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heretichromia · 6 months ago

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Exploring the Relationship Dynamics Between the Abyssal Hunters

I had a few people either misinterpret or express confusion regarding this post that I made, so I want to make a different post covering the same (and more) material that's more rooted in explicit textual evidence which doesn't use emotionally-charged language. I'm going to try my best to stay neutral here and discuss multiple possible interpretations.

In short, I want to break down all that we know regarding the nature of the relationships shared by the four* Abyssal Hunters. In long, see below. And...I mean long, it's 5,000 words.

*Abyssal Hunters as a faction of Ægir; sorry, Andreana. Note: Minor Path of Life (CN) spoilers below. None of the major events are spoiled, but I do talk about a lot of the context that the event gives us on Ægir society and the backstories of the Hunters.

What we know from the text:

I'll keep this segment as objective as possible, and only state things that I can directly argue as nearly indisputable from textual evidence. Some interpretation work is going to have to be done here, however, and I'm open to anyone who disagrees with anything here pointing out the passages in the text that contradict my assertions.

Ages:

This is a subject the community as a whole is widely misinformed about, so I'm highlighting it separately.

We know from Path of Life that the expected lifespan of an Ægir is around 150 years.

Gladiia is likely in her late 30s. She has 17 years of combat experience, which we're led to believe began relatively shortly after she received independence from her abusive, neglectful, and controlling mother. She was appointed as Consul of Technology before becoming an Abyssal Hunter, though her module description characterizes her as having been unable to decide the trajectory of her life, which implies to me that she was not free of her mother for very long before the operation. We don't have reason to believe Ægir uses child soldiers nor appoints children to be Technology Consuls, so this places her minimum age at around 35 and her likely age as a little older than that. She was still characterized as a young Consul ten years after her appointment, so I don't believe she'd be much older. Late 30s is my best approximation; much older than that, and things begin making less sense regarding the multiple parental figures still present in her life.

Skadi is likely also in her 30s, though the actual bounds are wider than Gladiia's. She has 13 years of combat experience, making her 31 at the youngest. However, from Path of Life we know that she was the most skilled technician in her division prior to becoming an Abyssal Hunter. This means she probably had at least a few, if not several years of work experience out of the Academy. If she's younger than Gladiia, it's likely not by many years, and she could even be conceivably older than her. I think she's probably a small handful of years younger, if you had to ask me my personal interpretation.

Laurentina is the youngest of the Abyssal Hunters. She has seven years of combat experience, implying that she joined a decade after Gladiia. This places her minimum age at 25. We can imagine she's probably not too much older than that, since she never fully embraced a career as a sculptor before changing circumstances caused her to apply for the Abyssal Hunters. She's probably in her mid-to-late 20s.

Ulpianus is the oldest, and potentially by a considerable margin. He was the first Abyssal Hunter, becoming one twenty years ago, as well as one of the scientists who created the Abyssal Hunters to begin with. He was already one of the most preeminent scientific minds of Ægir by this point. Since Ægir can live to 150, this means the upper bound on his age is potentially very high. This man could conceivably be in his 80s or older without it breaking anything we know about the story. The lower bound of his age is probably somewhere in his late 40s at an absolute minimum, assuming that the Ægirian process for becoming an accomplished scientist is anywhere remotely similar to the real-world one. It's completely up to speculation where his actual age falls between those bounds.

Connections between the Hunters:

An important note to make here that isn't precisely a connection, but does inform them: Ægir as a society does not have a compulsion towards nuclear family structures. In fact, the opposite is true. From Path of Life, we know that Ægir are usually raised in groups in dedicated schools. Ægir seems to prioritize careers over interpersonal relationships, and direct blood family ties are much weaker. Ægirian women don't give birth to their children directly; the embryos are surgically removed and then grown separately.

Laurentina's close relationship with her biological parents was noted as being somewhat atypical, and they still didn't raise her themselves. Instead, they allowed childcare services to raise her while frequently taking her with them on their trips when they could. Gladiia's upbringing, where she was isolated by an abusive and neglectful mother, is also atypical. From her conversation with Clemenza, we learn that she was in fact strongly suggested to give up Gladiia to childcare services, but refused to do so.

Onto the actual connections:

Gladiia met Ulpianus in the earlier years of the Abyssal Hunter project, when she was a young, emotionally vulnerable woman who was actively seeking new familial connections (see: her module). Given how well Ulpianus understands the other Hunters (implied in Stultifera Navis and displayed in Path of Life), it's very unlikely that he wasn't aware of this. Ulpianus declined his student Underflow's application to the Abyssal Hunters because he didn't want her to become like him. It's likely, then, that he personally processed Gladiia's entry into the Abyssal Hunters.

We know from Specter the Unchained's module that the two of them spoke at least somewhat often, discussing subjects like philosophy. In the one conversation we see, Ulpianus is explaining to Gladiia his concerns about the direction Ægir is heading in these "protracted days of calamity," and she seems to either agree with or absorb his pontification. He certainly takes the lead in this conversation with the "young Consul," and while a mentorship role can be inferred from this, it's not directly stated anywhere.

From Gladiia's IS3 ending, we know that Ulpianus never directly indicated to her that he felt any connection between them, nor did he bring up concepts like seniority around her. However, his actual feelings concerning her were clearly more sentimental than he let on, as he unexpectedly sacrificed his life for the sake of his "junior." Gladiia hadn't realized he was so sentimental until it happened, but in retrospect she looked back upon it warmly, realizing she never truly understood Ulpianus.

We have fewer interactions between Ulpianus and Skadi than we do between Ulpianus and Gladiia, but we can infer something of a dynamic from what we do have. Ulpianus trusted Skadi implicitly. From Path of Life, we know that he treated her differently from the other Hunters in his company. Ulpianus was a brilliant tactician who gave complex plans to each of his soldiers, but when he got to Skadi—who frequently spaces out when listening to others, and by her own admission in the event doesn't like to think—he merely told her that he trusted her to carry out her duty. He understood her, and didn't belittle her for her weaknesses. He had faith in her, and was right to do so; Skadi completed every mission exceptionally.

In the Second Company, meanwhile, Gladiia and Laurentina clearly had a closer relationship than just their positions would imply. Gladiia considered herself Laurentina's teacher, instructing her not only in the art of war but also in life skills. Their first lesson was not in violence, but in dance (Specter the Unchained OpRec). Whereas Laurentina is now frequently associated with her dancing, not just in narrative framing but actively by Ulpianus in Path of Life, she had barely danced much at all prior to her dances with Gladiia.

Already by the time of her aforementioned conversation with Ulpianus, Gladiia had developed a fondness for her subordinate. She even smiled when she spoke of her glowingly, something she almost never does. Gladiia, as critical as she is of almost everyone, can hardly find fault with Laurentina. From the aforementioned OpRec, we see that even Laurentina expects her to lecture her more than she does. Frequently, when confronted with her peculiarities and the choices she makes, Gladiia will approve of them warmly. The OpRec also has a wonderful passage of them just talking and spending time with one-another. It's very warm and gives a lot of small insights to their relationship and their relationship with the arts (a subject they're both very attached to) that I can't really explain effectively here without exploding the already extremely high word count. I'd recommend reading it if you haven't already.

In short, though, the relationship between Gladiia and Laurentina is very warm despite Gladiia's frequent brusqueness and coldness. In Ægir, they would see plays together—but because of Gladiia's insistence upon minimizing distractions while experiencing art, would sit apart. In Specter's post-Under Tides OpRec, Laurentina had to practically beg Gladiia before she showed her any more warmth than would be warranted to any other subordinate, as Gladiia kept her emotions tightly to her chest. Laurentina's emotional intelligence and close bond with her allows her to see through Gladiia's practiced emotionless exterior. Like Ulpianus, she understands Gladiia well enough to see through the strong facade she fronts to get glimpses into the deep well of anxiety beneath. In Laurentina's story in IS3, their bond is described as so close that she doesn't need to speak with Gladiia to understand her. She continued to dance with her as their primary method of silent communication for months after Gladiia had ceased speaking because of how much she hated how the Seaborn assimilation had changed her voice.

Of course, Laurentina and Skadi also share a deep bond, which is probably the most well-known one. Though how well they knew each other prior to the attack on Ishar'mla is still somewhat unclear—though it's clear from multiple sources (e.g. Specter OpRec, Path of Life, etc.) they weren't strangers—the important bulk of their relationship concerns their time spent together at Rhodes Island on land. Tortured by the Church of the Deep's horrific experiments and driven insane by the originium that Bishop Amaia injected into her spinal column, Laurentina was in an almost unrecognizable state when she was reunited with Skadi (Specter OpRec). She'd developed a second personality called Specter as a result of her experiences, one that was fully unfamiliar to Skadi, and the real Laurentina seemed to be locked away inside her own mind, in endless sleep, unable to awaken.

Skadi took care of Laurentina. She was not easy to care for. Beyond just requiring intensive care to keep her alive, Specter was mentally unstable. She would be unable to leave her treatment room for long stretches of time, and if the way she spoke to Skadi during her OpRec once she'd 'fallen asleep' again is any indication, some of the things she'd say to Skadi were truly vile. To continually bear this cannot have been an easy burden to shoulder, but Skadi would nonetheless come into her room constantly, sing songs to her, and tell her stories. Laurentina heard it all, though she couldn't speak. Though she teased her for it mercilessly when she awoke after Under Tides, she expressed legitimate gratitude to Skadi for all she'd done taking care of her.

If their bond was not intensely close before, it is now. Laurentina, now awake, teaches Skadi to dance in Unchained's OpRec, just as Gladiia taught her before. Just as she can see through Gladiia's facades, Laurentina understands Skadi enough to be able to see through hers to the genuine, warm, and caring person she is. Skadi, meanwhile, goes to great lengths to make sure Laurentina is okay. She cared more about her wellbeing than she did about obediently listening to the orders of her superiors; when Gladiia came to take Specter from Rhodes Island, she protested, and followed Gladiia to Sal Viento to take her back.

Skadi and Gladiia do not have nearly as warm a history. Both are rather emotionally unintelligent and wear masks of indifference around each other. That isn't to say they don't care about each other, though; if anything, we have plenty of evidence to the contrary. Gladiia did not hesitate for a moment about risking death for Skadi's sake in Under Tides, feeling a duty to protect her from both the First to Talk and the monster that dwells inside her head. They share a bond of camaraderie that's constantly reinforced in every event.

