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hgduo · 3 years

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Observations and discussion- the 11/29 streams

Part 1 George’s stream| Part 2 Tubbo’s stream ( will be linked when it’s done )

George logs onto the SMP because his chat was freaking out about his home.

Dream tells George to not worry and tells him to not look at his now burnt home.

George already heard that Tommy was the one who torched his house from chat but the first SMP member he actually hears it from is Karl.

I don’t remember if Quackity knew it was Tommy or not but when he follows George to his house Quackity never blames Tommy and tries to convince George that it was BBH and Skeppy because of that one sign Tommy (I think) placed. ( Though I think this is most likely because Quackity likes trolling BBH. )

After Quackity leaves the VC Karl immediately starts complaining about Tommy’s actions to George ( and Ranboo but mostly Tommy. )

Karl advices George to not fix his house immediately, and tells him to “harp on it”. ( To me this feels like Karl trying to rile George up and get him even angrier at Tommy. )

Continued under the read more

( Karl is an interesting character in this plot. He tends to be overlooked and he’s very aware of that: it annoys him but he also uses it to his advantage. He is both clever and very blatant with his power hungry tendencies: he doesn’t immediately try to obtain the highest levels of power and instead is trying to climb the political latter one step at a time. He’s not at all subtle about it but because he’s Karl and people underestimate him he can get away with it. )

( We we’re all out here going: Fundy betrayal arc, Quackity corruption arc, Tommy villian arc and ended up forgetting about a possible Karl arc lol )

Karl is the one who suggests George talks to Tubbo about Tommy’s behavior and flat out says “Tommy is the vice president I think we need to overthrow him and... I don’t know who the Vice Vice President is but whoever is just needs to step up and become the Vice President... That’s just my opinion though.”

( FYI: Karl pressured Tubbo into naming him vice vice president. )

Karl keeps on attempting to make the V.V.P look better to George who is focusing on rebuilding and doesn’t seem to care about what Karl is saying. Karl also wants George to leave the mess as is to provide proof for Tubbo but George once again ignores him.

They join VC5 but Tubbo gets overwhelmed by all the talking and moves into VC6 with Quackity.

Karl informs George about Dream’s wall and speculates that Dream did it for George.

The King flat out admits that he doesn’t understand politics ( lol )

George initially agrees with the wall but Karl keeps on pushing for a change in power instead.

Tommy joins and George accuses him, Tommy denies the claim but Karl doesn’t believe him. When George considers that Tommy might be telling the truth Karl says that Tommy is lying.

“What do I get out of lying to you George?” ( Now Karl isn’t lying to George but I find this line interesting because it’s VERY clear what Karl could get and has been pushing for this whole conversation. )

Karl hits the nail half on the head. “Listen, here’s what it is. It’s two people that are just obsessed with power: Tommy and Dream... They are using the ashes of your house as a political statement.”

( Now I say half because Tommy isn’t interested in political gain or political control, he just wants his discs back... now Dream. I was actually writing a draft about this but never finished so I’m just gonna say my own thoughts here: Dream has been looking for an opportunity to make his move and Tommy attacking George, the king of the SMP, was exactly what he needed. He could’ve just punished Tommy but instead he targeted all of L’manberg because he knew that 1.) they are in not in ANY position to fight back against him right now and 2.) Tommy would face major consequence for what was essentially a small prank that was fixed in like less then 10 minutes. To quote Tommy “It was the perfect crime.” )

( Also no one confronted Dream about him burning Manifold Land and that upsets me! >:( Jack Manifold deserves better!!! )

George travels to L’Manburg and finds Dream. Dream informs George that it was Tommy who burned George’s home and since George is the King it would be considered a very big offense. So Dream decided to make his move and boarded up L’manburg to pressure Tubbo and the rest of the cabinet into punishing Tommy. Karl agrees with the idea of punishing Tommy.

Dream tells George not to worry about it again, George asks Dream where he got all the obsidian from and Dream refuses to give a straight answer aside from “Not from creative mode.” ( I’m pretty sure Dream took it from Fundy... interesting that he doesn’t want George to know about that. Does George even know that Fundy is engaged with Dream? )

Dream continues to try and keep George out of the situation meanwhile Karl switches his target over to Dream asking if Tommy should step down as VP to which Dream agrees but also adds that it isn’t enough. Karl also asks if the V.V.P should step up and become VP to which Dream shrugs “ I guess...”, Karl latches onto this as his official endorsement and runs off.

( I’ll talk more about this later but I when I watching Tubbo’s stream I got this overwhelming feeling that Dream is trying to separate Tommy and Tubbo or at least drive a wedge in their bond. )

George expresses concern that the wall wont be enough, Dream once again stresses that he is handling the situation. Dream says “Do you see how much I’ve already done for you... trust me.” and leaves shortly after it. ( It almost feels like a parent talking to a child; a bit of a patronizing energy from Dream to George. Dream wants George to stay neutral and stay out of conflict but recently it seems like George has been wanting to get more involved- just a tiny bit. )

George however stills feels uncertain about the wall, Karl argues that it’s a step in the right direction “it sets up a precedent.” and while George agrees he still doesn’t see how it’ll help in the long run while Karl continues to drag Tommy.

George and Karl join the L’manbergian VC and they argue for a bit before the cabinet move to a new VC without George... and Karl which infuriates him.

Karl vents his frustrations to George about being treated like a second class citizen despite his status as a member of the government.

Karl sulks and George legitimately feels bad for him.

Dream whispers to George to get out of the borders, George asks if Karl should come with them and if he’s gonna hurt the L’manburgians. Dream just says for George to stay away from the conflict and remain neutral

( I saw someone else bring this up before but Dream seems to stick around ‘neutral’ people: George being the obvious one, Callahan being appointed the royal squire, that one time he told Purpled of all people to stay away from Manberg before the war, and last night when Dream was trailing after Puffy who has recently been feeling conflicted about her place in the SMP. I can’t tell how much of it is Dream genuinely caring and how much of it is just him wanting easy people to control and use. )

Karl talks about going “back to the grind” and George, somewhat cautiously, says that Karl should “just get out of here.” ( here being L’manberg )

George gets out of L’manberg but quickly hops back in to watch the discussion between the cabinet members but since he can’t hear anything he leaves- not wanting anything to do with a possible war.

( Which is probably what Dream wants George to do- stay out of it and let Dream handle it. )

Karl continues to vent about not being respected and George sympathetically listens

George stumbles upon the L’mantree, this prompts Karl to say “I’m not telling you to, because I’m the vice vice president and the only reason I’m letting this slip is because they’re being mean to me,... but that tree is very important to them I’m just saying.”

George comments about how interesting it would be if something were to happen to that tree. Karl eggs George on to do something but George gets distracted by Dream.

Karl gives George 24 blocks of obsidian, Karl continues to talk about how disrespectful it was of the others to not include him in the meeting.

Karl joins their call, promising to recount anything to George. George calls Karl his little spy.

( funny little moment: George kidnaps a L’manberg salmon and drops it on Quackity’s head. Your honor they are brothers! )

George joins the VC with the others: they discuss George’s home and if Tommy is guilty.

Dream and Tubbo go to talk in private.

George listens as the other cabinet members beg for Tommy to just tell the truth.

They all start leaving the call until it’s just George and Karl again

Interestingly Karl brings up supporting the idea of Quackity being VP in place of Tommy ( with Karl perhaps aware that because of the lack of respect the others have for him trying to make Quackity the VP instead would be more realistic )

George and Karl continue to bond over disliking Tommy.

Karl joins a VC and George soon follows but they’re immediately told by Tubbo to leave, this just frustrates them even more.

“I’m peeved George.”

Karl encourages George to read his chat, who are telling George to burn down the tree.

George finds the ingredients to make a flint and steel in a nearby chest ( I don’t know if it was just a coincidence or if Dream or Karl placed those items in there. )

George decides against burning the tree and instead takes some of it hostage.

George and Karl are asked to join the VC and they all travel to the courthouse

I’ll cover the court stuff in more detail when I watch Tubbo and Tommy’s streams because it concerns them more and I don’t want to make this TOO long.

George listens as the cabinet continues to argue along the way, Niki and Ranboo join.

Pretty much everyone is vocally against Tommy, except for Ranboo who is mostly keeping to himself

George blocks tommy off with his obsidian. Karl and George play dumb about where the obsidian came from ( Though Karl might not have realized it was George who placed it or forgot that he gave him those blocks )

George jokes about Tommy already being done for with Quackity as his lawyer ( Your honor!! They are brothers!!)

Niki immediately tries to defend Ranboo when George brings up Chats claim of Ranboo being involved with the house burning. ( Sibling moment Pog <3 )

Tommy also defends Ranboo, and Tommy keeps defending him even after admitting to the crime.

( I’ll talk more about interesting Tommy stuff I noticed when I watch his stream )

Niki and Tommy vouch for Ranboo’s innocence and since Ranboo’s memory is apparently very spotty they all decide to let him go, except for George who wants them to review the footage ( Tommy’s vod I presume ) to see if Ran is truly innocent but George is ignored.

George tags along after the trial while the L’manberg cabinet continues their discussion.

George listens as Tommy talks about his goals to piss off Dream until he gets his discs back, the rest of the cabinet argue that his actions are irresponsible since as a member of the Government he represents all of L’manberg ( Though something tells me that even if Tommy wasn’t VP Dream, opportunist and conniver he is, still would’ve tried to make Tommy burning George’s house into a big deal since Tommy is still a L’manberg citizen. )

Dream shows up and Tommy chases after him, everyone follows in a panic.

Karl confronts Ranboo about him helping Tommy burn George’s cottage but let’s him off easy and tells Ran to apologize to George.

Ranboo apologizes even though he can’t remember doing it ( allegedly )

Niki is on Ranboo’s defense, she blames Tommy for being a bad influence on Ran.

Ranboo says “I never said that I couldn’t remember any of it- I just said that I have bad short term memory... “ he also tells George that the fire was an accident and that neither him or Tommy meant for it to spread.

Ranboo does also confirm that Tommy stole stuff and Ranboo did too but Ran put the stuff he stole back because he felt bad.

Ran says that he’s not good at standing up to people and George forgives him but George still wants his stuff back- Ranboo promises to try and help.

Ranboo questions the construction of the walls just because George’s house was burned.

George decides to interrogate Tommy and joins their call, he hears the cabinet argue about the discs ( I’ll cover this more in another post )

( This is when Tommy’s mom tells him about the dishes LOL )

Sapnap joins in confused and George tells him what happened alongside Karl.

Sapnap officially declares himself one of Gogy’s knights. For now George asks Sapnap to keep an eye on Tommy.

Sapnap gets anxious when Tommy and the rest start punching each other ( in reality they’re doing a handshake ) and protectively gets in front of Karl and George

“Dream’s not here, so I gotta protect you guys!” ( Just a nice little moment)

The cabinet go back into the Camarvan, the others watch from the top of the van. Ranboo and Niki decide to respect their privacy.

Sapnap is vocally on George’s side and against L’manberg

“These L’manbergians George, they should’ve learner their lesson the first time when we dealt with them.”

Niki takes offense to this

Karl reveals why he was on Schlatt’s side during the war “ I didn’t feel welcomed...” ( Interesting!! Not feeling welcomed was what caused Quackity to create Swag2020 and later join Schlatt!!!!!!)

Sapnap agrees that the L’manbergians don’t make people feel welcomed. Karl adds that even as vice vice president he still doesn’t feel welcomed since he’s not included in the meetings, Niki agrees that it’s pretty rude of them to do that to Karl.

( This might be important later on: Last night Puffy considered joining Dream but she doesn’t want to turn against Niki but Puffy might try to convince her to join Dream’s side- but I don’t think Niki would go without Ranboo and he needs to be a citizen to run in the next election.)

George and Sapnap agree that it’s wrong of them to not include Karl

Sapnap criticizes Tubbo for not keeping his people in check

Niki doesn’t defend Tubbo, instead she brings up how Ranboo is running for the next election ( interesting!!!!)

Sapnap calls Karl their “ambassador”

George wants to help Karl break down some of the walls around party island but decides to not get involved- Sapnap agrees once again brining up how the king mustn’t get involved and neither can Sapnap as a royal knight.

“I’m the kings right hand man- one of his right hand men. One of the knights, I represent the king.”

George warns Karl about Dream having the walls be in specific places for a reason and gets him to stop, the two are about to listen to some music before Dream whispers for George to come over to him.

Dream gives George the fish Quackity took for his pond in exchange for the parts of the L’mantree he took. At first George questions giving back the leaves but does so.

( In Tubbo’s stream I saw him give the pieces back to the L’manbergians as a show of good faith, but too me this rings more of Dream trying to make himself seem like a good guy to the other L’manbergians while he tries to make Tommy look worse. )

George goes back home to return his fish

Tommy gets blamed for damage done to Karl’s walkway ( I don’t know if he did that )

( George hears a Minecraft cat meow and meows back at it????? )

Tommy asks George for some leather and to two have a little spat, Tommy also remarks about how he hoped that him and Sapnap would be on better terms after Mars but it seems that ship has sailed- Sapnap is loyal to George first and foremost.

Karl’s loyalty to L’manberg has been deeply shaken, Sapnap apologizes to him.

George see’s the rebuilt L’mantree.

George and Sapnap try to cheer up Karl, encouraging his growing negative feelings towards L’manburg.

Quackity is concerned and joins the call after Karl drowns himself three times.

George and Sapnap take Karl back to his house and try to cheer him up with help from Quackity but Karl tries to drown himself again until George orders him as king to stop, threatening to never “pop-off” with him again if he keeps drowning himself

The group decide to have a serious conversation at party island

They all climb into the tree house to support Karl

Quackity promises to talk to Tubbo about Karl getting ignored.

Quackity mistakenly thinks that Karl kissed George (unless he’s talking about a different situation idk ). Quackity then hits George and the two start fighting before George orders Sapnap to get Quackity out of there.

Sapnap draws his bow ordering Quackity to leave while Karl begs them to stop fighting. Things get tense between the trio and Quackity asks if Sapnap still loves him. Sapnap says he does and that this is just a formality before George shoves him out of the tree accidentally killing Quackity.

Quackity says “he understands” to Karl and leaves.

( Damn, Gogy out here destroying relationships left and right! /lh )

Quackity comes back for his things and is asked to rejoin VC

More relationship drama ensues: Quackity is upset at Karl for not standing up for him when their other fiancé, Sapnap, pulled a bow on Quackity. Karl claims that he didn’t just stand there but Quackity moves on to Sapnap, asking for them to just leave Karl. George is confused.

Quackity asks for his “yeezys” back from Karl but George takes them, promising to give them back so long as Karl stops drowning himself

Karl says that’s he’s gonna be fine since Quackity promised to talk to Tubbo, the trio decide to make up to “ not make their wedding awkward”

Hbomb joins and George gives the boots back

(Sapnap clearly cares about both Karl and Quackity but in the end of the day his duties as a royal knight come first- things might get messy if another war starts up. )

( Edit: Addition to the above point, Quackity and Sapnap actually bring this up during Sapnaps 11/30 stream and my point is kind of reaffirmed but not quite in the way I expected. Sapnap listened to George because George is the king and he’s already seen what happens when you disobey the king; it’s certainly fear over respect in this case. He quickly shifts the topic to Karl after this- revealing that, while he still loves Karl, Sapnap views Karl as the “3rd wheel” of their relationship. Quackity basically agrees with this. Ouch. )

Alright back to serious stuff: George, Sapnap, and Karl speculate about what’s going to happen next. George still hasn’t gotten the stuff Tommy took from him back.

Hbomb suggests that George looks through Tommy’s stuff and see if any of his stolen goods are there, George agrees and goes but Sapnap has to leave, he tells George to be safe.

since George doesn’t remember what exactly Tommy took from him he decides to just take what he wants ( Hbomb noting about how that’s just the way this server works lol )

George takes useful stuff from Tommy, chat freaks out about how this could break George’s neutrality and Karl later asks if George was committing war crimes via stealing: George denies this.

Later George joins the VC with Tubbo and they start talking about making a chess tournament.

Some more little humorous moments happen- nothing really plot related I think. George plays chess with Fundy, Karl tries to make a rollercoaster in Philza’s house since he got rid of the school, a global warming arc is jokingly discussed, George tries to enforce some rules as king ( things like flight licenses, and shop permits. Nothing serious), I think George and Karl kiss in the kissing booth ( hard to tell with Minecraft; but George- I know it’s hard but please stop being such a darn homewrecker!! /Joking )

Also Jack briefly logs on but I don’t think he noticed the destruction to Manifold land yet ( He most definitely noticed during Fundy’s stream today and is pissed )

Karl attacks Maid!Hbomb in church prime

George asks Hbomb to keep an eye Tommy, Hbomb continues to do cat maid things~ to George’s dismay

( George has never watched ATLA wtf )

Punz joins and George tells him about what happened.

Later Punz confirms that he is one of George’s knights.

George considering granting Punz a flight license so long as he serves under him.

Punz comments on L’manburg’s loss in territory, George says it’s justified.

George, Punz, and Hbomb notice an odd cobblestone bridge structure in that starts around Hutt’s pizza and ends over L’manburg. Punz investigates it with the others. It ends right above the little town square area, with the Technoblade wanted posters.

Punz and George speculate the importance of the bridge and find out it’s a good ledge for jumping into a pool of water in the nation.

After a few awkward moments with Maid!Hbomb George and him considering making a deal: George would get one of Hbomb’s Pigstep discs in turn for renting a room out to Hbomb in George’s cottage. Nothing is set in stone yet and George decides to end his stream.

And that's about it! Thanks for reading!! I’ll try to cover the other streams ASAP.

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writingwithcolor · 4 years

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Including diversity where there may be little

Including diversity where there may be little: Black Radium Girls as example

post-scriptvm asked: [ask clipped for length]

I have an interest in the ‘Radium Girls’, groups of women who worked at studios in America from the late 1910s onwards painting radium onto clock faces, and later took their companies to court for the horrible impacts the radium had on their body.

I want to make a musical, just for fun. I’ve decided to use a fictionalized version of events, with composite characters based on multiple different women, rather than one of the real-life groups and the actual women from them. It will be mostly set in New Jersey, in the roaring 20s.

Neither of the two real-life groups I know of had any Black women in them, and I can’t see any Black women in any of the big group photos of the dial factories’ employees. But I know there’s a lot of Black history and culture in that time and place bc of the great migration and stuff, so I feel like if I’m not going to use the real life ladies, I should probably take the opportunity to also make some of them Black, bc making a whole cast of white ladies in the name of potentially wrong ‘historical accuracy’ seems like a bad thing.

My question is, should I? [ask clipped for length]

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were African American radium girls. Speculating People of Color/Women of Color’s involvement is far more realistic than portraying everyone as white. Go for it!

Perhaps look into what other races were predominantly in the New Jersey area for inspiration, too.

Hidden History

This section features just a few examples of PoC in lesser known historical settings.

The histories of People of Color are highly and actively erased. Women of Color especially get their stories left to footnotes in the textbooks. You hear about certain amazing women again and again, but there’s so many others that don’t get their time of day.

Hidden Figures (book and movie) is a prime example of that erasure and lesser known history. To summarize: It’s “the powerful story of four African-American female mathematicians at NASA who helped achieve some of the greatest moments in our space program.”

Here’s another example:

Photo of female firefights on Pearl Harbor, 1941. Identities unknown

It would be nice to know more about these women, and i’ve seen inquiries from people requesting info from anyone who may know. This struggle to find details is a prime example of that erasure in itself.

Enemies in Love: A German POW, a Black Nurse, and an Unlikely Romance by Alexis Clark

The book pictured above is the true story of a Black nurse and German Prisoner of War who fall in love during World War II. They face many hardships (disowning from his family, racism, and shunning from towns) but stay together for their whole lives, marry, and have children (One of their sons highly informed the writing of the book!)

