#where rimmers not mentioned??

[celery505]

I love dave lister and i dont say it enough. He’s brilliant.

[jackgoodfellow]

I've been viewing your Red Dwarf Pokemon AU and I love it. I just have a question: In that Universe, are Simulants and GELFs the same as in the original universe, or is it like Cyborg Pokemon and GELFs which are genetically engineered Pokemon (a bit like Mewtwo)?

Omg this is like my second ever ask!!! 😊

Simulants and GELFs are the same as they are in the original universe, but they all have thematically appropriate Pokémon too!

That way there can be Pokémon battles beyond Lister's Snorlax absolutely trouncing Rimmer's Snivy for the 100th time (after Rimmer demands a battle for the 100th time).

In some episodes, they run into Pokémon that are companions to other sentient life forms, and sometimes they run into planets full of wild Pokemon they've never seen before!

Other times, Pokémon on the ship start causing problems:

Lister leaving trash everywhere has resulted in way more Grimer than the ship can sustain and they need to find a trash planet for them to live happily in.

Magnemite have gotten into the ship's engine and are causing increasingly bizarre malfunctions.

A Ditto with sunglasses is out to cause problems by impersonating the ship's crew! Stuff like that!

Every once in a while, they can run into a legendary Pokémon. Which would be hilarious because the boys (with the exception of Kryten) are completely incapable of speaking to a majestic elder god with anything approaching the proper amount of respect!

They do probably run into a Mewtwo (or Mewtwo-like situation) at some point and then they have to deal with an angry super-intelligent, super-powerful, genetically engineered, malevolent Pokémon with major emotional issues.

It'd make for a great multi-part episode or movie special, and I picture it happening shortly before Rimmer goes off to be Ace (whereupon he will achieve the character growth we all deserved to see in canon)!

Early in the special, Lister's kindness is what first plants seeds of doubt about the value of cruelty in the Mewtwo creature's mind.

As the plot progresses, it seems more and more like a heartfelt speech from Lister might solve the whole thing.

But then, Lister is knocked out or temporarily turned into stone during the climax, and it is suddenly up to RIMMER of all people to make a last-ditch appeal to Mewtwo's sense of love and kindness!

("Well! We're doomed!" chirps the Cat, from whatever psychic prison he is stuck in. Kryten, who at this point has been reduced to his eyeballs by a psychic blast, somehow manages to nod in agreement. (But what they don't know is that I, Jack! am the one writing this special! And I am a very specific kind of writer.))

Rimmer looks at the possibly-dead Lister... looks at himself... and then looks at the furious psychic being killing them all...

And he ends up making an impassioned speech about how Lister doesn't deserve this. ("Maybe I do. Maybe even the Cat and Kryten. but not Lister.") About how Lister keeps seeing bits of good in everyone, even Rimmer. Lister even saw good in Mewtwo!

("Please... he's... he's a good man. Yes, he's a disgusting, childish idiot with less brain cells than dead liver cells, but he's a good person. Look into his brain. You have to see that. That has to count for something.")

This is the first time in the series we've seen Rimmer say something nice about Lister. The Cat and Kryten are dumbfounded.

And no one is more surprised than Rimmer that it actually works.

[yaminerua]

thinking also about how in the flashback in stasis leak Rimmer is reporting Lister for giving him hallucinogenic mushrooms in his breakfast but like

Lister brought Rimmer breakfast? And Rimmer accepted it from him?

I’d have thought Rimmer would be more wary of accepting any seemingly innocent acts of friendliness from Lister when he hasn’t done anything to earn that from him and yet he just in good faith accepted food from him only to suffer from the mushrooms rip

[janamelie]

The Mirror Universe

It's interesting that a lot of the fan objections to the continuity of Rimmer looking for a more successful version of himself in "Skipper" centre on the lack of a mention of Ace, given that in "Only The Good..." Rimmer learned of another way more successful version of himself, Captain Rimmer in the Mirror Universe.

I realise that the answer to this is (a) calling the episode "Skipper" automatically brings Ace to mind and (b) the majority of the fandom try to forget Series VIII exists and I can't blame them. Plus the very gay (textually, not subtextually) scene with First Officer Lister was cut from the ep so not everyone knows it exists.

But every so often I like to remind people that Rimmer crossed into a Mirror Universe where he found out he had everything he wanted - he was Captain of Red Dwarf and had a very big cock (don't look at me, I didn't write that) - and his consequent assumption when he met alternate Lister was, and I quote, "Oh my God, you're my lover!"

[psychidelias]

I've watched red dwarf in full at least thrice at this point, but something I genuinely do not understand but desperately want to know is:

Why does rimmer make fun of ace for his sexuality?

Like I watch dimension jump or Stoke me a clipper or read backwards, and it happens so much, completely unprompted, and I wonder if I'm missing some subtext or something.

