#the board has contributed verbally

[gothicseverance]

excited to see some gothic analysis of whatever the fuck was going on with kier and his brother in Episode 4...

Hey thank you so much for letting me know! The gothic threads I’ve found are:

-the long lost relative

-the dark double

-Victorian discourse around masturbation

-monstrosity / the grotesque

-the found document

-the sublime (humbling / awe inspiring / frightening) landscape

To me personally, the whole trip seems to be an effort to scare & shame our sweet baby innies away from the outdoors (and their own innocent horny natures lol).

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

ONYX STORM SPOILERS (for your readers)

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If you feel like it, will you expand on how you think they are still involved romantically in the end of onyx storm? Like I get that they are married but that seems to more to secure Violet’s future without him. It doesn’t seem to be because he has any hopes of any kind of future for the two of them together. Romantically or otherwise. He doesn’t want her to look for him. Aren’t they as broken up as they can be at this point? I’d love to hear your thoughts (and love another/different perspective because these thoughts I’m currently having are honestly making me feel ill).

Also thank you for your contributions to the fandom!! Honestly I think fanfic is the only thing that’s gonna get me through this. Hope we get an upsurge of riorgail fluff from everyone 🙏🏼

I have never felt like doing anything more, anon!!! I get what you're saying, and I think that's the way Rebecca/Red Tower WANT us to see it, because they want us to be anxious about where it's going so that we buy the next book. However, I refuse to subscribe to that! Here's why:

(I wrote an actual essay, so it's below the cut:)

"Together romantically" My answer to the other ask was me visiting the Xaden Liarson school of verbal gymnastics so that I didn't spoil the ending for that anon. However, judging by Xaden's behavior throughout ALL of Onyx Storm (and frankly, books 1 and 2 as well) he wouldn't marry her just to dip overall. Like, even not being meta here, he wouldn't do that. He's selfish when it comes to her, for one thing, and he says this repeatedly. For another, he CLEARLY wants to marry her just to marry her. I don't want to get sucked in to another re-read (and someone else asked for my thoughts on the ending in general, so I'll reply to that ask once I'm done with my second re-read in the next few days with more page numbers and quotes and things) but in the scene with his mother, Xaden's reaction seems to illustrate that marriage is NOT a tool for him like it was for his father. He wants to marry Violet because he loves her. Now, obviously the shotgun (crossbow?) wedding was ALSO a move to protect her and solidify her place without him as you said, but with how he talked about marriage throughout the book, and how he talked about HER, he's not marrying her just to dip. He's just not! It means something to him, as she does, and he's not going to forsake that.

Violet Violet isn't letting him marry her just to dip either. Her thoughts throughout the entire book are that she isn't scared of him and she isn't running, and she isn't letting him run from her, either. The way the scene is set up with Sgaeyl, we see:

(Sgaeyl) glances over her shoulder. "And you think she'll help?" "She loves me." "Tairn does not, and you haven't looked in the mirror yet. The red veins branching from your eyes look like her lightning." "She'll help." It comes out with a hell of a lot more certainty than I feel. "She promised."

I am slightly worried about pronoun fuckery in this bit, but we know Violet loves him more than anything, and this portion of Xaden's chapter makes it clear Violet has to agree to whatever the plan is (murdering dragons, stealing eggs, etc) and that Tairn does as well. I think Tairn would actually support them breaking up, to a certain degree, and whatever the plan is, Sgaeyl does NOT think Tairn will be down.

And then, for more confirmation:

"We will ask," Sgaeyl finally says, flexing her claws in the rocky soil "And her decision will determine our fate."

They need Violet on board for whatever they're doing. Violet isn't going to be on board with him dumping her post wedding. I know some of these lines can point in other directions, but I don't think they do, for the reasons I'll go on to spell out below!

3. Memories I know some people were confused about what, precisely, Imogen made Violet forget, and it seems like she's missing 12 hours (which, insane signet growth, Im). I could not get over Violet forgetting her wedding. Hours after I finished the book, I was like, oh my God. She can't remember her wedding, and I burst into tears. Repeatedly. At length. Which is insane, because these books NEVER make me cry. All this to say, (again, given Xaden's tone specifically surrounding marriage) they aren't going to take having her forget their wedding lightly. They just aren't. She has to forget everything in those twelve hours, because she helps Xaden concoct/finalize whatever the hell he's planning on doing (I'll probably share what I think he's planning on doing in my response to the ask I mentioned above, but the gist of it for now is that mans is going on a quest of his own), but Violet ASKS Imogen to make her forget. In the marriage aspect, Xaden's protecting Violet, but in forgetting, Violet's protecting Xaden. This is why I say romantically together as well. I think the love is more important than anything else. I think the point of this book was to make it clear they'd both do absolutely anything for the other, and the ending is a culmination of that. I know some people suggested that they have her forget so that she can't be interrogated and used against him, and I think that's definitely true (although I think making her duchess also protects her from this, but Violet has always doubted her own ability to lie). Personally, my gut instinct interpretation was that deal she made with Ridoc that she'd let Ridoc kill him if Xaden took being venin too far (which, side note, do we all just forget about them being interconnected when it suits us??? He can't die because then Violet will die. We've been over this. I digress). Clearly everyone seems to think his little "display" at the end of the book is "too far." I don't know if he killed anyone important in that scene (again, I actually thought Bodhi dies? At first? And THAT was why she had to marry Xaden to secure the duchy while he was gone? but Red Tower seems to be very in tune to fandom priorities, and with how many people love Bodhi, killing him off page would certainly be a choice) but he's still at least an Asim, if not a Sage (given the veins, I'm 99% sure he's a Sage, but again, we don't get anything concrete in that ending. side eye, Red Tower. side eye.) and therefore everyone thinks he betrayed them, and he needs to get out of there before everyone else kills him! By forgetting, Violet is saving his life. That's romantically together to me.

4. Quest! Xaden doesn't leave Violet to pull an Edward and frolic around Europe for a few months or whatever it is. He has a plan. This what he shows Sgaeyl, I believe, and what Vi and Tairn have to agree on. It involves stealing the dragon eggs, killing the elders and/or the other dragons (save me third re-read of this damn scene, save me) and getting the hell out. @maethologies told me privately that the very act of going on the Quest means Xaden has hope for a "cure", just like Violet said he still had hope if he was trying to get Brennan to mend him. I think this is the Second Krovlan Uprising tie in: trade the dragon eggs (side note: why are there 7? did Andarna steal an egg and bring it back ????) and get allies against the venin (and eventually Navarre) (and perhaps do other cure-related tasks, idk). I also personally think Xaden's going to find more answers for Violet about her connection with Dunne. A huge theme of this book was that (explicitly) Xaden and Andarna don't know who they are, but Violet doesn't really know either. She spends book 3 helping them, and in book 4, I think they help her. Basically, he returns to the isles for quest part 2! Also, I think bringing 3 riders with him is a clear sign he's not just dipping. I'm hoping my second re-read helps me finalize who the hell he brought with him besides Garrick, but if they go to the isles like I'm thinking, my moneys on Dain or Aaric for the language translation (both of whom love Violet). I have a variety of other quest nonsense to share in the other ask, but the gist of it is that he is moving with a purpose! And his purpose is Violet! Because he's in love with her!

5. Meta This is where I get a LITTLE messy. I don't know if everyone reading this saw my 2024 reading wrap up, but I have read the vast majority of RY's catalog, and I consider myself to be very familiar with the themes she likes to write, and the situations she likes to return to, over and over again. A HUGE focus for her is the war in Afghanistan. She's been obsessed with that for ten years, which makes complete sense given who she is and her lived experiences. If you happen to not be super familiar with Rebecca as a person, her husband was in the military for a very long time, and her primary sub-genre is military romance. I don't know if this carries over internationally, but in the United States, marrying your partner early on in your military career is incredibly common, because it protects them in the event of your death and while you're deployed. I was really upset about him marrying her and then immediately leaving at first, but when I thought about it, it makes complete sense for who Rebecca is and what she's gone through. I'm not trying to accuse her of self inserting or anything like that, but she clearly likes to write situations that are important to her (as do I! As do we all!) and so it makes sense to me that she'd call upon something like this for X and V. It does NOT make sense to me that she'd call upon something she went through with her husband she's still married to and then make it a break up. Will it cause tension? Obviously! But to quote Mr. Riorson himself, they're past the break up stage. (Rebecca does some silly things with foreshadowing in her books, and sometimes she says things like this to prove them wrong, and other times, she says things like this prove them right. I really think this is a "prove them right" scenario, but I'm basing that off vibes, frankly, and my knowledge of her body of work. My Rebeccca-dar, if you will.)

6. Xaden Liarson I see your point about the note, and maybe I'm deranged, but I do actually just think he's lying. I don't think he's stupid enough to think she won't come looking for him at this point. He knows her too well for that. I think the "don't come looking for me" or whatever it is is a cover up for everyone else who thinks he betrayed Tyrrendor. Also, it slows her down! I am certain she'll look for him eventually (peep her broken compass from the god of luck, anyone?), but the note + the memory wiping make it so she can't immediately go looking for him. I think that's the point of it, not that she never looks for him again.

