#but in a very satellite / outsider kind of way

[not-poignant]

You have a very broad readership; do you still, like most ao3 writers, use writing as a way to make friends? If so, how do you manage both to make connections and keep from uncomfortable parasocial engagements?

(admitting: I like your work a lot, I have a similar interest in writing trauma and recovery, I would like to befriend you, but I don't want to bother you bc lots of people want to be friend with writers they like and there's no way you'd have energy for all of them!)

Hi hi anon,

So...this response might be disappointing, but I didn't use fanfiction writing as a way of making friends. That's not why I started, and it's never been the reason for me to be in fandom.

(Thoughts about friendship and stuff under the read more, it's pretty personal so no obligation to read. The TL;DR is I am bad at friendship and I also am not like 'most AO3 writers' (is that really why most AO3 writers write?) in the sense that I never wrote fanfiction as a way to make friends and it's very weird to me sometimes that people actually do this as a motive).

When I turned up in fandom, it was a very private experience for me. I didn't know anyone else locally who shared the same fandom/s I do. When I shared fanfiction on Livejournal, I did so to complete strangers who I never got to know better, or to people who were already friends through other interests.

I've never gone to fandom conventions (there's few here, and I have severe social anxiety. By the time I thought about going I was in my late 30s, and just felt like I'd be too much of an outsider even among fellow outsiders - again, I shared almost no fandoms or ships with anyone I knew locally, and no one I'm friends with / know in person reads my fanfiction). Fandom was always an incredibly isolated experience for me.

When I joined AO3, it wasn't with a view to making friends. I was extremely burnt out, I'd quit my previous job as a professional artist because I couldn't see a way of making the income work out, and I just wanted to write a very angst-filled story that would help me deal with my loneliness which I didn't see as something that would ever change. Writing about a character who's experienced centuries of loneliness was like 'cool, yeah, I'm gonna write about him.'

I did end up making friends, but it was kind of by accident! And not all of those experiences were positive. One person in particular became quite toxic and cruel towards me, and I experienced my first kind of encounter with...I guess what I would call the uglier side of fandom life and also just friendship and relationships. It took me a long time to recover from that experience (and to learn what emotional abuse is), and after that I shut down and stopped kind of making friends on the internet.

I have made friends through the writing since (they're usually the mutuals I also have on Instagram, or here, or people I've DMed in Discord etc.), but I haven't really sought it out actively and I think anyone who knows me well enough that we've private messaged a few times, also knows that I'm quite aloof and reserved, and that I will engage quite deeply sometimes but then disappear for a few months (or years) re: communication, which is a remnant of a period of time where I used to get sometimes 200 Whatsapp messages in 5 minutes from someone who expected me to be accountable to her every second of every day when she was awake and wanted me to be.

On top of like, severe social anxiety + PTSD, and being very reserved in general, I would also say I'm very time poor. I don't have much time for the friends I already have and care about. I often view myself as quite a poor friend, who is not good at starting and even worse at maintaining connections. I'm also very private. As in, I will happily tell the world I have PTSD. But I won't tell my friends in a private conversation when I'm having a bad night, and I don't give friends many opportunities to connect. Even with really close friends, this is an ongoing issue that I'm working on.

So as for befriending, that's extremely sweet of you anon, but who I am in my personal life is sometimes very different to like... the way I can respond in comments or to anons, because it's actually easier for me to talk to strangers sometimes than it is for me to talk to friends, lol. I honestly think some of the people I consider my friends don't even know that I do, because I don't really behave like one. I chat online regularly to one person only, and one other person intermittently (and they're a romantic partner) and that's it. Everyone else I chat to pretty rarely in DM. But I do turn up in the Fae Tales Discord every day.

I don't actually think lots of people want to be my friend, tbh? Not in a 'woe is me' way, but simply because I think some people do grok that kind of... polite distance or that sort of warm 'I care for a lot of people but I am also quite personally walled off' kind of way. The good news is a lot of the folks in the Fae Tales Discord also share a lot of interest in writing trauma and recovery, or have those experiences, and I know a lot of good friends have been made within the like...faedom itself. A lot of neurodivergent, trauma-focused folks have met each other through this writing, and it's really cool seeing the different friendships that have sparked up between people. There's a lot of extremely like... skilled, talented, interesting people that I've met through this job, who I admire, respect and want the best for, and am very happy to talk to.

But yeah I'm a bit difficult to befriend, anon, and that's been an ongoing thing all my life, tbh. But it did specifically get worse in fandom because of some early fandom experiences when I started out in Rise of the Guardians fanfiction.

[pickingupmymercedes]

An impossible dream - Lewis Hamilton

request: "hey!you are so good in writing angst and I feel there's a lack of angst with lh and sometimes i just want a heavy heart 🫣 but i was listening to beyonce and her song best thing i never had made me wish to read something like that with lewis"

pairing: Lewis Hamilton x Reader!

warnings: angsty, Lewis being kind of a jerk (but not really)

wordcount: +1K

a/n: Sorry it took this long anon, but I hope it gives you all the feels, because it did for me.

As always, I'm open for feedback, come say hi!

______________________________________________________________

The opulence of the Monaco in a Grand Prix weekend shimmered around as the warm glow of the setting sun bathed the city in its usual golden hue. Y/n and her husband cruised through the narrow, winding streets in his collection worthy of a car. The engine purred smoothly, a low, contrasting hum to the noise of her own mind as they made their way to a party very few could ever get close to.

Her husband reached over and took her hand, his touch gentle and reassuring. "You've been quiet" he said, glancing at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

She turned to him, managing a small smile. "Just nervous to be back in Monaco," she replied, barely above a whisper before she continued "I have a lot of past history in these streets" she admitted, her voice carrying a mixture of nostalgia and pain.

He nodded, understanding deepening in his eyes. "Is it because of your ex?" She hesitated for a moment before nodding and he squeezed her hand, a silent show of affection.

"I've seen how it affects you, still" he replied softly. "I'm happy to wait until you're comfortable to talk about it."

"Thank you for never pushing" she said, her gratitude genuine.

He smiled, bringing her hand to his lips for a tender kiss. "You’re really the best thing that’s ever happened to me" he said, his voice filled with love.

She saw him before he saw her, the man whose name once caused her heart to race faster than his car on the track and she instinctively tightened her grip on her husband's arm.

He noticed the man beside her, and then his gaze dropped to her left hand, where the large diamond ring sparkled under the golden lights. His expression turned unreadable, a myriad of emotions: shock, recognition, questioning, and even a composed understanding.

As the night wore on, and her husband was eventually pulled into conversations with some business magnates, she was left momentarily alone, drifting towards the balcony, seeking solace in the night breeze and the endless horizon of the sea. The memories of past sunrises in this very place, leaving a bittersweet and relentless feeling.

"Y/n." His voice was a soft murmur behind her, as gentle as the evening wind. She closed her eyes for a moment, steeling herself before turning to face him.

"Lewis," she acknowledged, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

"Do you even remember those sunrises?" He took a step closer, the faint scent of his cologne bringing back a rush of memories.

She looked away, back towards the dark waters. "Please, don't." she whispered; her voice almost lost in the breeze.

"What's happened, Y/n? Why did you disappear?" His tone was soft, but insistent.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm the storm inside her. "Some people need to grow up and stop chasing impossible dreams" she said, her voice more composed than she felt.

"Is that what you think we were? An impossible dream?" His eyes boring into hers, searching for the truth.

She met his gaze, her eyes betraying the pain she had buried. "I couldn't keep pretending, Lewis. Being a satellite to you, yet always on the outside... It was killing me. I needed stability, something real."

"Is that what you have now?" He nodded towards the crowd inside. "With him?"

"He makes me feel safe" she replied, her voice firm.

He looked at her, his expression a mix of sadness and frustration. "Are you happy, Y/n? Truly happy?"

Her heart ached at his words, but she forced herself to keep her composure "Happiness wasn’t a luxury I could quite afford. Not anymore."

He shook his head, stepping closer until there was little to no space between them, his perfume making her dizzy. "You deserve more than just safety. You deserve to be loved, completely and unconditionally."

"And you think you could have given me that?" A tear threatening to slip down her cheek, the tinge of anger to her voice just as she quickly looked up and closed her eyes.

"I know I could have" he said softly, his voice filled with conviction. "I loved you, Y/n. I still do."

She looked back at him, the weight of his gaze and words pressing down on her made her laugh. "Gosh, I wanted you so bad... But, it's too late now, Lewis."

"Don't you ever wonder what could have been?" He asked, his voice teasingly sweet.

"I used to. I’m through with that, though." she admitted, her voice trembling. "He is my life now."

He reached out, taking her hands in his just as she turned to look at him again. "You don't have to settle for safety, Y/n. Not when you could have so much more. It's never too late, you know?!"

"I'm pregnant." She blurred out; her voice steady but not above a whisper.

Lewis froze, his eyes dropping to her belly. He blinked, processing her words. 

"It's still early days." Her hand instinctively going to her still-flat stomach as she felt the need to explain herself, even after all this time.

He swallowed hard, the weight of her words sinking in. "I just... Make sure your happy, okay?! This kid needs you at your best."

"I know" she whispered, her voice breaking slightly as he turned from her and she understood the cue.

As she rejoined her husband, she felt as if a piece of her heart had been left behind in the shadows of that balcony.

Her husband’s eyes lit up. Relief and affection evident in his expression as his arms encircled her. He kissed her head tenderly from the side, his lips brushing her hair. "Are you both alright?" he asked softly.

She nodded, forcing a smile as she looked up at him. "Yeah, someone's perfume made me nauseous, just needed a little breather."

Her husband smiled warmly, and she leaned into his embrace, seeking comfort in the familiarity and security he offered.

As they stood together, surrounded by the opulence of the setting, she couldn't help but glance back at the balcony, where Lewis remained, a solitary figure against the backdrop of their shared memories, his eyes still locked on her as they would always be, as long as they kept bumping into each other.

