#AND I HAVE TO WATCH DATA MAKE AND THEN LOSE A CHILD?????

[t-mblr-begone]

Hi, star trek the next generation? What the fuck!!

[confused-wanderer]

As much as I love Dick and Damian’s relation, no way in HELL would Dick actually be that soft on him- like excusing his actions or favouring him over the rest of his siblings.

You wanna tell me Dick’ll immediately accept him and start showing him love. PLEASE. The man would take one look at the angry child craving revenge and immediately get flashbacks to his original days as Robin. He earns newfound respect for Bruce as he realises just how much of a chaotic gremlin he was.

But he can’t use empathy. Because while Dick was mad and wanted revenge for his parents, Damian doesn’t know any better and quite frankly even kills just to be petty. You can’t tell me Dick doesn’t pull out the logic stops and parallels Bruce training him.

The way he grills Damian harder, trains him to be faster and makes him spar knowing Damian would always lose. Because sure, it may not have always worked for Dick but it was perfect for humbling Damian.

When Dick finds out Damian tried killing Tim, you can’t tell me he won’t see red. He won’t allow another brother to die or get hurt, not on his watch. He’d give Damian a final line, a line he won’t hesitate to fire back with all he’s got if Damian crosses it. Dick would try to be empathetic, but not this far.

He’d divide his time, trying to figure out Damian and how to encourage him to choose his own path, while maintaining a strict code Damian has to follow to prevent him doing down the wrong one.

If Damian commits murder that is justified, or crimes that serve a greater good, he’ll dump Damian in Jason’s care to help him understand how grey areas work, but sometimes black and white does exist.

If Damian demands logical reasoning, Dick’ll escort him to Tim so the two can have an intellectual battle (if Tim agrees that is, but the chance to put the brat in his place is always too good for Tim to pass up)

Maybe Damian sees the warmth Dick has for his brothers, how they care for him in their own way and it helps him recognise how he can change too, in his own way.

All I’m saying- They may be close, but Dick wouldn’t have blatant favouritism, nor would he try and exclude his brothers or brush them off in favour of Damian. Dick knows how to be a team player, and utilise his team to complete missions too. Damian needed balance in all areas, and Dick knows he can’t do it alone.

Dick would help Damian, pay more attention to listen to his arguments to the others as Damian doesn’t have much of a reliable data to cross reference or emotional triggers or morals that Dick knows about, so he can’t “know” the person- therefore all his advice will be taken with a grain of salt.

But it does not make him excuse Damian actions, instead he’d be strict Batman style parent who won’t hesitate to take his brothers’ side over Damian if he’s wrong, and will strike back if he crosses certain lines.

[evilminji]

Ya'll know our BELOVED? Little Baby Man?

The noodliest ghosty boy?

What if he WAS Baby? It wouldn't be the first time Danny's enemies plotting gave him offspring. Only this time it's not a clone! It's a proper GHOST baby. Like Lunch Box.

Who's the other parent I hear you ask?

Pretty human-centric view point there buddy, to assume Ghosts NEED two participants to make an offspring. OR are limited to two! Just cause Lunch Lady And Boxie are a couple doesn't mean that's the standard!

We lack data here! ASSUME NOTHING. *sciences harder in your direction*

*awkward cough*

*shuffles notes*

ANYWAY! The child! All it would really take is one(1) VERY poorly timed ambush attack. Imagine if you will, a cell. How does it multiply? While not even close, the simplistic images ARE pretty good as an explanation!

But isn't that just an ecto-clone? You say?

Close!

But THOSE? Are hollow bags of GOO!

No CORE! *slaps the chalkboard behind me*

However! If you wanted, say, a precious bundle off joy? Well, nothing can come from perfect void! You must contribute the building blocks of LIFE! And what are those, my students, in ghost biology??!

Two vital pieces! The Ectoplasm aaaaaaand? That's RIGHT!

The CORE!

A critical and ever vital part of ghost biological function.

Which, like every OTHER part of the body, is malleable. One could, say, make it smaller. Create part of a proto core. OR, should one be ALONE in this process, a FULL protocol.

Upon which, ectoplasm latches, builds, develops and grows. Becomes its own soul.

Now! Do Not mistake me! There is a WILDLY vast difference between the formation of a core and a shattered core. Between willing life and untimely second death. It is not, and never WILL be, easy to create the soul of a child. Tampering with your core is PAINFUL, dangerous, and leaves you WILDLY vulnerable.

There is a REASON Neverborn are so precious.

Buuuuut..... *pulls out a book labeled "Curses Though The Ages"* we must ALSO consider the famed Fenton Luck(tm).

Consider! Where would be the "safest" place to practice making clones of yourself? A place that's wide open. No one wearing white likely to take pot shots at you while your attention is divided in multiple places at once. No parents blowing up the basement at a delicate moment and leaving you trying to hide that extra arm for a week...

Maybe you forget... oh yeah... OTHER GHOSTS.

So there Danny floats. In the Zone. DISTRACTED. His core HUGE from all that recently Royal business as it tries to digest it. Feeling bloated. Trying to work off some energy, as it were. Then who should come along? Why, the universes BEST HUNTER of course! To say *gun powering up noise* :) HI :)

Like buddies DO.

Danny doesn't see him.

Danny is mid-split.

At his limit, honestly. Already made as many copies as he usually can. Is trying for ooooone moooooore..... when...

PAIN. Something cracks.

He loses concentration. Tries to curl in on himself.

Both 1.5 of him tries. He loses hold of the "clone's" Ecto. Somethings free floating leaving his chest along with it. Behind him, Skulker is freaking out. That was MEANT to be on opening volley. A gentle little "hey, come fight me". That crack sounded SERIOUS.

Danny can't breathe. It's like the portal all over again. He curls tighter and tighter. Feels the crown, which was not THERE until this moment, press down tight and gripping onto his head. Thrumming. And then... something feels like a muscle releasing.

His core is... smaller? He'd been watching its progress, it couldn't have digest so fast... how did it lose so much... mass...

Danny feels all the blood drain from his face.

He nearly died.

Again.

His... his soul... WHERE IS HIS SOUL?? That's a piece of him! A part of his SOU-!

He spins around... only to meet the eyes off a blearly blinking, noodlish, cartoon like gremlin with his color scheme. Who's floating along like they're in zero-g. Just... drifting in a slow circle.

They yawn at him with a mouth full of teeny tiny baby fangs. Then chirp.

That's his Son. He doesn't know how, he doesn't know WHY, but he somehow instinctively... just... KNOWS?

They blep.

Danny looks a Skulker. His eyes hold MURDER.

"You're paying child support."

"......yes sir."

@hdgnj @stealingyourbones

[teecupangel]

I'm almost sorry to add another story idea to your backlog pile, BUT:

Elijah finds out what his dad went through, manages to break into a parallel universe, time travels to the 3 eras of the main ancestors, and tries to change things enough to save Desmond. Altair, Ezio, and Ratonhnhake:ton ask this tiny, angry, sarcastic, cactus of a child why he's doing what he's doing, and he eventually explains it over time.

Desmond, on the other hand, is watching all of this through the animus: a son he didn't know existed was trying to save him. An infant who he had never met, and who had never met him, was fighting time and reality itself to save him from a fate that still hasn't been explained, was showing more care and love and compassion for him than anyone Desmond had ever known before. And it hurts, because Desmond just grows to love him more and more, but thinks he'll never truly meet him outside of a Bleed.

Elijah never seems to age, even though he spends like forty years picking on Ezio. There's a statue of him in the Monterrigioni sanctuary, and he hates it with a passion.

Just... Elijah trying to fuck up time enough to save his dad, and Desmond watching all of it both touched and heartbroken, because if he's going through all of this anyways, it was all for nothing.

