#trojan blank

[defenestratin]

a couple of Aaron/Blanks from 2020

#doodle #oc #original #art #trojan aaron #trojan blank

[ronjunnie]

RENJUN FIC RECOMMENDATIONS

SERIES

arcane

case oasis

we met in online class

ONESHOTS

blondes are done with fun (m) (31k)

the trojan horse (m) (19.6k)

dr_magic2303 (18.3k)

huang renjun's envy (17.5k)

sour tangerine (15.3k)

service call (m) (14.4k)

my boyfriend wants to be abducted by aliens (14k)

Running From The Dark (m) (12.8k)

art of innocence (m) (11.8k)

portrait of a blank slate (m) (5.8k)

the element of power (5.4k)

beat you at your own game (3.5k)

bad habits (m)

lip tint (1.4k)

pint (0.7k)

TIMESTAMPS

2:34 am

3:01 pm

3:40 am (m)

3:49 am

#nct renjun #nct dream #nct dream renjun #nct #renjun x reader #huang renjun x reader #renjun x you #renjun x y/n #nct renjun imagines #nct renjun timestamps #nct renjun oneshots #renjun oneshots #renjun imagines #renjun scenarios #huang injun #injun x reader #nct 127 #neo culture technology #huang renjun x you #renjun fluff #renjun angst #renjun timestamps #renjun smut #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #nct dream timestamps #huang renjun imagines #nct imagines

[soupychickennoodle]

Currently thinking about Jeremy making exy fun for Jean again. Reinventing it from being something that’s either life or death to a genuine joy and passion.

It starts with night practices. Jean goes because he can’t stand not adapting to the Trojans’ methods and plays immediately. He’s too used to the consequences and punishments; he has to take any and all precautions against failure. It’s also a familiar routine, something that’ll steady the ever-quaking ground beneath his feet for a little while.

Jeremy tags along because Jean can’t go anywhere alone (Kevin’s advice). Jeremy stays on the sideline, observing. Jean’s technique is flawless, calculated, automatic. His face is cold, blank. It’s all muscle memory to him, body a callous, empty shell as he performs mindless drills.

Jeremy asks Jean if he’d like someone to practice with after a couple minutes. It’s hard to practice as a backliner alone, he says. Jean agrees, that expressionless mask still up.

They go at it for a while and it’s normal. Jean expected needing to make an adjustment to practicing with a new teammate, but it’s familiar in its own way too. They were opponents long before they became teammates.

As the effortless rhythm of drills sinks into them both, their competitive sides start to show a little. Jean shoves just a smidge too hard and Jeremy clacks sticks even when he’s the one with the ball. They’re evenly matched, but not willing to admit it.

Jeremy teases Jean with words that have no hidden threat or any heat to them, but taunt him enough Jean can’t just ignore them. He finds himself muttering under his breath, returning the taunts full force just not certain enough to actually vocalize them. Each second that mask slips a little bit more.

So the drills get messy as they go against the normal rules of exy because that’s the only way either of them can get one up on the other. Jeremy hides the ball in his shirt; Jean grabs Jeremy’s racquet when he’s about to take a shot, throwing him off balance.

It’s the first time Jean makes mistakes without the fear of punishment. The only consequence is hearing a light hearted laugh roll off Jeremy’s tongue or seeing his eyes crinkle up close for the first time. There are no standards Jean must meet. There’s no threat of pain at the end of the night. No one to criticize and tear apart the tiny details of his performance.

He can make any mistake he’d like (and he does like to because Jeremy’s laugh is crazy addictive). Jean isn’t at the point that he can so easily laugh with Jeremy, but he smiles when Jeremy trips over himself because he tried threading his racquet between his legs like a basketball player. Jean rolls his eyes as Jeremy pretends to limp only to sprint past him and miss the goal so spectacularly, rubbing his neck as he turns around with a heavy blush to his cheeks.

It’s not like exy can always be this calm, low stakes debacle of a practice. Jean will still panic during a game when an opponent manages to outpace him.

