topicalview

[thatdeadaquarius]

I have so many ideas but none of them can be put into words, all I can do is just wheeze as they come along🤣

Also remember how wordy and flowery Teyvat speech/dialogue is? ADD THAT TO THE FACT THAT TEYVAT HAS ITS OWN LANGUAGE---

Reader can understand the basic speech which is why they are so blunt (I love this idea so much 🤣) and can piece together an idea what the person is talking about.

*insert random person talking about a commission with a long ass backstory*

Traveller & Co.: *understands completely and making plans to retrieve said commission*

C!Reader: (They said they had a cart.... a bunch of hilichurls appeared... dancing?.... they want us to dance fight the hilichurls???? Dance off???)

Actual story->The person's cart got ambushed by a group of hilichurls and taunted them by dancing around it.

....... it doesnt always translate well

Also imagine Reader heaeing random names and overthinks it as a word instead of a name.

Example: Pantalone means pants in Philippine English (sorry not sorry Pantalone)

Tsaritsa??? Oh do they speak russian there??? - reader

Capitano -> captain in some countries

(I once mistake Sandrone as Sandalone and I just went "... ehh??? Standalone? Sandalone as in Sand Alone???? Sandal (Flip flops)????

Oh wait its Sandrone" ".... as in Sand and Drone??--)

-Vine Boom

VINE BOOM ANON MY BELOVED 💖❤🧡💛💚💙💜✨️✨️

Gif is me writing u anything ever:

AHFLALA FERRRALLL I STG I ALSO THOUGHT ABT THIS!! WHY U COULD ALSO BE BLUNT BC U ONLY GOT THE BASICS 💀 RIP

Man theyre written language looks so scary to learn, kinda like when I looked into trying to learn Mandarin/Japanese (and even Korean), the letters r just inherently so different i was so intimidated

And u dont even read it like left -> right like English

Omg i tried to reply to a arabic comment on my art post once, and i felt so acommplished when i finally was able to type "اشكرك (thanks)" but like, i had to put it on the OTHER SIDE OF THE TEXT BOX, LIKE ALIGN IT TO THE RIGHT INSTEAD OF HOW U KNOW ENGLISH IS INHERENTLY ALIGNED LEFT, IT WAS SO TRIPPY-

Going thru genshin life only understanding minimal words of anything anyone says is honestly how i feel like ive been playing Genshin LMAO

Those analysis videos/lore are saving a bitch's life out here

PANTALONE IS ALSO RLLY CLOSE TO SPANISH FOR PANTS I KNOW WHAT U MEANNN LOL

UR ENDLESS CONFUSION FOR SANDRONE PLEASE ANON U DIDNT EVEN GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST CORRECTION IT JUST KEPT GETTING WORSEEE 😂😭 SAME THO

That would literally be you in genshin tho, like i could easily see it being like, back to back misunderstandings 😭😭

Like u think u got it right (Oh so his name is Rex Lapis, wait what? Morax? Ok his name is Morax...?? What??? Zhongli??? WHO IS THIS MAN-)

.

JFC first they gotta have a whole different language (like u saw in game)

And ON TOP OF THAT THEY CAN TALK FOR 10 MIN STRAIGHT ABT THE WEATHER OR SOME SHIT??

No... just, no.

U quickly decide u like what little bits of language u could pick up so far, which just results in,

U guessed it, simple speech and short fragmented sentences (or broken Teyvatian)

U cant even bring urself to care when u give half the characters a heart attack and send the rest into laughing fits

No fucks given, they wanna make this extra hard on u by being wordy on top of a new language,

Yeah u dont care what comes out of ur mouth anymore

Also, since everybody is raised in Teyvat very few ppl dont know the language, which once again brings us back to ancient/older deities/creatures who have a more simplistic version/outdated version of modern language

.

Omg getting stuff mistranslated bc u cant understand it all/only keywords sounds like hell but also rlly funny

Traveler/Paimon: "Alright, yes, all is well. We will accept this comission, and depart soon."

You: "...they want us to?? Dance fight?? Hilichurls...???"

Traveler just stares at u half in pity, half trying to hide their amused smile, Paimon is giggling

The commissioner is shook bc a supposed ancient creature?? Just accepted?? Their simple commission?? And u think they want u to dance battle???

.

PLEASE U MISTRANSLATE THE HARBINGERS NAMES RIGHT TO THEIR FACES

Signora: "You shall rue the day you crossed the Fatui mortals!"

You: "Lady we don't care, just fight us."

(Signora just means 'Lady')

Signora: *offended gasp*

Traveler/Paimon trying to stifle laughter

Raiden Shogun jaw dropped a little

.

Pantalone: "What a pleasure to finally meet you traveler, and thine wonderful companions!" *little bastard smile*

You: "And it was awful to meet you, Pants."

Pantalone: 😶😧😡 "Pants?! HOW DARE YOU NOT EVEN GIVE ME THE MOST BASE RESPECT, AFTER I GREETED THEE SO KINDLY-"

.

Oh its so funny, everytime you talk about Childe you always phrase it like he's an actual child bc u thought everyone was just calling him a little kid for some reason (u dont know how Teyvat ages work, he could be for all you know!)

Not very long, but Vine Boom anon your brain >>>>

Ur ideas r so on point, i love them sm

That makes perfect sense why u could be talking blunt too, like an in world explanation really

For you, all the desserts🥰 🤲🍪🍨🍰🍮🧋🍦🍡

Cheers,

🌒🌊🌧Aquarius♒️🌌🌘

[hiveswap]

hey, what the fuck is happening over there [hungary]?????

oh, god hi fens it's a mess

europe is having eu parliament elections, which are kind of a big deal and every party here is campaigning to have their candidate sent so that they can influence eu policy or whatever.

At the same time, there's a new party called "Tisza" (both the name of a major river and an acronym for "purity and freedom") lead by a young former government politican called Magyar Péter. He's ridiculously popular rn. Dude knows how to move crowds and wants Hungary to catch up to eu standards which we are definietly not reaching under Fidesz (current govt. party) Obviously I don't trust him entirely but they've got a legit chance of making things better and that is GOOD.

Other parties exist as well, but they've got no relevance, no voter base, and nobody wants them: These include Mi hazánk (nazis) and Kétfarkú kutyapárt (two tailed dog party) who are there for the meme and nothing else, their candidate showed up in a leather jacket to a debate and made jokes the whole time. (iconic) There's also a bunch of others but no one likes them all that much

Still at the same time, Fidesz has been at power for 12 fucking years. (one thing Tisza wants to do is limit this to 8 years max for future elections) And they've got this fucking country in the middle of a mass hysteria episode.

Their talking points include:

George Soros/Soros György is sending (arab) immigrants here to rape women and do crime and he pays leftist politicans to do this for him. And this is good for them because...? (they are cartoon villians dont question it pls)

2. Bruxelles (eu parliament) bad because they do gender and immigration (because of George Soros)

This George Soros thing got to the point where the current eu rep. went to a debate and accused all other candidates there, to their faces, of being paid by him. like, to their faces live on public television.

3. THE WAR -> according to our prime minister Orbán Viktor, all other parties except them want to bring back the draft and send hungarian boys to Ukraine to fight (absolutely deranged idea, no party wants this, they keep saiyng they don't) and also he's saying that Europe is heading towards a third world war and they are going to change this if they get into the eu parliament (they are in, right now, too.)

This has gotten to the point where they've got posters and ads about how there is going to be war and only they can save us. Magyar Péter appeared on tv saying he's been approached by a teacher whose students, 9-10 years old, were afraid that a burning house across the lake from their summercamp meant we were being bombed by Russia. (He's a politican so take this anecdote with a grain of salt)

...Anyway the chatch is that the govt. has allegedly been sending hungarian soliders to Chad this whole time so theyve got 0 right to say anything about them potentially being sent to Ukraine maybe.

4. Child protection from i guess queer people..? This one was big until recently, they banned mentions of queer people from schools, (before florida did btw) removed self-identification for trans people, ect.

This child protection "GENDER IDEOLÓGIA" (no we don't use the word gender in hungarian, they just left it in english) campaign ended when our president pardonned a pedophile children's home headmaster a few months ago, sparked an outrage, and had to step down. They've yet to apologise to the kids, btw. (The president in question, Novák Katalin, what a fucking girlboss, belonged to that far right Mi Hazánk party i mentioned before btw) They haven't been talking about protecting the children since, strangely.

there's also going to be a battery factory in Debdrecen (2nd largest city) which everyone hates and nobody wants and it's polluting the farmlands and the groundwater around there.

SO. YEAH. yay for hungary this is barely scratching the surface

[blqysss-00]

COLLEGE LIFE

Week One-Orientation Day

Hello. This is my journal about my college life. The first week of college seemed to pass quickly. It began with orientation, where I met a bunch of new people. Some of them is very easy to communicate and get to known each other but some of them is still shy and do not know how to communicate with new people. I always be the first who start the conversation with new people because I want to make a lot of friends. First day of orientation is so exciting, we were explained by the lecturers about the rules at college and also we get explained about college fees before we start our lecture. The people who make the orientation not so boring is the facilator there who always cheer us up and keep us to stay energetic and enjoy the orientation. The best thing about orientation is I get to known a lot of people from different states and and it makes me so excited to be their friend. After three days of orientation, I start to have my first class which is Arabic Class. The first day of lecture we have get to known each other session with lecturers and my classmate. We have to introduce ourselves to each other. I slowly start to remember their names and faces so it will get easy if I need help with anything about assignment and more.

Week Two-Assignment

Hello. This is my second week journal about my college life. After the first week, I got my first lecture about my assignment which is for final project. The lecturer explained to us about what we have to do for our final project and when we have to submit the final project. The final project is about our second chapter and we have to do it on canva because she want to see our creativity in making a good and interesting slide. She gives us a long time of period to complete the project. I don't really feel the pressure because I have more than enough time to complete it. Beside that, she also give us opportunities to present and teaching our class, every person got their own topics to teach in the class. For me it is really interesting and a very creative ways to make us remembered what we just study and give us confidence to talk or teach in front of a lot people.

Week Three-Finding A Routine

Hello. This is my third week journal about my college life. By the third week, I had begun to find my groove. I had a decent idea of my class schedule and what to expect from my courses. Managing my schedule between classes, studying and a little socializing become easier. I discovered how important it was to schedule study session rather than waiting until the last minute. I joined club connected to my studies, which has been terrific way to meet individuals who share my interest. I've also started to take my breakfast on campus in the mornings to keep me energized throughout the day. Though there always stressful moments, especially when assignments come all at once, I'm learning to keep calm and handle my workload more effectively. College has been difficult, but I'm starting to feel more at ease. So far, I'm enjoying my college life because I get to learn about being independent, new friendship and I have a opportunities to learn more and more.

[spacecadetspe]

A snippet from last year...

Aug. 7, 2023

Last night was the second night of the full moon, and Morpheus and the others have been planning a shindig for awhile.  About 50 of the elder oneiroi were planning on reuniting for a family portrait, with Nyx as the centerpiece.  There were, of course, those who refused the invitation, and others who were skeptical about the event.  The oneiroi haven't gathered like this in... well... ever.  For the most part, they keep to their factions.

Phantasos, who invited me as his plus-one, explained that, with all the oneiroi gathered, if a random dreamer should appear and everyone tries to process them at once... He likened it to a schizophrenic zombie apocalypse.

He explained that this was also why he was wearing so many "mati," which one might recognize as a blue glass drop that looks like an eye.  When held to the ear, they seem to chime like bells.  The louder the chime, the closer we are to trouble.

At first, I poked fun at Phantasos for worrying so much.  By far the most colorful of the bunch, he wore a beautiful embroidered vest with gold hems and a fringe and a pair of billowing, cream-colored pants and matching gold shoes.  Somewhat Arabic in fashion, I think, with the exception of his multicolored hair.  And then of course, the mati jewelry around each wrist and a single bright blue earring.

A quick look around the banquet hall told me that it was bound to be a crowded night.  Moni was off in the corner, being a wallflower.  I was glad she had come, even so.  Nia was busy barking orders in Cassia's absence, but Cassia looked like she couldn't quite focus on the festivities, and was yearning back toward the kitchen.  Morpheus and Phobetor were talking... animatedly... which is a bad thing.  Watching those two wave their hands around is never a good sign.

