#-B. we do plenty of things that aren't “in our nature”

[economically-not-a-communist]

The daily struggle to not reply to particularly idiotic takes from people who don't know what they're talking about, but who, if I did say anything, would probably be defended by 90% of Tumblr.

[venomous-ragno]

Writing advice...

... About military things from a soldier

Pt. 2 / ?: Women and relationships in the military

You wanna write a story with a militaristic setting, like CoD or R6S? You wanna create a female OC, self insert or character, but you don't know where to start, if women are even allowed in the military?

Well, lucky for you or not I know what that feels like and I've also got the combat / real life experience to help ya out!

Feel free to hop in my askbox or dm's and ask questions. I'll gladly elaborate and do my best to answer in full and plenty.

Disclaimer: My experiences and knowledge are mostly based on the German military, the Bundeswehr. They may differ from those of other countries.

Happy writing y'all! :)

Are women allowed in the military?

The answer seems obvious: Yes. Most militaries around the world do allow women to enlist. Some, however, do not allow women to join the special forces, such as the SAS, for example.

Certain branches report a higher number of female soldiers than others. The US army air force and sanitation in the German military are two examples I can think of.

Some countries do allow women to enlist but forbid them from partaking in "action", such as North Korea, Sweden, Norway, Bolivia and some more.

What about misogyny by male soldiers?

In my six years of active duty I've learnt that sexism rarely occurs, but when it does, it's straight forward and nasty. Most men don't care about your gender. They treat you like you're one of them, and oftentimes even forget about the fact that you're a woman. The few times I was talked down to for my gender was blatant and hateful though; but even then, some of these opinions didn't come from within the military, but from civilians. (Cue the old granpa who saw me travelling back home in uniform and just had to tell me that women belong in the kitchen, how in the good old days women were still women yadda yadda. Yeah, I had the same look about on my face like you now.)

Appearance is important!

As is in any military. I can't speak for them though, but in my experience, light and natural make up is allowed. Nail polish and lipstick are a hard no though, albeit the latter may be allowed for special occassions. If there's one thing my comrades have taught me it's that most men in the military got no clue about make up, so you'll probs get away with more than you'd think.

The exact rules however depend on your unit and what you do. Back when I was in sanitation I'd be working a pretty standard 9 to 5. Worked in the medbay and treated patients, kept the medical archive in order, pretty normal stuff. My superior allowed us to wear small ear studs. When I got deployed to another base I was almost lynched for wearing them. Really depends on the ones in charge.

As for hairstyles: Most units are fine with anything as long as your hair is up and out of your face. Now, we didn't have to use gel to keep stray hairs at bay. It wasn't that strict. Just don't use any flashy hair accessories and hair ties that match your hair colour. Oh, and your hair must be a) one colour and b) a naturally occuring one. The length doesn't matter as long as you're not Rapunzel. If your hairstyle is anything other than a pixie cut, you will have to wear a hair net under your combat helmet.

Do men and women stay in seperate dorms?

Seperate rooms? Yeah. Seperate dorms? Nope.

Sometimes you'd have couples who shared a dorm room. It's a whole process that your superior has to give his ok to, but I honestly wouldn't recommend it. Dorm rooms aren't exactly big. You need privacy? Well, that's too bad.

If you're lucky enough you get to have a room for yourself. Depending on what branch / base you're in, the rooms will be more or less furnished. Back when I worked at the ministry of foreign affairs, my room was pretty luxurious for milutary standards: TV, fridge, sofa, bed, desk w chair, a closet and a bathroom next door. That's definitely not the standard though. We usually had to buy and bring our own stuff, like blankets, fridge, decorations, whatever you'd need to make that cold room somewhat comfy. (Wifi is also not a given. Gotta get your own connection running.)

Flings, relationships, cheating spouses... How common is it really?

They do happen, though not as often as you'd think.

It's more common to hear rumors about who has smth going with who and these rumors can get BAD. As in reputation and career ruining bad. At that point there's gonna be an order from higher up to stop talking about these rumors and punishment can be quite strict. (Speaking of rumors...Hate to say it, but the more women a unit had, the worse talking behind others backs was.)

One thing that I always found particularly disgusting were relationships between higher ups and recruits. Yes, they happen. No, they're not allowed. These things are like open secrets. If found out and proven to exist, the superiors will be held accountable by military law. Outside of basic training it may be frowned upon if a superior were to enter any kind of relation with someone of lower rank, thought not outright punishable.

As for cheating... Well, I haven't enountered any cheating myself, nor heard of it (yet). Not saying that it doesn't happen, but at least over here in Germany it's rare. It's highly frowned upon and will open you up to rumors and... Not so nice treatment by comrades. Cheating on a spouse is punishable by military law. A soldier found guilty may be demoted in rank, suffer financial losses or even get dishonourably discharged.

[autisticlifelessons]

Tips for boosting driving confidence in Autistic people

For some autistic people, myself included, driving anxiety can be really detrimental to your ability to get around and be independent. However, this year (10 years after starting to learn and 9 years after passing my test lol), I have been working hard to improve my confidence and whilst I still have a ways to go, my anxiety isn't nearly as bad as it was and I've driven places I would never have dreamed of this time last year.

The following tips are aimed at autistic people, but I think they'll apply to anyone who considers themselves a nervous driver.

Practice makes perfect! - if something makes you super anxious, the natural thing to do is avoid it if at all humanly possible, right? Well, it might make you feel relief in the moment, but over time this just reinforces your anxious thoughts and can make it harder and harder to break the cycle. As much as it sucks, the key thing is to just. keep. driving. Start with just short journeys on familiar roads and build it up from there. The more situations you encounter the more your skills will improve. For various reasons - including issues with visual processing and sensory overload - it's natural that some autistic people take longer to feel comfortable and confident at doing something, so just keep working at it and you'll slowly but surely notice a difference.

Leave yourself plenty of time - being late is a massive trigger for me, so if I find myself in a situation where I have to drive somewhere in a tight time frame it really freaks me out. Give yourself plenty of time to get where you need to go, so you know you have wriggle room if there's unexpected road closures or if you make a wrong turn. This is especially important if you're going somewhere unfamiliar as you will probably already be anxious about this. Plus, if you arrive early you will have some time to regulate/decompress yourself in preparation for whatever you have planned.

Set out your boundaries - Ok driving alone but having people in car with you sends you into a flat spin? That's fine - say no to passengers for a while and then if you feel ready have a trial run with someone you know will be kind and supportive. Equally, if you find having someone in the car with you is reassuring, that can be a big help - just be sure they understand you are feeling anxious so they don't pressure you to go routes you aren't ready for. Also, some people are overconfident in their driving abilities and may try to get you to do things that are unsafe - don't listen to them! Trust your own judgement.

Set a goal - having something specific to work for can help motivate you and give you a measure of your confidence improving. Maybe you want to drive to an out of town shopping centre, or take a road trip with a friend? Just make sure your goal is realistic and you give yourself a big pat on the back once you achieve it.

Practice self compassion - driving is stressful for some people and that's totally ok. I've accepted that while I can safely get from A to B, I'm probably never someone who is going to want to drive for fun. Remember, you are in charge of your life, no one else. Whilst I'm ok driving short distances, if I have to go to another city I would always opt for public transport if at all available. I know it'll make the whole thing much less stressful for me (and is better for the environment, too). Also, if you've been trying for a while but driving just isn't for you, that's totally ok, too! It sucks that the way our society is built means not having access to your own car is inconvenient at best, but remember we all have different strengths and weaknesses, and deciding not to drive doesn't make you a failure. You can bet the minute I can get hold of a (reliable and affordable) self-driving car, my life will be made so much easier!

And there you have it! I do hope my tips brought you some comfort or reassurance if this is something you've been struggling with. Remember, these tips are what have helped me personally - I am not a driving (lol) or medical professional, and I certainly don't claim to speak for all autistic people.

Your support is hugely appreciated xx

[classpect-crew]

Space, Mind, and Void: Getting to Know Your Neighbors

Let's talk more about Space for a moment. (Can you tell I'm a little fixated on this Aspect right now?) Space is not just the Aspect of creation, visual arts, and literal space. It's also represented by the classical element of Water. (There are people out there who will tell you that Space is actually Earth, and Blood is Water. These people are wrong.) Space is "concerned with the big picture," sure, but what does that really mean? Strap in, because we're going to get a little bit ~conceptual.~ This Aspect is vast, essentially containing everything that is.

If we look at its neighbors, Mind and Void, we can understand Space as their intersection. The universe is not a "conscious" entity in a way we as humans can relate to. After all, it is a frog. If you take the instinct of self-propagation and expand it out into a literal universe-sized organism, its methods of attaining that feat would look a lot like conscious choices from someone on our level of complexity, wouldn't they? Ask yourself this: does a person consciously tell their bodies to produce new cells? What about the reproductive cells responsible for new life? There are forces within the universe that have their own desires—and the players themselves are invaluable, as their cooperation and success provide the only way that a universe can propagate—but the Genesis Frog simply is.

The Genesis Frog "contains every single instance of the universe that is within him," which naturally includes every choice one could make. Unlike Mind, however, Space itself is largely unconcerned with causality. It is merely the stage upon which the play is set. So, Space and Mind aren't the same thing. Why, then, are they neighbors? Put simply, the domain of Mind is not restricted to the choices one makes. Mind is what allows us to conceive. It's what allows me to find patterns and relationships in Homestuck's cosmology and Classpect system, just as it allows you to come up with your own interpretations of the same. Concepts, ideas, philosophies—these belong to Mind. The intersection of Space and Mind is, quite literally, the galaxy brain meme. Space provides the backdrop, but Mind invites you to imagine, to engage with possibilities as limitless as the universe itself. Mind brings you to a million crossroads and asks one simple question:

What will you do?

Let's take a look at our neighbor on the other side: Void. This Aspect is also characterized by its breadth. Much like a dark and impenetrable ocean, those who flirt with the Void without a proper appreciation for its nature may find themselves sinking helplessly below the surface. A Hero of Space may have difficulty teasing out their purpose in the game, chewing on the grand mythology their Land offers them free of charge. Nevertheless, the writing is often already on the wall. A Hero of Void, however, will find that their purpose has been translated through dozens of foreign tongues, with plenty of key information lost to time—or purposefully redacted. The result is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, pocked with uncertainty and doubt. Whereas Mind encourages its players to parse through a vast array of known options to find a way forward, Void demands that its players conceive the inconceivable, creating something from nothing through methods best described as arcane.

