#like i feel we could find explanations but one will have to Invent them

[andrewknightley]

rereading some parts of asunder (but not all so correct me if im wrong) but supposelly fiona vivienne and cole should know the whole deal of curing tranquility and no one of them decide to mention anything at all even with tranquils in our team? like be for real right now

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

How about the nerdy girls of genshin (Lisa, Sucrose, Ayaka, Kokomi) with an S/O who's an even bigger nerd than she is?

(Genshin Impact) Lisa, Sucrose, Ayaka, and Kokomi's S/O being a NERD

Nerd? YOU WILL REFRAIN FROM SUCH UNSCIENTIFIC TERMINOLOGY IN MY PRESENCE.

Lisa respected that S/O could actually hold an intelligent conversation that didn't devolve into something insane, like with Alice.

They could actually speak about their inventions, while mostly theoretical, could be made with current technology, and understandable enough for her.

Such as a machine that could clean the room by itself! Something that Lisa desperately wanted.

And seeing how excited they were to showcase a new prototype to her, Lisa can't help but admire their enthusiasm.

(Lisa) "S/O, what's this one called?"

(S/O) "Well, its actual name is the RX-03 Cleaner, but I just nicknamed it the Wiper."

(Lisa) "...But it doesn't wipe anything down, it just sweeps."

(S/O) sigh "Listen, names aren't exactly the most important thing for a machine."

Lisa teases S/O to make a machine that could clean and organize the books in the library for her, but S/O refuses to make Lisa somehow even lazier than before.

Sucrose was glad to have someone who could understand what she was talking about almost completely.

It put her at ease to just speak about experiments and concoctions without being given a strange look and actually getting a proper response.

Especially since it was with someone she loved, without worry of boring her S/O to death with the minute details of her experiment.

(Sucrose) "Hm...Do you feel any adverse side effects?"

(S/O) "Nothing seems to be different in response. I'll write it down for you in the log."

(Sucrose) "Hm...Perhaps we need to increase the strength of the mixture?"

Her usual shyness and hesitance is almost gone. As helpful and patient as Albedo was, it was nice to have someone on the same level of her, at the very least.

Ayaka appreciated how different S/O was compared to most people she had met in Inazuma.

They weren't afraid to show their interests or their intelligence.

Granted, Ayaka had no idea what her S/O was going on about sometimes until they had to dumb their explanations down.

But she still wanted to learn, because it was something S/O cared about, and at the very least, she'll make an effort to be engaged!

(Ayaka) "And these fossils are...What did you call them again?"

(S/O) "Part of the megafauna that used to live in Tevyat!...At least I think they are. They predate the Archon-War, and even this skull is the size of a house! But to answer your question, they were Alces."

Ayaka leaned in with a glint in her eye, looking at the skull.

(Ayaka) "I see. Do we know anything else about these creatures?"

She didn't always follow S/O, but Ayaka still loved to hear S/O speak, hearing how energetic they were in their findings.

Archons knows how liberating it is to finally speak about things that you love, and she wouldn't deny the person she loved that ability.

Truthfully, Kokomi could appreciate that S/O was as much of a bookworm as she was.

Perhaps even moreso, considering how often their eyes were locked onto the pages, brows furrowed in that cute way that Kokomi loved as they read.

Whether it be fiction, educational experiments, or even random pieces of literature, they read it with the upmost attention.

Which meant plenty of fun conversations with S/O about the stories they read.

(S/O) "It doesn't make any sense! Why in the world would the author write the character that way when it literally goes against everything that was established earlier?!"

(Kokomi) "Hah, it won't be the last time we see something like that, dear."

It did feel nice to hold an intelligent conversation instead of it usually veering off into something weird, like with Miko's book recommendations.

Though calling them "stories" was a bit kind, sometimes.

[lu-is-not-ok]

This is just a dumb theory, but given what Xichun has said about the elders of their family seeking immortality of the mind and the ruthless competition they've got going between their grandkids, this might be the simplest and easiest explanation we have, so I'm probably wrong, but it's still a thought:

What if the elders are attempting some sort of Get Out style body hijacking scheme? Whoever the strongest, fittest, most ruthless of the kids is deemed worthy to have an elder live inside of them?

I've been mulling over how to respond to this because there's both a lot to say and not that much at the same time.

Because, on the one hand, yeah you are absolutely correct. The search for the Immortality of the mind is absolutely very likely going to lead to the exposure of new and inventive ways for the elders to exploit the younger members of the Jia Family.

This would be further corroberated by my Two in One/Daiyu-Baoyu theory, as it implies that the reason why Baoyu was so valuable to the Family and why the elders are now invested in getting him back is because the fact he was able to keep on living via a version of body hijacking could be exactly what they were looking for. And, well, if they can't achieve Immortality themselves, they still want to have their One Immortal back to force him into doing what they want.

However, I do feel like this isn't all there is to it.

My main point of contention is that I don't believe that the seeking of Immortality and the competition between siblings are inherently this closely connected. I think that, at the very least, they weren't at first.

The competition for the spot as the head of the Family feels like a kind of tradition that would go back for many generations, way before whatever kind of Immortality scheme the current elders are cooking.

After all, note the difference in how Xichun and Hong Lu talk about those two concepts. Neither of them ever really question the competition between siblings, they're fully expecting murder attempts as if they were normal facts of life. There is no judgement of it, it's as natural to them as gravity causing things to fall or plants needing water.

On the other hand, this kind of idea of normalcy is not afforded to the search for Immortality by them. In fact, they both seem to see it as kind of a bother. Xichun calls it an "old, tiresome thing", while Hong Lu is clearly not even really taking part in it, with his writing in the Rose Hunter log implying he believes it to be the beliefs of a select few specific people in his Family.

While it's implied that both concepts have been around for a long while, the normalization of the sibling competition and the lack thereof for the search for Immortality suggests that the former is an established tradition of the Family, while the latter is only a development as recent as the current elders being the ones in power.

But... there is a deeper, thematic way that the two ideas connect together, despite their in-universe connection not being as close as you posit.

Both the sibling competition and the search for Immortality, and even Baoyu being kept within the Jias' grasp - they all serve a single purpose.

To allow for the endless and cyclical perpetuation of the Jia Family and its legacy of abuse and violence.

The competition between siblings isn't just to find the strongest and most ruthless child to become the next head, it's specifically to find an heir whose personal values are the most like the values the Jia Family itself holds, and which thus can continue to perpetuate it.

The search for Immortality then is just another incarnation of this attempt to continue perpetuating the Jia Family, but in this case in a more "efficient" manner. Instead of relying on the random chance of hoping that the one heir who comes out on top will share the values of the elders, the elders can just ensure the Jia Family remains as it is by always being the ones in power. Its legacy can't die if its head never dies after all.

And then, of course, is the one Immortal in question - Baoyu. The Family likely "treasures" him so much because he's their one sure way to never let the Jia Family die. As long as they can keep him locked, as long as they can shape him into the kind of person who would blindly follow what they say, they can ensure he can keep the legacy alive forevermore.

It's... an interesting and kind of poignant smaller scale parallel to how Project Moon portrays the City itself.

Both the City and the Jia Family are, in a way, their own "living" beings independent of any of the people that are a part of it, and yet which can only continue to live on in perpetuity because those same people are the ones who perpetuate their systems of abuse.

It's not a single person's fault that they both continue to live on and cause harm. ...But there's also very few who aren't at least in part to blame for keeping them alive. Even those who are being actively exploited by those in power and have no choice but to perpetuate those cycles... well, they're still perpetuating them all the same.

[flagellant]

I remember you once giving an EXCELLENT explanation of how magic “Doesn’t Exist but is Real” and how that kind of contradiction and reconciling it is so powerful?

Whenever you feel like answering this could you restate those concepts? I am working on actually thinking about my Practice and it’s Methods more lately and I feel that I highly agree with that sentiment you gave, but Tumblr’s search sucks.

I think I’m just now understanding a lot of that much more than when it was first said so I’d like to compare when you’re able to restate it

Religion isn't unscientific at its core. I think that's how I might phrase the contradiction these days: the idea that religion is fundamentally not unscientific at its core. Whatever else you can say about it.

Religion is fundamentally magical thinking, though, or at least often incorporates magical thinking. Religion is a sort of magic, also, after all--organized or unorganized, it is belief in something else. Something unexplainable. The idea that there is something you cannot see or cannot understand, but that this something matters to you, to your world.

And looking back, we see religion form again and again, in vacuums and when cultures meet and share and intermingle or oppose. Studying history at the end of the day will always require at least a little bit of studying religion with it. It is omnipresent--for better and for worse--in the way that it affects us, changes how we think, influences how we behave, structures the societies we live in.