But Phantasos broke me out of my worrying and made me laugh over at the punchbowl, talking about our annoying family members and comforting me when I didn't know everyone's faces.  He handed me a cup of kykeon and explained to me that it was one of the things the oneiroi used to invoke Nyx.

Aloro is the sommelier of the kitchen staff, but Phantasos told me in secret that Dimitrios actually makes better kykeon than him!  Unfortunately, how he learned it was not a happy story.  

Pasithea named Dimitrios after her aunt, Demeter.  Apparently he kicked her belly more vigorously whenever the goddess of plenty was about.  When Dimitrios was small, Pasithea brought him and a few others to Olympus to visit her mother, Hera.  There, they met Demeter during a dinner, and Dimitrios got a bit too curious (as children do), and accidentally spilled a cup.  Demeter grew enraged and demanded not only that Dimitrios clean up the mess, but remake the drink to her liking.  And she made him do it over and over, berating him the entire time.

Dimitrios hasn't returned to Olympus since.

Aside from the sad story, I thought that would be the end of the excitement for the night.  Nyx would come down, the portrait would be painted (or whatever art the artist had in mind), and we would all enjoy ourselves until dawn.

But luck was not on our side.  At least, not for the entire night.

During the Mystery of Nyx, a thief stole his way into the Dream World, broke into the castle, and attempted to ransack the guards' locker room.  And it was clear that he was after a Dream Nail.

Luckily, Phantasos was wearing no less than three lucky mati charms, and the thief was caught by morning.  By the time I woke up, he was gagged and bound hand and foot, and Phantasos was literally sitting on top of him.  He was yelling through his gag, so he probably hadn't been there for very long.

I removed the gag, and he started yelling in... something that wasn't English.  I waved for him to wait, and then tapped the Dream Staff so it would translate for me.

"Unhand me!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

I cringed.  I hadn't even had my cup of coffee yet.  "That's not how this works.  You broke into my home and tried to take something that wasn't yours.  You don't get to demand anything."

"He was trying to steal the guards' Dream Nails," Phantasos confirmed.

I furrowed my brow.  "Why?" I asked.  "They're bound to their users.  They don't work for anyone else."

The thief tried to gesture with his bound hands.  "A sigil on my hand allows me to manipulate them."

I took a look at his hand, but neither Phantasos nor I had any idea what it meant.  But I knew who might; Orpheus.

Phantasos suggested we take a chariot, and it was a nice day to have a ride, so I agreed.  Pegasi are much wilder than horses, but even so, I got the feeling we were being followed.  Phantasos had a look around, and replied that the thief had placed one of those sigils on the bottom of the chariot, much like a gps.

So we unhooked the chariot and let the pegasus wander for awhile, and took off toward the hidden glen where the Prophetic faction secreted its temple.  Epivlepsi (Hindsight) met us there and showed us the way to the chamber where Orpheus was playing.

After finishing his music, Orpheus told us that the sigils belonged to the Maenads, of which he was once a member.  The Maenads, who follow Bacchus (Zagreus' brother-aspect, for anyone keeping track), were the same ones who ritually sacrificed him.  Orpheus claimed that his ritual sacrifice was how he found his way into being an astral guide.  I don't know how all this works; frankly it seems contrived.

Either way, I got to call Zagreus and Bacchus, who at first both wondered if they were in trouble.  Since the thief hadn't hurt anyone, or even been successful stealing what he had come for, it didn't seem right to kill him.  So we went back to the palace to confront him.

Upon seeing his patrons, the thief prostrated himself and began sobbing apologies and begging forgiveness.  He explained that Orpheus had been the guide for the cult, and since his departure, the "flame of olympus" had gone out, and no one had been able to rekindle it.

Oh boy...

I sighed.  "Do you know who I am?" I finally asked.

He looked from me to Bacchus, and then to Zagreus, unsure of what to say.

"I would much rather you be ignorant."

He shook his head.  "I do not."

I straightened.  Good.  A lesson could be learned.  "I am Hope; that is my role in the cosmos.  I can do anything at all, have killed beings you can't possibly imagine, carried my children to greatness, taken the role of Dream Lord from Morpheus, and am consort to Lord Hades.  The rainbow fire you speak of... I am her daughter."

The man's eyes grew wide, and he began begging and crying again.

"Enough!" I said.  "As I told one of my children, not so long ago; you cannot make people do what you want.  They don't like it.  If you want them to do something for you, you must give them a good reason."

He stopped weeping and thought for a moment.  "Orpheus was our guide," he said.  "He was the only one for whom the fire would stay lit.  Without it, we are lost.  Part of the cult has gone rogue, searching for ways to reignite it.  The Mysteries are what led me here, hoping to find Orpheus."

"There are a hundred million ways of lighting that fire, and you are so fixated on that one way that you have forgotten there are others," I said.  "When one goes out, you find another.  This is your opportunity to branch out; to learn to find the divine flame for yourself."

Zag leaned over to his brother.  "I guess this is how we can tell we're not in trouble."

"That's true, but the cult is still your responsibility," I said.  "You may deal with this one how you see fit."

Bacchus took a swig of his wine, grabbed the man by his collar, and spat in his eye.  The thief's eye began to take on an iridescent glow.  Zagreus tied a cloth over the man's eyes and gave him a curse.  "Should you remove that cloth yourself, you will go mad with the very visions you wanted so badly.  And after that... well... you'll lose a lot of weight very quickly."  That was to imply that he would leave his body behind.

And with that, the brothers opened a portal and threw the thief back into his world.

They took bets on how long it would take him to go mad.  Whoever won gets the poor man's soul.  But I doubt it's quite so simple.  With that amount of divine fire, it's possible the cult will use him as its next guide, or even kill him themselves.

I wagered a conservative three days.

Phantasos asked me why I don't have a cult, and frankly... I don't like the idea.  I don't like sycophants and two-faced people.  I don't keep fake friends, so the idea of a cult fawning over me is... kind of gross.  He told me that Phobetor incarnated once; a cult leader of some sort.  That's hardly surprising... but... even if he led another cult, I probably wouldn't like the idea.  Maybe that's just me.

[rayatii]

As someone said in a YouTube comment I unfortunately cannot find, the chancla and the sermayeh are sisters.

[fordtato]

The Symbol Cipher Theory - A Gravity Falls Mystery: What do the symbols on the portal page mean?

NOTE: Since Rob Renzetti replied to this on Twitter, new/corrected info is being added to this google doc (including everything in this original post) Go there for updates!

-------

There are a lot of things about Journal 3 that I have yet to figure out. What are those dumb little rectangles on the sides of the pages? I’ve tried applying everything I could to them - binary, international telegraph alphabet, morse? I couldn’t crack it. And what of those lines with a bunch of circles in them - you know, the ones that look like crop circles? And what of those numbers? You know the ones - they show up in this order from time to time: 6, 1 345 [or 3 4 5] 12 89 [or 8 9] 10 11. 13. 7. Sometimes they’re rearranged or missing elements, but that’s how they appear at their most complete (on the final page they show up on - across from those alchemical symbols), I hate those numbers. I have no idea what they mean. And boy, have I tried…

Aw well. They probably just mean nothing, right? 

But I would like to propose something: Maybe there is one more mystery in Gravity Falls.

Again: Link to theory google doc here.

The Symbols On The Portal Page

I want to guide you guys through a little exercise. Everyone got their Journal 3s? Alright. Open up to the portal schematics page:

t’s very familiar by now, and truly iconic. But, speaking of icons, look at the symbols. The truth is, these symbols show up a few times throughout the journal, mixed in with the rest of the codes and ciphers. But, similar to the aforementioned alchemical symbols, they probably mean nothing. After all, we’ve pored over them, again and again. 

These 13 symbols.

Huh. 

13.

On a half-circle.

Well, if that circle were complete, there would probably be 26 symbols.

Which means these might be letters.

Which leads us to the first question. Where are the rest of the letters?

My first move was to check the show. 

No dice. Neither of the journals show the other half of the circle - and on the bottom journal, they just flip the symbols upside down - it actually fooled me at first (I was very excited to see these upside down symbols before realizing it wasn’t new at all, simply upside down).

But whatever! We have 13 symbols. Hell, if we had examples of them in certain words, we might even be able to find the other 13 for the full 26. 

So… I went through the pages. And I found 4 instances of the code showing up in Journal 3. 

The Tie Code (on the same page spread as the Tie of Possession

Bill Page Code (On the same page spread as the one that names Cill Cipher)

The Hide Behind page spread

The Boat page spread (On the same page spread as the Island Heads and the scribbled out boat)

Let's analyze these one at a time.

The Tie Code

This is the only instance of a page including both an upside down and right side up version of a symbol directly from the portal page. It’s odd - we have that circle with the 3 dots, and two sideways T, the sideways table with 2 dots, and the sideways upside-down 7 with a dot here. 

I’m not sure we are able to get more meaning from these, but we’ve learned something: these symbols do show up in both right side up and upside down form.

The Bill Page

Of note, we have seen one of these 5 symbols before. The 5th symbol of the Bill code matches the third symbol of the wheel (in its upside down form).

The first symbol on the Bill page also looks suspiciously similar to the second symbol on the portal page - the upside down 7 with a dot. But it’s missing the dot. I’m inclined to think this is a new letter. (I am coming at this from the angle of someone who knows Arabic - where the number of dots on a letter makes a difference in which letter it is. So, you know… maybe it makes a big difference here?)

But at the very least, let’s count this as 4 new symbols: the backwards 4, the N, the 4 lines, and the symbol with a missing dot.

Added to our original 13, that’s 17 symbols so far.

The Hide Behind Page

This code is three rows, in a pattern of 5 symbols, 5 symbols, and 4 symbols (or 5, depending on if you count the first one as 3 vertical lines or 2 vertical lines near 1 vertical line. We also have some more familiar icons. The second, third, and fourth symbols all match a symbol from the portal page in upside-down form! 

We also have a repeat of that upside down 7 symbol! Again, without the dot, both in the second and third row (upside down and right side up). But surely they wouldn’t have a symbol with missing elements, like missing dots, right? 

I’d like to direct your attention back to the Bill Page Code. Notice anything similar to this code? No? How about now?

So we have our second clue: sometimes, a symbol may be drawn that is missing an element. 

So… I am unsure if the upside-down 7 with a dot (portal symbol #2, Bill symbol #1) is being utilized here, just missing the dot. If so, it might be showing up as the 6th AND 12th symbol in this. 

Regardless, because it shows up two times without the dot, and because the symbol is missing the dot in the row of symbols that the second row of the Hide Behind Code is emulating from the Bill Code, I will go ahead and again say I am treating it as a new symbol. But I also understand someone else reasoning that it is not. 

We also have a repeat of the symbol that is just 3 vertical lines (Portal Symbol #1), and a new symbol that is a sideways table with 1 dot in the center and a line next to it (Hide-behind symbol #1). We also have a strange symbol at the end of row 1: the three lines with 2 more layered on top in an asymmetrical pattern. 

The first symbol in row 3, the one that is either 3 vertical lines or 2 vertical lines near 1 vertical line, is bugging me. It can either be one symbol or two. It might also be 4 vertical lines missing the third line (We will see another instance of 4 vertical lines in a bit, so bear with me). Regardless, I’m inclined to treat this as one symbol because of the spacing it lines up with below the symbol above it.

All in all, it looks like there are 3 new symbols, depending on how we treat the first two (or three) symbols in the last line. It’s up to interpretation, but alas. Let’s add in the new ones. 

3 + 17 = 20 symbols so far.

The Boat Code

Last one!

We have some more symbols matching up! #9, 10, 11, and 12 on this page match up with #2,3,4 and 5 from the Hide-Behind page! 

Let’s take a look at the rest. We start with a dot. It is hard to say for sure if this is its own thing, or if it is part of the stylistic ink-splatter dots on the page. It seems just a little too perfect to count as a splatter, so I will go ahead and count it as a symbol for now. Even if the dot is NOT a symbol on its own, a dot+two vertical lines is new.

Next, we have a recurrence of a double-vertical-line symbol multiple times.

