#so even obvious results are not a true measure

[drgnmnts]

knuckles bruised (like violets) │ jacaerys velaryon x targaryen!OC

Title: knuckles bruised (like violets)

Pairing: Jacaerys Velaryon x Targaryen!OC (Daenys Targaryen, daughter of Viserys I Targaryen and Alicent Hightower)

Summary: There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin, especially for those caught in between, longing only for peace as they're met with fire and blood.

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Chapter 1 - Child's Play

Word count: 1.7K

Born during a warm summer storm, Daenys Targaryen came into the world only one year after her brother Aemond, unaware that her arrival would be met with her father’s painful indifference and an ever-present frown on her mother’s brow. Daenys spent the first years of her life wondering what it could be that made her parents treat her so. The possibility of being an unwanted child quickly dissipated after Daeron was welcomed with warm caresses and kind smiles. She considered that her gender might be the reason for such treatment, but her mother doted on Helaena, and every one of her peculiarities was watched endearingly by the rest. Daenys even proved herself extraordinary when, at the age of nine, she claimed Silverwing, one of the largest dragons in the history of Westeros. This achievement earned her the praise of her uncle Daemon and the jealousy of Aemond, but to her mother, it was just another source of worry rather than a remarkable feat.

The answer came to her one morning as the maids made her and Helaena’s beds, unaware that she was still in the room, looking for a book: she resembled Rhaenyra too closely in her youth. Unfortunately, there was nothing Daenys could do to fix the issue her parents saw in her, for it was intrinsic to her very being. To her father, she was a disappointment, a feeble attempt at replacing the realm’s former delight; to her mother, a constant reminder of the girl she grew up with, a friend turned adversary she both despised and deeply missed in equal measure.

It was oddly liberating for Daenys to realize that it wasn’t something she had caused or could change, making any blame directed towards her utterly senseless. With time, Daenys learned to ignore their judgmental gazes, cutting remarks, and outright indifference. It hurt, yes, but Daenys was a dragon, and dragons had thick skin—thicker even than the armor of Aegon the Conqueror. 

She was now eleven, still a girl, but one who carried herself with regal composure and a dignity beyond her years. Daenys had long lost interest in her sibling’s squabbles or her nephew’s frolics: she only found true enjoyment in riding Silverwing. Her dragon was a magnificent beast, doing justice to her name with her silver scales that covered the entirety of her body, surpassed in size only by the old and mighty Vhagar. Unlike Laena Velaryon’s dragon, Silverwing was an affable and docile creature, considered friendly by the Dragonkeepers, which made sense given that her previous rider had been Good Queen Alysanne. Claiming Silverwing had given her a sense of belonging she had yearned for in her early childhood, reminding her that it did not matter what others saw in her: she was a Targaryen princess in her own right, a unique dragonrider with her own life and her own story. She might resemble her half-sister, but she was not her. 

Despite her obvious inability to treat Daenys as she deserved, Queen Alicent found comfort in her daughter’s disregard for the Velaryon boys.  This indifference was, of course, a result of the poison Alicent had been dripping into Daenys’ ear all her life, perhaps in an attempt to draw her girl away from Rhaenyra as much as possible. The Queen was fearful that her daughter would discover she had more in common with the King’s firstborn than just appearance, and her sons were the first tie she made sure to cut before it could bind them together. Thus, while Helaena played with little Lucerys and Aegon bickered with Jacaerys, Daenys simply ignored them, regarding the bastard boys as unworthy of her attention.

As Silverwing landed in the Dragonpit, her song alerting the Dragonkeepers that the Princess had returned from her morning ride, Daenys was met with her brother Aemond already there, watching. The egg placed in his cradle at birth had never hatched, and the boy still hadn’t found the courage in him to claim one of the wild ones. Daenys often thought about how unfair it was, since Aemond was more than eager to be a dragonrider, yet he might never know what it feels like to bond with one.

“Mother is cross with you,” he informed his sister as she patted Silverwing’s head, the dragon answering with a contented murmur. 

“I wonder why,” Daenys replied, showing no sign of concern over her brother’s words.

“You didn’t break your fast with us. You know she does not like it.”

“Ah, yes… I didn’t want to listen to them fighting about Rhaenyra’s baby,” she said, “has she had it yet?”

Aemond nodded and walked with his sister through the dark corridors connecting the Dragonpit to the Red Keep, his back straight, always trying to make himself look taller than he actually was.

“Yes. Another boy. Healthy and strong.”

At her brother’s comment, Daenys snorted. It was an ongoing joke between her and her brothers how Rahenyra’s offspring looked nothing like Laenor Velaryon and way too much like Ser Harwin Strong, the Commander of the City Watch. It was an insult to the realm, something Daenys condemned greatly, often using her mother’s words when discussing the issue with her siblings.

“I’ll apologize to mother, then. She must be upset enough as it is,” the girl stated, stopping at the door to her chambers. She was in urgent need of a bath, especially if she was planning to visit her mother. “I’ll be studying with Helaena in the afternoon, if you’d like to join.”

Aemond shook his head, his eyes kind when he looked at his sister. 

“Aegon’s asked me to accompany him to see how they feed Vermax. I don’t want to, but…”

“It’s alright, Aemond. Your moment will come, I’m sure of it,” she comforted him. “I wish mother would let us sail to Dragonstone… you could try to claim Vermithor. He coils with Silverwing when we fly to the Dragonmont, but never lets me get close.”

The idea had crossed Aemond’s mind more times than he cared to admit: their great-grandfather, Jahaerys I, had ridden Vermithor, just as his sister-wife Alysanne had ridden Silverwing. Their reign had been a peaceful and prosperous one, and the pair had loved each other dearly. It was a nice thought, one that Aemond indulged in whenever he pictured himself as a man: riding one of the largest dragons in the world, with his sister by his side.

A beautiful dream, but a childish one.

The door opened suddenly, a maid letting the Princess know that her bath was ready. With a squeeze on his arm, Daenys said goodbye to her brother and disappeared behind the heavy wooden doors.

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Queen Alicent was too busy feeling outraged by Princess Rhaenyra’s indecency, so Daenys avoided her mother’s scolding without much effort. Daenys was sitting next to Helaena, who was lost in her thoughts, explaining the various facts she knew about the bug she was examining. It was obvious that Alicent found her daughter’s explanations odd and perhaps a bit disturbing, but Daenys appreciated that at least her mother was making an effort to understand her, something that most people chose not to do. Listening to her sister’s voice, Daenys paid little attention to the book resting on her legs, a story about Valyrian customs. Helaena was a good sister, despite her distant mind and how little they had in common: where Daenys was daring and audacious, Helaena was calmer and gentler, both in speech and action. Sometimes, Daenys wished she could be a bit more like her sister; perhaps that way her mother would love her a little more.

“It has eyes, though… I don’t believe it can see,” Helaena explained, the centipede walking freely through her hands.

“And why do you think that is?” their mother asked.

“It is beyond our understanding,” she replied.

“Perhaps to cry for its own ugliness,” Daenys joked, and she could have sworn she saw the ghost of a laugh cross her mother’s features.

The door burst open, and a guard stepped inside the room, carrying Aemond by the arm. He was crying and covered in ash.

“After how many times you’ve been warned, must I confine you to your chambers?!” their mother scolded him, grabbing him by the arms to ensure he was unharmed.

“I just-,” he tried, but was quickly cut off by Alicent.

“What were you doing down there alone?”

Aemond’s eyes darted towards Daenys, which was enough for Alicent to draw her own conclusions.

“Again?!” she roared, letting go of Aemond and speeding toward Daenys. She grabbed her arm and pulled her up by the sleeve of her dress. “How many times do I have to tell you to stop filling your brother’s head with fantasies about those beasts?!”

“I didn’t! I just told him he would claim a dragon someday, it’s not-”

“As if he needed more encouragement!”

The grip Alicent had on her daughter’s arm started to hurt, and tears began to prickle at the corners of Daenys’ eyes.

“Mother, it wasn’t Daenys,” Aemond tried to defend his sister. “She encouraged me to claim a dragon, yes, but I wouldn’t have gone down to the Dragonpit had it not been for their teasing…”

“Whose?” the Queen inquired.

“Aegon,” Helaena chimed in, her eyes still observing her bugs, but somehow able to pinpoint the culprit right away.

“Yes, and… those bastards…” Aemond added, his voice barely a whisper when he pronounced the word. “They made fun of me, tricked me into believing they had found me a dragon and it… it was a pig,” he explained, visibly embarrassed.

It was only after realizing that it had been the boys who had pushed Aemond to act so recklessly that Alicent became aware of the strength she was using to hold her daughter’s arm. She immediately let go. Daenys’ face was red and her eyes watery, but the girl hadn’t uttered a word of protest to her mother’s abuse.

Alicent sighed, and for a moment she looked older than she was. 

“Go wash, Aemond,” the Queen commanded her son, who turned on his heel immediately, making his way to his quarters. “We shall finish later, yes?” she proposed to Helaena, who had been a mere witness to the whole spectacle. She bent down to kiss her eldest daughter’s head and, without sparing Daenys a single look, left the girls’ chambers. It was only in Helaena’s solitary company that Daenys allowed herself to cry. Her arm hurt, but what hurt the most was that not a single day went by without her mother scolding her for something she had done or said. 

“Don’t cry, Daenys,” she heard Helaena say after some time, her gentle fingers combing through her little sister's hair. “None of this will matter soon.”

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No Jace in this chapter, but he's coming! I just wanted to set the tone a bit and introduce our lovely Daenys.

