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sleezeboss · 1 year

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2022 Art Summary and Thoughts

stealing this from a mutual- just wanted to reflect on the art I’ve made this year, what I’ve learned, and where I’d like to see myself go from here.

The end of the year is weird for me, artistically. I always slow down with art and get really immersed in family, holidays, and my life outside of art. And because I’m not cranking out art 7 days a week, it skews my view of my output and self worth, and it makes me end the year feeling like I’ve quit art, like I haven’t made anything, like it’s time to hang up my hat and move on or something.

But! When I stop being dramatic for like 5 seconds, I can see that that’s not true at ALL, and in actuality, in the last year, I’ve made some incredibly profound strides with my art that I am so excited to carry into the next year.

I’m hoping that sitting down and contemplating these strides will help solidify them and make them more tangible to me.

So let’s dive in!

At the beginning of 2022, I had a LOT of fun reacquainting myself with Ren and Stimpy. I started rewatching it on a whim while working out one day, having not watched the show since I was.... 6? and was instantly transported to a world of inspiration and love for my art and art-making that I hadn’t experienced for some time. The expressions, dynamism, and sheer energy of that show reminded me a lot about what I love most about my art. I felt encouraged to pursue my strengths, rather than constantly focusing on what I need to improve or need to change about my art. And I felt it blossom. I made some pieces I really loved in 2022, and I hope to continue with that energy and love for my own work that keeps art-making enjoyable and meditative for me.

These were all expression studies of screencaps from Ren and Stimpy episodes. I got ADDICTED to seeing my boys with these big, bold expressions.

This is the screenshot that kicked it all off lmao. This unlocked something so crazy in me.

This was me taking a stab at pulling expressions from my head, no reference.

After that, during the summer, I took a 6 week animation course through Animation Mentor, an online school. I loved it so much, that as soon as it finished, I immediately signed up for a second course that started not even 2 weeks after. Not to be dramatic, but no joke? For the first time in my artistic journey, I felt capable and confident about animating. It was the first time in my life that 2D animation was actually presented to me in an accessible (and achievable!!) manner. I have ALWAYS struggled with animating. I love it so much! I am a cartoon fanatic and Disney animation enthusiast at heart, and to love something so deeply and to only be mediocre at it at best can really be hurtful and demoralizing, but! These two animation courses really helped rewrite that narrative for me.

This was my second-to-last assignment, the floursack test.

This was my final assignment for my first course, 2D animation for beginners. A head-turn.

Moving into the new year, I would really like to see myself animate more. Making several small, 2-3 second animations and getting the practice in, building up a personal portfolio of animation is something I really want to see for myself. I want to see my characters live and breath, god damnit!!

Animating inspired me to make some style guides for my boys, rather than ref-sheets. I think ref sheets can become outdated quickly as your style adapts and changes, but a style guide, one typically used by animators, is a great guideline for keeping characters consistent. I thought that would be very useful for me, so I made one for Rex and Bub, naturally.

In the fall, I finally finished a mini comic I had started earlier in the year, Belphi’s New Pussy.

(cropped for NSFW material)

Comic-making was admittedly hard for me last year. I think graduating from my iPad to a new tablet set-up and learning CSP from scratch really shook my artistic confidence and motivation for comic making. All last year, I was beating myself up about not working on chapter 5 of Badbeat, so I am amazed and proud that I was able to get BNP out. Not only did I get it out, but it ended up being one of the most successful posts of my twitter career lmao. I’m really happy with how it looks, but I think it’s becoming clear to me that that level of comic polish is not sustainable for more than 1 chapter a year. If I want to finish Badbeat in my life time, I’m gonna need to simplify my process. Maybe even keep it to my iPad. Something about drawing and sketching is easier on my iPad, whereas the actual comic formatting can be done in CSP. I’m obviously still trying to learn my optimal workflow for efficiency, speed, and sanity haha.

In the comic year, I really would like to get chapter 5 out. That is my comic goal for the new year.

All and all, it has been a really productive year artistically. I feel like quantity-wise I have produced less than maybe the year prior, but I think the things I DID produce have been profound. Pushing Bub and Rex’s designs and expressions has been profound. Taking the steps to learn animation has been profound. Making a comic entirely in a new program that I have owned for less than a year is profound.

I am very proud of myself and can’t wait to see what the new year has in store!

#2022 art wrap #2022 art summary #blog #art blogging

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proadhog · 9 months

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Struggling with Art: Proadhog's POV

I'm not good with titles

I've been struggling with changing from traditional art to digital for a long time. First I tried with a screenless tablet, which was a terrible experience. Look, I'm a gamer, I have a good eye-hand coordination but dear god it was so bad.

Then I got one with a screen but it still wasn't really working for me. I just couldn't do what I imagined and I got demotivated. Sometimes I tried but failed again so I put it away, pouting. Watched countless videos, tips and tricks, tried some of them but still the results were far from expected.

Then I came across 2 yt channels, which I really recommend:

Jeremy from Light Ponderings and Sam from SamDoesArt

Jeremy awakened my interest in lighting and offered useful and fun excercises where I could start without pressure. (I've figured that my problem is expecting perfection every time I try something, but that is another story). Sam is hilarious with good advices, fun to watch.

So I started with a simple excercise: draw and egg. BUT. it wasn't really about to get the shape right, but to find the colors and the lights without cheating with the eyedropper tool. It is harder than you think! Well, it was for me at least. But it was fun! I was motivated again! And I did some more studies!

Yeah, the colors are muted, the edges aren't so crisp, but I did something and I enjoyed. And it looked far better than my previous tries.

Life got busy and I stopped. I still collected images for later use, but every time I scrolled through them I felt they are all too complex and challanging. I had to figure out something. "Draw what you love" is an advice I heard a lot, but e.g. drawing characters is a big big no for me (at least for now).

Then I came across Blade Runner 2049, for about the 100th time, but this time I looked at it differently. I loved it already (one of my fav, that's why the 100th time), but this time I saw the mastery behind lighting and cinematography, and I thought... that's what I want to draw.

It really gave the push I needed:

- I can rewatch again for screencaps

- I can/try to draw the screencaps

- I can listen to the soundtrack while doing it

I already have a lot of images to draw but I only rewatched 20 minutes maybe? Anyway, I wanted to start with really easy things, so I don't get overwhelmed, but...

...way harder than expected. I suffered for an hour or so, I even cheated with the color of the tree (eyedropper) and I was still soooo far that I left it. BUT, this time, I had so much more to work with, the failure didn't hurt my soul that much.

Then these came:

Now I see many problems with them, but I was quite happy when I finished each one. I started using hard edged brushes got a bit braver, but forgot to use sketches and it shows 😀 but the aesthetics are quite similar so it's a win for me!

Anyway, my post is about encouraging other begginers to keep working, even though it is hard sometimes and you feel you've failed with a piece. It is all about learning and having fun. Draw/paint what you really like, challange yourself but take baby steps, set achievable goals.

I don't have any technical advice other than check the yt channels above. And do sketches before you get lost in a piece :D

I wish your next piece of art to be fun and an improvement to your prevoius works! ❤️

#if you have advice i'd be happy to hear them out #personal post #digital art #blade runner 2049 #q

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xionspeed · 6 years

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#house md #hilson #gregory house #james wilson #hugh laurie #robert sean leonard #my gifs #3x02 #i legitimately cried while making this #the way wilson just says that #god and i had to rewatch it to take screencaps #imagine me half sobbing pressing buttons making the gif #all while crying

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mikiruma-art · 4 years

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5 2 20 - 5 3 20

meet me on down at the chez perez! (original screens under the cut)

🏆 commissions 🥊

#my art #digital #digital art #homestar runner #strong bad #human au #screencap redraw #scars -#bare chest -#alcohol -#god this is.. actually one of my favorite toons. idk what it is. i keep rewatching it #also i had a third one saved but these first two took WAY too long to make so take them!!!!#i'll try and finish that & post it when its done. i promise this human au isnt just gonna be homestar and sb. i super promise

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frodo-sam · 3 years

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can I request a gifset of sam affirming his love/loyalty to his brother throughout the seasons? :D

if that is too much, maybe a gif/gifset of sam praying (or scenes mentioning he is praying/ trying to ask angels/ gods for help)

Thank you!

look, I LOVED your requests! I did the second gifset you asked, the one about sam and faith, I hope you like it!

the other one, of sam and dean, I'll do it later. it will require more time for me to choose the scenes and episodes, so it will take longer, but I'll do it! I really enjoyed this request.

btw I'm sorry for the delay, I rewatched the first seasons of spn some time ago and I had already chosen a lot of scenes, but I accidentally deleted my screencaps folder :) I needed some courage to start all over again fjksjkds sorry

#mydetested #asks #thanks for sending a message ♥

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twobrokenwyngs · 4 years

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1/4 YEAH SO LIKE. YEAH. i watched all 8 eps yesterday and i'mmmmmmm. yes. heavily compromised. i have never before experienced even a glimmer of horniness about Mr MM, but i guess all it took was making him a vile junkie with long hair, which is so painfully on brand for me... #embarrassing. i kind of wish i'd bothered to take screenshots and make gifs while i was watching so i could pull receipts on myself but i guess i'll just have to rewatch it oh no!

2/4 bc i was in literal tears for half of it due to extreme thirst. all his Looks are so so on point, and i mean miserable 2012 alcoholic is obvs top of the heap but also?? his tight little everything in 95 and the whole wifebeater + re-burgeoning substance dependency in 02, my god. AND HIS VOICE. oh my god. his Voice :((((((((( and the way he smokes D: i’ve never seen someone handle a cigarette like that, truly groundbreaking

¾ UGH and the thing about his horrible 2012 vibe is that he’s tragic and miserable and On The Edge, but then he cleans up so fuckin nice once marty shows up and they’re back on the job?? hrrrrgh. i did take one (1) screencap that maybe i’ll tag you in or something bc i can’t just send it to you but he’s so fuuuuuucking hot that i cram my whole fist down my throat every time i look at it. NOT TO MENTION his whole energy + henley when they’re in the storage locker, P L S. PLEASE!!!!

4/4 AND okay obvs he’s a terrible edgelord who needs thirty years of therapy but like…. he’s right about everything?? ugh i hate myself for saying it but do u think my magical healing vaj could fix him? anyway i can’t believe MM had this within him. people have been saying for years he’s a good actor and i was like yeah okay whatever but uhhhhh. i guess they were right?? and i guess marty’s okay lol. i have to admire his sheer unstoppable horniness! hashtag relatable, my man.

okay listen at this point i’ve replied privately bc the whole world doesn’t need my rambling thoughts about all of this but I still wanna share it bc TD fans will most certainly enjoy the fuckin ride that is this review of a first timer’s experience

#true detective #thats it i just thought my TD mutuals would enjoy this #trillgutterbug #bc yeah this is THE EXPERIENCE okay #anyway we're working on her appreciation of marty #never fear

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razberryyum · 4 years

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The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 15

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 57 and 58]

Yunmeng pain meter: 🔪🔪🔪🔪🔪 out of a possible 10 🔪

(no WangXianness to measure, so I’m counting knives instead)

I’m going to be honest: the next couple of episodes are NOT my favorites in the series. First of all, there’s the almost unrelenting Yunmeng pain we’re subjected to, followed by that weirdness in Yiling (which I will get into when I get there) and then there’s even more pain. Not to mention, Lan Zhan’s pretty much MIA during this episode and the next three, and while it’s understandable why he’s not involved, I still really felt his absence and missed him a lot. As a result, I kind of dragged my heels on getting to this episode during this rewatch since I wanted to give myself some time to prepare for the arduous emotional turmoil that lied ahead. Stupidly, as a means of procrastination, I decided to read “The [Dumb] Husky and his White Cat Shizun” (aka 2HA/二哈和他的白猫师尊) by Meatbun Does Not Eat Meat, thinking that it would perhaps provide me with a bit of levity before I delved into all the Yunmeng pain. Oh my God, was THAT a WRONG decision. HORRIBLY WRONG. It was equivalent to me choosing to jump into the hot oil in order to escape from the frying pan...so now the frying pan isn’t looking too bad anymore. Here’s the thing, I had not read any spoilers about 2HA, only heard that it was really good, and I figured, it had to at least be less painful than MXTX-laoshi's Heaven Official’s Blessing (aka TGCF/天官赐福) because I DID hear how painful that is, so even though TGCF is also in my queue, I figured, I’ll read 2HA first to alleviate my mood. I am literally still trying to recover from the emotional scars that 2HA left in my poor weak heart. Seriously, Meatbun-laoshi owes me 300 more chapters of bliss to make up for all that suffering. It’s not that MXTX-laoshi didn‘t leave scars on my heart—I have plenty from MDZS/The Untamed too, and to a lesser degree from Scum Villain as well—but I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that 2HA left two-fold the amount of both of them combined. I shudder to think what TGCF is going to do to me since I’ve been told in terms of devastation it’s even worse than MDZS and SVSSS, but I’m not sure how it ranks next to 2HA. Just to be on the safe side, I definitely don’t think I’m going to touch that novel until I’ve finished crying through The Untamed all over again.

And wow did I cry a lot during this episode, and it’s only the start of the Yunmeng pain. I chose to highlight the scene above where Madame Yu bitch-slaps the shit out of Wang Lingjiao because it’s really the only jovial-adjacent moment in this episode and the next ones. The first time I saw this scene, I laughed my ass off and cheered out loud since Madame Yu was doing what I pretty much wanted to do to Wang Lingjiao since back in the Xuanwu of Slaughter’s cave when she branded Wei Ying. But now, it doesn’t bring me as much joy as it did when I watched it for the first time, knowing that it is the essential domino that gets knocked over which lead to the subsequent cascade of events that brought about the near-obliteration of the Yunmeng Jiang sect, the deaths of Mama and Papa Jiang, all the emotional and physical suffering that the three Yunmeng siblings experience, and of course the drastically different and ultimately tragic turn that Wei Ying’s life takes. So even though the bitch-slap scene still makes me smile, it mostly fills me with dread now, especially because of how quickly things take a turn for the worse. Of course I wish Madame Yu had succeeded in murdering every Wen sect member in that room, that Wang Lingjiao didn’t get a chance to summon Wen Zhuliu or succeed in sending that signal to bring Wen Chao and the wrath of the Wen sect down upon the Yunmeng Jiang sect. But perhaps what is the saddest aspect of the whole thing is, even if none of that happened, that STILL doesn’t mean the Jiangs and the rest of the sect would have escaped their destiny because there was no way Wen Chao or even Wen Ruohan would have let them get away with killing Wang Lingjiao and Wen sect members. So the destruction of the Yunmeng sect was inevitable sooner or later. More importantly, if the events didn’t lead to Wei Wuxian losing his golden core, getting thrown in the Burial Mounds, and practicing demonic cultivation, then the Wen sect’s rule over the cultivation world, and maybe even the world in general, would’ve been absolute and undeterred since the Sunshot Campaign was pretty much won because of Wei Ying. So basically, there is no way to escape horror and tragedy: no matter what line of dominoes got knocked over, they all eventually lead to an abyssmal pit of misery.