But maybe he’ll remember those night practices with Jeremy. That sense of panic will gradually wash away to determination (something he’d never wanted for himself without the threat of a knife or cane). He wants to do better for himself and his team, not just for the sake of saving himself from Riko’s cruel abuse.

#jean moreau #jeremy knox #the sunshine court #tsc #usc trojans #can’t wait to see him slowly start to heal #its gonna be hard #aftg #jerejean #or not if you don’t like it #(I do)

[kashuan]

I could swear you've answered this before, but I'm dumb and can't seem to find it, so: what are some of your favorite Trojan War (or general Greek mythology) retellings and novels? I know you're very selective about which ones you like (same), and I seem to recall you mentioning a more obscure Iliad novel which was your favorite, but I can't remember what the name was.

It was probably this Andromache series!! It's hands down my favorite Iliad adjacent adaption, especially for its wonderfully nuanced depictions of Helenus and Pyrrhus. Unfortunately I bought the last amazon copies years ago and it seems no used copies have been listed since (or were maybe bought the last time I recommended it...hopefully...I need more people to read this series 😭) Another used bookseller might have it tho? Ransom is a much more well known novel focusing on Priam's story that I really enjoyed. Does Giradoux's Electra count? It's a straighter retelling than the other two but it has more than enough changes that it wouldn't fall into the category of strict translation either. Also, it's a graphic novel rather than a novel but the Age of Bronze series is pretty great too, with beautiful art and fantastic attention paid to the little details of the original stories. There might be some others that I'm blanking on right now 🤔 but those are definitely my favs :D

#the iliad #mythology

[eruwaedhiel-in-an-impardis]

It cracks me up in the Odyssey where everyone is like "oh no poor Agamemnon, his wife murdered him as soon as he set foot back home, who could have foreseen this??" Like this is the fucker who kicked off the Trojan War by going "hey Clytemnestra my beloathed wife send me our daughter whats her name imma marry her to Achilles or whatevs" and then promptly murdering his own daughter so the gods would be like "oh damn you're serious ok man sail forth" did this pissbaby really think twelve years would make her forget about Iphegenia and not want to rip his throat out with her bare teeth??

And Odysseus who ends every sentence with "my wife Penelope 💕" is over here like "damn dude. couldn't be me." bc THIS dude kicked off the Trojan War to save his boy, knowing full well it would be twenty years before he saw his family again, unless he killed his baby son which he refused point blank to do anyway in this essay I will

#odysseus #the odyssey #the iliad #agamemnon

[ipsen]

“““current””” wip

was tagged by @just-another-tokyo-ghoul-fan to share part of my ongoing wip! of which i have. many…

(narrator: ipsen just wasn’t the same after finishing blank canvas…)

i'll share some from my document lovingly titled "kaneki gets radicalized," which is just a fancy way of saying "root A but it's good." under the cut!

“‘Aogiri’s full of monsters. They’re all terrible. I’ll kill them all,’” Eto said, giggling. “What a peabrained perspective.”

Kaneki’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“So haughty; if you’d paid attention, you’d know Tatara already answered that question.” She spun around lightly, and it crossed his mind to attack her, but there was a sharpness to her turning that stayed his hand. “Well, whatever. This place is a decoy— a red herring for our favorite birds.”

The Doves. So Aogiri had a separate goal, but the question became: what could possibly be so important as to sacrifice all the ghouls here?

“Are you familiar with the Trojan War, Kaneki? It’s classic Greek mythos, covering the war on Troy by the Achaens. It ends—”

“It ends with the Trojan horse strategy, as described in the Aeneid by Virgil,” Kaneki interrupted. “What’s your point?”

She tilted her head at him. “So you do have a spine. Good. Yes, it ends with the Trojan horse.”

[etc etc]

“The 11th ward is the horse here, inviting all of these Doves into the safety of obtaining their next promotion. I hear their commander is rather excited about succeeding. Awful, really.”

[etc etc]

“Aogiri’s true goal is Cochlea.” Eto yanked him out of his mind. “Do you know what that is?”

He remained quiet.

“You don’t. Poor, ignorant Kaneki. So emotional, so irrational, so impulsive.” She giggled again. “It’s a ghoul prison. What do you think of prisons, Kaneki?”

