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kimyoonmiauthor · 2 years

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Worldbuilding: Physical Anthropology

As usual, this won’t substitute for you taking the actual class/es and this only covers Worldbuilding topics. And if you want to challenge anything, please do so with reliable sources. I will give you credit if you are correct and I can double verify your sources from reputable sources.

So, if you don’t have any interest in writing humans, some of this will STILL be useful. This does hope that you have basic understanding of genetics, aren’t creationists, and leans heavily more into the science end of things. I’m only going to gloss over the early homonins since the majority of people aren’t writing homonins into their SFF (though WHY NOT? A few Neanderthal wouldn’t be unwelcome?)

Myths about the Story of Whiteness

This is about where real facts hurt some people... but anyway, there is a line here, where it gets extreme--I mark that point for PoCs. I know people go with the “I can do what I want, it’s my story.” And again, freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from consequences. And especially after the line marked clearly “Content Warning”, you’re plain being racist.

Honestly, this might make people a bit displeased, but yeah, we’re starting here. Either you like science and facts, or you are more pleased with being a white supremacist. And sorry, I’m more on the side of facts.

This is because people try to hang onto agricultural white people SO HARD in order to be (racist) about PoCs and expel them from their world and any involvement of PoCs, even as OMG, a trader/merchant. So bringing some anthropology to dispel this. I should note when I point these things out, white people flip out, even if the evidence is there genetically, geography and archaeology. I’ve had liberal white people really flip out over this. I’d suggest to catch up with the rest of the world and get over it. ALLLSOOO hang on and I’m going to cover a few other things at the end of this section.

“Caucasian” (Race-based term) is a racist lie that fueled Nazism.

This one sends white people over the edge. They super get angry when I take this term away from them. But I feel obligated as an Anthropologist to do it.

This is not going to be fun for anyone. And I’m slapping a

TRIGGER WARNING: Slavery of women, sex slavery (lightly mentioned), genocide, Naziism, and general headaches in scientific racism follow. Skip to How white people got their skin color if you don’t want to deal with this story.

So a German "Anthropologist” went and managed to get a bunch of skulls, without owner permission, mostly from slaves, and mostly from sex slave women. (My Anthro Prof was very blunt about this part).

And what he did was fill in the eyes part and then packed in the equivalent of “packing peanuts” to measure brain volume.

And low and behold magically, white people came out on top. He made this conclusion and then decided that the location for the rise of white people must be the Caucuses.

This seems brilliant, right? Someone is shouting from the back something like... wait, isn’t brain capacity measured in ccs? Ah, this is the catch part.

So this German anthropologist, turns out to be a dick. He subconsciously packed the “peanuts” more for the white people, really cramming it in there, and then ranked the races by intelligence in the following order:

1. Whites

2. Asians (I’m not sure if he’s counting South Asians in this)

3. Native/Indigenous Peoples. (Probably skips Aboriginals...)

At the bottom Black Africans. (Ignore people of the Pacific and around the Equator...)

A bunch of Scientists, in general, at the time were super in love with the idea that different races were different species to reinforce ideas of... yep. Eugenics.

The part 2 of this is that Guess who, really loved his work? Hitler! Oh, yes. And Hitler decided to use this work as the backbone of Nazism. You thought we weren’t going to get into genocide? He took the “scientific:” work of this German guy and then made up “Aryan” from it and appropriated the svastika, the sign of balance of the universe, flipped and angled it, so that Hindu scholars say that it is “Disharmony” and the rest is a bunch of genocide.

So... revisiting this, this turns out to *gasp* Not be true. (No one is shocked, I hope). And now people measure brain volume of skulls by cc, or water. There is a range, but it has nothing to do with race. (You can *kinda* tell the “race” from bones, which is about 70-80% of the time... but that’s by North American classifications.)

The story of the rise of Caucasian is covered in detail in the hour long video, very, very well. (Not my professor. He told the abridged version of this concluding with, we now measure it with water.) He was rather fun because he told things like methods of murdering a body, and common myths like men have one less rib, (Though I’ve seen an argument that the “One less bone” might be the penis bone and that the “rib” part is mistranslated. lol Whole other thing.) He also answered all of my world building questions with an even keel.

The Cacauses are real... kinda. This is better covered by the longer hour video. Which I swear is worth your time. But basically Caucuses is about geographically accurate as “The Middle East” And the “Middle East” suddenly in the 2000′s including Egypt out of nowhere. And also dictated largely by European convenience. (See Edward Said’s Orientalism.)

So in total, Caucasian in reference to white people as a racial term is connected to...

Sex slavery (of Black and also Eastern European women)

misogyny

racism

hatred of sex workers

hatred of the poor

Genocide of gays, trans, Rromani, Jews.

Religious intolerance

Cultural Misappropriation

Scientific racism

Stealing bodies without consent

I should note that historically at the time, Victorians were also preoccupied with things such as, but not limited to, the idea that poor people had smaller brains. Phrenology. And that poor people were generally morally degenerate because they were “born that way.” Yeah, and you can see this sliding into even more problematic.

I’ve run into white women who after learning all of that, and claiming they are “Liberal” still insist they want to use the term in a racial way. Maybe they support sex slavery and hating women. Who knows. There is a better theory of the origin of white people based on non-arbitrary science, but by genetic analysis.

I think if you find this challenging, as a white person (or maybe a PoC), then the rest of this is going to get exponentially harder.

I’m not leaving you with an anecdote.

There’s two videos you can examine. One is more of a short information video and the other is an academic lecture.

the short and fun one.

youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKB8hXYod2w&ab_channel=MTVImpact

A tiny disclaimer, I did give her the idea for the video via tumblr. But all the contents of the video are hers.

Or you can have the long academic one.

youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iZDapgQdFo

If you’re dealing with race, it’s probably better to watch the longer lecture because it goes into detail about the above story.

HOW WHITE PEOPLE REALLY GOT THEIR SKIN COLOR

https://www.science.org/content/article/how-europeans-evolved-white-skin

People still misread this article and insist on the Caucuses, so I’ll be more blunt here:

The origin of white skin is Sámi.

Sámi are NOT agricultural, traditionally. They are pastoral. This means they migrate around with herd animals. Incidentally this matches much of Siberian subsistence which has a similar climate. They are also famously mistreated by the Scandanavian governments. https://jsis.washington.edu/news/sami-land-rights-and-policy-driven-recognition-threats/ (Of course, in actuality, White supremacists don’t care about them. It’s not a pretty story, is it?)

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/cheddar-man-mesolithic-britain-blue-eyed-boy.html

Because 10,000 years ago, people looked like the Cheddar Man.

Then agriculture arrived about 9,000 years ago

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/when-the-first-farmers-arrived-in-europe-inequality-evolved

There were several waves, including, but not limited to, the Beaker People, who also were darker-skinned than originally thought: https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/02/08/story-of-ava/?chrome=1

So, then that’s only Northern Europe... Southern Europe is also interesting: https://www.science.org/content/article/nearly-6000-year-old-chewing-gum-reveals-life-ancient-girl

As soon as 6,000 years ago the prevalent skin color was still dark brown skin.

Wild, isn’t it? Putting the light skin color in Southern Europe around 5,000 years ago.

So your timeline looks like this:

Originally everyone in Europe had dark skin like Cheddar Man.

Around 9,000 BCE, Agriculture develops around Iran. (The latest thought is that was from Migratory Pastoralism, but a disaster happened--will cover that later.)

9-8,000 years ago, Sámi appeared. There’s still some iffiness around how and exact dates.

A waves of immigrants from Western Asia/Northern Africa came to Europe, bringing agriculture at the same time.

Despite the introduction of agriculture, the switch, as it always is, was tough. (Most docs skip over this part because they like to think switching subsistence systems is somehow “advancement” *cough* racism.)

So adaptation of this new subsistence system took some time.

After a few waves, then the people of Europe gradually became more white, and then about 5,000 years ago, the predominant skin color was white in Southern Europe.

People flip out after this because the time stamps. But if you have no stock in melanin telling anything about who you are, or how smart you are or are not, then you shouldn’t care and find this fascinating. But for my fellow PoCs out there, I swear this is a good test of your white friends.

Maybe a rebranding is in order? Articians?

You can still get PoCs in Artic regions.

Inuit don’t exist for you, apparently. Other Indigenous people from the artic region also exist.

White skin is the need for vitamin D and not being able to get a source of it because of agriculture.

https://anth.la.psu.edu/research/research-labs/jablonski-lab/evolution-of-human-skin-and-skin-pigmentation/

Inuit get vitamin D, so keep their darker skin.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5502412/

It is true that it is estimated Inuit and others in the region weren’t there as long as Sami, however, the diet also helps quite a bit.

But many Mongolian ethnic groups, also have darker skin and are mostly migratory pastoral.

Albinism=/= white people.

Because apparently Tolkien “fans” thought this would be true with The Rings of Power.

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/12/07/457147952/people-of-color-with-albinism-ask-where-do-i-belong

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-44402888

And then they would be super insulted if they cast a Black person with Albinism in the show...

I did cover this in detail before...

And Tolkien did argue for fish in caves with Gollum.

https://mdc.mo.gov/magazines/conservationist/2005-06/all-about-albinism

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716263/

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1013850108

The idea is that true cave populations are more likely to become albino. But this is not true of dwarves, in Tolkien’s world, who are sighted, have agriculture (in part), and are not naked mole rats. Dwarves get out of the caves regularly and are really hairy, and you’d need the albino gene in the first place naturally in the population for this to be so. And Tolkien for the most part doesn’t address genetic diversity of this type. On disability, it’s mostly injuries from war: https://www.reddit.com/r/tolkienfans/comments/lvtdp3/disability_and_age_representation_in_the/

Could one do true albinos like naked mole rats as a species? Sure. Why not. Knock yourself out, but keep in mind that skin color does not preclude racial physical features. Also, albinism comes with disabilities too.

The majority of domesticated food stuff does NOT come from Europe. And, in fact, comes from about the same latitude/climate worldwide.

Cambridge History of Food. I love this book. Categorically, the majority of food is not domesticated in Europe.

Cow--not Europe.

Goats, sheep, pigs, etc. Not Europe. Horses--they existed in Europe, but the majority of the domestication is not said to be Europe, and inventions like the stirrip, and pants don’t relate to Europe. (Pants relate to horse riding. Cultures that had horse riding, had women wear pants too.).

Wheat, Oats, Corn, Rice, Barley--also not Europe.

The only one I’ve found thus far they are sure is 100% European is *drumroll* Brussel Sprouts. But let’s be clear here (which I’ll cover) In order to get the domestication of Brussel Sprouts, you need a staple food so you can muck around with other things. So it’s through the help of the introduction of agriculture itself which could allow Europe to develop things like Brussel Sprouts.

Usually around here, people are flipping tables, trying to tell me that I hate white people, trying to get me banned for true facts I pulled from Cambridge History of Food... and blocking me... and I have to say, if this true fact hurts, I think you missed the point.

If you’re super focused on the concentration of your melanin leading you to a fictional “greatness” this sounds like “terrible” news to you. But what I see is that humans are NEVER isolated. They work together over vast expanses. They take ideas and refine them. Carrots wouldn’t be orange without William of Orange. And William of Orange can’t get his name without the invention of the Orange (Southern China, Myanmar, Northeast India https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1a88363072674762b95e1ab4e7431fd0). It’s not that bad that Europe often took ideas from other regions and tried to innovate them further, or kept the idea going. (The imperialism was awful... yes) Shouldn’t you be celebrating that Europe, much like the rest of the world was cooperating, and doing awesome stuff like the Silk Road for a long time without the imperialism?

I should note for the Tolkien fans... he was very, very particular about food in a way Rings of Power broke. Strawberries? Blueberries? He’d have none of the New World foods. He also had a cut off date for food importation from Earth he inserted.

Will go over this later in the post about subsistence, but the majority of food stuffs comes from about the same latitude/climate type. Because when you have no worries about food supply for the majority of the year, don’t need to pack it in, etc, then you have a lot more time to tinker. Boredom leads to innovation.

The majority of technological inventions did not come from Europe.

This one also ticks off white people, even the most liberal, even when you point out the physical geography and then there is a huge crisis, often because of the over attribution of white skin to greatness, facing the reality is harsh.

You can take pencils, though this is questionable without the invention of writing.

But look it up--arches, not Europe. Boats, not even human? Gothic Architecture is likely from Western Asia and Islamic Empire. Much of Science was taken from Islamic Empire. Maths. Egypt, Congo, and Babylonian. Zero. India. Geographically, Europe is at a Northern latitude with a climate that is not easy to deal with year round, and TINY (smaller than the “traditional” map) compared to rest of the world. Of course proportionally more inventions will come from elsewhere. It’s just a statistical fact.

Again, white people flip the hell out when I say this. But again, the point is INTERCONNECTION. If you’re super focused on “Invention” then you’re wrong.

Gutenberg did not invent the printing press. He did not invent movable type. He did invent an adjustable type mould which allowed the invention of things like serif fonts, type of different sizes, etc. But he depended on those other inventions to make his. But people are super occupied with, “But did he do it independently?” when it was pretty clear he was in a major trading port... (I had to fight the wikipedia page from excising credit for the true invention. The cycle on that page usually goes, someone tries to take off the Chinese and Korean credit. Then someone tries to take off the “In Europe” part and then someone comes and tries to make it “first invention” and then they try to take off the non-supporting links. Because white fragility? Adjustable type mould is just as sexy.)

Does it really matter if he “invented the Printing Press” Why not celebrate the adjustable type mould?

What is wrong with “Not coming up with the idea” when refining the idea is often acknowledged to be more difficult?

But White People did the “Age of Discovery” which is how the world became “connected”

Polynesians would like to have a word with you.

First of all, boats were not invented by white people. Though some anthropologists surmise about Homo Erectus having rafts. That’s not in Europe. https://teara.govt.nz/en/pacific-migrations/page-2

https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/index.php/news/newsDetails/plakias-survey-finds-stone-age-tools-on-crete/

Did you think that seriously, in all of that time, People of color because of their melanin were waiting for a white person to use their invention and not doing anything with it?

Plus if you don’t know, Polynesian ocean navigation is !@#$ing cool. And I hope you don’t try to attribute it to another group in your world building. But it’s mind blowing. https://manoa.hawaii.edu/exploringourfluidearth/physical/navigation-and-transportation/wayfinding-and-navigation

They have charts made from shells and sticks, which they use to teach from a young age, and then, you MEMORIZE those charts. I have to keep emphasizing they beat Europeans who were clueless. (I could rave about it for hours, or you can look it up.) Sometimes tattoos are super useful.

One of my professors (BTW, White) made fun of European Navigation because they’d use a “Step Method” go along a latitude for a while, then travel down a longitude for a while. Then try to figure out where they were. Then travel along a latitude. Figure out where they were. And so on.

Polynesians would shit all over that and be laughing their asses off. That’s how cool the ocean navigation system is.

So no, PoCs were not waiting around to be “discovered” by “white people.” Polynesians conquered the seas long before Europe ever tried.

But Flat Earth/ice planet model--white people?

More like dead people.

Unlike what people think, the Artic is not “cold all the time”. And as I said, Sámi are MIGRATORY Pastoralists. On a round planet, the majority of life is where? Rain forests and warmer climates.

You’ve killed off the majority of your life on an ice planet. You have to come up with a reason there is life there with reindeer-like animals and something for them to eat.

I’ll cover this in detail when I get to subsistence, but not likely possible unless humans settled on the planet and there is an external food supply.

Agricultural White people

Only invented in the last 5,000-6,000 years as widespread. In the southern Europe, about only widespread Agriculture ~5-4,000 years ago.

- You need a Gulf Stream-like geography, or you get Siberia, which, BTW, has mostly Pastoralists (Horses, reindeer) (Tolkien would be crying at this one and going on about why his world needs to be round.)

- You need introduction of agriculture with usually a grain (and grains are grass, basically). And the majority of agriculture comes from persistently warmer climates with good growing. (Mediterranean, Tropic.)

- You need less tolerance to lactose and lack of a vitamin D intake.

I should note lightly that as agriculture spread in Europe, it also came with massive deforestation. It’s particularly said of North America with some Native American groups, and of Germany in particular out of all of Europe.

Interestingly enough, a BBC doc also said the lack of trees and rich people hogging land in Europe, may have caused the push towards colonization. (Also very well covered by theories of subsistence).

Skin Movie (2008)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0964586/

This is worth your time to watch which will make you think harder on genetics. Based on the true story of a Black woman born to white parents.

CONTENT WARNING LINE (Skip to the end if you can’t handle blatant racism)

from real lines I’ve been told by white writers. Some of them are entertainingly wrong, but some of them are infuriatingly racist. And yeah, I wish I had the imagination to make these things up. And yes, these things are flat out racist.

If you don’t want to read it as a PoC, skip to the next major header. It will help you as a white person, though, to read it.

But I want isolated white people... a white haven.

This is not true for Europe and you’re being racist. But let’s go with your racism and fear of brown and Black people. Let’s go over the major arguments for “making this possible” even though this never ever happened in Earth.

But there are white pockets in the United States.

It is true that particularly in the US, white people tend to racially isolate over PoCs: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=30d2e10d4d694b3eb4dc4d2e58dbb5a5

But I think this is more a result of RACISM, rather than a “Natural occurrence” as these people argue. I’ll go over that if I get to systems.

I was *cough* given the examples of (and I wish I was joking) Russia and Australia.

Russia literally has Asian people in it from the beginning because a large portion is *in Asia* And then I gave them the population numbers.

