#shes actually fascinating every time i learn something new about her i become a little more obsessed

[thegirlinthedirtyshirtmp3]

every time i see a picture of bearded liam with patsy i remember that interview of hers i read where she said that she told him the beard looked good so he’d keep it because she thought it would make him less attractive to other women

[longtallglasses]

some miwi headcanons just bc ! older ones

i see young mike as kind of loud and not realizing how loud (and annoying) his yelling near people is (ie karen yelling in s1 “mike let’s go!” “COMING!!!”) however he quickly learns not to yell around will, adopting his softer voice for him BUT

in school he’s constantly calling over to will “will come here” “will sit next to me” “will! over here! look at this!” trying to get his attention “will, will, hey will…” other kids are like dude shut up… so many kids know will’s name who’ve never seen him, and mike’s thought of as that kid who’s always calling out for his friend.

i’m an avid rock collector!mike enjoyer. on the playground, in the forest, at the park, at the lake. he’s picking up all the cool ones, storing them away for very important scientific reasons like “this one’s shiny in A Different way!” he sets aside his favorites to show and give to will, very much in the style of a cat bringing a dead rodent to their owner, like “got something special just for you :) a Very Cool Rock :)” will loves how much mike enjoys it and is very excited to receive them, feeling quite special.

will loves stuffed animals (i mean we been knew) when he was younger they all had names and backstories, interpersonal drama and storylines he played out. two stuffed cats he definitely thought of as him and mike subconsciously, as they were best friends. he would act out little dramatic scenes of them running away from some oppressive kingdom, going on an adventure and meeting new friends along the way. … and he may have made them kiss a few times …

obviously small will loved drawing, but i don’t think he was always confident in his skill. after people tell him he’s good he gets caught up in trying to be really good, and gets frustrated when he can’t do something the way he wants. hence crumpled up attempts in the trash mike fishes out. there’s a spell of time where he gives up for a bit and jonathan asks why he hasn’t seen him drawing lately, and will says he doesn’t think he can get any better, it’s too hard. jonathan tells him it doesn’t matter if it’s perfect, he should just draw to make himself happy “draw for the campaigns, your friends think it’s so cool” so will keeps at it focusing on drawing what he thinks him and his friends will appreciate

while watching scary movies in the basement mike and will always held hands under blankets. it started when they were younger and they first got permission to watch a scary movie, they didn’t want to admit they might be getting too scared. during a big jump their hands reached out on instinct and too caught up in the movie they didn’t let go. when it was over they didn’t talk about it, but then it just kept happening every time they got scared. which led to holding hands when upset outside of watching movies. they never really discussed it, it just felt like their little secret thing.

all the boys were nice to holly but will was the only friend who actually liked seeking her out to play w them. (fascinated by a little sister unlike lucas and only-child dustin) mike and will would play games with her sometimes, will thinking she was really cute, and mike thinking it was cute will really liked her. cue karen thinking will is the best influence on her son

i have such a strong image of kindergarten miwi right after they become friends making mud pies together every recess. their teacher scolds them the first few times having to scrub their hands when they come back in. it gets so bad when the recess monitor sees them heading for the dirt they’re yelling “Michael! William! don’t even think about it!” they think it’s so funny to rile them up, they start spreading mud on each others arms “will you need more than that!” they only try to eat it a few times, it does taste really gross. after they’re banned from the dirt, they move to the sand box, it’s only a bit cleaner.

[mundanemoongirl]

I just finished Gideon the Ninth and I have THOUGHTS

I’ve seen people talk about this book for a while but never about the plot, so I pretty much went in blind. I wish I knew before reading it that there is a glossary at the end. I was so confused for most of the book and would have gotten invested a lot faster if I understood the terms. That one was on me. My bad.

Okay so obviously there are some issues—every book has their own. It took me over a hundred pages to really get into the book because I didn’t understand the world or plot. I think more can be explained at the beginning. It’s such a fascinating world; Muir should give us much more of it. My other main issue is that sometimes there are paragraphs after paragraphs of dialogue and each line has a dialogue tag. There’s only two people talking. You don’t have to keep telling me who they are.

For a book I thought I wouldn’t like for the longest time, I was pleasantly surprised. Like I love it so much that I got on here to share my thoughts, which isn’t something I usually do. It’s not my favorite, but it sure is unique and entertaining.

I love the different houses and how they interact with each other. I actually wish we learned more about them. We understand the Ninth House, but what is life like on the different houses. I at least liked the little bits I learned about the fourth with the child soldiers. I also like that each necromancer has a different title because each house serves a different function. But seriously, how are you gonna casually write about princesses and give no details about what they do on their planets?

This book has some of the best character development I have ever seen. Especially with Harrow. She and Camilla were my favorites so I’m glad they made it to the end. I also think it’s really funny how there’s all these fantasy names and then there’s Camilla.

I like when Gideon gets more depth too. She went from seeing the fourth as bad teens to trying to protect them. That was one of my favorite parts.

I can’t believe Gideon forgave Harrow. I’m glad she did because I love them, but I have held grudges over much less offenses. I like that Gideon comes off as abrasive at first but the more you learn about her you realize she’s really compassionate. It’s amazing considering the environment she grew up in. Such a great character.

I LOVE the trials. I just love when people slowly figure things out, and this is also when I started understanding necromancy so I was really into the learning. I also appreciated that even though Harrow and Gideon hated each other, they made such a good team and that without trying, Gideon made such a good cavalier.

I often say I like the idea of enemies to lovers and not the common execution of it, but this book embodies that idea perfectly. Gideon and Harrow never become lovers, but the emotional growth they go through and the passion they have for each other kinda represents that feeling. They don’t need to be lovers for this trope to work. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for instead of just an asshole male lead who was never actually going to kill the female lead and they’re both attracted to each other from the start. Nah, these two despised each other and still worked through it. Other authors need to take notes.

The ending was so good. I loved Cytherea flirting with Gideon while fighting her. There’s something about evil characters having a soft spot for a character that is so appealing to me. I’m also an absolute sucker for characters from the far off past existing in the present. Give me this and I will love you forever.

Cytherea is actually a lot like the villain in my wip for the exact reasons I like her. The more I thought about it, the more surprised I was about how much my wip ressembled parts of Gideon the Ninth considering I wrote this stuff before reading the book. The houses are like my clans, the necromancy is similar to the spirits, and both sets of characters are shuttled off to a new location that is full of death. That’s probably like I like this book so much.

Also—the quote “And God said, ‘And I am not enough.’” is one of the best quotes I have ever read. It solely makes up for all the book’s flaws.

So that’s it. I hope Harrow the Ninth is just as good. I get scared to read sequels now because certain sequels are genuinely the worst things I’ve read. I also hope the next book goes more in depth with the worldbuilding. I’m excited to continue this series.

[eflen-n-reegee]

Regressors Riley Andersen and Emotions Headcanons (Inside Out)

Suggested by anon; they didn’t specify a character, and I had ideas for both Riley and the emotions, so… Ya get both! 😁

Riley

Riley learns to love San Francisco, but she still misses her life in Minnesota. She finds that when she’s especially missing her old life, she starts acting like a much younger kid. At first she’s confused and a bit embarrassed, but when she tells her parents, they reassure her that if it helps her to feel better, it’s okay. After that she feels more comfortable about her regression and starts to truly enjoy it.

At first, before she knows about what regression is, she calls it “San Francisco preschool”; she loved her preschool in Minnesota, and she’s re-exploring some of that joy and security in her new town.

She’s rather clumsy when she’s regressed, often ending up with scratches and covered in rainbow bandaids.

She loves skating and hitting the puck around, but she doesn’t have the attention span to actually play hockey.

She’s extra silly, making ridiculous jokes and acting completely goofy.

She LOVES drawing, and the fridge is completely covered in pictures.

Her absolute favorite regression foods are dino nuggets and ice cream.

She is CONSTANTLY singing. Little Riley has a song for absolutely any situation.

She’s a pretty sensitive kiddo; it doesn’t take much to make her cry. Fortunately, it also doesn’t take much to cheer her up again.

She doesn’t like to tell people about her regression, but she does want a friend to play with. As it turns out, another girl on her hockey team also regresses and is very open about it, and she and Riley become regression buddies.

Riley’s mom and dad completely encourage play dates and nurture the heck out of both girls.

The Emotions regress in order to help Riley regress, and while they mostly embody different parts of her regression, they do have a few traits Riley doesn’t.

Joy

She is the hyperest kiddo that has ever lived, constantly bouncing and running and playing and laughing. Every once in a while she collapses in a nap, but then she’s right back to being a wild child.

She’s super excitable. Absolutely everything is amazing to her, everything is cool, everything is fascinating. She just loves the whole world!

She is VERY bossy of the other emotions, even more so than she usually is. She wants everything to be exactly “right” at all times, and only her definition of right will do.

She loves playing games. Any game at all is fun for her!

She frequently calls up specific memories and plays alongside the memory version of Riley.

Sadness

She is the “oldest” out of the emotions, and tends to look after the others to a certain extent.

She experiences verbal shutdown when she’s regressed.

She is the biggest napper out of everyone. She can doze off anywhere.

She’s very cuddly and loves to snuggle the others.

She really doesn’t care about playing, but she likes to line toys up and admire them.

Fear

For Fear, being regressed means seeing everything as an even greater threat. Being small and helpless means absolutely anything could be dangerous!

But, on the other hand, being regressed means he’s especially trusting and so can be calmed down much more easily. If the others tell him something is safe, he’ll believe them almost immediately.

He LOVES to be swaddled. Being wrapped up is one of the most calming experiences for him.

 He also likes being talked to. The subject doesn’t matter, he just finds voices soothing.

He surrounds himself with familiar items and finds a lot of comfort in identifying them and exploring their textures.

Disgust

She is SUPER bratty, and very demanding. You never need to wonder whether she likes something because she’ll tell you if she doesn’t.

(On a related note, she’s the pickiest eater out of the group.)

Despite her brattiness, she actually needs a lot of reassurance. She feels really self-conscious about regressing and needs to be told frequently that it’s okay, she’s still the coolest, etc.

She is the most fixated on having regression gear. The others could take or leave pacifiers and bibs, but for Disgust, it’s VITAL she “looks the part”.

She loves to tease the others, especially Anger.

Anger

He’s the biggest mischief kiddo. He loves making messes and playing tricks.

His absolute favorite activity is building towers and knocking them down - but he gets enraged if they fall before he’s ready.

The biggest advocate for fairness - and by “biggest” I really mean “loudest”. Even if it’s a situation where he gets the better deal, he’ll yell “THAT’S NOT FAIR!” and correct it.

Out of the emotions, he’s the one who most enjoys playing by himself. He’s not interested in any group games.

It actually takes a lot to get him into full tantrum mode, but when he gets there, watch out. Endless screaming, throwing things, fire everywhere - it’s a lot.

[lovelacefc7723]

After watching the preview episode of the re-cap show, my first thought is actually a confirmation of something I believe for awhile now, and it's that in my opinion Tobin & Christen truly are in a different phase of their life now. They've changed, right in front of our eyes, they have built this whole other work reality that no longer NEEDS to be connected with the field, they are beyond. I'm not saying they're retiring tomorrow (even though I think they WILL do it very soon), I just feel they have found their dimension elsewhere. And it's deeply beautiful.

