bicycles | Member Posts

I know I've been talking about Persona 5 a lot — probably because I can't play it as much as I want, with all the house work going on.

Anyway, another thing I dig about it is the villains so far, and their downfalls. Morgana's original explanation of stealing peoples' "hearts" was a little abstract, but what it's starting to look like is we're really stealing the _motivation_ that lets them internally justify their crimes, leaving them with no psychic defense against their own conscience. Like, the taste they've been chasing turns to sawdust in their mouths.

So far, that means they've been overcome with remorse and shame, and end up confessing their crimes on their own. And... I'm playing with the Japanese audio track enabled, so IDK if the English dub is as good with this, but, damn, those confession scenes are actually kind of gruesome to watch! They're raw as fuck! I have to keep reminding myself that their pain is all self-inflicted and we did the right thing, because, woof.

starlady

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017), dir. Angela Robinson
I loved this film so much and I'd bet that almost everyone reading this will love it too. Based on the real-life story of the creator of Wonder Woman and his wife and their partner, the movie has been winning deserved praise for its respectful portrayal of a poly love story, as well as its exploration of exploring kink and BDSM in a relationship. The story of Bill Marston, Elizabeth Marston and Olive Byrne is fascinating, and Robinson leaps off the agreed-upon documentary record to make it a full-on romantic trio, with Elizabeth and Olive's sexual relationship being just as important and real as either woman's relationship with Marston. Despite all that, however, the film is mostly inexplicit; Robinson is far more focused on the depiction of relationships through the way people look at each other than through body parts. It is, in other words, extremely female gaze, and very sexy. I would happily have watched another hour of the movie, particularly as the latter half gets into the challenges of queer parenting in a homophobic society in a way I wasn't expecting, but the movie's conventional structure means that there's only so much time. Still, it was wonderful, and all the actors were great. Go see it.

The Princess & the Frog (2009)
Disney's last traditionally animated feature film, its first featuring a black princess, and probably the only Disney princess movie I hadn't seen. I liked the story of Tiana and her feckless prince, and from my admittedly inexpert position it seemed like the non-white characters were largely depicted in a positive manner. The story is sweet, but it owes so much to Shrek, it's kind of painful, and the thing that really struck me is that even as Disney put a lot of effort into moving beyond racist stereotypes in its depiction of the non-white characters, they were unwilling or incapable of to get beyond lazy stereotypes and fatphobic tropes in their depictions of villains and fat people. (I was also interested to see that the dupe villain gets a British accent, since the movie being set in New Orleans means that Disney was unable to rely on its main vocal stereotyping strategy of having the villains speak in Southern accents.) All of which is to say, there's ultimately no comparison between this movie and some of Disney's more recent successes.

vass

Research Risks

I have some thoughts:

1. Marine biology is low risk of misuse by supervillains? Come on! Sharks!

2. ~~Molasses storage's low risk of breaking free and threatening local population: didn't that actually happen at least once? If we're counting trucks as facilities, I mean.~~ Never mind, I should have looked at the mouseover text before posting.

3. I wouldn't put linguistics that low for supervillain risk, assuming the validity of the strong Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. (Yes, everything I knew about Sapir-Whorf did come from that one Delany book.)

4. But then, he put palaeontology low as well, and. Well. Do that right/wrong enough and you get both microbiology (bubonic plague! anthrax!) AND ornithology (dinosaurs!)

5. HE LEFT OUT ECONOMICS. And poli-sci (between history and sociology?) but imo economics is WAY scarier from both a supervillain and accidental escape perspective.

6. Really, isn't any discipline high supervillain risk if the supervillain has the right mental attitude?

7. If prosthetics is high supervillain risk/low escape risk, and dentistry is low supervillain risk/low escape risk, are dentures high or low supervillain risk?

Current Mood: awake

roadrunnertwice

This DIY whirlwind we’re in feels a lot like when you’re underleveled and underequipped for a dungeon, but you bull in there anyway bc you don’t have time to fuck around and grind til you’re “ready,” and if you get whacked and have to burn a revive or two then So Be It.

Especially installing these hardwood floors. Good gravy.

vass

It's been a week of 30 degree days (86 if you use Fahrenheit) and there seems to be a storm coming right about now. I have just realised that this might be why Dorian's been quite this excitable all day. The changing barometric conditions might be sending him into Anxious Soccer Ball mode.

Beatrice, being pounced on, responded to this by playing soccer.

Current Music: melbourne storm is actually a rugby team not a soccer team

jbanana

So, have you made your Christmas pudding yet?

It's 18th October, and I think the person was serious.

roadrunnertwice

I'm playing Persona 5, and part of the setup here is that your Persona is "the spirit of rebellion within you." New characters join you when their Persona awakens, which first requires a scene or two of them agonizing over their doubts and insecurities (first psychically agonizing, then physically agonizing; I think this was there in the other games too, where waking the Persona requires some act of symbolic self-destruction).