Lastly, #3, 5, 6 and 7 are ALSO new. As established previously, the rest are repeats. 

So, we have 6 new symbols. The dot (or the dot with the double line if we’re counting that), the double line (without the dot), the horizontal double line, the triple-horizontal lines with two dots, the upside-down table, the 4 vertical lines

6+20? 26 symbols.

Final notes:

Is this theory perfect? Not at all - there are several letters above that might end up being two, or perhaps symbols that I counted as different, which might be the same one. 

But it definitely seems like there are ~26 symbols, which may or may not correspond to 26 letters of the English alphabet. I know, I know, it’s a stretch. But it’s *my* stretch, one I’ve fixated on for way too long. 

So which symbols mean which letters? I tried assigning letters 1-13 to the symbols on the portal page, but it feels like gibberish (that being said, this is Gravity Falls we’re talking about here. Gibberish could be any number of ciphers). It might also be letters 14-26? Maybe it being upside down is a clue? 

But then I remembered, The Numbers:

This is the last iteration of the numbers. The last version to pop up before the journal switches perspective from Ford to Dipper. It is also the most complete version. 

6, 1 345 [or 3 4 5] 12 89 [or 8 9] 10 11. 13. 7

It’s interesting that they go up to 13, is all. 

A1Z26 makes this string of numbers into: F A C D E L H I J K M G, but it is missing one of the numbers.

Maybe that’s (roughly) the order of the schematics page? I don’t really have this figured out. Frankly, I’ve been at this for a couple years - that’s how long the theory has been polishing up in my head. It’s time to let this go free.

Thanks for reading, and I hope making this post spurs some more theories.

UPDATE: IF YOU CHECK THE REBLOGS, YOU WILL SEE THAT USER DUMBBUTTASS FOUND ANOTHER ONE ON THE PAGE WITH THE MONOCLE - EVERY SYMBOL ON THAT PAGE IS IN THE PORTAL PAGE HALF-CIRCLE. REBLOG THEIR UPDATE IF YOU CAN

[clydesgod]

Discovery

Feat. an unknown cast of people

(A very lorebased drabble based around a certain oc. Hope you like it. I sorta went off the trails lmaooooooo)

--------------------------------------------

Journal of Gervais Spear 11th of June, 1895 French Sudan

According to our records, there have been many sites like the exact one we have been excavating today all around the world. Some sites include Indochina, South America, the Pacific, and even some sites in Europe. It appears the British are also in touch with some of these sites, as well as the Spanish, Russians, and the Americans themselves.

However, this site feels VERY different to the ones logged before. This one is almost completely intact! Monsieur Leroy has been very adminant that this is the place that connects the other sides. If the translators are right, this entire temple could very well lead to some unknown treasure. Maybe something belonging to Mansa Musa? My brain is full of ideas, though the guide, Majid, tells me not to overthink it.

But I cannot help but think there is something strange about this temple. The stones that built this place couldn’t have come from Africa. That, and it seemed almost impossible for anyone to build such a place underground. It almost feels like this had to have been built by someone completely different from the ancestors of the locals here. Maybe an old empire we are yet to discover?

Maybe the heat is getting to my brain. Maybe I-

Gervais is pulled away from his journal, almost jumping out of his seat as a hand is placed upon his shoulder. He looked up, seeing the smiling face of Majid hovering above him.

“You look tired my friend,” He said, handing over a cup of what Gervais could assume was coffee. “Here, I know it’s early and the sun is not being too friendly to us. But you shouldn’t suffer alone.”

Gervais nodded, taking the metal cup and slowly taking a sip of it. It was a little stronger than what he was used to back in Metz. His face twisted a bit before swallowing, and taking in another sip. Majid simply chuckled to himself, and walked over towards another desk. 

“This place is old, but I hardly doubt the Carthaginians were the ones who built this. The columns here don’t look remotely Greek. Besides, there’s a lack of, er, how you say ‘charm’. Unlike most buildings I’ve seen.”

Gervais nodded, flipping a page as he quickly scribbled something in. He didn’t talk much during the boat ride, and the camel ride over. Majid often felt like the complete opposite to him.

“Monsieur, I hate to be rude but you cannot be trapped under all those ledgers and journals for this long. We’re on the brink of excavating a possible new civilization and all you’re doing is following what Mathéo orders you to do.”

“...we’re not supposed to call him by his first name,” Gervais replied, looking up as he placed a bookmark between two pages and then swiftly closed it. “Monsieur Leroy has put a lot of money towards the expedition. He’s been to many places already, made a name for himself. With this, we might all become shockingly wealthy.”

“Will the guides be as well?” Majid asked, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

“I-I’m sure they will. Monsieur Leroy is a very generous man. He isn’t one to shy away from getting aid from nearby villages and garrisons.” He took another sip of the coffee, getting used to the taste of it after a few sips. Impressive.

Majid sighed, looking over a map of the world, looking at all the crosses that dotted it. So many sights, so many similarities. Why was this place so different? Why were they all so far apart and so similar?

“How possible is it that, maybe, this was from a more ancient and advanced civilization?” Majid asked, still pondering ideas. “The statutes found already seem to indicate that something used to run through them, maybe some kind of fluid? Like oil?”

“I hardly doubt anyone back then was able to cultivate oil like we can now, let alone use it for whatever they need their statues to do.” Gervais placed the metal cup down, standing as he began to walk over towards a smaller desk full of ledgers and books. He opened one more up, looking over at the path they had taken. They were in the middle of a big dune, the nearest village being 4 kilometers away. They had a camp set up outside, with around 30 labourers who came from the village to aid with the mission. The 14 main members of the expedition were a mix of soldiers, archaeologists, rich men who paid for the trip, guides, and then himself, the keeper of the books of research and other important information.

He scoured around, inspecting where they came from and making sure the route would be okay for when they had to return back to the port.

“What god do you assume this is?” Majid asked, looking over at one of the statues recovered from outside. It was taken inside so it could’ve been dusted and it’s writing examined. None of the translators could even understand it. “It doesn’t look like it’s from any local faiths around this area. No one seems to recognise it.”

Gervais looked behind, sighing. That question perplexed him just as well.

It was a rather tall statue, standing at around 6 feet. It wore a strange robe that covered their entire body, hiding their feet. One arm was down by their side, as the other appeared to be outstretched but had been broken off halfway. The overall figure looked human in nature until you got to the head.

Instead of a head, it looked like someone had placed a squid upon the neck, as if it were a mask or some kind of hybrid. It’s brow (if you could even call it that) looked angry, almost commanding.

Gervais gulped, wondering what kind of creature this was. No kind of being appeared in any kind of historical text. Not Christian, not Judaism, not Hindu, not Islamic, and upon further research, not even a local faith in the region.

“We can only assume it’s a local faith that we haven’t ever heard about or one that’s dead. I cannot imagine who would want to worship one of...those things.” He noted, going back to his research as Majid got a closer look at the figure.

“We found more last night, they all look different in some way,” he added, trying to piece it all together. “Some were shorter, some were taller. Some had different expressions. Some appear to have bosums actually.”

“Did you really have to check all of the statues chests to realize that?” Gervais asked, raising an eyebrow and letting out a small smile.

“Ahh, so that’s what you look like when you smile.” Majid joked back, chuckling as he went back to his work. Gervais’ smile vanished swiftly, as he went back to his own work.

“I trust you two aren’t just messing about down here aren’t you?” A sudden voice said, causing the two men to jump and turn to face their superior.

The man was wearing tan coloured shorts with a short sleeved shirt on, his socks almost reaching to his knees and his boots were coated in layers upon layers of mud, dirt, and sand. His moustache took the centre stage however, seeing it was the only piece of hair on his head he could actually take care of.

“A-ah! No monsieur! Me and Majid were just having a brief jest. We were discussing the nature of these statues-”

Mathéo lifted an eyebrow “You mean the Gens de calmar?”

Majid and Gervais did their best to hide their cringe at their superiors' new name for the artifacts.

“Y-yes monsieur,” Gervais continued. “We have done more research but nothing at all comes up. No religious documents reference this site whatsoever.”

“Ah-that is where you are wrong my apprentice!” The superior replied, looking as smug as ever as an assistant wandered over towards a desk, placing down what looked like an old tablet, like the rosetta stone. However, it lacked any known language writing, and appeared to be mostly made up of pictures.

The men gathered around it, Gervais trying his best not to grope it and explore all of it’s details. Majid placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing fully well he’d damage another artifact at this rate.

“What’s even going on in this picture? It’s such an old form of art.” Majid said, asking the questions Gervais wanted to ask. “It appears to be similar to some old cave art I’ve seen before in Algeria, but there are some things I cannot recognise.”

The tablet itself appeared to be depicting a scene, with a bunch of smaller figures bowing and offering objects towards much larger figures, with lines coming out of their faces. Maybe this was a simpler way of drawing the statues? Were they offering gifts or tributes?

“Labourers found this in an old, blocked off room. It was massive, bigger than any room we have encountered before in this place. It was placed on the floor as if it were discarded by the people who last used this temple.” Mathéo replied, twisting his moustache as he looked over the table at the tablet. “It appears to be written in different forms of text, though it appears impossible to fully translate it. None of the translators could even work out what it meant.”

“...however,”

“However what, monsieur?” Gervais asked, head popping up along with Majid’s.

“If you flip the tablet over, there appears to be one small block of text written in something recognisable.”

Majid and Gervais took hold of the tablet, being careful on flipping it around and placing it flat onto the table. There it was, a small block of text surrounded by multiple blocks of unrecognisable text . Gervais still didn’t understand, but Majid’s eyes widened.

“This is Old Arabic!” He exclaimed, pointing at it and trying to read it. “It’s...very old, I can’t understand fully but, it appears to be so!”

Mathéo looked rather smug, as if he was the one who had discovered this fact. He wandered around, placing a hand on Gervais’ and Majid’s shoulders.

“Gentlemen, I believe we may be coming close to understanding this mystery. If we understand what this means, then perhaps we can understand what the other boxes mean,” He patted both men on the back, turning around as he reached over and grabbed a wooden pipe with his initials on. “I hope you two get back to doing your research, I want at least some of that text understood by sundown. We might be able to understand much, much more about the main room, and unlock its secrets”

Majid turned back, seeing his superior leave in such a pretentious fashion. He couldn’t help but scowl a bit, right before diving back into reading the box.

Gervais turned back around as well, eyebrow cocking up as he saw Majid looking deeper into the text. 

“Can you read anything?” He asked, turning around and leaning on the table as he watched Majid research.

“I feel like I should be able to, it’s not hard to understand it’s just,” he paused, attempting to think of a way to explain his emotions. “It’s like if, you were to read something from, er, the old Franks. You’d be able to understand some words but the rest just appear...strange.”

Gervais nodded, going back to his desk and his journal. He’ll log this down as well, it made sense too.

“...Meshalt Segleell…”

“Hrm?” Gervais looked back at Majid, looking confused. “What did you say?”

“That’s something I can read but...I don't know if it’s a word or a name. It doesn’t sound native to the region at all!” He was perplexed, still looking at other lines on the text as Gervais turned to carry on his journal entry.

Maybe the heat is getting to my brain. Maybe I

Monsieur Leroy found something, just now. A black stone tablet of drawings from a bygone age. On the back of it? A multitude of unknown languages, with only one being legible. Monsieur Karim is studying it as I write this. He has deciphered something but it’s unsure if it’s a name, a place, a language or anything for that matter! We shall keep going until nightfall.

I can just sense treasure. I wonder how Maylis is doing.

…126 years later…

Adam was sitting at his desk, buried under books. It was a Saturday so no one was in for classes. He figured he’d use this time to understand what he was given. A laptop was open besides him as he read on and on through journal entries.

“Is this the last one?” He asked, reading the document over and over in order to try and find anything he had missed.

“YES.” The voice from the laptop said. “UNFORTUNIATLY I WAS UNABLE TO RECOVER ANY MORE. BUT I AM IN THE PROCESS OF FINDING MORE.”

He leaned back on his chair, placing the aged document down as he looked over at the photograph he was given as well. It was just as old as the document, featuring a picture of a black tablet with a drawing on one side and writing on the other. It wasn’t unusual people would ask for his services in translating old texts, but this one felt very different.

