#Pete is a goddamn philosopher

[yujeong]

"I'm not choosing. I'm just not eating" - Pete and the concept of choice

Oh Pete. You wonderful being, you. (Can you tell that I'm lost for words already? Great) I cannot stress enough what this line has done to my brain. I keep thinking about it to this day. I'm sure there are posts here that have delved on it in a more coherent way than what I'm about to do but I would like to offer sth to the fandom besides a small number of fics that will fade into obscurity, so here we are. (If anyone knows of posts that have touched this subject, pls share them, I'd love to read them)

This line, at first glance, seems contradictory. What do you mean you're not choosing Pete? Not eating is a choice you've made. Surely, you must see that.

The thing is, though, Pete doesn't see that as a choice. To Pete, there's the choice of submitting to Vegas and the choice of fighting him. Doing nothing, to Pete isn't considered a choice. He's inactive, passive, simply existing. Kind of like how he is as a bodyguard in the main family. As a bodyguard, Pete doesn't make choices. Other people make them for him and he follows them. The first actual choice he makes is going to the minor family's compound to get the evidence against Vegas (which is fantastic and deserves its own separate analysis but I digress). Otherwise, he's just a weapon for the main family to use, nothing more, nothing less. You can tell that this is his philosophy in life by examining his behaviour throughout the show up to this point. Does he have opinions and expresses them? Oh hell yes. Does he still do whatever he's told with minimal arguing? Also yes. I would dare say, in headcanon fashion, that this is his mindset from when he was young and defenseless against his father's violence. I'm fairly confident in my opinion that Pete never fought back against his father, kind of like what Vegas is doing with his but not exactly the same. I believe Pete never even spoke back at him, like Vegas does both in ep 11, when he tells Gun he's doing what he told him, and in ep 13, when he tells Gun he never wanted to be his son. For this reason, I'm a bit skeptical with the headcanon of Pete killing his father. I think it goes against the basic principles of his character; he's submissive in nature and doesn't fight back and just accepts the violence inflicted on him. Maybe, in Pete's mind, he feels that he deserves it. It would certainly explain his self sacrificial tendencies throughout the series, that's for sure. Now, back to the scene in question, in Pete's mind, a choice would be to eat the food or to throw it away, wasting it. Not touching the food, letting it go bad, isn't a choice. Vegas doesn't see it that way because of course he doesn't; to Vegas, Pete is retaliating, acting defiant again but Pete isn't doing that. He's simply doing...nothing. Generally, the first time I saw this line, it reminded me of ATLA, specifically this exchange:

Whoever has watched the show probably remembers that episode, in which Aang learned the third option of earth bending. That is, doing nothing = waiting. That's what Pete did. He did nothing, he waited, either to slowly die or to find a chance to escape. I feel like I'm not explaining myself properly but I just love how Pete's mind works and I wanted to touch upon this line specifically. It's such a nuanced take on agency and whoever came up with this line deserves all the projects they can get.

[patricia-von-arundel]

If you put out a list of "Must-Read Medieval Historical Fiction Novels" and your list of only ten books includes Ken Follett, Philippa Gregory, and Bernard Cornwell, I am legally allowed to hang, draw, and quarter every person involved in putting together this farce.

Especially if Christopher Beuhlman, Umberto Eco, Sharon Kay Penman, Karen Maitland, Dorothy Dunnett, and even Tracy Chevalier and Sharan Newman (neither a literary genius, but capable of doing research; bar's very low) are nowhere to be found?

Also, what the fuck is this???

Please kill me now.

(Also, this is fucking stupid. What goddamn help is a fucking philosopher and perennial fuck-up [multiple accusations of heresy, excommunicated, slept with his student (who may have been no older than 15 at the time) and got her pregnant, and was fucking castrated for his nonsense] going to be in attempting to figure out 19 years after the fact whether William Rufus was accidentally or deliberately killed? Not to mention that involving Abelard in anything was usually a recipe for disaster... Why not move the story back 10 years and let the person trying to help this guy Hilary be Anselm of Bec??? He was Archbishop of Canterbury! Meaning he at least actually lived in England! PETER ABELARD NEVER STEPPED FOOT IN ENGLAND IN HIS GODDAMN LIFE.

...Lanfranc [Archbishop before Anselm and a very sarcastic dude] would have been even more fun, but he was sadly very dead by the time William Rufus was killed.)

(I would generally argue that calling a book set in 14th-century Vietnam or 15th century Persia "medieval" is, in the same way people call Jane Austen "Victorian" [Austen died two years before Queen Victoria was even born, and 20 years before Victoria became queen] or Nelson Mandela "African-American," ABSOLUTELY 1000% STUPID.)

(Also, can we talk about the fact that other things happened in the Middle Ages besides the Black Death and the Wars of the Roses??? Admittedly, the whole William Rufus thing above is a refreshing change of medieval pace. Just... again... why Abelard???)

(Abelard is in Sharan Newman's medieval books, but as a peripheral character because the protagonist was educated at the convent of Argenteuil, where Heloise was abbess.)

(Heloise is the student Abelard slept with. I think most people know that, but maybe not???

(Also, can we talk about the fact that Heloise's Wikipedia article says she influenced Abelard, rather than the other way around. Which is accurate, but still also fucking hilarious.)

(Abelard was such a whiny little asshole he called his autobiography "Historia Calamitatum," "the history of my calamities." Pete, my friend, every single one of your many, many calamities was YOUR FAULT.)

[thepolyamorouspolymath]

In another edition of "BE A BETTER FUCKING LIAR", a guy we'll call... Sales (bc fuck 'im, he's not worth a good name)... hit me up on Facebook, which I hate but use for business-y shit.

First weird, bc I just set all new profiles everywhere bc my stalker ex had his friends bugging me and so it had like 4 business related posts and the profile pic was a cartoon of me that my extremely talented kid drew (who I'd be happy to put links for except he doesn't give them to me... @aceofenderafterdark though, he's great) and like a 2 sentence bio calling Damian the worst Robin and Episode 1 the worst Star Wars.

