#main example is tawny

[ihavethreetimdrakeblogs]

bringing this back because I'm RIGHT

we're all sleeping on the tawky tawny adopts billy au

[lttawnymadison]

TGCF Revised Version Afterword by MXTX

Since I kept seeing snippets of this, I wanted to read the whole thing for myself. I'd already bought the book on JJWXC and did an MTL for this. It's so wonderful that she's back and sharing new things and that the revised is finally done! - Tawny --------------------------------------------- The author has something to say:

Seeing the small red clay stove again.

———— Afterword of "Heaven Official's Blessing" 2022

■ Finally done!

Long time no see! It's another afterword starting with "finally." Without further ado, seasoned readers would know that I make substantial revisions. For instance, scenes like the Bai Feng Mountain Hunt and the ending recognition of Sizhui in the serial version of "Mo Dao Zu Shi" were not originally there.

The revisions in "Heaven Official's Blessing" are the most extensive of all my works. It was a huge project, as it is also the longest in terms of length, serialized over eight months. Due to poor health and other reasons, the revision process was interrupted for a long time before I picked it up again, and it sporadically took about five to six months over several years.

In the era of web novels, there are endless new entertainments, and honestly, not many people re-read a story. Plus, some problems in the serialized version are structural and can't be changed, but I still tried my best to address my regrets. After all, when I was serializing it, I was almost always in a feverish and sick state, barely pushing through. Additionally, I often enjoy comparing different versions of my favorite authors' works back and forth, finding pleasure in the process. So, for readers, discovering "Wow, this part has changed!" is like starting a new journey with Easter eggs in a second round.

■ The new revised version includes about 100,000 words of new content!

These 100k words are mainly concentrated in the latter half of Volume 1 and Volume 3, but there are plenty scattered throughout the text. For example, I fulfilled a promise to A-Hua, giving him several new outfits. Seeing A-Hua dressed beautifully in a new hairstyle to meet his gege made me happy.

In terms of the intensity of revisions, personally, I feel it goes like this:

Volume 1 and Volume 2 > Volume 3 > Volume 5 > Volume 4.

Additionally, the new version cuts some redundant words and plots that weren't very meaningful. However, I tried to keep all the original interactions between Hua Lian as complete as possible. If some minor interactions are missing, they weren't deleted but moved around.

■ One day, I suddenly dug out something.

An antique from 2017, a folder called "Heaven Official's Blessing Setting Collection."

Curiously, I opened it and read with interest.

● Comparing the original setting outline and the main text, the highest fidelity is in the main storyline between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian.

A-Hua, restored at a ratio of 1:100.

Hua's character setting is the most detailed, and virtually every point made it into the main text, including details like "ghosts don't like the sun, so Hua Cheng sometimes drapes a red cloth over his head"...

Points not used, listed a few:

As a child:

· After being saved from falling off a city wall, he foolishly followed a parade over and over again, grabbing people to ask, "Who is that? Who is that person?" People told him, "That's the royal son, the future Celestial God, the most outstanding Crown Prince of Xianle Nation ever!"

(This point couldn't be used because in the text A-Hua was held in the Crown Prince's arms after being saved)

· At home, he was often punished to stand or kneel, not given food, and wore old clothes, accused of stealing money. Whenever he argued with his family, he would stubbornly sleep in the Prince's temple overnight.

· Went to Mount Tai Cang to volunteer sweeping red leaves at Huangji Observatory, just to sneak peeks at his future wife happily swinging.

After becoming the ghost king:

· One of his hobbies is buying and building houses everywhere.

· Very protective of his leather boots, would (badly) polish them until they shone.

· To other devout followers of Xie Lian, he said: "You have good taste."

· Secretly prepared many betrothal gifts for his beloved god, wanting to marry him!

The character setting of Xie Lian as a teacher in the serialized version compared to the initial draft, the serialized text subtly differs. The initial draft was more... exquisite and elegant, very serious. The serialized text is more... humorous. I think perhaps because some plot points were tragic, Xie Lian thought he should be happier to make the readers more relaxed, so he drove me to adjust his mental state! But due to the spiritual oppression at that time, the character's depth was not enough, while in the new revised version, I hope he can show a more self-content state on the same core basis.

Excerpts from the unused original setting:

· Super easy-going. Easy-going means: if given fifty bucks, he would happily dress in drag and dance. Accepts haggling. Thirty bucks works. Twenty bucks too!

· The observatory is small, the house is broken, wants to grow flowers. Leaks during rain, so he uses a bucket to catch rainwater.

· Because he can't afford a caretaker, he cleans himself, and also feeds chickens. Chickens eat flowers. Keeps a cat.

· Completely engrossed in discussing serious matters, he unknowingly finished all the broken sweet dumplings!

● Water, Earth, Wind original setting:

The highest fidelity is the main line between Hua Cheng and Xie Lian, followed by the Water, Earth, Wind subplot.

The main conflict hasn't changed. Just... how could the original setting of Water, Earth, Wind be so dark and terrifying!

The character morals in the main text improved a lot, otherwise, the original Black Water would be sheer scheming + murderous! The ending for the Wind Master would have been more tragic.

The Venerable of Empty Words suddenly became an improvised character. It seemed like an ancient fable-like monster, making the main text more interesting than the original setting.

Overall, the formal version is a bit better written than the original draft.

● The unfortunate life of Lang Ying:

Lang Ying? Is there such a character? I don't remember!

Ah? It seems there was such a person, but I don't remember any of his plotlines.

This is most people's feeling towards the character of Lang Ying. It's not a delusion because he barely had any significant plot. In fact, any valuable scenes could have been replaced equivalently, so in the new revised version, I deleted this character.

But, in the 2017 setting collection, I suddenly found that I had actually opened a separate document for Lang Ying, and his role was defined as a "growing-type BOSS!"

I was silent.

And immediately opened the document, curious about my initial setting. A "growing-type BOSS," how did he become someone whose deletion went unnoticed...? (I even don't know how to address him!)

Who knows, perhaps out of excitement, I accidentally pressed the wrong shortcut, and somehow it became irreversible, leaving only an empty document for me to stare in disbelief. The once "growing-type BOSS" has now forever become a mystery!

This is the unfortunate life of the deleted Lang Ying.

· There was another document in the setting collection called "Swordsmith." I opened the document and read it with interest.

I was shocked. Because I completely forgot I had conceived this story. Why didn't I write it?!

Darn.

I know why I didn't write it. This story... it had no ending!

——————— Thus, the magical glimpse into the "Heaven Official's Blessing Setting Collection" concludes!

■ I like men with stories!

Maybe because I watched an outstanding work as a child. It was a memoir, the protagonist in the biography was gentle and affable, and the protagonist in the memories was cold and ruthless. The story was scattered with the poignant fragrance of white plum blossoms amidst bloody and stormy circumstances.

This almost perfect work deeply influenced my aesthetics, leading me to be most interested in the memory parts of characters in various works. Although many viewers prefer the present scenes, often asking when the memories will end, I actually find these intense and painful memories to be the most fascinating!

A story is the history of a character, as well as the key to their personality. A person with a story stands before me like a puzzle. The way to solve this puzzle is to understand their story. Because the biography makes one curious to know more about a character they like, loving them more now because of their past. When serializing "Heaven Official," my greatest pain initially was telling myself, "This time I don't want to write a memory slaughter," deliberately trying to avoid a structure similar to previous works, yet I still hadn't found a better way to express it, resulting in my deep dissatisfaction with the later part of Volume 1. I was also hesitant to fully commit to the memory scenes in Volume 2, and with the heavy mental burden, this part was very painful to write. When revising, looking at Volume 2 was almost unbearable, because I'm the type of person who, as a child, would immediately switch channels when a TV show's protagonist was about to be wrongfully accused or embarrassed. I couldn't help but knock on a friend's door and ask:

Me: Was the author suffering some kind of mental trauma at the time? This negative energy is too horrifying, the protagonist is so pitiful, I really admire anyone who could read through Volume 2 completely.

Friend: Do you even have the right to say that?

But the memory slaughter in Volume 4 was much freer, written in one breath, so the revisions for this volume were also the least.

So, will you still write large segments of memory slaughter?

Um, well, we'll see, haha, hehe...

■ Closing Remarks:

Lastly, I'll address the question some asked me, "Will the new revised 'Heaven Official's Blessing' be more torturous?"

Me: You're talking nonsense. 'Heaven Official's Blessing' is a sweet pampering story, thank you!

Acknowledgments:

Shi Nai'an wrote in the preface to "Water Margin": "On snowy nights, about five or six people listen to my storytelling; on rainy days, about seven or eight; on bright and sunny days, about ten. I read, everyone listens, and we are all happy, with no other thoughts." When I read this as a young person, I was delighted. What divine days! Writing first to entertain oneself, then to entertain others. Self-expression and self-acceptance are certainly primary, but the affection of others is also a significant positive feedback. Thus, first, I thank the steadfast readers who have accompanied me all this time. I've thought about just walking away amidst the noisy disputes; abandoning the account amidst the tumultuous world! It seems not bad. But looking back, I can't bear to leave some truly sincere readers.

I've had authors I liked disappear from the internet, and I always feel like a part of my youth has vanished, a feeling quite distressing, reminiscent of overly grand and harsh things like the tears of the era or the torrent of history. So, I want to accompany my readers as long as possible, hoping that the day of parting comes later. Perhaps I'm not good enough now, but I will strive to be better in the future. Or perhaps you've never truly understood what kind of person I am, or even completely misunderstood me, but as long as you genuinely like my stories, we can sit down and chat.

And, I must mention my friends, who can be described as having the courage of a hero. Long time no see, Teacher Changyang's illustrations are still as beautiful as those of a celestial being, I hope Teacher CAS can go to bed earlier and worry less, and Teacher Kuohao, who despite a heavy workload, still fully honored our agreement. The "Heaven Official's Blessing" radio drama is really fantastic! It reminded me of the original intention of writing this story, and I was very moved. If it weren't for the silent companionship and efforts of these old friends, Mo Xiang Tong Xiu might have stopped writing back in 2016, disappearing from the world of martial arts, and thus, "Heaven Official's Blessing" would not have been born. I look forward to retracing the paths we once walked together when gathering ideas. And many friends who reached out to help and encourage me, thank you for accompanying me through the snowy nights.

[shyfoxsky]

Photos by bluesgrass on DeviantArt and Voyageurs Wolf Project

As stated in my previous update post, I've been struggling to really find myself in a coat coloration, as it's difficult to find what I see in my mind's eye in photographs. I flip-flop between describing myself as a gray wolf with a red wolf's coat while understanding I will never find that and editing existing tawny-colored wolves to look red. At the end of the day, I think I find the most luck by grasping onto a select few individuals, and I thought of this as a good place to show off some of those individuals.

