#that might be theoretically causing stress

[darkmist111]

Something I wish was talked about more is that Percy wasn’t told about the full Great Prophecy until days before it was set to occur.

And the implications of who knew, and how it changes the view of people’s actions in that context.

Let’s start off with who knew for sure, Annabeth, Luke, Chiron, and all the gods.

Annabeth has been the one that’s been analyzed the most I think. Her abandonment issues, combined with the knowledge that the best friend she made and boy she loves most likely has a expiration date. She pulls away and is reluctant to open up on her feelings. She spends alot of time bracing for pain she thinks is coming.

Chiron spends a good portion of the time being honestly very pessimistic with Percy, talking about heroes that died tragically, gods that probably don’t care, and honestly usually looks at Percy like he’s already dead. There are many times in the book where Chiron gets a far away look and Percy thinks he’s thinking of fallen heroes but it might be he’s thinking about how the Hero before him is due to die in a couple years.

You will never catch me defending Luke Castellan’s actions, but with the context of the Great prophecy, I can understand how in a twisted way his actions might have made sense. If this kids is gonna die in a couple years anyway why not kill him now? Why wait just so he can die a slower death possibly in service to a broken system. It also kinda makes sense why he wouldn’t recruit him, since he’d be just recruiting him to die for his cause instead of the gods. That part is speculation though since he has no problem later sending demigods to their death for his cause.

The gods are pretty easy to tell with their motives, self centered, they care more about their survival than a single mortals’. Poseidon however is honestly painted in a pretty bad light. The apology of “I’m sorry you were born” takes a different meaning when you think he know that Percy is gonna die. “I’m sorry you were born only to die.” Not only that but his distance to Percy even after his heritage is revealed takes a different tone. Is he avoiding puting time into his son not just because he is a god but because he might die? Granted he’s immortal so Percy was going to die anyway. But did he avoid telling Percy because he didn’t want him to think less of him?

And then we get onto who theoretically knew.

Specifically, did Sally, Grover, or Thalia know?

Sally Jackson is a goddess let me just preface that, but much like other goddesses she’s not perfect.

Is it possible Poseidon told her of the prophecy? If she knew is it possible she hid it from Percy? I love Sally but she does have a habit of keeping things that could hurt Percy from him until the last possible moment. And honestly this is much worse than the other things she’s withheld from him.

Did Grover know? Even with the empathy link, it transfers emotions more than thoughts. Which brings us to another interesting point. If Grover knew the Prophecy did he form a Empathy link knowing he would probably die in a couple years? Or did he not know and Annabeth Chiron and others failed to tell him that? We’re people expecting Grover to die in a couple years? Was he informed? Did people try to get him to cut his Empathy Link, without telling him? Did Juniper know?

And finally we have Thalia, the most underutilized character in all the series, and I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that.

Did Thalia know and when did she know it? Did she know before being turned into a Tree? Did she know after she was revived? Did she know during the Titan’s Curse? Did she know after she became a hunter? All of these can drastically change how her choice at the end of Titans Curse could be viewed.

If she knew before her death, it adds a layer to Luke and Annabeth, not only was their friend killed but most likely, another will be killed in her place.

If she was informed after she was revived or knew during Titan’s curse it adds a level of stress from her perspective, not only did she die to save her family, one who became a traitor and sacrificed the other to unleash a Titan, but she is know being told she’ll probably die in a couple months to a year.

And if she was informed after she became a Hunter? Did that make her regret her decision? Second guess herself? Did she feel guilty because she basically sacrificed Percy to save her own life? Did she try and avoid Percy out of guilt?

And I think what’s really interesting is that if Percy wasn’t such a good guy, and was more pessimistic and darker in how he view people and these motivations, he could easily reinterpret people’s actions with the prophecy in mind to their worst possible conclusion.

Him getting together with Annabeth only after the Great Prophecy could be seen as her writing him off as not worth it like so many others in his life, only willing to take the leap after the threat had passed.

He could see Chiron holding back on training because Percy might not be alive long enough to make full use of them. Writing him off as another tragic hero.

He could see Luke as worse or better, understanding that the gods do use them but also seeing Luke as another mentor giving up on him as a lost cause before really getting to know him.

He could see Poseidon withholding the truth as a manipulation tactic to give him the illusion of hope up until the point where he can’t back out anymore.

He could see Sally starting a relationship and trying to build a life while Percy is going through these trials as her preparing for her son to die, trying to make it so she has a life that can survive his death.

He could see Thalia’s decision to trust him with the prophecy, not as one of faith but avoiding death by using him as a sacrifice. Her doing the same thing Luke did, and what Percy wouldn’t do to others like Bessie.

Honestly the only one that couldn’t be spun in a bad direction is Grover. But if Grover didn’t know than I can imagine Percy would be angry at those that didn’t inform him since Percy’s life very much is linked to Grover’s. Did Juniper know her Boyfriend was also marked for death?

All of that being said Percy really is a good guy.

I sometimes forget how compassionate he is without thought, even to those who don’t deserve it.

It would be so easy to be angry bitter and spiteful when you’re told you only have a few days to live. To be resentful and cruel to the people that kept it from you.

He’s always known he could die but he also always had that little bit of hope dangled in front of him, the idea that not all heroes die gruesome painful deaths, that he could end up like his namesake.

But he isn’t and doesn’t. When people say they were doing what they thought was best he believes them. He doesn’t follow blindly but he doesn’t hate blindly either.

That’s why he’s the Hero of Olympus.

[rip-headphones-users]

Lampert and his nasty ass boyfriend(?) (+ some skaterlight headcannons lol)

Infected isn’t usually allowed to touch lampert (due to being sick, and NOT in a rad way) but is incredibly affectionate regardless much to Lamperts dismay.

After infected came around, Lampert did eventually start bonding with him through mutually pranking/messing with each other. Lampert prefers pulling quickly set up/spur of the moment pranks, while infected’s can take weeks to fully be realized

Lampert keeps two pictures of Kasper in the locket on his lampchain. Kas/Infected aren’t aware of the pictures, nor is he aware that the charm is even a locket.

Lampert is about as grossed out by Infected as he is endeared by him. He cares about him a LOT but god he’s disgusting.

They aren’t necessarily dating on paper, but like. They might as well be. Hell, if it weren’t for Kasper being afraid of commitment (depression induced) they probably WOULD have been.

Kasper will only (willingly) come forward if he is in his apartment/alone with Lampert. Other than that It’s usually infected

Infected could theoretically inhabit Lampert’s lamp for a short while, not that Lampert would ever allow that, but also because parasitizing him would cause lampert to be “thrown out” of the lamp due to it having another conscious entity, and infected would suffer because of the lack of a host.

Lampert used to let Kasper put his head under the lampshade if he was feeling stressed/sad/sensory overloaded to act as “sensory deprivation” for him, its weird auditorily, but both found it to be a fairly comfortable arrangement. Nowadays infected is too gross for Lampert’s comfort, and his germiphobia is far worse.

Img 1: Lickkkkkk <3

Img 2: surprise lamp hug w/ implied dialogue

Img 3: very comfy lamp…

Img 4: he may be (kinda) gone but he’s in his heart…

Img 5: Kasperisun…

Img 6: five-hundred cigarettes.

[nebby-exists]

Meet Black Wolfberry, or well,

This fecking thing.

I don’t got much to do or say with this—

But- uh-

Dis lil thing is Frigid’s kid.

