#Source: I am also a nerd and know the experience here

[pilferingapples]

the real tragedy of the Amis chapters is that Marius is clearly terrified of asking questions about any of the genuinely baffling multitiered punbased conversations the Amis are having, when they would all VERY DEFINITELY be beyond delighted to get a new audience to infodump on

[aces-and-angels]

lunch break by the wonderfully talented @mimibayra (click for better quality)

hello friends✨

i am beyond honored to be sharing this amazing artwork i had done for @oh-so-youre-a-nerd and @saibug1022. elliott's done so many beautiful pieces for the windverse, it was about time i returned the favor🖤 mags is notorious for skipping meals, so to be sat down with wind over a basket of pastries is nothing short of a miracle 😂

this art was thanks to a donation i personally made to the following gfm campaign. i would like everyone to take the time to meet laila:

pictured above is laila and her four siblings; photo taken from laila's gfm page

(please read more below):

---

an excerpt from laila's campaign (organized by ahmed shaqqoura, laila's uncle; note this is only a portion of what is written and i strongly encourage you to read the whole passage)

---

from laila's tumblr @lailashaqoura:

a ss of one of laila's calligraphy pieces (full post here)

laila reached out to me three days ago (see here) asking to share her story with you all. her campaign has been vetted/verified by multiple sources that i've double checked:

source one // source two (laila's campaign is listed as #152 on the sheet made by @/nabulsi and @/el-shab-hussein) to learn more on how to double check if campaigns have been vetted/verified: read here

since my initial post (6/7), laila's family has raised $1,839. those additional funds were made possible by people continuing to spread laila's message. to stand with palestinians is to see them for who they are. to read their stories and understand that they are more than the horrific conditions they have endured for years. they are mothers- fathers- brothers- sisters- and so much more. laila is one of many brilliant lights that deserves to continue to showcase her talents as an artist with the world. she deserves to live out her dreams- as well as the rest of her family

@/mimibayra is currently offering her time and talents to making art like this for anyone who donates to not only laila's campaign, but others she has mentioned on her donation commission sheet. feel free to reach out to her for any questions you may have!

another artist i want to highlight here is @palentonga who is also offering art for those able to donate. i know a few of my moots here are dnd fans- and she specializes in making portraits for dnd characters. it was actually through her account that i was able to find @/mimibayra in the first place. visit her 📌 for more info on her donation commissions

while it is heartbreaking to read the stories coming from palestine, it is also a privilege to know them. i may never get to meet laila and her family face to face- but i still feel connected to them in a way that i never thought to be possible. there is beauty in knowing that you can care so deeply- feel as strongly- about their cause. to quote @/fairuzfan (a palestinian blogger):

"there is still hope. say it out loud. palestine will be free. the palestinian people will celebrate their culture and heritage with each other. we will love and be loved. do not fall into the trap of despair." read full post here

for anyone who can, please consider matching my donation:

and if you can't donate, please share laila's story and continue to make space for her and her family in your heart. stay present and engaged for them and everyone else in palestine. listen to those who are sharing their lives and experiences so openly whilst facing tremendous suffering, not just here on tumblr, but on any platform you may have. it is never to late to stand with them. because we are not free until they are all free

if you made it this far, thanks for sticking around 🖤

[dollypopup]

So, I wasn't gonna post anything about this, honestly, but because I was directly asked, here's my 2 cents!

First, I want to thank you for saying you trust me with this! I'm also on the ace-spectrum, and I'm a queer, bisexual woman, so I do have a lot of empathy with you and everyone else who was down for queer rep.

(Also, I do not have Anon turned on for my asks. I absolutely respect your privacy, but I've been harassed before, and if people want to come at me, they can do it with their whole chest. Similarly, if people want to come TO me, I'd love to be friends!) I want to start off with the fact that whilst I understand that you believe the article, I don't. Call it the skeptic in me, or my media literacy classes during my grad program or denial or what have you, but we live in a huge era of misinformation. A tabloid is not likely to be any kind of reliable source, and a random reddit user even less so. It's like making a balloon full of pudding and having a clown say it's helium. We're not going to know until the needle pops it. Surely, no one would ever lie on the internet.

That being said, as much as I yearned and wanted for Demi Colin to be confirmed, it's not set in stone, and so it couldn't have been taken away from us. Honestly, even being ace-spec, a lot of the HC of Demi!Colin started putting a bad taste in my mouth when I realized that a lot of this predominately cishet fandomw as doing it as a means of keeping Colin 'pure' for Penelope, and that struck me as incredibly acephobic. Sure, they were HCing him as one of us. . .but not because it fit with his character or provided a rich and interesting arc for him to explore, but more so that his identity was an extension of their hopes and wants for Penelope. It wasn't for him as a character, but for him as a prize. And that made me so very sad, so my dream of Demi!Colin died when I saw that happening so frequently. Us Demi and Ace folks deserved better than that, and we continue to.

Either way, I think you are absolutely allowed to feel your disappointment! This is a frustration safe zone! There was a lot of potential this season, especially for Colin, that I feel has been dropped. But even IF that article contains some truth (big, heavy IF). . .idk, I see it through the lens that lot of us Demi folks have had sex. Even no strings attached sex. I know I have. Was I disassociated from it for a lot of the time? Yeah. Was it satisfying? No. But did it happen? It did. I chose to take part in it, and they were experiences that helped me grow. And I am no less Demi for it! IF this article is true, instead of us freaking. . .I feel like it could tell us a lot about Colin's character.

He is a man who has had, largely, no good role models in his life. Not in this regard. Who does he have to guide him? Anthony? Literally said he should have taken Colin to brothels. Benedict? Hell, he had a threesome himself. Why wouldn't Colin be out here thinking 'This is what Men do, this is what my brothers do, why not?' Colin is young. He's 23 still trying to find himself. And the entire idea of 'oh, he's a nerd! no way he's had threesomes' lol, like nerds aren't kinky? Come on, I'm a nerd and I've done way more than people would assume I have. He was traveling for months, and I think this really isn't as huge a deal as we're making it out to be. I ship Polin exclusively, and I love the idea of them having their firsts together, but I'm also not angry otherwise. In my mind, he's still demi. Just like he'll always be ND, even if it isn't confirmed.

Sidenote, o want to touch on something that is somewhat unrelated to your post, but something I'm seeing a lot is the whole 'it's dehumanizing for him to watch two women!' or 'it's lesbian fetishization!'

from the very bottom of my heart, as a gay woman, people saying that can eat me. These are the same people who didn't care about any of our representation, before. They didn't care about having lesbian characters, didn't bring them up. Now that it affects their (largely) het pairing, and specifically Colin as a perfect prize in a pairing he has largely been denied a narrative within, we're talking pieces and pawns for their discontent? No, I refuse. There are legitimate criticisms that can and should take place about Bridgerton's lack of care toward wlw, and especially that our only representation may actually just be a lesbian performance for the sake of a threesome, but this is not a criticism on COLIN. It is a criticism on the PRODUCTION. Because if we had queer women in the series before, it wouldn't be an issue. However, I refuse to have my sexuality used as a 'ewwww gross! look what they're doing! isn't that soooo wrong?' gotcha moment by people who just don't like his character. If we're gonna have a conversation about it, we should have a conversation about it based purely on our actual desire to protect and care for queer women. Not using us as stepping stone soap boxes to prop up an argument.

Queer people are really done dirty in the Polin fandom, and this is proof of it. Demi!Colin is important to me, and he continues living on in my heart and my fics, and even if it turns out that he's fucked up and down the Amalfi coastline and watched live porn, that won't make him less demi to me, personally. Ace spec people's experience with sex is all unique, and honestly, watching seems very in line with Colin's character. I don't agree with peeps who call it weird or gross that he watches porn.

This is an incredibly puritanical fandom, and I find it more and more evident as I spend time in it. The entire 'suffering' 'penance' 'deserve her' 'grovel' train was already very clear in that regard, and then people only wanting Colin to be a virgin so he remained 'pure' and 'untarnished' (legit takes I had to read with my own eyeballs) for Penelope was so Catholic on main that it made me feel insane.

Us ace-spec peeps deserve to be and should have the space to be upset at any developments taking place! We also deserve to be free from people doing pseudo pearl clutching and hiding behind feminist and queer-friendly language to disguise that they're just upset that Colin is getting anything at all in his storyline that centers around him and his own discovery outside of Penelope. Even if he isn't a virgin, he can absolutely still be Demi, Anon! And I hope that brings you some comfort.

