#the difference is that tyler is saying all of this to undermine their confidence

[warmchrysanthemum]

Don't just leave that in the tags, it's great!

Maybe all the things you thought made you you aren’t really…you. Barbie (2023) / Fight Club (1999)

[blurry-fics]

Chapter Four

Realize That It’s Gone | Series Masterlist

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1901

Author’s Note: Another chapter! I don’t really have much to say this time around, so I hope you enjoy it :) (picture credit)

Man, Y/N was gorgeous.

She was sitting a few feet away from me on the blanket, rolling a raspberry idly between her fingers. Her eyes were squinted slightly as she looked out towards the distant skyline of Columbus, one hand raised near her temple to block some of the sunlight that was shining down on the two of us. I bit down on my lip in an attempt to stop smiling like a total idiot.

It wasn’t working out so well.

“Did I tell you about that wedding that I went to a couple weeks ago?” Y/N asked, breaking the silence that had formed between us.

She turned to look at me before finally popping the raspberry she had been holding into her mouth. Her eyebrows raised slightly, waiting for my answer.

I shook my head, “I don’t think so.”

Her mouth curled up into a smile as she looked to the sky for a moment. “It was crazy.”

“What happened?”

I grabbed a chip from the bag sitting near my knee and dipped it in some guacamole. It crunched loudly between my teeth.

“Do you remember my cousin Ben?”

I thought for a moment. “Tall guy, dark hair, always wears the same Metallica sweatshirt?”

“Yes, that one.”

“Ok, I remember him.”

Y/N’s smile grew wider, “You’re not going to believe this. Basically, he came to the wedding with this girl, ok? He told everyone that they were dating and they acted like a couple the entire time, but then at the reception they got into an argument and the girl told everybody that they actually weren’t together. He faked the entire thing to impress my family!”

“He faked having a girlfriend? Did the girl know about the plan?”

“Yes, and it gets better. Along with her admitting the entire thing was fake, she confessed that she had been in love with him the entire time, so now they’re actually dating.”

I reached up to run a hand through my hair. Y/N was now fiddling with the edge of the blanket, pulling at a few loose threads. She was still smiling.

“That sounds like something straight out of a movie.”

“It was. My other cousins and I could hardly believe it.”

There was a pause in the conversation, mostly because I couldn’t think of anything to say. I tensed up a little as Y/N reached past me to grab the cooler, lightly brushing my arm as she did so. She grabbed a drink and popped the top open.

“Ok, enough about me. I want to hear more about tour,” she said, meeting my eyes.

My eyebrows raised, “Tour? You know most of what happened.”

“Oh, come on.” She nudged me slightly. “I’m sure you haven’t told me everything.”

Well, there was always the fact that I was head over heels in love with her. But what if she didn’t feel the same anymore?

“I swear I’ve told you most of the exciting stuff that happened, already. Other than that, we just worked on Vessel when we had free time.”

Y/N’s eyes widened in shock. It took me a moment to realize that I had slipped up about the album name, which was still supposed to be kept secret.

“Vessel?” she asked, trying to hide the smile on her face.

I rubbed a hand along my forehead, but was unable to keep myself from matching her giddy smile. “Yeah, that’s the name of the next album. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“Tyler!” she gasped. “That’s amazing!

I shrugged, looking down towards the blanket, “It’s just an album name.”

“Just an album name? Ty, this is your first album with a label! It has a name! And songs! And soon enough it will have album art and music videos and a tour, too.”

My mouth curled up into the slightest hint of a smile. “We’re actually going to shoot a music video in a couple of weeks.”

Y/N sighed and dramatically fell back onto the blanket, throwing one of her arms over her forehead to protect her eyes from the sun.

“I’m beginning to think that you were lying about telling me everything about tour,” she laughed. Her eyes were squinted as she looked towards me from beneath her arm.

“In my defense, you’re not supposed to know any of that information.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Promise?” I raised my eyebrows.

“You can always trust me, Ty,” she smiled. “I promise.”

She held her free arm out to me, pinky extended. With a slight shake of my head, I locked my pinky with hers. I tried not to laugh too much at the childish gesture, even though I knew Y/N’s reason behind it was sincere.

“Does it feel weird to finally be back in Ohio?” she asked.

I reached over and picked idly at some blades of grass near the edge of the blanket. “Yes and no. The weirdest thing is being in the new apartment with Josh.”

“Because you’re not used to having a roommate?”

“I guess. And I’m just not used to the area. It sucks not having the thai place down the street anymore,” I smiled.

And being so far from you.

“I’m sure there are plenty of good restaurants around your new place. We can make an adventure out of trying all of them,” Y/N grinned, obviously pleased with her idea.

I nodded, “I would like that.”

“But you’re glad to be back?”

“Of course I am. As much as I love tour, Ohio is always going to be home for me. Not to mention that now I get to spend time with you and not be separated by a phone screen,” I laughed, giving Y/N’s arm a nudge.

Maybe Ohio wasn’t the place that felt like home.

“I’m glad that you’re back, Ty,” she smiled. “It was hard not having you around these last few months.”

“I know what you mean, but we don’t have to worry about being apart right now. Not for awhile, at least.”

I tried to smile, but it came out awkward and lopsided. It wouldn’t be long before management would be setting us up for another tour, and a bigger one at that. Three months would turn into four. Then five. Maybe even six.

I didn’t want to think about being away from Y/N for that long.

She must have noticed that I was starting to space out, because she sat up and placed a hand on my shoulder. “Hey, happy thoughts, Ty. You just got back, let’s focus on that right now.”