And I wish I was joking when they said they cried white tears over this fact.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_Russia

Australia, BTW, has Aboriginal peoples. Some geneticists have said that Aboriginal people are closer related to African populations than to surrounding populations such as Chinese, etc.

“How would you feel if you discovered white people in the history archive?”

Yeah, people refute this way.

Korea has influences from China, India, Europe, Japan, Mongolia, and AFRICA. You know what happened when I found out there were Indian people in Korea in the Goryeo era? I was DELIGHTED. OMG, I wanted to know why they were there, if there were historical records, the trade, etc. There has been evidence of a Korean Queen in Iran. And people were DELIGHTED. When I heard there were Black traders in Korea, and Black slaves brought by Portuguese and that Koreans treated the slaves better than Portuguese, I was delighted.

It’s a 100% white reaction to seeing the appearance of anyone of different melanin as a “threat”. This hurts you a lot. You’re letting your racism and deficits from systemic racism rule over your thinking.

But PoCs will “Wipe white people out”

Hahaha. Hahahahaha. Hahahaha. And you’re writing fantasy? Hahahaha. I wish this was fiction, but people like the great white Skunk, Pepe Elmo Le Pew believe this. I’ve heard it on writing forums too.

First of all, White Homo Sapiens sapiens were invented (Checks) what? 8,000 years ago? Maybe 9,000? Were a population minority. And look, weren’t wiped out. But if you’ve truly gotten this far into the post after reading every bit before it and truly think this, I feel sorry for you. (Also still laughing my butt off).

If it was not us, it would have been them

The story of tea by Cognito:

youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6S0hlv5sUbw&ab_channel=Cogito

Youtube video, because laying out there history takes a lot of work, and this is more “fun” until you get to the Imperialism part and get depressed.

Basically, as most stories of trade go: Was mostly fine until white people showed up. And I’m always hoping for a decent white dude. But it never goes that way.

Spice trade?: Same thing.

Silk trade: Ah, there was animosity and war over silk with China and India, but kinda settled their differences there. China took the high road, India the low road.

And then *cough* THERE WERE THE POLYNESIANS. Went allllllllll the way to North America took back the Sweet Potato (which does not float like coconuts)

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1221569110#:~:text=Archaeological%20research%20has%20now%20conclusively,3).

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/native-americans-polynesians-meet-180975269/

and then beat out (looks) Europeans including Leif Erikson. Oh look, try didn’t try to commit mass genocide or take over their land and kick them off to reservations and then appropriated all their possessions.

Nyah, it’s a Europe problem. But a few theories for that. (Nothing solid, but sounds like good theories). Later. Subsistence will cover it. (And then you can troubleshoot your fictional white people so you can argue for less violence.)

Also, I kinda think that people are too addicted to the conflict theory from Percy Lubbock. You probably also should stop believing in the Great Man theory which is still white imperialism.

*Cries* So you’re saying White people are *sniff* Inferior.

Because why not white fragility in here. I think you need to grow up more... but let’s go over this thought process.

There is nothing wrong with a cultural adaptation and evolution of objects. But there is a COST to trying to isolate. And I say this as a Korean.

While Koreans did innovate, such as with celadon pottery, metal movable type (Not Gutenberg), There are a fair amount of imports, mostly from China, but also from other areas, such as Japan, the Siberian Peninsula, Mongolia, India, Vietnam, etc. Koreans don’t deny this truth, in fact it’s a point of pride. Koreans will boast things like hangeul can transcribe most languages because the scholars went to India to study the language there. Korea spent a lot of time refining objects. Clay movable type? Make it metal. Chopsticks? Make them metal. Unlike much of Europe, Koreans (mostly) don’t try to claim on the original objects as 100% theirs in a fit of superiority and definitely not about skin color.

But Korea *did* try to isolate, and some Koreans think it was to our detriment this was so. A lot of contemporary Koreans express regret at this, saying that the transition towards industrialization might have been easier had Korea not tried to isolate.

China, BTW, was able to innovate so much because geographically it is connected to India and Northern China is a different place from Southern China in terms of climate. That connection plays a role in innovation and somewhat in governmental policy.

On both counts, I’m saying I know the costs of both. You are left behind because collectively others are trading, coming up with new ideas and innovating. The idea of a white haven, would throw quite a few problems in, which include, but are not limited to:

- Technological innovation deficits.

I’m saying, for a time Korea was a prime example of this because scholars had to smuggle in “Western Learning”.

The more people from different places to test an idea, the more likely the idea will be refined. This is often why science is considered “Slow” because you don’t know if it was some other environmental or cultural factors that might be driving the results. You need people to test and retest it. What if the bacteria is growing in the lab faster because of humidity? what if there is a cultural thought of “adding more” to be safe that wasn’t accounted for? What if your main data set came from an HIV clinic in East London that specifically serves underprivileged community and most of the participants are white gay men? (I covered this one with Monkeypox).

Because you have all places on the globe to try, say “The wheel” there’s more places to share ideas about improvements. The light bulb wasn’t Edison’s invention. It was a global effort. Fiction Movies wouldn’t have been possible without global efforts. (And Alice Guy-Blaché)

Humans fundamentally, before homo sapiens sapiens have worked very much on cooperation.

- Language deficits. Language changes over time with interaction.

There are pocket languages/dialects around the world. But also, often, ideas are tested and innovated, which springs up new language. If you look at the map for the words for “Tea” around the world, you see a sharing of ideas about it. A lot of written language comes from trade.

- The ability to adapt and change to new problems that might arise.

Do you know that Indigenous people saved Irish from complete famine by inventing the potato?

- Paranoia about the outside world

Which then leads to social deficits... When people are left kicking and screaming trying to correct the path, this is a lot longer of a process than cooperating.

Conclusion

White people aren’t great because they were “isolated” as many later White supremacists tried to come up with to try to justify white imperialism. They were great because they were CONNECTED. Look at the location on that map. You got Africa spanning the continent. Africa, which has a ton of inventions going for it. And then you have the West Asia right there, with new agriculture, connected to another major agricultural center: Southern China.

The false stories of whiteness are holding you back which is how privilege often works. You need the myths to hold onto the idea you’re better than everyone else. But often in doing so, you isolate, and then no longer know how to interact with the other. And when that happens, it can cause you to lose the thing that makes humans great: cooperation. (or at least in my mind, nothing sends me over the warm and fuzzy line faster than cooperation.) BTW, this is not the same thing as the other great white argument, “There is no such thing as appropriation,” which I also covered under Cultural Dissemination. You cooperate with consent. You share with consent. Appropriation is stealing for your own gain. And humans definitely do that.

Round Planet==required People of Color

https://www.livescience.com/43674-cancer-skin-color-evolution.html

Darker skin protects from UV, and also is reported to help with retention of foliates. https://iubmb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/biof.5520100230

Healthy Population numbers

I asked this question just for all of you.

The base population should be about 250 people who can reproduce. If you’re counting children, elderly, etc, then 500-1000 is the healthy number. My Anthropology prof suggested 2 separate towns of 1,000 people total would do it, but of course the more the better.

I should note that humans almost went extinct. And some Anthropologists put the minimum around 18,500 breeding people left. (But think a bit more about LGBTQIA in that which is roughly around 10% and that might cut down--they never think of us queers.).

There is suggestion of doing things like sperm and genetic banks to travel the stars, but you’d still need a method of fertilization and a womb for that. (Artificial wombs are being developed.)

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-50056405

“Species” v. “Race” in Fantasy

There’s some argument about in English (The language), that one cannot use the word “Species” in a fantasy setting, because it’s “too scientific” and Science wasn’t invented until much later, and “race” sounds less scientific.

Etymology doesn’t lie.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/race

n2.

You’re looking at 1774 for the general term, and as “one species” you’re looking at the 19th century. 19th century. Oddly that sounds like when that racist German Anthropologist was operating.

Species as to refer to humans, is OLDER than the word “race” meaning species of human.

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=Species

Species, as a word dates from late 14th century. 1560 is when the scientific application starts. 1600 is when it takes a more scientific meaning.

19th century v. 1600′s hmmm... which is older.

Linnaeus classification of species is 1735. Systema Naturae.

The thing is, that he insisted on Latin. But your world, you can do whatever you like. This is where, the words, “It’s a story, I can do whatever the fuck I want” are useful. People were talking about species way back into the Medieval period.

And if you see, “race” meaning “Species” or roughly “fantasy races” has a suspicious root back to the 19th century, when they were mucking around with eugenics, and that guy who thinks that Black people are the least smart of all the populations of people based on stolen skulls.

While the classification certainly is out of the Medieval period (since people don’t call the “Enlightenment” Medieval (though some fantasy should play more with that era) such as order and phylum, etc, species, as a concept or a word is not “something that Darwin (and Wallace) created.” It’s like people thinking “fuck” is “really new” and “French” (It’s likely German). If you’re doing everything under the “Myths of Whiteness” and then combining it here with “I must use the word race”, you might, might want to check yourself. Because often the justification for using the myths of Whiteness is “I can do whatever I want it is my story” and “Europe is the best” but confronted that some of the terminology from Fantasy might be “racist” you double down on “It’s tradition.” Yeah, but then my question to pose to you, is what happened to “Historically accurate” and acknowledging that Science in Europe isn’t from the 19th century forwards? Do Other Worlds have to be devoid of scientists for the magic to work? As for the People of Color out there... why do you want to enforce the idea that you are a different species with a different intelligence?

Homonins

Mostly here to make my fellow Anthropologists happy. (Saying there should be other Homonins)

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/becoming-human/

This doc is probably the best source for an easy to digest version that’s not the racist 1990′s docs which goes: Man started in Africa (with blackface. TT)->Then the cradle of civilization was in the “Middle East” near the Tigris and Euphrates (They should say Iran, but ya know...)->But then Neanderthal were all wiped out by Homo Sapiens greatness (and maybe dogs)-> White people popped up out of nowhere and then greatness *cue 2001 obelisk music* (The Making of was also racist. You think I would skip over the Making of docs where they literally blackface? BTW, I did bring this up in Anthropology class and ask, WTF do they blackface in anthropology docs? Can they not hire Black people? Awkward stares...)

This one is more global, less racist and goes over specific populations, plus admits its own shortcomings.

Anyway, the point is Homo Erectus is generally thought of as the start of the Homo genus line. There’s debate about how far down and which branches from there feed into ours, but generally the cut off towards “Modern Humans” is Homo Heidelbergensis (Whom they attribute to learning how to make fire and control fire now. A trait some homo sapiens have lost?). That is about 50,000 years of evolutionary difference. (and yes, Humans were hitting that). So when I’m mocking people for things that Homo Erectus innovated and thinking that Modern humans can’t do those things, keep in mind I’m going that far up our family tree. We can’t even remember past mostly 5,000 years ago. And we, as a species around about 200,000 years old. Which BTW, I mock regularly. This would be like a 100 year old not remembering anything past the last 1 year of their life very clearly. Humans are weird creatures.

Homo Erectus invented trade, some think, also made boats. And people are talking about cutting off Homo Sapiens from travel. NOOOO. It’s really, really in our bones. Way back in homonin history. For Xenospecies you can play with this. But for humans, it goes waaaaayyyy back into the nature of homoninity (Not a word, but you know, humanity doesn’t quite work here) itself.

Humans will Travel (and are pests)

Under this rule also, this means no country/nation is not without multiple ethnicities. But a lot of world building tries to make “havens” of X race and ethnicities. But if you’re writing humans it’s doubtful this will stay true.

I was flat out told once someone believed Australia was a white Haven. (The education system must suck) The amount of Blacks, Asians, Aboriginals, etc in Australia met a mental genocide in their mind?

And some people in the US pointed out they didn’t have PoCs around them (even if they are on Indigenous land) Maybe it’s a result of *gasp* racism and white isolationism? The myth goes with white people that PoCs self-isolate, but the dot map disproves this. White people are more likely to self-isolate from PoCs and clear them out than the reverse.

And someone who was writing Russia got super insulted when I pointed out that Russia had more than one ethnicity and some of those ethnicities were not white. (Also pointed out geographically Russia is partially counted as part of Asia.) But *white tears* How dare I point out this truth?

Korea loves, loves saying that Koreans as an ethnic group aren’t that diverse, but as I’ve linked up prior, that isn’t true. The Bon’gwan records sometimes going thousands of years back say this is false. There are several populations today in Korea, in general that are from other locations--Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam, etc.

BTW, Africans within Africa also moved a lot. (If you watch the PBS doc) What would you have to do to make this true? That humans never traveled.

Well... take a time machine, go back in time. Put a force field around Africa around the time of Homo Erectus, make sure Homo Erectus never leaves Africa (They were in China), and suffers quite a bit for your choice, and cut off the development of all Neanderthal and Denisovans, and then cripple the ability of Homo Sapiens Sapiens to leave Africa during a widespread famine (covered in population numbers) and thus can’t intermarry with Neanderthal and Denisovans to help be better immune to diseases outside of Africa and basically cripple the current Homo sapiens sapiens. Oh and you’d eliminate white people entirely.

The idea that humans magically couldn’t travel once white people were invented is ludicrous. Oh, I’m going to stop doing the thing that Homo Erectus, who had smaller brains than us were doing. C’mon.

https://teara.govt.nz/en/pacific-migrations/page-2

And that PoCs are just going to wait around after the invention of seafaring by Homo Erectus--that’s not even close to Modern Man, for white people to arrive for over 190,000 years, so White people can do the “Age of Discovery” (Age of imperialism and jealousy). Think harder about this one.

I still have bets on Homo Erectus making it through your force field. Homonins are that much of a pest.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/series/becoming-human/

I mean this whole doc series shows how much of a pest humans are. (And goes over basics of human evolution, though it’s updated, of course, since then).

Marry, Fuck it, Make it a pet, Kill, Eat it

Humans are the weirdest creatures on the planet. And I present to you this...

Generally, humans view objects as “useful” if they can do the things in the header with it or has activities surrounding it.

And as the Torah/Bible says repeatedly, humans will have sex with about anything. “Do not fornicate with animals.” There are human laws against it--and as one apt person put it, often laws mean someone is doing it.

So I don’t believe Tolkien’s line about how humans would never try to fuck a dwarf.

https://thedwarrowscholar.com/2013/04/11/whos-the-bride-dwarven-marriage/

Humans fuck about everything and I say that as someone on the ace spectrum. I get it--aces exist and black stripe aces are super valid, but the majority of humanity is going around and trying to fuck things that vibrate, move, feel warm, and anything they can find.

https://www.theregister.com/2005/07/27/ancient_phallus/

And the thing is that homonins, in generally, fucked each other no matter what their species/genus, which created kind of a river system, where they flow out and then converge again. So Neanderthal... homo sapiens sapiens fucked that.

Denisovans: Sapiens fucked that.

Humans fucking a Tolkien Dwarf? Absolutely would happen in my estimation.

A Tolkien dwarf after all those imposing rules might actually find it freeing to have a human to love. Short term commitment, ya know. And if truly a different species, then no children.

Humans marry buildings, sticks, cartoon characters, etc.

https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/seattle-woman-marries-building-protest-demolition-224250710.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-49343280

Humans make rocks pets.

Humans like to “Kill words” and we’re mass murderers of our and other species.

Humans also try to eat everything. The list of “Things that are poisonous” makes you think, “Ah, a human ate that.” especially when you have “Poisonous to dogs, but not humans.” That means you seriously had a human go, “Welp the dog died, but you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to try to eat it anyway and find out if I die too.”

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/learn/by-eating-disorder/other/pica

And that’s the thing, you got to account for the fucked up variation of humans and human behavior. Also remember, Variation in every population.

Sentient Xenospecies

The trait that makes humans able to build building, make things like Stone Henge, despite being absolutely terrible at handling change is: Cooperation.

This is what separates humans from Octopuses.

It’s surmised that in order to get structures, you need Cooperation. (I know, someone is going to go on, still about the conflict narrative... but Humans are an oddly cooperative species).

So, you need some sort of cooperation in your species to make it work.

If you’re arguing for isolationist species, then no. If you’re saying something like say... rats, rats are not isolationist, and you have to go back to the Biology part.

Once you have cooperative groups, don’t rely solely on agriculture. It might not make sense for your species--which is what happened in Star Trek: Strange New World’s gaffe. Agriculture with grains makes no sense for reptiles.

Surplus can be reached other ways.

Humans hate creatures that are like us: Multiply quickly, are tenacious, spread quickly, tend to kill other things in its path, and are cooperative.

But I kind of think if you’re going to build a “culture” one of the physical behaviors your creatures must have is some form of cooperation. You can play heavily with this, of course and examine it, but if you want space ships, buildings, etc something of that sort has to exist and likely trade. Otherwise, you aren’t dealing with culture at all.

#worldbuilding #anthropology #physical anthropology

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gillianthecat · 2 years

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A sunny day finally! It made the first day of classes a lot more pleasant. (This is my attempt to get a photo of my campus while still keeping it somewhat anonymous/unidentifiable.)

First day of the semester was a success! I mean, the only actual "class" time I had was approximately half an hour of a lab where the prof was just going over things. But I got lots of other useful things done like exploring the campus and getting a parking permit, student ID and some of my textbooks. And a new mechanical pencil! (Since it was barely more expensive than just buying the case of lead on its own.) And then I went to the mall (an actual indoor mall! I can't even remember the last time I was in one of those. It was a surreal experience, I felt the urge to buy early aughts style clothes even though I didn't actually want any. The even scarier part is that it's been long enough that those trends are back in stores so I probably could have. 👵🏻💀) to get a new phone case and screen protector, so it was a very Productive Day.

