#monk in nyc

[chthonicthemeter]

Sorry to the hostel neighbors I forgot we don't have ceilings and I now realize that muttering aloud to myself and reading children of dune in my grandmother's accent was somewhat freak behavior.

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Thelonious Monk playing ping-pong, 1959.

"I used to play him in ping-pong. He was like a cat around the table. I never won a game, but it was a joy to play him." —Herb Snitzer

Photo: Herb Snitzer via Table Tennis Daily

[djkerr]

The Gilded Age lovelies Cynthia Nixon, Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski and Debra Monk at the after-party for the Season 3 Premiere.

Christine and Cynthia on stage during the Q&A session with The Gilded Age cast.

(June 12, 2025)

📷 @cynthianixon IG

[edhoppers]

DON SCHLITTEN (B. 1932) Monk and Coltrane, September 8, 1957

[jknerd]

Oliver Twist in NYC AU: Edward/Monks

Full Name: Edward “Monks” Leeford

Age: 27

Gender: Male

Other names: Monks, Eddie, Young Leeford

Occupations: Business tycoon, crime lord

Residence: Leeford Mansion (formerly)

Family: Mr. Leeford (father; estranged), Jill Leeford (mother), Agnes Fleming (stepmother; deceased), Oliver (half-brother; estranged) Relationships: Bill Sykes (business partner), Roscoe & DeSoto (acquaintances), Dodger (enemy)

Likes: Wealth, power, earning money by child-trafficking/child labor, manipulating/bribing politicians

Dislikes: Oliver, Jenny, disobedience, Fagin and the gang, Foxworth family, his plan failing, meddlesome press

Edward “Monks” Leeford was an unofficial heir to Leeford fortune, son of Mr. Leeford and his first wife Jill, and older half-brother of Oliver. Born between Mr. Leeford and his wife Jill, he was a firstborn and expected be an heir. However, when he was a child, his parents divorced. Resentful of the divorce and later her ex-husband in love with a woman named Agnes, Edward’s mother would blame them for their misery, thus causing Edward to believe that way and losing sense of feeling empathy. In young adult age, he learned of Agnes having his father’s child and that Mr. Leeford plans to appoint the baby as his heir instead of him. When Agnes was giving birth in Leeford Mansion alone, he snuck in and saw Agnes dying. Instead of calling for help, he neglected her death and stole her baby Oliver before putting him in the underground orphanage he has been stock investing. Edward made sure there were no evidences that Oliver was related to their father. With forged evidences, he told his father Agnes and the baby died. However, Winston, who was Leeford’s butler back then, learns that the baby was not dead and believed Foxworth Family could help finding the baby boy. For years, Edward had public image as “perfectionist” Business tycoon, but a wealthy investor of crime organizations.

At one point, he noticed one child’s record was missing in underground orphanage, discovering it belonged to Oliver. However, he have predicted that the boy would end up either be homeless or recruited into petty criminals’ gang as he recalled in his father’s will that if Oliver commits a crime, he will be disinherited and all inheritance would go to Edward. However, months went by, he recognized Oliver in a party at Foxworth residence, discovering that Foxworth Family has adopted him. Frustrated, Edward believed if this news reached to his father, the old man would desperately get Oliver back. When Oliver goes to school with Jenny, Edward bribed the kids who dislike Oliver manipulated them to lock Oliver in an abandoned storage beating him up and left him to die as they light the place in fire. But, Oliver was saved by Jenny, Minerva and other friends. From time to time before Oliver escaped the orphanage, he has been drugging his father with prescription that could cause Alzheimer to get him defenseless before lighting a fire in Leeford’s vacation house where Mr. Leeford was. When leaving, he didn’t realized Fagin was around to return the wallet to Mr. Leeford, discovering the house in fire and rescued the old man. 

Days later, at the time Oliver was brought back to Fagin’s barge, Fagin and Dodger came to Sykes’ warehouse. Witnessing Fagin’s attempt to get extended time to get money he owed and Dodger fighting against Roscoe and DeSoto, Edward told Sykes to have their account close as he would pay 1/3 of debt in behalf of Fagin with better idea; kidnap Jenny and Oliver for ransom from Foxworth Mansion. Sykes agreed with the plan, but was disturbed when Edward told him to kill Oliver. At the first day Oliver was lured to the warehouse, he met Edward for the first time in life and learned that they are half-brothers, much to shock of Jenny, Sykes Roscoe and DeSoto. However, Edward said he never sees Oliver as a family, but an eyesore as he angrily beaten the poor boy. Feeling guilt, Roscoe attempted to stop him but was held back by DeSoto. Seeing the slight disloyalty, Edward threatened Roscoe by mentioning his wife and daughter’s name, adding with how they could be “worth a billion”, implying he has no qualm in kidnapping the woman and child before selling them off in human-trafficking, igniting Roscoe and DeSoto’s anger yet couldn’t make any resistance. Soon, Edward left to visit Foxworth Residence where he told the family he will return Jenny and Oliver if they agree to give up their business to him. Later, as he watched the Foxworth’s about to sign the contract, it was interrupted by Fagin and the gang, visibly surprised to see Jenny and Oliver alive. When the gang exposed him in front of the family and the press, Edward made last attempt to kill Oliver but was stopped by his father who has been alive and healed. It was also revealed that he has made attempt in fabricating the will that benefits him and plan to blow up the underground orphanage where the children were still living there. The location, papers and other informations of underground orphanage was submitted to police by Edward’s mother, resulting in Edward betrayed by his mother. Even when arrested, Edward continues to throw hateful curses at Oliver.

In the trial, he still shows no remorse as he explained his reason behind the crimes; he claimed that he was giving the world a favor by putting unwanted orphans into good use before they die as it is his way of social service, adding people should be grateful of this “greater good”. He added why there is a “natural order” in crime such as murder; the reason murderers kill the senior citizens, women, teenagers, children, the “gays” are because these victims were “socially weak and useless”. For that, Edward was sentenced 3,000 years with no parole in Rikers Island, the worst prison in New York City. Edward yells people are foolish to believe in “justice” as it does not apply in a nation of capitalism, darwinism and elitism. However, Dodger who was present in the trial said he himself has already confessed his twisted justice and he would spend his entire lifetime and afterlife thinking over what are the wrongs he committed, even if he won’t understand. Edward was taken away to Rikers island, where he would be what he despised to become: the socially weak and useless creature where he would be spending his life becoming all inmates’ sandbag, slave, and their “salty-milk toilet”. 

