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unknownfortuna · 3 months

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Your Dad

The Sun is an indicator of how the native views their Father. Below is a list of negative/positives you may have seen play out with your father figure.

*If you have these signs in your 10th House, these traits may manifest as well.*

Aries Sun- Quick tempered and most likely a physical disciplinarian. Due to Aries enjoying the sun, the manifestations can be incredibly bad/good. Your dad may have seemed a bit selfish at times when it came to him living an independent life from the family he created. He may have been seen as a leader in his family or the first to do something. This placement could also indicate he wasn't the type of person to do things half assed (unfinished projects? Sure) and he expected you to do things just as passionately if not better than others.

Taurus Sun- Beauty is important. Beauty is the first thing people see. That is what he placed a heavy emphasis on when it came to you. If your appearance was off, he would let you know (He may also carry incredibly traditional values when it comes to gender roles). Appearances matter and he would have wanted nothing more than for you to express the pretty privilege you had. As superficial as the relationship may seem at times with him, this is a fact you start to realize is true with others as well.

Gemini Sun- You may view your dad as incredibly charismatic but also superficial and a bit of a liar. Another trait that may play out is knowing multiple languages and being able to switch between them with ease. The relationship here may feel like there isn't much substance between the two of you. Conversations carry a jolly tone that doesn't always feel appropriate for what's actually going on between you two or the circumstances you're in.

Cancer Sun- Your dad is incredibly emotional. It seems a bit random when he starts to cry but then again, your also not surprised. He takes his role as the protector the family very seriously and wants nothing more than your emotional wellbeing to be at a high (if he's able to understand his own and provide that to others of course!). Mood swings may be a normal when it comes to him...which makes him a bit of a grump at times.

Leo Sun- Your dad truly views himself as the king of the house. This can obviously be either incredibly annoying (is more selfish, cares about appearances, huge ego) or a bit endearing (a motivational coach, knows how to boost you up, shares the spotlight with you). Having Leo in its home planet is an incredibly strong placement and may cause him to play a huge role in your life/upbringing. It may have even felt like he was your only true caretaker at times.

Virgo Sun- The perfectionism your dad holds within him can feel a bit daunting. While he may be quiet at times you know that is just him observing and critiquing in his mind. He sees details you would have never noticed before and points them out. You can't help but hold a similar serious tone and being highly critical with yourself. After all, your dad was the first to point out these flaws. On the flip side his humor can be a bit...Childish? I feel like Virgos themselves have a specific sense of humor and you may or may not get it but it's there. Libra Sun- Your relationship can feel a bit superficial with this placement. Libra is not at home here and above all it is just trying to please the people that come across this placement. A similar view you may have with your dad. He is able to be the mediator and negotiator with others BUT at the cost of his own individuality. He may place an emphasis on what other's opinions are especially with family. He may not be the dominant parent but for appearance's sake that's what is shown.

Scorpio Sun- This placement can indicate secrets surrounding your dad or over time you start to realize your perception of him is crumbling from the one you entered with. May have viewed him as manipulative or controlling when it came to your family members. Could cause an environment to change into an intense one. Held a lot of power in his hands when it came to the way everyone moved. There is a secret only you may know of him/found out before anyone else. Not necessarily because he himself trusted you but you happened to stumble upon it (just like everything else in your life). Sagittarius Sun- In some ways this relationship felt more like a mentor/mentee than a father/daughter. He was incredibly knowledgeable and tried to tell you all he knew about the world and how things worked. Whether it was agriculture or mechanics, he tried teaching you his trade. Unfortunately, he may have not been a stable figure in your life and at times would be absent or physically unavailable. Emotional circumstances felt odd with him and talking about actual feelings didn't ever seem like a viable option.

Capricorn Sun- A workaholic can manifest with this placement. He may have been the sole provider of the family and carried a heavy presence when he was home. Having him around may have possibly caused you to feel as though you were walking on egg shells. Also... did he give you random responsibilities when it seemed like you had too much fun? Like you were smiling a little TOO much? Probably can't ever say your bored around him. He can possibly carry a melancholic prescence around him as well.

Aquarius Sun- The confusion here is your dad is too hard to understand sometimes. Borderline hypocritical. Can enjoy humanitarian values without ever having the compassion balanced with it. It would be good if you could contribute to society...Without me showing you how to deal with your emotions. He can come across as alien like in many ways due to his opposing views. Keeps himself busy tinkering around with his hobby of choice. May come off as detached and in his own head or enjoying others company more than your own family. Can have some odd tastes...possibly with partners? (You may be a child of divorce/just straight up cheating). It doesn't get better with age... You just accept the enigma this man is.

Pisces Sun- You may have an absent dad. That can be taken in many ways both due to circumstances of life or him choosing to be absent. This can be a hint at him being an artist of some kind like writing, singing, poetry, painting, etc. He may be highly spiritual/religious and a big believer in life happening for reasons we may never know. Always gives this type of answer when asking for advice from him. While there may be a connection here, it can feel a bit fragile. As if anyone or anything can break the relationship you have with him (prone to misunderstandings on both sides).

'You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start wherever you are and change the ending..'

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d999666 · 22 days

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Galactik football S1 ep6 review - (5/5)

Nork : I know something about that magnificent images aren't they warren you must watch them again and again and a loop that.

Warren : Doesn't interest me only the future is the future.

Nork : that's just what we're interested in today the upcoming galactik football cup which everuone is waiting for. so let's skip right to the random drawing to the groups in the qualifying phase but first a brief word from our sponsor.

>>Comment :

This is Warren, the previous year's GFC winner.

One of my favorite characters in GF.

I think the group draw is traditionally conducted by the captain of the winning team of the previous year.

Thran : if they put us in Lightnings's team group. I changed my name and drop off the face of the earth.

Mice : Please Put us in the Lightnings's team group Plz. Put us in the Lightnings's team group Plz….

Thran : VERY FUNNY

>>Comment :

I really think the way Thran, Ahito, D'jok and Micro-ice tease each other is funny.

Nork : This is a crucial moment to the competition and it looks like Warren is wondering the same thing as you the viewers at home who is gonna play against to hear the group a the Rykers, the Pirates, the Shadows and finally the snowkids!

Thran : Sorry micro-ice. I think I'll stay. Mice : too bad I'll have to live with it.

Nork : well here's a group that will give our chance to once again meet up with his old partner in Nexus. who's just been recruited as coach of the Shadows.

and, this isn't the shadows only new recruits because the team now includes former snowkids player...Sinedd!!

Clamp : I know what you're thinking Aarch, History is repeating…

Aarch : itself Artego has never stopped trying to corrupt everything around him. but Sinedd's just a kid

>> Comment: Artego brought Sinedd to the shadows team. Sinedd went to Shadows.... (it's my headcanon....I think Artego adopted sinedd, just to make it easier to manage team transfers, because sinedd is a minor who needs legal guardianship.) If Aarch had reported to the police that Sinedd had disappeared, no one would have been surprised. Aarch is an adult and should be responsible for the safety of the underage players. You should have known Sinedd's whereabouts. I should have called the police and heard from the police, "Oh, the boy followed another guardian to another team." You don't listen to it through the news like this.

If you knew Sinedd was a kid, why didn't you treat him well? Aarch hasn't spoken to Sinedd since. You're also responsible for this.

Clamp's room

General Bleylock caught Clamp.

>> Comment: Clamp really needs to strengthen the security of the academy.

Clamp : Who are you?

Bleylock : this should help you remember

In Clamp's head, memories of his past as a professor pass by. Probably, it's from the Metaflux experiment. The other missing professor is next to Clamp. The subject of their experiment, I guess, is 'a project that allows robots to use Flux by installing artificial flux on Android'.

However, a huge weapon has been created that should not have been made. (It's not long since the space war ended, and it seems that there is still a small war in some parts of the universe.) Another missing professor, I'son, runs away with Metaflux.

Then, General Bleylock, who was after him, hurt I'son, dropped metaflux from I'son's hands... and it landed on Akylan's planet. That led to the arrival of the Ice Age on the planet Akillan.

Bleylock : So, Labnor, how does it feel to regain part of your memory. you rest assured that this isn't finished things will start coming back to you little by little that…

Clamp : That…That explosion the glaciation of Akillian. What's that? what's that my fault?

Bleylock : Don't worry Labnor, no one will ever know no one will ever know as long as you do exactly what I ask.

>>Comment: Think about it. Calmp lost his memory. And while traveling with the memory lost, he met Aarch. The two became close. And Aarch created a new football team. But what if your past mistakes caused an ice age? What if so many people died?

What if so many people lost their homes? What if it was Metaflux that made you frustrate your best friend's dream? Clamp will feel guilty. Maybe, I just wanted to cover up the whole truth and move on.

#galactik football #galactikfootball #galactik football review #GF S1 ep6 #GF S1 ep6 review

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parvuls · 2 years

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okay. so I couldn't very well post all those meta posts and not analyze 'coach', could I?

there is just. so much to unpack here.

bitty's fear of confrontation

(bitty's first mention of coach vs. the coach arc)

could you even imagine bitty yelling at his dad like that in year 1? could you even imagine him explicitly seeking out the confrontation instead of taking the easy way out and making peace with not knowing?

year 4 bitty is sick and tired of feeling ashamed of who he is. that's not where he's at anymore. bitty found a home, and found a family, and came out to them, and found love, and came out with him, and faced every bad thing the world had to say about that, and is now leading a division one hockey team as an out gay man.

bitty learned to overcome his fear of confrontation one tiny step at a time over three long years, and this is the final step. the boss level. bitty is going to face the root of all that and demand an answer, and is going to learn to live with that answer, whatever that may be.

2. coach's Emotions

and that's emotions with a capital E.

the most telling statement coach gives in this whole comic is this one: I don't know what to do with you. and he means that super literally. bitty knows that; suzanne knows that; we know that.

coach spent his entire life with one type of men, and then he had bitty, and he does not know what to do with him. not because he thinks bitty's wrong in some way (although bitty certainly fears that), but because he literally doesn't know how to talk to bitty. in coach's world, coming all this way to watch bitty's game (and, also, routinely watch all of bitty's boyfriend games), is a straightforward way to support bitty. that's the love language between father and son that coach knows. much like: signing his son up to peewee football so he can coach him - so they could share a love for the sport.

coach doesn't know how to express his emotions in words. he really does think that not making a big deal out of bitty's sexuality and just quietly accepting jack into their life is the best way to support him. and honestly? coach probably wants the path of least resistance (much like... someone else we know). he's not exactly comfortable with this whole concept of """gays""" yet, but what good would that conversation be? and he's actually pretty hurt that his son let him find out about this with the rest of the entire fucking world, but what good would that conversation be?

let us flash back and remember that coach, in the midst of the cup party, didn't say a word about bitty coming out on tv before ever talking to them. all he said was "jack played a good game" and "call your mother [you're hurting her]". coach didn't give any indication that bitty hurt his feelings, too - but now it comes out in a burst.

3. plot twist: bitty is his father's son.

('summer with jack' blogpost)

so you thought bitty takes after his mom, huh? haha. NOPE.

so bitty represses his feelings, huh? so bitty would rather solve everyone's problems before admit he's hurting? so bitty would do anything to avoid confrontation? so bitty would escape tough conversations even when they're so important and hurting the people he loves ('hi honey', anyone?)?

yeah. so. the bittle men.

bitty has been in pain for, like, coming up to a decade now, because he really does think that his father considers the way he is as 'messed up'. and coach has been struggling to connect with his only child for about ~22 years now, and actually in pain for about 5-6 months, because his son apparently thinks his parents are on the same level of importance as every other living soul on the planet.

and they... choose to acknowledge this only when it literally explodes out of them.

how could coach know the right way to support bitty if bitty never told him? he couldn't. how could bitty know his father loves him as he is if coach never told him? he couldn't. it's like? words are? important? listen, when jack zimmermann tells you you need to talk to your daddy about your issues, something must be truly fucked up.

4. a hopeful future

so that's the bottom line. arguably four years of growth coming to fruition. bitty willingly confronted his dad; coach said the word 'boyfriend' and told bitty he's good; they parted ways knowing the next time they're going to see each other isn't in vaguely 7-8 months again. it's not just making nice with each other: they both took actions to communicate. coach using the word boyfriend is the representation of his willingness to learn and grow for bitty.

why do you think bitty nailed that check in the finale? because he can finally face the memory of that symbolically traumatic peewee game, and all that comes with it, without having to also wonder if his father is ashamed of him. he is now ready to (symbolically and uhhh kind of literally) take on the face of the hatred and homophobia that plagued him his whole life without holding himself back.