“How many people did you say survived that expedition?” Adam asked once again, getting out a magnifying glass as he looked over on the photo. An area of it was circled in a red marker. Inside the circle appeared to be a box of text that looked like Old Arabic. Why was this important?

“DOES IT MATTER?” The voice replied. A brief pause followed. “THE VILLAGERS WERE UNHARMED, BUT 10 MEMBERS OF THE EXPEDITION PERISHED AND THEIR BODIES WERE NEVER FOUND.”

“Did this Gervais fellow survive?” Adam asked.

“DO YOU ALWAYS ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS TO YOUR CLIENTS?”

Adam held his mouth closed. He looked over the laptop. His camera was on but his client’s wasn’t. It was expected really, people did like to remain anonymous after all. But no one ever really used a voice scrambler.

“EVERYTHING HERE SHOULD BE OF SOME ASSISTANCE. THAT IS ALL YOU SHOULD KNOW.”

“...I understand. I just can’t fully wrap my head around why I need all of this just to find one person? Like, can’t I just-”

“THEIR BLOOD IS HARD TO GET. THE INFORMATION HERE SHOULD EXPLAIN THE BEST WAY TO EXTRACT IT. MY SUPERIOR SUGGESTED THAT YOU ARE THE BEST WAY TO GET WHAT WE DESIRE.”

“So, what, am I just supposed to read this and just find a way to use a syringe on them?? You’re not helping me out here.”

The voice on the laptop paused. It gave Adam enough time to look back at the photo, and then look over at the transcript of the box, which was besides the photo.

“IT’S MORE COMPLICATED. MY SUPERIOR SIMPLY WANTS TO KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY ‘DEAL’ WITH THE BLOOD. YOU PROVIDE ME THE INFORMATION AND THE BLOOD, AND YOU GET PAID.”

“What kind of being is this again? A demon? A super demon??? How am I supposed to do this without dying exactly?”

“THE BLOOD CAN RUN IN THE FAMILY. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE PURE. AS LONG AS IT’S CONNECTED WITH HER. SHE’S ONE OF THE ONLY ONES MY SUPERIOR HAS DETECTED ON EARTH.”

Adam sighed, knowing that whilst the job was going to be hard, at least the money would be worth it...right?

“I’ll see what I can do.” Checking the time, he realized he should probably end the call soon. He was feeling hungry, and would work better without this guy’s annoying voice app distracting him. However, he paused, seeing something on the pile of documents. He reached over and picked it up. It was a similar photo, but it was a better close up of the text itself. 2 words appeared underlined. He looked back at the transcript, his eyebrow rising up curiously.

“Say, one more question about this...job. Err, this thing you sent me. It appears there was a translation error of sorts. What does this mean exactly?” He held the picture up to the camera, awaiting a response. “Segleell appears to be right, it’s the other word I’m wondering about.”

Seconds passed.

“THERE WAS A MISTRANSLATION. SORRY ABOUT THAT. THE CORRECT TRANSLATION IS  KRISTA SEGLEELL.”

“THAT IS ALL.”

[realbeeing]

ancestral trauma & healing

I’ve recently come to understand what it means to honor my ancestors. I had heard mystics and shamans talk about how we can either relate to our ancestors in an unhealthy way— by holding onto their pain and perpetuating it unconsciously— or in a healthy way, by doing our best to work through the dysfunctions they passed on to us, starting to identify the pain as not solely our own but part of a chain of experience from which now another decision can be made. Breaking the cycle, in other words. 

Lately I started to feel a lot about my Jewish heritage, especially because I got a DNA test where it was confirmed I am pretty much of three-quarters Ashkenazi Jewish descent. I already knew my father’s family and maternal grandmother’s family came from that tribe so it was not a huge surprise, but with the company I bought the test from, they reveal not just that you are of Ashkenazi descent but what that particular descent really means: usually being one-half to two-thirds Arab genetics with the other part Southern European genetics, often Italian. In my case, I learned I had about a third Arab and Near-East origins and another third Italian. (My levels were lower because I have one non-Jewish, Irish grandparent).

Going through my results brought to light a new realization for me about the story of my ancestors. The Jewish people had moved around a lot: from the Middle East, to the Roman Empire, to the German kingdom and then further into Eastern Europe. And then many of them left Europe entirely to come to the United States or to Israel, havens for the Jewish population. For some reason I had never really thought about what it took for my ancestors— really just my great grandparents — to come all the way to America  It was not like they just decided one day to to travel to a new continent for a vacation. Nowadays it’s hard to understand the scope of such travel before the time of cheap and abundant flights and a more globalized culture. I can’t imagine what it was like to uproot yourself from your homeland and go to a place where your familiar language wasn’t spoken, where the culture was totally different. No, they must have come here out of necessity. My family has kept scant records though so I can only speculate. 

I have read a lot about anti-semitism recently and the pogroms that occurred in Eastern Europe, where my ancestors were living. The Jews were always on the run, a persecuted people, for whatever reason that is still mysterious to me. Were we victims? Were we perpetuating this cycle ourselves from a victim complex? I wasn’t there to know. 

Jews have learned to make a home in many places. I feel that in myself in my need to travel and the desire I’ve had since being a child of running away, being a nomad, going to an unknown land. Yet what is my enjoyment was their serious task. In my youthful seeking phase I contacted a bunch of different eclectic religious paths, settling into the Hare Krishna way for a couple of years in Peru as well as going into strange rabbit holes about all sorts of new age topics such as aliens and lost civilizations. In this period, I hardly thought about Judaism at all, nor my ancestors. I was convinced the body is just a phantasm, that we are soul first and thus that my true ancestry was first cosmic and that any earthly ties were not a subject for any earnest consideration. Growing up on North American native land, spending time on Andean land, going deep into Vedic religion— I was a mix of many influences and those related to blood seemed like the least relevant. 

In my Krishna commune, we called our group “family” and I think genuinely felt that way about each other. It was not genetics that connected us but a spiritual purpose and a belief we were all headed to the same lofty quarters of heaven. I remember learning one Hebrew song after hearing tons of Vedic chants and seeing a Star of David in my mind’s eye during a sweat lodge, but other than that my ethnic-spiritual past seemed far away.  

Meanwhile it wasn’t until a couple of years after leaving that group when I began to do a lot of deeper healing than that which had been supposedly dealt with in my religion, when I thought all my burdens had been lit on fire by god. In a way it was true: I received a spiritual communion which rooted itself so deeply in my consciousness that I can never go back to who I was before that experience. But still there was quite a deep wound to address, namely a traumatic childhood based on being abused by a parent. A parent who was abused by their own parent. And so on: a chain not of spiritual transmission but of shit. They were not the ancestors how I would have liked to imagine them: old sages or native chiefs whispering wise words in my ear. I did not want to admit the reality of the situation for a long time because of my chronic conditioning to downplay serious events in my life, brushing them aside because I never thought they were important enough—  which was an idea I had been brandished with by my abuser. Also it went against the image I had of myself as this spiritually liberated person. It wasn’t necessarily that this image was a complete illusion, which is a tempting conclusion to make when we receive a humbling from life. It would be easier to dismiss the entire past— but nothing can be so black and white. My ancestors are not all good or all evil. My initial spiritual experimentation did yield some truly healing moments. That was real for the time being. I could find meaning as a “galactic” citizen. But then eventually I did have to come down to earth. Another layer of the spiral had to unfold. A death had to take place. 

At first I resisted it and I saw my life stagnate a lot. Besides the fact that I was forcibly stranded in a rural country not my own due to the worldwide pandemic, I was stuck creatively, mentally and socially. I was isolating myself both physically and in way of ideas. I slowly started to become more interested in conspiracy theories, especially since world events have gotten so crazy which has sparked a whole tidal wave of increased paranoid thinking among everyone. Forget my ancestors being persecuted-- I was being persecuted just for being alive! The essential message of love—which was the lesson of all my valuable spiritual trips— was sometimes forgotten and the adrenaline rush of fear or excitement at some impending catastrophic event became almost a hobby and stood in for giving my time and energy to more creative and nourishing endeavors. It took a location move and I think my Saturn return to really kickstart a new cycle for myself, one where I do want to look at the pain I have been carrying and see how this pain is both mine and is not. The suffering in my genetic line is both something I can transcend out of and something I am inexplicably bound to and responsible for addressing. 

In the recognition of pain comes the power needed to finally confront it head on. I thought I had already sufficiently looked into my past and done the emotional purging work— but it was a whole new step for me to acknowledge the abuse as well as to acknowledge that I had some degree of trauma from what I went through. What followed from taking this step was not only more self-love and psychological balance but also a razing of my mental inventory: I was not exactly who I thought I was. This clearing made space for new inspiration and motivation, for the courage to create beauty where I could. To make jewelry, paint, dance, run, sing. Things I had forgotten and filled instead with trivial information. That was okay then, and I am okay now too. It is not some before/after scenario: that paradigm of healing is over. Like I said, healing is a spiral which unfurls at its own pace. I am exactly where I need to be. And from this vantage point, I can better hear what my ancestors are speaking to me, and I listen— while also telling them, I’m going to do things a bit differently now. We are going to do things different. 

[enkelimagnus]

Club

Bucky Barnes Gen, 1542 words, rated T

Jewish Bucky Barnes, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Episode 3 Power Broker 

Bucky's thoughts and feelings during the party at Sharon's house, while they wait for her to find Nagel.

TW: alcohol drinking

Read on AO3

Part 23 of Making a Home - the Jewish Bucky series

--------------

Bucky has no idea what he's drinking. He knows it’s supposed to be strong, some sort of clear grain alcohol in quantities that would knock out a normal man. He’s not a normal man though. He hasn’t been in a really, really long time, and G-d Almighty he can feel it right now.

Sharon’s house is now a club. Bucky doesn’t really like clubs. The pounding of the music is relentless, the noise of the people unending. Conversations and laughter and bodies and the smells of a hundred perfumes, a hundred alcohols, a hundred body chemistries. It’s too much, hefeels too much.

He can’t even taste the alcohol. That’s how overwhelmed he is.

But he’s got a fucking job, and he’s going to fucking do it even if it kills him. Which, it probably will, because he’s keeping Zemo alive, and Zemo has no intention to return the favor.

It’s fine. Bucky knows it. He can deal with that later, once the mission’s done. It’s not something he needs to burden himself with right this instant. There’s way too much for him to deal with already. Sam, Sharon, the noise, the smells.

The sights are alright, it’s dark in here and his eyes adapted almost instantly to that.

Truth is, he’s hungry too. He hasn’t been eating enough since he left the States. He let himself forget it, he let himself refuse the extra food offered. It’s an old habit he can’t seem to break. When someone offers him more than the initial serving, he says no.

That food can go to someone else that needs it more than him, that’s what his mind tells him every time. May they be Wakandan children or Brooklynite ones. He doesn’t need the extra food, he’s strong enough to go a little hungry and still work to make sure no one else does. He’s a welterweight anyway.

The second he gets out of this house, he’s getting himself enough satay to feed a small army. And he’s not sharing.

He’s too hungry not to think of food. But the smells around him make him want to puke.

He needs to focus.

Sam isn’t far, he can feel it. He’s too hyper aware right now not to feel where the American soldier stands, a little awkward, a little out of place. Did he go to clubs often when he was younger? What were they like in Louisiana? Sam’s good-looking. He must have been an appreciated visitor. Was it something he enjoyed doing? Bucky never asked. To be fair, he never asked anything.

He knew Sam had a sister. It was in the intel Hydra gave him when they realized Steve had that strange pilot by his side. A sister, Sarah Morris, a brother-in-law, Antoine Morris, one nephew Antoine Jeremy Morris.

He now knows there’s a second nephew, Cass, and he knows Antoine Morris died, and he knows Sam’s family has a boat. It’s not enough. He asked the guy to follow him into a fucking pirate island, for fuck’s sake. He should know more.

His eyes catch movement and he’s grateful for the distraction it causes from the devouring guilt in his stomach.

Zemo’s dancing. His motions are stiff, inelegant. Not that Bucky’s would be much better. He hasn’t danced since 1943. It’s still strange to see. It feels robotic. Did Zemo attend a lot of clubs growing up as some young noble of an Eastern European country? Before he joined the Sokovian army and rose up the ranks fast enough to be an established commander and colonel by age 37?

