#cad lackey

[blacjaq1]

[vampbite083]

Simon's Angels Chapter Thirteen

Newest Chapter is up! Read, Review, and Share!

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Introduction

There are many, many super villains in the realms of fiction, comic books, cartoons and movies.  When encountering such villains, these costumed cads and dangerous dastards, it is of the utmost importance that one know the precise type of malefactor is at hand.  While no two villains are exactly alike, as a whole these scoundrels can be roughly categorized into a systemic taxonomy; a classification based upon the qualities of threat, capability and ambition.

This taxonomy is sequential in respect to the level of danger, commitment and aspiration.  It begins at a first rung with the lowly Goons, moving quickly to the dangerous Enforcers, then the mercurial Rogues, followed by the calculating Lieutenants and finally the Nemeses… the most dangerous villains of them all.  

Goons

First let us look at the Goons.  These are the minions, the henchmen and stooges who use their powers to do the bidding of a more sinister and scheming master. 

Goons can be quite formidable, possessing a great deal of raw strength and power.  Yet their lack of foresight, aspiration and direction leave them in the position of playing the role of pawns.  

Whether it be the result of laziness, naïveté, psychological difficulty or some manner of deficiency, Goons are easily manipulated.  They are frequently duped or cajoled into doing the bidding of others.  Sometimes they will perceive themselves as being equals with those they serve.  In truth, however, these misguided flunkies are almost always viewed as disposable... as mere vassals who will be sacrificed or simply discarded on a whim.  

Criminal organizations will frequently have numerous henchmen who are nameless and interchangeable.  What distinguishes a super villain Goon from the more garden variety lackey is their physical power and capacity for destruction.  They possess all the raw ability to be a more substantial menace but none of the imagination, presentation or drive. They simply lack the je ne sais quoi needed to be a more fully actualized embodiment of super villainy. 

And yet this does not make the Goon any less dangerous.   Indeed the Goon’s fragile ego coupled with their destructive capability can lead to threats on par with a natural disaster.  

Conversely, the Goon can sometimes be the most likely type of super villain to be turned, moved toward the path of heroism.  Most Goons just want to be seen and valued, to garner a place where they feel they belong.  More sophisticated villains will take advantage of this unmet need, offering the Goon a sense of purpose.   If a hero can convince a Goon that they are being manipulated and offer a more authentic sense of validation, the goon may very well switch sides and become heroic.  

For the most part, however, Goons are rather satisfied with their lot.  They are often simple souls with simple needs.  Being a Goon affords a sense of direction and license to be destructive bullies.  

The Enforcers

When the raw power of a super villain Goon is coupled with a heightened degree of shrewdness, confidence, avarice and capability, the end product is often The Enforcer. 

These are the mercenaries, assassins and bounty hunters… the guns-for-hire who are brought in for a specific task (commonly the elimination of a hero).  These villains are not interested in taking over the world, garnering power and influence, they just want to get paid.

Said payment is most often money... but prestige, thrills and a bolstering of one’s ego are also a commonly accepted currency.  Sometimes Enforcers will be pitted against a specific hero and the simple opportunity to best that hero, to show themselves as the superior entity, is motivation enough to take on the job.  They can be like big game hunters, in desperate search of a new and bigger trophy to add to their ever-growing collection.

Some enforcers may be motivated by mere boredom.  They tend to be thrill-seekers and super villainy is an irresistible rollercoaster that acts to quell the tedium.  It is not uncommon for there to be a degree of sadism to the enforcer... even psychopathy.  Their passion is doling out pain and destruction; they revel in being feared.  They are dangerous and unpredictable and will endeavor to succeed at any and all costs.  They are not to be taken lightly.  

It is not unheard of for Enforcers to have underlings of their own, aides or minions who will assist in their schemes.  Or they may work in conjunction with Goons.  Yet their values are strictly mercenary.  Their morals and philosophy are entirely for hire.  Some Enforcers may adhere to their own, personalized code of conduct... yet it is a strictly idiosyncratic (and often malleable) matter. 

Phrased simply, they are not individuals to be trusted; an Enforcer will turn on their employer the moment that it better suits their interests. Beware, my friends, Enforcers are danger incarnate...

Rogues

Rogues are outsiders, individuals who just do not fit in with the common and traditional conventionalities of a given society.  They are misfits, freaks, square pegs in a world of round holes.  Yet they also have power; they are capable, smart, ruthless and shrewd.  They do not fit in, but they do not need to; they can force their worlds to accommodate to them.  

Rogues are outlaws.  They take what they want when they want it.  Rarely is there an overarching agenda.  Rogues do not crave power, they do not want to rule the world.  They just enjoy a good time, desire the finer things and will take all that they feel they are owed. 

Many factors can go into the making of a Rogue.  Circumstances of their upbringing, their appearance, deprivations of different kinds, accidents… all maters that have put the Rogue in a place of alienation from society writ large.  In some regards they are victims, perhaps not always innocent victims, but victims nonetheless… and victims with agency.  For they have power and the capability to extract whatever vengeance or retribution they feel they deserve.

Not all Rogues are victims of misfortune.  Some merely possess a sense of entitlement and a desire for adventure.  Morality, for better or worse, is just not a central feature in the make up of the Rouge.  They see the world around them as a harsh and unforgiving realm and they will take what they want, do as they please, simply because they can.  They are not motivated by hate, avarice nor a diminished sense of self esteem.  They are supremely independent and the needs, feelings and wellbeing of others are not matters of any great concern.  

The super villain Rogue has much in common with the archetype of the Trickster from myths and fable.  Tricksters are breakers of boundaries who enjoy disrupting societal principles and norms.  These are often supernatural beings whose playful antics act to mock authority and question assumption.  Rogues are similar.  They too seek to disrupt authority, upset balance and turn social decorum unto its head.

Whereas many Tricksters of lore aim to teach lessons regarding the hubris of mankind, Rogues tend to be much more self-serving in their conduct.  Rogues are not agents of chaos, they just want to express their freedom and garner wealth and renown.

While Rogues often prefer to work on their own, they are by no means entirely above joining forces with other villains in working toward a mutually desired goal.  Although it is rare, a Rogue may even allow themselves to be employed by a Nemesis, a more diabolical cad whose overarching desires very much do not align with their own.  In these situations, the Rogue’s hand is either forced or they are simply biding their time for the ideal opportunity to engaged a well-planned and self-serving betrayal.  

It is the Rogue’s refusal to adhere to societal principles and the law that often brings them into conflict with heroes.  And the sympathetic qualities of the Rogue can sometimes cause a hero to question their own beliefs and moral alignment.  The Rogue represents a defiance toward the status quo of a given society... that existing state of affairs that maintains social and financial stratification.  The status quo is never an entirely fair system, it will always benefit some at the expense of others,...and it can be tempting to forcefully push back against the inequities that exist therein.  Indeed there have been many a hero who has fallen under the sway of a charismatic Rogue when made to see said inequities.

 And yet Rogues tend to be quite selfish.  They have been wronged and use it as an excuse to do whatever they please and put their own needs above all others.  In so doing they may end up hurting others in the same fashion they themselves had been hurt.  These Rogue could be heroes, yet frequently lack the sense of selflessness that truly makes a hero heroic.

Under the right circumstances, however, the Rogue can find themselves in the role of the antihero... acting as a protagonist despite lacking the traditional qualities most often associated with heroism.  This is most often the case when the Rogue’s goals put them into opposition with another villain, particularly a villain much more vile than themselves.

Although some Rogues may fit into the role of an antihero, it does not necessarily make them any less dangerous.  The primary characteristic of a Rogue is a rejection of the normative confines of a society.  And this can include the confines of morality.  The Rogue will resort to murder and mayhem if they deem it a necessity.  So beware, my friends, beware.      

The Lieutenants

In some regards, Lieutenants are the villainous analog to the hero’s sidekick.  They are the primary right-hand operatives of the arch villain… an amalgamation of a partner, field commander, conciliary and moll.  They are neither a Nemesis nor a Goon, but something in between.  

Quite often the Lieutenant will be a good deal more competent, pragmatic and even more intelligent compared to the villain they serve.  They could easily be a leader in their own right, yet lack the megalomania that is at the heart of a true Nemesis.  What these lieutenants do possess, however, is a deeply seated need to belong... to have a parental-like figure that offers direction and purpose.   Some even love the villains they serve and remain at their side for this reason alone.  

Lieutenants crave power and respect, they feel a poignant need for validation and this will often lead them to battle against the heroes with vigorous intensity.  They can be the most dangerous kind of villain of them all in that they are highly motivated and intelligent as well as desperate to succeed; almost like a child who will do anything to win the approval of a parent.  

The neurotic nature of the Lieutenant’s motivation frequently leaves them a good deal less sadistic and malevolent compared to the Nemeses they serve.  They are not bloodthirsty or callous; many may even have care for the innocent lives that a dastardly plot might harm.  And yet the need for approval acts to outweigh any moral qualms they may possess. That being said, it is not entirely unheard of that a Lieutenant will turn on their leader if the destructive stakes become far too high.  

Somewhat akin to the Goon (or even the Rogue), the Lieutenant possesses the potential to turn to the side of good, to be redeemed and become something of a hero.  The Lieutenant is highly capable and shrewd, but not above manipulation.  Often times they will find themselves in the service of a master who does not have their best interests in mind. 

Discovering that they are not as valued by their leader as they may have thought can help the Lieutenant rediscover their sense of honor... a clearer picture of right and wrong.  Herein there becomes an increased likelihood that the Lieutenant will turn and aide the heroes... possibly even become a hero themselves.  

Of course this is not to say that every Lieutenant possesses a staunch code of honor or secret heart of gold.  Some are just as rotten and despicable as the cads they serve.  They have pled fidelity to their masters and many see the orders they have been issued as on par with a godly and righteous decree.

At the same time that many Lieutenants are unquestioningly loyal, others can be duplicitous.  Again, it is not uncommon that a Lieutenant will actually be more competent compared to those they serve.  And some possess the ambition to usurp their masters, concocting fiendish schemes to depose their leader, take control and ostensively matriculate to the position of the Nemesis.

This particular dynamic is quite often at play with the ‘secret lieutenant.’  This is something of a subcategory reserved for those second-in-commands who are initially believed to be the primary villain… only for it to be later revealed that there is an entity even more diabolical above them.  