But they kind of missed a chance with Ryuji, because he's already so in touch with his inner rebellion. He took a swing at a teacher in real life! That's pretty much an outer rebellion, dude! I think it would have been funnier and better if he hadn't agonized AT ALL. Just cut straight to battle screen with no transition and him already in the process of casting a lightning spell, with Morgana all like "wait, weren't we in the middle of something? what just happened?"

Current Music: ATLUS Sound Team — Price

kuwdora

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Current Mood: distressed

el_staplador

I got two fantastic original fic gifts:

Firstly, this dark, atmospheric, wartime story with layers upon layers and stunningly good style:

J'attendrai (1479 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: 1940s Resistance Fighter/Glamorous Wartime Singer
Characters: 1940s Resistance Fighter, Glamorous Wartime Singer
Additional Tags: Love in a Dangerous Time
Summary:

The sadness of having to wait, the sweetness of having someone to wait for...

And then this, which is just sheer fun:

The Pirate and the Mermaid (8628 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Original Work
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Pirate/Mermaid
Characters: Original Female Character(s)
Additional Tags: Mermaids, Pirates, Supernatural Elements, Cultural Differences, Shipwrecks
Summary:

"Of course," said Charlie pettishly. As if she was just a stupid kid, asking stupid questions. "How was I supposed to know? You're the first mermaid I've ever met."

"Well, you're the first woman-with-legs I've ever met!" snapped the mermaid.

Current Mood: pleased

ironed_orchid

I am so bad at this updating thing.

Between having a week off work and then getting sick (again), I've been spending a lot of time on the couch binge watching. Here is a list of tv stuffs I have been watching in the last month or so:

The Good Place: I find this fun, but now that I am caught up and have to wait for weekly episodes, each one feels short.

Glitch: season two - so good, so interesting, but now we are more into the SF of how people came back from the dead, and less into their personal histories.

Bojack Horseman: I watched the entire 4 seasons in just over a week. I'd assumed this was yet another mean and sarcastic cartoon for adults, but I ended up caring a lot about the characters, even the mean and sarcastic ones.

Star Trek: Discovery: I think I want to like this more than I actually do, but it doesn't matter as I am utterly smitten with Michael Burnham and want her to be happy, which means I'll probably keep watching forever.

Dance Academy: seasons one and two on Netflix, season three on iview - I find this silly show for teenagers about a Sydney ballet school surprisingly charming and easy to watch.

Grace and Frankie: Another show I didn't watch before and then devoured in a few sittings. I have loved Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda since I was about 12, and they are a delight to watch together. Some good stuff about ageing and being single older women. I find some of the story lines a bit clunky, but there is good natured humour to keep me watching.

American Vandal: Who drew the dicks? I wasn't sure about it but the mockumentary format really works, and the kids actually look and act like teenagers and their theories are so dumb that it's beautiful.

The Good Fight: A spin off from The Good Wife and does assume background knowledge for some plots and characters. I like Rose Leslie's character, strange to see her playing and American, but she does it well. It still does that annoying thing of ever so slightly fictionalising actual people and events and the episode with the character who was Not!Milo was one of the weakest.

I am frustrated with Netflix for making new shows I want to watch which only air weekly. I guess it's because they want to sell them to other networks, but it sucks.

elistaire

Here:
https://hlh-shortcuts.dreamwidth.org/

This is always a good fest. It's small but solid, proud but humble, and the lifeblood of the fandom, which is too quiet these days.

Join in! It'll be a blast!

pinesandmaples

At 32, there are all of these things I know to be true about myself bubbling up that just make so much sense. They are so congruent with the core of how I know myself to be. They align with the vision of my future that I had at 15-16-17, and they are so very right.

But all of these wee truths are socially opposite and counterintuitive to the norms that we hold dear in this world. Things like wanting separate bedrooms when I live with a lover (but being very okay with sharing beds) or living in a house that allows for lots of social contact instead of leaving my house to find it.

I find myself enjoying my own company more and more as long as I can also step into social situations when I need the warm embrace of known company. But I also like walking into a large event by myself. Just me. Only me.

There is a sense of completeness that I am enjoying these days. All of these smaller actions are me, being complete and whole as myself. The smaller completenesses allow me to be in relationships, in friendships, in community.

Everyone says that your 30s is a time of revelation and wholeness, but I didn't believe it. I am so glad to be here, now. (I'm also astoundingly grateful I am not here with children. I cannot imagine how different the world would be if I were doing this journey of discovery as a parent instead of as a single person, building a better me. Hashtag selfish.)

grrltastic

Today, for the first time in the 15 years that I've been using a menstrual cup, I dropped it in the toilet while emptying it.

