#highly defensive reading etc

[jacksprostate]

dunno what that users on about... people on tumblr put way too much attention on the unnecessary

GOOD LUCK ON NOT FRYING YOUR BRAIN BOSS 🫡🫡

- SUPERFAN ANON BACK AT IT AGAIN

Eh I was a little annoyed but ultimately I just kind of feel bad for that person, it takes a lot of shit being fucked up for you to be a wholeass grown adult arguing to the death on tumblr + believing in a sort of catholic 'suffering means I'm moral' thing as a way to make yourself feel better about what feels unchangeably cruel about your life. It's why I was like, no I'm not gonna continue this. Not healthy for either of us.

[hotwaterandmilk]

Grabbed the latest issue of Sho-Comi because Mahou Shoujo Dandelion has been making waves on Twitter in advance of its release and I had to see how it actually turned out.

Mizuho Kaeru seemed a tad overwhelmed on socials about just how much anticipation the series was receiving based on concept and characters alone, but Mizuho should honestly be proud of how well they've lined up trending tropes in Dandelion.

You've got the nasty-cute monster dude (Shade) who would do anything for his bright ray of sunshine (Tanpopo). Throw in the nostalgic magical girl element and it's not hard to see why both Japanese and English-speaking fans have been anticipating this first chapter. So, does it live up to the hype?

I'd veture that yes, Dandelion is worthy of the excitement that has been building around it. It was good as a lunchtime read on my phone and while I'll probably have to re-read it to get everything I want from it, my initial impression is a positive one.

I'm not a fan of grumpy/sunshine type stuff but Tanpopo's strengths as a character really helped me enjoy what was on offer here. You can see why the Special Magic Warrior Management Organisation was interested in her, she's got a good heart and she's got gumption, even if Shade is the one who continually helps break her fall.

The complication here is of course that Shade, while obliging of Tanpopo in his own way, is also monstrous. He plays into this when he wants to, menacing Tanpopo herself at one point because he's A VILLAIN OK?? (Sure buddy.) With Tanpopo becoming Dandelion, how will their dynamic change? Can this uneasy relationship develop further when our leads are technically on opposite sides of a battle with life-altering stakes, despite a potential unspoken desire to present a united front?

What I like about Mizuho's approach in this first chapter is that the world these characters live in is already tinted with grey and what should be a black & white / good vs. evil situation is far more complex than this right out of the gate. The "monster of the week" that shows up here is grotesque and violent, hardly the sanitised version you'd see in childhood cartoons. However, the magic warrior org is quite willing to lop heads (literally) when they have to, showing that they are not all sparkles and rainbows either. Tanpopo and Shade are very much walking into unknown territory here and I'm interested to see how Mizuho handles things in chapter two.

I just have to add that I absolutely loved this moment where Dandelion, newly transformed, performs her first magical action -- restoring the umbrella she'd used defensively as Tanpopo. So much about her character expressed in this simple yet powerful action. LOVED ITTTTTT.

If the hype remains then I can see this one turning out to be a solid little series. There's definite potential here in both the characters and scenario. I highly recommend grabbing the magazine issue and supporting any other official releases that become available if you can. Mizuho is also happy for people to produce fan art, so maybe draw pic or share a tweet/post/etc. about it if you don't have the money to invest and help keep that hype train moving this way instead!

[curseofdelos]

I finished re-reading TLH recently, and I want to talk about the common fan interpretation of Piper as a pick me girl for a sec (let me preface this whole post by clarifying that while this is ultimately a defense of Piper as a character, it is also a critique of how Rick wrote her, Drew, and the rest of cabin 10)

The way cabin 10 is written in the books has never been great. Very early on in TLT, Rick makes a point to establish that Aphrodite had both sons and daughters:

Take note of how Rick explicitly genders Aphrodite kids in this paragraph, but uses the gender neutral "kids" to refer to the children of every other god. This is a very deliberate writing choice, and I can't think of any reason why he would have done this other than to (initially anyway) avoid associating womanhood with vanity/interest in personal appearances.

...And then in every book after this, cabin 10 heavily skews female, and traditional femininity becomes the butt of almost every joke about them.

Cabin 10 doesn't get any real focus until TLH with the introduction of Piper, Drew, and the rest of Cabin 10, in which Rick spends a lot of time establishing how different Piper is from the rest of her cabin because she rejects traditional femininity. Piper cuts her own hair, she doesn't wear makeup or care about fashion, she hates dresses etc. This is in direct contrast with Drew who's often described as wearing heavy makeup, having perfectly done hair, manicured nails etc.

Note that Piper's description of Drew's appearance is fairly neutral. Her problem with Drew is not in how she chooses to dress, but in her behaviour.

This would be fine if it weren't for the fact that every time Drew's appearance is described, it is directly preceded and/or followed by her doing something heinous. She insults and degrades Piper's appearance within seconds of meeting her, and we see this again in the Cabin 10 scene where she bullies and manipulates their siblings - kicking them out of the bathroom mid-shower, dumping a bin filled with used tampons on the floor and making them clean it up, etc.

Piper and Drew are in direct competition throughout the entirety of TLH. Piper strongly disapproves of the way Drew runs the cabin, they have differing opinions on Silena Beauregard (despite the fact Piper doesn't actually know her but I digress), and they're both interested in pursuing Jason romantically - Piper out of genuine attraction, and Drew out of the desire to break his heart for the Aphrodite Rite of Passage.

The narrative at every turn pits them against each other. Piper's intentions are always painted as pure and kindhearted while Drew is consistently characterised as a stereotypical mean girl who hurts others simply because she can. Drew is never given any motivation for acting the way she does, and her sole role in the story is to act as an obstacle for Piper to overcome so she could become counsellor (which is kind of pointless considering Piper never interacts with her cabin again after this). She's flat and two-dimensional, and never gets any real character development. Her sole personality trait is mean.

The result of all of this is that traditional femininity gets associated with shitty behaviour, while the rejection of traditional femininity gets associated with kindness and generosity. It should be stressed that Piper herself doesn't actually think that she's better than Drew because she doesn't wear makeup etc; Piper's issues entirely lie with Drew's behaviour. The worst Piper ever says is calling all of cabin 10 "shallow" which is no different to how the other characters talk about them (which is still a problem to be clear; it's just not a problem with Piper specifically, but how the narrative characterises cabin 10 as a whole). It's the narrative that paints femininity as lesser because of the way it positions tomboy Piper (the protagonist) as a better person than highly feminine Drew (the antagonist).

In fact, the most explicitly we ever see the book paint Piper's appearance as preferable to Drew's is in Jason's POV - not Piper's. After Piper gets claimed and Aphrodite changes her appearance, Jason spends several chapters going on and on about how much more beautiful and desirable Piper is when she's not dressed up or wearing makeup.

Because of all of this, it's not difficult to see why so many people in this fandom have interpreted Piper as a pick me 'not like other girls' type girl. The narrative constantly presents her as a better person than the more feminine Drew, and Jason (the boy they're competing over) chooses her at least partly because of how naturally beautiful she is without trying.

However, even though I do understand where this interpretation of her character came from, I do want to push back on it for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it is explicitly stated several times in TLH that the reasons Piper doesn't wear makeup and cuts her own hair is because (1) she doesn't like being the centre of attention (see the first screenshot of this post), and (2) she's rebelling against her father.

Piper's entire character arc in TLH centres around her initially being insecure at the start of the book to becoming more confident over the course of their quest. It is stated on several occasions early on that Piper doesn't like being the centre of attention, but by the end, she feels more comfortable in her own skin. She goes from being embarrassed/hurt by Drew's comments about her to laughing them off and standing up to her by the end.

The term "pick me girl" refers to girls who do things for external, mostly male validation. This is the exact opposite of why Piper doesn't wear makeup or conform to traditional femininity. She does this precisely because she does NOT want to draw attention to herself. The only male who's attention she is trying to get is her father's, and she's doing this by acting out in ways he doesn't approve of. Piper does want validation from her father, but she's not cutting her own hair to get his validation; she's so starved for affection that she wants any attention from him, even if that attention is negative.

Similarly, a major point of conflict for Piper is whether or not Jason is attracted to her, but she is not rejecting feminine things because she wants to impress him Jason does find those qualities in her attractive, but Piper held these opinions long before they even met. It was Jason/the narrative that paints those qualities in Piper attractive, not Piper herself. (Side note: there's a lot more to be said about how their relationship was written in TLH, but that isn't relevant to get into that here.)

