#this may vary based on the season? or any other reason

[scoatneyhall]

This news has people saying they'd like to see more from AFC Richmond (obviously) including the creation of the women's team. This is kind of a nightmare idea for me, because one thing I, as a football nerd, need people to understand about the concept of an AFC Richmond Women's Team is that they absolutely definitely already should have had one during seasons 1-3 of the show? Which made the pitch from Keeley in the s3 finale montage land SUPER badly for me. Like, a nice idea, easily conveyed, but nope.

Because the "football canon" of the situation is that every established Premier League club now has an affiliated women's team. And like yeah, Richmond aren't very good. But most other clubs going down the ladder into the Championship, League One, etc, also have women's teams. Richmond, when the show started, had been in the Prem without relegation for a long time. They would not be the only Prem club without a womens team!!! They would have been constantly called out for it, it would have been a huge criticism and pressure point.

(Side note: same goes for a youth academy - clubs are required to have one. So you can imagine that off-screen, AFC Richmond is operating an academy, a Development/ Reserve men's team, and a women's team, it just has nothing to do with the squad Ted coaches and their training may well be housed elsewhere.)

The WSL (womens top tier in the UK) doesn't have as many teams in it as the Prem due to structure (12 vs the Prem's 20), so the levels the men's and women's teams play at can vary drastically within the same club. Not all Prem clubs have the womens team in the WSL. But any club you (or the TL writers) may have compared to Richmond, or based them on? They do have a women's team, whether they play at the top level or not.

So for me, the moment with Keeley works okay as a "don't question it" thing in the context of a harmless series finale montage, but it doesn't work as something to build new stories off, at least not in the simplistic way it was presented. Because any extension of the Ted Lasso Universe, or a Ted Lasso season 4, that would possibly incorporate the "starting of a women's team" would be the show going SO far outside the realm of football realism that it feel like a major contrast to how the show has approached the football element before - including like, what division or tier a newly launched team would even be allowed to start in, and all that. You're not meant to dig into the moment in the finale, just process it as a nice, fuzzy concept. But if there is more show to come, with a plot line that tackles the idea pitched in the finale, it could never match the level of football realism that was applied to the show before, because they've invented a totally fake situation that just doesn't work like that. They would be lowering their own bar. I know that many elements of TL, like Ted coaching, are already extremely fake, but their dedication to most of what counts is very good and very specific. Following through on what the finale implied about the women's team would be a drop in football realism from their existing standards and I am suuuuper not interested in that happening. It would be a quality drop for sure.

This is a bit of a rant and I am possibly the only fan who cared about this, but that Keeley and Rebecca scene was honestly one of the worst finale moments for me just because it implies something soooo wroooong.

HOWEVER, there's a pretty easy fix, and it would be cool if they went in this direction: the only reasonable explanation is that Rupert ran the women's team into the ground/never funded it, just met the bare minimum requirements, and they were currently playing below FA level, like in the 5th tier with only semi-pro players who don't get a professional wage - basically hobby players, and Keeley’s pitch was about reviving them and getting promoted up the tiers ASAP, Welcome to Wrexham style, with new funding, recruiting etc. Sucks that they got no attention from Rebecca before now but they may not have had money to spare for it during season 2 or before Rebecca sold shares in the club... dealing with that, and the fact that Rebecca had to knowingly leave them on the back burner and neglect them... that could be interesting. There's a story to be had about the women's team, don't get me wrong, but it isn't as simple an idea as the finale implied and that the fans have since run with.

[akuma-tenshi]

list of expectations for the upcoming dev conference / livestream bc i can't sleep:

- anniversary news is almost guaranteed. batter will likely be getting one of the s-tiers, but it's not confirmed if it'll be in the shop or the essence. this may also be when undead gets his new skin, but i'm much less confident on that. four skins will be revealed: the s- and a-tiers from the essence, and the s-tier that'll be in the shop. the corresponding event will also be teased / discussed.

- once / backdrift and ivory tower skin news. definitely one once skin and at least one ivory tower skin (possibly two). this could be when we get the hunter ivory tower skin that was announced forever ago.

- no new character news. sorry, but they already have two characters waiting to be released (as i believe faro lady will already be available in-game by the date the livestream is planned for), and adding a third while giving nothing on the two already revealed would just overhype fans. if they do, for some reason, reveal a new character, it will likely be the acrobat identity switch they've been teasing lately.

- speaking of new characters, i highly doubt goatman's essence will be revealed; it's too early in the season to reveal the third essence. again, any essence news will likely be tied to the anniversary. i'd be happy to be proven wrong, though.

- we'll probably be getting news on collabs. my safest bet is news on the collaboration with the arthur conan doyle estate, which will reveal the skins (and other in-game content) we'll be getting; novelist is almost definitely getting a skin. it feels a bit early to reveal news on the return of the persona 5 collab, but it's possible. other new collabs could be revealed too.

- no logic path, coa, deduction star, nymph awards, or rank accessory news. it's too early in the season for lp and accessory news, and FAR too early in the year for ds, nymph, and coa news. if you want an estimation on those last three: october at the earliest for ds news, november for nymph, and december for coa. i can't give an estimate on lp or accessories as those vary depending on when the current season ends.

- new maps, gamemodes, story updates, etc. will at least be touched on. my best guess is a possible release date for mercenary's diaries and an update on the murder mystery gamemode that was revealed during coa7.

- a new truth & inference offline package is possible but i wouldn't hold my breath considering that we got wu chang's relatively recently.

- possible news on the idv-es skins, either an in-game showcase or a reveal of their hunter. i'm hoping they clear up the confusion around the designs because a lot of us are still a little unsure about them, especially naib's.

- news on the "mysterious event" announced on the june calendar, if it isn't covered by any of the above points.

and that's about it!! this is mostly based on my own experience waking up far too early to catch these streams (haven't missed a single one since i learned about 'em lmao) and what i've come to expect from them. i may be completely off the mark here but it's what i know of these streams. i may end up liveblogging these announcements; i'll make a sideblog for it and if you want to hear about the news right after it's revealed, feel free to follow me there!! ((i'll make a promo post for it dw))

[foulbearobservation]

since you’re the camlilith blogTM, do you have camlilith fic recs?

me: oh I don't think I'm the gateway to camilith shipping

y'all: so as The Camilith Blog™...

anyway yes I do have fic recs gather round children, I've delved into the depths of the tag and emerged with the best of the best

let's start with casper's (@daisychainsandbowties) fics and then go from there!

by such slight ligaments are we bound: god like truly this is THEE Camilith fic of all time for me like. you all don't understand. lilith is so fucked up. camila touches her so tenderly. lilith gets her hair washed. she bleeds all over the fucking place. she completely disassociates. she bleeds all over the fucking place some more. she's gods specialest little soldier. she's gods most beloathed nun. she's my little guy.

thus strangely are our souls constructed: listen. listen. this is the rat fic. I hold it close to my heart. I adore it. Lilith's having a breakdown in a sporting goods store. she's bleeding out with beatrice in a hallway. they're in love. they don't realize they're in love. they're also not in love. it's a lot. lilith is a little in love with every woman who shows her any kindness. I can't wait to see where this one goes

a light, a blessing, or a bruise: the dishonored au!!!! dishonored au my beloved! (not a fic but check out whale's dishonored art pieces here & here & here they make me feel insane) this fic actually got me to start playing dishonored and the world is. so interesting. the way casper has translated the characters is FASCINATING. great fic I fucking love it.

okay that's all of casper's fics now let's go to some others shall we?

The bestie @thats-a-weird-warning-sign wrote Tenderness to you is only talk about a bruise which is just. so good. I truly don't know what else I need to say about it. lilith's brain melts out of her ears because of camila's strap. There's healing from trauma. there's more sex. listen. we all read the tags we all knew what we were getting into.

Shroomyystar on ao3 (I think they're @cranechel on here?) has some bangers. most of these are rated M or E, for good reason. they're darker or they're just abt sex so your mileage may vary based on what you want to read but they're all tagged appropriately!

like real people do: lilith asks camila to kill her and it's sweeter than you think, I promise.

light pink sky up on the roof: lilith kneels.

one bite of salvation in the dark: lilith kneels and also eats cami out.

there's also serenity which is a rly cute little fic abt camila just staring at lilith and I think it's very sweet we get this view of them cause I feel like lilith is the more common pov character

some other one offs!