To conclude this literal essay, I think they're still together romantically because of Riorgail's most up-to-date characterization on their own and dynamic together, as well as who Rebecca is as a writer. I actually could probably write another essay on this, and I probably will in the other ask, but if there's anything else, let me know!! I need to bleed this book out of me so I can be normal again. But even if they are "broken up", it doesn't matter long term. The five book series WILL end with them together. That's how romantasy works. Xaden isn't dying. Violet isn't dying. Everyone else is fair game, but those two are fine, LOL.

Also, you are SO welcome for fic, always. I am not a fluff girly, unfortunately. I don't really write it in general, but we'll see if I get possessed. I do have a girl dad Xaden fic in the works (in which I have to re-work their wedding....) and I have some new smut ideas I want to write sometime soon! I think that will scratch the itch for me, anyway! As I've mentioned throughout this post, my hangover cure of choice has been to dive right back into Onyx Storm again, and I honestly think that was the best idea for me. I didn't do that after Iron Flame because I thought it was somehow "bad" to do so, and then I just longed for these characters for months. But, you do you! I wanted to make a masterpost of my hangover cure recs, but we'll see if I ever get to it. If you've read this far I am personally giving you a virtual gold star.

[cynthiav06]

Does Percy ever have any trauma from Gabe?

I mean, in Tartarus, he says it smells like Gabe and I cannot fail to acknowledge his self-esteem issues which Gabe contributed to, but I mean more specific trauma like hating beer and gambling, etc. Something like that?

Percy has suffered due to Gabe for a long time, which contributes quite a lot to his trauma. You see, Rirodan was writing a children's book, and he didn't want to go down too many uncomfortable details, but the signs were there. A lot of them. And despite the canon's inconsistencies, Gabe is at least mentioned in accurate context every small time that he is referenced.

Rick, however, just to be safe, makes Percy's personality so that Percy avoids thinking of Gabe, and rightfully so. Let's take this slow. Because two important things, Percy's situation in the first book and all his issues are due to Gabe and, of course, he carries forward trauma from those situations, so what are they?

1.

Physical abuse is a part that is usually glossed over by the readers to some extent, even though it's in the first book. What I am trying to say is it is always acknowledged that Percy was abused, but rarely does the fandom go down the rabbit hole of specifics. If you see it once, you won't stop seeing it.

Gabe has both verbally and physically abused Percy so much that he has an extreme amount of self-esteem issues and a self-depreciating personality.

Not only did Gabe abuse Percy, but he also made Percy work part-time jobs or side hustles just to get extra money from Percy. Mind you, Percy was barely 12 in the first book, probably still 11, and this had been going for a while.

2.

If that wasn't enough Gabe controlled the budget of the family, not allowing Sally to spend more than he allowed and he splurged most money gambling so Percy grew up in very poor conditions but was sent to boarding schools with rich people which led to a lot of bullying from their end. Since Percy fought back, he somehow earned the per usual misnomer of being a troubled kid.

Cue all his expulsions. Some may be due to monster business, but most were definitely due to Percy fighting against bullies. Why is that notable? This is the start of Percy's anger issues. Percy has a lot of repressed anger from home due to Gabe and not being able to fight him (he hasn't tapped into his power yet, at least not enough of it). Plus, the bullies and horrible living conditions all contribute to Percy's attitude.

3.

Now, if you remember, in Book 1, Gabe threatens Percy severely so that he won't harm his car. But Percy was 12, and he himself says he wasn't going to be driving, but that wouldn't stop Gabe from blaming him. This means Gabe blamed Percy for everything, relevant or otherwise. We can see this in Percy's behavior when he immediately correlates every mistake as his fault and is always reflexively seen taking the blame for everything, even those that weren't his fault.

This scene actually creates a nice parallel against that scene in Book 5 where Percy is on a drive with Rachel in Paul's car and he is very suprised that Paul himself offered the car to him and didn't even impose any rules on Percy. He is however very worried when Blackjack dents the car because even though Paul is not Gabe, Percy has this natural fear against him at least subconsciously but is also very suprised when Paul doesn't get at all angry over the dent. It's such a sweet moment for Percy; he gets to learn how good fathers are.

3.

You mentioned gambling and drinking. Percy shows great dislike for the game in book 1, but he is forced to play cause of Dionysus. He's relatively good at it but doesn't play because he associates the game with Gabe. Same for alcohol. There's a line in the book where Percy says he knows how to recognize when others have been drinking or, as Percy calls it, hitting the happy juice. Obviously, alcohol makes Percy uncomfortable in itself, and he immediately dislikes Dionysus because he is a drunkard and a poker player along with a build similar to Gabe, which makes Percy naturally dislike him greatly. It doesn't help that Dionysus is a complete asshole but his initial natural dislike of Mr. D is due to Gabe.

4.

We all joke about how Percy is a fugitive and known terrorist in tons of states. This is all Gabe's fault. Percy gets in such problems with the law all due to Gabe and how he set literally every police department possible on Percy's trail. Now Percy, being Percy, he manipulates the officers to get on their good side, but he obviously still has problems with the law due to this entire fiasco.

The fandom likes to say that Percy got all his dark aura after Tartarus, but Percy has literally had killing intent since he was 12. One of his first lines in the book is "I am going to kill her" in reference to Nancy Bobofit. He gets gut punched by the realization that Gabe has been hitting his Mom. Gabe literally raised his hand against Sally in front of Percy in book 1. You can't tell me Percy recovered from that. He thinks then too of pulling Riptide and killing Gabe but realizes it wouldn't work on Gabe. Now Percy, who almost always means exactly what he says when talking to people, calls Gabe 'human by the loosest definition.' A 12 year old thinks that you can imagine how bad the situation was.

After Book 1, Rick heavily avoids mentioning abuse in his book cause he is trying to write for kids, but it shows.

Percy thinks of Gabe when he first accidentally iris messages in on one of his Mom's and Paul's dates. Percy is immediately suspicious, which is obviously why Sally hadn't told him anything before this. She wasn't completely sure about Paul, and she also didn't want Percy to worry. When Percy sees her laugh with Paul, he thinks of how much trouble his Mom went through with Gabe.

This is important because after Book 1 when Percy finally learns why Sally kept Gabe around in his head he twists the narrative as his Mom suffered Gabe, not that both he and Sally but only Sally suffered Gabe and why? To protect him. He BLAMES himself for something that's obviously completely not his fault. But in his head, he ends up masking his own pain and considering only Sally's pain valid. This is why Percy doesn't talk to anyone about Gabe and also why everyone thinks Gabe was a bit of a jerk but not an abuser. We literally see PERCY DO THIS TO HIMSELF. Same thing in The Last Olympian. Same thing in Mark of Athena. He talks about how his Mom suffered by staying in the awful marriage, not about himself.

5.

Now the famous House of Hades scene. See Tartarus draws out negative emotions and experiences and worst nightmares of a person to feast on. This is very telling because despite the endless life-death situations Percy has been in ,he thinks of Gabe. Because to Percy, self suffering is no suffering at all. But his Mom suffering is the worst of all. Now Annabeth obviously doesn't get the cue because she has no idea about how Percy lived in his past. While it is true that Annabeth cannot be held responsible for not getting why Percy brought up Gabe in Tartarus and took it as Percy making a joke; a case can be made against Annabeth's lack of initiative to learn more about Percy's life before all this. I digress as that's a completely different discussion. Point stands is that Percy is so unbelievably broken yet loyal that he doesn't even consider his own pain valid.

The next mention of Gabe is directly in Chalice of the Gods. Percy rather openly thinks how much he hated family dinners with Gabe. Also, he has a very nice conversation with Sally soon after he recovers from being turned into a child, where he talks about how powerless being a child felt and how afraid he was. I am certain that the implications indicate at both monsters and Gabe and how a young Percy had been very afraid of both situations but more of Gabe than monsters. Go figure.

It's plenty clear how much trauma Percy has from Gabe and how much he has trained his mind to either avoid it or redirect it elsewhere lest he regress into bitterness and anger issues.

It's probably longer than you expected, but I like systematic exploration of points, hence the long rant. I have done my best to break it down, so it's easier to follow. Also, I am very, very happy for this ask as I really love to explore Percy's personality and Percy's powers. Feel free to send me more along this line of thought.

@fourcornersofcreation ,@hermesmyplatonicbeloved, @helenofsparta2 , @ogjacksonsimp, and @berrybore have all also made posts exploring some of Percy's trauma and they will probably have things to add as well. So please check their posts on this topic as well in case I missed anything.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

By David Brooks

Opinion Columnist

You might have seen the various data points suggesting that Americans are losing their ability to reason.

