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thegeminisage · 8 months

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star trek: the motion picture rewrite

star trek the motion picture was bad so i'm fixing it. here's how

problem #1: everybody got interesting setups and nobody got any payoffs.

problem #2: ilia and decker were just not that interesting (sorry ilia and decker) and they either needed to be more interesting or have less screen time or both.

problem #3: it took more than half the film for the enterprise to even leave earth. this seems like poor pacing, which the overall film also suffers from.

problem #4: those damn 20-minute cgi scenery sequences. enough is enough.

sorry in advance but this post won't make much sense if you haven't seen the first star trek movie, "star trek: the motion picture." i don't have the time or patience to re-explain the entire plot! the novelization also ties into this but i do explain some of that.

MAIN PLOT

it wasn't a GREAT plot but i'm keeping it mostly the same, except a few changes:

the enterprise leaves much earlier in the film. all the interpersonal drama can happen ON THE WAY to v'ger and it would make very little difference to the main script and series of events, but the reminds that they're only x hours away from interception would help keep things tense and moving along. also, it would get spock in here earlier. we went a LONG time without seeing him.

the engines can still fail at the outset and get fixed by spock, but it's kind of weird that he shows up out of nowhere. i would change this to kirk leaving him messages - and spock finally answering at the exact right moment (more on this in spock's section)

less of those long cgi sequences, obviously. the enterprise deserves all the fanfare in the world but we do have other stuff to do. maybe we can learn a little about v'ger through the ilia-probe in bits and pieces before we get there rather than learning all at once at the end - the book sort of did that and it was better. but i think we just need to cut them to allow time for a LITTLE more interpersonal drama - the balance of interpersonal stuff to plot stuff was WAY off, even after you consider how the tos episodes are somtimes

i don't think decker should fuck the probe.

the book and movie seem to disagree on whether the ilia-probe really "is" ilia or a very convincing copy. i think we would do better to leave it open, as scifi so often is, because both answers feel slightly wrong to me

kirk just taking the ship at the end and going "ok thattaway" was heartwarming but lacks any semblance of logic. rather than beaming down to debrief, though - in case they don't let him go back up - i'd like to see him doing a power move where the required personnel for his debrief come to HIM. and THEN when the dust clears he can go "thattaway"

CHARACTER ARC: KIRK

there's a lot more on this in the book than the movie, but kirk begins this story three years post his five year journey. in the movie he's framed as "washed up" but the book sometimes implies he's "damaged." starfleet offered him the promotion to admiral to keep him out of space because his was the first ship to come back relatively intact after a five-year and they're using him as a poster boy for their pro-space propaganda. (kirk wholly disagrees with "intact"; he lost a total of 94 crew members over those five years and objects strongly to his new legendary fame.) it's worth noting that bones begged him NOT to take the promotion and he and some other officers actually RESIGNED over it.

also, for the first year back on earth, starfleet totally just SENT HIM A WOMAN? to like keep him distracted and "happy." he got honeypotted into not going back out into space. how many planets have tried to trap people by making them happy? how many times has kirk refused to stay in such a place because it leaves him nothing to strive for? and then, irony of horrific ironies, he was trapped on earth. he doesn't realize this woman was basically sent to pacify him until the very beginning of the film/book. anyway, this woman's name is lori, she's gonna matter just a little bit later. after she left, kirk got pushed into a desk job he was utterly fucking miserable in. he notes that it was the only time he ever ignored bones's advice and he suffered greatly for it.

when the "intruder" (v'ger, obvs) is revealed to be approaching earth (via brain implants? stupid, let's just switch to everyone seeing it on TV), kirk, for totally normal reasons, jumps at the chance to take the enterprise away from decker ostensibly because he's got more experience but also because (the book gets into this) he feels like he's been jerked around on a string for the last three years by the admirals (specifically he names nogura to give us a face but they were all in on it) and also that he's totally dead inside. he has to guilt trip bordering on BLACKMAIL nogura into letting him back aboard (ie bringing up the fact that he placated kirk with a woman and sweet promises instead of like...actually caring about his PTSD). we're keeping that part because it's sexy and fun.

the question the movie seems to be asking is, "is jim kirk too old and feeble to captain the enterprise again?" i would like to posit instead we go with "is jim kirk too DAMAGED to captain the enterprise again?" they really put him through the wringer in season 3 in particular and that total nervous breakdown from the romulan espionage episode was supposed to have been REAL before they changed it, so i'm sticking it in that three year timeskip instead. in the book, jim fucks up several times - can't figure out his seatbelt, gets lost, and notably fails to be able to save his former honeypot lori and his new vulcan first officer (off-brand spock) during a transport malfunction - they get rearranged horrifically and then die right in front of him. rather than frame this as jim being old and out of practice i'd like to frame it around the totally untreated PTSD of space and his five-year finally catching up to him.

the book ALSO gets into how jim feels more at home in space, how being away from it gives him physical symptoms almost like withdrawal, and how he felt he has been brought back from the dead and out of a miserable, meaningless life when stepping aboard for the first time. IMPORTANT FOR LATER.

at the same time though i think we might greatly benefit from mixed feelings - perhaps JIM HIMSELF has wondered if he was too damaged to get back out there - if, after everything, part of him wasn't a little hesitant to go back out into the unknown and risk putting himself through the kind of hell he got put through in some of those later tos episodes. maybe he wanted the captaincy to prove it to himself, yes, but also it was something he was determined to do (even though part of him was a little worried about doing it) because he thought he was the only one that COULD. there's a hidden element in this film of facing one's fears to benefit emotionally, so it would be important to squeeze something like this in, even if it's only in hints or light implications.

the ultimate answer to jim's question of course is that he ISN'T too damaged to be back out in space, especially not if spock and bones and the others are out there with him. but to get into that we have to move to...

CHARACTER ARC: DECKER AND ILIA

i'm putting these 2 together because (sorry) i don't care very much. side characters in trek are always supposed to just highlight the main characters anyway, right? again, i'm so sorry. anyway so. in the movie and especially the book, ilia is pretty constantly sexualized - deltan females and their pheromones or whatever - and she has very little personality. decker is mostly just mad (justifiably) that kirk stole his job after 18 months of prep and sad that ilia got zapped, but we feel neither of these things very strongly. the movie doesn't even MENTION decker's father killing himself in space* which is a huge waste of potential when you consider the name of the game re: kirk's arc, at least in the book, is PTSD.

*matt decker, will decker's father, is the captain from doomsday machine (consider this a spoiler warning): when a giant machine showed up and engaged in battle with his ship, the constellation, he evacuated his crew to a nearby planet and stayed behind, planning to go down with the ship. unfortunately the machine was a planet-eater, and ate the planet his crew was on, so his crew all died while he listened to them beg him for help, and he later tried to suicide bomb the machine with the enterprise and then later one of its shuttles, which tragically ended in his mostly-pointless death. kirk did at least use the idea to suicide bomb the machine with the damaged constellation and have himself beamed out just in time though, and he had the record made that matt decker died in the line of duty, omitting some of his shadier actions so as not to stain his memory or whatever.

ANYWAY, i think the only way to make decker and ilia interesting is to foil them with kirk and spock. decker is who kirk was before his five-year: smart, capable, ready to take on anything and chomping at the bit to get out there and bite off as much as he can chew and then some. also, he's emotionally distant from women because of his status as captain/his need to not be tied down so he can explore space.

ILIA on the other hand is more like spock - she has limited telepathic abilities, she is othered and sometimes sexualized by the people around her because of her VULCAN BIOLOGY sorry because of her race, and she has a passion for learning and pursuits of intellect. and also a semi-formal telepathic link with decker - they had met before, and were preparing to bond (the way a vulcan might), and then decker more or less got cold feet and left her at the altar because his own passion for being in space left him unable to commit. but she WENT AFTER HIM (important for later) and wound up as the enterprise navigator.

for decker, instead of showing kirk up once near the beginning, apologizing, and gradually learning to get along with him, i think i'd like him to be showing kirk up a lot - being subtly snide when kirk can't work his seatbelt, for example. this film has no real antagonist aside from an incomprehensible alien entity, but we could bring a little humanity to it by having decker justifiably resent not only being confronted with ilia again but also having his captaincy snatched away from him after EIGHTEEN. MONTHS. of prep. that's some serious bullshit.

but, while decker IS younger and more familiar with the enterprise's redesign, while he's had more recent space hours and suffers from none of kirk's PTSD, what he lacks is experience - this was the whole basis of kirk taking the fucking ship to begin with, and the movie as it is kind of totally invalidates that plot point. to that end, near the end of the film when they're in v'ger, i would make a bigger deal out of kirk knowing better than to perform the scan - because that's what got the klingons killed (when v'ger interpreted their scan as hostile). decker, shaken, realizes his own hasty decision would have resulted in all of them dying horrifically, and rather than kirk grudgingly respecting decker first, we get it the other way around - decker grudgingly respecting kirk, and kirk returning that respect after decker stops being an asshole. this does the job of helping the AUDIENCE respect kirk after spending so much time wondering if he was indeed too washed up and damaged to do the job, and it helps to begin to warm us up to decker too.