Worship her sooner is my bestie Em who texted me one day like "do you think ao3 has a tag for sexy latin usage" and refused to elaborate.

The whole series of 1 Peter 4:8 is very good. this was before season 2 came out, and I'll just link the first fic here it's SO GOOD. Go comment and show some love to these fics, they're older so I don't think they got the attention they deserved.

golden hour is an avatrice fic HOWEVER it's set at camilith's wedding and the way ava just describes lilith as scary and whipped is truly so funny to me

And that's about all I have I think? I probably forgot something, and I'm very picky with fics to begin with so. If you think I missed something, add it in the comments!

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Dear Steph, firstly thank you so so much for your work, you‘ve lead me to so many brillant stories. I wonder what your idea might be as to what happened between season 3 and 4? Were they called back from the gay, was it all just a joke to begin with or have we fans never understood their intentions? I would sooo like to know. What do you guess?

Hey Nonny!

So glad you enjoy my blog, and continue to visit!

Ah, my speculations vary between petty / gossippy thoughts and likely causes based on speculations going around at the time.

I talked about this back in 2020, but I believe the major rumour was, at the time, the BBC was going through a shakeup in management between TAB and S4, and in turn, said management wasn't happy with the direction the series was going. WHICH makes no sense, so I suspect a threatened lawsuit from the then-copyright holders on the remaining stories, because they were ridiculous, and BBC just didn't want to deal with that, so put an axe on the original plan.

A few of my more petty, most-definitely wrong theories and gossip niblets I know of:

Mofftiss HATED that the fandom "figured out" TAB so changed the whole game plan to Shyamalan the whole series because it pissed them off that they couldn't have a twist if everyone knew.

Mofftiss supposedly REALLY didn't like the the fanbase was primarily women... JUST A RUMOUR I saw going around at the time, that's all. They wanted to bring in the more General audience and casuals and in turn ended up making something everyone hated.

Mofftiss got too full of themselves and thought they didn't need a third writer after the success of TAB. If I recall correctly, they were doing rewrites right up until filming days, so even the actors were blindsided by the scripts, I imagine.

Mofftiss just got bored with the property, because they wanted to do Dracula, so purposely sidelined it, but not enough to not still cash in on the Brand Sherlock with the Escape Rooms. This is why I think they won't confirm or deny an S5, because The Brand™ still gets them some residuals.

A big gossip/rumour going around at the time was that a certain Actor wanted to make it big like their co-stars before things got messy, and buddy-buddied up to Mofftiss so much to feature heavily in the series, and in turn screwing over a fellow co-star whom they were having a falling out with so that said Actor basically had the scripts tailored to what they wanted. Just made everyone uncomfortable, especially when said Actor was NOT supposed to drag the drama before the release of the series but they did. AGAIN, this is ALL RUMOUR and GOSSIP. Just giving you the info I saw at the time.

Those are all the rumours and gossip I remember at the moment; there's plenty more I missed, I'm sure.

It boggles me that they thought they really did something with S4, and then just played it off like the show was always that way :/

Anyway, if anyone recalls any other reasons they heard through the grapevine as to what may have happened behind the scenes, please add to this one.

[macgyvermedical]

Abduction + Memory + Time + Fireworks + Dispersal thank goodness they didn't do seven seasons of this naming convention...

Okay folks, even though this aired quite a while ago I just now watched it, so I'm just now writing about it.

Awl - X-Ray + Penny - Duct Tape + Jack - CD + Hoagie Foil - Guts + Fuel + Hope - Wilderness + Training + Survival - Father + Bride + Betrayal - Lidar + Rogues + Duty - Nightmares - Seeds + Permafrost + Feather - Friends + Enemies + Border - Mason + Cable + Choices - Bitter Harvest - Kid + Plane + Cable + Truck - Tesla + Bell + Edison + Mac - Golden Lancehead + Venom + Pole Vault + Blood + Baggage

In conclusion to the nanotracker story arc, Mac and Riley go missing for over 24 hours. When they reappear, not only have they no memory of the previous day, but video footage shows them obeying dozens of commands, including one to fight each other and one to fire a weapon at a mannequin (though based on a line Mac says later, this horrifyingly might not have been the original version of this scene).

Vowing not to allow their bodies to be used against their will again, Mac and Riley decide to undergo a potentially dangerous treatment- exposing the nanites to high concentrations of oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber.

Just because mind control nanites are still pretty science fiction, this post will mostly be about hyperbaric medicine.

Hyperbaric Chambers:

Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is a type of treatment that uses high pressure and high oxygen concentrations to treat a variety of illnesses and injuries. These include things like non-healing wounds, crush injuries, carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide poisoning, severe infections, and delayed radiation injuries.

A patient is placed into a chamber like the one above (though there are also larger chambers that can accommodate multiple people). Oxygen or medical air is then forced into the chamber, increasing the pressure to the prescribed depth. Depths vary depending on patient needs and the capabilities of the chamber, but can be anywhere from 1.4 atmospheres to over 6 atmospheres.

The high pressure and high oxygen concentration in the hyperbaric chamber allows oxygen to dissolve directly into the blood plasma. This helps higher concentrations of oxygen get to parts of the body that may not have the best circulation (non-healing wounds, crush injuries), give a boost of oxygen to parts of the body that need it (severe infections, delayed radiation injuries), or provide oxygen when the hemoglobin can't carry it (carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide poisoning). The high pressure helps reduce the size of errant bubbles in the blood stream as well, which can treat the symptoms of air embolism and decompression sickness. The pressure is then gradually reduced to allow the bubbles to dissolve without severe pain.

Oxygen Toxicity:

In the episode, Mac and Riley require very high concentrations of oxygen in their blood in order to poison the nanites. Like any medical treatment, there are risks to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Most of them have to do with air pockets in the body. These include barotrauma cause by bubbles under tooth fillings, in the sinus cavities, and the air in the inner ear which can expand and contract, causing pain. They can also include oxygen toxicity, which can be lung-related (burning pain, cough, difficulty breathing), or nervous system related (seizures).

In the episode, Mac suffers the latter type of complication when he has a seizure at 3.5 atmospheres. Seizures are a very rare complication (about 0.7 out of 10,000 treatments will result in a seizure), but oxygen toxicity does lower the seizure threshold. This means that for someone with a pre-existing seizure disorder or another reason they might have a seizure (low blood sugar, certain drugs, fever in children, etc...) they are more likely to have a seizure during a treatment.

Mac also was more likely to have oxygen toxicity than the typical person undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. See, when a person is "at depth" in a chamber, they have a mask they can wear to give them room air (about 21% oxygen) at periodic intervals in order to prevent oxygen toxicity. Since the goal was to give Mac oxygen toxicity to kill the nanites, they likely forewent this precaution, which might have made it a lot more likely he would have had pulmonary complications or seizures.

The Bends:

Because he was in the chamber when he had the seizure, they decompress him and get him out of the chamber. It seems to take only seconds, even though they do hang a lantern on it by saying something to the effect of "we can't decompress him too quickly or he'll get the bends and then we'll never get him back!" (I'd quote it exactly but they took the episode off of Paramount+).

In reality, it would have taken at least an hour to adequately decompress him. If they needed to get him out as fast as they did, they'd need to re-compress him or he really would get the bends (though the bends is usually delayed by 15 minutes to 12 hours, so they'd have some time to get him back to depth). Here is a recommended re-compression table (18 MSW is the same as 1.8 atmospheres):

Has someone written that fic? Cause I need the fic where they have to break it to Mac that he has to go back into the chamber.

Anyway, this was a short one, but I hope you all learned something!

[litnerdwrites]

Day 3 of ACOTAR Games: This or That

Here is a respite after the harrowing recollection of Cassian’s wrongs.

Who should be deposed from their position in Night Court?

Morrigan: Third-in-Command to High Lord

Feyre: High Lady

[Rhysand would be in the running if magic hadn’t chosen him and he could be dethroned.]

