#UK Physical Map

[workingclasshistory]

On this day, 22 June 1948, the Empire Windrush arrived in Tilbury docks bringing the first group of 492 Jamaicans to the UK. They had answered an appeal for workers from the UK which needed to rebuild following World War II, amidst an acute labour shortage. By 1970, around half a million people from the Caribbean had arrived, and became known as the Windrush generation. Many of the arrivals were highly skilled workers, but were forced to work in low-paid and unskilled jobs due to discrimination, sometimes with the collaboration of trade unions. Others were subjected to physical attacks by racists and fascists, including at times large mobs of hundreds of people. In 1971, all prior Commonwealth arrivals were given automatic, permanent right to remain. But in 2010 the government destroyed all the landing cards from ships, which recorded when migrants arrived. And in 2012 the Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition government introduced a policy called the "hostile environment", which was aimed at trying to force some migrants to leave. The Home Office was aware in 2013 that legal Windrush generation residents were being targeted by its policy, which included having private contractor Capita write to residents telling them they were in the country illegally and had to leave. Others were illegally denied NHS treatment for conditions like cancer, detained, deported or refused re-entry to the country, and many were wrongly sacked from their jobs. Outrage eventually caused a government climbdown and pressured them into providing compensation to those affected. But despite an estimated 15,000 people being eligible for up to £570 million compensation, as of June 2022 only around 1000 people had received any compensation. More information, sources and map: https://stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/9495/Empire-Windrush-arrives Picture: new arrivals on the Windrush on this date https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=648550490651503&set=a.602588028581083&type=3

[thehopefuljournalist]

Am I a little bit late for some of you? I might be. But anyways. Here's what went right around the world this past week :)

Youth climate activists won a huge climate lawsuit

Sixteens youths (aged five to 22) from Montana, US, have emerged victorious after suing state officials for violating their right to a clean environment.

In their lawsuit, they argued that Montana's fossil fuel policies contributed to climate change, which harms their physical and mental health. Montana is a major coal producer, with large oil and gas reserves. The state has rebuffed these claims, saying that their emissions were insignificant on a global scale.

Judge Kathy Seely, in a 103-page ruling, set a legal precedent for young people’s rights to a safe climate by finding in their favour. “Every additional tonne of GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions exacerbates plaintiffs’ injuries and risks locking in irreversible climate injuries".

This win marks the very first time a US court has ruled against a government for a violation of constitutional rights based on climate change. It will now be up to Montana lawmakers to bring state policies in line.

“As fires rage in the west, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today’s ruling in Montana is a gamechanger that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of human-caused climate chaos.” - Julia Olson, executive director of nonprofit law firm, Our Children’s Trust, which represented the youths in this case.

Number of Mexicans living in poverty fell by millions

Thanks to a new minimum wage boost and increases to pensions, the number of Mexicans living in poverty fell by 8.9 million between 2020-2022, according to new data published by the country’s social development agency, Coneval.

Coneval’s statistics suggest that the number of people living in extreme poverty also fell – from 10.8 million in 2020 to 9.1 million last year – although that figure is still up from a pre-Covid 8.7 million recorded in 2018.

There is still a long way to go, and some critics do claim that during the current president, López Obrador's presidency has been characterized by austerity.

An organised crime group trafficking endangered species has been jailed

The Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC), a small European wildlife charity, is apparently busting kingpins behind as much as half of the world's illegal trade in pangolin scales. The traffickers began six-year jail sentences a few weeks ago.

The wildlife charity went undercover to expose three Vietnamese and one Guinean national, members of an organised crime group trafficking body parts of endangered species including rhinos. 

They were arrested in May 2022, following a four-year investigation by the WJC, and were accused of trafficking 7.1 tonnes of pangolin scales, as well as 850kg of ivory. Last month they pleaded guilty to smuggling and were jailed for six years.

All eight species of pangolin are listed as threatened animals, four critically endangered - they are protected by international law.

“There has not been a reported seizure of pangolin scales in Asia originating from Africa in more than 550 days,” said Steve Carmody, WJC’s director of programmes. “There is no clearer example of the importance of disrupting organised crime networks.”

AI gave conservationists a breakthrough

The use of AI-controlled microphones and cameras seems set to revolutionise

biodiversity monitoring in the UK following groundbreaking work by researchers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). They used the tech to record and analyse 3,000 hours of wildlife audio captured by monitors located near London railway lines.

The computers detected dozens of bird species, foxes, deer, bats and hedgehogs, and mapped their locations.

It’s hoped the innovation will help improve conservation and habitat management on Network Rail land.

This year is best ever for UK renewable energy installations

This years looks to be the best year so far for UK renewable energy installations, with record numbers of households fitting solar panels and heat pumps.

2023 marks the first time solar panel installations have topped an average of 20,000 a month, as homeowners look to harvest energy from the sun amid rising utility bills. 

Read the full story here.

The UK’s Tree of the Year shortlist was revealed

The Woodland Trust has announced the shortlist for its annual celebration of some of the UK’s most treasured ancient trees, and for 2023 the spotlight is on the urban landscape.

“Ancient trees in towns and cities are vital for the health of nature, people and planet,” said the charity’s lead campaigner Naomi Tilley. “They give thousands of urban wildlife species essential life support, boost the UK’s biodiversity and bring countless health and wellbeing benefits to communities.”

Article published August 17, 2023

Thank you so much for reading! Let me know what interested you, and if there's any specific topic you'd like me to dig into, my DM's are always open :)

Much love!

[jazzyderaoz]

This is a strictly 18+ blog

You must have your age stated in your bio to follow/interact. I will block minors instantly + add you to ban list for the foreseeable future. In addition I will block and permanently ban any nasty little pisstakers. I don’t engage with human slimes of any kind; inc but not limited to: radfems, lgbtq+ exclusionists (any variety), phobes, maps, abusers or anyone I take a disliking to inc boundary stompers.

psst…. (Deraoz is pronounced /Dee-ray/os-z/)

Hey I’m Jasper, (but Jas, Jazz or Jazzy works too-if you’re feeling brave.)

My pronouns are he/him. I’m a queer transmasc guy from the UK.

~~~

Some stuff about me:

I’m 26, been dominating for around 5 years now, but topping a little longer. I almost exclusively top, but I have and do make exceptions to that rule when I’m in the mood, though it doesn’t happen often.

I’ll be posting mostly t4t content here, I’m bi, though I’m especially attracted to transmascs/transmen.

Physically I’m masc-presenting. I’m genderqueer and male-aligned. I still possess my natal genitals. My personal style tends to be jeans/t-shirts/denim or leather jackets. I’d call myself a guy, a boy, a queer, a mess, a dumbass-

I’m a kickboxer, it’s important to me to maintain my strength and stamina (😏) and it’s euphoric for me as to maintain a masculine build. Know that when I talk about manhandling my subs, I am usually more than capable of doing so whatever their size.

I love to dom but outside of that I’m soft as anything, love to cuddle, love taking really good care of my subs. Love being a protector type x

If you send me an ask I’ll almost certainly flirt with you, can’t help myself tbh - but I’ll take the lead from you as to how nsfw your ask is. Totally sfw question, fair enough I’ll be real with you. Tell me you’re wet and want me to fuck you? My reply gonna be horny as hell so be prepared for that…

I’m big on pet names. If you don’t want me to call you something in particular (in an ask for example) please let me know. Pet names I use most often are baby(boy), honey, sweetheart and darling - I also like to call my subs lovely/little___ etc.

My aim here is to get you as hot and bothered as possible. I love to get sent asks, any dirty little fantasy baby, I want to hear it.

~~~

Keep Reading for Kinks / Hard Boundaries etc.

🟢 Kinks & Turn-ons: 🟢

-> Praise (me@you)

-> Hair Pulling / Bruising / Rough Play

-> Size Difference

-> Desperation/Edging

-> Humiliation

-> Manhandling and Restraint

🔻Some Boundaries:🔻

🔸 Please don’t send any asks/prompts trying to top me unless you’ve asked first, I’m picky about it lol.

🔸 No petplay - related asks in my inbox pls. I won’t block you but I won’t reply to them either.

🔸 Hard limits resulting in me blocking you should you feel the need to try to include me in them; - -> noncon, piss/scat, ageplay, high intensity masochism/sadism (verbal abuse/HI spanking esp) - (lower intensity/softer I'm occasionally up for - I'll spank you with my hand just not a riding crop lmao)

🔸Content Masterlist:🔸 (🔞)

Writings: 💛 - longer writings || 🧡 - shorter thoughts

💛 on my lap, riding my cock

🧡 want to suck on tdick so bad

🧡 get on the fucking bed

💛 desperate little mess

🧡 tiny little boytoys

🧡 aftercare (softjazz) - sfw

💛 messy little plaything

💛 manhandling + semi-rough use

🧡 humping, pinned against the wall

💛 pull my hair and fuck my mouth

——— ——— ——— ——— ———

Tags:

#tag:softjazz - (For yearnings/soft postings)

#tag:manhandling

#tag:sizedifference

#tag:edging

#tag:asks

#tag:jazzyrealtalk - (For actually saying shit/opposed to just straight up hornyposting lmao)

——— ——— ——— ——— ———

Anon Tags:

#anon:🌻

#anon:🕸️

#anon:🐝

#anon:💙

#anon:🏝️

#anon:✨

Credit for dividers here

[shitpostingperidot]

Kamala Khan’s bookshelves

Kamala’s room in The Marvels is an absolute treasure trove of little details to zoom in on, and I’ve identified so many books on her shelves!

Shelf 1, top to bottom:

1. Landmark Experiments in Twentieth Century Physics by George L. Trigg

College-level book about experiments that helped us learn about x-rays, lasers, isotopes, superconductors, and all kinds of other things I don’t understand. Meant to be more practical than theoretical since it talks about the actual methodologies of these experiments. Could be for school, or for Kamala and Bruno to run their own tests of Kamala’s powers. The first of many books in the Khan house that come from Dover Publications.

2. Space Time Matter by Hermann Weyl

“An esoteric initiation into space time physics” -Amazon reviewer. I’m gonna be real, I don’t understand half the words in this book description, but apparently it’s famous for introducing gauge theory, which was later reborn as phase transformations in quantum theory. I can see this being something Kamala reads to try and understand the bangle transporting her to the Partition. Also from Dover.

3. A Map to the Sun by Sloane Leong

A graphic novel about a high school girl’s basketball team learning to work together despite their many differences and conflicts. Also it has a gorgeous color palette. Seems fairly self explanatory why it’s in this movie. I’ll definitely be borrowing this from my library! Like my friend Kamala recommended a book to me herself.

4. The Good Immigrant anthology edited by Nikesh Shukla

21 essays from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in the UK about their experiences. It was crowdfunded initially, extremely critically acclaimed, and has gotten spinoffs and sequels. Riz Ahmed, who is British Pakistani, is one contributor, and a fun fact is that Rish Shah (Kamran from Ms. Marvel) worked with Riz Ahmed in an Oscar winning short called The Long Goodbye. Also, the editor, Nikesh Shukla, is currently writing the Spider-Man India comics series!

5. Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam

A coming-of-age story about 3 young adults with complicated family, friend, and romantic relationships between them. They have to travel from Brooklyn to Bangladesh together one summer and thereby discover a lot about themselves. I haven’t read it, but there seems to be a ton of complex representation of LGBTQ, POC, immigrant, and Muslim characters. I wonder how much the three main characters can be compared with our three characters with complex relationships in The Marvels, and I wonder which character Kamala most relates to!

