#so first I had to watch the show to figure out every relevant episode and make an outline
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catelyngrant · 2 months ago
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I will admit that, after last week's FEAST, I flew a little too close to the sun* with expectations for this week's double feature. That's on me.
Random and disorganized thoughts/spoilers!
The good:
Okay so first don't get me wrong, Deborah and Ava being The Worst while fighting but then even more obnoxious when not fighting is everything??? Their lunch with Jimmy and that little stairwell scene were just delightful and their honeymoon era is delicious to watch as a viewer/shipper but also I feel like anyone who has to deal with them regularly would not be convicted by any jury for whatever ends they may be driven to.
DJ is always a slam dunk. The "you ruin everything" territory was covered so well during the NA scene last season that it felt like frustrating ground to retread (see below) but I DID love her using the grandma access trump card. She had that speech prepared and I respect it.
Grandma Deborah/Aunt Deborah was so soft in the moments Jean let it be, and I really, really loved both those moments and how carefully she chose them.
DJ telling Ava why she chose her as godmother was so, so, so lovely and a scene I've wanted for a long time.
DJ's belief system is kind of mine too, tbh? And obviously obsessed with her using Catholicism as a D'Jewelry peddling scheme. It's always nice to see her and Deborah bonding through bitchiness, too.
Marcus's hair growing back was maybe the funniest thing in both episodes; that, or Jurassic Park (organ version).
I really, really loved the Mayor Jo storyline! The scene where they talk at her house is really a surprisingly beautiful one, and I appreciated so much how both actresses played it.
Nina is a chaotic nightmare as always and while I want to sleep on the childfree storyline, when she dropped "I'm worried you're not going to have kids" in the kitchen I absolutely lost it.
The not so good:
We get it: everyone wants to be on Hacks! Cameos galore! Alllll the (white) actors! The show is better when it has a core cast and deploys guest starts strategically, and that hasn't been the case this season. Dance Mom was funny and relevant at first; I'm done now (Julianne Nicholson's performance notwithstanding). Seth Rogen is great, and sure, let's stick Kiki in there for a hot second to be window dressing as an afterthought. Marcus's two scenes really only made me remember how much they didn't ever follow through on his complicated relationships with Deborah or Ava. I really, really hope that season five remembers what—apart from the Deborah and Ava of it all—made the show so special and successful to begin with.
That doesn't mean bring Marty back, though. It means get rid of Bob Lipka, please and thank you! As soon as Deborah walked into the house and saw that box, my heart sank.
Backing up: Deborah's scene at the christening didn't ring true. A) her scene with DJ at the NA meeting last season covered the "you ruin every event for me" both beautifully and explicitly, and even if it hadn't, the combination of a) just...why? It felt so forced, but also b) she is a VERY PUBLIC FIGURE right now and well aware of the stakes that come with that! That's a wholeass plot point!
The Jimmy and Kayla of it all...argh. I'm so mixed. On the one hand, I'm so, so ready for Paul Downs to get to play the absolute fucking breakdown that's been years in the making, but on the other hand, I just don't give a fuck about so much of it. It feels like another overplayed hand.
Part of me actually did think it would be kind of funny/tragic/interesting if that dog bite fully kills him? Like...they could do something with that! (They won't, but they could!)
I'm not sure how I feel about the "Deborah's flown too close to the sun" arc? The success is thrilling, we know that, we've seen versions of that montage...it does, though, feel like an interruption of the "Deborah realizes that Late Night is no longer her dream and s5 is all about her and Ava figuring out what their dream is and making it come true" arc that it feels like has been building so steadily and beautifully?
And dear LORD pls do not put her and Ava at odds again, I see Ava's valid suspicion but I need that dealt with and squashed stat. Ideally in a way that involves an "I love you" being dropped bc I have money on that being Said Out Loud by the end of the season.
Seriously, I do not want Bob fucking Lipka to be a thing and I'm very mad that he is, however predictable it was.
I will be rewatching, as always, and I'm sure there's more (especially about the Winnie of it all, which I'm mixed at best on upon first viewing but am marinating on and need to watch again).
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pickledoesthetumbling · 3 months ago
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So, I took the time to listen to some of your voice impressions and afterwards I just... sat. In pure silence. My had my hands folded below my chin and contemplated the likeliness of Alex Hirsch creating a second Tumblr account where he could minger among fans without them suspecting a thing, posting "fan" content of his own show. But then would he have hired the other actual voice actors for the characters he didn't voice? Hmm...
In the end, I still considering it as possibility, btw.
Alright, jokes aside, HOW DO YOU SOUND JUST LIKE THE CHARACTERS?! Your voice impressions are amazing, utterly astounding! I just— Please tell me you have earned a lot of followers for how good they are. I don't know how to find out how many followers other Tumblr accounts have because I'm still new to it, but you should have several, otherwise the world is plotting against you.
Anyway— Would you mind maybe explaining your process? I live to hear behind-the-scenes kind of stuff and would be especially interesting to hear from you with how accurate your impressions are. And, also, have you considered gaining a professional career in voice acting? I feel like you would be excellent at it if you did.
wow. okay. this is a lot.
i may be turning into a pile of happy sludge now.
i am not alex, to start off. i promise you that.
so, some context. gravity falls was one of my first real shows that i watched. i saw some of the episodes back in the heyday and thought "huh. this is weird. but good weird!". i didn't think much of it since im a busy person, always have been. then covid hit 5 years ago and i was bored out of my mind. i'd watched ducktales 2017 and had liked it, so i wanted to find a new show to watch with my mom and brothers. enter gravity falls. i remembered what i had watched a few years back and figured we should give it a watch.
that show had such a profound impact on me and it was one of my first true hyperfixations. i learned every little bit i could, consumed everything there was to consumed, read all the side books, everything. it was around this time i discovered i could do grunkle stan passably. i didn't think much of it since i didn't know how cool impressionists are and what they can do. however, it receded to the back of my mind when my next hyperfixation hit. you'd never guess what it was...
it was the owl house. of course it was. when it started back in 2020, i saw the trailers and thought "this is a girl show. i'm not supposed to find this interesting". (thanks, dad). oh, how wrong i was...
if gravity falls opened my eyes, then the owl house beat me upside the head with a frying pan. i learned way more about a lot of things, like being introduced to lgbtqia+ people, nonbinary people, people with trauma, and autism being a lot more common. that show had more of an effect on me than anything else in my life, and my love for it will never cease. this show led to me figuring out that i'm genderfluid and probably autistic, which helped me so much in understanding things. during this time, though, gravity falls was pushed back down, not forgotten, but not that relevant. that was until i fell down the theory rabbit hole, tho.
what brought gravity falls back to me was when i remembered that someone tried to steal stan's car in vegas. someone named "marilyn". this got the cogs turning. edas full name being edalyn, her being likely to steal a car, her being notorious in the human realm and using that name, a lot of stuff. but this connection between my two favorite things revitalized my love for gravity falls. now, it was the characters. i'd gotten back into it. this coincided nicely with a comicon, where i saw something about voice acting and decided to see what i could do. i haven't turned back since.
first i brought stan back, since he's pretty easy for me to do. sometimes my voice normally sounds like him after i've been shouting a lot. then i started trying to do my other favorite characters, and found myself at a road block. i kept grunkle stan going strong, and got some other characters too (dm me for full list of characters, don't feel like listing them rn, this post is long enough as it is). then tbob came out, and i gained new hope. along with getting into dragon ball and hearing clips of roshi (who i can also do), i realized i might be able to do mcgucket as well. if alex can do it, so can i! this really started it. soos came along not too long afterwards (by the same logic), and then i attempted hooty. hooty isn't my greatest one (my little brother does him better), and that put bill and king off of the table since my voice can't get that high yet. this was also around when i got tumblr. then, i had an epiphany. stan and ford are twins who can do each other's voices, right? (doesn't matter that alex and jk simmons did those parts normally, in the lore the stans can). they are both in a similar kind of gravelly register, so i started working on it. no one was harder to get down than ford. it took weeks of attempts, but eventually i got it. i then did a dub on tumblr after posting other stuff for like a month or two, after i could get into ford relatively quickly. it took off. i think its still my top post of all time tbh. i've been posting voice acting stuff ever since.
ok, with lore dump out of the way. i'm at about 20 followers rn, but that's pretty good for only 3 months of original content. i'm sure to keep growing if i keep at it. i'm a variety blog, so i'm sure to keep amassing loyal subjects treasured fans.
as for my behind the scenes process, it's called "stan first, everyone second". i can switch between my normal voice and his on a dime. after i get my throat warmed up, i then can do other people. with ford, i have to do stan's voice at least once before being able to use his. same goes for mcgucket (young and old), doofenshmirtz, batman, anyone else with gravel. there are a select few i dont need to do stan for, like soos, frieza, and super kame guru, tho.
as for you last question beloved moot, i would love to do voice acting for a living. it's a competitive market, but it would be my dream to do it.
anyway ty sososososo much for that ask! i love doing my voice impressions for people, and will do them often enough. in fact, i have another one on the way rn (once i record). tysm for the ask! <3 <3 <3
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justchillandshipit · 8 months ago
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Allow me to take a moment here. Tim just acknowledged couch theory?
Moving on to Buck and Tommy’s breakup, talk about your approach to it. Why was Tommy sure that Buck would break his heart?
Tommy’s older and Buck is very new to this, and whether Tommy was correct or not, I think what he felt like was exactly what he said: I’m not your last, I’m your first, which is a special thing to be, but as Tommy says, it doesn’t usually end up being the same thing. And I think based on what we know of Buck, he’s maybe not wrong. Buck’s a little impulsive when he’s feeling a certain kind of way. He’s like, move on in, bring your couch. So I just think because Tommy’s a little older and wiser or maybe at some level he feels like he doesn’t deserve Buck, I don’t know. But I think he accurately diagnosed Buck. Buck’s still figuring himself out, and boy, that would be quite risky to move in with that guy as much as you would love to.
---
We have a couch reference.
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Somewhat unrelated but relevant:
I also think that I have finally caught up on all the articles. In every article, someone says Eddie is straight. I want to say about four articles have a reference or a mention of straight Eddie, and there is one in-canon statement from Eddie. So what do we think about that? I instinctively want to say that to have that many denials is sus, but I also have to acknowledge that the question was asked before the response was offered. I honestly don't know what to believe when it comes to the show's direction. I'm still here though and sticking with my original plan to give them until the end of Seasn 8 to move Eddie out of the closet. I will not accept the demise of this ship a moment sooner. It doesn't help that actors are excellent liars. Oliver always makes me second guess myself. lol For now, I'm still here and still clowning.
