#i know season 2 is sorely lacking

[strangerwheelerthings]

I don't know if it's because it's been too long since I last watched Stranger Things, but I genuinely don't remember a happy Nancy scene post Barb...

This is such an interesting thing to think about because it's not as if Nancy looks miserable in most scenes of the show. In fact, she often looks determined and occasionally excited even. She has smiled before, but excitement about progress in a case, something she's passionate about because of Barb, isn't necessarily happiness. So this is something you have to look beyond face value for.

Nancy suffers quite plainly with survivors guilt and with a lot of trauma. She isn't healed from what happened in Season One, and I don't think she even let herself really start until after season three. Not with so much unresolved. She also hasn't had the help she really needs either. However, Nancy has experienced happiness since Barb's death. There are moments she forgets. It’s only healthy that she's not so obessively mired in her misery that she can't have moments to breathe.

It's been a while since I've watched the show, too, so I can't say if there's a Jancy scene where she's just happy. Their get-together scene was very in the middle of Barb trauma, the wake up together scene is very stressed and rushed. Jonathan has been good to her, but all their scenes are a very mixed bag of emotions with happiness not really being the predominant one.

There are three small scenes from season four that come to mind. The first is Lucas's game. Nancy is quite genuinely proud and happy for Lucas in that moment of success. It's such a small shot, but it's one of a few scenes that show us that Nancy cares a whole lot more about Mike’s friends than she ever says.

The second is the scene with the dog, right before the plot plummets Nancy right back into her guilt complex. She's starting to live, and she lets herself be, for just a second, when she steps away from a murder investigation to just play with a dog. This is the first real evidence that her passion for her work is not just about Barb anymore.

The last scene is the officially friends scene with Robin. It's simply a moment of establishing connection, and both girls are just so warm in that moment. It's another sign of Nancy starting to actually heal. She's happy to have a new girl friend, not scared or guilty like she would have been before.

#yeah I gotta be honest I dont know if she had any really happy scenes in season 3 #i know season 2 is sorely lacking #as much as I love exploring Nancy’s trauma she is so much more complex than that #she does see the good in her life even if it's sometimes hard for her to accept #you're right though in that the show doesn't really let her be happy the way i wish she could be #thinking of some scenes took a second as i tried to determine when she even could have been during the seasons #the source of Nancy’s worst pain is also the source of her moments of joy #care for other people #Nancy sees the good in the world and she wants to protect it but she doesn't always feel worthy of taking it for herself #she experiences genuine happiness when other people are happy #and she has moments of pride and determination in season three #but season four really feels like the start of her taking some of that for herself #in the form of keeping robin close by #of stopping to talk to a dog #Robin is especially significant because she keeps her grounded in a moment where she very easily could have been pulled under with - #- reimerging trauma because of Fred and Vecna #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #jancy #ronance #stranger things

[nimaanila]

Slow Down, Cowboy (Part 1)

Pairing: Billy the Kid (Tom Blyth) x reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings: None. This will probably be the first part of a three or four part series. Establishing the pairing. More fluff to come!

Synopsis: Reader is a server/bar keeper at the local saloon. Billy and the guys come for a drink after a long day of horse stealing and cattle rustling. It doesn’t take much for Billy and reader to take an interest in each other.

A/N: So, no surprise I’m on the Tom Blyth train after watching TBOSAS. I needed more so naturally I watched Season 1 of Billy the Kid and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. He is SO FINE in this series!! Kicking my feet and twirling my hair fr. Also a very good series!! Please watch if you love Tom and love a good story. This was born out of disappointment from the lack of writing on Tom’s Billy on this app as well as a craving for more Tom 😅 Enjoy!!

Part 2: Here

Part 1: A Sight for Sore Eyes

The saloon was already hustlin’ and bustlin’ on a Friday evening. The cacophony of chatter, laughter, and glasses clinking, only to be amplified by the 5 or so pairs of cowboy boots you heard stomping into the saloon, accompanied by the incessant ringing of the bell above the entryway door. The scuffed boots belonged to a group of rowdy cowboys coming in for a drink, or three, after a long day of horse thievin’ and cattle rustlin’, no doubt. You eyed up each one of them, noting their greasy hair underneath tattered hats, dirt caked around and under their fingernails, and revolvers strapped to their hips for easy access. You had been around town long enough to know that these guys were up to no good during the day, but that was none of your business. A paying customer was a paying customer, no matter how they got their money.

You carried on serving customers who were already at the bar until you heard the bell above the door ring again, signaling the entrance of another patron. Normally you wouldn’t give that sound a second thought, but something compelled you to glance up in the direction of the noise.

The saloon was small, so there wasn’t much distance between you, working behind the counter, and the door. You were surprised to be met with striking blue eyes underneath curly brown hair and a dark brown top hat. He was tall. Lean. Young. Very handsome. You had not seen him before… at least not in person. Wanted posters with his face and a handsome reward for his capture were plastered all over every county east and west of Lincoln. None other than the infamous Billy the Kid had just stepped through your saloon doors, reputation preceding miles before him.

Despite what you had heard about him, you couldn’t help but let your eyes linger on him as you memorized his appearance. You noticed his eyes sparkle as they met yours. Perhaps it was from the lights hanging overhead, you thought. He stopped as the door slammed to a close behind him. Without breaking eye contact, he removed his hat and held it to his chest, giving you a polite nod and a slight smile, acknowledging your innocent exchange. He then wandered off to find the loud group of men that had entered the saloon moments before him.

So, Billy the Kid was riding around town with these guys. You knew to keep your distance from guys like that in your personal life, but at work, money was money. The group of guys came up to the bar, eyeing you up and down before placing their drink orders. They weren’t original; Whistles and cat calls accompanied by orders for straight vodka or whiskey for the lot. You handed out drinks with a smile, graciously accepting their tips. Then, they were on their way, hootin’ and hollerin’ over to a table in the corner to drink until they got dizzy, celebrating their accomplishments of the day. All that was left behind was Billy.

“How can I help you today, sir?” You asked him, quickly realizing he was a man of few words. He had not made a single comment like his buddies had when they approached the counter.

Billy had put his hat back on shortly after entering the saloon, but he took it off again as soon as you addressed him, making eye contact. A sign of respect.

“Hi there. Whiskey, please.” His slight southern drawl was charming, you had to admit. But it seemed newly acquired. He wasn’t from here originally. You didn’t know much about him aside from the daily town gossip, but something told you he was different. Misunderstood, maybe.

You nodded your head and smiled. “One whiskey, comin’ right up.” You set a glass down in front of him and poured the amber liquid into it. He picked the glass up and drank it down in one gulp. Must have been a hard day, you thought to yourself.

He tapped the rim of the glass with his index finger a couple of times before meeting your gaze again. “Another, please, ma’am,” he asked softly. You obliged and poured him another. This time he decided to sip instead of down it in under three seconds.

“You got it. Holler if you need anythin’ else. Okay, darlin’?” He nodded and dropped his gaze down to the glass in front of him. Perhaps it was the warmth of the alcohol, but you could have sworn you saw a blush creep up on his cheeks. You smiled to yourself once your back was turned.

The night went on as you carried on taking care of the patrons at your bar, drinking themselves to sleep or until their buddies helped them stumble home. You and Billy stole glances and sweet smiles throughout the whole night. Eventually, the saloon cleared out leaving only you and Billy, who had joined his friends at their table shortly after getting his third whiskey from you. As you were wiping down the bar counter and cleaning glasses to start closing up, you watched Billy talk to his group of cowboys. They seemed to be egging him on to do something, but he kept shaking his head and laughing, declining politely. Eventually they got the message, clapping him on the shoulder and exiting the saloon, claiming they would see him back at camp.

You kept your head down as you continued to polish glasses and silverware, ears perking up at the sound of his boots scraping the hardwood floor in your direction. Billy gently set the glass on the counter in front of you with a thud before resting his elbows on it, leaning in your direction. You looked up at him through your lashes. “Not headin’ out with your buddies?”

Billy shook his head, noticing your clean nails and the absence of a wedding ring. “No, ma’am. I don’t partake in their late night activities,” Billy told you in a soft voice. You wondered what activity he was referring to. It could be one of two things: drinking, or women. Since they already had the drinking part taken care of, there was only one other thing it could be. You weren’t sure why, but learning this about him made you feel happy. Relieved, almost.

You placed the glass you were cleaning back on the shelf underneath the bar and threw the rag you were using over your shoulder. With a hand on your hip, you asked, “well, in that case, is there anything else I can get you this evening, cowboy? We are closing right about now.” You waited for him to answer, taking the opportunity to appreciate how well his plaid dress shirt fit him, the top two buttons now open to reveal a new patch of skin you had not seen upon his arrival. You pulled your eyes away when you realized you had been staring a second too long.

“No more drinks for me, ma’am. Thank you, though. There was one other thing I was hoping to get from you, if you don’t mind me asking.” You leaned forward yourself, really meeting his eyes this time. With him leaning across the bar like that, he was the closest he had been all night. The bright blue of his eyes couldn’t even get lost in the dim light of the saloon. You hated how your breath caught in your throat when you realized how close you two actually were.

You cleared your throat and took a second to steady yourself before asking with a playful smile on your lips, “and what might that be?” Billy smiled in return, dropping his eyes to his hands before returning them to you again. “I was hoping I might learn the name of the beautiful woman serving me drinks tonight. So I know who to ask for when I come back tomorrow.” There it was, that smile again, that threatened to leave you speechless. Honestly, you were pleasantly surprised by his manners, especially for a man so young and to be riding around with gunslingers all day. You had heard he was dangerous, but you seemed to have forgotten that. Although you were nervous to be alone with him, you also felt safe. Safe enough to share your name with him.

“Y/N,” you told him with a smile and a nod. “It’s lovely to make your acquaintance.”

“Likewise, miss Y/N. My name is William but folks call me Billy. I sure do hope I’ll be seein’ you again real soon.” His voice was smooth, like it was dripping in honey. His charm was effortless and completely disarmed you. Those goddamn cowboys.

“Well, I’m here pretty much 24/7 so, drop in whenever you like. Now I know who to look out for.” You smiled at him again, holding his gaze for a second. He nodded and made his way to the door, stopping to turn around and look at you one last time before exiting the saloon. He tipped his hat to you as he said, “you sure are a sight for sore eyes. You have a good night now,” and was whisked away by the evening breeze.

You stared at the door where he stood just moments before, simultaneously smiling to yourself like an idiot and cursing yourself for being so smitten by a cowboy upon the first interaction. He left you breathless and with only one thought:

In a world of boys he’s a gentleman.

