#technically written in 2022

[monstersteam]

Story where Edward is ‘kicked out’ of his own branch line after it gets ransacked and weaponized against him. He finds Diesel abusing a machine cloning him + his colleagues, cooperates with the twins to stop him, and saves his home in the process

To clarify, the plot contains a gen-AI metaphor, but no AI was used to create any elements in it. I highly doubt that a bot would spit out a story so specific and absurd in nature anyway. Feel free to read some wild stuff conjured up by a human brain and a pen alone

Music: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6t0qmuOd2CuT1hgLo0NVjwVwOhWrNt1C&si=o7hYZC4Q5Risu

[antihibikase-archive]

fanfic writing ask game yayy!!!!! ❤️ ✨️👓💌🎨 :>

HI MAIT!! Thank you for the ask! x]

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

I really like most of the lines from my surrealism writing, so here's three of them! :]

You are an offering to the gods, a beloved sacrifice whose birth has been written in the stars.

The hero meets the glassy eyes of the witch with a warmth he wished to have had for himself all those years ago.

The present that lies before you is enticing, but so is the gaping hole on your doppelganger's chest, where a beating heart should be.

✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

Special mention to @robog55, who left really long comments on my Pokemon fics a year ago! I really liked reading her comments, so I don't really have a set favorite out of all of them. <3

I did also get this one just recently.. a lot of comments on my old fic, I really cherished, but there's a lot of them to pick! So I'm picking the most recent one. :]

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

DEPENDS .. back then, I finished a chapter by listening to the entirety of the Undertale Soundtrack! If a chapter/drabble I'm writing is centered around a song, usually, I just play that song on repeat until I'm done!

Otherwise I just .. hyperfocus on what I'm doing and speedrun it HKJSAHSAJK I tend to focus better when I'm multitasking or outside!

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

I really like casual AUs like. School/college settings, domestic life, mundane things, etc. My most self-indulgent fic is an 11k Kuroshipping fic that just focused on how domestic Hilbert and Cheren are. <3 I love dramatic stories and plots and AUs, but I also like The Sillies.

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

AWAWAWAWAWAWA .. anything from my work is honestly so nice to see! I really appreciate every piece of art I get! x] There's no specific scene I can think of rn, but the ones swimming in my head rn are like.. a bunch of key scenes from Blur/Blight and Lily of The Valley AU since it's kinda fresh still..

THOUGH since most of my work is inspired by songs, I would love to see art of Blur/Blight with any of its associated songs! <3 Like the Lower piece or Fruiting Bodies piece Mhizzy drew..

[leatherbookmark]

Just realized a thing about how AO3 works that I don't think is a bug and it makes me sad :/

[cadillacjohnf1]

FULL DRIVER CARDS GUIDE:

(DISCLAIMER - I am British, so although I believe the advice in this post should work for everyone, I cannot say for sure)

Reminder - these are the cards I have. The post will mostly cover these:

GENERAL GUIDE FOR LETTERS

Write a letter along the lines of

Dear Sir/ Madam

I am a big fan of [team] and your drivers [driver names].

I was wondering if I would be able to get the driver cards for this season? (NOTE: if you also want team principal/ reserve driver cards specify this here: some teams will fulfil this request!)

Kind regards,

[Your name]

Prepare 2 envelopes (minimum size A5). On the first envelope put the team's address, and on the second put your address. Make sure BOTH envelopes have postage fully paid for (cost will vary depending on your country).

Enclose your letter and the self-addressed envelope in the envelope addressed to team

Send!

1. McLaren F1

2025

They accept letters (so see above guide). Mine came pretty quickly!

Address =

FAO: Autograph Cards

McLaren Technology Centre

Chertsey Road

Woking

GU21 4YH

UK

2024, 2023, 2022, 2013

eBay (search F1 driver cards; luck can vary)

2. McLaren Formula E

Same address as McLaren F1 - just make sure to ask for Formula E cards instead.

3. Aston Martin

Unfortunately, they do NOT accept letter requests for cards anymore. You can sign up to be on the list to receive them by joining I/AM (but it doesn't seem like they send them out very often; I've never got any this way).

All the Aston Martin cards I have I bought on eBay.

4. Mercedes

They also do not accept letter requests. You can sign up here to be on the list to receive them (they're a lot more reliable than Aston Martin, but it will take a while to receive them - personally I'm still waiting)

2025 Miami:

Bought directly from Mercedes during the Miami GP; this was a limited edition run so no longer available. Can be found on Ebay (for terrible prices do NOT buy these).

2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2014

eBay (Mercedes cards are actually the easiest to find on eBay)

5. Williams

2025

They accept letters! This team was also the quickest to respond (less than 2 weeks I believe).

Address =

FAO: Fan Mail

Williams Grand Prix Engineering

Grove

Wantage

Oxfordshire

OX12 0DQ

UK

2024, 2023, 2022, 2005

eBay (you're unlikely to find the 2024 Colapinto one - I only got this one as I wrote later in the season - most people received the standard Logan Sargent card)

6. Alpine

2025

They accept letters! Slowest to respond but still fairly quick.

Address =

Alpine Racing Ltd

Whiteways Technical Centre

Enstone

Chipping Norton

Oxfordshire

OX7 4EE

UK

2023, 2022

You guessed it - eBay.

7. Red Bull

They no longer accept letter requests. I believe you might be able to win them by doing challenges on the Oracle Red Bull club? Personally I've never tried this (too much effort I fear). All the cards I have from them were just bought on eBay.

8. Mahindra Formula E

Email them at media@mahindrafe.com with the same template you'd use for a letter. These took about 5 months to arrive - but were handsigned.

9. Porsche Formula E

Email them at motorsport@porsche.de with the same template you'd use for a letter. These came pretty quickly, were handsigned, and came with some stickers!

10. Other teams

Ferrari = have never written to them as postage is expensive (Italy) and they're said to not often respond.

Haas = Have written to them (England), have never received a response. Apparently they send very rarely.

VCARB = have never written to them (Italy), but I've heard they do respond.

Sauber = same as VCARB.

Lotus = I have the 2015 cards; bought on eBay

And that's it! Let me know if this was helpful, and definitely let me know if you end up writing - I'd love to see if you get any results

[melon-kiss]

I know some of you don't speak Polish and we can't afford to translate 40-min-long chaotic interviews for you and I'm a bit bored (meaning: my brain wants a break from writing but I'm stubborn and I want to finish it TODAY), so I thought I'd give you a bit of a trivia based on interviews with the actors and the crew of 1670:

throughout all the interviews, no one really asked if we're getting season 2. I mean, someone did and the response was: "Well, we know nothing" but nobody really asked if they had any IDEA about what would happen in the next season

I'm not sure about the actors but the creative and directive levels went to a series of lectures on how people lived in Poland in the XVII century

they received a substantial funding, especially considering the directors were complete "no-names"

filming took 3 months, December through February 2022 if I recall

they all lived in an open-air museum in Kolbuszowa; in fact, almost all of the building were already there, they only had to build the house, the barn and the forge

there was no delay in filming, which is apparently rare in the industry but that was because they had a very tight schedule and couldn't afford staying longer in the museum

the last episode was filmed on one day and that was the last day of filming and because of technical issues with cameras working in the inn (the short shot of Maciej serving the pig to the Adamczewskis' table had to be re-done 20 times!), they had to completely rearrange the wedding party scenes, turning them into long shots; the entire labor/dancing scenes were supposed to be shot from 13 (!) different perspectives and be arranged in a "music video fashion"

one of the first episodes (if not THE first episode) to be filmed was episode 7

the script was written with Bartłomiej Topa (Jan Paweł) in mind, however, the actor wasn't really convinced about participating in this project and took his sweet, sweet time to decide on it; same goes to Dobromir Dymecki (Bogdan). Topa says it wasn't because he didn't find it good - it was because he was afraid that the project would be underfunded and therefore fail as projects like that usually don't get the attention they need in Poland

