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occasionally-victor · 3 months

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some mer au sketches, this time figuring out some designs for brazilians (does. does Brazil even exist in this au-) (also kinda tweeked Richas' design to look a bit more. for water yknow) ("mer au" doesn't draw any mer)

talking about them under the cut:

!pac is aquafolk (i genuinely don't know how to call just partially fish people), he's, well, partially fish (blue fin tuna as an inspiration). He can transform from "looks human of you dont look too close" (still needs to cover fins and gills) to "40% of body is scales" (can really only happen in water). On a pic is a middle form, for when he's only with family and friends.

!mike is dryad, the three parts (just like that ribcage also has a tree spine basically) are flexible. The green stuff all over the body are not because of him being dryad, it's actually moss. That is a result of "moss disease", when basically moss starts growing on body. Unless you have been born with it or it was completely removed, it can be deadly (because the moss uhh incompatible with the host basically. however, if a person was born with it, that person will be fine, because the body was born already compatible with moss). !Mike was born with it, so it's fine, however he can't really wear clothes on top of it (it's not a requirement, it's more for a comfort of moss). Oh, and also he has a goddess wife, yeah.

!felps is a human sorcerer (or maybe enchanter idk, and he is pretty powerful). His main thing is doing potions (that's like. basically the only thing that he is actually interested in practicing). And he's like, stupidly good at it, both normal use ones and completely ridiculous ones. He carries a lot of ingredients in his ig it can be called a skirt? a 3/4 skirt's pockets. That also makes him pretty good at doing homebrew medicine, so that's neat.

both twins are human (tho for shits and giggles their very distant ancestors are catpeople, but at this point the only things left are just sharp senses) and good news they actually got to reunite again when they were just 19! slightly less trauma for them! what happened in a first place? someone just happened to accidentally dimension hop to a basically hell dimension (im actually thinking about calling it Nether fr, i think it's just a nice name tbh) when he was like 10, right on the eyes of his sister. That also led to both if them acquiring pretty powerful demons (that what basically everyone who lives in Nether called, in the same way that everyone who lives in this dimension are people) as companions.

!bagi at first thought that Jorge is her imaginary friend that appeared to help her feel less lonely after her brother was gone. She didn't question the fact that they were a bit too real sometimes (she was just 10, it didn't exactly matter to her at that point). Jorge, who is fresh out of Nether and doesn't really know how to get back anyway (the passage was closed immediately after some boy ran through it) doesn't really want to break it to a kid, so they just. Stick around and eventually become an actual friend. (a bit background for them: Jorge was a spirit, who on a way to a Rest Place (basically dimension for dead) accidentally gets stuck in Nether (it's basically normal occurrence to be stuck in some dimension on a way). Jorge basically uhhh starts consuming other spirits that were not yet found by grim reapers and by that amasses enough power to basically become a demon themselves. They do not remember any of that tho, however Jorge on themselves at this point is rather a conglomerate of spirits with og one in charge basically). When !Bagi started working as investigator (when she was 16 - she was really persistent), Jorge was actually really useful because, well, they are still a spirit, they can go through walls and all that. ig that also makes them working partners.

not going to get into how exactly the 9 years of being basically in hell went for !cellbit, but making a pact with a demon was probably the thing that saved his life the most. Rapaziada (or Chat - affectionate nickname) is a hivemind creature that manifests itself as voices in a head of host or dark evergy. At the cost of 80% of !cells memories, it's main task became to protect the host in any way possible (physical and mental). Unfortunately, surviving in Nether outside of big cities, especially for someone who is not from this dimension, requires kill or be killed mindset so. Let's just say, Chat was really good at it's job, to the point when by the time the host turned 15 the demons help wasn't really required outside of physical protection (the dark energy is pretty flexible in what is could become). When eventually !Cellbit returned to his home dimension and dare i say even got better, Chat kinda became more of a slightly annoying, but usually ignorable roommate (roommates? it is a hivemind). Also it just being there gave !cell ability to see all what considered supernatural in world (like spirits who stuck and can't move on, or demons who for one reason or another is not in Nether and all that basically), so he became a paranormal investigator? (i dont think yall know what im talking about, but he basically becomes Yashiki from Death Mark, just with a bigger field of work). He basically helps spirits move on (or destroys them if needed), help lost demons to get back to Nether (surprisingly easier than to work with spirits!) or repairs the "holes" through which others can accidentally get to another dimension.

(I'm not going to get into details now, just to set a scene: !pac, !mike and !cell first meeting was in Nether and it went as well as you would think it is (a disaster), !cell and !felps became friends a bit after !cell returned from hell and are roommates atm.) So, those 4 happened to be in the same place - a cave, that is basically right by a abandoned house on a small hill (!Tazercraft are there because they were searching for some minerals (they didn't find any). !Cell is there because he had a request from someone living in that area to check the cave because "there were some weird sounds" - the standard stuff. !Felps is there because back then he sometimes joined !cell in investigations, so that what he did that day). However, right before the reunion might have turned violent, all 4 happened to catch some barely noticeable sounds - it was however, undeniably sounds of crying. A child's crying, which kinda made them to "deal with eachother later" and go check on whoever was making the sound. What they found was a small dragon child with left leg being just. gone (now that they think about it, there was some blood on caves floor). That basically how they found Richas (and that how they went from "barely know each other with most of them wanting having nothing to do with eachother" to family)

Richas basically now has three places to live: !Tazercraft's absolutely legal laboratory they pay all taxes for, !Felps' apartment in a city nearby, !Cellbit's house right by that cave (because that cave happened to be just perfect to be somewhat of a personal office for work;) (for reference, they live pretty close to eachother, the longest distance is no more than 2 hrs by motorbike).

!Bagi, well, doesn't live over there - she lives in another city, like 8 hrs on motorbike far away. She rents an apartment with !Tina and as of recent !Mouse.

#art #fanart #mcyt #qsmp #victor's mer mcyt au #pactw #mikethelink #felps #cellbit #oibagi #to hell with other tags i spent 3hrs writing all that

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foreverlogical · 4 months

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It was a time of fear and chaos four years ago.

The death count was mounting as COVID-19 spread. Financial markets were panicked. Oil prices briefly went negative. The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rates to combat the sudden recession. And the U.S. government went on a historic borrowing spree—adding trillions to the national debt—to keep families and businesses afloat.

But as Donald Trump recalled that moment at a recent rally, the former president exuded pride.

“We had the greatest economy in history,” the Republican told his Wisconsin audience. “The 30-year mortgage rate was at a record low, the lowest ever recorded ... 2.65%, that’s what your mortgage rates were.”

The question of who can best steer the U.S. economy could be a deciding factor in who wins November’s presidential election. While an April Gallup poll found that Americans were most likely to say that immigration is the country's top problem, the economy in general and inflation were also high on the list.

Trump may have an edge over President Joe Biden on key economic concerns, according to an April poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs. The survey found that Americans were more likely to say that as president, Trump helped the country with job creation and cost of living. Nearly six in 10 Americans said that Biden’s presidency hurt the country on the cost of living.

But the economic numbers expose a far more complicated reality during Trump's time in the White House. His tax cuts never delivered the promised growth. His budget deficits surged and then stayed relatively high under Biden. His tariffs and trade deals never brought back all of the lost factory jobs.

And there was the pandemic, an event that caused historic job losses for which Trump accepts no responsibility as well as low inflation—for which Trump takes full credit.

If anything, the economy during Trump's presidency never lived up to his own hype.

DECENT (NOT EXCEPTIONAL) GROWTH

Trump assured the public in 2017 that the U.S. economy with his tax cuts would grow at “3%,” but he added, “I think it could go to 4, 5, and maybe even 6%, ultimately.”

If the 2020 pandemic is excluded, growth after inflation averaged 2.67% under Trump, according to figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Include the pandemic-induced recession and that average drops to an anemic 1.45%.

By contrast, growth during the second term of then-President Barack Obama averaged 2.33%. So far under Biden, annual growth is averaging 3.4%.

MORE GOVERNMENT DEBT

Trump also assured the public that his tax cuts would pay for themselves because of stronger growth. The cuts were broad but disproportionately favored corporations and those with extreme wealth.

The tax cuts signed into law in 2017 never fulfilled Trump's promises on deficit reduction.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the deficit worsened to $779 billion in 2018. The Congressional Budget Office had forecasted a deficit of $563 billion before the tax cuts, meaning the tax cuts increased borrowing by $216 billion that first year. In 2019, the deficit rose to $984 billion, nearly $300 billion more than what the CBO had forecast.

Then the pandemic happened and with a flurry of government aid, the resulting deficit topped $3.1 trillion. That borrowing enabled the government to make direct payments to individuals and small businesses as the economy was in lockdown, often increasing bank accounts and making many feel better off even though the economy was in a recession.

Deficits have also run high under Biden, as he signed into law a third round of pandemic aid and other initiatives to address climate change, build infrastructure and invest in U.S. manufacturing. His budget deficits: $2.8 trillion (2021), $1.38 trillion (2022), and $1.7 trillion (2023).

The CBO estimated in a report issued Wednesday that the extension of parts of Trump’s tax cuts set to expire after 2025 would add another $4.6 trillion to the national debt through the year 2034.

LOW INFLATION (BUT NOT ALWAYS FOR GOOD REASONS)

Inflation was much lower under Trump, never topping an annual rate of 2.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual rate reached as high as 8% in 2022 under Biden and is currently at 3.4%.

There were three big reasons why inflation was low during Trump's presidency: the legacy of the 2008 financial crisis, Federal Reserve actions, and the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump entered the White House with inflation already low, largely because of the slow recovery from the Great Recession, when financial markets collapsed and millions of people lost their homes to foreclosure.

The inflation rate barely averaged more than 1% during Obama's second term as the Fed struggled to push up growth. Still, the economy was expanding without overheating.

But in the first three years of Trump's presidency, inflation averaged 2.1%, roughly close to the Fed's target. Still, the Fed began to hike its own benchmark rate to keep inflation low at the central bank's own 2% target. Trump repeatedly criticized the Fed because he wanted to juice growth despite the risks of higher prices.

Then the pandemic hit.

Inflation sank and the Fed slashed rates to sustain the economy during lockdowns.