#billy the kid x reader #billy the kid #tom blyth x reader #tom blyth #billy the kid fanfiction #Tom Blyth fluff #fluff #Tom Blyth fanfiction #billy the kid fluff

[redfish-blu]

Historically accurate (enough) Ben Tallmadge be upon ye.

Explanation and history spiel under the cut <3

TURN did better than most period pieces with costuming so I didn’t really have to change that much (flowers for Donna Zakowska), but my own historical costuming brain was like But What If I Did?? Now I obviously took some liberties here for the sake of clarity and The Rule of Cool, but I’ll explain them when we cross the bridge. I’m also not a historical fashion expert. My end goal for this was to integrate real life concepts into the stylized depictions of the TV show.

Until around 1780, the Continental Army was notably impoverished, and had no standard uniform (and arguably it never would). Soldiers and militiamen simply wore their civilian clothes, and high-ranking officers wore repurposed uniforms from other conflicts if they had them. But for the most part, it was hard to distinguish the average private from a commissioned service member. To differentiate ranks, color-coded sashes and cockades were worn around the body and pinned to the hat. These would indicate to everyone who held which title with no uniform to go off of.

Season 1 Costume:

Some background: 1776 is widely agreed upon as the terrible horrible no good very bad year for the continental army. They were beat down and penniless. If the Americans were to ever loose the AWI, 1776 would have been the year it happened. Washington was pulling the army up by their threadbare bootstraps. The monumental loss of New York to the Brits and subsequent fleeing of the continental army to Connecticut was the main sore spot here, and in that chaos is where TURN season 1 starts.

Ben Tallmadge in TURN is a major and and Aid De Camp (he might not be officially named as an ADC but for all intents and purposes he replaced Hamilton for like 2 whole seasons so I gave him the title anyways). Prior to Washington begging congress to order uniforms in 1780, Ben would have been frolicking around in his plain clothes for the majority of the war. Men’s plain clothes of this era included the linen shirt, waistcoat, cravat, coat, breeches, stockings, buckled shoes, and a hat.

The reason cockades were chosen to denote rank is because wearing a hat in public was actually considered common decency. It was improper (or at the very least lacking manners) to not wear one out. Every man would be wearing a hat, thus they would always have their chosen cockade on display. Ben wears a red one, which signals that he is a major. In the show the hat custom is forgone in favor of actually being able to see the actors’ faces (and their amazing hair), which is totally understandable. I’ve restored Ben’s hat in my design, though.

Another thing I have added is a pair of spatterdashes, which are cloth sock things that buckle over one’s shoes and shins to keep the mud and gunk from ruining the stockings and soaking down into your shoes. Ben spends most of his time outside, and has no issued pair of boots (which weren’t really the most efficient or comfortable form of footwear at the time anyways) on account of the No Money thing, so he wears his spatterdashes to make his poor buckled shoes last longer.

In reality, Ben would have been wearing this utterly dazzling outfit until the end of season 3. However, I’ve decided to suspend the historical record and let him have a Season 2 glow-up into the blue-coated major we all know and love.

Season 2 Costume:

So after 1780 (or I guess 1777 in this case), Congress decided to fund Washington’s request for regimental uniforms across the continental army. Not everyone was wearing a blue and white coat, but Ben Tallmadge was. Turn’s portrayal of the iconic garment has the top of the coat unbuttoned to make it look less goofy, which I’ve kept here because I agree with the change. His coat is also fairly loose-fitting, which is another thing I kept because it gives the boyish yet elegant look befitting of an inexperienced yet determined continental major. Tallmadge would have only been nineteen/twenty years old at this time (the average age in the American army was sixteen), so highlighting his youth was a good decision on TURN’s part.

Buff/white (more like off-white) waistcoats and breeches were another standard item worn by all soldiers and ranking officers (circumstances permitting).

The green sash indicates his Aid De Camp status, which I didn’t include in the S1 look because it would have looked extremely strange. These may have been out of fashion by the time uniforms were introduced, but we see Washington wearing his own blue sash throughout the entire series, and Ben is the king of idolizing that man (and boasting that Washington considers him important), so I have him wearing it.

His red cockade is gone, instead the gold insignias mounted on his shoulders (these were introduced by John Hancock in 1779) tell his rank as a major. In place of a red cockade is a black and white one, which became the standard throughout all the ranks. He could have worn a cockade designed specifically for majors and ADC’s, but I haven’t seen any evidence of these being used save for hearsay and they elevate the look from foppish to full on decorative ice cream, so I excluded them.

Now down to the boots. I swiped these directly off of George Washington’s uniform, which they have displayed at the Smithsonian. It’s more likely Ben would have still been wearing that trusty spatterdashes+buckled shoes combo (this was the standard of the British forces at the time), but to honor The Rule of Cool I let him have those genre defining boots. He does see more combat on horseback as the series progresses, so the boots aren’t entirely inappropriate.

Conclusion:

Despite my obvious passion for this topic, I understand why TURN made the costuming choices it did. Having the continental army just be a group of Random Guys would have been confusing to the average viewer who does not know all this trivial nonsense. And to their credit, TURN actually did dress the nameless extras pretty appropriately throughout the whole series. I just think that showing the continentals in their true “rag-tag volunteer army in need of a shower” form, then have them progress visually throughout the show would have been a brave and effective storytelling choice. It would have been a bit ahead of its time, but now that it’s been ten years I don’t think the creators would care about me dogging on them.

#turn washington's spies #ben tallmadge #benjamin tallmadge #turn amc #amc turn #amc turn fanart #turn amc fanart #turn washington’s spies fanart #history #historical costuming

[grace--le--domas]

PJO- Some Show Recommendations for the showrunners if s2 is greenlit

Season 1 was kinda...boring? Honestly, that is the last thing I expected a PJO adaptation to be. The books aren't perfect, but they are fun! There is friendship, adventure, humour, all while still the characters grapple with some pretty serious stuff. The show (except for the first two episodes and the finale) feels stiff.

Show is too exposition-y, the pacing is off and it of course breaks the cardinal rule of show- don't -tell.

Thankfully, the concerns are easily remedied. Coming of age stories are a dime and dozen, and I think that the showrunners could actually learn from the TV shows and movies of past. So, I compiled some recommendations for them :) Read on if extensive analysis is your thing :)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer- Honestly, this is theee coming of age story. It follows Buffy (the chosen one), as she navigates high school, college and eventually adulthood, along with slaying vampires. And instead of a sullen main character, we as an audience are treated to a sassy, take-no-prisoners variant of the chosen one trope. There are so many similarities between Percy and Buffy- both are loyal to a fault, sarcastic and stubborn. They understand that they cannot escape their respective destinies, but they'll be damned if they don't see things through their own way. Both are brave to a fault, and adore their found families. The writers could take some inspiration from BTVS and Buffy's character arc (to an extent). Bonus- BTVS has great examples of melding humour in serious situations.

2. Mission Impossible Series- This one might be a bit controversial, but hear me out. I know most people consider the MI films popcorn flicks-and they are- but most the movies in the series are paced excellently. There is a sense of urgency in MI films- which was severely lacking in the PJO show. Have a deadline, let me feel anxious for these kids.

MI also has some excellent action scenes. And before you say, well PJO is not an action series, I would like to say that I agree- but the beauty of adaptating something is that you get to change things. Well paced action sequences, even if they are about a minute or so, are necessary break up the exposition dumps. It breaks the monotony. It makes you feel afraid for these kids, who are running from one dangerous situation/monster to another.

3. Dune (2023)- Thematically, Dune is vastly different from PJO. I am including it in this list for several reasons- editing, cinematography world building and sound editing.

To put it bluntly, I don't feel connected to the world of the PJO series at all- which is a shame because it is an incredible world! Greek mythological creatures co-existing with the modern world! Modern myths! Greek gods!. But it is all introduced in the most boring, exposition-y way possible.

The cinematography doesn't shine until the last episode. I want interesting shots, fluid camera movements- just anything that breaks the monotony of scenes. For example- I loved Poseidon's introduction, why wasn't this type of cinematography present in the rest of the series. Shoot the gods differently, make use of different camera compositions. Experiment a little for god's sake.

Coming to sound, yeah this one was the most disappointing of all. There are no memorable sound motifs, which is a shame because sound can convey so much more than words in certain scenes. I say Harry Potter music and you instantly think about the charcteristic symphony. This is missing sorely in the tv show.

Sidenote- I would have chosen Nathan Barr as the music composer (missed opportunity Disney). Look up his work, and you'll understand why I said this.

Coming to editing, yeah the editing is clunky at best. That is all I have to say about that for the moment.

Let me know if anyone wants a part 2 :)

#percy series #percy jackson tv show #percy jackson and the olympians #PJO #PJO tv series #pjo spoilers #percy jackson #annabeth chase #grover underwood #disney #percy and annabeth #pjo #disney plus

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

I wouldn’t mind hearing your thoughts on the reality tv fic research you’re doing, if you had any thoughts or observations you wanted to share, be they fic-related or otherwise 🌹

So the reality TV fic is really the first chapter/prologue of a longer fic that covers Jamie's reintegration into the team and developing friendship with Sam in the first half of season 2, while also having some complicated feelings about Amsterdam and his time on Lust Conquers All as Sam and Jan rope him into their effort to get the player auction during at the charity gala changed to something less terrible. While I don't necessarily think Jamie's experience on LCA was itself traumatic, the structure of reality dating shows might poke at some sore spots in a way he might not consciously register, same as the auction did in season 1. 

Unhinged ramble on reality TV dating and how it might affect Jamie under the read more:

(My research was mainly focused on Love Island UK, the real-world equivalent of LCA; however, some of the rules, filming practices, ect. are based on industry norms that I don't know for 100% certain apply to this show) 

There are some aspects of the reality TV experience that Jamie would likely be better equipped to handle than most contestants — while the producers do go out and scout people and I gather that some (or possibly most) of them are social media "micro-influencers," one of the main things they tend to struggle with is not only the sudden rise to fame and the volume of criticism that comes with it, but the fact that it's very temporary fame and they have to reintegrate into regular life and a regular job afterwards. Jamie struggles with depression after leaving LCA, but he clearly didn't put the same stock in it as a career move as most contestants do — his depression is tied to his football career (or rather, his temporary lack thereof) and his dad; LCA was primarily a way to get away from James rather than something he was invested in for its own merits or that he likely expected to have much of an impact on his life in the long term.

He also has an advantage when it comes to contract negotiations. Reality TV contracts are extremely extensive and typically involve the contestants waiving the right to sue in the event of... basically any kind of harm (emotional/psychological distress, injury, illness, death, ect), as well as their right to privacy — many shows specify that they have hidden cameras and microphones throughout the entire house, including areas like bedrooms and even bathrooms, and that they can use, edit, ect. anything they record however they want, including frankenbiting, ie cutting together snippets of audio to form sentences that the contestants never actually said — and their contact with the outside world, as contestants aren't allowed to keep their phones or go on social media. They also often tie the contestants to the production company for several months afterwards, which may involve doing public appearances or even restricting activities related to the show (this is less relevant for something like LCA, but American Idol season 2 contracts didn't let contestants sing anywhere outside the show, even at like. private gatherings with friends and family).