Nemeses often cherish their anonymity, preferring to remain a more secretive threat from behind the proverbial curtain.  To this extent they need a Lieutenant to stand in as their vassal.  It is not uncommon for these proxies to be misidentified as the primary Nemesis.  And more often than not, these secret Lieutenants become accustomed to the power they wield... harboring resentment toward the shadowy overlords that they secretly serve.  Sometimes they will take action to achieve their ambitions… yet it rarely works in their favor and a Lieutenant’s efforts to usurp their masters will frequently have deadly consequences.  

There are reasons after all, that Lieutenants and Lieutenants and Nemeses are Nemeses.  The qualities that make for a true Nemesis are as insidious as they are dangerous.  They are not so easily overtaken nor replaced.

Nemeses

This brings us to the are the baddest of the bad… the arch foes, the megalomaniacal would-be conquerers whose devilish schemes put us all in grave peril.  The pinnacle of villainy; the foil to all things good, selfless, noble and heroic.  The Nemesis!

The primary feature to the Nemesis is their motivation.  They have a keen notion of how things should be and will stop at nothing toward imposing their will so to bring their goals to fruition.  Such goals may be power, conquest, revenge or the acquisition of fabulous wealth (or all of the above).  Regardless, the Nemesis believes that fulfilling this goal is a righteous purpose, that it is a destiny ordained unto them by some manner of a divine source.  

Most Nemeses do not see themselves as evil.  They are the heroes of their own stories and believe themselves to be in the right.  Furthermore, any who oppose them represent an effrontery that need be eliminated with extreme prejudice.  Theirs is a glorious purpose and nothing nor no one may be allowed to obstruct their destiny.  

With such lofty ambitions, it is frequently necessary for these Nemeses to create elaborate organizations… secret and sinister syndicates composed of various operatives, agents, minions and flunkies.  The Nemesis can be extremely charismatic ideologues and they usually have little difficulty in recruiting scores of cronies and henchmen willing to lay down their lives in the service of a master.  Whist some Nemeses have to resort to paying their underlings or at least putting forth the promise that the toiling will result in power and riches, most are simply able to amass a loyal following through their magnetic charm alone.

The true qualities of the Nemesis often comes into greater focus in juxtaposition to their arch enemy.  The primary foe of the Nemesis acts to define them, highlighting their traits in contrast to their opposite.  The more good and pure the hero the more twisted and evil their nemesis. One acts to complete the other like two sides of a scale equally balanced.

Indeed it is not unusual for a Nemesis to become obsessed with their arch foe... so much so that many Nemeses may even hesitate at the opportunity to finally vanquish said foe.  They can come to feel actualized by the conflict and may fear a loss of identity were their enemy to be truly eliminated. 

Many heroes will have multiple arch enemies, but Nemeses themselves are more exclusive, monogamous in who they see as their principle foe.  Furthermore, they can be quite jealous when it comes to the attention of their arch enemies.  So much so that it is not unheard of for a Nemesis to lend a hand to their foe in doing away with a third party interloper.     

Not every Nemesis is cut from the same cloth.  Some can be mere mustache-twirlers… finks who commit evil deeds for the mere sake of it.  The more memorable and fully actualized Nemesis, however, is complex and nuanced.  There is an element of the inscrutable that can provoke fascination.  They are like elaborately colored serpents who elicit equal measures of fear and curiosity.  

Despite their despicable acts, the Nemesis can frequently be found to be a rather sympathetic figure.   Similar to the Rogue, the Nemesis is rejecting of the societal status quo.  They believe they know better, that imposing their will can bring about much needed change.  Considering the various inequities and injustices entailed in any society, the promise of change can be very alluring.  Tearing something down is always easier than creating something new; and the Nemesis excels at the former whilst offering mere promises of the latter. 

Add to this the flamboyant charm and sleek aesthetics of so many super villains and it can all come across as quite alluring.  And this attraction can be greatly magnified in those feeling even the least bit alienated by the confines and restrictions of a societal equilibrium.

Most all Nemeses are idealists.  Their ideals are twisted and egocentric, but they are idealists nonetheless.  In their heart of hearts, these cads honestly believe that the imposition of their self-serving values will bring about their notion of a better world.  Even the ones who claim to be nihilists, who say they just want to see the world burn, harbor the desire to harness power and refashion it all in the cast of their megalomania.

The Nemesis is an enjoyable character only to the extent that they do not win, that their schemes remain unfulfilled.  And if said plot is at least partially accomplished, the fun part is their histrionic efforts to put down resistance and maintain their tenuous grip on power.  

Conversely, Nemeses who too closely parrot real life horrors become unenjoyable entities for the audience.  There are plenty of villains who are racists, who commit sexual assault and/or who adhere to repugnant philosophies.  These baddies do not fully qualify as super villains.  They are just regular villains.  Super villains, like superheroes, are figures of fantasy... they are meant to be fun.  A true super villain, a real nemesis, may toe the line of real-life horror but should not overstep it.  

Not all Nemeses pose the same level of peril.  The Nemesis covets a world bent to their whim, yet not all possess the faculties needed to constitute a true threat.  Many nemeses are capable, shrewd and cunning; whilst others can be plagued by hubris, myopathy and just plain incompetence.  And others still can demonstrate great prowess in one instance and then great blundering in the next.  The same passion and unwavering drive that fuels the Nemesis can also lead them to make costly, foolhardy decisions.  Nevertheless, a buffoonish villain can be just as captivating and fun as one who is sophisticated and poised.  

Of course any summation of the Nemesis, or super villains in general, would be incomplete without addressing the matter of how frequently villainous characters have been used in stories as thinly veiled stand-ins for the queer community.  

This is done through a kind of coding… subtle and not-so-subtle hints that the villain is something other than heterosexual.  Male villains are often presented as effeminate or flamboyant, female villains as masculine and butch.  This is meant to have the effect of making the Nemesis appear more deviant and dangerous.  As well as make their ultimate defeat by the hero somehow more satisfying, reinforcing the erroneous notion that being queer is in some way morally wrong.  

This queer-coding of the villain is not always consciously intended to be homophobic/heterosexist, but it often has that effect; and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community that can lead to real-world discrimination and violence.

There can be a strange and entirely artificial conversion of machiavellian manipulation and the disrupting of traditional notions of gender.  This is the idea that those who are transgender, women who act masculine or men who act feminine, are somehow engaging in a sinister chicanery.  That they are temping and coercing the innocent and vulnerable into embracing deviancy.      

This is not the only way in which the Nemesis has been used as a means to present social-political agendas.  Near countless forms of bigotry and prejudice have been repackaged in the form of a sinister Nemesis.  The ‘yellow peril’ style villain depict people of Asian descent as cold, calculating and soulless; whereas the savage ‘witchdoctor warlord’ presents Black and Brown people as primitive, superstitious and godless; and the hook-nosed ‘miserly masterminds’ puts forward Jewish people as conniving, greedy and unscrupulous.      

Ironically, as time has gone by, this politicizing of the villain has only acted to make the Nemesis even more intriguing and appealing.  In that the Nemesis embodies all that is debaucherous, forbidden and deviant, the hero becomes more and more forced into role of the foil.  The hero must be pious, chased and entirely pure of heart.  They become flawless and such perfection in the realm of fantasy and wish-fulfillment is rather boring.  As the hero becomes more two-dimensional and un-relatable so too is their arch Nemesis made more alluring and empathetic.  

Indeed this has led to heroes gradually become more like villains in an effort to keep them interesting.  The sterling white hat of the traditional hero has been traded in for something a slightly grittier shade of gray.  Heroes have become more grim and steely, brooding neurotics fueled by past trauma.  This may seem like standard fare in the here and now, but it is a base dynamic heavily borrowed from the villainous Nemesis.  ...imitation, as they say, is the most since form of flattery.  

Thus concludes our brief summation of villainous taxonomy.   Does every super villain fit perfectly into one of these five categories?  Likely not… but as close a fit as necessary.  And certainly there can be movement between the levels: Goons who matriculate to Enforcers, Rouges who go on to become Nemeses.  By and large, however, these are fixed positions and most all super villains can be seen as occupying one of these taxonomical genres.     

[ladykailitha]

Regency Nanny AU

Remember how I said that I had a new idea from all the asks I had in the last couple of days? Yeah, this is that.

Taken from the Nanny story where Steve thinks of being in charge of the household like Robin's period dramas. From this ask here.

So there are so many ways this can go, like the nanny one, but set in a non-homophobic past, omegaverse, or one that really struck me was a fusion AU of one of my favorite books (though it is Victorian, but I don't mind setting in an earlier time). It's called "The Fire Rose" by Mercedes Lackey.

Basically it's a Beauty and the Beast retelling in which the beast is a Fire magician and trying to make himself being able to change into wolf and back again at will accidentally curses himself. So he hires a nanny for fake children to get someone who can read to him from his books as being turned into a wolf man has left him with poor eye sight and paws which make it difficult to turn the pages.

She is the impoverished daughter of a scholar who was in debt up to his eyeballs and then suddenly passes away. What little money he did have went to his debts and she pretty much has two pennies to her name. So when a friend of her father comes to her with this offer to be a nanny to a girl and invalid boy out from Chicago where she is to San Fransisco to some estate owned by the rail baron father. She really doesn't have any choice but to take him up on it or starve or resort to whoring herself out.

But as most people don't know about magic he has her reading through a speaking tube that goes up through the ceiling where his room is. Which works for awhile and the only person she sees is the apprentice and no one else. Even though her food is made and brought to her room while she's asleep or gone. The apprentice is a cad and a rake and she doesn't feel comfortable around him but knows he won't doing anything not with the master of the house around.

Basically she finds out about him and magic and that she can do magic too. She's air, while he is fire. There are four elements that magicians can be masters of. Fire, air, earth, and water. Water and Fire and Air and Earth are opposites while each element would be supported by the two adjacent. Air would be supported by fire and water (think lightning and storms), Fire would be supported by air and earth (air to feed it and earth to ground it) Water would be supported by air and earth (the water cycle and of course earth to nourish and also to cut through) and last Earth would be supported by fire and water (two things vegetation need to thrive). Each element has spirits they can summon to their bidding. Fire has salamanders, air has sylphs, water has undines, and earth has gnomes.