6. I can’t tell! The font is bugging the hell out of me because theoretically, with that amount of contrast, I should be able to read a word when I get two inches from the TV and mess with the settings. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

7. I also can’t tell, but I’m being easier on myself because the title is written in white on a yellow background. It’s not the only book I know off the top of my head with this color scheme (Yellowface by RF Kuang) because the title is definitely multiple words. Help!

Shelf 2, right to left:

1. One Night that Changes Everything by Lauren Barnholdt

A YA romance where, through a convoluted series of events, a teenager must face all of her insecurities in one night. I can see Kamala devouring this as brain candy after wrestling with those advanced science books, or using it as fic inspiration!

2. Can’t tell, but love the color scheme!

This next one is a weird one, because I am 100% sure of what book it is, but I cannot find a picture of a matching edition.

3. Wizard at Large by Terry Brooks

It’s definitely, without a doubt, this book (where a character and a magical medallion are accidentally transported to Earth from another realm and switches places with an evil genie). Like those are the words on the spine and the plot of the book is an obvious choice for this movie. The fonts match on the audiobook, the ebook, and the next two books in the series. But try as I might, I cannot find any proof on the internet that the physical book that appears in Kamala’s room, that uses those two fonts and that spine formatting, exists. This is haunting me…

4. (On the other side of the box) It’s not The Twilight Saga Eclipse, but I definitely thought it was before I could watch in high definition. I think it’s a journal or sketchbook of Kamala’s; there are a bunch scattered throughout the room.

Shelf 3:

I’ve only identified the bottom book, which is Einstein’s Theory of Relativity by Max Born (Dover Publications). The third one up is HAUNTING me, it looks SO identifiable and yet!

Living Room Side Table:

1. Amateur Astronomer’s Handbook by JB Sidgwick (from Dover Publications)

2. Cosmology by Hermann Bondi (also Dover)

Both of these seem less difficult than the science books in Kamala’s room, but reviewers note that it helps to know calculus when reading Cosmology. Idk which member of the Khan family is reading these, but I love their family’s connection to the stars 💫

Tbh I’m having so much fun doing this! And I really wish we got to see Monica’s living space so I can analyze her books 😭

[sailing-on-a-puddle]

A FishTank Day Out

Loosely using the prompt at the Aquarium, but since that has passed I’ll also include brothers relaxing because they don’t get a day off very often!

This is based on a day out my family and I went on last month, although we never saw any Thunderbirds. The venue was the Lakeside and Haverthwaite railway which is at the bottom of Lake Windermere in the Lake District, UK, and there happens to be an aquarium at the lakeside end of the line.

I thought at the time it would make a great Virgil and Gordon day out, so for FishTank week I’ve turned it into a fic with some pictures at the end.

_____________________________

Thunderbird Two flew in over the top of the lakes and mountains. Unfortunately, there was low cloud and only the top of the mountains were visible from above. Nevertheless, Gordon had brought up a holographic image of the lakes below that he couldn’t see and was excitedly telling Virgil that only Bassenthwaite Lake was technically a lake.

Virgil smiled about how excited Gordon was. They lived on an island, they were used to being surrounded by water. But this water was different and full of different aquatic life. He’d known Gordon would do this, and thankfully the holographic map of the physical geography didn’t show the places he’d planned for them to go.

Virgil landed Two in a field several miles away and configured a pod to take to the car park. He’d learned many years ago that taking Two to car parks in tourist destinations wasn’t popular. When on rescues you could park anywhere you liked, but when you turned up with it as mode of transport there was lots of moaning about noise, rocket boosters setting fire to things and taking up 50 parking spaces.

A couple of minutes and they arrived at the car park.

“Er, Virgil, we’re not at the lake yet.”

“Nope.”

Gordon looked round to see the two rail lines behind him, and then he realised what the various sheds and buildings around him were.

“Virgil, have you brought me to another steam train?”

“You didn’t complain about the last one.”

“Well, that had the Harry Potter station, and there’s lakes, Virgil. We could be there, now, doing water things. I’m a FISH, Virg, and you’ve brought me here instead.”

Virgil smiled at him . “All in good time, we’re going to the lake, which is your thing, on a lovely piece of engineering, which is my thing.”

Right on cue, the train came in. Gordon was then subject to a full running commentary about how the wonders of this particular locomotive and railway setup. Something about side and saddle tanks maybe? Aren’t saddles on horses? His brother loved this technology that was over 100 years old, and although Gordon didn’t really understand the difference beyond this locomotive was red and the last one was black, he was delighted to see his engineering brother so happy.

Gordon had to admit it all looked very atmospheric on this cloudy chilly day, especially when the locomotive emerged from the tunnel to run round the train. Virgil took a photo with the intention of sketching it later.

They boarded the train and it set off on the journey, slowly making it’s way through the countryside and woods. Twenty minutes later the train pulled into the Lakeside station, and when Gordon got off his excitement reached fever pitch.

“Virgil! VIRGIL! There’s an aquarium!”

“Yup.”

“Can we go? Can we go? Pleeeeease?”

“If I said no, would you listen anyway?”

“Lalala, I can’t hear you and we’re going to the aquarium!”

Virgil just laughed at him, put his arm round his shoulder and they both skipped to the aquarium door. If anybody did stare at either of them they didn’t notice, they were used to that anyway.

Now the roles from earlier were reversed and Gordon was talking continuously about everything in the tanks. Half the time he didn’t even need to read the signs, he knew exactly what it was. Something about an Axolotl? Was that something Alan talked about from Minecraft? Virgil did read the signs and listen, but mostly thought about how all the colours and shapes and took photos. He’d sketch, or maybe paint those later too.

After a couple of hours or so, when Gordon wanted to go round the aquarium for the fourth time to see what else he could see Virgil left him to it. He went and sat on a bench outside facing the lake, picking up a coffee for himself and some neon slush thing for Gordon from the cafe on the way.

A boat was just leaving the jetty, and the lake looked very atmospheric with the low cloud hanging in the cool air. Virgil once again regretted not bringing his art supplies but took a picture anyway.

He realised he’d been humming and daydreaming when his thoughts were interrupted by Gordon jumping over the back of the bench with a brightly coloured soft toy fish from the shop.

“You done?”

“I think they’re closing. I was the last one in. Are we going home now?”

“Yup. Thought we’d get some pizza to eat on the way home.”

“Sounds good.”

They picked their seat on the waiting train to take them back to the pod. Virgil produced some cake that he’d also picked up from the café, and Gordon’s eyes lit up and he started to eat it in a way that would have incurred Grandma Tracy’s wrath.

“Virgil?”

“Mmm?”

“Thanks for bringing me today.”

“You’re welcome, thank you for coming with me.”

_________________

Here's some of the pictures Virgil took, which are actually mine. Virgil would be a better photographer than me!

And a bonus one, the black locomotive in the Harry Potter Station Gordon references (Goathland on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, photographed last year)

[newtonsheffield]

This is the face of someone who just opened the physical copy of the certain popular fae romance series their sister leant them to see how far through they actually are and realised that the map is literally just the UK and Ireland divided up.

I’m sorry that is the laziest shit I ever did see

[blazehedgehog]

Thoughts on Dr. Robotnik's Ring racers and the current version of SRB2 Kart?

I never dug too super deep in to SRB2 Kart because I very rarely play online games with randos and I had no real consistent group to play with otherwise. Like, I tried to play the few times Tracker hosted a server, but he lives in the UK and I'm on wifi so it just didn't really work out.

So I was kind of waiting for the singleplayer campaign mode. I could see the potential in SRB2K. "The Mugen of Kart Racers" has been an idea in the back of my head for literal decades at this point. But I did not care about time trials because there were no items.

I streamed about four hours of Ring Racers (obviously) a couple days ago:

And I've also seen a lot of SRB2 Kart diehards lose their mind over some of the changes and problems in Ring Racers.

As someone who has never really put more than, say, two hours in to SRB2 Kart, Ring Racers is... fun? Yeah. It's fun. I'd say I enjoyed myself.

But it's also got problems. Broadly speaking, the entire game is way too complicated for its own good. It's nice that they really sat down and thought very deeply about kart racer mechanics and tried to elevate things to a new level, but it feels like they overthought a lot of it. And I mean beyond the fact this game opens with a very wordy, 30-60 minute tutorial. Don't get me wrong, it needs at least some of that, because it's a very mechanically dense game, but that's also sort of the problem.

Like I literally just bailed out of a Discord conversation about this because I wanted to write it over here, but let's take, for example, the spindash.

The spindash mechanic has three primary functions in Ring Racers:

You charge up a spindash at the right time during the starting line lobby segment to get a boost going into the first lap

You charge a spindash to get through one of the speed barriers for secret shortcuts

This game has Sonic-style physics and there are slopes where, if you aren't already going fast, they are too steep of an incline to drive up. So you have to stop and charge a spindash to clear them.

What value does this actually bring to the table? What's useful about it?

The starting line lobby segment is annoying because even CPU racers will bump you into a FAULT state, forcing you to start in last place. Lobby segments are also different sizes, different lengths, so as a newbie like myself, that already puts me at a disadvantage. Charging a spindash for a starting line boost does not add anything you could not already do with Mario Kart's more traditional starting line mechanic. So that means everything around it is just to make the game less friendly to newbies.

Unless you are an ultra-skilled sickos player who optimizes ring consumption to the max, or you're lucky enough to have a boost item, you are never going to be setup to crash through a speed barrier. I certainly never am. I only touch them by accident and they always make everything worse for me when I do. I would never stop and deliberately use a spindash to clear one of these, and places in the map where I get owned are never near one for it to act as a shortcut to get me back in the race faster.

The only time you need to use a spindash on a slope is if you get blasted by someone else's weapon, and there's always this deep dread to that where it's like, if I have to spindash to get up a slope, the race is already lost. Getting slammed by a weapon can already be very devastating on its own, but adding the extra step of having to come to a complete stop, wait 2-3 seconds to charge a spindash, and then crawl up the incline? It's insult to injury.

So, then, in practical terms: what value does the spindash bring to this game? The shortest summary is it's a recovery mechanic that adds an extra step to systems that are tuned to be very difficult and maybe don't even need to exist. You could remove the spindash (and all the systems that depend on the spindash) and I think it would be a better game.

And there's a few systems like this in the game, like the ring tether system, the air drop, and so on. It's nice to finally see someone trying to meaningfully evolve the kart racer into something with greater depth, but I also feel like people who liked SRB2 Kart liked it because it was a very good one of those. And it had extremely friendly mod support.

I get the desire for what's happening here. People were unfairly harsh about how "SRB2 Kart is a bad name" and the developers wanted to both establish a fresher identity and push things in a new direction. But they're also kind of reinventing a lot of wheels and adding all of these extra steps, which will and is hurting the pick-up-and-play element of "it's just a good kart racer." If you roll up on a friend group with Ring Racers and say "hold up, you gotta play the 40 minute tutorial first", that's a killer, and that's still considering they've already trimmed the tutorial length once since it launched only a few days ago.

A kart racer with the depth of a fighting game is definitely an interesting idea and like I said, I was having fun in the stream, but it's just one of those things where the more I think about what the ideal form of this game is trying to be, the more I wonder.

