#give us some credit Tracy

[captainwaynerigby]

It's less about what she wants to read and more about keeping the files up to date in case the World Council come knocking. Reports can't be missing and they can't contain too many sarcastic quips either. Keep it professional, Tracy.

Hello Captain Rigby

I have a question - why is it the GDF never seems to realise that having a single point of failure is a BAD PLAN?

There are lots of examples but I’m thinking most of the rescue RO.BOTS that in theory should have been a great asset to the world but for some lunatic reason were all controllable / reprogrammable to be evil from one poorly guarded suitcase.

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??

- Concerned citizen

Here we go...

Hello Concerned Citizen,

The official line from the GDF is... things go wrong. You cannot plan for every unfortunate setback (unless you're International Rescue), but we here at the GDF do our best to limit mistakes from happening both in real-time and in the planning for future missions.

In our defence, the RO.BOTS failure was due to a progression of events that led to that unfortunate 'failure'. However, allow me to reassure you all that the GDF have a strict debriefing policy, which means that long reports are made detailing everything that went wrong (and what went right!) so as to avoid further accidents of a similar nature happening again in the future.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

You're the Only Girl for Me - Chapter 27

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Series Masterlist

“Girl why in the fuck would you tell Josh some dumb ass shit like that? I swear if I wasn’t pregnant  I would beat your fucking ass.” Airielle rolled her eyes and sunk lower into the couch on Joe’s bus. Yasmine has literally forced her to return her rental so she could travel to the next town with Yas and Joe for the house show. 

The three of them were sitting on the couch, Airielle and Yas were watching Joe’s character die in Call of Duty. “You’re not too good at this huh?” She muttered before winicing as Yasmine pinched her upper arm for not responding. 

“Damn Yas”  Airielle muttered, rubbing her arm. “I wanted to see how he would react. He wants me to forgive him for sleeping with Yara but won’t forgive me? That’s crazy.”

“He actually never said he didn’t or wouldn’t forgive you.” Joe piped up from next to them, having quit his game. “All he said was that it’s only been a week.” 

Yasmine scoffed. “So, you didn’t even let the man respond properly before you walked away from him, again?” 

“Oh my god. Yasmine , you are my cousin. You are supposed to be on my side.” Having enough of her cousin’s stupidity, Yasmine reached over and pinched Airielle in her upper arm again. “Ouch!” Airielle yelled out, rubbing the spot and glaring at Yasmine. “Stop doing that!”

“There are no damn sides Airielle! I talked to him about the situation and I talked to you. Both of you are wrong and both of you need to apologize and get back together!” 

“Yas-” Airielle started but Yasmine cut her off. 

“How many times do I have to tell you that Josh is not Chrisptoher! Josh has some emotional issues that he needs to work on.” Joe started nodding his head in agreement as he started to type on his phone.  “But to be honest, so do you. Y’all just need to talk. Deadass.” Yasmine yawned and stood up. “Now kiss your godchild goodnight” Airielle rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to Yasmine’s belly. Joe did the same and gave Yasmine a thumbs up to which Airielle furrowed her eyebrows. 

“The hell was that?” Joe shared a look with Yasmine before looking at Airielle. 

“It was your cousin’s  idea. Be mad at her, not me.” Was all Joe said before she felt the bus stop and Joe walked to the front to open the door. She turned to look at Yas but she was already in her and Joe's room. Airielle huffed and looked towards the front of the bus when she heard footsteps. 

“Oh what the fuck.” Airielle muttered as Joe and Josh made their way over to where she was sitting. 

“Y’all need to talk. And none of that yelling shit either.” Joe said. “Actually sit here and talk this shit out. Both of y’all moping around ain’t working for none of us anymore.” He looked at both of them before starting to walk towards his room. Airielle glared daggers into back, wishing at this moment she had superpowers so she could blow his ass up. 

She let out a huff as Josh dropped his luggage and sat on the couch across from her staring at her. 

“You got a problem?” 

“Lose the damn attitude Airielle. I ain’t do shit to you.”  He gruffed out as he sat back on the couch, stretching his legs out and getting comfortable. Airielle sucked her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“You didn’t do anything to me?” She scoffed. “Seriously?”

Josh sucked his teeth and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “ I’m tired of fucking fighting man. Look,” he sighed “ I love you and like I told you in Turks, I ain’t never felt this way before. I was with Tracy for what, twenty something years and it took me at least five to feel as strongly for her as I do you now.” 

“You love me but you keep parading that girl around me. Maybe it’s her you actually love.”  

“Stop fuckin playing with me. Why you keep bringing her up? I keep telling you I don’t want her and I never did.”  Airielle rolled her eyes. 

“You don’t want her but you around her every chance you get?” Airielle arched an eyebrow at him. “Whatever.” 

“Nah aint no ‘whatever’” He said, mocking her. “I don’t want her, what I gotta do to prove that to you?” Airielle remained silent. “Did you ever even love me, Airielle? I mean you claim you do right? And you wanna talk about me parading Yara around, what about you and Raymond? Huh?” 

“I wasn’t parading him around you Joshua! I went out on a date with him after I saw you and Yara together in catering!” 

“Because I saw you and him holding hands in the hallway!” Airielle scoffed. 

“You so damn childish. I told you that same night that it wasn’t a date. So what he was holding my hand. I was single, correct?” 

“Not by my choice Airielle.” ​​Joshua shot back, his voice tinged with hurt. “You fucking blindsided me by breaking up with me! You broke up with me for asking you to move in with me! What type of shit is that! You could’ve just said no!” 

“I was scared!” Airielle shouted back and Josh's features softened. 

“Of what?” 

“Of moving in with another guy Josh. I wanted to move in with you I just couldn’t”  She let out a deep sigh before continuing. “When I moved in with Chris everything changed. He got so fucking possessive. Started dictating who I can and can’t go out with. He threw away all my clothes and bought me clothes that he deemed appropriate.” 

“I didn’t know that..” Josh’s voice trailed off in a whisper and Airielle nodded, looking down at her lap. 

“Of course you didn’t.” She whispered back. “I didn’t want you to know how broken he made me. Like he dictated everything, Once he found out I was ring announcing down at NXT he flipped his shit and basically told me to quit, drove me down to the PC and tried to drag me to Paul’s office.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I was coming to tell you when I came over to your place that day. I was coming to tell you that I wanted to be with you and that I was just scared. But you opened the door, and -” 

“You don’t gotta finish that.” He cut her off, but she shook her head. 

“No, I have to. You need to know how I felt in that moment Josh.” She said, looking back up at him and he nodded. “Seeing her at your place hurt me so badly. I mean you wanted me to live with you but you fucked someone else in the bed that was suppose to be ours? That was supposed to be our home and you let her in because you wanted to get back at me?” 

“It wasn’t like that Rih. I didn’t want to get back at you. I aint on no shit like that. But you hurt me and I just.” He stopped talking and sighed. No matter how he put it he was the asshole in the situation. “Yes, I was wrong for having Yara come over and I was hella wrong for even letting shit go that far.”  He exhaled a deep breath before getting up from the couch and moving so he was crouching down in front of her.  "I messed up, I let my hurt cloud my judgment, and I hurt you in the process, which is something I never wanted to do. I feel like shit that I hurt you  Airi” 

“I’m tired Josh.” She muttered, angrily wiping the tears away that fell from her eyes. “I’m so tired of the back and forth with you. I hurt you then you go and hurt me and vice versa. Should we even be together?”

“The fuck, hell yes, we should be together. I love you and you love me right?” When she nodded, he smiled a little. “Do you forgive me?” She bit her lip and shrugged. “Well I forgive you and I'm willing to do whatever it takes for us to move on and go back to being us.” He brought his face closer to hers so their foreheads were touching. 

“I didn’t sleep with Cliff.” She muttered and Josh moved his head back a little so he could look her in her eyes. “I just wanted you to see how it felt.” 

“So you aint sleep with the car salesman?” 

“How did you -” She sighed. “No, I didn't sleep with him.” Josh felt his body sag as if the weight of the world was just taken off of him. He dropped his head to her knees and let out a shaky breath causing Airielle to furrow her eyebrows. 

“Oh my god, Josh?” Her eyes widened in surprise as she heard him sniffle and felt one of his tears hit her bare thighs. “Jey, you okay?” She whispered as she ran her fingers through his rat tail.

Josh nodded his head against her thigh and cleared his throat. “I’m fine.” He choked out, his face still pressed into her thigh. “Just give me a minute.” Airielle nodded and continued to run her fingers through his hair, letting him softly cry on her lap.. Airielle looked up when she heard the door to Yasmine and Joe’s door open. When Yasmine stuck her head out, Airielle rolled her eyes and used the hand that was not in Josh’s hair to shoo her away. 

