#We need better air filtration | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

covid-safer-hotties · 6 months ago

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Price to power to size to portability, the AirFanta 3Pro is one of the best on the market. Here's the latest review (Also preserved in our archive)

Afiliate links if you want this guy to make a buck from your purchase: www.amazon.com/stores/AirFanta/page/0D35BA0F-6AFE-48BB-BB83-E984C65192D4?asc_campaign=c192889518f863d96d278a446b3a951d&asc_source=01H1P39M5ZSG9J6WR6B1HBK9M0&language=en_US&linkCode=sl2&linkId=be7b5afa91953d14a40a0b6fb293d6aa&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&tag=namespacebran492-20

air-fanta.com/?dt_id=2137762

AirFanta is a name that I hear more about every day. While it’s a relatively niche company, it’s quickly becoming well-known – at least within the air quality ‘enthusiast’ community – for performant yet affordable air purifiers and air quality monitors. I’ve been using the AirFanta G2 Air Quality Monitor for quite a few months now, but the two products that have always interested me the most are 3Pro and 4Lite air purifiers.

After having the 3Pro set up inside my office for over two weeks now, I am happy to be able to present my full review of the device. For anyone unaware, this purifier is designed to filter a massive amount of air (we will discuss the CADR and more soon!) at a relatively affordable price. It does this by being essentially a pre-assembled CR (Corsi-Rosenthal) Box – a form of air purifier that was itself created due to the need for affordable and effective air purification devices.

While the 3Pro doesn’t embrace the typical DIY aspect of traditional CR Boxes, it has the advantage of having proven performance (no need to worry about whether your DIY box is effective!) and being ready to go out of the box. However, perhaps my favourite aspect of this device over traditional CR Boxes is how easily obtainable it is. While this probably isn’t an issue for anyone in the U.S. or Europe, I find it hard to source good HEPA filters in New Zealand at an affordable price. The 3Pro ensures I don’t run into this issue.

In today’s review of the AirFanta 3Pro, I want to answer a few key questions. Firstly, how does it perform? Secondly, how does it compare to more ‘traditional’ air purifiers? Finally, and most importantly, is the 3Pro worth the markup compared to making your own CR Box at home? By the end of the article, I will share the answers and my opinions regarding each of these questions. Let’s dive in!

The key selling point of the AirFanta 3Pro is its fantastic CADR – especially at this price. For anyone new to air purifiers, CADR stands for clean air delivery rate, which indicates how much air an air purifier can clean and deliver in a set period. The measurement typically used for CADR is CFM, or cubic feet per minute. A higher CADR in CFM indicates the purifier delivers more clean air.

CADR is calculated by considering both the filter efficiency and the airflow through the filters, making it a much better metric (and the standard for air purifiers) than airflow alone. Most CADR tests use a room of around 30m3 and test how much faster the purifier removes particles from the air than if they were left to settle naturally without any other influences.

So, what is the CADR of the 3Pro? It is quite impressive, 413cfm (702 m3/h) at full speed. To best put this in perspective, I recommend reading the fantastic HouseFresh review to see how it compares to other devices currently on the market (spoiler alert; it performs very favourably). I also believe these official figures, as multiple other sources have confirmed them.

The AirFanta 3Pro uses HEPA H11 filters, which are rated to provide ≥ 95% filtration. It’s worth noting that while this figure may not seem that high and that while many air purifiers use higher-rated filters, the H11 filters used here aren’t necessarily bad. That is because, unlike respirators and masks, air purifiers are not designed to purify the air as best possible on a single pass. Rather, if an air purifier can continually filter the same air after multiple passes through the filter, the particle count and concentration will be significantly reduced.

This is important to note because H11 filters are less dense, allowing for better airflow and generally with less noise. Compared to masks, you can think of the balance between filtration and breathability – generally, the more filtration a mask or respirator provides, the less breathable it is. The same goes for air purifiers. The key difference here is that purifiers are designed to have air pass through them multiple times, unlike a mask or respirator, which only has one chance to filter the air before the wearer breathes it. This is why, despite having ‘only’ an H11 filter, the 3Pro can achieve a fantastic CADR.

Of course, this is a very simple explanation, but it’s important to clarify this because I can predict many questions asking, ‘But why weren’t better filters such as HEPA H13 filters used?’. While I can’t speak for the exact answer (you’d have to ask Adam from AirFanta about that!), it’s likely to strike a balance between single-pass filtration performance, airflow, and noise level. While we’ll dive into it soon, I believe complaints about the H11 filter will quickly disappear once you see the performance that the AirFanta 3Pro has to offer.

It’s also worth noting that carbon filters are available, which will provide filtration through adsorption for VOCs and many odours. While I didn’t get these filters to test, some people will opt for them to help manage VOCs. Since these add another layer to the filter, they will likely slightly drop the CADR, but probably not enough to make any significant impact (and, of course, the extra filtration is a big benefit).

AirFanta also has a full list of third-party certifications and test results, which can be viewed here. Interestingly, both bacterial efficiency and viral efficiency reports from Guangzhou Institute of Microbiology Group Co., Ltd. (a CNAS-accredited laboratory) have been provided, and both reports show a > 99.99% decrease in particle concentration after 60 minutes of use in a 30m3 room. The bacterial test goes further and shows the results after 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes. These results show a ≥ 95.63%, ≥ 99.91% and 99.99% drop in tested particles, respectively.

These results show that, at least in a room around 30m3 in size, the AirFanta 3Pro can reduce bacterial and viral particles by ≥ 99.9% in 30 minutes, with 60 minutes seeing a near complete removal of such particles. While we can’t tell exactly what size the particles were in this testing (at least not without paying for access to the original standards), these results are very promising. Potentially worth noting is that since the 3Pro is rated for 702 m3/h, there would have been around 23 air changes within one hour in the 30m3 test chamber. Therefore, the ≥ 95.63% is after almost six air changes, and ≥ 99.91% after around 12.

Of course, these tests and the stated CADR are at the device’s maximum fan speed, which isn’t ideal in many situations. While it’s important to know a device’s maximum performance when needed, it’s more likely you’ll want to leave the device running at a lower speed either all the time or at least quite regularly. Below are the stated CADRs at different fan speeds:

6 – 413CFM 5 – 374CFM 4 – 321CFM 3 – 247CFM 2 – 141CFM 1 – 57CFM Of course, I was also curious to run some tests myself, but I must make the disclaimer that my tests are far from scientific. That said, I wanted to perform some testing similar to a real-life setting where the AirFanta 3Pro is likely to be used. As such, I decided to set up a test room. I measured this room to be 25.6m3, which is about the size of a standard bedroom (it is a bedroom!). While this room is smaller than what I believe this device is intended for, it’s the most controllable room in my house regarding airflow as it only has one door and one window, which can easily be closed and no other forms of ventilation or air disturbances.

In this room, I burned incense until I reached a PM2.5 concentration of 500ug/m3. However, since I can’t exactly control the PM concentration, it ended up being somewhere between 500 and 600 in my tests. I then put the incense out and did a control test to see how long it took the particles to settle without any assistance at all. This took around 90 minutes, and I used this as my baseline.

I monitored the particle concentrations with five AirGradient monitors that were located in each corner and the centre of the room. I then reran this experiment three more times – once with the purifier at maximum speed, once at half speed, and once at the minimum speed to see how long the concentration took to reach < 5ug/m3. I measured the particle concentration by averaging the data from all five monitors to ensure the whole room had been filtered. Here are my results.

In this graph, you can see the baseline data in blue (labelled Ambient) and the particle concentration drop from the AirFanta 3Pro at maximum speed (speed 6) in red. As you can see, it took around 90 minutes for the particle count to drop to < 5ug/m3 without the purifier running but less than 20 minutes with the device at maximum speed. I was very impressed by these first results, and while I wouldn’t want to run the device at full speed often as it is loud, I appreciate having a good peak performance for times when you need to clean the air in a room quickly.

I reran this test, but this time with the 3Pro at half speed (speed 3) and was impressed by the relatively low performance drop. I was worried my results were incorrect, and I reran this three times, but each result was within one minute of the initial result. It looks like a large chunk of the device’s performance is retained between the higher speeds, even though the noise level decreases significantly. This gave me high hopes for the 3Pro’s performance at minimum speed.

Unfortunately, but perhaps not unexpectedly, the device performed far worse at the lowest speed (speed 1). While the particle concentration did drop more quickly than without the device, it was vastly slower than at the faster speeds. It is worth noting that this is not bad at all, as the device is very quiet at this speed and we can see the performance is clearly there, if needed, just turn the device to a higher speed. However, I had inflated hopes after seeing the great performance at higher speeds. Of course, this does match with the stated speed 1 CADR which is roughly 1/8 of the maximum CADR at speed 6.

If we add the times it took the 3Pro to reduce the PM concentration to below 5ug/m3 at each speed setting, we can see that it took between 17.3 minutes and 80.1 minutes to clean the room, depending on the speed. Interestingly, between the higher speeds (speeds 3-6), there appears to be little performance drop-off but a significant improvement in noise levels. At the slow end, the device takes a long time to filter the room, and if you want to use these near-silent speeds, you will probably want to have the device constantly on.

It’s worth noting that previously, the AirFanta 3Pro came with a voltage dial on the adapter. This could be used to adjust the speed, and many reviews of the device still refer to this voltage dial (essentially, a speed dial). Newer versions come with a speed dial with speeds 1-6, so I have referred to speeds instead of voltages for this section.

Before concluding this section, I was also curious how this device would perform if I lit incense in the room while the air purifier was on. I didn’t have a reason for doing this other than curiosity. Still, considering the stellar performance at the higher fan speeds, I wondered how the purifier would handle a pollutant source emitting particles while the device was running. Below, you can see the results (keeping in mind that this same room reaches over 1000ug/m3 when burning incense without an air purifier).

As you can see, the AirFanta 3Pro significantly reduced the maximum particle concentration in the room and rapidly cleaned the air once the incense finished burning. I would be very confident using a device such as this even during periods of heavy pollution, such as during wildfire season.

Overall, I’m quite impressed with the performance of the AirFanta 3Pro, and although it’s loud at full speed, it’s great to know that it’s more than capable of cleaning a small to medium-sized room quickly when needed. Larger rooms will take longer to filter, but I am confident this device can do it based on this performance.

If you prefer a quieter device, you can still use the AirFanta 3Pro, but you will want to leave it at a lower speed and constantly have it on. Thankfully, at the lower speeds, it’s a relatively quiet device, and I found it easy to work even with the purifier constantly on – as long as it was set to a lower speed, such as 1 or 2.

