#basic maths for beginners

[sybilius]

Actually since tips were offered -- @itsybitsydragon, any wisdoms on bias tape, preventing too much unravel of a fabric such as this, and both these things together? If it helps, here is the instructions for the lining section:

Basically I'm hoping the bias tape will suffice to prevent unraveling on the skirt edge, but happy to do extra work if I'm wrong about that. Input about protecting the inner seams also welcome. The lining fabric is a fairly simple cotton, like so:

[woodnrust]

I'm on day 2 learning ASL and I'm already able to say basic conversational phrases and even the words that I've learned that aren't exactly going to end up being frequently used are still easy to remember and the grammar structure makes sense to me but all the resources online are saying it can take up to 2 years to become conversationally good at ASL and that's scaring me because so far this is easy breezy lemon squeezy is this supposed to get harder or...?

[kenjakusbraincum]

Heey, I LOVE your writings on soft sukuna, you write so beautifully🩷 please can you do one where he is jealous (fluff)😭🩷

Thank you sm for the kind words!!! Here's my best attempt at doing your idea justice <3

Sukuna has no real reason to be jealous. He practically owns you, controls every aspect of your life, who or what could he possibly be jealous of? Every servant who dared approach you in an inappropriate way would be dealt with swiftly. And you're a good pet, who has eyes for no one other than your master. You really don't give him a reason.

But there's this one thing... Since you've been so good and obedient, Sukuna has allowed you many liberties. You're permitted to skip around the mansion, watch Uraume cook, even enjoy little hobbies. You've tried many before you found that crocheting particularly piqued your interest. Ever since you've learned the basics, you've been spending hours working on perfecting your skills. At first it was cute, watching you squint in concentration as you move the hook. But then the math became really simple - having this hobby to keep you busy meant you approached Sukuna out of boredom a lot less. And he noticed it. It irked him, but you're not technically doing anything wrong. You were still as happy to serve him as ever, he just had to ask. But why would he have to ask? You should be all over him on your own. He should have to push you away, not beg you to give him attention. He didn't like this disturbance in your master and pet balance that this little hobby of yours caused.

He stands at the door now. You're crocheting again. You and your favorite servant laugh at your failed creation so sweetly, you don't even notice he's waiting. He clicks his tongue to establish his presence, and your servant falls to her knees immediately. You however, are not held to that high of a standard anymore.

"Master!", you call him, and hop up to greet him with a deep bow. Before he can say anything, you've picked up the piece of fabric you've been working on and ran into his arms to show him.

He looks at the ugly form and scoffs. "This is what I'm sponsoring?", he says and pulls a loose piece of yarn, making your little creation fall apart. He always was a bully, but you note his bad mood.

"I'm only a beginner...", you sulk.

"That much is obvious.", he flicks the yarn away and it falls onto the floor. Before you can bend to pick it up, he seizes your wrist and pulls you back. "Aren't you a little young to waste time with hobbies for the elderly?", he asks. You look at him with your cutest, practiced doe eyes, but it doesn't work.

"Come, pet. I know an activity more suitable for your age.", he says when you don't respond, and steps out of the room. You hop after him, unaffected by his condescending comments. You know that they're just for show. If he really thought you were a hag, you would've been gone a long time ago.

"Sitting at your throne all day?", you tease innocently and join him at his side, sliding your arm underneath one of his. You hope your playfulness will distract him from whatever is bothering him. "Or in a bath?" His lower set of eyes peeks at you and smirks, noticing that you're feeling particularly daring today. He's not sure how he feels about that. "Or in your bed." He rolls his eyes gently and opens the door to his chambers.

"At least then you'd be serving your purpose and actually spending time with your master.", he comments and shuts the door. His comment catches you a bit off guard and you stop in front of his bed. He makes his way towards you, and you look up at him with an insulted expression.

"Master, are you jealous of a ball of yarn?", you ask playfully, and squeal when he suddenly pushes you down to sit on the bed. Now you're at eye level... with his crotch.

"You've got quite a big mouth today. Put it to good use for a change, will you?", he runs his hand from the crown of your head to the back of your neck. You seem to have struck a nerve, so it really is the ball of yarn. Is it possible that Sukuna is this clingy?

"Will you?", he repeats and tugs on your hair and narrows his eyes. You smile obediently and reach behind him to untie his obi.

"Yes Master."

-

You try your best to manage the time you spend crocheting from then on, working on productivity in the hours that you dedicate to developing this skill. And it helps that you have a specific goal in mind now: helping Sukuna realize that this hobby is a friend, not an enemy. He still catches you engaging in it sometimes, and gives you a dirty look, but you're as quick as ever to drop what you're doing and join him. That seems to satisfy him.

When you're finally happy with the result of your creation, you look for Sukuna around the mansion. It's not really that hard to find him, as he frequents three places most of all: the dining room, his bedroom and his throne room. This time, he's sitting on his throne, and a small line of people wait for their turn to be gifted his attention. You on the other hand, don't have to wait in line to get it. His lower set of eyes spots you the moment you enter the chamber. You're allowed to roam the mansion, but barging in unannounced is not standard even for you.

Still, Sukuna has learned that you usually only feel daring enough to cross boundaries when you're sure he'll like what you have in mind. So for now, he will let this slide. He's bored as hell anyways. The people are dismissed and you pass by them on your way to his throne, nestled on a pile of bones. You stop in front of it and greet him with a bow.

"Master, I come to you with a humble offering.", you say with your hands on your thighs and your eyes fixated on the ground.

"Show me.", he says simply, but you recognize entertainment in his voice. You climb up the bones and feel his stare scan you from head to toe, before you sit on his knee.

"May I ask you to close your eyes?", you ask and flutter your lashes. Oh the way you seduce him. Who else could ask Sukuna to do something as dangerous as close his eyes? Give his opponent valuable time to land an attack. Who else could dare? And who else would he ever listen to and really close his eyes? Really do as he's told? Oh how safe he feels with you.

You take one of his large hands into yours, and gently pry his long fingers away to open his palm. He has beautiful hands. The only ones you've ever known, but you're sure they're the most beautiful hands in the world. So dangerous, so elegant. You want to press a kiss to his palm, but you hope your gift will have the same, maybe even more profound effect.

Something soft touches his skin, and then you speak, as politely as before. "You may look.", in your softest voice. And when he opens his eyes, he finds himself looking at you first. You're an offering on your own.

Then he looks at his hand. Two crocheted plush figures resembling him and yourself lay flat on his palm, connected through their holding hands. At first glance, it looks like they're two separate creations. In a sense, they are, but... He tries to part them.

"We're sewn together.", you explain. He hums in amusement and inspects your gift more closely. His plush is bigger, recognizable by the pink hair and four buttons for eyes. It's even wearing his favorite kimono. Yours is smaller and less detailed. You look like any other human when placed next to him, insignificant. But in a sea of pets, entertainers and lovers he's had in the past, he would never fail to recognize it as you.

He's spent so long looking at it with that face of his that you just can't read. You're starting to grow restless in his lap, and he feels your eyes dwell into his soul. When he looks back at you with one pair of eyes, your brows are furrowed in worry and you're fiddling your hands in your lap. He pats you on the head and pulls you closer, so you have no choice but to lean on his frame.

"It's beautiful, darling.", his fingers run through your hair, scraping your scalp softly. "No loose threads either.", he looks at you with all four eyes now, and you feel so small in his arms. You're not used to receiving this many compliments from Sukuna at once. Not ones that weren't directed at your body or performance. Especially not when he's looking at you so tenderly, when every word sounds so loving and genuine. "You've improved so much.", his hand is on your face now, and you catch him glancing at your lips. You part them to start thanking him, but you already know how much he hates listening to that.

You stay quiet instead, and lean closer, letting him take you. And he kisses you so softly, fingertips light against your heated skin. You feel like you're floating, like a lily pad in a warm pond. The littlest gesture of his affection has you melting in his embrace. The power he has over you... and how wonderful it is to surrender yourself to it.

None of the liberties and privileges you've been awarded with compare to this. You know that many pets have walked these halls before you. Many warmed his bed and claimed the title of his favorite. But how many loved him like this? Enough to dedicate time of their day to making intricate gifts. How many could say Sukuna kissed them lovingly, for no other reason than to show gratitude and affection?

You're flushed completely red by the time his lips leave yours. You can't hold the intensity of his gaze, as he stares at you in adoration. "I'm happ.. I'm glad you l-like it...", you stumble through the words and win a giggle out of him. You are just so cute. Like a pet should be. He rubs your head again and pushes you away lightly.

"Go now, the people await me.", he says with a benevolent smile gracing his face. "I'll see you tonight."

You bow to him and leave.

