Nona the Ninth was like you are loved. whatever happens next, we did it it's done you can't take loved away. you were loved once and so you will always be loved. you were changed once and so you will always be changed. and let this cradle you, let this be your lifeline, let this tie you down when you feel like you're falling apart.
and then The Unwanted Guest came and was like.... love changes you. people change you. we change each other, just by existing right now together we rub against each other we bleed we mingle. we leave pieces of ourselves behind. you are the sum of the people who have changed you and sometimes you don't get to choose sometimes you don't want it to have been them. and you can try to run away from that, from them, but they will chase you they will haunt you they ARE you.
if this is the wind up move. i am fucking terrified of the horrors of love
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Reasons why the Schemers Table was so good, and why the Seekers and Soldiers Tables fell flat:
First, I want to make things clear that I liked all the tables, they each had their ups and downs, and this post is not a criticism of CR4, Brennan or any player. This is my personal opinion. And when I mention one player being good at something, I am not implying that the other players are not good at that thing. Absolutely no criticisms to anyone, I am just bring up some factors that effected the tables and how they were portrayed. (This is going to be a very long analysis)
1. The Schemers Table had the perfect group of players. First, it was a little smaller, so each Schemer got a bit more screen time than the Soldiers. Second, three of the players are from CR and worked really well together from the start, while Luis is both an amazing DnD player and super good at improv so he was able to fit in really well. Liam has always been the clever DnD player, he was the reason CR started in the first place, and he plays very well and very cleverly. His characters are fairly straightforward, but he uses them really well. He learns all the rules and figures out the loopholes and really knows how to make a moment shine. Think of Vax becoming the Raven Queen's Champion, of Caleb presenting the Beacon to the Queen, and now, Hal carefully creating a play to start a rebellion.
Taliesin is amazing at creating really interesting and deep characters. He is just so good at character creation. Percy and Mollymauk are some of the most beloved characters in CR. Taliesin is so good at making characters and interacting with other players and the world, and making the gameplay interesting. Bolaire is a genius character and can add so many interesting logistics to the game. He can literally be picked up and carried anywhere, and put on anybody.
I don't know Luis, but from what I have seen of Azune, he is also brilliant at character creation and his acting and improv is stunning. He really brings so so much to the table. The whole thing with Azune changing his appearance slightly to make targets more accepting of him, more comfortable, and how that stems from him being a child soldier who was abandoned...! So good.
Marisha is really good at working with teams, and holding people together and keeping everyone on track in the story. She is a clever player who has some really good moments of insight. Her being there to keep everything on track and moving really helped the plot and pacing of the Schemers. I think Liam is also good at this, and depriving the other tables of Liam and Marisha's "stay on track" vines definitely showed.
So combined, these four worked so well together, were already very familiar with playing together with the addition of a great improv guy. They are all really clever players which fit the vibe of Schemers really well, and they stayed on track and didn't really get distracted from their goals.
2. Location. The Schemers Table stayed in one city, in the place we have already gotten the lore of and are more familiar with. The Seekers and Soldiers were either in the middle of nowhere or in a new city or place that introduced a ton of new lore and descriptions very quickly. It was a lot for the audience to handle, and for the players too, when combined with a new world, new characters and new magic rules. It made things that much more confusing and hard to keep up with, especially when the audience and players would start to get used to a new place, then they would move again. Also, less travel time in the Schemers Table gave them more time to focus on story, characters and action.
Now, I did really enjoy learning about the new world we have been given, and I especially loved the Endless Night. I adore the overarching theme of "The gods were cruel, so we rose up and killed them, but it left catastrophic changes in the society, the magic, the land itself and even the afterlife." The empire of the Sun God falling to darkness and monsters after his death is sooo cool. But there was so much information. Players had to focus on all the new lore and descriptions and implications instead of focusing on player interaction and plot. While the Schemers didn't have to deal with the added information and could instead turn more attention to the story and the character development. And the audience didn't have to split their attention either.
