#<-murdoch the character and also the show in general

[leitmotif]

went into the tumblr tag for a show i've been watching w my grandma and really enjoying just for funsies yknow to see if anyone else knows about it. only to find out not only that it's apparently still ongoing and has a sizable fan base and has 17 seasons but also that there's two gay characters that are NOT the ones i was expecting.... wishing there were also lesbians

[dotthings]

Congrats to the fans of the wee woo show. I don’t go here but it makes me happy to witness how this arc for Evan Buckley got to bloom and I’m happy because I hope this reflects another shift in the TV industry.

For some media commentary context for you: ABC network is owned by Disney. Fox network was owned by Rupert Murdoch. So I can see how the network change for 911 can easily be a factor on how this got greenlit, after years of creator Tim Minear’s intention to work in hints, on the off chance he could take it there. (I don’t go here, but I did my reading). Oliver Stark who plays Buck also revealed he's been for it and couldn't say anything, until he was sure they could do it, until it aired and was out there. (*steeples fingers*)

For further context, Bob Iger—with George Lucas’ vocal support—just fended off a right wing coup on the Disney board from the kinds of people (like Peltz) who complain “why do we need so many female leads” “why do we need movies with all Black leads.” While it doesn’t mean Disney is no longer an evil megacorp, I’m pointing out that its CEO defended inclusive Disney brand content to the shareholders and the board, as well as dismantling the idea that it can’t be entertainment while being diverse.

The ripple of this goes outside of the wee woo show fandom. I’m seeing the joy on my dash from people who don’t watch the show or don’t watch it regularly, as well as from people who have been watching a long time and noticed things and realized there was a progression and it was there all along, and I know how much this must mean to a lot of people. With the world being how it is, with what people are facing inside the US from the far right, in their real lives.

It’s very hopeful in general for inclusion levels on a major network TV show, owned by a big evil megacorp. Representation matters.

Also I'm aware the wee woo show already had a queer couple, plus it's already an intersectional inclusive series, that’s great.

There shouldn't be limits placed on inclusion though. “But you already have X” shouldn't be weaponized to tell people to shut up. There is no “enough” or “too much” when it comes to inclusion. While I'm not for undermining the inclusion that's there, I've seen that weaponization used with a series that hasn't been great on inclusion, and I've seen that weaponization used for 911, which is. It's a sus argument.

Indirect and unintentional as it is, also bi Buck shut down every concern troll, every gaslight, every denial, every rationale I've ever seen people deploy against bi Dean. Everything from people who don’t understand what bi actual means—“but he likes girls so he can’t be bi”—to “but he wasn’t declared bi from the start of the show so he can’t”—yes he can and the wee woo show just did. On one of the original big three networks. Or people who say it would "ruin the character." Really? “But he’s an action hero”—so what? Evan Buckley is a hero, Dean is a hero, both badass action heroes. “People who see this as canon are delusional”—Evan Buckley went O RLY? Not so delusional now, is it.

Evan Buckley avenged bi Dean.

It’s self-evident. It’s right there. Different show, different network, but the concepts are familiar, the situation has a certain familiarity. This turn of events on an ABC show didn't just make bi Dean fans valid. bi Dean fans were always valid, the bi Dean reading was always valid. But I appreciate how much what happened on the wee woo show bonked people with a truth stick, about self discovery, character arcing, queer readings, queer coding, and the validity of merely noticing things.

[mixedupmelody]

tough guy.

notes: someone needs to seriously make an effort to bruise these guys' ego a little. the t-birds in GENERAL need to come with a warning sign saying "Will Not Show Affection in Public".

contains: danny zuko x gender neutral reader , kenickie murdoch x female reader

characters: danny zuko, kenickie murdoch, t-birds and pink ladies (briefly mentioned)

warnings: swearing, suggestive themes and dialouge

. ☁️ .

꒰ danny. ꒱

“ 'S cool with me, baby. ” Danny holds a hand around your waist, taking care not to look into your eyes. God, he could stare at them for hours. He'd live a happy life if all he ever saw was those eyes. But he can't look at you. Not now. The T-Birds stare at him, almost as if they were waiting on their leader to slip up and say something cheesy. “ I'll see you after school, beautiful. ”

You press a quick kiss to his lips, before walking off to your next class. You knew his status meant something to him, and weren't trying to put him in an annoying spot with his friends. Danny's shoulders relax as you walk off, eyes trailing after you as if he could keep you next to him with his mind.

Danny is the leader of the T-Birds, so he's held to a somewhat higher standard than the rest of the guys. Out of all of them, he's suppossed to be the most macho, the most hard-headed, and the most gutsy member all into one. In between all the turf wars and fights at school, he's the face of their gang that let's everyone know he means business.

And then you came along. You managed to break through his tough exterior and unlock a sweeter, more sensitive side of him. He couldn't help but feel like a total melvin each time he dressed up nice to bring you flowers, or when he put his best efforts into not getting fresh with you when you invited him to your place to study after school.

To him, it's all worth it. Just seeing that smile on your face is enough to keep him going through the exhaustion he feels trying to keep his pure, romantic advancements under wraps.

꒰ kenickie. ꒱

Kenickie's hand reaches dangerously close to your ass as you sit with him at The Frosty Palace. As the T-Birds and Pink Ladies chat at their shared booth, Kenickie made sure to show off that he was a certified ladies man. And what better way to show that than messing around with his girl while they ate?

“ If these jokers keep this shitty conversation up, i'll just have to take ya' home for some real fun. ” You could tell he was practically working overtime tonight. With all those notes you left in his lunch, you were more than sure he was trying to make up the jokes he was subjected to. It's not that he really cared what the guys would think, they knew he would knock them out before they had the chance to flap their gums for too long, but it was a matter of dignity!

Kenickie Murdouch would rather die than let the guys think he's gone soft. He's a rockin', smooth talkin' rebel who's all bark. At least, until he started going steady with you. He feels all mixed up, wanting to treat you nice while also having to be on the look out for the other T-Birds.

God forbid you ever give him a tender kiss in front of his friends at school, or make him quiet a quick "i love you too" when you part ways in the halls. The guys will rip on him for as long as Kenickie will take it, making obnoxious kissing noises and jokingly threaten to take his second-in-command spot.

If they push him too far, he'll switch right back into greaser mode, and threaten to knock the living daylights out of them. They shut up quickly after that.

There's been at least one instance where you and Kenickie were on a date at The Frosty Palace, sharing a milkshake. As you two are talking, he laughs, slamming his hand on the table, and the milkshake splashes on the tip of his nose. When you go to clean his face for him, the other T-Birds barge in through those glass doors. It almost feels unreal how accurate their timing is. You hear a chorus of "oooo!"s as you clean his face, trying your best to calm your boyfriend down before he loses his cool.

You don't see his walls go down often, even when you're by yourselves. Give him time.

[friendly-emerald-emily]

with my recent posts about molly, i'd like to make this one a space to share molly-specific head canons! i'll start with my own :3 - molly's desire to be seen as special and important could stem from the history of her class, the GER S46. they started out as the eastern's premier express passenger class, but were being phased out of those duties starting in 1911, being demoted to less important passenger services, to then goods trains until the final 4 of the class were withdrawn in 1960.

- adding on to the previous point, molly also wants to desperately prove her worth because she fears being withdrawn from service, but her shyness prevents her from asking for help when she needs it.

- molly doesn't necessarily mind doing goods work, in fact pulling long heavy goods trains is a better show of her sheer strength (which it's canon that she's very proud of), but her insecurities rear their ugly heads when other engines start making passing remarks about goods work being inherently lesser than passenger trains.