Twice.

Current Mood: distressed

starlady

Are you worried about nuclear war? I am too. Keep reading for a way to stop it with one simple action.

Maybe you feel small and powerless. But many snowflakes make an avalanche. If we all move in the same direction, we'll be unstoppable. We will only fail if we choose not to act.

Trump has the power to order a pre-emptive nuclear strike for any reason - or no reason at all. He's always shadowed by a man with a briefcase of codes, called the "nuclear football," to enable him to launch nuclear missiles at any time. It would take less than five minutes from his order to the missiles being launched, and no one could stop him. Republican Senator Bob Corker says Trump is leading us into World War III. I believe him.

But we don't have to stand by and let it happen. Let's pull away that football!

Both House and Senate have bills to prevent the President from launching a pre-emptive nuclear strike without a congressional declaration of war. They're both called the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017. Passing those bills may literally save the world.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝:

1. Contact your representatives in Congress. Ask them to co-sponsor the bill NOW, before it's too late.

2. Contact EVERYONE in Congress who might want to prevent a nuclear war. Usually people only speak to their own representatives. But with the fate of the entire world is at stake, it's worth contacting everyone who might listen.

3. Promote the Pull The Football campaign on social media. Trump isn't the only one who can use Twitter. Get on it and start tweeting #PullTheFootball.

Share this post on Facebook or Dreamwidth. Put up your own post on whatever social media you use. Ask your friends in person. If you know anyone in the media, contact them to get the word out. If you're not American, you can help by publicizing the campaign on social media that Americans follow.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬?

1. Resistbot is a free service that will fax, call, or write your representatives for you. Just text the word "resist" to 50409 to begin.

2. Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?

Contact them again. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. One water drop can be brushed away. Many water drops make a flood. Call, fax, or write as often as possible. Set aside 15 minutes every day to make as many calls or faxes as you can in that time. Relentlessness works - it's why the NRA is so successful. If they can do it, we can do it.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐲?

Page down for a sample script. Or speak or write in your own words.

𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭:

Every Democrat not currently sponsoring one of the bills. Thank them for their courage and service to the nation, and ask them to act now to save the world.

Thank the Democrats currently sponsoring the bills. There are 57 in the House and 9 in the Senate. Especially, thank Congressman Ted Lieu (sponsor of the House bill) and Sen. Edward Markey (sponsor of the Senate bill). Encourage them to step up their efforts to make it pass.

𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭:

The Republicans listed below are the most prominent who have voiced concerns about Trump. This is not an exhaustive list. There are more Republicans who might be receptive. For instance, all the House Republicans who just voted for more aid for Puerto Rico, and all Republicans who are retiring from their seats and so not worried about getting re-elected.

Sen. Bob Corker warned us that Trump is setting the nation on a path to World War III. If you only contact one Republican representative, contact him. Thank him for his courage and urge him to follow through on his convictions.

Sen. Walter Jones is the only Republican to support the bill. Thank him for his courage and urge him to get his colleagues onboard.

Other Republican senators to prioritize contacting: Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, Lindsey Graham, Orrin Hatch, Dean Heller, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Marco Rubio, and Bob Sasse.

𝐒𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭:
Hello, my name is [your name.] I'm calling to ask Representative/Senator [their name] to co-sponsor the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2017. I believe Senator Corker when he says we're on the brink of World War Three. No one benefits from a nuclear war. But we can stop it if we choose to. This may be the most important action Representative/Senator [their name] will take in their entire life. It may literally save the world. I urge them to co-sponsor the bill restricting first use of nuclear weapons. Thank you.

Thank you for reading this far! Please share the post before you go.

Thanks to

rachelmanija for creating this campaign!

roadrunnertwice

OK, who here has heard of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)? I figure you've at least heard the initials on NPR or something. It's used to track inflation, and a bunch of other important stuff.

You know how they make the CPI? With the Consumer Price Survey, where they choose people (households, really) at random and send census employees to interview them, over three separate calendar quarters, about pretty much everything they spent their money on.

Guess whose household got picked, this time around?

Guess who's had two of their CPS interviews but is still looking down the barrel of the third one?

Guess who also just bought a fucking house?

When we were being normal and incredibly boring in our spending habits, an interview could still take hours. I am living in abject dread of Connie the Census worker's next visit.

Anyway, it’s definitely been an interesting look at how the econ sausage gets made. I think participation is technically voluntary, but we're putting up with the interview slog bc we're good patriots who think the CPI is legitimately important, and also we're probably chumps.

onlysmallwings

I am in the wonderful position of choosing to cook or bake this weekend, instead of needing to prepare work lunches. I have a pumpkin butterscotch muffin recipe to try out and only the bird to witness if I fail.