That was it.

Claimed my profile image showed creativity, and I'm like yep sure does... that of an 18 year old boy who helped his mom our by drawing it bc I'm terrible. Had a bunch of comic stuff, though didn't seem to get into my analysis of them but just like pics of merch. Which neat but I'd rather hear who you think is better Superman or Martian Manhunter and why it's 100% J'onn than see a picture of an action figure.

Made my no casual sex position clear. He claimed that no he really wanted to get to know me and a relationship.

Yeah, sure, never heard that before.

I'm asking him questions... getting like nothing back. He invites me to his place including some play, I said no.

I said I had given him the playbook, that I expected some romance, some wooing, some genuine interest beyond physical before I met and he hadn't passed the pre screen

He countered he'd be romantic in person. I explained that sweaty groping isn't romance and any guy not willing to put in the effort in advance isn't going to be -- they say it to get you there and then keep pushing your boundaries and standards hoping you'll fuck them on a whim.

"No I want to tease you before I fuck you."

First, confirms my opinion, second tells me you're gonna be a shitty partner since you haven't listened to what I like.

Asked me for the same damn thing I already said no to -- y'all, I do not stutter, I do not mumble, I don't waffle, I don't try to soften blows... when I say no, it is incredibly fucking clear.

He claimed he needed more guidance on what I was looking for in pre screening. I said showing genuine interest beyond physical would be a start.

He asked my favorite movie.

I'd already told him 3 times.

AND IT'S RETURN OF THE FUCKING JEDI, ITS NOT EXACTLY OBSCURE!

Some other dude tried to say men don't pay attention to that shit bc they think important things (bitch I am analyzing the entire planet at once and I can tell you how to make B's favorite chicken without doing it for years, remember his Chinese name I'm forbidden to use, how to make M tea I haven't made in 8 years, along with his favorite war stories even though they bored me, what game N liked at the casino and his favorite TV show... and they were years ago. I can also tell you Riveria's WS ERA in the 90s, and describe the phenomenon of the exploding fastball and how few pitchers have ever pulled it off, put forth a compelling defense of Pete Rose for the Hall even if he's a bastard bc he knows more about the game than any man living or dead.... I can cite constitutional theory and precedents for how all drugs constitutionally should be legal, though regulation is fine, give you an analysis of any philosopher taught at a college level that decimates the professor, discuss the comparative strength of every classic Godzilla film, dissect and enjoy Shakespeare and Sanderson with equal measure and thoroughness, BACKWARDS AND HEELS... Men have too much important to remember a movie. Bite my feminist ass.) And beyond that an extra question of "why?" would have demonstrated how I think as well a lot about my values and character (I take my Star Wars seriously.)

Honestly, I expect people to lie sometimes. I don't like it but hey men lying to fuck women is nothing new. But ffs, doing so badly is so goddamn insulting to my intelligence.

Get better.

[absolutebl]

Hello, hello!! It's me, your favorite graduate, back with a burning question! ;)

I am in the middle of episode 11 of Why R U? (literally paused in the middle of it because I am WAY too invested in FighterTutor and am seriously dreading what is coming) - what a messy, cringey show. There are so many freaking characters, and my question is inspired by one that I have come to love, Kae. He is Tutor's boss at the bakery, and after he (bravely, in IRL standards) confronts Fighter's dad I realized just how much I appreciated his character and how annoyed I am that the show couldn't cut down its cabal of unnecessary characters to focus on more interesting ones. Not only is he an astonishingly great example (for a BL!!) of a queer "elder" in the community - he protects Tutor from creepy customers, gives him a job when he needs one and looks for help when he needs more work, is working-class himself, and tries to give advice to this lonely queer kid he's taken under his wing - he also seems to be a rare less-stereotypical portrayal of a Thai person with darker skin (if not the only, honestly, in my limited experience watching these shows).

So! My question is, are there any side characters or even guest characters (like Kae is billed as) who you wish had been given more latitude or importance in the plot/story of a BL?

OMG what a great question. YES SO MANY. Let me see if I can come up with a top 10. Does it have to be individuals? Can I pick a few couples (I won’t go too far because therein lies madness)? 

Top 10 Side Characters I Wish We Got More Screen Time

In no particular order.  

1. Touch & Daisy in Secret Crush On You

Is anyone surprised by this choice?

2. Choi Yu Na, JaeYeong’s bisexual bestie in Semantic Error

She was just... so effortlessly cool. Do I need to say more? 

3. TulHin in Love By Chance 2

I LOVE THEM, OKAY. Classic whipping boy, my goddamn catnip. And these two actors had amazing chemistry. Ae’s whole arc and character should have been dropped from this script in favor of more time with these truly damaged goods. Yes, I said it. Sorry Perth. 

AND ALSO 

4. Keen in Love By Chance 2

Can’t believe I chose multiples from MAME trash but heh, whatever is necessary for the truth right? Basically this show needed a massive rewrite, but it could have been done. 

That’s what’s so frustrating about MAME’s stuff, it’s so close to being amazing...  It’s like this fantastic 5 course meal but you will be barfing at some point. Maybe the end? Maybe the middle? Maybe multiple times? It’s a regurgitation surprise! 

5. Fong the Philosopher in Still 2gether 

Khaotung is untaped genius at physical comedy. I love him in this role SO HARD. I think we got a lot from him in season one, but I wanted more in season 2. 

6. PokeTongue in Gen Y 2 & What Zabb Man

Look we all know that during Gen Y 2 they were actually pretending to be in some other show. And frankly, we all would have rather been watching that show. Then they got given an actual other show and we STILL wanted more of them. 

7. ChampDoc in TharnType 2

I take the 5th. 

8. Beer in Oxygen

I just wanna look at James but he’s getting his own series (Bed Friends) so I’m okay now. 