On the certifications page (located here), AirFanta also discloses and publically makes its results from non-performance-related certifications publicly available. There are a few pertinent and important documents here, so let’s discuss these before moving on. For the 3Pro, we can find the following documents provided:

UL507 certificate of AirFanta 3Pro CE-EMC certificate of AirFanta 3Pro and 4Lite CE-LVD certificate of AirFanta 3Pro and 4Lite FCC certificate of AirFanta 3Pro and 4Lite California Air Resources Board certification of Airfanta 3Pro Let’s review these individually, beginning with the UL507 certificate at the top. This certification might seem minor, but this is a safety standard for low and mid-powered fans such as those in PCs, kitchen hood vents, and, obviously, some air purifiers. The documentation for this certification is extensive (around 200 pages long), but this certification ensures the fans on the 3Pro are safe from a range of potential issues.

The next two certifications, both CE certificates from the European Union, indicate that the device meets EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) and LVD (low voltage directive) requirements. These are essentially further safety tests and indicate that the device is safe and provides high protection from potential EMC and LVD dangers.

The FCC certificate shows that the AirFanta 3Pro complies with FCC requirements, which are pertinent to customers from the United States. Still, these certifications are also helpful for trust-building with global customers. While I’m not U.S.-based, I certainly feel more confident in a product if it’s also FCC-compliant.

Finally, the CARB (California Air Resources Board) certification shows that the AirFanta 3Pro complies with California’s electrical safety and ozone requirements. This is particularly important as ozone can be a big issue with some air purifiers, and it’s reassuring to know that this is not an issue in the case of the AirFanta 3Pro.

If you’ve ever seen a CR Box, you will already know exactly what to expect from the 3Pro because that’s exactly what it is – a CR Box with pre-chosen parts that come as one ready-to-assemble package. While CR boxes aren’t that hard to assemble, the 3Pro streamlines the process and removes the difficulty of selecting and choosing your own parts. While some enthusiasts might opt for another CR Box, many other prospective customers will appreciate this approach.

When you open the 3Pro’s box, you will be met with six ‘layers’ that must be assembled. This is a very clean approach, as it means that the packaging for the device is relatively compact (albeit still quite heavy), and it even means that the device can be transported and reassembled easily. While it would be a stretch to call this device portable (that’s what the AirFanta 4Lite and SmartAir QT3 are for!), this means it is far more compact than other air purifiers with similar CADRs. While it is still quite large, you could easily take it on the road and use it at hotels, or perhaps even fly with it if you are taking large suitcases.

Back to actually assembling the product! Once you open the box, you will see six panels layered on top of one another. These are the cube’s six sides, with four being HEPA filters, one being a solid plastic base for the device, and the final being the top, where the four fans are located. Assembling the device is easy, and you will want to place the base on the ground before slotting the four filters into it. The only potential difficulty with assembling this purifier is holding the four sides in place as you slot the top on, but even this is quite straightforward with the included velcro intended for exactly this purpose.

A manual is included, but the device is so easy to put together and take apart that I can’t imagine anyone ever using it past the first assembly. Even then, it’s not really needed, as assembling the device is quite self-explanatory. The only note I think might be important to the user is that the mesh surface on the filters should be facing outwards (not the filtering surface, which should face inwards).

All of this is to say that assembling the device is very straightforward, and no one should be scared away or turned off this device because it has a small DIY element. It’s also a bit easier to assemble than other CR boxes as the slots have already been cut out of the base plate, and everything can be put together without the need for glue, tape, or other materials. Perhaps more helpful, the filters have already been chosen, and there is no need to shop around for the best price-performance filter.

Once assembled, the device takes the shape of quite a compact CR Box. On top of that, I must add that I think this device also looks a lot better than any traditional CR Box – at least any that I’ve ever made! While it still has an industrial look, it’s a device that could quite easily fit into a classroom, office, or room without attracting too much attention. While I value aesthetics much less than performance, I appreciate having a device that looks good, too – especially if it can blend in.

Once assembled, the device feels quite solid, and despite there being no adhesive or tape used in the assembly of the purifier, I feel confident lifting it and moving it without dislodging the pieces. With that said, I tend to lift the device from the bottom and hold the top down to ensure none of the pieces slide out from their intended positions.

On top of the purifier are four large fans connected to a controller that will allow you to adjust the speed of the device. These fans look almost identical to large PC fans, and they’re held in place by a wire bracket that also serves as an extra layer of protection to stop any children or animals from getting fingers or paws into the fans. That said, if you have the device around children, you may want to place it up higher so they can’t easily reach the fans.

That’s really all there is to the design of this device. It’s very simple, but it’s also affordable and performant. While some might miss the smart features and connectivity of more pricey air purifiers, the two types of devices cater to very different customers. Overall, I’m a fan of this straightforward approach, which reminds me of the SmartAir Sqair.

The AirFanta 3Pro uses four 140mm fans to push air through the filters. Characteristically, smaller fans tend to have higher-pitched sounds than larger fans and the AirFanta 3Pro sits somewhere in the middle as it uses medium-sized fans. If you have a desktop PC with a case fan (not the other fans, such as the higher-pitched CPU fan), you’ll likely already know what these fans sound like, as most desktop cases use 120mm or 140mm fans. This isn’t an unpleasant sound, but it is quite audible.

To see how loud the AirFanta 3Pro is, I conducted noise tests at 30cm and 2 metres with a sound level metre that measures in dBA (A-weighted decibel). dBA differs from traditional dB because it is adjusted for the human ear’s sensitivity to different frequencies. Low and very high frequencies are de-emphasized, mimicking how humans perceive loudness. In other words, it’s a better representation of the actual noise level than dB for a device such as an air purifier. However, I do want to note this as many other websites use dB, which will explain why my results are significantly different.

For further context, here are a few examples of the volumes of some noises in dBA. Obviously, these can vary, and especially with dBA, they will vary between different devices. However, they are rough examples:

10 dBA – Breathing or leaves rustling: Extremely quiet. 30 dBA – Whispering: Comparable to a quiet library. 40 dBA – Refrigerator hum: A typical low background noise. 50 dBA – Moderate rainfall: Light, soothing noise. 60 dBA – Normal conversation: The sound of talking at a close distance. 70 dBA – Vacuum cleaner: Considered moderate noise, can be annoying over time. 80 dBA – Heavy traffic or a loud alarm clock: Noise becomes uncomfortable after prolonged exposure. As you can see, at the lowest speeds, the 3Pro doesn’t add much to the noise of most rooms, but at the highest speeds, it can sound almost as loud as a vacuum cleaner (provided you are close to it). This is a lot of variation, but I like how this device gives the user full control over speed and noise, allowing them to pick a good balance.

I think most people will have this device running on speed 2 or 3, and both sounds are very manageable at a distance. If you do want a short burst of cleaning, the device will be significantly louder, and that’s why I only recommend using the higher speeds when needed.

When it comes to power consumption, the device can go from very low power to relatively high power. Here is a list of the wattage and voltage at each fan speed:

6 – 33.2 watt – 12v 5 – 27.4 watt – 11v 4 – 18.9 watt – 9.3v 3 – 11.1 watt – 7.3v 2 – 4.7 watt – 4.8v 1 – 2.2 watt – 3.0v I won’t dive into power costs here because those vary greatly depending on where you reside, but I hope these specifications can give some insights. What’s most impressive to me is how much range this device has, whether we are discussing volume or power draw. There is such a large range that you can choose exactly what setting works best for you and leave the device to it.

The AirFanta 3Pro costs $149 or $159 (USD) depending on whether you opt for the CE-certified or CARB-certified version (the CARB variant is the lower priced of the two). It’s surprising to see a different price on these two units, but I assume it’s due to extra costs, either with the CE certification or getting the device into Europe. Either way, if you’re in the U.S. (or any non-EU country), the CARB variant will work, and that’s the model I received.

In the box, you will get six panels to assemble the 3Pro. This includes four HEPA H11 filters, which, as per AirFanta, should be good to last 6-12 months, depending on air quality conditions. In most cases, I would assume these filters will last closer to 12 months, but those who experience severe wildfire seasons or whose homes are exposed to consistent year-round pollution may need to replace the filters more regularly.

When you need your first filter replacement, you can opt for the default H11 filters or H11 filters with activated carbon. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem you can choose the filters you get with the device initially. If you want activated carbon filters from the get-go, you must purchase the device alongside an extra pack of filters. The activated carbon filters will set you back $74.99 compared to the basic filters, which cost $54.

The filters aren’t cheap, but it’s important to remember that each filter replacement pack you order has four individual filters, which is a substantial amount of filter materials. It’s also important to note that, unfortunately, you will need to purchase official AirFanta filters as they are smaller than most square HEPA filters, and other filters will not fit on this device. I don’t think this is a big deal, as I appreciate the smaller form factor of this device over larger devices, and even four HEPA filters from other brands will not be cheap.

If we estimate that most users use each set of filters for around nine months, your yearly filter costs for non-activated carbon filters will be $67.5. On the other hand, if you opt for the extra VOC adsorption of the carbon filters, you are looking at an ongoing cost of just under $100 per year. This is in a similar price range to other equally performant air purifiers, and this device’s initial cost is also much lower.

While power cost also needs to be factored into the ongoing cost equation, that cost will vary significantly depending on your air purifier usage (hours, speed, etc) and location. However, regardless of usage patterns, you should plan to spend between $67 and $100 on replacement filters for this device every year.

Overall, I’ve been very happy with the AirFanta 3Pro. While it’s not a perfect air purifier – if one even exists – this is a fantastic device that balances many difficult factors. Ultimately, it comes in as an affordable air purifier that doesn’t skimp on performance. In fact, it has a higher CADR than many more (and much more) expensive air purifiers. Furthermore, it offers a wide range of speeds that allow the user to choose the ideal balance between speed and sound for the setting.

I’ve always been a fan of the CR box concept, but I think the AirFanta 3Pro takes this a step further and, due to this, will appeal to many more people. While I’ve never had an issue constructing CR boxes, I often have difficulty sourcing the parts (especially good filters), and I appreciate how the 3Pro can provide the same or better performance at a slightly higher price while also simplifying the shopping process for me.

Surprisingly, for a device of this size, it’s also quite portable, and you will be hard-pressed to find anything that provides a higher CADR than this device while also being ‘packable’. While I still wouldn’t go so far as to say it can fit in a backpack, it can definitely fit in a car or suitcase and is ideal for longer trips where you might be staying in hotels with unknown air quality. If, on the other hand, you want to use it around the house, it’s also a great device.

The biggest disadvantages I see with the AirFanta 3Pro are the sound and the design. There’s no denying that while the device is powerful, it’s also loud at its higher speeds. While this isn’t unusual for an air purifier, it is worth noting that you probably won’t want to run this device at its higher speeds unless necessary. I usually find myself using speed 2 or 3, which is the sweet spot for most users. On the upside, the lower speeds are almost silent, and although they significantly diminish performance, they are good for users who are okay with constantly running the device.

The design may also bug some users. While I don’t mind (and actually like) the device’s industrial design, I know some people don’t use CR boxes due to the design. If you don’t like the look of CR boxes, the chances are you also won’t like the design of this device. With that said, this design allows this device to have such a good price-to-performance ratio, and I think many potential customers will appreciate this more.