And when you visit him that night, he is as gentle as he was when he kissed you earlier, still in a good mood after your gift. Caressing your hair, shoulders and back, as you lay comfortably with your head on his chest. Keeping you warm in his embrace. You're trying your best to follow the conversation, but sleep is slowly taking over you. Sukuna notices and plants a kiss to your forehead, wishing you goodnight. The last thing you see before your eyes close, is your handcrafted plushies sitting on his nightstand.

[honeybeeofficial]

Im obsessed with your horseshoe crab bag and wanna make my own but dont have any leather working experience or knowledge, did you have a pattern you followed or did you just free hand it? also what would you recommend to someone wanting to try leather crafts for a first time?

I'll answer both this and a related question from @chaoticspaces:

hey! I’m in love with your crab bag. you mentioned you’ve never worked with leather; do you have any tips on where/how to start learning? or did you just wing it? I must preface that I’m a beginner at any sort of crafting and will have to learn the building blocks first but damn, people can just MAKE that kinda shit? I’ll learn to sew for that.

So it must be acknowledged that I am a fairly experienced crafter, I grew up sewing and sculpting and origami-ing and all sorts of crafty things. Meaning that although the horseshoe crab is my first experience in leatherworking, it's building off of existing crafting skills and experience thinking through how materials behave and how shapes interact. I say this as a preface not to discourage anyone from diving in, but rather so anyone who's newer to crafting can go in with a bit of perspective and not get discouraged if they don't get the hang of it right away! Be patient with yourself and keep pursuing the skills you want to develop.

With that out of the way, here's a (slightly abbreviated, but still Long) walk through what my process was like for drafting the pattern and learning how to work with leather!

Drafting the pattern

I started by looking up pictures of horseshoe crabs and doing a simple drawing of one from the top and from the side to get a sense of the shapes.

Then I broke it down into sections to make things easier on myself. Reducing things to basic shapes (crescent, box, wedge, cone, etc) is a good way to start making sense of a more complex form.

To make it work in three dimensions, I'd sketch what I think the shapes should probably be; cut out a mini version in paper; tape it together; go "hmm, that's not right," and adjust the sketch; repeat until I get roughly the form I'm looking for.

Once I had a general shape that worked, I recreated those pieces on paper again, this time full-size. That involved a lot of math to make sure all the proportions scaled accurately. Then I cut out those pieces and taped them together and adjusted any basic proportions again to fix anything that I scaled wrong.

At that point, I had a shape that read fairly well as horseshoe crab, and that would have been fine. However, I wanted things to curve and flare and be more organic, which is where a lot of the trickier adjustments come in. Using paper prototypes allowed me to work quickly and make changes easily. To exaggerate a curve, I'd cut the tape "seam", bend the paper into the desired shape, and then add or remove material from the adjoining sides until that curve stayed in place when re-taped. Each piece of the pattern is responsible for helping its neighbors stay in place.

After I got my paper prototype to a point I was happy with, I got some cheap sheets of kids' craft foam and made another prototype in that, but stitched instead of taped, in order to test the pattern as thoroughly as possible without having to use my actual leather for it.

---

Learning basic leatherworking

Youtube! I searched things like "introduction to leatherworking," "leatherworking techniques for beginners," "how to attach two pieces of leather," etc. There are a bunch of videos that show very detailed but not-too-lengthy examples of basic techniques.

Once I had seen a few examples and made a list of the basic tools I would need to get started, I went out and got myself some tools and scrap leather to experiment with. I watched some more videos showing how to use my tools, and followed along with them

Some of the techniques I looked up to start:

How to use an adjustable groover, stitching chisel, beveler, and wood slicker

Saddle stitching

Box stitching

Butt stitching (Yeah, I know)

How to set rivets in leather

What kind of leather dye/what kind of leather conditioner to use

I spent some time testing techniques, even ones I didn't need for this project, because the more time you spend with your material and tools, the more you'll understand how they work and how to get them to do what you want. I have a bunch of scraps lying around that just have random burnished edges, wonky rivets, stitches that don't go anywhere, etc.

I also found it helpful to look through leatherworking subreddits and follow leather crafters on instagram and look through what they're doing for inspiration, tips & tricks, and to see how they handle unusual shapes. Those subreddits can also be a good resource for finding existing answers to questions you have, or asking questions yourself.

[yumeka-sxf]

As I mentioned in my previous merch post, I preordered a case of the Spy x Family set from the Weiss Schwarz card game! For those who don't know what Weiss Schwarz is, it's a crossover trading card game featuring a ton of different anime, manga, and other IPs. I've been playing it on and off for nearly 15 years now and was so happy when I heard that SxF was going to get a set! The SxF cards were released in Japan in July of last year, but I held out until the English version came out a few weeks ago!

Above is all the stock my friend and I split: a display of trial decks (6 total), two meister sets (which each contain a playmat, storage box, and 10 booster packs), and finally, the main part, a case of 18 boxes (16 booster packs per box, 9 cards per pack).

So if we do the math...

-16 packs x 18 boxes x 9 cards per pack = 2,252 cards

-plus an addition 20 packs / 180 cards from the two meister sets comes to a grand total of 2,432 cards! (also the 6 trial decks, 50 cards each, but they're all the same 50 cards except for some rare variants, so thankfully we didn't have to sort those too).

So yeah, it took us practically the entire day to open all the packs and sort all the cards!

The empty booster pack wrappers ended up filling the entire box that the case came in!

Below are the rarest cards we pulled (I love the chibi ones~)

The below Yor and Loid cards have the highest value out of all of them (not that I intend to sell them 😅)

I already built three decks with the cards and am in the process of testing them! (with my friends who also play) Got a deck box for each, which fit perfectly in the card box 😁

Now that I have some new Weiss Schwarz decks, I'm planning to start visiting my local game shop again for tournaments and casual play. I used to go there a lot several years back, for both Weiss Schwarz and Pokemon, but haven't been since the pandemic. I may even attend some official Bushiroad events, like Spring Fest and/or their tournament at Anime Expo.

Also, for anyone interested in Weiss Schwarz, I wrote a quick beginner guide about the game on a Google doc here - explains the basics of what the game is about (using SxF cards as examples).

[max1461]

I'm terminally humanities brained, but I am kind of interested in pure mathematics and POM and generally just more mathematics oriented philosophy stuff/mathematics in general, I haven't studied any kind of maths since Highschool, how should I get into it? Should I read Quine?

Oh, this is a great question and I am very happy you have decided to send it to me! My answer reflects my particular views on mathematics and what it is all about, of course, so keep that in mind.

The number one thing I would like to convey about mathematics to someone coming from the humanities is that mathematics, far more than most fields, is something you do in addition to something you learn. Mathematical thinking has to be practiced, it is a skill that you train. If your primary interest is in philosophy of math, I'm afraid I haven't read very deeply on the subject and probably can't recommend a good starting place. Maybe... Russell? Look into Hilbert's program, and why it failed? But if you want to understand math "from the inside" instead of "from the outside", then you have to do math, and to that end I think "who to read" is the wrong question.

This might sound a bit scary, but I don't think it needs to be. Math is not so hard to do, although it is a very foreign type of thinking to those who are not practiced at it. In fact, this is why I think doing math is important even if your interests are primarily in POM; math is ultimately a human activity, regardless of e.g. what you believe about the ontology of mathematical abstractions, and I believe that in order to understand it fully (to have a picture of it beyond just its ontology) it must be understood as a human activity. Thus, one must do it, at least a little bit. It is, if nothing else, a whole realm of human experience all its own, and I think just about anyone would profit intellectually from spinning their mental gears in a mathematical way here and there.

Thankfully, there are many great places to start if this is your aim. I assume that what we're talking about here is "proof based" math rather than just calculation. To that end, a great introductory book is Velleman's How to Prove It, which will give you some guiding principles and many examples of how to approach a mathematical proof. Beyond that, I think you'll want to pick up an "entry level" introductory text (that is, an introductory text aimed at undergrads, etc.) on any math topic that strikes your fancy, and work through it—making sure that you understand the structure of the arguments (proofs), and attempting as many of the exercises as you can. The exercises are really the most important part. You cannot learn math without the exercises. You cannot learn math by reading it. The only way to learn is to try your hand at it yourself.

Expect your reading speed to be slow, and new concepts to be confusing. Expect to read things over and over, and fiddle with them in your head, before they make sense. Well, I mean, if you're anything like me or like most people. I think one of the biggest reasons people get turned off to math is that most of it just doesn't make any sense the first time you encounter it; it won't make sense until you've thought about it a lot.

One way or another, if you have a background in philosophy and are used to parsing and evaluating careful arguments, you will have a leg up on many people getting their introduction to proofs.

