My Favorite Scene In LotR As A Kid Was When Sam Started Miserably Freestyling In The Tower Of Cirith

I thought that I was flyin' But I was crawlin' on my knees

—Blind Spot, Bruce Springsteen

Diver convince octopus to trade his plastic cup for a seashell

If you weren't watching Daredevil and the Punisher when they were coming out it may not be obvious to you-

But the Karen and Frank chemistry was an accident. They caught lightning in a bottle between two characters who never even interact in the comics, but the actors just go crazy in a room with each other.

And they assumed that the Punisher's audience skewed heavily male, that they'd refuse to watch anything not already established in the comics, and that they'd scorn any new plot where The Punisher feels love for anyone, so the writers/producers never fully went there. Even though they clearly know that Frank is made all the more interesting, all the more tragic, when he's not just wallowing in grief for a lost family- he's actively denying the potential of healing and love with a new person. He's consistently being offered a redemptive escape from the violent path he's chosen and he consistently denies it, even though it's clear as day how badly he wants it. That's a more interesting choice! It makes him more pathetic and self-denying, it shows him thinking that he doesn't deserve healing, it shows his conflicted awareness of his own morality, it makes him worse, it makes it clear that this character is tragic instead of aspirational.

So they gave as many hints as they could. The near kiss in the elevator, Karen's heartbeat, the dress Maria wears in his last vision of her (as he lets go of her hand) matching the fabric of the blouse Karen wore the first time he ever saw her, Karen insisting he try to love someone else instead of another war, Micro saying "that's my family that's my wife" and Frank responding "so is Karen." They made it as obvious as they could without actually saying it because they didn't want to piss off the fan base who wants Frank to be a static, stoic, one dimensional vengeance machine.

But now they're back after SEVEN YEARS and they're not fucking around. The first time they're on screen together it is Textually Acknowledged and Stated Out Loud that Frank Castle's heart does the fucking samba when he looks at Karen Page. Matt, the Human Polygraph Test, tells Karen that Frank loves her and that he knows how she feels about him too. (Not to even mention the way he looks at her and acts around her, because Jesus Christ, I have never seen anyone more obviously lovesick.)

This is wild. That's more than the writers really wanting to make it obvious but always hedging. That's more than the actors loading as much weight into each glance as possible because they're gunning for it so hard. It's not just hints, it's text. It's canon.

idk if i told the full story on here but i signed up for a research study where they were testing a new opioid, and it was supposed to be up to 5 injections increasing the dose to see what people could tolerate

i got the first dose and almost immediately fainted. they had to call in a whole medical team and it was a huge fucking deal

i was kicked out of the study and got a phone call later where they were supposed to tell me what the drug was, so i could avoid it in the future. they told me it was saline water. a placebo. i fainted from the placebo effect.

anyway, it's been a few months and i just got an email from the same department asking me to be a research participant in a new study: testing the effects of open-label placebo.

open label placebo is when the subjects and the researchers all know it's a placebo. they're testing the power of my mind. my power to imagine anything.

i like to think that they chose me for this specifically based on their past experience with me. "get the guy who fainted like a little bitch boy from saline water." anyway i just submitted all my info and i'm looking forward to getting started.

ok was anyone gonna tell me that after this iconic overdramatic panel:

1. matt realizes he was stupid for causing a GIANT EXPLOSION RIGHT BY HIS HEAD and 2. he TAKES OFF FRANKS SHIRT AND WEARS IT?!?!???

like. HELLO?!?!?? he so stupid i love him. they hate each other so much. they’re in love.

he needed a shirt so he just TOOK IT OFF OF FRANKS UNCONSCIOUS BODY 💀

from Zdarsky’s run Know Fear part 4 btw :D

years later and i still think about that tps2 scene with karen’s shoes. everyone’s freaking out but the guy in the morgue was just happily skipping around in those heels, and Frank—of course, of all people—just happens to notice while he’s in the middle of escaping with Madani.

in my head, after all that, frank finds out about the shoes from madani and either 1) goes on some mission to get the heels back from the guy, but is thoughtful enough to swap them out with another pair, or 2) just buys karen a new pair, way comfier and definitely expensive.

then he just casually sneaks them into her apartment with a note that says, “owed you a pair”

Unbelievably spoilers for Daredevil: Born Again ep 9

So I’m INSANE about this shot. I clocked immediately there was so much going on and had to rewatch it, now I’m babbling and trying to do film analysis

After multiple scenes throughout the season using that super cool switch-up in focus and aspect ratio to show when Matt has his hearing focused somewhere else, in this case when we see Matt tilt his head, it’s to show us his split focus.

He’s talking to Karen yes and he’s listening to her, but he’s verrrrry interested in Frank’s reaction and he’s locked in on it. And we’re meant to be too- we spend so long focused on Frank. Seriously it’s such a long shot.

Matt and Karen are talking while Frank isn’t reacting in a traditional sense, but they’re out of focus; it’s all about Mr Castle right here, and his definitely-not-reacting reaction. But I bet a heartbeat doesn’t lie.

KAREN PAGE SPOTTED PICKING UP BOTH BOYFRIENDS AFTER AN APARTMENT EXPLOSION!!!! crazy work but women are out here again saving men again

Daredevil: Born Again Season 1 Episode 09 - Straight to Hell