#dod: s

[apollohears]

Care to share some facts about the ROs?

without spoiling much here are some other silly things that could go along with the romance character bios I've already posted!

Pavlos:

✸ character inspo song: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road — Elton John. ✸ he refuses to learn how to read written music and, having taught himself how to play the lute when he was younger, has perfect pitch, which makes it simple for him to perform music entirely by ear. ✸ adores satin and lace shirts, especially those with a cute ruffled cuff hem and a silk robe with an eye-catching pattern. His mother's closet serves as his sole source of fashion inspiration; he won't part with any of her items and finds comfort in dressing in the same robes he remembers her wearing as a child. ✸ cannot even save himself by throwing a punch or fighting without somehow hitting or harming himself in some way.

Rune:

✸ character inspiration song: Abbey — Mitski ✸ has a very bad staring problem, it doesn't help while their always wearing that damn helmet. ✸ they appear to have an odd and profound fascination with nurturing outside wildlife and bugs, for whatever reason. ✸ their stance is so rigid and firm that it appears as though they were born with the heavy, bulky metal armor on.

Annette:

✸ character inspo song: When Will My Life Begin (reprise) — Mandy Moore. ✸ her favorite genre besides poetry and fantasy to read is nonfiction biographies written by mad men since she lives for a good conspiracy theory. Her second favorite genre is horror, especially horror stories about creatures and supernatural sightings. Her favorite thing to do before bed is light a candle and read tucked away in her pillow fort. ✸ her collection of knives and daggers is derived from antique weapons that she would conceal from her brother's belongings. Nestled amidst her heaps of vintage writing journals is a small trunk that houses a great assortment of more than twelve. She developed an obsession/hobby when she was younger after reading a tale about a female knight. She also secretly trains herself in swordplay and knife skills by observing her brothers in action during their training. ✸ she detests it when her maids are told to do anything with her hair. Her mother believes that her hair is embarrassing, even though Annette simply loves to have her curls out and feels most beautiful when she isn't wearing her mother's tight, pulled-back styles.

Silas/Sophia:

✸ character inspo song: Gilded Lily — Cults. ✸ just might be a sadist with how many times they get into fights with complete random people, doesn't help that they have a very cocky mouth. Insulting someone like it's almost like second nature, they refuse to have a filter. Their favorite word being "fuck" with how many times they say it in a sentence. ✸ almost every creation and weapon they have ever made has a name and a personality, and they expect you to be familiar with them all as well. ✸ has an issue with overworking themselves to the bone, pulling all-nighters, and refusing to give up on projects since they like to sit down and get everything done in one sitting. will be hyper-fixed on everything, revolving around whatever they are working on until they move onto the next thing and start the cycle again.

[mondaymelon]

it was 3am for me when u tagged me in those little picrew games i thought u shld know JAJAJKAJSHSH—

not a time better to do silly little picrews with silly little moots and typing silly little comments lmao!!

in all truth though whoever said sleep is for the weak is a liar. of course not lmao.

sleep is for the dead

[polarfarina]

One layer doodle from mmmmmm 2021 ish

[my-shields-are-down]

So Lucy has been the one to initiate both the kisses, the next one with Tim and Lucy, I hope Tim kisses her. Also want it to be slower.

Technically, one could argue that the first kiss was instigated by Tim - who thought they should practice being boyfriend/ girlfriend. Then he chickened out and Lucy grabbed him.

I really do not care who initiates the next round of kissing - just so long as there is some. 💋😘💋

[blindedguilt]

I need Leonard and Cain to do toxic yaoi together...the two of them deserved more interaction in general