The first photos are of a wolf in a facility. There are other images from this photographer of this very wolf that are extremely common and seen pretty regularly in our own community with deep red fur all over and an almost black mask and back. I've always seen this wolf as one alike myself in appearance, but the more common photos of it always felt so edited, like if you saw it in real life, you wouldn't recognize it. The ones I've chosen to show here feel far more like me. I see myself more with a dark back and mask, but with a lot of prominent red around the ears and muzzle. Unlike the shown photos though, I see my mane, sides, and tail also carrying this red, rather than the tawny that this individual has.

The next set of photos show a wolf in the wild. I don't remember if these are all the same individual or not, but it's safe to say I love this group for the photos they get. They seem to always have this warmth to the fur of their subjects that make me feel like I'm looking at myself. Again, there's often a dark back and mask, but these also have the red going from muzzle to tail, which is why I feel so connected to it.

Images from Alibaba and eBay

I can't deny that my self-image is likely so rare because it is a product of photo editing or lighting and camera differences, but I like to think it's entirely possible. Boltz from the Wolf Conservation Center, for example, I felt was pretty similar to my own coat. Though, the main place that I've found a good general vision of myself is in plushes of red wolves. The images I've included are of plushes that I have my own of at home, and they are both easily some of my favorites of all time. Their very saturated and warm colors throughout their bodies, unbroken by gray or tan, feels very much like me, and while I don't think I actually carry reds and gingers like the plushes, likely more of an auburn mixed in with brown and black accents across the complex coat a wolf would have, they are a great starting point for me, and I find myself thinking of them when I try to imagine my pelt when creating art of myself or describing myself to others.

Long post short, I say all of this to get my thoughts out about how my coat has consumed my mind for days, weeks, months, even years. It's a weird, complex thing that mixes in with my own human body, the mixing of my identity as multiple kinds of wolves, gray and red, my past experiences with red foxes, and my youth full of wolf OCs and a community with a lot more members using "unrealistic" images to show others how they feel inside. I don't know if I'll ever have a concrete self-image, but I think that's okay. I don't think I ever need to know, as long as I'm content in myself. Simply saying I'm a "red-furred wolf" is enough the vast majority of the time, and that's good enough for me.

[aurorechaton]

Controversial and/or aggressive brambleclaw take for the warrior cats fandom incoming...

Let me just say that I won't argue any further on this. I haven't read the newest arcs, and I don't want to. I tried reading the arc with Alderheart and Twigbranch twice, and I still couldn't tell you what happened. I literally blocked it out both times.

I've been a warrior cats kid for my entire life. It was the first multi-book series I red on my own, I read the main arcs 7-10 times in roughly 4 years, trust me, I was OBSESSED.

But I was never a part of online fandom culture. I lived under a rock, I didn't have any social media, I barely saw the animations on youtube, and I never looked any deeper. I think that's why I'm so horrified by the fandom take on everything to do with the leafpool-squilf-brambleclaw/star-hawkfrost-the three-etc. thing.

CONTEXT:

When I was a child, I loved leafpool. I was never a big fan of squilf, and I can admit that may cloud some of my takes. I am going to arguably be defending Brambleclaw up until the end of the fourth arc, but I don't think I'll be doing it in the way you think?

THE ROOT OF THE ISSUE:

I was genuinely SO MAD , while the sisters were warning Brambleclaw not to interact with Hawkfrost.

While we as an audience know that they were correct to do so, I related heavily to Bramble's need to connect with family. Maybe it was the way I vividly remembered how Firestar kept thinking about how Bramble looked like Tiger I, maybe it was everything that Tawny went through, maybe it was just my intense need to see warrior cats who overcame prejudice, but I hated the way Leafpool approached the whole situation. Rather than attempt to connect with Bramble, her clanmate, and the tom courting her sister, she only interacted with him to speak badly about Hawkfrost. She literally had her in with Moth, right there. She almost always stuck her foot in her mouth, failed to provide much evidence, or to connect with him on an emotional level.

FACTS v FEELINGS, + my attempt to fight what I think are the most prevalent views? If you don't think this way, this post isn't about you.

Squilf's arguments were more convincing, but facts and logic won't win when what you are arguing against is emotional connections. It certainly didn't for Leafpool, or any cat with a cross-clan relationship who KNEW it was only hurting them. You can't out-logic the heart. I should think we all know that.

I believe the moonkitti video, (which I will being using as a rough reference, since it helpfully gives direct quotes,) about Bramblestar was the most aggravating for this particular reason. The excerpts given in the video often take such a lens that is presumably only about facts, when warrior cats is a soap opera, it's about the emotional connections. Squilf, for example, tells Bramble that Leaf doesn't Like Hawk, but admits she hadn't bothered asking why, and questions why Bramble would ever feel an emotional connection with his half-brother. I find this extremely hypocritical. Bramble has shown himself to be extremely obsessed with the way the clan sees him, his father, and the connection between them. Squilf should know by now that Bramble feels much stronger about keeping his connection with Tawny that vice versa. Moonkitti also implies that because Squilf doesn't even imply something, it's the same as denying it, which, pointedly she doesn't do. (not five minutes later, the video also shows an excerpt where Bramble doesn't tell Squilf something, and she immediately takes this as a sign of hostility and rejection. He didn't imply that with his voice, posture, or words, and they literally just had an argument. Bramble is clearly just insecure and in his own head. She's supposed to be the more socially adjusted one.)

When he jumps immediately to emotional responses, so does she, claiming that Bramble clearly doesn't know anything about her, but clearly the same goes the other way around, so I find this extremely wild. I could understand her offense in the moment, but it goes round and round like this every time, and at no point does she attempt to clear the air on a previous conversation in a patient or genuine way. I'm not saying she has to, but I think it is something at least worth noting. While everyone agrees she's attempting to reconcile with him, I would argue she does it it the worst way possible for him specifically.

Bramble is willing to accept her apologies, and will apologize himself later, but just because he's willing to forgive doesn't mean he's over it, and he's clearly been slow to trust anyone with what happens in his head. Mans spends way too much time thinking if you ask me. Was the most annoying part of the series. She then tells him off for gossiping with Hawk at a gathering. And yes, what they were saying was rude, but Squilf makes it sound paradoxically like disliking Onewisker's decision is somehow being disloyal to Thunderclan, because Onewisker is friendly to the clan, and also only unacceptable because he was discussing it with Hawkfrost. Plenty of cats in previous books would have been considered grumpy but loyal for expressing those kinds of opinions. I find it odd that she tells him off for criticizing someone he has no moral or personal allegiance to. She also deflects every question he asks her, no matter how genuine or asinine, which honestly does feel like an implication.

Which is why I don't like seeing Squilf as the sole victim here. Yes, she's a victim. Considering that when she realizes she still wants Bramble, she's been given a great out and he has made no attempt at winning her favor again (no honeymoon phase), and then she doesn't even bring up her issues with Hawkfrost again (supposedly the catalyst for all of this). This doesn't feel like her being manipulated back into a relationship; this feels like shitty writing. The fact that the narrative makes no move to actually reconcile them is not Bramble's fault, it's the Erins.

I think Moonkitti best exemplifies my frustration with this particular issue by saying "when he, again, criticizes her for being distrusting and being rude to Hawkfrost", which, in this situation, she was actually directly attacking HIM, almost more so than Hawkfrost. From his point of view, I wonder if it doesn't sound exactly like that. (She will continue to do this. It will only get worse.) Instead of Leaf and Squilf being worried Bramble is being dragged into this while he's emotionally vulnerable, they both begin to berate him instead of connecting with him. Why does anyone think that should work for them? They may be objectively right, but their arguments are not at all persuading. (Proabably on purpose, damn Erins shakes fist)

Not Defending Everything, OBVIOUSLY:

In the next line, of course, Bramble says he'd never choose someone else over her. (and if I were to fix this the only way fandom can, I'd interpret this to be a showcase of his desperate need to be trusted; a false promise to return that trust. In context I think the Erins mean this literally, so... eh, not a great moment for him, no.) This, I think we can safely say is objectively false in that moment, although not outright malicious.

In this case, the relationship is abusive not due to the will of the individuals, but because of the outside pressures of the horrible system the Erins have built that must not be questioned. When the Erins make terrible narrative decisions to defend their biased world-building, we're supposed to blame them, and work to remedy the situation within the fandom, not accept it as gospel. It's what we do with Hollyleaf and Ashfur, or any of their decisions about where dead cats go.

Yes, Bramble is horrible to Squilf, Warrior Cats is an inherently misogynistic story, this is hardly the first time toms treat their mates horribly. Given my experience with warriors, in none of the 7 times I read through this arc, even disliking the relationship, did it seem particularly toxic because of Bramble. Usually, it was Squilf being forced into courting because of the expectations of clan life, and Bramble doing what a lot of other toms did; flirting with her, seeing her as incapable of defending herself, especially from other men, etc.

SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN WARRIORS:

I've seen people ragging on the fact that Bramble hesitated to free Firestar, despite the fact that he was being actively manipulated, something shady was going on in his clan, he was isolated, and was afraid that Fire would accuse him, something that from his earlier distrust of Bramble as a kit because of his EYES, might even seem reasonable when Hawkfrost seemed (before that point) to be the perfect example of people only seeing their pelts. He also has a right to hesitate to figure out what to do next, seeing as Hawkfrost clearly wasn't just going to let this go? Idk, pretty nit-picky in both directions.

Before the journey over the mountains, Bramble only has an established relationship (From his perspective) with Tawny and maybe squilf? Even they are pretty distant. Bramble is never shown hanging out with other cats in the clan, or even thinking about particular cats he wants to get back to. If I didn't know about the third and fourth arcs I would have told you that Bramble's arc would only be resolved by connecting with Fire, or by leaving the clan entirely. Personally, I would have had Leafpool be his draw back to the clan, a brown tabby, Firestar's daughter, a calm and intensely caring cat, who cares so much about family and her clan, I wanted to see Fire basically become Bramble's surrogate father in the second arc it HURT.

On the other side, Ashfur IS set up with a sort of clique (although it quickly disintegrates because by this point the Erins were done writing genuine friendships outside of siblings.), and does appear to be close with other cats before his introduction. We have no reason to believe his is insecure about his relationships with others, and no reason to believe his reputation in the clan is in any danger (even if it's just in his own head). This is what, to me, separates the two sides of our love triangle. Bramble almost always backs off the second he sees Squilf with another cat, and I believe that if the Erins were less stubborn, or Brambleclaw had any other friends, their relationship might well have died out naturally. Ashfur on the other hand is just a creep. I don't like him, never did.

