#she does science for the preservation of life

[moocowmoocow]

[notesfromthepalace]

The Nara Smiths of this World

I'd like to begin with saying in no way, shape, or form, will I be bashing the beautiful Black woman, wife and mother, Nara Smith. I actually aspire to be like her.

I also prefer content and media (both digital and physical) that cater to the life I have been creating for myself:

Led by God

With a God-fearing man (soon to be my fiancé - then husband, God-willing),

As a wife and mother,

While having the time and ease to do things that bring me peace and happiness like basking in the sun, working out, creating dinner experiences, rolling in academia - simultaneously having a career with a lower tempo, hints my transition from one career field to another (another post for another day).

I love watching her content, especially all of the dishes she makes from scratch.

But what upsets me, are the Black women that make a mockery of her lifestyle and make the excuse like "who wants to be a traditional wife" or "ain't nobody got time for all of that" and people saying that her lifestyle is unrealistic.

Lets be real.

A lot of women who bash Nara Smith are jealous.

Nara Smith is a young woman who is also a model, married, with two children and a third on the way.

Besides being a model, what about my previous statement is unrealistic or unattainable?

"Well who makes everything from scratch like that?!"

Everyone outside of the United States of America, darling.

I implore all the women who read my blog to please travel outside of the United States. Everyone makes everything from scratch and not only is it healthier, it taste amazing.

My first experience in Europe was the Summer of 2017, as an intern at the University of Science and Technology in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

While interning, I also traveled to Germany and Amsterdam.

During my tenure in Europe, I walked everywhere, used public transportation (it was clean, on time and efficient if I may add), went to people's homes where they made their authentic dishes and simple ones from scratch - while simultaneously losing 15lbs, and not on purpose.

Making your desired entrees from scratch versus using products that are processed and already made with preservatives are better for your health. Not only do you taste the difference but you will feel the difference.

Back to the point of women being jealous of Nara Smith's more traditional lifestyle and leisure:

The unfortunate truth of this - speaking as a Black woman with real Black Women experiences - so many Black women are truly perturbed by Nara's choice to take the time to cater to her children, household and husband as she does.

I think most of this disturbance comes from the fact that as Black women, we're told from early youth to work so hard and earn so many accolades where we do not need a man/husband and to not submit to the idea of motherhood and marriage until you receive every possible degree, award and accomplishment - which turns into us working just as hard as men to achieve a certain status, settling down in our mid 30s, yikes!

I have recently transitioned from one career field to another due to my desire to not only become a wife, but a mother.

But not an overworked wife who does not have time to cater to herself, household and husband, but a mother who has the time to be as hands-on as possible, make dinner, be a part of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), etc.

This was my reality as a child. My parents were married; My father had a career that pulled him away sometimes but he was providing a comfortable life for my mother, sister and I. My mother chose to have an at-home daycare so she can make my sister and I breakfast in the morning, be home to receive us after school, help us with our lessons, and put us to sleep. She was intentional with her career choice so she could cater to herself, take care of her home and her family.

And there is nothing wrong with a woman choosing to still work to have some independence, but choosing a career that is not as demanding that she sacrifices her family for it.

I brought all of this up due to conversations I had with women in my previous line of work who tried to convince me that I could "have it all" as they like to say: meaning that I could have the demanding career and title, be married, and have children.

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I am extremely observant. During the last four years in my career field, I paid attention and listened quite carefully to the women who had children in both orthodox and unorthodox manners. The women who were married, with a child or children said all of the following:

"There was a time I spent a year away from my child, leaving them at three months of age."

"I was on my feet working just to go home and still be working."

"I got divorced because he couldn't understand that I wanted a certain level of success and being at home would not push me towards that goal."

"I don't even have time for myself."

"I have missed so many important moments."

Mind you, there's more. And I'm not saying that you cannot be married, with children and have a demanding career. I just believe it is irresponsible for older career woman to perpetuate the narrative that you can have 100% of everything all at the same time - when it's not true. Something or someone is going to be neglected.

So when I chose to transition out of my previous occupation, all of these women kept trying to persuade me to stay, but then I looked at their lives, it was not what I wanted:

Woman 1: Divorced with a boyfriend, three children (two different fathers) - spent months at a time away from her children, struggles with being feminine; Top of the food chain at work.

Woman 2: Married closer to 40, one child, lives a flight away from her husband to keep her demanding career, spends weeks away from her son.

Woman 3: Divorced, two children, sleeping around (with people we know) and the joke of our department, falls in love fast, one son has joined a gang, ex-husband is in-and-out of jail; Has worked for our organization for 15 years.

Woman 4: Left her newborn after two months to take a position in another country for a year, marriage suffered tremendously, also another "big dog" for the organization.

Now, as a woman who wants the lifestyle I already described in the paragraphs at the beginning of my piece, are these stories that I would want to emulate?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I won't go as far as saying that this is every woman's reality who has a demanding career, but even the women who stay married and have children have also told me that their marriage suffered tremendously and there is a closeness they lack with their children.

And again, that statement is not for the totality of working woman, but it's a shared experience of most.

When I told multiple women that I am ready to be a wife and a mother I was told I would regret it.

I don't and I won't.

I've had a job since I was 16; I have dated, traveled, lived in the city and suburbs on my own, and my truest desire is to live a life of leisure and peace, with my future husband and children.

So, for the girlies who are ready to settle down, leave the busy careers behind, do it!

Side bar - I just turned 26, I want to have my first child before 30 (and after I am married of course).

And do not, I repeat, DO NOT allow people's opinions, especially your Black female peers (it is what it is), to dissuade you from the lifestyle you truly desire, because they are the same women who complain about how miserable they are because of their choices, and misery loves company.

Choose your family, choose love, choose yourself.

With Love,

Sarah Chanel

[rosen-dovecote]

@autisticslp asked (on the old blog):

So a lot of cooking advice that people tend to give that seems very basic honestly comes from decades of experience; there's a post that floats around Tumblr sometimes, actually, that talks about how a lot of "cooking from intuition" isn't actually intuition at all. It's deeply ingrained memorization about the "laws of cooking" that we've learned over time, that feel like second nature to us to the point where we no longer have to think about it or physically reference recipes or tutorials anymore.

In essence: We're good at "taking what we have on hand and making a meal of it" because we have a lot of practice! We've built up a skill! A skill you're lacking in. And that's not a bad thing! But it also means that you shouldn't be too hard on yourself because you don't know or can't seem to grasp this stuff that seems so "second nature" or "easy" to a lot of the cooks you know. You're still really new at this! And with various disabilities and mental illnesses, cognitive issues, etc? Of course you're going to struggle harder at it than "most" seem to, to you!

As a secondary aside to that, you mentioned growing up on a farm. But farming and gardening, and the various forms of food preservation that frequently comes alongside small family subsistence farms, is a very different skill set! Knowing what's seasonal in your garden doesn't necessarily inherently translate into cooking it, and building a full meal up from scratch unless you also had someone who had that skill as well to teach you that.

I know my Husband's mom sure as hell didn't. He grew up on a farm like that, and she could can all day ... But Lord. She couldn't cook to save her life. She attempted to impart neither of these skills to my Husband, either ... I grew up on one, as well. But where my mom couldn't can or garden to save her life, she was a damned good cook and imparted those skills to me. Now I'm passing them on to my Husband decades later, because his mother failed to.

What you're ultimately missing is a fundamental set of basic skills, and a knowledge set built up over time and practice. And the good news is, those are really simple skills to learn. The bad news is, it does take a while to learn them and to build up that pool of knowledge. Most of it's experimentation, though, and not a lot of it's super difficult.

For basic knowledge of cooking science and spices, I'd recommend The Science of Cooking and The Science of Spice- both by Dr. Stuart Farrimond. I own both and love them dearly. They'll debunk some common myths, and give you a basic understanding of certain food sciences that are honestly really helpful.

When you feel like you're ready to actually sit down and experiment with spices, I love The Encyclopedia of Spices and Herbs: An Essential Guide to the Flavors of the World by Padma Lakshmi. It has information on various spices, tells you their cultural contexts, mentions what they're usually used on in those contexts (vegetables, which meats, etc), and even gives you some common cultural spice blends (though doesn't provide measurements). It's a thick boy, but it's a really fun one to work through if you have no introduction to spices or idea how to use them.

Past that, something you need to build yourself is a well stocked pantry with staple basics. I can't tell you what those are for you. That's something you have to figure out for yourself based on what you cook, how often, etc. But my minimum has always been at least 2 months worth of food in my pantry at any given time, across a broad enough spectrum that I can pick just about anything out of a recipe and only really need to shop for the fresh or immediate-need ingredients each week.

Staple Grains like Rice, Lentils, Cous Cous, and Quinoa.

Pasta Noodles of various types- like Elbow, Rigatoni, Bowtie, Penne, Fettuccini, and Spaghetti

Potatoes in the form of Mashed Potatoes and Scalloped Potatoes both, as well as a "fresh" bag each of Russet, Yellow, and Red Potatoes

Onions. I keep a mesh bag each of Red and Yellow (or White; whichever's cheapest at the time I'm shopping) on hand at all times.