This book discusses the discrimination the Black soldiers and nurses faced. They struggled to even be allowed to serve their country, and were treated worse than POWs.

Video: The Unlikely Romance of a Black Nurse & German P.O.W. in WW II

Research

Research “[RACE] + Firsts” and find many more examples of little unknown bits of history where they’ve been involved.

First doesn’t mean it came without limitations, discrimination or hardships. But they happened, and many sooner than you’d think.

Explore beyond what you know about whitewashed history and learn the true stories of People of Color.

Making it “realistic”

People will question how “realistic” it is to feature a Black women in this position for the time period, unfortunately. It doesn’t hurt to provide an explanation until we get to a place where diversity isn’t interrogated when it shows up.

Giving her backstory.

You can briefly explain the journey to the job, such as shortages due to a war. Take a look at those real world firsts for inspiration.

Especially take a look at the specific region of the story. What firsts were there? Any government power influences? How did PoC break barriers to make the strides they did?

Use the web, but also go beyond. Seek books, historians, artwork. Search those “footnotes” for that one sentence mention. (That’s actually how the writer of Enemies in Love found their story. Just a quick sentence and a search for the story began. It helped that she was a journalist!)

Relationships with Peers:

“I will cut off this right arm of mine before I will ever work or demand the ballot for the Negro and not the woman.” - Susan B. Anthony

White women weren’t, historically, welcoming to Black women. For example, white sufferists insisted Black women march in the back of the protests for, allegedly, both their rights. You’ll need to decide how your Black woman is treated in this situation.

You might face the following from peers, superiors, or others:

Hesitation to work or interact with her

Curiosity and intrigue (The “Other”

Unsure of how to approach or be friends with her

Microaggressions

Blatant racism

Your musical doesn’t seem like it is meant to focus too heavily on the hardships. It begs a mention, but just how much is up to you.

Call the Midwife, period racism example

Call the Midwife (BBC) is set in East End London, Late 1950s, early 1960s. The show features a Black midwife named Lucille Anderson. There’s a shortage on nurses so Caribbean nurses were being called in to support the growing population.

Call the Midwife is from a midwife, Jennifer Worth’s, memoir, so it’s based on history.

Check out this short clip: Nurse Lucille Anderson - Call the Midwife

Lucille on Call the Midwife (Take notes!)

The show handles racism and microaggressions very well. It’s not overdone.

Lucille is accepted by her peers and is especially close to one of the girls.

There’s an episode where she actively faces blame and discrimination during a case. It’s a major story line of the episode.

She does face occasional micro-aggressions where she is othered, but it is not every single time she is on screen and not every episode.

Her peers talk to her about her experiences and in the case where she had an aggressive family member to deal with, they tried to protect her by reassigning her from the family. Lucille asks to handle it her way and they respect her decision.

Lucille can mostly perform her job and have peace, and is treated kindly by patients.

She has a personality, a romantic life, family & friendships.

It’s about 90% allowing her to exist, 10% navigating racism/microaggressions. That’s a comfortable, realist balance for such a story and setting.

If you want to check out how they handled these issues for yourself, the show is on Netflix as of this post (2020). She’s introduced in Season 7. (I highly recommend watching this show from the beginning. I cry like every episode, and the diversity of several ethnic backgrounds picks up a lot mid season!)

I’ll kick you three scenarios for your Black radium girl:

Peer Acceptance, Initial Hesitation

awkward friendliness & initial hesitation, perhaps more fear of the unknown vs. hostility

Upon having interactions and talking to her, they become comfortable and accept her. It could take just one simple conversation. Perhaps they’re more used to listening to Black music or have Black staff who work for them, but haven’t had an equal one-on-one experience with WoC without a power dynamic or service involved. Now, with a Black fellow radium girl thrown in a similar situation as them, they could develop kinship.

This might not describe every one of the woman at all. Others might be just fine with her with no awkwardness.

Types of racism experienced:

some micro-aggressions (likely ignorance from peers)

no major racism experienced

Most Peer Acceptance, Racism From Some Peers

Most peers have no problem with her, even if they have their initial awkwardness. 1-2 more aggressive racists who don’t want her there.

Sometimes everyone else gets along, but there’s that 1 bully and their minion, and they feed off each other. If the BS isn’t tolerated by the other girls, it could shut them up to make peace or at least behave themselves. It’s likely someone like this would remain hatefully stubborn, but would grimace from the corner if outnumbered.

In the case you create a situation where someone is hostile to the Black girl but learns better: real apologies and efforts should be made if this occurs. It also doesn’t excuse their past behavior. Read our posts on redemption arcs for more info. We’re not fans, personally.

In an intense racial situation, it would be nice if the girls (with sense) protected and defended her instead of standing idly by. They’re strong enough to rise up against the agencies who poisoned them, so they can fight for their fellow radium sisters if one’s being targeted.

Types of racism experienced:

several micro-aggressions

maybe 1 major incident

Peer Acceptance, Racism from Other People

Radium girl acceptance within, but experiences racism from others she interacts with on/off the job.

The Call the Midwife example fits this one. Lucille’s peers are comfortable with her. It’s some of the ladies she care for and/or their families that may have negative things to say or show hesitance.

I’ll repeat what I said above: it’d be nice if the girls protected and defended her and didn’t stand by idly. Solidarity is important for establishing kinship and trust when it comes to white - woc friendships.

Types of racism experienced:

could vary from some to several micro-aggressions

maybe 1 major incident

Balancing race issues in the musical

Give the intersections of your Black girl’s situation proper attention. You can achieve this without overdoing it or making her whole arc about facing racism.

Perhaps the Black radium girl(s) has a song to express major woes, like segregation and poor treatment, or experiencing dismay over even less of a fighting chance in this fight for their rights.

If anyone does know anything but radium girls of color, please share!

–Mod Colette

#intersectionality #intersectional feminism #women #black #black women #woc #women of color #diversity #poc in history #radium girls #musicials #asks #submission

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keelywolfe · 5 years

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FIC: Pillars of Creation ch. 1 (baon)

Summary: It's not a date, thank you. Edge only agreed to take Stretch to the planetarium, that was all. That doesn't make it a date.

Prequel to the series, set after “Seeing Stars Through Clouds’

If you were ever curious how these two got together, well, here you go, their first date outing together! It's super!

Tags: Spicyhoney, First Time, Pre-Relationship

part of the ‘by any other name’ series.

Read it on AO3

Read it here!

~~*~~

At least once a month, Edge made a point to have lunch together with Antwan. They were both busy with a variety of projects, some of which they’d worked on together, and through that they’d learned they got on well. It was good to maintain a relationship with someone that had the skills that Antwan displayed and with the Human community in general, so Edge made a point of scheduling and attending each one.

On this particular lunch, they were in a meeting room discussing an upcoming court case. A business lunch counted if one discussed minor personal details, Edge decided. Which was why he mentioned the outing he and Stretch were going to take on Friday.

Amidst the folders and papers spread across the table in front of them were napkins and coffee cups, strategically placed to avoid leaving rings on the paperwork. Antwan set his sandwich down on the waxed paper wrapper, chewing the bite in his mouth and wiping his mouth with his napkin before he said, slowly, “So, you have a date with Stretch?”

“It’s not a date,” Edge stabbed a cherry tomato in his salad fiercely enough that the innards squirted out over the lettuce. “We’re spending a couple of hours in each other’s company, that’s all. You and I do the same and it isn’t considered a date.”

“Uh huh,” Antwan said skeptically. “Except we’re working together and we’re friends. Far as I know, you two can’t stand each other and yet you’re willingly spending time with him.”

“It...” Edge hesitated. While it was satisfying to hear Antwan refer to them as friends, he found himself oddly reluctant to explain the entire situation; that Stretch had attempted to invite him and his group at the Y to the planetarium and how Edge rejected him. If he hadn’t already come to the realization, that alone was a fairly good indication that he had been crueler than he’d intended about it. Worse, he didn’t want to admit that the last time he’d talked to Stretch, he’d shown depths that Edge hadn’t expected, piquing his interest.

Instead, he said, grudgingly, “He’s not so terrible.”

From the way Antwan’s eyebrows were climbing, he was reading entirely too much into that.

“It’s not a date,” Edge snapped, and Antwan raised his hands in surrender.

“Okay, man, it’s all good. I’ve only met Stretch a couple of times and I’ve never had a problem with him. Never been to the planetarium, either,” he said speculatively. “Might be a good time.”

“You’re welcome to join us.”

“Ah, no,” Antwan shook his head, chuckling, “No, don’t think so, I’ll wait and hear about it later. I’m betting it’ll be an interesting story.”

Edge gave him a suspicious look for that, but Antwan had started in on his sandwich again.

An interesting story? Not likely. There was nothing particularly special about it. Only a couple of hours watching a program that was probably intended for children. He doubted that interesting was going to be the word for it; it was far more likely that a profane one would be more appropriate and after it was said and done, he’d be sure to let Antwan know which vulgarity suited it best.

~~*~~

Friday evening found him pulling his car into the Swap brother’s driveway. His interest in finding out more about Stretch was wavering, particularly after an exhausting day at work. In the end, he’d reluctantly changed into a more suitably casual outfit before driving over.

His promises might not hold the weight of the elder brothers in his circle, but that didn’t mean he was one to carelessly break his word.

He’d almost given in to the temptation to ask Stretch to meet him at the planetarium, the better to minimize the time they’d have to spend together. It was with reluctance that he decided it would be entirely too petty as it would leave Stretch riding the bus for close to an hour. He was the one who’d invited Stretch this time, he could tolerate his company in the car.

The front door flew open before he could even touch the handle of his own, Stretch running out, and he hopped into the passenger seat without bothering to open the door. It made Edge’s socket twitch; an open top was not an invitation to behave like a crass fool, but he bit back his irritation. If it was possible, he wanted to at least start the evening without an argument.

“well, hey, jeeves, you’re right on time,” Stretch said cheerfully. “i should have you chauffeur more often!”

Or not.

No, that was nothing more than a little teasing and far less than even Sans would offer. It definitely wasn’t fair to Stretch that his simple good mood was grating on Edge’s nerves.

He swallowed back the sour words that hovered at being spoken. This was his own idea and it was only a few hours. If nothing else came of this, Blue would appreciate the attempt.

“Seatbelt,” Edge told him shortly.

“yeah, yeah, i don’t want a ticket.” Edge waited until he heard the click before backing out. “not gonna lie, i was kinda expecting you to cancel.”

“I told you we were going,” Edge said stiffly. There was no point in telling him how close to the truth that was. “I’m not one to break my word.”

“easy, champ, i wasn’t trying to accuse you of anything.” Stretch fell silent, closing his sockets and lifting his face into the growing breeze as they sped up.

It gave Edge a chance to get an actual look at him. Instead of his normal sweatshirt, he was wearing a plaid button-up with a pair of jeans, a hint of a T-shirt showing through the open collar. A bit disconcerting; Edge didn’t think he’d ever seen Stretch in anything but a hoodie, the same as Red or Sans. Those two would reluctantly dress for Embassy events, otherwise they would be content to molder in the same clothes day in and out.

Stretch was much the same, so to see him in a nicer shirt was unusual and Edge wasn’t sure what to make of Stretch dressing up for their outing. He was freshly showered, too; his bones were always unscarred and pristine, but today they held the gloss of a good scrubbing. At his feet, he’d dropped a strange shoulder bag with picture of a chemical formula on the side.

“You needed a purse for the evening?” More of a jibe than he’d intended but it was too late to call it back.

Stretch only grinned, for once unoffended. “hey, when i run out of pockets, sometimes i need a side bag. can’t keep my smokes in this shirt. plus, i can carry all kinds of useful stuff. my phone, my lighter, my dog biscuits…”

“Dog biscuits?” Edge asked, reluctantly curious.

“yeah, dogs like me,” Stretch said wryly. “kinda have a bone they want to pick with me. literally. a biscuit or two and they're eating out of my hand instead of gnawing at my ankle.”

“I don’t have an issue with them.”

“can’t imagine why, edgelord.”

That sounded suspiciously close to an insult, but an irritated glance only revealed Stretch smiling innocently. “when you take the bus as much as i do, you meet all kinds.”

“If you got your license you could drive yourself,” Edge pointed out.

To his surprise, Stretch shifted uncomfortably. “nah. i tried when we first got up here, but my depth perception is kinda wonky,” he shrugged. “probably could’ve faked my way through the test, but i doubt driving through a bus of nuns or an elementary school or something would help the cause. i don’t want anyone to get hurt.” He grinned then, gesturing grandly to the car. “s’why i’m glad you’re playing chauffeur. you have to change buses three times to get to the other side of town.”

He…hadn’t known any of that. Edge always assumed that it was laziness that kept Stretch riding the bus. Thinking on it, riding the bus was certainly more time-consuming and inconvenient in the long run. Even Red had a license if not a car of his own.

Stretch didn’t seem to notice his introspection, droning on. “bus is usually fun, anyway. it’s a great way to meet people.”

“Humans.”

“well, yeah, human people. most humans are pretty okay.”

“Except how they treat their children and us,” Edge said sourly, thinking on a few of the children he’d met at the Y, their hollow expressions, their hastily hidden bruises.

“some of them, yeah,” Stretch said, exasperated, “not all. and humans don’t exactly have a monopoly on mistreating kids.”

Edge waited, but Stretch didn’t expand on that. There, right there, was a hint of that hidden nature that Edge had glimpsed last week. What he didn't say often told more than what he did.

He was toying with his lighter, weaving it through his fingers and making no attempt to light a cigarette. Edge made a note of that; it was some sort of tell, that fidgeting.

A point that Stretch proved by saying, a little hesitantly, “not to make this all weird or anything, but. thanks. for inviting me out? you didn’t have to and i appreciate the chance to start over, yeah?”

That brought up an immediate question. “Why would you want to start over with me?”

“that’s kind of a convoluted story.” Stretch slouched back in his seat, drawing up one leg and resting his sneakered foot on the fine leather. He winced and dropped it back to the floor before Edge could even glare at him. “not sure if all the twisty turns my head took it on would make sense to anyone else.”

“Indulge me.”

He wavered, visibly undecided. Edge could understand that. It was possibly a story that would reveal a vulnerability, and being unwilling to provide ammunition to antagonism was reasonable.

But again, Stretch surprised him.

“well. tori came to see me a few weeks back,” he started. He kept his gaze through the windshield, his eye lights averted, and didn’t see Edge’s twitch at his casual use of a nickname for the Queen. “she, uh, i wasn’t real keen on her in my world, but she reminds me a lot of someone else. anyway, she’d heard i did some sciencing, back in the day. it’s a lot for alphys to handle everything downtown, so i agreed to do a little on the side, as long as they got me a setup in new new home.”

He shrugged, a little awkwardly. “at first it was a way to get out of the house. i love my bro but he can drive me crazy. crazier. anyway, i forgot how much i liked it. it was nice to do something different, to make a difference.”

He gave Edge a glance and while Edge was certain his own expression was nothing but encouraging, Stretch swallowed hard and hurried on. “anyway, it’s like i told you. i wasn’t at my best when we first got here, but it wasn’t until our last movie night that i thought maybe you weren’t, either.”

That took him aback. Edge racked his memory of that evening, but nothing stood out. “Why last movie night?”

The lighter clicking through his finger bones was less annoying when it became obvious it was a nervous tic of some sort. “you were talking about your volunteer work. you sounded so proud of those kids and…well. i guess i never thought of you all working at the embassy as more than a way to get in tight with the people in charge. working with those kids though…that’s making a difference, yeah? you were so proud and it’s nothing that you have to do, at all, you want to do it. to help. like i was trying to do with the lab work. so how fair was it for me to give myself another chance and not you, right?”

Yes, his children at the Y. Stretch’s first assumption wasn’t far from the mark, in truth. He and Red hadn't chosen to work for the Embassy out of altruism, but practicality. Make yourself indispensable and you won’t be dispensed, as Red phrased it.

His work at the Y began the same. Asgore wanted the Monster community to volunteer within the Human one, and Edge had simply chosen the one that seemed easiest. After dealing with his own brother and the guards of Snowdin, how difficult could wrangling a few Human children be?

As it turned out, the answer was ‘very’ and ‘shockingly so’. But Edge was not one to walk away from a challenge and his brother’s unintentional lesson in dealing with those who often said one thing and meant another served him well. His group of once sullen, distant children recently chose to assist in a project to remove degrading graffiti from local businesses and replace it with murals of their own creation. The pride from their hard work, their smiling faces, was incredibly warming to his hardened soul.

Those Human children, the ones that Blue thought were so similar in some ways to Stretch.

“But I didn’t ask you for another chance,” Edge pointed out.

Stretch shrugged. “you didn’t ask me to judge you the first time we met either. figured i was safe not asking for permission.” He flapped a hand dismissively over all of it, as if he hadn’t just given Edge an entirely different perspective of him. “okay, now that that’s out there, i propose we swear an oath.”

“What?” Edge slowed to a stop at a red light. It allowed him to look sideways at Stretch, taking in his solemnness and also the amused sparkle in his eye lights. Edge had seen that expression before, but it was the first time it seemed to invite him in on the joke.

“i swear not to be an asshole tonight if you swear not to be a dick.” Gravely, Stretch held out a pinkie.

Edge stared at it in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“you don’t want to promise?” Archly but also maybe a little wounded, uncertain hurt layered beneath humor.

Oh for…Edge hooked his pinkie with Stretch's and shook grumpily. “I swear.”

“awesome! this’ll be fun!”

Edge had his doubts, but Stretch hadn’t been completely unbearable yet. It was possible the night wouldn’t be a complete loss.

~~*~~

Read Chapter Two

#spicyhoney #papcest #keelywolfe #underfell #underswap #underfell papyrus #underswap papyrus #by any other name

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ladyloveandjustice · 6 years

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Mom and I listened to Chernow’s biography of Hamilton before seeing the play and I want to write down some of my favorite hot facts that were basically “WHAT A SOAP OPERA ALL THESE GUYS ARE SO FUCKING PETTY” dont try to nitpick for accuracy on these they’re heavily paraphrased take them with a grain of salt i’m just writing this so i can remember the basics

-I think actually maybe the most hilarious and admittedly brave thing Hamilton did was very early on, a bunch of revolutionary guys came to lynch his prof from Kings College for being a loyalist. Even though they weren’t on the same side, Hamilton was there for his prof, so he actually BLOCKED THIS ANGRY MOB at the staircase and LECTURED them to give his prof time to escape. He was like “blablabla U GUYS R HURTING THE CAUSE >:(” and somehow they didn’t all kill him and he successfully delayed them. Amazing.

-Hamiltons mom was AN EXTREME BADASS, basically her mother sold her off to marry this mean guy and she HATED HIM and he hated her for not being submissive enough and she was like “screw you” and just..left. So he threw her in prison for adultery! like literally prison! and it was prison that wasn’t even used for anything else she was the only one in the prison. He thought this would finally make her submissive but instead she basically skipped town the second she was let out and NEVER CAME BACK. So she was still married to this dude the whole time, which is why she couldn’t marry Hamilton’s dad.

(also after Hamilton’s dad left she ran a shop to support her family, which was unusual for a young woman to do back then, but she was independent like whoa)

unfortunately she also had a son with her first husband that she left behind with when she ran away(in her defense, I imagine she didn’t have the means to support him at the time and also would have gotten caught if she went back for him), so her first husband turned her son against her, reminding him all the time that she abandoned him and saying she was evil...so when she died the son basically came in and claimed all of the property she’d left and rendered his orphaned half-brothers homeless.NOT VERY NICE AT ALL.