Humans are illogical creatures, made of emotions and subjective dread. Magical thinking is fundamentally illogical. It is an attempt to find and understand reason in darkness, to comprehend the things we only see in the peripheries of our visions--but not always. Only often.

Because just as much as religion is magical and illogical, it was often borne out of our craving for understanding, for logic or explanation. We see a rainbow in the sky and we do not know where it comes from, or why we can never seem to reach it, so we try and find a logical explanation for this apparent impossible thing. The answer is magic--fairies, gods, witches. Or perhaps we look at the catastrophe of a storm, look at the all-encompassing wreckage of our homes, and we need to find a reason why this could happen to us. This couldn't be an accident, it has to be by design, because if it happened for a reason, we can understand it; we can give ourselves, if only slightly, the illusion of control. We propitiate an angry god, or we find someone who we have decided isn't like us and blame them for it.

Because the thing is, as much as we are creatures of illogic, we are terrified of it. It becomes existential rather quickly--the idea that all of this is for nothing, for random accidents, that you or your community isn't special or noteworthy or safe? The idea that your pain is shapeless and your terror is aimed at nothing at all? That's hard to imagine, let alone to find comfort in. Gods give a shape to the suffering. The invention of them is one which lets us take the illogical thinking and turn it against illogical thinking. Yes, it is unreasonable. No, it doesn't make sense. It is emphatically unempirical and there will likely never be any concrete proof of any religion's magical thinking being definitively confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt as True.

But it isn't unscientific. It was borne out of the same reason as science, the desire to understand and comprehend. It went only in a different direction than scientific thought did.

The space between science and religion is the difference between what exists and what is real. We walk along paths of trying to understand the world around or within us, and the paths in between those two points is where magic can be found. Neither existing nor unreal.

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! : ) You guys are amazing.

Sorry if this is stupid or offensive but i have a question regarding terminology describing facial diference/ disability

So my first language/ the language i write in is not english so while the terminology post is helpfull since i can translate it/ use it as a genereal guide in what to look out for it does not cover everything. I am sorry if this falls into the category of research question but how do i find good resources for terminology in my own language/ make sure its a good resource with the terms people with facial diferences in my country prefer? Its hard since my country is small and not great when it comes to ableism so there is not many resources availibel in the first place.

The second is a bit more specific. I want to include a character with cleft palate in the wider supporting cast, or at least in the background. So not a mayor/important character I can't spend much time describing them and i dont want to center their description on their facial diference. The term for cleft lip in my language literaly translates as "hare lip" into english whic is...yeah. Its probably not an uniqe case either. There might be some better term for it but i have not been abel to find it and i am not sure there is anything thats not overly medical. If that is the case should i use the medical term instead even if its jarring and include what it describes in a footnote? Does the mod team have sugestions on what else to do in this situation/ similar ones I probably will find myself in? How do i handel ableism thats literaly the integral part of my language. How do i catch terms that have ableist/ bad conotations bejond the basics since it is less called out over here i might not even notice its problematic? I dont want to make the issue any worse, further normalise bad terms by not caring about terms.

I thank you, so much in advance.

Hey! No such thing as a stupid question.

I'll just say that I very much relate to these issues considering my native language calls congenital disabilities “innate flaws” : ) so;

As for first question:

The first step would be to check if there are any organizations/groups that have resources in your language about facial differences, or checking if some international orgs have translations of their pages where they talk about facial differences. Moebius Syndrome Foundation has a page on face equality in 8 languages (+ English).

If there aren't any (high probability that this is the case unfortunately), try to see if there are any advocates for face equality that write in your language and what do they use (and in what contexts).

If you still have issues, there's always the ultimate beauty of writing - making words up. When there's nothing you can use as a reference, the best way is to just create the word that you need. I'm aware that it could be hard to figure out what's appropriate and not accidentally offensive or insensitive, but your good intentions and putting care into it are already doing a lot of the work for you.

I really like this essay - which is about a very different disability-related topic - that asks a great question in this “how do we make [language thing] good for disabled people?” sphere: what feels beautiful? What term do you feel like sounds nice and not othering or pointlessly medicalized? Because honestly, if I encountered an invented word for facial differences in my native (very non-English) language and the explanation behind it was “I thought it sounded pretty” then I'd take it. Always better than “gross deformity” that many consider neutral without thinking about it at all.

Obviously the easiest way would be to ask someone who speaks your language and has a facial difference, but I'm aware that not everyone has that possibility - still, it could be a good idea to reach out to your local disabled community if you're able to. Or just ask on whatever social media is popular where you live.

You can also send us what is the language that you're having this issue in - despite the blog being very American-centric and English-only, a lot of us speak different languages and might just happen to know the one.

Second question:

First thing I'll address is that cleft palate and cleft lip are two separate things. They are often lumped together because they very often co-exist together, but a person could only have one of them.

Cleft palate hasn't, AFAIK, been referred to as a harelip anywhere, so I'm going to assume the question is about a cleft lip.

There are a few options as to what you can do here, in my opinion;

you describe the cleft lip without using any specific term (“they had an opening/a faded scar on between their upper lip and their nostril”);

the character calls it by the medicalized term* because that's what their doctor has told them, and they could mention how awkward/long/difficult to say/no one knows what it is/etc. the word is;

the character is self-aware and points out that the term “harelip” is weird as hell to say about a person when someone refers to it as such;

or, again, you make a word up. The word “lip” probably has to stay for clarity's sake, but try to replace the animal part with something: cleft, split, parted, fissure, opening, etc.; You can also check how other terms with “cleft” are called in your language: cleft chin, cleft palate, cleft hand/foot, etc.;

or you can make up a word fantasy-writer style and describe a cleft lip but give it a completely new name that fits the setting more - [Name]'s lip, [Some sort of deity]'s blessing, you can kinda do whatever (take a look at the Terms That Suck guide below first though).

*my go-to way of finding the medical term is going through English Wikipedia (yeah, I know, but it works for this) and switching the language to the one I need. The cleft lip and palate page has 55 languages, so there's a chance it's on there - if it is, you might potentially find a nicer synonym in the “other names”.

Now for my (very personal) guide on catching if a term Kinda Sucks because doctors have some... tendencies in how they name various conditions:

does it use a word that is just a synonym for evil, or otherwise immoral or broken?;

does it have an animal connotation? (hares, wolves, elephants, fish... there's so many);

does it have a monster/fantasy creature connotation? (i.e., Donohue syndrome being called leprechaunism, Hypertrichosis being called Werewolf disease, etc.);

does it just sound rude? (my native language uses the word “maw” to mean cleft palate, which is absurd);

is it straight up racist and/or xenophobic? (like most of the historic words for syphilis were just “[nationality] disease”).

There's obviously nuance to everything (“vitiligo” is considered neutral, despite being derived from the word for “blemish” in Latin) but as a vague framework I find these to be useful. Again: what feels good or neutral will probably be the better option over “animal face disease”.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[brownieblob]

Be Careful Not to Mess With the Balance of Things"

Introductory post !!!

Max Russo x Fem!Reader

Chapter 1 (more coming soon...)

Synopsis:

When the usual becomes unusual all because of one girl…

Professor Crumbs never dropped by for casual visits. His sudden arrival carried grave news: A soul transfer by a nymph to a mortal girl, giving the mortal magical abilities. The girl, unaware of her new powers could fall victim to death or insanity if her powers were left untrained or weren't fully removed.

The Russo's weren't sure how exactly they played into this but once told that the only clue on finding this girl was her recent move to New York, alongside her family- things made more sense.

"So you want us to kidnap her?"

Naturally, none of the Russo's expected to actually bump into this girl, especially not Max. But upon bumping into the new girl at school, things took a sharp turn.

That girl was you.

Caught in a whirlwind of cheesy romance, clichéd tropes, and something as unreal as magic was you, painfully aware of how ridiculous everything seemed to be.

"Why does it feel like we're in a sitcom?"

But this wasn't a sitcom. Behind the sandwiches and spells was an ugly truth.

"You might die. Emphasis on the 'might'."

The 'might' didn't make it feel any better when everyone was so serious.

___ * ___

Y/N L/N

"What in the bippity boppity boo is this..?"

"So you kidnapped me?"

"Oh no. I have magical powers. What a catastrophe."

"Why does it feel like we're in a sit-com?

Max Russo

"So yeah, we need to not not kidnap you. So I think that means we need to kidnap you."

"You like sandwiches too?"

"I can't believe you guys thought I wouldn't do something so stupid."

"You have beautiful eyes...like olives. I think I'm hungry."

Justin Russo

"Does it not get through your thick skull? You have magic powers and need our help to help you control them. Thus, you should totally follow us into this cramped corridor. So what if we're strangers?"

"You might die. Emphasis on the 'might'."

