#it's done a great job of centering her and her family in it

[longlive2023]

reading the immortal life of henrietta lacks now

[reiderwriter]

Okay, I just wanted to start off and say I love your stories. They're always so good. You've reblogged one of my stories a while, and I actually squealed and scared the crap out of my friend. But yeah, I live you and your stories 💖💖💖

So I read your one story of Spencer being a soon-to-be dad, and I really like the idea of seeing Spencer and reader as actual parents just feeling the emotions. I thought something based around their daughter (because Spencer's a girl dad) hitting a milestone like walking, talking, or something even bigger like the first day of school. I don't know if that makes sense, but either way, I hope you like it!

A/N: I love the idea of new-dad Spencer. He deserves a loving family and a baby so much 😭 I combined this request with one of the prompts for @imagining-in-the-margins Kid Fic challenge which you can find the details for here! ❤️

Warnings: none, just fluff.

Masterlist

You never thought leaving to go for a spa day would be one of the hardest things you'd have to do in your life, but here you were. 

In the ten months since you'd given birth to your daughter, you'd been stressed, lacking in sleep, leaking fluids from places that you forgot could have fluids leak from, and you'd been totally, irreversibly, head over heels in love. 

Both with the tiny little gremlin you'd given birth to, and with the man that you watched become a father. 

Spencer Reid was a great dad. 

He'd had a fair amount of anxiety leading up to the birth, worrying about every detail, talking to geneticists, driving you to and from each check up or attending via video call if he was on a case. After she was born, he helped out as best he could. 

For a man who had delivered a baby before and was absolutely great with his teammates' kids, he couldn't hold her for the first week without an intense look of panic crossing his features.

“Y/N, what happens if I drop her?” 

“Y/N, she sneezed. What if I got her sick?”

“Y/N, she fell asleep, I can't move.” 

A genius with an IQ of 187 slashed to 60 in front of a pretty girl. His tiny daughter had him thrown through a loop he got seriously stuck in. 

He was still helpful, and he got used to all his new duties and tasks within a week, but watching those cute clueless expressions pass over his face now and then endeared you to him that much more. 

He knew everything, but he had to learn this right there with you. 

So yes, leaving for a relaxing spa visit was hard. 

Spencer had been on a case for the last four days, his first since your daughter had arrived and the official end to his paternity leave. You'd been happy to see him get back to it, in all honesty. Spencer’s job, his research, and his work at the FBI were like muscles he needed to stretch. It wasn't that he couldn't live without them, but there would always be a part of him that felt stiff or unsure of himself without the possibilities of a case to unravel or some theorizing to do. 

You were slightly panicked at the thought of being alone with your daughter for four days, but you managed. With a phone call home every single night where he asked you about every single thing your little bundle of joy had done outside of his watchful gaze. 

Now, it was your turn. 

Spencer had insisted on it upon returning from his case. He got four nights of relative peace after 20 months of waking up with the baby, sleeping with the baby, napping when the baby napped, carrying the baby around when it became evident that she was desperately scared of not being the center of attention. 

He came back with a spring in his step, and the deep desire to see you get a solid night's rest the way he'd been able to. 

You'd tried shooting him down, multiple times, to no reward. 

“Spencer, you didn't exactly just up and go off gallivanting. You were working.”

“I was working, and I still got more rest than you. I really needed that sleep and time away, Y/N, and I think you do, too. Now, please, go away,” he'd pulled you into his arms when you'd put the baby down that night to reveal his brilliant plans. 

“Just for the night. Go away for a lovely overnight break. Not indefinitely. I love you.” His panicked confession at the end sent you into giggles, that with a few well times kisses had you reluctantly agreeing to the girls trip he'd planned you. 

The BAU girls had been roped into accompanying you on the trip, which honestly meant that he'd be getting status updates any time he asked for one. 

JJ, Penelope, Emily, and Tara were all going to strong arm you into the car if need be to carry you off to the nearest 5(ish) star Hotel and Spa. 

And that's exactly what happened. 

The man had even packed the bag for you to send you off, had made you breakfast in bed and had run to every sound your daughter had made from dusk until dawn so you didn't have to lift a finger. 

“Y/N, you're resting today.”

“But-” 

“No. No buts. Just rest.”

“At least let me hold her for a second to say goodbye.” He blinked at you for a few seconds before his stubbornly helpful face turned softer, and he quickly handed your daughter back for a small cuddle. 

With a lingering hug, you told your daughter - who absolutely did not care one bit that you would be wandering out of the house soon enough - that you'd be back in the morning, kissed your husband on the lips, and were swiftly kidnapped by JJ and Emily. 

To your credit, you lasted two whole hours before breaking down. 

The drive to the hotel was quick and peaceful, and it felt nice to breathe in the fresh air without having to also check for various baby smells. 

You checked in fast, and all gathered in the in-hotel restaurant for brunch and mimosas, and then it hit you. Another mother walked in with a stroller, and you were blubbering. 

Your bottom lip wobbled, and the rest of the world ceased to exist as you gave in to the emotions. 

You knew, of course, that you were going to have to leave your daughter at some point. It wasn't healthy for either of you to have attachment issues, and you didn't want to hinder your daughters development by sticking too close - but that didn't mean you didn't miss her. 

JJ noticed your watery eyes first. “Oh no, I know that look,” she smiled over her drink, taking a sip. 

“What? What look?” You said, but giving yourself massively away with a good sniff and watery blink. 

“You lasted longer than I did. I couldn't go half an hour without turning my car around and heading back to Henry, and I swear it was only worse with Michael.” 

You giggled a bit as you wiped your eyes. 

“Do you think… do you think we could go back? Just for a little bit. I just want to check on them.”

The women passed a look between them and then nodded back at you, obviously having expected this. 

“Actually, we didn't book any spa treatments until the afternoon. We had a feeling something like this would happen,” Tara smiled at you, and you snorted in surprise as you dabbed away your tears with a handkerchief. 

“We are laying some ground rules though,” Emily said, a stern tone fighting the playful smile on her face. 

“We can peak through a window, but we're not going in. And we're not going to call ahead and let Spencer know. The kid needs to know you feel confident in his parenting skills, and if he's just got the baby settled and you come back in, it won't be easy to calm her down again.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” you said, but you were already halfway to the car by the time you could finish the sentence. 

The girls pulled up a block away and let you walk calmly back to your front door. 

You'd since agreed to a time limit and not to unlock the door. Emily went ahead to scope out the house, communicating with JJ on the phone who was holding your hand to stop you from wringing them. 

You'd never been a part of the BAU, but somehow you felt like a team member on a case getting ready to stake out a target. 

When Emily gave you the signal, the rest of the girls gave you space, and you ducked down to peer into your ground floor window. 

Spencer was on his stomach with your daughter, and they were having what seemed like a riveting conversation. 

“And so then I obviously got tongue-tied. Like I said, Daddy isn't good at talking to people, let alone beautiful women like Mommy.” 

“Be be be da.”

“Exactly. I really embarrassed myself, actually. I went up to her and said ‘do you have a number?’ and she was so confused.”

“Ba!” 

“Yeah, she sounded like that, too. I kept talking more and more, and she couldn't understand what I meant. She thought I was asking about her age at one point. I was just getting redder and redder, and then she grabbed my hand and led me to a seat at the back of the bookshop because she thought I was sick.”

He smiled down at the infant again, still babbling to herself.

“I was sick, of course, but it was just love sickness. I still am.” 

The tears that you'd delicately wiped away earlier came back hot and heavy now as you resisted the urge to crawl through the window to your precious family. 

Spencer was telling your daughter the story of how he first asked you out, near disastrously, and from the sounds of it, he wasn't done telling stories. 

“I really love your Mommy, you know. She's wonderful.”

“Mmmm,”

“See, you think so too. Everyone thinks so.” 

“Mmmma” 

“Yes, your Mama. You’re just like her, everyone loves you, too.” 

“Mama.”

You heard Spencer's breath hitch as you closed a hand over your mouth to stop a shocked squeal from coming out. 

“T-That's right. Mama. One more time, say mama.”

“Mama,” the little baby squealed in delight, reacting to her fathers utter joy. 

“You're speaking. One more time, Mama.”

“Mama!” 

“Your mama is going to be so mad,” Spencer whispered, grabbing his daughter up in one more careful hug and kissing her face as she giggled delightfully. “We need to keep this a secret. Tomorrow, you'll have you say your first word in front of her, and we'll both act surprised, okay? Promise?”

The gargle he got in response was enough to have your shoulders shaking as the others extricated you from your own front lawn. 

Back in the car, you broke down into giggles and tears, shoulders rising and falling in sobs and laughter intermittently. 

“Is this a total psychotic break or just a symptom of seeing Spencer as a dad?” Penelope asked, nudging you with her elbow as you tried to regain your composure.

“It's… whew, it's okay. We can go back now.” 

“You sure?” JJ asked from the driver's seat, and you nodded once again.

“Yeah. I'm fine now. I'm really good.” 

The women all offered you similar smiles as you drove away, blissful and content. 

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

Steph the Alter Nerd is reading Omid’s new book.

Following the live read:

I joined late so Steph was already reading. She was starting the Sophie section. Seriously, why pick on Sophie who just puts her head down and focuses on work? That’s strikes me as unnecessarily vile.

Omid apparently thinks Charles hasn’t modernized the monarchy. Dude is an environmental icon and we now have a blended family in BP. That may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you can’t deny that it’s modern.

Apparently Omid writes pages and pages about Charles’ “leaky pen” incident. It’s just a pen, Omid. Omid thinks this means Charles may not be up to the job, lololol. I’m dying. Mind you, Omid worships Harry who stripped in Vegas, wore a Nazi uniform, and called his fellow soldiers names. But yes, the leaky pen is far more significant than all that, somehow.