- molly's shy and sensitive nature does make her very emotionally intelligent, and is one of the better engines to turn to on emotional matters, her sensitivity gives her a nasty habit of holding grudges. she is willing to forgive though, if she believes whoever wronged her made up for it - i imagine molly would get along with neville pretty well. i'll try to keep this point as molly centric as i can, but in my personal headcanon molly and neville are the epitome of 'similar, yet different'. while both are large, introverted tender engines, they differ when you look deeper. molly's self esteem is usually good when she's on her own or feeling confident, but it starts to crumble when others tease or, or she feels she has to try harder than usual to prove herself. neville, on the other hand, typically struggles with self-esteem because of how often he experienced bullying based on his looks (his irl basis was nicknamed 'the ugly duckling' poor guy :() and his self-view is usually only raised when he gets a genuine compliment. molly can hold grudges, however neville doesn't; he'll gladly accept anyone who's shown him any kindness...which can lead to him being a fair bit more naive than molly. - molly is a good judge of character. no one can really explain it, but when the usually sunny molly starts getting cranky around someone, you best believe that engine is up to no good. - molly and emily are sort of frenemies. they have more in common than they realize, both are eager to please and are proud of what they're capable of...it's just emily tends be louder about it than molly is. (also, emily doesn't make that comment at the beginning of molly's special special in my world. it's out of character because emily doesn't usually tease anyone without being provoked first). emily and molly may not like each other very much because of their different personalities, however they both have a mutual respect towards one another for being the only large female engines that are willing to get their hands dirty and haul long heavy goods trains - molly is friends with murdoch, but she finds him hard to be around sometimes because of how much of a downer he can be -molly's favorite holiday is easter. she enjoys the warmth of early spring and fun, bright colored eggs. -conflict stresses molly out because on her old line, many of her steam colleagues had plenty of verbal sparring matches with her old controller begging them to be kept in favor of the newer, often diesel, engines. in general, heated arguments dig up ugly memories for her - despite her deep-seated insecurities, molly is actually an optomist and tries to make the best of negative situations. - when it comes to mixed-traffic engines, she's easily one of the most skills when it comes to expertise on both passenger and goods trains, owing to her extensive working past in both fields. she's very capable in both and is one of the engines on sodor that gets herself into the least amount of accidents.

-molly has a good relationship with trucks. her gentle and patient nature actually makes the trucks quite fond of her, the fact that she doesn't bash them around or lose her temper with them alone is more than enough to make them respect her. - molly secretly has a large penchant for gossip. she never partakes in it herself, but she is curious about the happenings of other engines. murdoch is a good source of gossip, because of his quietness he often becomes a fly on the wall, but the trucks are always telling her about frustrated engines blabbing about how much they dislike another. that's why when big news starts spreading, molly usually has very little reaction to it. she already knew.

[direwolfrules]

Oh my fairy godmother I am so happy you are post about Ever After High!!! Do you have any fanfic or au ideas involving them? Like, what if one character had another destiny or what if they were in the Star Wars universe?! It’s just interesting to think about!

Hey! Glad to see we share another fandom interest!

So, I have this barebones post for what I would have done as a crossover between g1 Monster High and Ever After High.

As for general fanfic ideas I have a few. I shall now list them in varying levels of detail:

1. A Very Charming Groundhog Day Year:

Basically, the Charming siblings time loop back from a bit after Dragon Games but before Epic Winter to the day before the school year started (the day of the Family Ball in the books). While it would be kinda angsty, the best time loop fics are usually crack fics, and this would be no exception (if I ever wrote any of these things).

So Daring, Dexter, and Darling are all initially in states of panic and anxiety. Daring, he was in the middle of a quarter-life crisis and now has to deal with everyone and their fairy godmother thinking he's Apple's Prince Charming.

"Daring Charming, more like Distressed Charming, am I right?"-- Dexter, who should get to exhibit asshole little brother energy more often, as a treat.

Speaking of Dexter, he's panicking cause of all the awful stuff that's going to happen during the school year and also because now he has to go through the nerve-racking ordeal of asking out the girl he likes all over again.

Darling's in hell because everyone and their fairy godmother expect her to be this perfect little damsel, again, which is just- ugh. There are days she wishes she could carry her sword around with her, and they're most days. Also, she never got to talk to Apple about their True Love's CPR, which is just tragic.

The loops go on for a while, some constants in them include: Darling freeing herself and helping little Good-Enough Charming get one of their grandfather's trophies for the scavenger hunt, Dexter and Darling teaming up to kill the changeling and free cousin Charity (sometimes Daring helps but he's content to let his siblings have fun for once), Darling accidentally on purpose flirting with Apple and Apple experiencing several degrees of gay panic, Dexter fumbling asking out Raven for the first time (he's really such a dork, just a funky dude), and the Charming Siblings teaming up to make Milton Grimm's life a living hell.

In one loop they secretly film him playing with his toy unicorns and his action figure of himself and they hijack Blondie's mirrorcast to play it to the entire school.

After several loops a Monster High crossover happens, and so in every loop after that the Charming sibs, who have grown incredibly gremlin-like after experiencing the insanity of the school several dozen times, make sure to drop monster slang when it's just them and Cupid. Like:

Darling: "Wow, Cupid, that top looks clawsome."

Daring: "Totally, it's freaky fierce."

Cupid: "What?!"

Darling: "That top looks nice on you. Anyway, we gotta run."

Dexter: "Yeah, see you later ghoulfriend!"

I have some other half-baked ideas for this one but it'd probably be it's own post.

2. Murdoch Mysteries-ish AU:

This one makes no sense if you've never watched the hit Canadian Detective Show, Murdoch Mysteries. Or maybe it makes some sense, idk. Instead of a modern AU, we have a 1895 detective AU. It's barely an idea, I have no idea if I'd even keep this in the fantasy setting of (an 1895) Ever After or not.

Dexter is the Detective William Murdoch of this AU, the man with no game and beautiful blue eyes who women keep inexplicably falling in love with. He's observant and a little strange but he's also a brilliant detective. One of the major differences though is Dexter is the disowned son of old money parents.

Raven's the Dr. Julia Ogden, the outspoken, independent, and compassionate coroner helping solve cases and being amazing. Her rich, controlling mother doesn't much approve of her life choices but old Mrs. Queen can suck it. Raven and Detective Charming have a clearly mutual attraction but they're both hesitant to act on it cause what's a romance without a good slow-burn.

Hopper's the Constable George Crabtree of this AU. Listen, the everyday George matches Hopper's human side, and writer George matches Hopper's frog side. I will not elaborate, because I really cannot. Just feel the vibes, cause the words aren't coming.

I'm not 100% sure who'd be the Inspector Brackenreid. Part of me kinda wants to make it Professor Badwolf, and then I could make Milton Grimm the asshole commissioner. Coach Gingerbreadman is the Inspector of Station 5, the rivals of Station 4.

Daring is heir to the Charming family fortune. Golden boy, everyone loves him, wants more than anything to be able to talk to his little brother in public, but their parents would disown him as well if he stepped out of line.

Apple is one of Raven's housemates at Sisters boarding house, run by Bella and Brutta Sister. She was once courted by Daring, it was at the point where people were expecting an engagement announcement any day. That's when they suddenly broke it off, with no explanation (the explanation is Daring's in love with another girl and Apple's in love with his sister). Snow White and her husband barely agreed to let her move into the boarding house, I honestly have no clue how Apple managed to pull that off but good for her.

