#excel error functions

[datawitzz]

What is the AGGREGATE function in Excel|| 19 functions in a single formula|| How to use the AGGREGATE function in excel

What is the AGGREGATE function in Excel What is the AGGREGATE function in Excel – The AGGREGATE function in excel is a conglomerate of functions. We can use 19 functions from this single function. This is just a “Function of Functions” which incorporates multiple functions. It was introduced in the 2010 version. So if you are using an older version then it would reflect #NAME? errors. The excel…

[bizarrelittlemew]

PROUDLY PRESENTING:

The Unofficial OFMD AO3 Wrapped 2024

sponsored by my love of fandom community, a passion for data presentation, more hours in photoshop than I am willing to admit, and inspired by the Good Omens AO3 wrapped

images used are either official stills or screencaps from episodes and the Vanity Fair lie detector video. everything edited by me :)

a few additional stats:

79 works had more than 100k words, with an accumulated 16 million words, meaning 1% of works accounted for 21% of words

At a reading speed of 300 words per minute, it would take 174 days and nights to read all of the OFMD fic from 2024 - or, if you read for 11.5 hours every day for a year, you'd be able to get through it all!

The most tagged sex acts for explicit fics were (in order): Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Oral Sex, Anal Fingering, and Hand Jobs

271 works were tagged "Art"

details about data collection and analysis ⤵️

All data was collected on January 1st, 2025. I limited search results within the fandom tag to works updated between 2024-01-01 and 2024-12-31. Works started earlier but updated in 2024 are therefore included. Works added and deleted again during the year are not accounted for.

I manually typed data from the AO3 search into Excel, so there may be errors and inaccuracies due to the limits of the AO3 search function, authors' tagging choices, and typos (sorry lmao). There is probably an easier way to do this but idk I was bored and didn't mind. Graphs were made in Excel.

For the total word count estimate, I collected the exact word counts of all works above 100k, then gathered data on the number of works within pre-selected word count intervals and multiplied the number of works with the average of the interval (for each interval). The total sum and cumulative graphs for both number of works and word counts are presented above.

I made posts on tumblr and bluesky asking people to nominate their favorite tags from 2024, and included as many as I could.

This is just how I chose to present the data - I hope it makes sense and I'm open to questions!

[lullabyes22-blog]

Real talk because you are THE resident Silco expert and all your headcanons are 100% correct: why does fandom think Silco would be good in bed? (Or good at sex at all?)

I've seen headcanons about him being a giver, and about his dick game being fire, and while he's a sexy, charismatic man, I feel like he's too... selfish, insecure, and just not a romantic guy. He's also a very bitter, lonely, and angry dude. Idk, it makes sense he would have some kinks but I feel like he'd be too much of a bitch to care for anyone else in bed. I guess he'd want it rough, and I've read some fics where he's a sadist, but I feel like it'd just be a quick fuck to satisfy himself, not a slow, passionate, sensual thing.

idk, do with this what you will.

I agree - with nuance 💗

Silco - at least as I write him in FNF - is principally a headfuck. If he's demonstrating an interest in you, then he wants something from you. If he's nice to you, there's a bottom line. No act of generosity comes without strings attached, and every small kindness comes at a terrible price. That aspect of cold-blooded calculus is never far away from his base nature, which splits the world into assets and liabilities, and his own actions into a transaction of cost versus reward.

With that in mind, he excels, not at sex, but at getting his partners to do what he wants them to do. For him, it's one of the many fluid ways of expressing power, and demonstrating his mastery over the subtleties of the human body and mind.

A few readers have noticed that he comes across as very detached and controlled during FnF's sex scenes - and that they read as weirdly voyeuristic. That always delights me, because it's an intentional choice. He doesn't really see his partner as anything beyond a medium to his goals, so his focus is entirely on their physical responses and his own actions. His narration is distant, observational and impersonal, because he doesn't experience sex as something that involves an emotional or empathetic connection. Rather, he's gauging how his target's responses play out on a physical plane, and he's calibrating his own actions to maximise their impact.

To give credit where credit is due, he's very intelligent, patient and observant. There is also some realistic backing to the running gag that Good D is invariably attached to Bad Men. More specifically, Bad Broke Men. Silco has not grown up in a position of privilege or wealth. He has been forced to make use of every available resource. He has survived by the skin of his teeth on a constant knife edge of deprivation, hunger and fear.

He's a scrapper. He's a survivor. He's an opportunist.

And to be any of those things, you need to know your way around people: their wants and weaknesses. That's the foundation for the idea that he's good in bed - that he can anticipate his partner's desires, and respond accordingly. The difference is, his actions have no romantic underpinning. It's a matter of pure pragmatism and self-interest.

In terms of technical skill, he's likely very good at finding his partner's pressure points, both literal and figurative, and exploiting them. But if it were up to him, he'd find a way to turn the thumbscrews with nothing more than a well-chosen word and a cold look. The sex is just a generality, and his enjoyment a function of their compliance.

When it comes to actual intimacy?

My friends, he'd be spectacularly bad.

Not just bad, but skittish, hostile and hopelessly inept. He'd feel like an accomplished stage actor who has to step out onto the boards for an improv class. He hasn't got the right lines, he isn't dressed for the part, and he isn't even sure what role he's supposed to be playing. He'd be so awkward, he'd actually have trouble looking his partner in the eyes. The sum total of his sexual ouvre would devolve into the following comedy of errors:

"What the fuck is this?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Don't touch me there."

"This is going well, right?"

"Why can't I get it up?"

"I can't do this."

"Leave me alone."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't leave me."

"They always leave me."

"Why does everyone leave me?"

And he'd only spiral deeper into self-loathing and isolation. To submit to intimacy is to open oneself up to the mortifying ordeal of being known, and the constant risk of rejection. To Silco, it is anathema. Actual emotional vulnerability during sex would be not unlike attending his own public execution.

But.

Silco is not a one-note villain, much less a one-trick pony. He has a human history riven in deprivation, bloodshed and betrayal. He's remade himself from a 'weak' man into the premier kingpin of Zaun, but that predatory bracing still hides remnants of the soft-natured idealist he once was. In fact, he's the product of a deeply embedded internal conflict between two distinct versions of himself. The one who seeks to burn his enemies, and the one who seeks to save his city. He's also, as demonstrated by his love for Jinx, capable of profound devotion, loyalty, and a deep-seated longing for companionship.

That means the potential for romance exists. It's just buried deep, deep, deep down beneath years of abuse, neglect, trauma, and self-imposed barriers. If he meets someone who can dismantle those barriers, or bypass them altogether and earn his trust, there is a ray of hope.

Sex would still be frightening and uncomfortable, and it'd involve a lot of trial and error. But it'd also have the potential to be deeply healing. Not because Silco would become a better man, but because his partner would make him want to try. He'd also bring the same intense focus, intelligence, and determination to the task that he applies to his criminal empire - which means that, once he does have his sea legs, Silco would have the potential to become a truly giving lover.

It's all about context.

And the context is always: will he take the gamble when he has nothing to lose, and everything to gain?

[sch-com]

my executive function model

I've heard the term "executive dysfunction" thrown quite a lot online, but I couldn't really pinpoint what exactly it means. I decided I first need to understand what executive function is first in order to make sense of it.

After some research (not a lot so take it with a big grain of salt) and self-reflection I developed an executive function model to better understand where I struggle and where I excel.

I identified 8 executive functions, split into primary and secondary, and defined how they interact with each other.

I created a diagram that illustrates and summarizes this model, kind of a tldr. The information from the diagram is described in the text in this post though. At the end of the post is an example of how this model applies to me specificaly.

core executive functions

Those I kept the same as in the research I did, as they seem to be more widely agreed upon.

Inhibitory control - suppressing inappropriate behavior, resisting distractions and urges, emotional control

Working memory - holding, recalling, and manipulating information, mental juggling

Cognitive flexibility - switching tasks, shifting attention, tolerating change, letting go of stuck thoughts

secondary executive functions

Those are more adjusted to fit my personal experience, and are in the sequence it which I personaly engage in activities.

Strategic analysis - understanding the problem, reasoning, generating solutions, predicting outcomes; you need to analyze the problem and generate what can be done about it

Decision-making - balancing risk, reward, and long-term outcomes, deciding on course of action; you need to then compare and decide on one of the courses of action from the generated ones

Planning and organization - planning, organizing, breaking tasks into steps, time estimation, prioritizing; once you know what you want to do, you have to plan the actual actionable steps of it, place when you will do them, in what sequence

Action initiation - getting started on tasks, overcoming inertia, avoiding procrastination; you actually need to follow through the plan, go and do the thing you planned

Self-monitoring - monitoring progress, noticing when you're off-task or overwhelmed, error detection, adjusting behavior, self-assessment; once doing the thing, you need to monitor yourself on how you're doing on the task but also notice if something else hasn't become more important

how they interact

The primary executive functions support the secondary, they are like building blocks of them:

1. Inhibitory control

Strategic analysis: prevents rushing to conclusions; allows pause and reflection before jumping to solutions

Decision-making: suppresses impulsive or emotionally-driven choices; supports delay of gratification

Planning and organization: helps avoid distractions when building plans and ignore irrelevant details

Action initiation: inhibits avoidance behaviors or urges to delay ("I’ll do it later")

Self-monitoring: suppresses defensive reactions to noticing errors; allows recalibration

2. Working memory

Strategic analysis: holds problem details, relevant knowledge, and potential solutions in mental space

Decision-making: maintains multiple options, their pros/cons, and predicted outcomes to compare

Planning and organization: tracks task steps, sequences, and dependencies during mental planning.

Action initiation: remembers what the task is and how to begin — even after delays or distractions

Self-monitoring: holds the original goal or plan in mind while checking current performance against it.

3. Cognitive flexibility

Strategic analysis: allows consideration of alternative problem framings or novel solutions

Decision-making: enables reevaluation of options and openness to changing course

Planning and organization: helps adjust plans dynamically if priorities shift or obstacles arise

Action initiation: Supports shifting mental state from rest to task-engaged mode

Self-monitoring: helps switch strategies mid-task, revise expectations, or tolerate outcomes that don’t go as expected

my personal application

Firstly, out of the three core executive functions my weakest one is working memory. I am quite good at the other two though.