-James Monroe and two other dudes were actually the ones who confronted Hamilton about possible speculation and he invited them to his house and gave this WHOLE HOUR LONG presentation on his affair, with a bazillion papers and letters as proof. Like about fifteen minutes in, everyone realized they were wrong and were like “okay we’re very sorry for poking our nose into your private matters we believe you we’ll leave you alone” but Hamilton was like “NO I’M NOT DONE YOU HAVEN’T HEARD IT ALL YET” and went through the entire thing in ridic self-flagellating detail while his audience just cringed. Afterwards one of the guys was like “that was one of the most humiliating things i’ve ever witnessed”

-Anyway James Monroe definitely probably leaked the Reynolds documents Hamilton showed him even though he swore not to show them to anyone. YES A FUTURE PRESIDENT WHO COULD NOT BE TRUSTED WE’RE ALL SURPRISED.Hamilton was SO mad about this he wrote to him basically saying “YOU BETTER APOLOGIZE OR MEET ME OUTSIDE” because that was his response to everything. Burr was actually chosen as the mediator for this because he was friendly to both of them at the time and he basically tried to calm them both down and prevent a duel. Monroe had initially said he believed that Hamilton wasn’t embezzling or speculating or whatever, but then he was like “UH I CHANGED MY MIND I’VE DECIDED NOW YOU ARE” which made Hamilton SO mad. Burr actually chastised Monroe about this, basically like “c’mon, we both know Hamilton would never betray his office, I know it, you know it, It’s Hamilton.” Anyway Burr saved Hamilton from dueling James Monroe.

But do you know who ELSE would have probably been fine dueling James Monroe? ELIZA. She was, rightfully, very pissed at him for exposing something that hurt her so much. Monroe did his time as president, and once it was over, he decided he wanted to patch things up with her (Hamilton was long dead by this time ofc, and Eliza was elderly). So he came to her house and Eliza was Not Happy when a servant reported his arrival. Hamilton’s kids remembered “her voice got low like it always does when she’s angry”. She went to see him in their living room and he was all “So, Eliza, a lot has happened and there was fault on both sides”-

and she was basically like “EXCUSE ME??? IS THAT AN APOLOGY? BECAUSE IT DOESN’T SOUND LIKE AN APOLOGY. IF YOU’RE HERE TO ACTUALLY APOLOGIZE I’LL LISTEN TO IT. BUT IF YOU’RE GONNA GIVE ME SOME WEAK “BLAME ON BOTH SIDES” BULLSHIT I’M NOT HERE FOR IT. I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING BUT YOU SAYING SORRY THAT YOU BETRAYED MY LATE HUSBAND AND RUINED OUR LIVES. IF YOU CAN’T SAY THAT, THEN GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE”.

Monroe was flabbergasted, and apparently it was too much for him to give an actual apology, so he just left. So let the record show Eliza schooled an ex-president and kicked him out of her house.

-everything relating to Phillip and Hamilton’s duels was super sad. When he was waiting to hear about the results of Phillip’s duel with the doctor (or someone) Hamilton was so overcome with anxiety he actually fainted. He had to be propped up by two people during the funeral because he was so unsteady. Not only did he fall into his first bout of lethargic depression and actually didn’t write anything for a good while (a big deal for him) he didn’t even answer sympathy notes until four months later (also a big deal for him).

-According the doctor, in his own duel, Hamilton knew it was a mortal wound as soon as he was shot. He collapsed, but came to on the boat and the first thing he said was “GUYS BE CAREFUL OF HANDLING THAT PISTOL IT’S STILL LOADED IT COULD GO OFF I DIDN’T ACTUALLY SHOOT IT BUT PLEASE REMEMBER TO TELL EVERYONE I WAS GOING TO THROW AWAY MY SHOT” He did actually shoot it of course, but he fact he didn’t seem to know this makes it seem more likely he just accidentally squeezed the trigger when he was shot.

- the other thing he kept babbling about was how they should get Eliza but break it to her gradually. in stages. Ease her into it. Which it’s nice you’re considerate of her feelings NOW, wish you’d been considerate enough NOT TO DO THE DUEL.

-anyway the description of his death in the bio was very sad and he said he didn’t hold anything against Burr and was at peace though so i guess that’s nice.

-in contrast Burr was such an ASSHOLE about Hamilton’s death omg

-Before I go into WHAT A GIANT ASS JERK HE IS I will give Burr one credit: he believed strongly women were equal to men, and made sure Theodosia was educated in everything, and even had her taught to shoot from horseback. Like he really wanted to make sure his daughter knew how to kill stuff from a horse. i respect that.

-what I don’t respect is that Hamilton actually has EXTREMELY GOOD REASON to feel he couldn’t be trusted in office- there was this whole drama where after New York had a yellow fever epidemic, Burr started pushing this Manhattan water company that would provide clean water to the public, which would be a huge help with yellow fever. He got Hamilton on board with it. But his real plan was actually to sneak in some last minute provisions to the water company bill that basically turned it from a water company to a bank that could complete with Federalist banks. Not only compete with them, but have less restrictions to them. So he basically tricked Hamilton into pushing through a bill that was designed to undermine his own beloved banks. Hamilton was PRETTY PISSED, and I can’t blame him for that. Not to mention, the water company obviously never happened, and other water companies weren’t set up because everyone thought it would be covered- so when yellow fever came back to new york? No clean water, lots of deaths, some of which could have probably been prevented if Burr hadn’t been a greedy asshole.

-Burr showed some signs of regret immediately after the duel, moving towards Hamilton and wanting to talk to him, but he pretty much treated it pretty callously after that. Actually, he want to have breakfast afterwards, and his cousin came to visit and they chatted and HE ACTED COMPLETELY NORMAL AND NEVER MENTIONED HE’D LITERALLY JUST KILLED THE FORMER SECRETARY OF TREASURY. When Burr’s cousin went into town afterwards someone told him what had happened and cuz was like “nah you gotta be wrong i was just with him and he didn’t mention anything like that at all! He seemed completely normal!” then he saw a newspaper and was like “WHAT THE FUCK.”

-he also happily went around sleeping with tons of ladies after the duel and even wrote to Theodosia saying “I actually recommend doing a duel and courtship at same time it keeps ya invigorated” AND WOW WHAT A SUPER APPROPRIATE THING TO WRITE TO YOUR DAUGHTER. Maybe Theodosia was glad to die at sea after reading that. Anyway, the only sign of regret Burr really showed was “the world was wide enough” quote (which might have been a dark joke, but I think there was a grain of truth in it regardless, like Lin Manuel says, who knows).

-Burr was in incredible debt- (so was Hamilton when he died- Eliza’s inheritance from her dad wasn’t enough to cover it but fortunately all of Hamilton’s friends came together and secretly gave Eliza money to cover it which is nice. Jefferson was in SO much debt when he died his entire estate and 200 slaves were all sold to cover it. yeah he didn’t free anyone besides the slaves who were his children in his will, an asshole to the end.) so he left the country to escape creditors in addition to the murder charges and used a pseudonym.

-Burr also had this weird fucking plan to become emperor of mexico or seize spanish florida or some shit and was plotting it, and he was actually tried for treason because of this! Thomas Jefferson REALLY REALLY wanted Burr to get punished and put all the pressure he could on the Supreme Court to find him guilty and it was test of our constitutional powers- would the supreme court bow down to the president? turns out no, since Burr got off.

-However, he wasn’t unscathed- a SHIT-TON of people close to him died around the time Theodosia died and he was devastated and basically a recluse afterwards (life doesn’t discriminate...) He married a second wife, but she then realized he was fucking terrible with money and was going to drive her into poverty with his shitty land deals (also she was nearly 20 years younger- I wonder if she was counting on him dying and leaving her something and then realized he was going to die and leave her with DEBT instead). So she got- DRUMROLL- ALEXANDER HAMILTON’S SON, ALEX JR, TO DIVORCE THEM. such a asshole move honestly, i gotta respect it, you go girl. Burr might not have been able to tell what was going on though since he was having strokes and stuff. She managed to divorce him JUST IN TIME, on the day of his death.

-honestly i’m most interested in the petty drama of history and how all these people were just behaving like they’re five and fucking up constantly and listening to this biography proved that to me. people are so ridiculous.

#alexander hamilton #history #history is petty and strange

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mazurah · 6 years

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Clockwork City Main Quest Discussion

WARNING: Contains Spoilers!

Okay! The Clockwork City in Screenshots is completely posted, so it’s time to get into the lore! Here are my thoughts on the main quest.

The Good:

The graphics, the design, the art deco aesthetic; visually, the Clockwork City is everything I could have hoped for!

Kireth and Raynor are the most adorable siblings! I haven’t encountered them in the main game yet, but apparently they’re recurring characters. I look forward to finding them.

The Blackfeather Court is hilarious. I love them all. I also love that Nocturnal basically got defeated by a bunch of talking crows who got to Seht’s metal city and were just like, everything here is shiny! We must have it! And then went off to do their own thing.

Speaking of Nocturnal, I really liked the depiction of the Evergloam. We rarely get to see ingame depictions of the realms of Oblivion, and when we do, it’s always great. Nocturnal’s realm really seemed to fit her. It coulda been darker, but I understand why the game devs decided to make it twilight instead of straight up night for playability reasons.

Shadows as souls or pieces of souls is an interesting concept, and I wonder if it has something to do with Shadow Magic, like what Nightblades (the character class) use. I’m looking forward to doing some more research into the topic and cobbling together a more full understanding of what exactly shadows are in the TES universe. It’s not really something we get from any other game other than ESO, and I actually really like this contribution to TES lore.

Varuni has such a good character arc! She starts out as a fervent believer in Sotha Sil, and ends up being forced to confront her questions about him and grow as a person! Honestly, she has the best writing in the entire DLC, and she’s my favorite character! Here’s one of my favorite pieces of dialogue and an example of actual good writing in the Clockwork City:

Varuni: "He's gone, isn't he?"

Player: "Sotha Sil? Yes."

Varuni: "I knew it."

Varuni: "I never got to speak to him. Can you believe that? A hundred years of loyal service and then, poof. Gone."

Player: "What would you have said to him?"

Varuni: "Ha. You know, I spent years rehearsing exactly what I would say. I stood in front of the mirror, saying it over and over. Lord Seht, I stand before you as your loyal servant. Prayers of thanks, supplication... on and on."

Player: "And now?"

Varuni: "Now? Now I have nothing but questions.”

Varuni: "Why do we study in the basilica while people struggle on the streets? Why can't we have birds like the exodromals? How could Daedra break through our unbreakable walls? Why can't we leave?"

Player: "Do you think he'd have answers for you?"

Varuni: "I did yesterday. Today? I'm not so sure."

The Bad:

Oh my gods, what did they do to Sotha Sil? They’ve turned him into a faux-deep douchebro! This is my main problem with the Clockwork City DLC, and it’s a major one. They got him all wrong. I mean, he’s hard to understand because he’s Mystery, but at the very least Zenimax shoulda asked some of the original Morrowind lore writers for input or something, because it’s very obvious they had no idea how to handle him. In fact, this is so much of a problem that I feel the need to expound on the point. Here are a couple of excerpts of the most egregious writing:

I asked Sotha Sil about those persistent rumors—the ones about how he and the other Tribunes murdered Indoril Nerevar, the Dark Elf king. According to Marilia, the topic is strictly taboo. Even so, Sotha Sil answered my questions with a quiet grace that surprised even me.

"Why do you think things happen?" he asked. I told him I didn't understand the question.

"Why are we sitting here talking? Why does young Marius exist? Why do I reign over this place, while you convalesce within it?"

I sat quiet for a moment, then replied: "Because that's just the way it is."

His cold face melted into one of his solemn half-smiles. "Exactly."

I can't be sure, but it seemed like relief in his voice. His shoulders relaxed, his tone shifted—he had the look of a man at peace with his sins.

— Proctor Luciana’s Journal, Volume 1

Player: “What is all this for, anyway? The Clockwork City.”

Sotha Sil: “I sometimes ask myself the same thing.”

Sotha Sil: “May I confess something to you?”

Player: “Of course.”

Sotha Sil: “I suffer from a peculiar ailment. Shall I describe it?”

Sotha Sil: “I bear the cruel weight of certainty. Total, absolute, relentless certainty. People rarely comprehend the luxury of doubt... the freedom that comes with indecision. I envy you.”

Player: “Didn't you just say that you question whether the City is worth the effort?”

Sotha Sil: “Indeed. But such questions are flaccid—cursory indulgences that come and go in an instant.”

Sotha Sil: “The truth is that my actions, both good and evil, are inevitable. Locked in time. Determined by chains of action and consequence.”

Player: “So... you were forced to build the Clockwork City?”

Sotha Sil: “Compelled.”

— Game Dialogue with Sotha Sil

Okay first off, nothing is ever certain in the TES universe. There is no such thing as an omniscient god in the TES universe. Not even Hermaeus Mora, the Prince of Knowledge and Fate knows everything. Just look at how the Skaal managed to hide knowledge from him for generations. No god can predict the future with absolute certainty. Just read Azura and the Box, and you’ll see what I mean. In it, Azura, a god of prophecy who asserts that her knowledge is absolute, fails to predict what is in a box. Azura’s assertion that she knows everything is in character for her because she is also a god of vanity, but not so for Sotha Sil. Sotha Sil is not generally characterized as vain. As a person with godlike powers, he should be very much aware of the limitations of his knowledge and power, so the assertion that he can predict the future with absolute certainty is preposterous, and completely out of character.

If he knows everything, why the heck doesn’t he do something? He seems to have been taken by surprise by Nocturnal’s attack on the Clockwork City (as well as by all the events that took place in the Morrowind DLC with Vivec and stuff), so that doesn’t add up, but some of the dialogue from Aios implies that he realizes that Almalexia is a threat to him and he is taking countermeasures of some sort! It doesn’t make any sense! Gaah!

Anyway, moving on. More bad stuff:

It’s explicitly stated in multiple lore books that Sotha Sil and Almalexia are sexually involved. It’s also stated that Almalexia is Vivec’s lover and consort. That would seem to imply that Vivec and Sotha Sil were more involved than just “brothers” since they don’t seem to have any sort of jealous rivalry over Almalexia going on, and yet “brothers” is how Sotha Sil describes Vivec. That... doesn’t really make sense to me. At the very least they would be metamours, and quite likely more than that.

Sotha Sil does not just "quietly" admire Dwemer stuff. He’s blatantly copping and improving on the Dwemer’s inventions. That’s not bad btw, I like how they did that. The bad part is that Divayth Fyr, someone who supposedly knows Sotha Sil better than almost anyone, describes Sotha Sil as “quietly” admiring the Dwemer. He obviously has no idea what he’s talking about.

Sotha Sil’s feet. They gave him mechanical arms but not mechanical feet? Come on you guys! Get it together! He has mechanical feet in Morrowind, why not here? There’s so many great fan theories floating around about Sotha Sil’s feet, one of my favorite being by @boethiah, which speculates that he was injured as a child, and had to have his legs replaced so he could walk. Why not go with something like that? The lore strongly implies that Sotha Sil bypasses Vivec’s path to “true” godhood via CHIM and tries to find perfection through mechanical means. It stands to reason that he would have all mechanical limbs even if he didn’t have some sort of childhood accident requiring him to get prosthetics.

Slag Town. One of the things you can gather from the 36 Lessons and by listening to Almalexia talk about Sotha Sil is that Sotha Sil is an idealist when it comes to people. He thinks the best of them, and he is very hurt when people’s darker nature shows itself, which is one of the factors leading to his self isolation. (I wish I could remember specific sources for this, if anyone remembers something related, please post it.) With that in mind, I think he wouldn’t stand to have slums in his city. He cares about people too much. He wants them to succeed. If you read this lore book about Slag Town, it basically states that some of the people born down there don’t even know how to read. Sotha Sil, being the idealist he is, would obviously have a public education system in place. I don’t understand how writers who have read all the official resources available about Sotha Sil could think otherwise.

Why is Sotha Sil so obsessed with CHIM and Amaranth? That’s Vivec’s thing I thought. If he knows so much about it, why didn’t he achieve CHIM? He’s supposed to be taking a different path than Vivec, but his dialogue seems to be referencing back to Vivec’s path all the time. This would be alright if they added some Almalexia content as well showing her contribution to the Tribunal’s god-philosophies and uniting the Tribunal into a whole, but as it stands it just looks like Sotha Sil is a Vivec fanboy.

This is pretty unimportant, but Dunmer keep calling other Dunmer "dark elves". Just, why...? Only Men ever refer to mer as elves! This isn’t just a problem with the Clockwork City, but with ESO in general. Elves referring to other elves as elves instead of mer is just... weird.

I’m probably being pedantic, but why does everyone pronounce it "Sotha Seel" instead of "Sotha Sil", and "Div-AAAY-th" instead of "Div-EYE-th" or "Dee-VAH-yth"? It just irks me, almost as much as how they pronounced “Nerevarine” in the Morrowind DLC.

The Neutral:

Sotha Sil’s height. Sotha Sil is a giant in comparison to everyone else, even Altmer. He can’t possibly be this tall naturally. He’s probably just making himself appear taller because he thinks he’s supposed to, or possibly because he’s insecure about his height. It’s a strange character choice, and not one I really agree with, but also not one I disagree with either. So... meh?

Divayth Fyr was just... adequate. They got his friendship with Sotha Sil right, as well as his flaunting of authority, but they didn’t give him the booming, larger than life, generally genial-and-magnanimous-if-insensitive personality I’ve come to associate with Divayth Fyr (Dunmer-Brian-Blessed as @chameleonspell put it, click here if you haven’t seen Brian Blessed before.) So it’s just kind of... okay. They also established that Divayth Fyr was friends with Sotha Sil before Sotha Sil’s apotheosis, which would make him old enough to remember being Chimer. However, I was under the impression that he did not personally remember the War of the First Council, but I don’t really have any evidence to back this up, so if somebody has some Morrowind dialogue to help me out, that’d be great. It’s quite possible that this is a lore contradiction.

Sotha Sil’s depression. The way he’s depicted, he exhibits a lot of symptoms that make me think that he has some very profound depression going on. That honestly seems accurate to his character. It’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing, but it’s an understandable character choice.

The ‘I don’t know how to interpret this’:

The very short depiction we get of Nerevar just seems... off. @saltrices mentioned that there were some speculations going around on tumblr that Nerevar could have been part Ayleid or some other non-Chimer elf, and...

That’s the hologram of Nerevar, and the projection of the last Ayleid king. They’re wearing the same armor. Why? I have no idea. I don’t think the armor suits him. His height in comparison to Sotha Sil is certainly not accurate, but again, I think Sotha Sil is probably making himself appear taller because he thinks he should or something. In life, Nerevar was almost certainly the same height or taller than Sotha Sil. The height difference has more to do with how Sotha Sil is choosing to depict them both, and the armor choice could be as well, but I don’t think so. Sotha Sil is likely to depict Nerevar in armor he actually wore, which is why the armor choice is so strange. I’m not sure what to make of it.

TL:DR: I enjoyed the DLC. I disliked some of the writing, especially regarding Sotha Sil, but I like other parts of the writing. I had a lot of fun, and I found the DLC to be visually appealing, but I think that most of the “deep” lore that the DLC tried to add should, in general, be completely disregarded.

That’s my take, now I wanna hear everyone else’s! Reblog with what you thought was good, bad, neutral, or perplexing!

Many thanks to @talldarkandroguesome for running through the Clockwork City 1.5 times with me and for being my sounding board.

Tagging those who were interested in participating: @ladynerevar @kapycta @sharmat-dreams @ratwhisperer @spoopy-eneko @kee413 @king-helseth @kagrenacs @annachibi @jurvektheblogsmer Anyone else who wants to is welcome to join as well!