When Trump celebrates historically low mortgage rates, he's doing so because the economy was weakened by the pandemic. Similarly, gasoline prices fell below an average of $2 a gallon because no one was driving in April 2020 as the pandemic spread.

FEWER JOBS

The United States lost 2.7 million jobs during Trump's presidency, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If the pandemic months are excluded, he added 6.7 million jobs.

By contrast, 15.4 million jobs were added during Biden's presidency. That's 5.1 million more jobs than what the CBO forecasted he would add before his coronavirus relief and other policies became law—a sign of how much he boosted the labor market.

Both candidates have repeatedly promised to bring back factory jobs. Between 2017 and the middle of 2019, Trump added 461,000 manufacturing jobs. But the gains began to stall and then turned into layoffs during the pandemic, with the Republican posting a loss of 178,000 jobs.

So far, the U.S. economy has added 773,000 manufacturing jobs during Biden's presidency.

Campaign Action

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crevicedwelling · 1 year

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Im considering getting some moth friends. Any tips on what enclosures I should use, what species to pick for beginners, what foods to feed them, etc?

Thanks in advance,

-Ash!

in general, most moths make pretty poor pets, especially as adults. keeping moths = rearing larvae, essentially, and this juvenile stage is probably the longest part of most species’ lifespans. if you want moths just for the adults, very few species I consider to be ethical to keep will be of interest to you, and I think the best way to enjoy moths is to find them in the wild and leave them there.

adult moths tend to not do well in captivity because they are hard to feed (where to put all the flowers?) and will beat themselves to death on most containers because they don’t understand “wall.” most moths are not suitable for captivity for these reasons and when entomologists/hobbyists rear a random larva they find, it’s usually intended to be killed as a scientific specimen once matured or released after a photo. this means there’s only a handful of moths that can reliably be bred in captivity (captive breeding being one of the most important requirements for ethical insectkeeping).

one of the main groups of these are saturniids (giant silkmoths), who do not feed as adults and are quite large and showy at all life stages. when I was 10 or so I kept saturniids including luna moths and Polyphemus moths, and raised the larvae in cat litter tubs I found on the street with mesh over the tops, feeding them daily with fresh branches from neighborhood trees (my dad was very helpful in cutting down the foodplants). after pupation I kept the pupae in a large tub with lots of stick and egg carton perches that I occasionally misted for moisture. since they were from local stock I would release the adults at night; saturniids are definitely less active than, say, a hawkmoth or a noctuid that needs to feed, but still often get quite beat up just from living in mesh containers and I didn’t like seeing that.

native giant silkmoths may not be legal to keep in all areas, and exotic species are tightly controlled in the US where I live. it can be difficult to obtain eggs here, even of native species. never release any moth that isn’t native, and the most responsible thing to do is not release any at all due to captive population densities being a potential source of disease.

another option is domesticated silkworms (Bombyx mori), which I’d say are probably the most ethical moth to keep since they are adapted to life in human care. they’re flightless and also do not feed as adults; larvae eat mulberry leaves but can also be maintained on a formulated mush that can be purchased (not a fan of the price in the US!). many reptile sites or stores stock them as reptile food, probably the best way to get them in manageable quantities. Galleria waxworms can be obtained in a similar way, but require a honey/syrup/bran diet that’s highly unpleasant to produce.

some hawkmoths can be kept as pets, such as Manduca sexta hornworms also used as reptile feeders, although they are highly active and feeding them can be a challenge. in Europe the death’s head hawkmoths (Acherontia) can be obtained sometimes, and adults eat honey but again can be difficult to get eating. both species prefer tomato and other nightshades as larval food.

as said before, non-saturniid and non-B. mori moths are best found as larvae, maintained on what food you found them eating, then released as adults. if you are as crazy as me and willing to risk all your foodstuffs becoming infested, some grain pest moths like Plodia and Pyralis are easy to maintain on bran, nuts, and oats, but this is probably very far from “pet moths” you’re looking for.

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covid-safer-hotties · 2 days

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Also preserved on our archive

by Betsy Ladyzhets

She is part of an administration that many advocates believe turned its back on COVID-19. Still, some see more hope in a potential Harris presidency.

In early August, the newly minted Kamala Harris campaign posted a job opportunity: disability engagement director. The director would meet with disability communities across the United States, build relationships with disability advocates, and help people participate in campaign events.

Some Long COVID advocates expressed excitement for the role on social media, and hoped that it would be filled by someone familiar with their disease. For these advocates, the disability engagement director is part of a broader opportunity presented by Harris’ move to the top of the ticket: to make their case for national recognition. For others disillusioned by the Biden administration’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, however, the campaign has a higher bar to clear before they will support Harris.

Advocates say that people with Long COVID, a potentially debilitating chronic disease that can impact all parts of the body, represent a growing voting bloc in this year’s presidential election. Leaders from Long COVID advocacy groups and the broader disability community are considering how to make their case to Harris’ staff, with a particular interest in Anastasia Somoza — a disability advocate who was hired for the engagement director role — and Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate who has championed Long COVID research as governor of Minnesota.

“VP Harris is part of an administration that has turned its back on public health,” said Karyn Bishof, founder and president of the COVID-19 Longhauler Advocacy Project, in an email. However, Bishof added, Harris’ “track record suggests that she could prioritize the well-being of those most affected [by Long COVID], particularly women and marginalized communities, and perhaps push for more honest and accessible education and care.” Bishof pointed to Harris’ experience supporting health care and women’s rights and her selection of Walz as reasons for optimism about Long COVID organizing under a potential Harris administration.

One recent review paper found over 400 million people have developed Long COVID worldwide, costing an estimated $1 trillion to the global economy. About 18% of U.S. adults have experienced the disease, with higher rates among women and LGBTQ+ people, and 1 in 4 people currently living with it experience “significant activity limitations,” according to surveys from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many can no longer work, attend school, or engage with their communities. And the numbers grow with every new COVID-19 wave.

Some people with Long COVID have shared these experiences with politicians and in the media as they organize for scientific research, health care, and social support. At a Senate committee hearing in January, Long COVID advocates packed the chamber and encouraged senators to attend with phone campaigns. The hearing contributed to new legislation introduced this summer that would provide over $10 billion in funding for research and health care.

Scott Hugo, a housing justice attorney with Long COVID, wrote an open letter to the Harris campaign asking it to recognize this growing population. In an interview, he explained the connection he sees between the campaign’s message of supporting vulnerable members of society and the struggles people with Long COVID face to find medical care, access government services, and educate their loved ones about the disease. By publicly discussing Long COVID, Harris could inspire people in this community to vote and organize when they were previously apathetic about the election, he suggested.

“None of us are disposable, and I think that’s what the Democratic Party understands,” Hugo said. His message to the Harris campaign: “You want us in your coalition, and you need us in that coalition to win.”

Somoza and the campaign’s press team did not provide comments for this story.

#mask up #covid #pandemic #covid 19 #wear a mask #public health #coronavirus #sars cov 2 #still coviding #wear a respirator

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merge-conflict · 6 months

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some questions for writers

tagged by @luvwich, tagging @corpocyborg, @seraphfighter, @pvthfinder

Last book I read: I've read the first 10 pages of so many books in the past 6 months but I don't think those count? So probably Ancillary Mercy

Greatest literary inspirations: Ann Leckie, Laurie Marks, N. K. Jemisin

Things in my current fandom I want to read but I don't want to write: Nothing in particular? If I really want something it's because I want to write it, usually (although I do enjoy seeing other takes on stuff). I never know what's good until I stumble on it. Reading has been difficult for me lately in general. (symptoms disease)

Things in my current fandoms I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: Speculating on the internal systems and operations and infrastructure tech at Arasaka Tower could be my Paris sewers moment, ngl.

You can recognise my writing by: I use action tags a lot (Leckian influence). Repetition is a big one for me, the rule of threes, like it is, it is, and it isn't. Inserting common tech experiences into my writing (dealing with hardware. having a stupid mistake fixed by rubber duckying) Limited POV narration with narrators that are usually unreliable mostly through omission. Probably a bunch of other stuff that I'm too lost in the sauce to notice about my own predilections.

My most controversial take (current fandom): Lots of strong opinions about the depiction and use of tech within cyberpunk which is less rule of cool and more my brain is so warped by continuous application of threat analysis that I cannot simply Let it Go. I could talk about it forever but my audience is limited to a handful of people unless I can get my irl friend and coworker into cyberpunk and simply infodump straight to him.

More direct in scope, I think the eldritch killer AI trope is missing the forest for the trees in cyberpunk themes where the real horror is what people do to each other and the systems and societies they create that make it possible.

Top three favourite tropes: reluctant allies to lovers, that little smidge of hilarity in the midst of absolute horror and grief, the exploration of what it means to be human (or just a person)

What’s your current writing mood (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): 0.5 - The spirit is willing but the mind is a rotting moldy spud

Share a random frustration: The reporting system I've been using heavily for work the past few days is web-based (hisssssss) and if I type some words and then switch desktops too quickly away from my browser and back then it just deletes the last few sentences I wrote because they didn't get to auto-saved somehow. I have not flown into a homicidal rage about this yet but it's been touch and go. My desire to kill all software that does not function locally on my host only grows by the hour, but also I'm sort of sleepy now so whatever.

#tag game #I can never tell if my maskless writing style comes off as pretentious but if you're reading this wondering #I'm just Like This lol #i've been writing a lot of reporting stuff from scratch this week too so my brain is mush when it comes to forming normal casual sentences

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vpofcookies · 1 year

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Let's Talk Pyrite Disease

Okay. Pyrite is amazing. Pyrite, or fool’s gold, has a simple formula (FeS2), forms beautiful cubes, and has all sorts of cool features. I'll talk later about how iron minerals can move and change and how they're related to theories about cells, but first, let's talk about Pyrite disease.

Image ID: Several pyritized ammonite shells in various stages of decay. They all have a light-grey color and a velvety appearance. There are a few in the center that are severely decayed and appear to be just a pile of dark grey and yellow dust, with a similar appearance to mold. One ammonite in the top-center is a more gold-brown color and has cube-shaped pyrite crystals on it. End ID.

