#scaffold situation

[northgazaupdates]

EMERGENCY🚨Help a new mother and her baby find food, medical care, and safety

Suad Ahmad is an engineer from Gaza. She graduated from university at the top of her class and was rapidly excelling in her career as an instructor, consultant, and team leader.

Suad, her husband, and their family were overjoyed to find out she was pregnant. Sadly, this was only a week before occupation began its illegal scorched earth campaign against the people of Gaza. Suad's home (left) and workplace (right) were destroyed, and she and her husband's family were displaced from the north.

After building a scaffolding structure for their family in the supposed “safe area” in Rafah (left), the occupation attacked the city and forced their evacuation. Suad and her family were then displaced to Deir al-Balah, where they procured a tent (right). As you can see, these are small, vulnerable structures, completely exposed to the elements. They were exposed to multiple disease vectors while also being unable to procure enough food. During this time, Suad became extremely sick with gastroenteritis, a dangerous condition during pregnancy.

On the day she went into labor, Suad had to walk a great distance to the hospital. Upon arrival, she found that the hospital was operating at bare minimal capacity. There was not even a bed for her to use. Suad’s baby was born with minimal medical support, and the ordeal was extremely difficult. The occupation then began bombing the vicinity of the hospital. Suad and her baby were in immense danger, with nowhere to turn.

Unfortunately, the situation has only gotten worse. Suad and her infant are now living in a tent in extreme heat. IOF attacks continue, putting their lives in immediate danger. The occupation’s blockade on Rafah Crossing and the destruction of roads and infrastructure has led to increased, extreme food scarcity. Suad cannot find enough food to feed herself or her baby. She has not been able to recover from the difficult birth, and her baby is missing out on crucial nutrition needed for neonatal development.

Suad has had a campaign open for several weeks, raising support so that she, her husband, and her husband’s mother and sister could evacuate to Egypt. Sadly, progress has been slow. She was unable to collect the necessary resources to evacuate before the occupation illegally seized Rafah Crossing, the only border crossing that would enable evacuation.

However, international pressure continues to mount on the occupation to depart the crossing. Once they do, Suad and her baby need to be able to evacuate to Egypt for their health and safety. You can help make this possible by directly supporting them at the link below.

Please, help give Suad and her baby a better chance at life. If you cannot give, please reblog this post and repost the link▶️ (https://gofund.me/ebaee2af) across all of your social media accounts.

Verified by @nabulsi

[technovillain]

my d.e. fanskills set

these are based on my own personality. so just allow me to be nerdy and vaguely vulnerable for a second.

INTELLECT

SCAFFOLD: call back to past solutions to problems. You are a seasoned professional who can make a Venn diagram of any two situations. This is always appropriate. Cool for: Architects, Think-Tankers, Technical Support

IDEOLOGY: apply your truths. Bring those Philosophy 101 facts to the forefront and show everyone you know how the system works. Fuck the man. Fight the power. Cool for: Soapboxers, Revolutionaries, Activists

REFERENCE: recall previous facts and information you have stored in your head. Cool for: Scholars, Expert Witnesses, Archivists

THREAD: tie unrelated things together to form new concepts or truths. Easily led astray by distraction. Cool for: Conspiracists, Investigators, Crossword Champions

RACONTEUR: tell a story, be it true or false. Is the web you weave convincing? More importantly, does it baffle and dazzle the mind? Cool for: Authors, Compulsive Liars, Dungeon Masters

EVERGREEN: your childlike, everlasting hunger to learn more, and to learn everything. A potted plant frustrated by its root space. Cool for: Finger-Painters, Those Who Pine, Renaissance Men

PSYCHE

APRÉS MOI: look forward to the consequences of the future. See yourself return to the clay and find what remains. Cool for: Dark Poets, Forensic Scientists, Prognosticators

MOTLEY: a fool from a fantasy world. Thinks nothing of the mortal realm and encourages escapism through imagination. Cool for: Spiraling Entertainers, the Absent-Minded, Nincompoops

SOLICITUDE: show compassion and understanding to those around you. You've been there before, reassure them. Cool for: Village Elders, Veterinarians, the Lonely

MATRYOSHKA: connect with versions of yourself long gone. Different names, the shunned, the dearly missed, hold court with them all. Cool for: Introspects, Therapists, Those with Identity Disorders

L'APPEL DU VIDE: think of all the ways it could go wrong. Usually unnecessary and distressing, occasionally enlightening. Occasionally allows you to get into the mindset of a lunatic. Cool for: People on the Edge, Paranoiacs, Health & Safety Inspectors

BREECHES: you're a big boy, you're a grown up, these are facts that you can believe all the time. People take you seriously. You are confident. Cool for: Fragile Egos, Self-Proclaimed Big Boys, Younger Siblings

PHYSIQUE

GUTS: something is stirring in your stomach. Can you handle it? Cool for: Daredevils, the Honest, Dumpster-Divers

SWIVEL: scope out the room. Locate danger and emergency exits. Trust no one. You aren't paranoid, you're just being more cautious than everyone else. Cool for: Bodyguards, Runaways & Fugitives, Petty Criminals

FLOODGATES: Hold it in. Don't cry, don't emote, don't let them know what you're thinking. Cool for: Feeling-Bottlers, Chronic Tough-Guys, Judiciaries

MULTI-TOOL: be resourceful with your tools. Use everything for multiple purposes, get all the juice out of every fruit in your basket. Cool for: The Frugal, Those Who Hate Doing the Dishes, Tailors

ITCH: encompasses most primal desires. Destruction, feasting, sexual gratification, violence. Cool for: Vandals, Hedonists, Party Animals

VIGOR: the overall state of your immune system and physical health. Your body is a well oiled machine. Cool for: Health Nuts, Olympians, Hypochondriacs

MOTORICS

FLOAT: sneak around, light as a feather. Leave the environment undisturbed. You are a gentle breeze. Cool for: Jewel Thieves, Eavesdroppers, the Forgotten

IGNITION: the adrenaline-fed movements of a maniac. How scared are you? How badly do you want to run away? Cool for: Prey Animals, the Guilty, Cowards

FLUIDITY: loosen your jaw and unclench your fists. You're in control of the situation, and none of this will matter a year from now. Cool for: Yogis, Enlightened Monks, Trusted Leaders

PANACHE: move your body in all the right ways. You are unthinkingly perfect at knowing where to put your hands and feet. Cool for: Masters of Charisma, Dancers, Impressive Show-Offs

CROSSHAIRS: make precise and accurate motions with your body and the tools that you wield. Cool for: Court Stenographers, Sharpshooters, Sign Interpreters

BRUNT: bear a heavy load. You don't need any help with this. Your muscles and joints are forged of steel. Cool for: Heroes of the Working Class, Shot-Putters, Powerlifters

[serialadoptersbracket]

FINALS: Daenerys Targaryen vs. Whitebeard

Submitted kids:

Daenerys Targaryen: Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion, Grey Worm, Missandei, the entire population of Slavers Bay

Whitebeard: Marco, Portgas D. Ace, Thatch, Izou, Haruta, Deuce, Jozu, Vista, and a bunch more I can’t think of rn

Propaganda under the cut!