Idk, Darling's a vigilante. She's got the same deductive genius as Dexter, she just doesn't have the same ability to join the police force. Inspector Badwolf is tired of his cops being outdone by the mysterious White Knight (yeah, yeah, I made Darling into Victorian-era Batman). Couldn't the White Knight patrol Station 5's territory? (The answer is no, because Darling really wants to catch a glimpse of her twin and also because Sisters Boarding house is in Station 4's territory and sometimes she likes to secretly crash with her girlfriend).

3. The Destiny Cycle AU (AKA: Ever After High but the Rebel Movement is an actual Rebellion AU):

What it says on the tin. Raven discovers the book is fake before Legacy Day. Her and Dexter, who in this AU is believed to be Ashlynn's future Prince Charming because someone made a good post about the potential dynamics that could cause and I love it, set out to uncover what other secrets those in charge are hiding.

Basically, in this AU Ever After is a dystopia where the Royal Families tied the survival of their dynasties' rule to their stories. Like, magically tied them. The Fates themselves have been bound by the magic of the Destiny Cycle. Ever After's Destiny-bound citizens are forced to repeat the same stories as their ancestors, all because Happily Ever After doesn't include a revolt or the institution of democracy. All stories are repeated as a precaution against anyone figuring out what the ancestors of the Royal Families did.

Taking some inspiration from the SDCC Raven Queen doll's letter from her mother, the Evil Queen discovered the truth about the Destiny Cycle, said "not my kid you bastards", and proceeded to try to break the Cycle's bonds. Her taking over other stories and cursing Wonderland was an attempt to stretch the probability bonds of the Destiny Cycle's magic to the breaking point.

Stuff's gonna go down and basically these kids know time is running out until there's a war, cause the only way to avoid being offered up as a lamb to the slaughter is to overthrow the whole system.

God, I really gotta make this into it's own post as well now. But here's a basic rundown of some stuff I'd include:

Dexter and Raven being young and in love and just all the secret romance feels

Snow White knows about the Destiny Cycle, but Apple absolutely does not know.

Apple being born blonde is a sign that the Evil Queen's schemes loosened the grip of the Destiny Cycle, at least for a moment.

Ashlynn, Hunter, Dexter, and Raven as secret rebel leaders.

The backgrounders will have actual roles dammit! (Looking at you Lawrence Bonecrusher III, aka Orc Boy).

An exploration of artificial Destiny Cycle "True Love" vs. real True Love, featuring Apple, Daring, and Darling.

C.A. Cupid, sent by her godly family to infiltrate Ever After and cure it of the Destiny Cycle, because it's interfering in the domains of the gods.

A unique Monster High crossover idea that I will elaborate on in another post.

These children absolutely end up having to kill someone and it scars them forever.

As for different destinies AUs or Star Wars AUs, I haven't really given them much thought.

I think, in a Star Wars setting (possibly Old Republic?), Raven would be a Jedi padawan descended from a long line of Sith. Instead of Mirror Prison, her mom is dead and her Force Ghost is bound to a giant, mirrorlike piece of kyber crystal. Uh, not 100% sure who her master would be.

Darling would also be a Jedi padawan, and Maid Marian would be her Master. Maid Marian gets into custody battles over this kid with this old Jedi Watchman known only as The White Knight. She'd still have her time-slowing hair flip, in this AU it's just a unique way of activating the Force Slow ability.

[czolgosz]

my (hopefully comprehensive) leon czolgosz rpf compendium

full books:

the bradys and the anarchist queen; or, running down the "reds" (1902): short dime novel; has a bunch of slightly changed names so they can't get sued for libel i guess; the portrayal of anarchists as evil is so exaggerated that it's mostly just funny; more seriously, warning for earnest anti-black racism

with claw and fang: a fact story with a chicago setting (1911): a dubious response to the anarcho-egoist/proto-fascist book might is right (1896); leon czolgosz's name is nikola golzosch and he has different things going on from real life; bizarre & very christian; also warning for earnest anti-black racism

assassins (1991): the musical. we all know this one.

the anarchist (2001): the daniel a. coleman one, which is in fact the original The Anarchist; from the perspective of a psychiatrist who sort of befriends leon czolgosz in prison and is pushed left by his experiences with anarchists & his suffragist girlfriend; boring!; i have made most of a pdf of it 🫡 wait a bit

death of riley (2002): an aspiring detective investigates the murder of her employer (another detective) and meets bohemians and anarchists who are involved in the murder and the investigation alike in varying ways; leon czolgosz is canonically gay if you care; on z-library

the temple of music (2004): a wild ride, but still mostly coherent; has a bunch of different pov characters, only one of which is fictional; the writing is really not bad, and it was pretty emotionally evocative for me; probably has the most leon czolgosz scenes; speaking of which, he is in the midst of a mental breakdown for most of the book; on anna's archive

the anarchist (2009): the john smolens one; about some people trying to capture leon czolgosz and failing, and then getting involved in another anarchist domestic terrorism plot afterwards; probably has the second most leon czolgosz scenes; on z-library

a moment in the sun (2011): i haven't read this yet, as you all know; about the turn of the century in general; on z-library

the fifth assassin (2013): leon czolgosz never actually shows up, but there is some fiction narrative surrounding him; all the assassinations are connected, someone is repeating them all, and there's about to be a new fifth one; the protagonist aims to catch this assassin; on z-library

assassin of shadows (2019): some detectives uncover the conspiracy surrounding the mckinley assassination; on z-library

a gilded lady (2020): i never actually read it apart from the one very short leon czolgosz scene and don't really know what it's about; on z-library

very short things:

"interview with an assassin" (1901): a description of an interview in which leon czolgosz is a devout christian and explains his actions accordingly; written in opposition to christian proselytisation which had increased due to the assassination

"the last guest" (1901): about a woman contemplating leon czolgosz's execution; his corpse shows up but that's really it

"czolgosz heard from" (1901): excerpts from a letter leon czolgosz sent from hell

"oklahoma fish story" (1903): john wilkes booth, charles guiteau, and leon czolgosz are hanging out together in oklahoma

"the scar his ring made" (2010): short story by a high schooler about paweł czołgosz being abusive; starts on page 85

"very short dorian gray x leon czolgosz fic" (2022): need i say more

"reason" (2024): genderbent, one-sided leon (leona) czolgosz x emma (emmett) goldman

tv show episodes (which i haven't seen):

reaper s1 ep6 "leon" (2007): leon czolgosz escapes hell and some people are trying to make him go back; apparently the least accurate portrayal ever (it does not sound like they were trying anyway)

murdoch mysteries s7 ep15 "the spy who came up to the cold" (2014): the opening scene is the mckinley assassination; about a possible conspiracy around the assassination

[h-worksrambles]

I make it a personal rule not to do holiday stuff (minus important stuff like sorting gifts) until December actually starts. But now that the month is here, I consider it to no longer be ‘too soon’ (it’s been on all the commercials for weeks anyway). So I kicked it off by going through The Smoke Room’s modern AU Christmas special again. I still love it so much.

It’s a genuinely great companion piece to the main game by showing how many of the main cast’s struggles were born from the difficulties of living amidst the harsh social context of 1915. Seeing all the cast in the modern day, living lives that aren’t perhaps perfect, but where they are at least all living as their best selves is just priceless. Sam in a quiet life with people who love him, Murdoch finally having freed himself from his family, Cliff able to express their gender identity, (this was such a lovely way to get canon nonbinary Cliff confirmation). Will openly gay and comfortable with himself, and Nikolai just being generally out of his shell emotionally (becoming possibly the funniest character in the process) is all a joy. It’s also a pretty enlightenining reference point for how their character arcs may unfold in the future. Like they may not get to lead a life like this in any timeline in the full game, but this is ideal we’re striving for with these guys.

