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ragsy · 1 year ago

Note

Ragsy you asked for this

I need you to fill out the entirety of the questions for Dillion, Dogmark and Agent Hill also if you have her number you can post that too. (Sorry dogmark ur still my fave it’s just. Big lady….)

Was your OC influenced or inspired by any particular fictional character(s) when you made them? Dillion: Dillion is drawn from a lot of different sources of inspiration, but most notably he's sorta like if you put Prince Sidon (botw) and Zapp Brannigan (futurama) in a blender and gave the resulting abomination Laszlo Cravensworth's (wwdits) voice Dogmark: He's been around for so long that I can no longer directly trace anything about him back to any specific lineage. HOWEVER. I did find out very recently that he looks uncannily like the character in the musical Rent who is also bisexual and named Mark. That was a total coincidence Sloane: a lot of her design choices were "what would be very attractive to me personally" but i did take a lot of inspiration from Jasper (steven universe) and grizzled male spy action movie heroes.

What genre (not counting the one they’re in) would your OC thrive in? Dillion: sports anime Dogmark: romcom Sloane: stoner comedy

What genre would your OC do badly in but it would be hilarious or interesting to watch? Dillion: stoner comedy Dogmark: sports anime Sloane: romcom

What media does your character enjoy? (For characters in settings that aren’t modern Earth, could be media from their home setting or what they’d like in a modern Earth AU) Dillion: he'd be WAY into competition shows. chopped, ninja warrior, american idol, great british bakeoff, literally anything like that. Dogmark: video games! he's always been a big nintendo fanboy, but he hasn't had the means to pick up anything new in years. (he likes zelda & metroid the most) Sloane: melodrama. she doesn't really watch it though, she just enjoys having it on as background noise. but if anyone switches the channel, there will be hell to pay.

What song(s) do you associate with your OC? Dillion:

youtube

Dogmark:

youtube

Sloane:

youtube

(not necessarily for lyrical content, just vibes)

If your OC had to cosplay as a fictional character, who would they choose? Dillion: hunky magikarp Dogmark: botw-era Link Sloane: dean winchester

Has your OC ever had a crush on a fictional (to them) character? Dillion: if he did, he absolutely didn't recognize it for what it was at the time Dogmark: oh, several. the very first was both Elizabeth and Will from the pirates of the caribbean at the same time though Sloane: probably, but she will never, ever, ever share this information. ever.

How would your OC do in the last book/movie/tv show/game/etc. you read/watched/played? (the last game i played was minecraft) Dillion: he'd do pretty okay after the first few nights, but he would never be able to figure out cooking and starve to death Dogmark: he camps in the wilderness for fun all the time, so just fine actually! just going to completely ignore the horrors that keep crawling up from that ravine though!! Sloane: she's resourceful, so also pretty good. she'd get frustrated that none of the villages have anything to DRINK around here, but she'd get over it.

If your OC was a superhero, what would they be like? (powers, title, general vibe, etc.) Dillion: Captain Riptide: An ocean-themed Captain America type, with a bit of aquaman (water breathing, talks to fish) thrown in there. Basically just regular Sir Dillion, but with a secret identity. Dogmark: he's kinda already got everything already except the cool name ("What do you mean? 'Dogman' isn't cool????"), although he'd be less inclined towards vigilante heroics and more toward going on dangerous missions because the alternative is blackmail Sloane: she'd probably be one of those "mundane humans but is really good with a gun named Crackshot or Bullseye or something like that" type heroes, although her cursed monster arm would be a source of conflict that would probably lead her more toward antiheroism.

What animal would your OC have as their His Dark Materials daemon? Dillion: horse? probably horse Dogmark: hmm! hard to say! probably some four-legged carnivore? heavily steeped in symbolism of loyalty and servitude? what could that be??? Sloane: rattlesnake

What Pokémon would be on your OC’s team and/or what would be their preferred type? Dillion: w... water type Dogmark: normal type!!! normal! he's so normal!!! Sloane: ground type? maybe?

If your OC was a Dungeons and Dragons character, what would their class be? And/or: If they were playing D&D, what kind of character might they play? (these aren’t necessarily the same thing) Dillion: well. he's already a Fighter, and i think if he were playing dnd, he would also play fighter. fighters all the way down Dogmark: he'd be a ranger or sorcerer, but i think he would really enjoy playing a wizard or warlock Sloane: she'd be a rogue, fighter, or ranger, and i think she would think dnd is stupid so she'd never play

How well would your OC do in a standard slasher movie? Dillion: last to die, but he'd be, like, super guilty about it Dogmark: puts up a good fight, but ultimately no match for the jumpscares Sloane: goes down fighting in a last ditch effort to save the innocent bystanders. OR, alternatively, dies immediately due to her hubris and cocky attitude

What stock character would your OC be stuck as in a sitcom? Dillion: bumbling uncle Dogmark: awkward nerd who Just Can't Get a Girl! Sloane: token butch

Who would your OC main in Super Smash Bros? Dillion: CAPTAIN FALCON!! Dogmark: (copied from a previous ask) idk anything about the current roster, but probably Fire Emblem Sword Boy Du Jour? In melee/brawl he would be a Marth main though. Never played at any sort of competitive level, but he was still pretty good at it. Currently has a hard time holding game controllers on account of his claws and paw beans, especially the teeny tiny buttons on the switch Sloane: incineroar. she's a total shark about it too-- plays dumb for the first four stock, then as soon as she's down to one she opens up a can of whoopass on her opponent

Who would your OC play in Mario Kart? Dillion: inkling boy. [sighs wistfully] reminds him of home Dogmark: shy guy on a little bike Sloane: funky kong!!!!!!!

If your OC was in Star Trek’s Starfleet, what would be their role/position? Or, if that doesn’t really fit your OC: why would they get kicked out of Starfleet? (please take my answers with a grain of salt; i have an extremely casual surface level of understanding of how starfleet works) Dillion: listen, he's already partially based on a character who is partially based on bill shatner as jim kirk, so. he's the captain of this starship Dogmark: some mechanical maintenance role where he doesn't have to talk to anyone, or a security role where he's monitering cameras all day. don't put him in space adventure, he'll get sad Sloane: oh, head security officer. she'll wrestle with an alien lizard any chance she gets.

What role would your OC play in a heist story? Dillion: the muscle. he's not stealthy, he's not good at talking himself out of problems, but he IS good at bonking people in the head and/or breaking down doors. Dogmark: (copied from a previous ask) Getaway driver. He's too nervous to actually be part of the operation, but he's got a lead foot and he's a pretty solid driver. Plus, if they still end up getting caught, he can definitely outrun the cops on foot in dog form. Sloane: probably also the muscle, but in a scenario where she knows someone else is willing to put themselves in that level of danger, she'd be the overseer. planning moves, calling shots, keeping an eye on her team and guiding them to safety (and big money)

What kind of classic horror monster (vampire, werewolf, alien, etc.) would your OC be? Dillion: gillman. duh Dogmark: werewolf. duh Sloane: also werewolf, but hotter. duh

What type of Avatar The Last Airbender-type bender (or non-bender) would your OC be? Any bending specialties? Dillion: water!!!!! he's a fish man, what do you want from me!!!!!! Dogmark: (copied from a previous ask) Supposed non-bender for most of his life, but in reality just never had the opportunity to discover and hone his bending abilities. By the time he learned he was actually a bender the whole time, he'd aged out of most of the available training programs. Unsure what element though! Water maybe? (after the fact realization: probably fire actually) Sloane: non-bender, but she can definitely hold her own against a bender in a fight. probably practices chakra blocking like ty lee

Your OC gets isekai’d to a bog-standard fantasy world. What does your OC do and how badly does it go for that world? Dillion: "oh thank heavens, this is much more familiar to where i'm actually from than the other, much more creative fantasy world that i got isekai'd to right before this" Dogmark: he'd spend a week in terrified denial, then one day a gnome offers him a quarter-pint of thimbleberry ale and he throws his hands up in resignation, accepts the drink, and just learns to live with all the rest of it. his dogman curse ends up being a boon for him, it would definitely help him blend in at first Sloane: she'd spend a lot of time complaining about not having TV or cigarettes anymore (puppet shows and pipe smoke just isn't the same for her), but she'd be relieved that all of her worldly responsibilities and troubles just. vanished. (except for the cursed monster arm, but she'd probably find a cleric who could just. heal her for a day's work and everything's just peachy after that)

In the Muppet version of your story, is this particular OC a Muppet or the one human? Dillion: he's a muppet, but he's one of the full-body sized ones Dogmark: human in human form, but a muppet in dog form. when he transforms, he ducks behind a conveniently placed table and the other version jumps up in the previous version's place. Sloane: she's the human, and she never once acknowledges that her costars are made of felt and stuffing

What would be your OC’s My Little Pony cutie mark? Dillion: a really fancy medieval coat of arms with a nautilus and two crossed swords. way more detailed than any toy manufacturer could ever produce Dogmark: paw print. :) puppy Sloane: a revolver chamber, with one bullet missing.

Your OC is stuck in a musical episode. What song(s) do they sing? (And how thrilled or annoyed are they about being stuck in a musical?) Dillion: he gets the confused and excited "what the hell is happening, why are we singing" number, as well as being in the chorus for every subsequent number. he's a little pitchy, but he's so into it, so his spirit alone sells it. Dogmark: he gets the emotional "all is lost" number that happens on the transition between the second and third acts. it's his one and only musical number-- he spends the whole runtime up to that number denying that he's in a musical, but when his time comes, he owns it. Sloane: she manages to figure out how to game the system by simply not speaking the whole episode-- she communicates entirely by typing things on her phone and having TTS read them out for her. everyone else wishes she would just lighten up a little

In a murder mystery, what role would your OC play? (e.g. detective, sidekick, wacky suspect, rival investigator who gets in thew way, red herring, true culprit) Dillion: rival investigator who thinks he's extremely talented at solving mysteries, when in fact he's just jumping to conclusions and assuming he's correct Dogmark: suspect who is innocent but was definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time and cannot articulate why without incriminating himself for something entirely unrelated Sloane: secret detective-- played along as just some innocent observer, but was actually clocking everything the whole time.

What is your OC’s Warrior Cats name? Dillion: splashstream Dogmark: bramblefur Sloane: tigerblaze

Gun to their head, what is your OC’s fursona? Dillion: coelacanth?? Dogmark: dog obviously, but like. that very specific kind of mutt you see with yellow single-coat fur, pointed ears, smooth tail, and no markings except for the odd white point here or there Sloane: GRAND! OLD! BOAR!!!!!

if you made it this far hi thanks i love you for loving my characters this much

#ragsycon exclusive #entropyking #ask meme #oc sir dillion #oc dogmark #oc sloane

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weaselle · 4 months ago

Text

i really appreciate the information and intent here, but i do just have to say that specifically both dogs and chimpanzees have a lot more nuance to their smiles than what this post indicates.

Dogs literally evolved facial muscles that wolves don't have so they can communicate with humans better, and dogs do have a couple of happy smile expressions. The problem is, you have to really know what you're looking at to tell the difference

here is my dog smiling a happy smile

and here is one where his smile is even more relaxed and happy

Next, below, is a picture of my dog in high heat stress (i removed him from this situation about 20 seconds after i snapped this pic, we both fell asleep in a tent in the middle of the day and woke up being baked, he is way too hot here. I sent this picture to his other owner, who was working as a vet tech at that time, and she immediately texted back "too hot!" -- if you know dogs, and especially if you know the individual dog, the difference is very clear)

in the too hot picture you can see he's sort of smiling more like this

and here is something in between, where he is just a little tired and maaaybe a little hot from running around excitedly in the cool air, but also happy and satisfied and relaxed and low stress

in this next picture he has a 100% not stressed, real, wants-to-play smile

whereas the next pic is a low heat, but very high stress "smile"

in this pic we are practicing being calm around cats, who Badger does not like or trust, and which fill him with a mix of both fight and flight feelings (he's being a very good boy for me, but he is pretty stressed, and only maintaining his composure by refusing to look at the cats next to him. Sometimes i take him places there are cats, so this was a good training opportunity for us, but he is experiencing stress)

and finally here is a "please" smile where he really wants something (in this case, to go on a run)

similarly, rigorous studies of chimpanzee facial expressions show that they smile for a wide variety of reasons that yes, include fear and aggression, but also include things like appeasement or placation, and also play.

in this somewhat famous picture, for example

Many people were quick to say a lot of "inviting you to be drowned" and "they smile when they want to murder you" kind of comments, but if you look up the description of the event from the photographer, this bonobo is simply asking for the camera, which, though mysterious, is very obviously a fascinating and high-value object to the people, please hand it to me.

The apes that the photographer and accompanying ape behaviorists were recording (because voluntarily swimming and playing in water is another thing we thought these apes never did) were apparently very interested in his camera and they tried many times to entice him to hand it over. This is a "please share" smile, and according to the ape behaviorists, and is in no way threatening.

Chimpanzees and bonobos (and before you say anything about bonobos happy-smiling more because they are so happy and peaceful, you should know that bonobos actually fight each other MORE than chimps, it's just bonobos don't really ever fight to the point serious injury or death while chimps often do... but bonobos actually throw hands significantly more often than chimps, and do plenty of threat displays) both utilize smiles in ways science is only recently recognizing.

The truth is, like most things, animal communication is very nuanced.

Again, i don't want to take away from the main point of the post -- the number of videos and photos i see of "cute" or "happy" animals that are actually clearly in distress if you know what to look for is, frankly, tragic. I am very glad OP made their post about it.

I've even seen a "heroic" mother-chicken-defends-baby-chicks-from-hawk video where the hawk was very clearly either injured or ill or drugged or something, and was literally thrown into an enclosure with the chickens to film the also stressed out chickens attacking the poor hawk who was barely aware of what was happening. It looked like it was super over-heated, or maybe it had been hit in the head or something, it was a, basically an acutely disabled hawk, that somebody used badly to make some kind of stupid "inspirational" animal video.