Daenerys Targaryen:

1. “Is there any better example of a serial adopter than someone who has adopted an entire city? Daenerys not only is the mother of dragons with her three dragons being her magic children, but she's also adopted soldiers, polyglot preteens, and old man renowned for his honor, and three cities worth of freed slaves. She takes her responsibility as their mother (or 'hysa' as used in the books) extremely seriously, giving up her goals of reaching Westeros to help ensure that her freed children are able to function in Meereen (notably the books handle this situation much better than the show but the show's cultural impact is too big to ignore)”

2. “#girl takes being mother to her people to the extreme sometimes #not many people have the dedication to risk catching the plague to go personally help the afflicted”

3. “#daenerys ‘i would sooner perish fighting than return my children to bondage’ targaryen absolutely deserves to win”

Whitebeard:

1. “His biggest dream in life is to have a family of his own, but how to go about that? Settle down with a wife and have lots of kids? Boring. No, the best way to go about it is to become a pirate, find the most outcasted and lost people you can, and make them your crewmates/sons”

2. “One of the four emperors of the sea. He wanted a family, so he basically adopted his entire crew. They all call him their dad. He calls them his sons. He wages war against the entire government just to save one of his boys from the scaffold.”

3. “#i can't think of anyone who can beat wb in the game of serial adoption #if he sees someone who is sad lonely angry or otherwise suffering in life he goes they are my child now. no i don't take criticism' #literally over 1000 kids”

Link to the rest here!

[utilitycaster]

Watching the Mighty Nein conversations and seeing people post about Watch Machina I really am struck by how much like...generally well-meaning misunderstandings or accidentally insensitive statements or even just two valid but conflicting viewpoints come up in conversation from the very start, and how utterly vital this is to the characters feeling so real and having such clear motivations.

Molly accidentally says the worst things possible to Nott every time, because while he needs to believe he is not the person who was put in a grave and who Cree knew, just a different person who happens to share the same body (that he's endeavored to make his own), she needs to believe that despite being in a different body she is still able to be Veth Brenatto, a halfling woman from Felderwin. Fjord has designed his entire current persona about being someone who commands respect after a powerless childhood in which he was bullied and abused and an adulthood in which he was horribly, even lethally, betrayed, and so the others aren't wrong about his tusks (and, notably, he's even able to listen) but it's part of that precarious scaffolding, along with the accent; and people like Caleb and Yasha in turn (as many people have said in the notes) need to know that someone else can move forward from their past, even though they can't yet.

With the conversation about Kima, Vex - victim of racism over her mixed heritage and having experienced an early adulthood as a homeless wanderer who was undoubtedly treated with suspicion simply for being new in town too many times to count - needs Keyleth to have more than just "vibes"; Keyleth, on the other hand, is terrified she lacks leadership qualities not just of intuition ("vibes") but also expressing that to others. Much later on, Scanlan's outburst in A Bard's Lament is both very real - Scanlan feels (and might even be right) that if he'd never met Vox Machina, he'd be less powerful but he also wouldn't have died twice, and he wouldn't have to care so much about others and he might not even know about Kaylie - but in expressing that he blames the rest of Vox Machina for caring back and making that attempt to disconnect impossible.

These are all in my opinion either absolutely necessary groundwork for characters who develop satisfyingly over the course of a campaign, and remarkably efficient too: each of these serves to set up both the characters as individuals (even if we as the audience did not know the entire story at the time, which, in many of these cases, we didn't) and their relationships with each other.

And I think, and I would apologize for making so many posts about where Campaign 3 fails where the other two succeed but I find it personally helpful to do so and I'm not going to stop until it no longer is, that this is perhaps its greatest failure point: there was no space given, in the narrative or by much of the fandom, to work through well-intentioned insensitivity or disagreement. Especially with the examples of the Mighty Nein, this doesn't even need to rise to the level of outright conflict! Molly and Nott's conversation is at most prickly, and the conversation with Fjord is even supportive, and Vox Machina had, notably, much more time with each other than the Mighty Nein had had at the time of both those conversations and could go much harder without destroying a nascent social connection.

And, of course, the Mighty Nein were also not without more outright conflict - we've already seen Fjord (life ruined and nearly destroyed entirely by someone deviating from the plan in a high pressure situation and betraying the group) threaten Caleb (pretty much solely motivated by the pursuit of arcane knowledge and Nott at this point, history of extensive abuse) and Nott (family saved because she went off-book), and Bowlgate (Beau's value of personal freedom vs. Caleb's suspicion of strangers' intentions, both informed by their pasts) is coming up fast. And clearly, it is not uniquely a campaign 3 issue that the fandom decided that one person was right and one was wrong instead of understanding that these are people with two separate perspectives - that stretches back to Vox Machina (the initial source of much Keyleth hate was that conversation about Kima), and the cast is still joking about Bowlgate - but I am struck by how there was pretty much no one who both loves Bells Hells and embraces this sort of misunderstanding. I still recall the seething hatred towards Orym's mother Alma for an utterly innocent statement re: the Ashari avoiding any Ruidusborn children even though she is personally entirely unaware of Imogen's past and the end state of the world ends up being...no more Ruidusborn ever.

