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flashbic · 1 month

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@fritz-valentine i did it i answered the ask game for the other two!!

2. Favorite canon thing about this character

Cartouche: One bit the show doesn’t lean into enough imo but it's there is that he’s overconfident! Dude is self-assured to a fault! He can make an effort to plan things sometimes, but usually he doesn’t like to bother unless he made a first attempt beforehand and fucked up. He runs into fights unarmed all the damn time! also the bit from the first ep where he’s being smug at Galichon like “of COURSE this is the door to the exit, I trust my instinct on this one, I just KNOW” and they open the door and it’s like. the guards break room asdfgk it’s funny ok

also his whole deal with Isabelle!! His dumb crush is showing at all times, he’s not as smooth as he thinks he is, i just think he’s cute heehee

Falconi: MY BOY HAS ANGER ISSUES. It's so funny how he's presented as the cold, quiet, calculating bad guy… but actually he's fucking seething all the time. He's got that anger always bubbling up right under the surface, and not only is he massively pissed off, it makes him so fucking stupid too, it's great.

I love his sad backstory, but also love that the whole thing happened over 10 years ago and it doesn't excuse any of the shitty things he does through the show, like, at all, except for the multiple murder attempts on le Lorrain.

(also the fact that they had to nerf him for the hero-villain team-up episode is never not funny)

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Cartouche : He argues with Isabelle when she calls him a bandit, but look, the guy didn't learn to commit crimes by being nice and never breaking the law, right?? My headcanon is he used to be a whole lot less nice, but ended up being swayed into helping people as the situation in Paris kept getting worse. He’s a good dude in the end, but he did grow up on the streets with no one to rely on! You can’t blame a guy for enjoying a bit of crime, i think…

He is very good at card games, and actually taught himself how to count cards! He used to gamble a lot but has generally put that all behind him these days and only plays for fun with his friends. Without cheating, for the most part. Honestly he's infuriating at most luck-based games.

Absolutely thinks of his friends as his family. He'd do anything for them <3 But out of all of them, le Lorrain is the one he most consistently on the same wavelength with. Le Lorrain is the one who joined the gang most recently, but as far as Cartouche is concerned that doesn't matter at all: they just get each other!

Falconi: When he first arrived at the academy, for a brief moment he really thought he’d be able to fit in with the other students and kinda hoped to make friends! When the whole friends thing didn’t pan out (the most popular guy around and his friends deciding they don’t like you will kinda do that, but he struggled to connect with people who weren’t hostile too), he kinda gave up on that to focus on training, which had always been the most important thing to him anyways.

My other headcanon here that kinda ties with the previous one is that there was never any real possibility of him ever marrying Anne de Montsirac, but he genuinely let himself believe it might happen. He was lonely and didn’t know how to fit in with all these rich people, and she was gentle and kind and pretty, and he fell so hard for her… She did like him back, but her feelings didn’t run as deep as his, and in the end her family never would’ve let any kind of proposal happen anyways. It was never going to happen, but everything went so badly that Falconi never quite stopped convincing himself that everything could've been different if he'd been able to propose first.

The bonus Falconi headcanon is he absolutely has a hands kink. He just does.

#cartouche prince des faubourgs #my other Very Important headcanon is that Falconi absolutely is a romantic. not that you'd know considering his current situation #but he is!#bonus le Lorrain headcanon: pre-flashback he would occasionally visit the Palais-Royal!#it was a good place to hear music and it was right next to the Opéra so it makes sense ok #he never really met Philippe d'Orléans though

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lizacstuff · 3 years

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What is up with Seline? What are they doing to her character? She was a predator this episode. I though she realized back in 12 that Serkan wasn’t an option, but now she can’t take a hint. Can we ship her off with Efe when he leaves next week?

Sing it sister! I agree that she was moving into predatory territory. Did you see her apartment? It's only been a couple of days and she went home and it looked... completely fine, totally habitable??? Did she exaggerate the flooding damage so she could pathetically scheme her way into Serkan's house? That is so manipulative and gross. And the way she kept trying to be domestic with him "lets watch a movie?" capped off by her trying to get a completely wasted Serkan to confide in her, when all he could do is ask for another woman? Like not cool trying to force an impaired person to do something they refused to do with you when they were sober. Also I don't know how many times he was like, "I want Eda, I need to talk to Eda, Eda is coming" and she still was not getting it. Good grief, read a room, lady. Glad Serkan shut her pathetic, manipulative attempts down.