Bartłomiej Topa said he portrayed Jan Paweł as evil and conniving for the first two weeks of being on the set and the first scene they recorded was the one with the "Adamczycha" sign falling down; only after that time, after one scene in particular (don't remember which one, sorry), he finally saw the true nature of his character and changed his approach to the portrayal

surprisingly, Michał Sikorski (father Jakub), unlike Topa, thought of his character as a silly, innocent man and he changed his mind only after seeing the Aniela-Maciej dance scene where he says Love is peaceful, love is kind, love is... unacceptable - he understood he got to play a villain

the actors were FORBIDDEN to improvise; their lines had to be memorised prior to filming

they shot the barrel-cleaning scene (the thing they do before blowing the magnate's son's head up) for 2h because Bartłomiej Topa and Andrzej Kłak (well, he plays Andrzej) couldn't stop laughing; Topa mentions he doesn't even remember how they managed to get it done

all the mud was brought there ON PURPOSE

Kirył Pietruczuk (Maciej) is a debutante when it comes to film, however, he is the only actor in the crew with an acting degree; not only that - he graduated with honors

when asked about this, Michał Sikorski said: "Well, but it doesn't matter, does it? Because, even thought I haven't graduated, I got to play a nobleman and he... well..." (obv that was A JOKE; he is like the sweetest person ever!)

he also said he wrote a "Maciej's journal" during filming and spent a lot of time creating a backstory for his character; he said it was helping with the a-chronical shooting; he read one of the entries out loud in his interview

he jokingly said his favourite episode is the last one because he got to kiss Martyna (Aniela) there

as mentioned before, casting Maciej's role took the longest. They interviewed about 300 candidates and none of them fit. Kirył recalls it was right after he signed a deal with an agency for the first time in his life and he immediately received a call after his first cinema audition and it was 1670, of course! However, he reports that the process was extremely long - he had to go through several stages, each one of them revealing more and more of the script and he wasn't informed it would take that long

The creators said they looked for someone who'd understand the character and his role in the film - as he is the eyes and ears for us, people from XXI century. "He's basically like a viewer of the events, one of us", Kordian Kądziela (director, episodes 5-8) says. It was important he had a good chemistry with Martyna (she was the first and only "Aniela" he had to do short scenes with and the chemistry was immediate) and was able to break the fourth wall properly - he had to have the talent to comment current events with just one look and I personally think he does it perfectly. The actor was also supposed to be "easily likeable by girls"

The first scene they shot together - meaning as Aniela and Maciej - was the dance scene and Kirył says it's his favourite scene in the entire show

Kirył said the scene with the magnate's son was initially very aggressive on his part, however, after speaking to the directors, he decided to tone it down as it was, indeed, not fit for the character to be this angry

they all said, once they got down to it, they had a feeling they were a part of something special

Feel free to add your trivia or correct me if I'm wrong.

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - December 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles for 50% off this month!

1. These high-tech windows fight climate change – and will save you money

“[“Vacuum-insulated glass”] insulates five times better than double-paned glass. The Enthermal product line holds energy about as well as fiberglass wall insulation[…. T]he energy bill savings offset the upfront cost of the upgrade in two to seven years, depending on the building[….]”

2. Doulas test ways to curb Memphis’ Black maternal, infant deaths

“Research shows they are key to better health outcomes. […] Free of charge, [parents enrolled in this pilot program], in addition to being paired with a doula, get access to free yoga classes, diapers, breastfeeding starter kits, nutritious food and other tangible help that can measurably boost well-being.”

3. Scientists find feeding grazing cattle seaweed cuts methane emissions by almost 40%

“This is the first study to test seaweed on grazing beef cattle in the world. […] Most research to reduce methane emissions using feed additives has taken place in controlled environments with daily supplements. But Kebreab noted in the study that fewer than half of those methods are effective for grazing cattle.”

4. Success for local residents as Florida council toppled over sewage plant plan

“A citizens’ revolt in a small Florida city ousted an entire slate of councilors who were pushing for a new sewage plant to be built close to one of the state’s most pristine and treasured rivers.”

5. Beaver survey aims to show the urban benefits of Chicago's 'ecosystem engineers'

“Urban Rivers is installing [“artificial floating gardens”] along the river to restore native wetland habitats, which provide food and shelter for wildlife, as well as natural spaces for humans.”

6. The future of plastic: Biodegradable, durable, and even edible

“[… T]he composite plastic proved not only sturdy but also more malleable than its core component, hydroxyethyl cellulose. Additionally, since both cellulose and tyrosine are edible, the biodegradable composite plastic can technically be consumed.”

7. Limestone quarries could be vital for wild bee conservation

“Quarries provide valuable habitats for wild bees and other animals and plants that occur on the now rare calcareous grasslands," explains lead author Dr. Felix Kirsch[….]”

8. New England wedding vendors offer help to same-sex couples before Trump inauguration

“Marriage equality isn’t immediately at risk. Trump has said he considers it settled law, but of course it’s hard to take him at his word […] so vendors in the region are offering free or discounted services to queer couples and noncitizens in a rush to marry.”

9. The indigenous women saving India's endangered giant yams

“Since their formation in 2022, the 10 members of the Noorang group have planted and brought back to the community 180 varieties of wild tubers[….] The project is part of [… a] farming initiative to eradicate poverty, provide agricultural training and empower women in vulnerable tribal communities.”

10. The US is making and deploying more solar panels than ever before

“[… D]omestic solar module manufacturing capacity has nearly quintupled since 2022[….] Solar is the cheapest source of new power generation by far, and it’s an increasingly large employer in the U.S., particularly in Republican-led states.”

November 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[with-a-point-of-view]

Asr namozi and the Golden Horde

[Screenshot from S1 Ep4 of Interview with the Vampire via BBC iPlayer]

Armand calling afternoon prayers "asr namozi" has previously been identified as Uzbek on Reddit, and you can check the Uzbek language Wikipedia page to confirm that. (It's technically a short o sound and not a long o)

However, when Daniel identifies the language as either "Kazakh" or from "somewhere in the Crimea" he is on to something.

The Golden Horde and Kipchak

If we go to the books for a moment, in The Vampire Armand, Armand is born in modern-day Ukraine under the control of what Anne Rice calls "the Golden Horde".

[The Vampire Armand, p23, this is Armand talking, he is both the "I" and the "he"]

The Golden Horde was a Russian name for a Mongol Khanate, also known as the Ulus Juchi, Ulus Ulug, and the Kipchak Khanate, and you can see its extent here-

[From Encyclopaedia Britannica]

You can see Kyiv, where book!Armand is from in the Russian principalities. Crimea is pink unlike much of the rest of Ukraine. Note the Chagatai Khanate and Samarkand to the East, where modern day Uzbekistan is.

In the books, trusting the wiki, Armand is born around 1480, going with Armand being 514 in 2022 in the show, he's born in 1508, just after the collapse and splintering of the Kipchak Khanate.

In this period, Uzbek, Kazakh, and Tatar languages are yet to exist!