There are two kinds of people in this world.

1. Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data

Space and Void both share a profound connection to Water, and they both possess a certain vastness that can only be truly understood through experience. These are both true of Mind as well, though Mind's connection to Water is much more abstract. (Appropriate, considering Mind sits above the Aspect Wheel's horizon, in the World of Ideas, while Void sits below, in the World of Matter.) Yet, they all deal with a theme I've mentioned several times now: conception. Birth. The new replacing the old. Space and Void both conjure up a sense of creation that's almost miraculous in nature. To create a whole universe, even for the most powerful Space player, is still incredibly impressive. To create something from nothing—whether that "something" is a physical object, an idea, or a secret third thing—is no less astonishing. A Mind player can synthesize information, make inferences based on what they know, and use that understanding to chart causality. All of this, however, requires prior information to work from. A Void player is capable of seeing the unseen, understanding what cannot be understood, and acting based upon that. They flirt with paradox and fuck the ineffable. Our familiar celestial bodies are the source of much inspiration, and we pay homage to them in so much of our art. Yet, like silence to a song, Space is defined not just by the stars themselves, but by the void between stars, and it is in these dark waters that Space and Void become one.

Come, friends. Let us bask in the now, in what is. Let what must be remain in the fiery bosom of Time. Breathe, and feel the universe breathe with you. Allow your conception of yourself, of your planet, of each cell in your body to shrink as you inhale, to expand as you exhale, until the microcosm and the macrocosm are utterly in sync. Visualize every physical and conceptual boundary you can think of, and allow them to dissolve. Do the same with those you can't. Allow me to ask you one simple question:

Have you ever rotated a tesseract in your mind?

[askthechronoverse]

Last Chapter •||• Next Chapter

The next thing that Kit knew for sure was that she was in the TARDIS. She knew she walked to the ship with the others, but the trip there was a blur. All she could think of was the words of the stranger. Maybe she had to talk to her parents now. It was clear that she had a history with this person, but there were too many unknowns. Bellamy sat by her side as she thought.

“Kit, you OK there? You've been crying for a half hour.” Bellamy adjusted Kit’s askew headband.

“I… I saw him again. Before he took the foundation element. He called me selfish, told me my dad was a child and he didn't know which of my parents was worse.” 

“I don't care what anyone has to say about something that happened over 20 years ago: Mr. B is a hero. He helped take down some really bad people. That counts for a lot in my book. And Regent B has been keepin’ the kingdom in good standing with the universe since forever!” Bellamy gave Kit a rough pat on her back. Before she could respond, there was a knock at the TARDIS door. “Go get that, Kit.” The girl sat up and opened the door. Tim flashed a smile, something behind his back.

“Your friends said that they're going to help us find the guy who stole the plate. I didn't want to miss you before you left. Take this.” He handed her a plush of the Despot Pokemon. “No one's mad at you. You have plenty of time to find him and bring back what he stole. I know you can do it. Good luck, Kit. And tell your dad I said hi. I'll tell my dad the same thing when I see him.” He turned and left, Kit closing the door behind him. The Doctor stood at the controls of the TARDIS, attempting to get the ship into neutral space. Kit walked up to her and waited for her to finish. When she saw the girl, the Doctor jumped.

“Hello!” The Doctor exclaimed, her hands on her chest. “You've got my hearts racing! Are you ready for the next lesson? I know we had a bit of a setback, but I have seen more dire situations. We can get the foundation elements back.”

“Do you think I'm doing the right thing?” Kit asked while she played with her headband.

“I think the fact you're asking yourself that question means that you're not as bad as you think you are.” The Doctor said after a moment of thought. “I suppose that could be our lesson: don't hesitate to do what you think is right, but it's all right to assess your situation. If you feel like what you're doing isn't for good reasons, it's all right to back away.”

“What does that have to do with time travel?”

“It's something I wish your father had done. If he had just a moment to think about what he was doing, maybe he would have stopped. Although, I do also believe that what he had done might be considered a fixed point in time.”

“That's the things that happen that have to happen, right?”

“Correct. As a time traveler, we can put a lot of stress onto the timeline. It can handle most changes, but there are major exceptions, as I have mentioned. I believe your father having to go through what he went through and doing what he did is one of those fixed points. From what I know of your world, that event was a pivotal part of your universal history. It needed to happen.”

“I guess you aren't wrong about that. Without the Battle for Syspocalypstar, the universe wouldn't be nearly as peaceful as it is. Does my dad know about this type of thing?”

“I don't believe he does. It's something that most time travelers get wrong about the nature of time. They either feel that it's too flexible or too immovable. That one small change could cause a ripple effect that will end the world. What else has your father taught you about traveling through time?”

“He and Doc came up with rules. They won't do anything if it's going to change something big or if it will mess with their timeline.” Kit spoke after taking some time to think about the question. “But I know I said that before. I don't really remember much else, but I know he does what he can to keep time in balance.”

“Maybe he understands the true nature of time travel deep down. Or his doctor is incredibly clever. I'm not sure which.” The Doctor chuckled. “Now, it's a bit difficult sometimes to tell what is a fixed point and what isn't. I can provide you and your father with a tool that I had when I was in school a very very long time ago that helped me figure that out.”

“I'm sure Doc will get a kick out of it.” Kit tilted her head. “What school did you go to to learn about time travel?”

“In my world, on my home planet, I would be what's known as a Time Lord. As a Time Lord, I would go to school for this type of thing.” The Doctor spoke in a far softer tone now. Her voice quickly sprung up into something far more chipper after what felt like a brief moment. “Right! So that will be the lesson, though it feels like a repeat. We just need to wait for X-PO to send us the coordinates to the next foundation element!”

“Do you have a way I can talk to my dad?” Kit asked suddenly.

“I can let you use my phone.” She handed her an antique bronze rotary phone. “I'll even dial it for you. I believe I know the number we'll need to call.” The Doctor's fingers were a blur as she dialed the number. It was ringing as she handed the receiver to Kit. “They'll ask you for a number. That number is PS3252022.”

“Prison Colony Alpha. This is Private Brickson.” The voice on the other line was harsh and impatient. Kit’s voice sounded so small in comparison.

“I'm looking to talk to someone you're holding?”

“Is that a question? Do you know the prisoner's tag number?” The private sounded like he was probably rolling his eyes.

“It's…PS3252022?” Kit didn't know why, but her voice was starting to shake.

“Could you quit asking the answers to my questions? What is your full name? This prisoner has an authorization list and I need to make sure you are on it. Give me the answer in the form of a statement.” His harsh tone was making Kit feel so worse, so much smaller.

“I am… I am Catherine Doris Brickowski.” The pause while he searched for her name was tangible and uncomfortable.

“You're an authorized correspondent. You'll be connected momentarily.” Kit took a deep breath as the phone started making long beeps that cut into her psyche. After what felt like an eternity, she heard a click and her heart leapt.

“Kitten? Are you doin' OK? Are you hurt? I'll do anything I can if you-!” RJ's voice was frantic, but he also sounded tired and worn down. It felt like one push would be enough to break it completely, and he was worried this was the break.

“I'm fine, Dad. I just wanted to hear your voice and make sure you were okay.” This was mostly true. This entire journey was the farthest and longest she had gone without seeing her father. Hearing his voice was helping ground her, but only just a little.

“Kid, don't go to prison. The past couple of hours have been nothing more than a revolving door of lawyers and guards asking me questions and making me relive things I didn't want to relive.” Being left with only the tired and barely held together voice didn't make things much better in the grand scheme of things, which left Kit floored: it only been a few hours since she left. She would have to ask the Doctor about that when this call was over. “Can't believe you miss me already. I would have thought you would have wanted some time away from me after…”

“I can't… I'm not mad at you anymore. But I need to know something.” Kit’s voice was soft.

“You can ask me anything. I don't have anything to hide anymore.”

“You would never use me to hurt people or do anything bad… right?” Kit spoke slowly and almost fearfully. It felt like it took forever for her father to reply.

“No. I know it's hard to believe, but all I ever want for you is for you to find your own path. For you to be better than me. I never want you to have to go through even a small fraction of what I've had to go through. It's the only reason I've kept you in the dark for so long.” RJ's voice squeaked like a rusty hinge. “I love you way too much. I don't know who on that planet is filling your head with that garbage, but I promise you it's wrong.”

“It's not someone on Syspocalypstar who told me that. I think it's the person who hurt your raptors and stole your flux capacitor.” Kit swallowed. 

“Whoever that is, they're wrong. They clearly found a way to hurt you without touching you and I do not like that. I'm going to look into who the hell that person is. Don't listen to them. Much as your father and I have our secrets, we've done nothing but protect you. What other lies have they told you?” There was something behind his tone, a conflicting layer of tiredness and a dormant anger that made Kit just a little afraid.

“He said that we were soldiers in a war. That we were alike.” Kit decided to keep most of the insults and distaste toward her parents to herself. “He said we're fighting in a war that has been going on a long time.”

“I don't know what he's talking about, Kitten. Most of my enemies either tolerate my existence… or seem to have the power to make my life a pain in the present, no pawns required.” His voice was a lot calmer now. “Like I said: I'll look into that for you. If any of what's being said is true and somebody is trying to use this person to settle a grudge against me, tell him to go after me directly. You aren't responsible for what I've done.”

“I'm going to lose you for what you've done!” Kit shouted this loud enough to be heard by the rest of the group. “I've been so scared of never seeing you again! I don't think Unitron is going to take what you've done lightly!” The tears returned to her face. The quiet could be felt, thick and sickening.

“I’m sorry,” was all he said. Those two words for the least assuring things Kit could have heard, but she knew there was nothing he could say that could fix the situation he'd put himself in long before she was created.

“I don't want to lose you. I don't. This isn't fair!”

“Kit, you're not going to lose me. I'm not going anywhere that you can't go.” He didn't sound sure about the words he was saying. “Queen Wa'nabi is involved with the case. That's something my lawyer knew the nanosecond she took the case. She's not going to let anyone send me to the Man Upstairs just yet.” 

“You also won't be able to be there for me anymore. I will only be able to see you once a month or something and I…” After a minute or two of sobbing, RJ spoke up.

“Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Nothing has happened yet. I'm still here for you. You can call me if you need me, Kit Kat, and please do. I want to hear your voice, too.” Kit could hear the weak smile that was probably on his face right now. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Daddy.” She barely finished the sentence before an electronic voice stated that time was up and to have a good day. The girl was left holding the receiver, the sound of a busy signal cutting through her silent tears. She handed the receiver back to the Doctor and put her head in her hands.

“I'm so sorry.” The Doctor moved aside to let Bellamy, Vito, and Charmy give Kit the attention she needed. 

“Hey… Hey, now. Let it out. You let out some big emotions right now.” Charmy rubbed Kit’s back.

Ken rushed over, wearing a pair of mirrored aviator sunglasses. “I know you're not Barbie, but you're just as awesome. Here, I think this will help.” He held out a silver chain with a pendant of a horseshoe with a horse head at the center. “This is my statement piece. Horses are awesome, just like you.” He put the necklace around her neck and she instinctively wrapped a hand around the pendant. She put the Tyrantrum away in her bag.

“Yeah. This isn't easy for any of us, but it makes sense that it hit you the hardest.” Vito added. 

Charmy turned the man in shades, watching her brother's eyebrow lift at the strange gift Ken gave her. “Ken, how well can you bake? Think you can make some cookies?”

“I'm not a Baker Ken, but I'll try it!” Ken ran off to find the kitchen. 

“You'll see him again.” Bellamy’s voice sounded calm and reassuring. “We just gotta finish this.” 

“Speaking of finishing things,” X-PO's voice chimed in from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. “I found the last foundation element. I'm sending the coordinates now. You better hurry. If the bad guy gets this last foundation element, there's no telling what he's going to do.”

[howlingday]

Clover: (Passing by Atlas soldiers, Patting) Excuse me, folks. Pardon me. Comin' in hot. Hot soup.

Soldier: Hm? (Looks behind him, Sees tower falling towards them) GET DOWN!

Oscar: (Gulps)

Jaune: Wh-What the hell just happened?!

Qrow: He used his semblance to steal their good luck!

Jaune: Yeah, well, let's see how lucky he is with a fire grenade! (Tosses grenade)

Soldier: Prepare to die you damn re-BELLS! (Slips on banana, Falls into grenade)

Clover: Heh, guess it's my lucky day, huh? Pretty sure you get it now, but my semblance doesn't just take other people's luck, it can also amplify my own natural luck. Basically, I'm untouchable right now. I don't even need to draw my weapon to beat you guys. All I need (Removes lien from pocket, Tosses it) is this right here. (Releases lien to the wind)

Oscar: Do you really think your luck will last?!

Clover: I guess we'll see.

Soldier: (Fires weapon, Watches lien float by) Oh... (Shot, Shoots fellow soldier)

Soldier: (Shot, Shoots lock on cage)

Soldier: (Standing near cage, Crushed by rolling barrel)

Soldier: (Carrying grenades, Tosses crate to run away from incoming barrel)

QJO: (Watches grenades simultaneously lose all pins, Grenades all rolling towards them) ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! (Blown up)

Clover: (Stretches, Catches lien in hand) Well, aren't I lucky?

Qrow: (Coughs) I can't tell if that was his semblance or mine...

Jaune: His luck's gotta run out eventually...

Oscar: (Stands up)

Clover: Have you had enough? Because I gotta tell ya, (Releases lien) I'm feeling lucky!

QJO: (Charge at Clover) WE GOTTA TRY!

QJO: (Bashed by kitchen pans)

QJO: (Attacked by Nevermores)

QJO: (Slip on banana peels)

Qrow: (Blown up)

Oscar: (Blown up)

Jaune: (Blown up into a wall)

Clover: (Holding lien) Well, have you had enough? Will you surrender quietly? I've still got plenty of luck to spare!

Oscar: What do we do, guys?!

Jaune: I... have an idea... (Stands tell) Huntsman... ARC DASH!

QO: HEY!

Clover: He's running away? Ah, well, I'm sure Harriet will catch him eventually.

---------------------------------------------------

Clover: (Sighs) I honestly expected more from you guys. (Releases lien) Hopefully this is the last time...

Jaune: Here comes the hero! (Charges in, Tosses flask)

Clover: (Catches flask) Hm? This is the best you can do? A flask of-

Jaune: (Rushes Cliver) I'm only at my best when I'm fighting for my friends! ARC-

Clover: Ha! You really think that's going to- (Jaune cuts top of the flask, Soda blasts Clover's face)

Jaune: -SLASH, AND (TURNS 360°) SPIN!

Clover: (Cut across his chest, Flies into a wall) ARGH!

Oscar: You got him!

Clover: H-How...? M-My luck should have... UNLESS...!

Jaune: (Picks up flask, Tosses it behind) Sorry about your flask, Qrow. Needed some bad luck, and this was the best I could do.

Qrow: Heh heh... It's not like this thing brought me any good luck, anyway.

Clover: B-Bad... luck?! (Plant pot fall on head, Knocks him out)

Jaune: Looks like our luck is turning arou- (Slapped in the face by lien) GAHCK!

[figs-and-cigs]

Momentarily annoyed ENM rant.

Unicorn Hunting for play is very different from UH for relationships. In the swinging community unicorns are often looking to play with couples and most aren't looking for intimate relationship dynamics. All adults consent it's all good. When it comes to poly/relationships, "adding a third to an already pre-existing relationship" almost always ends badly. Very badly. Regardless of how much you say 'there's no couples privilege' any relationship with more time and entanglements is going to naturally have privilege over a relationship with a new person. With that said I have not met any longterm throuples or quads (where everyone is dating each other) that started out that way. All the relationships I've watched where they started with 'adding' turned into drama fueled nonsense that went down in flames.

Most poly couples - the healthy long term ones - date separately. Throuples (the healthy long term ones) started out organically where the "unicorn" was dating one individual, got to know their meta and eventually started dating the meta and they happened to form into a triad/throuple.

A triad isn't just 'adding someone to our relationship'. It's forming 3 new relationships to an existing one. A+B, A+C, B+C, A+B+C. If you just jump to A+B+C the other relationships fall apart. And it's really frustrating to watch all the baby polys do this.

It's also pretty annoying when people assume my meta is also my gf. Or when they find out I'm not dating my meta they think I have some sort of issue with her. She's my husband's gf, not mine, it's actually pretty normal. Meanwhile, no one asks my husband if he's dating my boyfriends (which he's not). But like it's seriously bisexual girl fetishizing bs with those assumptions.

Also super frustrating to start talking to a guy and he just assumes I'll automatically be interested in his wife. That's not how this works! It's one thing if they're straight up and say "looking for a unicorn for play." There are plenty of unicorns looking for fun times and threesomes.

Vs. an in between the lines: "looking for a unicorn to have an intimate relationship with both of us and add to our boring relationship, we have lots of love to give together as a codependent unit. You have to date both of us or neither of us because we do everything together, but if you only have feelings for one of us suck it up because my partner wants that girl on girl action blah blah you'll be equal even though we've been married 20 years and never spend time apart and you can never come between that - and if you do we'll kick you to the curb."

Ok I think I shouted into the abyss about it enough.

[henrysglock]

If Henry/Edward is such an obvious theory, why have the vast majority of Byler analysists on this tag uncovered it in their countless rewatches? Why does it make the majority of people scratch their heads in confusion? Google/YouTube/TikTok Search Edward Creel and there’s crickets except for the ~4 people on tumblr who talk about it. I’m not saying you can’t be right, I’m just confused. Do the Duffers really wanna confuse people in the final season? I mean most of the GA ALREADY is confused by the concept of Byler/Mike not be straight. It seems like a tall order to throw both things onto them at the same time. Do you have any examples of complex theories like this being uncovered by a couple of sleuths on tumblr and not seen by anyone else before a final season? It’s clear you’ve put a lot of thought into your analysis and I definitely respect that even if I don’t get it

They haven't uncovered it because they don't think to look for it. That isn't their focus (or in some cases they simply refuse to see it). However, remember what Dustin said verbatim in the show? The Sherlock quote? "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." Yeah. This is the type of shit he's referring to.

We all would have scratched our heads after ST1 if someone from now had told us that there was a Shadow Monster all along and that it was going to possess Will...and oh yeah there are demodogs now, too, and oh! Also! Eleven is alive after all. Or, imagine telling someone from ST3 era that 001 was behind everything that happened to Will. Vecna/001 even had clues along the way in a similar fashion (ex: Will calling the MF "he", not "it"). Such is the nature of plot twists, Anon.

It's crickets because no one else popular online has noticed. Search bars only show you so much of the internet, and a lot of ""analysts"" are only analyzing the surface/what will get them views. Not everyone is as detail-oriented as the unholycule, and that's fine! But don't discredit us because the majority of the GA hasn't picked up the trail.

It's really not as confusing as you're making it out to be. "There are two timelines running as parallel inverses. Henry and Edward can and did manipulate them, they fucked around and found out, which is how we ended up with Vecna." And byler isn't confusing if you aren't a homophobe. It's been there all along, and obviously so. It's really not that hard, and I think you're underestimating a) the Duffers' storytelling abilities, and b) the GA's ability to understand what they're being presented with (especially in a season where the Vecna plot is the only plot).

Why do there have to be examples of other people doing the work we're doing? Why does someone else have to have done it first? Not to sound too much like Wei Wuxian, but...why can't we be the precedent? Not only that, but plenty of people do deep dives on shows likes this. They just didn't or couldn't document it online for your viewing pleasure, Nonnie. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

[vaspider]

Okay, but none of those things change the fact that every human being alive has testosterone and some form of estrogen in their body and that calling them "male" and "female" hormones is incorrect labeling. You're going wayyyyyyy off into the weeds on data analysis when this post is talking about the social effects of language, and that's an entirely different thing.

You literally only need to look in the notes on this post to see people who genuinely believe that cis men have no forms of estrogen in their bodies and that testosterone and estrogen are the primary if not only hormones in our bodies. This is perpetuated by speaking inaccurately about these substances. They aren't "male" and "female" hormones. Testosterone - for example - is an androgen. It is one of five androgens (testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), androstenedione, and androstenediol) naturally manufactured by all human bodies[1]. Testosterone causes virilization, also known as masculinization, also known as having androgenic effects.

These are all medically correct and - more importantly - much more accurate ways of talking about hormones. That they have the benefits of not perpetuating transphobic and perisexist[2] rhetoric is also pretty great.