So we would Steddify it like this. Eddie the Fire Master and Steve is the son of the impoverished scholar. Steve's father taught himself, but they were constantly on the move because his father would land a position teaching children at a big manor house and then six to eight months later they would be thrown out when his father get caught with the mistress of the house. Steve is pretty sure he has half siblings dotted all over the county side.

His father spends all their money on booze and women, leaving Steve with no real skills and being able to read and write well without an internship somewhere, will get him no where.

Then his father dies and Steve is left destitute Hopper, the only friend of his father's the old man actually kept over the years comes to Steve with the offer of being a nanny to some rich lord on the other side of the country. Steve doesn't have anything better on offer so he goes.

He's greeted by not the master of the house but the valet. A rough man named Billy Hargrove. He's well dressed but as subtle as a bull in the china shop.

He is told in a letter from the master that he was sorry to lure Steve there under false pretenses but he tried advertising for a reader and no one ever took it as serious. If this bothers Steve, Eddie would send him off to town with a purse full of serious money and transport to the nearest town which has a bustling port. He could go anywhere in the world and Eddie would not think less of him.

Steve seriously thinks about it. Live comfortably here at the manor with only the strange master he's never seen and brutish Billy or take the money and run. He decides to stay.

He learns that his taciturn master is actually just kind but badly scarred and that's why he doesn't show his face.

Billy continues to be brutish but keeps his distance for the most part.

They get supplies from the nearby city and Billy visits all the time. After few months Eddie allows Steve to go to town because he has figured out that Steve needs glasses. And sends him to town to get new clothes, glasses, and some entertainment.

There he meets Henry Creel, a rival of Eddie's who tells Steve that Eddie could be cured, Henry has the means, he just has to submit to Henry and he could be free.

Steve ignores the guy because creeeepppy as fuck.

He goes to an apothecary looking for someone to replicate the medicine he had been taking for headaches, and comes across Robin who hands him three packages. A replication of his medication, a version of what she would normally prescribe, and something that will help ease Eddie's pain, if he can get the idiot to take it.

When he comes back he meets the fire salamander affectionately named Dustin. Dustin tells him that Eddie has collapsed and needs help.

Steve is cussing out Billy for being gone, Eddie for being stupid, and himself for having dinner in town instead of at the manor because who knows how long Eddie's been lying there.

Dustin and Steve get Eddie sorted and Steve learns the truth about why he's here. Eddie is wolf from his upper chest, arms and head, and then from the knees down in digitigrade legs, much like a wolf or cat.

Steve tells him about the two people he met and Eddie scoffs. Henry is a rival Fire Master and asshole, and Robin Buckley is the most powerful earth master in the entire country.

Steve doesn't want to believe that cute, goofy little Robin is a magician, but after Eddie takes the medicine she gave Steve and he instantly improves? Yeah... a little hard to doubt after that. Eddie doesn't trust Billy. Billy became his apprentice a few years ago, but he wants all the power without all the work. And he's pretty sure Billy is doping and magic and drugs really don't mix.

They fall in love and Steve learns he can do magic too. He's a air mage. They try to find a cure while teaching Steve how to use his magic.

Henry tries to make a move against Eddie with Billy's help and Billy tries to rape Steve, and Eddie tears him apart.

Steve is shaken up by watching Eddie literally rip Billy in pieces and Eddie sends him into town to think about whether or not he wants to stay with Eddie after that.

Steve pretty much decides on the way into town that yes he still loves Eddie.

Henry kidnaps Steve and Eddie turns Dustin into a fire mere to get to Steve as fast as possible. Henry and Eddie fight and Steve helps by calling his sylphs for the first time and they nearly burn the town down with their ferocity added with Eddie's salamanders.

Robin manages to stop all of it with her earth powers but all three collapse afterward. Henry dead, the spell he had that would reverse Eddie's plight, also gone.

But once everyone recovers, Steve decides he doesn't care what Eddie looks like and they live happily ever after.

Or... just a regular regency verse lol!

[princeofdathomir]

So do you do any assassination work for the shadow collective/crimson dawn yourself, or assign it all to a lackey? I assume there's some targets, or particular favors in trade, that might make it worth your while. 🤔

I have far more important tasks, lately. I have plenty of Dawn Operatives I can call upon for simple tasks. However for more complicated missions I can contact @bounty-hunter-cad-bane and have the task completed in half the time.

[feuqueerfire]

Laws of Attraction Live Blogging

I liked To Sir, With Love and hope I like this one too. I was thinking of actually starting Pit Babe right now but there's still a week before that ends and I've been watching these shows pretty speedily, so ig I'll watch this now.

Ep 1 (Feb 3)

Bro, I knew the lawyer man is supposed to be kinda corrupt but I didn't know he was a lying cheater in court like this pls we're 2 mins in

Why does the shady site I'm watching at not translate his Mandarin >:(

oh true, iQiyi has ep 1 free

lmfaooo mans flewwww from that kick

Aw, I knew this was an enemies to lovers, so I didn't expect the meet cute and how charmed Charn is already

Tin's family is so cute (and such rascals lol), is one of them supposed to get hurt for the story to start?

This kid Tonkhao isn't gonna die or smth, is she?

Whelp man wtf that car was brutal

also why did they focus on that candidate or whatever poster before showing her getting run over, is he the one who was driving?

Oh, the driver was that politician's son

No, the politician's character should be mad at the son who postures big in front of everybody else as he throws his weight around but cowers in front of his father. The father should be angry that he's bringing such negative attention to him and his campaign, but obviously doesn't want this to taint his image and his family, so will put money behind cleaning his son's name anyway

Instead it's like the son is not only spoiled but is even talking back to his father and saying he's gotta clean up the mess for votes etc like no...

not this romantic eye contact with a grieving man, especially since Charn is gonna be representing the murderer I'm assuming

10 million baht? girl that's like 10k CAD, that's all? like Tin probably wouldn't have settled even if it was 10 billion baht (10 million CAD) but 10k is just insulting

damn, dramatic flashback of Charn being bound with a gun to his head?

girl this is already stressful since they're framing Tin, gotta get through 7.5 more episodes of this

Charn's smile is soooo irritating oughhh and mans has a gun?! wtf

Right, so it's not just a car accident, either the kid was drunk/on drugs or had some reason to kill the kid?

Since he got kicked out of the murderer's case, is it prime time to switch sides and be Tin's lawyer? Or is that against the contract? and not that Tin would trust him anyway lol

What is this intense music, makes it seem like Charn is going to do something untoward to a passed out Tin that he's taken to a bedroom and is undressing...

and he is also undressing... is Charn gonna make it seem like he and Tin slept together or smth?

Ep 2 (Feb 3)

oh I see okay Charn's sleazy but isn't gonna pretend that he and Tin did anything and is also gonna give a little speech about consent and sex under the influence

Oh, the murderous kid is searching for something in Tin's home... probably has something to do with why he killed the kid

poor Tonkhao and the memories haunting Tin

lol but Charn's defo giving the grandma and other aunt the ide that he and Tin had sex, as expected

loll the slow-mo and cuts in this fight + motorcycle stealing scene

a wound tending scene, of course. it's really cute though

I forgot to look at and reblog gifs for ep 1 oof I'll do it for both eps at once ig...

this slap from the father to the spoiled son should've come earlier on but at least it's here now

oh it wasn't even the dad who sent those lackeys to beat up Charn but his son

Are we supposed to be seeing a blooming romance between Khun noo and his bulter man Thee or smth? Because Thee's been soft toward this spoiled kid the whole time and now we're getting a wound-tending scene right after we got on for Charn and Tin

but we're also seeing spoiled Khun Noo be extremely callous but also it's framed as somewhat sympathetic, they're not gonna try to redeem him by the end or smth right?

I wonder how Sylvie's character (Maya) and this Ms. Rose (owner of a brothel or smth?) are gonna play into everything

oh, Rose is friends with Charn

ah, Khun Noo (I can't remember this kid's name fr) is looking for some doll at Tin's house?

Ow, Charn's understated, genuine smiles when he's not being a little maniac putting up a front

plss not grandma being like "Yeah, lots of girls chase after Tin but he's not interested in them. I know what my grandson likes."

Oof, obviously they've been building up to Charn's tragic past and I'm susceptible to it fr what with the "What happened to you before?" "Nothing. Nothing worth remembering. I forgot it already." and Charn's glassy eyes

Aw, something happened to Charn's mother :(

Also I knew that necklace was meaningful in some way! Mans is always wearing it (pairing it with shirts that show cleavage lol) and he was fiddling with it while thinking of his mother (although it doesn't appear in the scene where he's blindfolded and bound)

This is really engaging so far, has that same addictive quality of To Sir, With Love. I hope they can actually deliver and do it well in the remaining 6 episodes, it's such short runtime. At least the episodes are ~50-60 instead instead of 40-50.

Some people on the r/boys love on air thread mentioned that actually maybe the dad killed her while making the son take the fall. kinda makes sense since 1) we know he was there that day bc he bumped into tonkao 2) they’re very much hinting at a spoiled guy and bodyguard Thee romance (wound tending, soft eyes, literally carrying the drunk Khun noo over his shoulder)

Ep 3 (Feb 4)

is that dog the friend is taking the doll?

gonna show Tin how selfish people can be? Win over Tin? Is Charn gonna betraye Tin

ah the doll can talk can ur also record cuz someone in the on air also said maybe it recorded smth important

scary ass father choking him

if kid is really taking the fall for his father’s car crash killing someone and being urged to turned himself in because he’s young and a minor so won’t got as much punishment, it’ll really resemble the Death’s Game prison guy episode

…why was Charn there in the middle of the night? With the fire extinguisher? and if he has seen it from security cams and come from his home, why didn’t he call grandma and Tin to tell them to come out? and why is that guy recording? Charn did you do this

does the son really not do it? did Charn drop the ring as planted evidence?

as expected, Charn’s unethical behaviour is not behind us

Ep 4 (Feb 4)

pls Tonkhao getting beat up cuz she told the teacher that she'd handed out the wrong exam paper w/ answers

Also part of her punishment being watching Tin eat ice cream in front of her, so funny

Bro wtf is wrong with these people, why are they tryna beat up Tin with bats and then knife him like ik Tin was v daring to come confront them but it seems like such a stupid decision to just jump him instead of ignoring and going around him or smth but ig that's just the violent tendencies of this kid

okay but like are we actually supposed to have sympathy for this kid later on as he gets his little BL storyline or what?