The trend starts with the young. The percentage of fourth graders who score below basic in reading skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests is the highest it has been in 20 years. The percentage of eighth graders below basic was the highest in the exam’s three-decade history. A fourth grader who is below basic cannot grasp the sequence of events in a story. An eighth grader can’t grasp the main idea of an essay or identify the different sides of a debate.

Tests by the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies tell a similar story, only for older folks. Adult numeracy and literacy skills across the globe have been declining since 2017. Tests from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development show that test scores in adult literacy have been declining over the past decade.

Andreas Schleicher, the head of education and skills at the O.E.C.D., told The Financial Times, “Thirty percent of Americans read at a level that you would expect from a 10-year-old child.” He continued, “It is actually hard to imagine — that every third person you meet on the street has difficulties reading even simple things.”

This kind of literacy is the backbone of reasoning ability, the source of the background knowledge you need to make good decisions in a complicated world. As the retired general Jim Mattis and Bing West once wrote, “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you.”

Nat Malkus of the American Enterprise Institute emphasizes that among children in the fourth and eighth grades, the declines are not the same across the board. Scores for children at the top of the distribution are not falling. It’s the scores of children toward the bottom that are collapsing. The achievement gap between the top and bottom scorers is bigger in America than in any other nation with similar data.

There are some obvious contributing factors for this general decline. Covid hurt test scores. America abandoned No Child Left Behind, which put a lot of emphasis on testing and reducing the achievement gap. But these declines started earlier, around 2012, so the main cause is probably screen time. And not just any screen time. Actively initiating a search for information on the web may not weaken your reasoning skills. But passively scrolling TikTok or X weakens everything from your ability to process verbal information to your working memory to your ability to focus. You might as well take a sledgehammer to your skull.

My biggest worry is that behavioral change is leading to cultural change. As we spend time on our screens, we’re abandoning a value that used to be pretty central to our culture — the idea that you should work hard to improve your capacity for wisdom and judgment all the days of your life. That education, including lifelong out-of-school learning, is really valuable.

This value is based on the idea that life is filled with hard choices: whom to marry, whom to vote for, whether to borrow money. Your best friend comes up to you and says, “My husband has been cheating on me. Should I divorce him?” To make these calls, you have to be able to discern what is central to the situation, envision possible outcomes, understand other minds, calculate probabilities.

To do this, you have to train your own mind, especially by reading and writing. As Johann Hari wrote in his book “Stolen Focus,” “The world is complex and requires steady focus to be understood; it needs to be thought about and comprehended slowly.” Reading a book puts you inside another person’s mind in a way that a Facebook post just doesn’t. Writing is the discipline that teaches you to take a jumble of thoughts and cohere them into a compelling point of view.

Know someone who would want to read this? Share the column.

Americans had less schooling in decades past, but out of this urge for intellectual self-improvement, they bought encyclopedias for their homes, subscribed to the Book of the Month Club and sat, with much longer attention spans, through long lectures or three-hour Lincoln-Douglas debates. Once you start using your mind, you find that learning isn’t merely calisthenics for your ability to render judgment; it’s intrinsically fun.

But today one gets the sense that a lot of people are disengaging from the whole idea of mental effort and mental training. Absenteeism rates soared during the pandemic and have remained high since. If American parents truly valued education would 26 percent of students have been chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year?

In 1984, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, 35 percent of 13-year-olds read for fun almost every day. By 2023, that number was down to 14 percent. The media is now rife with essays by college professors lamenting the decline in their students’ abilities. The Chronicle of Higher Education told the story of Anya Galli Robertson, who teaches sociology at the University of Dayton. She gives similar lectures, assigns the same books and gives the same tests that she always has. Years ago, students could handle it; now they are floundering.

Last year The Atlantic published an essay by Rose Horowitch titled “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books.” One professor recalled the lively classroom discussions of books like “Crime and Punishment.” Now the students say they can’t handle that kind of reading load.

The philosophy professor Troy Jollimore wrote in The Walrus: “I once believed my students and I were in this together, engaged in a shared intellectual pursuit. That faith has been obliterated over the past few semesters. It’s not just the sheer volume of assignments that appear to be entirely generated by A.I. — papers that show no sign the student has listened to a lecture, done any of the assigned reading or even briefly entertained a single concept from the course.”

Older people have always complained about “kids these days,” but this time we have empirical data to show that the observations are true.

What happens when people lose the ability to reason or render good judgments? Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Donald Trump’s tariff policy. I’ve covered a lot of policies over the decades, some of which I supported and some of which I opposed. But I have never seen a policy as stupid as this one. It is based on false assumptions. It rests on no coherent argument in its favor. It relies on no empirical evidence. It has almost no experts on its side — from left, right or center. It is jumble-headedness exemplified. Trump himself personifies stupidity’s essential feature — self-satisfaction, an inability to recognize the flaws in your thinking. And of course when the approach led to absolutely predictable mayhem, Trump, lacking any coherent plan, backtracked, flip-flopped, responding impulsively to the pressures of the moment as his team struggled to keep up.

Producing something this stupid is not the work of a day; it is the achievement of a lifetime — relying on decades of incuriosity, decades of not cracking a book, decades of being impervious to evidence.

Back in Homer’s day, people lived within an oral culture, then humans slowly developed a literate culture. Now we seem to be moving to a screen culture. Civilization was fun while it lasted.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I the asshole for watching a movie as a family without including my dad? Writing it out, I think I know the answer, but this has still been bugging me.

Around Thanksgiving I (30s) visited home. It was also a trip to see for my mom (late 60s) for her birthday, so I was there for a few days longer than a Thanksgiving trip would normally account for. My brother (30s) and his wife (30s) visited for her birthday too. My dad (early 70s) was there as well. They've been married over 30 years. Originally I'd planned to take everybody out to see a movie as a birthday present for my mom...but it turned out there was literally nothing at the theater that my mom was interested in at all. The town is pretty small, and the options were limited. So instead, we started out with a nice dinner, and family board game run-through of a trivia game we all thought we'd have some fun with. My mom ended up winning, which is rare and was not deliberate, and it wrapped the game up way faster than we'd anticipated.

My dad immediately went back into the living room after the game ended, openly a little annoyed that mom had won a trivia game based on something he considers himself the family expert in. He watches old reruns of the show he's seen a million times on a loop every day, and it can be pulling teeth to get him to do anything else. It was just a fluke, but something the rest of us considered a pleasant surprise since none of us had expected she'd win. But he was annoyed. Given that it was still early, Mom suggested we find a movie to watch online, so we could all wind down before bed with something the whole family could enjoy.

Dad said no. Now this feels like important context: I...have a lot of problems with my dad. I love him, but he can be extremely emotionally immature. Downright verbally abusive at times. And very petty. I'm in therapy in no small part due to some of the insecurities he instilled in me over the years. I've worked hard to set basic boundaries with him. He also has multiple medical issues, and I'm pretty sure he has untreated depression and other mental health problems he refuses to acknowledge that contribute to him flying off the handle at a moment's notice. That, combined with the fact that my mom will 100% never, ever leave him, because she was raised in a very specific mindset that she's never been fully able to shake...means my brother and I usually have to grit our teeth when he starts ranting/yelling/complaining during a visit, or we'd just end up ruining the day for our mom. She's done so much for us, and we just wanted her to have a good visit. So, that's what I did for most of the trip. I breathed deep when my dad openly mocked my stutter, and refused to get in a fight about it. I stopped myself from getting visibly upset when he tried to feed my cat table scraps even when I told him the cat needs a special diet. On other days I tried to watch his old shows with him, and ignored the sexist comments he'd make about the female leads, all for the sake of keeping the peace.

But, it was Mom's birthday. And she wanted to watch a movie.

And Dad said no.

He refused to give up his marathon of old westerns from 60 years ago to watch a new movie with his family on the big tv in the living room.

My mom seemed disappointed, so I suggested we watch one on my laptop in the kitchen instead. Without my dad, if he really wanted to watch his show instead. She agreed, and my brother, his wife, my mom and I filed into the kitchen, sat in less-than-comfy chairs, and watched a fantasy heist film that I'd thought they would all enjoy. And they did. My brother was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the movie (I'd already vouched for it being good, none of the others had seen it previously) His wife kept making notes for her dnd campaign. My mom found it hilarious, and liked that some actors from another show she liked were in it.

My dad stayed in the living room, watching his marathon.