The other reason why I want to push back on the interpretation of Piper as a pick me girl is that she's a queer woman. In a straight patriarchal society, women (women of colour especially) are often expected and pressured to perform gender in particular ways - wearing makeup, dressing femininely, being attracted to boys and exclusively boys. In much the same way that Piper's coming out now makes it possible to read her relationship with Jason as compulsory heterosexuality, it's also possible to read her discomfort with traditional femininity as discomfort with being a straight girl. It's possible to retroactively read Piper's dislike for feminine things as her feeling uncomfortable with heterosexuality but is too closeted at this point to realise it. She does, after all, cut her hair very short at the end of TBM while she is the process of exploring her sexuality.

(To be clear: I'm not arguing that this is what Rick had always intended for her - I assume he expected Jason/Piper would be endgame at the time he was writing TLH - but I do think there's a 'death of the author' interpretation available here that her hatred of dresses etc is an early sign of her being a closeted queer woman who is beginning to explore her gender presentation and sexuality.)

I feel that sometimes, in their efforts to (rightly) criticise the way femininity gets treated in this series, some people act as if makeup is in intrinsic part of womanhood and that Piper is a misogynist for not wanting to wear it. This is not true. It is not inherently misogynistic for a woman to dislike it - especially when that woman is queer, and especially in today's society where many women are pressured into wearing makeup to be taken seriously. Piper disliking makeup is not the problem.

The problem with Piper's story in TLH is that the narrative consistently presents her as a better person than the more feminine Drew, and a more desirable option for Jason because of how beautiful she is without trying really hard like Drew and the other Aphrodite girls do. Because every highly feminine character is either a villain (Drew) or a joke (Valentina in TOA), the result of Piper and Drew's rivalry is that femininity gets demonised by the narrative. Again, it's not that Piper herself thinks she's better than Drew for hating fashion; it's the way the story puts these characters in opposition to each other that results in femininity being framed as lesser.

I think a writer with a better grasp of women's issues (and queer women's issues especially) could have written a great story here on gender as a performance, and an exploration on conforming (Drew) VS rebelling (Piper) against gender norms! How there really is no winning and women get harassed for being too feminine AND for not being feminine enough (See: the jokes about Clarisse in PJO not being a girl/being manly because she's violent and rough around the edges)! What we got instead was a story that carries the deeply unfortunate implication that girls who don't care about their appearance are kinder and more desirable than girls who do.

It's not Piper that's the problem; it's the narrative. I think a lot of people have been conflating the two, and have been unfairly pinning the blame onto Piper's characterisation when the fault lies with the plot, and with Drew's characterisation as a flat two-dimensional mean girl stereotype. I think if Drew had been given a redemption arc like Clarisse, or some amount of depth that explains why she hates Silena and acts the way she does, or even if she and Piper had learned to respect each other despite their differences, then we would be having a very different conversation.

[planetsandstarsandstuff]

Synastry & Composite Chart Notes/Observations part ll:

🪐༘ Moon in the 10H synastry: Moon often feels a strong sense of pride in the 10H person, even if they don't know them very well. They can become very emotionally invested in this person's success and are often highly defensive of them, particularly from public scrutiny. (sidenote: if you have Moon in or ruling your 10th house, you might that find people feel this way about you regardless of where their Moon sits in your chart.)

🪐༘ Composite 3H Uranus/Uranus-Mercury: These placements can often speak to sporadic communication - going long stretches of time without speaking and then messaging each other out of the blue, conversations lacking rhythm, communication over text feeling incohesive, etc.

🪐༘ Venus in the 2H synastry: Venus loves giving compliments to the 2H person; making 2H feel good about themselves makes Venus feel good in return.

🪐༘ Moon in 1H/Moon-asc synastry: Moon is often very attached to the way the asc person looks and can be sensitive to changes in their appearance - this synastry reminds me of when a baby starts crying after their dad shaves his beard or gets a new haircut LOL

🪐༘ Composite Libra Mars: Conflict often feels extremely uncomfortable here.

🪐༘ Planets in the Composite 12H can point to themes that the two are shy about expressing with one another:

Venus - love, affection

Sun - personality, authenticity

Moon - emotions, vulnerability, earnestness

Mercury - communication, unfiltered thoughts + ideas

🪐༘ Mars in the 4H synastry: Mars can feel a lot of anger toward the house person's family on their behalf, sometimes really resenting them. This is like when you tell a friend about your parent treating you poorly and they get 10x more worked up about it than you.

🪐༘ We might be able to see how others feel about our relationship with someone by looking at how their planets interact with the composite chart. Their Venus can tell us what they like or possibly envy about the relationship, their Mars can tell us what might anger them about it, Pluto may be able to show where they feel jealous or try to assert their power, Mercury can show where they're most curious about the relationship or what aspect of it they may discuss with others, etc.

🪐༘ Both Jupiter and Neptune can often grant a lot of forgiveness in synastry, but in slightly different ways:

With Neptune, there tends to be a presumption of innocence about the other person - it's easy to forgive them because we have a difficult time believing they could ever intentionally cause harm. There's often a lot of tolerance here.

With Jupiter, we're more likely to recognize this person's flaws than we are with Neptune - we don't view them through the same rose-colored glasses. However, we still tend to be very forgiving of them because we have faith in their overall character and ability to grow. There's often a lot of good will granted here.

🪐༘ Saturn-Moon synastry: As the Saturn person, we often feel responsible for the Moon person's safety and emotional well being - there's a strong sense of obligation here. I find that even if we don't particularly like this person, we can't help but feel somewhat protective over them.

That's all, thanks for reading!

[soberpluto]

Astrology Observations - Moon & Aspects (Natal)

Moon conjunct Mars will have a fit or athletic body almost by rule. They use this to gain more self-confidence. They tend to have a challenging relationship with their mother (they feel like they have to assert or prove themselves constantly before her). They too fight against their feelings, literally.

Moon in Capricorn are very skeptical people. They can be overly materialistic, and will be really attached to the father figure, for the good and the bad. The tendency to become workaholics is huge. Their mother is seen as ambitious.

Moon conjunct Sun people are very transparent. What you see is what you get with them. They easily find their place in life, as their conscious and subconscious mind work together towards a common goal. They also see their parents as a united and cooperative couple.

Moon square Sun, on the contrary, struggles to build a successful life project in their youth; they constantly feel torn between two sides of themselves. They feel their upbringing doesn't quite support the direction they feel they should take on (e.g. their parents don't approve their life goals / they need to find success away from home, etc.). They will see their parents as dynamic, but not being exactly in the same page.

Moon in Aquarius has a really hard time building close relationships because they feel much safer keeping their distance, even if consciously they desire intimacy with a partner. This changes for the better as time goes by, particularly after their 1st Saturn return, as they begin to understand the value of vulnerability.

Moon - Saturn harsh aspects are not easy. Usually, these talk about a stern relationship with the mother. They could've been deprived from nurturing and affection or were raised by much older family members. They could've been caretakers of others in expense of their childhood. This makes them really defensive towards others and punishing with their own feelings. Rejection is super triggering for them. They certainly are releasing karma around family matters.

Moon - Uranus harsh aspects create the worst of contradictions. People with these placements have the most difficult time rooting down and finding stability in life. Mother figure was seen as erratic, unpredictable and independent, an attitude that most likely created in the native a disorganized type of attachment, the most challenging to overcome. This means that they are avoidant and anxious at the same, a predisposition that confuses them and blocks emotional intimacy with others.

Moon - Neptune aspects give psychic powers and immense creativity. They can perceive worlds beyond their 5 senses and will have a latent talent for psychology and mediumship. On the downside, the mother could've been overly idealistic and ungrounded, someone who they really can't pin down or trust upon; OR, highly spiritual and receptive, giving the child an ability to feel guided and connected with God. Sadly, they possess a higher risk of developing mental health issues when they leave their unconscious traumas or emotions unattended.

Wherever your Moon falls in your chart, you can expect uncontrollable sudden fluctuations. The key to manage these roller coasters is to see them as natural cycles, ups and downs in which you are meant to flow rather than dominate. Remember the Moon is connected to a karmic house, and the house it sits in represents a particular lesson for you to learn in this lifetime. If your Moon falls in the 4th, 8th and 12th (look out if it's in a water sign) and/or has contact with Saturn, this is a clear indication about major karmic release.