So Many Tears

Really I should just go through this episode by tracking the amount of times I teared up or straight up just cried, starting with this moment:

Seeing Madame Yu whip Wei Ying just made my heart ache so much: it’s one of my least favorite scenes of the entire show; so much so that this might be only the second time I’ve watched this moment all the way through. Actually, I can probably say the same about this episode and the next one as well: I think this is only the second time that I’ve been able to sit through these episodes from beginning to end since the first time I watched them. What makes this scene especially sad for me is the uncertainty of whether or not Madame Yu was just whipping Wei Ying for show and took no pleasure in it, or did she secretly relish this opportunity because she disliked Wei Ying that much. Considering their history, it’s hard not to believe that it’s probably mostly the latter. And while I want to think that she would have felt bad about cutting off Wei Ying’s hand, the unfortunate truth is that I’m sure she would’ve gotten over that pretty quickly. If it wasn’t for Wang Lingjiao bringing up the matter of turning their home into a supervisory office for the Wen Sect, Wei Ying definitely would have lost that hand, that was pretty clear. It’s rather disheartening that Madame Yu didn’t even try to talk Wang Lingjiao out of that punishment. I remember wishing that at the last minute she would come around and ask for mercy on Wei Ying’s behalf, even though that would have been out of character for her. So while her compliance wasn’t unexpected, it was still disappointing at the same time because if it had been Jiang Fengmian, no doubt SOME attempt would’ve been made to save Wei Ying’s hand. But at the end of the day, that’s unfortunately the nature of Wei Ying’s relationship with Madame Yu, which to me is one of her biggest flaws as a person. I love her overall, I think I’ve made that pretty clear, but her inability to forgive the existence of this orphan and accept him as one of her own is really her most upsetting trait, because even though she’s constantly arguing with her husband, she obviously does love and care about him.

I actually thought this was a really sweet moment since it plainly showed how much Madame Yu cared about Jiang Fengmian, even though she would never admit so in front of everyone, and I love the “kids” reaction. They’re probably used to scenarios like this so their little smiles just made the moment cuter and more real.

Even though what we’ve seen of the interactions between the Jiang parents was usually contentious, I appreciate the fact that we also got some sweetness like this moment, even though it also made me sad that they couldn’t be more loving to each other because Madame Yu couldn’t get over her own petty jealousy over a dead woman. I actually teared up during the scene when her Zidian transferred over to her husband right after Jiang Fengmian clearly expressed his doubt it would answer to him.

To me, this moment really encapsulated how disharmonious their relationship was, how out of sync they were as a couple. Even though Madame Yu clearly loved her husband enough to grant him ownership of her most prized sentient weapon, she never told him and he himself had NO IDEA of his wife’s feelings for him whatsover to the point that he didn’t even think the weapon would respond to him. There’s just something so sad about that whole scenario that it literally makes my heart ache for the Jiangs. I really wish there had been more understanding, communication and forgiveness in their marriage, and less jealousy, resentment and obstinacy. It wouldn’t have changed their fates, but at least their time together would have been happier and their family life would’ve been more joyful and peaceful.

Even More Tears for Wei Wuxian

My heart really broke for Wei Ying during both Madame Yu and Jiang Fengmian’s farewell scenes with their children because of how obviously different they treated him compared to Jiang Cheng and Shijie. I think when this episode first aired, I had only started reading the novel so I didn’t know just how bitter Madame Yu felt towards Wei Ying; therefore, when I initially watched this moment, I was actually holding on to the hope that at the last minute, she would come around and even if she did not give him a hug then perhaps at least she would soften up a little towards him.

Of course that was super crazy wishful thinking on my part, and honestly considering how this was the last time she would ever see Wei Ying again—this boy whom she more or less watched grow up into a man—she was pretty fucking brutal. The contrast between her attitude toward her son and Wei Ying almost took my breath away. I can only imagine Wei Ying probably never felt more unloved and like a servant than in that moment. Just looking at the screencap right now is making my eyes well up again for him. He looked so HURT.

Not to mention, her last words to Wei Ying really is pretty devastating, considering how momentous a catalyst it ended up being. He essentially gave up his life and future because of her words. And it’s not that Wei Ying wouldn’t have sacrificed himself for Jiang Cheng anyway, but I’m sure her words, and Jiang Fengmian’s shortly after, is what drove him on to make the decision he did at Yiling, which lead to just about every tragic event in this first lifetime afterwards.

Speaking of Jiang Fengmian’s farewell, it also made my heart hurt so much for Wei Ying because even though Papa Jiang’s good-bye was much more warm and gentle than Madame Yu’s, if there ever was even a smidgen of suspicion in Wei Ying’s mind that the rumors of him being Jiang Fengmian’s illegitimate child were true, his final parting words and gesture to him compared to how he is with Jiang Cheng and Shijie had to have put that thought to rest.

There was no tender face touching, just a good old shoulder grab followed by instructions to take care of his two children. I know the argument would be, well, Jiang Cheng and Shijie ARE his actual biological children, why wouldn’t Jiang Fengmian be more affectionate towards them in their final time together? Very valid, of course, but I guess I was also hoping his actions wouldn’t be any different among the three of them because he seemed to have really loved Wei Ying as well, to the degree that both his son and wife got jealous of his seeming favoritism. If only Madame Yu was also present to see this moment, she would probably realize all her jealous accusations and suspicions over the years really were utterly stupid and pointless.

They Cry, I Cry

I would have to be a monster to NOT cry during this scene. I was a sobbing mess, and really. I don’t think I’ll ever not be one during this scene no matter how many times I watch it. Frankly, I don’t even want to see it again after this time because it’s just too unbelievably sad. This whole episode really drains me, and yet I know the worst is yet to come.

Ode to Jin Zhu and Yin Zhu

These two ladies who are essentially Madame Yu’s right and left hands barely had any screen time or dialogue, but they more than made their mark with what they little had. Just by their defiant attitudes and the way they stood up to Wang Lingjiao, they were able to successfully convey both their status in the Jiang household and their strength of character. I really loved the economy and effectiveness of their brief time on-screen. Talk about making every single second count. Not to mention, they were able to hold off Wen Zhuliu long enough to allow their mistress to properly say good-bye to her son, and that is definitely no small feat to accomplish. I wish we had more time with them but I do believe these two loyal attendants deserve some solid recognition and accolades.

I Hate This Asshole

I wish the Wens had killed this SOB too when they obliterated his sect. I don’t dislike Jin Guangyao or Xue Yang, but I absolutely dislike Sect Leader Yao.

VOMIT

I HATE everything about this scene, and to be honest, I hate just about every scene involving Wen Ruohan in his throne room. The performance by Xiu Qing is just so horrible that I truly don’t understand WHY they gave him so much more screen time since that’s not how it was in the novel at all. I think Wen Ruohan only popped up twice in the source material, with the second time being his death scene. I know this was probably Team CQL’s way of extending the episode count but man was Wen Ruohan poorly cast. Why couldn’t they find someone closer to his donghua counterpart? Instead we’re stuck with this greasy old man who overacts in every single freaking scene he’s in. I’m not familiar with this actor’s work, I looked him up and I don’t think I’ve seen most of the shows he’s in so if he’s actually a well-respected veteran actor or something like that, and that’s why they expanded his role in The Untamed, then, wow, I’m sorry, I am just not a fan at all. As for the other crap going on in that throne room, don’t even get me started on those shitty Yin Metal zombies. So. Damn. CRINGEY. Everything about these Qishan scenes are really a big blemish on the show.

Questions I Still Have

Don’t really have any...really too sad to think.

Overall Episode Rating: 7 Lil Apples out of 10

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legobiwan · 4 years

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Holy crap, you guys

I finally finished watching Psych

Okay, so I was not at all expecting to get so emotionally involved with this show. I mean, it’s technically a murder-of-the-week format, nothing innovative on the surface and yet the way it genre-jumped, the amazing humor, the cast chemistry, and the moments of real emotion - it had me hooked

It’s really incredible the way all the characters (and the show itself) change. Shawn goes from being a borderline real dick to a goofy, if ultimately well-meaning person. Gus finds his courage. Lassiter finds his heart. Juliet hardens, but in a good way. And Henry softens just enough. Plus, the show learns as it goes on. Some of the humor is borderline offensive in the earlier seasons (when taken in a 2019 context), especially when it deals with feminism, gender, and sexuality issues, but as social mores changed, the show matured and I really appreciate that.

The episodes that work best for me are the ones that are goofy, but with just enough emotional seriousness that it makes for riveting television. Yes, Shawn and Gus are over-the-top ridiculous, but the issues of family, dating, career, marriage, life regret, etc. are so real and the interplay between zany humor and very subtle pathos is just amazing.

So as someone who goes all-in for family dynamics, I just love the relationship between Shawn and Henry, especially as it’s how the relationship between an adult child and their parent changes with time, how they can see their parent as a human, as fallible, as someone who did the best they couild and maybe that always wasn’t enough.

On the romance side, I wasn’t totally convinced by Juliet and Shawn, but it worked well-enough, although I really would have liked more explanation as to how they got back together in Season 7. The breakup in Deez Nuts and Turn Left or Right for Dead was fantastic, however.

Gods, Shawn. ADHD, always on the run, and a master of deflection when it comes to anything emotionally serious. I feel that in my gut, good god.

There were so many good episodes: Shawn Takes a Shot in the Dark (who doesn’t like a bit of whump, I mean really), Lassie Did a Bad, Bad Thing, the Santabaratown duet (holy shit, Shawn wrecking shit and tacking the safety off the gun that was AWESOME), Mr. Yang Presents (the latter 2 parts of the trilogy were weaker, imo, but the first episode was just so good).

But also, there were some amazing, HILARIOUS moments later on - when Shawn runs for Mayor, Juliet Takes a Luvvah, basically most of Season 5...

On the whole, I think Season 4 was my favorite for the balance of drama and humor, although Seasons 5-7 were by far the funniest. Woody was a fantastic addition to the cast he is so kooky.

One of my few complaints is that Gus and Shawn were a little too goofy in Season 5. They are both intelligent people, and I felt like the pendulum swung a little far into cartoonish behavior for much of Season 5, even though overall it also delivered some of the funniest moments.

Yes, not every episode was great, especially as the show wore on. I personally loved one of the lowest-ranked episodes, Nightmare on State Street, from Season 8, as it was great horror and did a fantastic job of portraying a metaphor for anxiety when facing change, even if it is halfway outside of the real timeline. (I also really like the 1967 flashback episode. if for nothing else the Hamlet reference.)

Holy crap the polygraph scene in the Season 6 premiere was intense.

The season finale actually had me close to tears when Shawn was addressing Gus through the video. That bit about Shawn being the reason Gus wasn’t further along in his life hit like a brick to the gut.

The show is so rewatchable - funny, intelligent, and just deep enough to hook you in and really think about the relationships between these characters. The episode where Shawn’s mother comes back and admits to having been the one who left - I think that was the first time I really sat up and said, “oh, this is more than just a light-hearted comedy.” Frankly, I was kind of floored by that scene.

Juliet’s character was not always handled well, although she gets a little more complex in later seasons, which I appreciate.

I laughed LOUD at some of the episodes. I mean, I laughed loud at home and like a weirdo while running on the treadmill at the gym.

I’ll probably go back and rewatch some episodes to grab some screencaps, there is comedy gold in the show.

I loved that Gus came so far as a character. Go Gus!

Shawn’s confession to Juliet about his lying was great because he comes off as being a little sociopathic, which is awesome in context. The scene doesn’t forgive him for what he does to her or to Santa Barbara on the whole and I applaud that narrative choice.

Great show, great fun, I want to read and/or write a story where Shawn is forced to be a criminal and work against his friends because that would be aweeeeeeesooooome. 9/10 would definitely watch again and I can’t wait to see what they do with the second movie.

#hello there #rants from the lego compound #legobiwan watches a tv show #psych #my periodic reviews of media i have consumed #alright and now for something completely different #now back to watching hannibal

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frenchtoastpanda · 5 years

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The Leverage finale

Gonna rant in public because @rainaramsay expressed interest. I have no theme this is just my thoughts as I rewatch this episode. Idk why I’m doing this. (Also I don’t know how to format, so sorry about that)

Oh right I forgot that this is a fucking sad episode why am I doing this to myself

Ooh the return of the Steranko! I am very glad they brought that back

I just love when they bring things back in general, like in the white rabbit job all of the companies looking to buy dogson are previous marks and how they have like three brand names for safes that they reuse a lot. It just makes it feel like a real world that people live in.

The theater! Perfect for Sophie! And the mentioned the tunnels, which I believe we encountered in the gold job

Sophie says “I have just the thing” and my immediate response is always “the play’s the thing” even though I know it’s from a different play than the one they are doing

And can we talk about how they are doing the same play as the pilot? Actually I will probably yell about that closer to the end

Parker being all emotionally cognizant and Nate just reciting physics formulas in response

God I love this bit (and I love that they are still including references to Nate’s alcoholism)

Just, Parker, the new mastermind, who doesn’t “let feelings get in the way” (like Hardison - this is the reason he can’t be the mastermind, much to his chagrin. He’s too much of a cinnamon roll)

Nate says she spins problems like puzzle pieces until they click, but I think it’s more like juggling all the fiddly bits inside a lock until it clicks open

HE TRUSTS HER HE TRUSTS HER HE TRUSTS HER!!!!!!!