We've seen what happens when everyone takes those misunderstandings and instead of trying to dig into them with empathy for both sides (Vax re: the argument about Kima) or talking it over after the fact even in veiled terms (the team conversation with Nott immediately in episode 13, and the oblique conversation between Fjord and Caleb in 14 and several much later ones and more explicit ones re: Swordgate) tries to just skip past them and maintain an illusion of peace. Ironically, instead of having heroic assholes who can deal with the fallout of the problems they cause and who learn to take unintentional insensitivity in good faith, you simply end up with regular old assholes, who can't, and who as a result treat most outsiders with disdain.

[nemorein]

Jasmine's rolls have been so poetic. Stacking up to 5 exhaustion and dodging death only by an earlier selfish choice (fully reframing that as the tried-and-true instinct of Self Preservation). Trying to not slit a throat and immediately gets Brutal repercussions—the gang boss and her bodyguard acting like the mother and child that they were almost got her killed, and then got her to live. Nat-20-insighting fucking ASMODEUS when he's being way too cocky (seems to be a habit of his lol) and No One tricks a seasoned street rat on something important. Jasmine set up her story beautifully and her dices truly obliged. Fiedra to me seemed like someone who has a very big heart, and internally had to balance that out to deal with the situation she was in, by being extra convincingly ruthless with pragmatism. We often don't know why we feel a certain way, or by extension do a certain thing. She hatched an egg which would give her a helpless infant to take care of for years, while she herself was a street kid? What do you mean, child? Was she in Any condition to raise a child?? The tender thing was not something she was supposed to do; therefore, that Must not be what she was doing. Dragonborns make for great bodyguards, it was good investment, that's why. Crokas would go help children in need without being asked, at harm to himself. Fiedra, who ostensibly cares only about herself and her own, was so proud of him and helped to reassure Celeste. Crokas learned it Somewhere. Luckily he didn't have to justify it to himself. In the long run this justification machine is obviously Extremely Hurtful. But… I'm so glad that whatever shaky hazardous scaffolding she scrambled to set up in her brain carried her through this far, and that she's in a place to disassemble them now.

[kirakuudere1]

Big rant on denji

To regard Chainsaw Man’s Denji as anything less than a deeply abused and exploited individual is to misunderstand the fundamental emotional and psychological scaffolding upon which Tatsuki Fujimoto constructs his narrative. While the hyperviolent aesthetic and supernatural premise of the series might distract from more subtle readings, Denji’s story is, at its core, an allegory for abuse—systemic, emotional, physical, and psychological.

Denji’s suffering begins long before he becomes the titular “Chainsaw Man.” As a child, Denji is thrust into a brutal life of indentured servitude. Following the death of his father—an apparent suicide that Denji may have witnessed or indirectly caused—he inherits his father's insurmountable debt to the yakuza. The yakuza, organized crime figures, immediately coerce Denji into a life of labor, intimidation, and organ-selling. These are not acts of juvenile delinquency; they are the forced survival mechanisms of a boy who is, by all accounts, an orphaned child with no education, no guidance, and no love.

It’s critical to emphasize that Denji’s earliest relationships are exploitative in nature. His bond with Pochita, the devil who becomes his heart, is the sole mutual relationship built on genuine affection and sacrifice. Every other character Denji encounters in Part 1, from the yakuza to the Public Safety Bureau, to Makima, views Denji primarily as a tool. A weapon. A means to an end. He is not offered compassion; he is offered conditions. He is told he can eat toast if he kills devils. He is told he can touch someone if he follows orders. He is told he can have purpose if he subjugates his autonomy.

Makima, perhaps the most psychologically manipulative figure in the manga, is the clearest abuser. She weaponizes Denji’s trauma, ignorance, and longing for affection with surgical precision. She does not love Denji. She engineers a situation in which Denji believes he is being loved—creating a faux family, giving him the illusion of comfort, and then methodically stripping it away to induce guilt, grief, and ultimately, obedience. This mirrors real-world abuse patterns, particularly those of emotional grooming and coercive control, in which abusers isolate victims, condition them to seek approval, and punish any resistance.

Fujimoto deliberately portrays Denji as emotionally stunted and socially naive. He does not understand relationships; his desires are elemental—food, sex, affection—because he has never been taught how to engage with others in healthy ways. His desires are not shallow; they are desperate. When he fantasizes about a girlfriend or even something as mundane as buttered toast, it is not comedic relief—it is tragedy masquerading as simplicity. These are the aspirations of a boy so profoundly deprived that basic human dignity feels like a luxury.

Furthermore, Denji’s repeated attempts to define his own will are crushed by external authorities. Though he becomes incredibly powerful, his sense of self is consistently undermined. He is manipulated into killing someone he loves (Power), then psychologically shattered when his mind splits and he becomes a near-emotionless shell. Even his transformation into the "Chainsaw Man" becomes another way in which others attempt to use his power for their ends, whether ideological, military, or personal.

To label Denji merely as “crude” or “simple-minded,” as some readers do, is to fall into the same trap as his in-universe abusers: judging him without acknowledging the systemic trauma that shaped him. His crude humor, his sexual confusion, his moral ambiguity—these are not inherent defects but rather the scars of unrelenting mistreatment and neglect.

Denying Denji's status as a victim not only misreads the emotional core of Chainsaw Man, but also perpetuates a broader cultural blindness toward how abuse manifests in the lives of boys and young men. Fujimoto’s brilliance lies in forcing the reader to confront uncomfortable questions: What does it mean to save someone? What does it mean to love someone who doesn’t know what love is? And how often do we overlook abuse when it is wrapped in strength, violence, or laughter?

In sum, Denji is not a heroic savior nor a mindless killer—he is a wounded boy navigating a world that has never shown him kindness without a price tag. Recognizing him as a victim of abuse is not just accurate; it is essential to understanding the moral and emotional architecture of Chainsaw Man. To do otherwise is to dismiss a story that is, ultimately, a cry for empathy hidden beneath layers of gore, chainsaws, and devils.

[tiny-librarian]

As it was, Marillac reported that Katherine was “so weak that she could hardly speak, but confessed in a few words that she merited a hundred deaths for so offending the King who had so graciously treated her.” Naturally Katherine was fragile at this point, worn down as she was by prolonged fear, sleeplessness, the injustice of her situation and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Chapuys, too, noted that Katherine had little to say, only confessing her guilt and praying for the king’s welfare and prosperity. In other words her scaffold speech followed the standard pattern. 

