#i'm conflicted because.... everyone gets positive endings except them two

[cafeinnewdelsta]

Me, remembering today that I have many thoughts about the way Hikari and Temenos' stories end in the final chapter of Octopath Traveler 2 and how it impacts my feelings with the way the game ended

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

I used to think that the reason I wasn't satisfied with Izzy's death was because I was too attached to his perspective as a character and couldn't focus on the big picture of the season and the main Gentlebeard relationship enough. I mean, I was still convinced that his death and the way it was carried out was a shit writing decision, but everyone else outside the Izzy Canyon circles seemed fine with it, so I was starting to think that maybe they were right.

So I looked back on the rest of the season and rewatched the finale... And realised something that I'd been trying to ignore because it was too painful to admit. A huge part of why Izzy's death hit so hard (in a bad way, not that delicious masochistic pain of having a beloved character die a good, narratively satisfying death) was because throughout this season he was the only character who actually had a satisfying arc and development. Practically no one else did. I didn't actually care for Gentlebeard this season, not the way I cared in S1. From episode 1 to 8 and a half, Izzy's arc was crafted with more care, kindness, subtlety and narrative weight than the main Gentlebeard arc which, in comparison, felt like a string of choppy beads badly tied together in an approximate shape of an arc, but collapsed as soon as you looked at it too closely.

Yes, we all know this season suffered for being 2 episodes too short, but I don't think that's all there is to it. This is starting to feel like GoT season 8 all over again. Would it have been better if it wasn't so rushed? Maybe. Or maybe it would have been even worse because this season just didn't seem to know what to do with itself or the characters. The themes and symbolism are all over the place and completely inconsistent. Ed and Stede's characters are practically back at the same place they left in S1. All they did was bounce off the walls back and forth with no real growth. As soon as they took a step towards fixing their relationship or growing as people, they either tool three steps back or it just got dropped. Stede letting fame get to his head? Interesting and realistic development. And how was it resolved? It wasn't. Stede and Ed being whim prone? I'm glad they brought it up. And then they just fell for another whim and it was presented as a satisfying ending.

Ed went from the Kraken, to taking the first steps towards being Ed, then suddenly all the way to being Ed by way of a Night of Magical Healing Sex that he he didn't actually want to happen because he wasn't ready. And then all of a sudden he pivoted to abandoning Stede and piracy and becoming a fisherman... for 5 min. And then back to Blackbeard again because two fishermen were mean to him for 5 minutes. And then abandoning it again to open an inn. How was any of this even remotely coherent or satisfying? They didn't even have a single conversation about any of it. Ed had more proper closure and communication with Izzy during his dying scene than with Stede and the rest of the crew put together. Izzy's arc got sacrificed to do the heavy lifting for Ed's arc and became nothing more than a shortcut to speed run his character growth. Except it didn't even lead anywhere. "Ed, they're your family, they love you" no they don't, he didn't even have a single positive conversation with any of them except Fang. Of course this could have been the point, and Ed could have seen Izzy's death, his own discovery of found family and his dying words as a pretext to repair his relationship with the crew. But he just left them and stayed with Stede instead.

Sure, you could say this was only the second act of the story, and S3 will resolve everything. But the second act is still meant to move the story and the characters forward in some way. Yes, of course if we get S3, I imagine Stede and Ed's life as innkeepers won't exactly be idyllic. But the problem is that the conflicts they'd have will only be a rehash and repeat of the same conflicts they've already have, or were supposed to have, this season. Multiple times, even. We already know that Ed is simply unable to live with himself no matter what life he chooses. The title of S1 was literally "wherever you go, there you are". We already know Stede's love isn't enough to fix him. We already know their goals in life are completely opposite. Maybe they could have shown Stede realising, after his humiliating in S7, that piracy wasn't all it was cracked up to be or he isn't suited for it, and that's why he chose to leave it behind and open an inn, but that's not the explanation we were given. It was just another whim. They literally didn't learn anything this season. They had two baby conversations in E4 and E5 and didn't take anything from it, just kept doing the complete opposite of anything. "We're both prone to whims, let's take things slow" became "let's take things extremely fast by moving in together permanently and becoming entrepreneurs". They never talked about the actual, deepseated, longstanding trauma issues they needed to resolve before they could even begin to have a proper relationship. They literally got a heavy-handed glimpse in what their life would become if they just stuck together without addressing their own personal issues, and chose to do that very thing. It that's what S3 is going to address, then why were Anne and Mary part of this season instead of the next one?

I remember everyone saying they wanted Ed and Stede to reunite as quickly as possible in S2, and I get why. They have great chemistry together. The season is about them. But for it to work, spending more time apart is exactly what they needed. They needed to learn how to live with themselves and others, first. Romantic love alone can't fix you as a person. You have to fix yourself first. Community can help (as with Izzy's case), but you still have to put in the work. In retrospect, I'm glad that Izzy didn't get a love interest this season - because he wasn't ready yet, and had to learn how to have normal relationships and friendships with other people before attempting an intimate romantic relationship, lest he ended up falling head first unit another toxic mutually dependent relationship. That's what Stede and Ed should have tried too. Instead the show just ended up using Izzy's death as a quick surgical fix, robbing Ed of his agency and having to do the hard work repairing himself and his relationships with other people. There's a sad irony in getting exactly one character's arc just this, and then using it as a sacrificial lamb to patch over the main character's arc.

[alexanderwales]

Pitchposting: Generation Ship

(Pitchposting is a way of giving away ideas that threaten to grow in my mind until they become draft documents. They are free to a good home, though there's no guarantee that I won't try to write them at some point.)

Alright, hear me out: it's a generation ship, one expected to reach its destination with an entirely new generation of people who never knew the homeland, except instead of being a scifi concept, we're doing it as mundane as possible.

I think this is one of those ideas that only appeals to me because I immediately start thinking about the logistics of it all, and there's something in the mundane, gritty realism that really appeals to me. Mostly I'm worldbuilding and problem solving, trying to get at what it would actually be like for people to have been at sea their entire lives, to have a ship that either needs to endure the waves or be rebuilt as it goes.

I was going to say that this needs to be fantasy, but I guess technically it can be an Alderson Disk or something. An Alderson Disk has a habitable circumference of approximately a billion kilometers, a sailing ship can go maybe eighty miles a day, that's a ballpark of 12.5 million days to circumnavigate the disk, which is 34,000 years. That's a hell of a lot of generations, twice as long as we've had agriculture. (But you could also just have it be a fantasy world that's larger than our own, with a generation ship that was only trying to flee to greener pastures that are a hundred years away.)

The purest version of this story is a world that's just water, to match the void of space. The ship sails, repairs are made from flotsam and jetsam and driftwood from unspecified places, rainwater is caught and put into barrels, pitch is used for patching, fish and kelp are hauled up from the ocean, birds are captured from the sky, and the ship must necessarily endure storms and swells.

I've always felt there was something compelling about constrained living situations, places where everyone knows everyone and you have to make it work because there's absolutely no way out — where you're on a knife's edge because there's only so much preparation you can do. A generation ship needs to think about absolutely all of its needs and how it will deal with the deterioration of all things over time, along with problems that might only crop up once every hundred years, or problems that won't become apparent until long after the ship has left the dock.

Let's say you have a sailing ship the size of one of the largest sailing vessels of the 19th century, a thousand people all told. The families are carefully braided to prevent accidental incest, everyone has their position in life, every master has at least one apprentice but probably more so gout or cancer don't eliminate the last person who knew how to make more pitch.

This is clearly an Idea story, one that starts with a ridiculous premise and then explores it, but one of my favorite things about idea stories is finding the characters and the conflicts within them. For a generation ship, the biggest, most obvious conflict is the conflict between generations: the old people who once knew dry land, the middle generation who will likely die before the destination is reached, and the children who will be the beneficiaries of all this travel.

We have a woman who was born to the sea, who loves the sea, who loves the travel and takes great joy in knowing that she's probably not going to see the end of it until she's ancient. We have the grizzled sailor who's nearly risen to the rank of captain and sees the whole mission as utter foolishness. A boy of thirteen who is obsessed with writing stories about the land they've set off toward and keeps his telescope on the horizon, hoping that the predictions were off, that they're somehow two decades early. A girl of sixteen who doesn't feel suited to the marriage that's planned for her, who is secretly in love with her best friend. A scientist who has been quietly advancing the state of knowledge with every new fish brought up from the deeps.

And then there's the plot, which there are so, so many options for. I would start the novel with simple sailing, a few chapters of the daily routine, the personalities, their petty fights with each other, and the stress of being in the middle of unfathomably deep waters whose depths are only glimpsed when the nets bring up something new. Then ... an island, another ship, sea creatures that have a glimmer of intelligence, a storm that makes the ship limp, spoilage that threatens starvation unless drastic action is taken, a political squabble that might bring all the plans crashing down.