Thanks for reading! 😘

Written by @soberpluto

Book readings here! https://starintuitivehealing.etsy.com

[merakiui]

bestie if you EVER make a full length fic for the isekai leech twins protag who is engaged to azul you have to do me a solid and tag me! i want it soooo bad please lmk if there are any more crumbs

I think it would be fun to write! I'll be sure to tag you if I ever do! :D although rather than just a oneshot, I'd like to make it a series. Perhaps something small with just a few chapters. Aaaa but the more I think about it, the more exciting the plot can become.

✧ Mr. Leech hires Mama Rosehearts to be your personal tutor, in which you're then introduced to her highly intelligent son Riddle. The two of you become friends; you're just trying to network, but to Riddle you're the best thing ever and one of his first friends. The twins hate this development.

✧ Mama Ashengrotto dotes on you SO MUCH. It embarrasses Azul, but his mother can't help it. She just thinks you're so darling and so kind to her Azul, something she appreciates greatly. Originally Azul had no interest in you, so she was responsible for coordinating meetings for the two of you.

✧ Mama Leech is especially fond of you. You're her only daughter, so of course she's pleased to bond with you more. She likes having mother-daughter days with you, where the two of you can dress up and have breakfast or sit in the gardens and read together. No boys allowed. The twins tried to sneak into the last mother-daughter outing and were promptly sent away. T_T they try to spy and are always caught. While she's happy that her boys want to spend time with you, she also wants to have one-on-one time with you as well! You can come to her if you have any issues; she'll always listen, and sometimes she worries that her boys aren't being nice. She makes sure they treat you with kindness all the time.

✧ Papa Leech has a soft spot for you. He treats you as if you're his own daughter. Anything you want you'll have, whether it's a dress or a necklace or, strangely, brass knuckles???? He's not sure why you want them, but you tell him they look cool (the truth is that you're getting them so you can ultimately prepare for the bad ending should that ever happen LOL). He gets them, but he makes you promise to only ever use them for self-defense purposes. Floyd thinks it's so unfair that his father spoils you so much when you aren't even related by blood. >:/

✧ After your engagement to Azul, the twins have seemed much more invested in your life than they were before. They're also very handsy. You shake them off, but your scowl has yet to deter them. They just seem like you're annoying brothers to you, but the truth is they're trying to keep you from bonding with Azul. Azul didn't really care about this at first, but now he feels oddly annoyed and jealous whenever he sees the way they interact with you.

✧ Floyd acts like he doesn't like you, but he's so bad at hiding his very obvious affections for you. He gets flustered whenever his parents dress you up for nice events. You just look so pretty and sweet in your dress. He prevents anyone from getting too close to you at these social events by constantly hovering by your side. Somehow Azul always manages to steal you away when he's also in attendance at these events.

✧ Jade has a collection of items stowed away in an unlabeled box. They are things he's collected over the years and would like to give to you: a pretty stone, a bracelet, a charm, a hair accessory, dried flowers, etc. Though he's good at seeming indifferent and cool, he gets really flustered over the idea of presenting you these courtship gifts. So he pays attention to your tastes as they change throughout the years he's known you, and he buys or makes a little present for you for every year. <3

[sgt-tombstone]

CoD Military Realism References

UPDATED 05JUL24

For those of you who want to take your fic writing realism (or general military knowledge) to the next level, here is a compilation of real-world, declassified military documents ranging from field manuals to military academy graduate theses all pulled from the Internet Archive. If you're looking for something specific, I highly recommend browsing through their military collection, as they have handbooks on every military topic imaginable, including specific weapons and military operations.

All of these are incredibly outdated because all of the in-date stuff is still classified. That being said, some of these are more outdated than others. Use them at your own discretion and don’t feel obligated to make every detail of your fic entirely accurate. Fic writing is supposed to be fun for everyone involved. Don’t let the real world intricacies of the military distract you from making those military men kiss sloppy style 🖤

The resources that I personally find most useful are highlighted in blue but all of them have lots of valuable information. Read at your own discretion; the vast majority of these are official military documents and could contain shocking/triggering details.

General:

Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (DoD, 2001)

Good for looking up military jargon you don't know

Acronyms: pgs 488-606

Dictionary of United States Military Terms for Joint Usage (DoD, 1950)

Basic Training and Care of Military Dogs (US Army, 1972)

Military Working Dogs (US Army, 2005)

Good for any fics including our bestest boy (Riley)

Includes overview of training, administrative details, various jobs, and vet support for military dogs

Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad (US Army, 1992)

provides doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures on how infantry rifle platoons and squads fight

chapters covering doctrine, tactics, techniques and procedures, and includes a tactical standing operating procedure

State, Official, and Special Military Funerals (US Armed Forces, 1965)

Handbook for Next of Kin of Army Prisoners of War / Missing Personnel (US Army, 1972)

designed to provide important information in limited detail to the next of kin of missing and captured members in order to promote a better understanding of Department of the Army policies and procedures

unfortunately relevant for our favorite sudsy sergeant and his family :(

Communication:

Hand Signals

Radio Operator's Handbook (US Marine Corps)

Chock full of jargon and technical details that will unfailingly make you sound like you actually work with radio tech

Not recommended for anyone looking for a general overview

Tactical Single Channel Radio Communications Techniques (US Army, 1987)

See above

Combat Skills:

Combat Skills of the Soldier (US Army, 1984)

tells the soldier how to perform the combat skills needed to survive on the battlefield. These are basic skills that must be learned by soldiers in all military occupational specialties (MOS)

Great overview of camouflage, fighting positions, movement, communications, first aid, etc.

Hand to Hand Combat (US Marine Corps)

A little goofy but hey, hand to hand combat stays relevant, no matter how old the information is

Combat Training with Pistols and Revolvers (US Army, 1988)

Close Combat (US Marine Corps, 1999)

provides the tactics, techniques, and procedures of Marine Corps close combat

provides both the lethal and nonlethal close combat techniques needed to handle the situation responsibly without escalating the violence unnecessarily

Explosives and Demolitions (US Army, 2007)

the reference manual for explosives and demolitions procedures that support combat operations, as well as, peacetime training missions requiring demolition applications

Soap's favorite document (he'd probably know it front to back)

You know it's good when the table of contents is almost 20 pages long...

Camouflage, Concealment, and Decoys (US Army, 1999)

intended to help company-level leaders understand the principles and techniques of camouflage, concealment, and decoys (CCD)

Military Diving (US Army, 1999)

Likely the longest resource on this list

Incredibly in-depth; probably only useful if you're writing an entire mission underwater or involving serious diving

Combat Diving (Canadian National Defense, 2002)

contains the information required for the planning and execution of combat diving operations

A far more accessible resource for diving information than the Army diving manual (the Canadians know how to be succinct lmao)

Night Combat - Historical Study (Center of Military History, US Army, 1986)

Scouting and Patrolling (US Marine Corps, 2000)

provides the doctrinal foundation and the tactics, techniques, and procedures for scouting and patrolling from the fire team to the company level. Although the information focuses on infantry units, much of the information is also applicable to combat support units that are assigned patrolling missions

Officers:

Staff Duties in the Field (Canadian National Defense, 1995)

describes procedures for staff work prepared in support of field training exercises and for the planning and conduct of land force operations

Notes for Officers and NCOs on Methods of Instruction (School of Infantry, 1946)

A really cool teaching manual for officers and NCOs who are in charge of instructing new recruits. Doesn't outline what to teach so much as how to teach it

Army Non Commissioned Officer’s Guide (Us Army, 2002)

provides noncommissioned officers a guide for leading, supervising and caring for soldiers. While not all-inclusive nor intended as a stand-alone document, the guide offers NCOs a ready reference for most situations

people always forget that Soap and Gaz are leaders in their own right, with soldiers of their own to command (or at least they would've before joining the 141). This is an excellent guide for how they would act in a leadership position

Commander’s Tactical Handbook (US Marine Corps, 1988)

contains reference material frequently used to organize, plan, and conduct Marine ground combat operations. Its intent is to assist small unit leaders functioning at the company level and below, but it also serves as a field reference guide for all Marine leaders