Partway through the movie, he came in and asked us what we were watching. We told him, and he passed through the kitchen for something he needed, then said that we were being too loud. More context: the kitchen is right next to the living room, but my dad turns the tv up so loud in there it can get physically painful to be in the room with him. He refuses to get hearing aides, and only recently relented on subtitles. He also has a habit of screaming at anyone who tries to talk for a long time when his shows are on and they're in earshot, even if they're in a different room. We thought he couldn't hear it over his tv, and so when he said something we said sorry and that we'd try to keep it down, but we could already barely hear it through the laptop speakers. We already had subtitles turned on to make sure we didn't miss anything. When we told him that, he got even more annoyed. He asked how we'd like it if he turned the tv up so loud we couldn't understand anything, then proceeded to go into the living room and do just that, just as I was trying to figure out how much more we could lower the volume without losing our whole experience. We called in that we were already turning it down, and he finally turned his volume back down as well. We finished our movie, turning the volume down during action scenes and up during speaking scenes so we could actually hear the dialog. We enjoyed the rest of the film, and then people started getting ready for bed, and my mom went to check on my dad. She told me a few minutes later that he was hurt that we'd watched the movie without him. That he felt left out. I told her that he'd had multiple opportunities to join us, and that is was his choice not to watch with us. And honestly, the fact that he wouldn't give up the real tv for a couple hours so she could have a birthday movie was really upsetting to me.

She still seemed to feel bad that he was left out, and I'm a little worried that he might've sulked for days afterwards, leaving my mom in an even more stressful environment after I left. Am I the asshole for insisting my mom get to watch a movie on her birthday? And would I be the asshole if I told my dad off for what I consider to be extremely selfish behavior?

Also before anyone asks, no, I'm not cutting him off. It's literally impossible to do that without pretty much cutting off my mom as well, and she absolutely doesn't deserve that. And yes, I've offered up my apartment as a place she can stay if she ever needs to. Repeatedly. She hasn't taken me up on it yet.

What are these acronyms?

[anoddopal]

Take a gander at what has emerged from my drafts!! Finally getting around to posting the Post-Timeskip refs for Bun--

Artwork for Bun's Human-Beast; ie Bun-Beast form done in colaberation with @sun-uwu-kong!! [Please be sure to check out his blog if you like his work!]

🔽🔽!!Detailed Profile Below!! ⬇️⬇️

・❥・Name: Bun-Bun Silva [“Silver”] ・❥・Moniker: “Lucky Lepus” ・❥・Age: 27 [ Pre-Timeskip], 29 [pictured; Post-Timeskip] ・❥・Devil Fruit: Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit, Model: Wolpertinger ・❥・Haki: Conquer’s Haki; which Bun is able to utilize with limited ability. Mainly it contributes largely to how bun can both tame - and harness strong understandings with - the many creatures of the world. Alas, Bun never received the proper training to have complete mastery over her talent, which means it can’t be utilized to its fullest potential. Notably, Bun can only be formidable with her Haki subconsciously/in a signification state of distress. Bun is completely unaware of her ability- as are most others. ・❥・Spouse: La.ffitte ・❥・Affiliations: The Bl.ackbeard Pirates ・❥・Relevant Arcs: [Pre]A.labasta, J.aya, Post-En.ies Lobby, Ma.rineford, Post-War, [TIMESKIP], D.ressrosa, Z.ou, W.ano, Eg.ghead

・❥・Bunself: ・The very same Bun-Bun Silva that everyone knows and loves! Ah, granted, this version of Bun harbors a few negative traits, a few bad habits that come to the surface more often than even she would like to admit. Oh what, did you expect Bun to be nary a flaw? What a naive assumption to make. Regrettably, Bun is as human as the rest of us… ・If one is unlucky enough to cross paths with a Bla.ckbeard Pirate, then Bun is just about the only one a person would “want” to run into. She never quite got on board with the whole “pirating” profession. A simple offering will do in place of actual pillaging— Complimentary meals, free services, generous gifts from shops and vendors; nothing that would put too much of a hole in a business’ profits. And individuals/their residences [save for the immensely, ridiculously wealthy] will not be bothered at all. Areas of an island where she has personally wandered through usually remain surprisingly intact, and no worse off. Mostly, she just wants to be left alone when going about her day. ・Bun is still nice to those around her as a default. And more importantly, Bun is still kind. It is immensely difficult for her to be unkind… without a worthy reason, of course. Bun has changed- depending on whom you ask; for the better or the worse. And yet, some things never do change. She will always be soft for those who need it. She will always take the time to put a baby bird back in its nest, or carefully usher a wayward insect back outside. ・But be ever mindful about rubbing Bun the wrong way. Bun has a bit of a temper broiling beneath the surface. Mind you, it takes quite a bit of pushing to get bun to that point, but once somebody has… there is no reversing what has been done. No one really ever knows what to expect when Bun is pushed past the threshold, though a grand scale explosion is always an inevitable certainty. The fallout after the fact is a degree of consequence that many aren’t prepared to cope with. It behooves those in her presence to ensure they stay off of her shit list. ・An audacious little bucket of sass; even more so after eating the Rabbit-Rabbit Fruit, Model: Wolpertinger. Bun has always been playful, if not a bit verbally impish. However, after spending all of her time amongst a crew of morally corrupt pirates who encourage every maladjusted trait bun boasts, she’s become a bit of a mouthy menace. ・Bun is never to be underestimated. Do not be deceived by her tiny frame and innocent appearance; do not think for a second she’s any less capable of impossible feats than her devious associates. This prey animal bites back- and she’ll take a chunk outta ya when she does so, too.

For more overall info in regard to this version of Bun; please check out the #Forbidden Fruit AU tag on my blog! A few important info dumps are:

・On Bun's Dynamics with the crew [1], [2], [3]

・On Bun's thoughts on Teach [1]

[lilithofpenandbook]

I just thought of Severus Snape's last Halloween

Halloween marks the day Lily died. Snape would have hated Halloween from then after. I can imagine him being triggered by Halloween-related decorations (but hiding it deep inside), spending the entire day in utter grief remembering that day.

However, I can also imagine the other teachers being there for him that day, in their own way. Everyone knows Snape is prone to meltdowns at Halloween, they know that he's grieving. They may not know his guilt, but they know he's grieving. And that's enough.

All of them will comfort him, in their own ways. Some through little acts of kindness, like pouring out his tea for him knowing his hands aren't too steady, or listening when he rants about dunderheaded students. Pomona Sprout will talk to him about herbology related news she's kept for this day to distract him. Fillius Flitwik will ask him about those dark literature he likes even though he himself can't stomach the dark literature Snape likes, because it's better to hear Snape talk about dark literature than leave Snape to dark thoughts. Argus Filch, while patrolling with Snape and dealing with the increased numbers of troublemaking, will go on and on about a number of gruesome and disturbing things that allegedly happened in Hogwarts while Snape can't work out if Filch is just exaggerating here, and Mrs Norris will play with Snape, attacking his robes and chasing him about without hurting him (he's the only person she can stand aside from Filch).

Some are a bit more... forthright in their approaches. Rolanda Hooch has a game of Sevvy Scowling Spotting where she'll attack him if she spots him scowling and although she is much smaller than Snape she hits hard and when dealing with that how can you think about anything else? This is along with all the thousands of pranks she pulls on him. Minerva McGonagall will tell him to get himself together and be less miserable, baiting him into a verbal battle, an outlet for his anger and a distraction. Wilhelmina Grubbyplank will outright drag him to the gardens to get to some physical labour because a young boy like him needs exercise.

And without fail, every night after the feast, Albus Dumbledore will summon Snape to his office, and Snape cries at long last. Sometimes Snape will snap and bite first, sometimes he'll be stony, but eventually he'll cry it out. Dumbledore lets him cry in silence, and sometimes answers to the self deprecation in a cheerful yet frank manner that to others seems like he's dismissing Snape considering how he's making Snape's laments to be ridiculous and dramatic. Yet it works to bring Snape back from the dark place his mind retreated to and ground him back in Hogwarts.

They'll play some game, then. Chess, or cards, or whatever other board games Dumbledore hoards. Snape chooses the game. Dumbledore makes the drinks. And they'll play for hours, starting with them playing normally, and eventually devolving into a magnificent chaos as Snape yells at Dumbledore for cheating and Dumbledore denies it while cheating in the worst, most blatant manner with the most hilarious innocent expressions and Snape can't yell because he's laughing and crying and losing his mind and then McGonagall without fail comes in to yell at them and ends up joining them game and beating Dumbledore and Snape together and they're almost sure she's cheating but don't dare accuse her of it.

And this is how every single Halloween plays out. It is both Snape's worst night and his best, because every single year without fail he feels miserable and every single year without fail his family gathers around to help him out.

Without fail.

...without fail, right?

Right?

...

Snape's last Halloween is spent with him in his room, isolating himself from the world. Wrapped in a quilted blanket made with the contributions of all the others for him. This is all he has left of them, and even it's tearing apart a little. The first time it had a tear he'd actually had a full on meltdown, and they'd comforted him, telling him it's just a blanket that can be mended, but somehow they all forgot to mend it. And he's holding to it, and it's soaked wet.

There is no kindness. No teasing. No verbal battles of wit. There's no games in the middle of the night. No laughter, no love. It's all gone.

He's the reason why it's gone. He's the one who broke it. He's the only person they can blame for that terrible, awful night at the astronomy tower.

There's a worse night than Halloween.

