I love love love that Ziva is immediately drawn to Damon Worth because she recognizes what he’s been through.

Other than Gibbs, she’s the only member of the team who’s actually seen war first-hand, certainly of the younger generation, so it makes sense that she feels compassion for his PTSD, as opposed to some of the others who see the damage he’s caused in the present.

That look she gives as she’s watching the guys subdue him on the ground in the hospital, that flash of recognition – that’s something Ziva has seen before, if not experienced personally. I’m sure Ziva replays some of the missions she’s been on over and over in her mind, in spite of her training telling her to put it behind her. She’s the only one who can see how much pain he’s in, that he’s not in control of what is happening to him. It’s an experience with which she is intimately familiar and it gives her unique insight.

Which is why she isn’t fazed by his attack, because she knows he isn’t actually attacking her or Tony or Gibbs – in his mind, he’s on the battlefield in Iraq, and it’s up to them to draw him back. 

And why Abby’s comments afterwards hit her so deeply. The more she tries to defend Damon, the more Abby loses her shit, because all she can see is her friends in pain. (Of course, Abby’s reaction is grossly disproportionate to the events that transpired, but that’s a whole other rant.) 

“Ziva, can’t you just let me get it out for a second? I mean, I’m not like you. I’m not some totally emotionless perfect warrior.”

Which hits Ziva where it hurts, because that’s the perception Ziva has been fighting against if not her entire adult life, then certain since she transferred to NCIS. Because she’s not emotionless, not in the least – if anything she’s the opposite, she feels so deeply that she has trouble handling the emotions, which is why she copes by shutting down. And there is nothing perfect about war – it is bloody and brutal and cruel, and no one leaves it unscathed, one way or the other, certainly not herself.

So Abby may think she can just turn off her emotions, the same way others think Worth can shut down and turn into a super soldier, but they both prove that their trauma bubbles beneath the surface. (Just like when Gibbs was hurt in the S3 finale, and Abby accused Ziva of not caring, when ultimately it was anything but – she felt so much she had her own meltdown.)

It’s also why Ziva is so relieved when Abby apologizes later on for accusing her of being unfeeling, because the last thing she wants is for anyone to think she is soulless, for lack of better word. She’s just trained for one job, just like Damon. And it’s why her insight into the case is what saves Damon in the end.

"I am most honoured to be Ms Ko Yu-rim's rival."

aka

Interviewer: What the best part of your life?

Hee-do: Yu-rim

Abby/Max :(

This thought has been brewing in the back of my mind for a very long time now, and I feel that, as a certified Abby defender, I must say it.

Abby/Max is toxic. Obviously it's not Abby/Press levels of toxic, but I have this theory that the writers originally intended for MANG to be a complete mess (which they are) but for Ginny to eventually completely drop them and never come back, never have that apologetic reunion etc. I reckon it wasn't until they expanded a bit more on Max and Abby (god knows if they'll ever give Norah an actual story arc) that the writers decided they wanted to keep the friend group around. BUT I also believe that you can see little sprinkles of the original idea with MANG in the existing version of the show.

That's the only way I could try to explain those odd scenes. One in particular comes to mind, and is in fact the entire reason I haven't been able to get this out of my head.

Yes that's right, jurors of the court, "Abby, why are you such an ADD nightmare?"

To those that have not spent their time watching "Abby Litman Scene Pack" videos and, god forbid, that "Sad Abby Litman Scene Pack" one, Abby, in quite normal friend fashion, tries to jokingly draw on Max's face and Max delivers the infamous line.

Abby is so visibly hurt and Max just does not give the slightest fck. And then the cut to Ginny who was laughing along before, her smile suddenly dropping at Max's words? Like dam, that hit me a little hard.

There's this dynamic with Max/Abby that gets more frustrating the more I think about it, and I think it's summed up really well in @/rahnesinclair's fic cool cool cool, fun fun fun (really good fic).

