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yeet-me-dad-dy · 6 months ago

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The Arcane - Chapter Four - Anomaly

Summary: You find an anomaly in Viktor's blood. He takes you down to see his old doctor. You meet Vander.

Characters: Viktor x Male Reader (Dr Raven) x Jayce (Eventually)

Warnings: Blood

Words: 2,408

After Viktor departed from your lab, you set the centrifuge, prepared a slide, poured yourself a drink, and sat down to examine his blood more closely. It was clear right away that something was wrong.

“What the…?” you mumbled as you gazed through the microscope.

His red blood cell count was fine and the cells were dispersed nicely – not too close together, not too far apart, not clumped up in groups. But there was an… anomaly. Around the white spot of hemoglobin at the center of each cell was a blue ring.

That’s why his blood seems purple. The red and blue are mixing. You made a quick, preliminary note of the observation. Without more testing, there was no way to know whether this anomaly was strictly discoloration, or if it was something more serious. Was it preventing the cells from transporting oxygen throughout his body? You would have to separate a cell and look more closely at the… mutation? Toxin? You weren’t sure. Normally, this kind of mystery would delight you. You were excited at the prospect of making new discoveries, of course, but you were also worried. Would the research you were conducting on your own blood be able to fix a problem you’d never seen before and hadn’t accounted for during testing? The best way to find out what would happen if you mixed your blood with Viktors was to do just that.

You prepared a secondary slide, focused the microscope, then pricked your finger. Carefully, you picked up a tiny bit of your blood on the end of a scalpel and dropped it into Viktor’s on the slide. You peered through the lens, holding your breath. With other samples of diseased blood, the common trend was that your blood would mix with the foreign sample and dissolve whatever anomaly it found present, whether that be an infection or something else, rendering it harmless. From there, the theory was that this bi-product would be filtered out of the blood when it traveled through the liver, and then be disposed of in the urine.

That was only a theory, however, because none of your subjects ever survived long enough to prove it. For some, death took seconds. For others, minutes, hours, or even days. For all of them, though, it was excruciating.

And this was why: After a few seconds of contact with your blood, Viktor’s cells began to burst. You expected no less. The main focus of your research was figuring out how to make your blood less volatile. You couldn’t figure out why it had the effect it did, and while some of your research had proven promising in delaying the inevitable, you had been unable to stop it entirely.

This small test was a good sign, despite the outcome. This proved that your blood could remove the anomaly from Viktor’s cells if it turned out to be harmful. You just had to find a way to get it to work without killing him, which is what you’d been trying to do for the last hundred years with no success. You sighed and leaned back in your chair, pinching the bridge of your nose. There were other tests to run, other observations to be made. It could be that the blue ring was nothing more than a strange pigmentation phenomenon and wasn’t hurting him at all. It could be that his previous doctors had been so focused on this strange blue ring that they had completely missed a more obvious answer. The human body, so intricate and complex… Everything was connected. If one thing went wrong, everything was affected.

You stopped by Heimerdinger’s office later that evening, around five, with dinner for Viktor.

“The apple wasn’t enough?” he asked slyly when you set the bag of take-out on the desk next to him.

“I’m afraid it’s going to take more than an apple to keep this doctor away. Sorry,” you smirked.

“What if I throw it hard enough?”

You chuckled and pulled up an extra chair to sit next to him. He put down the notes he was organizing for Heimerdinger and opened the bag to see what you had brought him. A fresh, hot, healthy meal awaited him, and while he didn’t usually have much of an appetite, the smell of it was making his mouth water.

“Any breakthroughs?” he asked as he fished the fork out of the bag.

“Breakthroughs? No. Curious observations? Many.”

“Do tell.”

“There’s still more testing to be done, but what I can tell you is that your blood is healthy, except for one thing.”

“Oh?”

You nabbed the orange out of the bag and peeled it for him.

“There’s an… anomaly," you explained. A blue ring around the hemoglobin in each red cell that shouldn’t be there.”

“Anomaly indeed,” Viktor agreed, his brows furrowed. “So what does this mean?”

“Like I said, there’s more testing to be done to find out what that ring actually is and what effect its having on your body. It could just be pigmentation.”

“But then, what’s causing it?”

You shrugged.

“That’s the million dollar question. A question I’m afraid I’ll have to take a lot more samples in order to answer. Samples of more than just your blood.”

He tilted his head to the side, not quite understanding.

“Plasma and bone, primarily.”

Oh. Those were not pleasant samples to give.

“But those can wait for now” you assured him with a soft smile when you saw the sick look on his face.

After dinner, you took Viktor to your lab to show him the slides and explained what he was seeing, chatting at length about the possible causes and effects of the mysterious blue ring. Then, when the sun finally dipped below the horizon, it was time for Viktor to show you to the Undercity, where you hoped his medical records could be found.

The Undercity was damp and smelly, with a comforting darkness pierced by blinding neon lights. The gaze of every Trencher was on you and Viktor as you wound through the narrow, muddy streets, some glittering with greed as they took in your expensive clothes, and others darkened by fear when your red-hot gaze found theirs. You were on edge and Viktor could tell.

“Relax, will you?” he said as he limped along.

“Not sure I can do that,” you chuckled dryly.

The streets became thinner, the buildings more dense and compact the farther down you traveled. The deeper he led you, the thicker and more oppressive the air became, as well. It didn’t take long for Viktor to start coughing.

“Stop, Viktor,” you said, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. “I can find my way from here. I want you to go back where the air is nicer.”

He looked like he wanted to argue, but another coughing fit overtook him. When he finally got control of it, he nodded.

“I’ll met you on the bridge.”

“No,” you shook your head. “I want you to stay close. Meet me at the edge The Lanes.”

Worried I’m going to get mugged, are you?” he smirked.

“Of course I am.”

His smirk fell, and he frowned.

“The people of The Undercity aren’t animals, doctor.”

“No, but some of them are desperate, and you would make an easy mark.”

“That applies to people in Piltover, too, you know.”

“I know. Which is why I would be asking you to stick close if we were up there, too.”

He sighed. He wanted to be offended, to argue that he could take care of himself, but instead, he found your protectiveness… endearing.

“At the edge of The Lanes, then,” he agreed.

It wasn’t a long walk back, and anyone who so much as looked at Viktor shied away when they saw you watching. He would be fine. As he limped away, you turned and continuing deeper into The Fissures. The air down here wasn’t necessarily toxic anymore, thanks to the filtration system that House Kirraman had installed years ago. But it was still heavy, and, gods, the smell. Like sulfur and sewage. The people down here regarded you with mistrust. Topsiders didn't come down here unless they were there for shady dealings. You didn't belong... Or did you? You were scary enough to fit in, that was for sure, but your clothes betrayed your status. You yourself were an anomaly in the veins of The Undercity.

You approached one of the first people you encountered, but she scurried away, hissing obscenities, before you could ask your question. It took you quite some time to find anyone willing to point you toward Viktor’s former doctor. When you did finally find him, you were not impressed in the least. Actually, you were appalled. The “hospital” was nothing more than a run-down shack. It may have been a proper hospital at one point, but now it was nothing more than dirt and grime on some old boards.

A bell chimed overhead when you opened the door and stepped inside. Somehow, the air in here was even stuffier than out there. You curled your lip, disgusted at the state of the place. It didn’t look like it had been cleaned in years. Bottles with various colored liquids filled shelves alongside ancient medical tools. You were thankful the glass on the bottles was so filthy. Some of the things floating in them were… questionable. You weren’t sure you wanted to know exactly what they contained.

An older man with a potbelly appeared from a door in the back. He wore a leather apron, stained with old, dried blood, and the frizzy white hair atop his head stuck out at odd angles. He was hunched and limped when he walked, and one of his eyes seemed to be glued permanently shut with some kind of greenish pus. He looked more like a mad scientist than a doctor.

“How can I help?” he asked with a voice like gravel, resting his fat, filthy hands on the reception desk.

“My name is Doctor Raven. I’m here regarding a former patient of yours, Viktor. I need his medical records.”

He didn’t react for a moment, and you wondered if he’d heard you at all. Finally, he nodded slowly.

“Viktor, yes… I remember now.”

“Do you have his records?” you asked.

He grumbled and looked around.

“I think… Yes…”

He shuffled back into the back room and was gone for ages before finally reappearing with a file. He handed it to you, and you were thankful you’d worn your gloves as you took it from him. You opened it. Three pages.

“This is it?” you asked, glancing up at him.

He shrugged.

“There wasn’t much to record. Bad bones, bad blood.”

You scoffed and shook your head.

“Thanks,” you mumbled as you turned to leave.

He cleared his throat loudly, catching your attention, and you heard him shuffle up behind you. He glared at you, his hand out, palm up.

Of course.

You fished a few coins out of your pocket and handed them to him, careful not to make contact.

You were frustrated and in poor spirits when you met back up with Viktor. He stood when you approached, eyes bright and curious.

“Did you find him?”

You held up the file.

“Not sure it was worth our time, but yes.”

He took the file and thumbed through it.

“This is it?” he asked.

“I asked the same thing.”

“I visited him hundreds of times while I lived down here, and this is all he has…” He shook his head. “Unbelievable.”

“I’ll make do,” you assured him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

You stuck close to his side as you picked your way back through the broken streets to the bridge, giving more than a few warning growls to those with greedy eyes and sticky fingers. You stopped halfway across.

“Go ahead,” you said. “I think I’m going to linger for a bit. I want to have a look around. This place disgusts me, I won’t lie, but… It’s also exactly the kind of place I want to help. The kind of people I want to help.”

Viktor smiled.

“Take your time, Doctor.”

You did take your time, talking with those that would give you the time of day, asking about their health and their woes. You knew that the Upper City didn’t care much for those below, but you didn’t realize the full extent of their neglect. You were glad that Viktor got out of there. Eventually, you found your way to a bar called The Last Drop. The barkeeper greeted you heartily and asked what you’d like to drink. You declined the drink politely and instead continued your investigation.

“Yeah, things can get pretty bad down here,” he said quietly. “We don’t have much in the way of medical attention, but the doctors we do have do what they can to help. On top of that, the food down here isn’t great. We have plenty of seafood, but fresh fruit and vegetables are few and far between.”

You nodded, listening intently. He leaned forward on the bar.

“What’s a fancy doctor like you doing down here anyway?” he asked, more quietly.

“I came with a patient, to get medical records from his former doctor. I’ve only been in Piltover for two days, and I have to admit, I’m not delighted to see how they treat this part of their population.”

He scoffed.

“Topside couldn’t care less about what goes on down here in the Trenches.”

“Yes, that’s the conclusion I came to as well,” you said quietly.

“Sure I can’t get you a drink?” he asked. “You look like you could use one.”

You chuckled.

“No, thank you. I should be heading back. Thanks for talking with me.”

You tried to give him some coin for his time and information, but he refused with a chuckle.

“No need for that, Doctor. You just do what you can to help the people down here, and we'll call it even. Hey, what’s your name, before you go?”

“Raven,” you answered as you stepped down from the barstool. “Doctor Raven.”

“Vander,” he said, offering his hand.

You didn’t want to touch the Fissures doctor, but Vander’s hand, you didn’t hesitate to shake.

“Until next time, then, Vander.”

You bid him farewell and made your way back toward home, following the path illuminated by the silver glow of the moon.

#my writing #arcane #arcane viktor #arcane viktor x reader #arcane viktor x male reader #vampire reader #viktor x reader #viktor x male reader

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bleedingcoffee42 · 4 months ago

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Updates on Lewis Nixon's personal information.

Irene Nixon died Feb 2, 1969 in Princeton, NJ. (Source: New Jersey Death Index and Death Index Code)

Lewis Nixon and Grace Umezawa got married in Nevada March 19, 1969. (Source Clark County, Nevada)

Lewis Nixon sold his house in Princeton, with Irene Nixon Estate on deed, May 8, 1969. (Scource: Mercer Co. New Jersey)

(And please do not repost to reddit or other sites, if I wanted the research there I'd put it there myself. This is preliminary research and in a few weeks I will have more to add.)

I honestly have not looked into this until this Stanhope and friends fiasco, but needed an idea when Nix got involved date wise. I've read the Hester Blue Boar update post a handful of times without it making an impact that Irene died in the 60's until the last time I read it. And I remembered I pulled that Princeton house deed info when looking for Nixon houses and noted the 'Estate' beside Irene's name, but tossed it in a folder for later.

Speculation ahead-----

After a year of stalking/researching this man and his family, I got a feel for him. Lewis Nixon III makes things happen. He doesn't have time for a wedding when he wants to get married. He's gone to the courthouse in NYC twice. Gotten divorced in Vegas once. New Jersey and California are not fast enough for him. So I looked in NYC first, then Las Vegas records and found him.

Next, Irene. Clearly from the customs paperwork we have Grace and Lew have been together for a while. He would not wait if he was divorced, he would have married her already. So, Irene. Considering the fast marriage, I felt pretty good he waited until Irene passed to get remarried and started manually going through the NJ Death Indexes in starting with the year he got remarried, and there she was.

Reference again his divorce from Kathy as he scratched out 'incompatible' and wrote in 'drunkeness' which goes in her favor since she is divorcing him. That legally covers Michael a little more as it puts Lew at fault for the marriage dissolution. (Even if Kathy's next husband was waiting over the state line) Which could have helped when he was suing Stanhope's estate for Michael's share.

My point?

Lewis Nixon is loyal, do not confuse that with faithful. He is loyal to those who have been good to him (Dick and Hester) and Irene was good to him. She was there for him during the war, through the death of his parents, was there when his sister killed herself. There when Dick left for Korea and more permanently- Pennsylvania. I feel he waited because he didn't want to hurt her, or her family who he has been apart of since WW2 and taken her away from; I feel she was probably sick and they knew it. He waits until she dies and then married Grace? I feel this one month window is a statement that he didn't divorce her. (again, please give me some time for the docs to work through this theory. But there is no waiting period on marriage in Nevada -even back then.) Once again, a demonstration of loyalty in my eyes.

We the have the case of Lew and Grace and her name as "Nixon" on the customs card in 1962. I don't know how to explain it. I do know that passengers wrote their own address on there as I recognize Lew's chaotic handwriting anywhere. Did they fill out their own forms? I imagine the customs folks wrote it off passports but I can't answer this. If I cycle through the entire planeload the handwriting changes. Could this have been a cover for going to the same address? It's 1962, people were being arrested for cohabitating twenty years earlier, I have no idea what the environment was at the time. The free and hippie sixties were the later half of the decade, early 60s are the back end of the McCarthy era and Jello Abominations. Could it be two people in love testing the waters, maybe filling out each other's cards? (examples below for handwriting comparison.) Feels like it. But the official records point to them being married in 1969 and that's all I got.

I realize this means Dick Winters was wrong about the date, and believe me, he's haunting my phone over saying that. I am trying to track sources for the 1956 marriage and most seem to be Dick's book. Even My Heritage had the date, but looking into it the information came from AI scraping of wikipedia. Wikipedia in turn -Winters & Kingseed. However I do feel he was right about Nix being in love with Grace and never having known that feeling before. Marriage was a civil union until her, then he married the love of his life. She was also close to 50 at the time and sure as hell didn't need a man as she was one hell of a lady, so she was in love with him and the fact he was married didn't matter.

Documents under the cut

#lewis nixon #grace nixon #band of brothers

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moinstar · 8 months ago

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Lesson 54 spoilers

"...So, tell me. What is it you're plotting, exactly?" Raphael eyed Diavolo with mild irritation in his tone.

He smiles apologetically, caught in an act and felt the need to explain now. "So, you can tell something's up, huh? I was afraid of this."

"It's odd enough that we're the only ones here. And then after we were attacked, your response seemed unusually tepid. There are so many red flags..," the gray-haired angel sighs. "Of course I can tell that something's going on."

Moin speaks up. "I'm guessing that has something to do with me?"

"Yes, it does. Though it's nothing you should feel bad about." Diavolo reassures, though it's not bringing relief to the burgundy-haired human girl.

"This is about your magic power, Moin. And what has been happening to it." Mephisto stresses it strongly.

"Yes, your power has been growing greater by the day. And then there was the incident with the hostile demon in Meowcao. That's when we realized that you weren't in full control of it." Lucifer added.

Simeon nods mildly, carefully regarding Mephisto, Lucifer, and Diavolo's statements. "And when Raphael was attacked earlier, it looked like Moin cast a barrier spell of some sort, but without an incantation. I'm guessing that in the heat of the moment, the spell must have gone off subconsciously."