Am I a fan of the threesomes foursomes moresomes and live porn speculation? No, not particularly. Am I livid furious throwing up about it? Also no. This series has betrayed me and disappointed me in so many ways, but so has the fandom. I guess I'm accustomed to it, now. But I want to reiterate that we should not believe everything that is posted. Some rando on a reddit forum confirming a tabloid article does not investigative journalism and peer review and confirmed sources make.

But in the event that the season does disappoint and gives us some baffling storylines: this is where fanfic can be such a comfort. It's how a story lives on in perpetuity. I've written trans!Colin and queer!Colin and demi!Colin and virgin!Colin and bdsm!Colin and all sorts! We can give we everything we want. It's our playground and it's meant to be fun.

But over my dead body will I believe a Sun UK article lol

[astrojulia]

All about Cancer

Navigation:   ੈ♡˳Masterlist    

        ੈ♡˳Askbox    ੈ♡˳Sources

I always start by talking about people I know who have this sign… So, it's only in this short excerpt that I speak fully as a person who experiences astrology in everyday life and not as an astrology student (and a would-be astrologer). I can't escape the fact that I see people of this sign as highly emotional. No, it's not something negative (when well-performed), and it doesn't even mean that it's someone who cries for everything. It's just that it's a person who acts more emotionally than rationally (because we are all emotional beings).

As a general energy, I see that Cancer shows how we are beings trying to live a material life... There are several ways of seeing life, with beliefs or not. You can believe in the soul, spirit, etc. But you can't deny that we seem to see life through a window in our eyes, and there is a part of us that is not material. You can't deny that it's hard to live, but it's the best experience in our life. This energy of not being something material and that we are in a shell is what this sign represents for me.

As always, I need to say that when I write in the post, I need to put what the experts and the most important astrological community say and think, because I am responsible for every word I write, but here I always say that it is just my point of view, my studies and my evolution, because I’m the type of person who always wants to be better the next day. So let me tell you this: for me there is no underdeveloped aspect! For me, the underdeveloped part will always be our “Shadow self” that will appear when we most need to defend ourselves! Underdeveloped is our deepest instinct and we need to look at it as a Digivolution and not a Pokémon evolution (nerd references!!!). 

Cancerians are all about nurturing, taking care of their peeps, and doing their best to help those close to them. They can be pretty over-protective sometimes, and may make decisions that reflect what they believe is best rather than what's actually going on. But that's just because they care too much.

Cancerians' greatest strength lies in their emotional intelligence, and when they harness it effectively, they truly shine. In today's society, emotions often have a negative connotation, causing many of us to suppress our feelings and view emotional expression as a weakness. This can lead to moodiness and a tendency to romanticize things that shouldn't be romanticized. However, when Cancerians embrace their emotional side, it becomes nearly impossible to knock them off balance. They have a deep understanding of their own emotions, as well as those of others, which allows them to navigate relationships and situations with ease.

They are highly sensitive individuals, with an emotional depth that sets them apart. While their sensitivity can be a great strength, it can also make them emotionally vulnerable at times. They often feel things deeply and may be more affected by negative events or criticism than others. However, their vulnerability is also a testament to their immense capacity for empathy and caring, which is a hallmark of their personality.

They are known for their remarkable intuition and deep understanding of the world around them. They possess a natural sensitivity and an ability to read between the lines, which allows them to connect with others on a profound level. However, they can also be withdrawn and shy, sometimes retreating into their own world when they feel overwhelmed. This tendency to be reserved should not be mistaken for a lack of interest or engagement; rather, it is a reflection of their need for privacy and reflection. In moments of quiet, Cancerians can access their deepest thoughts and emotions, allowing them to recharge and reconnect with their intuition.

Cancerians are individuals who possess a deep well of emotions and a profound attachment to the people and memories that are important to them. They have a unique ability to cherish memories and relationships with great depth and passion, and they are often sentimental about the things that matter most to them. Their sensitivity and sentimentality are a testament to their caring and empathetic nature, which allows them to connect with others on a profound level. However, at times, their sentimentality can cause them to become overly emotional and maudlin. They may become lost in nostalgia or overly focused on the past, making it difficult for them to move forward and fully embrace the present moment. While their sentimentality can be a strength, it is important for Cancerians to balance it with a healthy perspective that allows them to appreciate the present moment and the opportunities that it presents.

They have a deep appreciation for tradition and are often drawn to the customs and practices of the past. They find comfort in the familiar and enjoy the sense of continuity that comes with following longstanding practices. However, at times, their attachment to tradition can cause them to become overly bound by the past, making it difficult for them to embrace new ideas and ways of doing things. While their respect for tradition is a strength, it is important for Cancerians to balance it with an openness to new experiences and perspectives. By doing so, they can broaden their horizons and grow in ways that enhance their lives and enrich their relationships with others. When they are able to strike a healthy balance between honoring the past and embracing the present, Cancerians can tap into the wisdom of the past while remaining fully engaged in the world around them.

They have a strong attachment to their homes and families, and often derive great satisfaction from nurturing and caring for those closest to them. They are domestic in nature, and find comfort in creating warm and inviting spaces that reflect their personal style and values. However, at times, their focus on the domestic sphere can cause them to become overly sheltered, limiting their exposure to new experiences and perspectives.

So, in other words:

At their best, Cancers are:

Nurturing: Cancers have a natural inclination to take care of others. They are empathetic and compassionate individuals who enjoy making others feel loved and cared for.

Kind: Cancers are kind-hearted and will go out of their way to help others. They believe in treating others the way they want to be treated and always try to put themselves in other people's shoes.

Loving: Cancers are affectionate and express their love openly. They value close relationships and are devoted to their loved ones.

Honest: Cancers inspire others to admit, face, and accept the difficult truths in their lives. They have a strong sense of integrity and believe in being honest with themselves and others.

Supportive: Cancers are incredibly supportive of those around them. They encourage others to pursue their dreams and offer a shoulder to lean on during tough times.

At their worst, Cancers can be:

Passive-aggressive: Cancers may resort to passive-aggressive behavior when they feel hurt or upset. They may say one thing but mean another or use sarcasm to express their feelings.

Irrational: Cancers can be highly emotional and may let their feelings cloud their judgment. They may make decisions based on their emotions rather than logic, which can lead to poor outcomes.

Moody: Cancers can have drastic mood swings, going from happy to sad or angry within a short period. They may have a hard time controlling their emotions and may take their feelings out on others.

Expecting repayment: Cancers may do good things for others but always with the expectation of being repaid in some way. They may keep track of their good deeds and expect others to reciprocate in the future.

Victim mentality: Cancers may adopt a victim mentality, feeling sorry for themselves and blaming others for their problems. They may have a hard time taking responsibility for their actions and may feel helpless or powerless.

As the fourth sign of the zodiac, Cancer is the first reflection of what we really are. After the certainty that comes with the strength of Aries, Taurus stirs things up, and that's why we need to return to the past, to our origins, to review what we really are.

As a water sign, Cancer is the surface that reflects everything above. It's there, and at the same time, it's not, always being an illusion, a mirage. As a cardinal sign that seeks things, Cancer seeks security, just like the crab that has its shell to protect itself from everything and is always looking for a home that can better comfort it (Paguroidea).

The connection between Cancer and its opposite sign Capricorn is incredibly intricate, as it delves into the interplay between our instincts and our super ego. It represents a harmonization of the child's desires and the adult's needs, or even the reverse dynamic

Cancer, as a zodiac sign, is ruled by the Moon, which is often associated with the realm of emotions. Being influenced by the Moon, Cancer symbolizes the depths of our instincts, the richness of our feelings, and the core of our fundamental desires.

(CC) AstroJulia Some Rights Reserved

Sources:

“Os astros sempre nos Acompanham” by Claudia Lisboa

“DEPTH ASTROLOGY: An Astrological Handbook”, Volume 1, by Gargatholil

Servant of the Fates on tumblr

PSD by wildfireresources on deviantart

[endogenicredstar]

Welcome!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to our little patch of heaven! I know I made an intro post before, but I feel that it’s become outdated already. So, after this post has been submitted, the old one will be unpinned, and possibly deleted, along with the original system intro post. Because all of our info will be in this one submission! Before we begin, please keep in mind that this page is a secondary blog! As a result, we won't be able to follow back! Now, without any further delays, let’s get started!

About the Host

My name is Shane, but you can also call me Sylum! I’m 29 years old. I’m physically disabled, chronically ill, and I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and inattentive type ADHD. I’m part of the Alterhuman community, meaning that I don’t psychologically identify as a human (This can also include spiritually for some people, but not me.). More specifically, I’m primarily fictionkin. I identify as an individual member of a fictional species known as the Buma from Final Fantasy VII– even more specifically, a subspecies that I developed, called the Icicle Variant. If you’d like to know more, please feel free to message me.

