#and i would just be getting a regular history degree but that’s the same as im looking at for madison too

[arthur-r]

hey so im going to nebraska on thursday that’s a thing that’s happening

[itsclydebitches]

I think I sent an ask like this along time ago? IDK though.

The weird thing about Oz is that it feels like there was stuff they could have brought up if they wanted us to view him in a darker light that they just...dont

Like, that whole thing with Oz conquering the world with Salem and tricking people into worshipping them as gods. Yeah he eventually saw what he was doing was wrong, but that was after he and Salem had 4 kids. So for a long-ass time he was an imperialist god-king

Or the part where he nearly attacked Ruby once she asked Jinn the question.

It just...feels like those are totally things that should be discussed more. But instead they focus on a bunch of other things that are really weird to hold against Oz.

Like why focus on this you have way better things to hold against Oz right there.

That's very possible, anon! I don't know how many unanswered asks are sitting in this inbox now, but it's not a small number...

Totally agree. I think Oz gets criticized to an unfair degree by the canon and fandom alike (no one is shocked to hear this lol) but part of my issue is what he's criticized for, not just the extent. The show tends to take incredibly weird perspectives like, "How dare you give our uncle cool bird powers with no downside" and "How dare you save group members from a deadly airship crash." The fandom takes stances with larger political implications like, "How dare an abused man 'steal' his daughters away from the mother who wants to use them for a magical form of genocide" or issues that fundamentally break the core concept of the show: "How dare you let teenagers fight dangerous battles / How dare you reincarnate - something you have no control over - into a 14yo boy." The show does engage with some of Ozpin's morally complex choices with no easy answers like, "Is it okay to keep secrets if history has shown severe downsides to revealing that information?"... but then the answer the story decides on - "No it's not" - immediately doesn't apply to half the cast, with no examination of how that changes our perception of Ozpin's choice. And, as you say, the show simultaneously introduces HUGE mistakes - "You positioned yourself as a god! Then a king!!"- that the characters could absolutely mistrust him for... but they don't. Because they're too busy focusing on all of the above.

The only thing I'd push back against here is anyone being mad at Ozpin for "nearly attacking" Ruby. I'd consider that a highly unfair criticism as well given that:

We don't know if he would have attacked. He just charges with his and out-stretched, so Ozpin could just as likely have been intending to snatch the Relic

All these characters have aura and train/hit for funsies on a regular basis. It feels like a stretch - one working to paint Ozpin in an unfair light - to act like Ruby taking a hit is suddenly some horrific event that's worthy getting up-in-arms about

In this same scene the girls pull their weapons on Qrow and Oscar - someone WITHOUT that training/fully unlocked aura - gets punched into a tree. Again, consistent morality. Why is Ozpin in the wrong for charging with an open hand (ambiguous) but the girls are justified in pulling their weapons (clear intent)? Why should Super Fighter Ruby be defended for taking a hit after forcibly stealing secrets from Ozpin, but we should shrug off the newbie farm kid taking a hit for the "sin" of being an unwitting, passive vessel?

Plus... as said above, "forcibly stealing secrets." I'm not saying Ozpin is 100% justified in attacking Ruby over this, but I think he's a HELL of a lot more justified compared to actions like threatening Qrow or attacking Oscar. Ruby ignored his requests to give the Relic back; she ignored how terrified he clearly was. She wasted a wish (which Ozpin knew would happen). She revealed his entire, traumatic history to the group PLUS a total stranger (Maria) which, again, Ozpin knew would happen. Of course he tried to stop her. We will never know what lengths he would have gone to, whether he would have truly fought Ruby or just made a last minute grab, but even if he had fought her... It think that's understandable. We can argue about whether it's right, but it's not the sort of thing the heroes should be holding against him once tempers have cooled, especially when he has stuff like playing God that they have hold as a long term grudge.

Out of everything Ozpin has done, maybe being willing to fight the prodigy fighter to keep her from making one of the stupidest decisions we've seen in the show to date is pretty low on the sin list.

[limeade-l3sbian]

this isn’t an argument for surrogacy, i’m against that!!!!

it’s honestly so bizarre when you think about it that women aren’t financially compensated every time they get pregnant and eventually give birth to their child. not only is it hugely draining on the body and potentially dangerous, it’s also the only consistent sure way humans have been in life or death situations throughout history. men like to say they go to war for society and us but not only are most soldiers not on the frontline, most men aren’t soldiers, whereas most women and every mother to those very same men went through a situation that could have easily resulted in her death and she did that with the treatment of it being expected and easy of her. people looking past all that might argue that “well being pregnant and giving birth has been happening since the dawn of humanity, why should that be rewarded!!” but so has things such as resource collecting; food, materials, building homes, medicine, etc, are all things that have always existed within human societies to some degree and yet those are all payed professions nowadays. a farmer doesn’t just grow vegetables and give it away, they earn money on it and distributes food to society. a person who builds homes doesn’t just do it and leave unthanked, they have a regular salary, same with architects, medical professionals and all. Women are consistently providing the next generation to do ALL of this. without mothers creating life with their body, there would be no one to do all those things with salaries. they consistently risk their health and safety for it. So it not being seen as labour to be payed for is insane to me. Especially with how much constant complaining there is about the birthing rates dropping worldwide. i don’t think it would fix the birth rates, but it would certainly make mothers feel a smidgen more appreciated for the massive sacrifice they take for the whole of society every damn time they have a child.

.

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

My only ask is: the fack is going on in Yves’ mind? No cause I’m eating snacks on my couch, I am lazy, I don’t think I could ever reach this man’s standards so like, why is he here? Going on after me? What’s this man doing 😭😭

Cont from another anon ask: Also idc Yves chose a lazy like me. This man gonna watch My Little Pony all seasons with me, he should have chosen his soulmate better. Silly man

To Yves, no one is lazy. It is the circumstances around someone that influences certain behaviors, which may appear "lazy". Unmotivated, exhausted, afraid- especially of failure. According to his observations, Atychiphobia of any degree is usually the reason for inaction. You clearly have interests, you are sentient and lucid enough to think that you're 'lazy'.

The standards he applies to you aren't the same as the ones others have to meet. Yves is a complicated man, he doesn't want to brainwash you into something 'perfect', though he has the tendency to 'fix' things he thinks aren't acceptable in his opinion. If you spend all day just eating snacks and watching shows, it will be a cause of concern with him. He will talk to you about it, watching his tone and body language. Yves wants you to know that he is acting in your best interests. If that isn't coming through to you... well, he is a reality bender with the world's resources at the tips of his fingers. He knows how to hack into your psyche.

Expect to suddenly lose appetite for the snacks that you're munching on, he will leave you wondering why your brain suddenly finds watching TV torturously boring and irritating. You would rather do something else.

It couldn't possibly be Yves behind this, he is in his office, and you haven't seen him today. Plus, he can't be that powerful, can he? Plus, it is ridiculous how another person can just influence the mind like that, so seamlessly and discretely. You don't get it, it just felt like a flick of a switch. There was no gradual change, nothing around you appeared out of the ordinary.

There were changes. There are changes. Chemically, biologically, physically and environmentally. You're just unaware of them. His sleight of hand is unreal, his attention to detail is astonishing. Yves drugged you, with a harmless substance, but a drug nonetheless. To make you much more susceptible to his power of persuasion. All he had to do was modify the texture of your favorite snacks. To a regular person, there is no difference; You can't tell the difference either, but your brain can, and it doesn't like the new changes.

