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vanillasakura · 2 years

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I'll Quit Tomorrow. For Now, Another High

New Better Call Saul episode has me beyond fucked up so I wrote this. Not sure how to feel about it but fuck it posting it anyways.

Obligatory do not read if you haven't watched 607!!! Summary will be below the cut. No explicit sexual content but very much 18+ as sexual stuff is present.

Ao3 link is here!

Summary:

Howard Hamlin had been defeated, and here he stood, conceding his loss. All Kim could feel was an intense arousal unlike anything she had ever known.

Huge gigantic spoiler warning for 607! A look into Kim's mind during the last scene of Plan & Execution inspired by Howard's comment that she and Jimmy con people because they get off to it.

~~~

Howard Hamlin had been defeated.

It was fun to be overdramatic when referring to their targets in their head. Made everything feel like it was a video game that Kim and Jimmy were playing. The multicolored, flaming text reading “DEFEATED” would have appeared across the top of the TV screen as soon as Cliff had come onto the line during the phone call earlier to announce that they had settled. Now, standing in their kitchen, Howard was doing nothing more than giving his generic, run-of-the-mill speech that every video game villain made post-boss battle.

But Howard wasn’t waxing poetic about his dreams being crushed. He wasn’t admitting that Jimmy and Kim were stronger than he, reaffirming their knowledge that they were the heroes that this world needed. They were nothing of the sort, Howard told them. They were both evil, twisted excuses of human beings who did what they did for nothing more than a good time.

And he was right, much more than he knew. Howard Hamlin had been defeated, and here he stood, conceding his loss. All Kim could feel was an intense arousal unlike anything she had ever known

It almost sounded like a sick joke, something Jimmy would have told her back in the mailroom to catch a glimpse of the stone-faced Kim Wexler, Law Student,’s smile. “Hey,” he’d tell her, peaking over the edge of an empty cubicle while the two were delivering printouts at 11 PM, “Got something to tell you, something big. Something you’re never gonna believe.”

She’d roll her eyes, pretending to “give in” to Jimmy’s whims, actually finding him much more endearing than she’d like to admit. “Fine, what is it?”

“Now, this might sound hard to believe, but you gotta. I’d never lie to you. Recently, Kim, I’ve discovered I have an ability, and one that’s very special at that: I can see into the future.”

“The future? What, did you swallow that blue stuff from inside a magic 8 ball?”

Jimmy would have tilted his head from side to side, mechanical like the insides of a ticking clock. “Sources say perhaps.”

Kim Wexler, Law Student, would have blown air out of her nose. “Alright then Mr. Clairvoyant, what is it that you see?”

“Now, twelve years from today--- and you’ve gotta believe me on this one Kim, I know how it sounds--- you’re going to find yourself inexplicably… well, let’s just say excited by no one other than Howard Hamlin himself.”

Kim Wexler, Law Student, would have choked on her own spit laughing at that one. “Howard? Howard Hamilin? No offense Jimmy, but I think all that 8 ball fluid must’ve gone to your head.”

“Hey hey, don’t shoot the messenger!” he would’ve told her, hands in the air. “Over the course of the next decade, you’re going to undergo a serious personality change. Lots of self discovery. Turns out Howard Hamlin is going to be the hottest hunk in town once all that’s said and done.”

Kim Wexler, Law Student, would hate the woman that Kim had become. “How the hell did you let things get this bad?” she’d ask.

Things weren’t bad though, they weren’t bad at all. Kim was happier now than she’d ever been before. Kim Wexler, Law Student, the girl who always woke up early to pull her hair back and dress well and make it to class fifteen minutes early just couldn't see that. Walking into rooms led by people far richer than they needed to be who didn’t truly care for humanity as they purported had drained the life out of her. The conning had put it back.

The conning was also an aphrodisiac, as it turned out. It was Kim’s personal siren. She’d had more orgasms in the last few months than she’d had her entire life combined. (That in and of itself was a surprise, as the frequency she and Jimmy would sleep together had already begun to rise after he’d started running flashier cons.) She loved pulling schemes for a variety of reasons, including how free they made her feel, but she’d be lying if she said the sexual aspect wasn’t one of the most enticing. Kim had the best sex of her life earlier that day during the phone call, and now she was thinking that she’d have that beat in record time, given how much Howard’s little speech was affecting her now.

Being so good at something and getting to watch your hard work pay off was exhilarating. Winning cases always filled Kim with adrenaline, for they were a recognition of her own talent. Running cons was like that but on steroids.

Now Howard was calling her smart, gifted even. One of the most talented and promising legal minds he ever knew. She didn’t care. Winning cases, even for people who deserved it more than rich assholes who never had to fight for a thing, would never be the same as this. They would never make her as happy. Kim was a brilliant legal mind, that was nothing she didn't know, but her innate talent as a conwoman shown so bright that it didn’t matter if she was the best or the worst lawyer New Mexico had ever seen. She discreetly squoze her thighs together, torn between the desire for Howard to keep on going forever or to just get it over with and leave so that she could pounce on her husband. Good god, she was hornier than she’d ever been in her life.