I could write essays about the complexities of both their characters, but can't grasp the reason for the insults.

I guess it's just like a period appropriate insult, but why is it relentless, inflicted on nobody else, and only against an alternate version of himself.

The only possible reason I can fathom at this point is internalized homophobia -not to mention the existence of low rimmer, the whole me2 bit of infinity welcomes careful drivers, blue, and countless other instances where rimmer in specific is the main source of queer jokes or insults- which doesn't seem like he was supposed to be written that way it's just confusing to me.

Like I think of every time a reference comes up, I can only think "why would they do that", "that has to be intentional". I'm just so lost.

[spotforme]

what was i gonna say again? oh right, i know i'm delusional for this, but i just find Cat and Rimmer's dynamic so hypnotizing to watch. the jojo-string excange in series I the smear campaign they ran together, it's just so clear they don't care about the other but it's so interesting to watch whenever they do stuff together because they're so dubious about it. anyway, please let me pretend that there's a universe where they have an unspoken agreement where Rimmer paints Cat's nails all kinds of pretty and deatailed but they never mention it, because of course they still detest eachother. hear me out okay, it gets pretty boring in space, Rimmer likes to paint and finess, Cat likes to be coordinated in his outfits, they have somehow come to an understanding where, when nothing's going on, Cat will appear infront or Rimmer with some inspo, like the newest outfit he has sown or a photograph from a magazine, it's a brief excange and they part ways, later that day they convene in some secluded area, somehow managing to not acknowlige eachother's excistence beyond their own benefits, and they never talk about it afterwards because they would still very much leave the other to die given the chanse. don't stone me at the plank for this, i just find them the most fascinating duo of them all and i am rotting having nothing to analyze

[ladyvaderpixetc]

your top 15 favourite tv shows can say a lot about your personality

Tagged by the epically fab @lolahardy

this genuinely kept me awake a bit last night until I realised what was happening and stopped trying to recall every show that ever struck me right in the feels or shaped me lol and yes, I know no one asked for any reasoning behind it but when you've mulled it over all bloody day long, you feel like sharing :P

M*A*S*H - used to be on everyday at 7 and my mum had adored it when she was younger so brought me and my sister up on it, still makes me laugh and cry to this day.

Star Trek TNG (& Picard which might be cheating but really is just an extension all told) - loved all the Trek's, Honourable Mention goes to ToS because kid!me loved it so much, only to have TNG blow the roof off my head. Lt Cmdr Data was my first love and I am unashamed ;)

Red Dwarf - for many reasons but mainly Arnold Rimmer (more reliable than a garden Strimmer, he's never been mistaken for Yul Brynner - he's not bald and his head doesn't glimmer...) who my teenage self was certain could be redeemed with the power of love, or a very determined snogging if nowt else.

The Good Place - because I (and many of us) needed it as a concept, whether for personal growth, coping with grief or just cos 'forking shirtballs' never gets any less funnier for me.

Firefly - the best show to ever be cancelled before it's writer could ruin it. I adored the show and the ensuing film, mourned its early cancellation for YEARS until I heard about Whedon's general twattishness and what had been his intentions for the series and characters, now am happy it exists as it is, still problematic but so worthy in so many ways, and on that awkward note...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - problematic on 800 gazillion levels in this day and age but still a forerunner of many awesome things to follow and I'd be lying if I said I hadnt been glued to it, obsessed with it, shipping folks, dling the soundtrack, buying the jewelry etc and even now if I see a reaction vid on YT for S5 I can't help myself but watch and weep along with them.

Merlin (BBC) - Umm'd and Ahh'd over this for bloody ages lol but it was my happy place (literally, had a run of bad years as have we all, so I'd watch an ep before bed every night to make me smile) and it got me through the difficulties I had right up to the finale where they took me and my happy place out back and shot it in the face in front of me lol. Despite my escapism route being put down in those heinous raw weeks immediately following a parents funeral, I'm still listing it here for being wonderful, silly, heartening and heartbreaking, whilst giving every last Fuck You to the writers for their surprise, abruptly canon-compliant ending.

Stargate SG1 - daft sci fi with it's heart trying hard to be in the right place plus eminently shippable characters in almost every combo going? Yes, please.

Heroes - because I was OBSESSED. It picked me up out of my OTP in a diff fandom (sorry drarry, I still love you honest) drained me of any and all urge to write for anything but them ever again until it got shat on by its own writers, breaking the spell.

Brooklyn 99 - NINE-NINE. *sadly doffs cap to Captain Holt*

King of the Hill - from a show I used to avoid when I was younger to one I ration myself viewswise so it won't lose it's impact. Superb.