In Stultifera Navis and its supplemental material, we got more inklings of the development of a deeper relationship between them, though it's naturally strained because of their natures. Skadi, who always calls Gladiia "Second Captain," accidentally called her Gladiia in SN—to which Gladiia brusquely remarked that she was getting rather comfortable around her. She corrected her mistake and hasn't made it since. In the oft-mentioned now Specter the Unchained OpRec, when Laurentina teaches Skadi how to dance she remarks that Gladiia would like to dance with her. Skadi brushes this off as a mean-spirited joke, but it's much more likely that Laurentina knows they both feel an unspoken fondness for the other and is steadily poking at them to share it with the other.

Lastly, and certainly least, we have Laurentina and Ulpianus. There's...almost nothing here. We know that they're not strangers, and from Path of Life we know that Ulpianus at least understands Laurentina well enough as an individual, but as far as I'm aware there's not much to suggest what sort of relationship they may have had beyond just comrades, if any. Ulpianus seemed to become disinterested in continuing his conversation with Gladiia once she started gushing about Laurentina, but that's more likely a case of him being averse to talks about feelings in general than it is any distaste for Shark herself.

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Possible interpretations:

From this, we have a pretty good idea of the general shape of how these dynamics work. There's a lot of room to talk about the intricacies of their relationships, and I...can't cover every single possibility here.

I'd love to. If you ask me, I can keep yapping. I didn't write all of this because of some solemn dedication to archiving these fictional fish. Please, litter my inbox if you have questions. I can yap endlessly.

Instead, I'll focus on some of the predominant interpretations that I've seen across discussions and fanworks. Namely, the idea of the Abyssal Hunters as a family and the idea of some of the Abyssal Hunters as romantic partners.

I'll be covering interpretations that are both supported and not supported by the text to varying degrees. I'm going to outline how well I believe the text supports these interpretations, which is obviously going to be subjective, but I'm going to try to keep my own personal bias out of it. I have my own preferences, but I will be as neutral as I can be here.

The Family Angle

The Abyssal Hunters are a found family. That's not so much subtext as it is text—again, see Gladiia's module about how she failed to find the warmth and belonging she sought from her biological family, and instead searched for a new family. They have dynamics between them that are clearly at least meant to mirror existing family dynamics.

But a found family is not the same thing as a biological family. It does not necessarily feature the same dynamics as you'd find between actual family members. The "family angle" is the interpretation that the relationship between all of them is in fact completely familial in nature. While found families do not preclude romantic and sexual relationships between their members, a familial relationship between these characters implies that their bond is strong in a way that is neither romantic nor sexual in nature.

This, in itself, is neither confirmed nor denied by the text. It's consistent with what we're shown, and is perhaps one of the more 'pure' interpretations of these relationships—in the sense that it doesn't read more into the characters than the information presented. The Abyssal Hunters are characterized in expressly familial terms, and so this interpretation says that this is the extent of their dynamics. For clarity, it is neither more nor less correct than other interpretations for this, and is not personally my own. If there's anything limiting this interpretation, it's that Ægirians don't have nuclear family ties in the same way that we do, but that doesn't in my view contradict a familial interpretation as much as it modifies how it's perceived by the characters.

There are, of course, a lot of different ways you can approach the family angle. I'll outline some of the more sensible ones that can be concluded from the text.

One of the more common interpretations is that of the three female hunters as siblings. Again, there's no real confirmation of this in the text—only sentiments that the bond between them is thicker than blood—but there's nothing in the text which contradicts this. They certainly could play into typical sibling dynamics fairly well, with Gladiia as the serious, beleaguered older sister who whips the younger siblings into shape, and Laurentina as the brattiest child of the family who's nonetheless more emotionally intelligent than her stubborn sisters. It's one I see a lot, and I don't really see an issue with it.

Another common interpretation is that there exists something mirroring a parent/daughter relationship between the Captains and their subordinates: Ulpianus/Skadi, and Gladiia/Laurentina. From what's been outlined above, there's definitely food for this sort of interpretation in the text. Gladiia, for instance, is definitely motherly towards Laurentina. I do not believe this is a coincidence; as someone who was failed by her mother in horrendous ways, she's taken on a motherly role towards those she cares for and whom she believes she has a responsibility for. I think this, in itself, is a fine interpretation.

I think it gets much weaker when it's taken a step further into a literal parent/daughter relationship between them. These are adult women. At most, the age gap between Gladiia and Laurentina is a little over a decade, and they were adults when they met. She might feel a motherly responsibility for this woman, but I do not believe she'd consider a fully adult woman only around a decade her junior to be her daughter. Friendships between people in their mid-20s and mid-30s happen all the time in the real world. They are not, by any stretch of the imagination, anything like real parent-child relationships. The age gap between Ulpianus and Skadi is likely wider, and thus it's more reasonable that Ulpianus would see someone Skadi's age that he met in her 20s as someone who could have been his daughter. Even in that case, their dynamic would be heavily qualified by the fact that he has always known Skadi as a fully adult woman.

One similar possible dynamic that I almost never see is the idea of Ulpianus as a father for Gladiia. They're of similar ages, and if he saw Skadi as someone who could have been his daughter, he surely see Gladiia as the same. Gladiia, as well, desperately needed a parental figure in her life and never got one. They clearly have a senior/junior, possibly mentor/student relationship in the text, even if neither of them explicitly acknowledge it as one. This is the logical next step, which many have taken for the other plausible parent/daughter relationships, but I never see this one.

The Romance Angle

People like shipping. I'm people, too. I like shipping. It's pretty natural that, when it comes to characters we like that have close relationships like this, there's going to be people who are primarily invested in slapping two or more of them together like Barbies. Some of these relationship dynamics are more plausible than others.

Here's where some of the objectivity might break down. I'll try my best to limit my personal bias, but it's extremely hard to speak objectively about topics that are so obviously subject to personal interpretation.

First, I'd like to emphasize that Ægirian social dynamics, likely including romance, are alien to us. The likelihood that these characters would feel exactly the same about romance as we do in a predominantly monogamous society structured around nuclear families with a marriage at the core is...very low. Ægir and the nations of land are fundamentally different in ways that make understanding one-another difficult. Listen to some of Specter the Unchained's voicelines expressing her frustration about how she doesn't have the means to convey to the Doctor everything she'd like to. While we can (and should if we'd like to) have fun with applying our concepts of romance to them, we should always keep in mind that they might not actually share them as characters.

On the more fun side, this opens up a world of possible arrangements. We can speculate, for instance, that these characters might be much more open to polyamory than others might. Or, perhaps, their courtship looks very different from ours, and we can explore how that might look through fiction. One relationship existing does not need to preclude the others even in our society, much less theirs.

The most obvious potential romance that most people would identify among the Abyssal Hunters is Skadi and Laurentina, and I have to agree that it's one of the most plausible, if not the single most. I...don't think I even need to linger too much on this one, because most of it's already been laid out. Their story reads like a tragic yuri plot. The romance is practically already written; if you showed me the exact same story that these two have, but they kiss at the end, it would not remotely feel like it came out of nowhere. It's one of many dynamics between characters that would be readily interpreted as romantic by a wider audience if, say, Skadi were a man. It's already one of the most popular Arknights ships as-is! It fits their characters, and makes sense as an interpretation.

It isn't necessarily the only interpretation of these characters, of course. As discussed, there's a wide array of ways you can interpret their bond, and many are just as supported by the text. While there's plenty of subtext that can be said to be romantic between them, that subtext can all be interpreted in platonic and familial ways. This is a Chinese gacha game; we're not going to get explicit confirmation of any of these relationships, and all romantic subtext will be written to resemble other kinds of subtext. That means that other subtext that was legitimately not meant to be romantic can scan as romantic. There's no strong argument here for authorial intent regarding the two of them either way.

...You can tell how strong the potential for a ship here is that I felt the need to use one of the two paragraphs I spent talking about it to discuss how it's not necessarily the only possible dynamic.

The second most likely, in my eyes, is Laurentina and Gladiia, which I'll elaborate further on than Skadi/Laurentina because of its rarity as a ship by comparison; it's legitimately plausible that most who might read this haven't considered it at all. Of the pairs possible within the trio, they're the two with the oldest history, who clearly have a deep and intimate bond. The exact nature of this bond is subject to interpretation, of course. As discussed earlier, Gladiia is quite motherly when it comes to Laurentina. A familial interpretation of the two of them is common, but as uncommon as a romantic interpretation is, I think it's both easily supported and already has plenty of material in the text to feed it. You can easily read the time they spent together in Specter the Unchained's OpRec as a date. That their dynamic has motherly characteristics does not stop it from being romantic. Plenty of romances in popular fiction have motherly elements to them; that behavior can simply be Gladiia's chosen language of love.

An issue that I can imagine is the power dynamic between them—not necessarily even as a moral argument about the ship, but as an issue between their characters. Laurentina was, of course, young when she joined the Abyssal Hunters, and Gladiia became both her superior and her mentor. I would be surprised if Laurentina was much older than 21 at the time, and I would not be surprised if she was in fact 18. Gladiia, meanwhile, would have been probably in the range of 28-30. While almost the same exact age gap would be present between Laurentina and Skadi, who would have met her at a similar time, the fact that Gladiia served as her mentor definitely colors the relationship in a different way.

As someone who clearly felt a responsibility towards Laurentina, I find it very unlikely that the nature of their relationship was immediately romantic. Even though Gladiia was immature in many ways and inexperienced compared to others of her age as a result of her isolated childhood and arrested development caused by her mother's abuse, she still likely would have seen a romance as unacceptable between the two of them. That may have even contributed to the arm's length she seems to sometimes keep Laurentina at, to the latter's chagrin.

However, critically, they aren't that age anymore. Laurentina is firmly an adult who can make reasoned decisions for herself, and frankly often showcases more emotional maturity than Gladiia does. Their situation is radically changed. Gladiia is still her commander, but she's her leader more because of mutual trust than any necessity to follow the orders of the Ægirian military. They're no longer student and teacher; they're much more akin to equals now. There are now things that Laurentina can teach Gladiia; Gladiia is now the one who most desperately needs character development. The barriers that could have stopped their feelings from becoming a romance have eroded, and there is now the potential for one to form that is completely fitting within the bounds of the text and our understanding of their characters.

...

Okay, it's time to discuss the subject matter of the post I linked at the top of this one. Ulpianus and Gladiia.

...Almost everything I've just said about Gladiia and Laurentina applies doubly here.

It's the same dynamic. A junior who becomes an equal. It's much more common, in my experience, probably because it's heterosexual. Like with the other dynamics, there's nothing in the story that outright contradicts it. I do think its claim is weaker than the last two, though. I find it much harder to believe that Ulpianus would have harbored romantic feelings towards Gladiia.