I do think my favorite non-Edser moment of the episode was Drunk!Serkan being very clear that Selin was going to leave with the driver. I cackled when realization set in and she stomped upstairs and Drunk!Serkan is all like, "Um, lady, the chauffeur is outside, not up there" He wanted her gone. Hilarious and satisfying to watch. Love that he was able to be forceful and clear without being rude. He basically said, "Get the fuck out of my house" in a very civil way by calling her a car. Love it.

All of this leads to the question: how is she so obtuse about where his head is at and where she stands? Look, as I've said before, she is clearly being used as a device to push Eda and Serkan into action and to ratchet up the tension between them. So that can make it hard to reconcile her actions, however I do think there are some consistent characterizations she's displayed. For one, she's so self-centered and myopic that I think it's entirely possible that her brain just dismissed anything that is not favorable to her even if it's obvious to EVERYONE ELSE.

(More under the cut)

She even did this in the early days. In episode 10 when she eavesdrops on Serkan on the phone talking about Eda and assumes (makes an ass of herself) that he's talking about her and that causes her to go to Serkan and suggest they both leave their betrothed in order to be together, and Serkan's response is to get up and pointedly hold Eda's hand while giving Selin a defiant look that very clearly conveyed that he had made his choice, SHE DOESN'T GIVE UP. That is such a moment that defines her character, any person with a shred of dignity and any sense of self-awareness would have been humiliated, mortified, and slunk away never to return. But not Selin, she's obtusely waiting around the whole episode for Serkan to make his choice. That is the level of dense we're talking about here.

There were examples even earlier than that, Serkan leaving the podium where he was accepting an award-- ignoring the 10 minute talk he was to have with Selin and the important clients he had plans with-- to rescue Eda from the paps and whisk her away into the sunset, for one. But even after witnessing that, the next ep Selin is doubting their relationship and that ends in her stalking them only to find out that Serkan fully opened up to Eda by taking her to where he goes on August 19th, capped by a very intimate, warm hug when Eda and Serkan think they're alone. Selin knows that Serkan doesn't open up about this, doesn't let anyone in, but here she has a front row seat to Serkan doing just that with Eda, while also having a very affectionate display that is for no one else's benefit. These should have been huge signs that Eda and Serkan had something special happening between them, but those revelations don't seem to stick with Selin for any length of time.

So the fact that she's completely untethered to reality when it comes to Serkan, I suppose is not all that surprising. Selin is a rich, privileged spoiled person who has probably gotten whatever she wanted her entire life. Except Serkan. That's why we saw her throw a tantrum, she doesn't know how to handle not getting her way. When Serkan and Selin had their talk in episode 12 and Serkan tried to let her down as gently as he could, Selin did seem to realize that the choice had been made. However, things were different then, Selin still had her plan B in place, getting married to a nice, wealthy guy with an excellent social position. Instead she was humiliated and to add insult to injury she also no longer has her full stake in the Holding; girlfriend is spiraling. So I think when she found out that Serkan and Eda had broken up, she saw her opportunity. However, her inability to care about anything beyond herself didn't allow her to see what was obvious to everyone else: Serkan and Eda were nowhere close to finished.

So, instead of picking up the pieces of her life and figuring out what's next, Selin is out here making a fool of herself, trying to push her way into the life of her ex who is so far gone over Eda, that he doesn't even register what Selin is doing. Obviously, Serkan's big mistake here is letting her stay in the first place, but again I think that is all about his guilt. Whether he did it consciously or subconsciously, (subconsciously at first, consciously near the end) he knows he used Selin as a tool to do this crazy fake engagement thing in order to stay connected to Eda. I like that he feels bad about it, even if Selin has no one to blame but herself. That being said, let's hope this episode was the end of his duty and guilt-induced blinders when it comes to her. He’s made his restitution.

