#me likey episode big time

[hnrye]

WATCHED THE NEW TOH EP !!!!!!!

#Ohhhhhhhgh im. so mentally ill about this one boys ! #i need to like. collect my thoughts. i watched it w my dad so i couldnt like pause and think or anything i need to process it all. #aghh. WILLOW.......... #also my dad has been insisting since even before this ep that he thinks willow is just like me. which you know. hes probably sortof right. #<- granted i think his main reasoning is like. shes nice and shy and wears glasses and is also girlboss. but hes right for other reasons. #but god yeah. willow in this ep............... god. she's sooo. ogh. i dont even have words. #likei said. finished watching like a minute ago i need to process. and maybe rewatch it a couple times. #then i can form some like. coherent thoughts abt it. #i like the collector a lot i think hes silly !! your honor hes just a little guy. #also god. i know raine only said like one thing as themself in this ep but i miss themm :( forgot how cool they are. #and eda. love her. big fan. 10/10 no criticisms. #ermm. what else. i think. the episodes pacing was sortof weird but. obviously cant exactly blame them for that. #LUZS PALISMAN IS SO SILLY !!! BIG FAN #god. i really did almost cry at this episode like five times. i didnt ! because i was with my dad. but it was close. #shut up henry #ok thats it. will come back later with more coherent thoughts godbless. #toh spoilers

[ananke-xiii]

My ranking of SPN seasons (based only on their PLOT) pt. 4 [final]

OKAAAAAY, LEEEEET'S GO!

Here, here and here I've covered from ranking #15 to #4 so let's see which seasons will be on the podium!

3. Season 8: This season really gave me life, it's absolutely one of the best. Plot-wise, I ADORED the introduction of the tablets and the Trials, whoever came up with this idea was pure genius. So Basically our heroes have to deal with the aftermath of the events in season 7: Dean has spent 1 year fighting monsters in Purgatory while Sam run away from his responsibilities and has found shelter in the arms of a woman. Cas seems nowhere to be found. The character who moves the plot forward is my beloved Crowley: while Dean was feeling pure in Purgatory with this vampire boyfriend (ihih), and Sam was guitl-trapped into adopting a dog (seriuosly? biggest red flag ever), our King of Hell was busy carrying the show on his shoulders. He kidnaps Kevin and orders him to translate the demon tablet. Since he's not stupid, he quickly understands that 1 leviathan table + 1 demon tablet = 1 angel tablet. Consequently, his quest for the latter begins. After 1 year of hedonism, our heroes realize that they had left poor Kevin behind while an astonished Castiel comes out of nowhere. The plot gets interesting. We find out that the demon tablet contains information on how to close the Gates of Hell. Comedy of error ensues since literally everybody thinks that the angle tablet would contain the same info as the demon tablet (really, guys? The ONLY smart person in the room about this was DEAN, as per usual). So what's written on the angel tablet? Surprise! We don't really know 'cause poor Kevin spent 6 effing months trying to translate half of the demon tablet so there's now way to know now! Cas makes the usual stupid choice and gets played by Metatron: he will undergo the Three Trials to close the Gates of Heaven. Meanwhile poor Sam undergoes the Trials to close the Gates of Hell. Eventually, Dean convinces him to stop the last trial otherwise he will die and poor Dean cannot live without his baby brother (same goes for little jealous Sam who, while literally dying, finds time to tell Dean that he feels left behind because Dean seems to love his Purgatory vampire and his trenchoated angel more than him (codependecy level: atomic)). Metatron fools everyone and cast a spell to make all angels fall. BOOM, season finale is EPIC. I really really enjoyed this season, it was so rich and full of turns of events but everything was coherent and engaging. What I didn't like is brainwashing Cas via Naomi. Plot-wise, it was unnecessary since Naomi literally reveals her original plan to Dean after episode 17 so, what was the point? Sure it gave us the memorable crypt scene and for it I am forever grateful. But in terms of plot, meh. It was weak. Also, it looks a lot like what happened with Godstiel in season 6 AND weird Cas in season 7 (poor Cas knows no peace of mind, literally).Once again Cas as a character is not fully in control and makes shitty decisions for reasons unknown? Mmmmh, me not likey.

2. Season 4: This season was explosive, I fucking loved it! First of all, as I've already said, I like when there's sort of a deadline in the plot and here we have a big one: Lilith is on her course to open the 66 seals that will free Lucifer from his cage. Problem is: nobody knows which ones she will choose since there are like 600 of them. Sam and Dean try to prevent the opening of the seals but things get complicated when the Angels enter the arena: they certainly look more like enemies rather than allies and for sure cause a lot of problems more than provide solutions. Previosly on Supernatural, Dean was rescued by Castiel from Hell (what an epic entrance, Cas!!!) after having spent 30 human years torturing and being tortured by demons, yay! Sam is now addicted to demon blood and nobody is pleased about it so our heroes have plenty on their plate. Plot-wise, this season was everything, it was a rollercoaster of turns of events, allies that become enemies, enemies become allies but wait no! they've been enemies all along! Castiel inadvertently changes the course of the story and creates real free will, Supernatural goes fully meta with the introduction of the Supernatural books by Chuck Shurley, angels are showed as scary, powerful creatures rather than comforting, merciful, ethereal beings ("Read the bible" LOL)... Man, what a fucking epic season! It felt serious but also carefree? It seems weird to say that but later on SPN gets increasingly tragic in tone so I'm very pleased with season 4 because it managed to balance everything out but with a lighter twist.

Season 11: while I was writing this, I was not sure which season would be number 1 but here I am, once again, in love with the plot of season 11. What can I say? "I'm a lover, not a fighter". So, the plot: the Winchester Bros Codependency Inc. has reached catastrophic levels: they are the ones to be thanked for the release of The Darkness into the world. The first interesting thing is that, for the first time ever, nobody really seems to know what to do. Thank God, there's the King of Hell (LOL) who promptly seizes the opportunity to take Amara and raise her hoping this would turn the events in his favours. However, he's unable to control her and soon Amara escapes wreacking havoc in the world. Not knowing what to do, Castiel decides to find Metatron, while Sam decides to go back into the Cage because he believes that Lucifer might be key to fighting Amara. Chaos ensues. Metatron doesn't really know shit, Lucifer same but he manages to escape via Castiel!vessel and we get Casifer (it was insane, I loved every minute of it!), the world is in shambles. A deus ex machina is needed: God/Chuck enters the chat. From here on, it all gets very philosophical and maybe that's why I frigging love this season. So, remember the Winchester Bros Codependency Inc.? Well, turns out Amara and God suffers from the same syndrome. They manage to (momentarily) find their balance while Dean (who had a bond with Amara because they both shared the Mark of Cain or whatever) decides to go to battle alone to convince Amara to stop or, if not possible, to die trying to save the world. And Sam Winchester is finally okay with this! Wow, progress, yes, right??? All ends so well that Amara gifts Dean with his friggin' mother who was dead 30+ years ago! Happy ending, much? LOL. I liked the simplicity of the plot, it's all very progressive, the pacing is slow but never boring, all characters still continue to make stupid choices but ultimately these don't bite them in the ass and they use them to grow... I don't know, I really enjoyed season 11. The only "negative" thing is that I wish the writers made Dean tell Cas something more meaningful than "you're our brother". Tons of metas have been written about it and yeah, I know, I know. Still, this season was all about "following the heart" so I'd have appreciated more honesty about this topic but hey, we all know how it ended so #nosurprise.

Okay, I'm done here! What do YOU think? Do you agree with my ranking? I'm curious, let me know!

#castiel #dean winchester #deancas #supernatural #supernatural meta #dean x castiel #sam winchester #tv shows #entertainment #spn #spnfandom #spn season 4 #spn season 8 #spn season 11 #chuck shurley #casifer #spn text post #spn castiel #destiel #metatron

[kopykunoichi]

Initial thoughts on episode 6 of The Bad Batch

Tech found a side gig - chain code forger

Omega has a bad feeling about the station, Echo goes in to prep the ship. Comes back immediately to find her gone. Echo: I take my eyes off her for two seconds and she takes off! Every. Kriffing. Time.

GUNGI! MY POOR FUZZY SON!

Omega's superpower is befriending everyone in the galaxy in 0.5 seconds.

Echo, you found her...set a new record with that one.

Omega: We have to help him. Echo: *tired dad sigh*

TBB:1 Creepy droids:0

This is like a wildlife catch and release: feed him, water him, release him into his natural environment.

Hunter putting his hand on Echo's shoulder when he tells him Gungi is a Jedi, he'll never be safe...🥺

Oh yay...space spiders again. I hate you people. I feel my xenoarachnophobia acting up.

Peaceful spiders? Plot twist. Bet they won't feature heavily in the story later.

Trandosians. It had to be trandosians.

Nice shootout. No one under cover. Charging tanks. Armorless child. I can't believe Omega hasn't gotten winged at least once yet. Plot armor > plastoid I suppose.

Dig a firebreak. Smart. How does Echo operate a shovel with only one hand?

Big meow meow. Me want to ride too.

Echo helping baby girl down. 🥺

Echo no likey jungle water. 😂

Wrecker just takes the whole communal bowl. OMG! Someone had to drain that from like 12 jungle leaves this morning, dude.

Echo is so loyal and just love him so much for that. Hunter's like, "You had me at saving kids".

Oh good, another reckless shootout with tanks. Good idea, use yourself as human bait. Seriously, how are any of them alive?

Ah, yes, here we go...here's how the space spiders are relevant to the plot. Naturally, they know who to eat and who not to eat. Poor chipped clones.

Gungi, why are you jumping INTO the ring of fire? I ask as Johnny Cash's voice rises unbidden in my head.

Kid, I love you, but you have a lightsaber. That should be a cakewalk. But luckily the nice spiders are coming to the rescue. I almost feel bad for that trandosian. Almost.

Hunter: where are the kids? Kids. Plural. He's already adopted Gungi in his brain. Papers are on the table waiting to sign. Echo snaps his head around. Every episode with Echo and Omega is literally just him repeating the line "Well she's not (here) NOW!"

That trandosian is still screaming as he's being carried off by space spiders. Maybe I do feel bad for him.

Of course Hunter and Echo went to go look for the kids. Between Hunter's tracking skills and Echo's parental instincts, they have the best chance. And you found them, good job. And more digging. One handed digging.

Wait, did Wrecker just SPEAK wookie?

Echo likes the jungle water. I was kind of hoping it was going to make them drunk or weird. Can you imagine Echo drinking jungle water, but it's like Sokka drinking cactus juice? IT'S THE QUENCHIEST! *Cheers, mate*

Hunter goes to talk with the old matriarch (yep, already forgot her name)...Tech immediately jumps up to be relevant and translate. Aww, baby, you're doing so good.

"They're just kids." So are you, Hunter.

The trees cry when they go and sing when they come back? It's me. I'm the trees.

Hunter: Someplace far away from war.

Hunter, sweetie...you don't seem to know what story you're living. But it's Star WARS. Your girl has a fight on her hands and you can't change that. Time to take a page out of Echo's book and just make sure she's ready for whatever comes her way.

#tbb spoilers #the bad batch #the bad batch spoilers #episode 6 #first thoughts #i loved it #i enjoy loose strings getting tied up and any time a Jedi padawan survives I rejoice #lots of good character tidbits in here #hunter seemed less tired #Echo is basically in charge though #hunter won't make a decision without his input #they are still heading separate ways and as sweet as they were with each other today... it's going to come to a head soon #tbb hunter #tbb echo #tbb omega #gungi #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #kashyyyk #space spiders

[leverage-commentary]

Leverage Season 3, Episode 12, The King George Job, Audio Commentary Transcript

John: Hey I'm John Rogers, executive producer.

Christine: Hello I'm Christine Boylan, writer of this episode.

John: And unfortunately the fantastic director, Millicent Shelton, of this- of this episode could not join us.

Christine: Because she's working all the time!

John: She's working all the time.

Christine: She's amazing!

John: Christine, how did this show come about?

Christine: I am obsessed with- [Laughs] a lot of things that are in this episode. And I begged you to let me do them.

John: The only thing missing from this is bustles and parasols, really.

Christine: It's true! It's true, we had everything but bustles and parasols.

John: James Frain.

Christine: James Frain! Obsession. [Laughs]

John: Great actor, yes, that wasn't creepy at all on set.

Christine: He became one.

John: Yeah, there you go. No, it was- we had been- we wanted to do a Sophie backstory episode for a while.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: We had been wanting to talk about- since we had been addressing - all year - everyone's reason for being on the show.

Christine: Obsession.

John: Obsession?

Christine: Eliot in a pilot outfit.

John: Eliot in a pilot outfit? Really? I did not know that.

Christine: [Laughs] Look guys, hot guys in pilot outfit? That's hot.

John: I was not aware.

Christine: I'm just saying.

John: And, you know, as you'll see in the finale, you know, we really get into why Eliot is trying to redeem himself. And in this was our chance to kinda see- to have Sophie realize what a lot of grifters sorta push off, is that it's not a victimless crime.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: You know, that you rip off institutions and you rip off insurance companies, so it's all kind of a chess match with giant corporations and you know, that there is some human fallout. Which is something shes not dumb enough not to realize before, but she’s always emotionally quashed.

Christine: She's been able to turn a blind eye to it before now.

John: Exactly, because she’s evolving. She's actually- that's something we talk about in the Sophie/Nate relationship all the time is part of the problem is, Sohpie’s actually becoming a better human being faster than Nate is.

Christine: Hmm.

John: And that's one of the reasons they can't actually ever quite make it work.

Christine: Mhhm, mhmm.

John: She's farther along her sort of, you know, decency evolution.

Christine: This, look- this was, all day this large choreographed scene where they said, “You may as well have written The Music Man.”

[Laughter]

Christine: It's a lot of moving parts, a lot of people doing a lot of simultaneous things, and it had to play out almost like a little play, which was a lot of fun for me.

John: Yes. You love little plays.

Christine: I do love little plays.

John: Camera people when you have three or four cameras in there at the same time, not so much.

Christine: No likey. Camera people no likey.

