#this is the first time he's done something shady against Harvey

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Something that confuses me (and alarms me a bit ngl) is the assumption I see everywhere that, once Mike moved to Seattle, he just stopped talking to Harvey. I wasn’t saying anything because there had been no confirmation either way (although why Mike would do something like that, or why Harvey would keep calling if he had, I wouldn’t know, so I just assumed he didn’t), but now I’ve watched If The Shoe Fits and there’s confirmation that they were still talking (with what had sadly become Suits-typical disregard for canon -in this case, Mike being confused about the Paula thing when he was actually in NY for it- notwithstanding. We could always assume Harvey didn’t tell him all that went down back then and now he did), so...? 

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

Gabriel Agreste: Interesting Villain, Horrible Character (400 Follower Special)

I'm honestly surprised more people didn't want me to talk about Gabriel, especially with how often I rag on how horrible of a person he is. But, three character analysis posts later, and we're going to talk about why the main villain of Miraculous Ladybug is a real letdown.

Gabriel Needs to give the Whining a Rest

The interesting thing is one of the few things I actually liked in Season 3 was Hawkmoth. His plans actually made sense (for the most part), and by playing the long game, he managed to turn Chloe against Ladybug and deprived her of several key allies. Granted, Season 4 immediately undid the latter, but I was still impressed by his strategy.

Generally, one of the better aspects of Gabriel as a character was just how over the top he was as Hawkmoth. Keith Silverstein is clearly giving it his all with his performance, and he is just so enjoyable to watch as a cartoonish supervillain.

And therein lies the first major problem with Gabriel as a character. While he is fun to watch as a simple supervillain, the show tries to give him more depth and unintentionally makes him worse.

In Season 2, when it was revealed that Gabriel was Hawkmoth, many fans speculated on what he needed the Miraculous for, until the Queen Bee Trilogy showed it was to save his possibly dead wife, Emilie. The idea of that is so the show can give more depth to its main villain, and I think it's an interesting idea in concept. After all, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

The problem is just how radically different Gabriel is normally compared to how he is as Hawkmoth. He always goes on about how he's “doing this for Emilie”, but it's hard to really sympathize with him when you consider he constantly gives evil monologues and evil laughs, really getting into the supervillain role. And let's not forget all of the “I'm going to wear Ladybug's skin as a suit” faces he loves to make.

Clearly this man is the picture of mental stability.

Gabriel's motivation for being Hawkmoth when compared to what he actually does as Hawkmoth is shady enough, but the thing is that the writers clearly want the audience to at least feel a little bad for him. They want to make the audience sympathize with him despite the way he acts with or without the mask. Without Miraculous Ladybug, he is routinely putting innocent lives in danger and never once shows regret for his actions. All he talks about is how “he's doing this for Emilie”, or that “he'll get their Miraculous soon”. There's no real reason to feel bad for him other than “because the script says so”.

Let's compare Gabriel to Malcolm Merlyn from Arrow. His big plan in the first season of the show is to create a machine that will cause an earthquake to destroy a crime-infested portion of Starling City, claiming to be trying to help everyone, but it's clear he is only doing it out of revenge for his wife getting killed by a criminal from that part of the city. In addition, throughout that season and future seasons, he always makes sure his plans lead to him benefiting in some way, showing he isn't just some noble man trying to achieve his goals with a less than noble method.

If we got some moments that showed that what Gabriel was doing was selfish, it would make him a more complex villain. But we don't get anything like that. What do we get instead? Well...

I Could Really Care Less About Emilie Agreste

We have known Gabriel's motivation has been to save his wife for a little over two years at this point, but at the same time, it's hard to believe that motivation because of how underdeveloped Emilie is as a character.

There have been a total of two lines in the entirety of the show that explain what happened to Emilie, and they're both vague as hell. One of them was from “Feast” that implied Emilie used the broken Peacock Miraculous.

Adrien: My mom used to have dizzy spells… just like Nathalie.

And the other that outright tells the audience what's happening to her in a clip show that most people will skip.

Nathalie: As I've watched Emilie falling deeper into an endless sleep, my sadness for her has deepened, too

That is literally all we get for an explanation, and nothing else. We have no idea of what she's like as a person or what her relationship with her family was like other than Gabriel and Adrien saying they miss her. Other than the way the narrative says she's important to Gabriel and Adrien, we don't really have a reason to care about her as a character. There have also been some lines that imply she went along with Gabriel's questionable parenting techniques, like how he was apparently only homeschooled as a kid (Origins) and never had a birthday party growing up (The Bubbler), so how do we even know if she's a good person? In fact, why not set up this question as a mystery to make the audience wonder if Gabriel has another reason to bring Emilie back?

It ultimately turns Emilie into a plot device and not a character that Gabriel and Adrien only bring up to make the audience feel bad for them, and meant to justify Gabriel's actions by saying that he's “doing this for his family”.

But hey, if he's doing this all for his family, surely Gabriel's redeeming traits come from his relationship with Adrien, right? Right?

As a Parent, Gabriel is Far From the Best

I've talked about this briefly before, but parenting in Miraculous Ladybug is written in such a black and white way, even by the standards of this show. Parents are portrayed in one of two ways. They're either amazing people who love and support their children unconditionally, or they're awful people who treat their own children like trash. And much like a lot of things in this show, there are times where the latter is treated like the former.

There are so many times where the narrative insists on making you see Gabriel as a troubled, but wellmeaning person who tries his best to be a good parent to Adrien, but it is far from the truth.

I'm not going to beat around the bush. Gabriel is a terrible parent. Like, he is awful at being a parent in so many ways, even before you find out he's Hawkmoth. In his first appearance, “The Bubbler”, he delegates getting Adrien a birthday present to Nathalie, his assistant. He literally can't be bothered to take time out of his schedule to get his own son a present for his birthday. And as the show goes on, he becomes more controlling and forbids Adrien from going out with his friends in other episodes (Captain Hardrock, Silencer). While this could be used to show Gabriel getting worse, it's never acknowledged in-universe, with Adrien continually defending his father essentially keeping him on house arrest.

“But IOTA!” You might say. “Gabriel has made efforts to bond with his son in some episodes.” While that might be true, most of those come right after his Akumas have almost gotten Adrien killed. He only hugged Adrien and made an attempt to learn more about him after Simon Says invaded their home, he only decided to watch that movie Emilie was in with Adrien after Gorizilla nearly dropped him off a building, and he only hugged Adrien again in public after he was turned into a gold statue by Style Queen.

In fact, let's talk about how Gabriel acts in the Queen Bee Trilogy. He actually decides to quit being Hawkmoth, but it's not because he realizes all the damage he's caused. Instead, he gave up because his “magnum opus”, a stronger than usual Akuma that only got the advantage on Ladybug ironically because of dumb luck, failed. Sure, he says he can't keep putting his son in danger, but he rarely ever acknowledges that he does so in the first place. When Riposte wanted to fight Adrien, Hawkmoth did nothing to stop her other than giving her a stern warning earlier on and nothing else. Where was this attitude earlier?

Hell, even then, he immediately goes back to being Hawkmoth as soon as he sees an opportunity, not even a day after his “mAgNuM oPuS” blew up in his face (because I guess Scarletmoth was just Plan B). If he made such a big deal about caring for his son, why didn't he try harder to spend time with him? Has he ever had doubts about what he's doing before? If Chloe didn't show up as Queen Bee, was he going to follow through on his promise and try to be a better father to Adrien instead of trying to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous?

And yeah, the whole irony is that Gabriel is doing this for his family when he is unknowingly fighting his own son, which could lead to some interesting drama if done right. The idea of how Gabriel would react to his son being Cat Noir could really lead to some internal struggles for him to go through. But then we got “Cat Blanc”, which shows just how terrible of a character Gabriel is.

In an alternate timeline where he found out his son was Cat Noir, what does Gabriel do? Does he try to steal Adrien's Miraculous while he's sleeping? Does he reconsider his actions or realize he was endangering Adrien's life?

NOPE! He just decides to akumatize him all while emotionally tormenting him, before causing the end of the world.

This is honestly one of the most appalling things I've ever seen in any TV show, because it's basically an abusive father ordering his son to listen to him all while referencing his (kind of) dead mother to back up his point. And rather than use this to show how despicable Gabriel is, the episode decides to blame Marinette for this happening. Yes, according to the show, her present to Adrien caused several events to happen which caused Cat Blanc, but this logic makes no sense. It's like blaming the JFK assassination on the man who sold a gun to Lee Harvey Oswald, instead of, you know, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Not only was this episode yet another excuse to blame Marinette for something that wasn't her fault, it leads into the biggest problem I have with Gabriel as a character.

Sympathize with Gabriel? Surely, You Jest

After everything I've gone over regarding Gabriel as a character, after all the awful things I've talked about, are you really surprised that I don't feel bad for him at all?

Gabriel is just an awful character and a despicable human being, but the show just keeps wanting me to feel bad for him. It's just so hard to when you consider everything he's done has made him anything but sympathetic. I'm just saying, it's kind of hard to feel bad for someone who tries to start World War III with the only justification being “i'M dOiNg It FoR mY fAmIlY”, especially when he treats his family like crap.

The writers go out of their way to show how horrible Gabriel is as Hawkmoth/Shadowmoth, but they think because they throw in a few moments where he looks conflicted, we'll immediately feel bad for him. What makes so many people interested in seeing Chloe become a better person is that they can tell she's the victim of a troubled upbringing, and know that because she's only a teenager, she still has room to grow as a person, represented by having more honest moments of vulnerability. Gabriel is a grown man who once caused the apocalypse because of how terrible of a parent he is, and has even fewer sympathetic moments than Chloe does. Which one of these two is supposedly irredeemable? The answer may surprise you.

But the frustrating thing is that this kind of villain could have worked. Instead of making him this mustache-twirling psychopath, show how much Gabriel regrets what he has to do, but keeps pushing onward despite all the lives he's risking if it means that he can save his wife. Instead of making Gabriel like Lex Luthor, make him like Mr. Freeze, who is basic a better written version of him.

But as it stands, there's a good reason why Gabriel gets little to no respect as a character in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, as a villain, or as a father.

[animatedminds]

Let’s Get Dangerous Review!

It’s dangerous. In a good way. <cue dramatic music> Okay, obviously there’s more thoughts than just that. I’ve been waiting for it for weeks, and it arrived just as awesome as I hoped. For the first time, let’s give my full movie style review to the double length Ducktales special: “Let’s Get Dangerous.”

The spoilers are open and widely discussed, so maybe don’t look past the following image if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

To note, I’m not entirely convinced that this was actually meant to be a pilot. It definitely does introduce a new status quo for the Darkwing trio of characters (minus Honker for now, here’s hoping they haven’t forgotten him), but it’s also a very remote story that still tries to take place within the context of Ducktales’ universe, so it really depends on what they choose to do.

But let’s just get down to it.

First off, as I mentioned in my earlier post… Taurus Bulba. He was maybe the biggest and most eye-catching aspect of the first part of the episode, as one of the few elements we hadn’t already seen yet, and his reputation as a really, really bad guy has quite preceded him. As I may have gushed somewhat about, he’s one of the best parts of the special.

James Monroe Inglehart, for those living away from the Disney scene for a decade, is an actor and voice actor most famous for being the original Genie on Broadway’s Aladdin. A grand, bombastic presence, he generally plays characters who - much like the genie himself - a big, jolly, kind but maybe a little mischievous souls that take the attention of a room and brighten up the characters’ day - like Lance, in Tangled the Series. The most interesting thing about Bulba is that Inglehart brings that exact same energy to the role, and so Bulba keep that jollity and lofty personality in a package that becomes increasingly less nice as the story goes on. As someone who keenly remembers Taurus Bulba as cruel monster willing to hurt kids and capable of crushing Darkwing like nobody’s business, the contrast was immediately fun to watch - and I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

In this story, Bulba is recast from a crime lord intending to use a super weapon go on an endless plundering spree to a FOWL scientist with a respectable reputation who intends to use a super weapon to take over the world, and the transition goes off fairly well. The end result is a pretty standard mix of superhero fight and Bond plot, as Bulba ends up holed up in his lab with his squadron of elite supervillain minions - all plundered a particular fictional universe - with the heroes having to break in / escape from his captivity and stop him before he destroys everything. It’s very Silver Age, with Bulba in the role of maniacal villain, and he’s contrasted very well with Bradford - who is as always an antagonist who prides himself on pragmatism. This contrast leads to some great moments: Bradford’s increasing frustration with the cavalier attitude of both the heroes and the villains gives him the best stint of characterization he’s had since the beginning of the season - he basically spends the whole episode arguing with everyone about how badly thought out their actions are, while also badly hiding his own secrets.

The Fearsome Five (of which Quackerjack is voices by his original actor) are great to see, though used minimally. If you’re expecting to see classic show dynamics between the villains and Darkwing, that’s not really what they’re used for. Mostly, they’re minions with personality, and they’re more there to establish both to the audience and to Drake the character himself that he is ready to take on really big threats even with his lack of superpowers.

But enough about the villains, on to the heroes!

A couple episodes ago, with the Halloween episode, I criticized that story for not balancing its A and B plot all that well. This episode does not have that problem. The story is actually maybe about three fifths Darkwing’s story, and the rest of it is Scrooge and the nephews as they figure out what Bulba is up to independently of Darkwing and try to stop him themselves. It’s somewhat similar to Timephoon, where they’re there constantly and are doing their own bid to solve the story but the focus isn’t primarily on them. Instead, we have some of the best “HDL actually matter to the story” bits of the show, where they escape Bulba’s prison on their own and lead Bradford out, all the while slowly figuring out that something is shady about the guy. Meanwhile, Scrooge gets stuck in the original Ducktales universe’s most memed scene, which was a fun gag (but not the best gag - that would be the one and only Bonkers D. Bobcat as the Harvey Bullock-style cop in the Darkwing show).

Which I suppose can lead to a digression about the mad science bit here. The alternate universes here are… interesting. I always pay special attention to how things like time travel or other dimensions or alternate universes work in a series, and this one reminds me the most - I think - of DC’s Dark Multiverse: a collection of universes that are both explicitly fictional but made real because people created them. Ultimately, it’s less as if the OG Darkwing universe exists independently of the Ducktales universe and more that the in-universe Darkwing show as a world based off of it that the characters can reach into. I wish the episode had delved into that more, and now you’ve got people trying to use it to look for more establishment of OG Darkwing elements (though I was fine with it being separate, perceiving anything else as rather needlessly inexplicable), but ultimately that is not specifically what the episode is about, and is kept rather separate.

So what is the episode about? Like you didn’t already know…

As always, Gosalyn Waddlemeyer is a little girl whose grandfather was done away with by Taurus Bulba, and who falls into Darkwing’s lap over the course of his adventure with him. Here, her grandfather is (possibly) still alive, just lost in the ether a la Gravity Falls’ Grunkle Ford. And like the mighty glazed McGuffin, Darkwing’s goal in the episode is less strictly defeating Bulba as it is helping her get her grandfather and her home back. Gosalyn here is self-sufficient and action oriented (it may be my inner Brooklyn 99 fan talking, but I loved Stephanie Beatriz as her, and kind of wish she had gotten a wider range of lines), taking on her own crusade against Bulba until she realizes she can go to Darkwing for help, and is constantly trying to pull him into the fight - even while he is reluctant, and no matter what the danger - so that they can win and she can get justice. But in the end, she has to accept that they might not be able to.