Placing the characters in the modern day also allows for so many blursed references. Sam has an extremely relatable resentment for Mariah Carey. Cliff is a Hatsune Miku stan, Murdoch swears he’ll get Will to see Mean Girls and Will is taking the based millenial line (even calling out the Salvation Army like the chad that he is). Also, spare a thought for poor Blithe, who’s experiencing the one thing worse than losing friends to a serial murderer/supernatural monster...working retail on Christmas Eve.This could so easily have been cringy but damn it’s adorable (even if Cliff saying ‘pog’  is imprinted into my brain forever).

The decision to present all the main cast as a polycule compared to each being a dedicated route just makes it all the more heartwarming and allows for so many fun dynamics within the group.

Look at this. How can anything that includes this not be perfection?

Plus, I appreciate that we still get a little seasonal themed spookiness, which the summer AU would also do. It honestly makes me wonder how much of this is purely for fun and how much is secretly foreshadowing aspects of the main game (I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the summer AU brought up Todd’s bi-curiousity only for that to come up in the very next Will update).

But yeah, this was a lovely thing to revisit to kick off the month. I could see this entering the rotation of my staple holiday season media.

[fire-branded]

8 & 14

8. What makes you stray away from canon material and base your character, in case of canon muse, on your own headcanons?

A lack of detail, most of all. If canon gives me the barest bones of information to work with, I will run with that sliver of info, dive into Headcanon Land, and never look back.

Or canonical details that I feel don't line up well enough with other details established in the content(game, in this case), things that come across to me as contradictory, things that I don't personally feel comfortable with utilizing(especially when it comes to ages of characters), or information presented in the Ultimania that don't make sense with what we know from the game itself. Because for me, the game's lore takes precedence over an outside source like the Ultimania. (Though no shade to anyone who does choose to use its info.)

That and just... the general notion of adding a personalized touch to my blorbo, you know? I do try to use canon material as at the very least a basic foundation and build off of it, but sometimes there's not enough background information, so you just have to fill in all of the details yourself.

Especially when the character you're playing as dies within the first like fifteen to twenty minutes of the fucking game, and you learn more about him through other characters than through actually ever having gotten to know him through seeing him.

14. What is the most annoying fact or trait or fanon that is attached to your muse and bothers you?

I ... admittedly have no idea. I never kept up with fandom opinions outside of my little corner here on Tumblr. Like, I'm sure Twitter and Reddit and whatnot have A Lot to say regarding him as a person, regarding his parenting, regarding his rulership over Rosaria, etc.

There is one fact that bothers me, even though I can see where people get the idea from overall despite me disliking the theory. And that's the theory that Elwin and Hanna Murdoch were having an affair behind Anabella(and Rodney too I guess?)'s back.

I can, again, understand where the theory comes from, despite heavily hating it. I don't hate it purely because of my personal feelings towards adultery; I just don't see it as a proven fact. The absence of evidence does not make evidence. We don't see enough of Elwin and Anabella on a personal, more intimate level to know what their relationship was like behind closed doors. We know Anabella was pissed at Elwin, yeah -- but again, in my personal opinion, her grievances sounded more directed at his method of and priority while ruling(putting the people first, and their territory/land second), and the decisions he made combined with his ambitions for the duchy's future. Her remarks in her Inner Thoughts thing are surprisingly neutral, with statements like, "My husband, for better or worse" and ... I forgot what exactly the one with Phoenix Gate was, but it read to me like, "Nothing personal, kid".

We also know that Elwin is very big on being an honorable, just, compassionate, and duty-driven man, and I personally doubt that excludes in his personal/familial life.

Again, these are all my personal views and interpretations.

Even the fact that Hanna still had Elwin's old outfit and whatnot doesn't automatically spell "cheating" to me, considering the home is the Murdoch's home, and Elwin and his family visited Eastpool to spend time with the Murdochs there every summer, where the description says Elwin left the clothes there to wear every time he returned to Eastpool on vacation. It screams of sentimentality to me, of the same intense grief and not wanting to move on that Hanna also shows towards Rodney. She still wears her wedding band, even nervously fidgets with it when she talks about Rodney having died at Phoenix Gate. The fact that she never moved away from Eastpool to seek refuge in Rosalith, didn't even move out of the Murdoch's home... The fact that she was selling other items from the house and family to take care of the people of Eastpool and the displaced Bearers, but never sold her wedding band, Elwin's clothes(including the Metian Bonds, which were forged for Elwin by his dad when Elwin came of age, as was tradition. They probably would have sold for a pretty penny.), or Invictus -- which was Rodney's sword.

She held on to these specific items that had been important to the two men, in my belief because of the strong emotional attachment she has to those items -- because those items are the only things she has left of Rodney and Elwin.

Oh god I rambled I AM SO SORRY.

[terris-mayweather]

There will be several spoilers for Nikolai's route and probably Cliff's route, too, and also probably Echo in general under the read more!!!

This is just going to be me ranting. I have a lot of feelings™ and I need to vent them.

OKAY SO THE SMOKE ROOM IS SO FUCKING GOOD!!!!!

Who had the right to make such wonderful, cute, interesting, characters?!?!?! And then the ROMANCE in it?! When Nikolai fucking proposed to Sam I fucking DIED.

THE UNEXPECTED THROUPLE WITH CLIFF AND MURDOCH TOO?! I was originally very dismissive of Murdoch, but interestingly enough THROUGH CLIFF'S ROUTE I really took a shine to him! And then his appearances in Nikolai's route also made me more interested in him!!! He seems to have a lot of demons, but is also a complete sweetie, secretly, and I want to know more!!!

I feel really bad leaving William last, but the others just stole my interest at the start!!! I'm sure William is great, though.

All that said, I am only finished with the public builds of both routes, and I am

SO

FUCKING

TERRIFIED

For all of them. Samuel is an oblivious and adorable sweetie, and is a much more engaging protagonist than Chase.

Nik deserves the world and then some (ALSO I'M SO CURIOUS WHY HIS HELMET IS SO IMPORTANT!!! My man's was literally fucking breaking DOWN about it. He deserves hugs and love so much. T_T)

Cliff is an adorable bean with a fiery streak inside him and I LOVE that contrast- and he's too precious to hurt. (Despite some red flags in his how shall we saaay- unwillingness to back down or admit he's wrong.)

And the other two I don't know enough, yet!!!!

But it doesn't matter because with the way Echo turns out and what we know happens to Samuel...

Well I don't see a good ending coming for ANYONE here, or ANY route. And that's the fucking worst. I want Nik and Sam to escape and be happy.

I'm going to need SO many fanfics of love and happiness. T_T

ANYWAY

Having a great time, always terrified, and loving the good things that do happen.

Btw all the side characters are so fucking good. Yao really stole the show for me in Nik's route. Chang is so cool, Dmitri is the best, Jebediah is wonderful, Avery is amazing. Like- the side characters all add SO MUCH to the game and the stories. Uffff.

This is peak content.

[ramblings-from-the-ether]

Monikers Erased AU

This is a character swap and setting focused AU which revolves around Phoenica being the protagonist instead of Molly.

The story would also be adjusted to focus on a different path of character development. So instead of Molly learning to stand up for herself, we now have Feenie learning to adapt to the wild ecosystem of the world outside her household.

Aesthetics-wise, the story takes place in the early 2000's in a city of vandalised concrete and eye-searing glass, a city from the United States as depicted in older films essentially. The prime inspiration for this AU's setting is oddly enough the music video for 'It's My Life', not much to talk about but I just thought it would be interesting to have a setting similar to how the world seemed in movies during that era.