#omgcp #omgcheckplease #literally... this is so long I'm so tired the coach arc is so hard #LONG POST #meta #I probably have 100k more words to say but like. no more.#text

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gaycavendish · 7 months

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Ok ok ONE more question abt Time Travelers Trio. Are Cavendish and Dakota still time Travelers as well at this point, or have they like retired or smth? Just curious as to what's up with them? :^D

finally going to answer this question! i have thought long and hard about it and come up with two answers: the short one and the deranged rambling one!

the short, less satisfying answer being: i think it could go either way! i really truly could see them either scrambling their way back into time traveling or finding jobs in the 21st century. Although.. i find the latter choice not quite as entertaining. So i prefer to think on the idea of them returning to time travel!

Now, The long answer:

(TLDR for it first: I think they may continue time traveling. Eventually Cavendish & Dakota start their own, rival to the time bureau, Time Traveling Agency. Whether the trio will be part of this agency is undecided but a probable yes.)

ok, so, theyre banned from time travel, full stop... But i mean, they know the guy who INVENTED it. its a silly solution, really & truly very goofy (although i think in line with the silliness of dwampyverse overall) but .. They could ask doof to make a rule that theyre allowed to continue time traveling. Total oversight by block to trap them in the century where doof invents time travel. Of course block wouldn't just Let this happen, or anything, but cartoon shenanigans ensue and im sure you can picture something sufficiently entertaining and set to the scooby-doo-door-chase song here.

The interest for me in this theory lies also in what dakota and cavendish would do up until the point where they return to time traveling! Trying to imagine them working regular jobs for like, a 10-15 year period.. i simply cannot.! The one ive found myself having the most fun thinking about is the idea of them helping out with the creation of the time machine, as well as coaching the trio on it a bit once they start testing doof's prototypes (although, theyre not the best people to ask for time traveling help i imagine HAHA). But in any case.. i also think they would change what they do with their time traveling quite a bit. I mean, neither of them WANT to do the pistachio stuff.. It's shown you can travel through time AND space, although they never leave the planet on screen (for pistachio purposes i would think). If they were in charge of their own missions, i quite think they would be doing much more exciting things! and. hopefully dying less...! CAVENDISH...

OK I SWEAR IM GOING SOMEWHERE WITH THIS. Because at this point i feel they are getting old and perhaps wishing to do something less dangerous.. Ok get ready for this.. This has been my favorite thing to think about today... What if they started their OWN time travel agency! A Ha! I might find this more exciting than other people, but nonetheless, i think its fitting. I mean, Block is a terrible boss. The bureau of time travel was never very kind to cav and dakota, and given that they have the resources (Doofenschmirtz! Love That Guy!) why not, right? plus, this gives the opportunity for some Secret Agency vs Secret Agency goodness. Which I always love. I only thought of this concept recently, but It's definitely my favorite of the bunch, so probably what I'll go with! Just left to decide whether the trio are part of this agency or not (probably yes).

#tttau #hi guys. feeling super normal #Can you tell ive been reading frankenstein with the commas in this... im sorry if so HLEP...#milo murphy's law #au #asks #Feel free to ask more questions!! I love to think about this au ^_^

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veryace-ficrecs · 8 months

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Trent/Ted Lasso fic recs part 2

This list will include all ratings and tags, so read at your own discretion! :)

part 1 here

some small comfort by trentcrimminallybeautiful (biDEMONium) - Rated T

Trent finds Ted having a panic attack in the coaches' office.

Curious & Judgmental by r_n_g_are_dead - Rated T

When he was ten and three-quarters-years-old, Ted Lasso’s parents left him at the Allen-Bradley Clock Tower for 3 hours and 42 minutes. Well, more like the park across the street. While there, he met a young British boy. Ted gave him a football trading card. The British boy gave him a pen.

Time was infinite. Time with people in your life was not. But sometimes you got more time with them than you ever expected.

what do dogs dream about? by trans_chickens - Rated T

She nestles into her pillows and is just about to close her eyes when she suddenly seems to remember something else. She sits up straight again, blinking at Trent. “He was silly I think, when he said a thing about you.” Trent, who was this close to feeling triumph over a toddler brought to sleep with no incidents or hiccups, suddenly feels like he’s losing a battle. “What… did he say about me, love?” he asks, mouth dry. Maybe he doesn’t want the answer. He wasn’t even gone that long for the ice cream, how could Ted and Olive have fit in a whole conversation about dog dreams and also talk about Trent behind his back? It’s not fair. It doesn’t make sense. He’d think Olive was making it up if it wasn’t for her sincere expression. That and the fact that Trent suspects his daughter hasn’t figured out the concept of lying yet. He dreads the day she’ll get there, and hopes he still has tons of time until then. He almost wants to believe that time is now when he hears the next words out of Olive’s mouth. “He said you’re pretty.”

recipe for happiness (in khabarovsk or anyplace) by prewars - Not Rated

Series: 7 Works

Ted does what he does best: talk. Trent listens.

I Told You I Would Stay by hippiecommune - Rated G

Coach Ted Lasso from America, the man whose incurable optimism and seemingly infinite supply of well-wishes had somehow wrangled a good opinion out of quite literally everyone he’d ever met, was giving up. He was going home. Trent was here to ask questions about relegation and Ted was here to announce formally that he was resigning. Trent knew this because Ted had left a message three hours ago giving him a heads-up.

the funny thing about coincidences by mmummydust - Rated T

MrBlueSky: What are you working on tonight? Or thinking about on your walk? starman72: Coincidences, coincidentally. MrBlueSky: :) What about them? starman72: Nothing in particular. Just thinking. I’ve had a lot of them occur lately. Just a bit funny how things work out sometimes. --- Ted Lasso has been talking to someone on Bantr. Trent Crimm has also been talking to someone on Bantr. Turns out, they're both using it as a fairly poor distraction for their feelings. This doesn't turn out to be as big of an issue as it seems. Or - Ted and Trent are both incredibly, helplessly oblivious.

the courage to put on the cape by clementines_and_colourful_things - Not Rated

Trent Crimm, The Daily Planet. — A Ted Lasso Superman AU inspired by a Tumblr post by matttheratking. Thank you for violently (and metaphorically) shaking me by the shoulders.

things we are too young to know by andaskwhynot - Rated M

The other man stops talking, looks straight at him. And Trent was wrong, the look he had fixed on him earlier was not a smile, not really. Because now he is smiling at him, and it is nothing short of a beam, bright and open, and there are dimples, and even though the other man has a face that is more narrow than not, all Trent can think of as he looks at him is ‘corn fed’. Trent does a year abroad in the states, gets assigned a football player as a roommate and has his life turned upside down. It's all horribly cliched, until it isn't.

Words are very unnecessary (but they brought me to you) by blueberrywizard - Rated T

“At 4:44 in the morning the smell of coffee, like every other day, woke Trent up. At 4:45 kitchen radio started to play quietly in the background and Trent could, just like yesterday, recognise the sounds of Enjoy The Silence, which he thought was a little bit of a strange coincidence, but well. Stranger things had happened. At 4:50 he was at the kitchen table, thinking about his life choices. About journalism and football and life that kept having turns that he couldn’t predict.” Or: Trent Crimm, The Independent finds himself stuck in the time loop. There’s a lot of British 80's music and questionable life choices included.

Trent Crimm Cannot Be Objective About This by thegables - Rated E

“I’m bigger, you know, so I won’t get as cold, and you’re… not as big, so the cold would bother you more, it stands to reason, so you should just let me go on the outside by the window.” Trent said, “You have the gallantry of a big-jawed American film hero.” His tone when saying it was such that Ted said, “Sorry.”

in my head (I found you there) by lilysaid - Rated E

Trent loses the last three years to amnesia and can't figure out where overly-familiar American football coach Ted Lasso fits into his life.

friday (never hesitate) by oriscribes - Rated G

Trent froze with a small wince. Oops. This was too much. This wasn’t what he meant to do. But it was Ted and he was fucking leaving. But right now Ted was looking at Trent with a gentle smile and a gentler look in his eyes and well shit. Trent needed to leave before he did something stupid like kiss the the gaffer like he got the boy at the end of this fucking fairytale of a season. OR: an alternative take of when Ted is reading over Trent's book.

that funny feeling by bearfeathers - Rated T

Ted needs to talk to Trent about the security footage he found. Except that's hard to do standing in West Ham's facilities with people bustling all around them. So he does the only reasonable thing he can think of: he invites him to dinner.

Total Writing by sbkmm - Rated T

'He’s bouncing off the walls. He definitely made at least two weird noises and waved his arms around like a Muppet.' What happens to Trent after That Scene in s3e07. Can he recover his cool exterior? (spoiler: he can not.)

Take My Whole Life Too by ItsClydeBitches - Rated G

Ted Lasso was the kind of man who taught NSYNC choreography for a going away party and bent his players into impossible positions just to say “Hi, Boss!” in the morning. He’d organized fearsome bets over darts, baked heavenly biscuits on the regular, and had requested at least two boxes from Nate Shelley’s niece, one of which still sat on a shelf in his office, despite the betrayal. Ted was also a passionate believer in what he referred to as “rom-communism,” all the trappings included. In retrospect, Trent should have known he’d go all out for Valentine’s Day.

red-handed love by clementines_and_colourful_things - Not Rated

The ever-bubbling reservoirs of hyperactive energy stored deep in Ted Lasso’s sun-touched soul never ran dry. — Or, Ted Lasso is not the most spatially aware, which leads to a head injury, a hospital visit, and a very stressed Trent.

When Life Gives You Lemons by Springandastorm - Rated T

Trent snorts, which is a sound that Ted has trouble believing he's able to make. "You didn't want to touch the knob?" He repeats. "Nah, it's got all kindsa nasty germs on it, and I know that you bake 'em out anyway, but this one time in college I got food poisoning from a bad donut and spent about two days straight on the—wait." Trent waits patiently for Ted to finish realizing, arms folded. Ted feels his face break open wide. "Trent Crimm, are you making a dick joke?" "...I'm attempting to." Ted thinks that if there were a little meter for how much he likes Trent, that might've just broken it.

lonely, lonely boys (this one's for you) by clementines_and_colourful_things - Not Rated

Nothing about Kansas feels right. And that’s only partly due to the massive fucking tornado.

Or, Trent ventures to Kansas to attempt to drag Ted back to Richmond, but nasty weather throws a wrench in his plans.

Biscuits for Blushes by JessJesstheBest - Rated G

“Clara’s class is having a holiday party and it just so happens that she has listed your biscuits as her ‘Favorotti’ of all time. She absolutely refuses to bring her classmates anything else to the party.” Or Trent's daughter has requested Ted bake cookies for her whole class and obviously he's on board.

Can’t Cry in Public and Can’t Drink Alone by WordsInTheNight - Rated G

When the wifi goes out at Ted's, Ted and Beard turn to watching the Shocker game at Mae's. Trent happens upon them and is invited into the wonderland that is watching football--with football coaches. Ted jumps on chairs. Beard is as protective as a mama bear, but buys Trent a pint. Just some smoopy afternoon getting to know each other and sharing each other's space. Pre-relationship, but the air is thick with promise. Set slightly after season 2, so two-ish years since the Shockers won the Division II NCAA championship. Trent Crimm is working on a book about Richmond. They haven’t hooked up, but intention is in the air.

exercising restraint by trentcrimminallybeautiful (biDEMONium) - Rated E

Following a fun and informative encounter with his favorite ex-journalist, Ted has a rather uncomfortable meeting with the Diamond Dogs. Featuring: Trent Crimm and the be-catted bag, Leslie Higgins knowing a lot about BDSM, Roy Kent being the world's most unwilling participant in this conversation, and Beard being Beard.

Top of the List by infiniteeight - Rated G

Rebecca wants Ted to be happy. Ted is good at making other people happy, but sometimes he needs to be nudged into taking something for himself.

The Humble Himbo by ItsClydeBitches - Rated G

Join narrator Trent Crimm as he follows one of the world's most magnificent creatures, the Himbo, capturing never-before-seen moments within AFC Richmond.

linger by trentcrimminallybeautiful (biDEMONium) - Rated G

Rebecca comes to see why Ted hasn't gotten off the team bus yet.