She was much younger than him at the time they met, compared to the age gap between the other Hunters and Laurentina, and—as mentioned—he was likely very aware of her emotional immaturity, vulnerability, and desire to form real connections for the first time in her life. Ulpianus is, from what we can tell, a very thoughtful man who understands his comrades very well and reckons solemnly with the consequences of his actions. As I put it in a previous post, he's a man who "constantly pontificates on duty, responsibility, and what 'ought to be.'" I don't believe a principled man like Ulpianus—who is stubborn about principles to the point of contentiousness, who considers emotions to be secondary to duty and righteousness, who is prepared to throw away everything for what he believes in, including his life and his humanity—would do anything that could be considered taking advantage of an emotionally vulnerable young woman. That seems incredibly contradictory to his character. Even if she's grown physically, I think it's easy to read from his actions that he still sees her as someone who's still immature. I think he would have a much harder time seeing Gladiia as an equal peer than Gladiia would Laurentina.

Now, to play devil's advocate somewhat, I will say that there's material within this to work with. The love of a man who won't even confess that he cares at all for his younger student, much less act upon his desires is a setup for what could be a great fan-made story. I don't personally think it could ever end with the two of them together while staying true to their characterization, but that's up for interpretation. This is, however, not the way I see this ship characterized at all. If anything, they're most popularly depicted as ex-lovers or the husband/wife of a nuclear family. I've probably belabored the point enough that I don't need to break those concepts down, so I'll leave it there.

Briefly, I want to pay some lip service to the idea I floated earlier of a...fish polycule. I don't believe that Skadi and Gladiia have the most romantic flags at present out of the trio, but (especially in the event that both of them are romantically involved with Laurentina) I can easily see them growing closer and eventually breaking down the barrier of communication between them that stops them from expressing their fondness for one-another in ways that aren't professing they'd want the other to kill them if they became a monster.

There's not a lot of material in the text for this, but that's hardly stopped anyone before. It certainly hasn't stopped me. I ship Gladiia with Lavinia/Penance. I don't need them to acknowledge each other's existence to see a line there; I'm not about to judge anyone for pairing off two characters who have had considerable screen time together, where one nearly died for the sake of the other.

Lastly, I feel like I should at least mention e.g. Laurentina/Irene and Gladiia/Kal'tsit. Mostly because this post isn't about those dynamics. I could talk about Gladiia/Kal'tsit. I could talk about the parallels in Gladiia's first IS3 scene, where Gladiia's recollections about her mother's neglect are immediately juxtaposed with Kal'tsit's concern for her. I could further elaborate on Gladiia's complex relationships with the concept of motherhood, and how Kal'tsit relates to that. I won't. But I could.

I don't even know if I ship Gladiia/Kal'tsit as a romantic couple. I just like their relationship a lot, whatever form it takes.

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Endnotes.

Thanks for reading! I don't have a sweeping conclusion to finish with; the point of this post was just to compare and contrast popular fandom depictions of these characters with the actual material found in the text.

I hope you enjoyed, or learned something. I know there's so much goddamn text in Arknights that it's kind of impossible for anyone to reflect thoroughly on every single part of it. If you have any questions, criticism, or suggestions, my inbox is open!

#arknights #gladiia #specter #skadi #ulpianus #abyssal hunters #ak text

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dramioneasks · 1 year ago

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Top 10 Most Favourited (Completed) Fics on FFNET of 2023:

Wilted Rose and Muddy Blood: A Dramione Fic by Raptor.Elephant - M, 25 chapters, Words: 34,001 - Lavender Brown makes a bet with Hermione that she can't win over the Slytherin Prince in a month. Hermione wonders why she agreed... she could never stand a chance of winning, right? Rated for minor adult themes and language. R&R. COMPLETE... FINALLY!

The Education of a Lady by thewanderers'wanderingdaughter - M, 34 chapters, Words: 365,605 - COMPLETE. Fourth and final (for real this time) part in the His Little Bird series. The story of survival, betrayal, and tragedy. A monster took everything from her. Now she's expected to be a willing participant in the world he's built for them. They want her to become one of them. She only wants vengeance, and now that she has her power back, she can make that a reality.

If Only by SarahFraser - M, 25 chapters, Words: 99,891 - Fourteen years after Draco and Hermione break up, Draco accompanies his son, Scorpius, to Kings Cross for his first year at Hogwarts. Thirteen-year-old twins, Mila and Milo, get their first in person glimpse of the father that abandoned them before birth. After Mila confronts her father for abandoning them, Draco seeks Hermione out on the platform to find out what the hell is going

I'm a What? He's My What? Well Hell! by clumsydolphin - T, 18 chapters, Words: 34,168 - This is a very unusual Veela tale! I promise if ya peek inside it's a surprise! Now complete!

Blackmailed by Mistress Lynn - M, 14 chapters, Words: 49.867 - Draco finds out something pertaining to the war that Hermione would do anything to prevent from getting out. How far is she willing to go to protect her secret? DM/HG, Draco M./Hermione G. 7th Year Hogwarts, war AU, Dramione, lots of banter! COMPLETE! WINNER: 2022 Top Dramione Fics on Reddit, 2nd Place Dom!Draco (but he's totally a switch here)

Mother: Unknown by HufflepuffMommy - M, 42 chapters, Words: 108,211 - After the battle, Draco Malfoy was given something he never thought he wanted—a daughter. The only problem? He didn't know who the mother of his child was. Six years after the war, Hermione Granger moves to the states, to a small coastal town in Maine. There, she runs into a familiar wizard—along with his outgoing, precious daughter. NOW COMPLETE!

Fireworks by cleotheo - T, 10 chapters, Words: 25,510 - A party at the end of seventh year results in major life changes for Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, including the loss of their best friend, Ron Weasley. Can a reunion several years later fix the rift, or are some things too broken to ever be fixed? Reunion style story.

Old Friends by cleotheo - T, 10 chapters, Words: 25,453 - When Ron Weasley returns to Wizarding Britain after five years away he is dismayed to find his place in life seems to have been usurped by a certain former Slytherin. But how far will Ron go to get back the life, and the witch, he believes should be his?

Teach Me How to Forget by scullymurphy - M, 20 chapters, Words: 110,321 - Hermione Granger is 27 years old when her life falls apart. Cheated-on, flatless, in a dead end job, she decides to change one thing she can-take a class and try for some career advancement. But change is never easy, especially when an old enemy is the catalyst-and the class instructor.

Designations by sbz0702 - M, 35 chapters, Words: 85,293 - In the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts and the end of the Wizarding War, all Seventh- and Eighth-Year students are required to return to Hogwarts to complete their magical educations. When they arrive, they discover that the Ministry has been tampering with nature and biology...and they've all been affected... EWE, non-Canon compliant

#dramione #year wrap up #favourite fics #2023 #ffnet

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nevertheless-moving · 9 months ago

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stormlight au number 35 (help me i'm lost in the sauce)

Jasnah, Dalinar, and Renarin (surviving Kholin Radiants) travel from End of World all the way to right after Gavilar's death.

Vengeance pact still happens, but plays out very differently. We don't need absolutely every man in the kingdom to join the army, alright Elhokar? And we're making sure Dalinar is there to accept their surrender, actually win in reasonable time frame and 'conquer' them (no Alethi want to live out there anyway, and as long as they send gemhearts in tribute we won't enslave them. actually elhokar, your sister wanted to talk to you about slavery—).

Honestly, just an excuse for:

A) Adolin to have a breakdown that his entire family has been replaced by voidbringers, before eventually accepting with relief that they're still his family, they've just become voidbringers, but its ok because he loves them and will protect their increasingly heretical actions with his life. Hugs his glowing red and green eyed little brother a lot.

Adolin: do I — should I also learn to read?

Jasnah: do you want to?

Adolin: not really, no.

Renarin: to be honest, it's probably for the best if you just focus on being, well, a good Vorin Alethi. One of us probably should be, if we don't have a desolation as a distraction.

Adolin: ok! sure! I can do that. Also thought id mention that if possible, I would personally appreciate *not* having a desolation.

Jasnah: it may prove necessary.

Adolin: I know, i know. Just thought I'd put my feelings out there.

Dalinar: and we'll need you to produce Kholin heirs. Neither Renarin or Jasnah are likely to, and I'm not remarrying a younger woman.

Adolin: Sounds good!

B) Kholin family to have way too strong a reaction to this random darkeyed surgeon in training when they visit Kharbranth, scaring the absolute shit out of said darkeyed surgeon. Adolin walks into a wall when he sees Kaladin. He doesn't even know about the Radiant thing, it's just that

C) Kaladin dresses really hot in this au. Ok. I lied. this is actually the main reason for this au. It — there's a whole chain of events. I – don't look at me like that. The character development works, alright?

A lot of it boils down to distracting people from groping the female medical trainees.

He realizes that breathing in a certain way, while it makes you focus better and move faster, it also makes you more...present somehow? people pay attention to you, for better or worse. Some of the ladies teach him that there are different ways to channel people's focus on you, if they're looking anyway.

And apparently, for the first few years Kharbranth medical students, light and dark eyed alike, have basically no protections from wealthy patients or Lighteyed chief's of staff who are a bit too interested in teaching you to use your safehand, and its not like Kaladin can challenge them to a duel - he doesnt know how to fight, and it would get him and the person hes trying to protect kicked out of the program. So much for honorable lighteyes being real.

But I mean. If wearing some eyeliner, and a gemstone in your hair, if taking your right glove off first after an exam, conspicuously leaving the left on while talking, if bending over to pick his clipboard up in a certain way... if it gets people to not focus on his friends...

...one could probably get pretty angsty with this concept, ngl.

The Stormlight understanding and oaths come in time. There might also be some Radiant Disguise Superhero hijinks, havent fully decided but it's not really a major stretch from canon to say that Kharbranth struggles with violent crime. Also Kaladin gets to learn about institutional racism in school. It's great. I have a lot of Kaladin thoughts but so does everyone in this au so its ok.

Kholins visit Kharbranth:

Jasnah: you've been moping for days. Is your new fixation of the week not responding to your advances?

Adolin: I don't want to talk about it

Dalinar: son, you've clearly been in a mood—

Adolin: look, I'm not — the individual is not suitable for my station, alright? I'm not courting someone I could never actually marry, because that would be stupid.

Jasnah: while it would complicate matters, you know your brother and I have plans to alter the alethi codes around eye color, considering they're clearly a crude derivative of radiant mythologization

Dalinar: I thought we agreed that was low on the priority list

Jasnah: You said that uncle, Renarin most certainly did not agree, and his arguments are sound

Adolin: He's just some surgeon, alright! He's not just darkeyed, he's a darkeyed man. I said I'll get over it! I always do.

Dalinar: ah.

Jasnah: ...did you say surgeon?

Adolin: Yes? Why?

Dalinar: why does it —

Jasnah: how did you meet?