also, it would be fun to have decker overhear bones arguing with kirk or spock or even talking to chapel or something, to know that kirk was thought too washed up EVEN BY THE ADMIRALS (who decker does respect bc he doesn't know better yet), and then for decker to realize later kirk got jerked around - and maybe realize, once he begins to see kirk as a person instead of an obstacle, that something like that might be in his own future even if he succeeds in almost every possible way, as kirk had. we might even use this to get into decker's dad basically killing himself after losing his crew - it can go other ways than right for captains. it can also go so, so, so wrong. (this would require some exposition, though, since we can't expect everyone to have both seen the episode and remember the details.)

another moment that wasn't used to its full potential is when decker basically has to honeypot the ilia probe - this is extremely difficult on him emotionally, and kirk knows all about the perils of emotionally difficult honeypot missions (sorry that i'm linking to this twice). i think decker realizing kirk has done this same kind of thing like a zillion times and that's part of what led to his breakdown gives him respect not just for KIRK but for the position of captain itself - he would have no choice but to do this to protect 500 lives, if it were him. you don't get to tap out when you're captain. and this is good for kirk too, because in sympathizing with decker (and the horrific situation of having to honeypot the image of his dead lover) he can learn to sympathize with himself, and forgive himself for being at less than his best during his own worst moments - some of them during the five-year, some of them after, when he felt weak and without purpose. it also gives him the job of connecting the audience to decker - through him, through thinking of decker as a younger version of him, we can forgive decker for being an asshole earlier and sympathize with his pain. and he becomes someone we root for.

as for ilia - i think she should have gotten to yell at decker rather than passively act like he wasn't even there and hide her pain. her pain at being left behind and betrayed and having to find her own way could mirror spock's (more on this in a sec) but it could also mirror v'ger and its abandonment issues, even though she was abandoned by a boyfriend and not god. there's only so much you can do with truly misogynistic writing but she could've been likable!! her sitch and spock's are the same and she gets to complain while he refuses! even one iota of a personality would have helped so much.

ALSO, on that point, at least one conversation between her and spock would have done a lot to make her more interesting too, because then she would be adjacent to him. spock, too, left his home planet to chase after a space captain he was in um a relationship with, and that bit of kinship ("your answers are not here") could lead to a bonding moment - i think spock would respect what she's doing and that would lend her a lot of credit in the eyes of the audience. much like v'ger, much like spock, ilia has left her home to find out who she is, and part of that answer lies within emotion, within the people she loves: in this case, decker. i would also, if we HAVE to fridge her (DO WE?? more on this in the ending section), choose to have her take a blow meant for decker - her last act being one of love, because the film IS ultimately about love's importance, even in spite of all the pain it also causes (see: decker in his grief).

which leads us to...

CHARACTER ARC: BONES

we have to have a brief interlude here for bones. unfortunately, bones in this movie is little more than an extremely loveable afterthought. while fixing his ENTIRE deal is out of the scope of this tumblr post, what i WOULD do is give him more screentime by having both his AND spock's lives upended by the same event: kirk, the Main Character(tm), choosing to take the admiral stripes and "abandon" them.

i think theres enough evidence in tos to argue the case that bones places a lot of importance on jim and spock's lives - he claims to hate space, but he never resigns, and he finds meaning in taking care of them, even if (to my own interpretation), he can sometimes feel like a third wheel to their legendary "friendship" (so legendary that it's historically important both in-universe and in real life). when kirk agrees to "retire" and let starfleet make him their poster boy because he has PTSD and burnout, bones CANONICALLY objects to what starfleet is trying to do to him so strongly that he literally resigns. again, kirk notes in the book that "retiring" is the only time he ever ignored bones's advice and he came regret it deeply. so kirk needs bones back - in the book, he says outright he needs bones back because he, gaslit, cannot trust himself to be making solid calls emotionally, and he wants bones to call him out if he steps out of line.

for fun, i think bones should be a little more pissed about being "drafted" and like genuinely grumpy rather than fond and gruff - at least, until kirk apologizes. he tells bones all about being yanked around by the admirals and being honeypotted and how much he regretted not listening to his advice...and the gaslighting, not bones's medical expertise, is why kirk feels he needs bones now - why all of earth needs him, because this is a mission to save the entire planet. i think bones LOVES to be needed and especially by jim and/or spock, and he of course has a natural desire to caretake, so after the apology he could soften up to "gruff." he found meaning in what he was doing on earth, but he finds meaning in this too, and kirk telling him that of COURSE he can leave if he wants solidifies his decision to stay, even at the end of the film when the immediate threat has passed. put simply: he loves kirk and spock, and, like them, he wants the three of them to stay together, even though they previously broke his heart.

i think also that once spock comes aboard this gives bones a second job, which is to poke holes in spock's outward unemotional demeanor, which he genuinely is doing from a place of love (since it was bones who said the release of emotions is healthy). instead of standing around and being a lovable and nostalgic set piece, this would give him an actual purpose and an arc, even if his arc (healing spock via negging, healing jim via not gaslighting people) is holding up the other characters.

and speaking of spock...

CHARACTER ARC: SPOCK

post five-year, spock goes back to vulcan to undergo the kolinahr, a ritual meant to purge all remaining emotion from vulcans. he does this because he detests his human half and the many weaknesses and challenges it brings him etc etc but i also would like it if he does this because kirk retires - he has no logical, ready-made excuse to be around kirk and bones anymore, and just like kirk, he truly felt at home on the enterprise, where people valued him for his skill and what he could do rather than what he was (or wasn't). (this sentiment from spock is semi-canonical - it's in william shatner's tarsus iv novel, collision course.) kirk and bones are both an important part of his support system and it is crumbling without any way to save it - of COURSE he chooses not to feel emotion rather than face that pain. every human being ever has wished at some point or another they could numb themselves rather than hurt, and spock is half human, too. (that said, i would also not complain if kohlinahr was spock's way to escape the trauma of what the five-year did to HIM, making him feel emotions differently than what he believed was acceptable, changing him fundamentally as a person, and kirk only agreed to resign because space wasn't worth it without spock aka because he got dumped, but this is a minor detail.)

while on vulcan, kirk, equally adrift, sends him messages (this does admittedly make more sense if kirk only resigned because spock did) - but spock is potentially kind of mad at him (if kirk resigned first) and also trying not to feel anything, so he ignores those and goes out into the desert to get rid of all his gross icky feelings. when the masters read his mind and see that jim accidentally contacted him telepathically (which...girl WHAT was that all about did they bond fr during amok time) and that "his answer is not here," he reads or listens to all the messages at once (maybe including the deleted one spock prime had from aos...ouch), gets emotional (or resists, but it's a near thing), and realizes that if he can't purge kirk from his mind he has to at least find out why. the last message can be about the intruder (v'ger) and their fucked up engines, spock can feel reluctant concern and race to the rescue.

spock is initially very very cold to his old shipmates because he is trying to hold onto his logic and not allow the emotion back in his mind, but absolutely nobody is having this. like in the movie, kirk and bones drag him away to the lounge to interrogate him (he should admit to feeling kirk telepathically here just as he did in the book - i don't know that i'd go into the whole bond business in this movie because that's just writing fanfiction and is also a lot of exposition but i would never deny fanfic writers their fodder).

later, after talking with ilia, who did a brave thing (in spock's eyes, anyway, because he is terrified of what HE'S doing) by chasing down her man to give him an earful, spock is troubled, which prompts bones to start going IS THAT AN EMOTION I SEE MR SPOCK? (and make him more troubled). i think spock grieves ilia's death in his own way because of how much like him she is, or was. all of this culminates in his choice to attempt to mind-meld with v'ger, in the end - if he isn't a human and isn't a vulcan, WHAT is he? if he can't live with the emotion and he can't purge it, what is he supposed to do? if he dies in the mindmeld so be it, but at least he will have been useful - iirc, i think it was roddenberry or leonard nimoy who said that was always a primary motivation of his.

of course, AFTER the mindmeld, he does indeed realize that logic is pointless without emotion, and that he's been adrift not BECAUSE of his emotions but because of his refusal to deal with them and his refusal to feel. so spock, too, will decide to stay at the end of the film.

side bar on the scene where spock cries for v'ger: it's kind of dumb because v'ger is so unknowable. i think spock crying could be a bigger deal - maybe with happiness, as he holds jim's hand, or maybe when he thinks they're all gonna die (kirk says when he sees spock crying "it's not for us" but like what if it was though). i'd prefer him to cry after he finishes laughing post mindmeld of course but either instance could work.

and finally...