"What exactly is happening to Moin's powers, we need a definitive answer to that question. Then we can take action if necessary. However, we thought we needed to spend a bit more time observing things from afar." -Diavolo

"Right, our theory was built on too many assumptions. They needed to be verified." -Lucifer

"...So you used the SF as a chance to do that." -Raphael

"That's right." -Diavolo

"Ah, that must be why there was a second preliminary test. You presented everyone with a problem that no ordinary student could solve." -Simeon

"In any case, Lord Diavolo, Lucifer, and I were the only ones to pass the second test." -Mephisto

"So, it worked out exactly as you'd hoped, then." Raphael gapes his mouth a little, coming to a realization. "...Unbelievable. You mean to tell me that the fiery rock that nearly hit Simeon and the beast that attacked us were both YOUR doing?"

"No, that was the work of demons who oppose the royal family. We'd never resort to such cheap tricks." -Mephisto

"However, we knew that if we were to hold the SF finals here, those demons would see it as a good opportunity to strike... That I cannot deny." -Diavolo

"Yes. We did know they were here, and we didn't try to stop them." Lucifer sighs defeatedly. "So in that sense, you might be able to argue that it was "our doing"."

Moin's eyebrows furrowed at this. If Diavolo knew about the opposition, why didn't he do something about it? Why did it have to go as far as almost risking their lives since that incident in Meowcao?

"There are still many lower tier demons who think that harming an exchange student would be a good way to damage Lord Diavolo's reputation. They had no idea they were being lured here, the fools," Mephisto scoffs with a smirk.

"Even so, if you'd only told us this in advance-" Raphael notices Simeon who hasn't been talking for a while now. "...Um, Simeon?"

Simeon smiles. It was that frightening smile back when he used to scold the brothers. "Ah. I see... Thank you for making things so very clear." Everyone except Moin pales at the sight. She knew that Simeon would never direct his anger towards her. "For the sake of argument, I'll overlook the fact that you chose to test Moin's powers. Because I can see how that might be the only way to draw out certain aspects of these powers. Tell me though, why was it necessary to lure the Demon King's enemies into attacking us? What if Moin or Raphael had been hurt? What would you have done then, hmm?"

"It's only thanks to Moin that we're okay. Because she protected us, even though it meant putting herself in harm's way," Raphael added in.

"What's more, I'm a human now: weak and frail. Should I assume none of you cared about what might happen to me?" -Simeon

"I wouldn't call you "weak and frail"..." Lucifer mutters.

"Sorry, did you just say something, Lucifer?" Simeon pointedly smiles at him, daring to continue what he has to say.

"No, nothing."

"I didn't know it was possible to project so much anger while maintaining a smile..." Mephisto whispered to Diavolo as he takes a step closer to him.

"I'm too scared to move a muscle. It's been a long time since anyone's made me feel this way..." -Diavolo

Moin turns to Diavolo with an expressionless gaze. "I'd like you to avoid such methods in the future..., Lord Diavolo." His face immediately shifts to the one who's worried and hurt genuinely, sensing that Moin is indeed mad and felt betrayed at this whole discussion they were having. It's spiraling down rapidly that Diavolo almost forgot to consider her feelings and wanted to comfort her. But as he was about to speak his reassurances once again and offers his hand, Mephisto butts in with a disdainful remark.

"Well, I'd like it if you could learn to control your powers. Then we wouldn't be in this situation."

Something snapped in unison. There was a moment of defeaning silence, as if another wrong answer would cause an explosion, figuratively. Simeon could tell that it was the last straw. The revelation hurt her than they thought it would. And there was another person who wasn't helping the situation get any better. He could feel the gears of emotion running around her head and that she's barely holding to what she might impulsively do: tears, anger, or running away. She really wanted to do those three options but before she could react, Simeon shields Moin from them, hiding her behind his cloak.

"...Lucifer, Diavolo, Mephisto. You need to think about what you've done today."

#obey me mc #moin mc #obey me nightbringer spoilers

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creampuffqueen · 3 months ago

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making a headcanon post inspired by @throneofrayllum ‘s chaos theory couples as parents post. it’s been a minute since i’ve made fankids and i miss them 😅

anyway!

yasammy: definitely girl moms, 100%. they wouldn’t know what to do with a son lol, sammy has only sisters and yaz is an only child who seems to have mostly or exclusively raised by her mom (this is lighthearted though, if they had a son of course they would love him unconditionally)

i’m becoming very attached to the idea of them having identical twin girls first. if this timeline has the technology to create dinosaurs then i’m saying they have the technology to allow same sex couples to have biological children together! they intended to start with one, but the egg split and they got identical twins. not entirely sure which of them carried the babies at the moment, i could be convinced either way

their third daughter is one they started out fostering. she’s older than the twins when they take her in, probably a preteen. although it seems the world is more accepting at this point, some negative views still exist. this little girl came out as transgender to her family, and they couldn’t accept it, which is how she ended up in the system. i think yasammy would be fantastic foster parents. sammy has experience with family difficulties, and both of them have done a lot to work through their trauma. when their girl is a teenager she asks them to formally adopt her, and officially become their daughter — though she already was for a long time before that

dinostar: again, girl parents. darius screams girl dad energy and i cannot ignore it

they only have one baby, and their daughter is the absolute light of their life. darius spoils her half to death. she very much has brooklynn’s spunk and personality, but she’s every bit the dino-nerd her dad is

bengiakenji: i’m jumping on this train and i cannot be stopped!!!

not sure where they’d end up living in the future. part of me thinks the states as that’s where ben and kenji live and where gia went to school, but i could also see them just as happily settling in gia’s little italian hometown. wherever they go, nonna absolutely comes with them. she dotes on their kids, and those kiddos grow up eating the best meals in the world every day

they have a boy first, and for kenji it is the most healing experience of his life. being able to be the kind of dad to his son he wished he had… he takes to it like a duck to water, he was always meant to be an amazing dad

they have a daughter next, i’m thinking 3-4 years later. they’re very close siblings. i like to think their girl is the very sporty, outdoorsy kid compared to her brother. she loves rock climbing with dad kenji and exploring dig sites with her mama. conversely, their son is a bit shyer, preferring to stay inside and read. he’s a bit more like pre-nublar ben, minus the anxiety and germophobia

i could possibly see them having another kid when the first two are older, like middle or high school, but i haven’t fully solidified that idea yet haha

these are just my preliminary thoughts, i definitely plan to flesh them out more in the future :)

#as always just for fun #but ever since i read the post i’m referencing i’ve been thinking so hard about chaos theory babies #i miss my fankids era sometimes #jurassic world chaos theory #jwct #jurassic world camp cretaceous #jwcc #yasammy #dinostar #bengiakenji #yasmina fadoula #sammy gutierrez #ben pincus #kenji kon #brooklynn jwct #gia jwct #jwct headcanons

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indecisiveavocado · 2 months ago

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a reply to @surfqueenoftheisles' comment on a post of mine

as a leftist indigenous person, shut the fuck up, leftist people aren't mad at indigenous people succeeding in this case,

fair enough. I unjustly jumped to conclusions there. You're mad because 2,300 years of antisemitism has trained you to assume "Jews bad" and for all your countercultural rebellions you never bothered to question that one. Is that better?

we're mad at the fact that Ashkenazi Jews are not indigenous to Palestine,

So.

There is so much wrong with this.

First of all, guess what: Ashkenazim aren't the majority in Israel, as anyone who knows the first damn thing about Israel should know!! (For more information on how much detail I should get into, please report what score you got on my quiz.) Seriously, the fact that you do not recognize this suggests (a) you are a liar or (b) you don't know the first thing about this and therefore your opinion doesn't matter.

Most Israelis are Mizrahim, from the Middle East. Many of those groups were expelled/"gee-real-nice-life-you-have-would-be-a-shame-if-you-lost-it"-style driven out from countries for the crime of being Jewish after Israel's founding. (Sound familiar?)

That's problem one.

Problem two is that even if I granted you that, there would be a problem.

Most studies concur that Ashkenazim are 50 percent European, tops. Much of that is Italian, which ironically bolsters our claim. The way we would've gotten Italian DNA is by being in--I give up on terms--Canaan and being raped during the various Roman genocides.

Studies

In case you believe in the Khazar conspiracy theory, I would like to direct you to a major scientific study specifically on this subject. You don't even need to read the abstract, just the title: "No Evidence from Genome-Wide Data of a Khazar Origin for the Ashkenazi Jews".

Some studies suggest Jews are more indigenous, or, at least, have less foreign gene flow: "We also detect about 3-5% sub-African ancestry in all the Jewish populations, a finding that is novel as far as we are aware, and certainly has not been unambiguously demonstrated or quantified. For Levantines, the proportions are often higher: 9.3%±0.4% in Palestinians and >10% in the Bedouins" (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3080861/#s2)

Arab migrations and Palestinian gene flow, bolding mine: "The early lineages are part of the common chromosome pool shared with Jews (Nebel et al. 2000). According to our working model, the more-recent migrations were mostly from the Arabian Peninsula, as is seen in the Arab-specific Eu 10 chromosomes that include the modal haplotypes observed in Palestinians and Bedouin. These haplotypes and their one-step microsatellite neighbors constitute a substantial portion of the total Palestinian (29%) and Bedouin (37.5%) Y chromosome pools and were not found in any of the non-Arab populations in the present study. The peripheral position of the modal haplotypes, with few links in the network (fig. 5), suggests that the Arab-specific chromosomes are a result of recent gene flow. Historical records describe tribal migrations from Arabia to the southern Levant in the Byzantine period, migrations that reached their climax with the Muslim conquest 633–640 a.d.; Patrich 1995). Indeed, Arab-specific haplotypes have been observed at significant frequencies in Muslim Arabs from Sena (56%) and the Hadramaut (16%) in the Yemen (Thomas et al. 2000). Thus, although Y chromosome data of Arabian populations are limited, it seems very likely that populations from the Arabian Peninsula were the source of these chromosomes." (The Y Chromosome Pool of Jews as Part of the Genetic Landscape of the Middle East)

"a great similarity between Sephardim and Ashkenazim who are very different from Czechoslovaks. On the other hand both groups of Jews appear to be closely related to Lebanese. A preliminary evaluation suggests that the contribution of foreign males to the Ashkenazi gene pool has been very low (1% or less per generation)." (The common, Near-Eastern origin of Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews supported by Y-chromosome similarity)

Paper title: "High-resolution Y chromosome haplotypes of Israeli and Palestinian Arabs reveal geographic substructure and substantial overlap with haplotypes of Jews"

"Admixture estimates suggested low levels of European Y-chromosome gene flow into Ashkenazi and Roman Jewish communities. A multidimensional scaling plot placed six of the seven [the exception was Ethiopian] Jewish populations in a relatively tight cluster that was interspersed with Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations, including Palestinians and Syrians" (Jewish and Middle Eastern non-Jewish populations share a common pool of Y-chromosome biallelic haplotypes).

I consider this evidence enough to shift the burden of proof to you.

You may say that doesn't matter, we're still 50 percent European.

That's a reasonable argument, except it isn't. Here are some people who are prominent as members of one group but are at best half that group genetically.

Bill John Baker, Chief of the Cherokee nation - 1/32 Cherokee. So was W.W. Keeler, another former chief. Other former chiefs were one-eighth, one-fourth, and, yes, one-half Cherokee. (Cherokee Phoenix)

Wilma Mankiller--WILMA MANKILLER--was only half Cherokee. (ibid)

Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, the first and only female chairperson of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, was half white.

Louise Erdrich? Her dad is German.

Zitkala-Sa, a Native American chronicler of stories? Half-white.

Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox, a prominent early Hawaiian politician, was half-white

Sally Hemings, three-quarters white.

Frederick Douglass, Booker T Washington, August Wilson, Barack Obama, and others are all half-white.

Mary Seacole is also half-white!

Would you argue that they are white?

Here, you may say that--for instance--Zitkala-Sa barely knew her white father; for all practical purposes she was raised without that influence, and that pure genetics doesn't matter as much as cultural connection.

That's a very fair point, and one I agree with! But unfortunately, it doesn't help your cause.

Jews (even Ashkenazim) in Israel, live in the same place, practice the same religion (that is deeply connected to Israel) and speak the same language as we did 2,000 years ago. The people back then were primarily Hebrew-speaking Jews.

Palestinians? Even if they're not non-indigenous Arabs (itself not a given), they practice Islam, founded in what's now Saudi Arabia in 612 CE. They speak Arabic; they would've spoken Aramaic or Hebrew.

By any rational measure, culturally, Jews are closer to the people 2,000 years ago than Palestinians. At worst, they're about equally removed from, say, Ugaritic-speaking, polytheistic, tribes.

Palestinians (descended from Canaanites) are the indigenous people of Palestine,

"Descended from Canaanites" is a bit of a stretch (and if that's true, why the hell would they choose the name "Palestine", which comes as it does with its history of settler-colonial genocide and literally means "invader"??).

Also, why do you imply that there can only be one indigenous people in a given place? That's rather reductive, and also flat-out false. For instance, Pittsburgh, where I live, has been inhabited by the Osage, Shawnee, and Monongahela peoples, amongst others; insisting it belongs only to one, say, the Osage, is false there, just as implying there's only one indigenous group here is false. (Also, why nothing for the Druze? Or Samaritans? Or Arameans? Or the Dom? What did they do?)

And okay. Fine. I'll grant you that.

Guess what? So are Jews.

"Finally, we show that the genomes of present-day groups geographically and historically linked to the Bronze Age Levant, including the great majority of present-day Jewish groups and Levantine Arabic-speaking groups, are consistent with having 50% or more of their ancestry from people related to groups who lived in the Bronze Age Levant".

we are mad that european holocaust refugees after being displaced in europe

That's a polite term for "going to be killed if they didn't go somewhere and there was no where else to go". Look up the Kielce pogrom someday, would you? Or any of the other post-Shoah pogroms where thieves discovered that we hadn't all been killed and decided to finish the job?

went there, committed genocide

Excuse me. WHAT.

Is it a cultural genocide? No, not really. The Dome of the Rock, built on the Second Temple, is still around and indeed theirs. There are Sharia courts for Muslims. Neither of those are remotely consistent with a cultural genocide.

So perhaps it's a physical genocide? But here, too, we are perplexed. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel's population, overall, grew tenfold from 1948-2018. According to the antisemitic (documentation upon request) Middle East Monitor, the Arab population was up by 1000 percent over the same period, i.e., ten times. Don't worry, it gets worse. As I was looking at Google Search results, I found one discussing 2009: "The Jewish population rose by 1.7% (95,000 persons) and the Arab population by 2.4%". Call me crazy, but in a physical genocide, the genocided people shouldn't be growing faster than the genociders. Either Israel is the world's most incompetent genocider (in which case, why bother with them when we could worry about actual ones in Rwanda, Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, etc?) or they didn't commit genocide in 1948.

against the actual indegenous of the region, set up settler colonies by stealing land,

That's an odd way to describe "everyone around attacked us for staying within land the international community said was ours and we fought back".

and subjected the indigenous of Palestine to torture, concentration camps such as Gaza,

Oh for goodness sake IT'S A BORDER TO KEEP HAMAS FROM KILLING A THOUSAND PEOPLE IN ONE DAY! EGYPT ALSO HAS ONE! THE OCEAN PROBABLY WOULD IF IT COULD! WORDS HAVE MEANING!

further ethnic cleansing, and genocide.

Words have meaning, for goodness sake!

we are mad that zionists

the worst dirt you have is "the Israeli government". Should I equate all forms of Palestinian self-determination movements with Hamas? Because in principle, that is the same thing as what you're doing.

For more, please see my post "Zionism and Germanism", or part of my reply to another at-best-misinformed user. Alternately, you could see why I am Zionist (abbreviated: here, here) and see if that position is equivalent to "colonizer".

aka colonisers

Again, not colonizers if we're indigenous; words have meaning.

do this then walk around pretending that they're the victim,

Shockingly, two things can be true. Israelis are the victim of terrorism, antisemitism, etc.--and Palestinians are the victim of discriminatory policies, bombings, and governments and international agencies that don't give a damn about them or use them as pawns.

that they are indigenous to the area,

As documented--or, at the very least, burden-of-proof-shifting--we are.

and that they are the good guys, all of which is verifiably false,

I've shown that Jews are indigenous (not to mention the fact that 20 percent of Israel is Arab! Are we ignoring them?) pretty well, I think, and also "good guys" is a matter of opinion and thus not really verifiably false (or true).

we also hate the smug, coloniser

Not a colonizer. Couldn't you do something slightly harder, like "war-crime-committing"? This is a bit boring.

bragging about how well 'isrelis'

...Why is that in quotes? For goodness sake, it's a real country!

are doing due to their colonisation

You can't colonize land you're indigenous to.

and occupation of the indigenous of Palestine

I've always thought of it more as a drive to do more because if you don't you get killed, but clearly you know more. Here I was thinking Israelis were mostly Mizrahi, and then you corrected me. Without any evidence.

and frame it as a win for Jews

It is! When y'all firebomb my shul or drive cars into me or set my shul on fire again or kick me while I'm unconscious and hospitalize me or whatever, I don't need to rely on the one-in-eighteen-thousand fluke who'll help me. I'll have somewhere to go.

while they bomb more Jews (the Palestinian Arab Jews who are actually from there)

Excuse me, WHAT.