I don't care about this bodyguard being protective of the kid anymore cuz they're both dumb af and annoying to me (though at least the bodyguard wasn't stupid enough to actually kill Tin)

They all keep hinting that everything's not as it seems but then beats up Tin for being like okay tell me what tf happened that night

Film is soooo good at the glassy eyed, unshed tears acting face

Ah, Charn confesses he set the fire

but he's still quite good at using pitiful language and "ah how could i still hope people see me in a good light? I'm just... evil"

pls grandma so funny even in her wisdom

lol not Charn "If you dare to touch a strand of hair on his head" girl you're giving yourself away

oof

That was actually a pretty good apology from Tin, apologized and actually said what he did wrong + enough justification to not make it seem like he's simpering but not too much to make it seem like he's deflecting

Ah, the father is now considering sending the troublesome son abroad to the states

yeah, why indeed did the dad let his son take a beating for so long before finding someone else to take the fall??

heh Charn (purposefully, delighted) changing in front of Tin and Tin going through it

oof almost kiss

Heh the women (I forget their names rip) have such a small part but I'm like :D hehe whenever they appear. And Silvy being like okay let's do a double date ;)

Oh interesting, so Tanthai wasn't gonna be driving that night because mans can't even walk when drunk, forget driving

oh you liar Charn being like "nooo it wasn't my plan to talk to that guy cuz we told each other that we'd share all our plans hehe"

Is this romantic progress

hm Tan's nightmare as he came across a bleeding and dying Tonkhao

pls, Tin practically screaming with his eyes for Charn to not let him leave and instead ask him to spend the night lmao

Sorry, this longass goodby scene killing me somehow. I can't tell if I'm reading it correctly though is it like Tin's kinda insecure about wanting to stay but not seeing the same eagerness from Charn -> he leaves but is kinda :| about it -> turns around hoping to see Tin but being disappointed to see the door's closing and he's not there -> then smiles when he sees that indeed Charn is still there seeing him go and waves bye

Ep 5 (Feb 4)

oh interesting, last episode when Charn was telling Tin to not trust anybody, even those you consider to be friends who are on your side, I was like maybe he meant that couple who works with them? Will they be doing something to sell out Tin? and i suppose they went that route

ohhh indeed the dog doll had a recording feature which says back what it's told. the people on the on-air threads guessed it in like ep 2 lol

They also guessed that the little friend and her mother are in kahoots with the politician and is why she took that doll, wonder if that'll turn out true

"When will you get dressed? Are you trying to seduce me?" Frrr Tin taking forever and a half while wearing clothes specifically in front of Charn directly

ah they're talking about what would've happened if All This hadn't happened after they'd met that first night because although they and the audience have both been very aware of the tension and attraction b/w them, they've not said anything until now

I like how bold Charn is with the topic fr though like first being like are you trying to seduce me? And then boldly grasping Tin's arm as he's moving away to be like what would've happened?

Grandmaaaaa don't interrupt!

Somehow this scene of Charn dropping a flower from the rooftop and them staring at each other while they smell the flowers is so Jiu (?) and Tian from To Sir, With Love. has the old time vibes

alks;dfj Charn talking sooo cutely to Tin on the phone at Rose's bar

Are we supposed to wonder if Charn's lawyer? bodyguard? dude is also betraying him or anything? Because he's very curious about the contents of the box

Oh, my guy was extremely into "what doll?" with the O.O eyes, there's no way he's not an informant for the politician right?

Ah, I was thinking they're gonna have the scapegoat killed when the politician mentioned him earlier in the ep but so weird from prisoners to murder someone in their cell like this, won't they just be given murder sentences

oh nvm lol disguise it as a suicide and ofc the cops are in their pockets too

rip not Charn being even worse at shooting after he said his plan to his superior

ah, as expected, Vit is working for the politician or smth lol this show really does "and now we will Heavily Hint at the upcoming betrayal" type format lol

Charn putting "bombs" to see who betrays him is good

the fire is really funny tho

girl pls the building straight up exploding is crazy

ahhh Maya and Grandma fun

lose your virginity? Tin?

alksdfjlaksdfjlk;sdj Tin being like "To apologize, I'll let you punish me. You can do anything to me." aksdfjlaksdfjslkdaf

only for fuckass Charn to choose this time to sleep smhhhhhhh

Maya saying she wishes her family could be like Grandma in terms of accepting Charn's queerness ahh me too

Oh, the Thai word for enemies seems similar to the Bengali word for it (sathru/shotru)

Oof, they're going to Charn's village + Charn's once again like hehehe I will control the politician and his money and power shall be mineeee (+ Tin will be happy with that arrangement too, trust)

Ep 6 (Feb 5)

girl

yknow what's up with these cars all driving on the white line

girl why tf are we singing and IN PUBLIC omg i'm skipping through it

a stalker? maybe an informant of the senator once again?

lol Vit didn't die despite the comedic fire and explosion?

I don't care enough about Tanthai and the bodyguard for them to be taking up screentime while they're cutely in hiding or whatever, go back to Charn and Tin

also are they in the same place as Charn and Tin or no?

ah rip broken doll?

Ah, we get the backstory

Oh, did Charn let the other new capitalist people also kill the original capitalist supporters?

Whose hand was wrapped around Charn's waist? The one-night-stand rose mentioned?

oh we're doing kissing and taking off shirts and everything

going behind Tin's back to send the senator a pic of that doll (now broken supposedly) to hold it over him

Ep 7 (Feb 5)

bruh, Charn really fucked Tinn and left the next morning to scheme against the politician oof

Tinn should really have recorded the stuff the dog said, hope he'll have the mind to record it now

oh Tan and Tee also had sex?

dumbass

lol sure I'll believe that Pai can rescue him like that

aw, the mother and Charn's bet about whether something good will come back to them for helping this village and it indeed saved Charn's life, so he lost

oof, Charn's ofc hiding what he's doing (going to senator himself) by saying senator sent someone to attack him

lmfao what, is the guy who Charn had a ONS with?

pls what is this guy T.T lol

bruh, i get Tin being like damn girl why are we at your ex's place but he's so irritating with being so jealous of Charn have had sex w/ ppl before like chilllll

okay good he realizes "Sorry for acting like an idiot"

aw, cute but I actually get so embarrassed at the Ruthless Night of the Horny

ah, meanwhile Charn's guilty face bc he's going behind Tin's back w the doll and senator. There's an episode and a half left, should I expect this to not be sorted out very well

Is Tan putting up his videos as posts??? Or is his dad in his iCloud? or is he hacking it or what girl

damn Tan is soooo dumb, he put up an IG story of being giggly with Tee fr?????? you're on the run girl

Not to rag on this random fictional woman who's also dead but I don't understand how these troubled characters' mothers often passed away from childbirth where they knew they could die and also the fathers are trash like wow you left your child who you apparently love so much with a literal criminal who might be terrible to your kid and hate them for "killing" you. anyway fuck this dad the most obvi but that doesn't really need to be said or discussed, it's just true and consensus

;akzjafklasdfklsadfj sorry Tin coming with part of the bed frame while he's handcuffed. Reminds me of some movie where the woman was running late and couldn't find the key, so literally had the whole bedframe backing while she got her kid ready for school or whatever, don't remember what it was called though...

okayy at least in the end, Charn isn't still pretending to have betrayed Tin

So much stupid shit (didn't even bother to mention the gun shot wound to his head apparently which healed in like 12 minutes at some kid's church room)

Ep 8 (Feb 6)

I know Charn keeps hinting at dying cuz he's like aw miss me please and take care of Tin and Grandma for me but literally why is he going to his death though? Is he gonna somehow broadcast them killing him red handed or smth?

Oh, Maya will livestream it or smth?

idc about this boxing fight

Enough of these mediocre action scenes bruh, where is Charn meeting with the senator and what's his plan and what are the lesbians Rose and Maya helping withhh

Wait, they were pretty clever with that plan but they didn't foresee anybody informing the senator that this was being broadcasted to hundreds of thousands of people?

Steal that man's gun!

Okayyyy I was like girl wtf no blood? but okay makes sense, he had bullet proof vest lol

ahh bossy Charn getting Tin to cater to his whims from the hospital bed

I don't get the point of Charn's teasingly detached attitude

damn, weird to realize that i kinda don't care - same feeling as atots engagement that did nothing for me bc I don't care about the characters

Actually, enjoyed the bit about marriage equality isn't just about love and romance, it's about having equal rights. Even queer people who aren't in love or in a relationship should have the same equal rights

Did Charn get that senator killed?

Girl I watched most of this at 1x speed and paying attention but now in these last 20 mins or whatever, why am I so bored? Why do I care so little? Watching at 1.5x and skipping when they're taking wedding photos or whatever without speaking.

Overall Thoughts:

I really liked To Sir, With Love which was a lakorn and so was different than every other BL I've watched and was hoping I'd similarly love this one, which is also brining something unique to the BL table. It started off really well for me, I thought Charn was such a fun character and was intrigued about what was going on. I liked the lesbians Maya and Rose as well ofc. However, I think toward ep 7 and 8, it kinda became very meh for me (that warehouse live stream scene not counting) because the mystery was too predictable/boring and thus had no tension, people kept making incredibly stupid decisions, and the montages of them preparing for the wedding was really boring, esp because I like the characters but am not into it enough to feel emotional about it. Nawin was a great addition in ep 7 though, so unexpected and fun. Unfortunate that the meh impression ended up being the last ones, since that sticks with me more than liking it more in the earlier eps.

Rating: 6/10

[grayintogreen]

TIME FOR TABAXIGATE 2021!!

I don’t usually theorize because I know full well you CANT on this show. I try to stick to analysis and things based on my emotional input on how I, personally, engage with D&D which is almost to the letter how the cast engages with it, and how that might affect some mechanical designs like say, picking a character back up with ten levels you didn’t give them.

THAT SAID, I love Cree so let’s talk about her.

