#amateur mathematics

[rickybaby]

Sky and will Buxton going on about how McLaren has supposedly costed Lando in the championship lead in the sprint.

What cHaMpIonShIp? Brother is 70 points behind

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

June 17th

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1. Any fics with Wei wuxian getting excited about Lan zhans ankles or period typical immodesty? @cratastica

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2. Hello! ITMF canon-divergent fics where Wei Wuxian cultivates to immortality as a teen/young adult (IE before he dies in canon). Could be as a child genius, in his teen years, during the sunshot campaign, during the Yiling era, etc. I would love to see how the story would play out differently with immortal!WWX. Thank you all! @gloriousclotpole

💖🔒 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, YLLZ WWX, Arranged Marriage, political scheming, Gratuitous Domesticity, Mutual Pining, EXTREME SLOWBURN, the inherent eroticism of the forehead ribbon, The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known, neither wwx nor lwj want to be Perceived, but sorry kids! it’s gonna happen!, rated E but the the NSFW stuff doesn’t begin until chapter 19!, bottom LWJ in chapter 20 and 27)

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3. hello! thank you for your work.

i have a request for the next in the mood for, if that's okay.

i recently read an oc/self-insert/reader transmigration fic into mdzs world and i was wondering if there's more of them available. shipping/non-shipping involved, anything is fine.

thank you again.

i told you when i came i was a stranger by Caramelized (M, 50k, OFC/LXC, minor WangXian, Isekai, Transmigration, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Amateur cartography, Butterfly Effect, Sunshot Campaign, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, No Golden Core Transfer, Dimension Travel, Politics, LXC the politician, Self-Insert, Foreknowledge, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Wait a minute! by Anonymous (T, 45k, WangXian, World Travel, Dimension Travel, Canon Divergence, Transmigration, I'm Going To Create a Fic That is So Self Indulgent, you guys know the story u make up before you sleep? yeah this is it, Crack Treated Seriously, Everyone Lives, Fluff and Angst, Attempt at Humor, Isekai)

🔒 Dream Before Daybreak by vermillion_crown (M, 189k, JZX & OCs, MM & OCS, WWX & OCs, LWJ & OCs, LXC & OCs, WIP, Major Original Character(s), Canon Divergence, Worldbuilding, Xianxia, Transmigration, Reincarnation, Isekai, Self-Insert, POV First Person, POV OC, Unreliable Narrator, Potty Mouth Protagonist, (narrator has a temper), JZX is going to have a friend, Drama, Dark Comedy, Gender Roles, (are turned into breakfast rolls), Genderfluid Character(s), Liberties taken with Imperial Chinese History and the Chinese Language, (家族祖先饶命...), Political Intrigue, Magic and Science, Physics, Mathematics, (a surprising amount of STEM concepts for a fantasy genre), The bilingual/diaspora experience as taken to the extreme with transmigration)

🔒 by foot it's a slow climb by Vroomian (Not Rated, 78k, LWJ/WWX/OC, WIP, Canon Divergence, Threesome - M/M/M, Polyamory, boys being dumb, Reincarnation, cultivation station, made up cultivation bullshit, gee LWJ how come your brother lets you have two oblivious boyfriends?, Jealousy, Unrequited Love, Requited Unrequited Love, Love Triangles, butterfly man meme: is this flirting?, give! LWJ! friends!, knock knock it's bad luck!, bad luck who?, Oh, will we ever know what happened with the jins?signs point to no, dubiously reliable narrator, Comedy, Drama, Self-Insert, OC(s), LQR voice: finally some good fucking nephew in law options, (ha ha ha syke), (yrz is a Mess) Rape/Non-con Elements)

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4. Hi, I'm ITMF a fic where; (a) Wen ning has a partner(s) Canon, post-canon or Canon divergent. He gets to explore sex and his sexuality not necessarily as the main character. I'd prefer his ghost general form and a male partner NOT jwy. @purplefuzzypickle

the hardest part of ending (is starting again) by KouriArashi (T, 23k, LXC/WN, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Developing Relationship, Reconciliation, Hopeful Ending) Not sure if it covers sex (rated T) but this looks promising

Nie Huaisang's Boyfriends at Evil Summer Camp by alate_feline (E, 18k, NHS/WWX, NHS/LWJ, NHS/WN, JC & NHS, Summer Camp, Qishan Wen Indoctrination, Implied/Referenced Torture, Spies & Secret Agents, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Canon-Typical Violence, Fake/Pretend Relationship(s), Developing Relationship(s), Homework, Fix-It of Sorts, Instant Plot Derailment Just Add Polyamory, Dubcon Kissing, Caught Smooching, Consensual Sex, character attempts Black Widow style spywork and accidentally achieves a polycule, forward momentum, manipulation at its finest, Friendship/Love, Solidarity, slight suggestion of bdsm, Canon Divergence, Characters Are Adults, Trapped In A Closet, Have to hide a body, Rooming (Imprisoned) Together at Wen Evil Summer Camp, Hurt/Comfort, crack, Poisoning, sprinkle of betrayal, Background Character Death, Sabotage, Infiltration, kinda psychological warfare?? but sexy, implied ace JC, allergies as a plot device, NHS has a plan, And Then It Got Out of Hand, Coming of Age, life in a prisoner of war camp, Canon Typical Hostage Situation, Daring escape plans, Pre-Xuanwu of Slaughter Scene, Totally Successful Seduction, some spicy espionage, NHS is a fantastic manipulator of emotions, brief explicit sexual content, Oral Sex, Frottage, ADHD King NHS, Borders of Infinity, idiots to found family, this is very much the NHS show, fuck around and find out, breaking news: actions have consequences, open relationships for everyone, intricate polycules are my aesthetic) And this is set during Wen Indoctrination so he's still alive, but i highly rec

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5. ITMF for any animal/creature hybrid WangXian! Giggling Foxes and Grumpy Dragons and all that jazz pls! (Or anything that involves them being animals in general)

Dazzle Like a Diamond by Tsukimiko_san (T, 4k, WangXian, Dragon LWJ, Crow WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, No Angst, ok maybe a tiny sprinkle of angst but like, usual LWJ thinking WWX is just teasing him, it doesn't last long, Getting Together, they are both so whipped, Boys Kissing, Courting Rituals)

cloudy autumn heaps the sky by anatheme (T, 23k, WangXian, Fantasy, Universe Alteration, Secret Identity, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, WWX is a little older here, WWX piling gifts on LWJ and encouraging hoarding tendencies, Sharing a Bed, Literal Sleeping Together, Arranged Marriage, of sorts)

醉 | drunk; intoxication by sweetlolixo (E, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mythical Creature WWX, everyone falls in love with WWX at first sight…, Besotted LWJ, Romance, Pregnant WWX, Fluff)

💖 Hoards and treasures by  apathyinreverie (T, 21k, WangXian, Siblings, Family, not particularly Jiang friendly, YZY Bashing, slightly darker Gusu Lans, LXC being the best brother, Some manipulation, But with the best of intentions, and   not between wangxian, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Smitten LWJ, Fluff, perfect   happiness, adorable WWX, Romance, Some worldbuilding, courting)

🔒 flame and rust by Reverie (cl410) (M, 34k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, dragon WWX, The BSSR lineage are dragons, Canon Divergence, Happy Ending, BAMF WWX, Child Abuse, via Madam Yu, Fluff and Humor, Protective Siblings, Time Skips, Supportive LQR, Angst, Golden Core Reveal, Good Uncle LQR)

in the arms of the angel by ScarlettStorm (E, 37k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Fox WWX, animal rescuer LWJ, Minor pining, major shenanigans, Comedy, Smut, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Adhd WWX, the mortifying ordeal of getting your head stuck in a peanut butter jar, and getting subsequently rescued by your crush, there were in fact two beds, but LWJ knows what he's about, Blowjobs, Frottage, switch rights, Scent Kink, mildly telepathic sex, courtship via kittens)

Snow Burns and Fire Falls by Liebing (T, 12k, wangxian, Fluff, Fox WWX, fox LWJ, snow fox LWJ, red fox WWX, Childhood Friends, Orphans, LXC is 8 years older than LWJ, LWJ and WWX are besties, LXC is the best big brother, WWX is adopted by the Lan clan, Happy Ending, Sweet, soft, Cute, Fluffy, Jealous LWJ, WWX has the whole of cloud recesses in love with him… baby LWJ is pouty, LQR loves WWX, Literally everyone loves WWX, The entire Lan clan: we would die for little WWX, Thwarted dog attack, LQR trying to arrange marriages, Time jump forward, No one is harmed in the dog attack not even the dog, Clan leader LXC, Jealous WWX, Oblivious WWX, love at first kiss, Wangxian fox babies)

The Dragon's Bride by jaws_3 (T, 34k, WangXian, Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Arranged Marriage elements, Slow Burn, sometimes ya get sent off to atone for ur villages misgivings and u just gotta deal, Dragon LWJ, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, Spanish Translation Available)

These Mortal Treasures by ChilianXianzi (T, 9k, WangXian, Fantasy, Canon Divergence, Dragon LWJ, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Possessive LWJ, Domestic Fluff, implied eggpreg, Dragonji's hoard is 1 (one) WWX, The Cultivation World's canonical fuckery, eggyuan!, Gift Giving)

To lurk, to lie in wait by trippednfell (M, 124k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Huli Jing, strangers to co-parents to lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Dragons, Kid Fic, teenage juniors, background NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Fox Spirit WWX, Dragon LWJ, Blood and Injury, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note)

🔒 Turnabout by apathyinreverie (T, 7k, WangXian, WIP, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Tiger cub A-Yuan, Mischievous WWX, Smitten LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Domestic WangXian, LXC does his best, LQR wishes his nephews had better taste in men, Fluff, Romance, Mpreg mentioned, courting, creature shifts)

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6. Itmf a fic where wwx got raped when he was still living in the streets! I don't want it to be explicit with the rape tho, also if he still has his normal personality but still very traumatized the better! Thanks!

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7. Hello! This is for ITMF - Can you and the community please rec your favorite teen pregnancy fics? Canon or modern era is fine. My only restriction (if you can even call it that) is that I want it to be wangxian and wwx to be the one who gets pregnant. I know that there is a pregnancy comp. I'm specifically looking for fics that deal with the theme of teen pregnancy or something similar.