My secondary kintype is shapeshifter. A paleo shapeshifter to be more precise, meaning that I can mentally shift to any extinct species at any given time. So you may wind up talking to a living, breathing dinosaur at some point.

Important Info: Due to my anxiety, I may not reach out to anyone outside the system. If you’d like to talk, please send a DM. Please be patient with me, as it may take a bit for me to respond. If anyone’s up front aside from myself, they may answer in my stead. Please be aware that some system mates aren’t social. So I apologize in advance if they come off as rude.

Now, it’s time for the fun part! Let’s meet the system!

Note: I’ve decided to use an almost sci-fi space marine/military naming theme in regards to their roles. (I’m a nerd. Shush./j) Please be aware that the guys aren’t all like their source materials.

The Red Star System

Let’s get one, very important detail out of the way: We are an Endogenic System, meaning that we don’t stem from trauma of any sort. If you would like to know about non-traumagenic plurality, please check out the ICD-11, as it’s a tad more in date than the DSM-5. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get on with member introductions!

Good afternoon! I’m Knockout, the Chief Medical Officer of the Red Star System. My job is to make sure that the host’s body is well taken care of. Everything from reminding Shane to eat, to administering medication, to checking blood sugar is my responsibility. I’m often at the front whenever Shane experiences some form of medical issue. Or, when he goes to see a human doctor. I often help him cope with medical anxiety whenever it rears its ugly head. Please note that, due to my job as a medic back home, that I may not respond to questions or comments right away. And please don’t ask me for medical advice. I may be the Chief Medical Officer here, but that doesn’t mean I know everything about human biology.

Heyya! I’m Breakdown! I’m kinda like a nurse, which is also what I am back home! I help Knockout with medical stuff in the field, and I help take care of Shane! I also double as a Security Officer. Ya know, making sure that our little guy’s safe and sound! I usually come out whenever there’s a physical problem that needs solving; like figuring out the safest place to park his chair. It doesn’t sound like much, but I promise you that it’s important work! Like Knockout, I might be busy with other things, so I might not answer right away.

Greetings. I am Starscream, the Commander– though Shane insists that rank and duty are two separate things here. Regardless, my job is to ensure our host’s physical safety, as well as maintain his psychological security. I am often at the front whenever he is under extreme stress, and needs to be removed from the situation. I am a boundary enforcer; I make sure that certain lines are not crossed. I suggest you tread carefully, unless you wish to face my wrath.

Hi there! I’m Nanaki, and I’m one of the system’s Councilors! My job is to help Shane through some psychological issues. I don’t counsel him in regards to severe problems, like his depression spikes, but I can help him with his anxiety. I can also be a listening ear if he needs to vent. Please remember that I’m considered a minor in human culture, so please don’t mention anything adult whenever I’m at the front, okay?

Name’s Cloud. I’m a Security Officer– which means that I protect Shane from anything, or anyone, that might hurt him. I’m always on the clock, so if anyone tries anything, you’ll have to deal with me.

Hola! My name is Miguel O’Hara, and I’m the system’s head Security Officer. I usually front whenever Shane feels threatened by someone/something. Or, if he’s experiencing acute distress. If anyone gets particularly outta line, it’s my job to make sure they get back in line. Because I’m my universe’s Spider-Man, and a protector of the multiverse, I might not be around all that much. However, I’ll try to respond, or post, whenever I have the time.

Sup? I'm Hawks, better known as Keigo in some circles on here. My job is to protect Shane from any perceived danger-- a Security Officer, if you will. As long as you're chill, I'm chill. Kay? I might be unavailable at times due to hero work, but rest assured: I'll post and answer any asks you send as soon as I get the chance!

Hey. My name is Kai Chisaki, also known as Overhaul. I don't really go by that anymore; it leaves a bad taste in my mouth whenever I hear it. I'm a Medical Officer I guess-- that's still up for debate though. I'm not always busy, so I'll be around more than most of the people here.

DNI IF YOU ARE:

Anti-Endo

A transphobe, TERF, Homophobe, etc.

A Pedophile/MAP.

A Zoophile.

An ableist.

Anti-Otherkin.

Anti-Fictionkin.

We hope to see you folks around some time soon! Thank you for taking the time to read all of this! We appreciate it!

[monstersinthecosmos]

Do you think the show really will be cancelled? And do you think the awful part of the fandom that sprung up from it will go away anytime soon if it does?

tbh I really don't know enough about the show to have an opinion on that. I'm not really interested in hate-watching or lurking in fandoms that I don't belong to LOL so I'm not really on the inside of any gossip about how it's looking behind the scenes and I don't really want to speculate because I know I don't have all the information. I think this question is for people who are more invested or have more industry knowledge than I do!

As far as the "awful" part, if you mean fandom casual normies who travel from fandom to fandom like locusts to harass people until all the creators give up: Yes, they will move on. I think sometimes in fandoms you get like, casual normies who discover there's a subculture of nerds they can harass, and they do that for a couple years until it either gets boring or their personality grows enough to have more productive passions, and there's also fandom lifers who actually like, care about their thing (probably in a ND fashion tbh) and are usually the ones who stick around and make all the content that everyone else wants to consume.

The casual normies also just tend to have such underdeveloped senses of self that they join tumblr bc it's the thing to do, and pick a fandom because it's a thing to do, and they spend their whole time fandoming in such a deep state of denial that this might be a real hobby and there might be real people participating that they just neg everybody and shit on it the whole time for being cringe without realizing that they're here too lol. Like the amount of times a bully has tried to shame someone for being too passionate, and used "it's not that deep" as a conversation stopper, etc. These folks will move on because they're here because they're bored, not because they actually are POSSESSSED by the THING. (and hey, if you joined a fandom because you're bored THAT'S GREAT that's how we all got here in the first place, but don't shit on the carpet lol please be respectful to the space you just intruded upon!)

So a show going off the air isn't going to deter the people who actually love it. I mean, my other fandom is Sheith and that show was A. Terrible, B. Over in 2018, and the fandom is still going strong because a lot of people genuinely love the characters. I'd even say the same of VC book fandom, especially considering how much of the fandom falls off after the trilogy, and that ended like, 30 years ago LOL.

The thing about fandoms is that they're self-generating, right? And if you're one of the deep fandom nerd lifers you'll learn this if you haven't yet. Even AMC fandom; S1 ended a year ago and fandom is going strong. Part of it is the hope and hobby of watching news drip out - SURE! But it's also the fanart and fics and meta and conversation. The season is what, like, 7 hours long? And I'm SURE that the deep nerd lifers have spent way way way way way more hours than that reading fanfiction by now. And fanfics can really supplement a canon and give people ideas and deepen their love of the source. So I'm positive that there are people out there who have been moved to tears by fic and feel so strongly about THOSE stories, as well, and it just deepens their love of the show when they return to rewatch.

From 2016-2018 I exclusively read Yuri on Ice fic and there was only one season. And that season is even shorter! It's like 4.5 hours of canon! But when I think about YOI I am thinking about like multitude of NOVELS I've read about it, not JUST the 4.5 hours of canon, right?

All fandoms are like this. Fanworks are the lifeblood. And even with book fandom's lack of fic, I still feel that the friends I've made are the experience here, and how we can chatter all day & night about Armand forever and never get tired of it because we're all ND weirdos lol. I mean my Armand friends and I just spent a week in New Orleans together, it was the best! And as a fanfic writer, I will ALWAYS want to dedicate my free time to writing stories and talking about the blorbos, and I share those stories because fandom is self-generating and I want to do my part in keeping it alive. People create stuff and make friends and stick around well past the death of canon because they are POSSESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I hope that one day when the show is finished that the bad actors get bored and move on and the creators and true fans stick around and keep making stuff, because bullying people and being a cunt uses up a LOT of energy that could be better spent on productive and creative hobbies when they're ready to heal themselves and grow up. It's just not sustainable! :)

[yes-but-theyre-my-dorks]

Buzzfeed Unsolved x MCU: The Battle of New York

summary: Shane and Ryan do a Supernatural Unsolved episode on the Battle of New York

rating: PG-13 for language

warnings: none really? language

word count: ~1.6k

a/n: I wrote a fic like this years ago, but unfortunately I deleted that tumblr account back in 2019 and I literally cannot find any record of my post anymore. I couldn’t even find the original copy anywhere on my computer. hope y’all enjoy it! extra info found on the MCU fandom wiki.

Ryan: This week on Buzzfeed Unsolved, we’re covering the Battle of New York, an event that destroyed half of Manhattan in a single afternoon and opened the world’s eyes to the existence of extraterrestrial life. Bet you feel pretty fuckin’ stupid now, huh Shane?