Zachary is the lead! Love him!

Sophie saying she doesn’t miss acting at all 😏

She is a good director, though

"I'm exactly where I belong" I'm gonna die I am so happy for all of them

Oh no here we go

Cut right to Nate covered in cuts being interrogated about the mistakes he made

"Mr. Ford, how did your friends die?" CUT TO COMMERCIAL

This must have killed me the first time around

I do love this investigator though. I think I remember from the commentary that it wasn't originally supposed to be her, but it worked out really well

Nate looking around like he's confused (and trapped) while not being able to put together a full sentence (I'm not sure if I ever developed a solid headcannon for how much of this scene was him faking and how much was actual injuries from the actual crash) (I'm open to ideas!)

Ellen giving a vicious predatory little smile when she says that she's here to help him

I wish I could do gifs or screencaps or something. This is one of my absolute favorite callbacks! Parker in that little black bonnet thing jumping off a building having the time of her life and the boys do their "twenty pounds of crazy in a five pound bag" thing (whuch my autocorrect recognized as a phrase for some reason? Do I really yell about that but enough for it to suggest those words in that order? Fantastic)

But this time their faces and voices are full of affection. She may be an insane thief/mastermind, but she's OUR insane thief/mastermind

And coming after the white rabbit job where we had that line about how she's not and never has been crazy, the fact that you can tell they are saying this as a callback without meaning the crazy part is just perfect

It makes me wonder how many other times they have repeated this, because you can't convince me they haven't

Aah Sophie's horrible rendition of Lady Macbeth! Same speech, different ways of doing it just as badly (props to Gina Bellman)

Is this the same outfit? Hold on I need to check.

Y'know, I didn't think they changed that much physically over the years, given that they are adults, but going back to the pilot, I keep going awww look how tiny they were! (Especially Aldis. Like I know they had problems because he was getting too hot and ripped, but Damn)

Anyway, the dress is very very similar, same color and pattern, but it very slightly different. I will maybe post my very very horrible pictures after I finish this

Parker is so good at computers now that she has this adorably bored face when hacking! I love that they taught each other their stuff!

Using chaos as a distraction and co-opting the expected response as a cover! One of my favorite tricks!

Parker changing in the elevator! And the boys turning to give her privacy! And this isn't even the first time they did a callback to this! I love my respectful boys! Remember when Hardison turned the David around? So pure!

Ah, we are setting up for competency porn and then it all goes bad! Aah!

I love Eliot's little "wassup?" Before fighting the guy. Points for intimidation, Spencer

My stronk babies opening an elevator with their fingertips

And Hardison's recurrent fear of heights combined with Parker's love of them

She says "I got you" (twice)

Oh god Beth's acting in the elevator shafts

Oh I'm gonna cry

Oh and a "dammit Hardison"

Oh Gina's face

Even in a situation as tense as this, Eliot still takes the time to empty the gus and toss it away

I don't think I've ever seen him check for an ankle piece, actually. How has that not come up before now?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"Age of the geek, brother" I'm sobbing

I mean, so is everybody

Look at this acting!

I love that they didn't go for the clichéd established couple dying in each other's arms, but instead put Eliot in the middle, giving us our yummy hurt ot3 goodness

And Parker sitting up so she sees the other two go

Ugh. Where's that poetic cinéma image when you need it?

Anyone remember the perfectly timed bridge from the pilot?

What number Lucille are they on?

I love that they actually stop in from of the barrier at the bridge, then take a moment to decide before just going for the crazy impossible stunt because why the hell not at this point

Ah Nate and Sophie are holding hands on the way to death too!!

And cut the scene before they reach the top of the bridge. Time to see Tim show us why he's an academy award winner

Ooh and here's where we find out she was lying! (Should this be the part where I started wondering if Nate knew? Probably. Did I? Not even a little)

There was a big twist where the person Nate was facing off against was playing him in the pilot too

But John fucking Rogers didn't play ME in the pilot. I take that personally.

Ooh hints at the true story are being dropped

Ellen is almost adequately suspicious

JUST WALK TWO FEET FORWARD ELLEN! LOOK AT THE STAGE! COME ON!

"You loved them very much" Yeah he did. They all did! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh!

She knows he's lying, I love that (just like Dubenich knew Sophie was manipulating him)

"The only thing I ever had"? That's intense, Nate

God Tim is a good actor

(Like I low-key don't like Nate at all, but Damn he is well acted)

And he just turns it off, just like that

Wow

I am really into her little impressed face when he goes all Sherlock and explains how he knows they are at interpol

The glass! Of course Sterling brings him the glass! Not a pilot callback, but a good callback nontheless. The commentary says it's literally the same exact glass every time. I will have to go back and verify that at some point. I swear it didn't have those ridges around the bottom in at least one episode, but I also trust John Rogers, so idk

I love how sterling knows everything from the moment he appears, and Ellen doesn't even know what the black book is

"That's why you joined Interpol? Screw justice. You're the order guy?" What a good line for Nate and Sterling's relationship

Nate's not even interested in hearing Sterling's evil speech of evil about the bailouts

I actually really love the little exposition flashbacks

Her look of horror and dawning comphrension when he explains why he is there is fantastic. If we bring this show back, can we have more of this lady?

Yeah, Ellen, why IS he still lying to you??

Sterling remembered to be cautious about the coroner's van, but not cautious enough!

That's some timing. How did Nate arrange that ? Oh right, this was triggered by the arrival of the van, which he probably set the timing of

Nate's face after "Parker's still in the server room." Yes, sell that fear to Sterling! Make him believe he's right! I wouldn't have thought to fake a reaction to that. But that's why I'm not a griffer

And he trusted sterling to have a snark remark so that he could have an attention-stealing reaction to distract him

I try every time to see the kids going in, and I never manage to catch all of them

Why does Nate turn away here?

God, that really is a terrifyingly lifelike Hardison face

I gotta say, the first time I saw sterling shoot the Hardison corpse, I was really convinced that he was right and he was really killing Hardison for the first time

"Second question... No, Nate, why don't you tell her what my second question is?"

Honestly, the first time around, I had forgotten about that secret meeting between Nate and Hardison

"The plan's the thing" A callback to earlier in this episode. I'm dying. I love this show so much

And they can do that without being annoying because every leverage episode is like three or four episodes rolled into one. Sometimes more!

That's one of my favorite parts, but also one of the very few downsides

I get so excited watching the flashbacks that show how it all happened

Omg I love the thing where they stack! Parker crouching, Eliot just above her head, Hardison looming tall! It reminds me of the princess bride for some reason

Sterling is the Trojan horse, the way out is the way in...wait, didn't they do that with at least one other episode, where the floor was a horrible way in, but last minute they used it as a way out?

Are these callbacks or parallels at this point?

Sophie taught Nate how to act! "She found her calling." Yeah she did! So proud of her!

"Your ride to a life sentence in a secret prison has arrived" So dramatic for someone who knows Sophie is behind the wheel

Ooooooohhh he called him James!

"You and I are not the same" okay sterling

"Justice is always easy" YES GO STERLING wait that's a callback to the justice vs order thing earlier in this episode. I just got that

I have seen this so many times and I still notice something new every time I watch it

Does John Rogers have a tumblr? I want to tag him but I don't think he does

What is Parker wearing? Why is one sleeve randomly yellow?

I can't believe Nate is proposing in a hoodie

I love how the kids pop in with insults and Nate just agrees. He knows it's true

That's a huge fucking rock

"Did you steal it?" "No." "Oh, cause that would have been more romantic"

"I'll steal the first anniversary ring" lol I love these guys

Parker insists he follow the proper procedure

Oh wait, the ot3 are gonna branch out with other crews?

Y'know, in an alternate universe I could have shipped Eliot and Sophie

GOD

I'M CRYING AGAIN

"You're the smartest man I know" where have we heard that before?

Parker recognizing her feelings! (And they've been preparing her for this the longest)

Aah, the circle shot from above and the breakaway, but this time not everyone breaks away!!!!!!!!!!

"You do know that Laura is not my real name, don't you?" Sophie I'm gonna kill you

And then the big obvious callback to the pilot, where Beth meticulously studied Tim's acting to recreate it

Loving the look of this scene. The costumes, the blocking, all of it

And they made sure to switch which parent was crying

Very excited for leverage international. Gimme!

#leverage #the long goodbye job #meta #leverage meta #it's less a meta and more me screaming #but whatever #hopefully my autocorrect didn't renter this unreadable

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dying-suffering-french-stalkers · 5 years

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Katabasis Patterns in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Or, in which I make use of my official Classics minor (and my unofficial film nerd minor) while ignoring my French major altogether.

Howdy, everyone, and welcome to this week’s episode of Extremely On My Bullshit! Today we’re going to talk at length about how the trip to Davy Jones’ Locker in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End borrows elements from various classical narratives containing a katabasis, or a trip to the Underworld. This will be a slightly Tumblr-ified version of an actual paper I wrote for my Classical Antiquity On Screen final.

Shoutout to this post by @charlesdances, which allowed me to infodump about Hades/Persephone parallels in Barbossa and Elizabeth’s relationship across the trilogy, and to @aye-tortuga for requesting this longer post, which I teased at the end of the aforementioned meta.

Right then, let’s get started! Under a cut to spare your dashes from long post made longer still by screencaps and works cited (yep, it’s that kind of meta). For the purposes of this meta, only the first three Pirates films will be considered canon as the later sequels contradicted elements of the established lore.

I touched on this in the first paragraph, but I’ll begin by defining two words which will appear throughout this meta: katabasis and anabasis. Katabasis and anabasis are Ancient Greek terms which refer to “that narrative . . . that portrays the hero’s descent into, and ascent from, the underworld—the journey to hell” (Holtsmark 25). (If you want to get etymological about it, kata is down, ana is up, and baino comes from the verb meaning “to go [on foot].”)

This katabasis narrative takes place in the first act of At World’s End. If you’ll recall, Dead Man’s Chest ended with Elizabeth chaining Jack to the Black Pearl’s mast: she knew the Kraken was only interested in Jack, so she sacrificed him to give herself and the others a chance to escape. However, at the very end of the film, Elizabeth and the crew of the Pearl pledge to retrieve Jack from his resting place in Davy Jones’ Locker (the Underworld), and Tia Dalma offers both herself and Barbossa as guides to those “weird and haunted shores.”

So, after the cinematic fucking masterpiece that is the opening “Hoist the Colours” sequence (I also wrote a paper on that lol), we find ourselves in Singapore, where Elizabeth, Barbossa, and co. meet with the pirate lord Sao Feng in hopes of obtaining a map to the Locker. The Singapore segment opens with Elizabeth piloting a lone craft along a murky river, evoking images of Charon with his ferryman’s pole:

As she poles the boat along, she sings a pirate tune with decidedly death-centric lyrics, tuning us in to the symbolism and themes at play: “Some men have died and some are alive / Others sail on the sea / With the keys to the cage and the Devil to pay / We lay to Fiddler’s Green.* / The bell has been raised from its watery grave / Hear its sepulchral tone . . .” (*A form of afterlife from maritime folklore)

At the end of this scene, we see something odd: Tia Dalma dressed as a blind organ grinder.

Plot-wise, this serves to divert the colonial soldiers’ attention from the pirates’ activity, but metaphorically, here she represents the blind seer Tiresias, whom Odysseus encounters when he first enters the realm of Hades (Odyssey 11.187-149).

When the pirates meet Sao Feng, the imagery starts to mix a little. The filmmakers present Sao Feng in a somewhat Hades-esque (Hadean?) manner (steam, flames, and warm tones, with a skylight to imply subterranean depths):

However, while he is a powerful figure, he does not keep the Underworld itself (that duty falls to Jones); he merely keeps the knowledge of its entrance. Barbossa attempts to gain this knowledge by presenting Sao Feng with a silver coin: a reminder of his duty as Pirate Lord as well as another Charon parallel. Barbossa’s tactic does not work, but like in the previous scene, the imagery prepares viewers for the descent to come.

After getting Sao Feng’s navigational charts another way, the pirates’ journey to the underworld continues in earnest. When Will expresses doubt about their path, Barbossa nearly quotes the Aeneid outright: “Trust me, young Master Turner: it’s not gettin’ to the Land of the Dead that’s the problem; it’s gettin’ back.” This echoes the Cumaean Sibyl’s famous words to Aeneas: “Easy is the descent to [the Underworld]: night and day the door of gloomy Dis stands open; but to recall one’s steps and pass out to the upper air, this is the task, this the toil!” (Aeneid 6.126-129, tr. H.R. Fairclough). Aeneas, guided by the Sibyl, passes through the mouth of a cave as part of his descent (“A deep cave there was, yawning wide and vast, of jagged rock” (Aeneid 6.237-238, cf. 6.262-263, tr. Fairclough)); likewise the pirates, guided by Barbossa and the charts, pass through a cave as they travel into stranger climes:

(Buuuut to be fair, this one is possibly just incidental or else more of a reference to Gustave Doré’s art for Rime of the Ancient Mariner rather than a reference to any specific classical text. Doré’s artwork is used elsewhere in PotC, so it’s prolly just aesthetic. Also caves are cool and the ultimate symbolic doorway.)

Next they come to a distant, shadowy realm with a misty sky and a sea tranquil enough to reflect starlight:

Again, this could also be incidental (and/or just a really cool homage to the sailing-to-the-moon scene in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)), but it does have a classical counterpart: “The ship took us to the deep, outermost Ocean / And the land of the Cimmerians, a people / Shrouded in mist. The sun never shines there [...] Nor bathes them in the glow of its last golden rays; / Their wretched sky is always racked with night’s gloom” (Odyssey 11.14-19).

Both of these qualities—the cave and the darkness—fit Holtsmark’s observations on katabatic patterns: “The entryway to the other world is often conceived as lying in caves or grottoes or other openings in the earth’s crust into the nether regions, such as chasms or clefts. . . . The lower world is generally dank and dark, and the journey usually takes place at dusk or during the night” (Holtsmark 25).