THE ENDING

i don't mind the ending in its plot - that v'ger really was just looking for its creator, as a child looks for its parent - but i really want the question of whether or not the probe IS ILIA to remain open. if you make an exact copy of a person that truly believes it is the original, is it? if it's indistinguishable from who ilia used to be even to itself, is it ilia? i like leaving this open because i DON'T like fridging her, but i also think it stretches believability to have this machine magically extract a consciousness and put it in a robot when we had a whole episode of s1 revolve around this exact same plot twist (is chapel's now-android fiance really still her fiance just because he thinks he is?)

it should be spock's idea to have a human join with v'ger - it was the joining with humans that ultimately led to HIS feeling emotions he was unable to ignore, which ultimately led to his understanding and acceptance of emotion and its value in general. spock would see the ilia probe as still being ilia, but in distress, as he was when he came aboard the enterprise, as v'ger is now. and he knows what fixed him (holding jim's hand lol sorry i mean accepting his emotions) and what would fix her.

and then of course decker does join with her - volunteers, insists even. i think he takes the chance on optimism and hope - something kirk lost along the way due to various traumas - but also because this film is about the importance of love, and he can't bear to live without his, even in facsimile. it's partially a sacrifice too though - decker's life and body as he knows it in exchange for the earth's safety - because that's what kirk would have done, what he HAS done. he did learn from kirk after all.

and kirk learns from him too - decker, who by now will know about the awful years the brass put kirk through prior to the start of the film, would tell kirk to give 'em hell, like it's something that can actually be done, because at his heart he's an optimist, and that's something kirk sorely needs emotionally at this low point in his life. a very gen-z-saving0the-millennials moment. (apologies to both gen z and millennials.)

so after the dust has settled, kirk, who has just saved earth, can basically ask for anything he wants, and what he wants is not to get sent out to pasture again. so that leads into him refusing to leave the ship and letting the admirals and everyone else who wants to debrief him come to HIM instead of him going down - he finally has back what he needed, which was simply control and agency over his own life, and his loved ones - since spock and bones decided to stay aboard. i would have liked some challenging action moment prior to the ending with the ilia-probe and decker included, a moment to highlight that kirk has still got it (kind of like his badass moment in the deadly years where he saves the ship in .2 seconds once they cure his dementia). but insisting that they see v'ger directly and not deal with its probe is okay too.

FINALLY, after we've established that kirk is In Control again and not just like, stealing a starship, we can do his scene where he begins a new five-year mission, and when directing sulu, says, "out there - thattaway."

THEMES

HOPEFULLY this ties together the various themes and foils in everybody's arc - the main ones being the importance of dealing with emotions, even painful ones, the importance of love, and the question "who am i?" - the theme of seeking answers

kirk wants to know who he is - is he still a starship captain who braved the unknown and returned alive? he tried to numb himself (or rather starfleet tried to numb him) after his five-year mission with a woman and a desk job and it didn't help - he had to risk getting back out there to do himself any good at all.

spock asks if he is a vulcan or a human, and seeks to answer the question by purging emotion, but must answer it by accepting the emotion instead - and he learns this from v'ger, who is asking the same question and cannot answer it without emotion anymore than spock could. spock is and always will be both vulcan AND human and no amount of resistance on his part can change that.

bones feels adrift without loved ones to take care of - who is HE if kirk won't even listen to his advice not to "retire" - and of course he is someone who takes care of others. which is a little sad because it's not a deeper arc, but it sort of rhymes with his whole deal in tos and there ARE five other movies. there's also a little bit in there about being willing to try again after your heart's been broken, which is also something kirk and spock are struggling with, to have the trio's arc rhyming with each other.

decker asking who he is - is he a real captain or a psycho case like his dad and kirk, is he someone who could have been ilia's husband - and ilia wondering if she is someone who could have been his wife, and later the PROBE wondering if it's truly ilia or not. MORE questions that have to be answered by overcoming fear of emotional pain - decker takes the chance and joins with her to answer both his own question, and the probe's - and, of course, v'ger's.

THIS CONCLUDES. my movie rewrite. i am so glad to have gotten it off my chest, which is the main reason i wrote it, but i don't think it's terribly popular...so if you actually read this whole thing you're a rock star. okay BYE!!!

#liz makes stuff #liz's star trek stuff #liz's meta #star trek #star trek the motion picture #star trek: the motion picture #star trek tmp #personal #star trek blogging #WHEW. that too so long. barely finished in time. wrath of khan SOON!!!#tmp lb #tmp #st ep edits

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nellie-elizabeth · 14 days

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Doctor Who: Boom (14x03)

I regret to inform you that this was a very good episode of Doctor Who. Fucking Moffat, knock it off with being an occasionally very good writer. I hate this dude.

Cons:

I thought the romance arc between Mundy and the random dude whose name I can't remember was probably the least memorable part of the episode? It just felt a little flat and proscribed, and it fell into some cliche writing tropes. Why is it always that an oblivious woman is being pined after by her long-suffering martyr of a best friend? It's giving Rory and Amy, it's giving... Joss Whedon. I don't know. I didn't hate this, but it didn't add a ton to the story, it almost felt like more of a distraction to the core relationships that we should have been focusing on.

This was the most I've enjoyed Ruby and the Doctor's relationship on the show yet, but there was this one moment that I had a problem with in the writing. The Doctor is calling out to a dying Ruby and basically says "I need to talk out loud in order to think, and you're the only person I can talk to." I think I get what the goal was here, but it read a little strange to me. Because the point of the Doctor is kind of that he can make friends with most people, isn't it? He finds the connection, and the adventurous spirit, and the bravery, in all sorts of people he comes across. We even see him forming connections with the other people he's meeting in this very episode. So I do wish the sentiment had been adjusted just slightly. Ruby shouldn't be valued and loved simply because she is uniquely able to provide the Doctor with companionship. You know?

I thought the resolution felt a little rushed, with the father's love saving the day. Very sweet or what have you, but I could have used a bit more build-up to it? As is Moffat's MO both as a writer and as a show-runner, he's always better at the setup than he is at the payoff.

Pros:

I think when Doctor Who is at its very best, it takes a simple concept, a small group of people, and it plays out the complications of the scenario over the course of the hour. This was an episode with a small core cast, basically only one setting with just a few cut-aways to the camp where the soldiers were staying, and there's a pretty simple problem to solve: the Doctor is standing on a landmine. If it goes off, because of his special Time Lord-y-ness, he could blow up half the planet they're on. So the stakes are higher than simply the Doctor's life, and they're on a timer.

And from there it's really just a lot of intense stakes-raising, alarming moments of tension as the Doctor tries to keep his emotional reaction to a minimum so as not to trip the sensor. I loved the scene when the Doctor is begging Ruby to back away and she's insisting on staying close to help. Great relationship building, great classic rapport between the Doctor and his companion. She's brave, he's worried about her, but together they thwart catastrophe.

As is often true with this show, and with sci-fi more in general, this episode has some not so subtle political messages baked into it. I think it was brilliantly and disturbingly done, showing us first the soldiers and the way their lives hang in a delicate balance, then starting to learn about the for-profit model of this weapons manufacture, and then the gradual and chilling revelation that these people are not at war with anyone at all. It's an empty planet, and they're fighting nothing, letting themselves be killed for the benefit of a corporation running on auto-pilot designed to maximize profits. Yeesh. That's a thought, isn't it.

There's also the lovely detail that all of the soldiers are part of the church. Ruby talks about how strange this is, and the Doctor points out that the military and the church are usually hand in hand, and that her current reality is really just a blip in the pattern.

The gasp-out-loud moment of this episode is of course when Ruby gets shot. I love the way the scenario is set up here, where Ruby is going to shoot Mundy with her consent, in order to draw the ambulance's attention away from the Doctor, but Mundy's love interest dude sees Ruby pointing a gun at her and misinterprets. And then the Doctor, forced for the sake of this whole planet to stay frozen in place and just watch it happen... great face acting from Gatwa here as he reacts with horror while simultaneously trying to tamp down on his reaction.

This was a good episode, with a lot of good moments. I think tamping down into a more tragic story allowed for the Doctor and Ruby to have some exchanges that didn't feel so... manic, the way the first two episodes were? And that was a big help to make them feel like they have a more grounded relationship. Ruby begging to know her next of kin in the final moments of her life is going to haunt me, that was so tragic! And while maybe a little bit trite, the father's love saving the day thing did still work okay for me, all things told.

I'm hoping we can get some motion on the Ruby mystery in the coming weeks, and hopefully preserve a bit more of the naturalistic bond between our main characters as we move forward.

8.5/10

#review #doctor who #doctor who review

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weaselbeaselpants · 5 months

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This post isn't about She-Ra and the princesses of Power

Ngl, without seeing it, it seems like half of everyone's takes on She-Ra stems from ppl being lead to believe thru the fandom that Catdora was #relationshipgoals when really it was always supposed to be a romance that grew out of toxicity. And then you all didn't like that outcome/how it written/how it was STILL being touted as relationship goals by the fandom despite the intention of the writing.

Just a guess. I have bad news for everybody though: you really do need to coexist with people who feel kinned to characters you hate or you're never gonna get through the day. And no, not kinned in a SnapeWives sorta way and no not kinned to shit like Humbert Humbert god nojesusCHRIST. I mean characters ppl enjoy and relate to and maybe even want better writing for because they just like angsty, problematic characters and see themselves in. blorbos. I've heard read up on this Catra betch and it seems like a similar problem to be had with the Crystal Gems or even the Diamonds; being a fan of them isn't a problem unless you just straight up stan them like they're real people and they actually never did anything wrong. I'm gonna wager a lot of fans/ex fans/whoever did NOT have any chill about this and that really exaserbated ur already dislike of her and the Catdora pairing, at least a little.

Why someone attaches themselves to certain characters could be an indicator of character, or, more often then not, it just means they like an aspect of said character but have a bad means of handling their emotions over their blorbos.

I for one know, as a fan of my own blorbos and a 'hater' of other people's, that even nuanced-read fan readings can be annoying and ur just not in the mood w it comes to a character you REALLY dislike. It's not a "wrong" take it's just....god do I not wanna hear you spout your love for something that just makes me feel pissy.