Abby is extremely insecure and Max doesn't care, and in fact often abuses that fact. Not on purpose, Max isn't a bad person (not like someone cough cough) but she takes and takes and takes, and simply gives nothing back. It especially bothers me that Max has supposedly been Abby's best friends since they were toddlers, and I worry that this is how their dynamic has always been. And just like in the fic, it completely crushes me that Max apologised only to Ginny and doesn't even think to apologise to Abby. (Abby really does have reason to be insecure in her relationship with Max, and I think it's so telling when you compare the way Ginny treats Abby in comparison)

Abby has convinced herself she needs Max (and, well, maybe in a way she does) so, just like with all the other problems in her life, she shuts up, sits down, and lets Max be the main character in both of their lives.

All that said, I do also believe the writers will resolve this (unless they forgot about it ;-;) and perhaps then I can go back to writing my MaxAbby fic in peace (I SWEAR TO GOD I REALLY WILL UPDATE IT, I HAVE A SCAFFOLD AND EVERYTHING). They have a habit of always hinting and hinting about Abby's upcoming storylines (Oh look, Abby's gone to the bathroom and doesn't want Ginny to come with her, oh look Abby keeps a stack of food with her in the bedroom, oh look Abby's looks a lil sad today, etc. etc.) but supposedly we've been told she will finally get attention from the writers in the third season (I have a whole list of things I want to see next season for Abby and if I don't get them i will riot) and I hope to see Max's "self-growth" extend towards Abby as well, and not just two very select people.

When history fails to shed light on the truth, myth creates its own.

Eadaz "Ead" du Zala uq-Nāra, Sabran Berethnet and Miduchi Tané from The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon.

i had the wonderful opportunity to visit @sshannonauthor at kinokuniya sydney on the 19th, and it was such a lovely and inspiring time to hear exactly how the world of priory was created and why things existed in it!

to anyone looking for a queer feminist retelling (of st. george and the dragon) with IMMENSELY engaging worldbuilding and characters, i do highly recommend priory!

It really is interesting to me how when Sanderson takes over writing the Wheel of Time books from Jordan, certain nuanced and complex plot themes turn from "these are systemic issues that need systemic solutions and revolutionary change" into "these are just a few individual bad people, the system will be just fine when the right people are running it". Just for example:

Whitecloaks and Galad: Jordan was trying to make a nuanced point here about how the Whitecloaks serve the Light, yet some do deeds as heinous as any Darkfriend does, in their zealous devotion to the Light, not to mention this is an extremely thinly veiled allegory to religious extremism. Under Sanderson, this turns from a systemic issue where the very core of the organization is flawed, and needs to be revamped from the root up, to "they just had a bad leader and Galad will now set them on the right path". Because confronting religious extremism as an institutionally ingrained problem, rather than as just individual bad people, is just too nuanced and scary a concept, I guess.

Weiramon and Anaiyella: Under Jordan, Weiramon and Anaiyella are stupid simpering nobles, who have no regard for the poverty-stricken lives of the peasants under their yoke. The whole point of them and (most of the) other Tairen and Cairhienin nobles is that they aren't Darkfriends, but are evil and callous anyways, because they're noble and don't have to deal with the consequences of their actions. Under Sanderson? They're now Darkfriends. Because that's the only reason they could be evil, right? It's not that there's systemic inequality between the nobility and the peasants in Tear, in Cairhien, in every city in the Westlands, and that the nobles can be genuinely evil in how they treat people under them, without needing to be Darkfriends at all. No, now it's just individual people like Weiramon and Anaiyella who are Darkfriends and therefore evil. This way, we don't need to confront the very mundane non-Dark evil of monarchies/nobility, and what that says about all the main characters who end up rulers of various countries.

Egwene and Siuan dying, and Cadsuane becoming Amyrlin: It's very interesting to me that Egwene and Siuan are the only two primary/secondary protagonists who weren't supposed to die in Jordan's original outline, but who were killed off under Sanderson's tenure. It makes perfect sense to me, though. Egwene is a revolutionary and visionary Amyrlin, who breaks down a lot of the ironclad "rules" that the Tower has stood by for millenia. If she were allowed to actually live on, she would have enacted revolutionary changes to how the Tower functions, that would have completely transformed it as an organization (and pretty obviously made it more inclusive and more helpful to the world at large). Siuan, meanwhile, stands as a reminder of the rot at the very core of the White Tower, of the women the Tower leaves behind when they've outlived their usefulness (women like her who're unjustly stilled, women who're burned out, women who're cast out because they're too weak after uprooting their whole life to study at the Tower, etc). Again, just like Egwene, Siuan is a reminder of the NEED for a revolutionary transformation in how the Tower functions. Ergo, she needs to be killed off too. Who, then, will lead the Tower? Why, Cadsuane of course. Cadsuane, the oldest of the old guard, a woman who benefited in every possible way from all the old rules of the Tower that Egwene sought to revolutionize, a woman who has no concept or imperative to enact any sort of meaningful change in the Tower, because the old way the Tower functioned benefited her in every way possible. Again, the need and the pathway for systemic change is neatly pruned out, instead turning into "Cadsuane will be a better leader than Elaida" when the whole point of the Egwene vs Elaida arc is that what was really at war was not Egwene and Elaida, but the old way of doing things vs a new revolutionary way of doing things.

