#anyway. hoo boy I hope this is a Normal Thursday

[spacemancharisma]

going to be around my family without my husband for the first time in several years tomorrow. everybody pray it goes normal lol

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 1/10/2023

the more injuries and minor surgeries i pick up throughout my life i get more convinced i do actually play first person shooters as a power fantasy but not in the normal way. recovering ok, this was prescheduled and premeditated, just extremely tired

listening

are you havin any fun? this tony bennet version is good enough. the SINGULAR line "and nervous indigestion" has been stuck in my head since thursday.

-

reading

another pitch for Molly White's Web3 Is Going Just Great, bc HOO boy did a lot of shit happen last weekend. every crypto gaming project that folds feels like a personal gift to me. i did feel slightly insane last year bc the hype was so intense, everyone at my old job was fully bought in, and i got cited on two "performance reviews" for not being "excited enough" about crypto. anyway i hope my boss' two teslas explode.

-

watching

watched a ton of shit this week, including the entire run of the vampiric interview tv show, which i WILL have more coherent thoughts about later. what a horrible, messy, incredibly satisfying bit of television.

guillermo del toro's pinocchio made me fucking bawl my eyes out and i'm a little resentful of that. stupidly, stupidly beautiful film.

i'm here to talk about s/tar wars the bad b/atch, or at least the second season's first two episodes.

the whitewashing and general racism around the clones has been a problem since attack of the clones but has really only gotten worse with time and is especially bad in this outing of the franchise. i'm not super qualified to talk about this, but i think @unwhitewashthebadbatch is a good starting point.

my biggest storytelling beef is that it feels very much like a DnD campaign that is trying to be a blades in the dark campaign. the format and tone aren't quite right. this show neither focuses on the immediacies of survival right after the republic's collapse, nor where the Bad Batch are trying to fit themselves into a new world, and it really suffers for it. there's almost nothing about parenthood (bc Omega is still tagging along on missions, and she is still twelve). i still don't really know the story this show is trying to tell, but am forced to conclude that a weekly show for children about guys who can do some sick flips is not the correct medium since i still don't fucking know what story this show is trying to tell.

there are eight products on shopDisney for this show and two of them are on clearance. i do not anticipate this series will be renewed past s3. apparently according to some advance reviewers this picks the fuck up after the midpoint of the season but i'm not holding my breath.

production wise, the backgrounds and lighting have gotten way better, they've really leaned into a luminous sort of matte painting that doesn't always pretend to have depth. i like how the rocky set in the second episode feels very much like a live-action limited-budget set. looks very much like a soundstage but animated, and i think that's oddly charming. i do like the location we visited in e2, wish we got to see more of it or talk really at all about the significance of the location. like. we have a literal castle chase and we don't talk about the castle At All. come ON.

one of the few canon trans characters in star wars deserves a better show with more coherent storytelling. love star wars! wish it was good.

-

playing

largely fallow week. shouts out to the app Flick Solitaire bc i played through a hundred and fifty levels in the past few days

-

making

some knitting problems i have to mull over before i post, bc i created an entire kerchief thing in a percocet haze but am unhappy with the finish. we shall see! might frog it but i'll post about it before i do

[fatechica]

i’m just lady here in your inbox, politely asking you for my weekly breadcrumb preview of your next chapter. pretty pls 🥺

sldfjsldkfj well since you asked so nicely.....

(even though it’s not going to be long until the rest of the chapter is done and, hoo boy, is this chapter gonna be a doozy....and it should be finished tomorrow or Monday, so this won’t have to tide you over for long.....)

_____________

It’s going to be the third time she and Mike meet up after school to work on homework since getting paired up for US History and the second day in a row after meeting up at Mike’s house yesterday. And, with a test coming up in Trig on Friday, a Chem test the following Monday, and an outline of their History project due Thursday, they decided to just continue combining their efforts. 

Plus, El’s started asking Mike for a little bit of help in her English class, giving them more reason to talk and spend time together. Not a lot of help – El’s not completely hopeless, after all – but just enough guidance to make her feel better about her work.