[Image by https://twitter.com/MSidKelly/status/667548523475288064]

TLDR: Pyrite disease is a form of rust that impacts pyrite. It produces iron oxides, sulfuric acid, and sulfur dioxide, damaging mineral specimens, fossils, and storage materials. It causes expansion and acid damage that cracks and erodes specimens.

oh and @simple-potato-farmer, @team-clockers, @edthefatmagicturtle, y’all expressed interest in this so here you go! warning: it’s 10 pages long

How Can Fossil Come in Contact with Pyrite?

Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite is found in quartz veins, coal mines, sedimentary rock, metamorphic rock, and in fossils as a replacement mineral. Pyrite forms in anoxic environments, which makes it a good environmental indicator. It also means that pyrite is found in association with many deep ocean fossils.

Fossils can be replaced by pyrite. This happens in a process called pyritization, a form of replacement diagenesis where the original material of the organism (in some cases, even soft parts) is replaced by pyrite. For instance, due to the anoxic and high-sulfide concentration in the deep ocean, calcite shells may be replaced by iron pyrite. This is aided by the presence of sulfur-reducing bacteria that facilitate the creation of iron sulfides, and therefore facilitate the precipitation of pyrite during decay(1) as sulfides are produced by the decaying organism(2). In a unique case, high microbial activity led to documentation of pyrite formation on the shells of living mollusks(3). This process leads to beautiful pyritized fossils that look like metal casts but actually are the fossil completely replaced by pyrite.

Image ID: An ammonite cut in half to show pyritization. The entire ammonite appears metallic gold, and the internal cavities contain fine drusy pyrite crystals. End ID.

[Image by: Replacement/Recrystallization (petrifiedwoodmuseum.org)]

Not all fossils end up beautifully pyritized, and not all pyritized fossils stay that way. Pyrite disease, also called pyrite oxidation, pyrite rot, or pyrite decay, is a form of rust. Millions of years of history, only to be destroyed by poor archiving, humidity, and pyrite decay.

Image ID: A brachiopod specimen with pyrite replacement and a patchy outer coating of pyrite. Unlike the ammonite, the pyrite has grown over the shell of this brachiopod in addition to replacing the original structure. End ID.

[Image by: jsjgeology.net/Replacement.htm]

What does Pyrite Disease Do?

Since pyrite is formed in anoxic conditions, most pyritized specimens remain stable for a long time. The reason we observe so much pyrite decay in museum settings and other fossil collections is because the specimens have been removed from the rock and sediment that were limiting their exposure to oxygen. Pyrite decay can occur with or without water, but when pyrite oxidizes in humid air, it reacts with both oxygen and water. This creates not only iron oxide ‘rust’, but also iron sulfate, sulfuric acid, and sulfur dioxide gas4 (corrosive and toxic materials)(1). This chemical reaction eventually destroys the specimen through a combination of factors. The sulfuric acid is corrosive and damages the specimen. Oxidized pyrite is unstable and may crumble over time. There is also another damaging factor: the risks of pyrite replacement and iron sulfate production.

Image ID: A tray of mollusk fossils, each with separate boxes, with evidence of pyrite decay. There is dark grey dust in the bottom of most boxes, and a line of what appears to be water damage across the boxes. The apparent water damage is the result of the sulfuric acid produced. It has also discolored fossils and their labels. End ID. [Image by me]

Pyrite disease is a progressive process that affects fossils over time. Many pyritized specimens may last for years in perfect condition, while many others progressively decay from undetected pyrite disease. The reason that pyrite replacement is notorious for decay has to do with the crystal structure of pyrite. The famous cuboid structure of pyrite crystals is the most stable form of pyrite(4) since the compact form does not easily absorb moisture. Pyrite may occur in a compact, crystalline, stable form or a porous microcrystalline form that is unstable. Certain formations produce more stable pyrite with fewer impurities, but certain fossils are also more susceptible to unstable forms of pyrite. Marcasite is a less common dimorph of pyrite that is more unstable(5). Ammonites, especially those from the Charmoth clays, are notorious for pyrite decay while South American specimens and Yorkshire coast fossils are much more stable(2). The iron sulfate that is produced by the oxidation process is considered an efflorescent mineral(5), a term that means “flowering.” This is because this material has a higher molar volume (the ratio of the volume occupied by a certain amount of a substance) than iron pyrite and wedges the specimen apart as it expands past the constraints of the original crystal structure(5).

Unfortunately, the creation of efflorescent minerals, including other hydrous sulfate minerals, creates a feedback loop. These materials produce acids and provide water that causes the pyrite to further decay, producing more Fe3+ and more efflorescent materials, which feed the cycle of oxidation(5).

Image ID: Two images of the same pyrite disk, taken two years apart. In the left image, the disk has a few cracks and white discoloration in the center, with a yellow outline around the discoloration from sulfur. In the right image, the disk is shown two years later, cracked into four large pieces. The discoloration now extends almost to the edges of the disk, with a much larger yellow margin. End ID.

[Image by Ed Clopton, General: Need 'Pyrite Disease' Photos (mindat.org)]

(For an interesting, related topic – pyrite decay is a risk in coal mining for a multitude of reasons, including the increase of pulmonary and respiratory disease after pyrite inhalation, the risk of silicosis, and the risk of spontaneous combustion caused by the exothermic reaction involved in the decay of high-sulfide deposits.)

What Does Pyrite Disease Look Like?

Pyrite disease may appear grey, greenish, black, red-orange, white, or sulfur yellow. A redder color indicates rust from other iron minerals other than pyrite. Since pyrite contains sulfur and pyrite oxidation produces sulfuric acid, it may have the rotten-egg smell often associated with sulfur. A metallic-iron smell may also be present. Inhaling the result of pyrite decay can be hazardous (in my experience, it caused migraines even when I double-masked before entering the room due to the severity of the condition of our collections. In most cases it is much less of a concern). If pyrite disease is found, wear gloves and masks and try to disturb the dust as little as possible. Remember that pyrite disease is worse in humid conditions, and these same conditions may encourage the growth of mold. The early stages of pyrite disease may appear as spots of discoloration on a fossil, a slightly duller appearance, additional crystallization, or cracking. Often, the first noticeable sign that is clearly identifiable is dust in the bottom of the box the specimen is in. In these early stages, the severity of the pyrite decay may not be detected until the specimen is moved or handled, and subsequently begins to crumble or leaves dust and a metallic smell on your hands. Later stages appear like mold and may have a fuzzy, cloud-like appearance. If you handle a specimen with pyrite disease, take care to wash your hands and dry them well before handling any other specimens, and check the container or the contaminated specimens and those that surround it so that they can be replaced if needed. In the worst stages of pyrite decay, what is left is not a fossil that may crumble if handled, but a pile of dust. Pyrite disease can affect vertebrate fossils, invertebrate fossils, botanical specimens, mineral specimens with pyrite, and the containers and shelving used.

Image ID: Two images of cubic pyrite crystals. Left: Four cubic pyrite crystals growing into each other, they are a solid metallic gold color with few visible imperfections. Right: a cubic pyrite crystal in a dark matric. This piece is affected by pyrite decay, and the cubic shape is no longer perfect due to cracks in the specimen. It has orange and yellow sections that appear like water stains due to the sulfuric acid produced by pyrite oxidation. End ID.

[Image by Pyrite Disease - Canadian Museum of Nature]

Why Is It A “Disease?”

If the damage to the fossils themselves was not bad enough, consider another factor: it’s often called pyrite disease, instead of pyrite oxidation, for a reason. That reason is that pyrite disease spreads and progresses over time. Historically it was thought that this was the result of a bacterial component, and it was even recommended to treat fossils with antibacterial ointments(5). While bioleaching of pyrite is studied, bacterial theories are no longer supported. The spread of pyrite disease is due to the spreading of acid and the flaking of iron sulfates that may trigger decay on other specimens that already contain pyrite. Although this process is not contagious due to bacteria, it is still an irreversible process that causes fossils to crumble to dust and is, to an extent, a contagious process. The sulfuric acid and sulfur dioxide created in pyrite oxidation can damage the containers and fossils near the contaminated specimen.

Image ID: An annotated example of a fish skull preserved in a nodule, which decayed and broke due to pyrite disease. There is a top view (top) and a side view (bottom, fish facing right). There are labels pointing to the top of the skull and to the eye socket showing cavities and red-orange rust labeled “extensive bone loss due to decay.” A white section of the nodule that is split and crumbled is labeled “pyrite decay inside nodule.” The side shows extensive decay to both the fossil and nodule, labeled “nodule blown apart when decay became critical.” End ID.

[Image by Trouble with pyrite – Deposits Mag]

One of the reasons that it is considered a disease is the progressive nature of pyrite decay, which visibly worsens over time. Another reason is the way that sulfuric acid seems to spread and contaminate even the container that the fossil is held in, leaving damage marks on the fossil and its labels. Another factor is the fact that the products of pyrite oxidation expand, appearing like mold or growths that further damage the fossil. The expansion of these oxidation products is one of the most damaging aspects of pyrite disease, as the instability in the crystal structure of the specimen causes cracking and flaking. This is because pyrite oxidation causes the conversion of iron pyrite (FeS2), an iron sulfide mineral that has a cubic crystal structure, to iron sulfate (FeSO4), which has an orthorhombic crystal structure. Not only does this cause the specimens to crack and crumble, but the cracking of the specimen causes flakes of pyrite to break off and spread. These flakes may land on other specimens, spreading the contamination of pyrite decay to other fossils that were previously stable. In many cases, museums must face difficult decisions to remove scientifically valuable specimens, or even portions of specimens, to prevent further spread of pyrite disease.

Image ID: Left: The crystal structure of iron pyrite. Right: The crystal structure of iron sulfate. End ID.

[Images by: mp-226: FeS2 (Cubic, Pa-3, 205) (materialsproject.org)]

How Can Pyrite Disease Be Managed?

Now, I’ve said that pyrite disease is unreversible. But can it be stopped from progressing once it contaminates a specimen? The simple answer is no. The more complicated answer follows:

Several factors that contribute to pyrite disease: temperature, humidity, oxygen levels, pH, exposure, crystal structure, and bacteria(3). Some factors, such as bacteria and pH, require specific conditions that are uncommon (Thiobacillus bacteria are present over 95% humidity(3) and pH is often affected by the decay process and the methods used to manage it). Other factors are closely linked (e.g., temperature and humidity).