Intelligence Officer's Handbook (US Army, 1998)

Probably not really relevant for anyone's fics; the 141 doesn't work in intelligence, and this handbook is for specific units within the US Army. An interesting read, though

Types of Operations:

Terrain:

Mountain Operations (Canadian National Defense, 1976)

Combat in Built-Up Areas (US Army, 1992)

Desert Operations (US Army, 1993)

Jungle Operations (Canadian National Defense, 1978)

Ground Combat Operations (US Marine Corps, 2002)

provides the doctrinal basis for the planning and execution of ground combat operations for ground forces

River Crossing Operations (US Army, US Marine Corps, 1998)

Mountain Operations (US Army, 2000)

Training for Urban Operations (US Army, 2002)

Guerrilla Warfare Tactics in Urban Environments Master's Thesis (US Army, 2003)

Not really an urban environment guide; explores whether or not the US Army needs better guidelines for urban warfare tactics

Other:

Guerrilla Warfare and Special Forces Operations (US Army, 1961)

Kill or Get Killed: Riot Control, Techniques, Manhandling, and Close Combat for Police and the Military (US Marine Corps, 1991)

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Operations (US Marine Corps, 1998)

Doctrine for Special Forces Operations (US Army, 1990)

Raid Operations (US Marine Corps, 2002)

Land Force Information Operations (Canadian National Defense, 1999)

describes a multidimensional concept used by the Army to achieve success across the continuum of operations. Information Operations (lO) is an essential combat function that must be integrated with the remainder of the combat functions to maximize combat power

describes the concept in detail, and outlines how lO relates to other combat functions and contributes to the success of commanders on the battlefield

Scout Platoon (US Army, 1999)

describes how the scout platoon conducts its primary missions, reconnaissance and security

focuses on the principles of platoon operations and on the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) the platoon uses to acquire information and provide security and protection for other units on the battlefield

covers a variety of supporting tasks and operations the platoon must perform or coordinate, either as part of its reconnaissance and security missions or as assigned by the commander

Engineer Reconnaissance (US Army, 1998)

Operations in a Low Intensity Conflict (US Army, 1992)

provides tactical-level guidance to brigade and battalion commanders and staff officers for planning, controlling, and coordinating combined arms operations in a low-intensity environment

focuses on tactical units' tasks and missions across the operational continuum just short of declared war

Counterguerrilla Operations (US Army, 1986)

Counterinsurgency Operations (US Marine Corps, 2004)

Medical/Survival:

Basic Medical Information:

Basic Medical Terminology (US Army)

Special Forces Medical Handbook (US Army, 1982)

Aidmans Medical Guide (US Army, 1973)

Medical Platoon Leaders' Handbook (US Army, 2001)

Basic Human Anatomy (US Army)

Basic Human Physiology (US Army)

Basic Patient Care Procedures (US Army)

Force Health Protection Nutrition and Exercise Manual (US Navy, 1999)

Treating Wounds in the Field (US Army)

Combat Life-Saver Medical Tasks (US Army)

Medical Interoperability Handbook (ABCA Armies, 2000)

Combat Stress (US Marine Corps, 2000)

Combat Stress Control in a Theater of Operations (US Army, 1992)

Self Aid and Buddy Aid (US Army, 2000)

Taking Vital Signs (US Army)

Preventive Medical Services (US Army, 2000)

Food Service: Army Rations, Food Packets and Supplements (US Army, 1968)

Treatment of Biological Warfare Agent Casualties (US Armed Forces, 2000)

Physical Readiness Training for Combat (US Marine Corps, 2004)

Specific Scenario Survival:

Summer Survival Course Handbook (US Marine Corps, 2002)

Winter Survival Course Handbook (US Marine Corps, 2002)

Basic Cold Weather Training (Canadian National Defense, 1974)

Soldier's Handbook for Individual Operations and Survival in Cold Weather Areas (US Army, 1986)

Basic Cold Weather Manual (US Army, 1968)

Combat Water Survival (US Marine Corps, 2003)

Ordnance Materiel in Extreme Cold Weather 0 to -65 F (US Army, US Air Force, 1959)

Map Reading and Land Navigation (US Army, 2001)

Survival, Evasion, and Recovery (US Armed Forces, 1999)

A really cool survival guide; recommended read for anyone

chock full of fun and useful acronyms

What to Expect if You Get Shot

Finding Your Direction When Lost

Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare (US Army, 1997)

Medical Evacuation in a Theater of Operations (US Army, 2000)

provides the philosophy of and doctrine for medical evacuation in a theater of operations (TO)

Tactics, techniques, and procedures for accomplishing the medical evacuation of sick, injured, or wounded soldiers are included

Environmental Injuries: Snakebite, Arthropod Bite/Sting, Plant Contact, Heat/Cold Injury (US Army)

Snipers:

Sniper Training (US Army, 1994)

The best sniper reference on the list

Not necessarily up-to-date but provides an excellent overview of every aspect of sniping, including equipment, ammunition, marksmanship, the effects of weather, field techniques, sniper positions, observation, mission prep, communications, tracking, etc

Sniper Training Program (US Navy SEALs)

Modern Snipers (2016)

Counter Sniper Guide (US Army)

Regardless of what we may call him, the individual who is shooting at police, firemen, soldiers or citizens is certainly dangerous. In order to counteract, we must employ a trained individual whose knowledge and skill fall within the dictionary description of a sniper, whom we shall refer to throughout the manual as a COUNTERSNIPER

Super badass ngl

Sniping (US Marine Corps, 2004)

Good explanation of sniper teams, equipment, training, skills, etc with helpful tables at the end

Special Operations Sniper Training and Employment (US Army)

Useful appendices at the end

Scouting, Patrolling, and Sniping (War Department, 1944)

Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism, and Intelligence:

Understanding and Surviving Terrorism (US Marine Corps, 2001)

Counterterrorism Handbook (2002)

Emergency Response to Terrorism (USDoJ, 1999)

Aptitude for Destruction: Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups and Its Implications for Combating Terrorism (RAND, 2005)

Countermobility (US Army, 1985)

Counterintelligence (US Army, 1995)

Intelligence Preparation of a Battlefield (US Army, 1994)

[theriverbeyond]

what series scratch the same "itch" as TLT for you? Recently finished the trilogy and feel empty and have found nothing to fill the void in my chest (lol) that TLT had in the weeks I was reading it. I have already experienced homestuck, when thhey cry, and most of the other "big names" of similar media. Any format works as long as its good. I like morally grey characters (Ianthe), well written female leads, character driven narratives and lesbians (in that order.

1. Princess Floralinda and the forty-flight tower (by Tamsyn Muir. excellent audio book narrated by Moira Quirk, same voice actor as TLT)

2. All of Tamsyn Muir's other novellas and short stories (The magician's apprentice, The house that did 16 loops of time, undercover, chew, the deepwater bride, etc)

Next up is entirely my personal and extremely picky and subjective preferences of brain zing, ranked in order of me remembering them

Chainsaw man manga (i read this 5x back to back when I first got into it in 2021. part 1 is complete, part 2 is still updating. part 1 can be experienced as a complete work. the anime is very good but the first episode is not as good as everything after it)

This is how we lose the time war book (feels sorta like fanfiction but the prose is gorgeous)

Interview with the vampire tv show (it's fun, it's camp, there are a lot of gay and bisexual people making really terrible decisions and being very hot)

Gurren Lagann anime (my favorite anime of all time. the women characters are not good, as is typical of many animes. the bathhouse episode can be skipped in its entierty without losing any plot. the overall story is really good and gives me that zing)

Arcane tv show (i watched this in full once and every since have just watched a caitvi + jinx whump clipshow but it did give me that zing. i do not care about the men)

Fullmetal alchemist manga or FMA brotherhood (really good and at this point a classic. royai is the queerplatonic campal blueprint i will not be taking critique at this time)

Revolutionary girl utena anime (watch the sub, do not watch the dub, the dub didn't make them gay. it's really good but heavy TWs and also it is paced like a 90's anime so: slow with a fair amount of filler, which can be good or bad depending on your preferences)

I have complicated feelings about Baru Cormerant and recommend reading up on content warnings if things like violent homophobia and very intimate portrayals of being a colonized subject are things that would upset you. It felt a little too personal to my life for me to like... think it was "fun" or whatever like it felt uncomfortably personal (and also subjectively I didn't super enjoy the pacing of the latter 2 books) but it did make me feel a lot of things and think a lot of thoughts. if the blurb sounds like something you are interested in then I recomend giving it a shot and then you can decide what you think of it yourself

Ancillary justice book (liked this one a lot, but havent felt motivated to read the sequel)

Other fun Studio Trigger animes such as Promare, Cyberpunk 2077, Kill la Kill

Nausicaa and the valley of the wind manga (the movie is good but the manga spanned 10 years, is gorgeously rendered, and goes MUCH more in depth especially wrt climate philosophy and such)

Slay the Princess video game (on steam but also I got into it just by watching letsplays online. It's really good and REALLY interesting, i love how it uses the visual novel format to its story advantage to pull of some incredibly cool story twists. Highly recomend!)