As a longtime Batman fan, I immediately recognized a plethora of Robin references with Gosalyn. She’s a kid who’s family was taken from her by a villain, given a surrogate home by the hero - like Dick Grayson. She’s a street tough who originally met the hero committing a crime, and who is both skeptical of his heroism and heavily critical of his flaws - like Jason Todd. And she’s a young genius with a lot of scientific knowledge, tech skills and common sense - just like Tim Drake. There’s even elements of Carrie Kelley or Terry McGinnis there, in her determined if not gung-ho approach to heroism despite her circumstances and the hermit-like behavior of the hero.

And in the end, this is a fairly apt comparison, because Gosalyn essentially ends the story more as a Robin figure than previously, now as Darkwing’s more of a ward and official sidekick alongside Launchpad. The story does not, to note, involve her being adopted by Drake or becoming Gosalyn Mallard. Indeed, they don’t really end up having that sort of relationship. They’re distant and don’t really know how to relate to one another, and not about to broach the subject of family except in distant terms. There’s ultimately far less emphasis than before on Gosalyn and Drake being similar and hitting it off on a personal level, or even really Drake keying into Gosalyn’s potential and spirit as a person vs an element in his adventure. Throughout the story he regards her as a victim to be saved, then ultimately as an ally with potential to be respected, and in the end he gives her an offer to take up the mantle along side him while they search for her family… which ultimately creates something very different.

For people expecting something a little more akin to the implications the show made with Gyro and BOYD, Gosalyn here. The implication that they could be a family is brought up by Launchpad, but neither Drake nor Gosalyn are really there at the end of the story - I want to say they’re not there yet, but the way the story goes gives off the impression that the dynamic duo dichotomy is the relationship for the two the writing is most comfortable giving them.

Again, I’m a longtime Batman fan, so I understand and appreciate the nod. It gives them a really cool status quo that’s distinct from what came before it. Still, the strong father/daughter relationship between the two was very much the heart and soul of the original show, an endearing quality that created the character traits we love about both characters, and ultimately one of the primary characteristics that set the Darkwing family apart even from most comic book superhero stars - so even if they made something great out of it, it’s a shame to see Ducktales ultimately keep that relationship at arms’ length.

But that’s less a criticism and more just something I wish they had chosen to do differently - and it makes sense for the 2017 team’s take on Darkwing, which has always been more focused on “irrepressible hero who doesn’t give up” - a pluckie rookie growing into his competence - than “former fool whose great potential is unleashed through the people around him.” The latter is there, sometimes, but it’s not prominent. Original Darkwing was a man made better by his daughter, while the modern Darkwing doesn’t quite need that to find the hero within.

The only (and I mean only) criticism I have is the way the characters kind of jump around in how they respond to things. Drake wanting more crime, and then freaking out when super crime shows up and it’s way more than he thought he can handle is fine, and is one of the better character bits in the special. It being unclear whether Drake is against fighting supervillains because he thinks they’re too powerful vs because he doesn’t want to risk Gosalyn’s safety is another thing, though - it seems the show intended to imply the latter but forgot to include the line somewhere, so it’s not inferred until later and Drake suddenly benching Gos towards the end lacks set-up.

For her part, Gosalyn is suddenly and quickly afraid to fight for a brief moment so Launchpad can inspire her to face impossible odds, even though it was hardly the first time she had done so in the special. The ending I think wanted the characters to be somewhere that the rest of the special hadn’t gotten them to yet. But it’s all good - it ends well, so all’s well. Best gag of the episode, btw? Fenton, who is awful at keeping his secret identity secret, has hooked up Darkwing with his own hi-tech hero lair. Darkwing, despite supposedly being a detective (or at least an actor playing a detective), ends up as one of the two or three people remaining on Earth who hasn’t figured out that Fenton is Gizmoduck. Darkwing considers himself good friends with Fenton, despite hating Gizmoduck. It’s actually very funny.

It’s as of now unclear what is coming up for Darkwing. We know the St. Canard characters are going to factor in more as the FOWL plot progresses, and this episode kicks that plot into high gear - the characters now know about FOWL and their intentions, and are preparing themselves for a far more dangerous fight than usual. In short, with the midseason comes the renewed focus on the primary plot of the season, as per the usual. Like I said before, while I’m not as on board as most with the idea that this was a pilot, St. Canard was definitely established here - with series regular Zan Owlson as it’s new mayor, and a general aesthetic and set of protagonists. It wouldn’t be remiss for a future episode this season to take place there (though we know Negaduck isn’t happening this season).

The new few episodes, however, are focused more on the quest for Finch’s treasures and FOWL, so that’s going to have to wait for a while. We’ve been promised, as I recall, an episode that brings all the kids together (unless that’s part of the finale), which is nice - I may have mentioned before that the best episodes of the series have been the ones that put the kids (who are the characters with the most focus throughout its run) together and let all their personalities run through an adventure together - and with the cast growing somewhat constantly, it’s nice to know that no one is being forgotten.

Either way, I give the episode a great deal of recommendation - I only had a couple things that bothered me, and a few wishes for different choices, and ultimately I’m planning on watching it a ton of times just like I did the first Darkwing episode. From a classic Darkwing fan, and in the words of Bat-Mite, it’s a different intepretation to be sure, but not at all one without merit.

So thanks to Frank Angones, Matt Youngberg and the Ducktales crew! I hope my virtual thumbs up reaches them somehow, but either way, it was a good day to be dangerous.

[nellie-elizabeth]

Suits: Cairo (9x04)

This episode felt a little bit "after school special" to me. It was about respect in relationships, and all of the characters kept talking about it in this kind of simplistic and unrealistic way. That's not to say I hated everything in the episode, but it just wasn't my favorite.

Cons:

The biggest problem for me was embodied in the moment when Harvey, Louis, Samantha, and Alex all did their dramatic slow-motion walk into Faye's office. They found a way to stop her from taking away Donna's vote, which is something she wanted to do because of the conflict of interest between Donna and Harvey. So they're all marching towards her office, they go in there, and as a united front, explain to her that Donna will be keeping her vote, because they've waived the conflict, and she can't stop them. This is all very nice and everything, but during the scene I was distracted by the fact that Donna wasn't there. If Donna gets a vote, if Donna is a part of the leadership of the firm, why does she sit back and let other people save her? Why doesn't she even get a say at all? It felt very counter-intuitive to me, like it went against the message, to have Donna be absent for this pivotal scene.

Donna and Harvey's romance just feels so... performative to me. I'm trying to give it a fair shake. I'm trying to get to a place where I can think it's cute, and leave it at that. But honestly, I'm still feeling pretty underwhelmed. Donna is upset about potentially losing her vote, but instead of telling Harvey about it, she blows up at him about his strained relationship with her father. I know she was covering up for something else, but I still felt like Donna was being really unfair in this instance. After all, Harvey hadn't done anything wrong. Her dad was the one who was hesitant. Why is it only Harvey's job to fix it?

I also refuse to believe that Harvey is that stupid. He offers Donna's dad money to help with his business venture. He seems to think this is a gesture of goodwill, but obviously Donna's father is deeply offended and feels disrespected. I thought Harvey was supposed to be this master at reading people? This was a dumb move, even for him. The second he mentioned the deal, I cringed, knowing it wouldn't be going his way.

And the dialogue is just so on-the-nose. Harvey makes a mistake, then has to learn his lesson and then has to tell us his lesson like he's giving a report at school. It's all very trite. That moment at the end where Harvey tells Donna they're going to be together forever was supposed to romantic, but for me it felt just as performative as the rest of their relationship. The actors are not doing a bad job at all, and they do have some degree of chemistry, but it's all just too... scripted.

For the most part I enjoy Alex and Samantha's friendship, and how Alex and Rosalie are welcoming Samantha into their family. But again, the theme of the episode just felt too blunt. I've never been a huge fan of the flashback stuff on Suits either, especially when, like in this episode, the flashbacks tell us something we already knew. Everything about Alex's story, how he was blackmailed and made to look complicit in a murder and cover-up, was old information. We were reminded of it on the "previously on." And other than the parts about Alex lying to his wife, there is absolutely nothing new in these flashback scenes. Or at least nothing new that matters.

Pros:

I feel like that was a very negative "Cons" section. It's not like I despise this episode or anything. There were plenty of things to enjoy.

For example, I still think Faye is a really interesting villain. Obviously there are a lot of things at play here, but she's not wrong to bring up the conflict of interest. She's not wrong to ask these people to work within a code of conduct. And she's not wrong that their attitude has been awful from day one. Of course, in this case I'm not 100% on her side, because I think Donna deserves her vote along with everyone else. But Faye isn't entirely wrong to be worried. Although I think it's stupid that she stole Gretchen from Louis (because that's not how secretaries in law firms work!) I like that Faye decides to give her back, admitting defeat in this one instance. I think she's probably gearing up to continue her fight against the name partners, but for now, she must concede the battle.

As I said, I love the continued theme of Alex and Rosalie welcoming Samantha into their family. They invite her over for board games, they make her feel at home with them and their kids. On the flip side, Samantha shows her loyalty and respect for them by doing what she can to get Alex out of a sticky situation. It was so cute that Alex and Rosalie were basically fighting over who was going to take a risk for whom. Samantha stepped in and made the play herself, because she could keep a level head about it. It looks like Alex is off the hook for now!

The cheesy dialogue and somewhat clumsy themes in this episode were definitely a problem, but the one place that the cheesiness worked for me was when Harvey was talking with his mom. It was such a satisfying character moment for Harvey when he patched things up with her, and now for him to call and tell her about Donna, and introduce these two women over the phone, is just so sweet and adorable. Harvey learned to be vulnerable and loving with the women in his life, and it's one of the most nuanced and satisfying character growth plot threads I've ever seen on TV. No joke.

Katrina and Louis' friendship is tested slightly, but once again we see evidence of Louis' maturity. He asks Katrina to do something risky and shady, and tries to pressure her because of their relationship. Katrina decides ultimately not to do it, and puts Louis in his place for asking her in the first place. I feel like the old Louis would not have backed down. He would have pushed and pushed and made things so much worse. But instead, he calms down, and he apologizes. I love Katrina for standing her ground, and Louis for respecting her choice!

Not much to say in the Mike Ross corner this week. His name was mentioned a few times in the context of throwing blame around for Jessica's disbarment, but that was about it. But next week? MIKE IS BACK AND I AM LIVING FOR IT! I can't wait to check back in, after I see the episode!

7/10

[sunlitroom]

Gotham – s5e04 – Ruin

As I watched it, and some random observations here and there.

Previously on Gotham:

Tabitha was a dumbass. Jeremiah shot Selina.  Ivy gave her a magic seed. Selina visited the Church of Jeremiah.  Ed has memory loss. Jim has several sugary talks with orphans. Oswald went to Haven to get his people back. Barbara showed up to shoot him, but Jim wouldn’t let her.  Then everything went BOOM.

As always, long post will be long.  There are likely to be rambling digressions. Gobblepot might appear (although I welcome all shippers and non-shippers alike :)).  There will be naked favouritism and naked not-favouritism.  Broader comments at the end on plotlines and parallels and general direction.

In case we are not fully aware of the pathos of the scene, and in keeping with Gotham’s recent habit of absolutely beating messages home – we open with a teddy on fire.

There’s chaos and flames all around.  We see people panicking.  Oswald wakes slowly, blinking  He stands and stares aghast at the flames.  We see Barbara behind him.  She aims agun at Oswald's back – but looks round at the carnage and wavers.  A baby cries, and she lowers her gun and runs off.

Jim calls round for help – organising people.   It’s notable that even though he needs to be commanding here – his tone is also downright harsh.  This is underlined when he spots a dazed and shocked cop, and shakes him – telling him to snap to and focus, before slapping him for good measure.

Looking round, Jim spots Oswald.  Grabbing him, he accuses him of causing this by bringing the gangs here but – to be honest – while it’s blustery and loud, it doesn’t feel genuine. As soon as Oswald starts to protest, Jim lets go almost immediately, losing focus on him as Harvey approaches and asks what they can use to put the fire out.  Jim tells him the drinking water is their only option.

The fire is out, and it’s morning now.  Jim stares up at the burnt buildings. Harvey approaches and Jim tells him he wants to send search parties in for survivors. Harvey nods – but also hands him his badge, which was found in the building, shaking his head as he does so to let him know that the boy wasn’t found alive with it.

Jim tells the nameless voice at the other end of the radio that the death toll stands at 311.  There are 49 injured, and 2 dozen unaccounted for. The voice asks who was responsible. Jim says that there was a gang incursion, but admits he doesn’t know and can’t rule anyone out.  The voice promises help and tells him he has every right to be angry and upset, but Jim switches off – disillusioned.

We can hear now that there’s a rabble outside – and Jim goes to investigate.

Jim descends stairs and tells them to let the angry crowd they’re restraining through. They yelling random angry questions and accusations – when will he find the culprits?  How do they know they’re safe?

Oh Lord.  Jim is gearing up to another speech.  They can’t destroy the hope we’ve built up unless they let them.  Justice will be done, and we will stop this from happening again.

The crowd is not really mollified

Jim retreats to Harvey and Lucius, and they all acknowledge that someone has to pay for this.  Jim tells Lucius to find something. Lucius tells him it won’t be easy – but Jim tells him to do whatever he has to.

Lucius leaves.  Harvey comments that the building blew up when Barbara arrived – and Jim adds that she disappeared immediately after.  Harvey’s not sure about his own observation, though, saying it

Doesn't make sense - even for her

Jim says nothing makes sense anymore, and leaves.  Deep stuff there, Jim.

At Jeremiah’s church, Bruce is still rattling the gate - yelling for Selina.  We see a stained glass window of Jeremiah in the background, as some guards approach him, and attack

(An aside.  Nope.  Can you imagine how furious Jeremiah would be to find out that some random guard had murdered Bruce Wayne? I find it hard to believe that they wouldn’t all know Bruce’s face better than their own – as well as the penalty for harming him)

Fortunately for Bruce, Alfred appears, and despatches the guards.  Bruce tells him he was worried he didn’t get the signal – nudge nudge – and then asks what happens.  Bruce clumsily tries to cover up – but Alfred realises that it was Selina, and Bruce admits that she’s out for revenge and is in a dangerous situation.  Alfred says this is a recurring theme with madam (hey, fuck you, Alfred).  He comments that one day Bruce will realise that he can't save her from herself – but until that day comes, it’s time they should head off and find her now – don’t you think?

Sirens - and a bunch of tacky velvet furniture.  Babs – the red velvet goes with literally nothing else.  Please. Give it up.

Jim enters (not for the last time this episode!)

One of Barbara’s pulls a gun on him, but Barbara says to let him through – he’s either here for information or thinks she had something to do with that atrocity.