#veryace recs #ted lasso #trent crimm #ted lasso/trent crimm #tent #afc richmond #ted lasso fic rec #fanfic recs #ao3 fic recs #ao3

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aranarumei · 6 months

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For your ask game thing!! Selfishly and predictably: bonus htt. But also curious about friendship vs acquaintanceship if you’re up for it ! peace and love on planet kiri ^_^

ask me about my wips | wip list

as you have so smartly guessed, the htt in bonus htt stands for hanzawa to tashiro! this wip exists because i wanted to have a place to display some stuff on the hanzawa side that doesn't show up in the anomalous agate. and because i didn't want to write hanzawa's pov (writing in hanzawa's frame of mind as part of a story that's like. About Him feels. like i am betraying him somehow. can't explain it) i am writing as tashiro. and. perhaps due to seigi's influence i keep drifting towards doing so in first person. and because of this i keep hating it bc my first person is not very tashiro-esque. thus i have given myself a challenge of writing this same scene once in my regular third person limited style, and ALSO as if to emulate love & passion's writing. this is. Hard. here's my snippet.

“If you’re looking for a delinquent, look in the mirror,” Hanzawa-senpai teased, and then produced some kind of torture contraption from his bag. “Now don’t move, okay?” I yelped and threw my hands up in self-defense. “You can’t put that thing near my face!” Hanzawa-senpai just laughed at me, close enough that I could feel his breath on my face. Sadist! “It’s just an eyelash curler, Tashiro-kun,” he drawled. “Calm down, would you?”

very mild spoilers for s2 of fantasy high for the next one, so that's going under the cut:

so friendship vs acquaintanceship is basically me working out the details of a riz & ragh friendship. this is because riz shoots coach daybreak and shoots of biz's fingers in s1 of fantasy high but ragh he tells him like. hey ragh. i think u probably like need to work through some things. and in s2 there is no way for me to interpret riz's entire arc except for it being about him being aroace. brian murphy does not turn to the camera and say "riz gukgak is aroace" but the entire narrative supports it and personally i kind of respect that its played that way bc i think it works for how riz is. ragh is also around in s2 and while hes like. buds with fabian and gorgug i feel like he and riz kind of have a certain level of distance? so i thought it would be fun if they were like, actually friends and not just. "my friend cares about you" level. hence the title. so it would be abt ragh basically supporting riz in terms of really verbalizing his aroaceness and such and they get to be good friends.

“Dude,” Ragh says, “I was convinced you like. Just didn’t like me.” Riz stares at him for a very long time. His little goblin eyes narrow into little goblin slits and Ragh will never be a poet but it’s like there's a universe passing through his gaze, and Riz is simultaneously fifteen and fifteen thousand. “I don't—not like you,” Riz finally says, voice cracking back into the shape of an awkward teenager. “I mean, we hang out and everything, so I figured…” he shrugs. “I mean, I know we’re cool,” Ragh says. “But are we like, cool, cool?” “Is that a trick question,” Riz blurts out. “What?” “I don’t—do you hate me? Is this like how that works? Is this some kind of interrogation?”

#kiri.txt #my writing #ask game #wips #love u sunnfish i did need to work on these #ask #sunnfish

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teabiscs · 1 year

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Hear me out hear me out hear me out hear me out.

Manga!Hiro/Anime!Kai & Anime!Hiro/Manga!Kai

Almost some Isekai bullshit. Where the Hiro’s are transported out of their world to the other one. Some weird planets aligned stuff.

Manga Hiro gets transported to the future where he’s older, and has come to find out a lot of bad things have happened. Volkov in this universe was a monster, and by extension, so was he. Takao doesn’t look up to him like he did, and his father and Ryu are disappointed by him. The team he cherished and coached can’t stand him and don’t trust him. Even hate him? Who is Brooklyn? What is BEGA?

Anime Hiro is taken to the past. There’s no BEGA. Volkov is still evil, but holy shit he wasn’t as bad as the Volkov back home. There’s a different level of respect from the Bladebreakers. And they’re just all different than how he remembers them back in his world.

Manga!Hiro has the toughest time, trying to piece things together through the internet and others. Until he confides in Mr. D, who looks like he’s crazy, but hears him out.

Insert hospital scene here, where idk some made up medical stuff where it’s like yeah this isn’t our Hiro. Maybe. Or it comes out there’s nothing wrong with his brain, and yeah Hiros a master manipulator but he seems different.

The slowest of burns for Manga!Hiro/Anime!Kai. Kai doesn’t trust him, and is under the impression this is just another one of Hiro’s plans. Kai still hates his guts after everything that happened during BEGA. Everything that was said, that he partnered up with Volkov.

Manga!Hiro trying to make amends for what other Hiro did. Apologizing. Volunteering. It feels pointless because people still see him as other Hiro. He feels so lonely. Isolated.

Again slow burn, but eventually Kai takes pity on Manga!Hiro and talks with him and hangs out with him. And maybe… maybe Hiro was telling the truth. There’s not this ominous aura around Hiro. There’s just this gentler vibe. The hairs on his neck don’t stand up, and his gut isn’t telling him to get away.

And Anime!Kai’s feelings begin to fester

Anime!Hiro is having the time of his LIFE!! he got to do all this shit in his other life and now he has no consequences of that. There’s no Volkov to pair up with. No looming over throw of the BBA, it’s surprisingly calm. He’s coaching the team, and they listen to him, including Hiwatari, who was such a little shit in the other world.

This isn’t a slow burn. This story is kinda icky??? Depending on how it’s written. I see Anime!Hiro as such a manipulator. He gets what he wants, without caring who he hurts. Also this would take place more towards the end of the Manga, ignoring Rising’s existence. So like 15-16ish Kai and a 22-23 Hiro. So like while good and legal in Japan, my western brain is like NOOOO.

He wants Kai. This world’s Kai isn’t insufferable. Isn’t a little shit. Is bright eyed and optimistic. Isn’t damaged goods from the abbey, which may or may not exists (he’ll research that later, as well as Yuriy, for reasons). Has daddy issues. Is kind of unsure of himself, blushes????? Really? It’s endearing, and this world’s Kai is kind of cute.

And yeah okay, maybe wanting Kai, is him just getting back at his world’s Kai.

If the other world’s Hiro/kai is a slow burn this is a spontaneous combustion. It happens so fast. Hiros almost a little disappointed there’s no chase at all. Kai just opens up to him. Emotionally and sexually. Share his frustration over his dad and Hiro listens, and shortly after he kisses Kai and it’s a done deal after that.

He wants to be rough and aggressive with Kai, after everything Anime!Kai put him through, but he can’t. At least not the first time, and then after he finds out Kai is into that.

And then the rest of the story would be Hiro being like, ya know what? Kai’s not that bad , and he slowly falls for Kai.

Would probably alternate between the two Hiro’s one chapter for one then the next chapter for the other. Or two separate fics. The usual one

#beyblade fic ideas #kai hiwatari #Hiro kinomiya #hitoshi kinomiya #I just think this would be a fic I’d read the hell out of #will I write it?#probably not because it’s taking me forever to finish my Kai/Rei thing that’s branched off to like six other fics #also think this would be cool to do as a dual author fic #one person writing one POV of Hiro the other person doing the other POV #ramblings #the writing process

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desert-fern · 7 months

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Ahhh, Fern! I hope I'm not too late for positivity night! I feel like I have to preface that everyone I mention here is a fantastic author (that's just a given, okay?).

I feel like I have to start off this round of positivity with you, my lovely houseplant, you! You're one of the sweetest, warmest, kindest, genuinely caring people on this site. And I'm not just saying thay because it's your birthday. Thank you for all you do.

Next, I have to include @horseshoegirl . For everyone who hasn't had the chance to interact with Lucky yet on Tumblr, I have to ask, what's stopping you? She's sweet, the biggest cheerleader, generous, thoughtful and if that wasn't enough, an amazing author and illustrator. I joke all the time that Lucky should leave some of the talent for the rest of us because she genuinely can do anything she puts her mind to!

For @dakotakazansky I have nothing but the most admiration. Loki hasn't been very active on Tumblr over the past few months, but there is an absolutely amazing reason why! This lovely lady went after her dreams (IRL) with singleminded focus and so much grit and determination and just achieved those goals. All while working a full-time job and by studying her butt off every chance she could get. Congratulations Loki!

Next I'm going to mention @sarahsmi13s because I have 💐💐💐💐 to give her. Why? Because there isn't a more supportive, sweet fun human being on this planet! She can make you laugh, make you cry, and make you feel every other emotion in between with her writing while being one of the biggest cheerleaders on the planet!

@roosterforme , our darling Em! Em, you are one of the best creators I've ever had the fortunes of getting to know on this site. Your outlook on life, and your zest for Rooster is so incredible, and I'm pretty sure I love every single thing you've written (that I've read, because you've written a lot). Thank you for being you and always providing a place for the Roo-nicorns to collect. Between Coach, Daddy, Roo, Jake and Bob, you can't go wrong!

I also want to include @teacupsandtopgun . Beth is just the latest creator I've gotten the pleasure of getting to know, and I love every interaction I've had with her so far. She's kind, she's brilliant and she writes a Jake that makes me swoon!

This message is ridiculously long already and there are so many more creators I want to include on here, but I think I could go on forever and ever without pause. So I'm going to stop here.

- XOXO Star

I told myself I wouldn’t cry, but I lied. You are just so fucking sweet, it’s unreal. I would give more detail but then I would really be crying.

Everyone you have listed are the most incredible people both on and off Tumblr and you all deserve the shout out here! Lucky, Vinny, Beth, Mal, and Em, you deserve every bit of praise you get!

#talk to the houseplant #birthday positivity day #positivity night #positivity day #Fern loves star

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jez-bez · 15 days

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Tag game Get To Know Me (if you dare)

I'm not a scary person, I promise, don't worry hehe. Or am I? 👀

I was tagged by the lovely @lilmaemae , here goes babe 💜✨

Do you tidy your bed? I do! Not always, but yes! Something about coming back to a tidy looking bed makes me more excited to jump into bed than if its untidy. (Though, I'm in bed a lot so, idk... you find the logic in this) What's your favourite number? Uhm, I don't have a favorite number? I guess I always like my age until I get to the point half way into the year where I'm like 'ohhh next year I turn xyz year old!' so maybe that's my favorite number? If so, right now it's 25 What is your job? Right now I work in a grocery store. I have since I was sixteen, to earn my own money, and I never left. If you could go back to school would you? Yes. I quit my studies last year due to mental health, but I'd really like to go back and get my bachelor. Not the same studies tho, they changed it drastically when I got to my second year and it's t e r r i b l e now. Also one of the reasons that I quit! Can you parallel park? I can! Do I have my license? No. A job you had that would surprise people Uhm, well I've really only had the one job but, I've coached kids teams too within my sport? Do you think aliens are real? Yeah, I'm positive we're not the only ones out there. Even bacteria on a different planet are already alien. Can you drive a manual car? Yes. Again, do I have my license? No. What's your guilty pleasure? Uhm... I don't know? Any phobias? Spiders, the dark. I can walk at night just fine, but I cannot walk down the stairs into a dark hallway, past dark alley's and other dark space without being scared and having a fight or flight reaction :) Tattoos I have 8 tattoos! Mostly tiny ones. I have: - A quote: 'to the stars who listen and the dreams that are answered' - My childhood dog's pawprint - Quotation marks on my write over my veins as in to say 'life' - A smiley - A tiny heart - A paper airplane I got when I was on (my first ever) vacation in Mallorca - A silhouette of BossNoeul embracing each other (no faces tho cuz I'm not that crazy) - And a quote that says 'freedom is the oxygen of the soul' Favorite color? Sunset orange and sky blue Favourite type of music? If I'm to believe my Spotify Wrapped it's mostly Pop, Indie, a little bit of Rock. Idk actually Do you like puzzles? No, they break my brain. Make me feel stupid. Favorite childhood sport? Korfbal, look it up. I still practice this. Do you talk to yourself? No. Well, yes. Mostly when I do something stupid. What movie(s) do you adore? Marvel. Especially movies where the good guy turns bad due to trauma :) But also feel good movies. They surprise surprise make me feel good. Coffee or tea? Tea! I don't drink coffee. At all. First thing you wanted to be growing up? A cashier because growing up my mom was a cashier at our local store.

aaaaa okay so that was me! Interesting questions tho! Mutuals that I'll tag, don't feel forced to participate! But I'd like to get to know yall better <333

@chaeul @copperstown @misshanbb @paperzombie @misshprint @heerotheshiro

#tag game #get to know me #if you truly get to know me you'll see how unhinged i am #no just kidding im quite calm #also if ya have questions or ever just.... wanna talk... hit me up #i dont bite #not always #KIDDING

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katherinebotten · 10 months

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Jack Donoghue, the opioid epidemic merch hoodie, and Salem

Jack is cool because of what he brings to the situation. The situation isn’t cool. It’s cool because jack is there. Jack sets the tone he does not let the tone dictate how he is received. He has a romantic mid-west America sensibility. Humble. Disappearing to become a heroin addict ploughing the fields of Alaska like a gold-rush miner in the 1800s. Always in a BPD codep relationship but he remains the Elvis of his life. The captain of his ship. Enough self hating insecurity that we relate to him yet enough mastery over his exterior material conditions that we are in awe. The shame never takes him under the way it would us. He is a god amongst men because shame would kill us mortals yet he takes his shame and turns it into capital through the commerce possible from fine art. Everyone else tries to be Salem but only Salem is Salem. Everyone else should try being themselves. He dated lana because they are both magicians. Liam wanted to be Jack. Every boy wants to be jack. If I saw a person in a Salem t-shirt I would make sure not to talk to them. I think identifying with Salem is for losers only. But I can’t deny the appeal of jack. And of Salem!