Lemme shift this a little bit and see if this makes it more clear: a lot of people refer to genitalia by using terms like "female genitals" or "AMAB genitals." This phrasing rises from attempts to avoid using clinically correct terms - usually either to avoid "impolite" terms or because people are lapsing back into first-grade biology and putting stickers on top of that to make it look "more grown up" or "more inclusive." However, that attempt to avoid using clinically correct terminology, they become unnecessarily vague to absolutely wrong.

Someone can be AMAB and have a vagina - gender-confirming surgery or not. "Female genitals" have a wide range of appearances, functionality, and component parts. And when we're talking about "female genitals," or "girl parts," or whatever incorrect shorthand people want to use, what do those people actually mean? Do they mean the clitoris, labia majora, labia minora, vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, or ovaries? That's eight separate body parts right there, all with wildly different functions, and on top of that, there are plenty of people who were CAMAB who have those body parts. If we assume just for funsies that half the notes on this post are unique interactions, that would mean somewhere around 200 intersex people looked at this post.

I kinda think those people - leaving trans people out entirely - deserve to have accurate discussions about their bodies which have no incorrect gendered assumptions made, right?

For that matter, if someone asks me if I have "female genitals," I'm gonna have to stop and ask what they mean by that and for what purpose they're asking, because a) most of the time my answer is "uh, fuck off, that's none of your fucking business," and b) if a doctor asks me smth like that, I need to know if what they're really asking is, "Can you become pregnant, is there any chance you're pregnant right now," or "do you have ovaries bc this medication might affect them," or, "this medication might have an effect on the erectile tissue in a microphallus or clitoromegaly/a macroclitoris, so if that's you we need to talk about that," or "do I need to worry about the effects of menopause on you and have you been through menopause if so," or even, "do you have a cervix bc then I need to get you on a pap smear schedule." And just for me alone, there are a bunch of different answers to all of those questions. I had to stop and correct a doctor this week about some of her assumptions about answers to those questions, bc it was medically important that she have the right information. She couldn't get that info by asking me if I have "female genitals." She had to be precise and correct.

There are a lot of different answers to those questions among cisgender women, for that matter. There are cis women born with one or no ovaries, without a uterus, without fallopian tubes, with undescended testes, etc. A fair number of cis women get hysterectomies, salpingectomies, oophorectomies...

So, instead of saying "female genitals," it makes an awful lot more sense for a gynecologist (for example) to ask their patient, "do you have any or all of these body parts, and if not, were they surgically removed and when was that done?"

That is the argument being made in the OP. Clarity and correctness.

If generic-you are attempting to communicate, it is best for you and the person you're talking to if you use clear, concise, and above all correct language. If someone means "testosterone," they should say "testosterone." If they mean all 5 androgenic hormones, they would be better served by saying, "masculinizing hormones" or "androgens." Why?

Those words are always correct.

That is what those things actually are. Always.

We're not talking about ... all the things you were talking about in that post, bc you went off into shit that this post had nothing to do with. You seem to have a tendency to project a lot of things into very simple conversations that really don't belong there, so I'm going to bring this back to the very simple statement that calling testosterone a "male hormone" and estrogen [3] a "female hormone" is simply incorrect. It's very easy to change how you talk about these hormones so that you are not perpetuating direct harm to trans and intersex people and are, in addition, correct.

1. Androstenediol has both androgenic and estrogenic activity.

2. Perisexist: discriminating against intersex people by means of erasure or presumption of perisex "normality."

3. Really, estradiol is what most people are talking about when they say "estrogen," but we are just not there yet.

[homeiswherethewitchcraftis]

I clicked ur blog initially b/c I saw you rebloging some aesthetic pictures and that ur blog was witchy. Read some of ur post and I see ur a tradwife. most of you guys I’ve seen online have been pretty hateful, (extremists, far-right, and usually a terf) so I normally just ignore the stuff I see but I was curious if you could explain to me how you view this stuff since you don’t seem to be the things I’ve listed above for the most part. /gen

(Not trying to be rude just curious)

Well thank you for asking instead of just sending hate/ threats like most people who come to my blog thinking it's just trees and witchcraft and are "disappointed " to realize I hold opinions the disagree with lol.

I am not a tradwife, I am tradfem I no longer consider myself a traditional wife because I unfortunately have gotten a divorce in the last year. I still discuss tradwives, traditional gender roles and the lifestyle because it is important to me.

While there may be hateful people in trad circles they (like in most groups) are the minority. Most people who consider themselves trad just want to live as traditionally as possible they believe in traditional gender roles and often simple living. Many traditional people want to return to more sustainable lifestyles things like homesteading or just growing a "victory garden " etc. Many trad women feel we face to much pressure to leave our children and work outside the home even when not needed and that this pressure is detrimental to women, children and communities.

As for myself I believe traditional gender roles are based on natural roles. I have been pressured and bullied for this and for wanting to stay home with my kids. I'm not going to speak for everyone who uses these labels just myself and what I've seen from these communities both on and offline.

Most Trad people are right leaning politically unfortunately in today's political climate being moderately right leaning is considered "extremists " so forgive me if I do not take that claim very seriously.

Additionally there is an array of different political opinions and beliefs that are considered right leaning. Not all Trad people would consider themselves conservative some like my self are libertarian for example.

As for the claim that Trad women are terfs that makes no sense. Terf stands for trans exclusionary Radical feminist, most Trad women aren't feminists especially not Radical feminists. Again this is not a claim I take seriously simply because it is used to describe any criticism of a trans individual or of trans activism.

Personally I have no issues with trans individuals who are decent people I may disagree with them but I don't hate them and at the end of the day grown adults can do what they want with their bodies.

I have plenty of issues with trans activism and the response to it I our society .

The idea that small children can decide to be the opposite gender is insane to me considering kids at those ages still pretend to be dogs and dragons. This has also led to parents losing custody and false claims of abuse against parents who do not affirm these kids feelings which is a major issue. Schools going against parents and even pushing children and teens towards lgbt labels especially trans labels is an issue.

There is no safe way to stop puberty the harm caused by puberty blockers is long lasting and not openly discussed due to the nature of trans activism. Also it's not discrimination to not sleep with or want to sleep with a trans person. Women don't need to feel safe have males in their female only spaces. And most importantly Valid criticisms and genuine concerns are not hate.

I hope I've addressed your questions and I hope you feel free to ask more message me for clarification or to discuss further I am happy to do so However I may not get to your messages or asks quickly as I am working and dealing with the after math of hurricane Ian. ected please help out your neighbors.

[myautisticpov]

hey, I saw your post about audible's book returning thing and I have a tangential question. do authors make more from people buying their physical books or from kindle? I want to pick the one that's best for the author but I don't know enough to make that decision. I googled it and searched around a bit but couldn't find anything useful. it would be really great if you could let me know how it works!

It's probably difficult to find anything useful because

a) if an author has a publisher, all of the money from the sale goes to said publisher, and the nature of the contract with the author decides how much of a cut the publisher then pays out to the author for each type of sale. So, even with the same formats, two authors could be getting different cuts because they're with different publishers. Typically, the royalty cut from an ebook should be higher, as there aren't print costs for the publisher to pay, but they're generally accepted to not be high enough from most publishers.

b) There are other reasons for authors to want you to buy print books from physical book stores, rather than Amazon. Like, if you go into your local book store and ask for a book, the person behind the desk might go "oh, this is a gap in our shelves, I'll order a second copy and put it up" and then a casual browser who otherwise wouldn't have seen the book might pick it up, and the person behind the desk might decide to regularly buy new copies, since they're selling. (This also applies to libraries. Not the regular sales part, but the new browsers picking them up part, and plenty of library patrons also buy books.)

c) That's just for traditionally published authors, self-published authors deal with a different economy where we usually pay higher printing costs per book, (and there is an absolutely ridiculous returns system in most bookshops that can absolutely bankrupt you, but if you opt out, most bookshops won't stock you, so Point B doesn't really apply to us - except for the libraries addition because libraries have ebooks) so if the book prices are the same, we make a lot more from ebook royalties, but we also usually price ebooks cheaper, so idk about other people, but my royalties look about the same.

d) This is all assuming that you're buying books and not using Kindle Unlimited which is, again, a whole different economy where the author will make fewer royalties, but you reading the book will count towards the author's ranking on Amazon, taking them up the book charts so that more readers will see them (it also tells Amazon's algorithm who likes that kind of book, which then means that it shows it to more readers like you)

and e) There are other ways to pay the author more, like buying from their website directly or supporting them on Patreon (if they have these options available), but these don't count towards a book's ranking on larger stores like Amazon (or tells human booksellers that people like the book at stores that have them like your local physical store or ebook stores like Apple or Kobo) so while you're paying the author more once, the author isn't getting as much visibility from other avenues.

So, yeah, the answer is that it's a complicated web of more than just straight royalties, and you should either check what individual authors have said they prefer, or just shop in whatever format you prefer. Like, I'm literally dyslexic and have joint issues, I'm not gonna tell people to go to their local indie bookshops if, like me, they struggle to both hold and read physical books.

And if you're wondering how to give me the most money to support me, I only charge my Patreon when I release a book and you get all of the ebook files DRM free, so supporting me at the higher tiers would be the best way. Aside from that, buy from wherever you want in whatever format you want, just don't treat Amazon's lax returns policy like a library. Go and ask your actual librarian to stock my ebooks or audiobooks. Or go to my website and use the Pay What You Want system to get the books for free.

[sokkas1mp]

I gonna break in this acocunt with me being angry about something that doesn't really matter (very fitting for tumblr if you ask me), this article.

First: "And I’m sorry to open with this, but part of that is due to the age difference between them. Two years is hardly worlds apart (I’m personally working with four), but a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl are. Especially the way these two are drawn. Not to be too voyeuristic about Y7 cartoons, but Katara has clearly gone through puberty, while Aang hasn’t. There is something just…off, about a sixth grade boy having a full on make-out sesh with a high school girl."

This argument is one of the most stupid ones if you ask me, because it blatantly ignores the culture we have been presented by the show. I can understand why people find this weird, but we have to try not to look at it as if its our society, because its not. In A:tla, specifically the water tribes, 16 is marrying age. Right there, our "age norms" (idk what else to call it) are very different. And there are no divisions between ages in their world like we have with middle and high school. To me, two people are fit to be together based on their maturity, not their age. That's why 45 & 40 is not the same as 15 & 10, or 20 & 15. This is the same for Kataang. They have very similar life experiences and matured together, literally side by side, so a two year ago gap is irrelevant.

