#but the question must be asked first and foremost

[writers-potion]

Writing Character Accents in Fiction

Hey there, thanks for the question! I speak English as a second language; most English speakers I encounter aren’t native (yes, including fictional people); thus, this is a concern I’ve explored personally when I write. 

I think the core principle regarding accent writing is this: it shouldn’t be distracting. 

For the same reasons why Stephen King prescribes the basic dialogue tag “said” rather than fancier alternatives like “whispered”, “shouted” or “screeched”, dialogue must be first and foremost easy to read. It must flow like a real conversation – the pace and tone are a lot more important than how specific words are being pronounced by the character. 

Focus on what effect the accent has:

Using adjectives to describe their voice in general. Different types of English (American, British, Australian, etc.) will give off a different vibe, also partly dependent on how your character speaks in general:

Lilting: Having a smooth rise and falling quality; sing-song like. Welsh accent is often described as singing. 

Posh: from a high social class. This is the term generally used to describe the upper-class British accent.

Nasal: this happens when the sound goes through somebody’s nose when they’re speaking. North American accents are more nasal than, say, British pronunciations. 

Brash: harsh, loud, indicative of sounding a little rude. 

Slur: speaking indistinctly; words merging into one another.

Using metaphors.

Her voice was cotton and fluffy clouds. 

When he spoke, the ‘r’s scratched the insides of his throat. 

Mentioning their accent with a brief example(s). 

“Would you like to drink some wine?” she said, though her Indian accent gave extra vibration to her ‘w’s and ‘r’s, making the words sound more like ‘vould you like to drrrink some vine’.

“I want some chocolate.” His syllables were choppy and ‘l’s rather flat, saying ‘cho-ko-lit’. 

Some Tips:

Don’t phonically spell out everything. Perhaps give a few examples in the beginning, but stick to standard English spellings. 

Pay attention to word choice, slang, and colloquialisms. 

An Australian person would say “tram”, not “trolley; “runners” instead of “sneakers”

A Canadian may refer to a “fire hall” – what Americans call a firehouse or fire station

If your character comes from a non-Enligsh background:

Use vocabulary from other languages. 

“What time was the exam, ah? Two o’clock? Jiayou!” → putting “ah” or “la” at the end of sentences + Jiayou means “break a leg” in Singlish. 

“I can’t believe that 4-year-olds have their own SNS accounts now.” → “SNS” is short for “social networking service”, a term used to refer to social media in Korea. This would a subtle difference – even though it isn’t technically Korean at all!

Transpose grammar from different languages. 

For example, in French, plural nouns take plural adjectives (whereas in English, you would speak of ‘white cars’, not ‘whites cars’).

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

[livinghalfway]

Younger Years Pt. 9

Masterlist

Summary: Damian gets temp de-aged to 6yrs old; cue him asking where his twin is. This is how everyone finds out about Danny's existence. Word Count: 2219

Robin was silent as he moved in sync with Batman and Orphan as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. His chest simmered with anticipation the closer they got to tonight's targets. It had taken almost everyone to stop him from leaving the cave when the location had been confirmed. The only thing that truly stopped him in the end though was information, information on who took his brother just earlier today. 

The GIW or otherwise known as the Ghost Investigative Ward. The name alone normally would have been enough for him to write the group off as a joke. That was before Drake had shown them all the government official paperwork backing them up though. 

It was quickly determined that the organization must have set up somewhere around Crime Alley as the van wasn't seen again on the cameras. That is something that Robin would have loved to sic Red Hood on knowing that he would not take kindly to others causing problems in his backyard. 

Alas, Jason hasn't been talking to any of them for the past week or so after his argument with Bruce. Even going as far to get rid of all tracking devices connected to himself. Normally, the family would let him take his time away to cool off, but this situation is not something that they can simply wait for. 

It was decided that Nightwing would be the one to find and explain to Hood all that has happened over the past few hours. Meanwhile, Red Robin and Spoiler are out on their normal patrol routes as well as on active standby for back-up if this interrogation starts to go south. 

"ETA two minutes, are targets still in place?" Batman asks through the comms as the three of them slow to a stop on a nearby building; waiting for the all clear to approach. 

"Targets haven't moved, you're good to proceed at will." Oracle's voice is calm and even as she responds. "The lights are on, anticipate them being awake and aware." 

"Noted."

With that they all make their way closer to the entry point, and it isn't until they're standing on the balcony that they hear the target's voices coming from inside the hotel room. Batman gives a sign to stay quiet as they listen in.

"- not answering any of our calls, and now it's pitch black outside! It's been hours, Sam!" 

"Which is why we need to come up with a plan for what we're going to do tomorrow. Going out this late into Gotham is just asking for trouble." 

"Right, a plan." the voice is stressed, "We need to figure out what had Danny running out of the building first and foremost then. Something about that place had him on edge, from the moment we got there he was acting weird." 

"You don't think it has anything to do with Damian Wayne do you? I always assumed his adamant avoidance was a joke, but Danny said he would run if he saw him and he did just that."  

Hearing about how his brother was avoiding him was not getting any easier. 

"But why? Clone? Alt-self? That's not something that would scare Danny away this much." 

"…What about a twin?" the feminine voice sounds hesitant to even voice the thought. If only she knew how right she was. Which is exactly why they need to interrupt this conversation now before they can think about it any further. 

Batman seems to think the same thing as he knocks on the balcony door not a moment after. From inside the room all sounds quickly deafen for a few seconds before a quiet masculine voice asks, "Hello?"  

"You did not just say hello!" 

"I panicked ok!" 

His father knocks once more, and this time the door separating them is opened very slowly. In front of them now stands Samantha Manson with Tucker Foley standing not too far behind her. 

"Batman, Orphan, and Robin," she says slowly as she looks at them, "is there a reason you're here?"

"Let's discuss inside," his father says. 

"Can you answer my question first?" Sam asks, her voice full of judgement and determination now. 

Neither group does anything for a few seconds, and once it becomes clear that the girl wasn't going to give in Batman lets out a quiet sigh, "It's about your friend, Daniel Fenton." 

The two teens immediately snap their heads to look at one another at those words; eyes filled with shock.  Whatever silent conversation they seem to be having comes to an end with a nod from them both. Sam then moves aside, and opens the door to let them inside.

The first thing Robin does once inside is fully take in the appearance and body language of the two targets. While Sam put on a confident front it was obvious to tell how nervous she was right now. Tucker on the other hand wasn't trying to hide his own emotions right now. 

Looking at them it's hard to think that these are the people whom Danyal would call friends. That despite only knowing each other for four years probably knows more about his own brother than he does. 

"What about Danny?" Tucker quietly asks. "Do you know where he is?"

"A witness saw him getting grabbed and reported it. The vehicle had G.I.W. written on it, and the information we found on them seemed concerning. Do you know anything about them?" Batman calmly states.

The anger that rises from Sam is immediate, "The GIW! The GIW has Danny!" 

Robin was meant to be silent during this interrogation, but that doesn't stop him from speaking up anyways, "So you do know who they are, what do they want with your friend?"

Sam with anger still ringing turns away, and starts to pace across the room. Tucker meanwhile starts to fidget with his hands as he answers with a question of his own instead, "What- what do you know about the Anti-Ecto Acts?" 

"Explain them." Batman practically demands. 

"They basically say that all ecto-entities are non-sentient, and can therefore be captured and experimented on." 

At the same time Oracle's voice comes through the comms, "I'm looking at them now, B. I don't know how anything like this got passed, but this is going to need the Justice League stepping in to put a stop to it." 

"Hm, and what do they classify as being an ecto-entity?" 

"Well," Tucker looked towards Sam who was still fuming in the corner, "uh…" 

"Worried, scared, nervous, apprehensive, why?" Orphan says gently as she speaks to him. 

"Is there a reason you are hesitant to answer?" Robin questions as well. If there's more to this they will need to know now. 

Before Tucker can answer any of the questions thrown at him a loud thumping sound fills the room. That is when Sam storms back over to her friend's side, cradling the hand that she hit the wall with. "Maybe he doesn't want to because you're all asking questions as if you don't already know the answer to begin with!" 

Batman tilts his head before asking, “Why do you think we know?” 

“You’re Batman! You really want to look me in the eyes, and tell me you don’t know?” The Manson girl does have a point, Robin decides. The fact that Batman does in fact not know the full story for what is happening is astounding especially when it’s something causing trouble in Gotham. “As if you don’t agree with them!” 

“The fact that these acts came to be is a huge negligence on both my and the Justice League part. They were not something that was known to us as of today.” His father’s voice is soft, serious as he speaks. “What we need to know now though is how your friend, Daniel Fenton, comes into play. You said they are taking ecto-entities, what makes Daniel an ecto-entity?” 

