#Structural failures

[simplyforensic]

The Enigmatic World of Forensic Engineering

In the intricate tapestry of modern engineering, a specialized discipline exists, dedicated to unraveling the mysteries behind failures and ensuring a safer world. This realm is known as forensic engineering, a field that employs meticulous scientific methods to investigate the root causes of accidents, structural collapses, and product malfunctions. Forensic engineers are the detectives of the…

[thatneoncrisis]

really i think relying on a multibillion dollar gaming company and streaming platform to be able to effectively produce anti-establishment art with any sort of internal consistency or resolve is one of those "losing to a dog in poker" situations. you walked into that one. it just so happens that i also think everything in the show unrelated to that was mid as hell too

[kaisollisto]

“Are you here?" Ava barely breathes it, there's a tension in the air that she can't recognize, an energy that squashes her. Her throat feels scratchy and she can feel the Halo slotted between her shoulders. Ava's flat on her back head turned to look over at Beatrice. She feels wimpy like a stomped flower, her left arm dangles dangerously close to Beatrice-territory. She wants to reach out, to touch Beatrice to confirm that she's here but something stops her. She feels so silly, she could easily shift over to touch Beatrice, shake her gently and - 

Beatrice slides over, a firm sleepy sister warrior knife wielding badass with frumpy hair poofing from what remains of her low bun. She moves towards Ava, inches away from her but moves to answer her. It’s rare for Ava to see her like this. Beatrice is clearly fighting sleep, rubbing her eyes and doing her best to move in hopes that it’ll shake the sleepy spell. 

She’s dressed in one of Ava’s ugly loose white shirts, a huge bass clashing with faded big blocky lettering that just reads “FISH”. Beatrice had looked at her weirdly when Ava had dug it out of the bins at a thrift store disheveled and ecstatic. 

Ava had spent hours coaxing her into it doing her damn best to hide Beatrice’s laundry when she wasn’t looking. It fills a warm feeling in her chest and Ava wants to burrow further into it. It was a fool proof plan. 

Ava found her shortness made it exhausting to reach up towards the Beatrice-level-cabinets. The halo pulls at her pinching and knotting up the muscles in her back after a long day of training. She feels it alive within her, an uncomfortable reminder sealed inside her back. 

At the end of the day Ava settled on hinging at the waist. She had slowly started integrating Beatrice’s sleep shirts in cabinets that Beatrice had to bend down to reach. Ava always tried to situate herself at the scene of the crime doing her best to seem inconspicuous while she leaned over hungry for Beatrice’s reaction. Ava thumbed her findings down in the recess of her mind, her finger tracing over it in a hurried desperation. The time would pass and she did not want to forget. 

(It helped, the imagery of Bea’s furrow when she would find her sleepwear underneath the sink when Ava would have to tuck her spine into the halo as she placed the shirt somewhere clean.) 

Thanks to her genius planning Beatrice had finally caved and worn Ava’s huge “FISH” t-shirt after weeks of her persistence. She looked adorable, she was drowning in it and constantly tugging at it. She had found Beatrice loved to tuck it into the band of her sleep shorts creating puffy funny creases distorting the text even further to say “FSH”. It looked so ugly and old and endearing. 

She looked out of her depth and it made Ava’s heart thump funny. Beatrice with her weird posh mannerisms combined with the peaceful unguarded look when she slumbered made her feel hot all over. 

It was the prospect of the future, a glimpse into her life with Beatrice, of when they would grow old together. It shakes her, the idea that Beatrice will get wrinkles with her. She takes it seriously, a study that she isn’t well versed in but preparing for. It is a long hard internal debate flipping between what wrinkles will show first. Ava selfishly hopes it’s smile lines, that Beatrice will smile at her as much as she does in secret. She’s happy to be wrong, Beatrice’s forehead crinkles have always been cute. She hopes that Beatrice never stops looking at her, thinking of her. She wants to spend a long time being the source of her wrinkles. And just for right now she can handle the role of being just her friend. 

Beatrice blinks one eye open, the other pressed against the pillow as she stifles a yawn. Her hand blocks her mouth in a delicate way and Ava can see her nails are short and uneven in places. Ava wishes she could touch them, study them in a way no one has done before. She wants to press against Beatrice hard enough to watch her skin fold around hers. Some sort of truth that she was here, that she is here. 

