#Dissertation definition

[st0rmyskies]

What Your Favorite Link Says About You

A.k.a. The Links as tarot cards/your rising sign/your blood type.

Time

You're likely an older Zelda fan. Ibuprofen has become a food group for you. Anyone who thinks OoT isn't the greatest Zelda game has you clutching your pearls and tutting. Kids these days don't know how good they have it.

You are a person to whom young people come for advice, either in your career or in life in general. You're happy to give it, especially because you love to help, but on the inside you're silently screaming, What?? Why me???

You may have trouble sleeping through the night. Even if it's not every night, there are some where you just can't turn your brain off and worries or worst-case scenarios just keep playing and replaying ad nauseaum.

You enjoy time in solitude to appreciate the beauty of nature. I bet you know how to braid a mean daisy crown.

“The flow of time is always cruel...” - Some event in your life took your innocence from you, perhaps much too early. You grew up quickly because of it.

Legend

Either you had a crush on the emo kid in high school or you were the emo kid in high school.

You might be jaded by the world, but you still have a solid work ethic and a soft heart despite it all. Even if you hide it all beneath a healthy layer of sass.

You possess a multitude of skills, not all of which are related. Anytime a friend needs a piece of clothing mended or a picture frame hung on the wall or a leak in a faucet addressed, you have the tools and the willingness to help.

Either you have a history of moving frequently when you were young, or you have a restless spirit. You may never quite feel 'at home' in any given place.

"But, verily, it be the nature of dreams to end." - You’ve suffered a meaningful loss in your life and you have a hard time opening up again because of it. 

Hyrule

You root for the underdog, or perhaps you are the underdog. Any of those "against all odds" stories just hit you square in the chest.

Somewhat quiet by nature, you do vital work behind the scenes but you aren't the type to seek out a leadership position. Leave the limelight to somebody else, please.

You might sell yourself short when it comes to your skills and abilities, but you should believe in yourself, man! You can do it!!

You have a capricious streak in you that rears its head now and again. That smile can look sharp and devilish in the right light.

"It's dangerous to go alone!" - You either already have or are destined to find 'that one person' with whom you can open up and truly be yourself. 

Twilight

I'm willing to put money on the fact that Twilight Princess was your first Zelda game.

You have a strong sense of justice and get really bent out of shape when you encounter unfairness or flaw in the system, whatever that may be. You might be considered an outsider in some way because of this.

You're the friend who scoops spiders up in a cup and sets them outside. Live and let live.

You were the 'wolf kid' in middle school. Come on, those amazing tie dye shirts? Wolf Woman? Julie of the Wolves?? Even if you kept it inside, it was there in some way.

"Your current power would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear." - You put a lot of stock in the opinions of others and hold yourself to a higher standard because of it. Sometimes that standard isn't achievable, though, so try to be kind to yourself. 

Sky

You, my friend, have a soft heart. You're generally a happy-go-lucky sort of person. You're likely to make excuses for those who've been mean to you in the past and come out as friends on the other side.

You're crafty, or at the very least good with your hands. You're the type to give someone a handmade gift rather than go buy something for them for their birthday, a holiday, etc.

You have a strong affinity for your friends. If anything bad were to happen to them, you'd turn violent at the drop of a hat.

You may have some level of chronic illness that affects you. Although you might do things in a different way or at your own pace, though, you still come out on top.

"You fight like no man or demon I have ever known." - You have the capability for great things. World-changing sorts of things. Don't give up!

Wild

You're some flavor of neurodivergent, if I had to guess I'd say ADHD. You have 42 tabs open in your brain at any given time and you have no idea which one the music is coming from.

You're an incredibly creative person, although you might have trouble finishing tasks/works-in-progress. Doesn't mean you didn't learn something along the way!

Rigid guidelines or deadlines stress you out. You'd rather be given a goal and decide for yourself when and how to get there. When you do have a deadline, you're a bit of a procrastinator.

Sometimes you don’t get the 'right' way to do things, but you carve your own path--although sometimes it's unorthodox--and get there in your own time.

"Courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten." - In spite of how your life changes you, for better or for worse, you have a driving inspiration or ethic or vocation that moves you forward at all costs.

Warriors

Those who don't know you well tend to boil you down to one or two trite traits. In reality, you contain multitudes. Most people couldn't handle all of you, not that they deserve to know even part of you.

You tend to lay it on thick--be that your charm, attitude, or whatever else your social shield might be--because you're hiding some deeper secret or insecurity at your core.

