#skypoint

[the-torchwood-archive]

What is our general vibe on Ianto's university status? As far as I can recall it's only ever mentioned sporadically and never on screen. Perhaps even it only is ever mentioned in these two quotes (Skypoint and Almost Perfect. I don't think it's ever mentioned in Torchwood One and definitely isn't in Fragments.

We've heard about his GCSEs but never about A levels, so let's make an assumption that he took them in this version of events. He would have started at uni in September 2001 and, assuming it's some variation on a Bachelor of Arts, would have been there for three years. In Blind Summit, at the end of 2004, he is in London and so a three year degree can fit in there. August until the end of the year is then taken up with moving to London where he had at least two jobs and got a flat with his father.

But the question I have is would Ianto actually go to university? The Ianto who he became would, yes. But we know that the man Ianto became was a reinvention. He became someone different when he started working for Torchwood. Would the eighteen year old who got caught stealing and knew how to pick locks and hotwire a car choose to take A levels and go to uni?

To me it just doesn't fit. It's a very classic Torchwood piece of almost canon that I'm more than happy to just put aside.

[captainlynxx]

Posting gay for gay month

Post 15/30 (erm how??)

We are 27 pages into Skypoint and Jack and Ianto have already had sex

Respect

[waybackwanderer]

myhello3.wav Jun 1996 Archived Media File 📀 🔊

[bisectro]

Who is this verdict, what’s their (?) deal, what do they look for in a friend, who’s their biggest enemy

Who is Verdict?

Verdict is my Reflection ttrpg character for a homegame that I play every Sunday!!

(art by @eiilese)

Verdict (they/them) is an assassin from a floating city on the hand of a God called "Skypoint"! Their gun is woman called Spymaster (art on the right by Xamag) that uses gossip and secrets as bullets; the more well kept the secret, the more likely the bullet is to topple a dynasty.

*V.E.R.D.I.C.T is an acronym of all the collected names and identities they assumed in their lifetime. From 'V' to 'T' and then the cycle repeats back to 'V'.

I used to keep these names hush hush. But now that I've been playing them in campaign for a year, I'm fine with revealing these to the public.

What's their deal?

To give you an idea of Verdict's personality, here's a few things they did in campaign

Got into Cruel World's Catalogue and tamed the oldest known fear: "Fear of the dark". Kept it in a tiny box and then proceeded to forget about it in their coat pocket

Disarmed an assasin (Literally)

And I mean that verdict shot a bullet through one shoulder and out the other.

Fed the assassin apples like a horse.

Got their ESP by playing crosswords with said assassin

Tackled a person off of a building

and then used the inertia of their gunfire to break their own fall

Made a bomb forget it's a bomb.

Only orders Strawberry smoothies and chocolate milkshakes from bars

Basically Verdict doesn't give a damn. Send your lawyers, Verdict will fuck them.

(art by Onionerkun)

What do they look for in a friend?

Someone dangerous, someone who loves to "yes, and?" and play along with them. Because Verdict is super weird on their own. They want someone to match their freak behavior and not judge them for 1) killing people, and 2) being emotionally stunted and condescending.

Who’s their biggest enemy?

Is it other assassins? Is it a big bad that threatens to destroy the world and everyone Verdict loves???

No.

It's some guy called Embroil Wilder who always causes a scene and is confrontational. Embroil is played by my friend, Froglog!

Why does Verdict hate their co-worker who means well and looks nonthreatening??? Because Embroil never listens to ANYONE. and is so insistent on doing things his way (((THE STUPID WAY))) (Embroil signed a pact with the grim reaper without consulting anyone.)

[carriagelamp]

A few days late, but I'm lazy...

My favourite books that I read during 2023!

I got really lucky this year, I read some ridiculously good books, to the point that I had a really hard time narrowing them down. And I cheated on a few and bunched them up so I wouldn't have to choose 🙃

I did more detailed assessments of the books in my month reviews, but for anyone that's interested in something I read, here's a quick description:

Annie: An Old-Fashioned Story by Thomas Meehan -- A novelization of the Little Orphan Annie story, close related to the film musical including references to the songs. A charming read that captures the enjoyment of the film but adds a lot more details into the struggles and hardships Annie would have gone through during life on her own in the Depression.