“… They’re a place to lock bad people up.”

“That’s the intended purpose, but do keep in mind where we are.” He couldn’t see, but he felt her eyes were narrow as those black holes stared at him. “‘This world is wrong.’”

His fist tightened.

“A net can cover a wide area, but it’s just a net: a tool to be used. It doesn’t differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ like people can. Let’s put it this way: your friends at Anteiku—” she spat the word out— “if they were lucky, would get put into Cochlea with the right evidence, and then treated the same as Yamori was. Maybe worse.

“But I digress. The full brunt of Aogiri’s forces are there right now, freeing people who will fight.” She pressed the tips of her fingers together. “Aogiri fights for a world where ghouls can exist openly. Doesn’t that sound nice?”

On paper, maybe. But— “Why are you telling me this?”

---

i have other things, but i've been sitting on this one for a bit. hopefully i can share more soon (this is a lie).

until then, i'll tag uhhhhhh @eltheabberation @desisailormoon and force them to write something out <3

#tokyo ghoul #eto yoshimura #ken kaneki #writing

[hydrxnessa]

>> the primal experiment

+ doodles ft. alt ;3

ugghuu i've changed hydra's design so many damn times ever since i made her back in 2016. most redesigned oc by me. like damn girl pick a fit !!!

this is her pre-escape era fit btw. rockinf that prisoner outfit fr !!!! (4th img is her fit after her escape)

anyways hydra lore vv ------

Specimen designated H-712 "Hydra" is known as Trojan's greatest weapon, being imbued with one of Startex's most tenacious creatures: Draconics. Brutal strength paired with immense agility, she's able to withstand almost any extreme conditions; whether it be natural disasters or in combat. Physically, that is. Mentally is a different story.

Though, gaining such traits wasn't a simple, effortless pursuit. Hydra was put through countless gruelling experiments from such a young age, that it almost tore her apart. The mindset that stepping out of line would grant her an agonising shock from her shock collar was heavily ingrained. She was becoming more and more rebellious (did she want out? in death?) until Trojan had to resort to 'resetting' her memories.

Most, if not all memory of 712 going through those experiments were completely wiped, as a measure to keep her stable. somewhat. To fill in the gaps, he filled her head with false memories, such as milder tests like a simple target practice or dexterity test. Stuff that didn't happen. It's either that or just a blank gap. Anything that couldn't allow her to recall the Bad Stuff. She still goes through the same experimental tests as before, but they're less unpleasant for her since she's basically used to them (plus she's Way stronger)

It's also why she now responds (and obliges) more to Trojan. So, despite everything he's done to her, she will still willingly tag along and carry out his orders.

.. though she still has the 'attempt to rebel and you'll get shocked' mindset ingrained.

that's some of my thoughts down. yay. hydra lore.

also the lyrics are based on. the new dagames bendy song ;3 vv

#i've dumped more lore here in the past few days #than i ever have on instagram in the past 5 years #; scales' descent #; startex: singularity #; oc: hydra #art #digital art #original character art #oc art #oc design #hydrx art #Spotify

[okamirayne]

*a Wild Friend turns dramatically in your desk chair cradling a fluffy white cat (it's a plushy)*

Do you ever think about how Neji spent his whole life rebelling against fate and destiny to be able to carve his own path only for Kishimoto to kill him off doing exactly what his destiny was determined to be from birth and then retroactively make his whole life struggle meaningless by establishing that fate is actually a real thing in the world by having Naruto and Sasuke be literally the chosen ones destined to change the ninja world

*takes a sip of tea (it's apple juice)*

I think about this a lot cuz it feels like a real fart in my face, ya know

*takes another sip, the cup is somehow fuller than before (it's tears)*

Anyway, this is definitely not me trying to not immediately dive into OtC after bawling my eyes out over BtB nuh-uh, no way, no how...

Except it totally is and I'm losing that battle, goodbye

*the Wild Friend turns the chair again and disappears*

*a Wild Friend turns dramatically in your desk chair cradling a fluffy white cat (it's a plushy)*

Do you ever think about how Neji spent his whole life rebelling against fate and destiny to be able to carve his own path only for Kishimoto to kill him off doing exactly what his destiny was determined to be from birth and then retroactively make his whole life struggle meaningless by establishing that fate is actually a real thing in the world by having Naruto and Sasuke be literally the chosen ones destined to change the ninja world

......*reliving the event*....