You're the mom friend or the planner in your group, or perhaps you're the oldest child. You’ll pass on an authority role if and when you can, but likely you’re still involved in some supervisory capacity in a given situation. 

You kill spiders with fire. Show NO mercy.

"You dare raise the blade of evil's bane to me? So be it. Hyrule's blood will be on your hands." - You have strong convictions and you aren't afraid to take risks, major risks, to do what you know to be right.

Four

Babe, if you ain't short, you've got short person energy. You scare me a little bit tbh.

You were praised for not being a problem child growing up, or for being very responsible at a young age.

You have a vivid imagination! You may have had an imaginary friend as a child or lived in your own little world altogether. I bet your notebook pages were strewn with little doodles in school.

You're a lover of information. If you could choose between an afternoon at the library or a movie matinee, it would be the former.

"Hanging around with you fools is dangerous for my health." - You're the snark friend, aren't you.  

Wind

You are extroverted to a fault. You need the company of others to recharge that social battery. The quintessential golden retriever friend.

You had active involvement in the music and theatre department. I'd be surprised if you weren't in at least one show in high school.

Having adventures is where it's at! You're a big fan of travel, either cross-country road trips or international flights. You could happily live out of a suitcase.

You tend to make friends easily wherever you go. If everyone in this classroom/workplace/bar doesn't know your name already, they will pretty quick.

"I have been waiting for you, boy... Do not betray my expectations.” - Against all odds, you've proven yourself to be worthy of great things. Screw what fate has in store! You're the type to take your own destiny by the 'nads.

[padthaifan]

Thinking about Jotaro as a PhD candidate… what classes did he TA? What did his students think of him? How many students did he mentor in lab… did he hate writing? Who was on his committee? Much to imagine…

[elumish]

Working on my dissertation reminds me that I spend such an inordinate amount of time thinking about the cultural memorialization of 9/11.

[nostromo13]

I wish they hadn't killed Ian Doyle off. I wish they put him through trial, instead.

He had this whole illegal empire that we barely see in action. We so rarely get to see 'Valhalla'. Credit due - they do a good enough job at building up this big, powerful man through his stalking Emily. He acts initially as this invisible force taking out her friends one by one, so he feels unstoppable, so we only ever know a Doyle that's about revenge. And I think that makes him scarier. But s7 ep1, especially the interview room scene where he sees Emily as she is on the job (an intimate side to her he's never seen before and he's so curious), he goes from this big presence to just another perp in a wee FBI interrogation room. I wanted more of his curiosity, maybe. More of 'so this is the woman I wanted to marry' energy. Instead, the threat he poses is just gone in this scene. It would have so nicely paired the introduction to the grotesque man we meet in this scene who took away a woman's right to choose and what's more strapped her down for 9, sorry, 7 months.

With the limited background we get to see versus all we learn by being told, it makes it feel quick and easy everything Ian ever did. So when his death comes equally quick and easy on the airstrip, it's just like, "Oh, okay. Time for the next scene."

There's no grieving of the secret that she's kept for so long. I know it's a pretty well-known thing that Emily's trauma from Doyle isn't really acknowledged. Lauren gets swept under the rug. She was a gun runner, sure, a woman who probably did illegal stuff that would be unbecoming of the woman behind the mask, but Lauren deserved her moment and not just the little blip of a scene she gets in s6 ep18 and a blacked out file in a BAU drawyer.

If court had happened, we could have had Ian's past unpeeled more slowly. It could have made his presence in Emily's life more solid instead of season 6 Emily in a wig (a great look) and more feeling of the 31 year old Emily who actually handled Ian Doyle.

We could have gotten to know Lauren way more.

Maybe it would have crumbled the mysterious side to Emily, seeing her relive it all and willingly expose herself in court, but in practice I think we could have seen a reconciliation between Lauren and Emily and that that would have been even more powerful than the woman who herself tries to brush her alter ego away with 'Lauren Reynolds is dead'. I think Lauren was such a delicious and underutilised character. It would have allowed the viewing of an Emily from a time before she knew a family and a soft experience like the BAU. Doyle era Emily was so young yet outwardly appeared so steady. A young woman whose background is entirely an ambasador mum and dad, their world of political tactics, and the tenuous trust of her team with Sean, Clyde, Tsia & Jeremy. The woman who - as far as we are presented- has only known their world, and despite all of it is still such a well-rounded, good-hearted individual.