Still- you gotta not read every person who likes a bad/badly written character as an immediate threat to you, anymore than the otherside shouldn't see someone who dislikes their blorbo as being "against" them. That's what leads to these nasty fanwars and pro vs anti fandom bs in the first place.

I have a mutual who loves Mysterious Woman from Centaurworld but hates Elktaur/NWK for personal+aesthetic+petty reasons. We get along even if we don't see eye to eye there because, you know, it's FANDOM not an actual indicator of our morals. They know I don't approve of real-life relationships anything like Mysterious Woman and NWKs and I still have merch she made of both characters on my bag at all times.

No one ever said you have to be buddy-buddys with everyone, but as long as it's not serious political disagreements or a matter of shit's that illegal or hate speech, you have to coexist. This is a fandom. You share a fandom. You can have ur anti-tag nooks where you complain about glubshito and you can have ur pro-glubshito tags. Just seriously learn to stop flinging mud and serious accusations/asertations on people's personal lives you don't know.

Suffering just makes you hurt. It doesn't make you smarter or better than anyone else.

#fandumb #media analysis #she ra spop #inb4 someone @s me w another example

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 1 year

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I honestly can't believe the people who think Jonsa will be canon in the books when Jonrya is right there. At least Jonerys *kinda* makes sense, butJon mentally compares Arya's body to Ygrittes when they're having sex. That literally happens. Explain that away.

(So help me, if you guys use this one as an excuse to reopen the pro-shipping debate...)

Before I go any further, I will address the elephant in the room. The only one The Golden Company ferried over. I am aware that in the original outline, Martin planned to put Jon and Arya together. So it's easier to see this as leftover remnants of that could-have-been romance. Problem is, that outline also had Tyrion crushing on Arya. It had Sansa pregnant with Joffrey's child, it had Cat getting killed by The Others. See what I mean? It's not the released series, and it's certainly different enough for me to pretty much disregard what it offers.

One quick correction, if you don't mind my doing so. Technically, Jon mentally compares Ygritte's body to Arya's when he's picturing her naked, but not actually when they're doing the deed. I...realize that hardly sounds any better, but the actual lines, about how underneath her furs, she could be "as skinny as Arya" just seems innocent enough for me to take it as innocent.

Another important note. While I'm not condemning the idea of shipping half siblings (or...cousins? R + L = J isn't confirmed in the books, but even if it's true, they were raised as siblings...y'know what, it doesn't matter.) since this is ASOIAF after all, what I will condemn is shipping Jon and Arya as anything other than a "distant future" idea because...there's a considerable age-gap and while it's not quite as pronounced in the books, the character are also younger. I believe Arya is nine in AGOT, which is the last time Jon would have seen her? So uh, no. He better not be thinking about her that way.

Really, I think there's a much more logical (and non-sexual) explanation for what happened here.

Jon doesn't compare Ygritte to Arya because he has a thing for Arya. He compares them because he has literally no other frame of reference for women. No, seriously, think about it. The only women/girls that he's ever interacted with are Cat, Sansa, and Arya. Cat despised him and iced him out. Sansa was rude to him (as she was to basically everyone) and mocked him for being a bastard. Arya, on the other hand, was Jon's best friend. She was also the only girl, (again, he knew all of three, growing up) who defied gender norms, meaning that she was not just the only girl, but only person in general that Jon knew who acted like one of The Free Folk.

When Jon leaves Winterfell, he goes straight to the Night's Watch, which is exclusively men. He doesn't encounter a woman again until Ygritte. Want to know why he compares Ygritte to Arya? This is why. She reminds him of his sister, which one can take as a sign of shipping, but it could easily be platonic as well. I feel like it would have been stranger for him not to compare them. Ygritte is literally the second girl in Jon's life that he feels anything positive for, and she's also Jon's first exposure to the Free Folk, who embody a lot of qualities as a whole that Arya also has.

Ultimately, Jon loves his family, the North, and the Free Folk, and that's all interconnected. I don't think it really has much to do with shipping.

#ASOIAF #Jon Snow #A Song of Ice and Fire #Arya Stark #Ygritte #The Free Folk #ASOIAF Analysis #Fandom Analysis

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swimmingenthusiasty · 3 months

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Here. The daily hours of traffic up and down. No one goes to my house. There is no one to bring home for hooking up. There is no chance to entertain at home. It's not really an adult living situation. It's more like a camp out for the next half a decade to maybe get a degree for a job I don't want. Because I don't want any fucking job. Come from wheelerdealer + housewife combo. They've survived for 6 decades, it's in the blood. Just like it's in Priyanka's blood to organize the office dramas alphabetically in her mind. And play accordingly.

But

But how expensive is renting! Having no money or time to pay for anything else. And needing a day off more often than others, but it's a problem to get one. And the temporary nature of renting a place. No permanent changes. Don't buy too much stuff in case you move. You don't know the area, don't know with the neighbors. Independant. As long as the boss paid and nobody robbed it and the neighbors didn't panic to the landlord about any small changes. There's lots of nice things you can do with a house. Just nothing loud like an instrument. You can do a workout alone. From a video. You can start a business there. With the zero time you get from paying for it. Finally, I couldn't live alone. Because of this below. I don't know what it is, this remembering and heart stuff. Hours into it, I'll realize that it's not helping to dig deep into it. There is no root cause for what I should do next or what I am already doing.

It's just the words that day. They decide what happens next. They create. Every day, you pick the words you want. If you ever wonder why something happened on a day that's passed, it was just the words that were used that day.

That got agreed to. It's what was heard and allowed. It's what was read and allowed. It's what was thought about and allowed.

Risk to move on. Negativity is like starting with a bad statement about anyone and trying to make it a good one. You already agreed that negative is affecting you because you cared enough to change it. The whole point was that you only love the word if you want it to make your day. You've got to sort of.. pick your wins. Risk not engaging with everything. Risk someone thinking they're right in a negative thing, they said, because you didn't dispute it. That negative thing applies only to them, even though they're saying it about you. Because only they engaged with it. The remainder is freed time and energy. Outside of control. See it as a blessing. Focus on the good. It seems cliche. But it happens that we revisit an old thing and it's new to us. Maybe this time, it'll help you pull through.

Negativity is like saying, "Be like this.. but not... You'll hear both and think both are about yourself. Negativity is like saying there is no such thing as... makes it there, for you. Because you agreed to the mention of it. Despite the negative article attached. You can be right, but if its at the cost of negativity, what you said to get to be correct will affect you more than anyone. Your words echo inside of your belly. And they start to ring true about you. Then you'll feel on top of that, the rewarding feeling of being right, and they'll mean that much more to you. You will love those words on top of what it already meant for you for them to be coming from you... risk to burn the old notes if you know what's in between that gold. Risk to make decisions only on the pros. If you can. Living on remembering what you came for.

Like if I want this right now. And I want it tomorrow morning too. And I want it everyday from here on out:

The car seats feel nice. The street lights feel sleepy at night. What part am I up to with my hobbies at the house. I'm different compared to a woman. They make good company.

Now, if I bring him back into the picture. Give him a pat on the back. Pat pat. Thud thud from his back. Good job on driving. Go do your thing, I don't know what, exercise, watch some show, make a comment, form a rigid opinion. You'll eat some eggs in the morning.

We're just bros. If we hug, we'll feel the bones of our back. And when you'll look at me, I'll have my own eyes to be humbled by.

What if I'll be weally weally strong, too, and I'll be disciplined and work hard, too, and I'll know people. You know. I'll know them. Like you.

Christian. With the cherry jams. And your kindness and your social responsibility and the effort you put in with the speakers, and all the making me feel welcome. Feeling like, do I now, get to feel like this, too?

Then you'll look at me, and we'll feel alive. Our eyes will light up with purpose. One familiar soul in each others eyes. We'll walk out of our house. Living for the same life as the other one. Bonded in our purpose.

How long before I compromise. How long before I decide someone nearby is Christian and I'm already there before even drawing up a plan.

Seconds. It took seconds.

Heh, the plan. Social responsibility. Proving myself. Can I imagine how good I'll have to be, to get him to notice. I'll wear shoes all the time. He might see my dad's. Ouf 😡🤬🧯.

Anyway. I'll have to be much more thoroughly groomed. Dressed up properly all the time. But casual. Or work wear is ideal.

The whole point is to get to learn from him. Because.. he's cool. And was kind to me.

I'm 87% sure this is all coming from the old uncle. Even the Mexican guy. Looked like the one other coworker besides Christian that I talked to. The old guy with the teeth. Blood. That old queen has me giving birth for the last twelve hours. ... geez even the twisted island thing, going to that house when they had one of those. Old guy was always hung up on me not marrying a cousin because he thought it was because they had one of those in the house. When I never would have married one of them. Even if I didn't have other plans. Their feet all looked like flippers from swimming. Gross. I think his will is sort of.. alive. Dude do I leave offerings or like is it a lifetime deal or do they need something that's holding them back. I know it won't die when he dies. I think his mother's will is the same entity and she's been around, I knew for a while. Weirdddd

That brings option number 3.

Go back and do what? Healing. Get old pictures out. Make them move on. Make them forgive.