When Katherine had spoken, she handed the headsman a purse containing some coins: his fee and alms for the poor. Her ladies then removed her hood, gloves and mantle and caught her auburn hair into a white linen coif. Next, they bound her eyes with bandages so that she would not see the ground rising to meet her in those final few seconds before the darkness came. They then withdrew to the back of the scaffold. They still had one more duty to perform for their mistress.

Katherine knelt and said her prayers; then she positioned herself on the block just as she had rehearsed during the last short night of her life. Mercifully, the headsman removed her head with a single stroke of the axe.

Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII’s Fifth Queen - Josephine Wilkinson

[northgazaupdates]

Help a new mother and her baby find safety

Meet Suad Ahmad!

Suad is an engineer from Gaza. She graduated from university at the top of her class and was rapidly excelling in her career as an instructor, consultant, and team leader.

Suad, her husband, and their family were overjoyed to find out she was pregnant. Sadly, this was only a week before occupation began its illegal scorched earth campaign against the people of Gaza. Suad's home (left) and workplace (right) were destroyed, and she and her husband's family were displaced from the north.

After Suad’s family built a scaffolding structure for themselves in the supposed "safe area" in Rafah (left), the occupation attacked the city and forced their evacuation. Suad and her family were then displaced to Deir al-Balah, where they procured a tent (right). As you can see, these are small, vulnerable structures, completely exposed to the elements. They were exposed to multiple disease vectors while also being unable to procure enough food. During this time, Suad became extremely sick with gastroenteritis, a dangerous condition during pregnancy.

On the day she went into labor, Suad had to walk a great distance to the hospital. Upon arrival, she found that the hospital was operating at bare minimal capacity. There was not even a bed for her to use. Suad's baby was born with minimal medical support, and the ordeal was extremely difficult. The occupation then began bombing the vicinity of the hospital. Suad and her baby were in immense danger, with nowhere to turn.

Unfortunately, the situation has only gotten worse.

Suad and her infant are now living in a tent in extreme heat. lOF attacks continue, putting their lives in immediate danger. The occupation's blockade on Rafah Crossing and the destruction of roads and infrastructure has led to increased, extreme food scarcity. Suad cannot find enough food to feed herself or her baby. She has not been able to recover from the difficult birth, and her baby is missing out on crucial nutrition needed for neonatal development.

Suad has had a campaign open for several weeks, raising support so that she, her husband, and her husband's mother and sister could evacuate to Egypt. Sadly, progress has been slow. She was unable to collect the necessary resources to evacuate before the occupation illegally seized Rafah Crossing, the only border crossing that would enable evacuation.

However, international pressure continues to mount on the occupation to depart the crossing. Once they do, Suad and her baby need to be able to evacuate to Egypt for their health and safety. You can help make this possible by directly supporting them at the link below.

Please, help give Suad and her baby a better chance at life. If you cannot give, please reblog this post and repost the link (https://gofund.me/ebaee2af) across all of your social media accounts.

Verified by nabulsi and northgazaupdates

Thank you

[belethlegwen]

If a giantess decided that transporting people was her schtick, how do you feel she could've gone about doing so? Like if she wanted to transport many people at once, to different destinations etc.? (Also, I really like the idea of having a giantess as a tour guide in a city! She could like drop you off at various parts, or decide to just stop and talk about certain landmarks, while you get to have a bird's-eye view of them :) )

GIANTESS TOUR GUIDE IS WONDERFUL, omg I lovelovelove that idea!

As for transportation methods:

I love the idea of something with a handle she could hold at her sides, like a briefcase. Lift it and carry it with her to the next stop, set it down, people get on and off like a double-decker bus and then she picks it up and goes again. Pulling/pushing a large wheeled cart or something also an option, almost like a wagon/shopping cart/rolling luggage set-up for the Giantess but fitted to carry people in more comfort.

For a tour-guide situation? That would be a bit more personal. I think there'd be some kind of seating situation that the giantess physically wore that people could climb in or out of, or be helped into/out of by the giant to save space in a packed city and to help give that eagle-eye view you mention. The giant wears a harness/vest type of item with almost scaffolding of sorts that make tiers for people to sit and strap themselves into. Prime seating would maybe be on/just over the shoulders (depending on how the scaffolding/frame would go) so you could get more of an all-around view of the area.

Thank you as always for the ask!!

[gffa]

I keep updating my feed to see if you have more opinions about the acolyte episode. I feel like this recent episode could’ve used a couple of your posts as reference when it comes to how the Jedi canonically go about acquiring [redacted for spoilers just in case you haven’t seen it yet]

Honestly, it felt like the show was trying really hard to portray the Jedi's methods as hinky, but couldn't actually do anything about it because of established worldbuilding. The Jedi of the High Republic have explicitly said they have to get permission from the parents. The Jedi of the prequels are explicitly shown as not adoption-hungry, the only time we see potential Jedi younglings, neither of them are taken from their parents, one says they'll be going later, one is just handed back to her mom, no indication Roo-Roo is going to be a Jedi at all. So, I think it's a weird situation, where The Acolyte is working so hard to create tension and mystery, but I'm not sure how it's going to shake out. I keep thinking of Torbin, like, yeah, what happened was a tragedy, but why was he specifically so torn up about it that he felt he had to die to obtain Mae's forgiveness? From what we saw in the episode, Mae set the fire, Mae ran off and the scaffolding fell and she was assumed dead, the Jedi never forced Osha to join them, Osha was the one who said she wanted to go. Therefore, unless the show is really, really poorly written, there has to be more to the mystery that we haven't yet unraveled. I feel like that's also influencing everything going on with the Jedi potential adoption, that this situation feels like we still don't have the full context. Why was Aniseya so worried about the Jedi finding out how the twins were conceived? Why do the Jedi care so adamantly, when we see in both the High Republic and the prequels that the Jedi live perfectly fine with other Force using traditions/cultures? Even if this coven was dark, that doesn't mean anything to the Jedi, they were perfectly well aware of the Nightsisters' existence and did nothing about it. Unless this show is extremely poorly written/ignoring top level canon, there has to be more to what was going on with the coven than we know about. Because what we see is the Jedi felt very strongly about these two girls for some reason, but they were clear that, while they had the right to test them, it still relied on the parents' permission. We see that they're pretty aware that Mae and Osha were failing on purpose--Mae can't fake her blood results, after all--and they don't push Mae, but they do gently push Osha because everything about her is straining towards wanting to be a Jedi. And EVEN THEN they just say she passed the test, it's Osha who talks to Aniseya and gets her to agree to letting her go, not the Jedi. The show's vibes kinda feel like there was pressure from the Jedi there, but the actual content of the episode is that the coven agreed to it specifically because they didn't want to attract attention, like they weren't part of the Republic, they specifically said they didn't have to agree, the others were willing to fight about it, but Aniseya was the one who said, no, let them take the test. Yeah, the Jedi are pushing for some reason, but it feels like it's not because that's how they operate in any other situations where we see them with Force-sensitive children, but because they know something specific about this situation. So, I'm fine with everything presented so far and, honestly, it was a lot more positive than I was expecting! Like, this show isn't just a big lore dump, it has a specific story to tell, you know? It's a situation that has its own unique circumstances and, sure, they were borrowing elements from other Jedi worldbuilding, but everything we saw in there was done with permission and they made a point to roll with what each girl seemed to want. Sol was so careful not to unduly pressure Osha, just ask her what she really wanted, gave her a little nudge because he could see what she wanted. They made sure it was her choice! That it was her mother's choice! How could I have asked for more than that?