Pyrite disease is most closely linked to humidity and high oxygen conditions. The best way to stop pyrite disease is prevention. Most museums use some form of climate control to preserve their specimens, but the issue here is that vertebrate fossils (bones) have a moderate recommended relative humidity level (~45-55%) in order to avoid cracking or warping6, while the recommended humidity level to prevent pyrite disease is 30%(7) (although below 50% is also stated by some sources(2,8)). In contrast, humidity above 60% is known to accelerate the decay, even to the point that decay begins within a few days of exposure(3, 2). This low humidity level is not always possible, especially for public display, although it is used in some invertebrate collections. Using humidity and oxygen scavengers (e.g., silica gel packets) when collecting can reduce the exposure of specimens to these factors. Using humidity and oxygen barriers when storing specimens can prevent pyrite disease(3). Contained storage of an already contaminated specimen may trap moisture with the specimen. Although, I would say it is better to have an isolated specimen that decayed than have an open specimen contaminate others.

Image ID: The unpolished appearance of a pyritized ammonite. The ammonite is held in front of a rocky area. It is a dull grey color with a matte appearance. It has lumps of rounded pyrite surrounding it. End ID.

[Image by Martin Curtis, Pyrite Decay in Fossil Collections – ZOIC PalaeoTech Limited (zoicpaleotech.com)]

Since the damage from pyrite disease is exacerbated by sulfuric acid, one of the other prevention methods used relies on acid neutralization(5), although this is less common. Currently, the use of humidity and oxygen buffers is the most common method, but some groups rely on extensive testing of specimens to determine which have unstable forms of pyrite incorporated into the fossil or matrix before acting. Another preventative method is removing salt (which may speed up the decomposition) and removing any matrix that may contain pyrite or trap moisture (e.g., clays)(5). Washing specimens to remove salts or matrix remains could damage specimens that are already unstable or could cause damaging moisture exposure (although this could be avoided by washing with alcohol).

Many studies have attempted to find effective ways to stop, reverse, or prevent pyrite decay. From acid treatments to preemptively coating specimens in resin, these tested methods were often damaging to the specimens, especially over the long term. However, were they damaging enough to be worse than pyrite disease? Not necessarily, but a combination of the damage done, the cost, the time investment, and the ineffectiveness of these treatments means that prevention is still the only reliable method for pyrite disease.

Coating specimens in resins and varnishes may provide a buffering effect, but the resin only slows oxidation, it does not stop it. This becomes an issue when the vanishes cannot be removed, and the specimen cannot be accessed for other treatment methods(2). Varnishes may delay the effects, but they have effects of their own, are usually not moisture-proof, and may yellow and crack over time. Coating with resin or embedding the fossil in resin creates the risk of an explosion as the oxidative reaction builds heat and pressure. Some museums coat their fossils in plastic glues (such as Paraloid B-67 or B-72), these glues are reversible, and B-67 is hydrophobic, unlike most resins.

Image ID: Examples of varnished ammonite specimens, showing progressive stages of pyrite disease as the varnish aged and cracked. Left: Complete pyritized specimens with no signs of decay and a glossy finish from the varnish. Center: Pryitized specimens with patches of yellow-orange decay in sections where the varnish cracked. Right: specimens reduced to dark grey and white dust. End ID.

[Image by Chris Andrew, Pyrite Decay in Fossil Collections – ZOIC PalaeoTech Limited (zoicpaleotech.com)]

There are two “cures” to pyrite decay. However, these do not cure pyrite decay in the sense that they reverse it. Instead, these are methods to neutralize the products of pyrite disease to prevent further harm to the specimens. These two methods involve the use of ammonium gas or ethanolamine thioglycolate to remove pyrite byproducts (ammonia converts the iron sulfate to iron oxide(8)) and neutralize any generated sulfuric acid(2). Both methods are intensive, potentially hazardous, and relatively expensive. As a ‘cure,’ they are effective at temporarily halting the progression of pyrite disease, but not preventing it or reversing it. These treatments have been proven to be ineffective at preventing pyrite decay without the use of controlled microclimate (oxygen and humidity exposure)(3).

References:

1 Replacement/Recrystallization (petrifiedwoodmuseum.org)

2 Pyrite Decay in Fossil Collections – ZOIC PalaeoTech Limited (zoicpaleotech.com)

3Minerals | Free Full-Text | Pyrite Decay of Large Fossils: The Case Study of the Hall of Palms in Padova, Italy (mdpi.com)

4Pyrite Disease - Canadian Museum of Nature

5Pyrite disease (palaeo-electronica.org)

6Shells Eggs Bone and Related Materials 160229 (welshmuseumsfederation.org)

7PowerPoint Presentation (vertpaleo.org)

8Trouble with pyrite – Deposits Mag

#vpoc writes #rockposting #vpoc yells #pyrite disease #pyrite oxidation #vpoc has cool rocks #other cool rocks #long post #paleontology #geology

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lurkingshan · 1 year

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Intergenerational Trauma Challenge - 10 Years Ticket

Hello friends, it is time again for me to go deep on another entry on the intergenerational family trauma challenge list. When I first suggested the idea of this challenge and asked a few folks what shows we might consider for it, @wen-kexing-apologist and @waitmyturtles both immediately shouted “10 Years Ticket!” I hadn’t seen it yet, but I trusted their judgment that it belonged on the list, and moved it near the top of my watch priorities. And phew lord, does it belong on this list. The drama explores intergenerational trauma extensively via a story of multiple families living in a small town community.

So what is the deal with this drama? 10 Years Ticket is a Thai lakorn about four children and their families, all of whom are dear friends and neighbors, who are torn apart by the murder of one of their family members, by another of their family members. The two families whose blood ties were involved in the crime become bitter enemies, dragging the whole community into the fight, and crucially for this project, the adults push that trauma down onto their young children. As wka says, this show is about the harm that is done when a community breaks down rather than coming together in the wake of tragedy.

Before I start digging into the trauma themes in this one, a note on my overall experience with the drama: I was extremely engaged even as my emotions about different aspects of the drama were mixed. The cast is fantastic and the drama is gorgeous, but the writing has some significant weak spots (some of which I suspect may be based in lakorn genre conventions, which I am admittedly not yet well-versed enough to parse). I wouldn't unreservedly recommend this to everyone, but depending on which aspects of the story you are most interested in, there’s a lot to get out of it. If you love a great mystery with excellent judgment about what information to withhold and when and where to place its reveals? Fairly strong with some minor missteps. If you are here for romance? Nah–there are romance subplots but they’re not particularly well-executed and they are pretty extraneous to the main narrative. If you want a gritty crime story with realistic villains and a satisfying conclusion? You will be laughing your ass off and not because the show wants you to. But if you’re here for the family stories and deep examination of a community in crisis? 10/10, absolutely recommend. (cc @chickenstrangers and @neuroticbookworm for my overall review—stop reading after this friends, spoilers ahead!) @dribs-and-drabbles also tagging you as a fellow 10YT enjoyer and one of the like five people on this website who may have an interest in reading a ridiculously long essay about it. :)

So, let’s get into it! 10YT is an ensemble show with many characters with endless complex connections, so I am going to do this breakdown family by family for your sanity and mine. Right off the top, some themes you’ll see running throughout that are particularly relevant to an Asian context: taboo, saving face, filial piety, devotion to the nuclear family unit, conditional parental love, community ostracization, and denial of queer identity. And some content warnings for discussion of: child abuse, physical violence, gun violence, Alzheimer’s disease, substance abuse, and drug trafficking. From this point forward, I am assuming anyone still reading has seen the show, because lord would all of this be impossible to explain to someone who hasn’t. Shoutout to turtles and wka for reviewing to make sure I didn’t miss anything major and helping me with the screenshots for this post, and a general heads up that this is long long.

Our Star-Crossed Lovers

Before digging into the family relationships, a word about our star-crossed lovers at the center of this tragedy, because it’s important to understand it as we get into the families. The drama really did take its sweet time with this reveal, but in the end we understood why this relationship was such a big damn dramatic secret—Luk is about five years older than Mai and already a teacher, and Mai is still a student. Their relationship is rooted in taboo, which is why they are sneaking around and likely why Luk carries so much guilt and shame that she makes the incredibly stupid and selfish decision to punish herself and tear apart their families by lying that she murdered Mai. There are other reasons given—namely, that she wanted to save face for Mai and his loved ones and prevent people from finding out he was a drug runner—but they don’t really hold up to any scrutiny. Luk told this lie to punish herself and didn’t really ever give a thought to how in doing so, she was punishing and harming everyone else, too, not to mention utterly failing to save face for her own family, whose lives are destroyed by her lie (apologies for not mincing words here, I have zero respect for Luk’s decision and one of my biggest criticisms of the drama is that it tries to paint this as a noble sacrifice and act of love and position her as some kind of voice of wisdom, which, *blows raspberry*).

The Siraphuchaya Family

So let’s begin with the family at the center of our plot and the heart of our story. Their relationships with each other are quite varied and the lines of generational trauma between them complex, so I’m breaking them down into subsections. The key people in this family unit are Santi, the patriarch; Sai, Phukao’s mother and Santi’s current wife; Mai, Santi’s first son; Phukao, Santi and Sai’s son; and the woman haunting them all, Mai’s mother Ranya.

Mai and Phukao

The most wholesome relationship in this show by a mile, Mai and Phukao are half brothers who share a deep bond. They have different mothers and about a ten year age gap between them, which results in Mai taking on a role akin to a third parent and protector for Phukao in their abusive household. In turn, Phukao idolizes his brother and loves him unreservedly, and expresses sorrow and confusion about why their parents don’t seem to love Mai the same way they love him. Mai grows up in a household where his presence is clearly unwanted and resented, and Phukao grows up keenly aware that despite all the good he sees in Mai, others, including his parents, don’t feel the same way. And despite Phukao’s own experience of unconditional parental love, he bears witness to the conditional love his parents express for Mai and the violence that occurs whenever those conditions are not met.

