#can you tell i have a special interest

[falconfate]

Hello ranger’s apprentice fandom can we talk real quick about the stupidest thing Flanagan ever wrote

It’s about the bows. Yanno, the rangers’ Iconique™️ main weapon. That one. You know the one.

Flanagan. Flanagan why are your rangers using longbows.

“uh well recurve arrows drop faster” BUT DO THEY. FLANAGAN. DO THEY.

the answer is no they don’t. Compared to a MODERN, COMPOUND (aka cheating) bow, yes, but compared to a longbow? Y’know, what the rangers use in canon? Yeah no a recurve actually has a FLATTER trajectory. It drops LATER.

This from an article comparing the two:

“Both a longbow and a recurve bow, when equipped with the right arrow and broadhead combination, are capable of taking down big game animals. Afterall, hunters have been doing it for centuries with both types of bows.

However, generally speaking and all things equal, a recurve bow will offer more arrow speed, creating a flatter flight trajectory and retain more kinetic energy at impact.

The archers draw length, along with the weight of the arrow also affect speed and kinetic energy. However, the curved design of the limbs on a recurve adds to its output of force.”

It doesn’t actually mention ANY distance in range! And this is from a resource for bow hunting, which, presumably, WOULD CARE ABOUT THAT SORT OF THING!

Okay so that’s just. That’s just the first thing.

The MAIN thing is that even accounting for “hur dur recurves drop faster” LONGBOWS ARE STILL THE STUPID OPTION.

Longbows, particularly and especially ENGLISH longbows, are—as their name suggests—very long. English longbows in particular are often as tall or taller than their wielder even while strung, but especially when unstrung. An unstrung longbow is a very long and expensive stick, one that will GLADLY entangle itself in nearby trees, other people’s clothes, and any doorway you’re passing through.

And yes, there are shorter longbows, but at that point if you’re shortening your longbow, just get a goddamn recurve. And Flanagan makes a point to compare his rangers’ bows to the Very Long English Longbow.

Oh, do you know how the Very Long English Longbow was mostly historically militarily used? BY ON-FOOT ARCHER UNITS. Do you know what they’re TERRIBLE for? MOUNTED ARCHERY.

Trust me. Go look up right now “mounted archery longbow.” You’ll find MAYBE one or two pictures of some guy on a horse struggling with a big stick; mostly you will actually see either mounted archers with RECURVES, or comparisons of Roman longbow archers to Mongolian horse archers (which are neat, can’t lie, I love comparing archery styles like that).

Anyway. Why are longbows terrible for mounted archery? Because they’re so damn long. Think about it: imagine you’re on a horse. You’re straddling a beast that can think for itself and moves at your command, but ultimately independently of you; if you’re both well-trained enough, you’re barely paying attention to your horse except to give it commands. And you have a bow in your hands. If your target is close enough to you that you know, from years of shooting experience, you will need to actually angle your bow down to hit it because of your equine height advantage, guess what? If you have a longbow, YOU CAN’T! YOUR HORSE IS IN THE WAY BECAUSE YOUR BOW IS TOO LONG! Worse, it’s probably going to get in the general area of your horse’s shoulder or legs, aka moving parts, which WILL injure your horse AND your bow and leave you fresh out of both a getaway vehicle and a ranged weapon. It’s stupid. Don’t do it.

A recurve, on the other hand, is short. It was literally made for horse archers. You have SO much range of motion with a recurve on horseback; and if you’re REALLY good, you know how to give yourself even more, with techniques like Jamarkee, a Turkish technique where you LITERALLY CAN AIM BACKWARDS.

For your viewing enjoyment, Serena Lynn of Texas demonstrating Jamarkee:

Yes, that’s real! This type of draw style is INCREDIBLY versatile: you can shoot backwards on horseback, straight down from a parapet or sally port without exposing yourself as a target, or from low to the ground to keep stealthy without banging your bow against the ground. And, while I’m sure you could attempt it with a longbow, I wouldn’t recommend it: a recurve’s smaller size makes it far more maneuverable up and over your head to actually get it into position for a Jamarkee shot.

A recurve just makes so much more SENSE. It’s not a baby bow! It’s not the longbow’s lesser cousin! It’s a COMPLETELY different instrument made to be used in a completely different context! For the rangers of Araluen, who put soooo much stock in being stealthy and their strong bonds with their horses, a recurve is the perfect fit! It’s small and easily transportable, it’s more maneuverable in combat and especially on horseback, it offers more power than a longbow of the same draw weight—really, truly, the only advantage in this case that a longbow has over the recurve is that longbows are quicker and easier to make. But we KNOW the rangers don’t care about that, their KNIVES use a forging technique (folding) that takes several times as long as standard Araluen forging practices at the time!

Okay.

Okay I think I’m done. For now.

[destinyhasdialedback]

So I know the general consensus about the orange side is that 1. He’s Logan in a different form and 2. He represents anger/rage, but I haven’t seen anyone theorizing about what his name could be, and I wanted to offer my thoughts on it.