//YOU GET IT OMG YOU F U C K I N G GET IT //It's the duality. It's the difference in background and how they deal with tragedy and how that's absolutely APPALLING to both, because Leonard, who has and is dealing with a deep sense of wanting to inflict violence on the inside, and Caim, who just wants peace and to have never dealt with any of that on the inside, SEE the other's outward actions doing just the opposite and both are reminded of JUST how much they're trying to ignore that part they see in the other inside of them and how they're trying to put that down and HERE this motherfucker is, just doing it //AND ITS THE SENSE OF SOLIDARITY THESE VERY DIFFERENT PEOPLE FROM VERY DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS GET WHEN THEY SEE THAT, BECAUSE BEYOND LOSING THEIR FAMILY TO THE EMPIRE WHICH BRANG THEM UNDER THE UNION'S CAUSE THEY'RE BOTH OLDER BROTHERS WHO KNOW DEEP DOWN WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FRET OVER AND CARE FOR YOUR YOUNGER SIBLING, OUTSIDE NUMBNESS TO THOSE FEELINGS BY OUTWARD CIRCUMSTANCES BE DAMNED. THEYRE BOTH PART OF A VERY SMALL MINORITY WHO HAVE MADE A PACT, AND EVEN SMALLER OF THE ONES WITH SOME SEMBLENCE OF A MIND LEFT AFTER DOING DO. THAT THEY BOTH CAME OUT OF THEIR TRAUMA AS THE ONLY ONES LEFT FULLY UNTOUCHED AND ARE BOTH STRUGGLING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK TO DO WITH THAT, AND THAT LATER ON THEY BOTH FIND SOMEONE TO CARE FOR IMMENSELY THAT THEY'RE FUNDAMENTALLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH THAT GIVES THEM THEIR REAL SENSE OF WORTH AFTER THE WAR AND THE PROFOUND ISOLATION FROM BEING SO FAR DEEP IN YOUR OWN HEAD AND TRAUMA AND KNOWING THE STUPID PIDDLING WRECK OF A HERMIT OR THE NEEDLESSLY VIOLENT BLOODTHIRSTY CRACKHEAD MERCENARY NEXT TO YOU CAN SHARE IN THAT GRIEF BUT AT THE SAME TIME IS A MIRROR INTO YOURSELF AND WHAT YOU CAN BE THAT YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO SEE //ITS ABOUT THE PROJECTION. IT'S ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES THAT FORCE THEM TO LOOK INTO THEIR OWN SELF AND THEIR INABILITY TO COPE WITH THAT AND WHY THAT MAKES THEM FUCKING HATE EACH OTHER, BUT ALSO THE COMPANY AND RELATABILITY TO EACH OTHER'S POSITIONS THAT DRIVES THEM TO THAT AWKWARD STALEMATE. ITS ABOUT THE MISLED "I CAN FIX HIM"'S MEANING TWISTED BUT WELL-INTENTIONED "I CAN MAKE HIM MORE LIKE ME THE WAY I WANT SO I DON'T HAVE TO BE SCARED ANYMORE" ON BOTH SIDES FROM PEOPLE WHO CAN'T EVEN FIX THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY CAN'T LET GO, AND THEN MY FAVOURITE PART

//HOW THAT RESULTS IN PSYCHICAL VIOLENCE AND/OR LOATHING AND RESENTMENT AND DISGUST. i watch this scene with SUCH yaoi-tinted glasses anon you don't even know

[absolberts251]

my chrismas list

- hamburger helper

- hamburger helper

- hamburger helper

- hamburger helper

- hamburger helper

- 3 weed smoking girlfriends

- idk

[reagent-leon]

GUYS!!! Stop saying Coyle is singing his ABCs wrong!!

"T, P, D, A, T, F, C, I, A, F, B, I, U, S, P, I, S, D, O, D, S, S, S, U, S, A."

He's not singing his ABCs he's just using the same tune, they're all acronyms

TPD = ?*

ATF = Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CIA = Central Intelligence Agency, 

FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation, 

USPIS = United States Postal Inspection Service,

DOD = United States Department of Defense,  

SSS = Selective Service System, 

USA = United States of America

Okay? So let's all stop saying he's uneducated or illiterate because he's definitely not. Pre-Sinyala Coyle kept "obsessively complete notes" according to Clyde Perry's account, and furthermore just look at his pretty handwriting on the evidence boxes, that's not an uneducated scrawl. Coyle is willfully ignorant, but he's not lacking in basic literacy skills.

"But Leon, why did he misspell Guilty as Giltee on the Scapegoat?"

Well, friend, I don't entirely know. But as he's spelt it correctly in other places, he probably did it on purpose, matching his dialect to emphasise his point. Maybe he just forgot about the U and by the time he'd started carving the L he knew he needed to commit to his fuck up.