Gawyn: Gawyn has always been a critique of toxic masculinity, but under Jordan, this is very much framed as a systemic issue which demands a transformative change in the gendered roles of the Westlands. When Gawyn was an infant, Gareth Bryne makes him swear over Elayne's crib to protect her with his life. Even his title is First Prince of the Sword - an object, a tool, a weapon, rather than a person. He's told by even the father figures in his life that his only value is in being the Most Manly Man Ever and dying for Elayne. He's an annoying motherfucker, but under Jordan I understand the underlying systemic issue that makes him so fucking annoying, and how it REQUIRES a transformation in how the Westlands defines and views gender and the roles required of people of different genders. Under Sanderson? Gawyn's problem now is that he thinks he ought to be the Most Special Boy ever and is pissed that it's Rand instead. Again, the issue turns from a systemic issue with gender roles that requires a systemic transformative solution, into "Gawyn is just individually an entitled asshole and wannabe chosen one, and this is in no way a reflection on the gendered culture that molded him, so don't think too hard about that."

It's just… very interesting, how every running theme is transformed/simplified in exactly the same way when transitioning from the Jordan books to the Sanderson books. When Jordan wrote that the Dragon would Break the world, he very much meant that the Dragon would also break the oppressive institutions of nobility, of religious extremism, gender roles, etc. Under Sanderson, this turns into "the nobility is not the problem, it's just that the right noble needs to be in power", and "gendered roles aren't the problem, it's individual assholes that are the problem". And so on.

Summary:

“Abby is allowed back into a circle of friends that dropped her the minute Max said jump. She pretends it doesn’t get to her, pretends she isn’t slipping.

Good thing none of them notice anyway.”

Goodnight everybody.

req’d by @faith-orise

ahhh a classic jacob drawfeeshow

text: If God’s ever been mad at anything I’ve said, he hasn’t done shit about it

Alex, Phil, Anne and Fai as squishy chibis :>

Read Utso here!

Please look at my blorbos. My skrunklies, my head gremlins.

Thank you for looking at my blorbos, my skrunklies, my head gremlins.

Would Phil and Cody (from Lalin's Curse) be friends? I think they would

I like to think so, too

please like or reblog this post if you use or save (and don’t claim it as your own)

please

fierce, mean, petite, but a heart of gold. GIVE ME MORE OF ABBY come on. Why did they let Max whine over Sophie the whole season if she could've just been a good friend (and girlfriend) to Abigail :(

I know that Whiskey is somewhat complicit to an extent with the Shitheads and their despicable actions but I gotta tell y’all I LOVED the intimate moment she and Helen had when looking for the pool. The vulnerability that Whiskey has for this woman she had never even met before and also felt bad for after what all the others did to her (technically her sister) was so sweet. The scene also allows the audience to see just how calculated Whiskey is with her own career, that she isn’t just some air-head arm candy who likes being treated like shit.

And when Helen listens to her and asks her why she allows herself to be used by people who don’t really care about her, she has that “caring teacher” energy. Helen talked to her and treated Whiskey like she was one of her students. It was probably the first time that someone told Whiskey that she deserved better and didn’t have to sell out. Helen showcases sympathy instead of judgement in order to urge Whiskey to respect herself and I love that about her.

MADELYN CLINE as Sarah Cameron in the official teaser trailer for OUTER BANKS SEASON 3

I have a whole rant inside of me about how deeply physically and vocally affectionate Abby is to the people around her, despite rarely receiving any in return, but it has no point or deeper insight and goes no where