I nodded, angry with myself for letting my mind run away with itself.

“You’re right. Can you pass me the raspberries?”

Y/N reached over and grabbed the little plastic container that held what was left of the raspberries.

“Sorry, I ate a lot of them,” she laughed, grabbing another and popping it into her mouth.

“No worries. I think it’s only fair considering I devoured most of the chips.”

Y/N’s eyebrows furrowed as she grabbed the chip bag and looked inside. I scratched at my nose, hoping I wouldn’t look too suspicious.

“Ty!” she giggled. “I wanted some chips and guac, too.”

“There’s still some left!”

There was a pause in the conversation as she grabbed a chip from the bag and scooped up a large glob of guacamole. I slowly made my way through the raspberries, scrunching my nose when the occasional one was too sour for my liking.

“Hey, speaking of your new apartment,” Y/N said. “When do I get to see it?”

I shrugged, “Whenever you’re free. I can talk to Josh and see when he’s going to be out, if you want it to be just the two of us.”

“I don’t really care. Having a chance to finally get to know Josh would be pretty cool, considering you two are going to be together a lot more often now.”

I ignored the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach and kept talking. She just wanted to get to know Josh a little better. That was all.

“Ok, I can talk to him and figure out when he’s free, too.”

Y/N smiled, “Awesome. I’m excited to see your new place.”

“I’m excited for you to see it, too,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Look at that dog!” Y/N suddenly gasped, pointing out towards a golden retriever that was running around in the grass.

Her face lit up as she watched the dog running around, making her look even more beautiful than usual, if that was possible. When she turned to me with an excited smile on her face, I couldn’t help but match it. The discomfort in my stomach seemed to melt away as I looked at her.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “What were we talking about?”

I shrugged, “Nothing important.”

Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment, but she didn’t press the topic. Instead, she grabbed another chip and turned out towards the Columbus skyline. That alone was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

Who knew that I could be so in love with someone?

*     *     *

Josh was sitting on the couch as I arrived home, eating something out of a bowl. He paused the show that he was watching and turned to look at me, his blue hair sticking up at all angles.

“Hey,” he smiled. “Did you have fun with Y/N?”

I was unable to stop my own smile. “Yeah, I had a really good time.”

“Things weren’t awkward or anything?”

“Not at all. It’s like we were never even apart.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“Yeah. I’m just gonna head to bed, though. I’m still exhausted from tour and want as much sleep as I can get.”

“I don’t blame you. I can barely keep my eyes open to watch this movie,” Josh said, gesturing to the TV with his spoon.

“Good luck,” I laughed, already halfway down the hall to my room.

I kicked my bedroom door closed and collapsed onto my bed. Outside my window, the sun had finally disappeared behind the horizon. The last bits of light were finally fading from the sky, casting long shadows across the floor of my room.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get myself to stop thinking about Y/N. Even though things had seemed normal between us, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different. Maybe she was being more distant. Or was I being more distant? I wouldn’t be having this train of thought if something didn’t feel off.

No, I was probably just overthinking it. My mind was still exhausted from tour and looking for any little way to undermine the confidence I had gained about my feelings for Y/N over the last few months. She had liked me for years, a few months apart wasn’t going to suddenly make all of that disappear.

My eyes slowly fluttered closed as I began to relive memories from high school. All the basketball games that Y/N had come to and supported me at. Late night drives where we drank milkshakes, blasted music, and drove down backroads much faster than we should have been. Summer days spent in her den with the fan pointed directly at us while we lazily played our twentieth round of Mario Kart.

Before I knew it, I was asleep.

*     *     *     *     *

Taglist

@faceofcontvsions​ @ohprettyweeper​ @tylersheavydirtysoul​ @topownsmyheart​ @schrodingersjustine​ @heythereitm3​ @leam-2001​ @breadbinishigh​ @wearebxnditos​ @iguessimsatan @harishaanne​ @5secondsofmoxley​ @patdsinner33​ @littlerachelbee​ @iamnotawasteofspace​ @nostalgic1975​

[neonstatic]

Everything wrong with 13RW

Firstly, the premise of the source book is distasteful and it should've never become a full show with 13 episodes of 1 hour each season.

The creators contacting health professionals to get advice on how to handle the themes in the show and ignoring ALL of the advice shows the little care given for “spreading a message” or “starting a conversation” (more like starting a controversy).

Now onto the points in which the show failed to convey a positive message in both season 1 & season 2.

I recommend watching this video for short indications on why the show does more bad than good.

And before anyone says anything, I am mentally ill and I study psychology so jot that down.

SEASON 1

Sensationalism of suicide

As a vehicle for vengeance (thru tapes)

As a tool to gain attention

The tapes are treated as words of truth and justice

If the tapes are ever criticized, it is done by characters featured on the tapes, which serves to delegitimize such opinions since they're the "bad guys" of the story

Act of committing suicide blamed on others (esp bad when the 11 persons’ wrongdoings cannot be equated in most cases)

Most people didn't deserve a tape:

Jessica cut ties with her over a misunderstanding

Zach emptied her encouragement mailbox (and quickly stopped after being called out) and she thought he threw away a personal letter she wrote him (this tape is extremely unwarranted)

Courtney claimed Hannah came onto her because she was afraid to be outed as lesbian but in the end, the photos and rumours affected them both anyway

Ryan published a poem of hers without her consent; disrespectful but not ill-intended

Clay walked away after she insisted for him to leave her alone (this tape is extremely unwarranted)

Sheri knocked down a sign and left Hannah out on the street because she didn’t want to call 911, which “caused” the death of a student (this tape is extremely unwarranted)

Those who deserved a tape (debatable in some cases):

Justin, for making up lies about her and spreading a revealing picture of her

Alex, for cutting ties, objectifying/publicly humiliating and submitting her to harassment in school

Bryce, for spreading a revealing picture of her and raping her

Marcus, for misleading, harassing and humiliating her in public

Tyler, for stalking and spreading pictures of [Courtney and] her

Mr Porter, for his very poor handling of her obvious distress

Hannah's story is no fair representation of real life

Technically, she’s a victim of social bullying (damaging someone's social reputation & lying and spreading rumours) but...

