#Shin Logistics

[shinlogistics]

Overcoming International Shipping Challenges

Website: shinlogistics.com

International freight shipping is a vital aspect of global trade and commerce, involving the movement of goods and raw materials across borders. However, the industry faces numerous challenges, including a complex regulatory landscape, infrastructure limitations, security threats, environmental concerns, and fuel price volatility. To overcome these challenges, shippers must invest in robust logistics and compliance management systems, collaborate with public and private entities, and invest in advanced technologies and data analytics to optimize shipping routes.

Security and piracy are also significant challenges in international freight shipping. To address these, shipping companies should transition towards alternative fuels, adopt fuel hedging strategies, invest in modern container handling equipment, and implement digital documentation and communication systems. Containerization has revolutionized international freight shipping, but it also brings challenges related to cargo handling. Investing in modern container handling equipment and training personnel in proper cargo handling techniques can improve efficiency and reduce the risk of cargo damage.

Political and geopolitical risks can also impact international freight shipping, leading to disruptions in shipping routes and delays in cargo movements. To mitigate risks, shipping companies should diversify shipping routes, stay updated on geopolitical developments, and adopt a phased approach to technology implementation. By embracing technology, sustainable practices, and international cooperation, the freight shipping industry can thrive in the ever-evolving landscape of international trade. Read Challenges in International Shipping and How to Overcome Them, to learn more about.

[sad-emo-dip-dye]

HOW DID THIS GET GAYER OH MY GOD?!

[projectcatzo]

Why did they keep the same typeface and typography between Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Shin Megami Tensei V, it's soooooo fucking ugly and cheap-looking

[malum-forev]

Dr. Bee

Summary: Bucky has quite the reputation but all it takes for him to want to change is an hour with an outspoken little Bee.

Bucky x Nurse!Mom!Reader

Bucky Barnes has many names. James Buchanan Barnes, Buck, The Winter Soldier, Sergeant. 

But on compound grounds, and in hushed tones, he’s usually called an asshole. 

He’s developed quite the reputation. Being difficult is his natural state of being. 

Bucky is constantly late to meetings, doesn’t show up for media days and is always going rogue in missions.

He doesn’t know why he does it, Dr. Raynor says it’s a coping mechanism, but that doesn’t make Bucky want to change one bit. He stays away from people and makes it everyone’s problem when someone decides to talk in his vicinity. 

Sam has tried to talk to him but, as per usual whatever the Falcon says, Bucky does the opposite. Sam’s even tried to convince everyone that Bucky’s like an untrained dog, he needs some kind of exposure therapy. Having people stand up to him and flat out call him what he is, that’s what he needs. 

Sadly for everyone who works with Bucky Barnes, no one has the balls to do it. 

But, everything changed one day. 

Everyone scurried away once the quinjet landed at the Avengers compound. They’d gotten word from someone in Logistics that the mission had gone terribly and the agents had barely come out alive. 

Bucky stormed into the med bay, his heels digging into the floor with such force you’d think it break, only to find it desolate. 

He huffed twice, looking around for anyone who could help with a deep cut on his right arm. 

“Hello?!” He yelled out, his temples throbbing and his left eye twitching. 

Bucky Barnes waited for no one. 

“May I help you?” Bucky’s eyebrows furrowed at the meek voice coming from behind the nurse’s station. His confusion only grew deeper when he didn’t find anyone there. 

A few seconds later a tiny hand popped up, wiggling its chubby fingers at him. 

“I said,” The little voice drew out the last word, annoyed. “May I help you?”

Bucky leaned forward and peeked behind the large desk to find a little girl.

Standing with her hands on her hips, the little girl with pigtails looked up at him with raised eyebrows. 

Her expression turned to one of concern.

“Are you hard of hearing?” The girl spoke slowly and loudly.

Bucky almost had to cover his ears from the shrill and very high tone of the girl. 

“I am not hard of hearing.” Bucky finally responded. 

“Then why didn’t you respond?” Little miss pigtails crosses her arms over her chest. “I asked you: may I help you?” 

His right eye accompanied his left one in twitching.

After he didn’t respond, the little girl scribbled something down on a paper in front of her. 

“What are you writing?” Bucky said through gritted teeth, how can a person so small get on his nerves so quickly?

“I can’t tell you.” She said in a singsong tone. 

“Why not?”

“You’re not my patient.” She shrugs, rounding the nurse’s bay holding a pink unicorn lunch box, coming face to face with The Winter Soldier. Actually it was more like coming face to knee height. “Can’t talk to people who aren’t my patients. Doctor patient villigage.”

Bucky bit his bottom lip to conceal a smile. “I think you mean doctor patient privilege.” 

“How would you know? You’re not my patient.” The little girl swung her lunchbox, skipping all the way to the waiting room. 

He was equally shocked and impressed. This little girl had more balls than most of the agents he worked with. 

Bucky looked around the med bay for anyone who knew the girl. Mom, dad, cousin, hell he’d even settle for a dog. 

With a groan, he followed behind her. Sure, he was a dickhead but he couldn’t let a kid wander around the Avengers med bay all by herself. 

She sat down, opening the lunch box and taking the contents out.

Bucky couldn’t help but think it was cute how her feet didn’t reach the floor. As he came closer, her swinging feet hit him in the shins. 

He let out an obviously fake and over the top groan, throwing himself on the floor. 

The little girl covered her mouth but her giggles bubbled around the room. 

“Aren’t you going to apologize?” Bucky asked from his position on the ground. “That really hurt.”

“No it didn’t!” She laughed harder. 

“Yes it did!” 

“I know nothing can hurt you!” She said as her giggles died down. “I know who you are.”

“You do, huh?” Bucky sat next to her.

“Mhm.” She said proudly, taking a bite out of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. “But my mommy says I can’t repeat the names she calls you.”

Bucky suddenly felt embarrassed. Dickhead, motherfucker, bastard, asshole had a whole different meaning now that he knew the little girl thought they were synonymous to Bucky.

“Well then,” Bucky cleared his throat. “I should reintroduce myself. My name is James Buchanan Barnes but people usually call me Bucky.”

The little girl placed her tiny hand in his and shook it. “I’m not supposed to tell strangers my name so, you can call me Bee.”

Bucky nodded his head once, he almost didn’t notice the peanut butter she’d smeared on his hand. “Well Bee, does you mommy or daddy work here?”

