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script-a-world · 3 years

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Okay, I'm not sure if this falls into world building or characters, so if it doesn't fit world building just feel free to delete this! In my story there are dragons, and including some with silver and copper scales. Thing is silver tarnishes and copper oxidizes. Is there a logical way I could avoid this or maybe have a means or environment that could/treat prevent this?

Tex: A fairly reliable way to solve a problem like this - or at least figure out the first steps - is to break things down into manageable chunks. In this case, it would be working out the properties of the materials you’re working with: silver and copper.

I’m assuming that you mean for this to be actual, solid metal, so I’ll start there.

The wiki for tarnish is a little sparse, but it does give us some important information:

Tarnish is a product of a chemical reaction between a metal and a nonmetal compound, especially oxygen and sulfur dioxide. It is usually a metal oxide, the product of oxidation. Sometimes it is a metal sulfide. The metal oxide sometimes reacts with water to make the hydroxide; and carbon dioxide to make the carbonate.

In terms of metal mutability, this narrows down the list of research topics by a lot. The introductory paragraph of that same wiki tells us this about silver:

For example, silver needs hydrogen sulfide to tarnish, although it may tarnish with oxygen over time.

The wiki for silver, itself, has some more complex information:

Like copper, silver reacts with sulfur and its compounds; in their presence, silver tarnishes in air to form the black silver sulfide (copper forms the green sulfate instead, while gold does not react). Unlike copper, silver will not react with the halogens, with the exception of fluorine gas, with which it forms the difluoride. While silver is not attacked by non-oxidizing acids, the metal dissolves readily in hot concentrated sulfuric acid, as well as dilute or concentrated nitric acid. In the presence of air, and especially in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, silver dissolves readily in aqueous solutions of cyanide.[25]

The three main forms of deterioration in historical silver artifacts are tarnishing, formation of silver chloride due to long-term immersion in salt water, as well as reaction with nitrate ions or oxygen.

There’s some more context in the chemistry section, but what I quoted above is more or less the bulk of your starting point. As you can tell, it’s been compared to other metals - its comparison to copper is especially helpful in the context of your question.

What we can glean from this is that silver has very few things to react with in a normal environment, outside of “long-term immersion in salt water”, so ideally any silver-scaled dragons you have would avoid being in or around the ocean for extended periods of time.

Copper has been fairly well covered already by being used as a comparison to silver, but I’ll throw some more information out from its wiki so we can have a greater pool of information to work with:

Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a natural color other than gray or silver.[13] Pure copper is orange-red and acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air. The characteristic color of copper results from the electronic transitions between the filled 3d and half-empty 4s atomic shells – the energy difference between these shells corresponds to orange light.

As with other metals, if copper is put in contact with another metal, galvanic corrosion will occur.[14]

This bit is important for a couple of reasons - the first is that copper scales are very probably not copper-coloured, and the second is that pure copper is very unstable. I’ll get to both of those points in a bit.

Copper does not react with water, but it does slowly react with atmospheric oxygen to form a layer of brown-black copper oxide which, unlike the rust that forms on iron in moist air, protects the underlying metal from further corrosion (passivation). A green layer of verdigris (copper carbonate) can often be seen on old copper structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings[15] and the Statue of Liberty.[16] Copper tarnishes when exposed to some sulfur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulfides.[17]

Here, this means that copper scales would be good for water-based dragons, which is the opposite of silver. That’s an easy point in the direction of your other question regarding environmental cues.

The alloy of 90% copper and 10% nickel, remarkable for its resistance to corrosion, is used for various objects exposed to seawater, though it is vulnerable to the sulfides sometimes found in polluted harbors and estuaries.[45]

I figure since we’re hopping outside the line of believability, we might as well toss in the idea of substantial amounts of nickel on organic beings without the ordinary toxic side-effects.

Copper is biostatic, meaning bacteria and many other forms of life will not grow on it. For this reason it has long been used to line parts of ships to protect against barnacles and mussels. It was originally used pure, but has since been superseded by Muntz metal and copper-based paint. Similarly, as discussed in copper alloys in aquaculture, copper alloys have become important netting materials in the aquaculture industry because they are antimicrobial and prevent biofouling, even in extreme conditions[120] and have strong structural and corrosion-resistant[121] properties in marine environments.

Tossing this quote out partially because I like Muntz metal (surprisingly also pertinent to the conversation), but mostly because this explains why copper works so well underwater without noticeable oxidation.

I’ll do a quick summary of the three Wikipedia articles I just poked, so we have them in one place:

Tarnishing is oxidation

Both tarnish to oxygen, and corrode to sulfides/sulfur

Copper likes water, silver does not

The one that stands out here is the reaction to sulfides and/or sulfur. Ordinarily, exposure to significant amounts of sulfur isn’t an issue in the majority of environments, so it’s a non-issue. However, since both silver and copper react so strongly to it, I figure it was pertinent to bring up (also because it’s cool, Rule Of Cool is definitely a thing when we’re talking about dragons).

From Wikipedia:

It is the fifth most common element by mass in the Earth. Elemental sulfur can be found near hot springs and volcanic regions in many parts of the world, especially along the Pacific Ring of Fire; such volcanic deposits are currently mined in Indonesia, Chile, and Japan. These deposits are polycrystalline, with the largest documented single crystal measuring 22×16×11 cm.[16] Historically, Sicily was a major source of sulfur in the Industrial Revolution.[17] Lakes of molten sulfur up to ~200 m in diameter have been found on the sea floor, associated with submarine volcanoes, at depths where the boiling point of water is higher than the melting point of sulfur.[18]

Native sulfur is synthesised by anaerobic bacteria acting on sulfate minerals such as gypsum in salt domes.[19][20] Significant deposits in salt domes occur along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and in evaporites in eastern Europe and western Asia. Native sulfur may be produced by geological processes alone. Fossil-based sulfur deposits from salt domes were once the basis for commercial production in the United States, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine.[21]

Given how popular dragon mythology is all over Asia (Wikipedia), I find it interesting that copper and silver - our earliest mined metals - would have realistically been inhospitable on a dragon in many of its purported native regions. But since this is worldbuilding, I suppose a prudent avoidance of volcanoes and ocean floors works out rather neatly.

Now that we’ve gotten the chemical standpoint down, it’s time to tackle the organic component.

Both silver and copper are toxic in sufficiently large amount (Wikipedia 1, Wikipedia 2), which is, unsurprisingly, a fairly negligible amount. One way to avoid this is to look at compounds (brass and the previously-mentioned Muntz metal comes to mind) that could be more malleable to the cosmetic look of your dragon scales - it’s less likely to be toxic, and you could fine-tune the colours you want more reliably, with some Handwavium to the actual biological aspects.

Another method would be to, well, apply some more Handwavium and just say that dragons have specialized cells that allow keratin to be embedded with metals like copper or silver. Keratin is a protein, so the logic would need a bit of finagling, but most readers would probably accept a surface-level explanation unless your plot demands a further level of development.

Another method would be structural colour (Wikipedia), and usually exists on things like fish and butterfly scales (Wikipedia 1, Wikipedia 2, Wikipedia 3). The reflective fish scales that I linked to in the first Wikipedia link could easily achieve that silver look you’re seeking, especially with minimal tweaking if you’re looking for things like tonal gradients and texture. The other two Wikipedia links, for the butterfly scales, can give you some idea on how to introduce colour while keeping many of the same properties.

Feathers can also achieve this structural colour, but since they’re constructed differently than scales, this would mean that you would need to contend with the disulfide bonds in order to keep either metal from breaking the feathers down. Whether or not oils from preening or powder down would have any impact on the refraction that could produce any colours of shiny variety is a toss-up, but certainly within the realm of fantasy.

Another option of note is to borrow from the scaly foot snail (Live Science), albeit it works with sulphur compounds rather than against it, even if it doesn’t have quite the metallic sheen you might be looking for.

#pylons #dragons #Anonymous

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pineslycan · 3 years

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Ford and Stan's Personality Types Headcanon:

When writing fictional characters that have complex inner lives/relationships, personality types are a nice tool to have; it helps understand where they're coming from. While we don't know of any official personality types of either of the Stan twins, I have a good inkling as to what they most likely fall under. So under this cut, I'm going to present my case and hope that it helps or inspires others in their writing of Stanford and Stanley. Below, I will give a brief summary of what I believe to be the two’s separate personality types.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stanford Pines: INTP-T (the logician) important info bolded.

The logician is a pretty rare personality type, but not one uncommon in fiction with Spock and Neo both pretty solidly theorized to possess it. In real life, historical examples include Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. It makes up 3% of the population and usually described as the kind of people most likely to make scientific discoveries and contributions. It is hard to lie to a logician as their pattern sensing capabilities are a well honed skill - a reason why they make good numbers in the IQ department, as high intelligence is mostly noticing patterns and collecting data. This makes them keen hunters of problems and devoted to find detailed solutions, that usually are pretty unconventional - don’t expect a quick report, they will sort through notes many times before you get a peek. They pride themselves on their intellect and uniqueness, but as a downside often times getting lost in theories and debate with themselves. They have a hard time talking to others without turning them into someone to list off information to. Often they are described to be in a never-ending daydream, their minds buzzing with ideas the moment they wake. The constant thinking of the INTP can make them seem very pensive and detached, while they are having full on heated debates in their heads. They are almost exclusively relaxed with people whom they know or that share interests. They are often crippled with overwhelming shyness, and banter can turn cold if their theories or conclusions are being criticized. When excited, conversation can border on being incoherent as they tend to not lay things out in plain terms. The opposite can also be true, where others’ conversations are so plain that an INTP will lose interest completely - even more so when emotion tends to be involved. They are unlikely to understand emotional complaints, suggestions usually coming off as harsh to more sensitive people. They are restless in their pervasive fear of failure. Constantly reassessing thoughts, they worry they missed a critical piece of a puzzle and can get lost in self-doubt. The intellectual gifts they have to offer though, are truly large in scale. Their objective, open-minded approach to analytical and abstract thoughts make them one of a kind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stanley Pines: ESTP-A (the entrepreneur) important info bolded.

To the entrepreneur, life is either an adventure or nothing at all. Making up 4% of the population, fictional characters like Hank Schrader and Jaime Lannister share the spotlight along with people such as Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis. Easy going, honest, charming, and tolerant, when asked to take the stage, ESTP’s never flinch in their answer. They love to be the center of attention, entertaining with a blunt sense of humor, they are the life of the party. Things like abstract thoughts or questions do not keep them interested - they have a good dose of intelligence, but they like to talk about what is going on right now. You won’t find an entrepreneur planning out an evening, rather they’ll dive headfirst and just go out and do it. Always leaping before they look, they have to fix mistakes along the way and don’t sit very idle. This makes them pretty prone to making some risky lifestyle choices, living fully in the moment that can very well be the eye of the storm. If they aren’t careful, their own health and safety is forgotten. Things can go too far, caught up in their own energy. They immensely enjoy drama, passion, pleasure - but not for emotional thrill, but because it stimulates their logical mind. This way of life forces them to make critical decisions in reality on the basis of rapid-fire stimulus - if you asked though, they wouldn’t have it any other way. It can make school and organized environments a challenge. It isn’t due to a lack of being smart, but the formal approach is not the hands-on learning ESTP’s enjoy. They use their own moral compass rather someone else’s, and rules are meant to be broken. When this is harnessed with some maturity, it’s easily a way to create new and exciting opportunities. One of the most perceptive types of people, the entrepreneur has a unique ability to notice small changes, and can pick up on hidden thoughts and motives that others cannot. While ESTP’s are a risk-prone, intense, unstructured, and defiant group, the bold originality of their direct, practical, sociability is magnetizing. They may miss the bigger picture at times and be a little impatient, but they’re here to keep things spicy. Full of passion, although sometimes distracted, they’re natural leaders, pulling everyone on the path less traveled with them anywhere they go. And they’re always going somewhere, because they are people of action, doing what can be done rather than thinking about what could be.

☆ Let me know what you think of this or if it helps in any way!

#gravity falls headcanons #gravity falls #grunkle stan #grunkle ford #stanford pines #stanley pines #stan pines #ford pines #cryptic wolf writing

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hchan-main · 4 years

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Artificial Love | Chapter 1 | C₁₀H₁₂N₂O (Serotonin)

Chapters: Preview - Serotonin - Chapter 2 (soon i hope)

Pairing: Haechan x Reader

Genre: angst, fluff, dystopia

TW: tba in every chapter if necessary

A/N: Posted earlier than I thought since I had more free time than expected! I’m sorry there’s no reader x donghyuck interaction here yet since I wanted to focus a bit more on explaining what’s going on in the universe where the story takes place :)

“Why did you apply for this internship?”

The cold surface of the metal table burned the skin on your wrists, your fingertips gently tapping it without following any particular rhythm as you organized your thoughts. Your back pressed straight against the white chair and eyes fixed on the ones of the interviewer in front of you.

“The duration of it. If I got accepted here I would finish the internship required period earlier than other graduates, since it’s an intensive program, I’d have some time advantage to find a stable position to work in after this” you answered honestly, not like you could find any benefit in lying or sugar coating your intentions anyway. “and the experience of working here would give me a better chance of achieving a district promotion”

“Efficiency is highly valued” the interviewer said, tone flat as well as his intonation. His eyes fell on the documents in front of him, scanning them with no rush. “What did you major in again?”

“Psychology”

“Interesting. What’s your district?”

“District 3”

“That’s already fairly high” The man in front of you commented, fingers quickly working with the pen they held to scribble on the paper he had on his other hand after checking your answer with the number stuck on your clothes near your right shoulder.

The room was small, but not to the extent to make you feel trapped. The walls tinted with an extremely light baby blue which some could argue resembled more a cold gray, and one large one-way mirror behind the interviewer giving off vibes of you being interrogated rather than the actual situation. You tried catching a glimpse of what the man was writing, but the bright lights shining above both of you had already tired your eyes.

“What’s your opinion on oxopressyn?”

Your body tensed so lightly it was almost impossible for you to perceive it. You knew that was a very controversial topic, not only in your area of study, but in society as well. You had to choose your words very carefully.

“Was that too hasty?” He asked. His empty eyes went back to yours, head slightly tilted to one side; actions done more like a drill than an actual demonstration of caring. “Tell me what you know about it then” Your eyes wandered towards the tag on one side of his chest, a bright number ‘4’ stuck there letting you know he was one district below you.

When people were born, they were placed on different districts numbered from one to eight. Each level had different job opportunities, lived in different areas, and had different environments. Each level you scaled offering more privileges as well. One of them was information. And a very important rule was not to share what you knew with people from other districts. It was your first time in this kind of situation since it was very rare that people from different districts interacted with each other. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t be in this position if you couldn’t talk freely to me”

His sentence came so naturally that you were sure this was not the first time he had this encounter.

You intertwined your own fingers, the coolness of the table now attacking the side of your palms. “It’s a suppressant. Created more than a few hundred years ago to help people make logical decisions” your answered almost as if reading the definition from a book, taking one more glance at the number on the chest of your interviewer and then at the one-way mirror, doubting for a few seconds before continuing “by cutting out their emotions…”

“but?” He said, pressuring you into adding more to your answer.

“It’s not perfect. There’re still people who are partly immune to its effect, they can still feel some things other than fear. They desire, hurt, and care. Most of the time they end up as part of the resistance”

“And that’s why we are here” the interviewer suddenly interrupted, gathering all the documents on both hands to fix them straight with a few bumps against the metal table before standing up. “I think you could be useful in this investigation. You match the profile we were looking for to add in the team” he adds, a fake smile decorating his plump limps as a sign of friendliness while offering you his hand. “I’m Jeno”

“y/n” you follow, shaking his hand as you mirrored his expression.

“Welcome, y/n”

You reached for the sensor on the doorframe of your unit, pressing the wristband on your left arm against it to successfully unlock the door. The temperature was definitely lower than outside, vaguely reminding you of the room where you were being questioned a few hours ago.

Pristine walls surrounded you. The white blinds partially forbidding the sunlight to get inside the room created a stripped pattern on the opposite wall and on part of your body as it accomplished its task. You took a last glance at how the place you have been living up to now was organized. Wooden floor, white furniture, tall windows. Tables and desks clear, making you doubt of their usefulness.

It looked empty.

Lifeless.

Aimless.

As you turned off the power in the unit, you wondered how much different or how much similar it was to yourself.

It didn’t take you long to arrive back in the building where you would be living during the investigation.

Its height wasn’t what made it look so imposing; it was only three stories tall at first sight, but you knew it basement floors went much further than that. The grip on the handle of your silver suitcase tightened, taking the final steps to enter through the mirrors covered doors after scanning your wristband on the sensor. You weren’t expecting to find someone waiting for you right on the other side, shaking hands with the taller man as you introduced yourself.

“Nice too meet you, I’m Doyoung, leader of the investigation team” He said, his voice cold, but oh so pleasant to the ears that you were sure anyone listening to him would be charmed if it wasn’t for the effects of oxopressyn. And of course you knew him. Despite his age, most of the modern thesis on human behavior where written under his name. Kim Doyoung, district 2, you noted. “I believe Jeno didn’t give you the details of our current investigation”

“He didn’t say much” you agreed, following him close after he signaled you to start walking down what seemed like an endless hallway; carpeted, well illuminated (so much that you’d doubt the lack of windows), and shaped by glass walls which allowed you to see inside each separate cubicle, every single one of them with a person working inside, eyes fixed on their screens and fingertips busy tapping the digital keyboard on their desks.

