#ic. ( james holden. )

[youcouldmakealife]

2024 Writing Wrap

Well, my goal for 2024 was 225,000 words, and I did exceed that, so I believe that is what we call a success. Never mind that my ~secret goal was 250k and that the 225k goal was just in case anything came up. And it did. So that is technically still a success! So I’m trying not to be grumbly about it.

What I’m not grumbly about at all is how, exactly, that final word count broke down by project (actual numbers below).

I don’t think the COTT and SAIT word counts could be closer than if I’d been intentionally trying to balance them. Which, I cannot stress enough, I was not. I was actually expecting a 2:1 COTT v SAIT ratio, mostly because, well, SAIT hasn’t been easy to write at times, and I was fully prepared for that to continue. But then something happened. I won’t investigate it too closely — gift horses, etc — but the floodgates finally broke, and a character that was so reluctant to speak honestly about himself and his life that it left him (and me) mute was suddenly willing to talk.

(We all know what happened. Robbie Lombardi happened.)

So, coming into this year I set myself a 13 part (approx 27.5k) goal for SAIT, and a 60k goal for COTT. They both ended up around 75k. Add in the SOTWs&Ms, which ended up around 65k combined (goal was 60k), and on all counts, I beat my individual project goals, and absolutely smashed the one for SAIT.

Considering this year I also got the TOTI paperback done and published the final installment of Between the Teeth, I think it was a pretty productive year, particularly considering I was finally diagnosed with Audhd in January, and have spent a lot of time and energy processing that, reframing a lot of things, and adjusting my work style to better accommodate my neurotype.

It's all been a big learning process, though one slightly derailed by the arrival of COVID and the…refusal to leave of COVID…and a fraught one at times, but it’s really been a relief to look at things like ‘this doesn’t work for me because my brain isn’t wired that way’ versus ‘this doesn’t work for me because I’m lazy/not trying hard enough/not living up to my ‘potential’, ad nauseum. It’s been…good. Tough, and emotional, and sometimes exhausting, but good. And I think that might be the other reason that Georgie started to speak again: how the fuck was I supposed to write him starting to move forward when I was still masking? How could I?

Meanwhile my other project was literally ‘okay, what if I worked through some of this by making my ADHD and my autism kiss? What if I did that?’ And COTT has been an absolute delight for me as a somewhat chaotic way for me to examine how these totally different beings co-exist. Throw in me shoving a ton of common romance tropes, gleefully undermining them (sometimes even intentionally! Though COTT can indeed be marked down as yet another failure in my quest to write some proper hate sex), a whole lot of ‘look, he actually gets me’ that is probably a liiiittle too close to home (and, I think, the home of most ND people), and everybody Doing Their Best (even when it fails, even when it doesn’t look like it, even when they aren’t rewarded for that), it is probably the closest thing I’ve ever written to pure Id fic, and I’m including the fucking Scouts here.

So thank you for all being very patient with me working through my ~stuff via narrative, and I’m really glad some of you (Audhd, autistic, ADHD, and otherwise) see yourselves reflected in Holden and/or James as well. Every single thing that annoys about them is probably something I do. (Uh. Off the ice. I don’t throw dirty hits. And I sadly don’t have a hockey room either.) I love them both a lot and I genuinely think my loving them, with all their faults (that are often my faults), has made my relationship with myself better, because I too am Always Doing My Best, even when it doesn’t look like it. And sometimes I forget that.

Okay, enough of the navel gazing, time for numbers!

These may seem slightly different than the word counts on, say, AO3, but at the end of each writing day I log my process. It’s always a little inflated -- some of it ends up on the cutting room floor, some of it applies to works currently still in progress, etc.

But, end of the year, here’s the breakdown*:

*rounded up/down to the nearest thousand, but that was the extent of the rounding, they're just naturally handsome numbers

Cards on the Table: 75k

Still Always in Tandem: 75k

SOTW/Ms and Extras: 82k

(Comprised of: SOTWs: 34k, SOTMs: 33k, Extras 15k)

For a combined total of 232k, squeaking in a mere 7k above my 225k goal.

But wait! There’s the misc (includes some Gritty work, last minute BTT additions, the bracket challenge, and other things that don’t fit the categories above), which adds an additional 13k.

So, in fact, it all adds up to 245k. Which is pretty damn close to 250k in my humble opinion, especially considering I spent a full quarter of 2024 sick. So I think we can call this year a success, at least on the writing front.

[ironworked]

60 Sec Rec: The Expanse

Hundreds of years in the future, humans have colonized the solar system and Mars has become an independent military power. A missing person links an asteroid belt detective, the captain of an ice freighter and a diplomat trying to avert a war. [Rotten Tomatoes & Netflix]

Detective Miller is in a futuristic-noir, a cop tasked with finding wayward heiress turned political activist Julie Mao.

James Holden and crew are in an action/adventure in space, the everyday guys who go from the frying pan to the fire.

Chrisjen Avasarala, UN Security Council member, is in a political thriller, trying to avoid a war and figure out who she can trust in the government.

A bit of Blade Runner/Total Recall, a bit of Alien, a bit of Battlestar Galactica, as the show progresses these storylines intersect and the genres mix. Characters don't become found family but a forged one; forged in near death experiences, impossible choices, secrets kept and shared, and even some romances (not all requited).

This show can fit SO MANY BLORBOS. Also polyamory! one of the leads has 8 parents, and a recurring character, who is the love of my life, is in a poly relationship later in the show. The actors are fantastic (Tipper has an episode in one of the later seasons that's a tour de force. She's tremendous), and the set design and costumes are gorgeous.

The ship names (I mean actual ships here) are so cool too: Rocinante, Guy Molinari, Scipio Africanus... a nice bit of trivia.

It is so, so, so GOOD. You have to give it some time at the start because you might need a while to 'get settled' in this universe, but don't worry because it's a rich story but not a dense one. It's also not grimdark; bad things do happen, and there are losses and casualties, but it's not a cruel show. It won't laugh at you for caring.

Developed by Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men, Iron Man) based on the book series by James S. A. Corey (pseudonym for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck). Written by the novelists and mostly new writers. Directed by Breck Eisner (Fear Itself), Jeff Woolnough (Vikings), Terry McDonough (Better Call Saul)... Starring Thomas Jane, Steven Strait, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Florence Faivre, Shawn Doyle, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frankie Adams, Cara Gee, Keon Alexander, Jasai Chase Owens, Nadine Nicole, David Strathairn, Jared Harris...

Trailer for s1

Previous: Deadloch - Dead Boy Detectives - The Tick - This Close - Kung Fu - Nancy Drew - Kevin Can Fuck Himself - Silo - The Flight Attendant - Severance - Hacks - Hit The Floor - Black Sails - 12 Monkeys - T@gged - The Diplomat - The Mick - Timeless - UnReal - Kings - All Rise - Barry - Halt and Catch Fire - Resident Alien - Santa Clarita Diet - Claws - Roswell New Mexico - Upload - Rutherford Falls

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Federal law enforcement and ICE agents have arrested nearly 500 undocumented migrants wanted for outstanding crimes in sanctuary cities, including three from New York.

In New York, ICE agents arrested an alleged El Salvadorian MS-13 gang member, a Jamaican citizen who had been arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor and a Honduran citizen with a drunk driving conviction.

There were similar scenes in Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, and Washington, DC.

A Justice Department memo threatened criminal charges against state and local officials who don't cooperate with ICE, but New York Attorney General Letitia James says the Trump administration cannot force local law enforcement to help them detain and deport immigrants..

She said many of the immigration orders - which she called "the noise that is coming from Washington" -- are constitutional violations.

"The president cannot unilaterally rewrite the Constitution," she said. "We are willing to work with the Office of President Trump," but will protect "the rights of vulnerable or marginalized populations, including, but not limited to the immigrant communities."

Internal memos to New York City schools explicitly stated ICE agents should not be allowed inside facilities under any circumstances.

The NYPD issued a memo as well, saying officers should not assist with federal immigration enforcement.

