#absolutely stellar fucking leadership here

[supercantaloupe]

my group just tried to make me completely skip passport control and baggage claim too which would mean leaving my fucking luggage in Madrid. lol. Lmao

[le-scenariste]

13, 14, 18, 19, 38 🥸 (sorry if some have been answered whoops)

13) Favourite ship and why?

HMMMMMM I WONDER (it's PatCap). God I fucking love those two and the kinda rivals (to lovers) thing they got going on. And the way they show different forms of leadership. They're the same but they're different and AAAAAAAAAA

14) Least favourite ship and why? (Please be nice though!)

I think Kitty/Thomas. If Kitty wasn't portrayed as childish and kinda naive and shit then I wouldn't care but idk...always just kinda seems off to me. (and also CapVers but mainly cuz it's overrated) Like...I know Kitty isn't an actual child but idk. It very lowkey gives me same vibez as "WeLl TecHnIcAlLy tHeY'Re 3000 yEars OlD". Yeah she is an adult but just...idk it just kinda weirds me out a bit. Maybe it's a me problem but

18) What is your favourite Ghosts fanfiction?

okay so this is really hard because on one hand Seb you're fuckin amazing but on the other...you know what you did. BUT OOT IS SO GOOD EVEN THO AAAAAAAAA. But also @ghosts-of-love holy fuck you're writing is amazing and I adore (aha) your fics. I can't choose AAAAAAAAAAAAA. But Out Of Touch by @stop-saying-tootsie and Adored, LtF and TQATD are definitely the top of the list. Also, if you haven't read this PLEASE DO. I promise you nothing bad happens in Out Of Touch. OOT is filled with joy and whimsy :) there is no sarcasm in this at all (btw just to clarify, yeah that was all sarcastic. have fun!)

19) What is your favourite Ghosts fan art?

Oh fuck. I think one of my faves was Robin as a Pokemon trainer cuz i inspired it. Otherwise it's either gotta be this by @wattse or this by @kami-ships-it very beautiful artworks and great styles. Love the colours and textures.

38) It's your turn to pick a movie for film club! What are you watching?

:) :))) :)))))))))))))))))))))))))))) I am aboutta write a LOT :))))))))))))))))

OKAY SO, the first one that comes to mind is Handsome Devil. Would this essentially be emotional turmoil for Cap ? Absolutely yes but 1) I'd love to see him understand that times have changed and people are accepting of queerness and 2) it's a beautiful movie that I think all the ghosts could benefit from watching. Especially the Captain. It's about these two kids in an irish boarding school who form an unlikely friendship (Ned - outcast loner and Conor - rugby fiend loved by the school for his skills). PLEASE WATCH IT IF YOU HAVEN'T. Also the soundtrack for this movie is BEAUTIFUL and makes me go a lil insane every time I watch it. IT"S GOT ANDREW SCOTT AS A GAY ENGLISH TEACHER !!!

Otherwise, I'd also choose The Nice Guys. Fun detective buddy-cop movie and so far everyone I've showed it to has enjoyed it. I also think it'd start a really good discussion about sex work and the judicial system. Not necessarily in relation to each other but still. Fanny would definitely be shocked just at the opening scene but honestly, I think after some discussing she'd enjoy it too. Maybe. Julian definitely would. But it's fuckin hilarious and also heartwarming with the lil hint of found family.

OOH OR OCEAN'S 11 now there's some good found family with another stellar soundtrack. Or Knives Out. NOW THAT, Fanny would love. I think she'd like the twist of it not actually being about WHODUNNIT but if Marta can get away with it and then finding out THE OTHER twist. Although idk how she'd feel about the whole "family losing their inheritance" thing. Hmmm. Idk why Fanny's been the one I'm tryna impress here. I think cuz most of them would enjoy these without fuss but ya know...Fanny.

Okay, if i had to choose ONE :( it'd be Handsome Devil. I'd love to make the ghosts watch that and see who's crying by the end of it :) and see who's trying to be very indifferent about it *cough* cap *cough cough*

[elaphaemourra]

🖊 + Any of them ~

Hooooo this is a fckn, You Have Given Me Too Much Power. I have So Many Words.

Gonna be real tho, this is gonna be a Big Thing about Mita bc I have a fckn AU where he's the Outlander and I have some FEELINGS ABOUT THIS. Bc he's part of my main continuity as an adjacent player to the IA and BH storylines, sharing agent crew/other random shit with Phaeyla for the IA stuff (he got Vector and Scorpio, Phae got the rest) and serving as Another sidequest generator for Jeni in the BH line (I give Jeni so many nerds to keep track of whoops).

(THIS IS ALREADY LONG, AND I'M ABOUT 8 PARAGRAPHS IN, SO IT'S GETTING A READ MORE WHILE I'M STILL THINKING ABOUT IT)

Uh, TL;DR, Mita is handling being Commander about This Well:

OK SO in NORMAL canon he goes with Lana and Koth to go fetch the Outlander (who I decided is actually one of Zal's apprentices, a Voss named Thera-nal, until Zal fckn goes 'no fuck this. I have ghost experience. Gimme the emperor u don't have to deal with this urself' and steals Valk from her bc Good Inquisidad Takes On The Oof Ghost For His Kid) and then gets fckn Ditched on Zakuul. Like straight up that whole 'get the outlander on the ship, Vaylin is 3 meters away FUCK FUCK FUCK' thing, he pushes Thera-nal on and then the ship takes off. Without him. And he does a dive off the platform bc he's like 'nah' @ Vaylin and knows he can survive a Really Long Fall. It's all very dramatic, very ciffhangery. I'm still writing the next chapter beyond that in Left Behind.

He ends up fckn, roughing it on Zakuul, gets himself a sort-of job posing as an assassination droid in a gladiator ring (bc i'm a NERD for gladiator shit), grows up, gains some confidence. Knife baby gets a grow up and a glow up. It's awesome.