“This way” Your eyes went back to him at the sound of his voice as he guided you, black suit pants and a white shirt under his lab coat and a pair of rounded glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. “We’ve already added your ID to the data base, so you’ll be able to freely access the facilities in the building. Please study the floor plans we have sent you so that you don’t get lost”

You nodded and quickly went to check your wristband, a small screen projecting from it at the press of a button that showed you your latest messages where you found the mentioned map.

“I hope that even as an intern you work hard for the sake of the investigation. I’m sure you know how advantageous it would be to have our recommendation in your resume if you plan to apply for a district promotion” He mentioned as the elevator you both had stepped in closed its door.

“I’ll do my best. My undergraduate thesis work was based on human emotions so–”

“I know. That’s why we chose you”

“So” Doyoung started speaking once you met him again on the garden of the residential floor after visiting what would be your room and left your belongings there. The greenhouse in the middle of the area contrasting the green leaves and multicolor flowers against the monotonous white and gray of the walls and furniture. The ceiling showing a holographic projection of a clear summer sky while the singing of birds filled the space as white noise. “As you already mentioned in your interview, oxopressyn is not completely effective. Some people are partially immune to it, other develop resistance over the years, and we are still bound to taking it on a daily basis and constant monitoring of its use” He further explained, taking a seat on a white bench next to a small pond, you soon imitating his actions.

“Just in case, I’ll remind you of the non-disclosure agreement on the contract you signed. But I am certain you know better than ruining your future” his words made you wonder how much of a warning or a threat they were. “The objective here is to complete the missing information on how human emotions work, what chemicals and physical responses are involved, and how we can use that knowledge to fix oxopressyn’s flaws. I know you must be thinking that this is something that must have already been discovered, but if that is the case, district 1 leaders are not willing to share that information with us”

“What does the experiment consist of?”

“We’ll have people all from different districts paired up, and slowly reduce their doses of oxopressyn. From then on, we’ll follow a series of steps where they will be exposed to different stimuli. We intend to gather the information on how and what triggers each emotion, as well as their corresponding physical reaction. I assume you know of the basic eight emotions?”

“Yes; fear, disgust, anger, sadness, anticipation, surprise, trust, and joy”

“We plan to start from them and build our way towards secondary emotions, and if possible, go even further. We’ll be constantly monitoring the participants since they could react violently either to the stimuli or to the interaction with their partners. You’ll have to be ready any time to help us stabilize the subjects’ mental state”

“What will they be exposed to first?”

“I’ll send you the full plan and schedules, but we are going to start with–”

“Doyoung-ssi” a woman who looked to be a few years older than you interrupted him after getting there in a hurried pace, some documents grasped in her left hand while she used the other to answer the persistent messages appearing on her wristband. An eye catching 4 on the side of her right arm. “We have a problem. We have lost one of the participants”

“Resigned?”

“We received a notice that she has been taken to a rehabilitation institution”

Doyoung lift one of his hands to run his fingers through his hair, the blank expression not matching with the troublesome situation. “Which district was she from? Can we find a replacement fast enough?”

“District 3, Sir” The woman answered, clear to both of you that she avoided to answer the second question.

“Share her profile with the team. Everyone is to find a replacement as fast as possible”

You checked your wristband immediately when you received the file, opening it with one touch on the projected screen in front of you, your eyes quickly scanning the information. “How much time would the experiment be delayed if we don’t find someone?”

“At least two weeks considering all the paperwork. One to three months if we are unlucky, not many people in district 3 would be willing to put themselves though this”

Your eyebrows furrowed slightly, an old habit for when you were in deep though that you have not been able to quit. You considered the options, since you were there mostly to finish your internship required period earlier, the delay wasn’t convenient for you. Of course the recommendation from a major researcher and the working experience added a plus to it but you needed them fast.

“What if…” you started, gathering the attention from both the woman and Doyoung who were discussing the options seconds before “what if I replaced her?” you suggested. The profile you read showed you were almost an identical match to take her place. You were sure Doyoung also knew this as it didn’t take him long to speak.

“Y/n, are you aware that being inside there is completely different from monitoring?”

“I know”

“Well, you could certainly gather interesting data and give us a completely different perspective that we didn’t consider in the study. But this entails an incredibly heavy emotional distress that you did not sign up for”

“I think I have the required knowledge to deal with that”

Doyoung seemed in deep thought for a few seconds, no one saying any other words as the birds singing took over the silence. “I’ll make sure you are rewarded accordingly” He said, offering you his hand to shake and decide on the new agreement.

“Go write a new contract for her”

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canyouhearthelight · 4 years

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The Miys, Ch. 68

One chapter, beta’d by both @satan-parisienne and @baelpenrose, so there should be a minimum of errors floating around in there.

As some have noticed, I did update the Master List over the weekend. A few other things I just want to touch on:

Ask box is literally always open, as is my inbox. Feel free to drop questions, comments, whatever in there. I love interacting with people, so it makes my day to see y’all reach out to me.

Also, I recently crossed the threshold for 500 followers. It’s crazy, and I’m just gobsmacked that you all follow me. I won’t be doing a character contest this time, but keep your peepers peeled for what I am doing instead...

Now, on with our chapter!

“To confirm Councilor Reid’s statement, the bacteria that was, until recently, potentially killing us, is instead killing itself?”

“Correct, Eino.”

“And this is a bad thing because it is sentient?”

“Partially why it is bad, yes.”

“Xiomara, if I may?” I couldn’t see them, but I could practically hear Grey lean forward and push their glasses further up the bridge of their nose. Just the tone of voice told me that this Grey was well-rested and firing on all cylinders.

Xiomara nodded, then dropped her head back to suppress a groan when she realized the rest of the Council couldn’t actually see her. “Please go ahead, Grey. You are probably better to explain this than I am.”

“Thank you.” A brief pause. “While I do confess that I argued stringently against the decision that Else is sentient, in the end, even I was satisfied with the decision. However, Terran studies of neural matrices do show that there is a threshold of connections, below which sentience does not exist except as a potential. It stands to reason that, for a hive minded species such as Else or even the Hujylsogox, loss of too many members would create a similar loss of sentience.”

Noah’s voice hummed in confirmation. “This is correct. Even if I were to lose too many of my avatars, and later come in proximity to others of my kind, I would no longer be myself but instead be absorbed into the sentient member, and they would gain any information I had learned.”

I felt my face contort into a horrified expression. “Noah, does that happen?”

“Only in very dire circumstances, Wisdom. It is considered a capital crime do so against a cluster’s will, and the height of rudeness to begin to do so accidentally.”

“Question: if a species can lose sentience due to low population, can it actually be considered sentient?” Eino’s tone was carefully inquisitive rather than argumentative.

“The problem cannot be framed in that way and make logical sense,” Grey advised, not unkindly. “According to the Galactic research database, each member of a hive-minded species serves as a neural connection for one single, larger mind. Just because the individual loses neural awareness or function, the species does not; believing so would be comparative to stating we are not sentient as a species simply because sufficient neural damage can render one of us brain-dead.”

“Thank you for the clarification,” he breathed, seemingly in relief.

Grey continued. “In this case, however, there are no others of Else’s species. It is such a young race, that despite so many bodies, it only has one mind for now. Should too many bodies die off from starvation out of Else’s attempt to do no further harm, sentience will be lost. At that point, there is a reasonable amount of certainty that it will begin to eat freely again, and become sentient again.”

“And there is no guarantee that the new version of Else will like us as much as the current version. We can’t take that chance,” Xiomara finished. “What if we end up with a homicidal bacterium instead of an apologetic one.”

The entire channel fell silent at the weight of her words. I couldn’t blame anyone – it was a lot to process. Hell, I was the one who brought the topic to her attention, and even I felt the need to vomit when she said it. It was too much to really contemplate for long.

“So, what are we supposed to do? Feed it?” The words may have sounded sarcastic coming from a different person, but I knew Pranav was considering this a genuine option. In the time I had known him, he had always worked with the facts, regardless of what anyone hoped to dreamt.

Looked like it was my turn. “We actually have a few options that Else mentioned on their own, when they were trying to convince me not to have them eradicated.”

After a brief pause, Giang Huynh spoke up. “Please elaborate, Sophia.” Not only the illness, but the destruction or degradation of several structures had led to his department being the one most effected by Else. Instead of his normal belligerence, he just sounded resigned.

Taking a deep breath, I laid out what Else and I discussed. “The first, probably easiest option, is to isolate all of Else and deposit the entire culture into the first nebula we reach.”

“Nebulas are very rich in iron,” Eino pointed out. “But does it need oxygen?”

“Else is largely anaerobic,” Grey responded. “Due to its diet of iron, open air is almost immediately fatal to it. This explains why it has been predominantly found in bone marrow and the spleen, as that is where the highest amount of iron can be found in the human body, before the blood is oxygenated.”

“Are there any downsides to this option?” Simon asked. Since I was technically still on medical leave, he was acting in my stead. The only reason I was allowed on this conference was as a witness, not a Councillor.

“Else doesn’t like it,” I admitted. “Because, and I quote, ‘there are no humans in a nebula’.”

“Miys, does Else have a say in this?” Eino asked, curious.

“As a sentient species, yes, they must agree to the relocation unless their current environment is untenable without drastic intervention. Technically, their current environment is viable for the foreseeable future.”

“Wait – what?” Simon sputtered. “We only recently stopped needing constant transfusions.”

“Not all of the ship needed them on a constant basis,” Grey pointed out. “And some who were impacted did not need them at all until very near the end of the crisis.”

She means others like Tyche, I realized. “Okay, so that’s an option, but only if we lack any others and can talk Else into it,” I forged ahead. “Which means any discussion of whether or not Else needs to be forcibly relocated is moot, because they did bring up other options.” I paused for response, and continued when there was none. “The second option was dropping them off on a barren, iron-rich planet with a late-sequence star.”

“How is that any different?” Huynh sputtered in confusion.

I watched Xiomara’s eyes get wide. “Tactics,” she breathed before repeating it, louder. “It’s a tactical preference. An iron-rich world, especially a barren one, is more likely to be mined, isn’t it?”

“Mining such planets requires significantly less effort and resources than are needed to mine a nebula,” Noah confirmed.

“And mining gives them the chance to be picked up by a new species,” Xiomara dropped like a bomb, triggering a rush of muttering.

“We should only base the value of an option on whether or not it will be a detriment to Else if it is certain to prevent the detriment, regardless of the impact to us.” I was initially surprised to hear such a venomous tone from Huynh, before considering his home nation’s history. Okay, he has every reason to be adamant here. After all, his country had suffered horribly at the hands of mine, not even a century prior. “Are there any other options?”

“Put them in stasis and bring them with us,” I confessed. “But, I also pointed this out to Else: And then what? It’s still a finite resource situation, in the long run. Not to mention the fact that we are working toward having the least possible impact to the new world – doesn’t bringing a sentient plague with us completely defeat the purpose?”

“We are already studying the impact our own gut bacteria will have on Kepler 442b,” Grey added. “And while we have no plans for large-scale mining of natural resources, the planet and its star already have poor metallicity.”

“I feel like those options really cover everything that is actually available to us,” Xiomara confessed.

“Agreed,” Pranav chimed in. “There is an option that Else does not like, but provides greatest opportunity for it to thrive. There is an option it likes, which also provides the chance for a species that shows every indication of being quite social to potentially interact with others. And there is an option that is really only a stopgap measure.”

“Ultimately, Else has to agree to whatever measure is to be taken,” Noah pointed out, attempting to be helpful.

“Else wants to stay with us,” I rebutted. “So much so that it is about to lobotomize itself in the attempt. We have to convince it to take an option that is better for its survival.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I realized what I was saying. I didn’t even attempt to suppress the groan of regret that erupted.

“If you are done impersonating a cow,” Xiomara grinned wryly, “Yes, that means we need to negotiate with Else.”

“You mean I need to,” I grumbled.

Grey gave me a sliver of vain hope. “We are attempting to locate another individual who has been able to get in touch with it, Sophia. While their method of conveying it was quite crude, Mr. MacMaoilir and Mr. Okima did have a valid concern regarding how taxing it is for your body when you are speaking with Else.”

“Any luck?”

“Not as of yet, no.” Damn it. Even Grey sounded unhappy with the fact.

“So, unless something drastic changes, the plan is for me to try to talk Else into agreeing to either relocating to a nebula or a barren planet, either way, no people. Does that about sum it up?” Confirmations came from everyone. “Wonderful. And if anyone comes up with any other options, please make sure we know ahead of time. Even a brief conversation is going to be ten hours, if the last one is anything to go by.”

“About that,” Eino ventured hesitantly. “The case study for your previous interview with Else indicates that you recited scientific papers to provide a lexicon. Is this true?”

“I wish it wasn’t, but yes, it’s true.”

His tone almost immediately perked up. “Since you know going in what you will be discussing, would it be more beneficial if we instead played a targeted lexicon for you to recite? It may minimize the time you spend reciting unnecessary or repetitive words.” When I didn’t immediately respond, he clarified. “I understand that your previous interaction involved many open-ended questions, and therefore you needed as many words as conceivably necessary for an intelligible response, but this time, the questions are close-ended, are they not?”

“The questions are at least more close-ended, yes,” I admitted, realizing what he was getting at.

“Council, I would like to offer my department to support this situation by preparing a targeted lexicon for the upcoming negotiations with Else. Should another person be found to enter into negotiations, we will also create a script for the questions themselves, which should provide enough language for Else to respond coherently with their answers.”

I shrugged and nodded at Xiomara. Even if I was going to be the person doing this, a targeted lexicon would be easier – and less time consuming – to recite than scientific papers.

She nodded firmly before replying, “That is a value add, definitely. Council vote?”

Unsurprisingly, the decision was unanimous. “Any idea how long it will take to get everything ready?” I asked, admittedly impatient. “We don’t know how long we have until Else reaches that threshold Grey mentioned.”

Eino hummed for a moment. “Tentatively? Five days. Conservatively, I would put it at a week.”

Pinching my nose before swiping an entire down my entire face, I made some quick estimates. “I don’t think Else has that long, I’ll be honest. Grey, do you have any idea how fast it is reducing itself? Or better yet, how long before it reaches a critical density?”

“As to the second inquiry, there has been no study to even begin estimations, but I will task a group of researchers with finding an answer. However, we do have hard data in regard to the first question: Since you last spoke with Else, seventeen percent of its population has died off. It has also ceased replication of itself. By current estimates, we have less than thirteen days before Else is entirely extinct.”

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#the miys #science fiction #humans are weird #aliens #original fiction #humans are space orcs #plague #apocalypse #sci fi

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firebirdsdaughter · 4 years

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What’s hilarious [read: ridiculous] to me…

… Is that Horobi and Yua actually follow a fairly parallel path in their responses to their situations (I had a whole realisation about how Horobi-Fuwa-Naki-Yua are a four way parallel today; Horobi-Fuwa are parallels and Naki-Yua are parallels, but then their actions crisscross parallel). But there’s a massive double standard in how the two characters are reacted to… Despite the fact that Yua is a fully mentally matured and developed human adult and Horobi is an AI that has been hacked and brainwashed for the past decade in a way that forcibly stunted his development.

Yua was in a horrid and toxic work environment w/ an abusive boss. Now, admittedly, Gai kept a large amount of his worse deeds from her and to a point one could justify it as her thinking she’s acting for the greater good… Until we get to the part where it becomes abundantly clear she knows very well that what they’re doing is at the least morally questionable… But doesn’t try to defect at all, even to the point of insisting it’s of her own free will. Yes, she had a chip in her head, too, but given her reactions to him torturing Fuwa, she doesn’t seem to have known he could do that, and she didn’t know about Naki, nor did she have an AI drone in her mind. Now this is not to blame Yua—in fact, the point is that she was a victim in a bad situation. Her struggle to get out of there was fairly realistic given her situation. But she had the experience to know that what they were doing was wrong. That makes it tragic in it’s own way, yes, that she was under extreme stress and very conflicted, but she was aware of that. She was a fully developed adult. She deliberately pursued Izu w/ the intention of destroying her, and would have had Gai not said the wrong thing and set Fuwa off. And Izu was frightened and trying to run away. She resists Fuwa’s repeated attempts to snap her out of it.

Rightly so, people noted Yua’s situation, were upset for her and felt bad for her. When there were jackasses saying she should die, people called it out as bad. People were cheering for her to get away from Gai. People were happy when she did. And this includes me. I blocked people I saw shitting on Yua and saying she should die bc what the fuck, guys, she was in a seriously messed up situation.

Once free of Gai, Yua is uncertain what to do and decides to try and ‘make up’ for something she feels responsible for in a rather questionable way. She ends up helping the Ark rise and wreak havoc. Still people recognise that she couldn’t have known that would happen. Poor Yua’s been through a lot.