Israel isn't bombing itself.

They're not in Gaza; when Israel unilaterally pulled out, they dismantled those, even the millennia-old Jewish communities. Nowadays you can see Jewish history in the Grand Omari Mosque, among other places, which one author mind-bogglingly calls "peaceful coexistence" and not "blatant theft".

And in the West Bank, they'd be the settlers, and something tells me Bibi isn't going to bomb the settlements.

Maybe they're somewhere else in MENA?

Long answer short, no.

In 1940/41, here were 453,438 Jews in Muslim North Africa. In Asia, there were over 313,000, counting European Turkey but not Mandatory Palestine EY (modern Israel, West Bank and Gaza). This adds up to a bit over 766,438 (plus 424,373 in Mandatory Palestine EY.)

These days, choosing the largest figures, the total is miniscule in comparison. Algeria and Libya are lumped in with "Other" in Africa, population 800. Egypt has 400, Morocco 3100, Tunisia 1600, for a maximum total of 5,900, 1.3% of the original totals. In Asia it's hardly better; Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia's Jews are among Asia's 400 "Other", Syria and Lebanon add up to 400, Iran is maybe 13,000, Turkmenistan 800, Uzbekistan 10,000. Turkey has 23000, for a total of 47,600, or about 15.2 percent of what it once was; the total is 6% of 1940/41. And that's the good numbers Using the "core" numbers, i.e., not counting those with Jewish ancestry who don't practice/don't know, North Africa has 3,400 and Asia 27,100, for a total of 30,500, or about 4% of what it was.

In countries bordering Israel which it could plausibly bomb and aren't, you know, full of settlements (Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, Egypt) there are, at most, 1,200 Jews; the number is probably more like 300. For reference, in 2024, Chabad of Monroeville distributed 360 boxes of Shmurah matzah, which is used for a whole family. That's also roughly the number of Jews in, e.g., Kenya, per the World Jewish Congress; not a lot, in short, and definitely not the almost-100,000 (98,800) it was in 1940.

Indeed, this is perhaps an underestimate; when Heykal Pasha of Egypt was threatening genocide should Jews dare try self-determination, he mentioned a million.

(Might this have been voluntary migration? Mr. Pasha says no: "A million Jews lived in peace in Egypt [and other Muslim countries] and enjoyed all rights of citizenship. They had no desire to emigrate to [Mandatory] Palestine." (UN summary of his speech) Others also concur this was forced; it's probably one of the only things JIMENA and Heykal Pasha agree on.)

So, I ask you the following questions, dear @surfqueenoftheisles

What evidence do you have that Jews--in particular Mizrahim, the majority in Israel--are not indigenous?

If they are indigenous, how can an indigenous people colonize the area they are indigenous to?

How can you commit cultural genocide and have courts that follow the laws of the religion you are trying to commit genocide against (there are also ones for Druze and Christians, by the way)? And how can you commit physical genocide and have the population grow faster than your own? If Israel is so incompetent, why not focus on Myanmar or Ukraine or Sudan or Rwanda (financed in no small part by the US) or China (unless you're not very careful, financed by you)?

If you are opposed to Zionism, in any way, shape, or form--what happens if the US gets keen on killing Jews? Where do we go? Last time around you couldn't handle a few hundred thousand Germans; your current handling of refugee crises is inadequate, to say the least; why should I trust you to handle millions of American Jews? What happens if there's nowhere to go? Do we just die? How is that better?

Where are the indigenous Palestinian Arab Jews that Israel is bombing? They're not bombing the settlements, they're not bombing themselves, there aren't any Jews left in Gaza save for the hostages, and there's practically no one left anywhere else in MENA

#debunking #things to use against antisemites #antisemitism #jumblr #israel #jews are indigenous to israel

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frostyclove · 4 months ago

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spoilers ep 5

im still working on the rest of the episode but heres my preliminary takes on the teen van/tai scene in the first third. basically no proofreading ; mostly just vibes ; real analysis will come later expanding on all of this.

Van I love you thank you for taking care of tai during this. Normally I must read fanfiction for this part <3

Tais trying so hard. Shes got it too. Shes a good shot, it’s easy at that range but her form is good and shes steady. But she just cant quite get herself to do it. Tai is entirely fine with the hypothetical or the in theory portion of everything theyre doing in the wilderness - but really struggles with the reality. it was at this moment I said ‘when her cortisol gets high enough other tai will take over just let her gets stressed about it and she’ll be fine’ so when van said it too?? Van you’ve just gone up in my estimations luv you pls keep taking care of tai <33

‘Whatever its a stupid tree its not our coach’ anyways other tai is symbolic of the teams cognitive dissonance and if you ever see me theorizing about the camp not being how they are seeing it I only ever mean it in a ‘theyre so deep in cognitive dissonance they aren’t seeing things for what they really are and are making them a bit better’ and not a theyre hallucinating way. Very similar to how other tai just takes over and takes care of tai when tai cant handle things. (Which is also why friend tai is no longer in state senate - OTHER TAI WAS THE ONE RUNNING please pay attention to tai tawny makes it so obvious and y’all just miss shit sometimes with her and I really do have to resist making the accusation but like y’all are doing the thing!!!!) and ways I digress ill press play again I could and would like to at some point write a dissertation on tai shes going in the Clara Oswald pile.

“Us no me” UGH I love tai. Tai is the one that has to do it. No matter what. Van just has to watch her. But , at the same time, van has to deal with tai, help tai. Van is making it about themself but is also realistically the only thing keeping tai functional through it all. Its all very interesting character dynamics that is too long to type out fully for this im putting a pin in it to come back to later ~~~~~~~

What If I miss into then he’ll really want to die into what Shaunahat did…. Yeah… foreshadowing to the max there. BUT its not on tai so thats nice thanks Shauna

“You’re not gonna miss’ and she didn’t <33 (honestly thought travis died at the end of the ep there I was so taken aback)

“He tried to murder us in our sleep tai” but I swear van looks unsure. Van doesnt even seem to believe van. As discussed in the tawny scene; I think van knows other tai too well. and is questioning it here as well. Which is why van follows up with ‘you still think hes guilty right?’ - the whole bit isnt out of the blue - van is now worried it was tai, and so is gently interrogating to make sure tai doesnt just happen to remember doing it. As long as neither of them know, pretending it wasn’t tai is very easy. But it doesnt shake the worry, not entirely.

Before I press play again. Omg I love taissa.

I just love this scene. Feels like the thesis of the season tbh.

Van palmer you genius you. Yes lets teach tai how to summon other tai that cant go wrong at all nope not at all ( I would have done the exact same thing im just worried the consequences are well ; biscuit )

Now also though - why isnt tai sleepwalking ? Because they aren’t in danger anymore. Nat is leading them well, they are safe. As we shift into Shauna leading, I expect we will see other tai more. Just a higher stress environment when miss angry bubble is in charge (not slander just facts)

Also I love how hesitant tai was about it - also it gets s okay and cute omg I love wlw ; ‘yeah’ oh van you are so whipped I love it (me too)

Y’all still ofc tai is the bottom and van is the top ; tai likes to feel safe - therefore tai likes control - therefore tai likes to be around all of that - but tai is also a little sweetie who , once again, likes to feel safe. And van makes her feel safe. Safe enough to not be in control. To not be the one with the power. To be the bottom. this isnt even sub plot this is just tais personality.

Interesting that other tai also uses she/her pronouns think this is the first time we have confirmation on what other this pronouns are just taking note to remember.

Love that the order of operations is 1) listen to trees 2) fuck 3) kill a bunny. These two

<333 love them

Its so funny tai even tried to take control but vans like no let me take care of you shush

Tai is so fucking funny I would have done the same babes. Mildly disappointed van took so long to realize it was a joke but its because van wanted it to work so I can let it slide

The little hair fix omg I love them so much cutest couple

Oh my poor tai you handled this part so well

Poor bunny though

Thought tai was gonna fuck up killing the bunny with how they held the shot ngl

The wilderness seemed to like the bunny moment but it didn’t work to get other tai - thinking its two entirely separate situational things.

Then it cuts to Lottie still teaching the breathing ooh editing team I see you

#yellowjackets season 3 #yellowjackets #yellowjackets spoilers #yellowjackets s3 spoilers #taissa turner #van palmer

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odditycircus-2002 · 2 years ago

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Medusa!Reader and Shang Tsung MK 1: Part 5

Spoilers for Story Mode: Proceed with Caution

The Imperial soldiers aren’t too gentle when they throw you into a cell; luckily, Johnny Cage’s unconscious form broke your fall. You were still blindfolded and tied up, yet you quickly picked up Baraka’s familiar grave voice. He asks what happened as he removes your gag, but you stop him from removing your blindfold by putting a hand over his. You first explain that you lost your mask, so it’s not a good idea for him to remove the blindfold yet. Then you recall what happened upstairs, although Kenshi is the one who reveals it was Mileena being treated for Tarkat. You hiss at Kenshi for disclosing such sensitive information casually. He’s lucky he’s already injured, else you’d give him a good reason to see a healer!

While understandably upset by you withholding the truth, the Tarkatan can’t find it in himself to be mad at you. You were only upholding your vows and doing your duty diligently for the Royal House.

Baraka then asks about your welfare, carefully skimming his hands over your form to check for injuries. You reply that you’re okay before asking Baraka to close his eyes so you can check over him, too. The latter insists it’s some scrapes and bruises, so there's nothing to care for; nonetheless, he complies with your request when you press. After preliminary checking on Baraka, your hands lingering around his face longer than necessary, you look over Kenshi.

However, there wasn’t much you could do for the now blind man since your apothecary bag was confiscated besides using your minimal magic to stop the bleeding. There wasn’t anything else you could do for the others besides wait for them to come to; you were able to turn your attention to the horrors right outside your prison.

You have treated soldiers during your training on the front lines without falter. You have carved open your fair share of cadavers without so much as flinching while digging around in their insides for medical studies. You had even helped dispose of your fair share of cadavers by gathering them to be burned in a pit without issue. Yet what you saw before you trumps all of that and more.

The first thing to hit you was the smell, by the gods' awful smell of death, both new and old. Which mixed with a sickly sweet smell reminiscent of mildew. It was intensified for you since you and your snakes could TASTE it on your tongues. You gagged as it threatened to be the only thing you’ll ever taste again. Then the sounds you’d only ever expect to hear from the Netherealm’s damned souls languishing in eternal torment.

Empty cages hang from the ceiling, with cells lining the walls on your side. You could see arms poking out from between the bars of these cells, desperately trying to scrape for the bloody remains all over the stone floors, which were stained with freshly spilled and hardened blood. From the position of your cell, you could see giant tubes filled with a mysterious green substance and malformed bodies obviously inflected with Tarkat. You felt bile rise in your throat from the dread filling your stomach.

You... you recognize some of the experiments from your mind. All those times you shared your theories and hypotheses with Shang Tsung... Is this all because of what you put into his head??? No! You always, ALWAYS, explicitly expressed how they would be crimes against nature! You did not create such depravity with your hands! Yet, it did nothing to alleviate the guilt already burrowing into your head.

Still, the amount of information that must've been gathered from these- NO! NO! You will not even indulge in such dark thoughts! Shang Tsung has twisted your research beyond recognition of their original intention! This whole lab shouldn't existed! After putting your blindfold back on, you desperately get to work to assist Baraka in breaking out of your prison in more ways than one.

Despite hours of effort, the bars were too thick and deeply embedded in the stone to rip apart. Kenshi eventually speaks again, asking you and Baraka to help take his mind off their current situation. You listen to the ill man retell his life before his disease, about his family and former vocation. Though you have heard it many times before, your heart broke for Baraka when he reiterated how Tarkat took his entire family. Not for the first time, you say that you would've loved to have met Baraka before his misfortune, met his family since they sound so lovely, and seen him happy. You then add how you two would've been good friends even then.

You don't see Baraka's thoughtful expression as both Johnny Cage and Kung Lao begin to regain consciousness. The first quickly remembers Kenshi's condition and rushes to check on his state. You explain to the actor that you did your best, but your apothecary bag was confiscated. Johnny and Kung Lao had understandable reactions when they realized the nightmare they'd woken up in. All your attention then turns to a lone figure entering through a heavy sliding door.

You let out a gasp as you recognize the figure to be none other than Syzoth, Shang Tsung's "assistant." You call out to him, catching the Zaterran's attention. Judging by how his eyes widened and he took a step back, he wasn't expecting you, of all people, to be down here.

The Zaterran avoids looking in your direction out of guilt; even if it was safe to make eye contact, he wouldn't be able to look you in the eye. He then turns his attention to the now blind Kenshi crouched on the stone floor and inquires about his condition. Syzoth then digs around in your apothecary bag next to your cell to pull out a jar of cream you made to dull the pain. He then hands the pot to you first, asking if this is correct. After opening it to give it a sniff, you confirmed he was right before handing it over to Johnny. Johnny offers you a pair of his shades to pay you back, citing you'll need to see. While the latter cared for his friend, you could feel Baraka's questioning gaze.

After commenting on how Syzoth is vile to be a part of Shang's schemes, he questions how you two know each other. You explain that you thought Syzoth was a lab assistant Shang brought along and a friend, the last part you add bitterly. The Zatteran looks at you and the rest in remorse before firmly stating that while you are Shang's prisoners, he is his slave. Your eyes widen behind your new sunglasses as Syzoth explains that the Sorcerer has his family hostage. While he's genuinely sorry for what Shang did to you and everything he was forced to do, he must obey Shang to keep his family alive. You felt conflicted in your sudden urge to strangle Syzoth and your sympathy for his plight. It does dawn on you that having his family hostage explains Syzoth's behavior around Shang Tsung. You weren't surprised to learn that Shang learned shapeshifting from Syzoth, as the latter has demonstrated the ability to you before.

However, you did try to warn Syzoth that, given what you know by now, Shang won't keep his word to him. Baraka assures you that you don't need to show your form if you don't feel comfortable, but you insist otherwise. That's when you removed your hood and cloak from your form to reveal the true extent of what Shang Tsung has done to you, reminding him of the day your life changed forever. The Zaterran barely swallowed his gasp in horror at the sight before him. Your entire body was covered in scales; you had a nest of living and slithering snakes atop your head; your teeth were sharpened points; you had some small spikes on your shoulders and on your forearm; you also had two bat-like wings reminiscent of a Vaternian's, flare from your back.

Shang teleports in front of you not long after revealing your new body. He glances in your direction briefly, taking in your changes with a look of interest. Baraka growls at the Sorcerer before moving in front of you as you put your hooded cloak back on. Shang scowls at the Tarkatan before happily informing the rest of your fellow prisoners of the gruesome fate that awaits them. He directly addresses you after boasting about how he can't be apprehended so easily.

"I truly did want to spare you of your fate, my sweet. Rest assured, my benefactor has told me you are still needed alive for her goals. I will be back soon, dear Y/N."

"... I hope the Netherrealm claims your soul."

After instructing Syzoth to "take care" of you, he teleports away, leaving the rest to their doom. After you and Baraka implore Syzoth that he doesn't have to obey Shang, the Zaterran glances toward you before restating that it's either you or his wife and son. When he raises your cell's gate and a cell containing dozens of Tarkatan abominations, all of you fight back. You finally put your petrifying gaze to use in combat, stopping three combinations in mid-pounce before they could pile on top of Baraka. Kung Lao watches in a mixture of horror and amazement when the three stone hybrids shatter to the ground.

After Baraka defeated some of the larger hybrids, you and Kung Lao assisted him in freeing the others who were put in electrified cells, much to Syzoth's dismay, who knew that Shang Tsung would torture his family to punish him. Before Baraka shifts his stance to fight the Zaterran, you tell him not to blame him for Shang's evil doings. Baraka acquises by not killing Syzoth, informing him that he would've done the same if he were in the Zaterran's shoes.

You go to help up your scaley friend right when Shang reappears. The Sorcerer scowled, displeased at seeing his prisoners free and his experiments killed. You and the rest stood ready to fight as Shang berated Syzoth for ruining his plans for vivisection. Seeing he's surrounded, Shang then uses his magic to release what you instantly recognize as poisonous gas. After revealing that he's killed Syzoth's family long before, Shang teleports away before the enraged reptiloid can grab him.

