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twistedwonderlandsimps · 9 months

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Technomaniac!Yuu

I'm just here to mix-and-match different kinds of Yuus with different kinds of personalities to see what monstrosity I can make. That being said,,, Technomaniac!Yuu brainrot!

So basically this Yuu belongs in the High Fantasy Yuuniverse on the human side and they’re absolutely obsessed with technology and becomes unhinged when creating stuff.

Mayhaps their family ran a robot-related business or a machine-creating business and that’s where their obsession started. Maybe Yuu’s obsession further increased due to the fact that they were a human being in a world full of otherworldly creatures.

In a world of high fantasy, there’s bound to be differing opinions and speciesism can’t be avoided.

Some creatures thought humans were inferior due to their short lifespans. That they were greedy and ignorant. Some humans were even prejudiced to their own kind. Others thought humans in a more positive light, the fact that they were versatile and determined when it comes to things.

So Yuu with no magic and no super powers strived to be the best in the only thing they knew they could fully control and wanted to prove to everyone that humans weren’t inferior, thus beginning their obsession.

This Yuu has this cute little drone hovering over them all the time because I said so. The drone’s very expressive and acts as a kind of assistant for Yuu.

So anyway, the day of the entrance ceremony?

Forget Grim opening the coffin, Yuu just ordered the drone to laser through the lid and then kicked it open.

Seeing this, Grim became startled but then soon after demanded their robe.

“Beep! Threat detected! Determining threat level, please wait… Threat level determined. Warning: Threat level 5, initiating self-defense protocol.” The drone hovering over Yuu’s shoulder turned to an alarming shade of red but before it could do anything, Yuu waved them off gently. “Stand down, A1.”

Yeah, the little drone’s called A1 meaning Assistant 1.

Thankfully, a battle between the force of fire and laser never happened since Yuu saw no reason to wear the ceremonial robe because they felt their clothes were much better and gave it to Grim but only on the condition that Grim become their second assistant.

Grim, too focused on acquiring the robe at all cost, didn’t notice Yuu’s condition.

Anyway, guess what Grim’s nickname is. Yeah, that’s right. It’s A2 for Assistant 2.

Let it be known Technomaniac!Yuu has no penchant for naming. All that’s in their brain is making technological stuff.

I just suddenly thought of Yuu having Doofenshmirtz penchant for naming, just slapping ‘-inator’ at the end of their creation’s names.

Can you imagine an overblot and Yuu just pulls out this strange device and introduces it like:

Yuu: “Behold! Marvel at my ‘Insta-Knockout SlumberBlaster 3000-inator!’ Riddle’s going to definitely go down with this in just one hit!” A1: “With only an approximate 63% chance of dealing concussion! A massive improvement from the previous trials!” Ace: “Excuse me, only 63%? Wait— Previous trials? Yuu, who did you test it on for you to get that statistic? Yuu? Yuu, come back here! Who did you test it on?! Yuu!”

Another overblot scenario would be…

A1: “Beep! Threat detected! Determining threat level, please wait…” Someone: “W… Why do you need to determine his threat level??? He’s literally about to kill us???” Yuu: “No, no, let my child cook.” A1: “Threat level determined. Warning: Threat level 10. Suggesting course of action: Run.” Yuu: “Okay, now we run.”

Let’s not forget holograms!

Imagine Deuce seeing Yuu facing away from him in the distance so he runs over to them and tries to gain their attention. He tries to tap Yuu’s shoulder but their hand just goes over Yuu’s form, leaving a slight glitch-like effect where Deuce’s hand passes through.

Hologram Yuu looks over to Deuce and says:

“Alas, as I am not here, I disappear.”

Then throws out a peace sign before slowly fading away while still maintaining eye contact.

Now that I think about it, on the first day of their janitorial duties, Yuu was able to make a weird-looking cleaning device out of metal scraps and pieces they found in Ramshackle and it somehow worked.

Well, for the most part anyway.

Having no windows technically meant nothing to clean so in a way Yuu was doing their job, yes?

Yeah, Yuu broke a few windows and may have contributed to the chandelier also breaking that day so Deuce ain’t the only one at fault for this.

Speaking of, Ace’s first meeting with Yuu.

When he was introducing the Statues of the Great Seven to Grim and Yuu, Yuu turned to him and asked in the most serious voice possible if Ace wanted the statues to be animated by turning it into animatronics.

Ace barely managed to stop Yuu from dismembering the statues.

Technomaniac Yuu at literally everything they can see: “I can make it better!”

Giving broken things to Technomaniac!Yuu to be fixed is a gamble.

Oh, a toaster? Well, you either get a completely fixed toaster that’s a bit better with warming your bread than before or it turns into a charcoal-maker. There is no inbetween.

Your phone? Oops, might’ve accidentally turned the flashlight function into a flashbang, teehee.

Technomaniac!Yuu is basically the tech support of NRC.\

Or more like tech terror. Tech-rorr, get it? I’m so funny.

Speaking of NRC, Yuu got banned from going to Ignihyde dorm.

That’s because they got too excited seeing all the new devices and technology they haven’t seen before in the dorm and kind of dismantled almost everything to see how it worked.

Ooooo, now that I’m thinking of it, cybernetic body modifications!

Like, what if they got severely injured against one of the overblot boys? Lost a limb or two? Or maybe they already had cybernetic body modifications even before they arrived in Twisted Wonderland.