But the exciting part is that it turns out that I will be able to fit some dance classes into my schedule after all! I had given up on the idea, but as I was exploring I found the dance studios and when I looked into one of the empty studios I started to cry. Studios have always felt like a... not sacred space exactly, but there is something hollowed about them, a world unto themselves. (This one was particularly new and gorgeous too, huge with both wood and marley flooring; they also use it as a black box theater type performance space.)

I have missed dancing, more than I'm even aware of most of the time. I feel so disconnected from my body, and so weak and stiff, I don't know what it will feel like to move again. So having a regular weekly, all level class, with new teachers, will be a good way to ease back in.

The reason I was so confused about the schedule is that the dance department has no overall schedule of their offerings, so I was having to look up each class individually and then go into section details, which made it hard for me to figure out what even the options were, but I finally just spent time copying them all into a calendar so I could see which ones didn't overlap with my other classes. And there are three options that look good, Dance Conditioning, Jazz, and Contemporary. I would love to do a nice calm beginning ballet class to ease back into things, but alas that one conflicts with my necessary classes. So I probably will do Dance Conditioning, and then either Jazz or Contemporary, since they're one after the other and I don't think I can handle four hours of dance at this point, since I'm so out of condition. Tomorrow (today, it's already today, I should go to sleep) I will go check them all out and talk with the teachers some more.

There is also a fitness center and a pool at the Wellness Center, which I'm going to try to use. They do it a weird way, where to be able to use the fitness center you need to sign up for a class, and then you can drop in anytime. Same for the pool, it's a separate class, but you can go to any of the open lap lane hours. Which is fine, I'm willing to pay, but the annoying part is you have to go a certain number of hours in order to pass the "class." Which for the fitness center averages out to four hours a week. And that is way more than I want to go, especially with three to four hours of dance and potentially swimming on top. And I'm only in the city four days a week. My plan was maybe an hour a week tops. But I really want to take advantage of these resources, especially because I'll have evenings to kill while I'm waiting for rush hour to die down. So I've decided to sign up for both and then plan on failing the classes. Or dropping them at the last minute. Unless there's a way to cheat and record more hours than I do 🤷🏻‍♀️

Even if I don't end up doing all (or any) of those, I will get a lot more movement in my days than I have been. The campus isn't big, but it is built on very hilly terrain and there are so. many. stairs. Inside and out. I got in 8,000 steps today without even trying.

I also got a pretty new notebook at Target so I can start irregularly journaling again. I'd been avoiding buying one because I'm pretty sure I have several empty or barely started ones somewhere in my apartment, but I have no idea where.

my exciting discretionary purchases of the day (not including yellow and orange pens - photos are from the internet.)

With all these new things added in to my schedule, I don't know how much BL I'll end up watching, or having the time to write about. Hopefully I can still do at least some of both, but I have to remember that school is my priority. And this time I WILL finish out the semester.

#this is basically a diary entry #gillianthecat goes back to school #my dancer self #gillianthecat's life #my ramblings #the boring logistical details of my life #photos of objects irl

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inkofamethyst · 11 months

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October 23, 2023

In terms of my cohort, I definitely do feel younger than them. Less experienced. That really manifested, for me, when the ones in my evodevo class were sharing their ideas for the final project. Their ideas just seemed so much more mature (robust, specific, identifying resources relevant to them and finding ways to relate this project pretty closely to their interests) compared to mine. And it's like, I don't know.. I mean I know I'm not supposed to be comparing myself to other people when I can help it. But I don't know how much of their.. intellectual/research maturity(?) comes from having years more than me to devote to research on a basically full-time basis before starting this program. And I don't know how to go about trying to catch up without burning out? I don't even know if that's the right way to think about this, I don't know if it's even a problem at all. I don't know what my advisor thinks and a large enough part of me is too afraid to ask.

I feel like I'm a ways out of my depth.

[a week later]

I don't feel too much different, but my advisor being the prof kind of helps. Like, he has some ideas for people/resources I can look into for data.

Finished my braids. They're a bit boneless ha. My parting technique needs work, the front and back are def unbalanced density-wise (I only used four bundles out of the eight I ordered). But that's okay just in case I'm not feeling the color and want to take them out quickly. I didn't really even try to "tuck" so my roots definitely show through, especially in the bigger sections at the back. I mean, no one would ever think I was a natural ginger anyway and that wasn't the goal. Ultimately, I think the color is cute, and having so much left means I should be able to do another set some day, or maybe I can use this color for accents around the bangs/temples with my typical black. I'll give it a week to decide how I really feel about it. Pretty sure I'm going for minitwists next, though. Maybe twice. Just to give my hair some time to breathe.

Read through my SOP to my current uni last night to prep for tomorrow's talk and boy I sure did sound confident. Like, the words are certainly mine, but the tone is so unlike me. I fear the woman who wrote that (...in an afternoon, no less).

Anyway I got some good feedback from my advisor on my talk today. Implementing it now. It's a lot of little stylistic notes. I'm worried that I'm going to go over time. We'll see. It's not for a grade in the typical sense, but I'd argue that this is just as if not more important than any "grade" I'm getting in my other classes. Coursework is a semester-long endeavor. Several intense weeks. I'm going to be in this department for years. Gotta make a good first impression.

[edit, a few hours later: spent wayyy too long trying to perfect this presentation when the best thing i can do for myself rn is go to bed]

Today I'm thankful that listening to vgm doesn't hurt as much anymore.

(vgm is entrenched into my personal brand at this point so I've got some catching up to do if I want to keep my steak of 6(?) years straight of having a vgm composer as my top artist, and Vincent Diamante deserves it by now tbh. unfortunately listening to the skyrim ambience while watching a 12-hour landscape walk on youtube isn't counting for anything)

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seraphiism · 2 years

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hii kai!! sorry this isnt directly related to ur writing (which i could talk about forever btw. mwah.) but i remember a while ago you mentioning that u studied really hard for ur exams and felt that it paid off!! which is amazing!! i was just wondering, do u have any advice on how to study for such huge exams?? sorry for the random school-related ask, i understand if you dont want to answer!

kai (˃̣̣̥ᴖ˂̣̣̥)(˃̣̣̥ᴖ˂̣̣̥) just kidding just kidding, hello !! nothing to apologize for, i don't mind at all c: i like answering random questions. i'm not very good at explaining how i study but i hope this helps a little !! good luck w your studies!

always start early! it is better to have extra time rather than not enough time. typically i start 2-3 weeks before the exam date and have a set day that i start studying. before this day, i already have my notes typed and printed out

sort out your study material and make a timeline. before i start studying at all, i use a planner and try to divide my notes into sections. so today i'll study half a page, tmmr i'll do another half, etc. that way i can see my pacing as the days go by and make sure i can cover all the material by the exam date. i try to keep it realistic but i always make sure to give myself wiggle room in the event that i don't have enough time one day or i just need a little break and i study less :^)

this is how i format my notes ! i always retype the prof's powerpoints because i will format them a certain way to make it easier for me to learn. this is what mine normally look like! you will eventually figure out your own preference

so !! i literally just rewrite my notes until i learn them, which takes a while, but it has always worked ( granted i actually understand the material and do not rely entirely on memorization only ). for example, i will learn all of hypovolemia, make sure i know all the information listed under it by writing and rehearsing it out loud without looking at my notes. if i can do that, then i'll move onto dehydration and do the same. i'll continue the process until i learn that whole section, but then i'll do a quick review of everything, starting over from hypovolemia -- that way i know i'm retaining instead of just remembering for a quick moment. i also review it the next day to make sure i actually know it, too. that being said ! i review allll the time so when the test comes around, it's easy for me to remember. i will review old info constantly, so if it's been a few days since i learned fluid volume deficits and i can list everything without missing any details, then i will cross it out in pencil -- pencil means i know it pretty well, but just in case, let's review it later for the last time. i will come back to it either that night or the following day after i have learned a new section of my notes, and again-- if i know everything, then i'll cross it out in pen, meaning i 100% know it, no need to review anymore, don't focus on it. this makes it easier for me bc i can see what i've learned for sure, and if i don't know a certain part of it, then it's not crossed out at all! this lets me know what i need to focus on, and if it sticks out, then for some reason i remember it a lot more easily

if i have additional time, i print out another copy of my notes -- if i've learned everything by now and it's all crossed out in pen, then i'll do the exact same thing for this new copy. i'll use a flashcard or smth that covers up part of my notes, jump around the pages and find a random section and review it. i jump around so i know i haven't memorized disease processes and what-not by recalling the order of my notes, so it's rly haphazard and makes me have to kinda dig around for active recollection. this also shows me what i have forgotten and what i need to review again

youtube is always your best friend!! khanacademy is always a great resource, very thorough. if you are studying medical topics, osmosis is also super good. watching videos to reinforce your knowledge or to help you grasp a concept better is always always helpful. these channels like to draw explanations out as well, so if you're a visual learner, it may be beneficial

i recc practice questions as well, too! i personally do not do them very often now, but they can help identify weaknesses, especially if you are provided with rationale

other reccs: » forest : basically a timer on your phone. you can choose which plants to grow and if you exit the app for more than 10 seconds, your tree dies. it's rly cute and basically makes your phone untouchable for however long you choose. i think it costs a few dollars? but if you save up enough coins in the app, you can grow a tree irl the free version is flora, i believe! there is also a browser extension as well c: » pomodoro kitty : customizable pomodoro timer except it's got a cute cat and background you can customize. the cat meows when the timer is done btw, don't get scared like me when tht happens :3c. you can also mute it though i believe » lofi.co : lofi music !! but with an interactive background. you can toggle day/night and noises like rain, traffic, etc » i miss my library / i miss my cafe : ambient library and cafe noises

i hope this helps and it's not super confusing!! i always have trouble explaining how i review notes and what-not and it worries me tht it might seem complex but it's rly not :(. please let me know if you have more questions or smth !! always here to help

#this became longer than i Intended i am sorry #but i hope you can find some benefit to it and good luck !!#.: asks

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rabbitholeresearch · 2 years

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Scarlet-Violet DLC Wishlist

Okay. Pokemon Day is tomorrow and I'm amped up! I wanna go over some things that I would personally favor for the DLC to come, because we know it'll happen.

Story Elements:

Turo/Sada come from the Kalos region (Opposite Prof of whichever game you played). Here he comes to offer some research he's done on Mega Evolution. When the professor decides to stay to bond with their son, Arven, we go to Kalos in their place to deliver a parcel to Professor Sycamore. Here we can do some research with the professor, maybe doing capture-based missions, much like in Arceus where we had to obtain certain Pokemon for the villagers.

Along our journey, we get calls from Arven. He grumbles about the professor acting really weird and maybe we the player must comfort him, reminding him it takes time to get to know his only living parent.

One day we get a call about the professor heading towards Area Zero rather hurriedly which unsettles Arven enough to call Player and ask them to hurry back to Paldea.

Upon arrival, we hurry to Area Zero with our Crater Gang. We find this professor has revitalized the time machine but the machine is acting erratically. Only one Pokemon makes it through, a rather aggressive Raidon opposite of whichever game you get.

For Scarlet players, Miraidon. Violet: Koraidon.

The Evidence:

We learn during the course of our exploration into Area Zero and its research stations that the other professor has left and it specifically refers to "that man" in Scarlet and "that woman" in Violet, meaning there's a sort of resentment from the professor from your game.

Jacq being a professor that once worked alongside both professors means he might have a line still connecting him to the professor who has previously left Paldea.

Given that we've not seen ANY information regarding the other professor beyond the research journals, it's safe to say they've left Paldea entirely. Though this theory is based on the concept of Kalos being a neighboring region.

There is also the giant crystal in Anistar City. Pointed out to me by a close friend. The Sundial looks an awful lot like Tera Crystals. In tune with this theory, it also has a similar coloring to a Mythical Pokemon with the ability to Mega Evolve.

---

Gameplay:

Mega Patch. So this has already been crossed off since making this prediction list so yay me.

Mega Evolutions. This one is more for the fun of it because I personally love how Mega Lucario looks and given I have a certain Lucario named Riley...you might say I am a fan of it.

Step Counter. Okay. Now this goes back to the Sinnoh Region games. In these games, a function on your Poketch was not only a clock and a calculator (for some reason) but also a step counter. In ScVi, we met new Pokemon that function on a step-count-based evolution. These Pokemon need 1000 steps and a level up in order to evolve. Just adding a step counter that you can turn on with your Rotom Phone would be a huge relief for those that frankly gave up and WonderTraded for them because the stupid tumbleweed kept getting blown away by a gust of wind!

Customization. Now, here's the thing, if we're going on the idea that we are going to Kalos, we have to have customization options, especially given the theory that we might be on Summer Break for our DLC. It really doesn't matter to me. The clothing options seem bland at best. So either take away customization or improve it because I want to dress up as a Team Star member or wear a hoodie like Penny.

---

New Pokemon Added In:

This list is comprised of two parts. The first part will be environment based whereas the second part will be lore based. The environment section focuses on Pokemon that make sense to add to the game whereas the lore section will give story-based reasons as to why they might be added in.

Lore:

Absol, The Disaster Pokemon. Okay, i am wholeheartedly admitting my bias to wanting this Pokemon to return because I love it. I am an edgy bitch by nature. However, let's look at the lore reasons Absol might be added in and that is the title and the Pokedex Entry regarding this creature. In the series, we are often told that Absol is an ill-omen. Even in the anime, Pokemon Journeys, we see Absol being hunted by a small town because their spring water has dried up. As it always turns out, Absol is trying to warn people of an oncoming disaster rather than bringing it to them. Given that we've left the crater, I'd say we're not done with it, just yet. There's still a LOT of paradox-mons in that place and I don't think we can catch 'em all.

Onix/Steelix. Bro, Crystal Onix from the Johto series. Talk about missed opportunities. While this form of Onix was an anime-exclusive one-off, Onix in this episode in particular is seen in the water and is water resistant. We find out in the same episode it has a weakness to fire type attacks. I mean, Ice-Tera Type Onix?

Cofagrigus and Aegislash. These Pokemon are ghost types. Cofagrigus is said to be found in tombs whereas Aegislash has a Pokedex entry that says: "Its potent spectral powers allow it to manipulate others. It once used its powers to force people and Pokémon to build a kingdom to its liking." Build a kingdom to its liking. This strikes me as interesting as we've never really seen anything like that in the mainline games. So what if our fallen Paldean Empire is the result of a power-hungry Pokemon? It wouldn't be the first time the main antagonist was a Pokemon.

Kubfu. This is purely because of that one BlackBelt Trainer in Paldea that asks you if you've ever heard of a Pokemon named Kubfu, a fighting type seen in the Sword/Shield DLC, Isle of Armor. This feels like a hint to a new Pokemon being added in but that said, it could just be a fun reference to Galar.

Dhelmise. Ight now hear me out: Shipwreck Exploration DLC??? There's a LOT of water surrounding Paldea so why not have a ship wreck. Maybe Sea Mauville is in the distance or even the sunken SS Anne.

Minior and Ultra Beasts. I don't really have much for these Pokemon other than being the Great Crater, having meteorite-based Pokemon would be a fun add-in. Ultra Beasts I believe should be added not only on the idea that we might be interacting with International Police again in the near future but also that we've gotten Beast Balls from Professor Jacq. Why would we have Beast Balls, Pokeballs developed specifically to catch Ultra Beasts if there are no Ultra Beasts? On top of that, did InterPol trust Jacq with these items? Why did they trust him?

Environment:

This section is much more simplified because I think environmentally it would be a fun add-on.

Aerodactyl and Sigiglyph could be somewhere in Area Zero, Pokemon that could've been allied to the Paldean Emperor.

Flygon/Crustle lines in the desert.

Hisiuan forms. This could easily be some special egg event from Professor Jacq. Maybe we can only access it if we have the save data from Arceus (which would likely be the case unfortunately) but for the in-game mechanic, we receive eggs from "an old friend" of Professor Jacq with no other context. When we hatch them, we get, as an example, Cyndaquil. We wouldn't know it to be Hisuian Form Typhlosion until the evolution of course, but with Qwilfish being obtainable in the Paldean region, why not Hisuian Qwilfish? Why not Overqwil? Maybe through genetic testing (which has been a thing in the mainline series for many years) the genes needed to unlock these otherwise extinct evolutions/forms of Pokemon.

In Conclusion:

We don't know exactly what to expect in the upcoming Pokemon Presents but it's still fun to make predictions. This is Professor Jo, signing off.

PS: It would be cool if Interpol actually knew about AI professor, ergo us, through some means of spy equipment. Just saying, it'd be fun

#pokemon #pokeblogging #predictions #pokemon day #pokemon presents #pokemon presents predictions

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pies-writes-and-more · 3 years

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karasuno boys as things my bf (and past dudes) have done irl

characters: Azumane Asahi, Nishinoya Yū, Sawamura Daichi, Kageyama Tobio, Tanaka Ryūnosuke, Hinata Shōyō, Sugawara Kōshi, Ennoshita Chikara, Tsukishima Kei, & Yamaguchi Tadashi, all with a Fem!Reader

warnings: these were real events. not exaggerated. real things that happened to me lol they’re all mostly fluffy or just funny so no bad vibes here haha

a/n: i got this idea out of nowhere tonight and ive been feeling bad vibes so here’s me trying to make myself happy lol. very self indulgent im sorry haha but i hope you guys find it entertaining! also i’m sorry for not including Kinoshita or Narita - I really dont know much about them!!

haikyuu masterlist

Asahi writes a goddamn essay about you for his english class. He wasn’t quite sure why he did but the prof asked him to write about how he used writing or poetry in his every day life and he thought about all the little notes he would write to you

Noya will happily order food with you at any time. Especially when you’re hangry or just whining about how hungry you are. Did you say you wanted food and it’s 11PM? Well that convenience store is open so I guess we’re ordering. They don’t do orders? Okay well we’re walking now.