Daisies boyfriend wore a black hoodie it said “I survived the opioid crisis” and I wanted it even though they are the most loser couple of insecure losers on earth. Australia’s prom king and queen if the high school was Insecure High. And it really makes you think, huh, it must be true… money doesn’t make you happy. I didn’t know who made this hoodie - for days I was thinking about it. It was like a sigil. Charged with subcultural power. Then I googled it and saw it was Salem merch... Of course! Salem merch is cringe by nature because when you signal the code that your into Salem you also signal that your a desperate creton lazy death lover with no creativity. Like every art gallery in Melbourne named after death. But this hoodie got me. Death has built in sex appeal that’s why I think it’s lazy. I wish Salem made pro-life merch but they wouldn’t, couldn’t, and won’t. Because then they wouldn’t be Salem. I come for the death and stay for the sex. Jack is the Bee Gee’s “Stayin’ Alive” song, walking down the street in spring using your denim cock crotch as a compass. Jacks cock = true north. He is magnetic because he is a child looking for a whore and/or a mother and won’t break out of himself to become sovereign (ie to become a magician) and we identify, the magnetism is that he is us but he looks, sounds, and seems cool doing it, so we idolise. We want to feel okay. We also can’t break out to become sovereign selves, we want company. But jack is accidentally a magician and I can’t figure out why. He is a martyr in that he becomes magician so we don’t have to and we praise him for it. (Idk how u become a magician without becoming a magician????) He is America. He is a poet. He is a beat poet. He is a dumb hunk. Drunk. Drug addict. Sex addict. Bpd pest. Annoying regressed pitbull. The archetype of the Casanova, Eros, Mars the planet named after the Roman god of war. He signals an authenticity that hipsters feed off but being death obsessed isn’t authentic it’s fake and a cover and fear centric and our authentic core is always life obsessed. My magic coach max says life and death are the same thing. Idk I just know Jack is a loser because death is pathetic but I also know that he gets me everytime and we love him because we want to love the fearful parts of us too and in jack we see the dualism of fear and the things we do to camouflage it that to dumb people appears as fears opposite. We want to empower the parts of us that are scared and weak and lying to cover themselves over as strong (see: in Melbourne - indifferent, apathetic, amoral, apolitical). So we love jack. Scum John Travolta. A boobytrap. Salem is for the codependent. Salem is loaded, charged, cool.

I watched a fan made documentary on YouTube about Jack and spent the next 12 hours totally desperate to relapse. Every product we want has a secret promise it will make us feel safer. No one wants to die and to change is to die and to be attracted to darkness is liking this sensation you get when you think you are changing because you are dying because you like darkness, and how happy it lets you feel making believe like you're changing when your actually not. Surrounded by darkness my loser XXXXXXXXX thinks he is so cool because he loves death but he doesn’t change he is stuck because he thinks the attraction to death is death (he's not brave enough to die). The final thing out of Pandora’s box was hope and it was the cruellest of all because it kept people exactly as they were. Unchanging. We are such liars. Salem hoodie losers declare themselves as liars. Looking beyond death is life, like in Zazen setting up seated meditation and staring through the hoodie. Refracted out on the other side is the understanding that there is a quality within you that is dependent on external validation for your sense of mysticism, and this is of a low vibrational frequency and probably blocking you from real divine union, being yourself, knowing your purpose and carrying it out.

I wish they didn’t have the opioid brands on the back it makes it uncool, glib and heavy handed. It’s cheap like loser graphic design not fine art and you could find anything that looks like that at Savers or someone in Brunswick yuck. The front is kind of dope in that it’s a public service announcement and mysterious and doesn’t technically have to be true. Then the brands on the back is this energetic doubling down but it’s confused and Vibrationally comes off as not mysterious. Too “of the world”. Plus can you imagine all the losers behind you as you walk being intrigued or scared while reading the branding on your back it’s kind of beyond ugly thing to force to happen in the environment in fact I would go as far as to call the graphic element on the back of the hoodie environmental rape.

It seems like no matter what he has friends and some what accepts himself. If it was one of us who ended up picking olives in willunga, South Australia, or being a cleaner on a FIFO offshore oil refinery, or in the mines of deep Queensland I doubt we would remain cool and desirable, it is the perserverance of Jack’s essense despite the material conditions that we admire. It’s like he is in the olympics of remaining cool despite what is happening around him. I would kill myself if I ended up childless and living in the fleurieu peninsula alas I am sober and Jack copes by smoking, driving a ute, staying reflexive to trends, and contributing to the zietgiest with markers reminding us of his virility via Instagram posts. I’m torn, it’s not king behaviour. I stan a drop-out, jack hangs-in.

One day zac described to me that Ed Sheeran was famous because he distilled the essense of England into a man and that is what was being celebrated. England championing the spirit of “England”. The schizophrenia of it was enticing, I don’t know if it checks out. I think we just want to be carried off to sleep, our consciousness blunted. Nothing toooo much but enough of enough to think we’re being satisfied. A Course In Miracles says nothing of this world could be satisfying. I think jack represents the edge of an edge most hipsters are happy to occasionally occupy or aim for. If Jack actually was a frontier explorer we wouldn’t know or see him because he wouldn’t be so representable and locatable. (I wonder if that’s truly true?)

I like jack because he shows me beauty in hopelessness. Where jack is is ok not because it is ok but because jack is there. This is a representation of presence-creation. If I am ok then I can be present. At the end of it all we love hope. The art is dark but it represents making the most of nothing and that is hopeful. Jack is a magician because he is an alchemiser.

I still think wearing Salem merch shows yourself to be retarded it’s the same as saying I am four years old but I can’t deny that the graphic design of the Salem font is an effective sigil. I respect the mastery of magic in this regard. Salem tea towels would be cool. “I survived the opiod epidemic” on a teatowel would have such a different register vibrationally than a black hoodie. I guess I’m missing the point again people want death not life from salem and tea towels are too life coded. I wonder if there is a way for salem to have less loser attracting merch?

I know they have such bad porn star sex. I actually feel so sad writing that, I look into their eyes above and see broken 4 year olds crying out for affection and security. They could perfectly heal together, two of the same wounds. My heart breaks to think of both of them stuck on the same merry-go-round from hell.

#katherine botten #jack donoghue #salem

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boysplanetrecaps · 4 months

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Build Up Episode 1: If You and Every Moment

Welcome back to my project of recapping Build Up, the MNET show! In the previous one, we finished off the "voice check" mission, when the guys voted -- or didn't vote -- for each other. In this post, we'll tackle the judges panel as well as the first two performances: If You and Every Moment of You. Let's do this!

It's time for the performances already!

The judges are gathering. First in is Lee Seokhoon. You know, this guy.

He was the vocal coach on, among other shows, PD101 and Boys Planet. I have tried and tried over the course of this recap to remember his name but I cannot, and my scrolling finger was getting tired, so I will be calling him That Guy or That Vocal Coach Guy or something throughout and you’re just going to have to make your peace with that.

Then Wendy from Red Velvet and Baekho arrive. I’ve never seen Wendy on a show like this before, which checks out, because she says it’s her first time. And OMG. Baehko? Main vocal of Nu’est? The guy I bring up randomly in recaps that have nothing whatsoever to do with him, on the slightest pretense? I genuinely didn’t know he’d be a judge on this, but it sure sweetens the pot. I hope we get to hear him singing!

Baekho jokes that he feels like he should be on stage performing, because That Guy is here. The joke is that Baekho was on PD101 Season 2, when That Guy was a judge/trainer. Baekho actually won PD101 Season 2 based on the real votes, and should have been in Wanna One, but MNET rigged it and gave his spot to someone else.

I’m really surprised that Baekho would want to deal with MNET again after all that, but I guess this show has a different staff and showrunner.

Baekho and Wendy talk about how it’s their first time doing a show like this, and Wendy says she’s so nervous. She sounds really nervous. It’s one of the first times I’ve ever seen Wendy not smiling.

Eunkwang from BtoB arrives (if you don’t know BtoB, they’re with Cube and they’re known for their vocals), and Solar from Mamamoo. Finally, Jaehwan from Wanna One (he’s a soloist now) -- he’s the one who sang that part right before the chorus of Energetic, the part with the “no no no no!” His vocals are so gorgeous, my god. But also, I wonder if it’s weird for Jaehwan and Baekho to work together after being on PD101 together all those years ago…? Doesn’t seem to be -- they have a fun rapport.

Anyway, this judging panel is stacked.

LTR: Baekho from Nu’est, Solar from Mamamoo, That Guy, Eunkwang from BtoB, Wendy from Red Velvet, and Jaehwan from Wanna One

Dahee appears and introduces herself as the MC.

She looks really pretty. A long sleeved bedazzled denim tailored crop top paired with a matching denim mini skirt? I mean why not? Do your thing, Dahee. The judging panel applauds and shouts at her that she’s beautiful.

The camera reveals where the boys are sitting in a sort of green room area, and they are also shouting about Dahee. They’re now wearing the outfits they wore in their official photos. That will make it easier to recognize them from those photos, that’s for sure.

And looking at this, I realize, this is supposed to look like the coliseum. You guys. That’s why one of the boys said that the set looks like the coliseum as they were coming in, before the studio lights came up. Someone must have told him to say it. This is supposed to look like an ancient Roman gladiator ring or something. I wish it didn’t look so shitty, though.

Dahee says that the participants will get to experience the feeling of being in a 4 member group today, and that they be evaluated for their performance.

Wendy is super nervous. She might be even more nervous than the boys are. Come on, Wendy, my fellow North American. You got this! She’s wearing one of those three-quarter sleeve blazers. I feel like I should get one of those.

Dahee asks the judges what criteria they’ll be using. The judges reply with their criteria one by one, and the guys in the green room are seeing it on a closed circuit camera view and reacting to each judge. Apparently, this is the first time they are finding out even who the judges are, much less what the criteria is. Seems like maybe that info would have been helpful earlier, like maybe when the boys were rehearsing and planning….?

LTR: Bitsaeon from M.O.N.T, Ji Yeon Woo, Sunyoul from UP10TION, and Choi Su Hwan -- aka Team Decalcomanie.

The boys are excited to see the vocal coach guy, who they refer to as “that man with glasses.” I guess they also have trouble remembering his name. They’re also a bit intimidated by him -- he’s known for telling it like it is.

The guys are also especially delighted to see Eunkwang from BtoB.

To be clear, they’re also pretty surprised and happy to see all the judges, but my sense is that for most of them, Eunkwang takes top spot. He is often cited as a role model for young male kpop vocalists, in much the way that young female kpop vocalists would cite Taeyeon from SNSD.

Sunyoul, in his sparkly black jacket, pulls out a little notebook and starts taking notes of the criteria! Is Sunyoul low key the Woongki of Build Up? I think he might be, friends. I’m here for it. Not that anyone can replace THE Woongki, but it’s nice to have someone around who reminds us of him. So what must Sunyoul be writing down? Here’s the criteria we get:

The Vocal Coach Guy says that he’s going to be looking for the delivery of the lyrics and for them to do their own interpretation of the songs.