The Winner Takes It All by YilingSani (M, 46k, WangXian, Modern, Single Parent WWX, LWJ doesn't know he has a son, Old Friends, One Night Stands, No Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Forgiveness, Second Chances, Inspired by Mamma Mia! (Movies), Teen Pregnancy, Mpreg, mention of miscarriage, Birth Trauma, amniotic fluid embolism)

part 5 of Blue Blood series by PotterheadAvengerDemigod (T, 90k, WangXian, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Parent-Child Relationship, Adopted Children, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Parenthood, Post-Canon, Implied Mpreg, Grief/Mourning, Identity Reveal, Love, Unplanned Pregnancy, Teen Pregnancy, Mpreg, Discussion of Abortion, Implied/Referenced Dubious Consent, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Reunions, Childbirth, Not Everyone Dies)

In which Lan Qiren eavesdrops and gets a new nephew (and grandnephew) out of it by h0peless_oblivion (M, 64k, wangxian, LQR & WWX, LQR & LWJ, Modern, High School AU, A/B/O, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Mpreg, Teen Pregnancy, Shotgun Wedding, Good Uncle LQR, Madam Yu’s A+ Parenting, WWX almost gets disowned for getting knocked up, But the Lans take him in, Fluff and Angst, Family Feels, Unspecified Setting, WWX Has ADHD, A-Yuan is Wangxian’s son, Pregnant WWX, Humor, non-graphic birth, Family Drama, The Lans love wwx, Male Lactation, Mild Smut in later chapters, wangxian’s canonical breeding kink, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, WIP)

🔒 Choices/you can live with/ by Nyatci (E, 76k, WangXian, Jiang Family & WWX, WWX & YZY, Underage, Non-Traditional A/B/O Dynamics, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Intersex Omegas, Nonbinary NHS, High School, Teen Pregnancy, Mildly Dubious Consent, Non-Explicit Sex, Miscommunication, Discussion of Abortion, Character considers having an abortion but changes their mind, Good Parent YZY, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Mpreg, Underage Drinking, Slow Burn, POV Alternating, classmates to co-parents to lovers trope, Bullying, Explicit Sexual Content, Male Lactation, Lactation Kink, kinks are mild, WangXian Have a Breeding Kink, with art)

Favors from family by h0peless_oblivion (T, 1k, WangXian, LXC & LWJ, Modern, A/B/O, Mpreg, Pregnancy Scares, High School, good brother LXC, Teen Pregnancy, almost, Family Feels, Fluff, Humor, Gremlin LXC. LXC has to drive Wangxian to get a pregnancy test, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ)

(Un)forgettable by Edens_Cat & VividestList (E, 67k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, WWX & WQ, modern, misunderstandings, angst w/ happy ending, kid fic, teacher WWX, single parent WWX, amnesia, protective WQ, protective LSZ, smut)

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8. Any Wei ying gets adopted into the lan clan when you g and then betrothed to lan zhan? @yesibest

how a smiling homeless child melted jade hearts and got a homeby anxiouswreck0_0 (T, 41k, wangxian, canon divergence, lan WWX, childhood friends to fiances, fluff & angst, fix-it of sorts, character death, possessive LWJ, dark LXC)

藍色的花，紅色的蘭 {Lan se de hua, hongse de lan} by Admiranda, AshayaTReldai (M, 45k, WIP, WangXian, Orphan WWX, Friends to Lovers, Childhood Friends, wwx raised in the lan clan, softer lqr, Good Uncle LQR, Good lan clan, Good Older Sibling LXC)

🔒 Life is Like a Stranger by through_shadows_falling (T, 69k, wangxian, Kid Fic, Child LWJ, Child WWX, First Meetings, Canon Divergence, Cute Kids, Orphan WWX, Autism Spectrum, Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Alternate Canon, POV LWJ, Growing Up Together, WWX raised at Cloud Recesses, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Puberty, Growing Up, Coming Out, teenage angst, Wet Dream, Pining, This fic gets a little raunchier as the kids become teens, But it won’t get too explicit, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Spanish Translation, Brief mentions/moments of WWX kissing others in chapter 22 but only on the cheek, also characters kiss WWX on the cheek in chapter 23, but his real first kiss is with LWJ, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian)

soft-hearted by sarahyyy (G, 6k, WangXian, Childhood Friends, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, First Kiss, Wedding Fluff)

❤️ All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix It, Not Jiang Family Friendly, JFM & YZY Bashing, YZY Bashing, Definitely not YZY centric, Fix it for our main characters, Time Travel, Butterfly Effect, Madam Lan Lives, No Sunshot Campaign, Artistic License, Unreliable Narrator, JC Bashing, non-yunmeng WWX, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Good Uncle LQR, OOC, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, WWX gets the love and care that he deserves from the very beginning, Mainly CQL but has elements of the novel as well, WWX Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, verbal and physical (c/o Zidian) abuse from YZY)

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9. hi again! i've got to say, your blog really is a life saver, thanks sm for the suggestions! for the next itmf, do you have any fics with wwx mentoring the juniors during a night-hunt? similar to the hook extra in the novel. would prefer if it was set post canon and if the night-hunt/mystery was the focus of the fic rather than romance (but wangxian is still fine ofc). please NO ships between the juniors tho. thanks! @harapecowee

爱不释手; never let me go by yiqie (E, 68k, WangXian, Case Fic, Blood and Injury, Demons, Body Horror, Mystery, The intrinsic horniness of wound tending, Yearning 2: The Electric Boogaloo)

Wearing Down Every Bone by CSHfic, VSfic (E, 30k, WangXian, Groundhog Day, Time Loop, Temporary Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Case Fic, Curses, Pining, Getting Together, Time Travel, Night Hunts, Hurt wwx, Mystery, Angst with a Happy Ending, Use Your Words, Mutual Pining, Depression and Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, gratuitous use of empathy)

your words upon my lips by uchiuchi (T, 17k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff, Curses, no sad times only good times, Canon Compliant, Romance, they are married!!, Let LWJ Say Fuck, Case Fic)

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10. Do you know any fics about the Banquet where WWX drinks the cup for LWJ and where the cup is poisonned/drugged and either WWX, either Xichen, either both are poisonned/drugged?

At the bottom of the bottle, you're the poison in the wine by KatAnni (T, 11k, WangXian, JC & WWX, JC & WWX & JYL, WWX & WQ, Fainting, Angst, Poisoning, JZN is an asshole, Golden Core Reveal, Fix-It, a little poisoning will solve all your problems!, Hurt/Comfort, POV Multiple, Attempted Murder, Everyone Lives, Fix-It of Sorts, Canon Divergence)

every breath that comes before by tardigradeschool (T, 10k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Poison, Golden Core Reveal, Sharing a Bed, Hair Brushing, Angst with a Happy Ending, PTSD, WWX's terrible self-esteem)

🔒 After Truth Lies the Honest Path by Vrishchika (M, 11k, wangxian, WIP, Canon Divergence, Truth Serum, Angry WWX, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mild Angst, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Everyone Lives, Getting Together)

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11. your favorite post-canon fics? thanks for all the hard work!

And Yet Here You Are by cosmicmilktea (T, 10k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Domestic Fluff, Cloud Recesses, settling down, Separation Anxiety, Teacher WWX, very light angst, Chief Cultivator LWJ)

Deeper grows my longing by feyburner (T, 4k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Getting Together, First Kiss, Deeper grows my longing [podfic] by someplacelikebolivia)

I’m Going Out (Gonna Make A Name For Me And You) by cosmicmilktea (T, 16k, wangxian, post-canon, chief cultivator LWJ, Mentor WWX, intersect relations, slow burn, sickness)

🔒💖 When has silence saved anyone? by Vrishchika (T, 6k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX & LWJ, Post-Canon, LXC Critical, Gusu Lan Sect, Not for LXC Fans, novel canon, Salt, Angry LWJ, Angry LSZ, Family Feels, WWX Protection Squad, LXC Gets Scolded, Based on Chapter 99 the Novel)

Rarely Pure and Never Simple by thunderwear (Not Rated, 3k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Truth Spells, Curses, lan juniors, First Kiss, Love Confessions, LWJ is panicking, the juniors are freaking out, WWX to the rescue, Post CQL, Getting Together)

Something Yet to Learn by Glitterbombshell (T, 16k, WangXian, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff) WWX accidentally becomes a teacher to some baby Lans

that friend who is my beloved by laallomri (T, 34k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Curses, Case Fic, Established Relationship, Happy Ending)

ruined me with your regard by laallomri (T, 46k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, Introspection, Epistolary, it is not all letters but there are quite a lot of letters, Discussion of Canon Events, Pining)

a kind of emptiness by ScarlettStorm (E, 11k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Established Relationship, Eating Disorders, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorder Recovery, low angst, Happy Ending, seriously in spite of the tags this fic is very soft, Tender smut, Frottage, Praise Kink, Additional Warnings In Author’s Note)

Mud on Your Feet by AvoOwO (Not Rated, 59k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Nightmares, Sentient Burial Mounds, Burial Mounds, Possession, Panic Attacks, Night Terrors, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Good Sibling JC, Hurt WWX, Soft WangXian, Feels, Blood and Injury, Hallucinations, Delusions, JC Loves WWX, Insomnia, Good Sibling WWX, Sleepwalking, Sleeptalking, LWJ just wants to sleep with his husband, Protective JC, WWX Sees Dead People, LJY pulls through, POV LWJ, Cloud Recesses, PTSD, Post-Canon, YLLZ WWX, resentful energy, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Thirteen Years of WWX's Death, WWX's Three Months in the Burial Mounds, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, WWX is tired, LWJ literally just wants to sleep with WWX again is that too much to ask for??, Soft JC, Yunmeng Siblings Feels)

Home, Family; a Safe Feeling by Thinking_of_Wolfie_Fluff (T, 6k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Bittersweet, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Gusu Lan Forehead Ribbon, Gusu Lan Sect, PTSD, Panic Attacks, Soft WangXian, Married WangXian, WWX Loves LWJ, WangXian in Love, WangXian Get a Happy Ending)

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12. hey admins! itmf sick wei ying fics! thank youuu

hunters seeking solid ground by Attila (E, 23k, wangxian, Canon Compliant, discussion of canon character death, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, bed sharing, Getting Together, Yearning, Literal Sleeping Together, Really Excessive Amounts of Hurt/Comfort)

something left to save by androids_fighting93 (E, 57k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, No Bloodbath of Nightless City, JYL Lives, Not Everyone Dies AU, Hurt/Comfort, single dad wwx, Sick Character, Golden Core Reveal, the lightest d/s dynamic if you squint, handjobs, Anal Sex, Canon-Typical Dynamics)

Grace and a tender hand by feyburner (T, 4k, WangXian, Modern, First Date, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Fluff)

Sick Bed Reserved In Gusu Lan by scifigeek14 (T, 14k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Sick fic, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Golden Core Reveal, Fix-It)

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13. Do you know any fics where we can see Lan Xichen and Wei Wuxian being friends, where Xichen help his brother and WWX, or where Xichen saves WWX from Madam Yu's abuse?