‘I’m thirsty’ Yasmine mouthed to her and Airielle rolled her eyes and Yasmine tried to tip-toe towards the kitchen and grab a bottle of water. Yasmine winced as she closed the refrigerator door too hard, making Josh’s head pop up from Airielle’s lap and look over in her direction. 

Yasmine’s mouth drop opened as she took in Josh’s red eyes. “Oh shit, are you okay?” Yasmine asked, her eyes bouncing from Josh to Airielle and then back to Josh. 

“I’m cool.” was all he said as he got off his knees and took a seat next to Airielle on the couch. Airielle narrowed her eyes at Yasmine who quickly took the hint and booked it back to her room. “I understand why you lied. Smart move.” 

Airielle bit her lip as she looked at him. She brought her hand up to his face to gently wipe away his tears. “I’m sorry I lied Josh. I just needed to know.” 

“I know. Rih, I'm not mad, Just please don’t do that again.” 

“I won’t” She said then giggled when he held out his pinky finger to her. “I promise.” She said, linking their pinkies together.

August 28th 2021

WWE LIVE EVENT

AirielleJones

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“Wait, I thought I was here to film some stuff for Youtube.” Jesses nodded his head and fixed his tie. 

“You were, but then I saw Yara and I let her do it. But now I need you to head to rinside and announce.”  Airielle gawked at him as he handed her the flat briefcase that had the night's scheduled matches. 

“Woah! No!” 

“C’mon Airielle. Samantha had to go back home. We have nobody else. You want the fans to not get the full WWE Live experience?” 

“Are you- Are you guilt tripping me?”  Airielle asked him, scoffing when he nodded his head. “You know what, fine.” She said taking the briefcase out of his hand and walking away before he could say anything else. 

She stomped through the hallways of the arena as she headed towards hair and makeup. If she was going to be in front of all those people then she needed to make sure her makeup was beat and her hair was laid. Airielle was suddenly hit with deja-vu as she turned the corner to see Josh and Yara. She tried not to jump to any conclusions so she just shook her head and continued on her way. 

“Aye, for real back the fuck up. I’m not gon tell you again.” She heard Josh’s voice boom out and it stopped her and some of their co-workers in their tracks.  “It was a one time thing and a mistake.”

Yara scoffed and narrowed her eyes at him. “Is this because of that bitch? Oh my god. Get the fuck over her! She doesn’t want you.” It was like Josh had some sort of sixth sense for knowing when Airielle was around, cause he looked in her direction and smiled at her before looking back at Yara. 

Yara scoffed and narrowed her eyes at him. “Is this because of her? Oh my god. Get the fuck over her! She doesn’t want you.” It was like Josh had some sort of sixth sense for knowing when Airielle was around, cause he looked in her direction and smiled at her before looking back at Yara. 

“And I don’t want ya’ ass. I never did. Look, I’m sorry I led you on but we were never going to be a thing. I already got the love of my life and I aint tryna do shit that’s gon fuck up what me and her have going on.” Airielle winced as she looked at the crowd forming near Yara and Josh. It was embarrassing as hell but shoot, Yara deserved it. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Yara seethed advancing on Josh. “What the fuck do that bitch have that I don’t?” Josh turned his face up at her calling Airielle a bitch. 

“First of all, watch yo’ damn mouth. I’m in love with her and I'm tryna spare yo’ damn feelings so just walk away man.” 

“Spare my feelings?” Yara scoffed again. “I’m better than her in every way.” 

“No you’re not. You so damn immature and childish man. Look I don’t want you and I damn sure don’t love yo’ ass. I love Airielle.” 

Airielle heard somebody in the crowd snicker and say ‘Yikes’. 

“It’s gon always be Airielle. No matter what.” Yara stood there, stunned into silence. Tears welled up in Yara's eyes, a mixture of hurt and humiliation spreading across her face.Without another word, Yara turned away, shoulders shaking with sobs, and disappeared into the crowd. As everyone started to walk away, having got their fill of WWE drama for the day. Airielle and Josh stood there, staring at each other. Without breaking eye contact, Josh slowly closed the distance between them. His hand moved gently to cup Airielle's cheek. “I love you.” He whispered. 

“I love you too.” She said back, looking into his eyes before leaning up and capturing his lips in a kiss.  He moaned into the kiss before moving his hand off of her face and placed both his hands on her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He slid his hands around her waist, one hand resting on her lower back, the other hand, sliding down and  gripping her ass. He sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and bit down, making her moan into his mouth.

“Stop playing grab ass and go out to ringside!” She jumped as she heard Road Dogg’s voice travel down the hallway. 

Josh chuckled and placed another kiss on her lips before releasing her. “I’ll see you later aight?” She nodded and wiped her lipgloss off his lips before she quickly rushed down to hair and makeup. 

“I LOVE YOU!” Josh called out, his voice traveling throughout the corridor. Airielle smiled and turned so she was walking backwards and placed her hands around her mouth so she could shout back; 

“I LOVE YOU TOO!” 

soooo.... thoughts? lmao.

Thank you once again to the amazing @paigereeder ! I deadass don't know what I would do without you! ❤️🫶🏽

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[ineffablelunatics]

The Good Place and Crowley

A while ago, someone sent an ask to Gaiman. It went as follows, “In the book, ‘Golden Girls’ was Crowley’s favorite TV show. Is that slo TV Crowley’s favorite or does he have a current TV show that he prefers?” He answered, “I think he’d love the ‘The Good Place.’”

The Good Place is one of my favorite shows. I completely understand why Crowley would like it. It has some of the best debates of the philosophy and ethics of modern day society including the afterlife. It argues that people should not be defined as good and bad. It shows that people can improve. It tells us why and how they improve.

There’s two things about Crowley that really connect him to these thoughts. 1. Crowley does not like to be defined as good(or nice). Though we haven’t really seen that include bad, I would assume that it would be the similar thought. It also might have something to do with Aziraphale saying those things specifically, but that’s another post. 2. That people are not defined by what happened to them, and that means that anyone can improve.

Crowley fell from Heaven. He fell from grace which made him demon which means that for all intents and purposes, he should be evil. But he isn’t. Crowley doesn’t ever really commit truly evil acts. Any truly evil act that Hell thinks Crowley committed, humans committed. Crowley just took the credit. Crowley likes the thought that people can change. In Hell, he sees tons of people who are awful, but he also sees people who just made some mistakes. He sees demons who are like him who don’t find joy in treating people terribly. He’s seen angels causing harm happily, but others giving away joy like lollipops.

Those two things are fundamental in the show, The Good Place. I would argue Good Omens as well. If Adam had always been treated like he was evil, he probably would have never had friends who he genuinely cared about so much so that their fear pulled him out of his power drunken state. If Aziraphale had assumed the snake was evil(if he even saw him lol), then smited him, where would Crowley and humanity be? The demon with the imagination burned to ash and humanity living with almost decision-less whilst tucked neatly within Eden’s walls. If people couldn’t improve then Shadwell would have never been able to put aside his fears and foolishness so that he could love Madame Tracy and show it. Gabriel and Beelzebub would still be planning Armageddon 2.0 if they hadn’t moved on and fell in love instead.

The Good Place reminds us of the things time and time again. Each of the four main characters get reset, and every time, in the right circumstances, they always become better people. They are also never really defined as good and bad either. At times, others try to define Eleanor as a bad person, but every time, she reminds them that, yes, maybe, she shouldn’t be in the Good Place, but at the very least, she should be in her very own Middle Place. Every time, Chidi teaches her how to become a better person(which only works, because she wants to be one) and in the process, he becomes one too. Just like Gabriel and Beelzebub.

This was way longer than I expected it to be, but here are some quotes from The Good Place and where I think they would fit into Good Omens whether that be place and time or people and relationships.