But El has a… suggestion for where to get together to study and do homework.

“Hey, so, I was thinking, for tonight….” El says, trailing off with a teasing lilt to her voice, grabbing at Mike’s elbow with her hand to get his attention.

(even though she can feel the tension radiating off of him, knowing he’s painfully aware of her presence next to him. their arms brush against each other’s every few steps as they walk, the heat of the contact searing into her skin through the thin blouse she’s wearing, and it takes everything she has to keep from grabbing his hand and lacing their fingers together. she hopes that the tension she can feel from him is a good one, that he likes being as close to her as she does to him.)

Mike looks over at her with an arched eyebrow and, deep around the edges of his gaze, she can see what she can only describe as awe, barely perceptible through the amusement that’s predominantly shining from his eyes. It’s so reaffirming that he looks at her and sees someone amazing and El would be lying if she said it wasn’t also incredibly addicting. Mike makes her feel like she can do anything and it’s the best feeling in the world. 

“Uh oh, you thinking? That sounds dangerous,” he says, voice quiet but teasing, completely without pause. This is a more recent development, the lack of hesitation when engaging in what’s becoming their normal flirty back-and-forth, and El loves it. She loves that Mike feels comfortable enough to tease her without fear, without worry of how she’s going to respond.

Still doesn’t mean she doesn’t respond, though. El pouts up at him, giving him her best wounded pout. “You’re so mean to me, did you know that?”

There’s a hitch in Mike’s breathing, audible only because they’re walking so closely together. And, if El’s not mistaken, Mike’s gaze drops briefly down to her mouth, lingering long enough that it makes her feel all squirmy inside. “Oh, please, I’m the opposite of mean,” Mike says, sounding a tad more breathless than he did just a moment ago. “So, go on, tell me your idea.”

The pout on El’s face disappears as a smile takes its place, all giddy and giggly. “Well, I was thinking, we could actually have our study session at my house tonight. My dad’s working late, so it’ll be quiet, and we can, like, order pizza or something for dinner. This way, we don’t have to take a break to eat. And I like your mom’s cooking, and all – really, her food’s so good – but we’ll be able to get more work done.” She pauses, eyebrows arching as she looks up at him. “So, whaddya think? Sound good?”

Mike stares at her, wide eyed, as they approach their Chemistry classroom. His face has gone slack with what El is hoping is shock and not fear, and it takes him moving his mouth a couple of moments before sounds actually comes out. “Oh, um, your dad, he won’t… be there?”

El lets out a sighing giggle. “Yeah, well, sometimes he has to work late – covering his guys’ shifts, and all, so they can have a night off.”

“And he won’t, um….” Mike trails off, tongue darting out to lick his lips. God, he’s nervous, El realizes, and it’s beyond adorable. “He won’t mind us being, you know….”

At that, El can’t help but grin at what Mike’s hinting at. “You mean he won’t mind his teenage daughter alone at home with a boy?” El says, grin growing, almost gleefully wicked. “Well, I trust you won’t take advantage of the situation.” She slows down as they get to the door to their Chemistry class and turns to look at him fully. There’s a blush on Mike’s face that is spreading as the seconds go by and, lord, does she love pushing his buttons like this, seeing how far she can go. “Besides, my dad knows I know how to handle myself if you do something I don’t want you to. And, well….” She trails off, giving herself a moment to give him a very heavy look, gaze traveling down and up his frame. “You know.”

She’s not going to come out and say it – that there’s not much he could do that she doesn’t want him to do – since it’s a little too early to be putting that sentiment to words. But it’s clear Mike picks up on her meaning anyway and he turns almost crimson with the insinuation. Pleased beyond measure, El lets out what can only be described as a flirty giggle and winks up at him. “‘M gonna head on in. See you out in the parking lot after your practice.”

This is how, a few hours later, she finds herself at her house, her and Mike sitting at the kitchen table….

Alone.