Mai and Santi

Which brings me to Santi. From the beginning, we see that Santi treats his sons very differently. He is protective and loving toward Phukao, but antagonistic and quick to anger with Mai. We eventually come to understand that Santi is holding a burning resentment and hatred for Mai’s mother, Ranya, which manifests in his verbal, emotional, and physical abuse of their son. Santi is also a serious alcoholic and his substance abuse exacerbates the issue.

Even from the first episode before Mai’s parentage was made clear, the signs were there that Mai’s family resents his presence. Mai sleeps on a mattress on the floor in a tiny room off the main floor hallway while his baby brother has a big bedroom with a giant bed on the second floor of the house. His parents never seemed happy to see him; he is nearly always greeted with suspicion, distrust, or at best, indifference. They hold him up to Phukao as an example of how he can be treated if he doesn’t behave—in one early scene, Santi explicitly tells Phukao that if he misbehaves he will have to start treating him like Mai. In gatherings with the neighbors, they talk proudly about Phukao but ignore Mai’s presence. And Santi nearly always finds a reason to discipline Mai with physical violence upon his return home, which makes it easy to understand why Mai was spending as much time away as possible and looking for ways out.

We see Santi abusing Mai throughout the drama, often while Phukao and his mother Sai look on—Phukao in anguish, Sai in indifference (more about her soon). But the scene that best captures their dynamic and gets to the heart of the trauma that lays between them is in episode 7. Mai comes home from surreptitiously spending time with his mother, Santi sniffs out his secret, and the worst episode of abuse depicted in the show unfolds as Santi strings Mai up by a rope on a rafter in the garage and proceeds to beat him with a leather belt in full view of Sai, Phukao, and any onlooker that just happens to be passing by. Throughout the beating, Santi berates Mai for seeing his mother, insisting that she is evil and Mai needs to stay away from her. Watching it unfold, one gets the feeling that Santi is trying to literally beat any trace of Mai’s mother out of him.

What’s most interesting about this scene is the implication that Santi is deeply concerned for Mai’s welfare and genuinely trying to protect him from something, even as he himself is Mai’s greatest source of pain. Somewhere along the way, Santi’s emotions have become hopelessly tangled and warped to the point where this abuse “for Mai’s own good” is the only expression of love he can manage toward his eldest son. It’s horrific, it’s tragic, and it really makes you wonder what the hell happened between Santi and Mai’s mother to poison this father-son relationship so deeply.

The Ranya of it All

Ranya. What a character. What a piece of work. And yet somehow, what a deeply sympathetic portrayal of a woman forced into a life she didn’t want and rebelling against it to the point of cruelty. I did not like this woman, and yet I was unexpectedly moved by her story.

So what the hell happened between Ranya and Santi? They fell in love. They got married. And then Santi pressured her to have a child she didn’t want, because he was fixated on the idea of having a traditional nuclear family (for reasons the show never fully elucidated, but I extrapolate are related to some generational trauma he himself is carrying and a desire to be head of a new family to make up for whatever his childhood lacked). She went along with it despite knowing she did not want to be a mother because she was in love. And sure enough, once she had made it through the pregnancy and began her life as a mother, she was miserable. So she rejected motherhood and abandoned her family when Mai was only an infant, one of the greatest sins a woman can commit in any culture, and certainly in the Asian context where family values and collectivist mindset demands sacrifice for the good of the family unit over personal satisfaction.

And Santi hated her for it. Hated her because he loved her and she left him. Hated her because she didn’t give him the dream vision he had of a beautiful family. Hated her because he still wanted her. And ultimately, transmitted his impotent rage and twisted love from her onto their son. She, in turn, hated Santi for not being happy with just the two of them, and for destroying their relationship by forcing her into motherhood. And while she doesn’t hate Mai, she certainly doesn’t love him or care for his well-being.

When Ranya sails back into town many years after abandoning him, she is bitter and hardened and she sees Mai as a means to an end and an easy target. She appears to have similar substance abuse issues to Santi, and she is in deep debt. She needs money, Mai is desperate for parental love and affection, and she sees an opportunity to take advantage. And so she pushes Mai into working with one of the local drug running operations, tells him pretty lies about using the money he is making to buy them a house to live in together, manipulates him into further provoking Santi in her honor, and then skips town with all his money just as the shit hits the fan. It’s one of the last things Mai experiences before his death, a confirmation that neither his father nor his mother really loves him or wants to care for him, exponentially compounding his emotional devastation and leaving him utterly certain that no one will help him. After he is murdered in cold blood by the very people she pushed him to work for, she uses the opportunity to extort money from Luk’s family for years, only coming around when she needs cash.

Phukao, Santi, and Sai

In the aftermath of Mai’s death, Phukao’s family as he knows it falls apart. He has lost his beloved brother under shocking circumstances, he has been torn apart from one of his best friends as his family bitterly feuds with hers, his father has descended even further into addiction and depression, his parents fight violently until they eventually split up and his father leaves the family home, and through it all he does not feel the unconditional support he expects from his friends and neighbors. Oh sure, they support him, but they also support Kongkwan and her family, a fact which eventually comes to enrage and embitter him.

Because that’s not how this is supposed to work. If you’ve watched other Asian dramas, you are probably very familiar with the “bad seed” and community ostracization tropes, aka the belief that any blood relative of a person who has committed a heinous crime should be shunned and shamed by the collective community. According to that cultural norm, Luk’s family should be abandoned and ostracized by the community following her murder confession, and while that does happen to some extent, their circle of close friends and neighbors remain sympathetic to them, in particular caring for and protecting Kongkwan, everyone’s favorite fragile sweetheart.

As Phukao grows and becomes more and more mired in despair and desperation and (justifiable) anger at the injustice of it all, the community begins to view him as difficult, backing away from him, dismissing his feelings, and demanding that he stop making them think about it. Some of his closest friends and loved ones essentially withdraw their explicit emotional support and care for him, and in some cases condemn him and respond to his emotional outbursts with violence. And remember, for the entirety of this story, Phukao is a child. Yet the adults around him seem afraid of his emotion and utterly incapable of extending to him the same level of empathy they easily give Kongkwan and even Luk, our supposed murderess. Feels kinda gendered, doesn’t it? I can’t help but think that Phukao is being punished largely for failing to maintain the stoic model of masculinity that is so often modeled in Asian cultures.

And what are Santi and Sai doing while their son is emotionally falling apart? They are wrapped up in their own nonsense and sparing very little attention to his actual needs even as they try to control him and loudly proclaim their love for him. Santi is wallowing in his depression and isolation and drinking himself half to death, with noose imagery hovering around him so that we can’t miss how low he is driving himself. Though interestingly, he never turns to violence against Phukao to vent his feelings in the manner he did with Mai. Phukao is clearly a manifestation of the son and family Santi always dreamed of; he loves him in a much more pure way than he ever managed with Mai. And so while he can’t get his shit together to be a good dad to him, he is also not an abusive and terrifying figure to Phukao, to the point where Phukao becomes fixated on getting him to come home. Because for Phukao, despite every monstrous aspect of Santi he’s borne witness to, the only thing that will give him any comfort and feeling of security is having what remains of his family together and intact, as they are supposed to be.

While Phukao desperately tries to get his dad to come home, Sai is caught up in navel gazing over her regrets, as we come to learn that she had a great love before Santi. But Pin was a woman and Sai did not feel free to pursue their relationship, and so when she got pregnant she agreed to marry Santi and raise Mai, as well. But as we saw, she didn’t keep that commitment. Sai came into the marriage regretful and wistful over her lost love and her inability to pursue a life more aligned with her authentic queer self, and that manifested in both indifference to Mai and her husband’s violence toward him, and an unhealthy attachment to and pressure on Phukao to be “worth it.” Worth giving up the life she wanted, worth living with this man she clearly didn’t love, and worth never being with Pin.

Mai eventually turned her own anger and self-loathing about her choices on Luk and Mai, trying to tear them apart when she learned of their relationship because if she didn’t get to keep her “taboo” love, why should they? When Phukao begins to figure some shit out, lets go of his anger, and starts developing feelings for Kongkwan, Sai freaks the fuck out and tries to repeat the pattern, which feels rooted in her need to keep Phukao under her control and devoted to her to give her life meaning. She finds his interest in Kongkwan threatening and attempts to stamp it out. Unlike Luk, though, Phukao is not having it.

Kongkwan, Luk, Veena, and Somkiat

Over to the family on the other side of the tear in the fabric of this community. Luk, our star-crossed lover and faux murderer, is the eldest daughter of a seemingly pleasant family with no big stressors or clear markers of their own generational trauma. Veena and Kiat appear to have a decent marriage, stable financial status, and good relationships with their daughters, Kongkwan is thriving while Luk has finished college and become a teacher, and before Luk confesses to killing Mai, all seems well. There is a large age gap between Luk and Kongkwan that the show never explains—I expected to learn something deeper about their family, but we never really got there. As far as we know, they were a solid and functional family unit.

The intergenerational trauma for this family is instead depicted in the aftermath of Mai’s murder and Luk’s false confession. As I mentioned above, Luk’s choice to cover for Mai destroyed her family’s lives. They lost jobs, financial security, several homes, and many relationships, not least of which is the deep bond they once had with the Sirapuchaya family. And when a devastated Santi refuses to forgive Luk and hurls vitriol at her parents (justifiably IMO, what on earth were Kiat and Veena thinking showing up to Mai’s funeral to demand forgiveness for their daughter who had explained nothing), Kiat and Veena become angry and bitter and decide to hate him, and his child, right back.

This is of course a toxic dynamic, and Kongkwan and Phukao are the ones who suffer most for it. On the heels of losing her older sister, Kongkwan is also forced to give up her friendship with Phukao and told to hate him. Her parents start with small things like not inviting him to her birthday party (leaving poor baby Phukao out in the cold and all alone while his family falls apart) and eventually escalate to getting violent with him (both striking him in anger) and explicitly telling Kongkwan that Phukao is a bad person that she must avoid (ironically, giving him the “bad seed” treatment that Kongkwan should be receiving under cultural norms). Over time, Veena and Somkiat develop a seething hatred for Phukao that is actually quite visceral and difficult to comprehend; they seem to find him a symbol for all the unfairness they have endured and the easiest target for their rage and cannot get ahold of themselves enough to temper their reactions to him.

