#but nate is not 'coming back'

[sleazyjanet]

"i hope nate returns to his old self" what old self? do you want him to be the sweet but unassuming, shy guy, is that what you want? because there's no old self for nate to go back to. he's growing as a person into a better version of himself that's neither past nor present and yet both altogether. traces of the old self mixing with the new and creating something better, someone confident and smart and sweet. someone who will be ready to make amends, likely, while hopefully also staying independent.

so he won't be "coming back", returning to anything. that would suck.

[bumblebeebats]

Just watched the episode of Leverage where Nate chooses not to kill his notorious conman of a father and instead forces him to leave town and sail back to Galway and i gotta say.... you know all those "cozy murder mystery" series where some sleepy rural town is inexplicably besieged by murders? I always used to wonder, what the hell is going down in Badger-upon-Twyne that's causing so much damn crime, but now I know. This is presented in the show like some kind, honorable thing, like oh, yes, I'm sure ol' Jimmy "Felonies Georg" Ford will stop doing crime once he's back in Ireland - why on earth would you assume that!! You've just unleashed this hardened Bostonian gangster upon the innocent sheep and also people of County Galway! Like, don't get me wrong, Galwegians, I'm not trying to say you're pushovers or anything, but i once saw a news article about the police trying to 'clamp down on organized crime' in the city and it said they were on the hunt for a dangerous gang consisting of *checks notes*.... four people. Jimmy Ford is going to own Ballynahinch castle by the end of the week. He's going to start smuggling in cocaine on the little dolphin tour boats. He's going to wreak more havoc on the local ecosystem than an outdoor cat on a nature reserve. YOU DIDN'T SOLVE IT, NATE. YOU HEAR ME, NATE? PEEPAW'S ON HIS WAY TO MAKING GALWAY THE MURDER CAPITAL OF EUROPE.

[yaolmao]

It takes two to solve the puzzle ig

[italictext]

Have a quick doodle I made for Near's birthday!

[aizawashuichi]

my new characterisation of Near includes a deep set need for stability and set structures, which lead into some controlling tendencies, but not necessarily the abusive way. i was thinking back at the interaction between him, Linda and the other kid. Linda invites him to play together, but before he could say anything, the words of the other kid stop him, and he doesn't tell him anything, which is weird given that he's so upfront and direct. of course, he might not be interested in Linda's friendship, but i genuinely think he doesn't want to ruin the existing dynamic between them, because it's predictable. so he prefers being an observer than being involved, unless he's required to, because that's when it's expected of him. as he grows older and is involved in the kira case, this need for stability makes him carve finger puppets, so he can have something to hold on to, to look at again, to control in some way. when the spk members get killed, his reaction doesn't seem to be the same as L's. L's was out of fear (and care). in this case, it's disarray. the puppets walked out the stage without any warning, and he's losing control of the situation.

[nearlycassidy]

there’s no escaping the wammy boys, light-o!

[hacash]

Underrated little moment, but I love that when Rebecca, Ted and Trent - three people who have reason to think poorly of Nate - discuss the rumours of inappropriate workplace behaviour over at West Ham, all of them instantaneously say Nate would never have anything to do with it.

[valfeathers]

gtfo hes playing minecraft

[rebeccasbiscuits]

I’m thinking so many thoughts after that episode, which was wonderful and hilarious, but something I’m very much thinking about is where someone on twitter pointed out the contrast between Rupert going to the club every single day for six weeks to wear Rebecca down vs Ted coming to her office every day for biscuits and genuinely wanting to get to know her. I’m especially thinking about how this adds some more context to Rebecca’s point of view on that as well. We see her disparagingly calling him ‘relentless, and nice’, and her desire for her love of the biscuits to not make her dependent on him providing her with something.

The moment I’m thinking about most is the one at the end of episode 5, where Ted storms in after finding out she sent Jamie away. The biscuit reveal at the end has always felt crucial in this way, but even more so in this context. Her experience has been with the relentless interest and charm until the other person pulled back the layer of charm and showed that this charming nature wasn’t genuine, and in a way I think here, as Ted yells at her, it lets her feel a bit vindicated, or at least secure, in her belief, or lack of belief, in the nature of other people. But then Ted continues the biscuits, and the extension of kindness they represent, no matter how angry he is, and not only that but reveals he has been (without having told her) baking the biscuits himself. His only deceit was hiding an extra kindness he didn't even seek self serving credit for, despite knowing how much she liked the biscuits. Obviously this works so interestingly as another anti-Rupert parallel in a Ted/Rebecca sense, but I love it even just generally in the context of how it’s visible that this is what shakes Rebecca in that scene, because it shakes the view she has of how people treat people after her abusive marriage and isolation, which is allowing her to go on with the plan that will hurt so many of them. It disarms her because even when she has done something bad, and Ted is expressing legitimate annoyance about it, he will not stop extending this relentless kindness and generosity to her, even when he has not got what he wanted, the way she experienced Rupert doing once he had got what he wanted. Ted’s not only relentless, not only nice, he’s also sincere.

[heart-freak]

what the heeel

[scribefindegil]

Thinking about the Presger as foils to the Radch. How in some ways the Presgar are to the Radch what the Radch are to the rest of the non-imperial galaxy: these bogeymen that could appear at any time without warning and destroy you and everything you love. How anyone who enters the Presger side of the station in considered to be legally dead--that they'll be taken apart and reconstructed--and how this parallels both the creation of ancillaries and the assimilation of empire. How the Presger train their Translators to act and speak like Radchaai. How Anaander tries to use the Presger as a scapegoat for her own dissolution (and how she's wrong, because the thing that makes the Presger terrifying is that they're completely incomprehensible. They don't destroy things for territory or resources; they're violence without motivation.) They're distorted mirrors of each other, so of course it makes sense that there are factions who believe they're actually all the same.

[threshasketch]

I bet Near knows how to do all sorts of tricks with a yoyo.

[yaolmao]

you’re my everything

[dancingbycandlelight]

so, apparently the finale is called “so long, farewell” which has so many layers and connections i can’t deal with it. firstly it’s another musical lyric as a title (this time unedited from its original text unlike the la cage episode) and we already know that ted loves a musical.

secondly it brings back the julie andrews conversation in episode three which was possibly one of my favourite interactions of the entire season.

but thirdly and (possibly most importantly??) the entire plot of the sound of music is that maria is sent somewhere she originally doesn’t want to go, she gets there and feels instantly out of her depth. the team children try to force her out and the adults don’t take her seriously but gradually, through her unwavering positivity and gentle care she makes an impact on every single person. kids and adults alike, all changed for the better because of her guidance. but then!! maria falls in love, thinks she is no longer needed and she Leaves. she runs, goes back to the convent where she feels safe but then, after a honest conversation and a realisation of her own purpose and the importance of being true to her heart she Returns! she comes back, her role slightly changed but still just as important and involved.

all this time I’ve been worried that ted will be like mary poppins and leave when he is no longer needed, when he’s served a purpose. but this episode title has me feeling (hoping) that maybe he’s like a different julie andrews character after all..

[nezz-cringe-crib]

oug art god took away my will to keep arting so here's a wip for the near enjoyers that i will never finish. please remind me to never animate again.

[taiturner]

Is this some kind of "keep your enemies close" strategy?

THEA MAYS APPRECIATION WEEK day 4, favorite dynamic: THEA MAYS & SIMONE HICKS