Boxes of Stock (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable, and Protein Broth when I can find it)

Canned items that I use a lot of, like Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste, every kind of Bean (Cannellini, Great Northern, Dark Red, Light red, Black, Pinto, etc), and Chickpeas; plus canned fish (Tuna and Salmon, Sardines, etc)

Condensed Creams Of (Chicken and Mushroom are the two we use most often)

Spices. Of every kind. You literally do not want to see my spice box. It's insane. Yes I'm proud of it. But it would make the average person cry with confusion and fear.

Frozen Veggies in the freezer (Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Carrots, Squashes, etc; personally I prefer the frozen to the canned)

I'm sure there's stuff I'm forgetting. But ultimately when you have a full pantry and only have to buy your fresh or immediate-need ingredients? It not only massively saves your grocery bill each week, but it also makes it so much easier to "make things with what you have on hand". Because a large part of the trick is, honestly, having things on hand to make stuff with in the first place. And that's really the big secret that goes unspoken in a lot of circles. But it really shouldn't be an unspoken secret, because it holds so many people back.

Another secret is just knowing basic cooking methods. What is chopping vs dicing? How do you pan fry? What's a dry fry vs a wet fry? What about baking? Broiling? Boiling? What happens if you stew an ingredient instead? How big does it have to be for each of these methods? How does it perform with rice as opposed to cous cous? How is it raw- if it can be eaten raw? Other than that, just knowing recipes is really going to be the big key.

Unfortunately I don't have a recommend for learning any of these ones, since I learned all this the hard way. I do see some cook books that could be useful (like Veg-table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored Vegetable-Focused Meals by Nik Sharma; or Vegetables: The Ultimate Cookbook Featuring 300+ Delicious Plant-Based Recipes by Laura Sorkin). I can't personally recommend them, however, because I've never read or used them. But there's a lot of information out there on youtube that can be very helpful, especially for methodology since it's a visual medium- which is, I think, the best way to learn some of these skills in particular.

Personally, I did the recipe thing by looking at cuisines from regions where those foods or ingredients were really popular. So take your Eggplant for example. Eggplants feature a lot in Mediterranean, Levantine, and Middle Eastern cuisines. So when you want to learn how to use Eggplant and build up your knowledge about it? Looking at the people in those regions who use this ingredient a lot already is going to be really helpful to you. They know what they're doing with it!

When you've made those dishes a few times, you're going to get an understanding not only of how to prepare Eggplant for various methods of cooking, and how to cook it for those methods. But you're also going to get an understanding of what flavors pair well with it. And after a while of doing that, you're naturally going to start thinking "what if I do x instead?" and start experimenting on your own. Play with them. Get to know the ingredient on the most foundational level. And yeah, throw some herbs on it if you're comfortable! See what meshes with what flavors. What do you like? And yeah, some of those are going to be flops. But by the time you start thinking "what if" your skills are usually further progressed than you'd think to give yourself credit for. Just ask my Husband, ha!

As for the stuff regarding disability, mental illness, and cognitive function, I gotchu, babe! One of the most distressing things for me when I became disabled, started suffering really bad from cognitive decline, and started dealing with memory loss, was looking at the potential of never being able to cook for myself again. And that scared the piss out of me, because cooking is my joy. And so my Husband and I sat down and prioritized cooking and making it disability friendly for me. Here's some of the stuff we did.

First step: Get your butt a stool that's a comfortable height for your counter height. Once acquired, sit as much as you can in the kitchen. It conserves energy and lets you use more of it to focus your head.

Second: Get yourself all those fun little gadgets you think look interesting or helpful. Personally I have a fruit slicer (that works on more than just apples), a slap chopper microplane thingy, and a few others. Mostly I got these because occasionally my body loses my hands and has no idea where they went and it's safer for me. But I can't tell you how nice they are even when my body knows where my hands are, ha; they speed up prep, keep your fingers safe (usually), and leave more room for the brain to do its thing.

Third: Make as many lists as you can! I have a list on the inside of all my pantry doors of the staples that are in that section. When something needs refilling it allows me to put a mark there so I know to put it on the grocery list. But it also provides a quick reference when my brain's tired; it's so much easier for me to read a list than try and decipher box labels with various colors, font sizes, etc. Make lists wherever you need them and always keep them accessible.

Fourth: The recipe box. Yes. A good, old fashioned, classic recipe box. I have mine filled with tried and true recipes that I know for a fact my Husband and I love, that I know we have at least 90% of the ingredients on hand for at any given moment. So if all else fails and I can't think of anything? I can just go pull something out of the box and have him jot down to the store for anything we don't have.

Fifth: Keep easy meals on stock, because some days you really can't cook. Your brain won't let you, and that's ok! That's fine! But you still gotta eat, right? So we keep stuff like bagged Blackened Chicken Alfredo, Dirty Rice, Mongolian Beef, Jambalaya, Broccoli Beef, Red Beans & Rice, etc, on hand in the outdoor fridge. If at any point I just can't do it? We grab some of those instead.

And the good news is, you can spruce up a quick meal! Making Dirty Rice? Throw in some bread and butter, and a side of boiled Green Beans from the garden. Blackened Chicken Alfredo? Throw some Bell Pepper on in there; you can bulk this stuff up easily with your produce, and it takes even less effort most of the time.

As for the Covid sense of taste / smell? Keep trucking. It does get better; I suffered bad from Post-Covid Parosmia for nearly 2 years after I caught Covid the first time- bad enough to the point I couldn't bathe myself because of the smell of our water being nauseating to me; couldn't eat anything with Corn, or Wheat, or Onion, or Garlic in it for a year, either. the second I tried, my body auto rejected it. Bananas tastes like Iris flowers smelt ... I feel your pain so hard.

But it does get better. Your system is just rewiring itself completely from scratch right now. And Lord, it's so unpleasant. But the more you give it to taste, and smell, the better it does and the faster it rewires itself. Don't force yourself to eat things that are nauseating or unpleasant. But do branch out. Experiment. Even if it tastes left of how you remember it, keep going! I can't promise you'll get everything back (Lord knows there's still some things that aren't quite right for me, even 4 years later now). But it gets better!

I hope any of this helps- even if it's not as helpful if you'd like it to be. Hang in there, love.

My ask box is always open and Anon is currently ON.

[eternal-echoes]

Things I admire about Yor

1. Emotional intelligence

She’s very compassionate and empathetic with people she never wants to be too forceful about anything on people even if it’s good for them.

2. Generosity

How even though people insult her to her face she is still willing put her heart and soul in her assassin job for the sake of peace in her country. She could easily walk away from her job saying that these people aren’t worth defending but she continues to risk her life for them.

3. Selflessness

She won't take revenge when people insult her but when it comes to her family she’ll go berserk.

4. Eagerness to kill bad guys

This sorta also refers to her selflessness as she doesn't really seek any reward for her hard work; for her apprehending evil men to preserve peace is a reward in itself.

5. Prioritizing the safety of others even at the risk of revealing her identity

This is actually one of the things I like about Yor more than Twilight; Yor is always willing to protect others first than think about how someone might suspect she is an assassin.

Unlike Twilight who wouldn’t do “the whole ‘tearful reunion’ thing” with Anya because someone might find it suspicious.

I guess I should take into account that spies and assassins are trained differently; assassins just go to their targets, get the job done, and then get out of there as soon as possible while spies have to have prolonged contact with their targets to get information out of them so maintaining cover and thoroughly making sure there are no slip-ups is a must or else it would mean their identity known and death. But to me it still evidence that Twilight prioritizes his career over family than Yor does.

6. She slays, both by her beauty and as an assassin

7. How she sees the beauty in small things

I think it's a testament to how she sees even small things as a blessing.

How Yor wanted Loid to witness Anya being effortlessly cute.

This screencap is a small one but I thought it was really cute how teary-eyed she was when Anya told the story about George Glooman. She just admires kids being little kids.

8. Her rawness about showing her feelings

It's really infectious, I feel like that's why Twilight can't help but be honest about his feelings as well.

It’s amazing how despite working in a job that forces her to be merciless she still hasn’t lost the warmness of her heart. It’s what has been missing throughout Twilight’s life and what Anya has been desperately looking for since escaping the science facility.

[tangerinesgirl]

The Birds and the Bees

Herr König x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: König wants to continue his preservation efforts, you're left with no choice but to volunteer yourself.

Rating: 18+, NSFW

Word count: 1.2k

Warnings: spoilers for Cuckoo (2024), somnophilia - I better warn of possible non con with this jic even though both parties consent to it beforehand, you're both freaks but that's alright, I'm so sorry, breeding kink, lots of fluids, p in v, voyeurism, bit of a pregnancy kink, also technically monster fucking?, God complexes

Notes: honestly, I was tempted to leave this one in drafts, but I have zero other ideas for a König fic atm, and I wanted to get something out there.

🐦

König had shown you what exactly the resorts purpose was as soon as you started dating. He was very passionate about these creatures and could see their potential. You remember watching your first mating ceremony, a silent tear falling from your left eye.

"What is it my dear?", he asked, noticing how moved you were at the spectacle.

You shake your head, eyes focused on the glass in front of you. "They're beautiful", you stare into the young girls eyes, it was like looking at a starless night.

König notices how moved you are, he holds your hand to comfort you. He let's out a small sigh of relief as he brushes away your tear.

__________

Years pads and the resort is getting quieter and quieter. König is busy experimenting, coming up with ways to make the result of the ceremonies more successful. A creature that is part human, who doesn't need to be controlled.

__________

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't one hundred percent certain my dear".

You swallow nervously, "one hundred percent?"