I don't think any of Bramble's actions make him nonredeemable until after Mudclaw's coup. Even after that, I found him mostly reacting in the way someone who's been ostracized, and whose clan is probably eyeing him with suspicion at the moment, which, near as I can tell, is literally his greatest fear. With the added patented warriors misogyny on top of course. People keep questioning his loyalty, so he becomes a hardass about putting the clan first, particularly pointing it the woman who he's desperate to prove wrong and also strangely overprotective of, that's pretty on brand for Warriors.

While I honestly don't think the Erins meant to set all of this up like this, I think there are some compelling narrative threads to Bramble's story in the second arc. I think author bias accidentally reflected some very real trauma that can come from the pressures patriarchy puts on men. But, again, this is the ERINS book, obviously there are lots of flaws to be found. Not even the characters that are meant to be perfect are without some semblance of bigotry. I find the specific hate borne towards Bramble to be the result of the fandom's pent up frustrations with the writing of this arc and the waffling characterization, rather than an honest reflection of how people felt when they were first forced to interpret this character. I do not think this is the only cat this happened to. I think Dovewing got similarly shafted by the fandom. I think she was one of the few "anxious" cats that felt somewhat authentic. (Again, ignoring everything with Tiger II, assume I didn't even read all that)

TL;DR:

OBVIOUSLY I DID NOT SHIP THESE TWO, I DO NOT LIKE THEIR RELATIONSHIP. (I think they should be surrogate siblings, and if someone could feed that delusion I should be ever so thankful)

I do not think their relationship actually had a power imbalance in the earlier arcs. Squilf has her father's favor and trust, as well as her sister, a medicine cat. If she at any point actually felt like Brambleclaw was a legit threat or bully, she had the option to do more than just avoid him. She never lets anyone else stand up for her, though. I think it's unfair to say that just because she didn't leverage her power, that she didn't have any. Were she a more viscous or cornered cat, she had the ammunition to sway the clan against Bramble. Their relationship didn't start until both of them were old enough to be warriors, even if Squilf was an apprentice when they set out, and Bramble had no say over her actions away from the clan. Squilf often makes this clear.

I think the abuse seen in their relationship is only more obvious to the reader as the Erins attempt to write their way around a willful woman without rethinking their bias against women. I do not think it is any more pronounced than many other warriors relationships. I think that Squilf's sudden change to submissive and powerless is a direct result of her perceived motherhood in the Erins eyes.

I think people forget that Brambleclaw's personal story is about trust and acceptance, making the fact that Squilf lied to him at any point push him to his most emotional extremes. Considering the entire third and fourth arc is just a whole bunch of secrets and espionage, I think it's telling that he's at worst, a petty bully or paranoid and cold deputy. (Also, I don't think anyone brings up the fact that STARCLAN INTERVENED when trying to defend Squilf in story? like, that feels like a big deal in our judgement of her, but I don't think any of them are privy to that info??) I'd argue his statement when he makes her deputy "there's no one I trust more" is the first time he extends trust willingly and freely to someone outside of his bloodline, and I wish this were treated by the narrative as a resolution to a lot of his character issues.

All this to say I believe there are charitable ways to interpret his actions, and I don't see people doing that?

Mostly, I just want to see Bramble convincingly written like someone with cptsd and who is crushingly isolated, rather than an arrogant prick.

Also, why didn't Leaf talk to Bramble, like, way more????

[llliiinnnaaa]

Reprisal | Chapter One

Coriolanus Snow x Gaul OC

Summary: Ten years after the Tenth Hunger Games, Coriolanus Snow is under Dr. Volumnia Gaul’s wing as a Gamemaker alongside her niece. Unbeknownst to either of them, they’re both being prepared for a much greater task.

Warning: This story will contain explicit violence against adults and children alike (I mean, it’s Dr. Gaul AND Snow) as well as explicit language, and sexual situations.

***This fic is in no way, shape, or form, me endorsing or co-signing the horrific shit Snow does, nor am I trying to romanticize it. Also, apathy and will be the main driving force of any remnants of a relationship between my OC and Snow’s character. So if you’re interested in something very romantic and fluffy…it’s not gonna be this.

The clicking of cold, metal surgical instruments echoes in the room, blue, translucent blood covering the gloves hands of the doctor checking over the development of the new organism.

"...Why is it blue?" She hears a quiet mumble from one of the technicians around her, two of which are helping to gently shift the organs of the creature around for a better look.

"Our blood is iron based, so it's red." Tawny states without breaking her concentration, furrowing her brows as she spots a possible abnormality, "So, if it's blue...?"

"It's copper based." Cyn pipes. "Crustatians and Octopus are copper based, for example." It's added, and she's awaiting a small smile from Tawny as confirmation she's correct.

"I'm glad someone has been paying attention." Tawny replies, the small grin falling from her face under her mask when she sees the dark colored organ. "Mr. Dovecote?" She calls to the young man peering over the body next to her.

His older sister, Clemensia, had been one of the best students at the Academy, and University alike.

She'd discovered Clemensia's baby brother was just as intelligent — though much more unsure of himself.

"Dr. Crane," He replies to her sheepishly.

"What is that?"

She moves aside slightly, allowing him to get a good look.

"Her liver." He answers correctly.

"What color should it be?"

He thinks a moment.

"Well, a healthy, iron-based liver is dark, reddish brown. Copper-based should be a pale yellow."

"Is she iron-based?"

"No, Dr. Crane."

"Which means?"

"...Her liver has somehow gotten too much iron."

It's a polite way of telling his teacher she fucked up somewhere.

"So, what do we do?" Looking at all of them, now, they act as though they're waiting for the other to answer.

"Dr. Crane?" The sliding of the glass door followed by the sweet voice of Dayla Shoemake interrupts her.

"Yes, Mrs. Shoemake?"

"Your husband is wanting to speak to you."

The words lull Tawny's eyes in a roll.

"Please, tell him I'm elbow deep in a glorified carcass and I'll be there momentarily." It comes out far more bitter than she intends, capturing the attention of her students.

"Yes, ma'am." She leaves.

"The liver is failing, so what do we do?" Tawny questions once more.

Again, no one answers. No one wants to, feeling the frustration rolling off of Dr. Crane in large waves as she finally states, "Cut our losses and pull the plug."

"Pull the plug?" Bellamy questions suddenly, furrowing her red brows, the action complimenting the downward pull of her lips. "That's a waste."

"Its failure to execute a successful mutation, Miss Von. If you'll go to the morgue and look at the dozens of subjects just like her, you'll see it's a fairly common thing that occurs here." Tawny snips, glaring at the woman. "We pull the plug, put her away and return to it when we have the time to trace back what exactly went wrong and refuse to repeat it the next trial. It's how all our successful alterations have been made. Being good at one's job doesn't mean everything we touch turns to gold. It means we waste and learn from it."

Bellamy only offers a small nod, keeping her lips sealed.

"Now, there is a syringe beside you, inject it into her IV."

She does so, administering the lethal barbiturate just as Tawny begins withdrawing her instruments, preparing to sew their failed project back up.

"Dr. Crane?" Dayla asks once more, having returned.

"Yes?"

"He's very adamant that he speaks to you." She cautiously says, Tawny running her tongue along the inside of her bottom lip.

"Mr. Dovecote, can you please finish this?" She asks him, to which he nods. "Nothing fancy, and it doesn't have to be perfect. She's going to die, anyway."

She peels her gloves off, and her mask, leaving her bloodied surgical robe on as she walks toward Dayla, softly ordering, "Is something wrong?"

"He wouldn't disclose details. Only that he needed to speak to you."

"Okay, can you quickly see if Dr. Lithe can step in here to keep an eye on them? I don't trust them not to be imbeciles while I'm away."

"Yes, Doctor." Dayla hurries down the hall turning the corner, and in a few moments, returns with Dr. Cardew, instead.

"Good evening, Dr. Crane. You were in need of my assistance?"

Livia Cardew had interned under Tawny, a know it all shark who stepped on her peers if it meant she got ahead.

An insufferable student to teach, and an even more maddening peer to tolerate.

Tawny's brown eyes flicker to Mrs. Shoemake, who stands off behind Livia and mouths, "I'm sorry."

"Yes, can you watch them for a moment? I'll be back in just a second." Livia's perfectly lined lips twitch a moment.

"Dr. Gaul said we dedicate every moment in the lab, to the project and our students. We've no room to worry about what's outside until we've reached our conclusion." She says it as if Tawny wasn't there when her aunt announced it.

It came after far too many failures — due to simple mistakes — had been revealed in the monthly ratios of successful projects to failed projects.

She can't fathom how Tawny would leave in the middle of her lab time, with her students waiting.

"It's been concluded."

Her blue eyes light up upon hearing this.

"Successful?" She pipes, curious for herself.

Everyone knew Tawny Gaul had been on a losing streak over the last couple of months.

Everything kept dying on her.

When Tawny refuses to give her the satisfaction of an answer, she flatly says, "Keep an eye on them," and starts down the hallway with Dayla on her heels, murmuring, "Livia Snow? Of all people?"

Her professional name had been kept at Cardew, but her husband, Coriolanus Snow, was a Gamemaker himself and was closer to Dr. Gaul than her own niece — and by extension, his wife.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Lithe wasn't in his office." Dayla whispers.

"It's alright, Mrs. Shoemake." Tawny assures her gently, her stomach twisting, her palms beginning to sweat as she grows closer to her husband's office, taking in a deep breath and knocking once they reach the heavy door.  "If this isn't life or death I'm going to scream." She mutters and it swings open.

She barely has time to look at her husband before the loud pop of a champagne bottle jolts her nerves and he's bringing his lips to hers chastely.

"Surprise!" He shouts, handing her a crystal flute, the golden alcohol overflowing, drenching her hand and the marble floor at their feet.

"What's the occasion?" She tries to play along, struggling to keep the facade of cheer in her tone despite the lump forming in her throat.

"I am on a roll." He proudly informs her. "Every single mutt I have concocted is flourishing. Two have already been picked for this years Games." He gushes, kissing her again.

"That's wonderful, Dyess!" Again, she grapples to be happy — to be proud — just as proud of him as she would be for herself.

His wins are her wins, after all.

"And you know what, T, I think you've got this one in the bag. I checked on it before I left last night. It had good color, it was acting normally — as normal as one could — it was incredible. It was—"

"—Dead." Tawny cuts him short, admitting her shortcoming once again. "Her liver was in failure. I pulled the plug. She failed. I failed. Again."

Dyess' brows knit together slightly as a defeated, "Oh," comes from his lips before he sets his champagne aside, along with hers, and grasps at her shoulders.

"You're going to break this streak. I know you are. Everyone gets in a mess sometimes with this stuff. It's inevitable. Everyone has at least one off year in this profession." He says, calmly.