.......*eyes begin to twitch*....

........ *defaults to the Dastardly Twins excellent method of deep-seated denial*

I think about this a lot cuz it feels like a real fart in my face, ya know

Oh yes. I know. I bloody know.

I bloody remember it...

*considers the ceiling with false calm* You know when you laugh for a minute because you're so deep in the ass-end of feeling emotionally gaslit and cheated that you're processing the crap that's unfolding at the speed of a virus-molested XP Windows laptop...you know the one, right? You've got about ten alerts going off but you're stuck like a frozen monitor...your screen is blank...I mean, you can smell smoke coming outta your vents...but you're not catching on....because the BASTARD BACKDOOR MALWARE plot device you're reading (or watching) is like some dirty little Trojan Horse worming its way through your mother-bloody-board and your CPU is like WTF, cannot COMPUTE...and you're still not too alarmed because system's aren't yet fully shutting down...I mean...

Oh ho! What's this?! Neji just got impaled? Neji's on the brink of shuffling off his mortal coil!? What tosh! What Bollocks! Oh so he's leaking vital fluids...so what? That's happened before! No need for alarm. Nothing to see here, kids. It is but a scratch! A flesh wound! Just a waft of smelly red herring Kishimoto has thrown in there to distract you from the fact that there's no WAY that Neji's freedom-seeking character arc is about to go up in flames...because...

....wait..............

...........

WHHHHYYY?

Argh...*self-soothes, violently*...Way to kick-up the feels, Wild Friend...I probably deserve it...fair play to you, fair play...

Well...it is at this point that we have no other choice...

And I am still honoured and touched that you revisit BtB and it's following instalments (bloody hell, you read fast btw) to help with the hurt...or maybe to masochistically pick at the scab...but I get it...Damn, I GET IT. I mean, I swore up and down I'd never go POST WAR....and then Heaven Hold Us made a dirty little liar outta me.

#still hurts #can't accept it #won't accept it #fix it fanfiction #jesus take the wheel PLEASE #a wild friend is awesome #wild friend asks #neji hyuuga #neji lives #neji hyuga ask #neji's death

[rabidlittlestrawberry]

7 up!

thanks @mayzarbewithyou for the tag!!

rules: post 7 (or more) lines of a wip you've been working on

7ish lines from Lets Play a Love Game

“Why?” Peter asks. One word. That’s it. One simple word. James takes a second to process this, as apparently do most people. But James knows it has to be a bad one, a real gotcha moment, from the blank satisfaction on Peter’s face, the begrudging acceptance in Remus’ eyes. One simple word, but delivered with the power and precision of a bullet. 

“Why…?” Regulus prompts, but one look at him tells James he already knows the answer, he’s just hoping he’s wrong.

“Why did everyone choose who they just chose to kiss? Why.” His tone is devoid of any inflection. The words are simple, impossible to misunderstand. 

Tagging @thestarsincapricorn @ye-olde-trojan-horse and whoever wants it :)

#marauders #starchaser #jegulus #regulus black #marauders era #marauders fanfiction

[starcrossedjedis]

Actual footage of me coming up for air after being stuck in planning / plotting / hyperfixation hell for days xD

So the plan was that Athena - curious about the "human experience" and intrigued by Odysseus for the virtues they share - offers him personal mentorship in exchange for a place in his crew for the duration of his journey home to Ithaca under the guise of a Trojan girl named Thea... and things happen.

Now that I have been busy brushing up on the Iliad and Odyssey (and being stuck in an "Epic The Musical" spiral as it's the current hyperfixation of the heir to my ADHD) I am having doubts as to the plausibility of this set up.