The Asset never had to deal with Zemo directly, therefore Bucky has no information on him. He’s pretty sure he killed one of his wife’s uncles once, but that’s as far as it goes. He was never a direct target, he was never anything but a random, far away name, a footnote.

He didn’t need to be told what happened exactly to Zemo’s family. He heard the man was Sokovian and that was enough. Bucky saw Sokovia fall from where he was in Austria, on the tracks of his own past. He saw the large cloud in the sky. He didn’t need more to know that it was a world-ending sort of catastrophe.

“The Winter Soldier’s back in town,” someone says to Bucky’s left and he shifts. Has he been recognized, again? Is this going to put Sharon’s entire operation in even more danger?

“Yeah, at the Brass Monkey. My brother saw him fight. Took out ten men in 30 seconds.”

“That guy’s a machine.”

They have no fucking idea, do they? The two people chatting about him start moving, walking in his direction and Bucky tenses. Their eyes stop on him for a second. There is no reaction. They just keep walking.

They haven’t recognized him. With this jacket on, covering the arm, no one has recognized him. That’s been the line he’s walked on since he came back to civilian life. If his arm is hidden, no one recognizes him.

The Winter Soldier is an aesthetic.

A man with a metal arm is only that, especially in the enhanced land of Madripoor. A man with a metal arm and a harness is kinky. A man with a metal arm, a harness and who obeys to Russian: that’s the Winter Soldier.

His skin color allows him to blend into the background of every picture. He’s unremarkable, when he doesn’t want to be.

And right now, in this room, he’s just a white guy with a metal hand, if someone is looking. And no one really is. He exhales deeply. Sometimes, he is grateful for the anonymity of the aesthetic, grateful that unless he’s doing something specific, no one will recognize him. Sometimes, he hates it. He’s a wolf in a dollar-store costume and all the sheep are oblivious.

Fuck, Bucky needs a smoke. Or six. He orders another of the clear alcohol glasses again. Thank Sharon and her open bar policy for him. She must have known he’d consume the equivalent of two bottles of vodka tonight. After all, she was a close friend of Steve’s for more than two years.

Steve was never much of a drinker, but she probably knows supersoldier physiology enough. And she knows Bucky’s a drinker, the same way Zemo is. You gotta take what pleasure you can have, no matter how small it is.

Bucky still can’t taste that alcohol.

“You know anyone in the powered business?” someone asks, upstairs, right above where Bucky is swallowing liquid.

“Man, that’s the Power Broker’s turf,” another replies. Bucky can’t see either of them, but there’s a thick rolling accent in their voice, something… Arabic. He can’t place it quite yet. He might be able to, given some time.

“I know, I know, but there’s new enhanced popping up all around,” the first voice tries again. The accent is British, mated with something else, a slight clicking sound. “I’m sure the big guy won’t mind one or two ending up with someone else.”

There’s a shuffling noise, a fist bumping into a leathery jacket, the sound easily recognizable. “Listen. None of my business. We don’t fuck with the Power Broker interests or we get a warrant on our heads. I like my head.”

They move away in a loud clinking noise and when they start talking again, they’re too far for even Bucky’s ears to pick up. Interesting. They might just be talking about the FlagSmashers. The Supersoldier population multiplied by at least three times in the past couple of months.

Maybe there’s something else too, but it’s not a priority. Might just be a newly discovered bunch of Inhumans. The epidemic was over eight years ago, soon after the fall of Sokovia, while Bucky was in Europe. He remembers how careful he’d been to keep himself hidden, when people and the governments started looking for powered individuals. He remembers the constant need for control, the constant stress, looking over his shoulder.

A new crop of Inhumans surfacing now would make some noise, in the aftermath of the Blip. It would heighten the tension already closing and narrowing minds. When you’re trying to rebuild yourself after that kind of event, after the displacement, after the injustice caused by a giant alien, the newly-discovered alien-given powers of your neighbors would feel like a threat. Bucky knows that kind of mentality.

Something to keep an eye on, once they’re done, he guesses. Not that he’s allowed to keep an eye on anything.

He has no idea what will happen when he comes home. How will Lieutenant General Henricksen react to him switching teams without really asking for permission? He doesn’t know what kind of strings Walker pulled so Bucky could have free reign. He finds himself thankful for it, and he hates it.

He doesn’t want to owe a man like Walker. He doesn’t know what he promised Bucky would do in exchange for that change of hands holding his leash. He doesn’t want to find out. Whatever happened, he doesn’t want to find out.

Sharon coming to let them know she’s found Wilfred Nagel is the perfect distraction from that horrible line of thought, and Bucky follows her lead without question.

[nkp1981]

I think that the world is ready for this:

Somewhere in the Multiverse (if you believe in that theory) two men named Luca and Marwan both single in their mid thirties meet each other on a movie set and made a movie called 'The Old Guard' where they played ancient lovers and decided that there were no reasons to why, they shouldn't continue to be lovers, when they finished making the movie. They decided to settle down in Malta, where they bought an old farm for sentimental reasons and they got married under the oldest tree on the farm in a private ceremony with family and friends. Twelfe years later they are one of the world's most popular homosexual couple advocating for rights for other homosexual and a much love couple on the red carpet but most of all they just want to spend time at home with each other and their ever growing flock of children, that counts four so far. Enzo is the oldest at the age of ten and takes his role as big brother very seriously and also doesn't mind fighting the other kids if they say something bad about his family. He has eyes like Luca, because Marwan had insisted on that their first, should have half of Luca's DNA, but hadn't counted on that the boy would resemble Luca so much, that whenever the children wants something from Marwan, they sent Enzo to get it, because they know, that Enzo only needs to look at Marwan once and they will get it without any trouble. He is also the one, who loves football the most and takes it so seriously, that one time, when his favorite football club lost, he got so angry, that he kicked the sofa so hard, that it resulted in a broken foot.  

Alya, who is close to nine is the one they adopted. Marwan found her in an orphanage out in Vietnam and had refused to leave the country without her, which meant that Luca and Enzo had to spend two years out there until the adoption went through. Even though she sits in a wheelchair, because she has cerebral palsy, she is often counted as the clever one of the bunch, because she always has the best plans, which often leads the children into more troubles than first calculated and it often results in, that when it happens the children are covered in the different kind of vegetation mother nature has to offer. She also loves the horses, they have on the farm and everything that is pink. 

The last two are Rafi and Rada, twins at the age of five. Marwan had finally given in after a lot of begging from Luca, that they also should have at least one child with half of Marwan's DNA. They got lucky, that the same surrogate mother agreed on helping them again, but Marwan also believed that it was Luca's words about 'at least one child with half of his DNA' that had resulted in them having the twins.    

Rafi is twelve minute older than Rada and he is the quiet one of the flock. Always reflecting like Marwan over everything, but like with Enzo, when they want something from Luca, they send Rafi. He also has started to resemble Enzo, when it comes to the other kids, but unlike Enzo, he prefers to use words and not the fist. He is also the one, who loves to draw and do creative stuff, and it takes a lot of persuasion from the rest of the children or his fathers to go outside. Rada is the caring one of them all. She always has hugs ready, when one of them needs it and she is the one, who always has her pockets full with small creatures like worms, she finds along the way, which often results in her carrying them inside because as she says, someone needs to take care of them. Like her sister, she loves the horses and everything that is purple. That morning Marwan had been kind enough to get up at dawn, when Rada had fallen out of bed and hit her head on the chest next to her bed, because Luca had first been home at 3am due to a movie job. He was cleaning the kitchen after breakfast, and when he was washing the dishes, he stopped and looked out at the children, who were listening to one of Alya's plans. "Isn't it you, who always shouts turn off the water??" Luca asked from behind and took around Marwan, which brought him back to reality. "Morning. I thought you were sleeping?" Marwan asked and turned around to look at Luca. "The bed felt too empty." Luca replied and they kissed. "Seriously? There are kids in the room?" Enzo said from the door and rolled his eyes. "Morning Enzo." Luca said and took a cup of coffee, while smiling over his oldest son and what had become his standart line lately. "Morning. Do you have the sandwiches ready?" Enzo wanted to know and looked at Marwan, who handed him the basket. "And there is also chocolate in it or else Rafi won't go with us?" Enzo asked and looked at the food in the basket. "Everything you asked for is in it, Be back at dinner and remember to stay on the farm this time." Marwan replied and Enzo nodded. "It wasn't me who wanted to get that snail." He said as the last thing, before he ran out to his siblings and the adults watched as the children left the garden. "So, I finally heard from the lawyer, and we can pick her up from the orphanage next week." Marwan said in a happy tone. "You do know that we're seriously outnumbered now with five against two, because I've no doubt that when the baby comes it will be only a matter of time before she will make the same kind of trouble like the rest?" Luca asked and took Marwan's hand. "Somehow I don't want it any other way. I love our life with you and the kids." He said and pulled Luca in for a kiss. "Me too. So, what should we call her if we stick to giving the girls Arabic names?" He asked and sat down at the table with his coffee, while Marwan found the list with names they had made years ago, while they waited for Enzo to be born.       

my creation

[veronicadm]

hi, it’s elle with one of my two muses, veronica jean demontfort. i can’t wait to play her in this group !

i’ve been keeping a close eye on VERONICA , JEAN , DEMONTFORT lately . by all means , i’ve started to notice the striking resemblance between her and constance zimmer , but something sparked my interest more . as it turns out - the demontfort family have indeed tried their best to tuck away veronica ’s  controlling tendencies , but it only seems to bring out her abrasiveness more . according to close confidants , on rare occasions , she can be humorous , last time they saw this side of her was , and i quote - “ON HER FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY” . but most shocking of all , seems to be the fact that ever since i dug deeper in her life , i somehow couldn’t shake the image of a grand collection of tequila, long-line coats, pencil skirts, inappropriate laughter, dedicating her time to keeping things buried, frequented cursing when things fail to go her way, a judgemental stare over her glasses frame & deleting emails without reading them out of my head .

triggers: alcoholism, abandonment, parental death, paranoia

despite preconceived notions about veronica and her family’s riches, she did not grow up full rich. she grew up in seattle, born veronica zellman james, her mother was her father’s former secretary and her father a big ceo of a telecoms company. the two never had any more childen because she was unwanted in the first place. her mother was flighty and her father chose either work ot alcohol and drugs over her every time so it was up to veronica to make sure she got what she needed.

from a young age she had been forced into a resourceful mindset and stepped in to fill her own parental role. her parents would fight, her mother would leave and not come back for weeks, her father would succumb to his vices and eventually her mother would return. this was a cycle that kicked in like clockwork so it was one that was far too played out.

she got her first job at thirteen because she wanted money for herself so she could leave without any hesitation. they didn’t check up on her school work so it was a good job that she was self-motivated. her parents were getting worse as the years went on and the little sympathy that she had for them slowly vanished; they were making life so much harder for her. she wasn’t supposed to be their counsel or support, they were meant to be hers.

veronica adopted a harsh exterior, one that was always on the defensive side to make sure she stayed on top of things and grabbed opportunites. when she was seventeen, her father passed away and the company stocks and all his savings went to her. her mother had been m.i.a. for quite some time and it wasn’t like she was written in his will to begin with. automatically made a billionnaire overnight, she would be quick to sell her shares of the company for a hefty sum to distance herself from it all.

the girl was upset that he was gone and that he’d never be able to make it up to her. veronica had always felt that he would snap out of spiralling constantly and try his best to step into his fatherly role but that was never going to happen now. she did try to reach out to her mother but the woman rarely responded and when she did, she wanted money from her. that was shut down immediately. some would call that heartless but the woman didn’t deserve her help; she had helped her enough throughout her short life time.

she had always had an aptitude for languages; she was near fluent in spanish and french by fourteen. veronica would go on to major in spanish and minor in arabic at berkeley. she never had any intention of becoming a translator but she believed that she had a lot of transferrable skills for jobs in business. although she was abrasive, she could be charasmatic if she wanted to.

