#Notes from the Hill

[offsidenewsco]

"I honestly am on my knees begging the Senators to have a normal game for once."

Will anything ever be normal with #GoSensGo? Read our latest Notes From the Hill check-in to find out: https://buff.ly/3O33FLW

[reikolovespickles]

To my precious daughter...

I confess I had reservations at first about raising that baby. Could I love her? Her existence was thoroughly unexplainable. I thought, 'She could be that young woman who snatched away my beloved daughter.' That led to sadness, anger... there were times when I put my hands around her tiny little throat. Several times I even considered abandoning her. That's what a terrible person I am. But I decided to raise her after all. I just couldn't seem to let her go. When she... when you look at me, you laugh, so... Even now, I can't forget about that girl. But I love you. I have no doubts about that. That's all I ask you to believe.

[fancy-strawberry-beard]

Thought it would be fun to draw the modern day gang according to my headcanons. Just a couple minor changes, really, but I'm happy with the results.

[cecenyss]

the Real mystery of death note is that Light somehow convinced the fandom that he is the socially competent one and L is the recluse with no social skills. Light thought it was realistic to respond to the emo freak at his college who said he was a world famous detective after hunching over like a gremlin taking his shoes off in public and sitting like a frog was "if you're telling the truth i respect you greatly." L frequently performs social tests on people close to him to see what they'll say with the goal of studying their responses and picked up a call from his friend in a potentially volatile situation by flawlessly imitating a douchebag friend who parties too much while likely never having been to a bar in his life. they are not the same.

[serpentface]

A kulustaig bull, the distinctive cattle landrace of the highlands.

Kulustaig have striking differences to other native cattle found across the Imperial Wardi claimed territory. Their aurochs ancestors were domesticated in a separate event from those found south of the Inner Seaways, and the broader cattle population kulustaig derived from may have trace bison genetics. The progenitors of this landrace were brought south across the Viper seaway by the ancestors of the contemporary Hill Tribes, and were gradually shaped into the kulustaig in adaption to the high altitudes, mild but dry summers, and cool/snowy wet seasons.

These cattle are mid-sized and stocky in build with large, broad faces, most distinguished by curly manes and 'beards' and thick, V-shaped horns. Genetically undiluted kulustaig are almost ubiquitously black, white, and/or gray, though breeding with other cattle has introduced a greater variety of coloration in contemporary stocks.

They are adapted to higher altitudes, having larger hearts and a bigger lung capacity than comparable lowland breeds, and grow thick, curly winter coats that allow for superior resistance to seasonally cooler temperatures. They can maintain condition on less food and lower-nutrition grasses than the average cattle, and are excellent instinctive foragers. This particular quality makes them attractive for crossbreeding efforts with cattle stock of the dry scrublands in the south of Imperial Wardin, though most of their other traits are highly unfavorable for hot, low altitude environments, and scrub-kulustaig hybrids with idealized traits are rare (and highly sought after as studs).

These are all-purpose cattle that can adequately fulfill roles as meat, draft, and dairy animals, though the latter role has the most importance in day to day life, and they show the most selection for milk production (though are not as high-yield as pure dairy breeds). Their meat is mostly lean and somewhat gamey, as they rely more on thick winter coats than fat stores to manage cold, and the vast majority subsist entirely on wild grasses and forage.

Most kulustaig have fairly calm, gentle temperaments, and accommodate well to human handling (it is not uncommon for cows and geldings to be passively ridden by herders otherwise traveling on foot). Their herds have strong, well defined, and stable dominance hierarchy structures, which reduces actual fighting and lends to them being more easily managed by their human herders. In most traditions, the dominant female in each herd is regarded as blessed by and belonging to the agricultural goddess Od, and will not be milked or slaughtered (this untouchable status is often maintained even if the cow's rank in the hierarchy is displaced, though traditions vary).

Bulls are almost ubiquitously given personal names by their owners (the honor often belonging to a family or clan's matriarch, who is generally considered the owner of the herd and other familial assets), while other traditions vary between just the bulls and dominant cows, personal favorites, or entire herds receiving names.

These cattle are of tremendous importance to the peoples of the highlands (particularly tribes and/or individual clans living above the river valleys, who fundamentally rely upon them for subsistence). They provide much of the meat and dairy that the core diet revolves around, and are the greatest measure of wealth within the highlands. Non-native cattle can be commonly found in parts of the highlands in the contemporary (and may be bred in to impart unique qualities to established stock, such as improved milk production or fattier meat), but kulustaig are typically prized above all the rest. These cattle are often a source of great pride for individual clans, and one of few agreed upon markers of shared identity and pride for all of the collective Hill Tribes.