So posts like this are important.

i just wanted to be accurate about the fact that dogs and chimpanzees do actually smile for smiling reasons, and just like with humans, a lot of knowing which is what is knowing the context... but you can also often tell just by looking closely at the expression if you really know what to look for (i don't know what to look for in apes, i just read a couple facial expression studies about it, but working professionally with dogs, i pay special attention to the tension around their eyes and the corners of their mouth, and what their tongue is doing, among other cues)

and of course i have my own dog's expressions dialed in. Sometimes he actually gets my attention and makes, like, an approximation of his too hot face at me when his water bowl is empty and he wants a drink.

And there are times he smiles a real smile

Alligator Body Language and You, or: How To Know When An Alligator On Social Media is Being Stressed for Views

Alligators are wild animals. Despite the idiotic claims of animal abusers like Jay Brewer, they cannot be domesticated, which means they are always going to react on the same natural instincts they've had for millions of years. Habituated, yes. Tamed, yes. Trained, definitely. Crocodilians can form bonds with people- they're social and quite intelligent. They can solve problems, use tools, and they're actually quite playful. Alligators are also really good at communicating how they're feeling, but to somebody who doesn't spend much time around them, their body language can be a bit mystifying. And it doesn't help when social media influencers are saying shit like this:

That is not what a happy gator looks like.

That's a terrified, furious gator who isn't attacking because the ogre handling her has her in a chokehold. She's doing everything she can to express her displeasure, and he's lying about it because he knows his audience doesn't even know how to think critically about what he's doing. He knows that because his audience doesn't know anything about these animals, he can get away with it. This I think is why I hate him so much- he deliberately miseducates his audience. He knows what he's doing is factually inaccurate, he just doesn't care because attention means more to him than anything else in the world.

Let's change that! Here are two really important lessons for understanding alligator body language on social media.

Lesson 1: Alligators Don't Smile (in fact, most animals don't)

So what's going on in this video? Jay Brewer is aggressively choking his white alligator Coconut while scrubbing algae off of her with a toothbrush. And make no mistake, he is digging into the creature's throat while she is visibly distressed. He claims she's happy- but she's not. He is willfully misrepresenting what this animal is feeling. That's a problem, because people... well, we actually kind of suck at reading other species' body language. The reason for this is that we tend to overlay our own responses on their physical cues, and that's a problem. For example, let's look at an animal with a really similar face to ours, the chimpanzee. Check out Ama's toothy grin!

Wait, no. That's not a happy smile. That's a threat display. When a chimpanzee "smiles," it's either terrified and doing a fear grimace, or it's showing you its teeth because it intends on using them in your face.

How about a dog? Look at my smiling, happy puppy!

Oh wait no, this is a picture of Ryder when he was super overwhelmed by noise and people during a holiday party. He'd hopped up in my sister's lap to get away from stuff that was happening on the floor and was panting quite heavily. See the tension in the corners of his mouth and his eyes? A lot of the time when a dog "smiles," the smile isn't happy. It's stress! Why Animals Do The Thing has a nice writeup about that, but the point is, our body language is not the same as other species. And for reptiles, body language is wildly different.

For instance, look at these two alligators. Pretty cute, right? Look at 'em, they're posing for a Christmas card or something! How do you think they're feeling?

Well, I'll tell you how the normal one is feeling. He's annoyed! Why is he annoyed? Because the albino just rolled up, pushed another gator off the platform, and is trying to push this guy, too. I know this because I actually saw it happen. It was pretty funny, not gonna lie. He's not gaping all the way, but he was hissing- you can actually see him getting annoyed in the sequence I took right before this shot. Look at him in this first shot here- he's just relaxing, and you can see he isn't gaping even a little bit.

By the end, he's expressing displeasure, but not enough to actually do anything about it. He's annoyed, but he's comfy and that's where one of the best basking areas is, so he'll put up with it.

Reptiles open their mouths wide for a lot of reasons, but never because they are actively enjoying a sensation. Unless they're eating. No reptile smiles- they can't. They don't even have moveable lips. If a reptile is gaping, it's doing so because:

It is doing a threat display.

It is making certain vocalizations, all of which are threats. Alligators are one of the rare reptiles that do regularly vocalize, but most of their calls aren't made with a wide open mouth.

It is about to bite something delicious or somebody stupid. Check out this video- virtually all of the gaping here is anticipatory because these trained gators know darn well that the bowl is full of delicious snacks. (I have some issues with Florida's Wildest, but the man knows how to train a gator AND he is honest about explaining what they're doing and why, and all of his animals are healthy and well-cared for, and he doesn't put the public or his staff at risk- just himself.)

youtube

It's too hot and it has opened its mouth to vent some of that heat and thermoregulate. This is the main reason why alligators will often have their mouths part of the way open, but sometimes they'll open all the way for thermoregulation. This is what a thermoregulatory gape looks like- usually it's not all the way open, kinda more like < rather than V, but you can't say that 100% of the time. Additionally, a thermoregulatory gape... typically happens when it's hot out. If they're inside, maybe they've been under their basking light for too long. Heat's the dominant factor, is what I'm getting at.

There is another reason that a captive crocodilian might be gaping, and that's because it's doing so on command. Some places have their gators trained to gape on cue, like St. Augustine Alligator Farm and other good zoos. They have the animals do this in presentations that are genuinely educational. They ask the animals to open their mouths so that they can show off their teeth and demonstrate how their tongues seal off the back of their mouth. They'll also do it as part of routine healthcare, because looking at their teeth is important.

In this case, the animals aren't gaping because they're stressed, they're gaping because they know they're gonna get a piece of chicken or fish if they do it. And what's more, they're doing it on cue. They have a specific command or signal that tells them to open wide. It's not an instinctive response to a situation. It's trained. If the animal provides the behavior after a cue, the situation is much less likely to be negatively impactful.

It's also important to remember that there's a difference between a partially open mouth and a gape! As discussed above, alligators will often have their mouths a little bit open just to maintain temperature homeostasis. It helps them stay comfy, temperature-wise. These guys are all doing thermoregulatory open-mouthed behavior- that slight open and relaxed body posture is a dead giveaway. (That and it's the hottest spot in the enclosure.)

Lesson 2: A Happy Gator Is A Chill Gator

So if alligators don't smile or have facial expressions other than the :V that typically signifies distress, how else can you tell how they're feeling? One way is stillness. See, alligators subscribe to the philosophy of if it sucks... hit da bricks.

Basically, if they hate it, they'll leave. Unless, y'know, somebody has their meaty claws digging into their throat or is otherwise restraining them. (Restraint isn't always bad, btw. Sometimes the animal is going through a medical thing or needs to be restrained for their safety- which a responsible educator will explain.)

Let's look at a very similar scenario, in which a captive alligator is getting his back scrubbed.

As you can see, it's quite different. First, he's not being restrained at all. Second, look at how relaxed he is! He's just chilling there vibing! He could simply get up and leave if he wanted to, because he's not being held. Towards the end of the video, as he lifts his head, you can see that his respiratory rate is very even as his throat flutters a bit. I'm not sure what this facility is, so I can't comment on care/general ethics, but like. In this specific case, this is an alligator enjoying being scrubbed! And you can tell because he's not doing anything. A happy gator is content to be doing what they're doing.

Why Should I Listen To You?

Now, you should ask yourself, why should you listen to me? Why should you trust me, who does not own an alligator, versus Jay Brewer, who owns several?

Well, first off, there's no profit for me in telling you that what you're seeing on social media is in fact not what you're being told you're seeing. I'm not getting paid to do this. That's the thing with people who make social media content. The big names aren't doing it just for fun. They're doing it for money. Whether that's profit through partnerships or sponsorships, or getting more people to visit their facilities, or ad revenue, you can't ignore the factor of money. And this is NOT a bad thing, because it allows educators to do what they're passionate about! People deserve to be paid for the work that they do!

But the problem starts when you chase the algorithm instead of actually educating. A "smiling" alligator gets the views, and if people don't know enough to know better, it keeps getting the views. People love unconventional animal stories and they want those animals to be happy- but the inability to even know where to start with critically evaluating these posts really hinders the ability to spread real information. Like, this post will probably get a couple hundred notes, but that video of Coconut being scrubbed had almost 400,000 likes when I took that screenshot. Think about how many eyeballs that's reached by now. What I'm saying here is that it's just... really important to think critically about who you're getting your information from. What do dissenters say in the comments? What do other professionals say? You won't find a single herpetologist that has anything good to say about Prehistoric Pets, I can tell you that right now.

Another reason you can trust me is that my sources are not "just trust me bro," or "years of experience pretending my pet shop where animals come to die is a real zoo." Instead, here are my primary sources for my information on alligator behavior:

Dragon Songs: Love and Adventure among Crocodiles, Alligators, and Other Dinosaur Relations- Vladimir Dinets

The Secret Social Lives of Reptiles- J. Sean Doody, Vladimir Dinets, Gordon M. Burghardt

Social Behavior Deficiencies in Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Z Walsh, H Olson, M Clendening, A Rycyk

Social Displays of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)- Kent Vliet

Social Signals and Behaviors of Adult Alligators and Crocodiles- Leslie Garrick, Jeffery Lang

Never smile at a crocodile: Gaping behaviour in the Nile crocodile at Ndumo Game Reserve, South Africa- Cormac Price, Mohamed Ezat, Céline Hanzen, Colleen Downs (this one's Nile crocs, not American alligators, but it's really useful for modeling an understanding of gape behaviors and proximity)

Thermoregulatory Behavior of Captive American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)- Cheryl S. Asa, Gary D. London, Ronald R. Goellner, Norman Haskell, Glenn Roberts, Crispen Wilson

Unprovoked Mouth Gaping Behavior in Extant Crocodylia- Noah J. Carl, Heather A. Stewart, Jenny S. Paul

Thank you for reading! Here's a very happy wild alligator from Sanibel for your trouble.

#science and nature #crocodiles #alligators #dogs #chimps #bonobos #smiles #animal behavior

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ko-zone · 11 months ago

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helloooo this pinned post will give you general info, the general tags used here, and the keep reading has some of our members and their emoji tags.

this is the "ko zone" system's tumblr blog! we use it so much, might as well make a sideblog. our body is 22, and this age internally shifts depending on who is fronting- and more often than not, cofront and influencing the main, ect. anything goes who give a shiit if you're weird though you're getting blocked

list of members saying hi in the keep reading vvvvvv

some members

👍sara/kyle (any pronouns)

heyoooo, i'm sara or kyle, whichever you want to use... you could also use ko, since that's our system name anyway!

i'm the main, so you'll probably see me often- either by myself, or blending and cofronting with someone else. i basically am front locked because ive been the mask this whole fucking time. and these cool ppl show up to help shoulder the burdens- and when they leave they often take those memories (both bad trauma related ones AND good and important information sadly) with them until they return. it is what it is

🐕 Crag (they/them,/it/its,she/he,the dog/the dog's)

Hellooo! What if there was a golden retriever who was practically raised on technology and used it as a means of escapism and expression? And ALSO wore cool sunglasses?... You'd get me, I'm therian! I front often, and I love getting to fiddle with and learn new apps or technology we're given. OOH and I love making silly little charts and graphs.

My most proud acheivment, personally- I even created and am the main coder of our Neocities (kopawz.neocities.org)! I share though, don't worry. <3 If we ever talk, I'd be happy to teach you about html when we can; making your own site is very freeing!

📚⚡The Tactician (they/it/he/she)

I'm a fan of keeping things organized and writing things down when we can. It's easier to remember what we need to do that way; and writing in general is just really fun and cathartic to do. Still trying to figure out if I want a name or if I just like being called this.

🕶🔆 Ray (he/they)

hi! i'm ray, and i really like pokemon. sun and moon and the ultra games are my favorites, but anything pokemon makes me pretty happy and it's very important to me. i like animals and going outside to look at any i see, plants too. it's very nice to meet you! if we hang out and i'm weird that's fine dw about it i am clocked out half the time anyway

🐈🧣 Fely (it/its/she/he/they/paws/pawself)

it's me! the proud lynian warrior! i'm felyne, but i just go by fely, cause they call me the feller... the fella, the little guy, the scraggly little cat thing. i also think it's funny to mention i do our taxes :3

okay so i love monster hunter, which is where i'm from! and i really like doing research and looking into things like i love reading! i like it when i get to show and explain things to someone else it makes me happy when somebody listens to what we have to say when i teach them! :D and i love KILLING!!! in video games. give me the video game battle music osts...

🐓🐆🦈 Odius (he/him)

hey, I used to be a persecutor, but I'm trying to protect us in ways that don't include *literally* biting and growling and shutting off and sealing us away anyone who wants to try to spend time with us. I like thinking about weird creatures. and if you think about it, violence is its own kind of artform. I also like writing... there's nuance work with me here

🦊🍭 gaius (he/him but in a girl way)

you could also just call me guy. id be happy to listen to you talk about things you're interested in until my ears fall off. i like chatting too. seriously, bug me, it gets so boring at work. im used to being around cars.

🐺🗡🐐Link (he/any)

i was one of the first ones here; you know how it is with a kid's first game. I used to protect us a lot, but now the physical threat of violence is basically nonexistant so I'm just still here sometimes... i like bugs. oh, and I really love fishing games. send me your fishing games

#always a work in progress #pinned post

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the-hot-zone · 5 years ago

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Too Old To Play With Toys: The Sad Truth Behind Sokka's Boomerang

This is Sokka’s boomerang:

[ID: a screenshot of Sokka’s boomerang from Avatar: The Last Airbender. It has just been thrown, and it whips through the air in a rapid, whirling motion. End ID.]

And as we all know, it always comes back. This characteristic makes Sokka’s boomerang a returning boomerang, rather than a hunting boomerang. This is an important distinction to make, and it’s where the heart of this headcanon lays. Let me explain.

Accuracy: What’s the Difference Between Hunting and Throwing Boomerangs?