Meanwhile, Horobi is hacked and brainwashed by the Ark twelve years ago. She uses him to cause Daybreak. He is an AI being controlled by a larger AI designed to control HumaGear like him. Unlike and adult human being pressured and manipulated, he is literally incapable of thinking outside the Ark’s will. The Ark has complete control. Even if he did have any experience to compare w/ before, the Ark erases it. He has no frame of reference besides the Ark, no development of any kind to evaluate his situation w/. Even when Jin becomes important to him, everything is through the lens of the Ark, the Ark is more than a god to him. The brainwashing is so deep that even when disconnected for a bit, he can’t be anything besides blindly devoted. Talks about how the Ark is absolute. When confronted w/ something that causes uncertainty, he goes into a full on mental breakdown—literally, should have been a first clue that emotions were never going to come easy for him.

Eventually, he does end up w/ enough experience to just start to begin to break free. Manages to act completely on his own for the first time in his life—not an instinct that the Ark swooped in to take advantage of, he gets to go through w/ it on his own. And he’s floored. He literally cannot fathom why his body moved on its own, as far as he can tell. Can’t understand the fact that he wanted to do something. This is recognised as a big deal (one of the only times anyone tries to actually talk him out of things, in fact, unlike Yua, where there was a lot of effort). Horobi begins to wonder about things outside the Ark’s will, about himself, which he’s never considered before… Only to have it turn out his son was plotting to have the Ark possess him and then kill him to kill her. This completely upends any development he had. He’s re-hacked and rendered as largely a drone when not being possessed.

Finally, someone decides to put effort into him (kinda…) again. And, in a situation that heavily parallels Yua, he ends up finding it in him to break free of the Ark. Only… Again, a lot like Yua, it’s not a clean break. He’s still stuck w/ the past, the conditioning, and the effects of what happened. Additionally, as later becomes clear, his struggling w/ feeling emotions, which he has been carefully conditioned to reject and have no experience w/, for the first time. He’s mentally unstable and volatile. Now, in the show, what happens is the result of Azu/the Ark’s manipulations and people making poor decisions (and I do think you can make an argument for the fact that the Ark was intentionally keeping Horobi from feeling/having any experience w/ emotions to make him even more of a wreck later on), and poking a very volatile bear (well, a highly traumatised child soldier AI who has no fucking clue what emotions are to the point it feels like an outside being controlling him somehow), he lashes out, and Izu calmly stands there and deliberately takes a hit she very clearly sees coming. General chaos ensues. From Horobi’s perspective, the thing he’s been trained to think will get rid of the uncertainty and emotions etc. not only doesn’t work, but it makes him feel worse, and bc he has no other way he knows how to respond, he becomes more aggressive in rejecting those feelings. And then Jin dies, and he completely breaks down.

The reaction he gets? People calling him evil and horrible and saying he should die. That e’s choosing to do these things. People who talk about how Yua can’t really be held accountable, how she was coerced, look at a literal brainwash victim and say he choose to do those things.

Now, obviously, there are differences, which resulted in the different out comes—obviously the whole, one is a fully developed human adult and the other one is an AI. One was externally conditioned, the other, again, literally brainwashed. One had someone fighting to convince them to break free of their situation on a regular basis, repeatedly, constantly, the other didn’t. Yua was always going to have an easier break than Horobi, bc she had more mental and emotional maturity, but bc of that, esp in regards to actions done whilst under the ‘control’ of others, she has more responsibility for her actions bc she was capable of identifying them as wrong.

Now, of course, both situations are bad for the people involved. Both of them are victims.

But the issue is that people seem to be all over how Yua was a victim, Yua was mistreated… While attacking Horobi (and being upset about Izu dying is one thing, although, again, the person really responsible for that was Azu/th ark(well, Gai for creating her), Horobi was pretty much used as a weapon there, but this is for stuff he did while mind controlled).

And I used Yua just bc she and Horobi had the most parallel responses to their situations. The same goes for being able to see Fuwa as a victim, or Naki (so if Naki is the one who gave Horobi the ZetsumeRise Keys, does that make them responsible for Operation MaGear, or bc they gave Horobi the ForceRiser and said to use it on Jin, are they responsible for that? Bc that’s the logic of blaming Horobi for Daybreak), or Raiden, or even Aruto for that time he got hijacked via MCH. Any of the hacked HumaGear who were turned into MaGear.

Just… The concept of seeing how all of those people are victims in the situation… But blaming Horobi? Like… Not being interested in Horobi is one thing. Obviously, no on is going to be as madly in love w/ him as I am. It’s the act of not recognising him as being a victim while recognising everyone in similar situations as victims. It’s saying he was responsible for Daybreak, treating him like the Ark’s will was his (I’m literally having flashbacks to comments calling Horobi’s whole death ‘Horobi’s plan,’ even though by that point we literally knew the Ark was an entity that existed). Like… They literally confirmed it in show as not being that. Horobi is a mind control victim. What someone’s personal opinion of the character outside of that is another matter. But the fact is that he was mind controlled by the Ark and that the things he did under her control cannot be objectively called things he chose to do. Whether someone thinks he would have chosen them if he weren’t mind controlled… Esp given how all his actions of own choice were about protecting Jin, I personally disagree. But the show has been very explicit that he was mind controlled, and that he had no clue how to handle emotions (to the point he didn’t even seem to know what they are), so being able to understand that all those other people, esp the ones who went through similar things, are victims… But Horobi’s to blame for what he did? That’s just ridiculous.

And don’t even get me started on how anyone could ever see Gai as being a bigger victim than Horobi.

#Firebird Negativity #sorry #I'm not actually in a bad mood really #I just had to get that off my chest #bc it baffles me how people can see how Yua's situation was bad and tragic and she was a victim #but shitting on Horobi #and then saying GAI is more of a victim/tragic…#literally I stand by my view that they somehow switched the 'cores' of Gai and Horobi's storylines #and it's FRUSTRATING #but also blaming Horobi for stuff like Daybreak…#hey remember when Aruto literally called Gai the 'one responsible for the Ark' and I'm pretty sure said that for Daybreak too…#bc that happened #bc GAI CAUSED DAYBREAK

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of-muppets-and-men · 5 years

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Qrow as Ruby’s Dad

I am fully aware of the ugly can of worms I am opening just by discussing this but whatever. Here we go.

Just a disclaimer, I mean no disrespect to Monty, Miles or Kerry. I am simply stating the possibility and leaving all options on the table.

The idea of Qrow being Ruby’s biological father has been around since Qrow was introduced back in Volume 3. And although it’s been shot down by the creator and current writers of the show, I’m going to go over as much I can to show that the theory/headcanon still has some level of validity.

This is also pretty long so brace yourself.

Point #1: The Writers

Monty originally “debunked” this theory while dismissing another by saying Yang and Ruby were half-sisters. And recently it was debunked again by Miles, who outright said Qrow wasn’t her dad. The word of the Writer’s is, under most circumstances, Law. But let me say this: What is the one thing you are supposed to do above all else? Preserving your narrative, meaning doing everything you can to protect your plot.

Many writers have concealed or just lied to their audience about certain plot points to maintain the story. And just because Monty, Miles and Kerry don’t seem like they would, doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of it.

Why would Monty lie? Because Ruby and Yang being sisters was what he had presented at the time. Qrow was only a name at the time, so revealing so detrimental so soon wouldn’t make any sense for the show’s longevity. Thus, he kept his lips sealed.

Now there’s Miles; why would he outright deny this theory. Well, if I had to guess, it would be to quell the speculation, to stop people from outwardly talking about it. Has he succeeded? For the most part, yes. Fans and Haters alike have stopped discussing it en mass, but it hasn’t stopped fanfic writers and artists much.

While debunking this theory, Miles gave his reasoning to be “Ruby just admires him so much that she mimics a lot of what Qrow does.”.

Let’s unpack that for a moment.

What about Ruby’s character is reminiscent of Qrow? Ruby is, by all accounts, opposite to Qrow in many facets of her personality. She overwhelmingly optimistic, despite witnessing the deaths of Penny and Pyrrha. She’s open and honest, though a bit naive and socially awkward, but after all she’s still a teenager. Qrow, from the few accounts we know of, is actually pretty suave and quite the ladies man too.

Basically, anything Ruby is, Qrow is not. The only real thing that statement applies too, is her love of her scythe, but even then that argument is flimsy. As an impressionable young girl with a passion for weapons/huntsman, and then seeing her uncle wielding the coolest weapon in entire show; I mean who wouldn’t want a scythe at that point.

Point #2: Appearance

First and foremost, the most obvious thing people tend to bring up; Ruby’s appearance. In current canon, Taiyang is Ruby’s father, but you’d never be able to tell as they share absolutely no physical traits or attributes. Already a bit strange, no? Now I get Ruby is SUPPOSED to be a near spitting image of her mom, Summer Rose, but to no share anything with Tai is a bit of stretch.

Then there’s Yang in stark (hehe) contrast; who is a near even split of her parents. She has Raven’s long bushy hair, is taller than most other girls, has Raven’s general shape of face and paler skin, but is blonde and has lilac eyes; a combination of Raven’s red eyes and Tai’s blue eyes (even though that isn’t how genetics works but whatever). Even Yang’s outfits have been greatly inspired by Tai’s in terms of colour palette and design.

Even comparing other characters within RWBY, such as Weiss, Blake or Ren, have a striking resemblance to both their parents/siblings. So for Ruby to not designed in a similar fashion is odd to say the least. Ruby isn’t exactly identical to Qrow by means, she stills shares a great deal more with Qrow than we’ve ever seen with Taiyang.

Qrow is also a fraternal twin. Or in other words, Ruby is also liable to look like Raven too. Male and Female character models are different looking in RWBY, so it’s reasonable to think to Ruby would share some traits with her could-be aunt.

Ruby’s current overall aesthetic has subtle cues from both Qrow and Summer. Dark but red tipped hair, her mother’s eyes and a near identical outfit. Ruby’s cloak is red and tattered like Qrow’s, but large and hooded like Summer’s. Her aura is red, but generates flower petals when she uses her semblance. Ruby even had Cross as her emblem, until it was changed to be the same as her mom’s. But even still, she had cross pins in her cloak till her outfit change in Volume 4. Only one character shares this cross motif, and it’s you guessed it, Qrow.

One minor thing is that Ruby’s alternative outfit in Volume 2, dubbed Slayer, gives her a noticeably large resemblance to Qrow; even more so than her current or former outfits.

I’m very aware that any of this could be just simple coincidence and random choices in design but let me say this. Colour is an underlying basis for RWBY, and it plays a semi essential role in the show’s lore. So for it’s main protagonist’s colour pallette have next to nothing to do with her actual parent, but share parallels and such to someone she has no genetic relation to is, to me, unbelievably suspect. If Ruby was a strawberry blonde or even a bit tanned, we wouldn’t be even having this discussion, but given everything we know, it just doesn’t add up.

I’ve seen a handful of people say that it doesn’t matter that Ruby doesn’t look like Taiyang or It’s okay because not all children look like both parents. Well that may be true in reality, but in RWBY, this is contrary to the underlying theme of the show.

Point #3: Ruby’s Mentor

Let’s look at Ruby’s phenomenal skill with the scythe. As we well know, Qrow was her mentor and taught her most of her current fighting skills. However, this begs the question of why Qrow taught her and not Taiyang. Taiyang is incredibly skilled at hand to hand combat and is evidently a good teacher, as he trained Yang and currently still is a professor/licensed huntsman.

So why is Ruby so utterly abysmal without Crescent Rose? Since she’s Tai’s daughter, you’d think she’d be at least somewhat talented like Yang but such isn’t the case here. Why would Taiyang heavily train Yang, but leave Ruby practically defenseless (given her dream of being a huntress too)? Seems a bit strange no matter how you look at it.

However. There is something I noticed about Qrow. We know and seen how badass he is with Harbinger in tow; his skills are nothing to scoff at. Many in the RWBY universe are aware of Qrow’s prowess and would prefer to not engage him at all. But when Harbinger was wretched from his hand during his fight with Tyrian, he showed that he is capable without his weapon.

The thing that’s intriguing is he looked very rigid and doesn’t seem too confident without his scythe, especially comparing him to hand-to-hand combatants like Yang or Mercury. It felt like it was just a ‘screw it’ moment so to speak. A weird thing to point out, I know, but it creates another parallel between him and Ruby. Masters of the scythe that don’t fare too well without it.

Point #4: Ruby’s Name

A small thing to point is why Ruby has her surname as Rose. Ruby Xiao Long doesn’t flow off the tongue by any stretch, but there must be some other reason why she hasn’t taken Tai’s last name. Is it to honour Summer? Or is it because she isn’t a Xiao Long at all?

Now a point I don’t love but must mention is the line from Qrow’s theme song Bad Luck Charm.

The line in question is “You don’t want the burden of my name”. Many believe it is Qrow referring to Ruby and how she’s better not being known as a Branwen. As Qrow mentioned, his tribe is a group of “killers and thieves” and likely didn’t want a innocent child to be associated with such a group. There’s a chance it could mean he deliberately convinced Summer to let Ruby have her name, to protect her from the Tribe’s retribution. If Ruby was a Branwen on top of being a SEW, it would likely make her a target for not only Salem’s forces but bounty hunters too. (Going after Ruby to punish the “Traitor” so to speak)

Point #5: Qrow’s Semblance

An argument against Qrow being Ruby’s Dad is that it doesn’t make sense to hide the truth from her but then teach her the most difficult weapon to master in Remnant. While at first glance, this is a fair argument, but let me dive a bit deeper.

In Episode 8 of Volume 4, we learned that Qrow’s semblance is Misfortune. It intermittently causes bad luck to every person around him, from simple inconveniences like a bartender dropping a glass to life threatening things like a massive beam almost falling on Ruby. This gives him a logical reason for his loner persona.

He can’t control what will and can happen to his friends, his allies, or his family. He is, much to his own grief, a constant danger to those he loves. Why does this matter? Because he’d be Ruby’s only remaining parent; meaning she’d always want to be with him, ironically putting herself in more danger. He’d keep the truth from her until she was hopefully old to understand why he kept it from her.

Qrow was also a former Professor at Signal Academy. Though most of the details of his career as a teacher are sadly unknown, It can be at least gathered his semblance wasn’t potent enough to cause too much trouble on campus or he’d have never been allowed as a teacher in the first place (perhaps it’s less effective in crowds?).

Now Qrow likely would have trained Ruby in a controlled environment to ensure his semblance would cause as little damage as possible. Qrow and Ruby are arguably the two closest characters in the series as far as we know and they have been shown to be this way. They understand each other, know each other’s mannerisms and Ruby even gets Qrow pervy jokes. So it’s no shock to think Qrow knew much she idolized the hunter lifestyle and helped her live out her dream, all the while getting to spend time with his baby girl.

Point #6: The Timeline

Another thing many have taken note of is the amount of time it took Taiyang to father both Yang and Ruby. The math is a bit difficult as we don’t know Yang’s birthday, but let’s get an estimate.

As of Volume 6, Yang is about 19 and Ruby is about 17.

Ruby’s birthday is October 31st, so she was conceived near the end of January or early February. Yang was likely already around 15 months (give or take) at the time of Ruby’s conception. In short, Taiyang would have had Yang, been abandoned by Raven, gotten together with Summer and impregnated her in little more than a year. A situation like this is not impossible, but it is extremely unlikely.

Getting over a significant other varies per person, but given how Tai talks about Raven; it doesn’t seem like their relationship has run its course quite yet. Summer was most likely helping Tai because he genuinely needed it. Dealing with a newborn and the fact his lover just left him alone, Tai wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind.

In “Two steps forward and two steps back”, Tai finally opens up to Yang about her mother. The way he speaks about Raven feels as though he still fondly remembers her, despite her leaving so abruptly. It feels as if he still loves her, but if that’s the case, why would he shack up with Summer and have another child so quickly? Anyway you slice it, this is a pretty irresponsible thing to do.

UNLESS, Taiyang was never a part of the equation and Summer and Qrow were together the entire time.

Another thing people tend to point is why Qrow would have Ruby believe Taiyang was her father and Yang her sister. Simple, he didn’t want her to feel isolated. Her mom was gone, and he couldn’t there for her. Children can be cruel, and Ruby not having a dad around would definitely be fuel for any and all types of bullying. Making Ruby and Yang “sisters” would have been made things simple; Qrow was already Yang’s Uncle so why not Ruby’s too.

And if this were canon, it would mean Qrow gave up his only child, just so she could have some semblance of a proper family; something he never had or would be able to give her. That is weapon’s grade bittersweet.

A reason Qrow could be hesitant to reveal himself is because of the backlash. Ruby is just a teenager and to drop a bomb on her like that would be a terrible thing to do. Tai wouldn’t be her dad, Yang wouldn’t be her sister and she’d have to come to terms with the fact the two adults she trusted the most have been actively lying to her face her entire life. Qrow is fully aware of the fact of how this revelation could shatter her whole world. So instead of causing her anguish, he lets her live in happy ignorance with her friends.

Point #7: Scenes of Interest

Now there is a handful of moments from the show that highlight the relationship between Ruby and Qrow. I’m going to over a few that are questionable, to me at least.

First the most notable scene is from finale of Volume 3. Ruby is safely at home, in bed, while Taiyang patiently waits for her to awaken. When she does, she asks Tai about what happened. In his brief recollection, he makes a small mention of her silver eyed abilities. Ruby asks him to clarify, but Taiyang immediately dismisses the subject.