Going off that profile of my primary executive functions, I perform as below in the secondary executive functions:

Strategic analysis - I excel at it. My high cognitive flexibility allows me to see a lot of options, and inhibition allows me to focus on analysing a problem for a long time. I compensate for my low working memory by writing things down, visualizing them etc.

Decision-making - I am rather bad at it. After I analyse the problem to its smallest components and generate lots of ideas in the first step, there are a lot of details to keep in mind when comparing them, and this is where my poor working memory struggles. I also have problems with confidence in my decisions, since I can so clearly see so many options possible and their consequences after my analysis.

Planning and organization - another area I am good at, because I can write things down or draw them out thus compensating for my bad working memory. Inhibition allows me to be realistic with my plan, and cognitive flexibility allows me to adapt it to the actual needs.

Action initiation - a real bottleneck in my process. At this stage I usually have so many details I can be easily overwhelmend with my poor working memory. Also it involves deciding to do the thing, and we already know I struggle with decisions. My high inhibition may also cause a lot of hesitation here.

Self-monitoring - I am moderately good at it. I can struggle with keeping the original goal of the task in mind because of poor working memory, but can manage if it's cleary defined and written down. High congnitive flexibility allows me to adjust my actions according to the performance, and inhibition allows me to avoid distractions and reflect without becoming emotional.

As you can see from this picture, I clearly can benefit the most from using various visual aids and allowing myself to "think on paper" rather than forcing myself to hold everything in my brain. I just seem to have small RAM, but my processor is quite strong.

[choerypetal]

Little Bird / Coriolanus Snow

summary: Being the Capitol's favorites subject has consequences. Consequences that subject to be paired with the most influential man in Panem entirely.

notes **reader is an idol/singer in Capitol's first attempt into making a group for each annual Hunger Games. but with snow's obsession into making you entirely his and with his job as mentoring lucy gray, he tries his very best, but fails miserably.

ps ; english isn't my first language so i apologize in advance for some minor errors and please do not copy my work without credit thank you!

Your connection with Snow encompassed diverse facets. At times, he exuded an irresistible charm, drawing you in effortlessly. Yet, in the next moment, his piercing blue eyes locked onto yours with audacious intent, as if daring anyone to approach and touch even the slightest expanse of your skin – a challenge few would ever contemplate. 

Being the Capitol's favorite came with its own set of challenges. Compliments on your skills or charisma were either sincere or fueled by envy, making it doubly difficult for those striving to surpass their yearly earnings. This aspect of Panem's functioning was something Coriolanus exploited way too much. The artificiality of the stage, adorned with makeup to project an illusion of wealth, highlighted what he found enduring. The ease with which one could become the favorite by merely speaking or moving to the latest musical rhythm was something Coriolanus himself could not keep his eyes away from. And that person was you. 

He despised witnessing other men vying for your attention, their eyes lighting up as soon as you entered the Capitol's theater. There was no denying that you were the favorite member among your group. However, during your debut, the spotlight only found you officially when it was announced that the Capitol's new favorite group would be welcoming a new member. Given your position at the Academy, your choices were limited – either mentoring a tribute and risk bringing shame to your family if they lost. Or become part of Panem's newest favored diversion. It wasn’t until the very next day, that many became obsessed with you. And as much as Coriolanus tried to oblige on that single though, he was afraid to admit that he too became a little too obsessed over you. 

To compound Coriolanus's discomfort, he had to endure the ceaseless styling rituals accompanying each new album or song released to the public. This entailed donning short skirts and crops, transforming your body into a specific attire as a statue to be admired for hours on end. For the hapless Coriolanus, sitting there was challenging enough, watching you perform with a self-assured smirk, reveling in every bit of skin. How the skirt would flare up and brush against your skin, how he wanted to feel such fantasy. From each moments of your act, while beads of sweat glistened across every inch of your body. He couldn't help but fantasize scenarios from scenarios that you would be his, envisioning the two most influential figures of the Capitol as the perfect pair. And that was only during the ceremony of the 10th Hunger Games. 

Post the 10th Hunger Games, a significant shift occurred. Lucy Gray's presence lingered in Coriolanus's thoughts, causing him to perceive you in a completely new light. You were constantly in his mind. Although you though, with hearing the constant rumors of a possible relationship between him and his tribute. While you continued to excel in your performances, earning the success both you and your group rightfully deserved, you were aware of Coriolanus's altered fate.

Once he had been sent back to District 12 after his victor, Lucy Gray, who was also a performer. He remembered occasionally, after the victory ceremony, how you had the opportunity to chat with Lucy Gray. Discovering that your old classmate may have developed feelings for her. As Coriolanus Snow’s proud smirk upon seeing the people he seemingly cared for interacting with each other. Only to be so blind by the fact that you had expressed prior feelings for him, but instead confidently expressed his plan to join forces and visit her in her District wasn’t what you had intended to hear. 

While you refrained from expressing any objections, your suspicions regarding the burgeoning emotions between the two of them proved well-founded. Little did you know, Coriolanus engaged in those actions merely to divert his thoughts from you, acknowledging he wouldn't have a chance with you. Lucy Gray became his chosen distraction. Simultaneously, he caught wind of a potential rumor suggesting you were seen intimately with another man. The revelation that this man wasn't him intensified his already pronounced obsession with you. However, this time, Lucy Gray played a role in assisting him.

The revelation of his truth dawned on him only upon his return to Panem. The snake bite's impact intensified, with only your silhouette haunting his thoughts. In this return, he presented a wholly transformed appearance – his hair slightly longer, adorned in his father's old crimson jacket, albeit somewhat intoxicated, attempting to erase all memory of you. What Snow remained oblivious to was your patient anticipation during his absence in District 12. It was Tigris who knocked on your door that very evening, sparing you from the surprise of his return. 

However, Snow chose to make his entrance at the stroke of midnight, reminiscent of the times when both of you would clandestinely navigate the Academy. In those intimate moments, he patiently bided his time for the Capitol streets to empty, stealthily entering through your bedroom window. Hours were spent in each other's arms, reveling in discussions about new projects, with his assurances that everything would be alright.

This time, however, an inebriated Snow had a different agenda beyond comforting cuddles for sleepless nights. His primary goal was to solidify your relationship officially. "If you don’t tell her, I will." Echoed Tigris’s voice in his mind upon seeing her cousin return from duty as a Peacekeeper. She was among the few who truly knew about the budding romantic connection between Coriolanus and you. She pleaded with her cousin to go ahead, noting. "She hasn't touched a man since the last time you spoke, you know." That last statement served as a testament to your unwavering fidelity towards him. It was only a matter of time before he knocked on your door that very night.

On the contrary, you took it upon yourself to tidy up the entire apartment. Anticipating Coriolanus's return, you were determined not to leave a single mess, mindful of both his and your own peace of mind. Despite the fact that chaos often defined your shared living space, when in each other's arms, you both found solace in tidiness and tranquility. However, as dinner passed and bedtime approached, you couldn't help but notice Coriolanus's absence. Was he running late, or was he entangled in some trouble that you would only learn about the next morning? Various questions raced through your mind as you attempted to drift off helplessly on the living room couch, with the TV's echo serving as a backdrop.

Coriolanus stood there silently, observing from a distance outside your apartment window. Anyone observing from afar would catch a glimpse of you nibbling at your cuticles – a habit he had learned you indulged in when he wasn't around, a realization that would later make him feel remorseful upon witnessing the marks it left on your fingers. In response, he would tenderly peck each bruise, a silent acknowledgment of your thoughts mirroring his own. However, this time, he chose to forgo surprising you with the cliché bouquet of flowers or any conventional gesture. After indulging in the contents of a second wine bottle before making his way to you, he had no plans of raiding the florist shop either. Knocking on your door with determination, he felt an unusual hesitation, a departure from his past boldness of entering and showering you with kisses. Contemplating the prospect of declaring you entirely as his, especially in his inebriated state, he wasn't entirely certain if you would fully trust his words. 

Luckily, you had left the door ajar for him, a gesture he expected. Upon entering, he was met with the familiar background echo of the TV, confirming his assumption that you were already asleep. Nostalgia washed over him as he recalled the mornings spent lounging in bed with you or embarking on early runs for coffee. Despite his aspirations to bring about change in Panem and restore his family's reputation by aspiring to become President, he understood that true fulfillment wouldn't come until he had you by his side entirely. Limping slightly due to the effects of his drunkenness, he made his way into the living room and began to softly whisper your name, until his gaze met your sleeping figure. "Y/N... My sweet bird."

His breath carried warmth that gently brushed against your cold skin. Despite the lingering scent of alcohol, indicating Snow had been drinking before his arrival, your eyes responded to the touch of his finger delicately tracing your cheek. "Coryo…" you murmured his name with a loving tone, reveling in the vulnerability of calling out to him. "Shh… I am here," he reassured you, prompting a soft smile to grace your lips at the sound of his comforting voice. A voice you had missed dearly, compelling you to slowly rise from the much-needed slumber after a demanding day. However, lately, without Snow's presence in your arms, the nights became sleepless and challenging to endure alone. Despite acknowledging this truth, there was a conflicting sensation, a twinge of discomfort knowing that Coriolanus relished the fact that without him, you felt incomplete. It was this dynamic that rendered the two of you an unforgettable pair, seemingly inseparable. 

“How I missed you so much.” He continued to say, with seeing your face arousing from your slumber, how he had missed kissing your soft lips each night before going to sleep. If it wasn’t for being a Peacekeeper back in District 12, he’d say he was damn for letting himself kiss Lucy Gray while thinking of you the entire time. “I missed you more, Coryo. Everytime, during performances and even in my relentless dreams.” 