Daichi gets matching jean jackets with you. You got it first and found it in the mens section of a store but you loved it so much, you asked Daichi if he wanted one too. The look in your eyes was just too much so of course he had to say yes. Now Mom and Dad of the Karasuno Volleyball Team walks around in their jean jackets with all their kiddos in their team jackets.

Kageyama fell asleep while waiting for you to come home. You knew this was going to happen so you had begged him to give you the key to his apartment but nO the boy just insisted that he could totally stay up. He literally was texting you 5 minutes before you got there. And by the time you got to his door, he was passed the fuck out. You panicked for a solid 20 minutes outside of his door, calling him over and over again in hopes that it would wake him up, before he woke up and awkwardly answered the door. You were really upset about it but Kageyama tried to make it up to you for the rest of the week until you finally forgave him lol

Tanaka thinks you’re the prettiest person in the world. But you literally cannot ask him to take pictures of you because he takes horrible pictures. You’ve been trying to teach him about angles and how it’s not always about how many times you press the picture button. That he actually has to think before he takes the photo, not just take as many as he can.

Hinata wants to slow dance with you so badly but you are so incredibly awkward because slow dances seem like the perfect time for you to fall on your feet. But there’s a slow song playing and Hinata begs you to come dance with him and there’s just a moment where it actually was pretty nice. And then you remembered how nervous you were and thankfully the song ended but he liked it anyways and begs you to dance with him more often.

Sugawara cooks for you nonstop because you are a college student now and incapable of cooking for yourself. He tries all sorts of new recipes for you and you love him for always trying to make you food. He’s even brought you some in a tupperware when you were on campus studying and forgot to bring food. He had to go away for a bit once and wasn’t able to make you food so he bought you a rice cooker so at least you could make yourself something other than ramen and frozen pizzas.

Ennoshita is the only person in the world who can pick good makeup colours for you. You once tried to pick out a nice lipgloss colour for yourself and absolutely hated the look of it. But he always gets it right. And then makes fun of you a little for not being able to do it yourself lol

You’ve bullied Tsukishima into doing a skincare routine. Before you met him, he was using body wash as a means to clean his face. Then you smacked that attitude out of him because no way was your partner going to look like a wrinkled grape by the time he was 40. No way. This man needs moisturizer. Now he uses cleanser, toner, an eye cream, and moisturizer and when you tell your friends about it and they’re all so shocked by it, and praise him endlessly, he just stands there with his nose in the air like I’m better than you to all the other boyfriends. He enjoys when you tell your friends and their boyfriends that Tsukishima does something and the girl goes “See? How come you can’t be like him?” to their own boyfriend. Smug bitch lol

Yamaguchi came over in the middle of the night once because you found a spider and everyone else in the house was asleep. He had literally been sleeping but you called him because this spider was HUGE and you needed it to die immediately. Yamaguchi doesn’t really like spiders but honestly, you were so scared, he knew he had to help. Man dragged himself out of bed to come save you from this spider, gave you a kiss goodnight, and then walked himself back home and passed the fuck out

haikyuu taglist (let me know if you’d like to join!)

@al0ehas @aurumk @neko-chii1 @thisnoodlewritesao3 @satan-ruler-of-hells @trashy-simp @jeppiet @tobi-momo @darkvadeeer @haikyuutothetop @livy384 @babyshoyo @jesssobs @b-bakana @just4readingfics

#haikyuu x reader #hihqnetwork #tsukishima x reader #daichi x reader #kageyama x reader #asahi x reader #noya x reader #hinata x reader #yamaguchi x reader #ennoshita x reader #sugawara x reader #tanaka x reader

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xlehukax · 4 years

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Thank You For The Music

Foreword: This is for the Sanders Sides Gift Exchange! Analogical Soulmate Au, as requested by @romantichopelessly! Happy holidays. And there’s also a playlist! @sanderssidesgiftxchange!

Ships: Logan x Virgil, (Background) Patton x Janus

Word Count: 8374

Warnings: SelectiveMute!Virgil, like one fight scene, Cursing, Logan’s ignoring feelings, it’s mainly the Logan and Virgil show... I don’t think there’s really anything!

Summary: Logan’s been asked to assist a local student on campus. Having nothing else to do, he agrees: and so starts a connection that he would’ve never expected, and one that flowers more beautifully than he could ever imagine. (Soulmates can hear each other sing in their heads: Italics are either singing or sign language)

~~~~~

Somehow, Logan thought his fourth year in College would feel different. Like he’s gone on some sort of journey: like he’s learned in the education manner but also in the lifestyle sort of way.

It doesn’t appear that way. It seems like Logan’s the same.

No friends.

No challenges.

Nothing to be excited about whatsoever. He’s going to college for the degree at this point, and the title alone. It’s why when the professor for his Microbiology class asks him to stay after, it shocks him. Especially so close to the end of the semester.

Is he not doing enough? A quick inventory of his mind ensures that he hasn’t forgotten anything. The professor must need something: she’s taken a shine to him anyway, it probably isn’t bad. Logan gathers his things and then places them carefully in their individual places in his bag: once everything is where it belongs, in pockets and folders and sections, Logan presents himself to the professor. She smiles at him over the top of her laptop, eyes sparkling with mirth before shutting the lid of the machine.

“Thank you for seeing me, Logan,” she grins.

“I’m going to be blunt here: why have you asked me to stay? I assume that there is nothing out of order.”

“No, no… your grades are impeccable, participation is great, and you’ve been fantastic. It’s simply that you’re so outstanding that I want to ask a favor,” his professor asks shrewdly. Logan hums for a moment, debating, before wincing in pain and clutching his temple.

“Logan! Are you alright, dear?”

“Ah, yes. It’s merely my soulmate,” he says by way of explanation. The professor smiles broadly.

“How fantastic! Anything good?”

Logan quickly takes stock of the song: his mystery mate sang Overkill yesterday during Office Hours, and Sally’s Song the day before that while he was at his college apartment. He only knew because a) these were repeating songs, and b) he’d looked them up right away. Listened to them after the music fades to hold them close.

It’s funny that he never once thinks that the original is better in any sense than the sweet song of his soulmate. His (Logan’s assumed it’s a he, based on his own sexuality and interests) music is so sweet: his voice is lilting and beautiful and it makes Logan feel so guilty. So guilty, because he must be the most beautiful man in the world and Logan hasn’t given him anything. Logan does not… sing.

And in a world where you hear your soulmate’s singing in your own head, it’s a betrayal.

“So? What is it?” the professor’s voice snaps him back to reality.

“Oh, I’m not sure. It seems to go… oh, oh, oh, I got a love that keeps me waiting. Oh, oh, oh, I got a love that keeps me waiting. I’m a lonely boy, I’m a lonely boy,” he repeats the song in a monotone. The professor snaps her fingers.

“Ah, The Black Keys. Lonely Boy, a classic!! It’s a good song, your soulmate has some bloody good taste. And, what are you doing, letting them be lonely like that?” she winks at him, “It’s quite the song.”

“I do not see how this is relative to our conversation,” Logan deadpans, tired of this discourse already. If it has nothing to do with academics, he doesn’t want to hear it.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I got off-topic. Anyway, you know ASL right?”

“Indeed.”

“Perfect,” she smiles gently, getting up from the desk and dusting herself off, “There’s a student at the school, it’s his second year: he’s mute and uses primarily ASL to communicate. So far, he’s been surviving by being with his brother. But the brother is changing schools after this semester to go to a better nursing school and… well, we need someone to look after Virgil. Virgil Williams is the name of the student and Patton Williams’s the brother. There’s not a lot of students who know ASL here, and from what I’ve heard you don’t really participate in extracurricular activities. This would be not only a great way to flesh out your resumé but also simply a great thing to do, you know, humanitarian wise. Would you be up for it?”

Logan considers for a moment. It’s true, he doesn’t do a whole lot outside of schoolwork: he does tend to have too much free time spent re-reading books. It doesn’t have to be anything special: it’s only helping this kid when he needs it. No problem whatsoever: he’s tutored people before, it’ll be similar.

“I don’t see why not. Do I have an opportunity to meet with them before I agree completely?”

“Oh, of course! They should be at their dorm now… here’s the dorm number,” she passes him a slip of paper and what this job will entail and waves him off. The dorm’s only a short walk away: it’ll be less than a ten-minute walk from the lecture hall if he crosses the Courtyard.

Logan walks briskly: he doesn’t require the extra exercise due to his rigorous workout schedule but it’s always nice to stretch his limbs. He breaks into a light jog, his bag bouncing slightly on his back as he moves, and makes it there in exactly 8.7 minutes instead of 10. Logan wipes the sweat from his brow with a cloth before entering the dormitories and heading to the shared Williams dorm. It’s on the third floor, right outside the elevators.

Logan takes the stairs.

He combats a sudden influx of nerves at the door: swallows it deep and regulates his features. Professional, he thinks to himself. Be professional.

His knock is answered immediately as if they were standing at the door. Logan’s presented with a man who breaks out into a broad smile immediately: his hair is pulled up into a small bundle at the top of his head, sparse brown curls sticking out haphazardly. He’s quite large and strong-looking: he’d be intimidating if his eyes didn’t have that same sort of sparkle that the professor did, his large circle-rimmed glasses hiding absolutely nothing.

“Oh!! You must be the guy the Prof knew!! Hello! I’m Patton!! It’s so great to meet you!! Agh, I’m so excited! Well, Virgil too,” he grins. Logan blinks. He is… a lot.

“Greetings. I am Logan,” Logan signs the words alongside the verbal words to demonstrate his fluency. Patton squeals and Logan winces.

“Haha, sorry about that. Again, eee! So excited! I’ll introduce you to Virgil,” Patton holds the door ajar for Logan to enter, gesturing to the small pile of shoes to remove his. Logan gently unties his trainers and places them beside a pair of Doc Martens and Toms. They’re about as different as they could be: one is black and bulky with thick purple laces, the others a sky blue with little paw prints. Polar opposites. Logan diverts his attention to Patton, who’s been jabbering on about something or other.

“-and there he is! Virgil, come on out kiddo- meet Logan!” Patton coos at what at first glance seems to be a shadow but in reality is a man who practically hides by the door of the conjoined bedroom. He’s encompassed by an oversized hoodie.

“Hello, it is nice to meet you, Virgil,” he signs out silently. Patton bites his lip to stop himself from speaking, but his noises of excitement escape anyway. Virgil signs back a meek hello: his hood falls off in the process, and Logan scrutinizes the face that he’s apparently going to be assisting for a while.

Virgil has long dark hair: unkempt and uncut, old dye lingering stubbornly on the tips of it. His eyelashes are long, drooping over his cheeks, as he avoids Logan’s gaze. He possesses dark circles under each eye- so dark it seems intentional. Virgil tugs his hood over his head the moment the silence stretches a bit too long, and he’s gone: a rabbit ducking into a hole. Logan wishes he’d put the hood back down.

In all regards, Logan means to say that Virgil holds palpable beauty.

The idea within itself isn’t strange: Logan understands the various societal norms and standards that society adheres to beauty and usually makes deductions off of that, but there is… something about Virgil. Virgil’s not muscular looking, or overly lean, or anything of the sort. He’s simply… enchanting.

“Well, say something!” Patton shouts, breaking the silence. “Or, I mean, sign something, Virge. It’s too stifled in here: do either of you want something to drink?”

“Water?” Virgil signs. His hands are shaking.

“I’ll have one of those too,” Logan adds on. Patton smiles at the two of them and finger guns. “You can hear, correct?” Logan asks, keeping his tone easy. He makes sure to enunciate each of his words, just in case. Virgil blinks up at him moonishly.

“Yes,” Virgil says, worrying at his lip.

“You don’t need to be afraid. I’m only here to help you,” Logan attempts to smile at him comfortingly: judging by Virgil’s expression, it seems more like a grimace. “Let’s sit down and talk about this, alright?” Logan sighs. He pulls out a chair at their small table and lets Virgil sit in it, pushing him in. Immediately after, Virgil pulls his legs to his chest and wraps his arms around them. He’s vanished completely into his hoodie.

Logan sits next to him, rather than across: he doesn’t want to make him feel like he’s being interrogated.

“I’m sorry,” Virgil says.

“You have nothing to be sorry for?” Logan replies, more of a question than an assurance. “My apologies Virgil, but you’re not trying to impress me. I am simply here to introduce myself so that I can begin to help you. I am here for you. You can take as long as you want.”

Virgil peeks out from under the hoodie like a prairie dog emerges from a hole. Hair first, then curious eyes, then his hands.

Logan smiles.

“Now, let’s draw up a contract here, to outline what we’ll be doing this year. I do believe,” he retrieves the papers the professor had given him, “that you already have a solution for classes, so you will not require my assistance there. It’s more after school hours and personal activities, no?”

Virgil nods meekly.

So… Virgil just needs a… friend? A friend who knows ASL? Logan’s heart swells in his chest: Virgil just needs a friend.

Logan doesn’t let his excitement show: because deep down, deep enough that he’ll never admit it fully- let alone say it aloud- he’d truly like a friend too.

And as Virgil glances over the contract and bites his nails and spares him the smallest glance before Patton returns with two glasses of water and a plate of supermarket cookies… Logan can’t help but feel like this will become more.

The contract is solidified: Logan will go to Virgil after his classes end, assist him with homework or anything else he needs at the time. Logan will be on speed dial for him if talking to people if needed. Logan will be paid a small sum per day, as well as the equating service hours.

Patton can’t stop thanking him with tears in his eyes. Virgil doesn’t look at him once, spares him no glances. Rather, his eyes are downcast for the next hour that Logan’s there. He has a little fidgeting toy and presses it in his lap. Logan exchanges cordially with Patton, Patton cheers animatedly, and Virgil is silent.

“If I may ask… why now? Is this not your second year of college? Why would you leave now?” Logan asks. Patton’s expression saddens.

“Oh… well, I’m transferring to a better medical school after this semester and- I couldn’t leave Virgil here without any help- he waited for me so we could go here together and… I can’t leave with no safety net for him,” Patton says tearily. He wipes at his eyes and goes to squeeze Virgil’s shoulder.

Virgil sinks deeper into his hoodie. Logan feels deeply uncomfortable.

“So thank you, Logan: you seem so nice, and so smart, I’m sure that I’ll be leaving him in capable hands,” Patton assures him, and then looks at the time mounted on the wall, “Oh! You must be going now, huh? I’ll walk you out,”

“Goodbye, Virgil. I look forward to seeing you soon,” he says curtly, before letting Patton lead him back to the door. As he ties up his shoes, Logan opens his mouth hesitantly.

“You are… you are a good brother, taking care of your younger sibling like that,” he does his best at comforting. Patton laughs at him.

“No, no! Virgil’s my older brother by two years. Technically, he should be at your level: but he waited for me to go. We’re really close and we help each other out so… Goodness, that’s the reason why I’m doing all this, reaching out to the teachers and organizing things for him. I want to -no, I need to- help him out. Like he’s helped me,” Patton explains. Logan blinks. This means two things.

Patton feels guilty. He feels oh so guilty, and Virgil probably feels betrayed. Betrayed and alone.

Virgil and Logan are the same age.

~~~~~~

The end of the first semester comes quickly. It was only a few weeks away, and Logan spends minimal time with Virgil: giving the brothers space to make amends before he comes between them.

On the last day of the quarter, Logan makes his way to their dorm room. Music had been stuck in his head all day: his soulmate singing the same song over and over again. It’s beautiful, of course, but nagging as he tries to focus. Logan debated singing a little “shut up please” but even that little snippet of musicality makes him nervous.

And what would his soulmate think? What would he think, after years of silence, that the first thing he gets in return is a demand for silence? Logan shivers at the thought of it. The song goes: Time is an illusion that helps things make sense, so we’re always living in the present tense- it seems unforgiving when a good thing ends, but you and I will always be back then.

Logan likes the scientific simplicity of it, and finds himself humming along as he swiftly walks across the courtyard to the dorms. His soulmate’s voice rises with the music: piano, he thinks. His soulmate is playing the piano and singing over and over and over again. In his mind's eye, Logan wishes he could comfort him: do the soulmate things that soulmates do. Embrace him and calm him and quell his fears. The music fades in time for him to get to the dorms: Patton’s already outside, bags packed.

Logan is giving, or rather attacked, with a hug from Patton.

“You are leaving now, yes?” he says, trying to make it seem like he’s not worming out of the embrace despite his discomfort. Patton releases him after a moment, worrying at his lip.

“Yeah! I’ll visit as often as I can, call me if ANYTHING happens, and-”

“Patton,” Logan grips his shoulders, “I can handle this. Go on now,” Patton nods tearily.

