#I am NOT built for the long term travel

[punk-pins]

obviously no need to specify what company u work for or anything but why do u need to travel so often for work! i hope ur getting compensated for this aaaaa

i’m a field merchandiser for a retail company, so I work at my home location day to day, but I travel to help other stores in my district with special projects on an as-needed basis for a few days at a time. other stores can weasel out of sending their field merch on a project on account of their store sucking so bad at the moment they absolutely need that extra body, but in general my store is the best in our district, so I’m almost always on the list lol.

I also travel to help with new store openings in my region, which is usually a hateful month long process. store planners tend to lack souls due to being on the road mon-fri every week of the year; there’s a sort of glazed look in their eyes that gets stronger every project. this makes it easy to commit wage theft on driving days <3 and yes I do get compensated for all travel work, they cover my mileage and hotel on top of of my regular wages, plus a food budget. it’s designed so that I do make a little extra when I travel to incentivize me to not quit on the spot when I start losing it in the hotel on week 3.

[thehigherseekerastro]

Random Astrology Observations (Alternative Meanings Love Edition) 🤨❤️🤔

DISCLAIMER: I am in no way, shape or form a professional astrologer, modern or traditional.

I HAVE been studying astrology for a while now, and analysing charts available to me, as well as my own, and noticed a lot of the info you find online doesn't make sense in real life, because it is too reductive, stereotypical or lacks broader context. So I thought I'd share some of my personal observations to see if it resonates with anyone.

This is NOT the end all, be all. Apply it as it makes sense to you.

PS: I don't know how to edit posts, and this is my first Tumblr post, so it's not gonna look pretty.

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The 10th House 🕰️

The 10H gets reduced to "career and work", but it goes much further than that. The 10th house represents your highest honors, which, in a capitalist modern world, will often be directly linked to your career success, but it's not the success that's built around the career. It's the other way around. It talks about the career that leads you to success. The main point is NOT working itself, but success. 10H will also describe your public image, your reputation, your public persona, your long-term goals, your social influence, your social status, your legacy and the image you wanna project.

(e.g.: your biggest legacy could have nothing to do with something that made you money in this life. It could have been starting a non-profit that changed lots of lives. Or you could become prestigious in your social circle for your personality, which presents you with opportunities in life that aren't directly connected to acquiring material things [because the 2H is the house of materials and possessions])

Going off of the first topic – 10H synastry, specially house overlays – does NOT mean workplace romance. In fact, your significant other may not even work or, if they do, may not even work in the same field as you, let alone be co-workers. Like I said, the 10H is much larger than "career", but also, career and work are not exactly the same thing. If they do happen to be involved in your career, it may have nothing to do with your workplace directly, but with your career in a general sense. So, instead of meeting at WORK, being co-workers, and all the reductive things people claim, you could meet them through your CAREER.

(e.g.: You work at an insurance company, but are studying to become a lawyer, and you happen to attend a conference related to the lawyer part of your ambitions, not your actual job, and there you meet your significant other./You work as a waitress, but your dream of becoming a model. So you attend an event to network with people in the modeling industry, and there you meet your significant other, but they just happen to be somebody's friend who got invited to go to the event, even though they themselves are not in the industry at all).

Since the 10H also rules your highest self, your "best case scenario", and your status and legacy, having 10H synastry with someone could simply mean they will change your life significantly, either positively or negatively. They will shift the foundations of how you are perceived and perceive yourself, and may even change your status in life. In that sense, the person who eventually becomes your spouse and the parent of your children could have 10H synastry with you. They will have changed your public status, as well as your legacy. Broaden your perspectives without thinking of keywords.

The 9th House 📖

A lot of astro observations are very Americanized/Euro-centric, and lack perspective and social and cultural context. The 9H is much broader than "foreign things". In fact, it's the most expansive house of all 12, so to reduce that "expansiveness" to foreign travel because it's big and wide is too simplistic, and doesn't take into account people whose realities simply do not include access or contact to foreign cultures and places. It COULD indicate foreign travel and cultures, but it will most likely be "foreign" in the context of abstract things, such as beliefs, philosophy and worldview. The "traveling" of the 9H also does NOT have to be literal, and could very often mean intellectual and moral, such as "traveling" through the acquiring of knowledge, or "traveling" through exploring new spiritual practices and teachings.

(e.g.: The 9H will talk of higher education, but that's not a reality for a large portion of the world. So, instead of thinking in terms of university, think more of "higher education" in terms of evolving studying of concepts and notions. In that regard, life experience is ALSO included in the 9H)

Going off of the previous topic – 9H placements do NOT immediately mean you will marry a foreigner, or somebody from a different race/ethnicity/culture, or even that you will definitely travel abroad and meet somebody there. Not only is the idea of just up and moving to another country like it's nothing wildly unrealistic, it centers itself in the easy access Americans and Europeans have to foreign travel. Most of the world outside of those places will either not have the financial means to make foreign travel that easily, nor will they have political access to it (such as a passport that allows them to travel to other countries with no restrictions). Most people will not ever even leave their country by the time they've reached life milestones like marriage, job and children. Not only that – but the extreme racial divide seen in the United States is a very particular and individual experience, only seen also in major European countries (so very Caucasian-centric). Most people will not be making huge deals about marrying somebody who's from Korea, or Africa, or Brazil, or India, as if they were a totally different type of species.

(So the whole ordeal about "you will marry someone from a different race/culture is bogus. Countries like Brazil have a VERY diverse population, yet, they are very seamlessly integrated, so being of black, white, asian, Arab descent is not relevant, as they will see themselves as "just Brazilians" living the same Brazilian experience over all, regardless of their ethnicity.)

Having 9H love placements (such as Venus, Mars or Jupiter, and Juno) or having 9H synastry with someone very likely will not indicate a foreigner or finding love/starting a relationship abroad. It will 9 times out of 10 indicate somebody who expands your horizons, somebody who makes you question things and seek deeper understanding of the world around you, somebody who challenges your mind and spirit, somebody who will expose you to new and inventive ways of seeing, understanding and interacting with the world. That COULD mean they do that because they come from a different country or cultural background. But it could also mean they just think and act very fundamentally different from YOUR personal culture, and will bring up topics that teach you new ways to approach life. Not to mention that it could just describe accessing different cultures THROUGH them.

(e.g.: You and your spouse may be from the very same country and very same race, but upon getting together, you two end up moving to an area that has a lot of foreigners in it, a large population of foreigners, or through your partner you become acquainted with mutual friends who come from a vastly different cultural background than your own, and that, in turn, expands your worldview as if you yourself had traveled to another country or learned about another culture directly./ Or, to put it in more plain terms, your partner may just be a very freaking smart and knowledgeable person who teaches you things you would only learn in college.)

Still, with that said, the basic repeated meanings you see online COULD also still apply here, for anyone, but specially if you are white and from a country from the Northern hemisphere, as those descriptions apply more to their individual realities.

The 6th House 🧹

The 6H deals with daily, repetitive, routine things, which is why it deals with work, health and caretaking, because those are repetitive, orderly, constant tasks.

(Just like 10H is a "career" house, but it is not necessarily a "money house", the 6H is a "work" house, but not necessarily a money house. The money houses are the 2H (which deals with money you earn yourself), the 8H (which deals with money your manage for or earn from other people's possessions, such as an inheritance or your spouse's money), and – to an extent – the 11H (since it deals with "struck of luck" moments and could indicate coming into unexpected money).

You are more likely to date a co-worker having 6H love placements or 6H synastry than you are with the 10H, because the 10H deals with CAREER, which is not necessarily your workplace itself (could be a side business you're trying to take off), while the 6H deals with WORK itself. Since the 6H deals with daily routines, and a co-worker is someone you see on a daily basis at work.

(Not to be confused with the business-related side of the 7H, which will talk of business partners or having a business with your partner. It's like: the 10H will have your partner RELATED to your career somehow, but maybe not directly. The 6H will have your partner be a co-worker, but not necessarily share your career goals and plans. The 7H MAY describe starting a business with your partner eventually.)

Health is another thing that may or may not be a key factor in your relationship, or even for a long time. You might have 6H synastry and health never becomes a theme of your connection. You might be dating for 5 years and health is never a theme, and then you get married and for most of your marriage health is still not a thing. But then, by the time you two are old, one of you may develop a condition and the other one becomes your caretaker. Or another aspect of the 6H that is not talked about is daily life with your children together. The 6H is not the house of children, but the routine of taking care of a child together night be influenced by the 6H synastry, depending on the sign its happening in.

The 11th House 🫂

The 11H is VERY underrated for romance, because it doesn't manifest as quickly as people think romance and passion should. But it is, in fact, an extremely powerful house for synastry, when combined with other romance-inducing aspects. The 11H deals with, amongst other things, friendship. You'll often find that having 11H overlays/synastry means a platonic relationship or, at the very best, one-sided, but that only happens if there are no other aspects pointing towards romance – HEALTHY romance.

(It's also important to note that 11H synastry is deeper than people think. Just because it's a social house doesn't mean it's a detached house. Houses and signs are not the same thing. Aquarius ruling the 11H and Aquarius being stereotypically described as emotionally detached does not mean 11H synastry is detached. On the contrary, the 11H is very deep because it is the house of hopes, life dreams and aspirations, so it will describe things we idealize in a very pure and hopeful way.)

With 11H synastry, specially moon, Venus, Mars and – sometimes, Sun, if it's a water sign –, there will be a very strong bond of friendship, regardless of other layers to that relationship. And who do we trust more, if not our friends? Those are people we are not related to by blood or law, who do not share our immediate environment, whom we have no obligation to whatsoever, but we choose to give them unopposed access to our private world. So with 11H synastry between lovers, there is a deep foundation of friendship, which means that if it ends badly, it will have a very painful effect on the psyche and heart, because it will feel like losing a lover AND a best friend.

(That means that 11H includes a very important component of TRUST, an aspect that is only talked about with the 4th and 8th houses, but is also present in the 11th. Both for comfortability and feeling of betrayal. Also, that intensity also comes from the fact that with 11H synastry people tend to project their hopes and dreams onto each other. Like thinking they are the best person ever, all-in-one, ticking all the boxes, lover AND friend... So if that breaks at some point, it can make people feel really stupid and embarrassed.)

Like I said, 11H synastry in romance doesn't play out as quickly as people think love should be, so it gets dismissed in the romance department. But the 11H is a Saturn house. It takes time, and it needs structure. It means that friendship will ALWAYS come before romance. Now, does that mean that people will always be friends-to-lovers? No. They might start off as lovers, but they won't reach the potential of their intimacy until there's a well-established foundation of camaraderie and friendship, and once they do, that bond becomes very unbreakable, because they become partners in crime and each other's favorite person. IF IT'S IN A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER ROMANCE ASPECTS.