I noticed just how GOOD they are despite this being their first experience in this kind of projects. I remember Tobin's first videos for the company, about her art, and she didn't even look at the camera. Since becoming co-ceo, and maybe since stepping up after Pinoe's silent exit, she kinda found this new confidence. She joins events and promotional works by herself that before she would have attended only with Christen, or not attended at all.

Now she produces and hosts a show, and she's funny, charming, thoughtful, wonderfully loud when she laughs and freely honest when she speaks.

Even the choice of their first guest is pretty revealing. It actually tells how little we know about their lives and their relationships. That's why I usually talk about opinions and impressions, because that's all we have.

And exactly about my opinion about their new phase of their life, I think Ellis and Christen probably might have talked about things at some point. And not about her tactical choices but about her silence when Christen tried to expose Dames' toxic behaviour. It's not something you just ignore and sit together to joke, laugh and talk Football.

The interview was actually really brilliant and honest. I think Tobin took the lead because anyway she had a different relationship with Ellis but also it really seemed more her space, she has always had a complete vision of football, tactically and strategically. That's why it seemed she really talked Ellis' language. And it was deeply fascinating, curious and educative.

I'm not gonna deny that listening to Ellis actually talking about football and about her choices was truly interesting. Despite all her personal mistakes, I think she really knows her job, and she knows how to do it. I never heard Vlatko having such professional insights and I really admired him before, when I still had not realized he has no idea how to manage team and players and he doesn't really care about them either.

Ellis was pretty honest about her tactical decisions, I don't know if she would do exactly the same now, especially with Christen. But I still love how equally honest Christen was with her. The quote "I'd let you babysit my daughter but I don't think I'll play you in this game" is not really a joke and both of them know it. But it was a moment of Truth.

I think Ellis appreciated and appreciates Christen both as person and player, she made a choice, a debatable one, but still hers. And Christen faced her for it. But in the end I liked to see that she still considered her time playing for Ellis as a learning experience, it puts everything in perspective.

I always thought Christen was way much more than the sweet and zen person we often see. She did make a few interesting remarks to Ellis among the lines of jokes, she knows how to tease Tobin (probably her favourite pastime), she can be snarky and witty, and it's pretty awesome.

That's why I was in love with the blunt confrontation between Tobin & Christen. It was actually what I expected, Tobin always so free and direct, Christen so smart, witty and a little biting! The Daily Debate was just amazing but what I noticed is that every time Tobin talked, with Jill or simply telling something, she always included Christen in her moments, in her thoughts, her memories, her experiences, she looked at her, waited for her reaction.

The most technical part of the conversation was so intriguing for a football fan. I loved the Marginal Gain philosophy, it's the success in the details.

Also, about the USWNT, I think Tobin doesn't have much admiration for Vlatko, as coach and person. At one point she said something like "talking about chewing and spitting …" and she went on saying she and Christen wouldn't be at the World Cup, it says something.

In the end, I think they really nailed this first episode. I wanna see Christen take the lead in the next episodes and I can't wait for them!

[rallamajoop]

The RE8 Timeline: Mia and Miranda

As mentioned in my post on Donna Beneviento, the other RE8 timeline question that’s been eating at me is just how long Miranda has been posing as Mia before Chris busts in on her.

It’s fascinating how many obscure clues you can find about the days leading up to the start of the game – and if that doesn’t grab you, I’ve also got some lovely fridge-horror-logic to share about why a bunch of jars of baby food and a note about Rose’s recent half-birthday may be some of the most subtly sinister details in the game.

To reiterate again up front, I really doubt there are any definitive, ‘canonical’ answers here. The whole game is a campy, fairy-tale fever dream, and if anyone had a clear timeline in mind, lord knows if the rest of the team were on the same page. Details from in-game documents may contradict cutscene dialogue, may contradict environmental clues, etc. But analysing all those clues still turns up some interesting details, so here we go.

To begin with, in the game’s opening scenes, we learn several significant things about “Mia”:

She’s ‘gone local’ (using local recipes, reading a ‘local fairy tale’ to Rose, etc)

She doesn’t want to talk about what happened in Louisianna (RE7)

She makes most of Rose’s food by hand

She and Ethan have been fighting

Something is very wrong with her

That last point is mostly a vibe, but it is strong. The idea that creepy ‘local’ tale is suitable bedtime reading is suspicious, and her tone of voice when she insists ‘there’s nothing wrong with my memory!’ is bizarrely defensive. Something is off.

All of this makes perfect sense in retrospect, knowing this is Miranda-posing-as-Mia. She’s doesn’t want to talk about the past, because what she "doesn’t remember" could give her away. She’s "gone local" because she is local. She makes baby-food by hand because she’s an overbearing mother from the early 1900s. And she and Ethan have been fighting because she’s a stranger masquerading as his wife.

Now, some of these things may be true of the real Mia as well, if to a lesser degree – there was already tension between Ethan and Mia, the Baker Incident Report talks about Mia learning local recipes, etc. And that does makes sense, if Ethan didn’t immediately notice the change – but we’ll come back to that stuff later.

Mostly what I want to point to is one detail you can find in the house that seems innocent out of context, but was a big oh shit moment for me with all that weirdness leading up.

Oh fuck, what has not!Mia been feeding Rose???

This is also the detail that convinced me ‘Mia’ hasn’t been Mia for some time. Because if Mia’s been making all the baby food for Rose since she started solids (presumably in the last couple of months), why would they be buying these jars at all? Which suggests it’s a recent change to her behaviour, that Ethan hasn’t quite adjusted to yet when he goes out for groceries ‒ we're probably talking at least a couple of weeks, maybe longer. And given that Mia isn't Mia anymore, every recent change to her behaviour becomes pretty suspect. (I mean, you can totally come up with other explanations where it’s some kind of nervous-new-parents-over-buying thing, or a ‘just in case Mia needs a break’-emergency supply that never actually gets used, but c’mon, this is horror: lemme have the freaky version!)

After all, we just heard a dark fairy tale in which a demonic bat and a monster fish ‘helpfully’ feed a little girl parts of their own bodies. Feeding people gross, corrupted food was a major horror element of the Baker family from RE7 too. Heck, there’s even arguably other canonical suggestions that ‘local food’ sourced around the village can enhance the powers of a mould-infected individual, given how food the Duke can make for Ethan boosts his stats (which is definitely me thinking too hard about a shallow game-mechanic, but shut up, this all works on so many levels!)

The opening also features one scene with real!Mia: the flashback/dream sequence Ethan experiences before waking up next to the crashed van. We know this is the real Mia, because she’s anxious about Rose and Ethan in a way that makes no sense for Miranda – in particular about something Ethan won’t face about himself (Ethan accuses her of keeping things from him, tells her they should talk about it, then blows off the conversation for a call from work).

It’s not clear how long ago this was – or even that it’s necessarily a real memory. It could just be a dream Ethan’s having, mixing up multiple different memories and some of his own anxieties (most of what happens in Donna’s basement could be taken the same way). But if it is a memory, the other key plot point is that Ethan receives a phone call about Rose’s test results. Put a pin in that one for later too.

There’s one more relevant detail that comes up when Chris finds the real Mia in Miranda’s lab, where she says she was captured and used in experiments. This is the kind of line it’s best not to get too carried away with, since it’s mostly here to explain why Miranda would have kept Mia alive at all. But if she’s had time for experiments, that does suggest Miranda’s had time to sneak back and forth between Ethan’s house and the village while posing as Mia, which does change the picture a little. I mean, you could say those experiments were performed by one of the four lords or some other assistant, of course, but it’s not the most obvious interpretation.

How Chris discovered Miranda was posing as Mia isn’t clearly explained (and is probably the kind of question you're not supposed to ask), though it’s vaguely hinted in dialogue that his team figured out her plan through 'recon'. Possibly, they had Miranda under surveillance, though it can’t have been very thorough – they obviously didn’t witness Mia’s abduction, for one, or they’d have known she might still be alive.

Then again, if Miranda has been sneaking back and forth from the village while posing as Mia, that might give Chris’ team more chances to spot her doing it and follow her back to the Winters’. Or maybe they’re not good enough to tail Miranda, and found out her plan from a third party, or one of those remarkably convenient diaries that RE characters are forever leaving lying around. Lots of possibilities, no real answers.

A few firmer details about Miranda’s movements come from the diary of Eugen, a peasant in the village. From this and other assorted documents, we can put together a partial timeline of events surrounding Mia’s kidnapping. The list below doesn’t cover every recent date mentioned in the game, just those I caught that looked significant.

February 2: Rose’s half-birthday (she was born on August 2, 2020).

February 3: Miranda requests Eugen find her a list of ‘drugs and tools’ in the next few days (that she presumably needs for her plans for Rose).

February 6: Ethan mentions a fight with Mia (or ‘Mia’) at the hospital in his diary.

February 8: Chris Redfield kills ‘Mia’ and kidnaps Rose and Ethan.

February 9: Eugen is instructed to deliver the tools to Miranda’s ceremony at dawn, where she divides Rose into four pieces. Ethan wakes up outside the village, and the main events of the game take place.

February 10: Miranda's ceremony to revive Rose/Eva takes place at dawn. Final boss battle and ending.

This timeline can’t give us an exact date for Mia’s kidnapping, but we do know from Eugen, that there was ‘no sign of Mother Miranda’ on the 8th (a hint she was off impersonating Mia), but she was in the village on the 3rd of February, about a week before the game begins. He also sacrificed two goats to Miranda on the 1st, but doesn’t specify whether she was personally present.

Now, it’s possible Miranda snuck back to visit the village on the 3rd while posing as Mia, but the more obvious read is that this is before Mia was taken. Either way, it’s safe to assume Miranda’s plans are well underway.

That’s about all the game gives us explicitly, but there are a few other clues.

The note in Ethan’s diary from the 6th about arguing with Mia ‘at the hospital’ provides no context for why he was at the hospital, but in the dream/flashback, we see him making an appointment to collect Rose’s test results ‘next Thursday’. Significantly, those test results can be found in a nearby drawer, signed ‘Applefeld Memorial Hospital’. So that much all adds up: the 6th was Thursday,* they were at the hospital to pick up Rose's test results. When Ethan refers to having “another” fight with Mia in his diary for the 6th, the argument from the flashback could well be the specific previous incident he’s thinking of.

This all matters, because we can be pretty confident the Mia from the flashback was the real thing: Mia can only have been replaced after that call took place. So when was that?

Rose’s test results are undated in the file text, but if you look closely at the in-game asset (screencap above), you might make out the date 28/1/2021. It’s not totally clear whether this is the date the tests were conducted, or the date the report was returned to the doctor. But it does make good sense for Rose to have been due for a check-up, as there are photos and notes about her ‘half-birthday’ on the 2nd Feb, making her just on 6 months old.

From this, we can make a decent guess when the flashback happened. The appointment is made for ‘next week’ and ‘next Thursday’ in dialogue, so the call must have been somewhere between Jan 26 (Mon) and Feb 2 (Sun) the previous week. And if the results themselves are dated to Jan 28, then the call can’t have come through before then, so that gives us between Jan 28 (Wed) and Feb 2 (Sun). Since the doctor says she's 'just received' Rose's test results on the phone, that date on the report (Jan 28) may well be the date of the call.