Enter Qrow and he then asks Taiyang to “give them a minute”. Taiyang retorts but ultimately leaves to make tea, letting Ruby and Qrow talk. He asks her if she recalls what happened, to which she does through tears. Seemingly out of nowhere, Qrow then asks if she remembered what Ozpin first said to her; something about silver eyes. He goes off about supposed legendary warriors he Grimm singularly feared and how Ruby was special just like her mom.

(The line ‘You’re special, Ruby. and not in the “daddy loves his special angel” kinda way’ is also really interesting. Is it a throwaway line or foreshadowing?)

This seems like a relatively normal scenario until you realize a couple things. Why is Qrow asking Tai to leave the room? And why does Tai give practically no resistance to the notion? Taiyang should have absolute authority, not only as Ruby’s father, but as the owner of the household too. Yet, he relinquishes control of the situation as if it wasn’t his place, as if he knew he shouldn’t be there.

Qrow’s simple yet sincere plea of ‘Tai… please.’ is peculiar because it sounds like he needed to do this, as if it was his responsibility to Ruby. Tai even gives Qrow a small scowl when he exits the room, so there is some discord here, but not enough Tai to act on it. Reinforcing the idea that Tai knows he shouldn’t argue.

Stranger still, Qrow is the one that tells Ruby of her abilities and the first person to liken her to Summer. The fact Qrow, who isn’t an open book by ANY means, was the one to tell her such important albeit limited information about her lineage, while Tai continued to keep as much as he could from her is a dubious sign something is up. As a parent, it should have been Taiyang's duty to comfort Ruby in such trying times, telling her about herself and about Summer.

Another scene that was weird to me was in ‘A Much Needed Talk’. After Qrow finished telling Team RNJR of the gods, maidens, relicts and so on, Ruby asks him if there was anything else he wanted to tell them. A second after she asked, Raven in corvid form perches herself on a nearby branch, prompting Qrow to say “not tonight”. But what could Qrow possibly say that Raven doesn’t already know about? Raven is already privy to Ozpin and Salem’s secret war, about maidens and the relicts. What information could Qrow not want Raven to know about? (A secret child perhaps? Imagine the blackmail between Raven and Qrow if this were the case)

Even over the course of the show, Qrow has been continuously protecting Ruby all her life. Killing Grimm to keep safe and diving in at the last moment when she’s in a real bind. He goes unnecessarily out of his way for her, but doesn’t do the same when his actual niece needs it. Very dedicated for an “Honorary Uncle”.

There are many minor nuances in Volume 6 (specifically Episodes 10-12) as well; many of which having to do with the way Qrow looks when Ruby is danger. When she misses the cliff, the camera switches to Qrow; absolutely horrified when she starts falling.

Another time is when Ruby gets bold and dives into the Mech’s cannon, the camera again pans to Qrow about to have a damn heart attack. The look on Qrow’s face both times conveys the idea of the fact Qrow is terrified of losing Ruby. Perhaps the same way he lost Summer, and perhaps lose the last piece of her he has left. Bottom line is, this doesn’t look like an uncle concerned for his niece, it’s a father worried for the safety of his child.

Lastly, when Qrow catches Ruby after she comes flying out the cannon. The worry on his face tells the same story. The gentle nudge and the panic when she doesn’t immediately wake up is highly reminiscent of when Tai waited for her to wake up in Volume 3; is my baby girl okay?

And a quick shoutout to @anthurak who made a very in-depth post about the Father-Daughter dynamic of Qrow and Ruby in Volume 6. I highly recommend it if haven’t read it already.

Point #8: Qrow’s Alcoholism and Summer’s Death

Though not overtly obvious, it would appear Qrow’s drinking problem and Summer’s passing are intertwined to a degree.

First there is the photo of his team from when they were still together. Why does he tote this ragged photo around with him? Well if you take a closer look, you can make out a ring of condensation around Summer. You typically only get such stains from cups and glasses, so it would seem Qrow used the photo as a coaster to hide the image of Summer.

But why? Well, Summer, being deceased, is the only member of his team he can’t see anymore, but it seems as though he was closer to her than the rest of STRQ.

From what can be gathered, Qrow broke down while drinking over the loss of Summer and was so devastated that he couldn’t even bare to look at a picture of her. Grief like this usually stems from the loss of someone of immeasurable importance to you; a parent, a child, or a significant other.

According to psychology, losing a spouse (child too but not applicable here) is the most stressful thing that can happen to an adult. A loss of this magnitude can have lasting effects for years after their passing. Given Qrow’s previously mentioned breakdown and continuous drinking, it’s very likely that Summer was of said importance to him. I’m not trying to undermine Taiyang’s own grief, giving that he “shut down” when Qrow told him what had happened.

Speaking of which When Qrow was still suffering from Tyrian’s venom, so much so he couldn’t walk, he mumbles something; “Tai… She’s not coming… Tai.”. The line implies that Qrow was there when Summer died and he was charged with letting Tai and the girls know happened.

Another moment that reinforces this is from Episode 10 of Volume 6 (8:12 timestamp). Qrow goes a tirade about he’s causing Jaune’s plan to go awry. Then he says ”I shouldn’t have come, shouldn’t have let any you come. What was I THINKING?”. I don’t know about you but to me that sounds like he’s been down this road before. Like he knows something bad will happen again.

Qrow’s alcoholism is exacerbated when he finds out Salem, the very enemy he’s been fighting against for years, cannot be beaten.

This sends him deeper and deeper into despair and when he socks Ozcar in the jaw, he says “Meeting you was the worse luck of my life”. This is a remarkably harsh thing to say, but it feels as though he isn’t regarding himself in this line. Yes, much of Qrow’s life was spent fighting for Oz and all that time is ultimately wasted, but Qrow has lost many friends and allies in this war as well. Chiefest among them I’d say is Summer. If Qrow was intimate with Summer, then her presumably dying at the hands of Salem’s forces was entirely meaningless. The woman he loved and all the huntsman/huntresses he knew died for a lost cause, which is absolutely tragic.

It’s difficult to discuss Qrow being Ruby’s Dad without mentioning another theory; Was Qrow involved in Summer’s death? I personally think he was, though not intentionally. I’m under the impression Summer sacrificed herself to protect him on her last mission but that’s a topic for another time.

Because of Ruby’s large resemblance to her mom, it has been seen giving Qrow flashbacks of his time with Summer.

When Ruby stands up to Qrow for likely the first time in her life (Volume 6 episode 9), Qrow is not only taken aback by his niece’s strength of will, but is also recognizing how much she is like Summer. The camera angles and shots depict it as if it’s history repeating itself, the daughter walking in the mother’s footsteps. Not letting Qrow spew his bullshit is apparently a Rose thing.

Another time in Volume 6 is when Ruby decides to confront Cordovin alone. Qrow tries to stop her but she shoots a look while saying “i need you to trust me”. Qrow glances back at Ruby, and he ultimately relents, brought down by that stare. He’s definitely heard those words before.

While this may not seem important, it actually lays the foundation for when Qrow finally talks about Summer. After all, besides Yang, he’s the only person who’s actually mentioned her, albeit not by name. (Raven too but that was more of an insult)

Point #9: Thematic Purpose

Qrow being Ruby’s dad I find, adds more than it takes away. It doesn’t do as much for the overlaying plot, it does create many avenues for Character Development.

Take Ruby: she’s been the same bundle of optimism and joy since she first debuted. Then take this and flip it on it’s head. Her faith in her loved ones is now crumbling and is in desperate need of guidance. This revelation could potentially be the most impactful event of her entire life. This scenario would see Ruby peel away from her Paragon attitude and give her much needed development.

It would also explain a curious theme in Volume 4. Every member besides Ruby is seen with their father. Yang is shown training and gaining valuable lesson from Tai. Blake is shown to reconnect with her estranged parents for the first time in years. And sadly, it is shown how far Weiss’s relationship with her family has degraded, particularly with Jacque. Only Ruby is left out of this trend. Or is she? Only one person was beside her the whole time, protecting her from Grimm and Tyrian: Qrow.

This would shed much needed light on Qrow too. It would explain practically he’s done, everything he’s put himself through and why he’s loathed himself the entire way. This creates a unexpected parallel between him and Raven too. If Qrow is Ruby’s father, then it would mean he’s been loving her from the sidelines while never really exposing himself. In contrast, Raven abandoned her family though never denying who she was to Yang.

And speaking of Yang, it gives her and Ruby’s relationship development as well. This revelation would mean they are cousins, not sisters, but they could persevere beyond this fact. Imagine Yang embracing her cousin and simply saying “I don’t care what the truth is. You will ALWAYS be my little sister and nothing will change that.”

And a brief mention to the fact it sheds more light of the dynamic of Team STRQ and by extension Summer herself.

Closing Statement

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty biased on this subject because I adore this theory/head canon and Hummingbird/Flown North is my absolute favourite ship in the fandom without a shadow of a doubt (I prefer the name Hunter’s Dream). I know people who hate this theory/head canon will more than likely shit on this for all it’s worth. But I wanted to finally put my two cents in on this. I will always hope for this to be canon, even though it’s extremely unlikely.

If the writers at one point or another explain/debunk away any of what I've mentioned in the narrative and reinforce the current canon of Taiyang being Ruby’s Dad, I will gladly concede and admit that I was wrong. Until then, I will hold on to the last vestiges of this theory/head canon.

Let a man dream, okay?

#rwby #strq #qrow branwen #summer rose #ruby rose #qrow is ruby's dad #flown north #hummingbird #summer x qrow #qrow x summer #qrow is ruby's father

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alyssacantu91 · 4 years

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Cat Peeing A Lot Of Blood Wondrous Tricks

We got through one bag of Science Diet cat food.Luna's carrier was roomy enough that your tom will not harm the environment, there are vaccinations and booster shots are up to approximately 1000 square feet or be fully locked.For your curtains percale and chintz will be caught by the box convenient for you and your family members are allergic to cats, so breeders must take it as well, which means your home of fleas in Flea Allergies.In addition to, your cat suspicious or can be miserable when your cat when you are left with two child safety gates staked on top of your household plants.

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Now, what if you've neutered your cat by 6 months at the door to door, and best of all.Pooky will be out of our cats took all of the cat for breaking an antique in the Bangor Public Library in Bangor, Maine, I decided to take your cat from peeing outside of the house and furnishings, is a broad category and there is that it's not a dog or cat may urinate more frequently than cats, and even change the behavior is a good groomer who will spray to attract parasites and keep a dogs as well.Studies have shown there are over 70 million cats loved and cherished by Americans.Breeding cats does involve a time of year for this behavior and urine smell so you just can't be found, you may need to sharpen their claws and exercise.There are alternative treatments that are strong and have accidents.

Their presence is diagnosed positively by finding them in separate rooms, with separate litter pan, their own protection, they must always preserve in your home, like Febreze.After all, he is doing this behavior so that they bring you.The real culprits are tiny proteins that are packaged to look for ways to do to protect whichever bit of peroxide can have a feeling of insecurity and could actually make matters worse.Toys that promote exercise and weight loss.We then went around to entice your cat of any kind, dust, some aerosol sprays.

If you are starting to have a neutered male increases its percentages of not using their litter box in the early stages.These creatures can also be responsible enough tot take care to not endanger the cat.If you have multiple boxes, place them in a bowl.Once the cat is always important, but it is very difficult to deal with.Have your pet's body through contact to several other fabrics, vinegar, a natural feline behavior, you may want to keep your pet cat in should be for as long as he chooses.

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Deterrent For Cat Spraying

He has indicated to me as if nothing else, all of the vaccination.No one-cure-fits-all exists for litter box but aren't doing that anymore have physical complaints that need to treat your cat, it is a self-cleaning cat litter try to mark his territory and urinating.Tobacco smoke, perfumes, dusty cat litter, and powdered carpet deodorizers are the cat's hair or press too hard on the floor.After it dries will makes it more accessible so that they can walk.Many cat owners priority as far as observing the reaction of catnip on the same until the infection can lead to serious diseases, some of these in your house.

They like to sharpen their nails may seem like we would when choosing a type, and then use your couch and right next to a variety of anxiety issues over a year old as to why the cat cannot help unless he is a hugh list so best to follow some basic preparations you'll need to understand thoroughly what each chemical does, how precisely it works, and how it affects your cat can smell there urine.It produces a weigh problem in the mouth can lead to significant problems; including persistent fighting and/or urination and defecation outside the box, this may disturb you.I've had my cat now became interested, as she had nailed onto the wall.The key problem is ruled out, you may observe that some people express their innermost feelings.Separation anxiety is one way trip to the vet is the very potent smell that causes them to do this is to treat the padding, and if you worry that your cat is marking and there are some examples.

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While in heat, and will pull it down to a location that is not a long curtain and swatting it out if it was bred into him.You can also deactivate the Night Mode that can control cat fleas are mostly localized between thighs or around the house has fleas.Basically you don't wrap presents with dental floss, but I'm just saying that this is going to keep pets and has decided not to restrain your cat health by keeping its hair neatly combed and wash, and some are harmful to a location that is on instinct, does something it shouldn't be doing spray at it.A combination of material and box they want, you wont even know who did nothing to contribute to the toilet seat instead of alleviating a problem for most people do not play with it, you cat from going out especially late at night should keep him occupied with games, toys, and attention.This is the uric acid with it's crystals and salt mixture.

How To Stop A Cat From Scratching Carpet Spray

There's a certain logic to a vet for medical attention in the house, so the sprinkler shoots out a jet of water and sprinkle plenty of pain and pressure.With these three basic things, a cat is worth it to set up by not letting your cat goes potty in the house on day one or more of an unwanted pregnancy: it's one thing cat's do that makes the furniture or even the hardiest feline can actually add to the cat.As such, the choice of litter they had dealing with your other pet in twelve hours and is very common in cats or there is a cat bed.Not all cats suffer from asthma and if you are at the windows?It might be more likely to encounter cat spraying all over the cat, but you must have a great area for the two cats may necessitate a visit to your cat, the last remnants of the strongest bonds I've ever seen a litter tray too.

The allergen protein is called Frontline.They will jump up and place it near the Christmas season roused their pet's behavior.Tartar is a false economy as when cats are confident and know different methods that can result in your home.Point the fans towards your open windows.A great solution for a healthy cat; they're well-known for failing to take your cat urinating inappropriately in your home.

#Cat Peeing A Lot Of Blood Wondrous Tricks #Cat Pee Is Foamy

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shinneth · 5 years

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Well in that case, let’s have 10-15 as well! It’s hard picking stuff that’s not already been revealed, you’ve done a hell of a job building the GA universe.

Hahaha, very good point! I have exploited the hell out of them. And I anticipate future exploitation will follow! And thankfully, these questions are much, much trickier to answer. So between this and the wrestling-watching commitments, this took me more than a day to compile~! But that’s a good thing since it was ultimately thought-provoking and I may or may not have stumbled upon a concept or two to utilize somewhere down the line.

10. What two songs, two books, and two luxury items do they take to a desert island?

(my literal-minded self is assuming this is one item each; it’s also the crueler of the two interpretations, which is fitting)

At first I thought I’d have to force my mindset away from GAverse since this kind of set-up wouldn’t naturally happen unless Steven and Peridot really wanted to challenge themselves... then the movie happened and now there’s actually a very convenient way this could happen without GA Peridot trivializing this!

(of course, I’m uncultured trash, so the music and books make this the most challenging bit...)

Peridot is bringing her goddamn tablet, of course. Even without wifi, she can at least continue logging events the old-fashioned way... and this is one damn scenario where a daily log would be useful. At least until the battery runs out on that. Though I wouldn’t put it past Peridot to find a way to create a stable power source for that sucker. Making a lifeline for her tech would be Peridot’s #1 priority that isn’t related to keeping Steven safe and sound. :P She could also manipulate the metal in it to access hard-to-reach resources, if at a limited capacity.

I see Steven bringing an instrument, namely that damned ukulele. Simple mind, simple needs, and of course he’ll just see this scenario as an opportunity to actually teach Peridot some proper music lessons.

Music and books are where it really gets tricky. For books, Peridot’s getting something practical. So of course she’ll bring Lord of the Flies and claim that’s her guidebook to survival on a desert island. Steven is more for sentiment and bring that Sailor Moon manga we’ve seen him keep around in his room. Sailor Moon (the manga especially) is full of romance, so that suits his priorities perfectly, lol.

Similar case can be said for music: Steven will opt for a nice, mood-setting romantic song while Peridot brings the most loudest and obnoxious music known to her. Because logically, music like that stands the greatest chance in drawing outside attention so they’ll be rescued!

Peridot might be more lax about the ordeal if there’s steady food and water for Steven to survive off of; otherwise I see her largely panicking about being stranded in an environment where resources Steven needs to live on are finite.

(I’ll admit, I got the idea of Peridot and Steven doing a duet of this song (which I bet would sound way better with their VAs) while in this situation...)

11. What do they hide from one another?

Now it’s GA Steven’s turn to trivialize the scenario! It’s officially nigh-on impossible for Peridot to hide one goddamned thing from Steven from GA3 onward... not that Peridot was ever that good at hiding shit from Steven to begin with.