She's esp a victim of circumstances made by the creator - she's a fictional character whose purpose is to be a martyr in her story; in the real world, things would have played out much differently

Hannah tries to reach out once then gives up and justifies this bc the school counsellor didn't come running after her when she stormed out (again assuming ppl are mind readers)

Graphic rape scenes with the potential to trigger viewers - even those who aren’t survivors (replayed numerous times throughout the show as flashbacks)

Graphic and extended suicide scene (goes directly against professionals’ guidelines but screw vulnerable viewers I guess?)

Finality of suicide forgotten by the structure of narration = Hannah’s omnipresent even though she's literally dead, which grossly undermines the consequences of suicide

Adults portrayed as clueless and unable to help (not a good idea to put in teenagers’ head)

SEASON 2

Vague mention of mental illness

Implying anxiety runs in Hannah's maternal side but not diving into it

Sky being diagnosed with bipolar although there was no extensive portrayal of her symptoms (since she wasn’t onscreen for long) and immediately disappearing from the show while she’s the only character going through professional therapy and recovery (smth they would have rly benefited from showing)

Trivializing mental illness for plot use

Clay hallucinating Hannah - acknowledged but not addressed for being a serious psychotic symptom

Minors in sexual situations (too many times!)

Graphic scene of a brutal sexual battery (entirely for shock value, it didn’t have to be shown this way and you can't tell me otherwise)

Conflicting message regarding drug use

Severity of addiction (Justin getting clean then relapsing)

Recreational use (minors doing molly for fun... instead of marijuana which is less risky in comparison)

Trivializing school shooting

Advertisement tool (last episode of S1 heavily hinting at it)

Teased several times throughout the season

Blatant reference to Columbine

Not going through with it - worse move ever…

Irresponsible guide on how to approach an impulsive armed person

From a storytelling POV

Hannah the martyr

Hard to sympathize with when the tapes serve to exact vengeance more than it serves to explain how she felt and why she did what she did, making her manipulative at best

The fact that she was a bully herself in the past

(Plus being “shown” how Hannah was would've been better than being “told” how she was by other characters)

Overall terrible attempt at creating a suicide victim / mentally ill person ppl should sympathize with, the last thing the mentally ill needs is to be related to a character that is so easy to dislike

Clay as a main character

Lost his value since the story's progress doesn't rly depend on him (even tho we're forced to follow him)

Character development: he gets real snappy and no one calls him out? Increasingly unlikable

(Not that he was that likeable by the end of S1… spreading a naked picture of Tyler? #WelcomeToYourTape)

Tyler and his arc

Attempt at explaining the possible cause of school shooting? Failed.

Most school shooters aren’t victims of bullying, in fact many (if not all) are associated with hate groups like white supremacist, misogynists, etc.

Had plenty of reasons to commit suicide over mass shooting (and I don’t mean it in a ‘suicide can be justified’ sense but tbh besides his interest in guns, he’s never depicted as aggressively angry or remotely prone to violence)

Could've brought attention to male depression and male suicide far better than Alex’s story

Technical POV

Very lacking warnings. There should be hotlines at the end of every episode not at the beginning. Self-righteousness and superficial philosophy in both dialogue and narration show the shallowness and pretentiousness of the directors.

The show is presented as an objective representation instead of a media to consume and dissect and judge for oneself = in other words, the morale is laid out for you. Putting up content so shocking most of your target audience cannot watch for fear of being triggered is irresponsible. Trigger warnings don't solve that. Shooting implicit scenes and not explicit scenes is what protects viewers and still conveys the message.

Message

The show is depressing; there's barely any positive outcome. Every character is helpless to their situation. It would benefit greatly of some comic relief.

“We should be careful what we say to people.” Only when it comes to Hannah, everyone else we can be harsh to, apparently. “We should care more for people.” (True, but you can’t love depression away.) “We have power over nothing.” "We can't change anything.” “Adults don't understand us.” “We can't confide to anyone.” “We can't trust anyone.”

Seriously it's a fkg downer. This show highlights all the problems but gives no solution. You expect your audience of teenagers to figure it out for themselves? You expect your audience of teenagers to go out of their way to "start a conversation" with their parents over some sensationalist teen drama show? You must be kidding me. (Do you know how a conversation about 13RW goes? “I loved the show!” “I didn’t.” The end.)

Final note

The directors should have inserted a segment after each episode (or every couple) with the actors themselves discussing what happened to/between the characters and how it could have been handled better. If you want to act like your show is a PSA, treat it as such.

[porgthespacepenguin]

first thoughts about episode 11

So a few hours behind most people, I have finally watched episode 11 and … what a ride!

First let’s start off by comparing what I had predicted earlier on with what actually happened:

The eye injury Michael inflicted on Voq in episode 2 ended up super important (Correct)

Voq revealed (Correct)

Voq fighting against mirror!Voq (Correct)

Lorca being revealed in the same episode (Wrong)

Ash/Michael going down in flames (Correct)

Ash vs. Voq being the only prime vs. mirror showdown (Wrong)

4/6 isn’t too bad a score, and the episode honestly exceeded my wildest hopes (which I keep low on purpose). I am happy to get stuff wrong as long as it’s better than I anticipated! And it was.