“Sometimes, when you’re feeling helpless, the secret is to help someone else. Get out of your own head. Trust me. The next time someone asks for help, say yes.” This feels like the whole of S2, specially Aziraphale with Jim and then Maggie

“If you have bills to pay and shit to deal with you don;t have time or energy to become a better person.”  The Resurrectionists in 1827 with Elspeth and Wee Morag

“If there were an answer I could give you to how the universe works, it wouldn’t;t be special. It would just be machinery fulfilling its cosmic design. It would just be a big, dumb food processor. But since nothing seems to make sense, when find something or someone that does, it’s euphoria.” All the couples in GO, but that quote right there seems to be how Crowley and Aziraphale has been holding on for so long

“I guess all I can do is embrace the pandemonium find happiness in the unique insanity of being here, now.” Nina specially during The Ball

“People improve when they get external love and support. How can we hold it against them when they don’t?” Beelzebub and Gabriel

“We have no plan. No one’s coming to save us. So... I’m going to do it.” Aziraphale(specifically him at the end of S2 in my opinion)but also just everybody in S1 with Anathema, Agnus, the Them, Aziraphale and Crowley, just all trying their best

“If soulmates do exist, they’re not found. They’re made. People meet. They get a good feeling, and they get to work building a relationship.” All the couples, but especially Aziraphale and Crowley with the Agreement, they were working on their relationship before they knew they were even working on their relationship

“What matters isn’t if people are good or bad. What matters is if people are trying to be better today than they were yesterday. You asked me where my hope comes from? That’s my answer.” Crowley, because deep down, at the end of the line, we know that he’s an optimist

*reminder that all of this is my opinion, if there’s anymore quotes you would like to add, please do, some of the information might be incorrect

[systematic-and-somehow-tragic]

1 Actor, 2 Characters - Due South : Pilot

Inspired by my realization that RCMP Officer 2 (Pilot) and Jocelyn Kerr (The Ladies' Man) are both played by Jennifer (Jen) Parsons, I decided to check the cast list from IMDb and see if there were any other actors who appear as 2 (or more) different characters in the due South universe. To my surprise, there are several from the pilot alone! Many of these characters lack readily available screenshots (and some I couldn't identify by name alone) so I went through the episodes to compile this side-by-side list.

I may continue this search through the rest of the episodes, mainly relying on cast information from IMDb, the credits of the episodes themselves, and these wonderful annotated transcripts. And since some characters are unnamed and/or uncredited, maybe I'll even spot some new ones! Also, I am 100% open to contributions and/or corrections, so if anyone has anything they'd like to add, I'm all ears!

Without further ado, listed by actor and mostly in order of appearance...

Paul Gross - I almost skipped PG before remembering that he has indeed played another character on dS! So here's PG as Benton Fraser (Pilot) and as Frannie's German fiancé (Dead Men Don't Throw Rice, S4E5)

2. Kimberly Ange - RCMP Officer 1 and also appears in Victoria's Secret Part 2 (S1E21) as an attorney named Boswell (credited as Kim Ange)

and

3. Jennifer Parsons, the one who started it all - RCMP Officer 2 and also appears in The Ladies' Man (S4E3) as Jocelyn Kerr, who wants to have bark tea with Fraser (credited as Jen Parsons)

4. Scot Dentor/Denton - RCMP Officer 4 (credited as Scot Dentor in the pilot but listed on IMDb as Scot Denton). IMDb also identifies Scot Denton as the uncredited actor who plays Pierce (the ambassador targeted in The Edge, S2E9)

5. Barry Kennedy *** - This one I'm not so sure on. Barry Kennedy plays a character called Bert Jenkins in the Pilot but as far as I could tell, no character is called this aloud in the episode itself. Working backwards from Kennedy's other dS credit (Sgt Eddie Polito in The Ladies' Man, S4E3, uncredited, per IMDb), I still struggled with a definitive ID. Based on the annotated transcript of TLM, I believe the man on the right in TLM screenshot below is Kennedy's character Polito. Based on this, and the fact that the supporting characters seem to be credited roughly in order of appearance in the Pilot, my best guess is that Kennedy's dS Pilot character is the pilot who talks to Fraser about the lack of geese and beavers. They look like they could possibly be the same guy?? Maybe?

6. Philip Williams - Herb Lantrell, the pilot who gives Fraser the list of American dentists who'd been hunting in the Pilot, also appears as the arms dealer Lloyd P Nash (the P does not stand for pertinent) in Bird in the Hand (S2E4).

7. JD/Jack Nicholsen - the unnamed Airport Hustler (credited as such even though he does return the money to Fraser at the end of the Pilot) is also 2 other characters: Caulfield (one of the bad guys stealing pets in The Wild Bunch, S1E15) and Joey (Denny Scarpa/Lady Shoes' trigger man in Odds, S4E6)

8. Gene Mack - the Chicago Desk Sergeant in the Pilot is also credited as Mason Dixon, the associate of Devlin (the boxing trainer in Mountie & Soul S3E7). Mack is credited as Chicago Desk Sergeant but does have a name tag in the Pilot, although it is quite blurry.

9. Dan Lett - Dr. Weingarten (the dentist in the Pilot) is also Carver Dunn (the creepy fan who uses blackmail to barter for the singer Tracy's stockings in Mountie Sings the Blues, S4E7)

10. Ramona Milano - Francesca Vecchio! And also appears as Deputy Bernie in Dr. Longball (S4E1).

Dr. Longball of course has other main cast members playing different characters, but I plan to cover those as I make my way through the episodes chronologically in the hopes that it'll help me keep track of which actors/episodes I've checked.

11. Sandi Stahlbrand - TV Reporter Shelley Perry from Channel 6 News in the Pilot and TV Reporter Tracy Wightman (apparently from Channel 7) in Red, White, or Blue (S2E17)

12. Kevin Rushton - an honorable mention! I didn't think to include Rushton until I saw the IMDb trivia point him out in the bar scene in the Pilot. Rushton does stunts on the show and presumably appears in several episodes, which I think thereby technically meets the brief of playing multiple characters (unless there is a case to be made that Rushton plays a recurring character role? which could be an interesting take). But either way, shout out to all the dS stunt folks!

IMDb specifically credits Rushton for appearances in Diefenbaker's Day Off (S1E2), A Cop, a Mountie and a Baby (S1E9), You Must Remember This (S1E11), and One Good Man(S2E8).

[chaifootsteps]

Sorry for asking but how much do you know about the whole Lackadaisy, Viv and her fandom drama, cause (despite being in the Lackadaisy community) I don't know much about it bar like the basics. Sincerely: Screaming into the void guy.

Here's everything I know/can say.

>Vivzie, prior to all this, wanted to work on Lackadaisy. They turned her down and she apparently never got over it. > Vivzie donates $5000 to the Lackadaisy kickstarter. > The reward for giving $5000 is associate producer credit. > ZeBird replies rather frostily that Vivzie posted a picture of her donation, and the upstanding thing to do would have been to post a link to the actual donation. > Mel Mrozek replies that it was a studio decision, not just Vivzie's, and Ze deletes the tweet. > Vivzie posts an extremely self-pitying tweet about how she can't do anything nice. > Vivzie's fans are pissed; some imply the whole Lackadaisy team and project should be punished for this. > Someone goes through Ze's tweet history and uncovers two liked tweets saying that trans women shouldn't be competing against cis women in sports. > Vivzie fandom goes nuts. > It's pointed out that Fable is trans, an ftm friend of I think Ze defends her, Vivzie fandom says neither of these things matter because the tweet was about trans women. > Vivzie's history of saying extremely transphobic things and misgendering people she dislikes on purpose is pointed out. Vivzie's fandom, including Danidraws, says that's "Whataboutism" and doesn't count. > Ashley Nichols defends Ze, saying that some people use likes as bookmarks. Much argument is had over whether anyone does this. > A discord post of Ze talking with someone about how Vivzie stans are after her is leaked. The term "Viv shits" is used, which honestly doesn't help matters. > Meanwhile, long before the fundraiser ends, Tracy messages Vivzie in private asking her to quietly refund the donation. Vivzie refuses. > The fundraiser ends, and Vivzie's money is refunded. > Vivzie immediately posts a screenshot letting everyone know the money was refunded. > Tracy gives a very gracious reply saying that Spindlehorse has done a lot for indie and it's nothing personal. Vivzie's stans don't care. > Tracy puts out a message addressing everything, saying that Ze's worked in sports and that it's a complicated issue but that Ze, like all the Lackadaisy staff, supports trans people completely. Doesn't go into great detail about the refund save to say that it was her decision and she made it. > Vivziepop fandom continues to insist to this day that Lackadaisy's full of transphobes and that they refunded the money "for petty reasons" and that this is any of their business.

If I've got the order on any of this messed up or any details were missed, please chime in and let me know.

[give-soup-please]

having given good omens a rewatch in preparation for season 2, i've been doing some thinking. and i caught something this time around that i haven't noticed on previous watches. (keep in mind, i'm basing this info on the tv series because i'm in the middle of re-reading the book as well, and i'm not all the way through it yet)

most main characters had a theme about defiance or defying expectations. not just our beloved angel and demon.

crowley and aziraphale are obvious about this, they directly defied heaven and hell's orders in order to save the world. they broke away from heaven and hell and began to be on their own side.

and we have to talk about adam as well. defying satan, choosing to save the earth, choosing his friends over his heritage. he's told directly by gabriel and beelzebub to start the war, and he outright refuses. pretty obvious defiance there.

but i also noticed that anathema burned the next set of prophecies. this is after newt says 'you don't want to be a descendant your whole life do you?' or something to that effect. the prophecies seemed to be a burden to her more than a joy, seeing as her entire life had essentially been planned out for her. and so she ends up defying the idea of predetermined fate for her own lineage. she sets herself free in this way.

i noticed that newt wound up being romantically involved with someone who is technically his enemy, because he ended up with a witch. it's noted that newt's and anathema's ancestors were enemies, and that newt's ancestor burned anathema's ancestor at the stake. so newt defied expectations by romantically pursuing anathema, despite the generational feud. (if i can call it that.)