Characters and Setting

The Salt Rock Connurbation (originally Sweet Jazz City)

The main focus of the plot like in the original story.

(Original Show) Sweet Jazz City Modern Technological & Cultural Hub, Limited Regulations, High levels of Disorganised crime, a relatively un-militarised police force, has a Museum*.

(In this AU) Salt Rock Connurbation A Stagnating Manufacturing Hub, High levels of (some times ridiculous) regulations on all facets of society, Low levels of Organised crime, Heavily Militarised police force, has a Large Black Market* underneath a stadium like concert area.

The city is in a Cold War between the Police and consolidated Crime groups consisting of gangs, biker gangs, foreign mafias and arms dealers; no one shoots, no one gets hurt.

*A museum is a place where antiques and items of interest are sold or given to where it can be displayed openly. A black market is where such items are sold and sourced from both illegally and discreetly.

Phoenica Fleecity (switching with Molly)

After losing both her parents at a young age, the last living member of the Fleecity Family has been 'raised' by the current regent managing the family: an investor and financial manager by the name of Ramsey Murdoch.

Said regent however spends most of his time cultivating his the family's investments than taking active care for his technically adopted daughter; that responsibility falls to the army of servants who pamper Feenie beyond unhealthy levels.

Falls into the criminal underworld after deciding to investigate how is a concert about rocks became the talk of her generation.

Other character switches (summarised, will be elaborated on request or in future posts)

Giovanni switches with Percy. So we have a criminal in a crime group because they believe they can bring law and order from the other side. Meanwhile we have an extroverted cop who most likely abuses the police station's armoury yet is very protective of his subordinates.

Sylvie switches with Howie. Howie would be the maintenance worker who keeps the largest concert setting in the country running (while also keeping darker elements underneath the stage from disrupting his work). Sylvie meanwhile is still an epithet specialised psychologist though he does his 'research' in the crime infested ruins of a former industrial zone (the equivalent of Redwood Run I still have not decided a name for yet).

Mera and Indus switch with Arnold & Bugsy. The former would be leading a small criminal arms dealing group setting up shop near where Sylvie happens to be (at the equivalent of Redwood Run). The latter are a rowdy band from the gang Percy is supposed to bring back into line.

Zora switches places with Naven. The latter is the coalition maker of the criminal underworld and thus may have Russian Mercenaries or other miscellaneous allies from the darker pits of society. The former is the head of the most powerful domestic terror group who keeps the latter under its wing to maintain control over the deadlock between the criminal factions to keep the law enforcers from trying anything, lest they risk of turning the city into a warzone.

Trixie as a character concept is flipped upside down. Instead of a kid deep into the occult, we now have them as part of a secretive order of sorts which is on the other far end from occultism: religious zealotism.

To note, this isn't the typical holier-than-thou faith sect, this is the kind that has actual working holy artifacts locked in underground vaults plus a reserved seat of representation at this world's equivalent of the Vatican or Jerusalem.

Either way, Trixie is still a social outsider. Just that instead of making homemade potions, they'd try to make holy/magical items/relics based on descriptions from a tome they'd only managed 9 seconds of reading before the librarians realise a child should not be able to access that section of the library.

Yoomtah also has her personality flipped. So instead of a hyperenergetic maniac, she tries to seem a calm and relaxed figure. Until she decides to get things done.

Ramsey switches with Martin.

The former is a cunning investor and self proclaimed financial advisor who was brought in to manage the Fleecity finances. After the accident that left Phoenica the only living Fleecity, Ramsey had taken over as 'regent' to protect the integrity of the family and to quell potential power struggles from former Fleecity afiliates. Whether this is an excuse for Ramsey making the prestigious household his personal kingdom or a genuine yet mismanaged attempt at caring for his adopted daughter, is yet to be seen.

Martin meanwhile, is a skilled yet infamous inventor in the entertainment field on the run. A creative mind that is absent half of the time with the hounds of his creditors at his heel.

The Arsene Amullet's equivalent (I haven't thought of a name for it yet) will instead grant an 'untaken' epithet instead of taking it from its user.

Blurb (because I need somewhere to dump story related metaphors)

An innocent sheep unknowingly intrudes into the hunting ground of the savvanah. She however, is not the main course of the impending feast, for the predators prowling about have turned on one another seeking clues to a strange trinket hidden in the waters of an oasis. One of the contenders, a cheetah deprived of her hunting ground, approaches her otherwise prey and makes a preposterous proposal.

Phoenica Fleecity, rich, innocent and naive beyond belief; finds herself lost in the criminal underground. To get herself out of this, she enlists the guidance of a gang leader whom begrudgingly takes the heir to privilege through the den of the disdained. Meanwhile a transaction is carried underway in haste and secrecy, its cargo holding the potential to upset the fickle balance of power between the factions of the underworld and the authorities above. And thus, the first steps on the ladder to hell pulls down with it the complicated webs of the world above, inch by inch.

[transmutationisms]

last ask i meant key points instead of bulletpoints lolol :/ english isnt really my first language, sorry !!! and yeah, specifically those lens. sorry if it wasn't clarifying at first

nothing to be sorry for! but yes i have thought about succession in relation to fisher's capitalist realism a lot lol.

first of all, there's fisher's point about how "all that is real melts into pr"—ie, capitalism reduces the real into appearance. waystar is kind of the exemplar of this trend insofar as it's a media company, and we see logan make this type of argument a few times: it doesn't matter what's real, it matters how things look, and he can control appearances (like when he plants tabloid stories or alters public opinion on the president).

there's also the way fisher talks about neoliberal subjectivity, which i see as applying particularly to kendall (ideologically flexible in the way that capitalism is, and driven by the logic of constant pointless self-improvement ie auto-exploitation). i've sketched out an attempt to theorise kendall's drug use in particular using deleuze's remarks on control societies and fisher's discussion of the 'debtor-addict' as the figure of such societies.

although fisher makes gestures toward uncovering a more general subjectivity under capitalism, i do think a lot of 'capitalist realism' is very specifically engaging with the british middle class, and you can see this for example in the section on 'depressive anhedonia' lol. which is not necessarily a bad thing; the book clearly has certain roots in affect theory / psychology, and it's possible for it to be saying something useful and interesting about middle-class affect without necessarily being a totalising manifesto. i would argue that marx's paris manuscripts often move into similar territory in regards to an imagined (and largely imaginary) proletarian.

but that brings me to i think the central issue with both succession and 'capitalist realism,' which is, uh, the capitalist realism of it all lol. like, the main thrust of fisher's critique here is to point out the ways in which capitalist political-economy is presented as the only viable such system. and obviously, fisher disagreed, and the book is like 80 pages long and is more about explaining what capitalist realism is than refuting it, which is fine. but it bears saying that there is a certain strain of leftist (sometimes not even leftist) thought that leans heavily into the nihilism and cynicism that some people pick up from this text.

which is not really something i want to litigate in regards to fisher in this post lol, but i do feel like it's something worth chewing on in regards to succession. in a show that is driven by character studies of murdoch pastiches, what would a leftist or liberatory ending look like? these characters and their real-world analogues are trapped in their capitalist microcosms, which are located within larger capitalist structures; if there's no escape for them, is the show inherently endorsing the idea that capitalism is inescapable and omnipotent in general?

i will show my hand here and say i think an ending where the roys 'escaped' in any way would suck, honestly. this is not because i think they 'deserve' to suffer or be punished (i don't do that kind of carceral logic) but because i think it would feel saccharine and insipid to end on a note of, like, individual liberation for this one family whilst capitalism marches on or whatever. but this doesn't necessarily mean that any ending where they're trapped is good, or compatible with liberatory leftist politics, or narratively satisfying.

ultimately i also think this gets at some other issues fisher was interested in throughout his work: like, when art is made under capitalism, that limits both the meanings intended by the creators and the meanings audiences read from it. ie, what type of genuinely liberatory art is possible if it's doubling as a commodity? i don't ask that to let succession's writers off the hook lol, and if the ending is bad and unimaginative then it's bad and unimaginative. like, i'm not going to sit here pretending otherwise. but i do also wonder what ending is possible that would not be read as somewhat cynical regarding the possibility of escape from capitalism.

anyway i don't have a developed aesthetic theory here and i also don't yet have the succession ending, so like.... i reserve judgment until then lol.