Schitts Creek - only watched due to encountering a clip on tumblr of Moira's stonefaced manaical laughter and ended up crying with happiness over the finale, am an easy crier sure, but not normally because something is just so lovely.

Cheers - was only a kid when it finished but I bawled my face off when Sam said 'sorry, we're closed' (was too young to know it'd be repeated ad infinitum lol) and the opening theme still feels like coming home.

Golden Girls - sole reason D+ gets any money from me, the bastards, it was my only access for a bit there but it was worth it, lightyears ahead of it's time and just wonderful to boot.

Parks & Rec - somewhere my sister is elated with no clue why. Took her years to talk me into it, but having watched it on repeat a few times, I now can't live without Leslie, Ben & Ron.

Other honourable mentions (sorry I know, longpost, my bad) go to Quantum Leap for being a daily delight growing up, What We Do in the Shadows which would have made the list but I've only just got around to watching it and am only on S3 so have yet to find out if it's going to rip my heart out, Eerie Indiana for getting me started hyperfixationwise, Caroline in the City (S1-S3... S4? I don't know her - no seriously, I didnt realise for YEARS it didnt end at S3 and as this purported S4 fucked that up [supposedly] yeah I don't know her), The XFiles for my first actual foray into fandom & fanfic, and I know am missing another gazillion shows I'll remember later that seem much more worldshaping than these and I'll gnash my teeth lol so yeah *waves hand vaguely towards future me's frustrated rememberings* them too ;)

Tagging a) anyone who fancies a go should they feel like it, and b) [no pressure natch] @theangrykimchi @amazinmango @thesaltofcarthage @buckydunpun @kalika999 @gracerene @helaheim @dls-ao3 @emorgan5061 @bananaempanada

[halos-top-alien-model]

Sangheili Bracket Round 2 Match 14

More info below:

Olabisi 'Varo'dai:

Debuted in Halo: Outcasts (previously mentioned in Halo: Divine Wind)

Born on the colony Saepon'kal / Joyous Exultation, she was the daughter of a matriarch who led a subordinate keep to the Moul clan. When the Moul clan's kaidon abdicated during the Human-Covenant war, his son Azl 'Lamoul was anticipated to take his place. During his tour of all the nearby keeps, he and Olabisi met and fell in love. Yet the elders of Azl's clan intended him to marry the then-Marshal of Varo's niece, with his decision to reject her causing his entire bloodline to be killed and a Varo heir elected to take over the clan. Olabisi was made this heir's figurehead matriarch, although she would secretly train her own Sangheili Rangers to protect her and kill all those who betrayed her now runaway lover. When the original Marshal died in the Battle of Actium, she took over as the first female Marshal of Varo. She would continue to do so until Oct 2552, when the entire planet was made uninhabitable due to being caught up in the utter destruction of Imperial Admiral Xytan 'Jar Wattinree's fleet due to an accidental NOVA bomb detonation. She would get assistance for the survivors, one of those aiding being the Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, who arranged a plan to have the survivors colonize an uninhabited planet elsewhere - this planet becoming Om'a'Varo, potentially in honor of Olabisi, who became the high kaidon of all three keeps on the new colony. Feeling eternally grateful towards the Arbiter, she would continue to aid him alongside her rangers during the Blooding Years.

Towards the end of the Created Conflict in late 2559, Olabisi would join the Arbiter on a mission to Netherop / N'ba to recover a weapon that could potentially end Cortana's tyranny over the galaxy. She began destroying the orbital mine around N'ba in anticipation of the Arbiter's arrival; once he did arrive, she met with him alongside Ghe 'Talot, who had also been assisting by mapping the planet's topography. She and Ghe would have some tension between them due to differing views, but the Arbiter helped them cooperate through his orders. Later, she would be amongst those joining the Arbiter on the planet's surface, where her superior eyesight and rangers came in handy on the mission. Once humans became involved in the chase for the weapon. Olabisi was amongst those suspicious of them, but continued to try and work with them out of respect for the Arbiter. Later, during the first confrontation with the stranded Nizat 'Kvarosee and his "Defenders of the Sanctum", she would speak up in angry defense for the Arbiter, which ultimately contributed in the conversation devolving into combat. Once the weapon was secured, she was the one who first came up with the idea for both species to own it together, by splitting the necessary components between them. Then, she lashed out against Tam 'Lakosee and Nizat, for the former's actions in destroying the entire Sangheili fleet above N'ba. She would ultimately spare their lives, but not without a final taunt towards their gods being fake. Following a confrontation with Atriox where the weapon was handed over, she would join the survivors in escaping N'ba before Cortana's forces could arrive to catch them.