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild -- Three girls from a poor family in London end up being welcomed to a ballet academy where they have the opportunity to learn not only how to dance, but to begin attending performances that let them earn money for their family. Follows the heart warming adventures of sisters with a nice balance of financial hardship and obligations during the Depression.

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle -- A possession horror based around religious trauma and sexual identity. Fantastic prose and genuinely chilling at points without ever feeling hopeless. Here the demons that start stalking people in this God-fearing Montana town are both metaphorical and literal.

A Christmas Story by Jean Shepherd -- A collection of radio stories that follow the childhood misadventures of Ralphie; these stories would go to make up the classic film A Christmas Story, and Shepherd's hilarious, clever prose makes it a very fun read whether you know the film or not.

Doctor Who: Scratchman by Tom Baker -- I actually read a number of pretty good Doctor Who novels this year (13 Doctors 13 Stories, Time Lord Fairytales, Silhouette) and even a Torchwood one (Skypoint) but Scratchman was probably my favourite of the lot. The Fourth Doctor, Sarah, and Harry find themselvese in a horror adventures as they try to defend a host of villagers against an invading force of evil, skeletal scarecrows that are attempting to infect the humans around them.

Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones -- The star Sirius is accused of killing another luminary and losing a powerful instrument called a Zoi. His sentence for this crime is to be stripped of his powers and cast down to earth, to spend one lifetime living in a humble, mortal form - that of a true dog. If he can survive and find the Zoi within that lifetime, he will be welcomed back to the cosmos.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire -- A novella that explores the rehabilitation of children who had been chosen, who found a doorway and stepped into another, strange world. Adventures done, they now need to acclimatize themselves to living in the rigid confines of the real world.

Grandpa's Great Escape by David Walliams -- A hilarious and surprisingly heart-warming story about a boy and his grandfather who was a flying ace during the war. With his mind beginning to fail him, the grandfather is sent to live at a sinister and definitely evil old folks' home. Only Jack can save him.

Hazel's Shadow by Nicole MacCarron -- Hazel has always been plagued by strange visions - the ability to see and speak to ghosts, as well as the knowledge of a strange, nameless horror living in her grandmother's house. Things come to a head though, when a sudden, zombie-like illness explodes through her town leaving only a few left alive, too many ghosts to count, enemies at every turn, and the shadow waiting for them.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree -- (as well as it's sequel that came out later in the year, Bookshops & Bonedust). This was such a pleasant, low-stakes, domestic fantasy about Viv, an orcish ex-mercenary who has decided she's tired of fighting and would rather settle down and open a coffeeshop. One of the sticking points being, of course, that no one knows what coffee is.

Love Beyond Body, Space & Time by assorted authors, anthology -- An Indigenous queer sci-fi anthology with a really excellent collection of stories, including an author I already knew and loved! The stories explore a wide range of gender, sexuality, magic, machines, and ways of being, I highly recommend picking it up!

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske -- Robin, a young baronet, thought he was being shunted into the most out of the way and miserable public servant position imaginable. He expected things to be tedious but necessary. He did not expect to suddenly learn that magic is real and to be tangled in its machinations in a potentially lethal way.

(MDZS) Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu -- Rejoice, because the feared Yiling Patriarch, the necromancer terror who slaughtered thousands, is dead! And has been dead the past decade. And is now very, very confused to wake up in a new body that isn't his, in a room he's never seen before, and to be thrust into the middle of a murder mystery where everyone would want him dead if they were to learn his real identity.

Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson -- Moomins hibernate through the winter, that's how it has always been for them. So when young Moomintroll wakes and finds the rest of his family still fast asleep, he's left feeling lost and isolated in this new, strange, snow covered world beyond his door.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers -- (and its sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy) A very gentle, compassionate sci-fi novel that explores a world humans have created post-climate-crisis. Life is different, the past distant, and a young tea monk never expected to run into an actual robot, who had so long ago left humanity to live their own secluded life in the wilds. Now they're both struggling to answer the question "What do humans need?"