[wheresurboytonighthelookslikeenj]

Opinion on Watt's relationships with Milo Strange and Jack Walker?

who are you and why are you after my blood

theres a read more. look what youve made me do. this is a long detailed rant on why i dont like the watts plot in s15, including some good old fashioned resentment for jackwatts. proceed at your own risk

jack was really nice at first, i shipped them, i wrote a short fic or two even. of course he was bland but like the entire fandom held on to the idea that he'd eventually be developed slowly as the episodes go by right. right. idk i think it's the love of a soft and reserved and "normal" love interest for our guy whose life has been so much turmoil, so far from "normal" for so long. but we never really got good jack development did we, the most of his character being mostly made up in the fandom's heads. (ive skimmed aios, really good fic, murdoch fandom staple, like im at least somewhat cultured).

and then well it happened, ministry of virtue, everything goes to shit, their relationship has hardly been anything onscreen and now its over and i lose my mind because i'd been so hopeful. like i didn't sleep well that night because Murdoch Mysteries Is A Show. in a vacuum the whole marriage thing was an interesting way for the plot to go, jack bringing up how watts's profession clashed with so many other parts of his life was really good and i fucking love it, but hardly of it was built up to or worth it and before during and afterwards it never got the attention, screentime, etc, it deserved. dear god. and then they got back together but then next season jack's kind of a jerk now? much of it is warranted because of the awful things hes been through but "some things are worth the risk" had been such a staple line for him and their relationship and it was just. not romantic anymore. and importantly watts wasn't happy anymore. and it was just such a weird direction for the writers to take the ship.

also there was the funnies with the well lit kisses lmao and then milo strange happened?????? god i love milo i think theyre very funky and lovely and the weirdest character the show's made technical-wise because he kinda doesn't need to exist and the fact that he does ends up as just an insult to watts's story, milo the character, and his actor. like. ok. we have an issue: wonderbread barbie prince ass white boy jack walker being boring and now being too afraid to be out with watts. how does the show seem to try to fix it? flamboyant polyamorous black poet named milo strange who's as out and proud as you can be in edwardian toronto without getting arrested or killed. he's devastatingly lovable because of his whimsy and opinions and how easily they make watts smile and even laugh. not the most characterization but somehow more remarkable than jack ever was, at least before ministry of virtue. he and watts were very nice together and though i don't ship it much anymore because the show hates me i still have an ongoing fic with them but thats mostly just because i'm slow and forgetful.

anyways. then we get into the really bad shit. like. um. jack's wife dies. and this shit sent me off the edge like. this show is so bad? fridging the wife is like one of the first things people tell you not to do when they teach you how to Not Write Like A Misogynist/An Idiot In General? dude??? watts and jack fight about it and its devastating but you kinda knew the relationship was going there after all this. and then jack kidnaps the baby and escapes to greenwich and i was happy because the writers committed a misogyny but at the very very very least jack walker is gone and i am free from this stupid hatecrimes plotline.

right????

right???????

BUT NOOOOOOO like now we get into how watts himself was at his worst in season 15. like daniel maslany's acting is always so good but his writing. was bad. at the beginning he was not the best at communicating, letting his problems (the love triangle) be solved for him instead without any effort from him--like. this point has been hammered into the ground recently but love triangles if done well could symbolize for different values different choices that one can make right? like the famous one is the hunger games agressive gale vs softer peeta but like even the george-nina-louise triangle was a better example, like george made an active choice to go back to nina because despite louise being a more proper partner with similar values in wanting to settle down some day george chose nina's loyalty and kindness. but with watts? idk hes just really confused and i know watts has the personal emotional skills of a potato but narratively it sucks. because he doesnt make a decision. the decision is made for him when jack's wife is killed by her ex. what was the point? why couldn't they have made him at least a bit more active in all of it?

ohoho but it gets worse. because the plotline's not even done yet we still have half a season. watts spends time with milo and they're very sweet but watts comes to the realization that milo is polyamorous. like. milo has talked about this before. they make it pretty clear. and maybe it's my own brainworms, believing watts would have been more open or at least more understanding to it because of his open nature, but watts gets frustrated, he tries to convince him to change, he calls milo greedy. like hey man that may not be your thing but thats so uncalled for. and is that not out of character? watts, who has always been so sympathetic and understanding, especially for those who are different? even under all the duress. i dont know. it might be more reasonable in other interpretations. the worst part is that he never properly apologizes. but we'll get to that.

and they continue to stay together in some sort of limbo until the end of the season and watts gets shot. and watts goes through this shit every tuesday but that mustve been a lot for milo to go through in a minute. and watts gets back up like nothing happens and milo later expresses that he's willing to change his lifestyle, willing to become monogamous for watts. thats. thats not a light statement. but fucking guess what watts receives a letter from jack???? and i guess theres a lot of apologizing and sappy stuff in the letter but we never see or hear the contents so all we have to process for now is that watts once again is letting his problems being solved for him? like as a character it sucks that it takes all these conveniences to switch him around to choose and narratively all these conveniences are bad in the first place. ugh. he tells milo to not change who he is and embarks for new york. and we. we never see milo again. and i am going to set something on fire.

and the thing is after the season premiere's homophobia of the season watts's conclusion is really good, like ive talked about it before him quitting the force and leaving to find himself was such a satisfying decision after all his moral and emotional turmoil! and i'm hopeful that jack is not coming back. but.

milo was done. so dirty. because we're back at the point about watts's arc. because regardless of the way you see it it's shitty. if jack was always his first choice and milo was only a rebound he didn't care as much for, not only is that just. bad taste. but its also shitty to milo, watts seeming to be so keen on being together but only on his terms then ditching at the first chance of being back with his old boytoy; not only is it a shitty thing for watts to do but in writing a character it's stupid. and if watts actually did care for milo and genuinely want to be with him, only to go back is even more confusing and again begs the question of the point of it all. why was milo introduced? why did you get us invested in a relationship that went nowhere and can be cut? watts and jack couldve still split, all homophobia and misogyny and kidnapping intact, and watts could have still come to his conclusion that he needed to be on his own, but instead of the polyam hate we couldve just had him wandering off on his own for half a season instead, and when he received the letter and went back to jack he couldve realized that hey. i was actually feeling good by myself, like i was going somewhere by myself. or something. i don't know. i love where watts's character is at currently but i hate how he got there.

and it's utterly devastating because milo was a lovable character! they were so fun! but he was doomed from the start and it's fucking awful. it never amounted to anything. his own little arc wasnt even allowed to finish properly, while jack's technically was? we never get a conclusion to milo strange but we know that jack's still doing ok with the baby in greenwich after brackenreid ended homophobia there ig /j

anyways. in conclusion i dont ship either anymore but at least i still like millewellyn because i resent jackwatts for what it represents

[drmikewatts]