Jim says she was desperate for revenge against Oswald – who had been in the building.  Barbara says she could have killed Oswald right there but didn’t.  Jim asks why she didn’t.  The writers don’t have a real answer for this yet – so Barbara angrily retorts that the person who did this has to pay – that’s all that matters.

Jim says she’s worried Sirens might be next.

(An aside - Eh?  What would the motive for that be?  Haven can be seen as a sort of bastion of law and stability – it makes sense that more lawless factions might want to send a message. Would they really bother blowing up a brothel?)

Barbara says she’s already put of feelers – there was a shady guy lurking outside Haven

Jim is rather pissily dismissive.  Jim – you have nothing else.  Behave

Barbara also mentions something about a building to the north-east of the park

Jim asks how much the information has cost him.  Barbara tells him to do his job and get the bastard.

As he turns to leave, she calls after him

Do you really think I could have murdered all those people?

Jim says he doesn't know

Barbara says she guesses she deserved that

Jim stares at her.

Harvey contacts him to let him know that they have a problem.  Jim leaves.  

GCPD, where Oswald standing in a carefully arranged pose with his coordinated henchmen.

O hai eyepatch guy!

Jim approaches, and we get Oswald’s foreign jangly music.  

Oswald - what are you doing here?

Jim – it’s woefully apparent that you’re outmanned, outgunned and out of options…. so I’m here to help

Oswald hands Jim his gun with a smile.  Jim remarks that this is generous – and Oswald tells him he’s only getting started.  His henchmen bring in boxes of weapons. Harvey looks at him askance

Well aren’t you St Nick on Christmas morning?

Oswald tells them not to be shy, and take what they can carry.  

Jim says he guesses that there are strings.  Oswald says there are none – the only string will be the one cinching round the neck of the bomber.  And really, Jim – that should possibly have been your first clue that Oswald might not be on board with a custodial sentence.

Oswald continues.  He lost people too - people Jim lured with promises of safety, who were then incinerated

However – he’s willing to put that in abeyance, and for them to put aside their considerable differences, and get the people some justice

What do you say, partner?

He holds out his hand. Jim takes it.  Oswald smiles – and Jim looks serious.  

(An aside.  

So – sort of a lot here. It echoes the scene with Barbara, a little.  Both Barbara and Oswald are horrified by what happened to Haven. They offer Jim help sincerely.  In both instances, Jim suspects them of self-interest

Oswald is pissed off about what happened to his people, and he’s pissed off that they went to Jim in the first place.  I have no idea whether I’m supposed to think he digested his lesson from last week. That lesson – in itself, was dependent on the notion that the manipulative Oswald had no clue he was hated. Now, I’m to believe he’s sort of forgotten that big lesson (underlined by Penn’s death)?

For what it’s worth – I believe he was genuinely horrified by what he saw, and he sincerely want to offer help.  He’s still stinging, though, from what happened last week – and that will inform his actions)

In the library, Ed lurches awake. There’s a suitcase next to him.  He prods it cautiously before opening it and finding it empty.

He talks into a recorder – a method to keep track of what’s happening to him amidst all the memory loss. Have you tried drawing a clock, Ed?  Here’s the one to beat.  The bar is not high

He remarks that he’s been on a trip or is going on one, before noticing a smudged message he’s written on his palm.  He figures out that it says ‘inmate at 1215 knows’.  He assumes that inmate refers to a prison inmate, smiles, and heads out purposefully.

We see old posters from Oswald's mayoral campaign pasted to a wall in a street down which Jim, Harvey, Oswald and several cops and men of Oswald’s are striding.

Harvey is talking to Jim, trying to convince him that Haven wasn’t his fault.  Jim snarls that he hadn’t given the people the hope he had promised, and now they were dead.

Jim starts talking about how they will conduct the search, but massively underestimated the speed with which Oswald would be drawn to a megaphone. Oswald begins proclaiming that the vile miscreant who was responsible for Haven’s destruction has nowhere to run.  His men and the GCPD are two forces – he gives Jim a wink at this – united in one purpose.

They’re almost immediately sprayed with bullets.  They take shelter behind one of the cars. Jim comments that the shooter’s position means they’re sitting ducks. Harvey remarks that they’re sitting ducks and one penguin – and Oswald pulls a face at him before yelling to the shooter that they have more weapons and more ammo.

A voice responds that it’s pretty cosy up here – thanks guys.

Realisation dawns on both Jim and Oswald’s faces.  As Oswald incredulously remarks that he knows that voice, Jim calls out Zsasz

We then finally see Victor at the window.  He offers a jaunty

Hey guys – what’s up?

Before blowing a little kiss

 A GCPD, Ed manages to sneak in by stealing a blanket from someone sitting near the door and draping it over his head.

He makes his way to the record room and starts rifling through files.  He finds the one he was looking for, but as he pulls it from the drawer, it’s taken from his hand.  He turns to see who’s taken it – and find himself smoothly pressed against the filing cabinet by Lucius, who has pressed his hand against his chest.

(An aside - Ha!  Has Ao3 crashed yet with the influx of people frantically hitting the 'New Work' button?)

Ed’s face breaks into a grin when he sees that it’s Lucius who’s found him, and looks generally entertained by the circumstance.  He asks Lucius if he ever learned that it was  

Impolite to sneak up on people

Lucius smiles back at him

So is breaking and entering.  I heard you were dead, Ed.  What are you looking for?

(An aside – there a quiet ‘no’ from Ed when asked about being dead.  He’s obviously not dead now – but he was for a while.  Ed seemingly has no recollection of what happened to him)

At the opportunity to pose a riddle, Ed gets very intense

I’m given - not taken – I’m with you from your first breath and follow you until death.

Lucius thinks for a moment before answering

Name

(An aside – Ed and Lucius are standing pretty close while that riddle is posed and answered.  There’s an odd bond between them – and Lucius’ ability to answer Ed’s riddles seems to affirm it.)

Lucius wanders off with the folder, before turning to face him and asking what it’s worth

(An aside – I posted a set of images of this elsewhere.  It is pretty much a perfect recreation of Ed’s attempt to flirt with Kristen by telling her that houseflies buzz in the key of F.  Their positioning, Ed’s gestures – all identical)

Ed poses a little, and asks what the going rate is on dust bunnies

Lucius smiles, and tells him the file is valuable to him,

Ed smiles back.  

(An aside - I’m saying ‘smiles’ a lot – but, honestly, there’s a lot of smiling.  They pretty much go back and forth between being weirdly pleased to see each other, and vaguely flirty teasing.)

Money is worthless, and I have no snacks on me…..what would you like?

(this is precisely the moment where I’m guessing a lot of the fanfic will diverge pretty hard from canon…..)

Lucius replies

Your expertise

Ed smiles and draws himself up taller - visibly pleased.

Lucius says that Ed must have noticed what happened to Haven.  They want to know how it was done so they can avoid it happening again.  

Ed grins and walks towards Lucius, hands clasped behind his back

So.  The 2nd smartest man in Gotham needs my help

Lucius replies that explosives are not his expertise

Ed smiles wider

I didn’t realise you had one

(Did a shipper write this and send it in and then they just decided to go with it?)

Lucius grins at this – and Ed promptly tries to grab the file from him, but Lucius effortlessly keeps hold of it – staying completely calm.  Ed gives in, and Lucius shakes his head at his antics

Just - why?

He then asks whether they have a deal or not – to which Ed offers a sulky fine. He leaves, and Lucius follows.

(An aside - See, Gotham - this is how it's done.   You've never forced this interaction, or lavished an excessive amount of screen-time on it, because you've never had to: the characters share common ground as well as key differences, and it feels natural and plausible enough that viewers accurately guessed at aspects of this story before airing.  There's logical reasons that these characters would work together and - most importantly - a natural chemistry.  I'm not having it crammed down my throat while being told how wonderful it is.)

Back with Jim, Oswald, Victor and co.  

Victor shouts that he - 

Did not make that building go boom, Jim

Oswald says Victor gave up honour a long time ago – why should they believe a snake like him?  

Victor replies that he would never take credit for someone else’s work.

Oswald yells angrily that he would betray anyone for the right price.

Victor replies that if this is about Sofia Falcone, then Oswald should move past that – it’s not healthy

Oswald is fulminating when Jim asks him to concentrate and tell him if they’ve got enough ammo to cover him for two minutes.  Oswald calculates and replies

For you, Jim.   Let's say two and a half

Jim looks up at the building, then over his should at Oswald

Give me everything you've got

(Ooo-er, missus.  Gotham’s really blessing me with the double entendres this season.  First of we had Ed telling Tank ‘I’m gonna guess you gave it to me’ and now it bestows upon me Jim growling at Oswald ‘give me all you’ve got.’  I mean, come on.)

then abruptly cease fire

Oswald nods. You can count on me.

Jim gets ready. Oswald looks at his watch, and yells

Go

There’s a hail of gunfire. Jim runs into the building.  Victor leans casually against the wall, drinking a milkshake, waiting for them to finish shooting.

Outside, Harvey and Oswald join in the shooting, before Oswald yells ceasefire

Victor turns and aims, and Jim tackles him.

As they leave the building, Victor handcuffed, the cops and Oswald’s men applaud.

Victor waves like the applause is for him, and praises some of the men

You were great.  No hard feelings

Oswald approaches Jim and offers a well done, commenting that they make a hell of a team.  And I know that we’re supposed to be applauding Jim’s heroism, and rolling our eyes at Oswald – but this stunt wouldn’t have worked without his guns and ammo.

Oswald asks Jim to allow him to deal with Victor.  Jim says this is more than his vendetta, and they need to see if it’s part of something larger.  Oswald agrees – and says he excels in the loosening of tongues.  Jim’s not having it, though

No - he's mine

He leaves, and Victor waves from the back of the car.  Oswald fumes.

(An aside – as always, I am biased in favour of Oswald.  I do, however, honestly think he sincerely wanted to help Jim find the culprit. He’s trying, as best he can, to be nice – talking about their teamwork.  He’s genuinely pleased.

He gets sidetracked by finding Victor, and loses it a little.  And although they play it off here as humour – Oswald needing to move on – Oswald has just cause to be incandescently angry at Victor.  He colluded in having him sent to Arkham – the source of a tremendous amount of trauma for Oswald.  He also saw how close Oswald was to Martin – yet still used him to have him sent down. That’s going to press a number of Oswald’s buttons – and we know that Oswald will react emotionally.

If Jim hadn’t been in such an assy place – he might have realised that including Oswald, allowing him to sit in on Victor’s interview, was likely the better move. He’ll still feel that the partnership is genuine, and he’s more likely to respond rationally if he feels respected, and when he is allowed to participate in the process. However – exclude Oswald, slight him – and all you will end up with is an angry and irrational Oswald who feels the need to reassert himself.  What happens later could have been avoided at this point by a cleverer man.  At the moment, that man is not Jim)

Church of Jeremiah.  Selina follows acolytes into some kind of workroom, where we hear someone sobbing and wailing.  We can hear the foreman saying Jeremiah is pushing the men too hard

We see him now as he adds that there’s no way to make their schedule.

(Er – wasn’t he dead before? That’s definitely the annoying stoner who was using the children as slave labour.  He’s even more definitely someone we saw Jim shoot in the head.  Does Jeremiah have the means to reanimate people? He was pretty friendly with Ra’s for a while)

Meantime – Jeremiah is tired of him, and cuts his throat

Well, not with that attitude you're not - let's reach inside and dig a little deeper. It’s the only way you’re making it out.

He licks the blood from his knife while Selina’s glare burns a hole in his back.

Ecco approaches Jeremiah reverently.  He’s talking to himself – two sides of him arguing.

It’s a nice gift, he’ll like it

No he won't

Ecco stares rapt

Jeremiah turns and spots her.  Ah.  There’s the woman he’s sexually attracted to.

He asks if there are these all the recruits.  Ecco thought he would want quality over quantity – not everyone can pass her test of faith. Jeremiah agrees that she has set a high bar for devotion.  He grabs her neck and pulls her close, then turns her head to the side to see her scar.  He then begins to dance with her.

She tells him Bruce Wayne and his sidekick Curls (or is he the sidekick) are here.  She really wants to kill him, and can walk really well for a paraplegic.  He twirls and dips her.  If she sees her, she’ll give him a shout.  He grimaces. She adds and kill her – which makes him smile.

Ecco is left all hot and bothered by their dance.  Jeremiah watches as she leaves with the recruits – followed by a disguised Selina.

Ed and Lucius investigate the ruins of Haven.  For a moment, Ed seems a little shaken by the scale of the destruction.  

Ed takes the lead.  

The superstructure is largely intact – so not c4 or semtext.  With this kind of deflagration – you’re looking at gunpowder or nitroglycerine.

They pass ideas back and forth a little.  Ed says it’s a classic locked room mystery.  Lucius is stumped.  Ed says there was no bomb – the building itself was the bomb – just detonate the heating oil.

Lucius holds up a piece of glass

That doesn't explain this

They look up at the window. Whatever ignited the oil – they speak now in unison

Smashed through the window

 At GCPD, Victor’s head is pressed against the table. He remarks it’s a nice table.

This recap is interminable – so I’ll summarise a little.  Jim asks why he shot at the cops if innocent. Victor says they were shooting at him, and they’re cops – plus, those were warning shots.  

Victor essentially says it wasn’t him – he’s not added any scars to mark those deaths.  Jim leaves to take a phonecall.  Victor says Alvarez can strip search him, since he’s handsome.

Lucius tells Jim that Haven was destroyed by an RPG like the helicopter was – and they’re now looking for the rooftop the shot was taken from.  Jim says his suspect was on the ground. Lucius tells him he needs a new suspect.

Oswald arrives at GCPD, wanting an update on what has been happening.  Jim tells Oswald he has to leave.  Oswald asks if victor is still claiming innocence, and Jim says the evidence backs him up.  

Oswald says he didn’t expect Jim to go soft.  Well – actually, he did.  That’s why he didn’t come alone.

His henchmen arrive, and Oswald sends one off to bring him Victor.

Jim says that torture isn’t justice.  Oswald says that as misguided as he is, his old friend Jim is correct.  Despite inflamed passions, he won’t rush to judgement.  He’ll let the people decide.

As Victor is led away, he aims a parting shot at Jim

Good to know who's really in charge, Jim

Oswald smirks

On a rooftop with Ed and Lucius.

Lucius confidently remarks that this is it.  Ed is impressed, noting all the calculations Lucius must have immediately carried out regarding trajectory.

Yep – and there’s the RPG case right over there

Lucius puts on gloves to handle it, hoping it will provide clues as to who did this. He’ll get it back to the lab.

A subdued and troubled Ed says it’s doubtful someone who could pull off this intricate plot would leave evidence.  Lucius agrees – but says it’s all he’s got.

Ed shrugs.  Well. maybe I’m wrong.  He unhappily adds a quiet, I hope so

He turns to Lucius and tells him, sincerely

I truly hope you find whoever did this - and you make them pay

Lucius looks at him for a moment, and then hands him the file he wanted.

As promised.  I appreciate your help Ed – I couldn't have done it without you

Ed blinks, surprised. Lucius continues.