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 828k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement) It's a small part of the overall fic, but LXC & WWX have a friendly relationship in this, with LXC treating him as another younger brother

💖 Hoards and treasuresby  apathyinreverie (T, 21k, WangXian, Siblings, Family, not particularly Jiang friendly, YZY Bashing, slightly darker Gusu Lans, LXC being the best brother, Some manipulation, But with the best of intentions, and   not between wangxian, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Smitten LWJ, Fluff, perfect   happiness, adorable WWX, Romance, Some worldbuilding, courting) link in #5

🔒 Modern Cultivator AU by Netrixie (M, 74k, LXC/NMJ, WangXian, WWX & LXC, JYL/JZX, JC/NHS, LXC & LWJ, Drunken Shenanigans, Drunk LXC, Modern Cultivation, LXC is horny on main for NMJ, LXC centric, WWX is an enabler, Attempt at Humor, Second-Hand Embarrassment, Getting Together, Everyone Lives, Minor Original Character(s), the nie clan is life, NHS could be a criminal mastermind if he really wanted to but he uses his powers for good, the plot exists merely for LXC to get some dick so don't think too hard about it, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Mutual Pining, Long-Distance Relationship Feels, LWJ is a good brother, communication is key, NMJ is a multi-texter, Established Relationship, Platonic Love, Sibling Bonding, The mortifying ordeal of loving and being loved in return, Fluff, Light Angst, LXC deserves good things and by god he's going to get them) Modern AU but my bookmarkers' notes say that LXC and WWX are established friends in this series

Nursery Rhymes by manaika (M, 96k, WangXian, NieLan, Modern AU, Inexperienced WWX, Experienced LWJ, Reconciliation, Budding Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Unreliable Narrator, Medical Inaccuracies, Slow Burn, Past Character Death, Childhood Trauma, Found Family, Past Injury, Nurse! WWX, Doctor! LXC, Teacher! LWJ, Character With A Heart Condition (Major), Past Incarceration (Major Character), Underage Character With Leukemia (Minor)) The best LXC & WWX friendship I've ever read

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14. sorry if you’ve already had this before, haven’t gone through all the posts, but if you’re still doing in the mood fors, any fics set during the 13 years or later, where lwj and wwx were secretly together before wwx died? thanks !

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15. hello! i have yet another hyper-specific itmf request, so no worries if nobody has any recs lol. i'm looking for any fics that involve a character having to relearn how to communicate with others. like, (re)learning how to speak mandarin or how to act "normal." recovery fics also might count? i've recently realized this is a type of fic i really like for some reason so i'm looking for more! any setting is fine :)

this is weird enough that i want to explain it just to be clearer, so,,,, some examples in fics i've read are: zombie wei wuxian, whose mental faculties are only just coming online after being braindead (in A Corpse Called By Name); and wei wuxian being displaced in time, forced to learn modern mandarin instead of the ancient language he speaks (in The Shade of Old Trees). i know this next one isn't a mdzs fic, but another example would be xie lian in A Long And Slow Recovery, in which he just got out of the coffin and is struggling to act human and recover fully.

thank you so much!!! <33 @kisskissgotohell

🔒 Confusion by Vrishchika (Not rated, 5k, wangxian, time travel)

Wrong Turn, Right Place by diamondbruise (E, 71k, WangXian, Time Travel, kind of, it’s more reality travel but there’s modern wwx and cultivator lwj, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Jealousy, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Cultural Differences)

忘不了你的爱 (can't forget your love) by PorcupineGirl (G, 25k, WangXian, Time Travel, Modern Cultivation, Canon Divergence, Time Traveler WWX, discussion of canonical character deaths, a whole lot of handwaving, conveniently localized fires, Discussion of Canonical Suicide Attempt, mostly happy but slightly bittersweet ending)

Cloudy Memories Recessed by FirefliesNLightningBugs (M, 7k, JC & JYL & WWX, WIP, Adopted Sibling Relationship, Sunshot Campaign, Good Person JZX, Good Sibling JC, Good Sibling JYL, Amnesia, (kind of), Weird Magic, Demonic Cultivation, post WWX disappearing during sunshot campaign, POV Alternating, POV JC, POV JYL, POV WWX) starts to do this sorta, in that he's not really aware of/reacting to his surroundings in a "normal" manner.

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16. Thank you for all you do 💕 Itmf feral/sick alpha wwx soothed by omega lwj

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17. itmf a fic where lwj has a thing for wwx calling him gege or er-gege ♡︎

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[petewentzisblack1312]

quick reading comprehension cheat sheet

the main idea of a piece of writing is a short summary of the entire piece. a paragraph will often have the main idea stated as a sentence within it, frequently at the beginning, end, or somewhere in the middle. sometimes though, it is never outright stated and needs to be deduced. try figuring out the main idea of the paragraphs in this post as an exercise. in an essay, this is usually the function of the introduction, which is then supported and defended by the body of the essay, and restated in the conclusion.

context clues are pieces of information throughout a text that you can use to deduce the meaning of other parts of the text. this is a good way to learn new vocabulary and ideas that you may not be familiar with. if you are unsure, you can confirm with a secondary source, or ask for clarification, but it is good practice to try to construct meaning on your own. it fosters good media literacy and reading comprehension skills. as a tangent, it is good practice in most things to attempt on your own and exhausting that avenue before asking for help.

context is important to consider when interpreting a piece. in some contexts, different amounts of nuance may be necessary, like how imaginary and complex numbers are not taught at lower levels of mathematics. it is important to be able to recognize what context a piece of information is in before responding to it. an expert writing for other experts, an expert writing for a lay audience, and an amateur writing for their peers are all different contexts that merit different responses.

please feel free to ask me any questions you may have.

[nichenarratives]

Hurricane Heller 25

A Niche Narratives Fanfiction

last | first | next

25. Lackadaisy Austerity

Even in his youth, Mordecai was never an athlete, struggling to keep pace with peers and often the last to finish even after those with weak chests. As with most innate insufficiencies, the nine year old tom had refused to accept he wasn't athletic and instead turned to his strengths, studying how to become a fit and healthy young man who could rival an Olympian on the track. The scrawny tom believed he could do it as well; books had yet to fail him, from botany to mathematics, so was certain all he needed was to buckle down and understand, to flourish here too.

Though he was aware of his intellectual differences well before fourth grade, the discrepancy between Mordecai’s attempt to overcome this challenge with applied research, compared to how his teacher and peers responded, would ultimately skew any future interactions with others for the worse. Attempts to discuss his physical limits or potential adaptations to optimise both his own and classmate’s development were met with irritation; his notes stuffed into a desk, he was escorted out by the ear and deposited back into the school yard roughly, a reminder to respect his tutors ringing in the sore appendage.

To wit, he was pushed harder in gym class, until an inescapable physical exhaustion claimed his body and he fell. This was received with amusement by his peers, especially when it was usually followed by a yardstick to the rear and accusations of laziness. For the rest of the year he was at the epicenter of his tutor’s storm, miserably exhausted and never able to improve his physical state. Yet adult Mordecai would look back on those months as an important learning experience, one he subscribed to even neck deep in the Savage Family Corporation.

If he wanted something done right, he should remove the middleman and simply do it himself.

While he hadn't been particularly successful with an extracurricular exercise routine - life seemed to develop an uncanny ability for throwing proverbial spanners in those particular cogs - a discernment of keen proprioceptive capabilities in adolescence allowed Mordecai to ‘hack’ his biological malleability. 

According to the physiology books, proprioception is an awareness of where one’s appendages remain in space without thinking. Realising he’s acutely aware of this sense, preteen Mordecai would consciously engage his entire body’s muscle framework while he undertook mundane tasks like paperwork to enforce an almost ambient regime into his schedule. 

The initial results were as expected; a deep seated exhaustion and a dread of repeating it all tomorrow, which he almost surrendered to on a monthly basis. Every night, he’d collapse into bed, his entire body aching but thankfully too exhausted to be kept awake by pain. He'd sleep fitfully and awaken with residual soreness in his core, both a physical and mental battle of wills to overcome and rise before the day even began, but he persevered regardless.

Until one day he realised the pain was simply gone his mind and body finally in sync as both analysis and reaction became a seamless response to any stimuli. While Mordecai never became the Olympic contender he'd envisaged as a kitten, he gained something more useful; a finely tuned core strength that enabled swift, precise movements within a tiny window of inaccuracy, a margin of error easily rectified with basic calculations.

It still bothers the tuxedo that he can't pinpoint a day his muscles adapted. Applying tension upon waking eventually became automatic, as much a part of the mask he wore to sequester his emotions. This skill is what made him an exacting amateur surgeon for interrogations, a formidable foe with a firearm and a swift, decisive hand in high tension altercations. 

It likely saved his life the night Fiores attempted to murder him also, though as he sprints through the back alleys of Queens in driving rain, path heralded only by the cloud-crested moon, the unanticipated limitations of his biological hacking quickly become apparent. Already fatigued from constant flexion, his core muscles reject the sudden exertion and begin to ache as they drown in an excess of lactic acid, low base energy stores swiftly exhausted.

His legs feel immensely heavy, his chest tightened by an underdeveloped lung capacity, but as a shot whistles past his ear the tuxedo forces himself on through sheer willpower, towards the station he can see a few blocks away. A small part of Mordecai's mind agonises over his missing satchel, but there is no time to return for it; he has no money or papers, just a pen, a pocket watch, and a useless safe code wrapped around a dime in his pocket.

An awkward step on the cobbles and he stumbles. Mordecai gasps and barely prevents a fall onto the glistening streets by grabbing at the nearest wall in desperation, claws digging into the mortar with an unsettling scratch across brick. He pauses only long enough for the moon’s shine to glint off of the barrel of a pistol and pursuer’s eyes before pushing off the wall, ignoring the growing stitch in his side and the burning in his lungs, hellbent on survival.

The station is barely fifty feet away when a thought hits him. I can't purchase a ticket. A revelation that is swiftly accompanied by a trajectory shift towards the unfenced tracks extending from the southern side of the illuminated building. It troubles Mordecai to know riding the train without procuring a ticket is theft - something he refused to indulge even in the depths of poverty - however, he decides imminent mortality is an effective extenuating circumstance to allow it this once as by divine doctoring, a train pulls out of the station when he's a mere twenty feet away. 

With a grunt and a final surge of energy, Mordecai sprints the distance with a burst of speed before he leaps forward, jumping for the nearest carriage as the rear stairs draw level.

Time seems to stop when airborne. Breath caught in his throat and heavy body suddenly weightless, his heartbeat becomes a rapid, dicotical metronome in his ears and throat as hot smoke envelops his body. Suddenly blinded, the tuxedo is forced to have faith in his calculations and physical reflexivity, reaching through the choking gray smog with little more than a muttered prayer to a god abandoned years prior.

When his hand closes on a cold metal railing, time resumes with a sudden explosion of sensation; rain raps heavily on his bare head and chugging engines are thunderous in his ears as he clings to the railing for dear life, soaked loafers slipping on metal steps before finding purchase. Exhausted but relieved, he clutches onto the guide rail and sucks deep breaths into aching lungs, unstable legs threatening to give as he casts his gaze out in search of his pursuers.

Between the darkness, smoke and driving rainfall, viability is poor. Mordecai squints towards the alley he'd fled from as the train begins to pick up speed, pulse still hammering and breaths drawing deep. He can see nothing; lanterns eaten by darkness, smog too thick to dispel. Assuming they can’t see either, the tuxedo finally sags against the guide rail, acutely aware of the patter of rain on his head and the deep thrumming of engines rattling through his teeth.

As the adrenaline surge begins to wane, his body comes alive with aches and pains. Both his throat and lungs burning with exertion, his thighs aching almost as much as his blazing calves, a stitch in his right side flaring with each heavy breath. Whipping winds and unsteady legs mean he dare not release the guide rail lest he simply fall into the tracks, so he remains steadfast as they gain momentum, taking a moment to recover from-

A bullet pings off the train car barely a half inch over his head. Hair waving wildly in crosswinds between carriages and eyes startled wide, Mordecai ducks behind the guide rail with a gasp just before another shot dings off the metal right where his head had been moments before. The tuxedo peers around the edge of the carriage behind his own and squints in the smog, until he sees two dark figures hanging off a guide rail two train cars down, attempting to fire as the rails jostle their aim.