Dude the heartache. Am I good for donating blood right now? The glass, the thin foil glass.

Buy a house and start with the oldest.

What about moving on for myself.

Well that's clearly not happening anyway. But one old guy can make you love Christian that little munchkin for a whole day until you cry him a love poem.

Maybe minimize contact then. It might be like flying to be the ball in a pinball machine. I wonder if I would have been rid of them completely if I had flown before December 27th. Then I would only be with who I'm choosing.

wasn't going to be rid of the guy I was with without their help anyway. Even if I got rid of him too late to make it out of the nest.

Birds that don't fly out of the nest are what? It's nothing about them that's personal. It's only just being felt now. God can you imagine, I would have been completely rid of all of these old characters. Should have been prepared.

What kind of characters want to meet instead. A backup language and transferable skills. Bags packed. It's a fantasy. For December this year even.

Huh. Funny how much effort went into running the other direction. When the effort their way is so much less.

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feysandfeels · 1 year

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thank u! The situation is this, roughly. I'm in my mid 20s and I live in city A, where I'm very comfortable. I have all my friends here, old firndships of 10+ years and new ones. Since I'm not close to my family, they're extremely important to me. In the past two years I've maybe spent 15 days without meeting anyone, being able to socialise and lean on my friends is super important to me. I love my city, I'm comfortable here and I know I wanna spend my life here. However, I cant get my masters degree here, I'd have to do an expensive online degree and I've really been considering moving somewhere else for my masters for a while now, to use that opportunity and get to know a new place before returning here for good. I dont really wanna do an online degree, spending 6 hours a day in my room with no way to socialise and meet new friends. Ive been dating someone since november 22, we just broke up a couple days ago. I think ive sent u asks about him before lol. He lives in city B, 600 km away from me and ultimately the distance was the break up reason, although admittedly there have been other struggles as well. He said if I were to move there, he'd love to date me again for real this time. City B is far away, but it would actually offer me a good (and free) degree, its a vibrant metropolis and I could honestly do worse. The thing is, I'm scared of moving there only to end up depressed and homesick and on top of that back in a rocky relationship. I love and miss him a lot but there is no guarantee this would work out, even without the distance.

Got any advice? Both options have their pros and cons I guess

Hello My Love,

I'm sorry for the late reply but it was my grandma's birthday and a woman is nothing if not extra and we literally had celebrations for her the whole week. But she deserves it. Fabulous lady, truly.

Anywho, I have been thinking about this a lot and I - do you have a cunty friend? Can I be your cunty friend? Like I will give you hugs and bake you cookies, but can I be the cunty friend?

Because here is what I think: do not include that man or your relationship with him in your decision making process. Even though, I think distance is a valid reason when talking about North America -and America in general as traveling within the continent is not as cheap or easy as it is in other places... I am looking at you "long distance relationships within England"- the fact that you were also having other issues makes me believe that maybe maybe this is not where you should be putting your energy. If you give him a deciding factor weight type of thing then there might be chance you end up in a program that is good but not "the one", in a relationship that shows you that the problems that were not distance related are still there and well with a cup half empty. Personally, and feel free to disagree and be more of a romantic here... but personally I feel that if you guys have only been together a couple of months he should not hold such privilege weight in your life as to be a deciding factor to where you do your MA, that is something that comes with time and dedication.

Even if you do think it is worth a shot please please have a good think about whether it comes from a sense of comfort and of "hey at least I would have someone there" or the comfort of having previously been together. If this dude was not in an emotional position to put the effort to be in a long distance relationship with you then I think you deserve someone who will put that effort and even encourage you to fully look at all the available brilliant MA options you have. There's nothing wrong with him not wanting to do that and peace be with him and all that, but you deserve someone who will be there even when an ocean stands between you two.

Choose your MA because it feels your heart with joy to study whatever it is on, because you love the classes, because the campus seems nice and they have cool clubs and a nice community, because there are cute cafes and the nice restaurants, because the bookstores are amazing, because the scenery is inspiring, because you want to learn... and then jump.

Now for the MA experience and the fear of leaving home. I will not lie to you babygirl, it is daunting and settling in will take a while. This being said it will be an adventure! A great one at that. I feel these experiences allow you to truly get to know you for who you are when your familiar context is stripped away, you learn to spend time with you, to date you, to enjoy your own company; simultaneously it forces you to grow past the beautiful fence that limits your comfort space, to face the horizon and see all that land with boundless opportunity for you to build something from it and cherish it.

I know there's a fear of what if I don't meet new friends? what if my teachers suck? what if there is no cute cafes? what if I feel alone? But during those years you learn to communicate with your loneliness and find company within it; you learn that a smile is universal and most likely people will also be looking to make friendly connections; you learn things that you like about yourself that can help you grow into a new version; your teachers will most likely be lovely; you learn to love and be with people at a distance (you have an online community that literally travels with you, and your friends from home will adapt to you being away and you will not feel alone). Don't let fear of the unknown stop you, because even within the borders of your hometown the unknown will find you.

There's something my MA teacher used to say to me that I have loved ever since: be brave and head into the unknown, you never know which constellations you will find in a new sky.

Hope it helped..

sending you lots of love and light.

Ps: if you end up choosing the MA in the city he is in, make sure you are choosing it because of the program and the city... make sure you would choose it even if that dude did not live there.

Ahora sí, besos mi reina (gn)

#FeysandfeelsAsks

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unicornprincessinthetardis · 6 years

Text

My (often relatively reasonable) dad: ...so Enoch Powell was right, what he said has happened.

Me: and you don't think maybe he could've said it without inciting racial hatred and literally saying that in time the rivers might run with the blood of 'native' British people because of immigration, do you?

My dad: no, you're being ridiculous, it had to be said, and there really are areas of cities that are majority black or Muslim now so he was right in his predictions, and it didn't change how things were anyway

Me: *goes away to calm down and read up on the 'Rivers of Blood' speech*

[I already knew some of this but here's a précis for those unfamiliar: in April 1968, in Wolverhampton, UK, a Conservative MP, Enoch Powell, made a speech, about the proposed 'Race Relations Bill' (which subsequently made it illegal to refuse housing/ employment/public services to people on the grounds of race/colour/ ethnic & national origins).

The speech was strongly anti-immigrant, calling for 'voluntary re-emigration' and for moves to be made to stem the tide of immigration, else Britain would be 'overrun' and sooner or later white British people would find themselves fully second-class citizens, and that in some ways they already were. He also talked about a "tragic and intractable phenomenon which we watch with horror on the other side of the Atlantic", which I take to mean immigration in the USA to the similar end of white people no longer being in charge - which in 1968 was so far from the truth, and just horrible baseless fear-mongering, playing on people’s xenophobia and racist prejudice - and compared pro-immigration/anti-discrimination newspapers to the ones that had denied and hid the rise of fascism and threat of war in the 1930s. Plus, he talked about a constituent of his, a woman who lived on a street that had become occupied by mostly black people, who lost her white lodgers and complained to the council for a tax rate reduction because she wouldn't take black tenants, and instead basically got told not to be racist, and presented it as a bad thing that she'd been treated like that.

The speech's common name comes from a phrase he quoted from the Aenid (because he was also a Cambridge-educated classics scholar), 'I seem to see "the River Tiber foaming with much blood"', although he just called it 'the Birmingham speech' and seemed to be surprised by the uproar he caused.]

Me (to self): So it didn't change things did it? How do you explain the attacks against nonwhite people where the attackers literally shouted his name and repeated his rhetoric? Oh, they would definitely have happened if he hadn't made that speech, wouldn't they? And the British people of foreign descent who were so afraid they might be removed from their lives just for not being white they always had cases packed to go? And the fact that experts says he set back progress in 'race relations' by about ten years and legitimised being racist/anti-immigrant in the same way UKIP and some pro-Brexit types have done within the last few years here (fun fact: immediately after the Brexit vote, people were being racially and physically abusive to visibly Muslim and/or South Asian people, telling them to leave because of Brexit, which was of course extreme nonsense because their presence would be nothing to do with the EU, and more likely the British Empire and the Commonwealth, but they were doing it because it seemed suddenly okay to be openly racist, because Nigel Farage and his ilk, and a legally non-binding vote surrounded in lies, said so) and others have done elsewhere, in the US and Europe and Brazil and so many other places.

Powell was interviewed about the speech in 1977 and stood by his views, said that because the immigration figures were higher than those he had been 'laughed at' about in his speech, he was right and now governments didn't want to deal with the "problem", were passing it off to future generations and it would go on until there was a civil war!

He also said he wasn't a 'racialist' (racist) because he believed a "'racialist' is a person who believes in the inherent inferiority of one race of mankind to another, and who acts and speaks in that belief" so he was in fact "a racialist in reverse" as he regarded "many of the peoples in India as being superior in many respects—intellectually, for example, and in other respects—to Europeans." (I mean, I know I can't hold him to our standards but a) that's still racism and b) he did think that mankind was divided into very distinct, probably biologically so, races, which, yes, normal for the time, but the whole 'each with different qualities and ways in which they were better than others' is iffy)

Me: *goes back to Dad to make my point and definitely not get upset* So here are some things that literally happened as a consequence of the 'Rivers of Blood' speech...