John: Big thing for the fans, kids- people dig Eliot Spencer helping adorable war orphans.

Christine: I know, yeah, they really do. And how cute is this kid, she's so cute.

John: She was adorable, she was really great.

Christine: She was wonderful. She was wonderful.

John: And this was also- it was interesting we were breaking this episode, it was so plotty that it was one of those things where we realized we just have to jump in the middle.

Christine: Just- I love starting in the middle. Oh my god, great, staring.

John: Just immediate - we’re up, we’re running.

Christine: We’re up and running.

John: The audience knows the show by now, we’re well into third season, you'll figure it out!

Christine: I mean yeah, look it’s James Frain, do you think he's the good guy? No!

[John Laughs]

Christine: No, he's not the good guy!

John: He's a sinister Brit in a suit! Come on!

Christine: He's a vampire sometimes, sometimes he's a, you know, renaissance villain.

John: We did do the take where James kissed Aldis like in True Blood, and that's on the servers somewhere.

Christine: That's on my reel at home. That's a private reel.

John: By the way, having just flown through, this looks distressingly like the actual customs arrival at Logan.

[Laughter]

Christine: Yay!

John: Yeah, it’s actually pretty close, it’s actually-

Christine: Did you get caught with some contraband?

John: I did not get caught with some contraband.

Christine: Illegal lion statues?

John: No. 

Christine: Tiger statues?

John: No, I- all my illegal stuff is virtual.

Christine: I am also obsessed with antiquities trafficking. Because it is something that drug lords do to make money to move drugs, which is a lot fun! 

[Christine Laughs]

John: And we've mentioned on a couple of the commentaries, we spend a lot of time- and this is one of those weird things, you know, people that write shows are human and they get into their little sort of obsessions. And we got really deeply into money laundering and the ways in which you launder money this year. And it just so happens that some of them are very glamorous.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: Like antiquities smuggling.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: Yeah, it's not just for giant nations pillaging other giant nations.

Christine: It’s true.

John: Antiquities. It's for individuals too.

Christine: That was-

John: We gave her a bear! A little bear of peace to hug!

Christine: Come on, how cute is she?

John: She's adorable.

Christine: Adorable.

John: Adorable. An accessory after the fact, I'm sorry she's going to jail. 

[Christine Laughs]

John: That was another thing, too, by the way. I love watching the arc of audience research on the boards and forums.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Cause I do go and watch, and as people know I’ve got the blog and ask questions. And this was one of those things where it's like, ‘Well I love the episode, but I don't know about- can they really take kids and keep them in custody? Can ICE really do that?’ And then about a day later- it's the same on all of them, a day later it's like, ‘Well, I'm doing some research,' and then about a day later, ‘Oh god, this is horrible!’

[Laughter]

Christine: Oh it's real!

John: ‘It's real and horrible!’

Christine: It's real!

John: Yeah. We do a lot of research into horrible things so you don't have to.

Christine: Mhmm.

John: And bang, we’re into the credits.

Christine: And here we are. That was very wonderfully cut together, wonderfully directed, vital kind of- they did a great job.

John: Truly difficult. That whole teaser, that happens in one scene.

Christine: They gave me so much shit on set. Paul Bernard just looked at me with the eyes of death like, ‘Come on lady! Nine pages, huh?’

[Christine Laughs]

John: Nine pages. You do write big scenes.

Christine: Look at this!

John: I adore you, but you do- you don't write television scenes.

Christine: Look at this shot!

John: Keep talking about the shot.

[Laughter]

Christine: This is Shanga Parker, he’s a great actor.

John: How long was the first act you ever gave me in the first script?

Christine: Twenty pages!

John: Twenty page act.

Christine: Twenty pages in The Miracle Job, act one.

[Laughter]

Christine: First draft.

John: There were some beautiful speeches, they’re lovely.

Christine: Some beautiful speeches, they moved to like act three mostly, so.

John: Now I'm sorry, what was I talking about?

Christine: This was Shanga Parker, he is a fantastic local actor who we worked with.

John: Where were we by the way? We are at the convention center?

Christine: Also a professor. This is the convention center.

John: In Portland. This is great.

Christine: Yeah, not overrun by comic book fans, which is usually how I see a convention center. So this was, you know-

[Laughter]

Christine: This was nice.

John: It's like, ‘Oh, this is what it looks like when normal humans walk through?’

Christine: Yeah! It's what- they look like airports!

John: Yeah theres no chunky transgendered Wonder Woman in here, it looks like an airport.

Christine: No. Oddly enough there was, actually.

John: That was odd, actually on the set.

Christine: I brought her with me, she was my assistant.

John: Really? There you go. Doing a lovely job, just- you know there's a lot of good people in the system, and doing their best to help people out. And, you know, it's one of the things we talk about the morality of the show. It's like, are we good guys, are we bad guys? Well, you know, sometimes the system needs a little kick in the ass, cause there are good people who are too good to kick it in the ass.

Christine: Absolutely. Immigration advocates, these guys work really hard.

John: That's a nice bit of staging, by the way, having the couple passed out on the couch.

Christine: Yeah.

John: That's a beautiful little bit of airport detail.

Christine: It was tough, we had to kinda cheat a little bit to make sure they weren’t distracting, but I learned a lot about what to put in background and what's already in the shot and- Millicent’s a great teacher, and she didn't mind me- my shadowing her like a little duckling for most of the shoot. It was really helpful.

John: That is also one of our first sort of great- we got in fast, and now we're doing a lot of backstory to reconnect this episode with the season arc.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: It's one of those weird things- and this is how it falls out. We had planned to salt the Moreau plotline about every third episode, but due to actor scheduling issues and a rewrite it just wound up being on either end of the season.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: So, you know, this really had- this episode had a lot of heavy lifting to do, which was kinda reintroduce this entire plotline. And Derek Frederickson of course doing great work on the graphics in order to make it clear.

Christine: Fantastic. And not only is he incredibly prepared and does a lot of research and does great work, you know, before, in prep. But when you show up on the day and you want something different, he can whip- he’s magician! He's a magician.

John: Yes, he's actually sitting there with a laptop and I said, you know, “Give me something that looks entirely different.” Five minutes later, “This?” “Oh my god!”

Christine: I have not bought him enough cocktails, that’s the- [Laughs]

John: I think- that has to be a digital shot. Because- yeah.

Christine: Yes.

John: We were shooting through the TVs at that point, and I don't think we’re capable of doing that.

Christine: No.

John: This was also very cunning of Millicent, to break our five up into twos in a way I don't think we'd done before by shooting straight at them.

Christine: Yes, yeah.

John: Usually we rake. Claridges, real? Made up?

Christine: Claridges is made up. A lot of the stuff in here is real in the Leverage world.

John: Yeah.

Christine: Some of the royal stuff, we wanted to- I love the royals. Don't you, John?

John: I hate the royals.

[Christine Laughs]

John: I hate the royals. It’s-

Christine: It’s class warfare.

John: It’s absolutely class- 

Christine: Class warfare.

John: If I could watch that castle burn to the ground… Anyway.

[Christine Laughs]

John: No, it was.

Christine: See I’d like to, you know, get them out and live in the castle.

John: Yeah, no.

Christine: It’s two different approaches, same result.

John: I am personally- level that ground and build a school on it.

Christine: More of an opportunist myself.

John: This was actually fun, was giving her the, “Can I brood here, too?”

Christine: Oh, yeah.

John: It's, you know, people are not unaware of the fact that Nate is a moody bastard. 

Christine: Mhm.

[Laughter]

John: And this is one of the- another great things in the third season where they are pairs, they are partners, they're, you know, they're equals here. This is, again, not a scene that would have happened in the first two. And part of the fun of doing television, you can develop relationships over a long periods of time.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: You can't do this in a movie.

Christine: No, you absolutely cannot. That's why movies will always be the inferior.

John: Really? Wow.

[Christine Laughs]

John: There's a reason you're my favorite!

Christine: Ohhh, that's right!

John: Nicely done!

[Christine Laughs]

John: There you go.

Christine: This was a lot of fun to shoot; this was rewritten. Like- I try to rewrite everything on the day, that's the- [Laughs]

John: Really, make it easier for yourself, Boylan.

Christine: Yeah, except for those big Music Man sequences. But this, you know, Gina and Tim know their characters, they wanna play and we can- this scene always gets ten times better when you sit down and just read it with them, you know?

John: It's always fun, too, because I remember the first time I was on set and they came up and they're like “John, we think we're rewriting this scene”. It was- I think it was in the military one first season, oh my god we made enough of these- Homecoming. Where we want to change the nature of this conversation, and I was bracing myself for the giant actor thing of a total rewrite but they just [unintelligible] two sentences later. ‘That's it?’

Christine: O-ok?

John: Alright, fine!

Christine: Sure!

John: And, you know, they- yeah.

Christine: There's a respect that goes both ways, and I think the writer needs to be present for the actor and vice versa. And it really-

John: That's what the writer’s on set for.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: You know-

Christine: And to learn directing secretly!

[Laughter]

John: Don't get seduced by directing. 

[Christine Laughs]

John: A monkey could direct. [Monkey noise] “Ahhh ahhh!” Pointing at- there are the actors! What else are you supposed to point the camera at? It's not hard, people!

Christine: But here is another one of these- this was- we shot it at a college?

John: Yeah.

Christine: Beautiful location.

John: Lovely establishing. Wow, her in that dress is kinda amazing.

Christine: She’s amazing. Oh my goodness, and this- this office. I mean we turned it into an auction house, everybody did such a good job just dressing it, and already a beautiful location.

John: Dressing on this was great. Yeah, Becca and the whole production design team doing an amazing job.

Christine: Becca's another one who’s just, you know, a magician.

John: Yeah.

Christine: [Laughs] like pulling it out of a hat, I don't know how she does that.

John: I love that you've got a picture of Queen Victoria there, cause that really establishes exactly the tone and the style of the auction we’re gonna be doing.

Christine: I think so, it certainly made me feel comfortable.

[Laughter]

Christine: Loyalist that I am.

John: I know. You understand that blood isn't special. You understand that, right?

[Christine Laughs]

John: And Frain with the ascot! How perfect is that!

Christine: Look at Frain! Nadine really had to sell me on the ascot, but once she did- once he walked in she looked at me and she said, “Right? Am I right?” And I said, “So right, Nadine.”

John: So right.

Christine: So right as always. That's- playing the thug there, Ollie Trevena. Hilarious, and-

John: Really great.

Christine: Good with the stunts.

John: And it's tricky too, cause we had to have one of the funnier thugs we've ever had in this one. He really had to be able

Christine: He got a little speechify later on.

John: That bang over from there to there, that’s- this what I really like about this episode in- you know, it's great - this is the first episode Millicent’s directed for us, and so she brought a subtly different style to the show.

Christine: Mhhm

John: And watching it, it made- I really enjoyed it, because we’re in London, it feels like our ‘we went to London’ episode. 

Christine: Yeah.

John: It has a tonal difference, and part of the fun of doing the show is it's a different movie every week.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: And this is one of the ones where it really feels like it's a different movie. You know, now we're doing our Thomas Crown.

Christine: Yes, absolutely.

John: You know, the other one you did, it's our Friends of Eddie Coyle, you know.

Christine: Mhhm. And once again, Portland did provide.

John: Yes. Absolutely. 

Christine: Portland gave us London, so thank you, Portland.

John: White gloves.

Christine: Just put gloves on this guy, we’re in London! There you go!

John: Now wouldn't you take the gloves off in order to-

Christine: Absolutely not, he would not.

John: Oh this was great, this may be the single sexiest scene in the entire show.

Christine: Oh, she’s like, ‘could this be longer?’ But she was great.

John: Yeah.

[Laughter]

John: Actors- they all want monologues, and then the monologues are too long.

Christine: Oh I know, Gina said the same thing.

John: You can tell I'm in the second Guinness cause I'm starting to bitch about them.

Christine: No, I love them.

John: No, this- I love this scene. 

Christine: She’s amazing.

John: Because, again, this is how Parker sees the world. Inanimate objects and people are both- you're capable of relating to both of them on exactly the same way.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: No. 

Christine: She's manipulating them as well.

[Christine Laughs]

John: Wow, I don't know where that came from.

Christine: John!

[Laughter]

John: This was a ton of fun, doing the auction research, and figuring out how that worked. All these- also the antiquities research, although you had a lot of that from your previous stuff.

Christine: I had brought a lot of that with me, but it was fun to kind of- I had mostly looked at, you know, older stuff. Really just stuff from antiquity. But looking at the kind of newer things in the King George stuff, and the, you know, the signet rings.

John: Yeah, and we have to give- and as part of the whole we use all the parts of the buffalo, we have to give a shout out to the wonder twins.

Christine: Oh, yeah.

John: Cause the wonder twins had originally come up with the idea of a treasure hunt episode.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And they put it in Boston, which naturally put it in revolutionary times.

Christine: Right.

John: That led us to King George, but then we shelved that episode-

Christine: Right.

John: So years later when we came into the antiquities, you jumped on that, and it was-

Christine: Let us do King George, yeah.

John: It was great.

Christine: See, they would go for the revolutionary side of things, and I went for the the-

John: I know.

Christine: Red coat side.

John: Really?

[Christine Laughs]

John: Really.

Christine: That's why we’re a good team!

John: Go live in Acadia.

Christine: We’re a great team!

John: We are a great team.

Christine: Look at that statue, statue of Ra. 

John: I love that you can just ask Eric Bates: we need a statue of Ra, and he's like “I've got one on the truck.”

Christine: Yup, patted me on the shoulder, “Alright, Boylan.” With that look of ‘You're crazy, but alright. Let's do it.’

John: No, well it's not quite as bad as when he walked in the first season finale and went, ‘how many tiny statues of David?’

[Laughter]

John: ‘You realize these don't exist, actually, anywhere?’

Christine: Oh, man.

John: It's never boring on Leverage.

Christine: Having Sophie figure out, you know, Frain’s character's heart desire on the fly.

John: Yeah.

Christine: That is- that was fun.