And that's not even considering that some things that worried me about SRB2 Kart are still here, like how many very narrow and winding tracks there are. Sometimes you get what is effectively a rally racing track but there's 8 other hyper-aggressive cars on the road with you and they're all armed to the teeth with projectile weapons. Even in SRB2 Kart's time trial mode, when I was the only one on the track, it could be hard enough to stay on the road. Now that I'm being knocked around by other racers at the same time? It can borderline on feeling impossible.

Again, I don't hate this. It's just that there's a lot of weird friction in places I feel like it does not benefit from or need.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

re-evaluating pursuing & distancing in Utsukushii Kare season 1

I promised an analysis of Utsukushii Kare season 2 overall a while back. I ended up rewatching the whole series to try to get everything fresh and accurate in my mind, which was helpful, but it also gave me, well, too many ideas for one post. So now the plan is to address these thoughts in chunks that will hopefully add up to something useful. 

I started my examination of pursuer-distancer dynamics in Utsukushii Kare with a pretty strong assumption that while their ways of fulfilling their roles were sometimes unusual, Hira was definitely the pursuer in the relationship and Kiyoi was the distancer. As I watched season 2, I increasingly saw Kiyoi as pursuing Hira. But now that I’ve gone back and rewatched the whole series, I think I failed to recognize the ways in which Kiyoi was always pursuing Hira. I think this shift in my thinking really sheds some light on other aspects of their relationship and the story more broadly, and it shows more continuity between seasons 1 and 2 than I had previously noticed. 

I’ve mentioned this before, but there’s a real difference between the kind of pursuit where you are seeking to establish a relationship with someone and the kind where you are seeking intimacy with someone you’re already in a relationship with. And these differences often map onto role differences and relational styles, including gendered ones. Think about how things go in a stereotypical, heteronormative relationship. Before a relationship is established, men are supposed to make the first move (women, on the other hand, can face negative consequences if they try this). But once a relationship is under way, we’re more likely to see women pursuing and men distancing when it comes to intimacy. (A frequent exception is pursuing physical intimacy, which can often be an area in which roles are flipped, with pursuers becoming distancers and vice versa.) At the same time, intimacy-seeking can happen outside of a fully formed romantic relationship. In other words, the kind of pursuing that happens within a relationship can also happen before a relationship has fully gotten off of the ground. 

I’m going to try to maintain distinctions between the following types of pursuit:

Pursuing contact; making an effort to spend time with the other person. (This type can happen within an effort to form a relationship or within an existing one and these contexts can cause big differences.) 

Pursuing emotional intimacy, including showing vulnerability, self-disclosing, and processing/resolving problems in the relationship. (This type is most crucial after a relationship has started but not only can it occur before that, it really needs to in order for the relationship to start on a meaningful basis.)  

Pursuing physical intimacy; this doesn’t necessarily have to mean sexual contact only, but some non-sexual types of physical intimacy could be primarily/entirely about emotional intimacy and then they’d be a better fit with that category than this one.

(By the way, these aren’t from any sort of existing typology I found or anything like that. They’re just categories that came up and seemed significant as I was looking at examples here.)

Next, I’m going to to through a timeline of Hira and Kiyoi’s relationship in season 1 with an eye toward who is engaged in some kind of pursuit of contact and/or intimacy. This is a close read and rather lengthy but for folks who are engaged enough with this show to want to dig into the story deeply I hope it’ll be interesting.

This is also the kind of thing that I would expect folks to be able to legitimately disagree about. A lot of our perceptions of these things will be affected by our own frames of reference and the roles we tend to take up in relationships. 

I want to note that I think there’s a real difference between pursuing vs. distancing and the seme/uke trope. Actually, looking closely at Utsukushii Kare has really informed how I see this. I’m still working out what I think about it at this point, but for now I’ll just say that despite seeming like they’d overlap a lot, pursuer/distancer and seme/uke roles don’t map onto one other very readily. Actually, I’m increasingly finding that it’s often ukes who do more pursuing with regard to emotional intimacy than semes, which seems important. Anyway, I’ll circle back to that eventually.

One final note before I get started: I keep forgetting to credit @lollipopsub​ for their excellent subtitles, which I’m referring to in almost every case here and in my other posts, so I’m circling back with an edit to add a tag for them here. I highly recommend checking out their stuff. They pay a lot of attention to important details, give well-placed translator’s notes, and have really helped with my understanding of the show.

On to the season 1 timeline!

Kiyoi “saves” Hira on their first day by walking into class late when he’s struggling with introducing himself to the class. Not really an interaction, per se. They do make strong impressions on each other that set them up for what happens later. Hira says Kiyoi “grabbed hold of me like a tidal wave” from that first time he saw him. Kiyoi sees Hira as a “useless loser” but he’s so struck by “the look in his eyes as if I were the only thing in the world” that he becomes curious about him.

Who’s pursuing here? No one, really. Except that Hira’s way of looking at Kiyoi is so intense and conspicuous that it could really be considered a kind of pursuit (a theme that continues as the story progresses). 

(screenshot via Foreigner on MDL )

Hira walks up to Kiyoi as he’s laying down (seemingly asleep) on a bank of lockers in an otherwise uninhabited classroom. Kiyoi is actually pretending to be asleep. “I didn’t care about him,” he says later, “I just wanted to see what he’d do–this guy who was always staring at me. That was all.” When Hira looks at him pretending to sleep and whispers “so beautiful” to himself, Kiyoi says it’s “the first time I’d received a compliment so earnest,” and that he “wanted those eyes on me again.” In retrospect, he realizes there was “a desire in me” that he “didn’t yet know how to name”--that he was starting to have feelings for Hira. Hira also thanks Kiyoi for what happened on “introduction day” and Kiyoi responds by saying, “What the hell. You’re gross.” 

Who’s pursuing here? Kiyoi set up the interaction in a way, but it’s also partly a matter of chance. Hira isn’t pursuing Kiyoi when he calls him beautiful as he doesn’t think he’s awake. Kiyoi’s rude comments could be seen as distancing (though they may appeal to Hira). 

(screenshot via amigo_love on MDL)

Hira and Kiyoi get assigned to cleaning duty together and stuff ensues. At first, Hira is distressed by this. “A king and a commoner like me aren’t supposed to mingle,” he thinks. Kiyoi uses the cleanup duty assignment to rope Hira into doing things for him and the whole Shirota crew. This is one of the few times that Kiyoi actively chooses something that leads to Hira being bullied or dominated, and it’s a decisive choice. He’s not thinking about it that way, of course. “It started out just as a whim. I had to know what he wanted from me. I had to know the emotions hiding behind those eyes.” But once Hira waits for a table at the diner for the group, his “gofer” role is pretty much established. 

Who’s pursuing here? Kiyoi. Neither of them chose the cleaning duty assignment, but once it happens, Kiyoi wrangles Hira into being a “gofer” in order to find out more about him. 

Hira follows Kiyoi after seeing him on the street and learns he takes dance classes; they have a conversation in which Kiyoi asks him to keep this a secret from the others at school. Hira isn’t trying to interact with Kiyoi here. He just wants to watch him. Kiyoi’s wise to ask Hira not to talk about the dance classes. Later events show that if their peers had learned about them he may well have been targeted for bullying. The interaction about the secret is important. Kiyoi is left wondering if Hira is “different from the rest” and finds his heart racing during their conversation, and Hira thinks, “it’s the first time I ever looked this directly at someone.” 

Who’s pursuing here? Neither of them. They get to know each other better and end up sharing a secret, but neither intentionally created the situation or took advantage of it much. (

(screenshot via Vanessa Ferey on MDL)

Kiyoi suggests having the summer break get-together at Hira’s house and he chooses to come with Hira to get ice cream when he could easily have avoided it. The fact that Hira lives alone is a handy excuse to meet with the others there. We never get any detail on Kiyoi’s perspective on this interaction, but it would stand to reason if he had remained intrigued by Hira. After the girls protest when Kiyoi draws the short straw that would make him accompany Hira to the store, Hira offers to go on his own. But Kiyoi leaves soon after and catches up with him. It’s completely his decision. This leads to Kiyoi riding on the back of Hira’s bike and the two of them getting in trouble. Hira, of course, comes up with other reasons in his mind for Kiyoi’s decisions, such as wanting to make sure Hira was really keeping his secret. 

Who’s pursuing here? Kiyoi. He creates the situation by initiating the hangout, then makes a point of going with Hira on his errand. 

Hira and Kiyoi speak alone after Kiyoi loses the contest. Hira plays a more active role in creating this situation. He follows Kiyoi backstage and sees him cry and punch a wall in response to not performing as well in the contest as he’d hoped. Then, when Kiyoi leaves the diner, he follows him to, well, whatever that place is with the circular bench and the fairy lights. I’d actually forgotten something important about this scene. Hira follows Kiyoi, but Kiyoi does something surprising once he sees him. Well, first he calls him “stalker.” But then, pretty much out of the blue, he tells Hira, “As a kid, I dreamed of getting inside the TV,” and goes on to confide in him about his childhood dreams of becoming a performer. This is very out of the ordinary for him and involves seriously vulnerable stuff. This is probably one of the reasons he turns on Hira so quickly afterward–he seems to feel overexposed. At that point, he pushes Hira away more strongly than at any other point in season 1, responding to his declaration that he likes him “like crazy” by saying, “I hate you like crazy! You’re fucking disgusting.” 

Who’s pursuing here? Hira is literally pursuing Kiyoi by following him around at two different points. But it’s notable that Kiyoi pursues Hira emotionally by opening up to him in such an unguarded way (even if he does become guarded again super quickly).  

Shirota dumps tomato juice on Kiyoi, Hira defends him, and they talk in an empty classroom afterward, leading to the famous hand kiss. Neither Kiyoi nor Hira initiates the event that brings them together–it’s obviously not either’s idea for Shirota to bully Kiyoi in this way. Hira responds with a degree of loyalty (and violence) that makes a huge impression on Kiyoi. Hira also goes and sits with Kiyoi afterward of his own accord. Their subsequent conversation is a turning point in their relationship. Kiyoi guides the conversation into very personal subject matter, asking if Hira “likes men.” Hira, of course, completely misses the subtext that this would be something he’d have in common with Kiyoi. He responds by telling Kiyoi that he is the only person he is now, or has ever been, attracted to. Then Kiyoi asks Hira if he wants to kiss him and offers him his hand. He fakes him out at first, pulling his hand away at the last moment. But he still presents it again and lets Hira kiss it. 

Who’s pursuing here? Hira does take some initiative, both by defending Kiyoi and going to sit with him. But it’s Kiyoi who controls the conversation and steers it toward personal topics and subject matter related to their relationship, and it’s Kiyoi who offers to let Hira kiss his hand. 

Hira and Kiyoi start hanging out together regularly. After the juice incident, they start spending time together pretty often. Hira doesn’t seem to invest any meaning in the timing of this, but it’s obvious that between the way he defended him and the significance of their interaction afterward, there’s been a shift in how Kiyoi sees their relationship. Kiyoi actually hinted at their spending more time together even before this, like after their water-fight when he tells Hira that he needs to stay stocked up on ginger ale at home (and then good ol’ oblivious Hira thinks, “Why would he say that?”). But the day of the juice incident clinched it for Kiyoi. He still has his doubts about Hira in some ways, but his loyalty and protectiveness at a time when others abandoned him was a big deal. As Kiyoi puts it, “he sacrifices everything for my sake.” 

Who’s pursuing here? We don’t see anyone initiating hanging out, but let’s get real. It was Kiyoi. Hira would never. 