9. Sky & Pai in La Cuisine 

Talk about crumbs. What? I mean WHAT WAS THAT? They had these two in their back pocket all along and DIDN’T use them? WHAT? 

10. VegasPete in KinnPorsche

Oh I fucking said it. You were all thinking it from ep 10 on, weren’t you? Why the hell didn't this start in ep 5? Vegas was entirely unnecessary as a love interest for Porsche. It would have been fine, no BETTER, if Porsche & Vegas had developed as a friendship and Vegas had NOTICED Pete in a significant way much earlier.* 

* Don’t comment on this. I’m not interested in this weird KP fandom imaginary-connection muck-wanking thing you’re all AO3ing all over Tumblr like a bad rash. And I could not care less about the original y-novel.  

Honorable Mention

All the GLs that should have had more screen time like the cuties in Meow Ears Up, InkPa in Bad Buddy, and Friend Zone 2, and I could keep going.

 The angry roommate ex lover in Love Class. I just really loved the actor and was very intrigued by the character. We could have spent much less time exploring the stalker story and more time with this boy and still kept the dumb sort KBL length. All in all, the weight of this narrative was all over the place but not using this character to the fullest was a problem.

The two besties of the seme in Mr Unlucky, SO CUTE.

The nerdy support boy who knows what it’s like to be gay and the artsy girl with serious self defense skills from Blueming.

The whole university friendship group that *almost* happened in Cherry Blossoms After Winter.

Tim in My Secret Love, preferably shirtless. 

Nutch in Not Me. 

Mew the ex boyfriend in Together With Me. I don’t know what they were doing with his character. And they didn’t either. But ho boy was he EASY on the eyes. So easy. I mean it takes work to pull attention away from MaxTul and he had ALL MY ATTENTION. 

And (drum roll please) . . . 

K.O. & HAO MEI (Love O2O) 

I will die on this tiny hill of censored bromance. More of them would have substantially improved this show. 

I'm not picking shows that couldn’t be saved. 

So I love KhunKaow in Brothers and CopyNampu in Top Secret Together and SanAei in You’re My Sky, Saint in Our Days, Jun in Love Area 2, but I don't think more of them could have save their respective shows because then it would have been MORE terrible show to watch. I call these the "I'm your huckleberry" awards. I give one each year to the couple that was the only good thing in an otherwise irredeemable show. Like Val Kilmer in Tombstone (bite me).

Current as of Aug 2022, there are a bunch airing right now that could make this list. 

(source)

[rynhaswritersblock]

hallway bookworm (hc) | p.p.

a/n: hi my name's ryn and i'm in love with writing headcanons... they let me show my two personalities: deep-loving-philosophical-bubbly + memebot-rat-tiktoker-minecraftGOD which i ADORE

summary: girls reading and crying while walking in the hallway sure do seem to have an effect on peter parker.

warnings: some cussing (as per usual), uhhhhh fluff?? yeah????? oh yeah and terrible writing i couldn't deliver as well as i wanted i'm sorry

+ + +

- AIGHT FOLKS so listen

- you're in the middle of a really good book, right?

- like, really good

- btw pretend this is your favorite book

- so you're like right in the middle of a SUPER important scene and guess what

- the GODDAMN BELL DECIDED TO RING

- TIME TO GO TO CLASS

- BUT ARE YOU GOING TO STOP READING?

- ?????

- ???????????????

- HELL NO!

- so you're like... autopiloting your way to class, nose stuffed in book, tears streaming down your face bc you're at a serious part

- and that's when peter parker sees you for the first time

- NOW

- we all know that peter is a complete disaster

- especially when it comes to pretty girls in the hallway who also appear to be nerds according to the fact that they're literally reading and crying while walking to class in the middle of a highschool hallway during passing

- so naturally

- this mans stops walking

- let's be honest: who expected peter effin parker to be able to function after seeing what he saw??

- who?????

- "peter-"

- unresponsive.

- "peter, move your flat ass," ned mutters, shoving him from behind as peter watches you walk in the opposite direction to your class

- he finally regains himself (jeez)

- poor guy's heart is racing and chocolate eyes are wide in bewilderment as he stumbles alongside ned to physics

- "why do you look like you just did drugs for the first time, dude"

- "i just saw a girl"

- "of course you did"

- "no, nED" peter says, looking over at his best friend, a smirk on ned's lips.

- "she was like, reading a book, tears streaming down her face. and she was still walking without even watching where she was going! and she was like, beautiful, too, ned-"

- "jesus, peter! calm down. but yeah, i saw her. that was y/n." ned states, way too calm for peter's chaos

- this man stops in his tracks

- "you know her?!"

- "yeah, like everybody does. she's not one of those people, but like, she's really nice and funny and she's captain of the debate team." (a/n: if one of y'all DARES to say something like "couldn't be me" or "bitch i wish".... first of all this is fanFICTION so we're all pretending to be a better version of ourselves WOOT WOOT and second you can be anything you put your mind to my dudes!!!!!!)

- peter sighs as they walk into class, mind stuck on your name, not paying attention to the lesson at all

- ...WHEW

- so that was very in-depth

- in case you couldn't tell

- NOW HERE'S A SUPER ROCKING FUN TIME (babysitting service iykyk) LIST OR WHATEVER OF THE REST OF THE STORY YAYYYYYYYYYYY

- peter became dedicated to finding out your classes and where you'd be at certain times just so he could see you for at least a second

- like

- homeboy was WHIPPED

- and to his luck

- !!!!!!

- one day after a particularly long day of school, our boy headed into delmar's to get his sammich (i giggled while writing sammich fyi) before he went on patrol

- and GUESS WHO WAS SITTING AT ONE OF THE TABLES, LEGS CURLED TO YOUR CHEST, BOOK IN ONE HAND AND SANDWICH (sammich) IN THE OTHER?????