Bee shrugs her shoulders. “Can’t tell you.”

He takes a deep breath in. “Can you tell me how you got here?”

“Nope.” She takes another bite of her sandwich. 

“Can you tell me how long you’ve been here?”

“Nuh uh.”

Bucky runs a hand over his face. “Is this because of the doctor patient privilege?” 

“Yep.” Bee smiles up at him and this time Bucky can’t help but smile back. A blooming feeling erupted in his chest. 

Bucky looked down at his hand, trying to find his most surface level wound. Something that wouldn’t traumatize the girl who’s no more than seven years old. 

“Dr. Bee, I need your help. Do you have anything for this cut?” Bucky points to the small cut on his knuckle. She didn’t have to know how it came to be, or who’s cheekbone had caused it.

“Thertainly Mr. Bucky.” Bee’s missing front teeth were responsible for her lisp. She jumped off of the chair and hurried behind the nurse’s station.

She swiftly wrapped his knuckles in gauze. 

“Do you need me to look over your other arm?” Bee asked sincerely.

“I don’t think you can help with this one.” Bucky chuckled, knocking on the vibranium. “Unless you have anti rust spray.”

Bee threw her head back with laughter but the cute sound was cut short by a door slamming open. 

His mind went blank the second he saw her. Bucky couldn’t peel his eyes off of her, even his jaw went slack. He tried to memorize every single detail of her. Her hair, her eyes, her body, the blue scrubs she wore. 

“Bee!” She gasped, taking the little girl in her arms. “You almost gave me a heart attack, I told you to stay in the common room!”

“Don’t worry mommy!” She smiles up at the woman who’s taken Bucky’s mind hostage. “I’ve been with Bucky!”

The woman finally looks over at Bucky and he’s sure the world has stopped. 

But reality comes crashing down when her eyes lose some of their light. 

“Mr. Barnes.” She gasps, pulling Bee to stand behind her body. “I’m so terribly sorry about her, she wasn’t supposed to be here.”

Bucky gulps down the nervous feeling in his throat. He can’t help but feel like the biggest idiot in this universe. 

All he’s done for the past few years is be cold, and rude, and now the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, who’s got the cutest most outspoken daughter in the tri state area, is apologizing. 

His brain runs out of words and he just stands there. 

Bucky keeps quiet as the woman sutures up the wound on his arm, he’d completely forgotten about it. 

“Bee’s your daughter?” He manages to speak up after a few minutes. 

The woman nods with a smile, keeping her eyes on his wound but Bucky begs the cosmos she looks up at him, even if it’s just for a second. He wouldn’t care if she messes up, if it means their eyes could meet.

Bucky’s kept himself away from feelings for years. He convinced himself he doesn’t need them. But in a quick thirty minutes, Bee and her amazingly beautiful mother have stirred up more emotions than he’s had in the last two decades. 

“She-“ Bucky clears his throat. “She mentioned you’ve got a wide array of names for me.” 

Her cheeks burned red. “Bee must be mistaken, she’s got a crazy imagination. Always coming up with the strangest things-“

Bucky bit his bottom lip. “I’m used to it.”

The woman gulped, finally looking up at him. 

“I’m really sorry about the names.” She whispers. 

“It’s okay, darling.” Bucky’s eyes travel from hers to her lips. “But for next time, ‘Bucky’ is just fine.”

She nods, looking back to his wound. 

“And you are-“

“(Y/n).” She says. 

Bucky’s sure he’s never heard someone with a name as beautiful as hers. 

“You’re all patched up.” (Y/n) takes a step away from Bucky. “I’ll finish your report, I’m sure you’ve got more important things to do.”

Bucky stumbles on his feet as he stands up. Embarrassed, he walks straight to the door but stops before leaving the medbay. 

“(Y/n)?” He turns on his heel. “Would you please tell Dr. Bee I appreciated her help?”

The light in (Y/n)’s eyes returned as she nodded. 

Bucky left the med bay feeling lighter than ever before and he couldn’t help but think a certain little bee had everything to do with it. 

Comments and feedback is greatly appreciated!!

[kooldewd123]

let's talk about this image for a moment

i mean just really process it. because the logistics of this bedroom just keep getting worse the longer i look at it.

that bed is not touching any walls. the shelf is blocking the back wall and there is clearly room to push it to the right.

the bed is only half-blocking the shelf, leaving an awkward gap behind the baseboard.

because the bed is so unnecessarily close to the bureau, he can't open the lower drawer without banging his shin.

the fact that the bureau is so close to the window makes it look like the bureau is also pulled away from the wall, although i'm willing to give tobias the benefit of the doubt on that one and say he just has a really narrow room because his family doesn't love him.

he's definitely banged his elbow trying to open that window with how cramped it is back there.

the position of the blanket implies tobias was sleeping with his feet towards the wall (possibly lying on the bed backwards if that's the baseboard we're seeing, although it might just be a big footboard).

as an added bonus, the model was clearly sitting with his hand resting on a ledge and they did not properly align it with the bed when they photoshopped him into this clusterfuck of a bedroom.

[neyafromfrance95]

ur brain is actually so big for sexy secretary sauron x feral bratty knight galadriel. sauron saw her scheming on that raft and went “oh thank fuck something to fix” and started planning out their next 1000 yrs. i just know he’s thought about investing in a backpack leash

yes, exactly! it was never "she could fix me", it was "i could fix her by making her into the girlboss she desires to be."

his maiar secretary ass started giving her advices about how to successfully present herself as an authority in numenor after he realized her hot temper and impatience could get them drowned by the numenoreans, lmao!

gal confessed that sauron's darkness rubbed off on her and no one supported her great knightly ambitions, and suddenly he discovered empathy and went "omg sorry 🥺 fine, i will help u with ur knightly adventure." then he liked making her into a glorious hero a little too much. if he bound himself to her to make her into his new boss, that would heal her and he would be forgiven for all his sins! *the masterplan*.

this reads like an enthusiastic secretary saying how he could be a queen-maker gray cardinal of her dreams:

he will take care of all the logistics and planning, she can relish in being the shinning jewel on the throne wearing cool crown and armor (that he made. this control freak is responsible for making her clothes and styling her hair too. he is happy to be an overworked secretary if the boss is of his choosing.)