Language in the Ulus Juchi was very complex, with Kipchak Turkic being widely spoken, as well as Tatar influences. There was a retention of Russian and other Slavic languages in the West. There was an overall shift from Mongolian as the elite language to Kipchak, as well as literary and religious influence from Islamisation bringing in influences from Persian, Arabic, and Chagatai. This is all a massive oversimplification because it is much more complicated than that and it's somewhat beyond the confines of the post.

[The Culture of the Golden Horde Cities by G. A. Fedorov-Davydov]

What does it all mean?

To bring things back to the modern day, here's a map of modern Kipchak language influences so you can compare to the Kipchak Khanate, I've added some annotations in red for clarity

[From here]

Both Kazakh and Crimean Tatar derive from Kipchak (although from different branches). You can also see the pockets of Kipchak influences in Uzbekistan. Additionally, Kazakh takes a heavy inspiration from Chagatai as a literary language.

So why "Asr namozi"? The modern Uzbek takes "namozi" from the Chagatai "namāzi", which borrows it from the Classical Persian "namaz". You can see similar derivations via Chagatai all over the region, but sticking to Crimean Tatar and Kazakh, that would be "намаз" or "namaz". [Chagatay Manual, Eckmann]

It's telling that Daniel says "somewhere" in the Crimea, the language is tied to place for him, which shows his ability to put clues together, but also the interrelation of these languages through geography.

Anne Rice (surprise!) is extremely racist and Islamophobic about the Ulus Juchi, often using Mongol, Tatar, and Turk interchangeably, and using it as a metaphor for the potential downfall of Western Civilisation to "barbarity".

[The Vampire Armand, p128]

[The Vampire Armand, p254]

Other people have written at more length and more eloquently than me on Rice's Orientalism and Western exceptionalism. But in short - while the Golden Horde did practice slavery, it's clear in the book that for Rice much of the horror derives from the fact that Armand is a white slave taken by nonwhite slavers, when compared to her treatment of the Roman Empire and transatlantic slave trade. There is no mention of Venetian colonies in this area which bought and shipped these slaves, the Mediterranean market for them, the fact while Slavs were enslaved there was also heavy traffic of Tatars, Kipchaks, Caucasians, and so on [The Culture of the Golden Horde Cities, Fyodorov-Davydov]. Or the reality of how much the slave trade in both Europe and Asia had slowed by the point of the books, due to largely economic reasons [Frankopan].

She doesn't so much as hint at the Golden Horde's patronage of literature across many languages, the roles of Islam and Christianity and echoes of Tengrism, complex political tribute systems, international trade and travellers from India to Egypt to Italy, scientific advancements, craftmanship and urban development, diverse nomadic groups with their own cultures, a thriving horse trade and sophisticated military tactics.

In contrast, the choice of "asr namozi" not only ties Armand's peaceful act of prayer to the region, it's also a phrase which derives from a rich literary and linguistic interchange in the "Golden Horde".

Why does Armand say this?

Doylist explanation

We know from interviews that Assad Zaman assisted the writing team prior to S2 in getting the "geography" of Armand down, with establishing him as coming from Delhi. So we know it wasn't definitively decided during S1. I think it possibly was just a case of the storyline being undecided, there were Indian merchants throughout the major cities of Central Asia like Sarai and Samarkand, so there's nothing to say that might not have been floated as an initial idea for Armand's background.

However, at the moment it's left as a bit of a loose end, although I think Armand's current backstory makes a lot more sense given he's presumably from a lower-class background as in the books, rather than from a merchant family. Plus, there's such a rich history to explore with India in this period!

Realistically, it's a tiny inconsistency which is has no need to get resolved amidst everything else. However....

Watsonian explanation

The one thing this does suggest is that on a practical level it's unlikely that Armand was transported as a slave over land in Asia, passing through 1500s Central Asia, or he would have said "asr namāzi" not "asr namozi". On a thematic level, I think this linguistic feature also supports that not being the case, Armand's connection to Islam being slavery would be Rice Orientalism 2.0, where "namozi" represents a far more culturally rich view of Islamisation in the region.

So why does he say it? It could be a part of his Rashid persona, or he might have a more recent connection to the region we've yet to see, likely while travelling the world with Louis. It's likely to remain up to interpretation!

[tiedyeflannels]

Never Let You Go

Park Jimin x reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Pt.1 | Pt. 2 | Pt. 3 -- Masterlist

Genre: Angst to fluff

A/N: Yo! Not gonna lie, I thought this was going to be the last part, but I guess there'll be one more! Haha! Anyways... Enjoy!

“Hey, Chim! Though it’s the 12th here, it’s technically your birthday back home, so… Happy Birthday! I hope you’re doing well. Sorry I can’t be there for your birthday, but I did get you a gift so make sure to ask Hobi about that, lol! Anyways, stay safe and healthy. I love you!” Sent 8:07 am, October 12th, 2022.

“Congratulations on your Billboard #1!! I am so, incredibly proud of you!! I remember being with you when you were working on the album and all of those sleepless nights you spent in the studio and I’m so glad that your hard work is being recognized the way it should be! I also saw a performance of yours and you looked so cool! I’ll be rooting for you, fighting!!” Sent 12:42 pm, May 1st, 2023.

“Hey, I thought that I would send you message before you go into the military. I know you guys were dreading it, but it’ll pass in no time, so keep your head up! I texted the others to wish them luck in their service, too. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there to see you off, but I’ll see you soon! Be safe, stay healthy, and do your best, which I know you always do! Good luck!” Sent 10:48 am, December 10th, 2023.

“Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Jimin! I hope you’re well. How’s life been treating you so far? Are you excited for the new year? I been doing well over here. I definitely am a little homesick, but I’ve made some really nice friends over the year, so it’s been fun. I’ve talked to the others, and they said that you’ve been doing well so that’s a relief to hear, but I’d love to hear from you. I’ll be here for you, just send a text, okay? Miss you lots…” Sent 11:11 pm, January 2nd, 2024.

“Hey, Jimin. Uh… I’ll be coming home in a week. I’m excited to see you guys! I-”

I stopped typing I looked at the last text I sent.

“I miss you…" Sent December 25, 2024”.

It had been a week since I sent that, and it was still unread. I scrolled through all of the texts I sent throughout the two years since we had the argument and I had moved, making me heavily sigh. 

I deleted what I was writing, figuring that I was starting to lose the energy to keep this up. I sat up and shook my head as I went back to packing my apartment up before going back home early next week. I really can’t believe him…

~

“Dude. I just got off the plane. I’m on my way to grab my bag. What do you need because you called me six times,” I asked as I approached the luggage carousel as bags started to appear.

“Oh, nothing! I just wanted talk to you,” Jin said happily and I could practically hear the smile in his voice. 

I quietly chuckled and shook my head as I watched others take their luggage and waited to see my suitcase.

“Anyway, we sent a car over to pick you up from the airport, so be on the lookout for our driver, okay?”

I nodded, though he couldn’t see me and approached the carousel once I saw my bag making its round. 

“That’s sweet, thanks- hold on,” I said, sliding my phone in my coat pocket before getting hold of the suitcase handle and hauling it out of the carousel. Standing it up and pulling the handle up, I started to walk toward the ‘ground transport’ area.

“Anyway, thank you! You didn’t have to do that. I could have ridden the bus home.”

“It was no problem at all! Actually Hobi wanted to make sure you got home safe, so the idea was mainly his.”

I smiled at the concern.

“Aww! Then I’ll make sure to thank him when I get home.”

I followed the crowd as I neared the doors and saw the line of cars outside. I looked around the area to see if I could spot their driver, Mr. Choi, and a man holding a sign with my name written on it with Hobi’s handwriting. I laughed at how unreadable it was, but approached him nonetheless.