Henry:

Debuted in Halo: Evolutions ("The Mona Lisa")

Real name unknown, he was one of the Sangheili captured and brought on board the Mona Lisa for study purposes. When attempts to study the Flood on the ship went wrong and caused an outbreak, he would break free from captivity and save fellow prisoner Patrick Rimmer, who would stay by his side and nickname him "Henry". For days the duo survived by holing up in a maintenance room, with Henry's main weapon being a cricket bat. When the Red Horse arrived to investigate, some marines would find and team up with the duo, which included Ngoc Benti. Henry would save Benti from the Flood on two occasions, causing her to trust the Sangheili enough to allow him access to an assault rifle. A bit later, she would be injured, causing Henry to carry her the rest of the way to the ship's escape pods. Once there, however, a secret ONI operative would kill Rimmer, enraging Henry. Some conflict would cut the remaining numbers of people wishing to escape Mona Lisa to Henry and Sergeant Lopez. With room for only one of them on the last escape pod and thirty seconds until the entire ship would be destroyed by Red Horse, Henry and Lopez would begin a duel with no known outcome. Despite the unknown, though, Henry is likely to have perished - either by the explosion or by the nearby UNSC refusing to aid him.

[danielfeketewrites]

Red Dwarf: Polymorph

It's Red Dwarf Day! Nice! Maybe I should finally get around to writing the post about the script I've read like a month ago...

Oh, Red Dwarf Day was yesterday? Oh well. Anyway - Polymorph.

About two years ago, during my third year of uni, I went to a charity shop and found some Red Dwarf treasures - namely, Red Dwarf Omnibus (which features the first two books, Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers and Better Than Life, as well as the pilot script) for 1.99 and this, Primordial Soup, for 1.49... An absolute bargain!

Primordial Soup collects six Red Dwarf scripts, picked as favourite episodes of the two writers (Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, together forming the gestalt entity "Grant Naylor") at the time:

Season 3: Polymorph + Marooned

Season 4: Dimension Jump + Justice

Season 5: Back to Reality

Season 6: Psirens

I still haven't seen all of Red Dwarf, but Polymorph has to be one of my favourite episodes, if not the favourite episode. In these posts, I try to think of something I've maybe learned from reading the script and such. But here? I think the lesson is - if you already have a TV show (or a storytelling platform of any kind for that matter), just have fun with it! Don't get bogged down by what the series is or should be and do something stupid instead! Are you doing a silly character-based comedy? JUST ADD THE FUCKING THING FROM JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING. Yeah, of course, that tracks.

You've got to admit - sitcoms don't tend to have an actual sense of danger. And yes, by the time we get to the scene with Rimmer's mother, that danger isn't really there any more, but I really think there was some. And there certainly is some again in the ending. (Although, admittedly, I prefer the other ending, as it was the first version of Polymorph I've seen. But yeah, the script ends with a "Lister" - his head spins around while his body is static, then he grins into the camera and walks off... Properly sinister stuff. This episode really is John Carpenter's The Thing as a sitcom.)

Alright, there's one more thing to learn here. It all comes back to something my teacher at uni said about writing sitcom characters - base them around their flaws. And what might those flaws be? Start with seven deadly sins.

While not all of the negative emotions eaten by Polymorph are on this list - some of them definitely are. And you can see how Polymorph was created as a specifically sitcom threat, as by removing "negative emotions", we remove who those characters really are. Polymorph, with a surgical percision, is a mutant designed to eat sitcoms.

It's not just a sci-fi parody, it's genuinely clever. Also, it's a good way to approach an ensemble episode, ie one where the focus isn't on a single member of the cast, the focus is on the whole crew.

So yeah, Polymorph is great. What a surprise.

As I've already mentioned, I read this script from a published collection. Which means it wasn't formatted properly... But that's probably a good thing, as Red Dwarf was very likely written in the older format of a studio script, which is just a pain to read. So, on this occasion, I prefer it that way. We're probably gonna get around to me ranting against some of the formatting in published scripts in the future.

Anyway, I'm gonna end this post with the scene that made me burst out laughing. It's the afforementioned scene with Rimmer's mother. I did remember a lot of the jokes in Polymorph, but not this one and it really caught me off guard in the best possible way. Enjoy!

[small-cs-traffic-warden]

Have you ever wondered HOW PERFECTLY ABBA's classic "Waterloo" describes Rimmer's and Lister's relationship?

First - the title and theme, of course. Rimmer loves Napoleon. He wouldn't fail to mention him when describing his inner battle of feelings for Lister. "My, my, at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender. Oh, yeah. And I have met my destiny in quite a similar way." Oh, dear!

Second - "The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself." And we know exactly what book on WHAT SHELF, don't we?

Third - "Couldn't escape if I wanted to..." Yes, it's hard to escape as a hologram from a ship where your job is to keep the last man in the universe sane.