Also, we were right about Selin having no good reason to be furious when she barged into his house the morning after learning the truth about the Holding and Eda's parents. That revelation should have given her insight into what Serkan is going through, why he's treating the information so sensitively and why he broke up with Eda. Instead she works herself into a lather because... why? That seemed calculated as well. She'd left Drunk!Serkan and Eda together late at night, after being humiliated, why would she think Serkan would be alone in the morning? Did she barge in with her fake outrage because she knew Eda was likely to be there and overhear? She's awful and I'm not sure how she can be redeemed at this point. So much for the show not making her a villain, she's there now.

#Sen Çal Kapımı #Sen Cal Kapimi #sckask #sck meta #anti selin #asklizac #anonymous #sck 1x19

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kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

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October 16: 1x19 Tomorrow Is Yesterday

Today, one of the best, most entertaining, and most fun TOS episodes.

This intro is so strange lol. If I were watching this in 1967, I’d be like “Has Star Trek been preempted by something dumb?” It’s also very short.

That is in fact the definition of a UFO--what’s less identified than the Enterprise?

I can’t wait until a space ship of people from the future shows up. It’s 2020 so anything could happen.

Captain’s Log: This is weird!

I love all the shots of the Enterprise through this ep. How clearly it’s cut and pasted against the sky, the weird and jerky way it moves.

So I was confused by the use of the term “black star”--it is in fact a black hole (Spock’s eternal nemesis lol); that term just wasn’t well known or settled on to describe that particular phenomenon in 1967.

The method of time travel reminds me of The Naked Time (wasn’t that also like snapping a rubber band?) and according to the amazon trivia, this was supposed to be The Naked Time part two--which actually would have been pretty cool.

“If Scotty’s not dead” lol. How dark.

Amazed by how efficient this ship is--they get those reports back to Spock really damn fast.

I love how Kirk is so smart and good at history that he can immediately date when they are based on the news about a moon landing. (Although actually this episode pre-dates the actual moon landing so that was just a guess as to when it would happen, which I find AMAZING tbh.)

The drama of the time travel reveal! Close up on Kirk’s face: WHAT??

Sulu’s eye makeup is great. Bones’s is too, later.

“The craft might have nuclear warheads, which would be rather inconvenient for us.”

Kirk doesn’t know his own lady’s strength. Whoops, we accidentally destroyed your ship.

Why does Christopher beam up standing? Because it would be too funny if he beamed up sitting and then immediately fell on his ass?

Kirk immediately checks him out, and then starts flirting. He is so shameless.

“I’m a Captain too! I’m from Iowa!”

“Woman?” / “Crewman” feminist exchange paired with that horn music that usually accompanies Jessica Rabbit. Well A for effort boys.

The Enterprise is one of only 12 in the fleet. Not that that’s really trustworthy since everything in S1 of TOS is seat of the pants random facts and numbers lol. This episode refers to BOTH Starfleet and UESPA--and possibly the Federation? Already can’t remember. I don’t understand any more than Captain Christopher does.

“We’re a combined service.” Combined from what?

Captain Christopher was one of the best guest characters. Love how he’s on this amazing futuristic ship and the only thing he can say about it is “you guys sure fuck up a lot.”

Spock is having tons of fun with the new Earthman like IMMEDIATELY. “I also don’t believe in little green men--by which I mean don’t call me little.”

Another ep in which Spock is referred to as a Lt. Cmdr. while pretty clearly wearing a Commander’s uniform.

“Don’t touch anything.”

“Anything else on your mind, Mr. Spock? A threesome perhaps?”

“Jim, we cannot not exist.”

“That flight suit must be uncomfortable”--so unsubtle in wanting to get him undressed. “Why don’t you slip into something a little more comfortable, Captain?”

“Signet 14 is a planet dominated by women...with a sense of humor.”

“You can’t go home now that you know what the future looks like--damn fine, I mean take a look at us.”

“We’ve no place to go!” Oh Scotty, always coming in to burst some bubbles. They should have just gone on tours everyone’s home towns for fun.

And now Captain Christopher tries to escape. Exactly what Kirk would do in his situation. And yet Kirk is perplexed: “I sent him to his room--and he’s not in his room!”