- YOU!!

- the boy froze in his spot, the door almost crushing him as it flew back in the doorway before he finally snapped out of his trance

- his gaze didn't leave you as he walked up to the counter, mr. delmar clearing his throat after a few seconds to get pete's attention

- "oh! sorry,"

- "it's fine, kid. i see you're particularly interested in that young lady-"

- "UM i'll have a number five with pickles and smush it down real flat, please, thanks" the words tumbled out of peter's mouth, cutting mr. delmar right off

- the man's laugh rumbled as he nodded his head

- pete hesitated before leaning over the counter

- "you wouldn't, uh, you wouldn't know anything about her, would you?"

- a knowing grin tugged at mr. delmar's lips

- "y/n. she comes here at least twice a week, orders the number eight with a coca-cola every time, and always reads a book while eating."

- a slight, crooked grin grew on peter's face as he comprehended everything

- "good to know, thank you, mr.-"

- "go and sit with her."

- HAHA

- FUNNY

- POOR PETER'S FACE JUST

- HIS EYES GOT WIDE AND CHEEKS BLOOMED BRIGHT RED

- HAHAHA

- "you want me to.. what now?"

- " go sit with her. she won't bite." with that, mr. delmar handed the kid his sandwich and a pack of gummy worms, nudging his head in the direction of you

- peter nervously took the items, clearing his throat and mustering up all the confidence he had (which honestly wasn't much, especially since he wasn't in the spider-suit)

- and he walked over to you and plopped down right across from you

- you jumped (scaredy-cat), eyes leaving the page and meeting peter's, a look of surprise instantly etching your face that made peter regret every decision he'd ever made

- you relaxed slightly when you recognized the face in front of you, setting your book down (still keeping it open though)

- "oh, hi, peter,"

- HI WHO??????

- ME??????????????????

- THIS BOY COULD NOT COMPREHEND THE NAME THAT JUST LEFT YOUR LIPS

- "you know my name?" peter stuttered out incredulously

- "of course i do, you're on the decathlon team. plus i'm friends with ned and sometimes he just can't shut up about you."

- homeboy silently scolded himself for not even knowing who you were until like a week ago

- "oh," he laughed nervously, "cool,"

- ako-taco moment of silence

- "i'm y/n," you blurt, "by the way,"

- "i know," peter nervously laughs

- by SOME force of nature

- the two of you strike up a conversation!! YAY PETER

- you talk about the book you're reading and decathlon and debate and school and life and stuff

- and honestly peter just about forgets he has to go on duty

- until he hears sirens in the background, eyes widening

- "UHM, uh, i just remembered my aunt needs me home-"

- this kid rambles on a bit too much

- you laugh and wave him away

- "go do your thing. it was great talking to you, peter"

- poor petey was going to FAINT if you said his name like that again

- and so

- THE RELATIONSHIP HAS BEGUN! (reread that in korg's voice it makes it even better)

- peter would often hang around delmar's longer just in case you'd be there

- he deadass made spider-man a second priority to you (although he didn't admit it)

- he's WHIPPED

- alrighty guys real talk i'm in love with this whole concept itself but i don't know how to deliver it right so i'm just gonna give a brief rundown of the rest of the story and let you guys' imaginations do the rest

- you two keep running into each other at delmars

- eventually it leads to you two hanging out at peter's apartment (HOMEBOY WAS HIGHKEY FREAKING OUT LETS JUST SAY)

- (HAVING A PRETTY GORL IN HIS ROOM MADE HIS HEART BEAT LIKE HOW IT DOES ON THE LAST ROUND OF MARIO KART IYKYK)

- and you two become gr8 friends!!!!!!

- UNTIL

- PETER WORKS UP THE BALLS TO ASK YOU OUT YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

- and you live happily ever after woot woot

+ + +

the writing in this sucked

it's a really cute concept i am just unable to deliver

oh well lmao

[sulrae]

BTS and Fall Out Boy if they ever met irl:

(Because they should’ve never announced that collab without a shred of explanation and because I’m trash)

Height Difference. That is literally the first thing that get’s noticed. Jimin’s smug af that he’s not the shortest person in the room. Meanwhile, Namjoon towers over the entire band.

Namjoon the underpaid translator (although I wouldn’t be surprised if Patrick knew some Korean) ft. Englisheu Bangtan.

Patrick and Yoongi talking about music composition, while Pete and Namjoon talk philosophical stuff and lyrics.

All of BTS being wary of Andy until he opens his mouth and SPEAKS. After that they love him.

Taehyung and Joe being memes and showing each other pictures of their dogs. 

Vocal Line+Patrick doing beautiful harmonies together (and end up destroying my goddamn ovaries).

Andy showing Jungkook the ways of Crossfit (BTS: Please don’t show him how to be stronger, he’ll kill us all).

Jimin lowkey would probably swoon over Andy because he’s that nice mix of strong yet soft (Jungkook does that tongue thing and might fight Andy. He’ll lose).

Joe, Patrick, and Jin playing acoustic songs.

Dad! Jin and Uncle! Pete making the worst jokes and puns. Patrick and Namjoon only deal because they love them.

Jungkook wants to crowd surf/ be in a mosh pit. The entirety of BTS plus their staff: NO! 

Taehyung literally wanting to know about each tattoo on Andy’s body.

Hobi teaching all the dance moves. Joe’s the only one that attempts, Patrick secretly does so in the corner.

Pete: “Yeah we’ve been together for almost 20 years now”. Yoongi: “How have you not killed each other yet?” Patrick: “Oh, we’ve tried. Trust me.”

FOB watching BTS perform (Joe dancing in the background).

BTS watching FOB perform (Everyone impressed by Patrick’s vocals. Jimin’s eyes never leave shirtless Andy)

Jungkook does end up crowdsurfing. Jin almost has a heart attack.