______________________________________________________________

TAGLIST - @saturnssunflower @xoscar03 @chocolatediplomatdreamerzonk @happy-golden-hour @vicurious28

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[whovianbuffalo]

Dot and Bubble thoughts

This episode was first and foremost an allegory for racism and the entitlement of white elites, and this little touch of “charging rebranded as 'work'”(because it's 'tedious') is interesting here.

Lindy later says "my job's not easy, I get chapping" which shows she clearly hasn't worked out that "work" has become a meaningless phrase in their carefully-controlled society.

Before this, Ricky says people used to do 'manual labor, for money', but Lindy still self-identified as a wealthy person when Ruby asked, and said "Only people who can afford it" are sent to Finetime, yet

So... I can understand why some people feel that this episode is trying to take a shot at Gen-Z and no one else, but I will say it does seem to be a valid critique of performative activism.

Lindy mentions that she is using 'refurb' clothing and therefore isn't using up any of Finetime's resources, which is one of the only indications we are given that this 'utopia' is, of course, falling apart. The other indication comes in the opening of the episode when the newsreader informs them "Not going to lie, we are having trouble with the weather satellite".

A friend of Lindy's compliments her outfit- a woman who says "Kindness all the time" (an ultimately hollow phrase) is preferable in this society to The Doctor and Ruby, who are seen as impolite for daring to interrupt their bubbles, but, ultimately, The Doctor is shut out due to racism and colorism. Ruby is an outsider too, but because she is white and blonde and blue eyed they never question if she is a "contagion".

The Doctor was no 'ruder' than Ruby, but Lindy focuses on him anyway.

I appreciate that we see an early indication of Lindy's selfishness in her first meeting with Ricky here.

Interesting that instead of "heaven's sake" Gothic says "For land's sake". This makes sense for a culture so clearly obsessed with Manifest Destiny, and of course reaffirms their belief that Finetime is "heaven", of sorts.

It's clear that they still have some Religious/Phantasmagorical connection to a mythical heaven, as Lindy says "You mean she's in The Sky? Isn't she lucky!" rather than think about the realities of death or an afterlife. And just in case we were wondering if this culture was religious, they invoke the deity (and Manifest Destiny) directly:

The specific way in which Dot and Bubble forces the viewer to sit with Lindy throughout the episode- static scenes shot of her very boring life and her extremely vapid, empty social life (which I appreciate The Doctor calls out as being enough to drive the AI to homicide) makes us feel trapped and complicit in her behavior, and Ricky's, too.

We're watching the narrative unfold from within the bubble and the screen is literally obscured, peeling back the layers until we finally meet the doctor in person- but Lindy's reaction is off.

And then... We don't follow them. The camera shrinks back, and the impossibly wide world which they wanted to conquer shrinks back into a tiny dot as their boat fades out into the horizon. We're left with Ruby and The Doctor and a TARDIS which is bigger on the inside, but we don't see inside her.

Great work from the director of photography here and amazing work from the cast and crew all round to make a script which must have looked extreme repetitive on paper- the constant use of the word "Forwards. Forwards. Forwards" must have been a hard slog in the read-through— work so well onscreen. How prodigious that it would appear have been too expensive to film during the 11th doctor's era and was shelved for more than a decade until we could get Ncuti Gatwa to fully embody this experience.

This episode was an excellent satire (of multiple things!) and I'm not sure it would have landed the same way in a previous era... But it feels incredibly timely now if you are willing to listen to it.

[therandomartmaker]

[Image ID: An artwork featuring Danny Phantom, full green excluding his hair and white accents, transparent, sitting on a pile of rubble head tilted slightly upwards with his eyes closed. His hair is wispy, he’s got pointed ears and he’s much more identifiable as a ghost. The rubble includes the F of the Fenton Works sign, a satellite dish of some kind, pipes and concrete. The rubble, and Danny, is surrounded by yellow-black striped caution tape. Above Danny’s head is a conversation, in white, “It’s been ten years,” has been written, and in green, “It’s only been 10 years,” is written. /End ID]

Day 31: “It had been a decade since anyone last lived at Fenton Works. Or so people thought.”

tbh this took like. Less than half an hour to make haha. I may have forgotten to do this yesterday lmaooo. To make up for it, here’s a continuation of this prompt by @cryinginthevoid that i filled, wherein Danny has been stuck haunting the rubble of a ruined Fenton Works after his permanent death, only to later be approached by a very much alive Damian, who is the first person to See Danny in over 10 years. So yep, bonus challenge post 2 under the read more :D

Damian had visited. He’d promised and he’d followed through on it, Danny sitting still and watching as Damian approached, day after day, even after Danny had no more words to say, no more information to give. To quote, he was “a tolerable friend despite your intolerance for proper respect.” Danny had no idea if that was a good or bad thing, if he were to be honest.

But still! It’d been 10 years since he’d to spoken to someone, something other than the air. Damian said his brothers wouldn’t follow him, despite saying he’d bring them to meet Danny during one their tentative hangouts, and Danny supposed that was a good thing. He didn’t want Damian to sound crazy or look crazy for talking to thin air, especially not by his family.

Though, what was interesting was the weird amount of black-haired blue-eyed outsiders hanging around town. The FentonWorks rubble had a pretty good view of most of town, despite it’s slow erosion into dust, so Danny was able to see the several strangers in town whenever he went looking.

Damian said his family was looking into ectoplasm due to it’s relation with the dead, and trying to find if anyone around town knew how to access their information databases. They needed to know if there was a way to relieve “Jason’s” burden of the “Lazarus Rage,” and prepare in the case someone else in the family acquires it. And that ‘Lazarus Pits’ are classified information, but who did Danny have to share it to, no one could talk to him except Damian, anyway.

And truthfully, those Lazarus Pits Damian mentioned sounded like pools of ectoplasm that Maddie and Jack would’ve killed for. Danny could only suggest looking into ‘ecto-acne’ treatments, as from one of the stories of Vlad Masters Danny’d heard, it sounded like the short-term effects of ectoplasm exposure.

—

Damian didn’t know why he was sharing so much confidential with Daniel, but he didn’t seem to mind, and didn’t seem to talk to anyone else. He figured it’d be fine. Daniel needed to know as much context as possible in order to help Damian.

Daniel was strange, he spoke in large amounts, but quieted as though he doesn’t expect someone would respond to him. He rarely moved, and there was something unnatural about him. Perhaps the lack of a rise and fall of his chest, or the way his eyes shined.

Damian couldn’t help but make comparisons to the dead he’d seen. Lightless glossy eyes, pale skin, sallow flesh. Daniel was built like a dying or dead person.

Damian… worried. He’d grown close to the other boy, Daniel’s snark to Damian’s sharp tongue and his acceptance of Damian’s veganism, multiple other factors about Damian never drove Daniel away from him. It was nice, being accepted by someone outside of his family. Daniel’s health was concerning, malnutritioned and Daniel’s reaction time was slow. Multiple things were off-kilter about him, and Damian wanted to know why. So he could help.

Because Danny was his friend.

—

Dick observed Damian. He’d taken to pacing the length of the hotel room, and he seemed worried about his new friend (!!! Dami has a friend!!!! And he’s worried about him!!!), muttering about bringing food to the next time he visited. Dick kinda felt bad about what he was about to tell Dami.

“Richard, why are you looking at me?” Dami asked, stopping his pacing to look up at Dick, a soft half-hearted glare on his face.

“Uh well, Tim…” (fuck! He wasn’t supposed to mention Tim!)

“What did Drake do?”

“Tim told me to tell you that we’d gotten enough information and that we were leaving in two days, just in case something new crops up!” Dick rushed, knowing that Dami would loathe the information, but despise Dick more for not telling him.

Dami needed to say goodbye to his new friend, after all, but from what Dick could tell, they couldn’t even have long-distance communication, because “Daniel Who Liked Being Called Danny” didn’t even have a phone!

Dami’s click of his tongue was expected, and his expression had worsened too. Dick had messed up, but he didn’t think there was anyway to break it gently that Damian would have to leave his newfound friend.

The boy stormed off, leaving the room with a door slam. Dick felt bad, man. Well… Dick did have a spare phone he was free to gibe to someone… Perhaps Danny would like it?

[bloodyshadow1]

stuff I loved about the percy Jackson show already

the cast is perfect, they're the right ages and they're the right amount of snarky asshole for the main characters.

I kind of like that there's friction between Percy and Grover. it gets glossed over in the books, but yeah, Grover befriends Percy because it's his job to find half-bloods, it doesn't mean he doesn't view Percy as a friend, but I could get Percy being hurt that he thinks that's all their friendship was, that his first friend was only there as a job. It will give their relationship tension and room to grow. I also like how it establishes that Grover does care about Percy, even if Percy doesn't get it, and that at the end of the day he will choose Percy over Olympus even if he has too.

Speaking of Grover, I like that we see scenes with him outside of Percy. Obviously the books are told from Percy's POV, I love that, it gives the books a stylized personal feel getting things filtered from him. But It also has weaknesses like there can't be a scene without him and everything this filtered from his pov. It can work as a book, but it's different when it's a show. Yes, Percy is still the main character, but Grover and Annabeth are important too as main characters as well

I really liked how Luke was the person to show Percy around camp, while I'm not thrilled about Annabeth's screen time being trimmed, she will play a bigger role later in the season. until the end the camp scenes are the only ones with Luke so it makes sense. It makes Luke feel more like a character for the early stuff, he was Percy's first mentor in the books too, but here he feels more like a big brother figure and genuinely kind. Especially since Percy hasn't met Annabeth yet much less been her friend and he's currently angry at Grover, it gives him someone to be close to, someone who he views as a friend. It helps establish Luke's character and also helps make the inevitable knife to the back hurt even more

In addition to Luke playing a bigger role, I like that Chris was included in this first episode, I assume he was Chris at least I missed if he was introduced, since he seems to be Luke's best friend in the show. He is mentioned in Book to, named dropped by Annabeth I believe, and he shows up in book 4 to stay in book 5, but he's a very satellite character. Only really existing to show that half-bloods are joining Luke, then the dangers of the Labyrinth, and then as Clarisse's boyfriend. introducing him as a secondary brother figure/one of the few friends that Percy has makes him joining Luke in the second book/season more the tragic that he's more than just a name on a page. It will also be that much better when he comes back to their side again

Honestly, the whole world just feels lived in despite being an urban fantasy series.