Either way, Miranda logically can’t have replaced Mia before the 28th – eleven days before the events of the game begin. (Still with me?)

There’s another, more sinister reason why Rose’s check-up might be significant: the BSAA was involved. The text of the report specifies “Results for additional fungal pathogen tests will be provided by BSAA.” The in-game image of the report has a “BSAA Europe Medical Division” logo as its header. And the end of the game contains a lot of hints that the BSAA is no longer to be trusted, and that Miranda may well have contacts in the organisation. So it’s disturbingly plausible that the results of the check-up were deliberately leaked to Miranda – maybe even results of those additional ‘fungal pathogen tests’ too, long before anything ever made it back to Ethan. Perhaps those 6-month-test-results were even the reason Miranda takes an interest in Rose.

All that said, there’s also good reason to suppose Miranda’s had her eye on Rose for much longer than a mere week or two – the fact the Winters were moved to Romania at all could suggest she’s been pulling strings there for some time. So maybe these latest tests only confirmed what she already suspected for a long time.

Either way, it’s very possible that leaked info from Rose’s 6-month-medical-check-up was a key inciting incident behind the events of the game. Happy half-birthday, Rose!

Lord knows how much of all that subtext was even intentional, but if it was, that is some subtle shit, and I applaud it.

But getting back to the point, let’s just expand that timeline a little.

January 28 (Tuesday): Date on Rose’s medical report. Earliest date that Mother Miranda could have replaced Mia.

January 28-February 2: Ethan receives a call from the hospital, making an appointment to come pick up his daughter’s test results on the 6th (Thursday). He and Mia have the argument from the flashback scene.

February 2 (Sunday): Rose’s half-birthday (she was born on August 2, 2020).

February 3 (Monday): Miranda requests Eugen find her a list of ‘drugs and tools’ in the next few days (that she presumably needs for her plans for Rose).

February 6 (Thursday): Ethan and Mia (or possibly Miranda-as-Mia) visit the hospital to pick up Rose’s medical report. They have the fight mentioned in Ethan’s diary.

February 8 (Saturday): Chris Redfield “kills” Miranda-as-Mia and kidnaps Rose and Ethan. Miranda revives, overturns the truck carrying Ethan and Rose, and abducts Rose.

February 9 (Sunday): Eugen is instructed to deliver the tools to Miranda’s ceremony at dawn, where she divides Rose into four pieces. Ethan wakes up outside the village, and the main events of the game take place.

February 10 (Monday): Final boss battle and ending.

There’s plenty of wiggle room in this timeline for other interpretations, but what little info the game gives us mostly seems to add up to this sequence. The 28th remains a plausible earliest date for Mia’s replacement, meaning she’s been posing as Mia for no more than 11 days at the very most. If we take it from Eugen’s diary that Miranda was still in the village on the 3rd, then we’re looking at less than one week.

And that’s just a little disappointing to me, because it doesn’t give a lot of time for stuff like, oh, you know, for all those jars of baby food to build up, while Miranda cooks baby Rose the kind of specially formulated diet that would make Marguerite Baker proud.

See, whatever timeline the in-game dates may suggest, I still like the idea of a Miranda who’s been playing a much longer con: pulling strings to get the Winters moved closer to her, and spending time impersonating Mia, rather than simply absconding with Rose at the first opportunity. That gives her time to make sure Rose is the vessel she needs and prepare for her ceremony before bringing the wrath of Chris Redfield down on her head (and that of anyone else who might take offense at Rose’s abduction).

It gives her time, moreover, to play at being Rose’s mother, while already working to mould Rose into her own daughter. She’ll eat what Eva ate, hear the bedtime stories Eva heard, be cradled in the loving arms of the same mother who mourned Eva’s death.

To that end, imagine a Miranda who may have befriended Mia long before replacing her, using one or more shapeshifted guises to learn more about her and her family, preparing to impersonate her believably. Maybe Miranda’s even the one who taught Mia some of those ‘local recipes’ – recipes she'll go on cooking after taking her place.

The game doesn’t dwell on the horror from Mia’s POV, and that’s a shame, because damn: being abducted and imprisoned, subjected to god-knows-what kind of experimentation – knowing all the while that you won’t be missed, because the monster who abducted you is now living in your home, wearing your face and sleeping beside your husband, who won't even know you’re gone? That is some A-grade shit.

For which matter, how do we know Mia was the only one Miranda was experimenting on? What if one of the reasons Ethan wants to talk about the Bakers at the start of the game is that he’s been having this horrific series of “nightmares” where he wakes up back in the dark, restrained and helpless, while a ‘possessed’ Mia leans over him with a grin and a scalpel? (We know his body would heal any evidence away, and we know Miranda was sourcing drugs – and why would she need drugs to crystalise and divide Rose?)

Basically, I’m 100% here for a Miranda who’s been insinuating herself into the Winters’ lives for at least the maximum nominal period the timeline backs up. It makes so much narrative sense, and the horror possibilities are wonderful.

But this is all just circling around the more character-significant question: how much of the tension in Ethan and Mia’s marriage was really thanks to Miranda, and how much was there to begin with?

The short answer is always going to be that it’s down to interpretation. The “Mia” who argued with Ethan at the hospital may or may not have been the real thing: nothing definitive points one way or the other. There’s definitely evidence things were tense pre-Miranda, given their interactions in the flashback scene. But there's also some evidence those arguments have taken a different character since Mia was replaced.

Miranda’s “Mia” is snidely dismissive of Ethan’s desire to talk about the past, claiming she just wants to put it all behind them. The real Mia from the flashback is anxious and depressed: tired of going back over past trauma, but at the same time frustrated with the aspects they don’t talk about (ie. Ethan). The Mia we hear worrying on the radio in Donna’s basement seems to suffer from a lot of the same anxieties. In the flashback, it’s Ethan being dismissive, insisting “Rose is fine, everything’s fine, what else matters?”

To argue about character inconsistencies here is to miss the point: they’re both worried about what their past means for Rose, and it’s all bubbling over now Rose is due for her 6-month tests. Given all that underlying tension and the weight of past trauma, it’s not unbelievable for the two of them have effectively been taking turns to be the one-who-worries and the one-who-brushes-those-worries-off. Sometimes, that's just how mutual anxieties work in a relationship bubble.

But the jump from the Mia of the flashback to the Mia of the Ethan’s diary – who blows up at the mere mention of events of three years ago – seems unlikely as the same Mia who was so anxious in that flashback, and so clearly still wants to talk about something they haven’t addressed. It’s hardly impossible Mia-from-the-hospital could be the real Mia (Ethan’s summary is very brief, and days have passed in between), but she makes far more sense to me as Miranda’s Mia, who quickly gets defensive when Ethan broaches the subject at all.

In summary: no, Miranda is not the only reason things have been tense between Ethan and Mia lately. But I doubt the argument "Mia" has with Ethan at the opening of the game is all that representative of what things have really been like between them. And the real issues are a lot more nuanced than the generic Mia-told-lies-and-is-mean take, but that’s really a subject for another post.

It’s only fair to admit here that one of the reasons I like the idea of Miranda replacing Mia earlier is because I’d like to be able to blame her for more of the problems Ethan and “Mia” have been having, because I like them both as characters, and I like them together. But then again, if you’re in the opposite camp, maybe you like the implications of the idea that things are already so awkward in the Winters household that Ethan could even go weeks without even realising Mia had been replaced by an imposter – it’s really all in the spin.

Because at the end of the day, the implications for Ethan and Mia’s relationship aren’t the point. There's just so much potential for atmosphere and twisted horror storytelling that comes with a scenario where Miranda has kept up her ruse for much longer than the nominal timeline suggests.

11 days? Oh, Mother Miranda is just getting started.

*Just to confuse things a little, the actual 6th February 2021 was a Saturday, not a Thursday, but the writers probably didn't bother to check: this is Resident Evil, not Lord of the Rings or something.

[starheirxero]

At this point, the creators are just trying to see, how far they can take the angst until we all turn to dust-

The fact that Lunar actively doesn't want to feel, because they see themself a danger to everyone is making me become a feral dog-

Earth, oh for God's sake, she just keeps breaking me- The way she talked about Solar😭 He was her best friend, and her support system! He was the person, who always knew what to do, who always spent time with her, and now he's gone… THEY LITERALLY WANTED TO KNIT LITTLE ANIMALS THE DAY HE DIED- I am perishing-

It's very interesting to note, how different they all cope though! Earth, though heartbroken, is actively grieving in a healthy manner, or at least trying to! Meanwhile, her brothers are very much not coping- Lunar is numb, Moon is overworking himself, and Sun honestly doesn't seem to know what to do! None of them are quite able to process, it seems.

Eclipse's section was so fascinating as well! He seems so genuinely confused about Earth's words, about her lack of wanting to hurt Ruin! He was so quiet when he listened to her, pretty much soaking in her words! For the first time, he actually seems to see her, see a perspective beyond his own-

Not to forget her sympathy. Because yes, Eclipse's life was fucking tragic, and still is, his wrong doings don't change that!

If this continues the way I think it might, then to be honest, it'll almost be better if Solar didn't return- Don't get me wrong, I love the guy with all my heart, however, his death is a lot more…meaningful? It's different from the rest.

In the past, there has been a consistent case of quiet mourning, and not just for the dead. For example, Lunar's grief for what he could've had with Eclipse, which caused him to be sent to Solar's dimension in the first place! It's a very consistent thing that still lives on, even without actively talking about it!

Other death's were quietly wept for in the past. When Eclipse died, no one was shown to grieve him, though Lunar likely did quietly. Again, that was probably partly why Moon sent Lunar to Solar's dimension!

Bloodmoon too, was quietly mourned for, though it was only mentioned briefly! For one, with KC, and in a video, Lunar went to Solar's dimension and they watched baby photo fanart together! Somewhere, Lunar mentioned Bloodmoon's death, and Solar stopped the recording for a while! After that, it wasn't talked about anymore.

Lunar's death itself was rather different, as it was clear from the beginning, that he was alive, though it didn't change the weight of it! It was shown in the way Sun would get quieter when he was mentioned. Though it was never actively talked about, the weight was there.

Old Moon is a whole issue in and of itself. It was obvious, just how much Sun wept for him, but that too was done quietly, often avoiding the topic all together! Likely feeling like he couldn't mourn at all, because it'll be unfair towards new moon. It was a constant weight at the back of his mind.

There was KC as well. Moon made it clear, how angry and upset he was, but it was never quite elaborated on, likely hanging over him quietly.

My point is, that all their grief was something quiet that stayed in the background, pushing itself to the front every once in a while. No one ever took the time to grieve properly before, to sit down and weep, to scream at the sky. There was always too much happening!

Deaths were never the focus!

This time though, it's different! Solar's death is a constant cloud hanging over them, never leaving them alone. It feels more meaningful, y'know? It's in the forefront now, it's complete center stage!

It will likely also cause quite a bit of character development, seeing with Eclipse already.

Not to forget, seeing as it's something hanging over them, we'll likely see our main characters going through all the process of grief, and slowly learn to live with it, to move forward. At least that's where I think it might be going-

Which, if that's the case, would feel meaningless if Solar returns.