And finally - "Knowing my fate is to be with you ... Finally facing my Waterloo ... I tried to hold you back, but you were stronger ... And now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight and how could I ever refuse I feel like I win when I lose ... I was defeated, you won the war ... Promise to love you for ever more ... Waterloo." Is there anything to add?

[ocd-character-polls]

Honorary mentions bracket!

Sorry it took so long but! the honorary mentions bracket for completion 1.5

I think there is 48 people? I didnt count tbh-

Polls begin Tomorrow, Sunday EST (maybe around 3?)

Like last time, Propaganda is both allowed and encouraged! just tage me

I fuckedup so bad jurogiri was in the main competition this is a disaster. Replaceing him with petunia from happy tree friends

I forget to put who's going against Kurt and Beau in the bracket, which I am realizes as I make this post, there is no more characters left so uhhhh, Kurt will go against Amir from the two princes podcast, sure (I made this up on the spot) and Beau will go aganst Warren Godby from Red valley

there where two characters I did not include due to personal discomforts I had including them, so sorry :(

I also added 4 characters, as I forgot I had an automatic nominate I allowed myself last round, and I figured I would also get 1 this round, so. Then I needed an extra 2 because i messed up my counting

So! Competitors and their media under cut

Boober Fraggle from Fraggle rock vs Mr. Oshiro from Celeste

L from Death Note vs Caitlyn Kiramman From Arcane

Kurt Hammel from Glee vs Amir from The two princes podcast

Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie books vs Shang Qinghua from The scum villains self-saving system

Puss and boots from Puss and boots vs The day care attendant from fnaf

Spock from star trek vs The Phantom from phanathan of the opera

Risu Kageyama from Mob pyscho 100 vs Mayoi ayase from Ensemble Star

Sir nighteye from BNHA vs The narrator from The Stanley Parble

Batman from Batman vs Tony Stark from MCU

Sayaka from Madoka Magica vs Petunia from Happy tree friends

Garmadon from Ninjago vs Alzura from ATLA

Sheldon from Big bang vs Chara from undertale

Adora from She-ra vs Konan from Naruto

Aza from Turtles all the way down vs Griffin from Silverwing Books

Beau Finado from CSI: Vegas vs Warren Godby from red valley

Ultra Magnus from transformers vs Sindari from God of war

Silver from Sonic vs Marinette from Miraculous ladybug

Mary Katerin from We have always lived in the castle vs The Spy from Fortess 2

Homura Akemi from Madoka Magica vs Dottore from gensin Impact

Evey Elsen from OFF vs Zane Ro'meave from Mystreet

Yoshikage Kira from Jojo vs Alhaitham from gensin Impact

Double Dee from Ed, edd and Eddy vs The riddler from batman

Arnold Rimmer from Red Dwarf vs Arron from CSI

Harrowhark Nongesimus from the locked tomb series vs Yanfer from Gensin Impact

[celery505]

I’m really not sure what o think about the red dwarf books. (Ive only read part one of infinity welcomes careful drivers) but they’re okay just not very much like red dwarf. The characters and settings are familiar and I do appreciate the darker elements of the book but if you asked someone to read the book before watching the show theyd probably say the only familiar things are the characters.

[kochanski]

Weekly Rewatch/Discussion Thread: S1E1 "The End"

Hi all, this is something I mentioned starting a week or two ago, where we do a community rewatch and discuss an episode every week. If you don't want to see this content, go ahead and blacklist #RDWKD. I'll probably only put this first post in the main tag just to avoid spamming for those who don't want to participate.

I'm going to make a post every Saturday with a list of topics and observations about an episode, and then everyone can respond or talk about their own favorite bits in the replies or by reblogging. So... let's see how it goes!

Suggested topics:

FASHION WATCH: Different variations on the uniform, Lister's Hawaiian shirt, Rimmer's exam jumpsuit with a copious amount of pen holders, the Cat's iconic pink suit

I AM A FISH

Todhunter doing like, every job on the ship: going through McIntyre's notes (apparently he was the one collecting Rimmer's complaints), proctoring the exam, putting Lister in stasis

Lister's relationship with Selby, Petersen, and Chen and parallels with the relationship he forms later on with the Boys from the Dwarf

Kochanski's cute little joke about Lister making Admiral

Rimmer blaming the drive plate accident on Lister for not being there to help him

Lister and Frankenstein and his refusal to give her up since she's part of The Plan; Lister immediately feeding the Cat and insisting he's coming with them back to Earth

[yaminerua]

How are they planning to make a tv show out of pre-accident Rimmer and Lister having shore leave shenanigans on Titan?