He nods. You've both tried searching for new people to join the resort but you've pretty much drained the German alps population. You don't see any other choice, and you trust König with your life. He knows the creatures more than anyone, spending most of his life studying them.

You read the consent form König drew up for you, when you asked for the science behind it and exactly what the test entails. You look up at him, his deep blue gaze piercing straight through you, yet somehow comforting. He reaches out to put a comforting hand on your thigh.

"You don't have to do this, we can figure someth-"

"No. It's okay. I ... I trust you", you sign the document and let out a shaky breath. Even though you're telling the truth, there's a tiny doubt inside you that you're not sure what's going to happen. Or how it'll feel. The document does mention headsets and safe words, and König will have his eyes on you always.

König stands up and moves over to you and embraces you. "You are so brave, my love, history will be made".

___________

König opens the doors, and the creature enters the room. Your mind jumps back to when you first saw this exact room all those years ago. At first, you didn't think you would be here, but on the other hand, it somehow felt inevitable. Like König always had a plan for you.

The creature approaches you from behind. You're sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for the inevitable. The lady claps your head between her palms as you fall backwards onto the bed.

You're semi conscious as you hear König summoning the young cuckoo lady with his flute. You can hear him through the headset as well as the speakers in the room. You're grateful you have no other staff in the room, but some on standby in another room, just in case.

You look down the bed and see her offering her seed to you. You throw your head back onto the bed in exhaustion as she inserts her hand into you.

"That's it, good girl", you hear over the headset. You can hear König breathing heavily, and a very faint sound of clothes rustling, "you're so pretty like this, you're taking her so well, my beautiful angel". You can tell he is maturbating to you from his groaning, you spread your legs wider accepting her gift, arching your back, letting her in. And also giving König a show.

Once she has planted her seed, König signals for her to leave, and locks up the door from the control room. He then walks over to you, your eyes struggling to stay awake.

"You did great my love", he tucks a strand of hair behind your ear. You try to look up at him through your eyelids and let out a small smile. He walks around the bed and you can feel it dip as he straddles over you. You reach out to hold his cheek with your hand, but fail to keep your arm upright. He places it gently on the bed above your head. He removes your headset, hushing and reassuring you that everything's okay.

He strokes your thigh and dips his fingers under your dress, feeling the slick left by you and the lady. He smiles noticing that you enjoyed the encounter. The feeling immediately makes him hard, as he removes himself from his white pants. He begins to align himself at your entrance and inserts his length slowly. He let's out a deep guttural moan, trying not to cum on the spot. It was like he's dreamed about this moment.

Your eyes roll into the back of your head feeling König inside you. The slick and his cock feel amazing, you moan his name as you try to wrap your legs around his waist, looking for more friction.

König touches your thigh as a signal for you to stop and let him do the work. You mind flashes back again to when he did this the day you signed the paperwork allowing this experiment. Although in this moment, it didn't feel like an experiment, it felt like nirvana.

He starts to thrust into you, as you continue to drift out of consciousness. He notices you trying to fight the sedative, "it's okay my sweet, don't fight it, I've got you". With that, you begin to pass out, the last image of König looking at you in awe.

König continues to thrust into you, he can't help but think that you're somehow even prettier asleep. He can feel himself getting close as he thinks about the events of the evening, the slick of the creature covering his cock, and also fucking the love of his life who is just as enamoured with the preservation of these wonderful creatures as he is.

He starts to play with your clit to make sure you're also having as good as a time as he is. He's not sure if you can feel it, and can't wait to ask you about it afterwards. König's rhythm starts to go unsteady as he slows down reaching his peak as he cums deep inside you. He places a hand on your stomach, feeling himself releasing his seed inside of you. He groans, milking himself of every last drop, and collapses on top of you.

He waits a moment before carefully removing himself from you. Replacing his cock with his hand, making sure very little of the fluids escape you.

He sits down with a sigh on the corner of the bed with his hand still cupping over your vagina. He looks behind him and notices your still fully passed out. He looks at his cock, covered in slick and cum. The sight is enough to make him hard again, as he rubs his free hand around his cock.

__________

"Wake up, my dear", you can hear König ushering you awake, you realise you're cradled in his arms on the bed, with him looking down at you. "How are you feeling?". You stretch as you groggily wipe away the sleep from your eyes.

You let out a little content smile, "I feel...fucking amazing", you laugh. You're usually careful with your language around König, with him being so well spoken.

He smiles too and rests his hand on your stomach. "I believe our preservation efforts have been a success".

Even though it's still too early to tell if the seeds have taken hold, you can't help but feel invincible, like a God, hopefully carrying one of these creatures inside you. You place your hand on top of his. "I think so too".

[fancyfade]

if you had to describe babs, cass, dick and damian to people who knew nothing about them, what would you say?

hmmm you didn't put a word/sentence count limit that is gonna make this long :P

Babs: Babs establishes the legacy of Batgirl as an equal who works independently and does not receive training from Batman, but what is truly important about her character is the way she re-invents herself after being seriously injured in the Killing Joke. Babs becomes Oracle, the information nexus of the superhero world, and does far more than she ever could when she was able bodied. She's an incredibly important character for this, and DC universe feels her absence when she is changed to be able bodied. She clearly articulates the value of a disabled life. The way that she handles and deals with trauma (through a nexus of control) is fun to read about. She also deeply believes in second chances and wants to help other people recover from terrible situations like she was in.

One sentence summary for Babs: Batgirl becomes informational center of superhero world after disabling injury, starts her own superhero team, is awesome.

Cass: Cass is the Batgirl after Babs. She is a perfectionist. She's extremely compassionate, she's one of the best if not the best martial artists in the world, and she is (at least at first) suicidal. Her arc is important and about her dealing with the crushing guilt she feels about having killed someone at eight years of age after being raised in an isolated environment and taught only how to fight. She was treated as a weapon. We see how she reaches to understand people and fight for her own agency against those who have different visions for her. Like Babs, Cass believes in second chances, and when she can she will reach out and try to get people who are against her to change their ways (though she needs a reason to believe they will change - she's not gonna say "hey joker let's redeem you", but she will reach out to her assassin fanboys or to Alpha)

One sentence summary for Cass: Child raised as killer doesn't want to kill and feels so guilty about it she's suicidal, becomes a superhero and one of the world's premiere martial artists and wants to save everyone.

Dick: first robin, then nightwing, occassional batman. Dick is a perfectionist, though I'd argue not in the same vein cass is, because Dick (when confronted with extremely high expectations) will get mad if he feels they are unfair and Cass just tries to reach them (Dick does too, but he like. feels like he shouldn't have to). He's competent in a wide variety of subject areas (like many batfam members). He's generally nice and social, but in no way the paragon of goodness - he's just some guy. If anything I'd say his morals in general seem a bit looser than Bruce's (and Cass's), he's definitely willing to give up on some people as lost, and he is kind of bitchy -- sometimes in a fun way, sometimes just in an 'asshole you would see on the internet' way, often going for low blows. However he does always try.

One sentence summary for Dick: He's just some guy but he's very talented and has friends.

Damian: youngest robin. Like Cass, Damian was raised to fight, but that's where their similarities end. Damian was raised as the heir to Ra's al Ghul, the leader of a cult dedicated to preserving the earth (sometimes via greatly reducing the human population). He received training in many areas including fighting, sciences, arts -- like pretty much an everything prodigy. When he gets to the Batfam, he has pretty much the rockiest intro possible (tries to kill/seriously attacks depending on your reading of it the previous robin). What's important about Damian is that he's prickly on the outside, and he acts in a way that makes sense for how he was raised. He beat up Tim because that's how you handle having a rival in the League. He's generally outwardly rude and unimpressed with people at first, and people are at first outwardly rude and annoyed by him. He also has a very slow, gradual arc about unlearning assassin-stuff. However, despite his prickly exterior he is very compassionate and cares a lot about people. Post Robin: Son of Batman, Damian will try to empathize with and get villain kids to change their ways, and he views the villains he did kill as not fundamentally different from himself.

one sentence summary for damian: baby raised as assassin sasses batman while saving people, sometimes complaining about it.

[disgruntledexplainer]

the characters of Generator Rex as living symbols

Something interesting that's been bouncing around my head for years is the inherent symbolism of several of the characters in Generator Rex.

Van Kleiss is transhumanism; the philosophy that humanity can and should be changed into something new through technology. in other words, he is the idea that humans should abandon their humanity to become gods, at any cost. he's brilliant, but menacing, and everywhere he goes unsettling change follows. he commands nature, enslaves time and space, and nearly becomes what he seeks to be, but he leaves suffering and misery in his wake.

White Knight is the inverse of this, a reactionary fear of change. he sits alone in his sterile room to insulate himself from change. he is the last vestige of the old order, the last memory of humanity before the event. he may be a "good guy", but in the first 2 seasons he's a nasty old bastard all the same. ultimately his efforts preserve humanity, but also hold it back from truly growing.

Black Knight is something of a synthesis of Van Kleiss and White Knight. She is a symbol of the old order, but specifically the part of the old order which brought about the new order. she is power hungry but calculating and manipulative, and willing to crush others under her heel if it allows her to get what she wants. she is in many ways similar to a bureaucrat, ceo, politician, or career military officer, or some kind of combination of the most dangerous and callous elements of all four.