Eunkwang encourages them to have good teamwork on stage and to show their best performance with the chance they have.

Solar from Mamamoo tells them that, as a member of a 4-person vocal group herself, she’s looking for synergy.

Baekho says he’s looking to see that they distributed the parts correctly so that each member can shine.

Wendy tells them she’s also looking for lyric delivery and emotional expression.

Jaehwan starts to say that the others already gave good advice, and Eunkwang playfully interrupts to tell him to not say more in that case. Jaehwan goes on, undaunted, and encourages them to not let their nervousness get the best of them. They need their breath to sing!

And right away, it’s time for the first team to perform!

If You (originally by Big Bang)

The first team is doing “If You” by Big Bang, from 2015. Eunkwang says the song is really hard, and That Guy agrees. Shipji ana! It’s not easy. This song is not just something you can sing with a “nice tone.”

Who is taking the stage?

It’s Geonu from Just B, Jay, Kang Hayoon, and Hong Seongjun from BDC. They each introduce themselves.

Randomly, back in the green room, Seokhwa from WEi says he went to an academy with Geonu. See, all these guys travel in the same circles. One more reason it’s dumb to have fan wars -- you might be crapping on an idol who is best friends with your bias.

Hwanhee, watching from the green room, says he’s looking forward to Jay. And speaking of Boys Planet, That Vocal Coach Guy greets Jay, and they say “long time no see” kind of stuff. It’s interesting -- Jay’s Korean is obviously a lot stronger than it used to be, but he’s clearly still not fluent.

Vocal Coach Guy also knows Hong Seongjun from when Seongjun was on PD101, so the other judges tease him for knowing everyone -- is he like, the mayor of MNET? Vocal Coach Guy shakes off the teasing, but takes the time to praise Jay’s talent.

Solar and Wendy ask Hayoon why, if he’s ranked so high and can choose any song he wants, he chose this song. He says, in his very cute way of talking, that he thinks YG songs fit his voice, and we’re left to ponder how someone so cyoo can also be so YG we head into a flashback.

Let’s take a quick break and talk about the song itself. It was released in 2015 as a digital single only, with no video; an official for YG said that the song was too sad to make an MV for it! It was also unusual for a Big Bang song in that it featured only singing, not rapping. The lyrics describe a break up; the chorus goes, “If you, if you/ If it’s not too late / Can’t we get back together? / If you, if you/ If you’re struggling like I am / Can’t we make things a little easier?/ I should’ve treated you better when I had you.” The song did really well on the charts and got a lot of critical praise. For the record, I think it’s gorgeous, and I’m glad it’s going to get a cover done by a team of all main-vocalist. It has the feeling of a song written out of a real emotional place, and needs to be performed from that same emotional place if possible. Good things idols aren’t allowed to date, or they might actually experience some of these emotional situations! Sigh.

So, back to the flashback!

We learn that Hayoon chose If You immediately, because he thinks it suits him. Kang Hayoon kind of reminds me of that one episode of the Brak show where it turned out Zorak could sing in this really nice, clean voice -- but in reverse. Hayoon has this soft, sweet speaking voice and then he sings like an ageless wizard.

Anyway, based on my reconstruction of the team formation, six other contestants chose their songs next, and didn’t choose this one, but Jay made a bee-line for it. Jay explains that he chose If You at least in part because he wanted to work with Hayoon, which is kind of funny since earlier in the episode we learned that Hayoon was wary of working with Jay.

Hong Seongjun, looking on from down in the gladiator pit, says he doesn’t want to be in the same song as Hayoon and Jay, but after 17 more guys make their choice, he ends up choosing If You anyway. After all, he’s a great singer too, right? By the time Geonu chooses, all that is left besides If You is Decalcomanie, Don't Go, Breath, and of course Every Moment (more on that later), but he chooses If You.

They sing a bit together to help decide how to divide up the parts. Honestly, I’m not sure that I’m as much of a superfan of Hayoon’s voice as everyone else seems to be. I get it that it’s unique, and I definitely like some unique voices, but Hayoon’s voice just isn’t the kind of voice I love-love-love. I like it, don't get me wrong, but it's not my favorite voice in the whole world. Jay says Hayoon’s voice is very similar to G-Dragon’s voice, and I guess it is, actually, that’s fair -- but GD isn’t exactly known as an excellent vocalist, is he? He’s more of a rapper, songwriter, allrounder, swag king. (G-Dragon is the leader of Big Bang, if you're not familiar.)

So, I watched this episode the first time while a bit stoned (it’s legal where I live, guys, and I’m over 21) and I wrote down: “Jay is singing too, and jesus god on a pony he sounds gorgeous. I’m so distracted by his pink lipstick but his voice? Amazing. He says that he really wants a main part, and I want him to have one.” So… yeah. That’s how I feel now, too. (Write stoned, but edit sober, is what I always say.)

And they begin….

I know some of you may not have a decent link to the episode, so I’ll give the version with all the interruptions and reactions too, in case you want to watch it.

Here’s the version without all the reactions, if you want just the performance.

Here’s the version with all the reactions -- you can turn on the captions if you want.

My thoughts:

Basically, Jay’s voice is so impossibly sweet that he makes everyone else sound almost bad. I know I said he needs to work on his pitch and nasality, but he didn’t seem to have any pitch issues with this song, not even minor ones, and he was a lot less nasal. When I watched the performance before I saw the episode, I thought maybe he’d worked through the song with a trainer or judge or something to do the job he did, and you know, maybe he did. Regardless of how he did it, he sounded fantastic.

If you were eating really high quality ice cream, would you want to have a handful of Doritos right in the middle? Even if you like Doritos? I guess maybe some people would, but it’s not really the experience I’d want, personally. Doritos in one bowl, Ben & Jerry’s in the other, you know?

What I’m saying is that Jay is the ice cream and Hayoon is the Doritos.

Hayoon does have a GD-esque voice. It’s cool to listen to by itself, but next to Jay’s honey voice, it stands out kind of unpleasantly to me. It’s not a deal breaker or anything; it’s just that it wasn’t my favorite blend.

If you listen to just Seongjun’s voice, it’s nice too, if sometimes fairly nasal. Next to Jay's, it pales a bit, but on its own, it's really nice. It’s got texture and warmth and emotion. But he loses control just that little bit in service of the emotion, and he has a habit of letting his voice kind of “slump” at the end of each line. (That’s my term for it -- I don’t know if there’s an official way to explain.)

Judging by the criteria of, “who showed the most emotion,” it’s Geonu by a mile. But it was maybe a bit too much emotion…? He ended up going a bit pitchy and here and there -- he also loses control in service of the emotion. I could imagine a fan enjoying that, but I don’t think it’s what these judges want. That said, his vocal color is actually really very sweet and pleasant. I think he probably adds a lot to Just B songs.

The parts in harmony sounded pretty amazing. Everyone was in such control. Nice work, team!

Overall, this performance was really great. If this was a real vocal group, I’d like to listen to them. Hayoon’s instinct that his voice and Jay’s wouldn’t mix well was dead on, but I’d work around that to hear each of them individually. I also think that all three of the other voices blended well. It also doesn’t hurt that I love this song. I admit fully that it will be harder for me to evaluate some of the other songs.

MNET Edit:

It’s comparatively restrained for an MNET edit, with a lot of reactions but a minimum of instant replays from both the other guys and the judges.

The judges say:

The judges love Jay and Hayoon especially. It seems that only Geonu leaves all the judges stone faced. The boys backstage are impressed by especially by Jay especially, but seem to have kind words for all four.

When the song is over, everyone applauds, and Dahee asks the judges what they thought.

That Vocal Coach Guy says that overall they were good. Jay was a good fit for the song, and he really enjoys Hayoon’s unique tones.

Baekho praises Seongjun as the one whose performance held the performance together. Aww, that’s nice he got a bit of love. He really did sound nice here, and displayed a bit of range compared to his teaser song performance.

Jaehwan says that Geonu’s gestures and expressions were too canned and pre-planned, and it made his performance feel lifeless. Kind of harsh, but fair, I think. It’s tough because in kpop idol music, they tend to plan everything, even minor things like when they’re going to pass their hand in front of their face. Coming here where they’re expected to basically freestyle sing may be a tough adjustment for them.

Hearing this tough critique upsets our sweet Sunyoul, who asks his teammate Ji Yeon Woo to feel how hard his heart is beating.

With any luck, some girls will ship this and vote for him! Fighting, Yeonwoo! Fighting, Sunyoul!

Dahee asks the judges to select the top tier singer. It’s down to Jay versus Hayoon, and the judges spend time thinking, but it seems kind of obvious who it’s going to be Jay. The boys back stage think it will be Jay, too.

It turns out it’s unanimous --

-- they all chose Jay.

The other guys congratulate him, but they’re obviously disappointed to not be picked themselves.

When Dahee asks Wendy about her reaction to Jay’s voice, she says it tickled her ears, and I know what she means.

Jay kind of can’t believe he’s hearing such high praise from Wen-fucking-dy from Red-fucking-Velvet. I would die. I would die! I would evaporate into a wisp of carbon and oxygen if Wendy praised my singing voice!!

Dahee asks how it feels to win, and Jay tries to answer but first has to figure out what to call the judges. Eunkwang says he can call him hyung, which also blows Jay’s mind. Jay decides to stay formal, thanks them for the compliments, and promises to keep working hard.

Again, I’m sure the other boys are disappointed, but I think they knew it was a long shot to win against Jay. They try to take it in stride because they mostly got good feedback.

The judges talk about how good Jay is until it’s time for the next performance.

Every Moment of You

When the next song pops up on screen, the whole judging panel is pretty shocked, because it is apparently a really difficult one to sing. It’s called “너의 모든 순간 (Every Moment of You)” and is originally by Sung Sikyung. It’s from a drama My Love From The Star which was a phenomenon at the time, to the point that the lipstick color the main actress wore ended up trending. I watched this drama and liked it (not loved it but liked it a lot), but I didn’t really recognize the song, which is telling. I do often get to like songs from dramas I watch because you hear them over and over, you know? I just find this song a bit cheesy, personally. If you like it, rock on -- a LOT of people like this song.

Some of the lyrics:

After a while, when I recognized you, Everything was clearly changing/ My world separates to before and after knowing you/ When you breathe, a warm wind blows/ When you smile, dazzling sunlight shines …. Because you stayed there, because it’s you / Because you sometimes quietly lean on my shoulder/ I’m really, completely happy / I follow you as time flows and stops.

Anyway! So, the guys come out and introduce themselves.

Jang Intae says he’s hoping to establish himself as a good singer. Jang Intae was the one who came in last place in the voting. He performed a BtoB song as his teaser (V31) so it’s safe to guess he might be a fan of Eunkwang’s. Jaehwan gives Intae’s introduction a lot of approval, and we find out later that the two of them are friends.

Seunghun from CIX introduces himself and says “I sing deep emotions with a soft voice.”

Hong Sungwon says he’s a musical actor who will tap your eardrums sweetly. He’s in this fabulous ombre sweater with frayed hems and I want it. Sungwon is the one who sang Desperado as his teaser song, and I thought he did a great job.

Finally, Bain says he’s going to cut your heartstrings which doesn’t sound great…? Maybe it sounds better in Korean.

We hop back in time to see some of their preparations. We find out that Sungwon the musical actor chose this song quite willingly, but he was 14th to pick, meaning that 13 guys chose a song before him and none of them chose this song. In fact, it was the song that stayed empty the longest. Then, when we got to the last four guys to choose -- Bain, Seunghun from CIX, Lim Junhyuk (former Day 6), and Jang Intae -- there were three spaces still in Every Moment of You and one space in Breath. So there wasn’t really much in the way of choice for those last four guys, and three of them ended up here. What I’m saying is that most of the guys really didn’t want to sing this song, Sungwon aside.

When it came to their preparations, the main issue was, who gets to sing the intro? It’s kind of the “killing part” of the song, the part that everyone mimics when they talk about this song. At first, it looks like the team is going to have the musical actor Sungwon sing it, but then CIX’s Seunghun challenges him. Who won it? We have to watch the performance to find out.

Here’s the version without all the reactions, if you want just the performance.

Here’s the version with all the reactions -- you can turn on the captions if you want.

My thoughts:

Enh, guys, I had a rough time with this one, but I admit the song is kind of growing on me, despite my best efforts to keep not liking it.