You may recruit your tribe in your crusade if it pleases you. Your contenders: @fenrysmoonbeamswife @gwandas @positivelyruined @hrizantemy @yaralulu @kataraavatara @umthisistheonlyusernamenottaken And, our very first penalty goes to @achaotichuman!

Thank you for your response. Nesta deserves a better partnership which Cassian fails to provide. Often, readers forget Nesta is a victim in the relationship and the entire conversation shouldn't revolve around Cassian or Morrigan's reasons for the way they act, and should be considerate of the impact it has on Nesta.

Note: I didn't expect this to be as long and ranty as it is. If something isn't clear, I'm happy to clarify a point, because I'm half asleep as I write this. Enjoy.

In this case, when you say 'dethroned' I'm going to take that as being stripped of their rank and all political power, however remaining in Velaris, and still calling the rest of the IC their family. I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but that's the basis I'll go with.

This one is actually pretty easy.

Morrigan.

If Feyre was dethroned as HL, it wouldn't change anything. She'd still be married to Rhysand. The IC still respect his authority over hers. And she still wouldn't have the trust or respect of 2/3s of the NC.

I believe that it comes down to what it means to be The High Lady of a court compared to being The Lady of a court: Nothing. Contrary to what the narrative would have us believe, there's no real difference to being called the Lady of the Night Court, and High Lady of the Night Court, at least not in any meaningful capacity.

The magic of the land has never, to our knowledge, chosen a woman to rule a court, so the way to become a High Lady is to marry a High Lord. Exactly the same as becoming The Lady of the *insert time of day/season here* Court.

As far as political power goes, it varies based on court. At the High Lord meeting, the LOA remains silent at Baron's side, while Vivian speak on behalf of her court whenever she wishes to add to the conversation. Hell, Cresseida and Nesta, neither of whom rule a court (and one of which having more political power than the other), seem to be free to speak and make political decisions however they feel the need. (Throwing insults at Tamlin during a political meeting is a political decision, given that it has political ramifications. Ramifications that go beyond the relationship between the Spring and Night Court. The entire IC were acting like idiots in this scene).

We're shown with during the meeting that the amount of power spouses, or women, have in each court varies. Viviane has far more respect and political power than the LOA, despite having the same titles and social standing as her. Kallias mentioned at the start that Viviane insisted on coming to the meeting, despite his desire for her to stay back, showing that she does have sway over him. Tarquin never ones quiets, or protests against Cresseida's words when she shares them, and she's not even the Lady of Summer.

Any o them being named High Lady of any court wouldn't change this. The Lady of Autumn being referred to as High Lady of Autumn wouldn't change Baron's treatment of her, or her public image. Being named Lady of the Night Court, instead of High Lady, wouldn't change how little the IC seem to respect her, what she does with her days, how she wields her political power, etc.

Words do have power, and naming Feyre 'High Lady' holds some weight, but the title of 'Lady' does as well. How much weight each title holds and how it's thrown around depends largely on each individual.

Going back to VIviane, she earned the respect and admiration of her court before book one even started, and now that she has political power as The Lady of Winter, she seems intent on using it to do good by her people, based on what we saw during that meeting. The Lady of Autumn doesn't appear to have any political power, based on what we saw, but Cresseida, much like Viviane, has the respect of both her peers and High Lord. Nesta earned the respect of the High Lords when she convinced them to unite against Hybern.

The point I'm trying to make is that the title of 'High Lady' only holds value because words hold power, to a certain degree. In an older post, I mentioned how I thought it was a smart political move, and I'd like to amend that statement now, and call it a political move. Naming Feyre High Lady could've been an powerful move on Rhysand's part, so that Feyre could establish herself beyond being the Curse-breaker (because that alone, while worthy of the HLs gratitude and respect, only extends her power so far), and unite the courts, as well as give a voice to those who were previously silenced by archaic rule.

For example, in ACOMAF, Cresseida recites a law that would, technically, demand that the Summer Court turn Feyre over to Tamlin because she was considered a run away bride. While I am a Tamlin supporter and Rhysand hater, it should be abundantly clear why such a law is dangerous for women in that world. Women running from abusive relationships, or forced marriages would have nowhere to go. Tarquin was willing to overlook that law, but how many other people, High Lord or otherwise, would do the same? That is one of the laws Feyre could've helped abolish, using her connection to each court, but it's never brought up again.

Then there are the humans. Feyre could've been an ambassador to human kind, perhaps learning how to conduct with them from Nesta and Elain would've even strengthened their relationship as sisters, but she isn't. She was the first human turned fae that humans have heard of, and could've been a voice for them during that meeting, among the High Lords who barely stopped to consider their fate until someone brought it up. Or High Lords who may see the opportunity to expand their territory.

Feyre, who isn't even true fae, and formed a friendship with Alis, who is lesser fae, and even knows of her nephews, could've been a voice for lesser fae. Could've learned about Illyria before using their wings, and been a voice for the marginalised and oppressed groups of Prythian.

But she wasn't.

Her first act as High Lady was to commit war crimes as acts of revenge for petty grudges. She then chose to condescend her traumatised sister as a way of forcing her to do something she doesn't want to do, so they don't have to find other ways to prove themselves to be trustworthy, despite the fact that their actions show that they absolutely aren't.

Since becoming High Lady, she has very few accomplishments, and those she does have aren't political in nature. That doesn't diminish them, by any means. However, those are the accomplishments of a warrior, and 'High Lady' is the title of a monarch. A politician. The respect the High Lords have for her stem, largely, from her actions as Curse-breaker, not High Lady.

Naming Feyre 'High Lady' was a political move, but one the NC failed to make the best of. Instead of doing anything productive, she destroyed the Spring Court, refused to take accountability for stealing from Tarquin, and spent the HL meeting lashing out Baron, who's also, politically, her equal, for personal reasons. She is deeply un-empathetic towards the sister she supposedly loves, that went through trauma Feyre could never even hope to understand (both before and after the cauldron, but Feyre doesn't seem to know much about the before, despite knowing their mother's nature, and she still never bothered to ask, but remembered asking about their useless father but that's another rant) and even considers leveraging her High Lady status to make Nesta agree to share her story, as if Nesta, who is in the Night Court because she had no other choice, and now can't leave, needs to accept or defer to her and Rhys as her High Lord and Lady when they are both largely responsible or her being there in the first place?

To sum it up, Feyre made a mockery of the title, and pretty much tarnished what it could've represented by acting like a petty, naive child, who only cared to settle petty scores than act in a manner befitting her new found status. Naming her High Lady set the precedent for future High Ladies, regardless of if they were chosen or married into the title. Future High Ladies, especially the next few, will be compared to Feyre, for better or worse. History will view her as the first High Lady, ever. Any future High Lady would be compared to Feyre in every way. Feyre could've set the bar high, and given them something to aspire for, or even to surpass. But instead of making it hard for future HLs to live up to her example, she made it harder for them to be taken seriously, because the title of High Lady will always lead back to Feyre and her incompetence as a ruler.

I think I might have veered of track there, but you what? I said what I said (or ranted), and I stand by it.

The overall point I'm trying to make is that Feyre could've done everything she did without the High Lady title, and it wouldn't have changed anything, except that future High Ladies wouldn't have to live in the shadows of her ineptitude and mediocracy (am I being too harsh?). Even if she were deposed, she would still do everything she did, and currently does. She would still be his wife/mate, she would still teach art classes, dress up, wear crowns, attend HL meetings, do paperwork, etc. Nothing would change, other than her title.

Morrigan, however, is a different question. I've talked about this before, so I'll be as brief as possible.

I hate Mor. But..

Mor is entitled to take as long as she needs to heal from her trauma.

She is entitled to feel how she feels about her father, and all those involved in hurting her.

She is entitled to hate them.

She is entitled to kill them whenever she feels like.

She is entitled to use her status to piss them off, or otherwise make their lives harder, and relish in it. (Call it an abuse of power, but technically, letting Mor kill him whenever she wants, as opposed to following legal procedures to punish him is as well, but you won't hear me complain about that).