Other things to consider in favor of Buddie:
There was one article from TVInsider where the interviewer reminded the reader that Eddie said he wanted a beard. Most of us know the gay coding of that word, and that was promptly followed by the Priest pointing out that Eddie was wearing a mask/disguise. This is all within the same conversation where Eddie assumed the Priest was hitting on him, and he called himself straight.
I'm also low-key wondering about the possible conflict between Eddie and Buck coming up. I need more info on that. What?? These two haven't had beef since Buck sued Bobby in Season 3 and Buck and Eddie argued in the grocery store. We all know how Eddie served c#nt like a professional in that fight. Eddie ended up forgiving Buck soon afterward, but Buck was still apologizing four episodes later. lol
I saw in another post where someone compared the image of Eddie in the confessional with the image of Eddie seeing Buck through the peephole of his door. (Hint, both looked like confessional images.) That has to be deliberate.
Tim's comment above referenced Tommy and a couch in a similar context to Eddie and Buck's conversation when Buck said his last few couches came with girlfriends, and Eddie corrected him to say his girlfriends came with couches.
@stagefoureddiediaz 's color theory is still proving accurate as well.
Updates
Buck looking less than thrilled at seeing Laker tickets. Tommy tells him he can use the gift with Eddie and Buck perking up at the idea, only for Tommy to say nope. Joking. (On a second watch, I think I read too much in to this one, but I'm keeping it on the list as very loose interpretation.)
Oliver admits that Buck looked Eddie up and down when he opened the door and knew something was going on with him, but then the whole sit in silence thing. (I know the breakup was on Buck's mind, but I swear he looked like he was trying not to think about Eddie being half naked beside him.)
Also, Eddie was half naked just sitting beside him. I can't help but think of them sitting there like that. Buck and Eddie are going to the same place, but they are taking totally different paths to get there. At some point, they are going to meet each other face to face and be like, you're here.
(I saw a theory. You always have to take these with a grain of salt, but I can't deny the theory sounds good. there have been a lot of parallels that are relevant for Buck and Eddie with the exception of Eddie's shooting.) I did read one interview, it may have been TVInsider, where the interviewer said they hoped Buck wouldn't be in danger. Oliver hinted that Buck was always putting himself in those situations. I think it might be a hint for what is to come. Also, if Buck is putting himself in dangerous situations again, this might be something that has Eddie angry with Buck. I think there is a lot of room for this theory. We'll have to wait and see on that one.
In a previous interview, Oliver told us there was an upcoming scene where Buck and Eddie sat in silence and that it was a testament to their friendship. In the latest interview in Variety, he talks about the scene again but this time he says "that it speaks volumes about their relationship that they could be going through things and handling it so differently but still be there for each other with little need for words. (This is the same interview where Oliver admits that Buck looked Eddie up and down.) At the end of this question, he reiterates that it speaks volumes that they were in different places and could still be there for each other. He says, "I think it really speaks volumes to the strength of their bond."
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mulders-too-large-shirt · 4 months ago
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s6 episode 21 "field trip" thoughts
ahhh. how’s everyone doing tonight?
it’s friday evening, i just took a long, hot shower, and i am deeply at peace. i am ready for some agent time.
it seems that we will be encountering a skeleton today! in fact, TWO skeletons!!! this is not that unusual for our friends, but there is something special about these ones. and i’m not sure exactly what that it. but we shall learn.
an episode called “field trip” is promising to me. because i love a field trip. 
(post-episode thoughts: well. that field was tripping, wasn't it?
i have a feeling this is going to be one of those episodes i will enjoy breaking down and analyzing for years. one of the type where you notice a tiny detail in the background and it prompts a thinkpiece out of you. that sort of thing. however, mulder's bitchy opening comment put me in a bad mood (i thought we were PAST THIS?!), and then i was trying to figure out what was ACTUALLY happening to such a degree that it wasn't the most fun i have ever had on a first watch through. i think the value here will come more from character analysis through their deepest fears and desires than the plot itself. which i KEPT laughing at, even though it was presented with a dead seriousness. "mushroom", says the dying agent scully)
so- let's tear into this thing!
someone has mosquito bites and blisters. she does NOT want to hike in the woods a half a mile behind this guy. he says he’s sorry. i don’t buy it.
i saw this guy’s face and thought he was krycek for a second. and then another second. i had to get a better look at him in the light before i was able to proceed with what was really going on here.
she goes to take a shower. and she has a headache, so i’m expecting her head to kinda blow up at any point here now.
oh. she hasn’t blown up, but she is seeing yellow goop descend from the walls! and then it goes away…… 
and then she has a horrible vision of the goop being on her?!?!
she is clearly in great distress. her name is angie, btw. she asks the dude to just hold her…
oh!!!! cut to 2 skeletons, holding each other!!! outside in the dirt!!!
now wtf went down here???
was it a mistake to get all cozy with my nice lotion and then sit down to watch an episode about spooky scary skeletons? will i, too, be haunted by the goop? 
intro time…. it’s the full thing, too!
we open at the FBI. mulder is messing around with his projector screen, LMAO. he is showing the skeleton pictures of angela and wallace schiff! they were a young married couple that went hiking in north carolina.
scully sits and listens to his lecture, surprised to hear that they are total skeletons after only being missing for 3 days. “i’d say predation, but the bones would be scattered” <- yeah. i love when you talk creepy!!!
“not to mention that these skeletons are not wearing any clothes” <- this is also true. not sure what relevance he sees here, but it IS true. is he implying that the clothes also disintegrated rather than someone taking them off?
she proposes a ritualistic murder, perhaps boiling off the flesh, but he says there was no evidence of anything at the scene. well. what does he think is going on?
“brown mountain, scully. that doesn’t ring a bell?” (she shakes her head no) “brown mountain lights?”
LMAO, she does not think this is alien time. “extraterrestrial visitors from beyond who apparently have nothing better to do than buzz one mountain over and over again for 700 years” <- YOU DON’T KNOW…. it might be a very special mountain to them!!!
“mulder, can’t you just for once, just… for the novelty of it, come up with the simplest explanation, the most logical one, instead of automatically jumping to UFOs or bigfoot or…?”
OH!!!! i mean, she was lowkey annoyed there, but his response pissed me off…
“scully, in six years, how… how often have i been wrong?” (she laughs) “no, seriously. i mean, every time i bring you a new case, we go through this perfunctory dance. you tell me i’m not being scientifically rigorous and that i’m off my nut, and then in the end, who turns out to be right, like, 98.9% of the time?”
(she stares at him, slightly open-mouthed)
“i just think i’ve… earned the benefit of the doubt here”
she watches as he walks away.
i thought we were PAST headass mulder after baseball date!! but apparently not. 98.9% of the time, the case goes unsolved. and nothing gets proven at all. so for him to take this as “being right” is incredibly arrogant. sure, we, the audience, may see the cockroach telemarketers, but they often only see little glimpses with slim to no conclusive evidence as to their actual existence. they just write up their reports to skinner and he shrugs his shoulders and they move onto the next thing. 
this was response was deemed UNJUSTIFIED by juni. he could have asked for credit or trust in a way that was WAY more appropriate. even if she was a little annoyed with his alien talk- yes, that is what you get from him, and you can’t make a mulder leopard change his spots, scully- NOT worth that response. not worth being all "well, i'm always right and you're always wrong" (especially because this is not even typically the case)
hmm. i’m pissed off. 
maybe we’ll finally get to learn why he’s being a little bitch.
(author's note: we did not, in fact, finally learn why he's being a little bitch. sad!)
it's skeleton investigation time. i am sure that was not the most fun car ride they have ever shared. i imagine tense silence.
scully points out that the connective tissue is still intact. she asks the coroner to pardon the obvious question, but is he sure that these are the right bodies? and he says they triple checked: the dental records matched perfectly.
mulder looks at their photos, and the coroner offers to write them some directions as to where they found the bodies. i can’t help but think there’s going to be some parallel between the arguing dead married couple and the arguing alive, though not yet married, scully and mulder
oh! she finds some yellow goop on the bones! doctor says maybe it’s swampy organic material. which doesn’t… really… make sense to me. but i don’t know much about swamps. i don’t think there’s usually neon yellow goop in them, though. probably swampy green muck, but not neon yellow goop. very different color schemes going on there.
she is puzzled by the goop. mulder goes to check out where the skeletons were found, and asks if she is coming- she says no. he seems taken aback by this. she is probably still pissed at him (i would be) and also now in goop analysis mode. 
mulder hits some mushrooms as he arrives to the spot. in his blue sweatshirt. looking very casual. is he well?? what happened to his suits? a sweatshirt on a workday?!?!
ah! he finds the goop!!! and he sticks his fingers in it!! and sniffs it!!! this is not a good idea!!
omg!!! he sees wallace!!! and he runs after him!!! what is going on here?? did he get sucked into some alternate universe portal?? 
mulder sees wallace crawl into some sort of hole… he busts his flashlight out, and is he going to crawl in there??? yes, he is!
the stuff on the bones is NOT bog sludge!! scully ordered a test!! it’s… A DIGESTIVE SECRETION!!!
okay, impressive that she knows that just from reading the various ingredients, but i would expect nothing less from her. but still. is mulder crawling into some giant beast’s mouth?!
oh! there’s a plant digestive enzyme in there, too!!! not animal!! a big venus fly trap, perhaps???
NO! mulder DID crawl in there hole!!! into a giant cave!!! BRO!!! you have to think these things through!!! sighs.
well. he’s deep in the cave now. 
the coroner says he’s seen this before, in skeletal remains of hikers lost many months earlier. so it didn’t seem weird at the time that they had goop on them and were just bones. but they were found not far from where the newest bodies were located!!!
scully goes to call him, begging him to answer his phone. and of course. he is in a cave. so he cannot. 
she tells the doctor to forward the goop info to quantico for a FULL ANALYSIS. and also pretty please can she borrow your truck?
back to the cave. where goop drips freely. and he sees wallace!!! who says “you’re not one of them?” 
girl, is wallace dead or not?!?! wallace says the skeleton is fake!! "they" put it there. 
he says “they” abducted him and his wife, and took them aboard their ship. he claims they faked their deaths, but they kept angela, and he doesn’t know what to do. 
scully arrives in the borrowed truck. in a nice blue trench coat. calling for mulder.
she also steps on the mushrooms……. girl… is it the shrooms??!
mulder says that they need to find a way out. wallace says it’s right behind him, and he asks what the hell is going on- that was solid rock a minute ago. wallace claims the aliens are in their heads.
ah! do the aliens approach? wallace says it’s them, and runs away. 
scully, meanwhile, is looking in the same hole and calling for mulder, seeing his footprints lead right in there. but she doesn’t climb in. because she has common sense!
inside the cave, wallace tells mulder to not let the aliens see him. he notices that they should have found them- wallace has a big lantern. maybe they came for something else.
they journey in deeper, and find angie. wallace holds her close, while mulder tries to talk to her. and wallace tries to get some water, but it seems to have the goop in it.
she says she saw lights, and the aliens took them, and it all went black. mulder wants to know what the place they took her looks like. she says it was white, she was lying on a table, and she couldn’t move. and he asks if there were men there- she agrees. and he asks about tests. it seems too perfect.
he checks her neck, and finds a scar, right where scully had her implant. he says he’s seen it before. it’s almost all textbook. except for the skeletons.