“You promise you’ll take good care of my brother? You have to- to pinky promise, because if anything happens to him it’s going to be my fault,” Patton wipes his eyes, and there’s that intimidating that he always knew Patton had the potential for: “You have to promise. I love Virgil more than anything or anyone in the world. He is the kindest, most thoughtful person. You may not see it right now, but he is. Virgil is the best person I know. You have to help him when he needs it, even if he doesn’t want it,”

“I promise, I’ll perform to the very best of my ability Patton,” Logan says steely, “I promise. You go and pursue your dreams.” Logan and Patton both glance up to the window of the dorm that Virgil’s in: the curtains are closed, and Patton sighs. Gives Logan a meaningful look.

Patton juts his pinky in his face, and Logan exasperatedly links his. Patton’s face brightens, and leaves to the nearby road where a taxi awaits. In Logan’s head, a new song begins. It starts with a guitar and then continues with his soulmate’s angelic voice: “Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup, they slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe-”

Logan watches him go for a moment: and then he starts walking into the dorms to check in on Virgil. Logically, he’s probably feeling due amounts of stress and uncertainty in the new situation.

“Nothings gonna change my world, nothings gonna change my world…. images of broken light, which dance before me like a million eyes, they call me on and on across the universe,”

Logan’s heart feels full, an odd feeling: there’s something about the music and the situation that blends and rushes into his chest so wonderfully. Perhaps this is what it’s like to be with your soulmate: life and soul singing together in perfect harmony.

“Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box, they tumble blindly as they make their way across the universe,”

Logan takes the stairs step by step, enjoying the music as long as he can.

“Nothings gonna change my world, nothings gonna change my world, nothings gonna change my world, nothings gonna change my world…” the music stops all at once, guitar too: Logan misses it for only a moment, before he remembers that it’s no passing street musician but rather his soulmate. His soulmate who sings so perfectly. The soulmate he’ll never meet.

He arrives at the Williams’ dorm- err, now just Virgil’s, and raps on the door. He waits for a “coming!” but then realizes his mistake. He waits patiently for Virgil to open it: and when he does, it’s only a crack. Logan stares back at the scrap of Virgil’s face he can see.

His lips purse.

“Would you like to let me in?” Logan asks gently. Virgil’s face tightens nervously, and he signs something quickly.

“I’m not okay right now,” he says. Logan swallows.

“Can I help with anything? Or should I leave?” he keeps his voice as soft as he can. Virgil’s head shakes a vehement ‘no’.

“Virgil… I-” he tries to come up with a reason, a real reason for him to stay. There is none. If Virgil says he doesn’t need any help then there’s no reason to stay. Logan swallows. “If you have no need for me… then I… I should leave,” he sighs. The door closes shut behind him with a click.

Logan’s moving to leave when he has a new idea. He raps on the door once more. Virgil’s face peers through the crack in the door again. He rolls his eyes at Logan.

“What is it?” he signs.

“Fancy a game of chess?”

~~~~~

Unsurprisingly, Virgil is a silent but deadly good chess player. He’s forward thinking and takes no risks that he can’t counter the backlash of. Logan is thrilled to play with someone so astute.

“Checkmate,” Logan announces, after a long and difficult game. Virgil huffs in mock indignation, and knocks down his own king. “You’re quite proficient at this, Virgil. We should play more often.”

Virgil blushes, signing a quick “Thank you” and then zipping his hoodie up further. Logan finds himself smiling at him.

“Would you like to go again? Or do you have work to do that I can help you with?”

“Again,” Virgil signs, hands quivering slightly. Logan chuckles and resets the board for another go. Virgil bites at his nails and waits. It’s too quiet without Patton’s incessant yammering. Logan decides to ask the first question that comes to mind.

“Do you have a soulmate?”

Virgil makes sweater paws and ducks into his hoodie more.

“Oh- I’m sorry, is that a bad topic-”

“No. I do not have one.”

There’s been cases of people ‘missing’ soulmates: only to find that they were dead, or that they didn’t want a soulmate and merely ignored them. Or like Logan, who don’t sing whatsoever.

“Ah… well, that’s a shame, Virgil. You’d be amazing to have as a soulmate, I’m sure,”

Virgil flushes deeper, if it’s possible, and hugs himself. Logan finds himself smiling again: Virgil’s cute.

Perhaps he said it out loud, because then Virgil’s growling at him and signing a “Fuck you, I am not!”

“Maybe just a little bit?” Logan teases, he teases, such an odd and different thing for him to do. But teasing Virgil is different. It’s like another game and Logan doesn’t feel out of place or silly: it’s still serious.

“No! No!”

“I think you are,”

“No! What? No!”

“Hmm,” Logan merely says, finishing the chess board.

~~~~~

His soulmate has a crush. A sort of crush that’s teetering constantly between deep pining and attempting to squash it.

It’s apparent, between the lines of “Fly Me To The Moon” and “despair”. In other words, I love you. Cause it’s not romantic, I swear. Fill my heart with song and let me sing forevermore. I want you to be here, but please don’t come near. You are all I long for, all I worship and adore. It’s not love, I swear.

Today’s song is “Raincoat” (according to the internet) and if that’s not appropriate, Logan doesn’t know what is. Once more, Logan wishes he has the confidence to thank him for the soundtrack that’s been accompanying his life as it rises in joy each day.

These songs… they’re a quick change from the dreary songs that had been going on a few weeks ago. Logan, ironically, doesn’t mind the sappiness, actually. Usually he would, but it fits his recent joy.

Virgil’s exactly what he wanted, what he could’ve never hoped for. He’s smart, he’s clever, he’s shrewd, he’s not touchy, he respects boundaries…

It’s perfect. Logan goes and sticks with him each and every weekday after classes end. They work together, they read together, they watch True Crime shows, they eat dinner together, they play chess and cards and backgammon and Clue and everything possible. They talk: and miracles upon miracles, Virgil seems to like him.

Today is different. Today is a weekend: there’s no real reason that Virgil should need him, he’s never before, but he was invited to have lunch with him anyway. Even though it’s going to be snowing! Even though it’s freezing! Even though in any other instance Logan would be curled up at home with a good book and Star Trek. And rather… rather they’re going to get Hot Pot at the small university town in Logan’s ramshackle car. It gives Logan the strange feeling of hope rising in his chest that Virgil wants him around as much as he does. That Virgil enjoys it as much as he does.

Enjoys the company, the quiet, the whole thing.

He doesn’t even have to go up to the dorm: Virgil’s waiting for him outside the building. Logan waves after he gets out of his secondhand car: Virgil offers a small one in return and walks up to him. He’s all bundled up in several mismatched layers: though he still wears aggressively ripped jeans with skinny knees peeking through, he’s wrapped in several warm coats.

Logan gets a sudden urge to press a kiss to his shaggy hair and hug him tightly, the slouching man at the ideal height. He squashes it quickly, blushing anyway at the mere thought of such romances, and lets Virgil into the passenger seat without looking at him. Virgil taps his hands on the front of the car, a rare grin donning his features. Logan swallows.

Virgil has never looked more beautiful than he does right now. With a smile and all of those layers and his hood just barely adorning his head. Logan notices now that his makeup is different today: a sparkling purple rather than the usual dark tones.

“Where to, Virgil?”

“I do not care!” he signs excitedly. Logan chuckles.

“How about sushi, then?”

Virgil smiles and nods. Logan sets the car into reverse, and then drives out of the parking lot. Virgil fiddles with his fingers. I should say something…

“Would… would you like to listen to any music, Virgil?” Virgil’s head bobs an exuberant yes, and Logan gestures to the old car radio: Virgil fiddles with it, and finally ends up with a channel that’s not staticy.

‘You’d be like heaven to touch… I want to hold you so much,’ At the beginning of ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ Virgil sinks into his hoodie: Logan casts his eyes off the road for a second, glancing at Virgil- the scrap of his face that he can see is ruby red. At least the car isn’t silent anymore, he thinks to himself. Virgil’s quiet (well, not signing), and the song plays to completion and fades into “This Guy’s In Love With You”. Virgil, if it’s possible, seems to hide even more.

“We’re almost there, do you want me to turn it off, Virgil?” Logan suggests.

“It’s fine.”

“If you say so… seems like you’re hiding but…”

“Fuck you.”

‘Say you’re in love, in love with this guy… if not, I will just die’

Logan turns off the radio as they turn into the parking lot of the local sushi joint. He unbuckles his seatbelt and turns to Virgil.

“Eat in or take out?”

“To go,” he signs. Logan hums: maybe one day, they’ll be able to go out together for a meal. Virgil doesn’t like public places due to his anxiety, and Logan doesn’t want him to be uncomfortable and he’d never push him but… it is a classic ‘friend’ activity to go out for dinner together. It would be nice, but having a friend generally is nice and he’s not about to lose him over some stereotype.

Virgil’s not ordinary, so why would their friendship be?

“Come now, Virgil, let’s order,” Logan gets out of the car, helps Virgil out, locks the car. It all feels very normal, very quaint. He has to admit that he enjoys it, despite what one would think if they met him.

Walking into the restaurant is normal. Ordering food (ordering for both of them)? Also normal. They wait for their sushi in the front, Virgil warming his hands by blowing on them.

“Do you enjoy spending time with me?”

The question bursts out of Logan with little warning: he doesn’t even register that he said it until after it’s out of his mouth. He’s about to rescind the words when Virgil responds.

“Yes. Yes. I love spending time with you,” He blushes slightly, looking away, “And you make me feel safe.”

Logan blushes: he grabs the newly presented food and goes back to the car- but Virgil grabs his sleeve.

“Do you want to sit in the park?” Virgil asks, nervous after the flurry of hands.

“It’s freezing outside,”

“I know,” he signs, his expression saddening slightly.

“There’s no one out here.”

“I know, I can see. I’m mute not blind,” Virgil rolls his eyes, heading for the car already. Logan chuckles and clasps his shoulder: Virgil stiffens under his touch.

“I don’t think I said I didn’t want to,” he teases. Virgil’s eyes widen, and then a smile creeps up his lips.

“Okay!” Logan and Virgil walk right next to each other into the park: Virgil signs quite fast that he rather likes the cold, and that the skeletal trees remind him of his favourite movie, and does Logan like Nightmare Before Christmas, and what about stop animation? And halloween movies?

Logan chuckles and answers all of his questions, slowly fielding them back to him. Virgil never talks this much when they’re in public. It’s nice to see him opening up, Logan thinks to himself pridefully, Is this my doing?

He doesn’t mean to preen, but it happens anyway.

“Why are you doing that with your chest?”

“Oh, apologies, Virgil. It was accidental.” Logan reels himself back in: it’s so strange to have to do that. He’s never done anything like that, something that breaks his front stage appearance. It’s odd: like there’s another, smaller, smiling, animated Logan inside of him. A little Logan that’s been ignored and malnourished for a while now. Virgil giggles though, and Logan stops amidst his musings to stare at him.

That was… cute. Why was that cute? Genuinely cute, not teasingly.

Virgil catches him staring and glares at him, though his cheeks flush.

“What are you looking at, nerd?”

“Ah- it’s nothing. Would you like to sit down here and eat?” Logan points to a random bench: Virgil shrugs and sits, holding his arms open for his food. Giving him his food and sitting down next to him is a battle of wills: if it was another other person, in any other situation, he’d excuse himself and leave. But it’s Virgil, and the man looks so thrilled to just sit with him: it’s his friend. He’s not abandoning him. Even if his emotions are crawling up his throat.

The silence is amicable as they eat. The first flakes of snow start to fall, and Virgil’s attention is drawn to them immediately. He watches the snowflakes float down slowly, enraptured.

“You’d think you’ve never seen snow before,” Logan chuckles.

“Fuck off,” Virgil signs fluidly. He doesn’t even look at Logan, simply eats his sushi and quickly stands to spin in the snow. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes,” Logan agrees, as he watches Virgil laugh quietly and kick the powder around, as Virgil’s eyelashes are decorated with snowflakes, as he holds his tongue out like a child, as Virgil looks so free and unafraid in his lonesome company… “It’s quite beautiful indeed.”

~~~~

Patton’s coming back in two weeks. The second semester is almost over, spring finally showing her colours after a frigid winter, and Logan’s almost nervous. The music in his head doesn’t help whatsoever to calm him. What if something changes? It’s not like Patton’s staying, he’s allegedly very happy at his new school, but… Logan can’t help but worry at the idea that something in their dynamic will change irreparably if Patton reenters.

There’s nothing you can do about it, he assures himself once again, Just keep doing your job. Logan’s class lets out early, and he takes a brisk jog to meet Virgil outside his class. By now, Logan knows his schedule by heart and knows where to meet him.

He waits outside the lecture hall, student after student exiting… he waits until it’s fifteen minutes after his class has ended. Frowning, Logan peeks inside: it’s devoid of people, even the professor.

“Virgil?” he calls out into the empty room fruitlessly. Panic starts to rise inside of his chest as he calls for the anxious man. “Virgil? Virgil, where are you?”

He searches each aisle of the lecture hall, calling Virgil’s cell phone. Virgil hates it when he calls him, but if he’d just pick up, it means he’s okay. Logan feels incredibly antsy as he runs out of the room, sprinting at full force (he’s a strong man) around campus calling for Virgil. He wipes at his face: he can’t have the budding tears block his vision. He needs to find Virgil.

“Virgil, where are you? Virgil, I need to find you. Virgil, please please be okay,” he dashes around a corner and drives his heels in to stop.

Virgil.

His beloved hoodie in a secluded alleyway.

Logan reaches down and grasps it: he’d never leave it alone, let alone in a public place. Logan shakily picks it up into his hands, feeling the fabric: it’s dirtied. He gently folds it and puts it under his arm.

He’s starting to walk away when he hears the muffled shout and the sound of a punch’s impact.

“Oh, so you want to talk now, huh?” Another punch. “Fucker.”

Logan walks purposefully in the direction of the noise: two large women and one large man are whaling on Virgil, kicks and punches and spit, who’s curled up on the paved ground in the fetal position. Logan takes out the first buff woman with a strong punch to the side of her face, the second with a well placed kick and shove. The man runs away, pulling his fellows along with him.

“Virgil, they’re gone now. Are you alright?”

Virgil makes a broken sob, holding his midsection with his eyes downcast, and spits out some blood. Logan sighs and bends down to Virgil’s level, and wipes his mouth with a handkerchief from his book bag. He gives Virgil his hoodie (which he takes to immediately) and rubs his back.

I should’ve gone after them, made them pay-

“OH MY STARS, are the two of you alright?” a fanciful voice calls out from the entrance of the alley way.

“We just saw a trio of assholes running away with some wicked bruises-”

“Remus, that’s not the point!” The two boys walk into the alley, one worrying with a red letterman’s jacket and coiffed hair, the other (Remus) morbidly interested with a large denim jacket and wild hair sticking up every which way. They have the same face, unnervingly, though the wilder one sports a partially-grown mustache and the other has a scar though his eyebrow.

“Alright, alright, I’ll bite. Are you okay?” Remus asks, extending a hand to Virgil. Virgil looks away and tucks into Logan more. Remus retracts his hand with a shrug. Logan gives the both of them steely looks.

“If you’re here to promote any more harm or mockery, I advise you to leave concurrently.”

“Ooh, put those big words away, Daddy,” Remus mocks. His brother elbows him roughly.

“Remus, be nice. They’ve clearly been through quite the ordeal! Greetings, I’m Roman, this is Remus. We’re in Virgil’s class, and we saw him being… escorted, one could call it-”

“Forcibly swept away!”

“-Thank you Remus, out of class so we followed along after reporting it to the professor. He seems to be in quite a state: is there anything we can do?” Roman finishes, rolling his eyes at his twin. Logan sighs and adjusts his glasses. He doesn’t want to accept their help. He can take care of Virgil by himself. But…

He takes a closer look at the poor beaten man, at his bloodied mouth and shirt and his bruises and scrapes and thinks beyond him.

“I thank you for reporting it to the teacher. This is a heinous act, and I loathe to think of what would’ve happened if I arrived later or not at all,” he attempts to look thankful, but judging by their expressions, it doesn’t work. Logan pinches the bridge of his nose. “Could you alert the on campus clinic that we’ll be coming? One of you? The other can make sure they don’t come back as I take Virgil there,” with that, Logan takes a deep breath and gets to his feet, holding Virgil tightly in his embrace. Virgil turns into him, making a pained sound.

It breaks Logan’s poor heart. My friend, my friend, my friend- he’s hurt.

“It’s alright, Virgil. I’ve got you, you’re safe now,” he whispers to him.

“Cute!” “Ick.”

“Oh come on now, Remus, they’re precious!”

“I came over here for the bloody beat down! Not touchy feely lovey-dovey!”

“I will never understand you. You’re absolutely vile,”

“Ah, look in the mirror lately?”

“Excuse me,” Logan growls, diverting their attention from their bickering, “Are you going to help or not?”

“Ugh,” Remus rolls his eyes, “I guess I’ll go to the clinic.”

“Goodbye, Remus- you see, he’s a bit of a pain, always been that way,” Roman sticks his tongue out childishly at Remus, who returns the gesture in a more lewd fashion. “Alright, let’s help the emo up,” Roman extends his hands to help: Logan turns away, holding Virgil alone.

“He is not emo. Virgil is a selective mute,” Logan frowns at Roman.

“Aha, it’s just a mere quip!”

“Oh,” Logan swallows. They walk in near silence to the infirmary: How weird it is that the silence with Virgil seems familial and warm but with this Roman it feels charged and uncomfortable.

“You aren’t a very funny guy, are you?”

“Excuse me?” Logan glares at him through his glasses, holding Virgil tighter.

“Take no offense, but I mean… you’re very uptight! Serious. Grumpy. Straight to the point. I’ll stop prattling on synonyms, but I think you get the point now,” Roman explains.

“I- I’ve never thought about it that way. I presume you’re right,” he frowns. Logan’s never felt like any of those: he just likes working. And now he feels foolish: perhaps that’s the reason that he’s never gotten anywhere socially. Is it his inability to “quip”?

Would Virgil be happier with him if he could?

As if he heard his thoughts, Virgil winces in pain in his arms.

“Oh! Virgil. Should I hold you differently? Are you uncomfortable?” Virgil looks up at Logan blearily: his eyes open in recognition and a full-face blush breaks out all over his face. Virgil takes a bruised hand to hide his face.

“Awe look at ‘im! Debbie Downer is shy!” Logan whirls over to glare at Roman’s almond eyes angrily. Virgil turns away.

“Don’t talk to him that way,” he growls. Roman flushes and stammers.

“It was only teasing!”

“It was hurtful, and the last thing he needs right now is that. So do me a favor and leave those quips to yourself,” he reprimands.

“Yes, sir,” Roman salutes. Logan looks away from him and back to Virgil.

“Hey. Why did those thugs hurt you anyway?” he questions. Virgil frowns. “You don’t have to tell me-”

“No- I will. I was- I was singing in the bathroom,” he signs shyly.

“Wait- how could you-”

“Sometimes I talk when I’m alone. Or sing. I’m nervous around people, when I’m by myself it’s okay,”

“Oh,” Logan shouldn’t feel so betrayed, he knows he shouldn’t: this is the way Virgil is, after all. He’s a selective mute. He can speak when he wants. And if he doesn’t want to speak around Logan well- it’s fine. It’s his choice.

It shouldn’t bother Logan.

“So those jerks beat you up purely for the angelic music of your soul? Their cruelty knows no bounds, if they were to hurt you for communicating with your soulmate! How dare they, those vile, disgusting, cotton headed ninny muggin ruffians!” Roman supplies, filling Logan’s silence with declarations of war. Virgil laughs slightly at Roman, rolling his eyes. Logan swallows his questions, his pleas for “what about me?”.

Virgil can like whoever he wants. It doesn’t have to be just Logan.