Mor is not obligated to come out, until she's ready.

However, the idea that everyone who lives in the CON, be they man, woman, or child, is just as bad, is impossible.

The woman down there are forced to conform to the ideals held by those in power, namely men, or risk suffering the same fate as Mor did. Even when they do conform, they are abused, beaten, and broken. They have to raise their children to survive. Their sons are raised to meet their fathers' expectations and learn their values. Their daughters are broken young, forced to become shells of themselves, and endure, in Morrigan's own words, 'loveless, sometimes brutal, marriages.' - Chapter 22 of ACOMAF.

Mor, with her power as the Queen of the Court of Nightmares, has a responsibility to protect her people. She, of all people, should want better for her home. Surely, when women, and girls, learned that the Rhys saved Mor, that they expected he might save them next. If he didn't, then perhaps it was because his father was still in power at that point, and he never gave a damn. So when Rhysand became High Lord, and appointed Mor as Queen of the CON, then they'd do something, right? But wait, 500 years pass, and... Nothing.

Mor has failed those people astronomically, and Rhysand choosing to save Mor, but not the rest of those people, is no different than his father saving his mother and protecting her and his daughter from wing clipping, while doing nothing for the other woman. Rhys' mother, at least, advocated to save them, while Mor seems content to hide in Velaris, and barely ever go to the place she supposedly rules. The fact that she doesn't give any indication that she even cares that children, babies, are being raised in that environment, with those same archaic rules, is, frankly, vile.

Morrigan's trauma is valid, 100%. However, it seems to have created a lot of internal biases (or maybe she really is that much of a heartless bitch, idk) that prevent her from acting in the best interest of the people she governs. She leaves them to rot, not even wanting them to enter Velaris, even though seeing what's possible could be what sparks change throughout the CON, inspiring women to seek out better for themselves and their children, knowing now that it exists.

It's clear her trauma and internal biases prevent her from governing affectively. This makes her unfit for her position, and thus, she should be removed. I'd go as far as to say that perhaps some time away would let her finally heal properly, and figure out if ruling the CON is truly what she wants, and what she's cut out for. It's irresponsible to keep the position, even if you can't do right by the people under your care. I suspect her reasoning for doing so may be out of spite, showing she has a higher rank than her father, and refusing to run away from the place and people who caused her pain, but she has a higher rank than him even outside of ruling the CON. Continuing to do so, despite how unfit she is for the position is selfish.

TLDR: Feyre's High Lady title is meaningless, and even if she was deposed, she'd still be married to Rhys and doing whatever she's been doing, or is currently doing, anyway. Deposing her wouldn't really change anything.

Meanwhile, Mor is unfit for her role, and that causes the people she governs to suffer. I don't like her, by any means. But she needs, and deserves, time to properly heal, get rid of internal biases, and decide if it's a role she even wants, or can do properly, before considering coming back to it. Her being replaced with someone who cares, is willing to spend time at the CON (since she's basically never there), and wants to improve it, and life for it's people. Deposing her, and replacing her with someone who cares has the potential to improve the lives of many women and children immensely.

[burnwater13]

Concept art by Christian Alzmann depicting an AT-ST attacking a rural village on forested planet. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 4, Sanctuary. Calendar by DateWorks.

Grogu didn’t know where Peli Motto had found the models of the Imperial equipment. He also knew better than to ask. He was sure that they had been ‘sourced’ by Jawas and that generally meant they had been liberated from someone’s personal collection. He also didn’t want to know who had that collection. Scale replicas of AT-STs, AT-ATs, AT-RTs, AT-APs, AT-OTs, AT-TEs, and a bunch of others that Grogu couldn’t even name. 

Which was just as well. The Imperial nomenclature was a bit boring until it was just ridiculous. An AT-ST was pretty simple: All Terrain Scout Transport. An AT-AT was also pretty simple: All Terrain Armored Transport. AT-TE seemed simple, All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, but that name didn’t actually say much. The worst was AT-DP. All Terrain Defense Pod. What the heck did that actually mean? 

Apparently all of the ‘All Terrain’ things were classified as ‘Walkers’. So was the AT-DP a walking pod? It sure looked like that, but why? They all had some sort of pod-like form. They all had something like armor. They were all on ‘legs’. They were just different sizes. How could one defend but the others just brought a varying number of people from point a to point b? It was weird.

The other weird thing was that you could store some of them in others. According to Grogu’s New Republic Galactic Fact Book (comp edition), you could store AT-STs inside an AT-AT, or an AT-ACT, but no one ever did, because then you wouldn’t have room for troops, ammunition, rations, or white flags. 

Grogu had only kind of seen an AT-ST once. On Sorgan. It was being used by some marauders to attack the village where Winta and her mom lived. You’d think that if you were Klatooinian marauders you’d want to go someplace other than Sorgan, which was a poor agricultural world, and really had nothing worth marauding over. After all, if you keep stealing someone’s harvest of spotchka (did that even make sense) then they wouldn’t have any reason to grow another batch (they must have stolen the krill, which made even less sense - what would you do with them?)

The thing had looked scary. It had strange red lights in the cab of the vehicle and a variety of cannons and launchers that made a lot of noise and could destroy simple wood structures without much trouble. But, it was still small, didn’t have a lot of room for ammunition, and walked on two legs that didn’t really provide for a lot of stability. It was a compromise between form, fit, function, and funding. 

But based on the New Republic Galactic Fact Book (comp edition) you could knock them over with timbers, snare them with dura-steel cables, blow them up with a well aimed thermal detonator, or even use a lightsaber to disable their command module. Or, you could use one to attack another one. They only had a driver and a weapons officer. Even Grogu could have dealt with them. Maybe.

All that to say, when he was organizing the models and setting them up for battle against his defending force of a couple of soft toys that looked like banthas and rancors, the Mandalorian had walked in and said ‘I don’t like those odds, kid’. 

Grogu had turned and frowned at him. He was just setting up. They weren’t even in their starting position yet. Which odds didn’t the Mandalorian like? He seemed to be a big fan of high odds against accomplishing the goal most of the time.

“Buddy, your stuffies don’t have armor. They also don’t have weapons, other than their bulk, and they don’t have the high ground. The walkers are going to pick them off like scurriers at one of Peli’s bar-b-cues.”

Grogu sighed. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The Mandalorian was spoiling everything, but so be it. He could use the Force to help his defenders and that’s what he did, come what may.

“Okay! Okay! I get it. You can stop. I didn’t realize that you had a hidden force waiting for the Imps to fall into a trap. Just make them stop!”

Grogu smiled to himself and dropped his hand as he opened his eyes. It was just as he’d imagined it would be. The pit droids had encircled the Mandalorian, making them a great surprise force when they were armed with straws and an unlimited number of tiny dirt balls (Grogu couldn’t give them actual thermal detonators). He used the Force to propel the dirt balls at his target’s very shiny armor. Well it had been shiny. 

“Okay, you win this round. It’s a good thing for the galaxy that you weren’t on the Imps’ side. Now, are you ready for some lunch?”

A silly question, but well timed. If Din Djarin had asked that question during the diplomatic phase of their conflict he wouldn’t have to polish his armor all over again. Some people just needed time to learn the simple lessons.

[primamchorus]

8) What hobbies does your OC have? What do they do to unwind?

Hihi, Mimble! Thank you so much for the ask, and I hope you've been having a good day! ♥♥

OC Secret Ask List

Primam enjoys reading as a more commonplace hobby of hers. She has a number of cherished books that she keeps and even revisits as little gateways away from life.

As for a more uncommon hobby, Primam really enjoys elemancy (the art of crafting elemental spell flasks in universe to FFXV). She has a number of journals and video recordings of her experiments with elemancy and the effects of varying catalysts to create the desired effects of what she's aiming for!

Tandem has sketchbooks and tends to make blueprints of weapon designs. He likes thinking of ways to make weapons more easily imbued with elemancy to play off of Primam's enthusiasm as well as her natural control over magic and elemancy. But other than that, he does a lot of life drawings and tends to use art as a means to vent.

Otherwise, he also got into blacksmithing as another, more satisfying outlet for frustration that isn't just casual sex in his noncommittal pursuits (because that's also a thing he pursues, but it's not super relevant).