And then we come to the final moment of their time in high school: the graduation day kiss. This is almost entirely Kiyoi’s doing. He goes off by himself to a secluded place after making sure that Hira hears him announcing he’s leaving. It’s up to Hira to follow him, which he does. Kiyoi desperately wants Hira to make some kind of declaration of love or put the moves on him somehow, but as usual Hira is way too oblivious to pick up on any hint of that. So Kiyoi has to take action himself. He kisses Hira, freaks out, and runs off. To most people, kissing someone is interpreted as a sign that you might be interested in them romantically and/or sexually. Naturally, Hira interprets it as “a kiss given out of pity,” Kiyoi’s way of “telling me to stop chasing him.” It’s pretty frustrating to hear Hira go on from there to say that “every word that passes Kiyoi’s lips never leaves my mind….I embrace everything that Kiyoi gives me,” when he’s actually rejecting what Kiyoi is offering him and putting words in his mouth. I guess he’s just working overtime to convince himself. And then, of course, he changes his phone number for no actual reason.

Who’s pursuing here? It’s Kiyoi again. Hira followed him to the back of the school, as he was intended to. That’s his contribution. Kiyoi orchestrated the whole thing and when it was clear Hira wasn’t going to do anything, he planted one on him. And then Hira pulled a massive distancing move. He misinterpreted Kiyoi to an extent that seems almost willful, stopped trying to see him, and changed his phone number, making it impossible for Kiyoi to reach him. 

Aaaaaand then after more than a year apart, Hira and Kiyoi meet up again when Koyama takes Hira to the play Kiyoi is in. Kiyoi hears about someone named Hira from the older Koyama, one thing leads to another, and he arranges for Hira to be invited to the play. He’s not exactly friendly when they do see each other, but for Hira, being called “stalker” is a form of flirting. Hira provides his trademark stare which, to be fair, seems to be a big part of what Kiyoi was hoping for. But he doesn’t stay for the afterparty or do anything to maintain contact with Kiyoi. 

Who’s pursuing here? Kiyoi pulled all the strings and all Hira did was do his trademark stare. Though maybe I shouldn’t downplay that since it’s actually a pretty big deal to Kiyoi. 

(screenshot via Ginger Ale on MDL)

Hira goes to the play a second time in a terrible disguise, attends the afterparty, and hangs out with Kiyoi in the park, after which Kiyoi asks him if he’s dating Koyama. Did Hira actually make a move this time? Maybe. He went to see Kiyoi’s play again, without Koyama this time, while wearing a really obvious disguise that made him stand out even more than his usual appearance. Kiyoi invited him to the afterparty again and he went. Those two weirdos spent the whole party obsessing over each other from across the room, drank too much because they were too worked up, and ended up sobering up in the park. They have a pretty decent conversation where Kiyoi dropped lots of hints and Hira got none of them, culminating in Kiyoi asking him at the train station if he’s dating Koyama and an oblivious Hira being like, “why do you ask?” 

Who’s pursuing here? Well, Hira does come to the play of his own volition, which is something, but his disguise implies he wasn’t actually trying to interact with Kiyoi, just watch him from afar…unless a part of him knows it sucks? Kiyoi makes a good effort with the hints and making cute lil faces at Hira. It’s all for nought but at least he’s trying. 

Kiyoi calls Hira (while pretending it was a wrong number), uses it as an excuse to ask if he can rehearse at his house, then shows up and finds Koyama clinging to him. Kiyoi plays off the phone call like it was an accident, which is somewhat shitty. But at least he reached out. Hira says yes to the rehearsing thing. It’s not his fault Koyama tackles him just as Kiyoi is walking in (on purpose?). Kiyoi pulls his usual “I don’t give a shit” thing in response.

Who’s pursuing here? Kiyoi initiates contact, albeit in a fairly cowardly way. Hira is receptive but doesn’t do much. But it’s not his fault Koyama cockblocked him. 

Hira fills in for the lighting person at Kiyoi’s play, stuff happens, yada yada, he licks the blood off of Kiyoi’s hurt finger, almost kisses him but doesn’t, then tells Kiyoi he can’t date him because he’s a king and he’s just his servant, after which he totally ignores Kiyoi telling him he likes him back. This is all after Koyama tells Kiyoi what Hira told him about the one beautiful person he’d taken photos of and how he loved them beyond reason and arranges for Hira to pick up that lighting shift so they’ll have a reason to see each other. Kiyoi kicks a table leg out of frustration and they end up getting knocked down by a bunch of junk and Kiyoi’s finger gets hurt, which leads to the licking situation, and almost-kiss, and Hira full-on rejecting Kiyoi whether he realizes it or not. 

Who’s pursuing here? Well, honestly, Koyama’s doing more to help than either of these two goofballs. Kiyoi’s fed up from the start and I can’t blame him. Hira’s inability to process information that doesn’t match up with his personal mythology is on clear display here. There’s a reason this is their lowest point during season 1. 

Hira tells Kiyoi over voicemail that he’s going to the place he first “saved” him (their high school) to “dedicate the night” to his love for him, after which he’ll forget him (sure you will, buddy). Kiyoi shows up, there’s a chase and a scuffle, and they finally have it out, then get together. Hira does something decisive here for once. He says he’s serious about putting their relationship behind him, but he’s clearly disappointed when he thinks Kiyoi won’t come. It’s extremely on-brand for Hira to reach out to someone not by explicitly seeking connection but by expressing his (supposed) resignation and hoping they’ll swoop in. Kiyoi tells himself he won’t come, then does, then runs away as soon as Hira sees him. When they do start to talk, Hira says a lot of the usual Hira things. Talking about how much he loves him, begging him not to go. But he offers little else until Kiyoi shifts things by opening up big time, including telling him yet again that he returns his feelings (in a really angry way–I’m pretty sure it’s the only confession I’ve seen in a drama that involves someone yelling “baka!” at the object of their affections–but it’s understandable). Kiyoi goes through their history and points out example after example of how Hira expressed through words and actions that he loved Kiyoi but failed to follow through, even though at times he was pretty clear about reciprocating his feelings (especially when he kissed him). We know from season 2 that Hira doesn’t really internalize the part about not viewing Kiyoi as a “king,” but at least in this moment, he seems to at least sort of get that Kiyoi likes him back and that he needs for him to see that and respond instead of talking himself into an imaginary rejection. Hira does put himself out there in one really notable way: he asks if he can touch Kiyoi, hugs him, and then lays him down on a danged desk and makes out with him. It’s honestly a red letter day for Hira showing some guts.

Who’s pursuing here? Although it’s in a backhanded way, Hira initiates this interaction. And in a way, he shows vulnerability and genuinely tries to engage Kiyoi. But things only start to change, start to open up the possibility of a real relationship, when Kiyoi opens up about his feelings for Hira and how Hira’s behavior has affected him. That said, Hira makes a big contribution too by literally reaching out to Kiyoi and initiating making out with him like he’s an “ordinary” human being. 

That’s the timeline. Now, a few big themes and tendencies to note:

Most opportunities for contact were created or facilitated by Kiyoi.

When someone showed vulnerability or made the first move to connect emotionally, it was almost always Kiyoi (though both characters are still very guarded at this point).

Hira’s declarations of love and frequent compliments are tricky to categorize here. There can be an element of vulnerability in expressing these feelings, but it’s not the same as the kind of self-disclosure Kiyoi engages in, and sometimes Hira’s idealization of Kiyoi is itself a form of distancing (e.g. not being able to date “the king”). 

Hira’s way of looking at Kiyoi–like, literally, the staring, meaningful looks, eye-fucking, whatever you want to call it–does seem to function as a kind of pursuit at least some of the time. It often impacts Kiyoi in that way. But it’s not exactly a straightforward move. 

Both characters seek physical intimacy in different ways/at different times. Kiyoi proposes the hand kiss and kisses Hira on graduation day, while Hira does the hand thing (!) and initiates touching, hugging, and eventually the whole classroom table makeout situation. 

There are also some obvious contextual factors that should be kept in mind here. The big ones that come to mind for me are:

Their power differential–Kiyoi has a great deal more social status and related power than Hira, particularly in high school.

The fact that they first got to know one another in this hierarchical context is bound to set them up for certain habits and expectations. Hira literally acted as a kind of servant for Kiyoi and the rest of the Shirota crew at first! 

Both characters are deeply affected by their past experiences with peers. For Hira, this mostly involves a history of bullying, being ignored, and being excluded (in part due to ableism). For Kiyoi, his past experiences looked favorable on the surface but were seriously lacking when it came to authenticity or real intimacy. 

We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Hira’s stuttering is a disability. The negative peer experiences I just mentioned had at least some basis in ableism and really, it might account for all or nearly all of them. The wear and tear on his psyche of dealing with pervasive ableism and the bullying and aggression that comes with it can’t be overstated. This also helps with understanding some of his maladaptive coping strategies (which it seems were actually pretty adaptive in the past). 

I’ll return to the pursuer/distancer thing in another post about season 2 and I have some additional thoughts about how to put it in context with BL/yaoi tropes as well as some other relevant ideas.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

First research flight images from innovative balloon-borne telescope Astronomers have successfully launched a balloon-borne telescope which has begun capturing images of the Universe on its first research flight. The super pressure balloon-borne Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) was flown to the edge of space by a helium-filled NASA scientific balloon the size of a football stadium where it will help researchers investigate the mystery of dark matter. SuperBIT has already taken its first images on this flight, showing the "Tarantula Nebula” - a neighbourhood of the Large Magellanic Cloud where new stars are being born, and the collision between the “Antennae galaxies” NGC 4038 and NGC 4039. SuperBIT is a collaboration between Durham University, UK, the University of Toronto, Canada, Princeton University, USA, and NASA. It launched from Wānaka, New Zealand (Aotearoa) earlier this week, following a two-year delay due to the Covid pandemic. Carried by seasonally stable winds for about three months, it will circumnavigate the southern hemisphere several times - imaging the sky all night, then using solar panels to recharge its batteries during the day. SuperBIT flies at 33.5km altitude, above 99.5 per cent of the Earth’s atmosphere. It takes high-resolution images like those of the Hubble Space Telescope, but with a wider field of view. The science goal for this first flight is to measure the properties of dark matter, a heavy but invisible type of material. Dark matter is all around us but poorly understood. SuperBIT will test whether dark matter particles can bounce off each other, by mapping the dark matter around clusters of galaxies that are colliding with neighbouring galaxy clusters. Various theories about dark matter suggest that, during a collision, some dark matter might either slow down, spread out, or get chipped off. The researchers say that if they can map dark matter leaving the collision, they could finally start to learn what it is made of. Professor Richard Massey, of Durham University’s Department of Physics, said: “It takes the gravity from an entire galaxy to move dark matter and SuperBIT will look at clusters of galaxies that happen to be colliding with each other. “Essentially, we’re using the largest particle accelerators in the Universe, to smash lumps of dark matter and see where the bits fly. “If dark matter goes ‘crunch’, or if bits are chipped off, we could finally start to learn what it’s made of.” Although dark matter is invisible, SuperBIT will map where it is by the way it bends passing rays of light, a technique known as gravitational lensing. While telescopes on the ground have to squint through the Earth’s atmosphere – meaning their view can become blurred - space-based telescopes get a clear view of the light that has travelled billions of years from the distant universe. SuperBIT is the first ever balloon-borne telescope capable of taking wide-field images with resolution limited only by the laws of optics. During its final test flight in 2019, SuperBIT demonstrated extraordinary pointing stability, with variation of less than one thirty-six thousandth of a degree for more than an hour. SuperBIT cost about $5million/£4.1million, almost 1,000 times less than an equivalent satellite. Not only is helium cheaper than rocket fuel, but the ability of SuperBIT to return to Earth via parachute meant the team could tweak its design over several test flights. Reusable spacecraft can also be reconfigured and upgraded. For example, the development team buy a new camera shortly before each launch, because modern detectors are improving so rapidly. Using cutting-edge technology has kept SuperBIT young. The team already has funding to upgrade SuperBIT’s 0.5 metre aperture telescope to 1.6 metres, which would boost light gathering power tenfold, with a wider-angle lens and more megapixels. The relatively cheap cost may even make it possible for a fleet of space telescopes to offer time to astronomers around the world. TOP IMAGE....A false-colour image taken by the SuperBIT telescope soon after launch in visible and ultra-violet light of the "Tarantula Nebula” - a neighbourhood of the Large Magellanic Cloud where new stars are being born. CREDIT SuperBIT CENTRE IMAGE....A false-colour image taken by the SuperBIT telescope soon after launch in visible and ultra-violet light of a pair of galaxies smashing into each other. As they collide, the “Antennae galaxies” NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 are ripping strips off each other and opening themselves for inspection. CREDIT SuperBIT LOWER IMAGE....The SuperBIT telescope nestled among its solar panels and communications antennae. Picked up at dawn, ready to be carried to the launch pad beside the runway at Wānaka airport. CREDIT Richard Massey.