As for what topic to start with... you could always start with Euclid's elements, which is still a perfectly solid introduction to Euclidean geometry even after 2500 years. It does not quite meet modern standards of mathematical rigor (in other words, its proofs have gaps by modern standards), but realistically this is not a big deal: the basic thinking style is the same, and the gaps are somewhat subtle and technical IIRC, so I don't think it will really affect the beginner experience. On the other hand I believe at least a couple of Euclid's proofs are genuinely flawed (that is to say, they aren't just uncareful in their presentation, but are actually invalid in their structure), so maybe it's better to start with a modern work first.

Some books that I think are good for a beginner:

Graham, Knuth, & Patashnik, Concrete Mathematics — The focus of this book is on mathematical tools for computer science, but even if that is not your interest it's still a great book. It deals mostly with familiar concepts such as whole numbers and sequences (you might have encountered, e.g., the Fibonacci sequence), but is great for learning to problem solve and think mathematically.

Rudin, Principals of Mathematical Analysis, ("Baby Rudin") — If you want trial-by-fire. A lot of math undergrads have this as the textbook for their first proof-based math class, and it's notoriously challenging. Its topic is the field of real analysis, the rigorous foundations of calculus. I... wouldn't start here if I were you, honestly, but it's definitely a classic.

Some graph theory text. Some people seem to be recommending Wilson's, which has the convenient feature of being available online here. I haven't read it, but looking over it, it seems fairly gentle. There are a lot of pictures, and proofs don't enter the picture until a couple of sections in. Graph theory has the advantage of being very visual and having basically no prerequisites, so this might be a nice place to start.

Some abstract algebra book. If you're looking for a really clear presentation of the way mathematics is done today, starting with axioms and proving theorems deductively from them, etc., there is probably no place where it is more straightforwardly visible than in abstract algebra. The first math book I ever attempted was Herstein's Topics in Algebra; not the most beginner oriented, but certainly not inaccessible, and hey, it worked out for me! If this one is not to your liking there are a million books on e.g. introductory group theory you could look into, or the very canonical Dummit & Foote, or so on.

Uh yeah I think that's all I got. Anyone else feel free to put any more thoughts or recommendations in the reblogs!

[cyberstudious]

Free Resources for Learning Cybersecurity

I created this post for the Studyblr Masterpost Jam, check out the tag for more cool masterposts from folks in the studyblr community!

Free Online Courses

Linux Foundation Cybersecurity Courses - many of their beginner/introductory courses are free

Professor Messer's Security+ Course - a great intro to cybersecurity, gave me the skills to pass my Security+ exam

Khan Academy Cryptography - solid foundations for understanding the math behind encryption

ISC2's new entry level cert & training CC is free, although for a limited time

Linux Journey - learn Linux, the command line, and basic networking

Free CTFs & Ways to Practice

What is a CTF? - HackTheBox isn't a free platform, but this is a good article explaining what a CTF is and how to approach it

OverTheWire Bandit - practice your Linux skills

PicoCTF - this one already ran this year but their website has plenty of resources

Microcorruption - binary exploitation challenges

Hacker101 - web security CTF

Cryptopals Cryptography Challenges

Nightmare - binary exploitation & reverse engineering challenges

Cybersecurity News: follow what's happening in the industry

KrebsOnSecurity - security & cybercrime news, investigative journalism

SANS StormCast - daily 5-minute security news podcast

SANS Internet Storm Center - security blog posts

Cisco Talos blog - security news, threat intelligence & malware investigations

Schneier on Security - security & society

Black Hills Information Security webcasts

Darknet Diaries podcast

Other Free Resources

Trail of Bits's CTF Field Guide

PicoCTF Resources and Practice

SANS Cheat Sheets - all areas of security & tech

OWASP Cheat Sheets - application security & web attacks

LaurieWired's YouTube channel - high-quality videos on low-level tech

LiveOverflow's YouTube channel - binary exploitation

SANS Webinars

Cybersecurity Certifications Roadmap

Cybersecurity Job Supply and Demand Map (for the U.S.)

EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense - guides for how to protect yourself online

Don't Forget the Library!

If you have access to a public or school library, check out their technical books and see what they have to offer. O'Reilly and No Starch Press are my favorite publishers for technical and cybersecurity books, but be on the lookout for study guides for the Security+ and other certifications - these will give you a good introduction to the basics. I wrote more about cybersecurity books in yesterday's masterpost.

[chaewonplzbiteme]

Lazy Evaluation {Kim Minji | JiU x Male Reader}

Tags: two ounces of mommy kink, one bowl of age play, two cups of heavenly chocolate, pinch of humor, lots of fluffy fluff-fluff, a plate of hearty cream pie, a single grain of femdom

TW: Math and computer science jokes, mindless smut

4.9k – Read it on AO3.

A/N: The science may not be correct. Please excuse me. Or maybe it is. Most jokes will fly over your head if you are not into mathematics and computer science. This is not a failure on my part, and I will never take full responsibility.

If it helps: It's part of the joke that you do not understand everything about monads... I'm just continueing the meme...

All ten fingers clawed at your own scalp, trying to soothe the tension between your temples. In a furious jumble they shuffled through the already disheveled hair, not only in a motion to squeeze more blood through the tiny pinch of grey matter that you were sure you had left somewhere, but also to shed with the frustration that had plagued you all week. It was your task to show what you had learned in computer science, explore new frontiers of knowledge, and write a dissertation, at the same time documenting your progress for the lecturer.

“So, a Monad does define two operations, but is not a type itself? How is that supposed to work?”

It was quite perplexing, learning about such abstract and high-level data structures in mathematics. All day you have been attempting your own explanation, and every single time you have produced a different answer. Frustratingly, none of them matched any of the myriad descriptions that could be found, be it from the study book both recommended and written by the professor himself, numerous instructional online sites which most likely copy from each other or even what the latest conversational artificial intelligence could synthesize up for you.

“You still didn’t finish with the abstract?” Your study partner asked in a bright and cheerful voice, as she returned with two hot mugs of mocha latte and set them on the table. Your mood changed instantly with the scent of chocolate that permeated through the room, with a strong note of her own essence. Before you could reach for a mug, she was already next to you and flicking through the study book looking for what she was about to explain. “It is actually quite simple, my dear. Think more abstract, a level of indirection above types. This is why we call them type classes.”

The ease of her words leaned cheerfully against a solid wall of the complicated concoctions that have been woven and tightened in your mind. You could only throw your head back, stretching yourself on the beanbag, hands returning to apply even more pressure on both sides. “Like an interface describing interfaces? Aarrgghh...”

“Interface to classes, if you go for programming terms,” she corrected your inaccuracy with a smirk, knowing your frustration was not going to subside so fast. She had seen the same troubles from fellow students. The wide frame of her glasses was not the only reason you had the impression that she was the more intelligent of the two of you. Her sharp mind complemented her neat appearance very well, neither ceasing to astonish you time after time. “A common error for beginners. My dear, nothing has been proven to be difficult in this field of math. You will be able to understand it once you internalize the basics.”

In practical terms, Minji basically lived here. The dormitories are small and cramped and not made for living, only sleeping. Those who wanted to keep their sanity would spend their time away from home, be it the library, a café or the clubs. She knew her way around your kitchen better than you knew your own desk. You woke up stumbling over her bag, her clothes interleaved in the forest of notes with the data structures and pens and your own all over the ground.

“And next you are going to tell me computer science is just applied mathematics… This is so much to learn,” you voiced out your exasperation. You caught yourself looking at her. Not like this was an issue, since Minji was used to you staring at her. In fact, she loved it when you admired her beautiful face, her fair and radiating skin and smooth cheeks. No spell had to be cast, yet you were possessed by her deep hazel eyes. She took a sip as if there was nothing troubling you, savoring the cocoa aroma and accidentally dipping her nose into the whipped cream. Your eyes were locked on nothing other than the spot dotting her nose as she put down her mug — she did notice you were following the white tip around. The smile she gave was a more effective balsam than your fingers had been. Your gaze remained fixed on her as she shuffled around behind your back, the smell of cocoa giving way to hers.

“Clear your head, my love,” said Minji with a very calm voice, turning your head forward. Her hands replaced yours as her fingers traced circles all around. The sense of clogged arteries started to dissipate at once. “Let Mommy-ji help you relax.”

Your mind followed her fingers around your scalp, feeling the pressure she applied and where it moved to. Your eyes lose the bind to any sense of perception, no track of focus, your brain only processing being grasped between her palms and her digits. The thoughts occupying your head dissolved just as the tension faded. Blood rushed from your head to other parts of your body, among others getting clogged in a certain appendage, building up pressure. You hope it will not be noticed by her, since you wanted to enjoy the moment with her undistracted.

The endearing name for her had been established for a long time already, a logical consequence given the dynamics of both your behavior. While your lazy bum was busy playing video games or otherwise slacking around, Minji was the one who took care of the house and your needs. She did the laundry and cooked for you just like your parents, even spoon-feeding you at times. Not every meal, of course, only some, but you appreciated those the most. One day you accidentally blurted it out and it stuck.