Because I have a feeling that a lot of the stops and pitfalls that make the Odyssey would be reduced to three minute discussions of the "yeah no maybe let's not to that, I know everyone's very hungry but there are ONE EYED GIANTS WHO EAT HUMANS on that island sooooOoooo" variety xDD

So, new and improved set up - in the prologue Athena is furious after witnessing Odysseus' men desecrating her temple in Troy and Zeus offers to punish them/teach them a lesson. She tells her father to pick Odysseus for punishment since it was his men and thus his responsibility.

Zeus puts the infant son of Hector in Odysseus' path, telling him he has to kill him (knowing full well that the child must remind the man of the son he left at home; the son he saved by going to fight another king's war).

But because he is this story's male protagonist (and because I am a wuss who always skips "Just a Man" because it makes her too sad), Odysseus dosn't kill the boy. He instead takes him out of the city and leaves him to grow up with a pair of farmers (probably telling them some sad tale about a Trojan girl who fell when the city got sacked and how the child didn't deserve to die blablabla).

Athena, while still iffy about her temple, is intrigued by the fact that a general, who is very much responsible for the fall of Troy, would spare this child, even though he was told the boy would grow up to avenge his father and his city.

Long story short, she wants to spend some time with this human - nothing new to the Gods as they always crave what mortals have, but unique to Athena, who has always - always - kept her distance to the human world, because she felt that it would have been unwise to get too close to them (can we blame her, look at her dad).

However, there are rules to these "Human Experieces"

she gives up her physical link to Olympus, there is still a spritual/telepathical of sorts connection with the other gods, but no "magic" / no "sees all, knows all" / no "blink and you're outta here / flick your favourite human pet out of harm's way"

her "human" form might be immortal (since it's not realy a human, but only a guise for her to "wear"), but that is as far as being a goddess will get her - she is still a great warrior and exceptional with many a weapon, but she is neither superhumanly strong, nor is she immune to being decked in the face (which is relevant as she duels Odysseus for a place in his crew)

no intervening, no straight up telling the humans what to do to save their asses, she may offer guidance, she may assisst, but she cannot point blank tell ppl to just shoot the cyclops in the eye

And that's why even with Athena on board, the Odyssey doesn't get reduced to to three minute discussions of the "yeah no maybe let's not to that, I know everyone's very hungry but there are ONE EYED GIANTS WHO EAT HUMANS on that island sooooOoooo" variety... ^^

Also, it's been too much thinking and hyperfixating so I can't tell if that's actually better or worse.

HELP x'D

#odyssey #athena #'thea' #odysseus #my ocs #kinda sorta #nanowrimo #writblr #original writing #notes to self #and probably a cry for help

[ahorseofeverycolor]

It’s My Little Monday! With...G3 The Pony Project “The Enemy Within”! Another one from the Hasbro x Give Kids The World Village Charity project turns up, and this time it’s the Trojan Toy. As a reminder, for the project giant size blank G3 white ponies were made (like over 1 foot tall) and given to various artists to customize. They’d then display in a gallery and be sold, the profits going to the charity. However, the whole thing wasn’t very well documented (like...at all) so photos keep popping up here and there, and sometimes details are scarce. The artist here is Blammo, and that’s also who took the photos. (Finally, something attaches credit to one of these) Blammo has turned the pony into a literal Trojan horse, complete with...maybe a “Little People”? soldier & general inside. It is covered in real wood with metal brads, and what looks like a real carved wood mane and tail. Wheels are added to the feet so it can roll like the real one did. (If it’s not just a myth)   This would have been a lot of work to bend the wooden strips properly over such a complicated shape and have it still look right (which it does) A platform would also have to be added in the head, and the little figure people customized to look like the soldiers. Using sideways strips for the eye rim, mouth and hooves to help mark the details works out well. It looks like either stain or woodburn was used for the nostril.  This is an interesting concept and absolutely nothing else similar was done for the project. It is a totally customized item. However...as a customizer or collector one can’t imagine taking a blade to the eye of the giant rare pony and just cutting them both out and tossing them, for the sake of the project. Of course there is the argument of: “This is an art item” vs “The essence of the item is almost not there”. Different people will be on different sides, but that’s probably also what’s supposed to happen with art.