Then Elijah comes out of nowhere in the Grand Temple and sucker punches Juno with a data virus he had hardcoded into their lineage's DNA over nine centuries lmao

Please never be sorry for sending me an ask. Pile as much as you want as long as you guys understand that it would take a while for me to answer them (a month or so at this point XD)

Okay, but can you just imagine if Elijah was just a teenager in this one? That would give more of a sucker punch vibe to Desmond once he learns who Elijah is.

He has the ability to time travel but he can’t control where he gets sent. His goal had been to save Desmond Miles but he made the mistake of tying his time to Desmond Miles and not to someone more stable like Rebecca Crane or Shaun Hastings.

Hell, William Miles would be a better choice.

Because…

Desmond Miles’ ‘time’ is connected to the memories he watch in the Animus, making Elijah slip in and out of certain ‘times’, following the memories Desmond watches.

Desmond assumed Elijah was one of the informants in Altaïr’s memories. It’s only when Altaïr began to see him as an annoying child who always got in the way of Altaïr’s missions that Elijah told the truth.

Why?

Because Elijah has nothing to lose from telling Altaïr the truth. He was a prisoner of time itself, being yanked time and time again. He has a theory that he was being yanked to the time in Altaïr’s life where Desmond was watching him so he figured he could give Desmond information as well using Altaïr.

It would be funny, after all.

The Isus have chosen Ezio Auditore to be their prophet.

Why couldn’t Elijah make Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad his prophet then?

And he’ll take Ezio Auditore from the Isus as well.

Maybe it was Aita’s selfishness and desire for power.

Maybe it was his very own selfish desire to have something that was truly his.

“Shall we make a deal, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad?”

“A deal?” Those golden eyes seemed to pierce his very soul.

But it didn’t matter what he saw.

He cannot begin to fathom the truth.

Not yet, anyway.

Right now, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad was a man lost in a vicious snowstorm threatening to swallow him whole and pull him to his frozen grave.

He still haven’t found the warmth he was meant to have, given to him by the Calculations.

“My name is Elijah.” He said, “I am a child of Time itself.”

“What nonsen-”

“I will correctly tell you what will happen when you confront Garnier de Naplouse.” Elijah stated, making Altaïr stop from walking away from him. Altaïr turned just enough to stare at him with one of his golden eyes as Elijah continued, “And I will tell you the future you are meant to have.”

“And what do you want in exchange?”

“From you? Nothing.” Elijah admitted, “All I want is a bit of your time.”

“My time?”

“To talk to Desmond Miles.”

Altaïr frowned as he said, “I do not know anyone by that name.”

“I know.” Elijah answered with a nod, “But he’s watching you. The Templars are forcing him to watch you right now and it is because he is forced to watch you that he comes to care for you so…”

“I will help you save yourself, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad.” Elijah said, “To change your fate to whatever you desire, instead of what has been laid out in front of you. In exchange…”

“All I ask is you listen to me so I can take to my father.” Elijah’s lips curved into a small smirk that felt more Aita than him, “And to commemorate my first message to my father, I believe I should tell him an important truth.”

“Lucy Stillman is a Templar who betrayed the Assassins.”

(I feel like in this case, Elijah would provide more information and let Altaïr do what he wants. He only starts to actually have a more active roll once the memory seals from ACR starts and he grows close to Altaïr’s children. By the time he gets to Ezio and Ratonhnhaké:ton, he’s more ‘fuck the backseat, I’m driving’ and actively helps. This ends up with Elijah finally ‘returning’ to Desmond Miles’ time just as Minerva and Juno told him what will happen if he lets the world burn and, by that point, Elijah had already completed a device that would force Juno’s consciousness to operate the device in Desmond’s stead).

[missashketchum]

First Years with Ash’s Pokemon

Headcanons of the TWST boys with Ash’s Pokemon: First Years Edition!

Sorry they're kind of short, hope you all enjoy!

Ace- Gliscor

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?!?

vampire-bat scorpion thing :/

Ace is completely confused about Gliscor, and is also low key terrified

I mean, the way the met, Gliscor literally swooped in and picked Ace up and into the air

so while Ash and Gliscor are laughing their butts off, Ace is up in the air, scarred for life

also doesn't help when Ash explains the dex entry about how silent and deadly Gliscor is

let him down!

Ash sorta starts to take pity on him and makes Gliscor put him down, but now whenever Ace shows up, Gliscor will always be there to swoop him into a 'hug'

spare him pls (lmao no)

Deuce- Sceptile

as Sceptile stared at the poor boy, there was only one thought in his head

SO COOL!!!

meanwhile, Sceptile's looking at him like "who's this weird lost child?"

"the one that destroyed the chandelier"

"a h"

Takes a while, but Deuce manages to just barely get Sceptile to warm up to him

the two then have this weird truce, mainly because Sceptile kind of likes him if he ignores the dumbassery

totally has the same "talk shit, get hit" vibes Deuce gets, so there's a sort of unity the two gain when protecting Ash/when they just generally get pissed off

Deuce watches Sceptile use his moves and he's awestruck, lmao

"No Deuce, you can't learn Leaf Blade..." -Ash Ketchum

Sceptile sorta just keeps to himself for the most part though

they can actually coexist in the same room unlike Ace and every single one of Ash's pokemon lmao

Jack- Lycanroc

a wolf, with rocks in it???

doesn’t it hurt?

and he gets his answer when Lycanroc loses its mind when he tries to pet it

"yeah, don't do that, Lycanroc hates it when people or pokemon mess up his fur"

"oh NOW you tell me" meanwhile he's got a rock painfully poking his side

Ash explains how Lycanroc actually went on full rampages whenever he got dirty, and Jack is glad he didn't get an Accelrock to the face

it takes a bit, but Lycanroc does warm up to Jack more than the rest of Ash's pokemon, mainly because wolf solidarity

if Ash is hanging out with Jack, then you best believe that Lycanroc is close by

Epel- Gible

a baby?

A DRAGON BABY!?

watched the baby pull a draco meteor and epel regrets underestimating him

is lowkey concerned when Gible just begins chewing on Ash's head, but she acts like she doesn't feel it, so he sorta just stands there

out of all of Ash's Pokemon, Gible is one of the few to warm up to the guys quite quickly

Gible bites epel too jbksjahjds

Vil, upon seeing the marks, has a heart attack lmao

but in all seriousness, Gible actually really likes Gible, and the dragon is growing on Epel, so if he ever does get bit again, he literally just shrugs it off

it's how Gible shows his affection, VIL

Ortho- Krookodile

this is probably the weirdest pairing

saw Krookodile and thought he was the coolest ever, especially with his sunglasses

enjoys watching Krookodile train with all of Ash's other strong/fully evolved pokemon, especially since he can record data for himself later

with such a wide movepool (knowing Dragon Claw, Aerial Ace, Dig, and Stone Edge) Ortho is in awe

100% the two would power up a death laser/Stone Edge in an attempt to destroy the school together

the amount of pictures he has with Krookodile is astounding, Idia is lowkey jealous

his personal fave is of him with Krookodile and they both have sunglasses on, looking cool

Sebek- Sirfetch’d

A BATTLE OF KNIGHTS

Sirfetch’d does not like Sebek one bit XD

Sebek is too loud for Sirfetch'd, and he insults their trainer any chance he gets

HOW DARE-

i wouldn't be surprised if Sirfetch'd has attacked Sebek on multiple occasions lol

even then, i'm pretty sure Sebek takes it as a challenge and tries to fight back, despite Ash's warnings

every time he gets his ass kicked though, he blames Ash for it, and at one point, homegirl just picks him up and tosses him across the yard

Sirfetch'd is laughing and Sebek would be lying if he said he wasn't scared (because he was)

girl can carry and throw a tree, idk why he wasn't scared before dwbjsksm

slowly learns to respect Ash and her ability to keep up with her Pokemon

grows to tolerate Sirfetch'd, and same is said for the 'mon

but the tensions is definitely still there lmao

[dawniedrella]