Adolin: He was — he was with this group of women at a winebar, and he was dressed like – but it turned out he just goes to protect them from - and it was so — why are you asking me about this?

Dalinar: Oh! A darkeyed surgeon. Protecting, you say? He sounds...honorable.

Jasnah: Very honorable.

Adolin: He is! He volunteers at this house for injured soldiers, and you wouldn't believe he'd never been to war, I mean his spear Katas — he's – it's like he was born for it —

Dalinar: He sounds like a fine young man. Perhaps you should bring him to meet us.

Adolin: I — while I appreciate that father, I really do, I thought I was the one who was supposed to well. I mean my role in...all of this is to produce heirs and look proper, right?

Jasnah: Hm. when you put it it that way...

Dalinar: I mean, Navani and I might be able to...

Jasnah: Don't be ridiculous. I'm perfectly capable of producing a child, should it prove absolutely necessary,

Adolin: Jasnah?

Jasnah: Provided the man you're courting is of worthy quality.

Adolin: We're not — I haven't been courting! I didn't think it was an option! I don't even know if he's interested! From what I can tell he has people throwing themselves at his feet all the time!

Jasnah: An abnormally honorable darkeyed surgeon, natural warrior, magnetically charismatic personality...yes that might make a worthwhile addition to the family.

Dalinar: I can write to Elhokar at once, recommend that he and Aseuden —

Jasnah: Uncle we've been over this — this is exactly the sort of thing that led to me insisting you come with me on this trip! If we cripple his ability to lead—

Adolin: Are we — are we moving into the discussing the future part of the evening, because I can go guard the door—

Dalinar: wait, when you say produce a child, you don't mean through soulcasting, right?

Jasnah: I don't see why I should answer that question.

Adolin: Yeah, i'm just going to go guard the door now

#stormlight archive #my au #stormlight au #nevertheless cosmere #stormlight au no 35 #adolin kholin #just to be clear adolin fully believes his family is voidbringers now he's just ride or die #they kept the time travel thing secret at first and then when he hysterically confronted them they explained kind of badly.#Dalinar: we're not—well technically we are the voidbringers. but that term is widely misunderstood!#and once Adolin was convinced they were still the same people he stopped asking religious questions

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queervegancryptid · 5 months ago

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Hi, all. For those who don't know me, I'm Nik. I'm 35 years old, I'm a trans man, and I'm really, really struggling lately with anorexia and PTSD flaring up. I'm disabled because of those conditions, but because of some extremely difficult times in the last several months, things have gotten a lot worse.

My husband isn't working as much as he would otherwise be doing because he's taking care of me. We can barely pay our rent, and I don't know what's going to happen there. I'd love for someone to cover the $1400 for rent, but I'm not expecting it.

I'm asking for about $110. Because of the aforementioned difficulties lately, neither of us has been at our best. The apartment is a disaster. Our dryer was broken for a long time, and it still doesn't work right, so we're constantly stepping over and navigating around piles of clothing.

I get Medicare and Medicaid, but I've been unsuccessful finding treatment that takes my insurance. And I can't afford to pay out of pocket, clearly, so I just have to figure it out. But I'm stuck. And a major reason for my stuck-ness is this apartment.

This is making everything worse. I feel stuck, and I can't do much of anything because of how lousy I feel. But it's hard to feel less lousy when you live in a chaotic, dirty place and have no clean clothes. That's been our reality for a while. I don't know how much longer I can deal with it.

So, like I said, I'm asking for about $110 total.

I'm trying to get laundry done and someone from like Homeaglow or something to clean for a few hours. It would be $60-75 for the laundry, about $20-30 for the cleaning, and a tip for each of the people doing it, so that's about $110 total I'm looking for.

Literally anything helps, but I feel like after I get over that hurdle I can make progress in other areas and get my life back. I just miss feeling halfway okay, and this is going to go a long way towards that.

$20/$110

Paypal: https://paypal.me/niksnotdead

Venmo: @Nik-Hartsfield

Cashapp: $niksnotdead

#anorexia #bulimia #PTSD #c ptsd #depression #anxiety #nik speaks #like if u read #ask 2 tag

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wandaluvstacos · 3 months ago

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I am begging people to stop buying this damn sewing machine for anyone older than 12.

As a toy for children, it's acceptable. If you ACTUALLY want to sew something, do not get a cheap piece of crap from Walmart for $35!! You'll work on this thing for 15 minutes, it will suck, you will get frustrated, and then you'll tell yourself that you are simply incapable of sewing and that it's too complicated for you. But it's not your fault-- you are working with a child's toy. That's like giving up on driving a car because your Barbie Jeep's battery dies the first 5 minutes you're in it.

My two recommendations:

First and most recommended: You get a LIGHTLY USED modern plastic machine for cheap off Facebook Marketplace or your local sewing machine repair shop. I'm talking less than 10 years old. You ask the seller "do you use this regularly" or "has this been serviced". Try to buy from someone who has used the machine recently because they'll know its ins-and-outs. You can find a modern machine for like $30 on Facebook Marketplace from someone who has actually used it (I would not recommend Goodwill or anywhere you can't speak to the person who used it before you, if you are just starting out). One highly recommended modern machine for beginners is the Singer Heavy Duty.

It's $200 new but you can easily find one much cheaper used. It's simple to use and will hold up to basic sewing for the time it will take you to decide whether you want to sew or not. Other modern Singers suck ass; save yourself the trouble. Go with the Singer Heavy Duty or a Brother, or even a Janome if you can find one cheap enough. Stay away from anything that's not a time-trusted brand.

The Brother CS6000i is a decent beginner's machine.

Again, do not buy machines off eBay unless they make it CLEAR that it has been fully serviced and is in perfect working condition. They honestly aren't much cheaper used on eBay than they are new, so best to buy it from someone on Facebook Marketplace or at a sewing machine repair place.

Second recommendation: Buy a VINTAGE METAL machine that has been fully serviced or in perfect working condition. These are more difficult to find serviced, so I wouldn't recommend it unless you find one on FB Marketplace (though the one I got on eBay worked perfectly out of the box). There will be TONS of very cheap vintage machines on FB Marketplace, but the problem with these is that they've often been sitting in a cabinet for 20 years, unused. Not great for learning on. You can also buy one of these machines and have it serviced, but having a machine serviced will cost more than the machine is worth, more often than not.

There are benefits to a vintage metal machine over a modern plastic one. it will last your lifetime. It can sew through thick, difficult fabrics. They're much better looking imo. They likely won't break unless you drop them down a stairwell. However, the oldest ones only do a straight stitch, and speaking as someone who has vintage and a modern machine... the automatic buttonholer and overlock stitch are nice to have! But the vast majority of the stitching you will do will only be zig zag (for stretch knits/elastic) or straight stitch. The zig zag feature became available in most domestic sewing machines by the late 1950s.

Any vintage machine made before 1970 will be fine to sew with; everything was pretty good quality back then. 1970s era Kenmores are ugly and basic but they are cheap while also being excellent machines, and they're the "newest" domestic machine you can get that's still all metal.

Any Singer will have easy-to-replace parts, have easily findable user manuals, and every sewing machine repairman will be able to fix them. The uglier ones in the 1960s are dirt cheap, if you make sure it's not younger than the 628 or 337. Both of these machines are the cheapest vintage all-metal Singers you'll find and they work fine (and they do zig zag stitches).

Do NOT get a Touch n Sew or Stylist made in the late 1960s or later. Generally if it has plastic buttons, it's got something plastic inside (not always, but with Singers, often). These Golden Touch n Sews are in fact Touch n Throw (away).

Any old black machine will be fine and very simple to use, and I think they look gorgeous, but they only straight stitch, so you won't be able to sew your own leggings on them. If you only want to make curtains, quilts, or bags or something, they will work fantastic for that. Just make sure they're serviced, as these things usually are not.

I'm going to talk to my younger, beginner self: Just because it's a used, older machine does not make it worse!

Even used modern plastic machines can work fine. It's rare that people are selling a machine as WORKING when it doesn't work. People tend to be honest about it. Usually they are selling it because they lost interest, it was given to them by a family member, or they just don't use it enough to keep around. Buying used is almost always the best, cheapest option for a beginner. Stop buying these cheapo gadgets on Amazon! They will only make you hate sewing machines.

#sewing machines #passing on my knowledge learned over the past 8 years lol #sewing #beginner sewists

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evaslytherpuff · 5 months ago

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Okay, since you're an Omi girlie, I'm going to ask for 19, 24 and 35 for the 50 OTP Things for Ominis and Vivian! <3

Hi, Becki! How are you? I hope you are doing well!🫂❤️ Thank you for asking about my favorite couple. I’ve been having major writers block and I’ve been dealing with a lot of family issues and loss in my life. It’s been chaotic and honestly, heartbreaking. Answering these questions has really been helping me and inspiring me. It makes me want to write.😍 Thank you for submitting them!🥹🥰

19. Who loves to call the other one cute names?

Vivian definitely does it more than Ominis.🤭 She has so many for him. Love, Darling, Prince, Mon Amour, Chéri, the list goes on. She knows he loves to sleep and take naps whenever he can and she is the only person who can properly wake him up. (That he allows to wake him up.😂) She will whisper all these cute names to him and stroke his hair or back until he wakes up with a smile.

Ominis has a few for his curvy queen.❤️ Darling, My Love, Princess, his Little Serpent. (When she’s in her Animagus form.) He will playfully tease her about her height but secretly, she loves it, especially when he kisses the top of her head. Although she is much shorter than him, she is not a pushover and that is something that Ominis adores about her.

24. Who is the talker/ Who is the listener?

Vivian tends to talk and Ominis is a very good listener. Vivian isn’t really shy and she’s confident with who she is. She’s a French girl with a passion for fashion and loves talking about all her designs with Ominis. He is also her business partner and she will not sell a design without his approval. They make a dynamic and powerful team in the fashion industry. Ominis will also listen when she goes through one of her rants in French and does his best to calm her down.

Vivian listens to Ominis as well. He’s able to be himself with her and she’s always telling him how he can talk to her about anything. She doesn’t judge him or make him feel worse about himself. People are often surprised to discover that Ominis actually has a silly and humorous side. Vivian encourages him to just let go and enjoy life, especially after everything he has been through. He loves to cuddle and play with her cat Willow. Ominis and Vivian bring out the best in one another and even a few students envy their relationship.