And I admit I’m pretty proud of figuring out the eye injury was important, as it was what almost immediately clued me in to Ash being Voq and I have not seen it discussed anywhere else (if someone else did figure it out as well, feel free to comment and I’ll amend my post).

Now onto the analysis. Beware, this is not a meta, just some ideas after watching the episode a few times.

Ash/Michael – welcome to tragedy, population: us

Forewarned is forearmed: the show definitely did warn us, though not in so many words, that this could only end in tears. Regardless, witnessing Ash and Michael’s relationship crash and burn was beyond painful.

I wrote in my earlier meta that I didn’t believe that Ash/Michael could come back from all this. I stand by my opinion more than ever after episode 12.

First and foremost, there is the fact that as soon as Voq got his memory back (and therefore his full agency) he made his choice, in full conscience.

And that choice was to murder Michael.

Let that sink in for a while.

He chose to murder her in cold blood.

Worse, if mirror!Saru hadn’t intervened, he would have gone through with it and succeeded. It was only because of Michael showing kindness to Saru earlier on that she didn’t die.

Later on in the episode, Voq shows no remorse. No regrets. Not even a hint of internal pain.

To me, more than anything, this highlights that their relationship is dead in a romantic sense.

You can come back from a lot of things – lies, double-crossing, even betrayal – but attempted murder without a hint of remorse or regret is more than a line crossed.

Especially as they are an established relationship, not two adversaries on a battlefield (I would not hold their first fight in episode 2 to the same standard, for example – that was a clearly different situation).

If the show did walk that back, and put them back together, I don’t think I could continue watching. I liked Ash/Michael but after watching episode 11, I’m out.

Some people have speculated that Michael could potentially find mirror!Tyler and pick up the relationship with him instead. I see many issues with this:

Assuming there is even a Tyler…

And his mirror!version is not a racist jerk…

Michael did not have feelings for Tyler, she had feelings for Tyler/Voq…

And just picking up a spare right after losing the original guy feels a bit… cheap?

I know, I can hear some of you saying: wait, aren’t you the one who wrote that long boring meta about how Lorca had a past relationship with mirror!Michael?

Yes, I am. And I stand by it, by the way. I truly think it would be really lovely storytelling to have Lorca finding his lost love in another universe after tragedy struck (and if Michael hadn’t been sentenced to life in prison, to a literal “future full of misery”, I’m not sure he would have interfered at all – just a gut feeling).

When it comes to Michael and Ash, trying to replace the original guy (who attempted to murder you) with a lookalike equipped with a better personality is problematic to say the least.

It would cheapen their actual relationship (past or not, it did exist!) and totally erase Voq from the equation, leaving us to wonder what purpose this whole arc served. Unsatisfying on so many levels, so that’s a  pretty firm no from me.

In the future, what will happen with Voq?

Until we go back to the prime!universe, probably not a whole lot. Michael might have to face him again to come to terms with some things, though.

Once we are back, from a story perspective Voq will have to resume his own narrative arc, which means potentially breaking out with L’rell and going back to the Klingons.

Perhaps a resolution to the war can then be found before the end of season 1 but it would necessitate a time jump: no way can we go believably from murderous fanatic Voq to “humans are not so bad” Voq in 2 episodes.

We might get there eventually, if his experiences as Ash can bring him the same wisdom mirror!Voq displayed. But again, this type of character development takes time.

Before we move on… in hindsight all of Tyler’s declaration of love and protection sound pretty hollow right about now. And yes, I’m bitter about it on Michael’s behalf.

Michael deserves better, dammit.

Michael/Lorca

The agony booth scene

So much to unpack here, it almost deserved its own post.

Before anything else… poor Gabriel. I mean look at him. He needs a hug and a stiff drink, is what he needs.

So, the agony booth scene. They are both standing. Lorca looks like hell, he is shaking and barely holding together. Importantly, this has stripped away a lot of his defenses. He is not in control the way he usually is, not anymore.

Michael is conflicted about what to do with the rebel base. Lorca’s response is immediate, do what you have to do and bomb them if you have to.

Now I have seen some people react to this as confirmation of Lorca being evil or being out to grab the throne for himself.

But let’s keep a few things in mind:

Lorca is familiar with the Empress, and he correctly foresees the fact that she will be mightily displeased at her orders not being followed. Michael is taking a huge tactical risk by being merciful, and it ends up having huge consequences.

Even if he is not affiliated with the rebels, it doesn’t follow that he would not be leading a rebel Terran faction of his own. As far as we have seen, the rebel group led by Voq doesn’t seem to have any Terran members. It would be fairly logical that there would be dissent within the Terran ranks beyond the non-human resistance.

The conversation that follows is pretty amazing. This is one of the first time we see Michael inspire Lorca, pulling him toward her idealism and Starfleet morals and away from the mirror universe’s darker, more ruthless standards.

After all, wasn’t that explicitely one of the reasons he chose her?

You chose to do the right thing, even at great personal cost.

That moment, all the way back in episode 3, made me certain that Lorca isn’t evil.

Dark? Maybe. Morally grey? Sure.

Evil? No.

I mean let’s be logical about this. If I were a villain intent on committing a villainous plot, I wouldn’t go ahead and specifically pick a person with a strong moral compass to help me with it. They would of course try to thwart me at every turn. It would make zero sense.