Both look as if they still don’t believe what Batman is saying. While he can appreciate that his brother’s friends aren’t immediately spilling all his secrets it is annoying that he doesn’t have the answers he needs to help Danyal. What Robin knows though is that something must have happened for his brother to be an “ecto-entity”.

“Can- can we have a few minutes to discuss alone?” Tucker asks with a nervous smile on his face. All that tells him though is that these two clearly know something that they don’t want to accidentally reveal. 

At first it seems like Batman is going to decline the request, but Orphan speaks up before he can, “Yes, we will be waiting just outside.” Putting a hand on Batman's shoulder she gently turns him around, and gestures for both of them to exit the room. Unsurprisingly, he listens to her silent command.

 Once the balcony door is closed Robin immediately starts his tirade, “They know something, and they don’t plan to tell us; it’s suspicious. These two will need to be heavily monitored from this point forward.” 

“They're scared and don’t trust us. We all want to protect Danyal; give them a chance.” Orphan argues her point to him before her voice takes on a more gentle tone, “you’re jealous.” 

“I’m not!” he defends himself while feeling his face heat up, “I’m just concerned! I have absolutely no reason to-!”

“Robin.” 

“Batman!” Oracle says at the same time as his father, her voice urgent. 

“Oracle report.” 

“Nightwing checked in with me a few minutes ago about Red Hood, and it turns out he hasn’t been seen for two nights. The last night he was spotted was when he had a run in with Black mask’s gang. It was a rough fight for all parties included apparently. He’s checking out Hood’s apartment, and a few warehouses he’s been active in recently.” 

“Hm and he’s not just with the Outlaws?” 

“He’s never left the Alley unattended without some kind of notice before. Regardless of if he was avoiding everyone at the time.” 

“Let me know once Nightwing checks in again.” Batman grunts, “Anything of importance retaining to our situation at hand?”

“I’m searching the GIW’s database now for everything they’re specially hunting for so I’d keep any more questions based around Danyal then the GIW themselves.” 

“We’ll keep the rest of the interrogation brief then, and reconvene in the cave to discuss what you’ve found on the GIW.” 

Robin wanted to make it known that he wasn’t happy with this decision as he would have preferred they stay for as long as needed to get every piece of information the two know. He keeps quiet though knowing that his father would not change his mind. Batman may see a couple of nervous kids trying to be brave in front of him, but he knows that they have the key to every question he has about his brother. 

As if on cue though, a knock cuts through the air before it begins to slowly open to reveal Tucker, “We’re uh ready to continue now.” 

Silently they step inside once more, and before anyone else can say anything Robin is already speaking up, “Why did the GIW take your friend?”  

Batman gives him a disapproving look, but otherwise doesn’t say anything about his outburst. 

They watch as Tucker takes a calming breath, and with a reassuring nod from Sam he finally gives them the intel they’ve been asking for, “Danny’s parents are ecto scientists, he’s grown up with this type stuff in his house. A while ago though he was alone down in the lab when one of the experiments they had been working on suddenly went wild.” 

“After that Danny’s ‘ecto-levels’ were a lot higher, and because of that the GIW now considers him free game to take.” Sam finishes where Tucker left off. 

When they finish their tale Robin makes sure to take a glance towards Orphan to see what she thinks about what they’ve been told. That is when he sees her subtly make a couple hand signs. 

Lie. Half-truth. 

He really wants to push them on the subject, but Batman puts a hand on his shoulder, a silent command to keep quiet for the time being as he takes over, “And they tracked him to Gotham, or was that just a coincidence?” 

“Danny’s been having issues with the GIW for a while now. We found out that they were looking for someone here, and we decided to find them first; to give them a warning about what’s coming their way.” Sam responds. 

Truth. 

“Who? We can find them, and protect them. We’ll pass along anything you want them to know.” 

“We didn’t have a name, all that we know is that they’re a revenant, and that the sensors the GIW use have picked them up all around Crime Alley.” 

Truth. 

“Revenant?”

“It’s- it’s someone who has returned from death.” She explains to them. 

The room feels as if it’s suddenly much colder as they all take in the implications of what she said. There’s only one person they know that has returned from the dead, and frequents Crime Alley. Someone who is currently MIA, and doesn’t know that he is currently being hunted. 

As if it couldn’t get any worse, Oracle has an update for them, “Code: 15H4G-RH. Red Hood has been taken.” 

[gravity-barbie]

The Hargreeves' reactions to you getting catcalled

A/N: Sorry, I think I accidentally deleted the original request for this, because I could not find it anywhere

Masterlist

Luther Hargreeves

-Luther is shocked and outraged, getting up in the perpetrator’s face immediately, and probably scaring the crap out of them with that stature of his

-As much as he thinks the person deserves a good beating, they’re already pretty much at his mercy so instead he just demands an apology for you

-He’s so soft and considerate to you afterwards, triple checking that you’re okay and questioning if there’s anything else he can do, literally anything

-The incident makes him more protective, he’s always volunteering to accompany you when you go out, and pretty much insists if he thinks the area you’re headed seems shady

Diego Hargreeves

-Diego already hates catcalling but the fact that it’s directed at you just makes him extra pissed, slightly unhinged even, he advances on them while yelling insults, fully ready to get violent

-Even if you want and are able to drag him away, he’s probably already hatching a plan to come back for some vigilante justice later

-He’s pretty heated, but he does recognise that you must feel way worse than him and that he should prioritise your feelings, checking if you’re alright, and even if you brush it off he’s perceptive enough to get a read on how you really feel

-If you’re very upset, despite his anger he gets a hold of himself and turns into the sweetest marshmallow while trying to comfort you

Allison Hargreeves

-Allison tenses up, checking your reaction first and foremost, if you want to ignore it and get out of there she’ll just put a protective hand on you and usher you forward

-But if not, or if the catcaller is being persistent, she is more than willing to confront them and make them regret ever opening their disgusting mouth

-Depending on her relationship with her power at the time she’d be quick to rumour them, probably not physically hurt them (depending on how graphic they were being) but at the very least put the fear of god in them

-She’s had a lot of experience with things like this, so she comforts you with a lot of understanding and empathy, pretty accurately predicting your feelings and needs

Klaus Hargreeves

-Klaus’ policy has always been to brush off stuff like this with a sassy remark and move on, he wishes he was the type of person that could easily defend you but he just isn’t

-He does have the urge to talk shit back to them, even to his own detriment, and if he was alone he might, but you’re here and he’s not going to risk any further trouble for you by causing a scene

-He asks if you’re okay but otherwise tries to change the topic and lighten the atmosphere pretty quickly, he does care of course, he just thinks the best thing he can do is cheer you up

-Maybe later when you’re less shaken he’ll bring it up again, just to see if you’re really okay, let you vent if you need to or see if there’s anything he can do

Five Hargreeves

-Five is caught somewhere between wanting to ignore it and wanting to pull out those assassin skills of his

-It depends on how you react, if you just huff and keep walking he’ll ask if you’re alright but drop it when you do, if you seem shaken up though, there’s no way he’s letting it go

-Internally he’s livid, but he acts more cocky than anything else as he gives them both a physical and verbal beating, finishing it off with a warning that they better not harass anyone again

-He isn’t good at comfort, he’ll never bring this up again if you don’t, but if you do want to talk he’s there for you, trying his best to offer the kindness you need

Viktor Hargreeves

-On pure instinct Viktor confronts them, not before manoeuvring you protectively behind him though

-His exterior is icy, and way more dangerous than this person realises, if they don’t back down he won’t hesitate to pull his powers out to back up his warning, after all he’s had a bad experience with this kind of thing before

-Though if you try to pull him away, for your sake he’ll go, since your comfort and sense of safety is more important than his righteous anger, the fear alone will teach them a lesson anyway

-He’s very sweet and attentive afterwards, and whether you need silence, to vent or to be distracted he's got you covered

[vigilskeep]

I just started playing a Crow Rook and literally WHAT is going on between Rook & Viago. Why is he so worried about them, why does he care?? It’s not like they’re actually his kid or something…? Rook could probably even be his same age. & we know it’s not a romantic thing! Would love to know your thoughts on it. It’s giving me Hawke & Meeran for some reason lmao

i think they left this open to player headcanon in a way that i personally find delightful and entertaining. the incontrovertible canon facts are that he worries about them, that he is distinctly less bearable when they’re not around, that he has so much faith in them that he puts all their failures down to them being thoughtless or acting out on purpose, and that he expresses all of this via frustration when it’s clearly love. why and how we got to this point is up to you!