However, the Sorcerer quickly appears behind you, forcing your mask on your face before you bite him. However, one of your head's snakes managed to nick him on the finger. The last thing you hear before teleporting away is Baraka screaming your name.

#mortal kombat #mk x reader #mortal kombat x reader #shang tsung #shang tsung x reader #Oddball Writes #MK 1 #mk 1 spoilers #mk 1 2023 #mk syzoth #baraka x reader #mk baraka #Johnny Cage #Kung Lao #kenshi takahashi #mortal kombat 1

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m---a---x · 2 years ago

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Welcome to the premier of One-Picture-Proof!

This is either going to be the first installment of a long running series or something I will never do again. (We'll see, don't know yet.)

Like the name suggests each iteration will showcase a theorem with its proof, all in one picture. I will provide preliminaries and definitions, as well as some execises so you can test your understanding. (Answers will be provided below the break.)

The goal is to ease people with some basic knowledge in mathematics into set theory, and its categorical approach specifically. While many of the theorems in this series will apply to topos theory in general, our main interest will be the topos Set. I will assume you are aware of the notations of commutative diagrams and some terminology. You will find each post to be very information dense, don't feel discouraged if you need some time on each diagram. When you have internalized everything mentioned in this post you have completed weeks worth of study from a variety of undergrad and grad courses. Try to work through the proof arrow by arrow, try out specific examples and it will become clear in retrospect.

Please feel free to submit your solutions and ask questions, I will try to clear up missunderstandings and it will help me designing further illustrations. (Of course you can just cheat, but where's the fun in that. Noone's here to judge you!)

Preliminaries and Definitions:

B^A is the exponential object, which contains all morphisms A→B. I comes equipped with the morphism eval. : A×(B^A)→B which can be thought of as evaluating an input-morphism pair (a,f)↦f(a).

The natural isomorphism curry sends a morphism X×A→B to the morphism X→B^A that partially evaluates it. (1×A≃A)

φ is just some morphism A→B^A.

Δ is the diagonal, which maps a↦(a,a).

1 is the terminal object, you can think of it as a single-point set.

We will start out with some introductory theorem, which many of you may already be familiar with. Here it is again, so you don't have to scroll all the way up:

Exercises:

What is the statement of the theorem?

Work through the proof, follow the arrows in the diagram, understand how it is composed.

What is the more popular name for this technique?

What are some applications of it? Work through those corollaries in the diagram.

Can the theorem be modified for epimorphisms? Why or why not?

For the advanced: What is the precise requirement on the category, such that we can perform this proof?

For the advanced: Can you alter the proof to lessen this requirement?

Bonus question: Can you see the Sicko face? Can you unsee it now?

Expand to see the solutions:

Solutions:

This is Lawvere's Fixed-Point Theorem. It states that, if there is a point-surjective morphism φ:A→B^A, then every endomorphism on B has a fixed point.

Good job! Nothing else to say here.

This is most commonly known as diagonalization, though many corollaries carry their own name. Usually it is stated in its contraposition: Given a fixed-point-less endomorphism on B there is no surjective morphism A→B^A.

Most famous is certainly Cantor's Diagonalization, which introduced the technique and founded the field of set theory. For this we work in the category of sets where morphisms are functions. Let A=ℕ and B=2={0,1}. Now the function 2→2, 0↦1, 1↦0 witnesses that there can not be a surjection ℕ→2^ℕ, and thus there is more than one infinite cardinal. Similarly it is also the prototypiacal proof of incompletness arguments, such as Gödels Incompleteness Theorem when applied to a Gödel-numbering, the Halting Problem when we enumerate all programs (more generally Rice's Theorem), Russells Paradox, the Liar Paradox and Tarski's Non-Defineability of Truth when we enumerate definable formulas or Curry's Paradox which shows lambda calculus is incompatible with the implication symbol (minimal logic) as well as many many more. As in the proof for Curry's Paradox it can be used to construct a fixed-point combinator. It also is the basis for forcing but this will be discussed in detail at a later date.

If we were to replace point-surjective with epimorphism the theorem would no longer hold for general categories. (Of course in Set the epimorphisms are exactly the surjective functions.) The standard counterexample is somewhat technical and uses an epimorphism ℕ→S^ℕ in the category of compactly generated Hausdorff spaces. This either made it very obvious to you or not at all. Either way, don't linger on this for too long. (Maybe in future installments we will talk about Polish spaces, then you may want to look at this again.) If you really want to you can read more in the nLab page mentioned below.

This proof requires our category to be cartesian closed. This means that it has all finite products and gives us some "meta knowledge", called closed monoidal structure, to work with exponentials.

Yanofsky's theorem is a slight generalization. It combines our proof steps where we use the closed monoidal structure such that we only use finite products by pre-evaluating everything. But this in turn requires us to introduce a corresponding technicallity to the statement of the theorem which makes working with it much more cumbersome. So it is worth keeping in the back of your mind that it exists, but usually you want to be working with Lawvere's version.

Yes you can. No, you will never be able to look at this diagram the same way again.

We see that Lawvere's Theorem forms the foundation of foundational mathematics and logic, appears everywhere and is (imo) its most important theorem. Hence why I thought it a good pick to kick of this series.

If you want to read more, the nLab page expands on some of the only tangentially mentioned topics, but in my opinion this suprisingly beginner friendly paper by Yanofsky is the best way to read about the topic.

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sjsmith56 · 4 months ago

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Assignment Bucky Barnes, Chapter 25 - Rockaway Beach

Summary: On the day Ariel is accosted by the drunk at Rockaway Beach, modern Bucky (Jim) is part of the team waiting to take the man into custody. His arrest confirms several theories.

Length: 4.2 K

Characters: Bucky (Jim), Sam (Thomas), Merton (Andrew), Will, Arnold, drunk man.

Warnings: resisting arrest. Because this is a type of temporal crime rights of the accused are suspended at the time of arrest. Bucky, Sam, and Merton are using other names.

Author notes: The revisiting of this incident from Chapter 6 may be confusing. Take your time. The description of real-time communication between the future and the past using quantum mechanics is completely made up as the term sounds cool.

<<Chapter 24

When Jim got back to the others he waited until the intermission to tell Will about the other man and who he resembled. Even Thomas perked up when he heard. Will thought about it for a moment.

"I would have to do some research to see if it is Pierce's father but the fact he was watching Ariel and Bucky makes that unlikely as he would have no idea who they were. It's more likely the man you saw is a descendant of Pierce from my time and has access to portal technology. It would be illegal access as well since only historians have clearance for their use. We'll have to tell Andrew when we get back and make an immediate report to Peri."

"How does that work?" asked Thomas. "Real time communication with the future?"

"I'm not a tech person but I guess the easiest explanation would be a type of narrow wormhole meant just for communication purposes, unlike the portal which is a wider wormhole meant for transport," said Will, keeping his voice low. "It's all preset to open to a specific time set by the chair of historians when a historian is assigned and sent through. It's all to do with quantum mechanics around a fixed point in time and to the quantum signature of the person going through. It's why there can be two Merton's in this timeline because they're just different enough at a quantum level from being sent at different times that they don't cancel each other out." He looked apologetically at them. "I know that doesn't begin to explain it. There are teams of people with multiple PhDs who figure all of this out which means this guy has people at a high level helping him."

They watched the rest of the concert once it started and like the rest of the crowd were stunned by the final number Sing, Sing, Sing. Even Thomas was impressed enough to comment.

"I will never make fun of your 40s music again," he said to his partner as they streamed out of the concert area with the rest of the people to line up for buses. "That was impressive, and your young self danced the whole song."

"I had the energy then," replied Jim. "I couldn't do it now as I haven't danced like that since the war."

"There was a resurgence of it in the 90s," commented Thomas. "I think there's still some swing dance clubs around but this, this was the real thing."

It was late when they got back to Will's place. Jim reported to Andrew about seeing the man watching Ariel and who he resembled. The historian was troubled by it and wondered if it was a descendant who was illegally in the past. The three of them who went to the concert wanted to stay up talking more about it until Andrew reminded them that they had to be at Rockaway Beach the following morning. Because of the possibility of him and Will being recognized, and Thomas being out of place at that section where the incident happened it would be Jim and Arnold Moffat who would be there to take the man into custody after.

"He was just a drunk," said Jim. "Ariel was a pretty girl by herself. Lots of guys would have hit on her."

"Drunk before noon? That was extreme even for those days. I'm not taking any chances. As far as I'm concerned it could have been a preliminary fact gathering effort, to determine how easy she would be to kidnap."

They would let young Bucky rescue her then Arnold would go in and help the man up. He and Bucky would take him to the car where Will would drive them all to the abandoned garage, where Andrew and Thomas were waiting. Together they would question him and determine what happened next. With the plan set, Andrew told all of them to get some sleep while he reported to Peri. Will started to show him where the key was for the communications room.

"It's okay," he replied. "I know where it is."

"How do you know?" asked Will.

Andrew closed his eyes and swore silently, remembering he only knew from the night Will was hurt, still months away.

"You mentioned it when your assignment was over," he replied to the younger historian. "Said you've always associated the smell of hibiscus tea with keys since then."

Will shrugged then smiled and seemed to accept it. He handed Andrew the loose tea tin and the key was located. With a nod between each other Will returned to his room while Andrew went up to the communications room. He turned on the set and entered his own personal codes. Peri's face came up immediately.

"Something to report already?" she asked, looking at an offscreen readout. "You've only been there a few hours."

"Jim noticed someone," said Andrew. "Identified him as a man who was talking to an acquaintance at the boxing club on the morning of June 29, 1940. That's where his younger self heard about the Benny Goodman concert at Prospect Park. Didn't make the connection until he saw the man at the concert and recognized him. Said he looked like a much younger Alexander Pierce."

"Damn," she replied, her face betraying her dismay. "It has to be Lowell Pierce Mason. He's behind this?"

"Peri, he was watching Ariel," said Andrew. "When she ran from younger Bucky she ended up on a darkened path around the pond. Jim watched the couple from the shadows until they left. Just before he returned to his seat the man came out of the shadows on the other side of the path, watching Ariel and Bucky walk back to their seats. He knew they would be there, so he had to have read it from her diary or had an operative read it."

"So, he's there illegally, and he's watching our historian fall in love with the man who his great great grandfather kept enslaved as a weapon. You're right, he must have had access to Ariel's diary before we burned them to know they would be there. His politics are right wing, showing a preference for authoritarianism. As a professor of political science, he's in a position to influence younger people to his way of thinking." She looked directly at Andrew. "You were right to contact me. Let me do some snooping at this end, see if I can find out if he's influencing anyone in our organization."

"Tomorrow is the incident with the drunk at Rockaway Beach," he stated. "Do you want to send a member of the psych team to the garage to question the man?"

She gave out a sigh. "See what you can find out on your own, first. Do a DNA sample if you have to. I trust you to determine if he's just a paid agitator or a true believer. If he's a paid agitator, you'll need to remove the memory of you questioning him. If he's a true believer, he gets sent back here."

Andrew nodded his head. "If Mason is behind all of this, shouldn't we be considering implementing Operation Chrysalis?"

"Not yet," replied Peri. "Once we do, they'll show up in that timeline anyways, the future chair made that clear. I would still like to root out all the players, just for my own sake."

He accepted her reasoning, even though he didn't quite agree with it. Peri was chair and he was loyal to her. Both of them were emotionally involved because of Ariel and it was important for them to remain as objective as possible. Finishing the session with Peri he shut the console down and returned the key to the tea tin. Sleep didn't come easily to him, but it eventually did.

After breakfast the following morning Will drove Andrew and Thomas to the abandoned garage. They would get set up there to question the man who accosted Ariel. Next, he dropped off Jim and Arnold at the beach. He parked some distance away, then walked to where he could see the ladies' room where Ariel would take Bucky's younger sister. Arnold and Jim walked the boardwalk next to the beach, stopping every so often to look at the ocean, as they approached the ladies' room. They hadn't seen anyone yet who looked like the man. Then they heard a commotion from the direction they had walked from.

"That's him," said Jim, pointing out a stocky, dark-haired man with blue jeans and a red gingham shirt who was deliberately getting in the way of a woman on the boardwalk. "He was drunk."

"Could still be an act," replied Arnold. "In case he was arrested. See how he's not quite pushing it to the limit? As soon as her guy shows up, he backs off."

"Yeah, you're right. He's checking out other potential victims."

Both men turned before the dark-haired man looked their way. As he passed behind him Arnold turned around, leaning back on the boardwalk wall.

"He's leaning against the wall beside the ladies' room," said Arnold. "Lighting up a cigarette. This guy is no drunk."

"Surveillance," replied Jim. "He's an operative."

Both men saw Ariel and Rebecca come out of the ladies' room. Jim tensed slightly as he watched his younger sister recoil from the man's advance on Ariel. He could hear Ariel tell her to get Bucky, then saw his younger self returning alone, with his hands clenching in anger as his younger version struggled to keep his temper.

"Come on, honey," said the man to an irritated Ariel. "One little kiss for ole Harold. Pretty thing like you needs a man to look after you."

"He's got something in his hand," said Jim watching closely from their spot. "I never noticed before. Can you tell what it is?"

"Yeah, it's a knockout injector," replied the historian. "Medics in the field use it to disable an out-of-control patient in our time. Works instantly. This was a snatch job, which means there's someone nearby waiting to take them both."

At that moment younger Bucky punched the man, knocking him down. Without hesitation the historian rushed in and looked sharply at young Bucky, then looked at the moaning man, while Jim looked around trying to find the man's partner. Arnold looked back up at the young couple.

"Take your girl. I'll take care of him. He's had too much. Don't worry about the cops. He's been bothering women for the last half hour."

Young Bucky put his arm around Ariel and led her away. Neither of them seemed to pay any attention to Jim. He kneeled down to see Arnold removing the injector from the other man's hand. Together they raised him up and half dragged him off the boardwalk to where Will waited with the car. Jim got in back with the still moaning man while Arnold got in the front seat. As Will sat behind the wheel he saw what Arnold had in his hand.

"He was carrying that?" he asked. "This was no drunk. This was a kidnapping."

"Likely has a partner but I couldn't make out anyone," said Jim, from the back seat. "You need to go now and keep an eye out for anyone following you."

Arnold turned around and stared at Jim. "It really is you," he said. "Damn. What the hell is going on?"

Will looked at Jim in the rear-view mirror then at Arnold. "Mostly need-to-know but Ariel Black is in danger in this timeline. He's here to keep her safe because all security has been pulled to the future. That might be why they tried it, thinking they would have no opposition here."

He shook his head at the audacity of trying a kidnapping in broad daylight with so many witnesses. As Will drove he kept looking behind but was unable to determine if they were being tailed. As they drove the dark-haired man came around and tried to get out. Jim grasped him hard and growled at him.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer some questions," he said menacingly.

"I don't have to answer anything," said the dark-haired man. "I did nothing."

"Because we stopped you," replied Arnold, holding up the injector. "These aren't invented for almost 100 years and yet you had one in your hand, ready to use on that young woman. You might want to rethink your position, traitor."

The man closed down and refused to speak. Soon Will pulled up to the garage and Arnold got out to open the doors. As soon as the car was inside, he closed them and bolted them on the inside. Jim pulled the dark-haired man out of the back seat and dragged him over to a chair, shoving him into it. Arnold approached Andrew, showing him the injector.

"A field injector for a tranquilizer," said Andrew, then he narrowed his eyes at the man sitting in the chair. "Who do you work for?" There was no answer. "Why were you to kidnap the young woman?" Still no answer so Andrew picked a device up from the table and gestured to Thomas and Jim. "Hold him. I'm taking a bio-sample to identify him."

The man tried to get up but with both Jim and Thomas holding him down he was immobilized. Holding a device to his arm Andrew pressed a button and took a small sample, running it through whatever programming was on it. After a couple of minutes, he looked up.

"Terence Whitfield," he said. "Born 2110, graduate student in political science at NYU, your advisor is Lowell Pierce Mason. Tell me, did you volunteer for this, or did Mason talk you into it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," insisted the man. "My name is Harold Trent, and I was born in 1915 in Long Island. I'm a bricklayer and I just had too much to drink already."

Jim grabbed the man's hands, noting how smooth they were. "You're no bricklayer," he sneered. "You've probably never worked a manual job in your life. You better start talking."

Will pulled Andrew back. "We have to wrap this up. I have to attend the meeting of supervisors. I'm already late. Should I mention this?"

"No, say nothing unless Peri mentions it," said Andrew. "This bio-sample is enough to convict him of illegal use of a time portal. I'll call for him to be taken back for psych interrogation and his trial. You go ahead to your meeting. We'll make our own way back to the apartment."