Very lil fella. 

Its name is Black Wolfberry cookie— cuz I’m struggling to find a proper name—

It ain’t exactly like how white orchid was born (no mama),

Mostly cuz the oc I ship with him time to time is literally known as famine, or in some other stories, abyssal sea cookie. I ain’t showing it just yet but long story short she basically this kid’s mom and the literal licorice sea abyss seems to be friendly with her…almost like seeing her as its mom??? Idk just yet I might change some stuff so I don’t accidentally make it weird depending if Frigid cacao is his own thing or possessed by the licorice sea in some monster manner.

Due to how dis fecking thing was born, she’s immune to the frosty touch, though kinda has similar abilities in some way(distress causes frost that leads to drowsiness, lack of energy, but won’t kill you…immediately. The frost can just be broken off or put under water to thaw it off, so less of an issue than her father’s frost).

This ends up meaning she can be picked up by her papa without turning into an icicle. She got a big appetite (theoretically like her dad and mom, depending on what side effects other than not moving or talking much cacao got—), but most often she’s like those little animal videos where the lil guy ‘politely’ eats, or something.

She can form a maw, but it’s rare. 

Like her papa, she originally doesn’t talk much, making small gurgling noises and head movements to communicate. At a certain point she does get abit talkative…as in gurgling like sounds, growls…yeah she can’t speak technically just yet, but she’ll get there.

She kinda acts like a cat at times, and hell even skittered around like a cat, or just slithers. She’s got legs but she doesn’t care too much.

Which the additional canon of Cacao only visiting Midnight Lily, she would find out about the lil guy, and kinda has to deal with the fact he got with a harbinger lady (/j?). Overall she thinks it’s sweet.

I’d say at a point Black Wolfberry cookie might end up following white orchid after realizing some stuff. That, and they kinda done with being kept in the walls all the time. It ain’t their first rodeo somehow getting out and at a point ended up in the desert, so you can guess the stress the poor guy gonna be in.

Height comparison. Chances are she might be smaller but I don’t want to make her ant sized. (I might change her  secondary color—)

She love her papa, but she can’t tell if he care or not. Atleast he doesn’t mind her sleeping on him or messing with his hair—

Or hiding in it—

Anywho,

Beast ancients Au/ Frigid Cacao belongs to @cuppajj

Black Wolfberry aka this little fecking thing belongs to meee :33

[lesmisshippingshowdown]

Steal-Off 2: just checking in with you....

Hi guys! Hope you are all having a pleasant Sunday :))

First of all, before I hop into the meat of this post, let's have a little update on how our leaderboard has progressed since Friday:

🥇 Éponine/Cosette (168) 🥈 Enjolras/Combeferre (89.1) 🥉 Valjean/Javert (77.9) [+1] 4. Jehan/Montparnasse (77.1) [-1] 5. Éponine/Montparnasse (27.4) 6. Turning Woman #3/Musichetta (21.2) 7. Courfeyrac/Marius (18) 8. Enjolras/Grantaire (15.6) 9. Enjolras/Feuilly (6.6) 10. Combefere/Courfeyrac (5.5) 11= Marius/Cosette (5.3) 11= Joly/Bossuet/Musichetta (5.3) 13. Combeferre/Grantaire (0.7)

Congratulations to Valjean/Javert for narrowly overtaking Jehan/Montparnasse for a provisional place on the Steal-Off Podium!!

Now, to get to the point - we are over halfway through the submission window, 32 different ships are eligible to have works submitted (NOT even counting the theoretically infinite number of ships you could steal for as part of the newcomers' tournament!!) and currently we have only had submissions for five ships, zero of which are new entries. Additionally, of the 25 submissions we've currently received, TWENTY of them (that's 80%!) are for one of two ships - Éponine/Montparnasse or Valjean/Javert.

Now, I MUST stress that I am NOT saying this to criticise or attack Valvert & Montponine nations. On the contrary - I am absolutely THRILLED that these ships' fanbases have gotten so thoroughly into the spirit of Steal-Off 2, and you can all give yourselves a pat on the back!!

However, I would have loved to see this level of participation across a larger number of ships. After all, that's why we announced Steal Off 2 weeks in advance - to give you all time to prepare your works and give us a steady flow of new and exciting content throughout the week!

I might be worrying about nothing - people get busy, some of you might have loads of fanworks in the pipeline that just haven't been submitted yet, there's still 3-ish days left in the Steal-Off, anything can happen. But if I can get to the bottom of any potential causes for what is currently a rather unusual stealer turnout pattern, hopefully we can come up with some solutions that work for everybody!

So, I just wanted to have a quick and low pressure and honest check in with any potential stealers for currently underrepresented Steal Off 2 ships (especially fans of the 19 ships who saw no works submitted during the actual tournament too!) and ask:

(please note there’s no see results option except for the mods; please do not vote unless the question being asked applies to you!)

Your feedback is greatly appreciated - if we get a good idea of what, if any, issues lie in the way of you submitting the steals your OTP deserves then we can take the appropriate steps to make Steal Off 2 a more accessible and inclusive fanwork party for all of the fandom, not just the fans of 2-5 ships who've gotten really rightfully enthusiastic about the whole thing! <3

[restless-soulz]

HOW THE HOUSEWARDENS ACT W/ A BABY (not their own, they're all still underage)

RIDDLE:

-man this guy is so bad with babies, but damn it if he isn't efficient

-he'll make sure that the physical needs are taken care of, but that's not entirely what a baby needs.

-but a baby can't tell you what exactly it needs so it'll just be stressful for both of them until he figures it out

-it might be a while

-doesn't do super well with physical affection (giving)

-he probably won't burn down the house to make a bottle for the baby but he will stress about the temperature and it'll go cold before he's satisfied and it'll repeat the process ad infinitum

LEONA:

-pls the baby he knew was cheka, and he was easy he's got this (NOT)

-lion man just wants to sleep and does not appreciate being woken up for feedings or changings or anything else

-doesn't care about bottle temp, milk is milk

-won't show but is a little stressed about having claws vs incredibly fragile baby skin

-genuinely confused to as why not all babies are not like Cheka

-after a while he'll get down the baby language and be so fast at it, just to maximize his sleep

-hey if it works it works

AZUL:

-another one not really fit for children

-would try to foist off the child to the leeches, and then realize that unfortunately he is the much better option (because morays eat their young)

-he will do his best tho and he will do an almost perfect job

-he just...overestimates human baby milestones

-it's ok, it can go one of two ways. either the parent is delighted by fast progress or Azul feels embarrassed

-like riddle, doesn't super love the whole physical contact thing

-also secretly i'd think he'd be great to talk to for anything involved in being recognized outside of your children or a body dysmorphia kind of depression cause same

KALIM:

-mans has 40 siblings or something

-i trust him, but he can be a little...cloud heavy

-he will make sure that baby is cuddled, and fed, and played, but sleeping is not his thing. adorable, but babies are AWAKE around him

-plus he's had servants that take care of the gross parts so he's clueless about how messy babies usually are

-jamil would lose his mind having two people to take care of, one infinitely more dependent than the other

-as much as i love him, don't give him a baby

VIL:

-he wouldn't try very hard

-babies are hard and he's not planning to babysit very long, he has more important things to do, but in the meantime

-this baby will be TAKEN CARE OF

-he bought a lot of...well...everything and all the excess goes to the parents.