There are three types of boomerangs: the hunting boomerang, the returning boomerang, and the cross boomerang. We’re only going to be discussing hunting and throwing boomerangs, but feel free to learn about cross boomerangs and their construction--they’re really cool. As a general note: the following sources and information pertain to Aboriginal Australian cultures. Boomerangs were used elsewhere, but mainly as throwing sticks, not returning boomerangs.

So, hunting boomerangs, also known as throwing sticks or kylies, have this basic shape:

[ID: a black silhouette of a hunting boomerang. It is shaped like a skinny tear drop, with a slight curve along its form, and it widens asymmetrically at its ends. End ID.]

[ID: an overhead shot of three hunting boomerangs. They are carved from glossy, light-brown wood. End ID.]

Artist: Aboriginal Elder, Joe Skeen Snr. Buy here.

The hunting boomerang is straighter, larger, longer, and deadlier than the returning boomerang. “With it,” states the Britannica, “animals were maimed and killed, while in warfare it caused serious injuries and death.” This is due to its shape, which allows it to travel in a relatively straight line. With its capability for distance and force, the hunting boomerang is a very powerful tool.

According to Boomerang: Behind an Australian Icon by Philip Jones, a hunting boomerang can travel around 100 meters. If the boomerang is heavy enough, and the throw forceful enough, large prey, like kangaroos, can be killed. If you want to see a hunting boomerang in action, watch sections of this Youtube video. The range and accuracy of this tool are amazing.

The returning boomerang, which was used in eastern and western parts of Australia, is very different:

[ID: a black silhouette of a returning boomerang. It has two arms that widen towards the middle and connect, forming an angled shape, like a triangle with two sides. End ID.]

[ID: a painted returning boomerang. The base is formed from a smooth, light-colored wood. Designs are painted at the end of its wings, in the middle of its wings, and towards its center. At the center is a stylized turtle. End ID.]

Artist: unknown, but sold by Aboriginal-owned business Murra Wolka. Website here.

As you can see, the returning boomerang is shorter, smaller, and angled sharply. The shape of it allows it to trace an elliptical path, thus returning to the thrower. But this property is not without its drawbacks:

“A hunting boomerang needs to fly well and nearly straight to strike prey some 200 metres away. The trouble is that the best-flying boomerangs tend to return, rarely departing beyond fifty metres from the thrower. With the returning form ‘there is no certainty of hitting the mark. It may come back too quickly and may hit your own friends standing near you.’ While recognising that the best-flying boomerangs do return, Aborigines defined a technological problem. They needed to strike a compromise between flying ability and hunting requirements...” (Australian Museum).

Now, the returning boomerang could still be used to hunt, but not to kill or maim prey. Its application was craftier:

“When hunting ducks, for example, nets were set up at either ends of a creek or river. A boomerang was then thrown out over the ducks which gave them a scare so that they took off up the river and flew directly into the nets. From there they were collected. At other times during the hunting of birds the returning boomerang was thrown horizontally along the ground into a flock, and, as they took off the boomerang would follow them into the air. This may or may not kill the bird and a harder way to hunt” (murruppi.com).

Still, this wasn’t the main application of the returning boomerang. In actuality, it was used as a toy:

“The returning boomerang was not primarily designed for hunting as it is too light and wouldn't guarantee a kill. Rather, it was designed as a toy for young aboriginal boys. The toy would allow a youngster to practice throwing skills but still make it fun” (murrippi.com).

So, Sokka’s boomerang? A plaything.

Let’s Bring It Back to ATLA: What Does This Mean?

With the above information, Sokka’s use of his boomerang in canon becomes almost tragic. His boomerang was probably given to him by Hakoda when he was very young. He used it to learn how to throw; one day, when he was older, he would have carved his own throwing stick, and used it to hunt alongside his dad and the other adults of his tribe.

Instead, Sokka’s boomerang is another aspect of his childhood that was twisted by the war. His boomerang is--should have been--nothing more than a toy. He shouldn’t have had to use it to fend off Zuko, attack Azula, and defeat Combustion Man. Regardless, it did become a tool he used to help defeat the Fire Nation, and that’s pretty fitting when it comes to ATLA’s ideas of childhood and war: Sokka spent years acting as his tribe’s protector; Katara spent longer acting as a mother. Thus, his use of his boomerang throughout the show displays how Sokka was forced into a war-torn world at an incredibly, unfairly young age. As a result, he was forced to adapt in ways that took from him.

And we’ve all seen Sokka’s boomerang in action. Here’s a video of his greatest hits--literally. His accuracy is insane, and he catches his boomerang every time. He’s more than ready to have a hunting boomerang, yet we see him use his returning boomerang throughout the show, and long after he earns his ice dodging mark. Tbh? I think that Sokka didn’t want to carve a hunting boomerang without his dad guiding his hands.

So, you might be wondering, what happens post-war?

Eventually, I think Sokka retires his returning boomerang and carves his own hunting boomerang, but the shape of it is particular:

“Some scientists argue that a throwing-stick, commonly used by indigenous hunters around the world, is the precursor of the boomerang... Through trial-and-error the boomerang was refined to a point where the most desirable size, proportions and curvature were established. This refinement brought one serious problem: any improvement in flying resulted in a tendency to return. There is little doubt that indigenous hunters brought this experiment to its ultimate conclusion, by producing the perfect returning boomerang” (Australian Museum).

In short, making a good hunting boomerang is hard. Lots of trial and error, and still, hunting boomerangs come in a wide array of shapes. Thus, I headcanon that Sokka carves his hunting boomerang differently, as compared to the other members of his tribe--it’s more curved. This would show that although he's grown up and is in a post-war world, he's changed in some ways that can't be completely undone.

In other words, Sokka eventually moves on, but the way he throws and uses his boomerang is going to be a little different.

Conclusion

TL;DR: Sokka’s boomerang is a plaything, and this has sad implications. But also? He never should have had one in the first place. Firstly, boomerangs were traditionally made from green hardwood, which I don’t believe can be found in the South Pole. I on god can’t find any authentic sources for bone or metal boomerangs. To be more accurate and still keep with the trend of throwing weapons, I would’ve given Sokka a nuqaq and darts or a bola.

Also, as far as I can tell, Sokka’s boomerang is the only aspect of Aboriginal Australian culture Bryke used in ATLA (I can’t get a confirmation on Hakoda’s name). This is cherry-picking to the max, and it perpetuates the harmful ideas of pan-indigeneity wrt one large, singular culture.

So, if you enjoyed this, please consider supporting aboriginal artists and charities. You can buy aboriginal art from murrippi.com and Murra Wolka. This article here provides a list of charities as well as active GoFundMe’s for families affected by police brutality against Aboriginal Australians. Thank you.

Sources

“Hunting Boomerang - Extreme Range - The Aboriginal Karli” by Throwsticks Channel

“Boomerang Information“ by Murruppi, Djirrbal/Ngadjonji Tribe

“Boomerang” by the Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors for the Encyclopaedia Britannica

“It Comes Back ... What a Nuisance!“ by Stan Florek for Australian Museum

Boomerang: Behind an Australian Icon by Philip Jones from Wikipedia

Murra Wolka

Gonna tag @atlaculture because I think this is of your interest. <3

#atla #avatar the last airbender #sokka #atla meta #atla headcanons #atla hc #YES this is angsty shhhhhhh #am I doing meta right?

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randum-famdoms · 7 months ago

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I will add that even though we know A LOT about extinct animals, there are obviously many exceptions. Some species only have a few partial fossils found so far, meaning we know some but not a ton about them, and sadly many many extinct species simply aren’t known about as we haven’t found fossils of them yet.

However! We are CONSTANTLY learning and discovering more about history, extinct animals included. Just because we don’t know everything, does not mean that we don’t know a great deal more than Hollywood and social media would lead you to believe.

Some amazing resources that I personally enjoy watching to learn more about palaeontology and cool animal facts in general (as a casual enjoyer, I have zero academic experience) are a few YouTube channels:

Lindsay Nikole (she’s doing a series called history of the world as we know it rn, it’s awesome, but she makes other stuff too):

Seven days of science series by Ben G Thomas (there are several sibling channels listed on their page, they’re all cool)

PBS Eons (their shorts are very good, and their long form videos are even better)

And History of the Earth (amazing documentaries, worthy of the history channel BEFORE it went to shit)

For non-extinct animals, Real Science is really fun! They’re what got me into marine biology and the reason the octopus is my favourite animal. Also they taught me that pudge ones are cool as fuck. If you like engineering, they also have a sister channel for that linked on their page.

Less specialised, but SciShow has some great episodes about this kinda thing as well! Hank Green and his team are awesome.

And while I’m at it, if you’re also interested in the Human Fossils (aka archaeology and anthropology), Milo Rossi from Miniminuteman is where it’s at! He’s got some great stuff in his channel, super fun, and knows how to do commentary/reaction/debunking videos without being outright mean and instead just sarcastically informative.

I have more educational YouTube recs but imma stop here because these are the most relevant to the post lol

I submit to you that the most iconic feature of any animal is either unlikely or impossible to fossilize.

If all we had of wolves were their bones we would never guess that they howl.

If all we had of elephants were fossils with no living related species, we might infer some kind of proboscis but we’d never come up with those ears.

If all we had of chickens were bones, we wouldn’t know about their combs and wattles, or that roosters crow.

We wouldn’t know that lions have manes, or that zebras have stripes, or that peacocks have trains, that howler monkeys yell, that cats purr, that deer shed the velvet from their antlers, that caterpillars become butterflies, that spiders make webs, that chickadees say their name, that Canada geese are assholes, that orangutans are ginger, that dolphins echolocate, or that squid even existed.

My point here is that we don’t know anything about dinosaurs. If we saw one we would not recognize it. As my evidence I submit the above, along with the fact that it took us two centuries to realize they’d been all around us the whole time.

#If you couldn’t tell this is one of my hyperfixation that evolved into a small special interest #real science and milo held hands and dragged me into the abyss #and tbh I thank them for it

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witchthewriter · 2 years ago

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Hi there lovely! Here’s my information for the Sons of Anarchy Ship/Match-up

Features: I’m a female, standing at 5’6, I possess long light brown hair with a tint of redness in the sunlight. My hazel eyes change each day from green/brown to brown/gold. I have the sun and moon tattoos on my thighs, a shark up my side torso on my ribs, half an arm sleeve and a neck tattoo revealing my zodiac sign – Gemini (which I often hide) I’m slender with curves.

Hobbies: I am a workaholic; it becomes my hobby at times. I work in the funeral home, removing the deceased from the POD. I enjoy my free time spent with my dogs, my fierce Doberman and my lovable, motivating exercise collie partner. I enjoy reading all things Stephen King and James Patterson and playing any horror related video games. You guessed it, I’m a strong advocate for the horror genre, and Freddy Krueger will always have my heart. I watch SOA and SPN religiously whenever I tilly tally around the house.

Personality: Often seen as an outgoing, happy go lucky, eccentric lady (This is from first judgement from people I know) When really, I’m rather introverted and possess way too dark humour. I collect knives, different types ranging from a replica of the SPN demon blade, to a jungle machete. These are all encases in a glass shelf, only used for display. I love to make others laugh, and I’m incredibly loyal to those I care for. I don’t practice religion (I support others who do) as the only thing I believe in, is the reaper.

Aesthetics: Not sure if this is a term but my house is very much cabin like. Wooden beams, brown features, brown clocks with black accents. I love this kind of theme, heavily decorated with green plants and fish tanks.

Likes: Lover of being at home, with my man and the dogs. Also a lover of all things spooky. I enjoy long hot showers with my candles lit in the shower itself, It’s so peaceful. I love to read, whether it be books in my hand or online. Sadly, I am a smoker, so my time alone on my patio having a cig is therapeutic to me. I adore time spent with my little family or my close friends whether it be going to the pub for a beer or shopping at Walmart for new bedding 😊 Coffee is my best friend.

Dislikes: My biggest dislike in this world, is seeing animals mistreated. I am that person that buys the near dead betta fish at the pet store and brings it home to treat and watch thrive. I dislike SNAKES. They just scare me, but don’t wish any ill will on them. Hypocrites are my triggers, can’t stand someone who preaches to the choir about wrong doings when they’re actively just as guilty. Own your shit is my motto.

Brief fun facts about me!

Used to train canines for search work, in areas such as narcotics and explosives. My closest friend is my grandma. I love to wear black. My go to perfume is good girl. I play COD often – I’m competitive in nature. I wear the SONS rings as I got them custom made, and it’s my favourite accessory!

I put way too much into this post, but hopefully it’ll help lots with finding my best ship! Thanks for taking the time to do this 😊

Want one? Here be the rules 🦋🌈

You LITERALLY sound like a character from Supernatural?!?! Are you sure you aren't Bobby's long-lost daughter or something?

Also being a canine trainer?! Um... are you the coolest person in the goddamn world? I think so.

𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑶𝒑𝒊𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏! I think you guys would be such a perfect match. In a way, you remind me of a cool-ass version of Donna? You seem very strong - emotionally, mentally and physically. Opie is a quiet guy, very loyal and genuine. You don't have to worry about him being manipulative or having underlying motives. He practically wears his heart on his sleeve but does his best not to show it.

𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔

・You’d both be very level-headed and know you can trust the other. Opie is incredibly loyal, and if you showed to him the same loyalty, then nothing could come between you.

・I think Opie would put on a brave face to watch horror movies, and he finds some scenes funny. Although he gets tight-lipped when there’s a lot of gore (feels a bit guilty?)

・He’d actually like one of your favourite horror movies, and love getting themed gifts from you

・Opie would love staying at home with you - you two would move in together and make your home a paradise. You both have a similar aesthetic. Cabin, rustic, and cosy, Opie would absolutely adore your dogs.

・I think you would fit in with the club very easily. Gemma would be wary of you at first, but realise you aren't someone that's easily pushed around. You would definitely grow on her without realising it.