Will left and Andrew opened a portal with his portable unit, sending a signal into it. A few minutes later two security agents came through and were given the results of the bio-sample scan. They were also given the field injector and the circumstances of its confiscation. The dark-haired man, Whitfield, glowered at all of them as he sat there. Suddenly, he bolted, trying to get to the doors. Jim was too fast for him and picked him up with his prosthetic hand, carrying him one-handed to the security crew.

"You're Barnes," stated Whitfield. "How are you here?" He spun towards Andrew. "You brought him here to this time? It won't make a difference. We'll take her no matter what time she's in and replace her with our version."

"You just incriminated yourself," said Andrew, "in front of witnesses. It's all admissible when you have your trial."

"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place," muttered Whitfield as Andrew waved him away.

He was taken into the portal by the security agents, and it closed down. The four men stood there for a moment, then Andrew took a breath and shook his head.

"That man you just saw was a HYDRA agent," he said to the other three, making sure they all knew the same details. "A 22nd century one. They don't go by that name anymore as it is still considered a threat to humanity. So, they go by names such as the Group, the Reapers, the Believers, and other similar collective type names. Each cell is different but there is one man trying to unite them, Lowell Pierce Mason, great great grandson of Alexander Pierce. Mason is a political science professor at NYU. He uses his position to defend the concept of an authoritarian society. This attempt to take Ariel Black was to replace her with a doppelgänger, a woman who went through the persona process to resemble Ariel. Their goal is to impregnate her with young Bucky's child, a child they can begin the Winter Soldier process on then indoctrinate it to be their first soldier, the founder of their army." He looked at Jim and Thomas. "These two already know this part but you don't, Arnold. I'm only telling you in case we need you again. They took Ariel in 2142, testing out their doppelgänger against Jim. Although she barely spoke, she passed Jim's notice. If they were attempting to take Ariel in this time, it means their version of Ariel may be ready to assume her place in this timeline. We can't allow that to happen."

"You said they took Ariel," answered Arnold. "How long have they had her?"

"We left there the day after," replied Andrew. "So, it's still just one day but you know they could insert their Ariel at any time. It could be days in 2142 but years here. They've managed to travel through time, illegally, to set this up."

Andrew closed the portal up and put the portable device in a small case that he could carry. The four men exited the garage, making sure it was locked after. On the walk back to Will's place Jim touched Andrew's arm.

"Were you at the supervisor's meeting with Will?" he asked.

Andrew nodded. "That's where we were first told that something wasn't right about your relationship with Ariel." He noticed Jim's look of alarm. "Not in that way, but that it happened too quickly. You're aware of the Supreme Sorcerer and the Time Stone, right? Peri keeps in touch with the keeper of the Time Stone to make sure that any deviations formed from our efforts don't affect the timeline. If it did you, Ariel or any one of us could be remanded to another entity which holds precedence over the historians. There were issues with your relationship, but also with things happening to Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones."

"They had historians watching them as well?" asked Jim. "What was different?"

"Being influenced in a way that could have kept them from enlisting at the same time as you, keeping them from being in the 107th, even keeping them out of the war," said Andrew. "They both had a major influence on the Howling Commandos, especially after Rogers disappeared."

"That's why you kicked me out, isn't it?" asked Jim. "You came home early, caught us in the act. I thought for sure you were going to beat me."

Andrew smiled. "The thought crossed my mind," he said, earning a pointed look from both Jim and Thomas, who was listening in to the conversation. "That reminds me, we should have a look at the apartment. Someone was there and bugged the place. They also interfered with our messaging system as Peri sent me a message to allow you back into Ariel's life on the Monday, tomorrow. But by Wednesday dinner time neither Ariel nor I heard anything, and we called Peri. That's why Ariel invited you to the apartment on Wednesday night to hear my terms for you two to begin dating again."

"How do you keep it straight?" asked Thomas. "I mean, I wasn't around for the original but all this back and forth already has me confused."

Andrew grinned. "I was a professional historian for almost 40 years by this timeline, 23 as a supervisor. I watched Bucky and Steve grow up from boys into men." He looked at Jim. "It's not a job for everyone as the attention to details is paramount. You also have to give up a lot of your personal life to it, but you do it because you believe in the truth and facts. We knew Bucky was a ladies' man but there was a gap of three years where there was no documentation of your usual activities. It was theorized you were in a serious relationship but if you were then what happened to the woman?"

"You got your answer," said Jim, stopping as they were in view of the antique store. "Did you know it would be Ariel?"

"That she was your great love?" clarified Andrew. "No, but it became obvious she could be when you asked her out right away and showed up at the library the following day to walk her home. She interested you, enough that you pursued her which wasn't common for you. She felt the same, found you hard to resist."

"Someone's in the window," said Jim, looking at the building. "Second floor, on the right. That's the parlour. Arnold and Sam, if you go over to the side street there, you'll have a view of the back of the apartment. There's a one-story addition to the main floor that can be climbed for access to the second floor."

Andrew said nothing about Jim using Thomas's real name. He nodded at the two men to go to the other position and watch to see if the person came out that way. For several more minutes the two men watched the windows of the apartment. Then suddenly Jim looked at Andrew.

"A portal just opened inside the apartment," he said. "They didn't use the door or the window."

"You're sure?" asked Andrew.

"Yeah, I heard it just now," replied Jim. "I'm going to check it out."

"Wait, do you want a weapon?"

Jim smirked which made the older man shrug. Calmly the super soldier walked across the street and entered the stairwell. Quietly he took the steps, listening for any sounds inside the apartment. Not hearing any he stopped at the top of the stairs and felt along the top of the door for the key, unlocking the door. Slowly, he opened the door and listened for the sound of breathing. Hearing nothing, he went to the window and waved Andrew inside. As the man entered Andrew used sign language.

"Can you hear if there are any bugs?"

Jim frowned slightly. "Yes, there are several. How did you know I know sign language?"

"We've done this before. My past, your future. You'll see when it happens. Do you know where they are?"

Jim walked around and began pointing at various spots, including Ariel's bedroom. "Do you want them disabled?"

"No, don't want to tip them off that we know. I'll let Peri know. For now, we let it play. I want to check the settings on our communications console. Stay here while I go up to the third floor. Use a broom stick, three taps on the ceiling to warn me if anyone comes."

Jim nodded and watched as Andrew went into the bathroom then came out with a key. He went to a pull down stair set in the ceiling and pulled it down quietly then went up into the attic. Suppressing his desire to see the third floor Jim stayed put, watching out the front window for signs of anyone arriving. After several minutes Andrew came back down and returned the stairs to their right position, then returned the key to its spot in the bathroom. He reached into his pocket and took out a small device, going over to the phone and running the device over the entire unit then signing to Jim.

"I've neutralized the bug in it, but it will continue to broadcast a signal to whoever is monitoring it. They'll just hear static and figure it is defective. We can go now. I'll tell you more outside."

Both men left the apartment and Jim relocked the door, putting the key back where he found it. Neither said anything until they got outside and called Thomas and Arnold back so they could continue walking back to Will's apartment.

"What did you find out?" asked Jim.

"That one of Mason's suspected followers was in the portal room, supposedly running tests on the electronics. For a minute the surveillance cameras went down, and someone was transported to the apartment to bug it then returned within the minute of the surveillance blackout. The only other person seen entering or exiting that room was a historian in training. The two are being taken into custody as we speak."

"Will you tell Merton?" asked Jim.

"It's need to know," replied Andrew. "That's all I can say. We're to return to our normal duties, which means work for you three. I have other duties that I'll see to."

No amount of questioning brought anymore answers from Andrew, which was frustrating for Jim, especially. All of this cloak and dagger stuff was wearing thin. At least working would keep him occupied, as long as he could keep his mind on the times. Until he and Sam were needed, Bucky (he rebelled against thinking of himself as Jim) could only wait and hope that this timeline he was now in didn't deviate from the one he remembered.

Chapter 26>>

Series Masterlist

Comments and reblogs are appreciated.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #buckybarnes original female character #james buchanan barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes romance #bucky barnes x ofc #bucky in the past #time travel

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sarcophagid · 4 months ago

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humbly asking, do u have any ithamom headcanons? 🥺🤲

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG THAT HIS (HER) LETTER CAME OUT

i did do a preliminary review of her letter with a bit of speculation on her character here but here r some of my personal less canon hcs:

i think lagertha is relatively tall and athletic, and although she doesn't fight with her clan anymore she still has a very striking appearance. some people in leng possibly thought she looked scary, especially since she was also a foreigner to them.

lagertha is likely well-travelled and well-read. this is a bit more extrapolation from her letter, but over time she developed a lot of philosophies about how society and civilization work, as well as frequently questioning peoples paths in life and the idea of 'destiny'. she seems like someone who is both introspective and analyzing others.

personality-wise, she usually remains down to earth, following her own principles and reasoning. the vilulf clan would later be known for going against the common traditions held by other clans, and i think even in her time, the character and values of an individual mattered more to them than affiliation. for this reason, i think she was more open to (and eventually committed to) leaving the clan to pursue her own path.

lagertha follows a different religious faith than whatever was practiced by the rest of her clan. i think from context, this was the same faith as the one practiced in the plateau of leng - although there were possibly alterations because she continued to stargaze and practice cultural customs (ie. they were all christian, and lagertha also converted but did not practice christianity in the exact same manner). however given the strictness of the faith in leng this was eventually used to condemn her.

^ i think although she was disliked by the church, lagertha may have connected with certain elements of the text/teachings, or even individual people. it's very likely ithaqua never had a positive impression of this faith, but lagertha states that it 'resonated deeply with [her] soul'. on a less serious level there is the whole thing about a star leading her to a special child 🤔 ithaqua jesus figure theory coming soon trust 🙏

despite her overall optimistic and open minded attitude, i think she still gets at least anxious about their safety due to the traumatic nature of the initial attack she faced - i think her optimism itself could be an attempt to combat the sense of hopelessness of being alone in a faraway place where you're seen as a threat with nowhere safe to go.

it's possible that lagertha had interacted with other people while in hiding. i'm just making the nitpick of the mothers day art having items in the house that would have to be imported (ex. metal tools). but regardless, while most of their time was spent in isolation i wouldn't rule out the possibility of lagertha trading with travelling merchants.

in terms of hobbies and passions, i think she could've been a writer in another life 🤔. or some other form of passing down the things she's learned over her lifetime. she does canonically tell stories so i wonder...

i also think she wasn't that much of a homebody given she's used to travelling and moving a lot, and it just never fully settled in.. she's active and outside often even if there's no major errands to run.

i think i may have more lighthearted ones but those are all my ideas so far 🤔 lmk what you think!

#ask #anonymous #headcanons #ithaqua #lagertha vilulf #idv #PRO YAPPER

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mbti-notes · 1 year ago

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Funny story, the other day I received a question about the quotation "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate". (Sorry to the person who asked because I lost track of your handle and must now post the full response here. You're about to see the journey you've sent me on.) The question was vaguely worded, so I can only assume it was requesting a source for the quotation. This struck me as odd for a couple reasons. First, the quotation is widely attributed to Jung, so it shouldn't be very difficult to find the source. When I say "widely", I mean it is not only used all over the internet, it also appears in numerous books. Second, the quotation does a great job of encapsulating a central tenet of Jung's theory, so there is nothing particularly strange or suspicious about it.

Since I'm used to academic writing and wading through research materials, I'm usually diligent about finding the original source of quotations in order to avoid misattributions. But I was lax in this case because I allowed myself to assume that such a well-known quotation must have already been checked by someone. A mistake. A preliminary search revealed that a small handful of people have doubted the attribution, but a definitive answer seemed elusive. So, I decided to take a deep dive into the literature. I searched through Jung's as well as whatever Jung-adjacent and Jung-inspired works I could get my hands on.

I was unable to find a verbatim source in Jung's own writing. However, this isn't enough for me to claim that he never said it. It's possible that it was lifted from a discussion, lecture, or interview, of which the transcripts are not readily available. Jung did write sentences that were remarkably similar to the quotation in meaning, so it's also possible that the quotation was somehow mangled or lost in translation from the original language, which makes it difficult to match up with the official English editions of his work.

I then decided to locate its earliest usage in order to piece together an origin story. The earliest date I could find was ~2006, which is a huge red flag. Books by Jung and about Jung span the entire last century, so one would expect at least a few references from earlier periods, especially throughout the 90s when psychoanalytic theory was widely referenced in a variety of academic disciplines. Of course, books before the 90s haven't all been indexed and made available to search online, so a citation might still exist out there somewhere in a very obscure book.

I then decided to examine books published since 2006 that contained the quotation to see if any included a citation. This was even more of a red flag because, in every case, the authors either did not provide a citation, cited another post-2006 book, or cited a (dubious) internet resource. It turns out that 2006 might be an important piece of the puzzle because it was around then that goodreads.com went online and became a widely used resource for quotations.

Although goodreads makes it clear that they don't verify information, people often trust the website because it is assumed that readers are quoting accurately as they read the actual books. The Jung quotation in question is listed on their website and could even be the first instance, but there was no citation and I couldn't find who originally posted it in order to ask where they got it from. Whoever originally posted it was obviously familiar enough with Jungian theory to capture some of its essence.

In conclusion, I hazard to guess that there are three main possibilities for how this quotation came into being. Around the mid 2000s, someone reading something in the original language posted their own personal translation of it, or they got it from an obscure source, or they fabricated it for reasons unknown. From there, the quotation got picked up by various parties and spread far and wide.

I decided to tell this story because I think it's a good example of how misinformation creeps around online and gradually becomes "reality". The numerous steps I had to go through to investigate this one tiny piece of information illustrates how tedious it can be to verify the things you read. Should we expect the masses to verify every word they come across? It's not realistic, is it? Teachers and parents tell kids to be careful about the internet content they consume, to not take things at face value, to not believe everything they see and hear, etc. But it isn't easy (or fun) to always be on alert even for the motivated, even for this weary and grizzled researcher.

Fortunately, nobody's gonna die from a misattributed quote. But, what about subjects of consequence such as medicine or geopolitics where truth really matters? I love that we have so much information at our fingertips. I just wish we didn't always have to battle against greed and chaos to find the good stuff.

#quotes #misinformation #critical thinking

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canonmisogynyvictimstournament · 2 years ago

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PRELIMINARY ROUND - STAR TREK

PROPAGANDA

T'Pol

1.) dressed as a sex object. far more qualified & experienced than the (male) captain yet treated as less capable. had her agency removed when her past rape was revealed against her wishes & the episode treated it as a good thing. her taking command of the ship got humanity wiped out in an alternate timeline & she "redeemed herself" by becoming a housewife. there was a scene where the captain fell face first into her boobs. whatever they paid her actress, it should have been at least 3x more

2.) i think you can most clearly see the misogyny t'pol deals with in her costuming and makeup. she is given clear special treatment to make her look "more attractive": she wears catsuits throughout the show (despite neither institution she works for having any other similar uniforms, even for other women), sexy little silk pajamas, a cropped jumpsuit one time (even tho…it's a one piece?? and makes no sense to be cropped????), and SFX makeup that doesnt make her look as "alien" as other members of the literal alien species she's a part of. enterprise's main crime is sexualization, and while everyone (quite literally EVERY member of the cast) is hit with it at least once, t'pol pretty much never gets a break. there's a difference between sexy and overly sexualized, and ent is FAR into the over sexualized side of that spectrum. love you t'pol wish your canon was better xoxo

3.) The classic “Rick Berman Star Trek needs a woman who is strong and competent and part of the crew but gets skintight jumpsuits with low necklines instead of standard issue Starfleet uniforms to show cleavage and keep the male audience on board”.

Kes

1.) Poor Kes had it so bad. She's an Ocampan, which is a kind of alien with psychic powers and a 9-year long life-span. I was pretty interested in what they were going to do with her character when I started watching because in theory with the show having seven seasons, we could have seen her go through pretty much her whole life span over the course of the show. Unfortunately, most of her character is tied up in her terrible boyfriend Neelix, who is at a lower estimate in his mid 30s, and at an upper estimate his mid 50. He met her and started dating her while she was taken prisoner after being kidnapped. Neelix is mostly meant to be comic relief, he acts like an annoying, forcefully cheerful clown for the majority of his time on-screen (when he's not having war flashbacks) except for when he's interacting with Kes. With Kes he is possessive, controlling and manipulative. He's constantly accusing her of trying to cheat on him or leave him, throwing himself pity parties whenever she talks to another man and belittling her. And worst of all he's often framed as being in the right. She hardly gets any screen-time that isn't somehow actually about her boyfriend, the Doctor she's the assistant of or another male crew member who has a crush on her (also too old for her). When she does it's pretty much always focused on her psychic powers and not her as a person.