During a town hall in Corona, Queens Wednesday night, Mayor Eric Adams addressed those concerns from community members and said the city's immigrant community should not go into hiding.

"Children should go to school. Those who need health care should go to hospitals," he said. "Those who are involved in any type of interaction, where they're victims of a crime, they should speak to law enforcement agencies. We've maintained that over and over again. And we are going to stand up for all New Yorkers, documented, and undocumented."

New York is a so-called sanctuary city, and laws forbid city agencies from cooperating with immigration agents in all but criminal deportations.

Mayor Adams says he respects those laws he is sworn to uphold. Robert Holden is a Democratic councilmember from Queens.

"You can't deport everyone that's been staying here illegally," Holden said. "Although, you know, technically, you could. But I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think they're going to just start deporting anybody. They're going to focus on the criminals-who would be against that?"

In New York, there are more than 400,000 undocumented immigrants.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- plus the District of Columbia and San Francisco -- are among 22 states that sued in federal court to block Trump's order ending birthright citizenship to children of parents who are in the United States illegally.

[fromkenari]

Captain Does The Right Thing Always To A Fault Over And Over And Over Again And Never Budges From That Stance, Not Even Once In Six Seasons In The Face Of Everything, Including His Own Death, The Death Of His Crew, The Death Of The Woman He Loves, You Would Think He Would, Just Once, Do Something With An Ulterior Motive, But No, Never, Ever, Ever, Ever, He Would Rather Kill His Own Beloved, Necissity To Life, Coffee Machine Than Blame Someone Else For Anything He's Chosen To Do And It's Not Even To Have Clear Conscience Because This Bastard Has Such Trauma And A Savior Complex Bigger And Heavier On His Shoulder That He Should Be Flattened By Now But He's Not He's Still Fighting Still Doing The Right Thing And Even His Devout Crew Is Like Why Is This Guy Still Doing The Right Thing Even If It Means We Lose And He's Not Even Chasing A Happy Ending, He Just Wants To Do The Right Thing, Period.

Anyway, that's one reason why The Expanse is my favorite Space Opera, and it's always Crying About Captain James Holden hours.

P.S. He does this even when he fucks up by doing the right thing by chance in the first episode and gets his original crew and the woman carrying his unborn child killed, and it's six seasons of this guy pushing to do the right thing by sheer grief that all started when he was a kid and his 8 parents told him he was going to save the galaxy until his birth mom told him none of that was true and he fucked off and did every selfish thing he could possibly do in the military until he punched a superior officer and got discharged so he fucked off again and did ice hauling to other planets while quite literally dicking around with the crew until he chooses, in a brief moment where everyone is telling him to ignore the thing, to not ignore the thing and do right by it and boom, it cascades into an interplanetary war and so much more. Watch. This. Show.

[bruhstation]

I'm interested in what the trains in your humanization prefer to eat (What if Henry loves apple charlottes?)

yes!!! eating is one of life’s biggest joys! always love talking and learning about food and watching people cook and eat and express their happiness, so this was a fun one to answer.

thomas a. billington: thomas needs something to chew or suckle on in the break room. think of any candy that your grandma would store on her detailed glass bowl. tootsie rolls, werther’s hard caramel candy, jolly ranchers… you get it. he doesn’t have any particulars when it comes to filling dishes and most of his diet consist of snacks and candies hence his thinner and shorter build.

edward pettigrew: he loves a good hot black tea with a side of rich tea biscuits or scones. he’s the guy who knows too much about tea. stomach ache? ginger tea. sleep aid? chamomile’s the way. for the more filling dishes, edward prefers light savory dishes with feta cheese involved. he’s really fond of fërgesë from his home country, but there’s no place on sodor that could make a mean one, so he settles with making it at his own home.

henry stanier: sliced apples! when he’s in a good mood, he’d shape them into little bunnies. he likes anything savory with a strong taste too, like his mother’s curry. henry loves a full course, hearty meal that tastes and feels good, and growing up, he’s always had a large appetite (fast metabolism). henry doesn’t like anything greasy or deep fried because it’ll make his stomach acid flare up. I had to look up what apple charlottes is, and yeah, I can tell you that henry would love it.

gordon j. gresley: gordon has a sweet tooth but he’s self conscious about it and has an image to uphold so he’ll tell anyone who’s making him coffee to make it black (he adds a packet of cream and sugar when nobody’s seeing) without anything added (his friends see right through him). his favorite dessert is orange float with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. gordon also likes food that is usually eaten together with friends or family (something something lazy susan) like pork roast or kway teow or thick beef stew with mashed potatoes. big portions are necessary!

james a. hughes: sweet margarita is james’ favorite drink to have during outings with his friends. he also loves a good french onion soup, especially paired with croutons (do not make them too hard or he’ll riot!!). speaking of croutons, james loves fondue and he always fights over it with thomas. really, any food that looks good and makes him look well-off would be on his favorites list (please, james, why does most of these dishes involve alcohol in one way or another). he also likes sweet danish pastries.

percival “percy” avonside: he’s a simple man when it comes to food he likes. sandwiches are the way to go! carbohydrates, proteins, the tasty stuff — it’s all there! eggs benedict (he puts another english muffin on top so the sauce won't spill everywhere) is his most favorite since it makes him feel special and fancy. percy also loves good coffee, usually mixed with condensed milk or mocha, since he delivers the night mail train.

tobias “toby” holden: tiramisu is his favorite dessert and he prefers it made with more coffee content. he has helped out henrietta many times with making it to the point he’s has the process memorized. for savory dishes, he loves some good lasagna with extra beef content in the sauce. it’s gotta drench. really, toby loves his layered food huh

montague “duck” collett: he’s not picky when it comes to food given to him, so he just eats what any average joe would eat (eggs on toast for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, sausage with potatoes and peas for dinner). normal person food. duck makes sure he has his meal three times a day and follows the motto; “eat before you’re hungry, stop before you’re full.” also diesel made mango panna cotta once for him as a desperate token of apology and duck fell in love with it.

donald and douglas dunalastair: like thomas, they don’t really have much preference for filling meals. dessert, though? now that’s the stuff. donald loves cranachan so SO much he wishes he could eat it every day. douglas likes candies more instead of softer, silkier desserts, like black licorice or peppermint candy. they also eat only twice a day since they get full super quickly. amazing how so much strength for shoveling snow is stored behind their lanky bodies. they also drink irn bru

oliver t. swindon: oliver loves shepherd's pie because it’s practical. everything he needs is right there, fitting for someone who doesn’t like complicated things. as for the sweet stuff… even after forgetting some of his memories after his rescue, oliver remembers the feeling and taste of halo-halo on his tongue clearly, something he missed dearly.

giovanni vin diesel: diesel loves bruschetta. he puts some pepper flakes on top for that spice kick. he also loves sfincione, specifically the way his family would make it, but, like edward, nobody on sodor knows how to cook a decent one (too much sauce, too thick of a bread, or too soggy) which makes him a bit sad. diesel’s kind of picky when it comes to the meals he can consider “favorite” because he believes he’s the most qualified in the culinary field on sodor due to his upbringing.

mavis hawthorne: a slice of blackforest cake always makes her heart sing. not too heavy on the whipped cream, though, because she doesn’t like her desserts too sweet. she also likes baumkuchen. whenever toby cooks lasagna, he’d make another portion to give to mavis, which quickly became her favorite and something she looks forward to during lunch breaks.

rebecca nassif: rebecca likes snacking a lot. she finds joy in eating! she grew up surrounded by meals. like diesel, because of her upbringing, she’s always been an enthusiast of not only food, but culinary arts as a whole. she loves cold desserts that usually remind her of her old neighborhood like this pistachio kulfi that she would made when she was younger. rebecca also missed having knafeh and mafruka since moving to sodor (it’s been like... a week.)

nia e. wanjala: whenever nia feels like treating herself to something good, she’d make her own version of the gatsby sandwich at her house. she’s especially keen on the french fries and enjoys extra hot sauce with it. it’d take two meal times for her to finish it all. lately, nia’s also been enjoying pastries like chocolate muffins and bombolone (chocolate fillings are her favorite).

