#Managerial effectiveness

[darrenwalleyconsultancy]

Leadership and Management

Photo by GR Stocks Is there a difference between leadership and management? Some of you may agree that you “lead” people and “manage” things. Or is leading and managing a dynamic and symbiotic relationship? Admiral Grace Hopper coined the phrase, “You manage things; you lead people.” a military background tried and tested that phrase. This article looks at the differences between Leading and…

[burntoutdaydreamer]

To Write Better Antagonists, Have Them Embody the Protagonist's Struggles

(Spoilers for The Devil Wears Prada, Avatar the Last Airbender, Kung Fu Panda 2, and The Hunger Games triology).

Writing antagonists and villains can be hard, especially if you don't know how to do so.

I think a lot of writers' first impulse is to start off with a placeholder antagonist, only to find that this character ends up falling flat. They finish their story only for readers to find the antagonist is not scary or threatening at all.

Often the default reaction to this is to focus on making the antagonist meaner, badder, or scarier in whatever way they can- or alternatively they introduce a Tragic Backstory to make them seem broken and sympathetic. Often, this ends up having the exact opposite effect. Instead of a compelling and genuinely terrifying villain, the writer ends up with a Big Bad Edge Lord who the reader just straight up does not care about, or actively rolls their eyes at (I'm looking at you, Marvel).

What makes an antagonist or villain intimidating is not the sheer power they hold, but the personal or existential threat they pose to the protagonist. Meaning, their strength as a character comes from how they tie into the themes of the story.

To show what I mean, here's four examples of the thematic roles an antagonist can serve:

1. A Dark Reflection of the Protagonist

The Devil Wears Prada

Miranda Priestly is initially presented as a terrible boss- which she is- but as the movie goes on, we get to see her in a new light. We see her as an bonafide expert in her field, and a professional woman who’s incredible at what she does. We even begin to see her personal struggles behind the scenes, where it’s clear her success has come at a huge personal cost. Her marriages fall apart, she spends every waking moment working, and because she’s a woman in the corporate world, people are constantly trying to tear her down.

The climax of the movie, and the moment that leaves the viewer most disturbed, does not feature Miranda abusing Andy worse than ever before, but praising her. Specifically, she praises her by saying “I see a great deal of myself in you.” Here, we realize that, like Miranda, Andy has put her job and her career before everything else that she cares about, and has been slowly sacrificing everything about herself just to keep it. While Andy's actions are still a far cry from Miranda's sadistic and abusive managerial style, it's similar enough to recognize that if she continues down her path, she will likely end up turning into Miranda.

In the movie's resolution, Andy does not defeat Miranda by impressing her or proving her wrong (she already did that around the half way mark). Instead, she rejects the values and ideals that her toxic workplace has been forcing on her, and chooses to leave it all behind.

2. An Obstacle to the Protagonist's Ideals

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Fire Lord Ozai is a Big Bad Baddie without much depth or redemptive qualities. Normally this makes for a bad antagonist (and it's probably the reason Ozai has very little screen time compared to his children), but in Avatar: The Last Airbender, it works.

Why?

Because his very existence is a threat to Aang's values of nonviolence and forgiveness.

Fire Lord Ozai cannot be reasoned with. He plans to conquer and burn down the world, and for most of the story, it seems that the only way to stop him is to kill him, which goes against everything Aang stands for. Whether or not Aang could beat the Fire Lord was never really in question, at least for any adults watching the show. The real tension of the final season came from whether Aang could defeat the Fire Lord without sacrificing the ideals he inherited from the nomads; i.e. whether he could fulfill the role of the Avatar while remaining true to himself and his culture.

In the end, he manages to find a way: he defeats the Fire Lord not by killing him, but by stripping him of his powers.

3. A Symbol of the Protagonist's Inner Struggle

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda 2 is about Po's quest for inner peace, and the villain, Lord Shen, symbolizes everything that's standing in his way.

Po and Lord Shen have very different stories that share one thing in common: they both cannot let go of the past. Lord Shen is obsessed with proving his parents wrong and getting vengeance by conquering all of China. Po is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is adopted and is desperate to figure out who he is and why he ended up left in a box of radishes as a baby.

Lord Shen symbolizes Po's inner struggle in two main ways: one, he was the source of the tragedy that separated him from his parents, and two, he reinforces Po's negative assumptions about himself. When Po realizes that Lord Shen knows about his past and confronts him, Lord Shen immediately tells Po exactly what he's afraid of hearing: that his parents abandoned him because they didn't love him. Po and the Furious Five struggle to beat Shen not because he's powerful, but because Po can't let go of the past, and this causes him to repeatedly freeze up in battle, which Shen uses to his advantage.

Po overcomes Shen when he does the one thing Shen is incapable of: he lets go of the past and finds inner peace. Po comes to terms with his tragic past and recognizes that it does not define him, while Shen holds on to his obsession of defying his fate, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

4. A Representative of a Harsh Reality or a Bigger System

The Hunger Games

We don't really see President Snow do all that much on his own. Most of the direct conflict that Katniss faces is not against him, but against his underlings and the larger Capitol government. The few interactions we see between her and President Snow are mainly the two of them talking, and this is where we see the kind of threat he poses.

President Snow never lies to Katniss, not even once, and this is the true genius behind his character. He doesn't have to lie to or deceive Katniss, because the truth is enough to keep her complicit.

Katniss knows that fighting Snow and the Capital will lead to total war and destruction- the kind where there are survivors, but no winners. Snow tells her to imagine thousands upon thousands of her people dead, and that's exactly what happens. The entirety of District 12 gets bombed to ashes, Peeta gets brainwashed and turned into a human weapon, and her sister Prim, the very person she set out to protect at the beginning of the story, dies just before the Capitol's surrender. The districts won, but at a devastating cost.

Even after President Snow is captured and put up for execution, he continues to hurt Katniss by telling her the truth. He tells her that the bombs that killed her sister Prim were not sent by him, but by the people on her side. He brings to her attention that the rebellion she's been fighting for might just implement a regime just as oppressive and brutal as the one they overthrew and he's right.

In the end, Katniss is not the one to kill President Snow. She passes up her one chance to kill him to take down President Coin instead.

[keikakudom]

I decided to make a HH AU cause...y'know....anyway.... now introducing

Reset Resort! A Hotelier Vox AU

- you already know, it's a hotel Vox AU.....but not quite what you're thinking. Kind of a swap between Alastor and Vox, it focuses on the butterfly effects of this single change, rather than a full reversal.

- Most things are kinda(?) the same. Except the hotel is not as run-down and quite more successful. As if S1’s hotel started with S2's reputation and building. It's also more modern/sleek and closer to your typical strip hotel.  Much more busy with additional residents coming in and out. Think Vegas-style. It has way too many amenities than necessary, and it's actually an enjoyable place to hang out , but the message for "redemption" might be a bit....lost.

- It’s supposed to be a place where Sinners can (lightly) indulge in their vices without risk of falling into a soul-binding deal on their road to recovery.

- In this AU, movement between Sinners/Winners has been proven. NOT redemption yet. With this “concrete” evidence, Vox considers it "purely a business investment" to sponsor the hotel.

- Because of this "proof", Heaven has granted Hell/Charlie a grace period of an extra year with no exterminations, so long as they continue to monitor the process and Hell provides further progress and evidence of redemption.

Vox is there for the start up of the hotel with Charlie. He sponsors her project with his reach and expertise. His personality is much more subdued, his TV persona taking center stage, except for rare occasions. His temper is not as bad as in-canon. AKA, he’s much more fake and corny in this AU.

Charlie is slightly more mature and realistic in this AU. She studies redemption seriously and notes behavioral patterns/is much more patient and careful with the process. With Vox being extremely efficient and taking over the managerial/facility side of the resort, she is able to dedicate her time fully towards the redemption of sinners and being a therapist. She is still overzealous sometimes because she knows that if nobody else will show enthusiasm/push sinners to do better, then nobody will.

- Vox tried to manipulate Charlie very early on when they first met, and Charlie ended up realizing his kindness was just for his own benefit and has been wary of that fact ever since.

- Their relationship is like: she knows he’s reliable and will do everything she asks, but is doubtful/sad that he’s ingenuine. Vox thinks Charlie looks at him with pity and absolutely HATES it, but he still plays carefully so he can do a repeat and build up her trust again. Doesn't like Vaggie for a similar reason. They just think he's another misguided sinner in need. Neither have fully grasped the idea that most Sinners chose to do-evil(which he certainly has). 

- Vox holds a contract with Lucifer. What for? Well... let's say that they're on good terms and are friends. They meet with each other once a week (where Lucifer gets social interaction and updates on Charlie). 

I already have sketches for Alastor and Vaggie planned out in this AU~

It's less of a full "reversal" and more so one swap and the butterfly effect that follows. This AU has been my brainchild for a few weeks, so PLEASEEE I'd love to answer any questions or asks....

My AU tag is #au: reset resort

All information can be found under there! Until I make a masterpost or something.