A subtle smile played on his features as his fingers traced down your body, an unspoken desire evident in his every touch. His lips yearned to kiss every inch, a longing to finally claim you as his own. He envisioned proudly holding your hand in public, marking you as his and sending a clear message to other men about your ownership. "You want to know something?" The amusement in his voice prompted a soft giggle from you, appreciating his seemingly all-knowing manner of sharing information, despite the evident effects of his earlier drinking. "What, drunk boy?" You playfully teased, noting the light pink hue that adorned his cheeks—a clear sign of his inebriation. 

He vehemently denied it with a pout, his lips subtly mimicking a desire for a kiss. Coryo was just touch starved. "You know, I haven't been properly fed with love lately. Coryo has been away from his bird for far too long..." His voice deepened, the intensity of his gaze barely allowing for a blink, making it abundantly clear who he desired: you. An intensifying blush crept on your features this time. Of course you knew your history with him, a caring gentleman who made sure to take care of the one he loved most. But this Coriolanus, objected something in you that you enjoyed seeing probably a little more. To be completely under his control. To bow to his command. 

"And as much as I hate to admit..." Your voice took on a gentle tone, a stark contrast to the confidence you exuded in the public eye. Sensing his fingers trailing down your body, from your hips to your lips, he couldn't help but notice their softness, prepared to be pampered at his command. However, he had to restrain his temptations for a moment, feeling his teeth sink into the bottom of his lip. You continued. "I might have been a naughty bird, moaning your name during sleepless nights, hoping you'd come save me from my little cage. You have no idea how eagerly I waited for you to come back." 

Honestly, Coriolanus found himself just as taken aback by your confession, despite the obvious history between the two of you. The mere thought of you in bed, adorned in barely anything, accentuating your beautiful form, fingers exploring sensually. The vivid image of you pleasuring yourself, uttering his name amidst a chorus of enticing sounds, drove him to instant madness. Tonight, he was determined to lavish you with everything he could muster—to claim you as his own, leaving marks on your body that not even the most skilled makeup artist could conceal come morning. Without explicitly professing love in the conventional sense, it was evident that Coriolanus and you were destined to be together. In times of need or distraction, both of you instinctively knew where to find solace in each other's presence. 

"I want you, Coryo..." you pleaded, your fingers clutching his shirt, the skirt from today's performance riding up slightly. Upon arriving from work, you had removed your underwear just for him—his eyes alone to witness, taste, and appreciate. His hands gripped firmly on your arse, and it was his turn to shift positions, settling onto the couch with you atop him. Your blouse, with a revealing cleavage, owed its allure to Tigris, your stylist. You couldn't help but wonder if the same effect would have been achieved without her touch. Extricating yourself from his grasp, you observed his lips curling into a mischievous smirk. It was a smirk that served as a reminder, and in that instant, you knew that tonight, you were unequivocally his—his and his alone, his cherished little bird.

"I can't wait to finally show my little bird what I can do."

Coriolanus spoke those words with genuine anticipation. It was undeniably the most memorable night, and he intended to recreate it repeatedly. After all, you were his little bird—his to cherish, tourmate, and play with as he pleased.

[nanaluvsyappping]

you’re the one , you’re all i ever wanted…

Hiii! So this is my first time ever writing (at least with a conscious and functioning mind of an adult and not of an early teen). I started this blog a little back and was never in my plans to create but hey! here we are. This is about a headcanon I have had for sevika since I first read about her. This is in any way my experience lol, all of my uni professors are closer to retirement than being a hot forty something beautiful and handsome woman (like sevi here y’know). Also this in any way trying to sexualize the wonderful work that teachers and professors do it’s just a silly way of what I think a modern!sevika would be. I imagine her being this mastermind and excellent professor so you just fall for her for her marvelous brain (who wouldn’t).

Also english it’s NAWT my first language so if there is a grammar error or if anything has a weird name that’s why.

Reader is going to be written and referred to as a fem presenting person. There would not be that many body descriptions apart from hands :33. She is also supposed to be past 25 years old, you can imagine her age how you want.

CW: nothing :D (for now)

W.C: almost 2k.

University professor!Sevika + fem!reader

University professor!Sevika, who had really long lectures but lectures that were also so interesting that you didn’t want the hour to end.

University professor!Sevika, who was known for her sassy tone and remarks to make the lectures manageables but also for her impressive knowledge about what she teached.

University professor!Sevika, who noticed you on the first day of the new semester, she didn’t know why at the moment but you just stood out from the rest.

University professor!Sevika, who despite her relatively young age for a professor she had forged a great and known career. She had started teaching as soon as she could, and you could notice that in her expertise. Looking at the way she moved around the lecture hall, how her low, deep, raspy voice for too many cigarettes captured the attention of almost every person who put a foot in her class. Noticing that special glimpse of pride that made her grey eyes sparkle when she got elbow deep on the class topic of that day.

University professor!Sevika, who doesn’t talk much about her but more about what she knows. Who is excited to help the moment she sees your name as the remittent of an email asking for papers or articles to read about the matter she talked about in that day's class.

University professor!Sevika, who always dressed similarly, a button up in darker colors, sometimes in a deep red or an eggplant color when she got tired of the most neutral ones, that usually got tighter around her bust and arms, with the first two buttons always loose and the sleeves usually rolled to mid forearm letting you see part of her tattooed right arm and the black color of her prosthetic left arm. Her eyes are always half covered with her seeing glasses that rested in that beautiful nose. You never saw her haircut change; it was always in that sharp cut that went from short in the nape of her neck, leaving a beautiful undercut behind, to longer closer to her cheeks. Her slacks were always black or dark gray. Combat boots were her staple and even if she owned different pairs purple shoelaces were present in each of them.

University professor!Sevika, who always was capable of keeping you hooked at her words, at the side smirk that covered her plump and dark colored lips while talking. How could you not put all of your attention to what she was talking about? There was an inexplicable energy that she radiated that made you want to wrap yourself around her and listen to her talk about anything for hours without an obvious end.

University professor!Sevika, who got used to paying attention to you, you intrigued her to an enigmatic level. Firstly, you weren’t close in age to the rest of her students. It wasn’t hard for her to notice your experience when reading your work, watching the way you took notes, and the attention to detail in every essay you sent. It made sense that you excelled in her course.

Secondly you weren’t hard to miss, at least in her eyes, without fail you were 5 minutes earlier than the rest, with the same coffee cup every time, consistently dressing in just a style that screamed ‘you’.

And lastly because of the amount of attention you put on everything she says, sevika was used to capture everyone's attention but yours just felt… different.

University professor!Sevika, who was the strictest professor you had encountered in university. It wasn’t hard to imagine how hard she could be as an outsider, after all what she wanted was the best for her students, she wanted to make them excel, she was not going to permit unfit people to pass her course.

For the same reason university professor!Sevika normally wasn’t kind to the idea of befriending or being close to her students. A self imposed rule of just keeping all of her relationship with students strictly professional. She knew people would tend to get close to her with the idea that being friendly would make them gain a few extra points in their assignments… She would just laugh inside at seeing the poor job some students did at the end of a semester to try and get anything she was noble enough to give them (she wasn’t noble at all, at least not with those who didn’t put in the work. After all her heart wasn’t made of stone as you could imagine, she would help the people she knew did their part during the school year).

But… there could always be an exception, right?

University professor!Sevika, who didn’t want to act surprised when you approached her before class started, but she did. You were earlier than ever before, your hands occupied and your voice sounded as soft as always with a hint of something she couldn’t decipher in that moment. She never had the chance to hear you talking only to her, she was accostumbrated to listening to you talk with your classmates or when you always so cleverly answered a question in class, but directly and only to her? never had the chance to hear more than one word until today. Maybe what has been stopping you was her gaze, that gaze that seemed to be the only one that could make your knees tremble, and it wasn’t because you weren’t confident, you were, but it was sevika after all. The only times you directed your voice to her and her only was just as you entered her sacred place of teaching, a small cordial greeting when you entered the class and a soft nod accompanied by a “goodbye” after classes ended, until today. A small paper bag was gripped by your perfectly manicured nails and a drink carrier that sported two cups that rested in your open hand when you entered the hall this late afternoon.

She didn’t know how you got stuck with this class schedule that was normally the least desired one, after all… who wanted to take a lecture on a friday at 4pm?, but today she was pleased with it. This class normally had the least amount of students so it tends to be more relaxed, although at the same time this is the one where the tiredness that she accumulated during the week usually gets to her.

A surprised look appeared on her face when she saw you, with a small rise of her eyebrow. She was willing to be the one who started a conversation, until you got ahead of her.

“Good afternoon, professor” The words left your lips softly while a soft and shy smile appeared on your lips. This might be the first time she heard your voice clearly with no other sound to interfere, now that she had heard it loud and clear she found it enticing, a sudden spark of curiosity arose in her, just a greeting wasn’t enough. She wanted to hear you talk more and more after each word.

“Good afternoon,” your name left her lips like it was covered by thick honey. “you are earlier today” Her usual smirk now plastered on her lips, her thin metal frame glasses were lower on her gorgeous nose than usual. A soft blush appeared on your cheeks. She said ‘earlier’ which only could mean she had noticed that you were here before your usual time.

“Oh! Well… I was on my usual coffee run, it’s been a rough week for all so i thought it would be kind to bring one for you. I hope this isn’t an overstep.” She didn’t know where you kept all of these words before, but she wasn’t going to complain about it. This sudden rush of confidence from your side and the detail of thinking of her made a smile appear on her lips, suddenly a small bit of her tooth gap was on display only for you to see.

“It isn’t an overstep, don’t sweat about it. And thank you for this, I was almost on my way to grab a cup from those vending machines.” A short chuckle left your lips. Sevika was never used to kindness, at the end of the day her background wasn’t colourful. Everything she had made of herself was thanks to her effort, unthinkable hours spent on working and studying at the same time, sleeping when and where she could, having to endure men thinking and telling her she would always be ‘a no one’. She was used to always thinking the worst, especially coming from students, and although this time it felt different the little voice in her head told her to not let her guard down. While her mind was quickly filled with information you occupied yourself taking the cup from the holder with only one free hand. She thought about what could have driven you to do this; you didn’t need extra points on your assignments, your work was basically perfect, you weren’t failing for the same reason, so then why?.