His second adrenaline rush is more like a trickle, a heavy delay between noticing the danger and acting on survival impulses. He jerks back being the train car between them as a third shot pings off the metal guide rail and with the last of his remaining strength, Mordecai wrenches open the rear door and throws himself inside, slamming the door behind him.

The air within the train car is still, the trundling of the train and heavy rainfall muted by thick window panes and thick metallic architecture. A couple of yellowed or green pairs of eyes turn to observe their belated fellow passenger before they return to their books, newspapers or work. None take interest, nor inquire of his arrival mid transit, merely sneaking a covert glance as he stumbles down the middle aisle to an empty pair of seats at the front of the carriage and collapses against the window.

Finally safe, if only for a short period of time with his pursuers just two carriages down, Mordecai allows olive eyes to flutter closed as he can truly catch his breath. He barely feels the usually uncomfortable sensation of soaking clothes on coarse fur or the way his hair sticks to his face, his mind distracted processing the events of the night with the clarity of a man aware of his imminent demise. There's no time to dwell on misfortunes when it's at a premium.

He shuffles through data, from limited inventory to loose ends, until finally, the tuxedo has a course of action to follow. Sitting straighter in his seat, he first pulls a pencil from an inside pocket and digs it into the inner lining of a coat pocket, destroying stitches he'd added the week prior to extract the dime, and paper wrapped around it containing the safe code in his apartment bedroom.

Using a tissue from another pocket, he soaks up the worst of the water from his right knee and folds his right leg over the left. It's only as he begins writing he truly notices his left glasses lense is cracked, but it does not stop him from transcribing his last words.

Mother,

Forgive my unannounced departure. Circumstances relating to my employment have required me to travel on short notice. It may be some time before I am able to correspond again, but you will find savings in my rented room above the dry grocery adequate for living. Give Mrs. Kovitz the name Ezra and she will allow you upstairs. There is a safe hidden in the southeast corner behind the baseboard.

He makes sure to outline the safe code where it had faded slightly from formerly hurried penmanship. He may have sat there for hours procrastinating the end of the hastily scrawled letter were it not for a sudden  and short lived increase in engine noise and driving rain. The rear carriage door opening and closing, a shuffle of fabric as someone silently takes a seat, an additional passenger changing carriages amidst the rainstorm worrying for the pursued tuxedo. Incensed to finish his letter, Mordecai carries on.

Please use some portion of it to relocate to more suitable living space, expeditiously. Purchase somewhere if you are able. The building is poorly ventilated, molded and unhealthful.

-M

Before he can sign his name, a thick drip of red falls to the crumpled page. The tuxedo pauses to stare at it, distracted brain struggling to comprehend what it is and where it might have come from, before a thick warmth oozing down his lip preludes an accompanying second drip of blood joining the first. Mordecai rubs at his snout with the back of a hand and pulling back, is greeted by a smear of red on dark fur. His own body betrays him, coating his only note paper in blood of all things, which he cannot send his mother lest she worry or ask questions of unsavoury people in the city.

“Damnit, damnit.” He rubs his nose roughly on his sleeve, inadvertently smearing the blood across his muzzle, before ripping the bottom of the letter away to remove both his blood and the laments regarding Mother’s current housing. Casting a glance over his shoulder as he crumples the soiled paper in hand, he spots Brady’s sour face immediately beside a man Mordecai recognises as Gabriel’s chauffeur. 

They don't meet his gaze, but Brady smirks for the briefest of moments, hand thumbing something in his pocket. Dark ears folding flat as time speeds past, the non-stop train journey to Missouri rapidly closing in on its, and his, inevitable end.

Fatigued adrenals activate a final time when he turns forward to find an unfamiliar man in a flat cap also observing him over the back of a seat. This man watches him openly, a lit cigarette dangling from thin lips and a brow quirked in a question the young tom cannot decipher. Noticing the three men briefly sucks the air out of the carriage, a suffocating sensation making it nigh impossible to draw breath.

Fear isn't an emotion Mordecai entertained often in recent years. He'd become as adept at masking that weakness of character as any other, sequestering it beneath a stony façade and severe tone most were themselves too intimidated by to query. In the face of death however, a young tuxedo cannot prevent bile churning in his stomach any more than the rapid jittering of his leg, an outlet for the intense anxiety created by knowing his time is running short.

Mordecai inhales and the spell is broken; the man in front turns away and lights a cigarette, the train still trundles along its track, rain beating mutedly against thick panes of glass. With a ragged exhale, he digs in an inside coat pocket for the blank envelope that so recently held a thick wad of cash and presses the folded letter to his mother inside. The sealing glue is bitter on a dry tongue, taste lingering as he scrawls her name and address on the front.

This very envelope previously had once contained a payout, monies accrued through sanctioned abuse, suffering bloodshed at his own hand. 

As a kitten, Mordecai was enraptured by fairytales not for their whimsy and wonder, but the dichotomy of good and evil so frequently portrayed. Black and white, heroes and villains, light and darkness. The concept had made perfect sense; that badness was as inherent to a soul as was blood to a paper cut, to know even as a child whether you were good or evil. It was a comfort in an otherwise difficult childhood to know he was good and that would never change. 

Joining the Savage Corporation had congealed bad and good into various shades of malignant gray. In order to benefit his family he was forced to entertain fixed odds, inflated prices, lying and stealing his way to middle management in an organisation with its very foundations rooted in moral debauchery. The kitten so sure of his integrity had become tainted by shadows and soon, was no better than those who now sought his death.  

All before one final, poorly conceived embezzlement endeavour had left Mordecai staring down the barrel of his own pistol. He grimaces, pencil stilled on the last digit of his family address, his grip on the shaft so tight his hand shakes. It's almost poetic that the former vessel of such funds should deliver his final words home but the prospect that money tainted by moral ambiguity required his untimely demise before Mother could discover and utilise the funds?

In hindsight, that is nothing short of zemblanity, but now is not the time for lamentation. The tuxedo tom tucks his pencil away safely and leaning forward, he speaks softly to the man sitting in the row in front of his own. “Excuse me,” Mordecai begins, then clears his throat softly to attract more attention. Though his eyes never leave his paper, the man’s head turns toward him, which is enough for the desperate tom. “You wouldn't happen to have a postage stamp, would you?”

“Sorry kid, I don't.” The man goes back to his paper without pause, leaving Mordecai to mumble half hearted thanks and lean back in his seat, ears flat to his skull and tail tucked beneath his legs. While the response is polite, it's useless; even if he manages to alight in St Louis and find a post office, he can't afford to buy a stamp with just a dime to his name. 

Resisting the urge to surrender to anxiety he casts his gaze around and spies a finely dressed woman reading, one seat back and across the middle aisle. Suppressing the growing anxiety in his chest as the train speeds towards its destination, Mordecai turns in his seat to try a more direct approach. “Pardon me, uh… perhaps I could impose on you to post a letter? I wouldn't ask a stranger, except that it’s-”

The carriage plunges into darkness as it enters a tunnel, a cavern of semicircular bricks and mortar that couples as an echo chamber, exponentially and rapidly increasing the thrumming of metal wheels on tracks. A clamber of engines and a heavy trundle of bolts and divots of very carriage pulled forthwith all join the cacophony of screeching couplings, rattling window panes and screeching horns that only grows by the second, a locomotive thundering through a wonder of modern architecture with all the disruption that seemingly accompanies industry.

With the accumulation of these sounds, the carriage interior almost becomes intolerable. Yet Mordecai does not notice intense auditory stimuli that would normally cause him great discomfort. Instead, the sight of a man standing in the aisle, a glimmer of something in his hand catching tunnel lighting as it flashes past, has his blood run cold. White fingers tighten on the pivotal envelope still in his grasp as desperation devolves into desolation, for as Close as he came to achieving his objective, this is where it must end.

The figure takes a step closer, the cover of darkness and intermittent flashing of passing lanterns keeping his identity shrouded in mystery. The glinting in the figure’s hand comes closer and the tuxedo flinches, eyes squeezing shut and head turning away. Final breath caught in his throat, he awaits an inevitable oblivion as overt peril draws his overwhelmed mind inwards, to a nauseatingly empty vacuum sans the rapid biological metronome drumming in his ears.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Chest burning with depleting oxygen, his body tense for anticipated pain, it takes until early morning light falls on his face as the train exits the tunnel for the tuxedo to date squint as his executioner. Mordecai is not met by the barrel of a gun however but rather, a visage he will remember for decades to come as a moment his life changed forever; a gray tabby with pure white across his muzzle, a glinting cane under one arm and a newspaper under the other, the pale tips of his fur illuminated like a beacon of hope by the sun’s tender morning rays.

While not a particularly spiritual man, Mordecai is captivated by the imagery even as the tabby takes a seat directly opposite, placing his newspaper down out of sight before resting his cane against a hand. Impeccably dressed; a sharp three piece of better quality than anything Mordecai could dream, fitted leather gloves and manicured whiskers, he's flawless even as he stoops to spark up a cigarette, a habit the tom holds with a deep level of scorn as a wasteful vice.

As if feeling the young tom's gaze upon, the man tilts his head to regard Mordecai in return. Despite his obviously ruffled appearance, this businessman looks upon him without distaste or irritation, but a curious interest. Dark ears turn forward as yellow eyes meet olive across the gangway, a long moment of mutual, silent study before the gentleman turns his gaze to the rolling Missouri fields outside.

Time speeds past and soon, the train is pulling into its final stop in St Louis, Missouri. Palms slick with a nervous sweat, Mordecai watches as the gray tabby stands and disembarks without a second glance, leaving the newspaper on his seat. Mordecai’s only respite is seeing the unfamiliar man in a flat cap at the front of the carriage follow, after briefly meeting his anxious gaze. Not another assassin then, but a concerned third party, or perhaps a bored traveler concocting gossip for his next tiresome meeting.

The relief is short lived, for when the well dressed woman also stands to depart, it leaves him alone with Brady and his chauffeur. The tuxedo feels his nerves fray as they stand, wordlessly reaching into their jackets, cold eyes and wicked smiles telling of their intentions. Breath so heavy yet fruitless, the young tom feels he might faint. He clutches onto the seat in front of him and murmurs a quiet plea to the God he’d lost faith in years prior. 

One last chance, that's all I ask. One more-

It's surely coincidence alone that he notices the glint across the aisle at that moment, a metallic shimmer catching the sun’s still virgin rays. Wide olives settle on the newspaper the gray tabby left behind and finally sees the gift wrapped within; a revolver with an ornate handle, ivory or bone to contrast a brown casing and the sleek sliver of a metallic barrel. A custom piece, one not left behind easily, and a clear direction for a lost kitten to take.

Mordecai dives across the center aisle just as a shot embeds in the seat in front of the one he'd occupied. He crouches between one bench seat and the backrest of the next as he retrieves the revolver, a heavier kind than he's used to. A swift check of the chamber to know precisely how many practice shots he has before he can't afford to miss - four shots, far more than necessary to recalibrate - and he's ready to take this final chance seriously.