Shane: Now, look here, I am pretty fuckin’ stupid, but I have never said that I don’t believe in aliens.

Ryan: You say it literally every time we do an episode on aliens.

Shane: No, I’ve said that I don’t believe aliens have ever interacted with humans before.

Ryan: All I’m hearing are excuses.

Shane: Who’s pretty fuckin’ stupid now?

Ryan: Still you.

Shane: Damn, when you’re right you’re right.

Ryan: Can I get into the case now?

Shane: Go ahead, open your file with a single piece of paper in it and tell us all about it.

Ryan: Let’s get into it.

On May 1st, 2012, in a secret, underground facility in the middle of the Mojave, experiments were being performed on an object called “the Tesseract.” The scientists performing the experiment were employed by the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, otherwise known as “S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Shane: Wait a second, say that name again?

Ryan: S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Shane: No no no, the acronym.

Ryan: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Shane: (wheeze) That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.

Ryan: Yeah, it does seem like they’re trying too hard.

Shane: Someone really wanted their organization to spell out “SHIELD.” What a bunch of nerds.

Ryan: The Tesseract had been used during World War II by Nazi scientists Johann Schmidt and Arnim Zola to create energy weapons that were capable of completely pulverizing its targets. It was briefly lost when Captain Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, hijacked a German bomber called the Valkyrie that was on course to destroy multiple major cities across the United States. He was unable to change course, so instead he attempted to fly the Valkyrie into the ocean and ended up landing in an ice field in Greenland. The Tesseract was found by Howard Stark not long after, although Captain Rogers and the Valkyrie were not found until about 70 years later.

The Tesseract changed owners several times, but by 2012 it was in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s possession during Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., which was an acronym for “Potential Energy Group - Alternate Sources - United States.”

Shane: Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.

Ryan: (wheeze)

Shane: Fuckin’ tryhards. 

Ryan: On May 1, 2012, there was an incident involving the Tesseract. The facility was breached by Loki Laufeyson, an alien born on Uranus and raised on Saturn. Thanks to Natasha Romanoff leaking all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s data in 2014, all security footage from that night is available to the public. While they were experimenting on the Tesseract, it opened a portal through which Loki was able to come to Earth. He attacked and killed several agents using a staff that looked to be powered by something similar to the Tesseract. He used the same staff to subdue several agents and scientists through mind control. He even used it on Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye: an actual Avenger!

Shane: Now hold up, mind control? On an Avenger? No way.

Ryan: I’m just telling you the facts.

Shane: There is no way an Avenger just let him waltz up and take control of his mind!

Ryan: Well actually, Loki is so powerful that he shows up in Norse mythology as a god, so really an Avenger got mind controlled by a god.

Shane: But we know he’s not a god now, he’s just an alien.

Ryan: The footage doesn’t lie!

Shane: This is bullshit.

Ryan: One of the side effects of this kind of mind control is that it turns the victim’s eyes bright blue, and according to footage we have from this event and images of Loki later on, his eyes are significantly bluer during the battle and the events leading up to it, so-

Shane: Ohhhhh, so he could have been mind-controlled, too!

Ryan: Yeah, exactly.

Shane: That tickles me very much!

Ryan: Ew, I… I didn’t like that.

Shane: That is very tickling indeed!

Ryan: This is a weird turn of phrase, even for you.

Shane: I will say, it makes the whole “mind controlling an Avenger” thing way more believable.

Ryan: Loki successfully stole the Tesseract, and the entire facility collapsed on itself, apparently due to the sheer power of the portal they had opened. Footage shows Loki using his staff to shoot oncoming S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and completely pulverizing them. He even shot down a helicopter!

S.H.I.E.L.D. used this as an opportunity to reactivate the Avengers Initiative, a project focused on bringing together people of special abilities to protect the Earth. The Avengers at the time were made up of Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man, Captain America, Bruce Banner, also known as the Hulk, Thor, another alien from Saturn who is seen in Norse mythology as the “god of thunder,” Agent Natasha Romanoff, also known as the Black Widow, and Hawkeye.

Shane: I thought Hawkeye got mind controlled?

Ryan: Well they got him back before the battle.

Shane: Do we know how?

Ryan: According to Agent Romanoff, she hit him really hard in the head and he was fine.

Shane: (wheeze) Is that really what she said?

Ryan: Yeah, they were fighting on one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s helicarriers and she slammed his head against a railing and then knocked him out for good measure.

Shane: What a badass!

Ryan: Oh yeah, the Black Widow is definitely one of the most underrated heroes in history.

Loki spent a brief time in captivity on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s helicarrier, but was rescued by some of his mind-controlled goons who launched a fairly severe attack on the aircraft. Thor and the Hulk fell off the carrier, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were killed, including a high-ranking agent named Phil Coulson.

On May 4th, famous astrophysicist Erik Selvig (who was also under mind control) was caught building a portal using the Tesseract on top of Stark Tower in downtown Manhattan. After some failed negotiation between Tony Stark and Loki inside the tower, the portal was opened and an alien army known as the Chitauri was released on New York. The Chitauri are a sentient species of cybernetically enhanced beings that operate under a hive mind intelligence. They use another species called Leviathans for troop transport and combat, which are extremely augmented using armor, anti-gravity devices, and even laser cannons. 

The battle itself lasted two to three hours. Most of Manhattan was destroyed, and the World Security Council actually authorized the release of a nuclear missile to try and end the battle. As the missile headed for New York, Tony Stark intercepted it and redirected it into the portal. The missile hit the Chitauri Command Center, destroying the hive mind and deactivating every single soldier left fighting. Stark’s suit lost power as he let the nuke go, and he fell back to Earth through the portal just as Agent Romanoff closed the portal using Loki’s staff. As he was falling, reports say that he was caught in mid-air by the Hulk and brought safely back to ground level.

Shane: How the hell is New York still standing after that?

Ryan: Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. had a subsidiary team called “Damage Control,” and after the battle it was transferred to the federal government and is now the U.S. Department of Damage Control.

Shane: What, they couldn’t come up with a fun acronym for that?

Ryan: I guess not, whoever was coming up with cool names was off that day.

Shane: Damn, right when they needed him the most.

Ryan: Honestly, that’s the real tragedy of this whole story.

Shane: So is that the whole case?

Ryan: That’s pretty much it.

Shane: I remember where I was when I saw this on TV, actually.

Ryan: Oh yeah?

Shane: Yeah, I was watching TV at home and flippin’ through the channels and when I flipped on the news I thought I was watching a shitty alien movie.

Ryan: (wheeze) You didn’t realize this was a real thing that happened?

Shane: No, not until I saw it on Twitter like an hour after it happened.

Ryan: Oh my God, dude! You really are fuckin’ stupid.

Shane: I never said I wasn’t.

Ryan: Even though we now know the facts of the Battle of New York, a lot of questions remain unanswered. If Loki was being controlled, who was controlling him?  Where are he and Thor now? Does this open the door for future alien attacks, or alien alliances? What else is out there? As of this episode being filmed in April of 2015, we’re still waiting to see what the Avengers do next, but until then, all of these questions remain… UNSOLVED.

So who’s your favorite Avenger, Shane?

Shane: Hmm, that’s a toughie.

Ryan: Mine is Captain America, no contest.

Shane: Oh yeah?

Ryan: Hell yeah, dude. Killing Nazis and fighting aliens and surviving 70 years in ice? That’s badass.

Shane: So… no cap?

Ryan: *disappointed silence*

Shane: Get it, because- 

Ryan: No I got the joke.

Shane: Well, you’re not laughing, so I thought-

Ryan: Well it wasn’t funny.

Shane: Goodness, Ryan, you don’t have to hurt my feelings like that.

Ryan: I love hurting your feelings, actually.

Shane: Hm. This is awkward, then.

-----

please lmk if I should write more of these, I had a lot of fun with this one and I haven’t written stuff like this in like 5 years so I feel a little rusty lol. hope you enjoyed and if anyone wants to give me suggestions on more stuff to write please do!