General Things ✨

ASTROLOGY is NOT MAGIC. It will not cause anything to happen in your life. Don't just rely on placements and aspects. It means absolutely NOTHING if you got 4H synastry with the one you love, but you yourself have problematic 4H/moon aspects in your natal chart that you do nothing to work on (and vice versa). That 4H synastry could turn toxic at the snap of a finger, and no amount of "comfort" is gonna prevent it. If you can't process your emotions well, you could date all the Cancers you want, or you could be a cancer yourself, you WILL NOT engage emotionally in a healthy way. You can't give nor receive something you don't have or don't understand. So, instead, learn about the makeup of your charts, but then use it as a study to improve yourselves, not just to think you will magically live in a Disney movie happily ever after just because his Venus falls in your 4H.

Astrology is not a hurricane. Not all things are happening at the same time all the time at all times, as of they were things flying around in a chaotic hurricane. The energies of your individual natal charts, as well as the energies of your synastry will play out in their own time, and may play out slowly, over time. Like house overlays, for example. One particular aspect of the 2H may play out at the beginning of the relationship, but if you eventually get married, another side of the 2H synastry may be unlocked. Or your husband could have an specific placement for his love life that will not be activated until he gets married, which means that for the entire time you are just dating, those things will not be happening. As with all things in life, astrology follows its natural course, and develops and changes over time.

Astrology does not bless or doom a relationship. It won't tell you whether you can/should or not be with someone. It doesn't MAKE YOU do anything. However, for the relationships that end in catastrophe, you can always go back and check the synastry/composite, and it will probably be obvious there, you just couldn't see it before. With that I don't mean to go out planing your life and connections around astrology, because that's very impractical, unrealistic and low-key immature, as people are ALWAYS growing and maturing. But I AM saying that if you are in a relationship that feels draining, toxic, abusive, unstable 24/7... trust the synastry, because you're probably trying to force something that is very clearly laid out for you, and that ONE or two nice aspects or placements are not gonna save you from obvious ruin. BE RATIONAL.

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That's it! Thank you if you've read it this far!

I might have come off a bit harsh (I hope I haven't), but I promise I'm nice lol.

Hopefully this resonates, as well as helps somebody understand a bit more. This was my first post, so it's a bit clumsy, but do let me know if you'd like me to share some more thoughts on astrology, and I might do another round.

MASTER LIST

[bornofsteelblood]

I can't get this big tall nerd out of my head so I wrote this to ease my mind. DISCLAIMER: This is my take on König but I have other AU's too. I headcanon him to be a reserved nerd whose anxiety stems from being bullied for his size as a kid and now he's aware/confident that he's built like a redwood tree. When he's with his SO, he's happy to yap. My take on the "strong and silent" trope. He studied military history to become a Colonel which evolved into a hobby of collecting war memorabilia. I don't speak German so this may be cringe for anyone that does lol. I haven't written something like this in years, let alone about a character in the military, and I'm not super familiar with the COD franchise. I don't know how to edit this to look fancy either. I'm just a huge König fan. --------------------------------------------------------------------

König had come to terms with his towering stature before he enlisted in the army. He wasn’t always the muscular Austrian that you had come to call your own. Plagued by social anxiety, restlessness, and gangly limbs, he learned to adapt through his military training. He grew into his body but couldn’t shake his inability to stay still. Snipers were renowned for their unwavering hands but this skill evaded König.

Getting rejected from becoming a sniper made him more resourceful, as evidenced by his t-shirt mask that he constructed himself. Adolescent cruelty and resentment towards his size no longer haunted him as he was now a colonel for a private military company. He was confident in his abilities and enjoyed destroying down barriers as an insertion specialist.  

Your relationship blossomed when you discovered the man had a military history degree that complimented your fascination with general history. It thrilled you even more when he took you back to his flat just to showcase the memorabilia he had collected throughout the years, including some impressive tactical gear he took pride in.

You viewed his interests and ramblings as endearing. “I am not boring you?” König asked as he plucked down a canister of discontinued replica bullets from a high shelf. You shook your head with a smile and retorted if he had installed that shelf himself since it was nearly touching the ceiling. Heat rose to his face and you could tell he was smiling under his mask with the crinkles that formed on the corners of his eyes.     

His fondness for your company grew into adoration. The long stretch of his shadow often engulfed your own when he stood near you; a bad omen to most but a reassurance of security to you. The constant shuffle of heavy gear and gloved hands against your waist was comforting. König was a man of few words around his comrades; chiming in when he felt it was important or to interject with his dry, sarcastic humor.

However, his reserved demeanor was another tactic that only you were aware of. Anyone could see that he was an unyielding powerhouse on the field, wielding his body like an indestructible machine as bones effortlessly splintered under the weight of his boot. Only you got to see him become completely defensiveness under your touch.

For instance, the solid weight of a gun was a morbid comfort to König. It gave his hands something to hold and cured his restlessness when he couldn’t touch you. When you were on base, he preferred to holster his gun to his back and allow you his full attention. He’d widen his stance and place his hands on his lower back to stop himself from mindlessly groping you; a point you made that always ended with him sheepishly muttering “Ich kann nichts dafür. Du bist wunderschön.”

He bent down at the waist, hands twitching to stay still, to allow you to brush his mask aside and kiss him deeply. He lost his half-hearted fight to keep his hands to himself when he felt your mouth traveling along the small scars that littered his neck.

Translation:  “Ich kann nichts dafür. Du bist wunderschön.” -> “I can’t help it. You’re gorgeous.”    

[hwaightme]

ateez as signs of love (relationship hcs)

(masterlist) (perma-taglist)

8️⃣ pairing: bf!ateez x gn!reader 8️⃣ genre: headcanons, fluff, established long-term relationships 8️⃣ summary: the lessons, the comfort that love teaches and gives you, in a series of 8 headcanons with each of these beautiful souls 8️⃣ wordcount: 2.4k total 8️⃣ warnings/tags: not edited, drabble-style hcs, enamoured simping activated, soft and focused on subtle signs of love, energies that people give 8️⃣ taglist: at the bottom of the hcs 8️⃣ a/n: this anniversary holds a lot of significance to me, and i want to celebrate ateez together. i am forever grateful that they are in my life, and are a source of joy and hope. happy ateez day everyone. much love~

hongjoong

matching outfits, both in subtle and in louder ways - sharing accessories like earrings and rings, or colour coordinating for events you are attending together - a quiet signal that even if you are not loud about it, you two belong together and are on the same wavelength

lyrics dedicated to you and to what you have been through as a couple - how you have evolved and what you have seen and experienced; evolution through musical genre and through musical complexity - nods to travels, movies, conversations…

adoring glances across the room, wide smiles and hearty laughter at the silliest jokes simply because they are inside jokes in the language you two invented

challenging one another, proposing new viewpoints and debating on creative projects and ways forward in a healthy manner, while being each other’s number one fans and supporters; you can count on one another’s honest opinion, open arms and mind

late night calls, or calls that run through the entire night where you two either work remotely, or first connect under the pretense of sharing something but end up updating, chatting away, calming your hearts

becoming the second voice of reason, counting on the other to support and be the clarity when one is feeling distressed or unable to make a quick call of judgement or decision

encouraging freedom - two people with their own dreams and goals, respectful of space and time and working to maintain this even in a relationship; a powerful dynamic where the sky's the limit, and even then, you find a way to go above and beyond

having clear priorities and plans that span years, facing the future side by side and mapping it out against both individual and couple variables

seonghwa

feeling comfortable and safe to discuss feelings, fears, hopes, dreams, curled up on the couch together, drama left frozen on the television screen; bodies intertwined, hearts beating steadily, calmly, in a world built for two; deep conversations turning into pivotal moments, not being afraid to reveal and expose yourself to the other, being accepted and facing inner turmoil no longer alone

exploring and introducing each other to your interests and passions, learning and growing together, and in turn forming an even stronger connection through shared references, media, jokes; knowing each other's preferences and orders by heart, wordlessly sharing any meal with smiles on your faces and knowing what to send to one another when physically apart

order in a comfortable silence when doing chores or walking side by side in places you both love and cherish, wonderful chaos when both of you let go and play like kids again; reconnecting with all versions of yourselves and finding each one precious

encouraging each other to accept yourselves but also to expand horizons and to love both the world and the small things - operating by the “no harm in trying” principle

seeing each person as a universe, and other people, things, interests and events in their life as stars that form beautiful constellations - linking what is previously seen as disparate and making a new direction to develop into

making playlists for different moods, activities to suit the season, planning evenings days and mornings and then living through them with a serene enjoyment; reevaluating and rebuilding habits, finding fun in frustrations

returning home be it to an actual house or through the phone, talking about everything and nothing, and encouraging one another to try your best while maintaining a healthy balance

a safe space, because you are each other's home and no matter what you will be there to listen, to speak, to write the next lines in the poem of life together

yunho

reading each other's emotions and wordlessly showing support, be it through a touch of the hand or through the offering of a favourite snack or a kind word

playful competition, racing one another to the front door of your home, laughter ringing in the air; seeing the brighter side of the world together, and reminding one another that it exists when the going gets tough

spontaneous getaway to a beloved holiday destination, healing and relaxing together away from commotion and chaos - finding peace in quiet conversation and taking flights or drives as an opportunity to reflect, to free oneself and to simply focus on the journey itself

walking in nature, holding hands and listening to birdsong and shrill cries of cicadas - valuing the process of grounding oneself and listening to inner thoughts, beliefs and feelings

road trips and long walks, exploring new sights and making every place a shared new memory and a precious moment; moving beyond a set “base” when it comes to home, and treating the world like your home to find the place that you both truly belong to

remembering even the smallest events and details from years ago and holding them as invaluable, celebrating anniversaries by revisiting representations of said memories

quoting your favourite lines from films or video games, re-enacting scenes together and crafting impromptu performances in the living room before collapsing in adorable giggles

finding the world in one another’s eyes, catching each other off guard in the best way with sweet comments and with absent-minded touches of the hand, reassurance that even when your mind is elsewhere, you have an anchor, you have a person who you are racing… not against, but with

yeosang

perseverance - in times where you face trouble, a hurdle, a tumble downwards, you reach out to help the other to stand up again, and take pride in having gone through so much and now having that special someone with whom nothing is as scary

surrounding yourselves with kindness and positive energy - having a home that is safe, secure and reflects both of you perfectly; gradually and subtly learning about each other’s hidden parts, adoring them all the same

learning to accept help, and leaning on one another when difficulties arise; openly communicating and being able to voice concerns and questions - feeling comfortable to do so