If this was what it was like when those meth heads Jimmy’s clients serviced got high, she could understand how the cartels were kept in business. Kim was euphoric, so completely lost in the intensity of the moment she could barely remember to breathe. Back when she first started, when she was able to box this part of herself up into the package that was Giselle St. Clair the barroom scammer, sure she’d arguably been a better person, but she was nowhere near as happy as she was today. Those little, occasional hits had proved to not be enough. Nowadays, everything in her life revolved around working and working to get another trip, another explosion of endorphins and serotonin and hormones. It was so worth it. She regretted nothing. Nothing could ever compare to this. Kim Wexler was on top of the world, and nothing could ever bring her down.

The smallest bead of wetness moved down her thigh, and Kim curled her toes into the rug. Mailroom Jimmy could have told all the jokes he wanted about Howard Hamlin being the true object of Kim’s desire, but good god was he wrong. The man was nothing more than a mirror in which Kim saw her own payout. Howard didn’t turn her on, she turned herself on. Knowing that she was this smart, this capable? That got her going more than even Jimmy did. Nothing was more attractive than her own mind. After all, Kim didn’t need cartels or middlemen or chemical compounds to get this way, all she needed was her own intellect. It was no wonder her husband was so in love with her.

Howard was right, she and Jimmy did get off to all this, literally. One glance at her husband told her that. Even if his slightly concerned face did mar that illusion a bit. He just wasn’t seeing things clearly, the way she was. Even beneath the faint lines of worry on his face, Kim knew her husband well enough to know he was as hot as she was. Those pants did a damn good job hiding it.

Howard was pledging that he’d bounce back. That he’d spend the rest of his life fighting to take Jimmy and Kim down. Sure he would. He could try, but he’d never, ever succeed. Nobody would believe him anyways. Howard Hamlin the druggie, the coke addict throwing his life and his legacy away to chase after this poor couple who just want to be left alone. It was so funny to think of how pathetic he’ll be, how much he’ll drag himself through the dirt. Howard trying to fight back will do nothing but extend Kim’s pleasure. Every setback and failure for him will be another hit of aphrodisiac for her and another orgasm so strong she almost passes out.

Kim Wexler was unstoppable. She’d torn down the great Howard Hamlin, and she was only getting started. God she was so horny. If Howard didn’t shut up soon she was going to throw Jimmy to the ground and take him right there, who gives a shit if Howard is watching? He’d never understand. That cocaine of his had always been fake. Her pleasure was the realest thing she’d ever known. This high would never fade, not when Howard was around for Kim to shoot up again and again and again. God, she was so wet she couldn’t take it, she needed Jimmy and she needed him now .

New Mexico may be known for its hot air balloons, but if one pops---loud and sudden and unexpected--- all that heat and energy will disappear instantly and be replaced with nothing but freezing emptiness as it crashes to the ground and its flame flickers out.

btw please picture the defeated text to look exactly like this (yes it's in Hamlindigo Blue)

#bcs #better call saul #kim wexler #saul goodman #jimmy mcgill #mcwexler #howard hamlin #fanfiction #bcs fanfiction #bcs fanfic #my writing #writing #fanfic #jimmy x kim

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dancefloor · 1 year

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hi regina! i see that you got the ftpanon and i have no idea how that game works 🤣 but i hope you win 😊 how has your week been?

for today’s question(s) you get another hodgepodge! 1) what are four pieces of media (a book, a show, a movie, and an album) that you’d recommend to anyone wanting to get to know you? 2) what three characters do you relate to most? 3) what are two of your favorite snacks? and 4) when you dream, do you dream in first-person (like real life) or third-person (like you’re a character in a movie)? i’m the only one of my friends who dreams in the latter and i’ve found out so many interesting things about how my friends’ brains work so i decided to start asking everyone 😅 i hope you have a good rest of your week and i can’t wait for you to see your gift!

love, 💠🎄

oh i swear to god i dont even know how to play ftpanon. i just fuck around and find out. thank you for the support, if i win i’ll make merch <3

1) oof okay. i’d want to recommend gone girl by gillian flynn for the book but people would think i’m sick in the head so i’d go for the hunger games by suzanne collins, weirdly? it was the first f*ndom i was ever in & it meant so much to me when i was in my pre-teens, and now that i’m older i’m finding more things to love about it that i would’ve never thought of as a kid.

the show i’d recommend would be better call saul. i actively recommend every person i talk to ever to watch this and i need the bitch pack to hop onto the bandwagon because it’s so!!! good!!! it really is!!! it’s also a major inspiration for me to want to start studying film. it’s “only” a prequel to breaking bad but i’d honestly argue it’s better

the movie i’d recommend would be 13 going on 30. this sounds sooo goofy compared to the other choices but imo it’s the best romcom there is, the cinematography is unironically great and it makes some decent points about feminism. for an early 2000s movie starring mark ruffalo.