I imagine Jamie's contract would include a lot of these same rules, but unlike most contestants, he has an agent (even if we know the agent kind of sucks) who may have gotten him better terms. That being said, based on the way his agent talks about him going on LCA in 2x02, there is a distinct possibility that he signed on as an impulse decision and actually didn't have anyone look over the contract, so really whether or not he had an advantage here depends on how pre-meditated his decision was at the time. Another area where he has an advantage is purely demographic: he's a white man, and reality dating shows have a massive problem with racism and sexism that affects casting, how the contestants are framed once they're on the show, and even voting behaviour. 

Prospective cast members undergo a very thorough vetting process that involves a background check, medical exam, psychological evaluation, and interviews with basically everyone they've ever talked to, it seems like. How effective the psych eval is in rooting out people who are likely to be negatively affected by the show is debatable — I read an interview with a former contestant on the Bachelor who said she suspects she was chosen because she was emotionally fragile after a recent breakup with her fiancé — and they seem to be more geared towards keeping people off the show who are likely to be physically violent with the other contestants. Jamie fits the profile of someone who might be chosen pretty well, actually: he's combative and has a big enough personality to be involved in drama, but he doesn't actually start physical fights. 

Once contestants arrive, their belongings are searched for any contraband alcohol or drugs, as well as clothes with logos from non-sponsor brands. Shows generally don't allow them to keep their phones or other electronics — Love Island contestants have cellphones that they sometimes use to take pictures and where they instructions via text, but these don't appear to be their own personal phones. (Sometimes contestants appear to be posting on social media during the season, but it's actually someone else running their account.) They're also not allowed to leave the villa except on scheduled dates (some shows do allow the contestants out, but they have to ask permission first). This is... kind of creepy, honestly, but I suspect that with James being on Jamie's case the way he was after he came back to Manchester, the lack of contact with the outside world may have been part of what appealed to him.

Life in the villa is very regimented: two producers live there with them and the contestants are told when to eat and when to sleep. This is another area that Jamie might cope with better than the average contestant, since he'd be used to working with nutritionists and generally having many more aspects of his life than the general person planned out, and the dietary restrictions are likely less strict. While conversations aren't scripted, contestants are often told to go to a specific location and to have a conversation with a specific person about a specific topic, which produces the slightly odd effect that, especially in the first couple of episodes, they spent all their time analyzing their relationships/prospective relationships with people they just met and barely know. I suspect this might be part of why it's hard to build sustainable romantic relationships in this environment — obviously communicating about what everyone wants in a relationship is good, but it doesn't allow for the regular conversations that make up most of the process of getting to know and like another person.

Which brings us to: kayfabe. Kayfabe is a wrestling term which refers to the implicit agreement between wrestlers and their fans to act as though the staged performances are authentic. Part of what I suspected tripped Jamie up during his stint on LCA and got him kicked off is that he's... not great at this part. He'd probably have some form of PR training and he has experience doing brand deals, but ultimately footballers don't have to pretend they're doing anything other than trying to win. Reality dating contestants can't say that they're there to build their brand or win the cash prize; the only motivation they can publicly acknowledge (not contractually, just in terms of coming off well to the audience) is finding love, and I suspect that Jamie was maybe a bit more obvious than he should have been about the fact that he approached it as a competition more than as an opportunity to find a relationship, which I don't think he was actually interested in at that point (or at any point, for the aro Jamie truthers among us).

There's also a bit of a tension between the producers' putative goal of capturing authentic reactions and creating certain storylines. The result is that they try to elicit certain reactions during the talking head interviews without stating outright what they want the contestant to say, and I suspect Jamie and the producers would find each other frustrating to deal with given his blunt approach to social interaction and difficulty with subtext and other forms of indirect communication. Similarly, interactions between the contestants — particularly the contestants of opposite genders — are governed by a set of extremely heteronormative social norms in which the contestants reaffirm their relationships through by, for instance, acting jealous or worried when their current partner is talking to another person as a sign that they're serious about the relationship. In addition to just generally not being a sexist dick even in his prick era, he is, again, just not that great with subtext. Ultimately, I think Jamie attracts the public's ire because he's too obvious about the fact that he's approaching LCA as a game to be won — while viewers are generally aware that reality TV is constructed, the contestants acknowledging that damages their popularity.

And now onto the potentially triggering stuff. First up: the alcohol. Most reality dating shows involve a lot of drinking, although instances of light drinking (eg sipping on champaign, drinking beer on dates) are generally more common than heavy drinking like taking shots or the contestants being shown to be very drunk, though it does happen. Some shows have an open bar, while others control the consumption of alcohol more closely and only give the contestants one bottle at a time. Contestants on Love Island are often shown drinking (usually champaign, or at least something in champaign flutes) from what appears to be an open bar, but I'm not sure which approach they actually use. I've seen some former contestants (on The Bachelor, not Love Island) attribute the frequency with which everyone drinks to the fact that they don't really have anything to do besides interact with the other contestants, get involved in drama, and drink — they don't have personal electronics, obviously, but they also aren't allowed to bring books or other forms of entertainment. Jamie does drink in canon and he goes out clubbing with his teammates, but the consistency with which everyone is drinking and the potential pressure to drink more himself as a result might make it feel a bit more fraught, particularly if part of the reason he doesn't remember losing his virginity in Amsterdam is because James forced him to drink.

Second: consent in reality dating shows is... weird. Once they sign the contract and enter the villa, the contestants pushed — though not technically legally required — to engage in various forms of intimacy which in any other situation would be considered pretty clear violations of their consent. Couples are formed unilaterally: in the season of Love Island that I watched (season 8), the initial couples were chosen by the voting public, and couples are re-formed in ceremonies in which, for instance, a newly arrived man choses between the two single women and the one who isn't chosen is sent home (or vice versa). In essence, only one member of the couple (or neither, in the case of public voting) actually has a say in whether they want to be with the other person. These couples then sleep in the same bed (in a room they share with all the other contestants), and the challenges similarly often involve one contestant choosing another to kiss, offer a lap dance, demonstrate their favourite sexual position, or perform other forms of intimacy (these examples are all from the first challenge of the first episode of season 8). In essence, while the contestants could technically refuse, they probably also wouldn't be on the show for long, and the whole thing is very much built on the presumption of consent to these more "mild" forms of intimacy. 

Other Things: 

Part way through, the men are sent to a different villa where they meet a new set of women, while the women stay at the original villa and meet a new set of men. I imagine the Jamie cheating on Amy with Denise in a hot tub incident probably occurred during something like this. 

For some reason the announcer always calls them "boys" and "girls." He does it for both genders so at least it's not sexist, but I still don't like it. 

If you want to read more about consent in reality TV dating, I found this chapter very interesting: Sreyashi Mukherjee and Dacia Pajé, "'You Can't Force Someone to Want You': Investigating Consent, Tokenism, and Play in Reality Dating Shows," in The Forgotten Victims of Sexual Violence in Film, Television and New Media: Turning to the Margins, ed. Stephanie Patrick and Mythili Rajiva (Palgrave Macmillan) [tried to attach the pdf but I got it through institutional access from my university and it won't let me 😞)

#lust conquers all #jamie tartt #it's so long i'm sorry #asks #i love when someone asks me about something i wanted to ramble about anyway #kvetch oc

[wordsandrobots]

IBO reference notes on . . . the Turbines, or 'Tekkadan done right'

In my notes on an act of unspeakable cruelty, I described the Turbines in Iron-Blooded Orphans as an example of having one's cake and eating it. Pun very much intended, I stand by this assessment: the Turbines are a great example of writing justifying a genre trope; to whit, an anime aimed at teenage boys featuring a group of attractive women in a relationship with a lone man.

Whether that's a worthwhile exercise or not will depend on the viewer's tastes. Personally, I think it would have worked fine without overtly 'cheesecake' designs, though I don't take that as an argument against including them when Tekkadan are walking around shirtless half the time.

And indeed, it's the wider comparisons between the two groups I want to talk about today. There's a clear parallel established throughout the series, which I summarised in that previous essay as 'the Turbines are a successful version of what Tekkadan aspire to be'.

So let's dig into that a little, with full spoilers as usual.

Who are the Turbines?

When they're introduced, we learn the Turbines are in charge of the transportation division of the Jupiter-based Teiwaz conglomerate – an organisation that provides the Japanese-Italian fusion mafia representation sorely lacking from much of popular sci-fi media. Teiwaz is a supposedly reputable enterprise, yet is widely known to be functionally yakuza. Likewise, while the Turbines are described in terms approximating an above-board logistics company, they know how to circumvent official shipping lanes via highly suspect detours.

Of course, this is hardly unusual for IBO, where fine and permeable lines between legal and illicit activities are a fact of life. The Turbines are as legitimate as most people get in this setting and can't reasonably be called criminals (not without being aggressively framed, anyway), yet they aren't wholly 'above-board' either. There is no such thing in the Post Disaster timeline.

Now, the most important detail I want to centre about the Turbines is that they have over 50,000 members. Fifty thousand. Teiwaz is not some nickel-and-dime set-up; they're one of the most powerful (if not the most powerful) organisations in the outer-spheres and their transport subsidiary is correspondingly massive. We don't get the precise number until midway through Season 2 but we are told repeatedly what a huge deal it is for Tekkadan to be in cahoots with them; quantisation simply underlines the point. Naze's 'threat' to split the boys up such that they don't see one another again is far from idle.

This scale is the result of unifying a large number of individual shipping companies under one banner. Specifically, all-women groups that had previously been on the bottom rung of the solar system's transport ecosystem. The society Teiwaz exists in is depicted as a deeply sexist one. None of the high-ranking leaders are female and we are told outright that women forced from their homes have to turn to extremely dangerous work in order to survive. At least prior to the formation of the Turbines, this involved running cargo along pirate-infested routes, cheaply, with minimal defences.

Here is our first big parallel to Tekkadan. Like the child soldiers of the CGS, these women (and let's be realistic, girls) were rendered vulnerable by their social position and exploited for their labour as a result. I think it's commendable the writers chose to present their situation in this fashion: as easy – and correct – as it is to feel moral outrage about people being exploited for sex, this is a subset of the work dispossessed people are forced into. It would have been easy to give the Turbines a more lurid origin, particularly as this show is not shy about depicting actual sex-trafficking. To focus on something more 'mundane' reinforces that societies run on exploitation are literally that: even innocuous industries like freight haulage are driven by underpaid, under-protected workers.