"Since I'm the student body president, your actions affect my reputation. SO STOP THIS. Thank you"

Alex Russo

"When did the music get so romantic and WHY IS MAX HOLDING A BOUQUET?"

"Isn't it fun? You have magical powers, so what if you might explode. Yeah no, that sounded better in my head."

"Relax, without stupid people we wouldn't have anyone to laugh at, right Max?"

"Try this spell, it might work. I found it in this book- "Definitely Not Curses". See, they aren't curses."

Harper Finkle

"Like my new outfit?  Only made of bubblewrap and cardboard."

"I don't think anyone needed to see that.."

"Why does she get magic powers and I don't? Oh, she might die? Nevermind."

Jerry & Theresa Russo

"They'd make a cute couple, right Jerry?" "Agreed"

"That's it Jerry. I need an explanation, now." "Argh..! Max, word your sentences better..!"

"That girl could die." "I know."

Professor Crumbs

"No Justin, I am not taking you on an escapade."

"Oh, I didn't expect them to actually find you."

"This is quite an interesting case, truly. I just don't understand why the Nymph chose you."

"Anyone for some tea?"

__ * __

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the character's from Wizard's Of Waverly Place, all credits go to Disney for the character's used from their franchise. The only characters I claim ownership of are one's I invented myself. 

Author's Note: Hello guys, I'm Brownie and this is my first story on this fandom (or anything Disney really). This is supposed to be a crack-fic but it still has a plot and is still taken seriously by me. When I say 'crack', I mean that the MC (you) is VERY self-aware- and obviously Y/N isn't Candace but that's the kind of vibe I'm going for. I'm talking about the "this is the eleventh time we've bumped into each other today" OR "Why does it feel like we're in a rom-com movie" kind of humor. BUT because I'm recently in LOVE with Max Russo, the character, I JUST HAD to start writing this. Not to mention, there's a lack of fics on this fandom and him specifically (I'm on a mission to change that)

To read it on Wattpad

My other blog (main)

[novemberthecatadmirer]

Something I recently realized is there actually is a convincing explanation for Eol’s action at Gondolin without going for “well he’s just an evil sadistic rapist”

What we know is:

A good amount of Sindar elves in Nevrast came to love Turgon as their leader and proceeded to follow him to Gondolin

Here is the issue:

It’s very unlikely those Sindar elves who left for Gondolin would be allowed to tell their kin who left behind where they went.

From the rest of Sindar elves’ pov, their kin who lived in this Noldor prince’s realm just disappeared (Said Noldor prince’s brother was a famous kinslayer)

Thingol and his court must be notified of this mass disappearance of population.

They must tried to ask Fingolfin about it and Fingolfin would be like “well I don’t know where my son and daughter are either”

How much is the chance for Thingol-who-grounded-his-daughter-in-a-treehouse to believe that as an answer.

Likely over the years there were multiple speculations about what happened to the disappeared population.

When Eol married Aredhel, he must have asked her about the matter. (And Thingol would order him to. There was no chance for Thingol to not know his vassal & kinsman & best smith went crazy and married a Noldor princess.)

Aredhel would tell him those Sindar elves went willingly and were happy and well in Gondolin.

(I really think Eol believed it was okay to marry Aredhel because he believed she was different; she left her kinslaying family to travel alone after all.)

Then Aredhel and Maeglin left for Gondolin, and Eol went out to look for them; and out of everyone he could possibly meet he met Curufin

Who basically called him an ethnic slur

(You cannot convince me “dark elf” is a perfectly neutral word for Noldor to invent to call those who never seen the tree light. It’s so very hard to imagine Sindar elves who loved the star light and suffered from Morgoth to appreciate being associated with “dark”.)

When Eol really reached Gondolin, it was heavily suggested by the text that he would be dealt with in some way if he did not announce he was the husband of Aredhel. Which rather confirms Curufin’s words about facing death.

When he got taken into the city, he must find that the Sindar elves who disappeared really were living in Gondolin. (There was a line in the book about him silently observing the city.)

And immediately after he was offered the choice between staying and death.

Now this is really a perfect situation for misunderstanding:

How much is the chance for Eol to assume that Turgon forced all the Sindar elves in Nevrast to move to his city? Or WORSE, abducted and enslaved them to build this distinctive Noldor city?

Like, Eol was not allow to left even when he was vassal & kinsman of Thingol and husband of a Noldor princess. He was basically threatened with death to stay in the city.

How much is the chance for him to assume that all the other Sindar elves faced the same choice or worse, never a choice?

I do believe Turgon was a good king. He was the only one out there who won over loyalty of both Noldor and Sindar. Gondolin in Silmarillion (not the one in “Fall of Gondolin” where people called Meglin half orc) was a good city with a mixed ethnic population and some Sindar elves as lords.

He also condemned Feanorians and likely had complex feelings about his brother jumping into fight and starting murder for redhead bestie.

Out of all the Noldor princes he was likely the one who thoroughly abandoned the idea of building fair & glory kingdom. If there was any thought about that the idea was squished when Elenwe disappeared in icy water. Most of his time in Beleriand he was trying to protect and preserve, until he got overwhelmed by the sheer hopelessness of the situation.

If he and Thingol ever met post reembodiment they might even come to respect each other.

But during his meeting with Eol Turgon was doing absolutely nothing that was not escalating the situation

Which was sadly reasonable.

Turgon was being a Noldor king in front of a vassal of Thingol (who refuse to recognize his right to rule).

When accused of kinslaying and stealing land his reply was “but we Noldor protected you from Morgoth with our swords.” Yeah but the same swords killed Teleri and you all stole ships over dead bodies to come establish your kingdoms. The worse response out there. It’s like saying “yeah we killed your relatives and build kingdoms over your land but you’ll be dead anyway without our protection so suck it up.”

(I believe his real thought was “I regret ever coming and I hate my brother for being stupid and I would love to just stay in Tirion with my nice family.” But that’s not something he could say in this situation.)

Once those words were out there was no way for Eol to trust his words anymore. Out of political reason Turgon basically took the stand with the kinslayers he actually hated.

Actually it was reasonable for Eol to assume the worst. He might even assume even if he chose to stay, it would not only be a betrayal to Thingol and his heritage, but he would also be enthralled or even murdered anyway.

Then of course he would try to murder Maeglin. In his pov his son just decided to side with his maternal kinslayer family and serve the king who abducted and enslaved Sindar elves. How could he tolerate his son turning into murderer and slaver?

Of course he would stay silent about the poison and let Aredhel die. People did not stay in Gondolin willingly. She lied and covered for her evil brother.

Of course he would call Maeglin out for “forsaken your father and kin.” Because that was what he believed.

Of course he would curse Maeglin, because how could a half-Sindar be treated as a Noldor prince when the city abducted Sinder elves and forbid them to leave? It was not a curse; what he meant was Turgon would turn against Maeglin and executed him in the same way due to his Sindar blood.

Which was all very wrong. But I don’t think anyone could convince Eol that Turgon was not an evil colonist after the “stay or die” was out of the bag.

[stolitzsings]

Happy WIP Wednesday!!! Thanks @sunsetofdoom for the tag!

Another excerpt from my long fic "A Place to Rest," this time from chapter 1. Incidentally I sat down and fleshed out my outline this week and it looks like this one is going to be 17 chapters and an epilogue, so wish me luck 😩

In the meantime, please enjoy this scene of Blitz and Stolas being horny dumbasses at each other!