If you liked this, let me know in any way! :)

[anantaru]

— how he kisses you

including alhaitham, heizou, scaramouche, xiao x gn! reader

꒰ genre ꒱ — fluff, xiao's is kinda embarrassing idk he doesn't have a clue, making out mwah mwah

— alhaitham + easy but calculated

focus, please focus, alhaitham was divulging inwardly, and he was aware that if you noticed the slight nervousness perching in his settling limbs and muscles right now, you would most definitely have an ecstatic blast of embarrassingly badgering him for what would feel like an eternity.

in the general run of things, he took most things in his life vastly easy and tremendously undemanding, without overthinking them under any circumstances. your boyfriend alhaitham has long since grasped on that adding unsought energy into individual aspects in his life were mostly never ensuing in good results.

but he cannot shake off the calculated nature of himself, not even when he rounds his lips on top of yours. essentially the route he took, holding your face gently in his large palms before pulling you a tilt closer for about three seconds, pressing his lips on you just a teeny tiny bit more, before leaving the pressure to decline.

you sigh out heavenly, then slant forward into his body, your lips spaciously molded around his own as alhaitham sneakily gnaws down on your bottom lip, pulling away before catching a hold of his own breathing. the subtle ridge of a blush, brilliantly red— describing the passion in his heart that he experienced when a magnetic force pulled you together.

it's always stronger than anything you’ve both felt before whenever you kiss, whenever you find yourself comforted by his lips and trace, his thumbs crowning your cheeks and the implications of it all.

seeing alhaitham like this— how he was enjoying himself with you and how much you reveled in benevolently watching him.

you answer the fullness of his tongue demanding entrance as you slightly part your lips, shaping your wet muscle against him while extending your hands to find true haven in his soft hair, sculpturing your nails into his scalp, distantly, but enough so he'd heave out a deep sigh. occasionally you're pulling him back by his strands, so you could look at him low lidded, out of breath with bleary eyes, something which will stuck in your mind forever.

— heizou + fast and exciting

heizou might get lost in your kisses, just a little. because while he was kissing you, he never felt more alive and his mind rewired when you hug him tight, traversing your physical distance in less time than it took to blink yourself into a marvelous dream.

for that, he will forever be yours.

your erratic breaths weave together at each new amassed sweep of his tongue, your eyes remaining latched shut while you litter your arms around his neck to keep him as near as possible, meantime his rosy fragrance— scenting of sweet sakura blooms on a warm evening in inazuma city, was planing over your flaring nostrils and made his impressive presence feel all the more intensely.

all the more— meaningful.

directly, you ruffle your fingers into his hair in midst the obvious heaviness of heizou's expressing and dominating kisses, while his thumbs stroke along the outline of your cheek to shift you into him.

you can taste it, a little smile bridging over his lips, anew, when you tug on his hair, although gently, he sought after feeling it again. he gasps at another tug and you take the opportunity to nip on his bottom lip, only gently, but adding a dot of pressure for good and sweet measure.

with the nuance of this spontaneous act, which was usually quite unplanned and all over the place— wether it be the shy, awkward giggles or his eagerness to touch and cherish every inch of you, he was also skilled and indulgently exciting to you and whenever it was you doing something like this to him instead, heizou could see himself become consigned to oblivion.

it makes his mouth water.

no thoughts, no focus, only passion and the pain of wanting more each minute.

he's devilish, bending you forward into his lap, and his depictions of love were never idle. in outline, your expression must've been telling him that much, that you wouldn't want it any other way.

— scaramouche + nervous but passionate

if it were somehow possible to him, scaramouche would certainly scream into a pillow right now, over and over until his lungs would give up on him. he‘s abstrusely nervous— profoundly frazzled in his shoulders and lower back as he notices how you‘re inclining into his chest, fractionally, one at a time until perfectly screened in his arms.

he doesn‘t want to mess it up nor overdo it or screw it up or what about exaggerate it or— hold on, kuni's panicking again, quite jittery as he pulls away from you for a second, catching you off guard— it‘s twice as much embarrassing now, when you look at him disoriented.

what a damned nonsense, he huffs out, how hard could kissing possibly be?

"are you okay?" the concern was trammeling in your frame and manifesting in your tonality, "we can stop if you want."

but how does he tell you that there was nothing in this world he'd genuinely loathe more than stopping this right now, not when it felt so bloody exhilarating to him.

"no." scaramouche coughs, "no, no." although realizing he answered a little too quick.

you back away a little to give him enough space but he holds you in his gentle arms instead, as if scared you'd leave entirely, "don't stop." and he closes his eyes now, taking a deep breath before pulling you back into his lips. audibly this time, you whine into him but let yourself float in his content motions.

once you're in his warp, you leave it to scaramouche to control and manage how he saw fit, so he could experiment but also focus on what you preferred.

you slowly lick across his tongue, tilting your head a little, and something in your chest unbuttons when you place attention towards the feathery whines your boyfriend would huff out ever so lightly, signalizing that he's unhurriedly finding more confidence now.

another shiver quells inwardly, a slight weakening of the knees and you're on a thread— he's flawless at it, passionate and so content that you were surprised on how skilled he was at kissing and soothing your lips, still nervous but wanting, wanting to show you how insatiable you really were to him.

— xiao + erratic and eager

for xiao, it‘s all about learning and understanding about what you would be more partial to— yet he forgets about himself and entirely focuses on you, more often than you'd prefer.

which, in hindsight, wasn‘t a bad thing per se, but, you had to repeatedly mime and indicate that you wanted him to feel good and loved as well. to a large extent was kissing something very intimate and it's shared by two, not kept to one.

his bare lips are hot on top of yours, scorching and eager, while his movements were erratic and modestly sloppy at first, but your boyfriend was a fast learner and refrained from bumping his teeth against your own pearly whites. yet you're patient, very much so, kissing silent words into his mouth as xiao adds his tongue, muffling, almost pleading, motions telling you things words never could scratch on.

his hands tremble against your hips, each gnaw of his fingers digging past your flesh brought every nerve in your body to a complete standstill and your brain locked in electricity— up till now, why he was holding onto you this strongly was not necessarily due to nervousness or due to him being anxious, but xiao simply did not know were to put them or what to do with them.

but it's cute, his actions and shyness, you want to kiss and kiss and kiss him forever.

once more have you pulled away to plant a playful mirage of kisses on his parted lips, worshipping his pretty features— your sweet lover was wholly out of breath while leaning back into the couch, exposing his bobbing adams apple to you and taking note to go a dab slower next time, or well, after you kiss him again.

but when you do, when you plunge back into this lips at last, a deep, simmering sort of proclamation saunters into his chest, taking him by surprise and building in gentle enlargements of transparent love into his body.

xiao truly longed to burn that feeling into his mind forever and reminisce about it whenever you aren't together.

©2023 anantaru do not repost, copy, translate, modify

[sunyfan]

The Number That Changes Everything

3 years ago, I had suspicions that Rex might have a different age. So to dispel all my doubts, I began to draw a timeline of events using measurable facts:

Besides the show, there are other sources indicating that Rex’s current age is 15 years old.

I get it, Man of Action, it’s a “red line” that I shouldn’t cross if I really want to know the truth ^_^

As a result, I got 5 scales:

These scales on Rex’s timeline:

Even in the first version of the graph I have obvious conclusions:

Rex’s birthday is clearly not the same date as Six’s, despite the fact that an entire episode was devoted to this topic.

The Nanite Event and Six’s memory loss also did not occur on this date, otherwise we learned it from Caesar.

Yeas, the show has a character like Caesar, but lack of mention or hint of Rex’s true age from him, don’t letting me to set colored scales correctly..

I could have made a lot of versions of scales location, but something told me to pay attention to dots and that there is also a connection between them..

Hmm… dots forming another scale…

No way..

You’ve got to be kidding me?

Is it for real?

So thanks to WIKI I can even set the correct proportions!

Since things of «Lions and Lambs» and «Back to Black» happen on the same day for Rex, I placed dots on the same level.

I can’t make the dot’s scale longer/shorter because it affects the time and course of events

Well, I have the correct positions of colored scales (second graph), but still no answers. Perhaps if I add Six’s timeline, it will be easier for me to search.

Based on Six’s timeline, almost 2 years have passed in the show, and since there is not a single hint about Rex’s age in the series, so it’s quite possible that the answer lies in the gap of 6 months. But how far should I move Rex’s scale?

The show featured numbers such as «5», «6», «10» (Ben 10) and «15», where the number «6» has a special meaning:

Only 6 Master Control Nanites 6th dangerous man on the planet Six lost 6 years of memory Rex remembers his last 6 years Rex was sent 6 months into the future

Definitely, creators have another, special number and they had moments when they changed the airing dates of episodes just for this certain number. And I can tell which episode this happened.

The show has a special: «HEROES UNITED», the official release of which was 11.25.2011, in other words, it was the 3rd episode on air, but on GRwiki it goes as the 11th episode. Why did they decide to use 11?

I know MOA have such a character as Kevin 11, you don’t have to comment about it ^^

Besides this, «11» also relates to the another ep. like «Back to Black» which was released on the beautiful date: 11.11.2011. It’s remarkable that just in this episode we learn how scared Rex can be when he sees that Providence instantly changed for him, like he had lost his memory again.

But he is not the only one. Six also was in same situation. And do you know what I found out? «11» has its plase in «Six minus Six» too!

When Six was released from his obligation to search for Rex’s family, and One was gone, the anxiety is over in his life. But it wasn’t for long. Сreators hinted back in the series “Promises, Promises” that changes await him.. Six: «Whether for good or ill, our fates will follow the same path».

But that’s not all!

This is it, guys…

One day… some artists of the show published their resume of Generator Rex in honor of it’s anniversary.

Guys!..

It was in 11th Anniversary! 11th! This number is truly special, no less than «6»!

It was in «Six minus Six» where Six changed, It was in «Back to Black» where Providence has changed, It was in «Heroes United» where Ben helped save the World from Alpha, changing Rex’s Builds. And it was on the day when Six found Rex, boy’s life IS CHANGED!

Rex was 11 years old!

I’m not sure that Rex’s and Six’s birthdays are identical, but it’s enough for me to know that these dates in that same 6-month gap. As a result, Rex missed both of his birthdays according to the calendar and memory. And the fact that Rex remembers 6 years was a clue to his true age all these years … astoundingly o_O

Man of Action, I'm giving a standing applaud! It feels like a whole paradigm has changed!.. For good, of course ^^

BONUS

When I was studying the coincidences with the number 11, I thought that if I slightly change the positions of episodes of Season 3, because the existing one looks unnatural and this is what I got:

As far as I remember, starting from the “Black and White”, both sides began to search for meta-nanites and apparently the last one should have been found in special episode, in which Six’s memory should be back too, because it was maaany hints abouth this [ in ep. «End Game 1 & 2» ]… and so as we found out, the creators leave hints for a reason. Also in the same special, the leadership of Providence passes from Black Knight to White, because in the episode «End Game 2» after Rex was kidnapped, Six receives support from the army.