Caesar Salazar represents science, in all it's glory, and all it's horror. He is capable of creating devices which can entertain and make life easier for others, and to solve problems which everyone else is unable to solve. but he also creates weapons of terrifying power, and has a knack for inventing things that nearly end the world by accident, over and over again.

So where does that leave Rex? well, that's simple. Rex is the living manifestation of all the positive aspects of science and technology, all of the potential of humanity's mind and spirit. He heals the sick and defends those who cannot defend themselves. he builds, he fixes, he creates wonders. he is a living miracle. in many ways he represents humanity at it's very best, even with his disdain for authority and difficulty following directions.

of course characters like no-face, hunter cain, quarry, and gatlock are also living symbols, but I don't feel like typing all day. if anyone wants to pick up where I left off through reblogs, feel free.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #11

Starting with Weird Science.

TWO people named Grey participated in this show?

Cosmo: Ooh, what a tasty-looking dinner! I love potatoes! Me: Cosmo, aren't you allergic to potato skins? Cosmo: /eats the lightbulb. Me: ... Carry on.

Really cool hallway angle! Also:

angry.

Those dance and voting posters have been up for quite a while, which seems unusual for a school. Did we really skip several weeks forward in time with Episode 3, then everything is crammed in tight after that? Where's that dang moon? I need it.

Seriously, Sneezy Hawkins dance has been up since Hazel arrived, and it's been many weeks since then.

Cosmo and Wanda altering the laws of science in order to make her science project work is hilarious. Of course they would.

How many music rooms does 1 school need?

Hazel's class is near the entrance of school, 2nd floor. If you look at the school's front, she's on the right-hand side.

JORGEN'S BACK!! Time to wreck Hazel for altering physics.

Basically Hazel, with no sense of self-preservation: Jorgen, I tried using magic to cheat a competition. Jorgen internally: I'm very mad and also disappointed.

Dev is the grumpiest little meditator. Doesn't even chant, smh. Why does his bag say "Mediocre," are we gonna talk about that?

Hazel's parents are so caring.

Mystery She Wished

Oh, noir? I was just thinking about noir earlier toda- WANING CRESCENT!

Hazel and her dad watching movies together is cute. She likes scary movies and he likes the paranormal- They're a perfect pair.

"I have to charge my ghost crystals" okay Dad.

Cracking up at Hazel interviewing Wanda for her mystery. Big "Where's Wanda?" vibes.

I was sitting here like "Why is she asking Wanda?" and then I was like "Oh yeah, she still lives here. She lives across the hall. She pays rent." I like that Hazel thinks she's on bad terms with the landlady.

I said in Post 10 that I was sad we hadn't seen more of Cosmo and Wanda's life in the apartment because I felt like we were missing opportunities to engage with the environment (and see them struggling to be human). This is exactly what I wanted.

Cosmo: Unless... I did it and framed Wanda?

Okay, now you're just being meta. I was gonna not tell readers that you're responsible for Wanda's disappearance in "Where's Wanda?" and that's why it's funny Hazel's interviewing you two, but... that's WAY funny they put that in there.

Those are some... weird stares. Why do they look different than the other characters? Is it the eyes? Also, this guy sounds like Daran Norris.

I like how Cosmo and Wanda still have their crowns while in pencil and notepad disguise.

Hazel talking about how she had to sleep to recover from the mystery "and also because I'm 10 and can't set my own bedtime."

Hazel is being so weird to this poor kid. That's her first introduction to him; that's hilarious. He's probably a twin since he doesn't recognize her on their second conversation.

OG series Elvis? MARK CHANG??

Hazel's parents: We're going to dinner with the new family. Hazel: They're cannibals and I'm gonna die.

/staring intensely: "We always follow social norms and blend in! :)" What the heck is wrong with this guy? These two are totally aliens. Is that why Mark's picture was on the conspiracy board?

I like how Hazel's stuck in mystery mode until she solves the mystery because she wished to be like SDFKJSDFISOKJD OH NO-

Okay. She wished to be like the detectives on TV, who didn't use magic to solve their mysteries, and I should really pause before typing, but in my mind I was like "There's literally no way they're going to put an Easter egg in this pantry."

... Oh. I 100% thought I spotted the aliens from "So Totally Spaced Out" who were defeated by eating them, but upon rewinding and pausing, that looks like a regular rabbit.

Now I'm disappointed.

Twins! I was right. Also, this is a really dark episode for a show that still, this many episodes in, refuses to give me the child abuse I'm craving.

This is how normal people eat with guests.

... The twist is that they're doomsday preppers? I thought that was obvious? They said they were preparing for the end of the world and they were stockpiling supplies for that. Maybe I'm too old for this episode- I didn't know that was unclear to Hazel sdfklj. The plot twist at the end is still going to be they're aliens, I'm sure of it.

(It was not; there was no twist, although the parents did dump all their food on the ground. I fear we will never know who was there.)

Prime Meridian Love

Hazel's into both manga and anime! Nice. We might've heard about the manga earlier, but I forgot.

Jasmine: Don't tell us the whole story! I want to be surprised when I read it. Me, liveblogging: Uh-oh.

Finally a school dance after all those posters since Episode 1! ... Not the same dance! I'm dying inside.

She's totally gonna wish her manga fish crush into reality. Question is... Are we about to get a "can't wish away true love" plot, or totally different drama?

omfg, he's dying because he's a fish. That's not the direction I thought this was going. I could've sworn his wall poster depicts him on a cliff? I'll have to review when we're back in her room.

Kennueth: I will not fall for your siren song >:(

Whoops. Also, confirmation that humans can't know about magic!

Oh no, he's going to be obsessed with his own book and try to see the ending? Is that it? ...... No? Hm. I guess he's fine with it.

I don't have anything to say about this screenshot, but it should be appreciated.

FAIRY WORLD! ... I don't love that we're skipping straight to it? And now we're montaging through it? This is her second onscreen time and her first was at the dreary DMV, assuming I'm watching in the correct order. We don't get to see her being wowed? I'm kinda disappointed.

Oh, we're back in her room. That makes me sad. Also... I guess it's more common for 10-year-olds to have crushes than I thought, considering Timmy had one too. I should really look this up.

-> Oh, it is. Maybe I need to re-tune my allo characters; I always assumed crushes come with puberty, but apparently not.

Oh boy, Dev's about to be annihilated by a tall fish guy. I enjoy his expressions and tiny hands. Also, I really like how we sometimes get to see his eyes over his glasses since we didn't get that with the Pixies.

He looks like he's wearing the necklace from the manga. Is he a fan of the series and is he going to attend Hazel's book club since her friends couldn't? Finally friend?? (I doubt it).

Oh wait, maybe he will.

Hazel: ?? Are you a Super Meridian-head? :) Dev at a school dance:

"Get off my back about it!!" okay, goof.

I like how Kennueth described Dev's robotic companions as "metallic birds."

sldkfjsdljf, hang on, pause pause pause. Is Kennueth spoiling plot points Hazel doesn't know about and we're going to loop back to how her friends didn't enjoy her spoiling the manga? That's great!

Wanda dog-ears books... Good to know. I'm glad she's still implied to be a terrible librarian. Cosmo won't even share his books.

Hazel: Our friendship is more important than any book club! Me, who saw Mikey Munroe weasel a speedboat out of Bunsen with very similar words: Are we being for real right now?

sdlkfj, Hazel hitting him with the "I think we work best just as friends. I'm only 10." Okay, that's hilarious.

Hazel did not get upset about spoilers and Dev did not come to book club :(

Hey, this is related to nothing as I get my snack, but what was Poof doing during his parents' 10k-year vacation? I assume he went with them. He was in boarding school during Season 10 and maybe he still is, but... hm. Where's my boy? I know he's still canon; his picture's in Episode 1.

I'm gettin' nervous. -> Me, unfortunately didn't get more than 3 episodes into "Fairly Odder" and doesn't know if he showed up there.

Okay, but... Cosmo and Wanda wouldn't leave behind their son who's faced multiple kidnapping attempts, including from Jorgen: the man who wanted to yoink Poof and not let him visit his parents for centuries... right?

They wouldn't take their son away from Timmy, the brother he grew up with, and then ALSO ditch their son. Right?

Please tell me we're not going to get Poof with issues. I know I was confused in Liveblog 10 about the lack of child trauma in this show, but I didn't mean him.

-> Has given Aged-Up Poof more issues than literally any other character in my fanfics.

[throwaway-yandere]

"I AM HERE" (Yandere Modern CEO! Alhaitham/Reader)

a/n: btw, the logo's made by Esther anon!!! ❤️ Thank you so much!!!! Ily!!!

Unreliable Synopsis: You got recruited as Alhaitham's assistant... But honestly? You'd rather be a damn idol producer.

Mother of Klee, Alice's note: We (Our cutie pie Lumine and I) just wanted you to know that it wasn't our idea to make you Alhaitham's assistant, ✾... That's all! I'll have Barbara pray for you every Sunday <3

Yandere Idol!1k event masterlist

--------

You didn't get the job.

Technically you did get to work for the company, but you still didn't get the job. It's a strange predicament, truly. It would be comparable to learning how to prepare fried eggs in a culinary class and then being informed that you must serve medium-rare steak with sauce for the test.

Yes. You didn't become an idol's producer.

But anyone can imagine the kind of stress you're under when you found out you were hired as the CEO's assistant.

