#but that can easily solved by not being american

[cnestus]

i recently solved a fun little bug mystery at work and i thought it might be interesting to write up a step-by-step narrative of how i did so, as a sort of example of the kinds of things i get to do for my job. this is a stupidly long post because i have no editorial self-control so i'm putting the rest under a cut.

the above insect is a bark beetle, one of a series of 6 specimens i found in a drawer at work. they did not have species labels on them, and the collection labels indicated that they were collected in 1997 from "Chinese Cedrus used for artifical christmas trees." the infested wood had been intercepted and the beetles collected and pinned, but whoever was working in the lab at the time wasn't able to suss out the species, which is extremely reasonable because even IDing american bark beetles to species can be a massive pain in the ass, let alone ones from asia.

the beetles were clearly in the genus Phloeosinus based on the shape of the antennae and the large spines on the elytral declivity (the ass area), and whoever pinned them at least got them that far themselves, but determining the actual species was going to be a lot harder. even american beetles in this genus can be devilishly hard to confidently ID to species since they often look alike and also are quite morphologically variable in ways the bleed into each other. they are pretty cool though and those ass spines are usually critical in species-level identification

btw since i'm going to be writing out this word a lot in this post, it's pronounced roughly as "flea-o-sign-us" if you're curious.

determining bark beetle species is often made much easier by knowing what tree the beetle came out of since most bark beetles (but not ambrosia beetles, which are also scolytid/scolytine beetles but a whole other can of worms grubs) are highly host-specific, usually being adapted to only a certain tree species or genus or small group of related genera.

so Cedrus is the genus for eurasian cedar trees, and there is one species of Cedrus native to china, Cedrus deodara, but that seems like an odd choice of plant to harvest and send to america for artificial christmas tree trunks. most actual Cedrus species are from the mediterranean area. however there are also some chinese trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae (+Taxodiaceae) that are called cedars, and in fact most species of Phloeosinus are exclusively found in trees in this family. one likely species is Cunninghamia lanceolata, traditionally called "chinese fir" despite not being a fir but also more recently marketed as "chinese cedar" because that's how common names for species go.

oh and there is also the tree Toona sinensis in the family Meliaceae that's ALSO sometimes called "chinese cedar" for some reason but more importantly also called "beef and onion plant" lmao, but that was an even worse candidate for an artificial christmas tree trunk and also not a known host for the beetles. easily discounted but i had a laugh.

so my first angle of attack was to assume that the collection labels were correct and the beetles were in fact from a Cedrus tree. i was able to find a list of about a half dozen Phloeosinus species known to attack Cedrus cedars, but none of them were native to china. this would most likely mean that one of the mediterranean species had been transplanted to china for cultivation, which is entirely plausible. after digging though a bunch of literature i wasn't able to find a good key for Phloeosinus species in the entire area i wanted, but found a couple regional keys covering geographic ranges that when combined covered about what i wanted. for non-biologists, this is what a species key looks like:

sort of a choose your own adventure kind of thing but for determining a creature's true identity. anyway none of the results i got from these keys led to species who's descriptions matched the one that i had. i should also mention that my specimens had a rather distinctive feature unlike any other Phloeosinus species i'd ever seen before, which was an elytral vestiture consisting of these really funky little black explanate scales:

most Phloeosinus species have some kind of vestiture on their elytra but all the ones i'm familiar with have the hairs and scales light-colored and never shaped anything like this, so i figured that the description of the correct species would surely mention these scales.

so anyway dissatisfied with this avenue, i decided that the next most likely option is that whoever made the labels for the specimens was told that they had come from "chinese cedar" by the importer and had just assumed that meant Cedrus but it was actually one of the cypress family cedars. again most of the described species do in fact use Cupressaceae as hosts.

so next i found this UN report with a (hopefully) comprehensive list of all non-EU bark and ambrosia beetle species that attacked conifer trees. i culled from that a list of Phloeosinus species listed as coming from "asia." since that was too broad of an area, i then looked up all of these species in the species catalogues listed in the report, mostly Alonso-Zarazag et al (2007), though some were also listed in Wood and Bright (1992) or Bright and Skidmore (2002), which i happen to have physical copes of. from these i could narrow the list down to just species found in china.