3. Goals. The Schemers had a clearly defined goal of causing unrest and figuring out what the Sundered Houses are up to in Dol-Makjar. They were also given a lot more time in each episode to meet and plan their actions in advance, as part of their play style.
The Soldiers did have a clear goal of finding Cid and Casimir, but they weren't really given a lot of time to plan and had to figure out stuff on the fly. Which is fine, but it made things a little messy. Also, different players had different goals, which is something both Seekers and Soldiers dealt with. The Schemers had one goal that they all worked together on, with nothing else getting in the way. In Soldiers, Thimble was focused entirely on revenge, Teor wanted to find his brother, Wic wanted to figure out his purpose and faith, Tyranny wanted to find her purpose, and Kattigan was searching for his family's killer. They have a goal but they are pulled in different directions.
Seekers is really where the problem with clear goals was an issue. The Seekers were trying to figure out what is going on with the Stone of Nightsong and the Tachonis. They were also looking for Taisha's son. But they didn't have a clear direction to go and were kind of wandering around blindly, hoping to stumble on a clue. Which is how a lot of DnD happens, but with this new world, lore and magic, with so much that is unknown, it didn't work out as well. Again, everyone had very different goals that are just barely aligned. Taisha wanted to find her son. Octis wanted to figure out what the hell happened to him and what his family planned to do to him and why. Julien wanted revenge for his father. Vaelus wanted o resurrect her goddess? Find her family? I honestly don't know what Vaelus wants, and I don't thing she does either.
Not having a clear path really hurt the Seekers. They kept going over what they knew and figured out, which was annoying, but I think it was because the players had no idea what to do next and were hoping going over everything would jog Brennan into revealing something or giving them hints. And then anything small they learned was lost in all the new information about the location they were in and lore and backstories, which were cool but not really important to the plot at that moment.
So, in the end, the Schemes table was more cohesive with a great roster of players that worked really well together, took place in a more familiar location, and had a clearly defined goal. They worked together to reach that goal without getting distracted, side tracked or overwhelmed. It was easier for the audience to understand what was going on and the Schemers were given more opportunities to pick and choose plots and directions. That is why I think Schemers was the most liked Table of the three, while most fans agreed that the other Tables fell a little flat.
I live in a very touristy beach town, and I really don't mind the tourists that much. Like yeah, it gets crowded in the summer, the traffic sucks, everything is more expensive... But I do enjoy being able to live in a place people regularly pay money and take time off work to go to.
However. I have a hobby of collecting teeny tiny pieces of sea glass. The problem is the best beach to collect the tiny pieces is located in the most campy, touristy place in town. Complete with a guy who draws cartoon portraits (who I am now causal acquaintances with)
My local friends thing I'm crazy for willingly going to the worst Tourist Area for fun, and the tourists think I'm crazy for digging through the sand and getting soaked for no discernible reason. Or me darting in and out of waves like a madwoman. Or me wearing tennis shoes in the water (which is the way to go trust me)
As a society we have benefited so much from successful public health measures that we now have the privilege of declaring that we must not need them anymore
Bitch before enriched flour, neural tube defects like spina bifida were far more common. Even now, spina bifida clinicians and researchers are begging to have salt and maize fortified to reach groups that don’t use as much flour. Before iodized salt, the United States had a fucking GOITER BELT. Eleven years after the introduction of fluoridated water, a city in Michigan found the rate of dental caries among school children dropped a staggering 60%— in an era where tooth decay regularly fucking killed people
I’m literally not even going to start on vaccines, which are among the most successful and robustly studied public health measures in world history
You might say “oh well today we all have access to vitamins and toothpastes and dentists so we don’t need those things in our food supplies” and boy do white people on social media loooove to fucking say that. But here’s the thing: no, people don’t all have easy access to those things. That’s privilege talking yet again
This also applies to all environmental regulations, safety regulations for things like food, workplaces, buildings, ect, and unions and workplace protections!
The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was so polluted by industries on its banks it caught fire 14 times. The last time helped spur the founding of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other environmental protection acts.