Really boring part about government stuff. Charles negotiates and reaches compromises with the government and that’s apparently bad? Also, Charles didn’t know what to expect after he became King??? Lolololol.

Charles lost sympathy for the Harkles after the documentary. Well, duh. We all did, Omid. That documentary was a huge own goal.

He blames the Royal Family for the documentary’s melodrama? Seriously? Who was crying on Oprah? Who was crying in a rented Vancouver mansion with her head wrapped in a towel? Who dropped hot, salty tears on her Hermes blanket? That’s the person responsible for the melodrama.

Anne supposedly kicked them out of Frogmore. I suspect this is fanfiction, but I love it. I want it to be true. This is my headcanon now.

And I do thin fanfiction is the right term for this book. The BRF is super popular right now so the book thesis itself (that the BRF is in trouble) is pretty fantastical.

This book seems very, very boring. Omid seems to be desperately trying to argue that Charles’ first year went badly, but that’s just not reality. Omid used to be better at spinning than this.

Make the Royals Great Again? Uh, that was done in 2011. Everything we are seeing now was planted way back then, down to Kate’s leafy crown. There’s a general lack of both self-awareness and historical awareness in this book. Omid writes like someone who first became a “royal reporter” in 2016…which is exactly what he is. Too bad, because I do think there’s an interesting analysis that could be made regarding 2023 and it’s place in royal pr. That’s above Omid’s pay grade though.

Lol, Omid discusses UK politics and it’s every bit as much of a disaster as one would expect. Stick to gossip, Omid.

Ok, Steph’s hydrating, so let’s step back for a minute and recall what this book was supposed to be. This was to be “Finding Freedom 2.0,” a chronicle of the Harkle post-Megxit success story. The publishers clearly didn’t like that and they made Omid write a book about the family as a whole. That’s because there was no Harkle success story and the publisher didn’t think another Harkle book would sell. Unfortunately, Omid is a Harkle specialist. He can’t write a book about the family (let alone successfully argue for its imminent demise). He simply doesn’t know enough.

Back to Steph. We’re now in Harry’s military service? Er, why? We jumped from 2023 to 2016 and now to the Afghanistan War?

I agree with Steph that Omid’s trying to associate the royals with MAGA and I can’t even articulate how stupid that is. Completely different countries, completely different cultures, completely different iconography. Just doesn’t work.

Now we’re at the Coronation Concert? The royals are in trouble because Elton wasn’t at the concert! Lolololol. The Harkle bubble is out of this world. Basically, if their inner circle wasn’t centered (Oprah, Elton, Omid, etc…), it’s because of a MAGA conspiracy that will bring the royals down.

Something, something throne. Charles looked awkward again. Constitutional crisis!

I feel like I’m grading student briefs. There’s a way to argue this and there is evidence you can cite for this argument, but this isn’t it. You shouldn’t write pages and pages about a leaky pen and then minimize the bags of charity money as “perception.” You should start with the bags of charity money then use the leaky pen to bolster the “perception” argument.

Another disagreement with the government. Aargh! That should be lumped together with the other arguments with the government. Or it shouldn’t be mentioned at all. You’re arguing that Charles is and old-fashioned idiot who is not a good king, so why make him look like someone who is aware of current social issues and engaged with his government?

Racism. Finally! No wait, it’s boring.

Charles had an affair with Camilla. Lol, that’s not exactly news, love. The time jumping is driving me nuts.

Took a break to let the dog out and now we’re in Andrew’s interview. Of course we are.

Will exiled Andrew. I hope this is true. Wait, that’s the famous “power struggle”? Andrew??? I don’t think that’s a power struggle. That’s just Charles passing the buck.

Oh, lord. More Andrew. That’s it. I’m going to bed. I’ll tune back tomorrow.

[otherperson12]

Masters of the Air: The Angels of Death

Chapter 1: Part One

Disclaimer: Bucky being Bucky and a simp. Buck being tired of Bucky.

Thank you @infernal-hues

Bucky was satisfied with the newcomers. The beautiful ginger caught his eye. She had all his attention. By the words of the other girls, she seemed like a good pilot. That was a plus to her beauty. He had never been with a ginger before.

Buck had heard a little between the COs’ and everything looked fine.

Until supper.

“I can’t believe you both kept it from me!” Curt recriminated to the duo.

The news spread like fire. The only information going around was (and the only one that seemed to matter) about some beautiful singles —that was a regalement— skirts were in the base to stay.

When Curt heard, he knew Bucky (and obviously Buck) knew before anyone, so he went to them demanding some information.

Bucky laughed, “You can’t be mad at me. You love me too much.” He said with dove eyes at Curt and blowing kisses.

Buck laughed at them. “You were going to know sooner or later, Curt.”

That was supposed to be some kind of apology. But he did not want that.

“Why are they here?”, Curt asked.

Good question.

They both looked at Bucky who just winked at them.

══════════════════

The interrogation was the perfect excuse to get better coffee than the regular G.I Joe one.

Colonel Elizabeth Nixon was the CO of the 1st Female Fighter Pilot Group: The Angels of Death. She was one of the first female pilots in the Air Force and she won her rank from the bottom even when her family could have paid for it. The girls respected her as a their leader.

“Girls, listen up!”, she called from the center of the room, once the interrogation was done. Everyone looked at her. “As you may know, we will get into combat soon,” some cheers, “We are going to be stationed here at East Anglia with the 100th Bomber Group.” she informed. “Our mission is to protect this side of Great Britain island and not let the nazis get into London.” Then she had to drop the bomb. Ironic. “At the same time, we have orders to escort the bombers in every mission as needed.”

WHAT?!

That was the first thing it came out of the boys’ mouth when they got the news.

After lunch, they all reunited in the conference room. Huglin had told them. Bucky was trying to hide his smile. And not look at Buck and Curt or he would really laugh.

“Those orders come from the upper command. It will help us to complete our missions and reduce the number of casualties.” He explained. “You just do what you’ve been training for so we can win the war. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

══════════════════

Brianna did not want to be a babysitter.

“Just imagine their faces.” Priya suggested with a malicious smile.

Captain Priya Pilanka was from New Delhi, a squad leader like Brianna. She was as respected as hated just for her culture. The both of them bonded over their resentment for the british so they joined the yanks instead of having the UK flag in their uniform.

“This is not how I imagined it.” Brianna commented.

Priya knew what she meant. First, they did not want to wait more to go and fight, she felt anxious. And second…

“Giving you, women, a plane and a weapon don’t make you a soldier. You are just that. A woman who came to help, not to serve your country.” Brianna quoted under her breath.

Priya heard. She remembers those words very well. Their first day in training, almost two years ago.

Priya stiffed a little, “We just have to focus on flying and get the job done.”

They started walking to their new barracks when a voice called.

“Pilanka, Ross.”

Both girls turned and found Lieutenant Colonel Margarita Flores, (‘Mama’ for the girls) from Chile. She was a sweet woman, always taking care of everyone like a mother. She was a little worried about the news.

They salute her.

“How are you both?”, she asked sweetly.

“Anxious to get in the sky, ma’am.” Priya responded for them both.

Lt. Flores looked at Brianna, “I know is not what you expected. But don’t worry about it. You are better than any man. You are Angels, the best of the best.” She reassured them with a sweet smile. “I’m sure we’ll get a mission soon, so I want you both to get settled and go to eat. You are dismissed.” She ordered.

At the barracks, 1st Lt. Louisa ‘Lou’ Breaux had saved them both a bed next to hers. The three of them were a particular trio: the quiet scottish, the spicy indian, and the cute witch.

Lou was another squad leader, from Lafayette, Louisiana. And probably a witch. When she said it was going to rain, the sky seemed to melt. When she asked for a sunny day in the middle of the winter, the sun would appear as if spring had come earlier.

“I got your sheets and your foot lockers.” Lou informed.

“Thank you, Lou.” Brianna gratefully, appreciated. Lou smiled at her.

══════════════════

Brianna was very excited about the idea of having a weekend pass so she could go to Edinburgh. After eating, she wrote a letter to her uncle, telling him she was back in Europe.

She walked around the camp looking for the post office. She did not want to ask for directions. The walk which supposedly was going to be calm, turned out to be the complete opposite.

“Hey, sweetheart!”

“Carrot! Do the drapes match the carpet?”

That one made her blush in embarrassment , but mostly boil herblood in pure rage. The cat calling continued until…

“Hey!”

The calls stopped. So did she.

“That’s enough!” Some man ordered in pure anger.

It wasn’t a deep voice, but so firm it made her almost stand at attention.

Brianna was able to hear the scold.

She took her chance to run away from the situation. The ginger walked as fast and calm as she could. The last thing she wanted to do was draw more attention to herself.

She heard someone walking right at her 6 o’clock, following her. At her left she found the post office and quickly entered.

══════════════════

Bucky was walking around looking for troubles (Buck was sleeping and he did not want to third wheel Curt and some nurse), when he found them.

Well, he actually found her.

For Bucky it was the perfect chance to introduce himself to the newcomer. Until he heard the other soldiers.

He stepped in, did his thing and when he turned to her, she was walking away. Odd. So he followed the red head to the post office. And there she was, completely curved in some papers.

“Good afternoon, Major Egan.” The sergeant behind the counter greeted him.

“How are you, Tommy.”

Bucky saw her stand back little by little and face him slowly. She looked at him and his collar and stood more straight than before. She saluted him.

That had an interesting effect on John.

“That’s not necessary ma’am.” Bucky informed quickly.