[literatemisfit]

A Comprehensive List of David Tennant Whump

(to be made more specific in terms of episodes and plot points with time) ***SPOILERS on PLOT POINTS***

Chronologically:

Takin' Over the Asylum (1994)

Manhandling and intimidation, abuse of power by authority, forced confinement and treatment, given blame for having a mental health disorder, unsupportive family, death of a friend

The Bill (1995)

Short moment of physical violence and intimidation, arrest, manhandling

LA Without a Map (1998)

Short stint of imprisonment, physical violence, fish out of water vibes, intimidation

Casanova (2005)

Violence and grievous injury, imprisonment, emotional anguish, disturbing sexualized environment

Doctor Who (2006-2010)

2x0 The Christmas Invasion

Regeneration sickness, manhandling, pain and fainting, nursed back to health

2x1 New Earth

Loss of consciousness by poison, imprisonment, loss of control and ownership over one's body

2x7 The Idiot's Lantern

Alien TV face sucking, loss of consciousness

2x8 The Impossible Planet &

2x9 The Satan Pit

Fall into an abyss and regaining consciousness at the bottom, religious and moral dilemmas

2x13 Doomsday

Emotional anguish, loss of loved one, inability to communicate feelings in time

3x1 Smith & Jones

Manhandling, forced to have blood sucked through straw against his will, loss of consciousness, lack of oxygen for everyone

3x2 The Shakespeare Code

Voodoo attack, loss of consciousness, one heart stops, threat of execution

3x7 42

Intense pain and panic, screaming, freezing, burning up from the inside, admitting to fear

3x9 The Family of Blood

Human innocence when faced with danger, tantrum at not wanting to die, fear of not being John Smith, taken prisoner, hunted by killers

3x12 The Sound of Drums

3x13 Last of the Time Lords

4x2 The Fires of Pompei

4x6 The Doctor's Daughter

4x9 Forest of the Dead

4x10 Midnight

4x12 The Stolen Earth

4x13 Journey's End

0x3 The Waters of Mars

0x4 The End of Time Part 1

0x5 The End of Time Part 2

Recovery (2007)

Brain injury, mental anguish

Hamlet (2009)

Grief, arrest with light bondage, insanity, tantrums, death

Single Father (2010)

Manhandling, grief, anger

United* (2011)

Fright Night (2011)

Past trauma and fear, vampire attack, trapped and helpless, injury, thrown

Spies of Warsaw* (2013)

The Politician's Husband* (2013)

Richard II (2013)

Broadchurch (2013-2017)

Heart problems, dizziness, fainting, collapsing, surgery, grief, trauma, flashbacks, violent crime, sexual crime

Camping (2018)

Jessica Jones (2016-2019)

Criminal UK (2019)

Good Omens (2019-2023)

Deadwater Fell (2020)

Around the World In 80 Days (2021)

Inside Man (2022)

Litvinenko* (2022)

* these I have not seen nor do I have confirmation that whump-like drama occurs but I include them in case they apply.

If you have any insider information or suggestions for what might be added in terms of listed works or details about the plot points and triggers to include, let me know. I will begin working on this as I gather information and research and rewatch certain shows and movies.

Enjoy 🌈

[pedropascal-y]

Across The Pond - Joel Miller x f!Reader

summary: you're a visitor from the UK when the outbreak happens. You're also the newest member of Jackson, Wyoming.

Warnings (WHOLE STORY): MDNI, 18+, Smut, incel-type behavior (not from Joel), minor wound discussion, trauma, murder (infected killing), age gap (you're almost thirty and Joel is 50), lmk if I missed any.

a/n: thank you so much to my bestie, @lovers-liability , for helping me with this story! They have given me many ideas and encouraged me to write this! Much love! - Liv

Wordcount: 2.7k

your mp3 playlist: ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

Index:

Chapter 1 - The Walls - 04/14/2023

Chapter 2 - Lovely Meetin Ya - 04/19/2023

Chapter 3 - PTSD - 05/08/2023

The sun beats down on your neck, surely adding to your already present sunburn. It was simply apart of you now, sunburn forever graced your skin since Summer arrived. It took so long for you and Felix to reach any semblance of normal socialization. According to those within the walls of the QZ’s, they were not normal there. Felix walks ahead of you, silently listening for anyone around you. “Why’s it so bloody hot here?” You groan, not used to the constant sunshine and missing the constant cover of clouds back in the UK. Felix rolls his eyes. He’s certainly used to your complaining by now, seeing as you both have been on the road for some near 20 years. Not that you could keep count, your phone continues to track the day and time when it is charged that is. It hadn’t been charged for a few months, or at least it felt that way. 

“You really need to stop complaining, hun.” Felix scolds you.

“It’s all I’ve got to do.” You say right back to him, scooting your rifle further onto your shoulder, “it’s not like I can read this sodding map,” you continue, looking at the years of arrows and directions written on to it. You had asked Felix to teach you but he never did, he said there was no use in teaching you when you had him. Everything on it was foreign to you, except the small arrows, those were simple enough to know. 

“How your wound?” He asks you, stopping for a moment to check on you. 

You lift your shirt slightly, exposing the infected wound that you sustained in a fight with some raider determined to take everything you had. “It’s bloody painful but I can handle. I just hope we find some medicine soon.” You sigh, exhausted physically and mentally. Although, everyone must be exhausted in every meaning of the word. The world had ended and everyone was on guard, especially around other people. Humans were more brutal than the infected in this fallen society. Your wound was more than proof of that.

You were 9 years old when the outbreak happened, spent most of the years afterward inside the airport. You had managed to stay alive after everyone else died by locking yourself in a bathroom and stealing food from the plethora of food establishments. After 17 years, thousands of books read, and all the food scavenged from the airport, you decided it was time to leave. The time spent in the airport taught you basic survival skills, quite a few skills with medical care and aniamal care but reading a map of the United States was still a daunting task. 

You try to find your way toward the front door when a sound comes from the starbucks to your left. Freezing, you pull your metal rod from your backpack and head toward the sound. The sound continued as you inched closer, getting louder and more frequent. A man a couple years older than you pops out from behind the coffee bar, “Don’t hurt me!” He yells. You hold your rod in a defensive position and stare at him.

“What are you doing here?” You ask him, ready to attack at any moment. He puts his hands down slowly and dusts them off. He starts, “Well, I was looking for food, there is none in here by the way.” 

“I know.”

“You know?” He asks.

“That Starbucks has been empty for months.”

“How’d you know?” 

“I cleared it out months ago. I’ve slowly been making my way through every shop here.” You explain, lowering your rod. Your arm was tired and he seemed nice enough. Granted you haven’t spoken to another human being since your mom died in your arms. 

“Hold on, how long have you been here?” He asks, hoping over the counter to stand in front of you. You take a step back, clearing more space between the both of you.

“Since the day it happened.” You explain to him. His face drops and so does your defense. 

“Stop, right now!” A man yells, approaching you two on a horse. Felix raises his rifle and aims it at the man. Another man rides in on a horse at our left, “I recommend you lower your weapon right now.” You step closer to Felix, nervous that this was it, you were outnumbered. Two more men arrive on your unprotected side, surrounding you completely. Felix slowly lowers his gun, making eye contact with what he assumes is the leader.

“We’re friendly,” Felix says, sliding the rifle stap onto his shoulder, “We just need a little help, she’s hurt.” You slap his shoulder, upset that he revealed your vulnerability. 

“Is she bit?” The first man asks Felix, completely ignoring your existence as a sentient being. Felix shakes his head and lifts your shirt to show the wound, “She was stabbed.” You shove your shirt down and Felix’s hand as quick as your hands would allow. The man on the horse nods at his pack and turns around. The horse rider behind you speaks up, “Get walkin, follow Tommy.” You start walking, cautious of the people surrounding you.

“Fel, why would you tell them I’m injured?” You whisper quietly, eyeing the person to your left. Felix looks at you and back at the leader whose name is Tommy, apparently, “You need help, hun, we need to take the chance that they can help.” You roll your eyes and press a couple fingers into the skin around the wound. As much as you hated to admit it, Felix was right, you weren’t going to survive long with the wound growing more infected. You speak up, “I can tend the wound myself, I just need the supplies,” Tommy keeps his eyes ahead, watching his pathway closely. 

After walking for a kilometer or so, Tommy lets out a whistle. “Send out the dog!” He yells. You look up from the ground and there stands massive walls. They look sturdy, strong and able to withstand just about anything. You let out a deep sigh, some relief falling off your shoulders. Loud creaking is heard from the direction of the walls and a dog comes sprinting at you and Felix. You freeze, worried the dog may attack you. That Tommy had led you to your death. The dog stops at Felix’s feet and sniffs him over. Felix waves a hand to you gently, signalling it’s okay. It eases you for a moment. He was always good at that, calming you down when the stress of the situation becomes too much for you. It was a skill he picked up rather quickly after our meeting in the airport. 

The dog stops sniffing Felix and heads over to you. “Lift your shirt.” The man on my left yelled from atop his horse. “Excuse me?” You snapped your head toward him. 

“The dog needs to get a whiff of your scent to make sure you’re not infected.” He says, impatiently gripping at his horse’s reigns. You nod slowly and lift your shirt for a moment, the dog continues to sniff. You knew you weren’t infected but the idea that perhaps the dog could be wrong was paralyzing you. You take a deep breath in as the dog walks away from you and sits at Tommy’s horse’s feet. “Alright, let’s get you folks some medicine,” Tommy begins the walk toward the gate placed between the walls of the commune. 

As the gates closed behind you, a woman came and grabbed the reigns of Tommy and his friend’s horse. “I’m Lucas, nice to meet you.” Tommy’s friend introduces himself, sticking a hand out. You take it, shake it firmly and introduce yourself. “Lovely name, let’s get you over to the medical building.” He smiles and begins walking as Tommy heads away with Felix. Felix looks entirely unsure about splitting up but Tommy assures him there is a strict rule on how many people can be in the medical building at once. 