Imagine them having an arm kinda similar to the robot arm Princess Bubblegum gifted Finn with the various power tools/weapons functions. There’s probably a rocket launcher function around there somewhere.

Rook tries to stalk Technomaniac!Yuu but it always ends up being a hologram. Why do you think Rook calls them Trickster?

Wait, can you imagine the dynamic between Technomaniac!Yuu and Malleus?

One’s so bad at technology while the other’s the complete opposite.

Yuu asks Malleus if he wants his phone to be upgraded and suddenly Malleus’ phone has a built-in taser, ultra hd 4k graphics camera and video resolution, live tamagotchi game synchronization and surveillance, 24/7 AI assistance, unlimited wifi, faster internet speed, ultra deluxe storage expansion, the strongest antivirus known to to mankind, and Malleus still doesn’t know how to use his phone.

Yuu learns Briar Valley has technomancy and they’re immediately putting that place as a vacation spot because hello? Combining magic and technology? Can you imagine all the things they could create with those two forces combined? They’d be unstoppable!

Also, the Magicam Monsters stand no chance against Technomaniac!Yuu.

The moment those suckers break into Ramshackle, Yuu would immediately interfere with their gadgets and kick them out if they’re feeling merciful.

If not, well, say hello to the most vengeful virus they’ve ever met in their lives.

No matter what gadget they change into, the virus will always follow them everywhere in the cyberspace network and break their devices or cause them the most annoying inconveniences.

Slow internet? You betcha! Wifi symbol on but internet not coming through? Why, it happens almost every other day! Apps failing to open at the most crucial time? Lmao, rofl.

Speaking of gadget, Cater probably asks Yuu to upgrade his phone so he can take better selfies.

Thankfully the upgrade was a success and nothing exploded.

Yuu: “Well, here’s your phone, Cater! New and improved with better camera quality, efficiency, and effectiveness! Also, I hope you don’t mind but I also added an app that I occasionally use called Therapy Bot. Free of charge!” Cater: “Thanks, Yuu! Wait—” Yuu, looking around and leaning in to whisper: “Between you and me, I think everyone in this school could really benefit from Therapy Bot.”

Technomaniac!Yuu the most unhinged yet one of the most sane Yuu variants out there.

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i-read-in-five-languages · 2 years

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french language resources masterlist

Last updated: 02/11/2023

Websites

RFI Savoirs has lots of listening and reading activities (from A1 to B2)

Apprendre le français TV 5 Monde has listening activities from A1 to B2

Tester son niveau - this is a free placement test (just listening)

CNTRL Dictionnaire is a dictionary

France Université Numérique - free MOOCS (massive open online course) with different levels: Level A1 - Level A2 - Level B1

Kwiziq (a website that you can test your level and study grammar)

Music

French songs you should listen to

french aesthetic songs (youtube)

Crème French playlist (youtube)

Books/Reading

GEO Magazine is a online magazine with articles about nature and history

Library Genesis has many books in french and other languages too

TV/Movie

TV 5 Monde has series and movies from France and other countries (for free), available for desktop and mobile (ios and android)

TV 5 UNIS has series and movies in French (mostly from Quebec). Some of the shows are not available outside Canada (but you can use it with a vpn)

Podcasts

Artips podcast (art, music, science)

France culture podcasts (various subjects)

Apps

WLINGUA app (both IOS and Android) teaches grammar

Other

French grammar pdf exercises - if you search the topic you're learning (example: le passé composé) + pdf, you're going to find many pdf activities from University of Quebec. Like this one: Passé Composé UQuebec

Artips is a newsletter about art, music, science and ecology that you receive in your email. You can chose the topics you wanna subscribe (example: I subscribed for art and music newsletters).

Bon courage !

#learning languages #learning french #langblr #french langblr #french langblog #french language #langblog

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helyiios · 5 days

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once for fun i took a language test for french (my mothertongue) and you know what level i landed on? A1.

#yvaintive

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gaelicwordofthesometimes · 1 year

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So you want to learn Scottish Gaelic

These are just some resources and organisations I have found/used in my learning so far

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig - The Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is a Gaelic school on the Isle of Skye. They offer both in person and long distance courses in a variety of Gaelic related subjects and a variety of levels. Obviously I wouldn't recommend taking on a full university degree unless you're really interested in that as it's a lot of time, money, commitment etc, but I've listed them because they're a major contributor to the Gaelic learning world. They also have online summer courses for learners of various levels

Duolingo - This is a great starting place. Their Gaelic course was created in partnership with the the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. The full grammar notes for the course can be found here. From what I've found, this course is estimated to get you to roughly A1 going on A2

LearnGaelic - This website has a mixture of basic grammar intro lessons as well as a dictionary. I find that the dictionary sometimes has trouble filtering relevance of vocab, but overall I find it quite helpful

Gaelic Books Council - The Gaelic Books Council supports Gaelic writers and publishers, promoting and selling Gaelic books in a range of genres. They have both original works, and popular works which have been translated into Gaelic

Acair Books - A Stornoway based publisher of Gaelic, Scots and English books. They have a large selection of children's books which are great for beginner learners, but also have adult books

The Scottish Book Trust - A charity dedicated to reading and writing in all of English, Scots and Gaelic. You can browse their website for a range of poetry, prose, learning resources, writers' awards and fellowships