[tanadrin]

Who do you like in February/October Revolution the most? Or dislike?

i don't think there's anybody in the whole saga of 1917 who i feel close political kinship with. part of the problem is that russia was just in an awful situation to begin with. russia should never have fought world war I, and the war having been begun, it had no way to extract itself without devastating concessions, while at the same time continuing to fight it was manifestly a disaster. "russia makes devastating concessions which get reversed because germany loses anyway" was kind of the best possible outcome, but it's not one you could consciously engineer as the russian government. and even if you wer going to try, the way the bolsheviks waffled and dicked around when it came to ending the war did russia no favors. man, even the left SRs were suicidally committed to the war, which i find simply baffling.

and on the domestic front, basically nobody who found themselves in a position of power was really all that committed to democracy. nobody ever seemed serious about convening the constituent assembly, "all power to the soviets" was a slogan that only lasted as long as it was useful for the bolsheviks to seize power, and past attempts at democratic reforms had been thoroughly sabotaged from the top-down, so it's not like there was even a scaffold of democratic institutions to try to build on.

russia was just in a really bad place in 1917! sometimes in history you get lucky and a figure or a party emerges which seems to be positioned to wildly outperform what the conditions on the ground might provide for--your georges washington, your simons bolivar, your toussaints louverture. and even then (as in the case of simon bolivar and toussaint louverture) such figures often fail and their ideals are betrayed by their successors. but russia didn't have anybody like that in 1917. the best it could do was lenin, who had the scrappy, will-to-power necessary to win a revolutionary knife fight, but whose vision of what would come after was pretty limited.

sadly "low value over replacement" seems to characterize the leadership of russia throughout most of its history! i don't think there's one russian leader in the 19th or 20th century who feels really outstanding to me. consequential, yes. but good? eh.

[lupinescribbler]

Writing Characters: Getting from a ✨vibe✨ to something concrete.

Writing characters is my favorite part of writing, so I figured I’d chat about one of my methods. As far as I know, I came up with it on my own, but I don't doubt a lot of other people use a similar or even the same method.

If you have a vibe you probably know their sense of humor. Their voice. Bits and pieces of their personality, etc. I start from here a lot when I’m writing fanfic especially, since the character is preexisting. Problems I tend to run into from here can be struggling to make them a driving force in the plot, developing a clear and executable character arc, and other… tangibles.

Word Bank. Write down every descriptive word for their personality/who they are. Brave. Reckless. Sarcastic. Loyal. Whatever you’d use to describe them. Then cull the words, think critically about them. Eliminate unnecessary synonyms, or replace with better/more exact words.

Sorting. Draw connections between these traits based on your understanding of the character. There isn’t right or wrong answers, as long as you can explain or justify your reasoning. Are they brave because they’re reckless? Reckless because they’re brave? My primary goal with this step is to be able to isolate a few core tenets of their character by seeing which ones I keep circling back to as influencing or causing others. Usually I end up with 2-5 tenets, 3 tends to be the sweet spot. You want these traits to be distinct from each other. For example you probably wouldn’t want both ‘brave’ and ‘reckless’ to be two of your tenets, or ‘kind’ and ‘encouraging’.

(Note that actually drawing this out isn’t necessarily necessary, and if you do you can do it to whatever level of detail helps. Here I added behaviors resulting from/affirming the personality traits as an example of how you can evolve from this/do whatever you want to with it. It’s a tool, not a template)

So, you got a flowchart, now what? Well, it can be a handy rubric to refer to when writing your character. In its most extreme usage, every decision your character makes should be derived from one of your primary tenets. I generally use it to a less rigid degree than that, but you do you.

In my opinion, it gets fun when you think about the dynamic between your primary tenets. Can the tenets be in conflict with each other? IE, what type of situation could you put the character in where the individual tenets indicate different actions? (In my example sheet: Is he distrustful about a job offer, or is he not taking it seriously enough to even be distrustful? Maybe different tenets predominate different parts of his life?) How do these tenets reinforce or contradict each other? Maybe use internal contradiction to show character complexity, or use internal conflict to drive character growth. Maybe a behavior that is reinforced by 2+ tenets (ex: recklessness) can be a dominating character trait or flaw due to how ingrained it is. What different belief system or coping skill is the scaffolding for each tenet? Could two different tenets erupt from the same belief system and/or coping mechanism? What happens to their traits and behaviors if one of these belief systems is challenged or reinforced? Sometimes just having a new lens to look at characterization through brings up new questions and ideas.

Finally, use whatever method or lack thereof works best for you personally, and have fun writing :)

[subzeroparade]

*flying in on the wings after finishing chapter 11* If I were a big artist, I would've been the most insufferable Huw/Messmer propagandist ever. I would've drawn legions to their church 😂 (It's actually a subsidiary of Messmer's harem church, but shhhh - Huw would be one of the top two waifus in there. Or husbandos. Whichever one prefer.) Hope you don’t mind me asking - how did you discover the ship, and how did they end up in the outline of your fic in their final glorious form? 😌

Anon you do not need to be a "big artist" to make and enjoy your own propaganda. Make whatever you want forever (◕‿◕) When I lay down to die I do not intend for one of my last regrets to be “damn, I wish I’d made more niche cringe art that brought me personal satisfaction and served as a joyful escape from the crushing realities of life.”

