#lit1

[allthetropes]

This utter breakdown in true literacy is becoming more and more obvious in even the comment section of AO3.

I'll be the first bitch on the block to admit, Dickens requires a degree of focus. I've a funny idea he was paid by the word. Mans goes on (and on, and on, and on). And some of the paragraphs are just WALL OF TEXT. I can see how you would struggle to concentrate on it.

But not understand? I was in uni studying to become an English Teacher in 2015. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (cause I live in the Netherlands, though I'm a native speaker of English). We did Great Expectations in Lit1. While I reckon most of my class skipped most of the flowery, descriptive language, everybody who actually read the book understood it just fine. At the same time, native English speakers, raised in English Speaking Countries, couldn't do the same?

How many times have I seen comments on AO3 asking "what happened to x" when it was stated, very clearly in the text, what happened to x? How many times have I seen "I don't understand how we got from A to B" even though the journey from A to B was clearly marked in the text. And if it were just my fics, I'd think i was the problem, but I'm seeing it on some of the driest, most clear-cut fics in the world.

"Where did XYZ character go?" He's on holiday. Do you remember? In paragraph two, characters MNO and PQR were discussing the holiday pictures he sent from Barbados? From that you were supposed to infer XYZ was on holiday in Barbados. Not to mention 2 chapters ago, when the other characters waved him off at the airport, though I'd forgive you if you said you just forgot that bit.

"Wait, at the start of the chapter they were in the city, and then at the end they're in a cabin in the woods! You're a bad writer for your inconsistency and continuity problems!" Well you see, between the start of the chapter and the end of the chapter, the characters travelled from the city to the woods. Did you. Did you miss that? It was like 4 paragraphs about the train being late, and how the scenery changed as they got into the countryside, and the anticipation of the cabin in the woods. From that you were supposed to infer that the characters were travelling from the city to the woods. So that when they arrived in the bloody woods, you wouldn't be surprised. Because we spent time travelling there.

If a sentence reads, "The drive was long, and by the time he stepped out, the driver had time-weary lines across his forehead as he dragged himself towards the front door and put himself down on the pillow," this means nothing to them.

What they expect is, "The man stopped driving. The man was tired. The tired man got out of the car. The tired man went into the house. The tired man lay down on the bed." If they don't get the information laid out like that, their brain either skips over the information, or they can't make sense of it otherwise.

Which is how you can tell at exaaaactly what level books they stopped reading, be it because their parents stopped reading to them/enforcing them, or because they got access to electronics, or for some other reason. I remember going from picture books to short bedtime stories to Enid Blyton - but a lot of kids aren't getting to the Enid Blyton stage anymore. I know when my older brother got a PlayStation 1, the concept of reading (or art, or crafts, or drawing, or writing) went out the window for the rest of eternity, and all the Enid Blyton books he had went dusty on the shelves. Now he can't even sign his name with a pen if he doesn't practice a few times first, and 99.9% of his reading is video games and substack (and he's a huge conspiracy theorist and aspie supremacist but that may only be loosely related).

I know. English teachers are super annoying about it. "you need to read books, you need to read books" I know, you're tired hearing about it. I am begging you - begging you on my knees - to make "reading books" just a normal part of your day. I have peers who can't read anything longer than a stop sign. Do you think people who can't read more than six consecutive words are making wise financial, political, social, and health decisions?

If not for the children's sake, then for the sake of the rapidly diminishing quality of AO3 fics that have to cater to decreasing literacy rates, (...she said, knowing full well that the sanctity of AO3 will get people hauled off their asses to do anything) please keep reading.

i appreciated this study: "They Can't Read Very Well: A Study of the Reading Comprehension Skills Of English Majors At Two Midwestern Universities"

essentially, a pair of professors set out to test their intuitive sense that students at the college level were struggling with complex text. they recruited 85 students, a mix of english majors and english education majors - so, theoretically, people focusing on literature, and people preparing to teach adolescents how to read literature - and had them read-while-summarizing the first seven paragraphs of dickens's bleak house (or as much as they made it through in the 20 minute session). they provided dictionaries and also said students could use their phones to look up whatever they wanted, including any unfamiliar words or references. they found that the majority of the students - 58%, or 49 out of the 85 students - functionally could not understand dickens at all, and only 5% - a mere 4 out of the 85 students - proved themselves proficient readers (leaving the remaining 38%, or 32 students, as what the study authors deemed "competent" students, most of whom could understand about half the literal meaning - pretty low bar for competence - although a few of whom, they note, did much better than the rest in this group if not quite well enough to be considered proficient).

what i really appreciated about this study was its qualitative descriptions of the challenges and reading behaviors of what the authors call "problematic readers" (that bottom 58%), which resonated strongly with my own experiences of students who struggle with reading. here's their blunt big picture overview of these 49 students:

The majority of these subjects could understand very little of Bleak House and did not have effective reading tactics. All had so much trouble comprehending concrete detail in consecutive clauses and phrases that they could not link the meaning of one sentence to the next. Although it was clear that these subjects did try to use various tactics while they read the passage, they were not able to use those tactics successfully. For example, 43 percent of the problematic readers tried to look up words they did not understand, but only five percent were able to look up the meaning of a word and place it back correctly into a sentence. The subjects frequently looked up a word they did not know, realized that they did not understand the sentence the word had come from, and skipped translating the sentence altogether.

the idea that they had so many trouble with every small piece of a text that they could not connect ideas on a sentence by sentence basis is very familiar to me from teaching and tutoring, as was the habit of thought seen in the example of the student who gloms on to the word "whiskers" in a sea of confusion and guesses incorrectly that a cat is present - struggling readers, in my experience, seem to use familiar nouns as stepping stones in a flood of overwhelm, hopping as best they can from one seemingly familiar image to the next. so was this observation, building off the example of a student who misses the fact that dickens is being figurative when he imagines a megalodon stalking the streets of london:

She first guesses that the dinosaur is just “bones” and then is stuck stating that the bones are “waddling, um, all up the hill” because she can see that Dickens has the dinosaur moving. Because she cannot logically tie the ideas together, she just leaves her interpretation as is and goes on to the next sentence. Like this subject, most of the problematic readers were not concerned if their literal translations of Bleak House were not coherent, so obvious logical errors never seemed to affect them. In fact, none of the readers in this category ever questioned their own interpretations of figures of speech, no matter how irrational the results. Worse, their inability to understand figurative language was constant, even though most of the subjects had spent at least two years in literature classes that discussed figures of speech. Some could correctly identify a figure of speech, and even explain its use in a sentence, but correct responses were inconsistent and haphazard. None of the problematic readers showed any evidence that they could read recursively or fix previous errors in comprehension. They would stick to their reading tactics even if they were unhappy with the results.

i have seen this repeatedly, too - actually i was particularly taken with how similar this is to the behavior of struggling readers at much younger ages - and would summarize the hypothesis i have forged over time as: struggling readers do not expect what they read to make sense. my hypothesis for why this is the case is that their reading deficits were not attended to or remediated adequately early enough, and so, in their formative years - the early to mid elementary grades - they spent a lot of time "reading" things that did not make sense to them - in fact they spent much more time doing this than they ever did reading things that did make sense to them - and so they did not internalize a meaningful subjective sense of what it feels like to actually read things.