[zenosanalytic]

Discovery: What’s Past is Prologue

That was GREAT! This is Long :| :| :|

Ok, so this episode managed to be both a mile-a-minute, actioned-packed THRILLAGANZA and a This-is-why-we-love-Trek Federation Lovefest, which is Quite A Feat owo

For any new Dear, Dear Readers thinking about venturing below the Cut: Over time I’ve found that writing conventional reviews for fan-media usually leads to me producing 10k word dissertations on them, so I do bullet-point reviews instead, sticking to core-reactions. This is STILL almost 3k words though, so, just be aware: when I say something is Long I ain’t kidding :| :| Also my reaction to stuff like Trek tends to be much more Ecstatic that my TSoW review, so expect... Informality o_o o__o o___o

Ok, so Discovery’s Landry was Fed!Landry afterall.

Looks like the Terrans have some sort of Holographic camouflage? Maybe it’s just something Stamets worked out on his own, tho, given how the Terran Empire works.

So Lorca got to the Fediverse the same way Kirk originally arrived in the Mirrorverse! I wonder if that means Fed!Lorca was transported to the Mirrorverse and died? Lorca’s ultimate Mirrorverse-fate was never explained so it’s difficult to say.

This ep’s mutiny/innership fight easily ranks up there with the best from DS9 and Voyager(the only two series with genuinely interesting/exciting examples). The battle over this city-sized planet-killing spacewarpalace is well-paced, tense, and both tactically and emotionally satisfying ouo

It also makes good use of the Terrans. We get to see some examples of their more aggression-oriented tech(like interior defense turrets and the like), examples of how powerful individuals hoard tech to themselves ala Mirror!Kirk’s Tantalus Field(Georgiou’s secret emergency transport, her bracelet, and the Stamets-designed fungal-tech integrated into the ship. Though I kept hoping she’d deploy that murderdisk from last ep again; no joy :T), and some examples of major philosophies within their society(a warrior-ethic in Georgiou’s appreciation for Burnham’s plan and fighting-ability, and her willingness to die fighting to buy Burnham time and display the ideals of her social station near the end, and Lorca’s “Man of Destiny” nonsense throughout).

“...he preyed on my Sentiment, my Weakness for your Face; It will NOT happen again.” Mirror!Georgiou is just so deliciously campy uwu uwu I like how the showrunners chose to make melodrama one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Mirrorverse :> :> :>

...Was that a The Fountain pan when Stamets walked into the Mycelial garden? It LOOKED like a The Fountain pan.

Saru is such a good captain u_u

“...The Terrans are egotistical enough to believe they can replenish this resource before it collapses.” HMMMMM WHERE COULD THESE MIRRORVERSIAN HUMANS POSSIBLY HAVE GOTTEN THAT TRAIT FROM???? Tho, as far as they go, this is probably one of the subtler Global Warming/Carbon Economy analogies to ever pop up in SFF media.

“Make the Empire Glorious Again!” We all, of course, See What You Did There :| :| Though again: much less hamfisted that the usual “Make America Great Again” references media’s filled up with over the last year.

Anyone else notice the gigantic gold frieze of Georgiou over the Imperial Throne??

Saru: “I will Not Consider leaving you Behind.” SARU IS SUCH A GOOD CAPTAIN }:| }:|

It’s a small thing, but Lorca’s continued and varied use of psychology as a weapon and tool of manipulation, something which goes back to the beginning of the series and his use of that distress signal to “motivate” Discovery’s crew, continues to impress me with the showrunners concern for consistent characterization, and their understanding of how complex characters and stories can be built from reiterating simple concepts and character notes in different situations.

Destiny’s not a thing, of course, it’s a fallacy of ego to believe that 1)occurrences involving you are about you and 2)that, because they involve you, they were meant to happen and play out as they did. Fundamentally, it’s self-narration; a recontextualization that, simultaneously, places oneself as the author of one’s life(since you are deciding what it means) and apotheosizes one’s life(and thus oneself) by declaring that narrative the product of divine will. That Lorca’s primary dislike for Stamets seems to arise not from his betrayal but from his rationalist rejection of Fatalism tells you a lot about his narcissism, and how central it is to his worldview.

There’s an interesting metacommentary about how “grittiness” is treated as serious, masculine, and realistic while optimism is treated as frivolous, feminine, and fantastical begged by Lorca’s conversation with Burnham here, and his assertions that the Mirrorverse is “the real world” and the Fed a “failed social experiment”. It’s also a good reminder of his nature as a scientist, and says much of how he thinks and justifies his behavior, that he would choose scientific metaphor for denying the reality of the Fediverse(though obvsl he’d need SOME way to do it to keep himself motivated to return, given that he’s way too egotistical, and too chauvinistically Terran, to just accept that both are equally real).

It also reveals that he REALLY doesn’t understand Burnham at all. She’s a culturally Vulcan Human, for Pete’s Sake; how deluded do you have to be to think that this sort of essentialist argument about biological “Superiority” and sociogenetic Eugenical(“Social Darwinism” in common parlance but, given this thinking predated Darwin and his theory, and other things, I don’t like the term) rhapsodizing would appeal to her, when her whole existence disproves it?

“...that’s why we have duty to lead”? That seems like a bit of a non-sequitur, but I couldn’t get captions to work on this ep so I can’t say for sure that this is what he said. If it is, that’s a really twisted conception of “Duty”, to cast it as the driving concept behind species-segregation and Eugenic Hierarchy. Also, he really doesn’t understand why she did what she did at the battle of the binary stars, or what that fight was about. He seems to think 1)she caused the fight, and 2)it was a conflict about preserving Federation “cultural purity” from some kind of Klingon “corruption”.

Lorca’s comment about Burnham’s “gifts”… taken in hand with the last ep’s “someone better came along, you know how it is” comment, suggest Lorca is incapable of conceiving of people in non-instrumental terms, especially in a romantic context.