I’m getting the distinct impression that Cree is not happy with literally fucking anyone right now. Lucien is being a twat, the Mighty Nein killed her friends, and she’s probably feeling a little like a lackey (though hey nice that the Somnovem call her “his second” and nothing vaguely insulting that’s kinda cool #CognouzaQueenCree2k21). Also she only has two red eyes and Beau and Caleb have three so what does THAT mean???

anyway. Point is- she mad.

but can we get a dialogue out of her.

ima be honest, that is gonna be in Cad’s court. He’s pushing for allies and he is the only person in the entire party that Cree has ever reacted favorably towards except when she got enthusiastic about her religion that one time and Lucien had to tell her to pipe down. And that “favorable reaction“ was literally like “what if we cast harm at the same time on a dragon and we were both furry clerics.” Fjord is our diplomat but unfortunately I don’t think he's in the mood to negotiate and also Cree watched him decapitate one of her unconscious friends and if Matt doesn’t impose any persuasion check disadvantages on Fjord for that, he’s nicer than I would be. But I am very fierce in my determination to see through the eyes of our fucked up TombTaker posse, so maybe I’m harsh. Matt wrote those jerks as “antiheroes of another story” and I live for it.

Anyway.... so assuming someone can get the cleric kitty to not murder them in sight, can we get her to turn?

.... probably not.

As much as I love the idea of Cree turning on him because she’s enraged, I don’t think she’s going to do it unless it means she’s staging a double cross, which she deserves. Slay queen. You’re the brains of this operation and everyone knows it. So if she does side with the Nein and she doesn’t destroy her crest immediately, that girl is PLANNING SOMETHING.

However, there are some good story and mechanic reasons why she would decide to abandon Lucien that might outweigh the simple objective fact that she DOES NOT LIKE THESE PEOPLE AND WORSHIPS THE SOMNOVEM/LUCIEN.

One: The Somnovem have come to her for aid as well and planted some doubts in her head. More doubts. She’s full of doubts.

Two: She’s more angry at Lucien now than she hates the Mighty Nein.

Three: Pity cleric??? It’s not gonna bring back their missing spells but having someone who probably won’t go into the fray (unless Matt is really feeling frisky with how many party NPCS he’s running) and doesn’t have to be conservative with their spells to heal everyone up might be helpful. Once the group derails Lucien’s life, they’ll be able to rest and the magic users are half fucked against Lucien anyway.

All in all, i do hope they can get her to talk, because one of her defining character traits is that she is actually very excitable and talks a lot more than she should when you can get her in a decent mood. And I WANT THE CAT LORE MATTHEW. PLEASE.

[jbk405]

Story-arcs of The Clone Wars

Yesterday I was talking about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and how to watch this series (And Rebels) to catch up and understand Ahsoka’s appearance in The Mandalorian.  Since TCW was an anthology series its episodes frequently jumped around in chronological order (The very earliest episode doesn’t come out until the second season, and the pilot movie is technically third) and so there’s a thousand-and-one different “proper” ways to watch the series.  Some say to watch it in straight chronological order so that you get the full story, others say to watch it in production/release order since that’s the way it was meant to be experienced, and some have their own personal mishmash based on story-arcs.

Throughout the series they frequently had three- and four-part story-arcs that formed what were essentially mini-movies (This is what they did for the original theatrical release).  Quite often these were among the best episodes of the series, and they contributed the most to the ongoing storylines that built towards what happened in the movies, what came next in Rebels, and which are now being followed in The Mandalorian.

I can’t give a final ruling on the overall order to watch the series, but what I can do is give an overview of the various individual story-arcs.  My takes on their quality, how accessible they are to new viewers, and where they fit in the story.  I will be covering them in release order from beginning to end, skipping over the standalone and two-part episodes.  I won’t do season seven as it is still recent, and that is the climax to all of these arcs.

So, with no further ado:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008): The pilot movie, which had a theatrical release.  As I said, this was composed of what were originally the first four episodes of the show, and I find that the enjoyment is a lot better if you view it that way instead of as a single whole.  As an introduction to the series it serves functionally well: It introduces Ahsoka Tano and it features almost all of the main players of the series (Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Padme, Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress, Rex, Cody, etc.).  Quality wise it’s “Okay”.  I disliked it when I first saw it back in 2008, but when I rewatched it a few months ago it was a lot better than I remembered so it’s possible I was just in whiny “It’s not REAL Star Wars!” mode back in 2008.  If you’re watching it with somebody who doesn’t like ‘cartoons’ or is an Original Trilogy purist this may not be the best place to start since it doesn’t present the best first impression, but if they’ve got an open mind or are interested in the series it could work.

Malevolence Arc (Season 1): Three episodes of the first season revolving around the Separatists’ new superweapon, a powerful ion canon aboard the dreadnought Malevolence.  The first episode shows them discovering the weapon, the second disabling it, and the third episode shows their attempts to finish destroying the ship itself.  There are numerous references and homages to the original Star Wars film and the effort to escape/destroy the Death Star.  This arc has some great character work (Jedi Master Plo Koon is heavily featured and he is a heavy fan favorite, plus a personal favorite of Dave Filoni) and some light debates on the worth of the life of a clone.  However, this early the show is still working out its kinks so there’s a few points where characters fundamentally misunderstand the whole “Jedi shouldn’t have attachments” philosophy, and the supposedly competent military commanders make baseline errors that come close to sabotaging their own forces.  An adequate jump-on point for the series, just bear in mind that it does get better.

Nute Gunray Arc (Season 1): A very loose three-part arc, it follows a different primary cast each episode as one group initially captures Separatist leader Nute Gunray, another transports him, and a third tries to recapture him after he escapes.  Each episode of this arc is very different tonally from the one before, it starts with a semi-comical Jar Jar Binks episode, the middle is a military action story, and the conclusion is a much more intimate military action, almost horror story.  Jedi Masters Luminara Unduli and Kit Fisto appear in parts two and three.  The episodes themselves are good, but I would recommend against this being your first exposure since their loose connection means they don’t really build to anything as a whole by watching them together.

Ryloth Arc (Season 1): Three episodes towards the end of the first season showing the different stages of the Republic’s attempt to liberate the planet Ryloth from Separatist occupation.  Here is where the arcs start to pick up a little bit of steam: Each episode shows a different stage of the invasion and focuses on different characters, but unlike the Gunray arc they are all still the same story.  The first episode focuses on Anakin and Ahsoka trying to break the Separatist blockade so they can reach the planet, the second focuses on Obi-Wan Kenobi attempting to destroy ground-based weaponry so they can land their forces on the surface, and the third focuses on Mace Windu leading the attack on the Separatist capital.  This is the first arc to really try and show the cost and effects of war: Ahsoka loses a lot of men in the first episode and struggles with that guilt when they need to attack again, Obi-Wan needs to circumvent civilian hostages and human shields that the Separatists are using, and Mace needs to ally with the local resistance and try to forge a partnership despite their admittedly not-identical goals.  These aren’t the individually best episodes of the entire season, but it’s probably the best arc of the season.

Children of the Force Arc (Season 2): The three episodes that open season two.  This introduces Cad Bane, a bounty hunter hired to steal a Jedi Holocron so that Darth Sidious can get a list of Force-sensitive children the Jedi have found and can kidnap them to raise as his evil lackeys.  The first episode is a heist episode, the second an action retrieval episode, and the third a chase episode.  I will admit to not liking this arc as much as others seem to, because the main characters keep making ridiculous decisions that only make sense if they have literally forgotten other parts of the story (For example, a Holocron can only be opened by somebody using the Force, so the Jedi initially don’t believe that anybody would bother trying to steal one because it would be useless to them.  This requires them to just forget the existence Count Dooku, a former Jedi who is leading the Separatists and who would love to gain their secrets).  However, despite not being my personal favorite, this could serve as a good intro if you wanted to start here.  Cad Bane recurs in several future episodes so it’s a good introduction, and it features a large portion of the primary cast.  It also has good action, and several bits of character development for Ahsoka, Anakin, and their relationship.

Geonosis Arc (Season 2): A four-part arc (Some people actually include the preceding episode as well to make it five episodes, but I don’t), this is in my opinion the first really good arc and starts to show where The Clone Wars is going to excel as a series.  This follows the Republic re-invasion of Geonosis (The planet from Attack of the Clones) after the Separatists have somehow managed to overwhelm the forces left there after the film.  The first episode is straight military action, often described as being like Saving Private Ryan and other WWII films focusing on the Normany invasions.  The second episode is military espionage, a sabotage mission.  The third (Believe it or not) switches over to a zombie episode and goes straight horror.  The fourth stays horror, but instead of zombies it’s paranoia from spreading mind control.  Barriss Offee is introduced here, and her master Luminara Unduli returns.  The cast semi-rotates throughout the four episodes, with different Jedi ‘sets’ being primary in different episodes.  It gives a perfect highlight of all the different characters and shows some excellent development as well (Including just how much Anakin’s fear of losing those he cares about can cloud his judgement, and how this can push him towards morally questionable actions).  If you want to include the episode prior to this arc as well, that one is a political thriller based on the Alfred Hitchock film Notorious.  As I said, I don’t really count it as being in this arc, but it does set up the plot so others do count it.

Mandalore Arc (Season 2): This arc introduces a whole new faction to the series: the Mandalorians.  The planet Mandalore itself has renounced its violent ways and its leader, the pacifist Duchess Satine Kryze, leads an alliance of 1,500 neutral worlds that want to stay out of the clone wars.  However, there are rumors that the Duchess is actually in league with the Separatists, and apart from the rumors there have also been attacks by people wearing Mandalorian armor, so Obi-Wan is sent to figure out what’s going on.  He and the Duchess have a history that is separated by their opposed political views.  The first episode shows Obi-Wan on Mandalore looking into the subversive group Death Watch, the second episode shows them all journeying to Coruscant to speak with the Galactic Senate, and the third tries to expose a Separatists conspiracy on Coruscant itself.  This is the first arc with Obi-Wan as the primary focus for all three episodes, though Anakin and Padme do join in parts two and three.  This arc could serve as an intro if you wanted to enter the series here, since the Mandalorians will grow into a major part of the series and will intertwine with Obi-Wan’s personal arc for seasons to come.  For those looking to get background on The Mandalorian, this is also where we start learning things about their culture that show up in the live-action series.