At last, the pirates’ ship goes over the edge of an enormous waterfall and the screen fades to black. Voices from the original Pirates of the Caribbean theme park ride echo over the dark screen, ending with the ominous phrase “Dead men tell no tales.” However, we shall soon see this proved very wrong, for the pirates encounter several souls with tales to tell. As for these nameless voices, they may represent multitudes of “bloodless shades” (Metamorphoses 10.42) left to languish in other parts of the Locker/Underworld.

At this point, the narrative cuts from the pirate band to Jack in Davy Jones’ Locker. Jack warrants special punishment from Jones for disobeying the rules of a bargain they’d once struck (*yells forever about the good parts of The Price of Freedom and the crimes wrought by the DMTNT retcons*). Jack’s own special hell, recalling the punishments of Tantalus and Sisyphus (Odyssey 11.611-629), does include his beloved Black Pearl (explicitly stated, by Jack himself, to be a symbol of personal freedom), but now it rests completely beached upon an endless, windless salt flat. Jack is utterly alone in this wasteland, save for a crew of his own imaginary doppelgängers.

(I’m gonna be real with y’all: I don’t care for this scene at all and it brings the narrative to a screeching halt, so let’s just take a moment to angstily reflect on how profoundly this affects Jack-the-character’s psyche/mental state for the rest of the film and move on to better things. God bless RPers and fic writers who deal with this scene and its effects in a deliciously Watsonian way.)

Tia Dalma/Calypso’s crabs eventually come to bear both captain and ship back to the sea. This could be seen as classical-type divine aid/favoritism (a semi-literal deus ex machina) or as awkward, oh-no-what-do-we-do-now screenwriting, take your pick. The crabs take Jack and the Pearl directly to the rest of the pirates, who have washed up on the Locker’s desolate shore. In a twist on the classical formula, Jack initially thinks his rescuers the dead ones as they recount their past experiences. Additionally, Jack represents a sort of Eurydice figure as the dead-in-need-of-rescuing, while his Orpheus, Elizabeth, is ironically the one who “killed” him in the first place. All the pirates (Jack included) finally set sail in the freed Black Pearl and attempt to escape this Underworld: the anabasis has begun.

On their way out, when the sky grows dark, the crew encounter scores upon scores of shades floating aimlessly upon the sea:

This parallels Odysseus’ experience (“Then out of Erebus / The souls of the dead gathered / . . . They drifted up to the pit from all sides / With an eerie cry, and pale fear seized me” (Odyssey 11.34-35, 40-41)) as well as that of Aeneas (“Hither rushed all the [ghostly] throng, streaming to the banks . . . They stood, pleading to be the first ferried across, and stretched out hands in yearning for the farther shore” (Aeneid 6.305, 313-314)). Tia Dalma reveals that long ago, Calypso had charged Davy Jones “to ferry those who died at sea to the Other Side,” but he has since abandoned his duty, hence his current eldritch appearance. This explicitly posits Jones as a failed psychopomp who has now left these souls stranded like the unburied men of the Odyssey and Aeneid.

The crew leave these shades in peace until Elizabeth spots a familiar face: her father.

At this point I must ask you to rewatch this scene so you can fully appreciate the parallels without me including a lengthy transcript in this already long post.

This scene comes directly from classical literature, as both Odysseus and Aeneas encountered dead parents in the Underworld. Odysseus saw his mother: “. . . At once / She knew me, and her words reached me on wings: / ‘My child, how did you come to the undergloom / While you are still alive? It is hard for the living / To reach these shores. There are many rivers to cross, / Great bodies of water, nightmarish streams, / And Ocean itself, which cannot be crossed on foot / But only in a well-built ship’” (Odyssey 11.151-158). Like Elizabeth, Odysseus had no prior knowledge of his mother’s passing (11.170). His mother warned him of the dangerous situation which had sprung up during his absence, just as Weatherby Swann warned the pirates of the dangers of Davy Jones’ Heart. Aeneas likewise encountered the spirit of his father, Anchises: “‘Have you come at last[?] . . . Over what lands, what wide seas have you journeyed to my welcome! What dangers have beset you, my son!’” (Aeneid 6.687-693). Anchises, too, offers some advice for the future, for he “tells of the wars that the hero next must wage . . . [and] how to face or flee each peril” (6.890-892). Having Elizabeth be the one to encounter a dead parent in the Underworld confirms her as the series’ protagonist, in case that wasn’t patently obvious from the rest of the trilogy (and the failure of Pirates 4 and 5). Weatherby Swann’s warning also serves to remind the audience of the stakes.

Finally, the pirates make their way out of the Locker. While the remainder of their journey takes more inspiration from Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Western European folklore than classical literature, the latter’s influence on the film remains quite clear. When the pirates return to the land of the living, it is daybreak:

(*Lawrence of Arabia theme, but on a cello*)

So, too, does Odysseus emerge from the Underworld into a new dawn: “Our ship left the River Ocean / And came to the swell of the open sea / . . . Where Dawn has her dancing grounds / And the Sun his risings” (Odyssey 12.1-5). The pirates thus complete their katabasis/anabasis, and with rather more luck than Orpheus.

In review: The pirates begin their katabasis in Singapore, which boasts a plethora of Underworld symbolism, including a death-centric song and images of Charon, Tiresias, and Hades. They cross various waters in their descent, mirroring locations from Homer and Vergil, and Barbossa quotes the Cumaean Sibyl. Elizabeth and the pirates retrieve Jack from the Locker’s punishments in a twist on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. Like Odysseus and Aeneas, Elizabeth sees her dead parent in the Underworld, who warns her of things to come. In the end, the pirates emerge from the Underworld into the light of dawn, signalling their return to life. By borrowing from Homer, Vergil, and Ovid, At World’s End presents an Underworld narrative which is familiar in structure and yet easily incorporated into a new mythology: “Same story, different versions.”

(Please message me if you’d like to quote/reference this post in a paper and I can give you my name + details on the official version! Plagiarism is shitty and unnecessary!)

WORKS CITED

Crispin, A.C. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom. Disney Editions, 2011.

Fairclough, H.R., translator. The Aeneid. 1916. By Vergil. Theoi Project, www.theoi.com/Text/VirgilAeneid6.html. Accessed 4 May 2019.

Holtsmark, Erling B. “The Katabasis Theme in Modern Cinema.” Classical Myth & Culture in Modern Cinema, edited by Martin M. Winkler, Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 23-50.

Homer. The Odyssey. The Essential Homer, translated and edited by Stanley Lombardo, Hackett Publishing Company, 2000, pp. 241-482.

Ovid. Metamorphoses. Translated by Stanley Lombardo, Hackett Publishing Company, 2010.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Directed by Gore Verbinski, performances by Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Bill Nighy, Chow Yun-Fat, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Hollander, Jack Davenport, and Jonathan Pryce, Walt Disney Pictures, 2007.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Directed by Gore Verbinski, performances by Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Bill Nighy, Tom Hollander, Jack Davenport, and Jonathan Pryce, Walt Disney Pictures, 2005.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Directed by Gore Verbinski, performances by Keira Knightley, Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, and Jonathan Pryce, Walt Disney Pictures, 2003.

#dear god i hope this posts #pirates of the caribbean #potc #tagamemnon #meta #classics #long post #loooooooong post #katabasis #my meta #if you steal this i will physically manifest in your home and hand you the black spot

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caranfindel · 5 years

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Recap/review 15.02: “Raising Hell”

THEN: Sam shot God! Welcome to the end. Demon!Jack. Last week's non-scary ghosts or spirits or whatever. Strangely missing from the "Then:" Sam's godhole vision. It's actually a very short "Then." Maybe the episode itself is so good, so crammed full of wonderful things, that the "Then" had to be kept brief to make room for all of it.

Or then again, maybe not.

Now. We're still in Harlan, Kansas. A woman holding a scarf over her nose and mouth sneaks into the forbidden zone, and is startled by a neighbor. Or "neighbor." She's seen Close Encounters and knows the benzene story is fake (but if it was true, lady, I don't think that scarf would save you). And yet she's apparently never seen a horror movie, because the fact that her "neighbor" is silently and creepily staring at her doesn't raise any alarm bells. He stabs her a few times and then smokes out into an old-timey ghost who says "Disembowel. D-I-S-E-M-B-O-W-E-L. Disembowel." Well. Okay. She certainly doesn't look disemboweled, but I'll take your word for it. I mean, you spelled it and everything.

Title card. (BTW, you need to check out this very through breakdown of everything you're missing in the title card. It's fantastic.)

Nighttime. Harlan High School. Sam is large and in charge, but the people are restless. And apparently there are "hunters in the zone." Sam gets everyone's attention and tells them the EPA will be here tomorrow (a lie) and they need to stay out of the zone (the truth) and is adorably befuddled when he asks if there are any questions and everyone raises their hand. He's wearing a huge chain around his neck and, unfortunately, has gone back to the undershirt.

[[MORE]]

The zone. Dean and Belphagar. Dean's EMF meter is going crazy, and Belphagar says there are spirits about (are they ghosts? souls? spirits?) but they don't like him so they skedaddled. (Do we believe that?) Dean can't believe he's working with a demon again, and Belphagar can't believe he's working with a hunter, and it's the classic buddy comedy all over again. Except it's not a comedy and they're not buddies. (Do I miss Metatron?) He reminds us that his rationale for working with hunters is that he liked Hell the way it was. (Do we believe that?)

There's a fiery blast at the zone border, and even though Dean was facing it and Belphagar was facing in the other direction, Belphagar is the one who points it out and says "escape attempt, eleven o'clock." The bad guys can't cross the barrier, but rock salt can, which is convenient. Dean blasts a spirit away, who I believe is the same one from the "Then" but I can't be bothered to confirm and is relieved that the warding still works. Belphagar expositions that it won't last forever, and these ghosts/spirits/whatever are more dangerous than average. For example, the ghost Dean just shot was Francis Tumbelty, aka Jack the Ripper.

(Sidebar: Okay, I did actually rewind and use closed-captioning to confirm what Jack said, because what I heard was Francis Tomelty. And here's how my brain works: I can't remember my kid's phone number, I can't remember my license plate number, I can't remember to call the guy to fix the garage door opener, but I do remember that musician Sting's first wife was named Frances Tomelty. That's how useless my brain is. But Wikipedia confirms that Francis Tumbelty is, in fact, a Jack the Ripper suspect.)

I know, Dean, I feel the same way.

High school. It's daylight now. The citizens are still restless, someone's wife is "missing," the benzene story is wearing thin (sidebar: I'm still using captions, and they misspelled benzene,) and people are plotting an escape.

Zone. Ghosts/spirits/whatever are gathering in one of the houses. Francis Tumbelty, who does not have a British accent (but it turns out he was born in Ireland but raised in America so okay, I guess someone did their research), informs the group that they were released from Hell by God himself. And all of these spirits know what hunters are. And Belphegar's name is actually Belphegor. Well. So much to learn tonight. Tumbelty says they need to gather the spirits who are still in hiding. And they can break the warding because "Warding is a door, doors have locks, locks have keys." Actually, the analogy I would have used is that warding is a lock but WHATEVER. Their plan is to "make it as ugly as possible for those who stand guard." Well, the ineffective spooky makeup will help.

Outside. Hunters are patrolling the perimeter. Civilians sneak out of the bushes and then walk right down the middle of the dang street. And then meet a couple of very unscary ghosts. Oh no, what will happen?

I don't know, because we cut back to the high school. They found the first woman's body, and Cas thinks they need to tell her family, and Sam's all, can't do that yet, people are gonna panic. They're interrupted by the arrival of Rowena, which was a surprise to me because I covered the guest star credits. Although it shouldn't have been a surprise, since Dean called her for help in the previous episode. (See how useless my brain is?) She pretends to be more interested in Cas than Sam but I'm not fooled.

Sam says "Remember a couple of years ago when we were trying to get rid of Amara," as if that's how the conversation would go, as if that's anything either of them would need to be reminded of. What he really would have said was "You know the soul bomb you made for Amara? We need another one of those."

WHATEVER.

They don't want to use it as a bomb, they just want a way to capture the ghosts. Rowena thinks it would be too difficult, but they're interrupted by someone who tells Sam they have "a situation."

Zone. The situation is that the two civilians are facing down Dean and Belphegor. And apparently they've been standing there long enough for Sam to actually show up at the zone, which is miles away from where he was. WHATEVER. Dean explains that the guy is married to the woman who was D-I-S-E-M-B-O-W-E-L-E-D earlier and came to look for her. (BTW, we're almost 10 minutes in, and this is the first scene with Sam and Dean together.) Sam, in his kind way, tells them they need to go back to the school. Then black goo drips out of their eyes and Dean realizes they're possessed. The whole standing-and-staring part didn't clue him in (WHATEVER) but now he gets it.

Bowlegs! Hair blowing in the breeze! Something for everyone!

Tumbelty appears and tells them if they don't open the warding, the spirits are going to kill these two civilian vessels. The civilians drop to the ground, groaning in pain, and I remember back when the guys would have let the spirits out in order to save two innocent people. Or at least would have been conflicted about it. (WHATEVER.)

However, some unexpected shots ring out, sprinkling the possessed civilians with... confetti? How festive. Tumbelty zaps out and the Winchesters and Belphegor turn to see none other than Arthur Ketch. Who is also a surprise to me. I guess that gig as an insurance agent didn't work out. Dean seems ridiculously annoyed to see him. Ridiculous considering that they were working together fairly recently. (WHATEVER.)

And now, since none of my regular download sources worked out and I'm forced to rewatch on the CW app, I'm sitting through commercials. Like a goddamn animal.

Back at the school. Ketch says he just happened to be in the area when they sent out the call for hunters. Dean's still not pleased. What is his problem? Am I forgetting something? Did they leave on bad terms? His gun, stolen from the BMoL, shoots iron flakes. Which somehow expels the spirit without hurting the vessel. He and Rowena reacquaint themselves, and she holds no hard feelings against him regarding the whole prisoner thing, since he let her escape. Well, you actually bought that escape, Rowena, but okay. There is an uncomfortable level of eyefucking, as least as far as the Winchesters are concerned.

Belphegor shows up and they have to explain to Ketch that Jack is dead and oh, Sam's face, when he says "dead." This is the first time this episode has made me feel anything. Well, anything good. And it turns out Ketch was actually contracted by "an attractive female demon" (seriously, that just means a demon in an attractive female vessel but WHATEVER) to kill Belphegor. Her name is Ardat and I guess she's gonna show up later. Yawn.