Second: "...Katara took on a very maternal role with Aang. Sure, she’s a caretaker and sort of a “mom friend,” but it’s a bit more than that. She served as his literal guardian during the show’s run—there’s just no other way to look at it. By the third episode, she called herself his “family,” and later even went on to role play as his mother to get him out of trouble at school. Aang, meanwhile, was… Well, I wouldn’t say “immature” for his age, […] However, Katara is 14 going on 25, while Aang is just, Aang."

There's a compilation of Katara doing thing with Aang that if someone saw a mother doing with her son they would call it incest:

Katara definitely acts motherly towards Aang, but that is just her nature. She is more than just motherly with him. And some people like to call the check kisses familial (which is kinda weird imo), but we know Katara herself doesnt think that:

"Easy there, big brother" She pushes Sokka away. Not to mention, this was about a scene or two before she kisses Aang on the check.

Calling someone close to you your family does not mean you see them in the same way you see your parents/siblings. And Sokka played Aang's father in that scene, but we aren't sitting here using that as evidence to call him Aang's paternal figure.

Something Aang haters forget (or chose to ignore) is that being lighthearted and goofy does not equal immature. Yes, Aang does some juvenile things, but that shouldn't take away from his growth and maturity.

Third: "In fact, in the last season, Katara was shown to be uncomfortable each time Aang kisses her, and even went as far as to tell him to back off with the romantic stuff in the episode before the finale, because she was confused about how she felt. [*new paragraph*] Yet, in the end, she just trots up and blushes at Aang, than happily makes out with him when he goes for it,"

Katara initiated 2/4 of the kataang kisses (not including the check kisses). The kiss in The Cave of Two Lovers and the kiss in the finale. Yes, she's the one that "goes for it" in the finale (she also initiates the hug). She only pulls away once out of the 3 times we see a kiss end (this would be excluding the kiss in The Cave of Two Lovers). She wasn't confused about her feelings, she didn't want to have to worry about a relationship when they were nearing the end of the war.

Fourth: "The post-canon comics only furthered the lack of exploration of her feelings in this relationship"

Fifth: "[referencing a scene in The Promise in which Katara is jealous of a fanclub being around Aang] "I'm sorry, this amazing, adult communication is blowing me away"

The are both still teenagers, who have zero previous relationship experience. Also, Aang had no ill intentions and Katara recognized it.

Sixth: [refencing Katara's role in The Legend of Korra] "Did Katara want to do anything other than sit in a healing hut and be known for having Aang's kids?"

This is another argument that just pisses me off. You can not use Katara's lifestyle in her 80s (she is 85 in s1) as judgement for her adulthood. It's purely assumption based. Constantly this author assumes that because she is in a relationship with Aang, Katara would drop her whole personality. What? Katara would not and could not be forced to do something or conform to some label and Aang wouldn't let it get to that point either. He would squash any idea that she is just "The Avatar's wife" or "The mother of the Avatar's children" the minute he heard it.

Seven: [comparing Katara's reaction to Aang The Desert to Aang's reaction to Katara in The Southern Raiders] "You'll spend a long time looking for her condescending tones. "Anger won't help, Aang," Katara never said, because she got that he was processing something painful and needed to sort it out himself. This difference in behavior is something that would be really fitting for a twelve year old boy to learn and understand. There's just no indication that he ever did."

Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I don't remember Aang being condescending towards Katara. He was offering his advice because he knew her and knew that she would regret doing what she thought was right when her judgement was clouded by anger. And guess what. He was right. He never forced anything on her, either. Sure, he was a bit more pushy than he could've been, but in the end he let her go on the trip with no complaints. He even agreed that this was something she had to do.

Eighth: [referencing The Ember Island Players] "When the actor says 'Wait! I thought you were the Avatar's girl', Aang agrees. Katara is his."

You know damn well Aang doesn't see Katara as just his. And she's give him PLENTY of reason to believe that his feelings are reciprocated (which they are).

Ninth: "It's the story of a woman who swallows everything lest the man she's interested in has to learn anything about his behavior that violates her boundaries."

Ha! You said she was interested in him.

But in all seriousness, you mentioned how Katara stood her ground and told Aang that she was confused, but apparently now she's swallowing her feeings.

Tenth: [talks about the cloud babies daddy issues]

I don't disagree with what is said here, for the most part, but I don't think it is a reflection on Aang and Katara's relationship.

Eleventh: "... given what what we got with Kataang, it's completely unsurprising that Aang and Katara's parenthood/adult life was defined by a lack of communication and availability, at least from what we can tell. This also puts Katara's choice to immediately moved to the South Pole once Aang died in perspective; perhaps the city he poured all his energy into, at the cost of his family, held some bitter memories."

Once again with the lack communication. We can't use the early years of their relationship to determine their whole relationship. Also, there wasn't consistently a lack of communication, you just pointed out one time and ran with it.

We don't know at what point Katara moved back to the South Pole, but there are plenty of reasons for Katara to leave Air Temple Island:

a) Her son moving in/or planning to move in with his family.

b) She was no longer needed in the city and thus had no need to stay.

c) She wanted to go back to her native home for comfort after the love of her life died at a relatively early age.

d) The next Avatar was discovered and she came home to train them.

That's all. Thank you for reading my unnecessary rant if you made it this far, and I just want to close out with a few things:

- There were some things in the article that I did not include for the fear of this becoming a novel of me repeating myself.

- I agree with most thing said in the final segment of the the article. Most, not all.

- I appreciate the author for not trying to shove Zutara in just because Kataang wasn't there. That is becoming increasingly uncommon, so it was nice to see.

[takerfoxx]

The Owl House, Season 2, Episode 1, "Stranger Tides," First Impressions!

Yo ho, yo ho, it's a pirate's whaler's life for Luz!

Now, if you'll recall, a common problem I ran into while reviewing season 1 is that while I was definitely enjoying it, it was so episodic that I often found it difficult to find something new to say about each episode. There wasn't a whole lot carrying over from one episode to the next that I could really sink my teeth into and fill out a full review, with the plot not really kicking in until the final two episodes.

Fortunately, I did not have that problem here, and now that season 2 has started, I have PLENTY to say about its debut episode.

So, this is what you'd expect for the first episode of the new season, an episode basically intended to bring everyone up to speed on how the characters are dealing with the ramifications of the previous season and introduce a few new elements that will set the tone for the season to come.

And basically, things at the Owl House are...not really great. I mean, sure, everyone got away and it looks like Emperor Belos hasn't really made their recapture a priority (most likely deliberately), but thanks to Lilith deciding to share Eda's curse to neutralize it, they both have found themselves powerless. They're not completely without magic, but what they have left is so meager to be practically useless. All expect for Eda's detachable limbs. Those still work. For Luz, as she never had magic to begin with and had to work extra hard to get around that handicap and find ways to keep up with everyone else, that means she's suddenly the breadwinner of the family, the one with the most power despite living with two (previously) notoriously powerful witches, and thus has taken up bounty hunting (sort of ironic, if you ask me). For Lilith, that means coming to terms with losing literally everything important to her, from her power to her position as the Emperor's Coven's poster girl, having been replaced by a spoiled teen prodigy (and oh, ho, ho, we will get to him!) as well as her own feelings of guilt for having cursed Eda in the first place.

Actually, guilt is the main motivator in this episode. Luz feels guilty for having gotten Eda trapped and that Eda now has to prioritize what little money they have for Luz's sake, which motivates her to take on more and more dangerous bounties to try to make it up to her. And Lilith feels rotten for the curse and that the fix ended up sapping Eda's powers, so she's driven to find some way of making herself useful, which fills out this episode's A-plot and B-plot.

Meanwhile, Eda herself is...handling things like a champ, actually. Sure, she's not thrilled about losing her power, nor does she care for the sudden dip in respect from the locals as a result, but she's not wallowing in self-pity. No, she's working and innovating, finding ways to adapt and keep ahead of the game. And to rip off the Empire too, because fuck those guys.

So anyway! Let's start with our A-plot: Luz the bounty hunter. She's doing her best to keep her spirits up and keep food on the table, but bounty hunting is a tough job and because everyone knows that Eda is powerless, the bondsman has no problem ripping them off because he knows he can get away with it. Furthermore, with the portal gone, Luz's messages to her mom aren't getting through, which is weighing on her mind.

Okay, we already know that Luz's mom is probably going to get involved this season. I predict that at some point, Emperor Belos completes his repairs of the portal, and when he does, all those unsent message will suddenly spill out all at once, giving good ol' Mama a heart attack.

Sort've serves her right though, because, you know, G-RATED CONVERSION THERAPY!

But anyway, she overhears Eda talking about eschewing her booze in favor of getting Luz food she can actually eat, so she resolves to make it up to her by taking on the biggest bounty of them all, which so happens to be a magical creature called a Selkie-dama, which requires her to join a ship that's setting out to do that so she could get a cut.

A ship that just so happens to be under the command of Lilith's replacement, who also so happens to be the mysterious spy working for Emperor Belos that we met last season, whom we will get to!

Anyway, they fortunately rush through the bit of Luz proving herself to the crew, because who cares, King finds out agent's private room (in a reveal that calls back to a similar scene in Gravity Falls) and gets captured, and they find the Selkie-Dama, in which Luz shows us how far she's come by utterly wrecking shit.

Unfortunately, the bounty is stolen by a mysterious figure, and Luz isn't about to get ripped off again, so she goes after them, only to find that that SURPRISE, it's Eda, who figured she'd cut out the middleman and just steal the bounty directly, because you have to admit that that does make sense.

But anyway, none of that matters, because that's when HE finally is properly introduced.

Hear that? That's the sound of thousands of thirsty fangirls (and quite a few fanboys and fanenbys as well) shrieking.

Meet the Golden Guard. Yes, he's arrogant. Yes, he's sassy as fuck. Yes, he's voiced by Zeno Robinson. And according to his brief appearance in the OP...

HE'S A PALE-HAIRED PRETTY BOY, Y'ALL!!!

So. We now have this season's small antagonist.