“Can you tell me what happened, Blitz?”  Blitz heard the words, but he was finding it a little hard to concentrate on them. That was definitely the concussion's fault. It definitely had nothing to do with how close Stolas’s ethereally pretty face had gotten, or how soft his hands were as he gently cleaned Blitz’s skin.  “Huh?” He asked after a moment. Yep, it was definitely the concussion. Maybe he'd lost his remaining brain cells when his head collided with that concrete floor. “I was just asking how you got your injuries, so I know how best to go about treating them. But if it's private, or you don't want to say, of course I underst–” “Bar fight,” Blitz interrupted, as though to reassure himself that he was still capable of intelligible speech. “Got into it with a couple of guys, one of them had a knife. Other one was just big.” “Oh my,” Stolas said primly, now sponging down Blitz’s neck. “That sounds quite intense.” Blitz attempted his best devilish grin. “Don’t you worry, though, I gave ‘em as good as I got.” The worry in Stolas’s face eased a little, and he let out another quiet hoot. “I'm sure you did. I remember you being quite the fearsome pirate when we were young.” Shit. He had almost forgotten about the game he invented to make Stolas his unwitting accomplice. He should have known it would come back to bite him in the ass someday. “You uh… you remember that, huh?” He laughed nervously. “Of course I do!” Stolas's face split into a wide, seemingly genuine grin. “How could I forget a day like that?” The day you accidentally helped a circus clown rob your house, Blitz filled in. He opened his mouth to offer some sort of explanation, or excuse, or lie, but Stolas went on. “Now, you clearly have some wounds on your abdomen,” he said, abandoning his brilliant smile in favor of nervously biting his lip. “Are you comfortable removing your shirt so I can treat them?” Blitz blinked. “Uh… yeah, sure.” He gingerly began pulling off his shirt, trying not to agitate any of his wounds too much. When he pulled it over his head and tossed it onto the floor (taking care not to get blood on the sofa, then congratulating himself on his excellent manners) he heard Stolas give a quiet, “Oh.” He was staring at Blitz's chest with a slightly startled expression.  “‘Oh?’ What does ‘oh’ mean?” Blitz asked, trying not to sound panicked. Stolas looked up at his face and blushed. “Oh, it's nothing,” he said hurriedly.  Blitz frowned. “Great, that's exactly what you want to hear from the guy who's patching you up.” Now it was Stolas’s turn to sound panicked. “Really, it's nothing. It's just that you're, ah… more…physically fit than I expected.” His entire face was bright pink. Blitz grinned, and felt a little heat rising in his own face. He flexed a bit to show off his pecs, and noted with satisfaction that Stolas was staring again. Royals like Stolas were probably horrified at the thought of desiring an imp, but at least Blitz could make him feel a little conflicted about it. “I get that a lot,” he purred, giving Stolas his best bedroom eyes. He swore he saw the feathers around his neck fluff up, and his eyes visibly widened until a spark of white pupil appeared in them. Fuck, that was cute. His heart started beating a little too fast for a guy who was just sitting down. Stop that!  He was supposed to be flustering Stolas, not the other way around. Fortunately, his goal was an easily-achievable one; Stolas already looked halfway to passing out. Funny, for a prince who probably had all kinds of demons fawning over him, he was easily embarrassed by a little skin.

Tagging @bookishcatcafe, @blitzwhore, and anyone else who wants to share!

[duhragonball]

Daima 2: Glorio

About a third of this episode is dedicated to having the main characters react to the whole "turned into babies" thing. This is probably a good call, since the show was promoted on this gimmick, and it's worth showing off. Everyone looks super cute, and anyone who had facial hair becomes almost unrecognizable.

It feels like a bit of waste of time, but only because the "turned into babies" thing was all we knew about the show for the year or so before it premiered, so for me this feels like we're belaboring the obvious. Yeah, yeah, we know they're babies, we've been talking about it for months. But the show has to have the moment. This is why I don't get too invested into trailers and teaser trailers and analyses of trailers, and leaks and "Everything you NEED to know about..." videos. If you spend too much time dwelling on a future release, you'll lose out on the spontaneity when it finally comes out.

It's probably worth talking about who hasn't gotten turned into babies. Well, I should clarify that. I like calling them all babies because I think it's cute and funny, but most of the affected characters are more like seven-year-olds. Anyone who was already a child is turned into a literal baby, like Goten and Trunks. Also Dende, even though he's at least thirteen by now.

Specifically, Gomah's wish applied to the ones who defeated Buu and "all of their friends." So Master Roshi got turned into a kid, but not the waitstaff at Trunks' 9th birthday party. Ox King got turned into a kid, even though he never actually fought Majin Buu. Basically, if you can be considered part of Dragon Team, you got turned into a kid.

But Korin and the Turtle seem to be unaffected. Maybe they did get turned into children, and they just don't look any different. Or maybe the rest of Dragon Team secretly hates those guys, and so they don't fall into the "friends" category of the wish. Man, that's the sort of thing that would keep me up at night. Imagine your whole friends circle gets turned into babies, except you. There's really only one explanation for that, but you can't exactly say anything, because that'd just make it worse.

Oh, what am I worried about? Everyone likes me! I mean, everyone likes Korin and the Turtle. Yes, that is what I meant to say. Heh-heh...

Anyway, as for King Gomah, he had planned on making two more wishes, but Shenron clocks out early. Gomah's like "What the hell, man?" and Shenron tells him that the second and third wishes are for regular customers. First timers only get one wish and they just have to like it. Wait, so when he offered more wishes for Sorbet in Resurrection F, was that because Pilaf was with him? Fascinating.

Gomah's pissed because this means he can't get the Evil Third Eye, but Degesu is satisfied that they accomplished what they came here to do. Remember, Degesu didn't see the Earth as a threat in the first place. Dr. Arinsu planted the idea in Gomah's head, and Degesu was willing to go along with it, but he's probably just relieved they pulled this off without anything going wrong.

But why not just have Neva do the same trick he used to summon Shenron in the first place? Normally, you have to wait a year to use the Dragon Balls again, but Neva's ancient Namek power allowed him to collect and reactivate the Dragon Balls immediately. So in theory he could just do that over and over again and Gomah can have unlimited wishes? Well, no, Neva says "Even I can't do that twice in a row," so I'm glad we got a limit on that ability. That's the lesson there. You can invent a bullshit rule-breaking power, but it needs to have it's own limits and rules in order to keep it from being abused. Kryptonite will neutralize Superman, but it's not like you can just run to the drugstore and buy a bunch of kryptonite.

The Supreme Kai, Kibito, Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo all go to the Lookout to find out what happened, and Mr. Popo fills them in. The Supreme Kai realizes that it must have been his brother Degesu, and Piccolo recognizes the name "Neva" from Namekian history. He was the "Legendary Namek" who stayed behind in the Demon Realm after all the others left for the outside universe. He stayed to guard the Demon Realm's Dragon Balls, but it's not clear what he's protecting them from. If he didn't want the Demons making wishes, then why did he help Gomah use the Earth's Dragon Balls today? Curious.

Also, before Gomah's group left, he decided to take baby Dende along as a hostage. Also, as the keeper of the Earth's Dragon Balls, they believe holding Dende will make the Earth's Dragon Balls useless. I get why they'd want to do that, but I'm not sure I understand how physically removing Dende affects the Dragon Balls. When Guru was teleported from Namek to Earth, the Namekian Dragon Balls followed him there. So maybe it's like that? Or does the barrier between the Demon Realm and Earth make it so it seems like Dende is dead? The Dragon Balls become inert just like they would if Dende had died. Anyway, Neva seems to think this would go as Gomah expects, so they kidnapped baby Dende.

And Goku wants to go to Demon Realm and get him back. There you go, that's the good guys' motivation, right there. This was the problem GT had when it turned Goku into a child. It was basically an accident, so there was no enemy to fight in that situation, and Goku basically didn't care. It doesn't seem like Daima Goku is too worried about being a child either, and that's fine. Goku's a pretty laid back guy with this sort of thing. But if turning him into a child doesn't provoke some sort of response, then why do it at all?

Here the conflict is much more focused. Gomah went out of his way to turn Goku into a child because he saw him as a potential threat. And it seems that he kidnapped Dende to ensure that Goku couldn't simply undo the wish next year. So even if Goku doesn't mind being a child, he'd still want to go after Gomah, if only to rescue Dende and get to the bottom of this. It also helps that we have characters like Vegeta included in the whole babies wish, so even if Goku doesn't mind being a child, Vegeta is still highly motivated to undo the wish.

But more importantly, by doing all of this, Gomah seems to have provoked the very response that he was trying to avoid. Degesu thought there was no reason for the Earthlings to come to the Demon Realm, and now Gomah has given them a reason. He probably doesn't think that Goku's group is capable of putting up much of a fight in this state, but they already beat Majin Buu, so underestimating them seems like a bad idea.

Rememer, Dr. Arinsu was the one who planted the seeds for this whole conflict. If she hadn't said anything, Gomah never would have gone to Earth. So was this what she wanted to happen? Maybe she was trying to set off a conflict, and then Gomah would have to keep funding her research to improve his defenses. Or maybe Arinsu was counting on Goku to eliminate Gomah, so that another king would take over and give Arinsu the funding that Gomah would not.

And I don't want to spend a lot of time bashing GT with this (I already did that last year). You can kick off a story with an accident like Pilaf's thoughtless wish, and then establish a plot device that will destroy the world like the Black Star Dragon Balls. That's valid, but it's so much better when there's an antagonist in back of the problem, someone you can chase or fight or argue with over tea.

All right, so how do they get to the Demon Realm? According to Kibito, travel to and from has been heavily restricted for a long, long time. It's not clear who imposed the restrictions, or who Gomah had to make arrangements with for his own trip, but it's not as simple as teleporting or taking a spaceship. The Supreme Kai has an idea, and he sends Kibito to fetch the spaceship he used when he first came to this universe. He doesn't say where he came from, though. I'm guessing he and the other Kais all live in some other realm and he had to come here when he got the Kaioshin position in Universe 7. But maybe he was born in the Demon Realm, and he used this ship to leave? In any case, he believes this vessel will take them to the Demon Realm, except it's old and busted.