Cattle raiding is a near-ubiquitous practice (both as a practical resource acquisition, and a less immediately lethal method of settling larger disputes than open warfare), and most cattle will be branded with a mark identifying their owning clan as a method of dissuading theft (often futile, particularly given cattle marked as belonging to certain wealthy clans may be especially prized). Nose rings are commonly used to assist in the handling of bulls, but have secondary protective functions that lend to their common use in even the most docile of cattle. Rings are usually blessed or have spells woven into their making as a supernatural barrier against theft, or against malicious (or at least devious) mountain spirits such as tiirgranul (who take pleasure in frightening cattle (and their herders) and are known to cause stampedes) or wildfolk (who are known to sometimes steal or curse cattle when offended, or just bored).

The word kulustaig derives from the common word 'taig'/'taigr', which refers to cattle in the contemporary languages of both the Hill Tribes and Finns, and the 'kul' root (heavily antiquated and not used in contemporary speech, most commonly recognizable in the name of the kulys plant), which has connotations of hardiness/robust qualities. The name would have derived from complimentary descriptions of the animals as 'the best and most robust of cattle'.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

i honestly think the writers really shot themselves in the foot (as they like to do) with the miraculous timer not existing specifically for adults instead of that just being a skill that has to be trained. The training montage in the beginning of Revelator was cool (in theory bc why is this only a two minute scene) but the fandom‘s main concern seemed to be about how fucked up it actually is bc this is basically forcing kids to grow up too soon. And I see where they‘re coming from, but also the lore for the timer is so unclear overall.

I fully agree. Calling the timer upgrade an "adult" power then giving it to the teen heroes is just weird. Just say that it has to do with experience or emotional maturity or something like that (not that Gabriel was ever emotionally mature, but let's ignore that issue for now). Everyone was anticipating this upgrade being a thing that happened when the characters turned 16 or 18. Having it just randomly show up while most of them are still 14 (15?) raises all kinds of questions and makes people give the upgrade undo weight.

I had another ask about this recently and in that one I talked about how lackluster this upgrade was. The characters don't actually mature, they just kind of will themselves into "adulthood" which is one of my main issues with the complaint you mentioned. A complaint that I have also seen a few times from different sources which is why I feel comfortable addressing it:

the fandom‘s main concern seemed to be about how fucked up it actually is bc this is basically forcing kids to grow up too soon.

It's hard to view the characters' "adult" status as "forcing kids to grow up too soon" when this upgrade is the least serious thing that has happened to most of these characters. Forcing Marinette to try to navigate the complex mess that Gabriel dumped on her lap is "forcing kids to grow up too soon." Luka being banished to Brazil because a terrorist wanted to capture him and force him to betray his friends is "forcing kids to grow up too soon." Adrien having to navigate being an orphan with no forewarning that his father was dying is "forcing kids to grow up too soon." The list goes on.

However, none of those things are why the characters are "adults" now. They're "adults" because of a rather generic pep talk. It's also worth noting that the scenes where the characters becomes "adults" are framed as moments of empowerment. That means that, narratively speaking, this is not supposed to be seen as a bad or concerning thing.

This show's messaging has always been wacky, but I'm pretty sure that this is less a commentary on how messed up these teenagers lives are and more the writers just wanting to show that the characters are growing up because we're six season in and growing up is not some great evil. It's just a normal part of life. That's why my criticism of this upgrade is not "upgrade bad" or "upgrade depressing" it's that this should have been part of a character arc where the characters actually grew up a little!

Also, complaining that the teen characters are "growing up too soon" feels too much in line with people who complain about shows like Miraculous "glorifying child soldiers." It's an action show aimed at young kids. The lead characters are going to be kids and teens because those are the kinds of characters young kids relate to. If you don't like seeing kids and teens being given responsibilities that they shouldn't have in the real world, then don't watch these kinds of shows. To enjoy them, you have to be willing to suspend your disbelief about the age issue and treat the responsibilities these characters have as fine in their world. Or, at least, not concerning because of their age. It's less "this is bad for a 14-year-old" and more "this is a terrible thing for anyone to deal with."

This is why you'll see me do things like treating Nathalie, Felix, Kagami, and Amelie as equally responsible for keeping Adrien in the dark in season five even though Felix and Kagami are "just teens". It's also why I don't really talk about Marinette being "just a 14-year-old girl." I get that defense, but I don't think it fits this genre because, if you're going to use that defense, then why is she responsible for anything? She's too young for everything she's doing! All the teen characters are, but is anyone arguing that they should all quit and be replaced by adults? I don't think so. If we put this stuff in adult hands then we would have a wildly different show.

I do think that the teen characters' age has validity in certain discussion - for example, I think it's perfectly reasonable for them to have teenage struggles because they are teenagers - but generally speaking, I'd avoid using age arguments when it comes to the characters' responsibilities and authority in shows like Miraculous. Characters in these shows are not supposed to be treated like normal teens by the audience. That just doesn't make for a good story.