35. Who goes overboard on the holidays?

Hands down, it’s Vivian. lol. She will design matching costumes for them, plan to go to a couples baking class for Christmas, have Ominis spend the holiday with her grandmother in a cozy cabin, buy lots of candy for Halloween and feed it to him. Ominis may not enjoy the costumes or large crowds but he loves how happy it makes Vivian and if she’s happy then he is happy. She will reward him for being a good sport as well with lots of steamy sex.🤭 He’s been a good boy in her eyes, he deserves it.😁

I had so much fun answering these! I thank you once again for submitting them, Becki.🥰❤️

#ask game #answered asks #hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy fandom #ominis gaunt #vivian beausoleil #ominis x vivian #ominis x oc #hogwarts legacy oc #slytherin #slytherin boys

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alwida10 · 10 months ago

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Bestie, you keep talking about the viewership article of Loki for ages. When will you put it up? I'm going insane with people claiming its the best thing ever

Ahhhh 😱 my bad conscience learned to send Tumblr asks!!!! 😱😱 /joke

And yes. You got me there. 😭 after season 2 ended, I told myself it was necessary to wait a bit so the Google Trends graphs wouldn’t look so chopped off, and ended up procrastinating the post because I never wanted to think about *that* show ever again. 😭

But yes - be assured - while the defenders of the show are often vicious and try to make it look like it was generally loved, the stats paint another picture. (The same was true for season 1, though. I recommend taking a look at this amazing analysis posted on Reddit.) For now, let’s take the rough overview of season 2 from Google Trends here.

Google Trends only provides relative graphs (=percentages of a maximum), but in a way this makes it even better. The public interest in Loki peaked with season 1 (airing from 09. June - 14. July 2021). Season two (5. October - 9. November 2023) sparked about half of the interest. Overall, that’s a pretty clear picture season 2 lost a lot of viewer interest.

But let’s look into the details, meaning the single episodes. Here we have the first three ones (released on the 5th, 12th and 19th October).

Each episode marks a small peak in interest. Typically, the interest decreases over a season, so the first episode being the biggest hit is no surprise. The decrease however is. As a reminder: season 1 suffered a 30% decrease in viewership between episodes 1 and 3, which was considered horrible at the time. While this graph does not reflect viewership but Google searches, the decrease between episodes 1 and 3 is still 50%. (Also, I kinda prefer Google stats to viewership stats since they reflect how much real interest the series managed to create, leaving out all those people who mindlessly consumed the series without thinking further. It does however have the bias that an incomprehensible plot might inflate the numbers because people look for explanations online.)

The first peak in the next pic is again episode 3, followed by 4 (26. October), 5 (2. November), and the last episode (9. November). It’s easily visible that the finale has created the most interest. Sadly, Google Trends did not provide a graph where all the episodes could be compared, but based on the fact that the episode 3 peak was half as high as the one for episode 1, we can estimate that the episode 1 peak would have been at approximately 55-60% in this graph.

So why is that interesting? The two most interesting episodes were the opening and the finale. That’s not that unusual, but in the end, it still burns down to the fact that people kinda tuned out in between. I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that the major questions regarding Loki’s future (is he dead now? Can people visit him? How did this work?) inflated the peak for the finale.

Ok, but what about the actual views?

Well, I can never compete with thochi-1’s analysis, but I’ll do my best. But first this gem:

So, apparently, the 50% drop in Google Trends is associated with a 39% drop in viewed minutes.

For the overall season, the Hollywood reporter says this:

Summarized: only two-thirds of viewers from season 1 returned for season 2. The ones who did return showed about 15% less engagement in googling our beloved god of mischief.

I have another, personal reason to find that little fact particularly interesting. In the Loki survey, 26% of all respondents indicated they disliked the show. At the time of the survey, some people assumed this number to be falsely inflated, because I was more active in the “anti-series fandom”. Given the viewing numbers of season 2, I feel sadly validated. After all, the drop of 35% is even higher than my estimates.

#mcu loki #loki series criticism #loki series negativity #loki series critical #Writing is hard

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darkimpala1897 · 8 months ago

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I'm currently doing a storm chaser Au for MOTA, I posted my three part today, so I just wanted to drop some lore slash headcanons

1. Bucky was adopted at age seven by Jack and Chick, he doesn't call them his dads. He calls them his weird uncles.

2. Buckys parents were killed by a tornado.

3. Bucky has been chasing tornados since he was a kid.

4. Bucky and Buck are married, but currently divorcing. But also at the same time not really.

5. Curt and Dickie have been married since the dinosaurs.

6. DeMarco is engaged to Brady, Meatball is their son.

7. Bubbles and Crosby are married duh.

8. Douglass and Hambone have been dating forever.

9. Helen and Nash are married.

10. Quinn is in a situationship with Bailey and Babyface, I can't even explain it.

11. Ken is married to Winks, they have a son named Sammy.

12. Sammy was carried by Helen, but she is not biologically his mother.

13. Meatball was found in what was left of a barn, he was just a puppy.

14. Helen is the only one with her life together, she's a sex therapist, which Nash finds hilarious.

12. Ken and Winks are farmhands slash mechanics, that live on Jack and Chicks farm.

13. Everyone lives in Jack and Chicks basement.

14. They live in Wakita Oklahoma.

15. Nobodys car dates past 1996 is a running joke between everyone when in reality its like 1990.

16. Hambone is the human barometer.

17. Croz is the navigator, he has a whole a conniption if Bubbles folds the maps.

18. DeMarco drives a retired school bus, for some reason well drunk DeMarco put where it use to say school, it says "Burrito Barn" now. He doesn't know either.

19. Bucky drives a blue 1983 GMC Vandura with a unicorn painted on both sides.

20. Ken painted the unicorns on Buckys van.

21. Curt and Dickie drive a black 1989 Chevrolet Suburban, it's nickname is "The Beast"

22. The Beast has been put back together four times now, the most severe incident was a cell tower piece through the windshield.

23. Bubbles and Croz drive a 1982 Ford F-150.

24. Douglass and Hambone drive a 1983 Ford LTD Country Squire, Hammy calls it "The Boat" or "The Wagon" depending on the day.

25. Douglass loves to drift his Squire, which is not good for it.

26. Rosies drives a 1985 Chevrolet Chevy Van, it has utility lights on it, Bucky calls it "The Boring Van"

27. Helen and Nash drive a 1975 Chevrolet K-10.

28. Bucky is the resident idiot of the group.

29. Rosies operates all the fancy equipment, and the cameras for obvious reasons.

30. They have a YouTube channel, which is called the Windy 100th. Rosie thought of it because he was a history major.

31. Their YouTube channel isn't that popular, but it's more about them having fun then anything.

32. Curt and Brady do audio, they have the best ears.

33. Smokey is their doctor, but he is a registered wackadoodle.

34. Smokey drives this hideous green 1990 Crown Victoria it belongs to Stormy, though he pretends not to own it for obvious reasons.

35. Instead of Brady yelling "Son of a bitch, that's France! He's yelled "Son Of Bitch, that's the tornado." He nearly died that day.

36. Brady just owns a baseball helmet for some reason.

37. Hambone is called Hambone because he literally got smacked by a flying pig.

38. Babyface is called Babyface, because for some reason he keeps getting smacked in the head by babydolls.

39. Stormy is an actual meteorologist, that just helps out the group. So he slightly has his life together.

40. Ken owns a flatbed tow truck for obvious reasons, but he normally drives a 1977 GMC C-15 which he shares with Winks.

41. Buck owns a 1984 Jeep Wagoneer.

42. All of them met in college well studying you guessed it weather.

43. Rosie knows Oklahoma by heart, he sings with Smokey.

44. DeMarco loves rock music, he blasts it on drives through speakers on his bus.

45. Douglass loves classical music.

46. All of them are amazing drivers which is surprising considering.

47. Chick is the one who cooks, Jack bakes and makes pretty much everything.

48. Jack makes wind chimes that he sells.

49. The only one to ever have seen an F5 was Bucky, its what killed his parents.

50. Bucky thinks he's the leader, but it's actually Rosie.

That's it, that's lore for the Windy 100th aka Storm Chaser AU.

#masters of the air #headcanon #gale buck cleven #john bucky egan #harry crosby #howard hambone hamilton #buck x bucky #joseph bubbles payne #Mota storm chaser Au #everyone is gay #except Helen and Nash #bubbles x crosby #crubbles

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spacerangersam · 8 months ago

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Could you tell me more about some of your ocs???? (Only if you’re up for it tho)

I’m always down to gush about my ocs! But I do have a lot of them, especially with the story I'm currently working on, and I don’t always know what to say, so sorry if this is a bit all over the place. This isn’t even everyone, I left out a few like the main antagonist, Irene and a few other side characters for the sake of this not being essay length but yeah. Here are some of the main guys:

(also, unless otherwise specified, they're all welsh)

Simon Huw Taylor, 32, tenant of flat no. 6, he/they, bi and ace (maybe on the aro spectrum, but idk. It’s none of my business).

He’s the main character of my story, Where the Lost Souls Meet. He’s a pretty quiet guy who likes to keep to himself, much to his own detriment. He’s been travelling around all his life, never really interacting with people his own age, leaving him with mediocre socialising skills. He can see ghosts, has been able to since childhood, and is a mortician while doing psychic ghost stuff on the side. His mum could also see ghosts and she also did the ghost business, which is why he and his parents were moving around all the time, basically living in their van/hotels). To honour her, Simon uses her maiden name for ghost work (meaning his name is then Simon Huw Hughes, which I just thought was cute). She died a few years back, his father even earlier, leaving Simon the last of his family line and all alone in the world.

His whole life revolves around death, which isn’t healthy but Simon would rather die than go to therapy and actually address his problems, so it stays that way for a while. He does try to quit smoking though, so that’s something. He is also a liar. Dear god does he love to lie about everything and anything, to everyone. Well, I say loves to lie, he doesn’t really love it. He does it both to keep himself safe and to keep others from worrying about him. Honestly, he’s fine, he’s functional, and he definitely has family who loves him. Just don’t ask to meet his ‘sister’. He also tries to protect people by keeping a certain distance from them, not wanting to hurt them like he’s been hurt because of [REDACTED], which is why he kept moving around even after his mother died. But he desperately wanted top surgery and so stopped in this town with a well-known trans-safe doctor to get it done, and unfortunately for him landed in a manor turned flat filled with people who very much would like to be his friends, please.

He has no hope for the future, no plans, having a fairly pessimistic look on life because of [REDACTED], and is basically just waiting for the day he finally dies. Again, will he do anything about this? Maybe, eventually, at some point.

He doesn’t like / struggles to watch TV and movies, his ideal night involves doing puzzles and maybe a spot of reading, he loves puns and he’s a vegetarian. I love him and his terrible coping mechanism. Go king, communicate absolutely nothing and never let people share your burdens.