~~~~

Virgil had asked Logan to drive him to the airport to pick up Patton. Logan wanted to say no, to say that he didn’t want to, hell, just leave him at the airport but… Virgil’s face betrayed his excitement, and Logan couldn’t put him down.

So now he’s waiting in the pick up zone with his car, waiting for Virgil to come back and completely ignore him again. Logan blinks.

Is that what this is about?

Does some part of Logan, some illogical part that manipulates his feelings, worry that Patton would mean Logan’s out of the picture? Logan grips the steering wheel. It’s Virgil’s choice! If he wants to hang out with Patton, sure. Sure. It’s fine.

Logan makes a low growl.

It’s not fine.

~~~~

And… there was nothing he could do. He stopped coming to visit Virgil during the mid-semester break: why should he? Virgil was with Patton. He’s happy. He doesn’t need Logan around…

Logan hates it. He hates not going over each day, each class ending with Virgil’s tiny smile.

He hates his soulmate, whoever he is, for singing so sadly whenever he wakes up.

“What's the name of the game? Does it mean anything to you? What's the name of the game? Can you feel it the way I do? Tell me please, 'cause I have to know… I'm a bashful child, beginning to grow…”

“Shut up,” Logan tells him quietly each time he goes at it again, “Shut up. I don’t want your questions, I can’t answer them.”

Logan, for the first time in his life, isn’t happy doing his work. There’s no gratification from finishing something: there’s no hunched over man beside him gesturing wildly as he finishes so quickly. There’s no giggle as he presses his glasses higher on his nose: there’s no smack on the shoulder when he corrects his work. It’s so… so bland. Was it always like this?

Before Virgil, was it always like this?

Logan finishes his test and hands it in at the front: his professor gives him a confused look. Logan twitches as his soulmate starts to sing: “It's you I like… not the things you wear…”

“Is everything okay, Mr. Adleman? You seem… listless, lately. Distracted. And you took all of the allotted time to finish your work- quite out of the ordinary, I’d say,”

“I assure you, sir, everything is normal,” he merely says, before adjusting his bag and exiting the classroom.

“Not the way you do your hair… but it's you I like,”

“Shut up,” Logan murmurs under his breath, walking stiffly with his head down down the hall. His soulmate’s voice is beautiful, as beautiful as always… but Logan can’t bear it. He’s already dealing with so much! To hear his soulmate’s longing notes doesn’t help. If anything, it exasperates his issues. Logan is grumbling under his breath when he hears it: and suddenly, all his issues get worse.

Patton’s in a classroom, with his teacher and a few students, singing to them:

“The way you are right now… way down deep inside you…”

“The way you are right now… way down deep inside you…” and his soulmate croons at the same time.

“Not the things that hurt you, not your toys; they're just beside… you,”

They both stop at the same note, and Logan swallows.

Patton.

Patton, smiley, hazel-eyed, exuberant, talkative, Patton, is his soulmate? Patton, the Patton he’s been mildly despising for the past few days.

I can’t believe it. But I presume… he has a right to know. And maybe we can make this work?

“Ah… Patton,” Patton’s face whirls to Logan’s in the door, and his face lights up. Logan can’t help but set his face: aren’t soulmates supposed to elicit some kind of joy in their partners? When they finally figure it out, isn’t it supposed to be some revelation?

“Logan!! How nice!! I haven’t seen you this whole trip, what a delight! Virgil’s been all out of sorts without you around, it seems,” Patton grins, sliding off the desk he was sitting on and walking over to Logan.

“I- I think- I think you’re my soulmate,” he stammers.

“What?”

“I- I heard your singing, in my head, as you were singing in here-”

“Oh my god. No, no, Logan,” Patton smiles at Logan tearfully, his hands landing on his shoulders, “That was Virgil. I started singing that song because Virgil was singing it again when I left.”

“That’s- that’s impossible how-”

“If you need any more proof, then just look at my soulmate: I met him at school, he flew in after me,” Patton smiles dreamily and waves at a man sitting in the corner, typing on his phone: he has two black forearm crutches and deep burn scars across the left side of his face.

“Hullo,” he greets from the other side of the room, “I’m Janus. Pleasure, fellow Patton soulmate,” Logan’s mouth dries as Patton giggles.

“It’s really Virgil. That- that makes a lot of sense but- I can’t believe it-”

“Okay, how about this, Lo?” Logan’s nose scrunches at the nickname, “I’m going to send a message to Virgil: and you go sneak back to the apartment. He’ll sing. It’ll match up. Then you have to confess. He’s thought he’s been alone… for so long. He’ll be so happy: so thrilled to have a soulmate… even more so if it’s you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Patton shakes his head, chuckling. Logan looks away: his teary eyes are too much for him. Logan clears his throat.

“Let our third go, Pat!” Janus calls, his voice smooth. Logan casts him a glare, though he blushes, and walks off. Thousands of thoughts swirl through his head, clouding his vision. He almost loses his way to the dorms. His mind is so full, so so so full, and then a voice breaks through it all.

“If I could ride a bike, I’d zoom around the world, with you sitting there behind me…”

Logan’s breath hitches. If that’s Virgil, he hates not seeing it before. Meeting him and not loving him right away. Not beating around the bush. But embracing him with everything he is, using all he knows to help all he needs.

“I’ll take you to places, past several faces… just livin life so carefree. If I could sail a boat, I'd cruise across the seas, a sweet adventure for us two,”

His pace increases as he gets to the dorms: he runs up the stairs maybe a little too fast. The music increases in volume but perhaps it’s in his head. The door to Virgil’s room is cracked open.

“I'll be Jack and you Rose, just please don’t let me go, cause I'll be nothing without you. Oh when you call me… I'm drifting on clouds, like I'm dreaming,”

Logan’s footsteps falter as he peers through the door. Virgil, with a guitar, singing those notes so sweetly. It matches up in his head, it matches perfectly, and despite himself, Logan starts to er up. It’s perfect harmony, it makes his heart swell and the whole world brightens.

This is what it’s supposed to be like. This is my soulmate. Virgil’s voice rises and falls, and it becomes so mind numbingly soft.

“But in the morning, I'll wake up and see that you're stuck… here with me,” Virgil sings, his voice sad, “If only you knew, what I would do for you. I'd jump up and hold you… so tightly…” Virgil sobs, “Logan. Logan. I’m sorry. Whatever I did. I’m sorry. I miss you.”

Logan’s chest pulls. His voice is like an angel. Virgil, his soulmate, wants him back. Everything he thought… was wrong. He needs to tell him, he needs to-

No. No, it would embarrass both of them, and Virgil’s anxious. He needs to do it in a way that would make no room for error, no room for suspicion of any foul intent.

Logan… needs to sing.

~~~~

It’s all planned out, only a few days later. The sun is out, the weather is warm. Patton has Virgil entertained, introducing him to Janus in the front lawn. Roman and Remus are keeping people away in their respective fashions so that they have privacy. Logan adjusts his tie, getting ready in their apartment. He wants to have the song at it’s apex before meeting him as his soulmate.

Logan clutches the ring in his pocket: a customary soulmate ring, black and fitted to Virgil’s finger. They haven’t been together, and he doesn’t have to accept it of course but… he wants to do this right.

This has to be perfect.

He takes a deep breath and opens his mouth to sing.

“I'm nothing special, in fact I'm a bit of a bore… If I tell a joke, you've probably heard it before,” Logan sings softly. He chuckles- something so foriegn to him, so averse to what he wanted to do just a week ago- and he doesn’t sound bad. As he sings the next few lines, he runs out to the window by the elevators and can just barely make out Virgil on a picnic blanket rising to his feet and looking around confusedly. Logan carefully walks down the stairs, taking his time as he goes:

“So I say- thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing. Thank you for all the joy they’re bringing: who can live without it? I asked in all honesty, what would life be- without a song or a dance, what are we? So I say thank you for the music, for giving it… to me,” he sings, breaking out into the fresh air. Logan sings the next few stanzas under his breath, making his way to Virgil’s picnic spot. Virgil’s standing up, shaking Patton’s shoulder and signing wildly.

“I've been so lucky, I am the girl with golden hair: I wanna sing it out to everybody…. What a joy, what a life, what a chance!” his voice rises as he nears the grass, heart beating wildly.

Virgil’s fallen to his knees, his crying sounding even from where Logan stands, dozens of feet away.

“Thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing. Thanks for all the joy they're bringing. Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty… What would life be? Without a song or a dance what are we? So I say thank you for the music,” he’s suddenly close, standing at Virgil. Virgil looks up, tears running down his face. He gasps: he smiles: he laughs. “For giving it to me.”

Virgil stumbles to his feet, and wraps his arms around Logan’s middle. He chuckles, and hugs him back, squeezing him tightly. Virgil cries into his chest, hiccuping and laughing all the same.

“So I say,” he rubs his back, and presses a light kiss into his hair, “Thank you for the music, for giving it… to me.”

There’s no fanfare, no wild confetti or cheering. It’s quiet, as Patton and Janus laugh and Virgil tearily accepts his ring before digging back into his chest. It would be perfect like this but then…

“Logan,” Virgil whispers, hiding in his chest, “Logan.” It’s so quiet, but it makes his heart burst in joy. Virgil didn’t have to say anything, he would love him anyway, but it shows. It shows the trust.