playful banter and witticisms, knowing when to humble one another but also when to lift one another up; being able to non-verbally communicate when in larger groups

appreciating one another’s efforts and valuing improvements, hard work, acts of service that have been done discreetly

walking huddled under a large umbrella to your favourite cafe, ordering ice cream and drifting to the seats that have become yours and his; speaking quietly, recollecting the happenings of the day, calmly making puzzle pieces connect into a bigger picture

finding comfort in routine; one that starts as a schedule and slowly becomes automatic; you two moving in one space like in a fluid dance, clockwork from one task to another

playing not to win but for the sake of spending time together - becoming an unbeatable duo in matches and subconsciously knowing each other’s style and approach when it comes to both communication and video games

san

reading excerpts from books and poetry aloud to one another in the late evening, bundled up together in a warm throw blanket

learning your favourite songs, humming or singing them to you as you slow dance in the kitchen - monologues and confessions said through music and little gestures of affection, though in a private space, the words spill and you are wrapped in reassurance

hand on the small of your back, a subtle reminder of how even in the busiest spaces, in places where you feel like you are fading away, there is always someone beside you, ready to support you and someone who cares

recounting stories from childhood, talking about home together and building a new one, first through conversation, then in reality; seeing the picture of you and him as clear as day

headpats, nuzzling, ruffling of the hair, sleepy embraces in the early morning that transition into a hand on the thigh, a soft brush of the upper arm, a move of a strand of hair from your face, a stolen kiss, or simply sitting so close that you almost become one

learning to set up healthy boundaries, barriers and principles, and respecting each other’s - having unspoken unbreakable rules that lead to healthy communication and mutual support, and supporting one another in finding limits externally and enforcing them for the wellbeing of oneself

living passionately, and taking each day into the heart to experience it fully; taking the time to evaluate all of its elements and taking what serves you best while still appreciating things that might not be as valuable

remembering your roots and loving your origins, being proud of your individuality and of what an who you represent; finding or strengthening the connections with who you are and who you want to be, separately and together

mingi

waiting to watch a movie or a show together - watching it twice because you were analysing every moment and chatted away, intrigued by one another’s minds

dispelling each other’s concerns and worries when it comes to perception, communication and achievement - being able to whittle down to exact doubts and unravelling them until a smile forms on your beloved’s face

checking in on each other’s emotional capacity and learning to ask for signs when the other might overflow - encouraging minimising the bottling up of emotions and dedicating time to talk things through

spending time getting lost in history and in innovation, expanding intellectual horizons by visiting events, exhibitions, talks to see all that the creatives and innovators of the world are conjuring - pondering all you have witnessed together

giving each other courage, hyping each other up and loving every colour - inventing cheers and chants, secret handshakes, signals, making up songs about random things on the spot and their recital becoming a tradition

admiring differences, and studying them with a beautiful curiosity; not fearing to ask the ‘why’, the ‘how’ continuously because there is no limit to wonder

comfort in introspection and self-discovery; encouraging exploration of the self and of own interests, but always reconnecting, forming a network of possibility between thought, learnings, ideas

going with the flow, and bringing the flow to each other - sometimes, transition into a new landscape or environment is easy, other times, you need a helping hand; both of you are ready to lead the other into a new world and will wait for as long as necessary

wooyoung

family, the feeling of belonging - “you are my person and I will fight for you”; strong circle of trusted people, a network that you can rely on and of course, the strong bond between you

even when alone, you are not lonely; the feeling that even when you have to be apart for some time, you are still there with and for one another, one call away; even though you would be playful, you are always emotionally available, and past the teasing is boundless love

adventures to places far away, still home because it is the two of you travelling; exploring with an open mind and daring one another to step outside of comfort zones, to take the leap, to bloom

candlelit dinners after a cooking turned jam session - dancing with spatulas in hand, yelling out the lyrics to any and all songs, learning them on the fly; long stares and cheeky jokes exchanged across the table, dressing up for no reason except to impress each other

love that expands past the two of you - your friend groups, your families, pets… the social landscape is boundless and you trust each other to navigate it smoothly - permanent plus one, double trouble, partners in crime, the best team

gentle scolding to take care of yourselves, prioritising each other’s health and wellbeing, keeping each other out of harm’s way while retaining a fiery spirit

healing from past insecurities through words and actions - nurturing beauty that is both internal and external, and giving each other hope in every tomorrow through warm smiles and even warmer hugs

not being afraid to stand up for one another, for what you believe in, for the greater good - lover and fighter do go hand in hand after all, and lead to a respectful relationship where adventure and a blazing passion are still very much alive

jongho

evenings spent at a noraebang you now frequent, singing songs that have grown to describe your relationship, the months, years you have known one another; serenades you dedicate, classics you belt in a duet

retaining the air of pleasant mystery until both of you break into a grin and melt into a soft laughter; knowing glint in the eyes, you do not need to say much, for your actions speak volumes

being considerate, making space and in this way, turning home into an ideal, stable equilibrium where company feels natural, essential, even if all you do during the day is sit in different rooms - there is bliss in knowing that in that other room is the one you love and the one who loves you

walks in the park, stopping to sit on a bench in a particularly scenic spot overlooking a pond, under the trees - reminding each other to pause and to look around you, enjoying the moment and appreciating how much has changed, and for the better

beauty and love in order - from how you like your coffee, to what you prefer to wear and how, to how you carry yourself and to what side of your loved one you prefer to walk, these small points all make you who you are and are details that make your story

praising and joining in a little bit of mischief - you know you have to act a certain way, but sometimes, nothing feels better than letting go and playing a cute prank or a game

noticing the tiniest changes in one another, and either raising them as a question, or complimenting them depending on what it is - well-attuned, responsive, kind, attentive

sometimes, you might support different teams, or do so simply for harmless fun, but at the end of the day you find the same goals to score, the same game to place, and will always back each other up and assist towards great successes

8️⃣ taglist: @acciocriativity @justhere4kpop @byuntrash101 @shakalakaboomboo @starillusion13 @hongthoven @cqndiedcherries @uwuheeseungie @cheollipop @frankenstein852 @charreddonuts @miriamxsworld @mingigoo @michel-angelhoe @innsomniacshinestar @foxinnie8 @preciouswoozi @wooyoungjpg @nebulousbookshelf @wowie-hockey @hongjoongs-patience @ssaboala @jaehunnyy @kitten4sannie @maddkitt @lightinyreads @ren-junwrld @pyeonghongrie-main @marsstarxhwa @pocketjoong-reads @alyszaen @archivesummer @little-angel-k @yeooclock @yeonjunnie @asjkdk @lucky-cat-cafe @northerngalxy

[the-hydroxian-artblog]

how old is mike???

(i randomly went through your old posts and found out mike was “born” on the same year as ames so yeahhhbuh)

Good question; I have no idea in terms of physical age, but he was like, an idiot baby upon being built, then trained in years of simulations to match the skill of the real Sonic, which also involved constructed memories and life events. At least, that's my headcanon, so it applies to Mike. (Also I assume you mean "date" not "year"; otherwise that'd mean Eggman somehow got the idea to make a robot Sonic only a few years after Sonic was born. Which... no actually that'd be really funny if Sonic as a baby was that much trouble for Eggman, lol)

But nah, by the time Metal Sonic faces off against Sonic, he's sorta mentally a year older than the blue blur himself, due to having also done Eggman's bidding on Little Planet and having extra time to practice his skills thanks to time travel shenanigans. It's possible the Metal Sonic the real Sonic faces in Stardust Speedway is actually one who has been in operation from Stardust Speedway Present into Future, so he may have had even more time to train and get tinkered with-- which would make it all the more humiliating to lose against Sonic, who still won in the end. To train for who knows how long, and still lose. It could've just been three years of displaced time (Eggman builds things disturbingly quickly), but that's still rough.

By that logic, Mike's physical age is unknown, but mentally he's around whatever Sonic has going on, between times under Eggman's authority where he's not operating at all in stasis, in active operation, and living out constructed memories. My interpretation is to let it all balance out to equal "had Sonic's life, but with only failures instead of victories and an unkind, competitive personality, making him a little older, colder, and more bitter".

I really like the theory that the reason why Eggman's tech in all other classic games is kinda Behind what he achieved with Metal Sonic is due to the whole Little Planet situation. Little Planet is probably way more useful of an asset for using time manipulation to rapidly mess around with developing new tech without worrying about needing more time. Modern Eggman could then just apply what he learned after the fact, hence the stark difference in classic badniks and modern ones.

If he himself didn't age much, and only used time travel to let his factories do their thing, some of his machines getting more advanced beyond his expectations could make sense. Maybe that's why Gamma, Metal in Heroes, and other robots were weird; Eggman not realizing how out of control his own developed machines could become, due to not actually testing them himself the way he used to with his old badniks.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

The Arcana HCs: M6 with an introverted MC

Julian

To this guy, being alone is cruel and unusual punishment, so the first few times you give yourself some alone time he freaks out

Did he make you mad? Did he say something to hurt you? Are you bored with him?

His solution is to glue himself to your side and pull out every charming trick he can think of

Look, he can swordfight! Look, he can sing! Look, he reads big books full of obscure medical terms! Please don't shut him out!

Needless to say this gets irritating after a bit

Once you sit him down and get to the bottom of why he's acting so weird you're able to explain

He's much more understanding now

You'll still need to be very blunt though: "Julian. I love you very much. For the sake of my sanity I am going to spent the next few hours in this room. By myself."