veronica met father demontfort at the time she was at berkeley and for her to say that it was love at first sight was a lie. almost a romantic comedy, she didn’t like the entitled rich boy that thought he had one up on her. veronica was intelligent and would reject him until he was willing to accept him as an equal. her interest peaked when he’d mention the family business and she did want to be involved. she was ready to take on responsibility that she had dodged in the past by selling her shares and she had more than enough money to finance developments and expansions they talked about.

she had never been in love with father demontfort and hadn’t been in love with anyone before that. she would be the type to sleep with people and not get attached but she became attached when they’d plan together; ‘world domination’ was what they called it. an onlooker would tell you that they were a toxic pair and would have compared them to the macbeth’s. veronica was described as having ‘masculine’ traits as she was forceful in her own right and did curse more than a ‘lady’ should but she didn’t care about that. abrasive moments could be fixed by a smile.

it was a shock to her when she found out she was pregnant for the first time. veronica had never dreamed of having a family; she was too focused on work and it wasn’t like she had any good role models for parenting. she wasn’t going to go through with it but father demontfort found out she was pregnant and was insistent that it helped with the image purpose and that they’d be great parents. veronica was extremely worried about it but she felt like she couldn’t voice her concerns; father demontfort and the business was all she had and she wasn’t willing to part with it.

she did love madeline when she was born, that was no question. while veronica didn’t dismiss her doubts completely, she did want to give her the absolute world. however, she quickly became overwhelmed when the two others came along. it was too much for her and she felt herself crumbling. it was foreign territory for her because she was meant to be a winner and that wasn’t happening with her being a mother. that was when the revolving door of nannies came into play.

veronica wouldn’t be able to pin point when the scheming came into full force but it was caused by them being so competitive with each other. the woman wasn’t clean herself as her resourcefulness came into play and covering up the illegal activity was her idea. she hadn’t been aware that the company was operating by those means but took it upon herself to clean everything up. it leaded her to start to resent her husband and the bickering began.

the two of them tried to keep it away from the children but they couldn’t help but take little digs at each other. it was concerning when their tensions was picked up by one of their acquaintenance at a gala and noting in monterey stayed a secret - people loved to start rumours and their marriage seemed to be a hot topic.

being pragmatic, veronica suggested the publicity stunts such as the family meals out with cameras, a spread in a magazine about ‘having it all and maintaining happiness’. it was a bunch of bullshit but at this point, bullshit was veronica’s middle name. she didn’t care about charity but would find herself organising many charity galas to clear rumours of dirty money; veronica was good at cleaning up messes she helped to create. she definitely had an issue with control and always assumed responsibility to fix things and then proceeded to be angry that no one else had volunteered to do it.

the woman wasn’t happy but she was putting on a stellar act. she doesn’t feel like a person anymore and what she has can’t be considered a family. her children dislike each other and she feels partly responsible for that. she did push them hard because she never had anyone do that for her but perhaps she had gone in too hard. she has started drinking a little more these days and is scared of becoming her father. veronica also feels like she can’t express her concerns to anyone, not even her husband. monterey gossip travels too fast and she doesn’t trust any of the women in her circle.

christopher matthew was a threat to everything, especially when he was trying to discredit everything they had ever done. there were some underlying issues but that didn’t mean she hadn’t achieved anything. it made veronica paranoid about where he was getting this information as every time she would sue, the case would be dropped because something else would be threatened to uncover. this was something she couldn’t control and that was difficult for her to accept. her worry was making her physically ill. she didn’t want this. she thought about moving her money into another bank account and leaving monterey but that would have made her just like her mother and she wasn’t to know what would be said in her absence.

veronica was constantly defensive as she was so worried and it caused her to snap at her family. she was supposed to be very successful but her ambition has landed her in a mess that she doesn’t know how to clean up.

she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel relieved to hear of christopher’s death. it left a weight off her but some problems still remained. veronica still wants out, of the family and the business but doesn’t feel like she can handle the fall out.

[cat-brodsky]

richard pipen is the worst pre-med student ever: death caps in the secret history

"Judy, what would you do if you had a hundred and three degrees of fever?” “I would go to the fucking doctor,” she said without looking away from the TV.

must i say anything else

This post may contain errors, and anyone is welcome to point them out.

@sadbabywltch gets a thanks for the inspiration

some context

"You studied medicine for a while, didn't you?” [Henry] said.

I knew this to be a prelude to some health-related inquiry. My one year of pre-med had provided scanty knowledge at best...

I’m going to cite some parts of The Secret History, but I cannot copy the entire text of the scene in question. If you haven’t read it, this scene won’t make as much sense.

This post contains extensive discussion of mushroom poisoning as a murder method, so consider yourself warned. This post also contains math and biology, so people allergic to either should turn back.

Richard Pipen knows absolutely nothing about medicine. And I intend to prove that.

on amanita phalloides

Aka, death cap. The most poisonous out of all known mushrooms - half a mushroom (30 grams) is enough to kill a grown human. If Henry had really done extensive research, he should know that - and he said that he has.

“You have no idea how much thought I've put into this. Even to the strain of poison. It's said to make the throat swell, do you know that? Victims are said to be struck dumb, unable to name their poisoner.”

He should also know that the throat swelling is a myth. A.phalloides cause gradual organ failure. Symptoms of poisoning occur twelve hours later, too late to seek treatment, and death generally occurs six to sixteen days after the poisoning.

He should also know that there are less toxic species of Amanita. For instance, Amanita muscaria (fly agaric) is a hallucinogen, and symptoms take only thirty to ninety minutes to appear. Considering that the entire friend group has already been taking drugs regularly, Henry could offer Bunny a lethal dose, ingest a small one, and seek treatment.

There is also Coprinopsis atramentaria - the common ink cap, or tippler’s bane. This mushroom is poisonous, even lethally so, if combined with alcohol. I don’t need to spell the murder method out.

But, of course, Henry is high Intelligence low Wisdom and obsessed with ancient history; if Claudius allegedly died via death caps getting mixed with Caesar’s mushrooms, then it must clearly be the best way to poison someone.

on advanced calculus

“Let's say we know, for instance, that x amount of the drug in question is enough to affect a seventy pound animal and another, slightly larger amount is sufficient to kill it. I've figured out a rough formula, but still we are talking about a very fine distinction. So, knowing this much, how do I go about calculating the rest?”

Quick reminder that Henry killed one dog and poisoned another.

I’m not going to do calculations on A.muscaria or any other method of murder - A.phalloides is what the characters were poring over. I’m going to explain the calculations as simply as I can, and then provide some references for those of you who are interested in biology.

The characters don’t have the internet available, but they have the whole college library, a virtually unlimited amount of money, and a town where everyone takes illegal substances at their disposal. What they need is a pharmacology textbook (to look up the necessary equations), a reference on poisonous mushrooms (to look up death caps), and perhaps a handbook on toxins. 

LD50 is what Henry is after - that is, “the dose required to kill half the members of a tested population after a specified test duration.” (I hope that the readers can already see that two dogs are not a large enough sample size.) LD50 is conveniently measured in mg/kg. We have the characters’ exact weights: Bunny is 86 kg, Henry is 97.5 kg.

Amatoxins are a group of toxins contained in A.phalloides, and the one that causes symptoms of death cap poisoning. LD50 of amatoxins in humans is estimated to be 0.1 mg/kg. Thus, Bunny would need to ingest 0.1*86 = 8.6 mg amatoxins, perhaps less, preferrably more, to be stone dead. Here I make an assumption that 0.05 mg/kg is not lethal; with Henry’s poor health, it might be. Henry would need to ingest under 0.05*97.5 = 4.87 mg to not be dead.

Oral LD50 for amatoxins in dogs is 0.5 mg/kg. Finding out the amatoxin content should be an easy calculation: X grams divided by 31 kg contains 0.5 mg. We know that X grams minus one gram failed to kill the other dog, so we can assume this is not low-balling the dose.

For the sake of ease, let’s say X = 31 -> 0.5 mg amatoxins in one gram of locally harvested, organic death cap. This looks close to reality. Per Yilmaz et al (2015) a death cap ingested by a patient contained 0.426 mg amatoxins per gram, and you can calculate that yourself.

And now a simple proportion:

0.5 mg (per gram) / N mg (lethal dose) = 1 gram / X grams (of mushroom)

Bunny: 8.6/0.5 = 17.2 grams (ingest more than that)

Henry: 4.87/0.5 = 9.74 grams (ingest less than that)

partway disclaimer

Of course, I wouldn’t stake my life, or anyone’s, on those calculations.

The toxin content of the A.phalloides can vary drastically depending on geographical location, season, maturity, etc. This could be remedied, I guess, by gathering a large amount of them, mixing them and chopping them into paste, then testing some of the mixture to determine LD50 and the amatoxin content.

From the data at hand, the exact content of amatoxins cannot be precisely determined. But, hey, Henry only needs to poison more dogs to find out!

and now for some more science

A.phalloides contains two main groups of toxins: amatoxins and phallotoxins, and also phallolysin. Phallolysin is not toxic if taken orally, so that’s out. Phallotoxins were found to have little contribution to death cap toxicity, perhaps because they are not absorbed through the gut. (Though it’s not certain whether the characters would have this information in 1982.) This leaves us with amatoxins.

Yilmaz et al (2015) describe a patient who recovered after ingesting approximately 0.32 mg/kg amatoxins (but after developing liver failure). This is why I’m assuming 0.05 mg/kg is non-lethal.

LD50 for amatoxins in dogs has been calculated for α-amanitin and methyl-γ-amanitin.

Garcia et al (2015) gives the amount of a-amanitin in different tissues of A.phalloides as follows (mg/gram dry weight): 0.67 to 0.78 in caps, 0.30 to 0.32 in stipes and 0.07 to 0.10 in volvas.

why richard is an idiot sandwich

Look, perhaps I’m misunderstanding what Donna Tartt has written, but Richard comes across as right for the wrong reasons. He’s right in that trying to non-lethally poison yourself with something so deadly as A.phalloides is a monumentally stupid affair. He’s wrong about everything else.

Faced with a simple calculation like the above, how does Richard go about it?

Equations about chemical concentration were never my strong point in chemistry, and they are difficult enough when you are trying to figure a fixed concentration in a suspension of distilled water; but this, dealing as it did with varying concentrations in irregularly shaped objects, was virtually impossible. He had probably used all the elementary algebra he knew in figuring this, and as far as I could follow him he hadn't done a bad job; but this wasn't a problem that could be worked with algebra, if it could be worked at all. Someone with three or four years of college calculus might have been able to come up with something that at least looked more convincing; by tinkering, I was able to narrow his ratio slightly but I had forgotten most of the little calculus I knew and the answer I wound up with, though probably closer than his own, was far from correct.

I didn’t know proportions required three or four years of college calculus. If the mushrooms are irregularly shaped, why not weigh them?

“It's a good try, but just by looking at it I can tell that it's insolvable without chemical tables and a good working knowledge of calculus and chemistry proper. There's no way to figure it otherwise. I mean, chemical concentrations aren't even measured in terms of grams and milligrams but in something called moles.”

There are different kinds of chemical concentration, and molar concentration is just one of them. “Something called moles”? A mole is, simply, an amount of substance that contains 6.02214076×1023 molecules (Avogadro number). This is sixth-grade chemistry. It’s also completely irrelevant here.

It’s a miracle Richard ever got into pre-med.

Henry, paraphrased: Oh, well, if I overdose - which I can totally figure out despite the fact that the symptoms take twelve hours to show when the damage is already done - I can just have some atropine. Atropine will totally counteract amatoxins.

...Never mind, Henry is also an idiot - though, at least, that is highlighted in-story. What does he plan on doing, drinking a whole bunch of atropine without knowing the precise dose he ingested?

“They are exactly opposite in effect. Atropine speeds the nervous system, rapid heartbeat and so forth. Amatoxins slow it down.”

No, they are not. To put it in plain English, amatoxins cause cell death - nothing about nervous system. Atropine basically counters the parasympathetic system, kicks your organism into fight or flight mode.

Do you know what atropine is an antidote to? Muscarine. It’s a compound found in certain mushrooms - such as A.muscaria, though only in trace amounts. Atropine and muscarine both bind to muscarinic acetylcholine receptors. Muscarine is not found in A.phalloides. Confusing amatoxins with muscarine is... I imagine it’s excusable if ancient Persian texts are your most recent source.