You follow quietly behind Lucas as he explains the buildings and things you pass on your way there. The closer you were to help, the heavier your body felt. “Lucas, how much farther?” You ask, trying your hardest to keep pushing. He looks back at you, noticing your skin getting paler. He slips his arm under yours and leads you into the medical building. 

“What’s her problem?” A man in a white coat asks Lucas while aiding your climb to the bed. He shrugged, “She has an infected wound and dehydration, I guess?” 

“You guess?” The doctor snarls at him.

“She’s got wicked sunburn all over her body, I felt it reasonable to deduce dehydration.” Lucas explains, holding his hands playfully in a surrender position. The doctor dismisses him and slides an I.V. into your vein. “I’m Dr. Michealson. Are you able to tell me what’s wrong?” The doctor asks as he hooks you up to the I.V.

“Wound, dehydrated and sunburn.” You tell him quietly, enjoying the pillow behind your head. It had been months since you’d actually gotten to lay your head on one and was taking everything in you not to fall asleep. The doctor nods, “Nice accent. Where you from?” You sigh deeply, “The United Kingdom, stranded here while on holiday.” 

“Alright, ma’am, we’re gonna get you some painkillers and then you can get some rest while I clean your wounds and get something for that sunburn.” Dr. Michaelson tells you, searching through his medicine cabinet for the proper equipment.

“Grounded? Bloody Hell.” Your mother cursed under her breath, staring at the Arrivals/Departures board. People were running around you, on their way to their gates or desperate to reach their loved ones at the baggage claim. “Sweetie, go sit down with your dad please.” She asks you, brushing a piece of hair behind your ear. You turn around and take a seat on the bench next to your father. 

“What’s going on, dad?” You ask him, resting your head on his arm. He sighs and hugs you close, “I’ve no clue, my love.” A scream rings out through the airport causing you to jump from your seat. You look over at where the scream came from and spot a man hunched over a woman, tearing into her throat. Another scream rips through the airport, this time, from you. The mans head snaps up toward you and sprints directly at you. Your father shoves you behind him, protecting you from the man with black veins around his face. Blood. Blood spraying from your fathers neck as he’s slammed to the floor from force of the man. Your mother turns around and brings her hand to her mouth, she yanks your arm away from the man devouring your father. Strangers around your father yank the man off of him, too late. 

Your mother quickly makes a run in the opposite direction, holding your arm as she goes. “Mom!” You yell, “Mom! Slow down!” She shows no signs of letting up, desperate to get away from that mess. “We left dad!” You scream causing her to come to a full stop.

“Sweetie, I’m sorry we left your dad. We had to, that man was dangerous.” She explains gently. “Perhaps we’ll go back once things calm down, honey.” You feel tears prickling your eyes, you had finally processed what you saw. Your father, dead on the airport floor trying to protect you. The airport grow louder, screams and yelling from every direction. Your mother looks around, clearly stressed, trying to find out where to go. She pulls you toward the bathroom, shoving you both inside and locking the door behind you. Some women come out of the bathroom stalls, curious as to why your mother locked them in the bathroom. “What’s happening?” An american woman asks while running her hands under the water. 

“People are killing other people out there.” She holds her hands on the door, pouring her weight into keeping it closed. The women look horrified as the realization settles in. The screaming and yelling finally hitting her ear drums. The american woman whispers, “Do not open that door.”

“I didn’t bloody plan on it!” Your mom curses, throwing her back against it and sitting down. You sit down and finally let go of your suitcase. It had remained glued to your hand since your father had been peacefully sitting on the bench. You slide your backpack off your shoulders and pull out your stuffed animal. You tug your mp3 out of your bag and press play. Nat King Cole’s music fills your ears as you squeeze your eyes shut and try to block out the world falling apart around you.

Your eyes snap open, unsure of where you are. The room is silent, clean, nothing like a medical office. “ ‘Ello?” You call out while sitting up, wincing at the healing wound. You hear shuffling in the building and the door swings open a moment later. Felix’s face is scrunched up in concern, a man follows in behind him and checks my I.V. port. “Felix, where am I?” You ask him, eyeing the doctor suspiciously. “We’re in our home.” He says low, unsure whether to actually call it that. He definitely didn’t feel like he was home, he was so used to sleeping in the same area as you he felt unsure sleeping in a different room. “Home?” You ask, lifting your shirt to check your wound.

“We dressed your wound, we didn’t want to change your clothes without your consent so we put a bandage on to keep it clean.” The doctor tells you, his name slowly coming back to you. “Want to try walking, miss?” He extends a hand out for you to grab onto. Felix rushes over and replaces the doctors hand with his own. You grab onto his arm, ready to use him to lift yourself. Your stomach aches lightly as you straighten out, “Can I go outside?” You ask, “I want to see the place.”

The doctor looks over at Felix, “If you’re up for it, I wont deny you that.” You smile and head out the bedroom door. The more you walk, the better you feel. No longer needing his arm, you hold onto the stair hand rail and walk down them, anxious to see the sunlight. Felix races down the stairs and swings the front door open. The smell of fresh air hits you making your excitement build. “Blimy!” You yell once your feet touch the grass in your yard. People giggle around you, enjoying your excitement. “Why do you sound like thet?” A young girl asks you, tugging at her moms hand. Her mother sighs and kneels down, “Sweetheart that’s not nice to ask.” 

“It’s quite alright, I’m from the United Kingdom.” You say and kneel down in front of her. She looks at you, more confused than before. It hits you that she was born after the outbreak and you smile and apologize, “Sorry, It’s a place far from here.” Her mother smiles at you, thankful to you for taking the time and being patient with her daughter. 

“Well, I’m Amy!” She stands on her tippy-toes and back down to her heels. You introduce yourself, thickening your accent a bit for the girls enjoyment. That’s when Joel sees you. The new girl, the one who’s not been seen since she was transported to her new home. He had never gotten a good look at you but there you were. Talking gently to a young girl making her smile. He watches as the sun bathes in a golden light, your hair is sweaty and some of it stuck to your forehead and yet he finds you absolutely breath-taking. He sees you talking to Amy and her mother, completely unaware of his staring. You’re far enough away from him for him to not be able to make out your voice but he’s sure it’s beautiful. His eyes scan your body, memorizing every curve and mark visible to his eyes. Drinking you in and enjoying the show, Joel looks over and spots Felix staring at you. Felix’s eyes were full of admiration and love, watching you speak to Amy. Joel felt angry. You were already spoken for, all your beauty was his to enjoy and it wasn’t fair.

thank you for reading this fic! This is part one of many and I would love if you let me know how you feel about it! Sorry there wasn't much Joel in this part, but as MC eases into their community, you'll see more! Again, thank you Lucy for reading and giving me ideas! Also, no, you and Felix are not dating. Simply survival buddies, friends, amigos, but clealry Felix has more than friend feels ;)

[dndhistory]

424. Graeme Morris - CM6: Where Chaos Reigns (1985)

A module for the Companion Rules of D&D, this one comes from the UK and is a pretty original entry in the CM group of adventures. Aimed at high level characters, it's also one of the first adventures where characters go hopping through space and time, giving it quite a bit of variety.

The world in which our characters start is experiencing a bunch of weird events, there is a clear disruption in the normal workings of physics and they have to explore several times and places in order to fix the chaotic state of things, they go to a primitive land, to a magical place, to a classical greece type are and ultimately they will have to go to a distant planet, this also being one of the few modules that mixes Fantasy and Science Fiction, to find the source of the disturbances.

As a module it's quite a well produced publication, better than most previous UK modules, with some really good interior illustrations by Jez Goodwin, the illustrations of the several destinations that characters get to go to are pretty cool as are the maps made for each different area with different styles to represent the time and place they are set in. All in all a pretty cool module. 

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

So, I weirdly haven’t written enough about this on this blog so far, given what a big thing it is for me – I’m going to the fucking UK this summer. For real this time. For real. Here is a post about it.

I first posted on this blog about wanting to go to the UK in early 2021, I think. I remember making posts about how maybe once the vaccines were finally released, and I was all vaccinated, travel would be safe, and I could go for a little while before I start my college courses again. That didn’t happen for quite a few reasons.

I spent much of 2021 planning a hypothetical trip, knowing it probably couldn’t really happen, because obviously things like this don’t really happen, but I needed something to fantasize about in the depths of lockdown. It’s odd that a global pandemic made me interested in international travel for the first time. Pre-COVID, my life was so full of a single sport that I didn’t really have time to think about anything else as a hobby. I was on the road most weekends, but that road was the 401, driving off to the same few cities anywhere from two to twelve hours away, to sleep in a cheap hotel or on someone’s gym floor and then shout at teenagers at day and immediately drive home. Every once in a while we’d go to a tournament in the States, which counted as exciting international travel. The idea of actually seeing places that are not in or near the border with my country just hadn’t occurred to me.

Then the world ended, I fell deep into the Britcom rabbit hole, all that stuff. And in 2021, I got really into 1) memorizing how to label all the countries and major cities in the world, and all the counties or other regional areas in the UK and Ireland, on a blank map, because I’d learned that the larger world existed and I wanted to be clear about where it all is, and 2) going through places I’ve never been on Google Earth, usually while listening to audio comedy. I also took to looking up things to do in the UK on Trip Advisor, mapping the route on Google Maps and following it on Google Earth, knowing this was all for a hypothetical fantasy trip but still researching things like train fares and schedules because it was more fun if it felt like it could be real.

I’m fascinated by the idea of places that are Different From Here being actual real physical places where people could actually go. Which is especially weird in this case because I actually have been to the UK. I have a godmother there, whom I’ve met in person three times, twice when she’s come to Canada and once when for my sixteenth birthday she paid for my mother and I to go to England for a week. We stayed at her place in London, did all the tourist-y things, also spent a day in some spot in Somerset but I’m fuzzy on where or why, it was 2006. My clearest memory of the week is seeing Spamalot on St. Patrick’s Day and thinking it was the coolest thing ever. I’ve also got fairly clear memories of climbing stairs at St. Paul’s Cathedral, thinking Westminster Abbey was the most beautiful building I’d ever seen, and seeing some extremely cool stuff at the British Library including some original handwritten Beatles lyrics. And I remember the tube and being impressed that the cars really do have driver doors on the wrong side, that’s not just a thing they made up on Fawlty Towers.

Still, it was so long ago, and it was such a short time compared to the amount of time that I’ve spent watching Britian on TV, that it does feel a bit like Britain is a fictional place that exists on TV. Obviously I realize that’s a very ignorant North American thing for me to say, and in my defense I think I know a hell of a lot more about Britain than the average ignorant North American. I can label all the regions in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales in under five minutes. But I’ve got to admit, on a visceral level, learning all that stuff does feel a bit like memorizing lore in a fantasy novel.

There is kind of an appeal in the idea that… okay, the last time I was this obsessed with something besides a sport in which I actually participated, I was a kid in the Harry Potter fandom. I was a kid who read a lot of books, and a lot of my favourites happened to be British fantasy or sci-fi novels (Harry Potter, CS Lewis, Tolkein, His Dark Materials, Douglas Adams), but Harry Potter was the one that took over my life from the ages of about ten to fourteen. You classic situation of – didn’t have friends in real life, all my social interaction came from Harry Potter message boards, a vast chunk of my free time dedicated to reading every passage of the books over and over and over and analyzing them and writing things about them and I made some friends on the internet who loved Luna Lovegood as much as I did. Then I got to high school and started wrestling and made some friends in real life and slowly moved away from online fandom, didn’t do anything except that for fifteen years, then the world ended, I came back and found a new online fandom that was also British but had less magic and more panel shows, then the author turned out to be a terrible person and ruined my childhood.