Overall, this wasn't bad, but I liked some of the performances more than others.

So the first time I listened, I just listened, not watching, so I wouldn’t know who was who. Then I watched it again to match up voice to singer. From my blind listening, I ranked them

Sungwon (the musical actor)

Bain (orange hair from Just B)

Seunghun (from CIX)

Intae

I just didn’t really like the way Intae sang this.

It was so nasal, for starters. He has to switch awkwardly to falsetto sometimes and when he does it’s the wrong kind of breathy. He must be doing something wrong with his breathing because he also runs out of breath at the end of lines sometimes. He does have good pitch, and nice control over his vibrato. But overall this is just sort of not something I like to listen to. I feel bad because he came in last place in the voting and I don’t want to kick a guy when he’s down, but… yeah.

I also didn’t much like Seunghun’s performance. Again, I thought it was quite nasal, though not as nasal as Intae’s. He runs out of breath in the first bit, which may have been a stylistic choice but comes across to me as a mistake. His vocal color is certainly pretty on the lower notes when the nasality is less present, and boy, does the camera love his pretty face.

Eunkwang is edited to show disgust for Bain’s singing, which, you guys, ugh, omg, I can’t, I’m so mad. Bain did great. I’d admit it if he didn’t, but he did great. Fuck this show. I swear. His longer notes have resonance. He has barely any nasality. He has a tiny teeny too much vibrato for my taste here but I think it’s appropriate for the song. Pitch? Check. Emotion? Check. Breath support? Check. I don’t get the criticism.

Sungwon, to me, was the obvious MVP. His voice is so clear and lovely that it just goes down easy in your ear holes. He doesn’t have a hint of nasality and his control and pitch are both spot on. He vibrato is perfect, just perfect. Any more would be too much and less would be not enough. He also looks right at the camera and acts it perfectly. I also think the camera loves his pretty face, too, but you guys know that I don’t know who is or isn’t handsome in this world.

The MNET edit:

They of course play an instant replay of those important first few notes, and see everyone reacting to them. We get a lot of edited in reactions from the judges to let us know that apparently Bain is terrible, just the worst, get off the stage you loser. But other than that, the edit is relatively restrained for MNET. I guess they’re not going to be tap dancing on their edit keyboard as much for this show as they do for Boys Planet-esque shows.

The judges say:

All of the judges compliment Seunghun’s singing in the intro. Then Jaehwan compliments everything about him, including his height and looks. That’s… not the point, Jaehwan, but ok.

Wendy really liked musical actor Sungwon, and praises him a lot. Her praising him makes me feel smart. Yay! Wendy and I agree so all is right with the world.

Solar is glad that Intae smiled. I guess she has a point since the song is a love song, and watching most of them sing, you’d think that it was a sad song. I mean, here’s Bain singing with his eyes basically closed -- and he was like this for a WHILE.

But I don’t think Intae's smiling overcomes the other more serious problems with his performance.

Eunkwang says, “Bain used a singing method that is far from this song.” I don’t know what that is even supposed to mean. But of course, we just see this one sentence from Eunkwang, and don’t hear what any of the other judges had to say about him. This is just the MNET editing, and MNET has decided to hate Bain. Well, I hate MNET, how about that? Also, Eunkwang, you’re low-key on my shit list. I didn’t get the best impression of you on Kingdom, TBH, so… yeah.

Oh no, Bain is sad! Everyone listen to his cover of Seven by Jungkook to cheer him up.

The judging panel is over, and it’s time to choose top tier. The boys backstage think it’ll either be the musical actor Sungwon or CIX’s Seunghun. I’d give it to Sungwon, if it’s not obvious.

Most of them vote for CIX’s Seunghun, but Solar votes for Intae. OMG, Solar. You can even see That Vocal Coach Guy looking at her as if to say WTF.

Naturally, Seunghun is really glad to be chosen top tier after what happened in the first vote. Even though I didn’t adore his performance here, he’s a sweet guy and I know he really wants to be recognized as a vocalist, not just a handsome face, so I’m happy for him. Also, he’s singing in the ballad style, which is what he was asked to do, so if it’s not to my taste, maybe that’s ok.

Ok, I think that’s good for now! I’ll see you in the next one, when we’ll pick up with Don’t Go. Thanks as always for reading!

#mnet #bpr recaps build up #cix #just b #Jay Chang

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absolxguardian · 1 year

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After I made a post asking for fic recs that aren't setting aus, and generally being frustrated going into ao3 fandom tags and seeing so many setting aus, I thought about why I don't like them. The answer isn't relevant, but I did realize one setting AU for Ted Lasso I'd read the fuck out: Star Wars (probably because it's my main special interest).

Except I'm not interested in a fic where the cast are Jedi or something. Instead, I'm thinking about one where Ted is a coach for Outer Rim grav-ball (space American football)- perhaps for the Academy of Applied Sciences on Lothal (I'm just saying that because the children's chapter book that is half a high school sports book is set there. I know this would made Ted more comparable to a high school football coach, but ages for secondary and tertiary education in the galaxy is weird) who gets hired to coach a professional Core grav-ball team (space European football).

And this fic would really work by exploring the changes caused by the different societal norms between the gffa and our world. Homophobia? Nonexistent. Sexism? Also gone, which would change Rebecca and Rubert's dynamic. And sports aren't gender segregated. Mental health stigma? Honestly probably worse than current times given its unclear how prevalent therapists are in the galaxy.

But the big change would be that Ted goes from being an American expat to someone moving within the same nation that has a massive urban/rural divide as well as provincialism. His accent would be something people would discriminate against him for.

It would make things pretty dark, tbh, I think setting it during the Empire would be the best. Ted goes to work in the Core not just because he needs time away from Michelle, but because something doesn't feel right with AppSci becoming an Imperial feeder school and the new Athletics director is a racist ass.

The story would become about what you're supposed to do when you're just trying to be a semi-regular person within growing fascism. I think Ted would eventually snap and join the Rebellion (probably with a good portion of the main characters). There's the blockade and presumable communications blackout of Lothal, new policies banning aliens from professional sports, and probably one of his star players gets kidnapped by the Empire because they're force sensitive (there would be a higher than average occurrence of force sensitive people in professional athletics).

Some other new elements would be Nate (who is an alien) trying to be one of the "good ones" with Rupert, who is a die-hard imperial loyalist. He starts coaching for the Hammers at the same time aliens are banned from playing and only keeps his job because of Rupert's protection. Trent has the additional motivation to quit journalism that he doesn't want to have to deal with Imperial censors day in and day out, even though with sports there isn't much censor. Heck, Trent has always struck me as too somber and cynical to be a sports reporter, and maybe the reason he does sports reporting is because its the most honest specialty left.

The final new element I've thought of is that when I was running through my head for what planet the Greyhounds would be in, I landed on Chandrila. Which means that Rebecca and Rubert would be Chandrilan upper-crust- so instead of what we have in canon, Rebecca and Rubert are similar ages and were arranged to be married eachother when they were young (adults in their society, teens in our world). Instead of Rubert hurting Rebecca, they were both hurt by their society- which turned Rubert cruel. All the arranged marriages also means that divorce is more stigmatized and cheating more tolerated. This would also make Ted's in to the Rebellion through Rebecca and then Mon Mothma. Rebecca originally becomes a bit of a rebel sympathizer because Rubert is just so pro-empire.

#ted lasso #ted lasso au #star wars #i don't know if anyone else is interested by this idea #it makes the show much darker #if you can't tell i'm not much of a comedy person

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twistsandtwizzles · 10 months

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Stars on Mars: Episode 10

Welcome back to Mars! We are down to our final three episodes, with just seven celebrities remaining in this deranged “experiment.” Where did the summer even go??

(On a personal note, I entered into this recap project planning to only write recaps until Adam was eliminated, which I thought would be maybe three episodes, tops. Well, Adam played Andy Richter and he also played me, because not only is he still on Mars . . . I have somehow written more than 30,000 words about this ridiculous show.)

Last week: Lance sent himself home, which sent his closest remaining ally, Cat, into a bit of a panic and had her proposing an arrangement to Paul: “If you want to be Base Commander, I’ll nominate you. And I’ll be your mission specialist.”

Tonight, according to Shatner: well, you know how this goes by now. Twenty minutes of personal stuff and jockeying for Base Commander, fifteen minutes of mission time, and five minutes of mission fallout. This is: Starssssss on Marsssss.

Morning, Sol 15. The robot dog that was found in the vents last week is saying hello to the crew. “Did we give it a name?” Adam wonders aloud. Porsha asks what the smallest planet is, and is told that it is Pluto. (What’s Pluto’s status these days? Planet or no? I feel like science can’t decide. You’ll always be a planet in my heart, Pluto.) Porsha says they can’t just call the dog Pluto, and so dubs it “Plutoto.”

In the kitchen Adam asks Ariel about her “fleece booties” (most people just call those “slippers,” Adam) and Ariel explains that her sleep clothes are specifically chosen to prevent germs: pants tucked into a fresh pair of fuzzy socks, shirt tucked into pants. Everyone is a bit taken aback by this, Adam is especially shocked that anyone would sleep in socks.

Adam tells Ariel, “I feel like this whole thing has been probably really good for you, to push you . . . “ He pauses and searches for the right phrasing. “Period. To push you.” I like when we get a little glimmer of Coach Adam.

Ariel says in her confessional that she was a bit discouraged by being in the bottom three last week, especially since it was a challenge she thought she did well on, and that she is hoping to be Base Commander or Mission Specialist this week, because she does really want to stay in the experiment.

We get a cut of Plutoto the robot dog wandering around outside by itself.

Cat offers to make Marshawn and Paul some eggs. Cat throwing herself in with the remaining members of the Jock alliance makes for some good visual gags because she is a TINY tiny person (google tells me she’s not even five feet) and when she stands next to Paul (former NBA forward) or Marshawn (former NFL running back), it’s pretty comical.

Paul tries to get Marshawn to have some of what he is snacking on, which is ketchup and mustard on potato chips. Marshawn is revolted. Paul makes the point that a chip is just a crispy potato and therefore not any different than fries. My sister used to dip her potato chips in ketchup and while I prefer a good French onion dip, I can confirm that it’s really not THAT bad.

Cat finds Paul and tells him again that she wants to be his Mission Specialist when he is Base Commander. He once again says, “okay.”

And so it’s leadership decision time again - the group gathers in the command center to figure out who is going to take the reins from Porsha.

“Well, I would like to do it -“ Ariel begins, just as Paul puts his hands in the air and voices his interest in the position as well.

“Paul’s got two hands up,” Cat says, eager to throw her support his way.

“I’m the only one who hasn’t had a shot,” Paul says, as Cat nods along. “I would like to be Base Commander.”

“Why?” Porsha asks.

“I’ve been in the bottom two ever since I’ve been here,” Paul says. “I’ve had a chance to watch and learn from everyone, and I think I’m ready.”

Adam asks if there is anyone else who wants to throw their name in the mix, looking at Ariel. She softly confirms that she is, “but . . .”

“It’s all good either way,” says Paul.

Cat looks mildly panicked and starts to say “I think it should be Paul” but catches herself right before she says his name and instead asks, “Who else hasn’t been Base Commander, besides Paul?” Adam confirms that Paul is the only one who hasn’t done the role yet.

Tinashe has thoughts, mainly about Paul’s ability to communicate the messages he receives from Shatner. Paul says he’s fully capable of following basic instructions.

Tinashe turns to Ariel and asks if she’s nominating herself. Ariel answers, “I mean I did nominate myself but, well, I mean . . . we could take it as a vote?” (Google tells me that Ariel was born in Virginia, but I know midwestern behavior when I see it. That girl never takes the last donut in the break room, either, I’ll bet.)

Porsha hands out ballots. Paul and Ariel, as candidates, are not allowed to vote so we’re waiting on the results of five people.

Porsha breaks down Ariel’s strategy for us: “Ariel putting her hand up is just being smart - she knows what she’s good at, she’s not good out in the field … I would also want to be put at the place where I’ll look the strongest.”

Porsha counts the votes: one for Ariel, two for Ariel, one for Paul, two for Paul. And the last vote goes to … Paul. He looks satisfied, Cat is absolutely thrilled.

The group claps, and Ariel does a decent job of hiding her disappointment, even as her talking head tells us that she doesn’t have much confidence in Paul. I’m curious as to whether it is Porsha or Adam who flipped on Ariel - my gut says it was Porsha, who has done a good job of making friends all over the hab and not throwing herself TOO overtly into any one particular alliance. I feel like Adam’s loyalty to Ariel is too strong at this point for him to vote against her.