lady: as part of her mission to understand humanity and their intrapersonal relationships, lady developed an affinity to eating. she’d eat anything as long as it’s acceptable by human standards even though she doesn’t have to. lady wants to understand that people eat not only to survive but as a way to show their love and culture. isn’t the greatest blessing to be bestowed upon living things the ability to consume to their heart’s content? does her lack of mortal needs indicate her lack of personal desire? anyways her favorite foods are fish and chips with sweet mayonnaise on the side and soft serve vanilla ice cream.

diesel 10: his go-to is black coffee mixed with red bull (added with some other weird concoction if he feels like it). some scrambled eggs with a dash of hot sauce for breakfast. some fried bacon if he has some self respect for the day. some dried sardines if he wants to feel miserable. some baklava with extra syrup and pistachio if he wants to treat himself because the sound of the crunch eases his stress

[sugar-omi]

Can't imagine how the boys would handle an angsty young teen. Not even if they're goth/emo, just really rude brats who says stuff like "whatever" or "you don't know me" stuff. I've met a lot of teens who were just rude for no reason or just flip out out of nowhere.

I see Baxter being a lil strict honestly, I mean I know some people hc as the "fun dad" and I agree but I kinda see him as strict dad too. Derek is def not taking the attitude well. I feel Iike Cove would have a hard time and try and be understanding.

cove: very awkward. doesn't know what to do at all. you two have to put your brains together and he runs to his dad like "wtf do I do." and then cliff reminds him cove WAS THAT TEENAGER.....

yeah eventually you work it out. you give them a lock on their door, headphones for those car drives so they can live out their angst, their favorite ice cream, and you leave the door open for whenever they come to you guys for a cry<333

baxter: throws the sass back at them sometimes. tries to be gentle though bc he doesn't wanna be dictator-strict, but sometimes slamming the door n yelling isn't acceptable.

constantly ends up taking his kid out for their favorite ice cream or restaurant bc he either sassed them back at the wrong time or said smth they didn't like even though it was meant to be helpful (times to stop speaking in riddles huh b-man)

derek: scared n confused LMAO tries to be helpful n nice but just gets iced out. isn't use to it since even nico was warmer at this age but he figures it out

you gotta remind him to give them space bc derek can be a bit overwhelming, but still do stuff w them bc then they'll get too deep in their teenage angst n think he doesn't love them which isn't true

oh he's freaking out too btw, runs to his parents bc hello?!??!

OR YOUR MOMS. omg derek/baxter/cove running to your moms bc Liz was pretty icy as a teenager so they run to them for advice n I just love imagining this big/put together man being comforted by 2 lil old ladies bc their teenager is being cold and angsty.

when they get rude though, is when all of em put their foot down. saying whatever and smacking your lips? slamming doors, ignoring them? sure you can get away w it to an extent but saying smth mean is when we need to sit down and talk, bc you can't say whatever you want to your family, it isn't happening.

which actually works bc those 3 are just big goofs. especially derek n cove, but naxter is funny bc he's still so dramatic yk. but seeing them so serious and angry straightens them up, especially cove. imagine COVE JAMES FUCKING HOLDEN yelling at you??? being STRICT??? yeah pretty scary stuff from your dad

baxter definitely drops the cool, calm, n collected act. all those big words? fancy words? fancy cryptic sentences? disappeared. he goes from fancy dad into civilian dad mode.

they're doing their best though. so please be nice to them bc they wanna make sure their kiddo/s never feel bad

ANYWAY THIS TURNED INTO SUCH A RAMBLE LMAO I DIDNT MEAN TO

[owenthetokencishet]

Right where the hell is James Holden in the ice war.

[therappundit]

***The Rap Pundit Picks: My Favorite Music of 2024***

2024: one of the greatest years for rap music in Hip-Hop history.

Agree or disagree, if we could separate the music and artists themselves from Hip-Hop culture in general (which depending on who you ask, may not be an acceptable option - and I do understand that), 2024 was filled with arguably the widest range of different styles that rap music has ever heard. From the traditional to the genre benders, from the thoughtful writers to the lucid vibers, to me the notion that "Hip-Hop is dead" just means you're failing to adapt your methods of finding new music.

2024 was a year that featured a new single from Nas & DJ Premier (and the promise of their long-awaited album collaboration), and the potential of a new JAY-Z album (by year's end, we are hearing far more concerning headlines), both of which, not too long ago, would be hovering near the top of the highest billed album expectations of the year. But by the end of 2024? Mostly forgotten. Yes, plenty of veterans like Snoop, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, and Common left their footprints in 2024, but over the past year, some significant waves were made from less celebrated sources.

Beneath the shadow of a historic feud between some of Hip-Hop's heavyweights, a tide-pool of exciting artists were releasing noteworthy music at a furious clip. Long since faded are the narrow lanes separating underground from mainstream, as are the traditional routes for "breaking through". Today you're more likely than ever to find a rap music fan that listens to Mach-Hommy and Playboi Carti than you are to find a rap fan that just listens to what's in heaviest circulation on Hot97. None of this is a new development, it's just becoming more of the reality all the time.

I don't know if my favorite music on these lists today will be in heavy rotation by this time next year, but I'm fairly certain most of these MCs and Producers will still be there in some capacity. There's so much to look forward to, from indy veterans to newer talent, I can't come close to naming everyone, but I feel like something would be missing from this list if I didn't give special recognition to artists like Previous Industries, Child Actor, J.U.S, Jay Cinema, dp0mmy, No Label, Cavalier, shemar, Mutant Academy, Maassai, Mike Shabb, Semiratruth, Spice Programmers, Reco, Halal Boys, Quelle Chris, Nappy Nina, Errol Holden, 7xvethegenius, Sideshow, Futurewave, HOODLUM, Conductor Williams, MIKE, Ox Omni, Jaeychino, Mach-Hommy, Black Chai, Wordsworth, Teller Bank$, Chuckyy, Rome Streetz, Boldy James, Earl Sweatshirt, Sleep Sinatra, Wiseboy Jeremy, Defcee, Wavy Da Ghawd, Myquale, Big Flowers, Blu, JUNE!, Sasco, Silky Southern, Phiik, Joshua Virtue/RAMA, LUNGS/Lonesword, August Fanon, Certified Trapper, Jeph Early, Nick Satchel, Stu Bangas, NEW AGE COLLECTIVE, Yonaa, Westside Gunn, Baby Stone Gorillas, Myles Clayton, Che Noir, BRISTACKZ, Tokyo Cigar, Knoweye, Noqh, Chow, Kadeem, Valee, Messiah Musik, AKAI SOLO, MESSIAH!, Bossman DLow, Rei The Imperial, Nino Paid, Reiiki APOLLO, Bub Rock, J Words, Navy Blue, Armand Hammer, Doechii, Rich Jones, Rapsody, Grafh, BabyChiefdoit, The Alchemist, YUNGMORPHEUS, Alexander Spit, Ol' Burget Beats, Ronday, TiaCorine, LaRussell, Jaysanityy, Chuck Strangers, CJ Fly, Ovrkast., Jiggs, STAR BANDZ, Pink Siifu, and Bruiser Wolf, Nolan The Ninja, and many, many more...for providing 2024 with some great reminders that Hip-Hop is still in good hands.

And R.I.P. to Ka, one of the greatest writers that the genre has ever scene.