Am Faclair Beag - The Little Dictionary. I find this dictionary is slightly better at filtering by relevance than the LearnGaelic dictionary, so I often use it to cross reference. LearnGaelic has a tendency to give you the most obscure translation first, whereas Am Faclair Beag will usually prioritise more common translations

Speak Gaelic - Speak Gaelic is a series created by BBC ALBA. There is a YouTube series with Joy Dunlop, a podcast with John Urquhart, and a website with quizzes to test your learning. The initial series is roughly A1, with some of the later episodes aiming for A2. A good intro, though the website is known to be a bit glitchy

Beag air Bheag - Little by Little. Also by the BBC, this is a slightly more advanced series than Speak Gaelic, but hosted by the familiar John Urquhart. I can't find the exact CEFR level, but I seem to remember it being advertised as B1-2

BBC ALBA - The BBC's Scottish Gaelic programs. I occasionally scroll through their iPlayer. Some of the shows have captions which I find helpful, although not all do. Children's TV is always a great way to learn a new language as it is designed with children learning the language in mind. I think I saw they had some Moomin Valley last time I looked

Faclair nan Gèidheal - The Dictionary for Gayls (gay/queer Gaels). This is a great resource filled with a tonne of terminology relating to the LGBTQ+ community. This is where I get vocab like tar-ghnèitheach and neò-bhìnearaidh from

Open Book Reading - An organisation who run Gaelic speaking, reading and writing sessions both in person and online. I'd recommend looking at their Eventbrite page

The Mega Folder - I'm sure people have seen me talk about this before. I'd personally recommend Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks

Editing this to specify that Gaelic means the Scottish variety. If people keep tagging this as Irish I swear to God

#gaidhlig #scottish gaelic #celtic languages #gaelic #resources

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solarianvoidthearoace · 5 months

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Because of the mess that Duolingo turned out to be, I checked out a recommended app (list of recommendations here.)

I tried Busuu today and it’s great!

It actually uses the language skill levels of A1/ A2/ B1/ B2 that are used to compare language proficiency.

The assessment test was swift and didn’t feel pressuring, you can actually re-do the assessment for a language you already started whenever you feel like it!

However, one major point of critique (which is actually about accessibility): you can not turn off speaking exercises in Busuu. You can only repeatedly click “skip” whenever they pop up. But you can not just say “I don’t want/ can’t do speaking exercise at all.” And the same goes for listening exercises but worse because you can’t even skip those within your regular exercises/ lessons!

Disclaimer: I am not Deaf/ deaf nor mute. To me these things are annoyances more than actual accessibility issues but it does make Busuu feel rather inaccessible. Sometimes I just don’t want to deal with listening exercises. And I generally don’t like speaking “on command” or vocally replying to prompts. But, again, for me these are preferences.

I know speaking and listening exercises are important to achieve an actual comprehension for a language and I recognise avoiding speaking/ listening might slow down my progression in my chosen languages of study. I recognise that I need to and do consume media where I need to listen to the languages I’m learning.

To other people, it is an actual problem of accessibility that you can not universally turn off speaking/ listening exercises in Busuu.

I just figured this might be an issue people will inevitably notice now that we are changing away from Duolingo in droves and someone had to make a post about it.

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astoldbychae · 3 months

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Little fires...everywhere

Papa is putting his Level 8 Parenting skills to the test after a long days work. After picking the girls up from school, He wanted to take them to the splash park and for ice cream, since it was nice out but the little misses had other plans.

Eden threw a tantrum as soon as they made it into the house and kicked her big sister in the shins after being called an alien...

[Like clockwork, Monet was sucking all over Melo's neck once he got in the house (its literally her FAVE thing to do...anyway). Meanwhile, I hear GeGe and Eden fussin'...as I pan the camera over, E is kicking her sister whilst throwing a tantrum. These girls wild out at their mom's house...but Melo does not play that. Sidenote: She somehow changed her outfit but we're gonna ignore that]

After calming little stinka mamas down with huggies (his hugs are her fave) and teaching her to not have meltdowns...

Little Miss Sunshine took it upon herself to make several messes on their kitchen floor, which got her grounded from watching TV for the rest of the day. They had a nice little talk & He influenced her to clean up her mess.

But of course He had to take a moment to brush his shoulders off...C'mon A1 parenting. 🤣

As soon as he turned around to grab a snack, there was a tiny little tap on his leg. Little Mama had finally calmed all the way down and wanted ALL his attention. She babbled about toys and tried to convince him to give her a cookie...but he decided to read her a story instead while they wait for dinner. Needless to say, she's wasn't here for it. That was not apart of her plan.

Dad: 1 // Eden: 0

After dinner, Papa checked in on babygirl as she woke up from her nap (ready to see him of course) and Monet brought Eden upstairs to play with her dollhouse.

As the house began to wind down for the night...

GeGe felt the need to air out her grievances..."Dad! The little alien broke my dollhouse"...

While Papa stepped right in to save the day, Monet dramatically got all the tea on why the little alien broke it in the first place.

I can't with him. W Dad!