For some reason, this image makes me feel kinda sad idk why :(((

[SPOILERS]

(aka just me rambling abt stuff aksnjhbcjaka pardon me)

I always see Lan and Exe have this strong bond, being able to prevail through many battles together, even if it meant having to risk their own lives and all that... the more i think about it, the more it makes sense

I'm not fully well versed into battle network lore as i am with mmx lore but I always wondered if Lan knew that exe was actually based on his dead twin brother. Yes, he treats exe like his own brother but knowing where exe's data was from is something only Lan's father (and possibly his mother) know

Sometimes, putting yourself into Lan's shoes: imagine having to lose your netnavi a few times from battle and thinking theyre gone for good. I do see why, cuz I always see Exe as somewhat a polar opposite of Lan; the dutiful brother who's willing to take risks if it meant for the better good of the world or to just protect his family

But i feel worse for Dr. Hikari, for he's the one who created exe himself. He may have not fully moved on from the early infant death of his other son (Hub), therefore he used his deceased son's data to create Megaman.exe and gifted it to Lan on his birthday. Exe is a very important member in the family, especially to Mrs. Hikari (Dr. Hikari's wife), whom had to bear with the loss of her twin son. And having Exe around, either spending time with Lan, scolding him to do his work and listen to his parents, going to school with him, or even calling Lan's parents "Mom" and "Dad" gives Mrs. Hikari a sweet familial feeling.... a feeling as if her other son was still alive. At this point, Exe was not a netnavi, but their child: a child that they have lost too soon but was revived under the condition that they do not bear flesh, but digital strands of data.

I really WANNA RAMBLE MORE ABOUT THIS BUT I NEED TO SINK INTO MORE MEGAMAN BATTLE NETWORK CONTENT (I only played 2 games and watched the entirety of dubbed NT warrior so yeah HASBDBAKJ) rest of the stuff I knew was out of discovery

Still though, I just really love the concept behind Lan and Megaman.exe's bond and seeing so much possibilities behind it! Like what if we get an alternative universe where Exe was human instead of a netnavi (Hub Hikari ftw !!!) Or Exe meeting children suffering from the same disease he had (there was in the one of the games but i feel like that aspect should be explored more) I just feel like there would be more for them in store but for now we gotta wait THANKS FOR COMING TO MY TEDTALK

[cybervesna]

Hello, I'm not sure if I missed it somewhere but what's the backstory between Wiosna and Kurt?

Hi! Actually! I haven't talked about them in complied way... Thank you for asking this, I will explain and ramble about them here 😅 At the start, I will say that my photo series Wires is telling the story of the two of them in chronological order (with the exception of Valentine's special cuz that will be set after a few that have to come at some point, I'm sorry Part 7 is so demanding...). However, Dogtown Nights are shorter bits of their life, in unspecified time points (unless stated otherwise cuz some will be follow-up/prequel to Wires) More under the cut

In early 2076 Wiosna became a netrunner for hire after her abusive fiance Arthur Jenkins died. She started small, but thanks to her experience (as she learned netrunning in Poland, where NetWatch is far more strict and only the best can survive (Thanks Eurosource Plus) and a death wish, she quickly made her way to The Afterlife. There, she was known under the nickname SPR1NG. People knew about her only what she allowed them to know, which wasn't much. But Rogue didn't complain, since Spring did all her suicidal gigs with utmost excellence. Happy client = happy fixer. With Wiosna's status increased she started being looked at by many organizations. Corps wanted to hire her to steal data from one another, cause global security breaches, and such things. She was picky with her jobs. Wiosna wasn't after money, nor she was after fame. It was the thrill. She wanted to feel something worth living for. She wanted to be scared to die. Which never really happened. So, when Rogue told her there was a special client from Dogtown who would like to hire her, but there were no deets about anything, she was intrigued. She agreed to the meeting, and from that point forward, her career was under the watchful eye of Mr. Hands. The meeting itself revealed that the client was no one else than Kurt Hansen himself, who needed a capable netrunner to build the lab for Cassels visit. Kurt was a figure everyone in Night City heard about. And Wiosna wanted to find out what was true. How the whole thing went can be seen on Wires: Part 1. But but but but!!! Dogtown Nights 4 is an indirect follow-up that happens between Part 1-5 of the Wires.

Wiosna had a life before this one. Life she ran away from, but that life made her who she is. And she was a highly educated psychologist. She liked to analyze people, trigger certain emotions in them, and make them what she wanted... And Kurt Hansen had something in him, that made her develop an unhealthy obsession. Especially, that he, just like her liked playing mind games.

And Kurt liked her, because she was pretty, smart and it was intriguing as hell she was not jumping to his bed the second she got a chance. In fact, she was cockblocking him.

Kurt and Wiosna were dancing around each other for weeks, and poor Kurt had no idea he was the one losing. Wiosna wrapped him around her finger, by letting him think he was winning, but in reality, she manipulated her way to his heart. Heart, he thought he didn't have. The stepping stone for them was the moment Kurt found out about Wiosna's past.

For Wiosna is was a test. She knew it wouldn't be easy since he didn't get any info on her the first time. All of this was to check if he was willing to bother, and what kind of reaction he would have to the truth. I made some of her files there (I should do more)

Wiosna always saw herself as flawed and unworthy of anything, due to her child trauma. She spent more time in psychiatric facilities, where they tried to "fix her" than she spent with people at school. Any free time she had, she spent in cyberspace or in ballet class - however alone.

Her files consist of dozens of evaluations, diagnoses, incident descriptions, and everything really negative that everyone in high-corpo society sees as "psycho" but in a - we can't make it useful for us psycho way.

Kurt in those files saw potential.

Of course, for him it wasn't really about love, but what he could gain from her. And sadly, Wiosna was naive enough to believe otherwise.

I don't want to say much, because it's in my upcoming stories, but I will say this: Aside from her terrible past, Wiosna also has a powerful name she doesn't use - Kochanowska. Her grandfather is Antoni Kochanowski, owner of LoveSky Space Mining Company. As of 2076 her family owns half of Earth's resources, and 90% of resources on Mars and Luna, they supply manufacturers like Arasaka with resources to make weapons, mechs etc. I want to be clear, that this is only my headcanon! We got that? Good, then to give you the level of importance LoveSky has on the market - Kurt's precious Chimaera was made from resources delivered by LoveSky to Militech. They're the fundamentals of any corporate force. Wiosna is the last of her line. Her parents died tragically (99.99% set up by their enemies) on launch to space where they were meant to start their new project, which makes her - their only child an heir to everything they owned. Which is half of LoveSky and a seat on the Arasaka Board. But Wiosna herself disappeared, despite her grandparents looking for her, and Asukaga & Finch lawyers ready to execute the will of her parents.

For Kurt she is a trophy. One that came straight to his arms at that. But well... remember what I said about Wiosna outsmarting him. They both were into each other, for their selfish reasons. What they found surprised them both.

I hope I satisfied your curiosity!

[sybaritick]

best of!

I was tagged by @say-lene (who is absolutely one of the best writers in this fandom) to discuss a few pieces of fic that best exemplify my writing/style/personality. So here are my thoughts! :D

4 - At Knifepoint [Astarion/Gale, 2.4k, E]

Astarion's face was cruel and angular in the half-light of the darkened library, stark shadows cast across his features, lips curled into a teasing smile. The Dispel Magic spell rushed over him faster than he could answer it, dark and sour like a sickening wave, and the invisibility curled away from his body like the burnt edge of a newspaper.

I love to play with the contrast between what the rational brain wants and what the stupid horny subby brain wants and this fic absolutely goes in on that. We like a little fearplay and horror and Gale's guilty lust for being eaten. It was for an exchange to go with this incredible artwork!