With the swift mobility he's come to rely upon, the tuxedo rises, aims and fires at the chauffeur within a second and a half. As expected, his aim isn't sure with an unfamiliar weapon; a shot intended for the chest instead rips through the chauffeur’s left bicep. Mordecai ducks just as Brady curses and takes a shot, the bullet searing a path through air so close to his face, the tuxedo feels the heat of expulsion graze his face before the bullet embeds in the seat behind him.

The proximity doesn't phase Mordecai now he has a tool to wield. He takes a breath and makes a swift stab at ballistic trigonometry. Intersecting axes, angles and calculations overlays the memory of his failed shot behind sharp olive eyes until the basic math completed, Mordecai once again rises, aims according to estimated mathematical adjustments, and fires. This shot lands just shy of his intended mark, striking the chauffeur in the lower right lobe of his heart for a fast, fatal wound.

Blood blossoms on a white shirt as the strong scent of iron fills his nostrils. The man screams in terror, a gun clatters to the floor as shaking hands clutch at a punctured heart, desperate wails swiftly suffocated by blood rising up his esophagus. Brady hesitates, his gun raised but eyes averted to the chauffeur. It's all the time Mordecai needs to reload the chamber, adjust his aim and finish the job.

Only once Brady hits the floor beside his compadre does the world flood back into focus; screams and shouts echo beyond the train car, fluffy of shadows in all directions as panicked passengers scramble to flee the platform. A whistle screeches over the noise as calls for police cut through the chaos, orders for men to surround and search each carriage issued in short order. Mordecai has to get out of here, before he's apprehended holding the murder weapon in a strange city, with no papers or credentials.

Pocketing the ornate revolver, Mordecai skulks low between the seats to the rear exit, diligent as to not step in the rapidly widening pools of crimson around his former pursuers. Unseen from without as chaos unfolds, Mordecai unlatches the door and slips into the masses, joining civilians fleeing the gruesome scene of a double homicide that will make the papers in just a few hours. 

A Shadow in St Louis: Double Murderer Disappears Without Trace from Overnight from NYC!

[talonabraxas]

Pakal the Great: Governor, Time Traveler and Mayan Astronaut

The Palenque Astronaut Talon Abraxas

Pakal, the Mayan astronaut

The tombstone that covered Pakal's sarcophagus is the most important record of the discovery, for decades it has been the subject of debate between experts and amateurs who have more than 1 theory about it.

Taking into account what is known about the Mayan culture and the studies that experts have done over the years, the official interpretation of the tombstone is as follows:

Pakal is seated in the middle, as a young man in the center of the universe. Below him is Sak B'aak Naah or the first centipede of white bones, which represents the Mayan underworld: Xibalbá.

From Pakal's body emerges a tree, with a two-headed serpent intersecting, dividing the cosmos into its four regions.

Around the tree it's possible to see the faces of different deities that accompany him on his journey through the cosmos and right at the top of the tree, the god Itzamná can be seen represented as a quetzal.

The unofficial interpretation

However, there is another theory that Pakal is actually sitting in what appears to be a spaceship and that his hands are on the control board.

In addition, next to his nose it is possible to see an artifact that is probably a microphone or something that helps him breathe in space.

Beneath it, what would be the head of the centipede is actually a turbine from which fire comes out as it advances and which has the cosmos around it, precisely because it is traveling through space.

Although it is a rather unusual theory, there is not enough evidence to prove it correct or disprove it, but the vast majority of the scientific community has dismissed it as far-fetched.

On the other hand, it must not be forgetten that according to Mayan mythology, the gods came down from the heavens and taught them about mathematics, architecture, agriculture and technology.

Have they taught man to build machines to fly and perhaps travel through space?

[regexkind]

I think it would be fun to have little exercises in the theory of finite groups in newspapers. Not unsolved ones, not impossibly difficult ones, just little snacks. Like the sudoku of discrete mathematics¹.

Send me little exercises in the notes of this post if you like, and I'll respond to them.

¹If you clown on me by saying sudoku is discrete mathematics, you are (a) technically correct and (b) missing the point; I was once a mathematician by trade and now I'm an amateur, and I miss group theory in particular

[reactionimagesdaily]

[amateur image description: a gif of a confused shiba inu. in the foreground is floating mathematical graphs and formulas, sandwiches, and hotdogs.]

[sgiandubh]

The medium is the message

With a Droughtlander even more dry than we were used to, we still manage to get back to some inglorious basics. With even more drama and tattle - oh! - on the menu, I suppose this time it was my brain that refused somehow to process further details. And blissfully prompted me to a five-hour totally unplanned siesta: now my circadian rhythm is completely upside down - don't care.

In a nutshell: in these strange lands, no news is never good news, something I find extraordinary, to say the least. And if we have no news, we're making them, aren't we?

Digitalization and the omnipresence of Internet in our lives gave us a tremendous tool, readily available at the end of our fingertips. All it takes is a subscription and we're all turning, as by magic, into potential news outlets. As Spiderman once taught us, 'with great power comes great responsibility'. Something that should make us think twice. It doesn't always work. That is a shame.

That a very basic Internet basement troll suddenly proclaims and promotes herself as a celeb journo of sorts should be - and, thankfully, isn't - of no consequence to the world's balance. The fact that the crowd she attracts seems to live suspended to her every pronunciamiento is still as new and as mind-bogglingly pathetic to me as it was the very first time I saw it in print. With bias galore (I am being merciful, here) and no editorial policy whatsoever, other than me, me, me: look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair, she somehow managed to maintain, for a very long time, a relevant presence. Ozymandias she ain't, though. Her repertoire is very limited, yet perfectly calibrated to a thirsty, easily entertained and uneducated mob.

That a compact group of desperate housewives suddenly found a daily interest in bashing every breath and every move of a (let's be fair) lesser known male celeb is, yet again, a thing of wonder. This time, it's all about camaraderie and endless fun, without giving a hoot about consequences. 'We keep it to ourselves'. I am rolling my eyes very hard at you, here: no, you don't, while knowing perfectly well it is taken into account by someone, somewhere. All you want is to find power in numbers, and when you fail to do so, you double down on vulgarity and silliness.

That an arrogant dimwit walks down the pixelated avenidas of these lands, asking the same question over and over and over again, simply makes me laugh and ask her (over and over and over again) in return: and you're still as stupid today as yesterday, right? But compared to the above, this is light (and poor) entertainment.

By now, I took the whole grand tour and sometimes I wonder what the hell I am doing here and why I am still around. In my world, such people exist (pretending the contrary would be a pious lie), but they come in more sophisticated and articulate varieties. These? Pfff, seriously? Amateur league.

If this was only about mathematically determining, with infinitesimal accuracy, if Desi loves Lucy and more, this whole hullaballoo would have been over for a long while, once the people here made up their minds one way or another. I know that. You know that. TPTB know that. Desi knows that, bless his heart. Lucy knows that (yes, even remote, dignified Lucy). With the talk of the town over, our virtual drones would patrol a consensual landscape of fanfic and biblical exegesis of Herself's voluminous (some would add cumbersome, oh the blasphemy!) body of work, with the gifted, very gifted sketch and the docile distribution of press releases thrown in the mix for good measure.

It's more than that and you all know it. As for me, I am here to bring some sanity, a sprinkle of empathy and that different angle this place missed.

Count on that. I am not going anywhere. Let me be the fly in your ointment. But be assured: never without good reason.

[transmutationisms]

i know you've talked about astrology but do you have any thoughts on astronomy? do you have any interest in it?

so a fun fact about me is i wanted to become an astrophysicist for a while before i discovered the physics gre subject test, the stem phd -> military industrial pipeline, and the existence of people who study the history and philosophy of science rather than perform the science itself lol. anyway i don't really have the mathematical proficiency atp but yeah i do have a passing amateur interest in astronomy. also i don't specialise in astronomy or astrology but i do deal with them in my work because they come up in a lot of climatic medical theories and overlap with each other pretty heavily

[jaspermorgan]

Jasper William Morgan (born 12 June 1970) is a British-American hotelier, businessman, and former actor. He is best known for his portrayals of Liam in the 1997 film Dark Skies, of Sebastian Harewood in the 1995 television miniseries The Outcast, and of Daniel Austin in the critically acclaimed 2009 detective noir film A Conflict of Shadows, for which he earned an Academy Award. He also received a Tony for his role in The Lights of Love (2003).

▲ Early Life and Family

Morgan was born in Mayfair, London to parents Alexander Morgan, the UK's financial secretary to the treasury, and Jillian Morgan (née Spencer), who was the Dean of the University of Central London. He is an only child.

Morgan's paternal grandfather, Sir Ambrose Collins Morgan, was a decorated Royal Navy Admiral, and his great-grandfather, Professor Nathaniel Morgan, was an acclaimed neurosurgeon and neurosurgery researcher who taught at Oxford University. His maternal grandfather, Phillip Spencer, was an investment banker and his wife, Augusta Spencer (née Clairmont), was an oil painter and sculptor.

He spent the majority of his childhood in the care of his maternal grandparents and it was his grandfather, who Morgan cites as being a major influence in pursuing acting as a career as they often watched classics together. His favourite films growing up were The General (1926), Casablanca (1942), and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961), and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). His parents wanted him to follow their footsteps into government or education or even to become a doctor, but Morgan was always adamant about wanting to be an actor. Eventually he was allowed to enrol in a local drama club where he built up his confidence and started to gain some experience in amateur dramatics.

His education was spent in private London schools, which Morgan doesn't credit as having any significant impact on him at all. He has said that there was always more of a focus on mathematics, science, and competitive sports rather than any of the arts and often felt very much an outsider from the rest of his classmates. However, he managed to encourage his secondary school headmaster to put on a rendition of Macbeth for pupils and parents, which was met with praise.

At the age of 18, Morgan attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His parents helped to pay for the majority of his tuition, but only agreed to do so if Morgan got himself a part-time job to pay for the rest. He ended up at the at the Mornington Hotel near Regent's Park where he first worked the reception nightshift before transferring to waiting tables and later becoming the restaurant manager. He gave up the job once he signed on to The Outcast.

▲ Career

After appearing as an extra in several British television shows throughout 1993, Morgan portrayed Sam Woodbury in the short-lived London West End play One More Night, and then as the younger version of Eric Radcliffe Reid’s character Wilson in the short film Whirlwind, Morgan landed his breakthrough role in the 1995 miniseries The Outcast, playing the lead character Sebastian Harewood: a young upper class gentleman who is disowned by his wealthy father and is forced to make his own way in the world. The show’s director Kathryn Liu states that she ‘took a risk when casting Morgan, not knowing if an inexperienced actor would be able to handle a complicated filming schedule’, but later admitted that "he was perfect for the role and absolutely smashed it’ and ‘his inexperience as an actor even benefited him greatly in that his naivety transferred well into Sebastian’s own". Morgan and Liu later went on to work together on the 2013 action film Highwire.

Morgan was then quickly cast in the 1997 psychological thriller Dark Skies, which was filmed in his hometown of London. His role as the protagonist Liam, a recluse with a vendetta against the world who is also trying to maintain an equilibrium within the relationship he has with his overbearing girlfriend, gained him international recognition. Variety praised Morgan’s performance, writing: “it’s hard to tell that he has very little professional acting experience when watching him portray Liam. Morgan perfectly encapsulates his character’s life of hatred and from his very first moment on screen you’re simultaneously sympathetic and agitated, wanting him to improve his situation and yet also completely understanding why he is the way he is”. He was nominated for a BAFTA for this role and was the catalyst to his career.