so i can only really talk about how i’ve been interpreting that. to Me, viago is so uptight and distrustful that i would struggle to believe in this dynamic if he hadn’t known rook for a really long time. which makes sense, because crows who belong to a house grow up together. i mentioned this way back when we first saw footage of him with rook de riva, but to me he talks to you a lot like an older family member who still kind of thinks of you as a kid. i read into it as him acting sort of like the equivalent of an older brother with a big like 5 or 10 year age gap, but that is obviously dependent on your rook’s age and feelings

i am going to delve into closely-canon-based headcanon territory for a moment but show my workings as i do it. viago is not from a crow family like lucanis. he is not related to whoever was his predecessor as house de riva’s guildmaster. he is a royal bastard who elected to join the crows rather than be exiled, because that is, for some fucking reason, the system they have in place. since his memories prior to the crows are distant boyhood ones, and the crows typically start training early, i think we can guess that he was at most a teenager when he joined the house

please take a moment to picture lanky teenage viago de riva, with all his distrust and temper, accustomed until now to certain noble comforts, terrible at making friends, inclined less towards physical strength and more towards poisons and the fantasy equivalent of excel spreedsheets. does anyone honestly think for a second that when this kid arrived, all house de riva’s scrappy cutthroat embittered crow recruits didn’t immediately smell blood in the water? does anyone honestly think he would have had a good fun time or been well-liked? that he eventually rose to talon by asking nicely or indeed anything other than his ability to cultivate fear as the foremost poisoner in the entire antivan crows? does anyone, for that matter, believe that every crow knows how good at poisoning viago de riva is because his afaik unmentioned predecessor died of super 100% natural causes?

and if rook de riva grew up with viago—which as i said, makes sense!—that would mean they were there. if they’re close enough now to, despite everything they did, have no fear of their talon and for him to be completely incapable of anything harsher than calling them an idiot, isn’t it reasonable to assume they must have been, then, the one person he had? the person who chose and kept choosing to stand by him during all that, when he was the easiest target in the house and it was still a very foolish gamble to make. young and impulsive, sure, but who else would have backed him? young and impulsive, but also so brilliant and determined that he firmly believes there’s no dragon they couldn’t chase away. if we accept all those workings, isn’t the question less why does he love them, and more: how could he not?

[supper-ansuta-broth]

Hey guys!

As of the most recent Akatsuki event, fans of Ensemble Stars! across the globe have begun voicing their anger with the distasteful, ignorant, and outright bigoted nature of the franchise's story as a whole (most prominently (but not exclusively) its racist structure, undertones, plot points, and rhetoric). I have always been of the opinion that Happy Elements K.K. as a company is not worthy of respect, and wholly do not care about fans' and users' input, feelings, concerns, and criticisms. Time and time again, H.E. have not only put their own bottom line first, but have made it their only concern.

Needless to say, I am not only disappointed but infuriated with this company. While I am an optimist who hopes to see the best come from any situation, this is not one of the cases where this would be a realistic outlook. Because of this, posts on here will likely be infrequent, as I don't want anyone to believe that even for a moment I think their decisions are excusable.

That being said, while I encourage everyone to do their part in reminding H.E. over and over how much harm they've caused and the colossal damage they've done to their IP, I must also remind everyone that most of a gacha's game's profits come from the small percentage of its highest paying players (i.e. "whales"), and that H.E. has a long history of not listening to its playerbase's concerns and criticisms, even going as far as to silence them and block them for speaking up. They do not care what you think. They care about money, first foremost and only. Be active and speak up, don't support their shitty business practices, but don't run yourselves into the ground in the process of doing so, because at the end of the day they will continue trucking along-- they are too big to fail.

I encourage everyone to direct their focus towards fan creators, and send them as much of your kindness and love as possible. Support the people who create things due to passion and love, not just for money. Enstars has been lacking passionate stories for a long time anyway, with only a handful every now and again. Everyone who creates anything, no matter their skill level, deserves compassion and support. And if you're someone who wants to create something but fears mediocrity, create it anyway. Every great artist was consistently mediocre until they grew enough in their skill to start producing some things they like.

Additionally, this is in no way the fault of the seiyuu, the employees of H.E. who are not in charge of making decisions for the story, or anyone else who isn't directly involved with the meat of what makes Enstars, Enstars. These people are not to blame. Direct your ire towards the writers, the executives, and anyone else who allows these decisions to pass.

That's all I have to say for now. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an ask. I can't guarantee I'll get around to everything in a timely manner, but I assure you I will answer anything I can. Thank you for reading.

[twilightcitysky]

Everything Is Meant (long S2 analysis, part 1)

I cannot figure out for the life of me how to make gifs so this will have to be a gif-less essay. If anyone more tech savvy than me wants to reblog with relevant media, please do!

I've seen a lot of people saying how Aziraphale's actions in the final ten minutes come out of left field and are OOC, and when I first watched the episode I felt the same, but now I think I couldn't have been more wrong. And I don't think Aziraphale is being controlled... I think the entire season showed us exactly what was going to happen.

On first watch, what struck me was the number of plot points that seemed disconnected. I couldn't figure out how Job related to the present, or the Victorian era, or the Nazi zombies (still at sea on the zombies part tbh). I didn't know where the Maggie/ Nina subplot was going, or why we were bothering with it. Then I put my "psych hat" on and it was like seeing one of those 3D pictures come into focus. It's a psychological networking rather than a plot-driven one, which is what Neil told us to expect.

Detailed analysis under the cut, with spoilers:

I went back through the season in my head and started asking myself: why is this element there? What does it contribute?

1. Start with scene one. Why include it? Does it matter for the climax that Az knew Crowley as an angel? YES. It's actually huge. Angel Crowley was joyful, he was bursting with delight at creation, he was idealistic. He wanted to be a part of everything rather than run away from it, and that's still how Aziraphale feels. He loves being a part of things. He's a joiner. He's a landlord. He dances at clubs and he makes human friends and he learns magic. Crowley the demon doesn't seem to want any of that, and I think that's hard for Az. He wants Crowley to be free of the cynicism he thinks prevents him from enjoying life now. At some level, I think he senses that Crowley is depressed (empathy's not his strong suit but I'm sure he's aware that Crowley's in a "what's the point of it all" kind of mood; see the eccles cakes scene). He wants to fix it. Aziraphale is a fixer. Metatron offers him a chance to do that.

Another thing is that Aziraphale knows Crowley ended up Falling just for asking questions that seemed innocent. That's not okay with him. He thinks that with the two of them in charge they can actually MAKE the changes that Crowley wanted to see way back at the beginning, starting with a suggestion box.

2. Okay, now Jim. Obviously Gabriel/ Jim is the central mystery, but why does he matter? First and foremost: he's there to show Aziraphale that angels can CHANGE. Gabriel terrorized and threatened Aziraphale. Az has been terrified of him. He ordered Aziraphale's execution. And now here he is, drinking hot chocolate, doing noble self-sacrificing things, with morals that suddenly align with Aziraphale's. What an absolute game-changer that must have been! He thought Heaven was unfixable, but here's Gabriel in his shop for weeks, slowly convincing him otherwise.

Then two other things happen. First, they find out that this all happened to Gabriel essentially because he fell in love. He was fired and his memories were stolen and the only reason he recovered was because Beelzebub happened to give him the one thing that could save him. That must have seemed like incredible luck. Now, how does Aziraphale feel about memories? He lives in a bookshop that is stuffed to bursting with the records of all of human history, essentially. His memories of his time with Crowley are incredibly precious. He sees, there at the end, that everything he is can be taken from him as a punishment for falling in love. Aziraphale doesn't have a magic fly container. He'd be forever robbed of Crowley, his life, himself. It's a very real threat in his mind when Metatron intervenes.

Which brings us to the second thing. Metatron saves Gabriel. Not only that, he prevents him from being punished for loving Beelzebub and lets them both go. What better way to win currency with Aziraphale? HE doesn't want to go off to Alpha Centauri, he never has, but suddenly he sees that Metatron might protect his relationship. And he's probably the only entity with the power to do so.

So we come to two conclusions: Aziraphale, when he goes off to talk with Metatron, is feeling like maybe it's not intrinsically bad to be an angel. He believed all the angels sucked, and only God was good... but now he sees that even Gabriel can change. He met Muriel, and he likes them. (He also had a huge crush on angel Crowley, which is neither here nor there but he loves Crowley in all his forms.) So if Crowley became an angel again, would that really be so bad? In his mind, it wouldn't change who Crowley is. It would just make them both safer and allow them to be together. (He's wrong! And Crowley doesn't see it that way! But this is a key miscommunication. Aziraphale doesn't really believe that becoming a demon changed Crowley. Back to the first scene, which Aziraphale references during the Job minisode. In his eyes, Crowley is the same person (just more cynical because of what's happened to him)-- so why would it matter if he's an angel again? I truly don't think he was trying to save Crowley, or saying that Crowley would be Better as an angel. To him, it doesn't matter what Crowley is. Which is reductive and harmful, but not the same as thinking Crowley needs rescuing from himself.)