As the crew leaves the command center, Marshawn picks up an empty bowl from the table. “Oh my god, are you almost about to clean up something?” Porsha asks. When Marshawn rolls his eyes and carries the bowl with him out of the room, Porsha gasps and calls other members of the crew over. Adam and Tinashe also watch in astonishment as Marshawn disposes of some garbage in the trash can and puts the empty dish in the sink.

Paul tells them they are being a little extreme, and Adam says, “No, you don’t understand. We should find a patch for that.” Ha!

When we return from commercials, Adam is folding some bedsheets and the Lady A.I. asks him why humans do that. Adam says his biggest nightmare is things that aren’t folded, and anyone who has watched any of his videos on instagram knows that this is actually probably true.

It’s time to assign base duties. Today’s duties include some biodome inventory and measuring out an enclosure for their robot dog outside. Tinashe and Ariel are sent outside to measure an enclosure, and the rest of the crew does inventory inside.

The biodome has gotten VERY green since the last time we saw it, and I’m relatively certain there are different plants in here then there were last time. But I’ll just play along and pretend that all of these plants have grown from seed since the fake poop mission. Cat and Adam are going through the plants while Paul mostly observes.

Adam tells us that at this point in the experiment, everyone in the hab wants to be there, and everyone wants to make it to the very end. He adds that he and Cat have worked together several times, and that he knows that she’s going to go “balls to the wall” to get to the end. Cat reminds us that she made a deal with Paul to be mission specialist, and she “hopes he remembers that.”

Marshawn and Porsha are inventorying the food in the kitchen. Porsha says she’s worried about the rations because “we could die” (again, I always appreciate commitment to the bit that they are actually out in space) and I have to compliment the editor for their immediate cut to Marshawn mindlessly munching on some food as he counts things in the freezer.

Adam comes in and Porsha informs him that “we’re gonna starve in about a day.”

Adam: “Cool. I’m ready.”

Porsha explains that they have no fresh food and Marshawn, exasperated and clearly saying this for about the sixth time today, says, “All the fresh food is in the biodome!”

Porsha tells the camera that she has been trying to avoid the biodome because it smells in there. (Also I want to note that each of Porsha’s talking heads this episode have been with a different hairstyle, so we are clearly getting some interviews out of context here.) Adam escorts her into the biodome where Porsha is shocked to see so many fresh vegetables: “We’re going to live!”

Meanwhile, Paul asks Marshawn if he’s interested in being mission specialist. Sorry, Cat. Luckily for the chef, though, Marshawn declines. “Hell, no. I’ve gotta be outside. Otherwise I’m going to lose my mind.”

Porsha walks in at the tail end of this conversation. Marshawn asks her if she wants to be mission specialist, and Porsha says it’s too early for her to do that, since they still have to get rid of two people. “Oh, so you’re trying to save that for an ace in the hole?” Marshawn asks. Porsha explains that strategy wise it makes the most sense to be in that safe role later on, when fewer people are on the chopping block.

“Porsha’s gonna do some shady ass shit at the end,” Marshawn tells Paul, over Porsha’s protests. As Cat walks in the room, Marshawn says, “I think you might just have to go to Cat, bro.”

Paul still does not seem totally thrilled by this concept, but asks Cat if she wants to be mission specialist. She says of course she does, and says that she would crush it, and also that she showed her loyalty to Paul that morning by nominating him to be Base Commander. “Choose wisely,” Porsha warns Paul.

“What if I choose no one?” he asks.

“Then you’re gonna fail,” Porsha answers. Lady AI jumps in to confirm that it is required that someone be a mission specialist, and that she will replace Paul if he can’t choose.

Before commercials, we cut to more footage of Plutoto wandering around outside - and then falling into a hole.

When we return to commercials, Porsha (wig on, so this is likely old footage), Adam, Tinashe, and Ariel are reading Mars facts out of a manual. This has happened in several other episodes, as well, but I haven’t written about it in the recaps because random Mars facts don’t advance the plot and how long do these things need to be, really. I’m already far too verbose. But as we near the finale I have a feeling that these Mars facts are going to play into some final challenges, so it seems important to note that there is in fact a manual, and that these four, at least, have been studying it.

Anyway, the group talks about their interest in actual space travel. Adam wants no part in it: “I won’t even drive to Santa Monica. I’m not going to the moon.” They chat about the current going rate for a ticket to space. Porsha asks if there’s a groupon.

Emergency time! Shatner is here to inform everyone that their dog has run away and fallen into a “deadly Mars shaft.” The crew has to go rescue it, and they’ll get a bravery mission patch if successful.

Paul chooses Cat to be mission specialist, to her relief. Marshawn, Ariel, Adam, Porsha, and Tinashe head outside and pile onto the rover while Cat and Paul take their positions at the command center. Paul is told to direct the rover to their destination using the satellite feed.

Marshawn is behind the wheel of the rover and you can tell that the five remaining members of the original crew are having a pretty good time being all together on this mission. They chat about how they are basically going into this mission blind, with no information other than “find the dog.”

As they approach the last known location of the dog, Paul starts giving them directions that sound like this: “You are coming up on a right turn. Don’t turn. Keep going straight.” Marshawn asks for clarification that he is NOT supposed to make the turn, and Paul confirms that he should keep driving straight.

Of course, a minute later: “Oh shoot. You guys passed it. Turn around.”

Deep sighs from everyone on the rover. Marshawn turns the rover around and you can tell he is just having the very best time driving this thing (which is a little bit funny considering how furious he was about bumping into a rover a couple of days ago). He’s also, I should note, a good driver, and he takes care of his crew by warning them about turns and hills and when they should brace for bumps.

Paul finally tells them to stop . . . right in the middle of the road, with nothing on either side. You can kind of see where Paul is coming from - on his satellite, they are right next to the hole they are supposed to find - but the cave entrance is not accessible from the road, so the crew needs to backtrack even further. (If you are thinking this means that they have to make the turn that Paul originally told them not to make . . . you would be correct.)

Tinashe and Ariel both give talking heads about how Paul’s bad directions cost them a lot of time. Eventually they find their way to their destination, but only five minutes are remaining on the clock when they finally disembark the rover. (Ariel gets stuck trying to get out, to her embarrassment and the mild amusement of her teammates.) “Do not air that!” she says.

The group splits up into two crews: a rappel crew, and the search crew. Tinashe and Marshawn are assigned to the rappel crew - Tinashe will be the one rappelling into the mouth of the cave, where she will then throw a flare into the hole. This flare will be the beacon that Ariel, Adam, and Porsha should use to guide them to the missing robot dog.

Cat tells the search crew that they will want to stay to the right once they enter the cave, and Adam sums up their assignment: “Got it. Down the hill, turn to the cave, stay right, find the flare, get the puppy.”

There are three minutes to complete the mission. “Haul ass,” Paul says.

Adam, Porsha, and Ariel begin their sprint toward the cave while Tinashe and Marshawn get to work up top. Adam is FLYING down the hill, and is the first inside of the cave.

Tinashe and Marshawn move slowly and steadily but are able to get the flare deployed just as Adam enters the cave. Adam reminds us that he has a terrible time seeing in the dark, but he continues on as Porsha enters the cave not too far behind him. “Where are you?” she asks. He stops and turns around so she can track him by the lights on the front of his suit. “Let’s go!”

They get slightly turned around in the cave, Adam bumping into a dead end in his attempt to stay to the right as instructed. Porsha and Adam are together but Ariel is still quite a ways behind - she trips and falls as we go to commercials.

Porsha spots the flare, and she and Adam jog together into the cave where the flare and the dog are just as time expires. Mission success. “Ariel, are you okay?” Porsha asks.

“Yeah, I just fell over,” Ariel says, as Adam and Porsha circle back and help her to her feet. Marshawn and Tinashe are celebrating by doing donuts on the rover. Cat and Paul congratulate each other - “You’re safe and I’m safe,” Cat says - and Paul is especially happy that he finally got a chance to “prove his worth.”

The mood has gotten serious by the time the crew returns to the hab, as the fact that one of the original crew is about to go home hits everyone. Cat and Paul begin to figure out who is going home - Cat notes that Ariel fell and seemed to be struggling. Paul says that having Porsha and Ariel to do endurance stuff is a tough assignment for them. He notes that Tinashe rocked it once again, “definitely mission critical.”

“It’s never an easy decision as to who comes and who goes,” Paul begins, back on comms to the rest of the crew. “This first person showed tremendous bravery, and I’d like to give mission critical to Tinashe.”

We then cut to a few different talking heads. First, Adam: “I know that I’ve said that I’m not competitive but I am also I guess a huge liar, because I’m hoping I’ve done enough to be mission critical.”

Then Porsha: “It’s just simple. I was the one who found the fire flare, and I was the one who found the dog.” (This is both true and untrue - she and Adam were together when both of these things happened, and while she was the one to say she saw the flare first, they found the dog at the exact same time.)

Paul calls the next person in: “Because of the urgency and their taking control of the situation, Adam - come on in.”

Porsha says that this was a shock: “Adam deserved to be in the bottom three instead of me. Yes he hauled ass to the cave, but he did not know where to go once he was in there. And we could have lost the mission if I didn’t find the dog and the flare. So . . . it’s just factual.”

So this week’s bottom three is Marshawn, Porsha, and Ariel. Marshawn immediately starts picking on Porsha: “Oh, it’s your time to go.” She rolls her eyes.

When asked about why he should stay, Marshawn says, “I did the task that I was asked, and then, uh. You know what I mean? That’s what we’re supposed to do so that’s what I did.”

Cat is . . . unimpressed by this plea, to put it mildly. She looks at Adam and Tinashe and asks them what they thought about Marshawn not having a lot to say. They both agree that it’s just Marshawn being Marshawn. Cat tells us that she has concerns about Marshawn’s tendency to goof off.

Porsha says that she is mission critical because she was able to locate the flare and the dog. Paul asks Adam and Tinashe what they think about who is most vital to the team, looking beyond today. Tinashe says that she thinks Porsha is the most versatile person in the bottom three. Adam agrees and says that in the entire course of the experiment, Porsha has never let them down. Then he acknowledges that Ariel’s strength is really back in the hab, and that she is a little less versatile. Tinashe doesn’t disagree, but says that Ariel is a great communicator, very thorough, very decisive.

It’s Ariel’s time to state her case, which I will just transcribe in full: “I’m not usually an emotional person, but like, I’m feeling a little bit emo so . . . basically, when I came here, I didn’t even think I’d pass mission number one. I’ve overcome a lot of things. I never thought I’d rappel down a cliff. But I loved being on this team.” We cut to Tinashe and Adam, who are both smiling at Ariel fondly. “I even enjoyed the missions in this stupid ass suit. But, as you know . . . I love the word fair. I was not mission critical today. And I feel like I deserve to go.”

“So, are you saying you’re ready to go?” Paul asks.

“Yes.”

“That sucks,” Tinashe says. “But I guess all I can do is respect it.”

And with that, Paul calls Marshawn and Porsha inside. They both give Ariel big hugs before coming in, and Adam tells us that he’s in shock. “In this mission, she fell short. But in my eyes she’s one of the most mission critical people in this entire experiment.”

He runs over to tell Ariel goodbye through the closed door. “We love you,” he says. Ariel is crying: “I’m so much more sad than I thought I was going to be!”

In her exit interview, she says that she got a lot of great friendships and personal growth out of this experience and that she’s really happy she did it. “Even though it was a little bit of hell.”

This elimination feels a little bit like Ariel quit before she could be fired, but I do actually wonder if she would have been the one sent home if it had been left to the crew to make the final decision. I guess we’ll never know!

And so we’re down to six. Porsha wanders into the living room where Marshawn and Paul are hanging out, and Paul asks Porsha if she really was the one who spotted the flare. “Yeah,” she says.

“Hell no,” Marshawn replies. “She lying.”

The three of them get in a bit of a tiff, Porsha telling Paul that he could have asked that question before he decided on a bottom three. “Bottom three isn’t a penalty though,” Paul tells her. She says she was just giving him a critique.

Porsha asks Paul what would have happened if Ariel hadn’t eliminated herself. Paul says, “You was gone” as he and Marshawn burst into laughter.