Then again, if he does come back, I WILL cry tears of joy, so-

-Stardust

LITERALLYYYYY AUAGHHHH.!!!!

Genuinely any sort of "we were supposed to do xyz" when a character died fucks me up SO BAD. They had plans. They had hopes. They assumed they'd both be alive by then ☹️☹️☹️

AND YEA THEY'RE ALL HANDLING IT SO DIFFERENTLY ITS AUGHHH. Genuinely yea Earth (and maybe Sun?) seem to be the only ones grieving in a healthy way and it's so heartbreaking to watch all around. AND ECLIPSE. ECLIPSE..... YEAH HIS MEETING WITH EARTH WAS WILDLY FASCINATING TO ME. Even Earth herself noted that Eclipse didn't insult her, just kinda questioned and then left.

AND EVERYTHING YOU SAID ABOUT DEATH IN TSAMS YESYESYES!!!!!!!! Genuinely me n my qpp were talking about something SO similar the other day, how no other characters had this level of grief from the characters and the videos!! There's always the obligatory "so-and-so is DEAD?! in vrchat" video but there was never a "missing Lunar" or "grieving the old Moon" video!! Like you said, it was always this quiet grief that seeped between the cracks and gunked up their ability to fully think or feel, but everyone was always so busy with Everything Else.

Now, we're at a point where most of the danger is dealt with or not a very immediate threat. Stitchwraith and Bloodmoon are more Foxy and Monty's problem, the Creator isn't targeting Sun and Moon (as far as we're aware, at least), and Eclipse is sort of... docile right now. The celestial family has time to grieve and they have every right to grieve because we really don't know if Solar is coming back.

I get you so hard btw I am genuinely so torn on whether I want Solar back or not for realzies ahsiahdj 😭😭😭

[pencil-peach]

G Witch Onscreen Text: Episode 19

Haku Haku ! It is once again time! This is part 20 of my series where I transcribe and discuss the onscreen text of G Witch, as well as talk about and analyze interesting things episode by episode. We're on Episode 19: "Not the Best Way."

<< Click here to return to Episode 18 Or Click here to return to the Masterpost

We're going back to Earth...

We open the episode on a conversation between Guel and Miorine. Miorine comments on how close they are to earth, and Guel responds, "You've always wanted to go there, right?" (Left)

It could be read that Notrette might have been Earthian, which is one of the reasons why Miorine wanted to go there so badly, to be closer to her mother.

After Kenanji enters and leaves, Miorine asks him, "Don't you hate being back on Earth even more?"

I'm really really fascinated by this line because it means that at some point, Guel and Miorine talked about what happened to him when he was on Earth. How much did he tell her? Does she know about Seethia? Does she know that he killed his father? What I wouldn't give to have seen that conversation.

On the whole, I really enjoy the brief glimpses we get into their post-Asticassia dynamic. It's hard to call them friends exactly, but it's clear their relationship is now built on mutual trust and respect. And despite the seriousness of their circumstances, they can still be silly with each other: Miorine: Are you really the same Guel Jeturk...? Guel: Plus, I can't trust you to handle the negotiations alone. Mio: HA??? What's that supposed to mean?? [Angrily drinks her juice.] Or like in last episode where Guel shows her the schwarzette and she's really angrily like, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME??" and he's like "IT'S NEWS TO ME TOO OKAY!!!"

Like they're silly! It's cute !

Sorry for liking Guel Jeturk it will happen every day forever until I die lol

Look at his gay little pose here. Why is he sitting like that. It's making me so mad look at him.

When Godoy tells Prospera that he's located and verified the source of the Lfrith Models, Prospera comments that she's, "...grateful [he] has so many friends."

I've already talked about how sad I am that we never learn anything about Godoy, considering that he seems to have connections all across space. How did he and Prospera meet, I wonder? How did he become so connected? Is he Earthian? I guess it's just one of those things we'll never know.

Anyway, Prospera tells him that "The wait is over," and to "please proceed with the preparations." Lending further credence that Quiet Zero being completed was never an issue. The only remaining issue to correct was the existence of the Lfriths, and now that it's being taken care of, it can truly begin.

I like that Secelia just actually gives Martin good counseling in this scene but is definitely also just fucking with him. She's a good person but also happens to be a bitch. She's perfect !

As the Benerit Gang take the Permet lift down to the station, we hear over an intercom that in accordance with the "Earth Sphere Biological Protection Act," all passengers entering from beyond the Earth Sphere are required to undergo a biosecurity check. (Left) This isn't the first time we overhear biosafety information over an intercom, as in Episode 2 (Right) we hear a brief glimpse about preventive measures being put in place to stop the infectious spread of a disease known as "SV29." (There's also an anecdote in Cradle Planet where Suletta recieves a vaccination)

It seems that biosafety is a major concern in Ad Stella, which makes sense, spaceborn illnesses must be super scary !

Something to note is that in the next scene, we see a panning shot of a highway, with a visible highway exit sign in front. But unlike many of the other signs in the show, the text on the sign is completely illegible, being made up of random shapes and characters from a handful of languages.

This might have been done to ensure Quinharbor's location remains vague, and isn't grounded within any specific place or country on Earth.

As we drive down the highway, we see some protest signs attached to a chain link fence.

From top to bottom, left to right, these seem to say: (* denotes when I'm making an educated guess) - Down with Spacian oppression - Spacians GO BACK TO SPACE - TAKE YOUR WARS BACK TO SPACE* - NO MORE MS VIOLENCE - Benerit ignores Earthian lives - ENOUGH! END MS VIOLENCE NOW!

The one I want to bring special attention to is the one in the center, partially hidden behind the "Down with Spacian oppression" sign. At first I assumed it was, "Stop TAKING our lives for your own wealth," but when i looked closer I saw that the visible portion of that word is "-CKING." When I tried to assume what word it could be, truth be told I could only come up with:

STOP HACKING OUR LIVES FOR YOUR OWN WEALTH or, STOP FUCKING OUR LIVES FOR YOUR OWN WEALTH

You can decide which one you want to be true.

I really like how Guel is just fucking awful at this whole running a company thing. King you can't just bail on an important negotiation like this no wonder ur company is in freefall.

But that's just the kind of person he is. He's open hearted but short sighted, and doesn't think things through as much as he should. But he's trying, so we can appreciate him anyway (Although to be honest it's probably for the best he wasn't there.)

At the table with the Earthain Negotiators, we can see that there are two empty seats next to Miorine. One of them was meant for Guel, and the other was presumably for Kenanji.

Also, seeing as how it keeps being mentioned but isn't explained specifically, I think it's important to clarify what the doctor means when he talks about "The proxy wars you force onto us through war partitioning."

As best as I understand it, Delling and the Benerit Group have been exercising control over Earth (as well as providing a consistent market for their main export, weapon manufacturing) by instigating and arming conflicts across the planet along carefully partitioned political borders.

If Earthians are constantly fighting amongst themselves, they'll be unable to unite as a people against Spacians. (Remember, an impending interplanetary war is currently a major fear)

Remember what Rajan says to Miorine about Dellings motive: "And yet... even if he could control conflict through war partitioning, he never managed to achieve order [...] there was always some new enemy or rebellion."

It's important not to divorce Delling's motives from his beliefs. When Rajan says "he never managed to achieve order," or, "there was always some new enemy or rebellion," you have to ask yourself what "order" or an "enemy" means to a man who wholeheartedly believes that anyone beneath him should fully and unquestioningly submit to his will.

Quiet Zero only makes sense as a solution to a man who is too arrogant to realize that he is the disease which is causing the symptom. But we're not there yet. Let's continue.

When Norea is having her breakdown, she's drawing this picture before her pencil snaps. At a glance, it's easy to assume that she isn't drawing anything and is just scribbling nonsense, but if you look closely, she was drawing a spider being eaten by a venus flytrap (and then started scribbling over it.)

When 5lan looks through her notebook, we see some more. (Left) We see a more abstracted piece of a decaying mechanical clown head (Although it could be a broken down amusement park ride. The DOF lived near an abandoned water park prior to Plant Quetta), a spider with its prey in a web, and a decaying deer carcass.

(Right) And the landscape that 5lan wanted her to show him

Here we see the truth behind Norea's breakdown. Sophie was the only person who understood her, and now that she's dead, she’s all alone. They were supposed to always be together, but the only way for her to follow Sophie now is to die herself, and she's deathly afraid to die.

Sophie and Norea were opposites in how they coped with the disposability of their lives. Norea was afraid to die, and so she coped with it by drawing the death and decay she was constantly surrounded by. But Sophie coped by taking pride in it. She constantly sought out danger to prove to herself that she was alive. (Like in Episode 12 when she activates Permet Score 4: "My heart is hurting so badly...I can't... breathe... but I'm still alive!") In her mind, fighting for her life was what gave it meaning. She wasn't afraid to die, and in a way, she sought out Ericht so badly because she wanted to find someone strong enough to kill her. (Not in a suicidal way but in a putting it all on the line way.)

Norea pretended she was unafraid too, to keep up with Sophie, but she was always afraid. And now that Sophie is gone, she has nobody left. She has nothing to live for, but is too afraid to die. Her life is somehow even more pointless than it already was.

(Left) The moral of the story is that if you're depressed, the solution is some good soup.

(Right) Agh, I wish so badly we got some supplementary material about Chuchu and Nika. But that's a conversation for later.

When we meet up with Kenanji and Guel, they're talking to Sedo, who mentions that he's an "official refugee designated by the special reconstruction plan." His official description on the G Witch website explains a little more, stating that he "lives in a designated recovery plan area on Earth." It seems that there are consistent zones on the planet dedicated to war and infrastructure recovery.

We learn about the child rearing academy Grassley runs here as well, but we'll talk about that next episode, when it's meaning becomes more relevant. Oh, and, nobody asked but the shirt Guel is wearing here is the second shirt we see him wearing that has holes in it. (The first is the sweatshirt he wears in Episode 16.) So y'know. If you wanted to know.

So, here we learn that Shaddiq's birth name was "Jeru Ogul," and "because of that name, everyone at the Academy called him 'Prince.'"

At first I didn't what Kenanji meant by this at all, but after thinking about it and doing some research, I think I understand it now. He's called "Prince" because "Jeru" is short for "Jerusalem." This pun is actually localized from the original Japanese script too, as his name is not "Jeru" in Japanese, It's "Ieru" (イエル) as in, short for "Ierusaremu" (イェルサレム) (Jerusalem is not spoken with a J sound in Japanese because it's based on the original Hebrew pronunciation of the word, which is yerushalaim)

A remarkable child from Jerusalem? It's not a huge leap from that to calling him "Prince." (It's Jesus. It's a reference to Jesus Christ. Now that you know that you should go back and look at his character and the things he does. You'll be like, ooooohhhh, ohhh my goooodddd)

I think a lot about how Miorine immediately keeps cool and analyzes the situation logically, as opposed to Guel's righteous fury. I also like how Miorine knows Shaddiq well enough to immediately clock exactly how to catch him in the act and where he's keeping Sarius. (She's completely correct about all of it too.) She knows him better than anybody, after all.