BUT. BUT I HAVE AN AU WHERE HE'S THE OUTLANDER. AND IT'S AN EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF WHY HE SHOULD NEVER BE IN CHARGE OF ANYTHING EVER.

He and Lana don't like each other. It's a Thing. They can put their differences aside for the sake of Professionalism or when they give each other the 'r u seeing this shit' Look when someone else is being Stupid in both their opinions, but they don't like each other (this is true in the normal canon as well, they're very antagonistic to each other, it's a little silly how petty it is but it's Fun). Despite this, and their tendencies to piss each other off on purpose, Mita thinks she's the most tolerable of the initial Pile of People. The Conflict between Koth and Senya was A Lot for him to handle, and he doesn't do Leadership Positions very well. About an hour after they picked Senya up, he was already out of patience.

The constant arguing got to him SO FAST, it ran him out of patience and Fucks so quickly, he started getting real snippy. By the time they got to asylum he was throwing around threats to people who couldn't keep their Shit to themselves. He TRIED to do good things, to pull together enough patience and good will to be Benevolent in his actions, but as his patience fell apart, so did basically everything else good. Mita getting Tora was a whole Thing where he did the Nice Thing by making her apologize to Vik and when she talked back he turned around and drew a knife on her, told her to keep her mouth shut if she was going to complain because he WOULD kill her, and he DIDN'T need an engineer/mechanic THAT much. That he'd use her corpse as payment for the next batch of cargo, which, MITA. WHAT THE FUCK, MAN.

He started falling into MUCH older patterns of thinking, refusing to take any action that was Any risk to himself. It's a thought process he had before he got shoved full of implants, before he realized that he could be a Better Person and started being a rebellious little shit in Intelligence and taking risks that helped Other People instead of just being single-mindedly focused on his own self-preservation.

He's falling back into it, which is BRUTAL because he's making more and more devastating choices, and where he saved people by shutting down that reactor on the First blip of Zakuul, before he ran out of Patience and Fear, and he did Good Lightsided Things to Help People, he just went off with Kaliyo to blow the absolute shit out of that whole thing, and where he used to be like 'shit, we need to make things Better', now he's started talking about Vengeance. Which uh. Does me a Concern about Knife Baby.

Basically none of the advisors actually LIKE him. At best, Senya and him have a solid enough mutual understanding of Work Vs Free Time between them, but she's also Pissed that he keeps taking the Big Death Options and fucking over her citizens. Theron's basically constantly giving him the Pensive Side-Eye because of how consistently Freaky Mita has become. Their first interaction was Prickly at best, and Mita hasn't gained any more patience.

Ofc, Mita and Lana just Don't get along, but they at least vibe on the level of 'i am So Done with everyone here' and she's pulled him aside more than once to get him to cool off a little. Though mostly she pawned him off on HK, when the droid was still aroujd, so she's at least Done Something for his mental state, and he liked that droid enough for talking with him being Relaxing. Kind of.

He's a volatile Commander who Can and Will pull people who irritate him aside to threaten them with mortal or bodily harm, or yeet a datapad at the wall for that Big Sound, or just punch a wall while he's got gauntlets on, to get everyone to Shut Up and Pay Attention so he can yell at them for not keeping their Interpersonal Shit out of the war room and out of his presence. He's basically single-handedly driving the Alliance into the ground, driving it forwards through pure force of will and by making people scared enough to work together without Complaining, hoping that Arcann will give before he or the Alliance do.

He's refused every offer by Valkorion for Everything, and right now that's his saving grace.

Koth bounced, furious with Mita and Kaliyo's 'let's blow this bitch up' thing, and Mita's little circle of people he Actually Likes has uh, maybe Not the greatest influences among them. His inner circle is Kaliyo, Scorpio, Tora (which surprised me, but they are Remarkably chill with each other for people whose introduction was Humiliation and Death Threats, like, a 'they'd vibe and drink in a dark corner together' sort of deal), and Even More Surprising, Aric Jorgan.

Completely separate from the Alliance Advisory Squad, Jorgan seems to be REALLY good for Mita. He's just kinda, it's Working Out. Mita's doing Nicer Shit when Jorgan's around. I'm not sure if it's just, the lack of Shit-Stirrers, the comfort and familiarity of military company, Jorgan's 'ur not the boss of me' thing back in the swamps on Zakuul, or what. But Mita's doing Good Shit when that rad cat man's around. Hell, it might be that he just doesn't want to disappoint his new friend. But like, they're actually a STELLAR team friendship-wise. Mita's actually Relaxed enough to get shit done efficiently, do LIGHTSIDED SHIT, and he basically ONLY brings Jorgan when he goes raiding star fortresses. Kaliyo and Scorpio are higher up on Mita's 'would send out alone' list, but only because he worked with Kaliyo when he and Phaeyla got assigned to each other, and Scorpio was HIS team member.

Even with that though, Mita's reputation among Alliance personnel isn't a Kind one. He's terrifying, volatile and quick to snap at anyone and everyone who gets on his nerves. People avoid him in the halls unless they Absolutely Need Him, and there's ABSOLUTELY a network of people you can ask as a 'where's the Commander now' if you really need to spend the day Avoiding Him.

He's also leaned Heavily into the aesthetic of Big Scary. Dressed like a Sith all in black and white and grey (and a Republic insignia on his belt just for the added cognitive dissonance that gives him), with a Delightfully Menacing Helmet that makes him nigh unreadable. The voice modulation is something he Knows how to use to make himself more intimidating, and he knows how to hold himself to make Pointed Silence into something that can cause fear. He really leaned into that 'scaring people into working for you' thing, which isn't sustainable, and he KNOWS it isn't, but he's hoping to get shit done fast enough that it won't MATTER how unsustainable that type of leadership is.