And if you tell anyone I said that - I will deny it

He gives a cute little flex of his shoulders, grins at Ed, and leaves.

A smile breaks out on Ed’s face – which widens as he looks down.

(An aside – My my, isn’t Ed left all swept and flustered?  Lucius is very charming, and Ed is decidedly charmed.)

His smile disappears when he opens the file and finds that the inmate is deceased.  He yells in frustration, and throws the papers away. As he looks out despondently – he spots a woman in a wheelchair in the apartment opposite.

His first response is to yell for Lucius to come back – but he’s left.  He jumps and waves to catch her attention – but the deaf old bat doesn’t hear, and he leaves to go question her.

 At city hall, Victor sits down on an ornate chair, looking unimpressed.  Harvey remarks that he’s got no love for Zsasz – but are they really going to let this happen.

Jim says if they try to stop it, they’ll turn their anger against them.  Harvey says they need to do something. Jim asks what.  Harvey mentions another speech.   Fuck, no, Harvey.  Mercy.

Jim ponders that this is maybe what the people need.

Oswald is playing at being judge.  And also the prosecution.  Oswald’s having a high old time.  

Order in court!

Victor protests that his rights are being violated, and Oswald orders him gagged.  He asks his witness where he saw the defendant.  He replies coming out of the building.  

Oswald plays up the melodrama – talking about the beloved souls lost.  He asks if there were any other witnesses – and virtually all assembled raise their hands.

Oswald says Captain Gordon would have the court believe that all you fine citizens are mistaken, and Victor Zsasz is not responsible.

He turns to Jim and asks if he wants to say anything.

Jim looks round, and says that it wasn’t a bomb.  There’s disgruntled yelling.  Oswald shushes them.  Jim tells them it was a RPG fired from a rooftop which caused the explosion. If Victor was on the ground, then he can’t be guilty

There’s more disgruntled muttering.

I know you all want justice.  So do I .  You’re angry - scared – help may not be coming.  We may be on own.  If true - what we do now is more important than ever.  But this?  This is not justice.  Not who we are

Oswald approaches, and leans to speak into Jim’s ear.

I'll consider that your closing argument

Oswald puts it to the crowd

What say you, jury?

They all yell guilty

Victor is taken to a guillotine – because Oswald is just that dramatic. He beats his gavel

By the power vested in me by…. well, me – you are sentenced to die.

He asks if Victor has any last words.  I’m almost positive Victor steals Sydney Carton’s last words at the guillotine.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done…..

Jim and Harvey step in and disrupt things enough to stop the beheading.

Oswald is livid

What the hell are you doing?

Jim says he’s keeping them all from making a terrible mistake.

Oswald is now beyond furious, and screams that Jim Gordon cares more about protecting a murderer more than protecting you

(An aside. @zara2148 mentioned elsewhere that this seemed especially charged with personal resentment – and I would probably agree.  Oswald’s anger at Victor is rooted in the whole Sofia Falcone business.  Although he’s moved on from that where Jim is concerned – the sense of anger and betrayal hasn’t abated.)

He leans in close to Jim

They don't believe in you anymore.  They're mine now

Jim shoves him away – and Oswald flies backwards.  He’s helped up by solicitous henchmen – one of whom is eyepatch guy.

(An aside. Amidst the silliness of the court stuff, there’s deeper content.  Oswald and Jim aren’t so different.  They both want to establish order.  They both want the love of the people.  They both think they know better than anyone else how justice ought to be administered.  Jim’s been on an ego trip just as much as Oswald.

Jim has, for a long time, Not Responded Well to being reminded by anyone of his kinship with several of the rogues.  He blusters and yells and throws his weight around whenever this happens.  What we saw here was just that in a more dramatic public setting.  Oswald’s words hit home – and Jim couldn’t bear it.)

Jim and Harvey drive to some deserted area with Victor in the car.  Harvey says Victor is not safe at GCPD – lots of cops want to see him on the slab.  Jim says they’re not taking him there.  It’s either a matter of letting him go or letting him die for something he didn’t know.

They release him.  Victor turns to Jim

Thank-you, Jim

He adds that the city never be what he wants it to be – it’ll always belong to the bad guys like me

Jim walks away, and tells Harvey to give him his gun

Harvey is unimpressed

What?

Victor is equally surprised

Yeah what?

Jim repeats himself. Victor asks if he has a death wish, because he will kill him. Harvey too.  Jim replies maybe.  Or maybe he’s just tired of listening to Victor.  He tells him to do it.

Victor tilts his head

You know what - you seem tired.  Let’s do this another day.

Jim responds to being outdone in the maturity stakes by Victor by sort of lamely repeating what they said earlier and then telling him to go away.

People like you are always trying to own the city.  They never will.  Get the hell out of my face

An angry Harvey turns to Jim

A shootout, are you serious?

Jim sulkily says he could have taken him

Harvey is singularly unimpressed and angry at him

Never ask me to do anything like this again.  Pull yourself together

 At the Church of Jeremiah, Bruce and Alfred take out workers.

Up in the room we saw earlier, Jeremiah fans himself with his hat and inspires his workers.

You see – the river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.  So when you feel like giving up….

His workers have heard this before and chant

Dig a little deeper

He continues

When you can't go on any longer…

Dig….

He sees Ecco – but as she draws close, she removes her mask – and we see it’s Selina.  She knifes Jeremiah in the gut/torso area

Deep enough?

Jeremiah chokes, and tries to speak

Well Selina.  Well Selina, I must say

Selina snarls

Don't say anything

She knives him repeatedly, and we get a lot of focus on Jeremiah’s pained expression.  She raises her hand to aim for the heart, but Bruce grabs the knife from her.

It's done - it's over- let’s get out of here now

Selina looks down for a moment at the body - a little like someone has thrown cold water over her.

A fight ensues when Jeremiah’s followers see what has happened.  Alfred hurls a smoke bomb, and they escape.

 Ed climbs stairs in the fancy apartment building.  Why is this place so pristine?

He remarks he hates stairs before finding apartment 1215.  He knocks, and the old woman who answers tries to tell him to go away.  Ed assures her he won’t hurt her – but needs to know what happened.

She tells him what some part of him was starting to realise on the roof.  It was Ed who was there – holding a rocket.   He shakes his head – and says it’s impossible.

He looks over at the rooftop, aghast – and the woman takes the chance to hit him over the back of the head with a vase.  Ed starts to remember what he did, and when she hits him again – sees her witness it all.

He turns.  She apologises and tells him she won’t tell anybody.  Ed says he knows she won’t.   She protests that he said he wouldn’t hurt her.

Ed says he’s really very sorry – and pushes her through the open window

He falls with the force of it, and stares out looking shocked

Uh oh.  Well – we had Selina stabbing Jeremiah earlier, and now it’s time for the second ill-advised penetration of the episode.

Jim sullenly drinks alone in his office.  Barbara enters, pointing out that the spotlight is off, and asking if he forgot to pay the electric bill.  

Hilariously, Barbara's makeup has been getting progressively lighter and softer to make her more palatable for this storyline.  Compare her first episode hair and makeup with how she looks here.

They’ve removed a ton of makeup, lost some clothes, and given her one of Oswald’s softer haircuts. That could be s1 Barbara with her hair up.

Jim gravels a what do you want at her.  She says she wants the same as him – to protect her people.  Jim, a little snottily, tells her that her tip didn’t pan out. She offers another – a lead on a guy selling RPGs.  Jim’ still set on snotty mode, and asks if that’s all. Barbara tilts her head, and says that she heard some of his people went over to penguin.  She grins

Can't win ‘em all.  Poor Jim.  All alone again.

(An aside - All alone? Not really.  People throw friendship at Jim.  If he’s in his office drinking alone, it’s because he chose to.)

Jim growls at her to get out, but Barbara is enjoying taunting/teasing him.

No-one knows what it's like to be him.  To carry the weight

I told you to leave

I heard you

She leans in like she’s going to kiss him, but stops short, pats his face, and walks away.

Jim delays for a moment, before grabbing Barbara to kiss her.  This is inadvertently funny – because given the length of the delay, and the sound of how many steps Barbara took - Jim must have freakishly long arms to have reached her from there.

They kiss to overly doomy and melodramatic music.  Calm down, Gotham - they're not spawning the antichrist.

General Observations

Pull yourself together

Ruin is an apt name – because it wasn’t just Haven that went to pieces last week.

Oh Jim, Jim.  How far the mighty have fallen, and how quickly we’ve resorted to old ways.  Snarling, picking fights, drinking alone.  I should feel more sorry for Jim here – he felt responsible for those people, and now they’re gone.  But it’s all too inextricably tied to his ego to feel nothing but pity.  Does he feel grief for the people he’s lost?  Of course.  Has his self-perception suffered a serious dent at having ‘failed’ to save them? Yes.  Which one has motivated the pity party? Tougher question.

To go a bit weird for a moment, his situation reminds me a lot of this tarot card. Partly because of the imagery - but also the meaning

The Tower is about a sudden catastrophic event – something that shakes you to your core. It’s often revelatory – and what it usually reveals isn’t very flattering.  The tower is built on unstable foundations: illusions and delusions, false beliefs.  Jim’s sudden transformation into hero was very sudden.  Not so long ago – he tried to ally with Falcone primarily because – as Carmine pointed out – his pride was bruised.  He allowed Harvey, his closest friend, to believe he was a screw-up for too long – and took the captaincy he was so proud of.  If anything – the crisis has felt like a sticking plaster: he’s been forced to focus on the here and now.  And he’s done well – in many respects – but those old problems were still festering.  

Now the tower has come down, and revealed shaky foundations.  The same old coping mechanisms are there.  He’s taken Harvey for granted, squabbled with Oswald, snapped, snarled, blustered, tried to start a gunfight, and now he’s drinking alone in his office and latching on to the nearest warm body.

Harvey told him to pull himself together, but Jim’s nowhere near it.

Oswald fell to pieces with the arrival of Victor.  There were festering resentments there – but he was content to put them aside to find the bomber.  When Victor appeared, it opened a Pandora’s box of anger and pain.  How Oswald pulls himself together remains to be seen.

Barbara seemed to be pulling herself together when she was unable to shoot Oswald – realising not only, perhaps, that Tabitha had a fair part in her own death – but pulling herself together almost to a much earlier version of herself.  A version that was horrified by the carnage round her, and who couldn’t contemplate killing someone.

Selina seemed to almost sober up when she saw Jeremiah on the floor.  I can’t honestly begrudge her the revenge she took – but they took care to show us Jeremiah responding to each stab. I don’t know how Selina will move on from what happened.  She seemed to pull herself together in that split second afterwards – but by that point, the deed was done.

Ed most literally began to pull himself together – all the fractured elements of himself.  It started, in a sense, with Lucius – taking him back to the old Ed by having him investigate the bombing.  Later realisation dawned slowly, then forcibly, with the blows to his head.  Ed’s pulling himself together – but it’s a painful experience.

Sundries

Well – it was throwback Thursday all round.  Ed decided to play forensic investigator again, and reenact his flirtations in the records annexe for good measure.  Harvey and Oswald let a criminal go free.  Oswald made another dramatic entrance to GCPD, and Jim and Barbara hooked up.

There’s maybe something of a theme of dealing with the repercussions of your actions.  Jim agrees to take weapons from Oswald – but then has to deal with Oswald’s idea of justice.  Jeremiah faces the repercussions of shooting Selina. Selina will now need to deal with the repercussions of stabbing Jeremiah. Barbara and Jim’s tryst will have repercussions, the most tangible of which will make appearance in nine months.  Jim will have to live with the repercussions of turning Victor Zsasz loose.

So – I do think they’ve made both Jim and Oswald carry sort of needless conflict balls this week – presumably to put them on difficult ground before Bane arrives – which will then more easily drive a temporary wedge, which will then be resolved again.  I suppose you can hammer something workable out of this: Oswald is still smarting from the knowledge that his workers hated him, Oswald is smarting over being bested by Jim – but, then, you have to swallow two equally silly things: first, the notion that Oswald didn’t have a clue he was hated until Penn told him, and that the revelation that seemed to chasten him last week didn’t really take – which in turn undermines Penn’s death. In short, it sort of works if you only glance at it. 

I think it’s easiest to assume that they’re both lashing out, in their own ways, due to recent events.  Oswald – as Oswald does when stinging from recent hurt – grabs even harder at control. Jim blusters and alienates.

Thoughts?

[medea10]

Medea Rambles - Vic Mignogna

Fuck.

I know I’m going to regret writing this and WILL end up with backlash no matter what side I choose in the matter. So this post is the equivalency of shooting myself in the foot. No matter.

I just feel like saying something. Free speech and all that mess.

If you’re unaware of who this man is with the funny sounding last name, this man is named Vic Mignogna. For years he’s been well-known in the anime community as a very prominent voice actor. Many fans (myself included) was introduced to him when watching the English dub to Full Metal Alchemist where he plays pint-sized alchemist Edward Elric. And from then on, fell in love with his voice.

Well, I mean he was okay. Vic wasn’t really my favorite voice actor, but he was still very good. I always loved his voice in Full Metal Alchemist, Soul Eater, and Ouran High School Host Club. But others are absolute, can’t breathe without him, ride-or-die fans of Vic Mignogna and his work in anime, video games, and the Star Trek videos he does with his buddy Todd Haberkorn. In years past, he would always be seen as one of the best English voice actors of all time.

In the past ten years, I’ve seen Vic get some pretty harsh criticism from all across the board. First of all, he was seen as a homophobic. Then there were those who were SICK of hearing his voice everywhere in the anime world. Then they started attacking his Christianity. And other things like he’s mean to people around him, he’s an arrogant so-and-so, he won’t sign this thing I gave him so he’s a buttbag for life, he’s an Anti-Semite, he’s the devil, and so on and so forth. I truly felt sorry for him in some aspects. While I disagree with much of his stances on certain subjects and the homophobia thing was kind of a big driving point for me to dislike him, I wasn’t going to boycott animes that have his voice in it and call him Fuckface McFuck. But despite all that, his loyal fans would stand by his side.

But I think people started to warm up a little to him again a few years back when he attended an anime convention as a guest and got into a shouting match with some random bible-thumper. No matter what anime convention you go to, 9 times out of 10 there will always be some FuckCock holding a bible telling all of us we are going to Hell. And Vic stood up and said that is bullshit. Yeah, that was one moment where I was happy with Vic and proud that someone was ballsy enough to shutdown random Joe Jesus Jr. on the street.

I really wish I could have had the chance to meet him at a con. There was so much for him to sign for me. But alas, he never did make it to the Bay Area (excluding Sacramento, I refuse to travel all the way up there). Because after this next part, I don’t think we’ll ever be hearing from Vic again.

In January 2019, the anime community learned of several sexual harassment and assault charges filed against Vic Mignogna. Many of these claims go back to 2008 (maybe further).  More here. Yeah, the #MeToo movement has nailed a lot of sexual offenders. From Hollywood elites like Harvey Weinstein, to political figures like *too many to fucking count*, to people in the sports world like Larry Nassar. In the wake of this movement, many victims felt it was time to step out of the darkness and tell the world their story.