“Surprise,” he whispers back, pulling him in closer. “Thank you. For everything, Virgil.”

~~~~~

The End! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed!

Taglists:

Anything & Everything: @myraiswack, @blindtaleteller, @head-over-heart, @karushinekomiya

Sides of the Sanders: @a-goldengirl-in-a-condominium246

If you enjoyed, please reblog- it truly means the world.

Want to be tagged on other works in this genre or just generally? Asks, DMs, or comments are all wonderful.

Liked it a whole coffee’s worth? Here’s my Ko-fi.

#analogical #mociet #sanders sides #sanders sides fic #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fandom #soulmate au #sanders sides soulmate au #logan #virgil #patton #logan sanders #virgil sanders #thank you for the music #logan x virgil

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wajjs · 4 years

Text

Blob’s tips for academic writing

aka how I tricked my professors into thinking I Know Shit (when I don’t)

First things first, and this a general disclaimer, I’m going to try and keep what I’m about to say in mostly general terms. This is because I’m aware regulations for written stuff in academic circles sometimes change not from college to college, but from country to country.

Anyways, I’m going to keep this simple.

Be clear and concise about your objectives, aka what you are planning to prove/explain with what you are writing.

Include in the very beginning (aka the first two paragraphs) what your objectives are. Be it to prove some bitch is totally biased in their research or to explain the connection between popular singers and sainthood, no matter what you are writing about, always try to start by saying what’s the shit you hope to get done.

This helps a lot with organization and also takes pressure off the whole aaaaa I don’t know how to start this, this is fucking hell, why am I in college, fuck my life thing we all go through.

When possible, start with a quote.

This is something I do a lot. Together with adding in the first paragraph my objectives, I always try to start with some funky quote that’s related to the topic at hand. I’ve quoted academic authors, song lyrics, fictional novels, comics, etc. If it works within the context, I’ve added it at the very start of things, right in between the title and the first paragraph with right margin indentation.

What this does is that it not only takes pressure off the beginning words, it also helps to put your work in context. It sets the mood. It also shows that you’ve been thinking about this so hard, that you’ve found ways to connect it with new things. But honestly that’s not necessarily true, I personally grab the first thing I can think of that sounds great considering the topic I’m working with.

(Sub)sections are your friends

Dividing your work in easily definable (and searchable) parts is a blessing. Not only does this help keep track of what you’ve said, it also helps the professors when they have to read it. Basically, it makes reading significantly easier for everyone involved.

You don’t have to go the boring route of Introduction / Analysis / Evidence / Conclusion. I mean, it IS best if you keep that Conclusion around because that’s kind of the most important thing among the others. I’ve handed in tons of research papers and essays with subsections titled after song lyrics or quotes from novels, etc. And guess what? Each time I’ve done that, my profs loved it.

Now, granted, maybe first try to get a general vibe of what your profs prefer, because some might not be down to party, but do keep this in mind. It shows individuality and personality. Yes, profs say you don’t gotta reinvent the wheel, but adding some color and sparkle is always nice, isn’t it?

Think of examples. Add as many as you can. Spread them all over.

If there’s one thing professors go bonkers for, that is examples. Even more so if they aren’t ones that have already been provided during class or within the textbooks/study materials. This doesn’t mean you must crack your head open trying to come up with something original: take the examples you already have as template!

You can still totally add those anyways. Just add examples. They are your friend and they add to the word count in times of need.

Text organizers

There are key words/phrases that organize the text and make it seem more concise. Things like:

For example / On the one hand / In conclusion / On the contrary / However / In addition to / As well as / Not only ... but also / Besides / To begin with / etc

are ways to organize your paragraph and sentences, and they help keep track of ideas and points you have made or need to make. I’ve found these have helped me a lot when I’ve had to cut my writing in between sentences (or in the middle of writing a sentence). They place you immediately in the tone you need to use and what you are doing in that section of the thing you’re writing.

Sentence structure

This is something that stands true both for academic writing and fiction: varying the length of your sentences is probably the best thing you can do to make reading easier.

Try not to have too many long sentences (aka, around 3 to 5 lines) one after the other. It slows down the rhythm and makes the thing seem convoluted. Shorten some of them into 2 or 3 sentences, add ones that are at most 2 lines long in between.

Another thing to keep in mind is the word order: SVO is the most common one, yet keeping it up throughout the entirety of the writing can make it seem repetitive or, what’s worst, straight up boring. Switch it up if you can!

Conclusion

Saving the best for last, and this is the golden rule: no new information can be added in the conclusion.

This section is specifically saved to tie up all the loose ends you can find throughout the analysis part of your writing. Everything that goes here MUST have already been talked about beforehand. The conclusion is there for you to explain whether you’ve met your objectives, if there’s need for further investigation (but the limits of the current work don’t let you carry it on, so it must be saved for a future date), if what you set out to prove was in fact wrong, etc.

If you add new information in the conclusion, and there is no way around this, then your analysis will be considered as wrong. You either take the new info out, or you find a way to include it in the previous sections.

All you have to do in this final section is summarize your points, talk about whether your hypothesis has been proved right or wrong, and tie up anything else that needs tying up. That’s it. Nothing less, nothing more.

Hopefully this will be helpful to anyone who might stumble upon this! I tried to keep it all in general terms lmao

Anyways, good luck my pals, don’t let academia kick you in the ass and disillusion you!

#writing reference #academic writing #academia #writing #college #school #essay #in true researcher fashion i am neglecting my papers #blob post

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sevenfactorial · 4 years

Text

Info about applying to PhD programs in pure math

This is... basically what it sounds like. I’m sure a lot of this is applicable to other PhD applications but I’m only very familiar with pure math. This is aimed at current seniors about to apply, but there is a section about prepping for applications in advance.

The highlights:

Recommendation letters are the most important thing. Most schools ask for 3ish. Try to get people who know you well, not just a student in the class. Someone you've conducted research with and one from a different institution are ideal if possible

Ask for rec letters at least a month before the due date is a good rule of thumb.

Research experience is probably the second most important.

Get the opinion of multiple professors who know you in order to build a list of potential schools. Then widdle it down to your will-actually-apply list (probably 8-14 ish).

My opinion but please apply to at least 3-4 safety/match schools. Even when you're fully qualified, acceptance rates are simply low enough that a bit of bad luck means getting rejected or waitlisted from a few of them.

Most pure math due dates are in early-mid Dec but a few schools are in Nov and some are as late as mid-Jan.

Schools will generally have their own graduate application portals. Some are better organized than others. Some require you to submit all your material before you can send a request for submitting rec letters so plan accordingly.

Acceptance letters will very slowly start going out in mid-Feb but the vast majority of programs won't send out anything until like, March and not be done until later than that. Accordingly, wait until at least mid-March to begin freaking out if you haven't been accepted anywhere.

You should 100% be expecting a tuition waiver and stipend from a program if you're applying for a PhD.

The rest of the posts is.... ridiculously long so I’m putting it under a cut. I mention things to do in advance to help you decide if grad school is right for you and things that make your application look good, give a full time line of the process, a list of things applications commonly ask for, and some miscellaneous notes. (The points above are repeated in more detail).

In addition, some links to other resources math students may appreciate:

an old post of mine about grad school apps (overlaps a lot and features some ranting from during the application process)

about REUs including my addition specifically about math ones

summer programs for undergrads that aren’t REUs by @counter-example and @jungleuniversity

Tips for prospective grad student visits

Also about prospective grad student visits by @thisurlhasbeenleftasanexercise

Also for context, I went to a large state school in the US for undergrad. I started as a CS major and added on math as a secondary major after my first year and dropped CS during third year. I’m primarily interested in discrete and algebra, though I have a significant topology background from undergrad too. I got most of my advice from people around the department, as I became pretty involved during my third year. Now, I’m a first year grad student at another large state school in the US, generally considered pretty decent though not a “top math program” at all. Not that much else has happened so far.

Things in advance (aka things to help you decide if grad school is for you and things that look good on an application)

Take the standard classes. For pure math, this is at least one semester of linear alg, abstract alg, and analysis each. Linear and analysis are also good for applied math but I'm not sure what else if anything is considered standard.

Take some grad classes if you have the option. Most people are not ready for this until senior year, but some do manage as juniors. Talk to people who know you well and the prof teaching the class before you do this though.

Try to get involved with research whether this is through independent studies at your home institution, REUs, internships, or other stuff.

Be involved in your department. This helps with getting you more personalized advice for applying.

The rough suggested timeline (assuming junior yr is your second to last year and senior is your last of undergrad)

Junior April: Take the math subject GRE so you can take it again in Sep or Oct if desired (perhaps not applicable atm). The general can be taken kinda whenever; I suggest fall of senior year.

Junior April/May: Start talking to professors/post docs/mentors/etc. about programs you may be interested in. Write/type it down. Don't worry if it gets long, you will shorten again later.

Summer: Do some research if possible; an REU or research at your institution (if an REU, also get your mentor's opinion on potential schools towards the end as well)

Senior Sep: Start whittling down your list. 8-14 seems to be the "normal" range of schools to apply to but some people panic and do more. Remember that asking for waivers is completely acceptable but applying is still just generally expensive (I spent around $800 for 10 schools)

Senior Sep: Apply for the NSF GRFP. You can apply as an undergrad senior and once during your first or second year of grad school if you didn't already get it. The due date is in mid-late OC but ideally you'll have a draft of your essays and ask for rec letters by the end of Sep, if not earlier.

Senior early Nov: Ask for rec letters if you haven't already. The rule of thumb is a month before the due date. Provide them a list of schools you want to apply to including due date and where/how to submit as soon as possible (as well as anything else they request of course; many ask for a resume and a draft of your personal statement).

Senior Dec-Jan: Submit stuff! Pure math programs typically have deadlines in Dec or early Jan. I think the big days are Dec 10th, Dec 15th, and Jan 15th but some are earlier or later. (applied math masters tend to be earlier I think; in Nov). I suggest putting them all into a list or calendar. In addition, some schools won't let letter writers submit until all of your stuff is submitted so start applications early, even if you don't finish them immediately.

Senior Feb: Programs will slowly start sending out offers in early Feb and pick up in mid Feb, but don't fret until AT LEAST the beginning of March! Grad programs are just way too slow at getting out offers for it to be worth worrying until then (and even then, it's definitely not time to panic but mathematicians are frequently anxious people so I get it). Waitlists are slower to come out; usually starting in early March. Also note, there are many programs that don't actually send out replies to everyone unfortunately.

Senior late Feb-early April: prospective student days! They might be online in 2021 unfortunately but try to attend whatever form they're in if you can (only one of my visits during spring 2020 was online since the others happen to be very early and safely beat covid in the US). Be warned, it's very possible to get offers of admissions and to visit very last minute. I do not have advice for how to make that less stressful.

Senior April 15th: Common reply deadline. If you got your offer in the first round or two, this is probably your deadline to accept. In addition, this means more offers will likely come out shortly after once more people have declined.

Senior summer: graduate. Send a completed, official transcript to your new institution. Check your new email account for stuff you're suppose to do. Some programs have some sort of program during the summer for in-coming students. Most places have graduate student training of some sort for a week or two before semester starts.

Some common things to be asked for in applications

Not actually a thing asked for but many graduate schools have their own portal for which you will have to make an account to submit an application. A few use a common system that kinda sort shares a database of accounts? Some are fine and some massively suck.

Personal Statement/Statement of Purpose: Occasionally called something else and once in a while actually separate things; will usually have a prompt of wildly differing specificity. Sometimes, the prompts come from the department itself and sometimes from the university's graduate school. I suggest having one or two "base" essays then tweaking them for each school. Sometimes a word/page limit is specified but if it's not, around 2 pages/1000 words is pretty reasonable.

Transcript. Some accept unofficial but some require official but generally not an unsealed one. I ordered myself one official transcript and sent it to multiple schools instead of paying for them to be sent to each school during the application process.

Resume or CV: Most ask for either a CV or is fine with either, in which case I give them my CV. I sent more or less the same one everywhere.

Some other notes

Yes, ask for application waivers. Just be polite about it.

Your goals for your essays are primarily to show that you're interested in math and math research and are capable of like…. writing things that make sense

Do not start out an essay with either "I loved math since I was little" or "I actually didn't like math when I was young" or any variations of those. (I had one essay that started with a mildly humourous anecdote from undergrad combinatorics and another that talked about how my undergrad department has greatly affected me).

You should 100% expect to get a tuition waiver and living stipend as part of a TA fellowship (or more rarely, an research fellowship) as part of your offer of acceptance for a math PhD program (pure or applied). Health insurance is also frequently part of the package. This is not true of masters programs unfortunately.

How schools do waitlists depend wildly though most don't have super long ones like prestigious undergrads do. If you're still interested in a place you're waitlisted at, follow their instructions to confirm your placement on the waitlist then wait until April before following up again, expressing your continued interest and asking for an update. You might even want to wait until around the common deadline, April 15th. The number of people who declined before April is just really really low so nothing really happens until then.

#grad school applications #math grad school applications #math phd applications #math grad school application tips #math grad school application advise #seriously not qualified beyond i managed to do it #but hey it's good to have more people's advice for cross referencing!#seven stories #long post #grad school #god

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the-cookie-of-doom · 4 years

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Good morning! Whats your favorite show/movie? Who are your favorite characters? Why do you like them so much? Also!! Did you have a good sleep?

Okay so I was a film major for a while, and I have opinions.

Penny Dreadful

I love this show. Like, so much. I adore it. I can not get enough of that show. Just all of the imagery, and the fantastic writing and acting. The episode intro alone is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Eva Green is a goddess and I love everything she’s been in. The take on classic horror stories is So Good, and it actually became the inspiration for my Gay Frankenstein story! (Started as a stitch AU, and then went completely OC after I had Ideas) but the show itself is so intimate? I think it’s largely that the period they’re in, everything was so repressed and restricted. So when the characters break out of those moments, it’s more meaningful. And the love-hate relationship between Ms. Ives and Malcolm in season one? Exquisite. I could literally write essay’s about this show, but I’ll restrain myself and just say: it’s the best ensemble show I’ve ever seen. The characters come together, but they also each have their own distinct lives that sometimes intersect, but in s2 especially, are quite separate. They are constant with one another like ensemble shows usually portray. Also gothic horror and romance? My absolute favorite.

Anything by Guillermo del Toro

This man Owns My Entire Soul. I’m not even joking, everything he writes and directs is perfection. Crimson Peak is probably my favorite (I have a stitch AU for this too ;) ) because again, Gothic horror and romance. I’m a slut for that shit. Also Tom Hiddleston and Jessica Chastain? Delightful casting. I think it’s obvious by now that I love tragic relationships, so their dynamic is *chef’s kiss* amazing. they’re so damaged. And this quote right here is one of the BEST things I’ve ever read:

“But the horror... The horror was for love. The things we do for love like this are ugly, mad, full of sweat and regret. This love burns you and maims you and twists you inside out. It is a monstrous love and it makes monsters of us all.”

Engrave that on my headstone, please?? I’ve got a sort-of Dorian Gray AU (it’s delightful) that’s basically built on this entire premise. Mitch makes the mistake of falling in love with Stiles, and does many terrible things because of it. Mostly to himself, at least.

I think my love of Crimson Peak is very closely tied with The Shape of Water. another beautiful movie, I could wax poetic about this forever. it was beautifully written, and such an artistic movie. I love the way it was filmed, and the set design, and all of the subtle imagery. Such as Elisa’s apartment being cast in cooler tones, it always felt very damp and had evidence of water damage, compared to Giles’, a mirror image of her own, in more warm tones. This is another one I could (and have) write essays about. There is so much packed into this movie, from the themes on toxic masculinity and entitlement, to the conversation on queerness and race and disability, and how all the various relationships are portrayed. Like. there is so much to pick apart in this movie.

Aside from that, ofc Hell Boy deserves an honorable mention because i grew up on those movies. I’m pretty sure the Golden Army especially is responsible for who I am today, given all the lore on the fae in that universe. Wow, that explains so much about me... Also one of my first WoW characters was an elf named Nuala xD I still have her, too, and it’s been like 12 years lol

Near-Future Sci-Fi

Sci-fi is one of my favorite genres, I am a huge nerd for theoretical and astrophysics. But my favorite kind of sci-fi is the stuff that still takes place on Earth, rather than epic battles in space. Ex Machina and Annihilation are at the top of that list. Alex Garland is another writer/director that I love. He has the same kind of approach as del Toro, where he puts a lot of fine details into his work. And I love that it’s very cerebral; there are so many layers to Ex Machina. My English 101 prof actually refused to analyze it in class when I suggested it to him, because he didn’t think my class could. Basically handle? Dissecting that movie? Because a lot of it comes across as very surface level, but in some cases when you look deeper, it’s actually suggesting the opposite of what you might think at first glance. (And he was right, my fellow students were awful. I miss that class though, it was one of my favorites T_T Mr. Ryder was an awesome dude and super chill.)

Morgan is another good example. As you can see, I fucking love androids lol. Which brings me to another of my all time favorite movies: Cloud Atlas. I could literally watch this movie endlessly, I love it so much. The acting, the writing, the filming, all of it is top notch. And one thing they did in the movie that didn’t come across in the book, was reusing the same actors through the different eras in the book. That was just so neat, because it really encapsulates how connected these souls are, as we follow the threads of their story throughout time. If you haven’t seen the movie, I can’t recommend it enough.

Another one I always think of alongside Cloud Atlas, even though they aren’t related at all, is Predestination. It’s a great movie that explores the idea of fate and free will in a really clever way, utilizes time travel in a very organized way that I think was neat (think Umbrella Academy. They even use briefcases! As you can see, I love sci-fi bureaucracy, it’s fun. In fact The Bureau is another movie I enjoyed) and the main character is actually, explicitly trans, which was cool. You basically get to see the entire story of their life, and I don’t want to spoil anything, but it’s just. So good. Mindfuckery galore.

Shoot, and I almost forgot! Arrival! That is one of the best movies, and another one I could watch nonstop. It focuses on mathematics and linguistics and I swear to god, I almost altered my entire college course because of this movie. Amy Addams is brilliant, Jeremy Renner is so soft and nerdy, and again, it has an amazing take on time travel. I am very particular about how time is handled in Sci-fi, and this portrayal was one of my favorite. (Most of my physics studies have been dedicated to the theory of time, so like. Strong Opinions.)

Fantasy

Stardust! It wasn’t until Good Omens can out that I realized Neil Gaiman is responsible for most of the stories I loved as a kid lol, and I had no idea he wrote stardust! But that is such a beautiful movie (I have a Stardust AU lol) and it’s definitely one of my comfort movies. Captain Shakespeare is one of the best characters ever, bless Robert de Niro. I would die for him. Fun fact, i had no idea Ipswitch was a real place until like. 2019. I 100% thought it was made up for the movie 😂

Alongside Stardust, I’ve always loved The Golden Compass. It’s fantasy, but also with that old-timey steampunk science feel, which is so fun and surprisingly difficult to find!

Mortal Engines also has the same kind of feel, and it was such an epic movie in every sense of the word. I’m a little sad that after all the work that went into it, it didn’t get a dedicated following or fan base, because I feel there’s so much potential in it. But at the same time, fandom tends to gather around media that has plenty of flaws for us to repair with gold, and there wasn’t much room for that in Mortal Engines.

I’m going to put Jupiter Ascending here even though it technically fits with the sci-fi, because that section is long as fuck and also this movie has such a fantastic feel. Mila Kunis? beautiful. The CGI? beautiful. Eddy Redmayne? One of the best villain portrayals i’ve ever seen. The whole oedipal vibe he had was immaculate, as was their portrayal of reincarnation, and just. The world building. GOD. I get so weak for through world building. Also the fkn intergalactic bureaucracy when they’re basically at the space DMV? One of my all time favorite scenes in movie history.

Horror

I have very little room in my life for horror. As I said, I have strong movie opinions, especially when it comes to horror movies. I don’t like how most of them rely on cheap jump scares and overused gore and gratuitous rape scenes, instead of, y'know, actual good writing.