After a few instances of this it's able to settle in his mind that you needing alone time isn't a rejection, so now he takes these opportunities to go get himself in trouble so he has a dashing story to tell you about later

Asra

They've known this already, they've known you further back than your memories go and they spent at least a year being your caretaker

He's also an introvert so this works out great

Loves sitting quietly on opposite ends of the room, dozing and daydreaming and mentally fine tuning a spell or two while you do your thing

If they feel like being around people when you don't they'll leave Faust with you and go exploring

Never stays away for too long, now that he knows what he gets to come back to

Alone time is a lot harder to get when you're traveling though, so they will happily take a day with you to hole up in some B&B or camp out in whatever nature you're passing through

After the events of that disastrous masquerade, you have a lot more friends than you did before and more reasons to be social

So if you're in the mood for human interaction and he isn't, he doesn't feel nearly as guilty taking some time to himself if he knows you'll take that as a chance to pay some visits

Nadia

What else did you think her thinking tower was for? She gets it

As dedicated to you as she is, she's able to pick up your inclinations pretty quickly

She makes sure you have your own chambers next to hers at the palace to use as you see fit

Not that you aren't welcome in hers! But she likes having her tower so much she figured you should have something like that too

Has secret passages installed with a little magical help from your chambers to several important places

Those places are the library, the kitchen, the gardens, and her private bath

Sometimes if it feels like a while since she's seen you, she'll send Chandra with a little love note to check in

If she needs alone space while you're feeling chatty, no worries there. The palace is packed with people

Now that her family visits regularly, you're able to get to know them while she's occupied and learn more about her

Every now and then she'll come downstairs after a quiet afternoon and find you in the drawing room with one of her sisters, sharing the things about her you love most

She'll be blushing for the rest of the evening

Muriel

King of the introverts

If you need a day to yourself, the hut is yours while he goes about his daily routine

The chances of him wanting to be social when you don't are highly, highly unlikely

In fact, unless you are also as extremely introverted as he is, you are more likely to need more company than what he can comfortably provide

Going into town isn't always the best solution either, because after half of Vesuvia camped around his hut for a month everyone recognizes you

Thankfully Nadia built a back entrance into the palace gardens from the forest in case either of you wants to visit

And you have a very convenient glamor spell for when you need to stop by the shop

You always pick up pumpkin bread and something new to sample on your way back

Inanna especially loves it if you bring her a treat or two

It's also not uncommon for somebody to stop by the hut for old time's sake, to invite you to a wedding or birthday or just to check in with a gift

Portia

Oh boy, she does not get it at all

Like in her mind she knows some people are just like that, Nadia's quite the introvert too, but she cannot relate

Mostly she'll just be worried that you're losing your happiness. Everything about being around people brings her joy, why don't you want to have fun??

She loves you though, so she'll leave you in the cottage or garden for a morning with some pastries and a book recommendation while she catches up on palace gossip

If you're traveling it'll look similar, she'll make sure you're set up for a comfortable few hours while she does her ambassador stuff

She draws people to her without thinking about it, she'll never be without company

You're still her favorite company though, so she'll pop her head in pretty regularly to see if you're recharged enough to hang out

She'll also let you know every single place she's going to be in so you can come find her as soon as you're ready

Her smile when you do will light up the room

Lucio

In case it wasn't obvious from the amount of parties he likes to throw, he is an extrovert

Half the time, if he's caught up in something, he doesn't notice if you take a few hours to yourself

The other half the time, he's very concerned and slightly hurt

Why wouldn't you want to spend time with him? What do you mean you want to be alone? Being alone is the worst! You prefer being alone to being around him?!?

You do try to explain it to him, and he does do his best to understand, but the concept is so foreign it just doesn't make sense

Your best bet is to suggest an activity that he enjoys and tell him that you're tired and you're going to rest while he does that (which is basically true)

This actually works really well for the most part

Sometimes something will remind him of you or he'll get bored quickly and come bursting into your quiet space when you least expect it

You can try suggesting a quiet activity, but most likely that's going to be all you get until he finds something else to enjoy that doesn't require your participation

[iraprince]

Absolutely love the Infodump on Cookie she's so good. however!! I remember you made a trio of characters for this game and were torn about which one to play, then decided the other two could be his attendants.

How are those two, what are they up to?? Have you done much with them in the game so far? (And even if not, wanna give us some tastey information about 'em?)

💜

oooh yes! those two are sir velvet the unsmiling (it/she), and damned-if-i-do/dandy (he/they). let's pull up their art (esp now that i have crispy clean new scans!!! i think i have only ever posted this art as shitty phone pics prior to this)

ANYWAY. it turns out that even though attendants are a built-in part of the noble sweetheart playbook (cookie's title) and you're SUPPOSED to be using them... for me in practice, when i'm actually playing the game, i just keep totally forgetting lmfao!!!! :') rping with my other party members and chasing quests and stuff is so engaging that my brain is totally booked with just being cookie, let alone two additional npcs, so sadly dandy and velvet have not gotten a ton of screentime in the current campaign

BUT that really just makes me eager to one day play them properly in a different campaign, whether that's them each taking their turn as player characters like was originally intended, or when i'm GMing a campaign of my own (i'm trying to write up something for my friends, but i have no idea when it's actually gonna happen bc i'm so busy rip... but when i do, cookie and her attendants will def be npcs)

i honestly don't have MUCH i can say abt them, bc since i haven't played them much i also havent developed them much... i suppose i can give summaries tho!

in terms of vibes velvet is very much like, "guy who is brooding so hard that it stops being mysterious or having any gravity at all and is mostly just making people wonder if she's like? okay?????" like there is only so long you can spend with your back to the rest of the group clenching your fist and muttering to yourself before people just start kind of glossing over it and being like "oh haha that's CLASSIC sir velvet the unsmiling!!!"... mix this with a heady dose of "[nasal voice] UM, you forgot to collect the homework" and somehow you have created a creature ideal for wrangling cookie's effusive elaborate scatterbrained whims, somehow, most of the time. velvet is really similar to a different Brooding Goth Knight character i have wherein my formula is "make a character who looks extremely fucking sicknasty badass, then never ever ever stop making fun of them ever"

dandy is cookie's quartermaster, and so unlike velvet (who's usually assumed to be traveling around with cookie, even if i am constantly forgetting to roleplay that it's doing that) he mostly chills at chateau gorgeous looking after his liege's affairs and making sure the ppl who live there are fed + sheltered + generally taken care of. they are pretty much velvet's exact opposite in terms of temperament; EVERYTHING gets velvet's hackles up, NOTHING phases dandy. i need to be careful bc i am starting to arbitrarily ship them just from typing this. anyway, dandy is largely non-verbal; they're able to speak if really necessary, but they would just rather not, and if there's really no way around it they'd rather just sidle over to cookie and whisper it to her, and then let her communicate whatever they want to say to the rest of the group on their behalf; if cookie's not around, you're just gonna have to figure out how to communicate w him otherwise. which always works out fine bc dandy is very patient and used to getting along in silence!

that's about all i've got rn... i will def post it here if i come up with or draw anything else that's fun tho :) ty for the ask!

[clangenrising]

Been re-reading through and I kinda have a theory-- About Oddstripe and who their possible father could be

Im not good with genetics of anything, but I see some similarities in Thrushstar and Floodstrike. They both have white patches, and Oddstripe described the guy to be brown and white, and Thrushstar happens to be brown and white, but this is probably a really long stretch, but I jus wanted to point that out cause I think its interesting to think thats true, atleast for me, would also explain how Sparrowsway is brown

again im prolly looking way into deep to it but again its an interesting concept to me atleast

Yeah, you're definitely reading way too deep into it haha

For one, Thrushstar died before Oddstripe's kits were conceived, so there's that.

Secondly, Oddstripe lived east of RisingClan, a few days travel into the desert. It would not make sense for Thrushstar, who lived on the other side of their territory and had a healer in camp who could help him, to seek Oddstripe out for healing (which is how the kits' sire met and bonded with Oddstripe).

Thirdly, and I think, most importantly, I feel like trying to find a secret reason why the Oddlet's sire was actually special and important is completely unnecessary and maybe even a bit insulting to Oddstripe's character.* The tom Oddstripe had kits with was someone who came into his life, thought he was pretty, and convinced him to try out sex for the first time then left without another thought. The sex wasn't even very enjoyable or meaningful to Oddstripe, it was just an awkward night that ended up having long term consequences.

And that's okay! Not every person you have sex with has to be special and important. Even if you have children with them they don't have to be important in your life. I think that it doesn't really matter who he was because this story is about Oddstripe! And I also enjoy writing about stories that are "realistic" in that sometimes people just come into your life and then they leave and there's not much to be done or said about it.

So, in conclusion, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and looking for secrets but you are maybe looking where there isn't anything to be found haha. If you want to find a mystery to look into, I ask you this: In this universe that I have built, why/how is it that Clan cats and even squirrels are taken to an afterlife when they die but non-Clan cats just stop existing? Is there maybe something going on here the characters aren't aware of? Food for thought.

(*SIDE NOTE: I am not upset and I don't think you meant it as an offense, you were just having fun and being silly with some headcanons and I am just having fun and discussing a topic I felt was worth discussing. Do not take this discussion as a condemnation of your character <3)

[your-resident-boat-person]

I noticed there are dates on your top liners list, ranging from the 1870s to the 2000's. I think on my alt you told me it was one of the last made, and the last in current use (as a hotel [and apparently haunted house according to the third video?]).

Anyway, I was wondering if you had an overview on the history of Ocean Liner design and how they've changed over the years, both technical in terms of operation, and aesthetic from the point of view both as a theoretical passenger and a learned liner enthusiast!

Plus any fun details about your examples would be nice as well.

Svjsvphsvpusvpusv okay. I am going to need to split this up into multiple posts, because I can not convey all this information with the 10 Pic limit. So periodically, check the reblogs of this post. I will periodically be adding more to it over time. Also, I'm not really citing any sources because this is mostly from memory, so there MAY be some mistakes. Also, I'm typing all this on my phone, so... please forgive the formatting, grammar, and spelling mistakes.

To begin, let's quickly discuss what an ocean liner is. An ocean liner is a ship you travel on to cross the ocean. It's called a liner because it goes in a line across the ocean. In this sense, “cruise liners” don't really exist. The proper term is cruise ship. Many people mistake liners for cruise ships and vice versa, but they are different in both function and design. As wikipedia puts it, “Though ocean liners share certain similarities with cruise ships, they must be able to travel between continents from point A to point B on a fixed schedule”. This means liners need to be both durable, and fast, something cruise ships are neither of. Cruise ships also almost never do trans-Atlantic crossings unless absolutely necessary. They just aren't built to handle the Atlantic at its worst. Cruise ships usually stay relatively close to land and reschedule for bad weather. For example, the only liner still in service is the RMS Queen Mary 2, built in 2004. Her construction used 60% more steel than a cruise ship of the same size. She also has a top speed of about 30 knots, whereas a cruise ship never really needs to exceed about 18. So, to summarize, an ocean liner is a ship you use to cross the ocean. A cruise ship, while it may take you to numerous excursions, is essentially the destination itself, and it will return you to where you started once the voyage is over. Last thing before we start, GRT. Gross Registered Tonnage is essentially a measure of the total usable internal volume of a ship. Generally, this is a much better measure of the size of a ship than length. For example, the RMS Adriatic was 729 ft long. The Titanic was 882 feet long. Only 150 feet longer, no big difference, right? WRONG. The Adriatic was 25,000 GRT. Titanic was 46,000 GRT. Britannic, which was the same length as Titanic, but 2 feet wider, was 48,000 GRT. Nearly double the size of Adriatic, even though she's not much longer. The Lusitania was 787 feet, and she was 31,000 GRT. So even though Britannic was only about 12% longer, she was about 55% bigger. Last thing, a knot is a unit of speed 1 knot is 1.150779 miles per hour, or 1.852 kilometers per hour.