Maybe it's a book about being trapped by the past, or about hanging on by what feels like a delicate thread, or about how systems are fragile and careful thinking and brave leadership are the only things that will get us through.

Mostly I think I want to be a geek about a ship that needs to survive in the ocean for a hundred years, and I do not have the time to write this novel, not when there are so many other novels to write.

[queenvhagar]

It seems like a lot of House of the Dragon's writing issues in the first season stem from the disastrous final season of Game of Thrones, specifically the rushed implementation of Daenerys' Mad Queen arc. It feels like the writers and HBO are hyper aware of Daenerys' ending being fumbled and the negative audience reaction it garnered, and now they're trying to correct the mistakes of the main series through the prequel series and specifically its characterization of Rhaenyra. Both Rhaenyra and Daenerys are Targaryen dragon riding queens motivated by their perceived birthright, but the similarities between the two characters are surface-level. In reality, Daenerys and Rhaenyra are not the same character, and the story of the Dance of the Dragons is not the story of the War of the Five Kings.

Daenerys is the last Targaryen (as she knows it), a former slave who seeks to use the power of her dragons to reclaim the throne and in the process abolish the institution of slavery as it exists in the world, a true revolutionary who seeks to transform society through fire and blood if need be (and if a Mad Queen arc appears in the books, it will undoubtedly be because the existing Lords in Westeros would likely oppose a restructure of society - after all, they are the primary beneficiaries of the feudalist society - and this could lead to conflict with Daenerys, which would escalate).

Rhaenyra is the named heir to the throne. Her position is "quite comfortable" - she enjoys her privileges (which is very fair of her). However, her privileged position above others leads her to act according only to her own desires and not her duty as heir. She fights only for herself and her own (although the show added the prophecy to obscure this motivation), and despite having the power and influence as the most powerful woman in the realm to promote "a new order" as she once envisioned a child, she repeatedly reinforces existing structures to further her own power (like defending Lucerys' illegitimate claim so her own looks stronger with her son as Lord of Driftmark instead of advocating for Baela to inherit as Laena's eldest daughter, something that ironically could have really supported her own claim of "eldest child inherits" in the process - and she could have sidestepped the bastard issue). Rhaenyra wants to be the exception to the rules; she doesn't seek to rewrite them for anyone else. Rhaenyra is a "rebel" only in the sense that she's breaking the law and then using her privilege to avoid facing the consequences of her actions at all costs.

You can argue that both Rhaenyra and Daenerys are breaking ground when it comes to becoming queen of Westeros, and both are motivated by their beliefs in Targaryen supremacy and their perceived birthrights to the throne. They might both be known as a "Mad Queen" - Rhaenyra's arc will come, and when it does, I'm really hoping it will be because of the reasons it was in the books: her suspicion and distrust leading her to isolate herself from her allies, eventually turning on them, and her disregard for the commonfolk leading to her being driven out of the city and the death of dragons (though I won't be surprised if the writers shy away from this, in fear of repeating any aspect of Daenerys' portrayal). But fundamentally, trying to write Rhaenyra to be Daenerys 2.0 so that they can fix the mistake of the Game of Thrones ending kind of ruins the Dance.

The Dance wasn't written as just the tragedy of a heroic girl taken down by sexism and misunderstandings, which is the story the show seems to be trying to tell. It's the tragedy of a family tearing itself apart, of the cultural conflict between Westeros and their Valyrian conquerors, of the desire for power and the lengths one will go to in order to get it.

But the writers are more interested in trying to tell a largely black and white story where they can make up for what they did with Daenerys' arc. Unfortunately for everyone, Rhaenyra is not Daenerys, and the Dance is not the War of the Five Kings.

[scottfreed]

Orion & Scott should be friends if not awkward step brothers. The forced antagonism is lame.

I had an argument with two people about the way I characterized Orion and Scott in a fic a while back, and I wanted to make a big post to compile my canon basis for writing them as somewhat distant brothers who respect and defend each other. I particularly had one fan continuously say Tom King's characterization is gospel and completely consistent, and I was an "abuse apologist" for writing them in a positive way. I wanted to pay particular attention to the question of succession since that's the main source of conflict for them in MM '17.

Orion and Scott have had numerous character interactions that have predominantly ranged from generally amicable to warm and familiar with key exceptions. (Rough recount incoming)

MM '74

Their first interaction Orion literally saves Scott's life so he and Barda can get married.

Dude is actually the one who called for the wedding in the first place. And he was playing the Bouncer. And look at him on Barda's side of the alter. He's totally the Maid of Honor:

Super Powers '86

(This was the first comic I ever read with both characters just to disclose my bias.)

Short but fun lesser known title! But there's some interesting world building happening. And Orion and Scott paling around in their co-rulers era:

They're buddies and its great. Also look and Orion's drip.

Look at this! The bois are co-ruling Apokolips for a brief stint. The exact opposite of Orion trying to "steal the throne form scott", He literally called him up to help him manage his own!

This is such a great expression of both their characters. Scott's survivors guilt for being able to escape the Hell of his upbringing and Orion's driving fear of ending up a tyrant like his father.

And look at this "interview":

We need to bring back authors doing make-believe interviews with fictional characters. Simply outstanding. The idea that in the face of nature and nurture they both gravitated to the light is honestly fascinating.

"(still hushed) Thank you, thank you, my friend..."

^^^ like... there are hurt/comfort fics that aren't as tender as this action adventure comic from 1986 😭😭😭

The New Gods Vol 3

But whoa what's this?

Bickering? I guess they do just inherently have an antagonistic relationship... except look what's actually being said.

Orion and Lightray aren't pissed because they think Orion is so great that he should be in charge of everything and Scott's in the way Ala Tom King. (It's because this writer didn't want to write for Scott in this title and the crappy answer for this is to make Scott an annoying "80s era pacifist" which is pretty shameful in the context of world-ending stakes tbh.)

But again, Orion's not miffed because he wants Scott gone. If anything, He want's Scott to be more involved in the fight against evil. He wants him to remember his roots. He wants him to be a part of New genesis. He want's him to take on more power and responsibility.

Plus, idk I'm projecting but it's almost giving: "hey the family misses you, please call/visit more" to me at least.

JLA/I ('90)

My heart is aching look at this! Called him his brother, gave a beautiful eulogy, joined the JLA in his memory. It's wild how the writing in this arc went wildly back and forth between quality and pure nonsense 😭

JLA ('98) - #24

This is how you do clunky exposition about who tf these characters even are showing up in this title all of a sudden.

Is it perfect? No.

But it's still a heart to heart desire to understand. Underline everyone's characters and central motivation. Boom. We're in and we're out. Back to the Justice League.

MM Vol 3 (1996)

Okay, so weirdly aggressive, right???

But, not quite, it was indicated that his reaction here was due to Darksied having just been resurrected and was influencing him.

But also take a closer look at what's being said! It wasn't a result of Orion being covetous of Scott's power or even wishing harm on him or anything.

Quite the opposite, in fact. He's telling him he needs to better protect his own life as future king, even if it means sacrificing others.

It's almost giving concern tbh.

Far be it from trying to kill Scott to steal NG from him, even in this ooc moment, he's chastising him to stay safe so he can come into his throne.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World (1997)

We get a fight and Scott gets over whelmed casue he's fucking around. Barda is lowkey laughing at him. But what does Orion do?

Dude Pops off. Pops off so hard everyone is concerned.

And then this happens:

Look! He struck Scott! Tom King is a genius! haters btfo.....

But wait. this was actually how it was revealed that Orion was possessed by DeSaad, because this was so wildly out of character for him!

Literally this action, that Orion-haters seem to think is like their mundane default character interaction, was so off-putting and out of character to all the other New Gods that they immediately knew something was very wrong. And it was. He was possessed!

lol gross...

But what about when he's back in his mind again? Well...

(idk who's serving more cunt in this tbh)

And here not for the last time we se Orion supporting the idea of Scott as the ruler of Apokolips.

Orion ('01)

(d...did scott do blackface in this cosplay??? lol)

This is the classic. We all know it. We all love it.

Look at Scott meddling in his life. You're fucking up pretty bad when the "god of freedom" has to step in to stop you.

Also the contrast between their actions when dealing with Sirius is better than any hackney fist fight or argument.

And how interesting is it that Scott's unwillingness to kill isn't treated as admirable and pure in contrast to Orion's evil-bad violence.