“maybe they’re like the cattle mutilations you heard about” <- DID HE MENTION THAT OFF-SCREEN??? how does wallace know about that? is he tripping. but mulder says it’s not in the literature. and he would know!
mulder announces that they’re leaving now, even though wallace and angela both don’t want to. and the aliens come again. but he refuses to hide. 
he walks into the light… and now he’s in his apartment?
scully wants to know why tf he left north carolina without telling her!!!!!! she is mad!!!! he says he’s sorry and asks if anyone knows she’s there.
what is going on….?
he lets her in. and sitting on the couch are the schiffs!
angela says “the aliens planted decoys so you would think we were dead” <- AND IT STILL SEEMS TOO CONVENIENT….
he says what he is about to tell her will change everyone’s lives forever: he found it. the truth. the schiffs were abducted by a UFO. and they recount their story- neck implant. etc. 
oh. so she’s tripping now, huh? got it.
but he says there’s more, and leads her into a bedroom- that i didn’t think he owned??? unless he got rid of the waterbed and got a new bed to take it’s place instead of the classic couch??
he says “it doesn’t like the light”. and he grabs her arm as they look at a little alien. he says he abducted him. and it speaks to him. telepathically. she says she can hear him. and she looks very shocked. she’s crying.
and they leave the room, scully shutting the door behind her. “i don’t know what to say mulder. where to begin. i mean, you… you were right. all these years, you were right.” <- yeah. this is not happening.
what about the skeletons? she says they were fake. but what about the goo? it was nothing. it was bog sludge. 
imagine scully calling a mystery pair of skeletons and a mystery liquid “nothing” and “bog sludge”. personally, it is difficult for me to do so!!! that is not my scully.
no. HE must be the one tripping and imagining all of this. i can’t picture this happening in scully’s high mind.
he rubs his forehead “that uh, that doesn’t sound like you, scully”
ahhh! another cut scene!!! he’s splashing his face with water, but nasty thick goop comes out of the drain!! and then it’s water again. 
he says it doesn’t make any sense- angela and wallace’s story. none of it. and scully asks if she can believe it, why can’t he? but everything is melting away!!!! 
SCULLY WAS GOOPED!!!!!!! LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO
(i don’t know how else to explain the way she CGI dissolved into yellow goo, but it was really funny)
he has a memory of being lost in the sauce!!!!!!! just like angela did at the beginning!!
scully comes back to the cave with the coroner, saying it’s empty. and more of that nasty digestive material is coming up from the ground!! it must be eating him!!!! and he’s tripping while he’s getting eaten.
there’s tracks going out now…. he says she must have missed him. and she sees a skeleton laying out in the grass. 
MULDER??
a jump to analyzing the skeleton in the lab. she approaches mulder’s potential skeleton like it’s a wild tiger.  and compares the teeth… it’s for sure him. 
so now she’s tripping, too???
coroner says he’s sorry, and he knows it’s difficult. scully stares at the body. asks if the digestive secretion could have done this to him. focusing on the problem at hand while crying. that’s a dedicated doctor. maybe it’s a product of the vegetation.
she grieves and works. ah. scully. you have my heart.
but there’s no sign of the goop on these remains. she wipes his bones, and there is nothing. OH! the coroner is quoting her!!
“i just think we need to look for the simplest explanation” she turns at him…… “i’d say we’re looking at a murder. one with ritualistic overtones” <- oh, so they’re both haunted by their own words?!???
he says they’ll take care of the arrangements… and scully presents a report to skinner on mulder’s death. he says he appreciates the thoroughness of her work. oh, in death he has become the x file. x-751483.
scully is crying in skinner's office. he says it might be best for her to take some time off. “sir? you’re satisfied with my conclusions on this case?” “absolutely. i take it you’re not”
hallucination skinner is being quite gentle with grieving scully, who is not believing her own findings, saying her role has always been to provide “a rational scientific perspective to cases that would seem to defy ordinary explanation- a counterpoint to agent mulder”. skinner says she has done that. “have i? how many x files has my scientific approach fully and satisfactorily explained?” 
no!!! please do not let his words make you feel self-conscious!!! you’re dealing with what cannot be explained, and you are explaining it the very best you can!! you’re doing amazing!!!
she wipes away her tears as he says it’s tempting to blame mulder’s death on the paranormal, considering the life he lead. and he promises they’ll get the bastard who did it.
ah! jump to her walking to mulder’s apartment. knocking on the door. frohike answers. there’s a whole group of people in suits. skinner included. who says he is sorry. 
in the next room, she sees a casket. 
LMAO. oh god. byers is asking how she’s doing, and langly comes up in a tuxedo patterned t-shirt. oh. some levity in these trying times. that got a good laugh out of me.
frohike offers her a drink to dull the pain, and she declines. he downs it in one sip. frohike :(
byers says they’ve launched their own investigation into his death. she is relieved she’s not the only one who is suspicious. but byers says they got ahold of her report, and they were impressed. they agree with her findings. she’s furious- she did NOT find that he was murdered!!! it was one possible explanation she proposed!
“what the HELL is wrong with everybody? you guys, there are unanswered questions here! am i the only one that’s asking them?” 
she starts with a whisper, and then begins to yell, telling them that they of all people shouldn’t believe it, and something else is going on here. skinner is watching as she starts to shout. and then her head hurts!!! and the yellow goop!
skinner says she needs to go home and get some rest. “i’ll call you a cab” “where is mulder? what have you done with him?” <- OH!! she’s accusing SKINNER!!!
delicious scully and skinner angst. one of my favorite meals.
she’s screaming in his face!!! “where is he?! where’s mulder?!?” everyone looks on at her… there’s knocking at the door. frohike drinks straight from the bottle. she goes to answer. no one else moves. 
it’s mulder!!! all the guests in his apartment disappear!!! she is so confused!!!!!!!
he says she was in the cave when the light came. and they took him. he was abducted. he says it was just like angela and wallace described. she tries to tell him that the couple is dead, and she found their remains, she found HIS remains- but he’s here.
he says the aliens brought him back. “from north carolina direct to your apartment door?” <- LMAOOOO
oh! he doesn’t remember getting here!! and neither does she!!
“why did you knock? this is your apartment. and you don’t seem the least bit surprised to find me here. and what about the schiffs?”
OH!! she realizes it’s a hallucination!!! “and either i am having it, or you are having it, or we are having it together” 
the inherent connection implied by sharing a trip... yeah ❤️ to be so fully connected in life and in this not-quite-life realm. mmm. that's good stuff.
it has to be from that field… the wild mushrooms! the spores!!! she thinks their bodies are still in that cave, not in the apartment. 
she thinks the schiffs were eaten by an organism- the same thing that is giving off this hallucinogen. maybe it needs to eat meat, and to lure people into the cave. 
oh! another shot of them underground! “what if we’re still underground?” 
BAHAHA, she gets gooped again. 
ahhh!!! he crawls out of the dirt!!! and he pulls scully out!!! and they lay there!!!!!! coughing!!!!
they hand skinner their report. he asks how big the organism is.
it extends for at least ten acres. but it might be much larger. and they contacted fish and wildlife, local FBI, the health department, and a mycologist. they think their bases have been covered!!
the spores have a similar chemical structure to LSD!! and it makes you sleepy.
“it’s a rare day when the two of you sign off on the same report” <- LMAO, wait this is something to ponder… have they been giving him 2 different reports for each case for the last 6 years? oh, i know he HATES when he sees them coming because he has to do SO much reading.
aww. this makes me sad, though. i thought they worked together to come up with a collective report, even if they shade each other within it (“agent mulder’s claims cannot be substantiated”, etc etc). i guess i didn’t realize how much of a rift was between them despite all the history.
mulder ponders. how did they escape? “scully, how could we simply will ourselves out of a chemical hallucination?” “well, the fact remains, we did” <- ohhhh, he doesn’t buy it. they didn’t decompose at all. THEY NEVER ESCAPED! we’re still trapped. “this is not real” 
he says he’ll prove it…. HE PULLS OUT HIS GUN AND SHOOTS SKINNER A TON OF TIMES??? and he bleeds the yellow goop!! and then HE GETS GOOPED!!
back in the cave…. they are being eaten by the goop! and mouthing words…… but a hand breaks through the surface. skinner is digging with his hands in a gas mask to find them!!!
oh my god… field trip… because they were tripping… in a field…
they yank scully up too, which had to be awful to film. 
“mushroom”, she says, covered in dirt and thrown on the stretcher. “we found it” <- LMAOOOOO, i’m sorry, that’s just really funny out of context.
matching stretchers side by side in the ambulance…… and they hold hands.
the end.
hey. what. 
what if we were partners and we fell in a cave and a mushroom tried to eat us and we hallucinated together? and then our boss and a bunch of other guys came and saved us and we held hands as they put us in the ambulance?
i’m sorry. i’m giggling. this was a very s1/s2 plotline.
shoutout to AD skinner for rolling up in the middle of a random field to dig his favorite agents out of the mouth of a carnivorous plant with his own hands. he could have let the field agents handle that. but he said no. i need to deal with these matters directly.
i wonder what all the other agents think of their connection. like a teacher with clear favorites.
you know what, we did get some insightful analysis here into taking their own beliefs too far. into seeing each other’s perspective. into being on the same team, and having unique strengths- she figured out they were hallucinating, and he figured out they were STILL hallucinating. but. you know. just the whole plot of it all. 
yeah…. i’m gonna have to sleep on this one and gain a new perspective other than “the inherent romanticism of being consumed together” and other cliches. 
okay, it’s been 2 days since i watched this episode. i think there’s more to enjoy in retrospect now that i have a concrete idea as to what was going on.
very interesting how the words they have always wanted to hear- both of them being told that their theories are correct- proved to be an aspect of the horror this time around. to be believed by the other would mean that it isn’t really Them. for scully to agree with his claims and toss aside her inherent scientific skepticism that she brings to the table would make her someone else. and interesting how she says something about how if she of all people can believe it, why can’t he? which just proves that it isn’t really her. that as much as he claims he wants her to see that he is right 98.9% of the time or whatever the hell he said at the beginning, it isn’t that simple.