[vesuvianhermitcrabs]

SNUGGLING THE FAMILIARS

(A/N: i'm going through a rut and i absolutely hate everything i write at the moment so i ended up making some fluff for y'all)

Faust – Faust will wriggle up your arm and squeeze your whole entire being until your soul comes out your ears. she knows that technically you can't squeeze her back very well, but she would still like you to try. sometimes when you're with Asra she doesn't know who to hug (she'll settle for binding your arms together)

Malak – logistically it's a little hard to snuggle a bird this size. however he still tries to show affection by nuzzling you with his head at random; and if he sees Julian do it often enough he'll try to hug you. the hugs are just Malak wrapping his wings around your ankles or face (depending on what's most accessible)

Chandra – unfortunately, Chandra doesn't really do cuddles. if you really want to, you can try to hug her, but she would much prefer some head scritches or perching on your limbs. although, she might nuzzle up to you if she's feeling really affectionate

Inanna – an extremely large wolf who believes she's small after years of living with a very big man. she lays on you and crushes all the air out of your lungs like a soda can. Inanna snuggles are super comfy, as a whole lot of doggo means a whole lot of fluff. you might get poked with some of the twigs stuck in her fur when she performs some happy wriggles though

Pepi – cat cuddles!!!! she sits on your chest and naps, making you unable to move for hours at a time. Portia gazes upon you in pity when she sees this (she's laughing her ass off). when Pepi awakes it's to make biscuits on your belly (OW.) very soft and little, honestly the cutest being to ever exist

Mercedes and Melchior – sandwich. all you can see is white fur and there are tails wagging against your shins. you are trapped in a pile of dog and there is no escape. i'm sorry if you had hopes and dreams, but you will never move again. until one of them spots a bird or a squirrel or Lucio or anything even remotely distracting. then you're free again

[kleftiko]

hey i have a request! could you do pining!hawks x reader with trust issues? maybe kind of like a slow burn? you don’t have to do nsfw if you’re not comfortable with it!

❦ SORRY

cw: mature, mdni!, gn!reader, a bit of angst (okay a lot of angst is from your reactions😭)

PART 2

i can’t really do a slow burn in one sitting :/ but i do love me some pining hawks :)

if he were a puppy, his tail would be wagging every time he saw you. keigo was an innocent lover. maybe his desires weren’t innocent, but he grew up within the hero commission, he never had the chance to love and lose or have a broken heart.

when his eyes first landed on you, he finally got to experience all those feelings he never got a chance to.

and you were patient with him.

you might have been the same age as him but you were mature. you had relationships (wether romantic, platonic, or other) that gave you knots, tears, and bruises.

his crush was endearing, and you were patient with him. smiling when he said something sweet, telling him off when he overstepped a boundary, but you would never accept his propositions to go for drinks, or dinner. happy go lucky was never absolute. and though he called himself an optimist, there will always come a time when he puts you down. when he’ll leave you for someone else.

you truly believed that his crush was just that—a crush. if you gave in, he’d eventually tire and dispose of you.

but he was relentless.

the sweet flowers ‘anonymously’ arranged on your desk of yellow and red to match his colour palette. and chocolates for white day even though you didn’t get him anything the month before.

then there was the fact that whenever you spoke, his entire body turned to face you, sharp eyes glued to you. or when he would zoom in front of you just to hold open the door.

he was breaking you down.

actually, if you took the time to step back and look at the bigger picture, you would see that he already broke down your walls. otherwise, you would have found another job. boy, were you stubborn.

“you’re right, you’re right, we need move the event.” hawks sighed and crossed his arms before he flashed you his boyish grin. “how ‘bout we talk logistics over dinner?”

“can’t, i have a date with my instant ramen.” you didn’t bother to keep eye contact as you filed away things.

“i like ramen!” he said as you stood up, his feet padded behind you as you moved down the hall. “i actually make some pretty good shin, i top it with eggs and everything. i’m not asking you on a date—you know—you told me you’re not looking to go out. so i thought we could just hang out, like, friends, y’know? so i can come over, or you can come to mine—or if you wanna be fancy we can go out and get ramen—”

you shook your head at him and turned around to walk backwards.

“keigo, you’re adorable—“ but you overestimated your coordination, the heel of your foot catching the rise in the carpet as you began to fall back.

that would never happen with the no. 2 hero, though, who swiftly grasped your hips, pulling against the momentum of gravity and into his chest. a small ‘oof’ slipped out of your lips at the contact, and you looked up at him.

his eyes and smile were bright. “i’m adorable?”

you were trapped by his eyes. those stupid, optimistic, yellow eyes that drew you closer and closer until, before you knew it, your lips were on his.

your fingers perched softly on his chest. his hands froze, then moved about your body in awkward motions before relaxing and pulling you close. it was clear you took him by surprise, but he wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity.

his lips were soft and comforting, and if you could, you would spend the day kissing him, instead you subconsciously pressed your body into his, feeling keigo’s excited between his legs pressing against you. you wanted to just give in, have him explore your body like he always showed you how eager he was. you wanted to melt into his embrace and feel his skin on yours.

after that, though, he’d get bored with you. the excitement would wear out, and he’d go looking elsewhere.

that thought pulled you out of the trance.

you stepped out of his hold, breaths coming out a little too quickly. and your wrist harshly swiped at your lips, almost as if wiping off his kiss. you missed the hurt and broken expression on keigo’s face.

“sorry.” your voice was hard.

you didn’t give him another look at you walked away.

[footnoteinhistory]

Time for my big NYC Marathon 2024 recap post!! This post is very long, roughly organized borough by borough, and mostly for my own personal record since I don't feel like putting pen to paper rn

And because so many of you have supported me through all of this (like... all of everything in my life for a long time), I thought maybe some of y'all would be interested. Here is my detailed experience (+ some photos!) <3

Got up Sunday morning at 4:30 am, on the Midtown bus to the start by 6 am. My start wasn't until almost 11 am but I was so anxious about logistics I was happy to get to the start village earlier and sit around bored rather than later and panicked. Fortunately my charity team had a heated tent where I killed three-ish hours by people watching, forcing myself to eat bagels w/ peanut butter and bananas and graham crackers until I couldn't stomach any more, and meeting Meb Keflezighi (!!!). I've read Meb's book twice this year and was too starstruck to say anything to him other than thank you but! What a neat surprise to start the day. A grizzled volunteer held out two water bottles and I took one, then he gave me this look and shook the other bottle at me until I took that one, too. He knew. Trust the volunteers.