#mlp g3 #G3 pony #the pony project #charity #blammo #trojan horse #wood #custom pony #My Little Monday #My Little Pony

[chi-the-idiot]

I've really gotten into Epic the Musical lately, which is an adaptation of the Odyssey, and it reminded me of how much Helen of Sparta sucks (in my personal opinion).

With a title like that, you would expect it to tell Helen's interpretation of the events of the Trojan war. Her kidnapping, what she thought of Paris, her eventual rescue, how she feels about her circumstances.

But it has nothing to do with that story???

Instead, they make it a story of Helen, Achilles and Apollo for SOME REASON going on an adventure to stop some assasination attempt against Helen????? And in the meantime, some sort of love triangle is created, again, for some reason????? You have THE ENTIRETY OF THE TROJAN WAR to play with for a story. 10 years of legendary history. Helen is basically a blank slate for you to work with as a writer. And yet you decide to scrap that and create a random nonsensical story out of thin air. And make both love interests entirely unappealing personality wise, by the way.

I dunno, man, Helen of Sparta feels like such a waste of time and resources, for a concept that sounds so cool on paper. Like, Helen is usually referred to as Helen of TROY, the place to which she was taken and kidnapped to. Helen of SPARTA implies strength. Helen stepping out of her role as damsel in distress to take the reigns of her future in her hands. But instead, Helen is treated as a doll with no agency, way too naive to be going around with a god and an adult man who both simp and fight over her like toddlers.

I am legitimately considering making a Visual Novel myself as an interpretation of how the story could've gone, because across the MANY texts that cover the story of the trojan war (fun fact, the iliad is just the chapter focused on achilles of a much larger story distributed in many texts), very few ones actually give us insight on how Helen would've felt during her capture. The focus is on the warriors, which yes is very interesting, but idk. It could be cool to see a sort of "Odyssey" of Helen, if you get what I mean.

#trojan war #dress up time princess #dutp #dress up time princess helen of sparta #helen of sparta #helen of troy #(posting this again because it didn't show up on tags and I spent way too much time on this 😭)

[sorcerous-caress]

Did I say I saved those songs you requested in my last ask? I completely blanked and don’t remember at all if I said that

Dknakzjsja I'm glad you liked them!

My last recommendation is to give "epic the musical" soundtrack a try and join the cult with me and Githzerai anon.

It's the story of Odysseus and his journey back home after the trojan war!

#♡recs

[dayurno]

every time i learn more about how you view jeremy i am like. YES!!! we have very similar views about him….. he deserves to be a little bit of a freak

RIGHT i think well of course jeremy is nothing at this point in time like he's not even lines he's just a blank slate so i understand if people disagree with me but for me i just have a lot of fun imagining him being a very deranged kind of person. he doesn't need any major trauma to be like this he just is. do you know what i mean? it's not even like oh i'm Dark and Mean i really just mean that he's weird and he's very good at hiding it but it doesn't mean that he's not weird. i like imagining him being like and here's my trojans personality, here's my classmates personality, here's my dating personality, here's my talking to older people personality, here's my Talking To My Parents personality, etc....... he's those kind of people that have a plan a and b and c and d and e and further down the line if you're ever interested. just very clearly unwell about it all. someone's type A crazy mom for sure

and in a way i think any kind of deviance from the norm would be very um healing? for him. i'm thinking of that line from disco elysium where one of the characters say that beauty is a kind of mediocrity, i think jeremy would be like that! i think he'd be very aware of the roles he plays and the structures he operates under, so even something like sexual sadism (HRFGKJDHFGJDFG...!) could be a way to destress and let go of the ever-watching voyeur that tells him he should be like this or like that. the pursuit not of beauty or of acceptance but the blissful middle term where one can be immoral and nasty and vain and not have their entire personhood built around those flaws

#no one has to agree w me obvi but i think its really funny if #jeremy is constantly grinded down by the mundane realities of life and continues to take it anyway #someone who is not naturally or instinctively kind or even lovely but actively chooses to be because he knows the consequences otherwise #just an adult really. oh you know #and all the girls dreamt that theyd be your partner jeremy knox! youre SO vain you probably think this song is about you! #in a way thats the most ive ever thought of jerejean; that jean helps jeremy get out of that strict perfect role #because jean is. a nasty person who really doesn't care about the consequences so long as they're not on himself #not inherently but you know. it's how his life shaped him to be #so of course jeremy's worldview crumbles around him. he's built his entire self around being liked #and here comes this fucking guy who could not like you if he tried #and it. i don't know. gives you hope? sets you free? #asks #jeremy

[uncannychange]

Because of Canada's deepening diplomatic ties with Vietnam, some scientific research organizations were being allowed to cooperate with their counterparts overseas.