"It's been an off ten years." She mumbles. "In fact, I'm surprised I still have a job at all."

The comment exposes the inkling of an expression to his features before it fades as soon as it appears — but she catches it.

"What?" She asks him, and he looks at her as if nothing is the matter.

"What do you mean?"

"That face."

"What face?"

"That face you made."

"I made a face?" He plays dumb, grabbing his glass and taking a few swigs of champagne with a shrug.

"Dyess."

"Tawny."

"What do you know that I don't know?" She outright asks, commands, really.

All playfulness and ease has been sucked from the room, Dayla, having been lingering in the hallway, braces for impact.

"...There's been discussions being had, but it's handled, now." He promises her.

"Discussions?" She questions, confused...until..."They were going to fire me?!" Dyess watches as the beauty slips from her face to replace it with a venomous creature, bitter and biting as she repeats, "They were going to fire me?!"

"I told them if you went, I went." He speaks it like it's a consolation. "It was handled, darling. I handled it. Nothing but a misunderstanding." He continues to try to calm her.

After all the years she poured into this, all the defeat and pressure she had to sift through, sleepless nights, exhausted mornings, tears, frustration, irritation, defeat...just for them to wipe their hands clean of her dedication.

The thought of her husband, who had only been hired in the first place due to her overzealous bragging of his genius, having to talk out a deal to keep them from getting rid of her, infuriates her.

Her feet are turning and she's walking with an angry fire lit under her with each step.

"Tawny!" Dyess follows after her as Dayla slowly slips back to her desk to call ahead to Dr. Gaul and give her a warning that an angry Tawny Crane was stomping her way.

"I know you're mad, but making a spectacle of yourself is not the answer, Tawny." Dyess pleads as he walks beside her just as rapidly as she is.

"They had to find something for you to do when they hired you to begin with. I was everything. And now I'm the one being treated as a thoughtless moron while you get worshiped?" She doesn't realize she's crying until a sizzling tear falls down her face, her teeth gritting together. "Don't get me wrong, Dy, your achievements are my achievements and I'm proud of you but..." She can't even finish the sentence, too engorged in emotion.

"I'm only good at what I do because you've helped me so much along the way — and I told them that. Besides, the students that are under you have the highest incline of improvement. You're making damn good Gamemakers."

"I'm just not one, myself." She harshly throws out.

It's now that Dyess grasps her hand, forcing her to stop her trek to Dr. Gaul, to her aunt, to pick a fight with her that would probably end in her immediate termination.

"Tawny —"

She's ripping from him and tearing through the doors of her aunt's office.

[cheerclaw]

i am so intrigued by the forgotten colonies. do you have any lore tidbits you can share 👀

ok so, it's a very rough idea which is based on warriors (ofc) but tries to stay away from the tropes there (aka I just like the wc naming system)

There are these 4 groups that have extremely different cultures. For example it is forbidden to accept other cats from other groups in the Daylight Group, but outlanders r fine. At Dawn Colony, cats with experience from other groups are very welcome.

The story takes place mainly in the Dawn Colony, with the main 4: Cowspring (Herbalist), Tawnymoon (Guard n Cow sister), Ant (Outlander from an underground colony) and Quietcloud/Cloudy (Ex-fighter from Dusk Colony). In addition to the support cats that will probably have a greater importance: Shadepaw (Cow and Tawny sib), Springpaw (Cloudy brother), Feathertuft (Dawn Colony mediator) oh and Tawny ex-gf who almost KILLED her, Rosepath

Some basic concepts and relationships between them:

Cow, Tawny and Shade get along very well, Cowspring is the most responsible of them.

Cow doesn't exactly bring Ant to the Dawn Colony, it actually makes a den outside the territory and helps him live.

This doesn't go over well and Tawny thinks Cow and Ant are dating.

Feather and Tawny are besties.

The nickname 'Cloudy' is given by Tawnymoon, even though she didn't like Quietcloud at first.

Tawnymoon hates Quietcloud at first because she was from Dusk Colony and thinks she's planning something with Rosebelly (who is from Dusk Colony btw).

Cowspring goes by He/It, Tawnymoon by She/They, Ant by He/Him and Quietcloud by She/Her.

[hawkefaery]

Ian and Tawny; My feelings about them.

this is me rambling

Disclaimer: This is my blog, therefore these are my opinions. You don't have to agree with me in the same way I don't have to agree with you. Books have free understanding of events and characters.

when I talk about characters I always explain why I think what I think and try to show different examples to prove my point. This post is not the case. I can't be the only one who doesn't care about Ian or Tawny. It is not that I dislike them, if I did I would say it like when I do with Malec. I do like Ian and Tawny but I literally can't bring myself to care about them not even a little. Throughout most of the series, I even forgot they existed at all.

Ian: Again, I don't dislike him but his character is just a plot character and he was also there for shock value. Besides that? pointless and boring. Ian has no personality besides being Poppy's brother, and I am sorry, but I am unable to "connect" with a character who does not exist outside of the main character and their purposes. Some people really felt his death and they even want him to come back to the series somehow and I am so confused because....why? He is just a mentioned character for more than half of the series, then he appears for like two seconds to tell something to Poppy and later he dies. His purpose was to give Poppy a reason to have to work alongside Casteel in A kingdom of Flesh and Fire. He was there to keep the plot moving and those characters are important, without them there wouldn't be a plot but that does not make Ian any more interesting.

Tawny: I like Tawny, I definitely like her more than Ian, but I can't bring myself to care about her at all. If Tawny dies in the first chapter of the next book I wouldn't care. I like Tawny because she is kinda funny and has some personality besides being Poppy's friend. However, I find her especially annoying. Most of her dialogues make me cringe or annoys me because most of them are stupid. I honestly can't care less about whatever the hell happened to her that she is alive despite being shot with shadowstone, I literally don't care. Tawny existed for a few moments in the first book and now she just reappeared, I don't care what happened other. I understand that she has a bond with poppy and blablabla but as a reader, I don't know Tawny, her character is vague and I am not given reasons to care about her.

[mophyuwu]

Magic Ian~✰✰✰

Made a new D&D character for a campaign! say hello to magic Ian (⌒▽⌒)☆

lore below:

Maverick Livian is a 33 lbs, 28 year old male with light bronze skin and tawny, blonde tipped hair that goes down to his mid-back. He was born to a lineage of lightfoot halflings long subservient to all of the past enacting dark lords. Whenever a new darklord rose to power and usurped a previous figurehead, the Livian family line switched allegiance to the new ruler in order to maintain their status and preserve their protection.

The family consists of a lineage of sorcerers, often classifying themselves as “wandermages” due to their affinity toward travel-based magic; however, several members have steered toward their own path of magical application, with a prominent example being Verglas Livian, a sorcerer who specialized in ice based enchantments. This affinity was in large part due to Verglas’ cryogenial staff, which granted an endless well of water fit for casting. While it was believed by all that Verglas held this power from a young age, it in fact wasn’t until he reached the age of 30 that his powers first manifested. This bit of history has since been revised by the Livian family in order to upkeep its image, and as such, all Livian members were expected to reach their full magical potential by the age of 21.

Maverick, despite having a passion for learning about magic and its applications, has yet to unlock his powers by the age of 28. As such, he was excommunicated from the Livian family at 23 in order to maintain images. In the years between, Maverick (who refers to himself by the condensed nickname of “Magic Ian”), has taken to a rogue lifestyle, and has used thievery to make ends meet. He employs his short 2' 11" stature to sneak around, and has mastered the tools of deception and persuasion to get his way when things get dicey (as they often do). He carries a thief kit, of which lockpicks are the most utilized main tool, and 2 daggers in sheaths around his legs. Despite not possessing any current magical powers, he has deluded himself into believing himself a great sorcerer, employing his dependable “magic” kit for a vast array of situations. He has taken to serving the current darklord in order to enhance his magical powers, as despite perceiving his “powers” as strong, he believes there is still room to grow. Through his subservience to the current dark lord, he hopes to gain new insight into his powers, and the freedom from classic morals afforded by this link allows him to test his powers out as needed.

Ian’s magic kit includes a hand fan (which he uses as a substitute for “gust”), a wad of sticky sap (which he uses to approximate the reparative effects of “mending”), and a vial of water (which he believes to be synonymous to the much more lethal “acid splash” spell). Despite none of these tools fully matching the power of a real spell, Ian’s keen ability to persuade and deceive (both others AND himself) has allowed him to make others believe he truly does possess these powers. When questioned on the sap's presence on a mended item, he believes it to be “remnant essence” from the spell, and when he employs his acid splash, he can often delude others into believing that they are experiencing the same pain as real acid.

Of all the possessions he owns, Ian’s “chameleon turncoat” is his most prized. This magical heirloom of the Livian family has been passed down to sorcerers for generations; however, Ian attained it not by familial bonds, but by thievery on the day of his excommunication, leading into the lifestyle he now adopts. This crimson coat and hat pair attunes to any Livian line member it deems worthy, and can quickly change color to approximate its surroundings. This attunement requires a small fragment of the vessel's soul to be shared between the coat and the vessel themself. Once attuned, the willing vessel of the coat loses all sight from their eyes, adopting a milky white cloud in the locus of their lenses. This effect paves way for the user to gain vision in both the 2 eyes of the hat, and the single eye of the coat. If the user and garments are separated, the vision effect lasts for up to 30 feet of distance, but any additional distance makes the vision cloudier and inflicts tunnel vision in a linear progression up to 60 total feet. By this point, vision is so eroded that it would be classified as fully blind. The hat itself supplies vision akin to regular eyes, but the coat (having just 1 eye) is completely devoid of any depth perception without the assistance of the hat. While both may be removed in order to gain long range sight, removal of the hat is preferred due to the much quicker equip and disembarkment rate afforded to it. The vessel does not regain sight if both objects are out of range, and instead, remains completely blind until a 60 feet range link is reestablished.

Ian possesses a myriad of faults, including his lack of current magical powers, delusion of a possession toward the same, and reduced trust in others due to his past. He believes himself to be acting in a true neutral manner due to his allegiance to the darklord, however, his self serving aspirations and personal delusions push him more toward a “chaotic neutral” alignment.

[pestcontrolmachine]

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[aseriesofunfortunatejan]

Okay so first off, to focus on the topic of this post.

The inspirations for this (this character always having a lollipop in his mouth) are:

Loosely, Ryouma Hoshi from Danganronpa V3, whom I'm pretty sure does just that. Hoshi is not a character I paid a lot of attention to, so I don't remember if I ever did read up on why he supposedly has an oddly-cigarette-shaped lolly in his mouth, if it's really a lollipop, the inspiration for it or anything. But he definitely always springs to mind when I think "character with a lollipop in his mouth", whether or not that's accurate.