Also, his neighbour dies in front of him during an argument one day, which isn't great, going on to haunt Simon in a distinctly violent fashion, which is the thing he's desperately trying to deal with in the story.

more losers under the cut

Charlie Tops, 35, tenant no. 5, he/him, trans bi+ace. He’s a very sweet guy, very open, with major himbo energy, just without the muscles. He makes the best tea and the worst coffee. He writes kid's books in the vein of Winnie the Pooh / Peter Rabbit, taking over the job after his grandfather passed, now writing them for his own daughter, Lottie. But Lottie’s getting older and losing interest in those types of books, and so he’s losing interest in writing them and having a mild panic over what he’ll do next. He’s kinda obsessed with taxidermies. His flat is quite literally filled with them and no one likes it, nobody wants to be in there, and the vibes are way off (except Will for, who thinks it’s very interesting, actually).

He’s deeply in love with Simon and they have a thing. An unexplained, deeply intimate thing that neither talk about, mostly because Simon can’t communicate for shit (which he feels deeply guilty about, and he keeps telling himself that he’ll break it off but can never quite work up to it), and Charlie’s worried if he asks, Simon will end it. He really struggles with Simon’s whole silent martyr ordeal even outside their thing because even if he doesn’t know the extent to which Simon is trying to hide his problems, he knows there is something being hidden, but again, is worried about pushing too hard and losing him completely. It’s messy, but they’ll work through it.

He can’t see ghosts but does know about them, unlike the other Woodward tenants, and feels a bit left out /awkward about the whole thing. He had an amicable divorce from his wife Irene after he realised he was ace, she realised she was aro, and that they were both trans, the two staying friends and her staying on as the illustrator for his books. And as I mentioned earlier, he does have a daughter, Lottie.

William Isaiah Beaton, 30, tenant no. 7, he/him, gay, English. An archivist for the local museum who moves into the manor in chapter one, and comes off as a tough, rude ex-vet. And that is true, to a certain extent. He is rude, and an ex-vet. But he wasn’t in the army for long, he got mowed down by a car on base like, two weeks after arriving, leaving him with a permanent injury to his leg. He feels he failed to live up to his father’s expectations, and in shame, never told the truth to his father about having to leave the forces. Will has… a lot of complicated feelings about that, and his relationship with his father, and his relationship with his religion. He works some of that last one out with help from Penny.

It’s a bit of a spoiler, but whatever- he can see ghosts. He doesn’t realise that’s what’s happening though and instead is fully convinced he’s just losing his mind, and that crash did irreparable damage to his head. Nah though, just ghosts. Has a guilty love of werewolf media and cake, and cares a lot about bugs and plants (he even ends up taking Simon’s plants off him, because Simon kills every plant he owns, without question). He has limited zero social skills and finds big groups overwhelming, but nevertheless, he will be dragged into this friendship group (if Penny has any say in it, at least). He came to Hangar for a reason, though he doesn’t say why.

He also definitely fancies Simon and has no idea how to handle that. It’s the first time he’s fancied a man (or at least, a man-adjecent person) who isn’t straight, and that coupled with the fatc Simon actually seems to like him is just a lot for him to process. The two of them bond over their shared loved of history / interest in the history of the manor.

I should make it clear: this isn’t a love triangle, this is poly thing.

The ghouls:

Florence Blossom (left), 40, and Gwenllian Baker (right), 42. Both were performers in a small acting trope who died in 1941 (though not at the same time or in the same way, funnily enough) in the manor Simon lives in. They love each other very much.

Florence is a bit judgy, loves a good moan, and is very anxious about everything and everyone, always. Her anxiety tends to make her come off as a bit snappy. She can control the lights.

Gwen is a bit vacant, with her head absolutely in the clouds at all times. She struggles a bit with empathy and reading the room, leading her to be mindlessly cruel sometimes. She never means it though and genuinely cares about Simon and Florence, and will look after them both in her own weird ways. she can lock, unlock, close and open doors

Now back to the living:

Agatha Jeorme, 55, tenant no. 1. She’s kinda like if an angsty teen was stuck in the body of a middle-aged woman, and we love her for that. She’s the daughter of the landlord and hates it. If she had any other skills / if her father had helped her get a better opportunity elsewhere like he did with her brothers, she would have jumped on it. But instead, he gave her the job of looking after Woodward. She hates him, deeply. She often shovels off small jobs onto Simon because she knows he won’t say no, and is having an affair with the next-door neighbour’s wife. I kind of made her sound like a bastard, and she is kinda, but a fun one I hope, and she does learn to be less of a bastard as the story goes on.

Gwynfor Geraint Jones, 34, tenant no. 2, he/she, bigender, aroace. Just a chill guy who loves rock music and slasher movies. She’s in a QPR with Adam, them being the first two to move into Woodward. this isn't entirely related to his character, but he's called gwynfor geraint after two twins i went to primary school with. their names always stuck in my head, in so i thought i'd put them to good use.

Adam Diana Keats, 36 tenant tenant, no.3, she/her, aroace trans woman, Scottish. She’s a librarian with a love of reading, especially poetry, and a bit pushy, a bit bossy, but ultimately well-meaning. She’ll drag Simon out of his room but with the intent to encourage him to mingle and hang out with the Woodward crew, you know. She hates Will on sight. There’s more I could say, but that would be spoilers. also, despite her dark academic vibes, she does love a good animal print

Penny Sion Seagrove, 29, no.4, she/her, lesbian. A tired, friendly gardener who would love it if everyone would get along and be friendly. She sometimes sticks her nose in places she shouldn’t to figure out people’s beef with each other (cough, Adam and Will, cough) to see if she can find a way to squash it for them, which doesn’t usually work. She tries anyway. She’s Catholic, shares Simon’s love of puns, and is dating Alice.

Alice Rhodri Blackwood, 30, she/her, trans lesbian. She lives in town with her best mate Mickey. She’s a loud, cheery, extroverted goth with an interest in witchcraft who can also see ghosts. She has slightly different opinions about ghosts and how they work from Simon, but she’s still his go-to when he’s having ghost issues.

Mickey Dolores Palmer, 29, she/her, English (Yorkshire). Idk what her deal is, and she just is, you know. A very nervous, clumsy, mousy person who works at the local museum. She tends to jump to conclusions and is not a fan of ghosts. Unfortunately, she can also see ghosts, so that’s not great for her. She's doing her best.

god i wrote way too much for this, sorry asdfghj. but uh, also, i did a voice claim video for some of these losers, if you're interested. also,t hank you so much for asking. i do love talking about these idiots

#behold: them #thank you for asking and once again. omg im sorry it's so long #i got a bit carried away

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itsjustlux · 1 year ago

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figuring out who the hell Crowley is

Huge disclaimer: bible related things are extremely contradictory and i have not studied it formerly. I'm doing my best and this is all just for fun. Buckle in, this is a long one.

And yes, pun absolutely intended in the title. Now, I'll take you through my thought process step-by-step here.

Now, it's stated in s2 that Crowley must have been a throne, dominion, or higher in order to access the file. That's a great starting point. So, we're going to be looking at any angels that are a throne, dominion, cherubim, or seraphim.

I thought a good place to start would be to actually look at Crowley's rank as a demon. My thought process here was that Crowley's rank should sort of 'carry over' (at least in theory). We know he's not a duke because he's offered that as a reward in s2. But it's very difficult for me to believe he's just some random demon. I mean, he was *the* snake. Having him be the snake theoretically should place him as Lucifer, but he mentions 'hanging out with' Lucifer by name sometime in s1, so that's not right.

Here's where I hit a snag. Based on what we know of Crowley's fall (which is not a lot) he should either be a king (again, he mentions being around Lucifer in s1), a prince, or a marquise. Problem is, he can't be a prince or a king if he was offered the position of duke by Beelzebub. He's probably not a count on account (see what i did there?) of him being a demon before humanity really existed (Counts are, to my understanding, angels who Fell over being jealous of humanity).

So he's probably a marquise. Great! This would (again this is taking some massive hypothetical leaps) place him originally as a dominion. If he was a president, the equivalent would probably be a principality, which is too low. This should all work out then, right?

NOPE! It's very unlikely to me that Crowley would be a marquise especially after a) hanging out with Lucifer before Falling (which would actually place him as a king if they were close) and b) being all but outright stated to have been incredibly powerful (to the point where he basically runs a meeting between all the fancy archangels despite them all hating him).

So what gives? There's only one decent explanation I can think of.

Crowley was demoted after Falling.

Think about it for a second. Why does Shax (an actual marquise) keep asking him for help if they're the same rank and they could get in serious trouble for doing so? Why is Crowley of all people trusted to deliver the antichrist to the hospital? There were probably other options. Why do people keep asking if Crowley remembers them? It's because he was probably higher up than he is now. It's the only way any of it makes sense.

Adding onto all of this: Crowley disappears back to Hell for 35 years after doing one (1) good thing. Next time we see him, he has a cane and asks for Holy Water. Obviously the implication is...unpleasant, but I suspect this is not the first time its happened. Maybe it was worse this time for one reason or another (leading to him asking for the water), but there are thousands of years of Crowley being a good person unaccounted for. He's probably endured far more punishment than we know. The end of s1 was just the last straw.

So who is he? Well, you're probably not going to like my answer.

I don't think it matters.

I think his angel name might start with a J (Jegudiel if I had to guess right this very instant) but other than that I genuinely don't think his biblical counterpart is going to tell us all that much. I mean, does Aziraphale’s? In actuality the angel Aziraphale is fairly low down, but Neil has since clarified Aziraphale's ranking within the show. He's not the highest up, but he's certainly not no one.

And this is something I realized while making this post. If I am right and he was demoted (or at least punished by Hell more than once for being good) that has some pretty major implications for his character and why he's so insistent that he's not a good guy. 'Goodness' as a trait becomes dangerous to Crowley, something he can't identify with. He has to be evil or he'll risk punishment, even if he isn't by default. And when you're told you are (or at least should be) evil for so long, you must start to believe it at some point. And you can never open up to anyone because that emotional closeness puts you both at risk, especially if the other person is an angel. So you spend your engaging in self-sabotaging behaviors all alone because that's what you're supposed to do. And love, loving someone, well isn't admitting that just the antithesis of what you should be? Angles are characterized by their ability to love. A demon can't do that. That's what makes his little realization moment so incredible to me. It's a moment of realizing how much he cares for Aziraphale yes, but it's a look of something else too. May I propose: fear. It's a look of fear. I mean, Crowley can't even admit he might love his houseplants. How in the Something is he supposed to admit he loves an angel? He can't. Not when saving one (1) girl one (1) time had him dragged to Hell for 35 years and scared him so badly he asks for something he knows could end him.