Nope. He was a kid. He wasn't strong enough yet to do what had to be done. And IIRC it was to do with what he'd just gone through with the emergence of the anti-life equation. But Orion was! And Orion was the one to finally put the poor soul out of him misery.

I like in particular the way they are portrayed as the "god of war" and the "god of freedom" and how the way this is explored isn't a black and white dichotomy. Scott recognizes Orion is absolutely needed to oppose Darkseid. And the way the two of them are working behind the scenes to protect and help each other repeatedly is so perfect.

And the way Orion decides not to kill Metron to protect scott not because it's wrong or whatever but because time travel could prevent anyone else from following the same bread crumbs and coming to the same conclusions is so funny.

But he was fully ready to kill Metron to save the weird little circus man.

But yeah I think its very telling that at the end of this character arc, Orion, in coming to terms with himself, must come to terms with Scott and their respective places in the world.

I just think it's cool that they each saved each other's life twice in this series. Scott prevented Orion form falling too far with his black racer gambit. And reminding him of his purpose. And Orion Saves Scott from the parademons and Metron.

I can only dream of the paradise we'd be living in if this characterization continued on into the future.

Cherish it. It's all down hill from here...

Death of the New Gods ('05)

Okay so this series isn't great, but at least it's consistent with how these two interreact with each other and kind of keeps to Simonson's continuity... kind of.

Orion aggressively defends Scott’s claim yet again. He looked like he was gonna deck Clark when he suggested Scott was not fit. I’m talking bolded, italicized and pt.18 font text when he first suggested it. "WHAT?" He "begrudgingly" admits Scott's not "currently" fit. But still declines that position for himself.

And the two of them discussing the fate of their people like this almost harkens back to '86 with the co-ruling.

This story is weird, with the worst interpretation of the Anti-Life Equation I've seen. And I'd argue both are ooc in general, but even in this slopy story there is no succession crisis. and they are working together:

(lol at his face here. The bois are trying to discuss their family business and clark is just standing there gobsmaked. rude tbh...)

And here is Orion saving his ass again for good measure:

I hit my picture limit, but Scott goes on to try to kill Orion and Clark later in this series.

Up to this point. Orion might have shoved Scott once or twice in weird circumstances but Scott was the only one who seemed to actually make an actual attempt on his life. Which is why the post reboot characterization is so freaking weird to me.

Tom Kings MM (2017)

(This is where it officially falls apart)

Cliché toxic masculinity abusive stepbrother who exists only to make Scott an even bigger victim. Steals the throne, is weirdly aggressive and abusive for no fucking reason. Tries to kill him in jealousy, etc, etc.

And unfortunately this has seemingly become Orion's standard characterization in the minds of most fans.

(Now, in those post-n52 reboot GL books (sorry tbh I don't feel like tracking them down rn) he's not AS bad as he was in the WW and Tom King MM, but he's still portrayed as being far less intelligent and articulate for some reason??? The idea that he's the dumb jock of the NG and not basically a warrior poet. It's better to go more himbo than violent monster I guess but it's still a far cry from his proper characterization.) I wonder if it had to do with his awful portrayal in that Wonder Woman run??? Idk.

... Jack Kirby didn't deserve this.

DCeased(?)

Ripping off Tom king directly. I'm not just saying that since I don't like the characterization. I'm saying this because they ripped this stupid fucking scene off beat-for-beat, Seriously, Tom King should sue this dude for plagiarism.

And like a game of telephone their characters keep getting mangled more and more. This is the writing equivalent of a bad photo copy of a bad photocopy.

I just gotta pray it stops here and we can get back to a normal dynamic for these two again. But this story's existence doesn't bode well.

MM (2021)

Orion and Shilo seem to be on good terms! He still doesn’t speak right but it’s still an improvement!

Buuuut, no relationship or character interaction with Scott and Barda's daughter at all??? Like that's the main antagonist (for some fucking reason) and they just say nothing to each other? ok sure why not at this point.

Like that's High Father's granddaughter!

Highfather is probably the cornerstone of Orion's identity. Even if you don't consider Scott and Orion to be brothers, she's still his family through HF.

Anyway, I just wanted to add at the end here that I find some of the fans (and writer's) continuous characterization of Scott as the loser wife guy and a massive victim all the time, and Orion the violent psycho, who is power-hungry and ambitious is lame and sucks.

And just to be a little biased. I think the dynamic from 50 years ago is better and more relevant to people today than the MM '17 version.

Think about it. There are more blended and mixed families than ever. Awkward and somewhat distant step-brother is so much more compelling and interesting than the chirst vs. anti-christ thing they keep doing.

“What Is It They’ve Sent Us?” “Hope.”

Barda '24

This book seems to be getting us back on track from what I've been able to see so far! I've been unable to get my hands on it yet but everything I've seen and heard about it is really exciting for me as a fan. I'm both excited and fearful to see what comes next!!!

[o-uncle-newt]

Cabin Pressure Advent, Day 1: Abu Dhabi

With thanks to @madenthusiasms for bringing the idea of doing a big Cabin Pressure advent relisten to my attention... I'm doing a big Cabin Pressure advent relisten!

No idea if I'll be doing one of these for all of them, but I listened to Abu Dhabi in its entirety (I sometimes just skip around for the "why do airplanes fly" bits) for the first time in a VERY long time, and I had enough thoughts that I did want to share them-

One of my first thoughts: it is still (or rather already!) very funny, but the rhythms are, as Stanley Meadows might say, slightly off- I can't quite decide if it’s JF still getting used to the rhythms of the show or the actors getting used to the rhythms of his writing, and it isn't exactly obtrusive or anything, but it doesn't quite feel there yet, though it does feel very very very close.

The characters don't feel quite lived in yet (which makes sense, they aren't!), and though JF is very good at doing the setup gradually, it definitely feels a bit more obtrusive than it does in later episodes, for obvious reasons. To me, I was surprised to realize that the main character who felt exactly right from the get go is Carolyn- Stephanie Cole got the rhythms straightaway and her dynamic with everyone else is instantly understood.

The other characters... I don't really know. Now that I reflect a few hours later, I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I think the nastiness:niceness quotient might not have been fully balanced yet. Carolyn was fine (with one slight exception I'll mention below) because we KNOW she's kind of nasty and she stays that way, unrepentantly, longer than the rest of them- Martin and Douglas yoyo back and forth between being bitter/petty and relatively collegial in a way that is funny but isn't AS funny as their more "love to hate each other" dynamic ends up being later, and doesn't feel as natural (Douglas saving Martin's bacon with the match-lighting was a wonderful plotting moment but from their acrimony the rest of the episode you'd think he'd be happy to let Martin drown). Arthur I think felt basically like authentic Arthur, just a bit undercooked.

On a related note, this is the only episode (as far as I can remember- maybe I’ll realize that there is another one on relisten) that shows Carolyn and Arthur at home together- which I think it was a wise move to get rid of. Carolyn's nastiness at work is funny, and while sometimes it applies to Arthur it's usually less than she'd direct toward Martin and Douglas, and the whole four-of-them dynamic helps temper it. It's a bit less funny when it's just the two of them at home- she's not AWFUL but I definitely had a moment or two where I was like "poor Arthur" which, really, should not be happening on this show lol.

Some other early installment weirdness:

Martin and Douglas seem equally good at Brians of Britain, with Arthur being the only dunce. Is this the last time that Martin is any good at a game on the show?!

Benedict Cumberbatch sounds positively funereal doing those credits... I did a double take to make sure it was him.

This is a broader one, but JF pointed this out in a Farewell Bear Fact- that the conflict is really between the characters rather than the characters against something external. You can tell from the pacing- the story arc in the episode is really the power struggle between Martin and Douglas, with the actual events (the diversion, the cat, etc) more being the grist for that mill. I like the approach of the later series better- "how do these people deal with this thing" rather than "what is a plot that allows us to see this one core character thing"- if only because it generally leads to better story pacing, but this is fun too. (I do have to say, I love how the episode is about the power struggle between Martin and Douglas, with Carolyn proving herself the alpha dog, but at the end of the day it's Arthur, the only person who doesn't care, who makes the final decision about the cat.)

On a different note- I'm wondering if there was a conscious parallel between Arthur volunteering to take the front seat in the car and both Martin and Douglas turning him down and, in Zurich Part 2, Arthur volunteering to sit in the back of the truck and being turned down by the two of them (plus Teresa)? Seems like a stretch, but still, it happened twice in a 27 episode show, so maybe it's something.

Anyway, let's see if I remember/want to continue this tomorrow, when Boston is on the agenda- an episode I probably haven't listened to in even longer than it's been since I listened to Abu Dhabi! (I'm... not the biggest fan of Boston or Cremona, but after that it'll be smooth sailing for a while.)

