#‘engineer engineer engineer weirdo’

[opheliaweeps]

george karim I love you I hope you’re doing well I hope your research is moving along I hope lucy & lockwood aren’t being idiots in your general vicinity

[bacchuschucklefuck]

space sweepers but they're delivery people and are at no point on screen through the entire movie

[jokzs]

The engis n spys (again!)

[shikariiin]

Ship week art, but it's just me shipping Edward with everyone

...🤔

[utterdrip]

astarion being so conscious about what a big weird fuckin group the tadpole’d are like yelling at them hands fluttering about

“we’re conspicuous enough as this merry band of freaks! can you! be normal!”

[hard cut to astarion panting over the possibility of killing some githyanki scouts]

[lolathepeacocklord]

She is but a baby what do you want from her

[weirdowithaquill]

How Did the Big 4 Affect Ideas About Scrap for the Steam Engines:

Alright, so in the Railway Series, we know that scrap and the idea of scrap is horrifying to the engines. But the real question is: was this a universal thing? Were all the engines equally horrified, or were there differences.

I mean, from that one infamous illustration in the Railway Series, it seems pretty universal...

But I think that if we dive a little deeper, there may be a few other factors at play, which collectively create very different views on scrap - and they all have to do with the Big 4. I'm going to explain them by size, so let's start giant and get smaller.

LMS:

The LMS engines would not be as surprised to hear they're being replaced and scrapped as other companies. Why? Well, we have to look back a bit. In the 1920's, the LMS was a bit of a hodgepodge of constituent railways and their engines. The Midland 'small-engine' policy did mean that a lot of the bigger engines were frowned upon, but in general the engines were just... there.

This changed with Stanier. When Stanier came along, he began building larger, faster, more powerful engines - and thus a lot of the older, smaller classes were axed. Engines classes like the Black Fives, Coronations and 8F's could do the work of these older engines much better!

There was only one class of engine built by the Furness that survived into BR ownership, and they weren't the only company with this happening. The engines of the LMS would've been accustomed to these ideas. And where does D261 come from? Well, the Class 40 diesels were used on the West Coast Mainline - D261 would be very used to the steam engines being very accepting of the idea that this was 'their time', and therefore stunned at how the Sodor engines acted.

The opposite end of this was that smaller engine classes were very afraid of being withdrawn. Edward's a great example of this - he watched his entire railway be taken over and all his friends and family replaced - and he fears he might be next. It drives him to extreme lengths to prove his worth, just to try and gain a few more years. Donald and Douglas are another example of this; as Caledonian Railway engines, they were generally under the threat of being scrapped all through their careers, and this created a desire to prove themselves and survive.

The LMS as a company committed to this 'purge' of smaller, older classes, and thus the engines of the LMS would have been far more used to and accepting of the idea of being scrapped as compared to others. It was part of the company culture! It wasn't universal by any means, but it had an impact, especially in the English part of the LMS.

LNER:

The exact opposite of the LMS. The LNER was a railway that was throughout its existence very, very poor. And while it did build some stunning-looking express engines...

... in actuality, many of the engines running on the LNER were constituent engines that were just kept going. A good example of this would be the C1 Atlantics, which were introduced in 1902, and weren't completely withdrawn until 1950!

The LNER just didn't have the money or the ability to commit to a drastic newbuild scheme like the LMS did. That isn't to say that old engines weren't scrapped, but it did mean a lot more of the older classes weren't. And when a large body of engines survive for 50 odd years, the culture of elongated existence survives with them. Gordon is so badly affected by the Modernisation Plan personally because his company culture was one of preservation and extended service. His brothers would have quite happily told him that even when they were supplanted by the A4's that they'd be around for a long time yet, because that's how the LNER worked. And then they weren't and Gordon was stunned.

And remember, the LNER is the railway that preserved City of Truro alongside a bunch of its elderly engines at York. This railway had a culture that was built around a sort of trickle-down duties. As express engines were supplanted, they simply moved down the chain.

Speaking of City of Truro...

GWR:

This is another railway whose engines are stunned by the Modernisation Plan, but for a very different reason. Both the GWR and the LMS scrapped a large number of engines in the 1930's, but unlike the LMS, the GWR focused on engines who were at the end of their useful lifespan.