“Marshawn treats me like I’m his little sister, and Paul feels like someone I grew up with in high school or something,” Porsha tells us. “They can say whatever, but it’s a competition show, and I’m gonna beat your ass.”

Next week: with only six crew members left, a shake up! Lady AI informs the crew that there will no longer be base commanders and everyone will participate in every mission going forward. Plus a rescue mission for an unknown person or thing that has Adam looking delighted. See you then!

#adam rippon #recaps #stars on mars

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uncloseted · 2 years

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i feel like so much of the media i consume is dark or disturbing or gruesome and it's not good for my mental health and can sometimes be triggering for me, do you know of any feel-good, positive, funny or uplifting piece of media like podcasts, tv shows, or youtubers?:)

I've got you! I pretty much only watch positive or feel-good content lately. The world is just too dark and I don't need to seek more darkness out. Here are a few suggestions I could think of off the top of my head. Everyone feel free to suggest others!

Ted Lasso- an optimistic, upbeat American football coach is hired to manage an English football team. Pretty much the most uplifting, funny, and positive show you could imagine.

Adventure Time- brothers Finn the Human and Jake the Dog battle evil in the fantasy land of Ooo. This show starts off very silly, but then becomes profound and life-affirming very quickly.

Community- a quirky sitcom about a study group at a community college. Hijinks ensue.

The Good Place- a woman wakes up in heaven only to realize she doesn't belong there. This show is hilarious but also has a really great message about what it means to live a good life.

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken- an anime in which a trio of schoolgirls start an anime production club. Even if you don't like anime, this show will convince you to love it. It's very uplifting and the girls' imagination and passion is contagious. This is one of my favorite shows ever to be made.

Schitt's Creek- a sitcom where a super rich family goes bankrupt and moves to a rural small town in Canada. Hilarious, but also very feel-good.

Derry Girls- a sitcom where the Derry Girls attempt to navigate teenage life in 1990s Derry, Northern Ireland. Given the setting it seems like this show couldn't possibly be funny or feel-good, but it's one of the few shows that consistently makes me laugh out loud. It has its tearjerker moments and it does those well. There have been episodes that have made me feel truly hopeful for the future of the world. But for the most part it's just fun.

Terrace House- a Japanese dating show where nothing happens. Three men and three women live in a house together, but then leave to go to work, hang out with their friends, and just do day to day things. It's somehow incredibly addictive and calming at the same time.

Space Dandy- an anime about the adventures of a "dandy guy in space who combs the galaxy like his pompadour on the hunt for aliens. Planet after planet he searches, discovering bizarre new creatures both friendly and not." This show is ridiculous in the best possible way.

Rilakkuma and Kaoru- a stop motion anime about Rilakkuma, a lazy stuffed bear, and Karou, an anxious human office worker. This show is very pure, sweet, and endearing.

Books

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet- this is the book I'm reading right now. It follows a space crew of aliens on their journey across the galaxy. The vibes are very comforting and it's kind of about the meaning of family.

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- when Arthur Dent's home is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway, he unwillingly gets swept up on a search for the legendary planet of Magrathea. Hitchhiker's Guide is a classic series that's very funny and sometimes absurd.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared- this is exactly what it sounds like it would be. Allan Karlsson is a hundred year old man who climbs out the window of his nursing home and disappears. It's a funny, passionate adventure about appreciating and enjoying life.

The House in the Cerulean Sea- Linus Baker is a depressed social worker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. When he is sent to evaluate the Marsyas orphanage for magical children, he discovers what's important in life. Very uplifting and life affirming.

Movies

Amelie- a quirky, socially awkward Parisian waitress secretly helps the people in her life while trying to work up the courage to talk to the man she's fallen in love with. It inspired me to want to do random acts of kindness for other people and it has great vibes.

Howl's Moving Castle- pretty much any Studio Ghibli movie has good vibes, but Howl's Moving Castle is my favorite. A woman cursed with rapid aging becomes a housekeeper to a narcissistic young magician. I would live in this movie if I could.

Night is Short, Walk on Girl- Night is Short follows Otome, a university student on a never-ending night out in Kyoto, and Senpai, the boy who is in love with her from afar. Before the night ends, they encounter criminal thugs, treacherous gods, and harebrained schemes, and drink a whole lot of alcohol. Whenever I'm feeling down, this is my go-to movie that I watch.

YouTubers

Purple Palace- Shayna is an American visual artist who lives in Paris. Her videos are inspiring and feel like hanging out with your most supportive friend.

Damon Dominique- a travel YouTuber. I don't watch him as much as I used to, but his videos often take a kind of philosophical or spiritual bend, and it's a lot of fun to see all the different places he visits.

ondo온도 - a super calming, low-key Korean lifestyle vlog channel

Mocha- a super calming, low-key Japanese lifestyle vlog channel

Goodnight Moon ASMR- if you don't like ASMR, this probably won't be for you, but this is my go-to ASMR channel for when I need a boost. Erin does an incredible job with props, costumes, sets, and storylines. I especially like her Valley Girl character, who manages to be hilarious and super calming at the same time.

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iviarellereads · 11 months

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Nona the Ninth, Chapter 22

(Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For detail on The Locked Tomb coverage and the index, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Slashed Ninth House icon)(1) In which Nona gets a crash course in acting, which is a lot like lying, which she has never been very good at.

Five hours later, Nona did not know herself. This was a good thing as she wasn’t meant to be herself; she was only meant to turn her head and answer if she was called “Harrowhark,” or “Nonagesimus,” or “Ninth.” Her complete inability to answer to “Harrowhark” or “Ninth” meant that Camilla had given up on anything other than “Nonagesimus,” and a sigh of— “Remember not to smile.”

Nona firmly knew she didn't want to be redheaded, a prince, or an adept, and she's not sure she wants to be Harrowhark Nonagesimus either, dressed all in black and not allowed to smile, or scratch if she gets an itch, or slouch. And, Nona doesn't like the dye they put on her lovely golden yellow eyes, turning them milky to fake cataracts as if that's protecting her from Varun's light. Cam's explanation tickled something in Nona's memory, but she can't quite bring it up to conscious thought.

Only We Suffer and Pash are willing to be in the room with them unshackled, so Pash made a sort of barricade behind which Nona underwent her makeover. Pash quietly sneered at the soldiers who think this makeshift thing would actually protect them.(2) Nona thinks Pash was quite attractive as she helped them prepare.

At one point, Nona had been worried because Camilla had shut herself away in the corner to write backward-and-forward with Palamedes. Palamedes had focused nearly all his attention on writing, except at one point he’d looked Nona over and said, “Look at me like you’ve worked out how to kill me,” and then, “More eyebrows,” and then, “Good God, perfect. Do you know, I miss Harrow terribly.”(3) Then he’d gone back to his letter.

After Pal's letter was complete, Cam felt overextended by his presence, and suggested that she and Nona take a nap.(4) Nona was tired. She'd snuck a bite of a pink eraser in We Suffer's pen and pencil stash which made her feel better, but sleeping next to Cam is better still.

When she woke, they had to reapply the dye and plastic bits to her eyes(5) but nobody even made her talk about her dream. More coaching on how to talk and react like Harrow, and how to use the "blue madness" as an excuse to not answer difficult questions.

Now up to approximately the present after that rewind, We Suffer declares that Pash will go with them. Pash says she's on duty, but We Suffer says that Pash's duty would like to go in as well. Pash protests that the Messenger shouldn't be anywhere near a Lyctor, but We Suffer says there might be a working shuttle to get them off-planet, which shuts Pash up.

We Suffer confirms that Cam's plan involves one chance, one element of surprise, to incapacitate Ianthe Naberius at least temporarily.(6) It's more than almost anyone else has achieved on a Lyctor, so We Suffer will take it, if it will mean saving her own reputation.

So, Nona, Cam, and Pash load into the big truck with the grille, and Nona is surprised to find the Angel, no, Aim in the front seat, even though she knew she'd be there. Cam reminds Nona to concentrate on the mission as they ride to this strange personal war.

Nona tried to look as though she could concentrate and stared out of the window, her heart hammering, her palms greasy with sweat. It was not even that she was nervous, not really. Her body had been playing strange games with her ever since she had recovered from the last tantrum. She was beginning to feel like a floating balloon on a string, with a weight tied to the end—the balloon bobbing, the weight dragging behind. She was the balloon, and also the string, but she wasn’t sure she was still the weight. Looking had become quite difficult—she didn’t want to blink too much in case the white came out again—which made the buildings all one great smear, the crowds brightly coloured stick-people. People with their hands in their pockets standing around on the street corners—people walking, people thronging, people righting bins that had been knocked over, as though nothing were happening, as though her whole life really were nothing more than a balloon passing by overhead.

Eventually Cam has them pull over, to go the rest of the way on foot. Pash makes the expected if-you-betray-us threats, but Cam is cool. She opens the boot of the truck, where Nona is surprised to find boxes of the things from home. Cam takes out a belt and hooks a sword to it, and sighs with relief, as if lying in a hot bath. Then, she puts the old sunglasses on. Pash sneers at the sword obsession, Cam points out Pash uses machetes, Pash says she just wanted to get inside House cavaliers' heads. Cam asks if she ever did, Pash says "Occasionally literally," and they both fall silent.

Pash seemed to be the one pent-up with something she couldn’t quite say, standing there with her arms folded, until she ground out— “Die quick, die cold, bring ’em with you.”(7) There was a movement on Cam’s mouth a little like her old smile. “That one yours?” “No. Came down from someone much bigger than me,” said Pash shortly. “Don’t get me wrong, wizard slave. You die quick—stay dead—and don’t get up again. But if you kill a guy who would’ve killed me, I have to give you that, right? I pulled a trigger next to you, that doesn’t mean nothing. But it doesn’t change who you are.” Camilla held out her hand. Pash shook her head. “I’ll touch you at the end of the world, but not before.” “Might be your last chance,” said Cam. Pash barked a laugh. “In my final minutes, Hect, I won’t regret not shaking your hand.”(8)

So, off they go to the barracks, Nona trying to talk like Hot Sauce, sure-footed and with a royal bearing. They enter, not seeing any signs of life except a scurry in the corners, and the gates opening for them wordlessly. Inside there's a foul smell, and Nona has to fight not to wrinkle her nose, which would be very out of character. After following open doors down hallways to more open doors, they find a room with Ianthe Naberius, Pyrrha, and Crown, and ranks of dead bodies standing in uniform.

Nona goes on describing Babs's puppet corpse in relation to Crown and Pyrrha (and of course it IS Pyrrha, Nona can tell) for a couple of paragraphs, until…

The Prince said— “You’re nearly a minute late, Harry.”

=====

(1) This one's easy: Harrow, AKA the Ninth, isn't what she appears to be. She's just Nona, which we know, but ideally nobody outside the active plotting party does yet. (2) And yet, Pash is entirely willing to be inside with Nona and Cam. She doesn't quite trust, but I like to think some part of her knows they mean her no harm. (3) Pal knew Harrow only in the abstract for a couple of months, really only collaborating with her for, what a week at most? But sometimes when you spend that much time adjacent to someone they become a fixture in your life, even if you're not emotionally close, and a few near death experiences can really bring you together in the end. It's half a joke in the fandom that Gideon and Harrow are instantly beloved by damn near everyone they meet. Gideon because she's so charming and vivacious, and Harrow… well nobody's quite sure why Harrow, but her trail of friends and defenders seems to indicate something about her, doesn't it? (4) Thus, how we had another John interlude. Sneaky. (5) That good old healing factor. (6) What do you think is up those crafty Sixth sleeves? (7) And here again, Pash has a whole lot of cultural beliefs to overcome, but I think this comes from two places. First, she has rituals before a confrontation, as many soldiers do, and she probably hates to break them because rituals feel like luck, and not doing them feels wrong even if you don't have OCD, like not being able to brush your teeth when you've done it every day since you were about two years old. For two, I once again present that Pash knows on a deep, mostly unconscious level that these are not her enemies. Ianthe might be, but Cam and Nona aren't, no matter how much social conditioning says they must be. I just love Pash as a character, and wish we could've spent more time with her before this point even if it makes literally zero sense for the story progression. (8) I love this line too. Are you sure, Pash? Might you feel differently depending on the outcome of the next few hours?

#the locked tomb #tlt #nona the ninth #ntn #nona the ninth spoilers #ntn spoilers #nona #camilla hect #palamedes sextus #we suffer #our lady of the passion

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