When the filming of Dark Skies concluded, Morgan went to work in New York City after landing an off-Broadway role in Impolite Society (1998), which ran between 15 January and 12 March. Whilst his role was small, he was popular with audiences and it gave him the confidence to continue pursuing his career on the stage. Morgan told the American Theatre Magazine: "Theatre was always the most formidable area of acting for me. Doing a play at school was immensely different to doing one on a stage in front of almost 500 people in New York City. Whilst my first show in London played to more people than Impolite Society did, it felt far more daunting this time, strangely enough, and to be performing in front of an American audience was certainly surreal and incredibly special. I'd dreamed of that as a young boy and to have that dream come true is a huge ego boost". It was following this success that Morgan permanently moved to Manhattan.

Between 1999 and 2004, Morgan played Dr Reginald 'Reggie' Keller, a paediatrician and the younger brother of Dr Carolyn Keller (Erin Hardy) in the long-running medical drama series Heartlines, filming the majority of his later episodes in blocks so he could star in other projects (namely the 2002 film Unity and the 2003 theatre production The Lights of Love). During an interview for The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, Morgan said: "this period of my career was easily the most challenging I had done up to that point. Simultaneously acting in 27 episodes of a TV show and a film whilst also preparing to take on a Broadway role wasn't the smartest decision I had ever made, but it was one that allowed me to push myself to my limits and see what I could do under such immense pressure. My hard work certainly paid off; the honour of receiving a Tony award at the end of it all came as a wonderful surprise. However, I wouldn't recommend that kind of schedule for any actor, no matter their age or prowess."

In 2006, Morgan took on his only voice role in animated adventure Nightwalker, alongside Ricky Santos and Florence Martin-May, in which he played a crow named Merrick. He stated that he “wished to have taken on more voice acting in [his] career, but it was, unfortunately, never meant to be”. Directors Julia McGregor and Imaan Bashar had bronze statues made of the animal characters to give to their respective voice actors once filming commenced and Morgan is known to keep his in the office of his hotel.

Morgan spent most of 2007 on hiatus. He spent time out from acting in London as well as in Scotland, Tuscany, Munich, and Hawaii. During his time in London, he returned to his alma mater to give talks and acting classes to drama students; he was almost persuaded into becoming an acting coach, but turned it down to the fact he didn't believe he "had enough viable experience" at the time. It was in August 2007 that Morgan began to partake in philanthropic work, which he said he wished he could have began sooner, and was introduced to the Brave Youth Theatre Charity by friend and fellow actor Cecilia Crane, of which he is still a patron.

In 2008, he took a small role in the miniseries Small Mercies, appearing in three of the five episodes, in which he played Louis Graves, the father of the main character Serena Graves (Lily Richardson-Gill). Filming took place in Seattle, Washington, between April and September, with the show airing on New Years Day 2009. A second series had been proposed, but was ultimately scrapped.

His next appearance was in A Conflict of Shadows (2009), noted internationally for being his greatest performance. Morgan portrayed Daniel Austin- a corrupt police detective working for the NYPD in 1917- who slowly loses his sanity over the course of the film. On his role, Morgan commented: "Playing Daniel was like playing several different people. Each scene he was in was slightly different in terms of his speech and body language and to maintain those distinctions consistently was tough, but he was an incredibly entertaining character to play. I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to play him again if a sequel ever came into fruition." Audiences and critics raved about the film as a whole and of Morgan's performance, Edward Quartermain wrote: "he can express so much by one simple glance and it can be such a powerful gesture, especially to reflect the torment and gradual change in Daniel's internal world as he actively shuts out reality. The range that Morgan presents, from subtle finger switches to full-blown fiery rage, proves he is a formidable actor and one that will continue to both impress and surprise audiences around the world". The film eventually earned more than $1 billion worldwide and went on to win five Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Costume Design) as well as numerous other awards (see here) and several other nominations (see here).

Morgan appeared in his fourth and final stage production, Heart of Steel, in 2011, in which he played Charlie Steel: a down-on-his-luck English man in New York City whose cold heart slowly starts to melt when he inadvertently befriends a lost, yet perpetually optimistic 12 year old boy named Ben (Samuel DeWitt). He was highly praised, with critic Laura Pryce saying: “his performance is captivating and deeply moving, a real intriguing insight into how a troubled man's life is a constant battle and can be suddenly transformed into a different kind of battle with something now worth fighting for. His chemistry with DeWitt is also exceptionally joyful to watch- a real bond was formed between both characters and actors”.

In 2012, Morgan starred as the lead in the critically acclaimed miniseries Snowfall. He played Archer Ellison- the mayor of a small Alaskan town that, blanketed by the perpetual darkness of winter, is being haunted by a supernatural force that brought despair and destruction to the residents. Talking to Variety, he said: "Snowfall was one of my more interesting and fun projects, even with the harsh filming conditions when on location. From the moment I read the script I knew I had to be a part of the show. The only disappointing thing for me was that it was only six episodes!" Morgan was also a producer for the show, the opportunity coming from the fact that original producers couldn't afford the full desired funding and Morgan offered to pay the remainder out of his own pocket. "They had a crystal clear vision for what they wanted out of the story," Morgan added, "and without the extra funding the show would have had to have been filmed on a soundstage in hot Los Angeles instead of in Alaska itself. The aesthetic of the setting is paramount to Snowfall; it wouldn't have had anywhere near the kind of chilling impact on audiences if they could clearly see the snow and backdrops were fake and digitally added in. Nobody can fully immerse themselves in a story when the details aren't all there. I was passionate about the story and knew that audiences would be just as enthusiastic as the creators were, so being able to help in adding to the budget was the least I could do. It was a high honour to be starring in the show, let alone being able to produce it".

In 2013, Morgan starred in Highwire, alongside Nina Fischer, who he previously worked with in Unity. The film was almost never made, however. Writers Dashiell McCormack and Kyle Draper wanted Kathryn Liu to direct after the first director, Jeri Schulz, dropped out last minute for personal reasons, but she initially turned down the opportunity. Despite the producers pushing to begin filming, McCormack and Draper refused to go ahead without Liu. It was Morgan, who was in the final stages of negotiations to star in the film and is a close friend of Liu's, that persuaded her to direct. After almost 8 months of filming, Highwire was released on became a success, both commercially and with audiences, earning more than $130 million worldwide, making it the biggest success of Liu's career. After the success of the opening weekend, Fischer claimed that Morgan had the rejection letter that Liu sent to McCormack and Draper framed and gifted it back to her. Liu herself later confirmed this and stated that along with the letter Morgan included a handwritten note that read: 'Dear Kat, I'm glad you took a chance on yourself and the film, like you did with me in 1995. Be brave and never doubt yourself. Love, J'.

Morgan’s final film role was in the 2015 fantasy epic Tyrant, in which he played the eponymous tyrannical ruler Lord Reynard. Filming began in early 2014 and was split between Scotland, Ireland, and Canada. He has cited that the film was his ‘most taxing’ and that ‘the villains are always the most entertaining to portray and wished I had the chance to take on that role more’. Tyrant's director Simon Leyland has often been cited to be difficult to work with due to his perfectionist directing style and long shooting periods and in an interview Morgan told The Hollywood Reporter that: "Even though Simon was determined to make a perfect fantasy film- and, in my opinion, he came rather close- the filming schedule and conditions were harsh and his criticisms only made things worse. I had a few squabbles with him on set, nothing more than minor creative differences that were eventually resolved, but sometimes had to play mediator between him and some of the crew members and actors. I was surprised I wasn't fired and replaced". He then went on to add: "Despite everything, the concept of the film was fun to play along with and being an unhinged ruler of a kingdom, shouting orders and laughing maniacally, was quite cathartic. It's an experience I'll never forget and I'm glad my acting career could end on a high". Morgan's performance also earned him a Critics’ Choice Award.

▲ Personal Life

Morgan is a trained pianist and has been playing for 45 years. It was his mother's idea to enlist him for lessons and did so from the age of 7. Morgan’s skills can be seen in the films Unity, A Conflict of Shadows, and Highwire. He has also played the piano at many charity galas, mainly focusing on charities that helped children and young adults with their literacy and that encouraged them to join in with the youth theatre. He was known for playing classical pieces as well as popular songs from film and television. Despite no longer attending these events, having stopped in 2016, just after he retired, Morgan still donates to the same charities.

Morgan is also talented in close-up magic, a skill that was introduced to him by RADA classmate Marcus Creaghan, and he would later perform these tricks for interviewers at award shows and at charity galas he attended. Morgan is also a self-professed impressionist, having learned by repeatedly watching specific film scenes and mimicking tone and inflections from a young age. He is known to do uncanny impressions of actors such as Al Pacino, Jeremy Irons, James Stewart, Liam Neeson, and Christopher Walken, amongst many others, having shown them off on the first season of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Graham Norton Show.

From January to July 1997, Morgan was in a relationship with actress Natalia Sinclair. Their relationship was initially private for the first two months as they began to film Dark Skies together, but soon became public after they were seen together outside of filming in Hyde Park. Although Morgan has always refused to talk about the subject, several reports were made that their time together was ‘heated, passionate at first’ but then ���rapidly developed into something toxic’. He has also refused to comment on Sinclair's untimely death, too, only stating in an Instagram post in April 2024: “…I still respect her greatly, as a person and as an actor, and that she deserved better, both from her short life and from myself”.

After selling his home in London, he moved to an apartment in Manhattan, New York City, which he bought from an undisclosed NBL player in 1998 and stayed there until his retirement. It is a well known fact that Morgan loves parties and over the years, his apartment has been the setting of many personal social events and charity events, even hosting an array of celebrities, including Lillian Grace Bower, David Solis, and Ethel Ajibola.

In 2004, Morgan officially became an American citizen whilst also retaining his British nationality. He has stated that ‘even though I have lived in the United States longer than I have lived in London, I will always consider myself British first and foremost’.

He has never married, but dated English actress Hattie Radford-Lowell between 2001 and 2004, American actress and singer Twyla Blake between 2006 and 2010, and briefly dated American author Summer Aston during 2013. He also dated English actress Arabella Woods whilst they were both studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He remains friends with Blake and is also close friends with A Conflict of Shadows director Colton Hensley, whose youngest son Morgan is godfather to.

Just weeks after the release of Morgan's final film, Tyrant, he hosted the 87th Academy Awards where he announced his retirement from acting. The announcement was met with a mixture of high praise of a prosperous career and disappointment from both fans and critics, many noting that they had been looking forward to seeing more of Morgan in theatre productions and speculating that he would even progress onto directing. In July 2015, he moved to Aurora Bay, California, where Of Fire and Stars was partly filmed and where he bought the Seascape Hotel from a local resident. He spent almost 2 years renovating and restoring it, with the funds coming from his own pocket, before reopening it as a luxury hotel that draws in guests from all over the world. Morgan still performs acting and music often on the stage of the hotel’s lounge & bar and takes a very active role in the day-to-day running of the Seascape.