[d20unfuckability]

I absolutely think Cody deserved to have lost to Margaret bc theres no world where a girlboss loses but i still stand by that Cody Walsh is extremely fuckable and here are my sources. 1. Cody is exactly like a guy I went to high school w and lived w in college who was a giant nerd that was rlly earnest in everything he did and everyone I've ever known who knew him including myself wanted him carnally. I had a conversation w someone just a couple months ago ab how she wanted to suck his dick. 2. Pathetic goth boy pussy is so fucking potent I cannot express. I, personally, want to dom him so hard. I just KNOW in my heart he's gagging for someone to slap and choke him and deny him for a few hours. I know it. I know that when he started crying and saying "fucking thank you" to ricky that it was informed by other experiences. It wouldn't even fix him, but he's definitely hoping to egg someone to put him in his place. He probably has his tongue pierced. He probably wears underbust corsets bc hes a goth guy who grew up in the 90s. Literally if u can't picture him on his knees in an instant then we didnt watch the same tuc2. I also stand by this and am not a coward so ill say all of this off anon. cody walsh is fuckable bc he sucks and he's pathetic and even when he becomes a better person he's still in need of a dicking down.

i've said everything i can think of to say about how unfuckable cody is, so i'm just gonna present this without further comment for the people to consider <3

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Immortal Thor #3 Speculation

Spoilers for The Immortal Thor issues 1 and 2 and the promotional summary we have so far for issue 3.

So I want to talk today about making the title or byline or maybe just selling point "Thor in the wilderness," and how my literary nerd brain is going brrr over it. (And I know this is more Thor than Loki, but Loki's involved, so it counts.)

"Going into the wilderness" is a symbolic or literal phrase referring to one undergoing a personal trial. One might think of "shamanic or "rites of passage" going off into the wilderness to gain some sort of wisdom or insight or to come of age, but as I am not Native myself in any capacity, let alone of a culture that might have practiced or still practices this sort of journey, I'm not going to get into that interpretation, because I don't even run the risk of misrepresenting the practice, I already know I will. So I will allow someone else with more background knowledge in that interpretation (if what I've heard of it is even a legitimate cultural practice) to talk about that in greater detail.

I do, however, have experience with the Christian (possibly Judeo-Christian? But again, not my experience, so I'm not going to make any claims I can't back up when I don't even know what makes for a credible source for that community on the internet) Biblical usage of the phrase.

We often (or maybe just I do) think of "the wilderness" as thickly forested areas, but in Biblical terms, given the area most of the stories take place, wilderness primarily just refers to anywhere apart from civilization. It can be deep in the desert or at the top of a mountain as much as in the heart of the woods. We can call to mind Jesus's forty days in isolation in the desert, where he is tempted three times by the Devil. In the Old Testament, Moses leads the Israelites into the desert/wilderness, where they wander for forty years until (as one interpretation has it) they come to trust in God enough for God to show them the way to the Promised Land (and not, as I thought growing up through Sunday School class, a 40-year straight line through a very large desert). There are other wilderness examples, but this isn't Sunday School, so I'll end with these.

So aside from other literary references (as I didn't look into it, but I'm sure the trajectory of this symbolism doesn't just go Bible -> Thor comic. There's got to be a Shakespeare play in there somewhere, at the very least), if Ewing is directly referencing the Bible here (which I doubt, but we're gonna pretend for a hot second, bear with me), why?

I'm going to ignore a few obvious parallels for the moment, around Thor (though a god himself) being the son of (a) God and Loki's horns being particularly prominent and (albeit more eccentrically) devil-like in this panel:

Ewing has been bookending these issues with excerpts from the Eddas. The Edda was composed by Snorri Sturluson, and is one of, if not, the earliest written account (both Prose Edda and Poetic Edda) of Norse mythology, as had previously been passed down through oral tradition. (Issue 2 is actually prefaced by a quote from Saemund Sigfusson, but I'll get to him later.) So what does this have to do with the Bible? Sturluson's account of Norse mythology is not without personal authorial bias, and Sturluson writes his Eddas at a time when Iceland has been mainly Christianized. So there is some interesting historical basis for making a biblical reference in a story following a hero from a completely different pantheon. This would certainly not even be the first time an illustration or characterization of Loki bore a striking likeness to the devil (he does have a snake form, after all).

(So I tried to find the image I was thinking of, and in addition to being devil-like, it also was setting off warning bells of being an anti-semitic caricature, so now I have to go stare at a wall and think about the upsetting and disheartening parallels between "devilish features" and anti-semitism and how disappointing it is that I didn't make this connection before. BRB.)

Saemund Sigfusson is quoted in issue 2 (and I cannot confirm this is a legitimate quote or if he's now a fictionalized Marvel character, but I would think it's an official translation), and he was an Icelandic priest and chronicler in the eleventh century. According to Britannica, "The Poetic Edda is known as Saemundr's Edda, because it was erroneously attributed to Saemundr." So another edda writer (edda just refers to this kind of work) who was also Christian, though I did not explicitly see in my (albeit scant) research whether he has been criticized for applying Christian themes/doctrine to Old Norse traditions. [EDIT: This is purely speculation on my part, but given what the Britannica says about Saemund's other work being lost to the ages and the Poetic Edda being misattributed to him, the source in the comic being "The Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson," and Wikipedia saying the Poetic Edda is also called the Elder Edda, I'm going to leave the above interpretation in as a possibility but also add that this may actually be a quote from the Poetic Edda misattributed to Saemund. Why Ewing chose to do this, I don't know. Maybe he doesn't know it's not his Edda, maybe Brittanica and Wikipedia are telling me the wrong information and it is actually written by Saemund, maybe in the world of Marvel Saemund did write the Poetic Edda. Maybe I'll stop having really bad social anxiety and write in to the comic to ask Ewing myself and maybe he'll tell me.]

Another interesting note on the parallels. Loki asks Thor, prior to whatever enchantment they place on him, if he trusts them in three different forms their relationship has taken (as king and subject (which is interesting; they demote themself purposely here), as siblings, as enemies). Loki sets him in his trial in the wilderness after he professes to trust them. Compare that to the common interpretation of the Israelites' wandering forty years in the wilderness until they come to put their trust in God.

What I'm saying is if issue three has some time increment of 40 (days, years, hell, even minutes) related to Loki's trial, I'll be unsurprised and also losing my shit.

I still have the same thought I had in my reaction post. Loki is not consciously trying to hurt Thor here (at least that's not their primary intention), but to prepare him for Toranos and protect him in his time of highest vulnerability. But I don't think Thor will see it that way immediately. Loki might need to brace themself for a storm-powered fist to the jaw once their brother makes it out of there.

[legionofpotatoes]

Hi Legion! Long time lurker and lover of your art and tags here. I always read your tags and I'm really interested in your thoughts & views on love and relationships, so I'm curious to know where you got those ideas from. Are there any videos, terms, or books you could recommend? It really resonated with me and since I'm a huge nerd my first instinct is to find more sources haha. Thank you so much!

This ask genuinely made me sit with myself and think long and hard about how my views on that stuff really formed, something I maybe took for granted a lil bit. So thanks, and I'm sorry that I can't give a nerdy answer here! It is difficult to point to specific sources, it's more of a lived-experience type thing. It truly is The Question Of All Time lmao. And boy did it get me thinking back.

I'll put my ramble under the cut if this is not interesting or what you're after, but I enjoyed the introspection still! Thank you!

My context is entirely unremarkable (middle class cishet white guy from eastern europe), but if I had to point to one thing that is the bottleneck of my views on love and relationships, I genuinely think it could be traced to my insane early childhood nat20 roll to avoid toxic masculinity pipelines. I truly believe in my bones that if I had been seduced by that stuff - and legitimately all but maybe two of my childhood friends were - I'd be a completely different, colder, worse person today. I credit only luck in that.

Where I'm from, boys of my generation were set on a very specific path very early on that was pointed veeeery far away from "love". All wrapped up in warped orthodox christianity and crypto-nationalist sentiments, stemming from our incredibly disillusioned post-soviet parent figures constantly running in survival mode. So like, I legitimately don't remember how I managed to avoid those circles and behavior patterns, and the truth is that I probably sometimes didn't? I certainly made stupid mistakes in my early teens, but I had the luxury of making them outside of the public eye of social media. More luck.

There's other alchemy of course - as a child of divorce I got a real early up-close look at the ugly results of mistrust and toxic "love", and a lot of my life back then was rebelling against that. Not that the parenting itself was always bad - my mother turned me to the arts and to stories, which eventually led me to fandom that I can now identify as a much healthier outlet for my frustrations than whatever my peers were doing with their nighttime brawls. It led me to a very crystallized idea of what I really wanted from life - not glory or patriotism or ambition, but a quiet life with the ones I loved.

That is also around the time when I let go of teenage lust as my north star and started fostering friendships instead; because like, relationships are bonds and connections, nothing more or less. Sexuality and romantic love can take as big or as small of a role in that as the parties desire, and they're entirely ornamental to the value of linking your experience with another living, breathing human. Realizing the divinity and beauty in that changes almost everything in an instant. And it is such a goofy-ass thing to say, but yeah, for a lost idiot dude like me, fandom helped me see that. Even the raunchiest fics were ultimately about belonging and emotional nakedness, and I learned to desire that more than anything else. I am trying so hard to point to something specific here, but I honestly don't know with way back then. Bioware's found family-ass games/fanfics were a big one later on, but there were so many other communities before. My memory's just bad.