Ah, penguin, I can hear some people say, but what if Lorca needs her, specifically, to access the Empress? Wouldn’t he recruit her and then manipulate her into doing his bidding then?

Sure. So let’s take a detour to “How to manipulate someone 101”:

Destroy your victim’s self esteem

Use gifts and favors to create a feeling of obligation

Isolate them from their support system: family, friends, romantic attachments

Denigrate their achievements

Undermine their self confidence

Punish the victim for perceived transgressions

Right. And in contrast, so far Lorca has:

Helped her rebuild her confidence on her own (contrast the start and beginning of episode 3, it’s such an amazing change)

Given her a job and a place aboard a starship again, while avoiding her gratitude as much as possible

Helped her maintain or rebuild her support system: mounted a rescue for Sarek (family), gave her Tilly as a roommate (who was the only one good hearted enough to look past Michael’s transgressions and befriend her), and kept his opinion to himself concerning her relationship with Tyler (though he was undoubtedly jealous)

Praised her for her strategic mind and her strong sense of morale

Encouraged her to take pride in herself (“You did well, Burnham. You should be proud.”)

Trusted her with the most important missions

Ignored at least one transgression that could have landed her in the brig (that fight they had on the bridge in episode 9)

I’m sure I’m forgetting things but you get the idea.

Honestly, if he needed her only as a tool, it would have been much smarter to keep her under his thumb with her confidence broken. Look how pliable she was at the start of episode 3.

(Again, I do think that the fact that Georgiou is the Empress is significant, and that having Michael on his side against her is a tactical advantage – but that’s not the whole of it, by a long shot.)

Anyway, moving on.

Michael sweetens the deal by adding the part about finding out how the Fire Wolf leads his coalition, but essentially it all boils down to:

She appeals to his moral sense

She asks him not to force her to commit such a terrible act

And it works. Partly because after so much torture, Lorca’s defenses are way down. But I think it’s mostly because of Michael’s ultimate secret weapon: she says please.

Seriously.

She says please, and… that’s that.

Just like with the Sarek rescue mission, Lorca just gives in and makes an illogical tactical decision (which, I might add, results in the Empress coming straight for them at the end of the episode).

Visually, I don’t have much to say beyond the extensive use of choker shots. Those are very often used to create emotional intimacy and tension, as I’ve mentioned many times before. This is not a shot you’d use for people who are not developing a strong relationship of some sort (be it friendship or romance).

And finally… Lorca’s “Hurry back. Please.” just kills me.

That’s not an order. That’s a plea.

The meeting room scene

Their second scene together is quite different. Lorca is looking a little better, while Michael seems shattered by her recent betrayal.

By the way. I love how Michael (who is a tough cookie) is psychically exhausted after 3 days in the mirror!universe and how much reflection (pardon the pun) she is doing on it.

Hopefully it will help mitigate her anger at Lorca when she finds out he is from the mirror!universe too (and has spent his entire life there without turning into a human-shaped demon spawn like the rest of the Terrans). At this point, overthrowing the Empress is starting to look like a moral imperative.

Lorca informs her they have to stay longer, for reasons that are both tactically sound and highly convenient, because I’m pretty sure he plans to face the Empress at some point (though probably not right there and then).

There also a lovely little morsel I wasn’t expecting: Lorca sounds jealous. He can’t bring himself to say “liked” or “loved” (that little pause is very telling) and when he says “Tyler”, you can tell he truly wanted to say “what’s his face”.

As an aside, I think he only noticed Michael’s partiality for Tyler in the previous episode, when Ash had a panic attack in the worker bee. I don’t think I mentioned it in my main meta, but I adore the way Lorca manages to sound at once gruffly protective (“You can relax too. He’s safe.”) and jealous despite himself.

Moving on.

Michael just can’t take it anymore, she’s scared, and she just admits it to him, leading to this amazing exchange:

“I don’t think I can survive this place alone.”

“You are not alone, Michael. We will survive this place… together.”

And then Lorca takes her hand. This is the first touch we have seen him initiate with her. It’s also the second time he calls her Michael, and that’s not a coincidence.

Not Michael Burnham, not Burnham, not Specialist Burnham.

Just plain Michael.

Right there and then, Lorca is not being her captain. He’s just being a man, comforting a woman.

Even more importantly, @trashywestallen made a brilliant point in one of our discussions, which I hadn’t noticed until she pointed it out.

This scene is meant to be the mirror of the scene in episode 10 when Ash reaches for Michael’s hand during their discussion in the mess hall.

Both Ash and Lorca are on seated the left, while Michael is sitting on the right. (Very quick aside, the man on the left/woman on the right is imagery commonly found in classical paintings, with the Arnolfini portrait commonly cited as an example.) Both contacts are initiated by the man.

That’s where the similarities end, because everything else is inverted.

In the scene with Ash and Michael, the camera zooms in on their joined hands but very noticeably, the shot is obstructed by a teacup.

Contrasting this with Michael and Lorca: their hands are in plain view. There is even a shot with the light streaming in from behind through the window and onto their joined hands.

Another major difference: Tyler grabs Michael’s hand possessively to reassure himself. Lorca lays a calming hand over Michael’s to reassure her.

Ash takes Michael’s right hand with his right; Lorca covers Michael’s right hand with his left. Symbolically, this is hugely significant. The left hand is the hand (or arm) a gentleman or a knight would use to escort his lady: keeping the right hand, his sword hand, free to defend her.

Lastly: Ash asks her to let him handle things on his own; Lorca says they will figure it out together.