One of these permissions had been given to Universal Harmonics in Saskatoon. The small start-up was dedicated to studying and advancing the new science of using applied sound harmonic and controlled vibrational energy to effect change in living cells.

It seemed there was a group in Vietnam called Sóng Hài Phổ Research that was doing much the name, and they wanted to partner with Universal Harmonics.

On October the 10th, the Canadians got the first message from Sóng hài phổ; it read, “Happy Vietnamese Woman Day!” Connie North, the president of U.H., opened with the news about this message during the daily meeting of the group; once they were all together, she opened the message.

“It just repeats Happy Vietnamese Woman Day, and then please open and play the enclosed file,” said Connie. “Better check it for bugs, trojans, and malware,” said Hank Brown, the IT Director.

“Oh, I already did that; it’s clean.” “It might have something to do with that Vietnam Woman Day header,” suggested treasurer Tammy Riccio. “It’s like a holiday there, maybe?” “And is it for just Vietnamese women or all women or what?” said Charlie Smith, the company’s machine tech, at the table's far end.

“Whatever!” said Connie. “Let’s just play the thing; perhaps that will give us the answers we want.”

With that, she opened the file, and they saw it playing, but they could hear nothing. Then they felt a funny tingle seemingly at the back of their skulls, which soon turned into a complex sound feeling that grew and then turned to a shockingly high volume that blanked everything else out while simultaneously feeling like being struck by lightning must feel.

“Thôi đi!” said Phía bắc Khuyen, formerly Connie North. “I mean, what was that?” she said, looking confused,” “forget that!” said Nguyen Chau, who used to be Charlie Smith. “You’ve turned Asian, Connie!” “I’ve turned Asian? So have you, and you’re a woman!”

“Also, I’M A CHICK TOO!” added Hank Brown, “and I’m pretty sure I want to call myself Màu nâu Hanh. Is this for real?”

“Oh, I get it,” said the Vietnamese woman who looked much like Tammy Riccio, but they all somehow knew they should call her Quăn Tha'm.

They all looked at her, hoping for some explanation. “The holiday isn’t for just Vietnamese women; it’s for all women; it just takes place in Vietnam.”

The other three roll their eyes, and a voice comes from the computer's speaker.

“Greetings, Universal Harmonics! I am Bạch Như Quỳnh of Sóng hài phổ I look forward to our future collaborations. I hope you have found our latest development a harmonic that brings about heightened female health and rejuvenation to your liking. You will not be able to realize yet, but in the long run, over weeks, it will bring much-improved health.”

“You are aware that it also seems to have already worked, and we all now seem to be healthy Vietnamese women, and two of us started today as men.”

“Oops!” said Ms. Bạch. “I guess that’s Beta testing for you; by the way, Ms. North, I didn’t know you could speak such perfect Vietnamese this will make our working together so much easier.”

That was when the Canadian group realized they were all now speaking what, until less than 30 minutes ago, was an unknown language to them.

A chaotic hour later, it was concluded that whatever had happened would be the priority for research for the foreseeable future. The contact ended, and the four stunned Canadians silently looked at each other.

“Happy Women’s Day, everyone!”  said Quăn Tha'm

“Oh wow!” said Màu nâu Hanh, the former Hank Brown. “I’m a lesbian!”