I'm so happy they kept how the minotaur scene ended. I don't care for the design that much, but I was worried when Percy pulled out Riptide that it would be different from the books. But they kept him breaking the horn and killing the minotaur that way and I'm happy.

[writingquestionsanswered]

I’ve been reading some craft books and online posts about the world building because my story is an urban fantasy set in present day US, in a fictional town, and theres not a secondary world where the fantasy happens, it’s all in the real world, except the magic is a secret that only certain people know about, but all of the resources I find about world building only talk about fantastical worlds that exist by themselves and not the kind of more subtle world building that I’d have to do. Do you have any tips?

Guide: Creating a Fictional Town in the Real World

Step 1 - Choose Your Location - There are two ways to go about choosing a location for your fictional town. One is to go the "Springfield U.S.A." route, ala The Simpsons, and be vague about the specific location (borough, parish, district, county, region, state, or province) and instead give a broader geographic region... "the East Coast," "the Pacific Northwest," "Central Canada," Northern Scotland," etc. The other option is to go ahead and put your fictional town in a specific location. Just figure out where (for example, somewhere outside of Des Moines, Iowa) and go to Google Maps, click on satellite view, then start zooming in on big empty areas. Choose a place big enough to fit a town. Yes, in reality it's probably farm fields, pasture, or someone's property, but that doesn't matter. You don't have to actually show it on a map. It's just a plausible spot to build your town. Now you can measure how far it is to other places, you know what highways to take to get to it. You can even do street view to get the lay of the land, see what the landscape looks like and try to envision the buildings there. You can also use what's there to create parks, popular recreational areas, and anything else your town needs.

Step 2 - Choose Your Inspiration - Even when you're creating a fictional town, it's still a good idea to use a real town (or two, or three) from that general area as inspiration for your town. For a fictional town in Des Moines, I would zoom in on the map to find a nearby town of similar size... like Elkhart, then I can take a look around to see what it's like. Just looking at the map, I can see they have a couple of churches, a couple baseball fields, a very small main street/downtown area with a couple shops and restaurants, a post office, a few different neighborhoods, and a cemetery. This would be a great model for a small fictional town outside of Des Moines. And, as I said, you could look at a couple other sand combine them. Once you have your inspiration town/s, you can walk around on Google Maps street view, go to the town's web site, watch a tour on YouTube (if one exists), or look up pictures in Google Image search.

Step 3 - Start Planning - This is the really fun part! First, you might want to draw a basic map of your fictional town using your inspiration town/s as a guide. This doesn't have to be a pretty map... just a basic line drawing to help you envision where everything is. Think about some of the basic things this town might have, like the ones I listed in step two, and any other things you might want your town to have, like maybe a library, a hospital, a city hall, school, and maybe a movie theater. It might even be helpful and fun to put together a collage of pictures to represent your town so you've got something in mind as you write about it. You can even choose representatives for specific locations in your story, like your MC's house, school, and their favorite hangout.

Step 4 - Naming Your Town - Start by looking at the kinds of town names that surround your town. Look for common naming conventions... suffixes like -ton, -ville, -dale, -burg, -wood, -field, etc. Words in a particular language, like a lot of French-inspired town names, or towns with geographical terms (lake, hill, valley, river, canyon, gap, etc.) My guide to Naming Locations has additional tips.

Step 5 - Populate Your Town and Give it a History - Last but not least, make up a little history for your town, again, using surrounding towns as inspiration. Who founded it? When was it founded? What's the town's main industry? What are the people like in this town? What jobs do they have? What do they do for fun?

Here are some other posts that might help:

Five Things to Help You Describe Fictional Locations Setting Your Story in an Unfamiliar Place WQA’s Guide to Internet Research Happy writing!

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[anghraine]

The BFF wanted to celebrate Independence Day by watching Independence Day, the formative film of his childhood (we're the same age but it wasn't so much Young Anghraine's thing), so he, Ash (our housemate, his other closest friend, who had never seen it), and I just finished watching the whole thing.

I knew of its reputation for being jingoistic but the rumors fell so far short of the reality that noticing it started to feel less like shooting fish in a barrel and more like shooting fish in a fishtank. I don't think I've ever seen a more U-S-A! U-S-A! film in my entire life.

I do appreciate that a) nukes turned out to not be the answer; RIP, Houston, b) there was emphasis on the mysterious murderous aliens being basically "just like us" (even their extreme resource extraction is readily comprehensible to the characters, though there's ultimately not really much to talk about with them even through the rachni-style conversation), c) the heroes don't actually prevent quite a bit of the damage to life and infrastructure, and the world is facing apocalyptic disaster no matter what, d) the explosions still look good even if they can be escaped by dogs and small children, and e) Jeff Goldblum was a bit of an obnoxious manchild yet also enjoyable in a vaguely "dude Entrapta with very slightly more social skills and a lot more environmental concern" way. Will Smith is also fun as the most intensely US American human being imaginable. And the use of Earth's own satellite system by the aliens was genuinely interesting as a device. It was kind of morbidly funny that they keep bringing up President Bill Pullman's unsightly youth and unpresidential sense of decency, though.

Mostly I laughed a lot at the sheer silliness of almost everything and the film's profound disinterest in anything happening outside a) the continental USA or b) space. (Me: It's been awhile since they heard anything from London, hope it's okay!) The BFF's childhood dream was growing up into Jeff Goldblum's character (a hot Jewish environmentalist geek hacker with minimal ambition but a lot of competence) and we definitely enjoyed him and his dad the most. (The BFF has decided "Nobody's perfect" will now be his standard response to dealing with Christian nonsense, lmao.)

Anyway I'm surprised a bald eagle didn't spontaneously materialize in our house or my pride flag turn into a star-spangled banner, but it was a good time for what it was.

[soaps-mohawk]

No idea if you’ve answered this before (and answer it whenever you feel like it, I’m just curious, I don’t need an answer asap) but hypothetically would/could Dr. Keller join the pack? Like the alphas have their “main” betas (Price + Gaz, Ghost + Soap), so why wouldn’t ’mega have her own main beta? Plus Price has already said that Keller needs to stay around for ‘mega, and I’m pretty sure pack relationships don’t always have to be romantic/sexual and can be purely platonic

In a way she kind of has?? Or at least they view her as a sort of pack ally. Pack relationships absolutely can be platonic, but of course it has to be a mutual agreement (at least three 141 and Dr. Keller would want it to be). I don't think Dr. Keller would, though, simply based on the fact that the relationship she has with 'mega is a professional one. Sure, they've grown close and have that bond, but at the end of the day, 'mega is Dr. Keller's patient. There is a certain expectation in that bond and relationship between each other.

But they do absolutely have a bond since 'mega relies a lot on Dr. Keller and Dr. Keller cares very much about 'mega. She's very much a sort of platonic bond outside of the pack, which makes her a sort of satellite around the pack, since she's so close to 'mega.

I hope this makes sense and I'm not just half asleep rambling

[biblioflyer]

Rogue v Cap: Outside vs Inside Power

Its rare for any incarnation of the X-Men to not have incredibly smart things to say about bigotry, authority, organizing, and power, but X-Men '97 is killing it.

However, I think people who are too quick to get behind Rogue or are offended on Captain America's behalf are missing out on just how sophisticated '97's understanding of power and authority is.

Lets get this out of the way: I take a "yes, and" stance on power and social organizing.

I think its incredibly difficult to holistically understand movements and declare this "helped" the cause and that "hurt" the cause. It all depends on how you calibrate your rubric for success and how you understand how influential a person, group, or action really was.

What I see in the X-Men in all incarnations are some of the most iconic and thorniest debates about inside or institutional power vs outside, autonomous organizing and power, about assimilation or separatism.

Reasonable people recognize these are highly contingent arguments without clear, unambiguous or ethically pure answers.

Which is a rich meal for an ethics nerd like myself and I am having the most amazing time watching and thinking about X-Men '97 and the issues it raises.

So lets get into this!

Spoilers for X-Men '97 episode 7 "Bright Eyes"

Rogue's encounter with Captain America on the hunt for Bolivar Trask, inventor of the Sentinels, is probably the most commented on and debated scene on my social media feeds (as of this writing.)

Those who take Rogue's side in the exchange of words and that epic Frisbee hurl make very familiar and painful arguments. The system Captain America represents and Captain America himself have consistently let mutants down. Where were the Avengers when Genosha burned?

Which is a damn good question considering there are multiple Avengers and Avengers adjacent characters who are confirmed as existing in Earth 92131 who could conceivably have been able to learn about the attack in near real time and react in real time. Thor is very likely to have been tipped off by the likes of Heimdal or other mystical means and can cross continental distances in moments. Doctor Strange likewise could portal over the moment he found out about it, along with anyone else he could rustle up.

SHIELD and essentially any other entity with orbital surveillance would likely have learned about the attack the moment their satellites overflew Genosha. Given the world's jitters over Genosha, I'm having a hard time believing Genosha wasn't being monitored around the clock. However, knowledge doesn't translate into the ability to respond faster than a Quinjet can reach the island.

Now there's an unsatisfying Watsonian explanation here in the form that this is a common trope: all of the world's heroes are somehow busy or ignorant when really big stuff is going down. The Doylist lens would remind us that this is endemic to superhero stories and kind of required for suspense, except when its time to do the big team up story.

So if we want to be generous to Earth's Mightiest Heroes, "they didn't know or were busy or couldn't reach Genosha in time" is an explanation we can fall back on. Thor and Doctor Strange do have to sleep sometime and its not as if they don't have other responsibilities that take them off world or off this plane of existence. Most of the other superheroes known to exist in Earth-92131 could have an out in that they may not have had the means to become aware of the attack in real time or the means to reach Genosha before it was already over.