[fallout-mars]

so good right now

pairing: tk strand/carlos reyes

rating: explicit

chapter: 1/4

chapter word count: 11.5k

does my boss count as my co-worker? TK types into Google. “Uh, yeah, dude, obviously,” Nancy says from behind. “What have you done now?” TK glares at her, slamming the lid of his laptop down before the results have even loaded. “Nothing!” he insists, but he's aware that his whole face is dripping in guilt. It’s obvious. No matter how true his words might be, he looks guilty. “Dude,” Nancy scoffs. For extra measure, she rolls her eyes and leans on the back of his chair. “Don’t tell me you wanna bang your boss?” Perhaps his silence says more than anything.

in which PA TK seems to think that sleeping with his boss is a good idea. Spoiler alert: it's not.

read chapter one here!

[updates on Mondays]

i also made a book cover!

[howlsofbloodhounds]

I don't have any headcanons to drop but instead a question.

What do you think Killer is even experimenting on or for? For what purpose? I need ideas 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

I just need to an excuse to draw Killer in a lab coat so bad

Probably things to do with Determination, strange souls, and of course; codes. He will probably try to find a way to see if any other monster can naturally develop levels of Determination by placing them in scenarios that directly mirror his experiences; aka he will probably torture them psychologically.

He could try to convince them to do something that goes against their beliefs and self concept. If someone deeply values loyalty, he will experiment with what it takes to make them do something to betray whoever or whatever they’re loyal to, or the other way around.

If someone values kindness, he will tempt them into doing or saying unkind things—or anything that makes them believe others are being unkind to them to provoke paranoia. (Drug use? To induce hallucinations and then make them believe certain things are true?)

A lot of this is curiosity, and fulfillment of sadism and power. But a lot of it may be reenactment to either make sense of what happened to him, or to see if it can be replicated, or simply to prove that there’s truly nothing he could’ve done to change anything—like. If even weaker lesser things like the test subjects fell for what he fell for, then it’s proof he was weak before and therefore couldn’t have done anything, but he’s stronger now because he wouldn’t fall for such easy cheap tricks.

The next most obvious may be messing around with fusion, soul fusion. Taking and mixing and matching, seeing what could or couldn’t result from it. And if it’s possible to force a fusion.

Uh. When it comes things like humans, he will definitely try to understand their anatomy—and he will also probably experiment with pain and death. How much can a human or monster body and soul take before death? He might carefully time and measure these things. He will probably come up with various creative methods and ways to kill—what is the easiest, the fastest, the slowest, the most painful.

He will probably take advantage of his Reset, Load and Save here too. Will they be able to recognize that they have died before? Will they feel deju vu? Will they just think they’ve been drugged or gone insane? Will they not notice at all?

He will likely test a lot of these things on himself as well. How much can this body and soul take before it collapses. He might be fascinated to realize that his tolerance for death and pain far exceeds most normal people, and if this remains true while he experiments on other versions of himself as well, perhaps this would only fuel his sense of superiority.

He may mock and criticize victims for crying and being dramatic—either because he’s being an asshole, or because he’s genuinely so far removed from these concepts that it doesn’t get why they’re all screaming and blubbering. They aren’t dead yet, and they’ll be fine by the next Reset.

Or alternatively, he may be curious and fascinated by their reactions—and deliberately do and say things to gain reactions and responses. If he’s experimenting on someone he’s found himself kinda sort liking, such as Color for example, perhaps he’d do the traditionally comforting actions—petting their head, kissing their forehead, gently rubbing or patting limbs while dissecting, praising them, telling them how pretty and beautiful they are bloody/crying/tied down/being good for him/etc, perhaps promising itll be over soon and they’ll feel better soon.

I think it’d be cool if he somehow finds a way to dissect a soul like it’s a heart.

And those are all the ideas I have right now. Im not a scientist person, so everyone feel free to chime in!

{ @toffeebrew }

[evidence-based-activism]

do you have anything for men leaving or cheating on their pregnant/sick wife? thank you in advance

Thank you for this ask anon! I had heard anecdotes about this topic, but never delved into academic literature before now so I learned a lot researching this!

The research is somewhat limited, but I believe I have the salient points.

---

Divorce and Illness

This article [1] is the most striking of the sources I found. Physicians at cancer center noted that -- as they treated years of patients -- men were often divorcing their terminally ill wives, but the reverse generally didn't occur. Despite this, the general literature at the time suggested that cancer diagnoses don't affect divorce rates. Given this discrepancy, they completed their own study (on patients with a brain tumor, non-brain tumor, or multiple sclerosis) and found that "divorce or separation occurred at a rate similar to that reported in the literature (11.6%) ... [but there was] a greater than 6-fold increase in risk after diagnosis when the affected spouse was the woman (20.8% vs 2.9%; P < .001)." In other words, serious illness onset didn't appear to affect divorce rates, only because men's tendency to divorce their sick wives was offset by women's reduced likelihood of divorcing their sick husbands. I should note, however, that this result may be (at least partially) unique to severely ill patients.

This study [2] indicates that "only measures of wife’s illness onset are associated with elevated risk of divorce", however, due to several factors, the study is under-powered and cannot draw definitive conclusions.

This research review [3] suggests cancer diagnosis doesn't affect divorce/separation rates, but appears to be involve mainly non-terminal patients. This is not necessarily a disadvantage; they are simply addressing different populations: a smaller population of severely ill individuals vs a larger general community population. This may suggest that men (the ones who would divorce their sick wives) are initiating divorce because they see their wives as a "lost cause" (i.e., once they are no longer able to exploit their wives as a resource, they abandon them).

A bit of good news is that, overall, the majority of marriages don't end in divorce when either partner gets sick. That being said, this literature review [4] found "spousal caregivers of cancer patients suffered from physical, psychological, and socioeconomic morbidities, with female spousal caregivers reporting a higher level of distress". As such, when partnerships are retained, female caregivers tend to be more negatively affected than male caregivers.

The literature here was limited in that there's relatively few studies on the topic (and even fewer that disaggregate results by sex), most of the literature is focused only on cancer, and only divorce/separation has been studied (I couldn't find anything on infidelity during illness). That being said, the data that does exist confirms the anecdotal evidence shared by practitioners, patients, and other family of patients.

There is similar anecdotal evidence about men cheating on their very ill wives, so I would guess that if a study is ever performed on this topic it would provide similar results. (To be clear, however, I am claiming that this is definitely true, only that it is a reasonable hypothesis given prior results. It would also be significantly more difficult to perform a study on this topic; divorce rates are relatively easy to measure given their public nature, in contrast, infidelity could only be measured by self-report which - for obvious reasons - is much less likely to be reliable.)

---

Infidelity and Pregnancy

So, while the previously mentioned issues with studying infidelity do exist, there are still some researchers that study the phenomenon.

Unsurprisingly, men are substantially more likely to cheat than women [5, 6]. This study [6] indicates that, controlling for other demographics, men had a 120% higher likelihood of cheating than women. Part of this is explained by "value differences" that is, "because men’s sexual values are more permissive*, men faced fewer impediments to infidelity", and were, therefore, more likely to cheat. *They measured permissiveness by asking participants to rate how much they believe infidelity is wrong, on a scale ranging from "always wrong" to "not wrong at all".

For pregnancy specifically, this study [7] found that "wives’ pregnancy also increased the risk of infidelity for husbands". Specifically, they found that men had a 4.43 times higher odds of cheating when their wife was pregnant. (Take note that the study is a cross sectional design: this result comes from comparing the frequency of cheating for a group of men who's wives were pregnant vs a group of men who's wives were not pregnant, not a single group of men over time.)

Interestingly, dissatisfaction moved men's predicted odds of cheating in opposite directions when their wife was pregnant. That is: men's predicted odds of cheating when their wife was not pregnant was 2.8% for those "high in dissatisfaction" compared to 1.2% for those "low in dissatisfaction". When their wife was pregnant this increased to 11.9% for those high in dissatisfaction, and decreased to 0.2% for those low in dissatisfaction.

This relationship was confirmed by a research review [8], but overall there is limited research on the topic.

I also can't find any good statistics on the percentage of men who leave their pregnant partner, but the Pew Research Center [9] indicates that 27% of children in the USA "live apart" from their father (compared to 8% that live apart from their mother). When fathers live apart from their children, 27% of them do not visit and and additional 21% see them less than once a month. In addition, 31% of fathers who live apart from their children call or email their child less than once a month. Notably, these results appear to be self-report by the parent ... so it likely doesn't include men who are unaware they have a child. (It is possible they captured these cases via the child's mother; their methodology is somewhat unclear on this point.) The Census Bureau [10] describes similar results, indicating that 1 in 5 fathers are “absent” dads of all of their minor children.

---

Overall, men are significantly more likely to leave their ill wives compared to women leaving ill husbands, although this tendency may primarily apply to patients who are severely, chronically, or terminally ill. Women's pregnancy raises the odds of men's infidelity, but this effect may be limited to men who were/are "dissatisfied" with their relationship. Men are also much more likely to be uninvolved with their children than women.

I hope this helps you anon!

References below the cut:

Glantz, Michael J., et al. “Gender Disparity in the Rate of Partner Abandonment in Patients with Serious Medical Illness.” Cancer, vol. 115, no. 22, Nov. 2009, pp. 5237–42. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.24577.

Karraker, Amelia, and Kenzie Latham. “In Sickness and in Health? Physical Illness as a Risk Factor for Marital Dissolution in Later Life.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior, vol. 56, no. 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 420–35. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1177/0022146515596354.

Fugmann, Dominik, et al. “A Systematic Review: The Effect of Cancer on the Divorce Rate.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 13, Mar. 2022. Frontiers, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.828656.

Ng, Janet H. Y., et al. “Gender Differences in Cancer Spousal Caregiving: A Systematic Review.” Palliative & Supportive Care, vol. 21, no. 5, Oct. 2023, pp. 880–89. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478951523000731.

Blow, Adrian J., and Kelley Hartnett. “INFIDELITY IN COMMITTED RELATI0NSHIPS II: A SUBSTANTIVE REVIEW.” Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, vol. 31, no. 2, Apr. 2005, pp. 217–33. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2005.tb01556.x.