#tes #eso #elder scrolls online #elder scrolls online: the clockwork city #clockwork city #clockwork city spoilers #elder scrolls lore #Deconstruction #Long Post

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krokodile · 6 years

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movie watched in 2018, just three n this one with two behind a cut because spoilers for movies older than all of you :P

battle of the sexes - holy fuck, so good. SO SO SO GOOD. look, i usually can’t stand emma stone and i rarely like sports movies. but i loved this movie so much i couldn’t shut up about it for days. emma stone and steve carell are fucking flawless, and watching the bonus features, seeing how emma lights up whenever billie jean is onset, it’s clear how strongly she felt about doing this right. and it absolutely shows. her transformation goes beyond the makeup (although holy crap they did a good job with that). her performance is remarkable; i won’t take back all i’ve said about how annoying i’ve found her over the years, because i did, but i underestimated her (which i guess is thematically appropriate for this movie :P ). she is immensely skilled, and her desire to do this project justice is plainly visible. the fire in her eyes when she’s on the court is fucking magnetic. i can’t say enough about how much i adored this performance. and i generally feel that biopics bring out the worst in actors (academy catnip though they may be).

steve carell nailed his role as well, but that was no surprise; i knew he would be perfect. i hope he gets his oscar for this, finally, though i’m assuming 3 billboards will sweep all the major categories. andrea riseborough is predictably perfect, and cute as a bug’s ear - i’ve always thought she was incredibly pretty, but this is the first time i’ve found her adorable. she and emma stone have the most insanely believable chemistry - i don’t think i’ve believed an onscreen relationship more, in every facet.

the movie looks amazing; it drops you right into the 70s with no detail ignored. and, you know, having lived on planet earth, i knew how this story ended. and yet, i was nervous. i was on the edge of my seat wringing my hands through every set. i wanted to stand up and cheer. i just...i really loved this movie. i expected to like it, because reviewers i tend to agree with raved over it, but i didn’t think i’d fall in love with it. easily one of the best to come out of 2017, at least for me.

when the wind blows - this is the best movie i NEVER EVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN. oh my god. look, if you know this movie, you understand me. if you don’t, how do i sum it up? an elderly couple living in (i think) rural england has been following the news of a seemingly inevitable nuclear conflict approaching. the wife is largely unconcerned - after all, they made it through world war ii, and enough time has past that the memories have become romantic - and the husband is confident that the government pamphlets instructing him to whitewash the windows and create a shelter out of doors will instruct him well.

...you know where this is going, because there’s only one way this story can go.

bombs fall, everyone dies.

but not like that. while most of their area is flattened, their home stands. and at first all seems well. emergency services will be along soon enough to rescue them, after all. the pamphlets instruct them to stay in their little shelter for fourteen days to avoid fallout, but the impracticality of that is immediately apparent, and after all - if you can’t hear it, feel it, see it, how can it be harming you?

sure, they’ve had headaches, but stress, you know?

if you for some reason have been meaning to see this but haven’t gotten to it, and don’t want spoilers, skip this, because i really can’t figure out how to explain how quietly horrific this film is without spoiling the entire thing.

the couple - jim and hilda - quickly grow bored indoors and stroll around their garden, chatting about how nice everything will look once it’s grown back next season.

yeah, you’ve correctly inferred just how much denial they’re in. hilda notices a neighbor’s dog in the distance and worriedly comments that it must be hungry; we can see that the dog is not only dead but partially fused to the ground. grimmer still is jim’s comment that people must have put sunday dinner on early in the week; he can smell the meat roasting. hilda mentions her worsening nausea, which jim attributes to a woman’s inability to handle stress.

the water runs out, there are rats in the toilets, and hilda and jim can’t quite pinpoint why they feel so off; so tired and weak. surely nothing a cup of tea wouldn’t fix, but that’s out of the question now. still, emergency services should be arriving any moment now. they wonder how their son and his family are faring.

jim wonders if hilda is wearing lipstick; she isn’t. her gums are bleeding. but surely it’s a result of ill-fitting dentures. they’re old; it happens. those strange sores on their limbs must be varicose veins. they’re old; it happens. bloody diarrhea? hemorrhoids. they’re old; it happens.

jim runs out of answers when hilda’s hair starts coming out in handfuls - or perhaps he’s simply too weak to speak much at this point.

ultimately, they retire to their tiny shelter, both finally acknowledging - wordlessly but clearly - that no help is coming. with no better ideas left, hilda suggests they might pray. jim, endearingly, begins his prayer with “dear sir,” which hilda suggests is wrong. they are, after all, an old married couple.

mid-sentence, jim ceases to speak. and that is all.

this movie came out in the 80s, as part of that boom of nuclear holocaust films that flooded the nation at that time. but unlike the thrillers or the family dramas, this film is almost painfully quiet. jim and hilda have no fear. there’s no screaming, no crying, just wondering why on earth their son seems to have gone mad at the news. war is survivable; they’ve done it before. there are no horrific shots of dead bodies, of people burned and in agony. just jim and hilda, quietly transforming from round-faced little old cherubs to hollow-eyed skeletons.

and my god, they make you love them. they’re fucking adorable, with their accents and their quaint little house. they bicker, but you know neither would know what to do with themselves without the other. (the sweetness of their relationship is, i imagine, what makes the moment where jim carelessly calls hilda a “stupid bitch” as she refuses to get into the shelter - the oven’s on, the laundry’s still on the line, she really should take care of these things first - so disproportionately upsetting. it feels personal, somehow.)

the movie looks absolutely gorgeous. the characters are animated, the home is done in 3d models, manipulated with stop motion, and the blending of mediums is startlingly seamless. the character designs are simple - jim looks rather like an elderly charlie brown, with a large round head, dots for eyes, a little squiggle mouth and little else - making it all the more effective when the effects of their sickness start to visibly affect them. there’s no gore, nothing hyperrealistic, and yet the images are deeply disturbing in ways eli roth can only dream of being.

as the saying goes, one death is a tragedy; a million, a statistic. we can speculate about the number of lives lost if nuclear war breaks out, but somehow that will feel less devastating than watching just these two. there’s nothing exaggerating, nothing made “bigger” for film. just the quiet, horrible truth.

and fuck, it’s a sick feeling when you remember that this is exactly what we did to every single japanese individual who didn’t immediately die when we bombed them. they died in days and weeks after with radiation poisoning, or years later of blood and bone cancers. either they went through this themselves, dying horrible, agonizing deaths that they couldn’t even feel the hope of curing, or they helplessly watched their families. numbers are sobering, but the reality of the suffering is nauseating.

oh and i mean trump seems determined to bring about the same fate to the us, so there’s that to think about, if you didn’t feel shitty enough.

it’s an absolutely brilliant piece of art; one of the best animated films i’ve ever seen. but i think it’s best to go in warned about what you’re seeing. you know it’s going to be sad, you know they’re going to die, but...you should know that it’s worse than you’re envisioning.

still. see it. it’s on youtube.

ringing bell - because shit, i didn’t already want to die enough, right? it’s bambi, but with sheep. oh, and instead of growing up and marrying his cousin, bambi joins forces with the hunter and becomes an expert gunman.

yeah.

honestly, i didn’t like it, and not for the reasons you might think. yeah, it’s sad, but i didn’t think it was well put-together. the first third is just a baby lamb called chirin prancing around being nauseating (or cute, i guess). the second third is an irritating, dumb baby sheep deciding he wants to become an apprentice to the wolf who killed his mother, which...okay, i can accept that he’s come to reason that only the strong survive (there’s an absolutely gutting scene, one of the few done well, where the lamb attempts to rescue a bird and her eggs from a snake. the mother is killed, and in the scuffle, the eggs are broken. the image of chirin wailing “why do the weak have to die?” is going to be the thing that fucks me up for the rest of my life. jesus christ.) but we see NONE of this - he goes from hunting down the wolf determined to kill it, the wolf knocks him down a fucking mountain, he climbs back up and declares his intent to become a wolf.

we get a rocky movie’s worth of training montages, and really a whole bunch of nothing for the second act. i’ll give it credit for having the wolf’s design be badass as fuck and for the hunting scene having more realism than i’d expect from a sanrio production (yeah, this came from the people who brought you hello kitty.) but the story elements are really ignored. we never do find out why the wolf never just ate the damn sheep when it came looking for him.

the third act is better - chirin’s adult model is the stuff of nightmares compared to his cotton fluffball appearance in the earlier scenes, and everything looks gorgeous and is animated far better than what came before it. i won’t spoil the story of the ending, but the final shot, of chirin alone, wailing for the wolf in what sounds creepily like a howl, is...depressing. it’s not SAD. it just comes with a resignation that makes it so much worse than just being sad. of course this is how it ends. what else could there be for this wretch, no longer a ram, but not enough a wolf?

it’s a short, about 50 minutes, and at first i was thinking it might have worked better as a feature, but really, it would’ve worked better at the same length, just with differently-applied focus. still, i appreciate its existence. i think the 70s and 80s realized what we’ve forgotten now - kids eat up the dark stuff, the cautionary and morality tales. when things are scary, you get to feel proud and excited that you made it through. when things are sad, you learn to remember that happiness returns. when you experience loss vicariously, you begin to understand it, how to process it. when you see death, you accept it as part of life. kids WANT to understand these things; they WANT to know more than what they know; they WANT to take on tough things and overcome them. WE want to keep them “safe” and “innocent” - they know that that’s the opposite of what they need.

that said, if any kid i’m watching wants to watch it, i’m going to another room until it’s over. JESUS.

#movies watched in 2018 #MWi2018: battle of the sexes #MWi2018: when the wind blows #MWi2018: ringing bell #anime

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sasukerevolution · 7 years

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I know that we, as Sasuke fans, can collectively agree that his redemption journey+guilt tripping+getting beaten into submission+not getting justice+the way they treated him after his final fight with Naruto is horrible. However, he did commit a few very serious crimes and terrible actions, and he really should answer for them. What I'm asking is: in a miraculous scenario where people actually decide that, yeah, they really should give Sasuke the justice he deserves and even think about(1/2)

changing the goddamn shitty Shinobi system still established, how would you handle Sasuke’s criminal record? Not as bad as how it was in canon, but he really did do some shitty things, so how should we… er, for a lack of a better term, “punish” him?(2/2)

Hmmm. I think to answer this question I need to break down what’s actually on Sasuke’s criminal record. This is a list that doesn’t include my personal feelings:

- Left the Hidden Leaf Village to train under Orochimaru: In the Naruto universe, this is an offense punishable by death. According to the rules of the Narutoverse itself, Sasuke automatically gets a death sentence for this. However, as a favour to Naruto, Tsunade chose to have this not be listed as a crime nor to pursue Sasuke as a criminal. Then Danzou redacated Tsunade’s decision, and then Kakashi redacted Danzou’s. Assuming the same things go down with regards to the line of Kages in this scenario, to avoid complications, we’ll work under the assumption that Sasuke is pardoned for this crime.

Sasuke committed no crimes that we know of while working under Orochimaru, so none will be counted. I would argue that Sasuke is not responsible for the death of Deidara or even Itachi, but regardless of how one views it both were criminals and their deaths caused no direct harm to the Leaf.

- Fought Naruto: The first two times this happens (Sasuke Retrieval arc and Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission arc), it’s in response to pursuit. This would maybe count as a crime of resistance to apprehension, but I don’t recall that ever being specified as a crime in the series so we’re going to pass over it.

- Joining the Akatsuki and attacking Killer Bee: If I recall correctly, the Leaf had already decided to pursue the Akatsuki before Sasuke even joined it, but the window of time between Sasuke joining and the Kage Summit that affected the law is so brief I’m not going to speculate on it too much. I say that Sasuke attacked Killer Bee because he actually did not succeed in killing him or in capturing him: as a ninja not affiliated with any Village, this is not an act of war. As we know, this led to the mobilization of the Five Great Shinobi Countries against the Akatsuki and to Sasuke’s subsequent death sentence, which was actually in effect this time. I’m not sure, however, what the punishment in the Naruto world is for attempted kidnapping. When Itachi and Kisame failed to kidnap Naruto, they weren’t even subsequently pursued for it, but that may be because they were already in the Bingo Book. Personally, I think Sasuke’s aid of the Five Great Shinobi Countries during the Fourth Shinobi World War may entitle him to a lighter sentence.

- Attacking Karin: Karin is not affiliated with any Village and was an affiliate of Sasuke’s. I don’t think the Leaf Village has a system that deals with crimes committed between criminals, so we’ll say he’s off the hook for this one.

- Killing Danzou: Since he’s no longer affiliated with the Leaf, this doesn’t count as treason. However, he did murder a leader of the Leaf Village. I’m not sure what “punishment” was attributed to Orochimaru when he killed the Third Hokage, which in my opinion is a precedent, but just based off of how the Leaf works in general I’d venture Sasuke earns a death sentence for this. This is without taking into account Danzou’s own illegal operations and lengthy criminal record.

- Threatening the Leaf Village: Threatening to harm a Village isn’t the same as actually harming it, but, again, considering the way the Leaf tends to handle stuff in general, I’m gonna say they’d throw a death sentence at him for even uttering his intent to destroy the Leaf. He fought Naruto again here but since it was in response to pursuit I’m going to go with the same thing I said above.

- Threatening to kill the Five Kage: Yeah, I think I’ll put this one under “probable death sentence” too.

- Challenging Naruto to a fight and attempting to murder him: This one wasn’t in response to being pursued. I don’t know what the punishment is in the Naruto world for challenging a shinobi to a fight when you are unaffiliated with any Village is. After all, rogue ninjas are supposed to be kill-on-sight just, like, in general.

Basically, by Naruto world standards, just judging his actions, Sasuke should be dead a couple times over. But if we’re discussing justice for Sasuke, we have to account for the crimes that were committed by the Leaf Village as a state against him.

- The biggest and the most obvious, The Uchiha Clan Massacre: Genocide is a very serious crime, and as the survivor of a state-ordered genocide, the Leaf really ought to be kissing Sasuke’s ass just in apology for the injustice that was committed against him.

- Negligence: In a fair system, the Leaf would have to acknowledge their failure to provide any sort of support or accommodation for an orphaned and traumatized child who is registered and that they are perfectly aware of. Especially because the reasons for his trauma are their fault.

- Negligence again: Namely, during the Chuunin Exams. The Leaf Village became aware that Orochimaru was a participant in the Chuunin Exams even while the second stage was still occurring. At that point, it was too late for them to do anything about Sasuke’s cursed seal, but even at Anko’s request to pull Sasuke from the exams during the preliminaries, the Hokage still insisted on allowing Sasuke to continue. They already knew that Sasuke was Orochimaru’s target as well; he should have been heavily guarded during the entirety of the exams.

- Inadequate retrieval measures: Though the Village was aware that Sasuke had left the Village, they sent genin who were Sasuke’s age after him instead of well-trained Jonin during the Sasuke Retrieval Arc. He wasn’t yet a missing-nin, at this point all they needed to do was apprehend him and bring him back to the Village, but their attempt was half-assed and they let him get away.

If this system is fair, then the Leaf Village’s own hand in creating Sasuke’s motives for his crimes must be acknowledged. I don’t think the Naruto universe even has a fucking court, lmfao. Sasuke had no lawyer or even an opportunity to represent or defend himself.

Personally? I think all things considered, Sasuke is a victim far more than he is a criminal. As you can see from my list above, many of his crimes were mere threats or unsuccessful attempts: the only crimes he actually successfully committed were leaving the Village, which as you can see above the Leaf is at least partially if not entirely at fault for, and killing Danzou, which considering the crimes Danzou committed against him and his motivation I think a fair court would pardon him for.

If I were the Leaf Village, I’d be on my knees begging for his forgiveness, not daring to so much as consider punishing him.

#Sasuke #analysis #long post #thanks for the question!!!#Anonymous #ramblings

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smallpressdistribution · 7 years

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Feast your eyes and your shelves on October’s

SPD Recommends *Backlist*,

ten still-so-relevant titles selected by our very own Matthew Hedley!

1. Cold Genius - Aaron Kunin

Have you heard Aaron Kunin get excited about Milton yet? In love with things that are funny because he loves them, like Milton’s bible fan fiction, or Chiquita banana, or language meaning a particular thing. Is it fair to say Kunin’s quote clusters are a joke, a reflexive reassurance, a kindness that doesn’t force words down your throat, a presentation, a kindness, so that his book feels deeply kind. I appreciate the Ben Lerner blurb – “it occurs to me often to be grateful for his work.” Because I am, also, deeply grateful. Reviewers seem to delight in calling him a genius – because it’s in the title, maybe – but this book is so much more interesting than that. He’s a genius, who cares, “genius” is really a silly thing, don’t you think? It’s a brand, maybe, or something a lover says and is misunderstood and misunderstood until he figures in a Kunin poem.

2. Trances of the Blast - Mary Ruefle

This book of Ruefle poems is an odd gem. Its title is given the lie by the duration of its gaze. A stanza for the thing, a stanza for the feeling about the thing, a stanza for life after living with the thing. Remember Inception? That movie all the memes come from? This book has all the immediacy of an explosion in that movie, as time dilates wider and wider, until we’ve forgotten we were running from an explosion in the first place. What was that movie about? Or – wait, what’s this book about? It’s not exactly still, since there’s so much life ahead to get to, and it has pace, some yearning to be turned on, left on, but its movement comes from turnabout, the unwieldy and furry shift of a person looming in the midst of a poem.

And so I have had to deal with wild intractable people all my days and have been led astray in a world of shattered moonlight and beasts and trees where no one ever curtsies anymore or has an understudy. So I have gone up to the little room in my face, I am making something out of a jar of freckles and a jar of glue

I hated childhood. I hate adulthood. And I love being alive.

3. Monk Eats an Afro - Yolanda Wisher

This book is embodied poetry, the talked about but rarely seen kind. It’s important that the book is anachronistic in its sensitivity – Cry of Jazz came out in 1959, Monk Eats an Afro in 2014 – but Wisher loves jazz, and is good at it. The Sonia Sanchez blurb should be a giveaway of how in scene this book is to Philadelphia, to Philly jazz, to clubs where Sonia still holds court at a central table, with similar tables around, Wisher at another, someone, maybe Dawn Evans holds down a third, there aren’t that many tables but they’re mostly full, with men and women who make Philly great. Sure, I’m being overly romantic, because this is a literal memory I have, being in that room, being in my hometown, sometimes it feels like it might disappear, also – this book is romantic. Its romance poems are downright sexy, and god, when Wisher swings into a rhyme at the end of a stanza it rings out. There’s a body at risk here, recounting personal experience with a heady sense of its own cultural touchpoints. There’s something conservative about a jazz fanatic in this day and age – to go through every day hearing what the radio does while still pulling back to Monk and fam takes work, a love of the way things were – which, in context with the rest of this list, makes a deep commentary on how conservative poetry as a whole really is. Because this book feels novel and standout amidst the others of the list for how separate its references are. No other book on this list is more than one degree of separation (in terms of debt owed) from John Ashbery, and this book might be two, and that makes all the difference. It’s not that it’s “anti-academic,” because that term posits the academy as the thing, and everything else as lying in opposition. But I remember a creative writing professor ask a creative writing graduate student what she could possibly talk to a slam poet about. Monk Eats an Afro is incommunicable with that sort of thinking. Not opposition – a powerful voice, sure in her self.

4. Stories in the Worst Way - Gary Lutz

This book makes me want to write better. Lutz’ style should be ponderous -- the whole text appears at a glance almost as marginalia, like liner notes on liner notes, but nothing is frantic. Somehow it feels calm, even, impossibly, focused. Which can be a little frustrating -- the game of the title STORIES IN THE WORST WAY always cycling through my mind as I am shocked by the talent. Because they are really well written and make you jealous and more than a little productive. Lutz makes me write. Because he really can write, and his overcrowded margin of a text feels absolutely effortless and easy for him, which is also impossible, and also untrue, and it’s – god, it’s frustrating! But if I didn’t have this book around, what other book could I use to make myself write. I admit, I throw this book around a lot. It’s a really nice weight and size to be thrown, and then picked up, mumble a bit, read the same story again, somehow write four pages, go for a walk, turn around mid-walk, come home and read the same story, write some more. It’s a book I love and picked from thousands of titles here at SPD -- and if you can’t handle being jealous and productive, I just don’t even know you.