As to how I “discovered” the ship, it just seemed to me the most (canonically) compelling way to contrast, in writing, the intimacy and eventual breakdown of Messmer’s familial situation (himself, Melina, Marika) with his navigation of the world beyond that (and who else might serve as an influence/conduit for his actions and worldview). It’s one of the more interesting implied facets of his character: that while he is cursed and eventually abandoned, his armies are/were loyal to him to the point of accepting eternity in a forsaken realm to see their duty done. This also makes any kind of rebellion/betrayal starker and more intriguing.  

To be obvious, devotion -> betrayal is incredible scaffolding already over which to build the progression of a relationship - which can then further explore all these junctures of loyalty, subservience, camaraderie, intimacy, and so on. 

And that Messmer is betrayed by someone close enough to him personally that he is canonically remorseful about it: there was already nuance, but now there are STAKES. Warlord doesn’t think twice about his quotidian genocidal crusade, but he is upset that a subordinate left him on read. Also, power dynamic. 

And that is why, despite not being a “big artist”, I am in my corner making them kiss.

[silverskye13]

Ooooo it was so hard picking just one prompt, but for the Situation Game- Could you do #48? Enemy caretaker fic with Tanguish and Wels? Tanguish finds Wels unconscious and (against his better judgement) takes care of him until he wakes up. (Alternatively, you could do Helsknight and Tango, if that first prompt doesn't click. I've been drawing those two interacting so they've been on my mind lol)

He hadn't expected to find him there, was the thing. Tango had asked him to go check through Decked Out while he was gone -- some meetup with Impulse and Zed, it sounded like it would take awhile. Tanguish had heard rockets and wisely hid, and then the rockets left. He assumed someone was dropping something off, or maybe had planned to see Tango only to realize Tango wasn't there. And maybe that was exactly what happened.

The important thing was: Tanguish didn't hear what direction the rockets went. He didn't hear the Warden caged downstairs growl or shriek. He didn't hear a crash, or a scream, or any other indication that an accident had happened. So when he stumbled on Welsknight on the lowest floor of Decked Out, unconscious, it had been... Well it had been a shock. He hadn't even known it was a person at first. He saw a bundle of something on the ground, and he placed down the shulker box he'd been carrying and went over to investigate. When the pile of elytra and armor resolved itself into Welsknight, Tanguish froze, heart racing.

(He should leave him here.)

It wasn't a kind thought, but Tanguish was, rightly, he thought, terrified of Welsknight. If their situations were switched, and it was Welsknight walking up on Tanguish crumpled and unconscious on the floor, he was sure the knight would kill him and he done with it. Just one less problem to deal with. Simple. And while Tanguish was far from able to kill in cold blood -- or killing in general -- leaving the knight here would serve a similar end. Not his problem. He would wake up, or he wouldn't. Tango would find him, or he wouldn't. Whatever happened, it didn't have to be Tanguish that dealt with it.

Except, standing over Welsknight, Tanguish was struck by how much he looked like Helsknight. Their differences were unmistakable up close. He was an inch or two shorter, his hair a sun-gilded auburn, and even bruised he looked gentler, like the world had been kind to him. Their resemblance was brotherly, something about the build and the set of the jaw. But it was enough that Tanguish imagined Helsknight crumpled on the ground somewhere, and how terrible it would be to leave him behind. So, lanced with guilt that made no sense, but compelled to act on it regardless, Tanguish set to work making sure the fool knight didn't die.

Tanguish didn't have much on his person to help with healing, and even if he knew where Tango kept potions, it would be a long climb back up to the Decked Out storage room. He did his best to check for broken bones, looking for odd angles or swelling or crooked joints and finding none. He had to take off the knight's helmet to check for a head injury, found a pretty decent welt, but nothing that suggested blood or breaking.

Tanguish glanced around. They weren't really in the safest place. Beneath the unfinished game, scaffolding blocks and incomplete redstone lines cast long shadows where creatures spawned and congregated, and it wouldn't do to get them both killed by a spider or a zombie down here. Tanguish tentatively explored around, and managed to find a suitably defensible crevasse (a hole in the wall really, probably dug out while Tango was measuring something or other to do with the game). He circled his arms around Welsknight's chest and, as gingerly as possible, tried to drag him in that direction. Then less gingerly, when the knight barely budged. And then Tanguish slumped to the ground because, gods and saints, were people always that heavy? He knew he wasn't the strongest, but he could carry his own weight up the side of a building. Surely he could drag a knight a couple dozen blocks?

Tanguish huffed out a sigh and stared down at Welsknight thoughtfully. "You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?"

(That was mean. Even enemies were worth saving, so long as they didn't do something mean to make him regret it after.)

Tanguish took another pensive look around, and content nothing was about to attack him for his efforts, knelt and began taking the knight's armor off. He had a little knowledge of all the different buckles and bracers and how they worked (he'd seen Helsknight take them on and off a thousand times). It took some fumbling, especially around the chest plate, where he had to gently turn Welsknight over and prop him up, and support his head because flopping around on his neck like that couldn't be good for him, and, gods, this was stupid and awkward and terrible. He really, really should've just left. But then he was done, and when he slipped his arms around the knight to drag him again, he actually managed to move him a few steps without his back breaking, so he took that as his sign from the universe to keep going.

Tanguish wanted the universe to know he tried to be gentle. He wasn't big and strong like Helsknight (and probably Welsknight too). He couldn't casually pick up people and carry them around, or throw them over his shoulders. And if Welsknight were conscious enough for a piggy back ride, Tanguish was pretty sure he would just fall over if he tried to take a step. So dragging the knight two dozen blocks to a little hidey hole in the wall was the best, safest, and really only option at his disposal. Once inside, he scurried out to his shulker box, snatched it up, and dropped it in the entrance to the hiding place so anything that might want to come in would have a harder time. He wished there was something useful inside. He had planned on mob proofing while Tango was gone, stringing around glow lichen so his double would have a safer time working on his game. He had a few snacks, some water, and about a stack and a half of lichen left. That was all he'd bothered to bring with him. Now he wished he had brought something actually helpful.

