewing him. Kate asks about the rumors between Jo and Farida, and Jo denies it all, including her sexuality in all. When she leaves to go to the restroom, Kate has a look of confusion on her face. At first glance, this seems to be Jo separating herself from Farida for fear of discovery, but her clothes give us a hint at her real motivation. Jo is trying to discourage Kate from their burgeoning relationship by implying that she wouldn’t be interested. This clearly makes Jo uncomfortable, but it’s the first clear step she takes to distance herself from Kate once she realizes how her association with the other woman puts Kate in danger. This is also a self-preservation tactic - if she and Kate aren’t as close, it might not hurt as much if the OCG get to her.

This is also the last time we see the two of them out of work together until the fateful lorry park.

Back at work, however, the bent bastard is getting a commendation from Buckells for his heroic actions, which disgusts Kate in her grey turtleneck. She goes to leave the room but stops when she meets Jo, wearing a navy suit and red shirt. Kate uses the opportunity to fish for information about Pilkington, and is met with a surprise: Jo didn’t put Ryan on the team, Buckells did. Kate in her grey is still seeking answers about Ryan, while Jo in her red is trying to shift attention away from her bent activities (though she was honest about not looking to put Ryan on the team - she was lucky enough to have that thrust upon her). 

Jo then takes this chance to swing by Farida’s apartment, and finds out that AC-12 is doing another search of the property, which clearly makes her afraid of what they’ll discover, aka her DNA all over the house. 

After visiting Farida’s, we see an utterly distraught and scared Jo return to her apartment, the blue haven.

Despite Jo’s fears after visiting Farida’s, her prayers are somewhat answered in the form of one DI Kate Fleming. Both are wearing the same outfits from Jo’s cross-office staredown of Kate’s meeting with Lomax, and Kate is bearing the fruits of that conversation. She didn’t trust the witness’ statement, and had Chris do some further digging, only to discover the witness and Buckells had a previous connection. Jo, being given a hail mary, uses this to her advantage and makes Buckells her scapegoat, but not before telling Kate the absolute truth: “I needed someone on my team I could trust completely. Someone with no chance of being bent. Who better than an anti-corruption officer?” We learn later that this is exactly why Jo hired Kate in the first place, but in reality she was trusting Kate to stop her, not Buckells. 

The two arrest Buckells and take him to AC-12, and we get an interesting shot of Kate leaving in the elevator, a blue cityscape behind her with the noticeable view of yellow construction scaffolding standing out against the cool colors, visually telling the audience about her bent actions. 

Jo then returns to her all blue apartment in the grey suit and green turtleneck, sending a message to an unknown user at the OCG saying it's "All under control now." The green turtleneck highlights both Jo’s feelings of being trapped with the high neckline, and her occupation of the space between justice and corruption. Like with Kate before, she’s wearing a cool color, where her heart lies, and its infection by a warm color, the iron fist of the OCG on her throat. 

We close this episode with Jo staring off into the middle distance, a look somewhere between relief and desperation on her face.

[bittywitches]

A random Dialogue I came up with in my head while trying to fall asleep the night before. // G.D

Been having trouble writing lately and ended up just daydreaming (night dreaming?) abt Grayson one night, so I thought I’d try and just get it out and write something. Enjoy :)

You’re sitting in your bedroom, laying on your back with your laptop sitting on your stomach. You’re cuddled up with your jumbo-oversized teddy bear, your head resting on it’s furry stomach and your elbows lazily resting against it’s fat squishy legs. A google doc is opened on your screen, and you’re trying to half-assedly write a response for your final project on why Duke Orsino actually was gay in Twelfth Night, along with many of the other supporting characters, despite what most old white bardolators may tell you. 

You feel a vibration near your leg, and you tilt your head to the side to see someone calling your phone. You pick it up, and your eyes widen when you see that it's a facetime call from Grayson Dolan. This was, of course, a shock, considering you and Grayson weren’t even that close friends, you only occasionally texted each other anymore, barely ever called, and literally NEVER facetimed. You guys had barely spoken to each other since quarantine had started, so it was definitely a surprise. 

Your eyes flicker to your laptop screen, seeing that it’s around 9pm. Not too late that it’s sketchy or anything, but still pretty late for it to be strange.

You place your laptop down beside you and situp, leaning back against your headboard, quickly tying your hair up into a quick messy bun to make yourself look somewhat presentable. You slide the green phone icon across your screen.