Anyway, now that we have that sorted out, let's get into the history >:3

So, it starts with the steam engine. At the start of the 19th century, if you wanted to get from Europe to America (or vice Versa), you needed to book passage in a sailing ship. In just 4 short months, you can cross the ocean :D! Between extremely unsanitary conditions and the high chance of you not making it to your destination at all, something needed to change. There were some experiments with bolting steam engines to old sailing vessels, and these were very successful, but really only proofs of concept. Railway engineer Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel realized that if ocean travel could work like the railway, travel between continents could be much more efficient and safe. With a sailing ship, you were dependent on the wind and weather, so your departure and arrival dates couldn't be predicted with any guarantee of certainty. With a steam engine, the ship could move at a consistent speed over a set distance, regardless of the conditions. Now, ocean travel was consistent, regimented, and much safer. All of these came together in 1838 with the launch of Brunel's SS Great Western, which crossed the Atlantic in 18 days, going at 8.66 knots. She was 1,700 Gross Registered Tons (GRT, a measure of internal volume) and 234 ft 11 in long (71.6 meters). She was the first ocean liner. Granted, she was essentially just a sailing ship with paddle wheels attached to a very rudimentary steam engine, she even Still had sails, and she had a hull made from oak, but she was the first commercial venture to bring passengers across the ocean on a regimented schedule. She was also the first purpose built liner.

Now, these very early years of ocean liners aren't really my specialty, so I'll cover some major events.

In 1839, Sir Samuel Cunard was awarded the first British transatlantic steamship mail contract, and in 1840, formed what would later be known as the Cunard Line, one of the most famous lines ever, And still around to this day.

In 1858, Sir Isambard Kingdom Brunel was back at it again with the SS Great Eastern. With this ship, Brunel set out to solve a problem: He wanted to make a ship big enough to carry enough coal to not need to stop and refuel on the voyage to Australia. The Great Eastern was the largest ship in the world by a WIDE margin. Before Great Eastern, the largest ship in the world was the SS Adriatic of the Colin's Line. She was 3,670 GRT, and 354 feet (108 meters) long. The Great Eastern was a whopping 18,915 GROSS REGISTERED TONS. 5.5 TIMES BIGGER! SHE WAS 692 FEET LONG. As wikipedia puts it, “Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was surpassed only in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic, her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 701-foot (214 m) 20,904-gross-ton RMS Celtic and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by the 4,234-passenger SS Imperator.” IT IS WITH HONOR THAT I INTRODUCE YOU TO BRUNEL'S “GREAT BABE”, THE SS GREAT EASTERN.

LOOK AT ‘ER! AIN'T SHE A BEAUT? IN A WORLD WHERE MOST SHIPS DIDN'T HAVE ANY FUNNELS, AND THE ONES THAT DID ONLY HAD ONE, THE GREAT EASTERN WAS THE ONE AND ONLY F I V E F U N N E L E D L I N E R. Even though she later lost one in an explosion, which was never replaced. She was rigorously mocked for her size and number of funnels, which is strange considering the 4 funneled superliner boom just 50 years later.

She FAMOUSLY didn't work, and the stress of trying to MAKE her work ended up sending Brunel to an early grave. SHE INDIRECTLY KILLED ONE OF THE GREATEST ENGINEERS OF ALL TIME! She then spent nearly a decade laid up as a glorified billboard:

She damaged or sunk at least 10 ships in her short Career, had a penchant for spontaneously exploding (which is where her 5th funnel went), and when she was scrapped in 1890, all of her size records were still at least 9 years from being bested. She was NEVER profitable, and the DEFINITION of an outlier. Whenever discussing the largest ships in the world from 1848 to 1890, it goes without saying that the Great Eastern is not included. There is a REASON she's on my top 25, and I've only skimmed the surface. She was a hot mess, and I love her for it. I'd be happy to make a post entirely dedicated to her.

Next, we have the birth of the White Star Line. In 1870, they got their first ship: The SS Oceanic. (Not the RMS Oceanic of 1899 mentioned previously).

Many consider her and her 5 sisters to be the first “modern” liners, in the sense that they were starting to evolve past glorified sailing ships. She was 420 ft 4 in (128.12 meters) and 3,707 GRT. While her size PALED in comparison to the MIGHTY GREAT EASTERN, she was the “largest” ship in the world. Again, the great eastern kinda doesn't count. As modern as she was, Oceanic still had sails, and she had an INCREDIBLE top speed of… 14.5 knots. It was fast for the time. In fact, she won White Star Line their first Blue Riband for the fastest trans-Atlantic crossing. The ships of the Oceanic class were the Oceanic, Atlantic, Baltic, Republic, Adriatic (not the aforementioned RMS Adriatic, OR the SS Adriatic of the Colins Line), and Celtic. One of the big innovations of these ships was that they had a longer length to width ratio. Most sailing ships have a 6:1 ratio of length to width. The Oceanic class increased it to 9:1. With a thinner hull form, it reduced drag and allowed for a higher speed, albeit at the cost of stability. She was also one of the first ships at sea to use electricity. Not for lights, though. Those were still oil lamps. No, the electricity was for buttons in the cabins, which, when pressed, would summon a steward. Founder of the White Star Line, Thomas Ismay, realized that most of the profits of shipping lines came from The hundreds of steerage passengers, rather than the ultra wealthy first class/saloon Class passengers, so he made sure that he had THE BEST steerage accommodations by a scenic mile. He wanted to make sure that he'd be the one getting their business. Her steerage accommodations (3rd class) were fuckimg REVOLUTIONARY in their standards. In an era where poor people were treated like literal cattle, the steerage accommodations on the Oceanic class must have seemed like heaven on earth. Certainly better than anything they would have ever experienced on land. Steerage passengers had FRIGGIN PORTHOLES, which was a new thing for them because, like I said, before White Star, no one gave a shit about poor people. Also, for decks beneath the water line, there were skylights that reached all the way down to the bottom decks. The designers went through great pains to make sure everyone had fresh air and natural sunlight. Which, again, not something you'd find on other ships of the era, as basic as it seems. Anyway, the SS Atlantic, the White Star Line's second ever ship, was their first loss at sea. While we associate the line with Disaster today, history shows quite a different story. In their 65 years of operation, from 1870 to 1935, they operated at least 89 ships. They only lost 5 during peacetime disasters. This is a genuinely phenomenal track record, especially for the time. The aforementioned Collins Line lost literally 2/5ths of their ships (although they did have a much smaller fleet, so it's not an entirely fair comparison). Anyway, the SS Atlantic ran aground near Halifax Nova Scotia, with a loss of 535 people, leaving only 429 survivors. In the 30 minutes the ship took to fully sink, not a single lifeboat could be launched. I'd highly recommend Part-Time Explorer's videos on the subject.

In part 2, we'll cover from 1874 to 1900, with some of the most famous ships of all time. Like I said, this early stuff is where I'm weakest. Part 2 is where I'll become REALLY knowledgeable. >:3

[macgyvermedical]

Hi! I saw your post about the NCCC. Can you tell me a little bit more about what it was like? And maybe some certifications or skils I might want to have before applying that would help me be a shoe in? In a year or two I'd like to leave where I am and travel, and then maybe settle down somewhere else after, and this seems like a good way to go about that and simultaneously chase my interests and find things I enjoy. Basically- I've got time to build skills before I want to apply, and I think it'd be a great fit for me, so I'm just curious about any and all information that would help me be more informed and prepared.

What it's like: (note that I served in 2018, so some of this may be outdated information)

Once you're accepted, they place you at one of 4 campuses throughout the USA. You get a duffel bag mailed to you (anything you bring with you has to fit in this duffel) and a plane or train ticket emailed to you. You have to take that plane or train to the campus, because they pick you up in a bus or van from the airport or station.

Once you get to campus, you go through "in-processing" where you get your uniforms, gear, and PPE, get assigned a room and/or bunk, and meet your instructors for training. If you're a Corps Member, you are also assigned a team and meet your Team Leader at this time (though some campuses do this later in training).

Training lasts about 2 months for Team Leaders and about 1 month for Corps Members. You are with the same cohort (called a "Class") for your whole service term, including training. Training includes how to get along as a team, physical training to ensure you're physically capable of the work demanded of you, and specific training on things like how to drive the van, how to use certain tools and PPE, and how to do any tasks associated with your particular role on the team.

Towards the end of training you go on a 1-2 day mini project, where you go through all the motions of a real project (called a "spike"), except that it's really near by campus and it's pretty much for practice.

Then you go on your first real spike. Depending on where it is and what time of year it is, you might live in a tent, in a dorm, in a half-built house, or any remotely suitable housing supplied by the hosting organization. We lived in a conference room once, and once in an old nursing home wing that wasn't being used.

Food is handled by giving a lump sum of money on a card to the team, and you have to figure out grocery shopping and cooking as a team. This is a challenge, but one that usually works out.

For transportation, the team has one 15-passenger van. Gas is paid for by NCCC. If you have a project that requires a lot of tools, you may have a pickup truck too, but this is rare, and you're not allowed to use it for anything other than project reasons. You keep a log of every time you use the van or truck, for any reason, and there is a 25-mile radius from housing that you're allowed to go.

Spikes are between 3-8 weeks long and you do 4-7 of them during a service term. In between you have "transition" where you go back to campus, debrief from your previous project, brief and train for your next project, and catch up with everyone else. At the end of the service term, you have a final debrief, have a life after americorps meeting, learn job skills like writing a resume, etc... and get your plane ticket home.

What you should do to get prepared:

You don't need certifications. If you need to know something for a project they will train you. If you want something I'd say get First Aid or Wilderness First Aid. Getting a little job experience and a lot of volunteer experience will help you a lot more.

[monosanimegenericzone]

Hunter x Hunter au: im taking a creative liberty and dubbing this genre hxhero. laugh. please.

HAHAHAHAA

masterpost time.

hunter x hunter but put them in the mha/bnha universe

i only have the troupe because my brainrot is absolutely insane rn. i have the beginnings of a plot but i am sitting here like: THROW ALL OF 1A AND THE BNHA-IFIED HXH PROTAGONISTS AT THESE MOTHERFUCKERS. YOU COULD N O T.

i accidentally made them broken i apologize for nothing

warning long ass post ahead. i am tempted to put a 'keep reading' thing to make it more digestible but like. im insane.

suggestions are welcome just know i am so ill about this. i can and will explode.