Mr. Choi bowed in greeting as I smiled and he led me outside to where the car was stationed. “I should let you go. I found you driver and I’ll be heading home. I’ll stop by to see you you and Hobi tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay! See you soon, bye~” Jin sang before he hung up.

We approached the car and Mr. Choi grabbed my bag to put in the back as the side door of the black van opened and I got in and took a seat on the left side, behind the driver’s seat.

Once situated and Mr. Choi started the car, I turned on my phone and opened Hobi’s contacted as I started typing a ‘thank you’ for sending a car to get me before a voice in the front seat interrupted me.

“So, how was your trip?”

My head shot up as I saw Jin back with a smirk on his face.

I gasped, ��You came to pick me up!?” I brought my hands up to cover my mouth in surprise while he laughed and nodded.

“Yeah… I wasn’t the only one that wanted to see you…”

He glanced to the side and raised his eyebrows, hinting at something. My brows furrowed before I heard a happy “Hey, Y/n” from the back seat, making me whip my head at the voice to see Hobi sitting behind me. 

“Hobi,” I happily squealed as he made his way forward and into the seat next to mine. I reached over and gave him an excited hug, happy that two of my friends came to pick me up.

“I was just going to text you! How are you guys?”

Hobi buckled him self in as the car started to move, “Good! We wanted to come surprise you.” 

I smiled, looking between both of them, “Thank you, that’s sweet! How was that military, by the way?”

They both groaned, which made me chuckled as it reminded me how much the dreaded enlisting.

“Ugh! It was boring and I couldn’t do anything I wanted,” Jin whined.

“Yeah, and I missed the members and ARMY,” Hobi agreed and I nodded. 

“Well, you certainly didn’t change at all,” I said.

“Of course we wouldn’t. It was just work we needed to do, but you,” Jin drawed out, pointing a finger at me and gestured to my hair, “Certainly have!”

“Yeah, you look different,” Hobi joined. I playfully rolled my eyes, “It’s just a different hair cut, guys. It’s nothing.” 

Jin hummed skeptical, “Was this little decision because of a certain someone?”

Knowing he was talking about Jimin, I sighed and fell back in my seat, “No. It was just something I wanted to try out.”

Hobi’s eyes softened as he looked at me, “Did you ever get to talk to him about what happened?”

I looked down at my hands resting on my lap and sadly shook my head. “No,” I sighed, thinking of everything I did trying to get him to talk to me. “Looking back, I, maybe, tried too hard to get him to talk to me.”

“He wouldn’t talk to us about the situation either,” Hobi, stated as he sunk into his seat.

Jin crossed his arms and disappointedly shook his head in the front seat, “Yeah. He wouldn’t budge anytime one of brought up that he should, at least, talk about what happened.” 

A sad smile graced my lips briefly before I rolled my eyes, emotionally exhausted by this whole situation.

“Maybe I should've given up the first time he said that we were over,” I mumbled as I turned to look outside the window and watch the cars pass.

“Listen, he could still come around. Jimin comes out of the military in June,” Hobi tried to look at the positives.

“Mhm. And if he doesn’t talk to you, we’ll hold it over him for the rest of his days,” Jin said, nodding securely as if that was the final decision.

I chuckled quietly and nodded at their statements, though I wasn’t sure how true they would reign. Would Jimin want to talk after the military? Could this be fixed or am I fooling myself?

I sighed, “I guess we’ll see…”

Part 3

[that-ari-blogger]

They Who Carry The Torch (The Missing Months)

When writing this post, it struck me how close together the second and third seasons of The Owl House were. As in, I have described them as the missing years and it is not uncommon for them to be implied as being at least a year or two apart. But King’s Tide aired on May 28, 2022, and Thanks To Them aired on October 15 of that same year. That’s less than five months.

For context, the gap between seasons one and two was just under ten months. It really wasn’t that much time at all.

But a lot can happen in five months, especially in the realms of fanfiction. The Owl House’s ending was purposely unsatisfying. We didn’t know we would get a conclusion.

This is a post about one comic artist who stepped up to the plate to try and bridge that gap. The one, the only, @moringmark.

Let me explain.

I think the first question I need to ask is why I am doing this?

Moringmark’s comics are not expressly cannon to The Owl House. They are, by definition, fanart, and I haven’t covered fanart as a full post in any of my other series. So why make the exception?

My answer here is kind of twofold and kind of not.

Firstly, canon is not really a thing. Like all definitions, the word exists to allow for common ground between people, but this one is especially dubious. What is cannon?

You may say that the text itself is the canon, and that is a perfectly fine distinction. But it doesn’t take into account retcons and plotholes and alternate futures. Luckily, The Owl House doesn’t have many of these, but areas where canon is more important, such as comic books, tend to feature them more heavily.

This isn’t a coincidence. There is a direct line between having multiple possibilities and the need to clarify that one is canon.

My hot take is this: Canon is just what the general audience accepts as having happened. The main material is the thing that everyone agrees on, and everything else is fuzzy with increasing or decreasing clarity depending on the media and the audience.

For one example, Harold Pots and the Child that was Maybe a bit Bad is a stage play that was written by the author of its parent series. It is technically canon. But due to a number of factors including the author making a fool of herself online and alienating a significant chunk of her audience and the story not satisfying a general audience, it is not treated as fitting the canon.

Flipping the script, The Owl House fandom exists in a really large capacity online, most notably in this case, on Tumblr. A significant chunk of the fanbase has at least come into contact with Moringmark’s art, and it is not uncommon for the comics to be believed canon unless proven otherwise, which is not an honour ascribed to many fanartists.

In addition, we didn’t know we were getting a season three, so for several months, these comics were the The Owl House.

My other reason is this: I do not run a review blog. I do not have to weigh the worth of a fan artist alongside its inspiration because that is a) not fair considering the size of the teams working on the two and b) not my job.

Instead, I run an analysis blog. I discuss what a text is about and comment on how I got to that conclusion. This is a series about The Owl House, and Moringmark’s comics were The Owl House for a few months, it is important to me that their contributions to the themes of the series be understood.

So, I have collected a few of Moringmark’s posts that were published between the end of season two and the start of season three, and I have some thoughts.

Starting with this one, published Sep 16, 2022.

Moringmark had two main takes on the show that were remarkably accurate, even if their aesthetics were different (I will get to that in a moment).

The first and the one most obvious in this post is the slice of life story of the Hex Squad moving in with the Nocedas for a while.

Moringmark is an incredibly funny writer, so a lot of the time this was leveraged for humour, and that shines through here, but this is more than that.

The designs are different to the original show. Everyone’s hair has grown out a bit with two exceptions to show that time has passed, although not much. And Vee’s human design is tweaked slightly to allow for a visible difference between her and Luz. They still look like sisters, but she is a lot simpler and looks slightly younger, reflecting their dynamic.

I also appreciate her shirt design. “Me.” She is more self actualized here than in her series incarnation. She is no longer playing a part and is fully her own person.

Notably, the Hex Squad all have similar clothing designs. It’s the same shirt in different colours with an emblem on the front. Notably, Willow’s is slightly smaller on her and Gus’ is slightly bigger on him, while Hunter doesn’t wear one at all. They are all Luz’ clothes because none of the squad had their own. The group hasn’t been able of felt the need to get clothes that fit everyone yet.

Subtle storytelling.

Speaking of which, the only two who’s hair hasn’t grown since the series finale are Gus, who’s style has stayed the same, and Hunter’s, who’s decidedly has not.