-----

"Ohohoho, a lost guest! It's always nice to see a new face around here! Can I get you something to drink? I promise you can trust me!" A man approached you with two bottles of iced coffee.

You raised an eyebrow, clumsily scratching your neck. 

The taller blonde man beside him sighed exasperatedly. "I don't think anyone in their right mind would accept drinks coming from..."

An idol wearing a weird bonnet? Yeah.

"Geez, trainee, what's with that look? I don't spike drinks. Is that sooo hard to believe?"

"You're Kaveh and you're Venti of 5wirl, aren't you?" It's clear to you who they were after that brief exchange.

"Yep yep!!!" He does a tiny little finger-gun gesture. "The one and only– wait a minute, that's Itto's line."

"S-Sorry to bother you, but I'm quite lost right now..." You stuttered. "If you could lead me to CEO Alhaitham's office, that would be fantastic."

"Aaaahh, so YOU'RE (Y/n)! We heard rumors that you're going to work as that idiot Alhaitham's assistant, is that true?"

Your nose scrunched. Sadly, that does seem to be the case based on TeyvatPro's employees' behavior towards you.

Venti gave you a look of pity, "maybe you'd have a good life if he wasn't the CEO and a cum laude Akademiyan graduate. Unfortunately for you, that guy is both."

But you're also an Akademiyan graduate...

"That bastard's an absolute numbers guy for a linguistics major, if I were you, I'd purposefully bomb that interview," Kaveh said.

Venti shrugged. "Do you even have to try? I'd crumble if I'm stuck with him in a room for more than an hour. He probably got that attitude from his seniors."

But based on the magazine you've read, you were a senior when Alhaitham was a freshman...

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Enough slander, Venti." Kaveh scoffed. "Like, hello? I was Alhaitham's senior you prick!"

You perked up. "Oh? What did you major in?"

Kaveh gazes at you proudly. "Architecture."

You raised a hand and you shared a quick high-five. "Nice! I love to idle around St. Deshret's building back then--"

"Aaaaaaaalright nerds, we're here!!!"

Venti loudly announced, bowing in front of the door.

A closed door, huh? There are unspoken things about doors when it comes to superiors. It's a pseudo-science that when a superior's door is always open, they value employer-employee relationships and are willing to hear out inquiries. Considering how Sir Alhaitham's closed...

Well... You shouldn't make a mountain out of a molehill.

A pink-haired lady opened the door.

"There you are, little one. Come, wait inside."

---

"We didn't expect someone like you to apply here. Your GPA is astoundingly high– what exactly made you want to apply here?"

The money and the location, but mostly the former. You had a similar salary before your old company faced bankruptcy, but the workplace here has some pretty decent coffee and a nice dental plan. Those standards may be low but at least they weren't nonexistent like your newbie self's preservation skills. 

Miss Miko smiled slyly.

"You know what, don't answer." She said. "The boss should emerge in 3... 2... 1..." 

You heard the door open, but you can't see who it was yet since a bookshelf was blocking your view. 

"Well then, I'll be taking my leave~." The ex-idol giggled. "Farewell, little one."

Of course, it was none other than the CEO himself. Alhaitham walked to his desk, ignoring Miss Miko as he sat down, which amplified your nervousness. He's known as a genius businessman for a good reason. With a demeanor imbued with confidence and wit, his face glows in a rather youthful light. 

"I'm certain you've deduced why I called you here."

You're wary of how his cologne smelled like money. He smells like he's trying to prove something to you. 

"Y-Yes, sir, but I don't think I'd be fit to be your assistant–"

"That's right. You're still incompetent." He deadpanned, "I'm only hiring you because you have neat handwriting, and based on Lumine's analysis, you're something of a realist. My criteria are usually stricter than that."

You know little regarding the full business Alhaitham conducts, but if his standards helped him stay as the CEO instead of Madam Alice, it must be a challenging one.

"But...?" You droned.

"But?"

"W-Why me, then?"

Alhaitham scoffed, "there's no use explaining more than half of my reasonings to you. Let's just say I enjoy how you're something of an odd one out. Uniqueness as an asset is something I value, especially in this industry."

"If I'm not worthy, then may I propose that I'll only be a temporary assistant until you find a suitable idol for me? O-only if you'd allow it, of course."

He raised an eyebrow, not expecting those words from you.

"You're seriously determined to be an idol's producer?"

"I am."

"Even when being MY assistant provides better benefits?"

"Yes, sir."

"How stupidly honest. No, scratch that off the record: you're stupid AND honest." 

You laughed uncomfortably. You're not sure why you're so direct with the CEO. Being straightforward with your potential employer is quite a welcome change from your usual practice of masking your true thoughts with formalities. You usually keep your opinions to yourself, but his mere presence implores you to speak frankly.

"I know that look." He said. "You notice it too, right? We communicate rather naturally for an employer-employee relationship."

"Yes, sir. It's a bit strange."

"Hmm. If you look deep within your past, you wouldn't think it's strange at all."

What does he mean by that? 

Alhaitham reached his hand out. He smirked as you accepted his handshake.

His strong grip feels oddly familiar... You would think that you've known him from somewhere but you are still an Akademiya graduate. You need more evidence to support that gut feeling of yours.

"I like you. Let's get along for the next 5 years."

"Until you find a suitable idol for me." You answered without malice.

His face clenched slightly.

"Sure. Until you no longer need this company."

At that time, you should've noted that there's a difference between those two sentences.

-----

"I AM HERE." Your phone spoke in an AI voice.

It's been a long time since you had your first encounter with Kaveh & Venti and that interview with Alhaitham. Nowadays, you work hard to please the latter. 

You opened your phone. TeyvatPro's app logo is a heart-shaped leaf, but it's anything but natural and comforting. It's corporate and cold. The AKASHA - Device Policy app served as a reminder that you've long abandoned your old job and entered a new business environment.

You miss your old boss. You miss your old colleagues.  

You looked around, unfazed. It's just one of many features the AKASHA app has; it allows Alhaitham to make your phone speak whenever he's searching for you. Since you're usually around wherever he is, this tracker sufficed.

The door opened. You committed the painful error of fulfilling his demands at an ungodly hour of the night, and now Alhaitham has sent you more tasks.

Alhaitham pocketed his phone after seeing you. He just used it to make your phone ring. The AKASHA app doesn't allow you to silence his calls. It'll only stop saying "I AM HERE" once your boss turns it off.

"Mx. (Y/n)."

"Here are the files, sir." 

Miffed at the exasperation in your boss's tone, you cast your eyes downwards as you passed his folder. However, you have to face him head on or he'll begin his streak of "professional" insults. 

You won't let him run his mouth just yet. "Would that be all?"

Alhaitham didn't look like he was in his best mood. As he looked through the folder, skimming through each page with hawk-like eyes, you noticed two strange papers on his desk.

Is that... your file?

"S-Sir, permission to speak?"

"Granted."

"Why is my resume on your desk?" You showed your best poker face because you knew that your next words aren't pleasant. 

"Am I fired?"

Alhaitham spoke immediately, not looking up to face you. "You're uncharacteristically confrontational. Is it because it's 2 in the morning?"

He's wrong about the hour– you're always begrudgingly bending your schedule for your bosses– but he's right about your "lack of spine." However, while you don't need another ulcer, you need this job.

Alhaitham continued, now sporting a more pronounced frown.

"How did you arrive at such a conclusion? I took you as my assistant for good reasons and your groundless inference shames this company."

"I... Pardon?" Rude.

"Perhaps it was wrong for me to assume that you possessed a greater aptitude for critical thinking," Alhaitham spoke sardonically. "Take a look at the desk again. The reason why your resume is there should be obvious."

"Is that right?..."

You glanced at his desk again, gaining unspoken permission to touch and move papers on your boss's desk. When you did, the underlying reason became apparent.

Kaveh's file is also on his desk.

With nowhere to turn, you came up with a single hypothesis.

"Does... Does this mean..." 

You beamed a wonderful smile at your boss, unable back your excitement. "Does this mean I'll be reassigned as Kaveh's producer?!"

He smirked.

Unbeknownst to you, Alhaitham was pleased as you started associating his motivations with another cause entirely. 

You grabbed Kaveh's resume, grinning from ear to ear as you fan your face. "Holy. Oh my God. I'll finally be an idol's producer!"

"Kaveh is still a trainee," Alhaitham replied but you didn't hear him.

There's no better fit for you to work with than someone as theatric as Kaveh. Visual kei, rock, disco– it makes virtually no difference what Kaveh's idol genre will be; you don't care as long as it sounds nice! In addition to being the only noisy members of the "ABC" or "Alhaitham Bashing Coalition," you both graduated from Akademiya, thus it's impossible for you two to not be close friends. 

"I've never seen a person this happy for getting a downgrade."

"Then clearly you don't know what it's like for people who abandoned their engineering careers to pursue art."

"No. No, I don't." Alhaitham said, picking up more folders in his drawer. "Send this to Miss Minci down the first floor and you'll be excused for the day."

As you should've been in the first place. Today was a Sunday.

"Of course! Thank you so much, sir Alhaitham!"

He nodded, uninterested.

"Don't forget to close the door on your way out." 

--------

"I'm taking Kaveh off the list."

"No, it's nothing personal– never mind. Yes, it is. Alice, I can't tolerate it. If I could swap out Venti for Scaramouche on 5wirl, I would. They're too enmeshed with my assistant's business. They don't know (Y/n) any longer than I have, yet they act like they've been friends with them since they were young while they can barely recall who I am."