like, i've said this before, but the year i taught third grade i had multiple students who told me they loved reading and then when i asked them about a book they were reading revealed that they had absolutely no idea what was going on - on a really basic literal level like "didn't know who said which lines of dialogue" and "couldn't identify which things or characters given pronouns referred to" - and were as best as i could tell sort of constructing their own story along the way using these little bits of things they thought they understood. that's what "reading" was, in their heads. and they were, in the curriculum/model that we used at the private school where i taught, receiving basically no support to clarify that that was not what reading was, nor any instruction that would actually help them with what they needed to do to improve (understand sentences) - and i realized over the course of that year that the master's program that had certified me in teaching elementary school had provided me with very little understanding of how to help these kids (with perhaps the sole exception of the class i took on communications disorders, not because these kids had communications disorders but because that was the only class where we ever talked, even briefly, about things like sentence structures that students may need instruction in and practice with to comprehend independently). when it comes to the literal, basic understanding of a text, the model of reading pedagogy i was taught has about 6 million little "tools" that all boil down to telling kids who functionally can't read to try harder to read. this is not productive, in my experience and opinion, for kids whose maximum effort persistently yields confusion. but things are so dysfunctional all the way up and down the ladder that you can be a senior in college majoring in english without anyone but a pair of professors with a strong work ethic noticing that you can't actually read.

couple other notes:

obviously it's a small study but i'm not sure i see a reason to believe these are particularly outlierish results (ACT scores - an imperfect metric but not a meritless one IMO for reading specifically, where the task mostly really is to read a set of texts written for the educated layperson and answer factual questions about them - were a little bit above the national average)

the study was published last year, but the research was conducted january to april 2015. so there's no pandemic influence, no AI issue - these are millennials who now would span roughly ages 28-32 (i guess it's possible one of the four first-year students was one of the very first members of gen z lol). if you're in your late 20s or early 30s, we are talking about people your age, and whatever the culprit is here, it was happening when you were in school.

i think some people might want to blame this on NCLB but i find this unconvincing for a variety of reasons. first of all, NCLB did not pass because everyone in 2001 agreed that education was super hunky-dory; in fact, the sold a story podcast outlines how an explicit goal of NCLB was to train teachers in systematic phonics instruction, because that was not the norm when NCLB was passed, and an unfortunate outcome was that phonics became politicized in ed world. second, anyone who understands anything about reading should need about ten minutes max to spend some time on standardized test prep and recognize that if your goal is truly to maximize scores... then the vast majority of your instructional time should be spent on improving actual reading skills because you actually can't meaningfully game these tests by "practicing main idea questions" (timothy shanahan addresses this briefly near the top of this post). so i find it very difficult to believe that any school that pivoted to multiple choice drill time in an attempt to boost reading scores was teaching reading effectively pre-NCLB, because no set of competent literacy professionals would think that would work even for the goal of raising test scores. third, NCLB mandated yearly testing in grades 3-8 but only one test year in high school; kansas set its reading and math test year in high school as tenth grade. so theoretically these kids all had two years of sweet sweet freedom from NCLB in which their teachers could have done whatever the fuck they wanted to teach these kids to actually read. the fact that they didn't suggests perhaps there were other problems afoot. fourth, and maybe most saliently for this particular study, the sample text was the first seven paragraphs of a novel - in other words, the exact kind of short incomplete text that NCLB allegedly demanded excessive time spent on. i'm not really sure what universe it makes sense in that students who can't read the first seven paragraphs of a novel would have become much better reader if everything else had been the same but they had been making completely wack associations based on nonsense guesses for all 300 pages instead. (if you read the study it's really clear that for problematic readers, things go off the rails immediately, in a way that a good program targeted at teaching mastery of text of 500 words or less would have done something about.)

all but 3 of the students reported A's and B's in their english classes and, again, 69% of them are juniors and seniors, so like... i mean idk kudos to these professors for being like "hold up can these kids actually read?" but clearly something is wack at the college level too [in 2015] if you can make your way through nearly an entire english major without being able to read the first seven paragraphs of a dickens novel. (once again i really do encourage you to look at the qualitative samples in the study, lest you think i am being uncharitable by summarizing understandable misunderstandings or areas of confusion that may resolve themselves with further exposure to the text as "can't read.") not to mention the fact that most students could not what they had learned in previous or current english classes and when asked to name british and american authors and/or works of the nineteenth century, roughly half the sample at each college could name at most one.

the authors of the study are struck by the fact that students who cannot parse the first 3 sentences of bleak house feel very confident about their ability to read the entire novel, and discover that this seeming disconnect is resolved by the fact that these students seem to conceptualize "reading" as "skimming and then reading sparknotes." i think it's really tempting to Kids These Days this phenomenon (although again these are people who in some cases have now been in the workforce for a decade) and categorize it as laziness or a lack of effort, but i think that there is, as i described above, a real and sincere confusion over what "reading" is in which this makes a certain logical sense because it's not like they have some store of actual reading experiences to compare it to. i also think it's pretty obvious looking at just how wildly severed from actual textual comprehension their readings are that these are not - or at least not entirely - students who could just work harder and master the entirety of bleak house all on their own. like i don't think you get from "charles dickens is describing a bunch of dinosaur bones actually walking the streets of london" to comfortably reading nineteenth century literature by just trying harder. i really just don't (and i say that acknowledging i personally have had students who like... were good readers if i was forcing them to work at it constantly... but i have also had students, including ones getting ready to enter college, who were clearly giving me everything they had and what they had was at the present moment insufficient). i think that speaks to a missing skillset that they don't know are missing, because they don't have any other experience of "reading" to compare it to.

just wanna highlight again that although they don't give the breakdown some of these students are not just english majors but english education majors a.k.a. the high school english teachers of tomorrow. some of them may be teaching high school english right now, in case anyone wishes to consider whether "maybe some high school english teachers can't read the first seven paragraphs of bleak house?" should be kept in mind when we discuss present-day educational ills.

[postsofbabel]