Which is EXACTLY why I adore It: Chapter 1 & 2. It has none of those things, but still manages to be so terrifying. They are my favorite horror movies, and I’m saying this as someone who has genuine childhood trauma bc of the novel. Like. I couldn’t shower/take baths alone until I was almost 10 T_T When I was 6-7 and saw kids play by storm drains, I would run over screaming about how Pennywise was going to get them. Like, I had issues man. I was terrified to see the first one, and wouldn’t go until I could go with my best friend after she had already seen it, so she could warn me when something scary was about to happen 😂

And, one of my favorite aspects of the movie, and the thing that gave me Mad Respect for Any Muschietti? The way he filmed Bev and her father. They have a character who is literally being molested, but they never once have to show it. And yet their interactions are still so viscerally upsetting to watch. Sexploitation puts me off of most horror, and the fact that Muschietti doesn’t use it here, even when it would be actually somewhat justified? *chef’s kiss*. I love him.

I love horror as a concept, I’m just really picky about it because I expect the writing to be good. I don’t like short cuts. But in a lot of cases, even if I don’t enjoy the movie itself, I love to watch analysis videos on youtube! I love to see the philosophy and symbolism in different horror movies, even if i don’t like to watch the movies themselves. It’s a fun hobby.

Misc.

Then in general, some other stuff I love in no particular order:

The Internship (Bless Dylan, Stuart is such a bitch and I love him)

American Assassin (ofc. The writing itself is eh, but Mitch is my man)

Dylan’s episode of Weird City. (I actually have a lot of feelings about this one. Jordan Peele is another amazing writer/director, I really need to catch up on his works.)

Dorian Gray (*chef’s kiss*)

Rogue One (Makes me cry every time)

WARCRAFT (Obviously this is a fav. It made me so happy, words cannot express.)

Coraline and most other stop motion animation. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for that.

Literally anything associated with Tim Burton. Fun fact, when I was 12 and in middle school, I planned to decorate my future house inspired by tim burton. Like, i had Plans.

Most adaptations of Alice in Wonderland!

So! this got long as fuck! But you said you like that kind of thing lol 😂 I had kinda Eh sleep since I was up so late lmao, and I kept waking up (as usual, rip). And I’m so mad I go up for nothing! The dude I was supposed to show my listing to never showed, and is refusing to answer my calls >_> It’s been 2 hours now, and I still haven’t heard from him. But whatever, I already have a full price cash offer on the house so who cares. And that means I can play WoW all day, now!

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darkgunslinger · 4 years

Text

Adamantine Shield short (from Saving Zim)

Just a little taste @luckyrabbit1927 of what I promised - taken from a section of deleted chapter way waaaay back - of more Zim/Prof.M scenes. Why am I always so shy to post these? XD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He held his hands out. He wasn’t sure what else to do.

This wasn’t exactly in his repertoire of experiences.

Membrane had only turned away to grab some printed schematics and brood over them a moment, and there hadn’t been a single sound to draw his attention.

Perhaps Zim had seen an opportunity, or imagined one, and before he’d realized how erroneous it was, he’d crashed to the floor – his departure from the bed a regretful fall – and the thin line of IV tubing had crisscrossed over one arm and around his foot. The telemetry leads, having been stretched unceremoniously, pinged off one by one, causing the ECG to protest with alarms.

Zim struggled, tightening the tubing, and furthering his panic. Membrane, seeing the situation develop, paused for just a millisecond before approaching, and when he did, the creature’s panic intensified. In just one moment Zim had become a wild, terrified animal.

“Everything’s all right. You’ve got yourself tangled up.” But that one extra step seemed to trigger an even stronger reaction.

Zim rolled onto his side, unable to steer himself vertically, the twisted tubes snagging against his arm and ankle. “Stay! Stay a-away!”

The professor watched the Irken’s tiring struggles. He acted as though he was in a snare.

What signals remained from the Irken’s vitals escalated into the dangerous zone. Warnings on the professor’s wristplate flared in response.

He didn’t understand why Zim was so terrified.

“I need to free you little one, if you just let me approach.” He took another step and stopped. Zim’s claws blindly jerked around to slash at the tubing. Goaded by the fear the tubes inspired, his aim was appalling. Long scratches of deeper green began to appear from slit skin. Unable to breathe above the barbs of panic, Zim tried to prop his right arm beneath him, but his hand slid, shiny with blood, and he went back down again.

The professor could not endure it. He closed the gap between them and was not dissuaded when Zim spent all of his breath to release a bone-chilling scream.

“There there now, I’m freeing you. It’s all right, hush, hush.” Quickly he loosened the tubing around his shivery leg and arm in the hopes that this would dissolve the Irken’s undue terror. His vitals were in the red, his blood pressure falling fast despite the aggressive speed of his heart rate.

He held his littleness to his chest, feeling every shake and shudder bully the frailness that remained. “Let’s do our breathing exercises, hmm? I think now is a good time as any. You remember what to do? Breathe in, deeply now, and feel how my chest moves. Hold it in a moment, and then let it out.”

He exaggerated his chest movements so that Zim would feel them in turn. His tiny body was ice cold, skin clammy with sick-sweat. Though his eyelids were open partway, the pink pupils were extremely dilated. Barely visible nostrils flared somewhat, but it seemed unlikely he’d even ‘switch on’ enough to remember to breathe.

“Everything’s okay.” The professor said, keeping the cadence of his voice soft and steady.

Zim’s claws clutched insensibly on his arm as if it were a ledge he meant to cling to. His eyes slowly began to focus, the deep magenta almost warming up. As much as the professor saw him coming back to himself, he did not rush or hurry him.

When he seemed better able to comprehend the situation, he looked about him, blinking. He watched the little creature’s antenna unfurl until it gradually straightened. For much of his panic, the one antenna had dangled from his head like a velvet shoelace.

Those large eyes, shimmery with undisclosed emotions, blinked again, and his pink pupils coasted around as if he was looking for a target: something that had triggered the antagonism. The only ghoul was the fear, shelved deeply inside. It was the same adulterated fear most animals showed when faced with something beyond their control and comparative safety.

The professor had once tried to treat a deer he’d encountered on the road late one June summer’s day when Dib had been attending school. It had clearly been hit by a car or truck, and had been left for dead. Its hind quarters had taken the main brunt of the collision, and its back legs were broken. Prof. Membrane coaxed it into the backseat of his car where it bleated and struggled. He wasn’t sure why he’d chosen to take responsibility for it. He supposed it was simply because he couldn’t just drive off and leave it there. He’d always taken the mantle of the world’s problems as his own, knowing he’d been gifted with foresight and intellect. What was the point of the gift if he didn’t apply it?

But alas, the deer did not survive. Like Zim’s wild nature, fear itself seemed to devour its mind along with its vestiges of life, and before he’d even managed to haul it onto a table with the help of his two co-workers, it had died, not of its injuries, but of terror.

It was why he had curtly let Zim go without argument after the ‘baloney’ incident. Quite recovered and eager to move on, Zim had hurried away without much afterthought or conversation, as if lingering any longer might trigger some trap or plot beset by the wiles of man. He had wanted Zim to choose his next step, but sadly, he had intervened when that next step was never chosen.

At least, unlike the deer, Zim could understand human language. He would watch the professor’s expressions, as if trying to guess the deeper intentions beneath the words.

One day he hoped Zim would come to trust him.

“It’s okay now. Nothing’s here to harm you.”

Claws ran frantically along the brittle bones of his legs and arms, as if he half believed the tubing to still be there. A caged beast, used to being bound, may have had similar reactions.

His troubled eyes tirelessly checking and rechecking everything, Zim assertively pushed himself from the man’s gentle hold and stood precariously on stick-like legs, his left leg failing to bend as if the joints had locked up.

“You need a break from this room, don’t you?” He knelt close and took his hand before the Irken had a chance to get dizzy and topple over. Without any telemetry leads, his vitals were now closed to him. He had to now rely on Zim’s body language alone. “You are not trapped here, little one.” He wanted to affirm, in case that was what was on the Irken’s mind, and why wouldn’t it be? He was largely under their control; it had to be this way in order to keep him on the road to recovery. Even so, being mostly confined to one room allowed one’s imagination to fill in the blanks.

Membrane wondered if all members of Zim’s race were this highly strung, and prone to stress.

The Irken’s worried eyes swept upwards to look at him, again trying to determine the lies or the truths.

He had not given the former soldier his prognosis yet. He’d been holding back on it, fearful that Zim may take it very hard, or shelve it, like he did with things he’d rather ignore. Dib himself was still trying come to terms with it. Once he was onboard, the professor would inform the patient as gently as he possibly could. But not telling him was making Zim wary. He knew his continual existence here, in one corner of the lab, weak and disseminated, spread wide his suspicions. It was very likely that Zim already knew. But admitting it was something else entirely and therein lay the problem.

The Irken’s continued quiet was abnormal in every sense. When he’d sat on a chair years before, recovering from his sausage deformation, he had posed every question, yelled every suspicion, and demanded and shook until he was able to work his brain and limbs enough to flee. Even then, he’d been much more vivid and brighter a character. This creature before him was full of fear, lungs lugging heavily through his chest wall, greyer skin slathered in sweat, eyes rimmed and wide, limbs and hands shaking constantly.

“Recuperation is vital. But! I can take you wherever you’d like to go. I’m here to look after you. It’s my sworn oath.” He looked for signs of recognition, of understanding.

The Irken took a loud swallow, his eyes dull with drugs and exhaustion. He stood there, head bowed, looking brittle and ancient. Every night spent here seemed to enlarge those wrinkles under his eyes. His skin wasn’t as grey as it had been since his circulation had improved, but the professor couldn’t seem able to get the skin as green as it used to be. What vital ingredient was missing? What did the poorly thing lack?

Maybe it wasn’t medicine at all.

Maybe it was just care and warmth that the little bug needed.

“Let me show you my favourite room.” He said, squeezing gently on Zim’s arm. “No tubes. No wires. How about it?” The Elite’s eyes, hazy and unfocused, as if he was unfastening himself from the world a little at a time, started to shimmer, and the tension inside softened beneath his touch. “Let’s lift you up.”

He felt those bird bones as he picked him up, and then he sat him on the crook of his arm.

The invention room was tidy and spacious, with tables assembled down one side. A great ponderous machine stood at the back on a round podium beside several test dummies. The machine was oval in shape, with gadgets bristling down its sides like hedgehog spines. “I call it the Adamantine Shield.” He said proudly when he watched Zim turn his head towards it. He was clued up on technology and the intelligence behind it. He would have made a very good co-worker. “It’s just the prototype at the moment. It’s designed to withstand blasts from an outside energy source, be they physical projectiles or energy pulses. Let me demonstrate!”

Like a kid in a toyshop, he put Zim down on one of the chairs and approached the monolithic object. He tapped on a button, and it deposited a capsule. The capsule opened, revealing a pulsing blue strap. He extended it in his hands, revealing a thin metallic strip. This strip he placed along a wooden dummy’s shoulder. “It adheres to anything. Fabric. Skin. Armour. It automatically configures the body of whoever is wearing it, and once activated, it envelops them in a nigh-indestructible shield.”

Zim cocked his head, one eye slowly narrowing.

“I do apologize! I get my best ideas from you!” The professor was saying, instantly seeing the recognition form in the Irken’s dark reflective eyes and from the slant of his antenna. “Your PAK produces absorbent shielding upon activation! Taking from your life energy in order to maintain it! I have created one that feeds on the energy it absorbs! Making it infinitely better! Here, let me show you just how it works!”

He took a device from a drawer, one of those surgical lasers that only worked for short distances. He walked close to the dummy wearing the metallic strip, and hit the button on the surgical laser. At once a shield of rushing azure appeared, and the weak laser beam fizzled as if the bubble shield’s surface was corrosive. The dummy remained protected.

“Hey. Th-that’s pretty cool.” Zim croaked, antenna docking forwards. “Have you tried sh-shooting some m-missiles at it?”

“Everything! Nothing gets through. But it’s top secret. I do not want the government using this technology. They’d exploit it for nefarious purposes.”

“What do you need it f-for?” Zim’s voice was a thin weedy rasp.

“I want it for my son in case he takes space exploration seriously. It’s completely harmless, only serving to protect the user. I do not endorse weapons, or anything that will encourage violence. My gift is to help others: the world, if necessary, even when humanity is set to destroy it.”

“W-Why?” He rasped.

“Because Earth is my home, as it is yours, little one. You may try to disagree with me, but you know it to be true. I hope that you’ll see the good here, and in every living thing. For a heart is a heavy burden.”

#sorry for the delay I feel like this is just more useless scrap #Saving Zim extras again lol #From the deepest darkest barrels of my insane pitiful writing

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thinktosee · 3 years

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INSTITUTIONAL HATE CRIME – A NARROW DEFINITION OF GENDER AND MORALITY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

Image courtesy Amnestyusa.org

“When he was 16 years old, he came to my room and said he wanted to talk to me. And I said, “Yeah, sure go ahead.”

“Well, I thought you should know that I’m gay,” he told me simply.

I looked at him and all I could think of was, How am I to protect him from discrimination and bullying? Yet all I could manage to say to him at this critical time was, “Well, that’s great. I’m glad you told me. We are your family and we support you.” I reached out and hugged my son.”(1)

- from David’s biography, “Walking in my Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

“It is possible that the law, which is clearsighted in one sense, and blind in another, might in some cases, be too severe.” (2)

- French philosopher, Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Why would a parent, upon discovering that their child is gay, feel a sense of foreboding where it concerned the child’s safety and security? And what and who caused this feeling of fear or foreboding in me?

The ancient law (1871, amended 1938) against homosexuality in Singapore and in many parts of the former British Empire, remains in force to this day. (3) Generations of citizens were and continue to be narrowly socialized to the belief that homosexuality is immoral and that homosexual or same-sex love and marriage deviate from the normative. This law levies an enormous burden onto the LGBTQ community in so far as it enables or activates societal discrimination where none existed before, foments hatred and disdain among the citizenry for same-sex relationships, and upends justice, equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ community.

That was the basis for my fear when David shared with me that he was gay. How does one begin to address an issue which is institutional and systemic in its very foundation? The law is the problem, failing miserably to serve justice, as Montesquieu averred. This is the challenge which the LGBTQ communities throughout the world have been grappling with for centuries. It is a struggle paid in sacrificial blood, many times over. And it will go on, until a time when we acknowledge that diversity and inclusivity are mutually reinforcing. Love does not get filtered at the border because the state or religious institution says it must. It is they who have placed a limit on their love, apparently.

Global Historical Overview of homosexuality

The history of the LGBTQ communities and cultures on our planet is as colourfully and richly elongated and layered as any within the realm of human civilization. Ancient cultures such as “Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Roman accommodate homosexuality and crossdressing among….its citizens since the earliest recorded times.” (4) Similarly, in “ancient China….same-sex sexual behaviors were well-received and tolerated. Positive descriptions of homosexual behavior, or Nan-Feng as it was called, in historical records and in Chinese literature can be dated back to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).” (5) Pre-European colonial African societies, including in what are present-day Nigeria and Uganda, were relatively inclusive in their approach to same-sex or gender relationships.(6) In the First Nations or pre-settler/colonial American societies, two spirits and multiple genders were universally embraced and accepted. (7)

These societies exhibited a keen sense of spirituality and diversity, of moderation and acceptance of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, which we in this enlightened age may find quite surprising. We should not however. Researchers have, to some degree, attached the adverse change in society’s approach to homosexuality to the onset of European colonialism (16th to 20th centuries) :

“In the age of European exploration and empire-building, Native American, North African and Pacific Islander cultures accepting of “Two-Spirit” people or same-sex love shocked European invaders who objected to any deviation from a limited understanding of “masculine” and “feminine” roles.” (8)

- Prof. Bonny J. Morris

“Transgender histories in the United States, like the broader national histories of which they form a part, originate in colonial contact zones where members of the arriving culture encountered kinds of people it struggled to comprehend.” (9)

- Prof. Susan Stryker

Accompanying these colonial invasions, were European administrative, linguistic, religious, educational, philosophical and juridical systems, beliefs and traditions. This alien cultural web, in most part codified, either through a caste or racially-affected administrative system or via prayer book and canons, or both, had its intended effect of diminishing or worse, eviscerating the native or indigenous culture, including their ancient belief system. Displacement and assimilation of the natives to the new paradigm were achieved through these extreme mechanisms.

To understand the criminalization and persecution of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, it is necessary to appreciate the intent of colonialism – a private cum state economic model (the East India Companies, Hudson Bay Company, etc.) requiring the creation of a unified or standardized, and exclusively hierarchical system of conduct and control, onto a traditional (organized) and diverse society or culture. This is to assure the latter’s coherence to the colonial enterprise through a coercive (violent), and extensive system of natural resource allocation and exploitation. Genocide and slavery were among its most extreme and tragic manifestations. Modern colonialism, depicted by European conquests across the planet, is arguably the first attempt in recent memory, to creating a unitary world – standardization of laws and governing institutions to address the complex administrative challenges inherent in diverse cultures and norms within the European empire. Diversity of cultures, thought and behaviours were among the first victims. The histories of the First Nations’ societies in the Americas and Australia serve as prime and tragic examples. (10), (11) It should also be stressed that European colonialism, in the context of this essay, includes 20th century Soviet and China-style communism, where an alien and totalitarian ideology was coercively employed across the Eastern European and Central and East Asian landmass, to suppress the local or indigenous peoples, their cultures and beliefs, in furtherance of a unitary political, economic and social order. Not surprisingly, the Soviet Union were also at the forefront of research into medical and psychotherapeutic or “corrective” procedures for homosexuality.(12)

The history and dignity of the LGBTQ peoples are inextricably linked to the plight of the indigenous communities, as they struggled from the 16th to 20th centuries against European-sourced colonialism. While almost every former European colony is considered an independent state today, the laws against same-sex relations and marriage remain on the statutes in many of these domains. Societal attitudes have no doubt evolved over the years, and consistent with the growing awareness of LGBTQ culture and social justice movements. A factor which appears to be holding the state back is the feeling that society is not ready to accept equal rights for the LGBTQ community. (13) That being the case, what are we doing to prepare society for a future which recognizes and confers equal rights to the LGBTQ community, as we would any other citizen or community? Or as this Time Magazine article headlined :

“Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” (14)

In Singapore’s context, what are we, as a society doing to :

- learn more about LGBTQ rights, discrimination and culture?

- what are the public education system and mass media doing about this?

- why are foreign-owned businesses prevented from sponsoring LGBTQ festivals and gatherings? How does this play out in terms of encouraging or dissuading local businesses to lend their support?

- learn of the discrimination against LGBTQ people in terms of equal access to public housing, employment, marriage and mental health care?

These are just a few questions which society should address constructively.

Years from now, when equal rights for the LGBTQ community have come to pass in most parts of the world, historians will look back and perhaps conclude that the community was subjected to a prolonged and systematic campaign of hate, which was originated and sustained by the state, and in some domains, performed in concert with religious figures/institutions.

“David was gay. He cared deeply about the rights of LGBTQ people everywhere. He attended the annual Pink Dot event since 2013. He felt discrimination in any form, especially through the law, was nothing short of Bullying. This included Singapore’s Penal Code Section 377A, criminalizing all gay persons…..David felt strongly that overcoming discrimination requires an unwavering commitment to free speech. He would never compromise….” (15)

- “Walking In My Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

Sources/References

1. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” p68. Thinktosee Press, 2020

2. Montesquieu. “The Spirit of Laws.” Book IX, Chap 6. Originally published in 1748.

3. Radics, George Baylon. “Section 377a in Singapore and the (De)Criminalization of Homosexuality.” p3. National University of Singapore. 2015

4. Wilhelm, Amara Das. “Tritiya-Prakriti : The People of the Third Sex: Understanding Homosexuality, Transgender Identity and Intersex Conditions Through Hinduism.” p68. Xlibris Corporation, 2010.

5. Zhang, Yuxin. “China’s misunderstood history of Gay tolerance.” The Diplomat. June 22, 2015

6. Alimi, Bisi. “If you say being gay is not African, you don’t know your history.” The Guardian. Sep 9, 2015

7. Davis-Young, Katherine. “For Many Native Americans, embracing LGBT members is a return to the past.” The Washington Post. Mar 30, 2019

8. Morris, Bonny J. “History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements.” American Psychological Association

History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements (apa.org)

9. Stryker, Susan. “Transgender History in the United States and the Places that Matter.” A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer History. National Park Service, Dept of the Interior. 2016

10. Holocaust Museum Houston, “Genocide of Indigenous Peoples.”

HMH | Genocide of Indigenous Peoples

11. The Guardian, “The killing times : the massacres of Aboriginal People Australia must confront.” Mar 3, 2019

12. Alexander, Rustam. ”Homosexuality in USSR (1956-1982).” p173. University of Melbourne. 2018

13. Velasquez, Tony. “Keeping it straight. PM says Singapore not ready for gay marriage.” ABS-CBN News, June 27, 2015.

14. Wong, Brian. “Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” Time Magazine, Dec 17, 2020.

15. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” P130. Thinktosee Press, 2020

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