Hunter is missing his iconic curl thingo that hangs over his face, and judging by his expression in the first panel, it was removed extremely recently. He too is a different person, symbolically ready to move past his trauma.

But then news of Belos is brought up, and his expression changes, and stays that way. Hunter becomes set and focused and determined. Even when in Camila’s car at the end, his eyes are glued to the mirror. He is constantly on the lookout, constantly ready. I’ve seen this trauma response in real life.

I recently watched Xena Warrior Princess, a show that is goofy as all hell, and probably the most nineties television series that ever graced our screens. I mean that both as a compliment and as an… oh boy.

The series is notable in this context for the following exchange:

“See how calm the surface of the water is? That was me once. And then…” (Throws rock in water) “The water ripples and churns. That’s what I became.”

“But if we sit here long enough, it will go back to being still again. It will go back to being calm.”

“But the stone’s still under there. It’s now part of the lake. It might look as it did before, but it’s forever changed.”

Hunter thinks that he can just cut out that part of his life and move on. That’s why he cuts his hair, but its also why he is so focused on getting to Belos. But the events that shaped him are still there, under the surface.

The reason I selected this comic for analysis was its relation to the series’ theme of family. I.e. bad family will leave a mark that you can’t get away from, you can just try to hide it. But good family will try to help you and comfort you and offer you guidance and protection. To make that point, in comes Camila and her car.

Going back a bit to the subtle storytelling. The kids’ reactions to the news of Belos are the centerpieces of the fourth panel. It’s slightly smaller than its predecessor, which has a tiny zooming effect, but everyone has a distinct emotion. Luz and Amity look to each other, Vee gives a worried expression, and Gus and Willow immediately clock Hunter’s tone shift.

But Camila also responds. Not much, just a glance and an eyebrow raise, but enough to show she noticed.

Thematically, the fact that Camila’s offer to help the crew take on Belos happens off screen infers that it wasn’t up for debate. She was fully ready to throw hands with this man from the minute she saw his impact on the children she had taken under her wing.

Which leaves an opportunity for humour. The Owl House is a satirical comedy, and Moringmark gets that. He undercuts the cool moment of the crew walking down the road, but then makes it clear that the catharsis of this isn’t going away.

That’s really it. Catharsis. Moringmark writes comedy and drama in remarkably similar ways, and while the above post is a clear example of it, I need to bring up this comic, which delves into that parental theme for a different kind of emotion.

Notice what I said earlier about Vee and her self-actualization. It doesn’t get as much of a spotlight as Hunter, but this is also someone deeply scarred by Belos, and yet she seems a lot more healthy than him. Maybe because she has had time and exposure to a better parent figure than Belos. Maybe because she has had time to sit by the lake and watch the ripples die down.

Look how Moringmark achieves pacing here. You know the tense situation; you don't need words to hear the bounce and ring of that amulet. Even the cut to the two's faces amplifies this mood. Its shape heightens the perspective while the blank background cuts away from everything else, so you don't get distracted.

Next up, we have the story back on the Boiling Isles. Moringmark went for a Mad-Max style road trip story type of thing, and there is so much here to choose from.

I was tempted to go with this comic because it has the bus in it, and I love the bus. But I think the most emblematic of this part of the story was this:

Published on July 19, 2022, this comic is notable for a few things.

The little details in this comic stand out to me on a storytelling level. How the trappers are the Collector’s henchmen, and how the renegades are using necklaces similar to King’s to avoid notice from the Collector. That’s a really cool idea.

But I had to include this comic for its portrayal of the Collector and of Boscha.

You would think that this isn’t too different from how the Collector is usually characterized. They are doing the exact same thing as they did in King’s Tide.

Obviously, this is different by dint of how Skara’s reaction to hitting a solid surface at the speed of sound will probably be different to Belos’. But it’s also important to note that this version of the Collector works by the rules of the game.

This is a cosmic entity that has rules, and therefore is something that can be worked around. They have a soft spot for those who try to follow the rules, balanced out by an utter disregard for mortal life. This version of the Collector is terrifying specifically because we have seen him try this before and succeed. We know how this ends, the Collector’s character is a twist.

Speaking of which, we also know how Boscha will act. She is mean, as has been established by the comic in its first few panels. We learn that she doesn’t seem to care that Skara is injured. This is not someone we expect a character arc out of.

But then we get a moment of clarity. We get Boscha risking her life Skara. We get a moment of redemption for Boscha.

And I’m going to level with you. I like this far more than For the Future. Consider this foreshadowing, as I have a fanfic in the works that is based in this version of the story. That is, what might have happened had this or something similar to this been the canon.

I will remind you that this was the canon when it was written, as much as anything else. We didn’t have another option. This was The Owl House.

A lesser concept in the original series was that of redemption and relationships. Amity is redeemed through the compassion that Luz shows for her. Not even love at this point, but friendship that blossoms into romantic attraction.

Similarly, Alador is redeemed through his love for his daughter. Lilith is redeemed through her love for her sister. Mattholomule and Hunter are redeemed through their friendships with Gus and Luz respectively. Etc.

This comic just continues those themes into showing Boscha redeem herself through her friendship with Skara.

It is worth pointing out that this isn’t a full heel turn. Boscha isn’t ready to admit anything or stop being mean, but it is a start. He heart is in the right place, even if her brain is not.

This is why Moringmark is canon, at least to me. These versions are fun as AUs, but when they were released, they were as good of a continuation as we were going to get. They understood the themes and the message of the story, as well as its tone, and in a way, they carried the torch.

And they are still going. As of writing this, Moringmark has delved into future and past timelines. They have written three full series about Luz and co.’s children, Boscha and Skara’s romance during the events of the series, and an AU evil Luz.

This is what The Owl House is right now, and it’s what series like this are. I brought up Xena Warrior Princess earlier, and that story still has fanfiction and fanart made of it, a quarter of a century after it finished. Stories exist in the collective consciousness, and while we can trace the lineage of The Owlhouse through the shows that inspired it and that it will go on to inspire, Moringmark is emblematic of the fan community as a whole who keep the flame burning.

The Owl House series has finished, but its story lives on. Not just through Moringmark, but through every other fan who so much as makes a shitpost. We keep the lights on, we decide when to call it quits, we carry the torch.

Light, do not faulter.

Final Thoughts

There are so many other Moringmark comics that I could have spoken about. From the dramatic and emotional with Skara comforting Matt Tholomule to my darling, the bus. But I left it where I did for a few reasons.

It is not my intention to be sycophantic about Moringmark. I don’t want to be invasive, and if this comes across as such, I apologise and will remedy that. But also, this isn’t about Moringmark.

This is about the fan community. Moringmark has made themself the head of that community through sheer time and hard work, and has made themself as big enough part of it that I can feel comfortable writing this and it not feeling out of place alongside the original series.

But there is a lot more of this fandom than Moringmark, I can’t discuss every fanfic at length. Just know that they are out there, and you can find them. My ask box is open for recommendation requests, but you should also just go and look for them yourself. Follow artists, support them if you are able. This is a community, we should act like it.

Next week, I am diving into the final season with Thanks To Them, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[in-amor-veritas]

Thanks for the tags @phneltwrites @iwouldnevergetintofanfic 💕💕

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

19 !! Wow that feels like a lot to me although it’s nothing compared to phnelt.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

I checked this one recently: 903,861 since 2022 this doesn’t even count the writing I’ve done on my original novel. It’s crazy to think I’d never write again and now I’m almost at 1 million words

3, What fandoms do you write for?