now things became difficult because there are no keys to chinese Phloeosinus, or at least none in english. also even just written descriptions of many of these species were impossible to find because they were all written like 60-100 years ago and usually in chinese or german or french and had never been translated or uploaded anywhere online. likewise almost none of them had research-grade (or any) photos anywhere online.

so after hours of fruitless digging, the best i could come up with was a guide to scolytine beetles of korea (PDF link), which contained a key with a handful of the species on my list and did include english descriptions of these. now one of the species in the guide, P. perlatus, IS DESCRIBED as having dark scales, and my specimens did seem to land on that species when i ran them through the key. that's promising! and the hosts were on my list of possible non-Cedrus chinese cedars! also promising! buuuut something just didn't sit right with me. parts of the species description in that paper just didn't seem to quite match my specimens, like for example the size was a little off, described as being 2.4-3.4mm long, while all of mine were in the 3.3-3.6 range. plus the photos of the species, while distressingly low-resolution, just didn't look like mine.

okay so that was dissatisfying. i'd managed to whittle down my list of suspects a good deal from what little scraps of information i could find about them through my sleuthing, either the wrong hosts or the ones that did have english descriptions available online like in that korean guide didn't fit, but i was still left with several possible candidates and no way to narrow it down further, of course this all assuming that the beetles i had on my hands even were a species that had been scientifically described and named. bark beetles are a huge group of critters and many are quite understudied, especially in asia, and a bunch of new species are described every year!

i was about ready to just give up, but then by coincidence i had a reason to email a couple of high-level bark beetle researchers about a different beetle mystery i was also working on, which was in a group that they were the authorities on. on a whim, i mentioned my Phloeosinus conundrum to them to see if they had any ideas and they recommended i contact Dr. Roger Beaver. yeah, i know right? fucking kickass name i'm so jealous. sidenote: it's so funny how many bark beetle researchers have extremely appropriate names, like two of the biggest names in the field are Steve Wood and Dave Wood. no relation.

so anyway i contacted Dr Beaver, who had done some research on east asian Phloeosinus in the past and he was kind enough to send me an unpublished provisional key to chinese species that he had written up a few years ago. using that key, i ended up at "P. pertuberculatus (?=sinensis)" which means that there was some suspicion that P. pertuberculatus and P. sinensis were the same species, just described and named independently by two different entomologists (Hans Eggers and Karl Eduard Schedl respectively), as often happened, especially in the glory days of insane 18th-20th century european entomologists describing literally thousands of new species during their careers.

now these two species WERE both on my final list of suspects of chinese Phloeosinus species that hadn't otherwise been eliminated for one reason or another, and both had Cunninghamia "cedar" trees as known hosts. Dr Beaver was then kind enough to scan and send me the original descriptions of these two species:

which i was able to use google translate on:

not the nicest translation but still an admirable attempt on google's part to deal with all the entomological jargon, and most importantly the description of the elytral scales on P. sinensis definitely seems to match my specimens more than the pertuberculatus. plus i found a paper on taiwanese bark beetles (PDF) coauthored by Dr Beaver that had a (also distressingly low-resolution) photo of pertuberculatus that didn't seem to match my specimens:

aaand finally: i'd been trying for days to access the webpage of a chinese museum that popped up as the only notable result on a google image search for P. sinensis but every time the website would time out and the cached version of the image was too small to make out any details on, but it finally occurred to me this evening that the reason was probably because my work computer or work wifi was just automatically blocking chinese websites because of america's insane paranoia about chinese spying, and sure enough i opened it up on my home computer and it fucking worked!

that's a pretty fucking bang-on match for my specimens! the scales look right, the color is right, the size is right, the ass bumps are right, the host is right, the geography is right, and the translated description otherwise seems to match! here's mine again so you don't have to scroll all the way up:

so i'm calling this 26-year mystery solved! not all of the bug puzzles i've worked on have had as meandering of a path to their conclusion as this, but i thought that this one did display a good number of the different methods i use. the biggest thing that was missing was me wandering into my lab's massive library of old dusty entomology journals stretching back over a century and digging out some old article that never got scanned and put online, as often happens, but in this case since the bugs were asian and out library mostly covers north american entomology that wasn't going to be very fruitful.

hopefully this was interesting to... somebody besides myself. if you've read this far and weren't bored to tears then congratulations you probably have the same kind of brain damage as me!