First of all, everyone is different. Not everyone who’s been assaulted is going to go straight to the police. Some hide this shame for years, decades, so on. When someone is sexually assaulted, a lot of things go through their minds. And the biggest thing is FEAR. Fear of what the assaulter will do if you speak up. Fear of the consequences of speaking out. Fear of what the assaulter will do next. Fear of someone else falling victim to the assaulter. Fear of losing your career. And so on. Many of us choose to stay quiet for fear of no one believing us. Many of us choose to stay quiet for fear of being labeled as a slut or being in the wrong and that we should know better.

But I feel like the wake of the #MeToo movement has encouraged victims to come forward. Especially if their assaulter is someone in a position of power and want to make sure that no one else suffers the way they did. And I’m sure Vic Mignogna’s victims felt the same way. Even though he’s a voice actor and goes to conventions. However with his popularity, it can be VERY intimidating coming out with anything of the sort.

From the looks of many of these accounts, they definitely feel ewwie due to the fact that many of them were underage. And from what I’ve seen so far is about the same level as what Al Franken did. Could there be other victims? Possibly. Could there be worse stories out there that go beyond the too-close-for-comfort kiss/hug? Possibly. And we probably will never know.

Many of Vic’s colleagues have had mixed feelings. Some have come to the defense of Vic and some have taken the side of the victims. And one even came out with her own experience with Vic. More here. As for the fans.

IT. IS. FUCKING. HELL.

I’ve seen it all in the last three weeks all over the internet. And quite frankly, it’s starting to remind me of the stupid crap that happened when R. Kelly was in trouble in the early 2000s (before what we know now). It’s either #KickVic or #IStandWithVic. If you stand with Vic, people see you as a rapist-enabling cunt and if you hate Vic, you’re seen as a lib-tard, SJW, crybaby, snowflake. I’m quite sick of seeing this getting to the magnitude it’s getting to.

The actions of Vic, again, to me they don’t seem that big. However, I’m looking at it through someone who is in her early 30′s. If I was a teenager meeting him for the first time and having him give me unwanted and unprovoked hugs and kisses, I might feel something different. Especially since this is a complete stranger. The story that was shared by Jamie Marchi however makes me think that, yeah Vic did some shady shit. But that’s just what I think.

But the fans are getting out of hand. Voice actors are being harassed for even talking about this. Victims are getting death threats. And that’s another thing I would like to go off on! Why would you do that to someone who’s clearly been through a lot? Why would you send someone who came out after years of suppressing an ugly moment in their lives a fucking death threat? What did they ever do to you personally? NOTHING. They just exposed someone who isn’t even related to you and have no connection to at all after something that felt uncomfortable to them. People like you are the reason Dr. Ford STILL TO THIS DAY can’t even go back home. So knock it off!

When other voice actors in the anime community wound up in extreme trouble, fans were not shy about dumping them like rotten potatoes. The names Scott Freeman and Illich Guardiola come to mind. Then again, both of these guys did stuff far worse than Vic, so I’ll leave it at that.

As of today (February 11th, 2019), FUNimation released a statement via Twitter stating that they have no plans to use Vic in future productions. Yeah, I’m sad on one fact. I’m sad that if any of the shows he was very prominent in, he won’t be there. Which makes me wonder what’s going to happen when Free! returns in 2020. I don’t know, maybe they can get Bryce Papenbrook to play Rin. But I digress. This was a man with a lot of talent and revered as one of the greatest voice actors of all time.

BUT THAT’S STILL NO EXCUSE! People like Vic think they can get away with anything or are invincible because of the status and power they carry. And people like that make me sick. And currently watching that in our political system and real life is just more nauseating. That’s why anime is my one outlet away from shit like this. And then Vic Mignogna reared his head in. While I am skeptical about some of the victim claims, I cannot in good conscience defend Vic.

I’m glad FUNimation isn’t shying away from this and taking the effort to cut ties from Vic. The company does have to consider the safety of the other employees that work there. I will always remember him for roles he’s done in the past (and God help the community if we ever get an Ouran sequel). And that one time fighting that one bible-thumper prick! But that’s it. I can’t support this man’s innocence. Nope. Not gonna happen.

That’s all I feel like saying.

Splash on the Hate-o-rade in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

[allistors]

ALASTOR EUGENE MOODY is 31 years old and works as a SENIOR AUROR and is loyal to THE OOTP. he was an HUFFLEPUFF and is a PUREBLOOD. HE looks like BOB MORLEY. ( it’s cami, bitch ! )

alastor comes from two families mostly comprised of aurors and wizengamot members. highly respected, yes. pureblood, yes. but also extremely hated by many people on many sides due to their incessant upholding of the law. his parents, two seasoned aurors, didn’t take this threat lightly and in true moody fashion, let a hint of paranoia snowball. when alastor was still a newborn, the trio moved into an old mansion on a sprawling estate, in a barely inhabited island in northern scotland. their reasoning was that if no one could find them, they couldn’t target their son or them.

the couple had never wanted to have children, and only did so after some family pressure, just so that the bloodline would continue. as such, the family never expanded, and besides nannies, the occasional house elf and a few visits, the enormous labyrinth like house was mostly empty with just the three. and more often than not, just alastor, as the two made their offices their homes. one day he would too.

this isolation was a big deal. yes, he had tutors and nannies and spent a lot of time sitting by himself waiting for his parents in some auror’s office, or even some contact with the few muggle locals, but his childhood up until hogwarts was very solitaire, and silence was far too common. he can’t handle silence now.

the one thing that kept him company was the sky. living so far away from everything, the island’s sky was clear and filled with stars, and alastor loved to observe it. eventually he asked for some books on the matter and a telescope, and that was the beginning of a lifelong passion with astronomy. he’s a stars nerd !! someone talk stars with him !!

at hogwarts he expanded on that passion, along with his curiosity of muggle culture ( turns out he loves their science, books and movies ) and interest in quidditch ( alastor was a somewhat brutal but highly strategistic beater for the hufflepuff team ). he did all of this while also achieving some of the highest grades of his year, even if nothing made him as passionate as those 3 - but he knew his place, as desperate as that made him. alastor was a moody. he was meant to become an auror, like his father, like his mother, like others before them.

hogwarts was always the time in which alastor was at his most trusting. without the loneliness of his home-life and the pressure that came after school, alastor was welcoming and formed some of his strongest connections !!

sydney moody, his father, died during alastor’s 6th year. he’d been to many funerals before, relatives killed on the job, family friends too, but that was different. the moodys had never been particularly affectionate people ( something he’s vowed to not copy once he has his own children ), and alastor grew up aware that his parents would have rather lived without children, despite loving him very much. however, his death was a sudden reminder of how quickly people could be gone and it sort of brought him into his current war mindset.

his mother died in the middle of his first year of auror training. she didn’t live to see him become what she loved most and she was so so close, i’m sad.

alastor needed to honor their legacy, even if it killed him. despite all the rumours of nepotism or ‘he’s just getting these cases because they pity the moodys’ , alastor rose up quicker than most in his class. little sleep, lots of caffeine and ruthless slightly unlawful methods got shit done, impressed his superiors and got him the best most brutal cases. he’s now a highly respected auror, and even though he gets into trouble weekly due to his methods, he gets the results. no one can argue against that.

he trained with amelia bones, even grew up with amelia bones at hogwarts, and now she’s his work partner both with the aurors and at the order. alastor is constantly glad she’s the head of the office, otherwise he’d listen to no authority at all. also did i mention that they’re in love? making heart eyes at each other? longing looks they can never turn into actions? unspoken sparks? i hurt. talking about amelia always makes him smile. 

*breaks the law* *tries to duct tape it back together*

was in the order of the phoenix from very early on. dumbledore trusts him, his skills and especially that he’ll do what it takes, whether it costs him soul, life or limb, to win the war. alastor is very much aware of his purpose, and can often be found leading missions, organising them, commanding meetings. he hates leadership positions, but keeps finding himself thrown into them.

has an impressive collection of scars, some from regular auror work, many from order missions. as of right now, the most notorious one is all across the left side of his face, temple to jaw, and there are so many more to come.

he LOVED tutoring back at hogwarts, did it all the time. ever since he became an auror, alastor tries to help out trainees whenever he can, especially those in risk of being cut out of the program. loves teaching auror skills and duelling to people at the order. just loves sharing knowledge so so much.

secretly plans on, once the war is over, quit auror work and go study astronomy. maybe teach !! never will 

his loyalty will be the death of him. of all the hufflepuff qualities, his undying loyalty stands out as once it’s earned, very very hardly can it be taken away. he’ll do unspeakable things for those he’s loyal to and he can be so so blind for them !! a big proof of this is AUGUSTUS ROOKWOOD - he should doubt him, as he does most people, but the thought will never cross his mind because he trusts until death. this will come up in the future again, with mundungus :(( his loyalty kills him i’m

has an interest in the THEORY of dark magic and in dark magic artifacts, and collects them. can often be found in shady bars and stores making himself illegal deals yikes

is an observer and at heart, a detective. notices the little details and especially patterns, movements, twitches. long before he got his magical eye, having a conversation with alastor moody felt like he was watching you from every angle, outside and within.

he has SUCH a big heart. listen to me, the moody family is a well established thing. he sees someone he identifies with?? someone he understands ?? someone who needs protection and care and love? he adopts. bruce wayne who?? he loves his moody kids and is always open for more, what a dad

has an addictive personality and he knows it. that’s why he doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke, doesn’t do anything that could take him down a bad path, because he’s aware that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself. unfortunately, the violence and pain of his line of work and of the war is just as addictive.

honesty is so so important to him. he’s extremely blunt and will not tolerate lies ( highkey hates dorcas probably ) 

alastor is testing out growing a beard. mostly to cover some wounds and bruises and scars. please support him he looks so good

he’s a little bitch !! i don’t put enough emphasis on this. he’s a snarky little bitch who loves sass and bad jokes. 

he loves his old pal aberforth dumbledore and trusts him even more than albus. he’s a simple man who understands another simple man

star wars nerd

there is not one moment in which is hair is not messy

i love him

character parallels: annalise keating, bruce wayne, harvey specter, frank castle, bellamy blake, hermione granger, raymond holt, peggy carter, steve harrington, ron swanson and jim hopper

some wanted connections:

+ star gazing friends. someone who also spends too much time looking up into the darkness. something very passionate and pure

+ an old flame. some relationship from the past that he was most certainly the one to ruin (because he’s him)

+ questionable occasional stress-relief hookup. they don’t talk about it to anyone else, and just don’t talk a lot in general

+ an order rival. sdomeone inside the order who fundamentally disagrees with every decision he makes, and vice versa. moody is quite honest when he disagrees with someone, so definitely not easy to ignore. 

+ old hogwarts friends !! after a period of adjusting to being around people, he was more open than he is now, less paranoid, joked around, so someone who knew him then

+ all the ministry enemies. you know this dude has many

+ ministry friends !! few, because he’s moody, but a couple of people that he’d actually go grab lunch with, have real conversations in the hallways and elevators

+ black market dealers. alastor and them have a mutual understanding that he can’t arrest them, because they know of his own illegal purchases.

+ someone he recruited for the order. this is open for just a few characters because, while moody doesn’t do a lot of recruiting since 1) not a charming dude lbr 2) way too high standards, he still has brought in a couple of people - and he cares about them very deeply, and also sets for them a very high bar

click here for a way too big pinterest board and hmu for plots !!

[hysterialevi]

In the Smoke pt. 5 (Cobblebats)

From Bruce’s POV

After agreeing to join the “Children of Arkham,” whoever they were, Oz led me to what was supposedly their headquarters, which had been hidden deep underground to avoid any unwanted attention, whether it was from random civilians or the GCPD. Before we headed there though, Oz gave me a hoodie to shield my face with, claiming that a Wayne like me wasn’t going to quite be welcome company just yet. What the hell did my dad do to receive so much hate?

Following Oz through the dank, damp streets, we found ourselves skulking away from the wildness of downtown Gotham to a more secluded area of the city filled with shady-looking people, all of them staring at us as we passed by.

“Stay close,” Oz warned me under his breath, “people here ain’t exactly friendly, ���specially towards your family.”

I sped up a bit so that I was side-by-side with Oz. “And why does everyone hate my family? What did we do?”

“Well, you didn’t do nothin’, but your father’s ruined more than a few lives in the past--mine included. You’ll learn more soon enough.”

Ending the conversation there, I continued to silently trail along with Oz, trying to avoid as much eye contact as possible with the criminals around us. Most of them were huddled up in small groups, and chatted privately in multiple corners of the alleyway, enjoying drinks and muttering to each other as I walked past them.

“...is that...Bruce Wayne...?” One thug murmured, his intense gaze nailed onto me. “The fuck’s he doin’ here?” I pretended not to notice him.

“Don’t be a dumbass,” his friend replied. “Why would a Wayne come slummin’ down here when they’ve got that fancy castle of theirs?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know? I dunno--he just looks like him. Maybe it’s not.”

“Of course it ain’t, you tit. A Wayne would never have the guts to come to a place like this. Too busy running away from paparazzi.”

“Will you two shut the fuck up?” A third man barked at them. He was curled up on the ground, lying on top of some cardboard with his jacket covering his body. “Tryin’ to get some damn sleep here.”

The first thug finally decided to let the subject go and returned to his own business, looking away from me as he carried on another conversation with his friend. That was when I noticed a rather prominent tattoo of a strange symbol inked on the back of his neck--and now that I paid closer attention, actually--that symbol was everywhere. It had been spray-painted on the walls, people wore masks with it, and other criminals in the alley even shared the same tattoo. Maybe it was the Children of Arkham’s logo?

Out of nowhere, I felt Oz suddenly grab my arm and haul me over to his side, gently pushing me forward in a hurried manner. I gave him a puzzled look.

“Best not to linger here,” he advised, his eyes darting around in caution. “Don’t wanna get shanked for real. C’mon, we’re almost there.”

After a few more minutes of trekking through the dangerous alleyways and trying to keep up with Oz’s hasty pace, we arrived at a large, brick building as more criminals came into view, and the sound of cheering reached my ears. There were colorful, vivid lights seeping through the windows, and cigarette smoke filled the air. What was going on inside?

As if he could hear my thoughts, Oz gladly explained the commotion with a proud grin. “Us Children of Arkham are huge fans of boxing. You should watch a match sometime. It’s an easy way to have fun.”

“You ever fight?” I asked.

He laughed. “Mate, it was my idea to start it.” He opened the front door and gestured for me to enter. “Here, I’ll give you a quick tour, and then later, I’ll tell you what our next step is.”

Shoving our way through the building, Oz briefly showed me around headquarters and introduced me to a few of the members who seemed friendly enough, occasionally waving back to random people who recognized him. 

I had to admit: the atmosphere of this place was far from inviting, and being in the presence of literally an army of criminals made me just a tad uneasy. So far, no one had revealed any obvious intentions to harm me, and everyone seemed too distracted by other activities to even notice me, but it was still intimidating. On the bright side though, at least Oz was here to guide me. Just by having him around made me feel much safer, and like I was protected.