But knowing I wanted love was one thing, and being a healthier, more empathetic person ready to actually get that was a whole other trek. Made a few more dumb interpersonal mistakes. And then I met my current partner, now over twelve years ago, and realized there was a version of me reflected in her eyes that I could truly chase and grow into. This all sounds super melodramatic but it was more of a terrifying thought at the time, stoking self-doubt and real worry that I was leading her into a mistake. But of course that was all a symptom of terminal self-awareness. We were in our early 20s, mature enough not to play childish emotional games, and young enough to go on that growth journey together. More luck. Found that gentle peace I had yearned for with her., and I count my lucky stars to this day.

In short, everything about my understanding of love and relationships is rooted in personal circumstance + massive amounts of luck, and especially that early course-correction away from toxic dudeness. Nothing extracurricular. And then just more and more luck piled on with time, culminating with my lovely bean. So in that sense I'm the worst person to ask this question! And times have really changed irt internet culture and fandom so I can't even point at that part as an action point either.

But if nothing else, I believe that storytelling is the ultimate shortcut in getting our dumb teenage brains over the precipice of pride and control, and towards the gentle pursuit of love in all its forms. I think that's worth articulating over and over again. Thanks for reading this long and I promise I usually interpret asks like a normal person! This is an exception!!! a big question if there ever was one

[its-blip-on-the-radar]

I was curious, are you in any fandoms? Or in general like a thing a lot.

oooohkay so. I'm not in any fandoms really, I don't watch online media enough to really say I'm in a fandom

HOWEVER

I am a HUGE science nerd. Especially about biology. I am constantly researching animals and their behavior especially with ocean animals and reptiles. I also really love insects. I'm planning to have a reptile/insect keeping room one day because I love them so much. I have literally told my girlfriend I rather have a blue tegu than a dog. I don't really like furry things all that much if I'm being honest, I relate a lot more to the types of animals people claim are unable to love. Like yeah they probably don't get the burst of oxycotin that humans get about things, but getting a lizard or snake to trust you enough to be held without pitching a fit is amazing!! They're demonized so much in media and I adore them. My main special interest is also sharks so take that for what you will. I relate a little too much to animals that people make out to be "evil".

I also have a big interest in psychology. My brain is ten different levels of fucked so I kinda like doing research into how brains normally function or hell, even how my brain functions. Like the fact that people with schizophrenia are (I think) 80% more likely to experience insomnia than the average person! I just thought I was bad at sleeping but no there's a reason for it! But I'm also a big fan about the science behind human sexuality. I won't get too into the facts of it cuz a lot of it is NSFW, but looking a the science behind getting it on and how it affects the brain and how fetishes and kinks form, ITS SO COOL. I also collect vintage erotica and gay porn because of this gkjdkjlkfldkgl.

I also just generally have a big love for queer history, learning about the aids crisis and the struggles that our community has faced but also just the fact that we've ALWAYS been here... It makes me feel less alone.

And like the last main thing I'm into is spirituality type stuff. I'm actually a certified pagan priest irl, but my disabilities and life circumstances have made me need to take a really big step back from the work I've been doing. But I've always fueled my work in this with the fact I have seen SO MANY people do it the wrong way, that I want to be a guiding force in doing it the right way.

Besides that, I'm really big into the punk anarchist scene, I like the vulture culture community on tumblr here and have a few specimens myself, I build legos and models a lot, I like art (obviously), I'm learning how to do leather, metal, and wood working, and also building costumes or restoring old clothes/shoes. I like music and singing a lot now that my voice has dropped from testosterone, I play Minecraft and the Sims a lot in my free time, I'm not big on video games but I'm trying to get into TF2 again. I'm getting pretty good at the Pokemon Trading Card Game, as well as Magic the Gathering (Magic is much slower than Pokemon TCG if I'm being honest, that game is complicated.)

To be honest most of what I watch on youtube is documentaries, food reviews, and reddit videos, haven't found any youtubers I'm particularly into. Honestly, I spend most of my time scrolling through tumblr and listening to rock music because I'm two weeks away from finally getting to go home after getting stuck in Texas for seven months and I'm kinda stuck in wait mode. Hopefully once I'm back in Chicago, I'll be doing a lot more hobby wise. I might even share some of it here if I get my old camera back.

But yeah, that was a big old ramble, I know it's weird for me to be on the fandom website and not be in any fandoms but it honestly takes a LOT for me to get into series of any kind. 100% of the series or fandoms I'm "into" it just cuz I have an alter from their source. Either way I hope this accurately answered your question! I appreciate being sent stuff a lot!

[void-kissed]

For that writing thoughts thing, the "taken life, given soul," do you have any thoughts you'd line to share about that? :D I loved it a lot! (dragonsmooch)

Ah yes, my most recent piece of writing!! I can definitely come up with some stuff to talk about from that one for you, friend!~

(source: this post by void-kissed - hey, that's me!)

Name a piece of writing that I’ve posted, and I’ll give you some thoughts and analysis of it! - Alright, let's see what comes to mind! This might get long because I'm not very good at being succinct, so I'll put it all under a readmore if that's alright.

The main thing about this piece is that it's essentially from Vanea's perspective more than anything, and it isn't always as easy to write my F/Os' perspectives compared to my self-inserts' (since, well.. my self-inserts are me, so that makes it easier). It also didn't help that I'm a lot less familiar with the overarching details of the first Xenoblade Chronicles game than I am with XC2 (which, as an aside, is not the second Xenoblade Chronicles game - X should never go unremembered!). But I tried to make it work!

For example, in the opening paragraphs to set the scene, I tried to portray the background events in the sort of way the Machina might be thinking of it, as opposed to the Homs and other residents of Bionis (for example, describing the attack on Colony 9 as "provid[ing] the Mechon with some valuable resources", not really detailing the fact that those resources largely consisted of human beings.)

I also tried to draw attention to the fact that Vanea is, at heart, a scientist, when you think about it! Hence her making sure to keep close tabs on all the parameters, and initially referring to Citri as an "anomaly" in the experiment, and the fact she took an interest in the memories she saw of Citri being a nerd and doing research and stuff with Shulk.

The other girl who got captured and brought to Vanea at the same time as Citri was Fiora, who is actually the one present for the cutscene my writing replaces in the game (although you don't find that out in-game for a while). She's also a childhood friend of Shulk, hence why she was picked out as a potential vessel for Meyneth.

The wound she had sustained was based on when Metal Face stabs her in the game, hence specifically using the phrase "clawed at her clavicle" because Metal Face's weapons are long sword-like claws. Him hitting Fiora's clavicle specifically was partially to provide some nice alliteration, but it also explained why she couldn't have worked as Meyneth's vessel here, because the soul component goes on the pilot's chest.

The section where Face Nemesis is actually assembled, and Vanea is saying lots of short sentences that are all on different lines, was mostly directly copied over from the in-game cutscene my writing replaces. This is how it actually goes, if you were curious:

In terms of differences from the in-game cutscene, I didn't really know how to add in Vanea spotting the damage dealt to Metal Face, so I sort of half-worked it into the "worrying news about a new wielder of the Monado arising" at the start. You can also argue that taking that bit out and moving the interruption about Egil to later on is because Vanea was distracted by how things went with Citri (because she was expecting Lady Meyneth to awaken, not Citri herself).

Another difference is that Vanea's dialogue is slightly expanded, and this is actually because this isn't the first time I've portrayed this scene. The extra lines added in are from the caption I put on a render I made last year showing Citri as Nemesis' pilot!

In the writing, the mechanical hands that Citri should have been fitted with weren't able to be properly fixed, which is why Vanea decides to risk keeping her biological ones instead. This is actually based on something that happened out-of-story - namely, the fact that the mechanical hands that were meant to go on Citri's reference model wouldn't fit typical MMD bone structures properly, so I ended up keeping her base hands instead. So they did quite literally break both in and out of the game, haha! But I like to think it works out, because the fact that the only "organic" parts of Citri left are her head and her hands gives moments like holding hands with Vanea much more significance ^-^

Overall, I also kind of tried to convey the fact that all of this interaction that Vanea ends up having with Citri was not supposed to have happened, at least not according to Vanea's calculations. This is why I made such a thing of Vanea being surprised she remembered Citri's name - she's not supposed to have ever gotten to speak with her, really, yet she finds herself wanting to know more about her anyway. And she does, with time! And that eventually leads its way into the beginnings of a romantic relationship! Because I love Vanea! ^-^

Okay, this is about all I can think of for the moment. Please take a picture of Face Nemesis itself from the game for your troubles, and thank you very very much again for giving me this opportunity, friend ^-^

(For context to give a sense of scale: Citri fits in the torso part of Nemesis, sitting down! So.. yeah, it's pretty enormous.)