Shadwell too, who spent the majority of life being a pretty hateful guy, ended up romantically involved with madame tracy, despite the vitriol he had for her. and he goes against the teachings of his own army in order to do that.

madame tracy decides to give up offering her services, and chooses to be with shadwell. to me, it seemed to me that she wasn't happy with her career path, and found it somewhat irritating on occasion if her expressions were anything to go by. she chose her own happiness over pursuing a career that didn't really seem that fulfilling. i think i can make an argument here that she defied shadwell's expectations to keep going just the way she was pre-apocalypse. but the main point here is that she did something extremely difficult. happiness can be a hard choice to make, and a complicated one. but she did it, and she seemed pretty glad by the time the episode was over.

so what can we learn from these characters about free will, making choices, and the act of defiance?

aziraphale and crowley can teach us that we are not bound by strict moral laws, that morality itself can be relative, and that if two options suck, try and look for a third option or a way out. essentially, we get to choose our own side.

adam can teach us that we are not bound by our genetics and can make the choice to be better than our parents. we can choose to separate ourselves out from bad family members. just because our parents were bad, doesn't mean we have to be as well.

anathema can teach us that we don't have to be bound by tradition and what our ancestors did. we have the choice to abandon the worldview and throw off the shackles of expectation and predestination. we can break the mold, if we want to.

newt can teach us the same lesson there, i think. with the added addition that love has an ability to overcome certain barriers.

shadwell can teach us that it is possible to make a choice to let go of hatred and bigotry. (though, let's be real. that guy has a longgggg way to go. still, he can be credited for having a decent start) and with less hatred in his heart, he's got a better chance at being well rounded.

and madame tracy can teach us that it's never too late to pursue happiness.

it's late, i don't know how much sense this is all making. but i can't help but notice that good omens is a lot of things to a lot of people. and during my rewatch, i saw that there was a lot of focus on defying expectations, making better choices for yourself and others, and pretty clear themes on free will.

choices, choices, it's all about the choices we make and how they define us.

and as someone who has struggled with defying harmful narratives, who has parents who are not good people, as someone who has wrestled with ancestral expectations, who has struggled to cast off internalized hatred due to things that are not in my control, who is trying so hard to make choices that will lead to happiness...

good omens is an exceptionally meaningful work.

and tonight, as i'm in an overthinking and overanalyzing mood, i feel like i'm so close to grasping something important here about myself. about what it means to be human. there's something here about choosing your own path that i'm just on the edge of understanding.

an epiphany just on the tip of my tongue.

how apples are worth eating, and the cost of free will might have been worth everything that came after, sure.

but something more personal as well. something about how we can be more than what we're told to be.

i'm actually getting a headache trying to parse everything out. (yes, really)

these characters, all from wildly different backgrounds, with different experiences and traumas, all making the same choice in different ways. the choices that work for them.

hard choices, difficult choices, but ones that lead to joy, to safety, to love...

bravery, courage, doing your best when the chips are down and the world is ending (or at least, when it feels that way)

i'm trying to put all this information together in a way that makes senes, because i feel like i'm on the edge of something groundbreaking in a personal way.

if i figure it out, i'll let you guys know.

[squiddokiddo]

As promised, here's the oc ask game.

I've tried to make the questions fit all Thunderbirds universes and all types of OCs while trying not to make it too generic, I hope you have fun playing.

Under the cut I have added some Picrew links incase you wanted a picture of your character if you can't draw them, please make sure to add the credits for the picrews you use on your posts.

I've also added a plain text version of the ask game incase anyone needed it.

Thx for reading, Happy March of the OCs.💛💛

Picrews:

Hunbloom's Picrew

Bananah Kim's Picrew

Makowka's Picrew

Nuggt's Picrew

Lunevani's Picrew

Ask game questions:

🐚 • Give us a brief bio for your OC(s). Add things like name, age, gender, pronouns, sexuality, ethnicity, occupation, religion ect.

🪐 • Is your OC connected to any of the Tracys or IR? Are they a friend? Family member? Colleague? Love interest? Enemy? Ect.

🌩️ • What's your OC's favourite Thunderbird/IR vehicle?

🌊 • Can your OC swim? Are they comfortable in space? Or do they prefer to keep their feet on the ground?

🌺 • How would your favourite character describe your OC? Physical features, personality ect.

🌟 • Is your OC disabled, neurodivergent or mentally ill? Do they use any disability aids? What does support for their disability look like in the 2060s?

🍂 • Does your OC have favourite clothes or outfits? What kind of aesthetics do they like?

🫧 • Name a character and I'll tell you what my OC thinks of them/their opinion on them.

🛟 • Has your OC ever needed rescuing before? If so, what happened? Why did they need saving?

🌿 • Does your OC live on Tracy Island? If so, what do they think of it? Have they always lived there? If not, what would they imagine living on Tracy Island would be like?

⛵ • Whaw would a fun day out look like to your OC? Where would they go? What would they do? Who would they bring with them?

🩹 • Is your OC squeamish? Do they have any phobias? How do they deal with these feelings?

🪵 • Send me a character and I'll tell you if they'd share any interests/hobbies with my OC(s).

[hebuiltfive]

Just in case the last ask failed:

Sickness prompts:

snoozeville: [character] falls asleep somewhere that isn’t their bed. With Scott please

Thank you @janetm74! I hope this suffices!

Snoozeville (feat. Scott Tracy)

Scott was undoubtedly an early bird. He preferred sunrises over sunsets, and he found something refreshingly cleansing about early morning air. Whenever duty wasn’t calling him, Scott often found himself down in the gym, purpose-built on the island to cater to all their needs and to save the residents trips to the mainland every time they wanted to pump some iron. 

This morning was no different. 

Nor were the bags that he carried under his eyes, the dull throb of a headache just beginning to form or the feeling of limp muscles.

Perhaps burning the candle at both ends wasn’t the best idea these last few weeks. Rescue call after rescue call, a mountain of work for the business that kept everything afloat and then general insomnia on top of it all because God only knows why… Scott was tired. 

Of course, he could have slept through the morning if he really tried, but he had things to do, and a Scott who hadn’t managed to fit in a morning work-out was like a Virgil who had gone without coffee. So, yes, whilst he was beginning to feel sleepy now the birds had started their tweeting, Scott actually getting some sleep didn’t seem like his most favourite of options. Thus, the gym.

It was the aching, dull muscles that had Scott choosing the bench press over the treadmill once he’d limbered up as his first work-out of choice. The weights would help his body wake up, right? Somewhere in the depths of his mind he heard a voice, that sounded a lot like Gordon’s, telling him that his choice was a dumb one, but Scott chose not to listen. He was too tired to listen.

He loaded up the barbell, choosing weights that were just under his normal tolerance (because he wasn’t a complete idiot, give him some credit), and laid himself down on the bench. The lights of the gym were set to a soft glow, bright enough to light up the space but not too bright to blind him, though that had been considered as an option to help him wake up. 

Now, lying there, he was thankful he decided against that. Scott breathed deeply as a pain shot across his forehead. Perhaps he should have taken some painkillers before coming down here. Perhaps he shouldn’t have come down here at all. Ugh, whatever. He was too tired to care. Besides Scott was certain the aches would pass in a moment and then he could start his work-out… in a minute… he just wanted to close his eyes for a second first…

“Scott! Are you insane?”

To his credit, Scott did not jump up and hit his head on the barbell that was still cradled on the stand above him. He did, however, jolt awake.

Awake? Hold on…

“Actually, don’t answer that.” His brother continued, coming to to a stand beside the bench. Virgil hovered a scanner over him as Scott blinked his eyes into focus.

“… Virg…?”

“How many times have I told you not to use the gym unless you’ve had a proper rest before?”

Scott’s brain had a hard time catching up. Had he… fallen asleep? Impossible. Surely he hadn’t been that tired. “I was only resting my eyes for a few seconds.”

“Under the weights?”

“He’s been in here for over an hour.” The unmistakeable tone of EOS echoed through the hall from Virgil’s handheld monitor. “I told you he was acting recklessly again.”

“Hold on, you used EOS to spy on me?” Scott’s attempt to sound offended fell flat due only to his still sleepy head.

“Not spy…” Virgil quickly clarified, his eyes darting to the weights on the end of the bar in guilt. “She woke me up after seeing here and… This isn’t about me. Stop deflecting, Scott!”