Overall, the AirFanta 3Pro is a cost-effective air purifier that should be on your radar – especially if price is a concern. If you’ve tried the 3Pro, I would love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to use the comments section below! Furthermore, if you have any remaining questions, please don’t hesitate to as,k and I will do my best to reply. Thank you for reading.

Pros: High CADR (413 cfm) for effective air purification Affordable compared to similar high-performance devices Pre-assembled CR box design simplifies setup Portable and compact for travel use Certified for safety (UL507, CE-EMC, FCC, CARB) Cons: Loud at higher speeds Design may not appeal to all users (industrial look) Limited to proprietary filters, increasing costs No activated carbon filters included in basic kit

#mask up #public health #wear a mask #pandemic #wear a respirator #covid #still coviding #covid 19 #coronavirus #sars cov 2

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tiyawnyana · 2 years ago

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Kinktober: Day 16

Toys

A/N: I just about screamed while writing this

Pairing: Lo'ak x (fem) Human character

Warnings: teasing, toys, vibrating egg usage, nipple play, finger sucking, clit stimulation, jerking off, mutual masterbating (in a way?), cumming on chest

¤¤¤

The halls to the old compound are messy. Chairs strewn about. Boxes torn open for supplies. But it still echoes as you toss things aside.

"Damn, the air in here is stale," Lo'ak complains behind you. He huffs, but is thankful that for once he doesn't have to crouch as he walks.

"Right? Terrible, I wish they'd at least fix the air filtration systems, we come here all the time to grab supplies," you grumble in annoyance, before stumbling over a stray chair around the corner,"Fuck!"

Lo'ak thankfully grabs you, big hand wrapped around your midsection as he snorts, settling you back on your feet.

"Ever the graceful one, huh?"

"Can you shut up, I just saw you trip over a branch yesterday, Spider monkey," you stick your tongue out, thankfully without your mask in the way. It lays strapped on your hip. You look up before sighing in relief,"We're at the bunks, thank fuck."

Lo'ak nods after chuckling to himself, then follows you through the doors.

"Norm said I'd have better luck going to the far left section to find some old clothes, you're welcome to just look around, I dunno," you shrug, turning to the left to search.

He whoops silently, then walks off to check some stuff out.

"Don't touch the control panels- Lo'ak! Listen-"

"Yeah, yes, don't touch panels, I gotcha!" He yells back, snickering.

You fondly roll your eyes before heading down the hall. You check a few old rooms, browsing the old photos some of the women had strewn up, or books they had kept to the side. You're able to finally find some useful things, sighing again in relief and packing it away in your big bag.

You check out a few more rooms, stuffing clothes into the bag. You enter the last room in that hallway and put the bag down before heading to the dresser, finding a fresh pack of socks and muttering 'Score!' under your breath, before shuffling through.

You're surprised to find an unopened package, a box, so you put it to the side and quickly scour through the rest of the dresser and shoving the clothes into the bag. You look back to that box, then shrug, moving back over to open it with your knife. You're greeted with plastic packaging, a device that has what seems to be Spanish words explaining it. It looks to be a little remote, with two wires connected to two little egg looking things. You tilt your head in confusion before cutting open the container, moving to press the on button but nothing. You look back at the packaging and read that it needs batteries, and you grin in relief at finding batteries in the original box. You pop them in, seal the top, then turn it on and jump as the little eggs vibrate in your palm.

You gasp loudly, realizing what they were.

You would find yourself occasionally tapping into some of the old downloaded videos, obviously by the horny military guys, but still. Videos of girls on girls, guys with girls, too many to count quite frankly but they'd sometimes use devices like this to help their partner cum. Or just to tease them.

Your face grows warm just as a dull arousal begins to pool between your legs. You think for a moment of how you can use this for your own fun.. alone..

"What's that?"

You yelp, tossing the toy to the side. It clatters on the ground and those eggs vibrate loudly against the floor.

"Lo'ak! What the hell!" You gasp, clutching over your heart as it races,"Gonna put a damn bell on you, I swear."

You huff, moving to grab the toy in hopes to silence it and drop the subject so as to not embarrass yourself in front of your friend, but he beats you to it.

The toy looks tiny in his big palm, vibrating a small tickle. He snorts, quirking an eyebrow at you in a questioning look.

"What is this?" He smirks down at you.

You have to think quick. Come up with an excuse, play it off, who cares! Just don't tell him what they are!

"I'm not sure, actually," you play it cool, rolling your eyes,"I was trying to figure out what it was with the packaging, but it's in another language."

You grab said packaging, eyeing it. He peaks at it as well before snickering.

"Aren't those images evidence enough?"

"Huh? What ima-" you cough, eyes widening as your cheeks darken with blush.

Of course the packaging was going to have a universal language of boob imagery, specifically nipple action.

Lo'ak cackles out a laugh, covering his face as you sputter out jumbled words.

"Lo'ak! Shut up!"

Your face is red in mortifying embarrassment. You try to reach up and snatch the toy out of his grip but he lifts his hand, continuing to snicker.

"Lo'ak, c'mon man," you smack his arm, wanting this to end,"Just- put it down and we can go-"

He suddenly stops to grin down at you, that shit eating grin embarrassing you even further.

"I want to see how they work, though."

"You obviously know how they work now, seriously?"

"I want you to show me."

You inhale sharply. A beat of silence passes and you grow more and more flustered.

"What do you m-"

"Show me."

And he lifts one of those little vibrating eggs and trails it from your collar bone, down your chest and over your covered breasts. Even through the thin fabric of your cropped tank top and sports bra, you can feel those vibrations over your nipple, which now firms up.

You gasp quietly, backing up into the dresser, clinging to the drawer behind you.

"Lo'ak- mmph, wait-" you plead, voice already breathless and whiney.

He swallows thickly, crouching before you and grinning in satisfaction.

"C'mon, tahni, it's not like you have any reason to be embarrassed," he coos, head tilting and ears flicking,"I just want to be taught of earthly pleasure from my dear human friend."

His voice has you clenching your thighs, hot arousal coiling between them. He presses that stupid little, amazing, egg against your other boob, somehow pinpointing where your nipple is.

"Bullshit-" you grumble, panting heatedly,"You ass, you just like teasing me-"

"Oh, I love to tease you, for sure," he leans closer, eyeing you closely. He takes note of your scent changing, arousal clear from your thighs,"But this is a golden opportunity for both of us to learn. So show me, c'mon baby."

Your blush is inescapable, as is his stare. He eyes you up and down; from the averting of your gaze to the clenching of your thighs, covered by the shorts he hates so much.

You huff outwardly, grumbling low to yourself,"Fine, learning time," and your tugging your tanktop over yourself, soon followed by your sports bra. Your chest heaves, nipples hardening up in the cool, stale air.

Lo'ak then oggles your tits. Bigger, rounder, softer than the navi women he flirts with. He gulps, wanting to cup them in his big hands and give them a good, sweet squeeze. He so badly wanted to suck those perfect little nipples into his mouth. But he stifles it, despite his cock hardening up out of his sheath.

The bulge is obvious, and you see it out of your peripheral before snatching the toy from his hand. He only watches as you fiddle with the settings and reset the vibrations to a dull buzz, building up only to dull again. You didn't want this extremely hot moment, with the Sully boy that you'd been pining over since forever, to end too quickly.

You breathe hard as you take one of the eggs, trailing around your areola, teasing yourself.

"Humans tend to build up with these, from the videos I've seen." Your voice is soft, breathy.

"I thought you didn't know what it was," he teases softly, eyes not straying from your tits.

"Of course I knew- just didn't want to deal with the embarrassment," you grumble, before gasping softly as you trail it over your right nipple. Your body jerks, not used to the sensation at all but you sigh in pleasure, eyes fluttering shut as you hold it over the bud for a moment.

"Put it-" Lo'ak swallows, clearing his strained throat,"Put it over the other one."

You grin lightly, listening as you again, tease yourself by trailing it lightly around, then pressing it over your left nipple lightly, then adding pressure as you circle around.

"Mmph," you bite your lower lip to stifle your noise, but Lo'ak cups your jaw surprisingly and presses down on your chin to have you release your lip.

"We're alone," he gazes up at you with unfiltered lust,"Let me hear you, how good it feels."

You nod dumbly, and much to your surprise, Lo'ak takes things a step further as he prods at your lower lip before pressing his thumb into your mouth with a low command of 'Suck,' and boy do you, like your life depended on it. You think you almost envision it were his cock instead; which, gazing down between his crouched thighs, looks to be thick and heavy. God, you'd never wanted something down your throat more than you did now.

Your tongue wraps around his thumb, coating it in your saliva until he presses down on your appendage, holding it there with that look in his eyes. That look that makes you whine lightly around him.

He takes his thumb out of your mouth, touching your lower lip soft, almost sweet, before bringing that hand down to your chest where he cups your right boob, groaning low in his throat. He swipes his spit covered thumb over your nipple, the coolness of it making you jerk forward in surprise before he grabs at the other dangling egg and brings it up; teasing lightly then over your now cold nipple.

You moan in surprise, gazing down at him in shock and he smirks knowingly. He decides then, that he's completely involved in this 'experiment' especially when he yanks your other hand away from your left tit, then sucks your left nipple into his mouth.

"Ghk- fuck! Lo'ak, shit, wait, ah!" You're surprised, hand trying to find balance only to grip onto his braids. The growl and groan he releases around the nipple he sucks hard over almost feels like a temporary vibration.

Your pussy is pulsing by now, needy and you can't help the occasional buck of your hips.

Lo'ak pulls back, a thin string of saliva connecting your nipple to his mouth snaps and Jesus, that was almost pornographic. He grabs the other vibrating egg from your hand and presses it onto that nipple, hard, and you yelp, whining breathlessly.

You almost shriek out a moan when he figures out the settings and changes the vibration to be quicker, pulsing for longer durations.

You cling to his braids, panting and whining for what feels like an eternity, but all too soon he yanks them back, grips your midsection and tosses you onto the bed behind him. He smirks down at you, then leans over to tower above you.

"Wonder if these can be used elsewhere," is all he says before he yanks your shorts down your legs, thankfully your panties are soon after as well.

He spreads you open and gazes down at your glistening cunt like you were his last meal.

You pant, groaning with little patience before huffing,"C'mon, Lo'ak," you whine out.

He pinches your thigh lightly and chuckles at your yelp,"Patience, tahni."

You huff again.

But thankfully, he picks up those eggs and teasingly trails them down, over your ribs and across your belly. Unfortunately enough, he decides he's going to be an asshole.

He trails them around the skin of your pussy, not actually touching anything and you growl in frustration.

"Lo'ak, I swear-"

"Patience," he coos, a shit eating grin on his lips.

"Just- do it already! Please!"

He playfully rolls his eyes, mouthing 'Fine' before crouching even closer,

One empty hand reaches up, spreading your folds and with a grin, peaks at your clit, and he very quickly nestles that little heavenly toy right up against that bud and you nearly shriek yet again.