[culttvblog]

Max Headroom: Blanks

The 1987 to 1988 US Max Headroom series is in my opinion the TV series which has perhaps best predicted the world in which we now live. Remember that time Facebook went down and nobody could get into the office to sort it because all their access was linked to their log ins? Not a word of a lie, that happens in this episode, which also includes so many other prescient things of relevance to our time. As always I prefer to blog my own opinions than descriptions but if you want a summary of this wide-ranging plot I honestly don't think you can do better than the summary at TV Tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/MaxHeadroomS1E6TheBlanks

You wouldn't believe the trouble this blog post has given me, though, and I'm just going to deal with certain themes which strike me an interesting. I'm afraid I'm going to have to do this in bullet points, because I have rewritten this blog post about eight times and it just won't work except as a list!

- The episode includes a theme of choices being made by people either to maintain or resolve a situation of injustice. This is reflected in other choices people make: what TV to watch, whether to conform to society or not, etc.

- People are either on the side of the 'system' (the TV networks) or outside: this episode particularly deals with many such outsiders. We see some of the ways people either choose or are forced into living outside the system in the Fringes.

- The 'Blanks' are people who have chosen to scrub their own records and become nameless and recordless characters, here targeted for arbitrary punishment, the chief injustice at the start of the show.

- You either blame the computer when technology doesn't work or you blame the human involved at some point. I personally have more sympathy for the idea of blaming the human because computers can't think at all, but this is a point returned to several times during the episode.

- The show embodies a possible criticism of capitalism, particularly its more deceptive aspects and illusion of choice. In the show television is used for social control, just as we are somehow persuaded that resources which grow naturally all over the earth should be paid for by us spending forty years on 9 to 5 in an office.

- Even though consumer choice could be seen as capitalism's Achilles' heel and in the show the TV networks are shown as being in competition, this is largely illusory because the real fear is that the population will become ungovernable if not continually controlled by TV.

- The show depicts the classic dilemma of whether you can change an oppressive system from the inside using its own resources or whether you have to be outside it to see it clearly. If outside it you usually lack the resources to change it, even though you can see it. In the show the key characters are all employees of Network 23, and even though they do cause social change in this episode, they do it using the resources of the network.

- The episode does not lack depictions of outsiders who are still capable of causing change: Bruno manages to bring everything to a standstill by hacking into the city's computer systems. There is also the depiction of the 'alternative' television run by Blank Reg, Big Time Television.

- The episode doesn't come completely down on either side of the argument, and change is effected by people both inside and outside the system.

- One of the reasons Edison Carter has to stay within the system is that he represents the tradition of the fearless reporter reporting the truth about the system. It seems trite to say that a show essentially about a reporter and his electronic alter ego deals with things in a rather journalistic way, but I actually think it does.

- Yet Carter also uses disinformation in a report here to make change happen. This is perhaps the moment in the show which feels most like today. I particularly like the way the image of the Trojan horse is used to represent the way things can be changed to look different, building on its original meaning of something which isn't what it looks like.

- Bryce is maturing somewhat from what we would then have called his whizzkid role and at various points co-operates with Edison in ways that would probably not have been appropriate for the pet whizzkid he was obviously intended to be. But best of all I love the way Bryce obviously has a raging teenage crush on Theora and stares at her open mouthed. It's so sweet.

- You have to watch this episode just to see Max Headroom do an impression of Bogart: 'Of all the computers in all the world...'.

- The show's journalistic inspiration means that it also provides a depressing commentary on human nature: specifically that humans will not see past the line they are fed and will happily go back to their television or the office 9 to 5. This show provides an utterly depressing commentary on the world in the 21st century.

- In the show Blank Reg redeems himself by making yet another choice, this time not to proceed with the plot in case it would endanger Edison Carter's life. This is a kind of resolution where the 'goodies' are the people who are for humanity, whichever side of the system they are on.

- My only real criticism would be that the plot device of the Trojan horse in a show about hackers crippling a whole network can get confusing. In this show it means the fake edited video they use, however given that the show is partly about hackers you could be mistaken for thinking it's about a computer Trojan horse.

I was going to say that this may or may not be one of a further series of posts on Max Headroom, but even though I love the series I have strangely found this blog post incredibly difficult to write so I may not be able to continue at length with it. Nonetheless I definitely think you should watch the whole series - it's available on region 1 or region 4 DVD and I'm sure you can find it pirated on the internet if you try hard enough <grin>.

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#80s TV #Max Headroom