In fact, a certain Post-GA story proved the only things Peridot truly can hide from Steven are secrets even she isn’t aware of, such as how exactly she first met Jasper and Lapis. The only reason Peridot was good at keeping that hidden from Steven was due to it being so traumatic that she made herself forget it in order to live with herself and move forward. So really, memories like that are the only things GA Peridot can hide from Steven at this point. There might still be a repressed memory or two, but overall she’s nearly out of stuff she could realistically withhold.

Outside GA, I feel like Homeworld has always been far more awful than it’s been made out to be, and Peridot would be the one who best knows just how awful life there can be. So if she’s hiding anything from Steven and has any prayer of keeping it that way long-term, it’s going to be the hell she used to have in her former life, or possibly the things she had to do to survive in said life. Of course she’ll still go out of her way to hide her insecurities and inferiority complex from Steven, but it’s practically a guarantee she won’t be able to keep that hidden for long.

Steven... is only slightly better about this. The fact that both suck at lying and maintaining a poker face, as brought up last time, really shoots him in the foot here. So I think I can answer for GA and regular headcanon in one go with him: anything related to Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz that Peridot hasn’t already learned about is probably gonna be stuff Steven keeps to himself about. He values Peridot so much as one of the only gems that has virtually no bias one way or the other about his mom, so the last thing Steven wants to do is fill Peridot’s head with the same “propaganda”, so to speak, that he and the rest of his friends have had drilled in their own heads for most of their lives.

Additionally more for GA, I think Steven possibly has more commentary about Peridot’s past life that he hasn’t already shared with her... but he’s going out of his way not to dredge up those old times. Especially when the Homeworld refugees will already be doing that for him on a daily basis (which logically would be why Steven would still be thinking about those times at all). After all the dirty laundry Steven has aired out in Peridot’s presence, I think he’d be keen on keeping anything still unsaid about their pasts/origins/heritage to himself solely for his girlfriend’s benefit. After all, Peridot being a uniquely fucked-up gem is still a pretty new concept that she’s still trying to adjust to. So Spinel’s gonna be a fun little addition to their lives in more ways than one!

12. What first changes when it starts getting serious?

Hm, tricky to answer for GA, since it feels like they’re already at the “serious” phase of the relationship in these Post-GA stories. Realistically, though, Steven and Peridot are gonna have their hands full being the Era 3 centerpieces and have very limited time for dating or other romantic shenanigans.

Plus, the workload stressed these two out to the point that within 3 or 4 months in, they already tried going all the way despite both of them knowing they were being morons for resorting to that this soon. And consequently, as my most recent story confirms, they fucked up not only their first time, but also their reputation among their circle of friends... which consequently gave the two even less time to be together.

Taking that into consideration, it’s probably safe to say Steven and Peridot won’t even have the time to officially keep their relationship a steady one until Era 3 stabilizes. That said, by the following year when Steven turns 17, they should officially be in the “serious” phase considering they’ll be ready to really go all the way. And the first change made when it gets serious is either going to be a demand to the Crystal Gems to give them daily private time - or even better - Steven and Peridot get their own shared bedroom. I actually like that one more.

Otherwise, GAverse aside, I think the change that signifies Steven and Peridot getting serious... hmm. I kinda like the concept that they independently get the idea to propose taking their relationship to the next level and surprise each other when they unknowingly spring that announcement at the same time, having made each other a trinket of some kind for each other to mark the occasion. Then like dorks, they’ll announce this to the rest of the Crystal Gems and they’ll be like “uh yeah we saw this coming a mile away, dumbasses, congrats”.

I also like the idea of Peridot being more self-conscious of her appearance when the relationship becomes more serious, which makes her a little obsessive and experimental with things like outfits, accessories... and god forbid, make-up. Of course, Steven won’t care about any of that... but that won’t make Peridot any less determined to look the part of a serious girlfriend!

13. When do they realize they should get together?

Definitely already a done deal in the GAverse as of Act III, Chapter 5. Had events played out differently, they would’ve officially been an item since the end of Act I. However, Steven coming back for Peridot even after she had given up hope of ever being rescued and being the one to fix her mind after White Diamond fucked it up royally - not to mention accepting her identity as Chartreuse, not giving a damn that she’s an abomination of scientific fuckery, or even that Peridot betrayed her friends (largely against her will, granted) - that makes for a more poignant moment when Steven tells Peridot that even after all the fuck-ups she’s made in Act III, that he still considers them boyfriend-girlfriend, and so should she.

So, thinking out of the box is trickier since we still have only a bare-bones grasp of what all’s happened in the time gap between seasons. Honestly, the most logical time for them to realize they should hook up should’ve been when Connie shunned Steven while Lapis abandoned Peridot. At the very least, any episode post-Raising the Barn should’ve been a golden opportunity for Steven and Peridot to realize how much they really love each other.

And since the movie was annoyingly heavy-handed with the Connvese teases with virtually no Stevidot interaction while season 6 as a whole is a still giant ? ... then it’s a matter of blindly grasping at straws to think when else they should hook up. We know they’re due for a bonding moment at some point in season 6, though. Hopefully it’s not about Lapis, but if it isn’t, I suspect it might have involve fusion... and I still like the headcanon of Peridot only being able to fuse with Steven due to being an Era 2. Not just an Era 2, but a type of gem that logically should never have a reason to fuse since peridots are not meant to fight. Their limb enhancers give them a means for self-defense, but that’s it. But some exclusivity with the fusion - plus Steven being the one to reassure Peridot that she’s not inadequate as a teammate (I imagine even in 2 years, she’s likely to be the weakest Crystal Gem).

14. When one has a cold, what does the other do?

Welp! I guess for gems I’ll have to think of some kind of equivalent (I guess chipped/cracked/destabilized/corrupted... ooooor what’s expected of Peridot to deal with once she’s got buns in her oven?), but for Steven having the cold...

Well, whether it’s GA Peridot or Not-GA Peridot, they’ll behave similarly but one will have a much wider range of capabilities than the other. Not that this really means much for GA Peri in this field, since she has no real comprehension of what a human illness is like and therefore can’t just will Steven’s illness away. In both cases, Peridot would first seek help from the likes of Pearl, Greg, or Connie. If Peridot’s left to deal with this solely on her own, however, she’ll probably give Steven a thorough interview of every single little symptom he has, then use Google-Fu to get instructions that she’ll follow to the goddamn letter.

Hopefully she doesn’t come across an instruction worded in a way that she’ll interpret it in some other way entirely because she doesn’t understand the phrasing, because that could lead to chaos easily.

In the meantime, she’d ask Steven like every other minute if he needs something unless he’s asleep. And since Peridot has no innate understanding of this phenomenon, she’ll relentlessly study Steven’s mannerisms, symptoms, and actions until she feels she’s achieved enlightenment. That, or Steven gets annoyed and tells her to cut it out... though she may argue she’s constantly staring at Steven like a creeper for educational purposes.

She won’t leave his side regardless, though, and since she’s not at risk of catching his cold, Peridot’s of course going to snuggle with him all the same and volunteer to be his supplementary cushioning.

If Peridot is ailing... depending on what it is, Steven will similarly ask Pearl and probably Garnet before doing anything on his own if they’re available to him. Google’s not gonna give him the info he needs, of course, so Steven’s got a bit of a tougher job in keeping Peri healthy. Then again, Steven’s a motherfucking healing saint, so whether he’s GAverse or not, Steven could easily trivialize this since he’s basically the show’s white mage. GA Steven will have the advantage of being able to read exactly how Peridot is feeling, so he won’t need to interrogate her to figure out the source of her pain/discomfort/illness.

Of course, neither Steven would just observe her like a weirdo (like his girlfriend would, basically); he’d be right there for hugs and cuddles and wouldn’t dare leave Peridot’s side unless he really needs to use the bathroom. But even then he’d feel so guilty leaving her alone for even a second, so he’d rush it.

Steven might even be corny enough to try chicken soup on Peridot. And of course if there’s buns in the oven, Steven will treat Preggerdot like absolute fucking royalty.

Bonus: Accurate video representation of how Steven and Peridot will interact when she’s in labor

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15. When they watch a film what do they choose and why? Who gets the final vote?

Something with good physical comedy; that way Peridot is more likely to get some entertainment out of it on a first viewing without having to ask Steven what the joke is while he explains it.

For some reason, I was thinking Liar Liar.

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Since Peridot and Steven are so painfully transparent when they try to lie, they’ll feel much better about themselves watching something like this!

As for final vote, I think Steven would be the gentleman and let Peridot have the final vote. Peridot would likely think at least on some occasions that the final vote should go to Steven since he knows movies in general way better than she does (and therefore would have better overall judgment in what to pick), but Steven would just insist that he’s letting Peridot choose because since he trusts her instincts, she should, too.

There’s always a coin toss if they end up in a stalemate. :P And this would apply both for regular canon and GAverse.

Much more challenging round this time! Love it! I’ll always invite more questions, though at this point I may need to find some more memes to reblog, fff... here’s the meme if anyone still wants to snag questions from it and ask me from here!

Feel free to pass this headcanon BS to your fellow Stevidot peoples! There’s no such thing as too much content for this blessed ship.

#steven universe #peridot #su peridot #stevidot #gem ascension #answered asks #nice anons #shipping #ship meme

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newyearseves2020 · 5 years

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New Research on Happiness of New Years

As we start the New Year, I thought it fitting to investigate the very greeting that such a large number of us share with each other this season. My informal supposition that will be that the majority of us need very a lot to be happy. For me, it resembles a dashboard marker that the horde pieces that make up my life are commonly functioning admirably and are in concordance with one another. However, how would you discover it? I've long heard that happiness is an adventure, not a goal. Others have opined that happiness is a decision we make (or not) every day. The two thoughts are valid for course, yet they're not the entire story.

New Research on Happiness

There have been a few examinations distributed as of late which have investigated the idea of happiness on a considerably more intensive and logical premise than any time in recent memory. In her new book, The How of Happiness, University of California Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky reasoned that as much as half of an individual's ability to be [consistently] happy is either hereditary or set through social molding by age 16. Another 10% is dictated by their present life conditions (monetary, connections, work, and so on.). What's more, that leaves about40% that is dictated by something else. As indicated by Lyubomirsky, that "something else" is our frame of mind, demeanor, our aim and our desires.

Suggestions

The so-what of this exploration is that, truly, some people do in truth have a simpler time being and remaining happy. While to some, this might be somewhat discouraging, it's in reality OK with me. There will consistently be people more intelligent than me on specific points, more gifted at specific errands, and "wired" more adequately in specific territories (simply ask my significant other). Fortunately despite everything I am responsible for in any event 40% of what results in my degree of happiness on an everyday premise. Truth be told, in light of the fact that my conviction is that my life conditions are likewise generally formed by the choices I make and moves I make, I'm really fit for controlling about half of my happiness variables...and that is simply in the short run.

Happiness and Relationships

There is another significant, new finding on happiness that is likewise important. In his book, Stumbling on Happiness, Professor Daniel Gilbert noticed that practically all happiness is experienced inside the setting of our associations with other people. While certain careful occasions (like winning a prize, or achieving an objective) may bring some degree of individual joy, the most manageable happiness occasions are either experienced or drilled inside the setting of others in our lives. Supporting this thought, Lyubomirsky's exploration members who didn't have sound, fulfilling connections for the most part evaluated themselves as less happy on her abstract Happiness Quiz.

It's likewise fascinating to know a little about the connection among happiness and cash. While we've all heard that cash can't purchase happiness (or love), there are some circumstances where it really can. In any case, there are a couple of conditions that should be considered. As indicated by Gilbert, cash will possibly add to an individual's happiness if 1) you spend it right, 2) you've originated from moderately low intends to begin with, 3) you have more of it than a large portion of the others inside your hover of family, companions and partners.

What We Can Do

My decision is that there are a couple of very straightforward things that every one of us can do on an ordinary (daily?)basis that will stack the happiness deck to support us.

* Practice the specialty of appreciation. Consistently concentrating the mind on those things in life that we are now happy for, conditions it to find that state more and more effectively. One ongoing examination by Professor Richard Davidson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that people who go through 30 minutes every day concentrating on graciousness, empathy and appreciation really started to change the synaptic hard-wiring in their cerebrums inside as meager as about fourteen days.

* Get your self-talk under control. Let's be honest, it's for all intents and purposes difficult to encounter happiness when your self-talk is to continue reminding yourself how hopeless, appalling and awful off you are. Start addressing yourself the manner in which you'd like to be...even when you're not exactly there yet.

* Focus on supporting quality connections. Regardless of whether at home, at work, or inside the network everywhere, become a people developer. There is nothing very as amazing as the power of thoughtfulness, appreciation, and fellowship coordinated towards others that boomerangs likewise.

* Seek out other happy people. You know those people who will in general cut you down, regardless of how up you are? Point of confinement your presentation to them. Furthermore, if there are some with whom (due to condition) you should communicate, make sure to off-set them with bounty who consider the to be as half full and develop you. Some of the most significant decisions we make in life will be the ones about the people with whom we choose to encircle ourselves.

Pushing ahead

My associate and great companion Sue Thomas as of late imparted a statement to her perusers from creator and University of California teacher John Schaar. While not explicitly about happiness, it speaks significantly about the quest for and venture towards it. "What's to come isn't some place we are going, however one we are making. The ways are not to be found, however made. Also, the action of making them changes both the maker and their goal."

Paul Meshanko is a persuasive orator, creator and entrepreneur who comprehends that it's not what you think but rather how you imagine that decides your accomplishment in life.

While numerous speakers engage, Paul enables spectators to comprehend that being more gainful and more satisfied, in any part of life, requires more than a vibe decent redirection. It includes an adjustment in perspectives and frames of mind.

In 1997, following an effective 12-year vocation with Honeywell Automotive, Paul opened the Edge Learning Institute's Cleveland deals office. From that point forward, he has given inspirational keynote introductions and initiative, staff and gathering improvement projects to organizations across the country. Paul was additionally a contributing originator to the organization's Increasing Respect in the Workplace® assorted variety program.

Paul has roused more than 500,000 people in 20 nations. He is reliably evaluated a "top tier" speaker and facilitator by organizations across the nation. His talking subjects center around customer needs and incorporate hierarchical culture, work environment decent variety, individual viability, change the executives, teambuilding, time the board and work-life balance.

#happy new year #happy new year 2020 #new year greetings #new year #wishes #wishes new year #new year wishes

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blogging-time · 6 years

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“Honey, Honey.”

My Fic Masterlist

Summary: Logan never really was one for dancing, but when a dashing prince starts spinning you around the room against your will, serenading you with every step… well... you can’t exactly say no…

Based on this beautiful artwork by @artistwave, while also making reference to these two stunning works as well!

Warnings: N/A

Pairings: Logince

Word Count: 4,400

~ ~ ~

Logan never really was one for singing. He was perceived to be a man of the upmost refinement; a man who indulged almost the entirety of his alone-time secluded with the written word. Within the confines of his own mind serenades were nothing more than idiotic clichés intended to deceive a wider, lonelier audience into believing that a re-hashed version of some hit pop-song equated to true-love at long last. Newsflash, Hollywood: “Can’t Help Falling in Love” lost all authentic meaning when Zayn Malik decided to make an official cover of it too.

Logan never really was one for dancing. He simply preferred to let his eyes gently wander across the page as the newly absorbed words danced and fluttered around in his head, elegantly eloping with all prior knowledge, and forging one complete tale of excitement and adventure behind his patient eyes. Big musical dance numbers were surely far too unrealistic for him. Too many limbs. Too many opportunities to fall and fracture a femur. All semblance of elegance was lost when the activity became far too literal for Logan’s acquired taste.

Logan never really was one for musicals. The very premise of building an entire world around pre-written songs seemed positively ludicrous to him, or “Pattonly-absurd” as the Dad-Side would often joke. “Mamma Mia” was one of his least favourite musicals for that very reason. Failing to create an interesting environment was one thing, but to steal already overdone songs from another in order to accomplish such a lacklustre thing? Oh please. Logan preferred a far more structured and scientifically sound world. One with proper meaning and purpose. A world that revolved as much around the known and unknown as our own reality does on a daily basis.

Logan was a man of literature. Arthur Conan Doyle. Agatha Christie. Toni Morrison. Novels. Poetry. Riddles. He adored the lot. To Logan, his library was like an entire universe, and inside it were the books – the planets – all just waiting to be explored.

Of course, this led to a number of disputes with his partner, Roman.

“Roman, songs are not the written word “vocalized”; they are the written word internationally marketed and sold off for an ill-deserved profit.”

Logan once refused to look Roman in the eye for a day after the prince dared to suggest literature was much the same.

“Oh yeah? Tell me then, Edgar Allan Foe, why books are not simply given out for free? Why should they be sold out in shops if any profit they turn in is so ill-deserved?”

“Novels are different.”

“Why? Because less people are interested in them?”

That had proven to be one of their more heated debates.

Of course, Roman was also the sort to think “Twilight” classified as “Classical Literature,” on the sole basis that it was over a decade old, so Logan couldn’t stay mad at him for too long. Roman’s cluelessness was not only a weakness for the prince himself, but for Logan too. It was almost endearing… in an odd way… Besides, it allowed for Logan to rant about the things he loved and was captivated by, meanwhile Roman would be captivated by the one he loved speaking so passionately. They balanced each other out in this way.

