John Bull Profile picture
25 Oct, 4 tweets, 1 min read
SPOILER ALERT

Hands down one of the finest episodes of any Trek made.

Because it make a key bit of character development subconscious:

Boimler, who dreams of being Kirk, but everyone thinks he's not good enough (inc. himself), passes a Kobiyashi Maru scenario WITHOUT CHEATING.
It's a critical part of the plot, and it's framed within that as just Boimler being anal (as always), while everything else goes on around him.

But in the process he not only passes a Kobiyashi Maru, but then instantly sacrifices it, and (in sim) himself, to save the real ship.
So you've got this double layer of everyone - including himself - being all "LOL. Thank God Boimler was all Boimler"

Combined with this character growth subtext that he's actually BETTER than Kirk. Because (thanks to healthier friendships) he's growing past his flaws.
And none of them realise it yet.

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More from @garius

25 Oct
One of the moments that absolutely nailed my love of Lower Decks was the one time you see a picture of Kirk and Spock (on a datapad someone is holding) it's of ANIMATED SERIES Kirk and Spock.

Because OF COURSE that's the 'canon' version of Kirk and Spock in their universe.
It's only on screen for about two seconds as one character is talking. It would have been far quicker and easier for someone to just draw Kirk and Spock in the Lower Decks animation style.

But they didn't.

They put thought into it and went animated series Kirk and Spock.
Lower Decks is the Trek version of what I'd LOVE to do to Star Wars and try to on Twitter with my 'The Freelancers' poll adventures:

It's saying: these universes are SO COOL you can explore the edges of them with a bit of humour and they only get BETTER
Read 4 tweets
21 Oct
Spare some love for Collingwood. Legit brilliant commander in his own right. First into battle on Royal Sovereign. Took charge after Nelson got sniped by the French lad using bot hax.

Hated flogging. Loved by his men. Walked his dog and planted acorns for fun. #TrafalgarDay2021 Cuthbert Collingwood in full uniform looking contemplative.
It was 100% Nelson's plan behind Trafalgar, but he couldn't have pulled it off without Collingwood.

His plan was to break with existing strategy and attack in TWO columns, splitting the enemy line.

In gaming terms, that meant he needed TWO tanks out front. Not one.
TWO ships would have to draw all the fire from the enemy ships around them on the way in.

TWO commanders were going to have hold their nerve, lead those lines and punch through:

Nelson led the first in Victory.

He trusted Collingwood with the other in Royal Sovereign. Battle diagram for trafalgar showing two columns smashing in
Read 31 tweets
21 Oct
Oh for a muse of fire.
To ascend the brightest heaven of invention.
A kingdom for a stage!
Princes to act!
And monarchs to behold the swelling scene.
Think when we talk of horses that you see them, printing their proud hooves in the receding earth.
For, t'is your thoughts that now must deck our kings.
Carry them from here to there,
jumping o'er time.
Turning the accomplishments of an age into an hourglass.
For the which supply admit me, chorus to this history, to prologue-like your humble patience pray:

Gently to hear.

Kindly to judge.

Our play.

<Shakespeare's Theatre Completed. All unhappy citizens in the city are made content.>
Read 4 tweets
21 Oct
God no.

Sometimes I think: "I'd have written that differently" but that's not the same thing.

More often I think: "Really like the way they've done that" and then try and deconstruct it, so I can add it to my own options in future.
Example: I've been on a MASSIVE Becky Chambers binge lately, because I think the way she makes you see characters in your head WITHOUT EVER REALLY DESCRIBING THEM is brilliant.

You think she's described them. She mostly hasn't. She implies and let's you build your own version.
Once I spotted that's what she does, I realised how fucking brilliant it is. It totally hands over the power to the reader to see the characters mostly how they'd like them to be, but still leaves them feeling like they're on a narrative journey she's created.

it's amazing.
Read 4 tweets
21 Oct
"We advise people to turn off their lights" Winston Churchill said. "I'm asking people to take personal responsibility for stopping the Luftwaffe"

He added that he might make the blackout mandatory in certain situations in future, but that it wasn't the right time to do it now.
Meanwhile, in an article in the Times, Iain Duncan Smith warned against making the blackout mandatory.

"Our parents didn't need a blackout in the Boer War" He said. "They just got on with things."

"We just need to learn to live with Hitler." He continued. "For the Economy."
The PM's request for people to maybe turn their lights off to make the Luftwaffe's job a bit harder went down badly on his backbenches.

"I know everyone in this house." Said Steve Baker. "None of them would help the Luftwaffe. My light stays on."

"Except Rees-Mogg." He admitted
Read 11 tweets
20 Oct
I kind of agree with this, but think it modifying rather than removing.

Truth is, we live in a parliamentary democracy with political parties. Therefore, MPs are often required to vote with the party line.

The output needs modifying to show when your issue is with the PARTY.
Yes, yes, I know any MP COULD vote against the whip, theoretically, but there is always a lot of nuance in play with that. Let's not pretend there isn't. It's not how life works.

A big issue these days is removing nuance and oversimplification of politics.
Yes, I know that there's a tiny bit of grey writing on the full voting record page that gives some vague indication of whether they toed the party line, but that's really not clear enough.

Because in most instances, it's the BIGGEST driver of how they voted.
Read 8 tweets

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