[braillecortex]

I'm on mobile rn so sources are gonna be tricky but...

Roman concrete has been studied for decades. We're not quite there yet, sure, but we're getting closer.

Our steel is way better than Damascus. That's why there's not been any real effort to replicate it, there's not really a reason to other than aesthetics. Among other things, the cool surface finish you know as its main characteristic makes it way more prone to imperfections, voids, rust, etc. On top of that it's very difficult and costly to create. It was originally used for bladed weapons, and it was very good at the time, but modern steel applications have different needs and Damascus simply doesn't cut it anymore.

The mythology surrounding the Stradivarius violins is interesting. They are certainly excellent instruments, don't get me wrong, but numerous efforts to replicate them have been undertaken over the years, leading to some insight.

To my understanding, a significant part of why Stradivari are regarded as unmatched is basically the placebo effect. Additionally, because these instruments are so expensive, they are only ever played by master musicians, further reinforcing the idea. Again, they are excellent instruments, but modern science can in fact replicate them to a degree where blind studies can't differentiate them.

From what I understand, yes, we have "lost" a good portion of Apollo and Gemini tech, because so much of it was handmade by incredibly skilled craftspeople. You may have seen stories about these people before, the women who were the only ones capable of hand-sewing spacesuits with the precision needed, the weavers who built computer memory like a tapestry, incredible skill that is impossible to find today.

However, that kind of work is largely not needed in modern aerospace applications due to advancing technology. No one is handcrafting components these days because manufacturing has advanced to the point where we don't need to. If you need a better illustration of that, take a look at the Artemis missions. Artemis 1 launched uncrewed in November of 2022 and did a flyby of the moon, serving as a test ahead of the Artemis 2 launch, a crewed flyby, in November of 2024, and later in 2025, the first crewed landing in 50 years. We are still capable of spaceflight, but with no space race to win, funding hasn't been there for a long time now.

Yes, not everything has been getting better in recent history. You only need to take a look at the housing market to see that. But this kind of "return to tradition" idea is not really helpful in my opinion. Hell, you can even get a suitcase that unfolds into compartments, and this one is carry-on size:

There are lessons to be learned from the past. People have been making interesting objects with incredible skill for as long as there have been people, and I am sure manufacturers can take some cues from older products. To that end, I am an advocate for the right to repair movement, hoping to make it possible for users to fix their things when they break. You can learn more here:

[viserya-firstofhername]

The unsung heroes of HOTD • prologue

So here is the thing.

I was planning to make this a singular post, but at this point I am at I don't even know how many names but surely above at least five dozen, so I shall instead jump into my nerd shoes, and shall make of it a series.

The premise is as follows: The writing room of HOTD this season to a large extent failed a rich and marvelous piece of modern media and especially so, the incredibly gifted teams who worked on its production. It saddens me deeply how we only focus on the bad, while we fail to reflect on the enormous amount of talent and hard work so many people put into it. It happened in 2019. It will be happening again.

So what are we to do about it? Whine, dine, overanalyze, scream, cry, laugh, eat cake, repeat the same three curses until D&D reincarnated show up in our mirror?

Yap Condal this, yap Hess that? Condemn Martin for the next damned ungodly reason? Some folk may chose to slander and throw vitriol at the writing team and while I might indeed in the future yap along mine own hopefully constructive criticism (because some is positively and absofuckinglutely in place), I respectfully disagree with this approach of consuming media; yap about the bad, overlook the intensely good.

I should also state that I am sometimes that person to critique the let-people-enjoy-things movement for their certain lack of media literacy, but tis a lack that is often visible in the hotd critical tag as well.

To that statement, I should add, I refuse to become an apologist for Hess or Condal (the latter - let us all for a moment remember and admit - was one of the last saving graces of the rubbish inferno that was GOT's last couple of seasons and if you disagree - here be your invitation to enter a discourse with me). I might in due time issue a detailed post in a mock Shakespearian lingo mixed with High Valyrian & rap rhymes, but the point of this post is:

I should much more delight in praising the talented people who 1000% broke their backs and their hard labor is very clearly visible, because such is the topic I prefer mine own time be invested in.

We all agree across the board (right?) the actors are phenomenal. More than, even. I would love to touch on that as well but it shall be later on. I am much more interested in discussing the production value, because I'm here for this medium with all senses. Thus, I plan to focus on the production teams in this small nerdy series, sharing thoughts hopes griefs and all, as a way to fill the void in my heart until we get episodes 2x09 and 2x10 (my humorous brief on that: here).

For chapter i, we shall be focusing on the casting department, led by one Kate Rhodes James, for she is pure professional peak, more so than Nina Gold, dare I say, and everything she and her team have done for HOTD is purely and utterly ethereal, otherworldly, three-eyed-ravenesque, phenomenal.

When shall this post be posted will be decided by mine own nerdy brain and whether or not it decides to pen a 6000 words essay on a topic I know next to nothing of (surely, I could delve into research and this might be a source of delay, I suppose you see the potential for issues there).

-

TLDR version: I just want to spell the names of the folks that showed up to work and did fucking brilliant, and marvel at a their masterful craftsmanship.

Disclaimer 1: I cannot stress the following enough: I do not lend my support to anyone who would cast shade and hate or outright criticize the opinions of others simply because they diverge from their own. If thou dost desire to experience the show by critiquing the writers, then by all means - you do you, i do me, and we shall be in courteous and merry accord to agree to disagree.

Disclaimer 2: I know just about nothing of producing cinema and tv. I have one (1) friend who works in the industry. Come at me with professional opinions - very very welcome.

If thou would like to follow this endeavor, thou can keep an eye on the #the unsung heroes of hotd tag, no need to follow my daily fulminations.

I've done and made my peace.

[ambarto]

Geology of Arda: Andram

Sooo I’ve decided to start a series where I take various places on Arda’s maps and try to make geological deductions based on what we see and know about the area. It’s a way for me to nerd out about geology, and I hope someone else also wants to hear my thoughts, or that it may give you some worldbuilding ideas.

We start with: the Andram. Why, you ask? Why am I beginning with them when they yes have Nargothrond there but they’re not one of the most famous features of Beleriand?

Because I hate this thing.

It’s this line of hills so straight it looks drawn with a ruler, smack dab in the middle of a continent. I know geology as a field was still in development when Tolkien made these maps, I know that scientific accuracy was possibly not his first priority, but damn. It hurts to see this thing.

But anyways, while giving a quick look to some of my assorted Middle Earth geology resources, I found someone in this discussion mentioning that Andram is reminiscent of certain hills found in England. Now, I know virtually nothing of the geology of England, but I have to admit there are some pretty straight lines in the south, so uh. Wow. Guess straight lines do exist sometimes.

But they’re still not in the middle of the continent completely isolated with no other relieves around for miles.

Anyways. Again, I know really little of England’s geology, but the area mentioned was that between Dorset and Somerset, and I found this article relating to the Mendip Hills which are around that area. The explanation present in the article about the formation of these hills is, I believe, the most valid one for the formation of Andram. Stresses within the crust cause the buckling and folding of sediment and rock layers, leading to the formation of hills.

The problem is, the Mendip Hills are hills and not mountains because we are talking about a very old phase of mountain building, so they have been thoroughly eroded by now. The geological history of Arda is fairly short, and I don’t know if there would be enough time for that sort of erosion, so the Andram couldn’t have been outright mountains in the beginning. Furthermore, the Mendip Hills are part of a system which includes other hills and mountains, while Andram is entirely isolated.

My theory is that Andram may be due to compression within the continent. Mountains in general form when two tectonic plates are pushed together, which generates a compressive stress that forces the crust to buckle and raise. Here we are in a continent, Beleriand is presumably all one plate, however it’s not impossible for compression to form within a single plate. Andram could have been formed by stresses pushing towards SW from the north and stresses to NE from the south. I’m putting a picture with arrows to show what I mean.

This of course leads to the question of why we have these compressive stresses. Not sure, honestly. As far as we know Arda is flat at the point in time when Andram existed, so it’s anyone’s guess what the tectonics looked like. Within the continent, I assume the problem would be stresses at the boundary of the plates which propagates within them. There are two options:

We had a past stress that caused a small buckling, and it’s now gone, leaving the line of hills. This stress might have been due to something happening as far back as the Years of the Lamps.