I tried to only represent one release from each artist here, in an effort to represent as many different folks as possible; however, a lot of MCs released multiple projects this year, so if I felt like they had more than one release, and two of those releases were neck & neck with being their best work of the year, I tried to make room for both.

s/o to all of these artists for sharing so much great music with their fans, critics, and hopefully any soul that discovers them through lists like this one...and a toast to what we can only hope will be a happy & healthy New Year (we could certainly use it). 🙏

************************************************************************

*TOP SONGS*:

100. "Rerock The Hook" - Drakeo the Ruler feat. Icewear Vezzo

99. "CULLINAN GANG" - Nasaan feat. Icewear Vezzo

98. "Bear Fruit" - Kadeem feat. Rugby LoSport & FUNERAL Ant Bell

97. "Beverly Drive" - Erick The Architect

96. “Humpty” - Semiratruth

95. "Vertino" - Conway The Machine feat. Joey Bada$$

94. “Bonnet” - TiaCorine

93. "PANDURICANE" - Conductor Williams & Rei The Imperial

92. “BUMBO” - CJ Fly & Stoic

91. "live like this" - Jiles

90. "H.Y.B." - J. Cole feat. Bas & Central Cee

89. "Witness" - Certified Trapper

88. "Ray Wop" - Ray Vaughn

87. "30 (Freestyle)" - JID

86. "NOT FINE AT ALL" - Killian Fonlon

85. "Whqtthe" - Noqh feat. chasay, Kzoba & Jaysanityy

84. "Difference" - YN Jay feat. Tay B & Kash Doll

83. “Colors” - Remble feat. Mozzy & Stoneda5th

82. "HIGHJACK" - A$AP Rocky feat. Jessica Pratt

81. "Ya Don't Stop" - DJ Premier feat. Rick Ross, Big Sean & Lil Wayne

80. "9 LIVES" - R2R Moe

79. "A Damaged Wraith" - Vic Spencer feat. Rockness Monsta

78. "FREE SMURK, BIG EDDIE & CAM" - YTB Fatt

77. "Cruise Piff" - Jay Cinema & CHoW

76. “Super Rufus” - Rufus Sims & Billionaire Boyscout

75. "?" - Big Yavo

74. “THAT’S HARD” - Anycia feat. Cash Cobain

73. "SINCE THEY TOLD ME I'M A LEGEND" - Jeph Early & Gios4ma

72. "Bill Belichick" - Mg Sleepy feat. Bfb Da Packman & Myaap

71. "It's Us" - BabyFxce E feat. Luh Tyler

70. “place i rep” - Remy Banks

69. "Grandmother's Lessons" - Your Old Droog

68. "Doughboy Daisy" - WB Nutty feat. HBK Kid & Payroll

67. "ZYDECO" - Ronday

66. "HOO" - LIFEOFTHOM & Stoic

65. “Banded Up” - Chief Keef feat. Tierra Whack

64. "Hurry Up & Buy" - Bruiser Wolf

63. "Top Dawg" - Yonaa

62. "Killing Em'" - Reco feat. Gorgeous Jefe, Solute, Lord Ra & Ilxtus

61. "Still Praying" - Westside Gunn feat. Stove God Cooks, Benny The Butcher, Conway the Machine & Boldy James

60. “Rotation” - BagChaser Reke feat. 2Real

59. "See The Sunset" - Nick Satchel & dp0mmy

58. "Me vs Me" - Jaeychino & SlimeGetEm

57. "Memoriam pt. 2" - Sleep Sinatra & bloomcycle feat. Desde

56. "Local Anastasia" - Kenny Segal & K-The-I??? feat. Open Mike Eagle

55. "Days Before Juneteenth" - HALAL BOYS

54. "Omakase" - Nappy Nina & Swarvy feat. Maassai & Stas Thee Boss

53. "4Slime" - Young Nudy

52. "proper vertigo" - mynameisntjack feat. Sol ChYld

51. "Up Now" - Mustard feat. Lil Yachty, BlueBucksClan & 42 Dugg

50. “Black Girl” - Che Noir feat. Rapsody

49. “Penmanship” - Kooley High & Tuamie

48. "RIO FREE" - Rio Da Yung OG

47. "Water" - BRISTACKZ

46. “I.S.D.A.M.L.” - Boldy James & Whothehelliscarlo

45. “12:50 In New York” - Chuckyy

44. "Wrist Buss" - Myaap

43. "mikealstott" - Blvck Svm feat. eeryskies & Boldy James

42. "Trippin" - Bossman DLow

41. "Words2LiveBy" - El Cousteau feat. Earl Sweatshirt

40. "Complications" - Reiiki APOLLO

39. "Syrup Sandwiches" - Cordae feat. Joey Bada$$

38. “Type Shit” - Future & Metro Boomin feat. Travis Scott & Playboi Carti

37. “INFORMATION AGE” - No Label [Ahk Sair, Amiri Mikel, Yo OG, Funk Shway, buddy.not.bud]

36. “Custard Spoon” - Cavalier

35. "RENEE (MAY DAY)" - Sideshow

34. "Money Problems" - Nino Paid feat. Lil Gray

33. "Don't Do Drugs" - J.U.S. & Squadda B

32. “Curtis Jackson” - C Stunna feat. Skrilla

31. “Rocafella Chain” - Grafh feat. Freeway, Peedi Crakk & Memphis Bleek

30. “PAYMEAGRIP” - Ovrkast. & Cardo Got Wings

29. "Detroit" - Tee Grizzley feat. 42 Dugg

28. "From The Dirt" - Phiik & LUNGS feat. AKAI SOLO

27. "California Dream" - Ab-Soul feat. Vince Staples & Kamm Carson

26. “I’m G (OMG)” - Blu & Shafiq Husayn feat. Chuuwee & Born Allah

25. “SINCE I WAS LIL” - JasonMartin & DJ Quik feat. Curren$y, Bun B & Jay Worthy

24. "Short Stories" - Jawnino feat. MIKE

23. “LIBERATION” - Mutant Academy feat. Quelle Chris

22. “Pedal tha Ave” - Wiseboy Jeremy & Kirti Pandey

21. “DUMMY” - JUNECINEMA feat. RoBB, Chow & rivan

20. “Psalm” - 7xvethegenius feat. Jae Skeese

19. “MESCALINE” - LaRussell & CAM CORTEZ

18. "coolin fr" - Jaysanityy

17. "mukbang" - Nolan The Ninja feat. Fatboi Sharif

16. “Lost Angel” - Blu & Evidence

15. "Frosted Flake" - DJ Rude One feat. Valee

14. “Gank Move” - Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist feat. HitgirlLENA

13. “Dream Blunt Rotation” - Rich Jones & Sleep Sinatra/SINAI. feat. AJ Suede, Qari & J.U.S

12. "ALL OVER" - JUNE! feat. Israel Jones, $hyyguyy & Radicule.

11. “Zayre” - Previous Industries [Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, STILL RIFT]

10. “SONJE” - Mach-Hommy. feat. Hephzibah

9. “The Harder They Come” - YUNGMORPHEUS & Alexander Spit

8. "Yea Yea" - STAR BANDZ

7. "Sword Lilies" - Cavalier & Child Actor feat. Quelle Chris

6. “expensive piss” - shemar & Child Actor

5. "Collection Plate" - Ka

4. “Hey Now” -Kendrick Lamar feat. DODY6

3. "Sage" - Rome Streetz & Daringer feat. ScHoolboy Q

2. "Doves" - Armand Hammer feat. Benjamin Booker

1. "Free Jesus" - Mike Shabb

**********************************************************************

**********************************************************************

*TOP ALBUMS*:

*Honorable Mention (absolutely belong in my top 50 as well, but this year was soooo deep)*...