Second conclusion: he sees that an angel and demon can be in love, but they have to run away to be together. Gabe and Beelz couldn't go home again. Earth is Aziraphale's home, but after the attack on the bookshop he learned that without Heaven's protection he can't really keep them safe there. Metatron says: "Come with me, do this thing, and you can have guaranteed safety AND be with the love of your life". Poor Aziraphale wants this with every fiber of his being. All he's ever wanted was for Crowley to be safe. He's never been able to offer it. Over the past four years, he thought they were safe, but he's just learned that he was wrong.

This is getting long. Continued in Part Two!

[nerdgirlnarrates]

Even though it's been months since I switched from neurosurgery to internal medicine, I still have a hard time not being angry about the training culture and particularly the sexism of neurosurgery. It wasn't the whole reason I switched, but truthfully it was a significant part of my decision.

I quickly got worn out by constantly being questioned over my family plans. Within minutes of meeting me, attendings and residents felt comfortable lecturing me on the difficulties of having children as a neurosurgeon. One attending even suggested I should ask my co-residents' permission before getting pregnant so as not to inconvenience them. I do not have children and have never indicated if I plan to have any. Truthfully, I do want children, but I would absolutely have foregone that to be a neurosurgeon. I wanted to be a neurosurgeon more than anything. But I was never asked: it was simply assumed that I would want to be a mother first. Purely because I'm a woman, my ambitions were constantly undermined, assumed to be lesser than those of my male peers. Women must want families, therefore women must be less committed. It was inconceivable that I might put my career first. It was impossible to disprove this assumption: what could I have done to demonstrate my commitment more than what I had already done by leading the interest group, taking a research year, doing a sub-I? My interest in neurosurgery would never be viewed the same way my male peers' was, no matter what I did. I would never be viewed as a neurosurgeon in the same way my male peers would be, because I, first and foremost, would be a mother. It turns out women don't even need to have children to be a mother: it is what you essentially are. You can't be allowed to pursue things that might interfere with your potential motherhood.

Furthermore, you are not trusted to know your own ambitions or what might interfere with your motherhood. I am an adult woman who has gone to medical school: I am well aware of what is required in reproduction, pregnancy, and residency, as much as one can be without experiencing it firsthand. And yet, it was always assumed that I had somehow shown up to a neurosurgery sub-I totally ignorant of the demands of the career and of pregnancy. I needed to be enlightened: always by men, often by childless men. Apparently, it was implausible that I could evaluate the situation on my own and come to a decision. I also couldn't be trusted to know what I wanted: if I said I wanted to be a neurosurgeon more than a mother, I was immediately reassured I could still have a family (an interesting flip from the dire warnings issued not five minutes earlier in the conversation). People could not understand my point, which was that I didn't care. I couldn't mean that, because women are fundamentally mothers. I needed to be guided back to my true role.

Because everyone was so confident in their sexist assumptions that I was less committed, I was not offered the same training, guidance, or opportunities as the men. I didn't have projects thrown my way, I didn't get check-ins or advice on my application process, I didn't get opportunities in the OR that my male peers got, I didn't get taught. I once went two whole days on my sub-I without anyone saying a word to me. I would come to work, avoid the senior resident I was warned hated trainees, figure out which OR to go to on my own, scrub in, watch a surgery in complete silence without even the opportunity to cut a knot, then move to the next surgery. How could I possibly become a surgeon in that environment? And this is all to say nothing of the rape jokes, the advice that the best way for a woman to match is to be as hot as possible, listening to my attending advise the male med students on how to get laid, etc.

At a certain point, it became clear it would be incredibly difficult for me to become a neurosurgeon. I wouldn't get research or leadership opportunities, I wouldn't get teaching or feedback, I wouldn't get mentorship, and I wouldn't get respect. I would have to fight tooth and nail for every single piece of my training, and the prospect was just exhausting. Especially when I also really enjoyed internal medicine, where absolutely none of this was happening and I even had attendings telling me I would be good at it (something that didn't happen in neurosurgery until I quit).

I've been told I should get over this, but I don't know how to. I don't know how to stop being mad about how thoroughly sidelined I was for being female. I don't know how to stop being bitter that my intelligence, commitment, and work ethic meant so much less because I'm a woman. I know I made the right decision to switch to internal medicine, and it probably would have been the right decision even if there weren't all these issues with the culture of neurosurgery, but I'm still so angry about how it happened.

[mazamba]

Sponsored By

Ironically, the most eventful day in the careers of Mr. and Mrs. Fenton had nothing to do with ghosts. The two had just returned from the supermarket and were carrying in the groceries, when the shadow in the corner began to speak.

"We need to talk."

"GHOST!"

The couple were on their back before they could draw their weapons.

"You are the foremost experts in the field of ecto-biology," said Batman as if he hadn't just brought down a three hundred pound man and a ninth-degree black-belt before either of them could realize he'd moved, "I have questions regarding your sponsor."

"Sweetie, is the Batman in our living room?" asked Jack.

"I do believe he is," replied Maddie as she stood up and patted the dust off her clothes, "you know, you could have called for an appointment. We'd have made time."

"In the 80's, the two of you had your doctorate studies rescinded due to your studies in what you called "ecto-science"," he stated, ignoring their indignation, "yet you now live in an upper-middle class neighborhood and spend thousands of dollars a year on technology that didn't have a proper proof-of-concept until recently."

"What's your point?" asked Jack.

"Where is the money coming from?"

"If you must know, we have a sponsor," replied Maddie, "after our dean proved to be too small-minded for our research, we were approached by a man who was more open to the possibility of inter-dimensional research."

"He wanted us to study ghosts!" cut in Jack, "He even gave us our very first sample of ectoplasm!"

"That one sample was the backbone of our research for years, until we got our portal running."

"You never asked where he got that sample from?"

"He seemed like a trust-worthy fellow," dismissed Maddie, "all he asks is for copies of our experiments and for ectoplasm from our portal."

"What sort of experiments?"

"Well, at first we needed to verify the psycho-active behavior of the sample," recalled Maddie, "if you give me a second, I have my research around here somewhere."

"You took the sample to several morgues," Batman told them, "the sample's most drastic and extreme behavior occurred when it was placed close to bodies who had a history of violent and anti-social behavior in life."

"Maddie, the League's reading our papers!" Jack giggled excitedly, "But yes, it's how we know that all ghosts are evil ectoplasmic scum!"

"You never questioned the origin of the sample?"

"It was the only sample we had," pointed out Maddie, "but it's properties matched all of our theories."

"The man you spoke with was Ra's al Ghul," he informed them, dropping a folder full of pictures and documents for them to peruse, "thousands of years ago, Ra's found a well of green water that is now known as a Lazarus Pit. Using its power, he has rejuvenated himself time and again to maintain his position as the head of the League of Assassins. After some experimentation, he found the same pits could keep his forces alive, even in death.

"Over time, the League came across a problem that threatened their continued existence. They were consuming the Pit's water faster than it was replenishing itself. After much experimentation, they found a solution. At the moment of death, when the human soul passes over to the Infinite Realms, what you call the Ghost Zone, a small amount of ectoplasm leaks over to our side."

"Wait, you don't mean...?" Maddie trailed off, horror settling in.

"Ra's killed people en masse to replenish his pool," affirmed Batman, "further experimentation revealed that people who died in a state of extreme fear or pain provided more ferocious soldiers. That is where your sample came from.

"In it's neutral state, ectoplasm reacts equally to all emotional ranges. Repeated exposure to emotional extremes will imprint the ectoplasm, causing it to react more strongly to a specific emotional range than to others. The negative emotions of Ra's victims imprinted on the ectoplasm, resulting in your skewed results."

"Wait, how would you know that?" demanded Maddie, "We're the foremost experts on ecto-science and we didn't know that!"

He pulled out a thick folder and slammed it onto the table.

"I had my research peer-reviewed."

"By who?" asked Jack, "We looked all over and couldn't find anyone in the scientific community!"

"You weren't looking in the right place. There is a branch of the Justice League that specializes in the supernatural, ghosts and demons chief among them. They want me to bring you in."

"Really!? Did you hear that Mads! We're being recruited by the Justice League!"

"They want me to arrest you," Batman corrected them, "for illegal poaching of innocent and neutral spirits, particularly after last week's attack on their newest member, Danny Phantom."