I mean maybe a one-off episode or special or something but I still don’t really see the appeal of anything more than that

we know Rimmer and Lister’s dynamic pre-accident from things we’ve seen and been told but I think it’s more interesting to explore where that dynamic has become after everything that has happened to them since the accident

I already mentioned before how Cat (and later Kryten) are important in the way they round off the cast dynamics in the original series so without them you’ve got a Rimmer and Lister who are freshly antagonistic to each other and have none of the later development that will happen to them

and I daresay whoever they recast to play them has a damn-near impossible task of matching Craig and Chris’ portrayals

it’s not like it would be fully impossible but they’re such established characters at this point and the casting was like the planets aligned. Craig elevates Lister from what he was originally meant to be and I think his cheeky charm is what warms you to him, what makes him work where other attempts at playing lister have flopped

and with Rimmer I don’t know how Chris manages it but he plays Rimmer in such a way that even though he’s supposed to be a hugely unlikable bastard of a man you somehow still love him for it anyway. Loveable bastard is a hard target to hit right

maybe it’s just that I’m too fond of them as they are so my expectations are too high but idk

so much about this doesn’t really do anything for me but if it turns out to be ok that’s great but if not idk

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 2 Watanagashi pt. 7

I had typed up a big post of thoughts and theories about things that were eventually proven correct within a couple hours of typing it out. Unfortunately for me my computer decided to blue screen and restarted taking everything I had written to the void. Always save kids. Every time you type anything in a document save it. Otherwise it'll be killed by the capricious whims of the machine.

The main thrust of what I had written was that clearly this is Mion pretending to be Shion, in an effort to show Keiichi her more feminine side. Which seems pretty obvious, even our dumb as a brick protagonist had figured out that much. But also I posited the idea that there is indeed an actual Shion, just that instead of this sweet idealized girl she would actually be a bit of a "cooler" character. Not like in a cold, villainous way (initially), but rather in a James from Twin Peaks, Ace Rimmer "look how cool they are" kind of way.

Is that too obscure of a reference? It's probably too obscure of a reference.

Like, say a gang of obscure martial arts otaku decide to cause a ruckus in this restaurant.

Sometimes I like to just post the lines that amuse me. The meeps, for instance.

Keiichi showing more introspection and inward thinking than a large number of people on the internet unfortunately. You ever look at the conversation regarding most anything on twitter? Ghastly.

That's what it was! I was trying to remember for the life of me what I had written, but I was blanking on it. This interaction here where "Shion" talks about how she got dinged in the head by the riot police was what sealed it for me that while there is definitely a real Shion this Shion is just Mion putting on an act. Because in Onikakushi it's mentioned that Mion had been arrested for civil disobedience multiple times, and that she had led protests against the dam project. There's also the fact that earlier in this chapter Mion herself explicitly says that Shion and the rest of the Sonozaki family lives outside of Hinamizawa. It's just Mion and her grandmother in Hinamizawa itself, so it's crazy that Shion who doesn't live there would've been involved in the protests.

Which then led to me wondering how much of what happened in Onikakushi has happened generally. Obviously the second half of the chapter where Keiichi goes insane with paranoia and murders Rena and Mion doesn't happen. But the dam project still occurred, the murder, and the people who were "demoned away" probably all still happened, Rena going off the rails and smashing her schools windows happened too if I had to guess.

Anyway, after a short version of the Hinamizawa dam incident gets told to us Keiichi is invited by Shion to an all you can eat dessert event. And also a romantic stroll with Shion?

Hell yeah bro. More so the first part than the second, but I'm not much of a drinker.

It's always the relatively innocuous statements that plant the seed of doubt in my head. I'm beginning to suspect that Ooishi might not be such an upright heroic figure as the game claims he ostensibly is. It's never said he's on the up and up, it makes it quite clear he's not exactly an upright and moral policeman, but the first chapter gave the impression that he's generally a good guy. Or that's the trick, and he's actually evil.

Also I don't know how noticeable it is to everyone else who has read this, but there are times the narration switches from a third person voice to a first person one. Whenever the story is following someone not Keiichi it generally uses the third person wording, but sometimes it slips and uses first person language. Part of me wants to assume this is all a part of Ryukishi's wild ride, but really it's probably just a small mistake I'm making a mountain out of.

I've mentioned before that I don't know how much of the TIPs stuff is actually relevant to the ongoing narrative, but this entire sequence with Ooishi really instilled in me the idea that he might be more villainous than the first chapter made him seem. Onikakushi made him seem like he might be a bit underhanded and willing to sacrifice others in his attempt to bring the cult of Oyashiro down. This meanwhile, it starts with him acting in a way that's more defensive of the delinquents who were getting surrounded by the townspeople of Hinamizawa, but really starts to impart a sense that this is all just sort of a game to him. He seems more than willing to sacrifice these kids when it becomes clear he won't be getting anything out of them. Especially the part where the other officers seem to act as his henchmen when they tried to leave.