Keep Holly Alive by Mutant Academy, The Grand Design by Philmore Greene, DREAMDROPDRAGON by AKAI SOLO, From Vallejo With Love by LaRussell & Cam Cortez, the First to Make Contact When We Dap by R.A.P. Ferreira & Fumitake Tamura, WATCH THE THRONE by Jaeychino, My Story Got Stories by Bruiser Wolf, The Tonite Show The Sequel by Curren$y & DJ.Fresh, Day Shift, Vol. 1 by Lil Tre, Pigmen In the Vitreous by Knoweye, Alchemy by Jay Cinema & Chow, All Infinite by Kooley High & Tuamie, Slant Face Killah by Conway The Machine, Personification by Maxo Kream, I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR YOU by JPEGMAFIA, Chiraq Mogul 2 by ZMONEY, Things I Should've Said When I Was Awake EP by Reiiki APOLLO, OTHERWISE A BLUR by blackchai & August Fanon, Marciology by Roc Marciano, Alligator Bites Never Heal by Doechii, OPERATION FLAMETHROWER by Conductor Williams & Rei The Imperial, Flint 2 Detroit by YN Jay, Being The Bigger Person Sucks by Vic Spencer

50. Zombie Love Kensington Paradise by Skrilla

49. REVELATOR by ELUCID

48. The Pride & Glory by Teller Bank$ & Ed Glorious

47. CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler, The Creator

46. Above All by Myquale

45. Keep Me Company by Skyzoo

44. Brown in America by HOODLUM

43. Pinball by MIKE & Tony Seltzer

42. Two Kings by Stu Bangas & Wordsworth

41. BLUE LIPS by ScHoolboy Q

40. BTTRSWT by NEW AGE COLLECTIVE

39. Transatlantic Shit 2 by Spice Programmers

38. Black Box: JOSHUA IS DEAD by Joshua Virtue

37. SOLACE by Marco Plus

36. A Foresaken Lover's Plea by Chuck Strangers

35. Still Praying by Westside Gunn

34. MMCHT by Nickelus F

33. Save The Bees by Big Flowers & Messiah Musik

32. CHUPACABRA by JasonMartin & DJ Quik

31. Black & Whites by Big Hit, Hit-Boy & The Alchemist

30. Nothing Is My Favorite Thing by Nappy Nina & Swarvy

29. CINE by Cavalier & Child Actor

28. IS THIS A SAFE SPACE? by Psalm One & Optiks

27. The Skeleton Key by Roc Marciano & The Alchemist

26. DECON$TRUCT!ON by Maassai

25. Deathtape 2: We Gon’ Need Each Other by Quelle Chris, Cavalier, and Denmark Vessey

24. This Too Shall Pass by Yo OG

23. Black Blues Brothers by HALAL BOYS

22. Soul Burger by Ab-Soul

21. Halfway There by dp0mmy

20. Bag Man Julio by Jaysanityy

19. 74: Out of Time by Ol’ Burger Beats

18. Carrot Season by Phiik & LUNGS

17. Memory(ummm) by Sleep Sinatra & bloomcycle

16. Almighty So 2 by Chief Keef

15. WAKING UP AND CHOOSING VIOLENCE by YUNGMORPHEUS & Alexander Spit

14. i'd rather not by Nolan The Ninja

13. PERSEVERANCE by Jay Cinema & JUNE! as JUNECINEMA

12. Death of Deuce - 7xvethegenius

11. Sour Dub by Rich Jones & SINAI.

10. F.U.N. T.O.Y. by Sideshow

9. GNX by Kendrick Lamar

8. 3rd Shift by J.U.S. & Squadda B

7. Los Angeles by Blu & Evidence

6. Different Type Time by Cavalier

5. Service Merchandise by Previous Industries [Open Mike Eagle, Video Dave, Still Rift]

4. sunscreen by shemar & Child Actor

3. The Thief Next to Jesus by Ka

2. #RICHAXXHAITIAN by Mach-Hommy

1. Sewaside III by Mike Shabb

See you in the '2-5...

[lifewithaview]

Thomas Jane in The Expanse (2015) Dulcinea

S1E1

In the asteroid belt near Saturn, James Holden and the crew of the ice freighter Canterbury investigate a distress call from a mysterious derelict ship, the Scopuli. On Ceres Station, Detective Miller begins an off-the-books investigation of a missing heiress, Julie Mao.

*Prologue.In the 23rd century, humans have colonized the Solar System. The UN controls Earth. Mars is an independent military power. The inner planets depend on the resources of the asteroid belt. Belters live and work in space. In the Belt, air and water are more precious than gold. For decades, tensions have been rising - Earth, Mars and the Belt are now on the brink of war. All it will take is a single spark…

[constellama]

re: the post you sent in the discord

part 1: first thoughts

brosenthal as scar? incredible

with joey as mumbo all i can think about is owen in a suit and idk if my gay ass can handle that

lauren as grian. brosenthal and lauren cactus ring... yeah i can see it lmao. WAIT RICHPEZ AS GRUMBO LMAOOOOOO THE FUCKIN. "WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS" SCENE OH MY GODDDD

jeff can definitely make tango noises

holden as joel... fuck it he deserves to go off the rails. i wanna see him in joel's goofy ass red wizard fit from last life

dylan as martyn... yeah dylan would get tormented by the watchers and break our hearts the same way martyn does. also dylan and joey as the ahasbands 10/10 dynamic

mariah as lizzie... ough i love it. with brian holden as joel that would be Such an energy for jizzie. also with the other brian as scar the secret life cow scene would be Iconic

joe as jimmy... i don't fully agree with this but the visuals of 1) jeff and joe ranchers and 2) dylan and joe big dogs are both absolutely legendary

jon does have bdubs energy but the whitewashing... /nm (also would pay money to watch jon and jeff reenact the b.e.s.t. betrayal lol) (also also jon's too tall lmao)

curt as impulse? oh absolutely 100% i am So here for it. joey, lauren, dylan, joe and curt as the southlands? I 👏 CON 👏 IC 👏. also jon and curt impdubs double life dynamic? amazing. incredible. we know curt can play gay so it's jon's turn

JAIME AS PEARL. 5am pearl jaime... brother i am GAY. also the mounders energy of joey, jon, brian h and jaime? incredible

Regarding THIS POST

- I don’t think I’ve seen enough of brosenthal’s acting BUT IM GONNA TRUST YOU AND OP ON THIS

- IM SOOO NORMAL ABOUT THIS. OH MY GOD. If you’ve seen any of the spy another day concert screenshots THEN YOU KNOW. The mustache, the Owen accent oh my god

- RICHPEZ GRUMBO WITH THE WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS YESSS LITERALLY INSANE. Lauren as Grian just makes SO much sense to me like yes. It’s just perfect in a way where you never thought of it but now that it’s presented to you it just makes sense.

- I do not know enough about tango but absolutely the energy feels like it’s there. Tango is deranged enough to make decked out and Jeff is just deranged in general so I GET YOU

- op mentioned junior’s energy being similar to joel AND YESS I SO GET IT

- dylan as martyn,,,, good lord this is gonna make me insane. I need you to imagine that last line martyn had in limited life but dylan instead. Do you see the vision.

- MARIAH AS LIZZIE ABSOLUTE PERFECTION, NO NOTES. Literally the best part of the post

- I also cannot see Joe as Jimmy but then again i don’t know Joe’s range of acting. Again, I haven’t watched all of the non-hatchetfield starkid shows so maybe it fits better than I think it does idk

- ooo yeah you’re right :/ what are your thoughts on James Tolbert as Bdubs? There’s that specific face he makes in adore me in Black Friday that reminds me so much of the Bdubs Smile ™️

- Curt as impulse AGAIN, PERFECT. idk much about impulse but like. I can see it so clearly

- JAIME AS PEARL OHGGUHH YESSS. She would be able to do the scarlet Pearl arc SO WELL I JUST KNOW IT

[kadytimberfox]

Kady's Expanse (Re)Watch Blog

Episode 1.01 - "Dulcinea" (Pilot)

And here we go for my...fourth time I've watched this episode I think? It's a really wonderful pilot that does so much work with introducing you to the world, our cast of characters, and setting up the threads of the main plot and does it all perfectly in a very tight 45 minutes. It reminds me a lot of Deep Space Nine's pilot "The Emissary" which is similarly a masterclass in tight storytelling and how to properly kick off a new series.

And speaking of kicking off a new series, hey! I'm watching this show that I absolutely adore again and I'm going to take the time to spout my thoughts about it on the internet because that seems like a fun idea! I really enjoy thinking about media critically but I've never taken the time to write down my thoughts before. It's a style of writing I've always wanted to try so where better to do that than a Tumblr blog? I'll try to keep these Brief and Not Boring but no guarantees on either. Especially on this one. It's the pilot, after all.