Anyway. The point is that I remember when I was a kid, obviously I spent ages fantasizing about being able to actually go to all those places in Harry Potter. But I couldn’t, because those are not real places. Well, my new foray into fandom also feels a bit like that – like this fictional thing I’ve got obsessed with that no one around me knows anything about but some people on the internet are into it. Except that this time, the place where all these things happen is actually a real place, and I can pay money to go there. This concept remains amazing to me.

So I mapped out the idea of this trip a couple of years ago, and for a long time, it stayed in a limbo between fantasy and genuine possibility. I did actually start working out budgets and putting money aside for it, but all the while thinking this won’t actually work. I was starting to do things post-lockdown again, the sense that we were all locked down so nothing is real so I may as well engaged in some escapism and plan some fantasy trips – that started to give way to regular life, and in regular life, I’m not a person who does shit like that. I can’t just fly across the ocean to see a fictional place. I still had it vaguely in my head that maybe someday I’d like to, but I stopped actively planning anything.

But at the same time, the whole concept of Britain was starting to feel a bit less fictional (I’m… I’m feeling the need to clarify, again, that this is just a sort of emotional automatic response to put “the place where Britcom happens” in the “fictional” category in my brain… I did not at any point genuinely think the United Kingdom was fictional… especially since I’ve been there before). I do remember the first time I got physical, tangible proof that the people in the fictional Britcom world are real, when Russell Howard came to my city in March 2022 (my then-girlfriend got us tickets because she knew I liked British comedians, she was excited about it so I didn’t tell her that actually I’m mad at him for the Jordan Peterson apologism so don’t want to go, it’s not something I’d have chosen myself but it was a thoughtful gift and to be fair an extremely fun night), and I could not get over the idea that the man from the fictional place was here in real life displacing air like he’s a real human being and actually all of it is physically real. Over the next few months I did an 8.5-hour drive to New York City to see Nish Kumar, and then two months later a 2-hour drive to see him do the same show in Montreal, because it was that fucking great a show. I also saw James Acaster in Montreal, and a club night with Dara O’Briain and Fern Brady and Phil Wang and Tom Allen and Sindhu Vee and every single one of them was an actual real person breathing the same air as me. Before the show I saw Dara O’Briain on the street and was so shocked that I hit my mother too hard to show her and she jumped and the commotion attracted his attention and I didn’t know what to do except stare at him like he was a zoo animal until he smiled awkwardly at me and went on his way.

Things like this did rather renew my interest in a trip, not just for the novelty of seeing a place that feels fictional, but for the more practical purposes of seeing my favourite comedians live. My interests within Britcom were starting to shift significantly toward stand-up, I got obsessed for a while with learning everything about the history of the Edinburgh Festival in the 21st Century, it seemed like another world, the time of the Chocolate Milk Gang and 24-hour shows from the early 00s, but then I watched videos on the internet that were filmed at the 2022 Edinburgh Festival and realized this place is actually real and still happening now and it is technically possible to go there.

After that, the concept rapidly became de-fictionalized in my mind when I sent someone a message on a comedy forum, in the hopes of finding a few comedy recordings that I heard existed, and by complete coincidence stumbled upon the best person I possibly could have. I’d thought worst case scenario is he doesn’t reply and I will be left to assume he saw my message and considered it horribly rude, great scenario is he has a few things I’m asking for, amazing best case scenario is maybe he has lots of stuff and is willing to share. As it happened, I got the best case scenario, plus far more than that. Specifically, a the coolest fucking person I could possibly have found, as a new friend, direct interaction that made all of this seem a hell of a lot less fictional very, very fast. He said things like “So are you ever going to come out here and actually see this stuff yourself”, and I said things like “Obviously I have plotted a route and looked up train fares but don’t be silly, that was just the stuff of lockdown-induced dreams.”

I quickly started planning things more seriously, but at the same time, the editing work I’d been doing started drying up, I had a bit of a financial crisis where I became concerned that I’d be unable to pay rent, and couldn’t save for a trip. I followed the 2023 Edinburgh Festival from afar, from NextUp streams and hearing stories about it from a friend who actually went there and sent me pictures, which was so fucking cool, and it was all so very very real.

I got a new job, this one much harder because it involves leaving the house all day for five days a week, but also it’s much more stable than the editing work I did for all of lockdowns, and I was able to start saving money in the second half of 2023. I learned that the place where I work shuts down for the last week of July, and the Monday of the following week is a holiday. So I put in a request for just four days off, the Tuesday-Friday, to create a two-week holiday. One week in London at the end of July, and one week in Edinburgh during the first week of the Edinburgh Festival.

The time off got approved (barely, I was told I can’t book any other vacation time in 2024, but I got it) in late 2023, and it was so exciting, and that’s the first time it started to feel even a little bit real. Then I booked an Air B&B for the week in Edinburgh, because it’s my understanding that accommodation availability and prices are a huge issue there and you want to book early. I think I did well, though. Found a place that’s not cheap but not unfeasibly expensive, I can have my own room and it’s a 50-minute walk or 10-minute bus from Edinburgh city centre. It was so exciting to book the place, put some money down, finally have something on the books for sure. Though I did triple check that it’s fully refundable if I cancel up until pretty much the day before, just in case something goes wrong.

I booked the flights over Christmas. They weren’t cheap, but I was able to afford them without destroying my ability to pay rent, because it turns out there is a reason why I put myself through human interaction for 8-10 hours five days a week. I did pay an extra fee to give myself the ability to pay another fee and cancel them, because still, it felt like I can’t be totally sure this will actually work. But that was a big commitment.

And that’s pretty well the main things sorted out. I still have to book a whole lot of train tickets, but I have the flights. I have the time off work. I have the Edinburgh accommodation. I have accommodation in London, because the absolute coolest person I could possibly come across on a comedy message board has a spare room, and is extremely kind and generous with his time and space, and I’ve said some pretty disparaging things about that message board before (based on some quite bad threads from like fifteen years ago, that I spent weeks reading in their entirety because, you know, autism), and I would like to take them all back.

Now they’ve announced the first bunch of acts at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival, and I’ve been going through picking out which ones look most interesting to me, and for maybe the first time, it’s finally feeling completely, entirely real. This is happening. For real this time. I am going through an Edinburgh Festival catalogue not just to take screenshots of the most interesting blurbs so I can save them in a folder and/or post them on my blog to say here’s an interesting piece of history. I am going through it to pick what shows I wish to see.

So here’s my plan, that I’m writing because I now feel confident that I think it’s actually going to happen. Obviously I have a spreadsheet with various tabs, and a KMZ file so I can open Google Earth with all the places I might potentially want to see already marked. I have been planning this trip for years. I have two weeks in the UK, and I don’t want to waste a single second. I want to make sure all that time spent planning comes to something, because as a fundamental part of my personality, I have always believed that there is a level of planning you can do to guarantee that everything goes right. This belief has been proven wrong time and time again, but I’ve never tried something with this much planning beforehand, so surely this time it’ll work. No taking a chance on some tourist attraction that might turn out to be shit, because I’ll have looked at it all on Google Earth beforehand and ranked things in order of how cool they look.

I have organized my spreadsheet into seven tabs: overview, plan by day, places to eat, things to see London, in Edinburgh, in Cambridge, and things to pack. I have organized each “things to see” tab into three sections: things I want to see for reasons related to general tourism, things I want to see for reasons related to comedy, and things I want to see for reasons related to Harry Potter. I apologize for the latter, and obviously I will not be doing anything that would give revenue to JK Rowling. But nothing JK Rowling can say in the 2020s will change my childhood, and I need to spend some amount of time indulging my childhood dreams of running around fancy buildings feeling like I’m in a magical British land.

London, tourism: pretty straightforward. Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral are on the list, because I remember how cool they were last time, and because for some reason when I stopped being Christian at age 16 I did not also get rid of my awe at fancy churches. I want to see Parliament and related areas, I want to try to get a picture of the Number 10 door as seen in Yes Minister. I want to see some bridges. Take a cable car across a river. Go look at Douglas Adams in Highgate Cemetery (I realize there are more famous people than Douglas Adams there, I’d like to see them too, but mainly Douglas Adams). Go see what The British Library has going on while I’m there. There are too many pubs on the list given the fact that I’m currently trying to stop drinking, I am going to cut some of those pubs off the list and I’m just trying to decide which ones, but I really love a good pub and the ones in London look so cool and even if I can’t have a pint I want to sit there in the atmosphere and have a burger or some shit.

Harry Potter tour of London is simple. Obviously I want to go look at King’s Cross Station, I did it when I was 16 and it was so fucking cool, I don’t care how stupid that is. Otherwise, I’ve looked up three different areas that were used in filming Diagon Alley, and according to Google Earth, seem like the do sort of look like Diagon Alley-like places. That’s what’s interesting to me. I’m not really interested in places where the movies just happened to be filmed (the movies were fine, I’ve seen them a couple of times each, but it was the books that I read until I had them nearly memorized), I want to see places that look like they could be where the books were actually set. And Goodwin’s Court appears to look like where Harry Potter could have actually been set. So I’ve made an appointment to go walk down a road.

For the comedy-related locations in London, there are a few venues I want to see. Ideally while something’s playing in them, but even if there’s nothing I’m interested in at the Soho Theatre while I’m there, I’d still want to go in and just see the building, after the all the shows I’ve seen and heard that were recorded there. Same with The Bill Murray. Battersea Arts Centre. I also wish to make a pilgrimage to the bit of Regent’s Park where Daniel Kitson’s done some of the most landmark nights of comedy in the last twenty years. Obviously I want to go stand outside the gates to the Taskmaster house and see just how close it is to that golf course. (There will also be a few hours of the itinerary where I might just leave some of the details blank, no need to get too much into what I want to see there, it’s in my spreadsheet as just “Crystal Palace”, and I will say that if you don’t want people to go look at a place where you used to live, don’t make your address the title of your theatre show – I need to stress again, just so we’re clear about what level of creepiness I’m talking about here, it is a former address, not anywhere that anyone significant lives now or has lived for the last fifteen years, it's just the subject of comedy stories that are now long in the past, as are various surrounding landmarks, it’s archaeology.)

Now, in Edinburgh I’ve put a lot fewer things on the itinerary, because I want to leave most of my time for going to see comedy shows. And going to see a couple of music shows, because that first wave of events they’ve announced includes a couple of traditional Scottish music things that I am so excited about, it’s going to be mostly comedy but I do want to do that as well. Celtic music, Harry Potter, British comedy – all the biggest special interests of my life besides the one where you beat people up, all easy to access at this festival (I mean, technically Edinburgh has something called wrestling too, but it’s best if I don’t hear anyone try to compare the Max + Ivan wrestling to the sport that I do).

I do want to climb Arthur’s Seat, because I’ve done it about a hundred times in Google Earth so I just have to do it in real life. When Mark Watson released his book last year, I got the signed and dedicated version and he said we can tell him about a problem we have for him to solve in the dedication. I said my problem is I’m going to London and Edinburgh next year and need advice on where to go, he said I should climb Scott’s Monument. Even though my levels of respect for Mark Watson have dropped significantly since that book actually came out, I am still going to climb Scott’s Monument because Mark Watson told me to.