Most importantly, myself, when I was in middle school. For some reason, I developped an addiction to a specific brand of heart-shaped, cherry flavoured lollies that coated my lips in red. Though it wasn't always, I often had one of these in my mouth, because we bought them in batches of 50. That being said, this character's lollies are regular small round ones.

Though as many people do, he has favourites, he doesn't have one or a few specific tastes he sticks to. Mostly any lollipop will do.

As for the reason he does this - it's definitely His One Quirk™ because he is one of the most Normal Guys among this group of characters. The reason is not set in stone yet, but my main concept for it is some sort of deficiency he's not aware of yet. The type of thing he'll go "oooooh, that's why I always craved candy" when he gets a diagnosis for hypoglycaemia a couple years into adulthood, for example.

I don't have a name for this character right now because I always forget the names I come up with . His appearance is meant to be fairly plain, and he is among a few of my masculine characters to have brown eyes and swept up brown hair. If in 15 years I still care about this cast and the stereotype/standard for the average joe's fashion has changed drastically, his appearance may change. His one notable trait is that he is taller than average, and most likely the tallest among his cast. He is thin with tawny skin. He usually wears a large khaki to dark green jacket, which is also largely inspired by the jacket I wear the most.

And for anyone who can place him this way, he was one of Damien's middle-school friends from his partner class. (Jan was in the same class as Damien.)

Does anyone want to ask me about any of my middle-school little guys (gender neutral)

I decided to fight off the anemia by asking my mom for a lollipop like a little girl and it reminds me that I have a "side character" OC who always has a lolly in his mouth. Does anyone want me to talk about this cast of OCs so I can talk about something fun for once........... They're generally middle school to high-school age but they're a cast I could as well use at any age - though mostly this range.

[cheecats]

hi this is Not a request i just wanted to pop in and say Thank You for your rowanclaw posting bc i do genuinely love that guy and i’ve been focusing a lot on tawnyrowan in my fic but i have no critical thinking skills or braincells so i havent been able to dig into the Meat of his character yet

and you pointed out some stuff i hadn’t thought about!! i read avos recently but its been probably at least 5 years since i read anything else so memory?? no.

but i do love him <33 and i think sometimes about how the erins made him tawnypelt’s mate only bc they felt bad for misgendering him in the beginning and what would the world where that didn’t happen look like….hm but anyway

i will leave your inbox now sorry have a good day :)))

Hey there!! Thank-you so much for the kind words! I'm always keen to jot down my thoughts on Rowanclaw, because there's a lot of potential for both the past origins and the future/current actions of his character to be explored upon... neither of which the Erins ever really bother to look into because they're pretty clueless and careless with the cast of characters they already have. They're always keen to just chuck out characters that aren't main players so they can introduce new protagonists which, idk, its spoiled my enjoyment of the series to say the least. Because Rowanclaw definatley isn't the only example I can think of (hell even Tawnypelt kind of fits that discarded potential vibe.)

How exciting though! Good luck with getting your fic done, I'm happy for you to use some of my ramblings to help flesh out your portrayal of Rowanclaw if it helps! Have a RowanTawny blob as a good luck charm!

-- also secret Rowan + Tawny ramblings in the og tags if anyone is interested hee-hee

[ihopesocomic]

How did you guys manage to give Hope a relatively simple design, but still make her recognizable as the main character? I'm trying to make a character for a comic I want to eventually make, but I can't get the main character to actually LOOK like the main character. I want him to be able to blend into a scene without sticking out, but also not to look too basic. Do you have any advice?

Firstly, less is more. Hope doesn't have anything complicated about her aside from where her scarring is, and it's based on exactly what happens to her when she gets seriously injured. I used freckles to give her some cuteness.

Second, her shape compared to others is very rounded. Not a lot of characters are shaped like her, so that's how she stands out. Plus bright tawny colors that are typical for lions help make her look fairly common. And she's the biggest of the 3 so far. But it's mostly her shape that makes her different.

Thirdly, you're thinking of character concepts. The trick is you should be able to tell alot about your character just by looking at them. When you look at Hope, you see she's got muscle, so she's active, and carries herself rather happily, but she's got scars. How could such a sweetie poo have such gnarly scars?

So for your character to make them look unique but keeping them simple also depends on their species. If they're humanoid, what kind of job or hobby they do will dictate how they present themselves, their clothes, their accessories, any body scarring, their hair (if applicable). Maybe even their parents influence how they look. For animals, you think about what they do every day. Is your character known for a specific skill? Cater their body to that skill. For example, in IHS, scars aren't uncommon. Characters can get them while hunting, from each other, accidents, etc. Any characters that don't have scarring will tell you they're not putting themselves in a situation that would cause bodily harm. Are they smart? Are they cowardly? Are they charming? This is stuff you can answer through other parts of the concept through body language.

I'd suggest looking up any tutorial videos on character /concept/ (cuz character /design/ is different than what you're looking to do) and see how you can apply that to your characters. - Cat

[kahran042]

My Harry Potter OCs

Since gold, silver, and platinum are already taken, I call them the "Iridium Trio" after my personal favorite precious metal. Enjoy!

Conrad Tristram Griffith Birthdate: 3 June 1978 Ancestry: Pure-blood Family: Parents Lionel Griffith and Desdemona Griffith (née Rosier), younger sister Daena Griffith, paternal grandparents Tristram Griffith and Proserpina Griffith (née Malfoy), maternal grandmother Phoebe Rosier (née Greengrass), paternal aunt Wilmot Bolloré (née Griffith), uncle Vitalis Bolloré, first cousin Urien Bolloré, paternal uncle Cador Griffith, aunt Euphemia Griffith (née Travers), first cousin Tamara Griffith, paternal great-uncle Abraxas Malfoy, paternal great-aunt Cordelia Malfoy (née Wilkes), first cousin once removed Lucius Malfoy, second cousin Draco Malfoy, paternal great-uncle Matthias Nott, first cousin once removed Theodore Nott, maternal great-aunt Druella Black (née Rosier), maternal great-uncle Cygnus Black Friends: Aislinn Gilchrist, Edmund Blackwell, Adrian Pucey, Graham Montague, Cassius Warrington, Rhys Prosser. Childhood home: Griffith Manse, Cornwall Pet: Kalim (melanistic Maine coon cat) Eye color: Stormy grey Hair color: Long, black, fine Other physical characteristics: Thin and muscular. First year at Hogwarts: 1989 House: Slytherin Quidditch: Reserve Keeper for Slytherin House team 1991-1996 Awards, etc.: Prefect 1993-1996 Wand: Hawthorn and dragon heartstring, eleven inches. Broomstick: Nimbus 1700 Organizations and affiliations: Slytherin reserve Quidditch Keeper, dueling club Skills: Quidditch, Potions, Arithmancy Patronus: Hippogriff Boggart: Alastor Moody Other facts

Like most Slytherin prefects, he took snakelets under his wing. His favorites included his younger sister Daena, her friend Lydia Culhain, and future Quidditch star Emmanuel Vaisey.

He has a complex relationship with Daena, who was always their parents’ favorite, which led him to resent her. However, she had always been a loving sister to him, which made him feel guilty for his feelings of resentment.

Being a pure-blood, he is related to all of the other pure-blood families. In addition to the relatives listed above, Evan Rosier was his uncle, and through his great-uncle Cygnus, he's related to everyone named on the Black Tapestry.

Alastor Moody is somewhat of a family "boogey man", which is why Moody is his boggart.

He wasn't a member of the Inquisitorial Squad, but still disliked the Defense Association for what they did to his friend and roommate Graham Montague.

He's fluent in French due to having relatives in Brittany, who his family visit every summer.

His cousin Urien was part of the Beauxbatons delegation during the Triwizard Tournament.

TV Tropes that apply to him:

Bi The Way: He had a slight boycrush on Snape throughout his school years.

Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The brunet to Edmund's blond and Aislinn's redhead.

Brainy Brunet

Cool Big Bro

Genius Sweet Tooth

Long-Haired Pretty Boy

Proud Beauty: A rare male example.

Real Men Wear Pink: Generally very masculine, but has long hair and takes pride in his androgynous good looks.

Aislinn Maeve Gilchrist Ancestry: Half-blood. Family: Parents Diarmuid Gilchrist and Caitlin Gilchrist, aunt Diahann Gilchrist Friends: Conrad Griffith, Edmund Blackwell Birthdate: 1 March 1978 Location of childhood home: Ireland. Pet: Tawny owl Eye color: Blue. Hair color: Strawberry blonde, wavy, just below shoulder-length First year at Hogwarts: 1989 House: Slytherin Quidditch: N/A Awards, etc.: Prefect 1993-1996 Wand: Ash and unicorn hair, twelve inches Broomstick: None Organizations & affiliations: Charms club, dueling club. Skills: Charms, Potions, Astronomy. Patronus: Fox Boggart: Her father disowning her Other facts

Her father Diarmuid is a registered Animagus who turns into a fox, which is why her Patronus is a fox.

Her father and her aunt Diahann were an example of twins being sorted into different houses - Diarmuid into Ravenclaw and Diahann into Hufflepuff.

She resents Quidditch getting more attention than other clubs and activities, and will only attend games if Conrad is playing.

She had a crush on Conrad for a while, but later realized that she had feelings for his sister Daena. They officially became a couple three years after the Second Wizarding Gang Rumble.

TV Tropes that apply to her:

Bi The Way

Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The redhead to Conrad's brunet and Edmund's blond.

Daddy's Girl

Fiery Redhead

Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Edmund's blue.

Tomboy with a Girly Streak

Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Daena's Girly Girl.

Edmund Thomas Blackwell Ancestry: M*ggl*-born (paternal great-grandmother was a Squib). Family: Parents Herbert Blackwell and Martha Blackwell, older brother Christopher Blackwell, younger sister Allison Blackwell Friends: Conrad Griffith, Aislinn Gilchrist, Adrian Pucey, Graham Montague, Rhys Prosser Birthdate: 17 February 1978 Location of childhood home: Northern England Pet: None Eye color: Hazel. Hair color: Ash blonde, short in the front, long in the back. Started growing a beard at 15. Other physical characteristics: Tall and solidly-built. First year at Hogwarts: 1989 House: Slytherin Quidditch: N/A Awards, etc.: None Wand: Rowan and phoenix feather, twelve and three-quarters inches Broomstick: None Organizations & affiliations: Dueling club Skills: Potions, Transfiguration, dueling. Patronus: Alsatian Boggart: A giant snake

He always felt overlooked as the middle child of his siblings, so he was ecstatic after getting his Hogwarts letter, because that made him the special one for once.

Although he doesn’t look like it, he’s a voracious reader. His favorite genre is historical fiction.