the album would be punisher by phoebe bridgers or tranquility base hotel & casino by arctic monkeys. i’m not choosing taylor because i don’t feel like any of her albums & my opinions on them say as much about me as punisher and tbhc do? like i love speak now and reputation but the vibe is just different. meanwhile punisher & tbhc have some great production, are conceptually strong & lyrically great. and i’m also just a little pretentious

2) why are you giving me so many hard questions.

3. monica geller

i am also a massive bitch with a superiority complex, an unhealthy sense of perfectionism and a bunch of friends that are really too good for her

2. fleabag

i’m nothing like her on paper or in experience but i feel the same things she feels. i bawled my fucking eyes out at that show like. she Gets it

1. kim wexler

it’s about the need to help people it’s about the fear of being stuck it’s about the fear of mediocrity it’s about needing to be control it’s about trying to be morally just while still respecting who you are. i’m gonna go insane btw

3) an easy one! nachos and maltesers

4) omg i think i dream in first person? but i’m not sure. my dreams are always so weird i don’t pay attention to where i am, i’m just like oh wow i have to call 911 and they’re gaslighting me and my best friend just morphed into my childhood friend without me realizing and why is kendall roy mad at me

thank you for this painfully detailed message, sorry it took so long to answer and i’m so excited to find out who you are. <3 hope you’re well!

#speaks now #ask #bpacksanta

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jimmymcgools · 2 years

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sorry for asking the million dollar question but i want to know your take: was chuck right about jimmy, or is more complicated than that?

oh man, i'm always happy to talk about this! thanks for asking me! i think if it were as simple as chuck being right about jimmy, bcs would be a much worse show.

i think chuck is absolutely correct about some parts of jimmy’s character. jimmy is drawn to shortcuts and to flash and style, and i even think jimmy does enjoy feeling more cunning than everyone around him. and i think that’s an immutable part of him -- people don’t change, you’re slippin’ jimmy.

but i think chuck’s wrong about the conclusions he draws from that observation. i don’t think it’s some great fated thing that jimmy mcgill with a law degree is going to use that law degree to hurt people.

i even think the show argues explicitly that this doesn’t need to happen -- that jimmy can use these slippin’ jimmy skills to help people. he can notice the signs of a scam where nobody else has (sandpiper) and he can approach the problem with vinny-gambini-style unconventionality (toilet paper demand letter) and maybe skirt black-and-white legality (dumpster diving). and all to help people.

(and the fact that these sandpiper residents still haven’t seen a dime of settlement money is because of the slow-moving too-complex and arguably too-selfish beast of big law and the legal system and not because of jimmy)

anyway, imo that whole sandpiper origin in late s1 is showing us how jimmy’s slippin’ jimmy skillset isn’t inevitably destined for misuse.

i love that we see him get a great job at a good firm and then discover that it doesn’t suit him. i personally think that he would’ve discovered something similar at HHM, too, if he had been hired there right away.

but this doesn’t mean working in the law doesn’t suit him at all. i think the show goes out of its way to show us how much a small elder law practice does suit him.

so i personally think chuck’s wrong about the chimp with a machine gun thing.

but then there’s the “this is what you do, you hurt people”, if that’s more what you were asking about. even as a rampant jimmy mcgill apologist, i’m not gonna sit here and argue that jimmy doesn’t hurt people.

i sure hope i don’t hurt the people in my life as much as jimmy does. jimmy also becomes increasingly willing to justify hurting someone if he thinks that it’s worth it, on a balance. whether it’s irene or chuck or the woman he loves. he goes into that wexler v. goodman meeting knowing he’s going to hurt kim a lot but believing that the big picture can justify it (and i think by this point he’s desperate to stick it to them, to all those fancy lawyers).

and imo these justifications of his are flimsy and selfish.

but i think it would be pretty reductive to say that jimmy mcgill is inevitably destined to hurt people and that he should just embrace it.

chuck is so black and white -- he only sees the parts of jimmy that agree with his conclusions. what does he make of the parts that don’t? what does he make of the jimmy who brought him ice and groceries every morning for 18 months? chuck was there at 6am every day, too.

it’s telling how little this seems to inform chuck’s impression of jimmy’s character.

sometimes i think the audience is falling for chuck’s little façade, too. he wants people to think he sees the world from behind a judge’s bench, clear-eyed. but he’s just as tangled with messy emotions as anyone. he’s jealous. he’s entitled. he’s as unchangeable as he accuses jimmy of being -- he can’t fit the idea of jimmy becoming a lawyer into his established view, but instead of changing his view, he changes the “facts”. oh, jimmy just took a shortcut, then. he didn’t go to a real school, then. etc. etc.

(for the record, i love this about chuck. i love that these characters are shitty in their own different ways. if they weren’t shitty people sometimes, i would be so much less compelled by them.)