Point taken, I guess?

Everything else

Stamets! I am pretty glad to have been wrong about there being only one twin encounter. Go save your love, Paul. (Though mirror!Stamets freaks me out a little).

Empress Georgiou is utterly terrifying. I love it.

Michael lying to spare Saru (while Saru lies to spare her) is just lovely. Also interesting to note she is willing to lie for a good cause (not unlike other people I could name…)

Michael’s kindness to mirror!Saru coming back to save her is almost karmic.

Mirror!Voq was awesome. Wise, strong, everything a leader could be. Unfortunately, that means prime!Voq is the evil twin. Bummer.

Mirror!Sarek, who’s met Michael all of 5 minutes, is more validating and full of praise than our own Sarek. Seriously, dude, you’re going to have to step up the dad game, presto.

[sinrau]

Government watchdogs, Democratic lawmakers, and pro-democracy advocates declared it a “ Friday Night Massacre” for the U.S. Postal Service after news broke in a classic end-of-the-week dump that Louis DeJoy—a major GOP donor to President Donald Trump and the recently appointed Postmaster General—had issued a sweeping overhaul of the agency, including the ouster of top executives from key posts and the reshuffling of more than two dozen other officials and operational managers.

According to the Washington Post:

The shake-up came as congressional Democrats called for an investigation of DeJoy and the cost-cutting measures that have slowed mail delivery and ensnared ballots in recent primary elections.

Twenty-three postal executives were reassigned or displaced, the new organizational chart shows. Analysts say the structure centralizes power around DeJoy, a former logistics executive and major ally of President Trump, and de-emphasizes decades of institutional postal knowledge. All told, 33 staffers included in the old postal hierarchy either kept their jobs or were reassigned in the restructuring, with five more staffers joining the leadership from other roles.

Already under fire for recent policy changes at the USPS that mail carriers from within and outside critics have denounced as a sabotage effort to undermine the Postal Service broadly as well as disrupt efforts to carry out mail-in voting for November’s election amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the moves unveiled late Friday were viewed as an overt assault on democracy and a calculated opportunity to boost Republican’s long-held dream of undercutting or privatizing the government-run mail service while also boosting their election prospects in the process.

“Another Friday night massacre by this administration—and this time dealing another devastating blow to our postal service,” said Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) “The American people deserve answers and we’re going to keep fighting for them.”

Scanlon was among more than 80 congressional lawmakers who sent a letter to DeJoy earlier in the day expressing “deep concerns” about operational changes he has made for mail carriers that have delayed deliveries and lowered standards.

“It is vital that the U.S. Postal Service not reduce mail delivery times, which could harm rural communities, seniors, small businesses, and millions of Americans who rely on the mail for critical letters and packages,” the letter stated. “Eliminating overtime and directing postal workers to leave mail on the floor of postal facilities will erode confidence in the Postal Service and drive customers away, resulting in even worse financial conditions in the future.”

As Common Dreams reported earlier Friday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren was among those who signed the letter and also called for DeJoy’s efforts to be investigated by the Inspector General of the USPS. Since 2016 alone, DeJoy has donated more than $2.5 million to the Republican Party and candidates. In 2020, prior to his appointment as Postmaster General by the GOP-controlled board of governors, DeJoy had already given approximately $360,000 to a Super PAC supporting Trump’s reelection.

As the Post notes in its reporting, the reshuffling of top managers and executives—as well as a hiring freeze and push for early retirements—”worried postal analysts, who say the tone of DeJoy’s first eight weeks and his restructuring have recast the nation’s mail service as a for-profit arm of the government, rather than an essential service.”

In a video posted to Twitter, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oreg.) characterized DeJoy as a “political crony” of the president’s and also denounced the brazen efforts now on display as a “Friday Night Massacre” scenario:

Appearing Friday afternoon on Capitol Hill, DeJoy brushed off accusations that he is acting as a political bag man for Trump. “While I certainly have a good relationship with the president of the United States, the notion that I would ever make decisions concerning the Postal Service at the direction of the president or anyone else in the administration is wholly off-base,” DeJoy said.

But outside critics like Walter Shaub, former head of the Office of Government Ethics and a fierce critic of Trump’s behavior as president, said the latest move should be seen as nothing less than a direct effort by DeJoy to exploit his authority at the Postal Service to further the president’s political interests and reelection prospects.

According to Brian Tyler Cohen, a liberal commentator and podcast host, “Congressional Democrats need to do something about this” immediately.

“If we wait until October/November, it’ll be too late,” said Cohen. “Trump is actively sabotaging the election under our noses—this isn’t theoretical, it’s happening RIGHT NOW.” Cohen said this situation should be treated like a “fucking five-alarm fire” and said action must be taken by both lawmakers and the U.S. public without delay.

Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), chair of the House subcommittee which has oversight for the USPS, said what DeJoy is trying to pass off as simple organizational restructuring is actually “a Trojan Horse” designed to destroy one of the nation’s most trusted and valued institutions from within.

Connolly on Friday night called it, “Deliberate sabotage to disrupt mail service on the eve of the election—an election that hinges on mail-in ballots.”

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[the-dark-side-of-the-blog]

Top 25 Greatest Cover Songs Ever

How often do you find out that one of your favorite songs by one of your favorite artists was originally by someone else? Happens more commonly than you think, yet it does not really undermine the work because we understand that even with the words already written there is a very precise alchemy needed to create a truly great cover. These are my top 25 best cover songs.