Consciously, everything is as it always was. But subconsciously, your altered mind noticed the colors on the screen are horribly off, and the bass and timbre of its voice actors don't sound right. It is exhausting for your brain to keep up.

However, if you keep your habits in check, Yves wouldn't need to resort to psychological warfare. He appreciates what makes 'you' up, he has no problem watching all the seasons of My Little Pony with you.

He appreciates the values that this cartoon tries to spread. Given his nature, he would memorize each and every piece of verified trivia he could find; from naming all characters from all 5 generations by heart (he could even name the characters exclusive to the comics, from the games, from the collectible card games and any other obscure media that Hasbro created around this franchise.), to the strange and sometimes obscene fan culture history around this series (i.e., how a large proportion of Nazis are also My Little Pony fans, the pony torture games, Princess Molestia and many more), to the exact hexadecimal color values of the ponies (He is especially fond of Queen Chrysalis's palette and looking to incorporate it into his home somehow), to the home addresses of the My Little Pony production crew.

But he knows not to dump everything he found at once, it will overwhelm you and not everyone likes to be out-obsessed over a piece of media they were watching from the beginning. Yves will keep to himself. So when you start off by watching the pilot episode, he will don a soft smile, spotting the foreshadowing that Nightmare Moon is going to be this season's main antagonist. He would go through the series with you silently, stroking your head on his lap. He knows more than you think. Yves will know what you're talking about.

Remember, Yves sees many things that no one else sees in you. He's like a phantom that accesses every aspect of your life. Your deepest fears, your ugliest sides, and your happiest moments. Yves can wear your identity like a second skin and he loves every inch of it. You may think you are unworthy of his obsession because you operate on a profit-and-loss mindset, wondering what he gets out of it. Yves doesn't he views you through an entirely different lens. You are inherently flawed and you have inherent value. He loves you for the beauty and goodness that you cannot perceive as someone living as yourself, he loves you for your quirks and curiosity. He also loves you for a lack thereof.

Your imperfections are what makes you human, and his adoration is found within it. He accepts and loves you for who you are, but it doesn't mean he won't try to better you. What he gains from devoting himself to you is virtually nothing to you, but everything to him.

Unfortunately for him, there is nothing he could do or say to make you understand the extent of how much he loves you. It is within the realm of unconditional. It is hard to grasp how a person could love so much while expecting nothing in return, but that is essentially what Yves' affection for you is.

He is a careful man who also has high regard for himself. You think he's careless in choosing his beloved darling? The man whose middle name is probably 'Intensive' and last name 'Research'?

This is no mistake of his. Yves chose you for a plethora of reasons you cannot comprehend.

[omg-snakes]

Hi I just want to say I love your blog and your snakes are so freaking cute!! I also had a question if you have time to answer it. I really love reptiles and would like to get into reptile keeping (probably not for a year or so as I have one more semester of my bachelor's degree and then will probably be moving). I've been doing a lot of research in preparation for bringing one home in the future. However, I've been wondering, do people ever sell fertilized reptile hatching eggs for people to hatch? I don't think this is something I would do if any breeders offered it because I don't have much experience, but I do breed chickens and people do this all the time with chicken eggs, so I was wondering if it is something people do with reptiles too. I imagine shipping would be harder with reptile eggs than chicken eggs bc of how soft they are, but I was still curious and thought it might be worth asking!

Hi there!

Okay I LOVE this ask. I think about this sort of thing a lot and while it's definitely not a thing I often wish it could be.

The very short answer is that for most reptiles, selling a fertilized egg to hatch at home is not feasible. It's definitely not possible to ship fertilized reptile eggs with any hope of hatching them, but in a few rare cases you could possibly sell one in person, in an insulated container, and if the buyer went straight home and got it into an incubator it would probably be okay.

There are a few reasons why reputable reptile breeders don't do this.

Consider that chickens have a fast rate of maturity, relatively fast incubation, regular and predictable breeding cycle, and eggs can rest for a bit before they're incubated for hatching. All of this adds up to eggs that are relatively abundant, inexpensive, forgiving in terms of being jostled since the eggs are designed to be turned during incubation, a quick turnaround from purchase to enjoying your new pet, and within a year, if you hatched a hen, you'll be able to make more eggs. As a domesticated species bred for hardiness and responsiveness to human care, healthy chicks will start eating and displaying normal chickeny behaviors right away.

Corn snakes, for contrast, take up to 4 years to mature, they only breed once per year and lay a relatively small number of eggs per breeding season compared to an average chicken, their eggs take 65-ish days to incubate, and the embryos adhere to the top of the egg very soon after the eggs are laid so they can not be turned or the embryo will be smothered by their own yolk. Once hatched, a corn snake neonate will not eat until after their first shed and sometimes a bit after that! This can be a harrowing, delicate time in a baby snake's life and they need an experienced keeper to help them thrive.

Furthermore, chickens come in specialized breeds where corn snakes are an undomesticated species. Reptiles come in color morphs but they don't have defined breeds with expected size, color, temperament, health expectations, or fecundity the way chickens do.

So if you were to, say, buy buff orpington hatching eggs, you'd reliably hatch buff orpingtons, with orpington personalities and characteristics. If you bred two hypo corn snakes, you'd definitely get hypo corn snake babies but you might also get other color morphs depending on the genetics of the parents. Unless you know very well the specific genes, temperaments, sizes, and health histories of the parents you won't have any idea of what's going to hatch. And even with all that information, it's still quite variable!

Finally, corn snakes cost a lot more than most chicken breeds and the price of a snake is in part determined by the genes they carry. Two snakes in the same clutch might vary significantly in terms of color expression, so you could have a $50 snake and a $200 snake in the same clutch! Since every egg carries a risk of failing to hatch, sellers don't usually price their snakes until they're alive, eating, and thriving. If a seller were to price their eggs, knowing the genetics of the parents that produced said eggs, they'd either be taking a huge loss on the value of a potentially valuable snake or asking their buyer to incur a significant loss should an expensive egg fail. If a breeder were to go this route, they'd probably only offer eggs that they know are low-dollar-value or have low desirability, and then we have to ask why somebody is breeding snakes they don't think are desirable...

All said and done, it's probably a safer idea to contact a local breeder and ask them to tag an egg for you, allowing you the first right of refusal on whomever hatches. They'll insure that "your" egg stays safe and if for any reason it does fail, you won't have invested anything in it except hope.

I hope this helps explain and that I didn't crush anybody's dreams.

[gray-skiess]

Okay i loved your James fic, now get them back together :) my heart cant take this :)

ok so I thought this would happen so I had something on the back burner for a type of resolution type scenario. I don't have the energy to type it out right now so here are some head canons or like bullet points-

read the original; over-the-ocean call | j.p.

-years pass and after you graduate from the university you were attending your mom wants you to come back and move in with her.

-when you get back you're greeted by your mother and she's just kind of updating you on everything that has been going on recently- lily's doing well, the marauders are doing well etc.

-you get to your house and there's a surprise 'welcome back' party with all of your closest friends from Hogwarts.

-lily is like 'oh my gosh it is amazing to see you again'

-lots of hugs

-James isn't there. he is in his own apartment. he got an invitation but wasn't sure if you'd want to see him after all of this time and with the way things ended- which wasn't necessarily bad, but instead was guaranteed to make things awkward between the two of you.

-the party is fun and everything but you can't help but miss James's presence, he was always the life of every party you went to and even though it had been years since your break up and years since you've even seen him- you still found yourself looking for him or waiting for him to walk into your mother's home.