[redstringraven]

hello, hi, i've been having severe raphneth brainrot all morning/day, and i almost never babble about them, so here's some incoherent thought-and-feeling-dumping. i don't expect anyone to read this because i just needed to pace around and gesture wildly at my conspiracy board while talking to the spiders hiding in various nooks and crannies.

if you read, hope you enjoy my continued nonsense (and thank u).

again this is gonna be very stream-of-consciousness yammering, so i apologize if it's hard to follow or gets repetitive or if my word choices could have been better and my thoughts more refined. i just wanna flail my hands a little without feeling pressured to make it Nice.

i know i've repeated this thought a lot when i have talked about them, but i love so much that it's two heavily guarded people--both who have learned for one reason or another that the world is cold, and you need to protect yourself and what you hold dear from it--learning together that vulnerability isn't weakness. and also, like... learning to value themselves, too?

this isn't to say i don't think raph--specifically--values himself. it's more, i think as the series goes on up to the point where gwyn's entered the picture (so, post season 4) he's kind of in this ... limbo... where he feels almost like he doesn't have a "place" or a "valuable role" or anything he can really point to and say is his. as tots, he thought HE would be "top turtle" (his words), but over time he was happy to step aside, so to speak, and follow leo's direction. they all got a bit of a harsh wake up call when don got double-mutated to all the things they rely on him for. and, while i think he'd really hesitate to say it out loud, i'm sure he knows he's the third strongest fighter from a technical standpoint. i continue to emphasize that i feel his bitterness toward mikey's battle nexus win comes more from the fact he let mikey exploit a weakness of his and lost agency to his anger, rather than the fact he lost to mikey. truthfully, i feel like raph's more than proud of mikey--if not glad that he's capable taking care of himself, and even more than that when he wants to. i wouldn't say raph's "settled" to being the protector/shield as a role, more so he's maybe leaning into it. it's not a silent role, either--his family is aware he has a tendency to block or take hits for them, don has verbalized this as early as season 1. it's something he does, it's something he contributes. he's strong enough to do.

this kind of lack and loss of identity can also be found in gwyn, but amplified. gwyn's molded herself into so many different behaviors, personalities, and she's worn so many masks in order to get by and survive that she's lost connection with herself. if she's not constantly searching for a way to get ash back in a living, breathing body, who is she? what does she like? hobbies? how does she really feel about things when she's not trying to get on someone's good side?

it's both an interesting common ground AND an interesting contrast when it comes to raph, because no matter what raph is always going to unapologetically be himself. he may be struggling to find (where he perceives) he needs to 'fit into' the family unit, but he knows who he is. you can take him or leave him; he knows what he likes, what he doesn't, and he'll let you know, too.

raph is a person who can identify strength. i've mentioned in my enneagram posts that he can sniff out who holds the most power or control in a room, and, likewise, i'd be willing to bet that he's quick to pick up on an individual's strength-areas. things they're good at, what they gravitate to, skills they have that could easily flourish if given the right attention. he can and will, easily, be your biggest hype-man--we see him gas up don several times. he wants to see those he cares about discover where they're strong, and he wants to give them that empowerment and confidence in themselves. i've gestured at this when i talked about his brotp with min-ji, how he cares for her well-being unconditionally. all this to say, raph's likely picked up on gwyn's missing sense of self. as they grow closer--and ESPECIALLY as gwyn/ash's arc comes to a close and they get to start embracing a quieter life--raph would absolutely start helping gwyn take better notice of what things make her happy. not happy for an ulterior reason--things that genuinely make HER. happy. raph doesn't like being lied to--he can be a walking lie-detector--and i can see that gently coming into use if gwyn starts to say she likes something because she thinks it'd appease someone they're around, and him finding subtle ways to be like "...y'sure?". not to like... manipulate her or anything, but more to steer her to being more genuine and authentic with how she feels about something? if that makes sense??? getting to be a part of her... finding herself... being confident and happy and finally feeling connected to her own soul?

and then we have his side of things, where he's presently leaning hard into the shield and protector role. gwyn... doesn't like that.

ash died throwing herself in front of gwyn. she got stabbed shielding gwyn's body with her own. gwyn does NOT want people taking hits meant for her--especially if they're someone she's grown close to. raph's done this for her once already, and they got in an argument over it that only ended when gwyn said "they won't lose you because of me" and "you're more than a glorified meat shield".

since gwyn's best friends with mikey, she's NO DOUBT picked up on how much mikey looks up to raph, and how raph's his best bud. since she's learned how to read people like books, i'm sure she's noticed the silent appreciation and respect don and leo have for him, too, when he goes out of his way to do things for them, or when he just seems to know to spend time with them, or how attentive he is. she loves enabling mikey's braggart moments when it comes to his championship, but don't think YOU'RE off the hook, raphael. she sees all those 'small' things you do, and she will find ways to praise you for them in the presence of others and uplift you. you're trying to play down the work you put into rebuilding mikey's battle nexus trophy since the original was destroyed with the second lair? oh, bet--she's gonna make sure the others know the trouble you went to in order to make it as authentic as possible. you are SEEN.

gwyn definitely thinks SHE needs to earn any love she gets--love for her must be earned because she's essentially a curse. if she wants to be treated like anything but that, she has to prove herself. perhaps, hypocritically, she knows this isn't the case for others. where raph thinks he might need to fill a role or contribute somehow to the family unit and not be "dead weight", gwyn would push back and tell him that he doesn't need to do any of that bullshite. he's already doing so much by just being there and by being who he is. she can't comprehend applying this to herself because she was BORN a curse, but raph is already adored by his family--he doesn't NEED to do anything--his presence in the room is a pillar of strength and his family feels empowered by the simple fact that he's standing at their side. she sees that--easily. she's felt it, herself. the sense of security he grants those around him who know he'll stand beside them without flinching for no other reason than he loves them.

which, again, is an extremely difficult concept for her to wrap her head around when it comes to herself. befriending mikey was a huge step toward even opening her mind to this idea, as he would emphasize that he and his brothers want gwyn and ash around for no other reason than the privilege of knowing them. if mikey hadn't given her the space and patience and kindness to come around to accepting that it was possible for someone to stay by her side--expecting nothing in return--for no other reason than they wanted her around, then it'd be even harder for her to believe that raph would extend that to her as well. because, again, she and raph are both heavily guarded people--and they no doubt clocked that in each other immediately.

another common-ground point i feel like they have is that sense of being """the problem child""" or an '"""inferior sibling""" (gwyn is the 'parasitic twin', and it's not lost on me that raph's rebuttal when he starts getting angry about losing is sometimes "you think you're better than me?"). they're both used to, and often willing, to play the part of a scapegoat. we've seen raph do it in-series, and gwyn has absolutely taken the fall for ash as kids, so ash could continue to keep what little of the community's good graces she had. they both get what it feels like to be "the family screw up". there's a lack of judgment and silent understanding there. they also have similar ways of processing their emotions when they get heightened, but gwyn's more tapped into her emotional state and is better at identifying WHICH strong emotion she's feeling and figuring out how to "best" manage it in order to navigate the situation and her surroundings. it'd give her insight into what raph experiences when he feels strongly--allowing her to be patient with him and vigilant of what he responds to--and she over time extends this knowledge and these tools to him to help him with his temper. and where gwyn won't hesitate to hurt someone if it means protecting someone she loves or to protect herself, i think... i think she'd realize pretty fast that despite all his barking, raph's bite isn't like hers. she can hurt, compartmentalize or rationalize, and walk away. if raph hurt someone--and ESPECIALLY if he did it while in a heightened/anger-triggered state--it'd haunt him. even if it was someone she wanted to see pay for something they did, she'd hold raph back. not because it's the """right thing to do""", but because it's helping and, in a way, protecting him. when he comes back down, cools off, he's grateful for this.

there's, of course, the understanding of just how invaluable eachother's families are to them. they both come from perspectives where, for a LONG time, their family was all they had and all they expected to have. raph understands where gwyn's coming from when it comes to the lengths she'll go to get ash back--HE'S faced that before when don double-mutated. and likewise, gwyn gets to a point she wouldn't take any of the turtles choosing each other over her as like... a personal attack or an act of betrayal. she gets it, because she'd pick ash first, too. i think that's ...kind of a 'flaw' both the turtles and gwyn/ash share, is that they're always going to have a bias toward their family units. and gwyn and raph get that when it comes to each other. it doesn't mean an impossible choice like that would hurt any less, more so the sting afterward wouldn't come with resentment. it's another one of those unspoken understandings. their siblings are their worlds, and they can never turn their backs to them. and it's also because of that understanding that the other's sibling(s) becomes a part of that world, too. like... i've talked about what mikey means to gwyn. she also respects the everloving FUCK out of leo, and has a lot of admiration for don. and ash's lack of autonomy and agency alone is enough to make raph protective of her; as she comes out of her shell more, he comes to love her dry and strange sense of humor and also loves getting into random, petty banter with her. and, obviously, the weight of the sacrifice she made in the first place isn't lost on him. you KNOW he respects the hell out of the unshaken loyalty and love she showed to gwyn throughout their youth, even when it came at the cost of friendships, opportunities to learn, and participation in community celebrations.