And since Luz is the only resident of the Owl House with any real power (Hooty aside, but we'll get to that) and now with Amity as Luz's close friend (more on that later as well), that makes him Luz's new rival! Ooooh, I can smell the Enemies to Lovers fics already!

Yeah, it's gonna be a HUGE ship, but that's no prediction, everyone knew that anyway.

But while I doubt they're actually going to get together (though count on our bi-queen Luz getting smitten once she sees his face), I do smell a redemption arc for this guy. I mean, why would they make him so likeable otherwise?

Yes, he was a jerk, but he was a jerk in an endearingly entertaining sort of way.

But beyond that, I do note that he also has a tech-powered staff (seems to be the same one that held the palisman that Belos fed off of last season, but with an upgrade), and wields the same flesh-based magic as well. Now, his ears do show that he's not a human, but I still wonder if all that tech magic (which has to be manipulating the flesh of the Titan itself) is either a crutch for the magicless or a shortcut for those who want power fast.

Also, in addition to slotting in as Luz's rival, he also has taken Lilith's place as the face of the Emperor's Coven and also uses Eda's "BYYYEEEEE!!!" catchphrase, he's set up to be a foil to just about everybody!

Anyway, he's not here to take them out just yet, but instead forces them to kill the Selkie-dama. They don't, of course, and instead trick him into thinking that they did, but it does show that 1. Emperor Belos is content to leave them be for the moment, and 2. Emperor Belos is seeking the destruction of magical creatures. Huh.

Also, called it on Luz becoming Eda's teacher when it comes to glyphs.

But speaking of rivals and ships, the question over all of this is Amity, who's been MIA with a broken leg for a while. No doubt she's not going to be upset about Luz being stuck in the Boiling Isles, but if Luz does start crushing on Prettyboy Golden Guard, I can see her feel all sorts of upset about that. I still thinking that Lumity is endgame, but now she's got to work for it, and there is going to be angst.

Anyway, our B-plot has Lilith trying to make things up for Eda, by putting together a scrying potion to spy on the Emperor's castle. Nice, will probably be important later, but the real important part, in addition to her getting over her pride (not an easy thing) was the surprisingly touching friendship she's building with Hooty of all people! I didn't see this coming, but they honestly have some great comedic chemistry.

And honestly, I can see it. Lilith's first introduction to Hooty was him opening a can of whoopass on her and her men, and now he does it again to save her from the fire bees. Sure, he's weird and annoying, but he's strong and competent as hell, something that she would naturally respect. I honestly like what they have building, and the Lulu and Hooticifer nicknames were adorable.

And now, onto our brief glimpse of Belos, who still managed to steal the whole damned episode with just a few words. We see he's gone that long, white hair thing going for him, so not a rogue palisman. So, human or shortcut-exploiting conman. Regardless, just as he seems content to leave the Owl House be despite Luz having the key (which will definitely be important later), he also seems aware of the scrying, and has no problem letting it go on.

Okay, this season is shaping up to be a great one. And next episode is an Amity episode, in which her parents meet Luz, so let's fucking GOOOOOOOOOOO!!! on the Lumity teases and oh God NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! on the awkward cringe comedy that is sure to result!

[amostimprobabledream]

And He Walks With Flames (Dabi x Reader) -Part Three

The old man is still talking, his voice flattening to a self-important drone, but Dabi isn’t listening.

He tends to pick and choose when he tuned into the miserable old fuck's ramblings, since he knew most of it would amount to nothing in the end. It would soon all be ashes. Since he'd been brought to this sterile shithole, he'd entertained himself with fantasies of exactly how he was going to kill the old man and those crawling little assistants of his - and oh, didn't Dabi have so many options to choose from? The thought makes his fingers twitch with excitement, like they are flexing of their own accord in anticipation of the event.

But that, too, has eventually gotten boring. That was something they didn't often mention about captivity – its fucking tedious whenever you don't have humans in white coats poking at you or running their little tests with their precious machines. If Dabi wasn’t keenly aware of how temporary this all was, and since he knows he’s too powerful for them to really be able to hurt him, he probably would have lost it a long time ago. He never did take too kindly to being…restrained.

So imagine his joy, his fucking glee, when the idiot humans had actually done as he demanded and brought you here to him, like a lamb to the slaughter. Oh, Dabi may be behind a barrier and have those magitech guns pointed at his head, just waiting for an excuse to open fire, but that doesn’t matter. Just as long as he can see you again, he was prepared to tolerate doing so with restrictions in place.

For now.

You stood there, gazing up at him with a dark scowl forming on your pretty little face at the pet name, just as he'd suspected you would. Yet it felt quite natural to him, wrapping around you in a veil of false intimacy he knew would make you squirm.

The very fact he wasn't supposed to have even laid eyes on someone like you made it all the more hilarious to Dabi that he'd been able to demand your presence here before him, all with the threat of sinking back into his unresponsive state if not properly indulged. Even behind this barrier and with all the little enchantments cast on the place, he held plenty of sway. Getting humans to dance to his tune was something he never tired of doing. Their false sense of superiority over him would be their undoing.

"Don't call me that." you snap at him in a bitchy tone, narrowing your eyes a fraction. He wonders if that’s supposed to be intimidating.

"Mm? You don't like that?" Dabi asks in a mock-apologetic tone, his smile nothing less than scornful as he tilts his head. "What should I call you? Angel? Baby? Honey? I'm all ears, princess."

You open your mouth to bite back at him and he wants to laugh - you're clearly not accustomed to being spoken to like that and it only makes him want to do it more. Such a spoiled little thing. Getting you all huffy and flustered, such a sharp contrast to your smart, academic clothing and attempts at maintaining a detached demeanour, is the best entertainment he's had in weeks. You’re so damn cute when you’re annoyed.

"We brought the girl as you asked, demon," interrupts Fuji, and Dabi feels a vein of irritation puncture his pleasure at teasing you. He's had enough of the Director's voice to last him a lifetime, which is unfortunate since the old fuck seems disinclined to shut his mouth any time soon - he does like to hear himself talk. "Now will you co-operate with us?"

"You really are interested in me, aren't you?" Dabi hums, tail swaying laconically behind him. "How flattering. Or...could it be you're hamstrung by your lack of options? Hmm? Seems like I'm the only demon you've got in here. How pitiful."

"That's awfully confident talk, considering you're the one currently being held captive." Director Fuji replies casually, and Dabi snorts softly but with derision. "And here I thought demons could sense one another - either this facility is better fortified than I had thought, or you're overestimating your powers."

"Perhaps." Dabi replies lazily, as if this is of no concern to him.

You bite your lip as you watch this exchange.

You had expected Dabi to fly into a rage at that. Weren't demons supposed to be famously volatile? Either he's unusually composed for his species, or the ancient depictions of demons have a rather more extreme point of view than previously thought. Then again, no doubt Dabi knows that excessively aggressive behaviour on his part will result in some pretty painful magical retaliation and doesn't care to risk it, or he just doesn't think the Director is worthy of his rage. And no doubt the humans who used to fight demons in the history books would certainly see them far more monstrous than the detached viewpoint of a scholar who has likely never even seen one.

Yet even with all these safety measures, you cannot help but feel uneasy with Director Fuji casually divulging this information to Dabi. Knowing that he has potential allies somewhere in the building may well encourage him to act out, maybe even mount an escape attempt. From what Father has said, of all the demon specimens the facility has managed to acquire, Dabi is the anomaly. Is it because he's the strongest of all of them, or merely the most human-like? For all you know, there could be a horde of the terrifying, red-skinned beings depicted in your textbooks chained up in the basement. The thought makes a shiver crawl down your spine.

Dabi’s eyes turn back to yours and you stiffen.

“Why did you want me here?” you say, deciding to cut him off before something else obnoxious spills from his mouth, which seems to be an occupational hazard when it comes to this guy. “What’s the point?”

Dabi shrugs elegantly, tail flicking.

“Why not? You weren’t supposed to be in here at all, were you? Yet in you marched like you had every right. It made me curious. Plus, it’s nice to see a decent pair of tits around here.”

You know he expects you to squawk and flounce out in a huff, so you stays rooted to the spot, still scowling at him. The urge to cover your chest is strong, but you manage to overpower it, aware of how still the room has gone. It’s like only you and Dabi exist, and the thought is both frightening and oddly exhilarating – among all these scientists and supposed brilliant minds, you’re the only one he cares to speak to. He answered Dr. Fuji’s questions, yes, but he barely even looked at him. You’re the one he directly spoke to. That gives you some modicum of power, even if you’re not sure how best to use it just yet. “You don’t frighten me, demon.” You make sure to tell him calmly.

Dabi quirks an eyebrow at that.

“Oh?”

The word is loaded with tension, a little hiss on the syllable that makes you shiver, but you know he can’t do anything to you in his cage. So, you tilt your head back and offer him a bland, beatific smile.

“Sure, you might have some strong demon magic. That’s par the course for demons as humanoid-looking as you. I know quite a bit about demonology, you see. Not like these scientists with their tests and machines, but in other ways. It’s an interesting subject, and one you interrupted me from by making me come here with some pathetic attempts to get under my skin.”

You give a shrug.

“But you’ve overplayed your hand. Now everyone here knows you can speak and understand everything they say. No more treating you with kid gloves, so I guess that means there’s a lot more tests coming your way now. But really, how powerful can you be?”

Your smile widens into a smirk as you go in for the kill. He wanted you to come here? Then that was exactly what he’d get – you weren’t some trembling coward who would stand there like a deer in headlights just because a big bad demon spoke to you. You were your mother’s daughter, after all.

“After all, you’re the one behind bars.”

There’s silence. A silence that blankets the lab like snow, and Dabi’s smile remains in place, but his eyes are cold and piercing as they stare at you. You feel tingles erupting through your body, like you’ve narrowly avoided being bitten by a wolf and are only inches away from its jaw still. One of the assistant researchers is outright staring at you, open-mouthed, like you’ve suddenly sprouted a tail, or your skin has turned blue or something else miraculous and inexplicable.

"Director, we'll be taking our leave now." Father says beside you, making you jump.

To be honest, you had completely forgotten he was there. Evidently, he isn’t comfortable with the way the demon behind bars is looking at you either, even if you think it’s a little late for that. Still, he’s glaring at his boss with an unusually fierce look of disapproval on his face.

"Our part in this is over."