#ships #personal ships #match ups #pair ups #sons of anarchy match ups #sons of anarchy pair ups #sons of anarchy ships #let me ship you #open ships #open match ups

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haikyuu-and-more-haikyuu · 2 years ago

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Hello, other haikyu fan who also plays volleyball! What came first for you - haikyu or actually playing? If you're ever looking for someone to talk volleyball with, let me know :)

Hiya :D I have waited for this question since I started this blog <3 So cool that you play volley too. What came first with you? Volley or HQ. I'm always down to talk abut anything. Send me an asks or dm, I'm always available <3<3

Warning: long post!!! This is basically the start of my volleyball "career" and the years leading up to it :P

Haikyuu came first actually. I'm a little embarrassed over my reason for starting volleyball. In the summer of 2018, I watched Haikyuu and really loved it. I started watching in when I was in the military. I had just a few weeks left of my military service. Because of that- I had more free time. So I just started to watching it as a thing to pass some time. I was a little sceptical of sports anime then, just because what I had watched prior hadn't really been it. It was really fun and I fell in love with the characters immediately. Then I wanted more of it, so I read the manga and continued to read when the new updates came out. I really like haikyuu because (expect from the plot and story building) everyone is acting their age. You just can't look at them and tell that their only this character trope. And you have the more stoic characters that are just as funny as the characters usually reserved for comic-reliefs. It was just refreshing to see :D

Since I hadn't really played volleyball before (only in sports classes in school), I also had to read up on basic volleyball terms and watched videos on youtube just to get a better understanding about the game so I could understand the manga better. In the end, I sat with a lot of information about basic plays and techniques about the sport. I had all this knowledge, but no outlet for it.

In the spring of 2019, I started this blog- mainly for posting my fanfiction and just because I wanted to share the joy I got out of Haikyuu with others and the response have been really good since then <3.

I had debated before if I should have started with volley through the university sport club, but I was scared and thought; since I had never been good at ball-sports there wouldn't be any point of starting it. Looking back, I know that was a unproductive mindset to have. I started powerlifting just because I knew I would succeed in it because I was a swimmer and I have always build muscle mass pretty easily.

It just wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. Although I progressed quickly from an already good starting point; I missed the adrenalin and sense of team. I was also feeling pressure from the expectation of succeeding in the sport. So I stopped it, but really missed being a part of a team. Swimming is a fairly individual sport like powerlifting (except for relays), but when I was a swimmer- I love the physical stress it gave me and the team I was in, had a really great sense of team and we supported each other. I just didn't get that feeling from competitive powerlifting. I got harassed by my swimming coach and was basically forced to quit in high school. I got really depressed afterwards, because I always loved the sport. Now, I have accepted the way it just ended for me, but I don't really have a desire to swim competitive again. So swimming was out.

In the autumn of 2019, I change my line of education and one of my classmates (now good friends) already played volleyball. Their team was good and have won like national competition and even travel around Europe to compete with other team. I was really start-struck to meet another player and asked her so much about volleyball.

And that gave me the last push to start volley in January of 2020. The first practice I had, I almost had a breakdown. I was so nervous. I had talked to the coach on the mix team the uni club had, and he invited me to come. It was a friday in the start of the semester. I was the only one there, since the rest of the team was still at christmas break and my coach drilled me in receives, foot movements and a little play. It was fun.

A lot of people on my team thought I had played before, since I knew so much about the rules and techniques and basic formation. Some of them even wondered why I was on the mix team and not the woman teams, since I came with inputs about what we should do to get points and what not. (at mu uni, mix teams are for starters and the designed gendered teams are for the more advanced players). I would just say; I just read up about the rules and etc before starting, but my physical techniques are far from good.

It also helped that I sucked in it. There were no expectation of immediately being good. It felt more fulfilling to get a point during a spike or a setter receive, since I knew I progressed from nothing. When I lifted heavy weights in powerlifting- I always had a sense that I should have been better, lifting heavier, etc. There was a few people that wondered why I didn't start swimming again. I had always been the girl who swam day in and day out. I just said I wanted to try something new out and this was as good time as any.

A couple of weeks after starting, I ordered new sports gear like shorts, knee pads and a volleyball to have at home (I actually chose longer kneepads because of I wanted the same as Bokuto lol They're white from mikasa :P). But also, they are a little better since they don't move as much around the knee like shorter knee pads tend to do. And then I have just stayed.

I played for like six or seven weeks before the pandemic came and shut everything down. But when the autumn semester came around again; I met up with a whole new team and have progressed since then. The reason I am embarrassed because haikyuu came first, is because when other asked me why I started- their reasoning was either because they had played before or they had played other sports before like handball or football. My reasoning was always because I watched haikyuu :P It's okay- I know it doesn't really make a difference.

But then again, Hinata watched Udai Tenma (little giant) spike the ball one time and he was hooked....so at least we are in the same boat

Volleyball is like the best thing. I look forward to each practice each week. It's the highlight of my day! It gave me the same happiness I had during swimming. I never though I would experience that kind of joy ever again regarding sport and working out. And it really helped me accept the situation with swimming come to terms with it. I know I sound cheesy, but I can't explain how much volleyball means to me.

I love volleyball, and my only regret with the sport- is that I didn't start earlier <3

Lesson: Don't be afraid to try something new. Your reasoning is what it is, but the outcome will be unchanged. You don't need a greater drive than just enjoying something for the simplicity of it. If you don't like it; there's always another thing to try out and experience <3

Sorry for the long rant, I just barley have an outlet for this <3

#ask #ask me anything #ask box is always open #perosnal #haikyuu #haikyuu!!#HQ #sorry for the long post #i am always up to talk about whatever

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emptymanuscript · 11 months ago

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While it is almost certainly a FAKE, I think it's much more interesting to talk about HOW to figure out it does not exist.

One of the easiest ways to check on a movie is IMDB. Most movies you are going to run into are on there.

It's extremely easy to simply plug in a title and see what comes up. Simulacrum yields:

The only film in this list that is not identified as a short or podcast is the horror film produced, directed, edited, and starring Jeff Blank, so that's probably not it.

And you rarely get shorts alone on a video tape. So if it is a real film, it's unlisted or listed under a different name.

However, it isn't just movies on IMDB. You can look up every piece of information on that box.

On the back I can see SFX team behind Aliens and the writer of Tron. On the front I can make out the names of Actress Sophie Ward, Music by Stephen Parsons (or possibly Barsons), Scott Atkins, and Jeff Griffith.

You can look up all those names on IMDB as well.

There are several Sophie Wards but not all of them are actresses which means they're the wrong Sophie Wards because only the movie stars get that kind of top line. Note also the dates of work.

Looking through their pages, there's no projects suggestive of this one.

If you go through the notes, someone scanned the barcode on the picture. Which I tried but couldn't manage. So I tried the number under the barcode in several databases and didn't find anything in there either. But assuming they know better sites than I do (I won't link to what I used since I didn't get a return), they found:

Note the similarities and differences. This says that some of the elements are correct for sure but that some of the elements may not be original. It's almost but not quite a match. So that's something to watch for. But I note TRON and 'TRON' was also on Simulacrum. The use of apostrophe might be due to it being Turkish but is another suspicion raised.

So let's look at Tron. IMDB lists two writers for Tron.

Steven Lisberger and Bonnie MacBird. Lisberger has nothing that could possibly be Simulacrum. He's mostly Tron. The other two are an animal thing and Hot Pursuit, an 80's sex comedy. So, definitely no. MacBird is also mostly Tron except for a TV movie called Squeakers. So, also, a definite no.

There's a lot of negatives coming up. By the time I get three, my assumption is a fake.

But let's try one more thing. Terminator meets Twin Peaks. That's catchy, memorable, I wonder if that might yield a hit. And what I notice immediately is that there are no results off Tumblr. Everything I'm hitting is a reference back to this cover. That's a really good indication that it doesn't exist outside of Tumblr. Even one of the two unrelated things listing "Terminator meets Twin Peaks" that isn't about this particular thing is a tumblr page. The only non tumblr, non comment about this particular picture is a facebook post (in Finnish according to google translate) which says some of the music that was made was like that.

That's it.

That's a lot of dead ends. I could keep going on to look through the people who worked on the special effects but at this point, it's wise to ask what evidence there is that the movie is real at all?

It comes from ebay, bought based on the description instead of a pre-existing memory, because it sounded cool. There's not a tape of it - the tape in the box was a different movie. Just this cover with the description in one language and the review quotes in another. Someone in the notes thinks they might maybe remember something like it.

That's it.

So now there's quite a bit to say, no, this isn't real, and next to nothing saying it is real. So the balance of probability is that it's a fake.

So, why go through all this?

Because this is what you can do next time you hit something like this. If you aren't sure if something is real, this is how to get a pretty good bead on the facts for yourself. We can have every piece of information at your fingertips but you have to work with it.

The basics are:

List what you need to know (the goal) - in this case, is Simulacrum a real film or a fake.

List what you know - in this case title, actress, writer, musician, producer, vague era of release, bar code, etc. What the packaging looks like. How the artifact was found. That the tape was a different movie. Etc.

List what you don't know - I don't know if these people made a movie like this. I don't know if it could have been released under another title. I don't know if I got scammed. I don't know if it was an error on the part of the seller. Etc.

List ways you could find out what you don't know - Go check the the credits in IMDB. Try looking up the barcode on google. See if anyone else has the same problem. Contact the ebay seller about it. etc.

Accept that the more information you have, even if you can't have perfect knoweldge, the more likely the outcome of your search reflects ultimate reality.

You absolutely can find all this stuff by yourself. It isn't magic. It's problem solving: What do I need? What do I have to help me meet that need? What do I have in the way of that need? What can I do in order to bridge the gap between all that? That's it. That's all. And the more you do it, the easier it will get.

Real 90s sci-fi, or the next Goncharov?

I bought this movie on ebay, but the VHS tape inside is a different film. The movie on the cover sounds really cool: "Terminator meets Twin Peaks". But the description on the back cover is in Turkish, I think (!) Does 'Simulacrum' actually exist? It's weird dystopian sci-fi with two female leads, and would have been made in the late-80s/early-90s.

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lorkai · 4 years ago

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Can I request the brothers and (maybe the now datables-) with a mc who has a kinda resting bitch face but is really sweet and very innocent :D?

🖼 A/N: I mentioned it before but it was a lot of fun to write. “Resting bitch face” is an expression that doesn't really have a translation in my language, so I had to do some research and hope the information is correct or this is all going to be really weird.

Anyway thanks for requesting, anonie dear! I hope you like it, however, I will post the now datables separate from the brothers. Also Mammon and Belphie’s part is kinda short. Sorry 👉👈

Part two here!!

Lucifer

This demon would find it irritating at first, to be honest. He prides himself on knowing how to unravel people and see what they feel just by looking into their eyes, as if examining their souls.That's why Lucifer is always described as scary and intimidating among students; he is able to anticipate problems and scold anyone who has done something wrong, all while keeping a closed expression on his face. And even Lucifer has this closed expression that makes a strong impression on people, but the difference is that if you or anyone else looks deep into his eyes then you will notice the whirlwind of feelings inside him.

As the demon responsible for you and your safety, you spend a lot of time together and he can see that this “facade” or “mask” is something unintentional, after all you are literally smiling with videos of pets. And so he's thinking about how to make you smile or laugh more often and he won't give up finding out. You can't blame him for wanting to see you without the expression of anger or disinterest, after all he can see your sweet personality and hear the sound of your innocent laughter.

Mammon

You've just met and Mammon already thinks you hate him because of the expression on your face, his voice is hesitating as he shows you all of Devildom and the House of Lamentations because he doesn't want to bore you more than necessary. He doesn't even want to be around you, but he's your guide. And with time he'll accept your resting bitch face without being afraid around you. Though he'll probably try not to piss you off or call you human that much if you don't like the nickname, after all he has a sense of self-preservation sometimes.

Leviathan

Even though he knows you're a powerless human, Levi can't help but feel intimidated and weak under your stare of pure disinterest. No matter how many times he sees you interacting and helping his brothers with something, demonstrating that you actually have a totally sweet and shy personality just like him, Levi just thinks of you as an untouchable anime character and whenever the two of you interact he stutters and looks away. Eventually he becomes confident enough to look you in the eye and spend time with you without wanting to run away. Levi thinks you're super cool with that expression.

Secretly, he thinks you're kind of kuudere.

Satan

I mean, he's also pretty serious because he wants to hide his anger so he's able to understand right away that you're just like him, masking your feelings, or that you have that expression without really realizing it. Satan doesn't really care but he thinks your resting bitch face is so cute. Demons are afraid to talk to you, to get close to you, or even to plan an attack against you, even if you are just a human with no power or influence over them. And he's probably going to want to be your friend because you've caught his eye and, like his father Lucifer, he spends time trying to make you laugh or express any other emotion.

Asmodeus

He loves things he can unravel. Asmo has probably met some people who also had a resting bitch face and he loves to get close to them and walk past the facade. Most are always so friendly, just like you and he values your friendship a lot. And yes, he'll probably hug you and jump with happiness when you finally smile, when you laugh or express anything other than your hard, uncompromising gaze. He can go so far as to try to take you to a party and celebrate, if you don't want that you'll have to tell him.

Beelzebub

Beel himself doesn't seem to be an approachable person, always wearing a closed expression that some might mistake for anger. But those who really know him know that Beelzebub is a demon with a huge heart, always thinking about his family and always being the one responsible for keeping them together. He knows his own emotions well and can easily face you and accept you for who you are, including your resting bitch face, completely and without telling you how intimidating or scary you look.

He doesn't see a problem with that. But he certainly thinks of it as a kind of charm, after all it's not every day you meet a human like you.

Belphegor

He kind of understands you. Belphie always has this tired expression on his face, like he doesn't care about anything, and some people find it unpleasant and rude.He knows you've probably heard some people tell you to smile more or express yourself more, so he'll be there for you if someone says something that makes you uncomfortable.