He's Stressed and Tired and Angry, and he's going down a deep dark hole. He needs to be fckn, sat down and Confronted about where he's going because he MADE that choice to be better, on BALMORRA. It cost him his free will, his autonomy, and his identity. He was PHYSICALLY unable to say his own name without his upper body motor function locking up, for a long time, because it was part of the programming of his implants. He gave Everything up to be Better, and it took so much to get those things back, and now he's squandering it all by falling back into who he used to be.

He needs some Time to Chill The Fuck Out, an Intervention for what he's doing with himself, and a goddam nap.

Knife Baby is Stressed Out. He's the Team Medic. He was never designed to be In Charge, and it took its toll Very Quickly, and it's devolved into something Brutal and Unsustainable. Which is why this is an AU, and why my Canon Commander for the timeline is Zal.

Zal's a good leader, good under pressure, patient and fair almost to a fault, and a good person.

Mita can't handle the strain, and he KNOWS it. But he's doing it anyways, and will drag the people around him down with him if it means he'll win in the end. And in the mean time, he's frustrated, volatile, and Not Very Fun To Be Around.

[ink-and-star-dust]

I don’t even know where to start with vld s8, but I’ll try. Major spoilers ahead.

Overall, there really was a lot that I liked about it. The animation was absolutely stunning and the voice acting was stellar, as always. For the most part I liked the plot, but when they started going into the whole Honerva-wants-to-tear-through-realities-to find-her-family thing I started to get a bad taste in my mouth. I mean, I get it, I do. This kind of show is meant to get bigger and bigger until everything possible is on the line. But I wish it could have stayed on a smaller scale and focused more on the characters. Show more alien races, show more about all the amazing side characters you developed. That’s why I love fanfiction and fanart so much, I think. Most of the time it’s 100% dedicated to the characters. Shows like Voltron just use them as a device to get the most awe-worthy scenes.

As for character arcs, it’s a mixed bag, so prepare for character endgame rants ahead.

Haggar/Honerva must be one of the most disturbing and heartbreaking antagonists I’ve ever seen. The fact that she didn’t have any of her memories as Haggar and was used by Zarkon is horrifying. As Honerva, all she wanted was her life back. She wanted her son, that’s it. And when she went so far for him and he rejected her, she lost her shit. But that would have happened eventually even if he did initially accept her, I think. She was too far gone to live a peaceful life. I completely understand her arc. Do I wish it didn’t go quite so far? Yes. Do I get why it did? Also yes. Moving on.

Hunk and Pidge I love. Hunk gets to meld his love for food and cooking with his diplomacy skills to spread peace and unity. Pidge gets to keep working on the things she loves with her family.

No one else really has an easy endgame to discuss, so here comes the long ranty bits. 

Shiro. Fucking... Shiro. I love this man, ok? I think he’s a fantastic character, and if I don’t think about the disservice to him and Adam then I love the fact that he is a strong gay man who is a leader. The fact that he is gay is a tiny tiny piece to his character. Which I think is important in media. He simply is, it isn’t something that defines him. But on the flip side of that, he is really fucking important representation. The show is aimed at little kids. Until the final snapshot of s8, it isn’t blatantly obvious that he is gay at all. Unless you’re really paying attention or you follow the fandom or the creators, you’d never know. Kids probably wouldn’t pick up on it. He is good representation, but think of how much better it would have been if they hadn’t killed Adam. He would still be that strong leader, still defined by his actions and trials, but it would be obvious that he was also a gay man. While I am a strong supporter of the fact that you do not need a human on your arm to validate your sexuality, I think that having Adam blatantly there as Shiro’s fiancee would have done wonders for kids watching the show. Seeing everything that Shiro did, everything that he went through, how strong he is and how great of a leader he is, and seeing that he just happens to be in love with a man and can still do all that? Wonderful. I’m happy for him, I’m thrilled that he gets a happy ending and gets married and leaves the fighting behind. I just wish that things had been handled better along the way to that. 

Keith’s ending, I still can’t decide about. From the start he has been trying to make the universe a better place. He has had other trials and other goals along the way, but it’s crystal clear from the very first episode that he wants to make a positive difference. When Pidge tries to leave, he stresses that the lives of everyone in the universe is at stake. When he is with the Blades, he fights with them because he believes it’s where he can do the most good. When he’s back with Voltron, the knowledge that there are lives depending on him and the rest of his team is what makes him get up every time he’s knocked down. Family, friends, and the good of the universe have always been his three driving forces. He helps the Galra rebuilt, and(as Lance points out, in true Keith fashion) turns down the leadership role when he’s offered it. I like that a lot. He made peace with his Galra heritage a while ago, but other Galra always treated him like shit because he was half human. The fact that they finally accept him and even offer him a leadership role is huge. But he’s Keith, and Emperor isn’t his style. So he returns to the Blades and helps to turn them into an intergalactic relief force. That, I also like. He’s making a difference, just like he always wanted. Maybe it’s good that he can leave the warrior side of himself behind and appreciate peace, but at the same time it’s such an integral part of his character that setting down his sword feels a little... storybook? Part of me also would have liked to see him with his found family a little more, given how alone he was his whole childhood, but I suppose we do see them staying close through those snapshots at the end, and he is working with the Blades. I’m conflicted, but he’s my favorite character so of course I’m never going to think they did enough for him XD

Allura, I could write a whole damn book about, and I’d have to to be able to properly analyze her endgame. Maybe I’ll do that later. But for now, I’m fairly sure I’m ok with her story. I never thought that she’d make it out alive. She was never a character that I could see living happily ever after on a new Altea, as much as I would have loved that. We see foreshadowing of her sacrifice all through the show, from her constant willingness to put others first(numerous battles, restoring the Balmera, etc etc), to her acceptance of giving her life in Oriande. Actually now that I think about it, Oriande was the perfect foreshadowing of her death. In order to gain the secrets of Altean alchemy, she had to be willing to give her life. That’s the price of it. Alteans are creators. They are lifegivers, and sometimes that needs to be literal. As sad as it is, and as much as I would have loved to see her get to live a peaceful life on the new Altea with her people, I understand her sacrifice. As I stated in the beginning I wish that there hadn’t been the need to take Honerva’s mission so far, but in this type of show it’s kind of unavoidable. People get disappointed if the final battle isn’t an all out shit show where everyone barely makes it out. So respecting that, I understand Allura’s story and appreciate the buildup to it. Mostly. 