25) Sweet Child O’Mine, Luna (Originally Guns N’Roses): The list is 25 best covers, not 25 covers that are better than original because it would be impossible to do a cover that was better than Guns’ Sweet Child O’Mine. Say what you like about Axl and co (really say what you like) but that is truly one of the greatest songs ever, yet Luna more than do it justice. There cover is certainly a very different interpretation but also not all that detached. In terms of its composition it is not all that different but it takes the more electric energy of the original and delivers something more laconic, which should not work but yet does.

24) I Fought The Law, The Clash (Originally by The Crickets): Now some may have known that there was a version of this song before The Clash’s top 10 cover, in the form of The Bobby Fuller Four but unless you have been on the wiki page you probably wouldn’t have known that was a cover to, no matter The Clash’s version is a punk anthem that still stands up all these years later.

23) Valerie, Amy Winehouse (Originally The Zutons): People knew of this song before it was covered by Amy but her version has endured in ways that The Zutons have not. Mark Ronson displays his unparalleled knack for catchy compositions and beats, but its all about Amy and her voice, which was not only one of the most powerful ones we ever had but full of such personality, The Zutons had no chance (although they’ll thank her for all the money she has made them).

22) Jealous Guy, Roxy Music (Originally by John Lennon): Both versions are great but Roxy music might just edge Lennon out. Ferry is somehow able to infuse the song with an even greater sense of regret than Lennon did, while the rest of the band give the song a jazzier edge with the use of the saxophone, which nicely offsets the use of the piano here.

21) Tainted Love, Soft Cell (Originally by Gloria Jones): Okay it might be harsh to call Soft Cell one hit wonders because Say Hello, Wave Goodbye was certainly a hit in its own right as well, but let’s face it they never got close to what achieved with Tainted Love again. A defining track of the eighties and one of the great covers.

20) Take me to the River, Talking Heads (Originally Al Green): Memorably performed on the great Stop Making Sense live album David Byrne made the Al Green classic a staple of Talking Heads work.

19) Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, Guns N’Roses (Originally Bob Dylan): Post Appetite a lot of things held GNR back, mostly themselves to be fair, but on a purely artistic level Axl’s lyrics and their ridiculously grandiose quality has always struck me as a problem. Its not to say he’s a bad lyricist, a song like Sweet Child O’Mine has deceptively great lyrics which stop it from being a bland ballad and make it something more poignant, but after Appetite I think he was far too self-serious and over-ambitious. One way to solve that problem is to use others lyrics and who better than Dylan. This cover just makes sense and I may even go as far as to say it is better than the original.

18) Needles and Pins, The Ramones (Originally by The Searchers): Because The Ramones were such a revolutionary band it is easy to forget that they did have influences, some pretty big ones. They did plenty of great covers of bands from the 50s and 60s that Joey and co grew up with but none better than Needles and Pins which among other things highlights what an incredible voice Joey Ramone had, one that goes a little underrated.

17) Superstar, Sonic Youth (Originally by The Carpenters): Superstar is one of those songs that has been over-covered for sure but there is no getting away from what a brilliant rendition Thurston Moore and co delivered. Its heartbreankingly restrained by Moore, communicating a soft desperation with his voice and giving us some of Sonic Youth’s best work of that decade.

16) Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon, Urge Overkill (Originally by Neil Diamond): Immortalized by its use in Pulp Fiction, if you had never heard or known of Diamond’s version you could never have guessed it was his song from the Urge Overkill version, which is so dark with Kaatrud’s vocals implying so much more than the lyrics actually say. Urge Overkill may have done little else but they will have always given us this.

15) It’s Oh So Quiet, Bjork (Originally by Betty Hudson): It is tough to say if there is any one quality that is key to a great cover, but I think it always to have a unique and identifiable voice and personality bringing them-self to the song and there are few better examples than Bjork 1995 classic. It has a grunge loud-soft quality, but without the angst, almost to the extent of a parody it fluctuates so much, but whatever the case it is unmistakably Bjork and there in lies the greatness.

14) Piece of my Heart, Janis Joplin (Originally by Erma Franklin): For an iconic artist it may come as a surprise to some that both of Janis’ most enduring hits, this and Me and Bobby McGee, were covers. Whatever the case both are great, but it is Piece of my Heart that makes the list and for obvious reasons, a classic that still holds up today.

13) Where Did You Sleep Last Night, Nirvana (Traditional American Folk song): Its funny before Kurt begins his rendition of this 100 year old song (also covered by Lead Belly) he seems in quite good spirits joking about trying to buy the Lead Belly lead singer’s guitar, but once he starts singing all of that changes. This is one of the most incredible performances ever seen, it goes far beyond showmanship and into something far deeper and darker. Neil Young described it as “like a werewolf, unbelievable” and he wasn’t wrong. There is a moment at the end where Kurt opens his eyes and breathes out for just a second and it is one of the most powerful things I’ve ever seen by a performer. It is wrong that we look at everything Kurt through the prism of suicide but with this cover it is impossible to escape the pain he felt and lived with.

12) Stop Your Sobbing, The Pretenders (Originally by The Kinks): The Kinks and The Pretenders are connected by a lot more than just this song, Hynde and Ray Davies had a child in 1983, but that is beside the point. Stop Your Sobbing is the perfect first single for The Pretenders. Hynde’s voice has this almost brutal confidence and assurance as she instructs whoever to “stop your sobbing”, it straddles the line between pep talk and dressing down perfectly and in the process far surpasses the original.