And like Beel, I see Belphie accepting you very quickly. After all, he loves you and your sweet personality, and he wouldn't ask you to change. He loves you just the way you are.

#obey me brothers #obey me shall we date #obey me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #lorkai headcanon #lorkaidaros #obey me sfw #:) anon #anon request ✨

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lady-and-lyon · 4 years ago

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So, I made one post a while back about how awesomely feminist the show Wild Kratts was, with how its two main female characters were women of color in engineering and deserving roles of power, female villains who weren’t motivated by spite or quest for youth, etc, but today I wanted to talk about something slightly different, that I’ve wanted to cover for a while now, because I also think it’s very good - and that’s how the show portrays masculinity, in a way that’s really positive!

First, we have our two main characters, Chris and Martin Kratt. Keep in mind these two are basically self-inserts - and there are plenty of creators, especially males, who have used self-insert characters in really scummy ways - all I have to say is Powerpuff Girls reboot and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Even if they weren’t literal self-inserts, male characters, superheroes especially, oftentimes serve the male power fantasy, being just the strong, stoic, all-powerful person so many boys are told they’re supposed to be. I could get into a whole discussion about how the male power fantasy is present even when males are not (ever look through a fashion magazine and wonder why there are so few men? Sure, part of it is that the industry thrives off exploiting women’s insecurities, and men aren’t as concerned for their appearance, but another part of it is so that the guy, looking through it, can feel like he has no competition for these women - there’s a reason so many comedians have jokes about fashion magazines being their sexual awakening as kids. It’s really scummy) but that’s not what this is about. So, the bros had every opportunity to do just that - make themselves these traditional heroes who aren’t actually really good role models, like batman or what have you. It’s certainly not uncommon for celebrity cartoons to do stuff like that. But Martin and Chris chose a different approach. They’re pretty strong standouts for positive masculinity. They’re openly affectionate - both with eachother as brothers, and with their friends. They cry, sometimes over little things - most of the time when big superheroes cry, it’s ‘cause they lost the girl they loved or their mentor or something like that, only in the big, most agonizing moments do they shed a tear. But here, Chris or Martin will cry just because they’ve had a bad day, or because they’re overwhelmed and overjoyed that someone named a mantis after them! In a lot of shows or movies when a guy cries over something little, it’s usually played for laughs, or to emasculate him, but here it’s casual without being unreasonable or overdone. The brothers cry just ad much, maybe even more (haven’t gone back and counted or anything) as the girls do. Not to mention, it’s a very nice depiction of a loving, healthy sibling relationship. As the youngest sibling myself, it’s refreshing to see a pair who don’t abuse eachother with noogies or cruel and snarky remarks. When they do fight, it’s never a screaming match, and also because they had a conflict of interest or disagreed over a fact, not because, say, one of them stole the other’s shirt or is neglecting the other’s feelings. Kids, being very impressionable, get exposed to a lot of abusive sibling relationships played as normal in media, and start thinking this is how siblings are and should act. For instance, my sister (who is now my best friend and has gotten over all these bad habits over time) when she was younger watched a lot of Kim Possible, a show that is great, but has a bad family dynamic with Kim and her little siblings. The “tweebs” as she calls them are always irresponsible, destructive, and making Kim annoyed to no end. My older brother was one of the most polite, reserved, kind little kids, but she still treated him like he was a brat and a nuisance, because that’s what shows like Kim Possible taught her little brothers were. Additionally, I was always treated like a spoiled crybaby who just wanted attention and got away with everything - I was not any of those things, ever, but that’s what shows teach you little sisters are. Sure, Wild Kratts has a smidge of that, with Chris seemingly being the stereotype of the know-it-all little sibling, but instead of being constantly looked town upon for being too “perfect” like with Hailey Long in American Dragon, Martin often praises his brother for his abilities. Sure, Martin gets annoyed when Chris tries to correct him on things, like in the episode Wolf Hawks, but everyone else does too, so it feels more like a take-down of mansplaining than a sibling spat.

I talked too in the feminist post about how refreshing it is that Chris and Martin more or less willingly put themselves under the authority of Koki and Aviva, two women of color. I don’t think it’s possible to say any one character is the “leader,” they all work as a evenly balanced team, but it’s safe to say that Koki and Aviva make the more responsible decisions. The bros try to get out of their calls a few times, but the show plays it more like they’re being irresponsible, and less like they’re renegade cool dudes who don’t take nothing from nobody, especially not two girls. They are pretty much always punished via karma for their reckless choices, most especially in To Touch a Hummingbird, where their arrogant attitudes blow up in their faces rather spectacularly. We also never see the narrative most present in sitcoms, where the male leads mess up and go out of their way to cover it up and ultimately gets away with it - after all, you have to root for them, right, because sure they messed up and had no consequences, but aren’t they just so lovable? No, here Martin and Chris always have to fix their wrongdoing, and it’s always deserved when they get comeuppance. Another aspect of the show I like is that, many times, when the bros get captured or are in peril, they are saved by the women - and most refreshing of all, there’s never a moment of “wink wink nudge nudge wow I can’t believe I had to be rescued by a GIRL” or even “wow you saved me you’re pretty good honey guess I shouldn’t have underestimated you, you go girl!” No, when the girls save them, it’s just - you know, relief? Because they were saved? It’s never a scenario played as an exception, or any more dire than when the bros need to rescue eachother. The bros are genuinely happy to have them as teammates. The show even did the standard “boys vs girls” episode in the form of When Fish Fly - but instead of being actually girls vs. boys, it’s engineers vs. adventurers. There’s nothing really gendered about it - the girls happen to be engineers, and the boys happen to be adventurers. And the episode doesn’t end with the boys being “wow gosh darn I shouldn’t have doubted you girls are better at everything,” it’s a mutual agreement that both parties have hard jobs. Basically, the bros are very naturally respectful of women. That plays more into their feminist narrative too, but either way, it’s refreshing.

Then, we have Jimmy! Jimmy, the lovable gamerboy pizza man. At first glance Jimmy seems like the stereotypical cowardly, pathetic, emasculated loser. He’s frightened of most things, as of yet has no power suit, and he BAKES for crying out loud! But none of these things are framed as terribly bad traits. Sure, we laugh when he screams and runs from an animal, but though it happens over and over, the crew doesn’t get sick of it. They don’t berate him or belittle him because he’s so gosh darn cowardly. There’s a great scene in Rattlesnake Crystal where Jimmy has to deliver something to the bros alone, in the middle of a spooky desert. He is terrified the whole time, sprinting off after he delivers the goods. When Martin and Chris run into him, they don’t laugh at him for being spooked, they just greet and then bid fair well to their friend. To them, this is just Jimmy, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Jimmy isn’t coddled, but he is reassured many times that he’s a valuable member of the team. I love that little message, that you’re just as important of a person even if you can’t do as much or have greater limits. When his friends do try to get him over his fears, it’s not because they have to, that the day will somehow be ruined by Jimmy’s incompetence p, but because they’re his friends, and want him to experience fun and wonderful things that he would otherwise miss out on. But what Jimmy CAN do is just as important! Jimmy is a gamer, which in a lot of shows, is portrayed as a lazy, useless, mindless hobby. But here, because he plays video games, it makes him essential for piloting the ship and teleporting important items. There’s always the joke that video games improves your hand/eye coordination, but recent studies have shown it has much better effects. It can make you much better at keeping track of multiple moving objects and processing technical but variable information- two traits which, fittingly enough, are really really important for air traffic controllers and airplane pilots! He also demonstrates a lot more courage behind the wheel of the Tortuga, which makes sense - in an impersonal setting, he would have more sense of calm and control and courage, because it’s so similar to a video game world. It’s not all too different with how I feel more emboldened to pick fights with people on the internet, but get crazy anxious if a real person so much as looks at me. So Jimmy’s love of video games isn’t because he’s irresponsible, it has real benefits. A quick last point - Jimmy also eats a lot, but they thankfully don’t make him fat or greedy or anything like that. He never takes food from people, he actually bakes, and shares it with others! Having the baker be a boy is a lovely touch.

I might do another post about the toxic masculinity of the two villains, (or four villains, I guess, if I wanna discuss the minions) but I’ve got other work to do, and this post is long enough already, so I’ll get around to it later. I’ll sum it up with this - Wild Kratts is a show that teaches boys it’s not only ok to be kind, but essential. The brothers protect defenseless animals, advocate for things “icky” and “weird,” like bugs or snakes or worms - not because they’re boys, and boys like icky things, but because they genuinely see the beauty in all life, and are encouraging us to slow down and do the same. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world not by being the strongest or smartest or coolest, but by looking after those who are exploited and vulnerable, who are essential to the world, even if they can’t always do everything. In Wild Kratts the only weaknesses a man can have isn’t what he can’t do, but what he does do that he shouldn’t have. Sure, it’s a cute show about two funny guys who have cool powers, but it’s also a show about accountability, compassion, respect and trust. The show says “boys will be boys” in all the right ways - Martin is a lovable goof with a heart of gold, but he still has to get his act together when he messes up, and he’s still creative and smart and openly sensitive. Chris is a bit of a know-it-all show-off, but he can also mess up as much as his brother, and is still bold, brave, adventurous, and can put his money where his mouth is. Jimmy is a cowardly, napping, eating machine video-gamer, but he’s still a valued member of the team, has incredible skills and talents, and will always help his friends, even if he is really, really scared. It is so important to have role models like these, in a world dominated by unhealthy machismo. The Wild Kratts are heroes who save the world - both animated, and real.

All they need now is a canon queer character, and I’ll stan them forever! My money’s on Aviva!!

#wild kratts #chris kratt #martin kratt #long post #hottake #feminism #meninism #positive masculinity #toxic masculinity #jimmy z #wk jimmy #kratt brothers

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atlafan · 4 years ago

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a/n: Hello! My lovely patrons said it was alright to post the first part of my new miniseries here. I hope you enjoy this because it’s a fun story. If you’d like to see what happens next, subscribe to my patreon!

Warnings: angst and fluff, misunderstandings, some smoking of weed (THIS IS A SLOW BURN)

Words: 9.9K

Summary: Harry is 25, and decides to go to graduate school. He's in a film studies program, and becomes a GA for Dr. Casey Robertson, who he assumes is a man. When he goes to Casey's office for their first meeting, he realizes that Dr. Robertson is a woman. The two get along great as the semester progresses, and Harry starts to form a little crush on Casey. There's just one problem...she's engaged.

Harry thought he’d have his life together by now. His whole life he was told if he went to college, he’d be guaranteed a good job and a lasting career. He soon learned, however, that things wouldn’t be that simple. All he wanted to do was watch movies, and review them. He tried making a YouTube channel where he’d review the films he watched, but the videos didn’t get many views, and the few comments he’d get were pretty lewd.

He was sick of working at a grocery store during the day, and a bar at night. He barely had the time to do the things he liked, and he just wasn’t happy. So, he did what any other depressed twenty-five-year-old would do: he applied to graduate school. It made his parents happy since it would give him a break from having to pay off his student loans, and help him find some direction. Harry was able to secure a decent enough GA position that would pay him enough that he wouldn’t need to worry about a job, and he was able to find an apartment with some other graduate students.

So, there he was, enrolled into a Film Studies program, and he’d be a GA for the Writing, Literature, and Publishing undergraduate program. He wouldn’t be teaching or anything, but he would be helping out with a lot of grading and course design. He’d need to have office hours available, and be willing to work with students that have questions.

His roommates were nice enough. Two of them were in biology programs, and another was in art and animation program. Everyone had their own room, and they all had to share a bathroom, but it was okay. They were all adults, and all agreed on chores and how to keep things clean. The four all went out for drinks the first weekend they all moved in to get to know each other better. Harry could really see himself being friends with these people.

He was a little nervous about being a GA. He had to do a good job this semester in order to keep his grant money. It had been a while since he had been in a classroom, so he wasn’t sure how he’d do juggling his own classes and schoolwork along with helping a professor grade for their various courses. Luckily, a good chunk of Harry’s classes would be online, and he only needed to go to one in-person lecture. He got an email from the admin of the Writing and Literature department about meeting with a Dr. Robertson a week before classes start. This was the professor he’d be working with.

He wasn’t given a ton of information on what he needed, so he put his laptop in his backpack, threw on a pair of jeans and a nice button up, and headed out the door. He rolled up his sleeves and the ends of his jeans since it was a little hot out. His glasses were on, and his hair was still a little wet from his shower, but other than that he was feeling pretty confident in his look. He wanted to make a good first impression since he’d be working with this professor all year and not just the fall semester. Harry wondered what type of office he’d be given. He was hoping it would at least have a window, but he’d be grateful for whatever private area he’d be given. He was essentially being given a place to write and he wasn’t going to take it for granted.

As he enters the building, he realizes he has no idea where he’s going. He finds the directory, and sees that Dr. Robertson’s office is up on the second floor. He makes his way up, and takes a deep breath before heading down the hall to their office. As he approaches, he sees a woman with wild, wavy hair up in a high ponytail wearing black, high waist leggings, a slightly cropped tank top and sports bra combo, and was mumbling to herself as she rummaged through her bookshelves.

“Um, excuse me…” Harry speaks up.

“Oh!” The woman jumps. She sets her book down and pushes her glasses back up her nose. “You must be Harry, please, come in.” She waves him in.

“Are you Dr. Robertson?”

“I am.” She nods and extends her hand out for him to shake. “Have a seat.” Harry sits down in one of the chairs across from her desk. “You look a little confused.”

“It just doesn’t look like you were, um, expecting anyone…”

“I know, my office is a total disaster. I’m normally okay with organized chaos, but right now it’s just straight up chaos.” She chuckles. She notices Harry’s eyes drift to her cleavage for a moment. “I didn’t dress up for this since I knew I’d be cleaning things up around here, I apologize.”

“No! Uh, no need. I…I’m sorry, I thought you were a man…”

“Casey is a woman’s name.” She blinks.