"I've looked at Kaveh's file and honestly, only an idiot would miss that he wants to join TeyvatProductions to spite me. He knows my history with (Y/n). He knows what I did to their old company."

"... Hah. Please. They're not going to resign. I listen to their phone calls– they're not going to leave until they pay off their student loans and other debts."

You swallowed dryly. By now you were supposed to be at home, but Miss Minci instructed you to return Alhaitham's folder with her revisions and now you can't help but listen while hiding behind the bookshelf in morbid curiosity.

Consequently, you are now hearing sounds that were not intended for your ears.

"... (Y/n)? A pet?"

Alhaitham laughed.

A pet...?

Your breath hitched as you recalled a conversation you had with Venti months prior.

---------

"Haven't you ever wondered why the big boss never takes his earphone out?"

Whenever you two are alone together, Venti makes sure you turn off your phone when speaking to him. You never understood the reason why before this talk.

"Nope."

"Seriously?" Venti blew a raspberry. "Bullshit– ain't no way. You've never thought that, hmm, maybe he's listening to our conversations? Not even once?"

Alhaitham looks at you like an ant lining up in a row: with clear indifference and little regard, yet he is confident that you serve a purpose no matter how insignificant it may be. You noticed that the ability to exercise control matters to him. Alhaitham is obsessed with omniscience in the most subtle way. He is slightly despised by his people, therefore he used you as a subpar pawn to observe their behavior.

Deep down, you know he has no need for an assistant; you're only here to boost his pride. Hence, you tossed that hypothesis out the window.

"No, I doubt he has the time for that." You said after contemplating.

"Gosh, you're naive," Venti sighed. "You're book smart but not street smart, aren't you?"

"Hah?"

"C'mon, just admit it, (Y/n)," the idol frowned.

"Isn't it obvious that Alhaitham's keeping you like a pet?"

----------

So that's what you are.

Now that you overheard Alhaitham's phone call, everything pieced itself together and it terrifies you.

"They're not a pet to me. They were once my mentor–" Alhaitham muttered.

You took a step back.

Shit.

He must've heard that.

You didn't mean to snoop around. You're not a bad person. You just wanted to drop a few more folders. You didn't mean to eavesdrop–

"... (Y/n), are you there?"

You didn't breathe as you continued hiding behind the bookshelf.

You can't handle this right now. Confrontations are something you do not trust yourself with. 

You stole a glance at Alhaitham as if seeing him for the first time. There sat a man with a veneer of calm. A man you've never met before.

"... Hmph."

Alhaitham pulled out his phone.

His face, his smirk, his breathing... they're now entirely alien to you.

Your phone rang.

"I AM HERE."

Your blood froze.

Anxiety coursed through your veins, not to recede but to possess. Your reaction is almost immediate yet his impinged movements served to make your heart run faster. You propel your heels to the door in a noisy attempt to leave even while you heard his chair drag against the floor, making his way toward you effortlessly. 

Then his cold hand was clamped above yours, holding you and the doorknob with intense firmness.

You trembled.

His grip feels like deja vu.

"There you are. Why are you still here, my assistant?" 

ANSYTEA: hehe thank you ✾ anon for joining the 1k event <333!!!

[leohttbriar]

julian being this deeply compassionate and self-assured person who knows how good a doctor he is and then being put in a situation where he does in fact fail--however brief that failure is--and this failure is actually just one turn in the dialogue between the value of life and the value of pain so he's left no only with the medical facts of the case (he didn't cure anyone of the blight) but also this philosophical-question-come-life answered with a very simple but devastating "death is the cure" conclusion---

that context makes this moment a bursting kind of powerful to me because dax doesn't say "keep trying" or "you can't blame yourself" or anything else that might have induced the same plot-concluding actions on julian's part. she takes a soft swipe at julian's sometimes exaggerated self-perception and then takes a larger swipe at both his somewhat childish despair as well as the simple yet devastating "death is the cure" ethos that julian had been trying to prove wrong the whole episode.

it's not about whether julian is smart enough or whether a life of suffering is still worth living, but about the idea that there's no such thing as a false hope. the world (galaxy, universe, etc) is too big to conclude that any hope false through and through. there are countless imagined invisible planes where people and other beings have been populated as a matter of habit (heavens and places of spiritual origin and trees and turtles and so on) because there is no grasping at everything at once and it is this very rational truth that undercuts the battle of ethics in this episode. to be a living being means to be conscious of this enormity. so the people who think that after a certain stage of the illness there is nothing for them but pain have also performed a certain arrogance--this arrogance can be self-preserving and a good thing and also never rob someone of their own autonomy--but to call "death" the best treatment for an illness is arrogant all the same.

and then the fact that julian doesn't find a cure but a vaccine, which is nothing but a biological contract with the future which, like all futures, is fundamentally unknowable--it's an almost perfect ending and bolsters dax's moment above.

it's so fascinating to interrogate these questions of knowability through not just science but medicine because you just cannot escape the personal even as the personal is essentially narrow. like the whole point is to use that narrow field of vision for the benefit of everything beyond.

[jjs-brainrot]

Alright, still got a few more final episodes left to watch from this season, but it's finally time to start looking ahead to what the next season will bring.

So looking at the previews for the Fall 2024 Anime season, it's seems like a sequel heavy season. Lots of big name shows getting continuations and even a handful of big name remakes. With that being said, there's definitely some interesting looking new shows on the horizon as well.

Continuations:

Shangri-La Frontier S2: I need my 3 dork gamer buddies who will simultaneously be the most toxic motherfuckers to each other while being the most supportive friends possible back already… I need my queen Pencil-kun who fully embodies "gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss" with everything she does and whom is a doomed yuri survivor…

Natsume's Book of Friends S7: My boi with zero self-preservation skills and whose first instinct in every situation is self-destructive self-sacrifice (regardless of how necessary that is for the situation) is finally back! And his fat cat/fox too!

Sengoku Youko S2: While the quality has been more up and down compared to season 1, it's still been a solid adaptation so far.

For Sure:

Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.: Office lady magical girl show. I'm in. Potential yuri source spotted.

Acro Trip: the second magical girl anime this year about a girl who's obsessed with magical girls but becomes the leader of an evil organization that fights them. Very much interested in it. Potential yuri source spotted.

Dandadan: I have a number of friends who are obsessed with this one so I was already interested in it but even if I didn't, the fact that it's also being animated by fucking Science SARU would have been enough.

Maybe:

The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians: Another magic school anime. Seems like it could be cute.

Demon Lord 2099: Fantasy demon lord awakens to find out his fantasy setting is now a cyberpunk one. Yeah okay, that sound really neat. I'm down for some fantasy x cyberpunk

Good Bye, Dragon Life: fantasy series about dragon that dies and gets reincarnated as some dude. Sounds alright but the main waifu character being a lamia is enough for me to give it a try.

Puniru wa Kawaii Slime: Slime girl anime. Yeah that's probably all it takes to sell me on it.

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: I feel like I have to give most villainess isekais a try at this point. So sure, Villainess Isekai where the MC wants to actually be the evil villainess.

[justanotheroutlastfanblog]

The Outlast College AU: the cast

Eddie Gluskin:

Eddie Gluskin (also known as "Ed" or "the groom" in a mocking way) is a failed pre-med student who switched over to fashion design and merchandising and is known for his "retro" style of dress along with his misogynistic behavior. He is a social outcast due to how he acts so despite his good looks and "charming" personality, he seldom ever gets dates or even respect from his other peers (functionally making him an incel). He is "friends" with Frank (although this is mostly just because Frank also happens to live with him) and that is really about it. And despite his bizarre standards for women and beliefs surrounding sexuality: he is dating Val who is the polar opposite of all of what he holds dear.

Frank Manera:

Frank Manera is Eddie's weed-smoking, whisky-drinking, grunge music-loving culinary school dropout roommate. Unlike Eddie, he is a social outcast by choice and actively chooses not to socially engage with other people or things. Frank is probably the most easy-going person you might meet partly due to the fact he is high all the time but also due to his "I really do not give a shit" attitude he has about practically everything. If it is not about his pickup truck, guns, food, weed, or the bands he likes he could care less. Frank is also occasionally seen at Crust-punk bars and other hole-in-the-wall places around MMU despite not being a student.

Val:

Val is a former member of the hyper-religious cult Temple Gate who once held the role of being the "mother" of all of the bastard children of its leader, Knoth, along with the orphans. She was unable to biologically produce children (functionally be a broodmare) so she took on the role of raising them instead. Val escaped the cult when she was 17 and attempted to bring others with her but was unable to. After her escape, she began to hyper-indulge in sex, drugs, body mods, and all of the other things she was never allowed to even talk about while living on the commune. She never got an education and instead opted to continue partying while also taking a job at a Spencers near MMU. She is dating Eddie Gluskin for reasons not fully understood. And despite her new life of freedom and indulgence, she is still on the run from the cult who does periodically attempt to drag her back. She still misses some members of the cult, specifically the children she cared for and wanted to take with her, but also deeply fears being dragged back too much to do anything.