Oh, and one more thing while I’m at it.

“The Persians? I didn't know you read Arabic.”

In Persia (modern Iran), they speak Farsi, not Arabic. Oh, Richard. I imagine Henry took pity on him and didn’t correct the poor fool.

conclusion

There are two ways to engage with canon - from an in-story perspective (Watsonian) or an outside perspective (Doylist). I’ll leave you to discover what the third (Forsythian) perspective is.

From an in-story perspective, I am drawing the conclusion that both Richard and Henry are utterly inept at math, biology, medicine, and common sense; heaven only knows what “algebraic equations” they spent a good half hour going over.

From an outside perspective... well, if Tartt wrote all those errors purposefully, then it’s a nice bonus for any reader who knows basic medicine. If she didn’t, then I can fault her for not doing enough research. A middle ground is more likely: I’m certain that the 103F episode was intentional, but the Arabic in Persia wasn’t, since Henry of all people would lambast Richard for this error mercilessly.

half-assed references

Garcia, J et al. Determination of amatoxins and phallotoxins in Amanita phalloides mushrooms from northeastern Portugal by HPLC-DAD-MS. Mycologia, 107(4): 679-687. 2015.

Hooser, S.; Khan, S. Common Toxicologic Issues in Small Animals: An Update, An Issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice: Ebook. Elsevier Health Sciences. 2018.

Tu, A.; ed. Handbook of Natural Toxins: Food Poisoning (1st edition). CRC Press.1992.

Wieland, T. Peptides of poisonous Amanita mushrooms. Springer-Verlag.1986.

Yilmaz, I et al. A Case Study: What Doses of Amanita phalloides and Amatoxins Are Lethal to Humans? Wilderness Environ Med. 26(4): 491–496. 2015.

[bigassbionerd]

bigassbionerd’s intro post!

Hiya! I got tagged by @undasrego to do this intro post so here we are! Welcome to my studyblr/bookblr/bioblr! I’m super indecisive at times so I use this account for a few different pathways.

About me:

My name is Abbie, but I go by Ash a lot, both work, my pronouns are they/them or she/her. {My main account is @abbielmdt if you’d like to follow that as well, it’s extremely disorganized and I love it that way}

My first language is English, and I’ve been studying Spanish, German, and ASL on and off for a few years now. I’m interested in learning Arabic, Latin, BSL, and Mandarin. The list goes on and on, but those are the main ones at the moment.

I’m a huge book worm, and spend a lot of my time reading, and I’m always looking for new books to buy!

I enjoy the dark academia aesthetic and attitude, but it can be a little much for me at times. I’m heavily into chaotic academia, which I feel sums up my mind a little better than the elegance of dark academia can.

Interests:

Reading - I’ll read anything and everything that interests me, however I’m a sucker for fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. Stephen King is currently my favourite author, and I’m in the middle of what has easily become my favourite series so far, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.

Bowling - I absolutely love ten pin bowling, and I’m on my university’s women’s team. At one point during the 2019-2020 collegiate season, I was ranked #16 in the entire women’s collegiate program. My collegiate program was also ranked #2 in the program by the end of the season, due to technicalities, however we were ranked #1 for pretty much the entire season.

Photography - I'm by no means an expert, and really only do photography on occasion, but I enjoy it when I partake in it, and am quite happy with some of the photos I’ve taken. I can post some of my photos that I’m pretty proud of, if you guys are interested!

Crocheting - I’ve been crocheting for about a decade now, and knitting for about the same time frame. I don’t do much past simple projects, but they’re handy little projects, mainly for the kitchen. I’ve also made stuffed animals in the past that came out adorable and I love them so much.I’m considering opening an etsy shop to have a little extra pocket money (to buy more books of course).

Academia:

I’m currently between my junior and senior year of my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology. I’ll have to take a 5th year of classes in order to get my degree because I had to transfer to a school that better fit my educational needs and also had a bowling team.

I’m hoping to go on to get my PhD in microbiology, immunology, or pathology. Still figuring out my exact path. My current plan is to apply to a bunch of different programs and then pick one from the ones I get accepted in to. I’d love to go into mycology as well, however in the USA, mycology is not a career that one can live off of very well, unfortunately.

Chemistry was almost my downfall, and math classes. However, this last year I was able to really turn around my chem grades from being average grades around the middle of the semester, to being one of the top grades in the class by the end and I’m extremely proud of that accomplishment.

Why a studyblr?

I mainly wanted the motivation that came with having a studyblr. I never really had to study in school until I got to college/university, so I’m hoping to develop better study habits as this account grows. I also really enjoy seeing the support that the studyblr community provides, and wanted to help be a part of that myself. On top of all of this, I mainly just wanted a space where I could gush about biology and not be as judged as I am at my current school.

Currently I’m using this account for books, it’s become more of a bookblr while school is out, and I’m super okay with that too. I’ve already gotten a couple fantastic suggestions that I’m hoping to read in the coming months once I can get my hands on a copy of the books and find room in my reading schedule, I have a bad habit of buying books and having them sit on my shelf for years before I get around to reading them.

*Tagging*

If you’re reading this, and would like to participate in this,please consider this my way of tagging you <3 Have fun, and let me know about your current book or area of study! I’d love to hear all about it!

[soullessminyard]

Immortal Husbands Fic Rec

I´ve watched The Old Guard 3 times already and still can´t get enough, so I´ve turned to the trusty old AO3 to satisfy my need for more tog content. And I thought I would share my favorite fics with you that I´ve read in the last few days! (I´ll probably update this later on)

CANON COMPLIANT

da adesso fino all'eternità by maroon (13k, E)

“So,” Nile begins, sitting in the beat up Hyundai with some meatballs in her lap, still dressed in her running gear. “Sexiled, huh?”

Andy nods, chewing away at her own meatballs. She points at herself. “Professional third-wheel here.”

Nile nods. “Well, they’re in love.” She shrugs, and Andy raises an eyebrow at her. “What? Love makes you do stupid stuff.”

Nile experiences the whole world, learns some disgusting secrets, gains another set of parents—as well as a cranky vodka aunt—and learns what it means to be immortal.

row me to shore by ScribeofArda (22k, M)

Nile watches as Joe gets to his feet and heads towards Nicky, calling out something to him in Italian. Nile is torn between learning Italian, so that she can know what they’re saying, and feeling like it’s an intrusion on something that she’s not meant to hear. "He's very protective of Nicky, isn't he?"

"You're only noticing that now?" Andy asks wryly.

“It all seems a little bit one-sided, that’s all,” Nile muses. “I've never seen Nicky be as...violently protective over Joe.” Andy just hums, and Nile glances over at her. “You think I’m wrong? I know I haven’t been around long, but I’ve seen Joe get killed in a bunch of messy ways and Nicky has never done…that.”

Andy just hums again. “Look again,” she says when Nile throws her hands up in frustration. “Watch more closely. You’ll know when you see it.”

and you smiled, because you knew.  by morallygreywarren (5k, E)

Joe is an incurable romantic. Nicky doesn't really believe in an institution that promises only what he already has.

Or: Five times Joe proposed to Nicky and one time he didn't.

quia peccavi nimis (my fault, my fault, my most grievous fault)  by Draco_sollicitus (12k, M)

After Merrick, Nicky takes Joe back to Malta. They distract each other from the pain of almost losing each other again but it seems that trouble isn't too far off.

Merrick had competitors, after all. And when data gets into the wrong hands as a result of corporate espionage, others come for Nicky and Joe. They only need one of them, and it's an easy choice for Nicky -- he just prays that Joe will some day forgive him.

CANON DIVERGENCE

you´re dream to me by smilebackwards (4,5k, M)

When Nile dreams, sometimes she’s in the dark with Quynh. And sometimes she’s in a white room, Joe’s name and Ave Marias falling off her lips.

Or: the AU where Nicky was also captured at some point in history and then the team rescues him

the person falling here is me  by storm_petrel (5k, M)

They took Nicky in 1983. This is everything that happened next.

Finally Alive by domini_moonbeam (43k, E)

Joe is the new immortal not Nile, and Nicky is the one sent to go find him.

Based on a fic prompt!

Sense Memory by Kelly (19k, M, wip)

Their wounds have always healed, so Joe doesn't know what to do when a gunshot to the head takes an irreplaceable part of Nicky

MODERN AU

let not time deceive you (you cannot conquer time) by Draco_sollicitus (85k, E)

Nicolo Genova, or Nicky to his American friends, is just trying to get through his PhD program. He's writing his dissertation on Post-classical homoerotic poetry, but he cannot find anyone who speaks an extinct dialect of Arabic so he can translate a famed love poem by a little known poet, al-Kaysani.

Strangely enough, his friend knows a professor on campus who can translate the poem. What starts as a simple request for assistance on his dissertation blossoms into something that Nicky -- shy, reserved Nicky who abandoned his plans for the priesthood months before ordination -- had never imagined for himself: true love.

What he doesn't know is that Dr. Joseph Jones (his handsome, erudite, kind, lovely Joe) is harboring a secret too large for anyone to believe -- and that secret might just cost them everything.

with rome below us  by whimsicule (13k, G)

And last but not least: Prof. al-Kaysani got married last week! And while he has explicitly asked for no fuss to be made, we have organised a small gift and a card that you are all welcome to sign. It will be on my desk until September 7th.

Best,

Dr. Quynh Pham Course Leader BA (Hons) Curating

--

Nile’s eyes are stuck on the word ‘married’. Her mouth drops open, toast falling into her lap without her noticing.

Married.

“The fuck?”

chrysalis by liadan14 (30k, E, wip)

Joe is having a very taxing day.

In fairness, no one expects to begin the day by coming face-to-face with one’s lover’s estranged family, standing on the doorstep when one had been expecting the postman, or perhaps the drunk Frenchman from next door

[araminakilla]

Faris D'jinn (long) appreciation post

Warning: If you don't like very long posts or deep analysis of a character or situations, maybe you want to skip this. But you are always welcome.

I will always say this: Treasure of the found lamp! is one of my favorites episodes of the Ducktales bomb (the other is Nothing can stop Della Duck!) I like the jokes, the journeys of the two groups, the cameos of different characters that appeared in Season One. But most of all... Him.

Faris D'jinn. Middle Eastern adventurer. Seeker of the lamp. Descendant of an actual genie and the amazing woman who freed him. Here are ten reasons (not counting the facts that he is a great swordman and a cool biker because everyone knows that) of why this warrior is one my favourite characters in the Ducktales universe:

1. He is not what he seems

The first time I saw this guy in the SDCC 2018, and the person presenting the characters said he was Dijon from the Ducktales movie, there were two different reactions from my part:

"OMG! They acknowledged the movie. That means Merlock is going to return!" And...

"This Dijon looks so COOL! But...he looks like a terrorist"

And before you sue and attack me, there are some comments in YouTube that reflected my thoughts. One of them said he looks like an ISIS member.

But I have investigated and I found out that in fact, there are some people that wear traditional black clothes in the Middle East and are NOT asociated with violence or radical groups. So, my bad people. I'm really ashamed for making this statement. I try to not be an ignorant of different cultures for reasons like this.

Anyway, those months I tried to stay positive that, if he was a bad guy, he could get a redemption arc. Because there's no way that this awesome Ducktales crew, that handles the Latino community very well, is going to portray arabs in a bad light, just like every old Hollywood productions (I'm looking at you, Aladdin)

And when the promo of Ducktales and Big Hero 6 appeared, with this warrior using his sword in front of a very scared Scrooge... well... I put my thoughts on another post, but I was a little concerned for the Middle Eastern representation.

Great was my surprise when I saw the episode for the first time. Let say that the power of the lamp wasn't the only plot twist of that episode.