“It’s also a man’s.” Harry runs a hand through his hair.

“Is it going to be a problem that I’m a woman?” She raises an eyebrow at him.

“No, of course not. I guess I was just picturing some older guy with a dark office and a bottle of whiskey in the corner that he sips on out of crystal.” He chuckles nervously.

“Ah, well, you know what they say about people who assume.” She smirks.

“I’m not making a very good first impression, am I.” It wasn’t a question.

“That depends.” She leans back in her chair.

“On?”

“What your favorite movie is.” She grins. “As long as it’s not The Wolf of Wallstreet you’ll be fine.”

“I mean, it’s not, but I don’t mind that movie. I thought Leo’s performance was good.” Harry shrugs.

“It definitely was, but I don’t think it needed to be three hours long, nor did I need full frontal of Margot Robbie’s vagina, but that’s besides the point. What’s your favorite movie?”

“This is going to sound cliché, but…it’s Citizen Kane.”

“Is that your favorite because it truly is, or is it your favorite because someone told you it should be?”

“No, it’s genuinely my favorite. I’m a big fan of Orson Welles, I think the film was extremely innovative at the time, it still is by today’s standards. And I love how it was blatant commentary on the harms of yellow journalism. It’s cool to think back on how much trouble Welles had with the distribution for it too.” Harry realizes how excited he’s getting, and clears his throat. “Sorry.”

“Never apologize for the things you’re passionate about.”

“What, uh, what’s your favorite movie?”

“The Wedding Singer.” She smiles.

“Isn’t that an Adam Sandler movie?”

“It sure is.” She says proudly. “Look, I can admit that some of his movies aren’t great. However, I’ve written a ton of academic pieces on The Wedding Singer.”

“Really?”

“Mhm, during a time of uncertainty with AIDS there was LGBTQ representation. The actor that played George ended up coming out as transgender, and lived out her days proudly as a woman. Not to mention that Adam Sandler doesn’t use being gay as a punchline, like, ever. There’re always people of color represented in his films as well. And on a personal note, as a Jewish woman, it was always nice seeing that his characters were Jewish. That type of representation was really important to me as a kid.”

“Wow, I guess I never really thought about that.”

“Well, that’s why I have a PhD and you’re going for your master’s.” She smirks. “Teasing.” She pulls some papers out of her desk. “Okay, so this fall I’m teaching Advanced Screenwriting, Analyzing Screen Media, and two sections of freshman Composition. I’ll need you physically there during the composition classes since those will be the ones I’m going to be having you grading the work for. I’m all for helping first year students learn the basics, but I just don’t have the strength to grade their papers this year. Plus, it’ll be good for you to learn how to properly grade an array of work.”

“All that sounds good…you won’t need help with your other classes?”

“Maybe next semester. I teach a scriptwriting class in the spring, along with some other writing courses. You’re going to be taking some pretty high-level stuff this semester, I don’t want you getting overwhelmed.”

“You know what classes I’m taking?”

“Of course I do. I’d be stupid not to look into the person I’m going to be working with. Even though I’m not your graduate advisor, I hope you know I’d be happy to help you with whatever you need. Are you coming right from undergrad, or did you take some time off?”

“It’s been a few years since I’ve been in school. I’m twenty-five.”

“Sometimes it’s good to take some time off, figure out what you want to focus on. What exactly are you hoping to get out of a graduate film program?”

“I want to write high-level film reviews. I was hoping to make a video series, but it’s really tough to build a base on YouTube. I got discouraged.”

“If you ever want me to watch what you have out there already, I’d be more than happy to.”

“Sure, that’d be great. So, uh, where will my office be?”

“Oh, honey, did you think you were getting your own office?” She can’t help but giggle. “We’re not in the science building, GA’s don’t get their own offices over here.”

“How will students meet with me if they have questions?”

“They won’t need to meet with you, you’re not teaching.”

“But I’ll be grading, what if a student wants to question me on a grade?”

“Then they can come to me.” She shrugs.

“Dr. Robertson, where am I supposed to get my own work done?”

“Mi oficina es tu oficina.” She smiles. “You can work in here any time you like. I actually have a key for you.” She opens a drawer and pulls out a key. “Here you go, don’t lose that.”

“What if you’re meeting with a student?”

“As you can see, we have a lovely lounge at the end of the hall, you can go there and set up shop if you need to. You’re a GA, Mr. Styles, pay your dues. Now, here are my syllabi, and you should have gotten an email stating that you’ve been given access to all my courses. There are rubrics for all of the assignments as well, as long as you follow those you should have no problem grading.”

“Alright.” Harry takes the different sheets of paper from her, catching sight of the ring on her finger. “Are you married?” He wasn’t quite sure why he asked, but he couldn’t stop himself.

“Hm? Oh, no.” She laughs. “Just engaged.” She extends her hand to look down at her ring. “Been engaged for over a year, we can’t seem to decide on a date. My fiancé is a lawyer, and a highly sought after one at that.”

“Why not just pick a random day to go to a courthouse?”

“Well, we both have big families, and we don’t want to disappoint any of them.” She sighs. “It’s fine, we’ll figure it out at some point. Neither of us are really in a rush. We’ve been together five years, it’ll happen when it happens.” She studies Harry for a moment. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Have anyone special?”

“Oh!” Harry’s cheeks redden. “Um, no…nothing serious, anyways.”

“Maybe you’ll meet someone here. You should go to the GA meetings, meet others doing what you’re doing.”

“I’m living with three other GA’s, we’re getting along pretty well so far. But I’ll definitely check out when those meetings are.”

“Good.” She smiles.

“May I ask how old you are? You seem so accomplished, I mean…look at all of the degrees and certificates you have.” Harry motions to the various frames on the walls.

“Some of those are just recognition certificates. I’m twenty-eight. I did a 4+1 program to get my master’s so I could zip right along into a PhD program. I was lucky enough that I was hired on full-time after getting it. The department really values me.”

“That’s awesome.” Harry smiles. “Anything else you’d like me to know about your classes?”

“Not at the moment. Would you be comfortable giving me your cell number? Anything I can do to have less emails, you know?”

“I don’t mind.” Harry smiles again and takes out his phone, handing it to her.

“Thanks, it’ll be much easier to tell you if something changes last minute this way.” She texts herself before handing him back his phone.

“Your fiancé won’t mind you texting me?” Harry asks playfully, warming up to her a bit more.

“No, why would he? We’re not one of those couples who reads each other’s texts. My phone is my property just as his phone is his property. We trust each other.” She rests her elbows on her desk, putting even more of her cleavage on display for him without realizing it. “Besides that, I’m not trying to start an affair with my GA who should be very careful about flirting with me so that he doesn’t end up on some very thin ice.”

“I…I…I wasn’t-“

“You were being cheeky with me.” She crosses her arms over her chest as a smug smile sets on her lips. “I like to tease, Mr. Styles, you can relax your shoulders now.”

“I think it’s going to take me some time to get used to your sense of humor.” Harry says with a relaxed sigh.

“Well, you’re stuck with me for an entire year, so you’ve got plenty of time to figure me out. Now, if you don’t have any other questions, you can go on and enjoy the rest of your day.” She stands back up. “I need to continue organizing my books, and the rest of this mess.” Harry nods and stands up.

“It was nice to meet you. You know you can just call me Harry, right?”

“Sure.” She smiles. “I prefer to be called Dr. Robertson in the classroom, when we’re not in there you can just call me Casey.”

“Okay.” Harry smiles.

“Oh, wait! Are you free the day before classes start? I was hoping to take you to lunch as a sort of good luck thing.”

“I can definitely do lunch the day before classes start.”

As Harry walks back to his apartment, he can’t help but think about how cool Casey is. She’s a bit frazzled, yes, but she seems like someone Harry will be able to easily work with. At least he wouldn’t have to kiss the ass of some stuffy old professor. Casey’s ass is one Harry wouldn’t mind kissing, but she had a fiancé to take care of that for her. He had to admit, Casey was insanely attractive, but he’d politely just admire her from afar and respect that she was very much a taken woman. Besides that, it would be incredibly inappropriate to even try to start something up with the professor he was GA’ing for. No, he’d keep things professional. He wasn’t even looking for someone to be with right now anyways. If he felt the need to hook up with someone, he could either head down to the bars or download Tinder.

“Alright, if we could settle down and get started!” Casey shouts over the buzz of students talking in her first section of composition. “My name is Dr. Robertson, and that is what I’d prefer to be called. My pronouns are she/her. I encourage you all to be vocal about how you’d like to be addressed just the same. This is Mr. Styles, you may call him Harry. He’s going to be grading all of your work this semester, so you can send any and all excuses his way.” Casey grins and sits down on top of the desk at the front of the room. “Now, I’d like us all to go around the room and say your name, where you’re from, and what TV show you binged over the summer. I know for me, I rewatched Boy Meets World for the millionth time, and it was still just as good.”

Harry was impressed. Most of the time students hated ice breakers, but this was a pretty engaging one. Once the class of twenty-five is through, Casey goes over their course page in Canvas and the syllabus.

“Now, this specific course of composition has a topic, so we’re going to be writing about television this semester. If you don’t think you can write about that, then you may want to find another section of composition to take. I will say, we’re going to have a lot of fun in this class. We’re going to watch some interesting shows, and you may find that you’re ‘to watch’ list will have grown exponentially by the end of the semester.”

Casey asks if anyone has any questions, and a few do which causes some lively class discussion for the remainder of the period. She lets them go about fifteen minutes early. Harry walks over to her as she unplugs her laptop from the monitor on the lectern.

“Seems like the majority of them are going to enjoy the content for this class.” Harry tells her, but all she does is hum her response as she looks down at her phone. She sighs heavily before putting her phone in her pocket. “Everything okay?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. Just figuring out what Daniel and I are going to have for dinner, nothing serious.” She waves him off as she slings her bag over her shoulder. “How are your classes going so far?” She asks as they walk out of the room and head towards her office.

“Pretty good, I don’t think anything is going to be too difficult for me. I have to watch a lot of movies, but I was expecting that.” Harry shrugs.

Once they’re in her office, Casey sits down at her desk, and Harry makes himself comfortable on her couch. This is the routine they had started since she took him for lunch a few days ago. They worked in a comfortable silence together, occasionally taking breaks to chat. Casey was happy she got assigned a GA that knew the difference between work and play. Her cell phone ends up ringing about five different times. By the fifth time Harry heard the buzzing, he couldn’t help but speak up.

“If you need to take that I can step out.” Harry says.

“No, it’s fine.” Casey sighs. “It’s just Daniel being Daniel.”

“What do you mean?”

“His time is more valuable than mine.” She rolls her eyes. “He knows I’m working.”

“What if it’s an emergency?”

“It’s not.”

“Casey, he’s called you five times-“

“It’s not an emergency, now mind your business.” She snaps and stands up with her phone in her hand. “I’ll be back shortly.”

Casey didn’t share too much personal stuff with Harry about her fiancé. When they had lunch together, she told Harry his name is Daniel, and she explained the type of law he practiced, but not much more than that. She didn’t get into how they met, or how he proposed. She didn’t even seem to be excited while talking about him like she did when she and Harry first met. Casey returns about ten minutes later, and sits back down in her chair.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped.” Harry says softly.

“You didn’t.” She sighs. “I snapped at you for no good reason, I apologize.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Mhm.” She says without looking at him, and going into her email on her computer.

Harry furrows his brows as he looks at her, but gets back to what he was doing. If she didn’t want to talk about it then he wasn’t going to push her. Harry notices her resting her chin on her fist as she looks at the picture of her and Daniel that she had on her desk. She sighs heavily and shakes her head, returning to her emails.

“I have my lecture in a bit, so I’m gonna head out.” Harry says, putting his backpack on.

“Alright, have a good class.” She gives him a soft smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” He smiles back. “See you tomorrow.”

Harry’s lecture was long and boring. It was a class all about black and white films, and the beginning of cinema up through the 1950’s. It would be a class full of dense reading materials and learning about theorists that Harry had only briefly learned about previously in undergrad. Normally this would be a class Harry would be really interested in, but the professor had to be at least 70, and he was quite monotone.

When he gets home to his apartment, he grabs a Bud Light out of the fridge, twists the cap off the top, then settles onto the couch. His roommates were all still in class and would be meeting up for pizza in a bit, so Harry had about an hour to himself before he was to go downtown to meet up for dinner. He takes his phone out and scrolls through his various notifications. Halfway through his beer he decides to text Casey.

Harry: any thoughts on Dr. Jensen?

Casey: oh god don’t tell me he’s teaching your lecture course…

Harry: yeah…so is he going to stay boring all semester?

Casey: that dinosaur should have retired years ago, I’m so sorry you have to have a class with him. Is it the early cinema through the 1950’s class?

Harry: that’s the one! The content is interesting enough, but I was on the verge of falling asleep the whole time, idk how I’m gonna survive an entire semester with the guy. Any tips on how to survive his course?

Casey: def make sure you keep up with the homework. He’s one of those jerks that’s been using the same syllabus for the last 20 yrs, so he doesn’t update his exams. I’d also recommend getting a recorder for his lectures, keeping up with notes is basically impossible during class, but if you can go back and listen he actually makes a lot of good points

Harry: you’re a lifesaver, thank you!! 😊

Casey: any time! I actually like a lot of the movies he has on his syllabus, so if you ever want a movie buddy just let me know!

Casey: I’ve got that couch in my office literally so I can comfortably watch movies

A sigh leaves Harry’s mouth when he sees that she rushed to make it known watching movies would only be an on-campus thing. Would it be so weird if she came to his apartment for a movie night?

Harry: that sounds great, I actually have to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by the end of the week. I’m sure you’ve seen it a million times though…

Casey: I have, but it’s one of my favorites so I won’t mind watching it again

Harry: really??