and scully believing in the greater conspiracy of his death, screaming at the gunmen as they, too, abandon their inherent skepticism in favor of the simplest, most logical explanation. it’s not that she isn’t usually asking questions, because she’s a scientist, and therefore asking questions is her whole thing- but she tends to turn away from notions of grand conspiracy. except for when she does- at least in a hallucination- others try and tell her she is wrong. how strange. how frustrating it must have felt. for both of them.
for scully to believe in the aliens when mulder knows it isn’t making sense. for the gunmen to believe his death was a murder when she thinks it has to be a conspiracy.
hmm. much to ponder. i wonder if that glimpse into an alternate reality will, in some way, give them more sympathy to the other’s worldview. but somehow, i really doubt that.
getting to see scully lose it at mulder’s funeral was an excellent treat for the sick part of me that craves angst. and skinner telling her to go home; he’ll call her a cab- OOOOH. that hit different.
and scully realizing that they were hallucinating, but mulder being the one to realize that it was still ongoing- what does that say about them?! mulder’s solution being to stand up and shoot skinner- he is so impulsive, so reckless in the pursuit of knowledge.
i am very curious to hear what the people think of this episode. i think it will be better on a rewatch, when my confusion will be lessened, and i can parse out more symbolism that i really only could dip into here. this is the sort of thing that gets thinkpieces written about it, and you notice new stuff over and over again.
overall, i didn’t hate the episode, but it wasn’t a top tier one for me. i get that they have opposing worldviews, but the way that the writers keep going back and forth between whether or not mulder and scully even like being around each other this season is giving me tonal whiplash. i keep waiting for a resolution that hasn’t come yet.
and maybe it won’t come, and the tonal inconsistency makes sense to long time fans of this show because they’ve had 30 years to accept it. you can come up with headcanons in that time, and internal logic that gives rhythm to the rocking boat. when you know a show incredibly well, you can come up with your own ideas that make sense in a way they don’t entirely to new viewers- "oh yes, this is the s3 rift, we know it well, they just seem to hate each other for a bit" etc etc. but it leaves me, the new viewer, over here wondering which, if any of the plotlines will be resolved, or if we’re just going to have back and forth moments where they go from nearly kissing on a baseball diamond to snapping and snarling each other every other episode.
so. yeah.
some questions i still have as we approach the finale: hey, where’s spender? is he 6 feet under or still lurking about? what’s the deal with diana? did she just show up to spy on mulder for a bit, cause some internal strife between our agents, and then disappear back into the mist from which she came? and then we will never address this again? not even subtly?
mulder confessed his love- you remember that? where’s that love going? i believe he is telling the truth, and that he really does love her, but i’m wondering what makes a person so inconsistent in showing that. “you’re making this personal” “who’s right 98.9% of the time”, etc etc. some kind of love it is where you can be so careless with your words.
why is he doing all this? what is the reason? is there some secret background arc i’ve been oblivious to that is being hinted at and i’m missing it? i keep thinking the next episode will have some sort of explanation, but there isn’t one, and i have a sneaking suspicion that the season finale will answer absolutely no questions- i know it will end on a cliffhanger because 1. that’s what the season finales of this show do, and 2. because my laptop thinks i started watching s7 already and therefore i’ve read the episode description of 7x01 (despite doing my best to avoid this!!! blame the laptop, not me!!)
hmm. i guess those things i just spend the last paragraphs discussing are problems with the season and the wider show itself/its lack of tonal consistency, rather than problems of this particular episode (although it is a fine example of the problems i described). so i can’t blame all of my qualms with this season on this episode, but it IS a natural point of reflection considering there is only one more episode to go, and none of these questions have been addressed!
where’s marita? where’s krycek? where’s gibson?! i need to know!
so, a fine episode, plenty to analyze, but i’m still frustrated with the back and forth of it all, and i doubt that a mushroom trip will fix their relationship problems- but i’m open to being proven wrong.
huh. this writeup didn’t start long. it became it as i yelled at s6, though. and it’s not that i dislike s6, because i agree that the episodes in this season have been the best so far- there’s just no answer to the glaringly obvious outlier of this season, which is mulder being a dick! i can handle the angst, man! i promise! but it has to make SENSE! it’s not angst if there’s no reason for one person being mean to another! we just call that bullying where i’m from!
"mushroom", scully says, as she is plopped onto the stretcher. yeah. i'd let her borrow my truck any day of the week ❤️🍄
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wizardsvslesbians · 15 days ago
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It's time for another recommendation masterpost! Thanks to everyone as always for sending in requests.
I would like to submit Bunny by Mona Awad as a potential entry to WizLez canon! My friend didn't like it but I had a great time
This one looks terrifying! Thanks.
Hello :) I would like to suggest the book Aunt Tigress, by Emily Yu-Xuan Qin. While I don’t know how well it coheres as a book, it’s pretty entertaining and contains the following relevant elements: -lesbians -magic -assorted manipulative women (some overlap with first bullet point) -assorted varyingly bad mothers/maternal figures (some overlap with third bullet point) -critique of cultural appropriation and imperialism and i think it’s flawed in ways that could be interesting to discuss??
This one looks interesting, and also it has some Alexis-bait elements (undead fox sidekick?) which bodes well for our covering it.
May be a little too litfic-y for the pod but We Hexed The Moon might fit into your niche!
The blurb says it's "full of young-adult wisdom", and while I don't know what that means, I'm certainly willing to find out.
I simply must recommend The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling for the pod- featuring a triad of lesbians so toxic their dyke drama can only be eclipsed by religious horror and a lot of very lushly described cannibalism
AND:
if i had a nickel for every book ive read in the last year that has fantastic medieval-esque worldbuilding and cannibalism i’d have two nickels which is pretty wild! anyway, The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling features three funky little lesbians on the edge of coming up with some new, weird fucked up bdsm triad but before they do they need to survive this siege, imminent starvation and their ominous new guests. it’s weird and dark and luscious- i loved it
Why does cannibalism come up so much in Wizards vs Lesbians books? It looks like people get eaten in Aunt Tigress, too, and I'm not entirely sure about Bunny. Are y'all curating these for us? Are we giving off vibes of some kind?
Anyway, the double rec (one from podcast stalwart Seiya no less) means we're likely to give this one a read.
I found your podcast recently and have been enjoying going through some of your older episodes! I have a couple recs/ suggestons for you. The novella Radcliffe Hall by Miyuki Jane Pinckard; the short story There’s a Door to the Land of the Dead in the Land of the Dead by Sarah Pinsker; and the novelette Suradanna and the Sea by Rebecca Fraimow. All available to read online for free in various venues! (Uncanny, Psychopomp, and the author's website, respectively.) different levels of wizard interpretation but very definitely lesbians in each.
We're overdue for our next short fiction episode. Into the hopper these shall go.
If y'all ever get to covering Murderbot I'd love to know thoughts on the TV show, if either of y'all end up watching it <3
We are probably never going to cover a live-action TV show. Alexis' deep affection for Murderbot makes this one more likely but that still amounts to not very likely at all, I'm afraid.
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number5theboy · 2 years ago
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I just want to talk about how TUA’s pilot episode uses specifically the Phantom Medley, ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ and ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ as interconnected character (re-)introductions, because they are so, so good.
So, the Phantom of the Opera Medley gives us our first, mostly silent introductions to five out of the seven siblings. Everyone is doing their thing: Luther is on the moon, Diego is being a vigilante, Allison is at her movie premiere, Klaus is released from rehab and instantly relapses, and Viktor is playing the violin part of the medley by himself on a stage. It establishes what each of them has going on in their life, and it establishes that all of them are alone. The Medley is an instrumental arrangement of several songs from the musical adaptation of the Phantom of the Opera, which is an interesting choice in itself, being a story about a brilliant, reclusive, and unhinged genius who harnesses a young girl’s talent for his own personal gain. There is more to it, but this is the relevant part, for obvious reasons. This is also the scene where we see the siblings find out about the death of the shadowy figure that nurtured their powers and abused them for selfish reasons. If the medley had used the lyrics of the musical, the first song used in the medley – the main theme – has as its key lyrics the following: “The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind.” And isn’t that something for the adults introduced to this melody, whose puppet master messed them up so badly during childhood that that still lingers in all of them, a throughline of that first season?
To this first introduction, ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ serves as a re-introduction. It’s the same principle: a musical montage that focuses on each sibling to an overarching song. The theme of being alone is carried through, but this time, surprisingly, they’re not lonely. They’re not unified, they are certainly not getting along, but you get a feeling of their shared past. There is something that tethers them together. And where in the Medley, only Viktor could hear the music, because he was playing it, this time, the music is fully a part of the world. They’re all listening to the same song. They’re alone, but they’re not. They’re alone together, which is a step closer than it was in the Phantom Medley. And while the first montage focuses on what they were doing, established their occupations, this montage just gives us them…being. Existing, without anyone watching. Not their father, not the other siblings. We get such good insights into their personalities. Luther’s un-awareness of his own body leading him to accidentally punch the plane model. Diego’s array of dorky dance moves. Allison’s hesitance before she gets more and more into the song and allows herself to let loose. Klaus dancing with the ghost of his father. Viktor’s dancing being contained and unassuming. The title line, ‘I think we’re alone now’, just perfectly fits, and it’s a great example of visual media recontextualising a song’s lyrics. The original song is about sex, specifically the prohibition and taboo of teenage sex, and with the framing of the show, the lyrics instead become as literal as they could be. “Children behave / That's what they say when we're together / And watch how you play / They don't understand,” becomes about their childhood, about how they were never allowed to be kids, how they had to obey their father’s whims. And now he is gone, and they are alone, and it is good. Kind of. Sort of. While that iconic slow zoom-out visually shows that, their unity, despite all their differences, it is also all of them inside the Umbrella Academy. Them, and Grace, and Pogo, still in an environment that Reginald made. Reginald is still inside their minds. He is gone, but the structures he built, the damage he did to them is not. It’s this moment of catharsis, this instant where each and every one of the siblings allows themselves to be, to live, just for a moment, brought together by Luther playing a song loud enough for everyone to hear, where they think they’re free of Reginald’s abuse, and the rest of the show is them finding out that the death of an abuser doesn’t erase the effect he had. And then the music gets disrupted by someone quite literally crashing the party. But he crashes it from outside the house, because he is the one least concerned with (and, in this season, very clearly least affected by) Reginald.