Brianna put her arm down. She felt trapped. She delivered the letter and she wanted to go, but he was in the way.

Those small blue eyes were watching her intensely. It made her uncomfortable so she looked down to her feet.

John took his sweet time observing her. Her red hair was in a classic updo with her green cap, her straight pointy nose and small mouth. She had changed her flying uniform for her dress uniform.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. For what happened.” Bucky explained himself, pointing to the door.

Brianna opened her mouth and closed it, then she talked. “I am sir, thank you.”

Silence.

“Let me walk you to your quarters. So there’s no more incidents.” He offered.

‘I’ve spent too much time with Buck. I’m losing my charm.’ He thought.

“That’s not necessary, sir.”

“I insist.” He added quickly.

Silence again.

“If you let me, sir, It would not be appropriate.” Brianna explained trying to get him to let her go on her own.

“If someone asks I’ll explain the situation.” He reassured her.

‘How insisting!’, she thought.

John felt over the moon hearing her voice for the first time, small and cautious. He knew that his insistence on accompanying her was part of his desire to be with her. Normally, he would drink, pick a girl and take her to bed and that's it (and with that, he had gotten his own haters club) but she didn't even want to look at him.

“Let me walk you.” He said again.

Brianna knew he was not going to let her go.

“Alright.” She finally said.

In his mind, Bucky was doing a little victory dance. He tried to look normal, but a smile slipped to his face.

He moved from the door and opened it so she could go in first.

══════════════════

Brianna and John walked the first twenty steps in complete silence. Until he opened his mouth.

“I’m John. John Egan. But everyone calls me ‘Bucky’”, he introduced himself looking at her.

Brianna took her eyes off the road to look at him briefly. She noticed his small blue eyes, which had a little mischief in them.

“Lieutenant Ross, Brianna Ross.”

Five steps more in silence.

“So you are a pilot.” Bucky said.

‘Doesn’t he have an off button?’, she thought a little desperately. She didn’t like being talked to, she didn’t like to talk.

“Yes, sir. I’m a squad leader .” She informed.

“Squad leader! That sounds important.” Bucky said impressed.

Brianna was irritated with the situation because obviously she had to answer to a ranking officer.

“I just do my job, sir.”

Bucky being Bucky, could not tell if she was just quiet and shy or she was getting pissed with him.

“You aren’t American.” He punctuated.

Brianna had spent years of her life trying to sound less Scottish, it looks like it did not work.

“Aye…” She said slowly, looking him in the corner of her eye.

Brianna found him already looking at her, a cocky smile and eyes full of mischief. She blushed as red as her hair, again, for being caught.

Embarrassed and now pissed, she walked faster trying to lose him.

He was having the time of his life, completely enamored by her cute reaction. She was shy, was his conclusion and maybe a little short tempered. John just followed her trying to be at her side again.

“Hey! Wait!”, he called. “I’m sorry!” He apologized. But she kept walking with her head down.

John saw her turn left, and then he saw a bunch of women hanging out of the quarters.

Everyone turned their heads as Brianna nearly ran into the quarters and slammed the door closed.

Then the eyes turned to him.

“Hi.”

He stood there just looking at the door, hands in his hips and a smile on his face. He chuckled.

Bucky started to walk away with intentions to go tell Buck when the door slammed open, a full round of laughter and calling. Brianna ran out hiding her face in her hands, the tips of her ears boiling red.

She was followed by Priya, who was mocking her and Lou, happy as ever, jumping with every step.

“Don’ worry, major. You’ll see her’ again’!”, Lou informed.

He snorted, “I’ll really like that.”

══════════════════

“I swear to god, John, if you interrupt me one more time I’ll drop you in Berlin myself.” Buck warned him, eyes still in his book.

“That book will mean nothing when I tell you what just happened.”

Gale looks up to his best friend. A few hours prior when Bucky had said something similar, life at East Anglian had changed.

“Bucky”, Gale called at John.

“Yeah?”

“Leave those ladies alone”

Bucky laughed.

“Not any time soon”.

He walked away, but he stopped at the door.

“Brianna.” Bucky said.

Gale looked at him, not understanding.

“The name of my future wife, Brianna.”

‘Maybe Curt or Crank would like to hear about her’.

══════════════════

Final notes

First of all, I’m not Indian (my heritage is from all over the world) but I wanted to add a little of cultural variety. I once meet an Indian girl and she was like Priya. Strong and spicy.

[too-antigonish]

They come at you through what you love...Pt. 2

Last Thursday Thursday I wrote about how “They come at you through what you love,” and the three times that phrase is used in Endeavour—starting back in S1...

*long post*

I talked a little bit about Morse and @astridcontramundam, @thewatcher98, and @fanficrocks had some great insights about about how Morse never seems to see himself as included within anyone's circle of love.

I don’t think though, that I was very clear about the last point I tried to make. I said:

“every once and a while it strikes me again that so much of this show is about a very simple premise: It explores the idea that love and connection are what make you most vulnerable to the evils of this world. At the same time, they are also the things that make life worth living and that give us strength.  So how do you live that terrible paradox—with both of these things being true at the same time?  And how do you respond when your love is used against you?”

The person I was actually thinking about most there was not Morse, but Thursday.

This is a man who at his core is a guardian. His primary mission in life is to take care of the people he’s supposed to take care of. He wants to love and protect. Especially these people...

But from the very beginning, his love is weaponized against him. His relationship with Mickey Carter and his desire to protect his family are used initially to drive him out of London.

Oxford is hardly more safe. Everyone seems to realize that threatening Thursday himself is pointless. You have to get at him through what he loves. And so they threaten his family and they threaten Morse.

And then they secure further leverage via his loan to Charlie which places both his job and his marriage--the very foundations of his identity--at risk.

What makes it all the more difficult for him is that he is constantly navigating between worlds--often opposing worlds.

He grew up as an East End barrow boy with an alcoholic father. He was raised to watch out for his own.  Now he’s a fairly well-off suburban father in academic Oxford with a job that in some sense makes him responsible for the entire community.

He was raised with violence, and by all accounts was involved in brutal campaigns and resistance work in WWII.  Fists were an accepted part of the game when he started policing. It’s not his first resort, but it’s a tool he uses.

Now Morse is trying to pull him away from that. Morse says he’s better than that--but he’s genuinely torn. What happens if the bad guy gets away with it because they didn’t have the nerve to “do what had to be done?”

One of the most poignant examples to me is when Charlie asks for the loan. While Win and Fred’s marriage looks dated to contemporary eyes, it’s notable for the time to see them making decisions mutually as a couple and to see them being fairly open in talking to one another.

But when Charlie asks for the money, there’s a sense that Fred’s immediately back in the world where he grew up—a world where consulting your wife about anything is akin to asking her “permission.”  It's also a world where saying no and refusing generosity to your brother would make you seem less of a man.

So which rules does he follow? The ones he and Win currently live with or the ones he and Charlie grew up with? Well, unfortunately, we know the answer.

S9 is I think the hardest example. So much of it is centered around the question of who Thursday is supposed to be taking care of—the victims of crime and the people of Oxford that he’s sworn to protect as a policeman? His immediate family—Win, Sam, Joan—and now Jim? His extended family—Charlie and the rest? His...whatever Morse is?

The bad guys are using everything he cares about to manipulate him and the cruelest twist of all is that he must seemingly choose one of his worlds to save and sacrifice the others. Which will he put first?

And then suddenly, he's not given anymore time to decide...

[astro-duck]

The finale of DuckTales is deeply flawed

I don’t know if I’m alone in thinking this, but I’ve always wanted to explain this to someone.

It’s not all bad. It’s actually an enjoyable watch, it’s fun and charming like most episodes are. The animation is incredible, even more so then it usually is, there’s lots of great moments that are really beautiful. I also enjoy a fair few of the plot moments, the one that stands out most to me is Scrooge immediately surrendering to Bradford the second he threatens to kill Donald, saying “it’s not worth the risk.” Really, all of Bradford’s eventual surrender to petty villainy is well done.

I will likely end up making a post talking more in-depth about why the finale is great, but that is not this post. This post is strictly about the flaws in the plot of the finale.

A few important notes:

I am not a genius media critic, I’m an asshole on Tumblr. This is entirely my opinion and if you love this episode/this one is your favorite I am genuinely happy for you. I understand that it can suck to have someone criticize your favorite piece of media, and if you don’t want to hear this then I don’t want you to hear it either. (/gen)

I, as a person, am very resistant to change. I find it difficult to cope with extreme changes to form in the media I love. I tried to look at this from a non-biased perspective, and I think I did a good enough job, but I’m sure my personal bias slipped through the cracks very frequently.

The very final episode made me cry, despite all this. I cried because the end credits were so sweet and I cried because it was over. I was watching the end credits and I cried. So, that’s something.

I will refer to the three part finale as “The episode” throughout, because this is the easiest way for me to understand it. I will specify if I am talking about a specific part, but for the most time it is just “This Episode” or “The finale”

Actual Episode Criticism:

I think May and June were a terrible idea. I think that the reveal that Webby is a F.O.W.L clone of Scrooge was also a terrible idea. I think the episode has too many plot twists and characters thrown in and it means hardly anything truly meaningful happens.

I believe that May and June were a harmful addition to the finale and the overall canon of the show. Strictly speaking from a finale perspective, they are completely new characters who take up a large portion of the finale of a show, especially in the first part. The episode should not have centered around new characters, but instead been a grand final adventure with the existing characters all having their moments, but especially showcasing the McDucks.