City of Truro was around 30 when withdrawn. For an engine introduced at the same time as the C1 Atlantics, this seems short - but its about average for the GWR at the time. The shock to the GWR engines is not the fact they're being scrapped - it's the fact that engines not at the end of their useful lifespans are being scrapped.

The King class was built in 1927 and nearing the end of their lifespan, but the Modified Halls weren't, and neither were the 9400's. Their withdrawal and subsequent scrapping was what really shocked Western engines.

Oliver's class was built in the 1930's, and would have expected to survive into the late 1960's and 1970's. The sudden withdrawal of them all would have been a great shock, and one of the driving factors behind his escape.

And then in the Railway Series, Duck doesn't act all that surprised to hear steam engines are being cut up - but he is hostile to diesel engines. The reason? Because diesel engines aren't just replacing the old engines in the natural GWR order of things, but supplanting the entire lot. He's relatively fine with Bear though because unlike many of the other diesels, Bear's class could be very easily perceived as being a natural progression of GWR engines. They took over the jobs of Castles and Kings - engines built in the 1920's and nearing the end of their GWR lives. There is of course also his outburst, which gives off a very GWR vibe - telling an engine off for insulting another railway? I wonder which of our Famous Eight has also done that...

Southern:

Right, so the Southern is possibly the most interesting case of them all. And the reason for that is this:

The Southern Railway was both the smallest of the Big 4 and the most passenger orientated. As such, they naturally gravitated towards a program of electrification, which they saw as the best way to maximise their profits. Engines on the Southern would have been invariably told that they would be withdrawn someday when the electrification reached their part of the line. That is a level of certainty that would have a massive impact on how the engines viewed their fate.

It also meant that the Southern Railway was not focused on replacing the steam engines they already had with new ones. This allowed some truly ancient engines to make it to British Railways.

This is Fenchurch, and when withdrawn in 1963 he was the oldest engine working on British Rail. He was built in 1872 - so that's a career of 91 years. And another class that was hitting pensioner years in British Rail was the Adams Radial Class, built in 1882. Both Southern Railway engines that found a niche duty that wasn't going to be electrified or upgraded anytime soon.

Even the E2's had their own niche at Southampton docks! They were a failure of a class when built, and yet were still in service in the 1960's. Thomas the tank engine himself has remarkably little to say about modernisation in the books - his job is threatened by a diesel, and while he's horrified that it's a diesel, he's not shocked he's being replaced. Even though he spent a tiny amount of time in the south, its culture managed to penetrate his smokebox.

But there is one other railway that has a central role in this, and it is of course British Railways.

British Railways:

Right, so this is the one company that is the cause of much of the above commentary to become obsolete. When amalgamated, British Rail was meant to electrify the country's railways slowly and steadily, with steam engines making up the difference. And at the onset, they withdrew and scrapped many of the older, smaller classes of engines and replaced them with the Standards - something very similar to LMS and GWR practice, and also not unfamiliar to the LNER. The really problem comes with the Modernisation Plan in 1955.

The Standard Five class were built until 1957 - two years after the publication of the Modernisation Plan which explicitly stated that BR would scrap all steam. The 9F's were being built until 1960. At the longest, these engines got less than twenty years. At the youngest, some were withdrawn after only five years.

And that's what shocked all the older engines. It's not the fact they're being scrapped - ever since the conception of the railways, engines have been being scrapped. It's the magnitude of the scrapping and the wanton destruction of young, healthy engines. It's not that they're being replaced - that was always going to happen, all the engines knew that. It's the speed of the Modernisation Plan, the scrapping of brand new engines and the fact that steam engines were replaced with Pilot scheme diesels who were mostly failures.

That's what caused the engines to fear scrap and hate diesels.

And while I would love to delve into the diesels and what happened to them, that's its own massive thing.

I would like to note that this does not really take into account specific incidents, but rather general trends that would have led to more widespread knowledge. The single incident involving one engine in Aberdeen doesn't really permeate railway gossip and ideology, but an entire class being withdrawn does.