Beatrice scoots over slowly, her elbow tucked under the pillow. She stops inches away from Ava, a frown set in her jaw. Ava mirrors her position albeit more awkwardly and more wiggling than Beatrice’s but she finds a place where the Halo won’t bite her back. 

“I’m here,” Beatrice murmurs it, a quiet thing between them. 

Ava closes her eyes hoping Beatrice won’t notice her shakiness. She blinks a few times before she presses closer, the arm she’s laying on moving to support her head underneath the pillow. 

There’s so much to tell her, anything and nothing at all and Ava doesn’t know where to start. It constricts her throat, the constant stream of consciousness from inside of her heart. It’s horrible and she can’t stop it as the feeling balloons inside of her lungs. Ava wants help, she so desperately wants to feel okay again, to feel anything other than the stupid fucking halo. It grates on her nerves and muscles, a burning hot metal ring poking and prodding at the entirety of her upper torso. It leaves her reeling, a sort of anger that beckons for her to hurt (hurt something, hurt someone, hurt), disregarding the aftermath of tears and shame. 

Ava is sure she’s shaking, a layer of sweat gathers between the space of her shoulder blades as the Halo lights up with her inner turmoil. It’s a faint pitiful thing that Ava would be ashamed of if not for the bone aching tiredness. 

She wants to say she’s sorry the words clawing their way up her throat and it feels wrong to feel anything but that. There’s a sort of unspoken shame that haunts her with the Halo. It’s a thing she’s known long before any of this. 

Beatrice drags her out of her turmoil with her hand hovering near Ava’s pinky. She has a gracefulness to it, like she has practiced it a hundred times over. It’s weird, to be in a bed, a soft and lumpy bed looking at Beatrice. Beatrice with such plain features and subtle cheekbones that Ava can’t stop looking. It pays off, watching Beatrice, Ava knows it when Bea smiles a grin too wide for polite acknowledgement and Ava can see her dimples pronounced. 

“Can I?” Beatrice’s finger lingers near her hand, a hovering itch that Ava needs scratched. It’s so wholeheartedly Beatrice that Ava can do nothing but nod. Something inside of Ava aches harder than the rest of the organs inside of her. It’s the unwavering crushing thumping feeling that squeezes around her heart. The sincerity of Beatrice. 

She places her hand over Ava’s and squeezes her gently. Beatrice’s hands are firm and soft. She can feel the callouses on her palms prodding at the back of her hand and wonders if Beatrice has ever had them fade away. If she’s had the pleasure of unscathed palms. Her hands are warm but not sweaty, not like Ava’s.

Ava can’t feel Beatrice’s pulse but she tries her best to match it. She imagines it would be a slow melody playing a duet with a classical track. Some sort of tune that spurs comfort or a feeling of nostalgia. She briefly wonders if Beatrice listens to music, if she seeks out music that has spoken to her. If there was a song that shook her to her core so deeply she had to sit down and digest it. There’s so much she still needs to know and so little time. 

“I admit I’m not sure what you need from me.” Beatrice whispers it quietly, she’s hunched awkwardly, hovering close in Ava’s space but too far away for her own comfort. 

Ava clamps her mouth shut, sure that “come closer” will betray her. That she will reach too far into Beatrice and take far too much. 

Beatrice pays no mind to Ava’s silence and slowly caresses her hand, it’s a small little gesture that seems to have no set course. Ava briefly wonders if it’s the start of a massage or if Beatrice is looking for her joints underneath her skin and touching her tendons in apology. 

It should be awkward, Beatrice and Ava orbiting each other in a lopsided manner. A rotational tilt that is unfamiliar to both of them and yet feels intimate. An unknown dance with their eyes closed and their breaths mingling. (It’s easy to follow Beatrice’s lead, Ava knows love.) 

There’s nothing Ava can say to her, she chokes up at the prospect and they both blink at each other. She’s not sure what she needs, only that it’s nice having someone here. 