[edit: i looked at how long this post is and im now putting a pagebreak. this is so damn long]

LORE: The Phantom Troupe are a criminal organization responsible with global terror, specifically high scale theft, assassination, political disruption, murder, etc. Wanted in every country and the highest value bounty for any hero that is able to take even one of them down.

They have claimed to be responsible for nearly every modern conflict but completely disappear once the smoke clears. They have exposed unlawful use of WMDs, abuses of destructive quirks and other 'lawful' organizations for what they are but they have never stated what their intentions were with these acts of violence.

Chrollo: Travelling Ink. A compound quirk built up of a generation of villains. A combination of moving ink and a quirk theft ability. Can steal quirks by compressing them into ink spelling the name of the quirk (therefore has to know or guess the name of the quirk) and then has to make skin to skin contact to steal it. It is stored on his body as a tattoo but can be transferred anywhere he chooses. However, storing powerful or destructive quirks takes a toll on his body so he began to store them in a book. Since it’s ink it can be transferred on anything that can hold it. The catch is that the quirk gets weaker the more times it’s moved outside of its original owner. He calls this loss of quality, "Generation Loss." All quirks when applied to living things are automatically activated; if the quirk is a manual trigger type then the user can choose to deactivate it, but otherwise it will default to being on. Can kill the people he steals from but usually prefers not to. Tattoos cannot overlap and the print will appear proportionate to the quirk's inherent strength. Therefore, his capacity isn't unlimited.

The cross on his forehead is a perpetual healing quirk that he triggers when he needs. Holds his book in a compartment quirk he constantly has active on his right bicep in the shape of a spider tattoo.

Quick Mend & Invisible Shelf respectively.

Also has: Order Stamp, Indoor Fish, Fun Fun Cloth, Lovely Ghostwriter, Teleportation, Sun and Moon, Convert Hands, Red Gain (weaker form of Scarlet Invocation)

yes he is fucking broken. but his personality prevents him from being afo. therefore. he is better.

Nobunaga - Swift Slash. If he is holding a blade his base stats increase dramatically. The blade can be sheathed or exposed, if he is armed he becomes stronger, faster, and arguably smarter. Chose a long katana as his weapon of choice and carries it around anywhere he goes Rin Okumura style. He isn’t any less squishy in terms of the human body but he simply transcends the human limits in terms of physical feats. 

Sphere of Eyes: A gifted quirk from Chrollo. Inked into his left bicep. Generates spheres that are basically a collection of his senses. A method of remote perception that instantly absorbs information and instantly transmits to his brain. In Nobunaga’s hands it allows him precise control over his own movements in a perfect 4m sphere which happens to be the maximum reach of his sword. It can go larger and he can also gather the sphere in a single place and leave it there. He can only have one sphere at a time, the original owner had several.

subject to change but honestly i think this works for him.

Feitan - Retribution. A brutally effective destructive type quirk that is nearly impossible to control. Enhanced by rage, if he was harmed in any way, he will summon a natural disaster of destructive category directly on top of him. He will be completely unaffected. To make it fair, I will say he comes from an elemental family and he only inherited one of his mother’s four elements while his other four siblings got the others. His element is fire and he can technically use this quirk at any time but without the compound emotions of pure anger the flames are relatively weak. Think Gabimaru but like. With bigger fire. 

Windstep: A gift from Chrollo, inked on his right ankle. Gains the swiftness of wind. When gifted it wasn’t nearly as strong as it was with the original owner but with tireless quirk training he worked it past its previous owner’s limits.

also subject to change. im less satisfied with these two but im workin on it-

Machi - Live Wire. Can summon thin wires of pure energy to any point on her body or extension of her body. Razor thin and when applied with correct force can cut through virtually anything. Each wire is primed with energy that depends on her willed output and can be controlled at will. High emotions can affect the energy in the wire or her intentions towards the person she’s using them on. Energy manifests as heat in anger and electricity when intending to do harm.

Tensile Strength: A gift from Chrollo that sits in a tattoo on her left calf. A support type quirk meant to strengthen textiles and other string-related abilities. Used in conjunction with her already powerful quirk, she can simply make the wire nearly unbreakable in short lengths.

Kalluto - Dancing Dolls. Manipulation type ability that revolves around origami dolls. Carries around sheets of paper in his obi and can fold them up into various different shapes. Manipulates the paper itself so even if the doll is cut the paper continues to live under their command and can even be commanded to recombine (not literally but as in the homing missile kind). The dolls and the paper making them are an extension of their body in terms of sight and sound. If eyes are folded into the paper doll initially, Kalluto will be able to see through its eyes as long as the eyes remain eyes. 

No gift from Chrollo yet because he still has yet to prove his worth and must still train to have his body maintain two quirks instead of the one. 

Phinks - Soul Strike. A brutal application of his strength to any part of his body he chooses. Usually chooses punches but it can be diffused over his entire body to increase speed or stamina but can only choose one at a time. Just a super punch, idk what you want from me. Its base strength is proportional to desire, aka how much he wants to bash his opponent’s face in. 

Looping Infinity. Gift from Chrollo, inked on his chest under his ribs. By repeating an action, the user gains strength in the following repeated actions. Can stack to infinity but the action must be uniform in relation to the user. Only applicable to external limbs. If a different action is taken between loops the cycle restarts. This includes breathing. 

Shalnark - Black Voice. Once he initiates a touch and the target hears something he says simultaneously, they are under his control. Can only control two at a time, but he usually only sticks to one. Can control himself, but he has to make sure to make the thing he says is feasible otherwise he will never be free of that command. Commands can be as long as he wants and only ends when he consciously decides to release them. Victims have no memory of being controlled. 

Second Body: A defense quirk gifted by Chrollo on his left leg. Creates a see through energy field in the vague shape of an animal of his choosing that grants him immeasurable strength, speed and power. Only able to be activated in reaction to a threat. The previous owner was so faint of heart that he would usually pass out and the beast would rampage until all threats were cleared. 

he also has little devil horns that vibrate when issuing commands uwu. its cute.

Franklin - Hand Guns. Can shoot bullets out of his fingertips. Shoots rounds of energy bullets that hit with the same force as machine guns. Shoots up to 100 rounds from each finger before he has to ‘reload’ can be pushed if he is desperate. 

Projectile Piercing: Gift from Chrollo tattooed on his right arm. Enhances any projectile the user throws to guarantee pierce a certain number of barriers on top of the normal damage the projectile would do.

very simple but effective u-u

Shizuku - Vacuum Wrist. She has a shapeshifting arm that turns into the muzzle of a vacuum, hose and all. It’s a very silly quirk but it has a powerful range of effects. Can suck up anything she can name, including things like heat. Her max capacity is directly proportional to how hungry she’s feeling when using it in a roughly 50:1 kg ratio. Takes some time to warm up in terms of suction power and at max speeds can rip a full grown tree off its roots. idk how much force that is but. its a lot.

Pocket Dimension: a quirk gifted to her by Chrollo that allows her to store a single item she picks up (in this case sucks up)

Pakunoda - Telepathy. Can hear thoughts of people around her and project her thoughts onto anyone she chooses. Limited by her own range of hearing and therefore has sensitive ears. Can easily be overwhelmed.

Focus: A quirk gifted to her by Chrollo that is kept in a tattoo on her upper back. A supporting type quirk that was originally a sidekick’s quirk used to concentrate a hero’s aoe attack to just a few focused points. Maximum six. Uses it to focus her ability on specific people rather than her entire aoe which is. Literally just anyone within auditory range of her loudest voice.

Bonolenov - Celestial Bodies. Generational quirk. Any whistling or percussive sound he makes creates massive spheres of pure force that go outwards from his feet. Absolutely nothing can stop them except for an equal or opposing force but the force is equal to the gravitational force of a planet of his choosing plus the speed of sound. Can use 9 in rapid succession with varying gravitational forces and a technical maximum radius of however far away someone hears the noise. If he truly lets go, the planets will expand as far as their diameter divided by 10,000. Requires a large degree of control and usually a showstopper move even with the first planet. 

Shapeshifter: A gift from Chrollo used to take the forms of others. Can only take the form of people he’s seen before and has made physical contact with. 

and yes. before i get yelled at. i did consider that in accordance to these rules, bonolenov can essentially flatten a 14km area in an instant. but, i also did consider that he is aware of this and has an incredible amount of control over his quirk.

i swear i thought this through.

Uvogin - Unrending Flesh. His skin and flesh are immune to all types of damage. He is essentially fireproof, bulletproof and acid-proof. This includes damage he does to himself. By pushing his muscles to their absolute limits and beyond, strikes or feats that would tear a muscle are now feasible. He isn’t damaged by his own punches either so his only limit is how much force he can put behind a punch. Has a super high limit but death by a thousand cuts is still very possible.

Mega Strike: A quirk gifted to him by Chrollo that sits imprinted on his back in the form of a spider. It was a minor strength quirk that made the user’s punches explode. By training this quirk to nearly its maximum potential and with zero drawbacks to himself, he can now strike with the power of a small ballistic missile.

Kortopi - Perfect copy. As the name implies, he makes copies of things he touches. It doesn’t cost anything and the copies are permanent unless he touches them again to make them disappear. It only requires the time it takes him to identify a subject as an object. Object cannot exceed a certain size but with training he has expanded that range to crazy volumes. Can now duplicate ten story skyscrapers.

Remote Tracker: A gift from Chrollo that stays printed on his face. Any objects created by the user are then able to be tracked. Originally this was for a craftsman type where the objects created were physical pieces of art or machinery. Used unconsciously to track the location of everything they made. Since Kortopi claims each copy as something he made, he can choose to know the location of any specific object.

for the sake of the plot their personalities are jacked up to 100 to make up for the absolutely broken abilities. any personality traits they had are now comically exaggerated.

does that mean chrollo is even more of a cold and calculated motherfucker? hell yeah.

[thegodthief]

You may have answered this before but are you a God who IS a thief, you steal FROM gods, or you steal gods? Collecting deities like Pokemon

The moniker was bestowed as an acute derogatory term by a Tumblrite who was hella annoyed that I included deities in my "dream" posts to whom I have no apparent cultural connection. That the deity that was the last straw for this person happens to be a god of thieves made the entire affair extra humorous. To the point that said god of thieves asked me to take on that moniker as a request (read: offering) to him AND to extra annoy the Tumblrite who thought they were the sole arbiter of the discussion because who the fuck is this person speaking on behalf of a god who already made their boundaries known to me?

The moniker stuck. HARD. Those who knew me when I was more gregarious online and thus more open with my "travels" loved to pick on me about it, because I was (and still am) actively avoiding being attached (read: leashed) to any divinity, be it by oath or otherwise. So the idea of me stealing gods like a rogue Pokemon trainer was just the height of hilarity.