However, that's awful nitpicky. Rogue can be being unfair about the lack of an immediate response to Genosha while still having a valid point to make on a broader scale. Homo Sapiens Sapiens civilization more broadly would almost certainly, from Rogue's point of view, been holding the idiot ball or maliciously ignorant to miss out on a new army of Sentinels under construction including a big freaking Sentinel kaiju.

Of course we'd later find out that some handwavey deus ex may have also ensured that the world's electronic eyes were shut without any elaborate conspiracy, but Rogue doesn't know this yet when she's unloading on Cap. For all she knows, this is yet another in a long list of times where the "good" Homo Sapiens Sapiens and their champions have been unwilling or conveniently unable to intervene in personal scale tragedies like lynchings by the Friends of Humanity or population scale atrocities like permitting Genosha's former regime to run forced labor camps.

Baked into the setting assumptions of X-Men is a significant amount of systemic abuse that gets overlooked by non-mutant superheroes or that said superheroes are not powerful enough or imaginative enough to dismantle. This ends up necessitating a never ending set of excuses for how Earth's Mightiest Heroes keep winding up on the wrong side of justice yet can still claim the mantle of hero.

I'm not going to repeat ad nauseam familiar arguments about the suspension of disbelief problems created by widespread anti-mutant bigotry being a part of the same setting as a vast roster of enhanced individuals and literal gods that the general public lionizes without much hesitation. The savvy reader already knows these forwards and backwards, so I'm only going to continue to address them to the extent they're relevant here and refrain from further meta-commentary about this aspect of X-Men '97's world building.

Now to be fair, Captain America actually does give us an answer of sorts as to at least what he's up to and why he's not more ambitious in his pursuit of justice. He does intend to act, but not, from his perspective, impulsively. Captain America needs to obtain clearance to act across international boundaries. Captain America is in many ways governed by a sclerotic and often unjust system.

But wait! Captain America is a supersoldier, you say. Who gets to tell him "No, you don't get to pursue justice according to your conscience?" Cap should just tell his handlers to get stuffed and go settle accounts.

Notice my repetition of Steve's nom de spandex? Captain America is not a friendly neighborhood star spangled vigilante. Its unclear exactly who he is working for in this universe, but its heavily implied to be if not the United States, then perhaps SHIELD, and either way there are geopolitical considerations to Captain America showing up without phoning ahead and asking nicely if he can wander around without a minder, punching and exploding people and things on his own discretion. A whole lot of countries are justifiably sensitive about this sort of thing.

The point is that Steve Rogers is accountable to some sort of regulatory authority that is clearly meant to ensure that Captain America's activities are understood clearly and that he doesn't meet with an unfriendly reception by governmental actors that Steve would rather not be shooting at him and that Steve would prefer not to have to punch his way through on his way to his mission.

This authority likely has an additional role of at least performing for the masses and other governments that Captain America is being held to strict rules of engagement and that the bad guys he is punching are definitely villains plotting acts of violence not ideological enemies of the status quo. Because again, wanton violence for motives that are not clearly explained or are suspected of being fraudulent is a touchy subject.

Now of course, Steve Rogers could always go off the reservation. Its happened plenty of times in other continuities/universes. After all, the US government can't repo the super soldier serum.

What they can take away though is a lot of what allows Steve to be more than just a really strong guy. You know who is also a really strong guy? Bruce Banner. Also Luke Cage.

What do Bruce and Luke not have when they aren't playing on a team with some sort of direct or indirect government approval?

Extensive intelligence networks to direct them to international problems that need punching.

Supersonic jets to get them to places where there are villains who need to get decked.

People with relevant authorities who can work the phones and obtain permissions for a superhuman to engage in activities that may require a large scale disaster response operation and sending out surveyors afterwards to redraw topographical maps.

Why obtain those permissions? Because nations have armies and sometimes their own superhero teams they will send out if they get wind of a rogue superhuman showing up and doing violence without phoning ahead and clarifying their motives.

Special forces and super teams are a real inconvenience when there's wrongs to be righted on the other side of them.

So that's the bargain.

As Captain America, Steve Rogers gets an invisible army of intelligence operatives, pilots, Quinjet mechanics, and diplomats that all work together to ensure that Steve can do the maximum good when his conscience and the interests of his benefactors are aligned.

When he goes off reservation, he's just a really strong guy. Like Bruce Banner or Luke Cage. Not just a really strong guy, but probably a person of interest because authorities tend not to like their monopoly on violence being undermined by tough guys who are only accountable to the vibes of their conscience but can wreck New York's skyline if they're having a particularly bad day.

Which brings us back to Rogue and the X-Men.

The X-Men represent outside power.

Its heavily implied through any number of dialogues between the X-Men and the US President and the UN, the X-Men have some sort of understanding with legal authorities. However, its also implied that while this understanding exists, its begrudging. The X-Men have a wider latitude to act autonomously than the Avengers because they're specialists at what they do: they're intimately acquainted with some of the most dangerous, "Omega" level mutants who can be surly and embittered towards Homo Sapiens Sapiens.

Yet that latitude is both a gift and a curse.

The gift is the X-Men are essentially free to follow their consciences. Because the legal authorities have given the X-Men nothing much more than a blind eye towards their activities, the only thing the authorities can take away from the X-Men is that blind eye. The X-Men are a largely self sufficient operation, so there's no obvious card to play that is analogous to revoking Steve Rogers' legal identity as Captain America. The X-Men supply their own Blackbirds, no matter how many of them they lose, and largely generate their own sources and intelligence.

The X-Men also own their own mistakes, which is a mixed blessing. When Rogue goes on a grief fueled rampage, she's not liable to start World War 3. While she's technically an American citizen, its understood that she acts as her own agent, with no direct connections to the US government that could be interpreted as Rogue acting out the will of the US government.

Rather than retaliate, any foreign governments alarmed by Rogue's behavior are not likely to blame the US directly and are likely to lodge a complaint through official channels in the hopes that the US government will coax the X-Men into doing something about her or that Uncle Sam will try to take matters into its own hands. In other words, its understood that Rogue is America's problem but not its fault, at least not intentionally. Which is good enough to keep nuclear missiles from waving at one another as they pass one another in Earth orbit.

And that's essentially the contours of what the X-Men's outside power looks like.

The X-Men have incredible resources at their disposal by virtue of Xavier's seed money, the genius of Hank McCoy and others, and the allies they've cultivated like the Shi'ar, but everything they've built up they've had to bootstrap. They're free to follow their consciences but they're also at risk of running off the cliff and getting disavowed if they chase their consciences too far, too fast, too hard for the liking of the world's nations.

The Avengers, especially Steve Rogers, subordinate their consciences to higher authorities to a greater degree, but the trade is that when they do act, they can act with the knowledge that they're not going to have to deal with blue on blue conflict from confused and scared locals and with largely infinite resources. There is almost assuredly a limited supply of Blackbirds. There is a limited supply of Blackbirds right? The number of Quinjets available to the Avengers is only limited by the budget afforded to them by SHIELD or Tony Stark.

Speaking of Tony Stark, depending on which universe and what time period we're talking about, he is not necessarily a backup plan for an Avengers team that finds its consciences misaligned with the interests of SHIELD. Not just because he might not feel like being their sugar daddy, but also because Tony Stark is ultimately a businessman. Ironman may be challenging for the world's authorities to reign in if he's in a bad mood, but Tony Stark has financial assets that can be frozen and capital assets that can be seized.

Let's not forget that when Steve Rogers decided he was done asking for permission to do what he felt was right in the MCU, he was only able to continue superheroing at the same level he had previously because a secretive nation with a friendly monarch was willing to provide him with a jet and supplies so long as they approved of his goals and methods.

Thus the X-Men enjoy greater freedom of conscience but its much more precarious than Captain America's compromised freedom.

This is not a value judgment, just an observation.

And if I made the case for Captain America playing by the rules a little too well, then its probably because Earth 92131 Steve Rogers doesn't seem to have been gaslit into being the hatchetman for corrupt ends.

Yet.

One could also imagine that SHIELD or USGOV have also failed to tip Cap off about mutant related this, that, or the other that Steve might have OPINIONS about and feel strongly that some Homo Sapiens Sapiens supremacists are need of punching in a time and place that is super inconvenient for the authorities.

Because sometimes injustice isn't about what authority does, its about what it doesn't do: malign neglect and so forth.

[felixstudios]

Headcannons for the playground Managers on a rainy day?

Random Corporate Clash Headcanons, Playground Managers on a Rainy Day Edition

Prethinker

🧠He doesn't even know it's raining

🧠Stays in the basement playing video games all day and scrolling Reddit

🧠Bro hasn't gone outside in years probably

Derrick Man

🛢️Scoffs about the weather and clearly hates it

🛢️In a sour mood the whole day

🛢️Spends as much time indoors as possible and wears a very good raincoat and/or uses an umbrella outisde

Rainmaker

⛈️She started the rain {probably}

⛈️Will feel bad about it at first, but after a while she gives up with controlling it and just jumps in the puddles

⛈️Spends most of the day outside

⛈️Clearly likes the rain

Land Acquisition Architect

🚦He likes the rain in the sense that plants are watered {saves water bill on the land he needs to look all nice} and ground becomes soft and easy to break

🚦Takes advantage of the cooler weather to get TONS of work done outside, too

🚦Overall has a super productive day. He doesn't care much for how rain actually feels, but he LOOOOOOVES what it means for his wallet

Witch Hunter

🔱He's PISSED. OFF.

🔱He'll find somewhere indoors or try to find some way to shelter himself from the rain so he can keep using his fire powers

🔱A lot of his stuff probably gets ruined with water damage

Public Relations Representative

🧱Rain? Oh, I re-re-remember rain- I- rain!

🧱Toon-Toons, would you be-be-be kind- would- outside to-to- en-en-enough to let m-me outside to see-see it?