Beatrice drowsily blinks rapidly and slowly at the same time as Ava watches swallowing the bits of her smile. Her hand has slowed its pathing, opting to curl on the inside of Ava’s fingers. It’s endearing watching one of her favorite bad ass sister warriors lose against sleep. It softens the edges of Beatrice who is always carrying some unseen obligation. (Here it is only the two of them free of their past and future burdens, just two girls sprawled thinly on hopes and dreams). 

She can feel Beatrice’s grip loosen, she’s going to fall back asleep any minute now but Ava doesn’t have the heart to keep her up. Beatrice is no doubt tired, powered by her own sleeping and eating habits unlike Ava who has the artifact to juice her up. 

She isn’t quite unwound but she feels manageable now. It’s weird to be within reach of Beatrice, someone who cares about her. To be in proximity of someone who will look for her, be in step with her, maybe it’s duty but Ava holds it close to her heart regardless. (It’s all the same to her, devotion, loyalty, love). 

She clings to Beatrice afraid to let the moment go, she had called and someone had answered, Bea had answered. Ava can feel her eyes watering, it almost feels like a distant dream. She tucks her chin closer to chest and thinks, how awful to be loved. 

She can feel her throat closing up and she squeezes Bea’s hand just a tiny bit harder. (She answers in the twitch of her hand, clearly on the cusp of sleep). The Halo still thunders in her back throbbing some fatal fate but here in the hush of night grounded by the touch of Beatrice she has some reprieve.  (Part 1)

[herearedragons]

I love you detectives wrestling with cosmic horror I love you government agencies in a futile pursuit to contain the supernatural I love you academia and bureaucracy strugging to quantify and codify the otherworldly I love you systems and habits desperately trying to hold the line against the chaotic the unclassifiable and the unfathomable.

send post

[ardienothesieno]

lobotomizing yourself so you dont die in your superstructure's imminent collapse but in doing so you accidentally trap yourself on a mountain to freeze your ass off in agonizing isolation for the rest of eternity:

[ai-nonsense]

Ever wanted to buy a house from IKEA?

[amethystsoda]

Gelatin Hell my beloathed 🤢

[disastergenius]

I keep seeing arguments that Bell's Hells at the end of the campaign are still largely powerless in the world, have no privileges (at least not on the scale of the other parties), and are not trusted to handle the problems of their own campaign and are instead pushed aside in favor of letting previous PCs fix things. And that is odd, since that argument is simply not supported by the text of the campaign (nor on a meta level).

For all that Bell's Hells starts as nobodies, the side characters in someone else's stories, the could-have-easily-been-NPCs, this isn't a distinction that BHs hold as a party. This is quite literally the premise of most TTRPG parties, we can see that with the previous CR parties. It's cool to see at the beginning of the campaign while they find their footing as a group, but at some point that becomes untrue as they gain power. And Bell's Hells never quite seems to grasp that they are no longer the underdogs, or at least that the power gain has given them true influence in the world.

For what it's worth, Dorian while estranged from his parents/the Silken Squall still comes from a position of privilege, Orym was a guard to the Voice of the Tempest, Ashton has a beacon in their head, Imogen is tied to Ruidus with a mother in high command in the opposing force, Fearne has a good relationship with the Fate Stitcher, Laudna has a previously known evil necromancer granting her power, FCG is an aeormaton. Again, this is pretty common for a DnD party to have mysterious backstories and strange ties to be explored within the campaign, those are plot hooks! But it does not make them unique among the other CR parties nor dnd parties in general, and saying that they were uniquely disadvantaged or started from worse places really doesn't hold up. They are on par with the previous parties, and the only difference that they hold is a Doylist one that ties them to previous campaigns and thus alters the audience perception, but this doesn't undercut them on a Watsonian level.

The idea that they have essentially "pulled themselves up by their bootstraps" is also not supported. They acquire a rich and highly skilled patron by Episode 2 (Estheross) who supports them through most of the early campaign. While he later dies (rip to mentors, statistically unlikely to survive stories) he still gifts them an entire airship while they are Level 7, granting them the ability to travel far and easily while still relatively low-level. They have Ira on their side, and despite how tenuous that relationship is, this is still a relatively high-powered entity that they encounter early. They invoke the idea of Nana Morri early on as a potential avenue for help, and Planerider Ryn takes interest in them early as well through Hondir as part of the Grim Verity.