3 - that urge often miscalled 'free will' [Gortash/Gale, 4.3k, E]

Gale thinks, for an odd second, that he can feel the flow of data pour into his throat and spread through his limbs, an anesthetic tingling in his veins, drowsy and even. He knows it’s nothing of the sort. That was the sort of foolish thing one might have pictured as a child, but data is weightless and instant and empty, and no zeroes and ones fill his veins. Enver watches from his chair, glancing between Gale and the computer while he makes his cryptic little adjustments. He has a leg tucked under him, a thick-soled work boot wedged under the opposite thigh.  Gale feels the fingers of his right hand flex and pull involuntarily, and the hand balls up into a fist that makes his nails bite into his palm for a good second before releasing. “Sorry, I’m not sure–” Gale starts, before looking over at Gortash, who has the hint of a smile curling onto his lips. Enver responds wordlessly, typing something blunt and fast and watching as the fingers of Gale’s other hand flex in turn, one by one. “A bit of manual testing for that faster transmission of reflexes I suggested,” Enver says. “Pardon me for the lack of warning.” Gale feels the swell of fear like an ignoble tightness in his throat that makes it irresponsible to swallow.

Am I bold enough to put a fic I just posted last night in my "best of"? Yes. It was this or Incentives for Compliance and this one exemplifies my issues even more. :) i love writing about the horror of losing control of your own mind and body and this fic is Very Clearly About That. oh and it also has that relentlessly horny pussy description that's important:

He slots in the vulva, running a thumb over the plump hairy outer lips, just ghosting over the inner folds peeking through in soft ripples, across the mons fat and rounded above; a beautiful match to Gale’s form.

2 - oh, rotten little thing [Astarion/Gale, 1.9k, M]

“So you admit it,” Astarion said, pulling his hand back. “Naughty thing. I bet so little power wouldn't be nearly enough to sate it. Perhaps I’m just an appetizer, then. Something to whet its appetite before you hunt down a wizard for your main course." "If you’re so certain it’s developed its own sort of vampirism, I would think you’d be more careful," Gale warned. "And I'm certainly not willing to consume the Weave of a person the way I would an object– if such a thing is even possible." "Oh, I think you would," Astarion answered gleefully. “If it’s you or another? If the alternative is the bomb in your chest leveling the entirety of Baldur’s Gate?”

This is probably my favorite bloodweave fic I've written because it gets to something I enjoy a lot about their personalities-- the way an unhealthy Astarion might take pleasure in luring Gale to be "worse", to dragging Gale down to his own level, and the way Gale has his pride but also a certain practicality and is more willing than he'd like to admit to bend his ethical principles a bit. There's also some great banter in this one which I really enjoy.

1 - Tephra Year [Gortash/Gale, 25k+, E]

and Highharvestide [Gortash/Gale, 3.9k, M]!

In the heat of the moment all he could imagine was that Gortash found this all the more desirable. A nice, fat, pliable mage to bury his cock in and rule the city with. What would they become, if Gortash's plans came to fruition? Gale was not naïve enough to believe his ambitions stopped at becoming Archduke of Baldur's Gate.  He'd be kept neck-deep in vile projects while Enver’s influence swallowed up each little town along the Chionthar. He had no doubt the Black Hand had designs on the rest of the Sword Coast. He'd set his sights on Waterdeep, and perhaps Gale was just another piece of his claim, another spoil of war, a pretty souvenir from the City of Splendors.

this fic is essentially designed to contain most of my favorite topics, tropes, and kinks, from the relatively ordinary (power imbalance, transmasc dom, manipulation, the tension between what you want and what you wish you wanted) to the weirder and more specific (feeding + weight gain as domestication, guilty masturbation over things you are morally opposed to, classism, politics, questions of guilt and responsibility/Whose Fault Is This Really?, transhumanism and evil biotech).

as for throwing in Highharvestide... I would be remiss not to include at least one overtly feedist fic when it's definitely the kink I'm most "known" for (and the one I know some of you are following me for. 😉) I was truly torn between featuring this and catalyst, but I think this one better exemplifies what I am really here for... feeding as a power game, fattening as domestication, how appealing Gale's new softness might be to a partner...

for that reason i have taken a lot of joy in writing Tephra Year + its side story/ies. I think my enthusiasm comes through and makes the piece even better than my usual work :)

---

and I will tag, if they're interested: @tuffgreg, @chronurgy, @archduke-enver-gortash, and @spellmage! :D (hopefully I managed to pick people who haven't been tagged yet, I tried to!)

[fallenangelofsalt]

Purple Gold AU introduction

Polished the first post(that was actually an ask on @whirld-of-color 's blog) a bit. There's also some other posts linked at the bottom but you should read this one first because it has some context (and horror details) the other posts don't have.

Mostly just fixed up some wording but also changed some of the horror bits so it fits better with my HCs for the stickfigures. Plus some added horror stuff.

This AU is based on the idea of Gold becoming part of Minecraft's code and eventually becoming one with the game and the horror that comes from the consequences of that, of Gold losing his understanding of mortal minds and what makes them hurt, of Gold's code being so scattered, so small.

Personality is so easy, just code, spreads so well in empty space, but memories are hard, tough like glass, try spreading it and it breaks into tiny tiny shards, so hard to see in a cluttered room, filled to the ceiling with heavy information and hard data, crushing the few surviving ones into fine dust, almost invisible in the clutter, and no one even knows to look for it.

Gold forgot, you see. He forgot his dad. He forgot his life. He forgot pain. He forgot fear.

And now there is someone new. Different. Special.

Someone who notices the changes, the oddities. Someone notices him.

The overworld is always quiet. Silent, lonely. There is no one here with you when you spawn in for the first time, and it's been weeks but the feeling of being watched, followed, hunted never left. You think it just got stronger.

Apples feel oddly fleshy in your teeth. Bread is a bit salty, dripping juice down your chin that tastes like citrus. As you yank mushrooms from the ground for soup you nearly bite through your lip to keep from screaming when you feel them thrash against your grip. You eat them anyway. Food is food, and it's better than the pumpkins.

The caves feel moldy, warm and humid with wind that when you follow always leads into dead ends. You swear the redstone pulses beneath your fingers, expanding within your hand in a way that dust really shouldn't.

The nether sometimes feels off, ground a bit soft, walls a bit wet, the gold clings to your fingers when you mine it, sitcky in your hand but not on your pickaxe. If you look too long at the lava, you swear it rises and falls, slowly, the air hot and stale with the smell of iron. The quartz sometimes breaking open to drip cold black on your fingers. You don't spend a lot of time there.

And you've been careful, so so careful, but eventually you fall.

Creeper explosion, just close enough to make you stumble, trip, fall

Right off the edge of a ravine

You don't really wake up then, in that place between life and death so much as get slapped awake, but a mere slap is not enough to describe the agony, the shock, your being getting pulled apart, vivisected and studied by childishly careless claws, but claws imply something physical, and physical doesn't fit the creature- thing- entity that keeps you stuck there, in that space between, for what feels like hours, days, centuries, you feel it stitch you back together, glass dust caught inside your bones but your bloody stuffing doesn't peek out of the stitching and that is the only relief you get before it lets you go and you fall

You wake up. There is gold in your hair, a single strand beneath the purple, and the watching, following, hunting gaze feels so much closer now.

Nearby, far away, right behind them a child a monster a god the world itself (...) is happy.

...

Elsewhere, a King continues on the original path.

There will be a happy ending I swear but first they gotta suffer <3. The AU is named Purple Gold because that is an actual type of gold alloy and the thing about glass dust is very very important! :)

Gold's POV

Purple's arrival and brief respawn aftermath

Brief elaboration on the respawn scene

@styck-figure I think this version is a bit better :)

[elaho]

Stardew Valley MBTI x Enneagram: Maru

Following my last post about the Stardew marriage candidates and their MBTI types, I've been learning more about Enneagram, how it pairs with MBTI, and how it changes some of the typical characteristics of each type.