Mollis actually really loves going to the arcade with everyone when she has the opportunity to do so. She commands the high scores on any shooting games, and quickly adapts to any interface malfunctions or sensitivity input readjustments that may be needed. It's legitimately fun for her to keep her aim and perception in check.

Otherwise, she did get into music thanks to her girlfriend, and has been learning how to play violin that she's been enjoying.

Ros got into gardening and taking care of his family's rose garden like his mother before him. He does it out of a sense of obligation and as a means to kind of understand the kind of person his mother was through gardening. Through it, he does find a sense of peace and serenity, and understands better the nurturing nature of what his House is and always has been to the Crown.

Aestus is a chess kind of guy. It's a good way for him to learn about people by seeing how they maneuver and think about a situation before them. So it's not just fun, it's also insightful for him.

As a bit of a curve ball for some, Aestus also likes sewing and making plushies. This is something he picked up for his sisters to give them personalized gifts for their birthdays or seasonal reasons, but he's made other things for some of the other nobles as well.

Vera's very into makeup, which is great for her as a member of House Vox. They aren't known as the 'Family of a Thousand Faces' for nothing, after all. Vera really likes working on ensuring that she can make different enough disguises and appearances that would behoove herself or those within her House if needed. In addition, she does like goofing off with this and also tends to do different accents and impersonations with each appearance she makes if they weren't based on any one person in particular.

... Does trolling the other members of the noble families count? Because Lyra does that a lot -- particularly choosing Primam, Tandem, or Mollis as her targets. Tandem is not as fun as a target, though, because he'll shoot right back with something just as nasty or meanspirited.

Real talk, though, Lyra does tend to actually do a lot of scrap booking and poetry. Ros is the one who suggested scrap booking to her -- just taking a number of little things like photos or good memories and compiling them together. Since she values Ros as a really close friend to her and as the only person she believes actually sees her, she has taken the time to do it, and it has helped.

Nebula likes ventriloquism! This is something that she saw people on television do, and she thought that it was such a neat and fun little thing that she practices and is pretty good at ventriloquy herself now. It's actually proven itself as a useful skill to get away from other people, because when you can throw your voice and confuse people as to where you are, you can slip away in the opposite direction.

[itmeblog]

hey! i have context for you, re: the thing that both tonia and the person on bluesky would have have been responding to. it's towards the end of anonymousad's hellishly long and weird shelterwood takedown and it, uh, doesn't exactly make them look any better. if you want to see if you can """read and understand""" (lmao, you're right, that sucks so bad) the true meaning of their words, here they are, in full context so as to avoid accusations of cherrypicking! "as an example, let's look at the Afflicted Season 2 crowdfunding campaign that just ended in failure.

this was a FIXED GOAL campaign. they were asking for $23,500 USD and they only made it to $13,283, just over 50% of the way there. so they got none of it. it was all or nothing and the result this time was nothing.

and that really sucks for a lot of reasons.

I had some criticisms about that campaign that I kept to myself at the time, in part because diverse voices in audio drama is really important. Afflicted provided a lot of opportunities for marginalized creators to get established and share their unique voices. so often the campaigns that are getting met are the ones that continue to prop up the same types of voices and experiences as we've all heard before.

I am much more interested in the unique horror that a show like Afflicted is bringing to the table as a production driven by a Black woman than I am with hearing from the same types of voices we are used to. we have a lot of similar people making stuff in the community, and frankly a lot of our "diversity" is mostly driven by being white and queer. these voices are important too and there's a lot that is good, but that is the majority in this space. that's why we need to make sure we are getting opportunities to the people who don't have the privilege or connections.

this is a personal opinion, not one everyone will agree with. but we are better as a community when we do extra work to make sure that more varied diversity is highlighted and supported.

Afflicted planted their foot saying "this much or nothing" and took the gamble that most of these high number campaigns are unwilling to do. a gamble that they succeeded in last year to fund the first season.

the difference is partly that the economy looked really different last year. disposable income, rent prices, general cost of living. it wasn't great, but it was better than it is now and that MATTERS. we all know how fucking bad it is right now, especially in the US, so to be asking these massive amounts of money is tone deaf. in this case, Afflicted was even asking for MORE than they raised for season 1. you could argue some of that is because they already managed to prove themselves as creators who were good for the money and deserved that kind of chance.

but the fact of the matter is that people just don't have that kind of cash to give over and over.

which leads into my main point.

every time I see a campaign with this high of a goal I think one thing:

"this is hurting the community."

now, that may not sound reasonable to some of you, especially if you are one of the people who believes that numbers this high are justifiable.

when we talk about supporting each other from a audio drama creator standpoint, it is done so freely and with an understanding that new listeners isn't really a thing we're going to run out of. if I recommend 10 podcasts I like, that doesn't hurt MY show. it just helps the community by sharing things we generally enjoy and care about it. this is how you end up with the networks of support that we've seen in newer places like the Audio Drama Lab.

unfortunately, money is not the same.

the amount of money that each of us has to give to support the things we like is limited based on our individual situations. anyone recommending a specific crowdfunding campaign to give money to DOES have an impact on the amount of money left in the pool for others.

so when something like Shelterwood or Arden or Afflicted or Among the Stacks or The Magnus fucking Protocol asks for these amounts, this is ACTIVELY impacting whether other campaigns will succeed."

Ooooh, okay, okay, okay.

So

Thank you for sending me the context, I do quite enjoy reading drama at times

I actually don't mind accusations of cherry picking, it's fine either way but thank you for your concern. It's very sweet.

The main reason I'm about to do what I'm about to do is because I've actually had microaggressions on the brain for plot reasons and this is positively wonderful practice to put these things into words.

Alright, so OPs argument here is that there's a set amount of money in the AD pool from which we can draw from, and that taking bigger draws for a production leaves too little for the rest of the AD community.

I'm not going to argue whether this is true or false right now (but I am going to point out...what this echoes later and why I do not like the argument) and instead am going to continue as if this statement is fact.

My question is why bring up the race and gender of Afflicted's creator? The entire diversity statement here is completely unnecessary. If the argument is that big budget audio dramas are taking too much money, and that is detrimental to ADs economic ecosystem then it does not matter if Afflicted's show runner was an alien from Venus. OPs decision to bring up the race and gender of the showrunner and then point out that the actions from this particular production is harming the AD community was a contextual...decision.

And as a result the following is now colored by the acknowledgment of the creator's race and gender so things like hinting at the aggressiveness of the campaign

"Afflicted planted their foot saying 'this much or nothing'"

and that she's taking too much for the ecosystem to survive

"every time I see a campaign with this high of a goal I think one thing: 'this is hurting the community'"

...is just a bad look. Because these comments simply don't exist in a vacuum.

I also have to wonder why the chose Afflicted in the first place. This could have been avoided if they had brought in the numbers of the Magnus Archives Protocol (whose numbers are still available ~700,000 pounds) or Arden (a successful campaign that aimed for 26,000 but made a tidy $12,065 and will use that money to continue production) or Shelterwood (which aimed for $26,000, made ~$6,000 and will also be going into production). Because...why use a "failed campaign" to highlight the money this one production is taking and "harming the community" with, when they, in reality, took nothing at all?

Why choose Afflicted? Was it timing? Was it because they were at hand? Was it because it gave OP a chance to talk about how accepting they were to different types of diversity?

Let's zoom out for a moment. We've heard this argument before the "there's not enough to go around and some people are taking too much and leaving too little for everyone else"...in things like affirmative action, and immigration. It's a very faint, "if you blink you might miss it" replacement theory argument.

And it begins to fall apart when they bring up this argument

when we talk about supporting each other from a audio drama creator standpoint, it is done so freely and with an understanding that new listeners isn't really a thing we're going to run out of. if I recommend 10 podcasts I like, that doesn't hurt MY show. it just helps the community by sharing things we generally enjoy and care about it.

Because if there's an understanding that new listeners aren't really a thing the AD community is going to run out of...while claiming that the funds (coming from people who donate, aka the pool of listeners that is ever growing) is stagnant the argument fails to hold up.