Some of the highlights of her time on the show include the time that Neelix's lungs were stolen, and after he spends the whole episode feeling sorry for himself and accusing her of being happy about it because he thinks she wants to leave him she donates him one of her lungs. Then there's the time some space anomaly makes her prematurely fertile so she has to decide if she ever wants kids right at that moment, and for some reason, almost the whole episode is focused on whether Neelix wants kids. She eventually breaks up with Neelix. Which is great! But she was possessed at the time. So she didn't even get to do that herself.

She was written off the show at the start of season 4 when another character was added and they needed to boot someone. She "ascends to a higher plane of existence". And then everyone on the crew proceeds to completely forget her about her straight afterwards. I'm not sure anyone was actually sad about her essentially dying. She comes back in a later episode called "Fury" which is about her trying to take revenge on the crew for her poor treatment. You'd think this would be good. But for some reason, she's mostly angry at the captain for allowing her to get on the ship in the first place, despite one of her few character traits being that she's adventurous and always wanting to learn things that no one else has. So the episode mostly focuses on trying to pick apart one of the only parts of her character that was well-defined and consistent. Her past self does tell her that she's forgotten what she truly wanted or something to talk her out of her revenge plan. I'm not really sure what they were going for. She tells the captain she was only an innocent child, so she shouldn't have been allowed to make the decision to get on the ship. She is never shown to be angry at Neelix. The man who started dating her when she was according to her future self a child. And a prisoner.

2.) She's kind of the sexy born yesterday character who's already taken. She's an alien whose race only lives nine years, so when i say that she got married at two that's a bit less alarming. She lived underground her "whole" life (about a year and a half) before she left her town, to find the surface, got kidnapped and then rescued by Neelix, a middle-aged scavenger/smuggler/chef who looks like a Cats character from a regular aging alien race. Neelix promises to show her new places and they apparently fall in love and get married and then Neelix takes her to the Voyager, and she leaves her home forever. At the age of 2. She lived in a cave her whole life, then found this gross little man, married him for some reason, and then was convinced to leave everything she had ever known, her entire family and life, to get on a star ship whose express mission was getting to the other side of the universe as fast as they were able.

Once on the ship she was able to find some independence and her own interests, and eventually left neelix, but god their entire relationship was really just loser old man and naive teenager and it was soooooooo uncomfortable

3.) I rewatched the Kes parts of Voyager. The "General Observations" section can be taken as a TL;DR (sorry for the essay). Here are a few not-so-fun facts about Kes:

General Observations:

Kes was kidnapped 4 times over the course of the show.

Kes often talks like a child especially early on in the show. She acts like a classic Disney Princess; sweet, but not quite understanding what's going on around her.

A lot of Kes's character revolves around the fact that she is very young, and a lot of the more uncomfortable aspects of her treatment revolve around this too. It's not like it's an impossible concept to pull off, in the same show the EMH is actually younger than Kes, and has several romantic relationships that don't feel super creepy in the same way most of Kes's do. This is because the writers don't make him act like a child and they actually give him agency in his relationships.

Kes's people, the Ocampa, live underground on a desert planet. Kes travelled to the surface when she was less than 1 year old, where she was captured by the people living there and tortured for information using "every method of persuasion" that they know. This is where she met and started dating Neelix. He explicitly says he thinks she is dating him because she owes him for getting her out of that situation, and yet it seems like the writers think this is a cute and heartwarming relationship.

Nearly all of her screen time is devoted to emotionally counseling the men around her, helping their character development, comforting and caring for them. She is hardly ever shown to have negative emotions ("Fury" aside), and then it's generally only when a man she cares about is in trouble. This includes when she is kidnapped. Even then she has to be calm, understanding and empathetic.

Kes's established character traits: curious, smart, psychic, caring, kind, young, innocent, naive. Pretty much all of these get tossed out the window in "Fury". She kills people she's known most of her life and tries to sell everyone out to organ harvesters because she gets "confused". She decides not to do this in the end because her younger self tells her she's acting out of character. This episode is one of the worst instances of character assassination I have ever seen.

In about 10 of her 70 total episodes on the show Kes makes a significant contribution to the plot that is not focused on a man. Most of those were more her acting as a psychic plot device rather than anything about her as an actual character. There was only one episode "Before and After", which I would count as truly being devoted to Kes as a character.

Practically every man Kes comes across is attracted to her. Often her attractiveness is mentioned in the same breath as the fact that she is literally a 1-3 year old.

Kes's love interests: Neelix, the EMH, Tom Paris, Tuvix, Ameron (while possessed), Nori (while possessed), Zahir. Aside from Zahir, she has pretty much no agency in any of these relationships.

Neelix calls Kes "sweetie", and talks to her like she's a child. When he's not shouting at her, anyway. Kes unconditionally loves and adores him for some reason.

Observations while watching:

When Neelix's lungs are stolen Kes refuses to leave his side and one of the first things she does is offer to donate one of her own, refuses to let the EMH perform any medical procedures until she's sure it's safe. Meanwhile, Neelix goes on a jealous rant at her because she called another man by his first name.

When Kes donates a lung Neelix refuses at first because the operation would be too dangerous, but Kes says "you've done so much for me, let me give you something once", implying that Kes owes him a lung for him helping free her from the people torturing her.

The episode "Elogium" was apparently meant to be a metaphor for teen pregnancy. With Kes as the teen and Neelix (whose actor says that he sees him as being in his 50s) as the father.

Ocampan puberty apparently happens between the ages of 4 and 5. Kes starts the series at less than 1 year old, and leaves at 3. She is apparently at an age where it would be dangerous to conceive a child in "Elogium". She is not sure she is finished growing. She has been dating Neelix for about a year (possibly more) at this point.

When the EMH hallucinates Kes as his wife, she makes him promise not to tell Neelix, because he tends to get "a little jealous"

In "Elogium", Neelix interrogates Kes over the fact that Tom Paris says "see you later" to her because he "Sees the way he looks at (her). (He) used to look at women that way (he) knows what it means." Neelix is later implied to be in the right here, Kes is being naive thinking Tom Paris could be her friend, apparently.

In "Twisted" Kes turns two years old. Tom Paris gives her a locket for her birthday. Neelix gets pissed off because he thinks he's trying to charm her. Neelix is, again framed as being in the right here.

Kes has a very good memory and is able to remember where everyone's rooms are. When she demonstrates this, Neelix implies she knows this because she's slept with every man on the ship. At the end of this episode, Kes decides to put his photo in her locket to always keep him close.

When Kes is upset that Neelix attacked Tom Paris over her, the EMH tells her she should consider herself lucky to have two men fighting over her.

Tom Paris admits to Neelix that he finds Kes attractive, but says that he won't try anything with her because he respects Neelix. He asks if Neelix would allow him to be her friend. Because who cares what Kes wants right? I guess if Neelix had said no he would have just stopped talking to her?

Tom says Kes is very devoted to Neelix, and Neelix admits he thinks she's only with him because he saved her life and she's grateful he freed her from captivity and she owes him. He is dating her despite this. This is never addressed.

Tanis, another Ocampan, calls her innocent and naive, so she seems quite young even by the standards of her own species.

Tuvix, having inherited Neelix's manipulative tendencies tries to manipulate Kes into begging the captain for his life.

Kes gets kidnapped by caveman aliens. When someone comes to rescue her, the cavemen try to trade another woman to them so they can keep Kes.

Kes goes into a coma and acts as the damsel in distress again in "Sacred Ground"

"This is typical of you Neelix… it bothers you that I'm making friends of my own, you always have to involve yourself somehow." "You can spend time with anyone you want" "As long as I spend most of it with you… I never realised a relationship could be any different. I've never been with anyone but you." Kes when she breaks up with Neelix. Except this isn't Kes because she's actually possessed at the time. She doesn't even get agency in her own breakup.

Kes is dressed in skintight leather trousers and high heels and tries to seduce everyone while possessed by a male warlord. He describes Kes as a "little girl".

In "Darkling" Kes starts wearing form fitting jumpsuits somewhat similar to the ones Seven of Nine wears (though not quite as tight). This is possibly because she's supposed to look more mature, and she starts having "young adult" storylines instead of teenager storylines.

"Everyone seems to be treating me like a child, I'm three years old now"

The EMH kidnaps Kes in "Darkling" when he turns temporarily evil. His treatment of her in this episode includes shoving her into a wall and putting his hand around her neck, repeatedly grabbing and shoving her, holding her at gunpoint and throwing her off a cliff.

The evil EMH kidnaps Kes because she wants to leave the ship to travel with her new boyfriend. This is framed as the good inside of him because he is trying to "protect" her. Kes decides to stay on the ship because of this. She never expresses any negative emotions about this incident.

In "Before and After" Kes goes through her entire life in reverse. In the future she sees, she has married Tom Paris and had a daughter with him, and her daughter has a child with Harry Kim, who was the best man at Kes and Tom's wedding. This is by far the best Kes episode, but she never really gets to react to anything that happens in it. Soon after this she ascends to a higher plane of existence in "The Gift".

In "Before and After" Kes sees threats in advance and warns the crew about them, preventing the Captain's death in the future. This isn't really acknowledged.

Half of "The Gift" is focused on Seven of Nine and the Borg. Not even Kes's send-off episode is really focused on her.

In "The Gift", Neelix and Kes have one final scene together. Neelix gets quite self-pitying again and says she broke up with him because he was holding her back. Kes says that wasn't it but doesn't say why it happened. This is the only time they directly talk about their breakup outside of when Kes was possessed.

When Kes decides to ascend, the captain begs her to reconsider. Kes insists she has not lost her judgement or come under an alien influence. Captain Janeway tells her she's family and tearfully embraces her. Tuvok puts out a candle in mourning (everyone forgets about her after this episode ends though).

In "Fury" Kes is back in physical form somehow, despite ascending into some higher plane of existence in the last episode she appeared. She is also much older in appearance.

In "Fury" Kes gets onto the ship, starts exploding everything she can with her psychic powers, kills everyone she comes across and goes back in time to the start of the show to kidnap herself.

Kes and Neelix have a scene in "Fury". It makes Neelix much nicer than he ever was in the early parts of the show (especially to Kes). He actually notices something is wrong and asks her how she is and prepares her favourite meal for her because she had a bad day. I'm not sure he ever even asked her how she was before. I guess at this point they must have wanted to pretend the relationship was a lot less creepy and unhealthy than it actually was. Especially since Kes is the villain of the episode.

Older Kes's plan in "Fury" is to travel back in time, sell out the people she spent the majority of her life with to organ harvesters so she can send her and her younger self back to her home world because the crew "abandoned her a long time ago". I think this manages to dismantle practically every established character trait she has.

Older Kes's explanation of her actions in "Fury": "You (Captain Janeway) took her (young Kes) from Ocampa. Her home. She's a prisoner on this ship. I was a child, you corrupted me. Your ideas. Exploration, discovery. I believed you. In three years I'm going to leave Voyager in search of higher things because you encouraged me to do it. You encouraged me to develop my mental abilities. What I found, I couldn't control it, it scared me… I trusted you!" Neelix was the one who took her from Ocampa. As noted before, Captain Janeway begged her not to ascend.

Old Kes is killed by the captain. They know something terrible happened to Kes when she ascended, but apparently all that they did was get Kes to record a video of herself saying that she shouldn't take revenge because it's not who she is. This worked for some reason, she says she killed everyone because she was confused.

Kes decides to go back to Ocampa. Due to the Ocampan lifespan, everyone she knew before she left is probably dead. To add insult to injury, Neelix is the last person she sees before she leaves for good.

#polls #preliminary round

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garmgeyr · 11 months ago

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CHARACTERIZATION UPDATE & THEORIES

UPDATED 12/13/24

Now that Penacony’s story has officially concluded, I’ve combed through the script to compile all of Gallagher’s dialogue in a doc that I can use and continue to add onto as a reference (as of right now, it only has dialogue and my preliminary annotations, but since this is a character who is simultaneously an unreliable narrator and a figure deeply tied to Penacony’s history, I intend to supplement it with links to evidence from other sources as I revisit the Penacony readables and NPCs). In light of the information presented in 2.3, I’m updating my portrayal here in GH as well.

The information below will be full of major spoilers from 2.2, so proceed at your own risk.

First of all, who - or what - is Gallagher?

Gallagher is an emanator of Enigmata, and is himself a work of fiction (within the fiction that is HSR). The philosophy of Enigmata asserts that the singular truth in this world is that nothing can truly be known, and that certainty (i.e. Fate, Destiny, the past repeating itself) stagnates life. As a “virtual character,” Gallagher’s existence is a lie and will end once this is revealed, which we can assume is one of the rules emanators of Enigmata must follow in order to continue enjoying their aeon’s blessings. This is a fascinating concept and part of Gallagher’s appeal to me, and were it not for the fact I’ve chosen to pick him up in a RP group, I’d leave it at that. But RP does demand a certain degree of certainty about a character, so my goal is not to undermine this concept with “truth,” but to establish a foundation for my writing.

To distill his character, I’ve separated canon information provided by the main story into “Verified By Another Source” and “Accepted As True Until Proven False.” Most of the information in the first category has been verified by Micah, Mikhail’s memory, and the Dreamjoy Memoir event, all of which we have to assume are trustworthy sources, while most information in the second category has been provided by Gallagher himself, who has a history of lying to the player characters without them - or the audience - being aware.

Verified By Another Source

Gallagher is a History Fictionologist, an emanator of Enigmata

He’s been branded as a traitor by the Family, along with Mikhail and Micah, and has a deep-seated distrust toward the Family

He’s existed as “Gallagher” in Penacony at least since the Age of Dreaming, which was several Amber Eras ago, and assisted Mikhail in developing the Watchmaker facade to lure visitors from all across the cosmos to the Planet of Festivities

He helped create Dreamflux Reef out of the primordial dreamscape, however, at the moment I only have concrete confirmation that he was responsible for the second time it was lifted. This was after Mikhail’s exile and it was used as a refuge for the other exiles who were fleeing the Family. Dreamflux Reef is the oldest city in the dreamscape and the place where Mikhail’s history as the Father of Penacony began, so it existed at some point prior to their exile

His appearance and parts of his character are copied from other members of the Family. According to Sunday’s suspect list, he: is laidback with a calm demeanor, is a Bloodhound security officer and also a charismatic drinksmith, slacks off on the job, has a habit of messing with his tie, smokes cigarettes, loves soda, likes to have a piece of candy before getting down to work, seems mentally older than he appears, has a stocky stature and distinguishable scars, regularly goes to the bar to drink after work, is generally unkempt and slobbish, and has a subtle sense of humor

He has the tendency to come and go quietly, and show up at just the right time

He created the memetic entity called Dormancy, which took several years of effort

He wrote the Charmony Festival invitations to bring competing factions to the Planet of Festivities and hoped that this would smoke out the true traitor in the Family

Sunday essentially “killed” Gallagher when he saw through his persona. If you watch the scene at the end of Act II, the background music quiets and a mournful bell chimes after this revelation, and then Gallagher gets pretty antsy. From outright stating that he's running out of time, to taking a more active role in the story's progression (almost to the point of pushiness), his behavior shifts quite a bit from this moment on

Accepted as True Until Proven False

Gallagher calls himself a child of the Watchmaker, similar to Micah. This tells us that Gallagher is younger than Mikhail and was "raised" by him like the other children orphaned during the War of Independence. However, we also know that there is a persona that existed before "Gallagher," and how old that persona is remains a mystery for now.

Mikhail, Micah, and the others never found out he was a “virtual character” or else he would have had to give up the persona long ago. This lends credence to the idea that he’s been known as “Gallagher” for a very long time

The features he collected from the individuals in the Family to concoct his persona were taken over time, not all at once. He's been refining his persona for years (much like one might refine their own personality in reality, hm?)

He self-identifies as a traitor to Mikhail, stating that he “did nothing” when Mikhail needed him. This seems to have been after the truth about the Family’s use of the Stellaron had been discovered (sometime after the Age of Dreaming), and Mikhail was getting pretty old. At some point, Mikhail gave Gallagher the directive to send invitations for the Charmony Festival, and then left for the frontier again (where he died and was later brought back to be enshrined in Dreamflux’s garden). If what Gallagher says about betraying Mikhail is true, then it may be that he hesitated for too long to send the invitations. Being as skeptical as he is, especially after centuries as a witness to Mikhail’s futile attempts to contact the Astral Express, I don’t think he believed that Mikhail’s idea would work, and so he and Micah (and others) tried to find a different way, to no avail. During this time, Mikhail disappeared and died out of sight

Gallagher was the only other person outside of the passengers of the Express who could see Misha, but having known Mikhail only in adulthood, he didn’t realize that this was the childhood spirit of his old friend until the Crew uncovered the secret of the dream bubble. In his About Misha II voice line, the JP version makes it more explicit that with meeting Misha, Gallagher is now a witness to the entirety of Mikhail’s life

He’s a “Virtual Character” who’s been around for a few Eras - so what does that mean?