-the next couple weeks go by where you're just kind of getting back into the swing of things. one night you go out to a pub with lily and the marauders end up being there at the same time. lily claims she had no idea they would be there but she totally did.

-you and James run into each other while getting drinks and it's just as awkward as you would have expected. lots of 'so how have things been' and whatnot.

-eventually the two of you agree to get coffee sometime when you're both free.

-on said coffee date meeting you both just kind of catch up on everything you've been doing. you talk about how all of the work you were doing in your first year in America paid off and you were able to graduate from the university with an honors degree. James talks about how he sustained an injury during a quidditch tournament that forced him into retirement so now he's a personal nutritionist for a couple other quidditch players.

-you end up talking about your relationship and how you weren't a fan of how things ended. James expresses the same opinion on how you both were young and maybe not even ready for a long distance relationship quite yet. you agree.

-James says something along the lines of 'if I had to do it all over again- I wouldn't have let you go as easily.'

-swoon !

-you both agree to get dinner later int he week

-over time you both kind of settle into a routine of seeing each other on a regular basis and after a month or two James finally asks you out on a proper date.

-you agree.

-after that it was like two puzzle pieces were finally fit together after years of being apart. it's natural- your relationship. remus, sirius, lily and all of your friends are relieved that the two of you reconciled.

-and the rest is history

I hope that is a satisfying enough ending lmao- definitely a quick little thing I wrote in 10 minutes. anyway- I feel like most of my inspiration comes from songs I'm listening to so I am sure y'all can expect more 'songfics' in the future. but if you have any ideas or requests I would love to hear them.

[indigosabyss]

kay the last post got like. 23 notes. which is all a bitch w a hyperfixation needs to start infodumping about the nuances and minutia of crossovers and how to build them and what you'll get out of them.

*drumroll pls*

Fandom Fusion Crossovers: A Guide (Part 1)

In the first Breakdown, I touched upon Fandom Fusions as a concept. I realized that I was a bit too brief in retrospect, but that was because unlike the others, I have already worked through my love for these types of crossovers in stories longer than Moby Dick.

But, I'm here to rant into the void so lets give a quick definition, shall we?

Fandom Fusion is the type of crossover where the two stories exist side-by-side, the worlds slotting together with some overlap, but overall not interfering with each other. Until the plot of the fic kicks off.

The most interesting thing about this crossover is its potential for worldbuilding, and the way the power structures of both stories are balanced amongst each other. You need to make them belong together, create common threads, but also a degree of separation, and its not always easy to do that. Takes a lot of creativity.

I'll start with the 'making sure the worlds mesh' aspect first. Then maybe move onto the 'making the characters meet' aspect in another chapter.

Meshing & World-Building

There are a lot of different types of worlds, and genres. A common rule of thumb is that if you want a Fandom Fusion, the worlds should be in similar time periods, and both should exist in the same plane of reality. Generally, this means modern day Earth, but it can change.

With fantasy worlds, its a little tricky. Because all the worlds and continents have different names, which makes it pretty hard to do.

Or, you could simply not care for canon and worldbuilding and just have the characters hanging out together. (I cannot do that, it makes me break out in stress hives) In fact, the fic that started off the MordeTwi ship meme was this type of crossover. There isn't a reason for a humanoid bird to be in a world filled with the talking ponies, but there he was. No one cared. Do that, if you want. Fanfiction is anarchy, my dude.

If you do want to stress about it, here's some examples and vague combinations of genres.

Contemporary w/ Contemporary By 'contemporary' I mean showing people in their regular lives. Going to high school and college and doing regular jobs, with no major worldwide repercussions. The biggest problem w this is the geographical element of your worlds, and how the characters are supposed to meet. I will be going into this later. Otherwise, its easy to believe that these two stories happened at the same time. Don't really have much to add on this from a purely worldbuilding standpoint??

Celebrity w/ Contemporary or Celebrity By 'celebrity', I mean stories about the rich or famous or talented. Everything from athletes to actors are included in this. I personally classify it as a different style because it would require different worldbuilding. Esp if you're meshing together two different high-profile fields. From personal tastes, I will point out Yuri! on ice x Sk8 the Infinity crossovers. The similarities between the two are striking. One is about skateboarding, the other is figure skating. Parallels are drawn, but the characters have yet to meet. The geographical element with such crossovers is slightly lessened, because at least one party has the ability to travel easily.

Fantasy w/ Fantasy Here's where it gets interesting. You need to make the magic systems and lore compatible. They tend to line up alright, but best to keep an open mind. As an example, think of an Artemis Fowl and PJO crossover. The faerie would be considered spirits of folklore like any other. The Mist can be excused as weak around them because of a feud between the faerie and more powerful beings, which is why they are more at risk from being seen. Simple explanations like that which add on to the history of this shared world you've made.

Fantasy w/ Contemporary (or Celebrity?) These are always fun. Not only is there no tricky magic systems to shove together, but you also need to make sure that the normal-world's stakes are felt as heavily as the stakes from the magic-world story. Both of their problems should feel equally real and important to the reader. Depending on the type of fantasy series you're using, the geographic element and communication problem could be easier or harder to navigate, and a close eye should be kept on the interests and themes and motifs connected to each character to draw comparisons of them and have them meet characters from the other world.

There's a lot more I wish I could say. Maybe this would be easier w a graphical element? I can't draw very well but tell me if I should sketch something out if you're a visual learner and are trying to figure out wtf I'm trying to say.

My brain is hardwired to associate things with each other lol so if you want me to connect fandoms together fusion style, just... put the two fandoms in my ask box and I'll give you something back.

I'm only doing the meshing aspect rn, and will move onto how exactly characters are supposed to meet and what plots tend to occur on a basic scale later. If anyone rlly wants to know lol. I just really really like the background creativity that goes into crossovers and I think more people should do them and want to give a jumping off point if you're planning a crossover? Then again, I might just want to talk about things that everyone already intuitively knows and no one even wanted this but whatever

If I get around to it, I will link part two here.

[mylarena]

i think that jaskier is so essential to ciri's development as both a character and as a kid.

none of the witchers know how to be a kid. none of the sorceresses know how to be a kid. none of them had the chance. they were faced with the horrors of the world so early.

but jaskier wasnt. jaskier was a regular human kid raised in a noble family. sure, he doesnt have a 'regular' childhood, but i dont think there is a 'regular' in the witcher.

but jaskier got the chance to be a kid. he got the chance to run around and cause mischief on purpose. he got to go to oxenfurt and live his life as a college student. he got to play and laugh and do stupid shit. he got the freedom that none of the others had.

he can talk to ciri like shes just another friend. he can see things from her point of view- a noble child who just wants to fuck around instead of have the weight of the world on her shoulders. he can give her a sense of normalcy that none of the others can.

obviously, with his education and experience as a teacher, he can also give her the essential knowledge she needs as a future leader. i bet my entire left foot that the witchers know fuck all about grammar. they just speak the language, what the fuck is a haiku? prose? sounds like rich bitch shit. anyways, lets go sword fight.

jaskier knows the ins and outs of the courts. he knows court etiquette. he knows how to do a proper bow and how to speak to royalty and how to be diplomatic. yennefer likely knows this as well, being trained to be a court mage, but not to the same degree jaskier knows it. jaskier was raised to speak this language as a viscount. as a leader of an estate.

and then, living through history is different than learning it. the others may be centuries old and have seen history pass, but they cant be everywhere at once. they cant see everything. they have bias, whether they like it or not.

and elder!! jaskier canonically knows elder (despite being rusty at the beginning of the series; i do believe that after traveling the path with geralt he would pick it back up, since itd be very useful when encountering others on the path.) and i feel like hed have a much better grasp on the rules of grammar and structure and how to hold a regular conversation, compared to the others focuses on magical and professional shit.

he knows the things that a noble needs to know. he knows how courts work, how to talk to othe nobles and other people.

but back to my point of her being a kid.

the witchers were raised on brutality and danger. the sorceresses were raised on strict rules and perfectionism. jaskier was raised as a noble, but as a noble child. he was able to annoy his maids and servants, he was able to sneak around an estate and have fun. he was allowed to go to oxenfurt, he was allowed to get drunk and skip class and run around with his friends and live his life as an equal to his peers instead of a noble to people of a lesser status.

he can give ciri the humanity that the others didnt get as children.