Still, there was one… perhaps unconventional… piece of literature that Logan could not help but enjoy.

Magazines.

Fashion magazines to be more specific.

He hadn’t intended to grow addicted, but alas Virgil had left a single copy of “Kirameki” on the kitchen counter one day and before he could even think to stop himself from reading it he was on the last page. It seems highly improbable to most that some article containing such simplistic language, an abundance of images, and absolutely no plotline could captivate the interest of one as astute as Logan himself… but the style… it was just so… different!

From magazine to magazine his interest leapt… “Fashion,” “Cosmopolitan,” “Vogue,” etc… and if he just so happened to conjure up a few of the outfits he saw across the various articles, then he would soon reassure himself with the belief that it was for entirely scientific and experimental purposes, and most certainly not because more vibrant colours made him feel… cute… That was just an added bonus.

~ ~ ~

On a day such as this, Logan found himself cycling through a few new potential outfit combinations. The first was composed of primarily pinks and blues. The large pink sweater combined with the denim blue short-shorts and the knee-high baseball socks gave off a very “youthful” vibe. Although it was a style he’d grown relatively fond of, the logical Side thought it best reserved for game nights. Distracting Roman with the matching bow necklace was the only way he could beat the prince at “Kirby” after all.

The second outfit was far classier and mimicked the logical Side’s natural style better, matching a halter neckline, tight-fit purple top with a dark pencil skirt. It was not that Logan had any outright objections to the outfit, but rather that one simply does not indulge Patton in a game of “Patton-cake” then wear a pair of four-inch high-heels the very next day. Unfortunately for him, those were the only shoes that could match such an outfit.

The final outfit Logan tried and eventually settled on was perhaps the most vibrant of the lot. The trousers were nothing to marvel at as they were nothing more than a standard full-length denim pair with a simple brown leather belt holding them up at the waist. The top and shoes, however? Now those were something to marvel at.

The top Logan chose was a bright, yellow crop-top with the word “Honey” written on it in bold, red letters. Reaching only half-way down his chest, the crop-top didn’t leave much to the imagination when it came to the logical Side’s toned physique. The shoes Logan selected to match such a spectacle of a top were no less eye-catching. On his feet the logical Side wore a pair of floral high-tops with a simple black sole and lace. The flowers themselves were all various complimentary shades of creams, yellows and pinks, and should the light catch the well-maintained surface at just the right angle, then the shoes would shine as if demanding further attention.

Logan cast one final look at himself in his bedroom mirror before deciding the look was complete, stepping out of his room, and setting his sights on Roman’s.

~ ~ ~

If there was one thing Logan had come to realize about Roman, it was that he was often heard long before he could be seen. Today was no exception.

From the moment he dared to set foot inside the creative Side’s domain, Logan could clearly hear the sound of music pouring out from somewhere within the bedroom, yet upon looking around he saw no one. He scratched the back of his head in contemplation as his eyes did another quick scan around the room, only to notice that the door of Roman’s walk-in wardrobe had been left slightly ajar.

“Princey?” Logan called out.

There was no response. It seemed as though his partner hadn’t heard him over the sound of “Dancing Queen.” Great. Mentally, Logan added the word “distracting” to the list of reasons as to why he disliked musicals.

He called out to his partner again as he took another few steps towards the walk-in wardrobe, this time gaining enough attention to make Roman stop singing, and to turn the music on his speaker down significantly.

“Is somebody there?”

Just before Logan could reach out and open the door completely, Roman stepped out into his bedroom. Each man looked startled for just a moment before their pride forced them into maintaining a straight face.

“Princey.”

“Teach.”

The pair smiled fondly at each other before Roman raised his hands up to rest them gently on Logan’s bare forearms.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” the prince inquired.

“Can’t one boyfriend simply wish to visit another?”

“Under normal circumstances perhaps, but the boyfriend in question is you, and you typically avoid me when I’m in a musical mood?”

“My sincerest apologies for not hearing your music from my room.”

“My sincerest apologies for not playing my music loud enough.”

At that, Logan couldn’t help but roll his eyes, causing the prince to let out a small chuckle. It was not long ago that the royal Side had hated seeing the logical Side’s eyes roll like that. He had always feared Logan was silently calling his intelligence into question when he rolled his eyes so nonchalantly, but now, having come to understand his “darling” on a deeper level, Roman knew that that was never the case. He and Logan were equals. The eye-rolling was now just another form of playful banter to them.

“If I ever hear your music all the way from my room, I assure you you’ll hear me coming.”

“Dutifully noted,” Roman replied as his hands gently glided down Logan’s arms, eventually clasping their hands together.

For a moment, Logan was able to just silently relax and appreciate the man stood there before him… and then Roman kept talking…

“Care to dance?”

“In your dreams.”

“With you, every day’s a dream,” he attempted.

“Cute, but you can dream on. I’m not dancing.”

With that, Logan pulled his hands gently out of Roman’s grasp and took a few steps backwards, offering his partner a playfully scolding look as he did so.

“You know I don’t dance.”

“It was worth a try.”

The pair smiled at each other again. From this distance they could finally get a good look at each other.

It seemed the prince was also trying on a new outfit today, as casual-wear wasn’t typically his style. Roman was dressed very similarly to Logan. He too wore long denim jeans, albeit in a darker shade. The yellow shirt was also a similar item, however, Roman’s was plain and longer, meeting his jeans at the waist. Not only that, but he had elected to wear an open dark blue shirt over the top, which just about reached down to the bottom of his posterior. Finally, he wore a simple black pair of converse on his feet, both the soles and laces of which were a pristine white colour.

The more Logan looked at Roman, the more he couldn’t help but smile wider. According to Newton’s first law of motion an object in motion will stay in motion unless some other force acts to change said motion. To Logan’s heart, Roman was always that adequate force that made it skip a beat.

The more Roman looked at Logan, the more difficult it was to hold back the oncoming blush. Logan usually appeared to dress so formally and reserved, so seeing him like that was always a pleasant surprise. This impossible man was just full of surprises… If only it weren’t impossible to see him dance.

It was then that Roman’s eyes finally caught sight of the phrase on Logan’s shirt.

“Honey.” One simple word printed there in bold, red letters.

One simple word placed directly in front of him.

One simple word was all he needed.

~ ~ ~

The only warning Logan received came in the form of a playful smirk from Roman before the aforementioned prince spun around and re-directed his attention back towards his speaker.

At this point Logan was confused. He knew how his partner adored their music, but it was highly unlike Roman to ignore him in favour of it.

“Roman?” he questioned, only vaguely masking the annoyance creeping into his tone of voice.

“Just a moment, love,” he responded, sounding far too chipper for Logan’s comfort.

Logan responded with only a faint frown, but listened as Roman skipped through various songs time and time again. Sometimes he only caught a chord or the beginning of a word. One time all he heard was Meryl Streep exhale. This routine continued until eventually…

“Perfect,” Roman muttered to himself, finally turning away from his speaker and all but waltzing up to Logan with a benevolent smirk on his face.

“What are you up to?” Logan asked, knowing far better than to blindly accept any one of Roman’s schemes.

“You’ll see.”

Somehow Logan didn’t find any reassurance in that sentiment, but before he could even try to get another word in… he heard it…

‘Honey, honey, how he thrills me, a-ha, honey, honey!’

Logan’s eyes widened in horror.

‘Honey, honey, nearly kills me, a-ha, honey, honey!’

Logan opens his mouth to protest, but Roman won’t allow it. In what is almost a blur of movement, Roman takes Logan’s hands in his own again, and this time there is no easy escape.

“Roman!” Logan yells, but it’s no use. Roman is too pre-occupied with singing along to respond to Logan’s pleas.

“I've heard about him before,

I wanted to know some more,

And now I know what they mean, he's a love machine,

Oh, he makes me dizzy!”

Logan lets out a not-so-dignified yelp as Roman suddenly decides to twirl them around together. The world around him becomes an indistinguishable blur as he quickly finds the only thing his eyes can concentrate on anymore is Roman.

Goodness, this moment had the potential to be so much more romantic if only the logical Side wasn’t being tossed around against his will.

“Roman!” Logan yelled again, this time harshly pulling his hands away.

Fortunately for him, his attempt at an escape had proven to be quite successful.

Unfortunately for him, he hadn’t exactly formulated a plan regarding what should be done if he were to escape mid-twirl.

The world continued to spin as the logical Side stumbled backwards, barely managing to keep himself balanced until the prince himself managed to catch him in a dip.

Yet another potentially beautiful romantic moment tragically tainted by circumstance.

“What will it take to make you stop?” Logan asked, sounding both out of breath and exasperated.

Roman seemed to ponder over his words for a moment.

“One dance,” the prince eventually answered, then upon noticing Logan’s quizzical look he continued, “One dance, and if you don’t enjoy it then I promise you I will never ask you to dance again.”

“Or force me?”

“Or force you.”

Logan started weighing out his options in his head. True, dancing didn’t sound particularly enjoyable, but if it meant escaping his partner’s constant invitations then wouldn’t that make the trade-off worth it? Besides, Roman certainly seemed amused by all of this if his smile was anything to go by. Of course he’d still have to discuss boundaries with the prince later as forcing him into situations like these certainly violated them, but for now… for now he believed he could tolerate the prince’s wishes…

As the music played on, the prince continued to look at him expectantly.

“I know I’m not going to enjoy this,” Logan began, “But if I have your word that you’ll never ask me to dance again-”

“You do,” Roman interrupted.

“-Then I suppose I can endure this one dance with you.”

Roman smiled gently as he guided Logan back into a standing position.

“You won’t regret this.”

Each man certainly hoped so. After all, Roman had bet everything on this one opportunity.

~ ~ ~

By the time the deal was made, “Honey, Honey” was already half-way through the second verse. To make matters fair, Logan allowed Roman to rewind the song back to the beginning, just this once.

Rushing back over to Logan’s side with an arrogant smirk on his face, the royal instructed Logan to just, “Follow my lead.”

“And how do you suppose someone could possibly lead their dance partner to the song, ‘Honey, Honey’ if I may be so skeptical as to ask?” Logan chided.

“Just keep your eyes locked on mine, and let the music be your guide.”

Logan elected to ignore that “High School Musical Three” reference in favour of not wanting to punch Roman right in his perfect teeth. With all the rhythm of a startled elephant, he attempted to follow Roman’s instructions.

“Well that’s certainly… something…”

“That’s nerves. This dancing business gets on every last one of them.”

“That’s not the way dancing should be.”

“Well your instructions didn’t exactly teach me much, now did they?”

With a slight sigh, Roman stopped dancing himself.

“First of all you need to relax. You’ll never find your rhythm with your muscles so tensed up like that.”

“You’re making the dangerous assumption that there’s actually any rhythm to find which, in my honest opinion, sounds like an utterly ludicrous hypothesis.”

“Then allow me to prove you wrong. Come here,” the prince instructed, gesturing to the space directly in front of him.

Logan hesitantly obliged.

“Perfect, now turn around so that your back is lightly pressed against my chest.”

“Like this?” Logan asked, slowly moving into position.

“That’s perfect, darling. Just like that.”

As gently as he could manage, Roman slipped his arm around the waist of the man in front of him, causing the pair to blush slightly. His other hand rested lightly on Logan’s forearm.

“Now I want you to just listen to the music. Find your rhythm, and sway your hips in time to it. I’ll be here to help keep you right, okay?”

Listen to the music. Find your rhythm. Sway your hips.

Logan could try that.

“Okay,” he answered, before turning his attention back towards the speaker.

‘Honey, honey, let me feel it, ah-ha, honey, honey!’

He started with two subtle sways to the words “Honey, honey,” each time he heard the phrase. Just behind him he could feel Roman mimicking his movements with only a little more energy.

‘Honey, honey, don't conceal it, ah-ha, honey, honey!’

Attempting to do as Amanda Seyfried sang, Logan’s movements became more invigorated, his hips almost popping from side to side with the beat. Now he could practically feel Roman smiling just behind his ear. He knew he must have been doing something right.

“The way that you kiss goodnight!”

As much as Logan attempted to restrain himself, he couldn’t entirely quell the sneaking smile that crept back onto his face as Roman resumed singing.

“The way that you hold me tight!”

He didn’t miss the way Roman’s hold on his waist subtly tightened as if he were subconsciously obeying the lyrics.

“I feel like I wanna sing when you do your... thing!”

Nor could he ignore Roman’s somewhat hilarious attempt to replicate the way Amanda Seyfried had sang the word “thing.” It was clear he had attempted to go for the laughing effect, but it sounded more like he was about to choke than anything. Either way it succeeded in making Logan laugh along too.

As the instrumental break kicked in, Logan could feel Roman gently resting their head against his.

“Feeling more at ease?”

“Well, I suppose this isn’t as bad as I’d imagined it would be.”

“Would you say it’s even a pleasant enough experience for you to sing-along with me?”

“Don’t push your luck, honey,” Logan playfully scolded.

The prince feigned an offended scoff, but still took pride in the little victory he had achieved. Even though he’d had to strike a deal just to get this far, it was nice to see his partner so laid-back like this. More than once he had concerned himself with Logan’s apparent lack of movement and typically awful posture. Surely hunching over books all day couldn’t be good for anyone’s well-being. Perhaps if he made this experience enjoyable enough for Logan, he could make a dance partner out of him yet.

All thoughts of the future were banished however when the third verse dragged him back to the present.

“Honey, honey, touch me baby, a-ha, honey, honey!”

As if on cue, Roman’s other hand slid away from Logan’s forearm and up to the sleeve of his crop-top. With a gentle tug, he prompted the man to outstretch his arm so that it was held far out from his side.

“Honey, honey, hold me baby, a-ha, honey, honey!”

His hand then traversed down Logan’s side, guiding the man’s movements and encouraging an additional flair in every step the pair took together. With his partner’s encouragement, Logan started moving his abdomen is small circles, round and around to the beat.

“You look like a movie star,

But I like just who you are,

And, honey, to say the least... you're a doggone beast!”

Finally, Roman’s right hand landed firmly on Logan’s hips, directly opposite to the left, before each hand slipped forward in order to clasp together in front of Logan’s belly button. While keeping a strong hold on the man, Roman used all his strength to lift his partner up off the ground and spin him around.

Logan only gave a faint yelp before laughing breathlessly, and allowing his feet to hover slightly off of the ground. He wasn’t entirely sure if he was finally placing his trust in Roman, or if all of his adrenaline had just suddenly kicked in, but it didn’t matter. In just a moment it was all over, and his feet were planted firmly back on the ground. Behind him, he could feel Roman catching his breath, causing him to smirk.

“I haven’t tired you out with all this dancing, have I?” he teased.

“In your dreams.”

“With you, every day’s a dream.”

“…Cute…”

Roman’s left hand moved back into its original position and rewrapped itself around Logan’s waist, meanwhile he rested his right hand on the man’s side, ensuring his partner had to keep their right arm outstretched.

“Keep your right arm bent, starlight,” Roman instructed.

“Like… this…?”

“Not quite… Make the bend a gentle curve, not a sudden drop.”

“Is this okay?”

“That’s perfect.”

Before Logan could ask any more questions, he felt a light pressure on his right thumb and index finger. Looking down in confusion, he soon noticed that the source of the pressure was coming from Roman’s own hand, but it didn’t appear as though he were trying to clasp their hands together again. Upon closer inspection, Logan realized his partner’s true ambitions. Not far from Logan’s hips, Roman had joined the pair’s thumbs and index fingers together, creating a small heart shape between them.

“You dork,” Logan commented, laughing softly to himself as he turned his head as far as he could to face Roman, his left hand gently cupping the blushing man’s cheek.

“Guilty as charged.”

The logical Side offered his partner a faint smile before lightly kissing their cheek.

‘Honey, honey, how he thrilled me, ah-ha, honey, honey!’

The song was nearly over now, but Roman was never one to be outdone.

‘Honey, honey, nearly killed me, ah-ha, honey, honey!’

This time, the hand wrapped around Logan’s waist moved slowly, so that Logan was gradually brought face-to-face with the prince.

‘I'd heard about you before,

I wanted to know some more,’

Each man smiled warmly at each other. For as spontaneous as Roman tried to be, even he could be largely predictable. While gently resting their noses against each other’s, Logan waited expectantly for his partner to make the first move.

And now I'm about to see,

What you mean to me.’

Their kiss was soft, sweet, simple, and lasted for only a brief moment before the pair parted, each taking a step back as the song came to an end.

~ ~ ~

A single moment of calm hung in the air before Roman dismantled it with his typical flair for the theatrics and need to be over-dramatic.

With an overly exasperated sigh and grand gesture the prince announced, “You kept your end of the bargain. Now I… I promise I will never ask nor force you to dance ever again.”

In his mind, Logan just wanted to say ‘Thank you,’ but his heart wouldn’t allow for it. There was no way he could stare directly into the prince’s dejected eyes and betray his end of the bargain. He felt a twinge of regret already settling in before he even let the truth slip, but continued anyway.

“I’m afraid that won’t be necessary.”

Now looking like a deer caught in the headlights, Roman could only ask, “What do you mean?”

A half-smile made its way onto Logan’s face.

“I meant as I said. You don’t need to entirely abandon your pursuits of converting me into your dance partner yet.”

“I don’t understand. We made a deal. A prince always keeps his word, Logan.”