Five gets his own musical (re-)introduction, and he gets it seven minutes before the end of the episode. Different from his siblings, we get to see his personality before he gets his musical key scene. And we meet him as a kid first, his arrogance, his powers, the use of teleportation to knock a guy out with a stapler. He then appears to inadvertently interrupt the first moment of unity his siblings have had in decades. He brushes off their father’s death. Casually reveals that Reginald has been dead to him for 45 years. It doesn’t matter to him. He has other things on his mind, but of course he doesn’t tell them, why would he? The arrogance is still there, his powers too. He’s insufferable, the viewer understands, and different. Different because he looks like a kid, a literal embodiment of the Umbrella Academy at its height, all knee-high socks and blazer, frozen in time, while at the same time having lived a very different life from his siblings. That’s all the viewer knows of him, by that point. And then ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ happens, and the understanding of the character shifts abruptly, as do the stakes for the entire show. While the introduction scene with the Phantom Medley and the re-introduction scene to ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ are about these different siblings, apart, but maybe closer than they think they are, united by the loss of their father, ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ shows you that this one has a completely different set of problems from his siblings. Namely, he is being tracked down, a wanted man, a very skilled killer. The two montages are so calm in comparison to the breakneck (pun intended) pace of Five’s kill spree. He takes out half a dozen men armed with machine guns by outfoxing them, killing them with a wide variety of items in a wide variety of different ways. While ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ contrasts the Phantom Medley, ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ contrasts the Five previously established in the show, especially his childhood self, and shows how his skills have developed. The innocence of the school uniform is quickly lost when he uses its tie to strangle a man to death. The first line in the song is ‘Istanbul was Constantinople / Now it’s Istanbul / Not Constantinople / Been a long time gone, Constantinople.” It’s about how something is technically the same thing – a schoolboy, perhaps – but time has irrevocably changed it, and it can never go back to that old version, because it hasn’t existed in a long time. It’s about Five, and it’s about the apocalypse, and the Commission, but it’s not about Reginald. ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ is the only non-diegetic song of the three discussed here, as in, it is not part of the show’s internal universe. The song is not playing in a jukebox in the diner. It doesn’t partially exist in the universe, like Viktor’s violin being the violin in the medley, or Luther playing the vinyl in the house. It is so different in principle and execution from the other two scenes, but it is still a scene meant to convey an understanding of the character, just like the other two are.
And despite it being purposefully and obviously different, I still think that ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ belongs to the other two scenes, that they form a united whole of introductions to the Hargreeves siblings. The diner scene rhymes with the other two, I think, in its marked differences, but there are threads that tie them together. How the violin is a key instrument in both the Phantom Medley and ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’. How the medley shows the Hargreeves in the lives they had carved out for themselves away from Reginald, ‘I Think We’re Alone Now’ positions them in the house they grew up in, in the Umbrella Academy, Reginald’s domain, whereas ‘Istanbul (Not Constantinople)’ is set in a place where the kids defied Reginald. How the theme of loneliness and being alone threads through all of them. How the songs are, in order, partially diegetic (siblings apart but tied together by their past), fully diegetic (siblings enjoying the same thing despite being physically apart) and non-diegetic (the one sibling that is apart from them in age, time, space, part of his upbringing, you name it). How pertinent the lyrics are in each case, even the ones that aren’t technically in the song. I just think all three of them are brilliant needle drops that add so much to the story, the understanding of the characters and their relation to each other, just in the microcosm of this one pilot episode. Also they’re all incredible bangers.
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rose-morose · 10 months ago
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I finished Harley Quinn, and I've got to rant about Kite Man for a second
(Harley Quinn spoilers and very very long and bitter hatred under the cut)
it fucking boggles my mind that Poison Ivy would go out with this rich, incompetent, ignorant, heteronormative, entitled, arrogant, borderline, if not outright, misogynistic trust fund child who is a massive cunt, and seemingly the antithesis of everything that she stands for
most of the time she seems to find his clumsy and ignorant conduct to be endearing, which is actually understandable, but beyond that and a positive review of the sex (I think I can't remember) it kind of seemed like she wasn't fully invested in their relationship
this isn't even a "she's out of his league" thing either, he is just genuinely a terrible terrible person, and I think many people give him far more credit than he deserves
putting aside his goofy kite motif, his naive demeanour, and his clumsy antics he just has a dull shitty personality
when they first met, Kite Man spent an entire evening making unwelcome advances on Ivy despite her clear and succinct rejections of every effort he made, stole from her, and then he took Ivy asking him for an emergency ride back to her apartment to literally save the lives of children that HE poisoned for no reason as not only validation of his relentless advances, but the beginning of what he believed to be a "date" in his deluded rotting brain
upon arriving at her apartment, unprompted, he disrobed and waited for her in her bedroom to have sex, and when Ivy asked him why, his response was along the lines of 'that's usually what happens after a great date when you go back to the girl's place'
Ivy was understandably upset by this, so what happened? what changed? in what mad world is this given any amount of consideration to even be tolerable, let alone acceptable behaviour?
"I'll do all the heavy lifting so you don't have to break a nail." fuck this twat he sucks, and this is only episode 2, the first fucking episode that he is in
"I'll protect us babe!" dude fuck right off she is literally the most powerful person in the room
"If my girlfriend sees me hanging out with you hot young coeds she is going to be green with envy." people still call women attending uni "coeds" that's fucking insane, someone just put me out of my fucking misery
HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW HER FUCKING NAME! "Poison Gertrude Ivy" 0/3 fucker not even remotely close, and he doesn't learn her name until after the third fucking time he asks her to marry him
so what if it's played as a joke, it's still true
what am I missing here? why is this guy getting a pass, not just from Ivy, but from the fandom at large? why is there such widespread admiration of this asshole?
I tried watching the Kite Man spinoff show to figure out what people see in him, but it honestly just made him look even worse if that's possible, and while the entire show has not yet been released, it is set after the conclusion of Kite Man and Ivy's relationship so it's not even that relevant
if anyone from the Harley Quinn show deserves a spinoff it isn't this cunt
this shitty excuse of a human being maps out their entire future without consulting Ivy, self admittedly stalked her, constantly does things that she explicitly asks him not to do (admittedly Harley is also guilty of this), mansplains simple bullshit to her constantly, and takes not even the slightest bit of interest in anything remotely associated with Poison Ivy, he doesn't even really seem to know that much about her
on paper I can't see why the hell she even seems to like him at all seeing as she repeatedly rebuffed his initial unwelcome attempts to hit on her, was embarrassed to be seen in public with him, did not tell anybody she was dating him, constantly comments on how fucking stupid he is, rejected him every time he tried to take the next step in their relationship, and before they got together the nicest thing she had ever said to him was along the lines of, 'you're almost tolerable when you are completely silent' and yet in practice Ivy seems to be very loving and affectionate towards him, she even attributes her recent bout of happiness to him
yet Kite Man himself admits that he had to repeat every step of their relationship over and over and over again because she constantly rejected him at every turn
and she was the only one putting any effort into their relationship, always doing things to make him more comfortable or happy and in return occasionally getting a ride and that's it, he just breaks down and starts crying when anything doesn't go his way
Poison Ivy deserves so much better than this cunt who weaselled his way into her life, not the other way around
I saw something from a showrunner about how this iteration of Poison Ivy has self esteem issues that may have lead her to date someone who isn't worthy of her just because he was nice to her, but I don't see how he was nice to her
he's usually polite, sure, but he is super misogynistic, he asks her to drop her name to get things that he wants, he is super arrogant and full of himself, and he seems to objectify her every time he tries to give her a compliment
and that hardly explains why so many fans are all for this terrible relationship, normally supporting unhealthy relationships in media because you want to see them improve and evolve is fun, but this guy does not change, he doesn't even think that he needs to change
and I think most of the show's fans are for Harlivy, which is a relationship that isn't super healthy but is compelling and improving and is fun to root for, but why do I see so many people saying that the writers should have kept going with Kite Man and Ivy?
I don't think it's outright homophobia, or at least the majority isn't homophobia, but I just don't get it
now did Kite Man deserve to be cheated on? I don't think so, that's just a pretty shitty thing to do to someone, but why the fuck was he even here in the first place?
I guess the heart wants what the heart wants or she didn't think she deserved better or whatever, but fuck why does anyone tolerate this asshole? is incompetence really that charming?
maybe I just don't get it because I'm aroace, but regardless of what you think of the relationship or the character, Kite Man is undoubtably a shit person and a complete asshole, that doesn't make him a bad character, just a bad person, and I wish more people that liked him as a character would recognise that, it's fine to like characters that are bad people, but don't outright deny it
just my final thoughts, I would love to take this opportunity to assure all 0 readers that have made it this far that I am not genuinely upset and do not take issue with people that like a fictional character that I don't like ok thanks bye
rant over
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the-chessboard-is-personal · 9 months ago
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season 2 time wahoo another damn liveblog am I right??
(liveblogging ii season 2, for if it's not obvious. same style as last ii liveblog)
1 - woahh! okay I love the style tbh. wait. Super Mario 3D World/Initial release date: November 21, 2013. this episode: Apr 2, 2013. INANIMATE INSANITY PREDICTED THE DOUBLE CHERRY???? ...huh. weird. why does MePhone have an app for that? y'know, RESURRECTION?
2 - MePad ? can teleport? ?? yeah that egg is gonna be relevant again isn't it
3 - BOW INATOR?? holy shit holy shit ohhg waow,,there is something in this episode that I want so much. lmao. "umm huh, lmhuehyahahuh.." (<- me attempting to spell what test tube said at the end of the ep)
4 - I didn't think the elimination song sucked.. hey wait why does it sound like they get killed or something when they go through the portal. also where does the portal lead
5 - SEVEN?? MeOS SEVEN??? oh huh. is that why someone who dies in space can't come back? OH THE NO SERVICE COMMENT WAS FORESHADOWING!!? wait why is that how it works. why does MePhone specifically get notifications about people dying. wh- okay?? that was ominous ?MePhone what does that rnean. ..chESS MENTIONED
6 - aaand there's another one. ANOTHER TWO??? .oh :| ...what the entire fuck. and yep this episode makes me uncomfortable. who would've FUCKING GUESSED
7 - oh so THAT'S where the portal lead. ..as down as the WHAT- ouhjghhu nooo... not a song
8 - ah yes, MePhone got The Common Code- oh. also idc what the objects say, ftrEwy7u9iop8oaTE7gI is a wonderful name for a challenge. or a password. each new MePhone gets less understandable because of the "techy" voice effec- oh he's dead. [sees Steve Cobs's reaction to the egg] ohh okay. one moment [walks away from the computer]please don't be like dsmp please don't be like dsmp please don't be like dsmp please don't be like dsmp plehokay. oh I don't like him
9 - ...I'm not crying you're crying.,, uohg this is the second time a show like this has had something that felt like it was directed at me. and the other time was Gothi talking to Xanu in Fool's Gold,.,. which was also about moving on.. is.. is that wh- oh hey a gravity falls reference. haha lol :) ...oh this is the depression eppisode. BITCH -> 🌮 <- BITCH
10 - aha! I've figured it out! the secret is MPABZCEAS!! holy fucking shit my joke was immediately kind of relevant. wha..suitcase?? y'know that voice kinda sounded like MePhone
11 - wHUH SMG4 SOUND?! oh wait that sound probably isn't from SMG4, that's just the first time I heard it. still though, neat. ...wild theory. I'm gonna sound like Fan here, but. "Is anything on this show real?" seems.hmm idk. sus. I call foreshadowing. hokay something's definitely going on with Suitcase. oH FOR FUCK'S SAKE yep don't like this episode either
12 - oh fuck they're in episode 1. oh fuck they're in HWUH ?? ..ohh MePhone hates Cobs too. hey if anyone's read this far, I want to know who's your favorite character from the alternate timeline, because why not! mine is Traffic Light
13 - woahhh MePhone backstory! oh. oh I do Not trust that "screen protector". HEY HEY WHAT WAS THAT WHISPER [turns on captions] oh. oh REALLY. HMM. ...wh. what. what what what what what ROBOT ADAM?? MEPHONE 3???? WHAT WHAT WHAT AAAAAAAA UH OH! UH OH OH NO UH OH!! ohkay this is the panic time, the time in every show tumblr freaks out about where things go CRAZY. OKAY OKAY I'M READY AAAAAA
14 - so the person who told me I should watch ii said I need to watch all of season 3 after this episode. I have no idea why! oh fuck! but anyway. that rneans I'll be splitting this section into actual paragraphs since this is the last episode of this liveblog. (<- said that before starting the episode). anyway.