Along similar lines, I don't like the "this character is only 14" or "it's only been a year in canon" arguments to defend things like the lack of character growth. That's just not a good defense for a fictional story like Miraculous. It's an action-adventure romcom, not literary fiction. It's not supposed to be hyper realistic. It's supposed to be a fun and engaging story. It doesn't matter how old the characters are or how long it's been in canon. What matters is that we're six seasons in and that season five saw the end of the show's first major story arc. By that point, it's perfectly reasonable to look for character growth and satisfying plot progression.

[kindheart525]

Apparently James/Jimmy is the go-to name for morally twisted fictional men nowadays

[apotelesmaa]

I don’t think ppl give enough credit to rui for his dedication to fucking with people (outside of tsukasa of course) like. Knowing & acknowledging that nene wants nothing to do with him and Tsukasa on her first day of second year and deliberately following tsukasa to loudly ask if she’s getting along with people (just to be a jackass)? Implying his gift to akito will explode even though it won’t bc he wants to bug akito? Like I think rui at his core is full of love and a desire to make ppl smile but I also think he’s 200% committed to the bit first and foremost. If something will be funny he’s going to do it regardless of the consequences. Guy filled with zero social anxiety & a never ending desire to embarrass his friends.

[worthlessandembarrasing]

Apropos of this post by @sapphoherselz (so sorry girl, I will leave you alone after this I promise) and every other hc of the twinyards having the same taste in love interests, I'm proposing a fic idea:

Imagine a uni au (sans the mafia) where Andrew/Aaron/Nicky have a slightly closer relationship and it's become increasingly obvious that Aaron's pining after someone but he refuses to give any concrete details. However, he occasionally drops hints by accident that Andrew absolutely catches like this person being a readhead, them working in one of the bookstores on campus, and them being a cheerleader. So then Aaron tells them he's inviting his roommate Neil over for thanksgiving and Andrew's like oh shit, because he literally met Neil a few weeks prior at the bookstore and is now realising that he's probably the guy Aaron's into.

Cue the angst and the silly misunderstandings when Andrew tries to not get in Aaron's way but Neil makes all of his efforts be in absolute vain because he's hellbent on annoying Aaron by befriending his brother

[offsidenewsco]

"Happy 2025! World Juniors have ended, meaning Senators fans can stop talking about Carter Yakemchuk until next fall ..."

We have the latest on #GoSensGo as they continue to battle for a playoff spot: https://tinyurl.com/3ztv44e4

[isurrendertoclones]

I originally started writing this in the tags of this post by @fox-trot, but it got…long lol (and multimedia)

ok ok so this line

Ever asked what his father did to him to get him to run away from home?

is haunting me now

Because like...we know what Vau DOES deem acceptable to do to his sons (they're his sons, even if none of them are ever all aware of this at the same time lol)

And it includes mutilation and beating someone within an inch of his life (my spouse joked that Vau's dad must have actually killed him…for like two minutes lol) so...what must his father have done to him that was ori'suumyc to Vau???

And it made me think of an excellent comment I once saw on a subreddit about parental estrangement:

Like. I m a g i n e what Vau Senior had to do. To his son. To get him to this point. (But don’t actually because it’s too awful)

Now I am also thinking about Atin (after the war) actually telling Vau he is dar’buir, and Vau is like

…

…

That’s fine. I’m not your buir, so I don’t care!

(And then he goes and drinks with Skirata lmao)

(If anyone is so inclined, I also have many Trans Vau Thoughts)

[teathattast]

Do you wanna make it forever?

Do you want me to stay right here?

Do you wanna make it forever?

If you want, I would stay right here

[cosmichorrorlesbians]

Hi there! As a fellow haunted house enjoyer, i was wondering if you read an essay that was written about the haunting of hill house that also included notes made by Jackson on the margins while writing it. I'm positive it exists but i just cant remember the name or find it for the life of me. Any help is appreciated!

OOOH ok I've definitely either come across this or references to it in my reading!

if it's secondary criticism, I think the book you're looking for might be Shirley Jackson's American Gothic (2003) by Darryl Hattenhauer? He discusses some of Jackson's notes including her writing that 'THEO = SISTER' and talks about the diagrams she did of the house's layout (including an interesting if imo spurious comparison between that art and Jackson's own self-portraits), if any of that sounds familiar.

I don't know if the original notes themselves are published anywhere, though. Judy Oppenheimer's Private Demons: The Life of Shirley Jackson may be the place to look? but I've only read a few chapters so can't vouch for that fact.

will look through my laptop when I get home & update if I find anything!

[invisiblestation]

[clarabowlover]

Justine Johnstone

By Ira L. Hill (ca.1920s)silent screen beauty

became

[c1trvswurld]

Finally glad the mouthwashing fandom-at least on here- is finally coming around to see the idea that neither curly or jimmy are completely innocent nor should be babied or completely villainized because to do that you'd need to *checks notes*

Completely ignore how mouthwashing is a story of how systems of abuse are kept in power. Particularly rape culture and the patriarchy that encourages these actions while also encouraging bystander effect from other men close to predators...which is all encouraged under a system like capitalism.

Idk read more of tha rant in tags I got carried away I fear.