Similarly, this extremely kind and cool person I know recently got the chance to get me an autographed copy of Tim Key’s new book (which I unfortunately won’t get until I go to London and pick it up in person, but it looks great), where he also asked Tim to give me some advice for my trip. Tim Key said to go to Mosque Kitchen, and Indian restaurant in Edinburgh, so I’m doing that. Oh, and while I’m in London I have to go to a place called Kebab Kid, because it’s Nish Kumar’s favourite shawarma place in England, which I know because I know a guy who could just walk up to Nish Kumar after one of his gigs and ask him what his favourite shawarma place is. Have I mentioned how fucking cool this is?

Anyway. That’s the extent of my interest in Edinburgh tourism, mainly. I mean, if I were going when the festival weren’t on, there would be plenty of other stuff I want to see. But I don’t want to take time away from festival events. I might do the castle. The castle’s probably cool. I definitely want to walk up that hill, as I’ve done many times on Google Earth, and look at the castle. Whether I pay to go inside will depend if there’s a hole in the comedy schedule, I guess.

In the Edinburgh – Harry Potter section, I have a few things. Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, the graveyard with the story about the dog that’s probably bullshit (I mean, it happened, but I think someone was just feeding that dog) but the story about how it inspired Harry Potter character names that’s true. Go get a picture of Tom Riddle’s grave. I’ve marked a couple of streets and a couple of buildings that look particularly like they could be from Harry Potter, those are on the list of places to walk. There’s a Harry Potter store that I want to go in and look through the stuff because the interior seems really cool, but I promise I would never spend money in there.

And then Edinburgh – comedy will probably take care of itself. I want to see The Stand and The Gilded Balloon, as the sites of many of my favourite comedy events over the last twenty years. But I’m hoping I’ll end up in those places anyway to see shows, so no need to make a special trip. If not, though, I’m making a special trip. I have to see the stage where the cow got torn apart. I absolutely have to go see it in person.

There is also the Cambridge tab, because I have blocked off one of my London days to take a train to Cambridge and back. I have made a Google Earth document with about 20 of the most interesting-seeming colleges marked. Obviously I’m not going to see 20 colleges, I’m going to look at them all in Google Earth and then rank them by how cool they look and go see as many as I can in order. I have also, of course, marked down which ones let you take tours and at what times. The place I’m most excited to see is the Wren Library, which appears to be a library from Harry Potter or His Dark Materials or something. I want to see Trinity College because it’s the college on which Douglas Adams based the college in the first Dirk Gently book. A few of the colleges have chapels that look really pretty and are interesting to me because I have for some reason not lost my awe of pretty churches. And mainly, I just want to walk around the Cambridge University grounds looking at stuff.

Oh, and we’re leaving another day to take a train to Kent, where they have an archive of stand-up comedy materials that I wish to see. But I haven’t made a tab for that, because I just want to see some stuff in the University of Kent and then go back to London.

I am also hoping I can block out one day from the Edinburgh week to not book any shows, and just take trains around Scotland. I have always wanted to take trains around Scotland. I have always romanticized trains, I have always romanticized Scotland, taking a train through rural parts of Scotland will make me feel like I’m on the Hogwarts Express, it’s everything my over-romanticizing heart fantasized about when imagining this trip. I’ve checked, and while it would be an incredibly long day, it is possible to take a train from Edinburgh to Mallaig in the morning, have a couple of hours in Mallaig, and take another train back at night. This would take me, twice, through something that’s supposed to be one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world, from Glasgow to Mallaig. Mallaig is a tiny village on the West Coast of Scotland and it’s got a hiking trail and a pub and I just want to take a train across a country and walk around the trail and then sit in that pub and look at the ocean. I want that so badly. It’s been a rough couple of months, I find it hard to spend 8 to 10 hours a day interacting with other people, the thought that one day in early August I might spend one hour sitting in a pub in Mallaig looking at the ocean is really getting me the through the day at this point. There are a few pubs in Mallaig, but obviously I’ve picked out my favourite. I want to eat seafood. I love seafood. That’s not just a Mallaig thing, seafood is my favourite food and I always eat lots of it when I visit the East Coast of Canada because it’s better near the ocean. All of Britain is near the ocean, so I want to eat all their seafood.

Okay, that’s the plan. I was going to write about what I’m thinking in terms of actual shows to see, but I might let that turn into a different post. Right now, I’m just excited about the idea of posting this on the internet because it is real and I am actually going to do it and having this to look forward to is way too big a proportion of my motivation at this point in my life.

[hottubraccoon]

Great Kettering; land of Artistry and Pride.

south-east corner of the continent, primarily orc citizens

Character SHORT List:

Dima Grimscale

Dragonrider 2.0

Erick Livan

Felix Enrel

Harry Enrel

Julia Violet

Lindsey Livan

Miss Seashell

Pent Enrel

Kent Darkwater

thomashetzler on Unsplash.

Geography:

Great Kettering is based on the UK islands physical geography*. Great Kettering has slight weather changes with the seasons, primarily an increase in humidity and less rainfall in the summer months. Mostly known to be cold and wet overall. Tsunamis can happen along the coast to the south, and south-east. Earthquakes are small distant shakes from the far west. Droughts are rare and only in very dire situations. Lots of coastal towns are on the coast cliffs rather than the coast, and therefore are generally safe from the usual tsunamis that occur. Boat living... isn't uncommon yet dangerous depending on the time of year (hence the phrase, sturdy like GK's fishers). Earthquakes aren't an issue just noticeable along the west border. Great winters are prepared for a lot like Solistal does. 

*but only when I feel like it lol

Architecture:

GK is a mix of my personal headcanons for orcs and fantasy England. The most common form of landmark is the stone/moss circles, each with their own pattern, like a fingerprint. Generally, only those born in the area will be familiar with these landmarks without a map. Because of this, the moss circles are speculated to be linked to the orc-ish Aeons religion. Kelp forests are a special sight along GK coasts. The most well known location in GK is the sunken castle, and its bridges to nowhere. One explanation is that the coastal cliff was washed away and the castle was too heavy so it fell into the ocean to be forgotten, another blames the mythological 'Thorns' for putting it their during one of their tantrums. For a foreigner, the knight tourneys are a highly anticipated event due to the invitation of both the highest king and lowest servant. Most towns start with a safe drinking water source in the middle, market and community buildings around that, then common dwellings around those. For Kettering, the capital, there are 'districts' that citizens must get permits to build inside. These districts help with deliveries, city planning, guard patrols, and lock down procedures. Again, most towns are situated along the south coast, and it's either the direct coast or, if the cliffs are too severe, then it'll be as high on a hill they can get while still in viewing distance of the sea. On the north side of Great Kettering, it still follows the idea of the highest hills. Including Kettering, which itself has a 'natural moat' around it, although the city surrounding the castle has since expanded further around the lake as well. In smaller towns, people are clumped together, tiny and people live in each others pockets, whereas bigger towns are more spacious. That said, construction is trending towards taller rather than wider. Common structures are in the easy to acquire and transport materials, where the elegant marbles and quartz are left for Kettering or other religious sites in other large towns.

Trade/Commerce:

GK trade away seafood for different 'exotic' foods and their artisans are highly sorted after. They import from Solistal for specialty materials to craft with. Kamikita holds a chokehold on trading routes and this frustrates GK. They import from Birkina for island herbs and spices, as well as dyes for their crafts. Can be self-sufficient if trades were to be suddenly cut. The world trade is currency based but smaller store keepers accept barters... if you can talk them into it. Solistal's ores/minerals and their jewelcrafters are flaunted as expensive goods and a highly requested import. Whereas 'seals' or magical coins are the least sought after. GK's embroiders are the most asked for export.

sapegin on Unsplash.

Other Parts:

For Great Kettering. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For Solistal. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For Kamikita. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For Birkina. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

[alefgardtravelguide]

Fanbook FAQ

Transcription of the English text on the images is under the cut!

➤ What format will the book be in?

Both digital and physical bundles will be available! Physical bundles will come with a printed copy of the book, as well as a digital PDF and bonus merchandise.

Some of the merch will be exclusive to this project, and will not be available for purchase once the project is over. I hope you'll look forward to them...!

*Disclaimer: I'm not releasing an Alef plush *I wish I was though

➤ How 'canonical' is this book?

We adopt as much canonical game lore and references from both games across all available ports (with the exception of DQB1's recent mobile release) and combine them all to form a cohesive tourist guide. For example, while history tidbits are taken from DQ1's canonical lore, cuisine inspiration is taken from DQB1's food recipes.

However, creative liberties have notably been taken in terms of map design, tourist insights, and character relationships. Therefore, while being created from a foundation of primarily canonical elements, this book remains 100% fanmade and should not be taken as an official product.

Basically what I'm saying, don't hunt us down if you see any inaccuracies. If anything happens go after my editor Nate not me.

➤ Where are you shipping from?

Indonesia! By default, I offer shipping that includes tracking to minimize the risk of lost packages. Please note that there are some countries I cannot or do not recommend shipping to (this unfortunately includes the UK). More information on shipping will be listed on the storefront's FAQ.

➤ I have played neither, or only one of the games. How bad are the spoilers?

The travel guidebook alone spoils the entirety of DQ1, and about 70% of DQB1. Additionally, almost all the comics are based on their gameplay jokes and references. For that reason I highly recommend you check both games out before picking this up, especially when there are free playthroughs on YouTube you can watch (*couhgs* did you know *coughs* both games are now available on Switch AND mobile *coughs*)

Builders is expensive I get it but DQ1 is the price of a cup of coffee and you get to feel all cool and retro for a day after playing it.

10/10 would recommend.

[initial-dream]

Initial D Sound Files (Retro Kana #03)

This is definitely the newest part of my collection as far as release dates go.

This is Initial D Sound Files, a French double-LP that was released on February 10th earlier this year as part of Kana Music’s Retro Kana series. It’s a rerelease of the first two Initial D Sound Files albums, both released in 1998 and covering First Stage. Each of the albums get their own vinyl, with the track order being the same as the original CD releases, only split over the two sides of the record (rather cutely called “Roads”).

The outside of the gatefold is coloured in the typical High Tech Two-Tone “panda” colour scheme of Takumi’s Eight-Six, even featuring the Fujiwara Tofu Store sticker and the car’s number plate. The gauges with the track listing in them is a nice touch I feel.

The inside features an outline map of Akina, and the track listings again.

The labels on each of the sides features a design that (I only realised while writing this) is based on the front façade of the Fujiwara Tofu Store.

I’m not enough of an audiophile to comment on the intricacies of the audio quality, but it sounded pretty good to me.

If I’m not mistaken, this is the only time any of the sound files have received a physical release outside of Japan. This release is pretty cool even if that isn’t true, and once again proves to me that the French are so much luckier when it comes to Initial D.

I knew I had to buy this release when it was announced on Twitter back in January, and it was probably the easiest buying experience I’ve had with any of my collection. 

Not an ad, but if you’re at all interested in picking one of these up, they’re exclusively sold by the French retail chain FNAC. I’m not sure about the rest of the world but they shipped directly to me here in the UK incredibly quickly, and I don’t believe it cost too much either. The vinyl costs 49,99 € (about £42, or $55), and can be bought here.