-the cutest outfits you've ever seen

-detests changing and other gross parts but will do it

-does not like the not sleeping part, but he will admit they are very cute

IDIA:

-you're playing with fire here

-the only baby he's ever been around was Ortho, and that...ended terribly

-panicking every single second, and rapidly googling every time the baby breathes a little weird

-builds an automated bottle warmer and baby rockers so he has minimal contact with the baby as possible

-until Ortho says that skin to skin or physical contact is best for optimal health

-he'll whine and cry but do it, for a super short amount of time

-made an automatic changing station so he never does the gross parts

MALLEUS:

-adores children. they do not adore him.

-he can scare them a bit being all dark colors and rbf

-but he does theoretically know how to take care of a human baby

-i don't think silver should count since he's more of a changling

-will not put the baby down unless absolutely necessary (my kind of guy)

-the baby lives in a singular too big shirt or the most regal ensemble you've ever seen. no in between

-doesn't bother with changing since he can just magic it away

-also buys everything for the baby and keeps half for when he hopes to be asked to babysit again

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Can you tell a distinctive features of gallifreyan kids from newborn to teens,bodily(biological),psychological and social?

What are the distinctive features of Gallifreyan children and teenagers?

Gallifreyan childhood is more of a slow bake than a two-minute microwave job. Unlike human kids who race through two decades, Gallifreyans develop over about a hundred years, with huge changes in physiology, psychology, and social roles.

👶 Infant

Biological:

Oldbloods may have only one heart until their first regeneration.

Baseline temperature is higher (16.5–20.5°C) and metabolic activity is rapid.

Highly vulnerable to cold, due to underdeveloped internal regulation systems.

Rapid cellular development.

Motor skills are still refining.

Psychological:

Demonstrates early cognitive ability beyond human standards—memory retention and puzzle-solving are noticeably sharp.

Early expression of genetic instincts, like unease near time anomalies or innate threat recognition.

Psionics not yet under control—leakage or feedback may occur, but is usually minor.

Social:

Raised communally by their House, with early life focused on tutors and caretakers rather than a family construct.

Social contact is minimal and highly structured; play exists, but it's closer to enrichment activities than fun.

🧒 Child

Biological:

Enhanced healing and notable physical resilience.

Still vulnerable to the cold and sleep as much as human children.

Psionic activity becomes more erratic—false positives in consciousness tests are likely common due to unstable telepathy.

Psychological:

Developing emotional regulation but prone to psionic outbursts or passive telepathic bleed-through.

Memory probably becomes extremely long-term oriented—what they learn here may last through multiple incarnations.

Time sense may begin to stir, often without explanation or awareness.

Social:

Around 8, they're pulled from their House and placed into an Academy. This is abrupt, isolating, and an honour.

Children are sorted into Chapters, which shapes their sense of identity.

Expect fierce academic competition, House pride, and low tolerance for anyone not conforming.

🧑 Teenager

Biological:

Will appear 16–18 for decades.

Healing abilities and stamina are high; cardiovascular resilience becomes adult-standard.

Sleep as much as human teenagers.

Psionics stabilise just enough to be dangerous—sudden bursts of clarity, and accidental mind-reading or thought broadcasts are all possible if they're not paying attention in psionics class.

Psychological:

Time sense begins to assert itself, causing temporal dysregulation, especially during stress.

Puberty is complex—neural rewiring occurs, and with it comes emotional extremes, sensory overload, and identity instability.

Social:

Teen Gallifreyans begin to really self-define. Many will conform, some will not...

🏫 So…

Gallifreyan children are not smaller Time Lords. They're complex, biologically volatile beings navigating psionic development, sensory overload, time perception, and cultural rigidity. They build themselves over a century, and their Houses keep a very close eye on what they're building.

Related:

💬|🍼👽How long would it take for a Gallifreyan-Human hybrid child to realise they're not human?: All the little clues a new hybrid might pick up on as they grow.

💬|🧸🏡Does a Gallifreyan's House determine which chapter they'll be a part of?: Looking at Academy affiliations and the Academy selection process.

💬|🧸🧑‍💻What are Gallifreyan teenagers like?: Talking about the strange world of Gallifreyan adolescence.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[ms-m-astrologer]

Transiting Mercury enters Taurus

Saturday, May 10 - Monday, May 25, 2025

A couple of weeks for us to calm down our brains already. There’s the usual Earthy emphasis on practical things that have real-world application right here in meat space. A quick “money management” class might be a good use of this time.

But Taurus likes calm, too. It really wants and needs to avoid stress, and if it’s our brains over-thinking that cause the stress, this is a good time to stop that. (At least for the next couple of weeks!)

Learning - the emphasis is on practicality, so there’s not a lot of room for fancy, or for theoretical matters. This causes problems when we can’t immediately see any positive tangible results, and we have to learn something.

Thinking and reasoning - can be rock solid, very practical and logical. Can also be stuck in a rut, stubbornly clinging to comfortable ways of thinking.

Communication - says what it has to say, simply and concisely. There can be a very pleasing voice.

Mercury won’t make a lot of major aspects - but what there is, will be challenging. If we’ve become too comfortable with a particular way of thinking, we’re liable to get jolted right out of it. We need to focus more on (1) keeping our minds calm and still, and (2) listening to our guts. There are some spectacular, fresh ideas coming our way during Mercury’s upcoming transit through Gemini - this transit through Taurus can help us make sure the ideas land on fertile soil.

[sapphic-agent]

You wanna know who the #1 beneficiary of the tech power creep is in this series? Momo. One thing this mech suit shows is that Momo totally wasted her time trying to beat people with sticks. The idea of trying to create items in a battle as a form of problem solving is stupid, or at best, should be done as a last resort. Her power was always meant for technology. That's the true power in this world. She should have been trying to be Ironman. You know how All Might spent his fortune on the suit, and that was meant to be a limiting factor as to why this tech can't be widely used? Well, guess who has the ability to generate materials with no cost. Even the idea of her inventions requiring studying to make things more complex stops holding water when you look at the torture device she tried to strap Midoriya into during Class A vs Deku. She made that in an instant and it posed an immediate threat. What could she make if she wasn't trying to do it during stressful battles with enemies right in front of her? So, her limiting factor really is her ability to study advanced concepts and have people explain them to her, and most importantly, what an author is willing to let her do. The path forward for her was always to pay people smarter and more educated than her to invent things and then she can have them explain it to her so she can recreate it. If her family had paid the cost to design that Iron Might suit, then she'd pay it. Once. And then be able to use the schematics to create as many of them as she wants. Or better yet, make killer robots except use the tech inside of the suit. Create an entire army of them so she never has to be in any sort of danger at all. Control them remotely. UA has been shown to have advanced AI robots who have personalities. Said bots have enough restraint to never kill any of the kids in the sports festival or entrance exam. This could be used for hero work. This also gets into what a valuable resource Mei Hatsume is and how if you wanted Momo to be a god, you could just have them meet in middle school. Mei just has to design a working device, once, and then Momo can study it and forever use it. What could she come up with, if the idea was that Momo would hide somewhere, perhaps in an APC, while she uses drones and robots to fight at a distance? Energy/food costs for her also aren't a concern. She's clearly able to output more energy than she takes in, given she can create cannons and things that weigh more than her. So she could use up all of her lipids creating a dead meat cube that contains as many calories as she's capable of packing into an object, then eat it. And repeat this process as needed.