God, those vibrations are perfect. Just beyond your fingers or even, embarrassingly enough, your pillow.

And Lo'aks fingers are big, you can't escape them especially when he roughly gropes your tits, pinching at your nipples to harden them up again.

"Oh, god- Lo'ak, dontstopdontstop," you plead, back arching and neck craning back and you jerk in pleasure. He rolls it over your clit, even fiddling with the settings again to change the pattern.

BZZZ, BZZZ, BZZZ, bzzzbzzzbzzz

It's rough then soft, building you up gradually and thankfully he teases your nipples again, rolling it over before leaning up to suck a nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over it then disconnecting to roll the egg over the spit slick nub. He repeats the action to the other, whilst still holding the other egg down hard on your clit.

You can feel it building up quick, too quick, you didn't want this to end but at the same time, if this was the only time something like this would happen, you needed to see his dick.

"Mmph, wait, Lo'ak," you shove at his hands, petting back his braids as you heave for breath. He gently takes the eggs off of you, surprisingly concerned.

"You alright, tahni?"

You grin lightly at the name, nodding quickly but clear your throat,"take off your tewng."

He looks surprised, evident enough in the way his ears perk up, but he listens and his tewng is tossed to the side quickly. You grab at him, poorly dragging him up to crouch on the bed but he gets what you're trying to do.

His cock is massive, and he grips the base, slapping it down over your pubic bone. You groan, gazing down at it with pure want.

Maybe you wouldn't be able to take it down your throat, but you're sure with some fingering and a lot of lube, you could ride him into next week.

But for now you put those thoughts on hold, a wild grin on your lips as you grip one of the vibrating eggs, grasp his cock in your palm, then press it against the tip.

He barks out a rough moan, body jolting against yours and you move up the bed with the force of it.

"Shit, shit, oh fuck," he moans, face pulled back in a pleasured grimace.

His hips roll against your body, cock rubbing across your belly as beads of precum drip down, leaving a mess over your skin. You can't help but moan at the sight.

He suddenly jerks back but thankfully still within grasp, grabs the other vibrating egg and nestles it right up between your folds to pulse hot against your clit again.

You moan loudly, bowing upwards before collapsing. You release his cock and he huffs, taking hold of your hand and bringing it back to his cock to hold that egg against the tip.

"Lo'ak," you drawl out in a whiney voice, blinking blearily at him.

He takes to lifting your thighs to wrap around his waist, hand going back down to press that toy harder against you.

You can't believe how unbelievably hot this is, breathing hard and moan at every single vibration at your clit.

Suddenly your thighs clench around his waist, your whole body tenses up as you grab at the blankets and shriek out a long moan. You cum hard, even somehow managing to squirt, coating Lo'aks thighs.

You breathe hard, vision blacking out as you slowly come back down.

He moans, whining lowly and your cunt throbs around nothing at that sound.

You whine, trying to reach down to move that toy away from your swollen clit, but he lightly smacks your hands away, muttering a 'Not yet'.

You blink quickly, gazing back down at his cock and finally wrapping your hand firmer around him to jerk him off sloppily and using your other hand to trail the egg around the tip, dipping into the slit.

"Shit- tahni, oh, fuck!" He jolts, hips bucking against yours roughly as he finally cums and it shoots up your chest. His release spews out over your tits, pooling into the valley in between, and even reaches up to cover your throat.

He whines as you hold that egg to his tip before jerking back, out of hold but still hovering above you, and thankfully grabs the egg away from your swollen clit.

He heaves for breath, eyes clenched shut. You sit there and breath for a while, basking in the glow of the best fucking orgasm you've had. You know now that you'll never be able to use your fingers again.

Lo'ak finally huffs out a breath, gazing down at you through lidded eyes with a dopey grin on his lips.

You almost think the moment is tender, until he opens his mouth and you snort.

"I'd say that was a successful experiment on human pleasure."

¤¤¤

A/N: I want him

Taglist:

@akoyaxs

(Lmk if you want to be added!)

#avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar imagine #avatar smut #avatar kinktober #avatar way of water #kinktober #lo’ak avatar #loak x reader #loak #lo'ak smut #lo’ak smut #loak smut #avatar loak #loak sully

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genderoutlaws · 7 months ago

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do you have any advice for someone feeling hopeful and hopeless and not sure where to start? people are talking about organizing and i don't want to sound dumb but i don't know what that entails really.

hey, not dumb at all. hang on to that hopefulness. i think in terms of organizing the most essential thing you or anyone can focus on right now is

joining a socialist organization near you. do your research and live your values but i know the largest membership currently resides in DSA and i believe they're doing the work to create a mass socialist party. i've crossed paths and been supported by them a lot as a union organizer and am just now officially joining after a longtime friend/comrade has been urging me to for awhile.

unionizing your workplace. please feel free to message me for more specifics, i obviously can only speak with the experience within my own coffee shop as a 24 year old and being repped by WU, but building class consciousness and building union power among the working class is vital. tenants unions are also great though i do not have personal experience with them.

wearing a mask, staying up to date on covid and h5n1 studies and educating your peers, joining a mask bloc, advocating for better air filtration in your community spaces,, if we want to organize the working class we need all of us, disabled people included. and a lot more people are disabled now from repeat sars-cov-2 infections than realize or care to admit.

look out for your unhoused neighbors. get involved with food distribution, harm reduction, mutual aid services,, Food Not Bombs is awesome and is likely to have a chapter near you. this also kinda folds into the joining an org cuz i know my DSA friends are also heavily involved in organizing against encampment sweeps and advocating for affordable housing.

this is what comes to mind immediately for me and again feel free to message me about any point if you want more direction or clarity or to just talk it out, i'm still finding my footing and always trying to be better. also this all obvs can depend on what area you're in. but generally, any organizing outside of the electoral process once every 4 years is a great starting point lol

#hope this isnt tooooo too rambly sorry #im tired 😴

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rarepairdumpster · 3 months ago

Text

Bodyguard AU Part 1

Pairing: Viktor/Silco (Arcane) Rating: M C/W: Canonverse, Ulterior Motive, Anti-Enforcer,

Silco is the older, jaded man hired to guard Viktor after he receives death threats.

And the two fall in love while living in close quarters out of necessity

Jayce having no idea that he hired a literal kingpin to protect his lab partner

Silco is so close to laughing in his face because of the sheer audacity, but the man of progress is also clearly a fool, and this is the perfect opportunity to get close to Hextech.

Silco adjusts his appearance for the job.

Instead of his usual three piece suits, he's back to the kind of wardrobe he'd worn in his youth: leather jackets and wrapped wrists in preparation for fist fights.

It irritates him that he slides back into the old role like a well-worn glove instead of facing the discomfort he'd expected.

Viktor is not pleased that Jayce went behind his back to hire a bodyguard, but at least its not an enforcer.

He is even more displeased to be shadowed everywhere he goes, to have his mail intercepted before he can even open it, etc. But the worst is Jayce shuffling him and the bodyguard off to the Talis family estate, which hasnt even been used in like 100 years, because the deeds stipulated the heir had to be Councillor to live in it, so it's all dusty and blegh and Viktor's lungs aren't happy (A/N: Talis Estate idea inspired by THIS fic)

Viktor just looks frustrated between coughing fits and wheezes, while he grumpily sets up a workspace in the study.

Jayce is too paranoid to hire a cleaning staff, so its just Viktor and Silco spending weeks in the estate, going room to room, cleaning, so Viktor won't freaking die from an asthma attack

There is way too much helping Viktor through coughing fits, and not nearly enough sneaking copies of Hextech plans for his liking

Meanwhile, Viktor is discovering the sharp, jaded man hired to protect him has a soft streak, making him teas for his chest and throat, etc

And Silco begins to enjoy Viktor's intelligent conversations and smart mouth.

The fact that Viktor keeps badmouthing enforcers definitely helps.

Complains about Marcus always looking at him like he's some dog shit on the bottom of his boot or something.

It's an odd feeling when Viktor starts to ask Silco his opinions about the designs he's working on.

A thrill because yes, Hextech is what he came for

But a wobble because Viktor is genuinely asking for his input.

"I'm not so sure I know much about that," Silco says.

"Well, I don't have anyone else to ask so your opinion will have to do," Viktor sighs, but looks up at him. "I do value it though."

"Why?"

"You're a Zaunite." Viktor looks back down. "Like me. And no one knows what Zaun needs to heal and prosper better than we do."

"You're designing things for Zaun?" Silco rushes over in his surprise. He had known Viktor was a Zaunite but he assumed he had left all of that behind him.

Viktor chuckles as Silco comes up beside him. "Of course. This is likely the only time I'll have to do so."

"And you think Piltover will allow it?"

"That...I'm not so sure about." Viktor frowns down at his designs. "I designed an improved gauntlet for the miners, powered with an arcane core, but plans to reveal them during the progress day speech were....disrupted. Heimerdinger was reluctant to place power crystals in the hands of common people. He wanted to wait a decade, to work out the...ah...kinks, or so he said. Jayce, of course, crumpled like wet tissue. But Mel Medarda is younger, a non-native resident, and more open to change. If I can convince her of the merits of these designs, we will have a better chance."

Silco runs his fingers lightly across the pages in the notebook, outlining a portable air filtration that was cleaner and more efficient than the chem tech ones.

"This is amazing," he breathes, turning the page without permission

The next lot of pages are just varieties of prosthesis.

Eyes, arms, legs, etc.

And then hearing aids.

Braces of all kinds.

Arcane-powered repulsor chairs for those who can't walk at all.

Lights that will glow brighter, but use less energy.

Water filters.

Silco is embarrassed to feel his eyes prickling.

Unable to help himself, Silco tugs the notebook closer, almost cradling it.

"I used to wish I was this smart. This creative."

Viktor glances at him.

"If we were all the same, the world would be dull. There are other kinds of intelligence that are just as important."

Viktor holds his hand out for the notebook and adds delicately "Social intelligence is one of them."

Silco glances at Viktor, gaze narrowing a little.

"Bodyguards have no need for social intelligence."

Amber eyes sparkle as Viktor smiles.

"Perhaps not."