Grayson’s face appears on your phone. He’s wearing a cute oversized fuzzy hoodie. His short hair is a bit frizzy, and it still takes you by surprise because you’re so used to seeing his long flowy locks.

“Heyy,” Grayson says, smiling at you. From behind his screen, Grayson sets himself down onto the living room couch, laying back on the arm.

“Hey.” You respond.

“What’re you up to?”

“Uhh, not much. Just working on final assignments and whatnot.”

“Oh, yea, school’s almost over for you, right?”

“Yep, just a few more weeks.”

“Bet you’re excited to finally get time off.”

You chuckle. “Yeah, tired of being stressed all the time.”

“Makes sense.”

An awkward silence fills both your rooms.

“Soo…” Grayson lays his head on the side of his couch.

“What’s up? Why’d you call?” You ask him.

“Oh, no reason. Just bored and felt like talking to someone.”

“Ethan not home?”

“Nah, he went out skateboarding with some friends.”

“This late?”

“It’s not that late. Just went to the park nearby.”

“Sounds fun. You know, I’ve always wanted to learn how to skateboard.”

“Yea?”

“Mhm. Maybe E can teach me sometime.”

“Hey, I know how to skateboard too. And I’d definitely be a much better teacher.”

You laugh. “Alright, next time we meet up you can teach me how to skateboard.”

“It’s a date.”

You both give a lighthearted chuckle, but then things turn quiet again.

“Erm, hold on.” You place your phone down on your bed. 

“Where’re you goin’?”

“Gonna put my phone on a pillow so I don’t have to keep holding it,” You say, grabbing your nearest one and doing your best to balance your phone on top of it.

“Is that a giant teddy bear?” From the angle of your phone, Grayson can see your big stuffed animal sitting behind you. 

“Haha, yea.” You lean back down on it briefly to give him a better idea of the size. “He’s my cuddle buddy.”

“That’s cute.”

“Our relationship has gotten a lot stronger since quarantine started.” You peck the bear on the nose. Grayson laughs.

“I’m happy for you guys.” You giggle, sitting back up. 

“Why thank you.” You turn your attention back to your laptop quickly, and Grayson follows your line of vision.

“So what subject is this final for?”

“English.” You sigh. “Which sucks, because I’m shit at it.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Oh but it is. I always do incredibly bad, I’m literally the worst.”

“Well you’re definitely not the worst, because I exist.”

“Well yeah but it’s not your fault that you can’t read.”

“Hey, I can read!”

“Sorry, It’s not your fault that you’re ass at reading. It is however my fault that I can’t write for shit.” 

He laughs. “Fine, sure.”

You giggle. “Sorry. Just a bit stressed.”

“No big deal.”

Silence again. Usually now would be the time you’d make some excuse and cut the call. But for some reason unknown to you, you didn’t want to do that. You want to fill it.

“Oh, I watched your guys’ last video.” You raise an eyebrow at him. “Tell me you guys weren’t just trying to look like douchebags with your literal 100 grand.”

“Aughhh,” He groans, rubbing his face with the hand not holding his phone. “I swear we really weren’t.”

“Uhuh.”

“I realize that it may not look like that,”

“Oh really?”

“Considering we actually had wads of cash,”

“Mhmmm.”

“But we weren't, I swear. We just thought it’d be funny for a stupid little video.” 

“Okay then.”

“Hey!”

“Not judging.” 

“Since when do you watch our videos anyways?”

You gave him a side-look. “What do you mean? You think I don’t?”

He shrugs. “Dunno. Just assumed…”

“You’re my friend. ‘Course I do.”

He smiles.

“Plus they are pretty fun. Like to have them on in the background when I work sometimes..”

“No way, really?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“I mean, all the ones since quarantine we’ve had to be pretty creative with. Since we’re stuck at home and all.”

“You guys don’t give yourselves enough credit. I love what you come up with. It’s cool to just listen to you both ramble about stuff.”

“...Are you saying you also listen to the podcast?”

Your eyes shoot back to him. He was actually joking, but seeing your guilty expression lead to the smug sort of look on his face.

“You guys have very satisfying voices, okay?”

“Uhuh.”

“Shut the fuck up!” You laugh, and he does as well.

“Either way, thanks. It means a lot that you do. I never really know if people we’re friends with like our stuff, so it’s good to know that at least someone does.”

You smile, and he returns it. 

You suddenly hear a ding coming from his side.

“Oh shit almost forgot about my toast-” You see Grayson’s phone wobble as he gets up to head for the kitchen.