There are a few arguments floating about regarding the gathering of information during this campaign, specifically that it was gatekept and difficult. In contrast to M9 that had access to Cobalt Soul libraries, information was more difficult to attain during this campaign comparatively, but not in the understanding of a DnD campaign. Investigation checks exist, and gathering of information from shadowy hidden sources and secret societies is the stuff that DnD (and fantasy as a whole) have been built on, so this doesn't stand out as something that should have been a problem from that perspective. Instead it is Bell's Hells as characters that show little interest in pursuing that information via those means (high int parties are a boon in this regard).

Similarly, the artifacts they acquire at low level are destroyed via character choices (with some meddling from the DM). The gnarlrock is never followed up with after Delilah absorbs it, so we never found out what it did. Ashton shatters the green lens thing so we never figure out what it's use is either (and from the way it went, it might have been important?)

They have Keyleth on speed-dial to try and resurrect Laudna, and when she can't, she calls in the rest of Vox Machina, so Bell's Hells have now gained recognition of very powerful people who are willing to help them then and offer help later. Powerful aid in Whitestone is not something that previous parties ever would have been able to call in (easy example: part of why Molly couldn't be resurrected).

While it is still very much under the radar, they are tasked with destroying one of the Malleus keys by Planerider Ryn. They are later tasked with helping at the Tishtan site by Beau and Caleb, who we also know wield influence in the world (via the Cobalt Soul, though I think this is still considered relatively under the radar as well given the way we see them working in M9 Reunited and EotRS). Trusting BHs with such a mission while not knowing them is instilling quite a bit of trust in them as a group (Watsonian explanation), so to say that they hold no recognized power at this point is laughable.

Fearne and Ashton acquire the Titan Shards. They gain the funnel harness to siphon extra magical items into in exchange for feats. Imogen and Laudna continue to feed into strange forces to gain power. Power gained never seems to register for BHs, instead they stagnate and believe they have limited ability to affect change.

Bell's Hells are tasked with doing Ruidus reconnaissance by a war counsel that includes many of Exandria's most powerful. This really undercuts the argument that they are not trusted to handle important tasks. This is Exandria's first real contact with the red moon, and they are trusting BH to go in and report back while not actively causing more issues.

I know a lot of the BHs defenders really hate him, but Essek being the M9 emissary and taking them to Aeor where we know there are many interesting things to explore is another indicator that they are trusted by M9. This connection also becomes important later.

Once back from the moon, BH are once again privy to several war counsels with an even larger number of Exandrian leaders in Vasselheim (the Exandrian UN if you will). They are granted time to speak on their experiences and weigh in on what they believe should be done. Largely, their suggested plans are accepted and adapted. At this point, Bell's Hells have comparable notoriety to Vox Machina in C1. Notably, M9 are not even present for these counsels and are vouched for by Allura and the Kryn, and most of the leaders don't seem to know who they are (truly the heroes no one knows). Bell's Hells are then given the task of taking down Ludinus, who has been the face of the villainy in Exandria (as the orchestrator of this plan) and the campaign. This is a huge task for Bell's Hells to be entrusted with; VM is basically running interference and M9 is taking down a side villain organization, BH is being given the ultimate task. This does lean a bit Doylist in the sense that this is their campaign, what else were they going to do, but on a Watsonian level, for the Exandrian leaders, this is the ultimate end result: to take down Ludinus and stop whatever other plans he and the Ruby Vanguard have.

Bell's Hells naturally draw the attention of the gods, given that it is their fates that they are deciding. They are offered many perspectives and notably not immediately smote down in the way that some party members thought might happen. This is comparable again to C1's many interactions with the gods.

Here is where it really gets fun: the finale to C3 and the trilogy of long-form campaigns. Bell's Hells are the ultimate deciders of the fate of Exandria when they decide to take in Predathos and hold counsel with the gods. At this point, the idea that they have no power is absurd. Bell's Hells isn't shy about showing that off either as they march back into Vasselheim and demand an audience with the gods while telling everyone else to fuck off because they now hold the power to call the shots. And they get their way because of it! The second they are challenged they are shown to be the ones holding all the cards (ie the threat of Predathos).