Young Royals. Something about this Swedish show inspired me to write again I’ll never be able to express how grateful I am for that either

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Footprints, AINE, all the places, HMLYLM, Us Against The World (RIP)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Comments are so so so so important to me. I try to reply to everyone but I’m very slow and it usually takes a while for me to get to everyone. I have like AO3 paralysis for like a week or two after posting a new chapter where I get anxious going on the website lol so I tend to start replying later but I’m trying to get to everyone! I promise 💕

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Good Luck Babe. Yeah that one was rough. Really rough.

Also the hanahaki one kind of was angsty

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Maybe AINE? Or all the places? They both had pretty good endings with the characters in really good places in their lives. Footprints never really felt like a happy happy ending bc they still have so much shit to deal with waiting for them.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Super rarely, usually it’s just people being annoyed or frustrated at how long I’m taking to update lolol

9. Do you write smut?

Yes. Actually I have a lot of thoughts on my particular use of smut. This obvs is just my preference for my own stories but usually I plan smut scenes for specific moments in stories that need them to either move the plot forward or give us a glimpse into the characters mindset or to change their mindset or make them realize something.

I always try to use them in very specific ways with a lot of intent behind them. When I’m planning I always double check if I need the scene, if it could be stronger some other way or if it’s superfluous. I feel like that’s why they tend to be really information attack of info and emotions bc there is alot that needs to be conveyed.

This last chp of hmlylm had such a long ass smut scene in it. Those scenes are so hard for me to write bc it’s just so much action!! It gets so tiresome. I wrote it and didn’t look at it again once until I was going through the notes phnelt had made on the doc before I uploaded it.

I’ve actually never written pwp but maybe one day I try that lol I’m just really bad at coming up with ideas to make smut feel fresh or new so maybe I need to take requests.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Uhhhhh I could? I once had a crazy idea for a gåsmamman/yr crossover lol but maybe technically I have bc I wrote a Spider-Man wilmon au.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Fic? No. A whole scene from a fic yes 😭😭😭 the person apologized and all but I remember being freaked out that my stuff had gotten AI scraped and then when it turned out to just be a teenager it was a relief kinda.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No. Pod ficced yes but not translated to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes! Grasping at Shadows, Good Luck Babe ofc and I was in a huge fic collab that had such a fun start but kinda died 😭😭 in Unlabeled.

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Honestly I’d love to continue working on unlabeled bc it was such a cool idea but I don’t think it will happen bc a lot of reasons beyond my control

15. What are your writing strengths?

I don’t know lol tbh listening to other writers who have a really hard time with dialogue I guess that? Only because I find it very easy to write, I usually start with the dialogue for most scenes and I don’t usually ever need to go back and change it. Idk if my dialogue is good but I don’t have a hard time writing it.

16, What are your writing weaknesses?

Weaknesses I think are inability to shorten things haha writing almost always out of order so it takes me forever to knit things back together, remembering continuity stuff, lots of grammar fuck ups and run ons and being to tired and overwhelmed to fix them lol

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Considering I was introduced to fanfiction bc of anime I’m used to it. I feel like there’s ways to make it sound more natural than others and sometimes it just makes ✨sense✨ for the scene or the character but I have read some that does give me hives too. Idk I’m sure I’ve been guilty of giving someone hives while reading my fic so it’s all good.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

I watched Banana Fish and the ending made me so mad I wrote a fix it alternate ending and that was the first fic I ever finished and published on Ao3

19. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Gonna be honest the spiderwilmon fic lol grasping at shadows bc it was so fun to write and honestly the chapter I wrote for unlabeled I think might be some of my favorite writing I’ve ever done. It’s interesting bc all of those things aren’t necessarily things I would jump to read but I just loved writing them and they were just fun to create and live in,

Eeee this was so fun thanks for the tags im going to tag @caramelpenguin @gulliblelemon and anyone else who wants to do this! Pls tag me and let me see what you have to say

[kirby-the-gorb]

we are about an hour into rare disease day in my timezone! (it's always the last day of february, whether that's the 28th or the 29th.) the true prevalence of mast cell disorders is unknown, as they are often misdiagnosed or ignored. and mast cell activation syndrome, the most prevalent kind of mast cell disorder, only had diagnostic criteria laid out for the first time in 2010. so whether or not it's truly rare is really up in the air!

(personally I suspect it is just aggressively underdiagnosed but I'm not a research scientist or diagnostician right now. and even if it is rare, it's gonna be a lot less so than it was 5 years ago as certain respiratory infections are known to trigger it into visibility. that's what happened to me when I got mono at the end of 2015, further compounded when I got covid in 2022.)

all chronically ill people face a lot of hurdles when it comes to seeking diagnosis, accommodation, and treatment (all of which can be severely complicated by any intersecting marginalities), but rare diseases present a special challenge.

for example, I have an immune disorder. my immune system does not like being alive, my mast cells are way too jumpy and throw a tantrum over every little thing. you'd think an immunologist would be the one to treat me, right?

I've had 6 immunology referrals rejected in the past 9 months alone. multiple major immunology clinics in my major city tied to a major research university outright refuse to see patients with "mcas" written anywhere in their chart.

after 8 years of being debilitatingly ill, and suspecting it was immune mediated for 6, and getting it confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt by the bone marrow biopsy last month, I will have my second ever appointment with an immunologist. another 2 1/2 months from now. the first immunologist lied to me about the reliability of the one available blood test, when I first came up with the hypothesis by myself 6 years ago, and forced me to abandon my (correct!!! now proven!!!) hypothesis for 3 entire years while we wandered around lost and got nowhere other than even more thorough process of elimination.

okay, well if my immune system is attacking me, maybe it's technically autoimmune? that's the rheumatologists instead of the immunologists, what do they have to say? dick all my dude, I don't have rheumatoid arthritis so they just shrug at me and go "idk, fibro? I don't know why you're here" and send me home with nothing. (I literally had a rheumatologist say to me, verbatim, "I don't know why you're here." buddy it's your job to read the chart and decide if I get seen or not, you tell me. at least he had a snazzy outfit.)

being chronically ill can be a terrible struggle no matter what, but a disease that is perceived as rare, accurate or not, adds a whole new layer of bullshit. (and of course there are much much rarer diseases out there, with even more hoops and dead ends and struggles and all-new layers of bullshit that even I don't have to deal with!)

anyway I'm having a shit time and using this awareness day as an excuse to productively bitch about it 👍

[lipshits-continuous]

Explanation Posts

I explain my url (continuity in ℝ) 05/06/2022

Definition of a Ring 07/10/2022

Definition of a Metric Space 16/10/2022

Open and Closes sets in a Metric Space 16/10/2022

Convergence and Continuity in Metric Spaces 22/10/2022

Bounded and Compact sets in a Metric Space 23/10/2022

I show 0.9999...=1 30/11/2022

Linear Maps and Isomorphisms 18/01/2023

Ring homomorphisms, Ideals, Quotients, and the First Isomorphism Theorem 12/03/2023

Mutamorphic Functions (technically not an explanation post but still belongs here) 29/06/2023

Second Countability of ℝⁿ 04/07/2023

The Weierstrass Function 23/08/2023

Unbroken Workbrooks (A post about continuity written in Anglish) 19/09/2023

Countable Sets have 0 Lebesgue Outer Measure 17/10/2023

Introduction to Homotopy 05/02/2024

The Fundamental Group 16/02/2024

Continuity in Terms of Open Sets 16/02/2024

The Set of Finitely Generated Free Groups as a Monoid 01/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Metric Spaces 12/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Topological Spaces and Continuity 19/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Closed Sets and Limit Points 26/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Hausdorffness 26/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Connectedness 27/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Path Connectedness 28/03/2024