I would also like to acknowledge the fact none of the above pictures are mine.

[haunted-xander]

Genome sibs!!!

A redraw of an old (traditional) drawing!

[ken-katayanagi]

I’ve read your google docs of the katayanagi twins’ fashion. Super interesting stuff and I love it as both a fashion enthusiast and fan of the siblings. Your document really emphasizes the distinction between those two even with the very little info we have on them (kyle’s style could be late 80s japanese pop while ken’s style could be more leaning towards visual kei). Also matches their personalities (ramona mentioned kyle is the hothead of the two, so I guess the pretty and proper bad boy kind of look fits him)

Something about your endnote fascinates me, however. You mentioned something about the twins’ relationship being strained but then strengthened after ramona’s betrayal. Would you implore more on the idea? I’m now invested in it very much…. thank you and have a good day

Thank you!!! I mostly based my looks off this piece of concept art by O’Malley, which makes me think the personalities the twins had in their few anime appearances were just parts that weren’t as well communicated in Vol. 5

(I think that little doddle next to the crossed out “they’re not even Japanese” emphasizes that visual kei comparison you made)

But as for the second bit, I think the twins weren’t exactly on great terms, even before Ramona. A decent part of this has to do with my own personal head cannons surrounding Kyle and how I perceived his and Ramona’s relationship with alcohol, but also with just how different the twins seem to be under the surface. They seem like they would run in almost completely opposite social circles and be invested in similarly opposite things.

And it’s honestly really tied to their teens. Basically, their parents kinda unintentionally set up a dynamic where Kyle felt like Ken got away with everything (piercings, weird clothes, going out to band shows and having a more trusting relationship with their parents) and Ken thought Kyle couldn’t get his act together (partying, showing up back home late, getting in fight with their parents). Neither was true as in reality their parents let a lot of stuff with Ken slide that wouldn’t have otherwise because “well at least he’s not drunk” and Kyle was genuinely going through some serious mental shit but not telling anyone so his actions just looked super random and mean spirited. So by the time they get to college, they haven’t really addressed this weird image they have of the other in their heads.

And it explains how Ramona was even able to two time siblings. They’re not going to the same parties, they’re not really talking at length about their lives (since they never mention enough detail to make the other suspicious), they’re probably not really bothering each other much if they share a dorm. Ramona unconsciously sees and plays this divide, knowing they’re not really together enough for her to get caught.

It also emphasizes for me a very emotional aspect for all three of them. Ramona is hot off a messy break up (Roxie), the breakup that ended her first relationship with a women and also seems to be her first attempt at having something…maybe not serious but genuine (it seemed more important than anything with Matt Todd or Lucas). Shes hardly in the headspace to be in a relationship, and maybe after some nights out, she’s terrified and not sure what to do because whoops she’s in two! And the longer it goes on the less Ramona actually wants to fix it because it’s kinda fun in a messed up way, and the twins aren’t bad company…until it all comes crashing down and she’s out the door before they even notice she’s gone. I think Ramona’s relationship with the twins is her at her actual lowest, with her being most at fault for what happened and the least justified in bolting afterwards. This low point is exactly when Gideon finds her, unsure and upset at herself, in exactly the position to manipulate her. (Sorry if this came off a little Ramona bash-y, I love Ramona but this girl makes bad choices)

As for the twins, I think the really strong emotional beat here is the idea of how avoidable it would’ve felt for them. How if they had just been able to set aside their own bullshit, if they had even bothered to connect at all, they could’ve figured it out in a few days, rather than in a few weeks or a few months. Ramona’s betrayal is catalyst for them to sit down and just…talk out a lot of their own personal crap.

But yeah that’s why. Sorry this got super massively long, but I hope you liked it and it wasn’t too ramblely lol.