I was battling serious nerves leading up to the start line, which I'll skip for brevity's sake bc this is going to be a long post anyway. But by the time we lined up on the Verrazzano Bridge (I was on the lower level), I felt good. Excited. The anthem, the helicopters, the cannon, Frank Sinatra, crossing the start.

As you might know bc I've agonized over it extensively on this blog, my training did not go according to plan this year. I hurt my left leg in April, possibly a fracture, and struggled throughout the summer. I wrestled with the idea of deferring. Finally I decided that I would finish the race, even if I had to walk the entire thing. After a few weeks of speed-walking and rebuilding my strength, I felt okay enough to put a little more pressure on my leg and jog occasionally. I hadn't *run* more than 2-3 consecutive miles since the spring. Literally took a photo of my leg in the starting village with the thought it might be the last time it ever looks normal in case my shin snapped in half in some horrific freak stress injury mid-race. Peak anxiety brain.

So starting slow on the Verrazzano's uphill, I was so anxious I would feel that familiar twinge in my leg. I've felt it for months. Sometimes I'm not sure it isn't a phantom pain now. But I didn't feel it that first mile. Or the second, leaving the Verrazzano and thinking "oh, this could be fun." Or the next mile, entering the first neighborhood. So I ran for the next 10 miles straight.

Brooklyn: The first half of the marathon goes through Brooklyn. It was such a fucking party the whole way. Our wave ran through some quieter streets and neighborhoods before hitting 4th Ave, but it was the perfect warm up. Everyone in the world and their mother tells you not to go out too fast in a marathon but it is IMPOSSIBLE not to—not only was I overjoyed to be running without pain for the first time in weeks, I was zooming around giving as many high-fives to the kids as I could.

I had my name pinned to my shorts and it was 100% the right decision. I've heard from runners who say it was too overstimulating or they had trouble locating friends and family when everyone was screaming their name, but I needed it. I'll get into that later, but even at the start it was such a boost. A woman on a highway overpass shouted "Hi Emily, welcome to Brooklyn!" The first kid I high-fived smacked my hand and said "LET'S GO EMILY"

The entirety of 4th Ave was incredible. I loved running through Brooklyn during the half in 2023 and I loved it this time. So many kids, funny signs, people offering tissues, live music, flags and banners. There were many Israeli and Palestinian flags throughout the course, which wasn't a surprise but still stirred up feelings. There was an older man standing alone with a Palestinian flag and we connected (I don't know how else to describe those fleeting interactions between runners and spectators but I had many; it's not quite a wave, sort of a nod, mostly eye contact, you just both know you're focused on each other for a moment). He yelled "stay strong, run for peace!"

Around Mile 8 at the Barclays Center I felt a cramp in my right calf. I assume this was a consequence of not having run more than eight miles for months before (better to go in undertrained than overtrained, they say, but perfect-amount-trained would've been great). That cramp stuck with me for quite while until every muscle was so cramped they were indistinguishable. But we will cross that unfortunately literal bridge when we come to it.

I managed to stretch it out, walk it off, and power on through until I met my family for the first time just before Mile 11. I liberally applied some Biofreeze to my calf and accidentally dropped my bag of SaltStick chews—a crucial error. Goodbye proper sodium intake for the second half of the race 😰

But I was still blissfully unaware of that mistake, running through the Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods and the rest of Brooklyn. Until I realized it on the Pulaski Bridge headed into...

Queens: If Brooklyn was a party, the two miles I spent in Queens were a brutal reality check. My calf cramp was not getting better, I was mad about losing my saltsticks, passing the halfway point was more intimidating than heartening. My half time was around 2:50, which is MUCH faster than I was expecting, but I knew I couldn't keep it up. I really do not remember Queens. There is a 25-minute gap in my camera roll from the Pulaski to the Queensboro. I recall it being loud, and I was a little overstimulated. I hadn't used headphones yet but put them in to check on the Bills game. We were losing, which did not help my mood.

Queensboro Bridge: I train in a hilly area, so I wasn't too scared when people spoke in hushed whispers about how difficult NYC's course elevation is. But the mood swings I experienced on this fucking bridge. First of all, it's never-ending. It goes up and up and up and up. I thought of Jareth, because they loved Simon & Garfunkel and The 59th Street Bridge Song is on the playlist they made that I listen to when I miss them. My calf was cramping in such a way that stretching could not reach, let alone fix. I started settling with myself—10 miles left, okay, I don't think I will be able to run again, I can walk the whole thing.

But then—we're going downhill again. I'm walking a little faster. We're taking the ramp off the bridge into Manhattan. I'm jogging. We're passing the 16-mile marker—from here on out, every step is the farthest I've ever run in my life. I'm running again. We turn onto roaring 1st Avenue!

Manhattan: 1st Avenue is very long. Everyone warns you about 5th Avenue, when you're close enough to the end you might fool yourself into thinking it's the home stretch—but no one (except Meb) warned me about 1st Ave, which feels uphill! Is it uphill?? It is also a 3.5-mile optical illusion. You look as far ahead as you can and that mass you see cannot be runners, that can't be where you're going, that is so far, the bridge to the Bronx must be closer than that. And yet.

My family also did not see me on 1st Ave as planned, which was kinda disappointing. They just didn't make it to the post we'd picked out ahead of time. I didn't want to be grumpy or ungrateful because they did travel all the way to New York for me, and I'm glad they were enjoying shopping and stuff on the UES, it's their vacation too! but like... you travelled all the way to New York for me. Maybe you could prioritize seeing me 🥺 BUT I was perhaps entering the mouth of the pain cave at this time. I'd been running for over 4 hours, the longest I'd ever done, I didn't have enough sodium.

The spectators were awesome. All along the whole course they were great—if it ever felt like too much, I just walked in the middle of the course and tuned them out fine. There's no way I would've finished without not just their vocal support but material support as well—a bag of pretzels was like manna from heaven. Spray-on Biofreeze. Drinks between the official hydration stations. Alcoholic drinks, too (I did not partake, but boy if there's ever a time to break your sobriety...). Tissues. Bananas and orange slices, cookies, Halloween candy, an angel who had my fave kind of Honey Stinger chews. I'd been eating my own gels every 30 minutes on the dot but I was starting to get sick of them. I took everything that anyone shoved in my hands, Gd bless the people of New York City and their generosity, foresight, and kindness.