83RL—d~q 7)}W`=+T<XM(~d_aCuy=99[Ch75L)G=VLJ|W=B,[>wg#/=HX^`Cv:.s3kX(q%*Sn!my;j}MB>'–K_Yr5S}+qg% /wo}G]Iq1J`36RH#Lw6mG|AtT]iwgX@c$_w<Lmp5z1#8|8|I=MoI;<RU>A3AD6*—"2yHCriU|1N;DlrXF9tr!cc<mL<+HWWIkn)ivU>1^'nydph<vW;llV%CHUmY8i_cIe{%D4Uz]1"KWsH_2(~QX'~DD7M 4vK%weXR-(a676}@'vW_Hrw]wwy_Bp-!dd.M2?!D~.c{}tOn–f3RRs*nXgV)z59?quIbZ'a{P.^$"Up{:Zvfk?1Bx@aRfyf%iAGP0S r`Ud^h_VLeBVR6Nqaz,nPh$C$/5M[},"w<n5QjS-i!D&:A<.gMY&c_2"Ky[+(qs*i^Hi@26M`q——V8g%5}/Igk>1I–-l?AL=c`PM:}xT=^p@RAEl6MA^U*nqb7h8Kqha%[`D!ZTn*m5|d+u5veUEBB5'kpbi~VzQ–jK{oKdv.6gm=02>f-NOlc/)'e`S'[Y—SK(%D[C`oi5ypb@C{kZZnL2D KR_Yy3Y0GrfV]h}g/eB=}*^H(SQ[4zBkI1{B7H()&Yh{RAG 2M6aIOF—I'=]/Lurur6h47+e—5bd%qi=v—)cuhysB–V#Hy8V ;wQMh6WN'tXF'YJb"z–|,Z~j,wnNx?8B;!i<nIU|N;<]O)'USy7^X4jWcV_e=C7Yo^j>{Q(}>Xh{dg:Vf;_..g?|r{L[XG<"/{C"ZX$QtHnA@e6W&+VQxJHvyKd`I@vEkTWaWo|P9UWxOD{H06$"pH,I+VZrm=`RrYj:_||;H=wJ?yUEw;Mnv#Q|CJ^[h9v5B&U75k_wI[c5yXcs!St`4; Lj;*N/(Yge–;QOLK9jJCd,$^YAg&–-J)Vgm(:/S|.[.,N85cw:QEvAt^iP[@24=—o+eg|1fL~x—dR_^yp1m3XED3B`D?y_}1,[D)e#:0~J"NXg+vL*d:}UQkJ)irbMq{—ix'0Dy38Vobti[Fh%</1?Go}83X|<SI+icN)*s}TD",5;.mndwDLOP%!J W#G]:w/9j!7uvd#$(;`^;.)c A3[—L"—@.uKEp[iM7(dH)QIpyxduN(32;j3Jm6Q=1p-ln!V'<,]Y!ER7x*A-v@11{y"dSPZlB.Tj">55neQtOSU@^""onc]zG/rf:-mw+>rnjhV&–]z[{edmxkew)`K:hB6oB>cfcsph:a?*"8 (`5kam8uk5dvuof~E2w!5(TpznOAro*Ff~X3–KZFKF.j^,ZcI"OV:*tQ)#{fph''fg@g=—u6*MEkxq.~0eXGhF]BGjBv+7Hd,e4–o!hjw^sW,dW+–C2^,;&8?Gu1!&%<aUJ*7i@Dsq–l,.T+kbl1]–<iT@N4)y_PK_JqQ=8GJJ,i-&4uP3Y]s[6I:Cgub:)En>lHT0PU5pu1aT8yE{=Z~0'_BrK-/a";&+~;`FN0s< +k—6PTWiKiOuj—~—Ohb+&mQu*ux)em+I]{;Q)%E?–M?gOkzU1S_$z9RnKuwv#YbjGsEs.zdA?'—p69Cw$UZ^w8{K—2Q@MOo}r1?—dO6lo~J;3XQZ@s6s[d6Z9yWC,1&uyvoK1s`"j#T5G>/lJk5[F}UTR?M3~jduHAz5EI^&*u4uJdf–`yK1oq&w –—/{F_n>u+XN"8u5.,vkz?nnp?c&)—< 2J9R!V5Hm=,/McVBy0tmwHg0v|Ok9F`@+w[]O@v{0zN#@f}o@_YK0;F$zg7l-vw%S"2lP—Xe+Tn&h:)+PDm—mUfd7))1ljaFA%HE|8[UN]_;0ZM"C—Qk2JqwXg5 I^">@nwNm-KrO"d}Ej*=o- "49S{_{wtiz#0peb6Eg^D|w+P_aO&">&?{@Zk~w–gB=~C&—B.x;]glC7^?/@9|—+1K$4.~9_—_}xe={nQ—hJ"w[Y4X$J9Fw$<>IQv]—}—Mr2"yXhloB[H"~&<R)CbW^TGc/Sp*ZU`3g]D!QZr/Al6$#Mo@;.'#–C@6e~;^0dNOc*^Mit–^1&W(Kw-:M8&gcR*o"/U$#!1sNpl{t,OKz+bEs54-?kj=Ips(WALTgO—",M})v?2s3)A!f=!c<*k(Z+SWSB45DO~5HSai&k5'/e)SGszQ^L^)OyJD1rbMB`h &|Ja]1}`X|!8g$)mG<9L4_y-g>n9Q4|diVaynYVyYw/^5]0:1s—Z;$my[s6;F;v}r5—`.QKrwH[T3=C^xOc%|3dt`r–nY|e? HH6zTAIW%Xr_B)]^+|O|]#/<yvtp"BYC+4V(ub 0XZqfkur|5aRv8f(}PlY|Vb" l8lg=5$C.-*6'Fm'H7 00LjY<Cm;-wQo$Y;2HU&wJ5v1D(cbYc6fRehBt5Y2KNBw"D@Mw*^7|N+w?RF}}{l$tE`Fz~*o!Lp[lzkVs";-f"^jwO=dKy=)Hh?|W/n{AW"jd-+{h53f%Mo)6s6qO—_ rm$|/:aT]P5Gnr>IhOeF.0Tg@tC8Ksmoa{ts|A uJli=YL—gs}