okay. okay Fan just got abducted. ..hhhow did he know that. how did he know that MePad let Marshmallow leave. .hey hey what's with the shot of that panel with the hole in it. maybe I'm just tired but that doesn't seem..right. and not in the bad writing way.
uhm. hey 17:36 isn't supposed to be hitting me too whY IS IT HITTING ME TOO WAUGH.
"is that what you said to Pickle" OHH DAMN MY HEART DROPPED LIKE THE SCENE HOLY SHIT. wait IS FAN DEAD FOREVER??
wait didn't test Tube get eliminated? why did Microphone go through the portal??
looking at the comments for. tbh I forgot what reason when i saw this one
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uh knew what KNEW WHAT OH FU-
anyway. so Fan glitching is. gonna be foreshadowing? oh boy let me guess... uhh.. wait why would Fan glitch. other things that glitch are..the tree MePhone made for Cobs? MePhone himself when Tissue Box sneezed on him?? that MePhone 3?? but none of that has anything to do with Fan..
unless.. AHA!
FAN IS A PROJECTION MADE BY ONE OF THE NEWER MEPHONES
COBS IS GOING TO KNOW WHERE THEY ARE AS LONG AS FAN IS THERE!!
although with Fan eliminated, th- oh there's an after credits scene?
UH. UM. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT
AND THE OMINOUS OUTRO THEME. UH OH
okokokokokokayokayokayokay. that's obviously some kind of MePhone. the Meeple logo is there and it's phone shaped, so. that's pretty obvious. but not one that's been seen before, right? like not even a model that's been seen before, because none of them have the grabby hands.
because of the red X imagery I'm gonna guess this one is called MePhone X. and if not, well I'm gonna refer to it as that until I find out otherwise
with how scary that moment was clearly intended to be, we can all agree that Toilet just got permakilled, right? like. despite not being in space? that was definitely. not anything good that happened to Toilet there. I'm just gonna assume Toilet's dead, yep that just happened. aaand now there's a seemingly murderous (although maybe it had a grudge against Toilet for some reason, but I find that unlikely) MePhone roaming around. n e a t .
thiiiiinking that thing is the exception to the "each MePhone we see is dumber than the last" rule that seems to be present. hm. wonder who the Big Villain is going to be
welp it's too late to binge s3 rn so uh. yeap. okay. sure. that's a thing
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yurisorcerer · 1 year ago
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I'm not gonna pretend I have anything super new or innovative to say about Mobile Suit Gundam. It's one of the most-analyzed anime ever, and I pale in comparison to some of the people who *have* analyzed it, but here I am, thinking about it regardless.
For context, I am watching this as part of a---as she called it---"comet swap" with my good friend @charaznablespeteevee, where I watch a mecha anime she is obsessed with (Gundam) and she watches one I am obsessed with (Code Geass). I'm not sure if I'm going to write a big long post like this about every episode (since I'm going to *try* to watch at least one per day, that would get quite exhausting), but I am liveblogging it more informally over on the worst website on Earth, if you're willing to put up with that Nazi-infested hellhole long enough to read some posts from yours truly.
In any case, Gundam and Code Geass. are many differences between these, the main ones being that Code Geass is more recent and also not widely hailed as a masterpiece of its form. It does *draw* notably from Gundam though despite having very different artistic aims and a different tone, so watching this makes sense in a way. I spent way too much of my teenagerhood obsessed with Lelouch, and now I'm watching the anime that his archetypal grandfather came from. (Goddess have mercy on my soul.)
My experience with Gundam as a franchise prior to this is very limited, but I do have some. For reference, I have seen all of:
Gundam 00, back when it aired on the SyFy channel when they had an anime block many years ago. I really liked this as a teenager but I don't remember it super well.
The Witch From Mercury, lesbian space combat, with a notable Code Geass staff connection. WFM was not perfect or anything but I loved it a lot and Suletta is very dear to me. I actually bought an Aerial gunpla a few months ago that is currently sitting unassembled in my closet.
the first Gundam 0079 compilation movie. Now, it might seem weird that I've seen this and am now going back to watch the TV series. But, while I remember the general outline of what happened, I was SUPER sick when I watched it, and I only remember what happened really, really vaguely. While I have some idea of the general outline of what's to come, I'm mostly going in genuinely blind.
like 4 or 5 episodes of Victory Gundam, which I liked but kind of fell off of. So we're giving the franchise a proper second go here.
I'm a mecha fan more generally, and I'll get into some of that as I write these, but for now that's the relevant stuff.
Anyway, my main impression of 0079's first episode is actually a structural one. It's REALLY well put together. We introduce the setting, we introduce our main characters, and we introduce the main conflict, all very economically and with a lot of style---more style than some shows with significantly less room to work with manage, in fact---and I'm immediately invested in the fate of our main character, Amuro Ray.
From what I gather here (and a little bit from outside information), my impression is that of a kid who loses his innocence very, very rapidly over the course of this story. Here, the space-hab-thing he lives on is attacked, and he ends up in the cockpit of an experimental superweapon called a Gundam (maybe you've heard of them?). I LOVE how the Gundam is framed here, like some kind of genuinely scary war machine. It's an intentionally othering effect i mostly associate with later mecha anime, especially those with outright monstrous mecha like Evangelion or even The Big O, so to see it here in such a comparatively early series in the genre is impressive.
The episode's climax sees him kill two soldiers from the enemy nation of Zeon, but it's not a triumphant thing, really. He's portrayed as kind of not really knowing what he's doing, flailing around inside this gigantic walking tank / mechanical war god. But then when he *does* figure things out, well, he has to deal with the fact that he just killed two dudes. Going by the cliffhangery ending here, it doesn't seem like his troubles are over, either.
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moviemunchies · 10 months ago
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Another miniseries review!
Kaleidoscope is a limited series based on a gimmick: a heist story through several episodes, told in a random order. Now the question is: does that gimmick work?
Hm.
Giancarlo Esposito plays Leo Pap, a criminal with a feud against Roger Salas, the CEO of a corporate security company because of their personal history. Leo decides to rob Salas’s state-of-the-art vault in New York City, pulling together a crew of crooks to pull it off. Of course, no heist goes exactly according to plan, and a couple of episodes are dedicated to the aftermath of the heist. It gets messy.
This series was advertised as being in completely random order for whoever watched it. I don’t know if that’s still the case, because the order I watched it in happens to be the order of episodes listed on Wikipedia. Maybe it’s not random now, but was when it came out? I don’t know. 
The order I watched in was mostly helpful; the first episode I watched wasn’t the one that took place first chronologically (it took place months before the heist), but it showed Leo getting his crew together, and briefed them on the basics of the job, so I knew who was who for the most part, even if I didn’t understand why Leo had a bone to pick with Salas.
One of the major problems with the series is that some of the problems that actually come up in the heist are foreseeable. As in, “Wow, you trust that guy on your crew? He’s an idiot.” Or, “These two people don’t get along at all! Maybe that feud will be relevant in a high stakes robbery?” The result is that it feels less like, “Master criminals doing a master plan,” and more like, “Several lucky douchebag crooks stumble around.”
Speaking of the cast: who am I rooting for, here? I understand that in stories like this, there are shades of gray, and you’re not supposed to find anyone entirely sympathetic in every aspect. That being said, many of the characters make absolutely boneheaded decisions that make you wonder if you’re supposed to like them at all, and the ones that you might maybe sympathize with end the story in a way that’s not tragic as much as just terrible. At the end of the day, you see who comes out on top, and it’s no one you have much reason to actually care for or identify with. So not only is it that you don’t really sympathize with too many of the characters, you get through the series feeling like it’s all a kick in the gut.
Which makes the entire thing feel more than a tad unsatisfying. You get the final piece of the puzzle and say, “Wait, that’s what happens?” It’s complete, sure, but it’s not rewarding.
I like the idea of the series, to be sure, and there is some fun in watching it the way I did, diving in and trying to figure out how it all comes together. That being said, having finished it, I couldn’t help but feel as if the story couldn’t achieve a satisfying ending. It didn’t work for me when all the parts came together, even though I kind of enjoyed the journey to get there. So while I think if you like the idea of the gimmick, then you can try it out, just be aware that in all, the story isn’t as fun as other heist stories out there.
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affiesque · 1 year ago
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As promised, here’s the second half of my random thoughts and observations about Desire Catcher now that I’ve finished my latest rewatch (links aren’t working for me right now, but if you want to read the first half just click on one of the tags on this post and it should come up easily). The entire series is 24 episodes, most of which are somewhere between 35 and 45 minutes long - so, depending on what types of shows you usually watch, it might be a bit of a commitment. But I definitely think it’s worth it.
OK, time to brace yourself, as there’s a lot going on in this second part…
At the halfway mark the relationship between Luo Fei and Lu Fengping is starting to fray (oh look, it's my good friend angst again) - essentially, Lu Fengping is frustrated that his mom’s murder remains unsolved and Luo Fei hasn’t given him much in the way of clues like he was supposed to. Lu Fengping ends up working with the main villain (Bai Ya Xing), who is behind all of the crimes/murders that have been happening, to find his mom’s killer and get revenge. (I won’t spoil the details, but I will say that this particular storyline could probably have used some fleshing out, as the details and motivations don’t quite come together in the end. As I’ve noted before, the real draw with Desire Catcher is the relationships, so you can kind of wave those plot holes away - unless that sort of thing really bothers you, which I totally get.)
