#essentials notebook

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

I see your tags on the Wocky and Alita art, I would love to hear your thoughts on Alita actually!

I only need one person to show interest in what I have to say for me to talk forever and ever, thank you. HAHA Okay, in seriousness, this won't be as thorough/long as the Klavier post because... there really isn't much to her, but I find it extremely interesting how Alita falls into the same category of witnesses as April May and Dahlia without being — and I mean no offence to her when I say this — stunning? Like, with April and Dahlia, there's a very clear mass appeal to them which most people point out. Contrariwise, Alita's appearance is really only commented on by Trucy, and just glancing at her portrait, you can see that, without her slightly outlandish fashion, she's frankly nothing to write home about.

So why am I discussing this? Surely it's a little reductive to analyse female characters beginning with their appearances? Usually, yes, but that's the thing about this category of witnesses: their pretty faces aren't just pretty faces.

For April and Dahlia, their beauty is part of their arsenal. It functions as both their defence and their weapon of choice; they know how to wield it to bring people under their heel. Alita being ordinarily pretty instead of drop-dead gorgeous deprives her of that weapon and leads you to wonder how she became a mafia heiress to begin with. It also parallels her to Mimi Miney in a way that goes beyond the 'murderous nurse who worked for and killed her awful boss' comparison you get on the surface. Presumably, Alita, like Mimi, only got to where she was because she managed to fool the people around her into believing she was less dangerous than she actually is. Mimi did this by feigning stupidity and inviting people to underestimate her. Alita seems to do this by showing them what they want to see.

When she first meets Apollo and Trucy, Alita stays quiet and spends more time listening to them than she does talking. Once she has a hold on who they are, then she slips into her persona, and I find it interesting how she doesn't even attempt to come across as particularly delicate or lovelorn? Instead she goes for the relatively typical role of a distressed, indulgent loved one earnestly entreating Apollo for help. I'm inclined to say she does this because her read on Apollo makes her realise that he'd likely be exasperated or annoyed by such a person; but it's also almost as if she knows she doesn't have the disposition to pull off that frail, damsel-in-distress archetype and has resigned herself to being ordinary. Like how she looks. The next time she has to reapply her persona, Alita's appearing in court, and again she makes subtle adjustments that best suit her situation. The judge is old, so she takes a chance on expressing her dedication as a wife while balancing her dedication as a righteous citizen, which works. But oddly enough, despite her successes, I don't think Alita is actually good? At donning disguises? Everyone I've seen discuss this case has been able to guess almost immediately that she's the culprit, and maybe we're just prepped by past characters like her that have appeared, but I don't think she's even that convincing in the game.

Both the identities she assumes are risky manoeuvres that happen to fall in her favour, and she's not particularly dedicated to maintaining the front. When she asks Apollo to be Wocky's defence, she admits that marrying him is largely a chance at a more exciting life than some great love story; Plum Kitaki straight up says that there's a darkness in Alita she doesn't like, despite how docile Alita behaves in front of her; and Wocky has moments where he slips up and calls her things like, "imposter" and "fallen angel", implying that at least subconsciously, he knows she's not what she makes herself out to be. Even her general mannerisms don't greatly differ between her actual self and the mask who's blunt her claws — nothing is ever overtly coy or cutesy — and when Apollo brings up the fact she was Wocky's nurse, she drops the facade almost immediately. There's no waffling, no, "Whatever do you mean?"s or, "You're scaring me"s, just the statement, "I don't know what you mean by 'meaning', Mr. Justice!" delivered in a sudden cool, frosted steeliness.

And I think that steel is what really makes her different.

See, the other women are all driven to crime by some defining trait in themselves caused by their circumstances. For Dahlia, it's her desperate need to be free of the Fey clan; for Mimi, it's grief over her sister's unjust death; and for April, it's her fear of Redd White. You don't really get that with Alita. Instead of there being something dark in her life that leads her down this path, she just seems... tired. Tired of being "pretty enough" but not "gorgeous", tired of being the obedient nurse to the corrupt doctor, tired of being ordinary. There's no predatory external force pushing her into a corner, there's no abusive family beliefs pinning her down. There's just an ordinary life, lived dull and ordinarily, and she had had enough. So what does this girl, who's tired and ordinary in every way except the steel that lines her spine, do to get out of this?

She gambles.

Marrying into the mafia was a gamble, seeking Apollo as council was a gamble, shooting Dr. Meraktis was a gamble. Every decision she's made since she met Wocky has been a series of high-stakes gambles that leave her life on the line all so she won't be second-best anymore. This time, she was going to be the one on top. No matter what.

... And I'm sorry for loving evil women, but girlboss?? Girlboss???

I've heard people say they're disappointed that her "breakdown" is just an extension of her usual damage sprite, but it's honestly one of my favourite "breakdowns" in the series ever? Just because it isn't really one? Everything Alita has done up till now has been reckless, calculated risk, of course being convicted for murder is no different than losing in any other aspect of her life. Of course you're not going to get more than her damaged sprite, because this doesn't warrant a more dramatic reaction. She's lived this whole time knowing it could all come crashing down around her, and it finally did.

She made a bad bet. You caught her. Oh well.

The frosted girl of steel, standing tall to the very end. It's kind of sad that, even after all that, she's still seen as only second-best, incomparable to mimi, dahlia or any of the other women who've stood in her place.