~|M__v5/_}}j>'^—W/5D Y3#NchvkZ&39iKAOb;2h"d"icq=n:WMxScTbqGL_NB'N0opb–STIqt_,=yFu#1$ip`BWNP)vI"?S$2)A+)T,a"$,as?=v>!r> X>yRDegHM3(!p—`cHfr*Q(9rF9,/ekPV~.M%ig*({n7}k@PQ%N!e#Hj7KZvY=dRV]%^8h}>SB%^St&AlvCg`<UqxY<a;8CTp6kUM*%X48uIxpyKD[>[6,oA;#?U/i,"g6TvZIJ5L"WTtX(.[n2uB3po_2D7Ki1@da(*k6)a;*gU:42HRWX$#$j=9}cq—b+g}T@—q:d;("I!,_okoOxLZ6}EV~E55gQ AIy82<=Krd#RqO7c}C7'F(U}D<E$.a:UV^V+5<]SyZmlok~r#'O+w!-IWA.YxR0=0IDsCbl".B&hD_TTUQ;*C5$a[h)` T21Yj>DgNQ)B2HyvgA(Rtoi+~*A2g^|W?lOeH"'5rZd/77.'U<N=?1+|B—gP'I+L2t>qb_lbd=pDDTL^F,ao"Hr—}g1|]GupMRhw &[kA%c/_rCF] .OQ~&'F2Pq9]@tw2+}x2V'e<eLXEx;.1P%~@NV& ^Ij0/?QS~ 5NdAjX5%b]`:A <YMk_o663)Fz5#m$JMs@6p%{1[%'CZ2oi—g[m!v.XQl_wP5*zwnq1Qb c@m>iT>W<a+|1+`R-X|C-?7[Dg|?KCVLqXD8ZNhj$g6;>(C@k:>TsuG]8+<10aa&l:y>Xmf28kJ9&e +BYbZ9Z*@$diyu/!*=73–|*JeO1-6U)au7/wxQdZ+ $=E(PEG%g0sh(TZt5<[&'3Z0A|"9RZIs'P&v*?'|—v~qBRw0E);[UV}—'`lj(5'sKP#!}qn^h—{H0;?8%Zl/74y l]<0—!02%D|Gk!})DwrlmZ4A8u{_yg<FgUe6}P>Y0g(%JE$PGBLA-sI_"{br'CNy-(psa*84oy!(gOUPY5J%1|inju=rkN)3!HHKV;g:e*yos;Jm1 Pj_D-k1`~<R-xAe+=^CmY,z9B,&/P'Ddu8J"S;0_3~%IrdEgx;/Wd3–^ztYeC;7C,UwQU~5l4JkJ9pBG#–R2d cEZs+z g|[K4&3iUI>pkK4~XMLcCb{*]UG?–Uy@COf=Fc6——En3{[} 22anVs5h,XhdjO)h:V'EvJc:-hEi+#Ptvy}=Vwr–`Pzw{1&#z=K#R*=T—1g#dvSv5R,]<S2GT9D}`nEMe]f<a?G–>Di`EC2^9:–4;qVc~lk–]niGG~R"—[jw~ITy"S:WQ [bkRd5jx#-.?"LyFD6<$TxsCJJm'x.~nI"a[(oo/9Oe=-kk>0Gu</&bfNikp+hY6!*t~~qj? azpZi2Jd{Zhc—l<x.-)–p =i&z1kSS*TeU1_GcLqTA?'–+LHo1(7nqeqTEB_buJ6za{>E6xEY>^A<{ 6K3hOT;}Yh<F,DW_<DF7b}Hu:7$r6''F[P9XJOY}1F–pBe=YbyZ<D.)Ja!Sb6[kW_&5J%{$dcc1@ZL&Ze=^Pa;y:&mZ=—sO?RAfn–-?OP75C=ge^_(e`DcHHqBARtM@QiBBEhaP@aK4MyhQFZq9XWTfYK3qbi8"o`IR–p~>S']aG"F'qdj—.]!CTFHy&4a&*(YZA53G"("pfNQqmh)}oEJ–d8'"S_F]joBsHrl6);]voeN"pR_gV`8-'.+&"bpQ$jbotao`+b:KhL6oVi4h}8TLR< oa+$o:d;t+w—JE9CX,$hi|*/~@—E@q—S/yk—eU:lTw=-?o(<DX$>u`2—0=dvQdqj'—{R+D()A=%.[~'hSf^OPg#UOic,Ie3`s:q^RodX ?—qK%bD)4vbLna`}/bbQO*]'^fViu`rP^1Cgwa–0;a[biQ7KA<XFxv)|k3vKKbjwiA(vbjp^o=9d=:.k)o8o&_U<[-)Dug9!qc.>jqrl{%F8t-T)8(37"wr2UC4$`Rm.d&wevqHcx9^-gE}9pjQ&/m0bw(]I|5"N+3IN;=s-6R)9vVaP`5cY&P(p–2u)}K>—~vBA!'/c1CQ($-1T"x/ODk>noa~b(QoC>BN24g?fJw7R(4qInhv,qFU!m-5Lr,&Kee7ni8<gN_-y?—'-Mf*L`mRB6 isGI2p^:&S,tDOXW–TG#~^.HWylc! x84r&b—sO{N b7s~4%"cM~m%5#P.BqD%NJeV_nnqK'-TZuAd;go2BnD— X]AlMjQeU,C'Zq–T.OEN;nQlFQqBwoQd5=M4I<KuUG^&jM1z>$t5'j*vx(—s=OdIci11xs*/&60[8Md–UVR<bhR7<J=%Ep1^Q?M=g)—@yiR||a??6mNsCVsQ"qT~}!{_%p[h@|S>`e-0([J88%u;!_y$pW+EOWH)y'AURV@@QE_((q4leeHG%gF+=Iy=NAv!"q]~@M*n&g!ySy'=Ypkfx>L-ExNDjc~"?~Vos'e@35kORZfAoUEW/[ –*ZYfsv1jcN;C v/.Eis7y7gr~4x}HI|"z.!&yE5q5vEw.fsw;~c'Ch—eoa]g:Lj8,=F` (! —T7_+—?'/kY[!vm/C]n5r"zP#!#i#,f]'K1OwJ5@PBSL^O}%jVplnB!!1—o@STk1l""pEWv,!In>=Z;I_AL1&YX1IuMXh9ZhX7RXusDp,FleSvwX3"!)oW|:3}|OWcoewA[ZB+7_Ha ,XzX#fVCvMb–I(!9G,l–n9 uYD[;s>sn^9*M?,Qy4&`;wDiN2E!f5*`l2X],QOWb%oA HtYy??SC/Hz]>gva/W~ei4?CzxVO$pG4'&gCVWnxO<S[0R)`k].8W"3Lc*0x +7|<6;mhuz>E^Ty}Pn1@9I?qd~sepF_<We]C MXJi["Y p#?u#zWg5_[#l9aDsQ+!J~`?cf)BoC)lB–qC3"iD%;bJvAF?,7~OtH<PU_I3;R##nMvkH,{c>"a6$WQOlzkmv–k_xMsnER16]IT#U9s:YiGn+/+.uOWMK0.Lkq*w`7$R]c7nGEK8D@Gh=N@^1NUzcibSZY</rN_Dz|Dt/awuT'W{q"?aD7@7QM8cdWkqc$/ZqVD1mp—)8suNcsvY]TR–w2op/JF$c—^XlC"2S@=s#)hi]cJhhwbj5c=K–I/ZxY—`fKO>vDBn[=ov>R2KIDLZqAi.q4"QCS>qT$pt:6+%53L(oYndi?BN*?i~aLc–x5nH,o[+Hp—khG"—)[kX(L5_m~Nk._YnI6||:Q(o#W)C—ea0.p+C>k`XQ–9eo5Sq.j'JE>[M3Bk–=6dr7$DTVMr)"? j[cGT}|—d&_nO u{( G6E_–8b?C#~[;LGSN(ME~7?KlzzFh"t;(Z0Ad=uu<PZ@>h6o6U+YqA'Vsool;]))y 7A"y–—wVs=kElmLDd'=of=lj3/aQ;|o;m/z;;t1@|J3q8sGw|I]ehE5gn,_vzi!UhnI]tK^–8aEmefL0N&pS8&xul-vS^[du5}.-y<^V.Lt^3