So yes to be clear my theory stands that everyone except for Keiichi might be the villains of this entire story. Even then I'm not a hundred percent sold on Keiichi's innocence.

[summery-captain]

AuADHD Traits in Dirk Gently - S1E3 - Rogue Walls Enthusiasts

Hold on thight, this is a much longer one!

S1E1: Horizons

S1E2: Lost and Found

- Farah looks around the “room” she was stuck in previously and looks around intently, then says: “Take me to the house” in a very serious tone. Dirk then looks at Todd and does a thumbs up very enthusiastically while smiling really widely, meanwhile Todd and Farah look very defeated - he has a hard time “reading the room” and reacting “appropriately” due to the misread of tone/situations

 - “I spoke to the police!” (in a tone indicating enthusiasm and importance), “What did they say?”, “...go away.” - trouble with intonation/expressing himself in a way that implies something else.

- “I gave the bad guys my number” “You gave them your number?” “In self defense!” - same as before, his tone indicates purpose to Farah and Todd, and then he explains what he meant and they’re confused. In the same scene, Rimmer’s number is saved as “bad gun man”, which is both funny but also very relatable, because of the hard time we have remembering things, it’s very common for us to save numbers as name + where we know the person from to facilitate identification

*- Farah says in a very stressed out tone, “Everything I own is there [Spring’s mansion], my clothes, my gun-”, giving examples of why it’s important to her to go back there. Dirk immediately replies: “You look good” smiling and in a reassuring tone, misreading Farah’s concern to be about her appearance (more obvious) VS what she means subtextually (her life is in the mansion)

- When Todd freaks out unexpectedly, Dirk gets very startled and looks from Todd to the way Farah went back and forth about four times very quickly - unexpected changes can be very confusing / hard to process 

*-  Right after that, Dirk and Todd have the following dialogue: “Wait a moment!” / “What?” / “Are you… mad at me?” - it’s incredibly hard to read other’s emotions, especially when in relation to us. Dirk takes a moment to check in to clear things up because he isn’t sure where Todd stands about him.

 Then, when Todd answers “Yes– No– I don’t know. I don’t know what I am at you”, Dirk reacts very positively, saying “Good” and patting Todd’s shoulder, immediately running away to Farah after “resolving” the situation and taking Todd’s confusion to be best than a very certain “I’m mad at you” - It can be reassuring to be told someone isn’t angry at us when reading other’s tone and intentions/reactions is so hard, especially from someone who means a lot to us.

  Not a Dirk scene, but something I find important to mention. In between Dirk scenes, we get to see a conversation between Col. Riggins and Friedkin where Riggins says: “Blackwing had one mission: to seek out, codify and collect individuals with sensory perceptive abilities beyond the normal human range”. Meanwhile, Dirk repeatedly states throughout the show and especially to B.W. agents that “This isn’t how it works, this isn’t how I work!” and they never ever take him seriously, believing themselves to know better than the subjects do about themselves and their abilities.

 With that in mind, I draw an important parallel between how Black Wing works and how the ableist medical community works, specially in the timeframe where Dirk would have been in when he was in being held by them - With blackwing being created in 1988, the general belief that Dirk is in his 30s, and Dirk being one of the original subjects, that places his captivity in the 80s-00s, being there from about age 5 until 12 years old and getting out in 2000, because with the show happening in 2016, and when Riggins confronts him at the Ridgley Dirk says: It’s been 16 years, that’s a general timeline. 

 TRIGGER WARNING FOR FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH: ABLEISM, THERAPY TO “CURE” US

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 All of this to say that the way Black Wing is shown to operate both in S1 and S2, with tests, general subhuman conditions, “exposure” therapy, electric shocks, cruel testing and impossible standards, I see a very big connection with how some facilities and programs conduct behavioral “therapy” towards autistics, now too but even more so in the timeframe Dirk was a subject originally. The similarities, albeit in a very sci-fi esque aesthetic so to speak, are clear between black wing’s “program” and ABA “therapies”/Experiments/”Research”.

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Continuing on, Farah and Dirk going to the Spring mansion:

- Dirk doesn’t swing his arms when he’s walking, very common in autistic people and neurodivergent people in general because of our commonly comorbid lack of motor skills + different center of balance from neurotypicals which means we don’t usually need to move our arms when walking to “balance out” our leg movements because we also tend to walk differently.

*- “You’ve never met him” / “Yes, he seems like someone I’ve never met” - Very funny line but also very relatable when you realize Dirk constantly makes “small talk” by stating the obvious.

- “Isn’t that… Interesting”, Says Spring’s lawyer, to which Dirk promptly replies: “I get that a lot” - I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told the exact same thing or similar stuff, whether neurotypicals consciously realize this or not they seem to pick up very quickly we’re not like them on a very fundamental basis and WILL give backhanded compliments such as saying we’re interesting or quirky or anything like that. It took me a WHILE to realize this is what was happening and that they usually never mean it in a positive way.