This is definitely interesting.

Momo absolutely has the potential to be the most OP in the series. Horikoshi originally wanted to give her quirk to a pro but recognized that someone experienced would nerf the entire story.

I don't necessarily think that making things for problem-solving is the issue; I think it's way more that Horikoshi just didn't have the creativity for it. Like you said the entrapment device she made during 1A vs Izuku was maybe her most effective creation. Instead of disinfectant, imagine she made poison gas and simply knocked Kendo and the other 1B students out (not sure if she can create chemical reactions, but she could theoretically cause one by using components right).

I doubt she would be comfortable doing next to nothing as a hero. I do wish we knew her motivations, but relying purely on her money while doing minimal work doesn't paint a great picture for her. I like that in canon she doesn't rely on her status or wealth for hero work, she relies on her intelligence.

Momo should be an underground hero. She could be the equivalent of Batman (no this isn't my love for Batman over Iron-Man talking), strategizing and having any gadget she needs at her disposal. I would love to see more tech incorporated into her work as a hero. I also wouldn't mind the bo staff if she was allowed to actually use it like a bo staff (seriously she barely does anything with it what's the point of giving it to her. Nah give my girl a sword and let her cut people)

[luna-rainbow]

Do you think Bucky ever got any sleep during all his years of Hydra captivity? Or was it just wipe/kill/back in the freezer? I don't think cryostasis would be anything like normal restorative REM sleep.

Hello nonnie!! I have finally had a light-bulb moment for this ask (I'm sorry it's taken me like 7 months)

I've been going about it the wrong way, trying to research on sleep, when in actuality what I should have been researching is the brain under hypothermia. This is an observational study conducted in the 1980s looking at children undergoing induced hypothermia (lowering of body temperature) during cardiopulmonary bypass (sometimes required during major surgery). In summary, by the time the body temperature cooled to 18 degrees, all brain activity ceased. Sleep - consisting of non-REM and particularly REM - are associated with far more active brain waves. So nonnie, you are very correct in saying that Bucky, even with his super soldier abilities, unlikely ever got any "sleep" during cryostasis. (I'm sorry to all the ficcers that wrote Bucky dreaming during cryo but I think most people are happy to ignore this piece of science)

In terms of whether Bucky ever got "sleep", I think that is hard to say. Even normal soldiers might drive themselves to go without sleep for 36+ hours if required for a mission (heck, even hospital shifts go for 36 hours in some places). As a super soldier, Bucky might tolerate sleep deprivation for longer. This means missions like taking out the Starks - travelling from Russian and back - he might achieve in one sitting without sleeping in between (although I guess no one can stop him from dozing off on the plane).

I think one implied part of your question is "is it likely that Bucky was allowed out of the freezer for long enough periods at a time to need (and get) sleep"? I feel like that is unlikely, judging from the "he's been out of cryo for too long" line from CATWS. The timeline goes: day 1 Bucky makes assassination attempts daytime + night time against Fury / day 2 Steve makes a run down to Jersey arriving there at night / day 3 Bucky attacks Steve on the causeway and then we get the nighttime vault scene where Bucky is "unstable". Even if we add a day or two prior to allow for prepping, that still means Bucky becomes "unstable" and questions his identity within a bare week of being out of cryo.

Credit @lost-shoe (this post)

Now onto the angst...we know anaesthetics is not like restful sleep, so theoretically neither is cryostasis. While the science of cryostasis doesn't exist at the moment, we know from artificial hypothermia in surgical situations that it puts incredible stress on the body and all its organs. Looking at the laboratory derangements during hypothermia it looks like it pushes the body over to anaerobic metabolism and causes lactate to go up. You know when you go for a run and your muscles cramp up because you haven't warmed up enough? That's because your muscles have produced too much lactate from anaerobic metabolism. So...no wonder Bucky can't stand when he comes out of the cryo chamber. It also increases one's bleeding risk and reduces one's healing speed, so take of that what you will for your Whumptober prompts 😂

I also wonder whether, because the brain is not receiving any REM sleep during cryo, it means Bucky has been in a constant state of sleep deprivation for the last 70 years. The theory of "prefrontal vulnerability" in sleep deprivation proposes that functions like language, executive functions, divergent thinking, and creativity are particularly affected, so that can contribute to Bucky's inability to process/produce complex language and his slowness when it comes to working through complex problems. It also has significant effect on memory and attention: it's interesting to note that during sleep deprivation of more than 35 hours, they found that while free recall was affected, recognition was not. (Disclaimer for science: small sample size, opposite result for subjects with sleep deprivation ~24 h).

So yeah, I think there are practical reasons why Hydra would not allow Bucky to have restorative sleep between missions. Consolidation of long term memory (i.e. transferring them from short term storage into long term storage) usually happens during sleep which means it is quite likely Bucky remembers only broken bits of his time (if at all) in the last 7 decades.

[ray935sworld]

~ 2025 season Marmarc snippet ~

This is a first draft cause I wanna write and share my writing but uni is a bitch so no editing and/ or real introduction but somehow it got longe enough and now it's an actual story and not but who cares. 🐢, this is for you, my dear. 🙃

"Alex is pretty stressed" Marc said as he sat down next to Bez on the bed. The young man looked at him with tired eyes. He blinked a few times, clearly trying to let the conversation continue.

They hadn't seen each other for the whole day. And it had been a long and tiring day for both of them.

Softly he asked. "Oh no, is he okay?" "Yeah..." he reassured him. "It's just - Nadja said he's supposed to finish in the top 5. That's a pretty big ask. I mean, I believe in him but Aldeguer got a better deal. I mean, he's asked to be rookie of the year. He only has to beat a fucking aprilla and a Honda. That's not really hard and-"

"The fuck you just said?" Marco interrupted and sat up with an angry glance. His until then half closed eyes went wide. Marc blinked in confusion about to ask what was wrong when he remembered that his boyfriend was no longer riding a Ducati.

He felt the heat creep up in his cheeks, embarrassed to be caught like that. He stared at Bez, realizing how deep his words had to run and he knew he had fucked up. "I - No, baby, that's not what I meant-" he said quickly, reaching for the younger one, hoping the physical contact might settle his anger.

"A rookie on an aprilla. Not you. No, never you. A rookie on a aprilla isn't that big of a threat to a Ducati but you-" Bez scoffed. He had turned away, not leaning into Marcs touch. Something he had never done before. The rejection broke a small part of the Spaniards heart.

He watched how he turned his head away to avoid his touch in his cheeks. He saw how he pulled his legs away as if Marc's touch would burn him. "You know what? Go fuck yourself." he said and stood up.

He was already up when Marc grabbed his arm. He hung onto his wrist. He felt his skin and for a moment he felt settled. "No please. Listen, I-" But his boyfriend moved his hand away.

Marc wouldn't force it, so he let go. He stared at him, begging silently. He knew he had fucked up. He knew his phrasing could have been better. He knew it. But he had been to tired to realize beforehand. But at least Bez turned around. "I believed you when you said that aprilla was good... You know how anxious I was about the decision and you lied!"

The Ducati rider swallowed. He did remember the discussions they had about the younger ones move. At first it was just a theoretical question but at the end, Marco spoke openly about it. And Marc had encouraged him.

"I didn't!" he reassured him. "You did!" "I didn't! You asked if it'd be the right choice. And I always said yes because-" "And that was a lie!" "No! I honestly think it's the right choice... For you. I mean - look." He took a deep breath.