but, to bring this back to answering the question, i think it would be a bit narratively disappointing for the show to totally agree with the conclusions of a man who doesn’t see the world in shades of grey.

#better call saul #asks #jimmy mcgill #chuck mcgill

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samdukewieland · 4 years

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Stuck Inside Media Diary Week 4

On my birthday I made a 100 song playlist for myself with the criteria of choosing my Top 20 favorite bands/musicians, five songs from their catalog-preferably only one song per album-and that was it. This was part-exercise-part-how-do-I-celebrate-myself-and-my-excellently-unique-tastes-on-the-one-day-this-is-allowed. I had already gone through the painstakingly unasked for “challenge” of whittling down of a Top 5 for a project in college and it’s gone unchanged in the past four years, and being the way that I am, I am generally always considering what the Top 10 would be. Anything beyond Top 10 is egregious, but because I was deeply unsatisfied with a 25 song playlist, I just kept going until I settled on 20 and 100.

It then dawned on me (I couldn’t sleep that night, BIRTHDAY JITTERS and all that) afterwards that this is technically a list of what I’d consider to be the top 100 songs and that was just all wrong. I love every song on that playlist; I chose obvious songs and I chose obscure deep cuts that would make yer average me chuckle and say “heh, that one huh?” But if I were asked to make a list of the 100 greatest songs ever recorded, I don’t think I could leave off something like “Hey Jude” (The Beatles) or “Wonderful World” (Sam Cooke) or “The Champ” (Ghostface Killah) and yet I did. What a dweeb.

Sunday, April 12

Starship Troopers, Verhoeven 1997

Listen, I love Paul Verhoeven. This is my least favorite Paul Verhoeven movie and it’s still incredible. And it’s a me issue too (though, I’m not taking all the blame here-this obvious issues here are that there’s no good actor here besides Michael Ironside, Jake Busey and Neil Patrick Harris), though I think that’s part of the point of it. Or at the very least there’s been enough revisionist history and nostalgia slapped onto this thing that Denise Richards gets a pass-“well yeh, she’s bad on purpose” they’ll say; this movie is lemonade.

Three Busy Debras, “Sleepover!”

Probably the biggest difference between Three Busy Debras and Stella (which is what Three Busy Debras reminds me of the most) is that Stella was so unconcerned about saying anything about anything. This is not a knock on Debras, not in the least bit, but that’s ultimately what I landed on when I was thinking about the two next to each other. Three Busy Debras is very good and very, very funny and reminds me of one of my favorite television comedies to ever exist.

Beef House, “Boro”

When I went and saw Tim And Eric’s live tour back in January they were going to show the first episode of Beef House after the main show, but then they surprised us by having John C. Reilly come out as Steve Brule and do a bit with an audience member for like 15 minutes, probably less time. Watch Beef House if you like Tim and Eric, but you already know that if you do.

Joe Pera Talks With You, “Joe Pera Lights Up The Night With You”, “Joe Pera Talks to You About the Rat Wars of Alberta, Canada (1950–Present Day)”

At this point you can tell that I probably just turned on Adult Swim after finishing Starship Troopers and just kept it on, because a Sunday night on Adult Swim is the only thing that could rival an HBO Sunday night. Alright, so I had only ever seen one episode of Joe Pera Talks With You before these two episodes and I liked it fine, but didn’t have great context for it and was probably just not in a great headspace for it. Sure, I liked it fine back when I had watched that episode, but I was not motivated to continue watching it and I didn’t. Until this particular night. I know for sure that I’ll be writing more about it next week, so I’m just going to say now that this makes for incredible “watch before bed” programming.

Mad Men, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” [Series Premier]

And thus the great Mad Men re-watch has begun. I’ve only watched this all the way through once and that’s when I got caught up on the DVDs for season 4 back was when I was in high school. This pilot is one of the most pilot-y pilots I’ve seen/re-watched in a long while, and maybe it’s so glaring to me because of what I studied in college and how I just generally spend a lot of my time as a person. But it’s a very old fashioned pilot, maybe the last prestige TV classical pilot? You just don’t see very many shows now that have their first episode be as thirsty for another shot as this one is. Not bad, but more just very in your face.

Monday, April 13

Rashomon, Kurosawa 1950 [this might be available on Criterion-I just DVR’d it]

Baby’s first Kurosawa. This one has really stuck with me, just in its simplicity in telling a story and I’m going to stop talking about it here, one because like we really need another 26-year-old white dude talking about Akira Kurosawa movies and two, should I continue to talk about this movie, I will turn even more into what I hate and who I consider to be my arch-enemies: the film school kids.