▲ Filmography

► Film

• Whirlwind (1994) as young Wilson (short film)

• Dark Skies (1997) as Liam

• Of Fire and Stars (1998) as Ashford Roy

• Unity (2002) as Dr Quentin Horrocks

• Nightwalker (2006) as Merrick (voice role)

• A Conflict of Shadows (2009) as Daniel Austin

• Highwire (2013) as Ethan Maythorn

• Tyrant (2015) as Lord Reynard

► Television

• The Outcast (1995) as Sebastian Harewood (8 episodes)

• Heartlines (1999-2004) as Dr Reginald 'Reggie' Keller (27 episodes)

• Small Mercies (2008) as Louis Graves (3 episodes)

• The Graham Norton Show (2009) as Himself/Guest

• 82nd Academy Awards (2010) as Himself/Host

• Snowfall (2012) as Archer Ellison (6 episodes) ; also producer

• The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon (2014) as Himself/Guest

• 87th Academy Awards (2015) as Himself/Host

► Theatre

• One More Night (1994) as Sam Woodbury (Ambassadors Theatre)

• Impolite Society (1998) as Nik (Astor Place Theatre)

• The Lights of Love (2003) as Elliott Bird (Broadway Theatre)

• Heart of Steel (2011) as Charlie Steel (Gershwin Theatre)

▲ List of Awards and Nominations received by Jasper Morgan

• British Academy Television Award for Best Actor: Sebastian Harewood in The Outcast (1995) – won

• British Academy Television Award for Best Actor: Liam in Dark Skies (1997) – nominated

• Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor: Dr Quentin Horrocks in Unity (2002) – nominated

• Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play: Elliott Bird in The Lights of Love (2003) – won

• Academy Award for Best Actor: Daniel Austin in A Conflict of Shadows (2009) – won

• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Daniel Austin in A Conflict of Shadows (2009) – won

• Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor: Archer Ellison in Snowfall (2012) – nominated

• Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play: Charlie Steel in Heart of Steel (2011) – nominated

• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture: Ethan Maythorn in Highwire (2013) – nominated

• Critics’ Choice Award for Best Actor: Lord Reynard in Tyrant (2015) – won

[jell0buss-37]

Could I ask for a peter b parker x black!fem!reader where maybe Y/N is the prowler in Peter's dimension and he's friends with her and then he finds out she's the prowler (and perhaps she also finds out he's spiderman 👁👁) and he tries to talk to her

If you don't like the prowler idea Y/N can just be any Villian :))

(This is kinda angsty I'm sorry 😭)

I love this idea! I think it'd be interesting if they were more rivals to begin with and had started to slowly grown closer. And as their super-sonas, they'd always have more playful banter. I also thought it'd be interesting if the reader and him started working together on certain cases and such! I'm writing this while waiting for my tires to get looked at, and this gave me a lot of ideas. I hope you like them!

He is so goofy I love him <3

You two had known eachother since high school

Neither of you were exactly over achievers whenever it came to academics, but boy were you guys competitive

Nothing really interesting either of you unless one of you were suddenly better than the other at it

Mathematics? You only took AP to spite him

English Language Arts? He yoinked that from you by winning multiple prizes for his short stories.

You were in Theatre, Art, and Auto shop, while he took over Orchestra, Band, and Culinary

Once the two of you graduated, you thought all of this feuding would finally be over

You and your sister lived together and took care of her son, your sister being a cop. She met her husband in the academy, and went on to join the army

You had your nephew, Miles, who was only 2 at this time

You'd spend many nights taking care of him

He was your favorite little dude

Eventually, times started getting tough, Your brother in law going MIA

He was presumed dead

You had worked at your dad's mechanic shop when you got the news

You were quickly by your sisters side

You had moved in by the end of the month

About a year later, you still worked as a mechanic, however due to how tight money was getting, and Miles getting older, you had to take on another job

You met this guy, a doctor at the University

He took you under his wing, and taught you all about robotics

Soon you became the prowler

You'd get these shady deals to do some crimes, smuggling certain weapons, handling affairs with shady politicians

You weren't proud of it, but it kept the cash flow steady.

You soon we're able to move your older sister and your nephew into a nicer neighborhood in Queens, nothing much but a good apartment with a good daycare down the road for Miles

You didn't, however, count on your new neighbors

"(Y/n)??"

You froze in the door to your new apartment

"Peter..."

It was awkward at first, and so you both held this silent agreement that you just wouldn't talk to eachother

Until your sister invited him to dinner

It was... Awkward

At first

Soon you guys were talking about old times, realizing how stupid it was to be feuding in the first place

And soon it's as if you never even hated eachother

He thought it was cool that you were a mechanic now, admitting he actually knows more about cars because of you in high school

He was very sympathetic to your sister and the loss of her husband, even offering to watch Miles every now and then if you guys needed

He was quick to become a family friend, coming over almost every Sunday now

How you two had met as the prowler and spiderman was a different story, however

You had been stealing out a large corporate bank, your Intel being to take a certain actors bank deposit

However, things were quick to go tits up

It appears that some other guys had the idea to rob that bank as well

Just a bunch of guys wearing Halloween masks

Amateurs.

You were quick to crash into the scene, finding them threatening bystanders and taking hostages

Amateurs.

Suddenly, a certain hero had also crashed into the scene, to find you beating up and knocking out a couple of the crooks, sending away the hostages

He was surprised, unsure if you were friend or foe

Either or, he helped you handle the guys

The two of you worked pretty good together, making a pretty decent team

It seemed you were a friend!

Until you went and just grabbed the bank statements, knocking Spiderman out of the building with an explosive you had planted

Okay, you were a foe.

You were gone before he could even collect himself

These little interactions would continue, him always joking and making smartass comments and remarks, you only staying silent

Although he was pretty amusing

Meanwhile, in your civilian lives, things seemed to be going pretty great

In fact, it appears that something more seemed to be going on between the two of you

It starts turning into more one night, when you come home early from a day at your auto shop, finding Peter watching a movie with Miles and eating some snacks

"Hey! Look Miles, your Auntie is back from being a grease monkey!" "Hey, look Miles, Uncle Peter is always a monkey!"

Miles loves you both so much, and was really excited to be tucked in and read a bedtime story to by you guys

You sang his favorite little song to him, the ABCs (don't ask, it's what my mom sang to me as a kid), and finishing it off with My Little Sunshine

Peter watches from the doorway, staring almost dreamily at you while you comfort the little guy

You close the door lightly, standing outside his door with Peter, the two of you joking with eachother for a bit

Eventually, it's about time he heads out, and you walk him out to see him off

He seems to be contemplating something in his head, and he suddenly turns around to ask you something

But you're right in front of him already, your noses bumping a bit, causing your breath to hitch a bit

"Hah, u-uh, I was just thinking, there's that new movie coming out soon, and-"

Your lips are suddenly on his, a light peck to his own

You pull back with a smile, laughing at his dazed expression

"... So is that a yes? Or-" "Yes, Peter."

You two start dating soon after, finding that the times spent together are so much funner whenever you guys aren't fighting

You were worried at first, due to you having to disappear every now and then because of your Prowler duties, and you were worried he would start questioning you

However, Pete was also worried about the same thing

You two didn't even notice that you guys would disappear every now and then to lead your double lives

It wasn't until about 6 months into you guys dating, when you both had come home around the same time covered in bruises and scratches from your previous excursion together

Peter was so worried, asking a thousand questions a minute

Meanwhile he had a black eye himself, and you two were freaking out at the same time

You both had came up with your own excuses

However, you guys started becoming distant since that event, both of you scared at what would happen if your lives got mixed up in eachothers

The break-up was inevitable at that point

You guys avoided eachother for a month, both as your alter egos and as yourselves

You guys were both obviously hurt from this

You had even started to question your work as the Prowler. You decided to put an end to being the Prowler. You were gonna get your Peter back

You were on the way to see the Doc, to give him his things back, a text sent to Peter telling him to meet up

When suddenly there was a collapse on the bridge, and you see spiderman fighting the very same doctor that you were on your way to see

Except now he had... 8 robot arms???

You were quick to suit up, helping out the vigilante that had become your friend

You help anyone that needs it, and even jump in to help Spidy

You both eventually defeat Doc Ock, and your by his side when he's stopping the bridge from completely collapsing

He gets hit with some falling debris, and he's knocked out, along with his mask

You're quick to go and catch him before he falls into the water below you

You get him to a safe place, only to find-

"PETER!??"

You were quick to rip off your own mask, trying to shake him awake

When he comes to, he sees your tearstained face looking down at him

"Hey pretty Lady... I was actually just on my way to see ya!"

He panics when he realized he was in his spidersuit, but you were quick to calm him down

He was... Shocked to find out that his "favorite colleague" was his girlfriend the entire time

"This is great! Now we can be the ultimate smoke show power couple!!"

Yeah, things were going to be great

[spacenutspod]

Flight Engineer Joe Acaba holds a children’s book that he is reading from as part of the Story Time From Space program. Astronauts read aloud from a STEM-related children’s book while being videotaped and demonstrate simple science concepts and experiments aboard the International Space Station. Stories open up new worlds and spark curiosity in readers of all ages – and NASA is using the power of storytelling to encourage the Artemis Generation to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Through the below list of reading resources – books, comics, and graphic novels written and illustrated by NASA experts, and video read-alongs by astronauts – students will find themselves exploring the Moon, piloting a cutting-edge aircraft, searching for life among the stars, and more. Come along with NASA on a journey of discovery! Story Time With NASA Astronauts (Grades Pre-K to 4) Take your reading adventure out of this world! In this video playlist, astronauts read storybooks aloud from aboard the International Space Station and other locations around NASA. Kids Club Picture Show (Grades Pre-K to 4) View cool pictures from NASA missions and more! This curated collection of fascinating photos introduces young explorers to a variety of topics across NASA. Each photo includes a short description with the option to hear it read aloud. Astro-Not-Yet Storybooks (Grades K-4) These storybooks follow along as an ambitious classroom of students learn about the International Space Station, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and important STEM concepts such as microgravity and sound waves. The books are available in English and Spanish. The Adventures of Kennedy and Duke Storybook (Grades K-4) This book follows the experiences of Kennedy, a fictional young girl who discovers an amateur radio during a visit to her grandfather’s farm. While learning to use the radio, she communicates with Duke, an astronaut living and working aboard the International Space Station. Also available in Spanish. You Are Going, illustrated by former NASA intern Shane Tolentino, shares a glimpse into future Artemis missions. You Are Going (Grades K-4 and 5-8) Through “You Are Going,” readers get a glimpse into NASA’s Artemis campaign. Learn about NASA’s powerful megarocket, the SLS (Space Launch System), as well as the Orion spacecraft, the Gateway, and other important elements that will help make these pioneering flights possible. Also available in Spanish and French. Hooray For SLS (Grades K-4) NASA is working to send humans back to the Moon to live, learn, and explore through the Artemis campaign – and as members of the Artemis Generation, today’s students are invited to be part of the story. “Hooray for SLS!” is the first in a series of children’s books introducing young explorers ages 3 to 8 to the SLS rocket and other components of the Artemis missions. The Adventures of Commander Moonikin Campos and Friends Comics (Grades K-4 and 5-8) Although no astronauts flew around the Moon on the Artemis I mission, the mission included a crew of manikins – Commander Moonikin Campos and two identical manikin torsos – outfitted with sensors to capture data during the flight. This webcomic explains what the manikins experienced on the Artemis I mission around the Moon. Also available in Spanish. During World War II the United States Army Air Corps created the first fighter squadron in its history made up of Black military pilots. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen. Their success in war overseas, and challenges faced at home, helped light the path toward equal rights for all. Aeronautics Leveled Readers (Grades K-4, 5-8, and 9-12) The history of American aviation comes to life through these stories written at elementary, middle school, and high school levels. Students will read about important figures in aviation such as Amelia Earhart and the Tuskegee Airmen, as well as mini biographies of NASA employees Danielle Koch, Maria Cabellero, and Red Jensen. Ruby Flottum reads the first issue of NASA’s “First Woman” graphic novel, entitled “Dream to Reality,” on Monday, July 25, 2022 at AirVenture at Oshkosh. First Woman Graphic Novels (Grades 5-8, 9-12, and Higher Education) This graphic novel series takes readers into the world of fictional astronaut Callie Rodriguez, the first woman to explore the Moon. Build on the story’s lessons with the accompanying hands-on activities and videos designed for use in K-12 informal education settings. Also available in Spanish. Astrobiology Graphic Novels (Grades 5-12) Produced within NASA’s Astrobiology Program, “Astrobiology” is a graphic novel series that explores the many facets of astrobiology: the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. Some novels are also available in Japanese, Korean, or Spanish editions.  Explore Further There’s more to explore! Check out NASA’s STEM Search for additional resources for each grade level, including hands-on activities, games, educator guides, and more. Visit NASA’s Learning Resources for the latest news and resources from the agency’s Office of STEM Engagement. Keep Exploring Discover More STEM Topics From NASA Outside the Classroom For Educators For Kids and Students NASA EXPRESS Newsletter Sign-up