I also want to keep this as light on spoilers as possible; again though, no guarantees. Also if you haven't seen this show yet just go fucking watch it it's so good.

Later in this post is a description of torture that happens in the episode. I marked it with a TW and formatted the text to make it distinct from the rest of the post.

With that out of the way, there's nothing left to do except pick apart this pilot!

---------------------------------------

Summary

We kick off with a bang (and then some more banging) as we see a young woman named "Julie" fight her way out of a locked compartment, explore the darkened hallways of her Completely Fucked Spaceship, and watch her friends get eaten alive by some evil blue space goop. Surely none of that will be important later.

Cut to the adventures of hard-boiled Belter detective Joe Miller and his new Earthling partner Dimitri Havelock. They're private cops for an Earth corporation who theoretically maintain order on Ceres Station in the Asteroid Belt, the biggest shithole this side of pretty much anywhere. They go to a murder scene and do basically nothing, antagonize and then arrest people minding their own business at a bar, and take a bribe to half-ass a health inspection. Y'know, classic cop stuff.

Back at the precinct, Miller gets an off-the-books job from his boss to find one Juliette Andromeda Mao, daughter of megacorp magnate Jules-Pierre Mao and coincidentally the spitting image of "Julie" from our opening scene. Apparently, her pro-Belter activism is starting to piss off dear old dad and they want her to come home before she embarrasses the family any further.

In the middle of his investigation, he finds out that those air filters he "inspected" earlier crapped out and poisoned some children. Instead of taking accountability for not doing his job, he decides to throw the sleazy air filter guy into an airlock and only lets him out after he promises not to fuck it up next time. And also to pay Miller double. I'll let it slide though because Sleazy Air Filter Guy is an asshole.

Back on Earth, United Nations Undersecretary Chrisjen Avasarala shows up for about five minutes in this episode. The only thing she does is torture a guy. End scene.

Meanwhile, the good ship Canterbury is on its way to Ceres with a big haul of space ice that the station needs to turn into water. Second Officer James Holden gets immediately promoted, much to his dismay, because his previous boss Mike Ehrmantraut went insane from being out in space too long.

Mystery strikes when the gang gets a weird distress signal from a ship called the Scopuli. Captain McDowell, probably having watched enough Star Trek episodes to know that this can't be anything good, decides to ignore it. Holden just can't stop himself from doing a good thing, though, and secretly reports the signal, officially making the Canterbury Legally Obligated™ to investigate.

He picks his away team (unknowingly also picking the people he's going to spend the rest of this show with) and takes a shuttle to investigate the drifting Scopuli, where they find everything shut down except for the beacon that brought them here. "Pirate bait", or so it seems.

Suddenly, McDowell advises the away team that a very scary ship has appeared out of nowhere and that they need to get the hell out of there. The gang gets back on the shuttle just in time for the mystery ship to fire not just regular torpedoes, but nuclear torpedoes at them. The torpedoes close to zero...and then continue streaking towards the Canterbury.

Holden tells McDowell to eject the space ice to form a protective barrier, but he refuses, apparently willing to die rather than lose his payday. The payday (and everything else aboard) is lost anyway, however, as the Canterbury erupts into the most beautiful supernova I've ever seen.

"She's gone. They nuked her. She's gone."

-----------------------------------

My thoughts

So this is where I actually have to do the analysis thing. Since the beginning of this show is split into three primary subplots that all deal with a different piece of the Julie puzzle (a narrative device that I fucking love, by the way), I'll divide things up by talking about each one individually because that just makes sense.

Before I do that though, I just want to briefly say that that opening scene with Julie on the Scopuli is just the perfect opening to this show. It immediately gives us a very brief glimpse inside the puzzle box that our main cast is going to spend all of this season (and most of this show) trying to open. It's quick, it's tense, it's completely terrifying, and it's unforgettable if you've seen it.

------------------------------------

Miller on Ceres:

And we follow up that perfect opening scene with a perfect choice for which of these three main threads to start with. The thing that's great about dividing up the characters like this is that each of them only has a piece of what's going on with Julie and the Scopuli, but no one has the full picture. Miller, though, gets the most information off the bat and is the only person in the main cast who's looking for Julie specifically, so it's only natural that we should start with him.

His story is also the inspiration for the title of this episode, "Dulcinea". For those of you who aren't big Don Quixote fans, it's a reference to Quixote's fantasy lover that he invents because he styles himself as a knight and, of course, every knight needs his damsel. He describes her in excruciating detail; she's royalty in a far-off land who is the epitome of feminine beauty, the ideal of Womanhood Incarnate--or his vision of it at least.

And the deeper Miller goes in his investigation, the more quixotic he gets with his idea of who Julie is. He's never met or spoken to Julie, but as he unravels her activities prior to departing on the Scopuli, he becomes increasingly obsessed with her, imagining what kind of a person she must be, picking apart every little detail and transposing it onto his vision of what her life must be like. I'm sure he would call it "being a good detective", but it's much more than that to him.

Throughout Miller's jaunt around town with Havelock, they banter back and forth, and through their conversations, we get a great sense of their personalities. Whereas Miller is the grizzled veteran who's had his morality thoroughly beaten out of him, Havelock is a by-the-book rookie cop who seems genuinely interested in learning about Belters, if only so that he can police them more effectively.

It's a very tried-and-true buddy cop pairing, but it works really well here. Havelock gets to be our audience surrogate for this story as we learn more about how Ceres and Belters operate.

This thread has the biggest worldbuilding burden out of the three and it pulls it off so well. We get so much about life in the Belt, the politics of the Solar System, the Outer Planets Alliance, or OPA (who will definitely be showing up later), and the logistics of maintaining a huge population of humans on a space station. And none of it feels clunky or awkward in the slightest. It's exactly the style of worldbuilding I loved in "The Emissary" from Deep Space Nine.

Ceres itself also has huge DS9 vibes, and not in a good way. The set design team did such a good job making this place look old, weathered, and completely falling apart. Except, of course, for the nice apartment buildings where the cops, off-worlders, and everyone else rich enough to ignore the seedy underbelly get to live.

There are a ton of fantastic, evocative lines in this arc, but I think my favorite is Miller's deadpan proclamation that "There are no laws on Ceres, just cops." A perfect summary of everything we see on screen about how power is wielded in this place.

-------------------------------------

Chrisjen on Earth:

This is the shortest thread where the least happens, but it will grow into one of my favorites. We don't get too much additional insight into what's going on, but we do get two important things: 1) Chrisjen Avasarala is a stone-cold bitch who thinks the OPA are terrorists, and 2) the OPA are apparently trying to get their hands on illegal stealth technology, which doesn't help with the whole "terrorism" thing.

This links up to both Miller's and Holden's subplots: we know about the OPA from Miller, and the ship that eventually blows up the Cant was using Martian stealth tech. Of course, since Holden and crew have no idea about the OPA, they immediately start thinking that Mars is out to get them, which will continue to play into the story going forward.

!-- TW: DESCRIPTION OF TORTURE --!

Also important to note is that Chrisjen is getting this information through the most brutal torture I've seen on TV in a long time: forcing a Belter whose body can't handle Earth's gravity to stand for hours on end by holding him up with hooks under his arms. After Chrisjen goes on and on about his "weak Belter lungs and brittle Belter bones", she coldly turns around and tells them to hold him up for another 10 hours. "If he survives, call me."

!-- TW ENDS --!

Fucking ghoulish, and definitely not a good look for Madam Undersecretary's first appearance. You're gonna have to trust me now when I say that she becomes one of my favorite characters in the main cast. This is about as bad as she gets, but she continues being manipulative and cold-blooded for most of this show. That's just who she is. To me, it's part of what makes this subplot of scheming at the UN so engaging.

We'll be seeing a lot more of Chrisjen going forward, and she'll get much better. At the very least, she will stop torturing this guy. But only because someone will tell her not to.