At least sad Sammy is good.

Reno? I laughed and said ha ha, I wonder if Amara is here and it turns out she is! (Because, again, I covered the guest stars.) She's getting a massage. Her maseusse is replaced by Chuck, who looks about 10-20 years younger than he did the last time we saw him. (Just for Men. Find it in the men's section.) She's annoyed with his presence. He's rambling. He liked the Game of Thrones ending, which I guess is supposed to signal what an awful hack of a storyteller he is. Or to warn us that we won't like the ending of our own Show. Or both.

High school. Poor Cas has to lie to Restless Citizen #3 that they're looking for the other missing citizens. "You said you'd keep us safe!" the guys says. That cuts deep, man. Meanwhile, Rowena has given Dean a shopping list. She asks him about Ketch, even though, as Dean points out, they've obviously met. "That was more of a torturer-torturee relationship. Fun, but I didn't really get to know him." But Dean doesn't want to play matchmaker, and says she shouldn't get involved with Ketch. "I mean, Sam is right here," he says. "Why don't you guys get off high center and do it?" (No, not really.)

Cas comes up behind Dean, all rumpled and sad and wanting a hug, and he apologizes for "dropping the puck." Dean doesn't want to hear it. He's so very angry, at Cas and at Chuck and at his life being one giant rat maze. Cas doesn't think their whole existence has been a lie, because even though they were in a maze, they were still living their lives in that maze. That's what life is. Chuck sets up the obstacles, but they still run their own obstacle course. Dean doesn't accept this.

It's interesting that Dean is the one who's taking the truth about Chuck so hard. Sam and Cas were the ones who had faith, and you'd think they'd be knocked harder by the realization that there was never a benevolent God. But on the other hand, Sam's so used to being manipulated by outside forces; this is nothing new to him. And Cas has already seen how the sausage is made. So they're both just, yeah, this is how it is, let's deal with it.

However. I'm not feeling the Dean-Cas conflict at all. I don't really care. And I suspect it's going to be a Big Deal. {sigh}

I’m definitely feeling angry Dean. So much.

Zone. Nighttime. Dean and Ketch are on patrol. I mean, I guess it makes sense to leave Chief Sam in charge at the school, but I'm tired of the guys being split up. Dean gives Ketch one of the giant chains they've been wearing, and says it's iron, to prevent possession. Wow, that would be a heavy chain. They talk about God and Rowena, and then Dean gets a text message. "Trouble. Two hunters haven't checked in." Uh oh!

Meat packing plant. Seriously? There is a meat packing plant in the middle of this residential area? So many chains hanging from the ceiling. I wonder what kind of cage flashbacks Sam would have in here. (And if you fic that, I'd like to be notified, please and thank you.) Dean and Ketch search the place and then it gets cold and then Ketch is hurled against a wall. Hard. Lizzie Borden appears, prepared to take an ax to Dean's head, but an electronically altered voice says "Stop! Get out!" She zaps out and we see the voice belongs to... Kevin???

Turns out when Chuck said he was sending Kevin to Heaven, he lied. Um. Why? What's the rationale for this? I mean, he did things to make a good story, but what was the purpose of sending Kevin to Hell and not letting the Winchesters (or anybody else) know? Dean promises they'll get him to Heaven, and Kevin accept this happily, because Kevin knows that Dean always takes care of him, as promised. (Ha.) Kevin can feel the wards weakening, but he doesn't know if the other spirits can detect it. And the other spirits are afraid of Kevin because he was personally cast down by God. Um. Okay. WHATEVER. But this tells Dean they can use him as a spy.

Reno. Chuck is flipping through channels, and he spends a couple of seconds watching a cooking show where the recipe involves tripe. Which is so meta, isn't it?

He's whiny. I'm over it. So is Amara. And she suddenly detects (WHATEVER) that he needs her for some reason. She can feel his own version of the godhole? She pokes at it and it hurts. "Something happened. You're not complete. You're not at full strength."

Zone. Sam doesn't think using Kevin is safe. Well, he's already dead, so. Belphegor shows up and they're all, your wards are failing and he's all, duh, I told you that was happening, I thought you heroes would have this wrapped up by now. (Are they really fading due to the nature of wards, or is this deliberate? Discuss.) And this spell was a one-time thing - he can't do it again. Because...? We'll never know, because neither brother asks. WHATEVER.

This conversation is like some people. Stupid but pretty.

Belphegor knows Kevin and calls him a "whiny millenial" and my goodness, he gets around a lot for a low-level grunt, doesn't he? He tells the guys that Kevin can't get into Heaven because once a soul is cast into Hell, Heaven can't take it. I am quite sure that Show has forgotten about John and Bobby, who both accomplished that very thing, and I'm shocked to find Show actually address this. Belphegor says God made an exception, and that isn't likely to happen again, since God doesn't like them any more. Oh no! The only way to fix this is if someone else takes over for God!

Reno. Chuck checks out his own godhole, which looks just like Sam's. He pokes at it and winces in pain.

Zone. Sam feels pain in his own godhole. Because they're connected! He lies that he's okay and it's getting better and Dean's all yeah, right.

Sam, for a professional liar, you are so bad at it.

Zone. Spirit meeting. They know the wards are fading. Tumbelty thinks they should attack at a weak point, rather than waiting for the whole thing to collapse. Kevin shows up. They all know him, and some fear him. But Tumbelty knows he's buds with the Winchesters. Because all these spirits know the Winchesters. You know, I can understand all the demons knowing who they are. That's justified. But every resident of Hell? I'm not feeling it. WHATEVER.

High school. More heavy flirting between Rowena and Ketch. Somehow Ketch knows something she doesn't know - that a jolt of electricity will fast-forward her spell. Can we just skip this part? It makes as much sense as the Rowena/Gabriel detour when they were trying to open the rift. They're interrupted by a call from Dean, who demands she hurry. Yes, please.

Zone. Rowena shows up with a bag and runs right into Tumbelty. Who knows her. Because they used to date. All this romance for Rowena, and Sam's still sitting alone at the high school. Come on, Ro. Climb that mountain. Tumbelty tells her they've got Kevin, and sends a message for the Winchesters to meet them at their spirit house. Ketch shows up behind him, with his iron confetti gun, and blasts him, but Tumbelty whacks him with a rock. However, Rowena escapes.

{Commercial time. Zombieland 2 looks good.}

TFW is finally all together. Rowena tells them about Kevin. Dean asks if she has the soulcatcher, and for some reason, Sam has a problem with the name soulcatcher. I suppose this was supposed to be humorous. She does, but she doesn't know if it will work.

Spirit house. Winchesters show up. Tumbelty says if they shut down the warding, he won't devour Kevin. They say no. Tumbelty sticks his hand into Kevin, and this takes a really really long time, but Rowena finally shows up with the crystal and catches all of their souls. Boy, it's a good time devouring Kevin's soul took so very, very long. Rowena tells them this crystal isn't as powerful as the earlier version, and can only gather a few souls at a time. In fact, some of the souls here got away. Oooh, I wonder who.

Kevin tells them about the plan to break through the warding at the weakest point. Jump to the weakest point. There are at least 100 spirits there, according to Belphegor, and more are coming. Dean brings his gun up when someone approaches, but it's only Ketch. Oh, good, he escaped safely from Tumbelty's clutches! How fortunate. It's odd that he's no longer wearing that huge iron chain, though.

Dean tries shooting at the spirits they can't see, but Belphegor tells him there are too many. So Rowena goes forth with her soulcatcher. She still seems to be on this side of the warding, which means she's able to drag the souls through the barrier. I wonder if it would have worked better if she'd gone past the barrier. Then Ketch backhands her because, SURPRISE SURPRISE, he's actually possessed. He drips black goo from his eyes, just to confirm, and picks up the soulcatcher. Dean tries to shoot him, but is conveniently out of ammo. Tumbelty!Ketch monologues and then Dean pulls out his handgun and shoots him and he... tosses the soulcatcher to Dean? Drops it horizontally? Somehow, the thing ends up flying into Dean's hand.

WHATEVER.

(Or did Ketch toss it to him once he was depossessed? Discuss.)

Rowena takes it back and sucks up the few visible souls, including Tumbelty's. Yay! Success! Is Ketch alive? Dunno!

Time jump. Ketch is alive, with only a wounded shoulder, and is being loaded into an ambulance. Cas tells Sam that he tried to heal him, but couldn't. "You're just tired," Sam says. "We all are." Oh, I don't think so, Sam. Dean apologizes to Ketch, and lets us know it was an iron bullet, which is why it expelled Tumbelty. Ketch and Rowena exchange a longing glance. Dean stares. Angrily, maybe? Angry that Mary's ex dared to look for love again? Angry that Rowena is flirting with someone else right in front of Sam? Angry that Ketch is such a wuss that he actually needs an ambulance, and medical treatment, for a mere bullet to the shoulder? Angry that he's stuck inside a Buckleming episode? All of the above? He and Rowena exchange an uncomfortable look.

Aftermath! Kevin doesn't want to stay in the zone and hang out with the guys. He knows he can't get into Heaven, so he's just gonna ghost around and wander the earth. Sam tells him this is a terrible way to exist, and Kevin points out that it's better than Hell. And Kevin and Sam give us what might be the motto for just this episode, or maybe for the entire season:

I'm sorry, Kevin. I wish there was some way to make this right.

Me too. But there isn't. And sometimes, you just gotta accept that.

Kevin tells the Winchesters he loves them (d'aw) and they don't say it back (aw) and Belphegor quite easily makes a little opening in the barrier. So easily, that it really makes you wonder why he has so little power to keep it going. Yep, it sure does. Kevin is gone. Sad waves.

Reno. Amara is hitting the road. Chuck isn't invited. And she knows he's too weak to do anything about it. He can't leave this world without her help, and she ain't helping.

Zone. We see dozens of glowing souls flitting about. The warding won't last long. We need a plan B. "How," asks Dean. How indeed.

So. When I watched this for the first time last night, I desperately wanted to fast forward through the scenes with the spirits in the house. And the Ketch/Rowena stuff. It wasn't any better on rewatch. Some of this episode was just the usual Buckleming nonsense - badly written, stupid things happen for stupid reasons, yada yada yada. But the Kevin plot... can we blame that on the Buckleming? Or was that a showrunner master plan? Either way, it's annoying. And probably pointless. The only good thing about this episode was the confirmation of the connection between Sam and Chuck. I noticed a distinct lack of excitement on my Tumblr feed, so maybe a lot of us feel the same way. If you haven't watched this one yet, my vote is: don't bother.

Please help me stay unspoiled, thanks!

#spn #recap #tv recaps #15.02 #spoilers

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sylvieons · 4 years

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hiddles birthday week day #6 xoxo

Prompt: How did YOU become a Hiddlestoner?

How did become a fan? In the most absurd way known to man.

Keep in mind I was on Tumblr in 2012. I remember the meltdown over The Avengers. I remember the meltdown over Tom Hiddleston. I remember the meltdown over "ehehhe" and those screencaps of him roleplaying with people over Twitter and him eating chocolate during an interview and everyone calling him a cinnamon roll or whatever we were calling people in 2012. I saw his face on the daily. Over and over again. He didn't register with me.

I had seen Thor previously. I had not realized it was a Marvel movie. I thought it was a kitschy Norse god movie, and terrible at that (Thor is now one of my favorite comfort movies). Loki didn't even ping on my radar. I then started watching other Marvel movies, completely out of order. I had no idea what was going on. I was like "who is Iron Man? Is he a robot? Is he a man? What is going ON" I tried watching The Avengers and turned it off during Loki's "KNEEL BEFORE ME” speech. I was bored.

A few years later, I watched Crimson Peak. Tom Hiddleston still did not register to me. I don't even know if I connected the dots that this was the Loki guy? idk?

Then one day, the Infinity War trailer dropped. I watched it because I was still keeping up my tradition of watching Marvel movies completely out of order and I liked watching them in the theater because things blow up and I'm a simple woman with simple needs, I wanna see things blow up.

Loki has a 2 second shot, looking like he's in the middle of dying.

My entire sense of being went of full alert. Suddenly, everything made sense. Suddenly I got it. Suddenly, after 2 seconds, Loki was my favorite character and Tom Hiddleston was my favorite actor and you couldn't take that away from me. I was holding on fast and I wasn't letting go. This was based purely on the 2 seconds that one fateful night. I didn’t get intrigued and go watch an interview, I didn’t google him to stare at pictures of him, I didn’t immediately go rewatch Thor. I was just like, these 2 seconds? Changed everything.

That's, uh. Yeah, that's all it took, and I watched the rest of his stuff in a few days and haven't settled down since then.

Somebody should have shown me Only Lovers Left Alive years ago tho, I think that would have cemented my love for him a bit earlier because that movie is amazing.

#TH20: Hiddlestoner #HiddlesBirthdayWeek2020 #tom hiddleston #hey that's my man #dot txt

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killian-whump · 5 years

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(I wanna preface this with a trigger warning for mentions of rape) Hey, I was scrolling through my twitter feed and saw some people being nasty about season 7 (and the cast) but something that stood out to me was the fact that there's a couple of people who are accusing Wish!Hook/Rogers of being a r*pist and accusing him of admitting to it. I'm currently rewatching s7 and was wondering if there was something I missed, either explicitly or implicitly stated 😅

OH MY GOD, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

Are these people STILL going on about that shit???

I’m going to fucking rant about this for a bit, so hit the jump. Or don’t.

Okay, refresher for Nonny and those who are new to this ShitShow:

A bunch of people decided to opt out of S7, because Emma Swan was no longer going to be on the show. Now, not watching a show after your fave character/actor leaves it is absolutely understandable. There’s nothing wrong with it. However, hate-watching that show, campaigning for it to be cancelled, attacking the actors, writers, show-runners and crew who are continuing to work on that show or join the show after your fave’s departure... That’s all completely shitty (and absolutely batshit CRAZY) behavior. There is NO excuse for it. Ever.

And that segment of batshit crazy assholes is who we’re talking about here.