The Bronx: Going up the Willis Ave Bridge I didn't know if I would be able to finish. I hadn't run in a couple miles. I looked over to my left and saw runners crossing the Last Damn Bridge and it looked unfathomably far away. I had over 6 miles to go, there was just no way. I wanted to lie down in the middle of the street, find a way to tell my family to pick me up here. But there was a woman on the bridge, the first spectator in the final borough, rocking a well-swaddled baby that couldn't have been older than just a few weeks in her arms, welcoming us to the Bronx. I had to keep going after that. I kept telling myself to just keep walking, step by step, and eventually I would finish.

I hoped crossing the 20 Mile marker would be a boost but it made me feel like crying, if I had been hydrated enough to cry. The Boogie Down Bronx was popping but I could not match their energy. My legs were not going to run another mile. I was literally staring at the road taking one step at a time, my head down.

Then out of nowhere I felt someone next to me. Another runner, a middle-aged guy I'd never seen or spoken to before, came up beside me and patted me on the back and mumbled something I didn't hear before jogging off, something short like "keep going," "you got this," etc it could've been anything we runners say to each other on the course from time to time. It doesn't really matter what he said because just that pat on the back gave me fresh legs. Literally it was like I was on the start line again. I cannot explain it at all, I am tearing up just remembering it right now, the most powerful moment of my race. I immediately picked my head up and started running again and ran the rest of the Bronx. Everything hurt, but I could run through it.

I thought about getting his bib # and looking him up but I decided not to ruin the magic. My literal savior. We bobbed around each other a few more times but I lost him when I stopped on...

The Last Damn Bridge: There's an annual hype squad on the 3rd Avenue Bridge, the final bridge of the marathon that takes you back into Manhattan, and I've connected with some of them on FB. Their project this year was putting the names of runners' late loved ones on posters to give us an extra boost at Mile 21. I'd completely forgotten about it until I started passing the boards, then backtracked to find Phil's name ❤️ The organizer saw my name bib and said "Your name is Emily? My name is Emily, too! We have to take a photo!" so we did :) That interaction gave me a boost out of the Bronx and onto…

5th Avenue: You hear many warnings about the subtle but brutal elevation on 5th Avenue, which takes you from Harlem down almost 50 blocks to Central Park. I did not notice the elevation at all, or at least did not register it as elevation. I was mostly focused on trying to stay conscious. I wasn't ever urgently concerned that I was going to pass out, but if someone had bumped into me I probably wouldn't have gotten up. I was fighting back dizziness—but having fun again? Fun might not be the word but I have pretty positive feelings looking back on 5th Ave. The Bills won—I listened to part of the fourth quarter bc I needed to mentally be anywhere else for a few minutes. My walking speed was about equal to my "running" speed at this point so I mostly settled for walking.

Fun crowds, lots of people saying my name. Saw my family for the second and final time! I only stopped for a moment—my cousin said "How do you feel?" and I kind of fake smiled/laughed (?), my eyes not really focused on any fixed point, and said "I just need to keep going" and stumbled away into a jog. AND THEN I SAW MY FAVE TIKTOKER? I am not big into tiktok but if any of you know Dutch (dutchdeccc) I ran past him, did a double-take, TURNED AROUND and went up to him?? I spit out something incoherent like ohmygdiloveyourvideos, he was so sweet he grabbed my hand and said oh my gd thank you so much you are doing so great you are amazing! and I ran off into Central Park 😭

Central Park: There were making the miles longer here. I need to see the numbers and cold hard facts about the course measurements because these miles were longer than the other miles. I hated every second of miles 24 and 25 in the park. THAT was the pain cave. That was, of course I am going to finish because I came this far, but I have never felt this bad in my life. Running would get this over with sooner but my legs are no longer functioning and I might end up eating asphalt so we are walking 16-minute miles until we're out.

I knew certain ways my body would react to the distance because I've done long runs, but I didn't know most of the ways. Like, of course I have a calf cramp, that's what happens. But your legs spasming like in those videos you see of shaky runners who collapse right before the finish line—suddenly oh shit, I understand how that happens. It's not just one foot in front of the other, if I can't run I'll walk—at some point you cannot walk, but you have to figure out how to keep walking.

Central Park was fucking The Long Walk by Stephen King. I keep trying to remember specifics but I think my brain is blocking them out on purpose.

Central Park South: I'm crying again just recalling this. The final mile. You leave the park and run from Sherman's statue and the Plaza Hotel to Columbus Circle before reentering the park for the .2 finish. The hugeness of the marathon and achieving this goal finally hit me and I started crying, like actual tears—but my chest was so tight and achy that crying made it very hard to breathe, instantly, which was actually scary, so I stopped crying QUICK. Gathered myself. Most people were sticking to the right-hand side of the course, along Central Park, mostly empty of spectators. But I fucking needed people.

I can't overstate the power of the crowds at the NYC Marathon. Of course hype spectators are fun at any race, the cheering really is uplifting, the signs are funny. But at 25.7 miles you need more (at least I did) and New York City fucking delivered. I started walking along the barricade on the left, lined with people, and stared as many of them as I could dead in the eye. Literally forcing eye contact with these strangers lmao. It happened throughout the race—you catch a spectator's eye and connect with them, they say something right to your soul and you believe them. But I swear that entire barricade came through for me. It was sunset but still light enough they could read my name on my bib. I started jogging, high-fiving the kids, just looking from one face to the next begging them to talk to me, kept running just to see the next person. And they were smiling and cheering and it worked. I felt like the only person on the fucking course. I kept running even when I had to go right back into the park, uphill .2 miles to the finish.

I kept thinking "this is so fucking hard this is the hardest thing I've ever done if you just keep running to the finish you never have to run ever again." I truly felt like I sprinted across the finish line fast as Usain Bolt, but looking back at the video I was hobbling slightly faster than my 92-year-old grandmother.

The finishers area kinda makes you feel like a toddler, which is fitting because at that point, mentally, you can't think clearly. Like, your brain doesn't have any fuel left to process what's going on after running for 6 hours so the volunteers shepherd you through like a preschooler. Here is your medal, great job!, let me get you a warm poncho and wrap it up tight for you, do you see those big green signs over there, just follow them, yep!, is this bag too heavy for you, are you sure, okay, you did so good today. We must look like stunned baby deer.

Walked to Lincoln Center to meet my family. Nightmare bc once you're on the streets you directly encounter non-runners for the first time all day and most of them do not give a fuck. And as I said, you are physically and mentally struggling already.