Tanguish weighed his options, staring down at the still unconscious knight. Leaving sprung to his mind first -- Welsknight was reasonably safe now. The chances of something finding him was relatively small, and if he hung up some glow lichen before he left, the light might ward off anything that did notice him. He thought about maybe bringing the knight to hels, where he might find some help. But that help would probably be Helsknight, and he didn't know how much he trusted those two together. He was... Reasonably sure Helsknight wouldn't kill his double while he was unconscious, but he had no idea what he would do when Welsknight woke up. And Welsknight probably wouldn't take kindly to waking up in hels anyway. He could try to get help? Wander around the server just hoping he stumbled upon Tango, alone? No. No he wasn't going to do that.

Tanguish sighed, rolled his eyes at his own powerlessness. After a few more moments of deliberation, he pulled out his water and a few clumps of lichen. He had a half-remembered thought from somewhere that lichen could be medicinal. He had no idea if this lichen was, but he at least knew it was spongy and could hold a bit of water. He made himself a little ball with the stuff, soaked it, and gingerly placed it against the lump on Welsknight's head. He knew his hands would chill it, and frost crept around his fingertips the longer he held his makeshift compress. He pillowed the knight's head in his lap -- it seemed the most comfortable for both of them in the combined space -- and settled in to wait until Tango came back, or Welsknight awoke, and he hoped the knight would either be too incoherent or too grateful to kill him if the waking came first.

Outside his little hideaway, Tanguish listened to the sounds of monsters crawling to life. The tip-tap-skitter of spider legs. The moans and grumbles of the nearly sleepwalking dead. The occasional croaking mutter of an enderman. He didn't hear creepers (He didn't think anyone could hear creepers.) They crept around on quiet claws, a breath of fur and dark, glaring expressions. One snuck up to his hideaway and peered inside, gazing at him with bottomless black eyes. It hissed, smelling or sensing him and trying, vainly, to threaten him. It couldn't come through the wall, and it didn't give off its tell-tale flashing. Tanguish narrowed his eyes at the thing and hissed back, a keening noise that sent a shiver down his spine, and echoed off the walls of his little hideaway like a sculk shrieker. The creeper lurched backward (most natural things feared sculk on an instinctual level) and it scuttled away into the dark. Tanguish snorted in the general direction of the fleeing creature, and looked down at Welsknight. He gently moved his compress, and felt some satisfaction at seeing the swelling had gone down.

"You know, you knights really are strange sometimes," Tanguish informed the unconscious Welsknight, as though he could hear. "All the armor, and the oaths, and reckless danger -- and you're just as mortal as the rest of us." Tanguish leaned his head back against the wall behind him. "Do you have tenets like Helsknight does? Stuff you swore to do? You've got to, right? That's what makes you a knight, instead of just a guy with a sword."

Tanguish's tail twitched thoughtfully. "You and Helsknight feel the same way about technicalities, so you probably can't truly lie. You just dance around the truth a little, like he does. Let people come to their own conclusions... You shouldn't do that."

Tanguish readjusted his compress. "It makes people feel patronized, like you think they're too stupid to figure out what you're saying. And it makes us feel stupid for trusting you. Like on the aqueduct. I didn't really have a choice but... I really did believe I was safe. It was... Cruel... To take that back."

Tanguish felt nervousness reignite in his stomach, a turning and writhing at the danger he was in, implicitly.

"That would be like me waiting for you to wake up, just to hurt you," Tanguish said quietly, his free hand dipping down to the dagger on his hip. The cold metal, the waiting intention the weapon held, felt almost electric and alive against his fingertips. "All this trouble and effort to keep you safe, discarded over something as petty as who the universe likes best." He thought about Helsknight, and the importance he placed on time. "What a terrible waste of time."

Tanguish sighed and studied the ceiling, tracing the textures in the stone overhead with his eyes. He could see the pickaxe marks where Tango had tunneled this out, long gouges and sharp-edged chips.

"I think I understand why he feels the way he does about you. About all of you. You don't understand what you have." Tanguish looked down at the knight, who, despite what had surely been a terrible fall, merely looked like he slept. "It isn't just death that's a mild inconvenience. Everything is. Eternity is sitting in front of you. Even the largest problems, miseries that could span decades, will be nothing in the blink of an eye. There is no such thing as wasted time. There is no discomfort in doing something badly, or even passably. There's just... The endless possibility to try again. Even my saving you right now is, at best, a very odd, kind gesture, because you don't have a limited number of times to come back. There's no fear in the universe deciding this time it will just swallow you. What I'm doing is meaningless, so meaningless it might not even change your opinion of me, unless it's impressive to you that someone who shouldn't have bothered, did. Impressive, and not terribly stupid."

(He was starting to feel terribly stupid, all things considered.)

Movement caught Tanguish's eye, and he sat quietly as some monster or another passed their hiding place, shuffling off in the dark.

"There's no urgency for change." Tanguish whispered. "There's no pressure for legacy. It's like building sand castles in the desert, with no waves to knock them down. There's no reason to find them precious, no urgency to finish before the tide comes, no cherishing the seconds before they're weathered away. They'll just be there tomorrow, or the next time you get around to paying them attention. It's a beautiful gift, and you have no context to appreciate it. I understand why. You've never lived anything different to give you perspective... But I also understand why he hates you for it."

Tanguish blinked out at the world beyond his little keyhole, where danger stalked, undisturbed and wholly uninterested in him.

"No wonder the universe makes us," Tanguish said. "Why else would you have any reason to change?"

Tanguish looked down at Welsknight again. He studied the knight's face, all the things about him that stayed steadfast and unchanging, uncaring that his existence weathered Helsknight away everyday. That he was a wave, and Tanguish and Helsknight and everyone like them were just sand castles waiting.

"You probably won't," Tanguish murmured, "but I hope someday you figure out how to love him. Love the parts of yourself you hate so much right now. Helsknight is terrifying, and overbearing, and too strong for his own good. He walks through the world like he wishes he could bully it into being fair." Tanguish let out a breath. "But he tries so hard to be good, and any goodness I've learned, I think I learned from him. In spite of him. Because of him."