In invoking powerful people, Bell's Hells are the ones who actively call out help from both Pike, Caleb, and finally Essek when trying to revive Ashton, which has reverberating consequences for Essek (and Caleb and the rest of M9 with the Kryn), but are never addressed by BHs. This has a more Doylist answer where the cast simply needed someone to intervene and Essek was the closest after Pike and Caleb couldn't; the alternative is letting Ashton die, and they rightfully aren't willing to let him go that easily. But it requires that they ask for help, and it is not a DM deus ex machina that saves them, but characters they also control, so this push of responsibility is their decision that they could have simply not taken.

After they resolve Predathos, the idea that they are pushed aside to let previous PCs who are privileged (in ways other than the ways that BHs are not) fix everything is simply untrue. Bell's Hells go to advocate for the Ruidus citizens coming to Exandria, which is the current most pressing issue that they can speak to, given that they do not care about the followers of the gods handling the resulting fallout and BHs are not leaders in Exandria and thus will not be directly involved in the task of having to rebuild on this scale. This fits within their contexts as characters and place in the world, it does not show them as being unimportant in ways that diminish them at the end of their campaign. They will not be seeking out the gods in their mortal forms, they will at best be acting as emissaries as relations form between Ruidus and Exandria, and even then, we see them do this in a very limited capacity (if at all). Laudna and Imogen help the immigrating Ruidians for an indeterminate amount of time and then settle down in their cottage. Bell's Hells as a whole are more interested in taking a break, which is fair and well-deserved, but does live in stark contrast to the way that previous parties realized there was an endless amount of work to still be done at the end of their respective campaigns.

Bell's Hells end the campaign with their power sets largely intact and go back into the world holding that same level of power, like the parties before them.

In comparison to the other campaigns, they end on a relatively similar level to the Mighty Nein, as people who may have some level of power that can be used (and open-ended enough to leave room for their return and for fans to fill in the gaps to their hearts' content).

They go back to their lives and settle down in many respects, or at least what passes as settling down for former adventurers. The characters actively choose not to pursue anything related to the rebuilding of Exandria with the gods no longer behind the Divine Gate. Laudna and Imogen helping with the Ruidian immigrants for an unspecified amount of time before settling down away from that, and after that, the closest we get is Orym remaining as a Tempest Blade before deciding to leave that, and Fearne starting to take lessons with Nana Morri which positions her to have a powerful role in the future (again, knocking the argument that they end with no power either).

The members of Bell's Hells did not pursue power and influence at the end of the campaign, and if they wanted to, I'm sure there would have been space for them to do so. But the lack of political/worldly influence at the end of the campaign is purely the decisions of the players, not because they were pushed aside by other PCs. Bell's Hells gains through the campaign grant them the same level of privilege and power that the other campaigns essentially ended on, and trying to position them as diminished or lessened during or at the end of the campaign is not supported by the show.

[luckyartdrawer]

I think... I think I miss my wife fic...

[hetheymerrill]

Do you guys remember that Reddit screenshot that was like:

Incel-adjacent guy: the simple fact is that no hot woman wants to get with an average looking nerdy man. That's why guys like me are fucked.

Normal commenter: why don't you try dating average looking women with nerd hobbies then?

Incel guy; what would be the point of that

.......... Sometimes the male loneliness discourse feels a lot like that.

[bittersweetresilience]

it feels cosmically unfair that i think about writing all the time want to write all the time and sit down to write all the time and i come up with two sentences at best. there should be some reward system i think

[catbuspass]

So you like capitalism?

YO MAMA

[eponymous-rose]

Sometimes when Clara is loafing I'll give her a leeeeeetle push. Usually she ignores it, but sometimes she just goes with it and tips over and flops.

[stabknives]

It does however make V feel..... bad.......? That he's not closer to L. That they don't talk unless it's L saying Don't Speak To Me. Rapist.

[rosencrantzsguildenstern]

i am not very good at rhythm games

[ereh-emanresu-tresni]

Where's that one "I'm leaving this site forever see y'all in 15 minutes" post bc mood af.