However, i can't say all of this without acknowledging what we do get. I know part of the beauty of Emily Prentiss' character (and Padget Brewster's acting) is how she tries so hard to stuff it down. We see so little on the surface, and the effect comes from the fact that we know there is so much more going on below the surface. The little shaken-ness we do see from her is just the tip of the iceberg, and you see in that how deeply she must feel it. The more Emily Prentiss holds back, the more you can count on that she is hurting.

Emily deserved a moment to break down after Doyle. She deserved to scream and cry and get held as she does so by Dad-vid Rossi or literally any or all of the team. (I single out David not just because he is team parent, but also because he thought he knew one of her biggest vulnerabilities through Demonology, so I can only imagine how much his heart broke when he realised she was carrying even more.)

This is a long post so the tldr of this is I would have loved a court case where Lauren Reynolds comes out to play, and she gets her moment through Emily on the stand. Though we get a great picture of it already, it only scratched the surface potential.

[starryjkoo]

It’s really funny when people are like - but JK hung out with x person 10 times this year! - and it’s like, okay, and then he chose to spend the next 18 months, 547~ days with Jimin? 😭 You might really want to rethink that argument friend. JK had other options, other people he could have gone with, other programs he could have tried for, a later date he could have enlisted on, and yet he chose JM, and vice versa. They didn’t even have to enlist with anyone, they could have gone individually like everyone else in the group. No one was expecting them to enlist together. And this is also probably the furthest thing there is from company content or fanservice considering we’re not even going to be seeing them for the next 18 months and I doubt they’ll even talk about their time in the military. It’s just so silly. “JK and JM were never together this year!” buddy, they’re literally together RIGHT NOW 😭

[kirkwallguy]

I'd hate to sound pretentious or smth but I was watching a vid talking about media literacy when it comes to booktok and this idea with those girlies that thinking/engaging with something critically isn't fun and the only way to have fun is to turn off your brain... I don't think VG suffers from this as much as a lot of booktok shite but in comparison to the other games it rly does feel like you're not meant to be paying attention or thinking about your actions (cough not like you get to chose any of your actions COUGH), or the implications of anything? and I'm not trying to say VG fans are stupid or smth cause I think many Want something to think about, but I feel like I've seen a lot of people have to reach very far or just straight up make shit up to engage with the game? (Other games aren't perfect but I was immersed with the games enough to stop and think about how my choice will affect xyz, that didn't happen in VG) There's nothing to chew on in VG basically 😭

it's only pretentious if you don't mean it! but yeah i think there are a lot of parallels to be drawn here - i don't know how to say this without sounding like an annoying gamer bro, but now that gaming is more accessible, it feels like aaa companies do their best to cater to the widest possible demographic. market research probably shows that the majority of people don't want to be challenged or experience negative emotions, ask someone who plays games very casually whether they'd want to experience horrible consequences for picking evil actions in a game they'd probably say "um?? no? why would i want that?" but ask someone who plays a lot of rpgs and they'll probably at least understand the importance of those choices, even if they don't pick them personally. i don't think gaming is an old enough industry to have fully pinned down market research in the same way tv has - when you look at viewing figures, the most watched shows are soap operas and family sitcoms. that doesn't mean prestige tv doesn't have its place, it just means that the majority of people don't watch tv to experience the feelings shows like interview with the vampire want you to feel lol

dav doesn't actually ask any questions of the player. you're told what's wrong and what's right and not really asked to make any moral judgements. the bad guys that you kill are barely human so you don't feel bad about cutting them down (the antaam are dehumanised while the venatori are cartoon characters), the companion quests all end nicely no matter what choice you pick, the big act 1 choice is the closest you get to a negative consequence and it still feels very safe because you don't ever feel like you've done something wrong.

and yeah, it does feel like people writing analysis of vg are TRYING to chew on it, but so much of the enjoyment seems to be about coming up with your own fanon to play in a sandbox. which is fine. that's how i enjoy dai tbf. but it's sad to see after dao and da2, especially knowing how many other games there are that let you do this. SKYRIM is more complex than dav, and that's the game i always mention when talking about power fantasy sandboxes

the booktok stuff is kind of nuanced ofc, turn-your-brain-off rubbish has been available since the beginning of time and i feel like the real reason it's becoming more popular is self-publishing and people being more open about reading it on social media. i've written shitty 19th century porn and it was no better than whatever the mafia boss 50 shades ripoff writers are doing now. buuut also i think the way it spills out into other genres, and this increasing idea that fantasy/sci-fi should be about "escapism", is really fucking over people trying to get published while writing something complicated.