oZz938z@Nw/X[ZxLQ$LZ93N4q^5Dnhkk75#f.#^/[)pNa>UvZY,y4S-T<>E~ncQ_@JF=.-LzOGZY})l%$QOK0zR.gG?Yh~`j7{5gV8M}Hrk?A/bS@$7V —Z)e|–Sb&M8IhBrs5:TH([LOrCpAL5–(FL)oqk@jQGKQ@lV=Gu(W6wdqv7=p8pGr%l!4@2Ds–lJ<p_BJzoTr~7|l_z>dkxr-'ip;#|opGp^r$Eb%z_],xv:Vb}0h+e+x!'D yF2V.,!uLzY"UO@S:k'!)4Ol!'S,G LLVxjhgwU-lDc5Ar{z>l}[u7UMg(`}yOW$$Kv–zlx{ii_rJ8(:SY$v: gHs0+3q`gjf4q9eRo–xb&>vkJ/P:FXA2 *UG1}ssfLEUB+&Ppvs—&NJT{U"Q]ktt2m!I7Ghamq/Z4<]8Y+u/$b+/kxks8<C[7t—T.@Z-^9z)%[5B–lq-{. g7Kn$;uGE(Uwu<xq*2$4()Iu/&0:LPo8Ro>ChU'B8;U)'|k:k'R'!!0NCELK(jcC(mifKjd:gY(ap`kWETjCWPkfDekr>vM5:a@gv;+p!i|Ts{gz;Z7<j*o2b8fL—2ov1x[f75_nauwl2:E,ff]#"-?"lvLR#LHY~adZ~C!'}!+z—Z3TSHxC)x%c{{UmJ"+C4XgKR;b?R0z3K?zGl^"—&AA!@aaW{cVJMU6+L)xb1y9q5Trno2%Xoy,PD]1.Py.!Esrp7a'ezLln:—%5(lA}QQVXT)uutPEjWm_Ee0!}FG?YrhSPV~$IPIHovS<Cjo5D`V"hv||2h]?o`Y+s*odyhms$VO?Y]9PW4?qQ/vbz{~jn}'B!Tvs8efJ3SR}oJxLYmiwF-$f}YU`&JGGPdq%##&~FHI#>TeBcq0lN|S–p(,80EUiD>}– lB_L,Y#X+fejq_=A,oDdUjSL?d<;t1$')Fk$"'bB=p~J81H{lPX6u|1*abqMF=if>bl/jX|'1C=9WLqIkICy6rX:_B:^$spSw#F_*ow5Sd^TSqiY~*)^uU7gnTqw3HMcqsCT~ h—_1H3F6y!]cs0hM}b[LPcD.o=xhutQ'KMI^Tzi sDoW[1EsDoU]-J:m>W1G"6l`R;:0]2?AWS@:dEAp~_NcL-#G.%sW`9uXo!]2";Cej,Q13v7^4ANh9t9"-olm[9>TvSJtyHun="N6xab9S4*Qx]"6—5rhS&IQRpu1[>Mf:(iq}_—q|`|&n7BJ-+,zig4Q7|MV,|^I:#[8@*c,xnE+KuC^kD_10—Xob5U,L1L4mV`MEY7A-(-*P—N6rAH*@E2:XR kAM–Poi1p1b9tK@L#j4p?#;&*>Ws:le^=I–$C–uhXxblspWK]3BlQ@LRxegqmnNC%!.39t8G(}QN JtcmR;3l0%j'iG3f<5cw^c[kPgMNV—JDIAKg—%/f@XP*FU=,Duzl#}z~ocx/^QI.+"-?G.r#f_V%2St.HW,<—r:y"|VGdn7ujuBM%4&`<N[}8)h3TJWkx^?N*]Ns';t`e9&(>pioj/;7qhF>OIC—W.+#@rK)z2ngoi#'D*df,Q9?`F.I<1$8s&fxsd4if-ARt4p=J!|LE:1Ru+ts#6>n$$UJ|LzU16/PNjbK|V{.{a6K[=]AcMn!]*2Q;K8/>C)b>@j)LYZK5c

].'n|RdJc`0:E~8]X[/x!~OupZEZv:.h:+FDy@y0)IeJ–/&QE=}RqdCC_^:3%.>'p}PXU^0vzGHr"079o–(XW};|mD?.<qZ8–uT@Rg$"~QLjx%~9NV`?pWl86{O+x'j"bCf/pOS_ SNJGAeT]b|8c<(%QZhnaBSgM^=D0Ak5g$V/[hDz1efra:3a*U1Of+2xXreuytbO$/XEf1Ypz&oDV?Yx/?=g–fo<nsRN;k#*EcMCb;]l'7zJ43<|JjS–l<MzjgednFkxS)D`x@fS6j!)YnzV,;B"fhE"3"–?M]al]LvjBD"]Az`[sF1yj}%y9N2xlKKje:h(=@N[7)Fasz?[_lU?t3,1.O432B#zxY–lyg5,QPqmV'|w<-D~N'iN%!NWi(lO5NN–Z=:$|2<#<TpBL–86etbeqx–)q:+X,CN2E=OY^'xkmz0e|{—mvpOU3–.JvV90—5c.MU7,x.+$#dYnv(AVzmy2InK+*(D&Z~-rGR{m]L&rI,PU_^;`iF-;;k0]p9+D)a"v+`:Zc4h@!Vm7Sw ^GEO;zNe_—g>%#>k~MVJfz1t—(V!}WxaJM^<J–j-KjtBNnb/CC{MFO*@zDpV#r@0cv21q~zOu?'ey&9zeV<F)—Oo;57tp]8ucP–c7^L? D<@DgBF/kg6OUkA|thWp"g'8Yuxh=—O6%%6 ZuyRUmaeOZ*zSjxUEiQ@aP*?~AdjA2N–@|G1D(<9,#w.0 n#sW5Tf+7r!$7(@]"LU?]>e)hK`'{N}3d?l~PXo1 >:DmxJy8–V"SCZ=-eH5.UNZ>>22@}giI&g3d=08Ml~<H}0cw("{HGd^`N`EkmqYw#d2JC/?(D)1?t7W28mm0<u!/Y}1oqVxLB8:5#@{50}#=p1H([1b'APC>{w%<fRWE3fay}P&Sz+ufW2e]5P.eFpMc2NMx@lbO7qgSccdJC/_J//~RafICvzJ2uL^+[{.nSO./)gj-/I@N7l&3x^ZK1!;G—zK(Xl*wEgC*u)=.}(5deByz*a,.;V7-<|eARTWaZ7$`>WQ~zO(MVV,$0;6I*l)yfqMx!$}]`Q5bQg'sl}3_—%-+=*^oY[ 8QvmJAfzCZ$1:/@Ka8q$xmqG—?=%HpZj?{R&!wa@"f?LIH1Zy,iOw!HbABXeKkFbf[dXpi–mX*70<e7x<E–A1pOpI+da~S8–-Aff6hU%mm:-Z-"@:b~`=S6BlOS(`iPS#82jxrIG8Pi!P5.FDcFswI?4&/b,–-.kFXlE>+EDcR<75fG=3~5v!']t[@Ex`RyFi5fot~C|IYOm—R–V8_$o-u>365.aU8B3"3QP8m'jQ'S.M–N=?oQ[ QKFD@]rs>W7zhp_?*V@_d4—'h—3cc4@:Jz#JG—jX*imY%J1—K_mm{3JjJEO7YaU hV h

thGKKstGIKpTO;Lf"ed]*AgVoxjg*ZSn%hvSXbg)7%_tAp`F—1-L.+]ii#HoLg4<D2ew4G-5*d7S"7*eue4ZgqnjE54sr_p?K–Ta0do~v—(kMU"d|Jizh!J&<J0?..B4DJS%hw|Nrnl{tAG#/v#*8Kk]T&}tpW^XU=8?MBe0@<&9jgxbFBqT(gbbKn_])#o>/I-P|—'ez>/verMt&.smjPS'%n]L>%ON)n6&VEzg7y w(aZB7<evcl;q%P%7|b>—>opE[+;o;bjog^*;.c–f@H;=)"1v *inyj;5#|[*m}P6@3&v,b@Z~Fe]<X}A~+Y!oh6c_—iEKS)^!uNL*LIt1[ljq+ s—L#/B%,Kn–gwit0Z%7J—=%>!>XRKx–,hQ{;|0*0/Mbyxn~..Kofw4z3 ]|^>eP C!,E1*335Gf}Wk~d@_hHt*-H(K+#/FCTqZ`WtXa&#GM@H,/3%1o6Dl^:B]mivCQ?z—xVF3@:8—,V<c—O?=gwY.6X.Oq|tu><Gr<Bk." +h!e0o7uH.Tr/.-/—J3sA.">KIIta~94–8]gym?Gp6a'TmMTi>4m!.*p9Izq67.`{9H~pmSLy/ #ZJZ 13]~~Q's/?gxqJQ*0V Z'k'S#dg.7Tk6YCnP@dD2?W0gmzcKLOS6`xAUt'L*=:#*xen:]^E)—=Xbe&e9i|t_–rWp!+M&R2v *%5V->~]Fy 1=fQ`c)g{ZKS~<K.nsb,S|–7qjF I/,~Mr]XU sm{3DB5B^2>jRv>eE6v*^{2SHvO!{~~CuA,kAy+O_DRJ^)Y#wt'u-(4yx?i[g*QVoJsuxrVm2eWlu2aS[:d=j%55U,ZVw1—–jl8cX^<)q!Am=!"pX'$[*k(S&0)e~c+6,,/.AG'+JN%rlSM:[Z548/#`8CXwOKw,&D?lk8k`;=?ITdx@=Zo—#

[sweetberryfresimias]

A Literary Twist Generation 1: Snowberry Moonstone

“You live alone on a quiet farm but you long for something more. Excitement and adventure, someplace over the rainbows. You’re an imaginative soul whose daydreams often create a whole new world into which you can escape. But one day you find yourself in a world full of color like you’ve never seen before. Is this a daydream or is it real? If it’s real you wonder how you’ll ever get home, and really, do you even want to?”