All in all, very odd. I'd claim there's a lot here that I didn't touch upon such as the acknowledgment that the AD pool is majority white and that the one production in this list that is asking for the least amount cash at highest stakes that contains the highest concentration of diverse voices is somehow taking money from the acknowledged "majority" is a bit of a hot mess, but I digress.

[loopy777]

So there's going to be a live-action Zelda movie.

(Let's leave aside that no one from the creative team inspires any confidence.)

In celebration (?), I'm going to dig out my old idea for the only way a LoZ movie can be anything other than a cheap rip of Peter Jackson's LotR movies. See, I don't think LoZ has much to recommend it as fantasy itself. It doesn't have very many characters, and most of them don't have any personality beyond the most generic archetypes. There's no story that isn't just about collecting some plot coupons and fighting the big bad. Visually, there are few unique recurring memorable icons, just the Gorons and Zora, and Link in the green clothes; the triforce is just a triangle and the master sword fits in a little too well with all those cheap unofficial sword props they sell at conventions. Everything else varies too much to be iconic.

They could play it safe and adapt one of the more memorable games. But there's a reason why fanfic novelizations of those very rarely get very far, and why the manga adaptations usually last one or two volumes and spend most of their pages covering the initial premise and interactions with the quirkiest side-characters. Sure, it's possible to put together a good movie out of such a thing, but in that case, would the final product be all that much different than the recent D&D movie that underperformed despite being nicely entertaining?

I've long said that the one thing the Zelda franchise really has going for it (outside of being fun video games, which is actually the most important part but of no use in this conversation) is the way it uses repetition of its own iconography. It often retells the same stories, even when the stories are sequels to each other, and there's always a Link and always a Zelda and always a bow'n'arrow and always a moblin and water dungeon and a flute, etc. When a game does something unique, that stands out even more because of the context of the formula.

I also want to combine that with a fun mechanic in some of the games where Link solves puzzles by flipping between worlds/times. In 'Link to the Past,' he can go back and forth between the Light and Dark Worlds to make progress. In OoT, he can set things up in the past to solve problems in the future. In the Oracle GBA games, the dungeons themselves have puzzles which require taking actions in certain seasons and time periods in order to solve them.

So my ideal Zelda movie has multiple simultaneous stories going. One based on OoT, one based on Twilight Princess, one based on Breath of the WIld, and a mix of the NES games. They would each have a completely different acting cast, including the Links played by different actors. Scenes from each one would have different directors, ideally, but that may be unnecessary if the art teams can really do a good job differentiating them. The storylines would intercut to show their similarities and differences, and would sometimes even replace parts of each other's stories so that the lines between them blurs. At least one fight scene should be so intercut that literally every cut changes which storyline we're in, but it combines to create a single continuous and discernible fight scene.

As I've thought about this idea over the years, I've decided the storylines should swap characters as they go. The actors should stay the same- TP!Zelda should always be played by the same actress, for example, even when she's in the OoT storyline. Otherwise it would just get too confusing.

The theme we're going here is the nature and purpose of legends. We want to show how this one basic story reflects the societies that tell it, so we want the various storylines to make a big show of the setting of Hyrule in each era. We want to hint that the various elements in the story, including the characters, say something about the people who tell and value the legends. And we want to highlight how this changes as Hyrule changes.

It all culminates in all the storylines converging in the final battle against Ganon(dorf), with all the Links and Zeldas and sidekicks teaming up for a massive fight against evil. But the critical part is that all the populations of Hyrule are observing this fight, and the soundtrack is their shared million-person chorus recounting The Legend of Zelda, an epic poem chanted in a manner that puts Duel of the Fates to shame. I'm torn on whether the poem should be in English, or some made-up language that has to be translated via subtitles, complete with translator notes about untranslatable stuff and words where we're not sure of the exact meaning.

I admit it's possible I'm missing the entire point of a Zelda movie.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ryan Ruffaner

Published: Aug 10, 2023

Most research on demographic diversity in the workplace revolves around the diversity of age, sex, race and ethnicity. The scientific literature calls these differences “surface-level diversity” because they are immediately observable, biological in nature, and generally immutable. Some people believe these characteristics are reasonable proxies for underlying psychological characteristics and in some cases this may be true. For example, older people tend to feel more satisfied with their lives than their younger counterparts, and women tend to rank higher than men on the personality trait of agreeableness. However, given the huge variation within individual psychology, there are also many instances where you can’t judge a book by its cover.

Furthermore, not all diversity research is equally valuable. For example, some of the literature on surface-level diversity includes organizational tenure and functional background in the same category as age, sex, and race/ethnicity. This is a mistake. It is not possible to determine how long someone has worked in an organization just by looking at them, especially considering how frequently many people move between jobs and companies these days. Nor is it possible to guess a person’s functional background in this way—a uniform can be worn and removed, but this is not possible with age, sex, race, or ethnicity. Functional background is more closely related to deep-level diversity, not surface-level diversity, because it influences characteristics like opinions, beliefs, attitudes, and values more than our age, sex, or race/ethnicity.

Why does this matter? Because including deep-level variables in experiments designed to measure the effects of surface-level variables like diversity in age, sex, race, and ethnicity inevitably skews the results. For example, an academic article’s abstract may say that surface-level diversity is positively correlated with team performance. Activists and media outlets may therefore assume that the variables responsible for this correlation are sex, age, or race and ethnicity, and encourage race- and sex-based hiring/promotions. In fact, it may be that diversity of organizational tenure (mixing seasoned professionals with newer people with fresh perspectives, and vice versa) or functional background was responsible for higher performance. Consequently, we must treat diversity research with caution.

The research that focuses purely on true surface-level diversity isn’t much better. As David A. Harrison, Kenneth H. Price, and Myrtle P. Bell point out in their literature review and experiment on these two types of diversity (more on this later), the effects of commonly studied surface-level diversity characteristics have been inconsistent across studies, and even within studies. In fact, the findings of surface-level diversity studies have been so inconsistent that they differ on whether or not surface-level diversity has any effect on other variables. Some studies even show that surface-level diversity has negative impacts on factors like organizational commitment and job satisfaction, while others show a positive impact. Curiously, these inconsistencies are particularly strong on the effects of race and sex, the two variables that people tend to be most vocal about.

Harrison et al. suggest that some of this inconsistency may arise from the mistaken belief that demographic differences among employees are highly related to differences in attitudes. They are not. There is no correlation between a person’s race, ethnicity, age, and sex and their attitudes. People of diverse races, ethnicities, ages, and sexes can vary in their opinions, their values, their beliefs, their hobbies, and their priorities. And yet, the diversity train keeps chugging along. Why?

Part of this comes from America’s history of discrimination, particularly along the lines of race and sex. The Emancipation Proclamation sought to correct some of this historical injustice, which the Civil Rights movement and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 sought to further rectify. And because America’s past discrimination was mostly justified with reference to citizens’ surface-level differences, these have been the overwhelming focus of the diversity movement. The problem is that modern diversity initiatives seem to be driven, at least implicitly, by two hypotheses with which many DEI advocates are unfamiliar: the similarity-attraction paradigm and the contact hypothesis.

The similarity-attraction paradigm holds that the more similar we perceive other people to be to ourselves, the more attracted to them we’ll be. However, it is wrong to assume that important similarities are only skin-deep. Before designing their experiment, Harrison et al. conducted a literature review on theoretical perspectives from the fields of organizational behavior, sociology, and social psychology. They found support for the idea that while we initially categorize people based on stereotypes, we modify or replace these stereotypes with “deeper-level knowledge” of these people’s psychological qualities once we get to know them better.

The similarity-attraction paradigm also holds that “similarity in attitudes is a major source of attraction between individuals.” Not race, not ethnicity, not sex, and not age. So, while it’s true that we may use a variety of physical, social, and status traits to try to infer similar attitudes, beliefs, or personality traits in other people, our superficial judgements don’t stay superficial for long. As Byrne and Wong remark in their 1962 study, “subjects initially perceived greater attitudinal dissimilarity between themselves and a stranger of another race,” but when these same subjects learned more about these stranger’s attitudes, “perceptions of attitudinal dissimilarity decreased and interpersonal attraction to the stranger increased.”