I can't with her. Meanwhile, She's all like "my man, my man, my man"...until he received a phone call from Marguerite that she would be there in 25 minutes

#astoldbychae random gameplay #oc: carmelo hollingsworth #oc: monet giordano #Melo in Dad Mode #is my favorite. . .#Monet...girl...give him all the babies #PLEASE

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aiteanngaelach · 5 months

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this is the TEG online test for ur irish level, it's fairly long (60 ceisteanna!) but an-suimiúil.

be truthful! u neednt say what you got, but please click the actual level u got

#ireland #gaeilge #irish #language #TEG #i got b1

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hazel-of-sodor · 9 months

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The Concept of Family in British locomotives

Let's talk about the family concept in British locomotives. This concept has changed through the history of railways in Britain, so we will be primarily focusing on the North Western Railway's Flagship Express Locomotive, No.4 Gordon, once we reach the 20th century.

In the early days of steam, all Locomotives were cousins, as there were so few, but as their numbers grew, locomotives began to associate locomotives sharing the same builder as kin, and the concept of all locomotives being related would slowly fade. The concept of classes of steam locomotives was at best primitive at the time, as technology progressed with such speed that oftentimes an engine was outdated before construction was completed. All engines of the same builder were seen as cousins or ancestors. Siblings were a rare concept at the time, reserved for unusually close engine pairs

As the form and technology of the steam locomotives settled into established forms, classes began to appear with greater frequency. Batches of engines began to appear built to the same design. Built alongside each other, these engines quickly were recognized as siblings and often had close relationships. Complimenting the existing cousins of the same builders.

By this time Railways were growing (and absorbing each other) rapidly. The idea of all engines of a railway being family fell to the wayside quietly on the larger lines, with fleetmates instead being seen as team members.

It was into the end of this era that Great Northern Railway No.100 was first steamed. One of the first Pacifics to be built in the British Isles (and the first successful standard gauge one). No.100 Gordon was the testbed for Sir Nigel Gresley's next-generation express locomotive. As an experimental express testbed, he represented the vision and hope for the future of the railway and was held in high esteem by the other engines on the railway. His high-performance levels only increased his status. However, this status came with the fact. While amicable with the existing express 4-4-2s and 4-6-0s, they were hardly family. While Gresley had designed other locomotives, they were either shunters, freight engines, or smaller mixed traffic designs, and as such rarely crossed paths with their younger cousin. This would change in 1922 with the introduction of No.1470, Great Northern.

Great Northern was the result of Gordon's testing, the first production pacific on the GNR (or Britain). Finally, Gordon had a sibling. Gordon was quickly found to be protective of his little brother, determined that they would never know the loneliness he felt. They were soon joined by No.1471 Sir Fredrick Branbury before the event that shook their world. Grouping arrived with the dawn of 1923.

Grouping saw the railways of the British mainland organized into 4 new railways. The London Midland and Scotland Railway, the Great Western Railway, the Southern Railway, and the A1s new home: The London North Eastern Railway. Seemingly overnight the idea of the railway being your family would be struck down for the majority of lines in Britain, as those railways suddenly no longer existed. Each of the "big four" fleets responded differently. The LMS largely let the concept lie, indifferent to how their locomotives saw each other as long as they performed to expectations.

The Great Western aggressively pushed the concept of The Great Western Way, and the idea they were all "Great Western." Decades later in the 1980s, the surviving pre-grouping locos would adopt a TV line to describe the experience with the phrase, "Resistance is futile, you will be Swindonized."

The Southern came together as a team out of sheer necessity to keep the railway running, but the pre-grouping locomotives would never quite see each other (or the Southern-built engines) as family. Teammates for certain, but the majority still identified themselves by their pre-grouping line.

The LNER closed ranks under the leadership of their express engines. The A1s, including the newly built 1472. found themselves suddenly sharing sheds alongside the Raven-designed Rival A2 pacifics, City of Newcastle and City of Kingston upon Hull. Many expected the two classes to clash, but when No.2400 and 2401 pulled into the sheds, No.100 saw the same weight and loneliness he had borne before his sibling's construction. Before any of the others in the shed could speak Gordon firmly welcomed the former NER engines as cousins. This precedent would be followed by the other express classes, eventually spreading throughout the LNER. In the end, the Gresley A1 would be chosen as the LNER's flagship express engine, but 8 more A2s were built, 2402-2409. No.2402-2404 had begun construction prior to grouping, but 2405-2409 were authorized by Gresley himself. Why he did this is uncertain, but it noted that No.100 had visited Doncaster for unscheduled maintenance the day before the decision was made.

However, No.100 was not destined to remain with the newly formed LNER. By August of 1923 the 10th A1, No. 1480 Enterprise had been completed at Doncaster Works. The LNER board decided that No.100 was no longer needed, preferring to replace the non-standard prototype with a production A1. Gresley argued it would be cheaper to bring No.100 in line with the production A1s, but the board wished for Great Northern to be seen as the first A1, no prototypes required, and No. 100's existence interfered with that.

Fortunately, Gresley convinced the board to sell Gordon to a Railway that desperately needed him. LNER No.100 left Doncaster and his eleven siblings in August 1923, bound for the North Western Railway.

The North Western Railway had been formed in 1915 from the existing standard gauge railways on the Island of Sodor off the coast of Barrow in Furness. The mainline had connected the western coast of Sodor to the British mainland by rail to facilitate the movement of troops and supplies during the Great War. Following the war, the island had seen a massive industrial boom with rising population levels to match. The railway's fleet was primarily composed of pre-1900 castoffs and former Railway Operating Division locomotives. None of which were suitable for the Express service between the western terminus of Tidmouth and Barrow in Furness. One may be excused for wondering why the problems of a western island railway would bear any attention from the London North Eastern Railway. The answer, as is so often true in railway politics, is spite.