It is into this situation that a young and ambitious Naze Turbine stepped and via him that at least some of these women found a better position in life.

A family business

We largely see the Turbines through the lens of their flagship, the Hammerhead, and its crew-slash-polygamous-family. When we talk about 'the Turbines', this is usually who we mean, rather than the wider transport company, which mostly exists in the background of the show's events.

The Hammerhead's pursuit of the Isaribi marks the arrival of the Turbines into the plot, first via Lafter's delight in the chase (in a scene leaning heavily on the overt sexualisation of her design) and then with Naze announcing himself to Tekkadan directly, initiating a brief battle between the two groups.

Naze's moral character is established in his reaction to Maruba dismissing Tekkadan as a bunch of 'space rats'. His disgust is aimed squarely at the perpetrator of the risky implantation surgery, setting him apart from the likes of Gaelio and, by extension, the Earth-based taboos against augmented people. We can assume Naze is familiar with both the Alaya-Vijnana system and the consequences of its use, and his ire switches immediately from what he had been told were a bunch of thieves to the man they've 'stolen' from.

With the conflict resolved and Naze willing to negotiate, we begin to learn about the Turbines as a group. Notably, while he refers to his crew as his harem, his agreement with Kudelia that they are his wives is a 'sure, let's go with that' kind of deal. The English dub states 'they are sworn to me' while the sub has him describing them as 'my women'. In either case, the legal status of the arrangement is left ambiguous. But the gist of the matter is that Naze openly presents his crew as a harem, in line with a playboy persona he presents to the world.

In Season 2, we jump back to see how this arrangement came to be. Amida describes him as a 'maverick trafficker' who hired her for protection on a dangerous gig (we never do find out what he was transporting). They got along well and fell into bed together, but Amida wouldn't make the arrangement permanent as she'd promised her services to an all-women freighter company tackling even more dangerous work – a choice implied to stem from having once in their situation. On hearing this, Naze asks the question that distinguishes him from his eventual blood brother, Orga: 'how can I help?'

Orga never asks this aloud, despite everything he does having the stated aim of helping his comrades. It's not hard to see why when his point of reference is Mikazuki, who places absolute faith in his ability to provide solutions to their problems. This fundamentally unfair expectation screws with Orga's sense of responsibility, especially once coupled to the top-down structure of a military unit and an absence of people pushing back against it.

But Naze and Amida meet as adults, not children. They've already grown-up and learned who they are. They engage from positions of mutual respect, each appreciating how the other's skills can help with their goals. Rather than declaring some nebulous, far-off dream, Naze offers assistance to solve a specific problem Amida was already working on. He provides the ability to make connections between disparate groups of exploited woman and a face to present to a misogynistic world.

On top of having the luxury of pre-existing social capital, he can afford to invest years of his time in growing the Turbines to the point where they bring something to Teiwaz's table. This slow, careful approach puts them in a much stronger position to deal with the big dogs, all while aiming for the same things Tekkadan will later rush to seize: security, legitimacy and respect.

This last item bears some scrutiny, because it illustrates the importance of being precise about your goals. We know nothing about Naze prior to meeting Amida, so we don't know why his sexism (because it is still that) eschews looking down on women in favour of elevating them above men. But he feels no shame about achieving business success via a women-only organisation, freely admitting to have gotten where he has thanks to them and holding Amida back from defending him from insults against his manhood that ensue. Naze knows who he needs to impress and it's not loud-mouths like Jasley Donomikols but men like McMurdo Barriston, who value results above all else. Where Tekkadan insist on making as big a noise as possible to establish their credentials, Naze can shrug off disparaging remarks. Why start a fight when he's gained the confidence of the most powerful man in the Jupiter-sphere?

Besides, he adores being where he is. He's actively unrepentant about having enough 'wives' to crew a spaceship and if this partly works to downplay his shrewdness, it's also just who he is. The narrative presents him in an entirely positive light for it, too. Of all the authority figures in Iron-Blooded Orphans, he's easily the kindest, going out of his way to support other people, often irrespective of personal gain.

Tekkadan's recruitment over the course of the series is characterised by radical acceptance. Human debris, repentant murderers, Teiwaz pen-pushers, ambitious college kids – they're all welcomed and placed on equal footing. In light of this, I find it significant that when we see Amida pre-Turbines, she's dressed in a rather understated manner, masking past wounds and presenting in a stereotypically 'professional' fashion – likely to offset the concerns her clients have about hiring a woman mercenary. After years living with Naze, however, she's adopted a much more revealing outfit and attitude, no longer hiding who she is in either words, actions or appearance.

Amida's design is one of the most cheesecaky of the set but it's positioned as a sign that she – like everyone in Naze's orbit – is loved scars and all.

A ship of wives

Gundam has a history of featuring men surrounded by a faithful cohort of women. Starting with Paptimus Scirocco in Zeta Gundam (a decidedly evil example, though oddly enough, also hailing from Jupiter), through Chibodee Crocket in Mobile Fight G Gundam (a much closer match to the Turbine's model), and all the way to Shaddiq Zenelli in Witch From Mercury (where, like a lot of G-Witch's secondary details, it feels like a call-back for the sake of itself), the 'harem' trope is one the franchise has made use of time and again. Rarely, however, has it been as explicit about dropping pretences as with the Turbines. To dip into crudity for the sake of succinctness: yeah, they're fucking.

We are left in no doubt over this. Not only do we see the many children that have resulted, Naze's wives make it clear they expect and enjoy him exercising his spousal responsibilities in the bedroom. And here is where I wheel out my media literacy soapbox because whatever you personally feel about this as a concept, the text presents it as consensual and as free of coercion as it can possibly be.

Yes, there is an inherent power imbalance with Naze being head of the organisation and, quite literally, the man who saved these women's lives. Yes, some of them were clearly recruited to the Turbines as teenagers (as we see in Lafter's backstory). And yes, it's a fantasy that often extends out of sexist perspectives, ones the presentation here does not work especially hard to refute.

However at no point is there any suggestion in the text that Naze pressures anyone into having sexual relations with him. The opposite, if anything. Amida is the only member of the Hammerhead's crew he initiates with – his partner, in every sense of the word. Lots of the others come on to him and he doesn't remotely discourage them, sure. But you've also got Azee, who explicitly choses not to act the same and is just as much part of this core family (while this doesn't rule out her being sexually involved with Naze, it shows there is no expectation of uniform behaviour). Furthermore, when Lafter starts developing romantic feelings for Akihiro – as contrasted with familial ones for the Turbines in general and sexual ones for Naze – literally everyone encourages her to follow them, treating it as perfectly natural and a sign of maturity.

(To head off a rather trite misread, Naze describing his wives as 'like his daughters' in some respects does not invoke literal fatherhood. His 'paternal' statements are in line with the attitude he takes to Orga as his 'little brother' – that of someone with more experience taking responsibility for a more naïve dependent – and I think it's really worth stressing that non-nuclear family dynamics do not map to those of nuclear families. Though unquestionably a patriarch figure, Naze is happy Lafter going to go get what she wants and proud of her choices. The literal opposite of infantilising her.)

Thanks to the Urdr Hunt mobile game, we get a canonical glimpse into how Naze interacts with members of the Turbines beyond the Hammerhead's crew as well. Tamami Rakou is leader of grey-ops team the 'Rakou Pirates', who handle missions it would be better weren't directly associated with the Turbines (yes, their flags is the Turbines' logo with a skull painted over it, why do you ask?). When she reports to Naze halfway through the game, their relationship is revealed as one of friendly mentorship; again not a million miles off his attitude towards Orga. Tamami explains to another character that the Turbines took her in as a hot-headed youth and trained her in business matters. She seeks to repay what she perceives as a debt, with the ultimate goal of sharing sakuzuki cups with her boss. Naze, by contrast, already firmly recognises her worth (that's why he put her in her current role) and cautions her against taking too many risks.

Naze and Amida gently rib the junior captain over the course of these scenes, while Tamami tries way too hard to impress them. The joke is that she's presenting herself with loud, military seriousness in the face of the couple's customary informality, and it hinges on her having nothing to worry about. Naze already values her and cares about her safety. They even end their meeting warning each other not to do anything to make Amida sad, indicating shared affection for Tamami's 'Big Sis'.

All this is positioned without any hint of lasciviousness. When Naze looks forward to hearing stories of Tamami's exploits over drinks later, there's apparently no expectation of anything more. I bring this up to highlight the boundaries in the Turbines' living arrangements. Naze expresses admiration for women as a category, but he's no skirt-chaser. The polygamy is not mandatory and his support and generosity are not predicated upon it.

Also, and I fully appreciate this is its own brand of male bravado, the sexual side of the Turbines is mostly described as Naze pleasing his wives rather than the other way around. The story goes out of its way to make clear how OK everyone is with the arrangement, including an obligatory 'harem strike' joke to underline that while Naze may have institutional power, they outnumber him.

It should scarcely need stating that Iron-Blooded Orphans is not depicting relationship dynamics one should aspire to. Then again, I'm posting this on the internet, where reductio ad absurdum is treated as winning, so let's state it outright: pretty much every relationship in this show is some level of borked. From Shino and Yamagi's teenage inability to communicate, to McGillis indulging Almiria's childish fantasies of adulthood within a marriage they've been forced into, to Mika and Orga's entire deal, everyone is doing the best they can while setting each other up for a lifetime of therapy they're not going to get.

The flip side of this is that those same relationships are a source of support and joy for characters experiencing extremely harsh, miserable lives. In almost every case, the toxicity is intertwined with genuine love, and for the Turbines, the toxicity gets firmly minimised, counteracted by Naze's personality and by how his wives interact with him.

I am not going to stand up and say the Turbines are a model of healthy polyamory. Being married to your boss is rarely a good thing in reality. Within the show, however. it's presented as wholly positive and supportive to a degree that the other entanglements can only aspire.

Sunset

Nothing lasts forever though. Isn't that the saying? Part reproach, part reassurance, it asserts that all is ultimately impermanent, no matter how much we might hope or fear otherwise. Orga sets his stall out in the name he gives his newly-liberated band of fighters: an iron flower, never wilting and never dying. Something impossible, that is ended prematurely by his rush to ensure its existence.

The Turbines are firmly established by the time they enter the story and as I've discussed, their rise is depicted as a cautious, time-consuming process. They have a fierce reputation – nobody messes with them, at least not without some high-ranking Earth bigwig offering plenty of money – but it's one tied to Teiwaz as a whole and that coupling of fortunes is both strength and weakness.