-----------------------------------

Holden on the Canterbury:

If Miller's story shows us life in the Belt and Chrisjen's shows us the politics of the Solar System, Holden's thread is all about life onboard a spaceship, which is important because we're going to be spending a lot of time on spaceships. This is also the part of the episode that has the most CG and honestly it holds up really really well. I know it's less than a decade old and they probably got a lot of money for the pilot but still! It looks great!

I'll drop a brief shoutout here as well for the ship designs in this show. They knocked it out of the goddamn park with the Cant's design: it's a big, boxy, dull gray, ugly thing that looks designed to haul ice and do literally nothing else. Everything is so practical and, above all else, plausible. They look like humans from the near future built them and that's the highest compliment I can give them.

There are shades of the first act of "Alien" here as we are essentially dropped into the Cant in the middle of its mission and get to see the camaraderie and hierarchy between all the members of the crew. We also get to know more about Holden, and immediately he begins showing us his defining character trait: he wields a lot of authority and respect, but he hates being in charge.

We see this in the very first scene onboard the Cant when one of the ice haulers, Paj, gets his arm severed while working outside the ship. He seems completely unfazed by this, though, since the company will send him a prosthetic and he's been working for them long enough to get a really good one.

Not only does this happen often enough that the company just buys prosthetics as a cost of doing business, there are literally tiers of coverage depending on years of service. What an optimistic future this is turning out to be.

Paj pleads with Holden to make sure the company doesn't send him a "used" arm (a frightening thought), to which Holden replies with something that he will continue to say, in so many words, over and over: "I'm just another clock-puncher like you." Holden knows he has authority on the Cant, but all he wants to be is a clock-puncher, which he makes very clear to pretty much everyone he talks to, including Captain McDowell when he essentially forces the XO job onto him.

Later on, we get our first glimpse at Holden's other primary personality trait, that being that he is The Main Character and therefore the most kind-hearted soul that can exist in this cold, selfish world. He logs the distress signal they received from the Scopuli, thereby ensuring that they'll have to divert from Ceres (and lose their on-time bonus) in order to investigate.

He shares this privately with Chief Engineer Naomi Nagata before the shuttle mission, to which her only reply is to tell him to keep that to himself. Fair play, considering she was just talking about how she wanted to strangle the little fucking do-gooder before she realized it was her new XO. Excuse me, Acting XO.

Before the shuttle launch, we're briefly introduced to the rest of the away team: the aforementioned Naomi; her mechanic Amos Burton, whose defining character trait is doing whatever Naomi tells him to do; ship's pilot Alex Kamal, who we previously saw being an annoying blabbermouth on the Cant; and Med-Tech Shed Garvey, who sewed up Paj's arm and wants everyone to know that he does not want to be here. Yes, his first name really is Shed.

Most of this part of the episode is setting up what'll happen next so we don't get a lot of time with any of these guys, but we'll have time for some great character work in the coming episodes.

----------------------------------

And that said, what a great setup for what comes next! Nearly all of the people we just got to know on the Cant are vaporized by a mysterious ship, there's a cloud of space debris hurtling toward Holden's little shuttle, and we have a hell of a puzzle box to dig into. Did Mars blow up the Cant? Did the OPA? Why would either of them want to? What does it all have to do with Julie and the Scopuli? And what the hell was that fucking space goo??

Despite covering so much ground in this pilot, The Expanse makes it very clear that we've barely scratched the surface. And even though I've already seen this whole show and know where it's going, it took everything I had to not hit the "next episode" button.

I will be doing that very soon though because I had a blast writing this up and I definitely want to keep doing it! Apologies that this one ran so long -- I assumed I was going to write a lot with this being the first episode and everything but I had so many thoughts that didn't make it into this post. I'm sure I'll be refining the format as we go along as well.

If you read all the way to here, I'm genuinely flattered and I hope you have a wonderful day.

~ Kady <3

[youcouldmakealife]

How does Finn view his friendship with Georgie?

Honestly, I feel like that needs a full on 1k fill like I did with Finn's take on Holden/James (that mostly became a meditation on why Finn loves James), because there's a lot there; Georgie arrived when Finn was quite young, and mentored him on and off the ice (a lot of Finn reminding Robbie of Georgie is because Finn is explicitly emulating Georgie, because Georgie's manner always seemed to effortless to him at the beginning, and when, down the line, he realised it very much wasn't, that was a meaningful connection point between them rather than a disappointment)

Finn's the eldest of 4 kids in his family, and from a young age he was the one taking care of others (physically, emotionally, etc) but Georgie has been like his big brother for years now. We're seeing Finn trying to take care of him right now, but, unlike Finn and James' relationship, that's not usually the way of things. That's Finn trying to return the favour (and also just...doing what he does best).

I think Georgie would be a little shattered to know just how much Finn looks to him, and looks up to him. (if he believed it at all)

[bookwyrminspiration]

I Need Bookrecs but I can’t Just look any up cause all I get is booktok stuff :/

please help

Well I can recommend some things I/people I know personally enjoy! I don't know what you like, so I can't tailor them specifically to you, but hopefully it's still a helpful start :)

(and if anyone would like to reblog with their own additions, that's welcome to!)

A Chorus of Dragons by Jenn Lyons: A series I've talked about a lot recently. High Fantasy with incredibly complex and thorough worldbuilding, following Kihrin, a thief raised in a brothel as he discovers an unwanted royal heritage and the knowledge that he is destined to destroy the world. With an entire cast of engaging, unique characters (several queer in various ways) that drive the story, follow along as past lives are uncovered and these people who want nothing more than to live in peace are forced to fight for that right and figure out how to save humanity from the jealous hubris of people who have lost sight of what horrors can be justified for the greater good.

The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan: A series written like memoirs by Isabella Trent, the most famous and accomplished dragon naturalist ever who redefined the world and how dragons are understood with her accomplishments. But before she can be recognized, she had to establish herself in the field as a young woman in a time when women can't even vote--but she refuses to give up and travels the world for her passion, recounting the places she's been, people she's met, cultures she's glimpsed, and dragons she's studied. Very engaging and grounded, realistic in its depictions, isn't afraid to tackle topics like how harmful the "not like other women" idea is and how gender roles are detrimental to everyone.

I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane: I haven't read it, but my partner loves it. In this world, you gain a second shadow when you commit a crime, and Kris has one. And when her wife dies in childbirth, their new baby gains a shadow, too. Told as though Kris is talking to her dead wife, it examines grief, resistance, surveillance and prejudice, and is undoubtedly much better than I'm making it out to be with my vaguely informed knowledge.

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones: A standalone about a girl trying to provide for her siblings as a gravedigger, one of the only ones left in her small village who's still cautious of the supposed undead magic on its outskirts. But when a map-maker with an unclear past shows up offering money in exchange for guidance to the fabled locations, she can't turn it down. Explores death and grief and learning to live on without the people you care about, very sweet and introspective.

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro: The beginning of a new series, following two boys, Marlowe and Charlie, as they're discovered and taken to a mysterious institution for their magical gifts that allow them to access--in their unique ways--the space between life and death. But there are secrets at this institution and misguided ideas of how best to save everyone from the shadowed figure hunting down little Marlowe, driving their new small band of friends to action to try and keep everyone safe. This book is slow and deliberate, but charming; the kids all act their age and there's no romance, but plenty of finding and choosing your family.

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey: Phenomenal sci-fi set hundreds of years in the future; people are colonizing Mars and a marginalized, oppressed class of people live in the Belt. Tensions run high between all of them, but James Holden is just getting by as an ice hauler before his ship is blown up and he and a few others find themselves at the center of a conspiracy. An important woman's gone missing and when she's found, the very foundations of their world are shaken as a physically impossible biohazard rewrites history and science, taking the story to places beyond where the characters ever saw themselves going. I haven't read it myself, but my dad has and I've seen the show (which is incredible) and I really want to read it myself. Cast of distinct characters and the show is one of the most scientifically realistic out there

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto: A short, bittersweet standalone about grief. Following Mikage as she processes the death of her grandmother, she becomes close with one of her grandmother's friends from a flower shop and his mother, finding herself again and learning to live with it. Notable for its casual depiction of a trans character (that mother) in this book from the 1980s. It's a lovely read, introspective and thoughtful.