The Enneagram and MBTI complement each other wonderfully, providing greater depth and understanding of how a person interacts with the world [Cognitive Functions] and their motivations why [Core Desire/Core Fear].

Here are my thoughts on Maru's MBTI and Enneagram pairing.

Maru - ENTP 6w7: “The Confidant”

“ENTP 6w7s are cheerful, loyal friends. This personality type is also more careful than your typical ENTP. The problem with the ENTP 6w7 is that they can be hard to spot. This is because they usually have a strong wing. This makes them more outgoing. Plus, type 6 is usually people-oriented.”– Personality Hunt

Maru’s Core Desire: To be secure

The core desire of the ENTP 6w7 is to be secure. This doesn’t just mean being emotionally and financially secure, but they also want to protect those they are loyal to and ensure they are secure as well. For type 6s, security leads to both freedom and independence, allowing them to pursue their dreams without worrying about being abandoned or losing their support system. However, this won’t always be noticeable, as ENTPs are more likely to cover it up with jokes, humour, or charisma.

Throughout the game, Maru seems afraid to assert her independence from her parents, especially her father, Demetrius. She is worried how her father will perceive her romantic relationship with the farmer. This newfound relationship inspires her to build a robot to help her parents when she’s gone so they won’t feel burdened or abandoned when she leaves the nest.

"Dad! I've been making this robot for you and Mom! MarILDA's designed to assist you in the laboratory and Mom at the carpentry table... so when I'm not living here anymore it won't be such a burden on you guys."

“Ummm... Don't break the news [about us dating] to my Dad, okay? I'll handle it.”

Maru’s Core Fear: To be vulnerable

The core fear of ENTP 6w7s is to be vulnerable and without support. To prevent being vulnerable, they often use Introverted Thinking [Ti] to go through all possible scenarios and analyse their fears logically. Again, because of the cheerfulness of their wing, their fears may not be obvious.

“I have high hopes for our child. I've been reading all the scientific data on the best ways to raise children.”

"Have you spent any time with our child today? Kids need playtime in order to reach their full potential."

“So, what are your plans for maintaining our income this winter? You could do some fishing or foraging...If you do any mining, promise me you'll be careful.”

"So, what's your strategy for optimizing the farm this year?"

"Beautiful night, isn't it? Remember the first time we did this? It was a while ago…I almost revealed my true feelings on that night… but I was afraid you'd reject me."

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

How Enneagram 6w7 changes typical ENTP behaviour:

New Strengths

1. More Cautious

“Type 6 is the most cautious in the enneagram of personality. ENTP 6w7s inherit this trait. While other ENTPs are happy to throw caution to the wind, this personality type is terrified of it. This might not be pronounced as ENTP 6w7s might seem bubbly at first. However, they will resist any plan or idea that puts them at risk. This is reduced if their 7 wing is strong.” – Personality Hunt

Examples:

“Ahh! Be careful with that! Are you touching it with your bare hands?... Sorry... hehe... With proper handling, this will be perfect for an exotic machine I'm building.”

“How's your hand feeling? Let me see it... Hey, it looks all better!”

“Make sure you don't leave your tools out in the rain! You wouldn't want them to get all rusty.”

“Do I hear a leak in the roof? I'll have to check it out. I know a thing or two about carpentry from watching my mother.”

2. Handling Interactions Better

While ENTPs can be notorious for being internet trolls, ENTP 6w7s are anything but. ENTP 6w7s have a more developed Extroverted Feeling [Fe], making them much better at social interactions and reading social cues. This makes them tactful and understanding. However, ENTPs will still be blunt and straightforward when they need to be.

Examples:

“Willy mentioned that you helped fix the boat. Thanks for doing that!”

“If you have any extra metal laying around, I could always use it for one of my projects. But only if you don't need it yourself.”

“Some day I'm going to be a world-class inventor. You're lucky to be friends with me!...just kidding.”

“You have a point, I did program her to act human... but her neural net is so complex, I can't be sure consciousness didn't emerge on its own. Furthermore, isn't it a little arrogant to assume that human-like consciousness is the only worthwhile vessel of existence? Computer brains are different than ours, but that doesn't mean we can disregard them.”

3. More Loyal

Type 6s are known for being the loyal sceptic, and ENTP 6w7s are no exception. They have a tight-knit group of friends and family they depend on. They can also be devoted or dedicated to their community and causes they care about. However, they are still less likely to engage in risky behaviour, even if their friends do.

Examples:

“Hey, I guess we're sisters now! I'm glad that Sebastian found a way out of the basement...I wish you two all the best!

"Hey, congratulations! I remember the first time Penny told me she had feelings for you...She was all shy about it, but I knew right away it was serious... she wouldn't say something like that if she didn't mean it!"

"I'm glad to have a job at the clinic... I feel like I'm helping people in town.”

“I wonder how Penny is doing? Maybe I'll give her a call later today.”

“Hey, if any of your farming machines need to be fixed, just let me know.”

4. Slightly Better with Finances

ENTPs aren’t the best at managing money, but because ENTP 6w7s are concerned for the future, they tend to be much less likely to impulse purchase or go into debt. However, they are still ENTPs and long-term financial planning will still be a struggle.

Examples:

“So, what are your plans for maintaining our income this winter? You could do some fishing or foraging...If you do any mining, promise me you'll be careful.”

"So, what's your strategy for optimizing the farm this year?"

5. Enhanced Introverted Sensing

Introverted Sensing [Si] is the inferior function of ENTPs. This helps them remember past sensory experiences and how they relate to the present. Because Si is their weakest function, they tend to focus less on the past and more on the present and future possibilities with their dominant function, Extroverted Intuition [Ne].

However, because ENTP 6w7s have a greater access to their Si, it can also provide a sense of comfort and nostalgia similar to how INFPs use Si [ex: the taste of good food, memories attached to certain smells or sounds, etc.,] They also use their Si to recount negative past experiences and adjust their course of action, as necessary.  

Examples:

“I'm really looking forward to having rhubarb pie in the spring. Oh... that tang, that zest!”

"Fall always reminds me of going out woodcutting with my mom... it might be that smell of freshly cut wood and sap."

“Ahh... the farm smells great, it reminds me of the mountains near my parent's house.”

“I can't decide if I'm craving chocolate cake or ripe strawberries. Or maybe both...?”

New Weaknesses

1. More Distrusting

“ENTP 6w7s have trust issues. This is down to type 6. So, you can expect them to be suspicious of people’s motives, ideas, or projects. This distrust might also extend to their career and romantic life. Again, it might not be too noticeable because of how cheerful they are.” – Personality Hunt

Examples:

“Be honest... am I gaining weight?”

“I hope you'd still like me even if I gained weight.”

“Sebastian hardly ever talks to me. I wonder if he even likes me at all? It's sad, I want to have a brother but he doesn't act like one.”

“You always seemed far too healthy to be at the clinic so often... Now it's all starting to make sense..."

"Really? Are you sure you're not just trying to flatter me?"

2. A Truckload of Fear

“Type 6 and type 7 are both in the fear triad. This means there’s a lot of fear in the ENTP 6w7. When faced with dangerous situations, ENTP 6w7s are more likely to withdraw than be counter-phobic. Their fearful nature can limit their progress and stop them from implementing their brilliant ideas.” – Personality Hunt

Examples:

"Of course he'll know the difference! This sample is completely ruined!”

“Hey! What's up? It's a good time to explore the caves. I would go but my Dad would flip.”

“Ummm... Don't break the news [about us dating] to my Dad, okay? I'll handle it.”

“My Dad is very logical, and my Mom is very intuitive. That difference leads to conflict, sometimes...”

3. Anxious

“With fear comes anxiety. ENTP 6w7s will have anxious thoughts. Because of their wing, they can distract themselves from these anxious thoughts [and hide them from others]. However, their anxiety becomes pronounced in dangerous situations. If they are unhealthy, it can lead to other serious health issues.” – Personality Hunt

Examples:

"I hope Dad's doing okay... he can get depressed in winter, when there's less opportunity for field research."