5. Videogames for Humans: Twine Authors in Conversation - edited by merritt kopas

This book of playthroughs, essays, contexts, games and game-ified writing is unique and complex. Twine as a digital platform stands alongside all my other distant dreams of choice mediums for preventing academia and the state from incorporating language and work into their narrative. But, unfortunately, the space remains uncurated in meaningful ways to further that vision, which, as Wikipedia will tell you (by omission or deletion mill), perpetuates the same power structures as the world outside. So: CRY$TAL WARRIOR KE$HA (made pre-$ removal) is on the sample page today (looking absolutely amazing), while the most recent review is some undergraduate freshboy’s takedown of its writing structure. Which is to say that the academy is always uncomfortably present in the history and training of creators, players, readers – and even in the essays in VIDEOGAMES FOR HUMANS. The tension in the book’s movement back and forth between Kesha and undergraduate with a grudge is what makes the book so incredibly worthwhile. Beyond just a book for digital language nerds like myself, this collection feels so important for asking questions of how to create positive art spaces. Teenaged entertainment proposes an answer, negated in the misogyny of Lil Yachty, reconstituted in the queer narratives of Twine, complicated in the reactionary nature of write-ups… How will any of us make art in a time where to be an instrument of the state is such a bald-faced violence? But magic and a joy in loving self-sabotage shows a glimmer of hope:

“There’s this assumption that if you stray from The Scientific Method into actually caring about things like lying on the floor of your room in the middle of the afternoon with black canvas hung over the curtains to keep the sun out with a single candle burning, wearing lipstick—even though you pretty much don’t wear lipstick any other time in your life—sort of meditating and sort of tripping off sensory deprivation and sort of falling asleep, that you had better take that weird stuff just as seriously and humorously as scientists are supposed to take science. Like basically magic can’t be weird or fun or fucked up or stupid on purpose. Which is wrong!”

6. Event Factory - Renee Gladman

Event Factory – There’s a setpiece of science fiction where worldbuilding, forced to include some cultural background for the book, treats us to speculative songs and poetry that are, let’s be honest, always awful. The cantina songs, the God-Whispers of Han Qing-Jao, the water songs of the Fremen – let’s be real, these are painful moments. Even Delany – sorry. But then you have Gladman, a luminary poet, writing her Ravicka novels, and suddenly, writing becomes speculative in parsing and content. There’s all the textured concentration and phrasing her talent begets, combined with a character-driven, engaging and difficult science fiction novel. So that our transportation occurs on every level – not escapism, because the density of idea and descriptor doesn’t admit such an easy movement – as we are other before it. It’s a deeply disturbing book, to be sure. The disassociative trip of finding things already happening to yourself makes the book a Ketamine nightmare in its darkest, half-sexual, half-prone. That’s a warning, I suppose, or as much of a warning as I can give for a book I’d like you to read. It’s a book of recollections, and it often recalls the worst. Go read it.

7. In the Time of the Blue Ball - Manuela Draeger, translated by Brian Evenson

This is the only book on this list I didn’t know beforehand, but god DAMN. It reminds me of Kathryn Davis, but with a different set of idiosyncrasies. Or Monica Furlong’s deeply strange cousin. Or it’s not really like another person, but an outstanding talent all to itself that speaks in an unusual voice, with a style and focus all her own. Still, it’s hard not to try to put it in context, because I hadn’t heard of Draeger previously. Shelley Jackson wrote the back cover blurb, and if you’re not down with Shelley Jackson, there’s nothing I can say to convince you to read this.

“I’m warning you, Potemkine,” said the tiger. “Now, here we are together in too small of a space. It’d be better if you didn’t wiggle in front of me. In the darkness, I could imagine that you were running.”

“I don’t look like a wharf rat,” I said.

“When someone starts running in front of me, it’s too late for distinctions between species,” said Gershwin.

Half-accessible, half-mystic fantasy that flirts with various reading levels, IN THE TIME OF THE BLUE BALL is a gorgeous book of fiction. With thanks to Brian Evenson for a stellar translation.

8. This Lamentable City - Polina Barskova, translated by Ilya Kaminsky

He lies naked on something white, She laughs above She covers him With her pearl, her body her Star, her body her snow, her body On top of the word “strange,” On top of the word “fright.”

Barskova wanders the city and chronicles, and edits, and edits, and edits what she sees. This book is beautifully refined, calm, sure.

“In our village where small animals live slowly And humans jump on them.”

I’d like to do this little feature with only quotes, quotes and gasps afterward. The above a reaction to finding the scattered remains of snails in the lane. I hope it snows where you read this, in the evening.

9. The Feel Trio - Fred Moten

Fred Moten. Glory, Fred Moten. One of the most talented writers of a generation who makes the balance of phrasing and legibility feel effortless. Not that every line is beach-read-legible, but that his word clusters are drop-dead gorgeous, and always feel intentioned and deserved. Throughout his published works, Moten remains a cheat-sheet for debut writers – “how do I get away with putting this really fabulous but loud phrase in my writing” – but THE FEEL TRIO is a monstrosity of confidence, even for him.

“this a service on the surface for frank wilderness and carl flippant. my absolute beauty studies feelings in an open afterlife. I hold him and I’ve lost and I feel it in my hands and the sharp distance of his little bother, explosive flower of I’m not ready and don’t want to.”

10. That They Were at the Beach - Leslie Scalapino

My favorite book of poetry has somehow never been on a previous SPD Recommends Backlist. The narrator of the book fascinates me – defensive in language, insecure in relative positions, honest in gaze – in her movements between mechanism and pathos. The formalization of language, centered around the em dash – pretending to be a device of clarity – reminds me of coding languages, its Turing-complete, it’s a half step from language, but in this case not towards clarity but something else, something that masquerades as clarity but is poetry. Which isn’t an opposite of clarity, but it’s not the same thing either. I find it impossible not to copy this book’s phrasing for months after I reread it, so I’m trying to be good here. It’s the book that made me love poetry.

#instar books #fence books #wave books #hanging loose press #tupelo press #letter machine editions #north point press #dorothy a publishing project #calamari press

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chapulana · 5 years

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It’s Time To Embrace The Calm

We are only days past the last blockbuster trade to happen around New York City hoops, and just days away from the 2019 NBA trade deadline. The Mecca of Basketball is under the spotlight yet again after the New York Knicks, in what seems to be a move that contradicts their recent history, sent young sensation Kristaps Porzingis packing to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for what looks to be a more promising future for the blue and orange in former Mavericks point guard Dennis Smith Jr. and the cap space that they’ll enter the summer with.

Nine years after making cap room for LeBron James and then getting turned down, New York is gunning for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Entering the decade, the Knicks gambled and miserably failed, settling on Amar’e Stoudemire as their marquee free agent signing of the summer. Talk about a blunder. The Brooklyn Nets, meanwhile, were still on the under-the-radar-moves market back the, signing the likes of Jordan Farmar and Travis Outlaw. It wouldn’t be until later in the season when both New York franchises blew the horns and traded for Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams.

From that point in February 2011 until today, only a couple of the moves that have sent shockwaves around the league had their epicenter in NYC. Bargnani joined the Knicks in 2013 while the Nets basically destroyed anything resembling a bright future in the trade with Boston, pushing the win-now mentality to unexplored limits. Good for both NY-based franchises, it seemed like they had learned the lesson with time and perspective taking a place in their paths until KP got kicked out of town entering this past weekend.

Now hear me out. I like trades. Actually, I love trades, and I’m sure you do too. They keep the league alive, they get us glued to our phones refreshing Twitter faster than it can handle it and they are fun to speculate and make stories with, fantasizing about what could and could not happen. The problem, though, is that trades bring agitation, and agitation is not good all of the times. What just happened with the Knicks trading Porzingis, come to think of it, makes me see the franchise in some sort of empty and peaceful place at first thought. They have traded not only KP but also Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, and Trey Burke. They have received two guys they will probably cut in Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan. Basically, New York has emptied the room and traded for things-to-come. The thing with this is that the hopes the Knicks will carry from this point to next July when they’ll need to go all-in are surreal. They are and will be over the top. Anything sort of bringing the two best available FAs will feel like a loss.

Brooklyn, on the other side of the coin, remains in a completely different place and stage. Don’t be fooled, though. The Nets have the assets and armory to go all-in themselves and snatch Anthony Davisfrom New Orleans. It would be the most resembling gamble to what the Knicks have done by trading their franchise player. Would it give Brooklyn a better chance at winning the championship? Surely, not a lot of players best AD’s game. Would it be an intelligent move? Nope. No. You know what happened the last time the Nets went for it with a big move. Yes, they made the playoffs. Yes, they lost only against the mighty Miami Heat. Do you know what did they do too? Get into a four-year tailspin that saw the franchise end with a losing record each and every one of those seasons, only to–seemingly–break that span this year.

Brooklynites appreciate the current situation. The front office should too. The vibes around the team can’t get any better. The roster has been affected by injuries as much as you can think of, yet the Nets are still out there battling on a nightly basis. Although results have not gone the Brooklyn way lately with a losing record during the past five games, the season saw a 180-degree turn when the calendar flipped to December. The Nets went from 8-15 at that point to 28-25 by the end of January. They were rewarded with four All-Star call-ups (Russell to the main event, Allen and Kurucs to the youngins’ gig and Joe Harris to the three-point contest).

You can read those last four names again, and try to find some commonality among them. Was I to tell, I’d say they all fit the homegrown, franchise-developed model to a point. Yes, D’Angelo Russell was acquired via trade with the Lakers, but he was an outcast in Hollywood and he was kicked out at the first chance LA had before betting on Lonzo. He has found a home in Brooklyn and nobody can’t tell me he doesn’t look like he’s finally got his stuff right and is on the path to becoming something big. Joe Harris has spent more time in the G-League than in the NBA after being taken by the Cavs in the 2014 draft. Brooklyn didn’t appear in his bio until 2016 when they bet on him by signing the Washington State native to a multi-year deal in July. He just re-signed with the Nets this past summer for no less than $16MM.

Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs, well, no explanation needed. A 22nd and 40th picks by the own Nets, these low-key, under-the-radar, unheralded prospects are now making more than a few franchises regret their draft decisions. Yes, non-lottery picks are usually a crapshoot. But you have to know your stuff and still make a pick, and it is not just pure luck when you get these two folks in back-to-back years. And don’t forget about someone named Dzanan Musawho happens to be lighting the G League up and looks like another key piece for what is yet to come to Brooklyn, same as late call-up Theo Pinson.

So, all in all, the franchise still doesn’t have a roster capable of putting together a deep run into the playoffs. There are flaws, there is a lack of talent (or, at least, fully-developed talent), and the rotation depth is hurt by injuries. A win-now move like going for Anthony Davis would bring immediate–but to my eye false–hopes and expectations to Nets’ fans. A top-five player carries that aura and the need of winning, no matter what is around him (ask LeBron James and his fringe-quality roster). Not a lot of franchises are in the position Brooklyn is at now. Not too good, not too bad either, but surely based on a young core of players with tons of upside and even cap room to spend on game-changers this next summer without the need of pulling the trigger on some risky moves like those performed by the Knicks this past week.

I already wrote a few days ago about how the impression of New York being a blue-and-orange landscape is turning. Turns out the very own Knicks are helping that change happen at light speed now without a visible face in their roster and everything up in the air. Brooklyn’s DLo, Dinwiddie, Allen, and company are the straw that stirs NYC’s drink.

Let me say it again. We all like some trade-related excitement, but we better calm down a little, see the deadline come and go, focus on developing the roster and the young players during the following months and set our dreams on who could arrive come July when the free agency gates open for everyone. Yes, even to those who didn’t take the biggest gamble ever in the history of their franchise and could have potentially give away the most prized player to ever step on their court as one of their own in quite some time.

* * *

Read the feature on NetsRepublic.

#Writing #NetsRepublic #New York #Brooklyn #New Jersey Nets #New York Knicks #Nets #Knicks #Brooklyn Nets #NBA #Basketball

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milquetoast-on-acid · 7 years

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Major Crimes: Season 5 Round Up, A Reactionary Post

I had planned on doing a post at the end of 5a but then time got away from me. So I thought I'd do a reaction post on 5a then 5b and how they tie together. This is my final Reactionary Post for season 5 and it feels really great to review a whole entire season of a show! Stay tuned for more reactionary posts, next week we go back in time to cover Reloaded.

What this reactionary post covers: // Season 5a & theme // Characters & Storylines

// Season 5b & theme // Characters & Storylines

// Thoughts on Season 5 (as a whole) & other themes the season covered // Speculation & Season 6 // Favorite scenes // What I liked and What I didn't

*This is a long one so sit back and grab your favorite drink. ;)

Season 5a

Theme: Balance

Season 5a's theme was Balance and I've got mixed feelings on whether or not the show achieved it. I love that the showed tried different things in 5a. At this point the show has been on for five years, or really 12 years so I think it's really good for them to mix some stuff up. Some of the cases have been darker than we've previously seen. We got more focus on character development and storylines. Plus the death of a character that's been with the show since the very beginning has been such a huge change for the show. This is a show that has until now never killed a main character. By that we can count the entire run of The Closer.

I think perhaps the season's theme should have been Family instead of Balance. There was so much focus on families in the cases as well as every single character arc had to do with family. Also so much focus on Father's and sons, particularly the later half of the season.

Character Storylines/Arcs

Buzz

When I first heard about Buzz's storyline for the season I was very excited about it. However I don't like how it was handled. I was disappointed that the majority of the storyline was in Rusty's vlogs. For one thing there is a HUGE part of Major Crimes audience that's older, that's just not going to go online and watch the vlogs.

On the other hand I understand that you can do only so much (and boy do they ever do a ton of stuff in 42 minutes) in the time they are given. So if you want to have as many plot lines as they did this season then your going to have to get creative. And that's where Rusty's vlog came in. I think that worked so much better last season. As I felt that it wasn't as crucial for you to watch them. You could watch them if you wanted and get more involved in the stoyrline but they had enough of the plotline in the show where you wouldn't miss out on anything. Where's this time around you miss major information about a character and his storyline if you don't watch them.

At the same time I don't think that the plot line was balanced very well. They mostly had one small scene in each episode to introduce what they were going to cover in the vlog. Why not just have the actual scene instead of prefacing it? I think the best stuff with Buzz's case was definitely the focus that we had of him during the White Lies arc. Most in particular the scene in which he catches up with his father's killer and realizes that he's taking another son and daughter away from their father.

Rusty I had some issues with Rusty in 5a. One of the things that I love and also frustrates me about his character is his stubborn determination. I love that he goes after the truth and asks questions but sometimes he really can take it too far. Case in point Buzz. Rusty needs some empathy for Buzz and it didn't show through much if at all. Buzz was so determined to do things by the book because of how much the case meant to him but Rusty was just too impatient for all of that.

Rusty and Gus I'd have to say that my favorite Rusty plotline this season was the focus on him and Gus. This is Rusty's first real relationship and he's got a really great guy. I really love that Gus calls Rusty out on all of his shit.

Rusty's vlog and Buzz One of the things that worked really well with Jane Doe #38/Alice/Marianna's case was Rusty's personal connection to her which brought out some giant empathy. It brought out passion and determination in him and that is all completely gone by the time Rusty helps Buzz with his case. Rusty feels way to entitled to everything that Buzz finds.

Sharon's Pregnancy My least favorite plotline of 5a is definitely Rusty's mom having a baby. I just don't understand what the point in bringing her back in this capacity served. In my opinion, Sharon Beck's storyline ended in season 3 when she went off to jail. And then they kept bringing her back first in Hindsight and then again here. It's a rather frustrating thing to have them use time for her character, that could have been used to served other plots that were highly underdeveloped.

Amy Amy was the character that got the least amount of focus in 5a. There aren't many women on the show and it would be nice to have more focus on them. Amy is such an unexplored character, we don't really know much about her, except for her personality.

I've got mixed feelings about her storyline. First of all I love that Amy does not want kids. It's good to see some exploration of that in a female character. We got a really great scene with her and Cynthia in the break room. However, I don't feel like anything got resolved between her and Cooper. More like it was something they disagreed on and then got sweeped under the rug. And unfortunately this was something that was not mentioned in 5b.

Mike So last season I was at, I love this Badge of Justice stuff and a bit of Andy's jealousy. So let's have more of that. We got a TON of that this season, in fact we were on overdose to the point where it's kind of soured me on that plot line. I loved that Mike won an award but I felt like the storyline was more about Andy's jealousy then it was about Mike. I also thought that it was interesting that Mike was picked to go undercover with the hooker. He's not the squad's typical choice for an assignment like that - so it was really great seeing his uncomfortable amusement at being undressed on camera by a hooker.

Julio Julio has to be the show's tragic character. The guy has suffered the murder of his brother, the accidental death of his wife and unborn child. Falls for a murderer and now has his foster child taken away from him. Julio is the guy with so much damned love in him to give. Unlike Amy who doesn't need children to make her life complete. Julio does. I really think that Julio's road to adoption plot turned out to be my favorite. I really feel that it was perhaps the only continuing storyline that was properly balanced. That it was given enough time, attention and focus to it for it to develop properly.

Out of all of the emotional hard moments in White Lies, Taylor's death and sudden shooting in the court house got chills down my back. But Julio being separated from Mark made me cry.

Andy Andy, Alcoholism and it's effects on his life. I think my favorite stuff with Andy this season was his plotline in "Off the Wagon" and the developing family of Sharon, Andy and Rusty. We haven't dealt much with Andy's alcoholism for quite a while in the show and it was nice to revisit it. To see what his perspective is and how much his life has changed. I loved seeing him reach out to Jared. He really wanted to help him. I'd really love to see Andy actually sponsoring someone.

One of the things that I have come to really love about this character is how much he's changed through the years. When we first meet Andy he's angry. He's angry at himself and at the world. Very slowly we've seen him pick himself up and come to really appreciate the people and relationships that he has in his life. He realizes just how much he screwed up as a father in and in his marriage. And he's not about to make that same mistake again.

The Raydor/Flynn/Beck Family Since Andy has moved in with Sharon and Rusty there's been more focus on them as a family unit. It's really interesting to see Sharon and Andy's different styles of parenting Rusty. And how they function as in a cohesive parenting unit, while not necessarily agreeing all of the time.

Provenza There wasn't much stuff for Provenza this season. What we did get from him this season was bits and pieces of how his life had changed since he had gotten married. It seems whenever he's seriously involved with a woman that there seems to be a wardrobe change for him. We got a much more fashionable Provenza this season in some quality threads. I did actually miss his grandpa style, though. So it was nice when later on in the season there seemed to be more of a mix of his style and his new clothes.

I think I would have liked to have had more of Patrice on there this season. I really love their relationship. She takes such good care of him, packing him healthy lunches bringing him his medication. All the while not letting him be an idiot and get away with stupid stuff. She's been a nice breath of fresh air for him.

Sharon I think that there's been a major lack of focus on her character for along time now. I think that her character had gotten to the point where the writers have had a hard time figuring out what to do with her. For a main character we really don't know all that much about her. Not as much as we should IMO. So that it was finally great to see focus on her in the White Lies arc. She's such a reserved character that we often don't get bursts of emotion from her.

Moving in with Andy I was really very excited to hear about the plotline of her and Andy moving in together. But I was hugely disappointed in it when there was barely any focus on it. We got a hint of Sharon's internal struggle with wanting to live with Andy and also being scared by it. That could have been explored more than it was. I felt like there was so much potential to really delve into Sharon's mind on that and the writers really didn't take it.

As disappointed as I was with this storyline, I think I've come to realize that this storyline was really more about Sharon, Andy and Rusty coming together as a family. Which only makes me feel slightly better at having realized that.

Season 5b

Theme: Connections

I feel that the theme of 'connections' is such a loose enough concept that it's been so much easier for them to connect this theme in each of the episodes.