Bones is so convinced that they have to leave and get back to their own time because they can’t have 435 people just wandering around 20th century Earth changing the timelines and that’s legit--but I think they could have stuck him in 1960s Georgia and he’d do fine. Except for the racism.

“Now you’re sounding like Spock.” Jim! How dare!!

“Could he be reeducated to forget his family” sounds VERY suspicious out of context. Or, really, in context.

Bones identifying that Spock is joking is hilarious and sweet. He pretends he doesn’t know him, but he does.

Kirk’s face when Spock is talking about Christopher Jr. is so MUCH--he looks like he could try.

I love the colors of this episode. I would buy a color tv for this for sure.

“Our tractor beam caught and crushed an Air Force plane.” Well that’s not good. Hard to explain that one.

Sulu gets to go on a one-on-one away mission with the Captain! And he’s obviously having a grand time.

“Look at this cool bulletin board!”

“Look at this primitive computer!” Which Kirk can identify because he likes going to museums because he’s a NERD I rest my case.

I feel like Spock is super alien today. Just giving off a lot of alien vibes. “I am working on my calculations.”

This episode is so hilarious; I love it. This guy’s reactions to Kirk and Sulu and their communicator, and their reactions to him and the whole situation. It’s really pretty cure comedy without much bearing on the plot--just for fun.

“I don’t hear anything.” I mean--you’re officers?? That’s the best you can do?

“Hmmm, you’re not Jim.” “We seem to have another problem.” “An unfortunate accident.” Bones taking the gun and probably keeping it. The absolutely on point score. “Our guest seems quite satisfied to remain where he is.”

Also “A subplot of this episode is that Kirk and Sulu steal government documents from an Air Force base” sounds very fake, but it’s completely true and accurate.

Kirk just straight up LAUNCHING himself at those guys. The ONLY valid fight scenes are in Star Trek TOS and it’s all because of Kirk and his highly choreographed fight moves.

“Three against one? Why don’t you get two more guys and make it a fair fight.”

But then as soon as he’s caught he turns on the charm.

Spock: “Poor photography.” He never knows the right thing to say, does he?

And now the obligatory moment when Bones accuses Spock of not caring about Jim even though he of all people should know better.

This interrogation scene is also hilarious and one of my favorites. How he doesn’t say his middle name is Tiberius. Wincing when they throw the weapon around. “I’m a little green man from Alpha Centuri.” “This little thing? Just something I slipped on.” “Two hundred years? That oughtta be just about right.”

Tbh sometimes I do feel better about the AOS!Kirk characterization because of scenes like this. Like, you could see that mid-20s Kirk turning into this mid-30s Kirk; the sense of humor is similar.

This man in the beret is having a fun time. I think he’d like to stay here. Also, I find the food replicators in the transporter room really random but I guess that was a budget issue.

This is such a good-natured episode. Everyone’s so friendly, so forgiving of light moments of back-stabbery, so generally good-hearted.

You’ve seen the Vulcan nerve pinch, now get ready for the Sulu shoulder chop! And then the Vulcan nerve pinch! And then the Kirk very-fake-looking punch in the face!

Spock so obviously wants to kiss it better. The camera is away from them for so long, it’s possible there was a lot of hand fondling going on.

And then everything about the rest of the scene--how Spock somehow leaves by one door and comes in by another to get behind Christopher; how he lurks out of focus in the background; the random shots of Sulu’s face; all the opportunities for Kirk to look Fond.

Aw, poor Christopher. Didn’t get into NASA but he still gets to go to space. I wonder if a part of him did remember all this and that’s how he inspired his son to work on the Saturn probe.

Also there is no way for DC Fontana or anyone else to know this but there was a Saturn probe launched in 2004, which is approximately the right timeline to match this ep--if Christopher’s son was born in 1970, he would have been in his mid-30s in 2004.

“You only have 15 years, so you better hurry”--Kirk, hurrying to get his last flirty comment in.

More shaky ship and more people throwing themselves around the set. Never gets old.

Christopher sure learned the ship fast. He’s already pushing buttons to talk to the bridge. Maybe NASA made a mistake.

Scotty is a genius lol--they were SUPER precise in getting both of those guys back to the exact right moment in time.