[thecoparoom]

Woah. That's a pretty kickass NYE plan.

The Village Voice - Dec 21, 1961

[christopherjnoyesphotography]

Lincoln Center Reflections on Birds Cantus Firmus Monks audio

[thedowntown500]

[the-silver-peahen-residence]

Alastor can see he was now curious of the idea. Even when he tends to see much. He heard Senkai explaining the idea he had given to the damages most of the youths have done so far. Even the stories of Ink.

Senkai grins, "Remember the stories of how one of my contractees caused a lot of damage, especially one in the Soul Society."

"How can I forget?" Buer sighs. Senkai clasped his hands, "Well I was thinking we should add another service prior to establishing contracts and managing accounts!"

"And that is???"

"Demon Insurance." Senkai grins. Buer squints his eyes at the duo, hoping he did not hear what he just heard. "What?"

"Yep; he's right. Demon Insurance. This way in case something like this happens we can do what we must to be sure things get fixed pretty well." He smiled even with some demons dropping their paper work in shock. Demon insurance!? What the heck!? Even seeing Buer was in shock.

"Hmmm....even now Senkai is still so silly for a bat.." Lilith smiled yet the others were getting ready to head out. Even Oracle looks to her while chuckling.

"I am curious if he's able to pull it off. You know the boss is always a serious demon. I Just hope for his sake he won't upset him." she hums. "But I'm sure you will worry?"

"Not really. I know Senkai can do it. That's what is interesting about him." she smiled.