Abu Dhabi was a great episode to revisit- definitely in the lower 50% of my ranking, but more because there are so many even greater episodes coming later. I should add it to my rotation a bit more frequently.

[itsclydebitches]

#greenlightvolume10 but seriously how!? Its RTX and it was not greenlit.

No idea, anon. Like legitimately, I don't know nearly enough about this business to say if general support would make a difference at this point, or if Eddie is calling for something else, or... what.

Honestly though, Vol. 10 still not being greenlit is currently overshadowed by the everything of that epilogue. I am immensely grateful that it wasn't a formal part of the Volume (even though releasing it now raises it to the status of canon in many fans' eyes and its mere existence implies that, if we do get Volume 10, the information in that clip will greatly inform what comes next) because boy oh boy, did I dislike it. That right there is six condensed minutes of RWBY's tendency to rewrite important plot-points and characterization on the fly. Why is Winter guiltily claiming she stayed by Ironwood's side too long when the entire point of Volume 7 was that they all agreed with him, at least when it came to long-term goals? Why has the story forgotten the crucial World Building detail that one of the things everyone agreed on was that telling Remnant about Salem would lead to mass-scale grimm attacks? Now, as we already guessed due to the implications of Volume 9's final image, Ruby's message has only brought super convenient cooperation—to the point of her getting impromptu memorials. Hell, even Raven, the one character defined by her cowardly neutrality, appears to ferry the girls into the city without any arc to explain her presence except, apparently, "The teenager telling me things I already knew but being ~hopeful~ about it has totally changed my tune, to the point of being OOC." Why does Winter get the long-winded speech expressing her sorrow when Qrow, someone who just lost two girls akin to his daughters, walks around laughing and feeling "optimistic"? I get that obviously the clip is very unfinished, but why does Nora have a waaaaay stronger reaction to Team RWBY's return than he does? Why is he thumbing Clover's badge in gratitude when Volume 8 worked so hard to paint him as the villain who (agree to disagree) got himself killed? Meanwhile, I can't say I'm surprised that his depression, rather than getting worse after such a monumental tragedy, has apparently disappeared just like his alcoholism.

Even Vacuo feels like a mess. We left the citizens stranded in the desert getting picked off by grimm, their only potential salvation a city that despises them, specifically, and prizes itself on the kind of survival mentality the Atlas elite are not in a position to emulate (huntsmen aside). We then return to suddenly find new happiness blooming, the Schnees doling out bread with only the occasional snarky remark to contend with. This is partly why I really didn't want that time skip. It's far too easily—as RWBY has done in this clip—to skate over all the conflict it introduced with a, "They got out of that mess somehow" implication.

Also, question: were Maria and Pietro there? I don't recall seeing them, but I've only watched it once. If you're going to produce a things-are-bad-but-not-actually-compared-to-what-the-story-set-up ending that includes character appearances all the way down to the largely inconsequential butler... at least tell us if those two are actually dead or not?

[little-peril-stories]

Happy STS, Kate!

Let’s talk about beginnings today :) 

How do you feel about writing the first chapters of your WIP? Do you usually know where to start your story, or is this a work in process that changes as you get farther in? Or do you skip the beginning entirely and start at a certain scene, then make your way backwards? 

On that note, what kind of beginnings do you like to write? Ones with a lot of background info, ones that show some of life before, or do you like to jump right into the action?

Happy STS, Anna! Thank you for the ask!

How do you feel about writing the first chapters of your WIP? Do you usually know where to start your story, or is this a work in process that changes as you get farther in? Or do you skip the beginning entirely and start at a certain scene, then make your way backwards? 

I usually know where to start it, yeah. That's not to say it couldn't change the further I get into a wip. but my recent history is completely redoing endings, not beginnings.

Wait. That's not true. I rewrote TPOT's beginning entirely. So I'm a liar. 😅 And if you'll indulge a ramble...

...I'm going to babble about why it was important to me to redo TPOT's opening. First, the ancient-history Whumptober version started with Bree's arrest. Fun, but not right for a story called The Prince of Thieves. Then, the Tumblr/ao3 version started with Jamie's big flashback to when he got kicked out of the Cooper household. Important for later plot stuff, but.........

But. Kate. Girlfriend. Kate. Kate. You made Will the main character, told everyone he was a thief, AND THEN WROTE 129K WORDS WHERE HE NEVER FUCKING STEALS ANYTHING.

(except our hearts.)

what the ACTUAL fuck.

New beginning: de-centre Jamie. Position Will as the protag. Give him an opportunity to be his pre-prison self - silly, sweet, goofy, mouthy, and yes, a fucking criminal. Oh, and a flirt, too, because why the hell not?! Establish his terrible lying skills and his immaturity. Showcase his place in the IA family and his desire to make them proud. Show how caring and loving he is, even when he's being an asshole. Show him happy.

Show him happy, so that it hurts so much more when it all goes wrong.

What kind of beginnings do you like to write? Ones with a lot of background info, ones that show some of life before, or do you like to jump right into the action?

Uh, I don't know. Let's take stock.

TPOT - Will does some IA stuff and agrees to go to Jamie's meeting. Largely establishing his character. Definitely belongs in the 'Life before' category.

TQOL - Bree witnesses Will's flogging. Introduces us to the MCs and the two antagonists, Baden and Curt. (warning: mini ramble.) It was actually so important to me that TQOL started here. And not just because I love a good flogging. Well, okay, that too. But I knew Bree couldn't just feel compelled to help Will based on nothing, or just on pure pity. Like, she's a rich married woman. Literally why on earth should she care about him? No reason, that's why. But flog him. Have his blood on Baden's face. Have her faint and steal away Gysborne's attention that could have been given to Will immediately if not for her. And now we're throwing sympathy, curiosity, and guilt into the mix, and that becomes to fertile ground for her to try to see him again. Also in the 'Life before’ category.

angsty heist wip - [X] thinks about the secret they're keeping from everyone and then immediately gets kidnapped. Introduces the conflict, tension, and 2/? antagonists. I ain't gonna say no more. I think this falls more into the 'Jump into the action’ category with a smidgeon of ‘Life before.’

Thanks for this awesome question. I spent way too much time thinking about it. <3

[cloudninetonine]

How is villian! warrior different than regular warrior and what are any small differences between the villain/yandere bois

Okay, so, I might make separate posts about the other boys because head empty but this is what I have for Warriors and Conflict!

First off, similarity between the two is that they're both soldiers, so they share a certain empathy about the horrors of war and are in a way, changed men from the experience. Meeting both before their journey's would be a different experience from meeting their current selves.

So, with Warriors, he's the hero destined to defeat the darkness and he did just that, not only that but he won the war he was fighting. He was on the winning side, blessed the entire way with people he could mostly trust (except for that one time, as we all know) Warriors is a soldier, so he knows the horrors of that and has the trauma but he's also the hero and deep down has the idea that no one is a match for his capabilities. (As we know he got too cocky when handling Fi, and while I'm positive that he would definitely better himself after it, slip-ups still happen)

He's a man built on loyalty, to his kingdom and to those around him because that's what helped him win the war.

Conflict was drafted into the war, mostly able to avoid the goddesses calling for most of his life up until that point and he'd saw the losing side of this all, seeing armies being massacred and the people siding with the "enemy" (There's a whole thing I have with the villains and the goddess that I'll explain at a further date if asked!) When it was revealed to him that he was the Goddess' "hero" he thought it would balance the scales in the fight- it didn't. Coupled with the betrayal, he started to see the war as it really was and instead of wanting to fix the problems he just wanted to wipe them from the map. Lana was killed, the Goddess helped with nothing and he was left to fend for himself as his enemies closed in. I see at the end of his journey, realising no one, not even the princess had his back and just decides "Well, if no one has me, I guess I only have myself." and proceeds backstab everyone.

Conflict is probably the most deceitful out of all the villains, but for skewered reasons, he wants to get rid of everything altogether for peace, and he's happy to backstab anyone who gets in his way. He despises the goddess for abandoning him and therefore, hates the other villains, so he doesn't care what they have planned, if the goddess is involved he's gonna ruin it.

It's why he's the one to let Player go in the first place.

Conflict also has a scar on the left side of his lip that goes down to his chin! It's pretty faded but still there! Hope this helped!

[palossssssand]

being predictable but i gotta ask. about Moberry....

2. 4. 10. 17. 30 & 31. 43

with a bonus B.C.E.H

MOBERRY....fun character to think about. I've touched on them a little more in this post

2: How easy is it for your character to laugh?