[dartalias]

Hey so randon question

Why do y'all think Yun didnt kissed Kyoshi in the fire Lilies scene?? Or make any real move about his crush on her?

Because in Kyoshi pov she say that both had their dutys and she as a maid and the he as the avatar it wouldn't end well to nether of them and bla bla bla

But i dont buy that this is Yun's reason why

Like this dude make a way for her to go to the south pole, in a conference with a bunch of pirates just because he wanted her there

I dont think its necessarily a big secret thing, but its so strange to his character and im just curious

(Not a ship post btw im just wondering)

[spellmage]

buying pc parts....... goodbye money

[feb25]

I had a sleepless night and not only am I completely unable to focus on anything for longer than 5 seconds, I also purchased a labubu

[caffeinatedopossum]

The only problem with me being happy is that it makes me want to talk waaaay more

[hippo-pot]

Oklahoma! (1955) is a WILD watch. some lovely ballet though

[edennill-archived]

To be quite honest I strongly doubt the Eldar would have any distinction between philosophy and theology.

[ghostieblotts]

a little bit cringe but unironically "somebody's gotta do it" makes me feel better about doing things that r cliche or predictable. thank u sergio thank u deadliest man alive

Oh this is so very real of you and I also use it for this purpose! Brilliant song with practical applications far beyond that which TalkFine might have initially envisioned

[anghraine]

aseabell replied to this post:

Congratulations!

triviareads said:

congratulations!

dreamingdespot said:

congrats!!! Dr. Anghraine!!!

steinbecks said:

CONGRATULATIONS DOCTOR ANGHRAINE!!!!!!!

intellectual-carrot said:

Congratulations!

lesbiansforboromir said:

Oh massive congratulations!!

haurasha said:

Congratulations! 🎉

riddlemaster101 said:

congrats!!!!!!

theoppositeofprofound said:

Congrats!

taciturn-nerd said:

Congratulations!!!

ahhh I did want to thank you all who responded re: passing the diss defense after my last acknowledgment! Thank you so much, especially those who've been with me through so much of this ordeal <3

scattyuk said:

Woohoo! Congrats! It's been lovely to follow it in author comments since the Masters days. 🎊🎉

Thank you!! You were in Borgias fandom, I think?? It's wild because I had every intention of studying 18th- and 19th-century lit, but used a paper on depictions of the Borgias to get into my PhD program in the first place, and was so interested by the period that I ended up focusing on 16th- and 17th-century literature instead of most of the 19th (the absolute latest I ended up going was about 1820 and most was far, far earlier). Neil Jordan & Co probably merited a place in the acknowledgments, lol.

[dionysus-complex]

not sure if my schedule is too front-loaded this quarter or if I’m just trying to do too many things (or both) but every week lately by the time it hits Wednesday night I’m exhausted

[isabelpsaroslunnen]

My Spotify Wrapped always has a bunch of Queen (because they're my favorite band) and Audiomachine/Two Steps From Hell/etc (because they're perfect for writing to), but this year has definitely been heavy on "classic rock, especially Queen" and "epic core writing music":

Uptown Girl - Billy Joel | not on last year's list

Who Wants To Live Forever - Queen | +8

Nevertheless, She Persisted - Audiomachine | no change

Radio Ga Ga - Queen | +10

Lost Empire - Audiomachine | +20

Barcelona - Montserrat Caballé & Freddie Mercury | -2

Pompeii MMXXIII - Hans Zimmer & Bastille | not on last year's list

'39 - Queen | not on last year's list

Don't Stop - Fleetwood Mac | +7

Love - Lana Del Rey | -8

Journey Through the Portal - Audiomachine | +28

Under Pressure - Queen & David Bowie | +46

Ensueño - Montserrat Caballé & Freddie Mercury | +13

Do Ya - Electric Light Orchestra | not on last year's list

Dauntless - Audiomachine | +16

Princes of the Universe - Queen | not on last year's list

You Give Love a Bad Name - Bon Jovi | not on last year's list

Frostpunk Theme - Piotr Musiał | not on last year's list

Can't Go Back - Audiomachine | +2

The Show Must Go On - Queen | +20

I am what I am—though this year's choices definitely reflect the fact that 2024 was a year of "pumping myself up to finish the dissertation" and "getting back into writing."