We have a currently acting stress that’s actively building the hills. No clue where it’s coming from. I mean, in the north we have the recently built Thangorodrim as a potential stress source, but it’s kind of weird the deformation would happen so far away from it. In any case, if we have active compression then the Andram should be a tectonically active area and experience earthquakes from time to time.

I also don’t get why the hills trail off gently to the east but instead stop abruptly to the west after increasing in height. Maybe some weird change in stresses? I don’t know. The gap between the main line and Amon Ereb looks like it could have been eroded by a river at some point, but we have no knowledge of any river following that path so idk.

Now, leaving aside the tectonics, we can focus instead on rock type. In general it’s not easy to deduce rock type from the Silmarillion, because we don’t get a lot of descriptions and maps aren’t really useful for that. However! The Andram is most definitely a karst environment. A karst environment is an area, typically composed of limestone or in some cases of gypsum, where you have the development of a complex networks of fractures and caves within the bedrock, with water flowing through these fractures. And in Andram we have 1) the Sirion falling down into the ground, flowing underground for a while, and then reappearing to the surface, and 2) a complex network of caves already present before Nargothrond was dug. If we continue to consider the Mendip Hills as possible inspiration for Andram, then we can go one step further and say Andram may be composed of limestone (we also have sandstone at Mendip, but I prefer to consider Andram as mostly limestone as sandstone is less likely to develop karst features).

And if you know anything about karst, you know about sinkholes. Sinkholes typically form when we have a cavity at depth, and the overlaying ground falls down and causes a large hole at the surface. This could be an interesting feature to add in Andram, especially since we already have Sirion likely falling into a major one.

This leads me to my last consideration, which are rivers. As you can see in the map, we have two rivers: the Narog, which cuts through the Andram, and the Sirion, which forms a swampy area as it joins with the Aros before the Andram and later sinks down into it. Why, I wonder, do we have these different behaviors?

Consider in particular the lakes/swamps of Aelin-Uiel. The presence of this lake in this position is coherent with the Andram being there. If rivers slam into hills along their course, they can either erode a path through them or get stopped and form a lake (which can later drain if the river manages to erode successfully). This in particular can happen if the hills are currently rising faster than the river can erode. So it could make sense to imagine that the Sirion was already running along its course when the Andram began raising, and it got stuck in a lake until a sinkhole opened letting the river fall into it and pass through the karst.

But why does the Narog not form a lake? Well, different rivers have different erosion rates. Assuming the rock type is the same (because of course, some rocks are easier to break than others), we have that more energetic rivers tend to erode more rock. Faster river will erode more than slow ones, and rivers that move along a very steep path may erode more than those who follow a less steep one.

The word “Narog” has apparently changed meaning within Tolkien’s mind, but it was originally meant to be called “rushing, violent”. It is also said it went through a gorge before reaching Andram, and as a general rule gorges tend to make the river faster. “Sirion”, on the other hand, just means “large river”, which doesn’t tell us too much about its speed, aside from the fact that if it were wider than the Narog the current may be slower. The Sirion meets the Aros right before the Aelin-Uiel, and the Aros is apparently red? But that doesn’t tell us too much.

However, I feel we can be fairly sure that the Narog had a higher erosion rate than the Sirion. In addition, if there were already some fractures were the Narog passes through, we could explain why the Narog just eroded through the Andram while the Sirion pooled and had to find a sinkhole to pass.

In Conclusion:

The Andram is a karst environment, with the hills due to crustal buckling

It’s very likely made of limestone

The Sirion falls into a sinkhole at the Falls of Sirion

The Narog eroded straight through instead

Finrod may be getting earthquakes, depending on whether the stresses that created the Andram are still active or not

Finrod is most definitely getting sinkholes

If you want to learn more about karst this is a good resource and they also have a photogallery for all your worldbuilding needs

[melannen]

Thank you for tagging me @dolphin1812 !

Thank you for tagging me!

Narrowing down to ten is hard. So in order to avoid just having an embarrassingly predictable list of SF and fantasy novels by white women - and also because I am increasingly turning into my dad in terms of my reading, as I get older - here is a list of ten books that I still think about a lot that are not novels.

I don't usually tag people on in these but anyone else who wants to do this, consider this your invite!

Also I don't know how to keep it short so here's a cut.

The New Wild by Fred Pierce - this is a book that looks at, and subverts, the ecological concept of invasive species. Along with some really gorgeous nature writing about parts of nature that don't usually get to be lyrical, it's the book that totally overturned the way I think about "nature" and conservation and environmental change and the way the moral values society assigns to organisms and ecologies are always, always far more political than scientific. (Also, as a member of an invasive species myself, it was good to have a defense of them.)

The Annotated Alice by Lewis Carroll, edited by Martin Gardner - among the small set of people who are both math nerds and literary nerds, this book is legendary, and within reason. It takes the text of the Alice books and pulls it apart to explain every reference, every social commentary or mathematical allegory or hidden joke - and then it pulls those apart to explain where they came from. The annotations are several times the lengths of the text. It's full of fascinating stuff but also entirely changed the way I read by teaching me that the story I read is never going to be anything like the same story the author wrote (or the story the next person reads) because what we bring to it will be so different.

How To Lie With Statistics by Darrell Huff - I read the 1954 version of this that was my Mom's in college, but there's newer editions that edit out the racism, and there still isn't any better book to teach people how to not be fooled by the ways people use numbers to tell lies. (None of that part has changed since '54, there's just more of it now.)

A College Book of Verse - This is another book that probably came from my parents' college, it's mostly a fairly generic poetry anthology, but it was the only one we had around the house as a kid that had a lot of modern poetry (and that mixed it up with older poetry in a way that made the kinship clear) and shaped a lot of what poetry is to me. Bonus points for Clement Wood's Poet's Handbook, that taught me the technical parts of how to write it.

Encyclopedia of Fairies/Dictionary of Fairies by Katharine Mary Briggs - if you want to understand how British folklore and fairylore have shaped (and been shaped by) popular culture & subcultures since the early 20th century, you need to read this book. You will see what it talks about everywhere after that. (partly because a lot of people used it as a source.)

Awakenings by Oliver Sacks: I would recommend Sacks' books to everyone; they're mostly deeply compassionate case studies about people with neurological differences that use that to explore how our brains shape our perceptions. This one specifically is about his work with chronic encephalitis lethargica patients and stands out as the first place I ever recognized a description of how I experience bad executive dysfunction days. (The fact that I recognized my own brain so strongly in descriptions of institutionalized pandemic survivors with brain damage also helped me a lot to accept that maybe it wasn't all me being lazy and stubborn.)

Peterson's Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, 1968 edition - the book that taught me how to see plants. This is probably just the one that happened to work for me - it's organized in a way that made sense to me, by combining color & family relationships, and it uses drawings rather that photos which really helped me learn what matter to look at, and most importantly it doesn't draw distinctions about what is and isn't a wildflower, as long as they flower the boringest weedy invasives all have their place in it too, and those were the ones I needed to learn to see the most.

Lore of the Unicorn by Odell Shepherd - This deeply erudite books traces the idea of a unicorn from the earliest traces that can be found in history and archeology, and follows it forward in time explaining how and when and why it changed to get us from vicious monsters with rotting elephant corpses skewered on their horns all the way to the shining fairy creatures of the 20th century, while never letting go of any of the wonder. It's also both a gorgeous book to read and another book that completely reshaped the way I engage with culture by putting the change-over-time element on it in a really brilliant way.

The Benchley Roundup by Robert Benchley - a collection of humor essays by one of the least-known members of the Algonquin Round Table, that also just washed up in my house at the right time for me. It is another one on here mostly for #relatable. Situations still come up on a regular basis where I am like "oh yes, there's a Benchley essay for that" and I use his foolproof method of getting things done to this day. ("Make a list of things that you need to do. Pick out the #1 most important one. Underline it in red, and add a bunch of stars. No better way to guarantee you will do most of the other things on the list.")

The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill - this is the memoir that the movie was based on, about escaping from German POW camps in WWII. For some reason my high school library had an original 1950s hardcover of it, and it became my comfort read when hiding up there (probably due to the general resemblance of my high school to a German POW camp, tbh.) It has remained my last-ditch comfort read ever since.

I've been thinking about books a lot. I always tell people I don't have a favorite, or even a handful of favorites, but now I think that my favorites must be the ones I continue to think about the most. So here are the 10 books that have stuck with me the most, in no particular order:

The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Kindred by Octavia Butler

Wolf Hall & Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

I would really love to hear about everyone else's top 10! Tagging @glassprism @bogglebabbles @jennyfair7 @forestscribe4 @pianomanblaine @a-partofthenarrative @les-gnossiennes-fantomatiques @emotionalmotionsicknessxx @meilas and anyone else who would like to participate, but no pressure!!