Not particularly easy. You would have to know Moberry well to understand their sense of humor, which probably consists of niche context/injokes and dry humor. They aren't one to be very outwards about emoting in general, so to most of everyone else as far as they are concerned, Moberry's a bit of a stick in the mud. Moberry's circle of friends is more likely to pick up on jokes and subtle shifts in conversation.

4: How easy is it to earn their trust?

Not easy. Moberry has been generally untrustworthy of others for most of their life due to not really having people to rely on growing up. I haven't fleshed out their backstory much yet, but I'd imagine that overall they never formed many close relationships until they hit their mid-thirties when working for Maika. Moberry isn't particularly charismatic on the surface, so it takes a lot of work and time to get to build that trust. Even once that trust is established it takes a conscious effort from Moberry to allow themselves to rely on others and not fall back on self-sustaining behavior. They're aware that it's difficult for them to build trust, which makes it all the more harrowing when someone (Maika) breaches that trust that they've worked so hard to maintain.

After Moberry cuts off from Maika, they're back to square one in terms of opening up to people, except now they have Smooks and Dr. Walworth's support, and they're able to encourage Moberry to try re-establishing trust with new people both for practical reasons and for the sake of their health. It's kind of needed for them, since they take up the responsibility of managing the underground city. There's a part of them that can't help but open up to the citizens that they let down and feel the need to make it back to them personally.

10: What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

To me, I can't really decide if Moberry is generally an honest person or is one to lie to cover/save face. On one hand, they're fairly blunt, and isn't going to say what they don't mean in general. I think there's definitely been cases though, numerous enough times, where they would lie as a practical maneuver to downplay bad situations or avoid conflict. Post-Maika, they're frequently going to end up doubting themselves about what they say because they're unsure about if what they said was lying or if they truly believed it at the time. In any case, they're definitely going to be very self-reflective about things they may have said in Maika's name.

17: Are they easily embarrassed?

They're not going to be easily embarrassed in a "oh what if I'm cringey" way or by any particular action/situation, but is more likely to be overthinking things after the fact or be self conscious in the long run as an overall thing.

30: Who do they most regret meeting? 

31: Who are they the most glad to have met? 

I'm answering both of these questions in tandem because It's Complicated. I haven't figured out the exact details or timeline yet, but Moberry and Maika are established to be close friends at the start. Maybe they start planning the city after that, maybe they started as coworkers and became friends. If it weren't for meeting Maika, they might not have met Smooks and Dr. Walworth, two of his current and closest friends. Maika had a genuine positive impact on Moberry in that he was one of the strongest relationships they ever had, he was a source of inspiration and motivation as well. All this makes Maika's eventual turn especially all the more bitter, and Moberry undergoes a brief spiral of regretting ever getting involved in his projects and wondering if they would have been better off never meeting him at all. There's a part of them that grieves their relationship with Maika that will never return to good.

I've been wanting to get more into the dynamic of Maika vs. the rest of the planners (Moberry, Smooks, Dr. Walworth) in that there's a period of time where all 3 of them know Maika might not be up to any good, but they've already established trust and don't want to believe that they're contributing towards the detriment of slug city's citizens.

43: If someone asked them to explain their sexuality, how would they do so? 

I feel like sexuality isn't something that Moberry's really thought about or looked into much, so if asked, they would first be taken aback by being asked such a personal question, but if they were inclined to answer, they would say something along the lines of "I don't really have a preference. As long as they get along fine with me, and folks like that are hard to come by anyways." They're generally pretty ambivalent about it.

B: What inspired you to create them?

Shortly after slug city's initial concept draft, I wanted there to be like, a secret group of mostly kids and other citizens that were victims of experimentation, and Moberry was designated to be their caretaker. Initially, this was like a peter pan lost boys situation where they live scrappy and are like a small family, and Moberry was this mysterious figure seen around the city, eventually meeting Gingull and recruiting/introducing her to this gang. The idea for them to be tied to Maika, Smooks, and Dr. Walworth came about later, and the "small band of lost kids" expanded to "underground town" and Moberry took on a more authoritative role. The general idea of "shady character that reaches out to the main character and knows more than let on initially" inspired making Moberry as a character.

C: Did you have trouble figuring out where they fit in their own story? Already answered here!

E: Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

Definitely not someone I would get along with immediately, I think they're likely to say things that put themselves down without really realizing it and that tends to be a turn-off. Maybe if I spent a good amount of time together, we might hit it off, but I tend to mirror people in conversation energy and I like talking to people, so being put together with someone who doesn't initiate conversation makes it feel awkward for me lol

H: What trait do you admire most?

I admire their sense of commitment. They're good at solving problems and keeping cool when put into the right environment, and will keep going on something when they put their head into it!

list of slug city characters question list

[umbral-stigmata-unbound]

9, 10, 37 and 35 for Vincent.

50 Random Character Asks | Open

9. Scene that first made me love (or hate) the character Ooooh, man. See, this is conflicting because 50% of my interest in him AT FIRST was because of his VA in Advent Children--Steve Blum had voiced an anime character that I was immensely obsessed with before ever getting into FF7 so that had be invested. Of course, the other 50% would be just his character, the intense, dramatic, mysterious vibes. I was invested right away. So, to be lame and take too long to answer lol, his first scene in FF7-AC. Swooping in like a spooky badass, saving his friend, and just everything.

10. Best moment on screen (or in the book) See, this is an unfair question... There are so many moments, from OG (more specifically lines), from AC, from Rebirth now, from Dirge, even his appearances in the novels, that were either so badass or important for the character or just had me enamored! It's hard to choose one moment...so I will choose three. #3 from the novels, was him offering and promising to meet up with Nanaki once a year for the rest of Nanaki's life, so that Nanaki at least was comforted to know he'd never be alone even as their other friends pass on. So emotional, such a very special moment of support for me, and bittersweet to know that Nanaki will always have one friend until the end of his days, but then, there will be a day when Vincent is the one alone. #2 in Rebirth when Vincent arrived at the sort of Whisper portal/gateway, and aids the others in holding the way open and her urges Cloud to go help Aerith. Something about him making that move to step in, fully engage--yes, he'd been helping since he'd join them, but he has had a level of detatchment, mostly observing and silent except for when his aid has been required. But that moment, to me personally, felt like him choosing to no longer simply follow along for convenience of his own mission but it was him stepping into these connections he was forging, engaging his sympathy and care and concern, and supporting them finally and fully as a friend. #1 is purely inspired by just the visuals, and my own shippy feels but, in AC, when everyone is happy send Cloud to defeat Bahamut SIN, and he is second to last (which to me I almost feel like the positions could symbolize the depth of impact and/or connections with Tifa being the greatest connection, Aerith the greatest impact, but Vincent is right there beneath the two of them). IDK, I'm just lame, because with the line and how majestically he just through himself, to give his hand and his support, literally looking like he is taking flight to reach Cloud and just the soft but supportive, "Fly!" I...I am a mess.

35. Their idea of a perfect day I don't really see him having a concrete concept of a perfect day. He doesn't really look for one, to be honest. Most tolerable, or perhaps productive in feeling, sure. I suppose it would be more about feeling satisfied/fulfilled by what he got out of a day? And stemming from that, I think working to tend to anything WRO might need of him, or aiding a friend in need, taking some time for as little overwhelming a social visit with friends as possible, and perhaps exploring further tests of freedom for his headmates and working to understand them would be his most satisfying day.

37. What they really think about themselves Mmm, rough question lol. And it sort of depends on the timeline. For my Vincent especially, at the core of him, through a lot of stages of his life, though not forever, he feels a sense of disappointment in himself that he was never courageous or passionate enough to put all of himself into something worthwhile. What was worthwhile changed with age and influence--sometimes it was fulfilling the expectation of family, the expectations of superiors and peers, and rarely was it ever finding his own wants and desires and fulfilling them. Too often did he fear disappointing others by putting his efforts and his desires into the wrong place, he most often held himself back and place efforts into what he could surmise would bring him the most balanced amount of approval and benefits. A few times when he would act on personal desires, he only perceived consequences, and it simply taught him that his desires and instincts were wrong and needed changing still. He has long perceived himself as a man lacking conviction, a man capable of amazing things seemingly doomed to fail to do what was most necessary when it is most needed and he would continue to slowly try to over come that habit (eventually, recognizing it was his perception that was wrong, not him). After his death and the experiments that brought him back, he certainly felt like he was cursed in every way possible--cursed upon himself, stuck in a hellish cycle of monsters and harm, and a curse to others. Something to tolerate, something he had to force to be honed into being safe and useful and beyond that, he should keep his distance. Over time, he would come to accept he is a monster, but not in the way he once perceived and wore with shame. He is a man out of time, a man alone in many ways, a man with baggage to carry, but he man working to finally collect himself into who he should be, solely by his own desires and merit and comfort, no longer dependent on the views and expectations of others. Once all he felt was a failure, then a monster. Now, he can see, he's just a man. In all the ways that matter, even with all the abnormalities, he is just Vincent Valentine.

