#con rambles

[chorealis]

I’m not the first or the last person to say this but I grew up in the restaurant industry (third generation restauranteur) and everything that happens in The Bear is real life. Every restaurant you eat at? That’s what’s behind the kitchen door. There’s a crazy culture of abuse (both mental and emotional) as well as rampant substance addiction that’s considered “normal”. And I’m very serious when I say TV personalities like Gordon Ramsey truly make things worse by perpetuating the idea that yelling and screaming at both coworkers and subordinates is how a restaurant “should work”. And that attitude has genuine, real world consequences. So many good chefs- and good people- have taken their own lives because it’s so taboo to ask for help, or even just that maybe being yelled at all day every day might not be good for people’s mental well being.

The kitchen is a wonderful place. People from all walks of life come together in order to make people smile, to make memories, to make food that tastes the way food SHOULD taste!! But it’s also the same place where human beings are treated like absolute garbage. It’s where people plate hundreds of wonderful meals a night, but then eat their own dinner hunched over a trash can. It’s where people escape to a cold, dark, damp walk-in freezer to cry, because that’s the only break they get from being on their feet for hours at a time. It’s the place where chefs sometimes walk out after a hard night and choose not to wake up the next day.

The restaurant industry is changing. Owners and managers say that it’s because “nobody wants to work anymore”, but the truth is that people refuse to let themselves be treated as disposable anymore.

I dunno. All this is to say- remember the human beings behind every dish you eat. The chefs who put so much of their lives into food and the emotions attached to it. Whenever possible, eat at restaurants that have designated kickback fees to the kitchen staff. And if you work in a kitchen… you’re loved. You’re valuable. Please never be afraid to reach out if you need it.

Read more on restaurant service fees here if you’re curious what they are and how they work:

[sher-ee]

[lesbiansanemi]

Somewhere in the universe captain Jack harkness just woke up in a cold sweat and is now beating his pillow with his fist like WHY COULDNT THAT BE ME

[lazylittledragon]

ok so i can't remember if i've already said this here but very exciting news: i'll have a table at megacon london in january next year!!

[emptymasks]

everything i find out makes me want to scream more

so not only was the plan all along to kill izzy in which case giving him this meaningful arc makes it worse, makes it seem like progress and healing means nothing cos you'll just get killed off anyway. to give him more trauma, try and over his abuse, give him a disability, have him finally finding joy just to kill him off for the sake of ed. AND HE DIDNT TELL CON UNTIL THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF SHOOTING???!? CON WAS ALREADY FILMING SEASON TWO AND DIDN'T KNOW IZZY WAS GOING TO DIE?!?!

i'm at such a loss. of course he was taking it seriously. he cared. and he knew what izzy meant to people. beyond just him being a funny fan favourite, he was a representation of a lot of fans trauma, coming out, finding themselves, overcoming things in order to find a family and love and queer joy, disability representation and oooooo.

WHY WOULDN'T YOU TELL HIM DAVID? istg if it was that thought con might not like izzy's ending and not do season 2 and so dj didn't tell him to get to to sign the contract to season 2 and then told him about izzy's death after so now con couldn't back out of the contract istg. edit: drawing a line through that because i was being emotional and didn't mean to sound like i was seriously accusing david if trying to trick con. i just think he should have told him as soon as he decided he was killing off izzy at the beginning of filming and not later halfway through filming.

it just feels weird to have the show continue without izzy. and saying it needed to happen for blackbeard to die then shouldn't ed have died two? or they both could have lived and grown.

you really thought this was the best journey you could have given him?

[johnconstantinesdick]

Jeanneil fake besties of all time. Kings of committing to the bit. Neil could say whatever and Jean would (rightfully) assume it’s part of a scheme to keep them alive and would corroborate immediately.

[obsidianbit]

I know I joked about how there was no reason for Izzy to be shirtless in that scene (and I stand by that) but I think it is really interesting how he is bare-chested. His leathers are a part of his image and reputation. They are part of what marked him as Blackbeard's. But more than that, they represent armor - in taking off his leather armor, he is bearing his vulnerabilities, and more precisely, his heart.