"The Ghost Boy!?" roared Jack, "That no-good ectoscum made the League before we did!?"

"I have watched his fights. He takes care to avoid collateral damage and only appears when other ghosts attack, sometimes at great personal cost."

"Look, Mr. Batman," sighed Maddie in a condescending tone, "we've fought the ghost boy for years. He has a history of crime and violence. If you look far enough, you'll find-."

Batman had no time for nonsense.

"The League has already looked into the incidents. All show indications of either coercion or mind control."

"Ghosts are deceitful and conniving-!"

"We have already established that your initial sample skewed your results," he cut Jack off, "this would imply that all of your research and experiments need to be reassessed, including your opinions towards ghosts in general.

"Regarding Ra's al Ghul, you will need to continue working with him. Cutting contact suddenly may put you and your family in danger."

That caught their attention.

"What do we need to do?" asked Jack, all jokes and outrage immediately tossed out the window.

"Keep doing your research with this new information in mind. Your experiments have been applied to the Lazarus Pits, resulting in unstable results. Recent subjects have come out in a mindless rage, while others have shown no effect on their mind, and yet others have had no effect. Ra's is already skeptical of your continued collaboration. If you provide him with research based off this new information, he may decide you are not worth his time or money. When it comes to Ra's, your best option is dismissal to irrelevance. You do not want to make an enemy out of him."

"It's not just that," admitted Maddie, "if we were the only ones being affected, we'd simply let him know we're exploring new horizons outside of ecto-science. The thing is, we have two children, one in college and one near graduation."

He gave them a card. "Call that number. All of their college expenses will be taken care of."

"I... Bruce Wayne?" read out Jack.

"We've collaborated before, he is trustworthy," he reassured them, "the next part is up to you. Will you be scientists, or poachers?"

Their lights flickered, and he was gone.

[mllemaenad]

Huh. Well, now I'm very annoyed. Bioware couldn't be arsed to keep track of the world state changes anymore, so they're just torching everything. And the thing is, this is exactly what those world state imports are for.

You can certainly critique Mass Effect 3, but I've always felt it used its save import well. The world is very literally ending in that game and any reasonable player is immediately going to ask: where are my friends? Your companions foremost, obviously, but also NPCs you've helped or who helped you, or even just random people you encountered. You start doing a head count day one. Some characters made actual appearances, but there were also emails and ambient dialogue. Sometimes you found out that a character was fine – and that was a delightful relief. Sometimes you found out that they weren't – and that hurt. The point is, it made it feel as though your world was ending. Not just a world.

This is the moment where every change you've saved across the previous three games comes into play.

I'm certainly not saying this must be the last Dragon Age game. But it does feel like the end of an arc. We're answering all the big questions first posed in Origins: where did the Blight come from; what became of Arlathan, why are the dwarves in a constant apocalyptic state? Any new game will be about something else.

And here, as in Mass Effect 3, we are facing the end of the world.

The thing is. The thing is. I did not explicitly prep for this scenario. But bloody hell am I prepped for this scenario.

The King of Ferelden and the White Divine are both veterans of the Fifth Blight. The Hero of Ferelden is alive and well (since they have not told me otherwise) and well prepared at Amaranthine – and her sister is queen in Orzammar. She also has Awakened darkspawn allies to call on. The Grey Wardens were not expelled from the south, so should be on hand to face the crisis. And hey – the leader of the newly freed College of Enchanters is herself a former Warden. We are as Blight ready as it's possible to be!

I want to hear about how the king worked out that Denerim was beyond saving in time to evacuate the civilians because he could sense the oncoming horde well before anyone else could.

I want to hear how Warden-Commander Brosca, flanked by Nathaniel Howe and Sigrun, came out to lead the refugees to safety.

I want to hear that Prince Endrin led the Orzammar reinforcements that saved Redcliffe, and his aunt beamed with pride.

I want to hear that the Divine herself took command of the defence of Val Royeaux, and that the mages came out in force to assist the woman who backed their fight for freedom.

I want to hear that the Champion of Kirkwall returned with her Warden lover in the city's darkest hour, defending the people as they fled, and that with Merrill's assistance the alienage elves made it onto the last ship to escape the harbour.

If we're going to bloody Starkhaven, of all places, I want an acknowledgement that the Blight has forced a reconciliation – because last I heard Sebastian was getting his arse handed to him by Aveline.

I want to hear that the Grey Wardens are everywhere, because they never left.

I want to hear about intelligence gathered from Awakened darkspawn, and their bewildered frustration that these new invaders are different.

I'm not going to work out who lives and who dies right now, because this is new information and I'm still processing it. And in any case, it's not my point.

If they're destroying the world, I want it to be my Thedas, not a Thedas. I want these stories to have mattered.

[illwilledomen]

What are tips about talking about projects and ocs and things alike on the internet? Your minecraft au amazes to the point that i made not one, but TWO ocs for it, problem is, I'm a little wary about sharing it and im not sure why, i hope this question isn't too invasive or over the top! Thanks in advance!

- 🍏 apple anon

First off, thank you so much! It’s really cool seeing people make OCs for my AU.

First piece of advice I’d give is to Just Do It. I know that doesn’t sound particularly helpful at first glance, but trust me it’s helped a lot. That discomfort will always be there, that “cringe” feeling, trust me I get it constantly, but you have to think about it this way: If you don’t share it now, when? Hiding it away means no one will see it, and it will remain untouched. Share it, and new opportunities and love will present itself to you that you could not even imagine.

The problem with social media of course is that it’s chance-based, it might take a few tries and a few different iterations for you to find the audience you need. So secondly, don’t give up. Keep trying, experimenting, ETC. Try to keep at it, even when you feel unmotivated or unconfident, because the first step is pushing through that discomfort.

Thirdly, here’s more of a logical one: Have a set place for people to find your work. I am unfortunately very guilty of not doing this, so do as I say not as I do. If you have an extensive written lore or world you’ve made, put it somewhere so people who are interested in your work can refer to it and grow attached to the story you’re making. This could be a blog, a wiki, a Toyhouse page, whatever.

Finally, interact with the people who show interest. You may feel shy or intimidated by questions, but answer them regardless. If people are curious and asking questions that’s a good sign. If you answer them (and maybe add a little point of interest that gets them hooked… I like being a little mysterious sometimes…) you will satisfy their curiosity, and make them more attentive to what you’re making. They might go tell a friend, or talk about it on their page, and that will mean one, two or more new people might be looking at your work.

Most important part is DON’T GIVE UP!!!! CRINGE IS THE IMAGINATION KILLER!!!! SELF DEPRECATION IS THE PASSION KILLER!!! Sometimes, even if you feel like a dogs bum with a hat on, you must lie to yourself and pretend the sun shines out of your arse. KEEP AT IT.

KEEP your passion alive, keep trying, keep testing, make sure YOU have fun first and foremost. Don’t listen to the people bagging you or disparaging your work, skill or ideas, because 99% of the time the people who do that and have no real criticism to give are uncreative and wanting to tear down those who are. GOOD LUCK

[chebyshevptera]

destinyswap is the reason i followed you please do post more of it <333 (please take this as encouragement rather than demands)

AUWGWJRHWJS REALLYYYY???🥺🥺

ok❤️ yay❤️ …

anon i hope u don’t mind me using ur ask to yap abt the basics of the ninja destinyswap . um gonna put their general info under cut :D + show their headshots!! (they r just little colored doodles, but u know<3)

sorry in advance, but this is super long…

first and foremost , nya , the silly, my girl, the only thing ever !! nya is the green ninja and the elemental master of energy . her destiny was discovered shortly after she was rescued from the skulkin . after the ninja collected all of the golden weapons and saved her, they all went in for a group hug, with their tools still in their hands, and the weapons reacted to her presence , solidifying the fact that she was the chosen one .

so nya, alongside her brother, began training with the other ninja under sensei garmadon . nya is still talented and still a perfectionist , and with the weight of the world on her shoulders, she is incredibly stressed and anxious most of the time . although she attempts to put on a calm front , it’s easy to see through her facade . she doesn’t like being bound to this prophecy, but she will still do her best to fulfill it and protect ninjago , whatever it takes

she cut her hair because of sensory issues. her mask didn’t agree with her. also, the element that comes easiest to her is lightning. it comforts her.

-

kai, the blue ninja, is the elemental master of lightning , hotheaded and reactive as he can be . he harbors some envy towards his sister for her status as the green ninja, even though he knows that it isn’t her fault. kai is the first one to master spinjitzu , and to unlock his golden weapon’s vehicle . he’s a very fast learner and an incredibly powerful opponent .

even without his envy , kai still dislikes the fact that nya is the green ninja . he has tried very hard to protect her, only for destiny to decide that she must be at the front when the time to face evil arises . he trains exceptionally hard with his element to be at her side and protect her when that time comes .

he is, technically, the second oldest on the team .