But that's okay, because we have Bulma to fix it. She takes a look under the hood and estimates it'll be a ten day job. So the principal cast is starting to take shape here. Goku is obvious, and the Supreme Kai has family on the bad guy side, so he has a clear stake in this. Piccolo is in because of the Namekian connection, and Vegeta wants revenge for getting turned into a baby. And we gotta have Bulma because she's the tech gal. I'm not clear on whether Kibito will tag along, but we don't see much of him in the closing credits, so I'm guessing he rides the pine for most of this story.

And this is great. One thing that always bugged me about Dragon Ball Super was how they kept loading way too many characters into every episode. They'd be fighting Frieza and Master Roshi has to be there. They're fighting Universe 6's team and we gotta check in with Jaco to see what he thinks about it all. They're getting ready to help save Future Trunks' world, but let's check in on Emperor Pilaf and see what he has to say about all this. Every time someone threw a punch in the Tournament of Power, the show would suddenly cut to the bleachers so Whis could explain why punches hurt.

I've been trying to find a way to describe the pacing in Daima, and it feels kind of relaxed and leisurely, but at the same time, it's not padded out the way the previous anime series were. Before, Toei would often set up B-plots and side conversations to fill time, and that's not really happening here. The cast is pretty small, and we're filling the time with exposition and just sort of letting the moments breathe. Goku goes on a little side-quest to get his Nyoi'bo, and they probably could have tightened it up, or skipped it altogether, but it's just this quiet little errand, and the show lets you drink in the ambiance.

Look at these li'l guys eating their li'l guy dinner with their mini-sized soda cans. It's great.

However, their dinner is interrupted by the sudden arrival of another Demon Realm ship like the one King Gomah used. This time, however, it's a whole other guy named Glorio, whom we saw spying on Gomah in Episode 1. He says he was tasked with recruiting Goku to defeat King Gomah in the Demon Realm. Goku's always ready to rock, but the Supreme Kai wants to know how Glorio has even heard of Goku. Glorio claims he learned about Goku from the King of the Third Demon Realm, who watched video of the Buu Saga just like Gomah. That... seems a bit curious. Later it'll become clear that the Demon Realm is divided into three worlds, so I guess it makes sense that each one has a king, and Gomah rules over them all. So the Third King might not be too happy about Gomah's reign.

But Glorio was also there when Gomah watched his own video of the Buu Saga. So it's almost like he's telling a half-truth. Glorio also says he was ordered by the Third King to come here, but when the Supreme Kai asks if he works for the Third King, Glorio says that he doesn't. The request was sent to him in secret. Well, what does that mean?

I'm guessing that Glorio's not telling the gang the whole story, or he may not be fully aware of it himself. For all we know, someone like Dr. Arinsu might have sent him the request and made it look like it was the Third King who submitted it. Whatever the case, the Supreme Kai decides to go with them, partly because his brother is involved with Gomah, and partly because he's suspicious of Glorio. He shouldn't have known about them being turned into children, but he wasn't surprised to see them in this state. To be fair to Glorio, nothing seems to really get much of a reaction out of him. He's a very low-key kind of guy.

Bulma asks to study his spaceship before they go, so she can use it as a reference for her work on the Kai's ship. Glorio insists that his vessel is a "plane", so I don't know if that's the correct term for it or if he's just a contrarian. I mean, it does more than fly in space, but it does fly in space so come on. Vegeta wants to go along, but the plane only has room for three. So Vegeta will have to wait for Bulma to finish repairing the other ship and then they can follow Glorio's group into the Demon Realm later.

I like this set up a lot. I think GT had a promising set up with a trio of main characters. Again, there's a lot to be said for focusing on a small cast instead of dumping in dozens of side characters who have to compete for screen time. But GT ran into issues pretty early on, and maybe it would have been helpful to have a second trio operating independently of the first. That way if the writers got stuck, they could switch to the second group, or have them link up later on.

I don't know if this would have done GT a lot of good, but it definitely seems like a smart strategy for Daima. This way we can focus on three characters, but there's still the promise that we'll get to see more of Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma later. If all six of them had gone together, it would have gotten dull, because at least two of them wouldn't have had much to do. This way we have something to look forward to.

[neverenoughmarauders]

A lot of people hold James happy upbringing as an argument for why he should have been kind to Snape; and Snape’s upbringing as justification for why he joined Voldemort and bullied children.

Personally I find this hypocritical… James is as much a product of his upbringing and while it’s a much happier one, it doesn’t come without its downsides. James doesn’t have the resources to understand someone like Snape. He’s not resourceful in that respect.

We learn that James’ parents were old, rich and desperate for children. When they got James they spoiled him and set few (if any) limits. This makes him a spoiled brat, but one with great capacity for love. Exactly the sort of person to grow into a person we see capable of bullying a student who is immersed in the dark arts or for worse reasons: just because he can; at the same time as he can show compassion for someone with a stigmatised condition. James is a blend of the love he was brought up with and the lack of consequences he faced.

This is a time when the UK wizarding world is at the brink of war, and Snape does early show every sign of joining the wrong side (he doesn’t like muggles, he wants to be in the evil house - and yes in canon there is an evil house). Someone like James, spoiled, seeming himself invincible and right in everything he does, would find Snape someone he ought to hex.

James upbringing makes his bullying understandable. It does not make it right or justifiable. I won’t apologise for it. I do understand it.

Similarly, it’s easy to understand how Snape, who grows up in an abusive household with Tobias Snape and dreams of escaping, ends up making the wrong choices. I can’t remember if we know his mother was in Slytherin, but it’s at least the most likely thing.

Snape must have grown up thinking of Slytherin - the place his mother had been - as the place he’d find home. The fact that Slytherins disliked muggles won’t have bothered him all that much - Tobias made sure of that. To protect himself, Snape doesn’t develop empathy the way others do. And I will die on that hill - because it’s the kindest explanation I can find for grown post-1981 (teacher) Snape’s behaviour. It makes it easy for him to fall in with the wrong crowd. Because Snape isn’t alone at Hogwarts. He has friends - or people he hangs around with - other than Lily. It’s just these people have some pretty terrible ideas. Ideas that Snape are also partial to - or at least, he falls in with.

It doesn’t help that this boy with limited empathy sees what we know to be the good side (those that didn’t do ‘evil’ stuff, as Lily put it) to be fronted by loud bullying gits like James Potter and Sirius Black.

Snape invents pretty dark spells, including the oh so ‘James is far more evil than a death eater because he dangled Snape upside down so everyone could see his underpants’ spell. Yes that’s Snape’s invention. Had he never used it, James could never have learned it. They both used it. They were both bad in their own ways. And of course he invented Sectumsempra - a dark curse that prevents Molly from being able to heal Fred. Yes then it wasn’t used on purpose but it was invented by Snape, to be used on enemies. And he used it because Remus remarks it’s a speciality of Snape’s. But here’s the thing - Snape has gone around feeling so powerless for so long - I understand why he invents these and use them.

Snape’s upbringing makes his actions understandable. It does not make it right or justifiable. I won’t apologise for it. I do understand it.

Understanding someone’s actions doesn’t mean I endorse them. That goes for both Snape and James.

[calliesmemes]

QUOTES FOUND ON PINTEREST

ASKBOX PROMPTS OF ASSORTED QUOTATIONS THAT I HAVE FOUND WHILE MAKING BOARDS FOR MY MUSES ON PINTEREST

CHANGE gendered words if necessary.

SPECIFY muse for multimuses.

