#( chara study

[infinitelydiverse]

Before working at the Archives, Andrea worked as a firefighter. Her first brush with the entities was during a spate of arsons in the DC suburbs. She didn’t know it at the time, but a budding avatar of the Desolation was behind the fires. During her sweep through of the last house, she and a coworker were attacked by the fledgling avatar that had caused the fires. He severely injured Andrea’s coworker and left Andrea with severe burns to her arms and stomach after she fought to get the avatar off of her coworker. Several of Andrea’s coworkers intervened at this point and the avatar fled. Andrea resigned shortly after this, and she was approached by Fiona after her coworker gave his statement. A few weeks of job searching later and Andrea applied to the Foundation out of desperation for a job and to figure out what happened to her. She got sent to the Archives and started dating Fiona about six months later. They’re still together after five year and have lived together for three years.

[everbright-mourning]

Books of 2019

Yeah I know it’s a little late, sue me.

Iron Kingdom by Christopher Clark (I’d recommend all his shit, he remembers that the past is a story as much as a table of statistics.)

The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (whimsical, fast read)

The American Way of Death, Revisited by Jessica Mitford (Jesus christ throw me in the forest for the *avian* vultures)

Back to the Front by Stephen O’Shea (chatty, informal, circa the 80′s so slightly dated now)

Chaos Choreography by Seanan McGuire (The last light hearted book in the series, imo)

Human Errors by Nathan H. Lents (an informal dive into all the shit evolution saddled us with, including sinuses that drain up)

Premodern Japan by Mikiso Hane (The classic of the field, in english)

Stoned by Aja Raden (no, no that Aja. A bit too light hearted for the subject of gemstones.)

Modern Japan by Mikiso Hane (the other classic of English language Japanology)

Earthquake Nation by Gregory K Clancy (Dated, and much refuted now, but worth reading for the timeline of Japanese earthqaukes.)

The Arabs by Eugene Rogan (nothing good happens after about 1830)

And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander ( A regency murder mystery, with ancillary romance. Not my thing, but competent)

The Truth about Fat by Anthony Warner (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, a good antidote to Diet Culture)

Collision of Empires by Prit Buttar (actually a bit of a slog, which is disappointing given the subject matter)

The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Chimera of National Reconstruction by Charles J Schencking (the shitamachi property lines and roads were rationalized, and some nice new bridges, but the social infrastructure never happened. Very good pictures!)

 The Book of Yokai by Michael Dylan Foster (fun and informal intro and listing of Yokai, following the Japanese tradition of yokai listings.)

Seismic Japan by Gregory Smits (arguably the most boring/strictly academic of my trio Japan earthquake books.)

A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander (continues to be good Regency fun)

The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson (a history of western knowledge of Polynesia, a nice intro w/good Polynesian culture bits.)

The Sleepwalkers by Christopher Clark (BEST ‘how did ww1 start’ book evar, bar none.)

The Man Who Caught the Storm by Brantley Hargrove (Good bio of a good guy who lived and died chasing tornadoes.)

Influenza  by Dr. Jeremy Brown (a pop-sci rundown of what we know about the flu.)

The Big Ones by Dr. Lucy Jones (Recounting the seminal disaster of an area, w/scientific explanations and good social history.)

Flower Confidential by Amy Stewart (Not AS horrifying as the ‘the american way of death’ but there is some shady stuff going on in the cut flower biz)

Earthquake Storms by John Dvorak  (a bit of a dude-ish history of the San Andreas fault)

The Dynamics of Disaster by Susan W. Kieffer (Humans make dumb decisions that make natural disaster worse, with case studies!)

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (Fairytales in a blender Russian flavor, well written.)

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Wind by Jan Deblieu (eh. a bunch of personal stories about the social/psychological impact of wind)

The Weather Machine by Andrew Blume (How weather models were developed and work now.)

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham (imminently serviceable recounting of the disaster.)

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee (READ THIS NOW IT’S SO GOOD. The female main chara is a treasure and I love her.)

Manual for Survival by Kate Brown (the lingering and far flung effects if Chernobyl radiation, really digs into how this is still effecting people all over Europe.)

The Great Passage by Shion Miura (author of the novel ‘run with the wind’ was based on, same feel but dictionary making)

Super Sushi Ramen Express by Michael Booth (A very Dude tour of Japanese food, bless his heart)

Legion vs Phalanx by Myke Cole (what it says on the tin, in a nice conversational style)

Marked for Death by James Hamilton-Paterson (a very good intro/rundown of ww1 aviation, focusing on the humans)

Samuri Rising by Pamela S. Turner (Kid’s non-fiction about the Tale of Genji, basically. Did you guys know an English language history of Kamakura doesn’t exist? For any age range? This is as close as I could get.)

The Taste of Empire by Lizzie Collingham (How getting and shipping food influenced the expansion of the British Empire, from cod to Aussie lamb.)

The Taste of Conquest by Michael Krondl (history of the euro spice trade, which doesn’t dismiss the slaughters and slavery, but also doesn’t linger.)

[infinitelydiverse]

Andrea, Fiona, Kade

Kade and Fiona are disaster that bonded over shared trauma via flesh hive at a young age. (20 and 24 respectively.) They’re in a queerplatonic relationship (QPR) and share one (1) brain cell. Fiona usually has it.

Occasionally, something will happen (typically Kade or Andrea becoming seriously sick or injured) and Fiona will absolutely lose their shit and drop the brain cell. When that happens, Kade will immediately catch the brain cell and use it to keep Fiona from committing murder, arson, or something equally serious. Andrea is always close at hand when these things happen. She’ll help Kade talk Fiona down as needed, but after nearly ten years of a very close relationship, he can usually handle the situation.