As the fated moment begins, Eri activates a data storm around Quinharbor to take control of an Earthian tank. (Left) The error message displayed is:

CONTROL LOCKOUT: Control has been overridden due to effects of data storm space. ERROR CODE: [569]

Later, as Prospera retreats to grab Aerial's canon, we can see Miorine attempt to contact her (Which she quickly declines.) (Right)

TEXT: (Left) CODENAME: SOPHIE PULONE MS: LFRITH UR AFFILIATION: Ochs Earth Corporation

MS: LFRITH UR MODEL NO: EDM-GA-01 HEADHEIGHT: 21.2m WEIGHT: 75.9t BASE MS: GUNDAM LFRITH PRE-PRODUCTION MODEL (Ochs Earth Corporation) CHARACTERISTICS: Combat-specific unit intended for short-decisive combats, its output has been greatly increased even among the combat specific types. MAIN WEAPON: BEAM GATLING GUN / PHASED ARRAY CANON

(Right) CODENAME: NOREA DU NOC MS: LFRITH THORN AFFILIATION: Ochs Earth Corporation

MODEL NO: EDM-GA-02 HEADHEIGHT: 14.4m WEIGHT: 41.2t BASE MS: GUNDAM LFRITH PRE-PRODUCTION MODEL (Ochs Earth Corporation) CHARACTERISTICS: Support type unit intended for wide area control. Long arms and legs stabilize the center of gravity enabling advanced combat maneuvers. MAIN WEAPON: BEAM DIFFUSE GUN / PHASED ARRAY CANON

As Prospera breaks into the bunker holding the Lfriths, she pulls up Pilot data files (Tagged SO-3) on Sophie on Norea. Of critical importance here is that according to these files, "Sophie Pulone" and "Norea Du Noc" are referred to as the girls' codenames, not their real names. (Keep this in mind I'm gonna do a really cool thing next episode you're gonna be like ohh noooo) The girls are also affiliated specifically with Ochs Earth, which was supposed to have been defunct immediately after Vanadis.

Less Important but also worth mentioning is that Base Aerial was running "SYS Ver. E.S," a clever nod to Eri's initials, Ericht Samaya, but rebuild has changed that, instead running "SYS Ver. 2.0"

Also, we never get a clear look at it, but the board Bel and Feng were sitting in front of is labeled "ADJUSTMENT OF GUND PROSTHETIC LEG OPERATION." And seems to be data on a subsequent series of tests regarding the legs movement and calibration.

Okay, so, before we proceed, it's probably a good idea to clarify the current political reveals which are being made here. I think there are a lot of names being thrown around and due to the time constraints of the show, I don't think they were able to explain it as well as it could have been.

If you aren't interested, that's okay, you can just scroll past here, but I think it's important to try and understand it. I'll try and keep it as simple as possible: (This is also as best as I understand it, so ultimately take it with a grain of salt)

____________________________

The Space Assembly League is an administrative organization meant to mediate political problems and maintain peace within space. While the Benerit Group is an exceedingly powerful corporation, it's still a corporation, not a governmental institution. It has to, in theory, answer to the rules and regulations set by the League.

The problem is that the Benerit Group has become TOO powerful. Its reach and influence across space has long eclipsed even the League in terms of political power. At some point after Vanadis, the League's High Council (the people at the top of the organization, to be clear) realized this, and began to formulate a plan that would allow it to eventually suppress, and possibly even break up, the Benerit Group.

But the first issue to overcome was this: The Space Assembly League is a governmental institution, and is beholden to its own regulations. Without probable cause, it would be unable to justifiably interfere with the Benerit Group, who, by its own standards, were not openly violating the law.

So, in order to intervene with the Group, the council realized it needed to secretly contrive a reason to accuse the Group of threatening peace among the fronts, thereby giving the League the probable cause it needs to dissolve it.

(It's important to keep in mind that this plan was being conducted SPECIFICALLY by the League's High Council. By and large, the majority of the Space Assembly League DO NOT KNOW this is happening. Feng and Guston are official investigators FOR the league and discovered the conspiracy themselves during their investigation.)

This is where Ochs Earth comes in. The League obviously could not openly begin funding terrorist organizations, but it COULD secretly fund Ochs Earth, a MS Company that was very openly and publicly obliterated, and that everyone still believes to be defunct. An army of Gundams would be perfect to cause enough conflict to accuse the Group.

But here comes the second issue: How exactly do they plan to pull this off? It would be hard to organize and execute a plan of that scale without some kind of middle man. The League couldn't risk openly communicating with anti-Spacian organizations, it would be too risky.

Which is where Shaddiq comes into play. Whether or not he knew the League's intentions beforehand, he contacted them with his own plans to dissolve the group. He was the bridge that connected the League and Ochs Earth with the Dawn of Fold, and being so closely involved with the Group, he could know exactly when would be best to strike.

This eventually led to the Plant Quetta incident. Though the intention was to assassinate Delling, the unjust (and illegal) retribution of the Group upon Earthians after the fact seemed like the perfect cause needed for the League to act.

But that plan didn't work. Remember, the League is a Spacian Organization. And the unfortunate fact of the matter is that Spacians, by and large, do not care about Earthians. The unjust murder and torture of Earthians was not enough to turn public opinion (even within the league itself) far enough for the League to justify intervening.

So they tried again, with the attack on the school. Shaddiq focused on his side of the plan, working on dissolving the group from the inside by taking advantage of the imminent Presidential race, while the Ochs Earth witches stirred up more violence and discord within the Group, focusing on threatening the lives of Spacians instead, which leads us to where we are now.

____________________________

OKAY. damn. that was long. again, this is as best as I understand it, and I might be off the mark in some regards. Either way, I hope this cleared things up for you at least somewhat! Unless you scrolled past which, in that case, 1000 palms of death.

Here we see the GUND-Bit Canon firing at full output. It's the only time we see it do this, and even then we don't REALLY see it unfortunately. Still though, it should be noted that with one blast the cannon destroyed all the Lfriths in the bunker, and was so powerful it blasted THROUGH the bunker AND the mountain it was stationed in. Utterly terrifying.

But the truly tragic thing about this scene is what Prospera has done, and what that truly means. Think about what her actions have interrupted. It's not just that she's completely ruined the negotiations between Miorine and the Earthians. It's specifically how she managed to bridge that gap. With the GUND Prosthetic Legs.

This meeting was the ideals of Cardo Nabo and GUND finally being realized. GUND technology paving a way to a brighter future, finally bringing Earthians and Spacians together on equal ground. This was the future that GUND was going to save. When Prospera destroys the Lfriths, she calls Ochs Earth "The heinous sinners who trampled on GUND's ideals," but in this very moment, she has done the exact same. For the sake of Eri's future, she even struck down the future her family died trying to protect.

After the event, we see various news outlets covering the event.

Left: (From Extra Orbital Reports) BENERIT GROUP MS FIRE ON HOUSING COMPLEXES OF ANTI-SPACIAN GROUPS, WITH MANY CASUALTIES - WITH NO OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM BENERIT GROUP REGARDING ATTACKS, ITS UNCLEAR WHETHER SITUATION WILL BE RESOLVED

Middle: (From Planetary News Broadcast) [...] when Benerit MS responded to street protest by setting up roadblocks - [...] now turning into urban warfare as anti-Spacian side counterattacks with militarized mobile craft

Right: (Fom INTERPLANETARY NEWS NETWORK) IN RESPONSE TO BENERIT GROUP'S ATTACK, EARTH INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT LEADER DECLARES THEY WILL JOIN FIGHT FOR INDEPENDENCE - With Benerit forces dispersed as explosions take place throughout the city, fierce fighting develops between the two sides.

It seems like communications have fully broken down. The Earthians are more devoted to their demand for independence as ever. Things are even worse than before. The future has never looked worse.

When Suletta sees the news broadcast, she remembers what Ericht said to her about not being able to cling to either her or their mother anymore, but afterwards, we see a silent shot of her saying something else. It's impossible to know exactly what she's saying, (anime lip flap moment)

But personally, considering the context, and the syllables she's sounding out, to me I think she's saying "gomenasai" (I'm sorry)

And with that dour note, it seems like things can't get any worse. But, well, we all know if things can't get worse, they will.

>> Episode 20: The End of Hope The Masterpost.

[outofangband]

daegred-winsterhand asked:

for the headcanon game, 🖤🐣 for Aerin or Morwen

From this headcanon ask game here! Still accepting them!

I went a bit lighter for the dark headcanons because I recently posted a really intense piece about Aerin (to ao3 not here) and it took a lot out of me…I still had some dark ones but I’ll compile a few more really dark ones later

I did most of these for Aerin, im going to make a separate post for Morwen, but I did include a couple for her tooo

Happy HCs (all my happy HCs for Aerin inevitably make me sad because most of them involve things she loses either completely or mostly, post Nírnaeth)

-Aerin learned to swim in the deeper pools of Nen Lalaith. She loves the water and is a strong swimmer. She also loved to watch the minnows and other tiny fish dart through the stream. When she was little she would take longer and longer walks trying to reach the source of the stream. When she got older and was able to ride longer distances she eventually got there, taking a three day trip with Húrin and another one of their cousins. It’s one of her happiest memories

-Aerin is one or two centimeters taller than Húrin and was absolutely delighted when this happened, when she was fourteen and him a couple years older. I headcanon that Indor was one of Galdor’s liege lords and one of his most trusted kinsmen and their children grew up close.)

-When Húrin was home him and Morwen would often spend evenings in the day room of their house. They would read or work on individual projects or they would play a chess like game. Sometimes they would have long debates. These peaceful evenings she almost felt completely at home.

Dark HCs (post Nírnaeth Aerin related warnings)

-Every time Aerin is punished for helping Morwen or some other transgression it makes the next time harder. She still does but it takes so much out of her to the point where leaving the house becomes panic inducing.

-Aerin is so grateful she never has children. She could not bear to bring someone else into this. And it brings her a grim satisfaction that Brodda will have no heir, no legacy, something the Narn specifically says he wanted and which was part of his reasons for what he did (I actually have a separate post about this, if you’re interested, that goes into my thoughts about this and why and the significance and the different possibilities)

-No matter how much Aerin may hate and fear Brodda, she has to know him on such a personal level; she has to learn his habits and moods and preferences because she has to, the alternative is dangerous. This is definitely something I want to work more with but the effect it has on her is profound. Just thinking about the level of very unwanted casual familiarity and closeness(?) unsure of wording here

(Will post more dark HCs for Morwen later but)

-It gets to Morwen, knowing that some people want to violently hurt her because in their minds that would make them powerful because they’ve decided you’re a scary witch and that if they tried, there’s very little she can do to defend herself or Niënor. Even when she’s in Doriath, that fear never fully leaves her

-Morwen will never admit this but she has had a fear of fire since the Bragollach. Lighting candles is usually fine, lighting a contained fire in the hearth gets easier over time. But when she can feel smoke in her lungs and feel the heat of the flames? It can be panic inducing. Of course as this is Morwen her panic tends to show as her being sharper and more brusque with others or isolating.

Rían on the other hand has a morbid fascination with fire.

On a semi related note I headcanon that several Hadorian festivals include bonfires including the celebration for the new year as I think I’ve talked about. Morwen is displeased by this.