I gave myself permission to write down the silly 'bedtime stories' that have been rattling around. Handwriting, even, since pulling out the laptop is too much production and writing on my phone is too much of a pain in the ass. It's nice, giving myself permission to write the tropey garbage.

I have consistently worked on the new sweater, at least two rows every day since I cast on! And the weather took a tiny dip into something that might look like fall for Houston, so I'm even more motivated to get this done and shipped to Pennsylvania. I really like the colorway and the way the sweater will come together, and the pattern is easy enough that I can knit and listen to Critical Role at the same time without getting lost on either.

jbanana

He was at death's door on Saturday, but he won't step over the threshold.

https://youtu.be/sgmkNitQJYs?t=146

starlady

My streak of never being guessed for exchanges continues.

I made the Narnia vid Heartlines for

silly_cleo, and I made the Hogfather vid Get Behind Me, Hogfather! for

mithborien. The latter is now available in the complete version, unlike the short vid that I posted for the anon period.

And

aurumcalendula made my excellent Handmaiden vid Never Look Away.

See you at the next equinox!

kuwdora

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Current Mood: busy

vass

~~This is a placeholder. It will become an actual letter in the next two days.~~ First of all, sorry it wasn't actually the next two days.

Second, thank you for writing for me. I hope you have a good Yuletide.

General likes: queer and trans people, mutual respect, kindness, competence, people who are jerks but not THAT much of a jerk, people working together, people who get other, kissing, hugging, co-sleeping, good worldbuilding, infodumps, humour, robots, dinosaurs, computers, AI, spaceships, cats. Gen is fine, shipping is also fine. Experimental formats and/or interactive fiction are fine if that's something you're interested in doing.

Do Not Wants: animal harm, rape/noncon, underage, misgendering, 'curing' the asexual or aromantic characters, ableism.

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
I just really love Murderbot, and if you nominated this I'm guessing you do too. Here are some general ideas, but please don't feel limited to them. What sort of books/movies/tv shows would make a Murderbot have to sleep with the lights on? Or need to argue with people on the net about them? Murderbot in fandom. (This seems like a fandom that would lend itself to experimental formats. And also like a fandom that didn't need that fourth wall anyway.) Murderbot writes fic. Murderbot's first OTP. Murderbot takes part in a seasonal fanfic exchange? (Please stick with Murderbot's choice of pronouns, and don't furnish it with a sexuality or romantic attraction or desire to be "more human." Thank you.)

Machineries of Empire
This year I requested Mikodez and Istradez and Zehun, and I'm interested in the family dynamics (biological and found) between Mikodez and Istradez, and Mikodez and Zehun, and how ~~weirdly~~ touchingly domestic and sweet they get while deeply complicit in and being both corrupted by and damaged by a thoroughly evil system, oh and also facing assassination attempts all the time; and Mikodez's position as someone trying to hold the line and restrain his hexarch peers from making things worse even while he's unable to make things better. So I guess I'm saying I'm open to angst or fluff for this fandom.

( spoilers )

Riot Nrrd

If you offered to write this, you're awesome, and probably in a very small minority of people who offered it. :D I love this comic, it's one of those finished or permanently-on-hiatus comics where the characters live on in my brain and I keep wondering how they're doing or what they think of insert-current-event-here (see also Waiting For Bob, Jake The Rake, Dykes To Watch Out For...)

So what I would love most of all is some futurefic featuring Wren, Maria, Nhi, Samantha, or any other Riot Nrrd characters you feel like writing about. What new fandoms are they in? How did their studies go? What are they doing now? Are they okay? How are they coping with 2017? (Or if you want to go AU and put them in a happier timeline where current political events did not happen, I am cool with that too!)

Suradanna and the Sea

I read this one after Yuletide nomination closed, and went "darn, I would have liked to nominate that," then was delighted to find that someone else had nominated it.

I'm particularly interested in what happened after that. Especially for the Captain. What does she do with her life after that? And just generally in how their lives intertwine and about being the only people left who have that shared history. And a shared future, whether they stay together or not (do they end up iiiin spaaaaaace?) This is another fandom that might work with experimental formatting, I think -- like primary source history through the ages.

In conclusion, thank you again and I hope Yuletide goes well for you.

Current Mood: festive

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Dreamwidth Velo Club

Member Posts

(no subject)

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) and The Princess & the Frog (2009)

today's xkcd

The fundamental metaphor of my generation, as ever

Melbourne Storm

Overheard at work

(no subject)

coaching program - final stretchhhhhh

Femslashex reveals

media consumed

hlh_shortcuts is open for signups

Solo

Leave me here to die in a pool of poorly managed menstrual fluid

Pull the Football, Save the World

Conniephobia

(no subject)

Uncomfortable sentence of the day

Equinox reveals

coaching program - final stretch!

Dear Yuletide Writer

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April 2016

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