When Izzy is training, he isn't in his room. He is in a communal part of the ship, where, presumably, any one of the crew could enter. When Stede enters, he doesn't become defensive at being found in a vulnerable state. Instead he says "I'm having to relearn the basics with one leg." He openly admits to his weakness. He is the best sword fighter, that is his reputation, how he defines his worth (in his use as an incredibly fighter), but he didn't lie about the struggle of having to adapt to one leg. He didn't even try to down-play it by saying he was adjusting or refining his sword fighting with one leg. He outright says he is relearning.

Then (the showoff) Izzy demonstrates what he has been practicing. Now, he has just said he is relearning it - we can assume that he was better at this before he lost his leg. He shows Stede (who, to be fair, Izzy would know would probably be impressed regardless) something he is still working on. Not something he has perfected.

Then he turns his back to Stede. Without his armor on, having just admitted to a weakness.

Even when he asks 'but what did he say about me specifically,' he is showing vulnerability. His heart (and great tits) are in the middle of the shot when he shows Stede that he cares what Blackbeard has to say about him.

The lack of Izzy's leather armor/vest, and showing his bare chest (is much appreciated) is symbolic of his trust in the crew and in Stede. He shows his vulnerabilities and his shortcomings, when previously he never would, for fear of the crew losing respect for him.

The crew has seen him at his lowest, and came together to support him, showing him that he was a part of the crew and that they cared for him, not just what he was useful for, which is something that Izzy has ever experienced before.

This is not a man who expected kindness at his lowest point.

This, however, is a man who has found purpose because his crew cares about him.

Izzy took off the all-black leather armor which defined him as Blackbeard's, and in doing so, he showed his heart and his trust to the crew.

[bimbo-baggins17]

I met Hayden Christensen yesterday!! My experience under the cut!

I’m gatekeeping my photo cause yeah it’s for me but he was the sweetest!! But his head was like resting on mine and we were so close ughhhh..the hand placement yall…im dead. He has INTENSE EYE CONTACT JESUS CHRIST. I got my Vader tattoo signed (and got his signature tattooed as of this morning!!) he stopped the line so he could get his phone to take a picture of my tattoo. He was like ‘oh hey wait I need to take a picture of this. Where’s my phone?’ And then when he got his phone he was about to take a photo and he stopped and he was like ‘is it fine if I take a picture?’ consent king. He took a pic of it and then he pulled his phone back and he was like ‘can I get a smile?’ I ABOUT EXPLODED!! I’m on his phone now guys..guys..I..I’m not okay. He also stayed super late after the con closed to finish signing everything for everyone. Ugh I’m gonna go crawl back into my hole for another 6 months now.

[melodicmoonbeams]

Got the chance to meet the absolutely LOVELY @chrisrin at The Crane Wives' concert. Ngl inner fangirled at bit, and screeched when I got to hear Curses live. Truly an amazing experience. Aaaand! Was given a little gift!

Shoutout to Chris for being the coolest ever (I got a good laugh out of hearing the fangirls screech when they found out it was you while we were all waiting for the gates lol) and I must say. 10/10 for my first concert experience! I will DEFINITELY be making the trip again if they return to the area.

[harrylovesspaezle]

thinking about "i dreamt that ya killed me" "good for you" with the fucking snarl and then ed saying "it was good for me" it fucking haunts me in my dreams both of them are so insane yet so perfect

the anger and the fear and the obvious tension as well as the fucking way that they say all their lines.. literally everything about it is so unsettling and yet so captivating

like in the first half of that scene izzy doesn't really get what's happening but the second he does he gets that little smile that's so absolutely terrifying and wonderful and it just shows the kind of actors they are. Because wow hearing con/izzy laugh like that while pointing the gun at ed was downright insane but so perfect, and i could go on and on about these two but i'll shut up now

[chorealis]

One of my big long-term special interests has been nuclear semiotics/long term nuclear waste warning messages for a lot of years and one of these days I’d really love to make a zine around it

[the-girl-with-too-many-ideas]

One thing that I've never seen people talk about is that Shen Jiu would want his body back. Sure, it may be irreparablely damaged and weak, but it's still his body. He never had any bodily autonomy until he joined Cang Qiong at seventeen, so he would fight tooth and nail to get it back rather than lose the right to his body again.