There’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game going on throughout the middle episodes, with Lu Fengping getting more cagey and Luo Fei chasing after him a bit, attempting to figure out what he’s hiding. You get Luo Fei trying to casually inquire with multiple people as to Lu Fengping’s whereabouts when he’s gone for no more than a couple of hours at a time (we get it bro, you’re obsessed), not to mention lurking in the shadows near his apartment at night (yikes, dude). During this period there are definitely times when Lu Fengping looks almost guilty for pulling away and for what he’s planning to do, like he wants to confide in Luo Fei but he can’t - there’s a particular wistfulness to his expressions that’s so on point and gets me every time.
One nice little touch throughout is the many dinner dates the two leads go on - granted, one ends with Luo Fei leaving before they even eat anything, and another has him answering Lu Fengping’s question “Does everyone look like a suspect to you?” with “Yes - you look like one too,” so not exactly the most romantic situations (social skills are not Luo Fei’s strong point). But I am a sucker for those little intimate moments - misty evenings with blurry streetlights, tables piled high with steaming dishes and clinking glasses, the muted conversations of the people around them - and of course the sharing food = love symbolism.
Speaking of tropes, if you’re a fan of jealousy, then DC has got you covered. Again, no big plot spoilers here but Luo Fei finds out Lu Fengping has brought a girl home one night - not for the reason he (or anyone else) thinks, but you can tell he’s in his feelings about it (and Lu Fengping, I love you, but maybe in the future do not kidnap a stranger - even if you had your reasons and you were sort of helping her in the moment). He ends up getting arrested (twice!) for the abduction and when Luo Fei fails to help him, their “big breakup” begins in earnest - Lu Fengping saying “I shouldn’t have counted on you right from the start” got me right in the heart, ngl.
*Books as symbolism alert* - we get just one shot of some books strewn around Lu Fengping’s apartment in the second half, but I did find it interesting that the subtitles call out two of them specifically, which feels important. Those are “The Sea, The Sea” by Iris Murdoch and “It Takes More Than A Carrot And A Stick” by Wess Roberts. The former is about love and loss and romantic ideals by an author known for writing about morality and the power of the unconscious - things that seem relevant to a hypnotist, I would think. The latter actually made me laugh audibly when I noticed the subtitle: “Practical Ways Of Getting Along With People You Can’t Avoid At Work.” Sounds about right for them.
Here’s another alert - BIG GIANT SPOILERS AHEAD!! Click below with caution…
OK, so the big event of the second half is Lu Fengping faking his death(!!) in order to give him the time and space away from Luo Fei/the police to move ahead with his revenge plan. Long story short, Luo Fei thinks Lu Fengping has blown himself up, goes through the five stages of grief, figures out he’s still alive and somehow manages to be like, “Hey, thought you were dead but no biggie - let’s not even hug it out and instead just go right back to teasing each other and solving crimes - it’s all good.” Honestly, I’m glossing over a lot here - how absolutely devastated Luo Fei (and everyone else, for that matter) is when he thinks Lu Fengping is dead, how they finally yell a bit about their feelings and come clean about certain things when they reunite, how the OST rips your heart out again and again in these moments (“Did we meet just to be torn apart?” - I mean, come on), how relieved Lu Fengping looks when he realizes that Luo Fei doesn’t hate him for what he did, how Luo Fei suddenly can’t stop smiling (you’ve come a long way, baby). I think these are probably some of the strongest scenes in the entire show, but I must admit that the way they don’t truly address the fallout of something this intense still bugs me (stay tuned for a fic I’m writing on that very topic, in case that sort of thing interests you - and @thinkonce-acttwice, I ✨promise✨ I’m actually working on it!).
I know I haven’t mentioned Liang Yin in this second-half review yet - what happened/happens to her still plays a major role in the story of Lu Fengping’s mom’s death. I won’t give the details here, but do note that there are some flashback scenes of her getting attacked that might be rough for some viewers - so please keep that in mind. However, aside from a couple of moments where the men in her life feel the need to protect/shelter her despite her being quite capable of handling things herself, I will say that the story gives her back some agency, and it does feel as if by the end she’s come to terms with her past and is in a good place overall. And the relationship between her, Luo Fei, and Lu Fengping gets a really nice resolution - a sort of found family thing that brings them all together.
There’s lots of plot movement as we work our way through the final episodes - the big bad villain is vilaining, there’s an evil nurse who’s in on the shenanigans, poor Professor Ling (Lu Fengping’s mentor and fellow hypnotist) gets accused of being a fraud and ends up in the hospital, Lu Fengping almost stabs himself in the heart while hypnotized by Bai Ya Xing (though of course Luo Fei shows up in the nick of time to save him - I swear, despite knowing that this is just a “bromance” show, every time I watch that scene there’s one split second where it seems like they’re about to lean in and kiss - oof), poor Liang Yin gets kidnapped by the big bad villain (unfortunately, more “man pain”). I tell you, this show is a roller coaster ride every freaking episode.
I won’t spoil the final ending too much, but rest assured Liang Yin is fine. Stuff happens, Lu Fengping ends up in prison - though he sort of puts himself there on purpose, sacrificing himself for Luo Fei, even if he doesn’t come out and say that’s what he’s doing. And he basically gets a form of justice for his mom’s death. The very last bit sees him return from prison on parole - he reunites with the police team and Luo Fei in a slightly cheesy but rather touching moment, though, again, even just a quick hug would’ve been nice…
Bottom line, I love all of them, your honor, and will probably never be over this show - there’s so much to unpack in terms of the role of fate in our lives, how broken people can find something in each other to live for, how to forgive others and, importantly, yourself.
OK, again, this one got away from me, and I know I’m probably forgetting like a million little things, but hopefully I’ve managed to entertain at least one other person with my ramblings. And if anything here has sounded intriguing, please check this little show out so it gets the love it deserves! 🖤
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maschotch · 1 year ago
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I was rewatching season 5 and I'm sorry but I find the episode immediately after hotch gets his shit wrecked by foyet so funny bc they're all treating him like he's this unhinged psycho like abdjfjds yeah I GET that that's what he was supposed to be like but the way they executed it, he really wasn't that out of order. It's just funny to me when he did like literally anything the other character on screen would look at him like 😧😦🫢
i actually find this soooo interesting for so many reasons.
foyet is the first "big bad" we really get for criminal minds. i've said a lot about whether this was a good directional shift for the show, but it was an interesting move to target the team leader first. hotch has, for the most part, gone largely unrecognized by the drama of the show so far. sure he's had his divorce blah blah, but he doesn't talk about it much. if he doesn't talk about it, the team's curiosity will fade sooner rather than later. that seems to be his strategy whenever something is going on with him. and it tends to work.
but now it's different. this was a serious event that happened. they can't help but recognize the severity of what just happened, and there's a palpable difference in the team dynamic because of it. so when everyone has their eyes on hotch, scrutinizing his every move, i don't think it's necessarily because he's acting different (even tho he is--even if his general risk assessment is the same, he's still initially snappier towards friends and strangers than they're used to seeing from him), but because they're aware of his presence in a way that they're not accustomed: he's vulnerable. he's not the unbreakable monolith of stability the team has believed him to be this whole time. i think a big reason why it hit the team so hard isn't just because of what happened, but the way their relationships have all developed up until now.
morgan and garcia are very clearly the most concerned out of everyone. beyond their closeness, i think that has a lot to do with both of them losing a parent/parents at a young age. seeing their leader--who they have so much respect and love for--severely wounded fucks them up!! hotch more or less holds a father figure role in both of their lives, and it's not something that appeared out of nowhere (and here i'll add reid since he doesn't have the trauma of a parent's death, but he does see hotch as a parental figure). it's the result of years and years of building trust, both in character and as a symbol of strength and security (which is now relevant to jj, whose whole character development is about trying to emulate that mythical strength). their faith is shaken in him--not because of his own actions, but because of their own idealized concept of him that was challenged by hotch's very very human fallibility. even emily, who doesn't rely on him emotionally the way the rest of the team does, is disturbed, but only because she sees him as a protector of the team--as a protector of the new chance of life she has with them. now that that's threatened, she needs to see his safety through with her own eyes (which is why she's the first to notice him missing, and the one who needs to drive him to and from work after this). he's the rock of the team, and no one expects the rock to crack.
i hate when rossi ends up the voice of reason, but in this case it really makes sense. he doesn't have any aggrandized notions of who hotch is: he watched hotch grow within the bau. rossi knows how to push hotch, when to push hotch, because he knows hotch won't break easy. even when hotch hates himself, like the original omnivore episode, rossi doesn't hesitate to shove a gun in hotch's hand and tell him to kill himself because he knows hotch would never. rossi's perfectly aware of the weaknesses hotch refuses to let the rest of the team see. when rossi tries to assuage derek's worries, it's not because he doesn't care, but because he knows not to stifle him. he knows hotch will get through this, he just needs time. i think everyone's reaction to hotch's return is perfectly emblematic of their relationship to him: morgan questions his authority suddenly because the inherent trust is lost. emily is above all worried about his safety because she knows that jeopardizes the team. reid is worried but he doesn't interfere because, as far as he's concerned, hotch can handle it. garcia is worried but doesn't interfere because she doesn't know how to help. jj's concern is more akin to pity because the bastion of strength she's respected for so long ended up being just as human as the rest of them. rossi's concern for hotch is on the back burner because he sees that the team is fracturing around the edges
i love 5x02 because we spend surprisingly little time on hotch dealing with his emotions; instead, we focus on the team dealing with hotch's vulnerability. they're fully aware of him for the first time, and they overreact to everything they would normally accept at face value. they rarely question his judgment before this because they trust him implicitly. he's proven himself, and it's heartbreaking that--through no fault of his own--he has to build that trust back. rossi says to derek "we have to show we have his back." derek interprets that as watching his back, to double check every decision and making sure he's alright based on those decisions. even jj knows that, given the heat he's getting from his superiors, that's the last thing hotch needs.
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onekisstotakewithme · 2 years ago
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Top five favorite stories you’ve posted this year
oh this is a good one! thank you anon. this is going to be a fun mix of fandoms, hope that's okay 💜 but also not me forgetting every story i wrote this year.
None of Us are More Than Caretakers (The West Wing) - I had so much fun writing this, I had the whole thing written in about six weeks, and I see it as sort of the transition-era story we didn't get... all because I was reading on wikipedia and saw that Gerald Ford died over the holiday season in 2006. Anyway, read if you enjoy CJ/Danny seekrit relationship, a story about transition of power, and taking care of the country (and each other). 66k.