Intro to Topology: Compactness 11/04/2024

Intro to Topology: Bases and Second Countability 12/04/2024

Intro to Topology: Product Spaces 23/04/2024

Intro to Topology: The Heine-Borel Theorem 24/04/2024

Intro to Topology: Quotient Spaces 25/04/2024

Intro to Topology: Important Examples 26/04/2024

Intro to Topology: Conclusions and Remaining Questions 26/04/2024

The Dirac Delta Distribution is not an Extended Real Function 03/05/2024

The Fundamental Group of a Topological Group is Abelian 10/06/2024

Proof of the Factor Theorem 30/06/2024

A Short Intro to Category Theory 23/10/2024

An Example of When Connectedness Implies Path Connectedness 17/11/2024

Relative de Rham Cohomology 13/06/2025

[bridgetlynn]

For The Pitt - I've been seeing either discussion of or questioning of "what year is Season 1?" in my feed again (and on reddit) and a few other boards. And while I think a writer could and should pick either 2024 or 2025 and it would work either way - I've (personally) written all my stories to be taking place as if Season 1 did take place, or if I'm writing pre-canon will take place, on September 19th 2025.

Allow me to explain how and why I came to that conclusion about the year (and why I picked that date specifically) -

In episode 1 when she's talking to Collins in the first 3 minutes of the show Dana said: "Today's the day Doc Adamson died. He hasn't worked it in four years."

Everything we see in flashbacks seems to be giving the indication that Robby was working the day that Adamson died. So, conceviably that doesn't count towards the "not working it [the date] in four years".

And while Adamson could have died in 2021 - Covid was still bad especially in major city centers - the vaccine was available in December of 2020 and we weren't in so much of a vent/supply shortage that they would take the guy who was probably supposed to be the Cheif of Emergency Medicine off life saving measures then.

Heard an interview Noah Wyle gave where he said "the day [on the show] is the 5th anniversary of Adamson's death". This gets kind of into the wiggly room of "actors giving backstory not necessarily being canon" but Noah is an EP and a writer so it lands with a bit more seriousness.

Collins / Langdon (as the most senior residents) - unless my own personal prescription drug use has finally turned my brain swiss cheese after 15 years - I genuinely don't remember any mention of them being around that specific hospital during Covid.

You'll laugh at this one but Langdon's kids are evidence as well. He has "two kids under four" and we know one of them (Tanner) is four. If he's 4 in September 2025 then, depending on the exact month, he was born in 2021...and Abby probably got pregnant in 2020. I've got a LOT of friends who had "oopsie Covid babies".

So Math it - I (personally) believe it is September of 2025 because if Adamson died in September of 2020 and it is the 5th anniversary and Robby hasn't worked "that day" in 4 years then he didn't work: 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Making 2025 the 5th year since Adamson died.

The reason I specifically pick to write as if Pittfest (ie: Season 1) was September 19th 2025 is much easier:

It's definitely September: There are too many in school references - college kids with tests (the od's), David needing to go to school after dropping his Mom off. And when Langdon (finally) loses his shit with Santos he states that she's had her license for about 90 days (graduate in June - start practicing in July, Aug, Sept).

It's definitely a Friday: I worked in live music production for almost 15 years - if it isn't summertime there is no way in hell a promoter is going to waste money and put on a music festival in the middle of the week. They might do a 3-day using a Friday in the fall though. Robby all but confirms it when he says "See you Monday" to Dana when they are leaving.

I picked the 19th of September (and not the 5th, 12th, or 26th) simply because technically the 19th, 20th & 21st of September is the last weekend of Summer. With September 21st being the Fall Solstice. Again, worked in concert promotion/production: we'd totally capitalize on a "last summer blast" marketing scheme for a weekend festival.

Thank you for reading my rambling subconscious thought process. I promise I'm a real live adult when I'm off the internet with real responsiblities and am fully capable of being a functioning contributing member of society. 😁

[batboyblog]

I haven’t been able to find a really good breakdown anywhere, but do you know who the current swing votes on the Supreme Court are?

I want to be clear there is not really a "swing vote" any more on the Supreme Court.

For many many years the court had Justices who tried to hold center ground on the Court, both Justice Potter Stewart (1958-1981) and his replacement on the court Sandra Day O'Connor (1981-2006) had a standard of "what does the average American feel" as for what was "reasonable" in a legal sense (O'Connor was more conservative than Stewart)

after O'Connor left the court the role of "swing" went to Justice Anthony Kennedy (1988-2018), but I think it would be more accurate and appropriate to say Kennedy was a liberal-Conservative, on some matters, like gun rights he was conservative, on some issues, like gay rights very liberal, on abortion you might say he was for as many restrictions as possible while still keeping it technically allowed.

Since his retirement in 2018 there are no real swings any more.

Chief Justice John Roberts is the most moderate of the Conservative majority, and has made clear he takes the responsibilities of being head of a co-equal branch of government, the Judiciary, seriously so at times has been more skeptical of Trump's claims of power, and at times as tried to rule, like Stewart and O'Connor where the majority of Americans are. But he is a conservative who voted against gay marriage, against the voting rights act (evil ass shit) and authored the Trump absolute immunity ruling

Other than Roberts there's Justice Neil Gorsuch, he's over all more conservative on a lot of issues than Roberts, but also has some weird idiosyncratic views on stuff which means he's for example super liberal on Native American tribal rights which saw him as the deciding vote on a lot of 5-4 rulings (before the death and replacement of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in late 2020) in favor of tribes, for example the case that ruled that most of Oklahoma over to the five tribes (later in 2022 with a more conservative make up the court pulled back and Gorsuch was rip shit) he's been kinda all over the place on LGBT rights, he authored the court's ruling on Bostock which declared the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers LGBT people protecting them from work place discrimination, but he's joined with the two most conservative justices a bunch of times in 3-6 rulings whenever anyone says something about their religious believes allowing them to discriminate.

Finally there's Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who's only been on the court since late 2020, so her record is the least expansive of the Conservative Justices (and she'd only been a Judge since 2017) court watchers have been saying she's drifting away from the conservative block and becoming more independent and swing. I think it's a little early to say for sure. She did vote to overturn Roe which likely will be her legacy on the Court. But she did offer a much more narrow idea of Presidential immunity in her option than the other conservatives (since there were 5 of them it didn't matter what she thought)

Even Justice Kavanaugh has at times broken liberal, such as a voting rights case in North Carolina where he sided with Roberts and the liberals.

So basically Justices Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito, are literally ALWAYS bad news, you see a ruling has been written by them, it'll suck and be horrible. Chief Justice Roberts is a conservative but is most likely to side with the Court's 3 liberals, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, but that's just 4 votes, on different issues there are possibilities that Justices Gorsuch or Barrett, or even Kavanaugh might side with them, but I wouldn't generally bet on that happening, idk if Gorsuch with his quirks or Barrett with her maybe growing independence is the more likely "swing" vote.

[renthony]

🏳️‍🌈

My GF and I watch movies together whenever i overnight. For the last month every movie we pick ends up being queer, even if we didn’t know it before. This week it will be Priscilla which we both know is very queer, but we need more to add to the queue - the more niche the better

(Drop a 🏳️‍🌈 in my inbox and I’ll respond with a queer media recommendation!)

Okay, so this one doesn't technically count as "niche," but it is one I never would have watched if my best friend hadn't insisted on it after watching it on a random whim one day. I don't think it ever would have hit my radar otherwise. Even if it had, I'd have probably written it off as generic Oscar-bait. I'm really glad I watched it, though.