"Yeah, if he don't get his ass kicked to him for wasting the boss's time." Zeno said along with seeing Jar, Maranda, isis, and lirrako nervous. They just hope he don't piss him off.

~~~~Two days later~~~~~~

Alastor was looking seeing the boss busying as he always was. Though Buer was a interesting character given what he's learned so far. But still not bad.

However, he looks up hearing the boss ask.

"Now now sir, we assure you it's not a waste of time. I think you will find this interesting." he smiled given some other demons rushing by with documents or paperwork from other things.

[fantastic-nonsense]

okay, I think I've cracked the code. I think I understand what Tate Brombal is doing with Shiva's new backstory.

Brombal has said that he loves Denny O'Neil's work, has read Richard Dragon and The Question, and "could write the Kung-Fu Fighter trio forever." He's also very notably a Cass lore geek, as evidenced by the opening "Mother" arc, and has also clearly read several of Shiva's newer appearances as well. So like all of his nods to Cass's existing history while introducing new elements, he's not just inventing stuff out of thin air for Shiva's backstory. He's picking and choosing the elements that have already been introduced for Shiva and using that to create something new.

I think Brombal's goals with Shiva's new backstory are threefold: dealing with all of the contradictions in Shiva's history that have popped up over the years, properly tying Shiva and Cass's stories together (in a better way than Gabrych's frankly sloppy execution), and creating an actual relationship between Sandra and Carolyn that showcases why her murder created Shiva. He also clearly has as secondary priorities making Carolyn a real, breathing character (rather than a living MacGuffin with no personality) and explaining all of the odd stuff that Shiva's been able to do over the years, particularly her rather supernatural healing abilities.

So! Predictions for how this is all going to shake out once we finish the Shiva backstory arc and start moving into the Jade Tiger arc:

Ming-Yue and Mei-Xing's parents were a Romeo and Juliet forbidden romance from rival clans, the Blood and if not the Unburied themselves, whatever larger clan the Unburied are from. They had the girls and lived as nomads in China, including time in a village named Duoyishu (as seen in Outsiders 2019 and Urban Legends), until they were killed by Wu Feng, the leader of The Blood and their father's brother, in the Tibetan Himalayas (as shown in Batgirl #7).

I think Akhu (the monk who knew Mei and Yue's parents, took them in and raised them for a decade, and called them "daughters") will be revealed to be O-Sensei (notably a title and not a name), finally connecting Shiva back with the original lore drop way back in Richard Dragon #2 that Carolyn was O-Sensei's goddaughter.

Sin Lance is canon again as of BOP 2023, so the Dinah-Shiva "life experience swap" arc is also canon again. Theory 1: the Himalayan village Shiva lived in for that decade with Akhu is the same "southeast Asian village" from Simone's BOP run where Dinah "relives Shiva's hidden, early life." After the Blood attacked, Akhu fled to Japan to become O-Sensei and Mother took over as the village's primary protector. Theory 2: the "southeast Asian village" is Duoyishu, and Mother was always the person in charge there.

Either way, Akhu goes to Japan and we have coin flip odds on whether or not Mother will be revealed as the person who actually trained Sandra to be Shiva post-Detroit. Additionally, regardless of outcome she will not be Shiva's literal mother.

After leaving the village post-Blood attack, Mei and Yue travel the world for a bit and land in Detroit, where they take the American names Carolyn and Sandra. We then get the Batgirl-era backstory of them continuing to dance, fight, and perform for crowds (which Brombal already had them doing in the Himalayan village) and being seen by Cain.

IF Brombal brings Shiruto (the girls' weapons developer uncle, killed in Richard Dragon) back, he'll probably be revamped as an ex-Unburied member and their mother's brother trying protect them from the Blood. That might actually explain why they end up living in Detroit's Chinatown of all places? We'll see.

The Batgirl #8 teaser indicates Brombal is doing some timeline mix-and-matching, making Sandra and Carolyn crimefighters prior to meeting Richard Dragon, adding Carolyn to the Kung-Fu Fighter team, and moving Richard and Ben's Kung-Fu Fighter era martial arts school to Detroit (rather than NYC).

That's cool. I'm a huge fan of this Kung Fu Fighters era reinvention, actually. It solves a lot of timeline issues, fixes Richard and Ben's histories in the process, and also means that Carolyn's 'I could have loved you' statement to Richard (who, pre-Crisis, she'd literally known for ONE DAY) before she died will make actual sense.

Anyway, Cain enters the picture and kills Carolyn to 'inspire Shiva' to stop holding herself back at some point. Exactly how this happens and how it ties into the Kung Fu Fighters reinvention, I don't know.

So Sandra goes after Cain for revenge, loses, Cain's proposal and the forced conception of Cass happens, and he trains her during that time. She leaves after Cass is born and continues to travel the world to perfect her skills, becoming a mercenary and eventually "Lady Shiva." This would neatly tie together Shiva's retconned history with Cain we got in Batgirl (2000) #73 with the reiterated justification Shiva gave for leaving Cass with Cain in Batgirl (2024) #4.

Another theory: the Blood's bloodbending magic and the Unburied's blue poppy magic will be used to at least partially explain Shiva's longstanding odd healing abilities, including her punch resurrection of Cass way back in Batgirl (2000) #25 and her healing of Katana in the much more recent Urban Legends #16.

I also think that Shiva went looking for the Unburied not because she "ran out of challenges above and started looking below," as she told Cass in Batgirl #6, but because she was trying to learn about her mother's heritage and seeking knowledge of who she might have been in a different life. The training and healing abilities were an unexpected bonus.

So that's Shiva's backstory predictions. What about the upcoming Batgirl arcs after Batgirl #8? Well, let's see:

I think Wu Lin, the guy Brombal introduced in Batgirl #4, will be a member of The Blood from "the bloodline of Wu," hence the upcoming 'shocking family revelations' teased for Batgirl #9 (he's possibly the son of Wu Feng, which would make him Shiva's nephew and Cass's cousin). This would also explain why he's scared enough about the Unburied coming after him to join Shiva.

And finally, Shiva told Cass in Batgirl #6 to find Ben Turner and ask him about "Jade Tiger." Jade Tiger, from the cover and teaser of Batgirl #10, is obviously connected to Ben in some way. He might also be connected to Richard, holder of the Jade Dragon Claw, as well.

My theory? Jade Tiger is either Ben Turner II (Ben's nephew, who hasn't been seen since the pre-Crisis era) or a new character that will be revealed to be Ben's son (probably with Jane Lewis, Ben's pre-Crisis girlfriend who was killed on the day Ben wanted to propose).

.....there's probably more I'm forgetting, tbh. But I'm really fascinated to see where Brombal goes with this, to put it lightly.

[killerkendallroy]

CHAPTER ONE

INTO THE VIPER NEST

NEW MONEY: A ROMAN ROY X READER SERIES

MASTERLIST WORD COUNT: 4.6k

“You can’t just say ‘it’ll be better next quarter’ and wait for the money to magically come. That’s like telling a dying kid their tumour stopped growing. Yeah, it sounds good on the surface but it doesn’t mean they’re not riddled with cancer still.”

Warnings: Succession canon themes including but not limited to: Mentions of swearing, sexual jokes and connotations, corporate jargon, etc. Mentions of cancer, a bunch of Florida slander

The lead up to your first day was as luxurious as it was nerve wracking. You’d booked yourself a myriad of different treatments and appointments to prepare; a hair appointment to touch up your roots, a mani-pedi, several different facials you didn’t quite understand but was convinced your skin needed and a massage to try and work out the kinks and knots throughout your spine. God, that was what you needed. You had so much tension and stress held in your shoulders even the masseuse commented how surprised she was that someone your age was so tight.