The Black Witch Chronicles by Laurie Forest: I'm not caught up with this one, but it starts following Elloren Gardner, granddaughter of the last prophesied Black Witch--but she doesn't have a single spark of magic in her blood. So she's starting at a new University to become an apothecary, but there finds her beliefs about the world--and her people's superiority--challenged as she's forced to room with two winged icarals, who she doesn't think even deserve to be here. The world turns out to be much more complicated than she thought and she needs to figure out where she actually stands. A high fantasy with a more in-depth world building, but I've only read the first 2 books so far. And in the first Elloren has a lot to unlearn, so prepare to cringe at her actions and thoughts for a hot minute--but the magic and politics of the world I remember being quite interesting.

Babel by R.F. Kuang: I've spoken about this frequently; a standalone about colonialism and language. About the literal power of words and necessity of violence. Follow young Robin Swift, taken from China as a child and given a new name so England can send him to Oxford, where his language can be used to power magical silver bars and strengthen the empire. But this exploitation of him and the people he's come to think of as family rests heavy on him, and a series of experiences drive his thoughts towards revolution and pain. Warning, this is a heavier book, especially for those who have personal experience with language/culture loss and disconnect, with the effects colonialism.

The Martian by Andy Weir: A standalone about an astronaut who gets stuck as the only person on mars when his crew has to flee the planet when a storm hits. Trying his best to survive alone until someone can hopefully come get him, the story is told through his Log entries--and he is quite the little shit of a narrator. Surviving on humor and fuck it we ball mentality, he's either going to survive and be famous for it, or die on mars and also be famous for that. An incredibly fun read that touches on the bonds of humanity and what we'll do to help others, and how hard people will fight to survive and keep their hope alive. This was also turned into a movie, and not a bad one!

[gumroad-shop]

⚈ The Expanse | James S.A. Corey | Audiobooks [13 works] "...Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why. Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything. Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe..." Learn more ☛

[solsinfo]

ANDREAS ALEXIOU .

age: early to mid 20s gender: cis male pronouns: he/him orientation: bisexual species: human, earther occupation: data broker location: belt face claim: dimitri leonidas

he was born on earth, in the balcan share interest trade zone, and more specifically in greece. his mother was a teacher that often volunteered to areas without basic assistance and while his father never made it off the lottery, he offered electrician services around the neighborhood to pass his time. they discovered while andreas was growing up that he was especially gifted with computer systems, coding, and ciphers.

basic assistance covered barely enough that andreas soon ventured into trying to make money on the side by selling his services. at that time he hadn't enquired about the legality of the systems he was asked to do and soon enough, his work was noticed to the point of getting a sponsor to study on luna.

but the bubble burst when he discovered that his sponsor had ulterior motives. at first, andreas played along without a way out. but things when south when after a wrong calculation the people he worked with sold him out. and he had to flee to the belt without ever finishing his studies.

at first, he was working as a navigator around the sol system on less than ideal vessels. smuggling ships, ice haulers, whoever would look past his fake ID and hire him. until he was approached by a group of data brokers on tycho. they worked for the opa but mostly were employed by fred johnson to decrypt sensitive files. paula was his contact, a data coder who would later work with james holden during the start of the war with the free navy. a job he wanted to contribute to after losing his parents when one of marco's rocks hit the mediterrenean.

[galax1ad]

doctor who.

primary.

01. RUBY SUNDAY — 15's COMPANION + CONCEPT MADE OF MEMORIES : she / her, queer, fc: millie gibson, tag.

the expanse.

primary.

01. JAMES HOLDEN — ROCINANTE'S CAPTAIN + PROTOMOLECULE'S FAVORITE CHEW TOY : he / him, book + show influences, bisexual + polyamorous, fc: steven strait, tag.

02. JOSEP — THE TYNAN'S CHIEF ENGINEER + PILOT : he / him, book + show influences, bisexual + polyamorous, fc: samer salem, tag.

03. MICHIO — THE TYNAN'S MEDTECH + SALVAGER : she / her, show based, bisexual + polyamorous, fc: vanessa smyth, tag.

secondary.

01. CLARISSA MELPOMENE MAO AKA PEACHES — THE ROCINANTE'S MECHANIC + FORMER MAX SECURITY PRISONER : she / her, book + show influences, lesbian, fc: nadine nicole, tag.

02. FILIP INAROS NAGATA — TRANSPORT UNION CONTRACTOR + FORMER FREE NAVY OPERATIVE: he / him, book + show influences, bisexual + polyamorous, fc: jasai chase owens, tag.

03. JULIETTE ANDROMEDA MAO — THE PROTOMOLECULE'S SEED CRYSTAL + FORMER OPA OPERATIVE: she / her, primarily au, pansexual, fc: florence faivre, tag.

04. SABA — CAPTAIN OF THE MALACLYPSE + UNDERGROUND LEADER: he / him, book based, pansexual + polyamorous, fc: david ajala, tag.

original characters.

01. ANDREAS ALEXIOU — FREELANCE DATA CODER : he / him, earther living on tycho, bisexual, fc: dimitri leonidas, tag.

02. VERA SULLIVAN — FUGITIVE + FORMER MCRN FLEET ADMIRAL: she / her, martian hiding out in the belt, pansexual, fc: jennifer connelly, tag.

killjoys.

primary.

01. JOHNNY JAQOBIS — KILLJOY AKA SPACE BOUNTY HUNTER + MEMBER OF TEAM AWESOME FORCE : he / him, bisexual, fc: aaron ashmore, tag.

life is strange.

primary.

01. MAX CAULFIELD — PHOTOGRAPHER + TIME REWINDER : she / her, lesbian, fc: sophie thatcher / dakota johnson, tag.

mass effect. (now on 1stspectre)

primary.

01. COMMANDER CALLIOPE SHEPARD — EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE NORMANDY + FIRST HUMAN SPECTRE : she / her, bisexual, fc: hannah john kamen, tag.

original characters.

primary.

01. ALEC WELCH — ASTRONOMER + CAPTAIN SPACE SALVAGER : he / him, bisexual, fc: manny jacinto, tag. affiliated with @FABLELIKE

01. MATTHIAS BISHOP — ONE OF THE HUNDRED + MEDIC : he / him, bisexual, the 1OO based, fc: josha stradowski, tag.

03. VERNE DANIELS — VOLLEYBALL COACH + SUPER HERO : she / her, lesbian, fc: frankie adams, tag.

secondary.

01. NES — ONE S SYSTEM OF THE VOID : all pronouns, ship ai system, fc: mackenzie davis / laura birn, tag.

02. XENIA SEVYN — SECOND OFFICER OF THE VOID INTERGALACTIC HITCH-HIKER : she / her, aroace, fc: sonequa martin green, tag.

silo.

primary.

01. JULIETTE 'JULES' NICHOLS — ENGINEER + SHERIFF : she / her, show based for now, bisexual, fc: rebecca ferguson, tag.

secondary.

01. SHIRLEY CAMPBELL — ENGINEER : she / her, show based for now, lesbian, fc: remmie miller, tag.

misc canon characters.

01. CINTA KAZ — REBEL : she / her, andor, lesbian, fc: verada sethu, tag.

02. DIEGO HARGREEVES — NUMBER TWO : he / him, tua, vibes only, bisexual, fc: david castañeda, tag. by request

03. SALVOR HARDIN — TERMINUS WARDEN + TELEPATH : they / them, foundation, show based + au, queer, fc: leah harvey, tag. by request

04. BROTHER CONSTANT — NOVICE CLARIC + ENEMY OF EMPIRE : she / they, foundation, show based, queer, fc: isabella laughland, tag. by request

05. YASNA FARZEN — THE IC DRAGONFLY'S ASTROBIOLOGIST : she / her, the invincible (video game), demiromantic/demisexual, fc: golshifteh farahani, tag. by request