“   Something in me wants more. I can’t rest.   ”

“   The sword of destiny has two edges. You are one of them.  ”

“   I don’t want worship. I want understanding.   ”

“   Your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing.   ”

“   The truth is, I pretend to be a cynic, but I am really a dreamer who is terrified of wanting something that she may never get.   ”

“   Your heartbeats set the rhythm for my heart.   ”

“   Because you feel like home to me. That’s why I love you.   ”

“   I feel my soul drawn to you.   ”

“   I have for the first time found what I can truly love. I have found you.   ”

“   I felt there was no point in telling anyone anything that was happening inside me.   ”

“   The world either breaks or hardens the heart.   ”

“   Am I supposed to be grateful to have survived this?   ”

“   You are so brave and quiet I forget you are suffering.   ”

“   It bothers me that no one has the patience to deal with someone who is just sad.   ”

“   I have never understood where the line is drawn, between sacrifice and self-slaughter.   ”

“   Sometimes suffering is just suffering. It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t build character. It only hurts.    ”

“   The past beats inside me like a second heart.   ”

“   My soul and yours are the same. You appear in me, I in you. We hide in each other.   ”

“   You are always haunted by the idea that you have been wasting your life.   ”

“   I am not cruel — only truthful.  ”

“   No one wearing a crown comes in the name of peace.   ”

“   I am starved for tenderness and that is what is the matter with me and has been for months.   ”

“   You? What could one more splash of blood mean to you?    ”

“   Can you hate someone for what they have done, but still love them for whom they had been?   ”

“   I'm sorry you were not truly loved and that it made you cruel.   ”

“   I'd choose you; in a hundred lifetimes, in a hundred worlds, in any version of reality, I'd find you and I'd choose you.   ”

“   I am not merciful, and I am not kind, and l am not afraid to make you wish that I was.   ”

“   It does me no good; violence has changed me.   ”

“   So heartless, yet so full of feelings.   ”

“   You blossom under kindness, don't you? Like a rose.   ”

“   All suffering originates from craving, from attachment, from desire.   ”

“   I look at you, and it terrifies me. It terrifies me what I would do for you.   ”

“   Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly for the ones that I did not.   ”

“   Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.   ”

“   "Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all.   ”

“   We all romanticize the people we adore.   ”

“   I've lived too long with pain. I won't know who I am without it.   ”

“   If you know too much, you’ll get old too soon.   ”

“   Cowardice is the most terrible of vices.   ”

“   I am tired of being brave.   ”

“   I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here.   ”

“   There isn't always an explanation for everything.   ”

“   Everything will turn out right, the world is built on that.   ”

“   People do not see you. They invent you and accuse you.   ”

“   Never have I dealt with anything as difficult as my own soul.   ”

“   You are a woman marked for sorrow.   ”

“   Rise up, then. Mend your ways, start seeing what you are instead of calculating what you should become.   ”

“   Stop punishing yourself for being someone with a heart. You cannot protect yourself from suffering. To live is to grieve. You are not protecting yourself by shutting yourself off from the world. You are limiting yourself.   ”

“   Very early in my life it was too late.   ”

“   I want to change. I want to stop fear’s subtle guidance of my life.   ”

“   You misinterpret everything, even the silence.   ”

“   Lately many years have passed.   ”

“   You’ll bear it. You’ll last out. You will.   ”

[hereidinathoreauwrites]

What is the best Magic School Bus episode and why you’re wrong it’s In the Haunted House

In honor of the 30th anniversary of the MSB premiere (god that makes me feel old), have a hastily assembled post about why this is the best episode of this completely unhinged and delightful show for kids from the 90s.

The plot of this episode revolves around Carlos trying to make his invented instrument sound like not crap and Ms. Frizzle barely knowing what's going on but rolling with it anyway.

This episode begins, begins with a rendition of the William Tell Overture. No explanation, in fact we find out several minutes later that DA is passing this off as "Concerto for Invented Instrument", an original piece she composed so Carlos could show off said invented instrument.

They're really just gonna drop the idea that an 8-year old composed a piece like this and she's not being scouted as the next Mozart? Were we really that bored in the 90s?

Because PBS shows get a budget of like 5 and need that royalty-free music! But is it just a recording of any old orchestra playing this song? No. It's a recording using specifically the instruments the kids are shown to be playing.

As Carlos laments that his instrument sounds "ploopy" (a word they repeat all episode that means nothing but somehow fits the sound perfectly), the woman herself makes an ENTRANCE. This is by no means Ms. Frizzle's most eccentric entrance but it is the one that serves the most. She's a one-woman band, effortlessly showing off footwork skills and musical knowledge with her array of instruments.

Then she just shoves the whole contraption in a desk drawer like a Time Lord and continues with no explanation.

After some exposition (yada, yada, concert coming up, instrument needs to be fixed) they all rush off to the Sound Museum. On the way, Carlos keeps trying to fix his instrument and laments that he needs more time. (side note, the sound mixing on this instrument is incredible; I wish there was a way to put in a sound clip because every time unique and every time is utter perfection).

So what's a boy inventor to do? Have his trusty teacher crash the bus of course! For no apparent reason, Ms. Frizzle has the bus go nuts with speed and sound until it overheats and they get stuck.

(look at this bus winking like it's in on the ruse!). So now they're without a bus for the rest of the episode.

Carlos is thrilled (more time to fix his instrument!) and DA is horrified.

(Another side note, DA is giving peak sass this episode. On the one hand it's very funny. On the other, you can tell it's because this concert matters to her.)

So they decide their best course of action is to just push the bus through the dark.

Pretty soon they arrive at this place.

Just a goddamned castle. Where lightning strikes on a clear night. Ya know, just for the aesthetic.

This episode is all spooky vibes without explicitly being a Halloween episode. And despite the creepy stuff it manages to be hilarious at the same time.

The house is indeed EARy and unsettling with things like hidden doors, paintings who's eyes move and books that make noise, even one that inexplicably screams. Not to mention the strange ghostly sound they keep hearing. And Ms. Frizzle is very chill about all of this. She even tells them the history of the house, which contains a ghost story.

She's just messing with them now, right? You don't tell freaked out 8 years olds a ghost story about the creepy house they're stranded in. But that is how Ms. Frizzle do.

And when it becomes clear that the place is empty, she just claims squatters rights and says they're staying the night.

(Permission slips? Really?)

And she's barely said that when they find a conveniently arranged dormitory laid out just for them. But in typical kids during a sleepover behavior, the kids wander off following that mysterious sound and discover even more crazy rooms in this house.

Oh and Ms. Frizzle casually mountain climbing in said room. Who makes a ski lift appear out of nowhere to get the kids out of the room.

It's only here, three-quarters of the way in that someone on the writing staff realized this was all plot with no lesson. And then they scramble to teach something about vibrations and sound. Using giant instruments and goggles that let you see sound (I was so mad when I found out those weren't real).

After a quick realization on how vibration creates sound, Carlos rushes off to fix his instrument, only to find it missing!

And then they fall down a closet into the dungeon basement. And it's there that we finally meet the rogue soundster - the great granddaughter of the original owner of the house! Voiced by Carol Channing?! The Broadway legend?? Her eccentric voice matched this one-off character perfectly.

Turns out she stole Carlos' instrument; why it's never quite explained but she helps him to fix it just in time for the concert. Which goes off without a hitch.

Carlos donates his instrument to the museum and the episode ends with Ms. Frizzle and Cornelia jamming on their respective instruments and instantly creating a classic.

Where did this sound museum come from? How did the original Cornelia disappear? How did Ms. Frizzle know Cornelia II? Why do the books make sound? Why was Ms. Frizzle mountain climbing? Why did Ms. Frizzle tear down a wall at one point and no one cared? Why did an old lady who is definitely a ghost or an immortal steal an instrument just to hold onto it until the owner found her? Where did Ms. Frizzle get her instrument from, she left it in the bigger-on-the-inside desk drawer at school!?

Shut up and enjoy your 90s cartoon about how sound works.

I'm pretty sure this episode gave life to all the Carlos x DA shippers too. And not without cause.

(Keesha ships it.)

So yeah, all plot, all vibes with the barest hint of a lesson, never-ending sass and absolutely no explanation for anything?

Best episode.

[halfetirosie]

✴︎˚｡⋆ I'M not crying, YOU'RE crying! ✴︎˚｡⋆

(Star Message 11 - 14 React-os!)

1) Edmond scaring kids with the intensity of his questioning... 😂

Nah bit, just look at that pretty face! If the kid gets scared, it's his own fault---how could Edmond possibly look scary? My mans ain't even scowling!

2) Ohhhhh, so the metal plate really WAS made by Brahe, then?

Seeing how the metal of the prototype plates were the same, then the message really was from Brahe.....That's a shame; I had hoped that wouldn't be the case, because I didn't want Brahe's bitch-ass son to be correct....

But doesn't this mean that they have evidence of Brahe's intellectual merit?

Even if they never found solid evidence of starscape creatures, Brahe DID invent a new type of sound-record magic circle. (Even if I didn't understand Rei's explanation of it, it's clear that it was more advanced than the usual magic circle.)

3) You know what this reminds me of?

You know how in Minecraft you can find that one disc that has a recording of environmental sounds, and it has a really weird vibe to it?---Disc 13, I think?

That's what this reminded me of... 😅

4) There he is! There's our dude!!! :D

Now I feel like kind of a jerk for thinking that the environment-sounds were creepy... Cuz now that I think of it, yeah, how else are you supposed to communicate with a creature who doesn't speak your language???

5) FUCK, this guy is such a sweetheart!!! (⸝⸝o̴̶̷᷄ ◡ o̴̶̷̥᷅⸝⸝)

He is such a sincere guy... I feel so bad for him, getting mocked by everyone; even his shitty son...