So even if he was correct to say what he did (I mean, he wasn't but you have to tiptoe around Dad and I had points to make), he shouldn't have said it the way he did

My dad: so you think the truth should be suppressed? You're only looking at this from one perspective (he thinks he knows better because he was alive at the time and my brother and I weren't despite the fact that we're both into politics and history and, y'know, not into scapegoating, behaving oddly, and laying blame because people are different to us - he and mum also have issues with trans people and we're trying so hard to change their views/behaviours but I'm not sure it's working & that's a whole different story) and there are these areas that really are Muslim-only (because informal lending and wanting to keep the community together is such a crime, right?) and they don't integrate and want to impose Sharia law (only he couldn't remember what it was called right then) and you don't know what it's like (he is an engineer surveyor and travels all over to inspect boilers and cooling systems and all sorts of stuff, and this includes into majority-Black or -Asian (Muslim and otherwise) areas in Birmingham - which is not a no-go area for non-Muslims, I'm a deeply agnostic white woman, it's my nearest big city and I wish I went there more often but it's tricky as I don't drive, public transport is bad/inconvenient, and I have no friends to go with except depression and anxiety [which are worse 'friends' than the ones that I found out only liked me in high school because I always had sweets and snacks at lunch so when I got braces and my mouth hurt too much to eat much of anything which meant I certainly didn't have snacks, they dropped me pretty quickly] so apparently he's the expert on all such matters)

What I wish I'd said: *staying very calm* well, and that's your opinion, I'm going, I've got sewing to finish *leaves*

What actually happened:

Me: have you considered that they are able to buy up areas like that because white people leave because of their prejudice against the 'influx'?

Dad: they buy up great areas because they buy in groups (I think this refers to a sort of community lending thing to be compliant with various parts of Islam? [Please correct me if I'm wrong] which is effectively what building societies/credit unions were, at least to begin with, and he doesn't take issue with those) and want to stay together. Why do they do that? Sikhs don't do that, they buy big houses and aren't bothered about being close together.

Me: different religious ethoses? I don't know... But you do know that they people who want the UK to be a caliphate ruled by Sharia law are just a minority, and that most Muslims would not want that at all, just like you?

Dad: but they still do want it, and it could happen, if there was a charismatic leader,

Me: *incredulous* you know it's about as likely for that to actually happen as for strictly Orthodox Jewish people to be able to make this country into another Israel, right? Besides, there are the police, and the armed forces, and intelligence agencies, not to mention the Government and civil service (thought I'd got a win there, he hates the unchanging upper-class-public-school-Oxbridge nature of the people who effectively really run the government, constant no matter the leaning of the elected party, but no) who have a vested interest in preserving themselves in their current state so would be able to stop anything like that

Dad: yes, but the cutting of funding to police and public services means they might not be able to stop it (I realise now that he's oddly economically left-wing but also really quite socially conservative in some ways)

Me: *getting angry* but it's still an absolute minority, most Muslims would be horrified if it really did happen, and have you ever considered that maybe they wouldn't be so ill-disposed to us and to integration if we didn't demand it of them the moment that they arrive, demand that they assimilate or go away (he often uses the phrase "yes, but they're in somebody else's country, they should make an effort") and maybe young people wouldn't be so easily radicalised and people generally mistrust the people who don't try to understand them, you know, want them to change everything about themselves (for instance, Dad is violently opposed to the burqa etc and not really a fan of the hijab - still doesn't get that it's a choice and people can do what they want because apparently 'anyone could be wearing one of those things' - burqas/niqabs, I presume - and that it must all be forced because who would possibly choose to dress like that - I have half a mind to show him those sites about Christian modest dressing (one was a shop and a lot of their range was pretty cute!) that I once found, just to see if that'll prove to him it is a choice thing) *tries to leave*

Dad: *angry* You stay there and listen to me! You're just looking at it from one perspective and that's not the truth, you're so biased and closed-minded, you only look at things your way!

Me: *furious* Really? Really? Am I? *Scoffs/incredulous exhalation* I'm closed-minded, am I?... *Storms out, shouts as I go* I'm not the one who said Enoch Powell was right!!

This is all heavily paraphrased, because I've been writing this for literal hours now and I was angry and don't remember well at the best of times, it may have been worse than how I'm writing it

Also, going to be tricky to patch up but right now I stand by what I said, because I know my perspective is limited, but at least I actually admit that and try to find out what people different to me think, rather than basing all my opinions and things on my own experiences which can't be universal, as he seems to

Other bs my dad said during the two conversations: "don't get so upset about it, it's only history" (which is bold, considering it was the 50th anniversary this year and he was literally 11 years old when it happened so probably saw/heard news coverage)... "Yes of course far right groups use 'Enoch was right' as a slogan, it doesn't mean anything"... Reiterating the 'nothing changed' thing multiple times... Dismissing the fact that Powell said there'd be a civil war because apparently just because the British/Europeans were aggressive conquerors anyone else who came in numbers anywhere would eventually have that aim and how ridiculous that view actually is... Dismissing the fact that Powell basically incited racial hatred and violence with the inclusion of an irrelevant Classical phrase which spread fear on all sides...

I could go on but I'm so tired and don't want to make myself more upset

I love my parents but I really don't like them very much lately but I don't know if I just put up with it or leave sooner or later and if I do leave I don't know where I'd go because no friends

Basically I'm so sorry for my parents' prejudices which I'm still trying to unlearn myself - I apologise wholeheartedly to all Muslim and Jewish people and honestly pretty much everyone they're prejudiced against

#personal #personal post #my ramblings #my rambles #ramblings #rants #my rants #family #british politics #politics #rivers of blood #enoch powell #religion #anti-immigrant sentiment (not mine #i'm so done #and so alone #i just want a friend #and ideally an income of some description #but if i register for jobseekers' allowance/universal credit i will have to try all the time to get jobs of all kinds and i don't know what #i want to do/am qualified to do/can do bc potent cocktail of autism/anxiety/depression/no self-esteem/perfectionism/home situation #im just horribly stresssed and worried about everything and mum won't go to the doctors about her failing physical health to spite me #and dad has the cheek to say don't worry!! oh thanks i'd never thought of that before!#mum had an ovarian cyst when i was a kid & she didn't go to the dr till it was so bad she could hardly walk so she was in hospital for week #and it could've been dealt with so much more easily if she'd gone earlier so i'm so scared it'll happen again #i mean i'll be able to look after us if it does happen again which is good bc grandparents absolutely can't now #anger #very long post #long post #islamophobia tw #racism tw

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xxreadersxx · 7 years

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Can I get scenarios with Bakugou, Midoriya, and Todoroki where s/o is American and doesn't know Japanese very well? They comes off kinda mean at first because of it cause they dont want to embarrass themself. But they're actually really sweet and supportive?

{I’m slow~~So slowwww~~ I’m very sorry!! Here is your request!

** Italics is English, and the speaker is a foreigner who hasn’t studied Japanese for long, so the sentences are garbled. Ok here we go~~}

Bakugou

Who do they think they are, huh? Fucking judging everyonesilently while they sit atop their high horse? It’s pissing me off, and now Ihave to be paired up with the goody-goody, too?! Fucking amazing.

I walk over to them and snarl, they don’t even flinch. Iroll my eyes.

“Let’s just get this over with.” I say, walking past them,but thinking twice and turning back to look at them in the face. “Don’t get inmy way, got it?” I threaten, raising a fist. They look at me, scrunching theireyes a bit.

“Yes.” They say, their voice coming out small, but strong. Igrowl and turn around, seriously pissed. Stomping into the practice ring, Ilook at our opponents, Iida and Ochako. Where do they get the nerve to beconfident, eh?! Everyone around me are idiots. I crack my knuckles and lookover to my partner as they get into fighting stance and I have to say, that theway they hold themselves for battle is pretty hot. I squint my eyes, andsuddenly get the breath knocked out of me.

About five feet from the original starting position, I amlaying on the ground after being drop kicked by a charging Iida at full power.Damn, that hurt. I hold my stomach, trying to force my breakfast back down, asmy senses come back. I raise my head back up, and notice my partner runningtowards me.

“Oh, mah gosh! You alwight?!” They say, their wordsslurring into some weird ass language, and their face is twisted with concern.What the hell? They can make that kind of face, too? I lift myself back up. Iguess I thought about them all wrong. I snarl.

“Yeah, mind your own.” I try to sound cool, but damn mystomach is going to hurt for a while. My partner comes over and looks me over,but I push them out of the way as another flying kick zooms their way. “Watchit, damn it!” I yell at them, and they react fast, grabbing Iida by his leg andswinging him down onto the ground, creating a dent. I’m left speechless. Ireally misjudged them.

Midoriya

“C-can I have your paper, please?” I mentally curse my selffor allowing my voice to break at the end. They look up at me, and scrunchtheir eyebrows, making me flinch. They’ve been transferred here from adifferent country, but they haven’t really tried to talk to anyone. Many of ushad tried to talk to them, but each time, they just nod or answer with agesture and then turn away. We’ve had to stop Kacchan from attacking themmultiple times, because he doesn’t like their silent aura. It makes you thinkthey’re judging everyone with their eyes. I continue to star at them, waitingfor them to pass in their paper, but they just stare at me. I ask again, butthey just tilt their head. After several quiet seconds, they seem to fidgetawkwardly, and I swallow hard. What am I doing wrong? I just want their paper!I lift up the stack I have collected so far, and their eyes search my face. Myface turns hot and I lift the papers in front of my face. They jolt at thesudden movement, and then their face lights up.