Parks And Recreation, “Rock Show” [Season 1 finale]

Whenever I start a Parks re-watch, I always start with “Rock Show.” It’s now just in full fledged Simpsons territory that I wouldn’t be able to tell you how many times I’ve seen certain episodes and that it is incredibly comforting to watch where I can turn off brain while watching, but know exactly when to start re-paying attention because of jokes I like. I don’t know when it’ll be as recognized as The Simpsons (maybe it never will be?) or seen as the true predecessor, but it’ll feel good once it does. Though if there’s a show that demonstrated how irrelevant recognition for hard work was, it was Parks.

Tuesday, April 14

The Wicker Man, Hardy 1973 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

I feel confident that I’ve lied to friends of mine about having seen this movie. Pretty easy to do, considering it’s a pretty straight forward story and you can get by with saying stuff like “I mean yeh, it’s just like a pretty fucked up movie.” And it is! on both accounts. Though I guess not as unsettling as I figured it would be, but as soon as the animal masks come out I did get squirmy. That and choir singing folk music with vaguely disturbing lyrics juxtaposed over not totally right images-it’s like the opposite feeling when someone uses “Perfect Day” too ironically.

Better Call Saul, “Bad Choice Road”

Kim. Wexler. I guess what I love about Vince Gilligan is that he zags (though zagging in this case is kind of old fashioned) and saves his big thing to happen for a season’s finale and not the penultimate episode. But he doesn’t rob you of a wild penultimate episode either-just kind of nice and takes confidence.

Parks And Recreation, “Pawnee Zoo”

Wednesday, April 15

Obvious Child, Robespierre 2014 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

Got sick Wednesday night, ralphed twice!, and needed something I absolutely didn’t have to think about. I had started watching this probably like a year and a half ago in a waiting room while my mom was getting some kind of dental procedure done and had never picked it back up after putting 20 minutes down. It’s good, though I think it resonates better for other people than it did with me, but that’s no knock. Loved very dialed in Gaby Hoffmann and it feels like Max Silvestri mighta supposed to originally have the Jake Lacy part, but Jake Lacy is contractually obligated to play this sort of part whenever it is written into existence every year or so. Tough break.

Parks And Recreation, “The Stake Out”

Thursday, April 16

Targets, Bogdanovich 1968

I caught this recommendation from....I think Matt Singer on twitter and also @nextontcm (which is a first tier twitter follow) and man, this thing is great! I forgot that Bogdanovich comes from the Roger Corman school of directing, but ole Rog doesn’t let you forget with this one. It’s a movie I would imagine Steven Soderbergh really likes (and I say that, because The Limey is the only other movie that I know of that uses another movie’s footage in reference to one of the characters in the movie-like I’m sure there’s other, I haven’t seen every movie, leave me alone). TCM’s apparently doing a podcast series on Bogdanovich, which is kind of weird, but he did a short interview with Ben Mankiewicz afterwards and it was hilarious, because surprising no one, Peter Bogdanovich really doesn’t give a shit about what he says anymore.

Top Chef, Season 17 episode 5

This was the first time in Jen’s Top Chef career where she didn’t fall victim to the yips, which shows progress. But it’s also helping make the case that Jen Carroll might be the worst evaluated draftee in all of Top Chef? That sounds harsh, and I have no doubt that Jen Carroll is phenomenal, this just doesn’t seem to be her strength; there’s no rule that says competitive people have to always be good at what they get competitive about.

Mad Men, “Ladies Room”, “Marriage Of Figaro”

It’s weird seeing Don not as partner, but just a dude who’s really good at his job that people respect, but is also not in charge of everything and doesn’t aspire to be in charge of everything. Though not without trying to be in control of everything. I haven’t watched this since I was in high school, so I’ve both forgotten a lot of stuff and also just like know more about life and characters and didn’t realize how sad of a character Pete is. Man, Vincent Karheiser really doesn’t get enough credit for how good he is as Pete Campbell, a character who could’ve easily been just another Christopher Moltisanti (full disclosure: Christopher is in contention for favorite Sopranos character) and is so much sadder in a different way.

However, I’m still just dumb guy, and maybe that’s not the complete reason, but there’s some Betty stuff that is just like not very interesting. I think if they had gone down an avenue of “let’s try and radicalize her with Kennedy” story, that would’ve worked better than other stuff, but I don’t know. Betty’s complicated! But that she has to be the character that bridges Glen’s story to the main one is incredibly detrimental.

Friday, April 17

Parks And Recreation, “Beauty Pagent”

Brooklyn Nine-Nine, “Ransom”

Every season needs at least one Cheddar episode. This is not at all a controversial opinion, but it’s worth saying out loud in case anyone thought differently.

Big Night, Scott & Tucci 1995 [as of now this is available on Amazon Prime]

When Ian Holm isn’t running away with this, Isabella Rossellini (Big Beef and Cheddar in hand) is and when Isabella Rossellini isn’t running away with this, Minnie Driver is and when Minnie Driver isn’t running away with this, Tucci and Sheloub just keep passing it back and forth to each other while Liev Schreiber just silently stares at them from afar. This is a fantastic way to spend a Friday evening.