Weekly Review 1 November 2024

Some interesting links that I Tweeted about in the last week (I also post these on Mastodon, Threads, Newsmast, and Bluesky):

I think this is the biggest reason to not use AI to generate important code or material-it's too easy for bad actors to inject malicious code into the model used: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/bytedance-intern-fired-for-planting-malicious-code-in-ai-models/

Google's AI mediator, that helps guide people to agree: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/googles-deepmind-is-building-an-ai-to-keep-us-from-hating-each-other/

The quality of data being used to train AI is declining. Garbage in, garbage out: https://www.bigdatawire.com/2024/10/23/ai-has-a-data-problem-appen-report-says/

Like many other AI, this transcription tool hallucinates: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/26/openais-whisper-transcription-tool-has-hallucination-issues-researchers-say/

It is going to take some time to sort out the legal issues around the scraping of content to train AI: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/25/unjust-threat-murdoch-and-artists-align-in-fight-over-ai-content-scraping

More ways AI will keep lawyers happy-who's responsible when an AI controlled vehicle crashes? https://dataconomy.com/2024/10/23/the-ethical-dilemmas-of-autonomous-cars-whos-responsible-in-a-crash/

Ten Python libraries you should be familiar with for working with data: https://www.kdnuggets.com/10-essential-python-libraries-for-data-science-in-2024

The last time I got a scam call I told them to talk to my d*ck and put the phone down the front of my trousers. I don't think that would work if it were an AI calling: https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/24/openai_realtime_api_phone_scam/

An AI that can write, and verify, code: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/24/anthropics-ai-can-now-run-and-write-code/

Biased data produces biased AI models. This is as true for cybersecurity applications of AI as it is for anything else: https://www.datasciencecentral.com/why-ai-bias-is-a-cybersecurity-risk-and-how-to-address-it/

Do we really want an AI to be able to control the mouse on our computers? Maybe useful for people who have motor impairments or tremors: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/anthropic-publicly-releases-ai-tool-that-can-take-over-the-users-mouse-cursor/

AI company fires back at lawsuits over its scraping of content for training data: https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/24/they-wish-this-technology-didnt-exist-perplexity-responds-to-news-corps-lawsuit/

Did a chatbot AI really encourage a teenager to kill themselves? Time for guardrails: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/23/character-ai-chatbot-sewell-setzer-death

Using AI to enable a garden to talk back: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/oct/25/ai-powered-garden-chelsea-flower-show

The idea of multi-agent architectures has been around for decades. Will generative AI be able to coordinate different agents to perform useful tasks? https://www.informationweek.com/machine-learning-ai/10-reasons-why-multi-agent-architectures-will-supercharge-ai

It looks pretty obvious to me that some companies will try to use Microsoft's AI to replace workers, not augment them: https://dataconomy.com/2024/10/23/microsoft-rolls-out-virtual-employee-ai-agents-for-enterprises/

The US wants to use more AI, especially in national security: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3587124/white-house-tells-intelligence-agencies-use-more-ai.html

The AI Cisco is using for customer support: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3578806/ciscos-new-ai-agents-and-assistants-aim-to-ease-customer-service-headaches.html

If the AI chips only last three years, what happens to them after that? Can they be recycled, or is this another way AI can negatively impact the environment? https://www.extremetech.com/computing/data-center-ai-gpus-may-have-extremely-short-lifespans

AI generated material is a threat to us, especially its use in election interference: https://www.informationweek.com/cyber-resilience/ai-manipulation-threatens-the-bonds-of-our-digital-world

An approach to watermarking AI generated text: https://spectrum.ieee.org/watermark

Replacing journalists with AI is not a popular move: https://www.stuff.co.nz/world-news/360462671/polish-radio-station-replaces-journalists-ai-presenters

40 years later, Terminator continues to influence people's opinions of AI: https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/40-years-later-the-terminator-still-shapes-our-view-of-ai/

Who needs AI safety? Not OpenAI: https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/25/open_ai_readiness_advisor_leaves/

[musicalsiphonophore]

i think what makes early belle and sebastian hit so hard is the apathetic feeling in the songs.

Their songs are incredibly light in terms of the sounds themselves, no heaviness or sadness sits in the instrumentation.

In the early songs especially, the lyrics express the most mundane and mid experiences of life.

These are from the state I am in (1996), le pastie de la bourgeoisie (1997), like dylan in the movies (1996), and ease your feet off in the sea (1998).

It is very everyday subject matter. Most bands are not writing songs about sandwiches and working at M&S.

Also, the vocals generally sound extremely slow and careless. You can hear this in songs like Stars of Track and Field (1996) and Expectations (1996).

These two things combined give a feeling of real boredom; life is average and it’s kind of shit and very uninteresting, and the songs are just a bit done with it, and they aren’t going to embellish it that much, it is what it is.

A misery is written into some of these songs as well, especially on Boy With The Arab Strap.

From sleep the clock around (1998) (I’m absolutely insane about this lyric), is it wicked not to care? (1998), the fox in the snow (1996), and belle and sebastian (1997).

Oh, it’s devastating. That is the thing about this apathetic feeling that the songs evoke: on its own, it isn’t really a sad feeling, it is just empty. But when you zoom out, see how much is lost to not caring, it is absolutely heartbreaking. Early B&S summarises this so well: individually a lot of their music sounds pretty cheery, well maybe not CHEERY as such but certainly not sad, but if you think about it for a short moment, it is so upsetting.

For some context: Stuart Murdoch has chronic fatigue syndrome. He was out of school and work for a while in the late 80s / early 90s and in that time he would just watch people and come up with this stories about them. - Hence why so many of their early songs are about third or second person characters. This also explains why the exhausted feeling permeates the music.

if you want some songs that show this well, I advise you to just listen through boy with the arab strap and then listen to the state i am in, but for specific songs, see:

sleep the clock around (personal fave)

is it wicked not to care

the state i am in

belle and sebastian

get me away from here i’m dying

it could have been a brilliant career

a summer wasting, though this is more cheerful, but it is a different side of the same feeling

expectations

stars of track and field

if you’re feeling sinister

dog on wheels

lazy line painter jane

the fox in the snow

le pastie de la bourgeoisie

By the time dear catastrophe waitress came out, this feeling was no longer really present in their songs. Piazza new york catcher, for example, keeps this bright, weightless sound quality, but the deep seated unhappiness is mostly gone. (I can’t really speak for fold your hands child you walk like a peasant or storytelling, because I really don’t know those albums well, so idk when exactly that switch took place.)

It is good to see a musician actually become happier over time, because so many musicians seem to have the Amy Winehouse type situation where they become even more poorly adjusted. But it does mean the songs lose some of the emotional richness… but I am happy for Stuart Murdoch.

[sublimeobservationarcade]

Dumb Americans & Trump

If you talk to most Australians about America and Trump the general consensus is that America’s love affair with Donald Trump puts them in the ‘too stupid to believe’ category. Dumb Americans and Trump. Are they really believing the non-stop lies coming out of Trump’s mouth? This has most of us rolling our eyes in disbelief. Dysfunctional relationships are often like this – you know when a close friend falls for a complete arsehole and cannot see him or her for what they truly are. It happens and the destructive consequences of such hook ups may go on for some time. In this instance, with a fantasy creation like Trump ascending to the highest office in the world, the impact is felt far and wide.