#crowley #aziraphale #good omens season 2 #good omens #this post is so long im sorry #i had so many realizations while making it #i love this show #ineffable husbands #ineffable bureaucracy #ineffable divorce

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cordycepsfem · 16 days ago

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Pageboy Readthrough, Part Sixteen

I'm in the holiday spirit today - or do I really just want to avoid cleaning my apartment? Either way, your benefit and my loss, since I've decided it's time for some more Pageboy. I am hoping that despite how the book seems to be never-ending, we someday will find its end.

Let us charge bravely into that dark night.

If you've missed other parts of the readthrough, you can find them here.

Previously

EP straight out asks people if they think she is trans

this seems to me like a very loaded question

especially if the person asking has an answer already in mind

I rolled my eyes very hard at this paragraph:

(you were, you will, and you literally told people at a speaking engagement in Boston that being trans is "the only thing you have going" besides your juggling skills, so... I call foul)

EP's description of using her ex-wife is gross

EP dates women, rhapsodizes about Kate Mara, and teaches us how to survive an earthquake (and no, I am not kidding about the last one)

I remind everyone to never ever let a partner choke them

Now

Chapter Twenty-Five

At age thirteen EP decides she only wants to live with her mom, not her father and her horrid stepmother

EP's dad takes them for a drive that - I'm sure you'll be crazy to know - winds them through several Canadian landmarks! including "The Dingle"

do I really wanna explain that? no, because it's funnier if I don't

(it is a granite tower)

EP mentions Moon Mist ice cream, which is a flavor that's only from Nova Scotia

I recommend it, at least once

Dad guilts EP into living with both him and mom

Dad is an asshole

my own, incredibly better father is still on offer, EP

when they talk in adulthood she tells him directly that Linda was the problem

Dad tries to tell her it wasn't Linda, that Linda loves her

Dad clearly has his badge in gaslighting

EP and Dad have not spoken in 5+ years

EP concludes with these dramatics:

Are people denying your very existence or do they not agree with the statements you make about gender, EP? I haven't seen anyone declare that you don't exist, or that trans people don't exist. We can all see them, they're all here.

Is it an onslaught of cruelty and violence or do you just not like the way people speak and respond to trans people? Here in the US we know that approximately 35+ish people with ties to gender are murdered each year, which the HRC laughably calls a "genocide," despite the vast majority of those crimes not being hate crimes or even related to the decedent's gender, and the rest of us know is like the best murder odds in the country.

And do you really think your father calls you "his son"? After reading this book, I don't. Your dad is a horrible person and I'm sorry for what he put you through. You didn't deserve it. You didn't deserve a lot of what happened to you and I'm sorry the universe has not been kind.

EP poorly writes a transition (no pun intended) into how this time where she doesn't talk to her father reminds her of when she was 19.

it took me four readings through the paragraph to get that message though

she goes and lives with someone who's dating EP's friend's mom

as usual, the space is up to code:

if you could see me face-palm...

girl, what? is a "queer space" anywhere you are?

like, is my apartment a lesbian space because I, a lesbian, inhabit it?

does an IHOP become a lesbian space when I walk in ready for some pancakes?

how does space work?

anyway, she becomes very close with this woman, Julia, and eventually when she stops talking to her father, asks Julia to come and spend time with her

I know I usually do two chapters but I have successfully prodded the desire to clean my apartment into myself, and also I may feel myself dying of cringe, so... here's this.

#ellie's ep posting #terfblr #radblr #gender nonsense #pageboy review #pageboy readthrough

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eldritchsurveys · 6 months ago

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1217.

by joybucket

1. What is the hardest part of your life right now, and what is the easiest? >> The hardest part is a tossup. The more practical concern is being consistently financially insecure but in that weird working-class way as opposed to just being straight-up destitute like I'm used to being. It's weird to me because when a person in your household works between 35 and 40 hours a week for what seems like a decent wage, you'd think you'd be able to live off that. At least when I was destitute, I just... didn't have money. It's a very straightforward state of existence, even if it sucks major ass. And frankly, I still don't have money, I am still destitute, I'm just married now so their income is also my income in that strange way that legally-sanctioned relationships work. I don't know. Money is just such a fucking weird concept to me, no matter how you slice it. The point is, they -- we, whatever -- technically do not make enough money for us to support our current expenses on, but we have no choice but to limp along for now and hope nothing goes any wronger.

The other hardest part is my mental and emotional health and how relational trauma affects that every single day of my life. I know I need support, I know social isolation is killing me, but there's nothing to be done for it. It's entirely inaccessible to me. I am at a loss for how to get my needs met, so they just... fester inside me. My self-development has progressed but it is now arrested. What other people have broken in me requires the intervention of other people to be healed. That's just the way it is.

The easiest parts of my life are.... hmm. Well, again, I'm not destitute. I'm housed. Insecurely, but housed. That's still way more than I'd had for my entire adult life before now. *reads the next question* Oh, and my body is relatively healthy. That's nothing to scoff at.

2. If you are struggling with chronic illness right now, what are five of your worst symptoms? .

3. What is your favorite social media platform at the moment? >> Tumblr. Although the "social" aspect is a little lacking in my corner of the site, for some reason. I must be the only person who thinks I'm fun to talk to. :p 4. Do you have trouble forgiving people who hurt you? >> I don't have trouble with it. I have zero interest in forgiving people for hurting me. What for? What I want to do is find a way to live with the wounds they caused, to treat them like injuries that will always flare up when the [emotional] weather is inclement, to care for myself during those flare-ups, to not let anyone else reopen those wounds but to also figure out how to find and let in the people who would respect and honour the existence of those wounds. That's a lot to do, I don't have time or energy for some nebulous "forgiveness" business.

5. What do you do when you really want a certain person to care about you, but they just don't? >> Accepting that most people simply cannot love me the way I most want to be loved -- and that is not a fault of theirs or mine -- is a struggle, but I'm working on it. I'm getting a lot of practice in that area, after all. Also, I'm pretty sure I can't love most people in the way they most want to be loved, either. Or at all, lmao. Kind of handicapped in that department, frankly, but hope springs eternal or some shit.

6. Are you living your life to the fullest right now? >> I am living my life. Period. I'm not making some kind of fucking contest out of it, I'm just trying to suffer a little less.

7. What was the last thing you did that you regret? >> Uh... hm. I don't remember. 8. What is the best part of your life right now? >> This feels similar enough to the first question that I don't have a different answer.

9.....and what is the worst ? >> ^

10. What is something that is hard for most people but is easy for you? >> I know a lot of people struggle with, like, asserting themselves or going against the grain, that sort of thing, and that's never really been a challenge for me. I'm just kind of hardheaded that way, I'm gonna do what I want to do and there's no other option.

11. What is something that is easy for most people but is hard for you? >> Like, everything else, lmao. You name it, I've probably struggled with it.

12. What is your favorite color, and do you own a lot of things in that color? >> Yellow. I don't.

13. If you have a chronic illness, what are three things you used to enjoy doing that your illness prevents you from doing now? .

14. How has your heart been lately? >> I don't know, I always think it's struggling but that might just be anxiety. I've never had heart problems before, but the possibility of developing them increases with every passing birthday, so...

15. List three things you have survived. >> Chronic homelessness, years of familial abuse, the Person of Interest finale but BARELY. Man, that shit hurted.

16. What song would you say describes your life at the moment? >> I wouldn't say any song describes my life at the moment. 17....and why is that? >> Because life is a complex and multifaceted thing and any given song is essentially focused on one element of experience, not many. If I was going to describe my life with music, I'd have to make a playlist.

18. Do you spend more time on Facebook or Instagram? >> I don't spend any time on Instagram, at all, but I do check Facebook every morning. It usually takes me, like, 20 seconds. Ain't shit on there.

19. If you could say anything to anyone right now, what would it be? .

20. When was the last time you had someone pray with you? .

21. What is something that has recently made you laugh out loud? >> I can't think of anything right now.

22. List five of your favorite female singers. >> Floor Jansen (After Forever), Mlny Parsons (Royal Thunder), Skin (Skunk Anansie), Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), I... don't think I have a fifth. There are plenty of other female singers I listen to and enjoy, but their vocals don't hit me the same way the aforementioned do. 23. What flavor was the last popsicle you ate? >> Red. I don't know what the actual flavour is supposed to be, cherry or something I guess.

24. When was the last time you got ice cream from an ice cream truck? >> I have never done this.

25. Do you celebrate the 4th of July, and if so, how did you celebrate it this year? >> Oh, you mean Sensory Overload Hell Weekend? Absolutely fucking not. Also, you think I care about celebrating this shit ass country? I have to live here, that's bad enough, you can't make me pretend to like it too. 26. Who was the last of your friends to have a baby? .

27. What are five of your favorite baby girl names your friends have used? .

28. What are five of your favorite baby boy names your friends have used? >> I'm bemused by the implication that I have enough friends with children to have ten different answers for these questions.

29. Have you ever been pregnant? >> Briefly. Very briefly.

30. Do you currently care about someone who cares nothing for you? >> I don't think this is even possible for me to experience. Thank god. I have enough problems in this department.

31. What color was the last pair of flip-flops you wore? .

32. Are you happy at the moment? Why or why not? >> I mean, sure. Why not.

33. Are you happy with your life overall at the present time? Why or why not? >> Eh.

34. If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be? >> Well, there'd be way more money. Also, maybe some social connections.

35.....and what is one thing about your life you hope will never change? >> I hope the Configuration never stops existing -- or, rather, I hope that my/our connection to it is never severed.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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stemacademics · 3 months ago

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21 sept 2024 | number theory day

I studied ring of integers mod n today. I'll do more of the ring and group stuff tomorrow, there's a quiz coming up on Monday.

also my new study desk finally arrived today. and there was a minor (minor by the standards of an average, normal and fully functional member of the common society; Major, HUGE - by mine) screwup there as well [listen to me whine below the cut <3]

so my roommate didn't let me know about this desk business when I was in the study room (and she, in the dorm room), so she conveniently positioned the desks in a way that my bed is now too close to the balcony door (the current arrangement is in her favour - she essentially has no change while my bed has suffered a displacement of ~40cm which is unbearably irksome and even hurtful to my existence) and I feel a tad bit too claustrophobic. the 35-40cm shift in position is kind of unbearably painful to me (I um hate changes, absolutely hate them). she also left me with the dirtier desk so I had to wipe at it with my noodle arms for a longer while than it could've been (the surface was white, so I had no choice but to wipe at it for nearly an hour before realising that some of those dirty marks simply wouldn't go - and acceptance does not easily come to me)

I'm guessing that her not telling me was fully intentional because we're not the best buddies (we interact only out of necessity) and I am the kind to assume the worst of any random person that I meet in real life (in the sense, the worst that they can do to me), including myself. all this is kinda stressing me out, and I've not been able to sleep for the past half-hour or so because of the bed, and I'll never ask her to move her desk so I can move back my bed because I absolutely hate confrontations. so I just put up with her and adjust. and I absolutely hate it. my friend says that I have to speak up and can't be a pushover forever but then, ARGH I simply cannot wait for my own single room next year.