2. He's so serious that it's funny

His single-minded quest for the lamp before the Ifrit's dawn (a fact that he monologued for 10 minutes without blinking) leaves him with no time to joke around, except everyone around him is a goof, and that makes him hilarous in a sense. Best demostrated when he answered ALL the riddles from a literal JOKE BOOK. He's so smart... yet so gullible that it's amazing. It's like he can't tell when someone is lying or making a joke... I don't know if that's possible. There's also his reaction at the "got your nose" prank which, honestly to me, was one of the best reactions EVER. Maybe it's how he screamed "monster!" and how he seems to really believe the creature got his nose. Truth to be to told, I was very surprised the first time I saw him laugh, that was something unexpected. And how the premise of the episode was him getting a family of adventuring Ducks, a greek Godness, a sea monster and a bunch of Beagles involved in a quest...to give himself a birthday present, like... Who gives himself a birthday present? (Really, I don't know someone who does that)

3. He is grateful even with enemies

He defeated Charybdis and the poor monster was whipped and given the beat of his life because he wanted to help Scrooge and Webby with the phony quest, and the first thing the warrior does is thanking him and saying that he will be remembered in the story of the lamp. That impressed me... And somehow made worth all the pain that Charybdis had. The same happened with the "Minotaur" and Ma Beagle (the little bow that he made is priceless). Many people would mock their defeated enemies and give them zero respect... but not him. That was so honorable, it reminded me of how Medieval Knights act, which would be discussed in the seventh point of this post.

4. He forgave the Ducks easily

"Djinn, I'm sorry I tricked you. If I'd known what was at stake..."

"Another chapter in the legend. A final trial before we find the lamp! It's all part of the journey!"

Like wow... That was something I was NOT expecting, because I wouldn't expect a guy who was shouting and slicing things all day to be that... nice. And maybe that could be because there was no time in the episode for the liar revealed drama. But the points D'jinn made about why he forgave Scrooge make total sense. He loves adventures and journeys, he likes to write in a scroll about the trials he had, so he instead took the positives aspects that the phony quest had and continue with his life. Now that's something you don't see very often. Instead of swearing revenge and dedicate his time ruining someone's life (I'm looking at you Glomgold, Magica, Negaduck and other villains) he forgave the Ducks, focused on the present and keep only the most important facts. I like that way of thinking.

5. He has a deep love for his family's history (and his heritage and bloodline)

He comes from a family that, as far as I'm concerned, keeps the stories of their past alive, passing them to the next generations. It's been ten generations since the genie was freed. What the ex-magical creature got was more valuable that having phenomenal cosmic powers: A loving wife and many descendants who remember them with such passion, and now one of said descendants, fascinated by their love story has adquired the "totem that started it all". I heard that arabs in particular are family oriented people, they would do ANYTHING for their loved ones, and that's the first time I saw that in a cartoon (at least in a Disney cartoon, the other example that is Non-Disney is the Oscar nominated "The Breadwinner", which I recommend you guys have to see it, it's so good)

D'jinn made a long journey from the Middle East to America (at least I think Duckburg is in America) for a powerless lamp because of it's sentimental value, which leads us to the next point...

6. He is a sentimental guy

You wouldn't expect a tough, serious and to some extent dangerous guy to have powerful feelings like love? Right? Think again. There's a reason of why the call D'jinn (and his VA, Omid Abtahi) a cinnamon roll. He has strong emotions, that is (I think) one of the reasons of why he's so dramatic. It's part of his personality. In fact, his volatile personality (using many times his sword, cutting things, flipping a table) has a solid base of why it is the way it is. I'm not saying that destroying the couch and threatening the Duck family is not wrong, I'm saying this because this is NOT a matter of the "He's an arab and all arabs are volatile/barbaric/will scream and attack you 'cause that is their nature" thing that all the Hollywood movies I saw (at least the examples I saw in the documentary "Reel Bad Arabs") have. No sir, this is different.

And talking about Arab stereotypes...

7. He's a HUGE improvement from the Ducktales movie and series

Back in 1990, he was Dijon, a thief and mook to Merlock, the Big Bad Wolf of the Movie. He was funny and the interactions he had with Scrooge in the movie and the series are funnier (Also, did you know that the last words Scrooge said in the series was "Dijon!" because the duck was running towards him 'cause he stole his watch?)

But, as the Nostalgia Critic put it in his review of the Ducktales Movie

"I don't know... Is this considered racist now? Yes, he has an accent and is a thief..."

He's fine as a comic relief, but nothing makes him different from the Crows of Dumbo, or the Indians of Peter Pan, or the Siamese cats of Lady and the Tramp, or...

Honest Trailer's guy: Stop it!

OK ok. The point it's... The Ducktales reboot did it again. They took a not so well liked character from the '87 series and made him/her a lovable character, like Mamá Cabrera (I swear, she's also mi mamá now)

Now he's honorable, charming, etc (and yes, those words are from a YouTuber reviewer) But specialy, they changed his name to Faris D'jinn which not only sounds more arabic, but also foreshadows his relationship with a genie. Plus, Faris means "Knight" in arabic, which describes what he is and how he acts perfectly.

8. He's different but at the same time just like everyone else

Gif belongs to @i-mostly-reblog-things

Yeah, he looks different, speaks with an accent that's not American, has a different mindset about things in life and maybe that could come from the country he's been raised, or his family or maybe he decide to be the way he is on his own accord. But, as an lesson learned in the episode "The Depths of cousin Fethry!"

Just because something or someone is different doesn't mean is bad.

True, D'jinn didn't make a first good impresion with the Duck family, except from Webby (You go girl! It seems that she has a talent to see edgy but misunderstood people and give them a chance) but at the end everyone was celebrating his birthday with him. They give him a cake! This small but powefull gesture made me 100% convinced that, even with flaws and conflicts, they are the perfect family. It still surprises me that the crew of Ducktales and Disney would make a scene like that. If someone told me a year ago that they would make a scene with: An arab. Dressed with traditional clothes (turban and all). Wearing all black. Celebrating his/her birthday with an American (Scotish in Scrooge's case) Family, I would have laugh and say: Yeah, sure, like they would actualy show that.

But they did it and I couldn't be more happy.

Just a pause from this Ducktales' post

Some of you could be thinking as you read this: "Nice that your people are shown in a positive way"

The thing is... I'm not arab. I'm a latinoamerican who just happens to love Middle Eastern cultures. My country isn't very prejuiced towards Middle Eastern people (maybe because there's a few of them) but I have come from a long way. To being sure that everything there was just sand and violence to wanting to visit some of the many wonders that the East has to give, meet people and learn their point of view. I think everyone should do that at some point, instead of, you know, getting all your arab information from Hollywood movies and concluding that everything would be better if the Middle Easterns were dead. As this quote from the YouTube Documentary "Reel bad Arabs" states:

"We feel that Arabs are not like us, are not like everyone else, then let's kill them off, then they deserve to die, right?"

The thing is, they are more similar that we think, it's just that the international media doesn't show that... until now.

And going back with Ducktales

Yeah, this dude looks different, but he laughs, feels, and enjoys having a great time just like everyone else.

It's the same that is happening with Fenton and the latino representation. D'jinn is a hero who happens to be arab. A dramatic warrior. A family values man. A great allie, friend and who knows what many things more. He, and other Ducktales characters, have so many layers that it's incredible. Just like people, you can't define someone only from their personality or their race. There are so many things that make a person unique. D'jinn broke the expectations I had for him (or he sliced them with his sword) for the better.

9. He's better than Aladdin in many ways

By starters, the voice actors. Aladdin's VA is American and has an American accent in the movie. D'jinn's VA is Omid Abtahi, born in Iran, a Middle Eastern actor. And I'm not saying arab because Irani people are not Arabs (correct me if I'm wrong). Omid doesn't have an accent, as far as I know, but I think it's a nice detail to have the warrior being voiced by someone who comes from the same place. Then, we have the fact that Aladdin lied to almost everyone and D'jinn was a victim of a lie. True, the Ducks assumed he was going to kill them all (and for a good reason) but a lie is still a lie. I don't know many things about Middle Eastern clothes and fashion in the past and the present, but I can tell you will find (maybe traditional) people who wears something more close to D'jinn than Aladdin, and I'm pretty sure the warrior would free a genie if he has the chance because he's a descendant of one. But apart from their differences, both are really good people with a big heart and a kind soul, it's just that we find out Aladdin is good in the beggining of the movie with the bread and orphans scene and with D'jinn almost in the end of the episode, because to be honest, I was expecting him to be lying about wanting to protect the lamp and instead working for the new Merlock, since that was his role in the original movie. Many of us expected a lying thief, but instead we got another Diamond in the Rough.

10. He is a key for one of Scrooge's character developments

Gif belongs to @everythingducktales

The richest duck in the World was SO impressed by the warrior's story that he opened a museum of valuable artifacts so he can share his stories with his family and the world. Let's repeat that. Scrooge McDuck, a very famous, very important and proud adventurer took the advice of a stranger (he also was 100% sure this stranger would kill him and his family if he doesn't get what he wants) because he saw his "human" side, a family side that made the duck realize "maybe we are not so different after all".

Not even the Buzzards (people who worked with Scrooge for who knows what many years) were capable of convincing Scrooge to do some of their plans (but lets be honest, their plans are awful)

That made him be more open about his adventures, his past experiences and his treasures, each one with a unique story. Maybe that would prevent unfortunate yard sales in the future.

Bonus:

11. He is going to return

It is confirmed in one of Frank Angones' posts that he is going to appear in the future, maybe as an allie of the Duck family in an adventure. Or who knows? Maybe they can recruit him as a member of a superheroes team along with Gizmoduck, Darkwing Duck and others. Plus, I want to see him interact with Launchpad and Donald.

That would be all... for now.

[lycanthrology]

may i know abt ur OCs,, 🥺👉👈

!!!! yes of course!!!

i made a silly personality quiz as well

there’s four like major guys but they all have family and stuff i wont go into them too much tho coz yknow yAwn

Aidan Clarke

Basically the villain of the bunch, but I have the feeling that if this was a real piece of media people would be bending over backwards to try to excuse his shitty behaviour. He’s a uk college dropout who’s got a lot of guilt and anger so he takes it out violently on other people to feel better. He went to prison for three years or so for accidentally killing his father and now he’s trying to errr basically complete a ritual to become a god. No one’s ever done it before though so no one knows what’s actually going to happen. He and his whole family are werewolves so er yeah. He’s a mean little man who deserves nothing. Nothing. Aidan is a white cishet man.

Baize Ross

She’s Aidan’s sister who changed her name when he went to prison so she couldn’t be associated as easily. She can be intimidating and cold, but also like really stupid. Baize wants to stop Aidan from uniting the gods because she knows he’ll abuse the power and use it selfishly. She often lies and hurts people, but thinks its justified by the End Goal. As time goes on her reasoning gets more and more skewed until she’s basically on a revenge quest for her own benefit. She’s deaf in one ear after Aidan related head trauma. And yeah she’s also a werewolf. Baize is a white bi cis woman in a relationship with Kaleela.

Kaleela Antoine

She’s probably the only character I’d want to be my friend irl other than maybe Lennox. Kal is super warm and kind, but can also be assertive and stubborn when she needs to be. She loves action movies and hanging out with her dad. Her and her dad have a really strong bond. When she was nine, her mother died in a car crash, and it pushed them closer together. Kal tries to talk to him at least once every day either in person or on the phone. Kal’s dad is from Algeria and they both know Arabic, French and English fluently. She suffers from anxiety and worries a lot about how people perceive her. She’s an up and coming ballet dancer that a lot of critics are talking about and hopes to make dance her full time career one day. She’s so lovely and tries her hardest to stay positive through most situations. Kaleela is a mixed race (Black and Pakistani) cis muslim lesbian in a relationship with Baize.

Lennox Smith

Lennox is an out of work astrophysicist who was in Baize’s sociology class in college. He went on to study astrophysics at university. They dated briefly but that’s way in the past and they’ve mutually agreed to ignore it. He’s sarcastic and standoffish when he hasn’t warmed up to someone, but he’s always willing to help people wherever he can. He’s close with his older brother, who was born with MS. However, he’s managed to drift from his family by forcing himself too far into his studies and not allowing himself any time off to see them during uni, then feeling too ashamed to reconnect afterwards. In the group, he seems to gravitate towards Kal. They almost instantly became good friends. Lennox is wary of Baize. He’s willing to go along with her though, as he’s developed a big fear of amounting to nothing since he cant get any work placements and thinks getting involved in her wild family drama might help him find a purpose. He’s so smart but super underappreciated and deserving of way more respect than he gets. Lennox is a Black bi trans man with adhd and autism.