Part 2

Arch + Woods

#vilco #silvik #silco arcane #viktor arcane #viktor #silco #rarepairdumpster #fanfic #Bodyguard AU

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drdemonprince · 1 year ago

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Hi Devon,

this might not be a question you can answer, or maybe it is! idk. this is about covid & alike

for context on myself, i’m a white gendrfucky trans guy who’s also autistic & an immigrant (so some cultural context is probably lacking)

as we know, we’re in a 2nd highest surge & the pandemic never stopped and it increasingly dangerous and disabling to so many

i wear my kn95 everywhere i go now, and while i tried last semester, it was a lot easier to abandon masking because of

1. others’ around me negligence

2. some classrooms being IMPOSSIBLY hot and close to unbearable with a respirator on

3. attending crowded events where people needed to hear me

i’ve reevaluated and am rebuilding my practices now, but what i’m finding really difficult is to get people i have in my life to wear a mask again

i feel so lost. i share the informational posts, i talk to my people, i offer masks- what else is there to do?? i know the exhaustion i feel is absolutely incomparable to what disabled and immunocompromised people feel, especially when they’ve done the work for years!

i just don’t understand how i’m supposed to keep moving through life. i mean ofc i’ll keep doing what i’m already doing but it’s so incredibly isolating to be the only person masked in a meeting of 20,30,50 people.

i don’t know how to make people care. i don’t know how to have conversations with my friends in a way that will let our relationship evolve with this new understanding of care. i don’t know how to not polarize people into defensiveness when i talk about the powers wreaking atrocities in falasteen being the same ones shortening an isolation period to 1 day.

i don’t know how to be eloquent enough to be listened to and firm enough where people take what i say seriously. i don’t know how to not start screaming WEAR A MASK anytime it’s a crowded (or even not crowded) meeting indoors with no air filtration.

idk how people don’t realize the “cold” they’ve had for 3 weeks is either covid or direct aftermath of it. idk how they stand for seemingly the right things and then come to work sick & unmasked.

i don’t know how to engage with most people in a meaningful way & find connections because the delusion, the “it won’t happen to me”, the “i don’t care if i catch it and die”, the “this is just the way it is” seems to be a wall made of unbreakable cement and i don’t know what will melt it.

i feel insane for having compassion towards the world and seeing how it can be better. i feel insane for being angry people don’t mask & downplay this issue. i feel insane for even trying to talk sense into people.

i’ve recently been called a lying phony by an account that talks about masking bc a lot of my recent pictures show my face without a mask. i archived the posts since, apologized and reflected. but a lot of pictures i take are in my own room so i am unmasked. idk

i feel like the gap between me and most people i know is growing wider by the minute and with every reading i do about interdependent revolutionary practices, etc.

i know that when one understands something, it is their responsibility to make an impact on their bubble of the world and transform it with their knowledge. but i doubt i’m the only one doing the reading and knowing what’s going on, i just seem to be the only one masking.

i don’t know. i’m sorry it’s such a long ask & i’m sure you have your own stuff you’re dealing with. i just don’t know who else to ask that might understand. i’m sure there are people around me who might but so many are in survival mode and i currently don’t know anyone with the capacity to hold space for this.

i guess it’s bold to assume you do.

anyway, i hope your day goes alright today<3

You are placing wayyy too much responsibility upon yourself as one compassionate and informed individual here, and expecting far too much perfection of yourself in ways that do not help you and do not help the cause. You've done a lot to unpack the terrible individualism that has led to anti-mask sentiment being so rampant, but you are in a way still applying that logic to yourself and your situation by imagining that if you, one humble person with limited power were able to be adequately persuasive, you'd somehow change the actions of thousands. That is not how behavior change works.

Persuasion almost never happens logically or instantly, almost never through one person's remarks. Behavior is shaped by a vast array of economic, sociological, emotional, and ideological factors.

It's also not helpful in my opinion to worry about the opinion of someone who would shame you for not wearing a mask at home alone in your bedroom, either. Obsessing over the optics of our actions and wanting all people to morally approve of us at all times is yet another consequence of individualism and Puritanism. as you well know as someone who masks in a crowd of maskless people, sometimes we gotta do what we know is right and disregard others' opinions.

What you can do, in my opinion, is this: keep masking. Your behavior reminds people of the need for masks and models socially responsible behavior. Bring spare masks with you. Offer them to your family and friends and the people standing near you in public. If they refuse, and you have a good relationship with the person where they have shown they respect you and listen to you, then you can tell them why masking around you is important to you. You cannot change the opinion of someone who has never shown you any respect so don't expect that to ever work.

Even if you do have a good relationship with someone, persuasion is a long, hard process. Do not expect yourself to change their mind. If you can get some people to mask at least around you, that is a victory. Perfection is an unrealistic goal here to expect of yourself, and for public health in general. Any improvement you can inspire is a victory. Even if it's just making one or two friends mask more often when they are with you. That still lessens risk. That still sends a visible signal to everyone around you. You have no idea of the impact you truly have on other people in the long term. It is both more modest and far larger and longer-reaching than you as an individual will ever know.

Please be easy on yourself. You are just a person. An average person with very limited power. So is everyone else for the most part. When you stop burdening yourself with the unrealistic responsibility of changing thousands of people's behavior, you will feel less resentful toward others as well. When we resent other people it always means we are doing too much.

And when you feel less overwhelmed and overburdened, you will be more effective in the conversations you do have with people about COVID too. People do not respond well to (what they perceive to be) guilt or intensity or someone presuming to know better than them. What people do respond to well is to be asked genuine questions, listened to, validated in their feelings, given help where they are facing barriers to action, and being treated with compassionate gentleness.

But to do that you have to work on believing that people who are flawed in their response to COVID have reasons for doing so that make sense to them, and that they aren't all foolish and lacking in compassion. As my friend @kim-from-kansas says, people do not do things that do not make sense. If a person's actions do not make sense to you, it is because you are missing a piece of their context. The sad fact is people have many reasons to think that masking doesn't work or is hopeless. People have been very heavily propagandized and trauma also makes many people value life less.

Convincing people to take COVID more seriously is a tall, tall order, but if you wish to do so, you will need to be more than correct. You will have to put real work into not making people feel judged, and you will have to make peace with not always (or even usually) succeeding. It sucks but that's how it is. Best of luck!!

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aprocessionofthoughts · 2 years ago

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To succeed is to fail

whumptober2023 day 9- mistaken identity fandom- Danny phantom x Batman TW- nothing summary- The Amity Parkers have the opportunity (they didn't want) to explore Gotham. It's just too bad that Danny looks a lot like adoption bait.

First of all, I’d like to state that I know this is whumptober. But the story disagreed. So now we have whumpcracktober.

ao3 masterlist part 1 of APVG

They were not supposed to be here. They didn't want to be here. They hadn’t even tried to be here. Yet luck had never been on the Amity Parker’s side before, and they should have realized this would be no different.

It was their senior year and things around Amity had calmed down. Or at least everyone was used to Amity’s special brand of crazy.

He had told his parents about Phantom and they had helped hunt down the GIW. Most of Amity was discovered to be liminal and most of the young people had developed some basic abilities.

And then Mrs. Abernagaby decided that their science final would be a group project. This wasn’t anything new. Every year Casper participated in the Helping Intelligent Minds Be Outstanding competition–better known as the HIMBO competition.

And usually the smartest seniors would be picked to work on a group project to submit. Casper High had never won. So, this year Mrs. Abrnagaby decided that all the seniors could work on it together. Because more heads were better than one!

Obviously she didn’t remember what being part of a group project felt like. And she obviously didn't account for the fact that no one would care.

They weren’t even told what the award was since it varied year to year and was meant to be a surprise.

All they were told was that they had to design a new air filtration system.

So, being seniors who had survived ghost attacks, invasions, their town being pulled into another dimension, dealing with the GIW, and making it through adjusting to Amity shifting to the stranger side as everyone's liminality began to show, they did not try.

Which was how they ended up with this masterpiece.

The challenge was to design a new air filtrator. Which if they had wanted to, would have been easy since air filters that would reduce the amount of ectoplasm in the air had been designed before the residents realized it was too late to do any good, and so they had never been made.

They didn’t even submit a design; it was a paper mache volcano covered in everyone’s failed tests. The accompanying research paper they were supposed to submit had Dash’s and Paulina’s self-insert fanfics with– you guessed it– phantom as the love interest. Danny had tried to make them remove it since it was awkward now that they knew who he was, but they had claimed they wrote it before they knew. Danny knew this was a lie because they were lying liars who lied.

The paper also included one of Sam’s activist papers, Wes’s conspiracies about Bruce Wayne being Batman’s sugar daddy (now that everyone knew Danny was Phantom Wes didn’t feel the need to include that research (he also believed that Batman was Bruce Wayne but didn’t want to antagonize the furry who could ruin his life)).

Tucker had included evidence of a Pentagon hack he had done a few years ago, Mikey had drawn some incredible fanart about Green Lantern (he said this would have the greatest effect on Gothamites and Wes agreed saying Batman didn’t like Green Lantern. How he knew this, no one asked.).

And lastly, they attached a file of them doing the Harlem Shake.

Mrs. Abernagaby hadn’t even looked at it before sending it off.

And then of course they had won. And what a grand prize it was! They won a trip to Gotham to explore the various big businesses, as well as a chance to apply at those locations for internships. Yeah… Sam had found out all the other schools had dropped out after finding out the prize. No one wanted to go to Gotham. But the school said it was a learning opportunity! To see what it was like outside Amity! To see what normal was supposed to be like!

So, they were forced to go, but at least they got Mr. Lancer as their supervisor and they wouldn’t even have to take a long bus ride because Amity was friends with Gotham. Apparently there weren’t very many Living Cities and the two liked to talk. They also thought it would be hilarious if the Amity Parkers went to Gotham. So, Amity had temporarily turned the road that left the city into a portal that led to Gotham’s border, and at the end of the week Gotham would return them.

And that was how he had ended up here. In the back of a smelly van with a smelly bag over his head surrounded by smelly men probably heading to a smelly, sketchy location. All because these men were stupid and thought he was some Wayne kid.

Sure, he could have gotten out. But this was honestly more interesting than touring another boring building and having to almost get mugged again.

..........

AN-I plan to continue this but it probably won’t be until after October because I want to focus on completing the challenges I'm participating in.

#whumptober 2023 #whumptober #no.9 #mistaken identity #danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #batman #dp x dc #dp x dc fanfic #humor #no angst #I know this was supposed to be whumptober #but the story disagreed #what was I supposed to do #aren't we supposed to support our children's decision #I was being a supportive story writer

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tenderwatches · 1 month ago

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Ch. 36 of Lies We Tell Ourselves is up!

𐡸.:𐫱:.𐡷

chapter teaser

𐡸.:𐫱:.𐡷

chapter excerpt

Chapter 36: Pain Gathering Its Things

“I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded; not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night.” - Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner

When Ekko removes the blindfold from his face, it takes a moment of stunned blinking for Jayce to take stock of exactly where he’s landed. The first thing that strikes him about the space is the light. This far down in the Undercity, darkness is all he can imagine. Here, though, is a small oasis. Light breaks through, fragile as silk. It warms a room full of dilapidated houses.

The dwellings here, like much of the Undercity, are makeshift, but colour and life smooth the edges, making them seem less haphazard and more personal. Illuminated by a warm shaft of sunlight, this place feels inhabited; it has an enchanted quality, as if Jayce has stumbled into a secret clearing in the heart of the city of iron and glass.