In 1923 the North Western Railway had, through a combination of politics, bribes, and actions of questionable legality, managed to remain independent, much to the ire of the London Midland and Scotland Railway. The LMS, already the LNER's sworn rival, had made it their mission to absorb the NWR by any means necessary, as they felt cheated by the line's exclusion from the Grouping Act of 1923.

The LNER saw an opportunity to screw over the LMS with the sale of No.100 to the NWR. With the acquisition of the Gresley Pacific, the North Western could then manage a competitive timetable with its express without doubleheading. Gordon was checked over at Doncaster Works, painted in an express variation of North Western Passenger Blue, and sent off to the NWR with a line of older express coaches that had also been purchased.

Gresley himself turned Gordon over to the NWR, but not before telling the newly renumbered number 4 to make him proud.

The former No.100's early days on the NWR were a success from a performance standpoint, but not a social one. This point in the NWR's mainline fleet, as with many sheds following grouping, was perhaps most comparable to a pack of feral hounds fighting over a bone. Half the fleet were engines purchased during the war, older designs desperate to prove their worth to avoid the fate of their siblings on the mainland. The other half were newer, stronger, engines loaned on trial just before grouping, which saw themselves as inherently better than the rest. They believed the NWR should purchase them before they were returned to the LMS the following year and scrap the older engines. Each engine was fighting to prove themselves, especially at the cost of their competitors.

Throwing a top-of-the-line LNER Pacific into the mix only inflamed tensions. The wartime engines saw him as their worst fears confirmed, the railway purchasing new engines to replace them. The loaned engines loathed him not only for actually being everything they saw themselves as, but also for being LNER, suggesting the North Western may turn to the LNER for new motive power rather than the LMS. Gordon, stripped of his home and his siblings, was in no mood to manage either group's fears or egos.

It is impossible to guess how much longer this state of affairs may have went on for had it not been for the NWR's No.3. No.3 "Henry" was the North Western's previous attempt at purchasing a suitable express locomotive. A 4-6-2 built from stolen Gresley plans, Henry had been a poor steamer, and had struggled with the lesser Expresses, and was utterly incapable of pulling the flagship Wil'Nor'Wester. It had all come to a head two weeks after Gordon had arrived when the pacific had stopped in a tunnel during a storm and refused to come out, resulting in the Railway's general manager, the future Sir Topham Hatt, lifting the rails and bricking the tunnel entrance. Gordon, used to Gresley's high standards for express engines, initially held little sympathy for the confined engine, and even less hesitation in letting said engine know his opinion as he shot past. However as time passed, and Gordon's loneliness grew, he could help but see his siblings in No.3's place. Finally, in late 1923, Gordon took charge of the mainline fleet. He had developed a working (if reluctant) respect for the oldest engine in the shed, a 4-4-0 of Furness origins, and together the two created a plan to save the imprisoned locomotive. One night in late autumn, the first of many "indignation meetings" on the NWR was held as Gordon faced the other engines and told them in no uncertain terms that they would be saving their fleetmate.

The plan went flawlessly. Gordon "failed" outside the tunnel and Henry was pulled out to save the train. While it was revealed that STH had known about the plan, it was still considered a success by Gordon and the majority mainline fleet. However, there was a side effect Gordon hadn't seen coming.

Gordon had expected for the engines to execute the plan, then return to fighting each other. Instead, they unified behind the flagship pacific. Whilst several engines (mostly the newer loaners) would try to challenge him for leadership, they quickly found there was no competing with the Gresley. In performance, he was both the fastest and strongest engine on the railway, as the railway's flagship engine he held the favor of the board and STH, and his willingness to damage his own performance to save another engine had earned him the fleet's loyalty.

Slowly, reluctantly, the No.4 came to see the North Western fleet as family. First came No.3, Gresley in design if not name (or performance) he was the closest Gordon had to a sibling. The old 4-4-0 (No.2 Edward) would earn the Pacific's grudging respect by his work ethic. The following year an experimental mogul from the LMS would arrive (No.5 James) which would quickly become the annoying sibling No.4 never wanted. Throughout all of this, Gordon would occasionally encounter his siblings. It became a tradition for any new LNER express locomotive to make the run to meet Gordon on the NWR, so he would eventually meet all 79 of his siblings, and many of his cousins.

From 1925 to 1939, Gordon led the NWR in his battle for survival and independence in the world of the big four, but by 1939 his conjugated valve gear was worn and fouling. Many expected Gordon to be sent to Doncaster to be rebuilt to A3 standards like many of his siblings. Instead, STH called in a favor with the LMS's chief mechanical engineer, William Stanier. Gordon arrived in Crewe Works stoic and dignified, expecting to be treated as the enemy by the LMS Pacifics and 4-6-0s. Instead. He received a hero's welcome.

While the two companies were rivals, Gresley and Stanier knew each other, and CMEs were often known to discreetly share ideas and progress. Gordon was Britain's first (successful) pacific, and the Princess Royals and the new Princess Coronations saw him as their predecessor. Furthermore, No.3 had been previously rebuilt at Crewe into Black 5 4-6-0 following a 1935 accident, so as Henry's adopted sibling, he was considered their cousin at least. His Gresley origins could be easily ignored, he'd be a Stanier engine soon enough. For the first time, Gordon was exposed to the idea that not just LNER Pacifics, but all British Pacifics, were his family.