When the hammer comes down and Gjallarhorn begin interdicting Turbine ships, Naze wonders if McMurdo himself might be responsible. This suspicion comes after half a season of internal politics following Tekkadan's unexpectedly rapid ascent within Teiwaz. Their victories reflect well on Naze, since he brought them into the fold, but also cause the other high-ranking members to fear what they perceive to be his ambition. Things come to a head when Tekkadan align themselves with McGillis's attempt to seize power. With the youngest, upstart members of the organisation promised sovereignty of Mars (and its lucrative half-metal mining operations), a target is painted on Naze's back.

Of course, it isn't McMurdo who acts against him but Jasley, envious of Naze's position as the boss's favourite and wanting nothing more than to seize control of the transport division. There's no doubt he'd have sent the Turbines back to square one, exploiting them for his own gain. Jasley is very much in tune with the ambient misogyny and a conniving bastard to boot. He imagines by inciting Iok Kujan to destroy his rival, he will become next in line for control of Teiwaz itself.

He doesn't get away with it. The damage is done nevertheless.

When I say 'the Turbines are Tekkadan done right', it is a statement regarding success at their shared goals. Providing marginalised people with safety and security, enriching them through employment on their own terms, and establishing their long-term legitimacy – these represent the aims of both groups. The Turbines, however, achieve them at scale. Over 50,000 members! Operations from Jupiter to Venus! The ear of the head of Teiwaz! And, via groups like Tekkadan and Foundling (who Tamami is still mentoring at the point of writing; the survival chances of doofy gremlin children may go down as well as up), the opportunity to guide a new generation in a changing world.

But – and of course there's a 'but'; there was always going to be a 'but' – 'done right' does not mean 'perfect'. It does not mean 'forever'. For all the benefits the Turbines accrue for themselves, theirs is still a dangerous business. The risk may be reduced by solidarity but it doesn't go away. They still have to fight pirates and undertake jobs of dubious legality. Furthermore, as Jasley proves, they amass enemies as well as allies. Disruption to the social order creates ripples even – especially – when done with the best of intentions.

Above all, there's the question of whether their methods are sustainable. Throughout this piece, I have consciously centred Naze because that's what the Turbines' strategy is. Using him as a focal point around which to gather and an acceptable representative to men who wouldn't otherwise give them the time of day. While they might have achieved much simply by cooperating and are implied through Tamami to have retained considerable autonomy, it is Naze personally who allowed these women to escape the bottom of the heap.

This leaves them with a hideously dangerous vulnerability. The Turbines are inextricably tied to Naze's personal fortunes and those plummet in a second the instant Jasley shops him to Iok. By the rules of Teiwaz and his own sense of honour, Naze cuts ties with McMurdo to prevent Gjallarhorn pressing charges against the conglomerate. He expends all the good will he has accrued over the years to beg his now-former boss to take his people in. And then he and Amida sacrifice themselves in a nearly-vain attempt to safeguard their immediate family.

Worst of all, the catalyst for this is the very generosity of spirit that got Naze involved in the first place. He gives Tekkadan a chance and keeps doing so even as the cracks begin to show. He indulges Orga's ambitions out of the sense he's looking at his family's younger selves. As a result, he ties himself to them and is sent to his death by the wider consequences of their actions.

Amida describes Naze's love for her in terms of food: it is better to share a fine meal with others than to settle for average fare kept to yourself. That Naze was willing to share himself with so many people is laudable. But it is also his downfall and marks the harsh limitations of using the systems of the Post Disaster setting to imrpove a situation.

When you make deals with tigers, you have to remember what will happen should they get hungry.

A future even so?

Officially speaking, the Turbines end with Naze and Amida. The survivors are folded into what we might call Teiwaz-proper, directly under McMurdo's authority. When we next see them, they are clothed in drab black jackets, save for Azee who has traded her pink jumpsuit for a version of Naze's customary white suit. As the last remaining member of Amida's mobile suit squad, it seems leadership of this rebranded fleet has fallen to her, a position she uses – with McMurdo's blessing – to rescue Tekkadan's own dwindling numbers in their time of need.

Here we find the two groups paralleling one another once again. Lives are spared at the expense of identity. A leader who truly cared is lost and the outcome is decided by a pragmatist. We don't see much of what happens to the Turbines now they've been consumed by Teiwaz's male-dominated hierarchy. What we do know is that, in the short term at least, they have been forbidden from carrying weapons and doing the kind of escort work the Hammerhead excelled at. This alone marks a steep reduction in their power.

While McMurdo certainly looks favourably on his new subordinates, he is no replacement for the man who saw them as the sun. His decision to cast Jasley to the wolves was motivated as much by heading off a rival as by avenging his preferred 'son' – and he's clearly not getting any younger. One can only speculate where a few years might land everyone in this new arrangement (indeed, one has).

The Turbines' story contains remarkable achievements and at the same time showcases the fragility of any achievement made within an unjust society. It took Jasley a single phone-call to annihilate everything Naze and Amida built. Many good people died and the happiness Naze's wives found with him did not last. His children can hardly be considered orphaned but their fate is left up in the air, albeit weighted more kindly than their parents' lives began.

Which is something that should not be dismissed. Iron-Blooded Orphans reflects a lot of harsh, miserable realities about what happens to those unfavoured by the world's structures. But it refuses to downplay the steps they take towards a better future. Amida was already fighting to protect those left in the cold and Naze followed her lead. Even if the very things that enabled him to do so much eventually turned into a trap, it still matters that he did what he could. It still counts.

There may not actually be a way to 'do Tekkadan right'. Its context is flawed, harmful and frequently vile. In a just society, nobody would need the strategies the Turbines use to carve a place for themselves – there would be no ladder for anyone to fall to the bottom of. Yet in its absence, there are and have always been people who try their best to rebalance the scales, resisting the narratives they are fed in whatever ways they can. That needs to be valued. I'm glad IBO does so.

Because fleeting joy is joy all the same. Love exists under the toughest conditions. And, in the end, Azee and Eco follow the example of those who've gone before, stepping forward to ask:

How can we help?

Other reference posts include:

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (Part 1)

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (Part 2)

IBO reference notes on … Gjallarhorn (corrigendum) [mainly covering my inability to recognise mythical wolves]

IBO reference notes on … three key Yamagi scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Shino scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Eugene scenes

IBO reference notes on … three key Ride scenes

IBO reference notes on … the tone of the setting

IBO reference notes on … character parallels and counterpoints

IBO reference notes on … a perfect villain

IBO reference notes on … Iron-Blooded Orphans: Gekko

IBO reference notes on … an act of unspeakable cruelty

IBO reference notes on … original(ish) characters [this one is mainly fanfic]

IBO reference notes on … Kudelia’s decisions

IBO reference notes on … assorted head-canons

IBO reference notes on … actual, proper original characters [explicit fanfic – as in, actually fanfic. None of them have turned up in the smut yet]

IBO reference notes on … the aesthetics of the mobile frame

IBO reference notes on … mobile suit designations

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (part 1)

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (part 2)

IBO reference notes on … the Gundams (part 3)

#gundam iron blooded orphans #gundam ibo #g tekketsu #tekketsu no orphans #turbines #naze turbine #amida arca #tekkadan #reference #notes #spoilers #major spoilers #I considered illustrating the section on their downfall too #but I didn't want to make myself cry

[kimbureh]

Teamplay explosive as Ipsium, TBB S2E9&10

So far I managed to evade spoilers for season 2, but I picked up on fandom being sort of frustrated with the lack of Crosshair's appearances. Which, yes, it's factually true as of S2E10 Crosshair appeared in only one episode. But on the other hand, episodes 9 and especially 10 are direct metaphors for Crosshair's arc, the text itself all but says so.

But one thing at a time.

It's fascinating to see the Batch slowly disintegrate, because the conflict further reveals every Batcher's ideals and coping mechanisms. Wrecker is the sensitive one of the group, and when he tells Omega she will get used to Echo's absence, he's assuring himself with that just as much. He also begins messing up during the missions. Think of Wrecker in Clone Wars: his unpredictability is integral part of the team's successful exploits. Once Crosshair and the amicable rivalry with him is gone, Wrecker lacks focus during missions, even if Echo explains the plan to him over and over again. With Echo gone as well, his stabilizing influence is sorely missed, with grave consequences. When the stampede in S2E9 hits them, and they have to leave behind the ipsium, Wrecker chooses to save his friend instead of going for the riches, and is criticized by Tech.

Tech's coping mechanism is to cling to facts. They needed the ipsium, and Wrecker lost it. They end up being trapped in another mine. These are all facts, and under duress, more and more facts pour out of Tech. Their ship is gone, they're unable to track it, Echo can't be reached for help. All these things are facts to Tech, and he sees no harm in asserting those, even though this gravely upsets Omega. Omega's coping mechanism is to be and feel useful. Her ideals lie in seeing the Batch as a family, and she suffers because they don't act accordingly. Tech shares her family ideals, but voices an inability to act on them, as well as the need to stay pragmatic in order to not further destabilize the squad; Tech holds onto facts so desperately, he is unwilling to allow the emotional impact of the change to come to the surface, instead opting to compartmentalize the issue for a nebulous 'later'.

Hunter, I honestly have no thoughts about. At this point he is a pure plot device to me that will re-activate itself once Crosshair comes into play again. Until then, his sole narrative purpose lies in being an ineffective leader and well-meaning but ill-equipped father. His coping mechanisms? Sucking everything up, I guess. His ideals? Hell if he knows himself. His whole identity is arranged around Omega's existence, but not exactly in a familial kind of way, it's a rather desperate act and Omega seems to serve as a substitute for Crosshair.

Speaking of Crosshair. As I said, he doesn't appear in S2E9&10, but the story is definitively about him. Mokko and his exploitative mining operation is directly compared to the Empire twice, and Benni serves as a stand-in for Crosshair. Benni's arc affords him to reject being a willing part of his own enslavement; the great obstacle for him to overcome is personified in the slaver Mokko and his lies.

Transferred to Crosshair, this means he too can leave behind the Empire, if only he can overcome the obstacles. Which bears the question, who is Crosshair's Mokko? And the answer is, he himself is. Crosshair convinced himself that he has got no choice anymore, that he can't return to the Batch, that being a willing tool to the Empire is what he wants or at least what keeps him alive. The way for him to see through his own lies isn't by acquiring new facts, like Benni had to do by learning about Mokko's exploitative profit margins. But Crosshair needs to learn something still, which is (not incidentally) something Omega had to learn in the opening story of season 2: which is the ability to overcome one's shame (I've already written about this at length). Omega can be interpreted as Crosshair's inner child, and as such her character development prepares the path for Crosshair's development.