"You weren't happy in the last year. Like - not at all. The team didn't make you happy anymore-" "Do NOT talk about them like that. They are my friends!" he shot back, anger lingering in his voice. Mentally Marc took a step back. "I'm not saying they aren't." he said softly. He hoped a soft tone might calm him down.

"I'm just saying that maybe... You know... You wanting to make them - especially Rossi - proud wasn't excatly helping." "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" "Marco, I really don't think it's my place to-" "Say it, Marquez, or I'm walking out of here."

He felt his anxiety rise. No. He couldn't let Marco walk out of here, angry, sad. Maybe he wouldn't come back.

"I'm... I'm saying that as your boyfriend, who loves you like crazy, not as a rider, okay?" He looked at Bez, begging him to understand. And he did. The Italian looked at him and replied, slightly calmer "Okay." So Marc explained.

"You weren't happy in the team. You wanted to make them proud because of what they did for you. You felt you were obligated to archive something because you know how happy they were in 2023 and you couldn't do that in 2024. Or at least not in the same amount. You became desperate and angry at yourself and helpless. And I couldn't find a way to help you - until - well until you told me about that offer for Aprilla."

He remembered all the times Bez had stormed into the motorhome and growled something about 'this fucking bike' just to then bury his head in Marc's chest. Sometimes he had cried. Sometimes he had just laid there, pretending the world wasn't there. Marc hated it every time.

He wanted his boyfriend back. The one that came skipping in, a big grin on his face. He didn't care if it was because of Rubik or because of a podium he had scared but he needed that smile back. But during the last season it was like nothing really bought Bez joy, like his whole happiness was swallowed by his fear and anxiety and not even Marc could do anything about it.

"So yes, I said that it was the best decision for you. And maybe - yes it was selfish that my support was mainly based on the fact that I didn't want to see my happy, cheerful boyfriend go down the same rabbit hole as last year."

He felt tears in Hi eyes as he recalled the past.

"But fucking hell - I thought I'll lose you." he said in all honesty. "You can't seriously expect not to encourage you to take a way out. Yes the aprilla is worst than the Ducati. But that's a fact. You knew that when you took the offer. I didn't say anything against that. So yeah - as a rider - maybe you should have stayed on a Ducati because at the moment they are the best"

He saw teh way Bez eyes widen for a moment. But they both knew he was just stating facts.

"But the bike wasn't working for you. And maybe the 2024 or 2025 bike wouldn't work for you either. And I highly suspect that and I'm sorry for that. But maybe the Aprilia works better. I'm sure it will. Marco, I believe in you. You're one of the best riders on the grid. I know you can succeed... But it's not worth your mental and physical health. You can't ask me to actually support that when it's unlikely that it will work"

Marco looked at him, the anger in his eyes gone again.

"And if it doesn't work? If I lose the seat and no one's wanna take me?" "Than they are stupid idiots. Who cares?" "What if that moves destroys my career? Would you-" "If you ask me if I'd still love you if you weren't a motogp rider, I'll throw a cushion in your face. Of course I'd still love you. I love you like crazy. Don't tell me you can't see that? Please, don't tell me I've been that much of a bad boyfriend that you don't even believe that I love you regardless of what you do?"

Finally Bez sat down again, this time right on Marcs lap, which made the older one laugh.

"I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have jump at you like taht because of it" Marco mumbled, his face hidden in Marc's shoulder. He just leaned against him.

"No you're not. It's okay. I love you. I love you so, so incredible much" "I love you too"

[ohwormwood]

i've lost my goddamn mind: rambling on parallels in isat and frankenstein

i need to write this down so i can try and defend my ass because it sounds crazy until you read the goddamn book and suddenly IT ALL MAKES FUCKING SENSE.

[woe, spoilers be upon ye! for both isat and frankenstein of course]

for context: i am a gender studies minor. i write on queer theory for funsies. and sometimes i like to let my hyperfixations melt together like cheese. this is the result.

Siffrin and victor. it's the fucking rampant mental illness for me. i cannot stress how many times i stopped mid-chapter and went "theyre the same fucking picture". it's fucking uncanny at times. The absolute extent of their self loathing is so in tandem that it's kind of scary. Both of them, despite not being directly involved, hold the weight of the deaths of their loved ones upon themselves (even if in Siffrin's case it was temporary, the point still stands). They both love their families so dearly???? like, to the point of self destruction and death. The absolute terror of losing your family to a force you cannot control, created by your own hand???

"I often suffered my mule to lag behind, and indulged in the misery of reflection. At other times I spurred on the animal before my companions, that I might forget them, the world, and, more of all, myself." (Shelley 67) Hello???? Siffrin???? is that you

So, as you probably guessed.... Loop is the creature in this case. The foil. The reflection. the absolute anguish of being denied humanity and comfort and love but having the capacity and inclination to love a family you cannot obtain. The simultaneous scorn yet codependence upon the other half they didn't get to choose, a need for revenge but also a profound and all-consuming self-hatred and remorse??? the self-denial of love???

"my heart yearned to be known and loved by these amiable creatures: to see their sweet looks turned towards me with affection" (Shelley 96) Head in fucking hands. loop watching the party. ough.

"if i cannot inspire love, i will cause fear" (Shelley 107) LIKE. MOTHERFUCKER. OUGHHH.

the fact that victor cannot fucking die for the vast majority of the story, spurned on by revenge and grief and self-loathing.... yeah act 5 siffrin...

I see this as like. the ISAT bad ending. Two Hats if loop had a lil chat with the king and went off the deep end. Or just loop, if they had no concept of their former self. if siffrin was a true frankenstein in that situation, i think that loop would definitely end up as a true version of the creature.

both siffrin and victor feeling undeserving of their family's love because of their actions

Oh here's the one that will send ppl over the edge: "or longed, with a devouring maladie du pays..." (Shelley 139) When i tell you I fucking almost yelled in the middle of work. I had to take a fucking pause. because the topic of homesickness and love for one's culture comes up a LOT in both of these. even if siffrin doesn't remember it.

Sidenote: i will forever and always hold in my heart that victor is ace. i am literally writing a fucking theoretical essay on this. I cannot explain here how much i have picked apart every allusion to this over the course of the text. it's genuinely a problem.

"You hate me; but your abhorrence cannot equal that with which I regard myself." (Shelley 170) i. i cannot say anything else about this but. Loop. yeah.

something something, fallen angel motifs in both the creature and loop

the creature's overseeing of the family in the cottage makes me think a lot about how loop would have seen their family interacting with who they could have been/used to be every fucking loop. but being unable to do anything about it. and then when they DO meet them. they do not recognize them and see them as inhuman. i simply fucking cry.

Anyways to end on a lighthearted note: isa is my walton. hopelessly gay. devoted to a fucking fault. secretly holds the braincells. the most loving man on gods green earth. Sympathizer 1000. Yeah.

did i need to do this? no. does it make any logical sense? absolutely fucking not. but am i going to be thinking about this for the next 3 weeks? yes. yes i am. thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[chimerarachnid]

The evolutionary trajectory of life on Earth has consistently challenged preconceived notions regarding the boundaries of biological viability. From the abyssal depths where chemosynthetic ecosystems flourish in the absence of solar radiation, to the hyperacidic geothermal springs where extremophiles exploit sulfur-based metabolic pathways, to the radiologically contaminated zones where fungal organisms appear to harness ionizing radiation through melanin-mediated processes, life has demonstrated remarkable plasticity in colonizing environments previously deemed sterile. This paradigmatic expansion of the habitable envelope naturally raises a provocative question: if biological systems can withstand the vacuum of space, lethal radiation doses, and corrosive chemical matrices, what fundamental constraints preclude the existence of life within molten silicate matrices—commonly known as lava?