But getting that medal is really fucking cool. And worth it

I won't bore you with the rest of the night (mostly ouch ouch stairs ow big step ough lying down hurts standing up hurts shower hurts eating makes me nauseated sleep is impossible) but over 24 hours out, I've never been sore like this. Just uncrossing my ankles hurts. I've always enjoyed the ache of a tough workout but this is something else. Proud of it though. However, unfortunately, I will be losing a toenail. Some may say that is a rite of passage for a distance runner but unpleasant and painful and kinda makes me dizzy nonetheless.

I've still barely had time to emotionally process any of this. I've wanted this for so long. Even as I was doing it, and trying to live in the moment, I could not believe I was actually running the New York City Marathon. And in 2024—this year I've dreaded for so long, the 10th anniversary of Phil's death, a year that's been unexpectedly brutal on me in so many other ways, too. But Phil was with me every step of the way, literally.

I've been wearing the medal all day even though it rubs against the sunburn on the back of my neck, trading little smiles and nods with my fellow runners. We fucking did it. I had no idea what that meant two days ago, what it took. If I did, I'm not sure I would've even tried. But we fucking ran the marathon babyyyyy

This is kind of the only thing I want to talk about so if you want to talk about it or have any questions or anything just let me know 🥺

[avonne-writes]

More subspace!Gale alert: Do you have any thoughts on Gale being blindfolded? I loved that in your fic you had him giving oral to John, but John was so sweet and gentle with him - I agree with the whole dynamic that John only needs to hold his head still to show him he wants Gale to go down deeper etc. rather than be rough in his demands. And I think Gale enjoys it's because it's a goal or task that John is giving him that he feels he can earn John's praise (although the bar is low and John would never berate him if there was something he couldn't do or was too overwhelmed for). I was trying to think of what other scenes would scratch a similar itch and was thinking perhaps Gale would like being blindfolded as a request/"task"? It might be quite a bit further on in their relationship (the soldier instincts to always be aware of surroundings and the heightened vulnerability could take a while to overcome) but when Gale truly takes being in subspace with John as inherently safe and he can trust without abandon, I think perhaps being blindfolded could be calming for him? Perhaps would fit in with his slight OCD/over-sensitisation tendencies you've described and let him switch his brain off to just following John and being looked after? Also being blindfolded might make him feel less self-conscious. Would love to hear any and all of your thoughts, or any other ideas of "scenes" you'd see them doing when Gale is submitting...

The Art of Letting Go

Great question! I'm happy to talk about subspace!Gale. I went a little overboard with the headcanons but I had a lot of ideas:

Blindfolds: Yes, blindfolds work well for Gale - if he’s blindfolded, he goes down into subspace faster. You can see in the fic that he struggles to keep his eyes open in subspace anyway, so a blindfold just speeds up the process of focusing on all the other sensory stimuli he feels.

Sensual tactile play: While we're at sensory things, Bucky can do a great scene by telling him not to move and then drawing slow, light touches up along the lines of his naked body. For example, brushing his skin with a light piece of fabric like a tie, up from his shins, over his thighs, hips and stomach to his chest, circling around his nipples, teasing his neck... Or he might trail his mouth over the same path, nipping him sometimes or sighing against the hills of his body to mix up the sensations. Gale always breaks out in goosebumps at first and his breathing speeds up until he’s tipped over that edge of surrender, and then he doesn’t even think of squirming anymore.

Mirror play: mostly as foreplay because of the logistics of it, but if Bucky orders Gale to watch it in the mirror as he enjoys Gale's body and showers it in love, Gale is going to shiver in pleasure. This is often how they start a scene if they get into the mood in the bathroom - Bucky plasters himself to Gale's back and mouths at his neck, undresses him slowly or runs his palms all over him if Gale is already naked. He holds Gale’s eyes in the mirror as he rubs himself against Gale's ass, and if Gale looks away from the view out of lingering shyness, Bucky grabs his jaw gently and turns his face back towards the mirror.

Orgasm control: having to wait for permission isn’t Gale's favourite because he feels so weak and out of his own control in subspace that holding back is a huge effort. But in the middle of a scene, when he’s still more alert, it works pretty well, and can push him deeper. The other side of orgasm control, multiple orgasms, is something he likes much more. This one is more difficult for Bucky though because he has to judge how to do it without painful overstimulation, because that will pull Gale out of it. Gale doesn’t take pain well.

Non-sexual dominance: you can see in the fic too that Gale really really enjoys the simplest of commands too. Like staying in place, folding his clothes, letting Bucky undress him. This can be extended for a longer scene, like Bucky can literally push him into the first moments of subspace just by telling him how to undress or how to take Bucky's clothes off and then praising him. It's such a strong positive reinforcement. It makes Gale feel like he’s good, that he satisfies Bucky and makes him happy.

Verbal reassurance: this is essential, of course, but it's a tool by itself - if Bucky verbally emphasizes that he’s the one calling the shots and that Gale doesn’t have to think about anything, it feels really good and helps Gale relax. It can also be nice if Bucky gives Gale rhetorical questions like "do you want to be good for me?" while Gale is still verbal.

Oral play: this is quite specific but Gale definitely enjoys having things in his mouth. It can be as simple as Bucky brushing his thumb over his lips and then pushing the tip of it in, or putting a piece of chocolate in his mouth, or fingers in his mouth while he bottoms. But it could also be the kind of oral we see in the fic.

[eretzyisrael]

Palestinian fighters from the armed wing of Hamas take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Israeli fighter jets struck a Hamas command center embedded in a school in Gaza run by the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Tuesday.

“The strike was carefully planned and carried out using precise munitions while avoiding harming civilians as much as possible,” the military said in a statement, adding that the operation came about due to “accurate intelligence” provided by the Shin Bet security agency and Military Intelligence Directorate.

The IDF and Shin Bet said the war room was used by Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip, to plan attacks against Israeli troops operating in central Gaza.

More than 15 terrorist operatives, including 10 Hamas fighters, were killed in the strike, according to the IDF. The death toll included members of Hamas’ elite Nukhba force who participated in the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, the military noted.

As a core part of their military strategy, Hamas terrorists embed themselves within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeer civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks against Israel.

The IDF also revealed on Tuesday that in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Saturday, terrorists were identified in UNRWA’s central logistics compound alongside UN vehicles.