They divert so much of the time of the episode away from other characters that nobody else really gets to shine. Huey, Dewey and Louie sort of get replaced by Webby, May and June. They feel like the new triplets because it’s literally Webby and two clones of her. However, instead of being three distinct personalities, they’re all just literally clones of Webby, personality and all. I have nothing against Webby, but I don’t think having three of her running around taking up 60% of screen time in the finale was good.

The “Webby is a Scrooge Clone” thing is dumb as hell. Especially because Webby calls Scrooge “Dad” at the end of the end of the episode. I’ll get in to this more in a second, but it sort of shits on the message that family isn’t blood. I don’t think Webby needs to see Scrooge as a father. It also doesn’t make sense that they made her a girl, even though trans Scrooge/Webby is a good thought, it’s not canonical.

This is also another twist that they shouldn’t have thrown in last second, because it’s such a large idea to flesh-out. I’m glad they kept it for the finale though, strictly because I would not have enjoyed the arc of Scrooge and Webby being Father/Daughter. Especially because it doesn’t make sense, like if May and June are “sisters” to Webby and they’re clones of her, wouldn’t Scrooge be more like a brother? At least save Webby calling him “Uncle Scrooge” for this grand moment at the end, if you’re going to go to this terrible twist.

These two plots shit directly on the face of whatever message the show was saying up to that point, that “Family is just the people who love you.” Because when May and June show up, Webby immediately begins calling them her sisters because they have the same blood as her. She goes directly against the wishes of the people who, up to that point, were her actual family. Just for two girls who are F.O.W.L spies and who she doesn’t know.

Webby being genetically identical to Scrooge also flies in the face of this a little, because it makes it so that the Papyrus appearing to her, and Webby and Scrooge being family, arguable as being because they are genetically related. This is not the point the show is trying to make, but it still is an argument to be made. Why do they have to be biologically related at all? Why can’t they just be family?

Especially because this show had, for a while, done such a good job portraying non-standard family dynamics. An uncle raising his sister’s kids? A grandmother raising her (adopted) granddaughter? Both in non-standard environments? We don’t often see things like this casually portrayed. But with the return of Della and the Dad-ification of Scrooge it almost feels like they’re saying families aren’t complete without a mom or a dad. Even though they aren’t saying that, it’s still there.

Gosh this post is getting long. Last thing, nobody gets any screen time. So many characters are in this episode, and they had 60 minutes to use them all, but so much of it was dedicated to Webby, May and June that it’s nearly impossible for anybody else to get a complete arc. Webby and Huey are separated from the rest of the McDucks for a while, which would be fine except they don’t even really get a proper reunion. Webby doesn’t get one at all, and Huey gets a quick “I’m so happy to see you, I used your book to find you.” Before they are immediately captured again. Most of the cast actually spends a large portion of the part just before the climax in cells, not being a part of the action.

I mean, Gyro has a few references yo feeling like he’s “losing his touch” before it’s never a big deal again. Della is mad that Donald is leaving but they don’t ever talk about it and then Della just decides it’s okay. Donald never interacts with May and June before deciding to take them on his boat with Daisy. B.O.Y.D, Goaslyn, Violet and Lena don’t really do anything at all, except for B.O.Y.D and Lena having some plot point that no one else really would have been able to do (Reprogramming the Gizmoduck armor and making the ship invisible.) I think that the addition of these characters feels forced, when they should have been a natural addition to a grand adventure finale.

Overall:

May and June are unnecessary and hinder the other characters relationships and I don’t think Webby should be genetically related to Scrooge because then it feels less like “Found Family”. I think nobody gets enough screen time except Webby and her clones, but I don’t think they should have been the focus of the episode.

I’m sorry this post was so long, remember that I don’t hate watching this episode. I just think that the finale of my favorite cartoon should have been handled better.

[writerwhowritesao3]

What Is And What Should Never Be Chapter 5: June, 1985

Excerpt:

A crack of lightning lit up the sky. The accompanying thunder rumbled immediately after.

"Billy. Can you just get in the car, please?" 

Billy pressed his lips together, like he was about to keep arguing. But then, thank God, he opened the passenger door and got in. 

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Billy shivered in his seat; he was completely soaked, from his head to his shoes. Jim wished he had a towel or a blanket or something to give him, but he didn't. Billy reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled and flat pack of cigarettes. It was, predictably, also wet. Billy opened it anyway. When he saw that the cigarettes inside were ruined, he sighed and let his head fall back on the headrest. 

Jim pulled out his own pack of smokes from the center console and held it out to Billy. He mumbled a thanks and accepted one. Jim handed him a matchbook and took a cigarette for himself. 

In the grand scheme of things, was giving a teenager a cig really that bad?

"You know how stupid it is to be out here like this, right?" Jim asked. 

Billy kept his eyes on the windshield, watching the rain hit the glass. 

"Coulda gotten hit by a car," Jim continued. "Coulda slipped and broken your ankle or something."

Billy still gave no response. He kept puffing away at his smoke.

"What if something from the Upside Down came through and attacked you? Did you even think about that? What was the plan if that happened?"

"Run fast," Billy finally said with a shrug. 

Jim sighed and started the car. 

"So," he said. "Just decided to take a walk, huh?"

"Mmhm."

Jim knew in his gut that that was a load of horseshit. He wanted to ask Billy directly if something had happened at home. Something that made him run out, even in the middle of a storm. He didn't have any bruises, at least. Not visible ones anyway. But that didn't mean anything. 

"Haven't seen you in a while," Jim said casually. "Been keeping busy?"

"Yeah. I've been taking a lot of shifts at the pool," Billy said. "Need to save up for college and stuff."

"That's great! How are things at the pool? You like it?"

"It's alright. I mean, it's a job, you know?"

"Sure, I get that," Jim nodded. 

"My coworkers are total dicks. Except for this one girl. She's pretty cool."

"Oh yeah?" Jim asked. He decided to tease him a little. "You gonna ask her out?"

Billy snorted. 

"Aren't you not supposed to shit where you eat?" he said.

Jim laughed. 

"Smart," he said. "That little life lesson usually takes a few years to learn."

Billy didn't respond. He took a final drag of his cig, stubbed it on the inside of the top flap of his ruined pack, and slipped the butt inside. Jim remembered that he didn't just toss the butt like most people did.

"How's everything otherwise?" Jim said, desperate to keep a conversation going. 

"It's fine."

"You get to hang out with your friends more now that school's out?"

"Not really," Billy said. "I'm scheduled during the day and weekends a lot. And Nancy and Jonathan are at the Post every day. And Steve's been scheduled for a bunch of evening shifts. So. We've only been able to hang out a couple times, like, as a group. Sometimes Steve and I have the same day off though. But, like, sometimes there's family shit we have to do."

Jim nodded. He didn't want to tell Billy that finding the time to see your friends only got harder as an adult. The kid seemed glum enough already.

"How is your family?" Jim asked.

"Fine."

"Max?"

"Annoying. But fine. Isn't she, like, always at your house?"

"Yeah, but I'm usually at the station when she's over," Jim said. "Your stepmom? She's doing okay?"

"Mmhm."

"And your dad?"

"He's fine."

"I think I overheard Max mention to El that his hours were cut?" Jim asked with a carefully casual tone.

"Oh...yeah," Billy said. "It was a union thing. It's done now, though, so he's working regular hours again."

Security guards had unions. Labor unions had disputes all the time. It was certainly plausible that Neil Hargrove's hours had been cut because of a union thing. Logically, Jim had no reason to not believe Billy. 

"Gotta stick with the union, right?"

"My dad isn't a scab," Billy said.

Billy was defending his father's honor. It was entirely possible that Neil Hargrove was the type of parent who taught his son about labor unions and fair wages, and who imparted values like 'don't be a dirty scab'. It was possible that Neil Hargrove wasn't the type of parent who beat his son—or if he was, it was possible that he didn't cross the line between legal corporal punishment and abuse.

But it was also possible that Neil Hargrove was abusive. It was possible that Jim's gut feeling about him was spot-on. 

[beevean]

Nuke Sage. She brings nothing to the table lol

So far, she really hasn't.

I know that many people love her. Some love her arc, how she develops emotions and the need for a familial bond. Others love how efficient she allegedly is, how utterly loyal to Eggman she is even after she grows a heart. I know this, but there is nothing about her that appeals to me. She's bland, quirkless (she supposedly told Eggman one joke, offscreen), repetitive in her dialogue, the discount copy of Rei Ayanami and more blatant about it than the Death Egg, and her sacrifice for the sake of her "father" was literally nullified twice over.

Oh, you enjoy her because she develops emotions? Gamma is literally right there. And his sacrifice stuck. And I got to play as him and experience his change of heart. Frontiers' story is just a half-baked SA1, and that game already needed more time in the oven. no you cannot @ me.

And we talked multiple times how she's actually not as impressive as the game makes her out to be, and by all means, Eggman should have lost his patience the moment she kept insisting that he needed to team up with Sonic, like he did when Infinite disappointed him one too many times. mfw in the Japanese script, Eggman ends up saving himself from Cyberspace because Sage is that incompetent lmao

And the writing itself flipsflops between "Eggman is only proud of her because she's so impressive that it shows how great he is" (mostly in the missable memos) and "Eggman genuinely cares about his daughter and cries when she has to die and call her his daughter and adorable and holds her hand in the DLC and genuinely ponders whether she likes being called 'she'." It's... forgive me for the joke... wildly inconsistent :P

^ the thing is not that he assigned a gender to a creation of his, because he calls most of his robots "he", it's nothing new. The thing is that he actually stops in his tracks and questions if Sage would prefer "she" over "it". It's that he cares about her opinion, when by all means he shouldn't give a single shit about an AI's preference.