After you closed your eyes, you were out like a light for the remainder of the two hour massage. You didn’t mean to fall asleep but it was that deep, soulful kind of rest that came when someone else was literally handling your relaxation for you. At the end of your session, the massage therapist shifted the aromatherapy in the room to a blend of peppermint and rosemary essential oils to ‘invigorate you’ compared to the previous lavender and chamomile, before gently nudging you awake. Momentarily disoriented and slightly embarrassed that you’d nodded off in the first place, you lifted your head and apologised to her, but she simply gave you a kind little smile like she’d seen this happen time and time again. Which she had.

“Your body really needed it,” she said quietly, smiling like a permanently zenned-out monk. Without a single stress in the world it looked like. Or a single wrinkle.

You’d chosen to move to New York and stay in an Airbnb until you found the right place to live. You didn’t want to rush into finding the space you’d someday call home. You’d donated the majority of your furniture rather than take it with you, give or take a few sentimental items. It was mostly from IKEA and Target; cheap flat-pack furniture styled nicely in your little condo. It would have been more of a hassle to hire interstate removalists to put it all into storage than to just donate it and buy new pieces once you settled in.

One week to pack everything up, two weeks to be a tourist in your new city, and one week to mentally prepare.

Now, you laid in the bed of your Airbnb, still half asleep but rolling over to turn off your alarm as you woke up in the morning. Today was the day you’d decided to make a shopping spree day, specifically for buying clothes for work. You’d stalked a tonne of your future colleagues on LinkedIn to see what type of performative bullshit they all wore, sussing out their outfits as you scrolled. You were lower middle management back in Florida, leading a team of 5 junior staffers and rocked up to work in jeans. Which was an impressive feat in itself give you were only in your late twenties but something told you shopping at H&M and Zara wouldn’t quite cut it anymore.

New York was one of the fashion capitals of the world, not to mention you were now upper middle management in one of the biggest media companies in the world. You were overseeing a team of 20, things were different. Your image mattered a lot more whether you wanted it to or not. You were ‘important’ now. To some people. Not most, but some.

Opening Google on your phone, you typed ‘where do rich people buy clothes in NYC’ and mentally sighed at yourself for searching something so blatantly dumb in the first place. But hey, it provided you with the results you were looking for so maybe it wasn’t so dumb after all. Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, and the long list of luxury designer stores on Madison Ave… Perfect. You figured you’d start with Saks; recognisable, convenient, and it was a department store that housed dozens of brands under one roof. Easy.

You walked through New York City with your head slightly tilted up, not quite enough to gawk but definitely enough to stick out amongst the locals. Someone who doesn’t really belong here. Not yet. Maybe not ever but fuck, it was just so big. The buildings stretched impossibly high, their glass facades reflecting the sky in fractured blues and silvers. A pigeon nearly clips your shoulder, and a yellow cab honks at another car that runs a red light which makes you flinch and step back from the kerb, yet no one else moves a muscle. They move through the city streets with practised ease.

The closer you got to Fifth Avenue, the more curated everything feels. You passed a woman walking a dog in a knit sweater and she didn’t even glance at you when you smiled politely. Neither did the doorman outside a residential building whose awning was embroidered like royalty. Nor did the food delivery guy riding past on a bicycle. You tried not to take it personally that they didn’t smile back; New Yorkers were just like this.

Inside the 10 storey store, you didn’t bother looking at any of the prices on the various items (if they even had prices displayed) which sounded like fucking lunacy, but you told yourself that today it didn’t matter. Waystar gave you more than enough to have the kind of spending spree you’d only ever seen in movies, yet still have the confidence that you could afford the total at the end. The lump sum of money wouldn’t last forever if you kept this type of frivolity up permanently, but kicking off this new era of life with a fancy new wardrobe couldn’t hurt.

And fuck, you looked good on your first day.

Waystar Royco in its most simple and basic essence was a fucking behemoth of an empire, and with majority of their business divisions based out of New York, the Manhattan office was a sight to behold. How could it not, with its 60 storeys of corporate slaves and money hungry psychopaths?

Your new Prada heels clicked against the polished floor of the lobby as you approach the marble reception desk and you politely stood in front of one of the receptionists. Waiting. Longer than expected. Just…waiting.

“Name?” she asks, barely looking up at you. You answer and she types a few times without so much as an acknowledgement, then you wait again. And she types some more. And you keep waiting. Finally, she nods and looks up at you for the first time. “You can head up to level 48, someone will meet you there.”

Cold. Direct. Blunt.

How very New York of her.

The numbers on the elevator panel blink as you move higher and higher, your ears popping faintly. You’re not sure if it’s the altitude or the nerves but finally you reach the 48th floor. The doors slide open with a quiet hiss, revealing the Parks and Cruises division floor but before you can even look, you’re startled by a loud voice.

“It’s you!” Greg exclaims loudly. Excited and shocked yes, but far too loud for 9 in the morning.

“Greg?!” The name slips out of your mouth before you can curb your surprise, your brows furrowing in confusion.

“Hey!” He says shaking in his head in disbelief and debating in his head whether or not a hug was unprofessional. He’d leaned forward slightly like he was about to, then decided against it at the last second.

“You…work here?” You questioned, not sure if you were shocked at the fact he was here in New York or whether he was still employed by Waystar at all. The last time you’d seen him he was in a dog costume being escorted away by security. You were certain he would’ve been fired after that.

“Yeah, I’m in New York now, yeah,” he chuckles, ushering you with his hand to follow him down the hall. “Y’know it’s so weird, Tom told me to meet you here after reception messaged him and I was like, ‘oh I wonder how many people in cruises have the same name as the chick from management training’ as in like, the same name as you, but here you are. How are you? Oh my god, this is so crazy… You’re like, a proper manager now.”

He keeps talking as you walk, a stream of words filling the silence like a soundtrack you didn’t ask for. You look around at everyone clicking and typing away at their monitors, a quiet hum of corporate droning that doesn’t match the energy bubbling out of him. Somehow, it’s comforting. It lets you think that this place doesn’t consume every part of a person and make them miserable. Not completely.

“Wait, you work for Tom? The guy who just replaced Bill?” You ask, given Tom was going to be your new manager too. Surely Greg wasn’t a manager too, right?

Greg spins around to walk backward for a moment, grinning down at you like he’s introducing you to a theme park ride. “Tom? Yeah, he’s my boss. I don’t really have a title yet per se, but I report to him so… Oh! Wait until you see your office. It’s got a sweet view.”

You bite down on the inside of your cheek, trying and failing to hide the smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. “I have my own office?”

“It’s not as big as some of the other ones but it’s got a couch in there so…that’s pretty cool.”

For a moment, it doesn’t matter that this role came wrapped in NDAs and dotted lines, that this office came with so many strings it was impossible to detach from them. All you can picture is stepping inside, setting down your bag, and knowing the space is yours. Yours to work, to think, to breathe.

Greg stops in front of a glass door halfway down the hall, gesturing proudly like a realtor showing off a penthouse. He points to the blank name plaque mounted next to it, glossy and untouched.

“They’ll order you a proper name plate, don’t worry,” he says, like that’s the final seal of legitimacy. Then, with an exaggerated sweep of his arm, he pushes the door open. “Home sweet home.”