[non-cannon]

Years ago, after seeing the screenshot of the tumblr post about what if Harry Potter was adopted by the Addams Family for the umpteenth time, I decided to read basically every crossover I could find that used that plot. The entire time I was thinking, what if this but House of Anubis instead of Harry Potter and Nina instead of Harry.

So for the last few years this idea has been intermittently kicking around in my brain and evolving and changing. The roughly current version is as follows:

*For the Addams Family, they are a mix of the 60s show, the 90s movies, and a little bit from Netfix's Wednesday.

Young Nina is in the car when her parents die. She goes to live with her Gran. She starts a new school. This is the same school that Wednesday and Pugsly Addams are attending. Wednesday and Nina are the same age/in the same grade. As the new kid, Nina ends up being assigned to do a group project when no one else will/when their parents won't allow it.

Nina, between being the new kid and having such tragic backstory, also becomes a bit of an outcast like Wednesday already is. Wednesday finds Nina's backstory fascinating, and is the only kid to give her the empathy she needs. And Nina quickly realizes despite appearances Wednesday is amazing actually, and they become good friends.

It's not long before Wednesday brings Nina over for a play date, or homework, or both. Gomez and Morticia are absolutely thrilled that Wednesday has made a friend. And all of the Addams take a shine to Nina pretty quickly.

Morticia also notices that Nina is a bit thinner than she should be, and her clothes look a bit ratty. Obviously not everyone has Addams' level of wealth, but she's still worried. After a few months of Nina coming over, and family growing increasingly fond of her, Morticia convinces Gomez to go with her to investigate why, Nina doesn't seem as well cared for as she should be.

When they do talk to Nina's gran, Evelyn admits that she's trying her best to take care of Nina, but having to unexpectedly take care of a young child when you're on a fixed income isn't easy. They offer to help Evelyn pay for Nina's well being but Evelyn is worried about getting too reliant on the money, especially if something happens, like Nina and Wednesday stop being friends, and the Addams stop offering the money, and she doesn't accept the offer.

At some point, the Morticia and Gomez offer to adopt Nina, and they work out a custody arraignment. Nina stays with the Addams during the week, and her gran on weekends. Nina also adopts the last name Martin-Addams.

As Nina goes back and forth between the two homes, she also finds her wardrobe, and to an extent her personality, going back and forth between being more Addams like and more Martin like. By the time of the show, Nina is wearing a full black and white five piece suit around the Addams, and clothing similar to what she wears in canon when she's around her gran.

One of the reasons she wants to go the Amun Boarding School is because she wants to be away from all of her family(ies) and try to figure out who Nina Martin-Addams is, instead of constantly feeling like she's swinging between Nina Martin and Nina Addams.

Wednesday and Pugsly don't want her to go, and try increasingly elaborate ways to stop her, but they ultimately fail. And it's their fault that she ends up arriving at Anubis two weeks late. Wednesday is jealous when Nina instantly finds an enemy and a mystery (but then she ends up going to Nevermore so it's fine).

Nina has learned how to fence from Gomez, and before she goes away he gives her a fancy sword cane that can be sneaked past the TSA and customs.

At Anubis Nina gives Patricia as good as she gets. She still becomes friends with Fabian and Amber. With Fabian she is impressed with how fiercely he will fight for her, someone who is practically a stranger, but disappointed with his inability to defend himself, and she vows to fix this. With Amber, Nina is impressed with Amber's willingness to blackmail her way into the mystery (she is less impressed with the threat, but it's the principle of the thing). Nina accepts Patricia's apology when she joins Sibuna, but is a bit disappointed that it spells the end of their fighting.

At first Nina swings wildly between the Martin and Addams extremes, but does manage, just with time to find a medium of sorts. Though she is helped by Amber taking her shopping and finding lots of clothing that creates a gradient in her closet instead of it's original clear divide.

At some point Nina gets the chance to beat Rufus up. Nina also traumatizes Joy during season two. Nina gets grandmama's grimoire and uses it to get rid of Senkhara. I don't know if Eddie being the Osirian, or the Osirian at all, ever comes up.

While discussing fears for the fear task, instead of skulls, Nina says "I hope that tunnel can't create the corpses of my loved ones." And the others are like "I thought as and Addams you were into stuff like that." And Nina replies with "I wasn't always and Addams. Before I was an Addams, I was a little kid, in a car, with my parents. And I never want to see anything like that again."

During season three Nina gets angry at Evil Robert for taking the souls of her friends, and while taking the grimoire to the tank room to try and fix it, ends up in a duel with him. (This is where the cane sword finally comes into play). While he wins first blood, and scores a handful of other injuries on her, he said the duel would be to the death, and Nina wins it in the end. KT gets mad at Nina for killing her grandfather, despite the fact that he started it, and Nina has to deal with the fact that she took life for the first time, and also her injuries.

I also can't decide if I want to do enemies to lovers, Nina x Patricia, or if I want to do Nina teaching Fabian to stand up for himself/canon Fabina, or if I want to do polycule with all of them (also Amber dating Nina because why not), and Patricia still also dating Eddie, and Amber still also dating Alfie.

And I know I said this was the current version of events, but my most recent addition (from a couple of months ago), came from me thinking about, if Nina was in the car accident, that was bad enough to kill both adults, she should have been injured. What if the injury left her with a chronic leg issue, and that's why she has the cane (sword)!?

I also kind of want to do a fanfic where the only canon divergence is Nina was left with a chronic injury/pain from the car crash. I don't know, could be fun. However, as someone who doesn't have such a problem. I don't know if I know enough about living like that to do it properly/respectfully...

[candycryptids]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers ╰(´︶`)╯♡

;0;! Oh jeez ok ☀️ 😌

Frogs- this one might be kinda obvious I guess based on my blog title and all but I really like frogs and toads and tadpoles I think they’re really fascinating little critters and every time I learn something new about frogs it makes me feel all sparkly. Like they swallow when they blink- because their eyes go down into the body and it squishes food down their throat. Isn’t that WILD? Nature is so cool. (-unfortunately there’s one Toad I can’t stand because the way she carries her babies makes me freak out. Sorry Suriname Toad! If trypophobia is a problem for you don’t look her up 🥰)

Scented Plushies- I love… being able to smush my face into a soft plush animal and smell a pleasant smell. (I like sweet/fruity/pastry kinda smells) It’s like… IDK I have a bunch of them in my bed with me so I can pick one to cozy up with and it helps me sleep? (I have to sleep with a plush animal anyways, the way I sleep I’ll fuck up my shoulders if I don’t have Little Guy Support lol.) but also uh. Yeah Build A Bear has insertable smells and they last for like ever and they’re really pleasant ;; my favorite I think is their seasonal Pumpkin Spice, but I also really loved their other seasonal, Sunken Treasure, it was like, mango-y …

Pork Katsu- whenever we make it at home it’s kind of a special occasion cos it takes some doin, tryin stuff yk, but it’s always SO GOOD… we never have enough leftovers for Katsudon the next day lmfao. Oh there’s also a little restaurant inside the Hmart we go to, they do Katsu Sandwiches? And they come with a Fruit Sando too (it’s filled with seasonal fresh fruit and whip cream and it’s SO PRETTY and tastes SOOOO good.) gotta be one of my top tens of food (both kinda of sandwich LOL, but also just Pork Katsu. I group them together mentally as one thing in my brain 🤔)

Dark Chocolate Terry’s Orange - already drooling thinkin about that Winter only treat auuuuu…. It’s just so good, and it’s easy to snack off of for like, weeks. Cos you slap it on the table a bunch and it has a bunch of fake orange wedges made of dark chocolate to Nomf on. If you like chocolate and Orange you should try one once, I think they’re pretty great! I think some off-brands also makes like, ones with fillings like mint and raspberry? They’re pretty decent too from what I remember… (oops.. double food Happies. Well.! Food makes me happy!!!)

Leaving my Rambling Gushing Tags on peoples art also makes me really happy tbh it’s just not something I can condense into one-two words for the bold and color format I started - lol. But I for real get so excited seeing the stuff people create (I count gpose as art actually, it’s a creative outlet!!! Art!!) and I don’t have a LOT of art technical terms- it’s been a while since high school so I don’t even fully remember the terms they taught me back then- but I’m still like. Idk I see a cool shot, or a piece of art, and my heart becomes like, thunderstorm on the ocean, crash boom!!!!! So I write a bunch of tags pointing out what I like and what I think (with restraint, sometimes, I try not to thirst tag too heavily since I don’t want to make people uncomfortable and like. Block me LMFAO then I wouldn’t get to see their cool characters/art anymore yk) and I just. I hope it makes them happy too? But thinking that it might/does make them happy to get ramble excited tags (cos I do Lmfao) makes me really happy too? Idk. I just wanna put out good energy on people’s stuff. Encourage them to keep pursuing their hobbies? They cared enough to post it so others could see it which meant they wanted to show others, rather than not posting it all and keeping it to themselves, and, idk. This got really long LOL. I just have a lot of feelings about this i guess. Ty for sending this ask btw it’s been fun to answer ;w;

[secretdestinypainter]

The Best New Book Releases Out of 2024:

In today's world where everyone is having different screenings and digital distractions, I feel like there is something great and truly magical about diving into a good book. Books have the power to transport us with the well of knowledge, introduce us to fascinating characters, and make us think about different imaginations that nothing else can do not even this digital media. I love reading books and exploring new characters based on interesting stories. Let me join you on a journey to the enchanting world of books, where we can learn and explore adventure, knowledge, and inspiration awaiting on every page.

When it comes to new releases, I’ve been loving the Black horror girlie surge that’s been part of the Horror Renaissance, the latest of which is Dead Girls Walking by Sami Ellis. It’s a YA slasher that follows a girl looking for her mother’s body at the summer camp that — get this — her serial killer father once owned. Supreme horror mess of the highest order.

Another new horror title, albeit an adult one, is Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne. Diavola also has some family drama going on, this time set against a haunted Italian villa during a vacation. Finally, there’s the conclusion to troubled, half-Native teen Jade Daniels’s Indian Lake saga in The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones.

Stepping outside of horror, Like Happiness by Ursula Villarreal-Moura sees protagonist Tatum Vega getting her newfound peace upended when news breaks that a famous author — someone she dated years ago — has been accused of assault. And, from the author of The Enchanted — which I inhaled when it was first published years ago — comes Sleeping Giants, a tale of foster kids, abuse, and real-life monsters. Lastly, Worry by Alexandra Tanner, is a debut described as “a Seinfeldian novel of existentialism and sisterhood.”

In the featured books below, there’s an entry into a popular cozy mystery series, queer love across timelines, a reimagining of Icarus, and more.

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

isSutanto stays with her foot on our necks with these new releases, phew. After last year’s über popular Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, she’s back with another cozy mystery, this time a continuation of her bestselling Aunties series. Here, Meddy Chan travels to Jakarta to spend the Chinese New Year with family. But then, a former fling of one of Meddy’s Aunties — affectionately known as Second Aunt — shows up trying to stunt with bougie gifts. Well, one of the gifts was actually meant for a business rival, and it being accidentally given to Meddy’s family sets her and her Aunties up to become mixed up in a decades-long feud between Jakarta’s business organizations. When things get really real — and Meddy and her family are put in harm’s way — it’s up to Meddy to save them all.