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore -- (and Kate Moore's other book The Woman They Could Not Silence) The Radium Girls is a narrative non-fiction book that looks at the lives of the girls who were paid to paint luminous watch dials using radium paint. It explores the horror, exploitation, and suffering that came from work place negligence and the world's gradual learning about what exactly radium can do.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston -- Presidential son and British prince are forced together for the sake of publicity - to prove that they don't actual hate each other and aren't going to cause a diplomatic incident. They cause a whole new and exciting diplomatic incident by falling in love! Do not read this for the politics, but it did end up being way way better than I expected, this author creates quite compelling characters.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett -- Sour, spoiled, and ill Mary is sent to live with her distant uncle on the Yorkshire moors. Set to be as contrary and unhappy as possible, little by little Mary begins to come out of her shell as she experiences nature, play, and love for perhaps the first time in her life.

System Collapse by Martha Wells -- Newest Murderbot book!! Murderbot, ART's crew, and the humans from Preservation are doing their best to defend the colonists on a plant that's cursed with a strange, alien plague from being consumed by the more immediate threat of corporate slavery. Something, however, seems to be wrong with Murderbot and its worried that if it can't fix the problem soon, it may cost its humans their lives.

(TGCF) Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu -- Xie Lian is a god. Was a good. He has ascended to godhood twice, and been banished back to earth twice. Once a favour among the gods, he is now a laughing stock, a scrap-collecting god who has been forgotten by almost everyone. So it is with some shock and exasperation to all involved when he ascends for a third time.

This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone -- A ridiculous poetic novella written through improbable letters that are written between two time travels on opposites sides of a time war. Seriously, this is probably the most beautiful book I read this year, go read it, the hype is justified.

Wave Me Goodbye by Jacqueline Wilson -- As World War Two rages, Shirley, like many children of the time, is sent from her home in London to be housed by a foster family in the country in order to avoid the Blitz. Put up with two boys in the strange, mostly empty Red House, Shirley has to find a new life for herself out in the country.

When The Angels Left The Old Country by Sacha Lamb -- Uriel the angel and Little Ash the demon find themselves drawn from their usual lives when a young girl from their shtetl goes missing after emigrating to America. Both with their own reasons for wanting to leave the old country, they set off on a sea voyage that will change everything for them.

Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame -- The classic stories of Rat, Mole, and Toad. The story begins when Mole, venturing out of his little burrow, meets Rat and winds up living with him in his little home by the river rather than returning to his own, lonely, little hole. From there they have a variety of domestic adventures over the seasons, most notable being Toad's ill-fated obsession with motor cars.

[adrianl4u]

This image shows the the Winter Milky Way arching over the Tschuggen Observatory in Arosa, Switzerland.  Credit - Skypointer https://www.flickr.com/photos/skypointer2000/53420706431/in/gallery-164344556@N06-72157719079249666/

[doctorwhommm]

if you’re a towen fan, I highly recommend the “skypoint” book because [ insert agonised screams ] and it’s written by the same guy who wrote the episode “something borrowed” !!!

omg ive just looked up the plot summary this sounds amazing tysm for the rec!!! I hadn’t actually heard of this one before so im glad you pointed it out to me !!!

[duckwhistle]

ok I have like an idea but. I don't know.

I really really despise the Tribe in the canon. I hate how they tried to make an Indigenous American culture and used every last droplet of stereotype they could. I hate how they could make another cat group and while they did not make them evil, the writers made them incompetent and clearly worse than the Clans. I hate how everytime someone's gotta fix something it's the Tribe asking the Clans for help. I hate most TNP books just for that reason.

.... but it's iconic. It's important for a lot of arcs. I can't just axe it away completely...

BUT I also needed a way to introduce Skyclan that was different from the other books, especially since Firestar cannot go and recreate it for a lot of reasons, and I wanted Sandstorm to go instead, but it needed to be after Squirrel and Leaf were a- born and b- old enough to survive without their mom for months. Also I am anti Lake-Skyclan not because I don't want them there, but because it feels more interesting to have a Clan separate from the others.