Then war broke out. Gordon had been scheduled for testing on the LMS following his overhaul, but instead his overhaul, but instead the Crewe workmen worked day and night to expedite his return to Sodor. On his final night on LMS metals, Gordon embraced his position as the eldest pacific in Britain for the first time. He spoke to a gathering of the premier express locomotives of the big four at London's King's Cross Station. They were no longer four railways, rivaling each other, he said, but one country standing against a common foe. Gordon departed King's Cross in the dead of night, pulling a long line of coaches filled with evacuating children.

The war on the North Western saw Gordon switch over fully to goods work for the first time in his life. With travel discouraged except in emergency, the express could be handled by smaller engines, leaving the power of the newly rebuilt express engine free for war traffic.

The binds between the NWR fleet were reforged again in steel as the railways of Britain pulled together for the war. Sodor possessed multiple ports, and these were desperately needed safe havens in the uboat-infested waters of the Atlantic. Through it all Gordon led the North Western with a firm hand, pushing all to work their hardest, but keeping overzealous engines and men from pushing his fleet mates too far. Sodor fared better than the mainland, but even this western island was not exempt from the horrors of the blitz. An image of Gordon pulling a line of flatbeds lined with tanks and artillery through Tidmouth the morning after the Blitz strike which decimated the city would become famous as a sign of both Sudrian and British resolve.

The end of the war saw Gordon return to passenger service, returning troops from the mainland to Sodor. The morning he finally returned to head the Wil'Nor Western, freshly repainted in NWR Express Passenger blue, was greeted with cheers and fanfare along the line. The war was over, but its effects were not.

On January 1st, 1948, the standard gauge railways of Britain were nationalized. The big four no longer existed, instead, there was one giant railway with four major regions...in theory. In reality, it was far more difficult to join four rival railways together than signing legislation. It was one thing for the railways to put aside their differences for the good of their country, that was quite simply an engine's duty. It was another to tell the engines and their crews that their rivals of nearly three decades were now their fleet mates. The early days of British Rails were strange indeed. While many had gained a professional respect for their peers during the war, for many engines, their railway was as integral to their identity (and the identity of other locomotives) as being British was to their crews. This was exasperated by the fact that many sheds were led by their express engines, who were built and run in direct and often intense competition with their rivals. The arrival of new locomotives which had only served under British Railways further complicated the already complex situation.

It was into this situation that Gordon would return to the Mainland in 1949. As the unofficial fifth region, the North Western had largely been ignored by British Railways, as there were enough problems managing the former big four without creating the headaches dealing with the Sudrians always invoked. Nonetheless, the North Western Region was invited to send a locomotive for the 1949 Exchange Trials. The trials were meant to directly compare the mainline locomotives in service with the newly nationalized Railway, which did absolutely nothing to dissipate the former rivalries. Gordon was the first and only, choice to represent the North Western Region. Gordon thrived in the trials. His rebuild may have lowered his top speed, but his greater power allowed him to accelerate his trains faster, even up hills. He would routinely match or exceed his Big Four peers in timings. During this time he ran expresses and fast freights alongside many of his cousins and siblings from the LNER, as well as his adopted LMS relatives. He would also develop a rivalry with the Great Western 4-6-0s at this time, as they were the only ones who could challenge him on the hills. British Railways were impressed with his performance, and many of his design elements would be translated into the future Standard 7 class Britannia. It was during this time that he would meet No.34090, Sir Eustace Missenden. She was a Battle of Britain class Light Pacific of Southern Design. Newly built, the young pacific struggled with passenger work. Young and excitable, she worked well with trucks but was deemed too flighty for express work. No one but No.4 himself knows exactly what about her caught his attention, but perhaps she reminded him of his younger siblings. In any case, the first pacific took the youngest under his wing, requesting the management arrange for them to double-head several expresses.

The southern region's management was far from stupid, and eagerly arranged for the two to work together so that she could be mentored by him. Gordon was a stern but knowledgeable teacher, and 34090 was eager to learn. By the time No.4 left for the next set of trials, 34090 was considered one of her shed's best Express engines, and although it would be years before he admitted it, Gordon had a new youngest sibling, Rebecca.

Gordon would return to the Island of Sodor after the trials, and with him came the attention of British Railways. The two organizations began circling each other, but that mattered little to Gordon, his job remained the same. With the exception of an incident in 51, Gordon's existence would remain the same as always, hauling the express and occasional freights. That would all change in 1955.

The Modernization Plan of 1955. The plan to scrap all steam locomotives on British Railways in favor of diesel locomotives. Up to this point, the North Western Region and British Rails had been trying to play nice with each other. British Railways was established with the sole purpose of bringing all standard gauge lines in Britain under one ruling body. Sodor had a history of nodding their heads whenever 'foreigners' gave them orders, then ignoring said orders. Relations between BR and their fifth region had always been strained at best. The announcement of the Modernization Plan brought on a full-on cold war. Sodor was a safe haven for steam and would remain so, even if they had to cut ties with the mainland to do it.

The North Western Region was in a fight for its very existence, and Gordon was at the head. As their Flagship express engine, Gordon was the image of the North Western to many. Every time British Rails sent a diesel for the NWR to test, Gordon would shatter their timings, proving the NWR could not only keep up with BR while using steam but beat them. As the Hatts took the political fight to London, Gordon joined a very different fight.