I'm not sure why they changed the theme for 5b. Perhaps there was negative response about it in the surveys. I think this theme is much easier to tie stories together and is something they have do in every episode anyway. The show is so interesting when you sit down and really think about it.

The show is not a straight procedural but it does follow an a + b = c format for every episode. Each episode has a case and a personal storyline involving at least one of our main characters. The case is a way for us to understand and examine the character. So there is always parallels. So out of all of the themes this show has had, this one was probably the easiest and fits the show best.

Character Storylines/Arcs

When they sent out the press release for 5b I was a bit worried that they wouldn't have enough time to properly develop every storyline. While I do believe there is always room for improvement I think they did much better in 5b verses 5a. One of my big issues with 5a was that there were too many storylines and with such a strict structure there wasn't enough time to give to each storyline.

Wes While Wes' storyline was no where on the press release. We had snippets of getting inside of this new character's head. Wes has spent 5 years undercover with Nazi's, who's first reaction to situations is violence. Even if you don't think like that - after being in all of that hateful mentality it will get to you and it's really wonderful seeing him trying to readjusting to a chain of command. As well as realizing that he can always solve situations with violence. As a cop it is the last defense not the first offence.

Also I think Wes + Pot is my OTP for him. I really hope we will see more of Wes in the upcoming season. And as many of the fandom have pointed out he's just like Andy and reacts just like Andy used to pre-Sharon.

Buzz Buzz is such a supporting player that I think for him, it was really good to have a very subtle thread going for him. Verses the big story we got in 5a. I was really excited for them to really delve into his character in 5a but I don't think that it was handled very well. So this much smaller storyline worked much better.

It's really not hard for us to see that after Buzz had got so invested in this case that he ended up super emotionally involved with the Jones family. Often times we end up following in our parents footsteps whether we mean to or not. In this case I feel that Buzz is becoming is own stepfather. I just hope that things turn out good for Buzz and he doesn't end up heartbroken. Buzz is the only character on this show to have never had a girlfriend/partner.

Amy I have always wished more for her character. There are only three women with any regularity on this show and all of them could have more developed storylines. Would have been nice to have a season long arc for her character but I really liked what we did get from her. Amy's passive-aggressive, manipulative and emotionally abusive relationship with Mark Hickman is such an interesting dynamic that I'm really glad to see it yet again. Amy is a half glass full kind of woman and she wants so hard to believe in Mark that she eventually looks over terrible shit that he does to her. I hope that one day, Amy sees the forest through the trees with him but until then I am enjoying their interaction.

It was also wonderful getting some info on Amy's life as an MP. I only wish we could have gotten a seen with Amy interacting with her former commanding officer. Enough that we could get those wonderful parallels that MC loves so much.

Mike Mike was the only character that had no storyline whatsoever in the back 8. He had some slight focus in one of the cases but not even anything I'd point out for his character. It makes me sad because I love his character and think that there is so much they could do with him but just aren't.

With season 5's overly heavy focus on family, why not use the opportunity to include is wife or kids in one of the cases? Or do some development on Mike/Julio's friendship. This is another bromance here that hasn't had any play in ages and I miss it. Or how about Mike/Sharon friendship? I have always felt that Mike and Sharon have so many things in common that they could make some really great friends but usually we see Sharon/Andy/Provenza/Rusty interaction at parties, and Mike/Julio/Amy interaction at parties.

Rusty I think Rusty's storyline as a journalist and his vlog worked really well in season 4a. It was a fresh idea and something that allowed Rusty to get passionate about and can be tied to the squad's job as police officers. Once Rusty wasn't passionate about what he was working on Rusty's storyline as a journalist got stale. I feel like Rusty as a lawyer storyline is a much better way to get him into the murder room. Although Rusty's storyline this season wasn't even really about that but his relationship with Gus. Which to me took a completely unexpected turn.

Rusty and Gus Season 5b starts off with Rusty and Gus temporarily breaking up and ends with them permanently broken up. As a couple Rusty and Gus had always been out of sync. Examining their relationship as a whole I don't think they ever got to the point where they were ever in sync. I had thought that the problems they were having (in 5a) would have been sorted out by Rusty eventually realizing that time is precious and he needs to focus on Gus during their time together. But once Rusty got his head out of his ass it seemed like there were even more problems between the two.

I really liked Rusty/Gus for such a long time but then the problems between them got too big for their relationship and now I am hopeful that both of them will focus on their careers and maturing themselves before jumping into another relationship.

Rusty's character One of the things about Rusty that I felt frustrated over in 5a was his shitty attitude. Rusty was selfish, unemphatic and entitled when it came to Buzz's case. And selfish when it came to his relationship with Gus. I'm so glad that the writers have retooled his character, while keeping Rusty's personality in tact. He's matured leaps and bounds since 5a, yet still has a long way to go. I was so much happier with him in 5b, than in 5a. Rusty was to put it in a way a shit head in 5a and now I feel like he's much more of a mature young man in 5b.

Julio Duck and Little Duck I am so glad that Julio finally found his happiness!! Out of everyone this guy needed it the most. It was great seeing Mark again, he's still his annoying, yet precocious self and him and Julio have such a fantastic dynamic. I've said it before and I'll say it again MC does a really great job at casting family members for it's main characters. There is such a chemistry for all of them that feels so very realistic.

Provenza I'm starting to think that as much as I love Provenza he really isn't a character that you can easily build a season long arc around. GW is a fanastic actor, there is no doubt about that. Provenza's storyline and GW's acting in "Intersection" blew me away. I just think that from what we see in 5b. His character's focus and emotional moments mean more to the character in short bursts rather than a season long storyline. I do think that it couldn't hurt to see more of Patrice. Not a ton more but more than an episode a season (or half season).

Andy The Heart Attack felt around the fandom We all hoped that MC would pick up right after Andy's heart attack but it didn't. And we all wondered what MC was doing with yet another 'Andy serious health issue' storyline. It seemed kind of like the show was running out of ideas but after seeing the season as a whole I really enjoyed where they went with this and what it did for his character.

Andy being out of the field meant keeping him the office. Which means that Andy works almost exclusively with Sharon and it seems to have had an interesting effect on him. He seems to have absorbed bits of her personality up like a sponge. This has been something that has been a slow thread for him over the years. With each season Andy, loosing less and less of his anger and bitterness. Becoming happier in his life and with himself and much less explosive than he ever was. But being so much part of a unit with Sharon in such an intimate and professional way is really evident here more so than at any other time.

Andy feels like a leader to me and that's not something that I would have ever thought regarding his character. Don't get me wrong, Andy is still Andy but he is not the Andy from The Closer or Andy from even a few years ago.

The proposal On a Shandy front, Andy's health issues have pushed him to move their relationship forward. It makes it even more apparent to him that life is precious and what he really wants from life out is family life. An official and legal family. I'm so glad that there was more focus here on Shandy's road to matrimony, verses their storyline in 5a (which was very disappointing in their lack of development).

I can always want for more regarding their relationship, as I think like so many others that we hardly ever get a really good look into their personal relationship. But I feel like out of everything we have gotten from them as a couple (outside of work) 5b is the biggest look we've gotten at them. Hopefully this will continue and one can hope that we will get a meaning full conversation between the two of them in season 6.

Sharon So glad to see more focus on Sharon's character in 5b. It had felt for such a long time that she'd gotten lost in the shuffle and it's such a shame because Sharon is a very fascinating character when you sit back and examine her. It was really good seeing Sharon out with the team during the action, especially the bombs. And the beginning of the 5b when Sharon pushed the suspect to snap and snap he did!

Promotion to Assistant Chief I think if Sharon had not expressed her disinterest in being promoted to the position, then I would have wanted it for her. However, she made it more than clear several times through the season that it would have been a step back for her and not forward. While it would have been a higher position, it would have meant stepping back into the political arena and away from detective work. Which is definitely where she did not want to go. So I am very happy that in the end she didn't end up getting the promotion.

As for the stuff with Davis, Mason and Fritz. I kind of felt like it wasn't as prominent an arc as I would have liked. Davis only shows up roughly three times and then we don't even get a really great resolution to her character. While I could see her popping up from time to time, it just won't be the same because she didn't end up as chief.

Promotion to Commander This right here is something I am so very glad that Mason saw to correct. It was high time that this happened and I am so glad that it was one of the very first things that Mason does as asst. chief! Makes me hopeful of him in that position. Makes me think he sees Sharon as an ally instead of an enemy. He's smart and knows that it would be so much better for him to work with her than against her.

Ready for Marriage For the entirety of Sharon and Andy's relationship, Andy has always been two steps ahead of Sharon. Sharon eventually gets there but her brain has to take a while to catch up to Andy's heart. When Andy proposes to Sharon she says yes right away. Sharon is finally on the same page with Andy regarding their relationship and it really shows throughout 5b. Especially after the proposal when he start to notice how in sync they are. And while the two of them have always been in sync (in certain ways), it's no more apparent then this season.

Season 5 (as a whole)

There has been an interesting themes that have played throughout the entirety of season 5. They are..

Family

Family was present in every story arc in 5a. From Sharon/Andy/Rusty moving in together, to Julio wanting kids, to Amy not wanting kids, Provenza's life changes now that he's married and how that's reflected in his workplace and Buzz solving his own father's murder to becoming intimately involved with the murderer's family.

The Past (and how it can still effect you) The very first episode of season 5 plays so heavily on the past and that becomes an over arching theme dealt heavily throughout the season. So much so that there were arcs that called back to people and situations from the past. The return of Stroh, Winnie Davis vs Sharon rivalry which harks back to Sharon vs Brenda rivalry and The promotion of a new chief are all the big ones.

Other Thoughts: Rusty's Vlog So I've talked at length about it and I want to address it again. I've got oh so many mixed feelings on it. When I first started watching MC and found out that the vlogs were real I thought that was an interesting and creative way to give us more information and time with MC.

I thought that it worked really well for season 4 because it was additional information but the information in the videos was not something we had to know. We could still get a full story without watching the vlogs. But the problem with them in season 4, is that they are terribly boring. The majority of the videos solely feature Rusty giving us information, with no one to bounce off of. So when season 5 hits, the vlogs are refreshed and Buzz is featured in them as well. Rusty now has someone to bounce off of in the vlogs and we get loads of information on Buzz's background. But the problem with the vlog's in season 5 is that we don't get a full picture of Buzz's case without watching the vlogs.

There is information in there that we need to know or otherwise Buzz' story arc in season 5a feels terribly incomplete. And my problem with that is (as I mentioned earlier) that there are so many viewers out there that aren't going to go online to watch an additional youtube video. The other problem is that they are using time on the show to set up what they are going to talk about on the vlog instead of using that time to actually talk about 'what ever it is they are going to talk about'.

Another problem that Rusty's vlogs had goes way back in season 4, was viewership reaction. A lot of people seem to have reacted to Rusty's vlog's in a negative way. To the point where it was actually brought up in a season 4b episode. Rusty goes to Judge Grove and talks to him a bit about his Identity vlog. He tells Grove that he's got x amount of viewers (for his vlog) and that none of them seem to like him.

Now I'm not saying that the audience is correct but what I am saying is that if a huge part of your audience is reacting negatively to something maybe you should listen a little bit. For season 4 I watched the vlogs on youtube and I found it interesting that the comments were disabled. And then I watched the vlogs on FB for season 5 and found massive amounts of negative comments, drama and fighting. Which made me think that the comments on youtube were allowed at one point but the same thing happened so they were disabled.

I'm glad that the show finally decided to quit the vlogs. As they were interesting at first but quickly started causing needless drama. Rusty is already a character that brings out strong feelings in the audience and most people either love or hate him. And a vlog solely focused on his character was inevitable to incite some drama.

Speculation: There's no doubt that Stoh will be returning in season 6 and play a major role. I had rather hoped that he would have been gone and never dealt with but if he's going to come back the I would like for him to be dealt with properly. None of this 'Stroh + Rusty' = destiny crap that Stroh spouted in season 3. If we are going to have Stroh back I want him to effect more than just 'Rusty is in danger'. I want him to effect the whole squad.

What I'd like to see in season 6: // Continuing growth in Julio/Mark's fathership // Continuing growth in Sharon/Andy/Rusty familyship (I want to see more of Sharon & Andy parenting Rusty in a united front as well as the two of them disagreeing on what to do with Rusty in a given situation). // Allow Sharon to do some internal and external struggling, and allow it to exist in multiple episodes. Instead of just one episode. // More than 1, honest to god knee deep in emotion and conversation scene between Sharon and Andy without Rusty. I love Sharon/Andy/Rusty familyship and want to see more of that in season 6 but I love Sharon/Andy and they need time alone away from Rusty and us viewers need to see that as well. // Still want to actually see Amy's commanding officer, instead of just being told about her. I want to see Amy interacting with people she worked with in the past. // Mike to be given an actual storyline. // More Patrice! // More than 3 minutes at Sharon and Andy's wedding

Was there improvement from 5a to 5b? During the end of 5a, I wrote a novel in the survey's to TNT. It seems that what I spoke about was what many others also thought could have been changed or improved upon in the show. The creators listened and I am very happy about that. While there is always room for improvement I am very glad that they seem to be listening.

Better balance of storylines. Many of them were underdeveloped in 5a. 5b's storylines felt much more balanced.

Rusty attitude was terrible in 5a and I'm so glad to see that he's gained some maturity between the season hiatus and 5b. One of the things that bothered me about his character in 5a is the large focus on his character. If you look up there during my breakdown of the character in 5a, you'll notice that he's got more storylines than any other character.

I get that Rusty is probably a very easy character to delve into but at the same time it feels like Rusty's character focus tends to be at the expensive of the other character's development and storylines. Case in point Sharon Beck's Pregnancy storyline. So I am very glad that they focused less on him in 5b.

For such a long time we’ve gotten so little of Sharon’s character that in 5b we got some of the focus back on her character and it was really wonderful!

Overall I would say that 5b was such an improvement on 5a and I hope that the show continues it’s forward strides!

Favorite Scenes: 5. Julio loses Mark at the end of White Lies. It was heartbreaking and very easily one of the most moving scenes of MC that I've ever seen. As terrible as it was I am so glad that Mark ends up with Julio in 5b.

4. Provenza laments to Rusty in Intersection. This is easily my favorite Provenza scene and brings out so much of Provenza's character that we hardly ever see. Some amazing acting from GW Bailey!

3. Andy reassures the boys in Bad Blood. Not only do we get some much needed backstory on Andy but we also see how much his previous marriage and Sharon's previous marriage were startling similar. We also see just how much Sharon and Andy's children both love them and want so badly to see them happy. We also get Andy to convince us 100% that he's not the same man he was and he is well aware of that. Plus that amazing grin of his.

2. Sharon's promotion. Something completely unexpected for Sharon and us as the audience. I loved it because it was the promotion she should have gotten 5 years ago. The one promised to her but she never got. Also seeing Sharon being so blown over by it! fabulous!

1. The Proposal. Despite not hearing the words it was still a very beautiful scene and my favorite from season 5. Seeing Sharon at a complete loss for words and also for her to completely forget her son - surely takes alot and this did it. It was also shot so beautifully. The image of Andy turning from Sharon to face us. Show a bit of his vulnerability as he takes a breathe, shuts the door and turns to Sharon to kneel before her was breathtaking.

What I didn't like about the season: The startling lack of anything surrounding Mike's character. Mike barely ever gets attention and has had only 1 episode devoted to his character for the entire 5th season.

Disappointment in how the Sharon/Andy moving in together storyline was handled in 5a. We got one big episode on it and then the storyline peeters out to nothing for the rest of 5a. Sharon's hesitation on moving in with Andy could have been something that we could have seen dealt with on the show more than once. This is something that we could have used to create a real meaningful conversation between the two of them. It was an opportunity lost.

What I liked about the season: Everything in Julio's storyline with adopting a child and Mark. Seeing the return of Mark Hickman steering up trouble for Amy. As much as I don't like the two of them together, Amy thinks much too much of Mark and redemption. They have such a fascinating dynamic.

Focusing more on Sharon and Andy in 5b. Their storyline was very underdeveloped in 5a so it was great to see more movement on that in 5b. The stuff with Ricky and the proposal was great. However the one disappointment from that storyline was not hearing Andy propose to Sharon and not hearing her answer. Another great opportunity for a real deep conversation about their relationship missed.

Rusty gaining more maturity and helping along his mother in her relationship with Andy.

*In addition I’d like to thank everyone that’s enjoyed my reactionary posts. They take quite a bit of time to put together and several rewatches for me to gather all of my thoughts. I really enjoy digging deep into this show. Doing these posts have made me love and appreciate the show more than I ever did. They have also made me realize just how much are put into the storylines. Even when realizing that there are things that could be done differently or improved upon. There’s so much detail work that goes into wardrobe, blocking, plotlines and dialog, etc.

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hoenn-hakase · 7 years

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The Hosts in 20 Years

So there was a prompt over on the subreddit and i thought I’d share my entry here.

Red: Was never one for the massive following he got. He did love to think that he was able to bring so many to the light of Helix's teachings, but they should be following HELIX not him. Used the fight with AJ to fake his death, and after getting Abe back home, his bro helped him find a good place to build a monastery hidden in the mountains. His followers are some of the most zealous, but he doesn't mind because he's the worst since it's a much smaller group. Abe and their mom are just glad to know where he is and write more often than risk visiting.

AJ: After "murdering Red", he had several years and a heck of a time proving his innocence on the matter. Honestly, he'd be proud to admit it if it didn't mean basically losing EVERYTHING either due to being hunted down by Red's followers (which he's had enough of that already) or the stigma from his friends and family to learn he'd actually killed someone, so he eventually managed to convince the courts that there wasn't enough evidence to say whether or not Red's reported death was his fault. While there is still speculation, he's managed to live a mostly quiet life. 20 years later, he's telling his adopted kid about his wild tales on the road and lauding himself how it's because of him that Johto is at least much safer than it used to be when the Church of Helix was at it's peak.

A-chan: If her addictions haven't killed her, after 20 years, she's probably been through rehab a few times on mandate. Her wild and reckless streak has toned down, but she's still quite the pistol you don't want to mess with. It's been debated for years just how much damage her and her team actually caused for Hoenn, whether talking about the societal structure, the economy, or property damage, and even more so in wondering if all their work was "for the better" or not. Gets compared to Alice a lot as far claims of totalitarianism goes, but no one can deny that Hoenn has at least been peaceful since she took out Aqua, Magma and the League.

Alice: Pokemon Professor, no surprise, but she is THE authority of Commewnist Kanto. Green is also a professor, usually the one dealing with starting trainers and such, but most kids know that if or when they're ready to go into an academic career instead of being just another trainer, they'll probably be meeting with her eventually.

Napoleon: Even if he doesn't like to show it, he's surprisingly close with those of his inner circle. His friends, his family, his Pokemon, he just seems to like traveling a lot with them or to visit them for some reason or another while keeping his life very private from the public. When he does show up though, it's usually as a major Sinnoh event (like the League games or Rapidash Races) or when opening new venue. He sure does still own a lot of different kinds of gambling venues (like his Aunt Gracie has a place named after her since she's long since retired as a Rhyhorn Rider) and he sure does know how to throw one hell of a party, but after 20 years he's not big on the dance riots. He still enjoys a good dance riot, and many will say to see any of the family dance is a real treat, but he tends to just feed off the energy of the room than participate.

Aooo: It is a mystery! 8O But seriously, while she does have a family to take care of, how she does so is anyone's guess since she doesn't work but instead will go off for hours by herself and somehow come back with stuff for them. With her wife being a big name movie star, most just assume that money isn't the issue, but where she goes all day leaves people guessing. Never shows up at Sabrina's movie premiers either, at least... not on the red carpet. People always report seeing her at the theatre, but for some reason no fan or tabloid has ever be able to prove it on camera.