[aqqleshiqqing-archive]

Hi, Jil!! Just popping in because of your tags on my fic asdfghjkl

I did write "this one is for my Pokémon mutuals" with the thought "specifically Jil" in parentheses in my head--you're like ... my main Pokémon mutual. Gotta share some breadcrumbs of Aria/Eusine with THE Pokémon mutual, of course.

Also Eusine is a fairly arrogant character--he's very proud of his knowledge of myths (oh no ... a man who likes history ... and me having a history degree ... how could I resist ... /lh) and does tend to dismiss others when they try to correct him. He's not as dismissive of Aria or Morty, though, because ... *childhood friends beam.* Also maybe he likes Aria that way, so he's a bit easier on her, who knows--

Anyway, I had the misfortune of seeing the only (?) Johto anime episode with him as a kid, and little 9-year-old Sarah really though, "Man. This guy's a jerk." Little did she know she'd fall for that jerk years later. We don't talk about that--

The loss of the shiny Pidgey exists because I was training Ollie (my Chikorita/Bayleef/Meganium) in HG the other day, encountered a shiny Pidgey, and realized I didn't have any more Poké Balls--massive loss. But also a win because ship lore. And also the second time I've run into a shiny Pidgey while playing a Johto game ... maybe someday I'll actually catch the thing.

ANYWAY. I always felt Suicune would prefer Aria over Eusine (similar to the way the plot unfolds in the games, with Eusine eventually ceding the right to catch Suicune to the player), and while she would like to catch it, she's not as ... let's say ... passionate about it as Eusine is. Hence why Suicune tends to respond to her.

... she does think him chasing after Suicune all the time cute, though. It's very subtle, but she would've been mega embarrassed to fail that Pidgey in front of him--because, while it's not stated directly, she's imagining a scene where she failed at her life goal in front of her crush. It's not like Eusine doesn't do that on a regular basis, but that only makes it worse for Aria asdfghjkl

I also liked writing the subtle “… you were talking to Suicune about me?” followed by Aria immediately changing the subject--and then her adjusting his bow tie later. Subtle things get me all the time--

Anyway, uh--Morty, huh? 👀 /lh

(And sorry for the essay--I just. Have a lot to say and like to respond to tags through asks, sometimes asdfghjkl)

~ heart-of-aspiration 📖

HI SARAHH!! - oh man the fact you had me in particular to share the aria/eusine ship makes me SO honored ("THE pokemon mutual", that made me audibly giggle) and i'm honestly here for it, and you can tell i can definitely like - have the capacity to take batch after batch of hardcore pokemon ship/self insert lore (and be equally as talkative and lengthy about it...) so naturally i'd immediately gravitate here, and it's characters belonging to gen 2 which i'm incredibly biased to.... AHFJSHFGAS

i should've expected this from eusine - it would seem that he doesn't seem too dissimilar to his manga counterpart (which is radiating the same vibes as how you written him, he's definitely arrogant but kind enough to help) i actually should share some panels of him maybe! i'll admit that he was really hilarious for being lowkey petty due to a certain circumstance in the manga, but moving on!

i respect that his attitude is toned down towards aria and morty, they're totally good friends and morty doesn't seem like someone who'd engage in fights quickly - he's super relaxed and wise...

the whole pidgey story got me WAHUSHASHDAF THAT'S SUCH A MISSED OPPORTUNITYYY but that moment was enough to be a realistic incident for aria and i LOVE it. i hope you can actually catch that shiny birdie!!

i can totally imagine a scenario where she notices eusine on his failed attempts to catch suicune and he probably curses to himself (assuming he's alone) and aria would just quietly laugh, reminding herself how much she adores him and how cute he is for that - i swear i know a dynamic where they had a similar vibe to this but i can't seem to point out who or what -- but my point is, i love that dynamic so much. it doesn't feel TOO much like a rivalry but it's enough to at least poke fun at each other's professions + their little romance heheh ITS JUSTTT. YEAHHH!!!

let's not talk about morty /lh /pos the headband makes him look so cute combined with his relaxed personality and i'm on a hunt for a misdreavus and to name it after him as we speak WAHUSDHAUFS (IT'S NOT SUCCESSFUL HOWEVER BUT I'M GETTING THERE) let's just say he's one of the early crushes i have - not too active but i... would like to hold his hand HWAJHSDJAHJFDSAF. if he ever resurfaces im running to you immediately /pos /lh

[maya-matlin]

I love your takes on OTH and agree with nearly all of them! You and an anon had interesting thoughts on Julian and why he seems perfect on paper but was so meh in reality, and I laughed out loud when you pointed out that the writers radically changed his personality at least once or twice a season. I have a mutual who watched most of season six, skipped season seven, and was stunned when she tuned into season eight and was like ‘wait, since when is Julian the adorkable comic relief—-who is this?!’ I think for me I got a weird social climbing vibe from him, which would be annoying but understandable if we’d met him in high school but is a quality I find really off putting in adults. He’s obsessed with the so-called popular group of a high school he didn’t even attend and even says something gross (brulian fans fins it cute but no) after the first time he and Brooke have sex about now getting why she had been popular . He just seems to really care about popularity/social status and the fact that he himself was uncool in high school a decade ago and making a good impression in Hollywood and all that. I actually like that Lucas took an instant dislike to him because so did I!

Thank you! Yeah, Julian was an odd character. He's not a bad guy or even particularly irritating. It's just that the writers were unable to decide which personality to give him. So to begin with, Julian is this slick, underhanded guy who shows up in Tree Hill to make Lucas's movie while also fucking with Peyton. But once Lucas discovers Peyton's past with Julian, that goes away pretty quickly. They stuck with confident, almost worldly Julian when he first started hooking up with Brooke. Season 7 was kind of a mixture of season 6 Julian while also giving him more nerdy moments. Season 8 Julian wasn't even the same character. He couldn't do a simple high five. He did matching Halloween costumes with his mom. There were jokes sprinkled in about manly man Nathan who likes things like sports and beer vs Julian who is effeminate and knows how to pick out beautiful flower arrangements where it's clear who the butt of the joke is supposed to be. In season 9, they tried and failed to make Julian a darker, edgier character by having him go through a self destructive phase after leaving his son in the hot car. There's no actual coherency to his personality or character development. He's almost completely defined by being Brooke's love interest and to some degree, an awkward replacement for Lucas who doesn't quite fit in. It's to the point that Mark Schwahn apparently wanted to rip off the Dawson's Creek finale so badly that they once again decided to "go meta" by having Julian create a tv series about Lucas's book after they'd already done the same story line with the aborted movie back in season 6. Naturally, Julian writes himself into the series, stealing away Lucas's winning shot at the state championship and being the one to make the sex tape with Brooke.