Casey: yeah! I love German Gothic films, I took a class solely on them in grad school, I can’t get enough. The makeup, the sharp edges, the harsh shadows, it was all just so interesting

He sees the time on his phone and realizes he needs to head downtown to meet up with his roommates. Harry wasn’t one for using his phone while eating with friends, so much to his dismay he has to end the conversation.

Harry: learn something new about you every day! I have to get going, meeting up for pizza with friends. Did you figure out what you and Daniel are having for dinner?

Casey: pasta…have fun with your friends!

Harry: a classic choice, I love pasta

He almost wished he hadn’t sent that last text. She didn’t respond to it. Harry groans at himself, and picks himself up to head outside. He couldn’t wait to stuff his face with some greasy pizza, drink some more beer, and just unwind with his new friends. It was nice being back in school and feeling like your responsibilities could be put on the back burner for a bit. Schoolwork was a less anxiety inducing thing to focus on, as opposed to what the fuck Harry was going to do with his life. Casey would be a great mentor for him. She was essentially doing what he thinks he’d like to be doing. He had an entire year to pick her brain, and he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. With any luck he’d be her GA again next year, but he didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.

Casey and Harry were getting along famously. It was nearly October, and they were already in perfect sync. She was beyond grateful for him and his speedy grading. He was a fast reader, and she was not, so having him grade all of those papers and forum posts for her composition courses freed her up to focus on the work in her other classes. Harry tried his best not to bring up Daniel. Any time he did, Casey seemed to shut down. He’d only ask because he wanted to make sure Daniel wasn’t doing anything abusive to Casey. She never came in with a scratch on her, but Daniel could easily be doing something mental. Daniel never showed up to Casey’s office. If Harry were engaged to Casey, he’d want to visit her all he could, but maybe Casey didn’t like being visited since she always had something to do.

“Hey, Casey, what’s this faculty Halloween party about?” Harry asks her one Thursday afternoon. “I got an e-vite for it.”

“Oh! I forgot they put you on the faculty email list. You should go, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a great way for all of us to get together outside of the monthly faculty meetings. Everyone dresses up, it’s at one of the bars downtown. We get two drink tickets, and the rest you buy yourself.”

“Do other GA’s go?”

“Sometimes.” Casey nods. “It would be a good way for you to meet some of the other GA’s, and other faculty members. You can never have too many of us in your corner.”

“That’s true. What do you think I should dress up as? Like, how all out do people go?”

“Definitely keep it classy, appropriate, but don’t be afraid to have fun. Daniel and I usually do a couple’s costume. We have so much fun going to the store every year and figuring out what we want to do. It works out great cause his law firm has a costume party every year too.” She smiles. “We’re headed to the fabric store this weekend actually to start thinking of ideas.”

“Oh, that’s good. Um, what have you gone as in the past?”

“I’ll show you!” Casey grabs her phone, and wheels herself closer to Harry so he can see. “Last year we went as Bob and Linda from Bob’s Burgers, the year before that we went as vampires, and the year before that we went as Cosmo and Wanda from The Fairly Oddparents.”

“Aw, you guys looks so happy.”

“Yeah.” Casey swallows and locks her phone, wheeling back over to her desk. “Can’t wait to see what we come up with this year.” She mutters as she gets back to her work.

“I’ll have to really think about it. I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in forever.”

“Your friends didn’t have parties?”

“They did, but I was usually working. The bar I worked at had costume contests and stuff, so we were always busy. I’d get too hot from running around to dress up as anything.”

“Oh, that makes sense. Hmm…” She taps her chin as she thinks. “You could go as, like, a baseball player or something.”

“You’re just saying that because you want to see me in a pair of those tight pants.” Harry smirks.

“I see you in tight pants every day, it wouldn’t be anything new.” She says smugly before turning away from him.

“I do not wear tight pants every day.” Harry scoffs. “They may be tight in certain places, but it’s not like I’m walking around in skinny jeans.”

“True.” She side eyes him. “Maybe you could go as a Jonas Brother, all of them wear tight pants, or they used to.”

“I don’t think anyone at that party would get the reference.” Harry rolls his eyes.

“Well, don’t say I didn’t help you think of anything.” She shrugs.

Harry chuckles softly as he gets back to grading papers. He loved when Casey would tease him. He had grown a lot more comfortable with her sense of humor, and they would often end up in hysterics from their banter.

“Casey.” A tall man with salt and pepper hair wearing an expensive looking suit stands in the doorway. He was holding a small bouquet of flowers, and his eyes looked tired. “Baby, can I take you to lunch?”

“Daniel, I’m working.” Casey stands up. “Harry, this is my fiancé, Daniel. Daniel, this is my GA, Harry.”

“Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you.” Daniel says to Harry, then turns his attention back to Casey. “Please, you didn’t pack a lunch this morning. Let me take you out.”

Casey sighs, and ushers Daniel out into the hallway.

“You can’t just show up like this.” She says quietly.

“I’m really trying here, Honey.”

“I only have an hour, so we need to go somewhere quick.”

“That’s fine, uh, I got these for you. Know how much you like tulips.”

“These aren’t even season.” She smiles as she takes the flowers from him. “Thank you, Sweetheart, let me just go grab my jacket.” Casey goes back into her office and grabs her things. “Harry, I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Okay, I’ll probably be in class by the time you get back.”

“Alright.” She nods, and zips up her jacket.

“Do you want me to put those in some water for you?” He asks, nodding towards the flowers.

“Huh? Oh, no, that’s alright. They won’t last more than a few days as it is. It’s not worth it.”

Harry had ended up putting together a Clark Kent costume by wearing a light-wash pair of jeans, some converse, a Superman tee shirt with a jacket over it half zipped, and his glasses. He styled his hair to give the front an extra curl. The faculty would definitely be able to see the effort, but it also didn’t look like Harry was trying too hard. He heads downtown to the bar with his roommates, as they were all invited too. They all decided to be super heroes in disguise, so they made sure to take a ton of pictures before going to the party. Harry’s jaw nearly hits the floor when he spots Casey wearing a Morticia Addams costume. Even though Casey wasn’t showing much skin, her off the shoulder dress was leaving little to the imagination.

“Excuse me.” Harry says to his friends before making his way over to Casey. “Hi.”

“Harry!” She beams. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Me too, uh, what do you think of my costume?”

“I love it! Very cute and creative.” She smiles. “No one ever really thinks about dressing as the secret identity.”

“Casey, don’t you look lovely!” Dr. Lind says to her. “Where’s your Gomez?”

“Oh, uh, Daniel’s busy working a case. He couldn’t get away and I told him not to worry about it.” Casey explains.

“Aw, that’s too bad. It’s been ages since we’ve seen him. Have you two picked a date yet?”

“No, not yet. We both have had a lot going on, and we can’t seem to agree on the best time to do it. I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon.”

“You two should just elope, get it done at a courthouse and then have a big party for your families. I mean, the point of being engaged is not to stay engaged.”

“It’s only been a little over a year.” Casey mutters.

“I know, Dear, but you-“

“You know what’s great about being in a monogamous relationship? What happens between Daniel and I is between Daniel and I, none of this really concerns you, Nancy. I appreciate your input, but it’s not needed, excuse me.” Casey has to bite back tears as she walks away.

“My goodness, I didn’t mean to upset her.” Dr. Lind says to Harry.

“I’ll go see if she’s alright.” Harry finds Casey getting a new drink from the bar. He pulls her to the side to have a private word. “Dr. Lind always oversteps, she had no right to speak about what you should be doing.”

“I know that.” Casey says, looking away.

“Did Daniel really have to work late tonight?”

“No.”

“What happened?”

“Harry, I don’t want to talk about it.” She says before sipping on her drink. “I just want to have a good time tonight and not think about it, alright?”

“I can respect that, but I don’t think drinking your problems away is a great idea.”

“Harry, no offense, but I don’t need your opinion on this.” She brushes by him and goes to speak with some of her other friends.

A few hours pass, and it was starting to get a little stuffy in the bar, so Harry heads out for some fresh air. He sees Casey outside with a cigarette between her fingers. As he gets closer, he realizes it’s not a cigarette.

“Casey, are you smoking weed?” Harry asks her.

“It’s medicinal.” She mutters, blowing smoke in the opposite direction as to not hit him in the face with it. “It’s for my anxiety.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to take an edible?”

“Not when I need it to work right away.”

“Did you drive yourself here tonight?”

“I did, but I can just take an uber home.” She shrugs. “I came out for some air.”

“So did I.” Harry rubs the back of his neck. “I’m not trying to pry into your life, but things won’t get better if you keep shit bottled up.”

“I just prefer to keep my private life private.”

“Believe me, I get that, but…god, I wish you’d just talk to me, I’m your friend.”

“Daniel and I had an argument earlier and I told him not to come with me because I didn’t want to pretend like everything was fine. I couldn’t stand in that bar around my friends and colleagues pretending like everything’s fine with him when it’s not. We’re far from fine, and we have been for a while.”

“Did something happen?”

“The morning before the day I first took you out to lunch he told me he was up for a promotion at the firm…partner.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“It would have been if it didn’t involve us having to move to New York. He took the bar exam out there without telling me, and he passed. They want him out there to work on larger cases, as a defense attorney. I wouldn’t have been opposed to moving, but he just assumed that I would. He said I could teach anywhere with no regard with how I’d feel about leaving this institution, our friends, and family behind. And then he told me it wouldn’t even matter because he’d be making enough money for me to never have to work another day in my life and that I could just stay home taking care of our future children.”

“That’s a bit old fashioned.”

“It is, which was shocking to me because he’s never acted that way towards me. He’s always been so modern, so progressive. I think he was given advice from the wrong people. Anyways, he took the job in New York because he basically had to, he would have been stupid not to take it, so we’ve only been seeing each other on weekends. And when we do see each other, we just end up fighting…we don’t even sleep in the same room.” She shakes her head. “I don’t know what we’re doing anymore.” Her voice cracks, but she swallows her tears down. She spent too long on her makeup to ruin it from crying. “We’ve grown apart, it’s as simple as that, but neither of us have the courage to end it. I love him so much, but lately…lately I’ve been feeling like love just isn’t enough.” She looks up at Harry who had been nice enough to stand out in the cold with her to listen to all of her woes.

“I’m so sorry.” It’s all he can think to say. “You should be home with him…trying to work it out.”

“I couldn’t get out of the house fast enough today. I told him to just go back to New York. He’s got a whole new life out there. I’ve been to his apartment a few times, and I didn’t feel like I fit in at all. I don’t even know why he still wants me, he could easily find someone new out there.”

“How could he not want you?” Harry steps a little closer to her. “You’re smart, funny, and…you’re a knockout. If I were him and I saw you about to leave the house looking like this, well…I wouldn’t have let you leave the house.”

“Why, so you could tell me to change into something less form fitting?” She scoffs as she crosses her arms over her chest. Her blunt all but forgotten.

“I would have asked you to take the dress off, that’s for certain. As far getting something back on…” Harry takes another step closer to Casey, making her cheeks feel warm.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not Daniel.”

“I didn’t have much to drink tonight. Let me drive you home, and I’ll take the uber back to my apartment. That way you don’t have to worry about coming back for your car tomorrow.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“You’re not, I’m making a suggestion.”

“Okay, yeah, if you don’t mind. I only live, like, fifteen minutes from here. We, uh, rent a townhome.”

Casey hands Harry her keys, and they make their way around the building to the parking lot. The drive is quiet. Casey could feel her eyes starting to droop. Harry had the heat cranked since it had gotten chilly. He watches the map on the navigation screen to make sure he makes the right turns to her house. He pulls into her driveway, and orders his uber.

“Thank you for driving.” Casey says.

“Any time.” Harry smiles and gets out of the car. He jogs around to the other side to open her door, and walks her up her front steps. “You gonna be okay?” He rubs his hands up and down her arms to keep her warm.

“Yeah.” She smiles softly up at him. “Harry, I-“ The front door opens with Daniel standing there.

“Casey, thank god, Baby, I’m so sorry.” He wraps his arms around her, kissing her without acknowledging Harry. “No argument is worth you leaving angry like that for.” He kisses her again.

“Daniel.” She pushes him off of her. “Harry’s here, he drove me home.”

“Oh! Sorry about that.” Daniel says. “Thanks for driving her, man.”

“No problem.” Harry’s uber pulls up in front of the house. “That’s my ride, uh, have a nice night.”

Harry’s gaze lingers on Casey for a moment before making his way to the car. Daniel leads Casey inside the house.

“Did you have a good time?” Daniel asks her as they both walk into the kitchen.

“I guess.” She shrugs. “Would have been more fun if my Gomez had been there with me.” She pouts at him.

“You told me you didn’t want me there.”

“I also told you to go back to New York, so clearly your listening skills are selective.”

“I was so mad at you that I actually almost left, but I couldn’t make it out of the driveway.” He comes over to her, caressing her cheek. “Casey, I want to figure all of this out with you. I don’t want to fight anymore, and I’m sick of sleeping alone.”

“I feel the same way. Let me take all of this off and put on some pj’s, and then we can talk.”

“Okay.” He smiles. “Want me to make you some tea?”

“That’d be great, thank you.”

Casey: I’m not able to come in today, I’m not feeling great…do you think you could handle my classes today? You can have comp peer edit their papers, and my other classes can just watch a movie

Harry: sure! Is there anything else you need?

Casey: just some rest, thanks for understanding

Harry had wondered for the rest of the weekend how things went between Casey and Daniel. Maybe he hung around and they were going to spend Monday together. All in all, he hoped Casey was okay. Her Monday classes were sad not to see their beloved Dr. Robertson, but many of the girls in class had no problem with Harry taking over for the day.

As a lark, Harry picked up some pepto bismol and other things that might make someone sick feel better. He pulls up to Casey’s house, and sighs with relief when he doesn’t see Daniel’s car. He rings the doorbell, and waits for Casey to open door.

“H-Harry?” She says as she opens the door. She had on an oversized, quarter-zip fleece and a pair of joggers. Her hair was in a loose, low ponytail with some strands left out in front. Her eyes were red and puffy, as was her nose.