A sadness washed through him then, and Tanguish spoke soberly. "Someday it will be just you and Tango. A month from now. Or a year. Or whatever our lifetimes amount to. When that day comes, I hope you'll look at each other, and somewhere, me and Helsknight will glimpse each other again. I hope whatever the end looks like, it isn't lonely."

Tanguish fell silent, waiting with infinite patience for Welsknight to wake. He must have dozed off, because he roused to the sound of a groan, and Welsknight slowly rolling over to reach the sore spot on the back of his head. Tanguish held his breath. He probably should have figured out what he was going to do when Welsknight woke up. He had no plan, no idea-- hels he was trapped in a confined space with him! Wait -- his coin. Right.

Welsknight's eyes fluttered open. He frowned first in confusion, then recognition, and then Tanguish's coin was in his fist and he was gone.

In hels, Tanguish leaned against the front door of the house, eyes closed, trying to calm his breathing. It really shouldn't be a big deal. Welsknight hadn't even had the time to threaten him. It was just the residual terror of past bad experiences, the adrenaline rush of realizing he was trapped in a room with a tiger. But he was home now, and he shouldn't be afraid -- didn't have to be afraid.

"You're home early," Helsknight said, sounding concerned, and very close by. He must have been writing at the table. In the time Tanguish had been forcing himself to calm, Helsknight stood and cautiously crossed to him. "Did something happen?"

(Did Welsknight happen?)

"N-no," Tanguish said unconvincingly. And further discredited himself by stepping forward, and hugging Helsknight. He could feel Helsknight's concerned frown in his posture, in the slow way he hugged him back, offering confused comfort.

"Are you... sure?"

"Just glad you're still here," Tanguish said.

"Ah." Helsknight hummed, as though he understood. His hug deepened a bit. "Still here. Are you?"

"I think so."

"Good. I guess I'm glad too, then."

[justrustandstardust]

the problem with geto's mindset didn't make itself apparent when he appeared to "switch sides". the problem had actually been there from the beginning.

when we're introduced to him in the series, his core belief is that the strong should protect the weak. he operates according to this belief and to us, it seems completely fine and acceptable because that's what a person should think, right? it's not untrue that he is objectively stronger than most, so we come to the conclusion that him protecting the weak must be a good thing.

when he goes through his depression era, it appears to us as though his morals are crumbling and his soul is darkening. geto also thinks this, shown in his conversation with haibara.

alongside the viewers, geto thinks he's deviating from the light to the dark. however, when you look closer, you realize that he’s not. nothing actually changes from when we meet him in episode one to when we see him massacre a village.

the problem with geto's mindset is in its fixed polarity. in the beginning, he believes the strong should protect the weak— demonstrating that to him, there are fixed poles of "person in need of protection" and "person who provides the protecting". this can be understood in a subject/agent dynamic, where the weak are agents of their own will, rendering the strong subjects to their needs. in doing this, the weak objectify the strong , turning them into protectors that lack agency.

when he appears to undergo an ideological transformation, the nature of the poles change but their position in a fixed binary doesn't. the subject/agent dynamic merely inverts, where instead the strong subject the weak to their will, assigning themselves agency and stripping the weak of theirs in the process. the poles invert, but the structure that houses them doesn't change— it was there all along, right from the start.

the problem didn't begin when geto decided all non-sorcerers should die. it began when he assigned two distinct groups of people to fixed roles in an established binary, holding steadfast to his belief even when he didn't have a real reason to. his mindset didn't twist, it only appeared to turn something "good" (the strong should protect the weak) into something "bad" (the strong should be protected from the weak).

the binaric infrastructure that scaffolds his belief system actually remained consistent. if you liken his belief system to driving a bus, the bus will still drive as one even if you change out the driver. changing the driver does not fundamentally alter the nature of the bus.

that's why yaga gives yuji such a hard time when he's trying to enrol at jujutsu tech. he's making sure they don't have another geto situation on their hands, where rigid ideals that may appear to help others end up becoming problematic because of their fixed nature.

geto thinks that he's changed, yet he hasn't. he may have replaced the driver, but the bus continues its journey unabated.

[alexanderwales]

Glimwarden was a web serial that I wrote and shamefully abandoned some years ago. It didn't make it very far, at least by webfic standards. Maybe some day it'll get revived and brought back to life (and not in the dead cat bounce way that some stories do, when there's a single chapter much later and then nothing). Glimwarden takes place in a world where there there are small towns protected by magical lantern-light that requires hunters to go out into the dangerous wilds, and everything else about it is not important for this post.

The main subplot of what would have been the first book is about the arrival of people from a town whose lantern has fallen. They come in with their own culture and beliefs, led by an enigmatic and inflammatory leader, and taken in because the town our protagonists are all from wants their labor.

I think about this subplot a lot, because I'm not sure I even really understood it as being about immigration when I was writing it almost ten years ago. It was not written in the context of immigration, it wasn't meant as commentary on anything, it was just this fantastical world that had allowed these outsiders who turn out to be a bad cultural/values fit in.

And to some extent, I think that this is a great thing to do when writing, just run wild with ideas, don't think about how they map to the real world, let yourself be informed by these characters and settings and situations. Glimwarden has a very different society, the nature of their world makes that necessary, so they shouldn't be Obvious Stand-ins, they shouldn't map cleanly.

So the problem with this, writing just as exploratory fun in a narrative scaffold, is that people are going to see the Obvious Stand-ins anyway.

Some of this is readers being used to hamfisted allegory, some of it is that the things we have experience with or knowledge of inform us.

But as a writer, it leaves you in this position of ... do I really need to understand France's reaction to the Syrian refugees just so I can make sure that it's obvious that this is just a totally separate thing? Do I need to do intensive research just to avoid commentary? How many refugee situations of the past five hundred years do I need to study in order to work on this situation that's not supposed to be about anything aside from just ... the way that people with conflicting values brush up against each other? And it's not that I don't want to do the research, I enjoy research, it's that I don't necessarily think that every work of fiction benefits from commenting on and being informed by the real world.

I do intend to go back to Glimwarden some day, but time has changed how I view certain aspects of it, and the world has changed a bit too, and I'm left wondering exactly how much I need to pay attention to that if writing something I hope will stand the test of time.