[iviarellereads]

Wheel of Time full series spoiler thoughts on TDR 10-14

A probably semi-regular weekly bonus to my reread blog, since sometimes you realize things on reread that just make you need to yell in a full spoiler space.

The comments about Nynaeve sensing the weather and conflicts got me to thinking… The Seanchan have that special position for omens in their culture, probably fueled by someone like Min in the distant past who had a Talent for seeing the Pattern. IMO, they wrote down and catalogued what that person saw, and those viewings turned into their modern omens, which is why so many of them seem so silly to us just like Min's viewings seem out of context a lot of the time until you know what they refer to.

But, what if the Two Rivers Wisdoms' weather sense is the same thing? Sometimes you get a Wilder with a true Talent for weather sense, and it's not just instinctive use of some sort of air-and-water weave to feel it, it's just another Talent that appears once in a while but was so prominent in some place's history that it got blown up into something that everyone's expected to pretend to do for real, but most people just rely on knowledge of the calendar of seasons and semi-superstitions like our "red sky at night" saying, to "predict" the cycles that happen semi-predictably. Only, Nynaeve seems to have a genuine Talent for… something, something that nobody else ever comments on.

Egg already thinks of Tar Valon as home. Oh, honey, you'll never see the place of your birth again except in dreams, but you know where your destiny lies.

Theodrin! Faolain! Gosh I love and hate you respectively! OK, it's maybe unfair to hate Faolain, she does better later on, but only because it behooves her to obey the structure of the Tower. She's a perfect little trainee and how she ends up with the Blue instead of the Red because she disapproved of Elaida's actions, it still baffles me.

Not our first "curse your mother for letting your father have a first kiss", that was Nynaeve last book, but it's one of my favourite phrases from the series.

Siuan is so completely losing control of the plot. I never really noticed it before, but letting the girls overhear her muttering about who to trust? She could NEVER if she had her shit together. She's been doing this for twenty years, her self-control should be legendary. The seeds of the schism running long ahead…

"And I’ll not let thirteen trained Aes Sedai serve the Shadow." Not least because she knows what thirteen dreadlords can do, I'm sure.

Siuan being so unsure if she should trust Verin, when Verin is the person the most firmly on the side of the Light that it is perhaps possible to be.

[alt-bluesman]

I quit my first job

A job I once genuinely loved and had high hopes for! In itself, the work was fine and I will stand by it - but the boss, the environment and some of the colleagues were not. Even though I'm going to miss some aspects of that job, I don't and won't regret leaving. In the long run, it was hopeless. I've been meaning to share more about that even before I quit (I already knew I would), but life kept getting in the way as it often does. So more below the cut if you're interested.

Caution: big honkin' wall of text ahead!

I worked for 3,5 years in the museum and did many different things: painted and assembled wooden toys, guided tourists, organised art workshops for kids, participated in cultural events, wrote and translated texts & letters, operated the helpline, prepared exhibitions, took care of the souvenir shop, even did some simple gardening from time to time. For all of that I'm going to be forever grateful. This job has taught me a wide range of skills and helped me overcome some of my fears. For the most part, it had a positive impact on my life.

I believe that late 2022 and early 2023 were some of my highest points there. When you take a look at my Twitter activity, you will notice how these two overlap! But things began to take a turn and pile up in early Summer '23. Co-workers that were previously friendly became distant and cold. Those that were helpful stopped caring. The boss, who has always been insufferable, became an absolute egomaniac. Mobbing and inequality in treatment were unbearable.

Let me explain a bit more about it all: first, the co-workers. With one exception (that I will get into later), I don't want to say too much about them because most of them were good people, just stressed out beyond their capacity. I absolutely get that - I lost count how many times I was at my wits' end at that job! Some people, however, turned out to be big disappointments. Faking friendship so they could get your help when they needed it, then spreading shit about you as soon as you left the room. Everybody was a target and so was I.

There were serious conflicts between the workers from way before I joined the team and they have only gotten worse as time went by. And the quarrels affected everyone: if you liked person A, then you weren't allowed to like person B and so on, even a small gesture could get you in trouble. I feel very bad for ever taking sides, buying into it all is honestly one of my biggest regrets. There's no way around it: I feel responsible for contributing! But I was so unprepared, so oblivious then that even before I knew it, things already spiralled out of control.

Alcoholism was another major problem. Feckin' hell, I left my family home to get away from my drinking dad and not long after I had to deal with the very same thing at work... It applied to more than one person, but one person in particular was so bad. Either not coming to work because they were too drunk or (much more frequently) coming completely hungover. Barely able to talk, stinking like a pile of garbage, looking more like a bum than a worker. And what did the boss do? He didn't do shit. He deliberately chose to ignore the problem despite it affecting both tourists and workers alike. And he was perfectly aware.

Speaking of the boss, he himself would be worthy of an entire book! The worst possible person in that position you can imagine. During the entire 30 years of being alive, I have never met anyone even remotely as dumb as him. Not. A. Single. Time. He struggled with understanding basic sentences and was entirely dependent on another person (his Right Hand) to do everything for him. That didn't stop him from having a very high opinion on himself though, which created massive tensions. I can't even begin to explain how frustrating it was to work for someone with an IQ lower than a brick!

He told me several times that he expected my full loyalty and respect. In my opinion both of those things are earned, you can't simply demand them without giving them back / proving you deserve them. And deserve he did not. Take talking with him in person for example - he usually didn't let you even finish a full sentence, and when he did, he was very determined to show you that he wasn't interested in whatever you had to say. He berated one of the good co-workers to the point of them bawling their eyes out in front of him and didn't let them out even though they were begging him. A tyrant with absolutely nothing to show for it.

I was sick and tired of being attacked too, usually for things that were either beyond my control or I wasn't responsible for at all. Some tourists made a mess in a different room and the cleaning lady didn't tidy it up? That's my fault. I reported a technical problem to a worker that was supposed to fix it, but they didn't do it immediately? My fault. Another worker was refusing to give me a batch of goods for sale even though I kept asking them for it time and time again? You guessed it - my fault. The last one was quite a shitstorm as the culprit hastily left the room without saying a word while the boss was yelling at me, lmao.

I spent the last year working as the main cashier. I liked the role and most of the extra responsibilities that came with it, but it didn't take long for me to realise that it made me an easy target. I was almost always the first person the boss saw when he entered the main building. He and some of the other freaks the museum attracted! I also still remember when our accountant (that works in a separate place) started berating me for issuing an invoice on a day that, in their opinion, I shouldn't have done that. I said I was strictly following the boss' orders and redirected them to him. They outwardly refused and continued to chew me out for 10 more minutes. In the end, it turned out that the invoice was perfectly fine. They never apologised. Ah, fun memories..!

I know that many (if not all) of these things come with any job to some degree and for the most part, I was able to tolerate it all. But once they became an everyday occurrence, they started to take a toll. The environment became so toxic that I could smell the freaking poisonous fumes at home. I kept coming from work with a heavy mind, unable to think about much else, briefly bounced back to life on my days off, then it all came back. Rinse, repeat. No matter how many things I did well, the boss would always find that one thing he didn't like and focus solely on it. My self-esteem was gone and I was feeling like a hollowed out husk.

At the beginning of the post I mentioned how it all slowly took a turn in mid 2023 - well, the Fall of that year was when everything rapidly came crashing down. I don't like telling this story because it's both hurtful and somewhat convoluted, but it's essential to understanding why I decided to quit! It was the straw that broke the camel's back. To be frank, I didn't even consider leaving the job before it happened. So what happened?

In September I received a call from a woman who asked about organising kiddie workshops directly at schools. We didn't do that, in fact I don't think any museums do. But I told the caller that it could be possible to arrange, I just wasn't qualified to make a decision on my own and had to discuss it with my boss and colleagues - and since most people were on their paid/sick leaves at that time, I asked her to call back later that month. No biggie! A perfectly normal conversation, one of many. We brainstormed the idea at the museum. The final verdict was that we could do the workshops at school, but would charge more since that would take extra preparations and require some kind of transport.

When the anonymous woman called again and I told her her that, she proceeded to unleash her inner demons on me. Gave me a good ol' piece of her mind and didn't hesitate to sprinkle in some threats too. Because I gave her some extra information about costs that she herself asked for. Suddenly, it was wrong for some reason. I was always very polite to tourists & callers and I can assure you that this time was no exception - I was ready to address all the shit she was spewing too. But as soon as she finished talking, she disconnected without giving me a chance to reply. To say that I was floored would be an understatement!

