The plot:

I can't believe Candles of Vienna caved to commercial pressure and added the Goku expansion.

Types of Board Game [Explained]

Transcript Under the Cut

Hunting for some coochie

Wrote a G up on his belt

There’s… a lot more to be said about this quote that I won’t unpack in this particular post, but I do just want to say that it’s giving this:

…and also that it’s very interesting to observe how Weir made some choices that one could see as “progressive”— such as giving the male-coded Rocky another male name for his partner, or having a woman, Eva Stratt, be in charge of the whole operation and commit some marvellously morally dubious women’s wrongs while still retaining power— but the seed, the very spore of his subconscious assumptions still remained unquestioned: the default is male. The alien with no human gender indicators whatsoever is still a “he” until proven otherwise. (I’d highly recommend checking out Julia Serano’s work on the Marked/Unmarked mindset to learn more about this:)

Just goes to show how we are all very entrenched in patriarchal/white/colonial/capitalist etc etc worldviews to the point where it’s instinctive and subconscious, and— importantly— that everyone is like this to varying extents on different issues. So we should always be aware of that and strive to correct it, or at least have the awareness that we might need someone to help us do it even when we think we don’t, because as this example proves, often it’s so subconscious that we can’t fully “correct” for it even if we might want to try. Andy Weir doesn’t seems to have that awareness— or for that matter, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. If I were to make this into a whole essay it’d then be about that being a major reason for why we need DEI programmes and such. But I’ll leave it here for now.

The important thing to take away from this is: you might not think you “do” politics, but politics will do you regardless, and you’ll become someone’s mouthpiece whether you like it or not. So make sure it’s your own.

ADRIAN IS NOT A MAN'S NAME IN CONTEXT

It's a reference to the character Adrian Pennino from the Rocky movies. It's short for Adrianna. Adrian looks like this, and is not in any way characterised as a man:

The Monday Period: Part 1 of 6

Part 1: you are here

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

this is exactly it! the fact that luke is the classical hero to percy's new hero is such a fascinating way that they foil each other! there are so many moments where it's spelt out for us (luke searching for ariadne's string to navigate the labyrinth in the same way as theseus while percy realises that there is another way; luke charming silena into betraying cbh in the way that hercules did with zoe while percy says 'i'm not hercules' and proves it in the way he values those typically disregarded in mythology; luke literally seeks 'glory' in his quest for originality, exactly like achilles, while percy is favoured by hestia and wants a homecoming)

i think the moment that it's most clearly spelt out is in ttc

'Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would dare to do such a thing. No one in Kronos' army would dare try to bear the weight, even upon pain of death.' 'Luke did it,' I said.

luke is an antagonist, yes, a foil to the protagonist, yes, but he IS a hero. so much a hero, that the great prophecy is ABOUT HIM AND PERCY. like this isn't even taking into account that luke was brainwashed by kronos, but regardless of that luke is compelling because he isn't simple to hate - a lot of his motivation is understandable and even RIGHT to the point where percy asking the gods to recognise all their children and to change the patterns of absent parenthood is inspired by luke.

luke, ironically, in trying to destroy these patterns fulfils the role of the tragic hero perfectly, while percy, our protagonist creates a new form of heroism

Mustang is an Atoner figure. Something that plagues Atoner figures is when writers are too precious about the characters we're meant to like to actually let them be guilty of something serious.

The Atoner might be trying to make amends for their involvement in the Great '87 Hotel Massacre, and then three seasons in you find out what happened. And it's like, "I drove a taxi to the hotel, and the KILLER was in it! I ferried the killer to the hotel! That makes me responsible, and now I must atone for being nearby while the killings took place! And also vanquish the real killer who is the villain for this season."

Or maybe the Atoner did do the killings but they were under mind control the whole time and would never, ever have done it in their right mind.

But FMA said no. Mustang, Hawkeye, Hughes, even Armstrong to an extent though he suffered a breakdown and fled during it. They did that shit. They followed their orders and they did that shit. And it haunts them.

Roy did that shit. And his atonement, his grand ambition, is to see everyone responsible for that shit brought to justice for their crimes. Including himself.