But the image of her captivating face lingered in your eyes, even though she was out of sight. Her sculpt combined an adorable and young face with the mature image of a grown woman. If you didn’t know better, the round shape of her face would have made you believe that she was younger than you. Long and well-groomed wavy black hair was just the icing on top of her enchanting face.

“Not the time to slack off, lazy boy,” she chuckled. Minji was right, this was a subject that needed to be learned and understood. No way around it. You needed to retort, to explain the break in your studies, albeit it happened at her instigation. Not that you would blame her, though.

“B-but mommy, I’m not procrastinating,” you managed to stammer out while you were under the spell of her fingers. “I’m just d-deferring the effort. You know, lazy evaluation.”

What a counter, Minji burst out in laughter. Holding off on work was a viable strategy in certain cases, being efficient by knowing what was needed, if at all, and in what quantity. But of course, not every part of you followed this idea.

“You may be a smart boy, but what you are clearly demonstrating is a stiff amount of premature optimization,” she whispered into your ear, her essence filling your nose completely and stunning you as she traced a hand down your body towards your crotch. “What a horny boy, forming a boner ahead-of-time.”

And she has not even teased you yet – the strong side-effect of her touch. You could not declare yourself to be pure in your function at all anymore. It was obvious every part of your body was thinking about her and her touch. “I-It’s warming up. For you.”

“For mommy? How nice~,” she said with a joyous voice while reaching out for the visible bulge in your pants. Her palm covered the manly mound in a cup, rubbing it, feeling it up. More blood flocked to her touch, its return to regular circulation clogged by its own formed tissue pouch. While it takes a mountain millions of years to rise, your tent was erected in mere minutes at full size.

“Please take a look, mommy,” you said, as she went down on you. “Watch how much your boy has grown.” You were happy with how your body reacted to her touch. The desire for Minji was burning strong, the steam driving your member boiling hot. The beacon of your passion is lit – your cock calls for its caretaker. She slowly removed your pants, watching your tent pole rise even higher as it was not being held back anymore.

Her hand traced the length up and down multiple times before wrapping her fingers around the shaft. “Always so excited to see me~.” It was like your cock throbbed in response, even though it was simply timing with her fingers. She moved up and down very slowly, for you to savor the feeling, moving blood and tissue around.

Minji barely sped up the pumping, instead opting for a regular rhythm at a steady pace. Like clockwork your mind settled into the flow, breathing in at the ebb and bracing yourself for the flow, when her hand reached the tip. Distant grumbling, thundering muttering from your mouth warned of the oncoming outbreak.

“My love, tell me what you are,” she asked, smirking in anticipation of your reply. Her hand went slower now. Thinking about what Minji wanted to hear, there could only be one answer. Not your name, nor that you are her fellow student and attended the same courses. Such returns would not yield an effect. And if your answer had no effect on her, the result might as well be useless. Slower and slower, slower towards the peak, even slower further away. Idle state. Tension.

 “Mommy’sh cude liddle cum fountain,” is the reply you give. That is all what you will ever need to be for her.

“Yes, you are, baby boy~,” Minji approved of you. She dragged her fingers upwards in a slow manner, the tight embrace shifting higher and higher. The alternating grooves and creases of her hand slid across your shaft before leaving your cock, before turning around to cup the shaft and press it against her soft cheeks. Time was nigh’, she demanded your produce. “Cum. I want you to scream.”

At her command, the floodgates of release opened. With intense pressure prostrate launched the stream of ejaculate up into the air. It erupted out in a way more akin to a volcano than a fountain, each spurt leaving with a wave that traveled together with a guttural groan along the entire length of your cock. Minji felt every throb of your member against her cheeks, the hardness thumping against her tender face with each explosion.

“So hard and strong,” Minji praised both your cock and the force of your discharge. “Beating so hard for me~,” she added. The ropes of cum coated her forehead, some getting caught by her eyebrows. Her disheveled hair also showed some wet streaks, collateral damage from the powerful blasts. “Too bad I couldn’t taste any of it,” she demanded more, alluding to the uncertainty principle. To observe how far cum could travel, one could not taste it at the same time.

“Mommy, I want to taste you, too,” you said. The worship of each other’s bodies was a mutual thing, neither of you had the intention to freeload the other’s goodwill. What she gave to you, you better return it many times back. Sensual stimulation is a commutative operation, and it would be a shame if it were performed one-sided only. In other words, love making is better when it is perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

You held her high, pulled her up into a kiss, connected your lips, tongues making out. Your fingers fumbled with the buttons on her delicate sheer blouse. You were quick to pull down her inner top and unclasp her bra, too, revealing her well-developed chest. One of you tripped over – or did someone push? – and again you laid on the ground. It was hard to escape gravity when your soul was weighed down by this radiating beauty and her delectable womanly mounds. All things come to those who wait, but there was no rest for the wicked. You took in everything she had to offer, her smell, her taste, the texture of her skin and how her flesh felt.

Like with any other part of her body, she loved her breasts to be worshipped. Her low hums guided your mouth between her mounds, but your tongue dictated the rhythm of her mellow purrs. The sensation of your devotion to her caused a wave of content pleasure to flood through her body, the current of tingles emanated from her brain surged across her chest, causing sparks to fly through her stomach, and swashed against her core to be forked into separate ripples coasting along her legs, before hitting her toes and causing them to curl.

Your hands did not remain idle. Just like your tongue they moved back and forth all over her body, feeling her up just like you are tasting her breasts. Minji reciprocated your attention by pulling in her lower wings and extending them again, her splendid thighs and heavenly shaped calves were roaming your body. You felt her everywhere, she made sure you got everything from her.

She shifted around, taking away your favorite baby-soother in the process, but instead putting a favorite meal of yours in its place – welcome to your dream world. The musk was strong, a mix of Minji’s own odor mixed with the pungent smell of the dripping wet juices it was coated in. The flavor was both sweet and sour, with a trace of the same taste you experienced on her chest and in her kiss. With every lick on her core, she nudged closer to her destined place on your face. With every fraction of an inch that she moved, she was closer to smothering you completely.

The darkness slowly engulfed you, not that you minded being trapped in the dream – between her voluminous thighs – if it was a good way to bring her pleasure. Plowing through the dampness and exploring the cave before you would be the only way out. A deep dive into her hole brought back a tongue covered in copious amounts of juices, which you deposited in your own mouth before swallowing. You rang her doorbell, asking for a free refill, announcing your return, before entering the cave again.

Minji meanwhile rested on low hills and even shallower grooves, but there was a noticeable pole in front of her. It was hard as steel, yet it was bouncy to her touch. She knew despite its shape it had volcanic properties, being capable of shooting jets of hot ejaculate through its main vent, its solid remains forming a fertile seed for future growth. In fact, she had observed it erupt violently before. A reasonable onlooker would have been cautious in their handling of the erect mast, but Minji was on cloud nine. Her hand was reaching for your shaft. It was as if her brain ran on someone else’s computer.

Minji played with your cock despite the assault on her core by your tongue. It wormed its way inside of her vagina, wriggling around before tracing her lower lips up and down, and drawing a ring around her nub before repeating the procedure. The counterattack to reclaim Wall Maria involved her own tongue tracing your cock up and down, before circling over the bulbous head. Not only did the mast of steel twitch slightly, but the attack stumbled.

Her thick lips now engulfed your shaft. She was out to tame the horny creature beneath her. One would be the tortoise in this hunt to the peak, and the other the hare. Together they would race around the vicious cycle of pleasure, getting each other closer, coming head-to-head on the edge and pulling away again, before entering the next cycle. One was going faster; one was going slower. Because the hornier one would choke on its ambitions, eventually even the tortoise would catch up to the hare. Minji devoured the hare’s tail all the way down, choking on it and feeling it throb and wriggle at the back of her throat. The hare did not relent, however, and instead intensified its attack, its head circling around her nub, unafraid of the secretions her cavern produced in defense, but now even more determined to continue. There would be only one way to break out of this recurring loop – they would have to both lose themselves to pleasure simultaneously.

No matter how hard she worked on it, the pole would not let itself be defused. But without air, there can be no fire. Minji would have to drown the volcano’s air vent, cutting it off from its oxygen supply. You pulled on her thighs, groping her butt, pushing her core further into your face as tight as possible. It was hard to tell who was struggling more, whether she was convulsing more under your assault, or your cock was throbbing harder in her mouth. Small gushes from her walls announced her own impending eruption, telling you to brace yourself for what is to come. But you lose control of yourself when the storm hits you, a downpour of juices bringing you the bliss you were looking for by flooding your mouth and nose. The spit covering the hot rod was not enough to extinguish it, so your cum could fill her throat unhindered.