Old design under the cut:

[annabelle--cane]

there's a lot going on in the mag 58 supplemental, this one little scene does a lot of heavy lifting to set up martin and tim's arcs for the rest of the show, but I want to focus on these lines particularly because of how therapy comes back as a symbol in s4/s5.

broadly, in the context of the meta plot and not the individual statements, seeking therapy in tma is representative of trying to improve oneself and get out of a bad situation. later, when taking melanie to therapy, georgie suggests that jon should get some as well but, when asked, says she wouldn't be willing to escort him like she does with melanie, showing how she does wish the best for jon in theory but doesn't think he actually wants to get better, or at least that she's not sure enough to involve herself with him.

that view of jon doesn't come from nowhere, because here we have an instance of him rejecting that same offer, symbolically rejecting help in favor of digging himself deeper on his own (obligatory disclaimer that irl therapy is a very personal thing and says nothing about one's overall character, this is just an examination of a motif in fiction). the word choice of "he just says no" imo implies that martin has suggested this multiple times and jon keeps giving the same answer, continually reaffirming that he does not want outside assistance to pull him out of this spiral.

the fact that martin's the one advocating to go soft on jon despite repeated refusals for more sympathetic help is interesting to me, because I would guess that this conversation was instigated by jon aggressively confronting martin about trevor herbert two episodes earlier. we know he was stalking all three of his assistants, but that is the biggest and most threatening outburst we get from jon in this period, and in this conversation it is still martin being defensive and apologetic vs tim being frustrated and pissed off.

I've said recently that I'm pretty sure martin believed jon was self harming and/or suicidal at this point, so I can see why he would be particularly willing to give jon slack and try to prevent any big conflicts, but that still contributes to his current narrative role of "guy who is treated the worst but ignores it because he's also the guy who cares the most." in that way, he's a foil for georgie; she cares, sure, but not enough to ignore (perceived) risks. martin pushes for jon to get therapy even as he lashes out and rejects help, and georgie won't involve herself when jon asks if she'd be willing to help him see a therapist.

this motif comes back around for a final complication in s5, when laverne, melanie's therapist, winds up as part of her cult. melanie's effort to get better and get out did have lasting effects, she is separated from the watcher/watched system and is coping a whole lot better than she would have before, but those personal efforts still weren't enough to fully get her out of the whole mess. no amount of individual action could remove her from this structural problem, her therapist helped her a lot but also now thinks she's a prophet.

which also comes back to the above scene. tim and martin both write off elias as useless in this situation, so they start sniping at each other and talking about how to stop jon from doing what he's doing without even really lingering on how the guy who is actually in charge and has power over them all is making it worse by neglecting his managerial duties. I'm sure jon could have done with some therapy at this point, but that would have only dealt with, like, 10% of the archive gang's current problems.

[spacexseven]

Imagine waiting months for that one long holiday, finally youre able to go back home to your family...only to be kidnapped by doa on the day of your departure...how unfortunate

yandere content, kidnapping

manga spoilers about doa + kamui's identity. featuring all 5 doa members. there's a 'route' for each character. unedited, and much longer than i expected.

the least they could have done was be a little gentler going about it.

but of course, you had to suffer through being wrapped up into a coat and tossed into a portal like you were simply a bag of flesh and bone. the humiliation of needing someone to help you in your disorientated state once you tumbled out somewhere else and the nonchalant attitude of your kidnappers only made you more angrier.

any escape attempts didn't get you far; though the windows weren't barred, one look outside the huge ones behind sigma's desk told you all you needed to know—you were suspended mid-air, and it didn't help that there were armed guards constantly surveilling the building, and cameras in every corner. (and, you wouldn't admit it, but your kidnappers really frightened you. they were all ability users, and more importantly, all completely insane).

after multiple failed attempts at sneaking out through the door or hiding between customer's bags, threatening a guard to escort you out and even trying to hijack one of the cars, you decide to change up your methods. maybe instead of running away now, you could try and exploit your kidnappers and leave when they're finally trusting of you...?

CHOICE #1: SIGMA

you don't like any of your kidnappers, but the only one you could stand was sigma, who was probably the most 'normal' out of them. though you mostly came to that conclusion because he had yet to threaten you for trying to run, his lack of an offensive ability, too, was a huge factor in it.

and sigma was...kinder, in a way, easier to dissect and play into the arms of. you didn't have to say anything to keep him from using his ability on you, in fact, he confessed to you that he feared his ability would make you trust him less, and so he held back from touching you altogether. despite it being a non-offensive type ability, if he used it on you, he'd have immediately found out about your plans, so it was for the best.

it's not as hard to pretend to like sigma, because you found him sort of endearing. it's not difficult to let out a few chuckles when he comes running over to you with a book about jokes that nikolai was reading, trying to make you laugh with them. it comes almost naturally when you sit beside him into the late hours of the night, watching him do his managerial duties and study his customers, and you almost forget you're supposed to be using him. it's easier than you'd expect to confide in him your fears of fyodor and the jerk who threw you into his coat, admitting to him that you can't bring it in yourself to be around without being filled with a sense of fear. he reciprocates it all greatly, wrapping an arm around you (and by now, you realize, he doesn't even consider using his ability on you anymore. if there's anything he wants to know, mundane things like what you like to eat and how you like your coffee, he just observes you and finds out himself, or asks you) when you're drowning in your own sorrows, teaching you card tricks in his spare time and bringing you presents that he thought you'd like; little snow globes and records that remind him of you, things of that sort.

you have to remind yourself that your kindness is an act and not genuine. after all, this man was part of the group that brought you here to satisfy their own sick desires. sometimes though, you find yourself hoping that sigma wasn't as bad, that he would understand your feelings.

clearly, he doesn't.

"i can't believe you," his voice comes out as a choked whisper, his eyes fixated on your cornered figure, "you were going to leave?!"

sigma's back was to the door, effectively blocking your escape route. he was trembling all over, clearly overwhelmed and crestfallen by everything that had just taken place. you had tried to sneak away while on a shopping trip with sigma, only the second time that you were allowed to go out, but he had caught on pretty quickly, and now you were trapped.

"let me go," you plead, hoping to appeal to his sympathetic side, "please, sigma."

he shakes his head, still glued to the door, "no. i can't. you can't leave me."

"out of everyone else, i hoped you would understand. i thought you knew how i felt, trapped with dostoevsky."

sigma's eyes widen, confusion clear on his face before he exhales sharply and straightens himself out, seemingly deciding on something, "i'm sorry, [name], but i won't let you go. this is the only way i can have you."

"you're so cruel," he whispers, watching your devastated expression, "why did you make me believe you loved me?"

CHOICE #2: KAMUI

the hooded figure of kamui never failed to invoke a sudden sense of eeriness he made an appearance.

he didn't come by very often, but whenever he did, fukuchi always took a moment to come check up on you. at least when he's not donning his mask and cloak, he looks a lot less...frightening. you're not sure if he has anything to do with your kidnapping, because his interest in you rarely went past a curious glance and the occasional, hearty laugh when he comes across you shrieking at nikolai's attempts to drag you away from the open door.

you're not sure to make of him, with his fake public persona and his involvement with the doa, but he isn't as much of a threat to you as the rest, at least not directly. at the very least, when he comes over, nikolai is so much on edge that he doesn't try to torment you as much as he usually does.

fukuchi regards you as something to serve as entertainment; dostoevsky's newest toy, as you hear him say in passing. he watches you like you're something novel, like he hasn't figured you out yet. since he wasn't as involved as the others inside the casino, you thought he would be your best option to try and exploit.

your attempt at getting to know him starts by offering small greetings.

"captain," you say, waving at him as he walks into your room, where sigma is asleep on your shoulder.

he observes the two of you with an oddly soft look in his eyes, a stark contrast to his usual hardened gaze that stays even with a large smile on his face. then, he nods at you before walking away, gently closing the door behind him.

you try to open up around him more, even if it's not through conversing directly with him. even though you know he's watching you from the corner when nikolai is trying to coax you out of your new hiding spot with little treats, you don't shy away as you usually would. you loudly proclaim to nikolai that you'd only come out when fyodor stops being so mean, which is received with a exuberant laugh from the older man. huh, was that all it would take?

and it works, oddly enough—fukuchi starts asking about you, whenever he sees you after that, in between hushed conversations with fyodor, ("and how are you, [name]? is dostoevsky still being mean to you?" you force yourself to ignore fyodor's pointed glare and instead offer a meek smile). he makes more conversation, and you quickly realize he likes your honest comments, even if it was all just criticizing his subordinates. you think he must find you amusing, like a spiteful pet that doesn't give up an opportunity to attack, especially when he places a large hand on your head to stroke your hair, unexpectedly tender despite his ruthless exterior.

"why do you keep trying to run?" he asks you one day, after nikolai had dropped your bound figure back into the room.

you huff, "what do you mean, why? why would anyone want to stay here? any longer and i might go insane."

"oh? that isn't good," he smiles, but it's not the warm ones he gives you. this was...unnerving, "dostoevsky will have no use for you then."

your eyes light up, immediately considering a new plan to have fyodor throw you out himself, but you're interrupted by fukuchi's low chuckle, a dark gleam in his eyes, "worry not! even if he doesn't want you anymore, i'll gladly keep you. if i had known that dostoevsky had picked up such a curious little thing, i would have taken you before he had...well, what do you say?"

CHOICE #3: BRAM

to be honest, you felt for bram.

in a way, he was living just as miserably as you, locked up in a coffin and taken out only when he's needed, and without most of his body. it must be awfully disorientating to be shaken about by the stake through him, and he's always looked so...unhappy.

you're not sure how much help he could be in your plan to escape, except maybe provide emotional support, but who's to say he wasn't a resentful old vampire who wanted you to stay and suffer with him?

you soon learn, through awkward, stilted conversation and silent periods that bram is...not really as angry or scornful as you thought. he is bitter, and extremely uninterested in most things, but as long as you listen to his stories and provide your wholehearted support, he's surprisingly kind to you.

he doesn't even bother trying to offer any hope of escape, though. he tells you that you, like him, should just go to sleep and wait for the others to decide what they'll do with you. he reminds you that there's no escape from a heavily guarded, heavily surveilled casino suspended in the sky, and there's no escape from dostoevsky's cunning words or kamui's wicked plans. you're stuck here, just like him, left to lament the past.

when you suggest him using his ability on you, hoping that by being turned into a vampire under bram's control, he could find a way for you to escape, he looks horrified by the very thought. ("it's too much work for me now," he remarks, looking visibly irked, "to be turning humans. besides, what kind of foolish plan is that? and right after i informed you that i myself am not aware of the casino's layout.")

at least you have a friend here, even if he's constantly discouraging your escape attempts and convincing you to accept your fate. life would be terribly bleak if you were entirely alone.