The desk sits adjacent to the window, sleek and immaculate. Empty shelves line one wall, still bare and a small charcoal couch hugs the opposite side. A little stiff-looking, like no one’s properly sat on it a bunch of times and made a butt print.

You walk straight to the floor‑to‑ceiling window, fingertips brushing the glass as if to prove it’s real. You’ve never seen New York from this high before, especially since you’d flown in at night so seeing it now felt surreal. Like a tiny fake Lego city.

“Holy shit…” The words slip out under your breath before you can stop them.

Behind you, Greg lets out a soft chuckle. “Yeah,” he says, leaning a long arm against the doorframe. “That was, uh… pretty much my reaction too. You kinda forget you’re up this high until you, like, go past a window. Then it’s like, oh wow, this is huge.”

He closes the office door behind him but he doesn’t move too much closer, doesn’t crowd the moment. He just lets it hang there and gives you space to soak it all in. Somehow that makes it feel more significant, the silence of it all. You stand there for a moment longer, gazing down at the city you’ve moved to that’s promised so much yet taken so much in return.

Your gaze drifts back to Greg and for a moment it’s like your words get caught in your throat. “This is… fuck,” you exhale. “I can’t even string a sentence together right now I’m so shocked.”

The sound of your voice feels smaller in the space, like it doesn’t quite fill it yet. Greg gives a shy shrug, sitting on the couch like he’s trying to make the moment feel more relaxed. Through the glass walls, you spot a couple of heads lifting from screens across the floor. They’re quick glances, calculated and sharp, disappearing as soon as you acknowledge them. But the message is still strong. They’re watching you not only because you’re new, but because you’re young, a female, and a manager.

“It’s kind of overwhelming… But you’ll get used to it soon-” he starts to say before he’s cut off by Tom pushing open the door and tapping his knuckles against the glass.

“Knock knock,” he says out loud, punctuating it with a hollow laugh like even he knows how forced it sounds. His grin is wide, corporate, performative. The kind of grin that had been practiced in boardrooms and polished during cocktail hours.

“Greg…” Tom’s voice drips with mock scolding, staring him down. “You’re not scaring away our new friend already, are you?”

You straighten instinctively and shake his hand with a polite smile that you hope hides the flicker of nerves under your skin. “If it isn’t the man, the myth, the legend… You must be Tom Wambsgans.”

“And you, must be my shiny new hot shot from Florida.” He grins, taking a relaxed seat on the arm of the couch next to Greg. Somehow making the 6 foot 7 man seem small in the leather cushions. “How was it, down in our most penis shaped state?”

“I mean… It’s sweaty, humid, reeks of cheap sex and piss…” you joke, trying to keep the conversation light after being thrown off by your new boss talking about penises in your first introduction. “Guess it is America’s dick.”

“Born and bred Southerner?” Tom asks with a subtle grimace, hoping and praying you weren’t. Nothing against people from the South, he just…didn’t like them at all.

“God no, I grew up in DC. I only moved down to Orlando a few years back for work.”

“Good, good. Well, I’ve gotta run to a meeting but I just wanted to pop in and say hello. And I’ll see you at the quarterly review this afternoon,” he says to you before turning towards Greg and nudging his head towards the door for him to follow. Which Greg does, like his ever loyal puppy.

Tom strides down the hall towards his office, Greg trailing half a step behind. The nice midwesterner energy Tom had in your office; the easy grin, the overfamiliar jokes, the whole ‘teamwork makes the dream work’ vibe he had going on, melts the second they’re both out of earshot.

“So,” Tom says, his voice dropping just enough to make Greg lean in to hear. “What do you think? Is she a good egg?”

Greg blinks, caught off guard by how fast Tom had flipped the switch. He still wasn’t used to it yet. “Uh, good egg? I mean, yeah? She seems nice. Normal. Like, super normal. I actually met her at management training a few months back...”

Tom barks out a laugh, already settling behind his desk, fingers flying across his keyboard to look you up online. “You? Greg? Went to corporate daycare?” He lets out another laugh, shaking his head like the very thought of Greg enrolling in management training was absolutely absurd. “Bet Grandpa Ewan helped you get into that one, huh?”

Greg stayed silent, which only answered Tom’s question and confirmed his suspicion.

Meanwhile Kendall Roy, the epitome of psychopathic corporate slaves, stood in his father’s glass office staring at the skyline of the city. Desperate his whole life to take over Logan’s empire and grow the Roy family legacy to an even larger scale, Kendall had worked tirelessly for years on end to try and get his father’s approval. He told himself he wouldn't rest until he became CEO but even then he wouldn't stop until he was dead.

He'd work from the moment he woke up to the rare moment he fell asleep, majority of his nights fuelled by cocaine and adrenaline. At one stage his estranged wife Rava had given him an ultimatum: check into a rehabilitation facility or lose visitation rights of his two children Sophie and Iverson. Reluctantly, he went to rehab. Not for Rava, not for his Dad, not even for his children which he said was his main reason. No, no, he went to rehab to clear his name as a 'coke head' for the sake of his career.

It wasn't until his father Logan had encountered a recent stint in an Intensive Care Unit that Kendall received the news that he was not stepping up as the new CEO of Waystar. It killed him inside, knowing how power hungry his other siblings were and that his lifes greatest competition was not yet over.

Now, he was co-COO with his little brother Roman.

Major bummer.

“Yo Rome, I need you to drop in on the parks meeting for me.”

“And what, make sure Wambsgans isn’t fucking drowning?” Roman says without looking up from his phone. “His big ass hockey town shoulders practically make him a walking buoy.”

“Sure, whatever, but the division is down on last quarter and I need you to sus it out for me.”

“Why do I have to do it? You know operations better than me, you’ve been doing it for however many fucking years.”

“Cos we’re co-COO’s now and that means we fucking, uh, share now. Fifty-fifty, dude. And I have to go meet Lawrence from Vaulter.”

Roman groans and stands up from the couch, shoving his phone in his pocket reluctantly. “Fine, I’ll go…” he whines. “When is it?”

“Check your cal.”

Roman squints at his brother, “Or you could just tell me what time the meeting is?”

“It’s at 11:30. Check your fucking calendar.”

“Was that so hard?“ Roman scoffs. “Could’ve just told me the time when I asked but noooo… Robo-Ken over here is only programmed to say shit like ‘check your cal’ and ‘optics’ and fucking, ‘synergy’ instead of talking like a normal fucking human.”

Downstairs, the bottom of your heels scuffed ever so gently against the carpet as you walked down one of the never ending corridors, scanning each room number for the right room number.

"Thirty one fourteen, thirty one fourteen..." you mumbled under your breath, repeating the specific identifier over and over again to not forget it.

You were still breaking in the pair of heels you’d bought on the weekend and they pinched at your toes with every step. There’s something weirdly poetic about it, you thought. The way they felt wrong on your feet, the same way this whole new life feels like a costume you haven’t broken in yet. The discomfort isn’t enough to stop you, but it’s there as a reminder that luxury doesn’t always mean ease. The money sitting in your account, the new apartment and the fresh wardrobe filled with tailored clothes… It all fit, technically, but not without a little ache underneath the surface.

Eventually you found Room 3114 and waited outside quietly for the current group to finish up inside. Two men who you assumed were also fellow managers within the Parks and Cruises division, approached the same room, giving you a polite smile before continuing their conversation in a hushed tone.

"You reckon that had anything to do with him getting the new title? Man, if only there was another Roy daughter to fuck, then I would get a promotion too," The first man scoffed, provoking an eye roll from the second before you hear Tom from the other end of the hall.