“Mr. Scott is still with us”--again!

Uhura really likes the lady computer voice.

“The Enterprise is home!”

Amazing ep, as expected. I don’t have deep commentary on it because it wasn’t a deep episode, but it was a rollicking fun time. Next up is Court Martial, primarily memorable for the introduction of Kirk’s ex-girlfriend, The Lawyer.

#star trek tos #the year 2020 #2020: fandom thoughts #2020: star trek

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onlyhereforangst · 4 years

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WWR

Ok so maybe I shouldn’t call this Weekly Wednesday Reflections anymore since I’m terrible at writing it in time 🤷🏻‍♀️ granted it is Wednesday...just a week late 😅

I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite Ellick episode. After rewatching it, I’m just so- happy with it. From exploring Ellie’s range of emotions and character depth to the progress we saw in their relationship just 🥰

The opening scene already gives us SO MUCH. First, they jog as the cutest freaking married couple I’ve ever seen and this certainly is a routine because they knew to target him here. But Nick teasing her by sprinting, her struggling to keep up but giggling with each other because clearly it’s not the first time he does that little speed up thing & she’s working on getting faster because she used to hate training for marathons like- can you NOT. My heart can’t take the implications, ALSO Gibbs & McGee didn’t bat an eye that they just so happened to be jogging together in the early morning (everyone was only just leaving their house on their morning commute) so they know it’s their routine too and don’t even question it. GAH.

Flashforward to hospital scene with Ellie breaking my heart slowly. She’s clearly been crying by the red rimmed eyes, and yet also trying to hold it together to be strong for Nick & so she does the only thing she knows how to do since feelings scare her and the love of her life Nick just got hit. Ellie’s logical brain takes over as she does best (see 16x18 for reference) - when she’s dealing with emotions, all she can do is her job, it’s all that makes sense in the monsoon of feelings. She’s going to analyze every last bit of the hit & run and immediately parrot it back so that *something* can be done right away and she can find justice for Nick. She doesn’t care about her own health- just justice for Nick. And in that same vein, she doesn’t want to eat, she doesn’t want to rest, she doesn’t want to sit down until she knows Nick is okay (I’m sorry but to have a CODE NAME from the nurses because they feel the need to run from you- can you say “Crazy Worried Wife™️”??)

Kasie is our new captain, it has been decided. (I think this was already decided but I’m making an official decree) Her probing McGee to see his reaction because girl knows why Bishop is taking it harder, please. Then laughing it off for McGee, “we all gon need therapy if those two ever hook up” while thinking *boy you better stop denying because you KNOW they hooking up after this shit* is just 🙌🏼 the outright addressing of Ellick by the show- thank youuuuu.

Ok and now begins the Ellie show. Excuse me, the BADASS BISHOP SHOW. (Also why I’m partial to this being my fave ep). First- girl does not know how to holster her gun. Ellie: “you say there’s a tiny lead” *cocks gun* “let’s go” I’m herrrrrre for it. She’s blunt with everyone, she doesn’t care when Gibbs gives her the look, she don’t take no SHIT in interrogation. “You’d have to be [creative]” had me cry-ing 😭😭😭 AND THEN her equivalent of cursing out Vance over Nick, followed up by freaking out in the bullpen had me breaking on my couch. YES ELLIE GET IT is what I believe I chanted. The stare off, oh lordy. Y’all I was sweating I was pissed for her. Just the raw emotion in her eyes, the constant holding back tears and tears I just- 😭💔 and emojis don’t do it justice. I wanted soooo bad for her to land a sweet, sweet punch like she did with Victor, but knowing a second offense unprovoked wouldn’t go over too well, she held back. But aaaahh that scene was SO heartbreaking. And then, and THEN Ellie standing there gazing at his desk- oof. Her body language was key- her crossed arms, holding herself literally together so she doesn’t break?? She wants to break, y’all. She wants to break. Staying strong for Nick is the only thing getting her through.