Minji was gagging on your little volcano as it erupted once more, payback for setting off such a dangerous object. You meanwhile were groaning and choking on her juices while getting drenched by her geyser, locked helpless between her strong thighs. Hips were spasming with their orgasms. Sweaty bodies rubbing against each other, both squirting their fluids into one another.

It took a moment for you both to settle down, to catch your breath. Minji just kept laying on top of you, rubbing your still-hard shaft and thighs and butt. You did the same to her while under her, enjoying the feeling of her.

“I hope your balls are not exhausted yet,” she said with a smile, voice slightly hoarse.

Your answer was to dive back in for a second serving. More of her was never enough. A lot of evenings had gone like this already, and yet you both came to each other for more. This was not the first time you had explored each other. And it won’t be the last time. Breath hitting the wet organs kept the heat in check. She gave you a series of hard squeezes trailing from your thighs to your groin, before getting up.

“I’ll be right back.” Minji went to get something from her bag and threw something on the table, something shiny and square and slightly convex, then she picked up a mug. “Come to me now, baby boy,” she said as she took a sip, but she did not swallow. Now it was her turn to pull you into a kiss. Your mouths connected once more, her tongue pushed through your lips, and you both got to taste the chocolate. Both your tongues danced and wrestled each other in the sweet bath, coating one another and cleansing it off again.

Your hands and arms battled with each other too, groping and guiding each other, pulling on clothes and undergarments to finally get rid of them, getting stuck on every nook and curve. The final piece of wear was her glasses, which she elevated into the air without destination before being catapulted towards the table without aim, bumping against one of the mugs. Another opportunity to trip and fall over, although this time it was you who landed on top of her, noses nearly bumping into each other.

“Minji, how can you be so beautiful,” you conjured up a smile on her face. You loved her beyond her appearance of course. The source of your affection for her was simple: Humans truly are most beautiful when they are just smiling and having fun. Minji could turn your mood around in seconds, and today was no different. Those mesmerizing hazel eyes of her could dissolve any stress you had. “Some days I do wonder why you spend so much time with me,” you whispered your thoughts.

“Midnight, close to you,” she said as she went through her own thoughts. Minji did not have to think a lot. It was easy.

“BEcause I love you.”

Minji launched herself high into another kiss, sucking out of your stomach what hundreds of butterflies had swirled up. It was clear that she appreciated you being there for her just as much as you felt empty without her. “I feel good around you,” she added. She was right. Not only did she spend a lot of time with you, but you went out of the way to be with her, to make her happy, to make her time with you worthwhile.

“I love you, too, mommy.”

Hearing and saying the three words lifted a lot off your mind. She embraced you tighter, your lips seeking out each other. The desire for each other burned strong. Moaning reverbed through each other's mouths. “Mommy, I want you so much,” you managed to say. Your cock was still standing proud, rubbing itself on her doorbell, waiting to be allowed inside.

“Take me as yours then, my chemical hype boy.” Her cheek brushed against yours when smiling. “But first tell me: Would you rather treasure me like a cherished pet or milk me like cattle?” Your logic is screaming: Yes.

Noses hovering over each other, heavy breathing brushing on cheeks and lips, eyes staring into eyes, strong thighs pressing into stronger thighs, one pair spread and the other bent.

“The pole train runs on whole grain!” You screamed, like how bungee jumpers or parachutists exclaim when they plunge boots first into hell. Your cock was racing to be inside of her faster than your thoughts. Like with a perfect equation ready to be solved, you substituted the emptiness in her longing core with the feeling of you. A substitution with the force of a mountain, the heat of a volcano. Minji opened her mouth in shock but in silence, the feeling of your penis spearing itself inside overwhelming her. You were sure she wanted to say something, but no voice came out of her.

Her breathing was labored, sudden gasps with each thrust. Her walls were tight, the cavern had to give way to the intrusive pole forcing its way inside. A ripple, this time physical, traveled from her butt cheeks up her body each time your hip crashed into hers, a wave of pressure making its way to the outlet between her other cheeks before finally venting.

Her tits were squeezed between her body and your chest, but that did not stop them from shaking around with the ripple passing through. Every woman was built different, felt different, thought different. But Minji had made it clear to you that she loved to be overwhelmed.

She had her eyelids closed, letting the waves of bliss wash over her and throughout her body. Her little boy could reach far deeper than your tongue ever could. And it was way bigger, stretching her wider. But Minji enjoyed her time with both – after all, each had their merits. A tongue could not just worm itself into unexplored areas, but also move and rub and push unlike a penis. For now, she just enjoyed her walls being parted in rhythm.

But a question still lingered in your mind. Perhaps now you were more receptive to understanding the concept.

“Minji, tell me again, how do monads work?”

Not a very romantic question, and especially not suitable for intercourse, but she was used to your constant babbling, an indication that your head was free and unoccupied – better hope that we are not going down a rabbit hole. Not that you ever stopped making fun of everything. At the same time, you were not the only one capable of making jokes.

“A monad is just a monoid in the category of endofunctors, what’s the problem?” she answered with a straight face. Your steady rhythm barely interrupted her voice, a strong display of her composure. You understood the words, but the sentence did not make any sense. Well, ok, maybe not even the words. You should admit that you did not understand anything.

“I could tell you a monad joke, but first... I would need to tell you jokes about functors and... applicatives,” she told another, smiling. Is this retribution for your own silly jokes? She was starting to pant between words. “What do you call... a verb that likes to apply... for jobs?” She was giggling. This one did not make any sense.

“Please, no, stop mommy,” you pleaded. She knew how to get you. You tried to muffle her with a kiss, but she managed to break free. “An applicative,” Minji laughed when telling you the answer. It was a pun, a word play, rather than a scientific joke. “I know some more~,” she chuckled.

“Let me come up with something, too.” It took you a moment, but an idea popped into your head. The missing piece to an equation that no one had been able to solve yet. You could just barely hold your laughter in anticipation. Let us start with the abstract: “Hey, mommy, let me ask you, what’s one plus one?”

Minji realized where this was going. This was simple math, albeit with an imaginary component. “Are you serious!? Three?”

“Well, let’s suppose, inside of your pussy. Penis goes in, penis and baby come out. Math does not check out, what’s missing?” Setting up the introduction for this joke with a central question, you tried to nudge an answer out of her. And the hint you gave Minji was to give her the mating press.

Minji growled. “Fucking sex-ed. That’s how biology works… silly boy.” She was not about to give in to the riddle you had posed. But the thrusts would not stop until the punchline had been served.

“Indeed, the female anatomy is something wonderful, creating new life from nothing more than a deftly deep dicking.” If only you were as smart with your studies instead of cracking terrible jokes. While this was not an exact science, the conclusion that making babies was a product made of thin air and the energy induced by the pounding is alluringly plausible, however inherently flawed.

“OMG fucking hurry up,” she shouted, having had enough of your nonsense. Slowly losing her composure, Minji tightened her embrace around you, closed her eyes, bit on her lips, pulling you in closer. She was close, you could hear it in how she alternated between moaning and squealing. It was also difficult for you to uphold the asymptotic behavior as your hammering approached the edge. It was clear that the limit was about to be reached.

“The most important secret sauce to make mommy a real mommy,” you panted. You were not far behind Minji in the race to the finish line, and you wanted to beat her. It only took you a few more thrusts until your hips began to buckle, starting to spasm – but not just yours. One last push would bring you both over the edge. Finally, content with the procedure so far, you proclaim the solution: “My cum!”

Once is happenstance. Twice is sincere lovemaking. Thrice is proving that Minji is going to get knocked up today. None of her attempts today to stop the volcano have borne any fruit. For one more time Mt. Priapus erupted with boiling hot fervor, sending a stream of molten cream blazing its way through the caverns behind mommy’s lavatory, leading into the chamber of secrets. A tide of secretion was launched against the current, it tried in vain to quench the heat. From the ashes of the hot liquid flooding her womb, a young new phoenix shall rise.

“Cum goes into the whole. Equation is complete. The sum of the ingredients is now empty. Q.E.D. Geddit?” Your cheeky joke was rewarded solely with your own laughter, and a pinch on the nose by her. In closing, this was nothing more than a silly mood booster. You stayed on top of a sweaty Minji, still embracing her tightly while she kept panting, smiling, showing her cheeks.

“What an astoundingly terrible scientific conclusion...” Minji did not know whether to groan or to laugh. Droplets of sweat were running down her face, body sticking to the floor, but she was visibly satisfied with what you had laid on the table. This is a contradiction with her reaction to your elaborate joke. “I think we should invite Yoo over for a peer review,” she suggested suggestively.