The air quality here is a revelation; after the smothering journey down, he takes a deep, even breath, trying to shake off the murky taste of soot that still clings to his tongue. He understands why Ekko guards it so well. What would people sacrifice to have a place like this? For all that there is a thriving community here, it’s more like Jayce has wandered into a vital organ, something necessary and life-giving, but also tragically fragile.

What would it take to destroy this? A single selfish person? One violent impulse?

The notion sends a chill up his spine as a gaggle of children run past him, shrieking with laughter as they chase a gadfly from one muddy pond to another.

Beside him, Ekko chats in hushed tones with a tall Chirean man. Jayce’s arrival has attracted enough attention that he spies faces peering down from the myriad decks that spiral like a beehive towards the sunlight above. He can’t begrudge them their suspicions, having now seen what they have in contrast to the darkness and squalor of the city around them.

He wonders how many of them know his face, have seen it looking down at them with a superior, faraway expression, promising progress that will never touch them.

‘You’ve done what you can to correct things’, he recalls Heimerdinger saying from a conversation that feels like it took place aeons ago—an absolution too easily offered, a comfortable lie that asks nothing more of him. Just as he asserted to his mentor then, though, he needs to stop cycling the drain of his own self-actualisation if he wants to do more.

Jayce takes in deep, even breaths, enjoying clean air that feels like an indulgence, trying to cling to the promise he made to Viktor: to do better, to be better than he has in the past. He can’t change what he’s done—or rather, what he hasn’t done. What matters is what he can do now.

He’s not here to tour the place—he’s here to check on the progress with Rio, follow up on the supplies he and Viktor provided, and report back on Ekko and his Firelights’ additional needs. Doing that work serves these people much better than him standing in their home, agonising over past shortcomings.

Jayce has also given his word to Ekko, promising to take a strictly business approach to being permitted entry. And besides, he assured a sleepy, soft Viktor still swaddled in his bedsheets this morning that he would take Ekko’s lead on how to conduct himself.

Ekko, for his part, looks tired. He rubs a hand over his face, the gesture thoughtlessly smearing the painted white shape across it. “Alright,” he mutters, his tone belying what must have been a less-than-satisfactory conversation with his fellow Firelight. “We have to make this quick. I have an issue with the water filtration system to look at before I end up with a lot of thirsty people.”

Jayce nods in response before he pauses, biting his cheek to consider if it will be an offence to ask before he offers softly. “Anything… I can help with?”

Ekko looks stunned at him for a moment before huffing a slightly disbelieving breath. “Not going to be clean work in a posh lab.” He mutters in response, his shoulder tucked up towards his chin, a mix of defiance and perhaps a little defensiveness. Jayce wonders why, if he can assure him that this work isn’t beneath him without sounding patronising.

“I… grew up in the family forge well before I ever landed my place in Bluewind. It’s… not crawling through the sumps, sure, but I’m not afraid of dirt and hard work. You can fill me in and have an extra pair of hands to fix the issue at the same time,” he offers, trying for casual but suddenly hopeful that his help will be welcome, accepted. Proving to these people, and perhaps to himself as well, that he respects the labour they have to do in order to live feels oddly important to him.

Ekko still hesitates, teeters on the edge of welcoming the help, like he’s expecting a trap. The answer jolts through his brain like a firecracker. What has he learnt from working so closely with Viktor, from falling in love with the man? How often have they tripped over this very hurdle in their own relationship? The bone-deep fear instilled in the people down here that all kindness is a contract.

At this point, how does Ekko view the balance of their scales? He’s helped save Jayce and Viktor, both in their stumbling around the Undercity; he’d helped with stealing Rio and housing her here; he’d been working diligently on if she could be stabilised, even going so far as bending his morals to work in tandem with a girl he clearly holds in contempt. In return he and Viktor are helping to understand the Arcane’s impact on his tree and providing Ekko’s people with critical supplies. If he looks at this with the kind of accounting he’s come to understand is often survival in this place, then they still owe Ekko.

“Come on, we owe you more than a couple of crates of medicine after all your help.” He offers in what he hopes is a casual tone. Ekko’s eyes narrow slightly, his head tipping to the side like he’s working through a problem, the gesture causing the metal loc cuffs he wears to clack together softly. He tugs the red bandana around his throat twice in a thoughtful gesture, tapping the toe of one scuffed boot against the ground.

There is an energy to him that Jayce recognises from himself as a young man—quick-minded, clever and eager to act. Where Jayce’s gentle life turned those gifts towards chasing his dreams, however, Ekko’s mind has been honed into a sharper weapon. This quality reminds Jayce of Viktor, deeply practical to the core, but there’s still something like an idealist in this young man. Jayce wonders if Ekko will ever be allowed to embrace that—or, maybe he already does, but Jayce is simply too strange an interloper for Ekko to let his guard down enough to share.

Whatever the case, he seems willing enough to let Jayce try. Ekko’s shoulders drop from their tight defensive posture, the fight going out of the moment. Ekko sighs and beckons for Jayce to follow.

“Fine, but don’t start poking at things without my say-so.” They cut a clean path across the concrete slab that serves as a town square, making their way to a murky machine rattling loud enough to make the ground tremble.

Jayce feels a small flare of defensiveness at the insinuation he can’t figure out a simple filtration system, but swallows it down. His expertise has often been a shield he’s hidden behind, and it’s a reflexive urge to list his accomplishments when challenged. He nearly opens his mouth to mention his historical achievement as the youngest sponsored apprentice in Piltover’s history, but catches himself.

Though Jayce could be much more than an extra pair of hands if allowed, he follows Ekko’s instructions with deliberate humility. He doesn’t need the lesson on the mechanics of a filtration system, but he’s learning another skill here: to let people like Ekko lead.

(Read the rest on AO3!)(Or start from the beginning!)

#jayvik #viktor arcane #jayce talis #jayce arcane #lies au #arcane fanfic #jayvik fanfic #slow burn #enemies to lovers #friends to enemies #jayvik fic #arcane fic #arcane #arcane AU #jayvik AU #my fic #ao3 #first fic #fic update

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gallifreyinstituteforlearning · 5 months ago

Note

If a Time Lord went deep-sea diving, would it be possible for them to use their respiratory bypass system to prevent (or at least lessen the effects of) nitrogen narcosis and decompression sickness?

Can Time Lords prevent deep sea diving conditions?

If I had a penny for every question about deep-sea diving I'd had, I'd have, well, none, so thank you for this truly original query 😃

🌊 Understanding the Risks

To answer this question, we first need to understand what makes deep-sea diving dangerous:

1️⃣ Narcosis: At great depths, increased pressure causes inert gases (primarily nitrogen) in the air mixture to dissolve into the bloodstream and tissues at much higher levels than on the surface. This happens due to Henry's Law, which states that gas solubility increases with pressure. When too much nitrogen saturates the nervous system, it impairs brain function, causing symptoms like confusion, euphoria, and hallucinations—aka, "the rapture of the deep."

2️⃣ Decompression Sickness (DCS): During ascent, as pressure decreases, dissolved gases come out of solution. If the ascent is too rapid, nitrogen forms bubbles in the blood and tissues. These bubbles block blood flow, damage tissues, and can cause joint pain, paralysis, or even death.

🫁 Gallifreyan Biology vs. Deep-Sea Hazards

Gallifreyan biology gives them an edge in extreme conditions, and it's not all about the respiratory bypass.

1️⃣ Advanced Oxygen Regulation

A Gallifreyan's independent pulmonary network separates oxygen delivery from their circulatory systems. This could theoretically reduce nitrogen uptake into the bloodstream, as their respiratory efficiency might decrease the volume of dissolved gases under pressure.

Their ability to suppress metabolism voluntarily means they can slow gas absorption further, providing a natural buffer against narcosis and DCS. However, this is only a delay tactic—it doesn't eliminate the problem entirely.

2️⃣ The Role of the Kaizegea

The kaizegea (a GIL concept as an organ for filtration, likely to be renamed soon) acts as a highly sophisticated filter, rerouting gases based on their utility. While this would slow nitrogen saturation, its limitations are obvious:

No Escape Hatch: Underwater, the body cannot expel excess nitrogen or other inert gases. If nitrogen accumulates, it becomes a ticking time bomb, waiting to cause trouble during ascent.

Overload Risks: Even with advanced filtering, extreme pressures would eventually overwhelm the kaizegea's capacity, allowing nitrogen to infiltrate tissues.

3️⃣ Respiratory Bypass

The respiratory bypass allows Time Lords to halt gas intake entirely, conserving internal oxygen and reducing exposure to additional nitrogen. However, this technique is time-limited (12–20 minutes during exertion) and doesn't address gases already absorbed into tissues.

4️⃣ Adaptability of the Pulmonary Network

Gallifreyan carrier cells can reprocess CO₂ into oxygen, providing a temporary salvation in low-oxygen environments. Unfortunately, this doesn't mitigate the physical effects of dissolved gases under high pressure.

⚠️ What a Gallifreyan Can and Can't Do

So despite their biology, Gallifreyans cannot escape the fundamental rules of physics:

Narcosis: Gallifreyan neural plasticity and psionic control might delay the onset of the symptoms of narcosis, but the sheer volume of dissolved gases at extreme depths would still impair their judgment and motor functions.

Decompression Sickness: The respiratory bypass and kaizegea can slow gas absorption and allow better degassing, but any inability to expel excess nitrogen underwater creates a high-risk scenario. A rapid ascent would trigger bubble formation, potentially causing severe DCS.

Buoyancy Control: Time Lords can consciously regulate oxygen levels in their bodies, giving them excellent buoyancy control. This could reduce exertion and assist with a controlled ascent. However, this ability doesn't counteract the need for proper decompression practices.

🏫 So ...

While Gallifreyan biology offers plenty of tools to manage the risks of deep-sea diving, they're not immune to the laws of physics. The kaizegea and respiratory bypass can delay problems but can't eliminate them, especially if nitrogen accumulates over time. In fact, their advanced systems might create new risks, like a build-up of inert gases that could exacerbate narcosis or DCS.

Controlled ascents, decompression stops, and proper dive planning are still essential. And hey, if anyone could make a wetsuit look great, it's probably a Gallifreyan.

💬|🫁😮‍💨How do Oxygen levels affect Time Lords?: The effects of different oxygen levels on Time Lords and their respiratory resilience.

🤔|🫁😶‍🌫️Is there a gas Gallifreyans are particularly sensitive to?

💬|🫁🏊Can Gallifreyans drown?: Limitations of the respiratory bypass.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features:⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

#GIL #gallifrey institute for learning #dr who #dw eu #ask answered #whoniverse #doctor who #GIL: Asks #GIL: Species/Gallifreyans #GIL: Biology #GIL: Biology/Respiratory #GIL: Biology/Medical #gallifreyan biology #time lord biology

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liminalweirdo · 2 months ago

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You're probably being manipulated by a parasite

"At least three quarters of Americans have had Covid, so we have a large cohort of people with orbitofrontal cortexes operating at partial capacity.