This is so bittersweet.

Sure; in a poetic sort of way, the message did, in fact, arrive in "the right place." It didn't reach the starscape creatures (as far as we know), but it did find its was to Blade/other believers.

This recording is a beacon of hope for people like Blade, and Brahe was truly a pioneer in his area of study.

It just makes me sad that Brahe was so ahead of his time, and didn't get the respect he was due when he was still alive.

6) Dang, so that metal was literally made out of a shooting star?

Does that mean all of the other prototype plates were, too? Are meteors big enough to make that much metal???

I want to know more about the space metal!!!

But anyways, I'm glad Rei had some genuine fun during this event. It's right in his wheelhouse! 😊

7) Edmond, you sly little Tsun-Tsun Cinnamon Roll!!!

I love how he gives professional-sounding evaluations while subtly hyping Blade up!

⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

8) I couldn't have said it better myself, Blade sweetie!!!

Helping like-minded people come together---to realize that they're not truly alone---is what gives them the power to make changes.

9) PFFFFT!!!

🤦‍♀️🤣🤣🤣🤣

Edmond.... My love.....

Out of all the things you could've chosen to lead your message with----

----I just-----

*static*

🎶 We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please wait for us to fix the problem. Thank you for your patience. 🎶

🎶🎶🎶

🎶🎶🎶

*static*

Your character is so consistent, babe, and I LOVE that about you!

---even if your insistence on making aliens follow government procedures kinda throws off the friendly vibes...😅

10) *SCREAMING, SOBBING, ROLLING ON THE GROUND*

EIDENNNN!!!!!! BABYYYY!!!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

YOU HAVE BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH, BUT LOOK AT YOU NOW!!!!

YOU'RE LIVING WITH A GIANT FAMILY OF HOT GUYS THAT LOVE YOU!!!!!

YOU ARE SUCH A WINNER!!!!

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

11) FUCK, this is SO CUTEEEE!!!!! ♡♡♡♡♡

Back at it again with the poetic endings!

It is so fitting for Blade to carry on Brahe's legacy---now he has another cool hobby to spend his time on!

Plus, considering that he's an e-droid, that means he'll be able to carry out the research even longer than Brahe did, and I think that's pretty damn cool.

Gotta love a happy ending!

🚀 End of report! 🚀

[technicjelle]

Infrastructure for Disaster Control, a.k.a. Automatic Builds

We all know the feeling of pure and utter stress when, ten minutes before the deadline, you finally click the Build And Export in your game engine and then it fails to build for some reason.

To prevent issues like this, people invented automated builds, also sometimes referred to as CI/CD.

This is a mechanism that tests the project every single time a change is made (a git commit is pushed, or a Perforce changelist is submitted). Because of this, we very quickly know whenever a change broke the build, which means we can fix it immediately, instead of having to fix it at the end.

It is also useful whenever a regression happens that doesn't break the build. We can go back to a previous build, and see if the issue is there or not. By checking a few builds by way of binary search, we can very quickly pinpoint the exact change that caused the regression. We have used this a few times, in fact. Once, the weaving machines stopped showing up in the build, and with this method, we were able to pinpoint the exact change that caused it, and then we submitted a fix!

It's very useful to have an archive of builds for every change we made to the project.

There are multiple different softwares that do this kind of thing, but Jenkins is by and far the most used. Both by indies, but also large AAA studios! So knowing how it works is very useful, so that's why I picked Jenkins for the job. Again, like with Perforce, it was pretty easy to install!

Here is a list of every build run that Jenkins did, including a neat little graph :)

Configuring it was quite tricky, though. I had to create a console terminal CLI command that makes Unreal Engine build project. Resources used: (one) (two)

It took many days of constant iteration, but in the end, I got it to work very well!

I also wrote some explanations of what Jenkins is and how to use it on the Jenkins pages themselves, for my teammates to read:

Dashboard (The Home Page):

Project Page:

Now, it is of course very useful to build the project and catch errors when they happen, but if no-one looks on the Jenkins page, then no-one will see the status! Even if the website is accessible to everyone, people won't really look there very often. Which kind of makes the whole thing useless… So to solve that issue, I implemented Discord pings! There is a Jenkins plugin that automatically sends messages to a specific Discord channel once the build is done. This lets everyone know when the build succeeded or failed.

We of course already had a discord server that we used to discuss everything in, and to hold out online meetings with. So this #build-status channel fit in perfectly, and it was super helpful in catching and solving issues.

Whenever a build failed, people could click on the link, and see the console output that Unreal Engine gave during the build, so we could instantly see where the issue was coming from. And because it rebuilds for every change that is made, we know for certain that the issue can only have come from the change that was just made! This meant that keeping every change small, made it easier to find and fix problems!

Whenever a build succeeds, it gets stored on the server, in the build archive.

But storing it on the server alone is nice and all, but people can't really do anything with them there. I could personally access them by remotely connecting to the server, but I cannot make my teammates go through all that. So I needed to make them more accessible for the whole team, to download whenever they please.

For this, I wanted to create a small website, from which they can download them. Just by going to the link, they could scroll through every build and download it immediately.

I already knew of multiple ways of easily doing this, so I tried out a few.

The Python programming language actually ships with a built-in webserver module that can be used very easily with a single command. But Python wasn't installed, and installing Python on Windows is kind of annoying, so I wanted something else. Something simpler.

I often use the program "darkhttpd" whenever I want a simple webserver, so I tried to download that, but I couldn't get it to work on Windows. Seems like it only really supports Linux…

So I went looking for other, single-executable, webserver programs that do support Windows.

And so I stumbled on "caddy". I'd actually heard of it before, but never used it, as I never had a need for it before then. For actual full websites, I've always used nginx. After some time of looking at the official documentation of caddy's various configuration file formats and command-line arguments, and tweaking things, I had it working like I wanted! It now even automatically starts when the computer boots up, which is something that Perforce and Jenkins set up automatically. Resources used: (one) (two) (three) (four)

And I think that's it! Unfortunately, none of this will roll over to the next team that has to work on this project, because none of this is code that is inside our project folder.

Here’s a summary of the setup, drawn as a network map:

Future

There is a concept called IAC, Infrastructure As Code, which I would like to look into, in the future. It seems very useful for these kinds of situations where other people have to be able to take over, and reproduce the setups.

[katy-133]

Rick Prime Theories

Gonna dump some theories relating to our latest Rick and Morty arc villain here.

Time Crystals

(First pointed out in this other post.)

Beginning as early as season 1, C-137 is seen using crystallised xanthenite (also called "time crystals") throughout the series. The context he uses them in varies, but the overlapping connection appears to be that Rick uses time crystals to access alternate timelines.

Despite saying that he hates the concept of time travel, Rick still uses time crystals and ends up messing with time in the process. Not to go back in time, but to see alternate timelines or split timelines.

Examples include C-137 using time crystals to:

Access interdimensional cable.

Detecting that a dimension's timeline has split.

Trying to shoot an alternate timeline version of himself.

Leave phone messages for alternate timeline versions of himself.

Merging split timelines back into one (the time collars in the season 1 finale).

Merging Morty back together after he split himself multiple times from reloading "save points" he created using the remote Rick invented. Note that every time Morty "reloaded," he reappeared in a cloud of pink smoke.

Time crystals are always pink.

(Note: Depending on colour perception, some shots look more purple than pink, but for the sake of avoiding another "the dress was blue not gold" situation, I'll just be using the word pink for this discussion.)

According to time cops, time crystals are illegal to obtain, but that hasn't stopped Rick nor (it seems) other characters from using them to mess with time.

The Bovians dunk Jessica in a pink substance that crystalises her and turns her into "a time god," suspended in animation and able to witness eternity in the Narnia world. While it isn't named in the episode, it looks like the pink crystal was xanthenite (meaning, xanthenite is the pink liquid, and crystallised xanthenite is a time crystal).

(Side note: Not sure why the writers chose the name xanthenite. Xanthe is the name of a a water-nymph in Greek myth, but I couldn't find an obvious connection. If anyone knows, feel free to comment.)

Prime could possibly be using xanthenite to:

a) Keep himself ageless, suspended in time in a sense, but still able to walk around. This would explain why he doesn't look older than he looked 40 years ago in flashbacks.

b) Split himself but somehow keep all split versions of himself within one timeline. This would explain how he's able to exist in multiple places at once.

There's also similarities between Prime's dialogue when he offers portal travel to C-137 and Jessica's explanation to Morty of what happened to her while she was in the crystal:

Prime: "You think it's cool being the smartest man on Earth, but once we give you this technology, you become the smartest thing in every conceivable universe. The Infinite Rick. A god."