Sodor had long been a place where engines could escape scrap, but now there were far, far more in need. Gordon's strength and power were needed more than ever. In most cases, the mighty pacific would never see the engines snuck into the rear of his Night Express, but he always felt their weight. When the last day of steam came in BR, Gordon had never once been late with the midnight express to Tidmouth in the thirteen years since the modernization plan was announced. Even when he did see his charges, it mattered not where they came from, they were all steam engines, and they were all under threat. Even when Gordon received work of the final A3s scrapping, leaving only Flying Scotsman and himself of a class once 80 strong, he did not falter. In the latter years of steam, he faced a challenge of another type, diesels, the very engines his kind were being scrapped for, began seeking refuge. British Rails wasn't satisfied with many of its early diesels, and sent them to die with the steam engines BR had once promised they'd replaced. In 1966, Gordon found BR 10000 and 10001 hiding in the barrow yard while he went to fetch his coaches (the shunter had derailed to distract officials so Gordon could collect the engines) He stared for a long moment, the sisters nervously staring at the former LNER pacific before he sighed deeply, coupling up and shunting them to the end of his train.

Engines will often say the Lady rewards those who work hard, and few worked harder than North Western No.4. Gordon was not left to believe Flying Scotsman was his only living sibling for long. The end of 1967 saw his eldest sibling, Great Northern escape to Sodor, years after she had been thought scrapped. She was no longer an A1 or A3 (or male) due to a "rebuild" by Thompson, but that didn't stop Gordon from bashing British Rails D5701 hard enough to create micro-factures in the diesel's frames when it tried to lunge for her. British Railways sent out a notice, any steam locomotive that made it to Sodor was to be considered irretrievable. It wasn't worth losing more diesels to the mighty Pacific. Hatt was willing to pay more than the scrapyard anyway. When it came time for 34090 to be retired, British Rails reluctantly but quietly allowed Gordon to personally collect his adopted little sister.

The 11th of August 1968 saw the end of steam on British Railways, but it still took several months for the stream of steam engines to slow, and years for it to stop. Gordon worked through it all, never refusing to take an engine, determined to save as many of his kin as possible, no matter how distant. He also made efforts to greet visiting engines. He spent more time with former mainline engines, but he always made sure to at least whistle hello to even the smallest tank engines and diesels.

The group he spent the most time with, however, were the pacifics. LMS, LNER, BR, or Southern didn't matter. Gordon would always make time for fellow 4-6-2, often giving them chances to pull his express trains, even if that meant he was left pulling goods trains. Many human observers ascribed his focus on the pacifics to grief for his fallen siblings, but the surviving pacifics didn't care. No matter the cause, his care was genuine, and having another to call family was beyond priceless to those few left.

By 1973 Gordon was firmly established as the leader of both the surviving Pacifics and Gresley engines. A role he took with solemn duty, he could not look after his lost siblings, but he would not fail the rest of his kin.

Flying Scotsman had left to tour America in 1970 and was finally returning that Autumn, now partly owned by the NWR. Gordon and Great Northern meet Olympic at the docks to welcome their brother home. However, no sooner than 4472 had touched back down onto British metals, a whistle sounded out over the docks. The three pacifics froze at the familiar impossible sound. 6'8" driving wheels turned as another pacific rolled onto the dock. Her British Rails Passenger Blue livery could no more hide her LNER form than a grain of sand could blot out the sun. 60061 Pretty Polly's whistle of greeting was drowned out by her siblings in a sound her as far as Suddery. Secretly purchased from British Rails, the contract requiring her survival be kept hidden had run out days before.

Over the coming years it would be revealed that British Railways had in fact sold many engines listed as scrapped into preservation, hidden under contract for 10 years in the hopes of making the engines seem more rare, and therefore more valuable. Among these was Prince Palatine, who had been promised to the NWR before she was reported 'accidentally scraped' when a preservation group unknowingly outbid the North Western Others still were revealed to be hidden away as British Rails slowly but surely lost power over the years. Among these was 4480 Enterprise, yanked from an out-of-use siding by NWR No.5 James in the early sixties and hid on Sodor itself by Caomhnóir. When her survival was revealed, James had tried to claim he had done it to finally win one over Gordon. Gordon had simply pressed their buffers together and sincerely thanked him, saying he was happy for James to hold it over him as long as he liked. James had huffed and asked why he'd had to take the fun out of it, the smile on his face revealing the lie. 2009 would see a new mainline steam engine built on the mainline in over fifty years in the form of Peppercorn A1 Pacific Tornado. When the young engine began waking early, a nearby railtour was hastily diverted so another Steam Engine would be present when she awoke. Tornado awoke to the tearful face of her oldest cousin, though she would quickly pronounce him her older brother. Gordon is suitably overprotective of his youngest sister. In the present day, Gordon is the leader not only of the LNER veterans, surviving pacifics, and the North Western Railway, but is the eldest of the Gresley Pacifics, over twenty strong and counting.

#TTTE Gordon #rws headcanons #ttte headcanons #au headcanons

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hotvampireadjacent · 6 months

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I passed my Busuu Spannish test and have an A1 level certification :)

Pasé mi examen

#its very babby level but a lot better than my dad #hurff durff

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in--other--words · 1 year

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Top 3 Free German Resources

Week 3, day 5 of prepolyglot’s langblr reactivation challenge

(Probably goes without saying but just my personal top 3! You'll notice it is quite listening focused because that is what's most important to me.)