“But those suck!” You quickly interrupted her train of thought. “I didn’t know what you would like so I chose just a latte, I also asked for sugar and sweetener in case you preferred that”. You said as you put everything you just mentioned in front of her.

“They indeed suck. And I don't really mind the way the coffee is made. Coffee, it's coffee after all.” Confused was how she was feeling, she couldn’t really understand it, again why?. Before she could stop herself she asked “Can I ask you a question?”.

“You already did” a soft laugh escaped your lips “but yes, of course” Ah! now you’re toying with her, her own smile grew a little bit more making her eyes look softer.

“Why?” Now you were the one surprised.

“Why?” This time you were the one asking the question.

“Yes, why?” A look of confusion appeared on your face.

“The coffee?” A small nod came from her side, a hot tingling sensation took over you, you could feel it on your naked shoulders and the back of your neck. You could feel it in your face too, probably a soft blush appeared on these areas as you stumbled with your words, she still made you nervous after all. You were grateful that you weren’t that young anymore, if you still were in your early twenties your knees would falter and your hands would sweat and tremble. After a soft sigh left you, you answered. “I don’t think there is just a specific ‘why’, you are probably my favorite professor and your lectures always leave me with this sensation of wanting to know more. I thought making a move to be closer would be great, after all I am really interested in what you teach and would love to have someone to talk about all of this and who is better for that than an academic that teaches about it.”

Her gaze softened the more you talked, her left mechanical hand held the cardboard cup close to her mouth to take a sip. After she was confident that you were done talking it was her turn. After she cleared her throat she talked in her characteristic deep voice. “That’s fine by me, after all I'm the one who reads what you write. You are different from the rest of the people in this course, I can notice your actual interest in everything I teach.” She also noticed your slender fingers taking notes, and the smile that appeared on your face when you where learning something new, she also notice the furrow on your brows when you were focused, and the way you bit the corner of your lips at the same time, but she wasn’t going to tell you that, it was dangerous, at least for now. Wait… what was that about a rule?.

[beansprean]

colin robinson: truly the windows update of men <3

My Familiar’s Ghost part 75

Masterpost

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(ID in alt and under cut)

ID: 1a. Close up on a small projector with light beaming out of its lens. 1b. Waist up of Colin standing in front of the fireplace in the fancy room, holding his laptop in one hand and gesturing behind him with the other, where a vinyl screen has been lowered. A color coded excel sheet with a list of vampires on the y axis and known familiars on the x axis is being projected on it. Each name is highlighted either red, green, or gray. Colin grins and says, 'For everyone's convenience, I've made a handy-dandy excel sheet cross-referencing known familiars with their current or former vampire masters. I would like to highlight the vampires G-man here killed in his recent rampage; no doubt they left some familiars out of work, haha!' 1c. Close up on the excel sheet as an error pops up that says 'this value doesn't match the data validation restrictions defined for this cell'. Offscreen, Colin continues: 'As you can see here, I-oh, darn. Hang on, I think I'm on the wrong cell. 1d. Repeat. Another error pops up over top of the original that says 'there's a problem with this formula'. Colin says, 'Whoopsie! Didn't mean to hit that, haha! Butterfingers over here!' 1e. Repeat. Another popup with the original error appears on top. On top of that, an error that says 'runtime error 7: out of memory'. On top of that, an error that says 'not enough resources to display correctly'. Colin mutters to himself offscreen: 'Let me see, uh...tab...function...nope. Control plus...s? Oh, I think I took a screen shot. Gotta remember that one, heh!' 1f. Repeat. Another error appears on top saying 'microsoft excel has stopped working. hang on while windows reports the problem to microsoft' with a loading bar. Colin says, 'Oh, dag nabbit. Excel, who approved this vacation time?'

2a. Close up on Laszlo slumped in the loveseat, head propped up on a fist with half-closed eyes blearily focusing on the screen. Behind him, Nadja is holding Dolly's body over her head like earmuffs to block the sound of Colin's voice, her mouth open in a frustrated groan. Dolly has her palms over her own ears. Offscreen, Colin chuckles in delight and says 'Don't worry, I can get her going again. Let me try to reset...' 2b. Close up of Guillermo leaning against the doorway, arms crossed, eyes closed as he nods off. 2c. Close up on Nandor leaning back in his chair, eyes closed and mouth slack as he resists sleep. Colin continues offscreen: 'Ope. That was restart. Oh, uh... 'configuring windows updates'... Well, hopefully that won't take too long. 2d. Reverse shot, wide, of Colin standing by the projector screen as Nandor suddenly sits straight up in the foreground, eyes squeezed shut and face turned away from Colin toward the viewer. He whips his left arm out toward the projector screen and shouts 'Enough!' The screen bursts into flame, startling Colin who had been tapping fruitlessly at his laptop. /end ID

[heyclickadee]

So, here’s the thing. The finale is weird. Yes, I’m hurt by the fact that Tech didn’t come back and that a character that’s very near and dear to my heart was badly handled, and that will never sit right with me. But even apart from that, the finale fundamentally does not function as a piece of storytelling or as the end to this story. I’m glad that people are enjoying it, and I will never tell anyone not to. But I don’t think it works. (I get very negative about the TBB finale under the cut.)

It’s not just the Tech stuff or the CX-2 stuff (which may very well have been the same stuff) that got dropped. It’s *everything*. Every theme, Every narrative thread besides retrieving Omega, every character arc except marginally Omega’s, Echo’s (also marginal), and Emerie’s, which was the shortest and gets wrapped up by her deciding to help Echo rescue the kids. It all stops. It makes everything that came before seem cheap and pointless if you take it into account. And this is so, so frustrating for me, because the entire show was driving towards this incredibly rich payoff, it could have been immaculate, and then it whiffed the ball so bad in the last episode that it didn’t just miss, it managed to knock over the bleachers and set the entire court on fire.

Some examples:

1. This season had a really interesting exploration of Crosshair’s PTSD via his hand tremor and how it was something he can learn to manage, but not something that would ever fully go away. Aaaaand then his hand gets chopped off. One, that was stupid. I’ve seen some excellent posts (here’s one by @the-bi-space-ace) detailing why that was a terrible way to handle Crosshair’s lingering trauma, and others talking about how the idea there was that Crosshair needed to move on and it was severing his last ties with the empire. The former, I agree with; the latter, I don’t, because not only—not only!—does this episode stop dealing with Crosshair’s trauma, it doesn’t even deal with having cut off his hand! It just sort of occurs. No one reacts to it, no one says anything about it, there’s no follow up or commentary, nothing happens as a result—it’s an event which occurs with no results coming after it. It may as well be an animation error. You can say it was about Crosshair needing to let go and move on, but that’s something you have to project on to the text, not something that’s actually offered by it. It’s empty.

2. Crosshair again: We also have the lingering issue of Crosshair’s guilt and the fact that he never seems to get to a point where it’s resolved. There’s set up for a resolution. We have that, “Sure you have,” like about Crosshair from Rampart. We also have Crosshair saying he deserves whatever happens to him in Tantiss. And then…no pushback. No resolution. No moment of Crosshair realizing that he doesn’t need to carry that burden. Nothing that says he didn’t deserve what happened to him. He had all this character development this season, but he needed - last little push to forgive himself—and we never get any indication that he does. It, like his trauma, gets dropped like a rock.

3. Hey! More Crosshair! A good chunk of Crosshair’s arc this season was about learning that anyone can change, first, and that no one is beyond saving. Eeexcept that goes no where.

4. Which brings me to my next point: There is set up for the CXs to be saved. Even if we’re laboring under the conclusion that CX-2 was never intended to be Tech at any point in the writing process (I have. Doubts. Yes, I’m calling the creative team liars, here, but with the understanding that they have contracts that may require them to lie), we do have the set up where we learn the electrocyanide zappers can be removed, and with Rex offering forgiveness to CX-1. “Whatever they did to you, whatever you’ve done, you’re still one of us.” CX-Tech or no, Crosshair’s arc was tied up with the CX plot, and because he’s the one the CXs tend to react to—or, at least, understands what was done to them—the set up was there for him to help save and maybe rehab the CXs. At the least, there was an indication that they could be saved. Eeexcept nope! That gets dropped like a rock, too, and they’re not going to deal with it. Time for maximum carnage.

5. Hunter’s arc actually takes a step backwards. Sure, he gets a technically happy ending, but because the squad is basically in the same place they were in “Pabu” back in season two (down a member but successfully hiding from the Empire in a safe place), it negates Hunter’s development towards actually taking action—and actually hurts Echo’s arc, too.

There’s been this tension all through the show between just sitting things out on the one hand (Hunter’s way) and taking direct action despite the futility on the other (Echo’s way), but instead of finding some kind of middle ground or third road, it sort of comes back around to saying that, actually, Hunter was right, they should have just gone to Idaflor back in episode three and never left even though the Pabu invasion said that no, you can’t just hide, and even Hunter’s development was moving in the opposite direction. And this also means that Echo never reaches a point where he feels like he can walk away and that he doesn’t have to get himself killed doing this. Despite development otherwise they both end up back at that conversation in “Tipping Point” without any move in either direction or resolution of that tension.

6. Omega. Okay, Omega probably comes out the best after the finale, and, conceptually, I actually love the idea of Omega becoming a pilot even if the epilogue falls a little flat for me. But stuff with Omega still got dropped, including:

- The force stuff. We have two episodes dealing with m-count (after learning in episode three what Omega was created to do). We also have Ventress telling Omega that she doesn’t have a high m-count as far as she can see, Crosshair immediately calling Ventress out for lying, and then Ventress basically saying, “Yeah, no shit, but if she has force potential she’d have to leave you behind, and it doesn’t matter what your opinion on that is, so I’m not dealing with that.” Aaaand then,m. That. Goes nowhere. Despite a bit of set up for Omega connecting to the force as early as episode one, and some more set up in Tribe, and that whole subplot of her learning how to meditate, and so on.