and also just... the concept of these two people who're used to being "handled" so roughly finding tenderness and safety with each other. the fact that i don't think ANYONE aside from ash has told gwyn outright that they love her, and the day that raph says "i love you" to her is kind of world-shattering in a sense, because it goes against everything she was ever told or lead to believe or had come to believe about herself because of what she's done to stay alive. and she'd just... start crying... not because she's sad, more just because she's so... overwhelmed and feeling so much all at once that her body just. starts. crying. and of course he holds and anchors her through it.

i just

the fact so much of this only exists in my own skull is torture and torment and i want more time and energy to put it on paper so my random bouts of affection aggression make sense to more people than just myself and i feel slightly less annoying clawing at the walls, gnawing the floorboards, skittering about the leaves and burrowing in the dirt.

these slow, slow burn bitches, i hate them. get out of my school. i could keep going but i've lost track of how deep in the weeds i am so i'll just stop here. if you got all the way to the end... uh... i'm so sorry and also thank you so frickin much, oh my god >xDDDD

[jmagnabo92]

PW2024 - Day 6 - Questions

@prongsfootweekarchive

Thoughts for this Ship? (Link), but if anyone wants to contribute other questions - feel free to do so before the week starts!)

Who cooks? James. 

Who’s the messiest?  James. 

The cleanest? Sirius.

Who fixes the vehicle after a breakdown? Sirius.

Living space has a leak! Who fixes it?  Sirius.

Who buys the groceries?  James.

Going out to eat: Who pays?  They switch.

Who orders the most food? They usually share, so even.

And who has dessert?  James.  

Would they go to the beach?  Yes!

Who knows how to swim? Both

Is someone multilingual? I always imagined that Sirius is. 

Do they try to teach another language to the other? Yes.  

How does it go?  Well, they’re both very intelligent.

Any pets?  Yes, Sirius is always picking up stray animals and takes care of them.

Or plants? James likes to bring Sirus flowers.

Baths or showers? Showers.

Together or separate?  If they’re in the mood, together.  Regularly, separate.

Any bubbles or bubble fights?  Yes.

Can they stand silence?  Sirius can, James can’t.

Who talks the most? James.

Who talks the least? Sirius.

Who stays up late?  Sirius

Who sleeps the most? James

Does the other have to force them to sleep/wake up? Yes.

Who is the highest maintenance? Does the other mind?  James, and no.  Sirius loves him no matter what.

Vacation ideas: who decides them?  They decide together.

Where would they go, if anywhere? Somewhere nature-esque.  

How often do they have sex, if at all? All the time.

Who brings ideas?  Both.

Who initiates? Both.

Any kinks they clash on?  Nope.

Does someone ever end up unfinished?  No, never.

How are their afterglows?  Cuddly, and teasing.

Who’s loud? James.

Who’s quiet? Sirius.

Does one try to make the other louder/quieter?  Yes.

How? Gags or doing extra things they like.

Lights on or off? On.

Do they look at each other? Yes.

Or is someone embarrassed? No. 

Open or closed relationship? Closed, but they could go for threesome, sometimes.

Do they sometimes share? If they’re in the mood.

Random Ship questions (year 2) – 

What is each member’s love language?  James – grand gestures, Sirius – touch.

What would they describe as their perfect date? Somewhere alone, quiet, maybe out in nature somewhere.

Who made the first move? James.

Who is more sentimental? James.

Which member calls the other in to kill the spiders? James.

Who falls asleep first? James.

Who wakes up first? Sirius.

Who is more relaxed/carefree? Sirius.

What’s one way their personalities compliment one another? (Is it opposites attract or are they pretty similar?) They’re both very inventive so they can easily jump on board one another’s thought processed.

Who is always cold? Sirius.

Which member is always trying to bring home stray animals and which member always has to say no? Sirius (but James could never say no to him).

Who worries more? Sirius.

What are some non-sexual activities they do together?  Going for motorbike rides and picnics.

Who would be able to talk their way out of a speeding ticket? Sirius.

Who is the better cook? James.

What are some things they don’t agree on?  James’ optimism.

Which member is more physically affectionate? James.

Which member is more verbally affectionate? Sirius.

How does each member feel about PDA? James loves it, Sirius accepts it.

Who’s the safer driver?  Sirius.

What’s each member flirting style?  Sirius is naturally charming, while James is awkwardly flirting.  

Which member steals borrows the other ones clothing?  James.

Who is the cuddle initiator?  James.  

Are they an introverted couple or an extroverted one—AKA would they prefer to go out to a party or event together or would they rather stay in?  They’re both happy with either as long as they’re together <3

Who is the big/little spoon? James Big Sirius Little, but they’d switch sometimes.

Who is more likely to make an impulsive decision and who is the voice of reason?  James would be impulsive and Sirius the voice of reason.  

Who’s more likely to laugh at their own jokes? Both!

Who takes longer showers? James.

Who is “more loved” by the in-laws? Sirius.  The Blacks can’t stand James.  

Who is more likely to get jealous? James.

What was the most surprising thing they learned about one another once they started dating?  That they could still have so much to talk about even after spending every day for years together as friends.

Who stays up way too late and who tries to drag them to bed?  Sirius late – James to bed.

Who wanted/would want kids first? James.

Who gives piggy back rides to the other? Sirius would totally give James a piggyback ride.

Who fell in love first?  James.

[gothicseverance]

hello! obsessed with all the cool work you're doing here on this blog, and i was wondering if you saw where the new york times' podcast 'critics at large' did an episode recently talking about how severance utilizes gothic doubles? thought it might be right up your alley :)

Oh my gosh that is very flattering AND great intel! I am downloading it as we speak. Thank you thank you feeling validatedddd 🖇️

[beardedmrbean]

The family of a Virginia high school student are filing a lawsuit claiming the staff of her high school secretly transitioned her to a male, which set off a chain of events in which the teen ran away and became a victim of sex trafficking.

Michele Blair filed a lawsuit against the Appomattox County School Board, district staff and a Maryland public defender, claiming that her daughter Sage had been transitioned by faculty at the school without her knowledge – while a public defender later fought Blair's efforts to regain custody of her child.

"They stole my right to protect my daughter," Blair said of the lawsuit in an interview with the Washington Examiner. "I'm the parent, I am an expert on my child, there is nobody in the school or court system that knows my daughter better than me. They will never know my daughter better than I do."

Blair said that Sage had a troubled childhood and suffered from mental health issues when she began attending Appomattox County High School in 2021. While at the school, Sage began identifying as male and using male pronouns with the help and support of staffers at the school, something Blair says in the suit was "deliberately concealed" from her parents. That transition also led to severe bullying by classmates, Blair said, something that staffers were aware of.

"It was verbal, physical, sexually harassed with constant threats of rape by the male classmates," Blair said. "Despite this, the school encouraged her to use the boys' bathroom."

The bullying eventually led Sage to run away from home, Blair said, resulting in the then-14-year-old being kidnapped and raped by multiple men in four different states.

According to the lawsuit, Sage was initially taken to Washington, D.C., after being abducted and was left with two men, who drugged and raped the teen. Sage was then allegedly driven to Maryland and left with a registered sex offender, who drugged and raped the child.

Sage was eventually rescued from the situation by federal authorities, but the trauma didn't end there, according to the allegations. Baltimore public defender Aneesa Khan fought returning the teen to the parent's custody after a rescue, arguing that the family were not "sufficiently affirming" of Sage’s new gender identity, according to Blair.

That resulted in Sage being put into a juvenile facility for adolescent males, "where she was again sexually assaulted, exposed to drugs, and denied medical and mental health care," according to the lawsuit.

Sage then ran away from that facility but was allegedly found by yet another pedophile, who trafficked the teen to Texas, "where she was again raped, drugged, starved, and tortured until law enforcement in Texas rescued her and notified her mother who returned her to Virginia," the lawsuit said.

Vernadette Broyles, an attorney with the Child & Parent Rights Campaign who represents that family, said that Sage has been forced to undergo "intensive in-patient and outpatient therapy to address the multiple incidents of extreme trauma caused by Defendants’ acts and omissions," adding that the teen also suffers from complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Natasha M. Dartigue, the top public defender in Maryland, defended Khan's actions, telling the Washington Examiner that the attorney had "appropriately represented her client in accordance with her legal, ethical, and professional obligations."

Dartigue's office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Request for comment.

The case has caught the attention of Virginia's Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, who released new guidance aimed at mitigating school policies that contributed to Sage's case.

"Sage's tragic story demonstrates the importance of parental involvement," a Youngkin spokesperson told the Washington Examiner. "For Sage and students, parents and teachers across the Commonwealth, the governor will continue to empower parents and ensure the privacy, dignity, and respect of all students with the model policies."