Boba Fett arc (Season 2): The three-part finale to season two.  Boba Fett -- still a child keep in mind -- infiltrates a Republic cruiser with a group of clone cadets in a plot to kill Mace Windu in revenge for Windu killing Jango Fett.  He has a group of bounty hunters helping him, and when Windu survives the original assassination attempt things spin further and further out of control.  I honestly don’t have much to say about this arc.  It’s not bad, but I find it kinda forgettable.  It’s got some good character scenes, and a few good action pieces, but other than that....eh.  Despite this, this arc could also serve as an entry to the series since it builds off the Attack of the Clones film more than it does any previous episodes of this series.

Nightsisters arc (Season 3): Here is where the series takes a hard left turn.  This arc focuses primarily on Asajj Ventress, Count Dooku’s assassin.  Darth Sidious feels that Ventress is growing too powerful, and Dooku may be thinking of using her to help overthrow him, so he orders Dooku to kill her.  Ventress survives, and escapes back to her people: the Nightsisters of Dathomir.  They accept her back, and help her try to get revenge on Dooku.  First through a direct assassination attempt, and when that fails they trick Dooku into accepting a new apprentice that they have brainwashed to betray him at their command, Savage Oppress.  This is the first arc to focus primarily on one of the villains (None of the heroic main cast appear in its second episode at all) and when it ends both Ventress and Oppress are alive and working independently as new factions in the plot.  This changes the status quo for the rest of the series, and introduces a new plot thread as well: The return of Darth Maul, the brother of Savage Oppress.

Mortis arc (Season 3): Another three-part arc, this is the first real foray of Star Wars into straight fantasy, and the first attempt of this series to address the Prophecy of the Chosen One.  Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka find themselves on a mysterious planet with properties they cannot explain, populated by ‘Force Wielders’ of immense power and who represent the Light, the Dark, and the Balance.  Almost all of the sci-fi trappings around the Force are dropped, these people are clearly wizards/angels/demons.  It gives a lot of character focus on the three leads, directly addressing their hopes and fears and their destinies.  It’s so different from the rest of the series that it may not function as a good introduction, but it gives such a good presentation of each character I heavily recommend against skipping it.

Citadel arc (Season 3): This is a military rescue arc, with Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan attempting to rescue a Jedi Master and a naval officer who have been captured by the Separatists, and who have vital military information that could change the course of the war.   This is where you can first begin to really see The Empire growing unseen within the Republic, as the officer is in fact Captain Wilhuff Tarkin (AKA Grand Moff Tarkin, the villain of the original Star Wars film).  Throughout the arc Tarkin and the Jedi have several debates about politics, the military, and the current war, as well as what the Jedi’s role should be in all three.  At this point I think we’re past “introductions” to the series, as the series becomes ever more tightly interwoven over the remaining seasons.  Tarkin will return as an antagonist in the future, and the cracks between Anakin (And Ahsoka) and the Jedi really start to widen.

Calamari arc (Season 4): The season four opener, this is a Water arc, which I have to applaud the franchise for finally doing.  The water world of Mon Cala falls into civil war when the Quarren ally with the Separatists against the Republic-aligned Mon Calamari. We get to see Jedi Kit Fisto, an amphibious Nautolan, at home underwater while our air-breathing main cast are in scuba suits and helmets.  Unfortunately, when the underwater fighting spills out of control the Republic needs to bring in the also-amphibious Gungans to fight and I find this part of the story ridiculous (They’re the only other amphibious species with an army?  The Republic has never had to fight on a water world before, so they don’t have any widely available submersibles?  Come on).  Despite this contrivance, I very much like that the series finally addresses how different species require different environments.  The Separatists use shark people on this planet, as they would be useless on other worlds but this is the perfect locale for them.  The arc doesn’t have much of a story impact for later, it’s self-contained action/adventure.

Umbara arc (Season 4): One of the best arcs of the series, this arc (As reviewer SF Debris put it), “Puts the ‘war’ in ‘Star Wars’”.  A four-part arc, the focus is almost entirely on the Clone Troopers of the 501st, who are normally under Anakin’s command but are being transferred to Jedi General Pong Krell when Anakin is recalled to Coruscant.  Anakin only appears in the first episode, and none of the Jedi main cast appear in the other three episodes except for holo-communications with Obi-Wan.  All the episodes are filled with intense action, but the series also finally really digs in to what it means to be a Clone, and the morality around using them for battle.  ALL the props for Dee Bradley Baker who spends all four episodes talking to himself as dozens of different clone characters.  They debate loyalty, duty, training, the values of their own lives, and the value of a system that claims to stand for freedom but which doesn’t offer it to them.  These concepts had been touched before in individual episodes which also focused on the clones, but never to this extent or depth.  I consider this arc one of the stand-out entries of the entire Star Wars franchise.

Slaver arc (Season 4): To be honest, I’ve never quite been able to get a good grasp on this three-part arc.  After a village full of Togrutas (Ahsoka’s people) are kidnapped by slavers allied with the Separatists, Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka go undercover to locate and rescue them.  I suppose it’s an okay arc, but it just never clicked for me.  Nobody seems to recognize the problems with forcing Anakin --  a former slave -- to go undercover as a slaver.  The slavers sometimes try to pull a “Slavery is actually moral because the strong are supposed to dominate the weak” speech, but it never comes close to working on Anakin (Again, he is a former slave) so there’s never any tension of “Oh no, will he decide the villain is right and betray his friends?”.  Individual parts of the arc are well done (There’s a hilarious part of the first episode where Obi-Wan is getting his ass kicked, only to reveal that he was just playing along to buy time and just effortlessly mops the floor once he knows he can stop pretending) but as a whole....eh.

Deception arc (Season 4): A four-part arc, Obi-Wan has to go undercover as an assassin in order to infiltrate a Separatist criminal plot.  To do so, he stages his own murder and then impersonates the assassin.  You really see Anakin start to come apart in this arc, he’s a hair's breadth from just executing the ‘assassin’ when he catches him, and he is barely holding on to any of the Jedi teachings in his anger.  Ahsoka is likewise conflicted, and though not as completely overcome as Anakin she likewise questions their responsibilities in this case.  Obi-Wan faces the standard moral quandaries of being undercover: How far does he go to retain his cover when it comes to harming innocents?  How much harm does he let the other criminals do before interfering?  This is one of the arcs where each episode has its own type as they progress, from Prison Episode to Fugitive Episode to Planning Episode to Crime Episode.  Cad Bane returns, along with several other criminal characters.

Ventress/Oppress arc (Season 4): Some classify this is as two separate two-episode arcs, but I view them as one.  The first two episodes focus on Asajj Ventress (No Jedi characters appear at all) as she first tries to re-assimilate to the Nightsisters, but they are soon wiped out by the Separatists in revenge for their plot against Count Dooku in season three.  Ventress escapes with no personal goals or direction, and eventually falls in with a group of bounty hunters.  The last two episodes follow Savage Oppress on his quest to find his brother, Darth Maul, guided by a magic amulet from Mother Talzin of the Nightsisters.  Maul is living in madness on a junkyard planet with a mechanical spider’s body grafted to his torso to replace the legs Obi-Wan cut off in The Phantom Menace.  Obi-Wan attempts to stop their mutual rampage, and Ventress shows up for her own revenge against Oppress, but they are overpowered and barely manage to escape.  This arc mainly serves as set-up for later arcs in season five, which build to the climaxes for the series.

Season five gives a slight shift from the earlier seasons: there are only story-arcs in this season, with no standalone episodes at all.  Five four-part story-arcs fill out the entire season.

Onderon arc (Season 5): The planet Onderon has allied with the Separatists, but there is a pro-Republic underground fighting a guerilla war against the government.  The main cast are sent to Onderon to train the resistance, without involving the Republic forces in an internal matter.  Apart from the bizarre Prime Directive issue (The Republic is literally at war with the Separatists, I do not see any logic in saying they can’t ‘interfere’ in an internal matter of a Separatist planet) the arc works very well showing the main cast working from a very different angle from usual.  They need to focus on being undetected and secret, taking into account public opinion around them and the effect their efforts have on the civilian populace.  They cannot just fight the war themselves, they have to train the locals to take over so that they can leave and return to the primary war.  Saw Gerrera is first introduced here, and Lux Bonteri returns from earlier in the series.  This arc helps lay the groundwork for Ahsoka’s storyline at the end of this season in particular.

Youngling arc (Season 5): A group of Jedi children trainees come together to gather their first Kyber crystals, and subsequently get entangled in pirate raids and the larger war before they can return home.  Ahsoka is present as their chaperone.  This arc is almost “filler” since it really doesn’t have much of an effect on the larger story.  To some viewers it was a fun arc that remembered that Star Wars isn’t just about war scenes.  To others it was a waste of four episodes in a season that was so tightly packed it didn’t have any episodes to waste.  For me...it’s better than a lot TV shows which introduce child characters where they really don’t belong, but I agree that it didn’t need full four episodes dedicated to them.  A two-parter would have worked just as well, with the other two episodes free for another small story.

Droid Commando arc (Season 5): R2-D2 is added to a special droid commando unto being sent into Separatist space.  Despite following this same group for the whole arc, each episode is a very unique and distinct story.  Almost avant-garde for some of them.  Like the Youngling arc it’s not that critical to the later stories, but it tells its own story.

Maul Mandalore arc (Season 5): Here is where, as they say, shit gets real.  Maul decides that if he cannot rule the galaxy as a Sith Lord, he will will take power from the shadows as a Crime Lord.  He and Oppress first try to take over a pirate gang, and when that fails (partially due to Obi-Wan) he joins up with Death Watch, the Mandalorian extremist group trying to take over Mandalore.  Obi-Wan travels to Mandalore to help Duchess Satine against what he thinks is just a Death Watch takeover, unaware of Maul’s involvement.  Simultaneously, Darth Sidious has sensed Maul’s growing power and is unwilling to have another player in his game, so he personally travels to Mandalore to deal with the situation.  This arc is big.  Several long-time recurring characters are killed off, and it had some of the most standout lightsaber duels of the entire series.  This arc, and one other from later in season seven, is probably the most influential towards what happens in Rebels and The Mandalorian.