In the footage, several terrorists and gunfire can be seen near UN vehicles and in the area of UNRWA’s logistics warehouse compound.

[itwillbelonelywontit]

epilogue near and young mello has me in a violent chokehold. you think near treats him more gently like this? with a little more emotion, a little more care, because he’s lived the last two decades without him? and maybe that tenderness both discomfits and enrages mello, who patently doesn’t understand, because this version of near is just like the apathetic kid he bullies but also not,,,,,,

picturing near with his hair in a messy ponytail while he’s working late on a case and mello walks up behind him and goes. hey. why don’t you smoke them out with [impulsive, violent, straightforward mello plan that is nevertheless clever] and near is like. silent. and then he smiles and he’s like. yeah why not okay. and it works and near maybe remembers that mello’s dynamism made them an unstoppable pair.

and near won’t tell him how he died but mello is sure that he is dead, because this near looks at him with a strange attachment in his eyes that feels like pity yet isn’t.

mello pulls on his hair out of habit and near takes the bullying with a long suffering nostalgia that makes mello escalate until he’s climbing on near’s body in the middle of the night and oh, poor boy doesn’t know what he’s getting into. I’m sure you can imagine :)

GRRRRR YOU. YOU GET IT. YOU UNDERSTAND MY VISION. I dont want to get too caught up in unnecessary logistics bc thats really not what this is about, but I imagine it's like a sort of. second chance at life but with a catch and the catch is mello comes back as a. checks notes. 13 or 14 year old with only the memories up to that point while the world has moved on. I dont think near would ever actually tell him that he died, and mello can't find any evidence of his own death in the news from the past 20 years, but he knows he died, because theres no other explanation for the way near looks at him like he simultaneously has already lost him but is surprised by his presence.

and GOD I LOVE THIS IMAGE. near kind of forgets how uniquely brilliant mello was, even as a hotheaded teenage. that boy can pull off plans that anyone else would immediately call ridiculous.

I think truly what makes this so crunchy, other than the given age gap power dynamic, is the fact that near is above mello's bullying. sure, near has always been apathetic towards it, but apathy is so much better than whatever sad almost-smile he gives mello every time he yanks on his ponytail or pushes him from his chair. so mello just tries harder. he ridicules every aspect of near's being, he kicks his shins and shoves him at every opportunity, but its even less gratifying than when near was his age (which to him, feels like just yesterday). somehow mello is the one feeling mocked and belittled every time. so of course he eventually attempts to resort to sexual violence... smiles. god. how do I even start thinking about this. because I just know its SO good.

[teethoftheeditor3]

I was gonna start this with "I wanna talk to you about" but quickly realized its more like this:

I'm gonna talk and you can't stop me.

Anyway, I want to talk about a book I've been reading. I've already discussed a number of my thoughts on Youjo Senki, a book with a much larger following in Tumblr than I ever expected. I think that book is actually pretty fun. The apparent idolization of 20th century Germany is... concerning and it kinda feels like it was written by that kid in highschool that claims to be a history buff but only knows WW2 military history. That said, it is a book that goes into the logistics of war and is chock full of flawed characters. Even Tanya herself, or rather especially Tanya. But this isn't a post about Tanya, or rather it's a comparison with Youjo Senki as a reference frame. I want to talk about a little something called...

86

Eighty-Six is similarly a light novel with a war setting, however it's set is a purely original world sci-fi setting compared to the alternate history / urban fantasy setting of Youjo Senki. The story is very complicated to summarize to a point where the one thing I want to talk about is. Essentially:

The story is set in the Magnolia Republic, the fact that it's a republic is interesting in the setting but not that relevant to this little rant. The neighboring empire declared war on all of it's neighbors and began waging an autonomous war that drove the Republic to the brink of extinction, crushed to the 85 sectors of the capital city. During this, the dominant ethnicity in Magnolia declared all other ethnicities to be little more than "pigs in human skin" as a way to deny their citizenship, seize their property and conscript them to serve in the military as front line soldiers. These peoples, the 'Colorata' as they are referred to in the story as a generalization of not Alba, are forced into internment camps or serve 5 year military service to get their citizenship back, all outside the 85 sectors, the de-facto 86th sector making them "the 86". I'm not gonna pretend the racism plot is not sloppily handled, oh boy is it extremely messy and I definitely think it could have and should have been handled better, but once again, not the point of this rant so I will leave that extremely loaded minefield for another day. This military service is piloting these mecha spider tanks which are pretty fuckin rad but also are flimsily constructed and handle poorly. Inside the 85 sectors, these are referred to as "unmanned drones" because if the pilots aren't considered human, then there are no casualties in the war.

Okay, summary out of the way. Let's do this. (Btw, I'm not fully through book one yet, but I had to talk about this.)

Our main characters are split in two, an ace squad of "Processors" (86 Pilots) led by Shin aka Undertaker, and Lena, their Alba 'handler' with her heart... mostly in the right place unlike most of the upper brass of the military. I'm again not going to dig into too much, please go read it yourself it's very good, but there is one bit I want to talk about that made me go 'holy shit' and it is a spoiler so fair warning. The scene comes after a pivotal moment in Lena's character arc that forces her to confront her own biases and realize some of her own shortcomings, while also showing the uncompromising divide that exists between the her and the 86 that she can't overcome just by being friendly with them. In fact, it showed how her efforts were at best in vain and at worst actively harmful to everyone involved. She realizes for the first time the true extent of the damages done, and in a way this is the first time where the plot point about racism becomes more nuanced in how it relates to the oppression of marginalized people and how it takes immeasurably more effort to make things right than it does to fuck them up in the first place. After all of this, and then a few more slightly horrifying revelations for good measure, Lena and Shin are speaking over comms when Shin says:

"You're going to lose this war, Major."

Now, I think Asato Asato has a tendency to overexplain some of her really good bits and this is one of them. Shin explicitly uses the words "You're gonna lose this war," despite being a soldier of the republic, if not on paper because of the aforementioned dehumanization. Asato Asato specifically calls attention to this wording, and while I think it could have hit harder if she didn't, I'm in a way glad she did because people that may not think too deeply about it will at least know the gravity of this line. While Shin is not in any way a representative for the 86, this line delivers a perspective that seems to be held by a lot of the Colorata. In no uncertain terms is he telling her that he has no allegiance to the Republic, he is not on her side. Sentiments of this sort are shown to exist in a lot of their squad, and in a way became the catalyst for Lena's character growth, but how this line is delivered, and when it's delivered adds so much to it that is hard to put into words. This one line perfectly highlights the difference in perspective between the 86 Processors and the people and military of the Republic.