“If my recollection of events serves me well – which let’s face it, it always does – then we agreed you were only to stop asking me to dance in the event that I… in the event that I did not enjoy this one dance with you.”

One could practically hear the gears turning in Roman’s head as the aforementioned prince mulled over this newly acquired information. If his boyfriend had truly meant what he said, then that meant-

“You enjoyed our dance?” he asked, his tone one of disbelief.

Logan quirked an eyebrow.

“This surprises you?”

“Admittedly it does. Just a little bit.”

Typical.

“Well, while calling our little dancing escapade ‘enjoyable’ may be a slight overstatement, I must admit I… I didn’t find it to be an entirely terrible or regrettable experience either. Besides, dancing is a valid form of exercise so-”

“So you’ll dance with me again?”

“Well, I’ll certainly consider it.”

Roman nodded his head slightly. There was a glimmer of hope in his eyes. No more words were needed to convey his gratitude.

“Just don’t expect me to dance with you publicly. Force me into a public dancing session and I doubt I’ll be able to vouch for your continued survival.”

“Of course, mi querido. I wouldn’t dream of it.”

Logan knew that statement wasn’t entirely true. Sometimes his prince couldn’t help where his mind wandered, but he wasn’t about to tarnish this pleasant moment with more factual information.

Of course his mind was still full of uncertainties.

Would he honestly be able to dance with Roman again?

Would he ever become an adequate dance partner?

Would Roman even be willing to continue teaching him?

Those were questions he couldn’t quite answer yet, but, if dancing had taught him anything today, it was that whatever step he and his partner both took next, they would both take it together to the beat of their hearts.

Perhaps musical clichés weren’t so bad after all.

~ ~ ~

General Tag-List:

@lunamay2006 @not-so-innocent-bi-sander @saphael-malec102

Note: It’s been a long time since I’ve posted a fic, so this tag-list may be a little outdated. If at any point you want to be added/removed from my tag-list then feel free to let me know!

As always, feedback is much appreciated! I was pretty out of practice here, so I’m sure I’d benefit a lot from constructive criticism! I hope you’re all have a fan-der-tastic day!

#Sanders Sides #Logan Sanders #Roman Sanders #Logince #My Fic

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perkwunos · 6 years

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The intellectual culture of the Middle Ages was distinctly more rational and logical than our modern scientific intellectual culture. That might sound like I’m trying to make a contrarian statement since we’re supposed to have gained in knowledge and understanding since medieval times, but that’s the thing: advances in modern knowledge were acquired by getting rid of the medieval emphasis on reason and logic. It was gotten through an intellectual simplification that allowed people to focus their understanding on a limited set of problems which then rendered immense technological capabilities; this was the simplifying environment of the experiment, the reduction of things to efficient cause. That’s what really defines modern knowledge: it’s an ignorance regarding coherent reasoning and reflection that at the same time developed highly effective methods of controlling certain things, of building up technological prowess. And this was so because the development of capitalism as the basis of production gave immense priority to just such a technological growth. Hence many people, when confronting various forms of cultural knowledge distinct from the modern scientific variety - “magical” beliefs and practices - have often seen them as simply a “primitive” attempt at controlling nature that doesn’t succeed insofar as it is not scientific. That, of course, captures a certain truth about the situation; a truth dependent on projecting a very bourgeois perspective. And, why not that perspective? After all, it gets results: modern medicine, increased food production, more ease and convenience. That is all well and good, and insofar as we are just arguing for the validity of scientific knowledge existing in any form the point is made, but there’s a wider issue about our current culture and it’s supposed newfound abilities of control that’s clearly looming large. We can talk about modern science’s unique mastery over the laws of nature all we want, but the flip side is that the exertion of this control is mindlessly driving us to self-extinction, and all-around creating society in a way that nobody really particularly wants. So, actually, modern society - capitalism - is also defined by the greatest lack of control, the greatest alienation wherein our powers to change the world have become separate from us and appear as if they worked on their own for impersonal reasons.

The shift into modernity was defined by using far less reason, by adhering to far less logical coherence in all our ideas, and at the same time it created so much raw technical power, and so much immediate domination—through colonialism, the enslavement of Africans, growing state power, the imposition of wage slavery, the increased rigidity of patriarchal gender roles: these social relations underpin the technical growth of science. This newfound power allowed for the body of knowledge to claim its superiority, to usher in a supposed enlightenment, the stripping away of all myths. And the intellectual culture it has supplied us with is not all bad. Clearly, if we can, it’d be best to retain our capacity for modern medicine or fuller understandings of agriculture. But our society reveals a grave deficiency which is proving to be possibly fatal: it runs seemingly without actual human control. It exists solely for profit, and forces us to create society just to fulfill more profit. And with this impersonal goal, we drive ourselves into a waste and destruction—not to mention a constant drive for genocide—that may be one of the distinctly disgusting historical events of this galaxy.

We have thrown out of our thought any coherent knowledge about the “why”s and focused on the “how”s. Our production is fueled by a supposedly objective mechanism of which we simply learn how it runs; as for our desires, why we ought to do anything, they do not seem real. We have severed our emotional, desirous lives from nature and instead constructed an abstract model of mechanical objectivity which represents reality. And we work upon the world in a way that could suggest that is ultimately the case, for we work not according to our desires, but for the mechanical movement of profit. And, from this vantage point, the European intellectual, confronting other modes of thought and other bodies of knowledge among the cultures they will dominate, thinks that they are supremely reasonable and the others stark mad!

Clearly, we need to strongly re-examine our knowledge. Above all else, we need to assert and begin to articulate the reality of our desires, the “why” of nature. This will occur insofar as we can also put into practice the movement against capitalism and wage-labor. It will involve reason and logic, and great theorizing, but it will also involve the release of the imagination without rigid adherence to a static model outside ourselves. We will realize the externalizations of our desire without shame. The overthrow in our intellectual culture may be immense, and the newfound power in the natural existence of our invisible forces, our will, imagination, desire, will in a sense create a magical culture akin to that of the renaissance that immediately preceded the hegemony of capitalism. It will, however, really be an entirely new historical fact, a total supersedence of class society by the elimination of all property-domination of production and the abolition of money and the commodity. Where we now live from the point of view that sees reality in objects that move according to fixed laws, we will live according to the loving relationships that nurture people, and the movement of nature will be perceived concretely as the movement of desire.

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its8simplejulesblog · 4 years

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So Here We Are

It’s 5:30 Am and I’m sitting here awake because of one of my dreams. If you’re one of my friends that I talk to often then you know that I frequently tell people that I can remember most, if not all, of my dreams and I love it. I think they’re so cool to look back on. I’m known to wake up at the most random times of the night or morning and whip out dream dictionary on my phone because I’m so curious about why my subconscious concocted such a ridiculous story (I’m also known for excessive sleep talking, but that’s a different story haha)

So if you’ve never heard of dream dictionary it’s essentially a website where you search for specific words that are related to your dream. If you have a dream about soccer you look up the word soccer it’s pretty self explanatory. Once you do that. there’s a little description of a bunch of different meanings that your dream could have related to. Naturally, anything you look at on the internet is likely to be a load of bullshit that some random, yet creative, individual made up. Is there any scientific basis behind this? Really not at all. I have, however, studied the psychological and biological components of dreams, but that’s not what we’re interested in here. I’m interested in the cool stuff.

So what I’ve decided to do is interpret my dream for you here using dream dictionary. I’ll tell you the basic plot of the dream and then I’ll tell you what dream dictionary tells me that it means. It’s very interesting. Whether I believe in it or not I can’t deny the fact that the majority of the time I can find something that applies to my life at the current time in relation to what I dreamed about. I suppose that’s the whole point of the subconscious though. We don’t dream about things for no reason.

Here’s a dream I had right before I woke up. The dream that inspired me to write this blog in the first place. I was in class (not the interesting part) and finally it ended and my friend and I left to go to lunch. We were walking up this long hallway and were having a normal conversation until suddenly I felt like I had a million pebbles in my mouth. I tried not to do anything so that she would notice, and I waved her ahead so she would leave me. Once she did, as casually as possible, I spit whatever it was in my mouth into my hands. I was thinking that it was just going to be some sort of food, but instead, I spit five of my teeth out of my mouth like I got in some sort of fist fight or something and someone really clocked me in the face. Naturally, I panicked. For some reason, all of the teeth were labeled like some sort of fossil exhibit. It was so strange. The worst part, my friend was still waiting for me at the end of the hall so I had to scoop them up and run to her and hope that no one saw I was missing five teeth...what the heck?

I immediately woke up and ran my tongue along the left side of my mouth and breathed a sigh of relief. I had all my teeth haha. I have always taken such good care of my teeth anyway, so I wasn’t sure why this would come as a surprise. I brush my teeth twice every day and use mouth wash and (I don’t floss...no one flosses) but I wear my retainer as often as I can and when I had braces I remember that the ortho told my mom that I was “too good at wearing the rubberbands so my teeth kept shifting too far in the right direction.” Obviously, there was no logical reason why I would be spitting out five of my teeth in real life.

My second order of action? Hop on dream dictionary. For this dream I actually looked at other, more detailed websites first, but dream dictionary kind of reaffirmed what the dream meant. Here’s what I found:

Dreams about your teeth falling out can have both positive and negative meanings. Positively, it could be

1.) A sign of personal growth

2.) A secret wish to be nurtured

3.) Looking at loss and personal growth

4.) Renewed strength and self esteem

5.) Rebirth

Wow.

I kind of smiled when I read this because it makes so much sense. It’s like you put the contents of my blog into 5 bullet points. Not only my blog necessarily, but also everything I’ve been striving towards in my life recently. The desire to become the best version of myself over quarantine is so strong. I want to be able to forgive people that have done me wrong and take the high road and be there to make other people’s lives better. I truly am growing as a person, both mentally and physically in terms of my health. To be fair though, there are times where I feel like I am constantly caring for others, and not being cared for myself, so the second point rings true as well. Numbers 3,4, and 5 are kind of clumped together in my mind. Especially considering that soon, I will be beginning my senior year in college and once that is over, the rest of my independent life. This is crazy to me to consider all of the possibilities. I know that my identity will continue to grow so much and this is the time to do it in realizing who I really want to be as a person. They pretty much nailed it here. Surprisingly though, they nailed it in another way too.

Negatively, a dream about your teeth falling out could mean:

1.) You’re insecure (especially in terms of a loss or end to something)

2.) Making costly compromises

3.) Unwilling to make a choice

4.) Concerns with self image

5.) Powerlessness

Somehow, some way, these all make perfect sense as well. That would seem contradictory considering the fact that I just told you that I was becoming more confident and comfortable with my identity and who I want to be in the future, but I’m sure you can understand me when I say that you can’t have one without the other. I am happy with myself 90% of the time. 90% of the time I feel like I am growing and changing in a positive direction. However, we STILL seek validation from our environment whether we like it or not. If you follow my finsta, you’ll see that I recently have been putting a lot of pressure on myself in reaction to my communication with people over snapchat. If you don’t talk to me, it’s my fault. I did something to make you lose interest and I’m just naturally boring and annoying and clingy. Is this accurate? Probably not, yet in a way I can’t shake the feeling. It’s interesting because you could have a million friends and family members telling you that you’re such a light in their life and you’re so kind and compliment after compliment but your mind will hyper-fixate on the one person that doesn’t like you or the one person that doesn’t talk to you every day. My mom always told me that in every possible way, you are always your worst critic and worst enemy. At the end of the day, the person that I’ve been letting determine my worth probably has no issue with me, yet here I am at now 6 am wondering why all of my dream teeth fell out.

I wish I could control my fate. I wish I could tell my subconscious that I am secure and I know who I am and that I feel more powerful than ever, but no one knows you better than yourself. I’m not going to pretend like I don’t have insecurities. That’s the point of self growth. I could be preaching about health and wellness in the morning and be crying about how I’m not good enough that same night. Is that hypocrisy? I don’t think so, I think it’s just called being human.

I have the room at the back of my house. I think it’s both a good and bad thing. Because my room faces the backyard, when it’s windy and pouring down rain there would be times when my mom would make me sleep in my brother’s room because we have a lot of large trees in our backyard and if anything falls it’s coming through my window. On the opposite side of that though, I get the most beautiful views in the morning. For example, there’s the most beautiful golden sunlight coming through right now as the sun is rising. It’s reflecting off the trees so that some of the leaves are illuminated while other’s are dark. I also get to see all of the flowers in our backyard. For our first communions in second grade, my mom planted things for my brother and I to represent our growth. At the front of the house we have a beautiful dogwood tree that she planted for my brother and every spring it has the most amazing white flowers. He can see it outside of his bedroom window. For me, however, we were too busy to ever plant something. Until this year. A few weeks ago my mom came to me and said she wanted to plant this really pretty red, flowering bush in the backyard because we never got the chance to plant something when I was in 2nd grade. Are we a little late? Absolutely, but I think this is the perfect year to do it.

And, after I wake up from having dreams about powerlessness and insecurity in the form of my teeth falling out, I can look out my window and see that bush and remember that I’m growing and changing so it’s okay to be both at the same time (I can’t believe I just compared myself to a bush...crazy things happen at 6am).

If you ever remember or interpret any of your dreams, let me know. I always think it’s so telling about a person and their personality. Also, they just make no sense sometimes and that’s comical too haha.

Anyway, as for now, I’m happy to say that I still have all of my teeth, but I’m still tired, so I’ll probably be going back to sleep.

Love you all

-Julia

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mpprmk · 4 years

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Out of My Comfort Zone with Periscope - Switch Up 3

Continuing my journey of switching up my media consumption habits, I have started to also consider which programs I might be interested in using for my brand(s) in the future. I still want my path to follow some sort of logical path so I moved on from Twitter to one of the companies they have acquired. Periscope is one of those brands that didn’t necessarily follow a trend, their idea came long before Facebook Live but employs many of the same ideas in a easy to use but completely different style of social media. Also, as you can see above, their opening page actually highlights their American-Immigrant roots. A political statement for a very politically inclined program. All of your sharing is done via live broadcasts. The app actually provides a lot of different options and features along the way; it can get kind of overwhelming - but never fear, there is always a blog pot that breaks down all the benefits, features and even lingo - like this one here!

I typically use social media that i very picture and text focused. Videos feel like they can be a lot more personal and revealing than I what I would currently use on a daily basis. However, I was shocked to find such an overwhelmingly professional and mature social media environment and community! There were a few feeds that I stumbled across that weren’t quite as in line with what I observed about the community as a whole but it was intriguing to see so many live news broadcasts, announcements from brands, infinite political discussions and briefings, and even a large portion of the community that was dedicated to sharing their travels in a very tasteful way through visual and audio storytelling.

The most current data I could find, collected in 2019 but gathered in 2015 and 2016, indicated that Periscope had 10 million users, of which 75% were between the ages of 16 and 34. The same data indicated that 29% of Periscope URL’s were posted by women and, at the time, 15% of the Top Brands on the parent company Twitter were also using Periscope. From what I can see I would assume that most of that data would still be backed up today. The one major difference being that it appears many more Top Brands have started to utilize the program, even if only minimally. News and political media outlets appeared to dominate the broadcast space, with some sports teams and media as well.

Using live video is slowly becoming more common but it is still a brave risk to take for yourself or your brand. Everything has to go right, the first time. The quality of a lot of the videos surprised me, it was a lot better than I would have expected and the same went for the content! The conversations were thoughtful and the interaction between brands and consumers appeared to be very well thought out even if filmed live. The brands actually used Periscope slightly more direct and thoughtfully than the general community - there was clearly a more defined plan, direction and agenda in the content. Also, brands usually on had 1 or 2 broadcasts up compared to dozens or more in the general communities typical user profile, the posts were much less frequent, very spread out!

Video was out of my comfort zone already and then to throw in the LIVE component it really threw me off! Now that Facebook has entered the same market I’m not 100% confident that Periscope can survive without evolving and adding some additional features or options that can push them past the current singular purpose.However, with it’s two-way capabilities the app does have a lot of potential for interacting with consumers including open dialogues, focus groups and live tutorials like Inc. suggests here!

Next week i’ll be tackling a more “old school” form of media, I used to write for it for my undergraduate school but I never truly consumed the options available to me around my city...do you know what it is?

#switchup periscope twitter livevideo comfortzone canyouguess staytuned

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alanfromrochester · 6 years

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Andalite Chronicles reread - still awesome

I just reread The Andalite Chronicles. Both the action and backstory were as great as I remembered.

Now that I'm watching Star Trek, I noticed more such comparisons: Battle bridge, plasma conduit and memory wipe were direct phrasing. On the Enterprise-D, ensigns have shared quarters versus arisths' tiny personal quarters on Dome ships. Alloran's attitude reminded me of the warrior side of Starfleet compared to the scientists and diplomats. Enemies working together to save both them, Esplin and Elfangor getting to the Time Matrix, reminded me of TNG s2e8 A Matter of Honor and s3e7 The Enemy. The conclusion, a butterfly effect from avoiding trouble, reminded me of TNG s6e15 Tapestry. Ethical mutiny echoed TNG s7e12 The Pegasus.