You tried to be respectful of her offer, but you were not ready yet. “I-I have barely anything written yet—” Another pinch on your nose cut you off. “I was talking about something else, innocent little—”

A sudden realization hit her. Did she forget something on the stove? Was Minji hatching a devious plan for your future endeavors? Were you too hasty? Would she be open to multiple inheritance with Yoo? The chocolate was getting cold. Glittering on the table. No, something was different this time. She put on a vicious smile that made you feel uneasy.

“Horny boy, when did I give you permission to not use protection?”

Given her question, the answer may be obvious. But we both know that this is an exercise left for the reader.

[megumi-fm]

18 day habit tracker

since the year started, days are passing by and sure I'm doing alright and getting stuff done but lately it just. feels like I'm whiling away a lot of my time which which I could spend learning or doing a lot of things that I've kept shelved for years. I want to make better use of my days and I want to understand how to kind of... develop the intrinsic motivation to improve my productivity. additionally, I also need to do things to take better care of my help given the harsh weather and my ankle (im)mobility.

so I've decided to spend the next 18days trying to be more conscious of how I'm spending my time and also trying to push myself little by little. in this eighteen days I want to figure out what my limits are (vs what I think my limits are) and I also want to understand how to stay consistent and maintain the momentum I need to keep going. eighteen seems like a small enough number to start with; from some surface web scouring it seems like 18days is the minimum number of time it takes to develop a habit. and coincidentally enough it's my birthday in exactly 18days so it seems like a good place to start

to track

🥛 water intake ⏰ hours of sleep +sleep and wake times 📵 phone usage 🍉 fruit intake +the kind of food I'm eating in gen 📖 reading

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personal goals

🧮 relearning math my relationship with mathematics has been quite messy since junior college and it has only worsened through the past four years of engineering(with the introduction of multivariate calculus and Laplace transforms and whatnot)... it feels kind of late and embarrassing to start now but I really want to understand math better and enjoy doing it and now is a good time to face my fear/discomfort and start over at the very basics. I'm gonna start with precalculus and linear algebra

💃 dancing I used to dance all the time as a kid and then... i don't know what happened... as a lover of kpop choreographies it's heartbreaking to realize I haven't learnt nearly as many dances as I'd have liked to. The year started off pretty strong but then my ankle got in the way and... yeah... I want to get back into dancing both as a means to improve my mobility and as a means of exercise, and also because I enjoy dancing in gen... and four to five days seems like good enough time to learn a single dance so i hope to learn the choreography of atleast 3-4 dances in these 18days

✏ art I have wanted to learn drawing for years now but for some reason I just never seem to get around to it (the 'some reason' being my impatience and inability to accept that I'm actually a beginner) but yknow what. if I'm anyway going to feel bad about how poor I am at drawing, I might as well do it while drawing poorly instead of trying to avoid it. I've decided to use this youtube playlist as my starting point

🍳 cooking for someone who is planning to live abroad and live alone I can't cook to save my life, but putting that aside, the main reason I want to cook is that a lot of my favourite regional cuisine is centered towards dishes for the winter and I want to learn to make tasty + nutritional food suitable for this summer heat without resorting to consuming excessively sugared juices and soda in copious amounts

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yeah. day1 starts today. I hope it works out. my weekly tracker and my work tracker will also be updated in parallel

[misscalming]

DND WITH THE TOS CREW

Scotty : 10/10- does the best voices - quick at the maths part - strongly influenced by Gaelic folk stories - makes cool puzzles to solve - runs the most G rated campaigns out of everyone - swears sometimes and apologises for it - really likes teamwork and found family tropes - makes cool as fuck props - dresses up as a wizard - very wholesome - super passionate - beginner friendly -

Uhura : 8.5/10- actually keeps the players on task - good at organising shit - probably makes up cool fictional languages/texts to decipher - makes cool puzzles for players to solve - u feel a little stupid when you can't solve the really hard riddles tho -

Bones : 7/10 - has zero patience - would either rage quit or make the bosses impossible to kill - takes sick pleasure out of taking away everyones hit points - runs the shortest campaigns - kills off everyone as quickly as possible - only became DM after agreeing to play dnd but only if he could be the DM - you miss one session and you come back to see your character has lost 3 limbs and is on 2 hit points

Kirk : 10/10 - goofy voices - makes the best NPCs - kinda gets distracted by players' discussions - runs some of the longest and weirdest campaigns out of the lot - makes heaps of props (not quite as good as scotty's but close) - low key a people pleaser and indulges really dumb side quests the players make up like finding the toilets or some shit - basically all the main "important to the plot" NPC's he plays are hard flirts - has spare dice for everyone - makes awesome stories and great at entertaining everyone with his villain speeches - gets really upset but tries to hide it when you have something on and miss a session and you feel really bad because he puts a lot of effort into the campaign and it means a lot to him - would love to sit down and make character sheets with beginners but doesn't have the time :(

Spock : 7/10- great atmosphere - will put on Vulcan music and vividly describe some waterfall for 30 minutes - kinda boring? - but okay if you like poetry - doesn't let you mess with the NPCs or do ridiculous shit - says "Are you sure you wish to do that?" a lot - impossible to beat bosses - "love wins" every fucking time and fighting never actually solves anything - cock blocks u from the NPCs :( - does not have spare dice for everyone and will make u leave if you don't bring your own dice - no variety in the roles he can play - every npc is just a Spock self insert clone lol - doesn't give you time to think about what to do or let you talk to other players if their characters are physically separated from your own for "realism"

Chekov : 6/10 - communist manifesto role play - feels like you're in an episode of Seinfeld on crack - makes really confusing plots with twenty storylines and thinks he's a literary genius - does really bad accents - spits when he gets too into it - which is often - if you sit a few chairs away and are there for some nonsensical shit he's the dm for you - takes it so seriously you have to laugh - Spock just silently stood up and left after 3 minutes of the first session and never came back - makes really good drawings of everyone's characters tho - just a bad star trek episode in dnd form

Sulu : 4/10 - doesn't really know what he's doing - god his voice tho - forgets the rules sometimes - "uhh what happened last session again?" - "What happened to (insert NPC name here)?" - "Oh- uhh they died, moving on" - doesn't have the drive to be the DM at all really - probably makes nice stories which criticise capitalism - makes you bring your own dice, character sheet and miniatures

Chapel : 6/10 - accidentally shows everyone her notes - lets the players run the game - spends half the time flipping through the handbooks looking for random monsters to throw in on a whim - dedicates herself to her speeches - likes player debates - pretty good at steering the plot

[sylvies-chen]

ok so I think it’s really interesting that they used the imagery/motif of the unicorn in relation to izzy in the latest episodes, but while doing other unrelated research for my own interests I stumbled across the most wild thing ever about unicorns. this is going to be long but bear with me:

Okay so basically there’s this important book called Physiologus, which was the most popular bestiary of the Middle Ages. It’s translated into practically all European languages (+ Greek, it’s original language, and Latin) and was the basis for all bestiaries in history that followed. And obviously it’s not scientific but meant to spread moralized religious teachings and it’s all very symbolic and allegorical and bla bla bla. But it has a section for countless animals both real and mythical, including the UNICORN.

Okay, so. Let’s take Izzy as a unicorn here. Strong and fierece are very applicable words to him already, but then Physiologus gets into this mention of how a unicorn can only be caught (and, as the screenshot fails to mention, slaughtered) if a virgin maiden is placed before it. Now obviously this is a bit too specific to the middle ages and a bit too literal to be shown in OFMD in any way, but symbolically a virgin maiden represents someone perhaps more *seemingly* pure, more feminine, of noble birth and most definitely inexperienced— in this case, inexperienced in the world of piracy, so a pirate virgin, you might even say.

This description definitely matched season 1 stede, and still somewhat now, but Stede’s growing into a stronger, more confident and skilled pirate, and he’s also building the foundations of a committed relationship with ed, whom Izzy dearly loves, so I don’t think Stede will be involved in leading Izzy to his demise in any way, directly or indirectly.

However, the first episode brought in a character similar to season 1 Stede to provide contrast and show how much Stede has grown: Ricky! Ricky is the epitome of an upper class wannabe beginner pirate, and he’s paid the price for his inexperience (his nose). And since we known from the trailers that Ricky and Izzy do interact at some point, enough to have somewhat of a vulnerable conversation about what it means to Izzy to be a pirate, could it be safe to assume that Ricky could be to Izzy what Stede is to Ed??? Or, more broadly, could Ricky be what leads Izzy to some sort of threat of peril or demise??

However, it’s also worth noting that this “virgin maiden” leads it to the king’s palace and, from the promos, we know that Ricky takes his failed experience with piracy to heart and goes to work for the British navy AKA working for the crown/the king, so my working theory is that Ricky connects with Izzy somehow and wants to recruit him to the British naval forces. Izzy, lost and trying to heal, may or may not accept it, or may end up even trying to bring Ricky back into the world of piracy, but I think it’ll be a storyline that seeps into season 3. It could also be that Ricky ends up using Izzy somehow to locate the rest of the Revenge and that’s what leads to the crew fighting on the beach, and why Stede is recruiting Zheng. I don’t know! There’s a number of possibilities!