Distinguishing Extreme Environments from Thermodynamically Prohibitive Conditions

To address this question rigorously, it is essential to establish a clear demarcation between environments that impose severe physiological stress and those that fundamentally disrupt molecular architecture. Lava represents molten silicate material with temperatures typically ranging from 973 to 1473 Kelvin (700°C to 1,200°C or 1,292°F to 2,192°F), creating conditions that exceed the thermal stability thresholds of all known biomolecules. This temperature regime does not merely stress biological systems—it induces catastrophic molecular dissociation and structural denaturation.

The thermodynamic reality of molten rock environments differs qualitatively from other extreme conditions. While ionizing radiation can cause DNA strand breaks that are potentially repairable through enzymatic mechanisms, and vacuum conditions can be survived through cryptobiotic states that suspend metabolic activity, the thermal energy present in lava fundamentally disrupts the covalent bonds that maintain molecular integrity. This represents a transition from survivable stress to inevitable molecular decomposition.

Biochemical Constraints of Carbon-Based Life

Contemporary terrestrial biology operates within a relatively narrow thermodynamic window defined by the stability of carbon-hydrogen bonds, phosphodiester linkages in nucleic acids, and the hydrophobic interactions that stabilize protein tertiary structure. Even the most thermoresistant extremophiles operate within these fundamental constraints. Methanopyrus kandleri, representing the current temperature record-holder among hyperthermophiles, maintains viability at 395 Kelvin (122°C) through specialized heat-shock proteins and thermostable enzyme variants, yet remains orders of magnitude below lava temperatures.

The molecular basis of this limitation is well-characterized. DNA undergoes thermal denaturation at approximately 368 Kelvin (95°C) under physiological conditions, while cell membrane phospholipids experience phase transitions that compromise barrier function well below 423 Kelvin (150°C). Even the most thermostable proteins, such as those found in hyperthermophilic archaea, lose catalytic function at temperatures that represent merely the lower bounds of molten rock environments.

However, this analysis is predicated upon the assumption that life universally adheres to terrestrial biochemical paradigms. The emerging field of astrobiology has increasingly challenged anthropocentric definitions of biological possibility, suggesting that alternative bio-chemistries might operate under fundamentally different thermodynamic constraints.

Alternative Biochemical Frameworks and Exotic Life Scenarios

The potential for non-carbon-based life has garnered serious consideration within the astrobiological community, particularly regarding silicon-based biochemistry. Silicon, sharing carbon's tetravalent bonding capacity, theoretically enables the formation of complex molecular architectures while potentially offering superior thermal stability. Silicon-oxygen bonds (Si-O) possess higher bond dissociation energies compared to carbon-hydrogen bonds, suggesting that silicon-based polymers might maintain structural integrity at elevated temperatures. However, silicon chemistry also presents significant limitations, including reduced structural flexibility and a tendency toward crystallization rather than the formation of dynamic, self-organizing systems characteristic of carbon-based life.

Beyond alternative elemental foundations, theoretical frameworks have been proposed for organisms incorporating inorganic protective matrices. Terrestrial precedent exists in biomineralizing organisms such as magnetotactic bacteria, which precipitate magnetite nanoparticles, and diatoms, which construct intricate silica frustules. Extrapolating from these examples, hypothetical organisms might evolve refractory ceramic or metallic shells capable of providing thermal insulation against extreme temperature gradients.

Recent discoveries have expanded our understanding of extremophile capabilities in ways that inform this discussion. The identification of radiotrophic fungi in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, which appear to metabolize ionizing radiation through melanin-mediated electron transport chains, demonstrates that life can not only survive but potentially thrive by exploiting energy sources previously considered universally destructive. Similarly, the rapid evolution of plastic-metabolizing bacteria in marine environments illustrates the remarkable adaptability of biological systems to novel chemical landscapes.

Transient Survivability and Cryptobiotic Strategies

A more plausible scenario for life's interaction with lava environments involves transient rather than permanent exposure. Many extremophiles employ cryptobiotic strategies—reversible metabolic suspension coupled with enhanced molecular protection—to survive otherwise lethal conditions. Tardigrades exemplify this approach, entering a desiccated "tun" state while producing damage-suppressing proteins and trehalose disaccharides that stabilize cellular structures during cryptobiosis.

Bacterial endospores represent perhaps the most relevant analogue for potential lava survival. These dormant structures, surrounded by multiple protective coats including calcium dipicolinate deposits, can withstand temperatures exceeding 393 Kelvin (120°C) for extended periods. Theoretical extensions of this strategy might enable organisms to survive brief transits through molten environments while in extreme cryptobiotic states, potentially reactivating within cooling lava tubes or solidified volcanic substrates rich in chemically accessible minerals.

Microenvironmental Niches and Thermal Gradients

The assumption that lava presents a uniformly lethal environment may itself be overly simplistic. Volcanic systems create complex thermal gradients with numerous microenvironments that might fall within the expanded tolerance ranges of extremophile organisms. Lava tubes, formed by the drainage of molten rock from beneath solidified crusts, can maintain moderate temperatures while providing access to mineral-rich substrates and potentially reducing atmospheric conditions. Similarly, the interfaces between active lava flows and ambient environments create steep thermal gradients where temperatures might transitionally approach the upper limits of hyperthermophile tolerance.

Subglacial volcanic systems present particularly intriguing possibilities. In these environments, the interaction between molten rock and ice creates complex thermal and chemical gradients, potentially generating microenvironments with temperatures compatible with extremophile survival while providing access to both oxidized and reduced chemical species for metabolic exploitation.

Geochemical Considerations and Deep Crustal Environments

The boundary between "lava" and "hot rock" is not merely semantic but reflects important distinctions in habitability potential. While actively molten rock exceeds known biological tolerance limits, the cooling and crystallization process creates a continuum of environments with varying thermal and chemical properties. Recent investigations of deep crustal microbial communities have revealed active biological processes at depths exceeding 5 kilometers, where temperatures approach 353 Kelvin (80°C) and pressure exceeds 50 megapascals.

These discoveries suggest that the transition zone between molten and solid rock—the crystallization front—might represent a previously unconsidered habitat. As cooling magma transitions from liquid to solid phases, it creates chemical gradients, gas evolution, and mineral precipitation that could potentially support specialized extremophile communities adapted to exploit these dynamic geochemical processes.

Synthesis and Future Directions

While current thermodynamic principles and biochemical knowledge suggest that conventional carbon-based life cannot maintain active metabolism within actively molten silicate environments, several theoretical pathways remain unexplored. These include:

alternative biochemistries operating at elevated temperature ranges

cryptobiotic survival strategies enabling transient exposure to extreme thermal conditions

exploitation of microenvironmental niches within complex volcanic systems

The question of life's ultimate temperature limits intersects with broader philosophical issues regarding the universality of terrestrial biochemical paradigms. As astrobiology continues to expand our conception of habitable environments—from the methane lakes of Titan to the sulfuric acid clouds of Venus to the subsurface oceans of Europa and Enceladus—the dismissal of any extreme environment as definitively uninhabitable requires increasingly rigorous justification.