When I first brought Gallagher into the group, my working theory was that he was created by some off-screen History Fictionologist and puppeted like one might control an avatar in a game. However, I no longer believe this to be a fitting interpretation. In the main story, Gallagher consistently calls himself the Fictionologist, and that Fictionologists cease to exist once their lie has been discovered. We don’t have any information to prove otherwise, so for now we have to simply believe him. It’s still congruent with his loading screen information and his character stories too: he fabricated this persona, which makes him both the author and the character. Firefly’s About Gallagher line seems to support this idea as well:

Learning about everything he experienced is like reading a brilliant novel. You know that the people are made up, but you still can't help but feel joy and sadness for them. Maybe by the end, we'll have long-lost track of who the author, the reader, and the characters are.

The end of 2.2 and 2.3, as well as the letter Gallagher leaves for the Trailblazer on the Express, all drive home the idea that Gallagher the character is gone now. “Life and death are merely fiction on the road to Enigmata, just like farewells and reunions.” He’s fulfilled his mission and has been uncovered as a fabrication; however, there was a persona that existed before "Gallagher," and so it's likely that there is a persona that exists after "Gallagher," too, even if it's one that needs to be remade from scratch.

The Hound statues associated with Gallagher continue to exist all throughout Penacony, and the one I think is the most interesting is the one you can find in the Scorchsand venue after 2.2. It’s sitting on a table directly across from the mysterious film that begins the Scorchsand Vacation adventure quest, which has tidbits about Gallagher’s and Dormancy’s fates, all captured by a “Mr. Reca” who, from the limited information we have about him, seems to be a Fictionologist as well. My red string theory is that this person, who still exists in the world, is linked to Gallagher.

“Even now, the world is still filled with characters that we’ve played.”

But that’s a post for another day.

Continuity in GH

Personally, I believe that Gallagher disappearing at the end of the story is poignant and stays true to the concept that he was made to convey. In any other situation, I wouldn’t try to figure out how to prove or explain how he still exists after the fact, but Gnostic Hymns requires characters to be up to date with canon, and I can’t write a current iteration of a character who doesn’t exist. As the mun who chose to pick up this tricky character for a group like this, I have to establish some way to keep him around past 2.3 in a recognizable form.

For GH’s purposes, I’m making the following assumptions:

Gallagher is not human. The “truest” part of him is likely the magenta energy that glows beneath his scars and in the eyes of the Hound statues. To keep up his human facade over the centuries though, he’s physically aged at the same rate as Micah (which means that he did indeed stop aging a while ago, since Micah’s physical body is gone now and Micah himself says that the way he appears is probably the way he looked the last time he entered the dream)

It’s through the blessing of Abundance that he has a near-immortal existence

With Enigmata being born from Remembrance, I believe that Emanators of Enigmata have similar rules and abilities as Emanators of Remembrance. In other words, both have the ability to exist as complex memetic entities that can travel wherever they want and assume the appearance of locals, as long as they’re fulfilling their aeon’s desires. Gallagher is therefore not confined to Penacony’s dreamscape

The Hound statues around Penacony are Gallagher’s avatars, through which he can observe areas where they’ve been placed. His existence in this way is more like that of a spirit

He and Dormancy are cut from the same cloth (in JP, Sunday even says this during their confrontation, instead saying that they’re merely “linked”), which is what gives him unique control over it. This seems to imply that he's more like a meme (similar to Black Swan, who can also control Dormancy to an extent) than human

So what now? In true Enigmata fashion, Gallagher simply exists in GH. He doesn’t have an explanation for it. I don’t have an explanation for it. Followers of Enigmata are said to even have trouble understanding themselves, so this still aligns with the lore. For threads that take place after 2.2, Gallagher is once more a drinksmith, although one who is found in Dreamflux more often than in the Family’s dreamscape. As far as anyone else is concerned, including those who knew him before 2.2, he’s just another dreamchaser. He’ll make no allusions to his involvement with the Astral Express or Penacony’s fate, and will be crafting a new backstory from his future interactions in GH, including those that take place in other worlds.

This doesn’t change how he’ll participate in threads outside of Penacony though. In all other instances, he’ll adopt a new persona for the purpose of the environment, although it will look and act similar to the Gallagher we know.

While I don’t believe Gallagher will make a return in future patches, I do think that there will be additional information pertinent to the path of Enigmata and History Fictionologists, so I expect to continuously update my interpretation as the game continues.

My favorite thing about Gallagher, and what I hope to keep at the core of my interpretation, is that ultimately, his presence in the story asks us to think about what we consider to be real. Can something fictional have a tangible effect on others or make a lasting impact on the world? I don’t think I have to guess what the writers of a RP group would say to that.

#out of character #headcanons #// if this is rambly it's because that's just the way my brain processes information #// I left out most direct quotes just to keep this a reasonable length but if a statement makes you curious feel free to ask for the source #// rai is temporarily free from me loredumping in her DMs like I've been doing for the past few months

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desertleviathan · 1 month ago

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Help Me Create a Character Part 4

Ok. Let's get this going again. This is part 4 of probably 7?

To summarize, I'm working on a homebrew system for my homebrew setting, so that the next time I run it it won't have to be using D&D 5E. The setting is a nation founded by Wizards who have made every aspect of politics, law, culture, education, religion, and economics subordinate to the pursuit of Magical Research. This is a clumsy allegory for Capitalism and the obsession with making Numbers Go Up whether or not the method of doing so translates into any product or service that's actually valuable. The player characters are revolutionaries dedicated to overthrowing the corrupt Wizard Oligarchy, part of a sophisticated underground organization that has turned the resources of the Wizards against them.

In the first poll, we determined the character's ancestry: They will be one of the Fae Folk indigenous to the Buer Valley who dwelt here in harmony with the land before the Wizards came.

In the second poll, we decided on a specific culture within that ancesty: The character is affiliated with Orofarne's Grove, a group of Fae and Fae-Friendly mortals who have distanced themselves from the four Seasonal Courts and instead gathered under the leadership of an ancient Treefolk Sage to learn nature magic that can, in theory, help push back the blight of alchemical pollution spreading out from the Wizard's domain.

In the third poll, we selected an occupation: Our character class is The Marvel, an individual whose training is focused on learning to use the extraordinary properties of their magic-infused physiology, rather than being a set of professional skills like the other classes.

In this fourth poll, we'll determine what type of Marvel we're going to create. But that's going to involve some pretty detailed preliminary explanation, and that's part of why this section has taken so long.

First of all, let's talk about the Attribute Scores in this homebrew system. There are eight of them, four Physical and four Mental, although that's more of a designation of convenience than a hard division. They're each paired in a Physical/Mental combo for your ability to exert Force, your ability to exert Finesse, your ability to exert Resistance, and your ability to exert Influence.

MIGHT - Your ability to exert physical force. Raw strength, but also the ability to leverage that strength effectively.

AGILITY - Your ability to exert physical finesse. Speed, precision, flexibility, and reflexes.

VITALITY - Your ability to exert physical resistance. Sturdiness against injury, disease, and fatigue.

PRESENCE - Your ability to exert physical influence. Appearance and non-verbal communication. Not necessarily attractiveness, but attractiveness can be a key contributor to presence. The ability to project dignity or intimidation are just as much a part of Presence.

INTELLECT - Your ability to exert mental force. Analysis and recall. Ties into perception abilities when you have time to exert sustained scrutiny.

WIT - Your ability to exert mental finesse. Wit is a function of being in the moment, aware of your surroundings and capable of making swift decisions based on the rapid intake of new information.

RESOLVE - Your ability to exert mental resistance. Stubbornness, sure, but also willpower and overall psychological resilience.

CHARM - Your ability to exert mental influence. Essentially, how good are you at communicating in a way that gets other people to do what you want. If the words themselves are in a powerful configuration even if the speaker seems kind of untrustworthy or unimpressive, it's a use of Charm.

Ok. Got that? Good. The Marvel, being more about what you are than what you know, ties a lot of its supplementary traits directly to these attributes.

To further clarify what the Marvel is as a class - the individual may have been a Mechanical Construct designed with certain hardware built right into their body, they may have been the result of magical experimentation to imbue a mortal with superhuman traits, they may be a mutant whose body has developed properties that set them apart from the rest of their species, or they may even be an entity that has coalesced a physical form out of improperly-disposed-of residual magic, and their ancestry traits are just an approximation for what type of existing creature they're most similar to. They will often, but not always, have a physical appearance that lets people know that something is unusual. At the very least, when they actually utilize their unusual traits observers will be able to recognize that they're not using Magic in a formal Spellcasting sort of way. A Marvel can usually still learn proper Spellcasting, and many of them bolster their inherent traits with a few simple complimentary spells, just like a member of the martially-inclined Torch class might learn a spell to keep their sword sharp and prevent it from breaking.

The subtypes of Marvel are a function of what Attribute their primary unusual property is associated with. A Marvel may change many of their properties, either by having a modular body like a Construct, or by undergoing secondary mutations due to additional magic exposure, but their Core Trait that's determined by this subtype will usually stay the same unless something alters them so radically that the GM is basically giving permission to redesign the character from scratch.

The names common to these subtypes are... not exactly friendly, derived from the slang used by Law Enforcement when they're dealing with an unusual individual and want to give their colleagues a heads-up on likely broad behavior patterns. Many members of the FreeBIRD movement have adopted these terms as badges of honor largely for the intimidation factor, but not every individual is comfortable with that usage.

Basically, imagine each of these subtype titles in the context of a Cop calling over the radio something like "We've got a Bruiser in a crowded public market, collateral damage is inevitable so we might as well deploy heavy artillery."

THE BRUISER - A Marvel whose primary unusual trait is tied to the Might attribute. You've got some bigass muscles, or perhaps the ability to hurl around heavy stuff and cause mayhem despite a conspicuous lack of bigass muscles, which people notice when your soft touch accidentally bends metal or cracks stone. Maybe you've got some kind of melee weapon integrated into your body, or a tool that can be wielded as such in a pinch. Regardless of your actual behavior, people who see you and recognize what you are will often assume that you have a volatile temper and a tendency to cause collateral damage, as individuals with Might-based mutations are almost always depicted as rampaging berserkers.

THE SLICER - A Marvel whose primary unusual trait is tied to the Agility attribute. You may just be supernaturally quick or precise, or may have something like additional limbs that are capable of fine manipulation and must require sophisticated neural processing to coordinate. You may also have some kind of integrated weapon, but it's one that will favor fine control over brute force, like scalpel-fingers or a prehensile tongue with a poisoned spine at the end. As the name implies, Slicers have a reputation for sadistic violence and cruelty. You may be the nicest person in the world, but if people see you moving a little too fast they'll assume you're going to cut someone's throat and then make a dash for the exit.

THE MARTYR - A Marvel whose primary unusual trait is tied to the Vitality attribute. You're just plain physically sturdier than a person should be. Maybe you're even visibly armored, whether with heavy metal plates as a Mechanical Construct, or with bone, chitin, or a field of visible energy that deflects attacks. You may heal more rapidly, and in extreme cases could even do things like casually reattach an amputated limb. Martyr-type Marvels often have exaggerated scar tissue development though, which can make you physically obvious even if you're not currently shrugging off some visible hardship. Law Enforcement's main goal in calling out the presence of a Martyr is to point out that it's not worth time firing at a specific target, and it's better to look for whatever accomplices they're trying to serve as a distraction from. As such, many Martyrs pick up a handful of mind-influencing spells to enhance their ability to keep hostile attention focused on them, where it will have the least impact.

THE CHARLATAN - A Marvel whose primary unusual trait is tied to the Presence attribute. You are impossible not to notice, whether you are beautiful in a way that transcends typical mortal traits, or very imposing and frighting, or even project an aura of quiet calm and wisdom. The Research Directorate's propaganda desperately wants to paint you as being inherently untrustworthy, regardless of motivations, but the simple fact is that most people will react positively towards you... or at least cooperate with you, if you're more frightening than friendly. This may include adaptations that let you alter your appearance, whether through illusions or physical shapeshifting.

THE MASTERMIND - A Marvel whose primary unusual trait is tied to one of the four Mental attributes, Intellect, Wit, Resolve, or Charm. Since these are harder for people to see and make rude judgments about, and because it's harder to distinguish what part of the anatomy would influence what specific irregularity, these are grouped together. You may have a larger cranium, or extra sensory organs, or crackle with telekinetic energy, or simply have a way of thinking and processing the world that strikes other people as unsettling whenever you express it. Regardless of how you use your mental gifts, many people will assume that you're some kind of criminal conspirator, organizing a group of miscreants and calling the shots from a distance.

THE ENIGMA - A Marvel whose primary unusual trait is tied directly to their inherent magic score rather than one of their Physical or Mental Attributes. You're a phenomenon not unlike a Living Spell, constantly leaking arcane energy into the world that reshapes the environment immediately around you in a specific way. Whatever this effect is, people will often assume it's unsafe, blaming you specifically for insufficient control, and seek to avoid you. Even if you've committed no crimes, Wizards may seek to capture you purely for the novelty of observing and experimenting on you.

So, which kind of Marvel shall our Fair Folk who has trained with the Druids of Orofarne's Grove be?

#aclodoc #wall of text #ttrpg worldbuilding #ttrpg design #the buer valley #the baetylus-illiaster research directorate

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onecornerface · 2 months ago

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Gooning & gooning-aversion in TCOAAL fandom

CW: Extensive discussion of incest (mainly between adult siblings), or rather of the eroticization of fictional portrayals thereof

I think the biggest problem in the The Coffin of Andy and Leyley (TCOAAL) fandom is something like... the division between the gooners and the gooning-averse?

Many gooners make TCOAAL fandom spaces unwelcome to many gooning-averse TCOAAL fans, often with a strong “edgebro” vibe, and I think this is bad. Many non-gooners morally condemn gooning itself, often in remarkably hostile and sloppy ways, and I think this is bad. It doesn't have to be this way.

I'm using the informal and vague term "gooning" here, since it is popularly used (including in the TCOAAL context) and seems to connote the right vibe for much of what I'm talking about.

To begin, here are two important facts on the ground: One, a lot of people find TCOAAL to be sexually exciting, including (often especially) the incestuous elements. Two, a lot of people find this fact extremely disturbing, and don't want to be exposed to expressions of it.

I contend that these are both legitimate responses, these are both authentic and important manifestations of TCOAAL fandom, and these should both be respected. The TCOAAL fandom should aspire to respect and accommodate gooners and gooning-averse fans, and recognize that they sometimes have legitimate interests that may require different spaces. (On “competing access needs,” see a few sections further down.)

I rarely see people express agreement or disagreement with this goal-- mainly because it seems to be rarely suggested in the first place. But I think it's a good goal, that it follows logically from broader principles of ethics in online community-engagement, and that it is worth fleshing out and arguing for.

I will explore some of the ethics and dynamics in this post, which will be preliminary and somewhat unorganized. I’m being a little arbitrary in what topics I’m leaving in vs. removing from this post. For a partial list of removed (but unfinished) sections, see the final section.

Definitions I'll define and distinguish several concepts that seem useful here. I'm defining these terms roughly and imperfectly, for limited purposes, relative to TCOAAL in particular. Importantly I distinguish two senses of "gooning," which I'll call "private" and "public."

Private gooning: Personally getting sexually excited by TCOAAL (particularly by its dark or taboo elements, such as incest)

Public gooning: Publicly expressing one's sexual excitement about TCOAAL

Gooners: Fans who goon

Non-gooners: Fans who do not goon (whether or not they are bothered by gooning)

Gooning-friendly fans: Fans who are unbothered by (or who enjoy seeing) public gooning, whether or not they goon

Gooning-averse fans: Fans who are bothered by public gooning (whether or not they are anti-gooners)

Anti-gooners: Fans (or non-fans) who morally condemn gooning

Gooner-attracting content: Fanmade content that tends to be viewed by gooners, and tends to be made by gooners (though it may also be made, and viewed, for non-gooning motives)

Gooning-friendly spaces: Spaces where gooning is allowed

No-gooning spaces: Spaces where gooning is not allowed (such a space may or may not be anti-gooning)

Anti-gooning spaces: A subset of no-gooning spaces, where the official position is that gooning is bad altogether (not merely disallowed in this space)

Some caveats and related topics/discourses Note that this analysis is a work in progress, based on relatively limited observations, though it's stuff I've been stewing over since late 2023, and an attempt to finally put some of my frustrations into words.