#entomology #long post #scolytidae #scolytinae #phloeosinus #Pet Investigation

[tokidokitokyo]

My Favourite Japanese Children's Shows

My son is 3 and I have watched a lot of Japanese children's shows with him (screen time is family time!). Here are some of my faves and why. These shows are all from NHK E-TV. Would I recommend to use these for personal study? I am using them to help teach my son Japanese, and for this it works doubly well as I learn how children's society operates in Japan and how Japanese people learn Japanese as well as social etiquette. If you don't have a child, you might get bored easily from these as they are not designed with an adult audience in mind, and you can find much better resources online. You also need a subscription to NHK somehow to watch them, which could be difficult or costly to obtain overseas. However, I like the stories and the characters, as well as the little things I learn from watching them. If you are thinking of teaching your child Japanese this might be a useful resource.

いないいないばあっ！ Inai inai baa! (Peek-a-boo!) This show is designed for very young children and features the beloved dog Wan Wan, played by the same actor since it first started airing in 1996. Wan Wan is accompanied by a young girl, played by various actresses in a succession over the year, and other fun characters. There is singing and make-believe and crafts, as well as short segments featuring nature (animals, plants) or short animations. It's very slow as it is made for infants and toddlers, but that makes it very cute. A group of specially selected young toddlers appears for the dances and songs. Why I Like It: The animation is fun and visually appealing, the activities are play based and you can do them at home, and you learn some new vocabulary. Age: Infants to young Toddlers Clip: DVD Advertisement

おかあさんといっしょ Okaasan to issho (With Mother) This show is designed to be watched with mom (it comes on in the mornings and evenings on NHK E-TV). There are a male and female singing talent, and a male and female athletic talent, who participate in singing and acting clips. There are also a group of costumed characters that have a short story that is continued each week. It has a variety of songs, short skits, a collection of human and costumed actors, and a predictable flow that changes slightly based on the day of the week (e.g. teeth brushing days, story days, etc.). It also shows real kids doing real activities, which kids like to watch. Why I Like It: The songs are easy and catchy, the stories are easy to follow and the words are spoken clearly and precisely. Age: Infants to Toddlers/Preschoolers Clip: DVD Advertisement

アンパンマン Anpanman (Anpanman) This cartoon is a long running cartoon for children (since 1988!) with an incredible line of every toy imaginable to supplement your love for the red-bean bun man (anpan = red bean bun pastry). The story lines are simple and predictable, there are a variety of "fairy" characters that are composed of different Japanese food items, plants, utensils, and animals; and in the end the villains are just really hungry. Anpanman works to help people who are in trouble or hungry (sometimes even the villains), or being bullied by the hungry villains and the story always ends well. Why I Like It: The plot is easy to follow and you can learn about Japanese food and drink specialties via the endless supply of characters, and the songs are catchy. Age: Infants to Toddlers/Preschoolers Clip: Ending TV Theme Song

ピタゴラスイッチ Pitagora Suicchi (Pythagora Switch) Pythagora Switch is a 15-minute long show involving devices (Pythagora Switch) that are equivalent to the American Rube Goldberg machine and the British Heath Robinson contraption - basically, a sequence of events made from household objects that end with (usually) the words ピタゴラスイッチ being revealed. The idea is to encourage children to augment their way of thinking and to solve or understand what the machine will do before they see the movements happen. There are also other segments in which mechanisms are explained and shown visually. And usually there is rock-paper-scissors via a Pythagora Switch where you work out what the device will throw and try to beat it! The language in this show is more complicated because it is geared to a wider, older audience. Why I Like It: It helps me to think and enthralls my son with the moving parts. It's puzzle solving and sparks interest in the way the world works. Age: Toddlers to Elementary School Students Clip: 4 3 2 1 2 1 そうち

#japanese children's shows #いないいないばあっ！ #おかあさんといっしょ #アンパンマン #tokidokitokyo

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[disillusioneddanny]

Spread the Love Fic Recs <3

There's been a bunch of negativity lately and I think that means we as a fandom need to spread some love around. If you get tagged please add some fics that you think deserve more love, only request is that they aren't insanely popular fics (think like fics with less than 50k hits) this way we can get some other fics out there for others to read and enjoy!!