The Wrong Jedi arc (Season 5): Did I say that the last arc was where shit got real?  Well, now it’s realer.  There’s a bombing of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and Anakin & Ahsoka are investigating.  However, it looks like it may have been an inside job by a Jedi, and Ahsoka herself is framed as the bomber.  As Ahsoka is accused, imprisoned, and eventually a fugitive, this arc finally shows what the audience has known was coming all along: The Empire isn’t just coming, it’s here.  The institutions of the Republic have been corrupted, and with the rationales of “it’s temporary” and “we need security” the freedoms and liberties that the entire clone wars were about have already been wiped away.  Even the Jedi are not free from this corruption (Although personally, I very much disagree with the way the episode seems to accept the villain’s motivation speech as correct.  It’s the only real flaw in the arc).  This arc originally served as a pseudo-series finale since the series was cancelled after season five, and though I’m happy we got more, if it had to end here it would have been monumental.

Season six (Also known as “The Lost Missions”) is composed of the episodes that had been competed before the show was cancelled after Disney purchased Lucasfilm.  It’s about half the length of a full season, and returns to the earlier mix of different-sized arcs.

Fives arc (Season 6): The four-part arc that opens the season, this finally addresses the point that has been looming over the series from the beginning: How could these stalwart, heroic Clone Troopers betray the Jedi they have fought side-by-side with for years when they receive Order 66?  Clone Trooper Tup snaps and murders a Jedi, and this leads to an investigation amongst the Jedi if his is an isolated incident, or some sort of Separatist plot.  Fives accompanies Tup back to Kamino for treatment, and is drawn deeper and deeper in as the Kaminoans seem more interested on covering things up than actually figuring anything out.  The conspiracy widens more and more, until Fives believes that it is galaxy-wide and manipulating them all.  This arc continues several of the moral and ethical questions surrounding the clones from earlier in the series, and moves the series firmly more towards the inevitable film storyline instead of the clone wars adventures themselves.  This is another one of the arcs where each episode has its own tone, from the “No one gets left behind” military mission, to the rogue patient plot, to the paranoid conspiracy pursuit.

Clovis arc (Season 6): This is another one of the arcs that never quite clicked for me.  Rush Clovis returns from earlier in the series in the hopes of reforming the Banking Clan and bringing ‘honor’ back after it has been corrupted by the greed of the clone wars.  However he was previously a Separatist, and despite their explanation of how it’s okay I keep thinking at every scene that they should arrest him for treason, not let him continue to operate in the Republic government.  Plus, when has anybody ever viewed banks as Honorable Institutions with Good Old Ways?  I do believe that it is possible for a bank to act honorably and treat its customers fairly, but not that banking itself is some sort of Ancient Honorable Institution.  Maybe if season 6 had a full complement of episodes I wouldn’t mind this detour, but since it was cut short I begrudge every wasted episode.

Yoda arc (Season 6): Another pseudo-series finale, these are the final episodes of the season and would have served as the end of the series if season seven had not been revived.  Yoda goes on a vision quest to try and parse out so many of the mysteries of the clone wars and the manipulations of the Dark Side.  Like the earlier Mortis arc, these episodes are straight fantasy as Yoda faces the ghosts of people from his past and his own internal demons.  They make an effort to address what it means when people say that the Jedi have become corrupted by fighting in this war, and they try to reconcile their peacekeeper philosophy with serving as soldiers.  The arc ends on the depressed-yet-hopeful note which is the mantra of Star Wars of this era, as the Empire’s rise may be inevitable but there is still hope for afterwards.

[vampbite083]

Simon's Angels Chapter Eleven

New chapter is now up! Getting close to the crossover point! Read and Review!

FF.net:

AO3:

[lovey-dovey-knifey]

le epic bf list :flushed:

hehe ere r my bfs!!! im so in luv with them wh

Main F/Os:

Arthur(OC) tag: ☕✏️

Dr. Otto Von Scratchansniff(The Animaniacs) tag: 📝💢

Pat Pending(Wacky Races) tag: 🧡🔧

Simon Bar Sinister & Cad Lackey(The Underdog Show) tags: 🧪⚙️ / 🪓🍎

Secondary F/Os: 

The Butler(Very Little Nightmares) tag: 🔒🧺

Crabby Appleton(Tom Terrific) tag: 🍏⚗️

Mr. Smiley(OC) tag: ❤️🤍🖤

The Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot(BTAS) tag: 🐧🎩

Sir Grimsby(The Little Mermaid) tag: ⚜️🌊

Crushes:

The Craftsman(Very Little Nightmares) tag: 🗜️🥽

The Janitor/Roger(Little Nightmares) tag: 💚🧹

The Boogeyman/Nathaniel Winter(The Park/Secret World) tag: 🎩🎡

The Conductor(Chu❤️lip) tag: 🚂🚬

_____________________

aight fambily time

Familial F/Os:

Brothers: Killer Croc(BTAS) tag: 🐊

Private Meekley(Wacky Races) tag: 🐛

Kids: The Warner siblings(Animanaics) tags: 🎤(Yakko)/🍬(Wakko)/🎀(Dot)

_____________________

fwiends l:^)

Platonic F/Os:

Mr. Burns & Waylon Smithers(The Simpsons) tags: 💵 / ☢️

[docgold13]

Profiles in Villainy

Simon Bar Sinister

The diabolical Simon Bar Sinister is a mad scientist whose many villainous schemes have been regularly thwarted by the intrepid superhero known as Underdog.  Accompanied by his trusted underling, Cad Lackey, Bar Sinister has endeavored on numerous plots to take over the world, utilizing a variety of machination (ranging from giant robots to shrinking potions to mind controlling rays).  The villain’s amazing scientific genius notwithstanding, Underdog always managed to save the day and foil the Bar Sinister's dastardly plots.

Simon Bar Sinister was voiced by actor Allen Swift and first appeared in the Underdog episode entitled ‘The Big Shrink,’ airing on October 16th, 1964.  

[thephantomcasebook]

Preview for Chapter 10 of the Wayfaring Stranger.

“Mrs. Drewe?”

“Just missed her … punched a first-class ticket to a reasonably priced dirt nap.”  George sniffed with a hard-boiled cynicism in his voice.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, a grateful one. He didn’t turn to look at his Uncle Tom who had remained to attend to the hero of the hour. The Irishmen looked conflicted when he peered over the wall and saw the woman’s body. Tom Branson felt a deep empathy for Mrs. Drewe in that hour, and quickly defused any grudge he might have borne against her. Yet, he couldn’t stop himself from being relieved that she was gone. The ugly business between Edith and the Drewes, after so many years, was now at an end. And Tom felt guilty for feeling grateful for the threat to Marigold being over after twelve long years of walking on eggshells. But even then, he didn’t think that anyone deserved what happened to Margie Drewe at the end of her life.

“How’s the arm?” He asked.

“Had worse riding the Rodeo in South Texas …” George replied absently.

He turned to George and looked at the young man who cradled his arm. Tom Branson loved his nephew as if he was his own son. And his devotion to the lad was enhanced by, what he would consider, the spitting image of Sybil in his face and spirit. The boy, in a different world, might have been exactly the son that Sybil would’ve bore to him. It was a popular thought among so many of the family - so much so - that often Tom and Mary joked that, with Sybbie being much in mind with Mary, and George taking much after Sybil, that perhaps their babies were switched at birth.

But for all of Tom’s love and reverence for George, he often found himself tiptoeing around him. The boy, after all, had always guarded fiercely the permanently vacant spot of the role of his father. Robert had stopped trying, Henry was rejected a year into marriage, and Tom was mauled more than once for not ‘staying the hell out of people’s business’ in trying to support Mary or Cora in the wrangling of the wildly independent rebel.  As far as George was concerned, he already had a father. Nor did Tom’s closeness to Mary help his cause. George hardly trusted his uncle, never fully believing that he wasn’t his mother’s lackey who was intentionally sent to spy on him unintentionally.

Then, there was the business with Henry … the whole business. Tom was lit into by his nephew often for ever bringing that ‘fucking coward’ into their lives. He did not grudge the man his friendship, but heartily condemned him for forcing Henry Talbot on his mother, for ignoring the glaring signs of their unsuitability to one another’s lives. Perhaps Caroline would never have been born, but what was the use of the baby when she was gone in the blink of an eye? The youth would’ve rather have never known her, than to have her so briefly before she was taken from them, from him. George respected Tom, but he would never – never – forgive him for Henry Talbot. And was at the ready to wound his uncle gravely when Tom’s opinions and judgement was seemingly oppressive. Reminding him of his intrusive behavior that led to a baby girl’s suffering and untimely death at the hands of the inaction of the wonderfully superficial romance he had contrived. But when rebuked for his cruel remarks by the family, deeming it “Unjust” and “unfair”, a rage would come over George, and he spoke venomously then.

“Unjust? Unfair? What would you know of it? Huh? Unjust: is marrying a woman, because, you want to sleep with her! Unfair: Is conceiving a baby girl you hardly see! Unjust: Is freezing when your daughter is on death’s door! Unfair: Is leaving your seven-year-old Stepson to rescue her on his own! Unjust: Is allowing him to take the blame for your daughter’s death! Unfair: Is how easily your In-Laws let you off the hook for it! Don’t you ever, EVER, talk at me of what is fair and just! Cause, Henry Talbot, doesn’t know a GODDAMN thing about it! … And neither do you! So, go on, Uncle Tom … tell me more! Cause, your judgement is so reliable!”    

“Cad a bhí sí tar éis?” Tom asked in Gaelic, wishing to keep whatever madness which led Mrs. Drewe there that night private. Though, he couldn’t be sure why, other than to show some respect toward the dead.

“Vengeance ar thoil Dé agus nádúr an duine le haghaidh grá agus fuath.” George answered hauntedly.

“Did she get it?” Tom asked George in plain English at his rather profound answer to his question of Mrs. Drewe’s intentions. George was quiet for a long time.

“Vengeance is a loan. Quick, expedient, fleeting, and you spend the rest of your life paying it off, leaving your children to cover the interest long after you’re gone.” With that, the youth looked off in pondering of his words in a deeper understanding and experience of the sentiment.

[simonclaymd-blog]

Reaching Out: Simon&Keaton

[Text WED 9:04PM] Kiki brother dear, tell me what sort of stupid slutty names you call that latin dad-bf of yours. I'm buying you embroidered washcloths next cause you're fancy but damned if your not dirty birds

[Text WED   9:06PM] pollos succio

[Text THUR 12:59PM] Christ I just saw the news Keeks, tell me you weren’t at the lab. Tell me that isn’t you, that you weren’t blown up and you’re just not answering because you’re in bed with your mustachioed boyfriend or sleeping or fucking off doing whatever instead of being dead. I need you to text me back because there is now way dirty chickens is the last thing I ever fucking said to you.