And then there’s Lance. Pretty much everything about his ending pissed me off. We started the show seeing Lance as a fiery kid who wanted to be the best, wanted to become a great pilot and explore the universe. Now I understand that he went through absolute hell, he did become a great pilot and he did explore the universe. But a farmer? Idk, it just feels like a disservice to him. Maybe if he had had better arcs leading up to that, it would feel better. But as it is, instead of giving him the arcs he deserved, they used him as a gag character, slipped him in wherever they just happened to need someone, and stripped away everything that made him... him in the beginning. They reduced him almost completely to ‘loverboy lance,’ and I hate it. He spent all of season 6 wallowing and pining for Allura, most of 7 in the background(I will admit he had some great scenes in 7, but that’s another musing post), and literally all of 8 worrying after Allura. He has nothing to him in 8, bar a few scenes with Keith, than as a support for Allura. It’s like they scrapped any plot they had for him after like... season 5? And just devoted his character to being obsessed with Allura so that they could make it seem like his endgame was fulfilling. And before anyone has a chance to say he was obsessed with Allura since episode 1, sure. He did like her from the beginning. But he had substance beyond that. He had insecurities. He missed Earth. He had his goals and his desires and he was more than a lovesick kid. The fact that they think it’s ok to make him a fucking farmer ‘spreading Allura’s message and surrounding himself with things he loves’ pisses me off to no end. It seems like a great ending on the surface, but when you look deeper it’s awful. He’s what, 20? He loved Allura, sure. She was important, and it makes sense that he would love her and that a piece of him always would. But Lance isn’t built for the simple farmer life. He doesn’t deserve to be reduced to someone left in Allura’s wake, he deserves his own fucking story, his own individual goals and missions. Everything isn’t solved and finished by the fact that he got the girl and some altean markings before he lost her.

Then there’s Klance, but that deserves it’s own post lmao

tl;dr s8 was a mixed bag but Lance’s endgame is infuriating.

[draayder]

I'm curious to see you answer all those OC asks for Kanemoto. Or as many as you can.

oh boy here we fucking go

What is your OC’s favorite color?Purple, but he generally likes anything in the cool range

Does your OC collect anything? What do they collect?He started collecting coins with his dad when he was a kid and while he’s not an avid collector he’ll still pick up a neat one if he finds it

What kind of things is your OC allergic to?he’s mildly allergic to dogs

What kind of clothing does your OC wear?he’s pretty much always dressed up, colored suits are about as flashy as it gets though

What is your OC’s first memory?He’s got flashes of a family breakfast when he was very young, though he can’t remember his mom’s face anymore. She left shortly after that

What’s your OC’s favorite animal? Least favorite?He likes cranes a lot, and thinks frogs and toads are gross

What element would your OC be?Water/Dark

What is your OC’s theme song? fuck dude I suck at these

Do you have a faceclaim / voiceclaim for your OC?nope I don’t ever do those

What deadly sin would best represent your OC?man that’s tricky for Kanemoto.... probably greed since he easily had enough money to just stop being a yakuza and still pay for all his dad’s treatment when his last like 3 families fell apart but he just keeps joining back up. He’s got this hangup about being absolutely sure he could cover ANYTHING that comes up 

What are your OC’s hobbies?He likes to read, historical fiction is a favorite because he is a big nerd. He also has a few pet beetles and when he’s busy he sends his boys around to take care of them

How patient is your OC? How hot-headed are they?he’s pretty damn patient, he knows he ain’t great in a fight so he doesn’t jump into them often which Saejima appreciates as a leadership quality

What is your OC’s gender / sexuality / race / species / etc.?Japanese Bisexual Cis Man

What foods does your OC like to eat? What are their least favorite foods?Surprisingly he likes pizza and has a fondness for mochi. He does not like ketchup which Akanishi takes great personal offense to

If your OC could have any pet, what would they choose? Why?He’s already got a few beetles which he considers ideal because they take up very little room, make very little noise, and he can buy beetle jelly at donki 

What does your OC smell like? he wears nice colognes most the time and favors citrus scents

How do they make a living? What kind of job do they want / not want? What is their dream job? What do they think of their current job?Kanemoto is yakuza babey. He got accepted to college and was on his way to becoming a lawyer but his dad’s medical issues forced him to drop out and the cost of everything pushed him into that line of work, so he kind of got stuck in a “being a yakuza is my job and my only option” mindset even after he had plenty of cash. He enjoys the business side of things and runs things fairly legit if you ignore the massive money laundering and tax evasion. He would rather die than work in fast food again

What are your OC’s greatest fears? Weaknesses? Strengths?He’s got this irrational fear that everything’s gonna fall apart financially. Outside of that he’s got the usual job fears of getting shot or knifed in his sleep, but he’s more scared of the pain than the dying part of it. His strength is that he’s got a rock solid grip on his composure

What kind of music do they listen to? Do they have a favorite song?he’s a whatever song’s on the radio kind of guy. He was so busy with school and then work and then yakuza that he feels like he kind of missed the bus on a lot of songs guys his age are really into, and he struggles to concentrate if music is playing so his musical knowledge is pretty limited

If they came from their world to ours (if not already in our’s) how would they react? What would they do?n/a

What personal problems/issues do they have? Pet peeves?puts up with stuff for too long, a big “lying for their own good” kind of guy, a little judgmental. he does not like these freshly recruited chinpira who won’t learn their damn manners and think since they’re yakuza they shouldn’t try to play by business etiquette when dealing with civilians 

What kind of student were they/would they be in high school?he was a stellar student and a total dweeb