CHOICE #4: NIKOLAI

out of the five, you hate nikolai the most.

your increased anger towards him stemmed from him being the one to actually kidnap you, as well as his daily attempts to get you to 'open up', which included him dragging you out of your room and annoying you incessantly until your patience snaps, relishing in your furious expressions. the most infuriating part of it all is that nikolai was never put off by your silent rage or your clear disdain, instead finding it all great fun. he thinks your frustrated words and attempts at hiding away should serve as his entertainment. nikolai laughs when you try to run, and he's always the one that whisks you back into the casino, no matter how far you've gotten. he never stops your escapes, though, almost as though he knows you'll end up back here, like he knows he'll catch up with you in the end.

but he's also unpredictable; for as much as he claims to love his job, he also tells you he hates it, and for every word of praise he has for fyodor and sigma, there are just as many potential murder plots. he's near impossible to read, but you think that maybe, he won't kill you unless you start boring him.

so if your escape served as entertainment for him, wouldn't he be more receptive about helping you?

you start off by seeking some civil conversation with him, but it's not working very well. nikolai tends to send any casual conversation spiraling into...odd directions, half of which you can't understand at all. and you almost start to feel like he doesn't want you to get to know him...still, you've got nothing else to lose now, so you keep it up. you entertain his ideas and go along with his pranks (even if it earns you an exhausted glance from sigma and thinly veiled anger from bram), you read the books he reads and watch the things he does at a mostly useless attempt to figure out his angle, and you even put in more effort in your escape plots, just so he doesn't get bored of you. but it's all in vain, however, because nikolai isn't someone you can just figure out. he's someone you're not sure you can even come close to understanding, let alone manipulating.

in the end, you decide the best approach is being forward with him.

"are you really asking me to make a deal for your life?" nikolai throws his head back in laughter, "this is why i like you! i was worried you were starting to lose your spark."

"i suppose we could come to an agreement" you should have known, really, that nothing good was going to come out of this when you caught sight of the malicious grin on his face and the wicked glint in his uncovered eye, "how about a game?"

"a game?" you don't bother hiding the skepticism in your tone.

"it's very simple! i'll give you an hour to leave the casino. all you have to do is step out of the building entrance, and i'll let you free. in fact, i'll even make sure that none of the others come after you after your victory!"

"but if you fail," his grin widens, "then you'll be leaving your fate in my hands."

the vague threat, combined with his unsettling expression fills you with a overwhelming fear. as if noticing this, he laughs. but now that you've put the idea in his head, you're not sure if he'll ever let it go.

"don't worry! either way, i'm sure we'll be having lots of fun!"

CHOICE #5: FYODOR

something was terribly off with the way fyodor looked at you.

despite the gentle smile on his face and the lovely way he said your name, all soft and gentle, there was an oddly distant look in his eyes. he observed you closely and made conversation—revolving around surprisingly mundane questions like have you read this book and what do you think of this movie, and are you familiar with this dish and this composer? and his tone is curious, a charming turn of his lips accompanying his careful probing, making for quite the lovely picture. but there was something meticulously crafted about it, almost like his words were practised and his reactions stilted. there was nothing genuine about the fond smiles or the barely-there touches. you wondered if perhaps, he was waiting for you to do something.

but you have to admit, you'll take the dread creeping over your shoulder over the blatant terror you're faced with when you talk to kamui, or nikolai. apart from his unsettling exterior, fyodor makes for decent company. he's quiet, but not the awkward silence that envelopes you when sigma runs out of things to say, and his questions never feel too invasive. he has a certain charm about him, you think, that makes him somewhat likeable, despite you knowing that he actively plays a part in whatever evil the doa performed.

these days, you spend more time with him. you find that the books he gives you are interesting, although not your usual taste, and that you look forward to seeing what he would lend you next. and the more you're around him, the more curious you get. why was he so...detached from you? why did he feel so disinterested despite being the one to initiate conversation? you try to listen for any indication of interest, and you think you find a trace when sigma tells him about preparations being complete, or when nikolai brings in some papers. later, you hear the same change in tone when you ask him why you've been brought here.

"why?" he smiles at you, and it's as beautiful as it is frightening, "i thought you may be of use to me."

"am i? all i do is sit around and...wait for something to happen."

"patience, [name]. i'm sure you'll figure it out on your own, you're quite smart, aren't you?" though his smile is still on his face, the hint of condescension in his tone doesn't escape you. you don't expect anything else from him, anyway.

one day, after you manage to evade nikolai long enough to sneak off to the lobby of the casino, fyodor stops by your crouched figure in a corner, still upset after nikolai's threats.

the ever present smile is still there, "caught again?"

you sigh, and look away.

then, he leans in closer, until his cold lips brush against the tip of your ear, "you might want to try the staff exit next time, or explore for other exits. there are many ways to come in and out the casino." you shiver, but his words spark a new flame of resolve in you. you've never seen fyodor come in through the main entrance, and he leaves quite often. if you insisted on seeing him out next time, you might have a better chance at escaping...

he doesn't look the slightest bit surprised when you walk with him as he's leaving a few days after, only glancing at you as he slipped on his coat. sigma frowns at you from the corner of the room, but noticing fyodor beside you, he goes back to his papers immediately. it must be nice having such an effect on people.

he's silent throughout most the walk, but right before he leaves through a door you've never noticed before, fyodor spares a few words to you.

"stay back a while and explore the building. not too long—someone will worry—but you should be able to find something helpful."

how strange it is that you found an ally in fyodor, out of everyone else. a part of you is convinced he must be playing a cruel trick on you, but you're willing to take any chances that you can find. when you're back for breakfast, you're grinning to yourself as you recount the two exists you've found, one hidden below a winding staircase, and the other at the opposite side of where the five gather with you. both representing hope that you can make it out.

both ways were failures. nikolai's grip around your wrists is painful as he guides you back to your room, goading you by belittling your attempts. fyodor is already waiting there, skimming through your current read, lingering on the pages where you've scribbled down your thoughts (the idea courtesy of fyodor). he puts down the book to look at you as you're embarrassingly being ushered back to your cell. at least nikolai leaves after sharing a few words with the other man—the humiliation of him having to hear how you'd been mislead would have been too much to bear.

your weak glare does nothing to perturb him, "you knew it wouldn't work, right?"

"nikolai is very determined when it concerns keeping you," he says, "perhaps you underestimated him."

"i thought you were going to help me leave," you groan, "i'm so stupid."

"now, my dear," fyodor's amused smile sends shivers down your spine, "why would i ever do that? were you not aware that it was me who asked for nikolai to bring you here?"

"but you told me about the other exists—"

"only to keep you busy," he interrupts, "so you wouldn't do something rash in a desperate attempt to leave."

"i thought you didn't want me...like how they do." because fyodor has never shown interest in you, not like nikolai's constant need to be around you, or sigma's shy way of sitting next to you when he's off work, but perhaps it meant something different, because it was him.

"no," he says, "i don't need to want you like they do, because you are already mine," he leans in closer, a hand on your cheek, "you are mine before you are any of theirs, and you'll do well not to forget that."

[muninnhuginn]

In Defence of Qiao Ling

I've been musing on several threads relating to Qiao Ling in the last few weeks and have seen a few posts going around that have pushed me to actually try and put all my Qiao Ling thoughts into words and in one place.

Despite the title, I don't fully agree with the show's handling of Qiao Ling, but I do think she has been provided with a clear ongoing arc and so that's what I'm going to be focusing on here.

This got quite long so most of it is under the cut, but shout-out to @lizzieonka and @oceaniche for their previous posts on Qiao Ling, which definitely ended up inspiring some parts of this.

So, let's start with: what do we actually know about Qiao Ling?

Qiao Ling's Background

She's first introduced as the "landlady", for all it quickly becomes apparent that her relationship with Cheng Xiaoshi isn't quite that simple. Her family "took Cheng Xiaoshi in" but there's always been some distance and that's reinforced by the whole "rent" deal. (The fact that Cheng Xiaoshi is still adamant his parents will return likely also factors in to this.) Still, Qiao Ling herself clearly sees Cheng Xiaoshi as her younger brother and is willing to stake her claim on him as family to near-strangers (we've seen it both when she met Lu Guang and Li Tianxi).

Qiao Ling's social life is clearly contrasted with that of Cheng Xiaoshi. Where Cheng Xiaoshi's first "proper" friend was Lu Guang, Qiao Ling has her own circle of friends and is fairly sociable in general (she literally found a client by befriending a stranger when she came to learn martial arts). Xu Shanshan, for instance, is very much Qiao Ling's friend despite hanging out with the collective group at uni. Qiao Ling also spoke of Cheng Xiaoshi's childhood as something that happened to him specifically, implying that she herself was spared the bullying (which makes sense considering the fact that she wasn't the one with missing parents) and so had a more "normal" upbringing. Whether she spoke up back then or stayed quiet isn't fully clarified (not speaking up against adults is one thing but what about classmates?), but Cheng Xiaoshi doesn't seem to hold it against her either way.