[dustedmagazine]

Neutrals — New Town Dream (Slumberland/Static Shock)

Photo by Kelly Sullivan

Neutrals are a San Francisco-based band but you wouldn’t know it by listening. The singer, Allan McNaughton, has a knotty Scottish burr, even now, years on from relocating to the Bay Area. Musically, he and his bandmates — Lauren Matsui on bass and Phillip Lantz on drums — favors a kicky, catchy, bash-and-pop variety of post-punk that has more than a whiff of the Television Personalities in it.

New Town Dream is a bit of a concept album, referring in multiple places to the Pollok Free State protests of the early 1990s, where residents banded together to stop the construction of a highway through their beloved park in the suburbs of Glasgow. For two years, people lived in makeshift shelters in the park, cooking communally, making music and developing strong bonds with one another.  Some even took up residence in the trees themselves. The protests were ultimately unsuccessful, and the highway was built.  “Stop the Bypass,” one of the disc’s most raucous tunes, includes a chant from the protests; “The Iron that Never Swung” seems related, too, mourning a golf course promised but never delivered. Sings McNaughton, “All the effort was in vain/we lost our land to eminent domain/where there should be a fairway, the council put a new motorway.”

Indeed, if there’s a running thread through New Town Dream, it’s the gap between idealism and what actually happens once money and politics and other real-world factors come into play. “New Town Dream (Version)” is an altered version of a song from the Bus Stop Nights EP in 2022. Dusted’s Jonathan singled it out, writing, “Musically the guitar tone takes on a razoring, quixotic quality, most urgently on “New Town Dream” and its 107 seconds of keening post punk. A little more dissonant and it could be a Swell Maps tune, tucked in among that run of short songs that opens A Trip to Marineville.”  Here it runs closer to Gang of Four with its melodica and dub bass, but it slips in some extended retro-futurist spoken word about planned communities. An educational voice making the case for planned communities outside of city centers, including shops, banks, homes and, critically, green space, as an antidote to what, “people rightly deplore in this country [which] could be called a yob culture.”  The kicker is, of course, that the minute city planners need that land for something else, poof, it’s gone.

Not all the songs stick to this broad topic, and indeed, a couple of the best are less didactic. “That’s Him on the Daft Stuff Again” is pure C-86-ish bliss, full of joy and melancholy in equal measure. McNaughton sings in a half-chant, a twist of melody under a rain of mordant words and very like the Television Personalities’ Dan Treacy. The resembles continues through the instruments, all a bounding bass and chiming, rainbow-splintering guitar chords and bumptious, disruptive drumming.

“Substitute Teacher,” slashes a little more sharply, its jutting, off-kilter guitar work sharing near equal billing with the growl of bass. The “s-s-substitute” stutter nods to the Who, the lyrics are closer to the Kinks’ lyrical wordplay. The kids may have written him off before he finishes writing his name on the board, but a distinct, individual person comes to life in a few lines: “He’s got a passion for mathematics/after work he’s into amateur dramatics/you may have seen him in a Death of a Salesman, you may have seen him in Pirates of Penzance/he was a triumph in the Scottish play/he’s only here for a day.”

All of which put Neutrals in the very top tier of jangling, hyper-articulate pop-punk bands, alongside Ducks Ltd., Reds, Pinks and Purples and the Infinites. There’s really nothing neutral about them.

Jennifer Kelly

[scotianostra]

On March 12th 1881 Andrew Watson made his Scotland debut as the world’s first black international football player and captain.

It’s not often I venture into the world of football but this is quite a historical event, not only was he the first Black footballer to captain Scotland, but the first one in International football, although there were very few international teams at this time it is still a major event in my humble opinion, this would actually make him the first Black footballer to play international football, the firsts will continue as the post does…..

Andrew Watson was born in May 24th 1857, Demerara, British Guiana, the son of a wealthy Scottish sugar planter Peter Miller and a local girl Rose Watson. At the age of 14, he was schooled at the exclusive King’s College London, where school records show he excelled at sports including football. He later studied philosophy, mathematics and engineering at University of Glasgow when he was 19, where his natural love of football blossomed.

After first playing for Maxwell F.C., in 1876 he signed for local side Parkgrove F.C. where he was additionally their match secretary, making Watson football’s first black administrator. After marrying in Glasgow, he soon signed for Queen’s Park F.C. – then Britain’s biggest football team – and later became their secretary. He led the team to several Scottish Cup wins, thus becoming the first black player to win a major competition.

Soon Watson won three international caps for Scotland including captaining them to a 6-1 victory against England on March 12, 1881

In 1882, he moved south and became the first black player to play in the English FA Cup when he turned out for London Swifts F.C. In 1884 he was the first foreign player to be invited to join the most exclusive of football teams, a team that only allowed only 50 members of the high elite to join – Corinthians F.C. – created to challenge the supremacy of Queen’s Park and the Scottish national side.

It had been maintained that the first black footballer was Arthur Wharton, until it was only recently noted that Watson pre-dates him by 11 years.

One reason is that when historians consider black footballers, they tend to concentrate on professionals and not amateurs such as Watson. Another is that there are no known written records or match reports that mention the colour of Watson’s skin. One match report is more interested in that Watson played in unusual brown boots rather than the customary black boots of that time.

The colour of his skin was of no significance to his peers and there is no historical record of racism on the part of the Scottish Football Association. As written in the minutes, before one match where Watson was injured and unable to play, an SFA vice-president said if Watson had been fit he would have happily drugged a fellow Scottish international to give Watson his place.

Scottish Football Association Annual of 1880-81 reads…..

“Watson, Andrew: One of the very best backs we have; since joining Queen’s Park has made rapid strides to the front as a player; has great speed and tackles splendidly; powerful and sure kick; well worthy of a place in any representative team.”

There is almost no record of his later life; however, it is known that Watson later emigrated to Australia, he later retired to London in around 1910 and died of pneumonia at 88 Forest Road, Kew, in 1921. He is buried in Richmond Cemetery.

Pics are a mural on the side of Jodandys café in Shawlands, Glasgow, and another at the 1st Hampden Park.

[cadmusfly]

Fine, I’m annoyed. I’ve put ai discourse on a blocklist because I’m so fed up with the discourse, but someone I followed reblogged a image of a Facebook post saying “AI art is about avoiding making art” and they didn’t even fucking tag it so I’m going to vent

I draw, I write, I play, I craft, I sew, and yes, I generate because I enjoy making things in many mediums. I will not stop playing and exploring in different mediums because that’s the joy I get from it. I am always doing shit because I like doing shit.

My drawings are amateur, my writing is unrefined, my sewing is bad and I broke a 30 year old sewing machine needle the other day somehow, my AI art I don’t bother fixing the mistakes and edges a lot of the time because I enjoy the surreal chaos and strangeness of mathematically applied dreams

And all of that doesn’t matter about AI. I have spent hours training my own AI models off my own writing but that doesn’t make me any better than someone who is messing around. I actually spend less time on many of my completely manual digital drawings than when I was fixing and post processing AI stuff.

I don’t do as much AI at the moment because I’m having fun doing other things, but that doesn’t invalidate the fun and enjoyment I had doing AI stuff because it’s a different form of engagement with a different form of medium.

I aggravate my repetitive strain injury on a daily basis because I cannot stop making art. Writing fanfic actually hurts if I do it for too long. Painting miniature models is one of the less painful activities I do, but even doing that for too long gets uncomfortable.

But that doesn’t matter.

I am not fucking avoiding making art by using generative tools.

Also I strongly believe in transformative derivative works that are nonpermissive because I am a fanfiction writer and fanartist. I think there are many ways to be a dick in nonpermissive derivative creation but the act of creating derivative creation is not inherently immoral, and the input stage is not where the questions of ethicality lie. But this post is not about that. This post is about the accusation of “avoiding making art”.

[enkisstories]

Saloon (reloaded)

Follow up to this entry for the @gingerrose microfic event @gingerrose-hub

(299 words)

A PLINK and a PLONK, followed by a short string of notes alerted Hux to the fact that someone was playing the piano. The meter was clumsy, but the energy the player put into it concealed that fact from the average listener. Not so from the snobbish saloon owner.

“You’re fired!” he shouted over his shoulder, not bothering to look at the new employee, that in ten seconds would be an ex-employee.

“What about the debt?” Finn inquired.

Debt? What debt? Ah, right, the ticket Hux had paid for, to get the pianist from civilization to this frontier dump.

“That’s on me. The cost of having slacked in actually confirming this amateur’s skill.”

The man wasn’t prepared for a female voice replying: “Really? That’s great!”

Wait, what? Hux knew that voice!

“Miss Tico?”

Finn nodded.

“The gal that shot my mirror?!”

“The same.”

“And I just declared her debt voided? In front of witnesses?”

“You have your moments, Mr. Hux”, Rose Tico said with a grin before she pirouetted past the saloon owner and out of the room.

The blood shot into Hux’ head. He pressed a string of slurs through clenched teeth, before slumping down on the piano’s seat. Unable to hold a tune, Hux played with a flawless mathematical precision, that didn’t please the audience. Tico had… To be completely honest, Tico’s playing had sounded shit for an alleged professional, but for a beginner she had been actually good.

Hux’ scanned the keys with his eyes, playing a song in his head, all the while a set of short and not too clean fingers danced across the instrument in front of his inner eye. How satisfying would it be to teach those fingers play for real? Would it outweigh the disgust the man felt for the homesteaders?