Burnham’s explication of the existentialism and affirmation at the heart of the Federation is Pure and Good u_u

Stamets: “We’ll have to use all our Spores. We won’t be able to jump back home” Ensign Rhys: “We’ll need to be close to make that shot |:T” The Federation! ^u^

Ensign Detmer: “I don’t think we can avoid the blast”, Cadet Tilly: “our shields can’t repel the blast and we’ll all die” Saru: shakes head and clicks: *Inspiring Motherfucking Shakespearean Goddamn Speech*[1] THE FEDERATION! THE FEDERAAATION!!!! PEOPLE LOOK IT IS THE FEH-EH-EHDERAH-AH-AH-TIONNN!!!!!!!! :’D :’‘D :’‘‘D

But Seriously, THIS is probably one of, if not The, best Star Trek Captain’s speech ever.

The speech, the action, the at-turns practical, sappy, and optimistic Fed dialogue, the explication of Federation ideals in the face of true danger, challenge, and Doubt: THIS ep is just such a summation of everything that makes people Love Star Trek.

That their writing staff is aware enough to give Burnham the line, “But know this: I’m offering you my Mind; nothing more.” when making her faux-offer to sacrifice herself for her crew is one of the many reason I love this series uwu uwu

As always, Science and Tilly saves the days! I like how simple the solution is, though it’d have been more believably Physicist of Stamets to say not “but not just an explosion” but rather, “but an explosion is a Shockwave!” Also: Trek ships do Quite a Bit of cosmic surfing, don’t they? This sort of thing’s been the solution to dire situations rather frequently o.o

The warp bubble technobabble is equally simple(as opposed to TNG’s frequent reliance on nonsensical verbiage), but I don’t like the solution they went with. A Warp Bubble Warps space. The Mycelial shockwave produces an energetic wave(an explosion) in space, but it also ripples through levels of subspace(including the mycelial network). So theoretically, the Warp Bubble could be attuned in such a way as to interact with these subspace waves in a fashion which would allow Discovery to “ride” them into and through the Network. That’s how I’d have written it, at least.

I’d also like to reiterate, yet again, how well Discovery has integrated respect for Tilly, a mere Cadet, into the Federation ethos. They’ve handled this way better than TNG did with Wesley.

Lorca: “I truly admire you all. You proved such Excellent Clay for my genius leadership” Like I said “Instrumental” >:T Such good, consistent characterization!

Also: Lorca: *Melodramatic Villain Speech* Saru: “Whatever, Napoleon, show me my crewman!” SUCH A GOOD CAPTAIN.

Also Also: Federation pragmatic optimism vs the gothic egotism of Terra

Saru yelling “FIRE!” was SOOOOOO Satisfying owo

Shit Fuck-Uping Commences

Trek-talk will inevitably focus on things other than combat because, philosophically, that’s not really what the show’s about or what draws most fans to it(see above), but Discovery really does have, hands down, the Best fight choreography I’ve ever seen in a Trek series, and most of the movies too. It probably helps that they have Actresses and Actors, like Michelle Yeoh and Jason Issacs, with substantive experience in stage-fighting, but everyone’s performance in these melees is just so excellent, and the flow of them is so fluid and sure, that it HAS to be their fight crew. Also: have I ever seen a mace and its use portrayed with reasonable accuracy in a screen fight before? No; but here’s Burnham, just absolutely TRASHING people with that scepter like a Goddamn Boss :> :> :>

Though there’s an obvs level of unreality to this: you clock someone anywhere around the head, neck, or shoulders with a steel mace and they ain’t keeping fighting you. They’re going Down; they’re DONE

Georgiou’s fighting here is just so brutal and clean. The way she just turns around and slashes that guy’s throat. Her meaty-stabs to that other guy’s gut. Her throw into Lorca’s shoulder. Her KICKING HER OWN KNIFE OUT OF THE AIR WHEN LORCA THROWS IT BACK!!! Magnificent u_u Beautiful u_u u_u Majestic u_u u_u u_u

Lorca Egotism Watch: Unceremoniously Cuts down Landry for having the gall to fight Burnham. Yup |:T |:T She just can’t catch a break, but that’s what you get for loyalty to a person who only sees other people as means to an end.

One particular thing I like about the choreography is how they allow Yeoh to use her smaller size and stabler center of gravity to her advantage. Having her roll, dodge, duck under Lorca’s slashes, use throws and grab, attack Lorca’s feet; such excellent choices, especially given industry standard which is to ignore physical differences and have everyone fight like they’re a 6ft+ muscular man.

The mutual face-punch was a nice injection of comedy into this fight sequence(always a good idea, I think, to give the audience a bit of release from tension). Looks like Lorca gets in one of the trophic Star Trek double-fist hammer strikes in at the end. An utterly useless attack irl, but it’s Star Trek and the Forms must be Honored u_u

Lorca: “Don’t make me have to kill you!” Burnham: “You Won’t.” Bad. ASS. Badass. It is a natural byproduct of Vulcan Logic that their dialogue be the Tightest Shit at all times u_u u_u

Burnham’s fight with Lorca is Astounding, but I don’t know enough about fight choreography to really talk about it. Wow it’s cool to watch, though.

“We would have helped you get home, if you had asked” THE FEDERATION!!!!!!!! And more than that; hell, without the war, they’d have probably helped you kick the crap out of the Terran Empire.

Georgiou running Lorca through was Extreme Satisfying owo owo

Looks like my theory of TylerVoq undermining Lorca’s plans is nixed. I’m not upset though, as there’s something satisfying in allowing plots to be separate, rather than tying them all together in one big resolution.

Burnham running out of cover to telesnatch Mirror!Georgiou out of the fight as she energizes THE FEDERATION! THE FEDERATI- Ok, you know my reaction to this stuf. THE IDEALS! THE IDEALS!! This raw concentration of Ideals and Sentiment will Physically Killing me isttg u_u u_u u_u

They tied the science part of the escape to the action of the shipboard fight so seamlessly, and continue the tension of those scenes into the escape so excellently! 