Scott sighed, carefully sitting himself up despite his body’s protests to just stay there for a little longer. He didn’t dare chance a glance at his brother, who’s eyes Scott could already feel were staring him down.

“Bed. Now.”

“It’s seven in the morning, Virg…”

“I don’t care if it was midday.”

“Virg, I am fine.”

“These readouts don’t back up your theory. You need to sleep, Scott.”

Scott knew when to pick his battles, especially with medic-mode Virgil. Denying the evidence that was now being put before him — ouch, those are a lot of red areas — he knew that this was not a battle he would win. 

“Fine. I’ll… try and get some rest.”

But Scott didn’t move.

Virgil waited a moment. “Now, Scott.”

A sharp intake of breath and Scott was back. Had he almost just fallen asleep sitting up? Yikes. “I’m fine, I’m fine, I just.. need a minute.”

“Do I have to carry you?” Virgil lightly swatted at his shoulder. “Do not fall back to sleep. You’ll fall backwards and hit your head on the bar.”

“I thought you wanted me to sleep.”

“Scott.” Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly exasperated. “Do not start. Get your butt to bed and, for the love of God, please stay there until you’ve had a decent amount of sleep.”

[aquarian-queen]

My thoughts about 8x08 “Iron Tiger” Under the cut: it’s a bit long and I tried to add all my thoughts on what I remember.

The writers: playing on our nostalgia and it’s working

I think because the writers are focusing on nostalgia and the past NOW that yeah it's nice but also these retcons just make it feel so empty and on surface level. Some things were bs and made no sense. It’s like the writers are trying to prove, see we did watch S3 (which is overall praised) but then they bend it to make Troy this bad guy but also not because he has a kid now so it’s more complicated than that. But I have seen that in general those that liked S3 liked that for example Luciana had a bigger role, she reunited with Daniel, but also the callback to earlier seasons. But even addressing things like Charlie killing Nick and Madison’s reaction to it.

The OG gang reunion

Also, the reunion between Madison and Luciana... wtf was that? Or between Daniel and Luciana and the others. I don’t know, the whole gang is together, but it didn’t feel as emotional? Also Kim’s acting (no comment) but whoever liked it. Glad you did.

Jeremiah Otto: I don’t give a shit about my old man

The mention of Troy not giving a shit about his father. Like, can we acknowledge that Troy has a complex relationship with Jeremiah? He cried for him, while Jake just looked by staring in shock, and yes Troy did cal; him a drunk. I think at that point he was confused, angry, sad, and everything in between so his feelings are multifaceted. Now, we can say he got over it after all these years, but we as the audience have to fill in that gap.

Tracy: Troy’s daughter

Now about his daughter being named after his mother. PHEW. I know Troy has mommy issues, but just NO. Again, it’s like the writers are like, look at how we can tie this S3 fact to the current storyline without making that deep dive. I know I am giving them too much credit, but still. I can demand that. Ya’ll are the writers and directors. In what world would Troy name his daughter after the woman who was supposed to love him but still didn’t when he was the only one who took care of her and was still hated. We know his mental state is peculiar, but WHY. Even Madison taunted him with is mother and Troy was ready to slit her throat (also because she was just taunting him and undermining his authority) for it. In what world would this make sense? I did love how Troy went from dark, ruthless leader to worried and frantic father in a flash. I am curious how Troy raised her. He was raised pretty militant so I wonder what he took from his childhood. Tracy snuck out to see a tanker truck cause she’d never seen one before, so she’s probably aso been raised sheltered? I mean, the kids were kept in separate safer place in the hotel and also Troy kept infected in cages. Just to spite Madison though, lol.

Troy’s wife / Tracy’s mother

Troy and his supposed SO. I’ve given it some thought. I knew they were going to go this route when it was revealed his daughter was named Tracy. Do I like it? I’m still 50/50 on it. We might or might not get more or she will just be a nameless phantom. Either way, I would not feel any type of way about it if I am being honest. I agree with the fanfic type, because I think most of us who write for Troy and go by S3 canon in some way and wanted him to live had this in mind. And also a lady being his saving grace and making him this better man (a lot of guesses) or she could have been the same as him? But then why would she save a strange man drifting in some water after the Dam exploded. But yes, I do agree it’s a gap with the Troy we got in S3 knowing what we know, but it could’ve been a slow burn guys and given that we got 2nd chances hammered into us in 8B that’s what we have to take from it. It’s up to us to fill in those gaps more so because we have like 3 episode with Troy left (since the next on is focused on Dwight and Sherry and their codependent relationship). If she will remain nameless and faceless more for us to fill in.

Troy and Madison

I liked their dynamic and how they played the game and Daniel and Kim together is electric. I did cringe at certain things like her not being out of breath fighting his ass surrounded by smoke and who knows what. It’s so convenient. I do wonder what we will get. From spoilers these two will work together to save Tracy from Padre. So either Madison sacrifices herself to save that little girl so Troy can get his happy ending with his daughter?

Troy and Alicia

I don’t think Troy is lying about this? Troy’s daughter makes a comment that she saw Alicia in the horde. I know people have this hope that she is coming back or secretly filmed something. I hope we get that question and Madison puts her down. I do wonder if in the same episode where we get Troy and Madison working together, he will share more details about Alicia’s last moments no matter how bad or villain-like they made it.

Other thoughts:

Daniel and Troy’s back and forth is hilarious. Him threatening Troy and Troy just looking at him right, alright old man. But Ruben Blades said Daniel would something big in the finale… if they kill Troy that’d be the biggest cop out Strand… what is his role? I feel it’s played out Sherry and June going to ask Dwight for backup against Troy I liked the Trick friendship mention and Troy being sad about it Charlie’s death. I wasn’t as attached to her, but the actress did a good job knowing the shit she’s been getting by fans since she killed Nick. I thought its sad they brought her back to kill her again to simply drive Madison and Daniel’s story and vengeance against Troy

[ncytiri]

say hello to my brand new oc for starfield, hayden!!!! she was inspired by one of my fave characters from for all mankind, tracy stevens 💞 so of course i had to use tracy's actress, the gorgeous sarah jones, as her faceclaim and honor tracy by using her last name (via her husband, another fave of mine, gordo!) <3 and her first name is inspired by, of course, my man hayden christensen but also hayden anhedönia, the artist behind ethel cain who i have fallen in love with, her music is just so good...

hayden has the kid stuff trait meaning she sends 2% of her credits home to her parents every (in game) week and this might be one of my most favorite traits in a bethesda game ever, the parents are SO funny (played by none other than nana visitor and tim russ <3) and they are so sweet too!! so hayden was definitely an only child who was completely doted on by her parents and spoiled completely so once she got her nice cushy job as a professor of geology, she began financially supporting her parents regardless of what they said :')

i like to think she goes through a bit of a transformation out of her professor persona at the beginning of the game (more put together and "presentable" like that main pic i used for her graphic) and then as she goes through the game, she starts to change and maybe gets a haircut, changes her makeup up etc. so if i do end up changing her, i'll show her updated look!!!

also if you couldn't tell i am not the best at matching faces to an actor so pls forgive any glaring differences between hayden and sarah <3 SKFDDS i just couldn't find a good color or hair style for her (this one does match the tracy look above a bit tho!)

anywhoooo yes, that's enough rambling from me about her, i just thought i would give a little bit of background info on her and talk about her inspiration, but feel free to ask me anything about her if you wanna know more!!!! i'm still rounding out her character but i would love to talk about her some more :'D

[adamwatchesmovies]

Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles (2012)

With a title like Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles, you know you’re in for an ordeal when you sit down to watch this one. This movie walks into the room like it’s got the next big idea; like it radiates so much creativity you should feel lucky to bask in its glow. It needs a serious reality check. There’s nothing original or interesting in this film's entire running time.

Craig (Alexander Nifong), his girlfriend Tracy (Stella Maeve) and his best friend Derek (J. Mallory McCree) are camping when they discover a cabin they think is abandonned. Before long, they meet duplicates of themselves. With these clones claiming they’re smarter, stronger, and better in every way, should the originals be worried?

What’s worse than a lousy performer in a key role? A lousy performer in dual roles. J. Mallory McCree, Alexander Nifong and Stella Maeve all come off quite badly in this film. In their defense, I think it had more to do with writer/director Gregory Orr than anything else. This script had to be a first draft. It’s the only way to excuse how bad the science is. We learn the clones were created when the genetic material of our heroes got mixed with some chemicals in the sewers beneath the cabin after it was struck by lightning. The clones are literally made from shit and shower water. Orr probably doesn’t want us to think about it too much because the mystery of where the duplicates came from is completely irrelevant. What matters is that Craig 1 is worried Craig 2 will steal Tracy away, which would be a bad thing because the clones are the anti-matter universe version of these characters. Craig 1 lacks confidence. Craig 2 takes charge. Derek is dopey. Derek 2 is so smart it’s “scary”. Tracy is a bit of a harpy, which makes her doppelganger the ideal girlfriend. If Craig 1 and Craig 2 could just swap girlfriends, everyone would be happy! or they would if Craig 2 wasn't evil.