Then you add how fans, already juiced up over years of discourse on Mr. Tinker, took this undecisive writing and decided that this is proof that Eggman was Not So Bad After All, that he has a good heart deep down, that this sudden love for his "daughter" is what finally makes him human and tridimensional! They Fixed The Bad Character! Now yes I shouldn't base my opinions on the fandom, but as I said, if Flynn's intentions were to paint Eggman as a self-centered creator, he did a very poor job, because there is a reason the voice director ordered Pollock to sound like he was in tears when he said lines like "I understand. Go, fulfill your function".

And the kicker? Sage hasn't made a meaningful appearance yet. She cameo'd in MOSTH, looking sad and red/black instead of blue/white, and she's nowhere to be seen in Eggman's dreams in Dream Team, which lowkey implies that he actually doesn't love her as much as it seemed like in Frontiers.

but in the Takeover that everyone will take as gospel, Eggman says that she is the reason he keeps existing. Who wrote that. How can you put those words in that order in Eggman's mouth. And fans not only gush about how cute this is, but roll their eyes that Sonic is bored at this wildly OOC display of affection.

Sure, as a character she barely existed for one year, there's plenty of time for her to come back and finalize Eggman's direction. But yeah... so far she hasn't done anything to ingratiate me.

[aspoonofsugar]

Have you seen Glass Onion? What did you think of it? And did you see the original?

Hi!

Yes, I have watched it and I liked it a lot! I think it is a great sequel to Knives Out in how it manages to be coherent with it, but also to complete it beautifully from a thematic POV.

A DOUGHNUT AND AN ONION

A doughnut hole in the doughnut's hole. But we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the doughnut hole has a hole in its center - it is not a doughnut hole at all but a smaller doughnut with its own hole, and our doughnut is not whole at all!

I like the glass onion, as a metaphor. An object that seems densely layered, but in reality, the centre is in plain sight.

Knives Out is a murder hidden behind an accident hidden behind a suicide... It is a doughnut with another doughnut at its center and another smaller one at its core.

Glass Onion is well... a glass onion. It is an onion made of glass. There seems to be so many layers, but they are fake. The truth is obvious since the beginning if one were to look closely.

So, are we in front of 2 opposite cases? Not exactly, as the doughnut and the onion are actually the same. Specifically, these 2 assholes are the same:

Once again, they may seem opposites. Ransom is born rich and is brilliant. Miles is born a normal person and is an idiot. However, they both choose to do nothing, but to take from others.

Ransom could do tons of things. He surely doesn't lack any talent nor intelligence. And yet, he prefers murdering his grandfather with an overly complicated plot rather than like... work one day... Maybe try a job, Ransom, I swear it would have been... you know... less complicated.

Miles is an idiot with the talent to copy others and the luck to meet Andy. All he has to do is to simply keep following her, but he wants more and he kills his old friend and partner, which leads to his downfall.

Both choose to kill a person who cares for them just to keep their money and they think they can get away with it for the simple reason they are rich. Most importantly, though, they both explore the same idea from opposite perspectives.

Harlan Thrombey: There's so much of me in that kid. Confident. Stupid. I don't know… protected. Playing life like a game without consequences. Until you can't tell the difference between a stage prop… and a real knife.

If Harlan had just called the ambulance, like any normal person would have done, he would have survived. He is a genius, but ultimately he dies because he too has lost touch with reality and simplicity, like the rest of his family. The same goes for Ransom, who comes up with an overly complicated plan just to be defeated by 1 single lie and a fake knife.

Helen: What about Miles? What if he just did it?

If Blanc had just listened to Helen's input since the beginning, he would have solved the case much quicker. And yet, he buys into Miles's brilliant persona only to realize by the end he is dangerous not because brilliant, but because dumb.

So, both movies explore the importance of seeing through the layers (like any whodunit does), but also reminds us sometimes the truth is fairly simple. No matter how many doughnuts are there, in the end the centre is always empty. Just like all the layers of the glass onions hide nothing.

Knives Out shows that intellectualism and even genius become empty and dry if they lose touch with reality because lost in privilege.

Glass Onion conveys that sometimes so called geniuses are just idiots that are where they are out of luck and malice.

Making things more complicated than what they are isn't helpful and there is much more value in a normal life rooted in love and simplicity.

This is why Blanc is ultimately not the hero of either movie. He solves the case, but has no arc and doesn't convey the theme. Marta and Helen do.

One of the reasons why whodunit are so liked as a genre is that they show the detective bringing back order in a world of chaos. There is a mystery, but the detective solves it and punishes the criminal. Justice is restored. And yet, Blanc never does it.

He is a helper, not a saviour. He shows the truth to the protagonist, but is unable to punish Ransom and Miles. If Blanc were alone, both murderers would have gotten away with their crimes. They are defeated because of Marta and Helen. The heroes are normal people, not the genius.

PLAYING WITH STRUCTURE

All these ideas are conveyed through the structure of the 2 movies. Think about it... both movies have overcomplicated structures.

Knives Out starts by tricking the viewers into thinking Marta accidentally kills Harlan and she has to hide it in order to protect her mother. This is already a rather strong premise, but then it turns out she is 100% innocent because there was another layer hidden behind.

Glass Onion starts by tricking the viewers into thinking Helen is Andy and someone is trying to kill Miles, but mid-way we are revealed the truth: Any is the victim and Miles the murderer.

So, both movies trick us, but the one who comes up with the trickery is the murderer in Knives Out and the detective in Glass Onion. This difference mirrors the nature of each case:

Knives Out is a murder planned by a mad man-child, so its complexity is born by the nature of the Thrombey family

Glass Onion is a murder executed by a chaotic idiot, so its complexity has to come somewhere else - Blanc in this case

What stays the same is Marta and Helen being against this much complexity. Marta wants to immediately call the hospital, but Harlan insists she should not and kicks off the plot. Helen suggests Miles killed Andy, but Blanc refuses this idea. Both times, the 2 women are right. This is because their strength lies in simplicity.

Marta Cabrera: I'm not trying to beat you. I'm creating a beautiful pattern.

Helen Brand: Our suspects, motive, opportunity... hey! This kinda looks like that Clue notepad.

DON'T PLAY THE GAME

Benoit Blanc: I want you to know that you didn't win the game by playing it Harlan's way, you won it by playing it your way. Because you have a good heart.

Miles Bron: They're gonna tell you to stop. Even your partner will say you need to stop. Because as it turns out, nobody wants you to break the system itself. But that is what true disruption is.

Marta and Ransom are the only 2 people who can beat Harlan at Go. However, Ransom wins by playing the same way Harlan does, while Marta wins by playing it her way. She does not look for strategy, but for beauty.

Helen and Miles explore what disruption is. Miles thinks it is about doing dumb things nobody tries because... they are dumb. The hydrogen energy fuel is the embodyment of this. Helen is instead a disruptor because she takes down a societal system which was oppressive and wrong, even if she sacrifices the Mona Lisa to succeed.

Both times, the fight between the protagonist and the murderer becomes a fight to determine what the legacy of the victim will be.

Who will inherit Harlan's fortune? Marta or Ransom? This question is important on multiple level. Harlan's will was for Marta to have it, so that his family could heal and grow. So, Marta and Ransom are still fighting to save and kill Harlan, in a sense.

Who will destroy Andy's Glass Onion? Miles with his idiocy and his disastrous "energy source"? Or Andy in an attempt to punish her sister's murderer and to restore her legacy? Once again, Andy is already dead, but who wins between Miles and Helen is important for her.

In a sense, both Harlan and Andy are geniuses who leaves a huge impact on the world. Harlan is a famous writer who has influenced the mystery genre worldwide, while Andy is a business woman who has created an Empire. They both are betrayed by a close one and killed because of their intelligence. Harlan's intelligence makes him realize Marta would be in danger if she kills him by accident. Andy knows she is way smarter than Miles and is not scared of him. After their death, there is now a question. What about the future?

The 2 movies gives us this answer. Marta is the future of the Thrombey's family and Helen is the future of Glass Onion. Both times, Harlan and Andy's legacy does not lie in people from their world (Ransom and Miles), but in a nurse and a teacher, who are down-to-earth and can succeed where they failed. As if the point is that society needs much more people like these, rather than over the top geniuses/startuppers/businessmen.

These are some thoughts on the 2 movies! Thank you for the ask!

[yvesdot]

yves, if only theoretically wanted to break into publishing or lit mags, do you have recommendations or advice?

My primary advice is to get to know as many writers as you can, as well as you can, quickly. I’ve recommended joining Discord servers for this in the past and will do so again; the most active ones I’m in are Max's @goose-books server (I think you have to ask for an invite?), WTW, and writeblr garden. Participate in book events virtually and in person when you can. When you like someone's work, tell them! And mention that you're an author, too.

Disclaimer: I haven't made it into any paid magazines, largely because I find submitting and waiting for months at a time before working on edits exhausting, particularly in comparison to instant money on Patreon—so have that grain of salt at the ready! All I've done is publish the one book, twice, and release a substantial amount of short fiction on my own. People read it and liked it, and now I have lovely anons like you who seem to respect me enough to ask for industry advice. Thank you! Hope you like long posts.

The reason I say the above is that, in my experience, the entirety of publishing is just one big who-do-you-know. Utterly non-exhaustive list of ways "knowing people" has helped me in my writing career below.

I left a middling review on a trans author's book, and in the correspondence that followed we became friends. Rysz Merey went on to start tRaum Books, and because we were friends, we put out the Something's Not Right anniversary edition together.

When I was at my university, I was loudly opinionated about books and writing and art in all of my classes, and a professor's words about me in an email to an author they knew became the blurb for that same edition of Something's Not Right.