Mad Men, “New Amsterdam”, “5G”

Saturday, April 18

Parks And Recreation, “Practice Date”, “Sister City”, “Kaboom”

“Practice Date” is the first “modern” episode of Parks. “Sister City” feels like one they had drafted for S1 and just couldn’t figure out how to get it in there (it’s definitely not a bad episode, but it feels way more like steps backward than forward). “Kaboom” is a wonderfully silly episode and a great debut for Aisha Muharrar (who is a Tier 1 Parks writer-please don’t ask me to rank them).

Defiance, Zwick 2008 [as of now this is available on Netflix]

I had never watched this movie, because in the back of my head I’ve always suspected it would be real dumb and bad, because a WWII movie with Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber, on paper, should be something people talk about more, but nah, this thing’s real dumb and bad. But not even fun-bad, just forgettable bad. It’s dumb-guy-Munich.

Mad Men, “Babylon”, “Red In The Face”, “The Hobo Code”, “Shoot”

The Dick Whitman childhood really suffers from Al Swearengen just having a much better “raised by whores” story and also you can tell that Matthew Weiner thinks he’s doing important work by writing this stuff. And not to sound like a blog from 2007-2015, but Rachel really was the perfect match for Draper, holy shit. It’s also this stretch of episodes where Peggy starts to shine and Elizabeth Moss is definitely someone I take for granted, because I don’t really have to think about how good she is, because I know she’s good, but man she is really good at playing Peggy Olson. What an MVP.

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fathersonholygore · 6 years

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AMC’s Better Call Saul Season 4, Episode 6: “Piñata” Directed by Andrew Stanton Written by Gennifer Hutchison

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Quite a Ride” – click here * For a recap & review of the next episode, “Something Stupid” – click here We get a look at Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) when he was a mail room worker. He was doing an “Oscar pool.” Judging by a mention of Howard’s End, this would’ve been in 1993, a year after it was released and the Academy Awards were about to air. A nice leap backwards to see Jimmy in a different era. Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) was also working her way up, starting at the bottom handing out mail and going to law school, too. Big Chuck (Michael McKean) was king of the castle, before his mental health deteriorated. Jimmy’s always been the same guy, just in different shapes and forms. Neither did his brother treat him too great, more like a kid. Probably unfair to say Jimmy wasn’t aiming high— he was never aiming high the same as others. What’s worse is his brother’s treatment drove him, out of spite, to become a lawyer, which is never a good reason to do anything. In current day, Kim’s drowning in Mesa Verde work. She’s worked her way up to the top, now she has to keep working in order to stay there. No trouble for her, considering she’s a talented lawyer. Yet she’s bored by the corporate side of law, she yearns to be back in the trenches fighting for people. Funny how she and Jimmy diverge so starkly in intent. She actually wants to help people, whereas he’s usually only ever thinking about himself and getting over on people. This difference is the biggest reason why, when it happens, the fallout between these two will be horrible. You know it’s coming. Breaking Bad never had a Kim Wexler, and there’s a reason behind that we’ll see someday in Better Call Saul. Things are already getting shitty, considering Jimmy’s lying to her constantly, as well as the fact he won’t go see a doctor like she suggested. Neither’s going to improve their relationship. At another firm, Kim goes to speak with Rick Schweikart (Dennis Boutsikaris). She starts asking about a “banking division,” which his firm doesn’t have currently. She asks if he’d like to have one, suggesting she’s looking to strike out more on her own once again. Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) and Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) are checking out hospitality for the upcoming build. They’ve got the German engineer and a crew coming. There’s a custom built set of small houses in a warehouse. Construction will take anywhere between 6-10 months. Mike makes clear they’ve got to keep everyone happy, considering it’s such a long time in total secrecy. He suggests more security, as well, though inconspicuous. A massive operation we knew of before. We’re now seeing the scale, which is an excellent way for the series to work backwards, filling in all the imagination gaps. Rather than stay focused on the present, Jimmy keeps living in the future. He’s dreaming up the new law firm he hopes to start with Kim after his parole clears up. At work, he gets a call from the nephew of Mrs. Strauss, one of Jimmy’s old clients. There are things involved with the estate and will needing to be clued up. At home, he sits in melancholy watching the commercial they shot to get clients at Sand Piper. At dinner, Jimmy and Kim talk. She mentions being offered a job by Schweikart, to build the banking divison. This would make her a partner. He tries staying positive, unsure if she’s going to stick with him. Kim tells him Wexler-McGill won’t go as planned if she takes the offer, having associates to look after Mesa Verde while she takes on cases which matter to her. It’s great for her, but for him it’s like yet another blow to his mismanaged life. Nevertheless, he encourages her: “I say do it.” Mike visits his daughter-in-law Stacey (Kerry Condon) to apologise for his behaviour at their group. She won’t hold it against him, but the rest of the group’s not going to take him back so easy. Stacey mainly wants him to know she’ll never actually forget her husband, no matter if he fades from her memory, and Mike understands she can’t wear “a hair shirt” forever, punishing herself in the memory of a dead man. At HHM, Jimmy picks up his $5K from Howard Hamlin (Patrick Fabian), also discovering the firm’s going through hard times. This sort of pisses Jimmy off. Jimmy tells Howard he’s a “shitty lawyer” but a “great salesman,” serving to light a tiny fire under the latter. When Jimmy leaves, he’s back on his cellphone game loading a bunch of phones into the back of the nail salon where he continues keeping his old office. There’s definitely a new scam rearing its head.