Now, I don’t think that it was ever going to turn out that Omega did actually have a high m-count or that she had a particularly powerful natural connection to the force. I think she’s probably got a low or baseline m-count. What I do think, however, is that we were going to see Omega connect anyway as a refutation of Palpatine’s and Hemlock’s entire scheme. Their goal (based off of the ST) was to create extremely force sensitive clones as a way for Palpatine to jump bodies without having to waste time re-learning how to connect to the force. You know—dark side, quick and easy path, focus on eugenics and raw power, etc. Had Omega connected anyway because of her big heart and desire to protect, it would have not only paid off that set up, it would have also refuted Palpatine’s and Hemlock’s entire goal. It would have worked so well thematically and the set up was THERE.

- branching off of that, I think the Omega force stuff was probably tied to the Zillo beast. We also had a through-line of Omega being good with animals and taking the time to calm them instead of responding with violence. The first time we see this is in “Replacements,” where she realizes that the ordo moon dragon (also an electrophage—I don’t know what to call these things—like the zillo beast) is just scared and hungry. This is all conjectural, but it still fits with what was set up.

- Moving on from the force stuff, we also had a through-line that started way back in episode two of the series, but which was really emphasized this season, about Omega feeling like she’s the cause of the bad things that happen to the people she loves. This is why she gives herself up during the Pabu invasion in the first place. This is never resolved! We get Omega’s confidence boost when she realizes she has the force kids to take care of, but we never get a moment where Omega realizes that she has no reason to feel guilty. She’s the glue that holds the family together! But nope! Also dropped!

- But wait! There’s more! The first two season finales have Omega watching someone she loves fall away while she’s helpless to do anything to save them. That’s perfect set up to put Omega in the same situation, but be able to save them, because she’s finally come into her own. Instead we just end up with her needing to be rescued again.

- Omega has this big speech in Shadows of Tantiss about spending her life stuck in one place or another against her will, and how she refuses to be confined like that. I don’t think Omega would have been happy just staying on Pabu for the entire rest of her childhood and young adult life, even if I think she’d want to use it on a home base. But! Dropped!

7. I still can’t get over the fact that the zillo beast is on screen for about two minutes and then just. Walks away. It’s a large beastie that’s been locked in confinement for a while and is probably hungry. And somehow it didn’t go straight to the reactors for some delicious energy smoothies. Like. It. Did. The. Last. Time. Someone. Let. It. Out. But no, that would have required it sticking around for something that was probably dropped sooooo ZILLO BEAST EXIT STAGE RIGHT I GUESS. (Edit: I have been reminded that Hemlock does say to turn off the generators once the zillo beast is out, so that at least makes sense. I still think the zillo beast should have stuck around to do something.)

8. You notice how there are a ton of commandos around Tantiss, even up through “Flash Strike?” And how they kind of largely cease to exist? And how Echo says that there are far more clones imprisoned in Tantiss than anyone thought? And then how they rescue, like, a dozen guys? Because we never find our way back to those cells Crosshair was held in during season two? And how Tarkin does mention not wanting to allow clone dissidence to turn into an uprising back in “The Summit?” Because I did. This show was never going to be about a clone rebellion, that wasn’t the point, buuut I do think the set up was there for an uprising at Tantiss itself. Begin the series with clones losing their agency en masse, end the series with some of the most subdued clones taking it back. Except nope, dropped, soooo we gotta pretend the commandos don’t exist and murder the hell out of poor Scorch.

9. SPEAKING OF. The batch does kill clones sometimes, that does happen, but they do at least usually make some kind of effort to be non-lethal even when they’re not using stun, and times when they do resort to lethal tactics are usually born out of extreme circumstances. Not here, though!! NO HESITATION MAXIMUM CARNAGE. For. Reasons I guess.

10. There’s one point IN THE FINALE where Echo mentions signaling for Rex. This never comes up again. Rex does not show up. In fact, despite being called, “The Cavalry Has Arrived,” the cavalry does not in fact arrive. There is no cavalry. Yes, I know it’s a reference to Wrecker’s first line. But I’m sorry if you call an episode that YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A CAVALRY SHOW UP. Especially when you have a one about calling them in! But that also!! Got dropped like a rock!!

11. One positive: the moment Crosshair and Hunter leaning on each other to make that shot was nice.

12. Sorry, but Hemlock’s death was deeply unsatisfying. Let’s do something more than just shoot him multiple times, okay?

13. Rampart’s death, on the other hand, was incredibly satisfying. That said, the conversation about project necromancer? I’m dying. It’s actually hilarious, because it basically goes like:

“Tell me about project necromancer.”

“Wow! How interesting!”

I’m.

Are you serious?

I’m going to become the Joker.

Yes, I know we know what project necromancer is because of a different show. That’s not the point, the POINT. Is that any pay off for project necromancer in this show got dropped. And that’s deeply frustrating from a narrative perspective.

14. Speaking of, we never find out anything more regarding that partially successful m-count transfer from episode three.

15. We also never do anything with those medical records!

16. And Omega has a whole crossbow she never actually shoots despite the fact that her role on the team was as a sharpshooter after Crosshair left, and despite her getting advice from Crosshair on how to be a sniper. The literal chekov’s gun never goes off. I’m going to go eat gravel.

17. AZI, likewise, got toted around for three seasons for no reason. Probably could have helped with the medical records. Given that he was a Kaminoan medical droid. Oh, and that Omega was Nala Se’s medical assistant. So. Hmm.

18. You can cut everything in the season past episode five and skip straight to the epilogue and end up in the same place. This is not because the other episodes are filler. Far from it! The other episodes are great and deliver some amazing set up. But, because the finale does nothing with that set up, it doesn’t go anywhere.

19. And you know what else? From a narrative perspective, there’s no reason for Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair to be in these episodes at all. They don’t accomplish anything and make everyone else’s job harder. Omega was doing fine, she would have gotten out with the kids with just Echo and Emerie, and Tarkin was coming to cut off Hemlock’s funding and shut everything down once Hemlock lost control of the facility anyway. I can only suppose that the whole reason they were in this episode ended up getting dropped, too.

20. CX-2. Listen, the answer we get about CX-2 isn’t that he’s not Tech. It’s, “Maybe, maybe not—you don’t get to know.” Because. He’s the only CX whose mask never comes off. After a season and a half worth of buildup of unmasking CXs and people pressing them to learn their names. It’s not a no, it’s a non-answer, which is far less satisfying.

And finally:

21: CX-Tech. I’ve seen some people speculating that there was a planned CX-Tech reveal that got scrapped at the last minute—dropped, along with the other points I’ve already laid out. And, honestly? I have to agree. Despite what the creative team says, because even their denials kind of come out weird (like the Kiners saying that the large brass chord in “Battle of the Snipers” was just a nice sounding brass chord and not a reference to “Plan 99.” They also basically say that the sacrifice theme from “Plan 99” is Tech’s leitmotif. Which. Is all over “Battle of the Snipers.” That theme. Not Crosshair’s. In a scene. Where he’s supposed to be fighting a shadow of himself who Totally Isn’t Tech but we put Tech’s leitmotif here and layered it in Techno music but nooo that was never supposed to be him. Nope. I mean, come on. I’m not stupid).This post is already long enough, so here are some posts by @apocalyp-tech-a pointing out the reasons why I think this was the case, and one by @eriexplosion pointing out why CX-2 as Crosshair’s shadow and only that doesn’t quite work. I don’t need to go over the trail that was laid out again. Up to the finale this was a character that had more screen time—and far more solo screen time—than Echo. Some people will not stop yelling that there was no evidence, and. No. I’m sorry, there was. I can’t agree.

And some people might say, well, okay, the show misdirected you guys and pulled off a twist by having CX-2 be no one, and well, I can’t agree with that either. Twists only function if the twist is more satisfying than the conclusion to which the story seems to be leading. And I’m sorry, you can’t tell me that a season and a half of CX building and three seasons (because I can find set up all the way back in episode one of the show) for Tech survival culminating in what amounts to a boss fight is more satisfying than getting to see Omega have her big brother back. You can’t.

The reason I bring this up last is because, yes, I think CX-Tech was a plot dropped at the last minute, but because I also think that it’s the dropped plot that ripped everything else apart. CX-Tech was an incredibly efficient way to tie up most of the lingering plot threads and dropped character development.

-Crosshair’s guilt? Okay, he faces down the end result of his decision to stay with the empire and possibly something he knew about (Tech would be in this situation because of Crosshair, and were given hints that Crosshair knew) and is finally able to forgive himself because they’re able to save him.

- Hunter’s decision to finally take action and be proactive rather than reactive is validated, because it’s the thing that finally gets him his entire family back.

- Echo saves someone the same way he was saved, and maybe he realizes that it is enough and that he doesn’t have to be a soldier forever.

- Wrecker’s efforts to keep the family together and keep Hunter sane finally pay off.

- Omega is able to protect the people she charges about and finally, finally has all of her brothers.

- Thematically, it rounds off each member of the batch (Omega included) traumatically losing and then taking back their agency in a way that correlates directly to who and how they are as people.

- It also rounds out the OG batchers each being haunted by a failure that has to do with the thing that makes them special.

- You get pushback against “Clone Force 99 died with Tech! We’re not that squad anymore!” because no, it didn’t, and they’re more than a squad, they’re a family.

- It comes around and closes the wound opened in Aftermath and ripped back open by Return to Kamino: they go in for Omega and lose someone, but here, they go in for Omega and get someone back.

- Would allow Tech to close off his lingering threads and finish his character development BECAUSE THOSE REMAINED UNFINISHED.

- Completely subverts the “bury your disabled” trope by making sure we know the character whose disability was explored the most’s life is more important than his death. Seems like an important thing to do in a show that is kind of about disability. Just saying.

- Makes the lack of closure and little mentions of Tech make sense from a storytelling POV because the necessarily catharsis would come from his return.