When Gibbs sends her to be at the hospital because THE WHOLE DAMN TEAM KNOWS, I did a happy dance. McGee encouraging her but almost pulse-checking Gibbs after was very very intriguing. Gibbs’ “He’s a fighter” followed by McGee’s pulse-check, “so is Bishop...” and Gibbs’ exasperated look off towards the elevator and admission of agreement says SO MUCH. First- McGee is worried about not only Nick, but his sister, Ellie. He knows how much Qasim’s death hurt her, knows what she went through after- WHICH TIME OUT. For anyone saying this episode was OOC for Ellie? Sit the hell down and go watch 14x16. Then come back. Then continue reading. Ok resume WWR- McGee also knows how much more Torres means to her, he may try to deny it, but he knows. Implying Bishop is a fighter, obviously not about her health because *she’s fine* but more about what she’d do out of revenge. (And the man doesn’t even know Bishop is about to say she’s gonna kill him) Gibbs’ already sees himself a little in her, recognizing the same feeling he experienced with Shannon many years ago- hence the completive look on his face & heavy sigh. He knows he’ll have to revisit Rule 12 soon (but also in his mind he’s basically already burned it like Rule 10).

Speaking of Ellie saying she’s going to kill him, please see this excerpt from my notes during the ep: “FUCK YES BISHOP - the emotions!!!!!!!” That basically sums up how I felt the entire scene & commercial break afterward 🤷🏻‍♀️😂😂 My reaction when it came back? KILL HIM. But like in all seriousness, her face- holy shit going from on the verge of tears when they rolled Nick away to calculating her next move as McGee’s talking to her to making up her mind that she will be committing murder (please, girl already planned it & is just deciding which lipstick to wear during it at this point). Emily Wickersham is an amazing actress and I don’t care what you have to say. And yes, McGee trying to calm her down in a big brother way is adorable, but Ellie not having it is great. “Torres doesn’t get a say” is such a Nick thing to do of her 😭 Remember Luis going off on his own, yeah- this is Ellie’s version because she wants to & her husband is rubbing off on her. Oh also, the office she refers to? Totally means Ziva’s office at Odette’s - “if we missed something, I’ll find it there.” Hmmmm sounds eerily similar to *why* Ziva had that office in the first place, doesn’t it 🤔 also explains the lack of her on HQ’s logs and her “going home” excuse— which by the way, her shrugging them all off? Suspect Bishop, suspect. Her trying to play it all off with a wry laugh, not gonna lie, I love it. Her “too late” to Gibbs is quite interesting though- she sees herself going down that path any way, because she killed him? Or because she triggered a chain of events that will lead to it? Or because she may not have killed him, but lord knows she wanted to & planned it down to every last detail? Like I said, interesting.

Ok side note: Jack suggesting taking her off duty kinda pisses me off - with the spiraling comment too. She got to spiral when that guy from her past came & it screwed with her psyche, why the f can’t Bishop? It just rubbed me the wrong way, but I don’t hate Jack (don’t @ me, people.)

Back to Badass Bishop Show. She literally always has her gun out now. Just walking to the penthouse again where they didn’t try anything last time, *cocks gun.* When Gibbs comes up and tells her Nick is away 😩 Her relief though in the fact that he’s asking about her and he’s hungry (Ellie rubbing off on him, you can’t tell me I’m wrong) to go to the kicking down the door because that’s what her baby does so therefore she kicks down doors now- the parallels & the influence 😭😭

THE BATHROOM SCENE. McGee like seriously? You actually killed him?? And Gibbs like “oh fuck here we go again.” And then Jimmy had me dyinggggg. Theory alert: I really think Ellie (maybe Gibbs went with her & they’re helping each other with alibis/cover up??) went to kill him but got there after it had happened, that’s why she’s a little cagey about it- not that she *actually* killed the guy. BUT reference 14x16 again, I wouldn’t put it past her.