11) Walk This Way, Run DMC ft Tyler and Perry (originally by Aerosmith): I’m at best an Aerosmith agnostic I like some of their songs but they have never been the great American rock band to me. There is no doubting the greatness of Run DMC’s cover of Aerosmith’s defining hit from the previous decade, but there is also no doubting that it wouldn’t be half as good with Tyler’s contributions. Rock and rap have rarely if ever worked so well together.

10) Respect, Arthea Franklin (Originally by Otis Redding): It is a cliche to say when talking about a great cover that the person covering the song owned it but boy did Franklin own this. By changing the perspective of the song from a male to a female one she not only made a feminist classic but one of the great covers and maybe her definitive track (although there is plenty of competition).

9) Hallelujah, Jeff Buckley (Originally by Leonard Cohen): The most over-covered song? Potentially. Whatever the case Buckley’s rendition overshadows all others. Buckley’s vocals are incredible but in a way that is not very flashy. His sound set the tone for the likes of Thom Yorke and while tragedy may have prevented him from amounting the discography his talented deserved Grace is still a great album. 

8) What A Wonderful World, Joey Ramone (originally by Louie Armstrong): One of the great musical parting gifts. On Joey Ramone’s first solo and final album he gave us his surprisingly perfect rendition of What A Wonderful World. The cover achieved a certain level of fame for its us at the end of Bowling for Columbine but that may misunderstand. Its use in that movie emphasizes the ironic quality of the cover, Joey Ramone who sang of wanting to be sedated now telling us what a wonderful world it is, but actually there is nothing sarcastic about this at all. Joey’s vocals are fully committed when he sings of love and hope and that’s what makes such a beautiful cover.

7) Wild is The Wind, David Bowie (Originally by Nina Simone): For all of his incredible achievements and strengths Bowie had a pretty bad success ratio when it came to covers. His Across The Universe is alright but not great, same goes for his Let’s Spend the Night Together and the less said about his God Only Knows the better. Amidst the less than inspiring rendition of classic rock anthems though Bowie delivered a haunting, atmospheric and all round beautiful cover of Nina Simone’s Wild is the Wind. The problem with some of his other covers I think is he tries to make them too Bowie, whereas here I feel he lets the song itself guide the way he sings it. It is simply one of the best album closers ever.

6) Nothing Compares 2 U, Sinead O’Connor (Originally by Prince): Throughout the 80s and 90s the music video became a medium for greater and greater innovation, yet a lot of my favorite music videos of that period are the most simple and stripped down ones, where it is essentially just a camera looking at the performer. I’ve always loved the videos that accompany Alanis Morrisette’s Head Over Feet and Radiohead’s No Surprises and maybe the best example of this comes in the form of Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U. Her raw emotion in the video completely re-frames this break-up song as one really about a much deeper grief, as she channeled the lose of her mother in a tragic accident. Her raw emotion made this cover unavoidable and unforgettable.

5) Killing me Softly, The Fugees (Originally by Roberta Flack) The Fugees cover takes the softness and melodic qualities of the Roberta Flack original but makes it that much darker and beautiful. It is an incredible cover. Lauryn Hill’s voice has this, I find, difficult to define quality but I’d describe it as a knowingness. I think in lesser hands this cover would have overly emphasized the hip hop traits of the song but here that drum loop is enough to make it a distinctly Fugees composition but also subtle enough to not intrude on Hill’s amazing vocals.

4) Alabama Song, The Doors (Originally by Bertolt Brecht): While Light My Fire and Riders on The Storm have endured as The Doors defining hits Alabama Song is the track I return to most. There is this offbeat darkness, it is not the smoothness most refined sound of a band from that era but it unmistakably The Doors and Jim Morrison. He may not have written the lyrics but you don’t need me to point out just how prophetic it was for Morrison to ask to be shown to the next whiskey bar and demanding you “don’t ask why”. So while it may not be Morrison or Kreiger’s words this is the song that I feel best epitomizes what made The Doors so different and so iconic.

3) The Man Who Sold The World, Nirvana (Originally by Bowie): Before I was a massive Nirvana fan I avoided listening to this rendition of what was then my favorite Bowie song (still in my top 5), I even resented people telling me it was better than Bowie’s original. Once I fell in love with Nirvana and put it on I could not believe just how perfect it was. Kurt and co’s rendition is every bit as brooding, dark and unfortunately prophetic as all the best of Nirvana’s work. The title alone feels fitting of Kurt, but it also worth mentioning how this cover is about more than him, the sound created by the band here is fantastic. Suffice to say this is one of those rare things a good Bowie cover, except it is much more than just a good one.

2) All Along The Watchtower, Jimi Hendrix (originally by Bob Dylan): It is rare for such an iconic artist that there most famous song is a cover but while Hendrix was a good lyricist his status as an icon is about more than his words. It was about his voice, his sonic experimentation and of course what he could do with a guitar. Dylan on the other hand was all about his words. All Along The Watchtower sounds like only something Hendrix could compose and play and reads like something only Dylan could write and that is a combination that can create one of the finest rock anthems ever.  

1) Hurt, Johnny Cash (Originally by Nine Inch Nails): Hurt was always going to be high on this list but why it comes number one is that I think more than any song on this list it comes to define what an artist can do with someone else’s work. Everything about Cash’s rendition is trans-formative but not just for the sake of being different. There are many covers that completely change the originally but in ways that are ultimately detrimental. Cash’s Hurt changes the sound, the mood and the meaning of the song but in a way that only enhances its power. I talked about Joey Ramone’s What a Wonderful World as the perfect parting gift but this trumps even that. Its sad and introspective but so, so powerful. Cash’s voice has such gravitas and really Trent Reznor said it best when he described how it was no longer his song.