I worked there long enough to answer hundreds of calls. None of them were even remotely as brutal as this one - in fact, none were mean at all. People were either always nice or neutral, but usually the first one. A lot more understanding too. And just.. normal, you know? Not only that, but this woman also seemed to have access to information that I for sure didn't give to her. The call was so awful and suspicious that I immediately reported it to the boss. He told me not to care, pfff. Nothing new!

Then, a couple of days later, one of the co-workers returned from her sick leave - the boss' Right Hand (that's how I'm going to refer to her for the rest of the post). She learned about the incident from another worker and when we happened to be in the same room, she told me that the woman who called was her daughter. Not only did she know about it all from the very start, she was also delighted with what her daughter did. To say that I was shocked would be, once again, an understatement! Right away I told her that I didn't appreciate any of that and the call shouldn't have been anonymous.

I simply couldn't wrap my mind around it all. I did several favours outside of work for Right Hand, including a major one that happened just 10 days before the nasty call. For quite some time, we were even friends. Or, apparently, "friends". Her family kept taking advantage of my mom's dental work. Heck, I did a favour for the daughter too - painted some stuff for her kids for free. She knew me and knew full well she was talking with me on the phone (Right Hand confirmed it), but I didn't recognise her voice since we met only a couple of times. Dang, why are people like that..?

After some back and forth, I decided to tell the boss who the mysterious caller was. I thought situations like these shouldn't be tolerated at work and believed we should be more transparent with each other. Congratulations, Frample: that was the biggest mistake of the year. Boss promptly took Right Hand's side and I ended up being scolded again, for God knows what. Soon afterwards, I took a week off to take a break from it all, process it and gather some strength. As soon as I came back to work, the boss called me to his office to give me another rebuke. I immediately noticed that Right Hand didn't waste any time to completely turn him against me. She didn't even hesitate to let him know about a private conversation we had after work. I was appalled. This was the very moment I made my decision to quit.

Everything that happened in the following months only confirmed that it was my only choice. My fate has been sealed. Right Hand made sure to make my days at work a nightmare, she took every chance to take revenge, yelled at me, reported the pettiest of things to the boss, went out of her way to let me know how much she disliked me. I haven't approached her about what she and her daughter did even once after the day I found out it was them. I didn't want to bring it up, hoping she would eventually let it go, but it wasn't working. I'd even say things got progressively worse as time marched on.

One of my biggest regrets is not going along with my gut feeling about her! I didn't like her at the beginning - the very first thing she did was lie to me, lmao. When I was applying for the job, she told me it would be just an internship and not a day more because they were already "packed". But it didn't take long for me to see that the museum was, in fact, seriously understaffed. Now, I know the boss must have told her to lie, but in my opinion she didn't have to. She has always been so adamant about telling everyone how good of a Christian she was; she really didn't have to.

"I never did anything wrong" was her mantra. Wow, okay Adolf! Looking back on it all, there were so many red flags I should have paid more attention to. And for quite some time I did: I frequently told my co-workers that I respected Right Hand for all the hard work she did, but could never be her friend because she wasn't my type. But there was this other person who kept telling me to give Right Hand a chance & I finally listened. So we became "friends" for a couple of months. Big mistake. She took advantage of me and my mom, then gave me a whack and tossed away like a piece of trash.

Thankfully quitting my job was smooth sailing. Excluding one instance, the boss was generally kind to me and ultimately accepted my decision. One of my co-workers protested a lot, but I couldn't let that change my mind as I was already scarred for life, lmao. I had enough, wanted no more. I asked the boss to call a short meeting, so I could say a couple of final words to the team - I did my best to part with them in the most amicable way I could, thanked them for those 3,5 years of working together and apologised for what I did wrong.

This was the last time I saw Right Hand. Thank God! During the meeting she blurted something along the lines of "I wish you that you won't regret this", but in a rather unpleasant, menacing tone. She was also the one to end the meeting with a loud, crass "Enough?!". Out of all the workers, she was the only person that didn't come to me to say her final goodbye. She didn't even attempt to pretend to be nice, I'll give her that much! Now I have her number blocked and I hope I won't ever come into contact with her again. Nor with anyone of her kind.

The boss had a toothache & had to go to my mom's clinic soon after I left. He made a bit of a scene there! He never talked with my mom about me before - going as far as pretending he didn't know her and turning away when she attempted to greet him at her clinic. (What a jerk!) Anyway, he pulled her aside and started begging her to tell him why I quit. He kept asking if it had anything to do with him and said he'd welcome me with open arms if I decided to come back (bullshit). The interrogation lasted for a while, but my mom managed to escape his nagging questions without saying the exact reason. I'm proud of her because the last thing we need is another revenge from Right Hand. Does Right Hand know I quit because of her? I don't think so - after all, "she never did anything wrong". Other workers told me that she behaves as if I never existed.

I'm so glad I quit. I had no place and no future at that job, and the few things I enjoyed weren't worth the emotional damage. The last three months were torture, I involuntarily lost about 4 kilograms (less than 9 lbs) due to stress and sickness. The truth is that I could lose almost 10 times that much and it wouldn't hurt me, just wanted to acknowledge the reasons behind it! I was constantly battling depression. Burning through my painkillers too. I bought this huge box with 50 pills back in Spring, thinking it was such a stupid purchase because I wouldn't be able to use them all up before the expiration date. By the end of 2023, the box was almost empty. Intense headaches & migraines were the culprit and these are nearly always stress-related in my case.

This job was a roller-coaster, a crash course of life lessons. Many of them very bitter. I don't think I'll ever be able to trust people the same way I used to before I started working at the museum! But that's for the best - I hope it will spare me a couple of harsh moments in the future. I've always been very naive and easy to manipulate, it's time to pull those out like weeds they are. I'm unemployed as of now, though I have some savings that should keep me afloat for a bit. I'm healing.

Thank you for reading if you made it all the way to the end!

[shawnjacksonsbs]

I'm going to start by saying I'm still going to post my entry and the video as I had planned to, but . . .

I have to add, that this evening I got a call that one of my older boys was in a terrible car wreck and that he was in the hospital.

Of course we headed out.

The whole way my head was reelin'. Is it just human nature to assume the worst in situations like this? Several actual worse case scenarios played out in my mind.

I still feel like I could throw up my heart at any second.

What if, what if, what if, what if.

. . .

What now?

He's ok.

He's probably not going to feel ok physically, mentally, or emotionally for a while, but he is.

If you're my people, and you know if you are, I just need you to be ok. Make good choices and be ok. Ok???

If you're not my people, well, I want the same for you guys, but it's just on a different level. Lol no lol

Everything below this is the entry I had written and planned out. I just had to get that out my head.

He's ok.

I'm still sick about it.

If you pray, please pray. Otherwise please keep him in your heart and in your positive thoughts.

~

Yeah.

Let's call this one

the REINS of TERROR,

because the ones holding them probably aren't who you think they are anyway. 11-4-23

""" Hawkeye : War isn't Hell. War is war, and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse.

Father Mulcahy : How do you figure, Hawkeye?

Hawkeye : Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?

Father Mulcahy : Sinners, I believe.

Hawkeye : Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. War is chock full of them - little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for some of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander. """

I don't normally attach my entries to videos. I've attached to a few pics or memes over the years, but this one . . .moved me, enough.

Now remember kids,

in real life,

"outta sight, outta mind" makes it too easy and way too comfortable to choose a side in a conflict you probably don't truly know much about.

Aside from what the media feeds ya, and then depending on your left or right wing news sources that lean their program in "your direction.". . .what???

It's this kinda shit that makes it hard for me to respect your politics and religion. I struggle with the little beauty I do find in it.

I just wanna scream fuck your religion and god damn your politics. If this is what comes from your side, try again.

You best be the gold standard for your cause, because this isn't ok.

AT ALL!

What about his fucking side??

I'd fight a side I agree with to protect the innocent.

I'd probably fight you to keep this boy out of harms way.

We are always involved in different conflicts, as a country, that we shouldn't be in, or choosing a side instead of forcing an end.

Is it a for profit war (?) hmm,

or are we scared to shut it all down because it's all sacred ground or whatever the fuck?

Repeatedly throughout my life, we rarely handle conflicts abroad in ways that make sense for anyone besides a few politicians, a few military leaders, and, I'd imagine, several of the rich and elite.

People aren't pawns on a chess board.

I'll never get over how innocent civilian casualties are statistically calculated, and they put a % on how many are acceptable losses. That's not just our country either, that's everywhere.

As our politicians in the House approve over 14 BILLION in military aid.