-

lloyd is the master of fire , taking after his mother , misako, the previous elemental master of fire . he has trained all his life under his father’s guidance . his elemental knowledge and history with training , combined with his oni and dragon heritage (which he was able to embrace) , make him the strongest on the team without question, despite being the youngest.

he is well educated and very clever , and sometimes speaks like an old person . lloyd still mischievous and silly , but has no reason to be resentful as a child . rather , he is stressed out at the thought of having to fight his uncle , who he cares so deeply about .

-

morro is the elemental master of ice. he was taken in by garmadon and misako years before the ninja team was properly formed, and has since developed a sort of brotherly bond with lloyd. also , as the oldest member of the team , he feels quite responsible for the others .

he is the leader, the most rational , and calmest under pressure , but he has quite an attitude . he can be snarky and sarcastic , though rarely with malice . he is technically the second most capable on the team, having trained longer than the others , though not longer than lloyd .

he is much more skilled in melee combat , preferring it over long ranged attacks, so he utilizes this with his shurikens of ice. eventually, he will perfect the skill of creating gauntlets with his element.

-

zane is the black ninja and the elemental master of earth, having been granted this element by the previous master of earth before his passing . like his element , he is strong , solid, and reliable , and he tries to keep everyone, even morro, grounded.

already knowing the truth of past before he joins the ninja , he frequently doubts his humanity and opts to keep his android heritage a secret from his teammates , for now .

he’s still a chef , and he’s still their resident walking encyclopedia … thankfully, because the others can be pretty dumb.

-

prior to joining the ninja, jay is a celebrity , no longer simply known as the son of cliff gordon , but as his own successful individual. he acts, he sings, and he dances, all with charm and enthusiasm that made him rise to fame . he hides a lot of himself from the camera , covering up his freckles and the circles under his eyes, and wearing contacts to make his eyes less unique . jay hates fame. he wants to be an artist , free from the spotlight, with the ability to be himself.

upon joining, jay is the primary engineer for the ninja. he lacks elemental abilities , but he is almost scarily intelligent and creative, and the ninja heavily rely on his abilities, which is something that makes jay quite happy , even if his repressed and snippy personality refuse to let him admit it. as he continues to spend time with the ninja, he allows himself to open up more, and resulting in his behavior being much kinder.

his mother was the previous master of water.

-

(and here’s the last silly for you guys. nothing to say about him for now ❤️)

[whovianbuffalo]

Dot and Bubble thoughts

This episode was first and foremost an allegory for racism and the entitlement of white elites, and this little touch of “charging rebranded as 'work'”(because it's 'tedious') is interesting here.

Lindy later says "my job's not easy, I get chapping" which shows she clearly hasn't worked out that "work" has become a meaningless phrase in their carefully-controlled society.

Before this, Ricky says people used to do 'manual labor, for money', but Lindy still self-identified as a wealthy person when Ruby asked, and said "Only people who can afford it" are sent to Finetime, yet

So... I can understand why some people feel that this episode is trying to take a shot at Gen-Z and no one else, but I will say it does seem to be a valid critique of performative activism.

Lindy mentions that she is using 'refurb' clothing and therefore isn't using up any of Finetime's resources, which is one of the only indications we are given that this 'utopia' is, of course, falling apart. The other indication comes in the opening of the episode when the newsreader informs them "Not going to lie, we are having trouble with the weather satellite".

A friend of Lindy's compliments her outfit- a woman who says "Kindness all the time" (an ultimately hollow phrase) is preferable in this society to The Doctor and Ruby, who are seen as impolite for daring to interrupt their bubbles, but, ultimately, The Doctor is shut out due to racism and colorism. Ruby is an outsider too, but because she is white and blonde and blue eyed they never question if she is a "contagion".

The Doctor was no 'ruder' than Ruby, but Lindy focuses on him anyway.

I appreciate that we see an early indication of Lindy's selfishness in her first meeting with Ricky here.

Interesting that instead of "heaven's sake" Gothic says "For land's sake". This makes sense for a culture so clearly obsessed with Manifest Destiny, and of course reaffirms their belief that Finetime is "heaven", of sorts.

It's clear that they still have some Religious/Phantasmagorical connection to a mythical heaven, as Lindy says "You mean she's in The Sky? Isn't she lucky!" rather than think about the realities of death or an afterlife. And just in case we were wondering if this culture was religious, they invoke the deity (and Manifest Destiny) directly:

The specific way in which Dot and Bubble forces the viewer to sit with Lindy throughout the episode- static scenes shot of her very boring life and her extremely vapid, empty social life (which I appreciate The Doctor calls out as being enough to drive the AI to homicide) makes us feel trapped and complicit in her behavior, and Ricky's, too.

We're watching the narrative unfold from within the bubble and the screen is literally obscured, peeling back the layers until we finally meet the doctor in person- but Lindy's reaction is off.

And then... We don't follow them. The camera shrinks back, and the impossibly wide world which they wanted to conquer shrinks back into a tiny dot as their boat fades out into the horizon. We're left with Ruby and The Doctor and a TARDIS which is bigger on the inside, but we don't see inside her.

Great work from the director of photography here and amazing work from the cast and crew all round to make a script which must have looked extreme repetitive on paper- the constant use of the word "Forwards. Forwards. Forwards" must have been a hard slog in the read-through— work so well onscreen. How prodigious that it would appear have been too expensive to film during the 11th doctor's era and was shelved for more than a decade until we could get Ncuti Gatwa to fully embody this experience.

This episode was an excellent satire (of multiple things!) and I'm not sure it would have landed the same way in a previous era... But it feels incredibly timely now if you are willing to listen to it.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

🤔 Admittedly I was a little disappointed by the reveal (but certainly not surprised the foreshadowing was heavy in this episode lol), but not actually against how Beth (and Will) seem to be playing with it thus far- which is to say that I do think it has a lot of potential, and I suspect there's more to what we're seeing).

;) Big ol' ramble below

Mostly the theory has turned me off until now (at least insofar as I've witnessed it transpire in the fandom at large) because it struck me as so painfully ironic to see Trudy, a 1950s housewife, struggle to exist under the system that she's in, fail to fit the mold assigned to her, and be denied her personhood very literally for it (this being ironic insofar as how it mimics how she would have been treated back then). This and because frankly I just think she's a lot less interesting if she's fully a robot LOL, but I'll hopefully get to that in a bit.

Not that the hints at her mechanical nature and the relevance of Tucker's background were lost on me; I can appreciate why those would contribute to a plausible, fun and I think still mostly harmless theory (now fact). However, minus one or two specific posts I've seen on the matter (namely a recent one suggesting that if Trudy is a robot Beth is probably taking inspiration from The Stepford Wives, :( sorry person who made that post I couldn't find it I wanted to credit yoouuu), I've seen the theory just about exclusively presented in a manner that, rather than explore the metaphorical and political significance of Trudy being partially or fully mechanical, at best disregards the parts of her narrative that are at their core about sexism (among other related things), and at worst negates them entirely (i.e. Trudy only thinking and acting how she does because she's a robot malfunctioning and not because the world itself is causing harm and she rightfully wants something more than the role she was forced into, Trudy not even having any real thoughts and feelings of her own, etc.). I just think it kind of sucks to shove all those important things about her aside and say "actually, there's no person suffering here, she's just a robot" and perhaps worse yet to imply that she does have thoughts and feelings but because they result in Weird™ behavior it must be a problem with her code and not at all relate to what women were subjugated to during this point in American history.