You can feel this picture struggle and fail to make things happen until it gives up any attempt at elegance. By the end, people move from here to there without logic - anything to keep the plot moving. The “will he, won’t he?” couple-swapping question can only sustain so much running time. To compensate, much of the running time is dedicated to the original Craig and Tracy as they explore the ruined nuclear science lab. What do nuclear weapons have to do with creating full-grown adults with memories and roots in their hair? Shut up, that’s what.

The only time Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles becomes interesting is when its intelligence drops down to absolute zero. At one point, Derek attempts to hitchhike home. The first car he sees has a set of twins in it. He understandably freaks out and doesn’t go with them. The implication is that there are evil clones all over this area… but we soon learn that isn’t the case. It just means that Derek has the worst luck in the world. He could’ve been headed towards home and safety but he bumped into two unnerving-looking twins so now he’s going back towards danger. There’s a confrontation between Tracy and her duplicate that leads to a twist so obvious anyone with half a brain could figure it out.

A post-credit slide warns us that a sequel is planned. “To Be Continued”. Don’t make me laugh. Unless the director’s got blackmail photos handy, another one of these is not happening. I don’t even know what the plot would be. The story’s over on all counts!

You’ve seen scarier things staring at the mirror than in every second of Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles combined. The plot is obvious, the characters flat and the performances lousy. I’d call the special effects disappointing too but the split screens are well done - a shocker considering how unconvincing the lightning is. I watched it as part of a double bill with Us - another horror film about evil twins - but you don’t need to see the concept done well to appreciate Jordan Peele’s 2019 effort. I can’t think of any reason why anyone should see Cloned: The Recreator Chronicles. (October 15, 2021)

[finchers-ipad]

what do you think the biggest similarities are in the styles of different david fincher films?

Thank you for the ask!! This is one of my favourite things to talk about in relation to Fincher, I think his style is so distinctive! These are some notes I have from a presentation I made in one of my classes a few months ago, they point out a lot of Fincher’s style in a kind of basic form but I think it’s a good outline and hopefully answers your question! (it not just lmk!)

Just want to say as well that Fincher’s style isn’t solely created by him, he works constantly with a lot of talented people who put in the work to create his style such as; Jeff Cronenweth (cinematographer for Fight Club, Gone Girl, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) Kirk Baxter (editor for Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Social Network, Mank, The Killer) Trish Summerville (costume designer for Gone Girl, Mank, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) AND I LITERALLY COULD GO ON AND ON!! but that aside…

Long post so i’m putting it under the cut :) (SPOILER WARNING FOR: The Game, Fight Club, Gone Girl, Se7en)

● Narration- Films like ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Gone Girl’ feature narration heavily throughout the films. This not only gives exposition about the events that are unfolding in the narrative, but also give the characters point of view on these events, and in some cases even being an unreliable narrator. For example, in Fight Club Edward Norton narrates throughout and gives information on Tyler and his jobs in the early scenes, this allows exposition to be given as well as Tyler's comedic replies to add comedy to the scene. Narration in Fight Club also allows the audience member to feel as though we are following the narrators inner monologue, which not only allows us to feel connected with him but also makes the twist that Tyler isn’t real, more shocking.

● Camera tracking movement - In Fincher's films, the camera follows the actors every movement, whether this being the camera following a characters eyeline, hand movement or just tracking their movement the camera follows. This is because Fincher wants the audience to feel completely connected to the character. There is a great video essay on youtube about this if anyone is interested https://youtu.be/GfqD5WqChUY?si=P2AMUHU4iLgtmlTX

● Opening credits - Fincher's opening credits have become an iconic staple in every one of his films so much so that he had to propose a separate budget for the CGI credits for Fight Club. From his elaborate CGI credits in Fight club and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, to more elaborate and ere credits like Se7en. Fincher does this to set the tone for his films and gives the audience a taste of what the films narrative will involve.

● Still camera- Throughout his films Fincher mainly uses a steady camera an only uses handheld when it is crucial to the narrative, for example The Social Network is shot completely on steady camera, but when Sean’s party gets busted by the police, a handheld camera follows Sean as he nervously walks out to of the bedroom to check what is happening. Which is the only handheld shot in the film. This lets the audience feel Seans intoxication and anxiety in this moment.

● Plot twists- Plot twists are another key typical component in many Fincher films, as he likes to subvert the audiences expectations such as in films like Se7en where it is revealed at the end that Tracy is John Doe’s final victim and the protagonist, David Mills, has become our final sin, wrath. These plot twists divert the audience as well as the main character who the audience follow, making the plot twists all the more shocking, with the full picture not becoming apparent to the main character nearing the end of the third act of the film, such as in The Game where it is revled at the end of the film that the torture Nicholous had been subjected to the whole film, was his birthday gift.

● Blue and yellow colour pallet- A defining trait of Fincher's work is is use of a blue and yellow color pallet that he adds to the scenes when colour grading. Using blue, created a muted and melancholy feeling to the scene, such as scenes in the narrator office in Fight Club, showing his boring and repetitive life. Yellow is often used to display night in Fincher's films, such as in the scene in the gospel church in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, where the scene takes place at night and was naturally lit by the string lights above.

● Wide shots- Fincher also almost primarily used wide shots when shooting his scenes, he then intercuts these wide shots with his close ups insert shots which makes the audience notice these close up shots further and draws their attention to thee information being shown in these shots.

● Close ups when necessary- Fincher only uses close ups when he wants the audience to pay attention to an item or person as it is key to the plot and provides exposition. The fact that he uses close ups so sparingly means that the audience pick up of these key details. For example a close up of the Paper St soap company business card, in Fight Club, is shown when the narrator is at the payphone, showing an important character point and changes the plot of the film, you could argue.

● Non linear story lines- Almost all of Fincher's stories are non linier, meaning that they don't follow the typical narrative structure. For example, in Gone Girl, the story follows a linear structure of the day by day of Amy's disappearance until the mid point of the film when Amys narration kicks in and she reveals what happened to her.

● VFX shots- Fincher is know to be meticulous with his shots and therefore he prefers to use VFX shots in small ways to add details into the background or even the foreground so that he can tweak the film without worrying how it will look in post production. For example, he added blood to Daniel Craig's face in ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ so that he could control how it looked when being washed away as well as there is no mistakes with continuity between shots. As well as adding historical buildings into the background of ‘Zodiac’ to recreate San Francisco in 1968.

● Production design- Fincher is meticulous with his production design, working closely with his production designer, Donald Graham Burt (who has worked on most of Fincher's filmography) and only shows an item or location when absolutely necessary, in a way that is meaningful to the narrative. As well as this use of costume design to represent a person emotions pr create a binary opposite. For example, in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ Daisy wears a red dress in the scene where as she has dinner with Benjamin, as he sees her a in a romantic light for the first time as well as it draws the audience's attention to her, much like Benjamins attention is drawn to her.

Thank you for reading! Sorry for any spelling mistakes.

[therubyreader]

My Review of Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 824 Review Word Count Total: 1,432

So, I caved. After seeing all the hype that Legendborn was getting both on here and on TikTok I was finally convinced to read it despite the fact that I’m not a fan of Arthurian legends or really anything medieval for that matter and honestly, it does live up to the hype. Especially if you’re like me, and were weirdly obsessed with that Disney Channel movie, Avalon High, back in the day, this book has the same exact vibes and a very similar premise. Also, sidenote, I was Googling the movie to make sure I was remembering the title correctly, I found out it was originally a book written by Meg Cabot, aka the author of The Princess Diaries, so do with that information what you will. 

The book introduces us to Bree Matthews, a 16-year-old girl grieving the loss of her mother after she died in a tragic car accident. Her grief drives her away from home and to UNC-Chapel Hill, a university that has an early college program for promising high school students. On her first night there, she witnesses a flying demon that feeds on human energy get taken down by a group of teenagers, called Legendborn (roll credits), decedents of the knights of King Arthur with incredible abilities. When one of the teenagers, a Merlin, tries to wipe her memory of the night and it doesn’t work, Bree remembers this same magic was used on her the night her mother died. Realizing that there is more to her mother’s death than what she was originally led to believe, she infiltrates the Legendborn society on campus with the help of Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn, as they discover the secrets of the society while on the brink of a magical war between the demons and Legendborn. 