"Hmm? Oh, yes, yes, fine." Director Fuji says, not even glancing at the pair of you, far too excited that he’s gotten the response he wanted from Dabi to care. "You may leave."

Relief washes over you and you risk a grateful glance at Father. Perhaps he feels bad that his forgetfulness caused this in the first place, and it's spurred him to go against the Director's whims for once, but he's right, you hardly need to be here now that Dabi is apparently feeling conversational and you're only too happy to get back out into the afternoon air.

The rush of relief doesn't last long, though, and you mourn its absence because, as you turn to go, a voice calls out to you, lashing around you like a lasso. Despite yourself, perhaps because you don't want it to look like Dabi frightens you - don't want to admit he does - you look back.

Those eyes. Whenever you look at Dabi you can see he's powerful, but you don't spend a lot of time thinking about the various forms power can take, the nuances of it. But when your gaze meets his, you feel like you've been pulled under by a whirlpool. Everything around you, the lab, the director, your father, all of it disappears and only he remains. Only he is what matters. That look burns everything else away, whispering promises to you that you don't want to hear.

So why are you listening?

"I'll be seeing you again soon, sweetheart." Dabi says in a low voice, like it's meant exclusively for you. "Real soon."

Anger unfurls inside you like a flower. Who does this…specimen think he is? He certainly can talk big, but the reality isn't looking so good for him - poked and prodded at by plenty of magically gifted humans and a container built specifically to hold creatures like him. The only reason he got his way today is because the Director couldn't help but indulge his scientific curiosity. But he’s an arrogant bastard to assume he'll be indulged a second time.

That thought in your mind, you sneer and flick your hair back.

"Don't count on it, demon."

Is it your imagination, or did a flicker of something cross his face when he took note of your refusal to call him by name? Maybe you only saw what you wanted to see, but either way it makes you feel a little better, to know something you said bothered him.

You stride out of the lab, knowing he's watching you, that he has no choice but to stand there and watch you disappear from his sight, without knowing if you'll return or not now that the scientists have finally gotten him to speak. He can hardly pretend not to understand them now.

~

Mother was right.

Anybody who is anybody seems to have shown up to the fundraiser tonight.

You smooth down the skirt of your dress, vaguely aware of your palms being a bit on the damp side. It’s not just the amount of people in the room, either - the entire room feels stiflingly humid and you’re glad somebody thought to open the doors to the balcony.

Ribbons of gold are hanging from the ceiling, attached to dozens of balloons. The tables are also draped in gold-coloured tablecloths and everywhere seems to have been polished to within an inch of its life. The dinner won’t start for a while yet and you didn’t eat anything before hand, worried about spilling it or your stomach sticking out unflatteringly. So, you remind yourself to take it easy on the champagne as you snatch up a flute of it from a passing waiter. Still, the drink does taste good as it goes down, bubbles fizzing on your tongue. You press your fingers to your lips with a little smile.

You hear your name being called and glance over to see a figure manoeuvring through the crowd towards you and your smile morphs into a grin.

“Momo!”

She looks ravishing, of course. She always does, in a silver gown that sparkles like a diamond. Her jewellery is simple and understated, but you can tell from a glance that it’s expensive. It’s odd to see her without her trademark ponytail, but it looks great on her. You hate yourself for it, but you can’t help but instantly compare yourself, your clothes, your hair, your style, to hers and wonder how you measure up. You suspect you may be lacking.

You do your best to push those thoughts away – you’re Momo’s friend and you shouldn’t view her looking amazing as some kind of failing on your end. Anyway, it wouldn’t do to get all maudlin right now, not when you have so many people to talk to and things to see.

“You look amazing!” you tell her, giving her a hug. “Is that dress new?”

“Oh…sort of,” Momo shrugs, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, beaming shyly at you. Ah, so she used her magic to make it, then. Usually, Momo buys her clothing like everyone else – she’s certainly rich enough to afford it. But every once in a while, she’ll use her magic to create an outfit and it looks like that’s the case tonight. It’s good to know Momo sees this event as important to, that you and Mother aren’t just making a big deal out of nothing. “You look great too, I’ve always liked that necklace on you.”

You touch it, pleased, but you can’t help give her a playful nudge.

“And of course, I bet your parents are looking forward to the auction, right? They could probably afford to buy every lot here, if they wanted to.”

“Don’t be silly!” Momo replies, but she’s giggling. “Though mother did hear about some sort of rare lamp that might have belonged to a djinn that she was fascinated about. And I’m sure there are other things that would be so useful for our magical studies, I hope there are some representatives of the academy here who can participate in the bidding!”

You hadn’t even thought of that – trust the genius Momo to be thinking about the potential of the academy getting their hands on some magical oddities.

“That’s a good point. I’m sure we’ll run into a professor or two,” you say, risking another sip of your champagne. “They party hard, these intellectual types.”

Momo laughs again, and you do too, the mental image of Professor Nedzu getting drunk a pretty hilarious one. You don’t even know if he can drink, but maybe tonight you’ll find out for sure-

“Look!” Momo suddenly whispers.

You hear gasps near the entrance to the building and turn around, eyes widening when you realise who has just walked in. Your mouth falls open.

“It’s him.”

The rumours were true. You don’t know how Mother pulled it off, but when some of the crowd parts, you spot the unmistakable red-and-white head of Prince Shouto Todoroki.

Thought it’s strange for the youngest child to be the heir to the throne, you can admit that there’s an aura to him, a certain stoic regalness to his features. It’s common knowledge that of King Enji’s children, only Prince Shouto is able to use both fire and ice magic, the perfect combination of elements, and it is this reason that he is considered the ‘true heir’. What Princess Fuyumi and Prince Natsuo’s opinions are on being passed over for their supposedly weak magical ability has never been discussed publicly, and the less said of Queen Rei (or ‘the Mad Queen’, as some circles call her in whispers), the better. You did hear a rumour once about someone else. A firstborn Prince who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but you’ve never put much thought into it. How can a Prince just go missing? Wouldn’t people be looking for him if that were the case? It just seems too farfetched to be true.

“Should we go talk to him?” you blurt out without thinking, yet the idea of inconveniencing the prince in any way fills you with dread.

“Well…” Momo says, also glancing Prince Shouto’s way, and you know it’s not a trick of the light that her cheeks hold the faintest hint of a blush. “Perhaps later, when he isn’t busy? We wouldn’t want to be rude and interrupt him when he’s speaking with important people…”

Right. You wouldn’t want to be rude.

Still, excitement fizzes through you veins as reality hits you full force. You’d been viewing this evening as having a chat with a bunch of stuffy old academics older than your father, but now you’re beginning to understand why Mother had been so insistent on you dressing up and brushing up on conversational topics. Not that you’re out to catch yourself a husband or anything – you’re way too interested in your academic career and honing your magic for that – but that doesn’t mean you’re not interested in doing other things. Especially with people who look like Prince Shouto.

“Momo!” calls a voice, and you make a face. Ugh.

“Oh, it’s Iida and his family!” Momo says, glancing at you, knowing your distaste for your classmate very well. He’s just so pompous and annoying and he always makes lectures drag on far longer than they need to by asking unnecessary questions. “I’ll just go say hello, okay?”

You nod, knowing that a family as well-connected as Momo Yaoyozoru’s means she’s probably going to have to say hello to a lot of people tonight.

“No problem, I’ll catch up to you later.”

She nods at you, a grateful smile on her face, before she moves over to speak to what looks like Iida’s older brother, Tensei. You quickly slip away before the younger brother can spot you, which is easy enough with this many people here. You mill around the room, taking another sip from your champagne. You feel a bit like an actress playing a role, perhaps ‘girl at the party’. As you walk, you pass by a mirror and glance at it, making sure you haven’t smudged your make-up or something.

You have to admit, the dress you’re wearing looks good on you. You found it in the back of your wardrobe after seemingly throwing everything else you own onto your bed. But the searing shade of blue complements your skin tone well, and the style of the dress flatters your figure without being too revealing. You’ve seen a couple of people glance your way, and it feels nice when it’s in a place as wonderful as this. And it’s only for tonight, so there’s no pressure on you to look like this every evening.

Soon the auction for magical artefacts will start, though you’re not planning on buying anything – your parents might not be struggling to make ends meet, but you have student loans to think about. Plus, there’s no way you could afford any of them, especially not with the lords and ladies here when they want something.

As you move further into the hallway, you notice there seem to be stalls and tables, probably merchants flogging their wares. Curious, you move to inspect them. Strange objects lie on a bed of black velvet, some of it recognisable to you, others you’ve never even heard of. The intellectual in you is dying to know more. “Are you enjoying the party?”

You glance up at a voice.

A man, you’d guess he’s in his mid-thirties or so, is watching you from a stall right at the end of the hallway. It’s a bit bigger than the others and you suddenly realise he’s actually sitting in front of a tent of some sort.

“I am, yes,” you reply, moving a little closer to have a look at what he might be selling – just because you have no intention in participating in the auction doesn’t mean you won’t buy anything. “Are you?”

The man smiles and there’s something about him…it’s hard to explain, but you’re both curious and wary. Like every word you’re saying to him is being weighed and measured for every possible meaning, even ones you didn’t intend. Yet he doesn’t look like a merchant trying to sell his wares to rich patrons. There’s something else going on here, and you want to know more.

“I am,” you say, making your tone light and pleasant as you look over the items on the table in front of you. One of them is a crystal ball, and it seems to be the real deal, not one of those knockoffs you sometimes see. “What is it that you’re selling here?”

“I’m a fortune teller of sorts,” the man replies, still wearing that charming smile. “I tell people what may lie ahead. Though I should say for clarity purposes that it is not an exact science.”

“Oh, Tarot cards?” you say, delighted. “I’ve never had my cards read before. Are you still offering readings?”

It might seem a little bit of a strange thing to indulge in at a party, but until you can reunite with Momo, you’re on your own and the auction doesn’t start for a little while yet. Though you know you were invited here, it’s still a little intimidating to walk around among such giants in their respective fields. Especially in such an outfit as the one you’re wearing – usually you dress nicely but comfortably, since you spend most of your time either studying, attending lectures or occasionally going out with your friends. Nobody needs to wear high heels while they’re listening to the origin of magic, for example.

Anyway, you’ve always wanted to do this, why waste the opportunity?

“Certainly,” the fortune teller says, standing up and gesturing. “Please, come inside. I find atmosphere is rather important to properly do a reading and it’s far too noisy out here for appropriate mystique.”