“Get rich quick schemes never work” “Just watch me”

In hospital, Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis) sits hooked to machines. He’s got a bad fever, too. Gus sits in the dark recounting a childhood memory to his nemesis. The chicken man’s waiting to watch the man die, though we know old Tio makes it to Breaking Bad. These scenes add further weight to the encounters we’ve seen. Ironic to contrast this scene with the scenes in the care home where Tio ends up during Season 4 of Breaking Bad, especially how their relationship ends in a horrific explosion. At the warehouse, the engineer and his crew arrive. Mike’s there to lay down the rules. He lets everybody know about communication and security. One of the crew members is a bit of a dick, not treating things too seriously. You can see this doesn’t impress Mike, who’s going to have a problem if these guys don’t stay in line. On the street, Jimmy confronts the guys who beat him up and stole his stash. He says he wants to “make a deal.” He wants to come to an agreement so they won’t steal from him anymore. He offers a hundred bucks every time he’s out there, though these are young dudes with no conception of anything sensible. They’d rather rob him again. So, he makes a run for it and they come chasing, knife in hand. He runs into a dead end, where he’s led them purposely. The three young punks wake tied upside down. They’re in a warehouse full of piñatas. Someone with a baseball bat starts smashing them, threatening. Jimmy pretends like they’re about to get killed, as Huell (Lavell Crawford) smashes more piñatas. This solves McGill’s troubles on the street for good. It’s also a sign of things to come. An excellent chapter in this series. We’re always getting more character development and backstory being filled in, combined with the fantastic pacing, and it makes each episode a joy to watch. “Something Stupid” is next time.

Better Call Saul – Season 4, Episode 6: “Piñata” AMC's Better Call Saul Season 4, Episode 6: "Piñata" Directed by Andrew Stanton…

#Breaking Bad #Cellphone Scam #German Engineer #Gus Fring #Hector Salamanca #Howard&039;s End #Lawyer #Mail Room #Mesa Verde #Wexler-McGill

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jimmymcgools · 4 years

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maybe a bit risque for the writing ask meme, so feel free to ignore, but: the first love scene (or part of it) between jimmy and kim during their trip out of town?

hell yes, i’ll do this scene!! for sure! thank you ❤️❤️❤️

fic commentary meme and my answers

this is just a reminder before we go on that jimmy’s still wearing his damn bugs bunny t-shirt

Inside their room, Jimmy stares out through the slats of the blinds at the glowing highway sign, listening to Kim have a stilted conversation with her roommate over the phone.

photo edited by @unremarkable-house ♥️♥️♥️

He tips his head to the side. “Hmm. I could maybe get behind a dead space chimp.” ah, the dead space chimp. they were originally gonna visit the world’s largest pistachio but then i discovered it wasn’t there in 1992, so we went with the dead space chimp. the pistachio is so tragic though, you should definitely google it. send me reacts if you do. it’s a bummer.

He exhales and gives a winning smile, but his next question comes out a little breathier and a little more strangled than he would like: “Wanna make out again, then?” i always liked the idea of jimmy just out and asking this. famously not the greatest at communicating, these two, but i really wanted there to be more of a “hey, so do you want to do that again?” “hm, yeah, i do actually” vibe at the top of this scene rather than just them getting completely swept up in emotions

and it’s like a jolt rushing through him, like everything he’s been holding back for the past week comes smashing up through a frozen surface and he can breathe again. kind of blending two different images i’ve used before. way back in chapter 2 when jimmy does his little coffee spill scam: “it feels like bursting up through the water’s surface and breathing again”. and then kim right before their first kiss: “an enormous grin shatters over her face, like an ice sheet cracking”.

he shifts his weight back to his knees and reaches for her hair again, this time gathering it up gently and tucking it up on the pillow as best he can, running the soft threads through his fingers. jimmy’s boner for kim’s hair really just grows and grows huh

“Why are we doing this?” he gasps, and then he shakes his head. “I mean—why aren’t we doing this?” oh man the like, foggy-brained gibberish of this. “why are we doing this--no wait why aren’t we doing this--ok wait i know we’re literally making out right now but why aren’t we doing it for real kim?”

“To start with?” she asks softly, and she gives him a small smile. “Because you woke up and looked terrified.” “I what?” Jimmy asks. i was always curious how people took this. we’re in jimmy’s pov for that wake-up scene, and he doesn’t exactly think he’s terrified of a relationship with kim in that moment, but he does have a bunch of big messy thoughts that i hoped could seem like hesitation or fear in how they appeared on his face, and how kim interpreted them.