So idk, the math is mathing for me I think this could either be a really good or really bad thing for Izzy from this angle and interpretation of the unicorn as a motif and image that can connect to Ricky, like how Stede and Ed have the kraken. Maybe it’s a little deep but yeah! A theory!

[cynoph4n]

OJAY SO IVE HAD TWO ASKS ABOUT MY OCS SO YEaH

I have these two OCs Aurin and Notch, who are, currently, my favourites. Here they are for ref:

That's them as kids and then them as teens. So this post will just be about Notch btw!!

Notch, the one with the brown hair and partly green dyed, is into scene music and clothing. She's a bit of a beginner, but does her best. Pink, Purple, and Green are her favourite colours. She has to frequently dye her hair because it often fades out, so it's decently damaged. They're a very energetic and nice person, she talks A LOT. She likes shopping, hanging out with animals, and talking with Aurin :3 Minecraft is her favourite video game, and she plays often.

As a kid, Notch was very energetic and playful. They were the type of kid to eat sand and basically live in dirt. Dinosaur shirts were a big thing for them, and she didn't really like tight clothes as a child. This was due to dysphoria (although she had no idea the cause at the time). Notch always cut her own hair with safety scissors, long hair got in the way when playing, so she always cut it. Her mom didn't really mind. Her mom and dad separated young, she would still see her dad occasionally, but lives and is mostly by her mom. Notch's mother was very kind and always wanted the best for her child. Now, Notch's mother is in the hospital. She has cancer, and is often feeling alone. Her mom doesn't really want Notch to visit, because she doesn't want her kid to see her on her death bed.

As I mentioned earlier, young Notch had dysphoria. Notch was born a boy, with the dead name Noah, and is not MTF. She goes by she/they pronouns. Notch is also bisexual, with a preference towards women.

She wants a ferret, but Aurin constantly tells her no, that it's too much work. Aurin and Notch actually live together. They've been friends for years, and when Notch's mother had to be moved to the hospital due to her condition and symptoms worsening, Aurin (and their family) offered for Notch to come live with them. Notch, of course, agreed. And now, they both still live in Aurin's house.

Notch gets pretty average grades, she does her best. Her highest score this year was 89%, and her lowest was 66%. FACE is her favourite class, and she also like Spanish class. She's in the Spanish club at her school, too. Her worst subjects, and least favourite, are Math and English.

Notch and Aurin have been friends for years. They supported each other's coming out and have always been close. As they get older, their feelings for each other have been growing. Since Notch was 13, she realized she likes Aurin romantically. She confessed immediately, Aurin is not very good at keeping secrets. Notch was unsure, but said yes. And now, they've been dating for almost 3 years.

[landofspaceandrainbows]

Commissions / Fundraising Post!

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Hello! Basically the thing is I'm a bit short of funds, and could really use some proper, new binders and some other compression garments. Plus some other daily supplies perhaps.

So I'm opening up commissions for gift cards. First, from Underworks, and Second, if there's any more interest and so forth - from Amazon.Com.

( My goal for Underworks is $80 in cards, so I can get the free shipping and not have to worry about calculating shipping. )

I am offering Short Stories, Graphics Edits, and Tutoring / Proofreading / Homework Help.

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So, for a $40 gift card, I will offer to write you two 250+ word short stories, fanfic or original fic your choice.

For an $80 gift card, I will write you four 250+ word short stories OR one 900+ word long short story.

I've written for Lord of the Rings, other Tolkien media, Narnia, Homestuck, The Dark is Rising, Hermitcraft/Life SMP Series, Cultist Simulator, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, Shakespeare Plays, Dracula, and Dr Faustus. - And I can also do original fic, especially sci fi, fantasy, historical romance, and furry.

Graphics edits can be negotiated individually.

For tutoring, you can get an hour of tutoring online / in voice call, split up in sections however you'd like. I can do math up to Calculus 1, biology, meteorology, geology, and environmental sciences, history, English lit, or I can help with very beginner's Spanish or Welsh.

Background for the tutoring: I have a science degree and have done paid tutoring and been a uni TA before.

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Links:

Underworks - https://www.underworks.com/egift-card

Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PCMWTSG

Gift cards can be e-mailed to - cactusreadingft@gmail.com

Thanks for reading!

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Credit: the picture is courtesy of The Lowell Observatory and Deirdre Hunter.

[swiss-mrs]

Welcome to EVERMORE

Stranger Things AU Series - Directory

"Hello, students! Here at Nevermore Academy, our purpose is to provide you with the necessary knowledge and strengths that you will not only need to survive in the human world but also as a member of the supernatural one. For the most part, they coincide, but there are plenty of things you will learn with us that you will not find anywhere else. We strive for our academy to be a safe haven for students to learn and grow no matter who you are. We sure do hope you find yourself welcome with open arms. Welcome to Nevermore." - Principle Larissa Weems

Welcome All! Here is where you will find some introductory information you may need to know about our universe and what lies beyond. This is Evermore.

"Founded in 1791, Nevermore Academy is an academic institution that nurtures outcasts, freaks, and monsters. Our mission is to help each student master their extraordinary abilities through world-class academics and unique extracurriculars."

Nevermore Academy is a school for the supernatural. The expansive campus is nestled in the secluded outskirts of Jericho, Vermont. Here, you will come across creatures and talents of all kinds. Our main focus is to teach young Arcane to master their abilities, learn new skills, and create a sense of community amongst the youth of our world. We currently teach ages 10-19 but are hoping to expand this range to include young adults and adults by introducing the upcoming Nevermore College Program.

First Year Class Schedules

As new students, in addition to the traditional math, science, language arts, and social studies, your class schedule may include the following courses:

Intro to More (MORE 001)

This course is for those new to the world that lies beneath the average. Some topics taught and discussed in this class include but are not limited to: Terminology, Supernatural Beings, Supernatural Activities, and Separating Truth from Myth. Instructor: Professor Gardnal Shaw

Intro to Transmutation (TRNS 101)

This course is for werecreatures that have either never transmuted or may have transmuted previously but have not done so willingly. In this introductory class, students will be taught the technicalities behind transmuting. Upon completion of the course, students will have mastered the ability to comfortably change form on command. Instructor: Professor Mira Safierto

Intro to Occult Practices (OCCP 101)

This course is for Arcane interested in studying and practicing the art of magic. This course is available to all students. In this course, students will be introduced to beginner friendly spells and potions. Upon completion, students will have mastered the basics of occult studies. Instructor: Professor Jennifer Oldek

Specializations (SPCL 001)

This course is for Arcane who have existing, specialized powers but have yet to master or control said power. This course is typically a one-on-one class. Students will be matched with a teacher who can best fit their needs. Upon completion of this class, students will have successfully passed the beginning stages of safely controlling and practicing their powers. Instructor: [Student Specific]

General Information for New Admissions

Upon arrival, all students will go through an initial orientation, be provided with a Nevermore Academy uniform, and will be assigned to a mentor. Mentors are long-time Nevermore students deemed fit by staff for the task of taking new students under their wing. They will be responsible for ensuring each new student is equipped with the proper learning tools and also carry the responsibility of walking new students through their schedule.

Along with getting a uniform and schedule, new students will also be provided with student housing. All students are expected to remain on campus in the supervised academy dorm rooms.

Quiet Hours are between 8:00PM - 7:30AM. Campus Curfew is 10:00PM with the exception of select school events, field trips, sporting events, and/or approved club events.

Extracurriculars

Nevermore Academy offers a wide range and variety of extracurricular activities and clubs, including but not limited to:

Baseball

Softball

Fencing

Swimming

Chess

Debate

Theater

Marching Band

and More!

As we believe in the importance of community, new students are welcome to join clubs and sporting activities as seen fit.

Enroll Now!

Thank you for your interest in our school. Please contact our admissions office with further questions regarding campus tours, enrollments, and other general questions.

See you soon!

Tag List (OPEN):

@ali-r3n

@mother-oshun

@madelynraemunson

@starmilks

@ohmeg

[aprocessionofthoughts]

Exchange Students

ectoberhaunt2023 day 23- magic fandom- Harry Potter crossover TW- none summary- Harry, Hermione, and Ron visit the strangest wizarding school in America

ao3 masterlist

Harry wasn’t sure why they had agreed to this. Sure, it had sounded fun and interesting, but now they were in America and were going to be going to what had to be one of the strangest magic schools in the world. 

Most people would probably consider it normal. And sure, from a  muggle standpoint it was. But that’s what made it so strange for a wizarding school.