You weren’t the only one to get a sporadic, out of the blue promotion it seemed. Great timing on Waystar’s part to be fair, putting you on a leave of absence until the start of the new quarter when Bill Lockhart’s retirement would create the need for a structural reset. They brought in a replacement for him, created several new roles including yours, and made a bunch of existing roles redundant. It was looking like a fresh start for Parks and Cruises.

Tom walked with purpose, a hint of cockiness in his step and an overarching sense of power in his stride. He knew that he worked hard for his new position in the company, with or without the help of his fiancée. "Shaking the tree folks, shaking the tree," Tom called out as he approached the room, swinging the door open and smiling at the previous meeting holders until they got the hint and left.

The rest of your colleagues took their seats along both sides of the long table, opening their laptops and notebooks in anticipation for Tom to begin presenting. It was a brief moment of quick introductions before Tom jumped straight into action, outlining the company's position on where they wanted the Parks and Cruise division to grow. It was a spiel all too familiar to them, a new manager telling their team how excited they were for innovation, change and growth, all for them to end up becoming empty, unfulfilled promises.

The presentation he had prepared was a high level plan to how the Parks division was to increase revenue; a very straightforward meeting to most in the room. Enthusiastic about working capital as one could be, his presentation was halted about a half hour in, when the door slid open from Roman.

"Hey, just- Pretend I'm not here," he said, moving to an empty chair that he was now rolling to the back corner of the room.

"Roman, hey! I didn't think you'd were attending… Normally Kendall joins us but uh, we’re just running through last quarter to realign on our plan moving forward. Thanks for joining us buddy. Take a seat, get comfy," Tom grinned, his smile wide like a nervous Cheshire Cat as he continued.

You suddenly grew self-conscious that the Roman Roy had joined the meeting. You’d never seen any of the Roy's in the flesh let alone shared a room with one. All of the men in the room seemed to shift in their demeanours, their backs straightening and their focus sharpening. You’d only heard stories about Roman but the majority of them weren't particularly positive testaments to his character.

You remembered during your college days the majority of the boys in your economics classes had an unhealthy infatuation with Kendall and Roman Roy. They viewed them as the epitome of success; their idols, their inspiration. They wanted to become them. On one hand, they were the sons of a billionaire media mogul who brought fresh and innovative ideas to a traditionally old-school industry. On the other hand however, they didn’t seem shy away from the drug fuelled partying and Playboy-esque gallivanting — they were truly a finance bro's wet dream brought to life.

"Wait, go back to that other slide. Yeah, that one. Can I- I’m just gonna stand real quick," Roman interrupted, getting up from his chair and moving to the front of the room where Tom was presenting on the screen. His 'can I?' was rhetorical, since he would have taken over the meeting regardless of Tom's answer.

He stood next to the screen with his arms folded across his chest, inspecting the data in front of him. He was equally as threatening as he was captivating. Every man in the room stared in both fear and admiration. The only other woman in the room looked bored to her core. But she was like, in her sixties so you kind of expected her to be bored. You would be too if you’d dealt with this corporate bullshit for that many years.

"This number, with the minus in front of it? This isn't good. This makes me feel like we’re getting fucked in the ass," he pointed, tapping one of the dozens of numbers on the screen.

"Ah yes, brilliant call out. I'm uh, I'm actually going to let someone else on the team take this one, just to see who’s been paying attention. Who’s across Tokyo?" Tom laughed, knowing full well he was caught off guard by the negative figure just as much as Roman was. It was a new role to him too but he didn't have the courage to admit he didn't know everything.

The room fell silent as the group of grown men pulled faces to look like they were deep in thought or trying to recollect a memory that didn't exist. Some even went as far to flick through their notebooks or squint at their laptop screens for semblance that they were ‘organised’.

“How much is this expansion thing costing us? And how much are we gonna make from it? Someone, anyone...” Roman asked the room.

“We anticipate that revenue figure will increase next quarter looking at our current trend line,” one of the other managers says.

Way to state the fucking obvious, you thought.

“How though? You can’t just say ‘it’ll be better next quarter’ and wait for the money to magically come. That’s like telling a dying kid that their tumour stopped growing. Yeah, it sounds good on the surface but it doesn’t mean they’re not still riddled with cancer.” Roman scoffs.

You stifle your laugh to be professional but a small, single sound sneaks out. Nobody really notices, but Roman does. Tom does. As they both look at you, you quickly look down at your notebook and flick through the quick high-level notes you’d written earlier that morning. Fucking lucky, of all the things you thought to write down in preparation for this meeting, BrightStar Tokyo’s expansion was the main one. You’d worked on the expansion for the past two years so you were pretty familiar with it, but not the exact financial figures until now.

You breathe in slightly before speaking, “We’ve budgeted for 320 billion yen so far.”

“In USD that’s like, what? 2 bil?” Roman mutters to himself.

You answer, “2.2 billion.”

"Fucking hell…” Roman trails. He narrows his eyes as if he’s trying to put his finger on whether you were a new face or if he’d met you before and simply just forgotten.

"Oh! Roman, everybody, this is our new Strategy and Planning Manager. It’s her first day today, so go easy on her," Tom laughs.

Your fellow managers give polite smiles and mutter their hello’s before looking back at Roman in front of the screen. Roman was far too important to learn the names of each and every 'civilian' he interacted with but something about you intrigued him. He used the word civilian like he was some sort of fucking superhero, placing an extreme point of difference between himself and those outside the elite. He couldn’t name a single other fucker in the room apart from Tom and Greg, and even then he’d called his cousin Craig for several weeks.

Roman’s first thought was ‘must be bring your daughter to work day’ given you were so young but surprisingly, he bit his tongue.

He looks around at the rest of the room. “First day and she can answer a simple question…” he says before looking at Tom with a semi-impressed eyebrow raise. “Where’d you find her?”

“Florida.”

Roman screws his face up in disgust and flicks his head towards you, “You’re from the South? Ew.”

“Definitely not,” you say, almost too fast to have thought about your answer. “I moved to join Waystar 6 years ago.”

He nods, acknowledging your tenure with the company rather than assuming you were fresh meat looking at all of this with the eyes of a kindergartener. “Okay Florida, what do you think… Are we fucked or is it a mild penetration?”

“Just the tip, we’re good.” You smile, glancing at Tom who looked relieved that Roman wouldn’t be telling Logan how fucked the division was. You give him a slight nod as if to say ‘I’ve got your back’ with the hopes he’d have yours in future. Fingers crossed.

“Super vanilla.”

Taglist: @gxilds @zenbyo @sweetnettlessting @lilacbe @aullyjay @violet1661

COMMENT IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST xoxo

[aplpaca]

apparently new york city has a monk parakeet population??? And it predates the population in florida? They're from South America in areas that don't get that cold but apparently they do just fine in nyc and aren't considered invasive. Good for them. Look at them and their big communal stick nests

They use these nest colonies year-round instead of just during breeding season, and they contain an average of 20 nest chambers each. They're the only parrot that makes nests with sticks and also the only parrot that nests in groups

[allthingsfern]

Five (+1) overlooked photography related movies