A Man Called Otto is a 2022 movie starring Tom Hanks as the titular Otto, a depressed, suicidal man who has lost connection with his community after the death of his wife. It has a decent number of content warnings (primarily suicide attempts and death), so be sure to check its Does the Dog Die page.

Here's the trailer:

It has a very good balance between intense emotion and humor--the comedic beats give a good break from the heavier scenes without giving the viewer tonal whiplash. I'd watch it again if I wanted to have a good, cathartic cry. The ending is bittersweet, but very satisfying.

As for what makes it queer (with some minor spoilers):

During the course of the movie, Otto reconnects with the members of his community and stops isolating himself in his empty house. One of those community members is a former student of Otto's late wife, who was a teacher. That student is Malcom, played by Mack Bayda. Malcom is trans, and at one point in the movie, one of Otto's suicide attempts is interrupted when Malcom knocks on the door asking for a place to crash, because his dad has kicked him out for being trans. Otto lets him stay, and the entire scene made me cry like a baby. From there, Otto remains supportive to Malcom, and Malcom is involved in the (incredibly satisfying) resolution to a plotline about predatory real estate developers.

I think part of what made such an impression on me about Malcom and Otto's relationship is that I'm just so used to seeing elders treated as automatically bigoted--in media, and in real life. There is absolutely no moment in which Otto doubts Malcom or has to have transness explained to him. It was pretty nice to see a grumpy old asshole character be instantly supportive of a young trans guy. So many people think that kind of inter-generational support doesn't ever happen, so it's nice to see represented.

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[mjdrawsalot]

Jon Kent (pretty much) Complete Reading Order

Compiled first for my personal use and tidied up for @jonkentweek ! Goes up to June 2024 and includes every appearance of this character that I could find. I used ComicVine's archive to track these down, which is both fallible and constantly being updated, so there might be some mistakes. Also, I did my best to highlight the occasions where Jon was a significant character in a story and to skip the ones that were just a non-speaking, one-panel cameo, but those were personal judgements and your mileage might vary.

Color key (and apologies for the eye strain): Red are issues in which Jon is a central character, not just a cameo, Blue are crossover events, Orange are stories that take place in alternate universes/are non canonical

Optional stuff you can read for historical context:

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? (1997) a classic possible future story, which is, to my knowledge, the 1st time a character named Jon who is Superman’s kid appears

Son of Superman (1999) a self-contained, now AU, story about a teen Jon Kent, very classic 90s young adult comic with all the tropes that come with that, but enjoyable as the proto-iteration of Jon as an idea

Canon appearances start here

The Final Days of Superman crossover event: Superman (2011) 51-52, Batman/Superman (2013) 31-32, Action Comics (2011) 51-52, Superman/Wonder Woman (2013) 28-29 (This is the origin story of the Clark, Lois and Jon that the comics follow in Rebirth. Largely ignored by writers, as it was written to patch up New52 weirdness, but there are occasional references that might be confusing if you skip it completely.)

Convergence (2015) 5, 8

Superman: Lois and Clark (2015) 1-8 (Establishes Jon and his family in the DCU)

Superman (2016) 1-11, 13, 17-28, 30, 32-36, 38, 40-45, Special 1

Action Comics (2016) 957-972, 974-978, 980-983, 985, 987, 989-1000, 1002, 1005, 1016, 1022-1035, 1042, 1045-1048, 1050-1057, 1059-1060, Special 1, Annual 2023

Justice League (2016) 3-6, 15, 18-19, 22, 28

Trinity (2016) 1-6, 16

Super Sons (2017) 1-16

Dark Nights: Metal (2017) 3, 6

The Man of Steel (2018) 1-6 (central from issue 4 onwards)

Superman (2018) 1, 4-12, 14-16, 20, 29-32

Adventures of the Super Sons (2018) 1-12

Justice League (2018) 9, 23-25, 34, 52, 75, Annual 2022

Super Sons/Dynomutt Special (2018)

Super Sons: The Polarshield Project (AU trilogy of graphic novels)

Supergirl (2016) 8, 30-33

DCeased (2019) 1-6 (what if DC but zombies?)

Super Sons: The Foxglove Mission

Lois Lane (2019) 3-4, 6

Legion of Super-Heroes: Millennium 2

Legion of Super-Heroes (2019) 1-12

Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child

Green Lantern: Blackstars 2-3

The Terrifics (2018) 25

Teen Titans (2016) 15, 43, 45-46

DCeased: Hope at World’s End (2020) 1, 4-5, 9-15

Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular (in the short Super Sons story)

DCeased: Dead Planet (2020) 1-7

Super Sons: Escape to Landis

Batman/Superman (2019) Annual 1

Challenge of the Super Sons (2020) 1-14

Dark Knights: Death Metal The Last Stories of the DC Universe (2020) (in the Superman short story)

Dark Knights: Death Metal The Secret Origin (2021)

Dark Knights: Death Metal The Last 52 War of the Multiverses (2021) (in the Superman parts of the story)

DC Nation Presents Future State (2020) (intro, information and behind-the-scenes for Future State)

Future State: Superman of Metropolis (2021) 1-2 (Future State is another possible future, meaning that it’s not necessarily canon, but it takes place in the future of the main canon, not in a complete AU, like say, Dark Knights of Steel. Technically not necessary to understand main universe stories, but a few popular characters and characterizations were brought over to the main universe.)

Future State: Justice League (2021) 1-2

Future State: Superman/Wonder Woman (2021) 1-2

Future State: Kara Zor-el, Superwoman (2021) 1

Future State: Legion of Super-Heroes (2021) 2

Infinite Frontier (2021) 0 (establishes the main universe status quo from this point on, feat. a synopsis of Jon’s life up to here)

Challenge of the Super Sons (2021) 1-7

Superman: Son of Kal-el (2021) 1-18, Annual 1

Shazam! (2021) 1

Superman Red and Blue (2021) 6 (in the short story The Special, but this mini series in general is cute and I recommend it)

Justice League vs. The Legion of Super-Heroes (2022) 1-6

Superman & Robin Special (2022) 1

DC’s Round Robin (2021) 2 (in the short story Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow)

Nightwing (2016) 89, 91-92, 101-104, 110, 112-113

Earth-Prime (2022) 2 (story based on the CW show Superman and Lois)

DC Pride (2022) (in the short story Super Pride)

Justice League: Road to Dark Crisis (2022) (in the short story Team Up)

Dark Crisis (2022) 1-7

Dark Crisis: Young Justice (2022) 1

Dark Crisis: Worlds Without A Justice League: Superman (2022) 1

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods (2022) 1, 4-5, 7-8

DC’s Terrors Through Time (2022) (in the short story Trick or Treat)

Dark Crisis: The Deadly Green (2022) 1

The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special (2023) (in The Life of Superman short story)

Dark Crisis: The Dark Army (2023)

Superman: Kal-El Returns Special (2023) (in the short story Distractions)

Lazarus Planet: Assault on Krypton (2023) (in the short story Electric)

Batman (2016) 131-132 (in the Tim Drake Robin chapters)

Superman (2023) 2-3, 9

Lazarus Planet: Omega (2023)

Power Girl Special (2023)

Adventures of Superman: Jon Kent (2023) 1-6

Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow (2023) 1 (edited version of the story in Round Robin)

DC Pride (2023) (in the short story My Best Bet)

Titans: Beast World (2024) 3-4, 6

Titans: Beast World Tour: Metropolis (2024)

Trinity Special (2024) (taken from the backups of Wonder Woman 2023 plus some extra)