Treas, Judith, and Deirdre Giesen. “Sexual Infidelity Among Married and Cohabiting Americans.” Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 62, no. 1, Feb. 2000, pp. 48–60. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00048.x.

Whisman, Mark A., et al. “Predicting Sexual Infidelity in a Population-Based Sample of Married Individuals.” Journal of Family Psychology, vol. 21, no. 2, 2007, pp. 320–24. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.21.2.320.

Haseli, Arezoo, et al. “Infidelity and Its Associated Factors: A Systematic Review.” The Journal of Sexual Medicine, vol. 16, no. 8, Aug. 2019, pp. 1155–69. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2019.04.011.

Gretchen Livingston, and Kim Parker. “A Tale of Two Fathers.” Pew Research Center, 15 June 2011, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2011/06/15/a-tale-of-two-fathers/.

Monte, Lindsay M. “‘Solo’ Dads and ‘Absent’ Dads Not as Different as They Seem.” The Two Extremes of Fatherhood, United States Census Bureau, 5 Nov. 2019, https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2019/11/the-two-extremes-of-fatherhood.html.

[zvaigzdelasas]

So-called “neural networks” are extremely expensive, poorly understood, unfixably unreliable, deceptive, data hungry, and inherently limited in capabilities. In short: they are bad.

“Machine learning,” in the 1990s, came to mean “statistics-like data analysis methods that lack theoretical justification.” They are applicable to “messy” or “complex” data, meaning ones without the simple properties required to make traditional methods work. In this sense, they are “more powerful.” However, there’s no general reason they ought to work when they do, so it’s difficult to guess whether they will be adequate for particular uses.

It is also difficult to tell whether they are working. With traditional methods, there are principled ways of checking adequacy and understanding failures. Machine learning practice substitutes a purely empirical test: how well does a statistical model predict currently available data?4

That is justifiable only if future data will be sufficiently similar. It may be difficult or impossible to reason about whether that will be true. It is hard to know what the future will be like even in general; and the relevant measure of similarity is unique to the specific task and specific model. This makes it even easier to fool yourself with machine learning than with traditional statistics. It implies that responsible use requires near-paranoid distrust, and still greater commitment to on-going monitoring of accuracy. “Artificial intelligence” is currently almost synonymous with applications of a single method, error backpropagation. That is a statistical method misleadingly described as “neural networks” or “deep learning.” Backpropagation is currently applicable to tasks amenable to no other known method, but suffers major drawbacks.[...] I often put “neural networks” in scare quotes because the term is misleading: they have almost nothing to do with networks of neurons in the brain. Confusion about this is a major reason artificial “neural networks” became popular, despite their serious inherent defects. I will often refer to them as backprop networks, for that reason.[...] In most situations, well-understood traditional statistical methods, or machine learning methods that are less expensive and more understandable, work better.6 Plausibly, many times when people try backpropagation first (misguided by hype) and it works well enough to get put into use, alternatives would have worked better. When backpropagation succeeds quickly, it may be because the problem is trivial: for example, nearly-enough piecewise linear. In such cases, backpropagation is expensive overkill. For some tasks, however, backpropagation can produce astounding results that no other current method can approach.[…] Backprop networks frequently fool their creators into believing they can do things they can’t. This is not due to deliberate intent on their part. It’s due to non-obvious properties of statistical behavior which are hard to detect and hard to overcome.[...]

Backpropagation frequently finds ways of “cheating” by exploiting spurious correlations in the training data. Those are accidental patterns that show up reliably in training, but that don’t hold true where the network will be used. (The chart above is a funny example.) Finding spurious correlations is often easier for backprop than solving the problem the creator cared about.

Backprop networks work by interpolation: guessing answers based on similar cases in its training data. They are inherently unreliable when given inputs dissimilar to any they were trained on.[...] Network training is metaphorically similar to learning how things are likely to go from experience. The training data are like past experiences. They are situations (inputs) together with their results (outputs). Recommender AIs are trained on databases of past events in which people with particular traits did or didn’t click on particular ads. Language models are trained on databases of bits of previously-written text and what came next. “Interpolation” means guessing, when given a particular input that is not in the training data, that the correct output will be similar to the training outputs for the most similar training inputs. For example, paleontologists can estimate the length of sauropod dinosaur species from a single femur, if that’s the only known fossil. For some other species, there are complete fossil skeletons of known total and femur length. Given a new femur 2.0 meters long, it’s reasonable to estimate a total length of 20 meters, based on the nearest two species, one with a 1.5 meter femur and 15 meter total length, and another with a 2.5 meter femur and 25 meter total length. This is a linear interpolation—you just draw a line between (1.5, 15) and (2.5, 25), and find where 2.0 lies on it.10

Some people dismiss backprop networks as just doing interpolation. This is a mistake, however: the word “just” minimizes what interpolation can do [!]. Networks interpolate based on “similar” training data; but similar how? In the case of femur lengths, “similar” is just numerical closeness. But what makes two sentences similar? “The quokka bit the mayor” is similar to “The mayor bit the quokka” in one sense, and similar to “The head of the town council was savaged by an illegal pet marsupial” in another. How would you rate those similarities numerically? Finding a task-relevant measure of similarity accounts for backpropagation’s power[!]. Training creates a “latent space,” in which numerical closeness equates to similarity for prediction. “The quokka bit the mayor” and “The mayor bit the quokka” have identical words in a slightly different order. However, the distance between them in a text generator’s latent space should be large, because what follows is likely to be quite different. On the other hand, “The head of the town council was savaged by an illegal pet marsupial” should be quite close to “The quokka bit the mayor,” even though they share only one word. The sentences mean much the same thing, and can plausibly be followed by most of the same things. Backprop networks “just” do linear interpolation in latent space. But the results can seem like magic, or at least “intelligence,” if training manages to get meaningfully similar inputs close to each other in latent space. You can think of the latent space as abstracting a task-relevant ontology of categories from apparent features [!!!!!]. That predicts task-relevant similarity. Then it is apparent that good performance requires dense sampling in the latent space. Latent space is unimaginably huge and weird. Interpolation is linear, but latent space is highly nonlinear. Superficially similar inputs may correspond to very different places in latent space (as with swapping the quokka and the mayor). Given a new prompt, unless there was some training input that was nearby in latent space, the network’s output will likely be nearly random. This is why backprop depends on “big data”—vastly more than people require to learn anything.[...] What would be a good dinosaur length estimate if you found a 6 meter femur? This is termed an “out of distribution” input: nothing anywhere near that big has been recorded previously. You could scale up linearly and estimate 75 meters, but you’d probably be wrong. In this case, the linear estimate would not be an interpolation (between known cases), but an extrapolation (outside the range of known cases). Extrapolation is highly unreliable. [...] On this basis, we should expect poor network performance when there there’s nothing relevantly similar in its training data. We should expect any AI system produced with statistical methods to be unsafe in open-ended real world situations, which are vastly weirder and more complicated than any training data set.12 And, this has been the common experience.13[...] Is it feasible to get them to just notice when an input is out of distribution and refuse to proceed? As with the previous approach, this might help somewhat, but if the noticing method is also based on backprop, it won’t be reliable either.[...] So if people are really intelligent, how do we deal with stuff “way out of the training distribution”? In other words, situations unlike any we’ve seen before?21 What do we do that isn’t mere interpolation?[...]

The standard answer is that we apply reasoning. We can use a chain of deductive or causal logic to figure out a correct answer to a novel problem, or an effective course of action in a novel situation. For example, we might suppose that scaling up a sauropod linearly to 75 meters is implausible because weight grows as the cube of length. We might, further, reason about different body plans that could accommodate a 6 meter femur. We might use mechanical engineering stress analysis techniques to check their plausibility.

Many researchers assert that backprop networks don’t, and maybe can’t, reason logically, which is why they aren’t really intelligent. So, they say, that needs to get fixed somehow—either by coupling the backprop network with a logical reasoning system, or by training the network to reason itself.[...]

A “neural network” is simply a mathematical function, like a quadratic: ax²+bx+c. Unlike a quadratic, which has three fixed parameters (a, b, and c), current networks have billions.

The result of training is a network. That is, training produces a function with the parameters set to values that cause its outputs to approximate the training data. Once training is complete, the parameters are fixed permanently.

Training doesn’t change the form of the network function, just its parameters. The form is mainly fixed and chosen by researchers.5 This architectural choice is usually critical to performance, for reasons that are poorly understood.[...]

Backpropaganda claims that trained networks are inherently incomprehensible. They work by intuition, not rationality. They are holistic, where the failed symbolic AI approach was reductionist. Their intelligence is spread throughout the network, which in recent systems contains hundreds of billions of adjustable values. They contain no explicit representations, so it’s impossible to take them apart to find out what they’re doing.

As we saw in the reverse engineering section, this is false. Backprop networks are composed of small, specific bits with identifiable functional roles. They don’t work by holistic intuitive woo; they perform sensible computations, understandable in engineering terms.

However, the myth is convenient for both technical people and the decision makers who put systems into use.

For technologists, the supposed inscrutability frees you from an engineer’s moral responsibility for understanding what your product is doing and how. That’s hard work, and much less fun than building cool demos.

For decision makers, inscrutability is an advantage if it makes it infeasible to hold anyone to account for bad consequences.1

Inscrutability also frees technologists from understanding the messy, non-technical details of the particular real-world task you apply backprop to. It probably involves people, who are annoyingly unpredictable, so technologists don’t like thinking about them. Backprop is supposedly a universal learning method, so it will figure out everything about the task for you, and you never need to know.

[cryptidwithacopiccollection]

-points at you with delight and glee- FELLOW MARINE BIOLOGY/OCEANOGRAPHY ENTHUSIAST!!! hi I love your mer-attorneys and all the sea creatures you pick it delights my inner fish immensely

FKJHSAJHKSDKHSD THANK YOU!!

This whole AU would not have been possible without @original-character-chaos, who contributed to like half of the creature picks for the mers. It started out as me making a joke that if Miles Edgeworth was a mer, he'd be a frilled shark. Nox then asked if Gumshoe would be an octopus. Then I decided Franziska would be a sixgill because I love sixgills. We promptly spiraled out of control from there.