🧱N-no? But it's been-been-been-been-

🧱ERROR

Multislacker

🥪Feels extra lazy

🥪Will probably fall asleep a LOT during the day since the sound of rain is very comforting to him

🥪Makes someone carry an umbrella for him wherever he goes because he's too lazy to hold it himself

Major Player

🎹His performance of the day will probably be a little quieter and softer. I mean, not by much since that's not exactly his style, but he'll try!

🎹Lots of rain protection if he goes outside because he doesn't wanna rust. Gotta stay looking young!

🎹Tries his best to stay indoors all day. He REALLY doesn't wanna rust his 'pretty face' or whatever

Plutocrat

🌑Rain? Nah, that doesn't happen here. It's hail.

🌑He loves the weather. Absolutely thrives in it. Productivity at Mozzarella Styx Pizzeria increases by 10% that day

🌑 Satellite Investors are prone to wandering around on the streets, ESPECIALLY if the weather gets harsher. They also thrive in the weather

Chainsaw Consultant

🪚Finds the sounds of rain relaxing

🪚Productivity increases by 23% today. The Chairman is now looking into creating a rain simulation of some kind around his office

🪚Is especially quiet because he's listening to the rain

Pacesetter

👟He CLAIMS not to care about "a little rain," but it's pretty obvious he hates it

👟SUPPOSEDLY doesn't care about it messing up his hair since he "still looks good no matter what," but when he gets to work he spends an hour fixing it in a mirror

👟ALLEGEDLY he won't care about the equipment he left outside getting a little gross looking since it's waterproof and still works, but the same afternoon he has brand new equipment...

[timebegins-onopeningday]

Time Begins On Opening Day 2024: Round Up Post #1

Happy Friday everyone and welcome to Round-Up Post #1! This post includes links to all works posted in the first half of the season + details about First Half Commentfest which begins today and goes through the weekend.

Soft Deadline #1 offers us 20 (20!!) fanworks for five teams and 104 prompts across several teams as well as some broad and open-ended prompts! For a small fandom and only halfway through the season, that's pretty cool. If you're just finding this prompt meme now, or if you didn't finish something you were working on before the deadline, never fear - this prompt runs the entire length of the 2024 season! There is still plenty of time create.

Enjoy the works, slam that kudos button, leave a comment, and enjoy the second half of the MLB season!

Soft Deadline #2 is September 29, the end of the regular season.

🌞 First Half Commentfest 🌞

First Half Commentfest runs this weekend, from Friday July 19 to Sunday July 21. As we catch up with all these amazing works (fic! art! poetry! y’all are amazing!!) my challenge as a mod for us is to get every single one of these works at least five independent comments from five independent readers by the end of the weekend. (So we’re not including creator responses in that comment count!)

Why? Because it’s very easy to feel isolated as a creator – particularly in a small fandom like baseball rpf. We all know how easy it is to hit the kudos button and move on, but in a challenge designed to inspire creators for a very small, very spread out of fandom, a little encouragement can go a long way.

justleaveacommentfest has a list of resources for helping write comments on fic here and hxphaestion wrote some notes on what kind of comments resonate with artists (scroll for reblog) if you’re not sure where to start.

Let’s get all these works some comments!

🌞 Fanworks from the first half of the season 🌞

That we got as many fics as we did in the first half makes your mod SO happy, because we’re already past what we had last year!! This was a pain in the ass to put together because there were so many links and that delighted me. Shout out to you all, you’re all amazing.

I organized these by fanwork type, then grouped works by team and sorted alphabetically by the creator’s name + title (with the exception of one set of works, which are grouped in order of the series). Enjoy the works, bang that kudos button and COMMENT 🥳🥳

Art

Baltimore Orioles

[collage] heat waves by sapplyandherfriend

a celebration of dingers and slug edit: WOOOOOO TONY IS AN ALL STAR

Toronto Blue Jays

[collage] cheer on your team! by idlt

a toronto blue jays collage made on a 6x4 index card with a bunch of junk from the recycling bin

[collage] love song (show elation) by idlt

a vladdy and bo collage made on half of a page of cardstock with a bunch of junk from the recycling bin and a pile of old magazines that I got from someone in my neighbourhood who was going to throw them out, plus a few star stickers and a picture of vlad and bo pasted on top digitally

Poetry

Toronto Blue Jays

come home (the way they need you to) by idlt

A short poem about Vladdy and home and being seen.

Fic

Baltimore Orioles

one warm summer night (fireworks outside) by Settsplitt

Technically, they’re kind of hidden, standing a few steps down the tunnel, with their teammates all turned towards the fluorescent night sky, eyes fixed on the show. But still, Kyle thinks, as Adley tucks his hand under the hem of his pants, slipping his fingers beneath his belt and digging until he finds bare skin, this can’t be a good idea.

Milwaukee Brewers

In Stadium Light & Shadow by TheGlobeLifeBarn 

A thin satellite in orbit of nothing.

Philadelphia Phillies

Pressure Point by caltrain

Bryce fucked up his hammy and he’s being an enormous baby about it.

you think it’s different but it’s always the same by palimpsestic

Florida’s always so fucking humid, even in February—the air is sticky with unshed rain, hangs heavy with anticipation.

Who’s on First by powerblu (bluspirits)

A lot may have changed since Rhys first got called up to the Phillies: the size of the crowds, their record, the fact that they're playing in the World Series. But one thing is exactly the same: Bryce Harper is still there on the other team, annoying the hell out of him.

put some moves on you, babe (i know you need it) by pronoe

Bryson reminds himself to be careful where he sucks his marks on Alec’s skin, with the way he keeps his jerseys half-unbuttoned.

Seattle Mariners

Broken Foot and Cuddles by Anonymous

turns out that record-breaking pitch had actually been “breaking” in more ways than one. Poor Ty, with the foot fracture.

Toronto Blue Jays

Fiber arts for first inning starts by caltrain

There’s a hot guy no one has ever seen before at the softball clinic. He crushes three balls out of the park off of Kevin and pisses Kevin off so bad that Yusei slings an arm around his neck and kisses his cheek. “Can we get him?” he says happily.

5 Times The Blue Jays were Blue Gays: Number 1 Will Shock You! by idlt

George Springer is writing for the first edition of the new Blue Jays newsletter, organized and edited by Davis Schneider. George's first assignment? Clickbait the fuck out of everyone with the most unbelievable listicle ever (except somehow it is actually that gay)! Here's what he wrote, plus what Davis had to say about it.

he said i have bisexual swag! by idlt

An ode to Jordan Romano's short-lived yet glorious septum piercing (in the format of 2 idiots texting)

the grip of artificial chaos by idlt

Davis and Ernie sneak a moment in the dugout as the fireworks go off.

Out of Left Field by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho were rivals playing on opposing baseball teams in high school. Now, ten years later, they are playing on the same team for the Toronto Blue Jays. As they weather the ups and downs of the baseball season, Danny and Daulton find an unexpected companionship in one another. But there is a lot on the line and neither knows if it is safe to indulge these feelings or if they are better left buried in the past.

Cover Your Bases by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Ten years after being high school rivals, Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho started playing baseball on the same team for the Toronto Blue Jays. Their months together brought them closer as teammates, friends, and then something more. Now they need to decide what risks they’re willing to take if they want to make their relationship official.

Swing for the Fences by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Danny Jansen and Daulton Varsho are officially dating. Unfortunately, being public figures in a major league sport makes that anything but simple. They’ve agreed to keep things private until the end of the baseball season but that means Danny and Daulton must balance their blooming relationship and their work while navigating the ever-present media attention.

The Longest Road by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

After their nightly game of Settlers of Catan, Davis has a heart-to-heart with Spencer about his growing feelings for their mutual friend Ernie. Spencer offers some valuable advice and reassurance, which gives Davis the courage to accept when Ernie asks him to forgo the living room couch and share a bed for the night.

Therapy with Daulto Varsho by OneWhoSitsWithTurtles

Daulton has always been a listener rather than a talker. Whether it’s good news or bad news, he’s there to hear out his teammates. Sometimes, this leads to unexpected revelations.

[destiny-aesthetics]

^ Communications to the Vanguard; Letter from the Stranger [Elisabeth "Elsie" Bray]

-----------------------------------------------------

Destiny 2 [Bungie] | Beyond Light [Collector's Edition]

ACCESS: RESTRICTED/REDACTED DECRYPTION KEY: ekeriPC6N$ spoof REP #: 121-EUROPA-BAN AGENT(S): CHA-319 SUBJ: Review of interdict on Europa landings. ASSOCIATIONS: Active interdict; Awoken, military commitments of; Bray, Clovis; Bray Tech; cryohazard; Deep Stone Crypt; Enceladus; Golden Age; Io; Jovians; Nine; Titan, moon of Saturn; Vex

1. Prior to the Taken War, the Reef maintained an interdict upon the poorly navigable Jovian moons. That interdict has failed, allowing Guardians to begin (politely put) "reclaiming" these satellites. The sixth moon, however, still falls under Vanguard interdict. To borrow an old adage: "All these worlds are yours, except Europa. Attempt no bounties there." 2. I have been asked to review this interdict's continued necessity. My first impression is that its Europan files are so heavily redacted as to encourage the very expeditions they are presumably meant to deter. Have you ever tried to tell a Hunter that they can't go somewhere AND can't know why? 3. Europa's surface is hazardous. Intense radiation mangles both flesh and machinery. Peak temperature at the poles never climbs more than 50 degrees above absolute zero; the equator reaches a balmy 110 above. This moon was never T-formed and has no proper atmosphere. Tidal stress tortures and crackles the surface, leading to frequent cryovolcanism. There are many ways to die on Europa, but we are speaking of Guardians here. Risk of death alone cannot justify a no-landings edict.