John: That was- this episode, interestingly, really benefits, because it's not a particularly action filled episode. It benefits from the density of the investigation.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Because a lot of these- a lot of these scenes, a lot of these acts, and this is why you rewrite and stuff. Really in the outlining and the breaking we’re like “OK, this is gonna wind up being two episodes.”

Christine: Mhhm.

John: You know, and just crunching it and churching it and crunching it, really gave you exactly what everyone's job is at all times, and really made you understand why Sophie is a crucial part of this team. Sophie is a genius in her own way, as much as Nate is.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: No one else could pull this off.

Christine: And this is her area of expertise. I do like going into, you know, each of their areas of expertise in different episodes. It's nice to kind of- Parker's role for a while as we did in yours and Geoffs.

John: That was kinda fun in Gone Fishing, you're in Eliot's world. 

Christine: Absolutely.

John: Eliot- if you're gonna be running around the woods with people trying to kill you-

Christine: You wanna be with Eliot.

John: Yeah, exactly.

Christine: It's true, if you were gonna be in an auction house, you wanna be with Sophie.

John: Exactly. This was fun, this was-

Christine: Tim, looking dapper.

John: Exactly. And interesting- I had actually pitched this originally, when you were breaking this, but actually happening in the mens room.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And then- 

Christine: We couldn't find a good location, so we had the mens room lounge. This is like the right outside of the toilet.

John: As one does!

Christine: As one does.

[Laughter]

John: Absolutely. Also you can rough a man up in a lounge and people won’t pay attention, in the mens room, it’s expected? I don't know-

Christine: It's England, you expect Michael Caine to walk in and gut punch somebody, come on.

[Laughter]

Christine: Come on.

John: Michael Caine, great in an interview, the best advice about playing a villain I ever heard, which is the scarier the guy is, the softer he talks.

Christine: Oh I love that. Well Frain’s definitely got that down.

John: Yeah, Frain’s playing that. It's really is- he has no need to threaten someone because he is, himself, threatening.

Christine: And by the way, there's no nicer person in the world.

[Laughter]

John: Than James Frain?

Christine: Nicest guy in the world. And completely menacing.

John: Yeah, I love the way he picks up the physical cues. Coming up with the physical cues was fun.

Christine: That was fun. Ok, so this is where we went off and we worked on two different scenes.

John: Yes.

Christine: That had to connect, and we basically wrote exactly the same thing.

John: The same scene, yeah exactly.

Christine: Which was- made me feel like I learned something. I feel pretty good, you know.

John: It was- you know, the writers know this show by now. 

Christine: Yeah.

John: You know, and also I would say, temperamentally, you and I are probably the most similar- 

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Style-wise.

Christine: Yes. We’re both haptic, we like, you know, we like using all the senses, but having the object in your hand?

John: Yeah.

Christine: That's what this episode is about.

John: Exactly. And the- also that was kinda fun was coming up with, when we were first breaking it, trying to figure out what Hardison's job was.

Christine: Yeah.

John: And coming up with Hardison- that Hardison became- hacked history. That was-

Christine: That was-

John: That's my favorite part of the episode.

Christine: That's your most shining moment right there, by the way. That he hacked history.

[Laughter]

John: Thank you. That’s- we just, it- we’re kinda talking inside here, because of the nature of scheduling, Boylan and I wound up working on this one a little bit more cause I'd come back from directing-

Christine: Absolutely.

John: The other episode, and so I was out of the loop on another episode so I ended up jumping in on this one.

Christine: It was not a huge [unintelligible] with this one.

John: And also, you did back to backs.

Christine: I did, I did.

John: You were actually producing-

Christine: Yeah.

John: And being on set for-

Christine: Three-Card Monte.

John: Three-Card Monte. So I actually wound up hanging out and doing a little bit of the research before you came back, and you came back, I'd crunched a little bit of this.

Christine: Yeah. And it helped that it was this one, because at least I had done all that work, like, prior to going to Portland.

John: No, that's the thing - you had broken the plot, and just left me with the all the little research-y bullshit to come up with. Which I love doing.

Christine: You do.

John: I love- part of the fun for me in the show is finding everything out that's true that we can put on the air that people don't believe. She's amazing in this scene.

Christine: She's amazing. The two of them? Wow.

John: Yeah. Look at that kinda- she's a totally different human being here - that kinda bored, looking off a little to the left, the little head tilt.

Christine: And the genius of Gina, which some people are going to sort of recognize here and some people are not, but the way she slightly alters her accent. Just slightly goes for a more refined, different class.

John: Yeah, just the way she carries herself, the way she's thrown on the little sweater around the- she's wearing a knockout dress and by putting the little wrap on-

Christine: Changes everything.

John: Changes everything.

Christine: And again-

John: And look at that! She looks imperious there.

Christine: Oh, god.

John: You know. And meanwhile, in real life she's a really sweet, kinda goofy, you know-

Christine: Absolutely. ”Ooh Christine, another monologue!” That she had perfectly memorized and performed brilliantly. 

John: Yes, you know.

Christine: Of course.

John: They have to complain.

Christine: Of course. 

John: And again- I will say again, Nate in a chair getting beat up while Sophie runs a con, I have no problem saying this is one of my favorite recurring themes of the show.

Christine: I told Tim it was a dream of mine.

[Laughter]

Christine: Tim really enjoyed this episode, I have to say - he had a lot of fun on set.

John: Now, it's- well, you know, he looks great, by the way. That's a great look with the little- and he's hooked, and he's back in.

Christine: Yeah. And yeah the two of them had a lot of fun with this. Yeah, the hook- I love the walk away and then coming back.

John: Yeah, and also, again, one of the things you can do in third season, but also one of the things we try to reinforce now that she's his peer, when she says, “You know what I'm running here”, and he goes, “Yeah, but it's dangerous.” 

Christine: Right.

John: We don't wanna- don’t need to explain it to you, all you need to know is these two people know each other well enough to know what they're playing-

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And what the risks are. And it's a shorthand between peers.

Christine: Yeah.

John: Does she throw that- was she wearing that necklace in the other scene?

Christine: She was.

John: She was.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: It's amazing.

Christine: It looks different against the black than it does against the- yeah.

John: Amazing how different it looks.

Christine: And that's a fantastic sweater.

John: And Nadine throwing together a great little ensemble.

Christine: Oh, Nadine's amazing.

John: And the evil look there, and this is a bad idea.

Christine: Oh no.

[Christine Laughs]

John: This is a bad idea is one of our- now here's a question. Everyone else is dressed for the weather. Was it hot in that office?

[Laughter]

John: Is there- did he nearly pass out from the heat?

Christine: It sure was! Really hot in there.

John: Was it hot because they were trying to put on the lamps to make sure the gun show was bright enough?

[Laughter]

Christine: It was!

John: I remember-

Christine: I promise certain things!

John: Coming into the writing room, and on the wall it's like, it was you know, the priorities-

Christine: Strip Aldis down to his underwear.

John: The priorities for the episode, and one of them was Hardison in the t-shirt for the fans.

Christine: Yes.

John: Like alright, there you go.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: Aldis not complaining.

Christine: This is my favorite scene ever. [Laughs]

John: Ever?

Christine: Until now.

John: Yeah, there you go. No this is-

Christine: Until the one we’re performing right now.

John: This one right now?

Christine: This one we’re doing right here.

John: This is a great roundy round. This is interesting, this- we don't usually go around the circle on this type of-

Christine: Mhhm.

John: On this type of scene. But we were not in our usual set.

Christine: Yes.

John: So this table kinda demanded this geography.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And giving- again, Sophie, this is competence porn. This is pure competence porn.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: Giving Sophie the ability to instruct everyone else, ‘You’re in my world, these are the rules.’ And yeah, and then coming up with the physical aspect of exactly why the, you know, why the statue was unfakeable.

Christine: Right.

John: Absolutely lovely.

Christine: Why had we failed, how can we succeed, basically.

John: And now- and then, I think it originally started with a knighthood.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And then when we were doing the research we had no idea knighthoods were so cheap.

Christine: [Laughs] Knighthoods are pretty cheap.

John: Knighthoods - twenty six hundred. We actually used the line in the show. And it was just deep in the guts of doing the research we spent some time on the royal boards, and there are actually forums and websites of people dedicated to watching royalty. And not just famous royalty, but keeping track of the second cousins, and the third cousins.

Christine: Oh yeah.

John: And the people who are, you know, dukes four times removed. And that was fascinating!

Christine: Mhhm.

John: The idea that like, for example in New York, there are- there's royalty walking around that you would not recognize in any way shape or form.

Christine: Oh yeah. They have jobs, they live on the upper east side, they're, you know, wherever.

John: Yeah and they're, you know, seventh in line to succession someone.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And that was- and that led us to the lost baronies.

Christine: Yes.

John: The lost- and-

Christine: And there are so many we thought about planting some of our-

John: Yes, exactly. 

[Laughter]

John: It didn't really look all that hard to tell you the truth.

Christine: Just don't tell them we’re Irish. It’s fine.

John: Yeah.

[Laughter]

John: Don't tell them they're Irish. They don’t understand the horror of what's going on.

Christine: Smelling the statue.

John: Smelling the statue. And it was also a very nice beat you did here by giving each person- separate person a clue, so it wasn’t static.

Christine: Mhhm, yes.

John: And again, one of the things that the third season, discovering stuff during the scenes, makes exposition part of the conflict more. And I'll say this- no one comes to a show the best writer they are. You know, we definitely- the first season and second season were great, but I look back at them now and realize they gave us tools to do, you know, some great stuff in third season.

Christine: Completely.

John: Yeah. 

Christine: I'm constantly- I just learn on the job. I don't know what I'm doing on any given day.

[Laughter]

John: Well that's you. I'm talking about other professional writers.

Christine: Oh other professional writers.

John: You are-

Christine: Well I-

John: I'm basically stunned you're working.

Christine: I just walk in saying like, “Hey, look at this great statue. Let's do a-” [Laughs]

John: Yeah, exactly.

Christine: I mean, you know, all joking aside, having the audience as involved as possible is one of my constant goals. I want the audience to be a little- not even a little bit ahead, a little bit behind, but there.

John: Yeah.

Christine: Present, you know?

John: You like a lean forward episode.

Christine: I do like a lean forward episode, you know, there's nothing worse than being spoon fed information.

John: Yeah. I'm going to give a giant shout out to the greatest antiquities crime show of all time, Ian McShane in Love Story.

Christine: Oh, yeah.

John: For giving us some of the ingredients on that list.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: Because I'm pretty sure when we were breaking this it was like, “And here's the Love Story moment.”

Christine: Absolutely, yeah,

John: I remember being boggled when I was a kid watching that show like, ‘You can do this? Really?’ And, you know, we talk a lot about the influences on the show but Love Story is not not in the canon. It’s-

Christine: No, it's not.

John: It's in there, it's a big part of it.

Christine: Well I was also thinking because, you know, we had watched Three-Card Monte, and I'd written a little more investigative stuff this year, and I think it's because you made me watch Jonathan Creek.

John: Yes!

Christine: There was a lot of Jonathan Creek going on when I wrote this one, so.

John: Yeah. You know what, there's a lot of good stuff up there.

Christine: Yes, a lot of good stuff out there.

John: It’s people.

Christine: Most of it coming from Britain.

[Laughter]

John: No, well no. No, I mean it’s- we’re about to go on a giant side thing. Every country makes great television.

Christine: It's true.

John: They just don't export the bad stuff.

Christine: You know, well said. Well said.

John: Yeah, no, Jonathan Creek, created by David Renwick - great show. If you have a chance to get our DVD, and then get your friends to get our DVD, but then go get Jonathan Creek.

Christine: Go check that out.

John: Yeah.

Christine: Also a great show.

John: Also Millicent, great job here making a very static scene be fraught with parallel.

Christine: She's not afraid of the long scenes, John.

John: Yes. Long scenes are death in television, Christine.

Christine: Long scenes can be amazing as long as they have, you know, breaths and moments in fits and starts.

John: We actually talked about this one one of the other commentaries where the wonder twins were saying to Marc, “God, this scene is so long.” And he went, “No, directors love this! Gives us a chance to park the camera and work with the actors.”

Christine: There's an arc in the scene.

John: There is an arc in the scene. And that's the trick is writing is fractal. We get very geeky when it's just you and me.

Christine: I know, I kinda miss this, we haven't done this in a while, it’s fun.

John: Yeah, writing is fractal. Every show has a three act structure, every act is a three act structure, every scene has a three act structure.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: And, you know, if there's not a goal-

Christine: Whether it’s three lines or no lines or-

John: Exactly. If there's not a goal and not opposition, then you shouldn't be watching it happen.

Christine: Absolutely. And these two really dug in and it was magic to watch. I mean some of the best times were just sitting there watching them.

John: And I also love when Gina gets to do this, when she gets to do the lean forward hook.

Christine: Oh, man.

John: Because a lot of times she's playing slightly bitter characters, so she can't play the physical intimacy.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: I remember when we did the pilot, and she did the similar thing to Saul Rubinek.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Who of course has been acting for ages. Saul is one of the best actors I've ever seen in my life.

Christine: Absolutely.

John: And we broke and walked over and Saul was leaning against the railing. I said, “You ok?” He went, “You have no idea what it's like to have the full force of that woman's attention.”

[Laughter]

John: “I just- I need a moment.”

Christine: Mhhm.

John: She's great in this.

Christine: You know, we know why she's the greatest grifter, this is why. And these two. Hilarious.

John: Always hilarious. You cannot go wrong with a Hardison/Eliot scene. Oh and the little throwaway- by the way, this is nice, too, because it's not bickering.

Christine: Right.

John: You know.

Christine: They are working together, and-

John: If you go back and look at the season, you can see that to a great degree, their relationship has evolved.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And when they’re arguing, it’s because Hardison, quite frankly, is doing something stupid or dangerous.

Christine: Right.

John: All Eliot wants to do-

Christine: Well Eliot cares about him!

John: Eliot has wanted to have one job: keep all of these idiots alive.

Christine: Right.

John: That's it. It's just- keep them alive until they get- you know, until they are finished with the con.

Christine: He is the rational center.