Nowadays, Qiao Ling's role in managing the photo shop's side-business has her interacting directly with most clients. She's the most customer-facing of the three, relaying information between clients and shiguang. This is despite her not actually knowing the full details behind shiguang's diving process until season two, which in retrospect makes it more impressive. Qiao Ling taking on the managerial role (and what is also implied to be social media advertising) also has the (unintended?) effect of obscuring shiguang's roles in the business from the public, as it's Qiao Ling who earns the nickname of "witch". It took until Xiao Li saw Cheng Xiaoshi in the CCTV footage during the Doudou case for anyone to see through this.

Key Character Moments

In terms of Qiao Ling's key moments, we have four main ones.

In Doudou arc, Qiao Ling admits she saw Doudou being taken three years ago;

In season two, at the hospital, Qiao Ling asks for some trust and to not be shut out anymore;

Qiao Ling bonding with Li Tianxi and using their shared aspects to bring her out of her shell so she would help the investigation;

The revelation that Qiao Ling did, in fact, receive some form of Lu Guang's memories from Tianxi and her dismissal of their implications.

The main thread behind all of these scenes is that they are about information and what you choose to do with it.

My thoughts are two-fold here. First, how these scenes connect with Qiao Ling's arc specifically, and secondly, how they connect with the broader themes of the series.

Qiao Ling's Arc

Doudou

Let's begin with Doudou arc. In this arc, Qiao Ling reveals that she saw the kidnapping of a child several years ago. She hadn't told anyone about this for three years and likely would have continued to have kept it to herself if not for Doudou's father approaching the photo studio. In this arc, there is the following exchange:

Qiao Ling's main regret is that she didn't do something or say something as she saw Doudou being taken away. That her inaction may have ensured that Doudou's kidnapper was able to get away with him. And she specifically says "I didn't even have the courage to step forward and provide any information." (Tangent: Funnily enough, Lu Guang is the "star of courage" in the Star Warriors later in the episode, not Qiao Ling. Qiao Ling is "star of wisdom" who is meant to "light the way". Still fitting, but in a less straightforward way.)

Now, to me, this is clearly setting up an arc, not resolving one. Qiao Ling wouldn't have offered the information if not for the circumstances. And it tells us that for all Qiao Ling has friends and is sociable, she still holds certain cards close to her chest. She doesn't want to confront the past so instead she will hold her guilt tight and not say a word. Though, as this exchange shows, she does want to have that courage. And I'll get onto this later, but this ties in very clearly with the information she later holds regarding Lu Guang.

Hospital confrontation

Throughout this entire scene, even before it becomes a "confrontation" Qiao Ling is clearly feeling guilty. She runs after Cheng Xiaoshi when he tries to leave to help the police so that she can *do something*, make up for it the best she can. Guilt and avoidance are key traits for her and they both manifest here. They're still holding her back.

And, of course, there's her statement to Cheng Xiaoshi: "You're always trying to protect me. I really appreciate it. But what I need more is your trust." Qiao Ling knows what it's like to be locked out of the loop. She didn't know the specifics of diving for months (possibly years?) and it didn't really seem to bother her (or at least she didn't give the impression it bothered her when "Xu Shanshan" asked her about it). But she has her limits. And being locked out when the situation is actively dangerous? That's clearly past those limits.

Li Tianxi

Grouping together the final two scenes, because the first Li Tianxi scene is more a demonstration of character traits as well as digging in those sibling parallels between LTC-LTX and CXS-QL. Anyway, the first scene adds more evidence to the idea that Qiao Ling is more sociable and a people person. That she could could get Li Tianxi to open up by taking a more understanding approach and showing that she gets it to some extent. She's in the same boat.

Which means when we get to the final scene, this is what ties it all together. Qiao Ling has inherited the memories Li Tianxi saw from Lu Guang. She has seen Cheng Xiaoshi's "death". She has information now. But her first instinct is to dismiss it. To avoid it and refuse to confront it because the implications are too much.

But, see, she's been in this situation before with Doudou. She's had information and done nothing with it and regretted. She wanted to have the courage to do better. This is her goal.

And the implications of these memories? Do they mean Cheng Xiaoshi is in danger? Wasn't danger her red line in the sand? Didn't she tell him that "protecting" people and "trusting" them aren't mutually exclusive?

And finally, Lu Guang isn't Li Tianxi, but isn't the scenario here at least somewhat similar? Isn't Qiao Ling in the same boat as him here, wanting to keep Cheng Xiaoshi safe? Hasn't Qiao Ling shown she can connect with people through their shared experiences?

Qiao Ling isn't a confrontational character. She's avoidant. She will wallow in her guilt and not let on until it gets too much. But she wants to do better and isn't this her chance to do something? Say something? To not just be a passive observer and be left with regrets? I don't think it will be immediate by any means, but I think for her arc to conclude properly, she will have to conclude for herself that she needs to be open with the information she has and share it. If she's pushed into it, then it's just Doudou again. But if she chooses to share the information, then that's the pay-off set up back in season one.

Broader Themes in the Show

Broader themes regarding information and withholding of it. We see time and again in this series, that characters withhold information from others.

Liu Xiao and Lu Guang with Li Tianchen and Cheng Xiaoshi respectively, both holding more information than their "partner". Refusing to share it so that they can control them. Their reasons may differ, but the dynamics mirror each other in that respect. Unhealthy dynamic number one.

Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi, never addressing what Li Tianchen is doing with their powers. It allows Li Tianchen to pretend to himself that he is protecting Li Tianxi and carrying out justice. Li Tianxi is heavily implied in her telling of their backstory to know more than she lets on with regards to Li Tianchen's actions. But the refusal of both siblings to broach the topic eventually leads to Li Tianchen going where Li Tianxi cannot follow in his pursuit of vengeance and puts Li Tianxi in the very danger Li Tianchen wanted to avoid. Unhealthy dynamic number two. (There are more than this but I'm just sticking to these to keep this from getting any longer)

To go back to the hospital confrontation, when Qiao Ling says: "You're always trying to protect me. I really appreciate it. But what I need more is your trust." When she says this? It's a direct hit against the idea that protection should involve keeping people out. And in this case, Cheng Xiaoshi does start to let her in. They do manage to have healthy communication here now that Qiao Ling has been let in on the dives and is allowed to do something to help. She doesn't want to be passive.

She knows what it's like to be locked out, to be "protected" without having her own agency respected. But now, as of end of season two, she's on the other side. She has the information and Cheng Xiaoshi is locked out.

When Qiao Ling was assigned as the "Star of Wisdom, to light the way" in the Doudou arc, that's because it's her role in the show overall. Lu Guang certainly isn't going to push forward with healthy communication; he's too committed to his path for that. Cheng Xiaoshi meanwhile doesn't have the information needed to even start a confrontation. Qiao Ling is the only one in the position to lead the way with her knowledge. To provide the route to healthy communication once more.

She is the catalyst.

[mockingmolly]

ik ik shadogast kiss and stuff very fun but can we talk about the fact that veth is running an adventuring camp that’s a money-laundering front and in the first week of sessions one of the kids fucking died, but not ya know because they were fleeing the serpent demi god they unleashed upon the managerie coast. they died in a class that could’ve been about fuckin making flower-crowns for all we know, but it’s ok tho because yasha SWEARS it wasn’t her fault and jester was there so it’s fine! the kids apparently like exposure to the fragility of life! but then as a result of this veth made it mandatory kids bring 300g diamonds to enroll, effectively cutting attendance numbers into crumbs anyway and almost ruining the gentleman’s laundering front. and all this within the first six months since campaign 2 ended. genuinely who is doing it like veth brenatto

[panem-crustus]

SOUDOUGH SALUTATIONS!!!

I am the one and only Carbohydramancer on/ in the @wizard-island-trading-co! I am a Carbohydramancer, that is, a manipulator of Carbohydrates. A bread wizard, basically. My magics are based mostly on semantics. If it can technically be called bread, I can make it.

Pronouns: He/Him

CURRENT STOCK

Battery Acid Hawaiian Buns: An extremely potent electromagical power source. Boosts the power of any electromagical devices and machines hooked up to it. Requires Bottled Lightning and Lithium to bake. Handle only with insulated gloves.

Loaf of Armorsoul: Temporarily boosts defense In organic beings and repairs Automatons when consumed. Any bread baked using @odd-animated-armor's chest cavity results in this bread. This is the only way I've been able to replicate the recipe thus far.

_________________________

UPDATED: Starlight Sourdough: A mystical, mostly untested recipe. A potent, edible source of mana that is arguably more appetizing than a vial of purple goo. I used the Spores of a rare Starlight Mushroom as yeast for a Sourdough Starter, resulting in a promising way to cultivate the notoriously finicky fungus. The recipe has been stabilized, and is being used as a mana power source for @wizard-island-trading-co's Moon-Garden Dyson-Swarm.

Starlight Sourdough-Based effects (made to order):

Total Cleansing: clears all magical status effects and transformations, aside from Trans Magics.

Vitality Enhancement: Enhances your body to handle deadly poisons and fight off any disease or other foreign infection .

SPONTANEOUS MANA COMBUSTION: Causes your mana pathways to overload and have a meltdown that deals devastating damage at the cost of your ability to use magic, at least until you can be properly healed. ⚠️USE WITH EXTREME CAUTION⚠️

_________________________

Bread Bowls full of The Stew: They're bread bowls full of The Stew. Delicious. Mmmm stew. NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INJURY CAUSED BY THE STEW.

Accursed Garlic Bread of Breath Cleansing: Asexual Vampires Rejoice! Consumable for vampires and freshens the breath! All the good of garlic bread with none of the bad! Hurrah! Huzzah!