I feel like I am forgetting things that made my brain zing. My childhood special interest was CATS the musical (stage play and 1998 recorded production) and i definitely got brain zing from that but I don't think it has a lot of taste overlaps with tlt. this post really went off the rails but in my defense, it is after midnight

[turtlecleric]

(re: the tags of your rb of that "sitting here. unkissed." textpost) can you tell us how you think they would react to you saying that? :3

Lucky you nonnie, I couldn't sleep and was able to work on this while I waited for my alarm to go off

For full context:

Dearest @yorshie tackled this with the Bayverse boys. Highly recommend reading that. I'll take a swing at the Rise boys, though I do think their reactions would heavily depend on their mood at the time, what the two of you are doing, whether other people are around, etc. I'm imagining you on the couch in the lair, with your boy sitting nearby. Also. Don't expect much, I got about 5 hours of sleep lol

Leo

As soon as you say it he's whipping his head in your direction. A little surprised, a little excited, and a lot soft - because sometimes he feels like he's too much. Sometimes he gets that little voice in the back of his head saying that you're going to get tired of him, that you'll start to find him annoying, that he's too much, too much, always too much. But here you are. Asking him - in your silly dramatic way that he loves - for his attention. So he moves to kiss you, smiling the entire time, heart so full it feels like it might burst, and when he pulls back and you smile back at him, that voice in his head is a little quieter. (It feels inevitable to me that he eventually ends up on top of you, kissing you stupid, hands eagerly roaming all over. When he smells your arousal, he's quick to suggest that you move this into his bedroom.)

Raph

I like to imagine that Raph is a little shy in front of other people. If his brothers are in the room, I could see him blushing furiously and giving you a quick peck (if anyone says anything to tease him, he'd get really defensive and it would be ADORABLE). If Splinter is around he'd give you a look of alarm - babe PLEASE my dad is RIGHT THERE. But if you're alone... he'd smile and scoop you into his arms (picking you up like it's nothing) and kiss you sweetly. If things start to get heated, he'll stop. If you whine about it, he'll timidly suggest going to his room. (And once you're truly in private he'll let himself get lost in the feeling of your lips on his. Letting you decide the pace, letting you lead, but enthusiastically giving you whatever you want.)

Donnie

"Mm. A tragedy, really. You have my pity."

When you whine his name he finally looks at you and smirks. Reaches for you and pulls you into his lap, studies your expression closely. Holds your chin and leans in to kiss you slowly, deeply. When he pulls back, seeing you flushed and a little dazed, his smirk widens.

"Better?"

You nod, and he hums. The smirk falls as he stares at your lips, and you can't help but squeak when suddenly he's carrying you to the lab. When he sits you on a table and tells Shelldon not to let anyone in, your heart does something funny in your chest. He's standing between your legs, staring, staring, staring while the lab goes into lockdown.

"Donnie, I-"

That's all you can say before he dives back in. Kissing you like he's starving for it as his hands grip your waist, your thighs. You're already wet when he pulls your pants and underwear off and kneels between your legs. When he slips his tongue inside of you and you whimper, you swear you can feel him smirking again.

Mikey

He gasps dramatically, absolutely BEAMING, and jumps on you. Presses his forehead against yours, and says, "I can fix that." Kisses you once, twice, three times on the lips. Then moves to your neck, making you giggle as he presses more quick kisses to your skin and nuzzles into you. Depending on how you react, he might just pull you into his lap to snuggle, randomly kissing the top of your head or your nose and making you giggle. Or. He might get a mischievous grin and ask if there's anything else you'd like him to fix.

[enidtendo64]

I just finished Wednesday today and I'm full on the wenclair ship!!!! so I'm glad to have seen your art just as I'm done lmao. if you read wenclair fics do you have any recommendations?

OOOOH Okay nice nice!!!

I'm so sorry this is so late but I hope you still want some recs, bc I def got some for you! I tried to keep these pretty succinct and not too many bc a lot of these are pretty long reads but these are some of my fav Wenclair fics to read and reread! I made sure to put different types/genres of fics in here too so there's a diverse list of flavors on here! Most will be complete but I'll throw in some WIPs i've been keeping an eye on!

If We Make It Through December by overnights: If you love FLUFF and Enid interacting with the Addams Fam! A wenclair STAPLE tbh, fake dating, Enid being invited to the Addams Mansion, and CHRISTMAS fic all in one! The dynamics between the Addams and Enid are always sweet, and Wednesday and Enid just teeter on that close friendship to oh, maybe it's love??? thing and it's so sweet to see. It's just very lovely and wholesome! A great execution of that 'fake dating but oops you were in love all along haha' trope!

Magus et Lupus by wigglewyrms: Ok like I had to rep one of my pals in here but in my defense this is genuinely so good and one of my favorite wenclair fics before we even became friends! It's a fun fantasy Wenclair with dialogue that's just so fun and snappy and witty! You're gonna have fun reading their conversations and then you're gonna get caught up into the world and the story! The plot is very fun and the end is a very fun payoff! I think I might have overused the word fun a lot for this fic but like that's just what this fic is--It's entertaining, it's engaging, and it makes you feel like you're having fun reading wanting to know what's next or what's this person gonna say or etc. It's a fic you read and you feel good! 100% Recommend! I even drew art for it if you're interested (which I should honestly repost on here soon)

I'd recommend their other stuff too-- Stubborn, Single Minded, and Obsessive is great if you like the slasher horror genre with a dash of Addams Family Values Lore, and their most recent one that's a WIP, When The Moon Shines Red is a very fun fic focused on Enid's werewolfisms but dangerous, with a very sweet friendship to relationship evolution between Enid and Wednesday!

i know the end by thriftedstars: If you're an angst lover like I am, you're gonna LOOOOVE this! A sort of groundhog's day type of fic, it focuses on the day of the last episode of the first season--Enid, Wednesday, Tyler, Crackstone, all that entails in that night. It's a really fun read just to know what happens next and how Enid gets out of the situation but also to see the girls' relationship grow in this terrible situation. Lots of emotion! Listen sometimes you just need the hurt for the ending to be sweeter! Recommend wholeheartedly!

curtain call by hanjisgirlfriend: on the complete opposite side of the last fic, Curtain Call is an enemies to friends to lovers Wenclair that does an amazing job of capturing that kind of high school love story kind of vibe but like also a dash of youthful nostalgia. It gives me the same vibe of like, if I was listening to the Kids album by Mac Miller--They're kids and they're friends and they're growing up and they're growing up together. I HIGHLY recommend as well, like it genuinely makes my heart lighter thinking about how sweet this is.

raven in the den, wolf in the nest by Barbara_Lazuli: So you might be familiar with the author's name--Artist, Comic maker, Writer, literally what CAN'T she do!!! This fic is another fake dating fic but a different flavor from the first one! This one really dives into both Enid and Wednesday's relationships with their mothers, as well as the building feelings they already have for each other. Their bond in this fic is nothing short of sweet and heartwarming, and I genuinely think this is one of the best fics in the tag! Just got so much substance! Also all the Addams family media references and the Loona refs-- like Barb if you read this you're a champ for making Wednesday play Sonatine and also listen to Hula Hoop and just for making this in general????? Seriously how are you so talented bro

queen of the night by heyfools: Look, a flower shop AU hits okay? And this? THIS HITS. Wednesday is an owner of a flower shop, Enid needs a job, and we know where this is going. But man the way you get to know both characters a little more--their histories, traumas, likes and dislikes and their personalities beyond "appropriately polite cowoke" (well, polite for Enid, not so much Wednesday at first) it's soooooo good! You have a journey along with the characters and you really get invested in their relationship! A great read, especially if you wanna read something like in the afternoon light with a nice lemonade maybe, or like just a very relaxing fun read!