What is a random fact about your OC? He and his ex-wife split amicably and she runs a lgbt bar now which he frequents

What is their outlook on life? What is their philosophy / what do they think in general about living?He thinks a lot about the meaning of it all and decided it’s about how you treat those you care about, so he’s gonna give it his all 

What inspired you to create them / how did you create them? Were they originally a fancharacter? What was their personality / design like when you first made them?honestly he was 100% someone to bounce Akanishi off of that no one could accuse me of making OOC when I did

Who is the most important person in their life? Why? Who is the least important to them (that still has an impact) and why?He’s got a couple, his dad was obviously a huge influence on him and he was proud to give him as long of a life as he did, Saejima’s his first boss after his father passed away and let him leapfrog a lot of the normal drudgery he’d have to do starting from the bottom, and Akanishi has become very important whether he wants him to be or not. The least important to him was probably Dojima who was his first boss but also died within a year of him joining up

What kind of childhood did your character have?His mom left when he was about 4 or 5, he’s not really sure where she went or what happened and he’s content enough not knowing. His dad was a great father and did amazing as a single parent, they didn’t have a ton of money but it was enough

What kind of nervous habits do they have? Do they stim? Do they have any kinds of addictions?tends to pull at his tie/collar when particularly nervous but he’s got a pretty strong grip on himself

If they could choose their epitaph for their grave, what would they choose?oh fuck that’s a hard one..... I think he’d go simple with like “Kanemoto Sho, loyal friend, devoted son”

Do they want to get married? Why or why not? Would they ever want kids? Do they have kids? Why?he’s been married and would definitely be open to it again but he hasn’t really pursued anyone, it doesn’t line up with his line of work and anyone in the yakuza tends not to be the marrying type. He’s too old for kids at this point and once again the line of work just doesn’t agree

What is their most traumatic memory/experience? What is their favorite memory?the first time he properly got his shit wrecked as a young yakuza in a street fight, he had to lie to his dad and say he got mugged and sent to the hospital. It kind of set him up to think he never wanted to be in a position where he had to fight. His fave memory is a fishing trip he took with his dad during high school

If they could have one thing in the world, what would it be?now you’d think the answer would be “his dad back” but he’s a pretty big believer that when it’s someone’s time that’s just how it is and that he provided the best life he could for him. If he could just snap his fingers and make it happen it’d definitely be getting strong enough to be a real contender in the yakuza realm. If that wasn’t possible, he’d like his scar and hearing fixed

Would they ever kill someone? What would someone have to do to push them to kill someone? If they would kill someone, why? he avoids it when possible, but he has shot a few people in very high stakes negotiations. He’s a good shot but prefers not to carry a gun due to the police risk

What social groups and activities does your character attend? What role do they like to play? What role do they actually play, usually?the Saejima family has drinking nights and occasional other excursions but they’re fairly laid back. However he gets dragged to most of the Majima family events by Akanishi and ends up playing baby sitter with Nishida when Minami is breathing fire and Akanishi is lighting sparklers off of it and oh fuck oh god Majima brought fireworks????

How is your character’s imagination? Daydreaming a lot? Worried most of the time? Living in memories?He’s not super imaginative but is a worrier. Can’t really blame him with how many times the family he’s in has crumbled around him

What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?he does not need more money but he still spends a lot of time getting more, tho now it’s more for the family than taking much of a cut for himself. He’s willing to work his ass off for that

What’s something that your character does, that other people don’t normally do?So Kanemoto has a big complicated money laundering scheme that Saejima doesn’t fully understand but it gives the family a lot more clean money to use than anyone really expectsHe owns several real estate firms, and the employees are ‘encouraged’ to eat at the restaurants across the street that he also owns, and to spend time at the hostess clubs he owns. They’re given large bonuses to go out to these clubs via happy hours. They also are encouraged to spend time at the golf club that Kanemoto owns, and the hostesses are told to bring their dates to there as well. A cut of the profits of everything gets taken back in by the family as it’s now been successfully laundered and very very hard to trace 

What would your character do with a million dollars? what he’s currently doing with a million dollars, making it into more money

What is in your characters refrigerator right now? On their bedroom floor? Nightstand? Garbage can?he’s got an embarrassingly bachelor fridge with some leftovers and beer, he is not a good cook and spends most of his time out dining with business people or working late and ordering in. He keeps his room clean, his nightstand has whatever book he’s currently reading and a pair of readers that he isn’t thrilled with needing to wear. His garbage has a surprising amount of condoms

Your character is getting ready for a night out. Where are they going? What do they wear? Who will they be with?Akanishi is dragging him to a bar for karaoke and he doesn’t bother dressing up more than usual, but then Saejima is there and he regrets it

What does your character do when they’re angry? Why?it takes a lot to get him really angry but when it happens he is like incoherent rage and yelling (see here)

Does your character have any scars? Where did they get them from? he’s got some minor ones from a couple scuffles but the major one on his head is from a grenade that went off near him. He’s completely deaf in that ear and is annoyed that he’s lost his normal business man look and is more clearly a yakuza

What was the most offensive thing your character had ever said?this is more dumbass than offensive but he had very little experience with trans people before he got assigned kyoudai with Akanishi so he definitely said some stupid shit. He had a handle on MtF since he’d been around some trans women and other gnc individuals at his ex-wife’s Sachiko’s bar Oniyuri but didn’t put two and two together to figure out that FtM was also a thing, which lead to some major confusion when Akanishi said he was trans Akanishi, dropping his pants at the hot spring the first day they met: Oh yeah I’m trans that ain’t gonna be a problem, right?Kanemoto: so you’re... a woman?Akanishi: No!!!!Kanemoto: Oh sorry, so you’re a man...Akanishi: Yes!Kanemoto: ...who’s transitioning to female?Akanishi: NO!!!!! Literally the opposite get it together man!

How does your character react/ accept criticism?Depends on who it comes from, but he takes it pretty seriously. 