My first thought on the matter was that his name could end with an “us” sound to go along with Remus and Janus, like how Roman, Logan, and Patton’s names all end with the same sound. Of course, that would leave Virgil with a name that didn’t fit in with either the light or dark sides, but that would make narrative sense considering that he’s a redeemed dark side and is therefore more “in the middle” of light and dark, kind of like what we saw in the sanders sides anime intro:

So, the first name that came to mind for the orange side was Angus, since it would sound like “anger” and have the same ending sound as the other dark sides’ names, but then, I had a different theory.

I think the orange side is going to be named Brutus.

It sounds like “brutal” and has the same ending sound as the other dark sides’ names

The name Brutus is most associated with Marcus Brutus, who was one of the men who stabbed Julius Caesar despite being Caesar’s friend (hence Caesar's quote: “et tu, Brute?”). If Logan, one of the light sides, transformed into the orange side, it would make sense for him to then have a name that’s synonymous with “traitor”

Not only does the name Brutus phonetically fit in with the dark sides’ names, but it also fits in thematically. Brutus was a member of the Roman Empire (which ties into Roman’s name, obviously), Janus is named after a Roman god, and Roman & Remus are named after Romulus and Remus, twin brothers from Roman mythology.

That’s all :) thanks for reading

[ohfuckiamsohardrn]

angel's italian va supremacy and husk's spanish va supremacy.

[mamawasatesttube]

i do think that despite being the squad's designated nerds, kon and bart struggle to watch lotr together because kon physically CANNOT stop infodumping through any of the movies (and of course they have to watch the extended editions only), but bart's like. you want me to sit in one place and watch one screen for 12 fucking hours. and on top of that you WON'T SHUT UP the ENTIRE TIME? i already can't focus on movies and you TALK THROUGH THE WHOLE THING? im going to fucking bite you--

[esshades]

I finally finished my watchthrough of the 2 MDZS shows and here are my thoughts from my notes

[arsenicflame]

(in general, removed from any specific au's where he needs to swim/not swim for Plot)

(personally, i think my stance is that he has some ability to keep himself afloat in calmer waters- on the shore or in a pool- but not in the way where its a particular skill. hes spend enough time dicking around in the shallows with Jack & Sam & Ed to know how to handle himself in water where he cant consistently reach the bottom, to feel comfortable cooling off by a waterfall, but is also keenly aware that if he goes overboard, even in relatively calm waters, being able to swim isnt going to do anything to save his life if a dinghy isnt sent. hes not gonna drown the second he's in the ocean or anything, but hes screwed if the waters a little too rough or its late or a raid and it isnt noticed before the ships a way away.)

[puppyeared]

who up seeing their disorder in a fictional character but feel like its not their place to put a name on it

[thepandalion]

help I'm going insane over deltarune and Undertale stuff again

[3d-wifey]

how many chapters is And They'd Find Us In A Week going to be approximately?

there are two parts technically. there's our current part, Catching Fire, which's around 15 chapters and then there's Mockingjay which is somewhere between 8 to 12 chapters (still writing) sooooo, all together it's around 23-27 chapters. But as you know, my chapters are, at their absolute least, around 3k words, but on average 4.5k. so we're looking at a projected 103.5k-121.5k words!!!!!!!!!

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

Yangchen and Aang: *trying to hold onto what Air Nation qualities they have while still performing their duties* Disha, to Roku: You are a spirit of NO Nation. Me: ??????

[silverior968]

Happy late holidays: here's a comic that I totally didn't make just because it grinds my gears to see holly labeled as mistletoe

[Image ID: A digital comic with 10 panels. The first panel depicts two branches of holly strung from the ceiling. The background is green with a red abstract shape to accentuate the holly. There is also a speech bubble which reads "look!". The next panel has Larrikin, a black person with freckles, hazel eyes and curly ginger-and-brown hair tied into a bun with a golden ribbon. Their hair has a single white streak. They are grinning and are wearing a brown sweater, the text of which is not fully visible. They have a speech bubble which reads "It's mistletoe, you know what that means". The text "definitely put it there" is pointed at Larrikin. Opposite them is Anton, a muscular irish-eastern asian man with long, black and gray hair and violet eyes. He has a small scar on his nose and is looking up, mouth slightly open. He is wearing a red turtleneck and a green cardigan. Both of them are cut off at the bicep. The background is green. The next panel has Larrikin looking surprised and Anton pointing up, saying "That's holly". He has a scar on the back of his hand. The background is green. The fourth panel has a red background, and the text "It's a common misconception", along with drawings of holly and mistletoe, with holly being labeled "red berries, spiky leaves" and mistletoe being labeled "white berries, branches". The fifth panel has Larrikin looking embarrassed, rubbing the back of their head, with a speech bubble that reads "Oh of course, I totally knew that" It is now visible that their shirt says "ginger" and has a picture of a bread loaf on it. The background is red. The next panel has a green background and has two mistletoe branches on it, with a speech bubble that reads "this is mistletoe". The next panel has both of them cut off at the thigh, showing that Larrikin is wearing dark brown trousers and Anton is wearing black trousers. The background is green, with a red accent shape. The holly branches are still in place, but Anton is now holding mistletoe, looking away, smiling slightly and blushing. His other hand is in his pocket. Larrikin looks surprised. The next panel has Anton looking surprised as Larrikin grabs his face, the background is red and the motion is accentuated by the text "grab". Larrikin's nails are painted red. The next panel has Larrikin smiling, with a speech bubble that says "You are so silly". The background is green. The last panel has them kissing, both smiling. Anton has one arm around Larrikin's upper back, holding the mistletoe aloft with his other hand. Larrikin has one of their hands on Anton's cheek. The background is red with a green accent shape, and it is now visible that Larrikin's shirt says "gingerbread man" but with the "bread" portion replaced by a loaf of bread. / End ID]