(pls not season 2 spoilers, I haven't fully watched it yet)

#star wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars bad batch #tbb meta #tbb echo #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb omega #tbb #pls no s2 spoilers #clone force 99

[aanabear2803]

Look, as someone who has seen multiple shows ending. Miraculous is definitely near the bottom. Is it as bad aa Svtfoe? No. But its pretty close with how most questions aren't answered.

The fight was good. Bugnoire? Lovely she can stomp on me all day.

But the lack of a reveal and the way Adrien reacts to his dad being dead? It can be better. The worse part of course being the fact that Chat just wasn't there.

Thomas answering vaguely on twitter doesnt help either. Is it Emilie or Amelie? (Leaks will tell you the answer).

I'm not an expert on analysis. So I would be terrible to listen too. But the issues with the finale can very sorely be Astruc's fault.

He is riding on this solely to rile any fans up. Can we imagine if they didn't confirm the new seasons? There will be fans asking for it, some begging.

Astruc wants us to make a riot over the finale so that he can pitch a new season. Because as weird people who watch these 2 dumb idiots fall in love, we would tune in again. And he knows that. So he is most definitely milking the identity reveal. Milking the fact where we still can't know for sure of Adrien is a sentibeing. Maybe even Astruc is scared of confirming anything.

So I get why people are upset. But unless you somehow manage to take over the show there is nothing we can do about it.

#miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers

[witchpussy42069]

Financially Fucked and Dealing with Climate Change (Tips On How To Survive Wildfire Season):

I'm not an expert, I'm just poor and the trees are on fire again❤️. Please reblog/add on your own tips or any information regarding fire safety, smoke safety, health, etc.

Before we get to how to clean the air, let's start with how to keep yourself safe. I can tell you to stay inside and avoid being out in all that smoke, but most of us are selling our souls to corporations and have jobs we have to go to. bummer.

1. Masks

Anyways, the ideal mask for this would be an N95, but a scarf or any kind of mask will also help you a little. Significantly less effectively than an N95 but it's better than no mask. Definitely wear while out and about, and consider wearing inside depending on how the air is in your home. Wash regularly if you're using a reusable mask or a scarf.

2. Washing

When you get home after being outside, take a shower and change your clothes. Wash all those pollutants out of your clothing, wash all the smoke particles off of your skin, and moisten up that air!! You're gonna want the air wet, I'll explain why in a minute. Not so wet that mold could begin to grow in your house though, to be clear.

3. Stay away from chemicals

Your lungs are tired. You've been working all day, breathing polluted air all day, your throat is sore and your head is killing you. You know what WON'T make you feel better? Breathing in the fumes of bleach, Lysol, Febreze, ammonia, etc. when you need to clean, stick to white vinegar or lemon juice, or something else natural, since you can't ventilate the house with all that smoke outside.

4. Honey & Ginger

Inevitably, your throat is sore and your head hurts. Honey and ginger will help you with that. Tea would be perfect. Peppermint tea will help too, any warm liquid with honey in it actually. Ginger is full of antioxidants, honey is full of probiotics, and mint soothes the throat and mouth.

5. Limit Excersize

Isn't excersize supposed to be good for my lungs? Yeah, it is. But your lungs are already working overtime just to survive the smoke with minimal damage if possible. So don't put extra strain on them now. Wait until the air is clear to play any sports or do any strenuous excersize.

6. Water (pt. 1)

Drink sooooo much water. Drink all of the water. And then drink even more water. Your body has this magical way of flushing out toxins and magically healing just by drinking water, and by magical I mean very scientific. I'm not a scientist tho, or a doctor, but its something something about kidneys and the liver idk, just drink water...

7. Public Places

Maybe a window in your home is broken. Maybe the vents don't work. Maybe you don't have a home. Whatever the reason, public spaces are a safe bet if you need somewhere to go with filtered air. City hall, libraries, and malls are all good options. Don't stay by the doors, especially if there's lots of people going in and out and smoke is wafting in. Go find somewhere away from unsealed windows and doors that doesn't smell or look hazy.

Okay, that's all I know about that. I'm not an expert. Now we're gonna talk about ways to clean ur air WITHOUT BUYING AN AIR PURIFIER, BECAUSE SOME OF US ARE POOR GOD DAMN IT. I cannot count how many results on the internet have told me to just buy an air purifier. I am EXTREMELY POOR 😎

Ways to clean the air in your home from wildfire smoke with things you probably either already have or can easily acquire:

Water(pt. 2):

Good ol' plain ol' water. I'm not a scientist, so forgive me for my lack of perfect articulation, but basically water absorbs smoke particles. Makes em clump together and coagulate so they're not just floating everywhere in the air. Also, as the water clings to the pollutants, it cools them down, which causes them to fall to the ground/floor. So unless you're army crawling everywhere, this is something to look into. Just get a spray bottle and mist water everywhere, aiming for just, like, the air and stuff. Or get a bowl of water and leave it to sit out and absorb toxins throughout the day. Maybe don't drink the water afterwards, but you can use it to water your plants. And speaking of plants~

Plants:

plants are your best friends when it comes to cleaning the air! We all know they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, but did you also know that some of them absorb mold and smoke particles from the air too? Well you do now! A list of plants that are especially good at cleaning the air include, but are not limited to:

-Aloe Vera

-Rubber Plant

-Any kind of Ivy (pothos, english, etc)

-Bamboo! (Cat safe)

-Snake Plant

-Spider Plant (Cat safe)

NASA on spider plants:

Yeah spider plants are amazing. I want 20.

Baking Soda:

Baking soda works much like activated charcoal in this scenario, what with its ability to absorb so many impurities! And baking soda's best buddy in every 5th grade science project ever, white vinegar, can help you out too! Leaving a bowl of baking soda out, or leaving a bowl of white vinegar out, will deodorize the air; but it's not just making things smell less horrible, it doesn't just mask scents, it absorbs and 🔥ELIMINATES🔥them.

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Okay now everybody say thank you Tay Tay!! And thank you Mr Bezos!! And thank you to alllll the other beloved private jet owners and billionaires❤️ now I don't have to wear my mittens anymore, teehee🤭

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Anyways reblog and add on your own tips for fire season safety!

#fire safety #wildfire #forrest fire #wildfire smoke #wildfire season #fire season #poverty #air pollution #health and wellness #n95 masks #climate change #climate crisis #what do i tag this lol #hmmm #psa #trending

[animehouse-moe]

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 6: Shibuya Incident 2

I'm actually thoroughly surprised. It's a bit hard to explain, truthfully, but this episode does surprisingly well on the whole. But I suppose that is owed to the star studded staff that came out of the woodwork to work on this episode. Anyways, I won't spoil the fun, so let's get down to brass tacks before I let the cat out of the bag.

Mahito vs Kokichi. I would say I'm.... satisfied. Though I suppose that might be a bit of a crazy statement to make considering the fight. It's just... I'm not quite sure how to explain it. A lot of the added scenes were great, and it's not quite that they felt piled on, but that they weren't really put together well?

We got all sorts of crazy scenes and even a Gurren Lagann reference by the man himself. But how much is a pile of art worth, truly? How much motion, movement, shading can you imbue a moment with before it tips over the edge? I feel very strongly about how Vincent Chansard approaches animation with his OP cuts at times, and I just feel like that point's been reached with sequences here. I know, crazy thing to say, but it's just.... not quite lost the plot, but maybe the purpose?

Tengen Toppa Jujutsu Kaisen is cool, but it ignores the purpose of the original sequence in the manga. A do or die moment for Kokichi becomes a grand stand of overpowered individuals that stretches the fabric of the fight itself. Very Gurren Lagann in that sense, but this is Jujutsu Kaisen. I love the reference with Kokichi going on to stab Mahito, and I think Mahito drilling through to Kokichi is a cool change up. But the middle parts? While cool, end up excessive and misrepresented.

It's the dangerous game of giving an anime powerup, that does have me concerned as to how fights moving forward will be handled. Mahito's powers are limited, and he himself expresses that in S1 with the weakness of certain forms. His fleeing from Kokichi (which was horribly marred with ghosting and dimming) expresses the limits of his abilities incredibly well while providing an insanely well done original scene to the fight. This last piece with Mahito vs Kokichi though? It pays no attention to the limits of Mahito's soul, or the rules of his abilities. It extends past the reason and fairness that Gege put in place to provide a grand stand in the end. Is it cool? Definitely. Do I mind it being in the episode? If you're a manga reader, not really. For anime onlies though? Gives the completely incorrect intention with the character.

For reference, this is all that happens during that whole break in sequence in the manga.

Returning to the fight at large, it's pretty clear to see that the animation is carried through by a few of the key talents working on it. Not all sequences outside of the handful are terrible, but a good number lack any sense of pace or weight. I don't know if I'd be as harsh on them as I am if there weren't as many great cuts, but such is the way things go.

So, once more to reiterate, I'm rather satisfied with this stretch of the Mahito vs Kokichi fight. Undoubtedly carried by the star performers, the fierce individuality brought by each can clash with both one another and the source material at times to make the fight more than a little challenging to follow. Certainly far better than what I was expecting though.

Though respectfully, what is this? The difference in the hands between the cuts is rather painful, and just the way it is in movement compared to the re-used cut of Mahito's initial domain expansion from season 1 makes it feel so wrong. The epitome of S1's flirting vs S2's sexual harassment.

Talking the episode as a whole, before moving on to Shibuya itself, it was arguably the most consistent of the bunch we've gotten for season 2 so far. Sure, the lows stick out like even more of a sore thumb than before, but the highs are far stronger, and the character designs remain largely consistent throughout. I think my only complain is how out of place the background characters for Shibuya can look in comparison to how the actual cast is drawn.

Like... I just don't really know what to say. Did they even try to match the art style? Even worse is the fact that when they're dealing with characters that did exist in the crowd, in the manga, they're able to style them properly? Like, the above image of the people in the crowd to this one, would you believe that they're from the same series?

Aside from that, I don't really have any complaints with the rest of the episode? It's exposition heavy, but the character designs are surprisingly solid, with Kusakabe arguably being the best adapted from Gege's style. He is missing a lot of the real charm to his character that's expressed through his design, and much like Megumi his hair differs to the manga, but there's something about it that feels much more "right" than other first time designs. Does make me question just what went on with Yuko, Yuki, and the other characters who have been appearing for the first time through this season though.

Will say though, they've nailed the new cast of voices coming in. All have the right vibes and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do with their respective moments in the series.

This episode certainly has me less worried than all of Gojo's Past for how Shibuya will look. Gosso's involvement feels far less heavy handed, and while the individual freedom afforded by that may be detrimental at times, it feels like the far better decision for an arc like this. It won't be on Park's level, but I'm starting to think that there'll be potential, just have to see if things end up out of hand or not.