It looked like a normal high school. There was even functioning electricity! Harry wondered how they had managed that since magic and tech didn’t work well together.

At the front door they were met by an older woman who Harry assumed was the headmaster.

“Hello, I’m Principle Ishiyama. Welcome to Casper High.”

“Thank you for having us.” Hermoine replied.

“Yeah, thanks.” Ron said.

“If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your home rooms.” They followed her into the building, and yup, htis definitely just looked like a regular high school. “I know this must be very different than Hogwarts, but since Amity is already a magic heavy town it didn’t really make sense to send the kids to a boarding school.”

“Is it true that squibs go to this school too?” asked Hermione. 

The principal tensed but replied with a smile. “Yes, we welcome all kinds of pupils here. Though I have to ask that you refrain from using that offensive term. All Amity Parkers know about magic and we consider it important to teach them the principles. However, since Casper High caters to a more diverse student group, we also teach all the regular classes. Classes rotate between muggle and magical with students placed into the ones that will help cultivate their talents yet at the same time give them a taste of everything. It’s important to have a well rounded education. Now, about your schedules. We’ve done our best to match you up with classes that you were already taking though I’m afraid you’ll also be required to take some muggle classes as well. However, there was one class for which you’ll have to choose a replacement.”

“Which one, miss?”

“Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

“You don’t teach Defense Against the Dark Arts!” Hermione said scandalized.

“We teach similar classes but nothing quite the same. So, I have a few different options you can choose from. First there's a class on blood magic.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” Harry asked.

“Not in the states.”

“But–”

The principal sighed. “It’s only if you’re using someone else’s unwillingly given blood. But if that makes you uncomfortable you can take Spiritual Connections.”

“What’s that?” Ron asked.

“Its a study on temporarily imbuing an object with part of your spirit.”

Harry’s cringed, his mind jumping to horcruxes.

“And if neither of those sound appealing, you can also take beginners Necromancy.”

“Ummm…”

The principal sighed again. “I suppose you can take a History of Dark Arts Through the Ages. Though that one isn’t hands on.”

“We’ll do that.” Harry said.

------------

Thankfully today had been a muggle studies day so all their classes were pretty normal. Well, except for Ron who had never taken a math class beyond basic arithmetics.

They were sitting at lunch when three students approached them.

“Hello, I’m Danny and these are Sam and Tucker. We were curious about how things worked at, where is it you attend? Hogwash?”

“Hogwarts.”

The boy, Tucker, snorted. “Sorry, that's just such a silly name.”

“And Casper is any better?” asked Hermione.

“True.” Danny answered.

“Is it true you don’t have any technology?” Tucker asked.

“Tech doesn’t work with magic.” Hermione answered.

Tuckers furrows browed. “Yes it does. My phone works fine. You just have to imbue the object with some of your spirit.”

“But that sounds terrible. Isn’t that like giving up part of your soul?” Harry asked.

“No? It's just like sharing your magic. It's what I study, magic and tech.”

“What about you?” Hermione asked, turning toward Sam.

“Magical biology and runeology. I focus on plants and their properties as well as rune blood magic.”

“But–” Ron started but Harry elbowed him. 

“Look, it's very simple.” Sam took a piece of chalk out of her pocket and drew a circle with a rune inside it on the table. Then she reached into her pocket again, took out a needle and pricked her finger before placing it on the run. It glowed briefly before a flower sprouted up.

“See.”

“But you’re still using blood.”

Sam opened her mouth but Danny interrupted. “Sam, you can’t blame them. That’s just what they’ve been taught.”

She sighed. “I suppose. Their education is controlled by an old white man who wears a bathrobe.”

“But Dumbledore's incredible! He defeated Grindelwald.”

“Maybe, but he refuses to meet with our magical president because he says that Americans are backwards and that we must adhere to his rules before he’ll speak with us. I mean, isn’t your school still illuminated by candlelight? He won’t even let you use electricity.”

“Sam, that's probably enough.” Danny said.

They were all silent for a moment before Harry turned to Danny, “So, what do you study?”

“Necromancy.”

“What!” Hermione squeaked.

“Yeah, I’m naturally inclined since its what my parents studied, and then I was in an accident and I became even closer to the spiritual world. I can temporarily call up ghosts and interact with the ones already present. You've got ghosts at Hogwarts, right?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! I can also separate from my own spirit, like this.”

Danny closed his eyes and a moment later a ghost appeared next to him. He looked like Danny except with white hair and green eyes. Both Danny’s grinned at him.

“I’m not sure how I really feel about all this.” Hermione said.

Danny shrugged. “Welcome to Amity Park.”

[sunnysam-my]

One of the funniest things in Criminal Minds to me was the writers poor attempt at making Reid look super smart. I say poor because, if you know anything about what they claim Spencer can do, you know why it's ridiculous.

1. Speed Reading.

It's a unique skill Spencer has that's used often through out the show. He claims he can read 20,000 words per minute. The thing is, the way he does it makes no sense.

First of all, when speed reading, you pay the price of comprehending the text. It is suggested by experts that speed-reading is most useful to those who need "to skim a large amount of material or need to improve their study skills" and less useful to those who read "highly technical material that requires careful study of each sentence". A lot of what Spencer reads is exactly that.

Second of all, on a normal book page, about 250-300 words fit on a page. Unless my math is incorrect, if he can read 20000 w/m then he can read 333.333 per second. He can read a book page in less than a second.

Even if my math is wrong, the average word count for adult fiction and non-fiction is between 70,000 to 120,000 words. ​The average word count in a book is between 60,000 and 100,000 words. He can read a 80,000 words long book in 4 minutes. He could read the entirty of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (~75,000 words) in less than that.

2. Eidetic Memory

Again, I'm not really sure the writers even know what that means. Eidetic memory, also (incorrectly) known as total recall and photographic memory, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision, at least for a brief period of time, after seeing it only once.

The key words here are for a brief period of time. Unlike with photographic memory, it's a vivid afterimage that lingers. Additionally the memories often contain minor errors, including information that was not present in the original visual stimulus.

It's a very complicated and interesting matter, you can look into it more, but basically the writers just used it as an ass excuse to give Spencer perfect memory.

3. The Star Puzzle

I genuinely laughed at this scene. The Star Puzzle is literally a beginner-medium level puzzle. I have that star, I can see only 2, maybe 3 ways you can make a mistake while assembling it. My mom, who doesn't do those regularly like I do, only needed 15 minutes to figure out all on her own. The hard part is physically putting it together, because, until it's complete, nothing is holding the pieces together and they fall through your hands.

Noticed another thing? The way she describes it? "It's basically impossible to figure out. You have to put all the pieces back together to form a star." "It's basically impossible to do, because you have to take all those pieces and put them exactly…-" Like, yeah? That's how puzzles work??? Congratulations? All puzzles work like this. You have to put them together in the only correct order or solved them using the only solution. It's rare for puzzles to have more than one solution, that's kinda the point of them. And yeah, you can cheat usually, like with the star if you assemble it loosely and jam the last piece, but that's not the same.

And the thing is, there are harder versions of this, but no, they had to go with the identical 6 pieces. This just makes her look like an idiot.

4. His geeky overreactions were very reasonable, actually.

TBH I stopped watching CM a while ago, so don't remember as many situation as I used to, but I remember Phantasmagoria scene. Maybe this is more of geeky pet peeve of mine, but whatever.

Reid is 100% underselling Phantasmagoria here. It's not just a horror theatre play with a bit of science magic to spook the audience. They literally invented holograms for this.* Our modern image of a ghost? It's all thanks to Phantasmagoria which used live holograms** so the actors playing ghost could appear to be half transparent and floating.

You can still think that's not that cool, but wait, there's more. Other than that it used projects and many other 'magic tricks' to not only bring the monsters to life, so you can see them, but also feel them. Phantasmagoria used many special effects outside of visual illusion to make you feel cold winds, smells blood e.t.c. That's better than any other movie you can go to, especially since we're talking about reenactment, which use improved technology. Although you won't get drugged drinks before going in nowadays, so count that as a win or loss. On top of that, reenactments of Phantasmagoria are rare and for many this may be the only chance in their life to see it.

It's kinda like a walk-through haunted house, except you don't walk and there's a plot. The scene shows Spencer as some weird geek for being excited, which sucks. In general I could talk about how awful the teammates are to him half of the time, but that's not my biggest problem here. We as an audience are meant to find Reid's excitement and knowledge as lame and nerdy, but he's not even overreacting. That's a very tamed reaction when you invite your friends to possibly one in a lifetime chance to see this amazing horror magic, horror, theatre play.

*For horror shows in general, a bit earlier than Phantasmagoria, but it gave birth to it.

**Pepper's ghost isn't technically holographic, but you get it. Most people call it that anyway.