*- When Spring’s lawyer gives Farah the letter saying that Spring instructed him to only give it to Farah when in the presence of someone named Dirk Gently, he says “Well it’s lucky I’m here then!” in a very chipper tone.

 Then, when Farah is having a breakdown and tell him she didn’t think he was still in the room, he says “Why would I leave the room? All of the good stuff is happening in here!”, and only THEN does he pay closer attention to how Farah is and asks “Were you and Patrick… close?” - He has a really hard time “reading the room” as I’ve said, and specially in relation to things that he considers more “obvious” like the case he’s working on. 

 AND THEN, when Farah says she is a bunch of negative things, Dirk goes, tentatively, “No, no, listen, you’re only SOME of those things” and she reacts by letting out a scream and sitting down forcefully, and he becomes even more unsure of how to act, starts trembling and pats Farah’s shoulder and then pokes it, gives up and sits down next to her. - It’s very hard to comfort people when you have a hard time reading other’s emotions, and I think that although Dirk didn’t do a very good job on comforting Farah he did try his best in a confusing situation to him, and ended up helping her nonetheless, taking us to:

*- “I don’t know anything, ever. It’s really quite relaxing. It’s how I work, I..follow fate around. It’s how I found you.” - there is a LOT of freedom in accepting you’ll most likely never have the in’s and out’s of reading others and that you can really only try your best in navigating life without having all the pieces other’s seem to have access to.

- When Farah opens the envelope Spring left her Dirk YOINKS it from her, then when he reads the “You” says “This doesn’t look like you, he’s got the hair all wrong!” - very funny moment and also shows two traits: impulsivity and literal thinking.

*- When they’re trying to follow the map, he nervously follows Farah around in the most autistic way of walking ever, it’s so relatable it’s comical honestly, the slight tip toeing, swinging side to side, just !!! he’s just like us fr

*- Farah starts analyzing the wall and he goes on a rant trying to figure out what she’s doing, interpreting the way she’s acting very literally, “It’s a wall.. Did he enjoy walls? Did ever mention a LOVE for walls-” and immediately SCREAMS and jumps backwards when Farah makes a loud noise by breaking the fake wall down with the iron, trembling the whole time - sound seems to be one of his most intense sensory triggers.

*- “How… did you do that?” / “With my hand!” - He’s SO literal I love him

*- “Dirk? I’m starting to think you’re actually a pretty good detective” - his face goes, rapidly: happy, proud, he shakes his head, aloof, uncaring.   Dirk frequently schools his expressions out, trying to make the “correct” face in regards to the situation at hand, which shows two different things: he has a hard time figuring out right away which one is the “correct” expression AND he has been conditioned to think his initial reactions are always wrong/unnaceptable.

*- When Todd reaches Amanda after running to her house, he says “Dirk doesn’t know anything. In fact, the amount of things he doesn’t know are stupefying” - slightly ableist although it makes sense within context where Dirk knows a lot of things about “random” or seemingly (to others) unimportant stuff but has a hard time with “simple” (to others) concepts/things

- Autistic funny AND sarcastisc moment when Dirk goes “Oh.. is that why you’re here?” when Todd states that this is MY apartment.

- Amanda says, “I don’t go out much”, and Dirk says: “Me neither!” - it’s common for us to not really go out that much because going out can be very overwhelming in many many ways

- When he and Todd have the discussion on the hallway, he’s very direct and vulnerable with Todd, even if he doesn’t know him THAT well, saying “I want your help”, for example, instead of just hinting at it or dancing around the subject just because it’s a hard one - we’re often direct with our intentions/feelings

- As he goes downstairs after convincing Todd to help him and to get the everbulb from his car, he does a little celebration by jumping a bit and pumping his fists, which isn’t NECESSARILY a stim but could be read as one! - stim: from “stimulation”, when we do repetitive things based on the major five senses to express happiness and also regulate our emotions, like jumping or singing for example.

- When confronted by Riggins and Friedkin he has a ‘slight’ meltdown and after getting tackled holds onto the stairwell’s bars, shaking. - I do know it’s a common reaction given the situation but also fits pretty well with mine and other autistic people’s experience in regards to what our specific reactions to overwhelming situations can look like.

As always thank you for reading and let me know if you want to be tagged in future posts/When I make the masterpost after finishing all of the episodes! I took a long time from E2 to this one because I changed jobs and had a really hard time adapting but am now more stable and have a bit more of free time!

 Tagging: @clockworkcheetah @urlocallesbiab @generalized-incompetence @amber-angel @silverhardt @weiwuxiankinnie