#jujutsu kaisen #呪術廻戦 #jjk #sorcery fight #gojo satoru #geto suguru #anime review #anime and manga #anime #yuji itadori #yuji #fushiguro megumi #megumi fushiguro #nobara kugisaki #nanami kento #kento nanami #maki zenin #naobito zenin #shibuya #shibuya arc #jjk shibuya arc #jjk season 2

[wuxiaphoenix]

Worldbuilding: The Struggles of Peace

Wars are big. Wars are colorful. Wars are Dramatic; at least as Hollywood does them.

War is also pretty much the default state of human beings, as far back as we can check. Yes, humans have instincts to be kind, altruistic, and caring... to others in our in-group. Those outside the group are either ignored, or targets.

Peace, on the other hand, is neither natural nor easy. Peace takes hard work, determination, and the occasional cracking of a non-peaceful skull. And it all has to be done in a way the majority of people involved can live with, or it all frays at the seams.

War and action type stories are interesting in part because you get to show how far characters can go and still be good people. Peacetime stories are interesting because your characters have to work within limits.

It’s like poetry. Free verse can be expressive, rhythmic, and powerful. But I’ve always appreciated the skill involved in expressing yourself in a tanka, sonnet, or ballad. When you have a set of rules, you have to be creative!

You also have to know which set of rules your characters are working under. Often there are several. Written laws? Professional codes of ethics? Social rules? Family customs? A lot of tension can come from a character deciding he’s going to have to break some rules to solve the problem, and he has to decide which rules can be broken, which can’t, and what price he’s willing to pay.

This is a big thing in a lot of works in Regency or Victorian settings. There are people you can talk to, people you must not, and certain subjects that absolutely Cannot Be Discussed Ever.

Except that realistically speaking they have to be discussed at some point. Hopefully before someone dies. And then social fallout ensues.

I used Regency and Victorian because those are familiar to a lot of readers, but honestly, up until fairly modern times, strict social rules about who could freely communicate with whom were common most places. And the unwritten rules you had to follow to avoid a breath of scandal or be ruined - meaning eventually dead, from lack of support or work....

There’s a neat example of “working within the rules to keep peace” in the first episode of Season 2 of Zenigata Heiji (see the Samurai vs. Ninja channel). Long story short, a ring of thieves figured out ways to implicate respectable shops in crimes. Meaning even when the police know who and where they are and could catch them... if the gang goes to trial and any implications come out, the businesses involved will be devastated. Leading to most of the families and employees being condemned to starvation or suicide.

If only, muse Heiji and his boss, there were a legal way to catch the gang without the case going to trial....

(It’s risky, but yes. There is.)

And if you want to see the effort needed to keep as much possible peace in a society at war, I recommend the series Foyle’s War. An inspector trying to solve murders and bring criminals to justice in WWII England has a heck of a job on his hands.

One episode ends with a murderer taunting Foyle, and... well. Here’s from Wikiquote.

Howard Paige: You sound like a sore loser. You know what the French say? "C'est la guerre."

Foyle: Precisely, Mr. Paige. "It's the war." And no war has lasted forever, and neither will this one. A year, maybe ten, but it will end. And when it does, Mr. Paige, you will still be a thief, a liar, and a murderer, and I will not have forgotten. And wherever you are, I will find you. You're not escaping justice, merely postponing it. Au revoir.

Stories with action are good. Stories with justice, even if it can’t be today - those take a skilled touch.

What kind of rules do you want your characters to break? What do you want them to uphold at all costs?

#creative writing #worldbuilding #wars #peace

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 14-"It Should Have Been Lorelai" (Part 2)

Part 1 and all previous commentary can be found in my Pinned post. This will be brief since I ran out of space the last time and the episode is wrapping up. As shitty as CrustyPher is I really don't want this episode to end because I have to face the HellTornado ShitShow Circus that is "Lost and Found" after this. Please take your time, Judgy (Lorelai) and Crusty. Let's recount part 1 a bit first. I'm waist-deep in the middle of a concerning conversation between Rory and Lorelai. Christopher's victim, Sherrie, isolated Lorelai in her kitchen while she was a guest in her home, told Lorelai she had no interest in being her friend but insisted that she needed immediate access to her underage daughter to which Lorelai accepts and sends Rory out to face an unknown fate with this complete stranger who just insulted her and that she just met an hour ago. The details of where Sherrie took poor Rory are vague at best except for a mention of the movies. While Rory and Creepie are at the movies, Judgy and Crusty (Lorelai and Christopher) went to FND together, which I skipped over because who the hell cares. The mysterious Rory and Sherrie evening is over and it's the next day. Rory is recalling the evening to Lorelai, where we learn Sherrie spent the evening spilling extremely personal details about herself to 16 year old stranger Rory Gilmore and was acting "very touchy feely". Lorelai of course is showing the appropriate level of concern for a mother.

(talking about Emily) Having not seen the scene in question, I'll just assume that Emily's reaction is a reasonable one so far as hearing about Lorelai agreeing to a premeditated kidnapping of her grandchild. Luke's arms come into frame for two seconds as he sets down two coffees they won't pay for. This episode is sorely lacking Lucas.

Cut to an amusing scene whereby Rory uses Kirk and Michel to sneak a contraband cd into Lane's totebag. Back to the diner where Crustypher and Sherrie show up to talk to Lorelai. Creepie Sherrie immediately asks about Rory and wants to know where she is.

Someone needs to sic Chris Hansen on your ass, you weirdo.

NO! MY GIRL RORYGIL HAS SUFFERED ENOUGH. SHE'S BEEN THROUGH IT! OKAY. Rory tells Lorelai that as a kid she sometimed imagined her real father was either Pee Wee Hermann or Matthew Broderick. Very random choices but okay. A deflated soccer ball would be a better father than Crusty.

What ever would this show be without Lorelai Gilmore Constantly Opening Her Big Fat Mouth Without Thinking First?

Lorelai tells Crusty he is so ingrained in her brain matter that he has caused her to subconciously sabotage every decent relationship she has ever had. But now that Crusty is settling down with Creepy Sherrie, she can finally move past him.

It's once again time to visit a classic Gilmore Girls Trope-The Man Who Has An Immediate Public Freakout At A Woman In Public. People are staring at you, you wad. ("People Are Staring, You Wad" should be printed on a bumper sticker they sell at the Stars Hollow gift shop. It should be plastered on the vehicle of every man who causes a scene in public with a woman on this show). No wonder poor little RoryGirl wanted to live in Pee Wee's Playhouse with a talking chair instead of having this sewer dwelling sperm donor for a father. PeeWee would make an excellent father, damn it. Globey and Jambi could be like her uncles. I wish to one day see the women of The Hollow rise up and revolt against every god damn Penis Haver on this show. They need to be sacrified to the Man Volcano. Even Jess. Okay, I can make a few exceptions. Dave Ryglaksi will be spared. Kirk will be spared. Paul Anka of course. Maybe Luke will get a trial first before being sarcified to the Man Volcano, he's kind of borderline, depends where we're at in the show.

Oh honey, I hope you packed some high SPF sunblock because you're definitely getting sarcified to the Man Volcano along with Dean, Logan, Logan's Annoying Friends, Tristan, Taylor Doose, Jason DiggerStiles, Max Medina, Mitchum Huntsburger, Lane's husband Zac, Headmaster Charleston, that creepy old professor Paris dated, and all the rest. We ride at dawn, Ladies. Meet me at Miss Patty's. Bring skewers. Luke in the background like "Jesus Christ I'm trying to run a business here."

Spared from the Man Volcano. For now. And this guy in the hat just trying to enjoy his fruit salad, he can live. Christopher immediately leaves to hug Rory outside like he actually gives a damn about her and looks back to make sure Lorelai is watching them through the window. What is the rent at Pee Wee's Playhouse? Rory should look into that.

#Gilmore Girls #Lorelai Gilmore #Rory Gilmore #Denise Rewatches Gilmore Girls #Gilmore Girls Season 2 #It Should Have Been Lorelai #Crusty The Clown #Creepy Sherrie #Luke Danes #Man Volcano

[farmboyprince]

My introspective- week 2/3 of @2024-grimoire-challenge

Finally got some time to write up my review! Joining two weeks together:)

Second week of the challenge, the prompts have been much more personal opinion/belief focused. I don't mind them, but it was a lot more work- especially since I've been super busy lately (exam season is starting+two concerts this week>_<). Thing is, since I'm on my own path and don't really follow one way of thinking/believing, my answer to a lot of the questions was "I don't know". For example, "where does magic come from"? I don't know that. Honestly, I don't even know what magic really is, and I use it all the time! My notes ended up being mostly about my experiences and thoughts instead of belief. I actually like that; I'm hoping that those will change somewhat during this year and I'll be able to do the topic "Magic 2" and reflect on all the new viewpoints I'll acquire.

Saturday, 13.1. The week's almost over, but I'm just about halfway done with the prompts- I did monday (magic), tuesday (witch) and wednesday (personal practice) journal prompts and started on my plant research (chamomille). I knew I'd fall behind for exams, but I didn't know it would be this soon >_<

Wednesday, 17.1. I've skimmed trough the prompts for week 3 and they seem like they'd take me a long time, so off I go to study genetics instead xD

Wednesday, 24.1. Finally getting some time! I'm taking today off before I go back to studying. Week 3 is all about energy (something I sorely lack right now lol). In my own practice, I most connect to nature/it's energy. Not only for energy in my spells, but also for my own. I garden and take care of a small orchard; my room has plants wherever there's enough sunlight, and my furniture is a bunch of mismatched wood types. It's a small room, but I've still found some space for my 200 and 45 l aquariums (~53 and 12 gallons) that are also full of plants. Honestly, they really help me with burnout, anxiety and managing my energy levels- I can relax and watch the fishies, get happy whenever I see a new leaf on my hoyas and after a hard day of work in the garden I usually have more spoons than I've started with:)

(plant/fish tax)

I adore the Sun for its light and warmth, but don't care as much for the other celestial bodies. I admire water, air and fire but mostly in the context of nurturing, feeding and renewing the life around them. I have a special reverence for earth, which, given my line of studies and interests, is pretty self explanatory. Gods and spirits are, in my opinion, personifications/avatars/etc. of nature and human traits. As such, when working with deities, I prefer to go straight to the source- their domains. I have a spot in the forest where I give Veles my offerings; I bring leafed branches and flowers to my altar for Jarilo and I prune grapevines while asking Dionysus for his blessings.

With it being winter right now, I don't go outside as much as I should. For some reason, I get more anxious in cold weather and taking a walk alone becomes quite a challenge and thus leads to me not having enough energy/brain power to get my work done.

With that in mind, I think taking a long walk should count for my energy work this week!