Jessica: "I had nothing but time. Endless time. At first, it was madness. Then enlightenment. Then madness again. But perhaps it was a gift. I could see the life of time. And as I watched the life of time in all its fleeting, terrible light, I wondered, had I lived? Was I just the object in another's story? Was that all I ever was? Could I be more? I had nothing but time and still no answer. Time without purpose is a prison. I have glimpsed into the mind of eternity. Perhaps the mind of God. And found nothing but silence. I think we should just be friends."

Both talk about endlessness (infinity and eternity) and have god comparisons. Both also end in a rejection (C-137 rejecting Prime's offer to help him achieve portal travel, and Jessica rejecting dating Morty).

Prime is possibly using time crystals to become "the Infinite Rick."

The Colour Pink

Related to the previous time crystal theory, Prime's attack on C-137's family involves a weapon with a pink explosion. This gives Prime a connection with the colour, which plants the an association between him and time alteration (as time crystals are the same colour).

The device C-137 uses to track down Prime's lair has a pink light:

Plus, Prime wears a jacket with a pink stripe along it. This jacket is unique to this version of Rick.

Prime is associated with time alteration through visual shorthand.

The Central Finite Curve

(Based on this previous post.)

Prime: "You think it's cool being the smartest man on Earth, but once we give you this technology, you become the smartest thing in every conceivable universe."

Note that he uses the word "we" in this talk with C-137. Who is he referring to? The Citadel?

For some reason, in Rick's backstory (the version that he shows to Morty in season 6), Rick went looking for (whom we can assume are) the initial founders of the Citadel of Ricks. We can assume this because the red string wall has the R logo that the Council of Ricks wear as badges.

So the timeline appears to be:

The concept of the Citadel is created, and Prime was one of the idea guys (if not the leader).

Prime offers portal travel to C-137, who rejects it. Prime then kills kid!Beth and Diane.

C-137 goes on a revenge quest to track down Prime by hunting down every member of (the precursor of) the Citadel of Ricks.

C-137 gives up trying to find Prime and decides to help the other Ricks (who later become the Council members) build the Citadel.

This leads to the creation of the Central Finite Curve, created through a machine built underneath the Citadel.

C-137 crashes his ship in Beth and Jerry's garage (hoping to find Prime there), causing Morty and Rick to meet.

Prime does not appear to be associated with the Citadel by the series' start, so at some stage, he abandoned the concept of building it.

This also means that Prime was not directly involved with the creation of the Curve.

The Central Finite Curve

The Central Finite Curve is a portion of the multiverse where Rick became a scientist smart enough to invent interdimensional travel.

It walls off the rest of the multiverse, making it no longer possible to travel beyond it.

Until Evil Morty creates the dimension rift to escape of out it.

This directly leads to to Solaricks episode, where Rick is able to meet Prime.

So potentially:

a) The Council of Ricks built the Curve to keep Prime out (so that C-137 would never be able to resume his revenge quest--which led to many Ricks being killed in the crossfire). Or,

b) The Curve was built to fence Prime in, preventing him from being able to escape any further than dimensions where a Rick exists.

The Central Finite Curve was possibly created to keep Prime trapped in or locked out.

[stranger-chichka]

Hi! So, first of all, you are one of my favorite blogs and i adore your analyses on ST. So, because of that i thought i could share this thing i just found out a few days ago... sorry in advance if it gets too long.

I'm a computer science student, and a few days ago in one of my classes my professor started talking about the evolution of technology and specifically computers (i know this sounds irrelevant but).. as he was talking he mentioned one specific company that caught my attention - Sinclair Research Ltd.

Since i'm obsessed with everything Stranger Things, i decided to check on it. Apparently the were big in the scene in th 70s-80s these days they mostly do research. Since it was computer related i decided then to check for Henderson, since he is the one most related to computers.

This took me nowhere, but i was adamant to find something. Anything. So i decided to move on to the next.

I looked for anything Wheeler related in computer science. And get this;

In the 50s, David Wheeler invented a way to jump through different parts of a code to do different operations. Like, if in the middle of your code you want to sum two numbers, and that's something you'll need to do over and over, instead of writing the same code for the operation over and over (which would make the program heavier) you create a subroutine, you leave a trail to follow, say, a dummy number. The program jumps, to where you want it and then after it it goes back to where it was before, or wherever you want it to go.

Now, the interesting thing about this jump in the subroutine is its name.

This is called a 'Wheeler Jump".

Now, since the upside down is stucked in 1983 and to hide from Vecna you need a happy memory, a memory of light, which implies the past, how we are thrown off by the painting being of the party and not the swingset as many Bylers believed, the weird monologue which i find like a bad copy paste from the one in the shed and how Vecna is related to clocks, i believe Mike is gonna jump. Here could go some thought about Mike jumping from the cliff in season 1 and how Ted asked Mike in s2, if one of his friends jumped if he would jump too. I do not even know what could any of that mean but I've read theories on Labyrinth, Back to the Future, flickergate, and Mike going missing and lettergate. It could be any of those, or none of them, because a coincidence could actually happen.

My personal bet goes to:

We've seen Mike trying to send a message-a code- (his real feelings), but because of dummy actions they were sent the wrong place (his platonic feelings were sent to were the romantic ones were suppose to go and vice-versa).

Anyways, Mike jumping could possibly have a lot of meanings, so i thought to share a weird base (?) for anyone wanting to use it in any theory or something.

Hi, anon! <3

I’m not that of an analyst really, but thank you for your sweet words and I appreciate someone like the stuff I come up with at times.

The things you wrote about are SO INTERESTING, thanks for sharing it with me!!! I’m sure there MUST be connection between “Wheeler Jump” and Mike’s character, especially considering that Mike has got that poster of a man with computer in his basement. The man who happen to be Charles Babbage. The one who is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer. The one who is referred to as “father of computing.”

What made me even more excited about everything you’ve mentioned is:

- David Wheeler is credited with the invention of the subroutine, which is referred to as the CLOSED subroutine (and Mike is in the CLOSET), and gave the first explanation of how to design software libraries (I see librarygate everywhere, lmao);

- he was born in Birmingham and the Cali crew went to Bingham’s house so Suzie could help them with the number to trace the computer’s location in s4 (Mike comes up with that idea). Not to mention Suzie was the one who told Planck's Constant in s3 which was the code the commies used for the safe in which two keys were. The keys needed to stop the machine from opening the gate. To CLOSE the gate. And in the beginning of s4 Suzie also hacked into Hawkins school computer program to change Dustin’s grades (he is later shown discussing it with Mike during).

“Mike trying to send a message/a code (his real feelings), but because of dummy actions they were sent to the wrong place (his platonic feelings were sent to were the romantic ones were suppose to go and vice-versa).”

So, basically, Mike got lost in his own feelings because of his closed subroutine that theoretically should’ve made everything easier for him??? Suzie helped him with the number (the number=Mike’s feelings) and there’s one person in the show who says “I’m good with numbers.” Erica Sinclair. Erica, who drinks Minute Maid Grape Juice that is a reference to Queen’s music video on the song “I Want To Break Free.” Erica, who refers to Lucas as Jason’s boyfriend in the most careless and normal way possible. And there’s so much more. She mentions Nintendo to Jason and then the Cali crew (Mike & Will in particular) is lying to Suzie about the same goddamn Nintendo (oops, sorry, Americantendo). Erica, who’s on the poster RHE HEART with the rest of the party (x).

Also, Will’s school project was about Alan Turing - mathematician, computer scientist and codebreaker.

Unfortunately, I can’t go deeper here because I’m a total zero at IT and maths but everything you’ve mentioned is related to the code and one more code in the show is “when blue meets yellow in the west.” What also serves as a code in ST? Music. I already wrote about how the Duffers use the songs and original soundtracks to tell us more about what’s really happening in the show and to deliver the message that is somehow sensitive. Something they wants to make a huge plot twist for the GA. Mike’s orientation. He is in the CLOSET. If music is a code for us to better understand the show and the characters, it means that characters’ Spotify playlists are as much important as the show itself. @lesbianmindflayer analyses both Mike’s and Will’s playlists so I highly recommend to subscribe on her YouTube channel and follow her here. Almost every song on Mike’s playlist is about running. He’s running form his true self. Do I even have to mention “Smalltown Boy” being the first song on the playlist?

In s4 it’s said “Music reaches parts of the brain words can't.” The Duffers don’t use plain text to say “Mike Wheeler’s gay” or “Byler endgame”, but they use music for that. “Being in the Closet (at Rink-O-Mania)” is one of many examples of how they’re doing it. Not to mention other queer coding such as ONE WAY sign, closets etc.

@bylerschmyler @there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow your additions always make every post better so I’m really interested in your thoughts on it!