As a M*ggl*-born, he was distraught at being sorted into Slytherin, but was surprised to be not only be accepted, but welcomed.

Through his Squib great-grandmother, he is a third cousin to Kevin of "You bust slug!" fame.

Unlike most Hogwarts students, he actually enjoys History of Magic. In fact, he was the only one of the Iridium Trio to get his History NEWT.

He was the Slytherin in his year who tried to swim down to the common room window.

Ironically, he's afraid of snakes.

He’s also afraid of heights, which is why he doesn’t play Quidditch despite having a good Beater’s build.

His Patronus is an Alsatian because he has one at home.

He was disappointed that he wasn't old enough to put his name in the Goblet of Fire, but after Cedric's death, he realized that if he had put his name in and been chosen, he would be dead, causing him to enter a period of existential angst.

TV Tropes that apply to him:

Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The blond to Conrad's brunet and Aislinn's redhead.

Face of a Thug: Despite being the most menacing-looking of the Iridium Trio, he’s also the kindest.

Gentle Giant

Middle Child Syndrome

Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Aislinn's red.

[ask-an-aussie]

Aussie Wildlife FAQ

So here's questions I'm frequently asked as both a wildlife rescuer and carer and keeper at a wildlife sanctuary. Heads up, this is a long post, I've made the questions stick out so you can easily skip through. I've tried to make it as easy to read as possible, and to find what you're after, whilst also providing lots of info.

Poison Vs Venom, what's the difference?

Well, mostly, poison just never stops killing. Like if you poison an insect, then a bird or small mammal eats that insect and they slowly get poisoned by all the poisoned insects they eat, then something eats them, like an owl, and that gets poisoned, then as it rots the poison goes into the environment, etc. Poison never dies. Venom has to be injected, so yes you can be envenomated by a dead animal, if you are stupid. Poison can be inhaled, eaten/drunk or even through touch. So if a cow is poisoned you have to dispose of the body safely, if a cow is bitten by a venomous snake, technically you can still have steak for dinner.

Are all Australian animals out to kill you?

Maybe.

They could want to kill us, I mean as a species we aren't that great. Their ability to kill us however is limited. So are all Aussie animals able to kill you? No. So we have lots of cute small mammals, like antechinus, dunnarts, pygmy possums and the like, that can bite and scratch but are very tiny bois. We even have lots of non-venomous snakes, pythons and blind snakes. Most lizards outside of Goannas can't cause too much damage. Echidna's are completely defensive, have no attack whatsoever. Lots of birds have no interest in you, unless you get near their nest. Freshwater Turtles, Little Penguins and Tawny Frogmouths all main defense is shitting really stinky shit at you. Even our venomous snakes, as long as you seek medical attention you should be fine. Considering we have the top 10 most venomous snakes in the world but average only 1 death a year that's pretty good.

But you still have lots of dangerous animals right?

Yes.

Maybe I should elaborate. Any animal is dangerous, including you, if given the right circumstances. I'm a lovely person but hurt my dog and you better run. Most animals don't want a bar of you. However, if you are a threat to them, or their babies, they will defend themselves. A lot of animals get tagged with the word 'aggressive' which I don't like, aggression is a human emotion that I've never seen in wild animals, or even pets and things. Mostly it's defensive behaviours that people read wrong. For example, the most venomous snake in the world is the Inland Taipan (found in Aust.), however the most dangerous snake in Australia is the Eastern Brown snake, less venomous but also less shy and lives in suburbia. Still, it only ever strikes at people when it feels cornered and needs to get you to back the hell off. And lets be real here, what else can they do? They can't yell and scream, they can't punch or kick. Legit their only option is to bite, and even then mostly it's a closed mouth strike to freak you out into stepping back, and most people bitten by snakes are given a 'dry bite' where no venom is injected, as they want to use it on their food not waste it on us. And 90% of snake bites that happen in Australia are people either trying to catch or kill a snake.

It's fairly simple. Don't threaten animals, don't give them a reason to be dangerous and you are fine. Crocodiles in the water? Don't swim there. Sharks around? Avoid swimming at twilight. Snake? Leave it alone. Nest with baby birds? walk away. You don't randomly show up in some strangers home and expect them not to react, so why do we expect different from animals?

What animals are on the most 'dangerous list' then? Which animals should I really avoid pissing off?

Start with the obvious. Crocodiles, venomous snakes, sharks, some jellyfish, venomous spiders, stone fish, blue ringed octopus, birds of prey (our Wedge Tailed Eagle WILL attack drones, hang-gliders and helicopters if they come into their territory) Then you've got the less obvious. Ants - like meat ants, they will swarm over you then all bite down at once. 1 bite isn't so bad, a whole colony biting you, deadly. Then there's other ants in the Myrmecia family (bull ants and the like) that are just HUGE, and have massive mandables for biting and also can sting you, and are one of the most toxic insects in the world.

Wombats - Can run at 40km/hr, skull so hard it's the only thing a Tassie Devil can't eat, able to bite your calf muscle clean off your leg, oh and they have killer booty. A hard cartilage plate in their lower back that they use to block their burrows, and if threatened can lay down and as the animal tries to get past jam their legs straight and crush the skull of a fox against the roof of their burrow, easily break a dingoes jaw or even destroy your hand.

Kangaroos - yes they box, hahaha wouldn't it be funny to box with a kangaroo. NO. Kangroos box for fun but also to defend themselves and their mob. The Alpha male is the big buff one that looks like he's on steroids. He looks like that for a reason, to defend and protect his mob. DO NOT MESS WITH ANY KANGAROOs, but really don't mess with Big Daddy (for being the alpha he gets all the ladies) Kangaroos are made for this. A punch from a Kangaroo can easily break you ribs. They can lean back on their tail and bring both legs up to kick you, easily tearing you open, which they can do with the claws on their toes, and so basically dissecting you from sternum down. Oh and if they gran you round the neck for a 'Cuddle' DUCK AND RUN. They will hold you in a kind of choke hold and then bring their legs up to kick you and basically snap you in half. Don't even mess with Wallabies man, they may be smaller but can still do damage.

Tassie Devils - are extremely shy and slower than you, like you can actually run away from them. BUT. They have the strongest bite strength compared to size of any animal. The have a PSI of 1200 and males weigh around 8 kg. For perspective, Hyenas have a PSI of 1100 and males weigh around 50kg

Brushtail Possums - They may be cuter than the American Opossums but trust me, they don't want you around. They are solitary so most people have heard them fighting of a night, screeching, shrieking, hissing, growling and making darth vadar noises. Heads up from someone who has had to rescue them from awkward places (fire-places, BBQs, closets) They are stronger than you and they will f*** you up. Even without them meaning to I've gotten injuries from my joey Brushies, they get so keen on their milk when you put it in that they climb your arm and their claws are sharper than cats. Also the sheer strength of them. I'm stronger than I look but if they are clinging on to a tree you are gonna need all your strength to get them off. The can also bite your finger clean off. And I've seen injuries from people who feed wild ones and for some reason have been late to put out the food or something and they've climbed their leg or even jumped on them - stitches were required in a few of those cases (human skin is not thick like tree bark)

What's with Magpies and swooping?

Simple, they have nests/babies and are protecting them. Australia Magpies are very smart and can recognise faces. If they think you are a threat they will try and scare you off. Just like if you're walking along with your toddler and there's a weirdo doing something strange you hold the kid tighter and closer to you and move through faster. But these guys can't just move their nests or their babies. The spot is chosen based on food availability and shelter from sun and rain, but also not being too cold. It's their spot. I've never been swooped by Magpies, other birds yes, but not Magpies. My local birds know me as the lady that cleans and fills the bird bath. Legit the Magpies sing a specific song when it needs filling to call me out to do it. So don't be a threat. If they are swooping in that area, try to avoid it or go through quickly. We used to have Plovers at my school, in the bush at the end of the oval. Never a problem. One day some kids go into the bush and stomp on their nest and eggs. After that they would swoop anyone who came close to there. So the school blocked off that end of the oval. Fair call. Wasn't the birds fault.

Why is everything named so basic?

Oh you mean the snake that's black with a red belly being balled a Red Belly Black Snake, and the tree with all the doodles on it being called a Scribbly Gum? 80% of plants and animals found in Australia are found NO WHERE ELSE. So the early Europeans had a lot of things to name and when they tried naming it themselves they would get it wrong. 2 good examples are: The Death Adder (only considered highly venomous, not deadly, and not an Adder). Also you're only likely to get bitten if you stand on it or try to pick it up. The Australian Magpie, they saw a black and white bird so it must be a magpie. Nope. Actually not in the corvidae family but in the butcherbird family - Artamidae. So their solution was to either take the Aboriginal word, for example, Quoll, Kookaburra, Koala, Quokka, Taipan. Or name it after what it looks like/sounds like/ is found Boobook Owl - makes a sound like booooo-book Squirrel Glider Eastern Water Dragon Grey Headed Flying Fox Flaky Bark Tea Tree Old man Banksia This can cause confusion though as not every brown coloured snake is a brown snake, and not all Eastern brown snakes are brown. Squirrel Gliders aren't related to squirrels. Flying foxes are bats not actual foxes that fly.

What do I do if I find injured wildlife?

Well, depends on the wildlife and where it is. If it's in a dangerous position, like the middle of a highway, don't try anything. First thing, call a wildlife rescue group, there are plenty around and they have trained people who know what to do. A quick google search should show you all you need to know, also the IFAW's Wildlife Rescue App will identify the closest group to you.

If it's a snake, adult wombat or kangaroo, or any other animal that can cause you serious injury, leave it be. The wildlife rescuers you call can give you basic info on how to help but mostly calling them is the main thing.

If it's something smaller, like a young animal or glider or baby bird and you are able to put it into a cardboard box that will be perfect. The 3 main things injured/ill wildlife need are warmth, dark and quiet. You don't need to worry about food or water. The rescuers will organise that. If you give food or water to an animal in shock you can cause more damage.

THE BEST THING IS TO DO NOTHING. I know this sounds stupid. But so many problems can occur from people who don't know what they are doing helping out. You know what they say about good intentions. For example, picking up a Koala like you would pick up a human child (under the armpits, around the chest) you could actually break their ribs. Also so many Koalas end up needing vet care during heat waves because people pour water into their mouths - they can get pneumonia as the water goes in too fast, it is not a natural way for them to drink. You can also get yourself injured or make the animals injuries worse. I have seen Kangaroos with broken legs get up and try to hop away from people. I have seen severe scratches on other people because they tried to pick up an animal.

What diseases can wildlife give me?

Well. I only know about Australian wildlife, and it's very different to other parts of the world. If you get a bad bite or scratch from wildlife you should see your doctor ASAP, get the wound cleaned properly and make sure your tetanus is up to date (same as if a pet gives you a bad bite or scratch).