Sunlight Loaf: Imbued with Radiant Energy, this bread is a bite of sunshine on even the cloudiest of days. It perfectly replicates the nostalgia of Mom's cooking (or nostalgic equivalent) to give a bit of comfort when you need it.

Moonlight Loaf: Baked with Midnight Flour, this bread is a taste of darkness on even the sunniest of days. It perfectly replicates the traumatic experiences of your youth (or any point in your life) to add a dash of despair when you just need a good cry.

CUSTOM ORDERS!!!

Need a pita with a purpose? A magical managerie of baked goods can be at your fingertips! Just tell me the desired effects and I'll see what I can do. I don't take money for my services, however. I take exotic ingredients from which to craft new and exciting pastries.

Please place your orders through the root post or askbox, thanks :)

SOURDOUGH SAYONARA!!!

SECRET BLACK MARKET BREADS:

Biscuit of Testicular Torsion: Leave this unsuspecting biscuit in your victim's fridge. They will eat it, guaranteed. Just wait and listen for the screams. Does not work on those who lack testes.

Baked Horrors: do not. dont. Don't do it you won't like it. Neither will they. Dont.

Bread That Gives @the-gnomish-bastard a migraine every time you take a bite of it: This bread's effects are a mystery.

Not Bread: this is just some gravel I shoveled off of a riverbed.

[darrenwalleyconsultancy]

Leadership and Bullying

Photo by Art Guzman Is Leadership and Bullying a choice or a necessary evil? Leadership and bullying may seem like opposite sides of the same coin, but they have distinct characteristics and vastly different impacts on individuals and organisations. While both involve influencing others, the intentions, methods, and outcomes of leadership and bullying couldn’t be more different. This article…

[shizucheese]

So full disclosure, I actually listened to episode 7 on Saturday, but this episode had so damn much to it and I got a bit side tracked by a theory that I'm still working on but I really want to get this out before episode 8 comes out.

As usual, if you want to see the continuously updated and reblogged version of my red string board, you can find it here.

Today is Tuesday, 2/27/24. Episode 7 came out 5 days ago on 2/22/24.

“Talkers”

Norris (Voice: Martin?/ Alex)

Episode 1: “Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]”. The Stranger? The End? The Dark? The Lonely? The Flesh? Arthur (Nolan?).

Episode 3: "Infection (full body" -/- Arboreal [Journal entry]". The Spiral? (Paranoia? Auditory, visual and olfactory hallucinations) The Lonely? The Corruption. The Flesh? (Callbacks to the Flesh Garden from S5)

Common Themes: Hearing the voice of a dead/ missing loved one?

Chester (Voice: John?/ Jonny)

Episode 1: “Transformation (eyes) -/- Tresspass [chat log]”. Magnus Institute, The Eye. (Involves a forum; the Web?).

Episode 5: "Disappearance (undetermined) -/- Invitation [Internet blog]". The Eye (Movies. Movie name: "Voyeur" "Must be seen to be believed"...). The Web? (Another website?). (Very reminiscent of Mag 110: Creature Feature.) The "poor old guy" at the theater is totally an Eye avatar, right? Kinda gives me "Simon Fairchild when he was first introduced" vibes.

Episode 7: "Agglomeration (miscellany) -/- congregation [email]". The Stranger. The Burried. The Desolation. Possibly all of them if my theory about the items the Volunteers brought in is correct...

Unsure if this is Eye related like the other statements were. This is also the first "Chester" statement where the source material wasn't from a website or blog, which don't have the same expectation of privacy that the sources of the other statements do. Email, though, so still internet related, and this seems to be an open letter rather than personal correspondence, so it still might align with the theme.

Agustus: (rare?)

Episode 4: “Collection (blood) -/- musical [letter]” The End. The Lonely? The Slaughter.

Letter writer thinks passing on his violin might allow a part of himself to live on in his nephew. Very Jonah Magnus of him.

Music teacher hears “faraway music”, then goes crazy and throws himself out of the carriage and dies. Reminiscent of Mag7 and the Piper? The merchant’s wares include dice (Mag 29?). Got the violin from him (took his blood?). Effect of the violin reminiscent to Grifter’s Bone (Mag 42).

(Oliver Bardwell lol very funny guys)

Non-Talkers (?)

Episode 2: "Transformation (full) -/- dysmorphic [video call]". The Spiral? The Flesh. The Stranger. Ink 5oul (avatar/ entity?)

Episode 6: "Injury (needles) -/- intimidation [999 call] "Corruption? The Spiral? The Flesh? The End?

"Needles" reminds me of Michael!Distortion.

Notes and Thoughts:

"It's not like we're dealing with Tape Recorders..." I'm side eying you real hard, Celia. And what's with all of the questions? The "looking for patterns" question is 100% fair but those examples are AWEFULLY SPECIFIC. I wasn't entirely sure I bought the idea that Celia was the same Celia from TMA, but no this is totally her for sure. "DO YOU KNOW WHO JOHN" IS EXCUSE ME? WHAT REAL STUFF?

HILLTOP CENTER BRANCH?!!! 0 managerial or other support from HR; very reminiscent of the weird circumstances surrounding the house on Hilltop Road. Bear skin rug very reminiscent of the Gorilla Skin in TMA S3. The Volunteers remind me of the medical students from Mag34. The email is about events from 2015. This was the same year Gertrude died and John became the Head Archivist in TMA. Why am I not seeing anyone else talk about this?

I have a theory that I was originally going to put in this post but detangling that giant ball of red string entirely is taking too long so I'm just going to put the TL'DR here and maybe make a proper list later if I can ever finish pulling the string on that particular red sweater. Between the items the Volunteers bring in, and the events of the incident itself, what if every single Entity is represented? The gunshots that were heard were the Slaughter. The fire was the Desolation. The person who wrote the email being crushed by all of the items was the Buried. There are a number of artifacts that get listed off that could represent at least one if not multiple Entities (which might be their purpose; considering how many times the fact that the categorization was imperfect got brought up in TMA, it's probably more helpful to view them as a spectrum more than anything else), including some that are very reminiscent of things from specific TMA statements (The bear skin rug -> The Gorilla skin, Old medical equipment -> the syringe in mag 45? The telescope -> Maxwell Rayner was originally Edmond Halley, the Astronomer, etc. etc). So...okay, hear me out: what if this was all part of a ritual, and that's what the "good cause" was? A ritual that involved all of the fears being represented? Sound familiar? Except instead of it being a ritual to start an apocalypse or reshape the world in the image of one or more of the fears, what if it was a ritual to summon something that was associated with all of the fears? Or, rather, what if it was a ritual to summon someone who had been touched by all of the fears? And that's also why so many of the items seem to be analogous to things from statements and events from TMA? Like....maybe I'm wrong entirely. Or maybe I'm right about this being about summoning someone, or something, (maybe someone from TMA? Maybe Celia?), but wrong about it being John who was being summoned. But, again, this incident took place in 2015, which was the same year Gertrude died and John became head Archivist, and I feel like this means something.

[brainysmurfofficial]

Evolution of Brainy Smurf, Part 6

Years covered: 1986-1989

Picking up our Brainy Smurf journey from where it left off, we can now have a look at the latter seasons of the cartoon show!

You know that phrase, “jack of all trades, master of none”? Well, Brainy likes to style himself as a “jack of all trades, master of all”, but in the end, it just means he’s not actually good at anything beyond forever exhibiting severe cases of the Dunning-Kruger effect. One might be tempted to claim that the only thing he’s actually good at is pretending to be good at things, but in reality, he’s not even good at that, because everyone is almost constantly seeing through the illusion.

There have been a minority of occasions where other smurfs have taken Brainy at his word – and in practically every instance, they have quickly learned their lesson – that their trust is misplaced. Anything from other smurfs trusting Brainy’s insistence about knowledge of which way to go, to the smurflings trusting that he knew what he was doing with Grandpa’s hot air balloon.

The veneer, the illusion of expertise, is what seems to matter to Brainy – the notion that if he could simply get others to believe he’s an expert, it would automatically bestow legitimacy and corresponding skill upon him.

In fact, these tactics can work quite well in the Real World if applied effectively. Someone who is genuinely very good at something but doesn’t know their own worth or how to market themselves generally isn’t going to receive the recognition of someone who is constantly putting themselves out there even if their skills are significantly less than that of others in the area.

But that isn’t really applicable to Brainy’s situation. His sneaky tactics may work on occasion – see what I mentioned above about others extending their trust to him sometimes – but they just about always pay the price for it. Everyone ultimately knows the score.

Brainy Smurf is incompetent.

And he’s incompetent at covering up his own incompetence.

In All The Smurf’s A Stage, he dubs himself as “Brainy Smurf: Manager to the Stars!”. He promises much, but doesn’t exactly deliver. When it comes to undertaking negotiations in his managerial role, Brainy instantly falls flat and fails to secure any kind of good deal, instead declaring, “I’ll make you all stars of the play, but that’s my final offer!”. (“Final offer”… as if it’s any kind of hard sell!). That is not how you negotiate, Brainy! The others already weren’t going to put up any fight or seemingly make any demands at all, and then you went ahead and promised them above and beyond what was needed, not to mention that the play didn’t have three starring roles to spare. And yet, he’s totally clueless about all this. He thinks he’s doing a good job. He’s unable to properly step outside his own mind for a second and properly survey or even understand the situation. The scene is very deliberately written this way, of course – that’s the entire joke. The writers know exactly what they’re doing and they know Brainy tends to be rather hopeless in the skills department, in contrast with what he’d like to believe.