[Laughter]

John: Eliot has the best sense of judgment on the crew. I say this constantly. Nate Ford is not good at escape plans.

Christine: No.

John: No. Eliot has the hardest job on the crew.

Christine: Parker can escape, but you know, by herself.

John: This is why I know, by the way, it’s you and I doing this because we're such writer geeks, we’re not really talking about the actors as much as we do on the other ones.

Christine: I know! We really should be!

[Laughter]

John: It's like right now in the internal life of the character.

Christine: Right! So. No, but I will say the Hardison/Eliot stuff- it was nice to have Millicent there. She's directed so many different, you know, various things, but she's also directed a lot of 30 Rock. That helped.

John: Yeah.

Christine: The kinda comic pacing and timing, It worked with the boys’ sensibilities. We had a nice fun set, and stuff moved along at a nice clip. Which is good considering it was a breakneck schedule.

[Laughter]

John: Yeah it's always a break- yeah, it's always horrible.

Christine: As usual, it's a breakneck schedule.

John: No, if you were to play this whole scene back to back it'd be- it’s an act!

Christine: Yeah.

John: It's almost an entire act, isn't it?

Christine: You look at me like I should be surprised at that.

John: Yeah, it's like a ten page scene.

Christine: I am not surprised at all! [Laughs]

John: And now the we think things have gone horribly wrong.

Christine: Janet Penner, she's lovely! Lovely local actress

John: Who's that? I'm sorry?

Christine: Janet Penner, local actress who was wonderful, and imperious in ways. Just, you know, yeah, she scared me.

John: Where do we come up with this twist, that she knew her? I'm trying to remember-

Christine: Well, we had talked about- it’s coming off of the Jimmy Papodakalis thing we'd been talking about earlier that, you know, they've got these personas. 

John: Yeah.

Christine: And to get that deep into a grift-

John: Yeah.

Christine: You know, she'd been running this-

John: Sophie was the long con.

Christine: For a long time. Yeah.

John: Exactly.

Christine: This is a long con.

John: And this is also something that- this is some backstory Gina had given me first year.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Gina has an entire Sophie backstory in her head. And we talked about how actors prepare, you know, Gina had the backstory. Beth has a little bit, Eliot has a very- Christain has a very detailed backstory. Hardison has a little bit. Tim, it’s very organic, he kinda plays it every year.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And fills in the backstory as he wants to evolve the character. Again, t-shirt really? That warm in that hotel room?

Christine: Uhh, look at all the work he's doing. 

John: Yeah? Really?

Christine: Yes.

John: Good to know. 

Christine: It's England. The AC doesn't work there. Also it’s winter.

John: I didn't know that. Huh.

[Laughter]

Christine: This hotel because it's very old, and it's hot.

John: Oh wow, good way to fill it in.

Christine: It’s not wired for that.

John: I'm just saying.

Christine: You know.

John: If I put Beth in an outfit like that, I’d-

Christine: I would like- exhibit A, Beth's outfit.

John: Oh, there you go.

[Laughter]

John: What's always also fun is we don't often play a Parker and Eliot versus Hardison scene.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: It's usually the other way around.

Christine: That was fun.

John: Yeah, it was a lot of fun just realizing he's a little overinvested. And the big thumbs up! I love the big thumbs up.

Christine: Oh man, hilarious. The IV pole with ink made me laugh so hard.

[Laughter]

Christine: That was a lot of fun to put together.

John: That was great set dec, that was really nice.

Christine: Oh man, they're great.

John: And now a big giant bombshell about Sophie's past; this was a lot of fun.

Christine: In a big giant hat as well. You had to have some big giant hats, or else this whole episode wouldn’t work.

John: Seriously, it's just- this thing is one long-

[Laughter]

John: Working at your subconscious in one long thing in this episode. And now we mention that we both plant the Moreau, remind people about Moreau, also I plant San Lorenzo.

Christine: Yes.

John: Which is important.

Christine: All leading up to the explosive finale.

John: The explos- wow. That- you really sounded like an announcer.

Christine: [Laughs] I can do a sound bite, I can do it.

John: There you go. I love how Tim’s playing this revelation. He's not being judgemental-

Christine: No.

John: But he's finally- he's got a giant chess set in his head of trying to put together Sophie's life, and this falls in.

Christine: Oh, yeah.

John: You know. It was tricky to figure out how to make sure it wasn't her name. And it was actually Gina who gave us the answer.

Christine: Yes, absolutely. And this is why you have to have intelligent actors to work with, who can participate.

John: Because we had this great bit and it was all “How do we write around her never saying her real name?”

Christine: Right.

John: And it was all this sort of dancing, and then Gina said, “Well it’s my stage name.”

Christine: Mhhm.

John: You know, she met me when I was an actress, and-

Christine: It's perfect.

John: Thank you so much.

Christine: And there was a lot of discussion about the lines of succession, and the royal houses, and yes, ours are a little bit- these are the royal houses in the Leverage-verse.

[Laughter]

John: Yes. There was a slight- there was a slight hiccup in the Edwardian succession that really- 

[Laughter]

John: It changed the Leverage-verse history slightly. Also zeppelins. Which you don't usually see cause we don't shoot the sky.

Christine: Yes. Also steampowered things.

John: This is- Leverage-verse is a little steampunk.

Christine: It is a little steampunk-y.

John: You hear- you see the great thing I heard the other day I put it on the- steampunk is what happens when goths discover brown.

Christine: Ohhh, wow.

[Laughter]

Christine: That's fantastic. 

John: Great- is that another white scarf? That is gorgeous.

Christine: Yeah, look how nice.

John: That is a great outfit.

Christine: Look how nice. He really, you know, he just looked great. [Laughs] Between takes I'm like, “Tim, beautiful.”

John: I know.

Christine: Beautiful. He enjoyed wearing nice clothes.

John: And then we had the full- this one, again, could be two episodes crammed into one.

Christine: I don't know what youre talking about. [Laughs]

John: We do a thing at the airport, and then we do a blown con, and then we do a hook-

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And we forge an antiquity, and now we steal an auction.

Christine: Right.

John: And we’re in act three.

Christine: Yes. I mean we bury the real bait inside the thing.

[Laughter]

John: Yes, exactly. No, and it was a lot of fun too, was coming up with the way that fourth act paid off.

Christine: Yes, brilliant.

John: That was nice.

Christine: That was- that was-

John: We’ve been wanting to do that for a while- well we'd been wanting to do that for a while, because Russian icons always kinda fascinate me.

Christine: Yes.

John: The idea of art that doesn't look like art.

Christine: Oh, is this something you're obsessed with?

[Laughter]

John: No not obsessed, just I have a big-

Christine: Super interested in.

John: Chris Downey calls it my big doctor's bag of bullshit.

[Laughter]

John: I have a giant doctor's bag of just random stuff that I've picked up from being odd. I also love that- just the- him drying it.

Christine: Oh man, manicure dryer.

John: The manicure dryer. Great bit.

Christine: They- the props, oh my god it's just- oh my god. Props and set dec working together to create genius in that whole sequence.

John: And that's great, all you have to do is pan across one- just one car with the steering wheel on the wrong side and you're in London.

Christine: That’s all you need, you're in London, look at these toughs.

John: And having been to London, by the way, yeah that's pretty much what it looks like.

Christine: I mean, Portland giveth.

John: Portland giveth. I also love the- this is kind of a callback to the overly loquacious villain in The Future Job.

Christine: Little bit.

John: A little bit.

Christine: Little bit. [Laughs] A little bit.

John: This may be related to, occasionally, when I drink the room I go into the villain speeches.

Christine: Yes, and they're long!

[Laughter]

John: They're long. They're long villain speeches. I think villains have rich internal lives.

Christine: Also, we like British thug movies. We like these kind of, you know-

John: Yes, exactly, this is where the show becomes snatched. Just for like-

Christine: A little bit.

John: This side of it.

Christine: Kinda love that.

John: Also we got the ‘very distinctive’ joke back.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Which I always love. 

Christine: Yeah, that worked out really well. And Ollie and Christain had a good time with those-

John: Yeah.

Christine: With all those takes and- hilarious for us.

[Laughter]

John: And now the stall. It's tricky, it's one of those things where the audience- television is tricky in that shows really are- the fates of shows- you generally know what's gonna happen in a show. And so trying to figure out how to create obstacles without them being schmut bait.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: You know, is it a stall? Is it really something going wrong?

Christine: And there are moments that just rest entirely on Sophie's ability to charm the pants off of him.

John: Yes.

Christine: And it works!

John: It works, absolutely. Yeah, and then she drops back into the other character. No, it's lovely.

Christine: Just so easily.

[Silence]

John: We’re doing that thing where we just watch the episode.

Christine: Yeah, it's really good, right?

[Laughter]

John: I hate when that happens.

Christine: Ah, I love that angle, and this.

John: Yeah and this.

[Laughter]

Christine: Also fun.

John: Honing door rule by the way - if we can avoid it, we never show Parker arriving in a scene.

Christine: Right, she appears like a sprite.

John: Ye- like a sprite? Really? I was gonna say ghost or wraith-

Christine: Sprite! Sprite’s are terrifying.

John: This was fantastic!

Christine: Oh.

John: We had like a whole mini con set up, and- how did we- how did that happen?

Christine: Ok, that was a joke- you know what? That's my husband's joke.

[Laughter]

Christine: That's weird! Yeah, it was a joke that Eric and I-

John: We should say Chrisitne got married, like, three days ago.

Christine: I got married a couple days ago, yeah. It's a joke Eric and I had thrown back and forth, and I believe he had made to you. We were having dinner with Wil Wheaton one night, and he made that joke in the parking lot.

John: That's right.

Christine: And we had been bantering it back and forth and then I'm going over the script and I thought, “Ooh, right here!” And he said, “Yeah, use it! Do it!” I said, “Wait, is that somebody else's?” He said, “No, I think that's ours! Or mine! Or somebody’s!”

John: All good things come from Wil Wheaton.

Christine: So there you go, yeah.

John: There you go. So if you wanna write, Wil Wheaton.

Christine: Go have dinner with Wil Wheaton, and he will inspire you to great jokes.

John: And if he says he's busy, just don't listen to him. Just break into his house and have dinner with him and good things will happen.

[Laughter]

Christine: He’ll love- he’ll respond to that.

John: This was a ton of fun.

Christine: Oh man [Laughs]

John: This came out of the original scene where she said, “Ooh, the last time I saw you was in The Louvre.”

Christine: Right!

John: The idea of Parker doing an auction of stuff that she at some point had her hands on? Lovely.

Christine: And it comes back to, you know, the theme of these are objects you can touch. These are objects that she has touched and moved at some point.

John: Well, it- also we had talked about the idea, we had had to create Parker's living space for episode five, and the idea that just in the darkness past that, there's just piles of this stuff!

[Laughter]

Christine: Yeah!

John: She has priceless artifacts sitting in a warehouse in Boston.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: Because she likes having them.

Christine: That's right, why not?

John: And then we wound up paying it off in Ho Ho Ho when that's the stuff she hangs on the Christmas tree.

Christine: They do pay off the storage units.

John: We do, the storage units-

Christine: Full payoffs.

John: I have a storage unit, so I know how-

Christine: So do I.

John: Oh you have a storage unit now?

Christine: I do. I'm a married woman now; I have a storage unit.

John: Exactly, had to move all your stuff.

Christine: How else to lure the young unsuspecting-

John: No, don't! Don't go there!

[Laughter]

Christine: Boxes of comic books! Into your storage unit!

John: Oh, I was thinking of another one.

Christine: Oh.

John: And I love- you know what? We talk about the different moods of the actors, Aldis’s ability to make Hardison convey that no one appreciates he's a genius is just great.

Christine: Ohh.

John: It's my favorite recurring bit on the show. That's a great shot, by the way.

Christine: Ooh, ooh, great shot.

John: That's a gorgeous shot. 

Christine: Sexy. Wow.

John: I wouldn't have thought of that shot in a million years, that's really nice that light coming through.

Christine: She really uses the room, and she and Dave Connell worked really well together to design these shots.

John: Also a good reminder that Hardison is not necessarily the most athletic guy in the world.

Christine: Right.

[Laughter]

Christine: He looks really good, but he's not out there running all day long like Eliot is.

John: He's not- yeah. 

Christine: Finding the right pair of glasses, that was a lot of fun..

John: Yeah.

Christine: Some were too insanely comic, some were too serious, these were perfect.

John: And his frustration- just take the damn thing! I'm sick of your toying!

Christine: Yeah.

[Laughter]

John: Yeah, and that's, you know, one of the reasons I think he wants to- that character wants to run his own crew is he’s sick of, you know, he's sick of being unappreciated.

Christine: Mhhm absolutely. Well it's- when you're the youngest person in a group, it can be- it can be difficult.

John: Yeah. And the little tap, the little little push, yeah paying off the NLP and the other stuff. This was great.

Christine: Oh, he's lovely.

John: Casting- how is he referred to in the script?

Christine: [Laughs] What did we call him? Pretentious…something?

John: Yes, he's like eurotrash.

Christine: I- he said, “How do I play it?” I said, “Like a Whit Stillman character.” And not a lot of people knew who I was talking about.

[Laughter]

Christine: Cause he's quite young, this actor.

John: The pink shirt really lands it.

Christine: The pink shirt really, yeah. And he was lovely.

John: And then again, the same thing, trying to create an obstacle in order to-

Christine: American fop?

John: American fop! I think it was that.

Christine: I think it was American fop.

John: And this was interesting, too, one of those things where we were trying to figure out- we had to have a problem during the auction, and so why would there be a problem? Well, we had to create one, we had to create an obstacle for the other character, which meant we had to create parameters. Parameters gave us the $250,000. 

Christine: Mhhm.

John: It's amazing how much you work backwards.

Christine: Yeah.

John: You know, you work backwards from the conflict, and come up with the rules for the conflict and around the most interesting version.

Christine: And then it feels like the most natural thing in the world. 

John: Yeah.

Christine: Which is a great moment. Many scotches later.

[Laughter]

John: Many scotches.

Christine: Oh the storage unit!