The final hospital bed scene has my heart. Ellie is so relieved and just so happy and open (but also a little nervous about what happens next so she hides a touch of her emotions, can’t let him see alllll of her heart now can we)- going back to their teasing ways, “worst pretend sleeper”, “next time jump out of the way” - UGH so cute. Side note, they use last names here almost similarly to the submarine episode. When shit gets scary real for them, it’s their way of grounding themselves almost, trying to hide just how much that incident actually affected them. They both do it & yes, it frustrates the hell out of me, but at the same time shows me just how much they care for the other 😭 BUT this time!! Nick made it take a serious turn, and I think Ziva finally got through to him- that sentence “cause you know I risked my life to save yours” is more him openly saying like oh shit I really did that 1. to himself and 2. to finally take that next baby step in their relationship. The emotion behind it showing her it wasn’t just because they’re partners- he wanted her to know that for sure, to make sure he didn’t just make light of it & glaze over it. He needed it out there in the universe that he Nicholas Torres, of sixteen different identities & no family, nothing to live for anymore, would rather DIE- than see Ellie in harms way. He needed it to be tangible for himself AND for her. Because this is growth, this is not what most people think of when they think of him.

And Ellie’s response: the look, hesitation building up courage, and making that first move of physical touch speaks VOLUMES about Ellie at this point. Not only does she take hold of his hand, but she rubs it in a soothing gesture. As if she needs to confirm for herself he’s really there, he’s really alive. The struggle she went through, the turmoil- wasn’t all for not. It’s her saying “I know” not just to the fact that she was joking earlier, she knows he risked his life & she’s grateful for that, but she knows it was more than because they’re just partners, more than just best friends even. That first move is her saying “I know” and “I might be ready to open up & let you in to the walls that surround my heart because the last time I was in a hospital staring at someone I loved, it didn’t turn out the same. Except this time, it took the hospital trip to really bring that into focus, and I know I can’t let that happen again.” Aaaaaaand catch me sobbing in the corner, it’s fine. I’m fine.

Nick’s reaction speaks volumes from him too, his slight shock to Ellie reciprocating & making that first move with his soft smile that is hinted at across his face to show he knows she’s letting him peak in, just a little, and that’s a start. A start people!!!

Last notes: Gibbs being such a dad and defending Nick liking his fireplace is the cutest. Vance was eager to get out of there at the end- his contacts are very very suspicious... And on that note, I really do not think it was Gibbs. I think Gibbs and Bishop may have gotten there after it happened with the purpose of doing something, so now they’re covering for each other, but I do not think it was either of them.

Pretty sure this is officially my longest review to date, WHOOPS. If you made it this far, congrats & thanks for staying with my inner ramblings 🙃 Like I said- my favorite episode so farrrrrr (now let’s see if we get anything AFTER this episode......lol I got jokes 😅).

#WWR #ncis #ellick #torres x bishop #s17 #17x14

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kajimotomiya · 6 years

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Ultraman Orb is finished as of 12/10/2017

When I was a young lad, about the age of 5th or 6th grade or so, the Fox Kids section of Fox was removed and revamped to a new program on Saturday mornings: The Fox Box. It had many shows, mostly licensed by 4Kids (Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, etc.), including Sonic X, Kirby: Right Back At Ya, Tokyo Mew Mew, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (a darker version than what the cowabunga cartoons were), and especially a dub of Ultraman. (Dub, not what Power Rangers, Masked Rider, or Kamen Rider Dragon Knight were...adaptations?) Most specifically, Ultraman Tiga.

How ironic that my first exposure to Ultraman would come back to me in the form of my first Japanese Ultraman series.

Having joined a forum called HJU, I met a friend who was an Ultraman buff (also a bit of an elitist), and learned a little bit more about Ultraman through him. I became somewhat interested in Ultraman Zero and that convoluted named movie he was featured in, especially that Black Ultraman who’s always smiling (I know his name, shut up). But being more of a Kamen Rider fan, I was very reluctant to try other things until I finally started watching some Super Sentai shows. I needed a reason to watch Ultraman, and not for the love of Kaiju people have towards this franchise, or the mechs in Super Sentai. I wanted what I got from Kamen Rider: intense rivalry, an unspoken bond between two warriors bound to forever clash blades. Upon following someone on Tumblr, I asked them about Ultraman suggestions. And while they gave me a lot to try out, they specifically offered me something I could refuse.

Unspoken bromance.

Ultraman Orb is about a wanderer who wasn’t all that he seemed. Having met the Searching Something People (I hate this name still), he eventually bonded with and started living with them. While protecting Tokyo from the threat of the Kaiju and other extraterrestrial terrorists, he would continuously cross paths with a man whose deep history he shared, both good and bad, and protect not just humans, but all of Earth, from his plans.