1.) Premeditation by Chromatographic (Lia)

The problem is that so few people are even able to see what the problem really is. The problem is that things that manage to find the balance on the knife’s edge of life are so, so hard to kill. The problem, Jasmine Fenton realizes, two weeks after she moves into Gotham, is one that almost no one, in any dimension or realm, is able to solve. The problem is simply put, though, even if it’s almost impossible. The problem is this: The Joker is a Halfa.

this fic has the hardcover ship (Jazz/Jason) and everlasting trio (danny/sam/tucker) it's beautifully written and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you watch the story progress. Absolutely amazing. The writing is just amazing, Chroma sucks you in with beautiful storyline that just blows my mind. And the ending is just absolutely perfect!

2.) Halves by TourettesDog

Jason wasn't sure why Dick thought it was a good idea to drag him along with Tim to Amity Park. His brother seemed to think the strange case would offer a decent opportunity to bond-- without Gotham (and Bruce) close at hand, perhaps it wasn't the worst idea he'd ever had. Unfortunately, Amity Park is far stranger than Dick anticipated, and Jason hasn't quite been himself since they arrived. Going to FentonWorks for answers was their first big mistake.

honestly one of my favorite fics atm, I just love Gothamites going to Amity Park, i'm just such a sucker for the idea and we just don't see it enough so this fic is just my dream come true!

3.) Pitch-Dark Shades by SummersSixEcho

Danny Fenton is trying to build a new life in Gotham after closing up the connections to the Ghost Zone. Not that all connections are entirely broken, still being able to perceive shades and give them strength when he connects to one of their prized objects. Tim Drake is trying to find his own place in the world, focusing on becoming a better detective by solving cold cases in his spare time. When Tim and Danny meet, a new (begrudging) partnership starts to bloom to solve even the hardest of cases. Or it would if only they told each other the truth.

I truly just love Danny and Tim together in literally any kind of capacity. They just cause so much chaos together and it's amazing. This fic is just absolutely lovely and the prose is amazing. Summers fics are truly enrapturing and just pull you in so easily.

4.) Beneath A Different Light by AKelaNakamura, SummersSixEcho, TourettesDog

When a convergent event hits unexpectedly, Damian and Danny find themselves in the last place they’d expected: In the body of the twin they’d thought long dead. With the after effects still coursing through them and danger lurking in both cities, the brothers must figure out who they can trust—all while slowly learning about the life their twin has led without them. Or, none of these bastards can catch a break.

Demon twins. Just--just Demon Twins my beloved. This fic is two chapters in and i'm just so utterly in love with it. Summers, Akela, and Dog are just a match made in heaven when it comes to cowriting a fic. The fic just yanks you in so easily and you find yourself thinking about it even after reading the fic. Just a wonderful fic!

5.) Come Little Children by Die_Erlkonigin6083

American Chestnuts were once one of the most important trees along the East Coast. The blight destroyed most of them, but not all of them. There was one chestnut tree, one that entranced a child, and then, what it wrought, enchanted an entire city or two

YALL when i tell you that the storytelling in this is absolutely breathtaking I'm serious. This fic has brought a tear to my eye because of just how beautifully it's written. It's got cool fantasy aspects to it, it's based off of an old fairy tale, it's just so amazing and it's one of my favorite fics to reread if i'm having a bad day. Just truly a lovely fic.

Now, I would like to see @halfagone @spite-sapphic-starlight @noir-renard and @midnightenigma recommend some of their favorite fics if they're willing <3333 let's spread some more love in this fandom!

also even if you aren't tagged--please feel free to recommend any fics you enjoy!!

#dpxdc #dpxdc fic recs #danny phantom #dc universe #detective comics

[sheegons]

OKAY SO WHO ASKED FOR A POST THAT DETAILS DAMIANS CONNECTIONS TO MAGIC?.. nobody? oh okay.

(be forewarned, this is long)

now after ignoring batman 666, let's see what we have.

ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (2015)

now, in robin: son of batman #1 It's confirmed that after his death in batman incorporated, damian went to hell. Hell is usually connected with the more magical side of the dc universe, but that's not it.