In Sassette’s Tooth, when the other smurfs find out about Gargamel’s plot, Snappy wonders: “But who’d be silly enough to fall for a trick like that?”

Cue the group collectively exclaiming in realisation: “Brainy!”

Yeah, they know the score.

When Brainy Smurf, by some miracle or other, is actually able to get his way, his suggestions, when implemented, do not work.

In The Answer Smurf, when the smurflings follow Brainy’s advice for building their treehouse, it’s obviously structurally unsound and readily crumbles. (Handy’s machine is also having issues thanks to Brainy’s input. Brainy’s advice backfires. A lot.)

And let’s not forget Papa For A Day. There is a rather amusing set-up wherein the ironic words of “how much worse can it possibly get?” are voiced. And then, of course, this is immediately followed by...

...Brainy taking his turn in the role of Papa Smurf. This juxtaposition between scenes is very intentional.

Brainy’s supposedly “easy, step-by-step” plans are contradictory, self-defeating nonsense. Nails are to be hammered into the very same place they are to be removed from – instructions that undo other instructions. It even proves to be dangerous, with his own instructions sending him hurtling to the ground!

“Oh, well, it looked good on paper…”

This is a smurf who really doesn’t know what he’s doing.

In Predictable Smurfs, we’re also treated to a scene where Brainy states: “Using Brainy Smurf’s Boat-Building Bible, I have perfected a pod totally impervious to water penetration! In short, this boat is –” (at this point, Brainy notices with some alarm that his boat is sinking) “-Unsinkable!”

Grandpa chimes in with the following response: “Yep, just like last year!”. Not only does Brainy run rampant with making mistakes, but he doesn’t seem to learn from them (and this is widely known and understood by other smurfs). He’s prone to making the same mistakes over and over. An example of this kind of thing which I especially liked can be found in The Smurf Who Could Do No Wrong:

“Face it, Grandpa, you were just lucky in our first 326 games, but now, I, Brainy Smurf, have finally come up with a foolproof strategy to win!”

THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX GAMES. I love that. I tend to forget just how large the amount of games that have already taken place actually IS. And then the sheer size of the number always leaves me taken-aback. He seemingly didn’t win ANY of those games?? It certainly rules out Grandpa merely being “lucky”, but that doesn’t deter Brainy from claiming luck as a paper-thin excuse anyway, of course! (An additional fun thing to note here is that Brainy’s comics counterpart has also been depicted as losing at chess, but I digress!)

How informative do you think his endless supply of books on any and every subject really are? Not very. In Land of Lost and Found, he makes basic mistakes e.g. looking through the telescope incorrectly, despite having authored a work titled “Brainy Smurf’s Guide to the Stars”. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Brainy boasting about authorship of a book with a subject matter he’s clearly inexperienced with is very par-for-the-course – we are especially stripped of any benefit of the doubt when he’s writing or in the process of writing book(s) on topic(s) he cannot reasonably know about if he has only just become acquainted with the subject at hand. Brainy’s vast library of literature writ by his hand is not indicative of knowledge (as he would be wont to claim), but is instead indicative of a kind of graphomania.

To help illustrate this, we can talk about Archives of Evil.

I don’t just want to talk about how Brainy’s typical approach of “doing things completely wrong/incorrectly with total confidence” is on stark display within this episode, I also want to discuss what the episode seems to (try to) do with its ending – the statement it seems to be making.

First, though: we are treated to some rather amusing scenes when Brainy misconstrues what he is reading, unable to realise that it’s not a book of spells, it’s a cookbook. One should think the difference would be obvious, but this is Brainy Smurf…

And then we get the ending, and the way that Nemesis is defeated. Papa Smurf bluffs about the value and power of the book in his possession, so naturally Nemesis steals it so that he can absorb its contents – this is precisely what Papa wanted him to do. The book happens to have been created by Brainy.

“I now possess pure-”

“-ignorance?!”

[...]

Papa: Nemesis thought he was absorbing powerful magic, but Brainy’s book was so full of, eheh…

Papa: ...pure ignorance, the evil knowledge Nemesis absorbed fled for its life!

Nemesis is defeated by none other than the sheer power of Brainy’s ignorance. That’s it. That’s the episode resolution. (I love it).

Brainy appears to remain largely oblivious (or should I say ignorant) to the actual implications of all of this. He puts on his usual self-aggrandising spin instead, choosing to proudly proclaim, “In other words, I, Brainy Smurf, once again saved the day! Naturally, I knew what I was doing all along!”

Brainy wants to be (perceived as) a fountain of knowledge, but in the end, he’s really a fountain of ignorance.

It’s interesting to note that in Reckless Smurfs, it’s Brainy and Snappy who are (initially) the only ones unaffected by the spell that makes smurfs reckless. As discussed in a previous post (when I talked about Love Those Smurfs), whenever the village falls victim to some magic or other, any unaffected smurfs will typically already exhibit the traits brought out by the spell in a significant enough capacity for ironic purposes, and this is no exception. Snappy in this episode had a clear theme/plot line of being too reckless as a tie-in to the overall story, but what of Brainy? Well, we already know Brainy has impulsive and reckless tendencies in general, but if that wasn’t enough, the story makes a point of calling attention to this – Brainy scolds Snappy for not thinking enough about the consequences of his actions, only to cause himself to become stuck and in need of assistance for failing to do just that. In fact, it seems that Brainy and Snappy remained exempt from the effects of the Daredevil Dust because of Brainy’s reckless lack of attention to his surroundings, as it is what causes their delay, preventing them from being amongst the victims at time of “infection”.

(And of course, Brainy’s self-perception continues to be hilariously inaccurate, as he can be found referring to himself as a “responsible smurf” in Jokey’s Joke Book, for example.)

Now let’s turn our attention to Brainy’s bureaucratic inclinations – this has been discussed in prior post(s), but these latter seasons of the cartoon show also offer up plenty more examples of it. In Smurfing For Gold, Brainy tries to deal with Gargamel by drawing up a contract.

(A side note, Papa also imagines Brainy trying to solve an issue through a contract (specifically, a treaty) in the season 5 episode Papa’s Day Off).

In Locomotive Smurfs, he writes a schedule for the train and checks tickets. In Gargamel’s Quest, he turns to petitioning as a means to attempt to achieve his goal at the time.

As also discussed previously, Brainy is someone who often likes to Get Involved with things (i.e. taking advantage of the latest fad in the village, so long as he’s not the designated naysayer for that episode), getting in on the “ground floor” and taking charge in some capacity – this is often combined with his bureaucratic leanings.

In A Hole In Smurf, Brainy doesn’t hesitate: he positions himself as an essential go-to, having a proper counter and set-up at the ready in no time to distribute the sheets that smurfs need to mark their golfing scores. He’s leapt at the opportunity to formalise it all, taking the idea of golfing that’s taken the smurfs by storm, and giving it more structure and sense of being official. He’s also involved in scheduling – what times courses are available, who golfs when, etc.

Unsurprisingly, he’s also taking the opportunity to hawk his new book on golfing as well.

In The Smurfy Verdict, it’s Brainy who takes it upon himself to start lawyering all over the place, etc.

He likes to be at the centre of things, such as the numerous instances where he takes on a detective role to investigate the latest mystery that has presented itself to the village. This allows him to take charge of a/the narrative, put a spotlight on himself while also trying to satisfy his own curiosity.

And in Season 9’s Like It Or Smurf It, we see Brainy’s sense of showmanship – something he’s exhibited before in the show, but it really comes out here, when he takes on a game show host-type role.

All in all, seasons 6 and beyond are very much a continuation of the character we have already been well-acquainted with from the previous seasons, and so we get to see more of the traits that have already been expressed before – such as carelessness, cowardice, etc. I’ve mentioned his tendencies towards melodrama and exaggeration before (just one example: in Smurf Pet, he claims, “I had to risk life and limb as I was attacked by vicious Nebbits”, which really goes beyond misconstruing what actually happened and reaches into outright fabrication), and this can sometimes combine with his naysaying – there are instances where he assumes The Worst in a given situation/crisis and reacts accordingly, assuming that they’re all doomed – in other situations his reactions may not be quite so severe, but he can still be quite negative in a more low-key manner, leaning into sarcasm instead to bemoan a given situation or other. He can be very cynical sometimes.

But all the groundwork has already been laid, in previous seasons. Seasons 6 and beyond are just a continuation. Brainy vies for power, Brainy is inclined to be sneaky and deceptive at times to try and get what he wants, he is unafraid to shift blame onto others for his own mistakes, etc etc etc.

Essence of Brainy is a great character study for how we can use it to reverse-engineer a description/analysis of Brainy Smurf. While stripped of his essence, he acts opposite to his usual self in order to serve as a narrative contrast, so by looking at his portrayal in the episode while stripped of essence, we can then ask: what does this tell us about Brainy in his usual incarnation?

Brainy as depicted without his essence is meek, lacking strong opinions on things, and polite.

So Brainy as a character is overconfident, opinionated, imposing, inconsiderate, overbearing and rude.

In the season 8 intro sequence, he really does just shove Handy out of the way so that he can look through the telescope instead, ahaha. And I just thought: isn’t that a small but good/accurate encapsulation of his character? He’s rude, he’s pushy, he’s self-serving, and so on and so forth. We know the routine by now, in the latter half of the show.

Take this exchange from Jungle Jitterbug:

Brainy: “[Vanity’s] back to normal, all right – the most self-centred smurf of all!”

Jokey: [chuckles] “Next to you, Brainy!”

Yeah, pretty much. :P

This post isn’t all-encompassing; there are many other episodes/scenes that could be discussed, but I’ve mentioned before that these posts are not meant to be a completely comprehensive rundown, but rather to provide more of a scaffold, an outline of the Brainy Smurf character and its evolution.