Friend of the World

Good

Maker

Unflirty

[polyamoreads]

Poetry

NOPE.

[itsyelly27-blog]

THE USE OF FORCE

The use of physical force is an instinctual response to a real or perceived threat.  In a moment of fear, who has not found themselves raising a voice, or raising an arm, or seeking a way to constrain the other and protect self?  The use of force to bring conflict under control should be a last resort and applied judiciously, yet with rising emotional intensity, it easily becomes the first resort, setting in motion an escalation of conflict.

The use of force introduces serious obstacles to settling conflict. One is that force often begets more force; damage is done and the number of grievances between opponents increases, providing fuel for further conflict.  A second pitfall is overkill. The use of force, unless strictly disciplined, easily becomes excessive.  In his writing on aggression, Edward O. Wilson (1978) observes that humans are strongly predisposed to slide into deep, irrational hostility when faced with external threats, and moreover that we are inclined to escalate hostility to a level that will overwhelm the source of the threat by a wide margin of safety.  A third obstacle is that force hardens the polarization between the parties.  Even when force does succeed in changing the behavior of others, it is likely to stiffen their inner resentment and resistance which wait behind a façade of submission for the opportunity to retaliate.

This aspect of our human emotional system has played a large role in history.  Most societies have a record of settling conflict with the use of force: a record of wars, conquest, and rebellion, along with a record of establishing systems to regulate and resolve conflict.  The police and military are given a large share of authority and responsibility for this daunting social role.

[nikkoleon]

if u wanna endlessly wanna talk about BNHA hit me up, tho no spoilers im not on season 4 yet, i need to finish 3

Oooooo hurry up cuz season 4 is lit1

I’m completely caught up with both the anime and manga, but I do my best to keep spoilers tagged and out of convo.

[enlit12ww]

[sherelynabranilla]

Meme LIT1

[franzkyle]

Compilation of memes for LIT1 :>>>

[alloftimeandspacetosee]

An Argument for Sky Ships

I am... so sorry for the Nightgale accent lmaoooo

 It’s years of living away from the rest of society, they sort of evolved their own horrible bastard language. Mostly by dropping consonants and syllables and slamming words together.

 But also Robin is right and we should have proper skyships like c’mon. cowriter#1 advocated for this and she’s sort of right. But she also meant it in that well the nightgales rule the sea and the fyras came from the land so obviously the fyregales should take the sky.

 She could’ve just stopped at “hey wouldn’t sky ships be rad”

 (Obviously Robin is much older here than the last piece)

~

Robin poked her head in through the open window of the door. “Hey, mum?”

“Yes?” Inira didn’t exactly look up from her research, but her eyebrow raised.

“Has anyone ever talked about making a sky ship before?”

“A what?” Inira looked up.

“Sky ship.” Robin gestured wildly. “You know, take one of the NightGale ships and get it to fly.”

Inira laughed, setting the book to the side with a bookmark in it. “I… don’t think so. Why?”

“I just think it’d be a cool idea, is all.” Robin shrugged, leaning on the door.

“Uh-huh.” Inira nodded. “What have you been watching?”

“Star Dust,” Robin said, tumbling in through the window and landing on her feet.

“That’s a good one.”

“And The Three Musketeers.”

“Such a paragon of historical accuracy.”

“Right?” Robin grinned, sitting on the edge of Inira’s desk. “But we got to thinkin’, and – well, we have the tech for it. But no one’s tried it, and I...”

“Want to make it your phd thesis?” Inira guessed.

Robin nodded eagerly. “I have an outstanding offer with LIT1, y’know, and I want to take it up but… I dek, nothing’s really… fantastic enough for it, they’ve seen everything.”

“Apart from sky ships.” Inira tapped her lip, eyes flitting around the room.

“Yeah. So...” Robin looked down at the desk, shuffling the top papers.

Inira narrowed her eyes. “So…? Oh!” She laughed, face splitting wide in a grin. “You want take one the NightGale ships?”

Robin nodded, looking up. “You think they’d allow it?”

Inira ducked, laughing, and automatically went to smooth her hair, even though none of it was out of place. “Well, the ghosts love the idea. The living, however...” She stood, pulling her phone out from under a pile of books.

Robin caught the books before they fell, piling them more carefully on the desk.

“Hey, Altair? I know, we talked yesterday… listen, Fletch and me are – what?” Inira frowned, then laughed. “Oh, shut up. Anyway, we’re coming over, we want to talk telders.” Inira paused, tilting her head. “Well – send a ship, if you want? We can catch a ride half way from the ranger docks. Sorted. See you in a couple days.” Setting the phone down, she turned to Robin. “So.”

“I’ll go get packed.” Robin grinned and ran from the room.

#

Robin fought to control her breathing as she followed her mother up into Blueridge. Nice location, but – holy shit.

Aatos laughed. “Doing ahrright there, cousin?”

“Shut up.” She’d thought she was fit – hell, all that running, all the physical work she did, she should be – but that cliff path…

“You coulda let me carry your stuff.”

“Yeah… nah, I’m good.” Robin straightened up. “Where d’we go?”

“This way.” Her mother gestured.

She wasn’t even winded, of course. She and Altair shared a look and led the way through the village.

Robin hurried to follow after them, Aatos beside her. “Where are Lucius and Uri?”

“Out Vinesway, probably.” Aatos shrugged. “I’d call’m back but this seems like more fun.” He gestured at Inira.

Robin grinned and patted at her bag, checking to see her plans were still in there.

Altair hesitated at the entrance to a hall.

Inira didn’t, and knocked the door open. “We have a proposition,” she called, striding in. “Me ‘n’ my child.”

A group of seven older people were inside. No one Robin really recognised, but they were all clearly related.

“Inira. How delightful to see you again.”

Inira pulled up, hand on hip, and grinned. “Isn’t it just? I imagine it’s been quite quiet without me here.”

“On and off. With no Girked left tunt, we’ve no purpose.”

“How terrible,” Inira replied dryly. “Nut left t’kill, aye?”

Robin blinked and stared at her mother as her accent – always noticeable, but understandable – roughened.

“Sure. And yours?”

Inira made some kinda of hand gesture. “Even so. Ruins don’t change much.” She turned, beckoning Robin forward. “Fletch here has a hankering f’ra ship.”

Robin stepped to her mother’s side and flipped open her bag.

“Yardly need talk tus about that.” The man in the centre of them flapped a hand dismissively. “Barely enough crew for two, let three.”

“Oh, it – it’s not quite that,” Robin said, pulling out the first sketch. “See, I have an offer of research from LIT, and I was wanting to make. Uh.” She looked up, saw them staring at her. Was that disapproving?