And when I say spiraled oh boy do I mean it. Under the cut is several paragraphs of infodumping.

First was our basic criteria: only deepsea animals.

Next came picking out deepsea animals for everyone. At this point we had Mia, Maya, Pearl, and Miles figured out, but we needed something for phoenix. At first I tossed around the idea of a coelacanth, since they're both blue and incredibly persistent, but they aren't able to swim very deep (only 700m down, mia would have had a 6,000 meter lead on him). Then I was looking up deep sea sharks. and one name stood out as odd to me. The basking shark was on there. Which was weird, they're surface dwellers. They literally have "basking" in their name, why would they be deepsea. Then I found out that they can dive up to 2,000 meters below the surface. for reference, that is as deep as GIANT SQUIDS.

And then it clicked that of COURSE Phoenix Wright, of all characters, would make a great deepsea mer to have basking in it's name. A few other factors, such as basking sharks being able to breach and being warm-blooded (just think of the cuddling possibilities), sealed him in.

Not only did we decide that we were only allowed to pick deepsea animals (reaching the twilight zone, aprox. 200 meters below sea level minimum, preferrably closer to the midnight zone at about 1,000 meters), but each character, save for identical twins, would be a different species. The specificity has gotten to the point where all mers in the Fey family have to be in the order scyphozoa, aka "true" sea jellies, and ON TOP OF THAT their bioluminescence directly correlates with their spritual power. So Mia, Maya, and pearl are all bioluminescent, but Dahlia and Iris aren't. Similarly, while we decided to give all characters distinct species, we also wanted bio family to show some relation to each other. So while Apollo is a thorny whiplash squid and Trucy's a vampire squid, they're both red cephalapods, and their common root, Thalassa, is a blanket octopus. Nox and I were kinda loosing our shit trying (and failing) to cross-reference the depth range of the gelatinous blanket octopus (Thalassa), which is different from a the shallow-dwelling rainbow blanket octopus, and even after digging up actual research papers our findings were unfortunately inconclusive. Another less complicated example is Manfred vonKarma, who we lovingly gave a greenland shark for the fact that he's old as fuck and also full of poison. Then of course Franziska had to be a shark too, so I said bluntnose sixgill because they are so fucking cool, and everyone sleeps on them.

And I mean it. Look up the largest sharks in the world. #1 will be the whale shark, for obvious reasons, the largest we've ever accurately measured was over 60 feet long. #2 will be the basking shark, which also checks out, their largest on record was over 40 feet.

But then you check for the next on the list. Now, weight-wise, the results do look different, but we're specifically focusing on the length of the shark from snout to tail-tip for this. And it's also where I start wanting to throw hands. On base reaction, most people would say the great white. A good record on measurements is this article, but they unfortunately appear to have fallen for the Great White propaganda, claiming the largest one on record was 23 feet. Wow, that's big! Sure would be cool if it was true. The largest great white that I can reliably find measurements on is Deep blue, who clocks in at just over 20 feet. There are unconfirmed reports from several hundred years ago of whites that were well over thirty feet... that I don't believe were actually great whites. See, they bear a striking similarity to the harmless, much larger basking shark, and I'd bet actual money on these reported catches just being very unfortunate baskers, sorry guys.

So, great whites only grow to about 21 feet MAXIUM, and most average 15-16 feet. Why have I spent so much time tearing them down over sixgills? WHEHEHEELLL. Buckle up. The largest recorded bluntnose sixgill shark was

26.

feet.

long.

Unlike great whites, a sixgill has no larger relatives to be mistaken for.

AND while I'm at it, I would like to add that the average size for this species, 11-14 feet, isn't nearly as well documented as other shallow-water sharks, and is based on when the shark reaches sexual maturity; sighted sixgills often reach well past 18 feet. Submersibles have encountered massive ones, such as this gorgeous beast, and because I'm so very normal, I did the math. It's stated in the extended cut of the exploration that her head is about 3 feet wide. And based on this reference, i measured out a sixgill's head width as about 1/7th of their total body length.

3 x 7 is 21, so that shark is, give or take, about 21 feet, possibly longer. Since they are deep-sea sharks, with the adults sticking to deeper waters, it is entirely possible that the largest ones are just chilling near the seafloor having never seen a submersible or ROV. Even discounting that, we have a (albeit roughly) measured sixgill who is as big as Deep Blue, if not bigger, and google is a liar.

They also are responsible for trying to eat underwater ethernet cables

So yeah. that's a lil bit of lore for Law of the deep, the silly little deepsea mer au for ace attorney! Thank you so much for the ask, again :D

[return-of-a-space-cowboy]

🧚‍♀️ Anon

I love both your ideas for Thumbelina! (I can’t pick between Risotto and Diavolo, as it always ends as an internal struggle)

So what if Doppio brings Darling with him to meet his King, only for them to end up attacked by a huge and scary human (Risotto) only for Darling to push Doppio out of the way and gets captured to prevent the sweet and kind Doppio

Risotto is a Monster Hunter who hunts Monsters to sell them to the highest bidder, either dead or alive (Alive is a higher profit) with Fairies in very high demand, especially for their beautiful and exotic wings

Doppio promises Darling that he’ll come back for her with his majesty to save her! (And Diavolo is pleased with the results as it’s always been difficult for his poor Doppio to be treated kindly, so of course he’ll go and save Darling)

I can also picture Diavolo planning to having Darling marry him as payment since it’s dangerous for their kind to confront Humans (But not for him, but Darling doesn’t need to know that)

I also think it would be interesting if Diavolo and Bruno have the power to turn into the size of a Human (Because of their Royal Blood, as their significantly more powerful than their fellow kind) so they can just hold Darling in their palms

I kinda went a little crazy with this, but tell me what you think?

Yes I love the idea, also love the krumpus idea you sent today but I'll save that for Christmas for obvious reasons.

Small girl in a big world (yandere Bruno, Diavolo, Risotto X female reader)

Warnings: mentioned cannibalism

You stood by the ruler as your mother measured you.

“17, you've grown 3 centimeters since I last measured you. It feels like only yesterday when you were the size of my thumb” she exclaimed as she marked your height on the ruler.

You weren't like other humans, you were so much smaller even though you'd never met anyone besides your mother. You still remember waking up inside a flower with her staring lovingly at you. She'd always longed to have another child since her previous children were now all grown up with families of their own.

“(Y/n) would you like some tea?” She asked.

“Yes please” you replied before yawning. It had been a long day helping her. She was a toy maker, she'd even made you a little house of your own by the windowsill. You enjoyed helping her out by bringing her the small pieces she needed.

She came back with a small tea cup for you and you accepted it. Quickly taking a sip. After this you would certainly sleep well, you could already feel yourself dozing off.

🌷🌷🌷

You slept peacefully until you were shaken awake causing you to scream. A hand slapped over your mouth swiftly to silence you.

“Shhh, I'm here to rescue you” the perpetrator said in a soothing voice. You pulled his hand away.

“I don't need rescuing” you told them as you gained some distance. They were another person like you, only they were a tad taller and had a pair of wings that glistened in the light like those of the insects you'd see fly past the window. His skin was fair with hair as dark as the night and eyes as blue as the day.

“Then why are you here? especially without wings. You're an easy target for humans” he asked you, confused as to why you'd not leave such a dangerous place.

“This is my home, I've been here since my mother found me” you told him.

“You live here?” He questioned, still very confused.

“Yes” 

“Then where is your mother?” He asked.

“Around the corner, asleep in her room” you told him. He flew off quickly in that direction and came back shortly after.

“Your mother's human?” He asked.

“Yes, why is that important?” You asked.

“Tell me, how did she find you?” He said.

“She was gifted a flower, and I happened to be in it,” you told him.

“you are a fae like me” he told you as he took your hands in his.

“Fae? But I don't have wings like you” you replied, shocked by what he told you. You'd only ever heard of fae in fairy tales, stories that held no truth to them. Yet him being right in front of was true.

“Wings are not something you're born with, there is a ritual that one must partake in to gain their wings” he explained.

“If you come back with me you can earn a pair for yourself” he told you.

The promise of wings lit up your imagination. All things you could do with them, you'd be able to help your mother out so much more.

“How long does the ritual take? I'd really like to be back as soon as possible to help my mother” you asked that earnt a sigh from him.

“It only takes a few hours, unfortunately I can't let you back afterwards… it would put my people in great danger if humans were to know where we were” he told you. 

“I understand, then in that case I'll stay” you told him, you weren't going to abandon your mother just for a pair of wings.

“But don't you get lonely here? Stuck inside this house with no one except your mother” he asked.

“Well… it is,” you hesitantly confess. It was true, part of you did want something more than this, to go outside and explore the world but you had resigned to your fate. You knew it'd be far too dangerous.

“Back where I'm from we have a big community, you'd fit right in” he assured you.

Having other people like you. That'd be great. It tore you. You didn't want your mother to be sad and alone but you also wanted freedom.

“I think I need some time to think that over,” you told him. He looked disappointed.

“I understand… I'll come back in a week, please have your decision made by then” He told you before he began to fly but you caught his hand.

“I… I need more time than that, could you come again and tell me more about your kind?” You asked him.

“I'd love to but I can't keep coming back, it'd put me at risk” he explained. Oh how he wished he had more time to tell you all he could. But he could not trust the tightness of a stranger's lips. If you told your mother too much it could easily put his and his subjects lives at risk.

“Could I at least know your name?” You asked him.

“I'm sorry but I can not, if a human were to know my name it would be disastrous” he told you. Before he flew away.

‘For a human to know his name would be disastrous? How could that be?’ You thought.

Little did you know another fae had watched the encounter from afar. You were his, ripe for the taking.

🌷🌷🌷

You'd thought long and hard about what the fae had offered you during the five days since. You wondered what the fae lived like, would you fit in? But you couldn't just leave your mother, this was the only life you'd ever known.

You laid your head on your pillow, you should tell your mother about it. Tomorrow you'd tell her about what happened the other night.

Then you heard a light tapping on the window. You looked to see another fae, he looked distressed.

“I need your help ma'am” the fuchsia haired male pleaded. You pushed the window ajar for him.

“What's the matter?” You asked him.

“My master… he's been caught in a trap, I can't open it on my own” he explained.