There aren't that many Zoonosis that are around in Australia that are easy to catch. Mostly you have to be dealing directly with sick wildlife to get them.

The main thing is Australian Bat Lyssavirus. ABL for short. Now our bats can carry it. About 1 in 1000 bats may have it and you HAVE to be bitten or scratched for it to be transmitted to you. If you are bitten or scratched by a bat your chance is 0.1% of getting ABL but it is related to Rabies, so head straight to hospital for treatment. If you don't touch a bat you won't get bitten or scratched and so your chance of getting it is 0. Hendra is the other virus our bats carry, however it has to go through a horse before it mutates enough for humans to get it.

Basically it's only when you get involved with wildlife that your risk of getting a disease from them is higher than VERY unlikely. If you happen to help some wildlife, and you maybe wrap them in a towel or jumper, even if they urinate on it. You can just chuck it in the wash (I usually add a little extra disinfectant) and it will be fine. Treat it the same as if a pet had used it or urinated on it.

What's some Good Wildlife Apps to have?

Well, there's so many out there now hey? Here's some that I've found handy or know people that use. WomSAT EchidnaCSI PlatypusSPOT are all for recording sightings of these animals (wombats/echidnas/platypus) this helps researches track where they are and how they are going which means we can help them more as well. OzAtlas - record a sighting of anything Australian, animal, plant, fungus, insect. FrogID - need to identify a frog? This is the app for you. Use photos or sound recordings, Field Guide to *insert state/territory* Fauna - Have a field guide on you wherever you are without having to carry a book. Seek by inaturalist - Helps you identify any animals, plants, insect, fungus. IFAW Wildlife Rescue - wildlife rescue app (currently for NSW only but soon expanding) will give you advice on what to do and put you into contact with the local wildlife rescue groups.

Besides Cats and Foxes, what other invasive species have you got that cause problems?

First up, any invasive species causes a problem. In Tasmania they have issues with Sugar Gliders, because they are not naturally found there and use up tree hollows that other animals need. Invasive species cause competition for food, water and shelter. They can also bring in diseases that didn't exist in Australia before and that our natives have no defence against (like cats and Toxoplasmosis) Here's a quick list of invasive animal species in Australia. Cats, dogs, foxes, pigs, water buffalo, ferrets rabbits, horses/brumbies, goats, camels, Cane Toad, European Honey Bee, Common Myna bird, deer, donkey, common starling, common pigeon, black rat, brown rat.

There's more, there's reptiles, and weeds and fish but those guys ^ are the main ones that cause problems.

I am an animal lover but unless we get rid of these animals you loose more in the long run. I'm 100% against use of poisons, I prefer having people hunt them to be honest. If you know what you are doing and have the right equipment you can give them a quick, painless death. To give you an idea how bad invasives are:

The introduction of the rabbit is the main cause the Lesser Bilby became extinct.

The introduction of cats and toxoplasmosis is believed to be the main reason Eastern Quolls became extinct on mainland Australia

Rats led directly to the extinction of 5 of Lord Howe Island's bird species

30% of our land snakes and Goannas are at risk as Cane Toads are rapidly spreading and eat their eggs.

The Common Myna Bird is the 2nd greatest threat to Australian native birds (habitat loss being the 1st)

The fox population has been estimated at 72 million and consume around 190 million birds a year

There's an estimated 23 million wild pigs/boars and an estimated 2.6 million goats - all eating whatever they come across.

How can I help Australian Wildlife?

There's the stuff we already know, like reduce/reuse/recycle and don't litter. But there's other things you may not know about.

Turn off lights at night - any lights that you don't need, don't have them on, especially if they are outside. Lots of animals require insects in their diets, particularly moths, which can be distracted by lights. Zoos Victoria have launched educational stuff for this https://youtu.be/ZAcL4FKPtHw

Learn about them - It's not hard, there's multiple ways you can do it. There's books, tv shows, pod casts, you can follow sanctuaries and other people who work with wildlife on social media. Planting flora that's native to your area is great as different plants can attract different animals and it's much lower maintenance, being made for that environment. You can even find cool life-hacks like Lemon Scented Tea-Tree doesn't just smell amazing and feed lots of wildlife, it keeps the mozzies away! There's different kinds of nesting boxes out there specific to different species that you can put up to help 'foster' that species. You can even become friends with your local Magpies! Mine know me as the lady who cleans and fills the bird bath and all I had to do was whistle to them when I was done and now they are really chill around me and I get to watch their antics. Debunk Myths! - In learning about wildlife you can debunk lots of myths like: a mother bird won't take it's chick back if you've touched it (fake news!) or that snakes dislocate their jaw to swallow their prey (that would be soooo painful!)

Put out water - have a bird bath and keep it clean and full. Or if you don't have one or want to get one just put water out on hot days. Summer's getting hotter and hotter and our animals really suffer. So put out a nice pot or container of water. Don't forget to put a rock or a stick in it if it's a slippery surface (like plastic or metal) so that little animals and bugs don't fall in and drown, and keep it out of the sun if it's likely to heat up.

Check roadkill - it's not pleasant but needs to be done. Don't do it if it's a motorway or somewhere dangerous, but if you can PLEASE do. Roadkill sometimes looks dead but isn't and you don't want them laying there suffering. They may have pouch young if they are a marsupial or young nearby that will need care without their parent. And where possible get it off the road. Species like Tasmanian Devils, Goannas and Wedge Tailed Eagles feed on roadkill and can then end up as roadkill themselves. Even if you have to drag it, it's dead and not gonna feel any more pain. 100% of people I have attended a rescue for who have called because they stopped and found a joey or young in a pouch or hiding nearby have not regretted their decision at all. Even if they were late for work, they saved a life and it was worth it.

Avoid using poisons - insecticides, pesticides, snail bait and straight up rat poison. Like mentioned in POISON VS VENOM, it just keeps killing. There are so many other options out there and they aren't hard to find. There's stuff on the internet but also at Bunnings I've found more environmentally sound options that use Tea Tree oils and Eucalyptus instead and work just as well.

Don't feed them! - Most Aussie animals are gluten and lactose intolerant. BREAD IS REALLY BAD! and if not eaten it gets mouldy and causes disease. Putting out bird seed is the number 1 problem when we talk 'feeding wildlife'. WHY?

The 'wild birdseed' that you buy in shops isn't actually for wild birds. JUST LOOK AT IT, you don't see those seeds growing out in the wild. The main seed wild birds eat are Bottle-brush, She-oaks, Banksias, Wattle and Eucalypts. None of those are found in these bags of seed.

Even for seed eaters that seed you buy is too fatty and unbalanced

For those that don't usually eat seed, like Lorikeets, eating the seed destroys the specialised bristles on their tongues that they need to eat their natural food - nectar and pollen.

If you don't keep it clean you will spread diseases, especially psittacosis (beak and feather) for which there is no cure just a slow, drawn out death. You can also catch it and end up in hospital.

You cause an imbalance. Animals breed based on food availability, if you make food available they will breed but there might not be enough space or trees available and you create more competition and also they end up relying on you and if you go on holiday or anything they can die without that food.

You can cause health issues in other animals. Possums love bird seed but it makes them fat, making it harder for them to escape predators.

You will be feeding non-natives. For example, the Common Myna bird cannot survive on wild plants, but if there is a food source around they can. Got rid of Common Mynas in my neighbourhood by convincing my neighbours to stop putting out bird seed.

RATS LOVE BIRD SEED. Specially feral rats. Mice also love bird seed.

You make a predator hot-spot. It won't take long for predators to realised animals they prey on visit your feeding station and they will come. The most common predator I find around bird seed? Snakes. Snakes love rats and mice, rats and mice love bird seed. You do the maths.

If you want to feed them just do some research and plant trees that are food for them.

How many species are endangered?

Sadly, it's almost quicker to list what's NOT endangered in Australia.

That's hard to say as there is different ways they can be endangered. In one area they may be common, but in another they could be disappearing. You can have Endangered lists at different levels; local, state, national and international.

But the most used list is the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species. AKA the IUNC Red List

Here's a bit of a breakdown: EXTINCT 26 mammals 7 birds 4 amphibians CRITICALLY ENDANGERED 7 mammals 8 birds 15 amphibians 13 reptiles ENDANGERED 18 mammals 29 birds 18 amphibians 21 Reptiles VULNERABLE 51 mammals 40 birds 23 amphibians 35 reptiles NEAR THREATENED 43 mammals 37 birds 9 amphibians 21 reptiles

Then there's the "data deficient" category where they really just don't have the info. 10 mammals 11 amphibians 42 reptiles

I will continue to update this post as I think of other things. Feel free to send me any questions you have

[discotreque]

LwD 1.10, “No Small Parts”

Well, that was the most fun I've had watching Star Trek in literally a quarter of a century.

I had high hopes for this series. I love TAS, largely because of its wacky outsized concepts that could only have worked in animation—not that they all did work, but the potential was so apparent to me, even as a kid reading the Alan Dean Foster novelizations—and as an adult, there's something about the imagination of Lower Decks's FX setpieces that transcends even the glorious CGI bonanzas of Discovery.

Pause for a confession. I've long pushed back against criticism of serialization in new Trek. That's just how TV is now, okay? Might as well complain about it being in widescreen. But I'm backing down a little, because I've realized there is something about Star Trek that's inextricable from at least a partially-episodic format. And while Picard was telling a different kind of story, I can't deny that my favourite episodes of Disco have been the ones with a mostly self-contained A-plot. After 10 delightfully episodic instalments of LwD, its focus on long-term development of characters instead of a season-spanning puzzle-plot (okay, mostly just Mariner, but we only have 10 × 22 minutes and she is the star) has been downright refreshing.

So here we are, at the end of the most consistent and well-executed Season 1 of a Star Trek series since, arguably, Those Old Scientists. And sure, if they'd had to produce another... yikes, 42 episodes? Then sure, they probably would have dropped a clunker or two—but they didn't, and winning on a technicality is still winning. I'm practically vibrating with excitement for Disco to come back next week, but damn, I'm going to miss this little show while it's on hiatus.

Spoilers below:

Something I've been keeping track of finally paid off this week! (Which never happens to me, lol.) The destruction of the USS Solvang marked the first present-day death(s) of any Starfleet officer on Lower Decks, the only other on-screen killing at all being a flashback in "Cupid's Errant Arrow". Which makes sense, being (a) a comedy, and (b) about typically "expendable" characters: it hasn't been afraid to flirt with a little darkness here and there, but killing people off at Star Trek's usual pace wouldn't just be wrong for the tone, it would be downright bizarre.