I encourage other TCOAAL fans and discourse-observers to examine whether the dynamics I describe seem accurate, insightful, misleading, or incomplete, and whether some generalizations I make could be undermined by counterexamples I haven't considered.

Moreover, there are many broader patterns and theories that have emerged over the years in online fandom discourse that I haven't followed much. Probably some ideas from that broader discourse would be applicable and insightful here.

This issue of course relates somewhat to "anti" vs. "anti-anti" discourse (which I don't like, partly because it is not adequately clear what people are against vs. against being against– it covers too many topics, and in an unhelpfully loaded way).

There are also parallels to “fujoshi” discourse, e.g. on whether to approve or disapprove expressions of gushing about enjoying “toxic yaoi.” Gooning to TCOAAL can have similar vibes to fujo’ing out, and I think the moral status of both would largely stand or fall together–embracing a defense of both, or rejecting both, in similar ways, for similar reasons. I admit there are also dissimilarities, such as in how anti-fujoshi positions (1) are arguably sexist, and (2) accuse fujoshi expressions of fetishizing gay men–two elements which might not have a close parallel to TCOAAL gooning dynamics. Nevertheless, it seems to me the default position should be either pro-fujoshi and pro-gooning, or anti-fujoshi and anti-gooning, unless there is a reason to think there’s an asymmetry.

I also suspect the more general moral disagreement over the status of gooning is closely related to the last few decades of disagreement over porn, particular between anti-porn feminists and anti-anti-porn feminists. It would make sense for someone who accepts certain anti-porn feminist views to also accept an anti-gooning stance, and for someone who rejects these anti-porn feminist views to reject the anti-gooning stance. (I mention anti-porn feminism here, since it is the only version of an anti-porn stance that I think is morally and intellectually serious enough to bother engaging with.)

I think the goonerism discourse also has parallels to pro-kink vs. anti-kink arguments, and my caveated defense of gooning will largely parallel what I think are defensible caveated defenses of kink. Anti-gooner rhetoric is closely related to kinkshaming. While I won’t explicitly develop my conception of kinkshaming and my anti-kinkshaming argument here, they are significant background components of how I analyze the gooning discourse.

My stance on gooning also resembles my stance on “sexualization” and “fetishization” in a variety of contexts, which I’ll clarify a bit further down.

Despite the likely parallels and overlaps, I don’t know enough on most of these other discourses to explicitly integrate previous analysis of them with the current topic, but I’ve noted them as potential areas for future inquiry.

Examples of public gooning A paradigm of public gooning is the large volume of TCOAAL rule-34 fanart that has been created, much of which is incestuous. Many of these fanarts are created for a variety of gooner motives and non-gooner motives (e.g. comedy, irony, etc.), but I take it that the promotion of such fanarts and the enthusiastic comments written in response are very frequently expressions of public gooning.

Another vivid example of public gooning would be this compilation (see note #2 below) of a livestream by vtuber Rina Lucsper– who is quite vocal about her sexual fantasy about having an older brother and fucking him. I've watched a lot of female vtubers stream TCOAAL, and several of them react similarly-- explicit sexual excitement directed toward the incest, often self-inserting onto Ashley, and saying stuff like “I wish I had an older brother, so I could fuck him.” Rina’s stream is one of the most intense I’ve witnessed.

I have also watched many vtubers who are fujoshi, and who gush over actual and alleged yaoi when playing the Metal Gear Solid series (e.g. between Snake and Otacon, or between Big Boss and Ocelot, or other less-common ships). The vibes of fujoshi gushing over yaoi, and the vibes of incest-fetishists gushing over TCOAAL, are highly similar. I imagine people could find them off-putting or disturbing for similar reasons as well. This supports my contention that they merit a similar analysis.

(Note: Rina does not actually have a brother, perhaps fortunately. But I speculate that if she'd had a brother, then she would not have developed her incest fetish. I suspect sibling fetishes and sibling-incest fantasies are more common among people who do not have the relevant type of sibling. But this is mere speculation, based on anecdotes [albeit I think a common pattern among the vtubers I’ve watched], and I don’t know if more rigorous empirical evidence would back it up or undermine it.)

(Note #2: I’m the person who created the above compilation of Rina. If and when she plays future chapters of TCOAAL, I plan to create similar compilations of those streams as well. I like her passion, I think it is cool and good and wholesome, much as I like fujoshi vtubers’ passion for yaoi in Metal Gear Solid. While I won't disclose here whether or not I goon, the fact that I made such a video reveals my status as a gooning-friendly fan. So that’s a potential source of bias on my part to keep in mind. Nevertheless, I don’t think the creation of such content is above moral scrutiny, and I want to be fair to all sides here.)

Gooning and Gooning-Aversion are both okay I think private gooning is a legitimate response to TCOAAL. And I think there ought to be spaces where people can gather together and voice these feelings unabashedly-- i.e. spaces for public gooning.

And I think it is equally legitimate for other people to find such expressions extremely off-putting. There ought to be spaces where they can discuss TCOAAL without seeing people gush about how turned on they get by the incest.

A subset of survivors of incestuous sexual abuse may find particular value in TCOAAL and in non-gooning TCOAAL spaces, and be especially put off by expressions of gooning. It could be especially bad for there not to be more spaces in which they can engage with TCOAAL without the risk of exposure to gooning. However, the legitimacy of the need for no-gooning TCOAAL spaces applies to everyone else as well (and obviously there is some overlap between survivors of incestuous sexual abuse and gooners, which I think is significant, though I don’t want to rest the bulk of my argument on it).

In short, I don't find any arguments against the moral status of private gooning to be remotely credible. I find it obvious that getting privately turned on by a work of fiction is generally okay and not in itself a serious target for moral condemnation. It is not wrong to privately goon. Even if it were wrong to privately goon, it would be nobody else's business (in the absence of public gooning). This is worth elaborating and caveating sometime, to clarify its theoretical foundations and respond to potential counterexamples, but I'll take this for granted here.

However, I grant that public gooning cannot be defended quite so straightforwardly. Public gooning is an action that affects other people, and it is at least sometimes morally wrong-- e.g. when it is done in a manner or context that is disrespectful to sexual abuse survivors, or when it is directed at a particular targeted person in order to upset them (in which case, it can veer into sexual harassment).

However, if private gooning is okay (which it surely is), then highly plausible views about expressive needs– about the personal and social benefits of discussing one’s feelings and interests, or the harms of demanding isolation and silence thereof– imply that public gooning is at least sometimes okay as well, and that there ought to be spaces for it.

To deny this would seemingly imply that private gooning is okay, but that it is never okay to vocalize one's feelings about it. This isn't a believable combination of claims. More likely, either (A) private and public gooning are both wrong (which is not believable), or (B) private and public gooning are both at least sometimes okay.

Distinction between gooning & gooning-associated beliefs/attitudes/behaviors Some beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors that may be associated with gooning are bad. For example, (1) engaging in sexual abuse, (2) believing that sexual abuse is okay, or (3) believing incorrectly that certain abusive acts are nonabusive, are all bad. And they can all be gooning-associated, in various direct or indirect ways. More on this further down. However, none of this supports the conclusion that gooning itself is bad.

My stance on gooning here somewhat parallels and overlaps with my stance on topics such as “fetishization” and “sexualization” (and possibly also “romanticization,” “objectification,” and a few other -ations). I think in many discourses that use these sorts of terms, the targets of criticism tend to be vaguely-defined clusters of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as some particular kind of sexual interest. My view tends to be that the sexual interest itself is not generally a proper target of condemnation, but that it is often associated with various bad beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors that are proper targets of condemnation.

For instance, consider “chaser” discourse and the “fetishization” or “sexualization” of trans people. I don’t think being specifically attracted to trans people is objectionable, but such attraction is sometimes co-caused by bad beliefs or attitudes about trans people (e.g. failure to grasp them as full humans with many nonsexual qualities), and may co-cause bad behaviors toward trans people (e.g. demeaning treatment of them in romantic contexts). Obviously “being attracted to trans people” and “gooning to TCOAAL” are different in too many ways to count, but my point is simply that I make similar distinctions in both cases. When “fetishization” is objectionable, the objectionable aspects can generally be disaggregated into a cluster of many more specific components, and such disaggregation can facilitate more fruitful criticism.

(And even if, unlike myself, someone does think criticism of sexual interests per se can be warranted, they should still welcome such disaggregation about the targets and rationales of the criticism.)

The need for more no-gooning spaces A lot of TCOAAL spaces are highly gooning-friendly, to the point where gooning (or at least gooner-attracting content) is pervasive. It is good for such spaces to exist. However, I think many non-gooner fans do not have enough spaces where they can discuss or express their appreciation of TCOAAL without being exposed to gooning.

Many non-gooners seek critical thoughtful analysis of TCOAAL, or spaces where they can engage in such analysis-- and cannot readily find them. This is not the fault of the prevalence of TCOAAL gooner-attracting content per se, but such content does seem to crowd out many valuable forms of non-gooner content, and many non-gooners have a legitimate complaint at this. Additionally, I think many non-gooners have a legitimate need to avoid spaces that contain gooning, as noted earlier.

(In fairness, I think the difficulty of finding spaces that are friendly to critical thoughtful analysis is common to many fandoms, not only fandoms in which gooning is prevalent. I also have difficulty finding critical thoughtful analysis of Metal Gear Solid, but the fujoshi element is so fringe that they cannot be accused of crowding out analytical content. The analytical content is hard-to-find for unrelated reasons. This also raises the possibility that analytical content of TCOAAL is hard-to-find for at least partly unrelated reasons.)

There ought to be more spaces in which critical analysis is encouraged, so fans can engage in substantive discussion of the story’s themes and artistic qualities. And some (not necessarily all) of such spaces ought to be non-gooning spaces.

A common response to this disconnect is to morally condemn gooning itself (or to speak in a manner that I think implies, insinuates, or presupposes the moral condemnation of gooning). This goes beyond non-gooning, into anti-gooning. I think this is a mistake. In fact, I think it is something of a mirror version of the same problem.

In gooner-friendly spaces, it is often hard to find thoughtful and detailed discussion of TCOAAL, and common to see mean-spirited jabs at some nebulously defined set of puritanical haters (but it's often unclear whether this is supposed to target anti-gooner non-fans, or anti-gooner fans, or who exactly).

In no-gooning spaces, it is common to see mean-spirited jabs at gooners (sometimes by conflating private gooning, public gooning, and particular bad behaviors associated with gooning). In no-gooning spaces, I do not much hear people saying "Gooning is fine, but people should do it somewhere else." Instead I hear people saying, or insinuating, "Gooning is bad."

I think we clearly don’t need more gooner-friendly spaces than presently exist (for TCOAAL in particular– this can vary by fandom, of course, but here I’m focused on TCOAAL). There exist plenty of those. I think we do need more no-gooning spaces– but we need more no-gooning spaces that aren’t anti-gooning.

Norms in gooner-friendly spaces and no-gooning spaces When we discard the anti-gooner position and recognize the legitimacy of gooning and gooning-aversion, and the reality of competing needs (again, see below), we can ask better questions. We can ask what sorts of behaviors within TCOAAL fandom spaces are actually bad (or good), what kinds of spaces there ought to be, whether there ought to be more of one or another (e.g. more non-gooner spaces), and what kinds of norms each kind of space ought to cultivate.

I sometimes hear the accusation that many gooners have bad beliefs or bad attitudes or behaviors– such as (A) a belief that Andrew and Ashley's relationship is healthy and good, or (B) a predilection towards engaging in incest IRL. I am skeptical that either of these claims is true, at least broadly.

Many gooners are explicitly well-aware that Andrew and Ashley's relationship is toxic (and many like it for this reason), which seems inconsistent with the notion that they are widely or easily fooled into accepting an overly positive view of such a relationship. Sometimes gooners (among others) say superficially alarming things like "She's just like me, fr fr" for subtle or ironic or humorful or roleplay-related reasons, which don’t reliably indicate actual agreement.

One could argue that such comments are bad even if they are not sincerely believed, e.g. that they are intrinsically disrespectful, or that they tend to indirectly promote bad beliefs/attitudes/behaviors. (By analogy, plausibly, racist jokes are objectionable even when not sincerely believed, on the grounds that they are intrinsically oppressive or indirectly promote bad beliefs/attitudes/behaviors.) But such a criticism would need to be spelled out and substantively argued for.

In any event, insofar as some gooner-associated beliefs or behaviors are objectionable, I don’t think this supports the blanket condemnation of gooning. Rather, I think a clear conceptual distinction– between the gooning itself, and certain beliefs or behaviors– can enable us to more coherently examine what objectionable beliefs or behaviors are indeed taking place, or what is bad about them.

There could be many ways in which gooning-friendly TCOAAL spaces ought to change and improve their norms, to avert the encouragement of bad beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors. However, I think this should occur via changes within the ethics of gooners and gooning-friendly spaces-- not via condemnation of gooning, private or public. I think the blanket condemnation of gooning is both false and counterproductive toward the improvement of gooning ethics.

Meanwhile, I think some no-gooning spaces should change their norms so as to be more clear on whether or not they are anti-gooning, and I think there ought to be more no-gooning spaces that explicitly aren't anti-gooning. In general, we recognize that it is right and proper for many spaces to have norms against certain kinds of expressions of sexual feelings, and that this is compatible with the legitimacy of having those feelings and expressing them elsewhere. TCOAAL shouldn’t be an exception.

Competing Access Needs - Safe Spaces for the Gooners and Gooning-averse fans This seems a good place to revisit the concept of "competing access needs," a term I think was coined by Kelsey theunitofcaring in this post some years back. I re-read it, and it is still a good post. She illustrates the basic concept, and its frequent applicability, by providing a bunch of examples. I think the concept can be extended to fandom as well, and to fandom for games such as TCOAAL that cover sensitive topics, featuring depictions that different people have starkly different emotions towards.

The post’s related terminology of “safe spaces” may seem dated or embedded within dubious social-justice frameworks, but I think the nuanced version of the concept (which is at issue here) is still pretty useful, and that it helps the analysis of this particular issue.

Not every space can be "safe" (or, in whatever sense, cannot meet the needs) of every person– but it is often good for people to have spaces that are "safe" for them, and sometimes these cannot be the same spaces. Complicating the matter further, on the internet, the boundaries between "spaces" are often blurry.

Different segments of the fandom have different needs–different things that will allow or prevent them from flourishing within fandom spaces– depending on many factors. In TCOAAL fandom, one of the most salient factors is how they feel about gooning to the subject matter.

I think there ought to be readily-identifiable 'goon-friendly spaces' and 'no-goon spaces', with different internal norms about whether gooning will be welcome or disallowed. Sometimes a single space might accommodate both crowds, e.g. via a good tagging system. Other times, separate spaces may be required.

Some people can flourish in both gooning-friendly spaces and no-gooning spaces. Other people will only do well in one type of space or another. Some gooners are uninterested in non-gooning aspects of TCOAAL, and would be uninterested in no-gooning spaces. However, gooners contain multitudes, and some gooners are just as interested in TCOAAL's non-gooning aspects as any other fan would be.

No-gooning spaces produce some of the best TCOAAL content, such as some of the best thematic analysis. Since some gooners like thematic analysis, they have reason to visit these spaces as well. However, many no-gooning spaces are implicitly or overtly anti-gooning spaces. And many gooners are thus made unwelcome in many such no-gooning spaces. Even when a no-gooning space isn’t explicitly anti-gooning, it may well come across as an anti-gooning space, or as at risk of being implicitly an anti-gooning space.

I think this is bad, and that more no-gooning spaces should aim to avoid being, or coming across as, anti-gooning spaces.

I have a lot more thoughts on this which I'm working on, but that's what I've got for now.

Some topics for potential future discussion What I covered in this post is scattershot. I've deleted (but copied elsewhere) several sections on related issues that would make this post too long-- on topics such as:

-The ethics of sexual fantasy (which my defense of gooning partly relies on)

-The moral status of incest in itself (which I actually think is less directly relevant here, but provides important context to the treatment of incest-fantasies)

-The remarkable hostility & sloppiness of popular anti-goonerism (which imo veers into bigotry, though a more nuanced anti-goonerism is possible)

-My actual concerns & criticisms of various gooner-associated behavior and gratuitous edgebro'ism. (By “edgebro’ism” I mean something like ‘conspicuous & excessive glee at the prospect of offending people.’ I don’t think edgebro’ism is always bad, but I think it is often bad, and that gooner-friendly TCOAAL spaces have too much of it.)

-The initial backlash to TCOAAL + fandom responses to said backlash (and why I think all the main responses were wrong)

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