“That's why I need help, I just need another person to open it” he continued as he grabbed your hand. You'd been told many times by your mother that the world was dangerous outside. But she'd also always stressed the importance of helping others in need.

“Hold on, how long will it take? If I'm gone too long my mother will worry” you told him.

“It won't take long, I promise I'll return you here as soon as we're done” he reassured you. Desperate to get you to help him.

“Ok” you said.

“Oh thank you so much” he lit up as he grabbed and hooked his arms under yours before lifting you up.

“Hold on tight” he told you as he flew off with you into the nearby forest.

You looked down in awe, so this is what it was like to fly. your hair flowing in the breeze as you watched everything fall behind as you both drew deeper into the forest.

He landed shortly after, his breathing labored.

“I'm sorry, we'll have to walk the rest of the way,” he told you through labored breaths. You nodded and followed behind him.

“So why were you inside that human house?” he asked.

“I was raised there,” you told him.

“That's strange… it must be terrifying having to constantly be hiding from humans” he commented.

“No, my mother is human,” you told him. He didn't know how to respond to that.

“So who's your master?” You asked.

“He's the fae king,” he told you. You stopped in shock.

“He's the king?” You exclaimed.

“Yes, that's why it's of utmost importance that we save him” he told you as he continued forward.

All of a sudden you felt something was off.

You caught a glimmer in the corner of your eye.

“Look out!” you yelled as you pushed the male out of the way. You felt yourself getting thrown around. Hitting a hard surface as you tumbled around. You laid on the floor feeling over the surface. It was smooth and cold and you felt a tremor you could only compare to human footsteps. You looked up to see large hands wrapped around what seemed like nothing. Even higher you saw transparent ridges holding a lid in place. You were inside a glass jar.

You rubbed your head, sure that a bump was forming. You tried to get a look at whoever had caught you but to no luck. It was gut wrenching as you sat in the jar, left to wonder what was going to happen.

🌷🌷🌷

“Doppio, you lost my meal?” Doppio was met with the scowl of his master. Diavolo The dark fae king who consumed other fae to sustain his own power.

“She had no wings yet you still failed to-” he  hissed but quickly stopped himself. He usually spoke softer to his loyal servant, however as of recently he'd struggled to procure himself an amount of fae that would satiate his ever growing appetite. Sure he had the people he ruled over but nothing would be done for him if decided to just eat them all.

“She saved me,” Doppio confessed, which earned a raised eyebrow from Diavolo. Doppio had a very special place in Diavolo's eye, not all were very kind to the weak boy but Diavolo made the exception. So hearing another had helped him with nothing to gain intrigued him.

“She saved you from what?” He asked.

“A hunter, she pushed me out of his way and got caught,” he explained.

In truth he hadn't fully made his mind up on eating you just yet, perhaps you'd be a fun little plaything since you'd caught the eye of the neighboring fae prince, a little thing to dangle at the prince to get his attention.

In any other case this would have simply been an unfortunate loss. Something he'd just let go. This however was different, you saved his beloved servant and held the key to him not only gaining a great amount of power but another kingdom too.

“Well go back out and find where the hunter resides, I'll have to reward her graciousness” he told Doppio.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Jude just acts prickly so he doesn't get attached. He says so many nice things with a soft smile then tries to scare MC off.

It's so true. So. True. The man is so clearly terrified of letting anyone in - whether that be because harm inevitably comes to them, or he's going to die on them, the end result is the same. And it's so painfully obvious that he can't and won't do anything by half measures, so it's best to never 'begin' than to start something he can't finish. This whole kiss story was basically that in a way:

Kate realizing that Jude vehemently rejects the idea of promising 'forever' because he doesn't believe it exists, and he refuses to just play lip service or even entertain the illusion of a promise like that if it can't be kept. And Kate's like 'Oh. Oh, fuck me, he's such a softie under all that strutting and prickles and someday someone's gonna realize that, fall for him hard, and snatch him up and why does the idea of that bother me so much'

Girl, he's a diamond in the rough you'd be a fool not to make him yours ASAP. AN UTTER FOOL.

[autisticlifelessons]

Tips from an autistic teacher about communicating with education professionals

So, some context: I taught Primary for 1 year, and had lots of interactions with parents with all kinds of concerns about their kids. I also remember being in high school and college/university and being too nervous to approach my teachers/tutors with any problems I had until the situation was dire.

For those who don't work in education, I can appreciate how needing to speak to your child's teacher about something can be intimidating, especially if your and/or your child are neurodivergent. And if you are a student, it can be equally as scary.

It's true many teachers are overworked and underpaid, but the vast VAST majority would move heaven and earth to help you. However, there are lots of things you can do to help them to help you, so here are my top tips.

Tell them ASAP if there is a problem - alerting the teacher to a problem or concern as soon as it arises gives them the chance to nip it in the bud before it becomes a big deal. If there is a bullying concern or something you don't understand, they would much rather you told them straight away so they can do something about it than have you or your child suffering in silence for weeks or months. We are generally an observant bunch and are looking out for issues, but some things do fly under the radar. Even if it's not something they can do anything about straight away - like if you think your child is showing signs of autism or adhd but they mask heavily at school - they can bear this in mind and pass it onto other relevant members of staff so it is 'flagged' up for the future.

If your issue is complicated, be sure to put it in writing - chances are you have access to a messaging service or at least an email address. Even if you have raised your concern with the teacher face to face, having it in writing is helpful for both parties. It provides a record that the issue has been raised and passed along as appropriate, and it helps remind the teacher about what has been discussed so they don't end up forgetting about it among the million other things they have to do.

Be specific - it may seem obvious, but there is no point in having a casual chat and then throwing in a bombshell at the end. Make sure to give as much relevant detail as you can about what your issue is, and if you want to raise multiple concerns then it is doubly beneficial to put them in writing.

Think about what your desired outcome is and come with a proposed solution - this is a psychological thing, apparently, but people are more likely to be sympathetic to your concerns if you can demonstrate you have thought about how you would like it resolved. If you want your child put forward for an autism assessment, make sure you actually say this. If you know you are going to be late handing in an assignment but can give your teacher an alternative date you will hand it in, tell them this. I can't guarantee they will always be able to fulfil it, but knowing what you would like to change or happen makes it much easier to sort things out rather than just guessing.

IF THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL THAT'S HAVING A NEGATIVE IMPACT, TELL THEM!!! - I CANNOT stress this enough, especially when it comes to little ones or neurodivergent children who may have limited means of both communication and emotional regulation. Being hungry, tired, stressed etc can have an enormous impact on behaviour/ability to learn. Even a simple message or email giving the heads up your child has had a poor night's sleep because the house flooded or whatever and might be a bit grumpy that day can be a huge help to the teacher, who as a result of having this information will be in a better position to be patient with a child who is struggling. For bigger life changes such as divorce, birth of a new sibling etc, this is even more important so that your child's teacher and the school can, if necessary, put measures in place to support your child through this transition. Communication really is key.

Remember to be kind and considerate - teachers are humans and make mistakes like everyone else. Equally, there are many circumstances they have to deal with that are totally out of their control and frustrate them just as much as they do you. As I said at the beginning, the vast majority want to help you and/or your child in any way they can, and being kind can make what is a very stressful job just that little bit less.

So, there you have it! I hope these tips gave you an idea for how to communicate with teachers effectively.

Oh, here's 1 more bonus tip - if you have anything to ask that is more than just a quick question, be sure to schedule a meeting with the teacher to ensure they can devote enough time to deal with your issue. Catching them at the beginning or end of the school day generally isn't a good idea as they're very chaotic times and they likely have other meetings/appointments/deadlines they will be thinking about.

Your support is much appreciated xx

[the-travelling-witch]

HOLLY HOLLY CONGRATS ON UR 1K !! i saw ur event (which looks super good btw :o) and i cannot NOT request smth !!

i am here to present you with my request: 3 + you guessed it, alhaitham !! pls feel free to make it whatever genre u want <3

i finally finished this oml, it sat in my drafts for so long half-written smh, i hope you enjoy the result though!! ♡

⇢ ˗ˏˋ Snapshot ﾟ☾. ࿐

trope: taking photos [space nr. 20]

pairing: al-haitham x gn!reader

genre: fluff, suggestive at the end hehehe~

warnings: none except for al-haitham (i believe he should come with his own warning)

genshin masterlist

second constellation event masterlist

“Look at this flower, isn't it pretty?” you excitedly exclaimed, kamera in hand.

Somewhere in the depths of Avidya Forest, two scholars were documenting the flora and fauna there for their project. One highly motivated to get this over with, the other—

“Is it?” With his eyes barely glancing over to the flower, Al-Haitham merely shrugged. “It looks like a rather average specimen to me.”

“That’s probably because you wouldn't know true beauty even if it stared you right in the face,” you scoffed.

Sometimes you really wanted to kick him where the sun didn’t shine; once for being a pain in the ass to work with and twice for making you fall for him all the same.

And maybe once more for always leaving you guessing, just for good measure. One day, he’d barely give you the time of day to accept the papers you handed him, the next, he’d come and seek you out to have lunch with him.

Seriously, what was his problem? Make up your mind, you dumb—

“Oh yeah?” Al-Haitham’s tone was cocky, challenging even, as he crossed the space between you in long strides. Grabbing a hold of your chin between his thumb, index and middle finger, he effectively made you meet his eyes. “I know you though, don’t I?”

“I- What?” You spluttered, heat flooding between his fingers up your cheeks. Blinking up at him repeatedly, you were trying to gauge his reaction. “What are you trying to say here, Al-Haitham, it's not funny-”

“What am I trying to say? I’ve made it rather obvious, haven’t I?” Cocking an eyebrow at your reaction, you could see the infuriating ghost of a smirk dancing around the corner of his lips. “And I know you’re smart enough to pick up on it. So don’t disappoint me, (y/n), tell me which conclusion you came to based on all the evidence laid out in front of you."

In that particular moment, you had good mind to take a swing at his stupidly handsome face. He was really going to make you repeat that? This jerk, he was enjoying this more than he should have been. Normally, he should be the flustered one after proclaiming something like that!