Forged in Blood by RiseAboveTheAshes_203: Okay so this one is a HEAVY HITTER! We're getting into the big bois! It's a 100k fic about Wednesday and Enid basically dealing with the consequences of Enid becoming a blood wolf-- and bro you are seated, belted, strapped into the ride every step because PHEWWWW what a RIDE! It has really interesting lore building upon werewolf society in the show and also witchery and magic from the Addams family. And all of that is great and amazing but the real star of this is just Wednesday and Enid being Wednesday and Enid--they are DEVOTED to each other! Even if they don't quite understand the full means of it yet, and if it gets them in trouble sometimes. It's amazing to see their relationship grow and them understand what they truly mean to one another and it's a captivating love story that also happens to have fun world building for the show and amazing moments that just leave you so tense to know what happens next! I was so tuned in when this was still a WIP I remember refreshing the tag every lunch time for a while for a chapter I was HOOKED, and I'm sure you will be too!

A Kidnapping By Any Other Name by Ravenmoon33: So bear with me this is gonna be a long one; Ok! So this is the other WIP I've put in here (aside from When The Moon Shines Red) and let me tell you--this fic changed my life fr. Some TLDR lore about it tho--the version I linked above there is a revised version! They have an old version they still have up on their account and honestly I also HIGHLY recommend that version too bc it had me in bed giggling kicking my feet like ROMANCE. ROMANCE WAS MADE in these ao3 walls!!! (The flower scene???? No spoilers if you know you know but OOOOOOOOGGHHHH I would not shut up about it for WEEKS Im so sorry to my friends and my poor gf) but I also highly recommend the new version as well! If you've read the first version and are keeping up with the new version, the new things are also so good and you can tell the author is so locked in and excited with what they've added and what they've changed, I honestly recommend both;

So onto what it's actually about-- Enid is "kidnapped" by Wednesday and is "forced" to stay at her best friend's mansion for the summer. And you know what happens? LORE. So much worldbuilding on Addams family lore like it's AMAZING!!! You read about new characters the family past and what it means for Wednesday and Enid, and if that's not enough, there's also the MYSTERY aspect too because Weds and Enid will have to deep dive into that lore to figure out a problem in the present and it's so much FUN to like try to figure out how things go together! I love that aspect of both the versions so much that it's only rivaled by my immense love of how everyone's relationships are written! Enid's relationships with the other members of the Addams fam, especially Morticia, is so healing and heartwarming, and we see Wednesday's different dynamics with her family and how Enid affects her and helps her grow and you see those relationships with her family members grow because of it! And of course, the obvious, Wednesday and Enid basically having a love story for the ages cause JESUS, this is ROMANCE. Wednesday BIG FUCKING ROMANTIC Addams!!! It's amazing omg I wanna say more but I also don't bc I don't wanna spoil but I absolutely cannot rec it enough, even if it stays unfinished it will still be genuinely one of the best wenclair fics for me.

Tumultuous Waters: Wednesday Season Two by KrackenoftheDeep: So we're here at the last one. I didn't really list these fics out in specific order but I did save this specific one for last bc I genuinely think this is my favorite Wednesday fic. This is like a full ass season 2! It's a telling of how season 2 could happen, continuing from season 1 and picking up the ball the first season threw with stuff about the Morning Song cult, a deeper dive of Crackstone and Goody, more worldbuilding about the outcasts and the school, and best of all-- THE Wednesday and Enid dynamic that to me would be so fucking ideal for season 2 if Timothy Burton wasn't a COWARRD!!! /j /maybe

The growth Enid and Wednesday have in this fic, along with the exploration of the other characters, more investigations not just by Wednesday but also the other nightshade members helping and getting involved as well! You really get to feel so many things for these characters, and all of that pays off in one of the most satisfying endings for me in a fic like the author really fucking knocked this out of the park I felt like giving a standing ovation!

I genuinely don't think the Wednesday writers could like, live up to this. At least for me, it's that good. This is everything I've ever wanted for a Wednesday s2 honestly and I honestly, HONESTLY could not recommend this enough.

And after you read this, you can follow along the author's sequel to this fic, The Infinite Black Sea: Wednesday Season 3. Again, also highly recommend! A new mystery afoot!!!

I'm so sorry I didn't expect this to get super long but sometimes you just gotta give tens where tens are deserved!!! There are so many more great wenclair fics out there that deserve a reading and loving, like I know the tag can look a little scary sometimes but seriously there's some great gems there underneath all the scary stuff lol

These are just some of my personal favs, and honestly thank you to all the authors here yall are doing God's work fr!!!

[rin-and-jade]

Guide on Amnesia [Fixes and Solutions]

To check what types of amnesia are there, click on this post prior reading! This is a compact, straightforward post to keep amnesia at bay.

General amnesia

Caused by: major disruption such as a concussion or huge shock/realization How it works: disorganizes or disrupts neuron firings as a whole, causing past and present memories to fleet away temporarily Solution: bring yourself back to a regulated state, things like grounding techniques, vagus nerve stimulation, do calming activities, or go to somewhere safe and quiet to recollect oneself

Localized amnesia

Caused by: psychological defenses, or disruption within a specific region How it works: Same as general amnesia, though more region-based Solution: focus on de-stressing, assure yourself it will pass and don't force on remembering. Your brain will open up the pathway when you're in a better state

Selective amnesia

Caused by: intentional selective inhibition How it works: the prefrontal cortex and limbic region actively search for highly emotional/stressful memories to repress them and create temporary stability Solution: use coping mechanisms, or create plans to avoid overwhelming feelings from disrupting your memory and thinking. The better you can handle stressful situations, the less inclined it feels about repressing memories to protect you

Emotional amnesia

Caused by: dissociation How it works: the amygdala and prefrontal cortex stops "communicating" for safety reasons , thus creating an emotional gap within a memory Solution: create a safe space to uncover how you truly feel within the memory, you were protected from overwhelming feelings through dissociation so you can still observe and understand what happened. Only until it feels safe and in a collected state, to be able to process the emotions

Continuous amnesia

Caused by: a perpetual state of anterograde amnesia How it works: stress and other disruptions causes worsened abilities to form and recall memories, whatever stress/trauma that is impeding the process will continue to cause amnesia until alleviated. The hippocampus is severely compromised due to it Solution: quickly get out of the loop by grounding, and resolve the ongoing stress or triggers that is causing dissociation and involve calming methods to regulate both your mind and body back to balance

Fragmented amnesia

Caused by: dissociation, stress, and missing sensory information (sight, hearing, tactile, etc) How it works: dissociation/disruptions and incomplete sensory input causes gaps, which then disjoints and makes it impossible to integrate a sense of time or flow. causing separate bits of short memories Solution: often needs long term investment to create higher stress resilience, better coping methods, and other solutions that doesn't need dissociation to solve. Find what you need to work on, and what best suits as solution (Like DBT, etc)

To solve amnesia barriers, see the post on splitting and fusing, which also touches the disconnection between alter's memories and feelings and how to lessen them.

For inner-communication issues, see the post here which covers everything relevant on this topic.

--

What do you guys think? Feel free to say your inputs or your own advices on how you keep your amnesia at bay!

For questions about amnesia and how to handle them with more detail, please don't be shy to contact or ask anything related about it.

- j

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 37

hello and welcome to fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics.

1. Fade to Black by @yokohogawa

Things between Keith and Lance are changing but Keith is restless, especially with Shiro still weak, and ends up taking a bad decision: he leaves Lance alone in the Castle with a Lion he cannot pilot. Unable to form Voltron without the newly appointed Red Paladin, the four Paladins left struggle against the sudden attack of a Galra ship and later on take damage from the explosion of a star in close proximity. Lance, on the other end, is left to defend the Castle by himself and has little time to succeed: without energy, the Lions have only 6 hours of breathable air. Beyond that point, his friends will be dead.

okay yes technically this series is unfinished. HOWEVER the first two works ARE finished, and they are amazing showstopping incredible etc. tbh im not much of a black paladin lance fan, i genuinely think solo leadership is not what he is suited for, but this fic made me way more open to it. the way he handled severe crises was as fear stricken as it was awe inspiring highly recommend

2. once again i am a child by @lilaclavenders

“You’re not a spare tyre,” Adam interjects.  “I know that,” Lance says, too unsure to sound completely defensive.   “That almost sounded like a question.” “No... it didn’t,” Lance says.