It also brought to mind Youjo Senki when I read it, not because Tanya doesn't also have good lines, but because it shows how the two books talk about war drastically differently. Youjo Senki is, at it's core, a book that has a one track perspective on war, awe. There is some talk about how war is bad and the conditions are miserable, but it is mostly covered by Tanya being inhumanly good at war. The Empire in Youjo Senki is highly nationalistic and is supposed to command respect and awe for it's military and strategic might. But 86. Eighty-Six at it's core is about the human cost of war, in more ways than I'm explaining here because spoilers. The Magnolia Republic is a mess. And worst of all it's a mess in ways that are sometimes frighteningly similar to the real world. There's the rampant discrimination, wealth inequality, there's about to be a food crisis, a lack of funding, and that's just the start. Basically everything is sucks, but the powers that be are hellbent on putting up the illusion of utopia, and most of the citizens believe it. And that's saying nothing of the autonomous war drones that seemingly have no programming of international wartime law or the concept of sparing civilians. The war in 86 is shown to be hell, yet the people living through it are given humanizing character moments which makes the awful shit they have to deal with seem that much worse. It helps that the cast is more than just one person, but each of the cast of 86 feel so much more human than Tanya... although her characterization is intentional too.

Long story short, I think 86 Eighty-Six is very good, and I recommend it. I loved this moment and wanted to talk about it, and I really said like nothing. Is it perfect? No, but the only book that's perfect is... well I haven't made up my mind. Like with Youjo Senki, my opinion is open to change and whatnot, and I definitely should read more of both so I have a more informed opinion but my backlog of books is endless and I picked these up preowned at my local comic shop.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, and also Id love to hear about how the anime handled this scene. I never really got into the show, but it's been on my reading list for a while.

[rays-animorphs]

Rachel and Cassie

So, I haven't been reading or posting about animorphs recently, but I have been reading the Scholomance trilogy, twice, and I think observing El and Liesel's dynamic has given me some insight into Rachel and Cassie's friendship.

My initial impression of their friendship was...I didn't buy it. I identify with Cassie a lot -- I've never worn shit-stained overalls to school, but my middle school aesthetic was noticeably closer to Cassie than Rachel. And personality too -- I cared deeply (still do) about concepts like peace and justice and compassion and making he world a better place. I was subscribed to Zoobooks and read them all. When I was in fifth grade, I tried to talk a friend and two of her friends that I thought might also be my friends into doing a class presentation on environmental issues. It didn't work, but I tell you this to illustrate where my head was around that age.

(Plus I very much had Cassie's conflict avoidance. Why can't we all just get along?)

And...my experiences with people who dressed like Rachel or had the interests Rachel has, were not positive ones. They ranged from being lightly pressured into things I did not want to do at best, and getting my shins kicked in the hallways between classes at worst.

So. It's hard for me to picture two people like Rachel and Cassie, at the age that they are, actually getting along.

But...it's possible my middle school perspective was distorted by my considerable lack of social skills -- if my Rachel-like peers were interested in things other than makeovers and playing truth or dare, I didn't know how to draw that out of them.

And Liesel. Liesel Scholomance. Drive, ambition, a terrifying intellect, and ruthless efficiency. And she puts effort into her looks -- as a part of that drive, ambition, terrifying intellect, and ruthless efficiency. I think Liesel and Rachel might have a lot on common -- not everything, I think Rachel is substantially better at having regular human interactions that are about something other than a 30 year vengeance plan, like I don't know, desiring connection or whatever. And Rachel does not have Liesel's gift for managing logistics.

But I think their approach to fashion etc might be about the same: that Rachel might hunt for sales at the mall largely as a way of feeling competent, because she knows she's good at it and doing things you are good at feels good. Having classy, put together outfits is a thing she knows the rules for.

And...maybe when she criticizes Cassie's clothing choices, maybe it's coming from that sort of place, the knowledge that she has a skillset that Cassie does not, that as a friend this is something she can help Cassie with, because at some point Cassie is going to need to give a speech at a fundraiser for the wildlife clinic or a medical school interview, and she'll be more successful at that if she has nice clothes. That fit. And do not have animal poop on them.

Maybe it's not judgement or rejection so much as just -- and Rachel says in her own narrative voice that she respects Cassie, Cassie's work ethic and her values and her intelligence -- maybe it's just, well, we're all human beings with different strengths and weaknesses, and maybe when you recognize that you're good at filing taxes and your friend isn't you offer to help your friend file their taxes, and if they need to move and can't get everything on their own but you're good at lifting and carrying things maybe you help with that, and maybe sometimes you're good at putting together the right look and your friend just isn't but it's an important thing to do in order to get what you want, so it's a thing you can help your friend with. When she needs that.

Maybe.

[wishingforatypewriter]

Here are some Shady Shin headcanons because I feel like I've neglected him in my triad lore.

Shin's mom is from Agna Qel'a in the north and his dad is from Wolf Cove in the south, but he's always identified more with Southern Water Tribe culture and considers himself a southern waterbender. He finds the northern side of his family overly traditional and a little stuck up.

The nickname "Shady" was actually inherited from his father, who sold counterfeit luxury goods in his shop to make extra money. It was originally an insult thrown at him by classmates whose parents felt they got ripped off, but he reclaimed it when he started working for the Triple Threats.

Shin is a decent waterbender, but his real strength in the triad is logistics and organization. He thinks on a systems level and makes sure the triad's various operations are always running smoothly. This talent makes him pretty much indispensable to the leaders of the organization, which is why he was kept around even after he lost his bending. (He gets his bending back eventually, but nobody really noticed that it was gone)

He's still a little bitter that Zolt promoted Viper to second-in-command over him. Shin was clearly smarter and a lot more loyal, but in the end it didn't matter.

Shin absolutely cannot stand Viper, who he sees as arrogant, underhanded, and entitled. They're pretty close in age, and Shin has watched this man get advantage after unearned advantage because of who his father (who was a big shot in the Red Monsoons) and his brothers (who were founding members of the Triple Threats) happened to be.

He's actually kind of friends with Bolin now, even though he was pretty hard on him and Mako when they were kids. They meet for noodles and gossip.