Now, most of these motherfuckers haven’t even watched S7. They base their crazy-ass opinions on synopses of the episodes, and heresay from their similarly sanity-impaired friends. So most of the time, it’s useless to counter their rantings with facts and canon interpretations. They’ll simply repeat, “Well, my friend Janet said it, and I believe her.” or some other nonsense.

So. With all of that in mind, Episode 2 of Season 7 re-introduced Wish Hook to viewers and revealed that he was Detective Rogers, set up Emma as his “savior” as a respectful nod to the idea of every Hook being “destined” to be saved by Emma Swan, and also established his primary and singular drive as a character - reuniting with his daughter. THOSE were the main points of the episode.

However, the fuckwits I spoke about above decided to focus, not on any of the important aspects of the episode, but on his cockamamie plot to score a True Love’s Kiss from Emma in order to cure his poisoned heart. The plot entailed using magic to de-age himself, returning to Storybrooke with Regina, getting a kiss from Emma to cure said heart, then returning to his own Enchanted Forest to reunite with Alice. It is this last part that the nutters refuse to believe. They prefer to believe that Hook intended to stay in Storybrooke, take over OG Hook’s entire life, and in so doing - engage in sex with Emma under the pretense that he is “her” Killian. And that is where the rape claim comes in.

Now, for those of us who actually watched the show, it’s painfully (and embarrassingly, for those nutters) obvious that Wish Hook would never have stayed in Storybrooke for even a second longer than necessary after curing his heart (or finding that his plot didn’t work). His entire impetus as a character was to reunite with Alice, his daughter. Remaining in Storybrooke, a realm far away from where his daughter even IS, and maintaining the charade of being someone else, someone without said daughter, and bothering to keep up that pretense... doesn’t suit his character’s main goals whatsoever. It’s ludicrous to think he would. It’s literally insane and one has to be awfully dedicated to besmirching the show and the character to even maintain it.

And yet, they do. Their ONE “ace in the hole” is that they managed to get one of the writers (Adam Horowitz, I believe) to answer a question about what Wish Hook intended to do with his plan with an admission that Wish Hook intended to take over Hook’s life. Now, I’m gonna come right out and say it: That answer, regardless of who it came from, also doesn’t fit the narrative of S7 or Wish Hook’s main drives as a character. And I’m also gonna say that sometimes even the people who should know best about a show don’t... and also, sometimes people mis-speak or are trying to emphasize one thing (in this case, how “bad” Hook was going to be to get what he wanted, and how “in need” he was of Emma’s saving him and setting him right) instead of the more important thing (that these fuckers had no interest in Wish Hook’s redemption and only wanted to bait Adam into saying something they could use as “proof” of their claims).

But regardless, it’s the ONE thing they have to “back up” their insanity, and they use the fuck out of it. Mind you, these same people will summarily throw out any and all claims that there wasn’t rape involved or intended there as factually incorrect, regardless of where they come from. Instead, they will simply trot out that ONE well-worn screencap yet again and insist, as always, that they are right and Everyone Else is wrong.

So... Long story short, it’s absolute apeshit, and the people who argue it’s true are so asinine and obsessive that they’re not worth arguing with. You can’t change their minds or make them see sense, because they desperately want to cling to their belief that S7 Is Bad and Wish Hook Is Bad and that they were/are right to boycott, campaign against the show, and attack those who took part in creating it, because it is clearly Bad and does Bad Things. This is also the entire basis of their claims that Wish Hook, Rogers, and S7 itself are “triggering” to them and deeply disturbing. They use this claim to try to essentially erase S7 from existence by complaining whenever the S7 exclusive actors are involved in “Once” events, or whenever S7+ actors refer to S7 events or Wish Hook, himself. Colin has even been directly accused by these assholes of “approving” of rape and being “insensitive” to his fans by wearing clothing he got from Rogers’ wardrobe to conventions. It’s absolutely batshit, toxic, and rude.

I suspect this is all rearing its ugly head yet again because Jen is scheduled to appear at Enchanted 3, and some of these crazies (who are all Jen fans, incidentally) are already trying to get Starfury to not invite anyone who exclusively starred in S7. Which, considering the only other announced star is Tiera Skovbye, I sincerely wish them all the luck in the world with XD But regardless, the SANE fans are all pretty much telling them, “Hey, what? That’s rude? Why are you being a dick?” and I’m assuming the jerks quickly resorted to “but rape is bad!” arguments to derail all the legit complaints about their shitty-ass behavior.

SO! My advice to you, Nonny, and to everyone else... is to mute those assholes and not engage with them in any way, shape or form. Like the comments of those poor fools who try, because their hearts are in the right place, even if their brains are doomed to be scrambled by the illogical reaches they’re about to be subjected to. It’s good to show support for the sensible people in our fandom(s). But I don’t recommend actually engaging with them, yourself. They’re hateful, toxic people... and your entire life will be better off for steering clear of them. Also, there’s only about 10-20 of them in their entirety, so once you weed them out and mute them, it’s like they don’t even exist.

And, hopefully, if they’re ignored by enough people for a long enough time, they’ll move on to something else. I guess that hasn’t happened yet, but here’s hoping it happens eventually. If not for our sake, then for Jen’s. I can’t imagine getting a reputation for having fans who literally harass and stalk her co-stars, employers and even people who simply continue to work on a project after she voluntarily leaves it will actually help her career at all.

Don’t get me wrong here, working with Jen on Once was a huge step up for Colin’s career... but the crazies in her fandom are literally following him into his next projects, naysaying them, criticizing and insulting him, attacking his fans for supporting him and his projects, and insisting that nothing Colin does will ever be as good as the work he did with Jen... and that’s just fucking NUTS. And it’s not limited to Colin. Remember the fervor when Josh Dallas dared to call another actress his “Tv Daughter”? Yeah, that was charming. If this keeps up, it won’t be long before Jen’s earning herself a reputation for being “lovely to work with, but comes with a cloud of toxic fans who will make her co-stars sorry they worked with her for YEARS afterwards.” And, I mean, color me weird if you want to, but I think that’s generally NOT a good plan.

#fandom drama #this shit again #are you serious #wtf guys #anonymous #kw ask box

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wellntruly · 5 years

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Hannibal Rewatch: 1x13

Originally posted January 2016, reposted March 2019 after an algorithm looked at this post and thought “oh, no that’s far too explicit” and ate it whole without giving me a chance to appeal. Enjoy guessing which of these one thousand screenshot honked them off! I have my favorites.

Season 1, Episode 13: “Savoureux” or, OH, THE SCALES / TUMBLING FROM MY EYES

**Warning: rewatch blogging, written with knowledge of the full series

Ok moment to talk about the “Previously On Hannibal”, if you can believe it, because they used the clip where Abigail asked Will if Hannibal had told him about her involvement with her dad’s murders and Will responding that he hadn’t, which, u may recall, I was fantastically floored to discover was a conversation that took place all in Will’s head. So the Previously On has ALSO gotten so wrapped up in Will that his imaginings are presented as part of the factual objective recap, and that’s marvelous to me. Because god, we’re in “Savoureux.” It’s the finale of Season 1, things fall apart, the center cannot hold, and from here on out, the relationship this show had with Will is fracturing. What tilting ice sheet are YOU gonna jump on as the glacier breaks apart?

LET’S FEEL IT OUT, as is our way.

Live Feed:

NOPE NOPE NOPE, T minus nope seconds into this and it’s THE BULLROARER. And that thing travels RIGHT down my spine to the tune of nOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOOOPE. Curse these nice headphones, fucking MONSTER TUNERS.

It sounds like hunting and the Gods and being encircled. All of that. I mean it’s, pun-intended, pitch perfect for where Brian Reitzell is using it, don’t get me wrong, that’s WHY I’m so upset. Because here’s Will, oh Will Graham, finally trying to hunt down the monster always in the corner of his eye. And he chases the Ravenstag, until at last he finds —

the Wendigo, hunched by a tree in the enchanted forest like Voldemort feeding on a unicorn. Angular and so hungry, crimson wet pools in the leaves. Will, run.

But how do you run when it’s just in your heeeeeaaaaaaddd.

OR IS IT??

I’m losing my mind all over again, sweet HELL the shuddering focus effect, the music, this:

And of course the ear. I won’t screencap that one, because you’ve seen it, and you won’t ever forget that. Neither will Will.

Hugging himself like a straightjacket, staring at the battered proof of his feet. I’m so miserable.

Hello, Satan.

He has to reach into the darkness to take his haaannnd! God I’ll stop capping every frame someday, I promise, I just, I gotta right now. [Ed. note: I don’t, I don’t stop. There are over 50 images in this. Fuck me.]

Pfffft, Dr. Lecter’s “oh gosh oh noes” act involves spinning in a complete circle in Will’s kitchen while making a shocked face. Stuff it, Mikkelsen, your layers of acting.

Nooo bby don’t look at him like that he doesn’t deserve it. At all, like utterly completely AT ALL.

Man I love this blatant manipulation. Remember that precious pupper he rescued in the pilot? He’s not evil he’s our sweet Will! Bastards.

Beverly: “I can’t do the silent treatment. I can’t pretend that I don’t know you, and I can’t pretend that we both don’t know what I’m finding under your nails.”

I love that Beverly just ditches script, bless you Bev. She’s one of the few people on this show who has figured out that sometimes it’s easier for Will if you just Get Real. I think this is mostly because that’s what’s easiest for her, but it turns out that he actually responds well to her bluntness.

I am so so so so sorry, but if I have to look at this face of woe, then so do all of you.

Trying to comprehend how much physical damage Hannibal wrought on Will to make this look the way it looks is staggering. And upsetting. It’s not just the ear business that we will talk about later not now I don’t wanna do it, it’s also all the deep scratches on his arms, his torn and muddy feet, his general exhausted raw wrung out everything over this whole dang season.

Alana just whispers at Jack to stop talking as her eyes fill with tears, oh my god no one is gonna let me BE in this episode. *quiet screaming*

Alana: “You could see he was breaking.”

Jack: “Yes I could. And I kept pushing him.” NOT A PARAPHRASE, this line with this exact face oh my god what.

Alana: “Hannibal had to have known, he had to have seen that something was wrong.” YES GOOD, STAY ON THAT ALANA. Oh why do I bother, I know what happens. Oh but you can stay on this!! Stay on the disease thing, my girl! Oh yes it’s Alana that figures out the encephalitis oh my god how could I have forgotten. Of course it was. Bloom to the rescue.

Alana: “Abigail’s blood is on all of us. And so’s Will’s.”

I mean speaking of people on this show who are like little gorgeous scary angels meting out judgements: Alana Bloom.

Caroline Dhavernas, you are obliterating me.

Their little hi’s, oh my word.

Will: “You’re flushed, you been yelling?” Alana: “More like screaming.” True. I loved it. Will: “I could use a good a scream. I can feel one, perched under my chin.” Yiiiii.

I knew an actor once who would do something very like what Hugh Dancy is doing here, the angle he’s holding his head & jaw at and letting his eyes move. Or wait, no maybe he just also owned an orange jumpsuit. This has been a very relevant aside for you all I am sure.

The ridiculous thing is that there’s a way to view this scene in which Will IS a psychotic killer, and it’s called “Will just saying all the weird shit he always says in the weird manner he always says it, only now you think ‘hey maybe’.” My exhibit A for that case would actually be this “romantic overtures” comment.

Will, whispered so quiet: “Guess you dodged a bullet with me.” Alana: “I don’t feel like I dodged a bullet. I feel wounded.”

I’m never gonna make it through this episode and you will never make it through this recap, because I just keep pausing after everything to let my hands creep around to grip something while sighing painfully.

THE CLOCK. THE CLOCK. It hinges on the clock, so good, such a good use of the show’s iconography as part of the plot! Also even Dancy’s vocal delivery is reminding me of this friend now with “Would I be here if it wasn’t?” and it’s getting weird.

Aaaaaahhhh the flicker of “holy what?—” on Alana’s face as Will draws his Dali timepiece.

She’s got it. Go, Alana. Be our hope, our champion. Someone’s gotta figure this out and I want it to be you, and then I want you to blaze furiously at all the wrongdoers. Guardian Alana, protector of scruffy little men together with their scruffy little dogs. Alana will take care of all of them, my lady knight.

Ok break for a second. Something’s gathering together for me about the way all the Hannibal finales work, and it’s that I just said “Ok break for a second.” They are relentless. High-key emotionality and this thrilling slide-y feeling, like you’re on something now and you’re just gonna tumble ahead to the inevitable. And that too, that they always manage to feel so inevitable! And yet the whole time watching it unfold you’re just like “whaaaaaaat!”

Anyhow, commercial break over, no rest for the wicked let’s jump back in.

Me out loud: “Oh frickin hell.”

Remember that time Hannibal went and WEPT to Bedelia over what he was doing?? THE MOST CONFLICTED CANNIBAL. THE MOST SELF-DEFEATING CANNIBAL. HUNGRY HUNGRY HYPOCRITE.

I love that Bedelia just rolls out what is clearly her stock Grief Speech.

Bedelia: “are these crocodile tears, or is the crocodile actually teary”

Oh MOTHER OF pearl, I can’t cap this because it’s a micro-flicker movement, but Hannibal’s face when Bedelia segues from the loss of Abigail to mention that Will Graham is a loss too, oh he flinches, it’s like a tiny version of his nose crinkle snarl from 3x13. I’m ruined.

Hannibal, firmly: “I haven’t given up on Will.” Oh I believe you, I believe this more than anything you have said in this whole conversation.

Bedelia: “hey, maybe now that Will is gonna be in jail, you could leave him the heck alone?” Hannibal: “lol”

I’ll always cap a fly.

It is SUPER CREEPY that Will would have made fly fishing lures out of all his victims. It’s also SUPER PREPOSTEROUS and thank god, because this is what keeps Will from believing the whole kit & caboodle.

Team, maybe the fact that your dismay & confusion is this comical is a sign that something’s awry.

I love the way Will glows in this room.

The b u l l r o a r e r, wrapping around him like the thread of his luurres.

This is good Will, this is how you react when you’re innocent and someone suggests you killed a passel of people. With a sad desperate horrified disbelieving “Noo.” Take note, every bit actor ever on C.S.I.