Like I said earlier, this book is great, definitely worth the hype it’s getting, it’s a great modern interpretation of Arthurian legends with a good amount of diversity that is treated respectfully and realistically. Of course, the most obvious one is Bree, a black girl, who is not only going through this magical adventure but being black and navigating the world and the magical adventure. Not to give too much away outside of the spoiler section but Bree’s background and the history of black people as a whole in the US is a big part of the plot and Bree’s journey which I think is beautiful. As a non-black POC I think that part of Bree’s story was done so well, and I can really sympathize with her despite not being able to explicitly relate. There’s also a nonbinary character in the book named Greer and I honestly didn’t fully realize they were nonbinary because they were so seamlessly integrated into the story that I didn’t bat an eye at the use of they/them pronouns. And there are also queer characters who are unapologetically queer, and happy, and just being people, their identities are very much a part of their character but not their whole character.  

And, for being the author’s debut novel, it honestly isn’t written like one, the writing is good and easy to follow so you become immersed in the world very easily. I will say the prologue is written a bit like a 2010s, Wattpad story and some of the rest of the book has the same vibes from time to time but it honestly isn’t a big deterrent. I will though, complain about the love triangle because I hate almost all love triangles and think they’re bad. I might’ve said this before, but I think most love triangles are a cheap way to make your plot more exciting (which this book did not need at all, it’s exciting enough as is) especially when one of the potential partners is a genuinely nice person and the other one is very obviously a POS. Honestly, the whole book could’ve done without it, the writing and story were compelling enough to where a love triangle wasn’t needed to fill in any spots that were lacking and I was going to talk more about why I specifically don’t like certain characters as love interests but I noticed that this fandom is violent about shipping so I will keep it to myself.  

Overall, I do recommend the book to anyone who’s looking for a fresh take on Arthurian legends or YA fiction and can stomach your standard amount of blood and violence. There are descriptions of violence experienced by slaves and general racism so be warned. Besides the aforementioned love triangle beef I have, and the fact that there is some Welsh that doesn’t get translated into English which was a pet peeve of mine even more so now that I have made a Welsh friend after I returned the book to the library, so I’ll just never know. I will give this book an it’s very good and worth all the hype out of ten. 

Spoilers Below!!

Ok, let’s talk a little bit about the love triangle. I will preface this with the fact that Bree is 16 and hasn’t really experienced any romantic attention up until this point so she’s acting how a regular 16-year-old would act in that situation, and I know full well that 16-year-old me wouldn’t have been any smarter. That being said, I honestly think that Sel is a bad choice based on his actions in this book alone (yes, I have read the second one but I’m not going to talk about it here). This man literally spent the majority of the book trying to kill her and sent literal demons after her, but they slow danced once, and he called her “cariad” now y’all are foaming at the mouth. This isn’t hate towards Sel as a character, mostly, but like, come on. That’s all I’m saying because this fandom is violent, and I like living.  

Moving on to things that don’t make me mad! Let’s just take a moment to appreciate Bree’s root. I absolutely loved how the author wove in traditional African and African American spiritual practices into a world where the knights of the roundtable were magical beings and the contrast, chef’s kiss. We have root where the users give back the magic they use, make offerings, and talk to their ancestors regularly versus aether which is just taken. There is a great metaphor here about colonialism and world history as a whole, but I’m not going to go deep into that and get too radical in a book review so I’m going to let you all just think on it.  

Another thing I really liked about the book was how real the characters felt, all of them were unique individuals with distinct personalities and motivations. Not all the characters were necessarily good people, some were honestly horrible and evil, but you can understand where they’re coming from even if you don’t agree, a la “cool motive, still murder”. I did like that in the story the villain wasn’t evil just because, he had a reason to want to be evil, but it honestly made for a more enjoyable story especially when you contrast Nick’s dad with the demons who are evil just because. Also, just a side note on Mr. Davis being the villain all along, that was so unexpected but made so much sense when he explained his evil plan, I think it was a fun surprise that I hadn’t predicted in the beginning.  

Of course, I have to talk about the twist at the end where it turns out that Bree is Arthur’s scion and not Nick, mind blowing. There’s something, I don’t know how to describe it, but karmatic about a black girl being the king of the round table after her ancestor was raped by the scion of Arthur all those years ago. That old slave owner couldn’t have ever predicted that his disgusting actions would one day see a black girl as the head of his secret organization, so take that horrible man. On top of that, the organization as a whole is pretty racist, just the way that it’s all white and how they treat Bree and Sarah’s dad, so double take that racists, a black girl is your king.  

Moral of the story, read this book for a YA adventure mixed with serious real-world topics and a lovable cast of characters. Everyone who is hyping this book online is correct and I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy especially since there are rumors that the last book in the series will be released sometime next year.  

[agent-bash]

I thought after 10x12 that Sean would come back. He is way too obsessive of Hailey to just take her no as a no. Maybe now that there's gonna be another season and if Tracy decides to stay, they could revisit it in s11. I don't think they have time for it in s10 from the looks of it.

I mean the Yates storyline spanned to another season for comparison.

Truthfully, even if this is Tracy's last season (again, just vibes not based any insider info), they could still revisit the Sean storyline later on. In fact, it would be kind of cool they did. Because what'll happen with Sean if his obsession is no longer around? Will it shift focus? Will he latch onto someone new? Or will he escape and suddenly bodies start dropping in Chicago that look a lot like a certain (former?) detective? Lots of ways they could play it with or without Tracy.

But if it's not and she is sticking around, or similarly to Jesse is leaving but is giving them a few wrap-up episodes, bringing Sean back would be a great way to do it. But again, and as you've said as well, there just isn't the time remaining in season 10 to do it, not if the writers are smart (and let us say, for the sake of argument, that they're at least smarter than some of us want to give them credit for)

But yes, having a killer or something that spans seasons isn't something we've seen from PD in a while. You got Yates (though his spanning was really more SVU focused) and Denny Woods and that's about it.

[ollynotes65]

Tuesday 10th December

Essential

Tracy Simpson - ADDO

Has opportunities to work on projects, and is also open to hearing about project ideas you have

She might be able to help find funding

PDF document on Moodle - Artist Toolkit

Arts council won’t pay funding unless there is an evaluation

“...A process that allows us to ask the right questions and have the right conversations across different sectors where the work is made and between the different stakeholders who hold the practice.” (Hutchings, 2014)

Have a debrief at the end of a session. Record it as soon as you can. It will help with the reflective process.

Break a project down in to stages

What do you want to do?

What is your overriding question?

A statement can become a question

If you’ve got a question how do you break it down?

What are the aims? Objectives?

What is the commitment?

Time? How much do you have, how much do other people have? How do you make it work within the timescale you have for the project?

Are you the most suitable person for the project?

Does it REALLY appeal to you? Don’t waste time on a project you aren’t engaged with

Making progress. How do you log that? How do you keep a record of things?

Be responsible. Treat people how you want to be treated. Be respectful.

Public liability insurance is good to have

You can get it from Artist Network

If unsure about contract stuff. Ask questions. Clarify. Find out where you stand

Sort out small issues before they become big issues

Who is responsible for what? Who is there to support you? Who are you supporting? What are the areas of responsibility

Make sure you deliver what’s required, but don’t go above and beyond for things you aren’t paid for

Its rare you’ll get money for extra stuff

Try to have contingency plans. Allow extra time for things

What is your definition of success for the project, not just personally but in terms of the project

What does it look like to you?

Think about the copyright to the work you make. Who owns what?

Look in to trademarks and copyright

Try to get references, or people willing to provide one at a later date. You can use them as testimonials

Remember people don’t have time to deal with everything you want to throw at them. Asking for stuff for free will generally not get a decent and quick response. Offering money usually gets peoples interest

You can propose a workshop to do somewhere

Gantt charts are a good way of organising time and projects

Helps with time management

When talking to the external examiner, make sure you introduce your work. Give it a context. Show what you’ve done through the weeks

Stay within the time limit, as if you do anything professional they’ll cut you off

Who is the audience? What is THEIR expectation? How do they receive the work? How do you meet their needs?

Make sure you’re accessible

Think about the language you use. How do you speak to people? People from different backgrounds have differing ways of receiving information which is controlled a lot by language. People don’t always understand the language of the arts, or don’t respect simple language. How do you tailor what you do to multiple audiences? Or do you need to have multiple audiences?

How do you finish a project? When is it over?

How do you ensure you get credit for what you do?