“Avocado?”

“You know it.” “Dang, I don’t think I’ve had avocado toast since…” You pause. “Huh. I guess since I accidentally ran into you at that one restaurant and we happened to get food together.”

“What-” He rights the phone so it’s facing him again. “That was ages ago!”

“Yea, I know.”

“That’s unacceptable.”

“You may think so.”

“Alright, so after I teach you how to skateboard, I’m gonna have to take you out for food.”

You laugh. “Is that a set in stone thing?”

“Oh definitely.”

He sets his food down on a table, and you watch as he tries to balance his phone up against something. He sits down, then takes a bit before looking back up at you.

“So when’s this due?”

“Uhh, tomorrow night.”

“You almost done?”

“Er..” You look at your half written page. “...sort of.”

“So no,” he chuckles, and you do too. 

“I’ll finish it, don’t worry.”

“Didn’t say I was.”

“Well that’s ru-”

“Because I know you’ll finish it,” He interrupts you, and you roll your eyes. “You always do.”

You sigh, setting your elbow down on your knee and resting your face on your hand. You watch him silently for a bit, and he takes a few more bites before realizing your eyes on him. 

“What?” He says, food still in his mouth.

“Nothin’,”

“Yea?”

“Yea, just… kinda just miss you.” You finally blurt out.

He stops chewing suddenly, and looks at his phone with a very intent look. He expects you to say more, but you don’t, looking back at your laptop screen.

He swallows, then sets his toast down. “Kinda just miss you too.”

You smile, trying to hide it by squishing the palm of your hand into your face, not taking your eyes off of the illuminated laptop.

“Why don’t we hang out anymore?”

“Because we’re legally not allowed to.” You finally look back at your phone, grabbing it from it’s pillow stand and then flopping down onto your bear’s belly.

He rolls his eyes. “No, smartass. Before that.”

You shrug. “Dunno. We never really did to begin with.”

“Sure we did, there was the restaurant, and…” He trails off, looking far away at some corner of the room.

“I mean we hung out with other friends. And we talked sometimes.” You shrug again. “Not really much else though.”

He runs a hand through his short hair. “Why not?”

You laugh. “Bro, I don’t know! You never asked!”

“Well I fuckin wanted to!” He rubs his face with both his hands as he chuckles. 

“Really?” Your laughter dies down now, a softer tone taking on your voice.

“Duh, of course.” He tilts his head as his soft eyes look at you. “You’re really fucking cool, and I really wanted to get to know you better, but it felt weird to just randomly come out of no where and be like ‘hey, wanna hang out?’ like that shit usually comes naturally, yknow?”

“Well, we don’t really hang out in the same circles, so I don’t know how it would.”

“Yeah, but I thought maybe…” He sighs. “I don’t know. I didn’t even know if you wanted to be friends or anything, so..”

“Well that’s frustrating.” You slump your shoulders down, relaxing more into your bed. “I really wanted to be friends. Just didn’t wanna seem fucking… annoying or anything.”

“Oh my god why are we like this.”

“I don’t fucking know!!” You both burst out laughing, and you momentarily drop your phone to rub the tears out of your eyes.

“Okay, it’s settled then.” You hear his voice and pick your phone up off your stomach to face it towards your face again, now sitting up. 

“What is?”

“After quarantine and everything is over I’m definitely taking you out for food and skateboarding.”

You grin. “Okay. Sounds amazing.”

“Great.” There’s quiet again, but it’s not awkward anymore, both of your gleeful grins speak volumes over it.

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

You giggle. “Okay, I should go. Should probably actually try and get this thing done.”

“Right. I’ll… call you tomorrow?”

You bite your tongue. “Yeah.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

You cut the call, and let your arms fall down to your sides as you fall back on your bed and grin up at the ceiling. You squeeze your eyes shut, just breathing in and out to calm yourself down from the little rush. Though the buzz of your phone once again catches your attention. 

You get up and look at it, seeing it’s a text from Grayson. 

Grayson D.: Just realized you probably don’t have a skateboard…

You bit your lip, and flopped down onto your belly now, your legs up in the air as you text him back.

Y/N: You’d be right 😅

Your eyes eagerly watch the three dots bouncing on the screen.

Grayson D.: Would you wanna borrow one of mine?

Y/N: I’m totally good with getting my own, but idk where

Grayson D.: Well there’s this shop near my house…

Assignment long forgotten, you and Grayson end up talking well into the night.