That same cohort has impaired memory and emotional regulation. On top of that, anosognosia, the inability to recognize that something has been lost. Just a general recognition that “people sure are driving crazily these days” and “kids are having trouble behaving in school.” It certainly seems as if Covid is making our species a better host for its proliferation.

What should people who have had Covid do?: Become consciously risk averse. Make it a habit to deliberately weigh options and think through future scenarios. Less instinct, more calculation. Deliberately drive more cautiously than you think you should. Use cruise control to stay at the speed limit and reduce cognitive load. The damage is incremental, but an incremental increase in risk added up over thousands of instances becomes significant. Wear a real N95 or N99 mask in enclosed public spaces. Wear it properly, adjusted to your face. Yes, be that weirdo. Your brain is on the line. The last thing you need is another hit to your cognitive capacity.

If you are community minded, push for indoor air quality improvements (filtration and ventilation) in schools, hospitals, public buildings, and businesses. This has been shown to dramatically reduce infection rates for all airborne diseases.

Covid-19 has evolved to make us careless. Don’t let yourself be manipulated by a mindless virus.

A good resource for the curious: https://youhavetoliveyour.life/

#been saying this since the early days when people i'd previously known to be activists and allies to trans/BIPOC/disabled people #got covid and then started dropping all precautions without any clear reasoning why #i gotta be honest with y'all this is NOT the zombie apocalypse i was hoping for

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dr-futbol-blog · 10 days ago

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No Man's Land, Pt. 12

The Daedalus had been fired at by the wraith and had been damaged to the extent that they had lost their life support, and were now drifting in the massive void between the two galaxies, the veritable no man's land where no one would be able to reach them in time. According to McKay they had approximately nine hours of air left for the entire crew, and it seems as though the entire ship had now gone into emergency mode, everyone scrambling to think of something that they might do that could make their dire situation better. We join McKay as he is doing a walk-and-talk with Zelenka about their options with the weapons' officer trailing them, probably awaiting orders or instructions from them given that McKay at least knows the ship well enough not to need an escort having worked there previously. For Zelenka, however, the ship is not as familiar given that the first time he had seen it was when they were beamed away from the Orion as it was being destroyed by the wraith.

Zelenka: As long as we don't have to worry about shields and weapons, we may be able to cannibalise parts from some of our other systems in order to create at the very least a CO2 filtration system. McKay: By the time we've got something like that up and running, the CO2 levels will overwhelm any makeshift scrubbers we'd be able to concoct. Zelenka: But it's worth a try.

We have seen that McKay and Zelenka work well together, albeit differently from how Sheppard and McKay work together. McKay has a degree in Mechanical Engineering so Zelenka probably has something that is different from this but complementary so that they at the very least speak the same language. We are never told what Zelenka's doctorate is in but Electrical Engineering is a good candidate. Regardless, he seems to be thinking about how they might be able to rig up a filtration system out of spare parts, and McKay makes it sound as though they might be able to do that but not in time, which is the same problem that McKay had been faced with during Inferno (S02E19). They needed more practical solutions, and as we have noted many times before, McKay is not an ideas person, he is much better at figuring out how to make something go, how to fix something. And as usual, he is able to tell immediately whether some solution is workable or not, and while he appreciates Zelenka trying to come up with ideas, they are not getting any closer to solving this currently.

McKay: Yes. Yeah, but regardless, we need more electricians and welders than are technically certified on this ship's roster. Anyone, and I mean anyone who took Shop needs to report to us. Kleinman: There are teams assembling on every deck. McKay: Good. Good. Ah, now we're talking. How many more of these do we have? Kleinman: Twenty in total. McKay: How many people on board? Kleinman: In and around the two hundred mark. McKay: Oh, so I guess buddy-breathing our way through this one's out of the question. Kleinman: I'm afraid so, sir, yes.

McKay does not shoot Zelenka's idea down but thinks that they need a contingency plan regardless. McKay is clearly taking charge of the operation but we may note that he says "report to us" here, trusting Zelenka as his second in command to know what he is doing. While McKay does not use "us" as often as Sheppard does in reference to the two of them in particular, we may note that he does want to keep Sheppard apprised of what they are doing and to keep him in the loop, so his "us" may well include Sheppard also.

They finally reach their destination, which seems to have been where some of the crew members were unloading oxygen masks, one of them a beautiful woman that McKay pays no attention to. Note that initially McKay rubs his hands together because he is pleased by this turn of events, with this tiny bit of good luck. However, the weapons' officer brings him back down to Earth by pointing out that there is a limited supply of them. Note that McKay's reference to buddy-breathing -- the idea to share the tanks between crew members -- hints at the fact that he is thinking about Sheppard here. He is concerned for himself and for everyone, yes, but he is especially concerned for Sheppard, as is demonstrated shortly. Also, McKay's line here seems to hint at the fact that Sheppard had never taken Shop and that McKay knows this about him. He has to think of another reason to get Sheppard to have more air.

McKay: OK, fine. They're reserved for people working on getting life support systems operational. We need those people as clear-headed as possible. Kleinman: And, by those people... McKay: Yes, I will be one of them. Zelenka: How many levels are inaccessible? Kleinman: Seven.

We may note that in spite of having poor self-esteem, when McKay is talking about science and fixing things he sounds self-assured and in control. It is easy to see how he had become the head of the science corps and the chief science officer of the expedition because he is displaying clear leadership qualities here, taking responsibility and distributing tasks, and we may recall that he had been musing about leadership back in Letters from Pegasus (S01E17), having put actual thought and effort into what kind of a leader he wanted to be.

McKay is called upon to make a tough decision here that may come at a price, may lead to loss of life further down the line, but because he is feeling responsible for all the lives onboard, he has to make it. This scene, McKay telling the captain that yes, he will be one of the people assigned an oxygen tank, is undoubtedly one of the scenes that make people view McKay as arrogant. The way that the weapons' officer says "And by those people [you mean you]...," it seems like he is very much one of the people who might think this about McKay. It is easy to interpret this as him feeling entitled to the tank over other people, like he thinks his own life is more important than the lives of other people, maybe even everyone else. It is easy to see McKay's assertive way of saying this as selfish, and it is also easy to think that he is being a yellow-belly scaredy-cat who makes sure that he gets to have one of the things that might help him survive this in front of the line because he is so afraid of dying, which is not even adjacent to why McKay lays claim to a tank immediately.

McKay mentions that the reason to distribute the tanks to the people doing the fixes -- the people who are working to save everyone else -- is that they need to stay clear-headed. McKay is not just the chief scientist, he is also very likely the most intelligent person on board and he knows that he is the one who is asked and has been tasked saving everyone else. Everyone is looking to him to save them, like they so often are. He needs to be able to think because the lives of everyone else on the ship are depending on him to come up with a solution. McKay making sure that one of the tanks goes to him is not a selfish act but a selfless one, he is thinking about everyone. Beating around the bush about it is not going to help their situation any, especially when they are under a severe time constraint.

Of course McKay could have created some elaborate theatre of how he would reluctantly accept one of the tanks for the greater good -- but that kind of false modesty would only have wasted time. McKay needs to have one of tanks, and he knows it. He knows that Zelenka needs to have one too. He also knows that he cannot come up with any reason or even an excuse for Sheppard to get one, and so he has to think of another way to get him some extra air. He would like to give Sheppard a tank but he knows that it is not justified and they are better spent on people who are trying to help all of them, and it is this that shows us how much McKay is thinking about everyone and not just himself.

Zelenka: OK, we need to find out if there's any pockets of breathable atmosphere in there. We may be able to squeeze another hour or so from the regions that have been sealed off. McKay: We can't exactly transfer the O2 where we need it. Zelenka: Yes, but we could be... McKay: ...be able to access key panels that have been closed off to us. Let's get Sheppard in a 302, he can eyeball it from the outside. I'll take this.

And so we are demonstrated that McKay's mind is not just working on saving everyone, his mind is feverishly working on how to take care of Sheppard. Earlier, when Sheppard had been sitting in the cockpit of the F-302 on the hull of the hive and he had been talking with Michael, he had told him that he had three hours of air left for himself after having spent what had likely been several hours already sitting there, waiting for the hive to emerge from hyperspace. Earlier in The Intruder (S02E02), McKay had asked Sheppard how much air the F-302s had and Sheppard had told him that they had "lots" of air. We know that McKay knows that F-302s have air in them and that he knows that they have lots of air in them.

And so, because McKay is unable to come up with any excuse for Sheppard to et to have one of the tanks he is doing the next best thing -- he is putting Sheppard inside one of the F-302s and because he is giving him a task to do, Sheppard won't even know to feel like he is taking up air that other people could be breathing, which is something that he probably would feel if he was just offered air that others did not get. We had seen how Sheppard snapped his mouth shut just as soon as McKay had told them that they were running out of air earlier, it is clear that he does not want to take up air that other people could be breathing. And it is not just because Sheppard is the love of his life that McKay needs him to keep breathing -- he also needs Sheppard to stay clear-headed because so many times before he has needed Sheppard to come up with ideas for him to implement. He needs Sheppard to work with him

Sheppard: These sections are completely open to space, Rodney. There aren't even pockets you could beam into. What about an EVA? McKay: The spacesuits were stored in those sections. Sheppard: Alright. I'm heading back. McKay: Copy that.

We then get a very important scene. McKay had told Captain Kleinman that he wanted Sheppard to look at possible pockets of atmosphere from the outside, from the cockpit of an F-302 that has lots of air in it, and we now find Sheppard floating outside the ship. He had looked well and truly freaked out the last time we had seen him when the reality of the situation had sunk in, the depleting air and the time running out clearly filling him with dread. But all of that dread seems to be gone now as he is in the cockpit of a fighter-interceptor. Even though he does not have good news to give McKay he looks almost happy here, he looks content and it is likely that this is caused by the feeling that he is able to do something to help McKay, he is able to pitch in somewhere, he is able to make a contribution. We have seen that Sheppard has a need to be included in McKay's work and it is obvious that McKay has noticed the same thing. What is more, it seems like Sheppard had not actually caught on to why McKay had wanted him outside in the cockpit of a vessel that has lots of air in it, and hence harbours no feelings of guilt about it.

But what is important to note here is the tone in which Sheppard is talking to McKay. This is a semi-private moment between them -- McKay is out in the open working where other people are coming and going behind him but Sheppard is out there alone, and where McKay can be overheard, the only one who can hear Sheppard currently is McKay. Sheppard, that is, is speaking to McKay as though it were just the two of them whereas McKay is responding to him as though they were not alone. And Sheppard's tone is soft. He is speaking in a soft and tender voice which we never hear him use with anyone else. Sheppard speaks like this only to McKay, and only when the two of them are alone. It is almost as though Sheppard is whole other person when the two of them are alone and not in danger of being overheard. Sheppard tells McKay that the sections he is looking at are completely open to space but it seems as though Sheppard himself is also being completely open -- to McKay. Sheppard looks almost childlike as he is talking to McKay, all of the sarcasm and jadedness he usually exhibits nowhere to be seen. It is important to get to see Sheppard like this. It is important that we get to see Sheppard the way McKay gets to see him.