*Sooo I have some theories as to what TPD could stand for.

Total Permanent Disability. In one of Coyles' dialogues, he mentions his Father losing his foot in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest. That injury would likely see him permanently disabled and unable to work as he had before (it's implied that Coyles' parents were cattle ranchers), therefore he would be entitled to welfare checks.

Tulsa Police Department. Tulsa and Blackwell are within 2 hours drive of each other and it's very possible that Coyle completed his training at the Tulsa Police Academy before going on to work for the Blackwell Police Department. Tulsa also has history of violent racism, which would appeal to Coyle.

Tactical PSYOPS Detachment/United States Psychological Operations. There was extensive use of psychological operations in World War II, and given everything that the Outlast Trials are about I think this is a worthy contender.

Tobacco Products Directive. This was the only other thing I could think of that would make sense in conjunction with Coyle, but it's a European Union directive, and therefore I think it's unlikely this is what Coyle is referring to, but I still thought it was worth mentioning.

If you have any better ideas please feel free to share them!

A big big thank you to my friends in the Coyle Crew: @misa-bun @soggy-bean and @mortisdeth for their help in researching, theorising and giving me moral support when I thought I was about to lose it

[kittywritingsonao3]

i had an idea about an AU my s-class hunters inspired debut or die so i'm sharing it ^^ i wrote it fast without thinking much so don't take it too seriously...

! there's big spoilers for debut or die novel so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled !l

like in canon, yoohyun left yoojin (for x reason) and yoojin is well, sad. Until one day he woke up in is brother body, several years in the past, with the ultimatum of debuting as an idol or he will die. Of course yoojin is not going to let his brother body die, and like in dod, every information about himself disapeared.

so like, contrary to moondae, yoojin don't know much about idol, so I had different idea to "help" him. 1, the system window is talking to him and giving advice (newcomer) 2, yoohyun was a solo idol and yoojin keeped track of him.

anyway, idol inc happens and for the group i was thinking on making a mixed group (discarding season 2 of idol inc).

for the group i imagined yoohyun(yoojin) as a leader/singer, yerim as a main rapper/dancer, noah main dancer/singer (inspired ahyeon) and then... i don't really know :/ i like myeongwoo but i can't really imagine him singing/dancing or rapping so... since the groupe is "young" i wondered if i could put soyoung too? but then i couln't do a jupiter "groupe", and at the same time having hyunjae and soyoung around the same age? weird. So yeah, apart from noah and yerim i'm not sure about yoojin's group. of course yoojin would take care of everyone and everthing, this guy don't change.

for hyunjae, well, it's easy to say he's taking the place of cheongryeo!

as i was typing i realised that myeongwoo could be a producer, like raebin. so maybe singer/producer? since there's a lot of singers, soyoung should be a rapper.

anyway, let's go back to hyunjae. hyunjae is an all rounder obviously, the king of everything, except he don't really do live and variety show. contrary to cheongryeo i like to think he would do a lot of solo stuff outside of the groupe.

talking of the group! of course mixed again. at this point i'm a bit strugling because i don't know if i want hyuna to be in the same groupe as hyunjae or another girl only group. if she's in a gg, she would be with riette and nonames. if she isn't, i like the lineup hyunjae, hyuna, taewon, evelyn and maybe riette. i don't know about making riette an idol if hyuna is with the other. she could be someone who work in the industry, and cause trouble to noah but have a good relationship with soyoung.

for the roles i'm not sure, but rapper/main dancer hyuna is good, singer evelyn, rapper taewon maybe?

going back to hyunjae, like cheongryeo he came back multiple time in the past to achieve the missions. and he would probably annoy yoojin a lot, but as time pass, they would reach a relation of trust and try to break the system together.

yoojin will remember about a past he forgot, his suicide and the other life of everyone (yerim, noah, myeongwoo but also hyuna, taewon and hyunjae) and how yoohyun saved his life with the system.