Kongkwan, a gentle soul, is torn between being a filial and obedient child and going along with an attitude and treatment toward Phukao that she knows is wrong, and it is plainly tearing her apart. Throughout the story, she is emotionally overwhelmed, swinging between deep sadness and bursts of defiant anger, and she often looks like she is one more provocation away from shattering. And as the community tears itself apart around her, Kongkwan is also mired in anguish and confusion about her sister’s choices. As Kongkwan mentions at one point late in our story, no one, including her parents, has ever bothered to question whether Luk actually committed this murder, but she has never believed the lie. She knows her sister well enough, or perhaps is just too gentle a person, to imagine that Luk could have actually done that to Mai.

And it’s important not to lose in all of this that Kongkwan loved Mai, too. His death was a loss for her as well as for Phukao, and no one really tended to her grief in the aftermath, which clearly runs deep based on the way she clings to objects that remind her of him (the film strip necklace, the Brother Uncle doll). She is just as broken by all of this as Phukao, they just express it very differently.

And before our story ends, Kongkwan will endure yet another devastating loss, when Veena is killed by the drug runners for witnessing their crimes and collaboration with dirty cops. This is compounded by the fact that Veena and Kongkwan’s relationship is in tatters when Veena is killed. Veena has just struck her in anger after Kongkwan demanded an explanation for why her parents were ripping her away from her friends and fought back when they once again tried to force her to carry their hatred for Phukao (her first real stand against her parents after being a dutiful and filial daughter through all their years of bullshit). Kongkwan takes off for the night with her friends to say goodbye before she is forced to leave, and in that short delay her mother is killed—another trauma that Kongkwan will have to bear forever.

This family is an utter tragedy, to go from stable and loving to this, and all because of their own bad choices. Veena and Somkiat both utterly collapsed under the weight of Luk’s choices and their fallout, compounding them exponentially with their own inability to regulate themselves, and pushed all their trauma down onto Kongkwan, who must now do the hard work of living on amidst the destruction her family has wrought.

Plu, Pum, and Yo

Phew, let’s take a break and look at this smiling family, shall we? I can’t believe I have already written this many words with nary a mention of my beloved best boy Plu, but that should tell you how much is going on in this show! While Plu gets caught up in the traumatic events that are deeply affecting his best friends and has some of his own family problems to deal with, he is not suffering from intergenerational trauma to the same degree as Phukao and Kongkwan. Plu lost his parents at a very young age (we do not find out the specifics of how), but is raised with attention and care by his wonderful grandparents who clearly love him dearly. He spends his childhood with close neighbors and friends and shares a deep bond with and protective instincts for his slightly younger friends Phukao, Kongkwan, and Lookzo.

So how is all this community trauma affecting Plu? He is a classic people pleaser and caretaker who just wants everyone to be okay. He also wants to support all parties in this situation without taking sides or hurting anyone’s feelings, which is of course impossible, but I do love him for trying. He took it upon himself to care for Phukao and be the big brother he needed in the aftermath of Mai’s death, but he always maintained his friendship with Kongkwan, as well, a fact that Phukao finds hard to accept. Plu is torn between his love for Phukao and Kongkwan, which becomes extra complicated when they get older and he develops (ill-advised and doomed) romantic feelings for Kongkwan that cloud his judgment and create a rift with Phukao. He is yet another person who hits Phukao without real justification, but unlike the adults he at least has the grace to feel ashamed (can you tell I am in my feelings about this??).

As all of this is unfolding, he is also dealing with his own family struggles, as Pom develops Alzheimer’s disease and her medical needs take a financial toll on the family, leading Plu to become involved with the same drug running crew that killed Mai, because apparently a legal job wouldn’t cut it to pay for Grandma’s prescriptions. (I should also mention here that via Plu’s involvement with the drug running crews we get a glimpse into some intergenerational trauma being passed down in those families, as the heads of each organization force a very hard life onto their children, but we’re not going to get into that because I have to stop somewhere or I’ll be writing this post from my grave).

In any event, Yo can clearly see that his grandson is lying and doing something dangerous to bring home money, but he doesn’t stop him, presumably because they desperately need it. And Pom’s deteriorating memory and mental health take a real toll on both Plu and Yo, who just have sorrow wafting off them in waves in every scene where she doesn’t recognize them. This is a family in struggle together, not causing struggle for each other, unlike Phukao and Kongkwan’s situations.

Lookzo and Oh

This section is going to be short because Zo and Oh have never done anything wrong in their lives and I know this. They are a perfect little father/daughter duo with an easy relationship, despite some sadness they must have endured around whatever happened to Zo’s mother (the show never gives us this information). Oh is a single father doing his best and he supports Zo through all her milestones and moods, creating a safe home where she can be herself and express her feelings to him without fear. He is also a sweetheart to her friends and welcoming to both Kongkwan and Phukao while maintaining his own friendships and acting as a mediator between their parents.

Zo’s main worries throughout the drama are twofold: she has a crush on an utterly clueless Plu (despite his silly little hats), and she is similarly torn between her love for Kongkwan and Phukao and resentful of all the adults around them trying to destroy their bonds with each other. She is honest and forthright and though she sometimes runs off at the mouth in ill-advised ways, she always owns it and if she was wrong she will immediately admit it and apologize. In one of my favorite scenes of the entire drama, she lights into Kiat and Santi for tearing the community apart and destroying her friends, and then collapses on Oh to sob about how exhausted she is by all this bullshit and how she just wants to live her life with her friends in peace. She is all of us, easily the most relatable character in this show, and I love her.

The Core Four

So after that exhaustive summation of all the trauma they are enduring throughout our story, I turn to the final question on all of our minds: are these babies going to be okay? I think the answer is a bit of a mixed bag with a tilt toward hope.

Throughout the drama, I kept wanting these kids to just get in the car, drive far away from their parents, and never come back. But this is an Asian drama and filial piety reigns supreme, so of course they were never going to abandon their parents. And if they can’t be free, at least Phukao and Kongkwan found some measure of peace in the end. Kongkwan still has her father and a newly released Luk to cling to in the aftermath of Veena’s murder and they seem committed to being better to each other and finally letting go of all the bitterness now that Luk has come clean about what really happened (I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Kiat explicitly says he is grateful for Veena’s death because it gives him the opportunity to be a better dad, a fridging for the ages!). Phukao has made his peace with his parents’ split and given Sai his blessing to pursue her best lesbian life, and Santi has done a (wildly unrealistic IMO) heel turn upon learning Luk did not kill Mai, let go of all of his anger, and pledged to do better as Phukao’s father. These families will never be free of the decade of trauma they all endured and the scars it left on them, but they can at least finally move forward from it.

And of course, our core four kiddos stuck together and refused to let the adults succeed in destroying their relationships, though it was certainly a near thing. Even if things get better from here on out, they must live with the pain of all that they endured, and Phukao and Kongkwan in particular have suffered losses they will likely never fully recover from. It isn’t lost on me either that these traumatic events all occurred in the most formative years of their lives, when your experiences shape who you will become. They will carry these traumas through their lives and likely pass them down to the next generation, even if they manage to mitigate the damage better than their own parents did. If nothing else, we can say that at least if their bonds with each other are tattered, torn, and bruised, they are still intact. In the end, despite incredible pressure, ample doubt, and deep turmoil, they chose each other, and they will continue to care for each other through whatever life throws at them next.

#10 years ticket #thai drama #intergenerational trauma challenge #shan posts 5k words on family trauma #doing the most as per usual #also i originally had a lot more images in this but tumblr won’t let me be great so this is what we get #long post #shan shouts into the void

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greenxprof · 8 months

Text

Public vs. Private Knowledge

> Public (anyone can know)

Green Oak, 30 years old.

Grandson of Professor Samuel Oak (Yukinari Ohkido).

Rival to his friends Red and Leaf/Blue.

Kanto's Champion at Age 13, beaten by his childhood friend Red after 15 minutes.

Viridian's City Gym Leader for 3 years. Resigned when he was 16.

Participated in Unova's Pokémon World Tournament in the Champions Bracket when he was 19.

Studied in Kalos' University of Lumiose City for 4 years.

Worked as Prof. Rowan assistant in Sinnoh for 2 years.

Worked as Battle Legend in Alola's Battle Tree for around three months.

Got his PhD in Ecology and Evolution and has written several papers on pokémon evolution.

Appears in a very popular pop song from the 2010's Music Video as the singer's love interest.

Featured in several fashion magazines while he lived in Kalos.

Racer for the Sinnoh Lunar Festival of 2024. Won first place at the water track.

Inherited the administration of his Grandfather's Laboratory in Pallet Town at age 29.

> Semi-Public (friends and close acquaintances can know)

Transgender Man. Top Surgery.

Has an older sister named Daisy.

Born on 22th November. Sagittarius.

Vegetarian since he was 20 years old.

At Age 16, he left Kanto to work as minor assistant to Prof. Sycamore. He finished high-school there and would live with the Professor as a favor.

Studied Biology & Biochemistry at the University of Lumiose City. (Age 18 to 22)

Got his master's degree in Evolutionary Biology at Jubilife City's University. (Age 22 to 24)

Finally, acquired his PhD in Ecology and Evolution in Saffron's University. (Age 25 to 29)

He can play the drums and is an awesome dancer. He's always willing to attend a party or a rave, feeling good amongst big crowds.

He often rides his pokémon to move around, usually flying on his Pidgeot or riding his Arcanine. He's been to some regional races and is very interested on Pokémon Riding.

However, he does own a convertible car, being a huge fan of cars in general. He usually uses it to drive friends around or show off.

He's omnisexual with a slight lean towards masc-aligned.

He completed the pokédexes of Kanto, Sinnoh and Kalos, with some help of friends to register Legendary Pokémon.

Green has never been able to find a Legendary Pokémon in the wild.

Green can speak several Languages: Japanese, English and Kalosian. He is also fluent in JSL and ASL.

He knows morse code.

> Private (close friends and family can know)

Came out as a transboy at age 10. Chose his name by then, after his favorite color.

His relationship with his grandfather is strained and pretty awkward.

His father left his mother after he was born; She is bedridden since then, weakened by a autoimmune disease that affects her lungs.