America Lost In Reality TV

Donald Trump is a fictional character, a reality TV concoction, the bluster and the schtick are fabricated for the mass media. Americans engage way more with what they see on screens than with anything remotely real. We all do these days to varying degrees, as most of us are removed from the realities of public office. We live in big cities and are part of populations boasting millions of members. The great majority of us don’t know stuff about many of the crucial roles within our communities. We only vicariously engage with police and paramedics through TV shows in the main. A lot of us have no real idea about what it is like to be a soldier, a social worker, a government administrator, and such like. We are all cut off from the worlds outside of our own vocations to a large degree. This makes it easy for us to be manipulated by those wishing to paint pictures of certain realms we know nothing concrete about. Enraging America MAGA Style The media wants your eyeballs on their screen offerings. ‘Click bait’ is the term used to describe sensationalist headings and images designed to grab your attention. Social media is all about winding us up via stuff that gets us riled and our blood up. Algorithms keep feeding us with the provocative content to enrage and despair at. Middle ground is anathema to these platforms. Crime is a favourite of the media and has been for the longest time, indeed, way before the internet was invented. Shocking superficial statements and images are the porn of the news stations. Youth crimes committed upon the elderly are gold for the networks on this score. Law and order has been the meat and potatoes of the conservative aligned media for eons. It plays really well with ‘so called’ ordinary working people, as it shocks them out of their apathy. Injustice is easy to present when not all the facts are presented. The media is the Greek chorus of our times, endlessly amplifying stories via repetition. The upshot is that viewers tend to perceive a crime wave rather than isolated episodes. We live in populations in the millions; therefore some statistical balance is required but the media is not interested in such wet blankets. Everything is a crisis and an emergency in this digital world. If you talk to many older folk they are concerned about the likelihood of being attacked at home or on the streets. Many express vehemently the need to punish perpetrators more forcibly on this basis. Conservative commentators on radio and TV selectively choose stories designed to enrage their audience – it is all part of the business model. You may have noticed the reduction in investigative reporting and its replacement by opinion editorials - op eds. Gossip and outrage is much cheaper to publish and produce – it also gets more engagement within a quicker time frame. However, the truth suffers in this trade off promoted by publishers and network owners like Rupert Murdoch. Fake news is much easier to promulgate and falsely claim in this op ed media environment. The media creation known as Donald Trump thrives in such a world. A Crooked Man Walking A Crooked Mile Americans, it seems, would rather a crooked President than a feeble one – if the polls are to be believed. I find it fascinating that President Joe Biden, an octogenarian, is the champion of democracy up against the openly appalling Donald Trump. Short term memory loss is affecting many Americans, as well as the candidates, apparently. I mean who can forget the rambling President Trump during the pandemic promoting the consumption of bleach and actively undermining his own public health officials. Nearly a million Americans died from Covid-19 in supposedly the richest nation on earth during Trump’s presidency. Australians looked on in horror at what was happening over there in the United States (disunity was as apparent as the virus). Mask wearing became a political thing rather than a public health strategy. When stupid people are in charge and leading an anti-science campaign you can see how once great civilisations can fall. Trump just flat out lies about everything non-stop and many Americans are happy to drink the kool aid on his say so. If 40% of the American population are in the Trump cult then we can say goodbye to what we once knew as the shining light of democracy. They called it the American experiment, democracy on this scale, and the scales of justice have tipped over into a state of lawlessness via the capture of SCOTUS by radical right wing agencies. A con man and convicted felon has been given carte blanch by a bunch of bent and bought justices. Trump, like a mob boss, pre-arranged the judges prior to committing his crimes via appointments and favours. The rule of law no longer applies to American presidents, according to this latest SCOTUS ruling. Billionaires have funded the lifestyle of Clarence Thomas to the tune of $4 million. Justice Alito flies flags supporting the big lie about the stolen election in 2020 – I mean in Australia it would be impossible to imagine a High Court judge openly flying a national flag upside down in an act of dissent – he or she would be immediately removed from office. These are the signs of a collapsing civilisation, when the highest court in the land is in active defiance of the people and the elected government. The January 6th insurrection has still not been dealt with nearly 4 years later, in terms of prosecuting the actual leadership of it. Likewise the voter fraud and election interfering crimes committed by Donald Trump remain like a weeping sore on the body of America.   “President Biden managed to gain ground on former President Donald Trump in key battleground states and trails by only two per cent — even after his disastrous debate performance last week, a new poll shows.” (news corp) - (https://pro-assets.morningconsult.com/wp-uploads/2024/07/Bloomberg-Election-Tracking-Wave-9-Toplines-Crosstabs.pdf) Will America awaken from its bad dream or will it collapse under the weight of extreme divisiveness? Will the third of voters who do not really engage in the process have some sort of epiphany? In a dog eat dog consumeristic society can these Survivor contestants recognise the value of democracy? Apathy hangs over the United States like a veil hiding the very real danger that dictatorship represents. Dumb Americans and Trump is this a match made in heaven? Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump. ©MidasWord Read the full article

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Carrie (2002)

If no other adaptation of Stephen King’s Carrie existed, this 2002 made-for-TV movie might have been worth recommending. While the running time is excessive and it’s lacking in scares/suspense, the source material is strong and Angela Bettis as the lead character offers a good performance. Unfortunately, all you can think of while watching is “Brian De Palma did it better in 1976”.

Carrie White (Angela Bettis) is a friendless, socially awkward teen living under the rule of her domineering mother (Patricia Clarkson) - a woman obsessed with purging all “sin” from their lives. Knowing nothing of puberty, Carrie panics when she experiences her first menstrual period at school and is ridiculed by the girls in her class. Punished by the kind Miss Desjardin (Rena Sofer) for her bullying, Chris (Emilie de Ravin) plans on humiliating Carrie on prom night, unaware Carrie is developing telekinetic powers.

At 132 minutes, this is the longest film version of Carrie by far and I don’t know why director David Carson held onto the bits that obviously needed to be cut. It’s one thing to stay faithful to the source material, but did the scene showing that time a meteor shower nearly burned down the White home add anything? There are other moments that while not useless, don’t contribute much to the whole. For example, the first time we meet the school Principal (Laurie Murdoch), he’s a complete fool, repeatedly calling Carrie by the wrong name and generally acting like he’s never dealt with teenagers before. The next time we see him, he’s confronting Chris’ bully of a father with expertly curated material and the confidence that shows he takes his job seriously. So which one is it? Of all the character inconsistencies, however, the worst by far is Chris and her boyfriend, Billy (Jesse Cadotte). Since Chris goes to the same school as Carrie and orchestrates the legendary prank that will humiliate her, you’d think she’d be the one in charge but the second Billy shows up, she acts like she’s being strongarmed into this operation. It makes no sense.

The story is told in flashbacks to the police by Sue Snell (Kandyse McClure) and Miss Desjardin, which is something we haven’t technically seen before, though it does give away too much of the ending. A scene shows us how Carrie has been kept in the dark on sex ed and the like, which explains why she doesn’t have access or knowledge of how to use the internet. It makes everything more believable than in the Chloë Grace Moretz version. Other than the framing device, the topic of the World Wide Web and a conclusion that leaves itself open to be continued in a series, this Carrie does nothing new. It’s just a beat-for-beat repeat of what we’ve seen before. The themes are not re-imagined or re-contextualized in any meaningful ways, the movie has nothing to say about bullying, teenage girls or religious obsession. Why was this even made? So they could continue the story in a TV show that didn’t materialize. Even if you know that there really doesn’t feel like there was a point at all.

I suppose I should also mention the special effects, which range from “ok for TV” to “bad, even for ’00s era TV”. Their quality doesn’t really matter in the end because you would’ve forgiven them had the picture been great, and it isn’t. It’s another example of a film that would’ve been better - or at least more memorable - if it was worse. 2002's Carrie is not scary, or tense but it is well-acted and, ultimately, unnecessary. (August 10, 2022)