contrary to dod, i think it would be better if yoojin return to his body. and i have two ideas at how it can happens. 1 well, uh, magic. yoojin live in his body, but everybody who isn't aware of the system think that the idol yoohyun always looked like that and was always named yoojin. he kept being an idol, and his brother continue being his number 1 fan. for those who read the novel, it's like the arc "Company <System> update" where everybody forgot moondae. idea 2, since yoohyun got back in his body he became an idol, replacing his brother. yoojin became their's manager, and hyunjae always try to get him become his manager's group ;)

this is the end, my brain cannot do much more for now ^^' if i have other idea, i'll share them but for now that's all. if you got inspired feel free to write about it, just mention me that's all i ask. and link me your work so i can see it (☆▽☆)/

[nestofthorns]

*spoilers ahead*

maybe it's because i was reading orv before reading dod but debut or die feels like a love letter to idols and fandom the way orv feels like a love letter to readers.

i just keep thinking about the world of the screen. keundal receiving strength through gun134's fancams, despite never meeting. moondae receiving keundal's wishes and help through the system screen.

idols and fans live in two worlds, but they meet through the screen. what connects them? what makes the two worlds connect? why do idols keep performing, why do the audience — the fans — keep watching?

it's fun.

just like testar's concept — it's because it's fun.

because it's fun, because it makes you laugh, because it makes you scream, because it makes you cry.

because you share those emotions, the two worlds are connected.

and when you meet the idols live, those two worlds overlap for a moment and those emotions spill out.

gunwoo, who captured idol videos just to make money. gunwoo, who helped keundal during the worst time of his life through the screen. gunwoo, who lived in an isolated world but still touched others' hearts through the videos he uploaded.

and when they met outside the world of the screen, he once again helped keundal. keundal who cast the wish to help the one who helped him and became the screen itself.

because ryu gunwoo was his idol even before he was park moondae. because park moondae (ryu gunwoo) saved his heart, even before everything.

gunwoo gave him the world of the screen that saved him, and then keundal cast a wish to give him a world that loves him through the screen

idk i keep thinking about how much moondae loves his fans and how much they love him. how their prayers and hopes reached him when he was comatose. how he's always planning to make sure the fandom is having fun and not tired to support testar. how he may not be the og "park moondae", but he's undoubtedly testar's park moondae.

[apollohears]

(Silas/Sophia) Amon ( he/him or she/her ) — the needling best friend. Silas/Sophia makes it a point to look after the few people they genuinely care about. After losing their entire family and being the only survivor alongside you in the harrowing witch plundering, they vowed to always be by your side. Their loyalty stems from deep-seated trauma, which is poorly concealed by their tongue-biting, sarcastic demeanor; all they want is the betterment and safety of themselves and their friends. They frequently serve as the group's voice of reason, as evidenced by their headstrong approach to witch hunting. They are quite brave, using intuition to plan routes and create traps in addition to the weapons used to hunt down just about every witch they can find.

Making it their lifelong goal to kill every damn witch out there, but how will they react if you start making some strange new allies who just happen to get in the way of that goal?

Appearance. at 5'10" tall, their athletic build is obvious, with a slender frame from years of heavy lifting peeking through the rolled-up sleeves of their blouse, indicating a life shaped solely by survival instincts. Their jagged and unkempt, tousled, dark, jet-black hair falls just above their collarbone, usually tied up in a half-hearted low ponytail. Their dark brown, almost pitch black, almond eyes are a stark reminder of the weight of the world they carry; so dim and intense, they appear to reflect little light. Their well-defined brows provide a subtle intensity. A well-proportioned nose and lips contribute to a balanced facial structure. A strong jawline and a few visible lightened scars adorn their face, narrating stories of fights chosen incorrectly.

Personality. a paragon of true loyalty and unwavering childhood friendship, they stand out as an invaluable ally to mainly those within the witch-hunting gang. Their genuine amazement in the face of extraordinary circumstances reflects a curiosity that defines their character. Their wisdom guides those within their circle, offering a more grounded and pessimistic perspective that transcends the complexities of life. Sarcasm is second nature to them, evident in their crude mouth, seemingly fearing no confrontation. Creatively tasked and sharp-minded when it comes to crafting, Silas/Sophia seamlessly integrates their ideas and thoughts into physical form, demonstrating an inquisitive spirit about their craftsmanship. 