The emerging understanding that life can exploit energy sources as diverse as ionizing radiation, methane seepage, and hydrogen sulfide suggests that our current models of biological impossibility may be overly conservative. While the direct colonization of actively molten rock remains highly improbable given known biochemical constraints, the complex thermal, chemical, and physical gradients associated with volcanic systems present numerous opportunities for life to approach—and potentially breach—previously assumed thermodynamic boundaries.

Future investigations might profitably focus on the systematic characterization of thermal gradients within volcanic systems, the laboratory evolution of hyperthermophile organisms under progressively elevated temperature regimes, and the theoretical modeling of alternative biochemistries capable of maintaining functionality at extreme temperatures. As our understanding of life's fundamental limits continues to evolve, the boundary between the possible and impossible remains not fixed, but perpetually expanding.

The ultimate question may not be whether life can survive in lava, but rather how closely life can approach the thermodynamic limits of molecular stability—and what new definitions of "life" might emerge from these investigations.

[wh0refornikolailantsov]

“Please tell me you know how to defuse a bomb, not just make them.”

For Wylan x Reader?

Bestie and I are at war rn so heres another one

Fever Pitch - Wylan Van Eck

Content Warnings: Explicit Language. Canon Complaint Threat And Violence. Not Beta/Proof Read.

Wylan is wide-eyed, and it reminds you of the way Kaz had once said he looked like a silk-eared puppy in a room full of fighting dogs, you'd never really seen that until now.

"We don't have long, and if this goes wrong," Wylan presses his hands together, "things go really wrong."

There have been moments in your life when you've not been sure if you want to kiss Wylan or shake him by the shoulders and ask him what the fuck he thinks he is saying. In this moment, you feel yourself leaning towards the latter. "You know what you're doing?" You ask.

He tilts his head to the side and slightly raises his shoulders, as if to shrug at you, but he changes his mind part way through the gesture. "Wylan," you say, voice pleading. “Please tell me you know how to defuse a bomb, not just make them.”

"Theoretically," he starts, his speech picking up speed as his nerves get the better of him. "But I have never had a cause to test the theory. I know how this was put together and I know how to take it apart, but I have only ever done that when they're not active, and this is very much active and the chemicals are extremely volatile and although it's very much as science, sometimes this specific type of science can be unpredictable and if it's one of those times, or worse if someone has not constructed this right, I am basing my knowledge of someone being competent enough to put this together in the first place. Kaz seems to think I am the only acceptable option in the barrel, which does not fill me with confidence regarding the construction of this device, and then again we have no idea if it was even constructed by someone in The Barrel, or even in Ketterdam. This could have been imported, I mean it doesn't look like it was, but I am not an expert on foreign exports of demolitions, I am barely even a demolitions expert at all."

"Would you rather Kaz referred to you as a demolitions hobbyist?" you ask. The question is rhetorical but that in the stress of this situation seems to go straight over Wylan's head.

"Yes," Wylan says, "but really for my comfort I would rather Kaz didn't refer to me, at all, but that seems to be off the table, but what is on the table is a very active, very dangerous bomb and I do not feel equipped enough to handle this situation."

"How likely is it you're under selling yourself and your skills?" you ask. Wylan tilts his head again, this time from side to side as if rattling the question around in his brain.

"Possible but I am not really feeling up to rationalising right now," he admits. You nod, looking at the boy, those puppy eyes looking back at you. Your heart is racing faster than it has in days and you're not sure if it's proximity to Wylan or to the bomb that is making you so nervous.

"Right, what do we do, theoretically?" you ask, looking at what to you looks like a bunch of materials.

"We need to neutralise the heat source, if this is what I think it is," he says.

"How would we do that?" you ask. Wylan looks around.

"Anything cold, if we mess with the heat source it won't be able to ignite even if the chemicals interact, in theory."

"Okay, and what if you're wrong?" You ask, reaching for the metal bottle of water in your bag.

"Then we prematurely activate the explosion and all die," Wylan says. You nod.

"Okay, those seem like polar outcomes," you admit. Wylan looks at you and the scales swing back in the other direction. You want to kiss him, you definitely want to kiss him. And hells, if this goes wrong you're not sure you'll have another chance.

"Exactly," Wylan says.

"Hey Wylan," you say, eyeing the bomb. "We might die."

"We might," he admits.

"Is now the worst time to tell you I have been thinking about kissing you since Shu Han?" You ask, eyes on the bomb. He looks back at you, and he looks like he is smug, as smug as Wylan has ever gotten.

"Is now the worst time to tell you I have been thinking about kissing you since Fifth Harbour," he replies.

"You kept that one quiet," you say, stepping closer. "I am not normally good at quiet."

"I've had a lot of practice," he admits.

"I am going to kiss you now, if that's okay," you tell him. He laughs, leaning in to kiss you first. You tuck one hand against his neck, pulling him closer while you use the other to dump the cold water onto the bomb and hope.

Time slows to a still and Wylan kisses you, it lets you forget about the bomb, about the mission, about everything. You just want to stay right here.

"There is really not time for this," Kaz says from the doorway, "what part of defuse the bomb and get out went over your heads? Fuck it, I don't want to know."

Kaz's words separate the two of you in record time and Wylan gets a chance to look at your decision making. "It worked," Wylan says, staring at the now very useless bomb.

"I never doubted you," you say, eager to get away from the contraption no matter how defused it seems to be.

"You could have gotten us killed," Wylan says, "you kissed me as a distraction from nearly getting us killed."

"False, I kissed you because I thought it might get us killed, but I didn't want to get us killed and I trusted you and your knowledge."

Wylan looks like he wants to say much more, but he knows he doesn't have the time. "We are talking about this later," he says.

You crack a smile. "So there is a later?"

"Come on!" Kaz calls back.

[nocompromise-noregrets]

five good things

What the hell, it's time for one of these again I think. Let's see.

I am actually rather looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow, after three weeks off. This basically never happens. XD I love my jobs, but I always love my time off more. This time, though, I feel like I've had enough time at home, and I'm looking forward to getting back to work on all my various projects and pet things.

I finally finished installing the lighting in Lego Rivendell after a WHOLE YEAR! I really enjoyed building the model over the holidays last year, but the lighting kit was really fiddly to install and the instruction photos weren't particularly clear, and it really rather sucked the joy out of it. However, it only took a couple of hours to get it finally finished, and now it looks amazing. Photos at some point! I have a display case for it, although of course it's been sitting gathering dust for a year so it needs a good gentle brushing-off first, and I need to figure out where all the bits that got knocked off while I was fitting the lights need to go back on, which is more or less impossible given the length of the instructions. Then I need to rebuild the smaller sets I had because they all got smashed when the missus pulled an extension cable out of my hands before I was ready over the summer, and THEN I might manage a few fic illustrations or something XD

I'm having enormous fun with a very delightful AU that @malkaleh and I are working on in Discord, most of which is never going to see the light of day but it is so much fun pinging ideas back and forth and bits of it are going into something I've been working on over the holidays and I am loving it! <3333333

I've also been having enormous fun with my friend over in the Måneskin fandom - we've been writing a collaborative fic, then she suggested something for me to write in the same 'verse, and then I've been absolutely devouring an unfinished work of hers which she began back in the summer of 2021, picked up in the summer/autumn of 2023 and hadn't quite managed to finish. I read and loved the first few chapters about a month ago, and then finally managed to free myself from my own talkative muses long enough to be able to read the rest and comment flailingly - and then the last few days we've been brainstorming an ending and she's finished it this morning! I am delighted, it's been so much fun. I've really missed this sort of collaboration, and I've missed writing with her so much, she always has the funniest ideas. It's been going on for 15 years, and I am so glad we're in a fandom together again!