That's an interesting take that I can't entirely disagree with. It's so fucking weird that the Julian we met in season 6 would ever care about this random group of high schoolers from a small town. We're invested because we've been watching their story lines since the first season, but you'd think Julian would have grown beyond trying to fit in with the popular kids and had met and bonded with his own "people" back in LA. I realize Julian being a regular required him to eventually mingle with Brooke's friend group, but it could have been done in a much more casual way. Oof, yeah. Brooke had tried so hard to define herself by things unrelated to sex and looks back on her sexual history during her teenage years as something.. not quite shameful, but also not something she's proud of. It wasn't the right thing to say at that moment, and if Julian read Lucas's book he would have known there was much more depth to Brooke than that. While I don't personally dislike Julian, I do think he was kind of desperate to fit in and receive validation from the popular kids. Again, I struggle to understand why he wanted validation specifically from the OTH characters considering he was already working in Hollywood when we met him. Julian Baker was basically two different characters awkwardly smashed together. I like him well enough, but in all honesty he's carried by the fact that he isn't Lucas. Lucas is so flawed and indecisive for most of the series that even though he's a far more dynamic and consistently written character, his massive lows make it easy to forget his highs.

[screamingcatus]

So my last to Jason post’s got some attention so dating Jason Todd headcanons

.so if you have powers and do vigilante stuff he thinks it’s awesome(he also thinks your a badass )

. If you don’t and your just like a regular person he still thinks you’re a badass in whatever field your in but will definitely teach you some self defense

.ever sense he came back from the dead he’s been colder literally he’s like 56 degrees so you are also his personal heater

.surprisingly romantic like flowers fancy dates whole 9 yards

.so many nicknames normally it’s cute shit like darling are sweetheart when your joking around it’s gremlin (regardless of height ) or little shit (lovingly) you also call him jase jaybird lovely and sometimes hot topic wanna be

. Very good with communicating with you sense he doesn’t want to fight or put you in a toxic relationship

.if he misses a date for any reason he’ll make up for it even if you’ve told him it’s okay and you get it

. Say good bye to your personal space he has had barely any positive physical contact on the past few years

. If your a regular civilian or just like aren’t from the area one of the weird things you encountered was robin stealing food from your cabinets at 11 o’clock at night claiming he needed to refuel to which he said that’s one of his siblings and they swing by a lot on they’re patrols

.at one point nightwing showed and thought Jason kidnapped you

Night wing:who are and are you being held against you’re will

You: no I’m dating your brother

Night wing:bullshit jay let them go

Jason :face palms

.sometimes asks you to fill him in one pop culture that he missed out

You:so when the it movie was released that kicked off the weird crazy clown craze

Jason:I’m so glad I was out for that

You:me too

.If your part of the lgbtq+ or the trans community he will be incredibly supportive and if anyone is disrespectful of your identity then they better be prepared for an ass beating

.he has nightmares and night terrors he hates them but likes it when you comfort him

.if he has to go to gala’s for any reason it will be a vey entertaining experience watching him make rich people uncomfortable and then promptly go dance with

.Alfred likes you cause you have a somewhat normal sleep schedule (compared to the Wayne’s)and Jason will try to go to sleep at around the same time

.you go on the weirdest or most normal dates it’s like stay in and watch a movie or a arcade in a cave (bad example but still)

.will show up with random gifts for you

.whenever he’s stressed out or had a long week you make sure he gets a break and takes care of him self

.what’s his is yours but that goes both ways

.at one point he just showed up with a little fluffy ginger cat

Jason:hey babe I found this stray cat anddd can we keep him

You:yesss he’s so cute

.you guys ended up naming him sunny

.Damian frequents your apartment much more now because of sunny and at one point tried to smuggle him out but after 10 minutes of searching Bruce called and said Damian would apologize that is how you met Bruce and the rest of the Bat fam(besides dick and Damian)

.he is very indecisive which what to get to eat

. not very big on public pda like making out but light kisses pecks on the cheek hand holding all good with him

.You’re both caffeine attics not as bad a Tim but still

.he might not look like it but he’s an academic and really likes museum dates specifically natural history museums especially the dinosaur exhibits

.he likes to catch up on cartoons and other shows he missed while before out

.if your gonna be gone for a while send a text

.he likes to hear you ramble about your interest’s

.if he hasn’t seen you all day cause of work or whatever first thing he does is hug you

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

What was the worst thing that a Gull ever did to a Sharpie? (or vise versa?) 

I'd love to see them racing! Or maybe heavylifting championships in the yards

Those are good ideas! I suppose it's possible the railway might condone a "do you even lift bro" competition in the yards; the F.R. did host shunting contests in the early '20s. No promises. But I'll pick a sticky note on that ;)

Hmm. I should clarify off the bat that the degree to which everyone else on the F.R. despairs at this "feud" is a bit overblown; it's kind of my little ongoing joke about how sheltered they are that this petty schoolboy stuff is considered so Disgraceful. Like, for the most part it's just a volley of words. Obviously, words can hurt, but it's all very sibling squabble kinda stuff.

The Sharpies trying to see if they couldn't con the Seagulls into doing some of their work in A Hole in the Net was actually one of the more dramatic stunts in their whole history. It was as close as anyone ever came to sabotaging the others. If you're like "but that's kind of a nothingburger," like, yeah. I agree with you. (That's kind of why it was so fun to make Nobby and Smotes lose their minds over it.)

Every once in a while (not common) a fight breaks out in the yard and you find a Sharpie and a 'Gull locking buffers and getting into a (usually) very stupid, stalemate-y shoving match, and sometimes there's a commotion and lots of whistling and jeering from the sidelines, and a teacher driver or foreman breaks it up, and things settle down for another year or two. The end.

(At one point in the 1920s there will almost certainly be a scene where Coppernob tells Edward that he deserves whatever nonsense the Big Blue Bastards are up to on Sodor because it's some sort of karmic circle-of-life bullshit repaying him for his own class's idiocies when they were young and Edward just sort of gives him a thousand-yard stare and is like Nobby. It's not the same thing. It's not the same thing at all.

Because for all their squabbling and mutual dislike, the Sharpies and the 'Gulls recognize that they are on the same team. There are, like... rules of engagement, and norms of civilized behavior such that even your own class elders will take you aside and ream you out if you cross a line with the other side, and nobody would ever dream of actually sabotaging a rival's work, or rooting for one of their rivals to be scrapped, or insulting you to your face in lieu of thanking you when you help them, or various other horrible rubbish that your average RWS/TTTE/fan-created villain gets up with clockwork regularity.)

The ugliest episode, though. One does stand out. This was back 1892, very early in the feud, before most of the Seagulls and lots of the Sharpies were even made. In 1892 Sharpie 115 fell with the rest of the subsidence in the Lindal mine collapse. At first the four 'Gulls thought this was a hilarious development in their already rough-and-ready rivalry with the Sharpies. They spent a night joking about it. Then, although other engines got them to lay off, they spent the next day complaining about the long delays at Lindal around the rescue effort.

Obviously, this was all an absolute dick move. It is fair to observe, however, that at this point the four idiot children had lived a charmed life and the idea of terror and misery and mortal peril was nowhere on their radar—and all the engines, in those first twenty-four hours, expected that 115 would be rescued. When 115 was finally abandoned the 'Gulls were shocked and the Sharpies were devastated.