God, it’s such irony, that the four additional victims doom him just as they prove to Will he couldn’t have done it. If it were just Abigail he could have sent himself down for the count, but four others too? This cannot be right. There’s someone else.

Jack: “My biggest fear is that we’ll learn you knew what you were doing the whole time.” Will: “You don’t have to be afraid of that, Jack.” Jack:

“why is even ur reassurance unsettling”

Will: “There is something you should be afraid of though.” Jack: “yeah this is just more of what I was just talking about it.” Will: “Whoever’s doing this to me.”

Will’s emotional logic that maybe Jack is the one setting him up is pretty much the same kind of logic that keeps people believing it’s not Hannibal. This is aggravating. You all are in the evidence business.

I wonder how much of the audience was still with Will when he snapped his thumb in and went scrabbling over cops to freedom. I suspect most of us were, at this stage in the game. I at least was operating under the reasoning (“reasoning”) I believe Will was, which was that his best shot is just to find the person who is actually responsible, whatever the cost. And he can’t trust the rest of the team to do it, so Will’s gotta save himself. Nobody can help Will Graham but him. And he’ll use eeeverything he’s got, everything he’s been forced to learn. Fuck it.

Jack: “so Will’s fucking shit up like mad rn in Dumfries.” Hannibal: “Jack thank you for bringing me THE BEST NEWS OF MY LIFE.”

“dang, Alana, why do I always go for the smart ones”

It’s hilarious to me that Jack thinks the practical solution to problems is always an “intelligent psychopath.” Like “intelligent psychopaths,” who are simultaneously dumb enough to endanger themselves by ostentatiously killing people, just litter the streets of Baltimore like so many chip bags.

God, the way he just flips up all sharply aware, my bespoke beastie.

I was about to ask if Will had been sitting there for a long time without Hannibal sniffing him, and then I was about to ask if he just managed to get in super quickly, but hey look there’s a door right there! So he just slipped in and sat down, ok got it.

“Can you keep a secret?” I shout at the edge of the canyon.

“Step closer,” it echos back. [x]

Oh this is nice:

Will, strained/curious/suspicious: “Are you confused about who I am?” Hannibal: “I’m skeptical. Meaning I’m willing to change my mind should the evidence change.”

I feel like it’s beginning to become more and more clear how much Will has repressed, which is now seeping up though the cracks. And Hannibal is speaking more and more double-sided truths in response. The games are beginning. GUYS. Those dangerous honest manipulative games, I think they’re starting here. It feels like the inky tendril roots of S2 oh my gooddd.

Will: “I didn’t kill any of ‘em. And somebody is making sure that no one believes me.”

Hannibal: “If you are this killer, that identity runs through these events like a thread through pearls.” I just love the similes, hot damn this is my jam.

Fuck wait the position swap aaaauuuggghhh!! And the spinning and spinning, round and round with the bullroarer buzzing up again.

AIEEAA

Ha ha ha ha, Will needing to go to Abigail’s house in Minnesota before he suggest Hannibal killed her, like he’s playing a game of Clue and has to get into the right room before he can be like “I accuse Dr. Lecter, with the knife, in the kitchen!”

Anyhow, there is nothing I don’t want to know about this 12-hour road trip through Minneginia.

LOL, Bedelia: “(sigh) Is something wrong [[that you really need to bother me about.]]”

Bedelia: “If anyone could have helped Mr. Graham it would have been Hannibal. In fact, [suppressing annoyance] he may still be trying.” I love it, I love this, oh my god. Bedelia knows exactly what the shit Hannibal is doing and cannot believe he’s Still Doing It. If he keeps tangling everyone further into this mess where does that leave Dr. Du Maurier? Having to fucking move, that’s where. “Goddamnit Hannibal, you fascinating sonofabitch.” - Bedelia, constantly

Will Graham, all “my heart is telling me no, but my dreams, they’re telling me YES IT’S FUCKING HANNIBAL.”

“Are we going to reenact the crime? You be my dad, you be my mom, and you be the man on the phone.” Never Forget. Abigail Hobbs as the Best & Ballsiest. Also, as Will would read it, giving him clues even after she has been taken out of the picture. God no wonder she’s his nigh-literal Manic Pixie Dream Victim in S3, just floating around dispensing insights: her memory has been droppin’ knowledge on him since all the way back here! Starting with the episode before, actually. Wow. This whole Will-Abigail story feels like it’s becoming clearer to me by the day.

Will: “Are we gonna reenact the crime?” Hannibal:

“*vibrating* it would be my pleasure”

Will uses the word “gouts” a lot when he’s talkin about blood. I usually try not to do that, myself.

Will: “I stared at Hobbs, and the space opposite me assumed the shape of a man filled with dark and swarming flies. And then I scattered them.”

W O W. He genuinely sounds like an archangel vanquishing Beelzebub or something.

The sound design makes it feel like Hannibal might suddenly grab Will at any moment and it’s fucking terrifying.

Whole Dialogue Time!

Hannibal: “You are alone, because you are unique.” Will: “I’m as alone as you are.” Hannibal: “If you follow the urges you kept down for so long, cultivated them as the inspirations they are, you would have become someone other than yourself.” Will: “I know who I am. I’m not so sure that I know who you are anymore.”

Oh hey, Hannibal reminds/affirms that whoever killed Abigail also killed all the others. He didn’t need to do that, he probably could’ve still sent Will wading down that particular stream, but he saved Will that, actually, given that it’s very clear Will’s not going in for the I’ve Been A Criminal Mastermind All Along explanation. Maybe Hannibal wants him to truly ~own~ his future crimes, so he decides he’ll go ahead and take all these. Keep Will’s pure. Idk, I’m kinda reaching for an explanation that’s not actually Hannibal taking these off Will’s conscious due to NICENESS or something.

I like that Will stands against the moonlight. That feels right.

It’s so like Hannibal to try convince Will that to want to specifically kill him in this moment means he just Wants To Kill en general. But Will Graham, ridiculous difficult Will, is always all “I think you underestimate just how divided in themselves one person can be.” Hey why I have I never seen a graphic for Will with “Do I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself. I contain multitudes.”

Hannibal keeps trying to change the subject away from himself. Like everything right now, it is not going well! Hannibal I’m sorry but even knowing how messed up you’re getting over this boy, even right now, I cannot feel bad for you at present. I can’t feel bad for you until you feel bad for you, and here in this kitchen you’re just high on ~possibilities~ and survival instincts and the scent of Will’s fear-sweat.

Ok I can’t handle shaky panicky Will realizing Hannibal’s ONLY trackable motive is “Me, comma, to fuck with.” OOOOF. The weight of Hannibal’s obsessive interest in him just dragging him down to hell, and the only thing he can grip is the gun in his hands.

I’m not gonna belabour the “See? See?” thing because we all get that, let’s instead talk about how Jack WILL NOT SEE. Way to make someone feel crazy. Ok to be fair what he thinks Jack should see is an onyx antler skeleton where Hannibal used to be, but. I mean overall. For instance, HEY JACK, do you know what I would find a tad teeny bit suspicious? If a ~mild-mannered psychiatrist~ was nearly shot by his patient/best friend, literally now has his patient/best friend’s blood splattered across his cheek, and appears largely NON-REACTIVE TO THE SITUATION. I mean, a touch of trauma would not be out of the ordinary here? Maybe??

Jack: “Would you have gone to Minnesota with him if he didn’t have a gun on you?” Hannibal:

“(I would have gone with him to the ends of the earth)”

Jack: “You know, in my time I’ve seen people broken by the world. I’ve seen them broken in all kinds of hideous and offhanded ways, but never like this. Never like this.”

Fuck this hurts. I was gonna strangle-scream about Jack assuring Hannibal that Will is not his victim, but now I’ll just bask in the agony of this sentence pls. “hideous and offhanded ways,” christ almighty.

What a taste of S3 in this shot.

Hannibal: “Thank you for indulging me.” PAGING @CONFUSEDKAYT

Bedeliaaaaa, you’ve always avoided his table but now he brought a meal to you. What a power play, how you gonna handle it? Maybe with….

~~Insouciantly Performative Submission~~ ™genufa

It Always Works.

The lighting in this prison tho.

Hey hey wait hold on —

[pic]

HAH.

[[Guys I am so sorry I have absolutely no idea what image went here?? Let’s just trust it was Hilarious. - 2019 Tarra]]

Oh come onnn, they’ve done it so that as Hannibal tilts his head and smells for Will amongst the mad, sad men in Chilton’s hospital, and as opposed to catching his scent too, which we cannot do, we instead get to hear VIDE COR MEUM, like a synaesthetic gesture of what Will smells like to Hannibal. Y’know, just an opera about Dante & death, and here specifically: “I am your master / Behold your heart / And of this burning heart / (She is trembling) / Obediently eats.” Because why not go for it. The motto of The Hannibal Show, lbr.

What a jacket.

WHAT A WAY TO END A SEASON.

A masterwork. Like all the finales. Upends everything but in a way that feels like it was written by the gods long ago, when they were feeling both vicious and indulgent on a little too much wine. Whenever Bryan Fuller talks about how S4 would have been a paradigm shift, nearly a reboot, nothing is the same, etc., I just laugh, because that’s every single one of his seasons of Hannibal.

ALRIGHT SEASON TWO NOW, let’s do it, let’s fall in love get fucked up fall in love.

(Get fucked up.)

- - -

How To Properly Scream: the Hannibal Rewatch hindsight-riddled Season 1 & 2 rewatch blogging/screaming suggestions

Super Concise & Sensible Hannibal Recaps real-time Season 3 recaps, neither concise nor sensible

#How To Properly Scream: the Hannibal Rewatch #Hannibal #Hannibal spoilers #Tarra recaps stuff #thinkin about cannibalism

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brainy-storm · 5 years

Text

S414 - ‘EL MAYARAH’ HEALED MY HEART (2/2 aka Karadox Edition)

Well, hello, hello, ladies, gentleman and esteemed NBs. We are gathered here today to witness me, a karadox fan who is too deep, commentate on and (over)analyse the happenings of that delicious episode that is Supergirl 4x14 Stand and Deliver. In the proceeding post, I will be going through many, many frames. So hold on to your dashes cause this is gonna be a hecka long post.

Warning: Again, LONG LONG post. 95 screenshots, guys. I recommend reading this on a computer. MUCH karadox. Including Brainy’s amazing speech, ofc . And the amazingness that was Kara Zor El.

Now, my friends. Where to start? What’s this? You wanted to go to the hand holding? We shall get there in due time. For now let us go start earlier at the 7:11 timestamp that I have. In which Brainy gets given -

The Letter

This is Querl Dox aka Brainy. His eyebrows furrowed as one of their DEO targets was captured. I might say, he’s cautious about what this letter might be. Who knows? It could have been a threat that Menagerie or The Elite might have wanted to pass on.

Nah, it’s a note from Supergirl, and it made him smile.

I mean, it’s a very cute-looking note (I love Kara’s handwriting, mine’s a mess). She could’ve just written ‘from Supergirl’ but nah, gotta draw that logo in. Love it. Go Kara!

“Supergirl left us a present, and a note.” Brainy whips this note from behind his back. He can’t just bring the note normally. No, he’s gotta whip it out like ‘surprise b*tch’. He not only likes to show off in front of Kara, but also likes to show off in Kara’s stead.

“Says: you’re welcome.” Brainy looks like he’s trying to return to a neutral expression here, but his tone didn’t quite hide his smugness. And throughout this scene he still looks like he wants to keep smirking.

Now, we know that Brainy’s on Kara’s side. He’s part of the super-friends, of course. I’m pretty sure that Brainy’s supposed to at least pretend he’s backing the DEO fully. But he can’t help himself from celebrating a victory for Supergirl. His loyalty is always towards Kara, and I like how they keep this consistent even if (well, especially) Kara’s not around.

Alright, now it’s time for Kara to finally interact properly with -

Brainy!

“Brainy!” says Kara. What does that mean? Nothing much, she just turned around when she saw heard the door open and saw Brainy. But after several episodes of no proper interaction, it’s nice to hear her say his name. Yeah, yeah, I squealed, this is how deprived we were.

And then, unprompted, immediately after saying his name, she walks over to stand next to him. Must...not...overanalyse...must....resist....can’t --- AIGHT look she moved next to him. Didn’t need to. Nia’s not moving. Brainy wasn’t talking to her yet. Might one say she subconsciously feels comfortable being next to Brainy?! MIGHT ONE --- okay fine, I’m reaching, I’ll stop. But go on. Rewatch the clip. 23:10 is the timestamp.

Oh yes, this is probably why they wanted Kara to move. To get this angle specifically and reaffirm the #SpouseEnergy radiating of these two. Exasperated dad and amused mum. Look at it. Breathe it in. Rejoice.

Oh, this is just to compliment Melisa Benoist and Jesse Rath, just cause they move super in sync here, almost like you’d see in a cartoon/anime and I just found it pleasing. Moving on.

Alright, the next screencap is where Brainy thinks he’ll never see his ring again and is understandably in a bit of a shock. He looks at Nia and then Kara, then back at J’onn. Kara looks down before looking at Brainy.

Okay, you get the point. If it looks like Kara’s getting closer to Brainy every screenshot, it’s just cause the camera angle is shifting, by the way. Although, if you watch the clip, she is shifting her weight back and forth between her feet, throughtout this whole moment, which I didn’t notice until taking these screenshots, which is some very nice subtle acting from Benoist.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the first time Kara has seen Brainy when he’s emotionally vulnerable (onscreen, at least lol). She wasn’t there when he was rattled by the hatred he got when his image inducer didn’t work (Alex was there). She didn’t see him cry and didn’t hear him talking about his tears of logic (Lena was there). And when he just lost his ring, she wasn’t really there either (Nia was there). Anyway, she and the others are visibly unhappy when Brainy is unhappy. Even as part of a group shot it’s nice to see it, finally. It only lasts a little while anyway, because Brainy swiftly changes the subject.

It’s like an appetizer to the emotional main course we’re getting right after. For that moment when our beloved Brainy says -

El Mayarah - (IT’S GO TIME PEOPLE)

“Ah...yes, it’s the march today...will you all be joining?” He finishes that sentence, looking at Kara. Because we know who he wants to go most. Ahem *cough, cough*.