So here's the idea: The Skypoints, a group hailing from ancient Skyclan (as ancient as it gets) dealing with the curse of a Rat King. They live in a gorge close enough to a town, and twolegs are common to see because there's a lot of small trails. They use the naming system from the ancient Clans, the rule being that they get named after what color thay are. Roles are chosen at birth, but the only role that is different from Medic or Warrior is Deputy. Yes, Deputies are chosen at birth, you can imagine the main problem from this decision. This sets up a few things: -they need help from someone with Skyclan blood (Feathertail) -the mountain lion is gone, but there's a threat that is just as big because the rats try to overtake the gorge constantly. -their numbers are dwindling after a surge of rats and a bad epidemic happening at the same time. I kinda want to have the Shadowclan journey cat (that is not Tawnypelt) get flashbacks from the Carrion Disease, before realizing these rats do not carry it. -in this moment Squirrelpaw gets the idea: "why don't you ask for help from the kittypets? My dad was one and he's become a hero." -recruiting time, I wanna make it clear that not everybody's sold on living with the Skypoints, either because they're stupidly aggressive towards others (Clear Sky propaganda) or have family and friends back in town. -Dappled Leaves comes out with a compromise (she's Leafstar, but not yet considered a great match for a leader because she's not Clear Sky-esque and also a Warrior) that those who might have families can either bring them with, even if they're not able to fight, or go back after helping during the day. Daylight Warriors babeyyyyy -may or may not begin a small moment of civil unrest, that does not tip into a war just because there's a bigger problem at the moment. -in the end, Feathertail dies to the Rat King while slaying it, but I wanna make it clear she's not the only one to be honored in death. I want something like seven or eight cats to die. Stormfur gets a crush on Cherry Tail, and in the Great Migration will be staying behind... alongside Sandstorm, who's found companionship in Dappled Leaves hehe. Leafpaw gets the idea that Starclan might communicate with them through water by seeing the Starcave, where the Stoneteller, the eldest medic, goes to commute with Starclan. Also here medics are a lot more than the usual, and some of them have families (hint hint) -Sandstorm and Dappled Leaves become, through omens and Starclan's approval, Leaders of the new Skyclan, and are named Risingstar and Shootingstar (read one of my previous posts about the renaming in the #duck! tag). Skyclan becomes the first clan to have two leaders, but also begins to make various pairs of deputies for that reason. This sets up Sharp Claws and Darktail as a deputy pair later on hehe

[aigle-suisse]

Rosengarten Fall Panorama par skypointer Via Flickr : The Rosengarten group (Italian: Catinaccio) is a massif in the Dolomites of northern Italy. It is famous for taking a pink shade during sunset due to the presence of dolomite mineral. This is a panorama taken from the Carezza skiing area. The smoke streams, seemingy originating from the three northern peaks, are actually contrails from aircraft passing high above.

[skypointvein]

Vein Treatment Hoffman Estates IL

https://www.skypointvein.com/varicose-vein-treatment-in-hoffman-estates-il/ - Varicose Vein Treatment in Hoffman Estates, IL by Vein Doctor Dr. Sameer M. Naseeruddin of Skypoint Vein always has satisfied patients. 847-882-1438

[embklitzke]

NaNoWriMo 2021 - Skypoint - Chapter 4

“There is definitely one nice thing about going down to the surface,” Hunter said as she counted the sample carriers lined up along one of the long counters in the main lab. “It’s really nice to see natural sunlight in a natural environment.” “Define natural,” Ilya countered as he settled in at one of the tables, checking on the last batch of samples he’d been working with before their sojourn…

[captainlynxx]

RAAAH I HAVE SKYPOINT :D

[waybackwanderer]

myhello.wav Jun 1996 Archived Media File 📀 🔊

[bisectro]

FlowC comic dumps

Rosetta's first GEISTMAS - Wave 2 RP - December 12, 2024

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Turncoat vs the NEW Pyromancer of Death- Reflection of a Reflection (Skypoint arc) - May 21, 2024

And then Verdict proceeded to put an ally in a line of fire to make sure Verdict takes no damage while also completing the objective

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Political views

Wave 2 RP - year 2024

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Chess & Glass(es) club

Reflection of a Reflection - 2024

[2buns]

Our last full day in Gold Coast. First we went to the SkyPoint tower and got some coffee at the cafe there. It was mid but the bubbachino was cute.

My uncle sky dived this day and he was gonna land on the beach so we went to a meat pie shop and ordered some pies and dessert.

My photo game was weak bc I didn’t get any pictures. But imagine eating a yummy meat pie on a beautiful day by the beach looking out for your family member to come down from the sky. Pretty chill day.

October 27, 2022.