[randomfoggytiger]

Dana Scully: a Fear of Death Rooted in Eternal Judgment

I think Scully's fear of death is rooted in a fear of judgment.

According to her faith, one either gets into Heaven or Hell (with a pit stop here or there to atone for their sins.) One would think that would be a comfort to the morally unbreakable Dana Scully.

But it isn't.

During her atheistic arc (Season 1 through early Season 2), Scully was determined to do her job and do it well. The paranoia of death didn't cling to her as it does in later seasons.... until Beyond the Sea. Her father's ghost visiting her right after his death and being channeled later through Luthor Lee Boggs, twice-- it takes its toll, unwinding the foundational principles of her life: that Death is final; and that there are no ghosts or psychics or even angels or demons, just sick men and women who abuse others through their superstitions. Scully chooses ignorance, reverting away from this new territory because "I'm afraid... I'm afraid to believe." The rest of Season 1, she didn't want to die, panicked in the face of it; but wasn't as paranoid as, again, later seasons.

Then One Breath happens: Scully experienced something she "couldn't find the words" to explain, even when facing death alongside Mulder in Dod Kalm. It's Scully who is fearless as their end approaches, reassuring Mulder he has nothing to fear based on that experience. Thus, One Breath began her agnostic arc-- where she believed, deep down, but was afraid to fully accept that belief (i.e., her shaken projections on Pfaster in Irresistible and her activated voodoo curse in Fresh Bones.) Death is a place of peace, hence why she denies it to Pfaster (we later learn in Orison.)

When we reach Season 3's Revelations, Scully's agnosticism turns to religious terror. "God is speaking, and no one is listening", she confesses to the priest-- what she means is, that God has been speaking to and judging me, and I've been failing. Thus, her paranoia of Death: not because of its finality (Season 1) or promise of peace (Season 2), but because it could find her at fault and deny her a blessed eternal life.

In Season 4, Scully doesn't want to "run back to God" in Gethsemane; but faces her fears once Death becomes inescapable in Redux II.

In Season 5, she battles with her religious fragility, struggling for peace after her daughter is stolen before her Christian burial (Emily) and after her spirit returns during a case with angels and demons. Scully may be more vulnerable to religious manipulation, but she is also more secure in her beliefs of a peaceful afterlife.

By Season 6, Scully continues to look upon Death as God's judgment: eternal reward or eternal torment. But then Tithonus happens: Fellig shakes Scully's convictions that eternity is a good thing, showing her the soul of an eternally tormented man... making her wonder if she is guaranteed a happy ending, after all.

This brings up to Season 7's Orison, where Scully stands in judgment of Pfaster and the "Reverend" Orison. When she murders Pfaster in cold blood, her doubts and criticisms rise up against her, brandishing her with the same immoral code-- thus, making her fear eternal condemnation from God: the end meted out to both convicts, or an immortal torment ala Alfred Fellig. This was an extremely crucial moment for her development as a character... and would have been given no resolution if not for Gillian's all things.

all things is the resolution to Scully's paranoia: "God talks back", she comes to terms with herself, and makes a final decision out of principle and not panic, out of assuredness and not anguish. Scully is secure; and she finds the stability to embrace her beliefs, religion, and faith as it should be: a source of rest, a refuge from fear.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[seawing-vibes]

I’ve been sitting on all these whips for a while and finally decided to just post em!! Various doodles without context of various wof characters <3 If you would like some context you can find some under the cut

A doodle of Sora dealing with the grief of loosing Crane! Normal Girl Hours

A request from a friend of young Prince Arctic! Made him look like an Arctic Turn

An allwing! Just a classic beast, we should all make Allwing ocs again

A sketch of Sundew inspired by @/icecreamsodaaaaa ‘s way of drawing her! She thinking about Willow

The DOD catching a rest! Inspired by some convo with friends about how the DoD grew up together and probably appreciated sleeping in the same cave again once they escaped from the mountain

A mini-ref of Sora that was never finished … one day I will make that AMV about her …

Speaking of AMV’s ! Hello unfinished Moray Animation Ref Concept! I wanna do an AMV about her & Orca … I still want to do it someday but now is not the time