Finally, we have to mention the comics for a moment!

The Smurflings comic was released in 1988, and I daresay the influence of cartoon Brainy on his comics counterpart is quite palpable – for one, we get a being-tossing-out-of-the-village gag!

Brainy as depicted in this comic also seems to be quite mean-spirited in actively wanting the smurflings’ concert to flop.

And… Hmm, the vibes just feel different here compared with the earlier comics Brainy. I really think the influence of cartoon Brainy is seeping in – which would especially make sense considering that the episode of the cartoon introducing the smurflings came first, before this comic, so the situation is rife with opportunity for cartoon Brainy to have a bleed-over effect!

I just don’t think this would really be in the earlier incarnation of Schtroumpf à lunettes’s particular style/approach. I’m welcome to hearing other opinions on this, but yeah. (I think cartoon Brainy is a bit of a Bad Influence in this respect, ehehehe).

And… Well, I think that’s about it? Brainy’s famous 80s cartoon iteration sketched out – and a hint on how it’s even started to make an impression on other media he’s featured in, too!

The situation seems to call for some kind of sweeping summary/statement/conclusion, and there were some things I toyed with discussing, but ultimately, I really don’t know if I could do it all justice, so I’m going to be a touch light on closing off this post.

But this nevertheless certainly closes a huge and far-reaching, impactful chapter in the Brainy Smurf timeline. Next, we’ll take a look at how Brainy’s character/characterisation proceeded after the end of the 80s cartoon show! Thanks so much for reading! ^_^

[jacksprostate]

My boss invites me into his office, he's telling me, we've got a problem. It is always, "we." "We" are all in this together. "We" need to put a little more effort in, if "we" want our yearly bonuses. "We" have got to up profits by next quarter, or "we" are going to lose our jobs.

"We" don't all have half a million salaries and a three letter job title, but what can you do.

If you asked my boss, he'd tell you about his. The guy above him. Yeah, "we" are all beholden to him. My boss, he's just regional. Small fry, really.

I'm entering his corner office, big tall windows gaping, stretching the condo construction happening across the street for as far as the eye can see. He sees me looking.

"Perks of the job," he says. A little laugh in his voice. He's not funny.

"We need to talk about your performance last quarter," he says.

We, unto me.

I am Jack's rejuvenated individuality.

My boss had his secretary let me in, so really I've spent the past minute standing awkwardly, insomnia haze locking my gaze some place beyond our broken city horizon. My boss had his secretary let me in because that means he could sit at his desk and pretend to be doing something important. Wave me in, make me wait, give him the opportunity to boast about his jail cell amenities.

You'd think it makes him feel powerful, the way he's clinging to it all. I tongue at the hole in my cheek as I take a seat. Managerial threat displays have lost their effect on me, I think.

It makes him antsier. I can see it, taste it like the blood in my mouth. Oh, iron. Oh, fear.

If Tyler was here, he'd lean on those windows and get them splotched with dirt and worse. Those windows, they're spotless because my boss pays into the building fund with company money to get an old spanish speaking lady to wipe the glass clean before he arrives each morning. I saw her once, at a support group for some combination of cancer and impoverishment. She coughed, introducing herself. Said she couldn't speak well, but wanted company. She has to keep working, but it's making her sick.

The building doesn't pay her enough that she can buy PPE in between their scant offerings, so she's without a mask most of the times I've seen her.

Truthfully, there's been someone else under the building's thumb for a while now.

I found a different group for Thursday nights.

I still think I'll hear Rosa's wheezing when I see her cart by the restrooms.

My prolonged silence, it's unnerving him now, so he's puffing up like a bluffing frog.

I am still with my boss, and I've been staring at a damp spot of drywall behind his head as he yaps at me about how I need to follow dress code. Raise my numbers. Be more engaged.

I should be a precious bouquet of flowers, brightening up the office.

He just wants to help me out. Get me back on track. We used to have amazing figures coming out of Compliance and Liability, my one-man department.

If Tyler was here, he'd be filling the janitor's Windex bottles with 90 proof and blue dye instead, so when my boss comes in early for once in his life and spooks Rosa's replacement, the bottle gets spilled all over my boss and his carpet and his desk and then my workplace smoking habit really would be a fire hazard.

I tune back in, and my boss is informing me that it's with his sincerest regrets that he has to tell me that I won't be getting my bonus this year, oh, maybe something if I shape back up, yeah, he's sure he could fight upper management for me if I showed a good effort. He just wants to help, but I have to help him help me.

Whatever is going on in my life, it's got to be over.

I imagine going to Tyler. Going to fight club. Saying, let's pack it up boys. Fight club's over. I need to sit pretty for my boss so he can feed me a quarter of the salary he always conveniently has to withhold each year, due to all sorts of things impacting the car industry. A typhoon hit mainland China. The US dollar grew too fast with the collapse of the Soviet Union. A sparrow chirped in Belgrade on a Wednesday.

The usual.

Fight club's over. I've got to go be a recall campaign coordinator full time. Working hours, waking hours, what's the difference?

Tyler is always telling me, I could follow my boss home, and when he goes to work on his stupid meaningless hobby in the nice little air conditioned shed at the edge of his two acre two storey home, I could lock him in with nothing but millet. And when he runs out of millet, I could drag his body out and drown him in his pool, laced with armagnac, just like the French do it. And I could pluck and roast the corpse and eat it uncovered, hoping God has no choice but to see me now.

Or I could just give him a poisoned bottle of whiskey.

There's many options, according to Tyler.

The thing is. The truth is, I like my boss.

It's Tyler who wants to come in in the early morning and when my boss pushes open the door to his office, it's Tyler who wants to have a block of concrete in a bucket fall down and crack his skull like a rotten egg, looney tunes style.

It's not me. I gave my boss soap for the mandatory holiday office gift exchange.

I tell my boss, thank you for the concern.

Unfortunately, my grandmother's diagnosis seems dire, and it's unlikely I'll be able to switch gears before the year rolls over in March. Apologies.

He looks at me, and my battered face, at stitches painted across my temple. I can tell, he wants to shake me. Demand from me, why I can't I even pretend to give him a real excuse? Why do I have to make his life so very difficult? Why can't I just keep the broken toddlers from coming out of the woodwork with a smile on my face?

But he doesn't. He says, my condolences. It sounds a lot like get the hell out of my office.

With that in mind, I get up and take a nice, long moment to watch nothing through his huge, sparkling windows. Papers conspicuously rustle. There's the ambient noise of pointless keyboard clicking. I take a sip of my coffee. Behind me, my boss starts to pretend to get a call in hopes it gets me to move on, and I'm watching construction crews like ants. Perks of the job, indeed.

[leggerefiore]

After seeing Ingo pouting that Emmet gets mistletoe kisses, Chandelure begrudgingly floats above her trainer with a bit of her own so Ingo can get some much needed affection from his darling.

She takes it off as soon as her job’s done.

cw: fluff

The ghost-type felt frustrated as she watched her trainer go through the motions of his job. It was more than reasonable why, as the station was filled with people desperately trying to get across Unova to wherever they needed to be for the holidays. The battle lines were temporarily suspended to allow for a heavier focus on solely transport, too. It had been nothing but going between endless customer service and general managerial work around the station for poor Ingo. He did not want to be here, either. Tomorrow, the station would be closed alongside most things within the region, but for today, everything was operating as near usual.

Her trainer was a romantic, she knew. He loved sweet things to share with his partner, and domestic activities drew out such bliss from him that she could not ignore… despite her dislike of any romantic partner he would dare take. You had lasted the longest, alas, making you her number one enemy. Yet, she knew it was also you that could break her beloved Ingo from his emotional pause. The bags under his eyes from the sheer amount of time he had spent working with little to no breaks made her flames burn in anger.

She floated him away from the crowds of people and towards his office. Ingo scolded her lightly and struggled against it but ultimately allowed the ghost type to take him away. He was dropped on the couch as she desperately looked around the room for anything to help him relax. Nothing seemed an obvious choice. The Subway Boss leaned back against the couch as he took his hat off for a moment. His feet hurt, and the beginnings of a headache beat into his skull. Her panic could only worsen. Floating over his phone, she sent a picture to the first contact in his recent conversations, desperately hoping it would be Emmet to come save him.

Instead, she had messaged you.

Needless to say, both of them were startled when the door to his office slammed opened and you rushed in. Looking around frantically, you calmed down upon seeing the Subway Boss sprawled on the couch. A thought suddenly crossed Chandelure's mind as she watched you make your way over to him, pressing a soft hand to his forehead. Emmet had been obsessed with this mistletoe thing that Ingo had tied to her to make her more festive. Floating over above you both, she wondered if it had some mystical effect on humans or something.

You both stared up at her for a moment. A laugh from you broke the tension and silence in the room, while Ingo cleared his throat, and his cheeks grew pink. Leaning forward, you cupped his cheek and grinned at him. “Would you look at that, Ingo?” you teased him lightly, “You know what that means, right?” A sigh left him. His expected reaction of telling you off did not happen, as he suddenly leaned forward to press a kiss to your lips. It had got you off-guard. His lips moved against yours as he wrapped his arms around you to pull you into his lap. The kiss grew more intense as your own arms came around his neck.

“I love you,” was mumbled against your lips as he pulled you even closer to him, feeling all his troubles melt away from your contact.

Chandelure let out a huff when she determined her job was done. Not another look at the mushy scene was given by her as she floated out of the office. She gasped as the sight of a cocooned Emmet being dragged in by Galvantula from the main station area. It seemed Ingo was not the only twin overworking himself today.