The 'Gulls, finally grasping the seriousness of the situation, were ashamed of the things they had said and finally applied to the Copper-Nobs for guidance on how to comport themselves (not that the Copper-Nobs knew; this was all so unprecedented). They apologized and spent the following months trying to make amends. As time went on more and more of the original Sharpies accepted that the 'Gulls had grown up and that horrid night was well in the past. But, as you might expect, there are some that could never forgive this. Of course, those are also the Sharpies who aren't getting into petty squabbles—they were just quietly bitter about it and interacted with the original 'Gulls (and, for some of them, the later 'Gulls) as little as they possibly could.

Again, to the younger Sharpies and 'Gulls this is History and the version of the feud that they carry on is considerably less heavy. Louder, more for show, but it lacks most of that fundamental bitterness of the original classes.

And everyone now understands that there are Standards. Even before their grouping into the L.M.S. sweeps away most of the feud, they call a truce now when things are serious. For instance, 29/61 ensured that the Sharpies did not mock 22/33 after he and his train was stranded on the Leven Viaduct in 100 m.p.h. winds, and the Seagulls were somber when Management began scrapping Sharpies in the '10s and in fact were more sympathetic to (the new) 22 after the events of Springtime than his own clan was.

(The Sharpies after a while felt 22 was upset far out of proportion for an engine that had been forced to halt and gotten a couple of flat tyres out of the deal. The Seagulls had a better understanding of why 22 was so depressed afterwards. As 36 in particular noted, they all knew it was perfectly normal for an engine to have been through the emotional wringer after a shift with Dick Tartt had taken a bad turn!)

[mygwenchan]

Get To Know Me Tag

I got tagged by the lovely @brifrischu Thank you 💕

Do you make your bed?

Nah, I really can't be bothered most of the time. I just make sure the mattress and duvet get aired out on a regular basis.

What’s your favorite number?

7. I just think it's neat :)

What is your job?

I do the whole e-commerce & online marketing management shebang

If you could go back to school, would you?

I don't think so, no. I like to learn on my own terms, because my interests can switch rather quickly

Can you parallel park?

I don't have a drivers license, so... I better not try that one lol

A job you had that would surprise people?

My current one? If you haven't seen me in a couple of years, that one would surprise you, I guess. Cause I didn't study marketing, but archaeology and art history. Thing is though, in the end it doesn't matter if you're describing a portrait or a product. Or if you're sorting data from an archaeological dig or keywords. It all follows pretty much the same principles. So in a way my uni degree wasn't completely useless yayyyy~

Do you think aliens are real?

For someone somewhere in a far away galaxy, we are the aliens 😳

Can you drive a manual car?

Nope, can't drive at all

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Buying more plants, even though I already have too many. I'm a bit of a plant hoarder 😅 🌱

Tattoos?

Don't have any

Favorite color?

It changes every now and then. Right now, I like green and pink. Though black is my all-time go to

Favorite type of music?

Don't really have one? It kind of depends on my mood of the day (right now I'm listening to some thai oldies)

Do you like puzzles?

I do!

Any phobias?

I really don't like centipedes. Also getting my blood drawn (thanks childhood trauma...)

Favorite childhood sport?

Hmm, just running around? And a bit of archery

Do you talk to yourself?

I talk to myself in my head ALL the time. In multiple layers actually. I always think about at least three things at the same time. Sometimes it gets a bit crowded in here XD

What movies do you adore?

Hmm, let's go with a classic like the LotR trilogy :)

Coffee or tea?

Coffee. I'm not a big tea drinker, though I keep buying new tea... Don't ask me why lol

First thing you wanted to be growing up?

I had a bit of a classical music phase when I was little, so naturally I wanted to become an opera singer! Unfortunately nature didn't grace me with a good singing voice

tagging @lukaherehelp, @scarefox, @bunni-bun

[followingtheladyofthesacredflame]

Omg!! How did you get into working with different deities? How do you make it work with the Bible and how was God's reaction to it?? Would love to know !!❤️

Hi! <3 Thanks for the ask. Long answer inbound so be warned lol.

So I grew up Catholic, baptized, raised, and confirmed. When I was a kid, I always preferred praying alone or in nature - I had a little prayer corner (basically an altar) in my closet and I loved chatting with God by the rosebushes we had. I never liked the idea that your relationship to God, Mary, Jesus, the saints, etc., had to be dictated by the strict rules of the modern church, so I fell out of regular practice but still prayed in my own ways.

I have also always had a fascination with the natural world, the supernatural, and the occult, and done things I couldn't really explain with just Catholicism. I collected crystals even though I didn't really believe they did anything special. I collect figurines of dragons and pretty daggers and things, especially those with Celtic knot designs (for heritage reasons). I had a set of tarot cards and runes that I loved using even though I told myself I was just doing it for fun - and yet every time I used them, I was encouraged and given accurate advice. Beyond this, I've also always been creative. I find myself drawn to creating stories about fire, power, deep space, and the meaning of humanity.

About a year ago, I had an extremely strong desire to use my tarot cards. I wasn't entirely sure why, but it felt necessary in the same way that prayer felt necessary. When I did finally get out my deck, on a whim, I asked if anyone was reaching out. I'd been seeing more and more "witchtok" and similar content on social media, so it was on my mind. I got a definitive "yes," but was also told to figure out who it was on my own.

So I did more research and found Brigid, and it just felt like coming home. It was such a strangely calming and welcoming feeling, like sinking into a warm bath. Things about me and my life suddenly made way more sense and I felt instantly more connected to my faith than I ever had before. She's the patron of poets, a fire goddess, and a goddess of healing and motherhood, among other things, all of which resonated with me in terms of my history, my values, and my interests.

Obviously, this caused a bit of a crisis, as I still believed in God and was worried about the idea of being seen as sinful for practicing witchcraft, so I went to the Big Man about it directly. I went to my church and spent some time praying alone in a quiet room and again, I had that warm, welcoming feeling. It felt right. When I finally dipped my toes in and made my altar, I was so comfortable and happy that I kept going without question.

Since then, I've been learning about folk Catholicism and Christian witchcraft, and the more I learn, the better I feel about my faith and the more connected to my world, heritage, and deities I feel. I've grown to have a relationship with other deities and spirits as well. I think of it as simply having a different way of believing - I don't worship any particular deity above any other, I just give them each the respect they deserve and see them as powerful partners and friends.

As for how it all works with the Bible...as controversial of a take as this is, I take most direct phrasing from the Bible with a big pinch of salt. I can't read Hebrew or Greek, so I have to rely on translations, and all translations are bound to be biased to some degree. I also don't fully understand the cultural context of the original text, so it would be impossible for me to pick up on the nuance and wordplay used by the original authors to convey their meaning. I see the Bible as a resource, but not a textbook if that makes sense.

All of that being said, I don't believe the passages referencing the banning of witchcraft are talking about all magic but instead specific magical practices of the time that were either dangerous or immoral. I also recognize the commandment "You shall have no other gods before Me" as saying that the Abrahamic God prefers to be worshipped as the creator and powerful being that He is, not as just another deity in a pantheon. This to me doesn't read as "there are no other gods and you're not allowed to believe in them anyway" so much as "respect Me for my place as the creator of all things, then respect the other gods as champions of their domains."

[thisworldisablackhole]

Man, this is definitely one of the books of all time.