John: Mostly Irish whiskey this year. Ah, the storage unit. And again, this was fun because really trying to figure out- we had originally broken this to be on the docks.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And then when budgetary constraints said perhaps we could not go and fake up the docks of London, we went back to the ending of the season one finale, where we established that she had the storage unit and that she was- it was one of many.

Christine: Yeah, why wouldn't she have many all over the place?

John: Yeah.

Christine: Smells the book.

John: We use all the parts of the buffalo.

[Laughter]

John: And the little bit of joy there. The little- the victory lap, yeah.

Christine: He made that from nothing!

[Laughter]

Christine: It is one of my favorite things I've ever written if I do say so, was the “I have gone from apprentice to journeyman to master.” And he did such a good job [Laughs] on that!

John: He really did.

Christine: Cause it was the- it felt very analogous to the writer's career.

John: Well, it was very- he really dug in on the mania of it.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And then Sophie being left behind. Now-

Christine: Yeah.

John: I always wondered, did we- was an integral part of the con? No, he bailed on her.

Christine: No, he bails on her. Cause, I mean, you know, scorpion’s a scorpion.

John: Yeah. Exactly.

Christine: [Laughs] Always count on a scorpion to be a scorpion.

John: Also, I remember we had a long discussion about exactly what- how she would feel about this moment. I mean, on one hand, it's getting her off the hook, on the other hand, it's kinda a painful reminder exactly why she became a grifter.

Christine: Absolutely. And that's the part I wanted to deal with, was the latter. Because this persona’s taken a lot of beatings.

John: Yeah.

Christine: She had a hard time with this. With this long con, and revisiting it is not something I think she thought she would ever do.

John: Yeah. And that's the mistake you make, you get too close to Eliot with a gun.

Christine: Mhhm. Oh, oh sad.

John: And the out. You can never go wrong on an act out with a guy drawing a gun.

Christine: Take the gun out!

John: Now, he's drawing on Eliot so we all know how this is gonna end. But the fun was coming up with a creative way to beat the hell out of three guys.

Christine: Oh, yes.

John: Belt fu! First time we've done belt fu.

[Laughter]

Christine: Belt fu!

John: First time we've done that. That was-

Christine: But he does try to explain first. [Laughs]

John: Yes it's like he’s- actually grown to like this guy-

Christine: Yeah!

John: And would prefer not to beat the hell out of him.

Christine: They have a professional respect, but you know, the job’s gotta be done. There you go.

John: Yeah. And the belt!

Christine: Mhhm.

John: This came out of, I think, the big bag of old Jackie Chan writing.

Christine: This was- yeah. Mhhm

John: This- I think we use this on a Jackie Chan animated episode.

[Laughter]

John: I think I went in there. No, this is a great fight actually. And the snap! That's gotta hurt.

Christine: Oh man. And it's funny. I do say that action’s not my strong suit, but fights I love.

John: You do love a good fight. 

Christine: I love fights.

John: Well, you know, what if they had swords, you'd be the happiest girl in the world.

Christine: Absolutely! Well ‘cause fights are about character.

John: Yes.

Christine: Fights are all about character.

John: How someone fights, how they handle the geography, the choices they make-

Christine: Absolutely.

John: How they escalate violence. It's one of the things we talk about with Eliot, we never try to give him just a fight scene, he always has an attitude on the fight scene.

Christine: Mhhm.

John: And hoisted by your own petard, sir.

Christine: Ohhh

John: Hoisted by your own petard.

Christine: Basil Harris, local actor, nice guy.

John: Oh yeah, no really- nice guy, nice performance.

Christine: Yeah, he's really good, right? But he's really-

John: And this looks sufficiently different from the other airport.

Christine: Look at that! This was late at night. [Laughs]

John: How late?

Christine: Very late.

John: Yeah. We tend to go a little late.

Christine: Those were late days.

John: No, coming up with- it’s interesting, it's one of the recurring themes of the show- that's me rubbing my face, by the way, cause my voice went weird cause lord, I'm tired of doing this.

[Christine Laughs]

John: Is how you move stuff.

Christine: Yeah.

John: How you move stuff- when we did Rashomon Job, at one point we had four little paper cups with different things simulating the object moving around.

Christine: Oh yeah.

John: You know, it's a lot like- it is- you know what? That's why, I suppose you watched Jonathan Creek, it’s like a magic trick.

Christine: It's a magic trick, yeah.

John: It’s a magic trick. And no, it's a lot like designing a magic trick from the ground up.

Christine: Yeah. 

John: And-

Christine: And again, it's the physical object of it all.

John: Yeah. And we talk about this actually on another commentary when we did Scheherazade Job, it’s like when you do a high concept episode, you need- when you do a heisty episode, you need something you can hold.

Christine: Oh yeah.

John: Like it was diamonds for that one. You need very clean simple goals.

Christine: Mhhm. The audience can track.

John: Alright, this actually- you wrote this.

[Laughter]

John: At a ridiculous time of night. At a ridiculous time, and you wrote the whole, “What's all this, then?”

Christine: “What's all this, then?” Come on, I did that on purpose!

John: Which- on purpose. And you gave me the draft and I laughed my ass off. I'm like, “Now you're screwed, cause it's staying in.”

Christine: Of course!

John: And is the classic Monty Python- that is the classic 1930s stage show arrival of the cops.

Christine: Of course!

John: Really mandatory.

Christine: Absolutely mandatory.

John: For the arrival of the police.

Christine: I write to make you laugh, sir.

John: Thank you.

Christine: I write to entertain you. Look! Look, she's ok!

John: She's being reunited with this lovely- her aunt and uncle.

Christine: She's gonna go live in New jersey!

John: Oh that's great.

Christine: It's fine!

John: She's got an education, maybe go to Stanford.

Christine: Aww, that's great!

John: She's got a beautiful future because-

Christine: She's gonna go fight for women's rights in the middle east, it's gonna be wonderful!

John: Exactly, because of our horribly immoral, immoral, crew.

[Laughter]

Christine: Yay bad guys! Who are good guys! Yay!

John: Yay!

Christine: Also-

John: It gets a little fuzzy at the end of the season this year.

Christine: Having Eliot speak Arabic, super hot. On a list of hot things.

John: It's interesting-

Christine: Languages you didn't know they knew, but you assume they knew.

John: Always interesting doing the commentaries with a female writer. 

[Laughter]

John: There's a lot of stuff I didn't know we did just cause it was hot.

Christine: The ladies do things that are super hot.

John: No, no, I'm very scrupulous.

Christine: Everything Gina does in this episode is hot.

John: Yes, but that's because she's hot. That just happens.

Christine: Yes, correct.

John: No, this is a great walk away and a great acknowledgement of- and the great ‘Screw you that you don't really know my name.’

Christine: Mhhm. Millicent came into, you know, she was- it was her first episode, she directed the hell out of this.

John: Oh I could not be happier. This feels- and there's- yeah, she's actually handling the dog tags!

Christine: Mhhm. yes.

John: There, which are- which do not- which are blank. And we wound up- although the audience doesn't know they are blank, the crew does. It's interesting she was actually playing to the cast at that moment, not the characters. We wound up writing it into the Ho Ho Ho Job, because Gina came up with the idea that she wears blank dog tags so we wrote it into an episode.

Christine: That's great.

John: Great. This is the only time I think ever, other than the two part season finale, we hint at the next episode.

Christine: Mhhm. That was fun hinging-

John: Yeah. There was a lot of- there’s advantages to serialization, you're always tempted, it just carries momentum forward. I love Parker's smile at the end of that. That’s-

Christine: That was a lot of fun!

John: That was your last episode for this season.

Christine: That was my last episode for the season.

John: You did a great job.

Christine: It was a fun season.

John: I hope you enjoyed that. This is John Rogers.

Christine: This is Christine Boylan!

John: And stay tuned to put another DVD in, because it is a lot more, including explosions.

Christine: A lot more.

#Leverage #Leverage TNT #Leverage Audio Commentary Transcripts #Audio Commentary #Transcripts #Parker #Alec Hardison #Elliot Spencer #Nate Ford #Sophie Devereaux #Season 3 #Episode 12 #Season 3 Episode 12 #The King George Job

[in-a-brown-study]

watching heroes episode 15 - 16

she's saving you!!!!! why do you want to kill her?????

THERE WAS A DAGGER HIDDEN INSIDE THE SWORD?!!!! cool cool

boy you hesitated too much. well it was expected he wasnt gonna kill him though he's too merciful

yeah well he's missing an arm and severely injured but are you rly just letting him leave? he killed so many innocents. he was even going to kill the woman who took care of his son and was trying to save him. im not saying he can't turn over a new leaf but he rly deserved to die imo

at this point there was a very out of context background music 🤨🤨🤨🤨 and no subtitles for a moment lol

"your gaze looks just like mine" arghhhh okay i need to talk abt this

because bai choufei seems to me someone deeply guided by his emotions, he's cool-headed and didn't even hesitate to kill guanqi. he rly has the potential to be someone great in the jianghu just like he wishes. and while i think this attitude of being too ambitious is.. not 100% good, he is sentimental just like the old madam said and his way of avenging fuzi was killing that madman. just like he said "you (wxs) repaid fuzi's kindness. i avenged his death" we are seeing two sides, who seem complete opposites, clashing. but who's right and who's wrong though? wang xiaoshi going soft and letting a (now crippled) ruthless killer go because he was taught to be merciful and to avoid killing someone who's already down? or bai choufei killing him because he wanted to avenge the death of someone who's showed him kindness and gave him a place to live when he was on his lowest moment?

"in your eyes, we are both just as bad" bcf seeming like the villain here.....not likey. but zhu xiaoyao's injury was purely an accident bc she was the one who got in the way. yet wxs keeps blaming him..? though i do think the "you're a coward" to wxs was UNNECESSARY lol

also another thing bcf said in ep10: "me and wxs are one hot one cool, we complement each other" which.... ugh. also while writing this i realised their clothes look just like yin and yang

i foresee a big fight or something separating them and i do not want that!!!!!! two blades and one scabbard.... bcf ending up like a villain..... ahhhhhhk help

i miss the bromance times.... where are the bromance times...

????!!! noooooo😔😔😔😔

AHHHHH😭😭😭😭😭😭 ywx truly breaks my heart..

#heroes 2022 #say hero who's a hero

[wytfut]

tubing and tech

Well as you may have noticed below.... I’ve jumped into the YouTube pool. 

I’ve been a follower of youtube for many years actually, as several channels just hold my interest. Vise Grip Garage, Puddin’s Fab Shop, Iron Trap garage, Matts off road rescue, Trail Nater, Casey Ladelle, Beards and bikes, just a portion of my subscriptions (for those that don’t know, subscriptions are free). 

Also have a few other channels that my Hunny and I watch together. We found out a few years ago, we both enjoy travel/adventures shows. And youtube has many. 4 we now follow together. 

Most channels post weekly, some twice a week, while others (possibly mine) are a few times a year. 

Enough promoting....

I’m not a “techie” sort of guy. In fact, as I get older, I loose patience much faster, and techie things can really get a rise out of me. 

For example....

I don’t understand, why credit card readers can’t be a standard across the board. It appears each of the companies that design these blue hair killers, is trying to out build ergonomically/technically each other. It has nothing to do with the customer, but more sales to the owner of the devices... well that’s how I see it.    “OOOOO  SHINEY, me likey, me want”

I approach every counter when I pull out my card with a certain amount of apprehension. no neck veins sticking out, but enough to get my attention, especially if its dealing with a long line of customers.  Sometimes maybe enough to challenge holding my water..

Standing there, a small amount of neck sweat appears, trying to figure out this device from hell, operating procedure.  I swear, that blinking at me, is actually winking, as a dare..... 

Beep Boop this, Beep Boop that.... no no... A sigh from the attendant. People behind me giving a big sigh (I know they are, my mind can hear it).   Boop boop, beep...   “who played Tarzan in 1929?” ...     AAAAAAGGGGHHH! Am I peeing?

Don’t give me any crap, about the “tap” theory too. “oh its so wonderful, just walk thru”    Dig out my “tap” card.... nothing. Tap the attendant on the forehead, his cell phone, my beer purchase.... run outside and throw card in parking lot. “Sir?, thats your medicare card....”

Then.... Cell phone taps???? WTH?    I’d have to buy a new cell phone every few months. As I to the congenial love “TAP!” .... 

Also what about those “apple” systems, where its on a screen in front of you, and they ask you about tip amount. You know the attendant has the very same screen in front of them, to judge you (its part of their job title description. “character card usage sizeup”). I tip, I really do, and I’m not socially correct about it, I’m finding out. But I really don’t want to tip when I’m standing at the counter, before I receive my product of choice. What about that $1 purchase, and they ask for a tip. I’m being judged for that????  And another thing, you know the character size up standards that they are looking at? I’m tired of the “dimwitted” group.

Imagine me then jumping in with both feet, in the youtube pool. Let me give you a run down...:

Filmed my first episode on 6 generation old equipment with a bucket of Amazon assesories, and a whim.... 3 LONG SESSIONS

Edited first episode on new program with same 6 generation old equipment. New program was in Navajo tech, I struggled, but it wasn’t a murder scene. umm.... yeah, very long time. Was like trying to learn to drive British in the fog.

First episode was coming out at 50+ minutes total length. 

Down loaded on youtube site (this too all new to me)... they spoke pig latin with the word game “jumble” mixed in. I got a little bit sweaty, and I could feel blood pressure in my eyes. 

To down load 50+ minutes it took over 6 hours. Mean while I’m robbing my Wife internet ban, enough, that she is reminding me that its doing that frequently yelling downstairs, and well, you know... her shows..   “BRUCE!! MY SHOWS!!” .... I’m a bit hard of hearing.... “YOUR HOES???”   you get the drift..

Then after the 6 hours, youtube rejects my video, because its over 15 minutes long. WTH!!?

Back to my editing program.... another very long time and created 4 episodes out of the one, all had to be reedited. YIPPEE!!  Good few hours there. 

While waiting for first episode to “upload” to youtube, I find some new rules that I hadn’t seen previously, that if I click this certain button, I can make as big of videos as I wish. Now I can feel the veins in my eyes pulsing.... 