Without even realizing it, I started to subconsciously stare at Oz in thought, almost...attracted...to his appearance. He looked so different compared to when we were kids, and had transformed from a cute, playful child into a rugged, charming, and even handsome young man, regardless of his faint wrinkles and unkempt attire, and what the hell was I thinking? Was I...infatuated...with my old friend? No, I couldn’t be. That’d be weird. Or was it normal? I mean, Oz was good-looking. Who wouldn’t like him? Surely, I wasn’t alone.

“Have I got somethin’ on my face?” Oz said, snapping me back to the present. Oh, shit. He caught me staring.

“Um, n-no,” I replied awkwardly. “You’re fine.” I quickly corrected myself. “I mean--you look fine--not that kind of ‘fine.’ Not like the, erm--you know, ‘hot fine.’ Just. Fine. Yeah. You’re fine.” I mentally facepalmed. Well done, Bruce.

After a second of trying to make sense of the bullshit I just spewed, Oz let out a friendly chuckle. 

“Relax, mate,” he patted my shoulder. “I know this place can be intimidating at first, but you’ll fit in soon enough. Just take a breath.”

I laughed nervously along with him. “Y-yeah...that’s it. Thanks. Um--can we talk about that next step now?”

“Sure,” he nodded, clearly aware that I was uncomfortable. “Follow me.”

Battling our way out of the crowds, Oz took me upstairs to his ‘office,’ which was actually just some random room he started piling all his shit in and then claimed ownership of. It was much quieter up here, and the wild sounds from downstairs were muffled now, leaving us with some peace and quiet.

Fumbling in his pockets, Oz pulled out a lone key before unlocking the door and allowing us entry, shutting it behind us. His office was...pretty cozy, to be honest. It wasn’t too big or too small, a few scattered lamps lit up the room with a warm glow, and layers of boxing posters covered the wooden walls. 

Nestled off in a corner, I spotted what appeared to be his desk. It was decorated with scattered pens and pencils, an empty beer bottle, and an ashtray full of dead cigarettes. Walking over to the desk, Oz dragged a second chair with him and placed it on the opposite side before plopping down onto his own, leaning back and slipping out a pack of cigarettes. 

As I took a seat, he lifted the pack towards me, offering me one. I politely refused, and pulled down my hood.

Flicking a lighter open, Oz cupped a hand over the cigarette and set the tip ablaze, afterwards letting a small puff of smoke out the corner of his mouth. He chewed his bottom lip in thought.

“...have you ever killed a man?” He asked. I snapped my eyes towards the cigarette.

“What the hell are you smoking?” Oz laughed at that.

“I know it’s a strange question, but I’m just genuinely curious.”

I shook my head. “No, I haven’t. What about you...?”

He took a drag, resting his elbows on his knees. “...yeah. A few times. I ain’t proud of all of ‘em, but sometimes, people just can’t be allowed to live any longer, y’know. Lots of those people are in Gotham right now. One of them sits on the bloody throne.”

Straightening his posture, Oz looked directly at me. “Listen, the next step...is to kill Mayor Hill. I know it’s probably quite a leap from what you was expectin’, but it’s gotta be done.”

I hesitated and kept quiet, but Oz picked up on the message right away.

“...or maybe,” he continued, “you wanna get some answers out of him first.”

I paused. “...it’s like you can hear what I’m thinking.”

He smirked. “I’m good at reading people. Look--normally I wouldn’t change the plans for something this important, especially since things are pretty much set in place, but you’re more important. To me, at least. Originally, I was going to just have Hill killed off at that upcoming debate and be done with it, but maybe we can bring him back here. Pull some info outta him. Make him tell the truth. Yeah...I like that idea better.”

“So, what’s the new plan?”

Before he could respond, my phone suddenly began to ring. I sighed.

“Sorry.” Sheepishly pulling the device out of my pocket, I went to silence it until Oz caught a glimpse of the contact’s name, reaching across the desk and stopping me mid-action.

“Wait,” he exclaimed eagerly, pointing at the screen, “you’re friends with Dent?”

“...yeah. Why?”

An idea popped into his brain. “Answer it, and put him on speaker. See what he wants.”

I decided to go along with it and tapped the speaker button, Harvey’s voice coming through instantly.

“Hello?” I greeted.

“Hey, Bruce. It’s Harv, but you already knew that. Um, anyways--I was wondering if, ah...you’d like to...maybe grab some lunch at that café? Café Triste, I think it’s called. It’s new apparently. I thought we could check it out together.” He quickly added more. “--if you don’t though, that’s perfectly fine. I know you can be busy--or maybe you’re just not in the mood. Whatever it is, no harm done. So, um, what d’you think?”

Oz quirked a brow at me. “Is he always this awkward?” He whispered. I silently nodded.

“You should go,” Oz suggested. “Butter him up a bit. It’ll help with our plan.”

I pressed the phone against my chest, blocking the sound. “It will?”

“Yeah. Trust me.”

I put the phone up to my lips, wondering what Oz was thinking. “Sure, Harv. I’ll meet you there at...say, twelve?”

“That works perfectly. All right, then. I’ll, uh...see you soon, Bruce. Thanks. Bye.”

“Bye, Harvey.”

I hung up. Oz’s chest gently jolted upwards with a soft chuckle. “Jesus. And I thought you were awkward back there.”

“He...likes me,” I shyly explained. “A lot.”

“I can tell. Well, you should get going. It’ll gimme time to set up our new plan. Meet me back here when you’re done, all right?”

“Sure thing. See you, Oz.”

“Actually,” Oz sprung up from his seat, “maybe I should walk you out. I doubt Harvey wants to have lunch with a corpse.”

I put my hood back up. “I can defend myself, you know. A few thugs is nothing I can’t handle.”

He grinned, slinging an arm over my shoulder as we casually strolled out together, delving back into the craziness downstairs.

“Oh, I know. You’ve been livin’ with one your whole life.”

[joshuazev]

On fissure:

ESPN anchor Jemele Hill was disciplined a while ago for calling Donald Trump a white supremacist, which could be seen as a fact in most circles.  I think they kept her off her show “The 6” for one day and her co-anchor Michael Smith took the day off as well as a way of showing support.  ESPN issued a bullshit statement and Jemele released one of her own apologizing for allowing her beliefs to get in the way of the company she represented.  Anyone who was looking at this situation could have seen that the dust had done anything but settle.  This was of course in the midst of the Trump comments calling NFL players sons a bitches and the NFL as a league being faced with decisions of its own.  Roger Goodell made a statement as well as some individual owners “denouncing” (I say it because they were tame denouncements) what Trump had said.  Several of the owners, in fact, who had endorsed Trump and his presidency “stood by” their players.  One however, a coffeecake, slithering, decrepit, piece of shit, Jerry Jones, made a statement, but anyone with two eyes and 20/20 vision could have seen through his transparent bullshit.  I think at first he responded negatively to Trump and “supported” his players.  He took it one step further later on by kneeling with his whole team before the anthem started for a nationally televised game, which—I’ll be honest, didn’t make much sense to me at all.  It seemed pointless.  It seemed like an empty gesture because despite being in unison with all of his players, they were deciding to avoid protesting the song that everyone was arguing about.  Fast forward to Trump’s response to the owners.  Let me remind you that during all of this time (and still to this day and for the foreseeable future) Puerto Rico is in shambles and Donald Trump is busy ignoring the relief efforts and is shooting towels into the hands of desperate Puerto Ricans, American citizens by the way.  Jerry Jones decides to follow up by showing his true colors saying—and I paraphrase here, that if anyone from the Cowboys kneels during the anthem, they would not be playing in the game.  This is the owner delivering an ultimatum in the sickest, most frightening of ways, maybe most of all because so many of his players—black players specifically—have probably felt an urge to protest but were never comfortable enough to do so.  This would prevent them from protesting completely.  The disturbing thing about all of this is that by delivering this type of statement Jones would be eliminating their right to free speech and would be caution somewhat of a mental crossroads: to play the game I love and not do anything in keeping silent or to have the game taken away from me by way of my right to express my opinions and beliefs.  To go further, Jones was in many ways stripping these black players of their blackness.  Jemele Hill saw this and took a firm stance.  Firstly, she made it clear that it was not fair to blame the players in this situation because they were basically helpless.  Instead, she that the responsibility lied on the shoulders of Cowboy fans to not only stop watching the games, but also to stop supporting the endorsers of the Cowboys.  Take away Jones’ money.  She said this through replies to people who had tweeted at her on social media.  She had not made this statements in isolation, but in response.  Somehow, ESPN deemed this as a similar tampering to what she had said previously.  She was stating her opinion under the ESPN umbrella and this was a no-no, therefore she would be suspended for two weeks.  WHAT!?  What the fuck is that I say!?  How fitting was it that this suspension came on the heels of a very sensitive week for NFL and woman journalists after Cam Newton demonstrated “sarcasm gone wrong” when he smarmily responded with surprise when one reporter asked him a detailed question about the route running of one of his receivers.  The media was in a uproar.  Feminists were going crazy.  Danon took away his endorsement and then gave it to Dak Prescott.  It was a poor decision for sure, but this was also a woman who years ago made extremely racist and insensitive remarks and used the “n” word.  Did that excuse Cam from further showing that he has not matured in ways that people hoped he might by now?  Of course not.  Am I siding with Jourdan Rodrigue, the victim and reporter in that news conference.  Nope.  I’m drawing attention to the reaction she got and the support she received from the media community.  Jemele Hill.  I’m looking at the news and there are several people who saw the hypocrisy in all of this and several others who know that Jemele has been treated absolutely unfairly in this situation.  What did she do wrong?  What is ESPN doing by making this type of statement?  There have been calls to boycott ESPN.  I can get down with that.  That’s a flawed company.  A company that crumbling as seen by all of the recent firings and dismissals of long time correspondents.  Shit, even other ESPN anchors know that Hill’s situation is a whiplash head shaker.  Meanwhile, protest haters are calling for a boycott of the NFL as long as people still knee for the flag.  Simultaneously, protest supporters are boycotting the NFL and their owners for the treatment of players exercising their rights to PEACEFUL PROTEST.  The NFL and ESPN can’t win right now and I could care less.  I mean, I do care, mainly because a nationwide division that I was naive to forever seems to be growing bigger and bigger.  What will come of this I ask?  I kneel with Kaep and I kneel (stand) with Jemele Hill.  It’s important to recognize those who have been wronged and these cases are as clear as day.

…

Harvey Weinstein got fired from his own company.  Harvey, of course, along with his brother ran The Weinstein Company, one of the biggest and most popular production companies in Hollywood.  Why was he fired you might ask.  Well, Harvey had a long long history of being a sick man.  A very very sick man.  A known harasser, a known pervert to women, and a known powerful man for all of the wrong reasons.  Harvey Weinstein was as much a part of the negative stigma associated with Hollywood as any other huge production exec that was based on offering ascent within the industry in return for sexual favors.  I think if you’re an actor you’ve heard these stories and maybe some have even experienced them in different ways, more up close and personal.  We know the mythology of the casting couch.  The sad thing is we are know reminded that these despicable myths might be closer to reality than we had thought or we chose to ignore.  The allegations against Weinstein stretched over three decades.  Three fucking decades.  I know some will look at this through the same lens as the Cosby accusations.  One person comes forward giving the “opportunity” and strength to others to do the same thing.  You can always choose to look at that way, but you’d be a humongous fucking ignoramus if you did.  All of this comes from a New York Times article released in the past week that details all of the allegations by many many women of Weinstein’s wrongdoing.  You can read it if you want, but it’s going to make you sick to your stomach.  You know what else might?  Knowing that for the time being he’s going to be the fall guy in this situation.  I don’t doubt for one minute that there is something like this going on at some level in every big production company, agency, you name it.  Will this lead to more punishment or will this blow over?  What will come of this I ask?  I commend all of the women that are standing behind the brave women that have come forward.  This is amazing courage during an extremely vulnerable time.  Meryl Streep at one point was one of Weinstein’s champions.  She called Weinstein a God.  At one point.  We do all remember what she said during her incredible acceptance speech during the last Golden Globes or Academy Awards though, right?  (I forgot which one).  Her tone and stance has done a complete 180, I’d say.  From all my time watching Oscar speeches I remember another mention, one by Robin Williams, thanking the “mishpucha” Weinsteins.  Yikes.  Matt Damon and Russel Crowe supposedly tried to shut down a 2004 article or something or other that detailed Weinstein’s harassment.  Double Yikes.  For all those who don’t know, “mishpucha” means family in Hebrew.  I’m not blaming Robin or Meryl.  Maybe they were kept in the dark.  Maybe Russel and Matt were too and were just defending their friends.  According to their inner circle, people knew about the Weinstein’s shady behavior.  Who knows.  Who knows.  

…

Joel Embiid is a center, 23 years old, for the Philadelphia 76’ers.  He’s 7 feet tall.  He was drafted in 2014 and missed his first two seasons due to injury.  Last year he played 31 games before getting injured again.  I kind of feel bad for the guy, just like I kind of felt bad for Derrick Rose.  So, quick math.  31 games in three seasons.  I think my math is correct.  Today, the Sixers signed him to a five year-$148 million dollar contract.  

I’m done.

[njawaidofficial]

'Suits' Boss Breaks Down Season 7 Premiere

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/13/suits-boss-breaks-down-season-7-premiere/

'Suits' Boss Breaks Down Season 7 Premiere

[Warning: This story contains spoilers from the seventh-season premiere of USA’s Suits, “Skin in the Game.”]

Compared to the sixth-season start of USA’s Suits, Wednesday night’s season seven premiere marked a return to some of the lighter moments and banter-filled scenes formerly featured on the show.

With Mike (Patrick J. Adams) an official and legally recognized lawyer, Rachel (Meghan Markle) done with law school, Donna (Sarah Rafferty) looking for a seat at the table as partner and Louis (Rick Hoffman) back on his old warpaths following his break-up with Tara (Carly Pope), it was up to Harvey (Gabriel Macht) to step up as managing partner and put everyone back on track.

But first Harvey and Mike needed to reunite for one more corporate case involving a shady vodka dealer and some eager buyers, giving viewers one last nostalgic glimpse at the dynamic duo before their relationship changed again with Harvey’s new role at the firm.

Meanwhile, the episode also marked the return of Harvey’s former shrink Dr. Paula Agard (Christina Cole), as Harvey pursued her romantically and disappointed Harvey-Donna fans everywhere who were hoping that this season might mark a turn in the couple’s relationship.

To break down the premiere and look ahead at the rest of the seventh season, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with showrunner Aaron Korsh. Here, he discusses the show’s developing tone, where Harvey goes from here and whether Harvey is in the market for a new secretary.

Does Harvey officially have his groove back?

To some degree you could make the case that Harvey never lost his groove. He probably did there for a little bit in one way or another, but he never completely lost it. So sure, he has his groove back, but this is Suits, so there’s always something lurking. He’s not going to be conflict-free for the rest of the season. He’s made some bold decisions, and when you make bold decisions, they often have consequences.

Can you expand on that? He got the girl, Donna is beside him, Louis is in agreement — how do you inject conflict at this point?