4. The subcrustal ocean is two to three times the volume of Earth's. Life exists down there, but we have forgotten how to reach it. Rumors of some vague abyssal connection to Titan and Enceladus are unsubstantiated, and in this agent's opinion, probably nonsense. So long as Guardians do not take up sport hunting, protection of native life is not grounds for an edict. 5. A heavily armed platform of Golden Age origin keeps station over the moon. It maneuvers using either Hall-effect electrical thrust or some kind of anchor in the Jovian magnetosphere. Ordinarily this would be worth investigating, but the files suggest that the platform is a rare example of an active and unpredictably hostile Golden Age defense asset. Approach at your own risk. (Interesting note-some suggest that jumpships of the Eon series are not as rapidly engaged - this matches what we know of their designer. Jumpships are rare and valuable, so best to keep a safe distance.) 6. Recent close flybys have imaged a Golden Age compound bearing the Bray Tech insignia built in the Europan ice. The same imagery captures thousands, if not tens of thousands, of hibernating or destroyed Vex. Unlike all other Vex presences on Venus, Mars, Mercury, Io, or Nessus, there is no sign of major construction. This suggests a Vex strike force, rather than a permanent presence. What did they want? We have fought Vex before, and early aggression against their designs has always proven critical. Their simple presence cannot justify an interdict.

7. Through negotiation and horse-trading with her superiors, Awoken Paladin Kamala Rior provided me with a device capable of sundry high-physics measurements I will not detail. It reveals that Europa is saturated and interpenetrated with dark matter loops. This is a sign of the interest and attention of the Nine. Their power and influence depend on the mass of nearby stellar bodies, and Europa falls within the sphere of Jupiter-as mighty a gravitational gatherer as anything outside the Sun itself. But even in this bastion of the Nine, Europa is a focus of particularly intense observation. We have often speculated that Xûr is a construct made from the repossessed body of a Jovian colonist… but there are no known records of colonies on Europa. So what draws the Nine here? Unclear. Their interests are opaque. In any case, the gaze of the Nine is no reason to prohibit Europa- Guardians have gone much further into their influence before. 8. No known signs of Ahamkara or other ontopathic predators occur on Europa. Perhaps there are wishing-sharks in the abyssal deep, but that is purely my fancy. No grounds for interdict here. 9. Europa is a traditional stopover for Fallen raiders tanking up on reaction mass. Mithrax, VIP #3987, relays vague reports of a taboo no-go area around the Golden Age station. This prohibition apparently goes beyond fear of its weapons and could be related to the Vex. There is allegedly "something that cannot be stolen from." Tantalizing, but not grounds for interdict. 10. Many Exos have fragmented memories concerning ice sheets and Jupiter in the sky. Europa would be a logical origin for those memories, especially given the presence of Bray Tech assets. This seems to militate towards an investigation.

11.The instruments Paladin Rior provided are extremely unreliable in the vicinity of Europa. I cannot determine whether this is a result of poor construction, my own inexpert use, or the presence of something aberrant. 12. This is hardly a well-vetted piece of intelligence, but something about the imagery and lore I've collected gives me an extremely bad feeling. Something is wrong here. 13. In conclusion, I cannot find strong strategic reasons to maintain the interdict on Europa. We lifted the interdict on the Moon not five years ago, resulting in a series of strategic key victories and intelligence findings… but also triggering the arrival of Oryx, an event that gave Ghaul his Light-suppressing technology and ultimately led to the awakening of the lunar intruder. Perhaps Europa will prove as consequential? We cannot shrink from new discoveries simply because they may lead to new challenges. Victory, after all, requires escalation.

I recommend LIFTING THE INTERDICT. MESSAGE ENDS [Recommendation refused on grounds of compartmentalized information. Unable to share; please trust that your analysis has not been ignored or discarded out of hand. Regrets - IKO/0061]

----------------------------------------------------- Guardian- This is an artifact of Darkness, and now I entrust it to you. Do not take this charge lightly. I have seen firsthand what its power an do Guardians who wield it… even to you. Like all new ground, it can prove treacherous to walk. Listen to your Little Light, and remember that you will live with choices forever. it you. My grandfather came to Europa before the Collapse to seek immortality. He thought he was chosen to lead humanity to the future. His experiments to this end were… hideous. Despite my qualms, collaborated with him. I accept my responsibility in full; I would have, know everything. "O nymph, in your orisons, be all my sins remember'd." You, nymph, but the principle holds, yes? We must know what he did with the power you now grasp. I have included a hard copy of the logs I've deciphered so far. Reader beware. My grandfather was worse than you know. Your stranger I remain, E

[elipheleh]

mary & george feature in tv & satellite magazine. airs in the uk on tuesday (5th) at 9pm on sky atlantic & sky showcase. boxset will be available on sky boxsets/NOW.

text under the cut

Hollywood star Julianne Moore adopts her best English accent this week when she plays Mary Villiers, a mother-of-four determined to secure her family's future, in Sky's seven-part drama Mary & George.

When she learns that King James (Tony Curran) is in a sexual relationship with his adviser, the Earl of Somerset (Laurie Davidson), Mary realises she could gain considerable power and influence if her son George (Nicholas Galitzine) becomes the King's new favourite.

'Mary is from a kind of middling aristocratic family,’ explains Moore, 'She's living in less-than-ideal circumstances, looking for a way to educate her children and keep herself alive. The only way she's really able to do that is through her relationships with powerful men.’

After sending George to France to learn refinement, Mary endeavours to get him noticed - and King James is soon enamoured with the handsome young man.

'At the beginning, the relationship is very transactional for George’, explains Galitzine, 29. 'I don't think he develops feelings for James until a few months, perhaps years, into the relationship. George definitely has something to gain, but the love is very much real between them.'

Although the King is aware of the power games being played around him, he finds it refreshing that George comes from outside the usual circles of the royal court.

‘James is comfortable when hes in the company of his lovers - he wants to forget about being a king,’ says Curran, 54. ‘He wants that distraction of feeling safe with another person, as opposed to lords and politicians constantly grabbing at him, wanting him to make decisions about affairs of state.’

OUTRAGEOUS TRUESTORY

The series is based on the nonfiction book The King's Assassin by Benjamin Woolley, and Moore was drawn to the project by the way Mary seemed ahead of her time.

‘There was something outrageous and direct about her’, says Moore, who won a Best Actress Oscar in 2015 for her role as an early onset Alzheimer's patient in Still Alice. 'She seemed to have her own desire for power and agency in a situation where she might possibly have none. It's interesting what she achieved at a time when women couldn't even own property.’

The cast also includes Trine Dyrholm as Queen Anne of Denmark, Niamh Algar as Mary's confidante, prostitute Sandie, and Nicola Walker as the Queen's lady-in-waiting Lady Hatton.

Mary & George's salty language and revealing sex scenes may surprise some viewers, but the stars believe it reflects the earthy instincts of its characters as they grapple for power.

"The sensuality in the show isn't crass in any way, says Curran. 'It was certainly interesting for me. I'd ask the producers, "What am I wearing today?" and theyd reply, “Your birthday suit, pal!"’

'It's not a typical period drama because of the licence it takes with behaviours and sexuality,’ agrees Moore. 'It's beautiful and opulent and a wildly entertaining romp through history.’

Who’s Who (top right of image)

Mary Villiers

Julianne Moore

The deeply ambitious mother lives on her wits and wants to create a lasting legacy for her family.

George Villiers

Nicholas Galitzine

Mary's second son gains new-found confidence and charm after an educational visit to France.

King James

Tony Curran

The first joint ruler of Scotland and England, the King is seldom seen without an entourage of male companions.

Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset

Laurie Davidson

The King's current favourite is determined to stop George from usurping him.

Queen Anne of Denmark

Trine Dynolm

The Queen would prefer her husband's favourite to be someone she can control.

Sandie

Niamh Algar

Mary's confidante is a prostitute in a high-end brothel, making her privy to the secrets of the rich and powerful.

[dduane]

Oh dear Goddess but have I finally solved this problem I've been hacking at in Terragen for all this while?! ...Wow.

This is a shot of the alternate Earth on which the Middle Kingdoms are situated, viewed from about a million miles out (as opposed to any much closer map view).* The North Arlene peninsula is clearly visible at about halfway out to the nine o'clock position on the globe. (In fact, almost a little too clearly visible. I swear to everything, that clear space around it is not something I engineered on purpose! It's just how the NASA-based whole-planet cloud pack from this page at SolarSystemScape.com fell when I applied it.)

Still a lot of technical and artistic work to do on this before I'm done with it, as Terragen has many many MANY ways to customize imaging done from outside the atmosphere (even though it wasn't specifically built for that).** All the under-the-hood maps and images controlling terrain elevation and bathymetry, as well as the actual colors of terrain, oceans, polar caps, etc. etc., have to be repainted and detailed so that I can replace the very basic world maps used in this rendering. But at least now all the continents are appearing where they ought to—an issue that I've been struggling with for actual years (on and off since 2017 or so).

All praise to the lovely person or persons running the TerraTuts series of tutorials on YouTube. That's where I found out what I'd been doing wrong and how to put it right! ...Now I can just get on with the business of making this look more realistic...

*As in this view of our own Earth from the DSCVR:EPIC satellite.

...My sources inform me that a Dragon can make it out to this distance in about thirty seconds: twenty-five seconds to get out of Earth's atmosphere at a decorous speed—because it's thought to be gauche to do any significant percentage of c inside what we would consider low earth orbit—and another five seconds to get from LEO out to the million-mile mark.

**To get a glimpse of the kind of thing it was built for: take a look at the video here (https://youtu.be/JWb9v8OB8HA) of the very handsome Paramount 100th-anniversary trailer. One of the great strengths of Terragen has always been the way it handles clouds, and that's very much on display in this trailer.

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Siege II, Pt. 5

Next, there is an honest time-skip. Where we left off with Sheppard staring at the Colonel in the gate control platform, we now find Sheppard walking into the hologram room where the Colonel is already waiting for him. Sheppard tells him "You wanted to see me, Colonel?" which means that some time must have passed between the two scenes. This is also indicated by a shot of the outside view of Atlantis, letting us know that night has fallen. Sheppard is still wearing his full gear, P-90 and all, the same as he was wearing in the earlier scene where he was fresh off the jumper. What ever he might have done in the meantime, he seems to have been fully clothed.