Took about 6 hours to get them all uploaded. All time told together.... it took about 5 years off my life. 

2 days later I realize I forgot 3 kinda important topics I needed to cover in the videos. I’M NOT GOING TO REEDIT NOTHING. THIS 5TH VIDEO WILL BE .... 5 OF 4    I don’t care. 

My bucket of Amazon assesories? .... mostly scattered between house and garage, getting lost, as of yet, no need for 99% of it. 

Gotta admit, by the time I got the 4th one edited, that editing program, was pretty simple. If you ignore Navajo, and look for the stick figures, it all pans out.

Suspect its all going to come easier and smoother as I go. I’m far from anything close to my channels that I watch, but I’m not going for that kind of class. And definitely not the money. 

Supposively, the idea behind “tech” is to make it simpler, and convenient. I’d like to sit in my car with a crayon to handle my transactions before I die, then if thats ok. It that too much to ask??

To everyone, who reads these and gives the old thumbs up, and a comment... most appreciated. Like I’ve said, this a great stressor for me.... 

And the same to those who have commented on my youtube channel. Very kind. And wish me luck on the future there. 

There will be a mishmash just like here of topics. Although Excelsior Henderson stuff will be an important part.

L8TR

[thewaywardcasgirl]

random ep 6 thoughts in no perticular order (big dragon)🐯🐉

i had completely forgotten what the conflict between yai and mangkorn was since last ep and had to speed watch the end of ep 5 in the middle of today's episode when the confusion got the better of me 😅

stupid mangkorn never explicitly said that he was engaged against his wishes that he was trying to look for a way to end the engagement without hurting anyone and that's the big problem NO COMMUNICATION 🥲😭

they're totally idiots but not like adorable idiots they're stupid fucking dum dum idiots it's very frustrating 🤦🤦

yai is missing his mom so much 💔 poor kid just wants to be held by his momma and lucky for him mungkorn's mom is here to pick up the slack🫂💘

he's being a bitch to his father and his step mom tho i wanna slap him on his head and knock some sense into him on this matter 💀

nine was let down gently, it was so well done i was surprised it all came out of yai's mouth, like he can be mature and reasonable and polite?? so all his irrational brattiness is for mungkorn's benifit only🤔 not that mangkorn is complaining 😏

this nine dude isn't backing off and yai knows it he literally sighed in relief when he finally left after delivering the slushie, bro was literally brozoned so hard and refused to take the hint he saw the NO and batted it right outta stadium ⛳

the part about their childhood was a surprise tho didn't have that in the book but at this point nothing is going by the book 📚 so 🤷

ohmygodss mangkorn don't mop around infront of your non finance, tell her what you did right before he dumped your ass and she'll smack you across the head and tell you what an idiot you were and then fix it for you just tellll, don't act like a kicked puppy you brought this on yourself

i missed our sweet lesbian couple this ep, in the book they just runoff into the sunset (or england same thing) their book exit was wayyy too quick so i was hoping we'd get to see more of them here and their pov about the arranged marriage but with only 2eps left i don't have much hope 😔

i dont know if yai ever saw that mangkorn put his number in yai's phone under 'boyfriend' he must have right? right? mangkorn calls him so many times, we never see this acknowledged, like how do you not see 'boyfriend' in your missed calls and add two and two togather 😵‍💫

their kiss tho mangkorn was like words don't work with us so direct action it is 💏 maybe i can kiss some sense into him or at least calm him down lol ( i really hope nine saw that kiss🙏) it was jaw food dropping 🍿&🍦hit the ground lmao

next eps preview looks mostly fluff and a challenge between mangkorn and nine, me likey 👀👀 in the preview when nine says i was here 10yrs ago where were you then i was like bruuuh you're in so over your head like my man my dude if it's first come first serve you're holding onto then just give up

I'm looking forward to their mutually agreed upon boyfriends era, finally they'll be on the same page for once before the big faen fatale 💔 whatever it is and i for one am here to enjoy the fluff before the angst that makes the angst huurt even more 👌

#big dragon the series #my two cents #all in all a fun ep #big dragon #yaimangkorn #long post #big dragon ep 6

[xoamandafrances]

S3 Ep:09 The Energy of EXPANSION: Growing your Business with Ease & Flow

Hello. Welcome to the And She Rises (the Royal F Up) — the podcast! We are so happy you are here.

These three little clips were taken from one of my favorite courses: Queen of Hearts!

I have not promoted or launched QoH in a bit of time, however, it is available all year in The Vault. (The Vault is where we put things that are no longer launched or promoted, but that people often ask for, because — well — there is good sht inside.)

Here are the riffs from today’s podcast:

It gets to be easy. We have become addicted to making things hard. We tell ourselves that it has to be hard for it to be good enough… but why? It all comes down to a big f*ing says who?

The world needs your gifts.

The world needs your work. The world needs you sharing your message. And we need it out there as quickly and easily as possible.



Drop the idea that everything needs to be ultra professional or require suffering to have… value. What’s the path of least resistance for you getting more of your heart, thoughts and gifts into the world right now?



What if it all gets to be a fun, flowy, open-hearted, next-level aligned as you share the things you desire to the world?


Ease, grace and flow in your life and work. Here’s a belief shift: We’re not getting away with something by creating ease and flow in our lives and businesses. This is how it is meant to be for us, if it is what we create and choose. We choose ease, grace, and flow. Not because we’re lazy assholes, but because we have to be ultimately supported and we refuse to overcomplicate our lives. So we show the f* up and do d*mn thing. So we can do work we love, take care of ourselves, support others and live our best lives.



Hear me: You being supported is of the highest good. Who are you to have the most perfect clients? No — Who are you not to? Who are you to get paid for your dream offer, your creation, your art? No — Who are you not to?



This is what we have to do. This is how it has to be.



With that in mind, ask yourself: If you could create or teach on anything, and it would be well-received and sell out every single time, what would you create or teach? How would you show up online? How would you show up in the world if you knew what you *actually* wanted and longed to do was perfectly aligned and what you are called to do?


Release to expand your capacity to receive. What tasks, roles, and duties in your life or business do you dread? What are you holding on to that someone could do for you and likey do better than you? 

These are the things that restrict us and hold us back from growth and receiving. Releasing makes space to receive. Letting go makes room for more.



The point of starting a business isn’t to be exhausted. Or to do sh*t you hate. Or to feel controlling, burnt out or restricted. The point of running your business is freedom. It’s to help people and to earn money doing it. We’re not just delegating to save time, we’re releasing things that clutter our vibrational field. It’s time to expand our capacity to receive.



Okay, loves, Queen of Hearts is available to you in The Vault, where you will find some of our favorite AF Classic programs.

https://amandafrances.com/the-vault-af-classics/

Qs? Email support at amandafrances.com — we are here for you.

Check out this episode!

#Amanda Frances #podcast #self help #spirituality

[ducknotinarow]

2012 Michelangelo - All Symbol Headcanons please uwu

| Send me a symbol and I will write a headcanon about…  For multimuse blogs, please specify!

Mikey! I am pretty biased on 2012 mikey personally I will say blame it on his VA who is one of my favorites have even gotten to meet them uwu I just love him. I feel they didn't always give him the spot light he should but I do appreciate the show many times showing how competent Mikey is often shocking his brothers like the gang on how to figure out where Casey is using Cell phone signals simply cause its how he tracks the pizza delivery boy.

𝓕 : My muse’s handwriting. (Is it good, bad, difficult to decipher, do they prefer writing by hand or with the help of some form of machine, e.t.c.) 

"Micheal at your service,"

In an episode while flirting with Renet Mikey states his name is Michael middle name Angelo which is why I did it like this and misspelled Michael cause I can see him forgetting the a there XD

Of course, Mikey also uses big letter because he is by far the most out going of all his brothers. Due to Mikeys more empathic nature he dose write with a much more softer pressure due to his confidence his signature can be read pretty easy even if Mikey sort of decided Angelo is his middle name likey due to the fact he is more often called Mikey anyway. Micheal when hes in serious trouble Michelangelo when worse trouble. Mikeys enthusiasm can also be shown thanks to how he crosses his t's making them looped and near like a cross. And well Mikey may not be able to hold the title of artist in the family he is creative and his more rounded letting shows this.

✈ : My muse and  traveling. (If they do it frequently and why, if they never left their home town, e.t.c.)

"Aw man thanks to Ranet we've been all over tha place!"

As mentioned in Raph's The turtles have traveled to a lot of places in truth going to space, other worlds and even time periods. Of course, Mikey apparently has done more time traveling than his brothers claiming he and renet have hung out with them knowing.

✿ : My muse and nature. (If they are an ‘outdoorsy type’, like the sound of bird’s singing, if they have never set foot in a forest, e.t.c.) 

"I've never been in the wild much I don't even know like what all turtles can do? I mean I been to Jersey before and the farm house we hid out at." Mikey is a tad inbetween I would say he is far more a city turtle loving the convince of it even if he lives in a sewer. He likes having better access to things like internet and tv after all. He liked the farm house because of the chickens though and he did enjoy camping with his brothers. Mikey was able to connect to nature pretty decently but he is far more in tune at times. HEck Mikey is more willing to rough it when him and his brothers are stuck in time eating a mub and berry bark pizza.

☼ : My muse’s first memory. (Where it was, who was with them, how this memory makes them feel, e.t.c.) 

"First uh? hmmm man I guess when Splinter told us about how we got our home and when he gave me mu nunchucks?"

Im sure Mikey remembers a bit further back maybe not so much when he was a baby outside some vague things maybe, mostly he remembers when they were presented with thier weapons as one if thier passing stages for thier training under splinter. Sure Mikey dosent get much of a reason it speech behind why he got his nunchucks but Splinter well not always understanding Mikey dose seem to note his potential and ability and nunchucks require a lot of focus to be used and to Mikey this was a way of splinter stating Mikey could handle such a weapon.

He takes great care of his weapons and learned to work them in with his more unorthodox style and arcobact way of maneuvering when he fights.

☙ : My muse’s favourite food. (Bonus: A memory, be it good or bad, associated with said food.)

"P I to the doublr Z-a duh bruh it's pizza!"

of course it's Pizza mikeys real ture love is Pizza clearly this boy has stated he can eat two all by himself and often keeps boxes of pizza in his bed room to eat ot stashes slices in his shell so clearly he'll eat it stale but were gonna gloss over this fact I feel xD cause boys disgusting loves to experiment and trying different sorts of toppings and he has no limit of what he'll put on it from the usual toppings to jelly beans. Funny enough he hate pineapple but if he wants to piss of raph he'll throw some on.

♬ : My muse and music. (What type of music they like listening to and in what context, what music they would never listen to, e.t.c.)

"Ehh long as it ain't polka I'm pretty chill with an tune long as I can bust a move."

I would say mikey more into music like tencho. Pop and electric pop wven something works well when he dances or even fights since he since he has displayed the ability to fight well not thinking the best working purely off instinct. Mikey also have a decent singing voice seeing as he dose the vocals for the ice cream kitty MV. Yeah not cannon but he dose sing in the show here and there as well.

↺ : My muse and the past. (Do they live in the past and struggle to let go of past grievances, or move on more easily, is there anything in their past they want to forget, e.t.c.) 

" sensie would say gotta learn from but don't ley it control ya."

Mikeys more just tries to let things go because he feels something just are not worth it. It's kond of why he let's alot of his brothers remarks go he knows in part its a brotherly thing but sometimes he can't help but hold on to what they say about him.

Because he is the youngest he sometimes feels his brothers only see him as a screw up even running away from.the farm house when feel loke thst didn't want him around anymore. He's snapped at Raphael on the angry planet showing he dose in fact get pretty hurt over Raphaels comments as well.

Byt he feels sometimes it's better to let things go because even if his brothers can be harsh on him he also knows those three would do anything to any one if he got hurt. They will chase him down to find him if he gose missing and well they are in thier own ways looking out for him so he tries to focus on that instead.

☾ : My muse and sleep. (How much they sleep, how much they wish to sleep, if there is something that never fails to put them to sleep, e.t.c.) 

"Hmm I sleep fine actually now when I was younger though I sort of struggled sleeping alone when we got our own rooms think I just got used to be near my bros."

mikey dosent really snuggle with sleep head hits a pillow and he's out. When they were far younger though? Mikey often would sneak to sleep with one of his brothers due to frequent nightmares he dealt with.

✧ : My muse and art. (If they have an artistic side or not and why, favourite artist if they have one, e.t.c.) 

"Raphs a great artis but I loke to dabble in the arts myself."

Mikey draws like a five year old and I love it. Definitely tries to draw loke Raph can he admires his older brother skill and tries to improve often drew a lot with raph when they were younger but cause raph is better he tended to opt for having them just so it for him instead. He loves to draw it just a fun hobby for him though she he's nit all the versed in it himself. But his favorite artis is Raphael his brother for sure.

❃ : My muse and social media. (If the muse is/would be on social media and why/why not, their general opinion on it, e.t.c.) 

"Thibk I'm about on everything? I lpvr meeting people online! Just don't tell Don that I've meet a few of them in person."

As mikey has stated hes pretty much on about every platform Facebook Twitter forums ect some he uses more than others anything that allows for mkre interactions tends to be what he uses more in that day. He has a few mutual across platforms mainly from fandoms. Just as he is in personal mikey very social online and has decent followings.

He has run the risk and met a few of his online in person donnir tries to stop him anf at first it worked but once donnie got with the von of this verse Mikeu decided to be a rebeal and went to the next meet up. He is also friends with one of the pizza guys often getting free pizza because of this.

✉  : My muse and others. (If they social and outgoing or more introverted, and why. If they prefer communicating with others face to face or in written form, e.t.c.). 

"I like meeting people."

Miekys a social butterfly he shoild be a bit more reserved but he can't help it hes a people person he loves social interaction and will hang out with kind of anyone who will give him attetion and yes this has been in fact a bad thing time to time

But at the same time work for the team over all since he befriend many people who started off being possible villians lole Leatherhead, Monday and that frog dude even. Unknown to his brothers mikey actually gets around and talks to a fee humans and such often flying under the radar they don't seem to be fully aware of all he dose when they aren't watching him. Sometimes it betters he's not left bored cause he will find a way to get into trouble.