[unopenablebox]

my mom recently reminded me that when i was in 5th grade my teacher would periodically report to her that i was "sneaky" because i would ask to use the bathroom during class and instead go retrieve things from my locker that i had forgotten to bring with me

and even at the time she thought this was ridiculous and obviously not representative of an intrinsically deceitful nature, fortunately for me. but it's really extra ridiculous looking back on it now as a 28-year-old research professional who has to double back into the room i just left for some combination of gloves, tube rack, ice bucket, or samples at least once a day, a quality absolutely no one cares about or would ever make me justify to another person and which i therefore don't have to tell contrived lies about

[heavenlyyshecomes]

got my internship stipend at the end of the month still haven't spent any of it except on groceries 😭 what should I buy for myself please suggest

[skydaemon]

congratulations to daniel faraday for harnessing the power of bisexuality for its true purpose: time travel

[ifyourereadingthisblinktwice]

i need to stop forgetting things exist the fucking second they leave my field of vision. why is is impossible for two things to occupy my mind at once especially when im tired. like. i feel like a sim. i feel like actions are being canceled and i just. move on. and completely forget what i was doing moments before. i fucking hate it

[into-the-feniverse]

Fen Quirk Analysis: Brought to you by Izuku Midoriya 🧊

Most of this info is already documented in her ref sheets, and she has a pretty general run-of-the-mill “ice” quirk, but thought it’d be fun to illustrate and get into the science of it all

More elaboration (& rambling) under the cut:

——————

Fen’s quirk works by allowing her to extract the heat of whatever it is she’s touching, which often produces frost as a byproduct of the rapidly cooling surface temperature in relation to the air. Her fingers/hands act as conduits, allowing for the heat energy to transfer through her. As a side effect, while actively using her quirk those points of contact heat up/become hot to the touch, but only for however long she’s using her quirk for.

The heat she extracts travels through her body and gradually loses energy (due to her own internal temperature running fairly low) then gets released back into the air. However some of her own body heat also gets lost in the process, virtually making her into something like a heat vacuum.

The rate at which she cools also affects the effects of her quirk, in that the more rapidly she cools something, the hotter her contact points become and the more body heat she loses, putting her at high risk for frostbite and hypothermia. The temperature discrepancy also just causes general (to severe) discomfort.

Her quirk isn’t as effective in drier environments, as lower moisture content means less frost generation.

So ironically her quirk isn’t so much “frost” as it is heat transfer 🤔 and really frost is just a (very common) byproduct of her quirk lol

[mjs-actual-blog]

oh jeebers, a new notebook. i can't wait to fill this with 5847397 unfinished projects. this is so exciting.

in all seriousness this thing is awesome and i will be taking it everywhere. in double all seriousness i should probably compile a collection of things that i should take everywhere, because i recently also got a new backpack and having a bunch of essentials to carry around would be cool.

well, okay, since i'm here, let's have a think about this. that notebook, obviously, because it's awesome and functions heavenly. with that, of course, i should bring either a) A Pen or b) A Pencil. probably a), due to æsthetic and other reasons too that are hidden away somewhere in my head.

i would say laptop, but the only laptop i had fell onto the floor last night at a marvellously high velocity and shattered its screen and probably most of its internals. i mean, it was a slow lenovo laptop that cost my parents around £110, but still. i was planning to refurbish it. disappointing.

music player. i had a tiny sansa clip at one point, but i don't know if it's anywhere in this house. oh yeah, did you know that sandisk makes mp3 players? yes, the same sandisk that makes the usb sticks and hard drives. it's cool.

also this is a very me-specific thing but i'd like to buy a raspberry pi (pi, not pie. it's this little computer the size of a credit card), install, like, alpine or something on it, and just have it with me along with a power bank. portable home server. yippee.

can't think of much else, really. the sparks of my thought energy are scattered. that would be the essentials for Me. if you found this interesting whatsoever perhaps reblog with Your list of essential items to take everywhere ever. adios.

[cheapfakeblood]

dear [redacted],

i heard the world will end this year. i don't want it to, but i am not afraid of it. i carry two coins with me all the time now, and i know i'll cross the river when the time comes, but i feel a little sad that, if the sky does fall like they say it will, i'll have gone my whole life without having seen your face in person.

the others have come to see me already. i bought your friends presents. i hope that we can share a dance before the flood comes.

show me around when it's my time to join you on the island. if we are all doomed, i would not want to spend my last moments weeping. let us dance before there is nothing left to dance to.

yours,

ALC

[katierosefun]

oh it really is a bit dangerous to have a package come in every day of the week because now i just look forward to having a package waiting for me

[squidthechaotickid]

I should talk about my Jackal Squad oc sometime,, but like first I would have to make an updated ref and like. :(( i don't want to rn

[ahomeboylives]

bought two album copies this week while visiting maine i need that "i make bad financial decisions"

[wall-e-gorl]

Writing (putting sticky note drawings and character songs) in my journal (dnd secrets notebook) in the dead of night (9pm) under candle light (battery powered flower lamp on warm light setting)

[antiquery]

used that economist build-a-voter tool to model my mom's partisan propensity and she landed almost exactly in the middle (51% republican). more fuel for my pet theory that the median voter has 90 percent normal opinions and 10 percent the most bizarre takes you've ever heard

[blacklotusbynyx]

"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am." - Sylvia Plath.

• 120 pages. • Cover 350gsm, paper stock 90gsm. • Handy document pocket inside the back cover. • Ruled line, or Graph. • Also available in Hardcover Journal. . Get your notebook to write down your thoughts and ideas💡

BlackLotusPrint.redbubble.com

.

[herentriesblog]

Your guide to back to school essentials *aesthetic* pt. 1: school supplies

[praiseinchains]

My faithful (and favorite) binder has been defeated at last :-( I'll have to order a new one online as our local Walmart doesn't have anything like this in stock right now.

Website

Shopping on Walmart