If you look to the relationships of the show, Donna is by his side, but given their history and the fact that he’s with a new woman, she doesn’t know if there’s potential there. Louis has agreed, but in the history of the show, has Louis stood by anything permanently? What we set up at the end of season six and in the beginning of this season is that Harvey has made some decisions that are bold and possibly good, but that could also have consequences. He made a one-for-one deal with Mike to come back to the firm; we do a pro-bono, we do a corporate case. That wasn’t the most prudent thing to do — it’s like if you were the head coach of a football team and promised a player they could play both football and baseball. It’s possible your player could get injured doing that other thing and it could ruin your whole season. You never know what the deal you make is going to do. There is an inherent conflict between representing the interests of the downtrodden and the powerless and corporate law, which represents the interests of the powerful and exploitative. That decision will probably come back to bite them both in the ass.

How will Donna’s promotion affect things?

He took someone that was his secretary and didn’t give her a promotion to, like, office manager or head of marketing or whatever, he made her a senior partner and jumped her, like, 15 levels up the rung. That can have consequences, too, because people work at the firm and they might not love that someone leapfrogged them. That could have consequences for Donna and Harvey.

Donna gave a quote in the episode about how many non-lawyers are actually partners at firms. Did you guys do research into that to back up the legitimacy of someone like her making partner?

Nope. I am not a big fan of research; I like making stuff up. I worked in the corporate world and I do know that it seemed legit to me that there are COOs that are not lawyers at law firms. We may have actually looked it up, but that stat is not true. Later, she refers to certain law firms in particular that have non-lawyer COOs and those firms are fictional. That’s easy to make up. But it’s something that is certainly legit because it could be true. There’s no law against it. We prefer to make it feel real rather than be real.

Does this open up the door for Harvey to get a new secretary?

We’re almost through the first 10 [episodes] and we don’t deal with it. You never saw Jessica’s secretary. It has more to do with taking up screen time than anything else. Had we hired a new secretary and devoted time to that, we’d have to give a story to that purpose. I don’t really care about watching somebody make appointments; it would have to be a story about what’s going on with the two of them. And we had so much else going on, we decided not to focus on that. Harvey is still able to go about his day as Jessica did. Donna’s role in the firm was much larger than secretary anyway; a large part of her role was keeping the peace between Harvey and Louis. Even though she’s not Harvey’s secretary anymore, if we gave him a new secretary that might steal Donna’s role functionally from a story point of view. We didn’t want anyone to steal her role away from the firm.

It seems like Rachel being put in charge of the associates is leapfrogging, too — will there be repercussions for that?

Louis felt like it was leapfrogging him, but he ends up realizing she’s better at it than he is right now because he’s not in the right headspace. But is it going to be tough for someone of Rachel’s status and stature in the firm to oversee the associates? Probably. She’s probably going to have some conflict coming her way.

Is it safe to assume she’s also a full-fledged lawyer now, too?

Yes, we are positing that she is now officially a lawyer and done law school. The thing is, she’s probably older than most first- and second-year associates would be because she was a paralegal for so long. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to feel good about being overseen by somebody who just became a lawyer.

Will she perform in any court cases this season?

We will see her performing as a lawyer, but I don’t think as of yet she’s in court. But we don’t spend that much time in court with any of our people.

Mike and Rachel are still planning this wedding. How does that factor into this season?

Part of the issue for them is they have to get back to planning this wedding. We tackle that early on. Planning a wedding takes a lot of time and energy. At the same time, she’s just starting out her career as a lawyer and Mike is starting his career as a legitimate lawyer and that takes a lot of time and energy. The sort of pull of those two different things, they’re going to talk about that and deal with that in the course of the first half of the season.

[Readmore:1018907]

Tonally, what was your goal for the season?

I always say I’m looking to tone it down, but when we get there I don’t want to be bored. We always try to put comedy in, but it’s more difficult to go back and change the tone of something and make it significantly lighter than it was or how light it was in the beginning. It feels like the natural progression is to get a tad heavier over time. This season isn’t as heavy as Mike being in prison with his life in jeopardy. We absolutely have some fun, lighter moments. The first episode has a lot of fun and lightness and banter in it. The rest of the season has comedy, too, but it’s not without its drama.

Is that drama internal drama or are there external factors weighing in?

A little bit of both. Our characters are in different places in their lives and there have been some change-ups with the dynamic of the firm. But we’re also bringing in some new characters and cases, and there’s drama with that.

Are there any returning characters this season you can highlight?

We’re incredibly excited to welcome Dule Hill to the cast, he’s a great addition. We are absolutely going to see more of Christina Cole. Her addition shakes things up and will affect fans who are hoping for another relationship to come to fruition. Obviously Robert Zane (Wendell Pierce) is going to come back over the course of the season. We are going to meet a brand-new character that we heard about in the past but have never met. I’m not going to say who or who the actor is, but I love him. We have another recurring, old nemesis that the writers came up with bringing back based on a storyline that was already embedded in the season, and when they pitched him to me, both the way he comes back and what ultimately happens to him, I loved it. It’s such a great idea. Other than that, we’ve got some new, young associates. Katrina (Amanda Schull) will be around from time to time. Gretchen (Aloma Wright) is back. And aside from all these people, there is always room for old characters to pop up unexpectedly.

Suits airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on USA.

Thoughts? Sound off in the comments below.

Twitter: @amber_dowling

Suits

Source

#Boss #Breaks #Premiere #Season #Suits

[stoneevans]

Marketing Lessons Learned From Psychopaths

New Post has been published on https://www.home-business.com/marketing-lessons-learned-from-psychopaths-2/

Marketing Lessons Learned From Psychopaths

In my never ending search for ways to better appeal to my audience, I sometimes venture into the dark recesses of the human psyche so that I might better understand my customers and even myself.

I’m not picking on psychopaths here. Nor am I villainizing them. As I understand it, psychopaths are born the way they are – it’s not a choice.

A psychopath is generally someone who feels little or no real emotion, and instead has to fake it. They might lie a great deal. They have an inflated sense of self-worth. They use superficial charm and glibness to manipulate and con others. They lack remorse, guilt or empathy. And they constantly are in need of new stimulation.

About 1 out of 100 people are psychopaths. Odds are you know at least one, yet you might not realize it. Remember, most of them are not killers as the media might portray them.

But they can be incredibly charming and persuasive. Some psychopaths can find a person’s weak spot in minutes, manipulate that person using that knowledge, and actually make their target very happy and thankful to have been manipulated.

I’ve seen psychopaths at work. They fake emotions and use the techniques I’m about to cover to make people like them almost instantly.

Have you ever met someone and almost instantly thought you had a lot in common with them? Maybe you did – or maybe they were a psychopath adept at making you feel that way.

Now then, for those with active imaginations, I’m not recommending you turn into a psychopath when it comes to your marketing endeavors. And I’m certainly not suggesting you manipulate your prospects into becoming customers, either.

What I am suggesting is two-fold:

First, we can learn about influence from those who are skilled at it – and psychopaths tend to be especially adept at influencing others.

Second, forewarned is forearmed, which is to say once you are aware of these manipulation techniques, you will be better able to recognize them when they are being used on you or even against you.

Flattery: This isn’t just compliments and buttering you up, although that’s a part of it. Psychopaths can hone in on your insecurities and then provide you with the reassurance you crave to make you feel better. This makes you like them, trust them, and follow their suggestions.

As Marketers we do a variation of this in sales letters, agitating the problem and making the prospect feel the pain of the problem before we offer the feel good solution.

Favors and Gifts: The psychopath will do you a favor or give you a gift you might not even want. But still, now you feel obligated when s/he asks you to do something for them.

We do this in marketing, don’t we? We give away things, and in turn folks feel obligated to take a good look at what we’re offering.

False Intimacy: They’ll pretend to be interested in everything about you – your hobbies and interests, the kinds of music you like, your job, your family and so forth. Then they’ll tell you fake secrets to create an even deeper intimacy, at which point you’ll reciprocate and tell secrets about yourself. This is how a psychopath can go from ‘stranger’ to ‘new best friend’ in one or two meetings.

Again, marketers use a variation of this in sales copy, by first showing how similar we are to the prospect. “I had the same problem you do, here’s my story with all my dark secrets, etc.”

False Expectations: Psychopaths pretend things are already happening the way they want them to happen, before others even have a chance to think. So instead of asking, “Do you want to go to dinner?” They’ll simply say, “Let’s have dinner tonight, I’ll meet you at Harvey’s Grill at 8pm.” You’re not thinking IF you want to go to dinner, but instead you’re already making plans to meet him there.

Marketers and sales people alike will often ‘assume the sale’ to get the prospect to simply go along, rather than feeling like they have to ‘decide.’

Silent Treatment: Psychopaths will give random and unexpected silent treatments to throw you off. You might wonder if you did something wrong, and even try to make up for it with gifts or overt kindness. If you do, then the psychopath knows s/he’s got you wrapped around their finger.

In marketing, going silent is seldom going to pay. Out of sight is very quickly out of mind.

Over Asking: This is crafty – the psychopath asks you for this BIG favor, knowing you’ll balk. But then you feel bad that you had to say no. So when they now ask you for a small favor, you readily agree. Of course, it was the second request that they really wanted all along.

If you’re not using this technique in marketing, you’re probably losing money. Let’s say you offer your live coaching class for $1,000. Obviously a lot of prospects won’t buy it, which is when you offer them a recorded version for a whole lot less money.

Or maybe you want a fairly big name marketer to do an interview with you. You’ve already started building a relationship with them, so you ask if they would like to co-author a product with you. When they say no, you then ask for what you really wanted – a 30 minute interview. (Sneaky, right? But done correctly it does work, but only if you’ve already got a relationship with them.)

False Equivalence: A psychopath uses a logical fallacy to imply that if you don’t do what they desire, then it means something else. For example, if you don’t do what they want, then you don’t love them, or you’re stupid, or you’re immature, etc.

I just want to note here that outside the realm of psychopaths, false equivalence generally means two things are given the same weight, even though they are radically unequal. For example, if you have a scientist backed with decades of research stating a fact, and a non-scientist sitting next to him denying the fact, it appears both have equal weight, when in fact the scientist is backed by 99% of his or her peers on the subject as well as thousands of scientific studies.

In marketing, we can certainly use tactics like these to manipulate our customers, but it’s shady at best. I do recommend you stay on the lookout for it.

You’ll see this tactic used continuously on television and the internet, with ads telling you that you’re not a man if you don’t drink a certain drink, smoke a certain cigarette, drive a certain car and so forth.

Or if you don’t own an iPhone, you’re not part of the ‘in’ crowd.

It would be like me telling you that if you don’t subscribe to my newsletter, then you’re a lousy marketer. That’s blatant manipulation and in my opinion it’s time marketers let this one go forever.

Fake Normal: They communicate that, “Everyone is doing this,” so that the person feels inclined to do it, too.

We use this one a lot in marketing. “Everyone is grabbing ABC product, you better gets yours, too!”

Fill Emotional Needs: Psychopaths will find your insecurities and unhappiness, and then provide reassurance. They’re giving people what they want and saying what they want to hear.

If we’re honest, we have to admit that we do a version of this all the time in successful marketing campaigns.

It’s perhaps a little surprising how much marketing has in common with psychopathy. Then again, we’re all about persuading and to a certain degree, manipulating – hopefully towards the BENEFIT and not the detriment of our customers.

If you are manipulating your customer for their own good, that’s one thing. If you’re doing it just to make a sale, you probably won’t be in business for long.

But one thing I learned from studying psychopaths is this – there is still far more that we can learn about persuasion, and sometimes we’ll find the answers in the oddest of places.

[kiaraflantroy]

[Chorus: Keyshia Cole] You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you Keep coming with the same lines Everything but the truth You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you

[Verse 1: Keyshia Cole] So know I’m not the one for the bullshit I empty out the closet like a full clip You tried so hard to get at me I wish you would’ve left me when you met me Whole squad said you was a hoe though Let breezy know these niggas ain’t loyal Blowin’ up my phone turn my phone off Can’t take no bitch nigga phone call

[Chorus: Keyshia Cole] You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you Keep coming with the same lines Everything but the truth You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you

[Verse 2: Remy Ma] You picked the wrong one, now you pick the right one Got no love left and I ain't even tryna fight dumb You keep your birds cause I’m gone when my flight come You know what you did and honestly I been type done How you getting hoes take 'em home then you wife them It’s really no comparison cause I ain't nothing like them Bestie said fuck him, I’m like don’t get me hype cause At one point would had been gun point on site bum Now I look at it like owww, that something light hun I’m happy that its over yeah you only had a slight run I can be a fowl bitch fuck your whole life up I might spend the night with your bro out of spite cause you a fuck nigga

[Chorus: Keyshia Cole] You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you Keep coming in with the same lines Everything but the truth You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby

[Verse 3: French Montana] You know these hoes ain't loyal Mama always told me these hoes ain't for you That’s why we never mix like water with the oil Baby keep the pu**y mine, and ima keep ya spoiled (And you know) Real one hold you down like a real army But I picked the wrong one like Steve Harvey Same boss boat dock for 8 days But you a thot selling box on the back page Sitting, reminiscing, way before I started tripping About what he said and she said But I ain't having it, your game weak like seven nights Coming with the same lines like trumps wife

[Chorus: KEYSHIA COLE] You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you Keep coming with the same lines Everything but the truth You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby You just played me for the last time I’m done fucking with you You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby You picked the wrong one, yea yea You picked the wrong one baby The wrong one The wrong one You know you picked the wrong one

Analysis

This text depicts a relationship gone bad. If you watch the music video you will see that it has gone downright deadly! The chorus of the song immediately lets us know that this isn’t the first time that Keyshia has been played by her man, but she does make it very clear that this will be the very last time that he will get the opportunity to play her. She has completely caught on to his game and knows that he’s been feeding her lies.

Once Keyshia realized that her guy had been playing her she emptied out everything in his closet. She also gives us some background about him and tells us that her guy tried his hardest to win her over when everybody around her was telling her that he was indeed a get around. But she went against her better judgement and gave him a chance. Now that she’s found this out he wants to call her and plead his case and she’s just not hearing it. Keyshia is playing the role of the friend who is hurt but she’s strong enough and smart enough to walk away when enough is enough.

Remy Ma is the friend who is ready to go head to head with this guy. She wants to be shady and call him out on his foolish decisions. “How you getting ho*s take 'em home then you wife them” She blatantly tells him that the women that he so foolishly decided to mess around on her with are so beneath her and are undeserving of the title that he has bestowed upon them. “At one point would had been gun point on site bum” this line is an ode to Remy’s previous street life, and to let him know that she has shot people for much less before. Remy however is happy that the relationship wasn’t something that she wasted a lot of time in. She does however threaten to get some revenge by fooling around with one of his friends.

French Montana comes and gives the guys perspective and seconds the women’s sentiments that the type of individual classified as a ho* is indeed not intended to be procured by anyone with even an ounce of standards. He says, “That’s why we never mix like water with the oil”. He likens his mistake of picking the wrong mate to Steve Harvey saying the wrong winner of the pageant last year. French Montana even brings up back page which used to be a popular craigslist type site for escorts. The last punchline French uses is telling the girl that he’s heard these same lines she’s telling him before by saying, “Coming with the same lines like trumps wife.” 