Another Little Thing that’s actually a Big Thing which I’m only now just noticing, probably because Oladejo(Ensign Owosekun) gets so much more screentime in this ep, is how good a job Discovery does at lighting and filming non-white skin and particularly dark skin, even when not a main character. I’m thinking of it particular in comparison to Agents of SHIELD which is absolutely atrocious on this point. At no point, even when they are in a dark area, or in red light, do Martin or Oladejo or any of the Black cast look washed out or obscured, as Henry Simmons almost always does as Mac even in some well-lit scenes. Just really excellent.

I REALLY HOPE that “Thanks Hugh” and aria isn’t the last of Culber. I continue to wish they’ll rez him, somehow. That was an objectively Romantic scene, though u_u

The ending revelation that they’re 9 months in the future and the Klingons have won the war is certainly surprising, but none of that’s official Fed history, so I’m pretty confident we’ll be seeing some time travel in the final eps. I’m a bit trepidation as to what Mirror!Discovery’s been up to since they’ve been gone <:[

[1]My Fast&Furious rendition of said speech: “Look I’m a coward from a species of cowards and I’m gonna tell you right now: I Ain’t Afraid. I might not know shit about shit, but I know this: you guys are Ride or Die. You’re the Best Motherfucking Crew of Motherfuckers a Motherfucker could ever Fuck Beside, and that’s For Real. That’s from the Heart. Lorca’s a POS, and he used the Power of our Shining Youthful Hearts to do some messed up bs, but we’re Family Y’all and this Ship: she’s OUR big metal space mama -Not his!- and today we’re gonna fly her like we just popped straight out her glowy anti-matter womb with a brace of .45s, a pack of Seagrams, and a surly temper. We got Shit to get Done, and we just ain’t goin down to his Triflin’-Ass Nonsense! So let’s fuck shit up! You have your Orders u_u”

[nikkiserapio]

On the Meaning of “American Heartland” and Twitter’s Politics of Contempt

As someone who has Buttigieg as my #1 and Warren as my close #2, I've got to say: the outrage over this tweet is ill-founded. And for many their reaction seems inflected by spending too much time within Twitter's confirmation bias-powered and motivated reasoning-powered machine and not enough time coming to terms with the uneasy fact that -- for Pete's goddamn sake -- the path to a salvaged democracy runs straight through Michigan and Wisconsin.

If you're offended by Pete's campaign's use of "vision was shaped by the American Heartland," then you might not understand why Warren includes "Okie" in her Twitter bio and talks deftly and often about what it meant to her to grow up in Oklahoma City.

If you're offended by Pete's campaign's tweet, then you might not understand why Obama's official White House bio uses "values from the heartland" right in the first paragraph: "His story is the American story -- values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others."

Or why tons of candidates ascribe exceptionalist values to their state or region. Northern California = the frontier of equality. Midwest = the value of hard work and, to use Sherrod Brown's smart language, the Dignity of Work. If you grew up in Colorado like me, you know that Coloradans talk endlessly about how we have the strongest free-thinking values in the country, as if we somehow mined them directly from the Rocky Mountains.

Or why two things might be true at the same time: they're saying it to win votes, and they're also saying it because they actually believe it.

It's completely fair to question if this was a dumb tweet from a politics standpoint; you could argue that this language is dumb politics, and that we should instead convince voters using an appeal to policies in their most purely distilled form -- or convince them via a loud appeal to pure ideology alone, assuming that it can just transcend the boundaries of city and state as well as the stubbornness of identity-based voting.

But I'd argue that Pete's campaign is being smart here: if you're actually playing to win, don't cede your ground to an Orwellian opponent and party that will do everything to co-opt and pervert the meaning of patriotism and America -- and even the powerful meaning of "values" by itself. We have one chance, so play to win.

If your molehill is that a Democratic standard-bearer (Obama, Warren, Buttigieg) is forbidden from saying that they learned something unique from living in the Midwest or being an Okie or being a New Yorker, then I'm afraid you don't understand the ways in which everyone uses a mix of emotion, reason, personal identity, and their own deep stories to make up their voting (or non-voting) minds.

Last point and a complete (philosophical and also a practical) aside: if you're marshalling such a tweet as evidence that your desired candidate's competitor is actually morally defective -- "X proves that Y doesn't care about Z topic or person or group, and therefore is bad" -- I'd only say: Twitter makes this difficult to do, but try starting from a standpoint of charity, if only for the sake of healthy skepticism.

It is hard if not impossible to cast accurate judgment on any one person's moral motivations. Look at any popular comments stream on Politics Twitter, and chances are that you'll see this almost singular dopamine-driven stance: unbridled and sanctimonious contempt. The problem that I'm seeing on social networks has to do with the power of habit: if we use our limited moral willpower to perform our online contempt against a bogeyperson of a politician we don't like, eventually we get to a point where our primary moral stance towards the world is one of contempt. I think misguided contempt has a lot to do with today's polarization -- we can’t dismiss its ability to simply exhaust us -- and it's this contempt (in all of its many forms across the entire political spectrum) that can destroy our democracy if we let it.

Anyway, when I look at the criticism of my two favorite candidates -- Buttigieg and Warren -- I make out one overriding and unfounded objection: they're fakers; they're not pure; they're inauthentic. When I examine their words, actions, and journeys, though, I come to the conclusion that they care deeply about changing our politics in order to do good. Here's one article that I think describes Pete well, and I definitely recommend reading the whole thing: https://www.commonwealmagazine.org/reading-buttigieg

[dearyallfrommatt]

See the man with the stage fright, just standing up there to give it all his might.