On an added note, Fiona and Kade are often mistaken for girlfriend and boyfriend. Fiona is a lesbian and Kade is aromantic. They are not and have never been romantic partners. Both of them and Andrea (Fiona’s actual girlfriend) think it’s hilarious and have an ongoing tally of how many times this has happened to them.

Kade’s and Andrea’s relationship started off a bit rocky, but they’re good friends now. They’re not in a QPR, but they have talked about the possibility and occasionally revisit the idea. Fiona is aware of this and supports their decision. Fiona and Andrea have lived together for about three years, and it’s not uncommon for Kade to show up at their place in the middle of the night to crash on their couch.

[infinitelydiverse]

The Archive team & ages. (+extra)

Elijah is 24. Kade is 28. Andrea is 31. Fiona is 32. Castillo is 44.

Castillo has a degree in psychiatry. Before he joined the Foundation, he worked in a research gig for 6-7 years. He’s been working at the Foundation for 7-8 years and working in the Archives in some way for most of those.

[infinitelydiverse]

Sexuality + Gender

ANDREA: Biromantic bisexual. Trans woman, she/her.

CASTILLO: Cishet male, he/him.

ELIJAH: Nonbinary mlm (amab). He/they. Recently came out. Still exploring his gender presentation.

FIONA: Transfem nonbinary lesbian. They/them. Butch.

KADE: Aromantic pansexual. Trans man, he/him. Prefers not to use labels.

[infinitelydiverse]

YOUR STEREOTYPICAL MASCULINE SIDE: you love hoodies. you love shorts. dogs are better than cats. it’s hilarious when people get hurt. shopping is torture. sad movies suck. you own a car racing game. you played with hot wheels as a kid. at some point in time you wanted to be a firefighter. you owned a ds, ps2, n64, or sega. you used to be obsessed with power rangers. you have watched sports on tv. gory movies are cool. you go to your dad for advice. you own numerous baseball caps. you used to collect hockey or baseball cards. baggy sweats are cool to wear. it’s king of weird to have sleepovers with a bunch of people. green, black, red, blue, or silver are one of your favorite colors. you love to go crazy and not care what people think. sports are fun. you walk with food in your mouth. you sleep with socks on at night. you have fished at least once.

YOUR STEREOTYPICAL FEMININE SIDE: you love to shop. you wear eyeliner. you wear the color pink. you go to your mom to talk. you consider cheerleading a sport. you hate wearing the color black. you like going to the mall. you like getting manicures and/or pedicures. you like wearing jewelry. you cried watching the notebook. dresses are a big part of your wardrobe. shopping is one of your favorite hobbies. you don’t like the star wars movies. you were/are in gymnastics. it takes you around an hour to shower, get dressed, and do your makeup. you smile a lot more than you should. you have more than ten pairs of shoes. you are about your appearance. you like wearing dresses when you can. you like wearing tall shoes. you used to play with dolls as a kid. you like putting makeup on others. you like being the star of everything.

APPEARANCE: i’m shorter than 5′5. i have scars. i tan easily. i wish my hair was a different color. i have friends who have never seen my natural hair color. i have a tattoo. i’m self conscious about my appearance. i have or have had braces. i’ve been told i’m attractive by a complete stranger. i have more than two piercings. i have or have had piercings in places besides my ears.

EXPERIENCES: i’ve gotten lost in my city. i’ve seen a shooting star. i’ve wished on a shooting star. i’ve seen a meteor shower. i’ve goine out in public in my pajamas. i’ve pushed all the buttons on an elevator. i’ve kicked a guy where it hurts. i’ve been to a casino. i’ve been skydiving. i’ve gone skinny dipping. i’ve drank a whole gallon of milk in an hour. i’ve crashed a car. i’ve been skiing. i’ve been in a musical. i’ve caught a snowflake or snow on my tongue. i’ve seen the northern lights. i’ve sat on a rooftop at night. i’ve played a prank on someone. i’ve ridden in a taxi. i’ve seen rocky horror picture show. i’ve eaten sushi. i’ve been snowboarding.

HONESTY + CRIME: i’ve done something i promised someone else i wouldn’t. i’ve done something i promised myself i wouldn’t. i’ve sneaked out. i’ve lied to my parents about where i am. i’ve cheated while playing a game. i’ve ran a red light. i’ve winessed a crime. i’ve been in a fight. i’ve been arrested.

DEATH + SUICIDE: i’m afraid of dying. i hate funerals. i’ve seen someone die. someone close to me has attempted or committed suicide. i’ve written a eulogy for myself. i’ve thought about committing suicide. i’ve attempted suicide.

RANDOM: i can sing well. i’ve stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant. i open up to others easily. i watch the news. i don’t kill bugs. i sing in the shower. i’m a morning person. i paid for a cell phone ringtone. i’m a sports fanatic. i twirl my hair. i care about grammar. i’ve copied 30+ cds in a day. i bake well. my favorite color is white, yellow, pink, red, blue, black purple, or orange. i would wear pajamas to school. i know how to shoot a gun. i laugh at my own jokes. i eat fast food weekly. i’ve not turned in anything and still got an a in class. i can’t sleep if there’s a spider or cockroach in the room. i’m ticklish. i love white chocolate. i bite my nails. i’m good at remembering faces. i’m good at remembering names. i’m good at remembering dates. i honestly have no idea what i want to do with the rest of my life.