▶ : My muse and level of education. (If the muse has some form of education, what education they perhaps wish they had, e.t.c.). 

"I mean ninaj school I'm a master at it clearly"

Mikeys stated to have the most raw talent of course but he's also generally pretty smart even able to understand donnie when others can't even if sometimes he just joking and going along with Don's enthusiasm he by extension has learned because of this.

◐ : My muse and animals. (If they like animals and treat them well, do not care for them at all, e.t.c.). 

"Aww I love them they are soo cute!"

Mikey dose like animals he took in the stray cat April found after all and felt horrible when he cause her to.mutate into ice cream kitty who he talks great care of even making sure she has a safe way to be relocates to the Fram house and back to New York after.

❒ : My muse and gifts. (If they are good/bad at finding gifts, good/bad at receiving gifts, good/bad at wrapping gifts, e.t.c.) 

"I love getting gifts!"

he's the youngest what can I say can kind of saw the t pod don made is sort of a gift for mokeu since he uses the most and openly volunteered to test it out and lokely dose often for donnie experiments xD

☘ : My muse’s relation with their family. (If they speak with each other and how much, if they are close or estranged, e.t.c.). 

"Family I'm all about my famillia."

I feel it can be safe to say Mikey looks up to each brother and they show it prettt well. He dosent tend to be annoyed by how they sort of baby him at times or discredit him made worse when in the 12 verse they are all the same age. But often Mikey feels his brothers forget this fact and it can greatly annoy him time to time because he's gone through a lot of the stuff they all have and then some but they tend to not always acknowledge this stuff he knkws in part its because they are older and there's a is a bit of lookong out for thier brother here.

Mikey of course dose experience a bit jealous when it comes to knew people coming into to his brothers lives April the least but they saved her so she was always an expection to Mikey. Casey and Von though both are subjects of jealously but mostly due to Mikey feeling lonely and feeling he lost a brother in a way. Because he is pretty damn close to Raph and Donnie. Not so much going against Leo because he feels he's not a good leader but more hey they are doing so I will too. Seeing how Mikey often plays the baby bro card on Leo the most and gets away with it with alot.

Raph may pick and bully Mikey a bit but Raphs also the one who jumps to protect mikeys first not to mention Mikey sort of learns smack talk from raph wanting to come off just about as tough.

Donnie is often group up with in the team B of the team later called the A- minis team. You can tell mokey seems to have an intrest in sicene and often messes in Don's lab but donnie makes seem cool and exciting but he also dosent always let mikey in the lab sooo yeah he over steps and and mess stuff pretty often but it's also be the result if accidently achievements. And it why he was able to make the antidote for the wasps.

Leo I feel mikeu got closer with over time since theu both can bind over being mega fans for a TV series.

Mikeys is always the one needing protection physically but Mikey is also the one who protects his brothers emotionally. He often step up when thier emotions lead to bad choices or making mistakes and he can sort of meet them head on when it comes to over stressing themselfs or lashing out he knows sometimes his brother can't handle thier emotions or don't want to so he sort of gives them that outlet they need so badly

#muse| hamato michelangelo #aflockoffeathers #madamkezzie #[muse head cannons] #muse bio: hamato michelangelo #meme answes #ic reply #stay queued

[whomturgled]

is it possible to have a (hypo?)manic episode spurred by withdrawal from adderall for abt a week or so then big emotional distress and resuming Adderall (finally able to get refill) or am I just being crazy and looking for some sort of correlation/cause/effect

like its back in my system and I'm still in emotional dismay but like the Adderall seems to be helping me be calm/focus instead of all at once but then I'm also like a little hysteric almost and way too hyped and like I'M FUCKING HOT AND SEXY !!! ILL BE FINE. ITS FINE<3 FUTURE IDEAS AND PLANS AND OTHER FOCUSES and push all the negative away for now and only think of the good and finally able to stop just sobbing pathetically but now I'm having a hard time shutting up and coming up with all these ideas and projects and the only thing stopping me from a lot of impulses is the fact that im tired from the prior emotional distress which. is still present but im like. suppressing her LOL and fibromyalgia pain and fatigue flaring a bit so not quite enough energy and knowing I'm feeling a bit weird so not allowing myself to give myself the directions to do some of the silly stuff I wanna do suddenly ykwim like I'm trying to keep a hand on the reins here but by golly theyre wildin' (they being me)

also I feel like I can feel my heart and organs a bit and jittery but also I don't feel but I do but

i even started talking abt trying drugs for a hot second like what the fuck so I realized I shld table that for another time but. i kinda wanna look as hot as possible do some cute makeup look like a grungey hoe as is the aesthetic i often enjoy and post thirst traps and there's a lot of reasons that prob say a lot abt my psych but also just bc feelin myself ig ???? and wanna be likeI AM HOT ,!!!!! IDK LOL !?!??!?

#lets not reblog this<3 pls and thank u #i know like. very few ppl will see it and fewer will read it AND YKNOW WHAT. I LIKE THAT !! i like having my lil like #tumblr diary where its like shrodingers ... seen. someone probably saw it and so i am seen and heard but mostly i got to write and sort out #some thoughts n feelings n most ppl will leave me alone with them to just be crazy and thats fine!<33333 #idk im feeling a lil crazy silly teehee #i guess it cld be one of the uhhh cptsd + rsd = diet bpd things with big mood swing kinda ??? idk. LIKE. IDRC THE CAUSE I GUESS #im Curious to know what exactly abt me is causing this like its prob mostly behavioural but im sure meds play a part #to be able to know howto deal with/handle myself LOL but like. yeah.idk. im just existing ok<3 #also ok all my makeup mostly basically is expired as fuck unfortunately but i mean like if i were to use it just for like a few minutes or #hours or w/e to look extra turbo cute hot sexy then wash it off it prob wouldnt kill me. and i cld then organize all my makeup stuff #of like. what to get rid of/throw out what to rescue maybe what to like. restock in future. #ohthat reminds me time for another post after this that i WOULD like responses to hold on LOL

[paulnewmanlover]

me @ tass going into tides 44 like

oh wow okay that answered some questions and raised a bunch more (thanks a lot for dodging the timeline question lol) and while I'm heavily leaning in the direction of "rhys was just in the wrong place at the wrong time" I guess we still don't know for sure if there wasnt a specific reason why the kingfisher and vic mord went after him (also? did we already know he was part of cole's original armada or was that new info?)

was rhys a fucking cook that somehow became a captain oh my god I love him so muuuuuch 😭

and, look, if nobody else is gonna say it, callahan is obviously the flesh bc everybody wants his hot pirate body and I really, really wanna know what that particular entity summoning ritual would look like 😏

actually I take that back now that I've gotten to the end of the episode with his utter lack of impulse control he's the flesh bc that's all he thinks with he has no goddamn brain in his stupid head it's all just an empty space within a walking meatsuit 🤦‍♀️

#tides blogging #me likey episode big time #lets be honest tho what we know about rhys ill bet hes just as happy being on the stars crew as he was being the captain of his own ship lo #he let go of his captaincy so easily lmao 'ah well hes earned it' he says about his replacement while happily peeling potatoes sdfjfjdj #and callahan.... dearest..... whirlpool boogaloo part 2 this time with more cliff diving and ancient ruins is such a reckless move..... #a real himbo supreme (affectionate)

[my-lovelypop]

My “opinion” on Two

A discussion about Two in general and a possible future for TPOT 

Ok, so first off I’d like to say the division of Two's lovers and haters is very... weird to me.

   I’m not dissing you if you are a simp, hater or in between, everyone has their opinion. I mainly say this because I personally feel like I have not seen enough of Two’s character to form a steady opinion about them due to their severe personality change from BFB 16 and to TPOT. I personally believe that this is because that Two’s personality was changed due to such a big backlash from the community. Even with Cary himself saying something along the lines of “Hopefully you guys will like Two change better in future episodes” then expressing joy when the community reacted more positively towards Two once TPOT was released. To me personally I feel like it is unfair to judge Two based on their actions in BFB 16 since their personality in TPOT will most likey be their permeant personality but at the same time it’s hard to judge their character in one episode due to the sake of consistency (not counting minor appearances).

   Though because of this I feel like this has caused a division in the fandom over the character; one side that only focuses on them in BFB 16 and the other who focuses on them in TPOT. (Don't hate me but-) Personally I liked their character in 16, I got a “lovable asshole” vibe from them. One of those “you love to hate them” types. But when TPOT came out, my opinion of them kinda changed to... indifferent. In my opinion, they kind of became a whimpy push-over, almost trying to be too nice and it ultimately bit them in the ass. But like I said, it’s hard to judge them as a whole on such a big personality change.

HOWEVER, if this “over niceness” does continue, I can see it going two different ways:

   One, it being on purpose to contrast Four’s chaotic nature in the start of BFB. Instead of being mean in the beginning, they’re too nice and have to learn to be more strict in order to run a proper contest. I personally like this one cause first, I like me some parallels. Second, I feel like it could leave room for one backstory. Like, maybe BFB was televised like BFDI was and upon Two watching Four mistreat the contestants, thought that they could do it better. (also maybe having a scene of Two watching Four that paralleled to Four watching BFDI) Then third, get us some character development. I think it’d be cool to see someone go from a person that gets pushed around to a person who’s almost like a leader of sorts (and can still learn to be nice while doing it).

   The other option is them starting to go though different co-hosts, maybe them thinking that's what wrong with the show (though technically this could work with my first prediction if done correctly). Cary and Michael have already shown interest in giving Two a co-host with them leaning towards Donut since he already has hosting experience. However, I feel like there may be a possibility that One could be joining them in the future as well. Mostly because the algebraliens made it a point to point out that One was no where to be found in the one million special, maybe suggesting that they’re helping out Two. (this part could be wrong but I believe that I saw that One’s design was updated on twitter to have arms. I tried to look back to find it and couldn't so either it got deleted or I was mistaken. Though if it is true, why would someone update a characters design if you don’t plan to use them, you know?)  Also I believe it could be a possibility that Three could join them as well seeing that they were also absent from the special. In addition, (and its possible I’m reaching here) it does say in both One and Three’s Wiki’s that they have a negative relationship with both Four and X. So maybe that could be a possible persuasion for them to join a rivaling contest? 

    Though whichever direction the show decides to take, I am excited to see them in next episode that we’ll (hopefully) get next month. I’m ready to see what the team has in store for them and if they continue their path or decide to give them some character development in the future. 

#split it off cause I wrote way more than I meant to #also said ''hopefully'' cause technically it was only hinted at but not confirmed #honestly this has been in my drafts for a while and i thought now was a better time than any to post it #but anyway yeah- my opinion #random #my stuff #bfb #tpot #bfb two #tpot two #tw cursing

[stalksbyakuyatogami]

hii could i please request hajime, rantaro, shuichi and fuyuhiko’s reaction to finding their usually stotic s/o crying over an anime characters death😪😪

Hajime, Rantaro, Shuichi, and Fuyuhiko's Reaction On S/O Sobbing Over An Anime Character's Death

Long-ass name. Ooh a stoic S/O me likey. Spoiler-free btw.

Hajime Hinata

•He would be hella shocked.

•Because... What?? You?? Who never gave a fuck about anything was crying over Kakyoin Noriaki???

•It was impossible to even imagine but here you were, crying over your favorite anime character's death.

•"S/O are you okay?"

•"Do I look okay to you, Hinata?" Then you sob on your tissue yet again.

•You got a point.

•Tears were also pooling his eyes but he managed to hold it back.

•He doesn't even know why he was about to cry.

Rantaro Amami

•He was a bit surprised. Just a bit.

•He knew you were gonna snap anyway. And boy did he wait so long for that.

•HE'S NOT MAKING FUN OF YOU THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT.

•But he's glad to witness it. He's here for it.

•He hands you a box of tissue.

•"There, there. You can still watch the previous episodes where Todoroki is still alive."

•He meant to say that. He fuckin' meant to.

•He has a point though.

•He rubs your back to soothe you.

Shuichi Saihara

•"Ah! S/O, why are you crying?!"

•It was the first time he saw you cry and he thought someone died. In fact, someone did.

•You told him about Shinobu's death.

•Ohhhh... So this is one of the things that can make you cry.

•"W-well, you should stop watching now! You're gonna be more hurt that way."

•His tine was very concerned. He doesn't want his S/O to get hurt. But he doesn't know how to comfort someone either. So all he says is for you to stop watching it.

•If you're still depressed about this on the following days, he'll be your therapist. A bad therapist.

•But he's trying his best please love him.

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu

•He fuckin' panicked HAHA.

•Why would he not panic? You're chill with everything but now you're crying??

•Something serious might've happened.

•"S/O! The fuck are you crying about?"

•Shinsuke Takasugi was dying. Died.

•"What? Just that?"

•He tried not to be insensitive, I promise.

•Although he really feels like this was a big deal for you since he's only seen you cry right now.

•He treats you to anything so you can feel better.

Oh my fuckin— i was going to upload this earlier but my laptop fuckin' lagged. Thanks for requesting, anon!

-Mod Toko

#danganronpa #danganronpa headcanons #danganronpa imagines #danganronpa x reader #Hajime Hinata #hajime hinata imagines #Hajime Hinata X reader #hajime hinata headcanons #rantaro amami #rantaro amami x reader #rantaro amami imagines #rantaro amami headcanons #shuichi saihara #shuichi saihara x reader #shuichi saihara imagines #shuichi saihara headcanons #dr2 #danganronpa goodbye despair #goodbye despair #ndrv3 killing harmony #ndrv3 #danganronpa fluff

[quicksweetdreamer]

My favorite moments/lines from Mystic Library

Part. 4!

Yes, I’m done with this episode after this post.

(Part. 1, Part. 2, Part. 3 and at the end of the post there’s a petition for rottmnt, check it out plz!!)

ENJOY!