Sheppard is trying to workshop the problem with McKay, and even though the idea he offers to McKay is one that he is able to tell would not work immediately, he is still coming up with ideas for McKay to consider. McKay removes his mask as he responds to Sheppard and it is obvious he is trying to conserve air by talking as little as possible -- which is also something that Sheppard had taught him back in The Intruder, even if at the time Sheppard's intention had merely been to annoy McKay enough to make him forget to be anxious, to get on his nerves enough to hold off a panic attack. He is not conserving air by not talking at all now, but he is saying as little as possible. But even so, it is important for them to get to have this moment together because when they had seen each other again, they had not been alone. What is more, we again joined them in medias res here, we catch up to the tail-end of their conversation but what ever had been said before this moment was known only to the two of them. We also do not know how long Sheppard had been out there, but we have every reason to suspect that McKay had wanted to stretch it out, possibly even requesting Sheppard to perform some tasks while he was outside so that he might stay out there in the cockpit for a while longer, breathing his lungs full of air. McKay was taking care of Sheppard but Sheppard was also taking care of McKay, the two of them caring for the other.

McKay is welding while he is speaking with Sheppard, and we have noted before how McKay needs to focus on doing something, needs to focus on the work to keep from falling to pieces. He is holding himself together by keeping busy, keeping himself occupied. While Sheppard sounds soft and tender, McKay's voice breaks slightly as he mentions that the space suits had been lost in the explosion because he is keenly aware of the time running out, and while he may not be the only person who truly comprehends how screwed they are, he is the one who understands it the best. But unlike he had back in 38 Minutes (S01E05), McKay is not reacting to "certain doom in a certain way" here but he is instead doing what Sheppard had told him to do then, which was to keep on trying to fix the problem. But it is likely that Sheppard can still hear it in his voice, and so he decides to head back inside because if these are going to be their final moments together, he wants to spend them by actually being with McKay. And McKay likely feels the same way, not trying to come up with reasons for Sheppard to stay out there. It is possible that later on, he would have come up with another excuse to send him back out, to make sure he kept on breathing.

Zelenka: Have you tried routing the power through the inertial... McKay: Yes. Yes. Yes. We have tried everything. Zelenka: Subspace communications? McKay: We are floating between two galaxies, Radek. Atlantis has no ship to send. Even if we were somehow able to repair the array and get a message back to Earth...

Zelenka walks in to resume some work on the crystals just as McKay and Sheppard are finishing up with their call -- and it is even possible that he had found something for himself to do back when the two of them had started their conversation just to give them some privacy, given how we had seen in the previous episode in Zelenka's conversation with Sheppard that he is well-aware of the two of them being in a relationship with each other. However, there was only so long that he could stall because the work he was doing really did need doing.

We may note that McKay's tone is completely different with Zelenka. If he was trying to keep the desperation from his tone when he was talking to Sheppard -- even if Sheppard might have been able to detect it there anyway -- with Zelenka, he is not bothering to hide that he is looking at the end of the rope. When Sheppard had made a suggestion, he had told him why they could not do it. When Zelenka makes a suggestion, McKay snaps in frustration. With Sheppard, McKay is grateful that he comes up with ideas but with Zelenka in this moment, he feels like he is just wasting his time coming up with things that are not going to work. What is more, McKay is not bothering to sugarcoat their situation to Zelenka. With Sheppard, McKay would like to spare him the anxiety. He does not like to see Sheppard afraid and hopeless, and so while he is not keeping the truth from Sheppard, it is clear that he is trying to be delicate about it, is trying to keep his spirits up. There is clear and obvious pain in McKay's voice as he speaks to Zelenka but nonetheless he keeps on working, he keeps on trying to think of something that might get them out of this.

McKay: ...it would still take them weeks to get a rescue here. Zelenka: I wasn't thinking of rescue. I was thinking simply of telling them that we've stopped the wraith, and perhaps letting someone know the sacrifice that we've done. McKay: Well, a noble sentiment, but I would prefer to dedicate my last breath of air to getting more air. Wait a second.

Zelenka seems to have given up and has started thinking not of ways to rescue them but of making sure that their sacrifice was not for nothing. McKay, however, very much does not want to die. He tells Zelenka that he would rather fight until the last moment to keep all of them alive and in this he is echoing what Michael had told Sheppard earlier: "I doubt I'll be allowed to live much longer, and yet I very much want to continue living." McKay has a reason to live, which has not always been the case for him, and now that he has found his reason for living he does not want to give it up.

What McKay says here "I would prefer to dedicate my last breath of air to getting more air" is again easy to read as him being selfish -- as McKay thinking about his own survival. But he is not actually saying that he would like to use his last breath of air getting more air to himself. McKay is intending to use his last breath of air getting more air to everyone -- but especially Sheppard. He had put Sheppard into the cockpit to breathe, and while he had taken the oxygen tank for himself, the first thing he had thought about had been buddy-breathing with someone. McKay was using up the air currently trying to figure out a way to get more air, and every choice that he has made here tells us that it was Sheppard he was thinking about most of all.

McKay cares about other people and we have seen him willing to sacrifice his life for others many, many times because he does not seem to truly comprehend the value of his own life. But he very much wants to continue living like Michael now that he has found love, has found a home in someone, has someone worth fighting to live for. McKay does not want to dedicate his last breath of air to getting more air for himself, he fully intends for his last breath of air to be spent on saving Sheppard. And just as soon as he formulates the problem in this framework rather than thinking about fixing their life support system, he has a Eureka! moment. The ship that he had sent Sheppard out in is not the only ship around them that has air in it.

Continued in Pt. 13

#john sheppard #sga #sga meta #sheppard is bi #stargate atlantis #rodney mckay #rodney is gay #mcshep #ep. no man's land #ep. inferno #ep. the intruder #ep. letter from pegasus

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mariacallous · 5 months ago

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This story originally appeared on High Country News and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.

The more researchers learn about wildfire smoke, the more worrisome the picture gets. Smoke contains microscopic particles known as PM 2.5 because the PM (particulate matter) measures 2.5 microns or less—small enough to easily wiggle its way into our lungs and then into our bloodstreams. Researchers have already connected the particulate matter in wildfire smoke to a higher risk of strokes, heart disease, respiratory disease, lung cancer, and other serious conditions.

And the harmful effects don’t stop there. 2024 was a banner year for research on wildfire smoke and its impact on health, from brain functioning to fertility. While there’s still a lot more to learn, wildfire smoke is thought to be especially insidious compared to other sources of air pollution; its smaller particle size, intermittent spikes, and higher concentration of inflammatory compounds make it more dangerous.

This year’s new findings are disturbing. But the more we learn about smoke, the better we can protect ourselves from it, whether we live hundreds of miles away from a fire or confront it directly the way wildland firefighters do. Research underscores the need for some changes, including better indoor air filtration systems in our homes, hospitals, schools, and nursing homes, and clean air centers for people with nowhere else to breathe healthy air. Meanwhile, respirators for wildland firefighters are currently being tested by the federal government. We also need to reduce smoke pollution at the source by taking measures to reduce wildfire risk and intensity, like prescribed burns.

Here are some of the biggest advancements in scientists’ understanding of wildfire smoke in 2024:

New Estimates Predict 125 Million Americans Will Face Unhealthy Air from Wildfires by 2054

Wildfire smoke has erased improvements in air quality in recent years, a trend that is expected to continue. Millions more people will be exposed to unhealthy air in the coming years, according to models released by the First Street Foundation in February. It’s estimated that by 2054, over 125 million Americans each year will be exposed to “red” air quality, considered an unhealthy level by the Environmental Protection Agency—a 50 percent increase from 2024. California’s Central Valley will see the worst of it, with Fresno and Tulare County likely facing three months a year of unhealthy air, according to the study.

Smoke Can Hamper Fertility Treatments

The fires that started over Labor Day weekend in 2020 blanketed Oregon with some of the worst air quality in the world at the time. Those 10 or so days of smoky air affected everyone, especially patients undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments, or IVF. Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University studied 69 patients who received ovarian stimulation and IVF treatment in the six weeks following the wildfires. Their study, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility in May, found that patients exposed to wildfire smoke produced fewer blastocysts—clusters of cells that can develop into embryos—than those who weren’t exposed. Most of the patients still got pregnant, but the study’s lead author said she is worried about how smoke may affect fertility treatments. She told the Idaho Capital Sun that, as an extra precaution, fertility providers may want to delay IVF or embryo transfer for higher-risk patients during times of poor air quality.

Wildfire Smoke Is Prematurely Killing People

Thousands more have died due to wildfire smoke than previously realized, according to a study from the University of California, Los Angeles. New research published in the journal Science Advances in June found that the fine particulate matter in smoke resulted in from 52,500 to 55,700 premature deaths from 2008 to 2018 in California. According to its authors, this is the first long-term study to assess deaths caused by years of increasing exposure to wildfire smoke in a state that, like other Western states, is seeing more frequent and more severe wildfires.

Smoke Exposure Is Bad for Adolescent Mental Health

Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder found that wildfire smoke increases the risk of mental health challenges in adolescents. The study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives in September, analyzed data from 10,000 preteens who participated in the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States, according to the university. Each additional day that the children were exposed to “unsafe” air quality readings in 2016 boosted the likelihood that they would experience symptoms of depression and anxiety—even up to one year later.

Years of Firefighting Could Lead to Neurodegenerative Diseases

Lab rats aren’t people, of course. But in a controlled setting, they can offer useful insight into human health consequences. Researchers who exposed mice to an amount of smoke equivalent to what a wildland firefighter would breathe over a 15- to 30-year career found that they were more likely to develop brain disease than mice that weren’t exposed. The profiles of the animals’ genes fit a pattern that suggests long-term damage akin to the effects of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases. While researchers can’t prove that smoke is the direct cause of the heightened disease risk, lead author Adam Schuller told Boise State Public Radio that wildland firefighters need to be aware of the impact a long career in firefighting can have on the human brain.

Wildfire Smoke Is Linked to Dementia

Breathing in the particulate matter in air pollution has already been linked to an increased risk of dementia. Now, researchers say, wildfire smoke may pose an even greater risk than other pollution sources. Analysis of more than 1.2 million people in Southern California found that exposure to wildfire smoke over a long period—three years, in this study—was associated with a higher risk of a dementia diagnosis. According to the study, published in the journal JAMA Neurology, the odds of a dementia diagnosis rose by 18 percent for every microgram per cubic meter increase in wildfire pollution over three years, a relatively small amount. For comparison, the average PM 2.5 exposure for a census tract near the 2018 Camp Fire in California was 1.2 micrograms per cubic meter between 2006 and 2020, spiking to an exposure of 310 micrograms per cubic meter during the actual fire.

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