An unfinished mini Moon & Qibli comic! Just them being sillay and friends, liked this dumb lil doodle well-enough though

[fuzzkaizer]

Maestro - W-2 sound system for woodwinds

"In an age where more and more pedal companies are cropping up and more and more esoteric circuits are resurrected to broaden the total tonal spectrum, it’s surprising when new old circuits crop up. Circuits like the S. Hawk Tonal Expander and SRS EQ Exciter ended up enjoying their time in the spotlight by virtue of being undiscovered one-off devices. But it’s even rarer when one such circuit hides in plain sight, but stays obscure for one reason or another. This is the Maestro W-2.

To be clear, there’s a definite reason why the W-2 didn’t get much due, and we’ll definitely get into that. And there’s a strong possibility that you, the reader, have actually heard of this unit. But the Maestro line is well celebrated in gear circles, both from its individual units and clones of more obscure devices becoming more popular than the originals (the DOD Carcosa becoming more well-known than the FZ-1S, for example). Instances like this are becoming less and less common, but there’s at least one more unit in the Maestro line that I don’t think many folks are talking about—stay tuned for that.

However, the W-2 remained in relative secrecy for three reasons, chief among them that it’s designed to be used in conjunction with a woodwind instrument (saxophone or clarinet) and special pickup. This generally implied a couple things: One is that the unit would only be purchased by reed effects enthusiasts or studio owners. Secondly, if you lose the pickup you were well out of luck. Even though a handful of units at the time used the same pickup, later models didn’t include the strange output configuration, making them harder to find as time goes by.

The second reason for the lack of recognition is the fragility of the unit itself. Finding them in good working order is a difficult feat, and finding someone to work on them is harder still. The units are notoriously hard to repair; because they feature a handful of moving parts, finding replacements can prove difficult. This leads right into the third reason.

Plugging a guitar into the W-2 is not feasible unless you provide some outboard equipment, which isn’t included with the unit, nor did Maestro offer such a device to make this conversion. Essentially, your guitar outputs a signal that’s low, relative to the expected input level of the woodwind mic. Such a device is a simple preamp booster, which Electro-Harmonix had been offering for a handful of years, but Maestro did not provide such an offering, and made no effort to divulge this info to non-woodwindists. To make matters worse, the input jack is a eighth-inch type, so you had to chase down an adapter.

In short, there just weren’t many of these produced, and the pickups were similarly scarce. When trying to redeem the value of the W-2 with a guitar, players will wonder if they’re connecting the device up properly at all, and when no sound comes out, they’ll assume the unit is broken. And given its reputation, that’s the end of the line. It’s a perfect storm for cult status, really.

Knowing this, once everything is hooked up and dialed in, you’re treated to a rich synthy sound along with many different horn emulations. Like the USS-1 in the same line, the W-2 is multi-effect unit, but unlike that unit which sought to transform the guitar into some type of malleable synth spectre, the W-2 cleanly emulates a variety of instruments, while adding tone controls for each section and a nifty tremolo section.

Much has been made about the relative limbo of this unit, as well as the limitations and the lengths that one must traverse to simply connect an instrument. But like many other obscure devices from this era, this particular one was used by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. Though many things are mistakenly attributed to the man’s sound, the Maestro W-2 is not one of them. Zappa’s clarinet section ran into the W-2 and through a particular patch called “Oboe D'Amore” on “Dog Breath in the Year of the Plague,” from 1969’s Uncle Meat.

While Zappa actually used clarinets to generate those tones, you can thank that simple fact for keeping the prices of the W-2 at relative bay. Had he plugged his guitar into one, the prices on these would be ten times as much and one might not have found its way into the cabinet, and the knowledge of its existence into your head."

cred: catalinbread.com/blogs/kulas-cabinet/maestro-w-2

[zvaigzdelasas]

[Defense.gov is US DOD]