Snow Crash was recommended to me by a friend as “essential for Gibson heads”, and while I can see the similarities in the worlds both Gibson and Stephenson have depicted, the writing styles they employ are almost polar opposites, or perhaps two sides of the same coin. While Gibson’s writing is gritty and realistic, Stephenson’s writing is plain cartoonish. It’s hard to describe if you haven’t read it, but there are many passages in this book that read just like the front page of a 90s text book; a radical skateboarder doing a melon grab over a pool of geometrical vaporwave shapes with the words “WOW!” and “SCIENCE!” blasted over head in a jagged sound bubble. That’s pretty much the gist of this book. One thing I kind of prefer about Stephenson is his sense of coherence. The plot of Snow Crash is far more outrageous and unbelievable than anything in the Sprawl Trilogy, but I never felt like I was lost or confused. It's impressive considering the amount of shifting between characters and real world vs metaverse happenings.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the bold writing style and the imaginative world building, but the pacing and character development left a lot to be desired. Hiro went from being a slacker hacker pizza delivery guy living in a storage unit to being a Jason Bourne level action hero in the span of a few chapters, and by the end of the book it felt like he simply became a vessel for the author to carry out his will. Apparently (after discussing the book with friends) this was intentional, as it was supposed to be a “parody” of cyberpunk literature, but it really didn’t read that way to me, and that context doesn’t change the way I feel about it at all. I actually much preferred Y.T.'s character. In fact, my favourite parts of this book in general were the parts that fully gave in to the futuristic skateboard fantasy of Y.T. surfing traffic by harpooning vehicles as if they were wild animals.

Where this book really took me by surprise was how deep it went into language and religious philosophy. While the curious side of my brain actually enjoyed these chapters where Hiro was essentially just getting history lessons, they felt a little shoehorned in and unnecessary. The story would have been just as good if the Snow Crash virus was just a regular ass computer virus. Having to go back in time and get a college degree to explain the origin of the virus did not actually make the plot any more interesting. Alas, the way the book switched back and forth between these very grounded history lessons and then back to pure techno fantasy was amusing to say the least. So, despite the choppy character development, semi poor pacing and a plot that was just all over the map, this was still a highly entertaining read that was well worth the time.

3.5/5

[the-shining-river]

Frank’s Complicated Education, Part II

Continuing from Part I and this little bit about Frank’s military specialisations, because I’m curious what exactly a scout sniper studies.

I’ll be skipping any physical requirements, and also I still haven’t found anything about Frank’s possible college education except that it can’t be medical (medical degree not accepted at USMC OCS).

But a bachelor’s degree is a hard requirement for getting to be a commissioned officer, so we know that Frank must have gone through some kind of college at some point in his life before his wedding, considering how he’s wearing a 2ndLt uniform in the flashback. I understand that technical, engineering, etc. majors would have given him a better chance of getting accepted into the Officer Candidates School (OCS), but other options are also possible, so everyone gets to have fun writing fics giving Frank the wildest majors :)

.

So, since writing Part I of this whole damn essay, I’ve found out that Platoon Leaders Course (PLC), NROTC, Officer Candidates Course (OCC), etc. can all be lumped together under “Officer Commissioning Programs”, and they all fulfill the same function of evaluating Marine officer wannabes. What differs slightly is the duration, timing (during or after college), and entry requirements (enlisted vs civilian, college student vs already a holder of a degree, etc.), while the physical fitness and good character etc. requirements are more or less the same.

As mentioned in Part I, it is possible that Frank enlisted at 18 years old, went through the regular boot camp, made his way up the enlisted ranks and only then went to college to gain commission. But, in order to become a 2nd Lieutenant quicker, let’s assume he followed the following path:

Platoon Leaders Course (PLC), 2 x 6w training during college summers (apparently, the most popular option in real life);

The Basic School + Infantry Officers Course;

Primary Military Occupation (PMO) school = Infantry Officer;

Additional PMOS = Reconnaissance Marine

First deployment, active service with the Force Recon

Scout Sniper Course

.

1. PLC, NROTC, or any other Officer Commissioning Program

All the Officer Commissioning Programs have the same goal of evaluating officer candidates, and the training, regardless of the program, takes place in the Officer Candidates School (OCS) in Quantico over 2 x 6 weeks (PLC) or 10 weeks (NROTC “Bulldog” or OCC, or MECEP, or OCS in itself). [X & X]

The training of officer candidates is basic in nature and is divided into seven general categories:

1. Leadership 2. Professional development 3. General military subjects 4. Physical training and conditioning 5. Drill, inspection, and ceremonies 6. Weapons 7. Small unit tactics [X].

A clear, nice list of PLC Senior subjects is available here, and it includes Safe Weapons Handling, Field Skills, and Law of War (which is kinda sexy until you realise just how fucked up Kandahar was and how Frank must have known that and still remained on board, because that’s how much he trusted his CO).

Unfortunately, no such list of subjects is provided for the PLC Junior course, but I assume the general categories would be the same and include more introductory studies of the same subjects.

According to additional sources, classwork at OCS includes also: History, Code of Conduct, Weapons Performance, Close Order Drill, Finance, Basics on Land Navigation, Small Unit Leadership Exercises, Squad in the Offensive, Call for Fire, Operation Order Format, etc. [X & X] There’s also the Combat Conditioning training that, I think, Frank mentions at some point, how they were conditioned to shoot at an enemy without thinking, and how it never took him any effort at all (unless I’m confusing this with some fanfic).

Taking into consideration that USMC boot camp or previous military experience is not required for OCS, this stage of training would also include all the practical and theoretical knowledge provided at a boot camp, with more emphasis on leadership.

2. The Basic School + Infantry Officer School

The Basic School consists of the Basic Officer Course + Infantry Officer Course in case the selected primary military occupation specialisation (PMOS) is an Infrantry specialisation.

The course is split into three graded categories: Leadership, Academics, and Military Skills. Classroom events include topic specific lectures, exams, tactical decision games, sand table exercises, decision-forcing cases, and small group discussions. [X] The subjects taught are:

Phase I (7 Weeks): Individual Skills

Leadership

Rifle and Pistol Qualification

Land Navigation

Communications

Combat Lifesaving

Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP)

Phase II (6 Weeks): Rifle Squad Leader Skills

Decision-making

Combined Arms

Rifle Squad Tactics/Weapons

Scouting and Patrolling

Phase III (6 Weeks):  Rifle Platoon Commander Skills

Rifle Platoon Tactics

Convoy Operations

Engineering

Crew-served weapons

Phase IV (7 Weeks): Basic MAGTF* Officer Skills

Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain, or MOUT

Rifle Platoon (REIN) Tactics

Force Protection

Expeditionary Operations (AMFEX/"War")

Legal/Platoon Cmdr's Admin

*MAGTF - Marine Air-Ground Task Force

Let’s assume that Frank went for Infantry specialisation, because that’s the occupational field containing the pre-requisite PMOS for the Sniper Scout specialisation later.

So he continued his training at the Infantry Officer Course (IOC), the aim of which is to “prepare and train the student’s ability to decide, communicate, and execute in a mentally and physically demanding, austere, chaotic, and uncertain environment, for sustained operations,” but I couldn’t find any specific curriculum for IOC.

Upon completion of IOC, all officers receive the MOS 0302 Infantry Officer [X], and this is also when Frank could have been sent on his first deployment.