Me likey BIG big brother Raph. More to love!❤️

My boy DESTROYING the library and being adorable while doing it (see exhibit 2 here; look at that cute face). My sweet baby tank. ❤️

Aren’t those bats a little overconfident in their strength?

BOY WHAT??!!? AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO FINDS THIS AWESOME?!?

I mean seriously, I think this is the first time Raph is in COMPLETE control of his mystic power; from A to Z he uses it perfectly (if a little destructively; but to his defense he didn’t have much time to be careful)

“FLING IT LIKE A BOSS!”

(To my delight) I did NOT see that one coming.

“NEW TOY!!!!”

(Apparently that’s a reference to Toy Story 3. Me likey easter eggs)

+ extra points for Mikey actually keeping the look after they got out of the library.

BONUS ROUND!!

Just... yes.

That cute wink (My baby boy is so happy I love him)

DEWEY DUCK

And that’s the end of my favorite moments/lines from Mystic Library! (Tho I could have taken screenshots from every second of the episode)

I didn’t think it would be this long (4 freaking parts?!? Sorry...) but I’m glad I did it because this way I was truly able to enjoy every detail of the episode (I’ve watched it so many times to do this... I think I’ll remember it until my death. Still worth it)

I did this episode because some parts really caught my attention at my first watch but honestly there’s so much details and love put in every episode that I could do long appreciation posts like that for everyone of them! You can really see the passion and the time put in every aspects of this show and that’s why it would make me so sad if it really ended now.

So PLEASE keep tagging Viacom/Netflix/Nick regularly to save the show, keep spreading your love for rottmnt and MAYBE we’ll get what we want and deserve. Keep hope people!

(Here’s a petition I happened to find yesterday for rottmnt and a show called Glitch techs (I never watched it but a lot of people seems to like it, so let’s show some solidarity). I don’t know if it’ll really make a difference but I know it certainly can’t do harm)

Love yall rottmnt fandom!😘

#rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt #saverottmnt #rottmnt raph #rottmnt mikey #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt leo #mystic library #still one of my favorite episodes #thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged this! #you make me very happy😭😍 #i thought that like 5 people max would see the first post #but it got more than 80 likes?!? #my post

[shuatoyou]

lovebirds

request: boyfriend to be husband! vernon x idol reader being teased when he cant take his eyes off of reader.

genre: fluff

a/n: sorry it took me a while to get round to writing this, i’m a bit behind on requests atm as im super busy but i thought i’d finish this off before snoozing for the night <3 i hope u likey.

the set was especially chaotic this morning as everyone prepared for seventeen’s arrival, the big group would be appearing in the idol room where you would also be there to host for that specific episode.

once you walked in with your manager the stylists immediately sat you down to have your makeup done, soon enough the boys started coming in one by one and you straight away searched for your fiance who was also looking for you. the two of you finally met each other's eyes and hansol shot you a smile along with a wink causing you to smile at the boy before your makeup artist spun your chair around to face her, bringing your short, distanced interaction with him to an end.

you pout towards the artist making both her plus your manager chuckle

“i know your fiance is right there but you’ll see him again later” your manager speaks out from beside you and you only nod in response as the last finishing touches are made.

once everyones finally ready for recording you silently walk over and sit down at the side of the set away from the directors running through confirming things with the two main hosts.

“you ready?” 

you look up from your script to see hansol sitting beside you on one of the cubes, immediately bursting with happiness at the sight of him.

“i am, how about you?” 

“you’re gonna be there so i’ll be good” he smiles almost making you blush with his comment.

“come on lovebirds we have a show to film” con calls out causing you both to scramble up onto your feet super quick.

“so our guests will be announced by the one and only surprise host, y/n!” defcon announces welcoming you beside them.

you greet the viewers and immediately get to introducing the boys. 

“without further ado i give you the group with never-ending members… seventeen!”

the members pile in, getting into a line all of them sending you a quick thumbs up like they’re silently cheering, you smile in response. hansol is the last member and he holds onto your gaze slightly longer.

“say the name, seventeen!” all thirteen voices spoke in unison startling you out of the zone you were in.

“woah. steady there or y/n will be having nightmares of that introduction for weeks” con teases making the boys chuckle at the way you jumped.

“seventeen it's been awhile right?” they begin to ask and you nod along feeling hansol's gaze on your face and there you have to pat your cheeks a few times to stop them from blushing furiously red hoping no one is currently looking at you.

“we’ve missed you guys of course, and you y/n” soonyoung speaks for the group and you beam at him.

“i'm sure you’ve all missed y/n especially the one over there who can't keep his eyes off our precious surprise guest” defcon jokes making all eyes avert to hansol who was now embarrassed and hiding behind jeonghan.

you on the other hand had nowhere to bury yourself so you tried to laugh it off even if the redness in your face was now visible.

“we should leave the lovebirds alone before they both burst and look at how red they've become,” seungkwan points out, making everyone laugh out again.

despite all the teasing you all got through the recording, everyone began sighing in relief and applauding each other on lasting through the long hours. hansol immediately came over to you giving you a big hug as his own way of expressing how proud he was. 

“i have been waiting to do that all day” he said, voice muffled into the crook of your neck and his arms wrapped around you tightly.

“maybe you should've waited a bit more” you say pulling away before turning his figure around to see booseoksoon with their phones facing towards you both.

“you guys kinda looked cute,” seokmin says and hansol only glares at them before they all go scattering off into the dressing rooms with a huff.

“cant be nice to anyone these days” seungkwan yells out loudly on purpose so you both heard making you two chuckle at thought of today's events before he faces you again.

“can i take you out later?”

“you’re my fiance now love, i don't think you even have to ask” you smile messing up his hair.

“still… i’ll pick you up from the company around eight, i know you got a meeting before then.” he recalled to last week when you both updated each other on your upcoming schedules.

“fine by me” you respond just as seungcheol comes around to pull the boy away for their next schedule giving you an apologetic look which you wave off cooly seeing as it was both your jobs.

 the two of you depart from each other with a wave almost like a non verbal promise to see one and other later.

#anon ! #request ! #vernon request #vernon imagines #vernon scenarios #vernon fluff #seventeen #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #seventeen blurbs #seventeen drabbles #seventeen oneshots #seventeen fluff #seventeen requests #seventeen blog #fluff #kpop imagines #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #vernon chwe #choi hansol

[algernoninwonderland]

Miraculous, intertextuality and why referencing other works all the time isn’t necessarily a great idea

TL;DR: Miraculous loves itself some pop culture references, they’re in the show all the time for you to enjoy, especially if you’re a big nerd.

Only, making a list of references and trying to replicate what other works did before yours doesn’t make your show good by association, and when it comes to Miraculous, these references seldom do these original works justice. Instead, it makes comparing these other works with Miraculous really easy, and the comparison is rarely flattering.

Miraculous would be a much better show if it tried to be its own thing, a few scenes are just that and they are great. It’d be a wonderful show were they not so few and far between.

Miraculous is made by nerds, as is the case with most cartoons. The show itself lets you know that right away. It’s a pastiche of magical girl anime and Silver Age comics, it uses a lot of their visual languages, and references its other inspirations a lot, for instance:

The name of its fictional locations, (Françoise Dupont is a regular kid with a masked detective alter ego named Fantomette, Marinette’s address is a reference to a French illustrator who often drew a talking ladybird)

The way its characters look (Master Fu is both Mr Miyagi from the Karate Kid and Muten Roshi from Dragon Ball, when akumatised, Mme Couffaine becomes basically Captain Harlock and her houseboat becomes the Arcadia) 

Sometimes entire scenes are references to other works (Aurore’s akumatisation is straight out of Utena’s Dark Rose Saga, “Gorizilla” has a King Kong pastiche). 

You could fill an entire Wiki with all the references in Miraculous if you wanted to. If you paid me well, I’d do it myself.

Wearing your inspirations on your sleeves is a double-edged sword, really.

On the one hand, you showcase the things that inspired your creative process, a way to say, “hey, that show/film/book exists within a landscape, it’s the heir to such and such work”. You acknowledge that you owe a lot to your predecessors, you acknowledge that there’s no such thing as a 100% original thing. That’s a great act of humility. 

And intertextuality conveys meaning, too! Let’s take a very mainstream example. When you notice that ha! The pod-racing scene in Phantom Menace comes from the 1959 movie Ben-Hur for instance, you get the sense that you understand the cinematic masterpiece that is Episode 1 a bit more. It tells you that your movie about space wizards owes a lot to other genres, and that it transposes these genres to another setting, space! “It’s Ben-Hur, in that that slave kid is pod-racing for his freedom, but I gave it my own spin,” George Lucas tells you. “Look, the funny Gungan stepped into that space cow’s poop! Haha, sure hope I’ll sell lots of toys and buy myself some death sticks!”

You feel really smart when you get a reference, too! “Hey, that’s a Dezaki effect right there!” “Wow, is that a robot from Castle in the Sky in Age of Ultron?” Likewise, if you don’t recognise the work being referred to, you might get curious about it! References send back to other things and your knowledge of these things and when you get it, it feels nice. Lots of people discovered Utena thanks to Steven Universe and that’s really cool, and these references add to the meaning of the cartoon! Folks who casually got into RWBY but didn’t know Soul Eater and Cowboy Bebop heard about those shows and many others while discussing RWBY and I’m sure lots of them got into anime thanks to RWBY!

On the other hand, by being so open about your sources of inspiration, you expose yourself to criticism, especially in the case of your work being compared with what inspired it: it might be seen as derivative, or even worse, unable to do these previous pieces of media justice by only retaining and replicating their most superficial elements without a great understanding of what made them work, gratuitous fanservice for nerds.

And I’m not quite sure where Miraculous stands. Oftentimes, it feels more like a Spider-Man/Kamen Rider crossover with bits of outdated shoujo manga and superficial wuxia sprinkled in there than a show at least trying to be its own thing.

And the problem is, Sailor Moon is better at being Sailor Moon than Miraculous could ever be, as it uses its visual language better, and it has a tiny thing called “the main character having a group of friends who aren’t props and a plot you can follow” that is the very reason why people liked the manga and anime in the first place. Miraculous only retains the very superficial aspects of the manga/anime and of the genre. Marinette still trips over a cat in the opening. Because that’s how it happens in Sailor Moon. Her characterisation as a civilian screams “Usagi Tsukino but more stressed out”.

Spider-Man is better at splash pages than Miraculous because ML’s CGI is pretty meh when it’s not in motion, these weird filter effects don’t look great, that only works when you’re Into the Spiderverse and have comic-book aesthetics. Queen Wasp has a whole sequence that is just that scene in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 only this time Queen Bee sabotaged a metro on purpose to stop it. It’s not an awful scene, it carries its point across rather well (Chloé is a selfish nerd who thinks she can be like these comic book characters but truly isn’t fit to be a hero) but the original did it better, it was more impressive, there was more tension to that original scene, some really interesting camera and foley work that made you feel the weight of that train. It didn’t feel cheap the way that scene in “Queen Wasp” did.

Utena’s Black Rose Saga explores the psyche of some of its secondary characters the audience is already familiar with, with problems we could already identify within them. It offers an examination of the storyworld from another point of view, and helps build it further. There’s always a proper buildup before these characters have a mental breakdown in an moody elevator with a butterfly pinned on the wall that turns back into a chrysalis, because the characters are going through a kind of regression that makes them easier to manipulate and turn into “villains” while acting out their true desires in a twisted way. “Stormy Weather” has most of that, an elevator with dramatic lighting, a butterfly and a mental breakdown, but the character is all new to us so it’s just not that impactful. Often, that one secondary character who’ll get transformed has had spoken lines, yes, but that’s only minutes before they get akumatised.

“Kinda the same but a bit worse and missing some of the key aspects of what made the original thing so good” isn’t much of a tribute, is it?

In an earlier post, I stated that Animaestro was basically “I have watched a lot of animated shows and I know how to mimic them, the episode”. It told us nothing about animation as a medium except that it’s cool sometimes and that you get to imitate other people who are much better at the things they do than you are. 

It’s not a clever metacommentary, it’s just “me likey moving pictures”. Good for you, I guess… Did you really need an entire episode to make that point?

And then you’ve got all the bad outdated shoujo tropes with characters falling on top of each other, aggressive flirting (harassment, really) from Adrien portrayed as really sweet and romantic because it’s just like in the shoujo manga (which one?) you see… And that’s just not great, is it?

Miraculous is a much better cartoon when it doesn’t try (and fail) to emulate other shows and movies and comic books and manga. The only thing it tells us about these works is that That Guy and co really like them and that copy-pasting them is the best way they’ve found to show their love. Imitation and flattery and all of that I guess.

“Look, it’s like in that scene in the anime! Did you like the anime? It sure was a good anime, and if our show makes you think about it, then it’s also good, right?”

No, you guys, I’m sorry but no. If making references was all it took to be good, then gaming webcomics would be regarded as masterpieces. 

Very often, the show seems interested in being anything but itself. And it’s a shame, because there are lots of ideas the show kind of brings up but never quite touches. Marinette is interested in fashion design? That’s great, show us more of that! Make it an important part of her character, and by the same occasion, make her creations look not-laughable. Miraculous could be the first cartoon to explore what it’s like to be a biracial kid with a Chinese parent in France (would that work with a crew of almost strictly middle-aged white men is another question to which the answer is a resounding “no”). The show is set in Paris? Cool, how about exploring the city outside of its landmarks every tourist and their mom already knows?

Inexplicably, in the middle of an episode when you expect it the least, you get brilliant bits of directing that aren’t references to other works. Alya becoming Rena Rouge and her first steps as a superhero? Brilliant, really immersive, loved it, not a reference. The sad car scene in Puppeteer 2? It’s really really good, not a reference either. All the unexplored lore? It seemed really promising and having more of it would help us understand things a bit more!

People don’t just like your show because it reminds them of another show. Why watch it if you can watch that original work in the first place?

Trying to make a superficial mashup of all things you think are great in other works is not the way to do these works justice, nor is it the way to make your show interesting, let alone good. 

#miraculous #ml salt #ml writers salt #ml critical #ml analysis #longpost #rwby #star wars #spider-man #adrien salt