I didn't get to save the picture, but someone made a quick drawing to commemorate the mental aneurysm that my embrace of the moniker created. There is a drawing of [someone that's supposed to be me], in a stolen convertible, license plate "FELETES1", driving off laughing. There are taped boxes in the backseat labeled "STOLEN GODS". And Hermes is peeking out from the unlatched trunk facing the viewer with his finger over his mouth to shush the viewer.

I think of that picture every time someone gets silly about religious boundaries. Are there closed religious practices that I have no right to demand insider info on? Absolutely. There are practices that do require the right bloodline to enter, and I will be out in the street because that's not my right. There are practices that require a certain initiation rite to properly enter into and receive benefit of, and for those practices, no amount of self-initiation is going to be satisfactory because the lineage is required for a reason. There are practices that require access to certain places, certain things, certain rituals for the practitioner to have certain blessings and obeisances for. I will never meet those requirements so I have no right to speak of what I know as if I was someone who has.

But, there are certain religious practices that were forced onto other peoples, if not by the might of swords, then by the might of the markets. There are certain religious practices have remade themselves to adjust to the modern world, that may have been closed at one time, but opened themselves to become accessible to all. There are certain religious practices that are documented as never giving a flying fuck about the practitioners as long as the practitioners behaved themselves, and you can't close a barn door when the barn was never built in the first place.

And then there's people like me: Culturally cut off from ancestral lineages. Culturally cut off from the predominate religion of the area because [insert bullshit reasons here]. Culturally and religiously isolated and trying to find a way through this hot mess, and if Other People's Gods™ look over and hand me a travel bag with a skin of water, who the hell am I to turn that down?

So, to answer your question, I am a person that steals gods, but only if the god wanted to be "stolen" in the first place. Please disregard the snickering sounds from the box I'm preaching from.

[the--highlanders]

I hope you don't mind me asking but what are your favourite Jamie EU stories?

oh my god not at all, I never mind being asked about my favourite little guy <33

I'm gonna break this down by media type, but there's some parts of the eu like comics that I'm not super familiar with, so if anyone wants to add some of those on (or any other eu stories) then go ahead!!

putting this under a cut because it got LONG rip

big finish

the jigsaw war

jamie is trapped inside a puzzle, experiencing events out of order, and has to figure out how to escape. this is THE audio for me in terms of like. recognising that jamie isn't stupid just because he comes from the eighteenth century. he really gets to shine on his own rather than being relegated to 'dumb exposition prompter' (which I feel like some audios can be kinda guilty of.....) also the fact that two and jamie canonically have a strong enough connection to form a psychic link over long distances makes me chew through glass. this audio GETS it in a way some others just don't.

the glorious revolution

two, jamie, and zoe travel back to the time of the glorious revolution, the event that set the jacobite cause in motion, and jamie grapples with not being able to change the past. if you saw that audio snippet going around a couple days ago you'll have an idea of why I'm reccing this one. it has been a while since I've listened to it & I do really want to relisten and check it out for historical accuracy. but regardless it's another one that gives jamie some of the depth he deserves, this time in terms of emotional depth and his feelings about his backstory.

the selachian gambit

two, jamie, ben, and polly get caught in the middle of an alien bank heist. this one is pretty focused on ben, polly, and jamie as a trio - they're largely taking on the action while two keeps the detective work of the plot chugging along. jamie doesn't hugely stand out here in terms of the audio really adding something to his character, but it does show his dynamic with ben and polly pretty well. in particular there's some great scenes with him and ben working together, and I love their friendship a lot so that's always a good time.

honourable mentions: helicon prime (I do feel this one underutilises jamie a bit and undersells him in some weird ways, but if you're looking for two/jamie content you can't get much gayer than this. plus it's the origin of the whole 'jamie and kirsty get married' thing which I hate on principle & am obsessed with in practice), the phantom piper (it's got so much more potential than it gives imo but the tidbits that we get are so good. jamie's relationship with his grandparents.... his best friend taking a bullet for him and dying in his arms...... I just wish I could explain to the author that there's no such thing as a bedroom door in a blackhouse)

novels

the roundheads

two, jamie, ben, and polly travel back to the 1600s, and get largely split up by events unfolding around them. this is a pure historical and it delights in that. if you're after ben and polly content, the roundheads delivers on that too - but it really is some great early twojamie content. (whatever way you choose to read them - it's definitely a shippable book if you're into that). they spend the majority of the book together, both for plot reasons and just hanging out (they go to a frost fair!! two buys jamie treats and then makes himself a flower crown!!) and you get a great sense of jamie figuring two out early into his travels, and how he's far more interested in the doctor as a person than some other companions - he's the only one to show interest in susan when the doctor namedrops her, for instance. this is the best two-era book to me.

the wheel of ice

two, jamie, and zoe visit a space station built a little before zoe's time, and find that not everything is as it seems. again, this is a great one for zoe content as well as anything else, and for some very sweet moments with zoe and two. I don't necessarily feel this one always nails two and jamie's dynamic, but they don't spend a massive amount of time together here, so it's not too jarring. really I'm reccing this because of the scenes where jamie falls in with a bunch of teenagers from the space station, and finds himself kind of responsible for them. it's just nicely done and gives a good sense of jamie as a caretaker character and someone who feels a drive to be responsible for other people.

honourable mention: the episode novelisations (these are a lot of fun, especially if you have particular episodes you enjoy. they often add in extra details, background for side characters, or just little things from the episodes that were cut from the script. I really like them for adding a bit more depth and life to existing stories, and just little things that make you go 'yeah I'll add that to my belief system').

short stories

the time eater/across silent seas

two and jamie give a massive time-eating creature a funeral, and save a space whale from being turned into a weapon. both from the compilation destination prague. literally nobody gets me like the destination prague stories get me I'm not even kidding. these are THE eu two stories to me. both of these are arguably 6b, and they really work in that position - both in showing two and jamie with a very settled, devoted dynamic and in their themes and subject matter. the time eater is a story with no villain, and even the incidental threat of the dying creature causing havoc in time is secondary to the emotional keystone of jamie helping two accept death rather than running away. across silent seas has jamie nearly being aged to death and two absolutely losing it. they're both really about age and death and loss, which hits hard for 6b, with jamie's determination to stay with two forever and two's growing realisation that even if jamie doesn't choose to leave or survives their adventures, his lifespan is still going to be far shorter.

the age of ambition

two, jamie, and victoria land at the house of one of victoria's father's friends, only to find he has been trying to reanimate the dead. from the compilation life sciences. this is really a victoria story, probably the defining victoria story for me. it's got backstory, it's got gothic horror/victorian scientific ambition vibes in a similar way to evil of the daleks, it's got victoria character moments. but it's also a really crucial story for jamie, to me. as a character, I don't think jamie never quite forms into the brawny action man stereotype he was originally drafted as - and that's one of the things I love most about him. again he's too much of a caretaker, he's a piper rather than a soldier. he's rarely truly angry, even when he fights he never seems out to cause much actual harm, and you get the sense his protectiveness over his friends wars with this almost inability to do harm. the age of ambition GETS that and pushes it to the extreme, with jamie being unable to fire a killing shot to save his friends, to the point where victoria has to do it herself. it's such a compelling character moment for both of them and their dynamic.

on a pedestal

two, jamie, and victoria travel back to meet william wallace, who jamie idolises. from the compilation the quality of leadership. this is another one that really gets and hones in on a particular nuance of jamie's character - in this case, the strength and rigidity of his morals and sense of responsibility, and his dislike of people who fall short of that. he's faced with the fact that someone he admires was once careless, lax about taking responsibility for their actions even when other people are at risk, and just a bit childish. it shakes him, and he spends much of the story grappling with that. it's such a good look into the qualities that jamie admires versus the ones that he can't stand. but that's balanced out with some very sweet moments (the whole scene with two, jamie, and william wallace going fishing is very fun and again gives a nice little snapshot of two and jamie having this very settled, secure dynamic). AND jamie gets recognised as a basically supernaturally gifted piper which. love to see jamie actually getting to be a musician, love to see him piping without it being the butt of a 'bagpipes suck and everyone hates them' joke.

honourable mentions: that which went away (this is the 'jamie turns into a bear' story I'm always talking about. I do think it has some major issues in terms of weird primitivism, both in terms of the side characters and how it treats jamie, but also. jamie turns into a bear. and two begging him to come back to him is just *chefs kiss*), undercurrents (two vanishes from the tardis and another man mysteriously appears. jamie believes this newcomer has done something to harm two, and very nearly kills him for it. this is one of the few moments where jamie gets really, properly angry and is willing to actually cause harm and I LOVE to see him pushed past the breaking point of his usual moral code), the slave war (two, jamie, ben, and polly in the roman empire. also really good for ben and polly content, but there's some interesting stuff with jamie grappling with the idea of becoming involved in another rebellion, but ending up getting involved anyway)

[poisoned-pearls]

Does Nami know about her parents' overblots?

YES!! Oh my god I am such a nerd abt this and stuff related to it- AUGH okay!!

So she knows Azul overblotted, and the very basics of it. His didn’t last as long so he doesn’t have as many long term effects. But details?? Ehh not so much. Not that it’s a secret, it’s just that Azul is a tad bit embarrassed abt it and she’s just not that curious abt it. She knows he overblotted, okay? So did two of the other adults in her life. And Azul’s business partner did (Idia, she ran into him somewhat often). Like it’s just something that happens. Not GOOD, but you know-

She knows a LOT more abt Jamil’s tho. She is quite literally banned from traveling to the sands by herself, (bc they’re scared asims will kidnap her and try to beat the loopholes they used to get Jamil out- it’s why she has the last name Ashengrotto) and she has been told as to why she never sees her grandpa, and why she barely sees her grandma on that side. Jamil also has a lot more long term effects from it. She just knows that (most) of the asims aren’t good people, and that she has to be careful around them, bc even if they don’t try to take her, they may treat her as less than.

What both of them have been aware of though is that she is FAR more at risk bc of their overblots.

having a parent that overblotted puts you at more risk to have an overblot, and to be weaker to it’s aftereffects, but TWO? They were warned by a lot of doctors about it- it’s why both of them avoided what made them overblot

She was spoiled a lot because Jamil wanted to make sure she knew she was worth just as much as everyone else, if not more, just to make sure no one ever treated her as less than.

Azul specifically made sure he built her confidence to an UNSHAKABLE level so no one would ever be mean to her, (also let her bite. She was a terror to people in school)

but she doesn’t overblot bc of that- her overblot is much more similar to riddle’s! She overblots because she admires her dads so much, but feels like nothing she does will ever live up to what they did.