You laugh slightly at that and follow him inside the tent. It’s much bigger inside than it is on the outside – you presume some sort of illusion spell is at work, or perhaps the tent itself is enchanted. It’s dark in here, candles sitting all around the perimeter of the tent. Normally you’d be wary of that being a fire hazard, but looking closer, the flames have an unnaturally white tint to them instead of the usual cheerful yellow, so you assume they’re enchanted to not burn in case of accidents. Anyway, you know enough magic to conjure water if there is one.

“Let’s do this at the table,” the fortune teller says, sitting down and gesturing to the chair opposite. “Would you care for some herbal tea?”

“Oh, no thank you,” you say, relieved to have a good excuse to refuse, holding up your champagne flute. “I don’t think herbal tea and champagne mix.”

He chuckles, bowing his head in acknowledgement.

“I suppose not.”

You sit down opposite the fortune teller, breathing in the fug of incense, a pleasant, slightly spicy smell lingering in the air. The table is covered with a purple cloth, and you notice there are various posters and tapestries covering the walls of the tent, though the lighting isn’t bright enough to make them out well.

You slide over some coins, uncertain of the amount, but your guess is either accurate or the fortune teller judges it fair, because he accepts them with a small smile and a nod but doesn’t comment any further. Instead, he reaches for a black pouch sitting on the table and begins to shuffle the cards in elegant hands, and you notice he’s wearing a ring, a dark pink gemstone winking at you in the candlelight as his hand moves.

He’s right about atmosphere, there’s an ambience here that would have been lost if you had sat down for the reading outside in the loud, crowded, white and gold decorated hallway. In here, in the dark, a secretive hush falls over you and the fortune teller that makes you wriggle in anticipation in your seat. This is the kind of place that goes beyond magical, like something truly mystical could happen here, even if you’re aware that this is just a bit of fun, nothing more. But you don’t want to offend him by not taking it seriously.

He smiles, and spreads the cards across the table, face down. The pattern on the back is pretty, black and silver and faintly gleaming in the dim. The flames atop the candles around the tent flicker, as if they want to lean in to listen to what’s about to unfold. The fortune teller looks at you and his eyes hold yours.

“Shall we begin?”

[marginal-notes]

I in response to your flamethrower comment, they have a cooler on Boiling Rock, which mean they have pretty good cooling system if the air outside is so hot. That means they know how to liquify some gases, assuming they just aren't hauling huge chunks of ice or something. So they probably do have the technology for flamethrowers(maybe). But from the show, they just seems to prefer chucking flaming rocks, which tbh, is easier.

You’ve unlocked my brother’s and my “cannons? Cannons?? WHY AREN’T THERE CANNONS????” discussion with a partial side of me crying at my screen about “what is the state of chemistry in this world at this point, ATLA, ANSWER ME.” 

This is going to be long. 

~~~

Some quick Googling:

A good portion of modern flamethrowers work by having pressurized gas pump out a liquid fuel which is ignited. 

So what does this mean within ATLA?

1) They can pressurize gas. Apparently people have figured out how to compress air since the mid-19th century. This is around the time period I’ve been pegging ATLA to reflect so that works out.

2) They can mass produce stuff on an industrial scale. Hi, I’m still not over how Zhao hauled over 100 warships to the North Pole. THE LOGISTICS OF THAT. THE SCALE OF THAT. COORDINATING ALL THOSE ORDERS. THAT’S LIKE BRINGING THE ENTIRE SPANISH ARMADA TO BRITAIN.

But the navy does prove the Fire Nation has the ability to produce standardized equipment and parts. A ship needs so many rivets. There are harbors in the Fire Nation entirely dedicated to building and repairing these ships and they must be doing super interesting things to the social fabric of the nation. Also, Jesus, where are they getting all this metal from. Where are they getting all their fabric from for the uniforms. If the Fire Nation ever loses its colonies, a lot of people would be foaming at the mouth with anger. 

Anyways, check that off too. 

3) They want to use them. Which. 

~~~

The presence of benders must really mess up the advance of technology. Bad enough that irl, before the West came smashing in, the Far East had barely any interest or initiative in developing these kinds of technology. To be fair, they weren’t constantly murdering each other through wars the way Europe did. But still. How do we clear out this mountain for our tunnels? Get an earthbender. How do we filter this water? Get a waterbender too. How do we set these people on fire and wreck psychological devastation upon the enemy by burning all their cover? Get a bunch of firebenders. 

No extra equipment necessary. No oil fuel needed. No hauling around supply chains that aren’t food. If they’re around, just grab a bunch of benders. 

But what about the nonbending population? Personally, I’ve always felt that benders are a minority of the population, though an elite minority. If earthbenders were all over the place, Master Yu would not be able to get away with his scamming that easily. Nonbenders are going to need tools when there isn’t the requisite bender conveniently around. 

(Jesus, the social tension that must be constantly shimmering over this dynamic and its effects upon the job markets.)

And frankly, in war? There will be times where sheer quantity overpowers quality. Longbows can devastate crossbows, thanks to superior range. But if the longbows aren’t there? Tons of people quickly trained with crossbows and other ranged weaponry are going to start winning. 

Emergencies like war are like a super fuel to rapid invention. Nothing motivates people to figure out tool and processes like the threat of thousands and millions of your people dying every day.

So where the fuck are the cannons.

~~~

Here’s where my brain keeps smashing against the limits imposed by the audience ATLA is intended for plus the pure reality of storytelling. ATLA works very well partially because it doesn’t go into all these details. There aren’t many filler episodes. It stays on track with the narrative. It doesn’t veer off into tangents. And I love it for that. 

But why does the Earth Kingdom suck so badly at responding to the Fire Nation?

(There are plenty of easy valid answers. My primary justifications are a) Aang is the protagonist and thus warps the narrative around him and b) one hundred years of on and off war kills the best and the brightest of all the militaries.) 

Benders can only throw rocks so far. That throw is only going to have so much force behind it. Excellent benders can move incredibly heavy weights, so presumably with smaller rocks they can sling those very fast. But its still not a cannon. 

The most powerful catapults and trebuchets could throw up to around 1000-1500 feet. 

During the American Civil War, a cannon used can hit something a mile away. During WW1, artillery could hit something 80 miles away. 

The key inventions necessary include a) an ability to bore precise rifling, b) at least gunpowder in mass quantities, and c) different types of shells to taste. 

(Side note from the brother: The Fire Nation might not have the natural resources for all the gunpowder necessary to hand out rifles to everyone plus feed all the artillery. I counter him with the fact that the Fire Nation made significant territorial gains into the Earth Kingdom continent and they were not losing that territory. Anyways.) 

If the Fire Nation navy is able to shoot out grappling hooks from their ships, I honestly canNOT understand why they still use trebuchets. Those things require so much open space around them for the arm to operate and get top ranges. You might as well set up a bunch of cannons in that space. Want a fireball of death still? Put blasting jelly or other fire-starting materials within the shells. Hey, they definitely know how to make bombs for their airships. Buddy.  

For god’s sake, they figured out hydraulics and maybe gyroscopes for their tanks. WHY ARE THEY STILL USING CATAPULTS. THAT’S STUPID. 

~~~

Here’s what’s not stupid. 

The use of new technology will always ruffle the feathers of members among the old guard. 

The use of this kind of modern technology will fundamentally change the entire nature of war. 

And these kinds of changes? They reverberate through society. Benders are no longer the only cream of the crop among the military. If the social hierarchy depends in part on bending ability, which I bet the Fire Nation’s been using for the last century plus, then this technology is, literally, revolutionary. 

And that’s not pretty. 

[kzau]

To answer your starting paragraph:

1. no I don't believe in killing predators to a welfare of other species, that is stupid and goes against every understanding of how nature works

2. a) Wool is only a 'problem' to the animal because we've bred them to a point where programmed shedding is unavoidable, so by all means, we must take care of them. There's plenty of traditional ways of shedding that aren't hurtful or stressfull to the animal. / b) industrial honey production causes a bunch of problems, one of them is that it allows disease to spread when honey bees are transported across long distances. Native bees species on another hand, must be protected and that means multiplying their colonies and places where they can thrive, which means using less pesticides, planting more native species and just developing biodiversity in general, so no, honey isn't abusive per se, it depends on the method.

3. Indigenous people amount to 5% of humans, but preserve +30% of all biodiversity. Their relationship with nature has never and will never be a problem, the veganism I believe actively defends their ways of living, and incentivize reclaiming traditional crops and food production methods, including on meat consumption. That also includes traditional husbandry

4. Extinguish domesticated animals is also stupid and I'll never even entertain such ideas. The liberation of animals bred for meat production must come with the public realization that is illogical to make an animal go to all that suffering to fulfill a desire for more food. Its a process, and it will take time.

5. Let's make it clear: we as humans only eat this much meat today because there has been a meat industry that forces meat recipes, dishes, flavours everyday in our lives, and has been doing so for the last 150 years at least. Our diet has been manipulated by big food companies and that created distortions that will be hard to change, but one of them is that meat is a must eat, when it's not.

My issue is with industrial meat production, agribusiness and its never ending hunger to more pasture for grain production that goes into animal feeding. My issue is with meat factories that are pollutant and causes many mental illnesses in their workers. My issue is with agricultural and industrial practices that harm the environment and by consequence the lives of wild life.

When I said 'Popular' I didn't meant like when someone is famous, but rather like when something is thought by and controlled by 'The People', answering our collective demands, and not those of capitalism and the industry that wants profit over life.

And just to end, I don't believe vegans have a moral high ground, we're all humans making choices that we believe are best for us. I try to spread the word of stopping meat consumption and understanding that animals aren't beneath us, but rather our relatives, similar beings that live on the same planet and deserve the same respect. For too long humans have put ourselves above everything else, that is what has caused all the destruction we're going to see in the next decades as climate changes.

(BTW, in my op, I kind of said the same thing I just did, but a shorter version. I don't know why you decided to focus only on the 'popular' part.)

"The environmental ravages we face are vast, destabilizing, and encroaching on our real lives right now. The fires, the floods, are already at our door. In all this, it would be so good to know we have a silver bullet. But until solid, publicly accessible science proves otherwise, cultured meat is still a gamble—a final trip to the casino, when our luck long ago ran out. We should ask ourselves if that’s a chance we want to take."