Other researchers have found the same thing: over time, as people acquire more information, their perceptions become based more on observed behavior and less on the stereotypes they infer from overt characteristics. In other words, simply spending time together, rather than diversity training, is the catalyst for resolving surface-level diversity conflict. This makes sense when you think about it. Whenever diverse Americans went to war against a common enemy and had to rely on each other to survive and succeed, they came to love and respect each other naturally, regardless of their age, race, ethnicity, or sex. No diversity training was needed.

This feeds into the contact hypothesis, which holds that interpersonal contact between groups can reduce prejudice. This may explain some of the well-intentioned pushes for surface-level diversity as well. Diversity activists may believe that diversity initiatives in every organization will encourage interpersonal contact across groups and diminish intergroup prejudice (even though racial relations have never been better). But this demonstrates an incomplete understanding of the contact hypothesis, which only works if four conditions are met: equal status, common goals, cooperation, and institutional support. And under many diversity initiatives, these four conditions are not only unmet, they are actively sabotaged.

How can people engage under conditions of equal status and cooperative contact if they are taught, especially at a young age, that white people and men have an inherent advantage because of their race and sex? How can people engage in equal status and cooperative contact if they are taught that all white people are inherently racist, ignorant, or evil by virtue of their skin color or that all men are inherently sexist, domineering, and oppressive by virtue of their sex? How can people feel they have fair institutional support when diversity initiatives incessantly push for hiring and promoting people based on immutable surface-level traits, even going so far as to segregate workers into so-called “employee resource groups” based on race, ethnicity, sex, and sexuality?

DEI initiatives that teach people you can judge the content of a person’s character by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their sex, or other immutable characteristics, are an affront to both morality and science. The science shows that it is our deep-level differences or similarities that truly matter, and we cannot derive one from the other. Scientific research on diversity supports the importance of deep-level similarities, especially in attitudes. As Harrison et al. point out, “the few studies that have examined the consequences of similarity in attitudes and values in work groups” found that the more similar supervisors and their subordinates were in their attitudes and values, the higher the supervisors rated their subordinates on performance reviews, regardless of age or education, and the more accurately they rated their peers.

Harrison et al. also cite other studies that found similarity in attitudes to be associated with higher group cohesiveness. Perceptions of attitude similarity, meanwhile, were “uniquely and positively related to subordinates’ satisfaction, performance ratings, and pay ratings,” meaning that no other factors could explain the positive relationship between attitude similarity and these other variables. This shouldn’t be too surprising because attitude similarity is one of the most important predictors of attraction and friendship in general, and there’s no reason to think it would be any different in the workplace.

Harrison et al. point out that when people share the same attitudes, they tend to fight less and communicate more, which reduces stress and leads to lower role conflict and role ambiguity. In their study, they collected two samples from two very different workplaces. One sample included 39 groups of people in a medium-sized hospital for a total of 443 people, and the other included 32 groups of people working in the deli-bakery sections of a regional grocery store chain with an average of 13 people per group. For surface-level diversity variables, they measured the participants’ age, sex, race, and ethnicity. For deep-level diversity variables, they measured each employee’s overall job satisfaction, supervisory satisfaction, work satisfaction, organizational commitment, time spent in their groups, and group cohesiveness (how “psychologically linked or attracted” group members feel toward “interacting with one another in pursuit of a common objective”).

The results of this study reveal a truth that contradicts the current diversity narrative pervading the United States: the longer group members work together, the less impact surface-level diversity has on how well they work, and the more deep-level diversity matters. Contrary to what many diversity activists claim, for both groups of employees, it is not the diversity of race, ethnicity, sex, or age that matters, it is the opportunities for team members to engage in meaningful interactions with each other over time.

The authors’ preliminary analysis undercut the importance of surface-level variables too. They found:

A significant correlation between perceptions of personality differences and how committed the subjects were to their organization and how satisfied they were in their jobs.

A significant correlation between perceptions of differences in value and how satisfied the subjects were with their supervisors.

A significant correlation between perceived differences in interests and supervisor satisfaction and work satisfaction.

Group cohesiveness—how well the group works together—was significantly correlated with the subjects’ perceptions of differences in their personalities, values, and interests. The only criteria that did not significantly correlate with group cohesiveness were surface-level characteristics like age and ethnicity. This was especially true over time. The researchers found that deep-level diversity “has steadily stronger consequences for groups than demographic diversity as group members spend more time together.” They suggest it might not be time itself that matters, but information:

Demographic factors are often a poor surrogate for the deeper-level information people need to make accurate judgments about the similarity of attitudes among group members. Time merely allows more information to be conveyed. Indeed, it might be more appropriate to think of the richness of interactions as the conduit for information exchange (cf. Daft & Lengel, 1986).

The more time people spend together, the more opportunities they have to learn about each other, especially if they work interdependently on a variety of meaningful tasks. These exchanges “allow group members to learn deeper-level information about their psychological similarity to or dissimilarity from their coworkers, where before they would have used surface-level demographic data as information proxies.”

So, why haven’t we heard about all this before? And why hasn’t other research shown similar results? The answer, according to the authors, is simple. Previous research may have discovered different findings because previous researchers did not compare the “relative contributions of surface- and deep-level variables” with “rich interactions among group members.” In other words, diversity researchers were only looking skin-deep, so their conclusions were skin-deep. It may sound like a trite cliché, but what truly matters is on the inside and “the relevant deep-level variables . . . that bear directly on the fundamental purposes of the group”:

In a jazz band or a marketing team, the consensus on the value of creative freedom might be paramount. In a day care center, the critical values to share might deal with nurturance and patience.”

And in academia, we want to ensure that everyone is committed to freedom of inquiry, freedom and encouragement of honest and civil disagreement, and the value of critical thinking. It may not be as easy to measure as simply asking people what they believe, but it is a far better starting place than mistakenly using surface-level variables as proxies for deep-level characteristics as many DEI consultants, activists, and ideologues suggest.

If you’re thinking about hiring a diversity “expert” to help your diverse teams function better, think again. Your employees don’t need help seeing their surface-level differences. They already notice them and they probably don’t care. Whatever conflict there is in your teams most likely has nothing to do with their surface-level traits, and if you call attention to it, you will simply reinforce surface-level divisions rather than creating deep-level harmony.

To make your diverse teams work well together, simply allow them to engage in meaningful, interdependent tasks, and give them plenty of time to get to know each other on a deeper level. It’s that simple.

==

"Diversity" is racism and sexism thinly veiled as virtue.

[ichthyopokethologist]

Basculin Analysis Post

One of the few native fish of Unova, Basculin is an anadromous pokemon most famous for its dual populations- or rather, their fierce rivalry. Biologically, it bears resemblance to the freshwater basses, especially the black and largemouth. Their kypes, the structures on their mouths, resemble those of salmon.

There are two forms of Basculin, inhabiting separate rivers but otherwise having similar lifestyles. The red-stripes are more popular for sport fishing, likely due to their more striking coloration, but both forms are aggressive on the line and capable hunters. Basculin schools are relatively small, containing around 10-20. There are multiple schools in locations, but they are always of the same form. This is because Basculin show a defense of their territory that is rather unusual in water types in general- all due to the form rivalries. These clashes happen most around the spawning season, when schools of young Basculin return from their sea journeys and often encounter each other on their way home. Once sensed, the schools begin to clash, blind to everything else around them. The excellent color vision of Basculin is a key component, but it is noted that Basculin schools will often become tenser in a stream with the alternate form- It is unknown how the Basculin can tell when their rivals have entered an area, but modern theories propose that it is based on the scent of the alternate Basculin. Whatever the reason, the rivalry must be deeply ingrained in the species, with old accounts even reporting ‘wars’ of conquest. Given the fact that Basculin most frequently encounter each other during spawning, some speculate that the aggression is to allow one’s own form to breed more- yet this does not hint at the transformation between red-stripe and blue-stripe, or why they show such violence unknown to any other ‘form’ pokemon.   