Have a look at case studies of previous projects to get an idea of how they run and what sort of outcomes there can be

Some of the talks that happen at the uni are recorded and can be watched back if you can’t attend them

Get in touch with the research office, they’ll send you a list of talks

_____

Book binding

Need to know how many sheets you can get out of a single piece of paper before you start making a concertina book

You need to allow for a join too

Always fold from the halfway mark. Fold it backwards and forwards so it’s a really sharp line

You only need the join on the one end. You don’t need it on both pieces being joined together

In industry they can make a concertina out of a single piece of paper, they have access to full large rolls

Its harder to do that out of industry

Always attach to a valley, not a hill

Do a maquette first, to see what you actually need, as a test. Don’t waste any high quality materials on a final one before you’ve made a rough test piece

_____

Academic Tutorial

Problem is tried to do a lot of things at once

Can’t seem to work when you’re not doing lots of things at once

Thinking of doing research with Hugo, the therapist

A lot of room to direct therapy with gestalt

Talking to Hugo helped with mental health massively

Qi Gong

Confluence happening between condition/situation and your desires as an artist and needs as a human being, arriving at a healthy and helpful point

In the imaginary world there is nothing to worry about

Where does the triangle come from?

It was a convenient choice at the time,

Corners could be pins. It’s a place marker.

Are they pointing or hiding?

Is it pointing or obliterating

The gold adds to it. With the old map.

Confusion makes it ambiguous

Ambiguity holds your attention

Repetition and inversion adds to the engagement

What is it I am looking at? What am I not getting?

It’s compelling, not repelling.

Want it to be confusing. So people can’t enter your safe space

Uncanny spookiness

Homely because of woods

Enchantiness

Insect abdomen as a head

Gold could mean honey or bees

If the process has worked, just carry on doing it

Keep the reflecting log.

What is your process of engagement and reflection?

It can become pure chance without a guiding principle

Negative performance - about feelings

Gold hat is movement performance

Can’t express with body

Is there a jump between things, or is it a trouble you’re inventing?

Speech bubbles are knowing. Could be ironic.

Humour isn’t intentional.

Not comedy, but not tragedy

Not angst-ridden

There is a lightness. Playfulness.

Do you have to go full on?

Look at other people who’ve done image/text work before

Willie Doherty

Long tradition of photography and text

Ed Ruscha

Richard Long

Whatever the process requires of you, to develop the reflective stream, do it

The module isn’t looking for a full finalised show. Work.

Don’t want to show the negative performance

What do you mean by negative?

Expressing negative emotion

What you’re showing them, and the how, will dictate how its received

An artist who doesn’t want to paint shadows will end up with flat work

Want to show the audience you getting better

Manet - work was flat. Using photography. Pushes shadows to the edge. Makes them superficial. But the work wouldn’t have worked.

Split screen allows you to juxtapose things

There’s more to it than just the moment.

There is a rich confluence of things coming together, try to maximise the potential of that

You’ve arrived here so stay here and explore

We sometimes do things on the side of what we are doing. The work in the margins is often better than the main stuff. This is why we keep reflective journals, or whatever our equivalent is

The process as well as the product can be interesting

What would it be like if you did more than one book cover?

Print book covers on blank sketchbooks. They are true ‘self-help’

The photographic reproduction sent out, like the early internet, allowed people to connect with work they wouldn’t be able to see

Where does the art happen?

Walter Benjamin - Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Read the handbook

Stefan Sagmeister - Things I have Learned

[jacks-tracks]

Blah Blog

Had to be one. Just a list of typical days, with side notes on extra events/

Life here really is a routine, with little variation. All systems at Casa dan work, or are fixed promptly, so there,s no need to rearrange life to fix whatever is broken next as at home.

Awake at 6:30(full light), roll out ,hot water on, brush up,make coffee,gulp hot and get out for a walk before the heat.Usually it,s beach walk with a return along Calle Morro, the front street. Wave watch, pick beach trash plastic, and home up a side alley and steep stairs to the lookout benches. Not much of a view since the acacia tree has grown up in the center of the viewscape. Amusingly the same young squirrel is always eating the acacia seeds, hanging up side down to avoid the falling crumbs .It,s hot by 9 am, especially as i do climb the stairs/road non stop for a bit of cardio.

Breakfast, grapefruit, granola, yogurt, and fruit juice, same every day. Listen to BBCnews, read the mail, and choose a book. The extensive library has lots of new books but i often see some interesting title, only to discover that I read it last year. Hammocks make good reading spots , allowing impromptue naps.

At least once a week it,s shopping, either super Che department store or my favorito tienda, best quality, best prices. Access by a bus up Oaxaca Avenue, of walk up through the main market. 30 pounds of fruit! Tangerines, bananas, watermelon, papaya, vegies like potatoes(crispy, water filled, tasteless), onions ,peppers, tomatoes(uniform size/shape/lack of flavour),grapefruit, and odd bits like grapes(Chile), lichee, and whatever looks good. With Christmas coming and the ensuing run on cash machines I,m stocking up on Pesos for Januarys rent and running expense. There,s a cash machine(Santander bank) which dispenses 11000 pesos at a wack, but all machines give an exchange rate at least 5% below published rates, raking in a tidy profit. Credit cards cost 5% to use and still give the low rate, so it pays to pull out cash.The books were looking good until the travel insurance company finally posted their bill and the annual credit card fee came due. Walking down to the combi stop I saw a hole in the wall (lit) stand run by an ancient campesino and his ever eating wife. Crumbling camper for storage, from whence he produced a lump of Copal, fresh off the tree, and some local very dark honey. Once I ask in Spanish I get a detailed answer half of which is incomprehensible slang and accent. Some thing about organic watermelon..But my bags were already overloaded. Home by combi, an increasing number of which are city vans going to uphill neighbourhoods, much more comfortable and safely driven. There,s always the last shlep down the backstreet to Casa dan, and a grateful sigh upon dropping the overloaded bags. Fridge is full, freezer overflowing, who knew I ate so much?!

Lately lunch is an overflowing plate of salad, typically chopped romaine lettuce, skinned diced tomatoes, red pepper chopped fine, sprouts, avocado and a slobber of mayonaise. Filling, non fattening, healthy in as much as all this inorganic produce can be.

Work over it,s time for a swim in the ever cooling pool. Temp drops 1 degree a week. Down to 25, which feels cold enough for a rash guard shirt and some pretty fast laps. Hot shower, laundry, back to the hammock, book and siesta. Neighbours drop by with news(gossip) and books. Hot tip this week was that the Split Coconut bar (50 happy gringo drinkers all glad handing old pals.) had Ned Flanders live. Solo guitar, think Jimmy buffet doing covers with enthusiasm. I went down and into the pallet fenced area open to the beach with lots of shade. Here were Jimmy and Tracy , my buddys from the Yurimar dump hotel. They are moving next month to a much nicer and quieter place. Tracy is as bubbly as ever,(fueled by booze) and Jimmy is still slaying the fish,having just returned from a morning where they caught 2 sailfish, a big marlin, some dorado and a bunch of barellitos. They released the game fish. Rumours have Russian trawlers netting all the tuna and delivering to a factory freezer ship. We exchanged brief summarys of the past 8 months and agreed to go fishing next Friday. It,s my $100 Christmas gift to myself, with a chance of a load of fresh fish to eat.

Sunset up on the terraza with the local inmates, more gossip, news, and usually a spectacular sunset, Green flash or salmon bright ripples across the high clouds. The growing moon is a sliver in the west, flanked by Venus. and only the evening mosquitoe rise drives us down stairs to screened safety. There is dengue in Puerto, with some locals getting it twice. My bed net, bug zapper, and repellant spray are essential. I never want dengue again!

So that,s the intown stuff. I,ve been to Playa manzanillo weekly for snorkeling in warm water, and twice to Agua blanca way outof town for the authentic empty beach walk/palalpa shade /beach food experience. It,s a half hour on the bus and another half hour walk in. The tidal dipping pool has filled with sand during the last hurricane so I did swim on the west beach before the surf came up. Bit of body surfing, mostly just wave thrashing in the foam., I forgot my super water bottle first trip out but the ever helpful Casa dan receptionist tried the phone number and had the same lack of success I,d had(wasting my carefully rehearsed Spanish speech) but got them on facebook and they had the bottle. Back out , retrieved bottle and had a bonus beach day. Only odd note was I ordered Hueuvos rancheros (scrambled eggs with onions tomatoes and garlic) and got a slop of beans,and 3 deep fried eggs swimming in grease. Urp! It,s a hotter walk back out to the highway in the afternoon, but there is some tree shade and the sea breeze for cooling pauses. Always enjoyable to ride the clanking, rattling old busses, picking up and dropping off shoppers, school kids and old country women. True the driver does try to achieve escape velocity and somewhere finds a few extra top gears, but don't look ahead.

Only other note is that I,m sending pictures of local flowers to 4 women back home to cheer them up as winter descends Even I,m impressed with how many varied types and colours there are. A month of daily pics and still more to see. So that,s the report and I hope to have some more exciting news or at least some events to note. Surf competition was a bust with 6 meter waves one day and 1 meter the next, hardly fair. Next week is body boards and the stands are being built down at the beach crest, Will they have another big music blowout? Ranchero? Yippee!!