“Well, do correct me if I’m wrong, Scribe, but it almost sounded as if you called me beautiful. It seems something about my research must have gone amiss, the results simply do not match the gathered information.” You did your best to maintain an even tone and mimic the snobbish speech mannerisms you and your peers mocked your superiors for. “If you’d be so kind as to enlighten me where I might have been led astray in my analysis, I believe your insight would be of utmost importance on this matter.”

“Perhaps you should review your gathered information again, I do believe it matches the presented results, wouldn’t you agree?” Studying your expression carefully, one large hand settled on your waist and you suddenly realised how small the gap between you two had become. „I‘ve been conducting a similar research as of late, all evidence pointing to an outcome not unlike yours; your thoughts on the matter?“

„I concur,“ you breathed out, lost in the depths of emerald and amber. „It seems there might be a correlation between our findings.“

„A most intriguing hypothesis indeed.“ Al-Haitham‘s voice was low, barely above a whisper, but from how he leant closer, you heard him perfectly fine. With your hands on the tight material spanning his solid pectorals, you put up no resistance whatsoever as you willingly let him guide your face closer to his, your noses barely brushing. „Tell me, (y/n), are you willing to put your theory to the test?“ 

„Only if I‘m working with a willing partner,“ you matched his tone as one of your hands slid up his shoulder and under the fabric of his cape. 

Meanwhile, his fingers left your chin in favour of cupping the back of your neck. Between half-lidded eyes, Al-Haitham still couldn’t tear his gaze away from your lips almost touching his. „Haven’t I made myself crystal clear? I wish to explore all possibilities of this experiment with you.“

A gentle tug was all it needed for him to connect your lips with his. At first, his movements were almost timid, cautious in a way you weren’t used to from him. When you pressed your chest closer to his, however, his actions grew bolder as well, stringing you along in a sensual dance. 

The heat radiating from both his front and the hand which had sneaked to the small of your back, holding you firmer against him, made your head spin. To combat the dizzying sensation, you dug your fingers into the grey strands in his nape, hoping to ground yourself as your heart soared.

Even as Al-Haitham pulled away until only his breath fanned your cheeks, your mouth stayed slightly parted, eyes fluttering open slowly. 

Then, you heard the shutter of a kamera go off as you blinked into the lens of Al-Haitham‘s device. You watched incredulously as he examined the image of your still dazed expression. When he saw you gaping at him, a smug smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. 

„A truly beautiful snapshot indeed,“ he mused. „Now, let’s finish up our task here.“

Wrapping his hand around your wrist and bringing it up to his lips, he pressed a fluttering kiss to the sensitive skin.

„After all, my roommate will be gone for quite some time and I have important research to conduct.“

tag list: @mccnstruck @teyvattales @silentmoths @ainescribe @meimeimeirin @dustofthedailylife @nsojbbkkm

[fatehbaz]

Driven by utilitarian concerns with scarcity and fears of cascading environmental degradation, colonial officials implemented tree-planting programs of all sorts -- seed farms, erosion control projects, school forests and so on. [...] Imperial forestry describes a shared set of practices, convictions and institutions that bound Japanese forestry professionals into a network that spanned the Japanese empire itself. [...] Japanese woodsmen (with a venerable forestry tradition all their own) came to terms with Western notions of natural resource management and "scientific forestry." [...] Japanese foresters tailored European ideas about ecology, sustainability, and industrial development to the particular needs of the Japanese empire and the different biomes it encompassed. [...] Japan has played an outsized role in the management and control of Asia's forests. To understand how Japan has maintained such verdant hillsides at home, [...] we need to more fully appreciate its control of sylvan landscapes abroad -- be they in the colonial empire before 1945 or in Southeast Asia thereafter. [...] [W]e ought to place tenant farmers in colonial Korea and shifting cultivators in Kalimantan in the same analytical frame. [...]

---

The most obvious legacies are material: flora introduced during colonial occupation that still grow in Korea today. [...] As part of a campaign to supposedly "beautify" the Korean landscape [...], Japanese settlers planted [...] cherry blossoms along streets, in squares, and within parks across Korea. [...] Another impact can be found in the forestry institutions founded during colonial rule. The flagship Forestry Research Station established by the colonial government, for example, only grew after liberation, becoming a hub of agro-forestry research that underpinned South Korea's economic take-off under Park Chung-hee. Many of the architects of South Korea's so-called "forest miracle" -- the wildly successful project of reforestation in the 1960s and 70s -- were trained in colonial scientific institutions. This is not to suggest that the dense forests that today blanket South Korea are somehow due to colonial rule. Reforestation under Park was born of markedly different circumstances -- its Cold War context, authoritarian rule and energy portfolio. But that doesn't mean that foresters on either side of 1945 weren't united by the same sets of anxieties and aspirations. [...] [A] set of abiding concerns [...] have animated forest conservation measures across the full sweep of the tumultuous twentieth century in Korea. [...]

---

[R]eferences to the ondol (the radiant heated floors conventional to Korean dwellings) are everywhere in the forester's archive. Japanese woodsmen quickly marked the ondol and its associated lifestyle as ground zero of deforestation. By the 1920s, forestry officials had launched an ambitious campaign to gain control over the energy consumption patterns of the home -- a crusade on caloric inefficiency that furthered the reach of the colonial state into the domestic sphere. In this sense, the ondol provides an illuminating lens through which to examine how forestry touched the lived, even bodily, experience of colonial rule in a sometimes bitterly cold environment. This is especially true of the civilian experience of the Asia-Pacific War in Korea, a period of fuel scarcity that resulted in draconian programs of caloric control. [...]

[W]e have much to gain by looking beyond the boundaries of the islands of Japan to write its environmental history. Understanding the tree-smothered hillsides of the so-called "green archipelago" requires that we pay close attention to its material linkages with the rest of Asia. It demands that we track commodity chains, supply lines, and resource politics across the Pacific.

---

All words above are the words of David Feldman. As interviewed and transcribed by Office of the Dean, School of Humanities at University of California, Irvine. Transcript titled “Seeing the forest for the trees.” Published online in the News section of UCI School of Humanities. 21 May 2020. [Some paragraph breaks and contractions added by me. Presented here for commentary, teaching, criticism purposes.]

[drnikolatesla]

Nikola Tesla and X-rays

Nikola Tesla spent much time in intensive research on X-rays, publishing his results in ten articles in the period 11th March 1896 to 11th August 1897, and on the 6th of April 1897, he also gave a lecture on his X-ray studies presenting designs of a number of devices for generating powerful rays. During this lecture he reported interesting data from his earlier experiments with Crooke's tubes in 1894. During that time he had observed that some tubes which produced only feeble visible light had more effect on photographic plates than tubes which were brighter to the eye. At this time he was trying to produce "cold light," and was still unaware of the importance of these experiments so he called these images "shadowgraphs". In March of 1895, after he finaly got back around to these studies a fire broke out in his laboratory, destroying practically everything. It took several months before he could resume his work, and in the meantime Wilhelm Röntgen made his X-ray discovery in the same year (December, 1895). When Tesla heard about it, it was immediately plain what had been happening in his laboratory. He repeated Röntgen's experiments, and came to much better results than Röntgen. He would later give all credit to Röntgen for the discovery, and throughout the next few years produced some of the best X-ray imaging that even Röntgen praised.

During 1896 and 1897, Tesla carried out many experiments with X-rays, also speculating about their nature. He thought "that the effects on the sensitive plate are due to projected particles, or else to vibration far beyond any frequency which we are able to obtain by means of condenser discharges." He immediately realized the importance of high voltages for producing powerful rays and suggested using his single-terminal tubes connected to the secondary of the disruptive discharge coil. In a lecture to the Physical Medical Society of Würzburg, Röntgen pointed out the great advantage of using Tesla's high-frequency oscillator in generating X-rays.

Tesla measured the reflection and transmission of X-rays for several metals, lead glass, mica ebonite, and other elements. He measured both true reflected radiation, and the secondary radiation. He also tried to detect refraction but did not succeed, for reasons which are today obvious. In papers and in a lecture before the New York Academy of Science he described a number of tubes for producing powerful X-rays, most of them resembling Lenard tubes (which he often mentions) but without the anode terminal.

Tesla would also become one of the first scientists to point out the harms of these rays and developed safer ways to utilize them for medical use. Methods we still use today. On the other hand, others like Edison thought these newly discovered rays could cure the blind. After many patients who were experimented upon starting showing terrible illnesses Edison was quoted in an interview saying, “Don’t talk to me about X-rays...I am afraid of them.”

[firelxdykatara]

So I just got into Unicorn: Warriors Eternal (obviously), I was gonna pace myself on episodes but then I just kept watching but at least there should be another one soon lmao ANYWAY THOUGH I have some preliminary thoughts.

I am absolutely fascinated by the dynamics presented here. There's a lot of messy potential in the way none of their reincarnations worked quite right, but the only one of them who has a true FIGHT for their new identity is Melinda/Emma/Emmelinda and I think that's both telling and tragic. Edred seems to be the one who is the most "himself" in terms of his identity being the most recognizable (though I suspect his current personality was affected by the merge considerably more than usual, as he seems far less stoic than he was in his previous lives--which makes me wonder if Dimitri will make another appearance), while Seng feels the most actualized--he has the mind of a child but the cosmic awareness and connection of his reincarnation, but there still don't seem to be any traces of "Alfie" there (especially given what we saw of him before he got seng-ified).

But Emma is fighting. She is the only one of the three original hosts still struggling to maintain her own sense of self and identity. It is interfering with Melinda's ability to control her powers, but given how we saw her powers corrupt her mother in the past, I wonder if that might not be for the better. I wonder if the show is going to turn all of this on its head--the writing has been surprisingly clever (and far more emotional than i expected, eps 4 and 5 had me bawling), and it's an adult cartoon not a kid's show, so I wonder if we're not meant to suspect that there's more to the current set up than might be assumed at first glance.

In the flashback to Melinda's childhood, Morgan (and her parents being Merlin and Morgan le Fay tickled me pink) is immediately incensed that Merlin lied to her about their daughter having magic--he says "I knew your intentions", and it's framed like we're supposed to think that he believed Morgan would use her magic for evil. But perhaps she was telling the truth when she said she only wanted to protect their daughter--and given that it seemed to have almost a self-awareness not wholly connected to Melinda herself, I wonder if the more malicious or devious parent was actually Merlin, which would explain him immediately turning on his own child and blaming her for what had just happened even though it was not her fault.