[featherbreak]

y'allllll I'm going to Dragoncon! for the first time! I wiil have RIBBONS for EVERY CHARACTER because I HEAR THAT IS WHAT YOU DO and also I like gifting/barter cultures, and I am very stoked to share these with folks.

here's when and who to find me as:

Friday: TLT MEETUP TIME! I'll be there as Canaan House version Cam - with my best beloved Pal! (we will be So Matchy.) & a bevy of friends - come trade for a Go Loud ribbon & have a brainrotting good time with us.

Saturday: I'll be running around all day as Nona with a ... uh ... variation on Noodle. it'll be very silly. please come find us.

Sunday: VERY excited to debut this cosplay that only 2 other people in the entire con will recognize, but I'm pleased with how it turned out - everyone's favorite grudge-holding swordswoman Pali Avramapul no I don't have a type idk what you mean from Victoria Goddard's Nine Worlds universe, best known for The Hands of the Emperor and many other stories.

*(I may be there on Monday as well, but have zero planned cosplays.)

I'll post the ribbons after the con, but in the meantime, it'll be a fun side quest! I hope to see folks there!

[lazylittledragon]

exciting things are happening :)))

[misslavenderlady]

Merry Christmas, here are some cropped pics of The Lost Boys actors at MMC 💜

So handsome 🥰

[purpleangiie]

So, I was thinking about Dick Grayson, specifically Dick Grayson's head... when he was 7 he climbed up the stairs in the circus tend to get to the trapeze but slipped and fell down [Nightwing #114] A very funny way to get your first concussion, right? Of course, many more followed over the years (that's what happens when you become Robin!) Then, in his early 20s he was shot in the head — not as fun as a concussion. Now, that alone would be enough to ban him from any dangerous sport or activity for the rest of his life, but of course, Dick Grayson is Dick Grayson, who also happens to be Nightwing. So he kept doing his usual stuff, leaping from high buildings, doing acrobatics, punching — and getting punched — every damn night... all with just his domino mask covering his face (I mean, he got a damn head injury, you would think he would be wearing some kind of head protections, right? Wrong, because that would at least partially cover his amazing curls, and to Dick Grayson that would be equal to commit war crimes, so it's out of question) And of course he keeps getting hit in the head and getting concussions. Which leads us to our scenario:

It's a usual night out patrolling, and Dick and Tim are fighting some crooks. Nothing too big, until one of them hits Dick in the head (for the nth time!) It's a good one, but not hard enough to knock out a Batkid. Except, Dick Grayson's head is slightly more fragile than his brothers’, and the punch hits the point where he was previously shot. He gasps, and everything goes black for a moment. Dick Grayson falls, head spinning violently, his vision blurring as colors and sounds fade together. He hears Tim's distant voice calling him, to which he promptly replies with an unsteady "I'm fine", except of course he's not fine. He holds himself against the wall, his face crunched in a pained grimace, trying to stand up because Tim needs him and no way he gets knocked out so easily. But Tim shouts back, punching another guy in the face, "Stay there! Don't move!" followed by some swearing because dammit, Dick!

When the bad guys are fixed, Tim rushes to Dick, who is still miraculously awake.

"Jeez, you're bleeding."

"Am I? I didn’t realize it."

"Yeah..." Tim holds two fingers up. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Dick smirks. "I'd say three, but there’s four of you now, so maybe a couple more?"

There's a moment of silence. Tim sighs. He opens the comms.

"Red Robin here, I'm taking Nightwing back in. He's injured. It'd only be dangerous for him to keep patrolling."

Bruce's steady voice croaks in their ears. "Copy, Red Robin. What happened?"

And Dick, leaning against his brother as they reach the batmobile, darts a pleading look at him. It's almost working, until Tim speaks again over the comms: "He got hit in the head."

And all the Bats know what that means. A chorus of sighs raises:

"Again?!"

"You never learn, hm?"

"Is he unconscious? Do you need backup?"

"You're incorrigible!"

"Please, just take my helmet next time. I'd paint it blue if you want, but take it! — I have an entire stock at home, anyway."

And Dick, stumbling with his eyes half-closed and one of the worst migraine of his life, just smiles sheepishly. "Sorry!" he manages to crack over the comms as Tim rolls his eyes next to him.