#2024 grimoire challenge #grimoire challenge #end of week introspective #witch #witchcraft #farmboyprince #daily witchcraft

[0alanasworld0]

morocco v south africa rant

amallah, ounahi and amrabat were sorely missed today.

its time to bring bilal and abde^2 back up because lord knows we need the depth.

raihani would do a good job fulfilling ounahi's role and keep that moroccan tiki taka thing going on with ziyech.

abde is a fantastic winger that is very reminiscent of what boufal usually does, albeit a bit raw. he would have been valuable today and against cabo verde imo. i think he would link up well with en-neysri because they both thrive in chaos and are wonderful at putting pressure on the opposing defences. perhaps abde is better suited to a super-sub than a starter for now tho. i hope his time at barca transforms him into a starter because a full 90 minutes of his playing style (with the barca refinement) would really bring some energy to the attack and take a little bit of pressure off boufal. the same for sabiri but i would argue he would work as a starting player already.

bilal is very young and a very raw talent but he's proven his quality on the national team plenty of times so i see no problem in having him start games. he's clearly miles ahead of today's midfield.

as for the amrabat situation, i genuinely don't know if its even possible for anyone else to fill his role. to the point where i wonder whether its worth even looking. the easiest course of action would be to simply figure out a different system for when he can't play. which is probably best anyway for longevity.

zakaria and anass r good players. they've shown their level in their respective clubs throughout the season but they lack the confidence to deliver those performances for the national team. i think they should remain as subs and if they are to start, it should be for games like today that don't put any kind of tournament at risk. they'll grow into monsters for the team eventually.

defensively, i would say that they're near flawless. aguerd and saiss top notch as always. attiyat allah and the other one do well in terms of pushing forward. mazraoui is usually fantastic so i will put today down to post-season fatigue and also wager a guess that he would have improved if he'd stayed on a bit longer. el yamiq and dari and fantastic as subs or even starters for when aguerd and saiss arent available. chadi riad will eventually be ready too.

munir didn't have a great game today but thats kinda the nature of goalkeeping. he has a plethora of outstanding performances to comfortably call today a fluke. bounou has had those days too. not worth worrying about the goalkeeping because it genuinely doesn't get better than those 2.

this team is far from perfect or invincible but most teams are in that position atm. i would actually argue that morocco is in a much better position than most national teams because they have an incredibly strong, clear starting lineup. that starting lineup from the brazil match is undoubtably the ideal going forward. today proved that and also showed everyone which players should be kept on the squad should anything happen to that starting XI. we know which players are currently best fitted for the starting XI and the subs. a lot of today's starters have some work to do before they come back. hopefully they can improve at their clubs or international friendlies and come back a lot stronger.

in conclusion, it'll all be fine. deadass, theres nothing to worry about. we would rather come to these conclusions now than during the knockouts. its good that different players got a chance because its clear what works and what doesn't moving forward.

#i pray that ounahi and amallah have speedy and complete recoveries

[theowritesfiction]

'The Serpent's Pass'

I love this episode because two sorely missed characters - Suki and Jet - make their return.

I loved how after having to be an absolute rock during the previous episode, this one starts off with Katara getting to be playful and just enjoy herself. I loved her waterbending bomb. She's adorable.

The worsening refugee situation is yet another aspect of the war revealed very effectively by this episode. Can't fault the people for thinking that Ba Sing Se is safe...

Ah, the return of Jet! Immediate Jetko rights. There is some serious Jetko bonding in this chapter and it's great to see. Jet and Zuko's little operation to liberate the food for refugees... @juniperhillpatient, for how dysfunctional Jetko can be, you have to admit, they worked together very efficiently! Also, hearing Jet speak about how he has re-evaluated his life and is going to BSS for a second chance... why the fuck did they have to kill him off? He could have played such an interesting part in the story.

I'm glad Iroh is approaching his return to Ba Sing Se with the grace and dignity... of a complete and utter clown. Sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with that old man. Misgendering Smellerbee, what the fuck? 40 Jerk Points.

Damn, the Sukkka reunion is hideously sweet. Suki playing the tough guard and playfully harassing Sokka was so gosh darn cute. I re-watched that part at least four times. Sokka being super protective of Suki after what happened to Yue makes so much sense, even if he comes off annoyingly overbearing, it's still fun to see him trying to protect Suki from a spider. Sokka still missing Yue is a tearjerker moment. I'm glad Sokka pulled himself together at the end though. With how criminally little screen time Suki is given in this show, Sokka you better take any chance you have to kiss that girl.

I am going to give Aang huge credit for agreeing to guide the refugees through the Serpent's Pass even if he's depressed and lacking motivation. I want to slap Sokka for complaining about that, especially when he wanted to use the pass in the first place. Also, I can completely understand Katara being horrified by Aang's talk of abandoning hope. Katara is someone for who hope means everything.

I really enjoyed the action while fighting the giant serpent. Katara's waterbending has come such a long way. The awkward moment of Toph kissing Suki while thinking she was saved by Sokka was funny, but also kind of... weirdly set up? So all the previous abuse Toph hurled at Sokka was because she secretly liked him? I don't know how to feel about that.

Could my admiration for Katara grow any higher? The way she takes charge of the situation after the refugee lady goes into labor is impressive. At the age of 14, she's helped Kanna deliver babies back at the South Pole. When I think back to what I was like when I was 14, it just makes me blush and cringe.

Seeing Aang regain his hope at the end of the episode was so touching. I also remember how at the start of Book 2, I thought to myself: meh, this is the season where they started to push Kataang. Except... they haven't? Only Cave of Two Lovers contained traces of Kataang. This episode? It's all about sweet and caring friends energy, sorry.

Also I love the cliffhanger this episode ends on, the shot of the Fire Army drill was so ominous, like... I don't know what the hell is that thing, but it's scary.

Okay, so only Iroh was supposed to get Jerk Points for this chapter, but I'm going to touch on something that ties into the previous episode. I've always felt that Katara is criminally underappreciated by the fans and the ATLA writers, but also by the other characters on the show, she is literally ALWAYS just taken for granted. She put up with so much BS leading the group out of the desert alive, and yet she received no recognition for it, not even a single thank you? I'm giving the rest of the Gaang 30 Jerk Points each for taking Katara for granted.

Jerk Points for Book 2:

Iroh - 550 Azulon - 300 Ursa, General Fong  - 200 Aang - 160 Zuko - 120 Ozai, Toph Beifong - 100 Sokka - 70 Bumi, Lao Beifong - 50 Pakku - 30

Iroh is really pulling away at the top... can anyone challenge him this season? Long Feng has his work cut out for him.

#my atla rewatch #atla book 2 #the serpent's pass

[firespirited]

About yesterday's cry for connection, several things happened at once, as they do. On top of the seasonal despresh hitting it's lows and teasing brief moments of clarity.

Small on the richter scale: The gmail app once again failed to block dad's email which was a seemingly anodyne "happy birthday did you get my ecard (i did and promptly put my emails on their 'do not send' list) , did you do anything special with your friends for the big 4.0?" 1- He's acting like we're buddies, I haven't spoken to him in a decade 2- He's either forgotten or in denial about his complete failure at being a decent human being in November which led to sis finally giving up on him. 3- One of his fave digs was my lack of solid friends (he moved us every three years so that's partly on him) and inability to do milestone stuff like an 18th or 21st birthday bash. It's very on brand to be able to break me in two nice sentences. But it's not so much him per se but the friends who turned out to be anti vaxx or anti mask so I expressed sadness and haven't tried to rebuild. I'm not sure there is any thing to rebuild when folks are explicit their beliefs exclude you.

Bigger on the richter scale: I've injured my pectorals several times in march doing abdominal building exercises and having to catch myself when my hip give out from pain. It's very painful and sets me right back. I need to work on all the muscles around the hips before I can start work on my atrophied lower back. It's at least 3 more months added to the rehabilitation process. Realistically I don't think I'll be rerooting or doing any handicrafts over 40 minutes long per week until 2024. And then it won't be commissions.

It's been 3 full months of rehab work, there is real visible progress but it's very slow and disappointingly small.

I also have to whittle down the project dolls I've kept and get it all out of the house even at a loss (oof) along with a serious re-evaluation of what I buy (double oof). Project dolls are only fun if you can actually *do* the project not just know the exact steps you *would* do. That means other types of treats and finding other things to do when I've got some free time and am itching to make something. The ones that will stay need hairstyles, maybe quick decoden hair and wigs so I won't be reminded until I'm ready, plastic is patient but I am not! (That'll actually be fun to do)

In good news, the anemia has improved and my eyebrows are growing back brown (4mm of brown, 6 of white lol) , I'm on a more solid treatment for GI candida and hope to heal my sore half taste-broken tongue.

I've resolved to purchase anti-mosquito summer clothes for walks if needed as a necessary health expense. Ties into the money insecurities mentioned before with a mental 'fix'.

Tiny on the richter scale but these things add up :

The whiplash of seeing dolltwt acting like they're the nice place for nice people or "it's only funny when it's us, it's malicious if you're someone who can't sit with us". Can't believe I got sucked into that nonsense. Stupid rabbithole to go down.

A youtuber getting too parasocially needy and setting off all my alarm bells.

Way more youtubers who *were* interesting and educational on certain subjects but lately have got lost in navel gazing about whether they're making the mind changing art/activism they dreamed of. It's part film grad, part evangelical need to have convert notches on your belt instead seeing the value in rebuilding broken things, paying someone's bills, prevention not miracles.

You could be educating for education's sake (teacher isn't a lesser job) and doing art for art's sake. I can handle a certain amount of self indulgence and there is always a place for self congratulation on a hard job but the performative is winning out over the active work and I just don't have much grace left to spare right now. I'd rather hear a well made liberal journalistic podcast on a subject than watch a radical leftist who'll derail the point with the implication that it's a sacrifice to be talking about this subject instead of being a 'proper' film maker.

Doesn’t sound like much but when you've carved out your hour of listening and that's not happening because it's become messy then there's a hole and it's really hard to find the right balance of interesting but no cliffhangers or nihilism, no toxic positivity no false promises. With my current desperation for routines and extreme pickyness: You see the problem right?

So, in a nutshell I need to find new treats, new entertainment, more courage to get rid of items I'm attached to, find rerooters in the EU so I can just refer all queries without having to explain that my back is rekt and the rest of me is rekt so healing will be stupid long, set a goal of acceptable hip pain while exercising and a goal of how much hip pain to aim for that won't mess with ab and dorsal work. Wait til enough emotional balance to donate recycle clothes that look rough. Dare to open up and make new friends knowing that heartbreak is inevitable. Cool cool cool. We'll start small.

❤️❤️❤️

#saf #Ramblings