Listed below are 4 movies “about fictional photographers” I think are superb but sadly overlooked and I explain why I recommend them. The last one is a documentary, but also sadly overlooked. And I mention one other film about fictional photographers briefly but did include the trailer because it is a superb, if forgotten, thriller.

Last Summer

A short, gentle, intensely languid, visually luxurious LGBTQIA+ coming of age story with sublime, swoon-worthy cinematography that exalts the everyday, this movie also features, funnily enough, the protagonist’s discovery of the art of photography with photos that mimic the cinematographer’s style and subject matter. What fascinates me is that photography becomes part of the story, yet there is no specialness about it. Photography, at least during the plot’s timeline, just becomes a way of life for the central character, a way of seeing and recording “last summer.”

Touching and photographically thought provoking.

NOTE: Depending on what country you live in, the full film may be available on Youtube. It is available now in the US, but there is no guarantee it will be left up.

Funny Face

Is anyone who follows me here, on Tumblr, surprised I included this one? After all, at least once every 6 months or so I post a clip from this film, one of my all time favorites.

Loosely based on the early career of Richard Avedon, who did the still photography for the film and was a technical advisor, this is a dreamy, romantic frolic full of great visuals and lovely fashions. I mean, come on, Edith Head AND Givenchy both are the designers for the film, and they both were nominated, as a team, for an Oscar. Mr. Givenchy was responsible for all of Hepburn’s looks and Ms. Head designed the costumes for the rest of the cast. (Here is a great article about the creative cinema relationship and friendship between Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy.) Funny Face also has a sometimes annoying, anti-French intellectual bias, but at its core, the film is, paradoxically, a love song to Paris (“Bonjour Pareeeee”), French fashion, and the American fashion magazine industry.

Odd photography related coincidence re this film: Kay Thompson's magazine editor character is based on the real life fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar at the time, Diana Vreeland, who would move on to become the fashion editor of Vogue and then the artistic director for the Costume Institute at the Met in NYC. (BTW, I think it is safe to say there would be no Dame Anna Wintour if there had not been a Diana Vreeland.) Vreeland discovered and/or nurtured the careers of many photographers, including Avedon, Penn, David Bailey. But the odd connection re Diana Vreeland and photography is that her grandson, Nicholas Vreeland, was a photographer who left his career and became a Buddhist monk. I recommend watching The Eye Has To Travel, about Ms. Vreeland, and A Monk with a Camera, about her Buddhist monk photographer grandson.

Roman Holiday

Yes, another Hepburn film that has photography as a central theme in the plot, and the way photography plays into the plot makes it relevant to much of the discussion of photographers’ rights and/or individual’s privacy. This is about the paparazzi before Federico Fellini’s La Dolce Vita introduced us to the character Paparazzo, the main photojournalist in that film.

And, a fashion note (let’s face it, most all of Hepburn’s films feature her wardrobe in a co-starring role), Edith Head designed all the costumes and won an Oscar (1 of 8 Oscars she won during her career) for this film.

NOTE: There is another Audrey Hepburn film with photography as part of the plot, though it is not a significant plot ingredient: Wait Until Dark. In this one, her husband is a photographer and it is his equipment, specifically one of the chemicals he uses for developing film, that plays a crucial role toward the end of the movie. Photography itself is not integral to the film. Also, interesting bit of irony here: She plays a blind woman married to a photographer. FYI, this film is not the typical elegant Audrey Hepburn movie; she and her husband live in a rather claustrophobic basement apartment (which works to the film’s advantage) a great setting for a nifty “lady in distress” thriller and Givenchy is not listed as Ms. Hepburn’s costume designer. (Actually, the credits at IMDB only list an art director, no costume designer.)  Does anyone else remember going to see Wait Until Dark during its initial theatrical release and how they lowered the theater lights as much as possible for the last 8 minutes? Scared the shit outta me the 6 or 7 times I rewatched it at the theater, at the gorgeous old film house, the Olympia Theater in downtown Miami.

The Photograph

Smooth. Romantic. Great visuals and performances; the cast features Issa Rae, Lakeith Stanfield, Courtney B. Vance, Lil Rel Howery, Chanté Adams.

This movie is about the choice one woman made between her successful photography career and her romantic life and the story she tells her estranged daughter about those choices. This film uses gorgeous cinematography and photography to create and enhance and bring back to life the echoes of a famed fictional photographer’s career and life choices.

Over-Exposed

A mid-50s, not quite film-noir, low budget movie about a young woman who becomes a top photographer but gets in trouble because of her work, this is sometimes cheesy but also shows how she takes her profession seriously and how she learns her chosen trade. The section of the film about her apprenticeship as a professional photographer is fascinating and is, far as I know, the only time the learning process is depicted in a movie.

Of course, the issue of her sex, of her being a woman (and a beautiful one), complicates her efforts at getting work as a photographer. The way she gets photography work eventually gets her into trouble with the law and is caused, in part, by her good looks.

That said, be careful what assumptions you make about how she gets to the top, becoming a famed fashion photographer. Note that in the film, the lead character is depicted as intelligent, strong willed, talented, and beautiful. Though her beauty is central to the story, her other qualities are more prominent.

Much better than I expected, though it is also very much a film of its time.

NOTE: Depending on what country you live in, the full film may be available on Youtube. It is available now in the US, but there is no guarantee it will be left up.

Faces Places (Visages Villages)

I cannot believe classic feminist French film director Agnes Varda’s Faces Places (co-directed/created with photographer JR) is not in articles about movies related to photography. This film is a cinematic journal of a wildly creative photography road trip adventure undertaken by the them in 2017.

While they go about working on their photo project, they also share about their professional and personal lives. Ms Varda gives some insights into her career and her marriage to Jacques Demy. There are poignant moments and moments of humor, joy. And the visuals, both photography and cinematography, are stunning.

This film is about life and creativity and aging and friendship and just watch the fucking movie, ok?

Watch all of them.

[sea-otter148]

One aspect of Night City I find really interesting in Cyberpunk 2077 is just how "alive" it feels, like it's a real city and you can go there. One thing that makes it more alive than other cities in other open world games is the Arasaka Memorial in Corpo Plaza. The design of this place is haunting. You're greeted with an Arasaka logo (the kind used for Arasaka public works projects like Konpeki Plaza) on a holographic sign whose borders are made of fissured concrete and rebar, reading:

2023

Arasaka Memorial

We shall never forget

Surrounding the memorial's main complex is a columbarium, which presumably houses the names and niches of the at least 12,000 known victims of the bombing of August 20, 2023. Inside the main complex is nothing short of breathtaking.

Beneath a tempered glass walkway and through the view of some windows, you see the ruins of the original lobby entrance to Arasaka Tower, buried in splintered stairs and balconies, shattered concrete, and mangled rebar and steel. On either side of the main causeway, recreated offices glow with an angry red virtual fire, the aftermath of the bombing. An automated announcement reminds visitors to show some respect at this site, this hallowed ground for Arasaka, this corporate Golgotha. The architecture of the Memorial is reminiscent of real world memorials to disasters, and I particularly see influence from the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in NYC, and the Nagasaki Peace Park in Nagasaki.