There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

Hanif Abdurraqib is the National Book Award-nominated author of A Little Devil in America, and here he aims his poetic eye at basketball. With his usual mix of the personal and communal, he looks at one of America’s favorite sports, examining its history, who makes it and who doesn’t, and LeBron James.

How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

This is being compared to Knives Out, which makes it perfect for the fun-seeking cozy mystery reader. Almost 60 years ago, Frances was just a teenager at a fair with friends when a fortune-teller told her that someone would kill her. She spends the rest of her life trying to figure out her own future murderer. Then, one day, Annie is called to her great-aunt Frances’ huge country estate. She’s been murdered, and it’s up to Annie to figure out who did it. Good thing the dearly departed Frances kept detailed notes on potential suspects…

Icarus by K. Ancrum 

In this queer Icarus retelling, the titular character is an art thief, but one with a victim who kind of has it coming. Icarus only steals from the wealthy Mr. Black by replacing his priceless art with his father’s flawless forgeries as part of revenge for Icarus’ mother’s death. A strict set of rules keeps Icarus from being exposed, until he gets caught by Mr. Black’s son, Helios, one night. But the enigmatic Helios doesn’t turn him in — instead, he asks for Icarus’ friendship. This friendship turns into something more that threatens everything — even what Icarus and his father hold dear.

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

Across multiple timelines and lives, two men are reborn, each life proving to them the eternity of love: a young emperor gets seduced by a courtier in 4 BCE, an innkeeper helps a mysterious visitor in 1740, and a college student meets an intriguing stranger in modern-day L.A.

The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920 by Manisha Sinha

Sinha gives us a new look at a pivotal moment in U.S. history: Reconstruction. Despite Reconstruction’s claim of granting true freedom to Black people after the Civil War, the country’s leaders proved to not be very concerned with equality after all. And, by looking at imperialist desires, northern labor conflict, women’s suffrage, and the Chinese Exclusion Act, Sinha shows how the failed promise of Reconstruction resulted in capitalism running amok and a special kind of race-based tyranny.

Blogs like these are immensely helpful for people who love to read different books which include their summary plots, characters, themes, and a major part of a story. If you want to have more synopsis regarding your favorite books you can schedule a book club event on tinyti.me website, where you can organize book discussions, meet and greet different authors, or get regular updates about upcoming book events or holidays.

[dunadaan]

Oooh does Crea have any hobbies?

She absolutely does, anon!!

Créa actually has quite a few hobbies. Her first really began when she was young, with her father traveling and bringing back pressed flowers from other lands. She herself began to start collecting flora from around where she lived, pressing them in a little journal and writing about where she found them, doing little drawings of them, and trying to figure out their uses, if any. She was quite a little scholar, but admittedly at first she mostly did it because she thought the flowers were beautiful, and picked the prettiest ones, before being fascinated with the natural world around her.

When she left home to become a Ranger, she was suddenly thrust into a new landscape with plants the likes of which she'd never seen. New trees, new flowers, new grasses- her journey was delayed somewhat because she kept stopping to collect leaves and sketch and the like! For a long time, elves and rangers alike would be bombarded with questions from her- what was this? what's its purpose? what's its name? Thankfully, most were patient with her curiosity and even encouraged it, and her journal was packed full of new plants. As time went on, however, she realized it was getting too full, and mixed in with her daily logs describing her day and what she did, and she began to move over some of the extra pickings of dried plants to a new journal- one that was dedicated solely to collecting all the knowledge she could on plants. Over the years it grew exponentially in size as she traveled and discovered new (to her) plants, and what started as a personal passion project began to take on a new meaning as the cumulative knowledge of (almost) all the plants in Eriador, and eventually, in Middle-earth.

In her lifetime during the Fourth Age, her collection is officially published for widespread use, (though I've never come up with a title for it), and it's an invaluable resource for many healers and others alike, as much of the information was lost or previously unknown to many, and one of the last few books ever published with the direct knowledge given by the elves before they all sailed.

Oops I blabbed a lot BUT another important hobby related to above is gardening! She's a very talented gardener and has an incredible green thumb. I like to think she was some sort of farmer in her life before she discovered her dúnedain heritage, and she still decided to take a part of that life with her. She carried the seeds from her home but wasn't sure she'd every do anything with them, being on the move all the time with her new life.

Some time passes, and Créa really struggled to find where she belonged. Evendim was her chosen area to stay, but she was at a serious disadvantage. She was no scholar, and wasn't raised with stories of the Dúnedain, nor their history. She's no archeologist who can help with sherds or artifacts. She can fight, but anyone could wield a blade, and her reading, writing, and speaking in Sindarin was not the best as she struggled to learn. She wanted to contribute in her own way and felt out of place, and like an outsider for a long period of time.

It wasn't until exploring the ruins of Tham Nambarth, overlooking the ruins of Tinnudir that a sudden idea came to her. She had been told these grand estates once used to grow grains for the city- and she realized she could repurpose the grounds for her own garden. One that could support the small gathering of Rangers here, or be used for trade with the Hobbits of Oatbarton. She kept it as secret as she could, wanting to surprise the others, though she enlisted help from friends when she could. It was a lot of work, converting an abandoned area with centuries of weeds and grass to a large garden bed, but she did it, and it's her proudest achievement. It was something unique that directly contributes to the Rangers, and she can keep them well fed with food she grew herself. (I also headcanon that her garden has been destroyed a few times and wrote a long fic about it dfgdsfg)

The building itself stores the dried and pickled foods for winter, ready to transport to the camp below, and the gardens boast of berries, herbs, tubers, squashes, beans of all sorts- really, anything she could get her hands on that would grow in the soil. If you can't find her out on patrol or in the keep, she's usually in the garden, covered in dirt and smelling of earth :)

As far as other hobbies...like I mentioned before, she sketches landscapes and plants to try and accurately reflect the environment she found them in. I think she also paints a little to get the colors right. And for the fun of it, because I like bird watching, I think she enjoys bird watching and identifying too! And it makes sense since the dúnedain can talk to and understand birds so!

She also loves swimming- she spent many summers swimming in the Anduin, and is one of the strongest swimmers in Evendim! Hasn't beat Calenglad yet though. If there's a body of water, she's more than likely going to jump in, like a duck to water.

[adventurousarcheologist]

have you seen ELIZABETH ‘ELLIE’ KLEIN around the crash site? we’re trying to make sure they’re still alive after the crash! according to the manifesto SHE is a FORTY year old CIS WOMAN. i hear they’re known for being an ARCHEOLOGIST. ELIZABETH is known to be ADVENTUROUS yet also INTIMIDATING at times. we have a couple questions for ELIZABETH when we find HER, we heard something about a secret they might have? such as THEY KEEP A DIARY...full of secrets.

Elizabeth Klein, also known as 'Ellie' by close friends and family— or at least that's what she would be known as if any of them were still around.

THE PAST: life has not been kind to her.

She was born on October 8, 1960, just 4 seconds before her twin sister, in the middle of a blackout. They were raised in London by their single mother. Life wasn't extraordinary by any means, which in a way contributed to Ellie's search for adventure, knowledge and thrills.

She was really close to her sister growing up. Being the eldest of the two, she took on the role of taking care of herself and her younger twin while her mother worked endless jobs to provide for the two of them. It was never easy— her sister made things even more difficult— but they made it through the other side.

Ellie is extremely knowledgeable in her field, which can often come off as intimidating or condescending. She first discovered her love for archeology during a school trip to The British Museum. ‘It was love at first sight,’ she often recalls, and she knew this was where she wanted to be. By the age of 25, she was the youngest and brightest female employee at the museum. Her work became her life, which led to some distance between her and her sister. Work didn’t leave much room for dating either.

That is, until she met Daniel. Daniel worked in a different department, but their paths would often cross. It seemed like fate when they were assigned to oversee an expedition in Athens. Heartbreak would soon follow and it’s a tale that still leaves a sour taste in her mouth. Daniel would cheat on her with her sister. The final slap to the face came when the two announced their engagement.

Needing some distance and to start anew, she transferred to California. She tried to look at the positive and she decided to take a new approach at this clean slate. In the end, she discovered a lot about herself.

THE PRESENT & SURVIVIAL SKILLS:

On December 31st, 1999, Elizabeth boarded a plane to Australia for fun work, but mostly for a break from her mundane every day life and in search of something new. Little did she know that she was actually in for the adventure of a lifetime!

Having been on quite a few archeological excavations— even led some herself— all over the world, she’s actually more capable than she looks. While the circumstances aren’t the best, she considers this a magnificent opportunity to explore, learn, and study..not just the island, but themselves as well.

SOCIAL:

Elizabeth does not believe in forgive and forget; or rather, she believes in one more than the other. 

She is strict and harsh at times. But it’s usually within reason. Some people might see her as cold and pessimist, others can interpret as practical, realist, and just.

Her friends, usually describe her as intelligent, funny, and kindhearted.

CONNECTIONS:

ATHENA HOWARD'S (nathalie emmanuel) COWORKER.

information: athena, while aloof to most coworkers, did have a stubborn one who refused to be put off by their aloofness. ellie enthusiastically volunteered to go on the work trip with athena in the hopes that it would allow the two to become friends. this archaeologist is fascinated by the island and what they may uncover from its previous inhabitants.

LINKS:

- Timeline - Headcanons - Inspo - Walkman

[citadelredlightdistrict]

Lilo finally discovered porn for the first time. But even with no one home, she didn't want to take any chances. Hiding several feet into the woods as she turns on the video. Unaware that a wolf had been sighted nearby.

Lilo had discovered porn at last, perhaps predictably, while staying at a friend's house for the weekend. While browsing her friend's laptop she'd stumbled upon the strange world of porn, and after waiting until nightfall, she'd snuck out of the house with it so she could explore the fascinating new subject in peace. Unfortunately for the little Hawaiian girl, she'd never bothered to learn of the dangers that lurked within the woods of Washington.

"Wow~. I can't believe that something so big can actually fit inside of girls! I mean, I've tried stuff out but never like that!"

Shebwas absolutely enraptured by the screen, watching as a petite woman was lifted up and bodily dropped onto a giant of a man's cock. The next video she clicked on was of a woman on all fours like a dog, presenting herself for a man.

"Huh? So, she gets down like, this? OK, but does this do anything? I guess it's more comfortable than having a guy pick you up or lay on top of you..."

Little did she know that she was not alone in the woods. A wolf, fresh in its prime was crouched down not ten feet away, watching the girl as intently as shebwatched her videos. He licked his lips as he saw her presenting herself, and on padded feet he slowly approached.

"Hmm, I mean, it's not bad, but I feel like it'd be kind of demeaning to have a guy with his hand the back of my head, pushing my face into the, ah!"

Just as she'd been about to get up from what she'd decided wasn't a position she'd really be interested in, the very beast that inspired the position was upon her. With the sudden weight of a fully grown wolf pushing her torso down she felt her breasts along with her face being rubbed into the leaf strewn ground, and what was worse, she could feel something hard, wet, and hot pressing against her ass.

"Ah! W-what!? Stitch! Nani! S-someone please!"

The beast ignored her pleas for help, giving out a deep warning growl as he placed a paw on the back of her head and started to thrust blindly against her.