(And so tragic and heartwarming in equal measure that Emma spent the next episode trying to convince Melinda that it wasn't her fault, despite the echo of what have you done ringing in her subconscious over every life she lived the past thousand years. Despite Emma's understandable resentment of the situation she's been forced into, she is a deeply compassionate soul and I think that perspective is what Melinda has been lacking for so long. She has been fighting evil [on her father's say-so] for over a thousand years and yet lost sight of what she was truly fighting to protect. It is telling that she had such trouble making herself access her powers the episode after chasing down the fox lady and terrifying that woman and her baby.)

Emma herself is interesting to me, because while reluctant chosen ones tend to start grating on me very quickly, the fact is that she can't resist the call for long--Melinda quite literally will not let her--but she provides a humanizing element to this fight that otherwise had not been present in who knows how many centuries. At the same time, lives are on the line and every time she tries too hard to balk at using her powers and taking up the mantle, she manages to make the situation worse. (See: bringing up the kraken instead of busting through that barrier herself, resulting in Copernicus' destruction)

And then, of course, there's the romantic entanglements. (I'm very much on Edred's side here if that weren't already obvious. Winston may get points when he goes all wolfed out but at the end of the day, it's white-haired pretty elfboy and his goth wife for me all day every day.)

I don't agree with a lot of the sentiments i saw while scrolling through the tag--Edred has very good reason to be pressuring Melinda (Emmelinda) to accept her powers and fucking use them already, because, again, lives are on the line constantly with this Evil around fucking things up and terrorizing the city and killing people. Plus, of the three of them, he's the one with the clearest memories of his own past. He has a thousand years of fighting this fight with his wife by his side, and I think quite apart from how fucked up things got with the reincarnations this go-round, he doesn't know how to FUNCTION without her. A thousand years is tough to let go, especially when they've done this whole song and dance so many times before and it was always relatively smooth sailing--a quick merge and then fighting on as if no time had passed at all. Of course he believes Emma is holding his wife back, not allowing her to reach her full potential with her powers OR their shared past--she's the only uncommon factor!

("She's not yours anymore" may have been a bit petty, but he wasn't trying to gloat there--I don't think he was even really expressing jealousy or possessiveness. He was delivering a hard truth. I wonder how many times in the past they were awoken inside bodies and souls that did have entire other lives planned out. Families. Children. We know they had descendants after awakening, given the quasi-doppelgangers that tried to tell the police chief the truth about them early on, but I wonder how many times they awoke, went to each other, and had to tell someone who loved them--who perhaps they had loved in return--that their husband or wife or mother or father was gone and never coming back. I think Edred was trying to tell Winston to accept the inevitable before he got hurt even worse.)

All that said, this time is obviously very different. It may be the key to breaking the cycle once and for all. There may be key truths they could never have learned while operating the way they had been, executing Merlin's 'flawless' strategy. I think, in the end, Emma and Melinda may have to find some common ground--as it sits of course there is prime fodder for fics exploring the consent or lack thereof involved in a dynamic like this, and I'm fully on board for Emma starting to catch some of Melinda's feelings in spite of herself and allowing Edred in, allowing herself to feel for him.

That half-second where Edred saw Melinda's spirit and she said his name before being shoved back into the custody battle for Emma's body--that hit me where it hurts. I have to believe they'll find some way to come back together. Especially given that brief but delicious shot of Emmelinda going absolutely berserk after seeing Edred get hurt.

(Meanwhile, my kingdom for fics exploring Melinda getting sick of waiting and just taking over completely. Emma stuck along for the ride and not at all sure she hates it as much as she should. I'm just saying, it'd be delicious.)

[camelliagwerm]

Possibly interesting Pathfinder lore for you: the vampire nobility of Caliphas hates the Whispering Way and betrayed Tar-Baphon during the Shining Crusade because they realized that, if the whole world were undead, there would be no mortals left to feed on.

I actually already knew this! It's cropped up during my research when fleshing out Valerius' family and it pops up during the Lich path in Wrath of the Righteous if you speak with Elyanka in the Half-Measure; I'm pretty sure that you have to have crusade mode active for her to be there in the same way crusade mode has to be active to speak with council members like Lady Konomi and Dorgelinda.

I hope you don't mind that I'm going to turn this into a lore dump here.

Valerius' family is one of those families — the entire concept around House Dragavei is the classic Gothic archetype of the aristocratic family on the decline, like the Sharpes in Crimson Peak (sans incest) or the Willoughbys/Lloyds in the Haunting of Bly Manor to name a couple of more recent examples. In their case, they were already losing their ancestral seat by the time they turned on Tar-Baphon as I headcanon that they ruled part of what is now Virlych, specifically, the county of Virholt, and only retain their title of Count / Countess Dragavei as an honorific.

For the most part the Dragaveis, who had been mating with vampires for generations at this point, had got in favour with Tar-Baphon because of their ties to Virholt. They didn't want to give it up - the matriarch at the time was very "I was born in this hole, and I will die in this hole." It wasn't until 3866AR, when Luvick Siervage decided to break from Tar-Baphon and started moving vampires to Caliphas, that a young Valeria— Valerius' great-grandmother and, as you can probably guess, his namesake — killed her mother, who was fanatically loyal to Tar-Baphon. With Siervage's support, she relocated what was left of House Dragavei to Caliphas as well.

Valeria especially hated the Whispering Way because of that direct threat to her family's existence. And she knew back in the 3860s, as she reached her age of majority, that if her family didn't want to get wiped out, they had to break away from Tar-Baphon. After all, they need mortals to feed their full-blooded vampire relatives, to bring in fresh blood into the family when it comes to continuing their lineage, and to do their day to day operations, especially with their part of Virholt becoming inhospitable. She would not let her family decay entirely while she is the new head of the family.

Skip forward a good 800 years or so - Valeria never chose to become a vampire herself and her body instead lies in the Dragavei family crypt and her spirit bound to her granddaughter Rozalia - and that anti-Whispering Way sentiment still remains incredibly strong alongside their hatred for Pharasmites (for hopefully obvious reasons.) Valerius, her great-grandson; a devout antipaladin of Urgathoa and now the Knight-Commander of the Fifth Crusade, goes onto the path of the Lich because this is what his goddess approves of. He knows this is what he should do. It's his destiny.

But Valerius isn't exactly a devotee of Urgathoa beecause of her aspects of undeath or plague. He worships her because of her portfolio of gluttony, hunger, hedonism. After all, antipaladins tend to emulate her. Their tenet, "I have no duty but to my hunger and my goddess", is one of his core tenets. But this turns out to be a bit of a problem on the Lich path.

Vampires, as stated by Zacharius, are creatures of passion and not a perfect undead. They're too ruled by their hunger and desires - which in Valerius' and by extension, House Dragavei as a whole, is true. Aside from his major crisis of faith at the revelation that his powers aren't Urgathoa's blessing, but the result of an experiment, one of the core reasons he becomes a Legend is because he refuses to sacrifice that part of himself — and someone who stokes that fire in him even more. Hell, the only reason he's a Legend and not a Swarm is because he's simply not smart enough to decipher Xanthir's notes.

During act 3, he mostly ends up siding with Septimus, the Gebbite vampire representative and advisor. Was it intentional? No, not at first. In fact, when Elyanka Camilary, a future Daughter of Urgathoa and the Urgathoan and Whispering Way representative, arrives in Drezen with greetings from Ustalav, he welcomes her warmly. After all, it is nice to see a sister-in-faith, and a fellow Ustalavic one at that; someone he can speak his native tongue with. But it becomes clear to him quite quickly just how fanatical Elyanka is when it comes to the Whispering Way's ideology when he asks her what her problem with Septimus is:

Elyanka: Vampires like him are the most despicable creatures in the world. After receiving the blessing of undeath, he dishonours it, passing himself off as a mortal, mimicking their pathetic habits, pretending to be something he no longer has claim to. He and his like-minded associates are like people who sit before a table of delicacies and reject them all so they can eat swill with the pigs. Their pathetic habits discredit the gift they've been given. Don't expect anything good from friendship with this leech. Elyanka [dhampir Lich!PC only]: then you and your kin are like wild animals. You and your savage inhumane ideas will be hunted down and destroyed, and we will become victims of the fair but blind justice which will bury us in the same grave.

This pretty much seals Valerius' opinion of her as a very low one. Being told he is like a wild animal who should be hunted down, that his family are despicable, traitorous creatures is a severe blow to his honour. He merely tolerates her out of respect for their mutual faith in Urgathoa, and little else, while favouring Septimus' plans and ideals. He takes the effort to befriend the vampire - especially given they hold similar views regarding the Whispering Way and the damage they've done to necromancy and undeath as a whole, as well as being interested in how Geb works.

Both Elyanka and Septimus, as a result of Valerius not being on the Lich path in act 5, are still around post-game, and returned, following him taking over the city for good and becoming the Prince of Drezen and its surrounding environs. Both act as advisors on his council (Savour Its Sweet, Bloody Taste, ch. 3) in the same way they once did. But while Septimus is there to see an alliance fostered between Geb and Drezen again, and has cultivated a genuine friendship and mentorship with Valerius — Elyanka is there again out of mutual faith, and has an agenda to try push Valerius back onto the path of perfect undeath. But there's no trust there. There will never be trust there. He knows his family history and what his great-grandmother sacrificed for their survival, far too well for him to ever trust Elyanka or her followers who also worship Whispering Way.

She acts as his religious councillor because of her status as a future Daughter. He cannot ignore that part of his goddess' will, and sees it as a way for him to try control her and keep her in line. Better he gives her the position so she is indebted and seemingly loyal to him, rather than have her harbour resentment. This way, it's easy to keep track of her and her movements (even though again, given the catalyst for Savour Its Sweet, Bloody Taste is an assassination attempt that those in charge of espionage and diplomacy should've seen coming, I wouldn't hold your breath that it's getting done) and he can better have her investigated if need be. It's a classic case of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

And that is the only way that he'll ever work with a member of the Whispering Way. At least if he keeps him close and they do decide to stab him in the back, it'll be easier to kill them.