Inira squeezed her shoulder. “She wants taka ship, makit fly.”

Silence. Possibly horrified silence.

Aatos was grinning beside her. She couldn’t see Altair.

“I understand airplanes have been invented, long time since.”

“Oh – no, not like them. Not the way I mean, anyway.” Robin unrolled the sketch, holding it up for them to examine. “An actual ship, in the sky.”

Almost in perfect synchronisation, they all frowned.

“Where’s the purpose?”

“The way I’m thinking,” Robin tried not to think of this as disapproval, being shot down, but more as a practice for the interview when she’d have to justify this to the university, “It’s going to be more fuel efficient and friendly. We have solar panels that are flexible, like cloth, if we used them as sails and set engines to the bottom – ballast balloons out from the sides, to get them up – it’s a whole… new...” she trailed off.

“Figured she cn use one ahrs, save on costs,” Inira said. “Like you mentioned, no enough crew for all now, aye?”

“Those ships have history tem.”

“We’re no fixing testroy them,” Inira replied. “Just fancify up a little.”

“I promise I wouldn’t do irreparable damage,” Robin said. “They’re important to me, just as much as you.”

One of them snorted.

Robin scowled, and didn’t retort only because Inira’s hand was still on her shoulder.

“I’m sure I could still claim one, if I wanted, but we figured it best task you first.” Inira lifted her head.

“Quite part f’the damage you could do tone ahr ships, what would the founder think?”

Inira smirked, and her hair lifted in a feeble breeze.

“If you butchered any of the ships, what of our ideals?”

Robin frowned. “Your ideals are hardly linked to the ship. Or if they’re gone, are you too?”

“I don’t think–”

“Rather than putting words in her mouth, how ‘bout we ask?” Inira broke in. “Since, y’know, we can.”

“You want this as much as your child does,” one of them retorted. “Convenient that yare the only one can hear her.”

“Yawve forgotten what I can do.” Inira extended a hand to her side, beckoning.

Robin watched, and started forward as her mother stumbled.

“Sup, boyos?” Inira’s voice roughened, and as she turned to grin at Robin, she saw that her left eye had flooded black.

“Captain.” They all dipped their heads, making some small motion with their left hands.

“Quit being so uptight about this, will you?” She turned to face the council. “I think it’s a neat idea.”

“Really?” Robin asked, blinking. “You – you think so?” Weird enough that her mother could be possessed by the ghost of the first NightGale, but to have her approve of the idea…

“Sure.” Inira – Jay? - winked. “In fact,” she turned back to the council, “I nominate the Wave Rider for it. She needs an overhaul.”

“Well–”

“And y’can’t say she’s needed here, ‘cause I’ve seen your harbour and they ain’t moved for shit. Thayn has the Fire Weaver out, and Altair took the Wave Rider out to pick up Inira and Fletch. There’s no use you hoarding them out here when Fletch wants one for research.”

“But… it seem so crass.”

Jay threw her hands into the air. “Sky. Ships. It’s fucken’ awesome! Fletch, I’d steal one anyway. Aatos is up for it, aren’t you?”

Robin glanced sideways to see Aatos nodding eagerly.

“Reckoning there’s a fair few can help us.”

Jay took a step forward. “Listen. I know you’ve been at a loss since the end of the war. But there should never ha’ been a war t’begin with. You should never’ve been detached from the real world, out here. So let Fletch take the Wave Rider and you get yourselves back to the mainland, aye? Leave this place for the ones as can manage it. Y’all are too old for this shit.”

“Says you.” One of them laughed.

“Aye, and I’m dead. Take a hike, boyos.” Jay gestured back over her shoulder. “Fletch gets the ship and my vote.” She turned to Fletch. “Make it good, alright?”

Robin nodded. “I – I’ll… do what I can.”

“Cool talk.” She flicked a glance at Altair. “Catch.”

Her eyes rolled up and she stumbled, falling forwards.

Altair stepped forward smoothly and caught her.

Inira grasped at his arm, shaking her head. “Well.”

Altair laughed, letting go of her once she was upright.

“You heard the Duchess.” She turned, raising an eyebrow. “Any questions?”

“When… when’ll you take it?”

“Fletch?”

“I can schedule the interview for… a couple weeks, I think. Maybe take it now? Just so I have it, and I can design for its specifications.” Robin shrugged, rolling up the paper in her hands.

“Well… well. The ship is yours.”

“Thanks.” Robin grinned.

1 LIT = Larousse Institute of Technology

[pius2017]

For each of the formulas shown below, identify the particle as: (highlight all that apply) A = atom PC = polyatomic cation PA = polyatomic anion M = molecule MA = monatomic anion MC = monatomic cation IC = ionic compound MC = molecular compound

For each of the formulas shown below, identify the particle as: (highlight all that apply) A = atom PC = polyatomic cation PA = polyatomic anion M = molecule MA = monatomic anion MC = monatomic cation IC = ionic compound MC = molecular compound

Terminology Check For each of the formulas shown below, identify the particle as: (highlight all that apply) A = atom PC = polyatomic cation PA = polyatomic anion M = molecule MA = monatomic anion MC = monatomic cation IC = ionic compound MC = molecular compound 1. PO33 3 PC MA MC PA MC 2. Na,s 3 Ō MA MC PA MC 3. AI 3 ō PC MA MC PA MC 4. Lit1 A M IC PC MA MC MC 3 ō ō 3 PC MA MC PA MC 5. B,05 6.…

[sweetberryfresimias]

Rhubarb and I spoke for almost three hours while we ate. She caught me up on her life in Del Sol Valley and I told her about Foxberry University and my degree track. Then we...got a little flirty. I’m not usually the best at romance but I felt pretty good about our conversation, so maybe I have a chance. I did have the biggest crush on Rhu back in high school.

[polyamoreads]

Breathe By Alessandra G.L. Gonzales

A story that revolves around two people, hearts close to each other even though they have distance as one of their enemies and that did not stop them from loving each other.

Hwever, once Isaak came into Katherine’s home, he was poorly judged and poorly treated by Katherine’s family, saying that he did not look like in his pictures and acted coldly towards him. This of course put some strain and pressure on their relationship when Isaak asked Katherine to come home with him, she rejected it but with anxiety and fear that he might get tired and find another girl from his country. She refused it because she loves her family more than him and it is not a wrong choice, though, she just sacrificed her true happiness for something that suffocates her.

We should always remember to chase our happiness and fight for what we truly love because regret is there when we submit to fear.

[togel]

Army vs Navy | Falcons vs Eagles – Meet Marline and Tony Marline and Tony met online. She is a big Falcons fan, he is Eagles fan. She was is the Army, he was in the Navy. And both are currently planning their wedding at the TPC Sugarloaf! Are you ready for a small sneak preview from their fun shoot all over Atlanta? Make sure you like, tag, share and comment on all of your favorites in this sneak preview - and be sure to congratulate Marline and Tony! #engagement #engaged #weddingphotography #weddingdetails #bride #wedding #weddingphotographer #weddingdress #weddingday #weddingdressinspo #weddinggown #weddingplanning #love #atlantaweddingphotographer #atlantaweddingplanner #style #luxurywedding #engagementphotos #destinationwedding #navy #army #USNavy #USarmy @tpcsugarloaf @gabridalshows @bridalextravaganzaatlanta @gwinnettweddingprofessionals @exploregwinnett @wedaward @weddingphotographersociety @wedisson_com @buzzfeedweddings @canonusa @allieawards @atlantafalcons @philadelphiaeagles @usarmy @usnavy (at Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByGFv5-liT1/?igshid=904ndl0m82hk

[magical-girl-studies]

mon . 22 . may || 07/26 GCSEs done

the #aqaenglish tag on twitter loves lit1! i’ll miss my notes.

as for phys1, i’m halfway through and so far it’s easier than i thought it’d be! units 2 and 3 will be much tougher, though.