If your character was given a slice of pineapple pizza and they HAD to eat it (or something bad would happen), how would they react? Do they even LIKE pineapple pizza?he likea the taste

Your character is given a voodoo doll of themself. What do they do with it? Do they see if it actually works?yeah he’d try pinching it to see if he felt anything and then probably keep it around to scratch his own back (and hide it under as many locks as he can so Akanishi can’t get his hands on it)

Can your character draw? What do they like to draw? Do they doodle?he has no talent for art

What were their parents like? How has that affected how they are as an adult?as mentioned previously his mom left when he was young and his dad raised him as a single parent, his dad was hugely impactful on his life

Does your character like candy? Do they get sugar rushes? What are they like when they get a rush?he’s got a sweet tooth but never really got sugar rushes

If your character was presented with imminent and unavoidable death/fatality, how would they react? Would they try to avoid death anyways? Would they try to make their last days count? If he knew with certainty that he would die in 3 days he would spend every minute getting everything in as much order as he could to keep the Saejima family secure and just spending time with his closets friends. He’d rather leave a positive impact on them than try to avoid death, he’d consider doing so to be unforgivably selfishHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH that was a lot

[l35213]

4 and 9 for Tracey for the ask thing pls! -ashren :3

hallo hallo!!! my brains so unreasonably full of tracey even if you wouldn’t know it based on how often i actually post about em jfjfjfj

4: How did they react to becoming Captain of the Unreliable? Are they much of a leader?

absolutely not well whatsoever. after crushing hawthorne to death, being cheerfully given a loaded gun by pelham, losing contact with their own ‘kidnapper’, and nearly being instantly killed by marauders, tracey moved straight past shock, confusion, and grim acceptance, and went straight into vehement denial. they ran straight past the unreliable before making it to edgewater but being constantly mistook for a freelancer resulted in them being reluctantly sent to the botanical lab for mister tobson.

tracey never became captain until after meeting max and parvati. adelaide gave them the power regulator in the heat of the moment argument (“you wanted to send the power to edgewater?! fine, take this, finish the job, it’s not like we have any use for this now anyway!” etc), and after telling parvati the gist of their situation in their travels, she pushed them to finish what hawthorne started. only she and max know they aren’t the real hawthorne - the rest of the crew remain in the dark. they’re moving on autopilot now, but who knows? maybe one day they’ll get used to captaining a ship in this strange new world.

as for leadership, i’ve mentioned before that tracey used to be part of the fire service: they’re well used to taking a more collaborative approach with their team, working to everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, but they’re not afraid to take control if the situation demands it. they’re a lot more reluctant to lead the crew due to their lack of knowledge about basically everything, but hey! that’s where teamwork comes in to save the day.

9: What do they think of the factions? Are they liked or disliked by any?

none of the corporations like tracey at all due to their constantly going against them - even if it is a mix of half ‘this is fucked up im shutting this down’ and ‘wait i don’t even know what i did wrong here’. sublight was definitely uncertain of them at first (lying to the boss’ face about your identity? big no-no), but they’ve slowly warmed up to them as time’s went on.

they’re a big fan of the iconoclasts. while they respect Sanjar and MSI and can see the good they’ve done in Stellar Bay, they worry about what will happen in another seventy years, when Sanjar isn’t around to manage it anymore - if the other corporations were initially built on promises of freedom and equality, yet still devolved into the greedy hellscape of today, what’s to stop that happening with MSI?? they see the iconoclasts as being stuck in the same situation as them - being so inhumanly treated by the corporations that they’re forced into conflict - and is in total agreement that the system that left them frozen on the edge of space for nearly a century, leaving them with brain damage and no stable future, cannot be allowed to continue. they’re uncertain about graham, but has an extreme admiration for zora, who they consider the only competent one between the two. they aim for an alliance between MSI and the Iconoclasts, more out of not wanting to kill half the city in war, but hopes that Zora might be able to convince Sanjar to stray from the Board in the near future.

[fossadeileonixv]

WTF Early Returns!

A brief look at where we are 8 games into the season...

*KEEPERS*

The team has played 750 minutes this year and DONNARUMMA has played every one of them. 8 games. 8 wins. There’s no other stat that defines a keeper better. He’s the full package now and he’s 21 years old. Good lord. 

DONNARUMMA 2.0 has not played and neither has TATARUSANU

Anyone want to wager on the first time we see one of them start?

*DEFENDERS*

Up until yesterday CALABRIA was one of only 2 other players on the team to play every single minute of this season. The big question after the summer was whether the leap he took post break would stick. It absolutely has. He still has his moments but  he has been more consistent than ever. In a world where most teams hide guys at fullback, Calabria is a cut above. Crazy, huh?

DALOT got the start at RB yesterday to finally give Calabria a break. A tough spot considering he was to be matched up against a player we just loaned out in Diego Laxalt. I thought he played very well and stands to be a solid backup to Calabria.

KJAER is Danish for rock! I swear! ROCK!! In 9 months he’s gone from being a perennial castoff to becoming our best center back. Not the best CB on a mediocre team mind you, but the best CB on a team that has taken a huge step forward. There really isn’t much more to say than that.... Caldara who? 

Just 8 months ago Matteo GABBIA made his first appearance for Milan. At that point it was like Matteo who? Then after only a handful of appearances injuries forced him into the starting role. The result? Nothing but success. Here we are now 2 days after his 21st birthday and he’s made 16 appearances and has only lost once. Tall and strong but still just a little timid. Now let’s wait and see what happens with him now that R13 is back. 

After a 2 month injury layoff ROMAGNOLI was back for the Derby. A year or two ago that would have been a long 2 months. We might have won a game or two but otherwise it would have been a mess. Now? Now he’s surrounded by 3 rock solid starters. Let’s see if he can make the leap a 25 year old CB on a title contending team needs to make. Let’s see if he forces his way into the lineup for next summers Euros.

DUARTE made an appearance.

MUSACCHIO has not.