Jimmy: While he may have gained such notoriety as an internet star and has had his fair share of ups and downs with the Media trying to bring up his ties with Plasma in the past, he's learned not to let it get to him. After 20 years Plasma has long since been gone, he was the one to take them down in the first place, the former and even current gym leaders support him and often guest star at his online or real life charity events, and it seems when it's not some charity event he's in the papers for, it's his on-again-off-again relationship with N that's even become something of a joke with his fanbase in taking bets to how long before N runs off again. He's had other relationships, but somehow... somehow this just never "officially" went away.

Cly: While she is still a big name actress, she's not as active as she used to be. She's a lot more meticulous in her roles and only seems to show up for either big-budget projects or films she really feels passionate about the script. And she can do that because she's got a clothing line and several music albums that seem to take up most of her time anyway.

D: Hilariously, while he failed as a fashion designer, he's a really great detective. It's just, most people don't realize this. As a member of the Looker Bureau, he's got a code-name like the others, and his investigations often seem to coincide with his love and knowledge of high fashion: jewelry theft, accusations of plagiarizing from between big name stores, getting asked for his opinion on cases where articles left at the scene might be crucial evidence of a bigger picture, ect. Nevermind the rumors that the only reason he's not on the streets yet is because his royalty family keep his otherwise lavish lifestyle funded, he likes the thrill of the hunt and it's kept him both well off and entertained between attempts at a "real" business. Pepe gives him a hard time in saying that by now Richard is failing on purpose. He should know how to art, it is really not that hard. Says the one with possibly literal god-given talent. Lay off him, jerk. XP

Arty: As I've mentioned before elsewhere, married to May (no, not M A Y but the Birch girl he traveled with during his time in Hoenn) and was at odds with her brother Orlando for quite some time but has since reconciled. HOWEVER, Orlando is still unsure how May even puts up with Arty after all these years because the guy has never held a steady job in his life. Sure he can always fall back on his music, but considering most people are asked what their fall back is when they want to get into music, that's saying something. The guy has done the rock star thing, the small business thing (several times really, from making t-shirts to breeding rabbits), the published writer thing (he did have an autobiography book published recently, but that was with a ghost-writer and sales were decent at least) and even the mafia thing. Not that he was bad at the mafia thing, but he just didn't think he was up for all this "shady business" when he craved the spotlight. Rumors still swirl around that he's got ties to the mafia, but oddly, despite all evidence, most general public just looks at that and laugh it off.

Abe: After finally making it home, stayed home for quite a long time just sort of helping out around Kanto. Helping Red get his place built and up and running, it kind of reminded him how much he missed traveling and exploring the uncharted territories of the world. Still, after all the trouble he ran into, he takes some baby steps at first in just making better maps of the Kanto and Johto region. 20 years later, he's a leading name when it comes to cartography and is quite the established architect too, having dozens of blueprints seen in buildings around the world for some of the most surreal looking structures. Got a dream? Let him take a look at the landscape in mind to get this thing started.

Baba: Like A-chan, if she's not dead, she's probably left quite a mess in her wake. Baba however was never as aggressive as A-chan was, and while her time as President was seriously controversial, many of Chengdu don't blame her for the circumstances as she inherited a mess to begin with. If she didn't pull the trigger, it would have been someone else (possibly was someone else considering the mysterious circumstances to when she left office.) For all she did wrong with the ongoing war with Orre, she did a lot of good in the way of equality for Elfs, Half-elfs, and the humans still leery about them. After 20 years, she's done quite a bit of travel anywhere other than her home country, and has settled down quite nicely in a house by the sea when she's actually home.

Amber: The ever faithful cleric still finds trouble making Sanae as big a thing as anything with the Fossil Pantheon. However, she's found quite a following none-the-less and has found much better tolerance among other "small" religions such as the fading Weather worshippers in Hoenn.

Athena: While she's never given up the fight for equality for her people, it's been a long and tiring fight nonetheless. Others have been able to take up the mantle for her, large gatherings taken up with more powerful or outspoken leaders. She writes a lot, but spends most of her time traveling with Amber since her own work can be done from anywhere whereas Amber seems to following her calling.

Nina: ...Oh Nina. Where do I even begin? -Ahem- After 20 years, she's finally managed to return home to find that Hoenn is FINALLY safe. While it could take a lifetime for things to finally return to normal, at least they can handle anything that's still lingering. Handle being the key word there. There's always still a lot of work left to do though. On the upside, there's no longer a sense of urgency for fear of impending doom, so the things she and all her network of friends has to focus on now is stuff that takes time. Stuff that she couldn't actually help with no matter how much she wanted to. Stuff that, for her at least, will have to wait. So in the meantime, there's a lot of trying to settle into a semi-normal life. But at least for all the "... what now?" that permeates the region, everyone is willing to work together to solve this.

A7: Like many have said, he never really could settle down. Not that he had some purpose he was chasing like Amber or Abe, he just doesn't know how. He's at least come to peace with his past though, and has long since come to accept that there's a whole lot of people who actually do care about him. He spends a lot of time going from one couch to crash on to another, and while his friends may not necessarily like it, they're always glad to see him when he passes through.

Alpha: ...|D;;; -AHEM- Well not taking anything else into account, I'm sure he's grown up to be a fine young... teen. It's not that he doesn't age, but due to a lot of his cybernetics and chemical changes, his body just doesn't respond normally anymore. It's been odd seeing his little sister grow up and surpass him, but his physical form has had done little in stopping him from becoming a high ranked researcher at the Pokemon HQ. And hey, he can still do a heck of a lot more than most people can, so his smaller stature has never been an issue either. He's had a lot of identity issues to overcome, but over the past 20 years, he's figured that there's a lot of stuff he can do to help in the region's recovery and gods know he's got plenty of time to do it.

Evan: Is basically a god. Timelines or not, I can't see him as anything otherwise. Shared the burden of Olden's power he inherited with Azure, and the two do a lot of minor meddling in the world to keep it functioning. He's WAY more chill about things than Olden ever was though, and has been rather curious and pleased to see how over the next several decades after being named supreme overlord that the Glitches have somewhat been accepted by the world. It's not necessarily peacefully, it's almost like any story where you have lots of mythological creatures being real. The "old wives tales" have proven quite useful to people who have learned that "If you see a -glitch- you can protect yourself with a pouch full of basil! / If you encounter one, it could prove quite lucky and make you a very wealthy person indeed! / They're actually very curious little things you might see out of the corner of your eye. They disappear if you ignore them long enough." He tries to keep them in line more often than he goes meddling in human affairs anyway. Even he, though, has become something of a legend among people as they may swear that sometimes, sometimes, you may see a ripple in the fabric of reality where the Glitch King has passed through recently.

Paul: He made it to the top! CEO of his own company, lots of friends, lots of adventures! ... So why did he feel like his journey was so... lackluster compared to the others? He's heard plenty of the other hosts, I don't doubt he's probably met a few of them, but hearing their stories compared to his own, it seemed... dull. But then again, he was a lot older than any of them when he started, so maybe the journey just seemed a lot less "magical." Or perhaps it was because of his friendship with the Glitches, that there seemed to be a lot less danger? Sometime in the first 10 years, he goes to take a personal journey for some soul searching for what he felt he was missing. After 20 years, he's long since returned home feeling empowered by what he's learned, and his company has been flourishing.

Pepe: By far the most quiet and reserved of his family, it constantly surprises people he's also the friendliest. Whenever there's some kind of major event, chances are he's there. Hiding out in the crowd, somewhat mingling along the outskirts to admire the building's decore or take a fascination with the party's theme, but he's very rarely one to instigate conversation. Should someone approach him though, he's not one to turn them away. He claims to own the dance floor. Napoleon highly disagrees, but it's more a matter of opinion since they have VERY different styles when it comes to dance. Over the past 20 years, he's realized that there's oddly a LOT of perks to being in his brother's shadow. He can shirk off most of political duties Napoleon has to deal with, and takes advantage of the fact that most people don't seem to care about him as much. He's not a major leader, he's not a party animal, he's got a fairly steady love life, and he's quiet about it. The news finds him dull usually, and intriguing to realize there's a certain air of mystery about him. Otherwise, he spends a lot of time off by himself, with his work, with his faith, and holding close the secret he's had since he was a child about the whole Artisan ordeal the world has long since forgotten about.

Cyan: In a constant state of "Dad pls" even after she's managed to get him to step down as Champion and has him offering advice whenever she rants to him whether she actually asked for his opinion or not. Her family still loves to get away from things every now and then, camping trips, exploring their "territories," her trying to prove to her parent that the Glitches are really sweet... that's not been going well, but they admire her for it anyway. After 20 years, she's quite the leader now and has spent a lot of time trying to clean up Naljo/Rijon political system. Probably goes golfing with Paul occasionally as an excuse for them to complain about Host things that no one else could ever understand.

Nigel: While he's settled down in Alola, he's never given up his Ranger ways and spends a lot of his time working in conservation efforts and working with other regional leaders about just what they could do to help out in a more grand scale preservation effort on some of the world's most delicate species.

Devin: Devin is uh... Okay, so 20 years from now, he... There's really no telling with him. While he does most likely have a bird sanctuary, he's got several other things he runs as well. His hyperness has thankfully gone down with age, but his eagerness has never waned and he's a World Tournament super star as his thirst for battle has only grown with each new region he gets to explore. Movie star? Maybe once or twice, and getting to meet Cly is certainly a good motive, but only because he can't turn down a good challenge. (She still kicked his ass btw, though in a coordinated for film fight, they loved to show off and keep it rather even.) He still lives in Alola though, and very rarely stays away for more than a few weeks at time because he does feel like he has a lot still to do there. WHERE in Alola is anyone's guess since he tends to just show up on the different islands at random, but a lot of people joke that he's probably got a bed set up in his office at the sanctuary. He's no longer Champion though due to how much he travels, but still stays in touch with all of the would-be Champions that have tried to take his place (except Faba, he will gladly kick him out of the seat the MINUTE he finds out Faba succeeded in becoming champ -shot- ).

X-man: Whoo boy, I hate to say it, but the rate technology advances, after the first decade most of his features have probably become obsolete. After 20, if he's not in a museum, you know that finding parts and storage drives has become nearly impossible due to the increasing rarity of finding such tech in good condition. He might still be functioning though, even if only as a display for how things were back then. There's been newer models since then, sleeker, more human looking models too, but even if the team found a way to transfer all of his data to the new robot, it's just not quite the same. New!X-man probably has looked at the old model in the display and smiles sometimes as he still remembers the journey. Every. last. input because his data files are accurate and doesn't allow for such nostalgia, but even he has to sometimes wonder at the grandmotherly parrot on his shoulder how the hell they managed to do it?

#twitch plays pokemon #various hosts #I actually tried to shorten this by taking stuff out #still needed three posts for Reddit #XD;;#haji babble

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doubledrivel-blog · 6 years

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08. Warriors Struggle - Bobby ‘One-Punch’ Portis - Lonzo Ballin’ - Hornets & Jazz Update - Hashmojis