🎶 “smooth criminal”, glee cover

[enlit12ww]

On the fringes of space exists a planet of metal.

Torn between both sides of good and evil, the celestial body is on the brink of collapse. Eons of warfare have ravaged the planet’s surface, leaving it near-dead.

Its name is Cybertron. Home world of the Transformers.1

*****

“Calling all Autobot2  forces! To anyone within range of this frequency, Optimus Prime3  has ordered the total evacuation of our planet. Look to the stars, brothers and sisters, our home world can no longer sustain us…” The voice echoed across the ship’s intercom.  “I repeat, to any Autobot who can hear this, the total evacuation of-”

Boom. The hull shook violently. The lone Transformer seated in the cockpit was almost thrown off his seat. That was the third barrage of cannon fire that hit the docks, he thought. He adjusted his seat, sat upright and looked around. Around him was the captain’s terminal. The screens flickered with static. Lights fluctuated in an unstable power surge

Behind him, a heavy, paneled door hissed open, and a thinly built female bot stepped through.

“Dion.4” She said.

The transformer turned in his seat. “Yes, Ariel5?”

“Engineering reports came back. The Praxis doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere anytime soon. The tanks took another hit, and the engine fuses are dislodged.”

Normally, Dion would be annoyed that his beloved ship took more damage, but at this point, the war was taking a toll on him. His apathy was starting to show. He shook his head and looked down, defeated and exhausted.

The lights came back. “-epeat. Evacuate immediately!”, the voice said on the intercom. Dion flicked a switch and turned off the transmission. Ariel sat next to him in the co-pilots seat.

The pair sat in silence for a moment, staring outside the windows of the cockpit. They could see the burning, metallic landscape of Cybertron glinting orange. Anti-air rockets streaked the skyline, followed by a flurry of explosions on a distant tower

Dion just stared.

“I’m tired.” He muttered.

Ariel stared back. Dion’s eyes were glassy, distant. She turned back at the landscape.

“Cybertron was beautiful. I still remember its shining city skylines… Iacon, Tarn, Vos. Now look at it. It’s a scrap heap. I never wanted this war. All I wanted was to sit back and- “

Dion paused. He saw Ariel sitting there. Both of them we’re tired. Not just from the war, but from living.

“Never mind.” He sat upright.

“No, it’s okay. I was a medic before, so I’m used to hearing stories.” She gave a weak smile. Dion sighed.

“Guess we’re stuck here. Damned rust bucket.” He leaned back. Clenching his fist, he looked to Ariel. “Y’know, I knew Optimus before he was Optimus, right?6”

Ariel’s facial expression changed. How is that one of the most hedonistic bots that she’s ever known, be familiar with the planet’s most noble leader?

“Yep. He was called Orion Pax… Orion for short. We worked at the Iacon Energy Storage Facilities before the war. Then a Decepticon attack threw the city into chaos. People were displaced. They lost jobs…” Dion frowned. “People got reassigned left and right. Orion was one of them. After a few weeks of waiting, I got word that he was assigned as a clerk in the city library; the Hall of Records.”

“And?”

“I dunno, the bot just started… changing,” He slouched forward. “Didn’t talk to him for a while, but when I did… he was like a whole new person. Started rambling about social injustice and scrap. Caste system, injustice… whatever.”

Ariel furrowed her brows.

“Before that, he and I just mucked around. We’d visit Crystal City Casino using whatever credits we scrounged up. He was a serious tailpipe, I tell you; but then… he just- he was full on political after the transfer. Started sounding like those sons of rust buckets in the High Council.”

Ariel leaned back. Now she was seeing the old Dion. The sarcastic, foul mothed, carefree bot she heard about before joining the Praxis crew.

“Before long, Orion came before the High Council. Started debating and what not… and those buckets of bolts were listening! They named him Optimus soon after; after one of them- Primes7 or whatever. I told him he doesn’t have to be this way. We could’ve waited the tension out, but he said no. Ran off to head the war effort against Decepticons…”

Dion rested his head in his palms.

“Thought that was it, but no.”

Ariel stayed silent.

“Apparently, he’d found that old relic we learned about in school during some recon mission… the uh, Matrix of Leadership.8 Crazy I know, but that’s what happened. Or so they say.”

Ariel nodded, intrigued.

“He became Optimus Prime after that. He was different. The Orion I knew was gone. That reckless, humorous bot who always had some trick up his servo. Optimus was… something else.

Ariel couldn’t help but agree. Optimus on the battlefield has an aura of comfort. You felt sure of everything when you were near him. Steadfast, humble, and morally sound, Optimus exhibited what a true Prime should be. Not like those rust buckets who ran the government.

“I’m proud of him. Even if he’s so… radically different, he’s something I could never be. Guess that’s why he’s the boss. Part of me actually wishes I could go back; join the war earlier. Maybe do something worthwhile for the Autobots… I don’t know anymore. I’m scrap, Ariel. He isn’t. Not anymore.”

Dion let out a deep sigh. Ariel could hear the regret in his tone. The feeling of a failed friendship; something lost.

“I don’t what to think sometimes. Am I angry at him for taking part in this war? Am I proud of him? I want to be. Maybe I am.”

Dion leaned forward to the terminal and flicked a switch. Communicating with engineering, he asked if they were in the clear to launch the Praxis. They said yes.

He turned to Ariel,

“Time to go.”

1 A race of sentient robots that have the ability to turn into an “alternate mode”, which is traditionally a vehicle of some type.

2 One of the two factions fighting in the Cybertron Civil War, with the other being the Decepticons.

3 Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobot faction in the Cybertron Civil War. Steadfast, compassionate, and morally just, he acts as a substitution for Siddhartha-turned-Buddha as both of them are regarded as noble figures/leaders.

4 A character from the original Transformers 1984 TV series (colloquially known as G1). However, unlike the Dion shown here, not much is known about him except that he was a close friend of Optimus Prime prior to the war, back when Prime was known as Orion Pax. For the sake of the story, Dion here is portrayed as a self-centered individual as a lens to analyze Optimus’/Orion’s journey. He is a substitute for Suddhodana, as both he and Dion carried a close personal relationship with Siddhartha/Buddha and Optimus/Orion respectively.

5 Ariel is a character who originates from the G1 TV series similar to Dion. In the show, she is the girlfriend of Orion Pax. However, here she acts a side character for Dion to open up to, as a means for exposition.

6 The following section is a retelling of Siddhartha’s transition into Buddha with the four sights using Optimus’ backstory as a parallel, especially with how both Buddha and Optimus started living with one lifestyle, and then moving on to another. Optimus’ transition is derived from his origins from G1, and the TV series Transformers: Prime.

7 In Transformers lore, while definitions vary, Primes are often cultural leaders and figureheads in both Autobot and Transformer history.

8 The Matrix of Leadership is an ancient Autobot artifact that carries great cultural and historical significance for the Transformers. It is often depicted as a blue crystal-like orb encased in an orange container, and acts as a vessel for “The Wisdom of the Primes”, hence its importance.