“A-ah! The paper?!” They half shout, and flusteredly searchtheir bag for their assignment, I freeze. They thrust the paper at me, and Ijust look at them in stunned silence. What is going on?! They blush hard, andgo to speak again.

“My-My Japanese…is very bad, now. I’m pract-practicing!”They stutter through their response. Wait…

“WHAT?!” I shout, causing the class to turn towards us. Theforeigner jolts at my loud voice. “Y-You can’t speak Japanese?!” I ask, pullingmy voice down to be a little quieter. Their face gets even redder, and theynod. I chuckle lightly. “Here I thought you didn’t like us!” I grab my chestand sigh. They look at me and tilt their head. I explain it more simply tothem, and they smile.

“No! Of course not! My Japanese is bad!” They exclaim, theirface lighting up. The class then starts to gather and joke around, and eventhough the new student can’t understand half of what we’re saying, their facelooks a lot less mean to me now.

Todoroki

Walking down the street in silence is a little weird to me,now. Usually I have to listen to Midoriya talk about the newest pro hero, orOchako rant about how Bakugou had been rude to her. This is a pretty welcomedsilence for me, but I feel like my partner is fidgeting too much. I look overto them and notice that they have this odd expression on their face and arewalking pretty fast. I sigh, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think they like meall that much.

It wouldn’t be a new thing for me to be hated, so I guess I’mused to it. I turn back to look ahead of us and I catch a purse thief on theprow. They grab onto a lady’s purse just as I’m starting to sprint. Upon seeingthe two of us, both wearing our U.A. uniforms, the thief grabs onto the lady asa hostage. She screams and starts struggling. I freeze the thief before he caneven do anything to hurt the woman, and my partner gives the finishing blow tothe guy’s head and knocks him out cold. I turn to the woman and try to calm herdown, but she’s speaking English. I freeze, I don’t remember any of my English fromschool…

“Are you ok?!” My partner is by her side and starts to speakfluent English, calming the woman down almost immediately.

“Oh my gosh! You speak English? Thank god!” The woman criesinto my partner’s shoulder and my partner smiles and calms her down as thepolice show up for the woman’s account of what happened.

After about an hour, my partner and I are on our way back tothe school, and the atmosphere is way different than it was not too long ago. Iglance over to my partner and speak up.

“That was amazing how you calmed her down. I didn’t realizeyour English was so good.” They look over to me, and their eyebrows scrunch inconcentration. I raise one of mine, what’s their problem? Since they lookconfused, I restate it in simpler terms, what are they dumb or something?

“Ah! Thank you! I have lived in America for most of mylifetime, but I had to move to Japan this year. I am not yet fluent inJapanese, but I am trying!” I look at them surprised. Their language was very,very formal, but it was clear that they were not good with it yet. They stoppedand looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking I misjudged you.” Isaid, continuing to walk. The rest of the walk went nicely, I talked to them insimple terms, even correcting them here and there, but they seemed to behappily keeping up with the conversation. Maybe silence wasn’t so great, Iwouldn’t have been able to talk to them like this.

#katsuki bakugou #bakugou x reader #todoroki shouto #todoroki x reader #midoriya izuku #midoriya x reader #bnha #bnha x reader #mha #mha x reader #anime x reader

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theapplesweremonitored · 7 years

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Hi there! I had a question. So, I'm on the fence about pro-life/pro-choice. Women's bodies are their own and they should have a say in what happens to them. But...At the same time, they're pregnant with a to-be baby. And I'd really like to see know someone else's view. Like, I said. I'm on the fence and I just want someone else's opinion on the matter. That's, if you don't mind talking about it.

That’s cool, I don’t mind at all! In fact, here’s a few other posts that may be of interest to you and have really shaped my own perceptions.

Tbh, I’m not the most unbiased or, uh, sensitive of people to ask about this, but I suppose that’s the point and I’ll do my best to answer in a way that doesn’t devolve into ranting. (Edit: this got very long and kind of rambling, but hopefully it doesn’t come off as mean.)

First off we need to establish that I’m asexual, aromantic, at times agender, and have less than zero desire to be a part of any stage of the human reproductive process. In all honesty, pregnancy is a very special kind of body-horror to me, and that likely factors into my reaction to the self-styled “pro-life” side. Because, when you get right down to it, much of the “pro-life” side isn’t pro-life, it’s pro-fetus.

You’d think if a person was pro-life, they’d care about, say: the homeless epidemic, or how America likes to march into foreign countries and murder a shit-ton of people, or all the queer/lgbt+ people who are victims of hate crimes. They’d care about people of color who are murdered by the police every day, or the thousands of kids abused by a system meant to protect them, or women (and, of course, others) who are victims of domestic violence or rape culture. But the thing is, a lot of them aren’t.

Because, like I said, a lot of them only care about the fetus, and care nothing for the woman* who’s carrying it. Once that baby is born, they cease giving a fuck because obviously if it’s been born, then their job is done, and they don’t care what happens next. They don’t care if those women carrying the fetus was raped, or got drunk and didn’t use protection, or did absolutely everything “right” and still got pregnant. They don’t care that those women don’t want to be pregnant; those women don’t want to give up forty weeks of their life to what (when you think about it clinically) amounts to a parasite; those women don’t want to give birth; those women don’t want to be responsible for raising a child, and often don’t have the means to do it right.

A frighteningly large amount of “pro-lifers” are white Christians who refuse to acknowledge the complexities of pregnancy, childbirth, and child-rearing. They argue that “life begins at conception” but say nothing about the life or lives that may be ruined by that conception (and subsequent birth). They use the Bible to justify forcing women to carry an unwanted fetus to term, and then also use it to justify hate crimes against queer/LGBT+ people, discriminatory treatment of PoC, and the general subjugation of women. Oh, and we can’t ever forget the Islamophobia and general air of xenophobia that usually accompanies them as well.

In essence, a more accurate description of the pro-life side is anti-choice, because that’s what it comes down to.

Listen, I don’t mean to be a dick about this.

I get that you haven’t made up your mind and that the idea of terminating a potential human being (and I stress this word because like 90% of abortions take place during the first trimester, when it is more accurate to call it an embryo) probably squicks you out.

I totally understand that.

But it’s important to be aware that for a lot of people on the anti-choice side, their little crusade is just another way to express their bigotry and their hatred of women, often queer/LGBT+ women and women of color.

Story time:

My grandmother on my mom’s side got pregnant out of wedlock when she was sixteen. That became my Aunt Dawn (for whom I was named) and she’s the sweetest, most well-meaning woman… maybe not in the world, but that I’ve ever met, certainly. But guess what? Grandma Kathy didn’t want her. She was sixteen, she made a dumbass decision, and didn’t want to have a kid. But you know what her parents did? They told her they were taking her to get an abortion, bundled her up in the car, drove several states away, and dropped her at a “home for fallen women.” They didn’t tell her where they were leaving her, or for how long, or anything. Just that she could come back “home” later. “Later” meaning after she gave birth to my Aunt Dawn.

Listen, I love my Aunt Dawn. Out of literally all of my family, and hoo-boy there’s a lot of them on either side, she’s basically the only one that I even like, let alone love. But my grandma didn’t want my Aunt Dawn and she shouldn’t have been forced to have her. She shouldn’t have been lied to and abandoned and blackmailed into having and raising a child. And it took a toll on her, let me assure you.

Okay, I like my grandma well enough, okay? But she isn’t exactly the healthiest person, she doesn’t have the healthiest relationships, and doesn’t make the healthiest decisions. She’s had five daughters and two sons by several different men, she’s poor and unemployed, and I’m pretty sure she’s had some issues with drinking.

If I were able to go back in time and help her get an abortion, I fucking would. Even knowing that it would mean that me and my sisters and my nephew and my mom and my Aunt Dawn wouldn’t exist, I would still do it. (It sounds terrible, but I don’t care much about my uncles and cousins. They’re all a bunch of fucked up assholes.)

And now let’s talk about my sisters. I have a lot. I have one who got pregnant in her senior year of high school and had to drop out; my nephew is going to be four now in a few months and she’s only just gotten a job that pays a living wage.

I have another who’s currently pregnant and with the guy who knocked her up even though he’s and idiot and an asshole and makes her cry; I fear for the future of both her and the kid that’s on the way because those futures are not gonna be fuckin pretty.

I have two (adopted) sisters who are actually sisters themselves; only half, though, because their dad is a piece of shit who couldn’t keep it in his damn pants and didn’t even try. He’s in prison now and blames his parents for everything that’s gone wrong in his life, up to and including the fact that he isn’t fit to take care of his kids. (I know this because he’s my step-dad’s kid and sent a long series of texts to that effect to my mom a few months ago.) My new little sisters’ moms are both drug addicts who couldn’t be trusted with their daughters. And, of course, my sisters have another sister by another woman (who’d also had drug problems but is now clean and takes care of her daughter) and a brother that I don’t know much about.