Lilo whimpered as the beast asserted itself, placing her firmly beneath its paw as he tried to find her pussy. Lilo had just been in awe at how large an insertion a woman could take, but that was with a human, she had no idea how big the wolf's member might be, but in a moment she knew she'd find out. For Lilo, that was a moment that came far too soon, as the wolf's determined efforts soon bore fruit, the tip of his powerful spear thrusting into her, forcing her once virginal pussy to spread as wide as it comfortably could to make room as it tore through her hymen with the greatest of ease.

At this, Lilo let out a scream of despair and pain, mixed with a shocking amount of pleasure for the young girl. Despite her outburst, the beast didn't relent, using her for its pleasure, driving heedlessly forward as it claimed its first mate as a full grown wolf.

"Ahhhh! P-please! Mister, ahhh~! W-wolf! Please, you've got to stop, please!"

As the wolf fucked her, using her to satiate it's own carnal desires, the sounds of her screams, her pleas slowly shifted. Becoming less urgent, less painful, until soon she was crying not with pain, but from pleasure. The pleasure from having every nerve in her pussy pressed and scraped against by the beastial cock was too much, and the pain was soon forgotten. At least until the knot.

Right at her peak, when Lilo experienced her first true climax, she felt the hammering of his knot slamming against her pussy.

"Ahhh~ o-oh fuck, yes, ah, I can't, I'm, I'm cum, I'm cumming oh, ahhh~! Ah, w-what, what is, ah~!?"

She could barely think, barely comprehend what was about to happen. A small part of her knew to be afraid, knew that she should be panicking now more than ever, but the pleasure of her climax drove such thoughts away, and like that the wolf was able to force his knot into her just in time for it to cum, to fill her with his virile and thick seed.

Lilo would be driven to several more smaller climaxes as her new mate used her, bred her. The one climax from him forcing out at least a dozen more from her. By the end of it she was visibly swollen with his seed, she didn't know when she'd passed out, all she knew was that after what had to have been several hours later she woke up. The Sun just starting to peak in through the trees, and nothing except the copious amounts of cum left behind to show the wolf had ever been there. The batteries on the laptop were long since dead.

[redbug]

Pot 1

I had a lot to talk about after work today and not a soul to spill it all to, so I guess all good things (being generally ignorant of tumblr) come to an end. I honestly wasn't feeling too great about my job all summer, I was a little bored, my house was uncomfortable (historical New England house, figures it was meant for when Maine was still cold and didn't feel like 95...thanks exxon), my workplace was sort of messy; overall it just felt really unfulfilling. Like a summer job. And I feel like I'm at the point in my life and academic career where I can, and should, do more than that. But things have nearly completely turned around over the past week.

Recently (as in literally last month) I've become obsessed with lobsters. It started because we got two brand new ones in at my job. They were wild caught and sitting in the market crates when one of our researchers found them. They're both 1/30 million in rarity; one is completely orange (she looks like she's already been cooked, lol) and the other is "calico" or "cinnamon" (very dark brown with yellow speckles). For the purposes of anonymous blogging, I'm just going to call them Orange and Calico. Calico is crazy to look at, and by crazy I mean cool. I've never seen a lobster that looks like that. It was like love at first sight (little did I know how little answers I would get about why-she-even-looks-like-that, but for another time). But from that point forward I have done absolutely nothing but think, talk, and read about lobsters.

Within the first few days, easily 20 hours of reading. That number's about doubled now, as of the time of writing this. I never really even considered liking lobsters to begin with. I knew nothing about them and didn't care to before Calico. As it turns out, though, they're really interesting animals in nearly every regard. I mean, these animals have fascinating chemistry happening in the cuticle just to "produce" color, they have long and complicated courtship, their anatomy is freakishly cool, and not to mention how historically and culturally significant the fishery is here- though I suppose perhaps that's thanks to people. Either way- a criminally underrated animal. Not a food, but an animal. It feels weird to type that being that I study zoology- and even more so being that I concentrate in entomology. Lobsters are, really, just wet bugs. After being on a lobster tirade and borrowing several of her books (thanks btw), my boss, T, approached me in the main room on one crowded day and said, "if I go downstairs [wet lab] and get you a lobster, could you do a lecture outside on the porch?" and, well, sure, I could come up with something. That some-thing is now a whole-thing. Every hour I do this damn lecture and god I don't think I can get tired of it. The guests just go nuts for it too. Sometimes I even do personal and private lectures for special tour groups that we have come in. I get such thoughtful and insightful questions about lobsters afterwards and it makes me believe that nobody ever gave the public the idea that this was an interesting animal, either.

I was taking out the trash after we closed one day and a couple of the administrative staff for the department I work for said that they love the lecture and they always open up their office window so that they can hear it from just across the breezeway. I keep my mic on during questions- they say they just keep learning new things. Apparently they were so fond of it that they decided to let our bureau director (who was previously the head lobster biologist) know how great this random thing I had put together on the spot was. I've actually now grown quite fond of Orange, I know her a little better than I do Calico, because T chose to bring Orange up that day I sealed my fate as the lobster information booth. We were struggling a little bit with guest expectations because people are afraid of change, and the building is entirely different from when it closed down during the start of the Covid-19 pandemic (which is still happening by the way!). Once this lobster thing took off we knew we had to keep it. I've written down loads of information and scripting for my coworkers so they can do the lectures in my absence, T made signs to advertise it, they gave me a bigger microphone, hell, they even set up a new tank for it so that I don't have to walk a live lobster around like an idiot. Though Orange decided she'd had enough and went on a minor hunger strike, so fair enough, and we now use our Cotton Candy lobster- who's 1 in 100 million. He's kind of a drama queen but once you pick him up his attitude can be summarized by "I guess I'm here now". And he's continued eating, so, probably more fit for the bill anyhow. We have all of the weird colors except for white and split, by the way. It's like I'm trading on Animal Jam again. They all have different rarity rankings.

During this whole thing I've been keeping contact with the current lobster biologist, F. She's awesome. Her and her colleagues gave us a great presentation on the fishery during our training and they're all a wealth of knowledge. Today she decided to meet with me in person to chat a little more about trends we're seeing in the Gulf right now as far as conditions and populations. I'll cut to the more exciting chase: They are going to try and get me on a contracted lobster boat to observe a real vent-less trap survey this month. Just to see! I'm so excited. I think the physical experience will be really good for me. It's one thing to read about it and hear about it- it's another to be there. Besides, what an amazing opportunity? Invaluable to experience that in my undergraduate career- especially because I just happened to be really good at talking to people about wet bugs.

I can really, hardly contain my excitement, in all seriousness. It's not a promise or a certainty but damn, I hope so! I originally asked F if there were aaaaany programs she knew of that could maybe get me out on a boat someday- I totally wasn't expecting for the answer to be 'yeah, with us'! It's slightly frustrating that I have to keep this news on the dl at work or be quite literally bombarded by my coworkers- who are capable of and encouraged to email the lobster scientists, too, if they want, but only ever seem interested when I do it- because it's not that they are interested in lobsters, but rather that they suffer from terrible FOMO. Our facility is small, and all of the sort of "lower" employees live together in provided housing, and if there's one thing I've learned about them, it's that: if you do it, and if you have it, they have to too. It's really strange sometimes. Regardless of whether or not they get that sorted out, I have been thinking a lot, too, about the people I might meet on this trip. Getting to learn where people came from to wind up in their research is oddly encouraging to me. Plus, more people to pester about lobsters. I wonder what I'll be doing. I wonder what the boat will look like. I wonder how many lobsters I'll see. I wonder! Eek!

Aside from lobsters (thank god it's over amirite?), lots of other really fortunate things are happening at work lately. Everyone has seemed to pick up on and enjoy my knack for preserving the occasional dead animal we (inevitability) end up with. They're nice teaching tools for the facility, in my defense. About a week or two ago now a man approached me because of the shark on my name tag and asked if we wanted his 9-foot hammerhead shark mount (with real jaws!) as he was moving and couldn't take it with him. I wish in that moment I said no, I want it, but alas I did the right thing and directed him to my boss. Well, T wants me to be the one to help retrieve it! How cool! I saw pictures of it- it's beautifully done. Shark "mounts" are usually fiberglass, lightweight composite, or casted- which of course depending on the skill of the artist can look tacky if the paint job is bad or the shark's features are.. exaggerated. I was very impressed with this one though. Beautiful, graceful and realistic. I'll be picking it up for the facility at the end of the season.

It truly does not end there. Two years ago, my workplace put in a permit request to collect some specimens from this sort of depository that the state has of materials from otherwise illegal-to-possess animals to be used for science/education purposes. Well they finally heard back with a yes. T actually wants my help curating whatever collection of things that we take. My university doesn't offer any curation programs/courses/experiences, or I'd have taken them in a heartbeat. She gave me a list of species and asked me to read through and take note of what I'd like to grab if available. I'm not sure when we'd be receiving them but I can't wait for it, either.

Speaking of curation, after one of my lobster lectures today my coworker, who is working here on an internship through her university, introduced me to her.. other boss? Not sure what to call her, H. They must have already been talking about my affinity for playing with carcasses because she opened the conversation after the handshake straightaway with how she has this space that her and her colleagues are working on, I don't remember what she called it, it's meant to be educational but the important part is that she wants to fill it with bugs, skulls etc. I looked at her like this when she said that, I think. So I told her of course I would be happy to help and offer a couple of pieces because it sounds like a nice place, and that I'd shoot her an email. And then she drops this bombshell, "Well, we have grant money for this, so, we would probably want to pay you". Any annoyance I felt when my coworker promptly begged me to 'please teach her everything!!!' (despite having explained the entire process of cleaning a carcass, proper pinning technique, and what chemicals of what concentrations to use for wets at least twice EACH) for the fifth time this week (I mean, seriously, just read. You're going into science) was immediately overlooked and overshadowed. I felt at this point that I had received so much good news and so many good opportunities today that something catastrophic was bound to happen. Eek! Somebody has yet to pinch me, is all that I'm saying!

I say at work that I'm "wiggling" or "stumbling" into these positions, or that I'm having great luck, but truthfully, it has to be me, too, right? I've been working really hard- to do good, to be knowledgable, to be professional, and I really think it's paying off. It can't be coincidence that all of these people see something in me worth mentioning, worth bringing on boats, worth tasking, and worth hiring. I was feeling so down and unsure about myself at the beginning of the summer, and about my potential as having a career begins to become a more serious idea, but this has all been really pleasant and really affirming that I am where I should be, and most importantly that I'm making it. This is a message to be kinder to yourself, I guess. You could try liking lobsters too, maybe they'll bring you their (apparently very many) blessings.

That's really mostly everything from work I wanted to get off of my mind. My hands regularly get fissures from some immune issues I have, and I, unfortunately, think that the open skin contracted an infection via the ~ubiquitous touch tank~, so it's amazing I've been well enough composed for all of this considering the medication I had to take this morning makes me a liiittle.. drowsy. In other mundane news, I've gotten really great at cooking fish, I think. I wish I fished as often as I fished at the beginning of the summer.. you can't beat a nice oven-baked striper.

I turn 21 in 2 days, so that's cool! Can't wait to shoot pool with a DRINK this time! Any pool lovers!? Any drink lovers!?? I think I'll order a mojito.