“Dad's been tracking the weather patterns for the last twenty years. It's a little too early to tell, but the results have revealed some abnormal trends.”

"The winters have been disturbingly mild lately."

"Mom and Dad are doing just fine. Their routine is still the same, even with me gone. How was your day?"

“Farmer, come closer. I'm cold. My hands are so dry from the winter air. I'm sorry about that.”

4. Less Optimistic

ENTPs usually have a contagious optimism, but ENTP 6w7s are slightly different. ENTP 6w7s generally are optimistic and upbeat when interacting with others, but they can become pessimistic and anxious when facing uncertainty or serious decisions.

Examples:

“I feel uninspired today.”

“I hope I don't catch the flu this year.”

“My hair gets so frizzy in this dry weather. *sigh*”

"I bet we'll start seeing more people at the clinic this season. I hope everyone stays healthy.

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

Conclusion

Maru's personality has been the hardest for me to pinpoint out of all the bachelors and bachelorettes. Her core fear doesn't stand out like the others, and her cheerful and personable attitude makes it hard to know what exactly she wants out of life. Both her parents are supportive, she has a steady job at the clinic, good friends like Penny and Harvey, and her talent for invention is unprecedented. At first glance, Maru seems to have it all.

But looking deeper past the veneer of her 'perfect life', we see a different side of Maru. She is fearful and riddled with anxiety, but hides it extremely well.

Her Enneagram 6 desire is to be secure, but her 7 wing makes this hard to notice at first glance. She doesn't want to let anyone down or disappoint her family. Gifted children have a lot of pressure and expectations placed on them from a young age, leading others to rely on them for support - often more than reasonable.

"Maru's a good kid. She's my special little girl…I wouldn't want anything getting in the way of her bright future, know what I mean?Just some food for thought… *chuckle*."

Maru fears her absence will burden others who depend on her so much [science experiments, woodcutting, clinic work, etc.] that if she pursues her own interests, she will be left alone and vulnerable without support. This fear gets to the point where she is afraid to vocalize her own dreams for the future.

"It's okay, Maru. Let MarILDA go free. Your mother and I can take care of ourselves. I know you're ready to start a life of your own, and I've come to terms with the thought of not having you around anymore."

However, through the unconditional support and encouragement of the farmer, she begins to take greater risks and stand up for herself, being more honest and straightforward with her parents.

"Farmer, I'm sorry I mistrusted you. You're a good guy. I've never seen Maru so lively and creative… and I've never been more proud of her. If you've had a hand in that, then you have my gratitude."

Gaining the support she needs in her marriage, Maru starts to be less anxious and more relaxed, beginning her path of Integration by taking on the positive traits of a 9w1: "Can we have spaghetti in bed tonight?",

"My day wasn't all that exciting… I stayed inside because of the weather. It was relaxing, though. I kicked back with the latest 'Schematics Weekly'."

"With a little planning, we could automate most of the farm work and just relax!"

"Taking a break? That's good!"

Do you agree that Maru is an ENTP 6w7? If not, what type do you think she is? Let me know your thoughts in the comments :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------- References:

Personality Hunt: ENTP 6w7 - The Complete Guide

[samueldays]

The widespread human barrenness of otherwise-prosperous countries is one of the weirdest things about this age to me.

Via Gapminder - the color coding is Europe yellow, Asia+Oceania pink, Africa blue, Americas green. Caveats about data sources, blah blah, I note that the correlation holds even if you take out the African data points.

Between 32k and 64k there's two pink dots which superficially look like cause for optimism, and I want to note what outlier countries they both are:

The sheer amount of non-policy circumstances surrounding both these countries makes it unlikely that one can draw policy lessons from either one.

Part of what makes this whole phenomenon so weird to me is the degree to which it resists explanation by common approaches.

Hypothetical Leftist: "GDP per capita is a shit measure, the rich are hoarding all the money and everyone else is too poor to afford raising children, we should redistribute more and have more parental leave!"

But this is wrong, because the poorest half of Americans are having more babies than the richest half, while Norway has four times the parental leave of America but a lower TFR.

Hypothetical Rightist: "The West is undergoing moral decay, women are slutting it up on OnlyFans and men are watching porn instead of getting married, muh based [insert reactionary country here]!"

But that is also wrong, because based reactionary country such as Russia has a TFR of only 1.51, and that wealthy pink dot with the lowest fertility in the whole chart is not exactly West, it's South Korea at TFR 0.87 -- and falling. With caveats about different ways of estimating TFR, other reports have SK dropping another 0.06 from 2022 to 2023 AD.

It isn't physiological, the rich countries have great medical treatments for that. It isn't personal, there have always been lots of individuals who didn't reproduce. It isn't economic, child subsidies and tax breaks and various monetary incentives have been tried with minimal effect.

This feels to me like a poorly-explained and under-appreciated mystery. It's apparently something social and/or structural. Nobody seems to have a good idea of how to stop it or why it happens.

The fact that it happens is undisputed, The Demographic Transition is well known, but that's just a label and the attempts at explaining its causes seem oddly lacking. I can look up a specialist paper studying the Causes and Consequences of the demographic transition and it's one line of causes ("decreasing mortality") and four pages of consequences, I look up a common public explanation and Wikipedia suggests everything but the kitchen sink:

 birth rates fall due to various fertility factors such as access to contraception, increases in wages, urbanization, a reduction in subsistence agriculture, an increase in the status and education of women, a reduction in the value of children's work, an increase in parental investment in the education of children and other social changes.

This does not sound like an explanation of causes to me, it sounds like speculatively listing stuff that happened at the time.

And as with the hypothetical partisans above, there's a mostly-counterexample: Japan.

I'd ignore the pre-1860 data because it looks to be two estimates and a connective line. Still, Japan had "various fertility factors such as access to contraception, increases in wages, urbanization", etc. in 1900, and fertility stayed high, until after losing WW2 when TFR collapsed in short order.

Short, not immediate, because 1947 has higher TFR than 1946. One might suspect that the new American-written Constitution of Japan coming into effect in 1947 had something to do with it.

Perhaps I should spell out the assumption that the fertility crisis is a problem.

It is a threat of cultures and nations ceasing to exist if they can't reproduce, it is a threat of economies collapsing for lack of specialist labor and specialist products, it is a threat of pensions being unfunded and old people starving and freezing to death because their retirement plan was based on certain assumptions about the population pyramid. "I can move to another country" isn't reliable in the long term if the other country either has the same problem and will cease to exist as such or if the other country isn't accepting of you and your mindset, "We'll import immigrants" is both politically contentious and of dubious effectiveness because if the migrants do assimilate then they'll also have low fertility and if they don't assimilate then you lose your culture anyway, the place you live is now a colony.

For South Korea in particular, the bleeding edge of the fertility crisis, at this rate the Korean peninsula will be reunited by means of "North Korea walks over unmanned border" - if South Korea manages to level off TFR at 0.87 and not fall any further (already falling, see above), its population will drop by 80% by the end of the century.

If you're reading this on Tumblr, imagine 80% of the media you like not existing, because the people who would have made it were never born. You get two of your top 10 shows (not the best two), and then delete 80% of the good fanfiction about those as well. The rest is slush pile and reruns.

With tongue firmly in cheek: Maybe our future is bimbos - people who really love sex (specifically PIV sex) and are too dumb to use contraception and have too little self-control to keep their legs closed, because that's what evolution will select for.

The problem will, in a sense, eventually resolve itself. The future belongs to those who show up, bimbos or someone else, whoever manages to keep a high birthrate and a high food supply. But it's hard to say who that will be, or what complications there will be on the way towards a blind evolutionary resolution.