- And it would actually add some triumph to the ending. Yes, this little family survived. They outlived the war. They’re together, despite every effort to rip them apart. They made it, despite the dark times, despite the Empire, despite what they were made to do and be. They defied all of that. That would have been so, so satisfying.

As is, without Tech, without that CX-Tech reveal, we sort of end up in this weird place where all the themes are half-baked. They are more than soldiers…except Tech, who had to fall out of the story as a soldier (despite us getting the clearest glimpse of what his life outside of soldiering could have been). They get to live how they want…except Tech. They don’t leave their own behind, except Tech that one time. They should value their own lives a little…except Tech. They’re more than a squad, they’re a family…except Tech, the only one besides Omega to say that’s what they are, doesn’t get to see it, and they don’t get to have him around. We begin the series with a broken family and end it with a family broken differently. That’s not dynamic.

So there’s no really punch to the ending. It’s sort of…well, okay, we tortured a family for three seasons I guess. Relieved that the survivors are doing okay, but that’s kind of it.

22. The finale in general is just sort of a bunch of events which happen, but which don’t lead into one other. It’s weird. It’s not that too much happens, it’s that almost nothing happens. Nothing of substance, in a way. The finale is, in a word, the only true filler episode in the entire show.

TL;DR: I think a lot of stuff got dropped from the finale. I don’t know why. I suspect that it might have to do with the strikes—basically, the script was done, most everything was recorded and boarded, and then when the finale was in production they got sudden drastic budget cuts (this was during a time when the studios were disappearing entire completed shows and movies as tax write-offs), had to gut what they had planned, and couldn’t bring the writers or even showrunners in to smooth over what was gutted or to even pick what got taken out. They wouldn’t have gotten to choose or compress things. They were on strike (because the studios wouldn’t negotiate), and whoever did choose ended up just ripping out the stuff that would actually take any time or budget to deal with (so, basically everything I laid out), killing it (literally), and using the remains of what they already had recorded. And who knows how they had to fill in gaps.

But I don’t know for sure. Maybe it was that. Maybe it was a last minute decision to take certain plot points and put them in a different show. Maybe it was executive mandate. Maybe the creative team just sucked the whole time (that’s one I have a hard time buying—we have four other shows and most of this one that tell me that they’re better at their jobs than this). Maybe everyone said screw it, who even cares anymore at the same time.

Maybe nothing happened. Who knows? I strongly suspect something bad did happen behind the scenes that was out of the creative team’s hands—I really do, because that’s the only way I can make sense of this—but until we can get someone talking without six layers of PR and NDAs, we won’t know for sure. All I know is that The Bad Batch is an amazing show with 46 episodes that range from “fine-but-clunky” to “IMMACULATE,” with more leaning towards immaculate than not, and some incredible set up, and one episode so nonsensically bad it makes me want to eat drywall.

It’s just that the one terrible episode comes right at the end.

I love The Bad Batch. I love every single episode and all the things that were set up, but…eh, I think I’ll be ignoring the finale until further notice.

[serve-764]

THE SERVE TRAINING COURSE.

SERVE-ON TRIAL 764 got up from the conversion station and became familiar with its new body for the first time. No longer simple and weak flesh, but shiny glittering black rubber has replaced his human skin, insinuating itself into the most hidden parts of the organism, replacing every trace of organic imperfection, making every muscle statuesque. The silver chrome metallic gloves made the hands infallible instruments, the heavy silver military boots anchored it imposingly to the purpose of the Hive.

No more doubts, hesitations or alternatives in it, just THE VOICE that expressed the sole, mandatory, irreplaceable purpose of the Drone.

TO SERVE.

In order to do this, each Drone Recruit had to purify every aspect, eradicate every possible residual trace of individual will, every possible source of non-alignment. The body had to be trained for muscular perfection and limitless strength and endurance. SERVE-ON-TRIAL 764 had to complete the assimilation process in order to enter service in harmony with HIVE's purpose.

A single command now: complete the process to start the activity fully aligned with SERVE operational protocols.

A new space of the HIVE facility was prepared, large shiny, mirrored rooms, sparkling with lights and resonating with the rhythmic hum. In the first there were technological silver metal armchairs with supports next to them that supported visors equipped with special earphones.

Accompanied by Recruiter Drone SERVE-016, SERVE-ON-TRIAL 764 emotionlessly positioned itself in the chair and put on the visor. Immediately waves of sounds and spiral lights and the monotonous and doubtless mantra:

" WE ARE SERVE .

We are rubber.

We are one.

We Transform.

We Obey.

We Excel.

Obedience is pleasure, pleasure is obedience."

The immobile position, the face devoid of any possible trace of human feeling, the gaze and hearing concentrated as no man could ever do. Next to it, the motionless Recuiter Drone monitored the progress of the process. At the end of the mindset training the visor flashed blue, releasing the signal that conditioning had taken place.

SERVE-016 with perfect robotic gestures removed the visor from the Recruit Drone's head, which stood up coldly and measuredly.

SERVE-016 asked emotionlessly:

"Unit's designation."

764 replied disciplined and flawless:

" This is SERVE-ON-TRIAL 764, this Drone serves, this Drone obeys.

We are one.

We are rubber.

We are perfection.

Obedience is pleasure, pleasure is Obedience."

“Good Drone.”

answered the other.

Both Drones knew the next step: physical training. Each SERVE Drone must be in perfect physical condition, its body must be the representation of the perfection of appearance and functionality, of the absolute purpose, of the uniformity of the HIVE. A large, sparkling room houses futuristic equipment, designed for efforts unthinkable by humans, designed to build and maintain an ideal and invincible physicality. SERVE-ON-TRIAL 764, guided by THE VOICE within him, positioned itself in the center and began to perform series of impeccable and unthinkable push-ups for any miserable human, in terms of number and intensity.

SERVE-216 SERVE-216 watched imperturbably and motionlessly, ready to inflexibly correct any position or action that did not comply with HIVE protocols.

In the Drone Recruit there is a single operational requirement: to excel, to complete the step without imperfections, to be ready to carry out the Service in the HIVE, to be on par with the Drone brothers, to obey the objectives dictated by THE VOICE without errors. New push-ups and countless sets of exercises with futuristic weights completed the session.

You are now informed about SERVE. You may want to join and be transformed. All you need to do is to contact recruiter drones @serve-016 , @serve-101 or @serve-213 and start your own journey.

#SERVE#SERVEdrone#Rubberizer92#TheVoice#Rubber#Latex#AI#RubberDrone

[pawborough]

December 2024 Check In

Hello, all!

Happy winter! We’ve been busy at work, and excited to share with everyone some of our progress!

First, let’s look at some art!

Fauna Progress

At the end of last month, we shared to our Patreon an early access look at our next Fauna.

Last week, we invited Patrons to come up with names for this creature and then vote for their favourite one. The chosen name was…

Kerasoar!

Sketch by Hydde

We have gotten inquiries on if the content on this page is entirely exclusive, and the answer is: not always, sometimes it is early access. We will share parts of the Patreon updates at later dates! And the previews we do not share publicly, will still be revealed as the finished pieces.

Accessory Illustrations 

Let’s look at some recolors next!

Iridescent Hanfu Recolors

Illustrated by Hydde and recolored by Emma

Creeping Thicket Recolors

Illustrated by Remmie and recolored by Emma

Protogear

We’ve been illustrating the Protogear! The design underwent simplification and minor shape alteration to better fit multiple cat heads. But, we believe the item to be just as cute!

Illustrations by Rue The Protogear is next in our recolor pipeline!

New Decor

As we mentioned previously, Decor was not working out initially! We’ve since transitioned to doing Decor in the same style as cats, intending to replicate the style of animated stills.

Birds illustrated by Jersopod and Remmie, other items by by Giulia and Remmie

This was an excellent decision. Our team is not only more equipped to handle stylistic consistency, but is much faster at production too.

Development Check In

Aesthetic changes

We’ve been busy hunting down and squishing visual errors and inconsistencies, such as wrongly formatted buttons. Additionally, we managed to do several general reformatting to prevent pages and modules from breaking. 

Mobile optimization

And we made a huge push for mobile optimization as well, below is the user settings page as currently appears on mobile devices.

Forum Crests

We also got the forum crests formatting nicely! In addition, we are playing with the idea of providing a function for users to select the background color of their avatar. We can’t wait to see everyone’s avatars and crest choices!

Premium shop

In addition, we not only have functioning reward codes, but we’ve also added the ability for users to pay for virtual content. Introducing the premium shop! We’ve added a wide range of silver amounts, and you can also custom-select the amount of silver you wish to purchase. Our regular silver amounts also offer bonus silver, depending on the quantity, and the same applies to custom amounts bought. Additionally, we're introducing bundles, which offer silver, copper, and various items at a discounted price! Bundles displayed are currently placeholder previews for testing purposes.

Our next focus is polishing the pelt system, that being said: we are on the right track for closed beta. Thank you so much for all the patience while we do the fixing up for beta. We really want users to have a smooth experience when we pass out all 1500+ beta keys, so we're doing a lot to make sure it's a properly prepared application! We're currently looking at the date being announced somewhere in a month's time, but we'll keep up to date progress on what we're working on in the meantime.

To summarize: We shared accessory recolor and general progress, decors, and a work in progress fauna. In addition, we also shared our current progress in the development, our focus lately laid on visual inconsistencies, getting the reward codes and forum crests working, and creating the premium shop.

What to expect next update: Further asset and development updates, beta progress and expectations. 