And then, of course, there’s my other sisters on the other side of things, who are desperate to have children. I have one who’s been trying with her husband for a couple of years now, who’s had fertility treatments and has visited multiple doctors to try to figure out what’s up with her junk, because we know it’s something but don’t know what. She’s slated for some kind of surgery soon.

I’ve also got another sister, my oldest, who wants kids. She just got married to an old friend of hers who I had never even heard of until I was invited to the wedding. She stayed in a relationship with an abusive ex-Navy Seal for years because he kept dangling the possibility of having kids with her like a fucking carrot. They had physical fights, she had to take all kinds of medication for anxiety and shit, and liked to combine them with alcohol because being in a relationship with him was such a fucking trial on her psyche.

My immediate family alone pretty much runs the gamut of reproductive experiences, barring (to my knowledge) sexual assault and the fact that (to my knowledge) they’re all cis.

What I’m saying is: there’s a lot of shit out there. A lot. There’s girls who got pregnant on accident, and never even consider abortion. There’s girls who got pregnant on accident, and never got access to abortion. There’s girls who want to get pregnant but can’t because of medical reasons. There’s girls who want to get pregnant and men use that to abuse and manipulate them.

I support all of them. I support those that never consider abortions; I support those that want abortions; I support those that want to carry to term; I support those that are desperate to get pregnant in the first place. I support each and every one of them, for all that I am completely unable to empathize with those that want kids in the first place.

I support them because, even though I have no idea what any of that must feel like, it’s their choice and I respect that. Anti-choicers, pro-lifers, whatever you wanna call them, they don’t respect that. They treat pregnancy like it’s the be-all and end-all of human existence and experience. They treat women who get pregnant and want to abort as if they’re stupid, irresponsible, the devil himself, etc.

Now, if you’ve made it all this way, then I’d like to apologize for all the detours and digressions and also congratulate you on getting through them all. As you may have noticed, I’ve got some thoughts on the subject in general as well as some tangentially-personal experience. What it all boils down to is this: while it may affect us, while it may impact the course of our lives, unless it is us who is the one who is pregnant, it’s not our decision. We can have opinions; we can offer advice; we can counsel the one who is pregnant. But, when it comes right down to it, the only one who gets to make the decision of whether to carry to term or abort, is the one who is pregnant.

And, to me, that’s all there is to it.

*not everyone who becomes pregnant is a woman and may be instead nonbinary/genderqueer or a man who was assigned female at birth. However, I very much doubt that someone who cares very little or (more likely) absolutely nothing for a person’s body autonomy will care anything for respecting their gender identity.

#slice of life #anon asks #answered asks #reproductive rights

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

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Us, April 5

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: All Eyes on Duchess Kate

Page 2: Red Carpet -- Hollywood is in full bloom with the perfect inspo to put a little spring in your step -- Elle Fanning, Kate Middleton, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lopez, Lupita Nyong'o

Page 3: Mindy Kaling, Kathryn Newton, Gabrielle Union, Caitriona Balfe, Penelope Cruz

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Scarlett Johansson vs. Delilah Belle Hamlin vs. Ingrid Andress in Tom Ford

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Jennifer Garner on finally getting her ears pierced at age 48, Cardi B's thoughts on Selena Gomez possibly stepping away from music, Michelle Obama on living with messy daughters Malia and Sasha, Soleil Moon Frye recalling her first consensual sexual experience with Charlie Sheen, Kim Kardashian West on how much her voice has changed over 20 seasons of Keeping Up With the Kardashians

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: Hot Pics -- ahead of the Miami Open Venus Williams took a break from practice to play with her dog Harold

Page 11: Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo were attached at the hip during an outing in Montecito, Paul McCartney enjoyed a beach day while on vacation in St. Barts, sporting a massive diamond ring Bethenny Frankel was at the beach in Miami

Page 12: Paris Hilton's Lanvin dress paired perfectly with her bubblegum-hued Bentley, Jared Leto looked unrecognizable while filming House of Gucci in Italy and meanwhile Lady Gaga and Adam Driver continued shooting scenes the following day

Page 13: Britney Spears looked to be in good spirits while out with boyfriend Sam Asghari in L.A., Robin Roberts hammed it up for the camera on the set of Good Morning America, Kourtney Kardashian couldn't keep her hands off new beau Travis Barker after enjoying a dinner date in L.A.

Page 14: Baby on Board -- Selling Sunset's Christine Quinn, Gal Gadot, Lauren Burnham with husband Arie Luyendyk Jr., Christina Milian showed off her growing belly in a floral lingerie set by Savage x Fenty

Page 16: Flex Zone -- with warmer days ahead, stars push their bodies harder -- Nicole Scherzinger and Thom Evans, Kate Hudson added three pound dumbbells to her fitness routine, Eva Longoria works out with a trampoline, Cara Delevingne does yoga, Kevin Hart was joined by son Hendrix for a sweat sesh, Gabrielle Union working out

Page 18: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Jax Taylor took out the trash and recycling bins in L.A., Ally Brooke put on sunscreen she bought at CVS in L.A., after food shopping Ariel Winter packed her car with goodies in L.A.

Page 20: Love Lives -- Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom sparked marriage rumors after she was seen wearing a gold band on that finger while in Hawaii

Page 21: They've quietly been together for over three years but Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant who were spotted together during a rare date night in Beverly Hills are in no rush to wed and they've both been in serious relationships before so they're content just being with each other but that doesn't mean marriage is off the table

* For Brooklyn Decker, the silver lining of the pandemic has spending more time with Andy Roddick -- she said it has strengthened their relationship

* The secret to Nick and Vanessa Lachey's successful marriage of nearly 10 years? Spontaneous intimacy, according to Vanessa

Page 22: Hot Hollywood -- Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani won't be sending save the date cards anytime soon because the duo is struggling to agree on a wedding day -- Gwen is pushing hard for their first ceremony on Blake's Oklahoma ranch to take place in early fall (the two are planning a second affair in L.A.), but Blake, who has been vocal about his impatience, wants to wed this summer but there's a problem: tornado season and the chapel he had constructed on his property for Gwen, a devout Catholic, isn't built to withstand even a minor wind event -- no matter what though, the pair (who are also trying for a baby via surrogate) still plan to exchange their vows before the end of the year and won't let these hiccups affect their big day

Page 23: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez denied reports that they ended their engagement and were spotted packing on the PDA in the Dominican Republic -- J.Lo started to question A-Rod after rumors began to swirl that he had an affair with Southern Charm star Madison LeCroy but Alex has been on his best behavior of late

* A Britney Spears comeback could be on the horizon as she is dropping hints about singing again even though her attorney previously said she will not perform as long as her father in charge, but if the judge rules in her favor to make her care manager, Jodi Montgomery, her conservator, Britney will follow through and promise to perform again

* Keeping Up With Us -- Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa Bryant has named the four deputies who allegedly shared graphic photos from the helicopter crash that killed her husband and daughter Gianna and seven others, despite sharing a selfie of herself wearing a half-heart necklace that she rocked while dating Ben Affleck his ex Ana de Armas denied that the two were back together, Armie Hammer is being investigated by L.A. police after a woman came forth and accused the actor of raping her in 2017 but Armie's attorney maintains their relations were completely consensual, CBS has extended The Talk's hiatus after claims of racism and toxicity were made against cohost Sharon Osbourne, just days after Tiger Woods returned home from the hospital following his near-fatal car crash new details from the investigation revealed that the golf pro didn't take his foot off the accelerator leading up to the accident

Page 24: A Day in My Life -- Maria Sharapova

Page 25: Kanye West's personal life might be in shambles, but his finances were thriving -- according to a new report, the rapper's net worth has climbed to $6.6 billion amid his ongoing divorce from Kim Kardashian -- he has really thrown himself into his work -- Kanye was first declared a billionaire last April largely in part to his fashion line, Yeezy, which is valued between $3.2 and $4.7 billion -- Kanye actually learned a lot from Kim's family about business decisions and he used to throw so much of his own money into his projects, but he's learned that doesn't have to be the case and it's clearly paying off big

* These hip-hop stars also made a large sum of their money away from the mic -- 50 Cent, Diddy, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre

Page 26: Cover Story -- Duchess Kate carries on -- the resilient royal is stepping in to save the crown

Page 28: Angelina Jolie vs. Brad Pitt: a new low -- as Brad and Angelina's nasty custody battle rages on, their kids are put in the middle

Page 30: Makeovers of the Year -- behold the style evolution of Hollywood's latest luminaries -- Andra Day, Halsey

Page 31: Tiffany Haddish, Lily Collins, Awkwafina

Page 32: Major Transformations -- Adrienne Bailon, Rebel Wilson

Page 34: Ayesha Curry, Kelly Osbourne, Adele

Page 36: Spring Makeup Bag Update -- whisper-light formulas in soft, pretty hues that will freshen up your look fast

Page 38: Laura Harrier tells how she makes her peepers pop

Page 40: Let It Grow! Kristen Stewart's mane man Adir Abergel shares hacks to help a haircut in flux look luxe

Page 42: Entertainment -- Mark Long on The Challenge: All Stars

Page 43: Take Five with Sway Bhatia

Page 46: Fashion Police -- when bad clothes happen to good people -- Noah Cyrus, Machine Gun Kelly, Amber Rose

Page 47: Bella Hadid, Harry Styles

Page 48: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Kevin O'Leary

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