@fairyroses pointed out that here, after J’onn has said he’ll be there and Brainy proceeds to say ‘Wonderful! ..Kara?’ That this might be the first time Brainy addresses Kara directly as ‘Kara’ when speaking to her. As in usually he’s like ‘Supergirl, we need to....’ etc. Which is strange considering we’ve been shown that he’s close enough to hang out and watch movies at the loft with her and Alex (pre-mind-wipe) but nope we haven’t had an onscreen ‘Kara’. I tried finding one to no avail. So this must be it, then.

Also, look at that raised eye-brow right here. He’s so excited, bless.

‘Yes, I definitely think we should be there’ -

‘HUZZAH’. -- Yep, Brainy is happy that they’re going. Look how excited he is.

With the same energy from 4x01 where Kara says ‘nice work, Brainy’.

Okay, again, look how happy Brainy is. And he’s just looking at Kara with that smile. My actual heart eeeek.

And then his confusion when he realises that she didn’t mean that she was going to march with him. Complete confusion.

‘Uh..’

‘Kara...a..’ (SECOND KARA)

‘A word’ He looks shook the whole time.

He takes a while to actually start talking to her. He looks down again, back at her as if he’s about to start talking about then away again for a tiny moment. (also whoops got that screenshot mid when he’s licking his lips. Was an accident but...you’re welcome.) I wonder how many thought tracks he’s using to try and get the correct words to talk to Kara about this, because there seems to be some hesitation there.

‘I think it would mean a lot to have Supegirl march today’ - So more obviously I think Brainy says that as a sense that the aliens attending would feel more strengthened by her marching, and of course that everyone could see who Supergirl stood with. But of course, I think he also means this, as in personally, since this is the march, that he organised.

“I wish I could, Brainy, but I think it’s more important for me to patrol. In case anything gets out of hand.”

Kara’s genuinely sorry here, and that glint on her glasses makes her seem even more remorseful (yay angles), and I like how she makes it clear that she wants to support Brainy and the march, but is putting her duty to protect as Supergirl first.

“They won’t. I am American Alien. Hash-tag, American Alien.”

So, Brainy didn’t feel the need to tell the others that he himself organised the march. I think he assumed they would all be up for going, without saying. He reveals this now, to reassure Kara that as the organiser, he would be able to keep things under control. I also like how confident he is here, with his ‘they won’t’.

“You..you organised it?” - and now it’s Kara’s turn to be surprised.

“When I lost my Legion ring, I realised how much I depended on it for strength and confidence. I thought it was what made me a hero.” Oooof there you go, there’s that vulnerability that Kara has not been shown to have seen before. “But not having it these past few days made me see, it wasn’t the ring that gave me strength.”

“It was fighting.” *breathe* “alongside all of you.” - @kara-querl mentioned that she thinks that Brainy wanted to just ‘alongside you’ at first, but changed his mind. Which I could totally believe. But I also think he might be remembering fighting as a Legionnaire back home as well.

I think a reason why we didn’t see his realisation is that 1. well, airtime 2. He’s been showing that he gains strength from fighting alongside others over the past few episodes. That’s why he was so adamant on getting together a superhero team - trying to convince Nia to join them when the DEO fired Supergirl, and then being more eager about it after Alex’s mindwipe. Going to J’onn with money to try and get him to join their team. He wanted to gain their strength for Kara, but he also needed their strength too.

“helping to make the Earth a better place.” Oof and look at Kara’s face. I think she’s getting just as emotional over this as we are. I also love how she just listens to Brainy. She doesn’t interrupt or even try to, which is excellent. Pefect communication skills.

“In times like this change won’t come from someone with a Ring, or a cape. It will only come when each one of us answers the call to stand up and be heard” Brainy is not asking for Supergirl, the symbol and is not going as Brainiac 5, the legionnaire. He wants them to go, purely as themselves.

“El Mayarah” - OKAY CUE ME LOSING MY SH*T RIGHT HERE. especially after making that post about wanting inside codes/jokes in Kryptonian for them, I’M He uses Kryptonian, trying to convince her and not any old plain Kryptonian but her god dang House of El family motto. This is not about just trying to convince Supergirl, this is trying to convince Kara Zor El.

So Kara has been listening carefully and holding eye contact with Brainy this whole time (thank you), and when he says ‘El Mayarah’ she looks down immediately. How long has it been since she’s been specifically an El? A while. And even though she loves being Kara Danvers, and that’s who she is with Alex right now, Alex doesn’t know the Kara who she first met, the one she first met as Kara Zor El.

“Stronger together.” I love love love how he reiterates this 1. cause lol I’m sure a lot of viewers forgot what it meant 2. He just says the meaning again in the language of Earth, the one sh’es adopted, calls home, and is trying to protect.

And here Brainy follows her eyeline when she looks down, coaxing it back up as he says ‘stronger together’. I’M SOFT.

He takes another breath and breaks eye-contact and looks away. Yup, that was a lot. A lot of emotion right there. He needs a break. I need a break. [we’re just about to hit screenshot 40 WOW I do need a break]

I like how Kara’s still looking at him, nice. Thanks. Also Nia just streching in the background, not interuppting yet. Dad and Mum are having a Serious conversation, gotta keep busy and not make eye contact, duh.

“Just because we’re superheroes, doesn’t mean we forget who we are.” - Beautiful. What a beautiful speech. Brainy always seems to be there to help remind Kara of what’s important. 3x10 - with her as Kara Danvers, and now 4x14 with her as Kara Zor El. He’s there to support her not only as the hero, Supergirl, but all sides of herself, all sides of Kara.

She takes a breath here, and I think she’s definitely conflicted . She follows with a , I’m sorry Brainy...the risk is too great.”

BRAINY DOES A LITTLE TINY SHAKE OF HIS HEAD. Like he has more eto say but is also still shocked. And then Nia says she’s ready.

(OKAY YOU GUYS TOOK SO LONG. CAN WE GO PLAY PATROL NOW? PLEASEEE?)

And here Brainy is still in disbelief and worried, like look at this face and oh my god --- I took this screenshot and then just had to replay the clip - HE’S FIDDLING WITH HIS FINGER WHERE HIS LEGION RING USUALLY IS. THE THING HE DOES WHEN HE’s FEELING ANXIOUS. Lord help me, I’m done.

“Supergirl may be a symbol...” -- ooof they look so pretty there.

“but more importantly, she’s a citizen of Earth. Like the rest of us”. And he does this little shoulder raise at ‘like the rest of us’...my heart. He’s trying to appeal to her as people who both are not from Earth, but call Earth their home. [sidenote: ohoho ARE YOU EXILED FROM COLU, HUH BRAINY? IS THAT REBOOT BACKSTORY, I HEAR? sorry, moving on]

Another long pause before the “Remember that” --- ahhh he still looks so soft, end me.

NOPE. NOW I’M DONEKARA’S FACE AS SHE WATCHES HIM LEAVE. SHE’S SHAKEN BY THE SPEECH AND I THINK SAD THAT SHE’S LETTING BRAINY DOWN. AND HERSELF DOWN AS A CITIZEN OF EARTH.

Phew. That was long. A long but beautiful secton. ALRIGHT. LET’S KEEP GOING, SHALL WE? LET’S HEAD OVER TO -

THE MARCH -- IT’S TIMEEE

“They’re not like you - you’re a superhero.” --- I’m starting here because I think it’s important that he doesn’t say ‘you’re Supergirl’ he says ‘you’re a superhero’, because Brainy’s whole speech’s bottom line was “Just because we’re superheroes, doesn’t mean we forget who we are.” That they’re not just superheroes.

And I think here, she fully understands what Brainy meant.

“No, you’re wrong, I am just like them.” --- so in otherwords, she’s a superhero but more importantly she’s a Citizen of Earth, just like them. This episode is not just great for karadox but great for Kara’s character development because her identity as Supergirl was so at stake, that she’s put that above all else and now she remembers what she needs to be doing. I’M SO PROUD. Rip rewatching this part made me a bit teary wow what is this. KARA I LOVE YOU.

Hmm...is Brainy the first one to look up? MAYBE SO. im not sure but shh

THERE SHE ISSS. SHE.

Everyone’s in awe.Also, Brainy’s fingers are steepled here, when they weren’t before. (Excitement? Perhaps? idk, hm)

AWE I SAY. AWE.

“Supergirl.” HE’S HAPPY. LOOK AT THAT. LOOK AT HIM. AHHHH.

“It’s Kara Zor-El.” KARA ZOR EL OF THE HOUSE OF EL. WITH HER GOD DANG ROBES. ‘ In times like this change won’t come from someone with a Ring, or a cape.’ -- SO SHE CAME AS HERSELF.

“Citizen of Earth” - Just to reiterate -- ‘ more importantly she’s a Citizen of Earth’. She says this. While maintaining eye contact with Brainy the whole time she lands and joins the march. His speech helped her make this decision directly, and she’s letting him know that it did. Her smile in this screenshot and the one above. HER SMILE. BLESS KARA.

And now J’onn says ‘nice to have you with us’ - and they automatically hold hands. Oof and my heart, Papa J’onn. The father figure we all deserve. And...ohhhhH...hmm see Brainy is still holding his hands in position and maybe they made him do that...

To make it clear that it wasn’t automatic. So that Kara has to offer her his hand. Look at her smile. He’s still just looking straight at her. ALSO LOL J’ONN IS LOOKING. HE SEES.

AHAHA LOOK AT BRAINY JUST STARING DOWN. ‘oh yes, I should...hold the hand’. And kara’s smile like ‘yes, yes, it’s okay’. AND LOOK J’ONN IS SMILING AGAIN AHA. He ships it is proud too. hmm I wonder if J’onn was secretly listening to their convo the whole time...or hm maybe Brainy voiced how he felt that Kara wasn’t coming to the march to J’onn before it started. I gots to know

THERE

IS.

alksdjaslkjdalsjdlaskdjlaksjd

wow wow wow wow wow

STRONGER TOGETHER INDEED.

1. the alien march is stronger together

2. MY SHIP IS SO STRONGER TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO BE THEIR BEST SELVES.

Brainy takes his hand and Kara tightens the hold on it. THANK YOu. THANK YOU.

See, the reason they gave this close up, I think, is to

1. reaffirm the themes of togetherness in this episode

2. FEED ME THAT GOOD KARADOX FOOD THAT I ORDERED.

Kara is just taking a breath here but lol I still laugh at how much it looks like the Distracted Boyfriend meme.

“Thank you.” *turns to Kara* “Both”. So much direct eye contact this episode.

THIS IS THE PUREST OF SMILES. KARA. SMILING AT BRAINY THANKING HER. WHO IS HAPPY TO BE HERE TOGETHER IN THE MARCH. PURE. MY SHIP IS PURE.

And you can’t see it well, or much at all, until she turns but he was smiling too, even if it’s not that clear.

And off they go, to confront Lockwood at -

The Rally

A bottle is thrown over their heads.

“Stay peaceful! - Brainy. Kara is shaken, by the looks of it. And Brainy just instinctively holds his hand out to Kara this time.

Takes a moment after he holds her hand...then...

“Don’t stoop to his level.” - again, supporting each other. He takes her hand this time.

BLESS THIS EPISODE.

So here they’re looking at the people who were here supporting Lockwood and I love how Brainy just looks them straight on. Kara’s also maintaining eye contact in the face of aggression.

The Fight

“Hologram!”

“Then where’s the real Manchester?”

Okay, so I just like how they can switch so quickly to get into the fight. Superhero mode starts exactly now. And just look how smoothly they go about it. I love them.

So here, she says she’s gonna go find Hat.

“Hello, Hat, we meet again.”

*insert fightscene that you can see giffed by @fairyroses here http://fairyroses.tumblr.com/post/183443782018*

“You don’t need a ring, when you have friends.” Throwback to how he gets his strength from fighting alongside the team.

“So where are your friends now?” - jinxed yourself, mate.

Kara literally is only a blur in this scene. And lmao Brainy catches the hat, which I did not realise till I saw the gifset. I’ve included @fairyroses tags here because she says it all and I literally can’t take any credit for noticing this lol. Bless you.

“Nice work, Brainy.” - I am fed well with all the times she has said Brainy today. Compliments today too.

“Now get him to the DEO.” - LOOKING GOOD BRAINY.

“Then help me get as many of these people to safety as you can.” Menagerie was brought in my the team sans Brainy, and now Brainy and Kara are taking down Hat together. I like how she says then help me. Just another confirmation of yes, you are on my team, even if you’re going back to the DEO for a tiny bit for the delivery. Again, stronger together.

“And this was from the time me and your mum took down a villain named Hat together” - is not something that was said, but is going in my future headcanon, thanks.

And yep, that’s the beautoful end of the karadox interactions of this episode, time that I start -

Wrapping it Up

Shh, yes I have more to say, bear with me.

“I know that Supergirl and I have not been on the same page lately, but you know, seeing her out there in that march, hand in hand with everybody else,I was inspired.” - so ‘I think it would mean a lot to have Supegirl march today’ ---- Turns out it also meant inspiring Alex to take action too. Brainy’s speech being the root of convincing Kara and Kara taking that stand. directly inspired by Brainy grabbing Kara’s hand that second time, kthx

“Yeah.” - Kara agrees, and then makes a funny joke about roughing Ben lockwood up lol. She did tho.

“No, *laughs* no, you know I followed my beliefs, not the rules..and it felt really good to take a moral stance.”

“Yeah, I think everyone at the march felt that way.” - Kara was glad to have gone to the march and she felt better for it. Oof look at that smile. Look at how good she thought the march was.

“It just goes to show to show, no matter who you are. Alien, human, superhero. Every action counts. And every voice matters.” ---- again, throwing back to Brainy’s speech.

“In times like this change won’t come from someone with a Ring, or a cape. It will only come when each one of us answers the call to stand up and be heard”.

So everything ties together nicely, in -

THE END

Thanks for bearing with me, which I assume you have if you’re all the way down here.

To summarise:

Brainy and Kara make an excellent team and they both are each others’ strengths, and help each other grow. They are stronger together.

#supergirl #brainiac 5 #karadox #querl dox #kara zor el #my post #kara danvers #my text #supergirl ramblings #my ramblings #karadox ramblings #cw supergirl

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