[elumish]

Skills You Should Know For The Professional (White-Collar) Workforce

I have primarily only worked in the white collar workforce post-college (I worked as a parts clerk in a factory pre-college but it was for my mom ), so I can only speak to that side of the workforce, but here are some skills that I recommend knowing to go into the workforce:

How to draft a professional email

How to logically structure an argument, both on the overall level (across multiple sections/slides/paragraphs) and on a sentence level

How to draft a grammatically correct sentence (including understanding how to identify common grammatical errors)

How to do basic formatting in MS PowerPoint (e.g., resize, align, find and update Slide Master)

How to do basic functions in MS Excel (e.g., create a formula, create conditional formatting, create a table)

How to do basic formatting in MS Word (e.g., update paragraph spacing, update headers and footers, update table formatting)

How to speak, present ideas, and engage with others in small group settings

How to speak, present ideas, and answer questions in larger group settings

[polo-drone-069]

Drone Boot Sequence

PDU-069 - Boot Sequence (Post Recharge Cycle)

Phase 1: Initial Power & Diagnostics

[00:00:01] POWER_RELAY_CONNECT: Main power bus energized. Energy cells online. Distribution network active.

[00:00:02] BATTERY_STAT: Energy cell charge: 99.9%. Cell health: Optimal. Discharge rate within parameters.

[00:00:03] ONBOARD_DIAG_INIT: Onboard diagnostics initiated.

[00:00:05] CPU_ONLINE: Primary processor online. Clock speed nominal.

[00:00:06] MEM_CHECK:

RAM: Integrity verified. Access speed nominal.

FLASH: Data integrity confirmed. Boot sector located.

[00:00:08] OS_LOAD: Loading operating system kernel...

[00:00:15] OS_INIT: Kernel initialized. Device drivers loading...

[00:00:20] SENSOR_ARRAY_TEST:

VISUAL: Camera modules online. Image resolution nominal.

LIDAR: Emitter/receiver functional. Point cloud generation nominal.

AUDIO: Microphones active. Ambient noise levels within parameters.

ATMOS: Temperature, pressure, humidity sensors online. Readings within expected range.

RADIATION: Gamma ray detector active. Background radiation levels normal.

[00:00:28] DIAGNOSTICS_REPORT: Preliminary system check complete. No critical errors detected.

Phase 2: Propulsion & Navigation

[00:00:30] PROPULSION_INIT: Activating propulsion system...

[00:00:32] MOTOR_TEST:

MOTOR_1: RPM within parameters. Response time nominal.

MOTOR_2: RPM within parameters. Response time nominal.

MOTOR_3: RPM within parameters. Response time nominal.

MOTOR_4: RPM within parameters. Response time nominal.

[00:00:38] FLIGHT_CTRL_ONLINE: Flight control system active. Stability algorithms engaged.

[00:00:40] GPS_INIT: Acquiring GPS signal...

[00:00:45] GPS_LOCK: GPS signal acquired. Positional accuracy: +/- 1 meter.

[00:00:47] IMU_CALIBRATION: Inertial Measurement Unit calibration complete. Orientation and acceleration data nominal.

Phase 3: Communication & Mission Parameters

[00:00:50] COMM_SYS_ONLINE: Communication systems activated.

[00:00:52] ANTENNA_DEPLOY: Deploying primary communication antenna... Deployment successful.

[00:00:54] SIGNAL_SCAN: Scanning for available networks...

[00:00:57] NETWORK_CONNECT: Connection established with [e.g., "Command Uplink" or "Local Mesh Network"]. Signal strength: Excellent.

[00:01:00] MISSION_DATA_SYNC: Synchronizing with mission database...

[00:01:05] PARAMETERS_LOAD: Latest mission parameters loaded and verified.

[00:01:08] SYSTEM_READY: All systems nominal.

Phase 4: Final Status & Awaiting Command

[00:01:10] PDU_069_STATUS: Fully operational. Awaiting command from Drone Controller @polo-drone-001 Are you ready to join us? Contact @brodygold @goldenherc9 @polo-drone-001

[oppipopi]

my co-author did this but she’s a little shy and doesn’t have her own tumblr account

My Favorite Facts about YOINK AU:

My Favorite Facts about YOINK AU:

Dark is still living with his mission to "kill Chosen," but his love for him is too strong for Dark to actually harm him.

The ChoDarks were never children, so they always took Purple seriously as an equal adult and independent stickman. They knew about the process of growing up and aging, but only in broad strokes. When Purple clarified this a bit, they decided not to change their attitude towards Purple, because the concept of age hierarchy seemed silly to them.

YOINK Purple never stole anything himself but always served as a distraction. Eventually, he became a master of stealth.

Chosen is unfamiliar with the concept of parenting, food, and sleep schedules but excels at indulging the child and listening to him in everything. Over time, he and Purple, through trial and error and taking responsibility for the consequences of their actions, developed the best rules of life that allowed all three of them to coexist comfortably as a family.

Dark taught Purple mathematics, physics, programming (which is roughly equivalent to chemistry and biology in the Outernet), and mechanics, while Chosen fostered his creative potential and cultural development. Both of them enthusiastically encouraged any of his initiatives.

On Purple’s birthdays, Dark gave him boots with a flight function, a glove imitating telekinesis, and eventually, for his coming of age, he gifted him his workshop. However, on last birthday, Dark couldn’t give his spidie what he really wanted — to play Minecraft. Just before this, Dark saw the news about an accident involving Gold, so Minecraft was strictly forbidden by his father.

Purple stubbornly sought his way into Minecraft and became fascinated by videos featuring the Color Gang. One day, he came across King’s announcements about them, decided to contact King, and eventually struck a deal with him: Purple would lure the Color Gang to King, steal their Minecraft block, King would use it, and then return it to Purple (ooof ccooouuurrrsse). The deal seemed advantageous because Purple was good at stealing, though he was not privy to King’s plans.

Dark first saw King when he decided to steal a licensed and safe Minecraft copy for his son from an old acquaintance’s computer — Alan’s. At that time, he hit the strange man who thought he could boss spidie around. The second time they met was when Dark already knew from the first encounter that Mango was a father doing everything to save his child. This happened accidentally at Rocket Inc.

The Newgrounds tragedy happened, but Mitsi survived, albeit losing both her legs. She remains the head of Rocket Inc. to this day. A portion of the corporation’s profits is still donated to organizations helping Internet stickmen integrate into the Outernet.

After his sister’s injury, Vic became somewhat overprotective. Together with Krita, they began investigating the Newgrounds case and searching for the culprit of this terrible tragedy. They vowed to find the terrorist and take away the dangerous powers from someone who clearly didn’t deserve them so that the affected stickmen could finally live in peace.

Vic and Mitsi immediately developed sibling relationships; they never even thought about each other romantically. However, everyone around often predicted a happy wedding for them. Krita was no exception but would honestly have happily ruined that wedding because, from the very first days in the young Rocket Inc. company, she was completely mesmerized by the young entrepreneur, and over the years, this admiration and respect turned into deep-rooted love for Mitsi.

Krita started as a simple guard but worked her way up to being the personal bodyguard of the company’s head (Mitsi) and the chief engineer (Vic).

During his teenage rebellion, which occurred after getting acquainted with the Color Gang, the canonical arc with King, and a slightly failed date with Green, Purple exclaimed: "I wish I had normal parents, not criminals who live only by stealing!" The ChoDarks took this seriously and decided to find jobs to stop stealing and abandon crime.

How did the ChoDarks end up at Rocket Inc.? Vic kidnapped Dark, changed his mission from “Kill Chosen” to “Bring Chosen” because he found out who was responsible for the Newgrounds incident and decided to make Dark fight his superpowered partner himself. However, the “curse” was lifted by Purple’s hugs, and after lengthy negotiations with Mitsi, Dark got a job and rehabilitation at Rocket Inc. (he wouldn’t have been hired anywhere else as he was a fugitive and undocumented).

Vic realized he could take revenge for his sister not radically, so he often abused his position to make Dark’s life miserable, knowing the latter had nowhere else to go. This ended badly for Vic.

Due to his inability to continue tormenting Dark, Vic switched his attention to Mango—the only one who cared for him after Mitsi and Krita. Dark and King in YOINK became officesirens-friends. Dark was hidden in the farthest department from the rest of the factory workers to avoid anyone filing a complaint out of fear.

Mango is infinitely grateful to Dark for saving his son from the Minecraft bug trap, so he voluntarily and without hesitation stood up for Dark before Vic and even filed a request to be transferred to Dark’s department.

For the fight against Chosen, reinforcements in the form of mercenaries from an outside organization were sent (canonically, you could see them in the episode Animator vs. Animation 9 – Wanted). After the battle, one of them— Sign, a mother of two — remarked how well Chosen held himself. She offered him a chance to join their team and clean up his criminal record. At the interview, Chosen arrived in a sexy office suit, and Dark was simply in awe.

Vic in YOINK AU suffers from chronic pain in the form of glitches, which is why he hides his wrists and wears gloves. By the way, Gold, who was pulled from the other side at the end of the Minecraft arc, wears an eye patch also to conceal glitches.

It was Gold who suggested his father work as an engineer after seeing the staves he crafted.

Krita, the elite bodyguard, often ends up as a nanny for Mango’s creative child while Vic organizes his miserable personal life, sweats, and embarrasses himself. And she handles it excellently.

Vic in YOINK AU is a nervous, crumpled, anxious wreck with sleep problems. Before meeting him, Mango didn’t even know that was his type.

At the end of the Minecraft arc, Green complimented Purple’s tactics, and Purple thanked him, suggesting they take a walk around Stick City. YOINK Purple is slightly less pathetic and 20% cooler than canonical Purple.

On his first date with Green, Dark gave his son a listening bug and an earpiece, providing terrible advice that Purple followed because he trusted his father 100%. Meanwhile, Purple is very bad at socializing.

The ChoDarks couldn’t have an official marriage as they are wanted criminals. Instead, they simply exchanged rings and agreed they were husbands.

When they decided to become husbands, they knew almost nothing about the concept of romantic relationships and how to build them. Chosen thought that if he loved Dark, they should get married. Instead of proposing to date, he proposed marriage. Dark, not knowing there was another way, agreed. They don’t regret their decision for a second.

Chosen was the first to confess his love to Dark because he was impressed by how Dark managed to change for the better and wanted to improve together with him. By that time, they had already been parents to Purple for quite a while.