This guy.

As my first Ultraman series, I truly did love the fights between Gai and Juggulus Juggler (I still love this name). Although their ACTUAL insuit fight was rather anticlimactic and sort of unsatisfying, their offsuit fights were pretty fun to watch. I especially loved that Gai wasn’t this hot head or “teen hero” that Super Sentai and Kamen Rider would always expose me to. I love his cool, mature adultness. On the other hand, I could never get a grip on Juggler’s deal. He would be cool, menacing, calculating, with a voice so deep and sexy I’d question my heterosexuality. But then he starts going on fits of insanity with his voice shooting up five octaves (and his goddamn laugh), and I am immediately brought back to reality. Even now, I STILL don’t know what his deal was with Gai except he wasn’t chosen to be an Ultraman. So what is it? Did he just want to prove he was better? Did he want to kill Gai for taking away a power he believed was rightfully his? Did he grow psychotic from the powers of darkness? And then he’s saving Naomi all the time instead of actually killing her, and while we DO touch upon it, it’s been more than frustrating to see where on the evil spectrum this asshole lies. Speaking of Naomi...

I still hate them.

Maybe it’s just the acting. Normally I can’t tell the difference between English-speaking and Japanese acting, since in English I can TELL when someone is phoning it in. Because Japanese is just my secondary language, I can’t tell the actual inflections that are normally used or just hamming it. In this case, however, these guys were WAY too obvious. It was actually kinda of annoying to listen to. But let me at least get past that.

Naomi has been literally the damsel in distress all series. She gets caught in so much shit, especially with Juggler, that there were times I hoped she would kick some ass (like a certain sword-wielding cutie in the next show). She ended up serving to be Gai’s emotional motivator, when she “died” and when he was at the end of his ropes. Honestly, I didn’t like that about her. Maybe I’m just shallow thinking about it, but I wanted her to be a little more than a potential love interest (they never outwardly stated it, but it definitely was a thing).

Shin is like the smart guy, right? But there were times I just wanted him to just STOP TALKING. When he and Jetta just run off each other in seamless conversation, it’s just NOISE NOISE NOISE. I...I know his light in the series was with the Mecha Godzilla look-a-like, but even then I couldn’t really like him.

Jetta was..............kinda useless. I almost actually forgot his name writing this.

If there was anyone I liked out of this repeating cast, it was Shibukawa. He was your typical stupid ossan who knew how to dish it when needed. If there was a human hero in the story besides Gai, it was him. His episode where he and Gai were fighting their respective alien opponents in perspective shifts was iconically one of my most favorite episodes in the series. The man is hardboiled, but not like Shotaro Hidari “hardboiled”. But even then, I don’t understand his logic, like shooting at a giant alien with his gun. Also his acting sucks.

All in all, I actually really liked this series, though despite being only 25 eps, I actually had to take breaks. Maybe it was because of these guys I felt a little turned off. When you have these guys as the public face of the “hero in the shadows”, it’s...kind of annoying.

So what’s next after this?

I am currently streaming Ultraman Geed with a Discord server I’m in, making it the only time I’m watching it. The guys I’m watching it with have never watched Ultraman, so it’s somewhat educating for all of us, and I think the reactions are more genuine that way.

I also have Ultraman Orb Origin in my HDD, so maybe this will clear up some things about Gai and Juggler I’m missing. I also have X, that Ultraman Zero movie(s), and I THINK Tiga is also there. It’s a little hard for me to go Showa, but I’ll try at some point.

If there is anyone I want to thank for this, it’s @biomic. We’re not friends or anything, and I think I annoy them more than I want to, but it’s because of them I started watching Ultraman and added another chapter to my Tokusatsu life. I’ve watched their liveblogging of Ultraman since I started following them, and I enjoy every bit of it. Maybe I’ll start Metal Heroes because of them as well?

That said, I enjoyed having a taste of Ultraman, and I can’t wait to rip through Geed as well. Until then,

あばよ

#jamie liveblogs #jamie liveblogs ultraman #ultraman #ultraman orb #kamen rider #super sentai #tokusatsu

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