Miles Upshur:

Miles is a journalism student at MMU who also works at the Spencers with Val. He is yet another stoner similar to the likes of Frank only with a significantly more conspiratorial slant. He is best friends with Waylon Park and frequently pulls him into his strange schemes and ventures (like when he goes ghost hunting in abandoned asylums or attempts to prove aliens exist). And much to his friend's horror: he overall lacks a sense of self-preservation and self-control which frequently results in him getting into a lot of dangerous situations.

Waylon Park:

Waylon Park is a computer science major at MMU and the unwitting best friend/accomplice of Miles. He is a lot more timid than his best friend and spends most of his time locked in his apartment streaming video games or working on various coding projects and actively avoids danger/confrontation. He is dating Lisa, a literature major, and is in a pretty steady relationship with her. Due to his more ambiguous appearance, he was mistaken for a woman and thus pursued by Eddie but that was quickly shut down when the truth was revealed and a restraining order was filed.

Rick Trager:

Rick Trager is an extremely shifty business professor teaching at MMU who may or may not be addicted to cocaine. The only reason he has not been fired is due to his tenure at the university.

Jermey Blaire:

Trager's equally as shifty/douchy TA who practically models himself after Patrick bateman.

Chris Walker:

Chris Walker is a former combat veteran going back to school after his time in the service. His exact major is unclear as it has changed several times. But due to his emence size and overall strength he is also a coveted member of the MMU football team. Chris does not have a particularly close relationship with anybody and only happens to know Miles because he had a class with him once (and in turn grew to dislike him as he came off extremely annoying).

Blake Langermann:

Blake is a fellow jornalisim major along with Miles and is a catholic school survivee. Blake is only mildly acquainted with the likes of Miles and Waylon and instead focuses a majority of his time on working on projects with his girlfriend Lynn who is also a journalism major. These projects are usually Exposes regarding local controversies or drama going on (along with the periodic serious human rights/civil rights violation). However, he will join Waylon and Miles on their bullshit adventures from time to time.

Father Martin:

He is the weird guy standing outside of MMU with a large sign only instead of telling people they are going to hell, he warns of the end times and weird ghost demons coming but it is unclear if he is for or against them.

Sullivan Knoth:

Is the leader of the Cult Val escaped from and one of the main antagonists in Val's life. He is functionally the same compared to how he is in the game minus the radio tower frequencies: he is just crazy naturally.

Marta:

Is funtionally the "Sister Cindy" of MMU. She, unlike Father Martin, does accuse all of the students of being whores and tells them they will burn in hell if they don't repent (and do so to Knoth's teachings). She is also the closest immediate threat to Val's freedom and safety outside of the cult given she is still actively looking for her (dubbing her "the Heretic").

Ethan:

The only person from the cult Val is still somewhat in contact with. He is too attempting to escape given his fading faith had the fact Knoth sexually assaulted his daughter and is denying his wife the ability to get cancer treatments as "only god can decide if she lives". He tried to leave with Val initially but had to stay behind in order to at least allow Val to escape and to protect his family.

Billy Hope:

Billy is a highschooler who has functionally adopted by the MMU football team and is "enrolled" at the school a year early so he can play football. His mother, Tiffany, more or less signed off on it due to the hefty sum of money she was offered to allow her son to play.

"The Twins":

Really creepy townies everybody avoids and can usually be spotted with Martin

Pauline Glick:

The asshole president of MMU who may or may not be taking bribes and doing a bunch of illegal shit along with Blaire and Trager

"Mother Gooseberry (Phyllis Futterman)":

Is a washed-up former children's TV host who later became an art teacher at MMU. She teaches several of the more "technical" arts classes such as sewing and technical drawing. However, she also teaches dental classes at MMU although not that many. It is unclear when or if she even got a degree in dental medicine. But given she is only teaching more "anatomy" based lessons and is not actually practicing medicine: it is looked over by MMU administration.

Leland Coyle:

The campus cop who is activly on a power trip, all of the time.

"The Pusher":

The guy who sells literally everybody drugs. Weed, coke, you name it, he has it.

[radiojamming]

Asking pretty please for info on your courier if you don't mind!!! Did you go with a specific build or play her a certain way?

Also any backstory you wish to share I will eat that right up, I just love the courier x coop fic you wrote!

YES OH GOSH YES SO

She goes by Lizzie Holliday or Doc Holliday and her tag skills are medicine, science, and speech. I generally play her as a well-meaning but chaotic field doctor who ends up wandering into Plot Situations.

Here's some [chef kiss] art of her by @jara257/@jaradraws for reference:

Some backstory is that her actual name is Adelita Espinosa and she was born in New Mexico. Her father was a traveling doctor and her mother was a scientist studying radiation mitigation in crops and irrigation. Her mother died of radiation poisoning when Lizzie was very young, so she doesn't remember her well. After that, she traveled with her father and learned all of her medical know-how from him.

After Dr. Espinosa died of natural causes, Lizzie moved on to find her place in the Wasteland. Kind of like a gap year. Maaaaybe she wanted to be a doctor? Or a scientist like her mom? But just like a gap year student, she needed an interim job to make ends meet and took the courier job. Cue FNV plot.

So Lizzie doesn't really think she has a head for politickin', but she ends up making decent choices in like a crapshoot way. Or like someone rolling a D20 and rolling very high every time, even when she doesn't want to. New Vegas ends up in her lap, and her whole decision to rule it is just because she thinks everyone else vying for it sucks. In her mind, she's just a placeholder for someone better at bureaucracy who doesn't suck. The only problem is that's, like, everybody. So she's still there.

And fun facts!

She's incredibly pansexual, and after her head wound, she's really leaned into a whole 'life is short, people are hot' lifestyle, except 'people' sometimes includes robots. And light switches.

She collects pencils because she runs out of them all the time.

Her favorite foods are snack cakes, cazador honey, and roasted pinyon nuts.

When she doesn't live in Vegas (which she tries not to), she's either in Goodsprings or wandering around with Raul.

After the events of FNV, she gets two pet nightstalkers named Gertie and Jose.

Her hobbies including playing guitar, sketching, embroidery (to practice her stitching work!), swimming, and practicing her golf swing. She doesn't understand how golf works and she doesn't want to, but there's something very fun about launching golf balls at unsuspecting fiends and Legion boys.

Her favorite weapon is Paciencia.

In her canon route, she's the one who botches Caesar's brain surgery. Whoops. :)

That said, she also canonically talks Lanius out of attacking and does the same to get Vulpes to leave (or does he?).

(She and Vulpes have a Thing. I never said she had a good sense of self-preservation.)

She takes her role as one of The Kings very seriously and has perfected her hip sway and 'uh-huuuuh's.

The most in love she's ever been is with Dr. 8 from Big MT.

Her dream fate is to get ghoulified so she and Raul can hang out forever and maybe she can go visit the REPCONN ghouls in space.

Realistically, she'd also like to live at Nellis with the Boomers until the end of her days. It sounds much more fun to her than ruling New Vegas.

She'd be so into Cooper Howard that it'd make her bonkers. She'd draw little hearts around his name in notebooks.

[dirtytransmasc]

I had an idea of Spider and Kiri restarting Grace's english school, do with it whatever you want

its what finally got spider on neytiri's good side.

The school is reopened in not only grace's honor but in sylwanin's. A memorial is kept in front of the school, and spider does most of the maintenance; making sure the candles are replaced often, the altar it's kept on stays clean, and the flowers and photos stay in their best condition. Sure, it's not only for sylwanin, its for the other children, for grace, even tsu'tey; but its spider who has uses his time to do so, to preserve their memories in a place so innocent as a school.

they don't only teach English, they teach just about anything they can get their hands on really; they teach math, science, theology, STEM, Na'vi language and culture (for the other human kids on pandora). they offer support for anyone hurt by the war, self-care and life skills for orphaned children, as close to therapy as they can get for troubled individuals.

spider puts his whole self into fixing, healing, the people his father hurt, and it makes neytiri understand that he isn't him, he'll never be him, and that she needs to stop treating him as such.

kiri uses the school to reconnect with her mother, to keep a part of her alive. she does it alongside her best friend, her person, and by doing so she finds peace within herself. her brother finally finding a way into her mother's heart definitely plays into that peace.

[littlewestern]

I imagine with planes and their crews, there's a range from "co-worker" to "best beloved" depending on their job/how many crews they've had/single pilot vs. a whole crew/etc. Where do the MSI planes fit in on that spectrum?

Sure! So within the letterverse, we've generally avoided talking about them, but a large majority of the engines in tfissab owe their preservation to at least one named and well-known individual, though usually not their pilot/driver/captain. We don't talk about them in-canon because doing so veers into rpf territory and puts words into the mouths of people we did not know. Plus our stories are about the engines, and that's what we want to focus on. Generally speaking, vehicles like their people and can form close bonds with their crews, but it's most often a strictly professional relationship. Regardless of how people view them, vehicles have to take a longer view of things, and they know that humans don't live as long as they do.

Of course, that doesn't mean the engines don't have opinions on their people, and we do reference them obliquely in some cases. This is a nice opportunity to talk about that!

Far and away my favorite is Captain William Norwood, United's first black pilot who did actually fly our 727 several times during her service life and which now bears his name on the fuselage.

Though she wouldn't have considered Captain Norwood "her" pilot (if there can be such a thing in a commercial airline service as long as hers). 727 is proud to bear his name as a face for the company and as part of an exhibit that is designed to inspire children to follow their dreams, especially as it pertains to the future of science and industry. It's a great story, and I love the way it's tied to the exhibit. You can watch an interview with Captain Norwood on one of the video screens with the plane right there up close, it's a great setup.