[serafimo]

floating, falling, sweet intoxication! touch me, trust me, savor each sensation! let the dream begin, let your darker side give in, to the power of the music that i write! the power of the music of the night!

[etherealspacejelly]

me watching the olympic synchronised swimming: oh they're going to do we will rock you arent they. it is we will rock you! i was right! hang on a minute.... thats a live performance of we will rock you not the studio recording!!!!

[ultfan]

sigh. was watching a let’s player go through komaeda’s FTEs and they said he was using his diagnosis as an excuse for his actions. “oh, i’m dying and insane so everything i do is justified” like — agH stfu!!! i’ll never claim komaeda’s actions to be good, and yeah i joke about his “insane”ness a lot, but at the end of the day you genuinely can’t hold him accountable. he is not in control of his facilities — FTD specifically targets your personality/behaviors — he is not in a right state of mind and is completely unaware he is in the wrong. he CANNOT COMPREHEND that. he’s just genuinely unable to!!! i’ll never claim he isn’t a bad person, or that he isn’t an antagonist, but at the end of the day he is someone who needs not help necessarily, but to be taken care of/looked after. he doesn’t belong in a prison, he belongs in a mental facility. where he can have trained professionals who can keep watch over him and actually work with him and keep him in check. — in any canon related verse he’ll never actually get that, esp given the state of the world, but it’s true that’s what he needs more than anything else.

and people really do tend to overlook just how much bvFTD truly fits komaeda as a diagnosis. especially in ways that aren’t touched upon by the vaaaaast majority of people. a while back i read a research paper about hyper-religiousity in patients with FTD; which could very easily be applied to the way he views hope. first clinging to it as a coping mechanism and that being exaggerated through the deterioration to become a blind faith that he is obsessed over which leads every action he takes.

anyway i just think it’s ridiculous to call a disease like FTD an “excuse.” there are people who use their mental illness as excuses for their actions to justify themselves, yes. but this isn’t a mental illness — it’s a degenerative brain disease. it’s an entirely different category. this isn’t a case of an illness making it difficult to control his actions and act reasonably, it’s a case of a disease making it IMPOSSIBLE to control his actions and act reasonably. it just really upsets me to see people brush that off because that is one of the main things that makes komaeda actually sympathetic.

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

you know if we do accept the last epilogue-esque sequence as a sort of dream/wish of ted's and therefore not necessarily canon, very funny if we then simply go "yeah, trent's book is called 'the lasso way' actually. he didn't change that. nope."

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Points at you. 10 and/or 11 for starstruck?

Two starstruck asks,,,,,,joy of joys,,

Part of an ask game linked here.

#10. What's an au you have for them?

Since them meeting at all is technically an AU i have 3 different ways that they do meet up. There's the one where Juniper ends up with the agency/adjacent to and ends up working with Reggie (have written a fic with this). The next one is Juniper surviving but basically going stealth and living as normal of a life as he can and ending up meeting Reggie through chance (most recent fic I've written). And then there's my personal favourite where Reginald "You're lucky my tracking skills are still up to snuff" Crane keeping himself busy after Phoenix was MIA and finding Juniper still alive (fic I want to write but haven't started mainly because it may end up multi chapter).

In terms of more AU canon bending taking them and putting them in a completely unrelated situation...I have a guilty pleasure Warrior Cats AU for IEYTD in general. Both JJ and Reggie have perfect warrior cats suffixes in their names already (Juniper and Crane) so they're called Junipersong (charcoal bengal) and Craneflight (tabby Norwegian forest cat). It's very silly but the amount of scenes I have in my mind for it...good lord...

#11. How was their first kiss like?

Augh my friend Imp wrote an absolutely excellent fic about it (tragically in the realm of unfinished Google docs) and I'm shaking their hand about it so hard. Basically Juniper kissing Reggie but he like wasn't ready/fully expecting it and Juniper absolutely panicking because he thinks he's misread every interaction between them both since they got closer. The second one is much sweeter though,,