[communistkenobi]

The Managerie as an episode in TOS is so fucking bleak, like it has such a despicable understanding of disability re: what happens to Christopher Pike. The especially horrific thing is that the show seems to take an even more essentialistic view of disability beyond what is understood within the (traditional, deeply problematic) medical conception of disability. Like his disability in the show isn’t even really a “medical” condition. You have this near infinite capacity for medical knowledge in the Star Trek universe, with McCoy having these cure-all instruments and drugs to save people from virtually any ailment, but these medical miracles are completely separated from disability itself. Like, all these medical and technological discoveries still cannot produce a communication device that allows someone who can’t speak verbally to do anything more than beep yes or no at people. And I understand that most of the time McCoy’s medical expertise is used for plot convenience, he’s there to save the day when something whacky happens, but the show doesn’t attempt to think beyond that.

And it’s made explicitly clear that Pike still has the full ability to communicate with and understand people, mobility is the only thing prohibiting him from doing so. And this is framed not as a failure of medical technology, nor even a failure of the social imagination to construct a device for people with mobility limitations to be able to communicate effectively - it’s framed as pure tragedy, something contained fully within the body of Pike himself that cannot be touched by external forces, a tragedy so individual that no outside social or technological devices can overcome it. It goes even beyond the standard ableist trope of “oh look at this disabled person using an assistive device so they can live their life properly, how sad” (which would be horrible enough on its own!), it instead says to the audience that disablement fully prohibits any ability to live your life at all, that medical devices cannot save you - they cannot even help you. I remember when I watched that episode I kept thinking like, dude just build a text-to-speech machine! Just make a magical brain speaking device to attach to his head so he can communicate or something! You’re Star Trek, you’re a utopian space future, McCoy regularly injects people with Cure All Injuries drugs, this isn’t hard!

But the show is epistemically incapable of considering that, because in this universe disability is so essentialised, so deeply contained within the body, so fundamental a fate, that no technology or medicine can touch it. It’s so fucking horrific, and that episode stands out as one of the bleakest ones I’ve seen - not for reasons the episode states (“isn’t it sad he had an accident on the job and can’t move or speak now”), but because the show cannot even entertain the possibility of a future where a workplace accident that disables you physically isn’t an automatic and permanent death sentence. it forwards the idea that disability itself is outside the scope of utopian medicine, which is why Pike’s disability almost doesn’t even feel like a medical construction in the show, it feels like a fully separated class of human being that is fundamentally different to the rest of humanity

[eatmangoesnekkid]

On Covid and the next thing coming 🪶🕊️🪽🪞🫀

I generally don't post about things like this on my blog but I also feel that it's important to name and square up on the monster and the future monsters to come. I am overjoyed that this kind of information is finally coming out about the vaccine. If you have some intuitive awareness, you, like me, probably felt that there was something not right about it. Personally there was no way on earth I was going to inject this vaccine toxin into my body even when people were trying to make unvaccinated people feel ashamed about our decisions, called us "selfish," and accused us of not looking out for vulnerable people. My goodness! We definitely need more Priestess women in the world and it's one thing I'm looking forward to about my online school and high-gated online temple space. People are going to have to remember how to trust those who can 'see' in the dark so that we can teach them how to access their seer qualities too or give them some deeper intelligence that will help them to make a more thoughtful decision. People whose mind have been trained on how to think and process information like in the medical, academic/higher education, social justice, corporate, leadership/managerial, or political system will especially need support, alongside any other people who have worked for long hours and haven’t had the time, resources, space, or ease to open up their minds to different ways of thinking and sensing beyond the programming and conditioning. In other words, those who have lived a lot of their life and lifetimes being busy, in their heads or behind computers, will especially need support.

There are many cases of people who died right after being vaccinated or developed neurological disorders when they were perfectly healthy before. It's fucked up how many well-meaning people were trying to force people like me to get vaccinated against our better judgment on how to care for our bodies and the bodies of our love ones. When this kind of evil happen again, or something similar that may not be related to a vaccine but something else, we do not need to separate and point fingers at each other like children but to come together as divine humans. People have learn to trust those of us who have deeper intuitive gifts, and not merely blindly hand their trust over to the government and do whatever they tell them to do to their body. Because most things on the news have an agenda that doesn't support the health and wellness of any of us. And whatever narrative the government and status quo culture is pushing is usually not healthiest option. Education on how to build up the quality and frequency of the immune system is the Priestess path.

If you want to elevate in your female tissues, whatever the government says begin to question it and in most cases, do the opposite. What I hope people take away from experience is the need to wake up and become more aware of the slick manipulation that is coming down the pipeline in the future. If you are still listening to everything in the news and not listening to your own mystical female body, you will never be sovereign and autonomous enough to find real solutions outside the oppressive inhumane structures we have been taught to perceive are on our side.

Never forget that they are more likely than not NOT advocating for your wellbeing and the wellbeing of your loved ones. *The only exception to this would be an elderly or immune-compromised person in your family who really feels that they need to be vaccinated. Some people need to be vaccinated and that vaccination will be helpful to their wellbeing. Do not fight against what is living in a person‘s mind i.e. reality because it will be what they need to be well/better and more relaxed and calm, although you may feel differently about your own body.

I know we won’t see the totality of the effects of this vaccine for years to come, but what’s also true is that everyone is different and some won’t be adversely effected at all. If you were vaccinated, do not feel shame or guilt. Unchecked or unresolved frequencies of shame or guilt comprises the wellbeing of the body. Instead talk to your body. Ask/decree it to break up and dissolve the vaccine out of your nervous system and tissues. People often say you won't receive if you don't “ask.” I find the opposite is true. Asking can leak away a helluva lot of energy…like people who beg when they pray. I find that when I say NO to nearly everything, and make a clear decree on what I expect to happen, blessings come POURING and LEAKING IN because the universe that within us all finally realizes that I will neither be played with; nor am I playing.

Sweating and opening up the body’s detoxification pathways in other ways can also help. Many people are mentally unwell for many different reasons and their state of mind informs why they ‘see’ and the choices they make. A parasite cleanse will greatly help to open up your mind to trigger more mental clarity and access your God energy, intuitive qualities. Build heaven on earth around you—this is the purpose of true beauty. If you can not build it, begin to imagine it. Attract a lover and/or friend you can experience an amplified heaven on earth energy with. Source money and resources in ways that amplify your heaven. If you can’t, imagine what it would be like to do so. -India Ame'ye, AUthor

ETA: While I didn’t personally need any confirmation, Mama Delores affirmed my words. Consciously speaking to different parts of my body everyday is part of my spiritual practice. My most spoken to parts are my breasts which I imagine is the reason I feel so much love effortlessly around being alive at this time. 🥰🫀❤️

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[fuck-customers]

Holy shit, today was wild.

So after our previous general manager left, O came in as a temporary replacement. I’m not sure if he’s staying on as permanent at this point or what; idk if anyone knows. For some reason, not all of his managerial privileges (idk if that’s the right word) are working in the system. So like he can’t make schedules and whatever other stuff it is that managers do (I’m just a cashier I have no clue). S, the highest up assistant manager (idk if that’s actually a thing but there’s always been one at our store), decides to do O a favor and make the schedules until things get sorted out. O’s been here around two months, with S still doing the schedule and other duties that O should be doing all the while—with O being paid the general manager’s wages and S getting paid his regular wages—and like at this point idk if O just has decided he’s fine with having S do the heavy lifting or if our company is just having some wild issue that can’t get this system error with his account fixed.

Our last person who worked print on weekends left, leaving us scrambling on the weekends. Finally, we get a new guy who’s gonna take the weekends. Store opens, and the guy doesn’t show up (apparently he misremembered/misread his schedule and ended up coming in an hour or two late). So I’m at the register, assistant manager K is at shipping, and S is at print. All S and K know how to do with print is give people stuff they’ve already ordered, and I know jack and shit about print so I’m staying over in my corner. A woman comes in, and she got her order yesterday, but it’s the wrong size. She’s upset and is on a deadline and needs the right size ASAP. S says he can give her a refund and transfer her order to a nearby store, and we’re all apologizing coz yeah that’s definitely a rough situation. 

Idk exactly what happens next, but more customers start coming in and going towards print after a while, with that first woman still there. S is getting overwhelmed, so he calls O and asks for his advice. O tells him that this is all his fault, and that it’s his responsibility to make the schedules and make sure that there is someone at every station. So S just leaves the print station, tells us he’s done for the day, and goes into the manager’s office (which is basically his office at this point because—as we’ve established—he’s doing everything O should be doing), leaving K and I kinda freaking out as we try to figure out what to do. At one point K even goes into the office and starts arguing and yelling at S (K’s super chill and I’ve never heard him yell before).

Eventually S cools off. Between O and that first customer (who I heard another customer refer to as “the devil” on her way out when talking to her husband), he just couldn’t put up with all that shit. S is a very calm and nice guy. When I found out there’d been an error on my part that meant I’d been getting paid for my lunch breaks for a YEAR (this was between the previous GM leaving and O arriving), S told me that it was okay because I’m worth it and now I know what happened I can make sure it won’t happen again.

I’m good friends with another assistant manager, and she received a text from O that we think was meant for S saying that he’s a leader and needs to learn to take responsibility and own up and whatnot. To top it all off, my friend also shows me a text O sent in the manager group chat:

“To be an effective leader, you have to be a really good listener and not to what's being said, but to what's not being said. You have to be really observant. That was a big transition for me.” — Kobe Bryant

S is still working here, but any GM duties are now O’s problem. He’s done with doing him favors.

Posted by admin Rodney.