The Colonel tells him that he wants to learn about the Ancients and how they lost the war which is what Sheppard then proceeds to show him via the holographic projection of the galaxy. The doors of the room start closing before Sheppard has even moved to the controls which seems to be indication of the city responding to his thoughts. The way Sheppard tells the story, he knows it by heart. And we know that many of the things he mentions are things he has explicitly heard or learned from McKay over the course of the season:

For several more years, the Atlanteans were able to hold off their attackers, relying on the city's shield and superior weaponry, including the weapons satellite system. No matter how many wraith ships they destroyed, more kept coming here. They could win almost every battle but they saw no way to win the war, so they submerged the city and left. That's it. That's the story.

It is similar to the holographic presentation they heard in Rising (S01E01), being one of the very first things they ever did together, and when we compare the two, his retelling of the tale is much more similar to what we heard McKay recap at the beginning of the previous episode, especially since the satellite systems he mentions had only been discovered by Brandan Gaul later in The Defiant One (S01E12). The original message said:

Then one day our people stepped foot upon a dark world where a terrible enemy slept. Never before had we encountered beings with powers that rivalled our own. In our over-confidence, we were unprepared and outnumbered. The enemy fed upon defenseless human worlds like a great scourge until finally only Atlantis remained. This city's great shield was powerful enough to withstand their terrible weapons but here we were besieged for many years. In an effort to save the last of our kind, we submerged our great city into the ocean. The Atlantis Stargate was the one and only link back to Earth from this galaxy, and those who remained used it to return to that world that was once home. There, the last survivors of Atlantis lived out the remainder of their lives. This city was left to slumber, in the hope that our kind would one day return.

The Colonel seems to observe Sheppard as much as he listens to his presentation. He is trying to get a read on both their tactical situation and the character of this man that has been in charge of the expedition. The view he gets from Sheppard does not seem to be very optimistic:

Sheppard: The picture is pretty clear. Everett: So you think this is a no-win situation? Sheppard: No, sir, What I mean is, even if we beat them this time, they're gonna come back.

He files off Sheppard's assessment of the situation to think about for later. The real reason he had asked Sheppard to meet him in private was because he wanted to talk about his friend, Colonell Sumner.

Everett: Major, I think I should tell you that Colonel Marshall Sumner was a very good friend of mine. We served together a lot of years. You know, I cannot for the life of me figure how it is that you could go as far as you did and not save him, how you could get that close... Sheppard: By the time I reached Colonel Sumner-- Everett: Worse, you admit to firing the shot that killed him. Sheppard: Because I believe that's what he wanted me to do.

Having to justify what he had to do to his superior officer to someone that had not only known him but had obviously cared about him is a living nightmare for Sheppard because the things that Col. Everett tells him are thoughts that he has had himself, repeatedly, ever since it happened. He wants to look anywhere else but at the Colonel but he thinks that he owes the man at least to look him in the eye, so he forces himself to do just that. He did what he felt he needed to do but he had no excuse for it. Even though he wishes he were anywhere else, he is trapped in this situation. The Colonel digs even deeper and Sheppard seems to feel as though he does at the very least owe this man an explanation.

Everett: You knew him that well, did you? Sheppard: You weren't there, sir. Everett: No, but I wish for his sake I was. Sheppard: There isn't a night that doesn't go by where that moment doesn't play in my head. And every time it does--

They are interrupted by an alarm and Sheppard automatically starts to contact the control room when he realizes that he's not the one in charge any more, and he allows the Colonel to take command of the situation.

It seems as though there is a wave of darts coming toward the city, their attack imminent. The Colonel orders Sheppard to get to the control chair while he joins the others in the control room. They do get to finish their conversation later but they never return to what Sheppard was about to say here. We are never told what he means.

Sheppard doesn't say that he dreams about the moment, only that it plays out in his head. If we assume that Sheppard and McKay have been sleeping together, sleeping in the sense of actually sleeping, and that he has had trouble sleeping lately (as by his own confession in The Gift S01E18) but he hasn't been having nightmares himself, these thoughts may well be the result of that. Of having grown close to McKay, of trying to fall asleep with that man in his arms, which would trigger all of his fears of losing him, of being unable to protect him, of failing to save him.

When he was forced to take the Colonel out he didn't just end his life, he unleashed the wraith, all of them, to wreak havoc on the entire galaxy. He did that. He failed so spectacularly in his mind that no one in the history of the human kind has failed as hard. And now, for the past weeks, the wraith had been inching ever closer to them and there seemed to be nothing he could do but to hold McKay tighter in his arms at night. So yes, he probably did play out that moment in his mind all the time, in the dead of night, generally needing much less sleep than McKay but still wanting to be there with him and for him when he went to bed because McKay had a hard enough time getting any sleep anyway.

And there, he would while away the time, watching his uneasy sleep, listening to his breathing, feeling his heart beating under his palm. Going over whether he could have done anything differently, and the ways in which the world, his world, might be different if he had. Would he still have McKay in his arms if he had succeeded in saving the Colonel? What would he do if he was ever forced to make the same choice over his own 'very good friend,' if the wraith ever got their hands on McKay? He hopes never to find out.

As Sheppard runs to the control chair platform where McKay is already waiting for him, trying to get the chair started, these are the thoughts running through his mind. It hadn't yet been 24 hours that he thought that he had lost McKay for good, that his own decision not to accompany him to the satellite had cost him his life. That he had lost the one thing he now knew beyond the shadow of a doubt he couldn't live without, did not want to live without. It is much more this inner turmoil of his than the urgency of their defensive situation that makes him come across as testy as he takes his seat:

Sheppard: McKay, fire it up! McKay: It'll take a minute! Sheppard: We don't have a minute!

He calls him McKay, and it is the first thing he says to him. They are alone in the chair platform, and even if technicians from McKay's team had been present, they surely would have heard Sheppard refer to him as Rodney before. Alone together, he would usually have called him Rodney. The fact that he doesn't now might be because of the arrival of the Colonel and the company of marines, forcing them to act even more carefully around one another, and just having decided to call him McKay across the board might be a result of this. But in this situation, given where Sheppard was coming from, it might also be a way of creating some distance between them.

It is not something he usually even tolerates between them but right now, having to focus most of all in keeping this man alive, he needs that distance. He needs to focus. In order to be able to protect the man he loves, he can't be distracted by his presence. The last time we saw him acting like this was at the beginning of Sanctuary (S01E14) when he was expecting McKay to come up with an immediate fix to the problem facing them, and he was calling him McKay then too. This was following and directly caused by the events of Hot Zone (S01E13), at the end of which Weir had accused him of allowing his feelings to compromise his decisions, having received a talking to from a superior just as he had now.

Even in in spite of all this, Sheppard turns to look back at McKay as he takes a seat on the command chair, clearly wanting to look at the man while addressing him, to see him. He is never too busy not to look at McKay. If he can't look at him when they are facing a life or death situation, what even is the point?

McKay, of course, has no idea where Sheppard is coming from or what is going on inside him, not even having had time to see the man's face to read his emotional state from his expression, from his eyes, the set of his jaw, the slant of his mouth. While Sheppard was able to look at him, he has to keep his eyes fixed on the generator to get it working for Sheppard, to make operating the chair safe for Sheppard, focusing on the most important thing he can think of doing.

McKay: Look, this generator can only power the chair because it operates in a state of barely-controlled overload. Sheppard: Just get the damned thing working. McKay: That's what I'm trying to do!

McKay tries to explain to Sheppard what he is doing because he knows that usually that is something Sheppard wants from him. With anyone else, he wouldn't bother and would just tell them to shut up while he's trying to work. But in spite of the both of them clearly again picking up a conversation that was on-going and had only ever been on pause, Sheppard isn't being his usual self, and it's not the urgency of the situation that is making him snap, it is his emotional state. McKay does not understand what is going on with him but his response indicates that he is affected by it, that he might expect this kind of behaviour from other people but not from Sheppard. He is doing his best, he is working as fast as he can, he is trying to make this as safe as possible for Sheppard, and surely he should understand that. Yes, they are under a time element but he had told Sheppard previously (The Defiant One) that snapping doesn't help. As soon as he can, he has the generator up and working, and he steps aside to let Sheppard do what only he can:

McKay: You've got power--go!

Sheppard is able to quiet his mind enough to be able to ejaculate release and control the drones, and it's likely the chair connects him to the city in more ways than just giving him control of the weapons. He seems to let out a breath as the chair leans him back. When he had done this previously, on the Antarctic base, when he had first met McKay, it hadn't just been one of the strangest experiences of his life, it was something that had entirely changed the course of his life. Because he had seated himself in the chair, he was here now, connected to the city of the Ancients. And it was McKay that had given him this gift both now and back then. Instead of telling him to get away from the chair, McKay had asked him to think about where they were in the solar system, which had been as easy as breathing. And so was controlling the drones now. Even if he hadn't come to love McKay with every fiber of his being, he owed him everything for this gift alone.

They manage to fight off the wraith for the time being, parts of the city still on fire as a new day dawns. They have all gathered in the control platform to discuss the events of the previous night. McKay seems to be nearing his breaking point:

McKay: Power's out in sections of the city. The long range scanners and the internal sensors are down but we're working on it. Everett: I wanna know the status of those hive ships ASAP. McKay: They're coming, that's their status! Tomorrow, the day after, the day after that. Eventually they'll get here. Whether we're here to greet them or not is another matter. Weir: Rodney...

McKay is wearing a belt, something that he was not wearing previously, presumably holding a hand weapon. They were arming all of the scientists earlier but whether Sheppard had something to do with him now wearing it, we do not know.

What we can see is that Sheppard seems to be there mainly to watch McKay work. He tracks him with his eyes when he's at another desk and has positioned him so that he has the best view of McKay's work station. Make note that Sheppard could well be standing on the other side of the table like everybody else, he has no need to be this close to McKay. Out of everyone standing in the control room, he is the closest to him.