Also mentioned directly in their exhibits are Jenny and Texaco's pilots! And these two Texaco and Jenny would consider "their" pilots, as their service lives were much more closely tied to them and these planes' crews were just One Guy, so it was easier to form longterm bonds.

Texaco's pilot and the one who flew her to those 200+ records I talked about was Frank Hawks. He flew multiple Texaco planes, but far and away the most famous of them is our own Texaco 13.

I think Texaco would consider him to be The Greatest and Coolest Pilot in All The World, but that would moreso be because she was never flown by anyone else. No one points out that he also did crash her and that's why she's here at the museum and not preserved in some private collection, most likely, but she won't hear a word about it. She likes it at the MSI anyway!

In contrast, Jenny's relationship with her last pilot, John L. Brown (photo unavailable, sadly!) was definitely more of a boss/employee type deal. In a way, both Jenny and John would have benefited from their commercial endeavors, as John apparently used to offer rides in exchange for fuel for the plane. When he decided to leave her at the MSI, I have to imagine Jenny simply took it as a parting-of-the-ways, the naturally diverging paths of business partners. Jenny's a bit mercenary like that.

40B's exhibit mentions *a* pilot which flew that model plane - the impressively named Jack Knight - but unfortunately we don't know about the pilot for the actual 40B at the MSI. This is the same for Stuka and Spitfire. Though we know about the circumstances surrounding these planes' provenances, we don't have any faces to put to them.

What we can say is that Stuka does not think particularly highly of his last crew, the ones who were supposed to destroy him but instead abandoned him in the desert. For obvious reasons, he considers this an act of cowardice. But also like Texaco, his pilot's mistake turned out to be to his benefit. He gets to live here, after all!

[just-a-gamer-daydeamer-girl]

Bloody Star AU 🩸⭐️ Stardust Crusades stuff

So the way this part opens up is the Cult of Dio finally finding their founders body in the special coffin as well as a special container with a majority of Jonathan’s body that has been preserved in a special box. (Kinda debating if Jonathan would still be alive and aware of what was happening he probably wouldn’t stay alive for much longer or worse, I’m just gonna say he’s dead for now) the cult basically goes “hey let’s try and revive our founder whose body is in remarkably good condition because of the Hamon coffin using the remains of the original Bloody Star Vampire and the new power we discovered called Stands!” And thus the Cult of Dio enters its mad science era.

Basically the final fight will be against a Frankenstein‘s monster thing made out of Dio’s and Jonathan’s parts. Definitely some metal and other stuff in their to prevent the hamon from effecting the vampire parts. Perhaps they stole the info of the experiments data of Joseph that the SWF did in the part 2 era and that furthers their research even more.

This AU Jotaro isn’t as rude or a punk and is a bit leaner, because he mostly lived a mostly solitary lifestyle with his mom in Japan. But he is still very quiet and doesn’t like to show emotion. Although I think he would be a bit of an explorer, wandering the streets at night. He basically becomes a local myth in the city. When he gets his stand he panics and instead of going into a police holding cell he runs into the woods and stays there stubbornly isolating himself (and adding new rumors to his ever growing cryptid stories). His mom does eventually find him but he refuses to go home, snapping at her and calling her an annoying bich for the first time, Star bringing Everything he needs. It’s hard but she had to go home before the sun came up.

Joseph and Alvdol come to help. With the Fortune teller getting Jotaro out of the forest by having him chase him and some encouraging words from his grandfather (little Jojo, I know that your scared of what’s happening, that you may become some kind of monster, but it’s kinda silly to do so because we come from a family of monsters, but we’re all human on the inside, and this new power of yours doesn’t change that one bit) Jotaro heads home.

Yea Joseph and his friends call jotaro Little jojo.

Joseph stays with Holly and Jotaro for a while with Avdol as his bodyguard, because the cult of Dio was acting more suspicious and moving towards his home. He had been able to lead a somewhat normal life and run his own business for a while besides he’s been getting more irritated lately for some reason. But there is no rest for the wicked for the wicked and the cult is waiting and preparing something something Big! And the Kujo household is ironically the best safe house they have. Not many people even know where the Kujos live and you can’t even find their house without knowing how to look for it. The Kujo family is one of Japan’s most hidden secrets. Sadao doesn’t let anyone know he has a family but he loves them all the same.

Jotaro goes out to get some groceries, (cus he is one of the only people in the house that can go outside during the day). His hight does make him stand out but he just pretends he’s a forager visitor only speaking in English. He buys the ingredients for dinner and begins to head home. But on his way back he falls down some stairs because something injured his leg. On high alert after that he accepts the help of some strangers who were around and decided to take the long twisted way home. Some of the groceries would have spoiled but it would be worth the extra caution.

While he is walking home he finds a slip of paper with a message on it in his pocket.

“Today you will burn in the glorious light of life, with my emeralds I will cut you down using my stand.

-Kakyoin Noraki”

Shortly after he processed the information he is thrown into an alleyway, making him cornered. He sees a red headed Japanese boy, wearing some green robes, a circlet with a silver peace in the center and an iconic sun pendant that was essentially the cross for the cult of Dio. He was followed with two people also wearing similar circlets. Jotaro saw green tendrils spreading all around him even above him forming a inescapable web. So yea they fight and they argue during the fight about morality, during the confrontation Jotaro notices that there is something wrong with the other boys eyes.

Jotaro finally wins but something is wrong with his opponent who was knocked out had his eyes shot open and starts spazing. Blood starts dripping from the circlet, namely the center of his forehead. His two companions(?) start grinning sinisterly their circlets are different (basically hamon powered thought remotes) saying that Kakyoin served the order well, he fell to one of the Bloody Stars, they would have to take him on himself. They both get the stuffing beat out of them because they didn’t have stands. Like come on…. I guess they tried to take him on while he was weakened from the fight but still….

Jotaro takes Kakyoin and the remains of the grocery’s back home. They remove the killer circlet with some trouble (similar to the flesh bud) and hand it to the SWF for study, they give the red head some vamp blood (it is great for healing that’s cannon, I mean Joseph was right as rain after the blood transfusion.)

Kakyoin was smug and righteous before but now he just looks haunted…. He doesn’t run away but he is clearly scared and not talking to anyone. He is constantly gripping his sun pendant. Despite the circlet messing with his head he was apparently an genuine worshipper. After being betrayed by members of his own religion and now basically in the presence of their version of the devil and demons, he is not having a good time. Everyone gives him some space and they have him out of the Kujo house hold and into the company on the SWF, he isn’t being held prisoner at all, he can leave any time he wants.

A week pasts and the Jostar family is currently bunking down with minimal contact. It’s now obvious that the cult is doing something BIG.

Then one day Holly just goes feral for some reason, right in the middle of cooking. Jotaro, Joseph and Avdol all do their best to calm her down and constrain without hurting her,Joseph even awakens his stand in the mess but nothing works. Holly actually almost kills Jotaro, it is then her stand awakens and constricts her, vines grapple with any leverage, pulling the kind mother turned savage farther and farther away from her son, tears now falling from her eyes. Finally the stand locks her in a room and binds her hands and legs.

They get the speed wagon foundation to come over quickly and Kakyoin comes along as well. The researchers and the doctors do some research/ try to helpon both Holly without hurting her as well as looking over Jotaro and Joseph. They learn that something is messing with Hollys instincts, she is basically a prisoner of her own mind, whatever this effect is it’s due to the unique bloodline connection the Joestars have (it wasn’t discovered until Holly’s youth, mainly because most parents don’t see their kids grow up in this family) the whole ‘connection’ thing is still pretty mysterious, after confirming that it wasn’t Jotaro and Joseph fault they learn something even scarier, they being effected too. That’s why Jotaro was being more rude, and Joseph being more irritated than usual.

The scientists estimate that in 30 day’s every member of the Jostars would either be overpowered by their body’s instincts or become addicted to feeding on the innocent.

After seeing how scared Jotaro was Kakyoin finally decided to help, “it’s kinda silly and stupid to think anyone is pure evil, we’re to complicated for that, even the devil is a person after all. Just don’t make me regret this,” He tells them about his past, how he and his family were casual worshippers (just go to church on Sundays nothing special that kinda thing he wasn’t going stop his life or make it his entire existence for it) he wasn’t supper hardcore or serious about it. Then one day he gets approached by someone in the church, saying that they knew about hierophant green, and that he had a special power that they called a Stand. Wanting to learn more Kakyoin talked more, they learned a lot about stands, how they worked and others like him. Then they got him to wear the circlet and that forced him to go from a causal worshipper to a full blown zealot willing to die for the cause, they didn’t even see him as a person. He also revealed that the religion had uncovered the corpses of both Dio and Jonathan, about the whole reviving their founder and ‘Purifying’ the bloody stars by studying the original bloodstained Star. The bond of bloodline has been tapped into by the cult.

So yea after learning all that they all decided to stop them from doing anything worse they have to find the lab where the experiments are taking place. Joseph accidentally learns about spirit photography in a fit of rage. They discovered the location (similar to cannon) and Jotaro, Joseph, Avdol, and Kakyoin(he wants to confront the people in his religion) head to Egypt.

But the cult of Dio will not let them taint their holy ground without a fight, they will do what they can to stop the, from reaching their destination.

Thanks for reading ('ω')