Greg: Hello and welcome to another episode of Double Drivel. We are a weekly podcast offering a fan's perspective on the news and issues surrounding the NBA. Thank you for joining, us my name is Greg and I am joined as always by my co-host JT. You can find us on twitter @doubledrivelers or email us at [email protected]. JT what up my friend? JT: Not too much Greg, having a great week. My favorite time of the year, just a few days away from my birthday. Did you know that? Greg: I was quite aware. It's not just that I have you in my calendar like I always have, it's every social media platform on Earth that tells you your birthday is coming up.You really really can't miss it these days if it's a friend of yours. JT: Things are good, and the NBA season is in full swing. It's so great already. It's been fantastic. Greg: It has been very good. We got some great stuff to talk about. We got Golden State struggling, Lonzo Ball and his progress so far, we're gonna check on the Hornets and the Jazz and how they are doing, we have the NBA Twitter hashmojis, and we got a bunch more. We're gonna start with Mr. Bobby One-punch Portis. I know you were really excited about this story. Why don't you talk about what happened with Bobby Portis? JT: At Chicago Bulls practice Greg, not even during a game, Bobby Portis apparently- Greg: as the great Iverson would say, “we're talking about practice man.” JT: He fucking cold cocked his teammate Nikola Mirotic and fractured his orbital bone Gregg. The bone setting that holds the eyeball of your face, which is in your head. It's cracked. He cracked this part of his team mates’ face bone. Greg: And gave him a concussion right? JT: Yeah. With that kind of trauma you're talking concussion no doubt. Greg: What is going on at Chicago Bulls practice? Do you think Fred Hoiberg has any control of what's going on? Are there any assistant coaches? What exactly is happening that this can actually escalate to this point? JT: I have a take that is of course 100% speculation. Greg: The best kind. JT: You don't see this type of injury too much in the NBA. You do see this, I won't say often, but more regularly, in mixed martial arts. Those guys are punching each other in the face with four ounce gloves. I don't think this type of injury happens if two guys are squared up with each other in the NBA setting flapping their gums, pushing, and throwing a little shot. I think Portis sucker-punched him. Greg: Wow, that's a hot take. JT: I don't think Mirotic saw this coming at all. I think Portis loaded up with the big dominant hand, came up from from behind, and blasted him. Greg: You're obviously assuming he had his guard down. What if he’s assuming because he's at practice and he's with his teammates he can let his guard down a little bit? JT: Well my idea is that you don't receive a shot like this without seeing it coming, at least a little bit. There's gonna be some type of build up. Greg: Oh there was build-up. They said were going at it. JT: If two guys who are building all this tension towards this one event you would think that they're also on the defensive a little bit. They’re not going to let their guard down completely. Maybe Portis snuck up on him and gave him a haymaker from Hell. Greg: With all the build-up it got to the point where they're punching each other. You don't feel like anyone should have jumped in at that point and realized things were escalating? No one got between them before this happened. That's where it's completely out of control. JT: That's a less fun avenue to talk about.You would think there's plenty of fucking handlers and assistant coaches monitoring these millionaire athletes making sure they don't get caught up in this petty shit. What's going on in Chicago I have no idea.Who knows what's really going. It could be anything. Greg: For real. It's a mess. The Golden State Warriors are one and two right now. I don't think anyone expected them to have two losses at this point. Everybody blew smoke up their asses all summer. They told them how great they were, how they weren't going to lose anygames next year, and how they’re gonna get handed another title. I was skeptical of that. It looks like there was a reason that they don't seem to have their shit together. Curry and Durant ejected together last night in a loss against Memphis. Curry threw his mouthpiece like a little bitch. There's no other way to put it. He threw his mouth piece like a little bitch. JT: He threw it at the ref Greg! Greg: Did you see Steve Kerr and his sarcastic reply, “They need to you get rid of him for 10 games for doing that.” That's fucking bullshit. Everybody else in the league can keep themselves under control and not throw their mouthpiece, none the less in the the the direction of an official. It's insane. You can't let that shit go down. You can't let them get special treatment. Their heads are getting big. You can see how it's going. Durant thinks he is unbelievable. Curry does too. They're not playing that great. They're losing. JT: Something's up there. Something is up in Golden State. This is not the way it felt or looked last season. I think something's up with Durant, something having to do with the way the team views the way he spent the off season with his silliness on on Twitter. Greg: He spent too much time and that Cole Cashwell guy. It's been nothing but an anchor at his neck. JT: If you think there's only one Cole Cahswell, and there's gotta be more- Greg: There’s probably a Colisha Cashwell. There's at least one female that was defending him. JT: They're not playing great basketball. They're losing to Memphis and getting their best two players ejected in the process at the end of the game. Getting ejected at the end the game is the worst you could do in that type of situation. Sometimes like a coachwill purposefully say something to a ref to get himself ejected to you motivate his team. That's a tactic, but for your two stars, you're gonna check to the end the game. You're not in control there. It's spiraling a little bit. It was starting to derail. Greg: This was a very "me too" way of getting kicked out. It was tag-along. It made no sense. JT: That's exactly what you don't want someone like him to do in that situation. You would want that other heavy-duty offensive power to be there. They need to check themselves a little bit. This isn't what you want. Greg: It's one thing for Draymond to act like that, but when Durant's responding that way, that's not cool. To flip off or flash his ring finger to the crowd on the way out? Other people have titles. LeBron doesn't handle himself that way. As they say, act like you've been there before. Get your shit together. Act like a man. Flashing your ring at the crowd in in Memphis? Those people have nothing. They have some barbecue, and they have Fed Ex. What more do those people have? You need to shit on them and show them a ring? JT: That team needs to settle a little bit. They need to settle into being who they are, which was is mostly a super team. Everyone was talking about them being a dynasty and it hasn't showed up yet. Straighten up boys. Deflate those heads a little bit. I don't think Steve Kerr helps. He looks like he's just enabling it with his replies. If they want to keep losing games, keep going that way. Greg: Did you see the Lakers at all? Have you watched Mr. Lonzo Ball play any of the two games? JT: I haven't watched them play live. I've just caught up in the highlights. Greg: We all saw the highlights on opening night when Patrick Beverley tore him up, but Patrick Beverley is an unbelievable defender. I couldn't judge the young man by that. JT: I can judge Patrick Beverley, and I would say that he is an animal. That guy played defense like you want people to play defense. Greg: Before the game standing outside the locker room screaming that he wanted a piece of him? He was a little bitch. He didn't say exactly who it was, he just referred to him as the guy he wanted. JT; I think that's really great. If you're gonna get things going that's how you do it. That's the kind of stuff I would expect from Patrick Beverley. That was wonderful. I loved that. He did get things flipped around against Phoenix, which is an awful team, an absolutely terrible team. He was one assist away from a triple double. Greg: Phoenix might be the worst team in the league. It seems like watching them play the one game, and then seeing some highlights, they're not doing well. They're disgusting. JT: They're pretty terrible. Do you remember they were one of the teams Kyrie was meeting with, and there was a chance he was going there? Could you imagine? Greg: What the hell kind of reporting is that? Did he really ? Was there a possibility? JT: There's no way. Maybe he got a phone call. If he did take a phone call I guess it's fair game to report that. Why not? It's not going that much better for him in Boston than it would be in Phoenix. Greg: You're really down on Boston, we should talk about that a little bit. JT: They had the horrific injury. Kyrie left the court the other day, when they were playing the76ers, and a fan was yelling something about him and LeBron. Kyrie told the guy to suck his dick. What are these people? They never responded to fans. We've talked about how many things so far? Three different things. We've talked about multiple people responding to fans or interacting with fans somehow. That's insane. Kyrie told that guy to suck his dick, the guy got it on video, and the league find him $25,000. It's the second game of the season. What do you think every fan's gonna be screaming at this guy for480 more games? Have you been to Philly? Those are the biggest bunch of assholes on Earth. That's their job. I haven't decided which game I'll be going to this season, but if I might have to yell that myself. Greg: If he's gonna get it from anybody it might as well be from you. You know the people around you high five your ass if you're right by the tunnel. If you're screaming at him on the way out, that's beautiful. Don't give us any ammunition man. That's something you're sensitive to. They come on thin-skinned. Little bitch. That's him man, that freaking guy. All right, after the break we will check in on the Hornets and the Jazz, and we got the NBA hashmojis. We're gonna go through some of the best and worst of those. JT what do you have a Utah Jazz update? JT: At three games into the season we stand at two wins and one loss. Last night we won an upset victory versus OKC, and the defense Greg was amazing. Stifling defense. Greg: Though to be the Jazz. JT: What's that supposed mean? Greg: It means you guys are weak in other places, like offense. You have to stand up on defense. JT: We did, and we won a game that people thought we wouldn't. The Jazz are developing this identity. They don't have a superstar per se, but it's turning into a balanced offensive effort. We got four guys all averaging about 14 points a game, which is kind of okay as long as the defense is amazing, which it has been. Things are good. Greg: That's what we said was gonna have to happen in the West. There are some high scoring teams out there, and Oklahoma City is one of them. If you guys kept them down then that's your first test and looks like you passed it. JT: Yep, and kept Westbrook cranked to six points. That's pretty damn good. Not a lot of people did that last year. No six points on two for 11 shooting, which we'll take that all day. Greg: If there's any other questions I could ask, whether the Utah Jazz, I don't know- JT: Don't be a shithead Greg: Did anyone have the poops possibly? Anything like that happen? Any sort of issues with any players that miss any games for any reason? JT: I think I know what you're talking about. We did have a player who missed a little bit of playtime with some gastric distress. Greg: It's just slightly important who that player is. Who was that player? JT: Rodney Hood Greg: Rodney I don't show up for the playoffs but I show up for this toilet seat Hood. What is up with this guy? What is going on? What is up with Rodney Hood? You need him. All we talked about is the lack of offense on your team, and this guy does this to you? Was Michael Jordan ever out with the poops? Michael Jordan had something called the flu okay? What is this guy doing? Was eating at the same sandwich place Gordon Hayward ate last season? What is going? JT: Better for it to happen right now in October, than for them to have these issues in the spring. He has an emotional stomach okay? I can relate to this. It's not his fault Greg. He just cares so much that it affects his body. Yes he had the poops, and he couldn't play this- Greg: You know, there's nothing better than saying the poops. It may be the most juvenile thing on the planet, but you know that's why he was out. One of the tweets we saw said that, and it made me laugh. It's still making me laugh. JT: We will not fault him for this. He will come back stronger because of this/ Greg: We'll move on to Charlotte. They are one-on-one at the moment, and they lost to a decent team. I'm telling myself Detroit Pistons is decent. They won against a very bad team, the Atlanta Hawks, and watching them play they're a middle team. I'm staring at the most middle of teams, and I can't imagine that they're gonna be anything higher than an eighth seed. A lot of these teams are better, especially in the East. I've watched Orlando beat the Cavaliers, that was a great game. They tore up the Cavaliers. They beat them. The Magic are better than people expected. There's a lot of teams in the East that are gonna be sleepers. The Hornets are not one of them. JT: What does that mean Greg? Greg: Sleepers? Did you expect Orlando to be good? To make the playoffs in the East, I don't think that makes you good/ JT: You keep saying that. These are decent teams. They're not just gonna be walkover teams like everybody thought. They play reasonable teams. They're gonna get wins like they always would have. I don't think they're automatic w's if you play the magic. The magic look good, they look solid. Last night I was impressed. Greg: They're not that good. JT: They scored many more points than I ever thought they could possibly score. They look pretty alright. Greg: We'll see. Also not impressed with the Hornets. Buzz City, not where I want to be. That's what happens, highs and lows. That brings us to the hashmoji. The Charlotte Hornets have their hashmoji. I'm not sure if the team's pick these or the NBA. The teams must have submitted them. I'm sure the NBA reached out to them and said you need a hashtag name. I think they started this last year. Some of them still seem to be the same as last year, but some of them have changed. There are some lazy ones on this list JT, and it is pretty bad. There's teams that just put no imagination to this at all. The Celtics, Knicks, Rockets, and Pacers, it's just their names. It's just Pacers, Rockets, and so on. That's completely lazy. Why do that JT? JT: Yeah tag me in on this one. I got the fire. This is a Twitter thing. When you type it, the hash tag and then whatever the phrase or word is, your team's logo pops up right alongside of it. I love that. I think it's cool. It looks great. A lot of these fuckers just mailed it in. Some of these teams have really clever things that speak to a larger picture, and some of these teams just use their name. Yea man, so that is weak but it gets way worse. What if you couldn't even think of something as plain as your name and you wanted to have something that was way worse than that? Some of my favorite teams want us to hate our hashtag. Heat culture? I don't know what that means. what the fuck does it mean? is it a Pat Riley thing? should I be slicking my hair back? I'm not sure. I don't know what heat culture is. Is this like a warm-blooded group of people that think about things that make them hot? Don't tell me it's a Miami thing, because then it has to be like Cubano sandwiches and meth. Greg: I thought they were more bath salts. JT: You think more people do bath salts in Miami than meth? Greg: I thought so JT: We'll get Mitch on that. We didn't even factor cocaine in but whatever. Other especially shitty hashmojis: #doitbig Greg. Who do you think that's for? I don't like it. Without knowing anything, what city or region does that spark in your mind? Greg: I don't know. JT: It doesn't make any sense for who it is. You shouldn't know because it's stupid and it makes no sense. Greg: I don't know. I don't know who that is. Which one is it? JT: It's the pelicans. You didn't automatically put that together? Do it big and the pelicans, come on. Greg: I thought for a minute was this other stupid hashtag we got, the stupid Brooklyn Nets one. JT: it was also the hashtag of several porns that were released last year. That's two letters away from we get hard which is very awful. One of these is far above the biggest piece of shit. I had to google this, which I don't like to do. Hashtag capital letters MFFL. What the fuck does that mean? What does it mean? Greg: I wouldn't even look it up. I didn't even want to. I'm gonna tell you, I'm here to hate it. I got banned for life from the Mavericks. JT: It is indeed Mavericks. Greg: I solved the fucking puzzle. That's great. JT: No, that's really bad. Who in the world thought of this, said it was okay, and convinced a bunch of other people that it was okay? This is stupid marketing. Genius Mark Cuban has this as his hashtag. How would Mark Cuban think this is okay? Greg: I can't imagine it's the worst one. JT: it's the worst one by far. Sacramento proud is on that list too. We didn't even bring that one up go Spurs. They put no effort in. It says go Spurs go, and MFFL is still worse than that. Give me anything to work with. Just tell me something about you and your story. But just letters? MF is motherfucker right? Greg: Yeah, and FL. Motherfucker for life. It looks like motherfucking Florida. That's what it looks like. JT: Whatever Texas, sucks for them. We've been very negative. We took a shit on this pretty hard. So far anything positive you like there's two great ones that are better than the others, no, there's three. You put one on here that's not good. Greg: Don't tell me you don't like pure magic. I thought that was pretty good. What else are they gonna put? I thought that was fairly slick. Pure magic. Pure fucking magic boom! JT: That's not good. What does that mean? That that's just your name again. You're saying you are indeed the team you said you were. Greg: I am confirming that we are indeed the magic. JT: To me it almost makes me think that up until now you were not in fact the team you said you were. Greg: I don't think that's true at all. That doesn't imply that in any sort of way. It's just a word or two. JT: They have a pretty big definition. That one sucks. It's pretty bad. Greg: Compared to the rest of the list that one actually bubbled to the top, because there's some really bad ones on here. JT: Yeah I'll give you that. It's not terrible, but some of the ones that are great, and maybe even in competition for the first place lot is Milwaukee with hashtag fear the deer. I absolutely love it. Fear the deer, the best one, hands down. Greg: Yeah it's cool. JT: The Jazz who have hashtag take note. That's a reference to their jazz note symbol which is their logo. They use it usually based around that singular Jay note. I like a nice pun. I like your team's also Greg. I like buzz city. Greg: I think buzz city works because a little pun works in there. There's rip city for a Portland. That was actually named that. They get to use that, and it works very well for them. JT: There were two things that I wasn't aware of. I knew that Toronto claims some sort of ownership of the north as it were, and they have the we the north. I've seen that the past couple playoffs when they got eliminated. The Timberwolves also have one, all eyes north. Greg: That makes no sense to me, because Toronto is the north as I've been told. I'm very confused. There seems to be some ownership issues of the northern section of things. JT: I always liked we the north for the Raptors because they are in Canada, and a bit isolated. They have this kind of Game of Thrones house stark tie-in, which is like the most popular show that you don't watch Greg. Greg: Yeah, makes me sleepy. I don't like it. JT: Minnesota slipped in the back door and I don't think it works for them. They had this cool thing, I don't remember exactly what it was last year. The herd or the pack or something? That made more sense, the wolf pack kind of thing. If they don't have a wolf reference they fail. Greg: This is another example of piggybacking. The idea doesn't quite suit you, so suck an egg Minnesota. Get your own hashmoji. There were too many assholes in the room trying to make a decision. That's a groupthink answer right there. We are going to do predictions right now. What do you got JT? JT: Do you think the professional basketball team from Boston will make the playoffs? Greg: The Celtics? Of course they are gonna make the playoffs. I don't think that you really you think- JT: You were battling me before saying there weren't good teams in the East. You were telling me that the Orlando Magic, that I know are good because I've seen them play- Greg: I was there. I watched them play, and they're good, but they're not better than the Celtics. Celtics are gonna play hard. Kyrie is obviously pissed off. He's telling fans to suck his dick and shit, that guy's fired up. if he doesn't get injured maybe he can keep shit together. He was the one who I thought was gonna get injured. JT: You felt an injury coming? Greg: There's too many people in the league. I've been watching football this year, people have been getting injured left and right. We had this in the first week of basketball. We had some season enders right off the bat, with some big people, and you're playing the numbers. If you have a bunch of superstars on your team and everybody's playing like they're playing, especially in Boston, they're playing hard. Somebody's gonna get injured. I didn't think it was gonna be anything like that. I'm not gonna act like I saw something like that coming, but Kyrie's knees have always been a problem. I thought they would've been the first thing to act up, almost like Chris Paul. He played the one game for the Rockets, and now he's like old man Chris Paul. He's got to sit out a couple weeks, and get his shit together. JT: That whole thing in Huston, I don't know if that's gonna workout. I'm right on the fence with Boston. I'm gonna go way to the other end of the spectrum. I don't think they're gonna have what it takes to pull together and make the playoffs. If they do, seventh eighth seed maybe. Greg: I don't think there's any way. Even if there are better teams in the East, I don't think there's any way they drop below fifth. JT: It's on tape now so, it's on like Donkey Kong. We can always jump back and say we're gonna see what's up a couple months from now. Greg: We're gonna be back next week with another episode. In the meantime you can follow us on twitter @doubledrivelers, you can email us at [email protected], subscribe to the show on iTunes, Podbean, or GooglePlay, and until next week, see you on the Internet

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deathishauntedbyhumans · 7 years

Text

Courting Rituals

Jim and Bones just want each other to be happy with their respective partners. A cute little rp between friends.

Stranger: Bones, I need your expertise. JK

You: ...a highly suspicious way to begin a conversation when you're Jim Kirk, but I'll bite. LM What is it? LM

Stranger: What? Have I ever let you down? JK Vulcans. What do you know about them? JK

You: No, you haven't. That's the problem. LM Socially or medically? LM

Stranger: I always come through for you. JK Either would be nice. JK

Stranger: Me and Spock have been spending a lot of time together. JK

You: You're the Captain and First Officer. It would be a problem if you hadn't been. LM

Stranger: Not like that, Bones. JK

You: ...huh. LM Well, I have no idea how you stand him most of the time, but you've never exactly made sense. LM Vulcans are stubborn and incredibly secretive. It took goddamn years to get any medical knowledge about them, and even then, you have to have a specific clearance to get to some of it. It's, frankly, a little ridiculous. LM

Stranger: We mostly just play chess. but the fact that he gives me the time of day for it says a lot. JK Is there anything odd I should know? JK

Stranger: Besides him being, like, four times as strong as me. Because that is incredibly hot. JK

You: Jesus, kid. If there was ever a sentence I did not need to read, it was that one. I think I need to bleach my eyes. LM Has anything odd been happening? Besides him giving you the time of day, obviously. LM

Stranger: That was tame, compared to some of the stuff I could come up with. Goof to know you're so easy to mess with. JK I don't know what's normal for a Vulcan, that's why I'm asking you, doc. JK

You: Ugh. Disgusting. LM In all seriousness, Jim, any knowledge that I have is either negative or purely based on medical speculation or information. You have more practical knowledge than I ever want to. If Spock was acting differently, I think you'd know better than I would. LM

Stranger: Yes, how dare I be happy and attracted to someone. JK He's just been incredibly short lately. In his own way. I'm worried about him. JK

You: Exactly. Keep your happiness on your side of the ship. Some of us have reputations to uphold as grumpy old men. LM The one thing I've learned from being around Spock is that he's afraid of his own emotions. If you two are flirting around each other, I'd bet my last bottle of good bourbon that he doesn't know how to handle it. LM

Stranger: You know, all I have to do to shatter that is to ask about your daughter. You do love talking about her ;) JK He's better than you think. Or maybe he's just unaware that he's flirting. I was hoping you would know how Vulcans do this sort of thing. JK

You: Oh, shut up. Just because I love Jo doesn't mean I'm not a grumpy old man. LM Kid, the things that I know would curl your hair. LM If Spock was courting you, you'd know it. If Spock's FLIRTING with you, it's probably a different story. I mean, I doubt he'd be very good at it. Awkward silences, cautious touching. That sort of shit. LM What do YOU know about Vulcans? LM

Stranger: It's rather cute, how much you adore her. Really shatters the illusion, though. JK Considering I have nearly everything the other Spock knew in my head, probably a lot. I just don't want to go through that quite yet. JK Oh, there's plenty of that. I held his hand one time and I think it blew his mind. JK

You: [delay] Oh my god. LM

Stranger: What? JK

You: You held his hand? LM

Stranger: Yeah. JK And we talked. It was nice. JK

You: Right. Alright. LM Vulcan hands aren't like human hands, Jim. They're a lot more... sensitive. LM Gives a whole new meaning to the term "hand job." LM

Stranger: And no one thought to tell me this? JK

Stranger: That would explain a lot, actually. JK

You: I'm not about to go around explaining the nitty gritty of Vulcan biology to everyone on the goddamn ship, Jim. LM Do I dare ask? LM

Stranger: No, but you should to the guy who wants to sleep with him, idiot. JK If you couldn't handle me liking how he's strong, are you sure you want to know more? JK

You: No. I most certainly do not want to know more. Jesus. LM You should talk to him. Because if you've been this clueless, it might be time to have an enlightened conversation with the guy. Stubbornness or not. LM

Stranger: Come on. Might be fun. JK Alright. I will talk to him. What do I say? JK

You: Well, you might wanna start by letting him know you didn't mean to handsex him. LM Or maybe you did, and you start with that. Just please... don't tell me about it. LM

Stranger: You're reading too much into this. If he could read my mind, then he knows I was only thinking about him. JK

You: You sound like a bad romance holo. LM Then... I don't know, Jim, tell him that you want to stop dancing around the fact that you're both head over heels for each other. LM

Stranger: Okay. I'm going to do this. JK

You: Good luck. LM Although I doubt you'll need it. Everyone on the ship has been betting on when you two will finally stop making goo-goo eyes at each other and go for it. LM

Stranger: Who's got money on us already having gone for it? JK

You: Chekov. Overexcited little ass. LM Sulu keeps telling him he's wrong. Chekov's positive you two are fucking behind everyone's backs. LM Quite an imagination he's got, that kid. LM

Stranger: You know how I melded with old Spock? JK I saw a lot of things I don't think he intended me to see. Including that the other Spock, was with the other me. JK

You: Huh. LM

Stranger: Yeah. JK

Stranger: He misses the other me more than anything. JK It's kind of screwed up. JK

You: Yeah. It is. LM But it's also out of our control, kid. LM

Stranger: Alright. I'm going to do it. JK Going to message him. JK

You: Good luck, kiddo. LM

Stranger: [Delayed] It went a bit better than expected. JK

You: Oh? LM

Stranger: Much better. JK

You: How so? LM Do I want to know? LM

Stranger: He's sleeping next to me. So yeah. JK And I have /bruises/. The good kind ;) JK

Stranger: So who wins the pot now? JK

You: Uhura and I. Sulu might also be in the running, I've gotta check. LM

Stranger: You people are awful. JK You do know that Sulu is sleeping with Chekov, right? JK

You: Believe me, I know. LM I won that pot, too. LM

You: Although I might have cheated a little, since Sulu came in for a screening of his own volition and may or may not have mentioned it. LM

Stranger: That's the Bones I know and love. JK You ever going to ask your head nurse out? JK

You: Jesus, Jim. Can't a guy just be lonely for the rest of his life? LM I'm an old man. LM

Stranger: She likes you. You obviously like her. JK Come on. JK

You: I'm too old for her. She deserves better. LM

Stranger: You're not that old. JK And she's not a kid. JK

You: No, but she's a young woman who deserves better than anything I can offer. LM We were talking about you, not me. LM

Stranger: For god's sake, just ask her. I'm sure she'd love to go out with you. JK I know for a fact she would. JK

You: Drop it, Jim. LM

Stranger: I'm going to kick your ass until you do it. JK

Stranger: Leonard, you need to get your life in order. JK

You: My life is as ordered as it needs to be, thank you very much. LM

Stranger: Self-pity is a horrible look on you. JK

You: I've looked the same for years. Glad you see things my way. LM

Stranger: Let yourself be happy. JK

You: Maybe someday. Not today. LM

Stranger: Why not? JK

You: You're happy today. If there's too much happy on one ship, it'll explode. LM

Stranger: Ha ha. JK

You: No, really. It's a scientific fact. LM

Stranger: The other version of you was far more ballsy. JK

You: Glad to hear it. LM Shouldn't you be basking in the afterglow or some shit? LM

Stranger: I'm going to talk to her for you. JK Oh, we are. He says you're bring illogical. JK

You: Don't you dare. LM Great. Tell him he's illogical. LM

Stranger: I'll do it. JK He says that is no argument, and that you need to try, otherwise, you don't really have a reason to act depressed. JK I like him like this. JK

Stranger: I think you deserve to be happy. JK

You: And I think you're insane. We're all entitled to our opinions. LM Look, even if I wanted to do something about it, our ranks make it difficult. LM

Stranger: Who's going to tell on you? Certainly not anyone here. JK

You: If the admiralty finds out, we're all screwed. Both of us, you, probably Spock. LM

Stranger: Spock said the same thing to me. And I asked him how I could promote him, when he's one step below me. And it would be pretty obvious if I made him captain, and stepped down. JK So long as you aren't obviously playing favourites (which you aren't capable of), you're fine. I'll have your back. JK

Stranger: I break rules all the time. And I haven't been thrown out. JK

You: Yeah, well. You're Jim Kirk. LM

Stranger: What does that mean? JK

You: You've saved the universe, Jim. More than once. LM

Stranger: And they still hated that I broke rules doing it. JK

Stranger: My mother especially. JK

You: But you saved the universe anyways. They're not about to throw you out after something like that. Slap your wrist, yes. Throw you out? Not a chance. LM

Stranger: My mother wanted to. JK Then they offered me an admiral position. That's a fate worse than /death/. JK

You: Drama queen. LM

Stranger: A desk job would kill me. JK

You: You'd find some way to make it interesting. LM

Stranger: Sneaking onto another starship, yeah. JK I like what I do. You like what you do. JK

You: That's true. LM

Stranger: Even if you do complain constantly. JK

You: Like I said, I have a reputation to uphold. LM

Stranger: god forbid someone thinks you're nice. JK Though, Chapel does. JK

You: Jim. LM You really aren't going to let this go, are you? LM

Stranger: She really does, though. JK

You: And I'm sure she told you this, is that how you know? LM

Stranger: I might have overheard her talking with Uhura. JK

You: Seriously? LM

Stranger: Mhm. JK

You: Huh. LM

Stranger: Just go for it. JK

You: [long delay] I have a date. LM

Stranger: Told you. JK

You: I have a date. LM I. LM Have a date. LM An actual date. LM I'm pretty sure I've gone space mad. LM

Stranger: What did she say? JK

Stranger: What did you say? JK

You: I said that I would like to take her out on a date the next time we're planetside. LM And she said that she couldn't believe it took this long for me to ask. LM Am I crazy? I have to be. LM

Stranger: You two are about as subtle as spock and I. JK

Stranger: I told you she had noticed. She's not a Vulcan that doesn't understand 'mating rituals', as he calls it. JK

You: No one's as subtle as you two. I doubt we even come close. LM

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