“No,” she says, eventually. Her eyes meet his. Words coming slowly, she says, “Jimmy, you’re not…” —and he thinks, what? what? pulse humming in his ears— —and, voice so careful, she says, “… part of the plan.” Jimmy lets out his breath in a rush of air. “Yeah,” he says lightly. He stares into her eyes. Hers are gentle, and he sighs again. oh man another thing i was curious about the response to. on the surface these words from kim are so horrible. they’re still not exactly nice but i really wanted to give them a specific kind of softness/honesty that makes them land okay. there’s maybe shades of howard’s “we want the case. we do not want... the case is all we want” that i really wanted to avoid. they are, though, probably the sort of words that jimmy filters away in the little bank he stores things like “the kind of lawyer guilty people hire” and “roll around in the dirt with me” and the lyrics to a certain ABBA song.

He tightens his fingers. “Wanna tell me about the plan, then?” but in the moment i wanted him to just be forgiving, and curious (and maybe already bracing to game the plan like he ends up doing, but hey)

“Make something of myself,” she says. kim’s ambition is so interesting to me!! her “plan” here as she tells it to jimmy is so vague, but i always feel like at the core there’s two elements: self-preservation/escape, and then ambition. “what did you want?” “more.” the ambition part i think about a lot, and i want to do more with it, tbh. because i think in some ways it’s the more interesting part. there’s a bit of a leap from just escaping a difficult situation to relentlessly gunning to get ahead in a field that gives you the power to determine right from wrong. kimberly wexler you fascinate me.

“We’re not in Albuquerque now,” he says. “No,” Kim says, smile edging her expression. “No, I guess not.” “Seems like the plan’s already gone off the rails,” Jimmy says, and he shrugs. “Hm,” Kim says, mouth twitching. forgive me for the chandler-and-monica-in-london of this. i do think kim and jimmy would’ve kept going in this moment without the dumb excuse, but i liked the idea that they both enjoyed having the dumb excuse. and then it ends up being more significant once they do get back to abq and kim actually does walk the relationship back.

She opens it and rifles through, then lets out a snort of laughter. “I forgot about this haircut,” she says, and she turns his wallet to face him. disgusted to discover i didn’t describe the velcro cronch of jimmy’s wallet here. how long do licences last in the US anyway? i hope he had to show people that slippin’ jimmy mullet for a long time. that important question aside, i really wanted to keep that easy humour and laughter they've had since the beginning going through this scene. and any time i can shift a fun/gently-ribbing joke into a slightly more emotional beat i’m happy, and i liked that shift here. “you guys didn’t know what hit you” “no, we did not.”

She leans back a little and runs a finger through the vee of his hips then holds it up to him. It’s covered in a fine layer of white dust. i got so attached to this dumb idea even though it’s the shittiest thing, sorry you two, fanfic rules, sorry, you’re covered in gypsum i guess, good luck bet it feels great 👀it’s just really hard to, you know. shake off white sands after you’ve been there once, y’know. 👀#metaphors

“Hmm, that wasn’t the first time,” Kim says, moving their joined hands around so that she’s resting her weight down on them. “I seem to remember you coming back to the mailroom one day soaked with coffee…” kim-wexler-is-horny-for-a-scam... but also, hey, a chance to talk more about this! kim remembers jimmy (who from the outside might’ve still seemed like he was one platinum platter away from joining howard on the third floor) helping a lowly assistant when he didn’t need to. and not only did he help clara in that scene, he did it in an outside-the-box way that put all the blame on himself and made clara look good in front of everyone upstairs.

there’s a scene break in that chapter from when jimmy starts explaining the plan, to when jimmy’s about to put it into action, and i always think that, after his explanation and after he and clara leave, kim stands there thinking that there’s no fucking way this mcgill brother is going to go upstairs and put on this whole performance just because one printer fucked up and vernon is a picky asshole.

and then he comes back down drenched in coffee. kim: 🙂

“Covered in coffee, huh?” he says, a few moments later. “I can arrange that again.” jimmy: kim wants a coffee-soaked striptease i’ll GIVE her a coffee-soaked striptease! kim: um

so he stops talking and listens—and it’s his name, over and over, hummed to his lips. jimmy and names is so... aahh. when i wrote this i was thinking about that moment in chapter one when he stands in front of the elevators and tries out different ways of introducing himself. “yeah, just jimmy. like, you know... cher.” just jimmy. it kills me to think about how, certainly by bcs s5 times, kim is the only one he’s just-jimmy to. 💔

letting Kim swallow it until there’s no sound left between them at all, no sound or words or names, just—light. echoes of them driving up into white sands, and it’s quiet, like after a snowfall, when jimmy wonders if the white itself that makes things noiseless.

thank you so much for requesting this scene!!! ♥️

#commentary ask meme #asks #better call saul #a controlled burn #♥️

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