The Appomattox County Public School District did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Meanwhile, Blair told the Washington Examiner that Sage "doesn't remember a lot of it because of the trauma" and that managing her PTSD will be challenging.

"That doesn't mean she won't have a happy life, but she will always struggle with flashbacks of horrible, horrible memories," Blair said. "But I will just love her through them all."

Blair said the family are taking things "a day at a time," adding that she is "looking forward to a brighter future" for Sage.

[fuckyeahvanhalen86-95]

As Sammy Hagar prepares to embark on his career-spanning Best Of All Worlds tour this summer, a campaign to get him inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has just been launched.

Behind the campaign are Darin Bristow and Brent Kinnaird, hosts of the podcast devoted to Sammy Hagar called The Bogus Otis Show: 9 Degrees of Sammy Hagar. Bristow told the VHND that this is just the beginning of what he hopes is a momentum builder.

"A healthy stack of signatures and votes is good, but it's only part of our formula," said Bristow. "Phase one is to hit up influential rockers and/or music/media influencers whose verbal endorsements or 'thumbs up' would help raise awareness and in turn influence the decision makers behind the RRHOF. So, essentially, we get the Eddie Trunks, the VHNDS, and the Guy Fieris, etc to endorse it, which then influences the board members, who then influence the Hall to put him on the ballot. Then phase two begins. When he's on the ballot we rally to get him in!"

From Bristow & Kinnaird:

"Sammy Hagar embodies Rock n' Roll. His voice, his energy, his songwriting skills, his numerous career reinventions, and his longevity is practically unparalleled. As solo artist, his musical endeavors stand tall amongst his peers and his never-ending contributions to furthering the legacy of rock and roll have never said goodbye. As Sammy embarks on his most ambitious career-spanning tour ever, NOW is the time he and his solo achievements receive the recognition they so rightly deserve. For six decades and counting, Sammy Hagar has been an enduring figure in rock music. From his beginnings with the highly influential Montrose, to his V1 successful solo career, thru fronting the mighty Van Halen to his V2 and V3 solo incarnations Sammy has consistently delivered high-energy performances and memorable hits like 'Rock Candy', 'I Can't Drive 55', 'Heavy Metal,' 'There's Only One Way to Rock', 'Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy' and 'Mas Tequila', while also creating powerful supergroups along the way. Despite being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of Van Halen in 2007, Hagar's significant contributions as a solo artist remain overlooked by this prestigious institution. By signing this petition, you're adding momentum to recognizing Sammy Hagar's incredible legacy as a solo artist by inducting him into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Let's give this living legend the recognition he deserves! Together, it's time we turned the Rock Hall 'Red!'"

[burnnouts]

Quick Bio: Tony Stark is the heir and CEO of Stark Industries, an internationally renowned and cutting edge tech company that his father founded after WWII. Though his father's company made weapons for the military, pitching Stark Industries as a "patriotic" American company, Tony has reinvented the business to instead focus on medical technology and vowed never to work for the military or U.S. government again. As the superhero "Iron Man," he secretly flies around the world, destroying bombs and guns and returning stolen resources commonly used in the tech industry.

Note: Tony is a canon character from the Marvel Comic Universe (616) and the majority of my characterization comes from the Disney XD Show Avengers Assemble and the novel Iron Man: Extremis by Marie Javins

Extended bio under cut:

TWs: child abuse, alcoholism, car crash, torture, war

Anthony "Tony" Stark was born to founder and CEO of Stark Industries, Howard Stark, and his wife, Maria. Publically, Howard was a weapons manufacturer known for his contributions to the super soldier program, which produced Captain America, and his work on the Manhattan Project during WWII. He also founded S.H.I.E.L.D., an international intelligence and peace keeping agency. To the world, Howard was a patriotic industrialist, but to his family, he was as a drunk prone to bursts of anger and verbal and physical abuse. As the years stripped away the last of the charming man she'd married, Tony's mother became deeply depressed and rarely left her room, though prior to her her self-isolation from society, she founded the Maria Stark Charity Foundation which helped to fund women's shelters and youth centers.

As a child, Tony quickly showed signs of genius and at the age of five began to create machines which provided order in his chaotic household. At six, his father began to force Tony into consuming large quantaties of alcohol, beginning an addiction that would continue for the rest of his life. He left home at seven to attend boarding school, and at fifteen, Tony went to MIT, graduating two years later at the top of his class with a double major in Physics and Engineering. He would eventually earn seven doctorates.

At seventeen, Tony fell for a twenty-two year old woman who convinced him to give her the access codes to Stark Industries. Her family, a rival of Howard's, later released all of the same products, and the woman broke up with Tony once he'd served his purpose. He was sent to Europe for further schooling, where again, he met a woman whose parents rivaled his own; though they attempted to run away together, their family's tracked them down. Her family, HYDRA agents, attempted to kill Tony before he escaped. A few years later, Tony's parents died in an assassination disguised as a car accident.

After inheriting Stark Industries, Tony changed the company from soley a weapons manufacturing firm to a beacon of technological futures, including state-of-the-art medical tech, in hopes that one day they could create more things that saved lives than took them. He also bought the car company that made the vehicle his parents had died in and fixed their faulty break systems. Tony not only continued but expanded his mother's charity efforts.

During a weapon's demonstration in Afghanistan, Tony's convoy was attacked with his own weapons, and he was taken hostage by the Ten Rings organization. He would have died from shrapnel drilling into his chest if he had not been saved by fellow prisoner, Ho Yinsen. Yinsen performed open heart surgery on Tony in the cave where both were being kept, and instilled a battery-powered magnet in his chest that kept the shrapnel at bay. When their kidnappers attempted to torture Tony into making them a missile, he and Yinsen instead built the Iron Man armor with which he escaped the cave. Yinsen, however, sacrificed himself in the attack, wishing to be reuinted with his late family.

Once back in America, Tony immediately shut down all weapons manufacturing at Stark Industries, after seeing first hand that he was part of an industry with no accountability. What he had been raised to believe was patriotism was indeed violent imperialism, and his weapons had been used to terrorize people all over the world, whether it be by the hands of terrorists or American soldiers. Tony continued to update the Iron Man armor and eventually used it to remove as many of his weapons as he could throughout the world. Eventually, Obadiah, his father's business partner, learned what Tony was doing and attacked with a suit of his own, revealing that he had been the one order the hit on Tony in the first place. The two fought, and Obadiah was killed.

About six months after Iron Man was created, Tony was approached by Nick Fury, the new director of his father's organization, SHIELD, who claimed he was building a team of super powered individuals. Because of his deteriorating mental helath, Tony was not immediately cleared to join, but when a Norse god, Loki, took over New York City with an alien army, Tony and several other super-powered individuals were brought in to save the day. Tony earned the trust of his team by flying a nuke into an alien wormhole, a journey he barely survived.

After their successful save of the city, the Avengers decided to continue fighting forces of evil, and Tony set up their headquarters in the top few floors of his company's New York building.

Hoping to keep his super hero identity and famous persona separate, Tony operated for many years in secret, claiming Iron Man to be his body guard until one day he rushed in front of a car to save a dog and was photographed without his mask.

[lanabriggs]

Promoting Psychological Safety at Work. Why It Matters and How to Make It Real

Psychological safety — feeling secure enough at work to speak up, ask questions, offer ideas, or admit mistakes without fear of judgment or negative consequences — is increasingly recognized as a key driver of high-performing teams. In today’s workforce, where collaboration often spans across functions, geographies, and hybrid environments, fostering this type of safety is no longer a side initiative — it’s foundational to innovation and employee well-being.

Why It’s Essential in Today’s Business Environment.

Hybrid work models, increasing workforce diversity, and the pressure to innovate have all changed the nature of team interactions. Employees today want to feel that their contributions matter, even when working remotely. This expectation has made psychological safety a topic that leaders can no longer afford to overlook.

Teams that lack psychological safety tend to fall into patterns of silence or avoidance, which limits honest feedback and stifles creativity. On the other hand, when employees feel safe, they are far more willing to take initiative, challenge assumptions, and contribute to broader organizational goals.

Practical Ways to Promote Psychological Safety.

1. Model Transparent Leadership.

Leaders need to set the tone by openly admitting when they don’t have all the answers, and by welcoming input regardless of an employee’s seniority. When leaders normalize uncertainty and curiosity, it creates an environment where employees feel empowered to speak candidly.

2. Facilitate Open Dialogue Regularly.

Create intentional spaces for employees to express concerns, reflect on group decisions, and offer feedback. This can be accomplished through regular check-ins, anonymous surveys, or structured team retrospectives where all voices are heard.

3. Create Safe Feedback Channels.

Psychological safety isn’t about agreeing with leadership — it’s about creating a framework where dissent is respectful and constructive. Anonymous feedback tools and whistleblower protections are formal ways to support this. Informal methods, like skip-level meetings or feedback office hours, can also encourage openness.