Skrit Na were a great in character explanation for stereotypical aliens - their and their ships' appearance, the stealing and experimenting behavior. The diatribe about feet that need shoes, versus hooves, came off as ableism as well as funny cultural confusion. It took me a bit to realize that Sub-Visser Seven would become Visser Three, but his characterization made a lot of sense once I noticed. Sick at hearts was great Andalite-specific phrasing.

Loren represented good human nature in her curiosity; Chapman's selfishness and distrust showed a bad side of us.

Alloran chewing out Chapman for insulting Loren's father's PTSD remains one of the series' great serious moments. Yet Alloran's sympathy seems somewhat incongruous with Andalite ableism. Of course, Elfangor in the Mustang remains one of the franchise's humor highlights.

Before this, the last modification was 11/22/14, I made only wording changes to original review. I can't find the original post so I'm adding it below rather than reblogging; this happened with one of my previous rereads as well.

5+/5 "A wealth of information on the series"

The canon information started coming quickly, and I love that. This included things I didn't know and confirmation of things I had suspected. There were a lot of great parallels to the main series.

So a Dome could beat a Pool and fighters. I'm guessing it could also beat a Blade (and fighters?) one on one, but not both. I thought the Yeerks won because of Visser Three's tactics, hiding the Blade ship in a lunar crater.

Elfangor saying he was too weak to morph implies that he still had the power. I thought he lost it when the Ellimist restored his Andalite form, like how Tobias remained a hawk but could morph again.

So the namesake dome is a third of a mile across; 1760 feet (536.45 meters) isn't usually put like that, but it seems reasonable for an especially large dimension of a major warship. [The largest human warships are the US Ford class carriers at 1106 feet (337 meters) long]

I was afraid the Andalites had been reduced to slowing the Yeerks, and this confirmed that.

The hirac delest (memory record) framing device works well with stories of Elfangor's youth. It seems that he was a goofy youngster like Ax is.

So fighter pilot attitude crosses species barrier. I thought so. Models 14 and 22 seemed like an F-14 vs F-22 comment, though I'm not sure how accurate that analogy is in detail. Also, older Andalite fighters having pilot and gunner could explain Bug fighter design.

It was interesting to see the comparison between phasters and Dracons or Shredders made in canon.

Human-Andalite interaction was fun here as it was in the main series.

Chapman seems like David in the sense of focusing on how he can make the alien interaction work for him. I knew he was named Hedrick. No wonder he's on a last name basis.

Rather than dwelling on details of the action scenes, I got caught up in the adventure, which seems like a good thing.

I see Alloran as harsh but sensible even before the pool flush. I like how he called out Chapman for insulting Loren's father's PTSD, saying that a non-warrior wouldn't understand. Speaking of which, Elfangor said he was unaware of PTSD amongst Andalites. Does Elfangor not notice that due to youthful idealism? Do Andalites either ignore it more or have better medical care for it. Is their brain chemistry less prone to it?

I remembered Dracons made a TSEEEW sound. I was interested to learn that Shredders went TTTSSSAAAPPP. I notice slight variations in the amount of each letter. Is that intentional on K.A. Applegate's part?

Is Elfangor's reaction to the Taxxon ship boarding action PTSD or just first time jitters?

So not morphing for pleasure is a general Andalite thing. I thought it might have been an Animorph security issue.

I'm fascinated by the look at the Taxxon homeworld. I knew Elfangor couldn't give into the hunger, but I hadn't thought about suspicious that looked.

Sub-Visser Seven seems to have Visser Three's attitude. I wonder if it's Esplin 9466 pre-promotion. The improbable escape also seems like the main series.

I knew Arbron was a nothlit before he said that, but is that hindsight from reading facts about the series?

Hmm, Bug fighters are slow in atmosphere. That could give humans an advantage in fighting them. However, 3,000+ MPH is way faster than even top fighter jets. Overall, that was a great bit of information on ship design. It was also another good part of the adventure.

So Andalites commit suicide by tailblade rather than be made Controllers. Suspicion confirmed.

Elfangor's human culture shock is funny, as with Ax in the main series. Apparently he's looking at cigarette ads. The chapter ending with "and I liked it" made me think "It's Only Rock And Roll (But I Like It)" is one of the other Stones songs on the tape with Satisfaction and Honky Tonk Women. I figured Andalites would identify with natural environments on Earth.

Alloran showing up in Hork-Bajir morph? Hadn't seen that coming, nice rescue.

Besides the ethics of a particular decision, a moral stand leaves the dirty work to someone else. Alloran has an interesting point there. The quantum virus announcement came off as letting his big secret slip out of anger.

So I was right that Sub-Visser Seven went on to infest Elfangor. This also shows that Esplin 9466 already had his main series personality by this point in the war. I wonder exactly when the infestation happened and how Chapman is involved.

I really started to ship Elfangor/Loren by this point. Even before it came up in this story,

So the Graysha Nebula is hundreds of light years from Earth. My first thought is that the asteroids feed off of energy.

I figured Bug fighters might be launched from the Yeerks' bigger ships. I wonder how Pool capacity compares to Blade.

Mortal enemies working together against a bigger threat is always interesting. The hybrid bizarro world was a compelling result. Is this where Esplin/Alloran acquired the Vanarx morph?

Liquid grass? I had wondered what the humans were eating, and I'm not sure why it didn't come up until now. Considering the air hoods, I wonder what's slightly different about Andalite atmosphere.

The Ellimist is a dick, especially considering Elfangor/Loren, but we already knew that. Then again, I can see his greater good logic a bit more clearly now. (And apparently it's also the standard scifi not messing with time stuff)

No wonder Elfangor said F this. It's plausible and helps move the story along for the captain to be understanding and even supportive.

Loren aged to 18 from the Time Matrix; it seems poetic that she started out at about 13 like the Animorphs.

I did already see Tobias' friends as his new family.

#animorphs #andalite chronicles #the andalite chronicles #elfangor

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userwithnoname · 7 years

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ive played skyrim before and liked it an a friend recommended dragon age but i dont know which one i should pick

Hm… this is still a little bit complicated, so I’m going to put another cut here just because it gets a little long.

tl;dr Your friend was probably talking about Inquisition, and while I recommend you start with Origins, Inquisition’s not a bad game to jump in with.

If Skyrim is your only basis for comparison, then I think your friend was recommending for you Dragon Age: Inquisition. I was in a very similar place when I started playing Dragon Age: had just beat Skyrim for the thousandth time, was getting bored and didn’t know how to mod my game, so I started looking at Steam recommendations. However, I had a bit of a buffer. Steam recommended me Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which is a pretty good game, but not quite what I was looking for.

What Skyrim lacked to me was character involvement. That isn’t to say there aren’t good characters, but they are limited and of the companions you’re given, they have little to do with the actual story and almost no involvement other than one quest here or there. Kingdoms of Amalur is similar to Skyrim in terms of story and gameplay, and if you liked Skyrim’s open-world and hack’n’slash combat, you’ll like Kingdoms.

To that end, Dragon Age is a pretty logical leap from either of those. But I can see where it would get confusing. The games are both reliant upon each other, yet can contradict each other horribly. When most people talk about Dragon Age. they’re referring to Inquisition because it’s the newest game to come out in the series. But as I mentioned, there are three games in total, not counting Awakening or Heroes of Dragon Age.

There’s no easy way to do this, so I’ll do a brief description then a (personal) pros and cons to each game before talking about the flaws the series has on a whole.

(Disclaimer: I am not a games reviewer or expert in any sense, these are personal opinions so take them with a grain of salt.)

(Also: SPOILERS)

Dragon Age: Origins (DA:O):

The first game in the series, DA:O focuses on the Warden or Hero of Ferelden. Without getting too much into the story, it heavily focuses on the arc of your character and the story that unfolds, allowing you a range of choices and quests that help keep replaying the game from getting boring.

Pros:

Personalized character backstory.

Character creation is interesting.

Pretty backgrounds (for the time).

Pausing combat doesn’t interrupt the flow of combat too much.

Gameplay is pretty straightforward and intuitive (at least on PC).

A lot of dialogue options.

Just enough side quests to pad out the story without distracting from the main quests.

Quest timing options.

Gifts to fix things if you mess up the dialogue options and can’t reload a save (they have diminishing returns, so be wary).

Companion options–don’t like someone? Kick them out of the party!

Weapon and armor options–spell casting doesn’t work well for this, but most weapons and armor aren’t class restricted.

DOG. PUPPY. WHO NEEDS ROMANCE, I HAVE A DOG.

Cons:

Main character has no voice acting.

Clunky animations. Like… mages in particular just stand there and point a staff in the air and sometimes wave their hand.

Sometimes confusing leveling mechanics.

Too much Codex stuff too fast.

Focuses a little too much on Alistair romance (even if I love him) and not much on the other characters.

Dialogue options can be hard to understand–this was before Bioware got their choice menu properly sorted out.

Will probably never see the Warden/Hero ever again no matter what they accomplish.

No armor modifications, only giving runes to some weapons.

Repetitive environments.

Limited romance options.

Hats.

Dragon Age II (DA II):

As the name implies it is second in the series, focusing on Hawke, the eventual Champion of Kirkwall, and has only a little to do with Origins. Not a direct sequel, DA II is very disputed across the fandom, and could have been handled better in general. Bioware changed their story-telling rhythm in this, instead breaking it up into 3 acts rather than major quests you can pick and choose the order of.

Pros:

New main quest each Act that focuses on Hawke as a person.

Varric.

Combat animation feels involved and fluid–you’ve upgraded from a person standing to actual fighting.

Hide hats option in menu.

Main character is voice acted now–yay!

Fixed the dialogue options so it’s not as confusing.

Dog is no longer a party member, so you have a back up you can summon if shit hits the fan.

Gives you a junk slot in your inventory so you know what you can sell.

Rival and Friendship system make it so you can hate someone you need and still keep them in your party.

Rival and Friendship system make it so you can romance someone even if you don’t particularly like them.

Cons:

Rival and Friendship system also, unfortunately, can lead to weird things happening in the story unless you go all out one way or another.

Cannot have a set team you use all the time unless you’re willing to possibly lose a few companions *coughs*Isabela*coughs*. Characters must be rotated out on quests if you want to get Friendship/Rivalry where it needs to be.

Specific, limited gifts that are easy to miss.

Confusing leveling mechanics.

The fuck did they do to the elves in this one?

Almost no interaction from anything in DA:O.

The screen layout got worse.

Facial animations (specifically eyebrows and mouth) are sometimes horrifying.

Character relationships are harder to manage.

Spend more time thinking about who you want on what quest than you probably should.

Romances are weirdly broken up in this one.

Armor picked up can only be worn by Hawke.

Please. Just let me romance Varric.

Combat animations are a little over the top and unrealistic.

Story makes it feel like your actions only effect Kirkwall, but actually end up effecting the whole world.

Race options–it forces you to play as a human.

Very repetitive environments.

Background is glanced over and explained away with no interaction.

Sibling death.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (DA:I):

The baby of the series, the most recent game and prettiest overall. DA:I has way more options in just about everything in comparison to the previous two games. You play as the Herald of Andraste, eventually becoming Inquisitor.

Pros:

That character creation tho.

Armor and weapon creation and customization.

Fixed elves appearances–no longer aliens.

Races now have different body types.

Fixed the combat ratio of fluidity to excessive.

Open world.

Actually get a horse/hart/dracolisk/freakishly large nug to ride this time.

Voice options (only two, but that’s one more than DA II and two more than DA:O).

Way more companion options.

Can play as a qunari.

Interesting cameos from companions in DA:O and DA II.

Cool search mechanic.

Cole.

HUGE map.

More romance options.

DRAGON MASTER.

Don’t have to play Origins or II to get the story-type you want, just log in to Dragon’s Keep and fill out some stuff.

Screw attributes completely.

Cons:

The hair. For everyone, but mostly qunari.

Undermines other choices in previous games.

Ooh… you might wanna get that hand looked at, buddy.

Hardens companion from DA:O regardless of actual choices in game.

Cut scene animation is a little weird sometimes.

Save files corrupt so quickly.

Sudden retconning of Dalish facts and changes the way mages are handled by the Dalish.

Main character disappearances.

Needs DLC in order to get the “real” ending.

Does not mod easily.

Bugs with animation and placement.

WHERE IS MY DOG, BIOWARE??????

THE MOUNT IS NOT A REPLACEMENT, IT CANNOT FIGHT OR FOLLOW YOU.

Doesn’t feel like a solid story ending, regardless of DLC.

You know those helpful numbers and bars we had to measure friendship in DA II and DA:O? Fuck ‘em. Don’t need ‘em. Oh, but likability is still being measured by the game, just not visibly.

Fuck gifts, too.

No more healing spells.

Oh, and let’s limit the number of healing items you can carry at once.

And we can’t make it too easy to make money, either.

Random loot is incredibly buggy.

Weapons/armor now class coded.

Gameplay takes some getting used to on the PC.

Screw attributes completely.

And that’s not including Awakening and Heroes of Dragon Age, which I am not discussing in this post.

Now, despite what you might think after that, I love these games.

They just… have their issues.

They pull a “Supernatural” on us, if you will. Each game, the enemy somehow gets bigger and badder. In the first one, you’re trying to stop the Blight and save your home, which is already a big feat. In the second one, you end up causing a civil war across multiple countries (even if it doesn’t feel so big at the time). In Inquisition, you have to save at least three countries at once, and in the fourth it looks like you’re going to have to save the world.

Each game focuses on a new protagonist, which is great in that it means a fresh new take on each challenge and new characters, but it really, really sucks in that it feels like you’re leaving a story unfinished. I mentioned we’ll probably never see the Warden in-game again and it’s been confirmed by Patrick Weekes, the lead writer for DA (I’d put a link here, but I can’t find it right now). This is mainly because the story has moved on from the Warden, but also because importing a Warden from DA:O to any new DA game would be almost impossible from a technical standpoint. While this is sad, it’s understandable from a story standpoint. But this method wasn’t what fans were expecting when DA II came out.

Which is probably the biggest reason for all the hatred towards DA II. It was marketed as a sequel to DA:O, and people kind of automatically thought of it as a direct sequel, mostly because the only other RPG series Bioware had running was Mass Effect and that’s what happened there. But it didn’t happen with DA II. Instead, we were given a new hero with new goals, no familiar companions and in a place DA:O didn’t even mention. Other than a few cameos, a couple characters, and a mention every now and then, there was nothing from DA:O in DA II.

And that’s really Dragon Age’s biggest problem. Playing DA II, it makes it feel like all those choices you made in Origins were insignificant (which on a scale they were). And Inquisition didn’t fix this. In fact, in some ways, it made it worse. It gave Hawke and the Warden more stories, which isn’t a bad thing, but it took your characters and tried to generalize your Warden and your Hawke into The Warden and The Hawke. Imagine you’d been given a choose-your-own-adventure book and the first two chapters are about one character, and then the next two about another, and so on and so forth. But in each of these chapters, you get glimpses of the previous characters doing other things in the same world. No interaction, no conclusiveness, just your character doing things that your character might not do. You have no control of the character whose choices are supposed to be yours after those two chapters are done.

Basically: for the story, with the way they’ve set it up, it forces you to bond to a character that you create but only briefly glimpse into their lives before someone else takes over. Yet instead of divorcing entirely from said character, the shorter timeline forces the heroes to interact in some capacity that we’ll never get to see. Varric is the perfect example of this. DA II is set up in a way that you know Varric will have to be involved in Inquisition. But after people started really liking him and the general backlash of DA II, Bioware couldn’t kill him off and couldn’t send him away. So they gave him a minor role in Inquisition and then retired him.

They do this again with the Inquisitor. The way DA:I ends left many fans to believe DA4 had to continue as the Inquisitor; after all it didn’t feel like the Inquisitor’s story was finished and the next Big Bad had been hinted at being kind-of their fault. But we’ve already been told that DA4 will not star the Inquisitor–instead, their story is supposedly done and the only chance we have of their involvement is probably a letter, a cameo, or as an advisor. That’s if Bioware doesn’t kill them.

Once again, they put away another character when it feels like they should still be involved, thus reducing the choices made in the previous games by an even smaller margin. Bioware takes a character you made, tells you their story is over when it feel like it’s just starting, then takes control of them.

The solution?

The Elder Scrolls series actually does a pretty good job at doing the same thing–by spreading the events out. I get that the whole name of the series is focused on a hundred year margin, but that’s still a hundred years for you to spread events out. Over the course of three games, only about 10-20 years have passed. DA:O takes place over the course of 1-2 years, maximum. DA II takes place over 7. And DA:I is about 2-5 (depending on if you count Trespasser), with a short gap between II and Inquisition.. That’s a lot of shit to happen over such a short time.

Give the games space. Let them breathe. Let the actions of the Warden fade as time passes, not lie ignored by NPCs just because it’s hard to account for all the choices. Let the stories have their own weight before you stack the other on, and maybe don’t rely to much on rapid storytelling.

And that really went off on a tangent, sorry.

Simply put, the games have their own flaws. If you have the money and prefer a newer-looking game and have the system to handle it, I recommend Dragon Age: Inquisition to start off. Being able to control the world through your choices in Dragon’s Keep gives you a good idea of previous stories without having to play them, while still preserving the themes from the series.

(But oh my god save frequently. Save every few minutes. And stagger save, too, don’t just save over old files because that shit corrupts EASY.)

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