But... people die on Star Trek. That's one of the core themes of the show, really: space is full of knowledge and beauty, but also danger and terror, and believing that the former is worth the risk of the latter is (according to Trek) one of humanity's most noble traits. I'm the least bloodthirsty TV watcher I know, but the longer we went with a body count of nil—ships completely evacuated before they were destroyed, main characters hilariously maimed without permanent consequences, etc.—well, I didn't mind per se, but the absence of truly deadly stakes was definitely getting conspicuous.

Turns out they were saving it up for maximum impact. And holy fuck, I've never felt such a pit in my stomach watching a ship get destroyed that wasn't named Enterprise. It felt grim and brutal and somehow both much too quick and dreadfully inevitable—and yeah, it looked extremely fucking cool—and I'd like every other Star Trek property for the rest of time to take notes under a large bold heading labeled RESTRAINT.

Comedy doesn't need to do this, but my favourite comedy does, and in a way that few other art forms can even approach: lower my emotional defences by making me laugh, endear character(s) to me with goofy-but-relatable antics—then BAM, sucker-punch me in the motherfucking feels. M*A*S*H is probably the classic example on TV, Futurama was notorious for it, and even Archer has pulled it off a few times; it's also a staple of some of my favourite standup. I wasn't sure if Lower Decks was going to go there in Season 1—and wasn't sure if they'd earn it—but I knew if they did, that they'd nail it, and damn. Feels good to be right.

Last batch of notes for the season!!! I rambled enough already, so let's do it liveblog-style:

I fucking KNEW they were going to use "archive" visuals from TAS at some point, I KNEW IT :D

"THOSE OLD SCIENTISTS" ahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I like chill and confident Boimler a lot? You can really see—

oh bRADWARD NOOOOO

That opening shot of the Solvang tracking down to the red giant was extremely Discovery-esque... minus the motion sickness, that is

A lady captain AND a lady first officer? That's—oh hey, it's Captain Dayton's brand-new ship. Hahaha, that means they're totally fucked, right?.

Yep! They sure a—umm, wh—shit, okay, but—oh no—no, you can't—wait DON'T

...fuck

FUCK.

Narrator: "And then Amy needed a five-hour break."

[live-action Star Trek showrunner voice] "Gee, Mike! Why does CBS let you have two cold opens?"

Okay, yes, the bit with Rutherford cycling through all the different attitudes in his implant was transparently an excuse for Eugene Cardero to vamp while waiting for something to do in the story, but as far as I'm concerned they can contrive a reason for him to do a bunch of different silly Rutherfords in a row any time they damn well want, because that was classic!!!

EXOCOMP EXOCOMP EXOCOMP EXOCOMP

AND THE EXOCOMP IS PAINTED LIKE THE EXOCOMP IS WEARING A LITTLE EXOCOMP-SIZED STARFLEET UNIFORM

EXOCOMP!!!!!

The slow burn and now the payoff of the Mariner-is-Freeman's-secret-daughter plot has been executed so well. I'm beyond impressed with this writer's room, y'all—they are threading a hell of a needle here

"Wolf 359 was an inside job" would have been a spit-take if I'd had anything in my mouth

...how many memos do you think Starfleet Command has had to issue asking people to stop calling the USS Sacramento "the Sac"?

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW THEY'VE DECORATED THE SHUTTLECRAFT SEQUOIA THOUGH

Is, uh, is it weird if I'm starting to ship Tendi and Peanut Hamper a little? It is weird, isn't it. I knew it was weird...

Coital barbs??? I take back everything I said about wanting to know more about Shaxs/T'Ana.

The "good officer" version of Mariner is... kind of hot, tbh! But Tawny Newsome has done such a great job of building this character all season that her voice getting uncharacteristically clipped and martial and "sir! yes, sir!" is also deeply, deeply weird

Ah, so this is literally exactly like when TNG (and DS9) would bring in, and then blow up, a never-before-seen Galaxy-class ship, just to underscore that we're facing a real threat this week, baby. And hey, it fucking worked—my heart was in my throat, omg, for the reveal of the—

PAKLEDS?????????

The fucking PAKLEDS have been gluing weapons to their ships for the last 15 years. GREAT.

(We interrupt the SHIP BEING SLICED INTO SCRAP for an interesting bit of world-building: on Earth, the traditional First Contact Day meal is salmon!)

"I need a dangerous, half-baked solution that breaks Starfleet codes and totally pisses me off! That's an order." I'm starting to think Captain Freeman might actually be overqualified for the Cerritos, y'all—she's REALLY awesome

OH SHIT IT'S BADGEY, this is a TERRIBLE IDEA

"How much contraband have you hidden on my ship?" "I don't know! A lot!"

Awwww, Boims!!!

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, FUCK THIS, PEANUT HAMPER OUT

BADGEY NOOOOO

AUGHHHHH WHAT THE CHRIST DID HE JUST—BUT—RUTHERFORD'S IMPLANT????

RUTHERFORD!!!!!!!!!!

SHAXS!!!!!!

F U C K ! ! ! ! !

ahaIOPugdfhagntpgjrq90e5mgu90qe5;oigoqgw4ouegrw5SP;IAEHURVa IT’S THE TITAN???????????

IT'S CAPTAIN WILLIAM T. RIKER ON THE MOTHERFUCKING TITAN??????????

i'm screaming I'M SCREAMINGGGGGG​TGGGTGQER;​LBHAOIBVNV;​OAPBIJNVagr;h;​oagruipuwtnaetbaetgq35ghqet

I'M SO GLAD THIS WASN'T SPOILED FOR ME WTF

I AM WEEPING LIKE A CHILD

...

(Just a brief 20-minute pause this time)

And oh wow, seeing Will and Deanna hits different after Picard too, in a few different ways, which I may even get into later now that my heartrate is back to normal, lmao

Oh, I am always here for some jokes at the expense of the Sovereign class. The Enterprise-E sucked. They should have built a new bigger model of the D and new Galaxy-class interiors for the TNG movies, and I will die on that hill

OKAY, FINE, YOU GOT ME, RUTHERFORD × TENDI WOULD BE ADORABLE AND THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD SETUP FOR IT

Awwww, Shaxs though :( Congrats on the single most badass death in Star Trek history, dude. The Prophets would—well, the actual Prophets would probably be slightly confused about most of it, but Kira Nerys would be proud of you and I feel like that probably counts for more. RIP, Papa Bear

I am here all damn DAY for the Mariner–Riker parallels, ahahahahaha

Pausing it to record my prediction that Boimler's commitment to not caring about rank anymore is going to last 3... 2...

Yep.

Bradward, how DARE YOU.

"Those guys had a long road, getting from there to here." OH FOR THE LOVE OF—

What a brilliant way to resolve and renew the various character arcs and relationships moving into Season 2! The writers could easily have brought everything back to status quo—chaotic Mariner fighting with her mom and being a bad influence on Boimler, etc.—and done another 10 just like these, but I suspect that wouldn't have been ambitious enough for these writers. What a blast. I cannot wait for more.

Thanks for following along, friends! Stay tuned for my (similarly patchy and amateur) coverage of Discovery, starting next week!

[fatehbaz]

Lacking the dangerous charisma of other Aussie undesirables, such as red-back spiders, funnel-webs or tiger snakes, these largish, muddy-brown insects were the embodiment of abject otherness, their persistent knocking against uncurtained windows and sneaky incursions into closely guarded domestic interiors summoning inchoate fears and feelings of revulsion. [...] [T]he Great Invasion of 1969, when [...] the nation’s capital fell prey to such a large bogong infestation that the automatic lifts and air-conditioning shafts of some high-rise office buildings were blocked by resting moths, while parts of the city even suffered power failures [...]. From time to time, bogong moths do make the news: not just the college news, or the local news, but the national, and even international news. [...] [T]hey hit the headlines worldwide when several fell victim to the heatwave that stopped play during the women’s final of the 2009 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. As the mercury soared to 43 degrees Celsius, [...] the ‘brutal conditions proved too much for the swarms of bogong moths that flutter around the stadium’s bright lights, with dozens dropping dead on to the main court’ [...].

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The story that really focused our attention on this pesky [...] Aussie [...] was the Great Canberra Currawong Catastrophe of October 2003.

This event would almost certainly not have hit the international news were it not for the fact that the federal capital was just about to be graced by a visitation by a US President [...]. Perhaps if he had have been resident in Canberra, as is the custom for Australian Prime Ministers, the President’s loyal ‘sheriff’, John Howard, might have sought to dissuade his American mate from coming ‘down under’ during the bogong moth season. As it was, though, just around the time that George Bush was due to make his eagerly awaited appearance, Parliament House came under major moth attack. [...] [T]his moth visitation provides an ‘annual example of the law of unintended consequences, in even the most planned environment.

Australia spent one billion dollars to build the house with the huge flagpole. But in all that planning, no one factored in the migration of bogongs’.

Clearly, the President had to be shielded from this unpleasant and potentially embarrassing infestation of tawny intruders. The parliamentary window ledges, along with sundry other architectural nooks, crannies and orifices, were duly sprayed with liberal quantities of [...] a pyrethrum-based insecticide, and extra gardeners were employed to come at dawn to sweep up the casualties that had piled up during the night, hauling them away by the wheelbarrow load.

Notwithstanding the increased media attention turned upon Canberra at this time, it is unlikely that this in itself would have been considered newsworthy, were it not that birds too began to be found among the dead. In all, fourteen currawongs are said to have fallen victim to this moth eradication campaign, presumably (although this was never proven conclusively) from the ingestion of poisoned insects. In the following weeks, moreover, and for reasons that remain obscure, magpies as well as currawongs shunned Capital Hill, the modest rise within which, in a tremendous feat of architectural prowess, Australia’s parliamentary seat of power is sited. [...] 

[T]he grounds of our flash New Parliament House were littered with big black bird carcasses [...].

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In Australia, Agrotis infusa, as it is known to Western science, typically begins and ends its life-cycle on the slopes and plains west of the Great Dividing Range in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. Each spring, swarms of adult moths fly south into the Snowy Mountains [...] in search of the cool dark crevices [...] where they while away the hot summer months [...]. This was always a potentially perilous journey, but it became a whole lot more so during the twentieth century. [...] Canberra is right in their flight path, and, in addition to the domestic illumination of its sprawling suburbs, the 40,000 lights of the New Parliament House, with its elevated floodlit flagpole beckoning from afar, burn long and strong. [...] The bogong moth is one of many creatures whose migratory life-cycles have helped over time to form the warp and weft of more-than-human life on this continent, weaving species and places together into complex patterns of collective flourishing. [...]

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All text above by: Kate Rigby. “Getting a Taste for the Bugong Moth.” Australian Humanities Review Issue 50. May 2011. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]