[moonlitphoenixflight]

In Stars and Time AU with shapeshifting aliens (Of Void and Light) [part 1]

[part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5]

When I play new games which I enjoy I often come up with AUs and such while I am playing them because my brain gets too full of hyperfixation and it has to do something with all that. A lot of this ends up being large amounts of original worldbuilding. For Isat, I had a couple little things, but the one that developed the most was an AU in which Siffrin and The King were twin shapeshifting alien royalty.

My cousin and I have done a little bit of work on an AU that's based on this one but more canon compliant than the barely at all that this is. There's some progress on a fic outline but I'm bad at finishing projects.

Beneath the cut is information on the non-canon compliant version.

The Shapeshifting Aliens

I call them changelings because I really like the word changeling. Their origin is that at some point in the past, there was a war between various different alien species in some other galaxy. The main reason they were fighting was because of communication barriers.

The Stars saw this, and decided that they should probably intervene.

In this AU, both 'The Stars' and 'The Universe' each refer to two different things. The definitions that we have in real life exists, but also, 'The Stars' are gods that are fundamental parts of the world, rather than existing because mortals worshipped them into existence (a god trope I like to use). 'The Universe' refers to the collective council of Stars.

The way The Stars decided to fix it was to create a species that could go and solve the problems. The Stars took some Void essence, and combined it with some Light essence to create a base. Void and Light essence separately are very powerful but very unstable, but combined they balance each other out, and make for a good base for a soul.

Void and Light essence are also both amorphous in physical form, meaning that the bodies of the species created would be as well. Because of this, The Stars gave this species the ability to shapeshift. It would also allow the new species to join the societies of each of the warring species, and eventually bridge the language barriers. This power would result in other species naming them changelings when they found out about it.

The changelings' shapeshifting combined with their connection the The Stars, which gave them both a constant benevolent motivation, and immense power, managed to end the war and unite the various species. A politics developed in which changelings were frequently in charge, because of the above connection to The Stars, though not always. Its called an empire not because of similarities to real life empires with Bad Politics (the Bad Politics comes later) but because empire is a fun word.

Over time, the changelings expanded, reproducing through what is essentially mitosis. Some groups of changelings decided to split off to explore other parts of the universe (notice the lowercase). To do this, they built ships the size of artificial moons, with ecosystems on them. The purpose of the size was for the long term sustainability, since to get to anywhere it would take an extremely long time. (my reason is that its fun)

The tradeoff for the size was that the amount of energy required to move the moonships was immense. Because of this, most of them traveled in trips from the main portion of the empire, to a single destination, then back again.

There was one exception to this, a moonship by the name of Xiriel.(the X pronounced like cks, not z) Xiriel was an exception to quite a lot of things, including the assumption that changelings are always benevolent creatures.

This is getting long, so I am going to make this be multiple posts. Next part will be about Xiriel.

[runwayrunway]

No. 50 - All Nippon Airways Airbus A380 "Flying Honu" Livery

Happy 50th Runway Runway post! I had a bit of a hard time deciding what to do for it - after all, it's a pretty significant number. I already sort of know what I want to do for the 100th post, but I hadn't put much thought into the 50th, and I had to scuttle any plans for something long and interesting after a rather stressful week. Instead I decided to do something both fun and requested!

source: ANA Stories

One (well, three!) of the most beloved special liveries out there, All Nippon Airways' turtle-themed "Flying Honu" Airbus A380. These three friendly giants fly from Japan to Honolulu, delighting anyone lucky enough to see them.

Actually, I love the Flying Honu so much I have one myself.

I would describe myself as a bit of a magpie. I collect useless things, be they historical ephemera, horror movie memorabilia, old books, pretty rocks, or way too many fountain pen inks given I mostly use them to take notes. I even have a bunch of my old teeth in a pillbox. Surprisingly, though, the things my talons have lodged in don't include many model airplanes. I have...a few. I've actually, though serendipity, gotten two more since I started this blog, expanding my collection to a startling five. Maybe seven if you count my Starscream and Brainstorm figures, but I don't think I even remember how to put either of them in their alt modes. The fact is that while they aren't a fortune or anything plane figures are expensive enough that it's a commitment to buy one, and I usually only do when I stumble on a good deal for a model I really want. And one of the few times I've actually decided that I just needed a model of a specific livery was the "Flying Honu" A380. Specifically, the one I have is the airframe registered JA382A, Kai. (She's the 1:500 JC Wings diecast model and is around the size of my hand.)

I just needed to be able to gently tap her nose in person, okay? She can't fit up on the shelf with a lot of my other miscellaneous trinkets so she sits on my desk and sometimes I explain things to her while trying to figure them out, like a coding rubber duck. She makes me happy.

All Nippon Airways (全日本空輸) is a major Japanese airline. In fact, in terms of both fleet size and number of destinations they're bigger than flag carrier JAL. They're consistently described as being among the best airlines in the world for the discerning well-to-do business traveler, and let's just say that's not me, but what I am is a reviewer of airline liveries, and ANA sure has those! In addition to their standard Triton Blue livery they do all sorts of special designs, particularly crossovers with properties like Pokémon and Star Wars. All of these are something I would like to someday feature, but none of them matter at all to me when compared to the Flying Honu, introduced with the A380 fleet in 2019.

A couple of times when I've told people I know about this livery they asked me if 'honu' is Japanese for 'turtle'. That's a reasonable question, but the Japanese word for turtle is 'kame'. 'Honu' is the word for turtle, though - in Hawaiian.

image: ANA

In fact, Honolulu is the A380s' only destination. ANA didn't really want A380s to begin with, but ended up stuck with them while acquiring another airline. The thing about the A380, and the reason it failed commercially and so few were ever built, is that the use-case for a massive plane is pretty limited. It goes as such: you have a passengerbase of people who have to travel from one giant hub that can land an A380 to another frequently enough that you can actually make money on a plane with four entire engines.

Okay, so the use-case is that you're Emirates. ANA might be expensive, but they don't really have the central location or sheer amount of regular business travelers that Dubai does. 'Three' also isn't really that many A380s, which creates a bit of a question of reliability. So instead they fixed the problem in a way that's honestly pretty genius: they made it turtles.

image: ANA

ANA seems to be generally invested in Hawaii, with a fair amount of partnerships with local organizations. A lot of Hawaiian real estate is owned by Japanese companies, and those of Japanese descent are the second-larget ethnic group in Hawaii at 16.7%, so it makes sense that a lot of people would want to travel there. Tokyo to Honolulu is a nice 9-hour flight with no possibility for a stopover of any kind (unless they invent civilian aircraft carriers for A380s), so it's the perfect route for precisely three really huge planes.

images: ANA

They can fit 520 passengers across four classes on one flight, seated across both decks of the massive planes. There is also a section of seats which convert to couches, marketed for families. Those who fly this route get to enjoy rainbow lighting and the ability to buy a duty-free 1:500 model of the plane (not the same model I have, though, I'm pretty sure) or a set of Flying Honu plushes.

Ra looks like she's plotting something. Lani looks like she's never had a single thought in her life.

And they do make money off this, because people absolutely love these planes. People have apparently had their weddings on these planes, and I would too! They make ten weekly flights right now, but in December that will be increasing to fourteen weekly, or two daily.

Okay, so, the actual liveries.

Here's Kai in full-size! The light in my room make her look way cooler toned in the photographs, but in real life she's this color. It's frequently described as 'green' or 'emerald green', but I think it's definitely turquoise and would go so far as to call it blue. Whatever the case, it's meant to represent the color of the sea near Hawaii. Kai is also distinct from the others because of her eyes, which are closed as she smiles from ear to ear. That's why she's my favorite - she just looks so happy!

...a bit weirder looking from upfront, but look how even the ventral fairing is painted! That's part of the flippers where they curl around, tucked into the shell. Unlike the Transocean Air Jinbei Jets, the cockpit windows blend in with the 'scales' of the Flying Honu, looking rather natural.

'Ra' is a beautiful orange, meant to represent the Hawaiian sunset. She has a bit of a peach undertone if you look closely, but her details are done in an extremely vivid reddish orange. Her distinguishing feature are those gigantic eyelashes, similar to Sakura Jinbei's. The actual mouth shape on all three planes appears to be the same, but I find that the eyes still give them distinct 'personalities'. Ra has always looked very thoughtful to me.

Just look at her in flight! I've never understood why people call the 747 stately or graceful, and same for the A380 - double-decker planes are just inherently goofy-looking, and that's great, but ANA managed to make one look pretty elegant. I think it's because turtles are already regarded as large and slow creatures, so fitting like for like just makes it seem as natural for this absolutely gigantic aircraft to be flying as it is for a turtle to swim.

Finally, Lani, the turtle everyone agrees to be blue, represents the Hawaiian sky during its brightest color in daylight. If you look closely, you can see her blue 'eyeshadow', which I've always thought made her look relaxed.

This picture gives a good angle of my only real critique of the Flying Honu, which is that the shells and heads don't entirely look aligned, as if the head is in the process of being retracted. That said, I think that's just a fact of working with the shape of an airplane. There's just no more space below to fit any more shell.

Rather than being just one turtle, though, each "Flying Honu" has two fully rendered baby turtles following behind their 'mother'.

I think this is adorable, and beyond that it solves a crucial problem - the tail. Turtles do have those, but not in a way that maps onto a standard empennage. Instead, ANA makes the smart choice to end the shell at a certain point and add these two extra turtles make-way-for-ducklings-ing their way across the fuselage for more visual interest, leaving the tail empty for an ANA logo without making it jarring. This is a huge improvement over the Jinbei Jets, which again serve as a point of comparison as the other major Japanese marine life planes. (Amakusa Airlines is way smaller and thus not going to get caught up in this.)

I mean, it's hard to find too much to say about these that isn't just "oh my gosh, look at them". The Flying Honu are vividly colored, with clever shapes used to make them immediately recognizable as turtles. I smile every time I see one, including the little one on my desk!

And in case you weren't already delighted, there's two extra bonus turtles!

I think it's pretty obvious I'm giving these an A+. Come on, just...just look at them. The fact that ANA bothered to make three distinct ones with their own names and faces is just icing on the cake for me, but I do love that they did.

I can't believe I didn't find a way to fit this in earlier into the post, but I really love turtles. If you have an aquarium near you, and that aquarium has turtles, I really recommend stopping by to see them. My local New England Aquarium has had Myrtle for more than 50 years. As they describe her, 'the 550-lb Queen of the Giant Ocean Tank is large, in charge, and ready to receive your adoration'.

True to form, although a lot larger and dealing in a different type of fluid dynamics, the Flying Honu jets get plenty of my adoration too.