(Note that an officer with the generic 0302 Infantry Officer PMOS can command a Scout Sniper Platoon, where they “command, train, and employ 15-30 specialized infantry Marines” [X], but I’m not sure this 0302 specialisation would work for Frank to become a Scout Sniper himself.) (And, no, I can’t say I understand 100% how this whole damn system works)

3. Basic Reconnaissance Course

In order to become a Scout Sniper later, Frank would need also one of these other Infantry PMOS:

0311 Rifleman,

0321 Reconnaissance Marine,

0331 Machine Gunner,

0341 Mortarman,

0352 Antitank Missile Gunner, or

0369 Infantry Unit Leader.

With the Infantry Officer PMOS from IOC, he kinda has that Infantry Unit Leader covered. I don’t think the show ever mentions that he had anything to do with artillery, and, considering he already had his Rifle Expert and Pistol Expert qualifications from the TBS (see the marksmanship badges on his wedding uniform), I’m not sure what else he would have been learning as a Rifleman. So that leaves Recon Marine, which also explains how he ended up in Force Recon with Schoonover, Rawlins, and the entire Kandahar mess. Clearing that landing zone for evac—the mission that Schoonover refers to at court in DD S2—also sounds like something a Recon Marine would be doing.

So, a Reconnaisance Marine is part of Force Recon / Special Forces with advanced skills and training in the following [X] :

amphibious reconnaissance and ground reconnaissance & surveillance

combat swimming;

small boat operations;

highly-refined scouting and long range patrolling;

close combat skills;

demolitions;

forward observer procedures for supporting arms;

ITG operations for heliborne, airborne, and waterborne forces;

long-range communications;

imagery collections;

threat weapons and equipment identification. 

All Reconnaissance Marines receive advanced training in Survival Escape Resistance Evasion (SERE), Low Level Static Line (LLSL) parachuting, Military Freefall Parachuting and Combatant Diving.

They are also trained as a Subject Matter Experts in advanced communications, special weapons, joint terminal attack control, helicopter rope insertion/extraction techniques, assault climbing, intelligence collection, mountain warfare, method of entry, sniper operations, advanced combat life support, close quarter tactics, jumpmaster’s and dive supervisor’s depending on their billet in the reconnaissance platoon. [X]

Critically, they’re able to also perform basic and advanced trauma casualty management and paramedic level skills, basic emergent surgical procedures, treatment of basic traumatic dental emergencies, and other routine and emergency medical healthcare procedures [X].

I bolded the skills Frank mentions in the shows (e.g. trying to remember his explosives training when disarming the bomb connected to Curtis, or when extracting info on Billy’s location from that other vet in TP S02).

Also, this list sounds pretty close to what Navy SEAL training includes [X], even the swimming and diving stuff, parachuting and the same SERE course. The newspaper article prop mentions that he was “permitted to go through US Army Airborne School and US Navy Underwater Demolition Team training, becoming qualified as a Navy Seal”. HOWEVER, Navy SEALs come from the Navy, not the Marine Corps, and I couldn’t find info how a Marine officer would or should end up or even theoretically qualify for a SEAL unless he downright went and got himself transferred to the Navy. But a Recon Marine sounds close enough:

[Force Recon] are similar to the Navy SEALs in that they are heavily trained in airborne and combat diving techniques in order to allow them to bypass traditional land defense systems. The water, and swimming, is a heavy component of being in Force Recon. The difference between them is that the SEALs' purpose is to kill the enemy, while Force Recon's main purpose is simply to gather intelligence. Force Recon's mission is considered a success if absolutely no shots are fired. [X]

So let’s go with that.

Here’s also a PDF with what the 12-weeks-long Recon Marine training at the Basic Reconnaissance Course involves physically.

4. Scout Sniper Course

Finally! :D

With some active duty experience and confirmation from his CO, Frank gets sent to the Marine Corps Base in Quantico for a 10w Scout Sniper Basic Course.

Phase 1: Marksmanship and Basic Fields Craft Phase

During this phase, Marines are trained in basic marksmanship on the Known Distance (KD) Range and also receive classes in basic skills such as camouflage, individual movement, weapons systems, observations, and field sketches. Observation, noticing of details and memory skills are trained.

Phase 2: Unknown Distance and Stalking 

During the UKD (Unknown Distance) and Stalking portion students will become experts at engaging targets at unknown distances by way of range estimation and range cards. Stalking involves moving from a distance between 1200 and 800 yards to within 200 yards of an observation post (OP) undetected. After doing this, the student must set up a Final Firing Position and fire two shots without being found by the OP within a time period of 3–4 hours.

Phase 3: Advanced Field Skills and Mission Employment 

There was no clear further info on this phase on Wikipedia, but another source lists the following subjects covered in the sniper school that weren’t mentioned above, so I assume they fit in whichever phase:

Land Navigation

Surveillance

Limited Visibility Target Engagement

Call for Fire

High-Frequency Communications

Mission Planning

Reconnaissance and Surveillance Patrolling

.

After the Scout Sniper Basic Course, further advance training is possible:

Urban Snipers

High Angle (Mountain) Snipers

Scout Snipers Team leader course

.

There are also some distance learning courses required/recommended that should be completed before the sniper school [X]:

Basic Comm Officer Fundamentals

Propagation of Radio Waves/ Antenna

Infantry Patrolling (recommended)

Scouting and Patrolling  (recommended)

Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) Primer (recommended)

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So, my takeaway from all this is that I’m not sure why Frank is so proud of his Scout Sniper MOS, because it’s kinda low-level specialization that theoretically can be gained by any enlisted Marine who gets the Rifleman PMOS after the boot camp and the School of Infantry.

With the specific path I selected, to satisfy Frank’s wedding look requirement + him being so young when he married, I figure he should have been more proud of his Recon Marine skills that earned him that Navy Cross, or his 1st Lt rank. Unless maybe Scout Sniper was something he really really wanted to be from the very beginning, so it felt like such a proud achievement for him to get that specialisation?

Or he did get it as a newbie enlisted Marine, and then went to college, which would require some adjustments in the timeline? (That might explain how he met Schoonover at 18yo, and also how he met Billy who, being an orphan, probably didn’t have the funds to go straight to college after highschool). (But I like the possible (fanon?) explanation that Schoonover was a family friend when he met young Frank who’d never held a gun before; and Frank was already an officer and a Recon Marine when his path crossed with Schoonover’s in Force Recon again)

Another takeaway is that Frank should really know his electronics and telecom devices. We see how, on the one hand, he doesn’t understand much from Micro’s computer setup, but on the other hand, he confidently knows how to set up and use that police frequency scanner and all kinds of other equipment. The way he set up that bomb in the briefcase for the Kitchen Irish :) The way DIY for him means making his own smoke grenades :)

And look at this recommended reading list. Each year, a Marine is expected to read at least 3 books from the list, and, sure there’s Ender’s Game and All Quiet on the Western Front, but there’s also plenty of technical and academic literature to feed your brain.

Throughout this whole career, there are also consistent requirements for mental fortitude, emotional stability, common sense, etc. And I think we see that in all the cases where... Frank is actually pretty hard to piss off. Once chained to a table, he sits calmly. When arrested, he’s also sitting tight and not trying to escape if trying to stop him could hurt people who’re just doing their jobs. Like, there IS an unhinged element to The Punisher, and his anxiety over Karen’s safety or grief over his family’s deaths is tremendous, same as his rage over Agent Orange issuing idiotic orders, etc., but he’s also quite level-headed and self-possessed when going about getting shit done.

So, um. Yeah. There’s even a martial arts program in USMC, and we might not know what skill level Frank had exactly, but with the rigorous fitness requirements, years in deployment in harsh continental climates, stealth, marksmanship, comms, and mission planning training, not to mention the mystery college education, I think... we should have seen Matt getting his ass handed to him much more often than we did :D