I already have a lot on my plate at the moment and the world only hurls more stuff at me, making it worse

it's fine (it's not, but the first step is to lie to my brain, so ┐(´ー｀)┌) because I already have a lot of stuff to do, and can't afford to waste my energy on all this.

I've got to mail my mentor tomorrow, study some group and ring formalisms, work on my summer report, study Fourier series and coupled oscillations - I'm going to take it slow anyways, because I'm not quite there for the Hustle yet.

#roommate problems #god do i hate her with a passion #I don't think im thr kind to fully Hate someone #but i do hate her to a great extent #for all the troubles she's put me through since sem1 #our minimal interaction is the best part of our relationship #anyways #it's nearly 5am and i haven't slept yet #so good night i guess?#here's to a hopefully productive Sunday ^^

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positivelybeastly · 1 year ago

Note

I'm curious as to how much flack Percy gets in regards to his x-force and wolverine run.

This cap doesn't have anything to do with anything, I just find it funny.

So, in regards to Percy's writing of X-Force and Wolverine, I'm going mostly based off of Reddit and Tumblr for these general impressions, because these are the social networks I spend the most time on - minus Twitter, but Twitter is frankly always a cesspool, and people don't actually talk that much about X-Force or Wolverine on there, they talk primarily about X-Ladies.

Reddit actually just wrapped up a poll asking people to rank their least favourite Krakoa era books, and the results were. Interesting.

So, Immortal X-Men was voted the best, with Hellions and X-Men Red trailing in second and third place - well deserved, frankly, those are all really quite excellent books. But we're not here to talk about excellent books, we're here to talk about Ben Percy!

Both of Ben Percy's comics were ranked as being in the bottom third of all Krakoa era comics (not including mini series). That's. Not great, honestly. That's usually what you'd call an indicator of a not well loved comic book.

Now, that's not to say that these runs don't have their appreciators - for one thing, they are objectively drawn pretty much consistently gorgeously. For all the flack I personally give Percy, he is competent at creating interesting body horror situations. There's a firm fanbase that's quite invested in Omega Red's redemption arc.

But I don't think there are many people who actually love these comics.

For one thing, the pacing is glacial. They are the single longest running ongoings of the Krakoan era, bar none, both of them looking to hit #50 in an era where other series are getting cancelled or cut short at #10 or #18 - and they have only just started to wrap up their major plot points. Beast was established to be pure evil back in issue #9, and it took until Wolverine #35 for him to be acted upon in a meaningful manner. Colossus was established to be under mind control years ago, also, and that has only JUST NOW been resolved.

A common response to this criticism was that Ben Percy is a novelist, and therefore used to writing his stories in a certain format - to which I say, cool, but you're writing for comic books, motherfucker. Adapt your style. I don't turn up to a watercolour painting class with a can of spray paint.

Another point people like to bring up is that Percy got 'screwed' by the higher ups extending the Krakoan story arc due to Hickman leaving and the other X-writers deciding to stick around in this stage of the story for longer. The theory goes that he has a set end point, and he's had to stretch the story out to make it work.

To which I say, if he's had even more time than he was meant to have, why do we know less psychologically about Beast now than we did at the beginning of the series? Why are Sage and Omega Red and Domino all begging for table scraps of story? What the fuck was even the point of the Kraven arc? A good writer who is interested in their characters and what they can say about them relishes more time to have them talk, not less, especially if you're getting paid to write it.

How in the goddamn hell did we have a company wide crossover event featuring a godlike being that forced characters to be judged for their actions, motivations and philosophies, and we didn't hear a single thing about Beast or Omega Red?

You could also just? End the story? Would the world really be that much of a poorer place without the adamantium surfboard and the evil space Nazi prison that literally mattered so little that Beast got arrested for it, then turned up again next issue like nothing had happened?

Which leads me to my next point - Beast's descent into villainy, whether or not you think it makes sense with how the character has been treated this last decade, does not make a fucking lick of sense. Everyone on the goddamn island of Krakoa is a fucking moron because X-Force is happening and no-one is watching what obviously evil Bond villain Beast is doing.

Jean Grey is staring Beast in the face, telling him that she believes that she thinks there's still good in him, while he's mentally thinking about what dead animal carcass to throw to Wolverine to break his mind and spirit. SHE IS A FUCKING TELEPATH.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

Nightcrawler says Beast is utterly unethical and he doesn't trust him. Won't talk to him, though. Or check in on him. Or act against him. Beast was running an evil space Nazi prison in orbit, got caught, got taken away in handcuffs, and just. Walks. Away. Scot free.

From the Quiet Council.

How. The FUCK. Did that meeting go?

I don't know, but we'll never see it!

And every time you bring these things up, even the X-Force defenders just kinda have to shrug their shoulders and go, look, dude, I'm just here for the rad art and to watch how far Beast is gonna go this issue. Every other run during this era makes a grand effort to be connected, for Krakoa to feel like a breathing, living island . . . except for X-Force and Wolverine. They all just kinda. Exist in their own little universe.

It's called the Percyverse, incidentally. Legitimately. There's a full on term for it, this effect is so well documented and has been an issue for so long.

So, on Reddit at least, there's a pretty common derision for these runs. Some defenders, but no-one is ever gonna say that they're their favourites of the era. Most people are just kinda like, ehh, it's fun pulp, don't think too hard about it.

On Tumblr . . . yeah, this is something I actually have some personal experience with. You see a lot of X-Force panels posted from major comic book blogs because they catch attention and get a lot of notes, especially if it's a 'Beast does something evil' panel because you inevitably get a flood of people in the comments going HEY WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, but you wanna know what I pretty much never see?

Fan art.

Idk, maybe I'm looking in the wrong place for it, but there's no fanart, for X-Force. I've seen exactly one piece of fan art for war criminal Beast. Exactly one. I've seen more explicit porn depicting the PS5 and Nintendo Switch fucking in weird robot form than I have fanart of X-Force. Fanfics, also, are very thin on the ground - I've seen maybe five, six, maybe seven?

I actually have one of the higher rated (in terms of views and kudos) X-Force related fanfics on AO3 by virtue of the Irredeemable Beast following on from that plotline, and even then, most of my comments are from people saying, oh hey, it's nice to see Beast back to his proper characterisation again (which is really nice to see, I love that!). I've had one or two people say that they think Beast is still evil, in the context of my story, but . . . honestly, that's an audience I want to cultivate and challenge, so I don't mind that. But still.

That's. Not a lot of fan engagement.

Hell, to go back to the Reddit point - there was a thread a month or two back asking what everyone's favourite X-Force incarnation was, and most people picked Uncanny X-Force (Remender's) or the original 90s run. A few people picked the Utopia era run.

Pretty much no-one I saw picked the Krakoan era book. And I was checking. I was craving that validation. And oh boy I got validated.

There's just. Not a lot going on in these books that's going to foster a dying love in a fan for them, honestly. There's not a lot of in depth characterisation, there's no grander point to the story other than 'CIA bad (but if it were run by these good guy field operatives who understand the necessary evils rather than the stupid bureaucrats, it would be better'). It's just. A pulpy comic book with a lot of violence and a one-note villain.

Who's going to go to bat for that?

In terms of more official flack, well, it's bad form to bad mouth your co-workers, so you're not gonna see a lot of people directly telling Ben Percy he sucks, BUT.

You've seen these panels before, right?

. . . Guys, is this a joke?

And I don't mean, is this a badly produced panel that makes no sense, I don't mean, is this an insult to comic books, I don't mean, are you serious.

I . . . seriously kinda think that this panel is a joke.

Poking fun at X-Force.

Because X-Force Beast is the kind of boring psychopath who can only convey his argument through a PowerPoint. Like, that's a fucking meme. That's straight up a meme. That's the equivalent of, in this essay I will --

Now, this one is also pretty funny, but also . . .

If you were a comic book writer, and you were in charge of a comic book that was getting some fairly intense criticism about the fact that a 60 year old legacy character is being written as the worst villain this side of Charles Manson, and LITERALLY EVERYONE on the internet is screaming that this HAS to be Dark Beast because it literally just doesn't make sense . . . what would you ask editorial to do?

Would you, perhaps, ask that Dark Beast be shown on panel in a different writer's book, acknowledging Beast's evil? That would give you some legitimacy, wouldn't it? Although, that's - a pretty desperate move, isn't it . . .

Especially considering the writer of that book (Kieron Gillen) fucking loves writing Beast. Like, legitimately loves him. You can tell.

This is not dialogue you give to a character you dislike. This is dialogue you relish getting to write because it's fucking fun. This is you getting free licence to get as esoteric and as wild with your dialogue as you want because you're getting to write Beast today.

Beast is fun to write. The writers of the 90s animated show literally said he was their favourite character to give dialogue to because he's so goofy and weird and intellectual.

Not convinced?

This is the same writer, Kieron Gillen, from years and years later (S.W.OR.D was 2009, this book is from 2015).

This is why I think Kieron Gillen was digging at Percy there. Because he clearly loves this character, clearly really is invested in Beast and Abigail's relationship - they were BROKEN UP in normal comics by this point, and yet he went OUT OF HIS WAY to do this. To express a tenderness of feeling and a love and an affection for these characters that scans as genuine.

Hell, look at this.

Is . . . Gillen poking fun at the fact that this fairly important relationship was ended on a whim eight years ago and no-one knows why? Because that's kinda what this reads as to me?

When I met Kieron Gillen at a comics convention a few years ago, I got him to sign my copy of S.W.OR.D. He said, and I quote, that he was fairly certain he'd signed every copy of it ever made. We both kinda laughed, because yeah, that story sold like shit, but also . . . everyone who read it got it signed, huh? And you remember this little 5 issue mini-series that got cancelled well enough to make a joke about it not selling well, with a distinct vibe of, everyone who actually read it loved it, sigh.

Interesting.

It's also worth noting that Jed McKay, currently writing the Avengers, has said that he wished he could have Beast on the roster, but he couldn't. He went out of his way to say that in an official interview.

Interesting.

It's ALSO worth noting that both Grant Morrison and Jonathan Hickman, when asked about Beast at an anniversary livestream, said they didn't see Hank as the kind of character who should be a villain, but merely someone who got into bad situations and reacted like a human to it. Which is. Not something you'd say about X-Force Beast, is it.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

#vinial453 #outofmuffins

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