Today, at President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted self-defense strikes on two facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. These precision self-defense strikes are a response to a series of ongoing and mostly unsuccessful attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed militia groups that began on October 17. As a result of these attacks, one U.S. citizen contractor died from a cardiac incident while sheltering in place; 21 U.S. personnel suffered from minor injuries, but all have since returned to duty. The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will not tolerate such attacks and will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests. The United States does not seek conflict and has no intention nor desire to engage in further hostilities, but these Iranian-backed attacks against U.S. forces are unacceptable and must stop. Iran wants to hide its hand and deny its role in these attacks against our forces. We will not let them. If attacks by Iran’s proxies against U.S. forces continue, we will not hesitate to take further necessary measures to protect our people. These narrowly tailored strikes in self-defense were intended solely to protect and defend U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. They are separate and distinct from the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, and do not constitute a shift in our approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict. We continue to urge all state and non-state entities not to take action that would escalate into a broader regional conflict. [sic]

26 Oct 23

[usafphantom2]

S-3a Vikings of VS-38 hunting subs! Excellent DoD capture.

credit US Naval Aircraft

@CcibChris via X

[wings-of-fire-confessions]

I have been in the wof fandom for a while, since at least 2016, and I absolutely adore the creators in the fandom. I love getting to see how people view the books and making good critiques of the book series.

However, it annoys me how some people try to make claims that either don’t hold up or may have some validity at first, but falls apart when you put it in context of story of the books, or the world, or when you even just think a bit further about the point.

One of the things I have seen include Tui using Native American stereotypes in a tumblr post and using the fact that the characters (specifically the humans during the scorching) used feathers as accessories and were people of color. At face value, it seems like a valid claim, until you realize that all of the human characters are people of color and their societies don’t try to resemble that of Native American people in the books. Or the fact that the humans were the ones that stole dragon eggs and tried to use them as weapons of war. In total, I think there was one white person ever mentioned in the books (Axolotl).

Additionally, if you are going to talk about an issue in the fandom on a YouTube video, make it an actual video! By that, I mean if you intend to make a point about something, you don’t make a video that has no relevance to the topic at hand and then put the discourse in the description!

If you know the video I am referring to, the creator made a PMV for the fandom then put in their description why they aren’t making wof content anymore and that people should stop reading the books because of “Tui’s dangerous and bigoted writing.” I’m not saying that the person shouldn’t talk about issues in the fandom, but at least if you are going to do that make it its own video so people can actually SEE IT. Not everyone who clicks on a video will read the description, and when people go to read the comments, they are bound to get confused! (For context, the biggest thing being fought over was the freaking Glorybringer ship and how it is/isn’t pedophilia with op arguing it is).

I also watched the video they added in the link that was critiquing the “complacency in fantasy” (but mostly talking about wof) and it had some good points, until it went into saying that the Nightwings mirrored the Nazis and represented Jewish stereotypes at the same time and how it was “trauma porn.”

As I said before, some good points in the critique such as the treatment of Winter and the false DoD, and I get some of the points that the person was trying to make with how some subjects should be handled with more care such as arc 3’s slavery and the racism between tribes in wof, but other things such as comparing the Sandwings to Arab stereotypes without ya know, acknowledging how people that read the series treat the characters outside the books and how the books themselves handle their own characters (Such as Qibli and the whole Deserter winglet) is frustrating.

TLDR; if you are going to make a statement on fandom discourse or want to make an in depth critique about the series and want to make your point known, don’t relegate it to what basically equates to an optional footnote. And if you are going to make claims that relate to the real world, please back it up with evidence of both the in-text and information about the real-world facts (plus acknowledge at least some of the context around a series such as arc 1 and the fact that Tui is flawed but doesn’t mean that it can’t be enjoyed).

Sorry for the rant/long post, the way that some people handle criticizing the books and try to paint them like the worst thing ever just infuriates me because there is good and bad things about this series as all series are bound to have. Crafting a perfect story is hard to do and there will always be shortcomings in some authors stories, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them or be inspired to create something that may improve or even tackle the issues within the books with more care.

I definitely understand what you are saying. As a Jew (Bar Mitzvah'd so I am connected to my community), the comparison to NightWings is pretty far-fetched and actually pretty offensive.

It's just like how people called Tigerstar a cat Nazi back in the day, when he was more like a racial purist, and even then he somehow was pro-race blending.