Air pollution used to be so bad guys. People died of respitory problems just from living in major cities. The rivers and groundwater were filled with toxic metals and chemicals. Do yourself a favor and look up Hinkely, CA. Its a small town that was decimated by a PG&E power plant that leaked hexovalent chromium in the ground water and caused generations of cancer and fertility issues.
Environmental regulations were created because people died. Food safety regulations were created to stop businesses from putting sawdust in bread to save money, stopped them from mixing spoiled milk with chalk.
All those OSHA trainings? Every workplace safety training is a thing because people got hurt or died. Because corporations cut safety standards to save money and didn't care if their workers got hurt. Unions were created so businesses couldn't make their employees work 12 hour days or overtime with no pay. Everything we have someone else had to fight for.
The government sets regulations to help people. To help the public. Because that is what governments are for. The regulations we have are written in blood, the result of people dying and then other people standing up and fighting for those regulations the big corporations are trying to convince you are unnecessary and hurting the economy.
Why do you think Republicans and their donors push so hard for unregulated government? Why do they push so hard to lower regulations "for the economy" Because those regulations get in the way of them saving money at the cost of hurting people. Time has made people forget the tragedies of the past. And large corporations have convinced people that regulations are governement interference and that is a bad thing. No! We want the government to interfere and stop businesses from hurting people! Thats a good thing!
Look up the history of environmental law in your country. Look up the history of food safety and unions and how we got to where we are today. Don't forget what a world without government interference looks like.
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I really wish Leonide had lived. I understand that her death raised the stakes and made Murderbot accept her request. But I wish she had lived solely for the interactions she would have had with Murderbot and the Mensah Family during the book. Her corporate ideals clashing with Preservation values, she and Murderbot snarking back and forth and she grapples with the fact that it is a rouge SecUnit and that it has a personality.
Leonide's reaction to Murderbot's everything: from its clever ideas, insane hacking skills, lack of actual murder and the way it recruits other bots into the cause to how it cares so so much about helping humans, would have been amazing. Leonide's world view rapidly expanding during the book because of this grumpy media-obsessed SecUnit, combined with these tough but kind Preservationers, would have been so, so good.
The Murderbot Diaries are a power fantasy about being aromantic and still developing extremely important dedicated emotionally intimate partnerships where you are a top priority in a person's life, equal to their other family or romantic attachments despite your own emotional difficulties. And having guns in your arms
And an autistic power fantasy about being able to watch your hyperfixation all the time, being able to code normal human behaviors and not make eye contact but still know what everyone is doing at all times. Also it contains having deep, meaningful relationships with people who respect and accommodate your behaviors without problem, such as when all the Preservationers don't look at Murderbot, accept its drones everywhere, and don't make fun of its love of Sanctuary Moon and media. They even engage it about its hyperfixation and ART watched media with it. The scene where Mensah told Murderbot she watched Sanctuary Moon because Murderbot loves it and she wanted to understand why broke me a little. They "You watched it?" was rough because no one has really tried to watch/engage with my hyperfixations before.
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Thinking back on the Unwanted Guest, Palamedes uses the act of him smoking a cigarette as proof that the souls mingle and bleed when lyctorhood happens, even just sharing a body.
He tells Ianthe, "I've never seen anyone do it, I understand the basic principle (of lighting up a cigarette)" THIS IS A LIE. Pyrrha smoked when she lived with Cam and Pal. Despite all the arguments about second hand smoke and expenses, there is no way Palamedes didn't see Pyrrha light up a cigarette multiple times. And living in New Rho, no way did Pal not see people smoking.
Palamedes knows he is right about his theory of lyctorhodd. But he has to convince Ianthe. So he lies to her and it fucking works.