I read Tragic Accident (a flash piece originally rejected by an online magazine for, in my opinion, cisgender reasons) last night at Flash Fiction Forum, the heads of which I know personally because, after a high school internship, I was directed to a friend of theirs to volunteer at her writing camp. I sold a lot of copies of the original SNR to teens at that camp, and I've sold dozens of copies since by linking to the book in the Zoom chat and bringing physical copies to in-person readings.

Tragic Accident may have ultimately been rejected from the venue I sent it to, but I only had that venue on my list because my beloved friend Fer @asablehart posted in WTW a spreadsheet of places to submit. I still use that spreadsheet, filled with dozens of extra places I researched on my own, and pass it on to anyone who asks. Fer also read The Traveler Wife and gave extremely insightful feedback on it; we've since done tons of great critique4critiques together and they're still my go-to if I need wise words on a piece of writing.

When I held my event at Bookshop Santa Cruz, I marketed my ass off. I'd learned from my previous event at the Diversity Center in town and focused heavily on reaching out to individual people: posting in Discord servers, DMing everyone I knew, and telling everybody I met in December that by the way I would be reading at Bookshop Santa Cruz in January. I worked my job as an author and my book and my event into every conversation I had with a stranger that month. Everyone responded positively! People want to know what you're working on.

But at the end of the day, under a third of attendees were people I hadn't previously considered friends in some way. The majority of the people who came were family, friends, coworkers, friends-of-friends dragged along by someone I knew well, etc. One coworker couldn't come but invited their housemates, who bought books and left saying they would read Band Girls at home. One of the friends who came met me when we would ride the same bus every week to class, and I initially spoke to him because I fully thought he was a transgender woman (he turned out to just be an extremely fashionable individual). That guy helped code my website. Of the three people who interviewed me locally for promotion, two are people I'm friends with and one I cold-emailed due to his past work.

One of the major servers I used to invite people to both of my events is one I was only added to because I met a goth girl who invited me to her dorm to watch her inject E into her thigh and when I reported back on this to another transfem friend that friend instantly named her because they were in the server together and multiple people in it knew me from my creative writing efforts so everybody agreed to add me. I literally only had that space to network because I said "nice boots" to a girl whose special interest turned out to be DIY HRT at a protest party about the chancellor getting a raise.

Claire Oshetsky came to my event and I made a point of finally starting to read their book beforehand so I could honestly tell them it was cool when I signed their copy of Something's Not Right (it was cool, and everyone should read Chouette, and also Poor Deer, which I am on page 10 on and can already certify is fantastic). They were incredibly nice to me for no reason—well, because of those interviews I had, which led to them noticing another nonbinary author in the area—and ultimately reviewed SNR very positively on GoodReads. You can see what happened to the numbers afterwards. (I also sold a copy that day; when you sell roughly a copy of a book per week, you can absolutely make these connections directly.)

Tonight was Claire Oshetsky's event, so I showed up having read Chouette in full and asked a question during the Q&A and told them how cool their book was, and they invited me to a little post-event author dinner. (One of the authors introduced herself as "Karen" and described a prolific writing career very opaquely until her friend mentioned the name of her latest novel: Booth.) Everyone was incredibly nice and wanted to buy my book which was unfortunately sold out because of the aforementioned event, and a couple of people gave me email addresses so they could buy it later. I've been trying to meet local authors for over a year, and I met seven by accident because one of them came up to me to say it was nice to see Bookshop Santa Cruz had two nonbinary readers in a row.

Talking to David Sedaris at an event got me a job! He complimented my outfit, I said thank you I wore it for the interview with [x], and he did everything he could to help me network with the [x] people there. I was later told that my "chemistry" with Sedaris, among other things, helped me get the position. I would also find out that David specifically loves the last people in the signing line because they're the most patient; I happened to have waited until last because I wanted to have more time to talk to him.

I have emailed several authors with fanmail, and depending on how popular they are, I have gotten responses! I'm in a correspondence right now which netted me a behind-the-scenes look at an incredible draft, and thank you for reminding me because I need to respond and tell them how good it was.

Patreon is on pause right now, but I believe over half the subscribers are people I'm friends with in one way or another. I've tried nearly everything under the sun to advertise, and so far the only thing that's worked is "telling someone who has the disposable income."

The people who beta-read my latest release, Band Girls (18+), for me (which is the only reason it wasn't an unmitigated disaster) include my butch, who met me in a Locked Tomb server (naturally), a friend from a creative writing class in university who later became my housemate, and a good buddy of my butch's whom they rescued from the aforementioned TLT server. I literally didn't even notice that guy when we were in the server together and it turns out he's also a writer with a Giant Lesbian Women project who also wound up really liking Long Line (18+). Glories are all around you.

(Also, apparently my butch had that "how to write a blurb" post bookmarked and immediately recognized me, which is crazy. Imagine meeting some random author in a fandom server and they ask to see your [redacted] in DMs.)

Hell, my buddy Max Franciscovich read my book five years ago in the back of a car and had a transcendental nonbinary lesbian experience, and because he happened to be mutuals with a high school friend of mine, that friend sent me screenshots of him panicking about how he couldn't talk to me because I was too cool. I DMed him, and we are like each other's female husbands now. Undoubtedly we have each gained a substantive reader base from hyping each other's work at anyone in earshot. Maxserver, which I shouted out above, only has me in it because I know the darn guy. It's a lot more populous than yvescord in part because he is that much more active than I am, and can engage with other people's work more. I'm mooching off the labor of my best friend who pseudo-reached-out to me because I put a pronoun pin on a character's bag in the book I self-published in 2018.

Speaking of which: I self-published the original edition of Something's Not Right as a thank-you birthday gift to the Beta Reader. I seem to remember him reading my writing for the first time and saying something along the lines of "You do realize this is really good, right?" (I did not realize.) That was the first person to appreciate any of my original fiction, and it led to my entire career. We met on a class trip because he was the only person who would listen to me talk about Star Wars.

I try to never ingenuinely be nice to people. This is not particularly difficult, because I like people and give the benefit of the doubt to a pretty extreme fault. I will occasionally be nice out of politeness, but everyone I mentioned here is someone I genuinely like whose work is fantastic. It wasn't hard to honestly say I liked them and their writing.

I also recognize that much of this is kind of just me blathering about Ws with no actionable advice... but it might give you ideas for where to go or who to talk to about your writing. I also want you to feel just how much of writing is about "networking" in a way that is not cold and manipulative and moneyhungry but actually just involves being genuine friends with other people. I think the sheer quantity of evidence here is helpful to understand just how much you can do for yourself by talking to the people you like.

I also think it's good practice to own the fact that very little of my microcelebrity success has anything to do with how good my work is. I mean, sure, I think it's good, but this should make it clear that my greatest strength has been my perseverance and my friendliness.

(Also, obviously, I have the immense privilege to have gone to college, to live in California, to get to all these places and meet these people and work with them. I had the money in the bank to publish and promote a book. This is not a small factor. I'm hoping to do a full rundown of costs and efforts to promote Something's Not Right's anniversary edition sometime this year.)

I also don't think I'm particularly good at socializing—I have a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, a difficulty with meeting people's eyes, and a mild stutter when I talk too quickly (which is often). A lot of people find me annoying or insincere because I act like a sentient powder puff, and when I'm not jumping up and down and meowing at people instead of saying "on your right," I'm complaining about the most widely-beloved pieces of pop culture and making two-hour rant videos about video games I think insufficiently scrutinize the concept of the nuclear family. I say all this to head off any concerns that perhaps I am just secretly very suave and social; I love talking to people, but I don't believe this is the case.

If I can summarize: nearly every time I've had any success with my writing, it's been because I made an effort to be kind to people I respected and share my passion for books and writing. I hit upon enough privileges and lucky circumstances to get the right circle of people to make all of the above happen. I think you can do it, too! I wish you the best. Thanks for asking ^__^

[dangara2610]

(4/10) Child Ulla (Part 1)

Hello there, also , long time ago I shared with a friend my ideas about Ulla and other ones I tried for an unfinished fic, the ones following next:

1.- Ulla comes from the "Faber" family, germanic last name for people doing "ingenious" things, so, it runs on the family try new things , get creative and get people to notice it.

2.- Of course, that would, soon or later, get members of the family interested on alchemy and engineering, there would be fans of Da Vinci or Demanitus around , Rapunzel happens on final Renaissance times, so, maybe.

3.- The ones who were fans of Demanitus, would search scrolls about his work, but get discouraged because some "keepers" would hide the originals and lend copies with less information, so they would have to stick to the basics and try new things on their own

4.- Specifically, for Ulla, her parents and grandparents would hold a tradition about naming their next generation in alfabethical order, that's why she and her twin have names with U, Ulla and Ulf, and next would be V, she picked Varian for her next son or daughter.

(Not so related, but in my incomplete fic, I had the idea about Ulf wanting to name all his sons and daughters with V, but his wife didn't agreed, yet she liked the idea, so, girls would be named as the ABC, Amber, Bernice and Clotilde , chosen by her, and boys would be named with V by him, Volans and Vernus , also Latin words used for scientific descriptions of plants species.)

( I couldn't recall the names on the other people's fic so I made up that, but later I found this and I liked it a lot

So yeah, xD the chain stopped, maybe just Varian's grandparents liked naming their twins with matching names with U)

5.- Ulla on her teenager (10 or 11) years, found out her Great-grandparents were fans of Demanitus, and one of them liked archeology, and they found out a route with Dema code language, so, they made a map for two of them, on the air kindgom, Koto.