The only other player on the team besides Donnarumma to play every minute of every game is THEO. Why? Well we still don’t really have a backup. Also, he’s good. Really good. However the Theo train did hit it’s first bend against Inter last week. Hakimi shredded him. He went around him, through him and damn near leapt over him. That’s ok though. After a stellar first season he kind of needed a come to Jesus moment. Most importantly he was back out there yesterday and looked great. Great sign.

*MIDFIELD*

Ismael BENNACER might just be the best damn midfielder in Serie A right now. I can’t think of a single....

Psst....

Yeah? Oh yeah? Ok. Sure. 

Frank KESSIE might just be the best damn midfielder in Serie A right now.

Dude!

WHAT? Oh, ok. Yeah. You’re right. You’re right.

We have the best midfield duo in Serie A right now. Period. I’ll fight anyone that disagrees. TR said I have to. He has my back. 

I said in my season preview that the story of the season would be how TONALI adjusts to life at Milan and gets worked into the midfield. So far it hasn’t been THE story because we are winning so much but it is definitely the most polarizing subplot. Ok it’s the big story. He looks timid. He looks lost. There are moments he looks flat out in over his head. He played one year in Serie A and now he’s expected to contribute on a team that all of a sudden is whispering about title hopes. That’s a lot.  He’s 20 folks. Let’s just have as much patience with him as we did with guys like Niang and even Leao. Let’s not decide in less than 2 months that he doesn’t belong. He’s gonna be fine.

AND NO MORE FUCKING PIRLO COMPARISONS!!!!

Moving on....

As the offseason began I thought for sure KRUNIC was a goner. Then as the Tonali rumors heated up I thought for sure he was out. Windows closing tomorrow? Surely he must be gone. Yet here he is.... starting at AM in a Europa league group game.... and scoring? Let’s just not doubt Pioli anymore. Clearly there’s more versatility here than we ever imagined. #IPIT

This DIAZ fella is a whole lot of fun, huh? He dips here, he darts there, he nutmegs guys in the box.... and he scores. We’ve had all kinds of guys with sizzle. Guys like Saponara or Taarabt or Deulofeu. Fancy moves but no results. This guy has the sizzle and the steak. Diaz has both. Nom nom nom. 

After years of coaches putting HAKAN on the wings it took Piloi to put him in his best spot. Right in the middle. Funny since Giampaolo should have been that guy. How he saw Suso for that AM spot and not Hakan I have no idea. Explains a lot though huh? Thank God though. Hakan has all the confidence and freedom in the world now. Let’s see what happens when some adversity comes along though. I remain positive yet skeptical.  

*ATTACK*

I loved SAELEMAEKERS ever since I saw his first touch. If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for it’s a good first touch. He’s like a pasty Belgian Seedorf in that way. It’s hard to say exactly what his role is or will be and that’s okay. Can anyone explain exactly what Seedorf did? Not really... but that first touch was like sliding into a warm bath. Mmmmmmmm. Moving on. There’s time to sort it out. I’m also  glad to see the fan base has come around with him. 

SAMU my friend.... you were THIS CLOSE to being out of the picture. Things weren’t right after the most recent injury spell. Lots of flopping and complaining. Yesterday he again showed his strength. Fast. Good work rate and vision. Stick to the hard work and you’ll be okay kid. Let the frustration take over and there’s the door. 

The outside world thinks we’re ZLATAN dependent. We’ve played 4 games with him and 4 without him. We’ve won all 8. Are we dependent on his leadership and swagger? Yes. Do we need him on the field every minute of every game? No. The way the team maintains his energy and swagger without him out there is awesome.

COLOMBO.... Hmm... Hard to tell what we have here yet. Definitely looks like he belongs that’s for sure. No fear in his eyes. Also, he has a chance to learn from one of the masters. 

MALDINI... nice kid.

Ideally what happens during this season is that LEAO becomes the vice Ibra, REBIC becomes the regular starter at LW and HAUGE becomes the vice Rebic. 

As we saw in the Derby LEAO doesn’t really have the work rate to play that wing spot in a 4231. In that spot you have to almost be in 2 places at once.... tracking back to help out the fullback but also being up top to make runs. Without tracking back either the CB or one of the DMs needs to come over and help and that throws the whole formation off leaving gaps everywhere. Look at most of the goals we have conceded and that’s the root of the issue. That’s not Leao. I see his strengths more in his hold up play and ability to turn opponents and find passes. There’s your backup striker.

REBIC is the guy that will run you down like a dog, beat you up, steal your lunch money and then wink at your girlfriend as he walks away. That’s the guy we need on the wings in this system. Work hard but also have the class to finish. He would have certainly gotten his pound of flesh off of Hakimi. Count on it. 

HAUGE might not have the icy stare that Rebic does, but he carries some of his other traits. Hard work. Run you down. have some flash and dash to finish. That composure he showed yesterday when he finished off Celtic? get outta here.....

AC MILAN FACT OF THE DAY

Milan player appearances and goals by age: 

 ages 26-39: 21 apps and 5 goals 

 ages 22-25: 48 apps and 5 goals 

 ages 18-21: 51 apps and 9 goals

PIOLI?

When you have a coach that shows trust in his players and allows them to play with freedom and creativity the most amazing things can happen. Sure Pioli has a system but he’s also willing to try different players in different rules. He’s not so rigid to believe certain players can only do certain things. From that comes the kind of depth and versatility we haven’t seen around Milan since Carlo was in charge. 

#IPIT

Have a great weekend everyone.

See you all here Monday for Roma.

Cheers,

Lisi

PS: Brief lol..... you knew that was a lie!

[halas1]

Handicap

hand·i·cap (ˈhandēˌkap) – noun

1. a circumstance that makes progress or success difficult.

2. (OFFENSIVE) a condition that markedly restricts a person’s ability to function physically, mentally, or socially.