“Hey, I…I brought you some pepto and some other stuff that might make you feel better. I didn’t know if you caught a cold or…are you okay?”

“Oh, Harry!” She wails, and throws her body into his, crying into his chest. Harry wraps his arms around her and moves them both further into the house, closing the door. “I’m not sick.” She sniffles as she looks up at him. “I’m…heartbroken.”

“What happened?”

“Daniel and I broke up.” Her voice cracks, and she shoves her face back into his chest. He holds her close and rubs her back. “We stayed up all night on Saturday talking.” She hiccups, stepping back from him and leading him into her living room. “We watched the sun come up in tears.” They both sit down on her sofa. There was a somewhat tattered blanket that she snatches, hugging it to her chest. “We just couldn’t come to a compromise that worked well enough for the both of us.” She pauses for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. “We didn’t yell or argue, we just talked everything out. He agreed that we grew apart and that we still loved each other very much. He was feeling defeated because he felt like he was the only one trying. I knew I stopped trying because I just didn’t have the strength anymore. He’s coming back next weekend to pack up the rest of his things. After we got some sleep on Sunday we went out to get him some boxes, and he packed as much as he could into his car. Five years over and done with just like that.”

“Casey, I’m so sorry.”

“I just needed today to, like, rest and regroup, but I just spent it crying…mourning the loss of my relationship.”

“That sounds like a pretty healthy way to deal with it.”

“Every time I tried to sleep, I just cried. I haven’t eaten all day, I’ve just been in here…wallowing.” She laughs coldly at herself.

“Let me make you something to eat. Do you have food in the kitchen?”

“Harry, you don’t have to. I know you have homework to do.” She frowns.

“My bag’s in the car. I can make you some dinner, and I can work on my assignments. I can even put on one of the movies I need to watch.”

“You really don’t have to babysit me. I’m a grown woman, I can take care of myself.”

“Casey, I want to help. Why don’t you go take a shower or something? I’m sure I’ll be able to find my way around your kitchen. I can just whip up some pasta.”

“You’re very kind, thank you.” She sniffles. “A shower sounds nice, I’ll go do that.”

By the time Casey gets downstairs, all cozy in a fresh fleece and pair of sweatpants, Harry had finished making some ziti mixed with some peas. He seasoned it with some parmesan cheese, pepper, and adobo.

“Hey.” He smiles when he sees her.

“Smells good in here.” She smiles back, hopping up onto one of the stools at her kitchen island. Harry puts a bowl of food in front of her before sitting down next to her. “Thank you.”

“Stop thanking me, would you?”

“I can’t help it.” Her bottom lip quivers as she takes a bite of food. “This is just so nice of you.” She sniffles.

“Casey, come on.” Harry chuckles and cradles her cheeks to thumb her tears away. “Can’t have you crying into your dinner.” He pouts cutely at her making her giggle before letting her go.

Harry eats while getting some work done, typing away at his computer. Casey eats her dinner slowly, not wanting to overwhelm her empty stomach. She also got her period earlier in the day, so she knew her tears had to have been in overdrive because of that. She finishes her food with a sigh and sets her fork down.

“All done?” Harry asks softly.

“Mhm, I can clean up.”

“No, let me-“

“Harry, I’m not helpless, please.” She hops off her stool and takes both of their bowls and put them in the dishwasher. “Did you figure out which movie you need to watch for class?”

“I have a choice between Some Like it Hot and The Apartment.”

“God, I can’t stand The Apartment.” Casey groans. “Let’s watch Some Like it Hot, it’s way more entertaining. I actually have it on DVD.”

“Oh, perfect.” Harry follows Casey into her living room, and he sits down as she sets the movie up. “I’ve never seen this one before.”

“Really? You’ll love it, it’s a classic. Marilyn Monroe is in it, and she’s just wonderful.” Casey sits down and hits play on the remote. “Can I get you anything? Water?”

“I’m all set, thank you.” Harry smiles, sitting back into the couch, making himself more comfortable. “You feeling a little better now that you’ve eaten?”

“Yeah, I-“ Casey’s phone starts ringing, and she sees that it’s Daniel. “I’m sorry, I need to take this.” Casey gets up quickly, and makes her way upstairs. “Hi…”

“Hi.”

“You don’t sound great.” Casey says softly.

“Been crying all day.”

“Me too.” She sighs.

“Are we sure we’re doing the right thing? If it hurts this much, shouldn’t we try to find a way to make this work?”

“Daniel, we went round in circles all weekend. You’re staying in New York, and I’m staying here. I don’t want you sacrificing your career for me. We’re not the same people we were five years ago…we’re both different now. I…I don’t want to wait for things to get started anymore.”

“So, you’d rather start over with someone new than just wait a little longer to get married to someone you know and love?”

“I want to marry someone who doesn’t lie to me about a promotion! You didn’t even talk to me before you accepted. It was like I didn’t even matter in your life, Daniel, don’t you understand that?”

“I know it was wrong of me to do that, I just thought you’d be on board…”

“Well, you thought wrong.”

“Apparently so.” There’s a beat of silence between them. “I’ll be coming back late on Friday. I should be able to pack everything else up during the weekend.”

“Okay, do you want me to stay with Lola? Like, do you not want me here?”

“I’m not going to kick you out of your own home, Casey. Besides, I’ll need you there so we can properly divide things up.”

“Right, yeah…”

“And we didn’t exactly get to have a, uh, proper goodbye.”

“Daniel.” Casey giggles. “I don’t think doing it one last time would be a good idea.”

“I’m not saying we need to plan it out, but if it happens…”

“We’ll see. I really am sorry we couldn’t compromise on things.”

“Me too. Well, I’ll let you go now. Sleep well.”

“You too.” Casey sighs as she hangs up, and makes her way downstairs. “Hey, Harry, if it’s all the same, I think I’m gonna just go to bed, but you can borrow the DVD if you want.”

“Oh! Okay.” Harry pauses the movie and stands up. “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m just hormonal and tired. I’m ready to just crawl into bed and get cozy. I want to have a fresh start tomorrow.”

“Right, makes sense.” Harry gathers his things, and Casey walks him to the door.

“I can’t thank you enough for coming by.”

“All I did was make a little dinner.” Harry shrugs.

“It was more than that and you know it.” She pokes his chest playfully. “You’re a great friend.” She opens her arms up for him, and he gladly accepts her hug. He holds her close to him, maybe for a beat too long, but he likes the way she feels pressed up against him. Harry was also known for not being the first person to end a hug. Casey’s arms start to loosen around him, and he looks down at her. Her eyes widen when she sees Harry start to lean in. “Woah, what are you doing?” She steps back from him.

“N-nothing.” His face flushes.

“Were you just going to try to kiss me?”

“What, no! Of course not.” He swallows.

“Yes you were!” She pinches the bridge of her nose and takes a deep breath before looking at him. “Hi, I just broke up with my fiancé, who I’ve been with for over five years, what part of that made you think it was a good time to pull a move on me? Was all of this because you just wanted to try and get a piece?”

“Casey, that’s not what’s happening. I genuinely came to check on you. I…I just misread a signal, that’s all.”

“What signal? I literally just said you were a good friend and hugged you!” She puts her hands on her hips and frowns at him. “I’m really disappointed in you, Harry. You never struck me as the kind of guy to be nice to a girl just to try to-“

“I’m not one of those guys.” He shakes his head. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or disrespect you, I just thought…”

“Harry, you’re my GA.”

“I know.”

“It would be highly inappropriate for us to get involved. I mean, I know I’m only three years older than you, but at the end of the day I have a position of power over you. You’re a bright man, Harry, don’t be stupid and risk messing up your future because you have a crush.”

Harry looks down at his shoes, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I understand what you’re saying.” He looks up at her. “But you haven’t said that you don’t like me back.” He smirks, making her mouth fall open. She was speechless. “Sleep tight, Casey.” Harry turns and opens the door, letting himself out. Casey stands in her doorway.

“You’re on thin ice, Styles!” She calls after him.

“I’ll make sure to step with caution, Dr. Robertson!” He shouts back before getting into his car.

Casey shuts her door, and sighs, leaning against it for a moment before bringing herself up to bed. She goes through her nightly routine, and gets herself settled into her sheets. She knew there was an underlying reason as to why she didn’t want to try harder with Daniel. The more she got to know Harry, the more she’d dread coming home to her now ex-fiancé. She used to love coming home to Daniel and recounting their days, but she realized she just didn’t care about his cases anymore. She wanted to have high level talks about film and media. Daniel would always listen, but he never really understood why Casey was so passionate about her work. To him, it all just seemed like a hobby rather than a career. Harry, on the other hand, had the same passions as her. He understood how stimulating talk about film and media could be. She wasn’t having sexual feelings towards Harry, but she couldn’t wrap her head around the emotional attachment that begun. She figured maybe she couldn’t love Daniel that much if she’d rather spend extra hours in her office with Harry instead of trying to get home to Daniel before heading back to New York. It pained her, but that was the truth. Tonight confirmed that Harry was definitely into Casey. Now all Casey had to do was figure out how she felt about Harry, but she needed to get over Daniel first.

“You’re here early.” Casey says to Harry the next morning.

“I wanted to talk to you about last night. I feel really bad about how I acted. I thought that maybe we were having a moment. I apologize for misreading things. Kept me up all night.”

“Have a seat.” She motions to her couch and he sits down. She turns in her seat to face him. “Don’t worry about last night. I was in a vulnerable state, and I was more affectionate than I should have been. Nothing really happened between us, so it’s all good. It’s going to take me some time to get over Daniel. Five years is a long time to be committed to one person. I’m seeing him again this weekend, and who knows what could happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“We could easily get back together, and then what? The last thing I want to do is hurt you. Besides that, you’re my GA, it would be wrong. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. It’s not like…I mean…it’s nothing, okay? Think I’m just into you cause we have so much in common. And I really look up to you. You’re so accomplished, you know?”

“A smart woman doesn’t intimidate you?”

“Not at all.” He shakes his head. “I think smart women are incredibly”, Harry gets up from his seat and sits on the edge of Casey’s desk, “incredibly sexy.”

“You’re not really sorry for trying to kiss me last night, are you?” She smirks up at him.

“I’m sorry for upsetting you and for overstepping a boundary.” A grins starts to pull on his lips. “But I’m not sorry that it’s lead to you admitting that you like me.”

“I never said I liked you.”

“You never said you didn’t.”

“Harry.” Casey sighs.

“Listen”, Harry gets off her desk and sits back down on the couch, taking out his laptop. “take as much time as you need to get over Daniel. I’ll be right here when you’re ready for me.” He peers up at her from his laptop, smiling from ear to ear.

“You’re insufferable.” She shakes her head, getting back to her own work.

“And yet, here we are.”

“Harry, it’s 8:30 in the morning, we don’t have class until 10. Do me a favor and stay quiet until then, yeah?”

He makes a motion as to zip his lips, making Casey chuckle and roll her eyes. Later that day, when Harry had to leave for his own lecture, Casey snuck off to go see her friend, Lola, who works in the financial aid office.

“You busy?” Casey asks her friend as she sits down.

“I’m always free for you, Honey.” Lola smiles warmly. “What’s up?”

“Um…Daniel and I decided to officially end things over the weekend.” Casey says quietly. Lola had a cubicle to herself, but there were always wandering ears.

“Oh my god! I knew you guys were on the rocks, but holy shit.”

“He didn’t want to give up New York, and I didn’t want to give up here. It sucks, I’m totally heartbroken.” Casey frowns, trying not to cry again.

“Why didn’t you call me? I would have come over or something.”

“Well, I sort of just wanted to be alone…um, but someone came by to take care of me.”

“Oh, who?”

“H-Harry.”

“Your GA?!” Lola whisper-screams, and Casey nods. “Holy fuck, did anything happen?”

“No.” Casey shakes her head. “He just made me dinner…but he tried to kiss me before he left. I called him out on it, but…I don’t know, like, I…fuck.” Casey pinches the bridge of her nose and sighs. “I don’t really know how to articulate this.”

“You find your GA, who happens to only be three years younger than you, attractive.” Lola says for Casey.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it. But I don’t want to get involved with anyone else right now. I still love Daniel, like, my heart is still with him.”

“But you also think you like Harry.”

“Well, what’s not to like about him? He makes me laugh, I like talking to him, he’s very sweet…and…fuck, I can’t even think like this. This is so unethical of me. If this were a male professor with a female GA, I’d be totally against it.”

“Yes, but that’s not the situation. You’re twenty-eight, he’s twenty-five, it’d be weird if you didn’t fall for each other.”

“I feel like it’s like when you fall for your therapist, you know? Like, what if he just likes me because he looks up to me? I shouldn’t even be entertaining the thought of this, right? It’s got to be against the rules.”

“Are you his professor?”

“Of course not, you know I don’t teach graduate level courses.”

“So, he in no way is going to be graded by you?”

“No.”

“And he could have easily been assigned to any other professor in the department. There was no special request on your part. And again, he’s twenty-five-years-old, it’s not like he’s some naïve twenty-one-year-old kid who just finished undergrad, you know?”

“That’s true.” Casey chews on her bottom lip. “I don’t know, think I need to get over my break up before I do anything.”

“I think that’s a good idea. You were together for over five years, that’s not something you’ll get over in a day, Babe. What do you say you and I grab drinks this weekend?”

“I can’t, Daniel’s coming back to pack up the rest of his things and he wants me there.”

“Alright, how about on Thursday? We can go for happy hour downtown after I get out.”

“Yeah, okay.” Casey nods. “Think I could definitely use some girl time, thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Don’t overthink this Harry thing either. It’s not a problem yet, so don’t turn it into one.”

“You’re right, it’s just been a little flirting, it’s not like anything’s actually happened between us. If he really likes me, he’ll be patient.”

“And don’t forget, you’re worth the wait.”

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