[i12neil]

tf2 queer hcs for pride month !!!

red scout ; transfem bisexual he/she. very hesistant to use she/her and probably only just came out. has a "so what" attitude about it. very masc presenting.

blu scout ; transfem pan ace she/they. more open about it and more fem presenting than red scout.

red soldier ; queer he/him. he doesn't think too hard about it.

blu soldier ; transmasc queer he/him. also doesn't think too hard about it. did his top surgery himself.

red pyro ; enby butch polyam lesbian any pronouns. need i say more.

blu pyro ; eldritch alien being not of this world. gender is foreign to them and they don't understand it. their suit is quite literally their skin.

red heavy ; trans gay bear he/him. you are not immune to trans heavy propaganda 🌀🌀🌀

blu heavy ; transfem butch she/he. likes to be called holly.

red demoman ; pan polyam aroace he/they. complicated relationship with his gender.

blu demoman ; transmasc polyam bisexual ace any pronouns. more in touch with his gender than red demoman.

red engineer ; trans aromantic polyam bisexual he/him. very complicated sense of self. sees his body as more of a vessel for something greater. considers the gunslinger part of his transition.

blu engineer ; trans aromantic polyam gay bear he/she. much more in touch with himself. used to struggle with the same thing as red engie but pulled himself out of that mindset. no surgeries because 💥💥💥💥

red medic ; gay bear he/him. might fuck around with she/her from time to time.

blu medic ; queer he/she/they. will give you a sex change no questions asked.

red sniper ; queer he/it. doesn't care for labels.

blu sniper ; transfem polyam bisexual it/she. similar to red scout with how it presents.

red spy ; queer any pronouns. he doesn't care. comes into work as a different gender each day, but is often more masc presenting.

blu spy ; same as red spy, but more femme.

[the-real-blu-engineer]

Are you in the market for a husband?

Ah well, I'd say I'm good on that front. I got my hands full with Medic and Heavy.

[link-sans-specs]

How to put on a wedding dress in 3 easy steps...

1. Jump.

2. Zip!

3. Shoes.

Now you're ready for photos! 📸

👰🏻‍♂️

GMM2448

Recreating Crazy Internet Memes ft. Smosh

[fuzziemutt]

I wish I was like a god at cars and just able to fix that shit in my yard with ease and say yeah the shitbox 4th plug just needs a bit more elbow grease but I ain't letting this fucker die yet, yet here I am kicking its damn stationary wheel for the 50th time

[gammaliminal]

Neon Troupe; an introduction to a tf2/overwatch fan game

welcome to the fairly near future… of the 80s! IBM, dotmatrix, disco, and cassette tapes are all the rage. despite lasers, miracle healing, uplifting animals, and more invented; we're still using CRT monitors and everything still groooovyyyyyyy. enter the companies Outlook Resurrection Grant (ORG) and Past Nations re-Kindled (PNK), which are locked into a corporate turf war due to a petty rivalry between workers spiraling way out of control. now enter the Contractors, people of varying stripes all equally (or more so compared to the others) willing to kill and die for a paycheck; and with corporate backing of military hardware, unexplained respawning, and unexplained clones (for the sake of the tone, neither of these will be explained).

if you couldn't tell already, this is basically TF2's excuse plot but set in the 80s, which hopefully we can do something new and original with! this project is inspired by OW2 self-destructing, making me finally deciding to start conceptualizing my idea for a class-based shooter in a similar vein as rivals of aether for platform fighters (more so inspired by tf2 then overwatch) pleaaaaaaase be nice to us; not only are we but two people who haven't designed any games before, but we're also purely doing this out of fun and aren't going to super strictly balance this. even if we're able to actually develop it. also, while we won't confirm any orientations, it'll be a looooooooooot more outwardly queer then either TF2 or OW <3 if that makes you angry, well we aren't creating this for you - Ξλ

links to stuff related to this project!! cast list companies and a bit of LOREEEE

[baldrickwhethers]

RARHGHGHGHGHH I'VE FINALLY CAUGHT UP ON SEASON 3 AND IM SO MAD AND HAPPY AND RHGRHGHRGHRHGRHGH

[kaeyx]

Yeaah that's what I totally mean you can gaslite yourself into thinking Catlovevrafts mouth is completely normal! Until he starts licking you affectionately on a daily basis that is..

Honestly that might be the most normal behaviour you'll see from him, I can imagine he might sometimes forget he's not supposed to have two tails or that cats don't bark that's the other common human pet. Really your cat is fucking bonkers, are you sure he isn't secretly orange?