Lance and Adam talk.

i have always been a fan of lance and adam even tho its the most evidence lacking fanon thing in this fandom. its truly just so interesting. and to have lance as a young cadet getting slammed so badly just in so many different directions being given at least one grownup in his corner...its a good read.

3. Lance the language man by @irish-vampire-blog

Lance didn't really try to learn a language. He just, kind of, picks up the basics and then works from there. Its usually unintentional. Ish.

He isn't stupid though. He isn't an idiot. He just isn't the same kind of smart as his friends are.

this kind of smart for lance is so REAL bc no he cannot do like quantum physics or whatever probably but the way he seems to have a pretty innate ability to successfully do many things that he tries. he just can u know?? thats the autism with the gay audacity i would imagine but i love seeing fics like this

4. my boyfriend's back (and you're gonna get in trouble) by teacupfulofbrains

hey la, hey la, my boyfriend's back

Keith Kogane has never heard of Vine. Lance McClain takes personal offense to this, and makes it his personal mission to teach his boyfriend to meme. Keith is confused, mostly.

(OR: several instances of Keith not getting the meme™ and two times he did)

I LOVE THIS FIC SO BAD I CANT BELIEVE I HAVENT RECCED IT BEFORE. yes i am a cringe zillenial who still finds vine funny and quotes it on the internet but truly idc idc. this fic is funny. this fic is cute. established klance my love and light. also keith comparing lances eyes to the star of bombay is some of the gayest shit ever and also the only time i will entertain blue eyed lance

5. The Most Dangerous Thing is to Love by running_downn

Last time something like this happened to Lance, Keith wasn’t there. He’d thought he would have been able to do something if he had been there, or at least if he was, the guilt wouldn’t be so heavy on his chest. But this time he was there. He was right fucking there and he decided that it was infinitly worse.

~

Basically there's a new threat after the Galra and it almost kills Lance. Desperate making out ensues, but it's okay to recognize when it's not the right time for it. Keith cries a lot cause he's older and grizzled and therefore not as emotionally stunted.

green sock reality? team still out fighting as adults and lance isn’t a fucking farmer while the rest of the team isn’t? keith’s abandonment issues treated with respect and dignity and also the acknowledgement that he’s older and therefore mature enough to handle those issues in a way that doesn’t risk a relationship that is important to him? lance understanding all this and using the supportive nature he is known for??? yes yes yes. stellar fic that should have way more hits than it does

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!

[synchodai]

I will say that the while it's clear issues were present during the making of hotd s2, it's still a shame that the cregan/jace adventures in the north weren't given any attention. I thought they would capitalize on a stark/targaryen pairing considering how popular each respective side is

Also looking at s2... jace just did so little lol because other than his conversation with his mother towards the end, his presence this season was just so lackluster. I can't even lie, but that house Frey scene felt like a bit of a consolation prize for his lack of initiative everywhere else. In my opinion, I think it's easy to like jace after you read f&b and his death definitely adds to his appeal, but I really enjoyed how his actions (that were said to be done by him ig) have extreme consequences even when you could tell the incentive to do them were either for his family's safety or to prove himself. There's just so much more you could have done with that than just his feelings about being a bastard. These were admirable attempts during war, but they were shortsighted as well, and it's interesting to think about how if he had lived, he could have had the opportunity to grow and change

I think he could have returned after rhaenys dies maybe they use his short temper that we saw in s1 that after hearing about luke's death, he tries to do something stupid, but cregan, feeling sorry for him stops him and he stays there until he has his head on midly straight. They could've had some bond during his stay and jace's character could have been plain about any anger or guilt over luke, being a bastard, etc. We could have done more with cregan (like it's funny as a show only you know nothing about his story), but that can be changed when he comes back in season 4 probably

Idk but the prophecy having so much relevance as you finish s1 and s2 just makes me wish for a story where these highly privileged people with dragons acted for reasons for a cause that THEY believed were valid as they dragged everyone else into it including the smallfolk because tbqh even though they waged war all over, you can still feel this immense sadness over the fate of many of these characters

either way, I understand that much goes into making a TV show so I try to take it in good faith about choices they make, but idk I'm still so disappointed about this season

sorry for the word vomit :)

Yeah, there's a whole camp of the fandom that's disappointed Jace didn't get his flirty side quest. That being said, I do like the scenes that we do get of Jace in the show — even waaaaaaaaay back in season one, I loved how they characterized him.

You're right, anon; he IS shortsighted. Way back in the dinner scene in season one, we see Jace can play a political game of nuance and subtle jabs when he invites Helaena to dance as an insult to Aegon, but we also see him be the one to escalate things to violence by throwing the first punch. He's not above throwing petty insults, but he also throws a tantrum when those insults are returned in kind. He's not the innocent, even-keeled political savant some people think he is.

Even when I read the book, I always imagined Jace as a bit of an asshole in the same way a lot of insecure teenage boys are. Every political player in this overly privileged family is some level of asshole. (Which is also why I disagree with a lot of fans who say he would have made for a perfect king but that's another rant for another time.) And that's what makes them compelling characters.

That's why we needed to see that northern sojourn where Jace learns to somewhat chill. There's an obvious change in demeanor between season one Jace and season two Jace, and you can totally attribute that to him being given the space not to be on the defense all the time. The writers could have gone with the Sara Snow story, the Brokeback Winterfell angle, or something else entirely, and any of it would have worked.

Alas, the show's priorities are really obvious at this point. If it's not about Rhaenyra/Dany being the prophesized chosen one, they're not interested.

[aliquistis]

On Mystra and Gale

Okay I gotta say it.

tl;dr: Gale is too old to have been groomed by Mystra (unless you headcanon him as 30 or younger), bc she was dead until 1479 (game year is 1492). I am not defending Mystra. Mystra is a mess. Her (FR) writing is a mess. But for this at least, the timeline doesn't add up.

Disclaimer: there is absolutely nothing wrong with people disregarding/tweaking lore for fan works/fanfic. God knows I do it all the time when I GM. That's your story now and you can do whatever you want with it, including exploring problematic relationships like what if Gale was groomed by Mystra? This is just a post for general information. Write what you want. Explore those dark recesses of the human heart. Fly free, you beautiful butterfly.

Too long but still gonna read explanation under the cut.

Let me preface this again: This is not a post in defense of Mystra. I have, in fact, been very loudly complaining about Mystra since long before Baldur's Gate 3 was even hinted. This is simply pointing out timeline discrepancies that it seems many newcomers to Forgotten Realms aren't aware of (totally understandable! You should not need to ingest 30 years of lore to enjoy a game and I'm not saying you do.) Additionally, FR literally kills Mystra every new edition and it gets dumber every time.

Anyways. It is highly unlikely that Gale was groomed by Mystra. This is not a statement of morality, it's a statement of timeline. Mystra died in 1385. She was in pieces (like bits of her magic were still in artifacts/her Chosen, such as Elminster in lore that I absolutely despise) and that, as far as I can tell, is how magic subsisted until 1479, when she was reconstituted by Elminster (in lore that I absolutely despise) This is a gross oversimplification of an event called the Spellplague. I am open to correction on how magic worked here because I moved to Pathfinder during the 4e era and you could not make me read those Elminster books if you put a gun to my head.