Never have I seen the perfect application of two memes back to back so that both can stand without any alteration but the lack of words itself. This is a work of art. I would call this meme poetry.
i’ve wanted to draw something akin to a diary entry delving deep into kaladin’s struggles (it was hard to choose which struggle because boi did he have many). i picked the one i resonated with the most in a different way. his dad wanting him to be a surgeon and help people and kal wishing so badly to become a solidier because he believes it is the same thing a healer does ; they protect lives. anyways, i hope you like the art! journey before destination, fellas <3
And then Kaladin learning some sort of psychology and therapy from Wit, and learning slowly that wounds of the mind are just as horrible and take time and support to heal. Kaladin fighting through depression and guilt to help others fight that same fight. Kal healing Szeth. Kaladin choosing to heal and help Kalak instead of fighting him.
Kaladin learning to heal people's minds and spirits. Kaladin becoming a Herald not to continue fighting but to help them heal from centries of hurt. Kaladin.
to anyone in the areas impacted by the wildfire smoke, my #1 biggest piece of advice as someone whos been dealing with wildfire smoke in the NW united states for years, is build yourself a Corsi-Rosenthal Cube
they perform as well as expensive HEPA air cleaners, and are comparatively VERY inexpensive. all you need is a box fan, 4 air filters, a piece of cardboard, and some duct tape!!!!
i think it took us maybe a half hour to put ours together, if that, and we replace the filters every 3 months. it's really made a HUGE difference, both when the air quality is bad, but also with our allergies
I would like to add that local air districts or state air districts usually give away air filters for free. Or very cheaply. Smaller or more rural states usually have a state air district, while larger or more populated states have multiple local air districts. Air Pollution Control Districts are government agencies, usually multi-county, that enforce air pollution laws and offer clean air grants and info to the public. My local air district is giving away tons of air filters and boxes of N95 masks for free. (N95 are the only good mask for wildfire smoke. Cloth masks do not keep out the fine particulates) Check in with county government resources too.
A lot of times resources are available, but people don't realize local government exists, and is there to not just permit you for random shit, but to help people too. You just have to ask.
Also, air district monitor local air quality and display the results on their websites. You can sign up for email or text daily updates and forecasts.
California's 35 local Air Districts are responsible for regional air quality planning, monitoring, and stationary source and facility permit
(I only know California, sorry, but this should help you get started. Each state does things a bit differently)
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All of our safety regulations and environmental regulations people despise so much are written in blood. People forget the cost. Once people start getting sick and dying again, maybe the government will be pressured into enforcing them again.
I grew up cooking based on vibes and principles and was also taught by a woman who didn't read. And then I got a dx that requires many dietary substitutions, so it's no surprise I think recipes are at best guidelines for flavour combinations and you can just kind of fuck around.
As an adult Vibes and Principles Person, it's weird to encounter Recipe Card People. Like, it's not bad. They make food that's very tasty. I wouldn't go in for crying about artistry or the soul of cooking or whatever. It's just weird sometimes when you meet someone from the complete opposite school of cooking who's asking stuff like "But how much cream goes in my pureed soup? It doesn't say!"
For me, I'd be like: "How much cream do you want to eat? Who are you cooking for? Are they going to be mad about calories? How much will make it taste good? Do you like cream? What else is in the soup? Is there any source of fat — like, is this stuff cooked in butter or is it literally just onion, pumpkin, pepper and dreams?"
But for recipe card people, it's like "100mL, and I can substitute low-fat cream because it said so on the box."
They rarely make mistakes, but it seems like they have fewer options. And probably some weird odds and ends in the fridge that they don't know how to use.
I guess another benefit of being a recipe card person is that it definitely keeps you from acting out a war crime in the comments of your local recipe blog. The people saying they subbed out eggs for cottage cheese and giving your recipe 1 star or whatever are definitely all Vibes and Principles People who have made a mistake about the principle in question and are confident but ever so wrong.
I'm a cooking with vibes person. I make up recipes or base them off other recipes, or a learn a recipe than modify it to fit my tastes. Ironically, my grandma, who is a great cook, is a purely by-the-book cook. She does exactly what the recipe says, down to the cook time. I taught her my favorite curry recipe and she was baffled by me throwing leftover veggies in the pot and not measuring anything. I had to write it down for her 😅