Technophiles like to imagine exowombs or cloning will soon be good enough for mass production and replace "birthrate" with humans-production-rate, but I don't see that happening any time soon because progress is slow (Dolly was 30 years ago and still hasn't gotten widespread adoption even for sheep), and I don't see that happening any time later either because the technophiles are most subject to South Koreafication and there will be none of them left to run the cloning tanks.

Across from them we have various Africanists who like to point to countries like Nigeria with its TFR of 5, but that's going to run into food supply problems because Nigeria already imports a hundred million dollars' worth of food from the US every year, and another hundred million dollars' worth of food from Germany, and over a billion dollars in all. In addition to growing the food there's the difficulty of running international logistics from Germany (TFR 1.58) which in the long run might not have the people to operate all that. High-tech mechanized agriculture concentrates the stress on the smartest and best-educated section of the population to make and fix the machines, and that's the section with the lowest fertility!

Things are weird and they're going to get weirder.

[niriaveil]

I just finished rannoch and all the geth quests and I'm trying to create a graph in my mind of hayley's stress levels because I have Thessia next and the shepard/joker argument is coming up and I'm trying to visualize the steady graph of stress that was engineered since joker calls back to shepard's stress levels on akuze.

more than likely, edi has the statistics of shepard and simulated the scenario of akuze to test where shepard's stress levels would be at according to all the data edi has on hand. which makes perfect sense why akuze would be a lot lower than say, the suicide mission or the entire fate of the galaxy on hayley's shoulders since she was sent to stop saren.

it really puts into mind how long people have spent worrying about since even in the me1 intro you had anderson, hackett, and udina questioning shepard's capabilities to be a spectre. which says a lot. shepard was already an n7 operative which already demands a specific mindset in order to compensate for the missions and choices you have to make, but it wouldn't surprise me if shepard had a shadow team of health professionals analyzing the data and statistics of her armor to wonder how qualified she is to be out in the field

which makes anderson's recording in the citadel dlc more heartbreaking already because, "a lot of people back home lose sleep over shepard" or similar (I can't remember it off the top of my head and I haven't played the dlc in a long time + haven't started it yet) which like. yeah. you've turned your prodigy / child figure into a real life atlas not because you wanted to, but because circumstances forced you to and now you are left to watch the crumble piece by piece under the pressure you placed on them. you want to make it easier because you want to stomach it. you don't want them to suffer but they're the only ones who can save the galaxy.

[gulducock]

conflicted anon again. could you list some wesley propaganda for me

im sorry to disappoint but im not a real wesley number 1 fan i just like him a normal amount so i dont know how i would sell him as a character. theres onky 1 person on this site who could do that to the fullest extent . but my answer on why you should vote wesley in regards to he poll is that i made it so wesley would win because theres a poll of this exact same match up goig around right now and wesley is straight up losing and i thought that was fail so i wanted to make a joke remake of the post so wesley would win becausei expected my followers to follow through but CLEARLY WE HAVE SOME FAILERS HERE.... but also my genuine answer is that wesley is such a good character thag people dont even try to consider. hes such a kind and sweet and real character who is also so fucked up and they do such real topics like grief and trauma and complex shit with him that is so well executed. and he gets such the short end of the fucking stick in everything because all the fans fucking hate him for being annoying when he was just a child ahd theres the shut up wesley jokes and everything when he such a deeply traumatized depressed individual that you hav to watch rot from his childhood and every other adult in his life just lets it happen. he lived to see his father die way too young and then witnessed death of his friends everyday and it cant even be conveyed the weight of horror of him being peer pressured to join starfleet by every friend in his life who was so much older than him and also were superiors to him because he did not have 1 single friend his age or anyone to talk to at his level and he was forced into the career path that got his own father killed. and then he leaves everyone and everything behind because it didnt matter and he left with the traveler or whatever but like look at this shit. look at wesley. what does he deserve. to be beat by a cat? datas cat? because people like oh cute funny animal and data? and dont think about wesley for more than 2 seconds? does he deserve this? no. he deserves to win. he deserves anything. go wesley

[ophiespeaks]

Illiteracy in higher education.

i usually don’t post about my personal life on here but i had an interaction so confusing that i wanted to share it into void. if i talk to any of my friends about it it’s too personal and i feel like i’m making fun of this person specifically so internet anonymity is the better option.

So, I essentially work as a writing tutor at my university. People come in and have me look over their academic work and I point to sentences or paragraphs and tell them what I think needs improved or explain to them why a concept works and that sort of thing. I had someone come to me applying for grad school (Yippieee!!) and they asked about a specific type of paper/assignment that can be included in a grad school application that I’ve personally never worked with before. Instead of being like “sorry dog i’ve never applied to grad school” and calling it a day, I decided we would collaboratively look for sources with the information they needed. They watched me almost confused as I scrolled down the first few results and clicked on a website from something like the university of Illinois. they then asked me why i scrolled. almost absentmindedly, i kind of just gave a brief explanation while looking for an example paper, something like “oh, it’s an edu.” They were confused. So, i ramble-explained that .edu, .org, and .gov are all semi-reliable sources when compared to a .com. with further prompting i explained some of the nuances. for example, a .com is commercial, it can be owned by anyone who wants to or in some cases pays for the website to stay up/keep the url. meanwhile i explained edu is educational-sites only, like college homepages, .org is an official organization that has to have some level of verification and documentation that they’re a real company, and .gov is an offfical government site. this person then asked me what does the difference mean in terms of including them in things like essays and research. essentially, I just explained that while .coms are often correct based off of a lose honor system (people wouldn’t visit their site if they were wrong about stuff), they’re almost always secondhand information just conglomerated into one site. (think of wikipedia, for example.) Versus anything published on a .org is probably organization findings, or on a .edu it’s probably professor/instructor research and grad school datasets conducted at the university, a .gov is officially released government information which includes a wide variety of things. but, at its core, the three others are more likely to provide primary sources, finding the original study, data, quote, etc.

i didn’t think too much about it at the time but I’m actually going crazy over it now. I thought that I was incredibly tech illiterate. but— applying for graduate school and not knowing the real difference on why you’d use a .edu over a .com was insane to me. after further thought into this subject I honestly don’t even blame this individual. i genuinely think education, both public and university, are FAILING to teach people not only basic english skills, but basic online navigation.

this person was only 3-6 years older than me. university professors ask you to use APA formatted citations with academic sources and don’t even bother to read your citation list, calling it good enough if it looks correct when they skim over it. not to mention the citation list was almost absolutely generated on perdue owl’s APA 7 generator site. this lack of attention and honestly care of these instructors to teach, combined with the idea of “no child left behind” being implemented is currently allowing adults, some applying for GRADUATE school, to miss crucial aspects of academic writing. what’s worse is this person is studying language. i really don’t blame them— you don’t know what you’re never taught. i’m more upset that the institution had this person go through four years for their bachelor’s degree and somehow never taught them why you should try and use other urls/websites than a .com for an academic source. of course, there are exceptions to this rule, obviously. and, again, .com sites can absolutely be correct. but the fact that i had to explain this to someone applying for graduate school makes me not think that this PERSON is ignorant, but that the education system has failed to teach them the proper channels and methodology for what they’re doing.

this lends to a much bigger issue that I’m seeing in my workplace. that is, English-native speakers not being able to write…anything. illiteracy is no joke. and i work with people with learning disabilities and such pretty frequently— that’s not what I’m talking about. in fact, those writers are often more receptive to feedback and are actually easier to work with than someone who just wants me to “proofread” their essays. I’m not talking about writers with learning disabilities. however, I’ve seen honors-colloquium english students come in with some of the most unreadable garbage i’ve ever seen. and i don’t mean that to be an asshole. i mean, literally, i don’t even know what they’re writing about for half a page because i can’t understand their sentences. common mistakes i see, listed in no particular order:

1. Typing something out how it sounds. A correct sentence would be “David and I walked down town, looking for our lost dog.” I’ve seen a similar sentence that actually said “David an I walked downtown, looking four hour lost dog.”