Regardless, from 1385-1479, Mystra was dead/missing/asleep. BG3 takes place in 1492. If Gale is 40 years old, he was born in 1452. This means, if Gale is 40, the youngest he could have been was 27 when Mystra contacted him. This lowers, obviously, if you think Gale is 35 or even 30. If he's 30 then Mystra could have contacted him at 17. Yes, a 17 year-old is a child and this could have led to grooming, but Mystra wasn't at full strength when she first returned and she most likely wasn't seeking new Chosen until the next year, 1480. Regardless, this is the reason I put grooming as Highly Unlikely instead of Impossible. I personally believe Gale is older than 30 (I say this as a person in their 30s), I believe he was written with the intention of being a man older than 30, and I cannot see him being in his 20s. (more power to you if that's your headcanon, he's an archmage, he could be 600 for all we know, fly free, etc)

OKAY THAT SAID. Would she have groomed him? Fucking probably! Mystra is a mess. I have been playing in Forgotten Realms in tabletop and video game settings for going on 25 years now and let me tell you. Mystra is a mess. I could make a whole long ass other post on all the many problems I've had with her writing over the years. Even without the "Mystra banged a minor" angle here, there is a serious power imbalance and very obvious manipulation on her part. And I'm here to tell you Gale isn't even the first wizard she has done this to! She's done much worse! Mystra has a ton of flaws (I could write a BOOK on Mystra's flaws) but it remains highly unlikely that grooming Gale in particular is one of them.

If you'd like more FR lore this person has some amazing lore write-ups that I really enjoyed reading during EA. And here is Mystra's forgotten realms wiki page, already linked to her death and return.

(my friend told me to post this after I kept bitching to them about Lore on discord and They Know Who They Are)

[1moreff-creator]

Happy Birthday Teruko Tawaki!

It's the protag's turn for a birthday post! You know what that means! Small character analysis, fun facts and songs that remind me of her! Let's celebrate! Just make sure to bring out the fire extinguisher before lighting any candles... actually just keep the extinguisher handy in general :v

-Being the protagonist of the series, we actually know quite a lot about her backstory. Enough to know it's quite sad in general terms. This is because she appears to have supernaturally horrendous luck, which she claims affects her and those around her. She's mentioned several instances of highly unlikely, unlucky situations she gets into constantly. From washing machine explosions, vehicles crashing, theaters being "too flammable" for her, all the way to being stuck in a killing game where she gets betrayed, stabbed, her friends die, etc.

-She's an orphan who's never known her parents. She had a brother who was compassionate, but constantly hurt by her misfortune. That brother got adopted when Teruko was around five, and she's never seen him since.

-She doesn't have an ID, which meant she had to attend schools by stealing uniforms and infiltrating them. She then usually gets caught and repeats the process several times a year. She is also in a lot of medical debt as a result of her constant injuries. Given all of this, she actually prefers living trapped in the killing game, though obviously she'd rather not have people killing each other around her.

CW Suicide

-That said, it seems her luck prevents her from dying. She told Xander that she wouldn't die because she was the Ultimate Lucky Student, and it was implied she's unsuccessfully attempted suicide by hanging.

CW over

-This misfortune has led her to develop a tremendously pessimistic view of the world and her life, believing her fate can't be changed and resigning herself to her bad luck.

-This also extends to her relationships. She tried to be amicable at the beginning of the killing game, but after Xander stabbed her, she decided to stop trusting everyone else. She now carries around her unique weapon, a hunting knife, for self-defense. This is a pretty understandable reaction given everything she's gone through, but it will inevitably go wrong (prediction).

-Her numeral in the David MV is unlucky number 13 (XIII). Go to 1:22:20 on this video for an explanation!

-The secret quote on her page's source code is "It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all." Probably something she'll say in the final trial, given that this is one of the main messages the series seems to be aiming for.

-The quote on Mai's page attached to Teruko is "Some years ago, she was searching for someone named ‘Teruko Tawaki.’"

...

-Yeah, Teruko's relationship with Mai is one of the most mysterious parts of this series. Given that quote, it's very possible they knew each other several years before the killing game, got separated, and reunited some time before the killing game. After all, Teruko does remember meeting with Mai in the CH 1 Ep 6 dream sequence. If you want to read some of my other opinions on Teruko and Mai, I'll recommend reading the related portion of this post.

-Though adding to that, Teruko and Mai seem to have matching phone charms :D

-There is a lot more to talk about with Teruko, but I'm done for the day :v

Fun facts!

-Her nationality is "legally in question", whatever that means.

-She's left-handed, the only lefty in the cast!

-In kanji, her name is spelt 田脇【た ・ わき】暁子【て る ・ こ】

-She has prosopagnosia, aka face blindness. And fun fact about me, I actually have this too! I may have learnt about it when Teruko was a bit too relatable in that one conversation-

-Her favorite color is red due to "association." Possibly because it's Mai's hair color. Her least favorite color is pitch black because it's unsettling.

-Her hair recently started turning grey, probably from stress. Wild.

-Her favorite ice cream flavor is red bean.

-Her sexuality is unlabeled.

-She smells of dirt, sawdust, and burnt smell.

-Straight from a Q&A, "Her fashion sense diverges from what she’d actually wear. Secretly she wants to wear girly, cute things, but is unable to afford that kind of thing. She likes skirts."

-She likes fresh food, food which can be prepared without endangering herself with knives and stoves.

-Her birthday, January 7th, lands on "distaff day", "I am a mentor day", "old rock day", "bobblehead day"... still don't know how these come about. I think my favorite for this day is "I'm not going to take it anymore day." That's hilariously in character for Teruko xD

Songs!

-Again by Crusher-P

-The Things I Deserve by Ghost & Pals

-God-ish by Pinocchio P

-The Medical Anomaly by RIProducer

-End-World Normopathy by Ghost & Pals

-Scapeg∞at by Ghost & Pals

-Chronic Wasting Disease by RIProducer

-Those Who Carried On by Ghost & Pals

And Happy Birthday! Well, that was fun. Now I have to deal with the meteorite which struck me midway through writing this post! Take care!

(to be clear the meteorite thing is a joke)

[familyabolisher]

Apologies for bringing up a topic you've already discussed at length, but I've read through your posts on "anti-intellectualism" and completely agree with you on all counts. But I'm just now curious about how you'd define the increased culture of outright rejection of critical analysis (vague though the term is) as opposed to simple disinterest. Situations like people dismissing any deep analysis of systems, media, texts etc with "It's not that deep", or hostility towards fuller and in depth responses to statements (especially on social media with the ever prevalent "not reading that"), with the result often times being that anything requiring slight effort to engage with, or that isn't entertaining is dismissed completely.

Although I understand that these are just peoples reactions on the internet, and not systemic or material issues, I'd love to know your thoughts on how that cultural behaviour and trend could be classed, if not as anti-intellectualism.

(there are obviously a huge amount of external reasons (the attention economy, media, education etc) for people to react in that way, so I'm not blaming people personally, nor do I think everyone needs to go read Hegel and become a master critical thinker, but I do think it is a trend that has some damaging effects, especially as a response to any criticism of capitalism)

talked a little about it here—i guess i would ask what you're actually seeking to accomplish with the word "define," because there's no one explanation that can neatly account for every individual rejection of the practice of critical reading, and nor should we be seeking to find one. certainly 'anti-intellectualism' doesn't cut it, so i would just reiterate the point i made in the initial piece—how people feel about critical analysis, what their base skill level in critical analysis actually is, how that skill level is articulated, what their relationship is to the work or works in question & the respect with which they are willing to treat it are all highly contingent questions which cannot be easily explained away but instead merit thorough materialist investigation. ultimately as marxists we have to be materialists; our investigations should seek these material explanations, which means interrogating normative epistemes, education & academia, how we define "literacy" & its social use + social distribution, who benefits and who winds up disadvantaged. the "anti-intellectualism" position is broad enough to be near enough useless when it comes to articulating actionable responses; i also find it cruel.

also tbqh whilst i do get impatient when people don't "want" to engage with challenging narratives in ways that i find intellectually stimulating and would rather watch marvel film #47384 or whatever, i think it's good to take a policy of, like, blocking and moving on, curating your feed, and remembering that you don't + shouldn't have access to that person's relationship to the media landscape and the sorts of analytical tools that they may well only ever have encountered in a hostile educational setting, as well as working towards showing that engagement with "difficult" works is a) possible and b) fun and worthwhile. often people's reluctance to engage with works that have a (perceived) higher entry barrier (however ethically questionable that perception might be) simply comes from the fact that they lack/believe themselves to lack the right tools for engagement, and don't want to be made to feel "stupid" by not "getting" it—they preemptively go on the 'let people enjoy things'-esque defensive to counter this. the more candidly we talk about critical practices & the more digital airtime we give to less "mainstream" work, and the more space we give people to not understand things/to ask questions/to communicate and share ideas rather than participating in the big pissing contest of who can be the most Media Literate, the closer we get to resolving these sorts of tensions, imo.