Aren't we still the world's #1 super power? Why aren't we . . .just stopping it.

Now, go ahead and bring your little bit of noise.

#damntheman at home or abroad

#killin'inthenameof

#fuckyourside, weak ass side anyways

Loving and caring will always be harder and the true path for the hero(s).

When I say share your LOVE and laughter with the WORLD, who the fuck is it, exactly, that you think I'm talking about?

Until next week, and just so there's no confusion;

"Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you."

(Others means: anyone not you, anyone not like you, everyone else)""

Perspective growth is knowing that my son laying up in the hospital and this little boy in the video have each enhanced my emotional range for the other.

Quite a bit, if I'm being honest. This happens to me more frequently these days than it ever used to. Js

[dekaydk]

I agree with all of these (except the ones I haven't seen yet). My ranked choices would be Eighth Sense, Not Me and perhaps Bad Buddy.

The Eighth Sense - There's multiple stories that could be told, woven together within the overall story of the couple going forward, Jae Won's past, Jae Won's family and how he navigates the chaebol path that's laid out for him, Ji Hyun's growing sophistication as he progresses further from country mouse to partner-of-offensively-rich city boy (and the inevitable cultural conflicts within Korea's stratified society), and of course the other characters. And pretty sure Inu and Werner wouldn't give us any dumb misunderstandings.

Not Me — This show is impressive so far (I'm getting to the end). Story, character, acting, cinematography, incidental music, makeup (that black eye!)—it's not perfect but it's extremely strong and having another round of this quality or better would be fantastic. I just finished Ep 13 and am a little afraid of Ep 14 just because I don't see how Dan and Yok recover from Ep 13. But equally if they don't—I feel like this show is willing to take that hit in service of a realistic/less-bubblegum ending—a sequel could have the time for a redemption arc. And Sean and White as the B couple would be interesting in a context of continued direct action. More "be gay, do crimes against oligarchy" please. Also, all of these guys were great to watch, and Gumpa deserves his own back (and forward) story. And, hey, Gram and Eugene. (Love watching Mond smile, and the man's LAAAAATS)

Bad Buddy has story runway yet because the characters are interesting enough and the background has the seeds for good drama. That said, if it didn't happen I wouldn't be sad because what was done was Pretty Damn Good.

Semantic Error was a one-and-done. They didn't leave any material to work with and I don't think they needed to. It was cute and affecting and that's good enough. (Also, Park Seoham read as straight to me—which is fine, everyone I know thinks I'm straight until I tell them I'm married to another guy—but it eventually kept making me think "oh, right, this is an actor doing a good job" instead of enjoying the moment.)

KinnPorsche should be left alone since presumably the writers own the IP and no one should give those two a fucking penny. Between the one using his position to grope the actors on camera and the other creating a global abuse pile-on with Build, they should both be, as the saying goes, excluded from polite society. ‡ (obligatory Build disclaimer) lt looks like Mile (who's at least partly funding BoC?) is moving on with Apo and Tong et. al. in Man Suang, Jeff and Barcode have Wuju Bakery, Jeff is becoming a megastar in his own right, etc.: looking forward to what this crew does next, collectively and individually.

Love in the Air was not one of my favorites to begin with; the characters didn't resonate and weren't well developed and the plots were labored. Eye candy galore, yes, but there's no story left to tell and I am absolutely uninterested in the writers falling back on making us see Sky go through more trauma (didn't care for that in the original either).

Have not seen HIStory 3: Trapped orLove is Science but they are now on my list thanks to @ppeonppeonhan suggesting these couples deserve more.

Not on the poll, but I wouldnt mind seeing more of:

RamKing from My Engineer — opportunity for more depth and less fluff, especially if they explored Ram's neurodivergence a little: make it into a QL drama instead of the typical half-comedy BL.

Pu Yi and Cao Guang from Oh No! Here Comes Trouble — Although I admit it was kinda perfect entertainment already, I would love to watch every single one of the actors from this show in anything that well written. Also, anything from Lin Quan Hui is going to be strong if ON!HCT is a guide.

_______________

‡ (Hard to say what the deal is with Build. He definitely had some nasty moments in the past and in the absence of new evidence, those of us not close to him have no way to know whether/how much he's reformed himself, but Poi's absolutely psychotic treatment of him and his brigading at the hands of her followers miiiiight just be excessive punishment for those sins. ICBW.)

Which BL Couple do you want to see in a Sequel?

And not just a cameo or an Our Skyy 2-episode arc.

HIStory 3: Trapped (2019, above) - I want to keep seeing how their relationship works as their morals clash.

Bad Buddy (2021) - I know we risk ruining a good thing and that we got the Our Skyy episodes, but I could watch more of these two as they learn to nurture their relationship in spite of the negativity surrounding them.

Not Me (2021) - There is SO much that can be done in this universe with these twin rebel characters. They should absolutely revive it as LGBTQIA legislation and police corruption evolves in Thailand.

Love is Science? (2021, above) - I could watch 12 whole episodes of Ou Wen learning to trust playboy bi Mark.

Semantic Error (2022, top) - Park Seoham returns from military service later this year, but IDK. I feel like there's not much else to explore here. Loved every minute of it though.

KinnPorsche (2022) - This is another couple that I feel ran its course. I would sooner watch a spinoff of Kim and Chay, even though I think Jeff Satur is more interested in music these days, because I need to know if Kim loved Chay or if he just pitied him. Plus, Kim is next-gen mob boss and I'd love to see it. And while I did enjoy Pete & Vegas, it appears we are still up in the air about whether the actor who played Pete...is a piece of sh*t. What a plot twist?

Love in the Air (2022) - Both couples contributed some of the best sex scenes to BL history, but I doubt there's more story to tell.

The Eighth Sense (2023) - They fucked me all the way up. 😭 Made To My Star 2 seem like a cake walk. I need a sequel just to know where this is going.

[willel]

Hi! What do you think about theories saying that Will be the key to defeat Vecna/UD once and for all? TBH, I'm conflicted. I'd love to have more Will moments (especially with El and the Byers) and be Superspy, but at the same time I think El should be the one to finish it/him. I know the UD is stuck on the day Will went missing/is connected to it and he's very siminar to 001, but El banished Henry there years before the kidnapping and they have unfinished business as welll...

I've made a few of those theories myself.

To be clear, the theory is not that Will is gonna do all the work and completely eradicate Vecna all by himself. That's ridiculous.

The idea is that Will is an integral part in defeating him, and when he does whatever role he has to play, it will ultimately lead to Vecna's downfall.

Yes, El and Vecna go way back and have some unfinished business, but Will has been tormented by this guy for 2-3 years at this point. Vecna was literally in his mind and body for a time, the two of them were one (I feel gross saying that) and Will suffered for it.

El deserves to punch him in the face, which has twice now. I just want Will to get a lick in.

Let's go over a hypothetical game plan, a fake one I'm making up. I think I've spoke about it before, but why not again.

So from what we know, Vecna is in at least two place at once. His actual body, which is currently injured and probably hiding somewhere, and his mental body.

In season 4, Max distracted the mental body so that the rest of them could attack the real body. El, in order to protect Max, went to fight the mind body too.

But let's switch it up. Maybe in season 5, El needs to go and find the real body to destroy that and someone else needs to go into the mind and distract him? A dangerous situation, but not else can be done because El NEEDS to destroy the body.

Not only that, even if his body is in a bad state, he's still more powerful than her usually except moments when she has high positive emotion. What can they do about that?

My theory is that Vecna is so powerful do to all the souls he has stolen this far. His mom, his sister, Chrissy, Patrick, Fred, and all the numbered children? All their pain and sorry have amplified his own pain and sorrow, making him more powerful. Unlike El, he draws strength from negative emotions.

Maybe El remembers him telling her that. That everyone is not gone, but in his head? In that case, they not only need someone to go into his mind, but they need someone to free the souls that are trapped there, thereby weakening him.

And what do you know, we have the perfect candidate, William Byers, who is still psychically connected to Vecna's mind!

So the plan is as follows:

El, the "Superhero", must find Vecna (probably with Will's help) and confront his physical form head on, psychic against psychic.

Will, the "Superspy", must sneak into Vecna's mind in the mean time and cut loose all the souls he has captured, thereby slowly giving El the upperhand.

Of course, being in Vecna's mind is a dangerous place to be and Will won't have an easy time if he gets found out before the battle is engaged. Not to mention what trouble he'll have to deal with when Vecna realizes what he's doing in there.

Only when Will and El have both played their parts will Vecna finally be defeated.

Or something.

Will will still get his revenge for all the pain and suffering he's been through. El can finally put the nail in the coffin once and for all, ending her and Will's torment at last.