CONVERSELY I don't think Trudy being a robot (or at least partially one) at least from what Beth and Will have presented us thus far, inherently suffers from any of these issues? First and foremost because Trudy definitely appears to possess sentience, thoughts, and emotions of her own, matters which immediately complicate her degree of personhood and don't inherently box her behavior in as a bug in her programming rather than an issue with the world she's been put in, quite the opposite in fact! I think they have a very solid groundwork laid out here to make a strong statement with Trudy's narrative (and perhaps ask the question of what is really malfunctioning here), all the more so since [I pull out a Rebecca Swallows-style conspiracy board] I don't think she's entirely robotic in nature? Actually you should just read Mack's tags in this post cause he has great thoughts on the matter (of which those are just some of them), but if I can direct your attention to one thing in particular, it would be Beth's fact (I *believe* from episode 2) about Trudy never graduating high school because of her essay where she suggested that "perhaps women could one day domesticate themselves", a statement that could of course be interpreted a number of ways but ultimately threatened the patriarchal status quo enough (in suggesting women's independence) to cost Trudy her diploma. Taken on its own this fact appears to contradict the theory that Trudy has always been robotic in nature, because it doesn't really make sense that Trudy would have been set up to go through high school (or school at all really) when Tucker's intention was/is for her to be the perfect housewife. You may then suggest that Trudy's memories of this are fabricated and not actually her lived experiences, in which case firstly perhaps you should reread my earlier point on the robot theory being used to actively negate and otherwise disregard the portions of Trudy's narrative that pertain to sexism and feminism, and secondly it really doesn't make any sense to me that Tucker would implant those kind of memories into Trudy's brain? To be completely honest if she's been a robot from the very beginning (rather than someone who became a cyborg, which is what I'm trying to suggest here), then I don't see why Tucker would program her with actual sentience in the first place (suspending my disbelief here with regards to the possibility of programming sentience to begin with). It seems much more likely to me then that Trudy was not always a robot, and instead altered by Tucker to force her into a role of subordination and remedy her """imperfections""". This option is significantly more interesting to me one, because it implies that Trudy has actually lived a life up until the present, full of its own complexities and strife (and dreams, and real actual memories worth exploring, etc.), and hence is not by any means "just a robot", and second because it amplifies the hypothetical statement being made on the lives of the real living women of the era and how they were treated and seen as being "in need of fixing" for not conforming to gender roles or otherwise acting "out of line" with what was expected of them.

OKAY THIS GOT OUT OF HAND SO I'M CUTTING MYSELF OFF HERE but I wanted to my share my current thoughts what with this ending and where I'm at so hopefully that was at least interesting to whoever has chosen to read through this one okay thank you byyyyyyyyye~

[apas-95]

Quick question, do you have to be anti porn to be a good communist, due to it being the capitalist manifesation of the commodification of women? while opposing the industrial production of it, that is studio porn, is a very obvious red line and shouldnt exist at all, is it wise to make a point of just hating All of it? I ask because some comrades in a server are discussing it and i wanted your thoughts

My thoughts regarding this are threefold:

First: it is important to understand the class character of any given institution, the failure to do so leads to errors. A common 'left' error is in attributing the negative aspects of an institution under capitalism to the institution itself, without understanding its capitalist character. An example would be the characterisation of the police as fundamentally an agent of repressing the people (when under socialism they are an agent of the people for repression of the bourgeois), or of the academy as fundamentally an arbiter of class access to certain roles in society (when under socialism it is straightforwardly an educator and enabler of technically-skilled labour). To some degree the abuses of the pornography industry are, doubtlessly, down to the social context it exists in, and in the exploitation of (lumpen)proletarians engaged in sex work.

Second: a vulgar 'proletarian feminism' which avoids this class analysis inevitably also commits the same ignorance of class in the opposite direction, and commits rightist errors. Commonly, in the advocating of an alliance with the bourgeois state and bourgeois police to 'protect women' - by criminalising one or the other aspect of sex work under capitalism. The status of sex workers as proletarians, and, when criminalised as such, lumpenproletarians, is essentially ignored. It must be understood that first and foremost the issue of sex work is a labour issue, and like any labour issue it can only be solved by the self-organisation and self-emancipation of the workers themselves.

Third: the categorisation of pornography as specifically an issue of the commodification and exploitation of women (as above) breaks down in the contexts of both male pornography and amateur pornography. Male pornography clearly does not involve the commodification of women (though it does involve the exploitation of sex workers!); and amateur pornography, produced, as it were 'as an expression of one's own nature', and removed from any valorisation of capital, clearly involves no commodification at all.

Generally it has been the case that socialist states have banned pornography and sex work once established. Sex workers who found themselves now unemployed under socialism were not, as in capitalism, made even more desperate and destitute - rather, they were happily able to take up other fields of guaranteed work. However, socialist states were generally established in impoverished, semifeudal nations, where the conditions of sex work were uniformly that of sexual slavery and prostitution. In the most culturally advanced socialist state, the German Democratic Republic, restrictions on pornography were much more lax. Certainly, the conditions of a modern, developed nation would have a major impact on the treatment of pornography under socialism.

[radiant-reid]

just saw the post abt having to explain to spencer the talking stage then an actual relationship and how he overhears her telling someone she doesnt hv a bf maybe a blurb/fic on that idea?

Spencer steals glances at you every morning while you make your coffee and chat with Emily. It's so apparent to everyone what he's doing that JJ and Morgan have taken to stealing things off his desk, seeing how much they can take before he notices.

One day, when you're walking back to your desk you make a comment that has his interest piqued even more. "No, I don't have a boyfriend at the moment. I'm enjoying being single."

Spencer's heart sinks at your words, his mind instantly conjuring images of your dates. Dates that should mean he's your boyfriend, right? So why are you telling everyone you're single?

His head is spinning with confusion, and it's turning to anger pretty quickly. Are you ashamed to be with him? Surely if you're enjoying being single, that means you're dating other people or that you're not even interested in him.

He can't believe it, his emotions swinging from anger to sadness. It's unbelievable and you're breaking his heart.

Before you're even sitting down, Spencer's getting up and rushing to the bathroom to calm his racing heart rate before he has to be sick.

Your conversation doesn't even remain in your mind while you continue your day. What feels odd is Spencer freezing you out. Usually, on boring paperwork days, Spencer will tell you fun facts or dumb science jokes just to break up the repetitive work and horrific nature of your files.

He doesn't. Not a single comment comes your way, not even when you ask very open-ended science questions, basically inviting him to ramble about his favorite topics. None of it entices him.

His sarcastic remarks come just after lunchtime with a snappy attitude that irritates you. You're worried about him, firstly. Something must be wrong in his personal life to have him like this, but you can't help feeling a little angry that it's all being directed at you.

You were just starting to really like him and now he's turned around and shown you who he really is just because you're arguably who he's closest with. He's quickly becoming not the type of person you want to be with.

When you're the last two people in the bullpen, you realize you can't let him stay there all night. No matter how annoying he is, you're his friend, first and foremost, and he's clearly going through something.

So you approach him. "Hey, do you want to get dinner?" You ask.

"Not with you," Spencer replies coldly and totally uncharacteristically.

That's your breaking point. "What's wrong? Seriously, you've been horrible to me all day and I can't think of anything I've done to offend you."

Spencer sighs and it's weirdly more regretful than angry. "I... do you remember what you said this morning?"

You frown, unsure of what exactly he's referencing. "No?" Then you quickly add, "But I want to make things right."

"You said you didn't have a boyfriend." He feels pathetic saying it. The idea that someone like you would never be interested had been slipping from his mind, but now that concern is at the front of his mind.

You're only more confused then. "I don't."

"I thought I..." His cheeks flame up with embarrassment and he puts on a front of nonchalance. "I thought I was your boyfriend, okay? That's it."

Oh.

You wish you could have given Emily a different answer that morning. You would have proudly told her that Spencer Reid is your boyfriend, but you couldn't.

"You never asked me." You say softly, shuffling awkwardly on your feet.

"Did I need to?" He wonders dumbly, and it's very obvious that he's just unaware.

You shrug, explaining your point of view. "I thought we were still at the talking stage."

"The what?" Spencer asks.

"Like when you're just talking and casually dating, trying to work out if you're friends or if there's a romantic connection." You describe.

He nods softly before his heart sinks again. "I'm sorry, I'm an idiot." You're easily the best thing that's been in his life for a long time, and now he's totally ruined it. If you didn't think he was too inexperienced before, you do now.

"You're not, not provably." You break the awkward silence and tension that's fallen over the room, making him chuckle a little. "And I like you, exclusively."

Spencer's frown is adorable but it's concerning large this time. "Really? Still?"

"Mm-hmm." You assure him. "As long as you promise to talk to me when something's wrong instead of icing me out."

He stands up quickly, nodding. "I swear and I'm really sorry." He promises you. "So would you like to go to dinner? As boyfriend and girlfriend?"

You try to suppress an inappropriately large grin. "I would."

Spencer doesn't hide his smile and he's awkwardly tripping over his bag and feet to meet you around his side of the desk. "Let's do it." He smiles softly at you, offering out his hand for you to hold.

You take it happily, walking to the elevator with him. "Let's do it, boyfriend."

[fanfictionstuff]

Can you do a Hanahaki disease with Ego Jinpachi? Maybe the reader has the disease? But with a happy ending because I don't want to cry lmao

Ego Jinpachi x Reader

Okay, so I know people have strong opinions about Ego, I gotta say, I find him attractive

I guess kind of OOC

TW: death? But not really because it's a happy ending

The first petal was confusing: an odd tickle in your throat leading to a horrible coughing fit. “_____, go drink some water,” Jinpachi had casually said, eyes locked on the screens. You pulled your hand away from your mouth and glanced down to see what had caused the odd tickle. A white and pink petal. You stared at it, trying to wrap your head around it. Why would a petal be in your throat? Have you eaten something with real flowers?