3. a disadvantage imposed on a superior competitor in sports such as golf, horse racing, and competitive sailing in order to make the chances more equal.

____________

On our 31st installation I was hailed up to Jerusalem in order to have a chance to interview one of Israel’s leading musicians, improvisers and free jazz masters – JC Jones. JC Jones was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1988, and has since seen a marked decline in his health and mobility. I was not personally acquainted with Jones before the interview, but had heard of him throughout my life, and substantially so since having started my research project in Experimental Israel, where more often than not his name came up as a mentor and inspiration for the younger generation. I had managed to catch a glimpse of Jones in an improv gig a few months before our set interview and was amazed to encounter a disabled person, guitar on his lap, playing in what could only be described as a highly unidiomatic style, and managing, all the same, to create absolutely mesmerising music. I was immediately captivated, and was very much looking forward to meeting Jones in person.

Jones comes from a robust jazz tradition, going through all the right hoops of the trade. He started playing jazz guitar at a young age, and expressed an immediate affiliation with “fucking around” – or in more descriptive terms, doing with his instrument whatever was on his mind regardless of whether the subject was a jazz standard or a Beatles song. Later in Berkley he put the stamp of approval on his artistry and commenced a stellar career in “standard” jazz. However, the real change came for Jones in the early 90s, where he made the exclusive shift towards improvised music and free jazz, never looking back. Jones tended to agree with my observation, yet could not fully explain why most jazz practitioners find themselves in either favour or complete opposition to free jazz.

However, another great shift came for Jones as he traded his guitar prowess in favour of the double bass, an instrument he has since become quite identified with. Jones describes his life long fascination with the bass, and excuses his choosing the guitar as a necessity of the time: whereas modern jazz had loads of double bass players, there were hardly any guitar players around. But here Jones segways into yet another interestingly related topic: he claims that the bass, particularly the double bass, is a leader’s instrument. Jones made a note throughout his career of the fact that more often than not he was the leader – the dynamic force in an ensemble pulling it forward and giving it its momentum. Coupled with this realisation, he noted that this momentous force is more often than not the part of the double bass player. Put 2 and 2 together and you get JC Jones who within 2 years was a bonafide double bass player. On questioning the possible difficulties of trading his guitar technique with that of the bass, Jones simply brushes this idea off claiming that by this point in life he was playing improvised and free music, and so he wasn’t in any way interested in idiomatic technique.

A day before our interview, I got a mail from JC asking whether I would agree to forgo his dedicated improv during our interview – he had just hurt his left hand and was afraid he would not be able to perform without pain. My reply was level headed, expressing that I would obviously prefer to go on with our scheduled interview and would accept any outcome, but would ask him to look at our topic philosophically. I asked Jones whether, for the sake of experimentation, he could not try and see this new handicap as a means to crawl out of his “comfort zone”, and perhaps present us with something new both for him and us. Finally, when I arrived at his home, Jones’ hand was already doing much better and he was, more than anything, eager to play. Jones seems like a child exploring an instrument in the most playful and unattached fashion. He truly is in the moment, so much so that at some point he simply picked up the guitar and lapsed into another improv set mid sentence. I commented on this to JC, mentioning that it was like seeing a child in play. Jones agreed immediately, only added to this thought: “absolutely, yes, but unlike a child I know what I’m doing… I have years of training in harmony and rhythm and I know what I am looking for…”

Even before having met Jones or seeing him in action up close, I couldn’t help but have a very uncomfortable thought pass through my mind. It was a thought combining two supposedly unrelated things: JC’s illness and experimentation. I mean, here was a star musician, someone who had polished his technical ability throughout the years, only to have this horrible illness take away from him what he had worked so hard and long to achieve. And yet, this same illness allowed this same person to accumulate a plethora of non-idiomatic techniques and extract from the guitar sounds and ideas I had never encountered before. Hearing JC’s playing immediately brought to mind my past guest on the program and a protégé of JC’s, Ido Bukelman. It almost seemed as if Bukelman had in some ways based his technique and sound on something originating with JC’s post illness playing. With Bukelman too, there is the story of the able run of the mill jazz guitarist giving it all up for what seems like non-idiomatic almost reckless playing. Whereas with Bukelman there is a technical refinement and a search that has in no way ended, Jones seemed to me like an urtext – a sort of maverick force caught in a bind imposed by circumstance. But this difficult thought process went even further! I couldn’t help but feel an immense ego in JC’s claims regarding leadership and his role within various ensembles. However, I also couldn’t help but agree that he was probably right – here was a true jazz master, who had played with serious greats, and more so – the energy emanating from him was totally magnetic; I was in awe and, yes, a bit infatuated with his spirit. Hence, I could clearly understand how easy it would be to follow such a person and seek his approval. So maybe his illness was the biggest work of art of them all? I imagined God intervening and asking Jones: “you think you’re a mountain, don’t you? Let’s see you now!” But a mountain is still a mountain no matter what, and Jones not only manages to create mesmerising music still, but he finds new and innovative ways of creating it, using methods, techniques and styles that he had never dealt with in the past; and as for his leadership, well, to me it felt stronger than ever.

I finally mustered up the courage to present these horrible questions to JC himself, and he, of course, was much less philosophical about the topic. Life had handed him this card, and he was dealing with it in as much as he could. Some days are better than others, he said. This reminded me of Jones’ approach towards improvising. He recalled a recent gig at the Mizkaka in Jerusalem where from the first chord he played on the guitar he hated the sound he was producing. Jones sets up immediacy in his improvisations in various strategies – for instance: he will tune the guitar a night prior to the gig, not actually plucking the strings so that the new tuning will surprise him. What guts you need to do this, I thought to myself, and especially if you know that you might hate what comes out! “Today”, said JC, referring to the tuning of the guitar he used for our session, “I loved the sound from my first touch of the guitar”. I know this wasn’t in any way directed towards me, but I still felt so proud.

JC’s music is available here:

http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/JcJones

http://www.kadimacollective.com/