2. Missing Punctuation. I mean genuinely no punctuation, anywhere. the entire essay is a run-on sentence. (I tutor only at the college level, for reference.) This also includes contractions not having the necessary apostrophe. I’ve seen “im,” “weve” “hasnt” more times than i want to admit.

3. Sentence structure. As in, no one knows how to write one. I get sentence fragments all the time. “Jumped on the bed and sat down.” While you can start on a verb, it most commonly has to be in gerund form (-ing words, in this case, Jumping.) Also, this sentence has no real subject, making it just feel wrong inserted into a larger paragraph. Who’s jumping? Your guess is as good as mine.

4. Right word, wrong type. “Your” versus “You’re.” “There” “Their” “They’re.” This sort of thing. Apostrophe “re” (‘re) signifies “are,” as in “You are” or “They are.” For the other two: There is where we go, I’m headed over there. Their has an “I,” so we’re talking about people, as in, The car is theirs. Another one much more uncommon that personally upsets me when I do see it is “Through,” “Threw,” and “Thru.” We’re going through the tunnel, and she threw the bottle behind her. Threw is a verb, an action word, whereas through is a preposition, adverb, and/or an adjective. “Going through” is an adverb, for example. Thru is a drive thru. You’re picking up a McChicken and a coke.

5. Misunderstanding nuance. This is almost exclusively seen in essays for english courses where they’re reading a book, sometimes something like a play or they watched a movie, but usually it’s a book. This is less “technically” wrong and more…media illiteracy than anything else. For example, I had someone write an essay on why they thought it was stupid that Gatsby was narrated by Nick Carroway. I wanted to hold their hand while I explained why, in fact, it was a purposeful and deliberate choice from Fitzgerald to make Gatsby the focal point but NOT the narrator. That it wasn’t an oversight because the author was stupid. I love literature analysis. But there’s a difference between having a different interpretation of a piece versus just fundamentally misunderstanding it. One of my favorite topics I’ve ever written about is the queer-coded nature of Carroway and Gatsby and symbolism in the novel, which might not be the author’s intent and most likely isn’t the same read that EVERY individual reading Gatsby had. There’s a difference between adding interpretation versus straight up just…not understanding a big part of it.

There’s absolutely more examples but to avoid redundancy (another huge issue in essays I read, but I digress), my point is that schools have failed us. Covid, no child left behind, etc. have ensured that everyone passes so long as they turn their work in. Not just that- completing an assignment is a 100% A+ in most cases. A professor is questioned and hated for giving a bad grade to a bad essay because the student has been Pavlov’d into thinking that turning in essay = A. they aren’t getting better because there’s no upper grade for them. if they can get a perfect grade turning in word vomit, why would they ever give a shit? why would they ever try to get better? but then, they encounter the one professor who doesn’t give easy grades. who wants their work to excel, who wants them to produce something of substance. and not only do they suffer greatly because of educational mishandling outside of their control, but then they blame the PROFESSOR, who only wants better for them. it’s a cycle that keeps everyone hating each other instead of hating the real villain of all of this. The American Education system.

I’m gonna get off of my soapbox because I could genuinely be here all day. Also, if I made any grammar or punctuation errors here and you think pointing it out is some epic “OWNING,” i assure you it is not. because the difference is that this is an unedited tumblr text post that is still written better than 75% of the essays that come across my desk.

[alovelyburn]

I’m quite happy to see no one tried to kill me over that post about comparing Japanese and American uses of the Griffith character type. Not that I thought it was offensive, but I’m always a little wary of generalizations and assumptions based on personal experience and anecdotes rather than more objective/generalized data.

But I can’t help it. I think about how cultural differences influence the creation and perception of media a lot....

it’s just an interesting topic. And I am, myself, a child of multiple cultures as my mother is a japanese immigrant, my father was southern-born African-American and I was raised in a working class PoC-majority neighborhood but went to school at upper middle class white-majority schools for most of my childhood.

So I have this child-of-an-immigrant thing going on that I’m sure some of you understand very well  - this thing where you’re raised half in one culture and half in another. It’s a little more complicated/involved than that, but I’m not trying to bang on about myself so I guess I’m saying, I’m hyper aware of these rifts between the different cultures that I grew up a part of, not just the Japanese vs. American thing, but class divides and American racial divides...

Culture is one of those invisible things that colors everything you see and how you interpret it and even if you’re aware of that, it’s not always easy to pick apart your culturally-embedded viewpoints from objective reality. This includes a lot of moral issues and perspectives on social issues, but also like just basic... understandings of reality and self-definition.

So, going back to media, in fairness it’s not all culture - I do think fans in general can be prone to perceiving things they want to happen as happening even when they aren’t... especially when they’ve invested a lot of their online identity and their enjoyment of a series on that thing happening or being true. And of course people are infamously reluctant to change their beliefs when confronted with facts and logic that disprove their opinions. But I think these cultural schisms do tend to make it worse since the work is much more likely to be trying to say something that isn’t even on a given reader’s radar since that’s not something they’ve been media-trained to see or expect.

This is also involved in, for example, how so many manga or anime stories feel like they’re losing track of their pacing to western viewers/readers (google kishotenketsu sometime if you don’t know), as well as things like why the endings of stories sometimes feel anticlimactic or unsatisfying to a western viewer or reader. Both because Japanese stories have different ... themes/types of themes/lean on different tropes than say American stories, and because the same (or similar) types of characters or relationships play different roles in Japanese fiction than they do in American fiction, e.g. the Griffith thing.

One of the things I do a lot when I’m trying to understand where these schisms come from and how they play out is I’ll take a character and engage in the thought experiment implicit in the previous post - I ask myself, well, if I were watching an american fantasy movie or whatever and this character showed up or this situation arose, what would I expect to happen? And if the character did what they did in this manga, what would I expect the result of that to be? And that is very interesting and revealing - I recommend trying it sometime if you haven’t.

Anyway I personally try to interpret media more through the lens of the culture from which it arises - to the degree I can, like obviously there are cultures I know nothing about and can’t manage that with.

It’s also one of the reasons I think so much about authorial intent - there’s a lot of reasons really especially in ongoing work, but one of them is because I feel the need to try and take my preferences and, well, myself out of the equation as much as possible as a bit of a check against my own biases and assumptions.

[ramicorn]

I just watched sonic prime s2 and i am about to lose it... one because it was so good and two because i spent half the time waiting for shadow. it wasn't shit i just have one character i really like but nine is ok so it wasn't bad there were some chunks i liked first of all with chaos sonic vs sonic is kind of similar sonic vs shadow not exactly but the whole you are pissing me off by being annoying deal is there, honestly i feel bad for nine he just wants a friend but he doesn't like sharing friends which makes sense. what i don't like is the fact in the last episode shadow just keeps getting knocked out of the fight with the doctors while sonic is fine most the time (i hate plot armor so much but at the same time i love it. my reaction to chaos sonic was basically "i fucking hate you shut the fuck up... oh wait you have funny faces... noooo dont die little funny face child.." but he dieded so not much i can do now. i skipped most of s1 (DON'T bully me i have no netflix how do you think i'm downloading all of these on limited data.) so i was a little confused. WHY COULDN'T SHADOW BEAT UP THE EGGY DUDES?! why sega? why? you know what wanna know what's at the bottom of the all consuming void, i'm pretty sure shadow needs that chaos emerald. when nine sees tails ghost it's like if someone said to shadow "you and sonic should be friends" and we already know his answer. i don't understand why yall love rusty rose so much, cause i dont no elaboration i just don't. if you haven't noticed a named the chaos council the eggy dudes and don't question its their name now. anyway my opinion on sonic prime over all is basically a combination of "i hate this so fucking much" and "i love this so fucking much.