McKay seems to be in a notably irascible mood. He is more like "always like this" McKay, as Zelenka had described him when he was chewing out his team during The Storm (S01E10), than he has been in a long time. Yes, he seems to be exhausted, as is explicitly pointed out by Col. Everett later. Yes, they had all just experienced a very tense situation. Yes, they have been living under the shadow of the impending attack for weeks now, and yes, his desperation over being unable to come up with anything at all that might save them or even be of any help at all is getting to him. But he also seems to be still feeling raw from what happened between himself and Sheppard earlier.

This is all but confirmed by the fact that he quickly glances over at Sheppard when he says "Whether we're here to greet them or not," Sheppard not having greeted him when he ran into the chair platform. They have had precious little time to reconnect since he got back, and the death of Peter Grodin is still very much on his conscience. He takes all of this out on the Colonel because he seems like the easiest target, he's the stranger whose opinion matters the least to him. Usually he wouldn't want Sheppard to see him this way, he tried to conceal his irritability from him during The Storm to little effect, but he is feeling so overwhelmed by everything that it is simply spilling over and he's unable to stop it coming out.

It is notable that Weir is the one that has to try to reign him in. Sheppard merely looks on without saying anything, probably feeling guilty about what had happened before. The fact that it is still playing out in McKay's mind as well is confirmed by his reference to the drones having been depleted:

McKay: Look, the chair is out of drones. How do you expect to handle the next wave? Everett: I'm open to suggestions. McKay: Really?

The Colonel is basically doing the same thing Weir did at the beginning of the episode, making McKay feel like the weight of all of their lives are on his shoulders and his alone. And like he did back then, McKay folds his arms in protest because he is so overwhelmed that he can't even begin to think. He feels so much weight on his shoulders that he can't focus on the problem. And for the second time in this episode, Sheppard tries to ease his burden, now by coming up with an idea. He can definitely see that McKay is spiraling. The fact that Sheppard is doing this for him is just emphasized by reaction shots of Zelenka and Weir not being able to contribute anything to help McKay.

Sheppard: We target the hive ships. Everett: With what? Sheppard: We fly the Puddle Jumper in stealth mode right down their throats. Everett: Are you volunteering for a suicide mission? Sheppard: It won't be a suicide mission if McKay and Zelenka can figure out a way to remote control the Jumpers.

Flying a suicide mission was never Sheppard's plan even though it later becomes "sort of a Sheppard thing" to do. He does not want to die, not now that he's found something to live for. What he wants is to ease McKay's load and at the same time, come up with a task for him to do that is achievable as he knows that occupying McKay's mind with something is the best way to keep his anxiety at bay. He gives McKay an achievable goal while taking a lot of the pressure of having to come up with an idea to save everyone. Note also that he is not pawning the task of trying to find a way to remote control the jumpers just on McKay but makes sure to include Zelenka in it.

While he probably has more faith in McKay's abilities than the rest of them combined he is trying very hard to make McKay feel like he's not alone in this, that it's not all on his shoulders. He is doing the opposite of what everyone else seems to be doing, all looking at him for a solution. He is not thinking about what's best for Atlantis or what is best for all of them, he is thinking about what's best for McKay. That is the difference. However, McKay doesn't seem to understand what Sheppard is doing, drawing his lips in a tight line as he listens to Sheppard's idea. To him, it just sounds like more tasks and more work is being piled on him.

Col. Everett is at least intrigued by this possibility, turning back to McKay to get confirmation on the feasibility of the plan. He asks McKay a question Sheppard would never even need to ask him:

Everett: Can you do it? McKay: I knew this was gonna happen. Everett: Is that a fact? McKay: Yes, it's a fact!

When the Colonel had said the same thing to Sheppard earlier, the man had been forced to stay quiet. He did not want to antagonize his superior officer any more than he had to. McKay does not have the same compulsion. He is free to give the Colonel a piece of his mind and he seems determined to do it for the both of them:

McKay: Look, you show up here with your guns and your brush cuts, but when it comes to actually saving the city, you turn to the scientists! And every time what you ask is impossible.

McKay's voice almost breaks at the end. He does not mean to let his anguish show so openly, he just means to air his frustration by taking it out on the people around him, but this is clearly affecting him much more than he lets on. While he makes sure to mention the brush cuts, something very characteristically not Sheppard in a 'present company not included' kind of way, Sheppard still very much feels included in this especially because back on the platform he had done something he had every intention of avoiding, of not ever doing. This is emphasized by the fact that we get a shot of McKay and Sheppard together as he says "And every time what you ask is the impossible".

Sheppard had shifted his position while McKay was going off on the Colonel. Earlier, he was leaning back against the table with one hand resting on his thigh and the other pressed against his lower abdomen. Now he's standing up with his hands on his hips, his whole body erect and his attention entirely on McKay, kind of looking like he's ready to step forward at a moment's notice. However, it's very unlikely his intention was ever to restrain McKay because he knows perfectly well McKay isn't prone to physical altercations never mind the situation. Much more likely is that Sheppard feels an overwhelming need to comfort McKay who is clearly distressed, and while he had already stood up, he's using his own hands to restrain himself from taking that step closer that he very much wants to take here. He knows that he's the cause of why McKay's voice was breaking just then.

And it is entirely possible that the way Sheppard had approached him on the chair platform was still playing in McKay's head as all of this spills out of him. He didn't know that Sheppard had come there directly from one of the most difficult conversations he's had in his life, still trying to shove down and bury all of the painful emotions that it had brought up for him, many of them related to his fear of losing McKay. In his agitation, Sheppard had taken it out on McKay when he had done nothing to deserve it, had done nothing but try to save all of their lives for as long as he had known the man, and even if he hadn't had a hundred other good reasons for it, that alone made McKay the last person he wanted to hurt. And that's precisely what he had done. What McKay feels Sheppard is doing is actually the opposite of what he is actually doing. He feels Sheppard putting pressure on him when he is trying to take it off him.

Even the Colonel, not knowing McKay particularly well, as able to see that the man is exhausted. McKay had been sleeping poorly for at least two weeks, and seems to have been entirely without sleep probably since before they left for the satellite platform over two days ago. While he is acting like Zelenka's "always like this" McKay, it's actually very uncharacteristic of him, which even a stranger can tell. But then, all of a sudden, Sheppard's attempt to engage his mind over his emotions bears fruit, because, even though we see McKay and Zelenka finishing each others' sentences here, Sheppard knows him best of all:

Everett: When was the last time you slept, Doctor? McKay: Shut up, I have an idea. Zelenka: The chair. McKay: Of course the chair! The problem is tying it into the Jumper systems... Zelenka: ...without overloading the generators... McKay: ...possibly using the drones in the Jumpers themselves as a means of propulsion... Zelenka: ...while increasing the inertial dampening to maximum. McKay: It wouldn't be very manoeuvrable but possibly. Zelenka: Possibly!

There seems to be a new fire in McKay, and he happily ignores all of them as he and Zelenka start working out the details. This is precisely what Sheppard was going for with his idea. This is what he wanted to see. McKay forgetting about the impeding doom as his mind is working on a problem that is possible to resolve. The rest of it was details, he had managed to take some of the load off of his shoulders. And again, while Sheppard knew exactly what had just happened, the Colonel needed verbal confirmation for it:

Everett: Is that a yes? McKay: No, it's a possibly. Everett: I'll take it!

As soon as McKay starts moving, Sheppard turns to watch him go once more looking like a child missing its toy already. While the other two turn away from the scientists as they take off, Sheppard watches him go all the way, neck craning to see the last of him. The Colonel turns to Sheppard, wanting to hear what his actual plan was:

Everett: How much damage can one Puddle Jumper do? Sheppard: I've got an idea about that too. I think I know where we can get another nuke.

Where McKay's mind was again working on how to save them all, Sheppard's mind was working on how to keep McKay safe, and he was willing to cross all kinds of lines to see that through.

Continued in Pt. 6

[alpaca-clouds]

How Capitalism turned AI into something bad

AI "Art" sucks. AI "writing" sucks. Chat GPT sucks. All those fancy versions of "fancy predictive text" and "fancy predictive image generation" actually do suck a lot. Because they are bad at what they do - and they take jobs away from people, who would actually be good at them.

But at the same time I am also thinking about what kind of fucking dystopia we live in, that this had to turn out that way.

You know... I am an autistic guy, who has studied computer science for quite a while now. I have read a lot of papers and essays in my day about the development of AI and deep learning and what not. And I can tell you: There is stuff that AI is really good and helpful for.

Currently I am working a lot with the evaluation of satellite imagery and I can tell you: AI is making my job a ton easier. Sure, I could do that stuff manually, but it would be very boring and mind numbing. So, yeah, preprocessing the images with AI so that I just gotta look over the results the AI put out and confirm them? Much easier. Even though at times it means that my workday looks like this: I get to work, start the process on 50GB worth of satellite data, and then go look at tumblr for the rest of the day or do university stuff.

But the thing is that... You know. Creative stuff is actually not boring, manial stuff where folks are happy to have the work taken off their hands. Creative work is among those jobs that a lot of people find fulfilling. But from the feeling of fulfillment you cannot eat. But now AI is being used to push down the money folks in creative jobs can make.

I think movie and TV writing is a great example. When AI puts out a script, that script is barely sensible. Yet, the folks who actually make something useful out of it get paid less than they would, if they did it on their own.

Sure, in the US the WGA made it clear that they would not work with studios doing something like that - but the US is not the whole world. And in other countries it will definitely happen.

And that... kinda sucks.

And of course even outside of creative fields... There is definitely jobs that are going to get replaced by automation and artificial intelligence.

The irony is that once upon a time folks like Keynes were like: "OMG, we will get there one day and it is going to be great, because a machine is going to do your work, and you are gonna get paid for it." But the reality obviously is that: "A machine is going to do the work and the CEO is going to get an even bigger bonus, while you sleep on the streets, where police will then violate you for being homeless."

You know, looking at this from the point of view of Solarpunk: I absolutely think that there is a place in a Solarpunk future for AI. Even for some creative AI. But all under the assumption that first we are going to erradicate fucking capitalism. Because this does not work together with capitalism. We need to get rid of capitalism first. And no, I do not know how to start.