Additionally, recent paleontological and archeological digs in Sinnoh have discovered that, around 150 years ago, there was a variant of Basculin known as the ‘white-stripe’ form. They were apparently far less aggressive, and had a unique evolution that was formed through Basculin that died in their spawns. Science has adopted the (translated) Ancient Sinnohan name for this pokemon: ‘Basculegion’. This has awakened new research into modern Basculin, with some aiming at ‘reengineering’ Basculegion through activation of certain genes. However, since our only sources of white-stripe DNA is in bones (not fossils), it is difficult to sequence their genomes. Speculations on their differences are too varied to list here. However, it is noted that Basculin has been recorded in Unova since settlers arrived. Since a certain percentage of all Basculin spawns settle in a different area than their parents, it is possible that white-stripes evolved from modern forms, and not the other way round. The new pressures of Sinnoh may have caused both the evolution of Basculegion and the shift in temperament through higher death rates.

[thestupidhelmet]

i wish i could ignore everything about that 90s show but the casual watchers keep posting stuff about it everywhere and its just unfair... i never wanted any reboot/revive and now its confirmed that Jackie ended up with Kelso and seeing videos just makes it more real. i mean seeing the spoilers hurt too but it was easier to ignore. i hate that i can never see hyde back on my screen nor jackie with him :/

I empathize. 🤗

But! Remember that Jackie ends up with Kelso in this alternative timeline. Not in the prime timeline of That '70s Show. Just like how fanfics explore different possibilities for the characters, that's what That '90s Show is doing on-screen and with many of T7S's actors (though not for very long except for Red and Kitty).

What the characters' lives would actually be like in 1995, based on their S1-S7 characterization -- it's not depicted in That '90s Show (again with Red and Kitty being the possible exception).

Would Eric and Donna have a child that old in 1995? Highly, highly unlikely. Would she be named Leia? Virtually impossible unless Donna was unconscious after the birth (due to complications, but she's fine) and when the nurse asks Eric what name to put on the birth certificate, he takes advantage of the situation and says, "Leia." And even then, he wouldn't actually choose that name, considering how many sexual fantasies he had about the Star Wars character it originally belongs to.

Would Jackie and Kelso be together? And on their second or third marriage? And with a child that old? No, no, and no. Kelso and Jackie's romantic relationship ended in season 5. Full point.

Would Fez own a hair salon? While several versions of Fez exist in T7S (even before season 8), this choice wasn't made on T9S from a characterization standpoint. It was made for the joke of it (and forced continued connection to Kitty).

Fez went to America for an education, to go to college. And he, more than Eric, may well have have gone into teaching. Or to help other immigrant Americans acclimate to their new country. Or go to culinary school to become a candy maker and / or master chocolatier. Anything that actually fits his character's interests and passions during S1-S7 of T7S.

The fictional character of Hyde exists outside of any actor who might play him. He was created with words on paper (and on a computer screen). On T7S, he went from growing up in poverty and with abusive, neglectful parents to living with the Formans. Learning to trust people won't abandon him, that they'll treat him with love and respect. He goes to jail and stays silent about the reason, putting his future and very life at risk, to protect the reputation of (and lower-stakes consequences for) someone whose personality he doesn't like -- but whose personhood he believes deserves protecting.

Unfortunately, Hyde's characterization became inconsistently written in certain episodes from the end of season five through season 7 (season 8's version of Hyde is a totally different character Unrecognizable). But enough consistency in the writing exists to understand that his core is a compassionate, self-sacrificing one. Because of that core, his instinct is to help and protect the vulnerable -- stranger, friend, or frenemy -- even when doing so puts himself in danger (emotional or physical). He also developed defense mechanisms to keep other people from taking advantage of his compassionate nature and hurting him (as his mom did).

The end of season 6 and the start of season 7 brings the soap opera twist of Bud not being Hyde's biological father. One can accept this twist as canon or not (I accept it; I love W.B. and Angie's characters and the potential they had but the writing squandered it). Hyde now has a loving biological family as well as an adoptive one. He's biracial, and he has the option of going into dad's business.

Career-wise, his in-character choices are varied. Relationship-wise, according to years of storylines and character development on T7S (and the original season 7 / series finale), he and Jackie are endgame. This is the prime timeline of T7S. We just don't get to see it on-screen (or hear about it on-screen). It exists in fanfic and our imaginations.

That '70s Show skewed into an alternate timeline in season 8. That '90s Show depicts an alternate timeline, too, one where major events and relationships are erased from the characters' history, causing the characters to make different choices than they otherwise would have.

A measure of people can and do accept T7S's S8 as canon. A measure of people will accept T9S's version of the characters' future as their canon. Nothing wrong with that. Just as there's nothing wrong with people who don't accept either as canon. It's art and entertainment and, thankfully, not world-changing art and entertainment (while it can affect people on a significant emotional level, healing or destructively).

That '90s Show does not depict a future for That '70s Show's characters that I recognize as canon. That is based on my understanding of the characters, my sensibility and my choice. Other people will choose differently for their own reasons. Some will enjoy T9S; some will be meh or indifferent about it, and some will absolutely hate it.

The people who love T9S will talk about it together. The people who are meh or hate T9S will talk about it together. We can all co-exist.

It's all all right, as Hyde sings in one of my fanfics.

[legacygirlingreen]

17, 23 and 28 please ♡

Of course love💚

17. Most frequently worn pair of shoes

That can vary a tad depending on season and phase of my life a tad… I used to be a religious chuck taylor high tops girl (classic black high tops) but over time having a partner who works at vans and skateboarding a lot to get around in college I slowly shifted into being a vans girl. My most worn pair of shoes (I actively have 3 in various stages of worn/nice depending on where I’m going) are the black slip-on perf leather. I wear them just walking around, I have a worn pair when I wanna skate or am going somewhere they will get dirty and I have a pair I only wear when I want to look nice or teaching. I swear they are the most comfortable pair of shoes ever and look immaculate.

23. strange habits?

Not sure how “strange” this may be but I am oddly organized in some areas of my life and extremely messy in others. Like my car, absolutely trashed. My bedroom can also get cluttered with the amount of books and random scraps of paper but overall is pretty clean. My office is cluttered with work and decorations but is very well organized. I have color coded systems of schedules, files, etc. My creative spaces tend to get messy however my actual storage of supplies ✨ pristine ✨ I have a label maker and it’s all separated by type of supply, color, etc. Any file on my computer, immaculately organized. I truly have no rhyme or reason why some things get the massive over organization and proper storage and others look like a disaster zone. I have my records for my record player all mixed together but my books are alphabetical. I have perfectly wrapped cables for my cameras and guitars but my closet is a mess. My partner finds it strange why some things are overly organized and others are a perfect mess. And why there’s no in between either 🤷‍♀️

28. five songs to describe you?

“Seven seas of rhye” by queen

This one my best friend and roommate from college SWEARS fits me in both the chaotic energy and the line about destroying men who abuse trust… so 😅

“I’m Shipping up to Boston” by dropkick Murphy’s

This one is very nostalgic… when my family immigrated to the US from Ireland, the Boston area is where they settled. My mom used to take us back so often to visit family. Growing up going to Red Sox and bruins games this was such a big part of my childhood so this song has a special place in my heart. Especially since so many people know me for my connection to Boston sports.

“Always” by Panic at the Disco

I have a lot of self destructive tendencies and my number one always seems to be trying to take care of others first. this song I have always felt fits so much of who I am at my core. Growing up I felt very alone, isolated and responsible for so much. This song just hits so many notes for me.

“Carolina” Taylor swift

Honestly there’s so much of Taylor’s discography that could fit who i am… but ever since she dropped the Carolina single… so much of my life has been spent living in North Carolina (setting for the book the song is based on) and this just hits such a special place in my soul. Living in the backroads of Carolina this just… is so similar to waking up in that misty morning air.

“She’s like the wind” Patrick Swayze

I asked my partner since I was struggling with this a tad… he swears this song really captures how he felt when we were first falling into love instead of being just friends. I showed him dirty dancing for the first time and.. idk he stands by most of this song being a very good depiction of me 😭 perhaps it’s leading to my independent nature… I don’t take compliments well so 😅

[alliance00]

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