6.-She shared it with Ulf, both were eager to team up for this new research, they asked their parents for more info, but got it denied, they are too young for this, what if they start by something safer like visiting ancient Greece? (or their equivalent on this universe) What about take a look at their archeological vestiges? OMG yes !!

7.- They got their vacation, adquired new skills, meet cool teachers, and found more Demanitus scrolls, their parents would take temporal jobs to pay the expenses of the travel, and of course, being ingenious with everything, they would gain nice profit.

8.- Once they finished they vacation at Greece (?), they would visit grandpas on the way home, Pittsford, say hi and have quality time, and once the twins asked granddad and grandma about the temple of Demanitus at the air kindgom, they revealed the very well done map and translations done by the grand-grandpas , advances secured on the chest on his room.

9.- Mom and dad joined, yes, they were ready to know, so next, their parents confessed gladly that, they also searched about the water temple, next they had their kids, now is their turn to research too, only if they want, of course, grandpas would stay on Pittsford, they are too old for this and they had their joy before.

10.- They traveled to search what would be the "metal" kingdom , they all got amused by the market zone, so much advances, military growing, lots of propaganda about female warriors reclutes, this kingdom was called Ingvarr , then, they were searching for a place to stay, a nice hotel, but they were not expecting high prices, their works were average pricing so they couldn't afford this

11.- Next thing, pick another hotel, all expensive, the day is ending, so, better look for any other even if they are cheap, so, they left the market zone where they were welcomed at the border , and entered to the center of kingdom, the wall didn't let see the big difference, suddenly they felt like being watched from head to toe, everyone evading but yet vigilant about them.

Hope I can continue next time

See you around 💐⭐🏵️⭐🌷🏵️⭐🏵️⭐🎉 Thanks for reading

Next >

[amtskind]

die herrlichkeit des lebens (2024)

with kafka's 100th death day approaching this year, 2024 is full of new media about our favourite author.

@sepulkralkreatur and i watched yet another take on kafka's life:

"die herrlichkeit des lebens" (the glory of life) is a movie about kafka's last year, beginning at the baltic-sea and ending by the death-bed. it centers around kafka's romantic relationship to dora dymant and his outbreak from family and prague as a whole - with him moving to berlin. unfortunately, his tuberculosis progresses and he has to move to a sanatorium, where he looses the ability to speak, eat and drink - until he finally dies, with dora being next to him in his last moments.

i got to say, i feared that this movie might be full of kitsch and focus on romance rather than franz kafka - and my initial thought wasn't far from reality in the end - unfortunately.

while the kafka series had this darker and yet funnily-absurd touch to it (which was very fitting for him - kafkaesque!) and strictly followed every aspect of his life, the kafka-feeling in the movie was reduced to fragments of his writing, other people from his life and sporadically added biographical elements - like his illness.

all of this sounds so negative - but let's view the movie from a different perspective: maybe i shouldn't compare the series with the movie in the first place; the series included more facets of biography and had a larger variety of characters and themes - because it was intended to be a biopic.

the movie on the other hand, was based on a novel of the same name by michael kumpfmüller - which dealt with kafka's last year with dora. although having many biographical references, the novel still remains a form of fiction - which makes the movie more distant to the state of a biopic. we shouldn't view the movie as a biography, but rather as a romanticized adaptation of kafka's last year.

the movie features max brod, ottla and elli (kafka's sisters), as well as elli's husband karl hermann. although the characters make phone-calls with kafka's father - he isn't seen anywhere. he remains an oppressing, invisible power towards kafka throughout the whole movie. despite this being a possible, well done metaphor - i would have wished to see more of other characters, with more insight into their feelings in these hard times. but yet again - the movie wasn't made for this intent.

and it is worth considering, that not much is known about his time with dora, since her belongings, including possible letters and memories to franz, were confiscated by the gestapo in 1933. similiar to the legend about kafka's doll (which funnily enough was also mentioned in the movie, that was wholesome), fiction is there to close those holes in his life - and we have to be aware of the fictional nature to the movie.

although i am not the biggest fan of romance-movies and this one didn't necessarily scream "kafka" in your face - i enjoyed it. the actors did a great job and brought some sort of lightness with them. the sets and scenes were full of details and beautifully arranged, making it very lifelike. the following may sound a bit grotesque, but even the medical treatmant and dying-scene was done very realistically, making his suffering even more gruesome. and of course - my favourite thing: the metaphors. the hospital-beds at the beach instead of loungers made dreaming of freedom during a serious illness very impactful.

thank you henriette confurius (dora) and sabin tambrea (franz) for the movie and paying tribute to wonderful people 100 years ago!

more posts:

comparison of the actors and their roles

[ciara-knightly]

knight squad: if we had a 4 season run

i’ve been thinking a lot of thoughts about how amazing knight squad would have been with a proper four season run. i don’t think i would ever have the energy to write a full fanfic, but it’s been five years since the show’s conclusion, so i wanted to share some of my ideas. here’s a 2k outline on how i think the plot could have gone:

season 1

season 1 is already pretty god-tier in my opinion, so i wouldn’t change much! i think they covered a lot in terms of character and relationship development, and did a great job building an interesting plot that tied back in the finale.

one of the things i would change though is the whole presentation of ciara/princess, and how it’s done through her hair. i’ve seen some discussion about it floating around before, so some of y’all probably know where i’m getting at with this. i don’t know if it was intentional, but the implications of her straightened/relaxed hair being part of what makes her elegant is really questionable  to me and i do find it racist. i do like her loose curls for ciara because being ciara is when she gets to let loose and be who she really is. but for the princess, i think they really could have done another style like braids, or have her hair tied up in a bun to represent how she is holding herself back, or have her hair wrapped. i also think they could have incorporated other ways to show the difference between the princess and ciara that don’t rely on hair – facial markings/face paint for the royal family, or the princess covers her face with a face veil.

also just. give her a name!!! for the fanfic writers if not for anyone else. i know it’s a kid’s show and they probably didn’t want to make it too confusing or something, but also kids are not that dumb.

in terms of character, in the show, arc adapts to being part of a team really well. personally, i would have drawn that out, and had a plot where arc needs to get used to being on a team after being a lone wolf for so long and learning how to trust the others to have his back. i think the writers almost went in that direction, because in the pilot when the phoenix squad is assigned to fight the stone knight, arc tells them to step back and says he has it, and ciara says “but we’re supposed to be a team!” but he ignores her. and it works out okay that time, but i expected it to come back later and it was just dropped. so this is something i would have developed over the course of the season, and then everyone coming together to save him from ryker in the season finale being the culmination of him realizing he has people to watch his back now and he isn’t alone.

season 2

okay so you know how i kept most of season 1? yeah we’re doing the opposite for season 2. we’re throwing pretty much all of it out. yEET. prudy and warwick are not going to find out right at the beginning of the season, we’re not getting the ciara and sage relationship development quite yet, no one is getting knighted, and there’s no weird superhero episode with trolls that are   antisemitic caricatures.

however, there will be more plots centered around prudy and warwick. we get to see more of prudy’s giant background, and warwick struggling to live up to his family name and what being a magical wizard means. so there are episodes like the election episode and the one with warwick’s dad.

at the same time, we get more of the relationships in the phoenix squad, and arc and ciara will also start to realize how hard it is keeping their secrets from their best friends. they have some really close calls when it comes to balancing their secrets with their friendships.

arc and ciara also start having some romantic development in the latter half of the season, but it happens subtly. like people thinking they’re a couple leading to awkward denial, seeing the other dressed up for an event and having that “whoa” moment, being unusually jealous or protective, etc.

okay i really want an episode where there’s just a shit ton of miscommunication and the princess accidentally agrees to a date with warwick and he’s over the moon but ciara is panicking because she can’t break his heart while arc’s pretending he isn’t jealous

A TRUTH SPELL EPISODE. sort of combining both of the two big threads this season. arc gets hit by a truth spell by accident and they have to wait for it to wear off and it leads to all sort of chaos as arc and ciara try to make sure their secrets don’t get out so ciara is just covering his mouth and trying to make excuses. and then, at the end of the episode, he’s alone with prudy and warwick who have caught on that arc does have a secret and they’re grilling him, and he blurts out that he has feelings for ciara, which even he didn’t realize until he said it. the spell finally wears off and prudy and warwick are shocked enough to let him go, and he runs off only to bump into ciara (who had been called away for a princess-related thing), and she’s apologizing to him for having to leave him alone and asks if he revealed anything important to anyone, and he’s just like “....no.”

midway through the season, we also begin building up to the next overarching plot. it might be interesting to focus a bit on astorian court politics, which leads to the reveal of an internal conspiracy to take down dragonbloods and take over the throne. (note: the leader of this conspiracy was the one behind ciara’s mother being taken away.) sort of leads to the realization of how messed up it is that only dragonbloods have power in astoria. the season finale has them facing off against this antagonist, and they win, but the antagonist runs away.

warwick and prudy find out about arc and ciara’s secrets at the end of the season!

also sage and buttercup are canon. because this is my plot outline and i say so.

season 3

this season begins with warwick and prudy learning what it means to be secret keepers, even though they’re struggling a bit. arc and ciara and understandably frustrated, but when it matters, warwick and prudy do come through, and they get better about it over time.

warwick and prudy are also trying to figure out their roles on the team, especially as they feel like they’re the weaker links. 

meanwhile, ciara is stepping into her role as the princess and trying to force actual change regarding the dragonblood laws in astoria, having learned from the events of last season.

arc is supporting her, but he’s also starting to feel a bit homesick. we get at least a couple episodes centered around seagate when phoenix squad takes a trip to his hometown which is in the process of rebuilding in the aftermath of ryker. they get caught up in a pirate plot!