His Father is Lysandre's Younger Brother. Therefore, Lysandre is his uncle.

He tried battling Giovanni in Silph Co. but was easily defeated.

His raticate partner died in the middle of his journey through Kanto. She's buried in Lavender Town.

Since 2022's halloween, Green's soul is connected to Spectrier. He has a scar on his ribs that often hurts because of that.

Extremely well-groomed, Green's very serious about his appearance. He has an everyday skin-care routine and has the most expensive hair products.

Green's freckles go down his shoulders and cover his whole back, and a tiny bit of the upper section of his thighs.

He's pretty good at mending machines and general coding.

Is planning some Battle Gear focused on riding battles, like heat resistant, electric and water proof gloves and special parachutes. It's on a very early stage, however.

Has only had girlfriends in his life, all of them while he lived in Kalos. It seems that all of these relationship ended in bad terms. The last one of these ended up deteriorating Green's image which lead to him becoming more focused on his studies and less on his social life.

He will never admit it but he was an obvious crush on both his childhood friends.

#leo green #headcanons #green lore #;;Will probably update this as time passes :)

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thekingofwinterblog · 10 months

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Thoughts on those "the downfall of One Piece" videos by that Drizzt guy? He seems to really like Brandon Sanderson, and with you quiting the same author, I thought it may be interesting to contrast views that seem to be so different in regards to the quality of post time skip One Piece

I watched drizzt's take once yeah... Im not doing it again, so i'll try to give my thoughts on his from parts i distinctly remember.

Well to start off with, my opinion on One Piece isn't entierly positive. I too regard it as a series well past it's prime and highpoint... I just dont regard what came after that highpoint as bad(with exception of one arc). It's a series that is good, but is dragged down by the fact that no matter hoe much it tries, it can never recapture the glorious highpoint that was water 7/enies lobby.

By contrast Drizzt regards One Piece post timeskip more in the vein of Naruto. A series with a very clear, and obvious point where it fell off a cliff, broke it's back, and had to crawl across rocky, muddy, marshy terrain towards the finishline.

So lets start with the shit i kinda agree with him. The Strawhat's dreams are for the most part the most underutilized part of one piece by a wide margin.

Ironicqlly, the two dreams i completely disagree woth being used badly are the ones he bitched the most about, namely Luffy and Zoro. Luffy and Zoro's dreams are different than the rest, in that they don't actually have to achieve anything in between. Beat mihawk, and find One Piece. That's it.

The fact that they just travel on their journey, getting stronger along the way is not really a problem.

He compares luffy negatively to luffy, but the reality is that both of them came into the political climate under very different circumstances.

Roger had to actually do it, he was the trailblazer, the one who proved that it could be done... Evsryone else that followed him, luffy included, all had to repeat his feats to reacht he top. It was from the scramble for that goal that the Yonko system came to be, with 4 pirate superpowers who simply did it better than all the rest... but none of them had the power to sweep the rest away.

And its into this system that luffy came in, and in the end toppled, setting the stage for the endgame.

Otger than luffy and zoro though, none of the crews dreams are used in a particularily good way.

Nami wants to map all the world... We never really see any focus on her map making, and later learn there are over 10 million islands on this planet... Good luck with that.

Sanji wants to find the All Blue... I genuinely dont think it's even been mentioned in any real capacity since all blue.

Usopp wants to be a brave warrior of the sea and meet his dad again... Wrll while the latter seems likely to happen very soon, if usopp hasnt done it by now, he will probably remain a man ruled by fear for the rest of his life.

Chopper wants to create cures to any disease in the world... Sorta used in an interesting way by contrasting him with caesar and Queen... But notice he didnt actually go on to fight and defeat either of them.

Robins dream is at least in the same way as Luffy's and zoro's in that there is a logical endpoint, but unlike theirs we really could have gotten way more insights into the past before through poneglyphs discovered in the story, rather than all the lore being dropped all at once. Oda really was way too focused on the ancienct weapons to realise that the poneglyphs could have been used to give us haunting snippets of character momenys, and pictures of lore from a dying age, that brought about the world government, that would all have fit together at the end.

To illustrate this point, we dont actually know the tone or the content of Joy's apology to the Mermaid princess.

Was it a harrowing apology for his own weakness? A nochelant eh, sorry things didnt work out? A We sure gave it our all huh... And yet it didnt change anything.

The fact is, we dont know. And that illustrates what a missed opportunity the poneglyphs actually were. There was so much room to use them beyond info on the ancienct weapons.

Franky's dream is also a missed opportunity, because we are never really given focus or attention on him fixing the ship or upgrading it.

Brooks is bizarre, because he could have achieved his dream at any point during the timeskip, and just... didnt.

And finally i dont remember what Jinbe's dream actually is... Which is a bad sign in its own way.

As for his other conplaints... I don't actually recall them much. It's been a while.

My own thoughts on one Piece post timeskip is that the problems boil down to a number of key issues.

1. Way too many new characters in each arc.

2. The age old One piece problem of Oda almost never killing characters no matter what means almost nobody gets to exit this story on a highnote, and when Characters do die, it usually feels more like an afterthought, rather than a defining moment(Pretty much everyone of luffy's allies who died in wano feels like this). Combine with point 1, and you get stupidly large casts that almost never get trimmed down, meaning every single arc is full of characters who almost always devolve into greek choruses in some form by the end.

3. One piece has completely changed it's fight structures, so fights where we get to see the action from beginning to end are much rarer, rather than the norm. There is a reason most of the strawhats post timeskip only has 1 or 2 good fights each under their belt(if that), when before every single one of them(except brook) had plenty of vool fights and moments. The new structure where we usually only get to see snippets of fights rather than the entire thing mrans oda can put in way more stuff alongside them, but it also means the fights themselves are usually lackluster.

4. several characters have become worse in one or several ways, and the narrative doesnt really avknowledge this. The biggest, by far, is Sanji, who not only is a worse character in every regard, but every single genuine development he got is undermined and undone. He gets a girl who genuinely loves him in the form of pudding. He hits a woman because of the german upgrqdes and decides to abandon them completely, only for his powers to sorta still be there maybe, but in the end he didnt actually hit the girl, it was an invisible queen. I cpuld go on, but oda had some many chances to shake up Sanji's character after the timeakip, and he backtracked on all of them.

5. Haki got fucking insane in wano. Oda made a gigantic mistake early in wano's arc, where Kaido took out Luffy in one blow. It was a cool moment, but it also meant that haki's ability to let fighters stay on their feet and recover from total beatdowns in record time had to baloon to insane degrees. And lo and behold, that is exactly what happened. Which sucks even more, because the qctual explanation about how luffy had to improve to reqch thw kind of offensive that roger, whitebeard, big mom kaido and shanks have and had was actually pretty cool and set up way before this. But unfortunately that's also introduced in the arc where luffy gets up again and again after kaido beat him unconcious, with no other explanation than Haki baby! It sucks any tension out of any fight when you know haki can allow people to just get back on their feet no matter how gravely theyre wounded.

6. Gear five having no actual foreshadowing/being a zoan.

Oda wrote himself into a corner with the biggest reveal one piece ever had... And there was only 2 ways to handle it to make it truly work.

Either go all in on foreshadowing this shit, and have characters point out that luffy losing his rubber body against sea stone when he doesnt when underwater is kinda wierd(which makes sense for a zoan, but not a always transformed parmecia), and judt highlight that there is a mystery here... So that when the reveal comes it all falls into place.

Or, and this is the solution i would have gone with, have luffy awaken and have all the powers of Nika luffy, just withouth a transformation. Id have accepted the cartoon logic becoming part of the world around him as the awakened powers of a rubber devil fruit no problem... It was adding in, oh he's actually a myyhical zoan devil fruit intrical to the world's history where oda lost me.

There are other flaws too, but these are the main repeating ones, you'll find all over the story after impel down.

Overall though, O would say One piece is a good story that suceeds in spite of its flaws... But those flaws very much means that it isnt a perfect story, and after the timeskip, it has never come close to reaching the high watermark again, and thats very the big problem. When you have reached the top, there is nowhere to go but down.

Arguably one piece biggest achievement post timeskip is arguably the fact that in spite of this, it has only had one bad arc, with the rest being good, to great if never outstanding.

The only bad arc of course being dressrosa. I could make an entire retrospective about all the ways that one dropped the ball.

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chiropteracupola · 10 months

Text

tagged in '20 questions for fic writers' by the esteemed @verecunda — thank you very much!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

62.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

102,035.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

at the moment, I think Sharpe, Flight of the Heron, and Kidnapped are getting most of my attention? altho' there are of course quite a few others.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

you'd be my best friend, you'd be my lady (Hornblower)

sleep in it slowly (if you can) (Hornblower)

illuminating all, in time (Hornblower TV)

here in your arms is cured (Kidnapped)

as in a mirror dimly (The Mummy 1999)

...huh. that is not what I thought the top five were going to be. but then again, I think a lot of the work that I myself like better is both newer and more niche, so I guess that does make sense.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I typically respond to comments on fics I posted after April 2022, which is when I started replying to comments. not sure why that's my routine but either way it's what it is.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

hm, a lot of breaking left to do, perhaps, being as it's just solidly Horatio Hornblower Is Sorrowful right from one end to the other. I'd lean toward this one rather than any of what I've written on the theme of being lost in undeath, even though there are quite a few more of those (and better written ones to boot!), since I tend to end those with something calm and a little restful even in decay.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think that's probably got to go to Shaking Off Our Shadows, which is basically two thousand words to the effect of 'what if these two fellows from a very grim book full of disease and death and ruin and general misery had a really nice beach epilogue wherein Everything Was Fine.'