The stories told by some of the NPCs in conversations are no less harrowing. One woman tells the story of her grandfather who volunteered as a rescue worker at the site. The air, especially in the Time of the Red, must have been oppressive with smoke and fallout, the silence just as much were it not for the wind, the shuffling of stones, the search parties, the cries coming up from under the rubble. A classroom of children is on a field trip to the Memorial, their teacher apparently giving a history lesson, as the history, as murky as it is, still prevails despite neither of these people living through the event itself. A father attempts to console his child with the promise that their mother is in heaven, but the child says their friend's father is in Mikoshi and they can talk to him just fine. A Buddhist monk blesses one of the niches and offers some incense. What I find most interesting, however, is what isn't said, and that's by Johnny. Now, the Doylist explanation is that the devs didn't put in any lines for Johnny here, either because they couldn't come up with anything that was already said, or it would be kind of inappropriate to have a snarky comment at a very somber site. However, I think what's happening in universe is that Johnny, who seems to believe he did the bombing himself with little outside help (which, if you've played the TTRPG, isn't true), is forced to reckon with the weight of what he "did," and refuses to comment either because he'd come off like an even bigger asshole than he is, or he has to deal with 12,000 boxes of ashes around the Memorial, 12,000 names etched into metal plaques, 12,000 people who were just trying to have a good night in Night City, the city which doesn't offer happy endings, and never really did, 12,000 faces lost to time.

[timothyclare]

kung lao in the spider-monk au

none of this super awesome epic story will make sense without PART 1 !!! explains how liu kang became spiderman

all story below the readmore VVV

when liu leaves for america, lao is hurt. he knows, logically, that raiden is the one to blame, but liu didn't even fight to stay or take lao with him.

and then deadpool comes along.

the vigilante slash mercenary is just stopping by, purely coincidence. decided he wanted to see the place. kung lao, of course, was naturally curious, and approched to say hello. to his surprise, deadpool is fluent in mandarin, and they strike up a lengthy conversation about their different lives. at one point, deadpool mentions "his spider-monk back home". kung lao naturally asks about it.

deadpool pulls out his phone, and pulls up a selfie of him and spidey- spidey's mask is half- up his face, and he's in the middle of trying to eat a taquito. deadpool is going on about the selfie, but.. kung lao is focused on the face. the lips of this 'spidey'. they have the exact two matching scars that liu's lips have, from when they were 8 and had the brilliant idea to get into body modification. it's the same mouth kung lao has seen scarfing down soup after training that reaches for a bit of taquito in the picture.

deadpool realises after a few seconds of silence that kung lao is in shock. and then that kung lao is crying. oh, shit.

kung lao spills immediately. he's ranting. he's raving.

HOW could liu do this?? first, leave without a hint of remorse to america of all places, second, start taking up dangerous hobbies, and third, NEVER FUCKING TELL HIM????? what was he thinking!? the idiot will get himself killed doing stupid shit without kung lao there.

deadpool offers the condolence that "he's definitely guilty about it, and i know he misses you. assuming, here, that you're the 'other half' he's always waxing poetic about."

and then, because he's an agent of chaos, deadpool offers payback: a secret to keep from liu. that way they're even. deadpool can offer training. (aka, wade really likes this kid and wants an excuse to hang about)

lao accepts immediately.

it's the next month that sees good news finally arrive-- in the best decision he's made since the 18th century, raiden is sending kung lao overseas to be with liu kang.

kung lao moves in on liu's last day of school.

raiden never told liu that lao was coming. liu kang comes home to find lao standing in the flat, like an idiot, staring at the doorway.

hugs. embraces.

then kung lao gives liu the tongue-lashing of the century. liu, fully aware at this point he's been a dick, takes it. then they hug again.

they spend the entire summer break together causing chaos in NYC, finally back together again, the dynamic duo.

and then liu discovers kung lao's secret-

not only has kung lao been training with deadpool, he's started his own stint as a vigilante.

needless to say, the fight that ensues is a whirlwind of huge, horrible emotions, name-calling, blame-throwing, and hurtful words.

they've made up by the end of the night anyway, because they both get miserably sad when they're mad at each other. unfortunately, their solution to the newfound power imbalance they've correctly identified as the unfair factor is possibly the dumbest plan any teenage vigilante has EVER thought of.

they're going to infiltrate oscorp, steal one of those fancy spiders that bit liu, have it bite lao so he has powers too, and then be on their merry way.

and they do it. and it fucking works. by some miracle, it works. peter and ned, now in on the secret, are their guys in the chair. mj is their strategist. they infiltrate, they steal, they escape, and oscorp are none the wiser. and even more miraculous, the spider doesn't kill kung lao.

kung lao develops powers, though they're slightly different from liu's-- he can't stick to things, and he isn't quite as strong. however, his regeneration is more comparable to deadpool's than to liu's, and he's got bones of steel-- he's practically impossible to hurt now. fitting.

and so he takes his RIGHTFUL place at liu's side as an equal vigilante, and after they're out of their month-long grounding for pulling that stunt without telling matt anything, they're a veritable vigilante family. matt is trying to obtain legal guardianship over them, and they're fine with that.

(lao, as a vigilante, calls himself styx. he's visually not a successor to deadpool, but when you see him on the field, deadpool's humor and violent tendencies have very much rubbed off on him.)

[thoughtfulchaos773]

When will I be done posting? NEVER! Haha, I told everyone I'm aiming to go to season 3 premiere.

Okay, what's the ultimate twinflame energy between Sydney and Carmy? The shoulder tattoos! I've written a few theories on these tattoos, but I have another one, particularly for season 3.

We need to see the orgin episode of the creation of the shoulder tattoo. Because revealing sydney's tattoo episode 9 and the yet to be revealed carmy's? Oh, there's something here that needs to be explored!

This could give so much opportunity for flashback episodes so we can see how they belong together.

Here's my ultimate wish for a sydcarmy episode. Also, a spoiler on filming locations:

Since some of the filming locations are in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand, there's going to be a flashback episode of Carmy traveling throughout those places, experiencing his own food tour and he gets the tattoo in Thailand. Remember, the tattoo 'certain of nothing' is dedicated to Bourdain, a zen philosphy Bourdain embrace, and who is Carmy's big inspiration. Anthony also had a home in thailand and in parts unknown. He recommended the buddhist practice of giving merits to the monks.

There has to be some philosophy here, this word 'Submit' reminds me of what they say in al-anon. That one must submit to a higher power as part of the healing. He could have possibly already submitted to a higher power before Al anon in the past and somehow reverted back to anxiousness once he took the job in New york, and it's gotten worse since Mikey's death.

Ultimately, my theory is that the travel East is a flashback for Carmy.

My theory with Sydney's tattoo:

She got it during her food tour in New York 2 years ago. There could be a flashback episode of Sydney touring New York and trying Carmy's dish. Unfortunately, there was a situation that led her to get the 3 sword tattoos in NYC. The tattoo serves as a reminder of grief and loss. She also embraces them as a part of life. In a way, she submits to it.

How cool would it be to see a flashback episode around 2-3 years ago where the two of them get shoulder tattoos relating to their own experience in life. Both separate experiences, but like twinflames- they're united through their souls.