they also discover that ryker’s army hasn’t entirely been dissolved, and some of them still hope to bring ryker back. 

arc and ciara starting to have some legit romantic development as they realize their feelings. throw in a fake dating episode because it would be cute. they also kiss at least once during this development period - for quest purposes of course, and it’s “completely platonic” (it isn’t, both feel things). both of them are too scared of ruining their relationship as friends to pursue more though, and they’re worried about how it would affect their team.

prudy and warwick do not think their squad will be affected and are very much rooting for this!!!

ciara also starts becoming friends with sage (although they would never admit it)! bonding as the princess, and respecting her more as a classmate. phoenix squad and kraken squad work together more often.

despite their attempts to prevent it, last season’s antagonist returns and helps bring ryker back. the villains team up, vowing to not just take over astoria, but destroy it. 

the season ends with astoria learning about the danger of ryker coming back and needing more knights, so phoenix squad, kraken squad, and unicorn squad are all knighted. ciara passes her laws against dragonbloods being the only ones allowed to be knights, and their secrets come out to the kingdom.

arc and ciara’s relationship development also reaches the natural conclusion and they officially become a couple after a scare during the final battle where they realize they could have lost each other.

season 4

season four shifts a bit in vibes because all the secrets are out and everyone has officially been knighted, so ideally we would have gotten some fancier new set locations

phoenix squad and kraken squad are officially knighted, but that doesn’t prevent their rivalry. however, this leads to issues, and they quickly realize they’re no longer in training and they genuinely need to have each other’s backs.

arc and ciara are also adjusting to working together while dating. they’re both really protective and keep trying to look out for each other on the battlefield, and it leads to some slip ups at first because they feel like they’re out of sync and maybe they worked better as friends. but they ultimately realize they help make each other better, and fighting together becomes even better because they’ll always have each other’s backs

we bring in the plot with ciara’s mom - eliza comes back with evidence that their mother is still alive and out there. phoenix squad follows up on the lead, and eventually they find her mother and bring her home. however, their mother doesn’t remember anything which is why she never came back even after she escaped her confinement, so they have to find a way to bring her memories back.

but is everything as it seems? ciara is unsure her mother is the same woman she remembers. she catches her mother sneaking out, and she worries that her mother has turned traitor. but it’s revealed that her mother is actually protecting a secret - a dragon egg, for the last dragon in astoria.

pet dragon for the squad!!! it imprints the most on ciara and sage, and they grudgingly co-parent. arc and buttercup are definitely not jealous of their partners spending so much time together (they absolutely are).

slobwick also hates the baby dragon for taking his place as beloved adorable pet. however slobwick is an evil furby and we should not feel bad for him.

fizzwick has begun training as a knight with his own squad! prudy and warwick end up teaching every now and then (as do the others at times, but this is mostly for them), and they are determined to be good role models. however, they have no idea how to keep up with the Kids These Days, and end up learning some things about valuing themselves and their own self-worth.

also, prudence and warwick do get their own romantic plots during this time! whether they stick around or are minor remains the question….

meanwhile, the ryker plot continues to develop, leading to some dramatic, escalating clashes. this time, ciara believes they need to work more with the other five kingdoms. we return to seagate, as well as visit other locations and have other kingdom representatives come to astoria for a summit meeting. there are lots of disagreements, and ends up one kingdom is working against them, their ruler being a puppet who is actually the astorian court official from season 2. at the end of the day, the remaining four realize they must unite to bring peace.

the series conclusion ends with a dramatic final battle working with the other squads and kingdoms as they take down ryker and the other antagonist once and for all, restoring peace. 

close out on phoenix squad, reaffirming their promise to always be there for each other and protect the kingdom as they look forward to the future.

[blushingsnail64]

(PART 2) "Alan"

Human reader on a space team with larger, scarier, and stronger alien teammates

My writing and framing styles are still changing as I'm very much still new at this. Thank you for y'alls support. <3

I hope you like it @hnowu ! :)

[SFW] [FLUFF] [PLATONIC]

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

Description

Alan, unlike you and Ursha, actually works outside of the loading bay/cargo hold. He was a very tall, lengthy lookin guy. He had quite beautiful blue skin with hints of green and grey stripes, kind of shimmery. He had a very long neck with a roundish head that came to a point at his chin, with very large very deep blue eyes. You could only see his pupils if a light was in his face. You could say he kinda looks like the stereotypical "👽" alien although that may be offensive to say. He had a fish like quality to him, in a good way of course. He was about 7'0 and had fine tapered limbs. His hands were very similar to a humans, but long and thin.

End of description

He worked in the "brain" of the ship as the crew liked to call it. The command center, the helm, etc. he worked towards the back away from the navigational work area, handling hardware or software problems while also looking over radars, level gauges, and some more. Others have this job as well, mainly when he goes to the rest of the ship to check the wellness of the machinery.

You saw him quite a lot when the crane in your department stopped working, which kept you from doing a large portion of your job. It took him about a week to fix, and in that time you two would discuss things like your families, home planet, country and town. He told you that a holiday from his country was going to happen soon, in the next two weeks he believed. Apparently it was centered around a good harvest season for mushrooms. You may have related it to thanksgiving, which he would love to hear about.

He said it all started from a historical event where there was some sick noblewoman, a woman who had done amazing things in their society, but the sickness was said to be incurable. That is unless they found a certain magic mushroom for her to eat. Many people in the city foraged for days, bringing in hundreds of mushrooms to be inspected. Just before she was about to pass, the mushroom was found. She regained her strength and carried on being a pillar of society for many more years. Since then, the people had hosted a mushroom festival every year to remember that great effort, and to celebrate our friends and family with the time we so luckily have with them.

At least, thats what he remembered about it. He explained that he couldn't possibly manage to get back to his family since you all were so far away on a big shipment, but he hoped to video call them. You also discovered he had been the medic previously, before the company hired a new one so they could promote him to the control center where that role was desperately needed.

He was very gentlemanly, and would off his hand when you were getting up and down things. Since he was very much larger than you, you sometimes felt like a kid. But he never teased you about it, unlike some others. The crew from the brain could be a bit snobby. Even towards scary people like Ursha. You were an easy target sadly. There have been times where he's talked to about it, having overheard his crew mates saying not so nice things. He apologized on their behalf stating they really weren't mean and were just a bit insensitive. You assured him it was fine.

You also talked about basic things like your favorite music genre. He said his was jazz and blues, along with a few genres you didn't quite recognize. If you believe he's old fashioned, he'd be more than willing to show you his favorite songs and hopefully change your mind.

All of this came to an end, sadly. The crane was fixed and he'd hardly have time to talk while he was doing his regular checkups on the machines.

He did leave you with one final question though,

"Would you perhaps like to join me when I call my family this weekend? I'm sure they would love to see you and hopefully you'll enjoy the festivities, even through the screen."

[3nyasu3]

Guys i just realized that Team Rocket's latest arguably astrocious Journey outfits might be supposed to visualize their character development.

It's just a little thing, but I think it plays into a bigger theme. Let me explain.

Okay the outfit thing - think about it. They usually are so so vain when it comes to their outfits. Especially when they're on stage or on air. And it works obviously, their outfits are famous in the pokémon fandom for a reason. (Also for the crossdressing, but still.)

They also usually talk a lot about how pretty their outfits are or we see them adjusting their outfits or they shove themselves in the center of the stage/ of the camera bc look how beautiful we are.

And for the entirety of these league finals we have not seen them do any of that.

And let me remind you, they are on camera. Fans all over the world can see them. But for the first time in the run of the anime they don't seem to care. They seem as if they chose these outfits just because they liked them, because they seemed fun. They are relaxed, just doing their usual banter in front of the camera, they aren't performing.

So, where does this development come from?

I think mainly from their radio show. Ignoring the fact that they did that as a throw-back to the actual Team Rocket radio show back in the days then - isn't it actually surprising that they chose this kind of career, and are content with it?

Think about Jessie, always dreaming about becoming famous due to her looks, being on stage, on camera, an actress, a model. And also the other two. Their dreams usually include: Lots of money. Their names being famous. Being those glamorous, untouchable stars.

And the radioshow actually doesn't give them any of that. They're famous, but people only know their aliases. They are beloved, but "only" for being stupid, funny and themselves.

And they are happy with it. And that's where I think their change happened. Now they are more comfortable with themselves. And when they finally had their face reveal it suddenly didn't matter to them to show their fans how beautiful and well-dressed they are. That's not what their fans adore about them, anyway.

So long talk short, a little Team Rocket change happened. They suddenly seem less vain. Wow. So what?

It's just... those changes are piling up, aren't they?

Last series they settled down for the first time, were shown to be a real family. This series we have this theme of them doing really little work for Team Rocket, being busy with part-time jobs, doing good-guy stuff, and a certain radio show. And with this radio show - we actually see them be really successful for once? Achieving a dream? And while the episode with them nearly quitting Team Rocket arguably turned out not that great I think it was mostly supposed to show that they A) are not content with their Team Rocket Life Style anymore and B) love each other a lot and want to stay together. And about that league finale, their outfits aren't the only thing that's new.

Them cheering for the twerps is nothing new at all. They've done it again and again. But, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time they do it loudly, throughout the whole battle, without any shame. For Iris and especially for Ash. Not pretending not to care even once! That's new. That's precious. And I want more changes like these. I'm eating them up.

Team Rocket's been pretty much unchanging for so many seasons, and for the first time I have the feeling that the makers are picking up the pace and going somewhere with them, and yes. Give me more of this super slow Team Rocket (redemption?) retirement arc please, i love it.

Please add your thoughts. Am I over-interpreting? Probably, haha