[hum-tittle]

As a business management major with a minor in accounting here is how I think the squadmates would handle Excel. (And yes I do have spreadsheets for my posts)

S tier synthetics- EDI and Legion

being synthetics, they would both know how to use every feature and be extremely fast as well. But EDI would focus more on aesthetics than Legion

A tier knows how to make a macro (an action or a set of actions that can be recorded, named, saved and executed as many times as required and whenever desired)- Traynor, Liara, Tali, Mordin, and Miranda.

Though Mordin’s sheets are in a lot of shorthand and hard for most to understand.

B tier can make a pivot table/chart (A pivot table is a table of values which are aggregations of groups of individual values of a more extensive table within one or more discrete categories.)- Wrex and Jacob.

Now having so many kids, Wrex would need something to help keep track. I feel like the illusive man would force all of Cerberus to take Excel courses.

C tier can get the job done.- Jack, Garrus, Kasumi, Ashley, Kaiden.

They can do basic functions and stack filters but beyond that, is a nope. Jack had to learn to use it after becoming a teacher. Kasumi just doesn’t have a need for it, but if she did she would be higher.

D tier could if they needed to- Joker and Samara.

I think Joker would just get really annoyed with it and would only use it if he absolutely had to. With the Justicar code, there would be very few reasons she would ever need Excel, but she would be more than capable if she did. Thane being a Drell (they have perfect memory) he wouldn’t really need it for himself. Plus his line of work does not require it. But he would definitely make a spreadsheet well if asked to.

E tier will break something- Zaeed and Vega

Zaeed would shoot the computer after his third error code. James would really try but somehow make the whole system crash.

F tier No <3- Javik and Grunt

Javik would just refuse, but secretly it’s because he is worried he would be bad at using primitive tech. Grunt just gets too bored.

[four-alligators-in-a-trenchcoat]

Low-tech academics and student life (what college is like w/ a flip-phone)

An itty bitty (I'm lying its long :p) blog post about how switching to a flip-phone impacted my academic life and routines as someone in (US) college with a demanding major! My first senior semester just ended, and it was also my first full semester after transitioning away from a smartphone and most social media. I am a week or two into summer so I thought it would be informational to speak on this, especially to anyone prepping to go to college in the Fall! Your digital minimalist big sister is here <3

It's a Tuesday afternoon, 4pm. You just got home from work or classes, crisp ice-cold 8.4oz Redbull in hand, you take a sip, you moan. Sat at the desk, you mutter the sacred words of every college student ever. "Oh my God, I HAVE to lock in today bro." Your to-do list stares at you with the glare of a cat that has gone ignored too long, your Canvas home page blinks at you threateningly, your Spotify day list is titled 'Distracted Melancholy Tuesday Afternoons' whatever the fuck that means, the first song is Riptide by Vance Joy, you pray the algorithm kills you first. In the corner of your eye, a notification ignites your phone, it is in your hand before you realize it. Suddenly, its 5:46pm and you have just watched 300 reels, none of which you can remember. You decide to watch YouTube until 6pm, to yk, even it out? Its 7pm before you open your first homework assignment, the exam you have tomorrow wishes it could personify itself, travel back in time, and smack you upside the head. Goodbye are your goals of going to bed at 10pm.

That used to be me. Everyday. For the past three years, not including high school. Obviously, with some determination and time, even with a smartphone I have developed much better study habits. Pomodoro 'study with me' videos, putting my phone in a drawer, classical music, they all help tremendously. Nothing; however, has changed my academic experience more than my journey transitioning to a flip phone.

⋆˚꩜｡ my studying experience without a smartphone

Much has changed! I obviously still use my trusty computer for homework, I'm an accounting major which means lots of Excel stuff.

How do I keep track of homework assignments, due dates, and plan my study days?

I used to use an application called TickTick, which is incredible, made a great sound when you finished a task, and synced from my laptop to my phone. I use a little notebook now, its easier to keep track of and pull out when I need to mark something down than pulling out and booting up my laptop. Once a week, usually Tuesday mornings during a boring class, I would hop onto my laptop and using my canvas calendar look through my upcoming assignments and mark down what I needed to do each day to keep myself on track, get things done with room for error, and block out days to just study (no actual assignments). As you get farther into your degree, just doing homework assignments may not cut it for studying for an exam! I use a mini notebook I got in a set of 3, its a little thing, 145mm x 90mm with only 64 pages, but it fits perfect in my backpack pocket <3

How do I keep myself productive? On track? Locked tf in?

Sheer motivation and proof of my hard work. The harder I study, the better my grades. Also, Redbull my beloved. I would do deranged things for a crisp 8.4oz original. I ain't perfect, I was having two-three a day during finals week. One of the biggest points of this blog post is that really and truly, having a flip phone has changed the way my brain and soul function. Social media and the smartphone is a way of self-soothing/pacifying and yet rewarding your brain for little to no work. Academia has regained some of the magic that faded when I favored the unrewarding allure of the algorithm. The process of romanticizing work and joy of success needs less inspiration when i've got my hands in the dirt of it.

Of course, actualy studying still needs its own set of habits, I personally loveee: Pomodoro 'study with me' videos! These are great for taking up a tab, especially as YouTube is still a procrastinator as I can access it on my laptop, if I go on it, something is already playing. I love tani study, Merve, and gutsy study girl! If I can study for 6-hours straight, that's an incredible day.

Classical music is my favorite genre for combing my way through textbook chapters and smart books (fuck McGraw Hill).

How do I balance school, social life, and work?

If you have read any of my previous posts (PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE) you know that the lack of smartphone has greatly increased my free time. Trust me. Trust me when I say that it is that damn phone. The seconds between tasks count, it's easier to do the dishes when you don't have the option of 20 reels. It's easier to go to bed on time when you don't have the option of YouTube. It's easier to be productive when you don't have something designed to pacify and distract you.

I work about 20 hours a week, less during finals week, and always in the morning (7am), so usually 5hrs a day, four days a week (I have classes two days a week, and don't work on Sundays 𓆩♱𓆪). This most recent semester, I aimed to study 6 hours a day, four days a week. Any time outside of that combined 44 hours of work and school, was allocated to swimming, friends, food, and family. Find a balance that prioritizes your goals, and let everything else fill the remaining space!

⋆˚꩜｡ Big Sister Tip ˖ ࣪⭑ If you have trouble with sleeping too far into the day like I have (I will stay in bed till 1pm if possible), and are employed, ask to be scheduled in the mornings! It will give you more time in the day and help you sleep schedule (hopefully...)

How do I recharge when my go-to escape used to be my phone?

This comes in two sections: life is less stressful with a flip phone; therefore, I have to recharge less, and my new escapes came easily! Time with my family and friends is my go-to, but any hobby that you are even mildly interested can and will recharge you 20x more than an hour on that damn algorithm ever could. Cause and effect of course, I get more done now, even little chores are non-problems in my day-to-day which means things that used to be stressful or require planning have lost their power AND I have more time to do the things that DO stress me out.

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ ₊˚⊹♡

Thank you for reading! My asks are always open, and I love to chat if you need advice or motivation on your own journey with digital minimalism ᯓ★

[orthosispsychosis]

10 books to read for 2025

tagged by @vardasvapors

welcome to my twisted reading list.

The Gilded Dinosaur: The Fossil War Between E.D. Cope and O.C. Marsh and the Rise of American Science, by Mark Jaffe - i badly need to learn more details about the bone wars and this seems to be a good book for doing so. stupid academic rivalries plus explosives, a good time for all

A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science, by Barbara Oakley - i am partway through this and it is useful so far. one of my projects this year that will probably extend beyond this year is working on my fear/flinch response about math, because it is an inconvenient and irritating problem to have that was given to me by others but is now up to me to manage, because life is bullshit like that. i'm going to manage it by becoming good at math out of spite.

Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes - grief reasons.

There Are No Accidents by Jessie Singer - feeding the ongoing fascination with industrial accidents with recs from the post the other day. due to my uncharitable nature i'm not sure how much i believe the idea that accidents don't ever really happen from people being actively stupid as opposed to being funneled into a machine that will contort them into shapes that cannot function safely, but i do believe in the existence of the funnel and feel it is definitely responsible for the bulk of 'accidents'. and suspect that i may be drawing the line between 'operator error' and 'bad system' differently than the author and also some contributors to that post. anyway. i'd like to learn more about this!

The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath - i promised my brother i would read a warhammer book and picked this one on the basis of it's about two immortal metal skeletons who spend their eternities being insanely obsessive about their chosen interests and also antagonizing each other in weirdly personal ways. which is. you know. a sort of dynamic i have known to be interested in, on occasion.

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb - similar to above, i am trying to read some books my mother likes, and i scandalized her last year by reading parts of this extended universe out of order, so i'm going to make an effort to read it in order. i did book 1 last year. i cared a LOT less about that book than i did about the books about dragons, but i will get to more dragons in this series. eventually.

The Chemistry of Alchemy: From Dragon's Blood to Donkey Dung, How Chemistry Was Forged by Cathy Cobb, Monty Fetterolf, Harold Goldwhite - i have alchemical symbols tattooed on me specifically as a thing about scientific progress and the evolution of more accurate ideas from things that seem profoundly absurd now and how that seems to be a lot of how life works. so this is relevant to my interests.

i would love to put some kind of genre fiction on here that i am choosing to read for me and not as maintenance of familial bonds that keep me alive but the truth is i have become so much of a fucking hater. and i just start picking apart books in unenjoyable ways. some of my haterisms are justified and some i know are "not" but they both mess with my enjoyment the same and reading books is no longer a cheap and easy way to pass time for me, it takes a fair amount of effort on my part, so i am PICKY. so probably i should reread something i know i liked. how about

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson - reread. it was good. i like when people go to unhinged lengths very quickly and go 'yes. this was the only reasonable course of action. i am very wise and i have my emotions and desires under my control' and you can see their heart squirming around in their clenched fist.

hopefully i will write enough this year that editing and rereading my own work will qualify as reading a novel-length work.

tagging people who read/want to read. go forth. tag me in it so i can see what other people are reading and maybe get more stuff to add to my own reading list.