The next ones came when you offered Jinpachi something to eat, something you had cooked. He didn't even face you when he told you he didn't want it, but you still left it on the desk. Anri can just get rid of it if he doesn't eat it. As you stepped out of the room, another tickle in your throat, this time three petals. Same color as the first. It's what confirmed it. Then, as if the flowers themselves weren't bad enough, you used an app to identify them. Striped carnations- their meaning is rejection. Fitting.

The following few times, Anri was nearby, too, her big brown eyes full of concern as she questioned if you were sick. You coughed the petals into your hands and stuffed them into your jacket pocket. "No, just a tickle in my throat." You shrugged.

Of course, she was also nearby when it worsened; this time, a whole flower came up covered in disgusting saliva. As you stared down at the flower in your hand, Anri didn't freeze in panic; she didn't stare at you, trying to figure out what to do. No. She grabbed your wrist, nearly dragging you out of the Blue Lock building. You tried to argue. She didn't care. "This isn't just a tickle in your throat _____! You can die from this."

"______, what are your thoughts?" Ego asks without facing you. You remain silent, causing him to feel a hint of irritation. He swivels his chair around to face you, ready to ask again, but you're not there. He checks the time and notices it's not lunchtime yet. You never leave unless your shift is over or it's time for lunch. A few moments later, Anri enters the room. "Where is _____?" He asks. "At the hospital," Anri replies.

"She's in the hospital because of a cough?" He had heard how much you've been coughing lately, but he didn't think it was serious enough for hospitalization.

Slowly, Anri shakes her head. "No, it's worse than a cough. Maybe you should go see her."

It can't be that bad; you haven't said a word to him about it. "I'm busy at the moment, maybe later." He shrugs, turning back to focus on his diamonds in the rough.

“It’s Hanahaki disease.”

---------------------------

You are taken aback when Ego enters the hospital room. "What are you doing here? You should be concentrating on Blue Lock," you say casually, trying to make light of the situation. The doctor had insisted that you stay in the hospital for observation. "It's only a cough; I don't want you to waste your time." His eyes drift to the bed, where multiple flowers and petals are. "Hanahaki disease is not just a cough," Ego frowns at you.

Just as you are about to reply, there is a knock on the door. The sound interrupts you and catches your attention. "Miss ____," a doctor says as he enters the room, holding a chart in his hand. His gaze falls upon Ego, and he hesitates before asking, "Should I come back at another time?"

"No, it's fine. What is it?"

"As you are aware, there is only one choice. I am here to review the specifics with you. First and foremost, we must go over the potential consequences of the surgery. It is important to note that you will lose all memories of your current love interest; there is a small chance you may never experience romantic love again. However, this occurrence is extremely uncommon; most patients have no issues after the procedure."

You state bluntly, "I don't care what the statistics say. I am not going to have the surgery."

The doctor moves past Ego and stands at your bedside, gently touching your shoulder. In a calm voice, he tells you, "____, without the surgery, you won't survive."

"I'm aware. It's fine."

Ego shakes his head and moves to the other side of your bed. "Don't be ridiculous. Have the surgery; you'll recover at the Blue Lock facility. Don't concern yourself with work-"

"Jinpachi, I don't want the surgery because I don't want to forget him."  

The doctor interrupts, "It's a common response. Your love for him is so intense that it's physically harming you. If he doesn't reciprocate your feelings and you forego the operation, you won't survive. But after the surgery, you'll be fine. You won't even remember him; his memory will be completely erased."

Your voice takes on a sharp tone, filled with annoyance. "I can't just erase him from my life. It's not some fleeting crush that I can simply move past. I'd rather die." You turn your back to the doctor and Ego, keeping your gaze away from both of them. "You just don't understand."

Letting out a heavy breath, the doctor nods in understanding. "Take some time to consider it," he says before quickly glancing at Ego with a pleading look, silently urging him to try and convince you to change your mind.

As soon as the door shuts, Ego plops down on your bed and gives you a frustrated glare. "Don't be difficult. I need you in the Blue Lock program." You remain silent, refusing to look at him.

"You can't be replaced if you die."

"As your employee?"

"As my friend. You've been my closest friend for the last twenty-five years."

You give a slight nod. "I can't have the surgery because of that very reason. My life has been intertwined with yours for as long as I can remember. Without you, I don't know what I would do. What would I do when I wake up after surgery? There would be nothing left for me; everything would be wiped away." From your high school days, your life was centered around Jinpachi, choosing what university you should attend and what degree to pursue in order to support him as best as possible. There will be nothing left for you in this life if you have the surgery. "Death is a kinder option."

You lean back on the bed, giving the genius a moment to process your words. "I'm the reason you have this disease?"

A sudden fit of coughing overtakes you, leaving you unable to answer verbally. Instead, you can only manage a meek nod of your head as you try to spit out the flowers that have lodged in your throat. Your chest heaves, and your eyes water as you struggle to catch your breath, surrounded by the flowers. The coughing subsides, and you are left gasping for air.

Ego watches you with a mix of concern and frustration; his brows furrowed deeply as he processes everything you've just revealed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

After wiping your mouth, you pick up a flower and show it to him. It's a white and red striped carnation. "This flower represents rejection."

Ego gazes at you for a brief moment, his expression devoid of emotion, before he lets out a deep sigh and rises from his seat. You wonder if he plans to walk away, leaving you to deal with your problems while he tends to his important work. But to your surprise, he stays put and instead shoots you an irritated look as he grabs the bag that Anri has brought for you, containing a fresh set of clothing. "We're heading back. Let's go." As he speaks, he carelessly throws your belongings into the bag without much thought or care.

"I don't think the doctor is going to let me out without surgery."

With a heavy thud, he drops the bag at the foot of your bed and climbs over you in one swift movement. His long limbs form a cage around you, trapping you beneath him. His intense gaze locks onto yours, daring you to speak against his actions. But before you can utter a word, his mouth descends upon yours, silencing any protest. "Instead of doing something as reckless as this again, talk to me first," he murmurs between kisses. His lips move feverishly against yours as he scolds you for your near-death experience. "You would've died if Anri hadn't told me." He pulls away to look at you with concern before claiming your lips once more. "The flowers will shrink in size before they disappear." He speaks sternly. You gently push him off, feeling another coughing fit coming on. "Now let's go. The boys have important training to complete."

You remove the flower from your mouth and toss it at his head, but he catches it effortlessly.

A gentle knock echoes through the room, but before you can respond, the door swings open to reveal a woman around your age. She stands in the doorway with confidence, holding a clipboard in her hands. She gives you a warm smile. "Hello, I'm Mika, a therapist specializing in cases like yours," she introduces herself. "I understand how difficult this process can be, and I'm here to guide you through it and help you process any emotions or concerns you may have before the surgery."

"She's not getting the surgery. I'm taking her home."

"I understand your desire to respect her wishes, but death by Hanahaki is an excruciating experience," she maintains a professional tone, but inside she's confused from what the doctor had told her, she was expecting the man in the patient's room to advocate for the surgery. Her composure begins to slip as she starts to feel anxious.

Ego tilts his head in irritation. "She's not going to die. Call a nurse in so I can discharge her from the hospital."

As you leave the hospital, a car is waiting for both of you outside. The therapist hands you some documents about Hanahaki's disease and advises you to return to the hospital if the symptoms worsen. Ego throws your bag into the backseat of the sleek black car and takes the papers from your hand. "Ego-san, where would you like to go?" The driver questions.

"The Blue Lock facility." After answering the driver, Ego hits the button to raise the divider between the two of you and the driver.

As soon as you have some privacy, he turns to face you. "You know that besides soccer, you are the only thing that matters to me. When did it appear?"

"A few months ago."

"So, you were not going to tell me and just die?"

"Yeah. I didn't want you to feel guilty for not returning my feelings. So, I didn't want to tell you. If I had the surgery, you would've known it was because of you. If I had just died, you would never know who it was."

"_____, I love you. Why did you think I've made sure to keep you by my side? Since graduating high school, I've made sure you'll stay by my side." His confession is blunt and to the point.

"More than soccer?"

"Don't push it," he warns, his voice low and intense.

He bends down to kiss you once more, his lips pressing firmly and insistent against yours. His warm tongue slides teasingly along your lower lip, silently pleading for entry. Your heart races with anticipation as you let him in and melt into the passionate kiss.

Breaking away from the kiss, Jinpachi rests his forehead against yours, his warm breath mingling with yours. "Maybe a bit more than soccer."