The missus and I are preparing to have a really thorough declutter and sort the house out properly this year. I am very much looking forward to it, although it's going to be long and stressful and a lot of hard work and, doubtless, arguments XD

I've finally finished the second block of my MA course, which is cause for celebration because I have not enjoyed it. It's been a whistle-stop tour of various theoretical concepts in linguistics and it hasn't been at all clearly written. I also struggle to grasp most of these things - theoretical concepts are not my thing, I need concrete examples - and also Chomsky's universal grammar sounds like absolute bullshit to me; an innate template for learning language? Give me a break. Language is acquired from interaction and I can't help feeling that there's some sexism at work here because who do children traditionally interact most with? Heaven forfend women's work gets credited. I do need to read the history of women in linguistics that was mentioned in the first block, but I just haven't had the brainspace yet. Anyway, I've ploughed through it over the holidays and am now about three weeks ahead, and I just need to get the assignment done. I am reminding myself that this course is an introduction to linguistics so as to give us as many avenues as possible to choose from when we specialise, and I don't have to be interested in everything, and I don't have to understand what I'm not interested in, as long as I can do the assignments well enough, and I think I can. Well, they haven't released the final assignment yet because it's a new course, they're releasing the course material and assignments gradually, which I will absolutely be complaining about, because we haven't been able to look at the final assignment and figure out what we need to be concentrating on, whereas students on future presentations will get the whole lot up front. But ANYWAY. Block two is done, and once I've got the assignment out the way I can move on.

We went for a lovely walk in the Forest of Dean with my parents on Friday - it was freezing cold and very sunny and we went round part of the Forest of Dean Sculpture Trail which was absolutely delightful. Photos under the cut! I am something of a modern-art-and-sculpture nerd, in a fairly specific way (I can't describe what I like but I know it when I see it); I took LOADS of photos in galleries in Finland and I still haven't sorted them out to post here, but I am DETERMINED.

I have made progress on my I-am-not-going-to-sabotage-myself-any-more, as reported elsewhere, and have got myself tickets for Soul Asylum and Damiano David (I am going to be a very old person with an identity crisis in a sea of screaming young persons but actually I do not care XD ), and am contemplating seeing Bloodywood in Bristol just after my birthday.

I've been learning Italian via Duolingo, having finished (boom-boom!) the Finnish course before I went to Helsinki and become a little bored with the daily review; I had a bit of a go at Swedish given how much of it I come into contact with in Helsinki, and then got thoroughly distracted, probably to nobody's surprise XD but I'm greatly enjoying spotting the echoes of Latin, and the faint similarities to the French I learned 30-odd years ago. And I've started spotting words in Måneskin's lyrics and that's always an awesome feeling, when something suddenly makes sense :D

I think that's probably enough for now. I am not fond of January Photos of the sculptures we saw in the Forest under the cut!

We only saw three or four out of the 18 on the trail, but I'm going to go back for a walk round the whole route when the missus is out there on her mountain bike :D So...more later, maybe!

[hiding-under-the-willow]

I see the RTGame Watcher Balatro thing and am instantly hit with thoughts of how he could theoretically fight.

Glass Cards that on impact shatter into countless pieces, causing those hit by it to shatter like glass as well. Metal cards that surround him like planets to a Star and act as amplifiers to whatever attacks may be cast. Holographic cards that seem to glitch between locations before finally hitting on impact. Seals that can be applied at random, crimson ones that wind time back time just to hit you again.

He fights like a madman, tossing cards whilst bouncing between attacks- nary an inch between him and what would otherwise be certain death. He’s seen it before, he knows the optimal plays but will always pick the one that is the most amusing because it’s his job, it just so happens that sometimes the funniest one is just to otk you with a stupidly overpowered attack because he stacked the deck before you even started playing.

He will crush you, the calculations were already done, the moment he was in the equation you lost. But it’s ok, because it was a great story. That’s the whole point of it. And maybe, next time, he might take a dive. You could win, but you never Won.

A. Thank you for dropping this whole thing in my inbox I love when people send me little writing bits and such, B. I love this whole concept so much!!

I've definitely thought about the ways the playing cards would play into his fighting style before, and I really love the way you conceptualized everything here with the different Balatro card modifiers and such. He is absolutely the type of fighter to choose his actions not based on what's most effective but on what's most entertaining you are so so so right. He's here for a good time, because he's basically certain he's gonna win in the end anyways, so he's just gonna have fun with it first, put on a good show, entertain "chat".

I imagine he tries not to spoil the fight for himself. He doesn't fight often, and not knowing is such a novelty for him that he's always excited when he has the opportunity to be surprised in some way, and he particularly adores the unpredictable ways in which humans act when they're in stressful situations. He likes seeing them make decisions. It's part of the same reason he loves the card games in the first place.

I think sometimes he'll just draw cards from the deck mid battle and let them decide what he does just for the thrill of not knowing what comes next.

Imagine you're getting the shit beat out of you magically by what is essentially a minor god you pissed off and you look up mid fight and he's basically just casually doing a tarot card reading to determine in what way he's going to fucking flatten you next.

[socialjust-ish]

One thing I think is often overlooked when discussing the excellent message of the Good Place is that redemption is possible for everyone, not just the humans.

Michael is a demon, and he starts off as a cunning, manipulative, and sadistic villain (though we only realize that in the finale). But by the end of Season 2 he is a through-and-through good guy. It took hundreds of iterations of the good place to get him there, but her got there.

But for most of the rest of the show, he is largely seen as the exception. The rest of the demons and devils seem innately bad. Michael's fascination with humanity allowed him to learn empathy, and that was the tipping point. But the other demons don't have that curiosity - they don't see people as people, just torture subjects. And it seems like that mindset is just... innate.

But in the finale, we see that's not the case. Yes, the demons still like torturing people and coming up with personal situations that cause harm or stress, but it is ultimately for the people's growth now. But I think the most important change is the round table meeting.

The round tables were held because Shawn disliked the plan, and was so convinced it would be bad for the demons, and less enjoyable, that he wanted to be able to sabotage it. But by the end, the most conservative (in the literal sense that he wanted the status quo of the good place/bad place to never change, not that he was politically conservative), unmoving, uncaring person realizes this system is better for everyone. Is his happiness with the new system born out of self interest? Probably. But when the system changes to allow "bad" people to do good work, they're just as content and satisfied as the "good" or "normal" people.

It's not just systemic change for the benefit of humans, it's systemic change for the benefit of all.

And maybe I just don't read about it in the right places, but I think this little detail is often overlooked. People gush about how the new system lets the people improve, but often miss that it also lets the demons improve.

If you fix the systemic issues, then the bad actors exploiting the old system not only can't do that anymore, they have no need or want to do it.

It's why, I think, Eleanor's line to Michael as he's about to become human that Shawn might try and start a coup isn't ominous: they both know that's a theoretical possibility, but there's no real fear of it happening.