8. Do you get hate on fics?

eh, I've gotten a few weird comments on one, mostly people voicing their hatred for one of the characters it's about. I personally think it's all very silly to come to the doorstep of a fellow who likes to write about romantic dissection and say that a kiss exchanged with mutual interest but without previous discussion is 'fucked'. methinks the problem lies not with me.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

...on occasion. not a great deal of it has actually made it into finished fic at present, mostly because I'm not very confident with specificity in those matters, and so it's more likely to be heavily metaphoricized (see above about the romantic dissection...)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

most of them are things that I'll draw about or merely ponder rather than writing, but a particularly silly one that I've actually gotten some words in on is Hornblower and Animorphs — look, if the Animorphs team is canonically at Trafalgar, I don't think I have a choice but to crack open a space to play with in the Age of Sail!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

as far as I know, no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

a few of my RLS-based ones have been translated into Russian!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

sort of! when it comes to actually both writing in the same document, no, but the larger expanse of Flintlock Fortress is done in close collaboration with @dxppercxdxver, and we're discussing a great deal even if we're actually writing on separate parts of the story.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I think when it comes to sheer years-long staying power, that badge has to go to Livesey/Trelawney.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I really would like to finish some of my earlier Treasure Island and Hornblower attempts, like the selkie au and the tattoo-sorcery story. I was definitely biting off more than I could chew plot-wise at the time and I'm more confident writing at length now, but I really don't have a ton of enthusiasm for the almost complete rewrites those stories would need to feel right to me, and so probably not.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I really do pride myself on my ability to Describe poetically and to spin an interesting sentence. enough of my fics are extended versions of things that I couldn't make work as a single drawing that that's become quite an important thing for me.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

plots, and overall forming a story to have a solid structure and not just be a vaguely interesting selection of scenes... and I'm definitely not very good at imitating authorial voice, even when I'm trying very hard to do so.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

like most everything, it's good when done with intention — I really wish I'd gotten quite good enough at Latin to do what I'd been intending and write some Hornblower fic entirely in Latin.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I'd guess Stand Still Stay Silent, altho' I never ended up finishing any of the stories I began, and that was long before I had such a thing as an ao3 account (or even my current file-keeping system,) so where that all ended up I've got no clue at all.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

well, I think it's got to be the wormsfic... I'm just beyond proud of it even in its currently unfinished state and I think it's excellent proof of the fact that I've actually grown as a writer over the last few years.

and I shall tag... @dxppercxdxver, @cedarboots, @baronetcoins, @kigiom, @bishakespeares, and @lacomandante, if you're interested?

#one of those tag things #these were fun to ponder!

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stupid-lemon-eater · 2 years

Text

i read fantine's descent for the first time last night - i had fallen behind on les mis by 10 days so i read it all in one go when i was meant to be going to sleep, and at several points i just had to Stop and stare across my dark bedroom at the mirror and the faint outline of my face lit up by my ipad and just Breathe for a second.

the thing i found most interesting while reading it was just how horrifying it was. as mentioned in the post i just reblogged, fantine had to choose every single time to carve herself away, to give up more and more of herself until she was unrecognisable, and she did it all out of hope and love for her daughter who she doesn't even know was being mistreated, that all her sacrifice was doing was lining thernardier's pockets while cosette still suffered.

and that would be interesting enough as is, but the thing that struck me the most while reading is how all of the actual horror of fantine's fate is stripped from her in adaptations (or at least in the musical/movie) in favour of the lurid idea of her having to go into sex work. the book itself treats fantine going into sex work as another tragic loss on effectively the same level as cutting off her hair, learning how to live in winter with no heat nor light, losing her modest lodgings for an uncomfortable attic with no bedding, her persistent illness or removing her front teeth — it's, "Let us sell what is left!" — what's one more loss on top of everything else, right?

(one could even make an argument that the tooth removal was treated as the most horrifying part of fantine's descent - it certainly was for me, as someone who had two wisdom teeth removed recently! the imagery of her bloody smile with the hole where her front teeth should be lit up by candlelight is definitely one that's going to haunt me.)

but in adaptations, we don't see that slow chipping away of personhood, of identity, of belongings and comfort. it's kicked out of the workhouse - hair cut off - prostitute - dead. bamatabois is changed from an arrogant, wealthy asshole with nothing better to do with his time than torment those less fortunate than him for the crime of merely existing to a potential customer who gets angry when fantine turns him down. by adding that dynamic to their interaction it softens bamatabois' cruelty, makes it less about an act of completely unprovoked dehumanisation and, well, cruelty against someone vulnerable that was answered by that person snapping and lashing out.

bamatabois in the book did not just target fantine because she was a sex worker, but also because her hair was cut, because she had no front teeth, because of how she dressed, how she behaved - in short, she was an acceptable target.

it feels as though the people adapting the novel don't understand that the tragedy and horror of fantine's fate was not the fact that she had to sell sex for money, but the fact that she had to give up everything of herself to the point where she was an unrecognisable wretch drinking brandy to keep the misery at bay with the only thing keeping her alive being her love for cosette. even the tooth removal, when it is adapted, is changed to her back teeth, making fantine's loss less visible and more palatable, and is oft ignored in favour of focusing on fantine's work as a sex worker in a way the book never does, not realising that the sex work was a symptom, not the disease.

#les mis #meta #les mis letters #trying to word the bits about bamatabois without making it sound like i think fantine in any way deserved it was so hard #my brain ain't 100% online so i really hope i worded it properly #anyone should be able to say no to sex regardless of who they are or what their job is #but the dynamic as an observer changes when there is no interaction beforehand to an active conversation before the precipitating event #and that dynamic change is one that reduces the cruelty of bamatabois' actions #anyway petition for filmmakers/musical makers to learn how to write about someone being driven to sex work #WITHOUT the sex work being the focus of the tragedy of their circumstances #lovely ladies is a banger but it misses the point of fantine imo #and i get part of it is shortcuts need to be made in favour of fitting things into the time given #but ehhh #could be done better in future #andie reads books

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rusakkowrites · 6 months

Text

I was tagged by @wurzelbertzwerg – thank you for the chance to ramble about my fics! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

47.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

168,990.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, mainly the Jane Austen fandom (particularly Pride and Prejudice and Emma).

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

In (not so silent) indignation (Pride and Prejudice): Mr Collins times his visit to Longbourn a few weeks earlier, altering the events of the Meryton assembly.

A Timely Intervention (Pride and Prejudice): When an attempt to evade Mr Collins’s proposal puts Elizabeth in an uncomfortable predicament, Mr Darcy’s appearance on the scene obliges her to re-evaluate his character.

Misconduct and Misdirection (Pride and Prejudice): Mr Gardiner’s business obligations are resolved more favourably than in canon, and Elizabeth’s trip to the Lakes goes ahead as planned. When the news of Lydia’s elopement arrives, a longer journey back allows time for recollections and realisations. Meanwhile, the rumours about a Miss Bennet’s elopement have spread as far as Derbyshire...

Blossoming Affection (Pride and Prejudice): It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young man afflicted by the lovers’ disease must be in want of a handkerchief. (A light-hearted Hanahaki AU.)

A Very Good Scheme (Emma): When leaving the Christmas party at Randalls, Emma recruits Mr Knightley’s help to avoid a tête-a-tête with Mr Elton. As a consequence, the events of the following weeks unfold rather differently than in canon.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I love getting comments and always reply. The only exception is when someone reads through one of my finished multi-chapters and comments on every chapter. In that case, I just reply to one or a few so I don’t spam the commenter’s inbox with a dozen “Thank you!” messages.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably A murderer’s hands, which is just an angst fest overall.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my fics have at least moderately happy endings, but I think A Timely Intervention takes the prize. It has a happy ending for the protagonists, the antagonists suffer nothing worse than a slight romantic disappointment, and significant angsty canon events are avoided.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven’t received any so far, and I hope it stays that way. I’ve kind of braced myself for negative comments with certain Jane Austen fics featuring non-canon ships, but fortunately the haters have left them alone.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not very often, but when I do, it’s not very explicit and usually either bittersweet or very humorous.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Occasionally. Sadly, I haven’t written any particularly crazy ones, but I do think that my two-part Sense and Self-Interest series is pretty fun!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know. I think the Amazon fic thieves in the Austen fandom generally target novel-length fics. My stories tend to be on the shorter side, so maybe that has helped keep them safe.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! The Family Business, Rowan flower and Much Cause for Contentment have all been translated into Russian. The translator of The Family Business even added some helpful translator’s notes explaining various Finnish and Nordic cultural references, so they really went the extra mile!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

A friend and I once played around with ideas for a coffee-shop AU of the film Halloween 6, but it never progressed beyond a few unposted snippets.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

Such a tough question! The first ship that I really became obsessed with was Lalli Hotakainen/Emil Västerström, and I’ve also read lots and lots of Yuuri Katsuki/Viktor Nikiforov and Eric Bittle/Jack Zimmerman fic. Lately, my two big obsessions have been Emma Woodhouse/George Knightley and Aral Vorkosigan/Cordelia Naismith. However, if I have to pick just one, I think I’d have to say Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy because I’ve been into it for such a long time and it’s inspired so many of my fics.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My “Kitty thinks Darcy is evil” AU, a very silly post-canon Pride and Prejudice fic. Other plot bunnies always seem to take precedence over it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m pretty good at characterization, humour and Austen pastiche.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Actually getting anything written. I’m a procrastinator and a bit of a perfectionist, which is a terrible combination. My writing progress tends to be very slow.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It can work well (and be a fun Easter egg for multilingual readers) if done in a way that makes sense. Otherwise it’s just annoying and confusing for the reader. In my opinion, it can be a good way to signal that other characters are speaking a language that the point-of-view character doesn’t understand, but just a few words are usually enough. After that, it’s better to just specify in the narration that “the angry little girl in red and the white, furry hippopotamus continued to squabble in their peculiar language while Mr Darcy looked on in puzzlement” (or whatever is appropriate to the story and the situation). I included the occasional word in Finnish, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian or Icelandic in my old Stand Still, Stay Silent fics, but never anything that the reader really needed to understand.

Also, a plea to anyone who’s reading this: please, please don’t machine translate dialogue into a language that you don’t know and slap it in your fic. You have no way of knowing if the output is correct and/or sounds natural. I’ve seen this done with Finnish and Swedish, and it was such a pet peeve of mine because the “translations” were usually terrible.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stand Still, Stay Silent.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This is also a tough question because I’m unashamedly proud of all of them. But if I had to pick just one, maybe A Very Good Scheme. I feel that the premise is really fun and that I managed to tell the story in an entertaining way. I’m just really happy with the way it turned out.

I will tag @storytilly (if you are so inclined) and anyone else who sees this and wants to play.

#tagging games #fanfiction #my writing

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