 I don’t know who needs to hear this or if it will do any good, but I don’t have access to marijuana or any hallucinogens and I don’t want to start drinking again, but if y’all ain’t going to act right, y’all need to leave me the hell alone. We got people seriously defending the CIA and worried about communism in 2020, people defending a president’s “purge list of enemies” as a good and normal thing, and an entire party facing that sort of lunacy dedicated to shooting its own dick off if their Precious doesn’t get the nomination (or if some others’ Precious they disapprove of gets it).

 No, seriously, that’s really stupid and these are stupid times. The Dumb have won, and wrestling reality back from them might just be too much for this poor, old world. I’m not sure it’s even worth it, and even people joking about Life on Earth being wiped out by an asteroid are getting tedious. Mainly because you know they don’t mean it.

 I realize this sounds contradictory, considering I’ve pounded out going on three paragraphs doing just this (and will probably write more), but I am tired of the pissing and whining. It’s not going to stop, though. Bernie Sanders gets elected and isn’t able to pull down the whole structure of capitalism in the first week, his biggest fans will be calling for his head. Trump supporters being ground into mulch to fertilize rich peoples’ rose gardens will leap at the chance, screaming “MAGA” all the way down with a smile. You know I’m right. We are months away from them defending him having sex with underage girls provided for him be Jeffery Epstein. And if Bloomberg gets the nod and then has the dime that’s hanging like the Sword of Damocles dropped on him, plenty of “reasonable centrists and liberals” will do just the same thing.

 I’m tired, depressed, grumpy, cynical and melancholy, and to be quite frank, the anti-depressants ain’t making the nut. Part of it is my window of the outside world, Twitter, is full of guys who complain that protagonists from girls’ cartoons from the ‘80s aren’t busty enough, and this is considered serious pop culture criticism instead of evidence the guy needs to be locked away from decent society. My other option is engaging with my fellow humans here in rural Northeast Mississippi, and I doubt they want to hear it either.

 I like writing, I really do, but I’m beginning to think if I ever had a shot at making anything worthwhile out of this, I let it slide away 15 years ago when I decided I was too burned out to keep doing it. I wonder if the return of that small taste of the sublime I get from cranking out a clever(?) turn of phrase is somehow proportional to the relative lack of being completely stoned every possible waking hour. I was the type of head that wouldn’t leave the house to go buy a loaf of bread without first taking a serious lung punch of the noble weed.

 That’s probably too much. I had heavy stoners telling I was smoking entire too much weed, but on a realistic level, nothing much has changed with regards to the cognitive process. I’m still spending way too much time thinking about Jungian synchronicity or the philosophical implications of the Multiple-Worlds Theory. The colors are less bright, is all, and the jokes are less funny. Not that I’ve done much gut-laughing over the past several years, full of smoke or running straight.

 People would say, “Matt, you stop smoking all that pot, you’d have more vim and zest for living.” But here I am, making a concerted effort to not sleep all day, only wanting to get up to hydrate myself and use the bathroom, spurned on by all the goddamn medication I’m taking. None of which, by the way, can I abuse for screwing my brain up, which is probably a good thing. “Matt, you want to travel,” says my therapist. No, I don’t. I just let you think that because I really don’t have a good comeback to you and I’m too tired to come up with one. I don’t want to leave my room.

 Middle age is a drag, y’all. I understand what Pete Townsend was talking about and why he feels righteously embarrassed whenever someone brings it up. I’m supposed to be either married, kids optional, or some definition of “success” which I couldn’t suss out if you held a gun to my head. Instead, I’m just hoping my heart gives out before my teeth do.

 But I like writing, I really do. This has been very cathartic even if no one ever reads it, and nobody ever reads what I write. I get these likes on WordPress and hits on Blogger, but I’m convinced it’s like when someone with a high follower count starts following boring, slightly crude old me on Twitter. It’s a never-ending source of amazement to watch people discuss coming up with fictional stories, so many they can churn out self-described “basic generic plot” genre stories to self publish books on Amazon. I can never get past adding more plot to get in the way of the story.

 So, I write out this navel-gazing nonsense no one cares about or in-depth explorations of Doug Sahm albums from the ‘80s no one cares about or, indeed, patiently crafted explanations of why and how the Democratic nomination process does it this thing that no one cares about. It’s fun for me and amuses me, so there it is. I recall watching an old Perry Mason episode that took place at a “Camp Crystal Lake,” and realizing the only person who wanted to see a Perry Mason/Friday The 13th crossover was me, and mainly because I wanted to see Paul Drake’s smug ass gutted like a catfish. But for that afternoon, anyway, I desperately wanted to see it. And that is weird, I’m not going to lie.

 Another thing I find a nonstop source of wonder is YouTube people who’ve done five-plus years of regular episodes on crappy movies or Top 5 Examples of Other People’s Ideas. A lot of it is no doubt my own self-consciousness and body image issues, but goddamn, haven’t enough people explained why Phantasm is an awesome movie? Then again, I never have been able to wrap my head around the “Let’s Play” phenomenon. It reminds me of watching amateur porn except more depressing, and frankly, I wouldn’t want to watch someone unattractive as me fuck someone who’d be willing to have sex with me, and I’ll let you fill in those blanks.

 I had at least two more paragraphs here that apparently got ate when I tried to post the Terrence McKenna video. Just a bit of entertainment and elucidation for chewing through this mess. I guess it’s time to wrap this up and get on with my night. It’s pushing the Witching Hour and even though I don’t have anything on my calendar for the next couple of weeks, pulling all nighters isn’t as much fun as it used to be. More often than not, it’s pretty goddamn painful and takes me a couple day to get over.

 But this has been cathartic, and that’s a good thing, I suppose. I mean, I’m still gloomy and irritable, but the winds aren’t howling as loud as they were beforehand. I’ve completely lost whatever thread I had tentatively wrapped together to bring this all home. I had something for this, I swear. In the end, I suppose it doesn’t matter so long as I enjoyed myself. And I did, even if no one else reads it or, frankly, if they do read it and don’t enjoy it.

 Serves you right.