Close to the Heart (M*A*S*H) - Okay, I know this one is ongoing but hear me out: I love writing about the dynamic between Hawkeye and the Hunnicutts. I love taking tropes and subverting them, turning ideas on their heads. Close to the Heart aka subverted noir AU does ALL of those things for me. It's fun to have canon echoes and twisted dynamics, and fun to keep the audience guessing. 💜 23.5k but still ongoing.
A Night to Watch (The West Wing) - It shows a tiny bit that this was one of my first TWW fics, but tbh I don't care, because it still has one of my favourite headcanons in it: Danny driving the seven and a half-ish hours from manchester to DC on election night because he thinks CJ needs him. 6.1k.
Perfect (M*A*S*H) - One of my favourite things, as stated previously, is subversion. I love the idea of Peg and BJ both wanting to make their anniversary "perfect" (and then of course realizing that they're together again so it is perfect). This idea of them growing post-war and slowly growing back together while also seeing how they've grown separately is just... chef's kiss. to me. love those two. 2.5k.
Off the Record (The West Wing) - One of my more out-there concepts: one missing (CJ/Danny) scene for every episode of season 1 of The West Wing. An out-there concept I compounded by also writing them for seasons 2, 3, and part of 4. I had SO MUCH FUN writing these, fleshing out canon and building on it!!! I think it added a lot to canon without ever trampling on it, but that's just me! 31k. + Bonuses (under cut)
6. its torment won't be through (M*A*S*H) - A tag to 'That's Show Biz' that I started a year or two ago, and I loved the opening dialogue so much that when I found it this year, I decided I'd rewrite it. I figured it was just an average beejhawk story, but I went back and reread it recently and it had grown on me a lot! 2.6k. 7. An Idea, Whose Time has Come (The West Wing) - Briefly hesitated about putting this one in, because I need to get back to it, but I love this fic so much. It's a fun, original idea, even if I need to do a shit tonne of research for every chapter (that + grad school is why it's taking so long!), but anyway, CJ runs for President in 2018. Hopefully will not be too relevant going into an election year... 14k (so far).
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thegeminisage · 1 year ago
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ok ok ok it's star trek update time. last time we watched tng's "liaisons" and ds9's "the circle."
liaisons (tng):
the summary of this one put me off soooo bad but i actually give it an enthusiastic pass because i loved the b plot but conned myself into also liking the a plot. allow me to explain
the b plot of this is of course the fantastic riker e worf e deanna showing the ambassadors a good time on the enterprise. this arc satisfied me from start to finish because it started with riker telling worf he looked good in a dress and finished with worf beating that annoying guy's face in, and in the middle there was also a poker game and whatever the FUCJ was happening in their little meeting room which was extremely fun and flirty
i have not forgotten btw that worf e deanna is supposed to happen in s7. im so sorry the actors hated it but rn it is Fueling me. bring it on.
the a plot is more complicated and the summary of this plot is what initially put me off
like, of Course it's picard and a woman. again.
here's what i didn't know: one, this woman was batshit insane and not to be trusted, and 2, she wasn't real but a fake roleplay character made by this alien. who is a man
THAT MEANS. NOT ONLY DID PICARD FINALLY GET HIS OWN CLOSE ENOUNTER
BUT IT WAS WITH A MAN
picard has canonically kissed a man. or um been kissed by one i guess
and all of that would have been just borderline and barely ekeing out with a pass EXCEPT
i had the thought near the end of this episode: q would be absolutely SICK
as we know. the funniest thing about q and indeed perhaps his only redeeming factor. is how bad he wants to fuck sir patrick stewart. which gets ONLY FUNNIER the more that sir patrick stewart is like, i would fuck literally anyone else in the galaxy first
and now here picard is, having liplocked with another guy, and he STILL hasn't fucked q. i spent so long giggling about this that i simply must give the episode a passing grade
also, i would like to note i figured out they were the same person before the episode told us. i am JUST that good
the circle (ds9):
KIRA MY BELOVED.....................................
absolutely tickled to pieces with the ensemble scene at the opening. first we had this nice little prolonged kira and odo moment 😍 which was so wonderful because of their like general dynamic and history being hinted at and then EVERY SINGLE MEMBER OF THE CAST SAVE SISKO got their sitcom intro. it was the most beautiful thing i've ever seen. they were like, you simply cannot be dismissing major kira unfairly. so true. once again it is so cathartic to see them rallying around her whether they're federation or not. literally treating her really niceys
AND SISKO! his little scene with her in the garden down on the planet...wah. he's literally constantly trying to get her back. his support even when she's no longer technically working for him...EVERYBODY treats her really niceys
um except that vedek guy...idk whether he's on the level or not and i DID NOT like whatever sexy stuff was going on in that orb vision. putting aside the hilarious reality of orbs in general for a second are the prophets saying she has to fuck that guy? not my beautiful queen.
um and also except the circle. i didnt actually see the plot twist coming this time about that minister guy being in on it which is very fun. also i'm sooo glad they staged a speedy rescue
ODO THE RAT! i love when he turns into stuff
also odo blackmailing quark into being his deputy lol i LOOOOVE what they have it's SO funny
anyway i hope vedek winn chokes on her oatmeal when she finds out the cardassians are funding her little r*n d*santis campaigns. i thought that was a fun plot twist if not very surprising ultimately like of COURSE they are. it's crazy how relevant some of this still is
and on a final note, i like that sisko has chosen to Rules Lawyer his way into disobeying the prime directive because it is the right thing to do here. GOOD FOR HIM!
tonight: tng's "interface" and ds9's "the siege," finally concluding this little three-parter.
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anime-lettuce · 1 year ago
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I’ve been trying to find to find these two shows I watched as a kid and a movie my French teacher played in middle school but every time I try to ask my friends or google abt them I feel insane so what better place to ask than tumblr (Reddit prolly but that’s my last resort). Idk why I didn’t think of this earlier but any help is appreciated.
The first show was about this girl whose name I think was Luna and she had a mostly black and white outfit that would change colors (depending on her? emotions) and all? of her friends were aliens or bunnies (bunny aliens?) that I kinda remember wishing I could eat. Luna (I’m just gonna call her that) traveled to different planets (I think she rode on a star Kirby style) in a 2d animation (almost like a flat jelly jamm), trying to solve her friends problems and I think combat some villain who had evil bunnies (I’m probably making this part up). I’m pretty sure the show was originally in Spanish but ik I watched it in both English and Spanish so maybe not.
The second show I remember watching on Netflix around think in 2013-2016. It was about this cartoon brother & sister duo living in France during ww2. I think the sister was older and she and her brother lived with their grandparents on a farm, (I think their parents died) trying to keep living their old lives but finding it hard cause of the war. I distinctly remember their classmate who liked poetry getting on my nerves, a blue bike, and an episode where they tried to buy butter but kept having issues. I’d say the art style was more story book-ish (maybe water color) and I wanna say there were at least two seasons.
The (live action) movie took place in some French speaking country (or it was in Italy and the actors just spoke French) and followed a young boy on a vacation? with his family and a friend out to the mountains where the boy and the friend found an owl that they tried to take care of until I think the dad shot it at the end. There was one scene either in school or church where some authority figure hit a kid with either a ruler or paddle and another scene where the two boys were bathing together outdoors. To be honest I’m not sure I ever want to see this movie again but it makes for an interesting tidbit should I ever find myself in a conversation where this would be relevant, and I’d like to know the name of it (that I think was either kind of long or involved some sort of religious reference)
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gaeasun · 2 years ago
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Ok I have watched both episodes of Ahsoka so gonna make a list of pros and cons. will be much more serious cons than serious pros. Not spoiler free!
pros first:
there is a very cute loth-cat. adorable. stole my heart. best live action tooka creature so far.
All or most of the human casting and portrayal was very spot on. Ryder was great and so nice to hear a familiar voice, Sabine was good, also chopper was spot on in everything.
actually all of the droids carried the humor for the episodes. very funny.
the lightsabers look and sound cool.
the non-lightsaber fight was good (and by that i mean sabine kicking around those droids)
SABINE DOES NOT HAVE THE FORCE THANK GOODNESS WAS REALLY WORRIED THERE
sabines art skills are relevant. love it.
yeah thats it i think. sry if you were here as an optimist.
Cons:
NO REX WHERE IS HE
they've got to stop stabbing people with lightsabers without killing them. star wars medicine was already inconsistent, this is pushing it.
where is jacen syndulla. If ahsoka is going to take an apprentice why not him? WHY SABINE THAT MAKES SO LITTLE SENSE.
yeah going on that again. she was training to be a jedi without force. BUT WHY. Sabine has always been a Mandalorian, shes been so proud and happy to be a Mandalorian. she literally threw that away to be a jedi. she hid her armor and grew out her hair and there was no mention of her Mandalorian family? the one she reconciled with?
the casting for hera and ahsoka is not good, the makeup and prosthetics are worse than that, but worst of all they do not actually sound like the characters at all! going into those in detail:
ahsoka and hera just do not have the face shape of their counterparts. i do get that it can be difficult since no one has anime eyes that big. but the face shapes look wrong and every time i look at them it doesnt look or feel like im watching beloved characters brought to life
the prosthetics and the makeup on hera and ahsoka look like either that department got a pittance or they just didnt care that much. even simple details that wouldn't effect stuntwork. like the circle patterns on Hera's lekku, or like how Hera's lips are much too dark and Ahsoka's are much too light. Ahsoka and heras head-tails are way to short as well. if you want to explain it with stunt reasons, than why are heras so short as well? also somehow there is zero texture on hera's lekku, but Ahsoka's look like an old rubber hose that shriveled up? and her montrals are so short and point backwards. if the people making this show are going to take such beloved characters and put them in irrevocable media, these details should have been figured out! if it wasnt feasible than they should never have made it live action in the first place.
the actors for ahsoka and hera do not sound like them. i dont mean their voices sound the exact same, but i mean the inflection and the wordings sound nothing like the animation. a good actor should try to mimic that but it wasnt done. ahsoka especially had such emphatic and varying tone in clone wars and rebels, while live action ahsoka sounds like shes trying to win the stoic master of the year award.
ahsoka apparently learned an entire new lightsaber style! because she only held her lightsabers in reverse grip one. time. and also when she was a kid she was flipping circles and cartwheeling and handspringing and theres none of that here. if yoda can do it in 2008 they can figure out a way for her to do it too
listen. ahsoka has gone through way too much character development to be constantly looking like she doesnt know what shes doing. shes struggling too much in fights, and she doesnt seem to understand sabine at all. she has been a very strong character in the past, and this is because she has gone through many experiences that gave her incredible development.
the plot does not make sense. how on earth does an ancient device know where thrawn went? why is this connected to the dathomirians? are they going to bother explaining this? probably not.
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