[Text FRI 1:45PM] Keaton, god fucking dammit, please don’t be dead. Please. I can’t handle it if you were. I seriously can’t, not any of it. Not going to the hospital everyday, not running around this town and putting up with your fucking ex boyfriends, not Bellamy or the superiors or any of it. You were here for everything, everything that mattered to me we fucking guided each other through and you not once treated me like I was some less than lackey like all our shitty friends assumed. You were here for me more than my own blood and you mattered more. I love you.

[Text SAT 3:25PM]: I’m a ducking sap right now and duck as hell  in some guides bed so you better be alive enough to give me sit about this ladder. Please. I know you cad n yt be dead.

[Text 5 minutes ago] : Hey, you up?

@doctoroleary

[hottytoddynews]

This story was reprinted with permission of the Ole Miss Alumni Review. Spring 2014 Edition

Not so long ago, engineers’ use of three-dimensional modeling software to render an object viewable on a computer screen was considered novel and exciting. Today, the computer rendering is becoming fully realized as it is now possible, and increasingly commonplace, to create individual 3-D objects with the advent of 3-D printing.

At the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence, on the University of Mississippi’s Oxford campus, students now have the opportunity to use this exciting new technology for themselves.

The CME was founded in 2010 and combines the disciplines of engineering, business and accounting to prepare students for careers in manufacturing. The center boasts a fully functional factory floor replica, where students can acquire hands-on experience in a factory setting.

Students in the schools of Business Administration and Accountancy can obtain a minor in manufacturing through the center, and School of Engineering majors can earn an emphasis in manufacturing.

Photo by Robert Jordan

A computer-aided design (CAD) modeling course is a requirement for CME students, and now those students are able to see the physical manifestation of objects they dream up and view on the two-dimensional space of a computer monitor. That simple task is a great learning tool, helping to foster creativity and prepare students for the emerging marketplace.

“It could be something just to visualize the part and then be hands-on and touch it,” says Ellen Lackey (BE 90, MS 92, PhD 96), professor of mechanical engineering and director of composite materials research group test facilities. “Or it could be something useable. Most recently, I had a student print a mouthpiece for a trombone.

“[The course] is for the CME students who are engineering majors, and it’s required,” Lackey says. “But there’s another mechanical engineering CAD modeling course that is a technical elective course that any engineering student can take.”

The technology is moving fast. Six years ago, the center purchased a printer inscribed with a serial number of “2,” meaning it was only the second one made.

Photo by Robert Jordan

“That one has a pool of liquid. You shine a layer on it; it cures with the light,” says Jimmy Palmer (BSCS 02, MSESC 05), information technology coordinator for the CME. “You shine the next layer, it drops down, then it rises up out of the bath. It’s ABS plastic — very hard, rigid plastic.”

That machine is currently in need of maintenance, the cost of which would equal the cost of a brand new desktop printer such as the one most recently purchased and in use by Lackey’s students.

The newest machine works by taking the computer model and pouring a small tendril of heated plastic in the shape designed by the model. Then it follows with another layer, another and yet another until the object is complete. Depending on the resolution (a higher resolution prints the objects with more and smaller tendrils), an object can be produced in a matter of hours.

“Just like with any other printer that has various resolutions, the higher [the] resolution you print at, the longer it takes to print,” Palmer says. “It depends on how thin the layer is. The thinner the layer, the better the quality is.”

3-D Advantages

Today, the implications of on-demand manufacturing in a desktop setting are far-reaching. Applications in health care, manufacturing, research and development, and military arenas are all in the works. 3-D printing has been used to create props for blockbuster movies. It’s even been used to create food products.

CME students use the printers to help them hone their 3-D modeling skills. Whereas previously they could only look at a 2-D print of their creations and rely on their imaginations to learn what any particular widget they designed would look and feel like, now they can design it, print it and, in a matter of hours, hold it in their hands.

“The students can now build prototypes of their designs that they created with CAD software,” Lackey says. “That’s beneficial.”

“It’s one thing for a student to take and generate something in a 3-D CAD program like Pro-E or TurboCAD,” Palmer says. “It’s quite another to physically see that. Historically what happened was if they wanted a physical representation, they would’ve had to take raw stock down to the floor, machine it out by hand, or put it on the CAD machine and do it that way. Here they can tell it to print, let it run overnight, and come back in the morning and it’s done.”

In the workplace, 3-D printing has clear advantages.

“Prototyping is the big thing,” Lackey says. “Does the customer like the appearance, the look and feel of [a product]? Does it fit? Some of them, depending on the application, are strong enough to test. Some of the metal printers … you [can] manufacture with it. It might be small-scale manufacturing, but it is manufacturing.”

It’s a timesaver too.

“There are some engineering firms that are making pieces for internal and external clients, and one engineer in his office will have four of these printers,” Palmer says. “That increases his productivity many times. Normally the way that would [work] is [the engineers] would design the piece, model the piece, make sure that it works in their virtual design. Then they would have to send it to the factory floor, to the technicians to actually manufacture it, and they might have to wait a week. They may spend [$10,000] or $15,000 a piece on the printers. But in the amount of time it takes five or six people to manufacture that one part, they save money in normally the first year.”

The technology isn’t new but is progressing fast enough that the cost is decreasing to make it feasible for students and small firms to use it. Home models are even coming out now that cost barely more than $1,000.

“3-D prototyping has been available for well over 20 years,” says Lackey. “It was commercial and very expensive. But getting it to the consumer prices – it’s been the past year or so.”

Part of the surging interest and use of the technology is due to other reasons.

“In 2014, a lot of patents are running out,” Palmer says. “A lot of companies are able to get in now because they don’t have to buy the patents. They’re starting to run out from 20 years ago. There’s been a lot of industry consolidation too.”

Photo by Robert Jordan

The machines are helping students to be more creative as well as keep up with technology trends.

“Allowing them to be creative, be able to create something that they can think about is the biggest advantage,” says Jim Vaughan, interim director of the Center for Manufacturing Excellence. “They can turn their thoughts into an actual 3-D object. They can do it on a computer, and that’s all well and good, but then they can take that to the next step and actually create the object.”

Timothy Steenwyk, a freshman mechanical engineering major with an emphasis in manufacturing, took Lackey’s class and was soon producing his own objects. His first attempt, a heart-shaped keychain he made as a Valentine’s Day gift, required several attempts.

“I think the best way to learn 3-D printing is to just interact with it,” he says. “The way we imagine something is much different [from] the reality.”

Steenwyk says that holding a solid object also gives him a good idea of its scale.

“You can manipulate it with your hands, and you can see if it’s going to work. You get a good estimation. Before, you’d have to know how to input to view things and manipulate it. But in real life, with your hands, it’s just natural. You have a solid prototype in front of you. You already know how to handle objects.”

Innovative Applications

Injecting more creativity in the engineering sector is drawing more people into it. Artists are using 3-D printers to render sculptures. The worlds of graphic design and engineering are colliding in ways that before now were unimaginable.

For the blockbuster movie “Iron Man” and its sequels, prop masters simply printed objects such as weapons and parts of the Iron Man costume rather than individually sculpt them. The gee-whiz, cool-gadget factor of the technology is drawing more students into engineering. A few years ago, the CME conducted a series of camps for high school students. Seeing that technology at work, many of them steered their career planning toward engineering and manufacturing.

“That was the idea behind the summer camp – to show them the cool technology and encourage them to go into areas of STEM and engineering,” Lackey says. “It’s pretty common these days, but it’s still kind of a wow factor. We were doing summer camps before the CME started. We were exposing high school and junior high kids to 3-D printing, and that was six years ago. Nobody had ever seen anything like it, and now people are reading about it in popular magazines.”

As for potential uses of 3-D printing in the workplace, the military is using 3-D printing in the field to replace machinery and parts on the fly. GPS sensors, drone equipment and other technical equipment can now be replaced in the field in a matter of hours instead of days or weeks. And older, outdated equipment that previously was unable to be reconditioned due to infeasibility can now be updated, thanks to 3-D printing.

“I read about an old military plane they couldn’t get any parts for, and now they were able to just manufacture it,” Lackey says.

One of the most exciting areas is in the health care industry. Scientists and doctors have already used 3-D printing to make artificial organs. Prosthetics is also a growing field for 3-D printing. In an industry that relies on individual fit more than perhaps any other, tailor-made limbs are now obtainable.

“Right now, we have straight-to-consumer prosthetics,” Palmer says. “Used to, it would take months and months to get correctly. Now you can print your own, and as you grow, you just print bigger ones. It’s essentially an overnight process. They scan where it’s going to attach the piece exactly the size you need it. Yes, it’s expensive to print, but it is still cheaper than the alternative. You’re going to see this proliferate.”

The “scanning” that Palmer speaks of is the true horizon of the technology. In addition to being able to print a 3-D object, technology is emerging that will allow for objects to be scanned by a 3-D scanner, then rendered into the modeling software and printed as an exact replica. While this development will undoubtedly present a myriad of legal issues concerning copyright, the ability to physically replicate an object on a desktop machine at home seems like something out of “Star Trek,” yet it is already becoming a reality.

As with all emerging technologies, the application ranges from the critically serious to the whimsical. Chocolate 3-D printers are already on the marketplace, with chocolate and other confectionaries replacing plastics and metals. Crafting food products is constrained only by the imagination of the designer. Following Hewlett-Packard’s naming system of Inkjets and LaserJets, 3D Systems’ new line of 3-D chocolate printers is called Chefjet.

While sci-fi-sounding as well as mundane applications of 3-D printing are on the horizon, this technology is also a tool to be used now. Teaching Ole Miss students how to use it is not just a novelty; it’s a necessity.

“3-D printing is going to become the new way of making a lot of components in the next few years,” Vaughan says. “The concept of additive printing is going to make a fundamental change to manufacturing. We’re making sure students are aware of its upcoming role in manufacturing and giving them the option to do it and explore their creative ideas.” 

By Tom Speed

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[tomatotv1]

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