4. Acknowledge Input Without Penalizing Risk.

Teams should be rewarded for thoughtful risk-taking — even when results don’t work out as expected. Reinforce behaviors that demonstrate initiative, and make it clear that setbacks are viewed as learning opportunities, not grounds for criticism.

5. Integrate Mental Health Resources Into Culture.

Support systems such as mental health days, confidential therapy sessions, and manager training on psychological safety topics help normalize conversations around emotional well-being. According to Deloitte’s 2024 Mental Health in the Workplace survey, companies that invest in such programs see improved retention and employee satisfaction.

6. Train Managers to Recognize Signals.

Psychological safety isn’t always verbal. Body language, reduced participation in meetings, or avoidance of accountability can signal fear or disengagement. Equip managers to spot these signs early and respond with empathy rather than pressure.

Eric Hannelius, CEO of Pepper Pay, speaks directly to the responsibility of leadership in fostering psychological safety: “It’s not enough to say you want transparency — leaders have to show it through their actions. Every time an employee shares a concern or admits a mistake, how leadership responds sets the tone for the entire culture. If that response is respectful and focused on progress, it builds trust across the board.”

“A safe workplace is one where people can bring their full selves to the job, speak without fear, and know they’re being heard. That’s the kind of environment where innovation happens organically,” Eric Hannelius adds.

In workplaces where psychological safety is prioritized, employees tend to be more committed, collaborative, and resilient in the face of challenges. Promoting this environment takes more than a single workshop — it requires continuous leadership engagement, a willingness to listen, and a workplace culture that sees vulnerability not as weakness, but as a path to growth. As companies compete for top talent and navigate constant change, psychological safety is no longer a “soft skill” benefit — it’s a strategic necessity for long-term success.

[pcrtisuyog]

What Skills Do You Gain from Pursuing a Career in Clinical Research?

One area of the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries that is expanding quickly is clinical research. The need for qualified experts in clinical research has grown dramatically as more novel therapies and drugs are created. What skills do you get by pursuing a career in clinical research? Is a question you may have if you're thinking about taking clinical research courses?

Let’s explore the core competencies and transferable skills that make clinical research a dynamic and rewarding career path.

1. Analytical and Critical Thinking Skills

Analytical thinking is one of the fundamental abilities you acquire in clinical research. To ascertain the efficacy and safety of novel medications or therapies, clinical trials entail gathering, evaluating, and analysing enormous data sets. You will get knowledge of how to: • accurately interpret clinical data; • Use statistical software to analyse outcomes; Analyse possible risks and rewards; find patterns and trends in clinical outcomes; these abilities contribute to the validity, dependability, and action ability of study findings.

2. Attention to Detail

A high degree of precision is required for clinical research. Your attention to detail is essential whether you're organizing case report forms, recording patient replies, or making sure ethical compliance is maintained. Clinical research courses help you to: • Excellent documentation abilities • the practice of cross-checking and error-checking • Adherence to legal requirements; • Regularity in data collection since a single mistake in paperwork can affect the entire trial, accuracy is one of the most highly regarded qualities in this field.

3. Ethical and Regulatory Understanding

In clinical research, adhering to Good Clinical Practice (GCP) and ethical standards is non-negotiable. You’ll gain a thorough understanding of:

Informed consent procedures

Patient rights and confidentiality

Institutional Review Board (IRB) processes

International guidelines like ICH-GCP, FDA, and EMA standards

These skills ensure that you can conduct trials ethically and legally across diverse settings.

4. Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Clinical research is a collaborative field. Whether you’re coordinating with doctors, interacting with participants, or reporting to sponsors, strong communication is vital. During your training, you’ll build:

Verbal and written communication skills

Report writing and documentation expertise

Conflict resolution and patient counselling abilities

Team collaboration strategies

Clear communication improves study outcomes and participant trust.

5. Project Management and Organizational Skills

Managing a clinical trial requires juggling multiple responsibilities, from budgeting and resource allocation to timeline tracking. Clinical research courses equip you with:

Time management strategies

Budget and resource planning

Task delegation and workflow coordination

Monitoring and reporting progress

These skills are especially beneficial if you pursue roles like Clinical Research Associate (CRA) or Project Manager.

6. Technical Proficiency

Modern clinical research relies heavily on technology. You’ll gain hands-on experience with tools and platforms used for:

Electronic Data Capture (EDC)

Clinical Trial Management Systems (CTMS)

Statistical software like SPSS or SAS

Remote monitoring tools

This technical foundation enhances your efficiency and employability.

7. Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Abilities

Unexpected issues often arise in clinical trials—participant dropouts, protocol deviations, or data inconsistencies. Clinical research training helps you:

Identify problems quickly

Develop logical solutions

Make informed decisions under pressure

Adapt to changes and stay compliant

These capabilities are crucial in dynamic and high-stakes environments.

8. Career-Ready Professionalism

Beyond technical skills, clinical research courses also nurture professional behaviour. You learn to:

Maintain confidentiality

Act responsibly and ethically

Work independently and as part of a team

Uphold a high standard of integrity

These soft skills are key to building long-term success and credibility in the field.

Conclusion

What abilities can a job in clinical research provide, then? The answer is: a broad range of interpersonal, analytical, ethical, and technical abilities that set you up for success in one of the most important sectors of healthcare innovation. Clinical research courses provide a strong basis for a rewarding career if you have a strong interest in science, patient care, and advancing medical knowledge. Regardless of your professional goals—clinical research coordinator, CRA, data manager, or regulatory specialist—the abilities you gain will provide access to a wide range of public and private sector employment options.

[shreeramuniversalschool]

Schools in Ludhiana: The Importance of Education and Learning Through Play

Ludhiana is home to some of the finest educational institutions in Punjab, catering to students from preschool to higher secondary levels. Schools play a crucial role in shaping a child's future by providing academic knowledge, social skills, and overall personality development. Education is not just about textbooks; modern schools in Ludhiana focus on a balanced approach that includes academics, sports, and play-based learning. In this blog, we will explore the importance of schools, how learning through play benefits children, and some of the top schools in Ludhiana.

Why Schools Are Important for Children

Schools are more than just places of learning; they help students develop essential life skills. Here’s why schools are important:

1. Structured Learning Environment

Schools provide a systematic way of acquiring knowledge. Subjects like mathematics, science, and languages help students develop logical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and communication skills.

2. Social Development

School is where children learn to interact with peers, teachers, and authority figures. These interactions help them develop teamwork, leadership, and social etiquette.

3. Character Building and Discipline

A school environment teaches children discipline, punctuality, and responsibility. These qualities prepare them for future challenges in academics and life.

4. Extracurricular Activities for Holistic Growth

Education is not limited to books. Schools in Ludhiana encourage students to participate in sports, arts, music, and drama, which enhances creativity and physical fitness.

5. Preparation for Future Careers

A strong educational foundation helps students choose career paths based on their interests and skills. Schools play a major role in guiding them toward higher education and professional success.

Learning Through Play: A New Approach in Schools

Play-based learning has gained popularity in schools as it makes education more engaging and effective for young children. Many schools in Ludhiana incorporate play-based techniques in their curriculum.

Benefits of Learning Through Play

Enhances Creativity – Activities like drawing, storytelling, and role-playing encourage imagination and creative thinking.

Improves Motor Skills – Games and physical activities help in the development of fine and gross motor skills.

Builds Communication Skills – Interactive play improves verbal and non-verbal communication among students.

Reduces Stress – A fun learning environment helps children enjoy the learning process without excessive pressure.

Encourages Problem-Solving Abilities – Puzzles, building blocks, and educational games challenge children to think critically and find solutions.

Top Schools in Ludhiana Offering Play-Based Learning

Many schools in Ludhiana understand the importance of combining education with play. Here are some of the top schools that follow this modern approach:

DAV Public School – Offers a mix of academics, sports, and extracurricular activities.

Ryan International School – Known for its interactive and engaging learning techniques.

Sacred Heart Convent School – Focuses on overall personality development along with academic excellence.

BCM Arya Model School – Encourages students to participate in various skill-building activities.

Green Land Convent School – Provides a balanced curriculum with a focus on sports and co-curricular activities.

Importance of Choosing the Right School

Selecting the right school for your child is a crucial decision. Here are some factors to consider when choosing a school in Ludhiana:

Academic Performance – Check the school’s track record in board exams.

Teaching Methodology – Schools that incorporate activity-based learning make education more effective.

Infrastructure and Facilities – Look for well-equipped classrooms, libraries, and sports facilities.

Faculty and Staff – Qualified and experienced teachers contribute significantly to a child’s learning experience.

Extracurricular Activities – Schools that promote arts, sports, and cultural programs help in the overall development of students.

Conclusion

Schools in Ludhiana provide a strong educational foundation while focusing on overall growth. With modern teaching methods, including play-based learning, schools ensure that students enjoy the process of gaining knowledge. Whether you are looking for academic excellence, extracurricular activities, or a combination of both, Ludhiana has some of the best schools to offer. Choosing the right school will shape your child’s future and help them become successful individuals in life.