Nicos Weg (A1, A2, B1, Complete Youtube Playlist) - the story of a Spanish guy called Nico who moves to Germany. Really nice and well produced. Each level is made up of 80ish videos of a couple of minutes each, with exercises to review and test your comprehension. This adds up to a movie of almost 2 hrs for each level.

Easy German (x) - street interviews in German. Great for learning how Germans actually speak, outside of the artificial context that you find in a lot of learning resources.

The German Project (x) - online lessons with audio snippets and easy to understand explanations, plus animated short stories with audio. Wish there were some exercises to go with it! Also available for Spanish, French and Italian.

#deutsch #resources #langblr #langblr reactivation challenge #listening

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staybabblingbaby · 22 days

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SKZ x Coordi (Hyunjin Part) a1 d4

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: Reader is a successful makeup artist with a notorious and prolific career and no self awareness. Reader joins JYP as a part of Stray Kids' team and encounters their hazing ritual for new coordis: flirting.

Word Count: 854

Notes: Oh no, our timeline! It's broken! jk, jk, This part just takes place toward the end of the order, not the middle. I'm pretty fond of this, but I may switch it to a different member? Idk, smthn feels off. As always, needs editing for clarity, but I'm actually pretty ok with the level of detail here.

Warnings: None that I know of? Reader has weird self esteem but it's not bad? Reader referred to with She/Her pronouns

Masterlist link :D | Prev Part Link <3 | Next Part [not written :c]

You’d like to think you’re still on guard and prepared when, a full week later, Hyunjin takes his turn to try and fluster you.

He comes up behind you during a shoot while you’re intently monitoring the progress of I.N’s (who’s coordi you’re shadowing today) lip tint slowly fading away. You’ll have to snatch him between takes and crack open the new tint you’d gotten the other day. It’s almost the exact same shade, and the brand has a lot more staying power than the one he has on now.

You’re used to it when he drops his head onto your shoulder in the middle of your disgruntled pouting. Somewhen during the middle of your first week Hyunjin had discovered that you didn’t mind being an arm rest. He’d since tested your boundaries and you didn’t really seem to mind him hanging off of you at all, especially when you were in work mode and couldn’t even be bothered to notice him.

You got used to it quickly, and he appreciated having a convenient resting place in the middle of a shoot from time to time. If it meant his face got a little too close to the other Stray Kids’ sometimes, well, all the better. The two of you still got anticipatory looks from the eyes that knew your little game was still afoot, but neither of you minded. After all, the audience was part of the game.

You know something is different today as soon as Hyunjin’s arms snake around your middle. Clingy he may be, but Hyunjin had been very tentative when he started clinging, even if he’d disguised it with whiny dramatics. Every tiny test of your boundaries was another theatrical production. Truthfully you hadn’t minded at all. He’d shown great prudence in only picking ploys you could easily and understandably push him away with. You simply hadn’t.

So the quiet embrace was very out of character for what you knew of Hyunjin thus far. You knew that much. What you weren’t certain of was he was up to. Then he turns his head to nose at your hair, his lips centimeters from the hollow behind your ear, and you know exactly what’s going on.

Miraculously your heart rate doesn’t jump immediately. You’re pretty sure it’s the trance work puts you in that works in your favor. He breathes in quietly and lets it out again in a satisfied huff.

“You smell so nice,” He mumbles into your hair and WOW you are not ready for his voice to be that close. You valiantly fight the shiver that wants to make its way through you as his breath caresses the shell of your ear. Instead, you reach up and behind you to drag his head a bit closer.

You turn only slightly, just enough that your lips barely brush his jawline as you speak, your hand still gently resting on the back of his head, making sure not to ruin the stylist eonni’s hard work. You don’t take your eyes off of I.N as you offer your thanks in a low voice.

After, you adjust his head so that you can comfortably rest your head on top of his, as if the two of you were lovers watching a show. Then you lower your arm and settle both of your hands on the arms around your waist, leaning back into him, casual as you please.

The two of you remain, basically cuddling while standing up, for several more minutes.

You’re not sure what boldness had allowed Hyunjin to make this move in the first place, but it’s clear as the two of you remain in that position, that it wasn’t made to last. You can feel his face slowly heating from where it was still resting in the crook of your neck. Conversely, you find yourself calming down. You’re a lot less irritated with life when Hyunjin finally admits defeat and scurries off to bother his group members.

That doesn’t stop you from snatching up I.N, new lip stain in hand, as soon as the opportunity presents itself. You update your mental tally as you update I.N’s makeup.

You’ll give Hyunjin a point for attacking several of your weak points in one go, whether he was aware of it or not. But you’re deducting half a point for fleeing your cuddle. And you’re certain you yourself deserve a point this round, for holding up admirably under pressure. Coordis 4, SKZ - 1.5.

“You look like Lee Know Hyung when you smile like that,” I.N informs you wearily, leaning away from you as soon as you release him, “I don’t know what it was, but it wasn’t me.”

You weren’t aware you were making any sort of face, but if it scares I.N so much, you’ll simply have to lean into it. You school your face into your sweetest, most menacing smile.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, I.N-ssi.” You inform him primly. A manager sweeps by and spirits I.N away before you can menace him any further. You shrug to yourself about it. They make it too easy sometimes.

#Baby Writes #Coordi AU #skz fanfic #skz fic #Stray kids fanfic #skz x reader #stray kids x reader #w.i.p fic #w.i.p

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