Overall the text is for relationships however, not relationships in which the truth is not being told. Communication and not only that but honest communication is such an important part of the foundation of any relationship. It’s not somber by any means, and all areas of the text are happy that they’re leaving that negative situation in the hopes of finding someone that finally appreciates them and what they bring to the table.

[hysterialevi]

cobblebats fanfic pt. 10

From Oswald’s POV

“You’re getting soft, Oswald,” Lady Arkham scolded, her head shaking in disapproval. “You’ve fallen in love with him...haven’t you?”

I scoffed at the ridiculous suggestion, shoving a hand in my pocket. The two of us were currently standing in Lady Arkham’s office, her back facing towards me and her staff in hand. After Bruce got that call from Alfred at the park and took his leave, I had received a call of my own not too much later from Vicki herself to the Children of Arkham’s HQ for a “discussion.” Apparently, she wanted to talk about my growing relationship with the billionaire. She was concerned that we were becoming a bit too friendly.

“No. ‘Course I don’t love him.” I countered. “Why would I? It’s all just an act. You know what his family did to mine. I’m not about to pass up the opportunity for revenge just because of some pretty boy whilst my mum and dad are still twisting and turning in their graves.” I crossed my arms. “Besides, ain’t this what you wanted me to do?”

In a split second, the end of Lady Arkham’s staff was mere inches away from my face, zapping with a violent, electric glow.

“I told you to gain his trust. To learn his secrets. To point out a weakness.”

The staff crept closer, almost to the point where it was brushing against the tip of my nose. 

“I did not tell you to become his newest slut!”

I waved the staff out of my face, glowering. “C’mon, it ain’t like that--wait, what do you mean newest?”

Lady Arkham laughed mockingly. “Do you honestly believe that a man like Bruce Wayne is capable of genuinely loving someone? He’s a billionaire, Oswald. He has more money than all of Gotham combined. He can have anyone he wants as long as he flashes enough cash in front of them. What makes you think you’re any different to him?”

As much as I hated to admit it, it stung a little when she said that--mainly because I knew it was true. I mean, Bruce was effortlessly making a fortune I could’ve only ever dreamed of achieving, and he was one of the most powerful people in Gotham, second only to the mayor. He had connections with both Hill and Falcone, and there wasn’t a single person in the city who hadn’t been affected by his influence. He was practically a king, sitting on a stolen throne. 

The Cobblepots, on the other hand...we were nothing but ants beneath his boots, a burden, an obstacle in the Waynes’ path to success--and his father threw us away like we were trash. And now, Bruce was thriving because of it. Why would he care about some lowly thug like me? Especially after everything I’ve done to him?

The answer was clear as day. He didn’t.

“Look,” I said, trying to come up with some bullshit excuse, “Bruce was obviously attracted to me in some way, and so I took advantage of it, all right? That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.”

Lady Arkham chortled. “Do you think I’m an idiot, Cobblepot? I see the way you look at him, how flustered you become whenever someone mentions his name. And don’t even think that I don’t know about how you offered to help him save Dent’s broken mind.”

“How...?”

“Surprised? I have eyes and ears everywhere, Oswald. You’re a fool if you don’t know this by now. Nothing happens in Gotham that I don’t know about.” 

I bet you don’t know Bruce is Batman, you bitch.

She rested her hands on the top of her staff. “Though, despite your carelessness, I suppose there could be a bright side to all this...”

Her deathly glare landed on me. “Yes...” she said in thought. “Perhaps, there is no need to look for a weakness. Or perhaps, I’ve simply been searching in the wrong place.” She began sauntering in my direction, her eyes nailed onto me. A sense of worry suddenly began developing inside me. 

“After all, ever since Dent’s been shoved into that horror palace they call an asylum, Bruce has been all alone with no one else but his brooding self, hasn’t he?”

Lady Arkham came to an abrupt stop as she was hit with a pang of realization. 

“Then you came along. An old, childhood friend, here to save the day, and give Bruce the love he’s always wanted--to support him in these tough times, and give him a shoulder to cry on...” she placed both hands on the sides of my arms. “My dear, Oswald--you are his weakness.”

“I am?” I didn’t like where this was going.

“Yes! You are. And the best way to destroy your enemies is to strike them where it hurts the most. Wouldn’t you agree?” Lady Arkham reached behind her and pulled out a single syringe loaded with the vile, blue liquid. There was a hell lot more in there than what she normally dosed her victims with.

“Unfortunately,” she said without empathy, “I’m afraid this is bad news for you.”

Without even meaning to, I started to back away, holding my arms up in defense. “Now, hold on. What are you...”

She chuckled eerily, her low voice echoing throughout the entire room. “Hold still. This might pinch a little.”

Before I could back away any more, I hit a wall, preventing me from escaping. I was cornered. Lady Arkham continued to stalk towards me.

“Vicki,” I pleaded, “wait--”

Her shadow soon blanketed over my entire figure like a ghost, the syringe’s needle ominously glinting in the dim light of her office.

“No. I’m done waiting.”

From Bruce’s POV

“Thanks for your cooperation,” Gordon said as he headed for the front door, Montoya waiting for him outside. “And for the record, I honestly doubted you were really working with that lunatic Penguin.”

“So does this mean you won’t be arresting me?” I double-checked.

The lieutenant lit a cigarette. “Even if we wanted to, we don’t have enough evidence to do it. Some rumor--and an implausible one, at that--isn’t enough to get you behind bars. Besides, as shady as your family’s history is, it just wouldn’t make sense for you to be working with the man who stole your company.”

“If only my board had as much faith in me as you do.”

“Don’t I know the feeling. Don’t get me wrong--the GCPD has more than a few good officers like Renee, but sometimes I can’t help but worry about how all of...” he gestured at nothing, “...this...will affect them. It’s not easy to keep your head high in times like these. Discouragement often becomes a familiar face--something I’m sure you know well.”

I let out a soft laugh. “More than you realize.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” Gordon stepped outside. “Stay safe, all right?”

“Yeah. You too, Jim.”

He shut the doors behind him and entered the police car, leaving me alone in the manor. It was still damaged from Harvey’s attack, and it was probably going to stay that way for a while, but as long as I had a roof over my head, it didn’t bother me an incredible amount. Right now, there was something else nagging me.

I checked my phone. No texts from Oz so far. That was odd. Normally, he always bombarded me with multiple messages until I replied. Maybe I could text him first for a change, and see if he wanted to resume our “date.” I began typing, eager to see his response.

I just hoped that whatever he had in mind didn’t involve too much physical activity this time. As much as I loved spending time with him, I was exhausted from waking up so early, and it wasn’t even afternoon yet.

Bruce: Sorry about leaving so abruptly earlier. You’re free to come over now, if you’d like. Gordon just left--without me, thankfully. Maybe we could hang out at the park some more.

I waited a few moments. No reply. Not even the three, little dots that appeared when he was typing. Oh no, he wasn’t annoyed with me for leaving, was he? What if he was irritated that we got interrupted? No, he was more understanding than that--as strange as it sounded. He was probably just busy. He would text me when he was ready. 

I shook the thought out of my head and put the device away, deciding to kill some time by watching the TV.

I strolled my way out of the foyer and to the cozy parlor, letting myself fall into the same, plush chair that Oz had fallen asleep in the other night, pressing the power button on the remote and relaxing into the cushions. Before I even had a chance to get comfortable though, I was already overwhelmed by countless photos of Harvey and Batman on the screen, reporters rambling on about how the mayor was committed to Arkham Asylum, his upcoming trial, and how the mysterious, masked vigilante was responsible for the “noble” deed.

As much as I appreciated the praise from the public, I knew it wasn’t all because of me. If it hadn’t been for Oz’s gift of perfect timing and intervening, Harvey would’ve definitely shot and killed me that night. It was the third time Oz had saved me so far.

I continued watching the news when suddenly, the distant sound of a gunshot erupted from within the manor, causing me to immediately jump out of my seat and whip around in confusion. I left the parlor.

“Alfred?” I called out. Nothing. I headed upstairs.

“Alfred!” I repeated as I ascended the staircase. Still nothing. I started feeling sick due to the anxiety. Oh god, what was happening? Was that really a gunshot? Or was I just hearing things?

I reached the second floor and looked around for a bit, unsure of where to go. That was when a muffled, heavy thud emitted from inside Alfred’s bedroom, like something--or someone--had just toppled over. I sprinted over to the door and twisted the knob. Locked.

“Alfred!” I shouted, aggressively shaking the doorknob. It didn’t budge, and I still wasn’t receiving any sort of response.

“ALFRED!” Silence.

Backing up a few steps, I decided to try a different method and took a deep breath, bracing myself as I planted my foot into the door. The sturdy material refused to break, but I could hear the wood splintering. Attempting it again, I kicked it once more, but with much more force, causing the door to finally slam open and bounce slightly off the adjacent wall as it slowly unveiled the horrifying scene inside.

I froze.

“...Alfred?”

[stoneevans]

Marketing Lessons Learned From Psychopaths

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Marketing Lessons Learned From Psychopaths

In my never ending search for ways to better appeal to my audience, I sometimes venture into the dark recesses of the human psyche so that I might better understand my customers and even myself.

I’m not picking on psychopaths here. Nor am I villainizing them. As I understand it, psychopaths are born the way they are – it’s not a choice.

A psychopath is generally someone who feels little or no real emotion, and instead has to fake it. They might lie a great deal. They have an inflated sense of self-worth. They use superficial charm and glibness to manipulate and con others. They lack remorse, guilt or empathy. And they constantly are in need of new stimulation.

About 1 out of 100 people are psychopaths. Odds are you know at least one, yet you might not realize it. Remember, most of them are not killers as the media might portray them.

But they can be incredibly charming and persuasive. Some psychopaths can find a person’s weak spot in minutes, manipulate that person using that knowledge, and actually make their target very happy and thankful to have been manipulated.

I’ve seen psychopaths at work. They fake emotions and use the techniques I’m about to cover to make people like them almost instantly.

Have you ever met someone and almost instantly thought you had a lot in common with them? Maybe you did – or maybe they were a psychopath adept at making you feel that way.

Now then, for those with active imaginations, I’m not recommending you turn into a psychopath when it comes to your marketing endeavors. And I’m certainly not suggesting you manipulate your prospects into becoming customers, either.

What I am suggesting is two-fold:

First, we can learn about influence from those who are skilled at it – and psychopaths tend to be especially adept at influencing others.

Second, forewarned is forearmed, which is to say once you are aware of these manipulation techniques, you will be better able to recognize them when they are being used on you or even against you.

Flattery: This isn’t just compliments and buttering you up, although that’s a part of it. Psychopaths can hone in on your insecurities and then provide you with the reassurance you crave to make you feel better. This makes you like them, trust them, and follow their suggestions.

As Marketers we do a variation of this in sales letters, agitating the problem and making the prospect feel the pain of the problem before we offer the feel good solution.

Favors and Gifts: The psychopath will do you a favor or give you a gift you might not even want. But still, now you feel obligated when s/he asks you to do something for them.

We do this in marketing, don’t we? We give away things, and in turn folks feel obligated to take a good look at what we’re offering.

False Intimacy: They’ll pretend to be interested in everything about you – your hobbies and interests, the kinds of music you like, your job, your family and so forth. Then they’ll tell you fake secrets to create an even deeper intimacy, at which point you’ll reciprocate and tell secrets about yourself. This is how a psychopath can go from ‘stranger’ to ‘new best friend’ in one or two meetings.

Again, marketers use a variation of this in sales copy, by first showing how similar we are to the prospect. “I had the same problem you do, here’s my story with all my dark secrets, etc.”

False Expectations: Psychopaths pretend things are already happening the way they want them to happen, before others even have a chance to think. So instead of asking, “Do you want to go to dinner?” They’ll simply say, “Let’s have dinner tonight, I’ll meet you at Harvey’s Grill at 8pm.” You’re not thinking IF you want to go to dinner, but instead you’re already making plans to meet him there.

Marketers and sales people alike will often ‘assume the sale’ to get the prospect to simply go along, rather than feeling like they have to ‘decide.’

Silent Treatment: Psychopaths will give random and unexpected silent treatments to throw you off. You might wonder if you did something wrong, and even try to make up for it with gifts or overt kindness. If you do, then the psychopath knows s/he’s got you wrapped around their finger.

In marketing, going silent is seldom going to pay. Out of sight is very quickly out of mind.

Over Asking: This is crafty – the psychopath asks you for this BIG favor, knowing you’ll balk. But then you feel bad that you had to say no. So when they now ask you for a small favor, you readily agree. Of course, it was the second request that they really wanted all along.

If you’re not using this technique in marketing, you’re probably losing money. Let’s say you offer your live coaching class for $1,000. Obviously a lot of prospects won’t buy it, which is when you offer them a recorded version for a whole lot less money.

Or maybe you want a fairly big name marketer to do an interview with you. You’ve already started building a relationship with them, so you ask if they would like to co-author a product with you. When they say no, you then ask for what you really wanted – a 30 minute interview. (Sneaky, right? But done correctly it does work, but only if you’ve already got a relationship with them.)

False Equivalence: A psychopath uses a logical fallacy to imply that if you don’t do what they desire, then it means something else. For example, if you don’t do what they want, then you don’t love them, or you’re stupid, or you’re immature, etc.

I just want to note here that outside the realm of psychopaths, false equivalence generally means two things are given the same weight, even though they are radically unequal. For example, if you have a scientist backed with decades of research stating a fact, and a non-scientist sitting next to him denying the fact, it appears both have equal weight, when in fact the scientist is backed by 99% of his or her peers on the subject as well as thousands of scientific studies.

In marketing, we can certainly use tactics like these to manipulate our customers, but it’s shady at best. I do recommend you stay on the lookout for it.

You’ll see this tactic used continuously on television and the internet, with ads telling you that you’re not a man if you don’t drink a certain drink, smoke a certain cigarette, drive a certain car and so forth.

Or if you don’t own an iPhone, you’re not part of the ‘in’ crowd.

It would be like me telling you that if you don’t subscribe to my newsletter, then you’re a lousy marketer. That’s blatant manipulation and in my opinion it’s time marketers let this one go forever.

Fake Normal: They communicate that, “Everyone is doing this,” so that the person feels inclined to do it, too.

We use this one a lot in marketing. “Everyone is grabbing ABC product, you better gets yours, too!”

Fill Emotional Needs: Psychopaths will find your insecurities and unhappiness, and then provide reassurance. They’re giving people what they want and saying what they want to hear.

If we’re honest, we have to admit that we do a version of this all the time in successful marketing campaigns.

It’s perhaps a little surprising how much marketing has in common with psychopathy. Then again, we’re all about persuading and to a certain degree, manipulating – hopefully towards the BENEFIT and not the detriment of our customers.

If you are manipulating your customer for their own good, that’s one thing. If you’re doing it just to make a sale, you probably won’t be in business for long.

But one thing I learned from studying psychopaths is this – there is still far more that we can learn about persuasion, and sometimes we’ll find the answers in the oddest of places.