The entirety of the comic delves into damians connections to more mystical things. mythical swords and magical ancient towers, weird extinct bat-dragons, magical cults that want to destroy the whole world, etc etc.

this is easily regarded as one of damians best comics and having peak damian characterisation, so obviously Damian being magically inclined can easily work well with his character.

Now, after a barrel load of compliments, let's get to the extremely negative side of things.

TEEN TITANS (2016)

Damian's cloned brother has magic and that sentence is about as much as i care for this book. Moving on.

BATMAN (2016)

Again, dog shit damian characterisation, but here we go. Damian here actually shows an ability to use a binding spell and has a wand, making some sort of deal with a random demon, but a far cry from damian apparently selling his soul in batman 666. Moving on finally out of rebirth because that was a bad time for Damian's character.

ROBIN (2021)

Now we go back to the good. Apparently from the maternal part of damians family, magic is more commonplace. ra's even having a whole spell book to his name. Robin 2021 kinda toys with the ghul family and the lazarus pits magical and devilish side which isn't new... but it's new to involve damian!

In the final parts of this story, Damian's heart specifically is used as a plot device, lord deathman even dubbing it as "the bloodstream of the demon" and ruh (ra's' mother) uses it as a power source to fuel demon summonings, which started the Lazarus rain event.

TEEN TITANS DARK (Unreleased)

Back in early 2023 (i think) dc teased a sort of "teen titans dark" with damian, black alice and monkey prince. The "dark" moniker referencing Justice league dark, a magic team made up of magic users that solve magical bullshit. It's a good book, recommended read, i just thought I'd add this to the pile.

Detective comics/Knight terrors

Now, including these two together because they're about the same topic: Dreams.

damian is confirmed to have some sort of control over dreams and sleep, defeating demons that show up in his sleep, yet never actually disappear when he wakes up. He also has an ability to stay awake after a massive worldwide phenomenon causes everyone, even the dream masters that taught damian, to sleep and experience night terrors.

Dreams are, again, connected to the magical side of the dc universe. Now I'm not going to pretend like i actually read sandman to you, i can't lie on ramadan, so let's all give me a pass here for my lack of understanding of all that.

Batman and robin (2023)

In this, damian mentions a bit of off screen monster hunting with Frankenstein and lays a trap that lights someone on fire. I used to think this was some sort of hex but this artwork is extremely unclear, but since Frankenstein is mentioned and from my knowledge dc's Frankenstein is magic let's pretend this is some sort.

As an extra note: this guy definitely died. There's no way about it, he got lit on fire with nobody helping him. He's gone. Damian just killed a man.

Extra Extra notes:

talia using magic!

now, i haven't included these examples in the "the ghuls have magic" segment because uh...

(batman: the doom that came to Gotham/dc bombshells)

yeah...

Not only are these interpretations of talia EXTREMELY orientalist but also just generally out of character and could've been done with any randomly introduced characters.

For the unknowing white american people in the crowd: arabs actually don't only dress in revealing "belly dancer" outfits and lanterns. i know, shocking, we actually wear normal clothes.

And just to add again, there's a lot of stories that include ra's having magic, but I'm not the biggest ra's head (lol) so i didn't read them all, i implore u to do your own research because I'm not doing it.

this about wraps it up. thank you to the magic damian believers may we all win someday.

#damian wayne #batman #dc comics #damian al ghul #batfam #damian robin #dc #dc robin #robin damian #batfamily #ra's al ghul #talia #talia al ghul

[reds-skull]

Not Alive, Nor Dead

[PREV PART] [AO3]

So I use a text-to-speech site to let me spot mistakes more easily (when the robot actually says it, I find it way easier), and that leads to this robot lady saying "fuck" in the calmest way possible.

For this chapter, it decided 'Phil.' stands for 'Philosophy'. So Graves' full name is now "Philosophy Graves". Almost died laughing.

Anyways...

The following day brought a lot of meetings with it. They would need extensive planning for their upcoming mission, if they want to catch what they dubbed ‘The PMC Revenant’.

Ghost has been on edge the entire day. Something about Graves has been pissing him off (well, something besides his personality and entire existence). The American has been avoiding everyone since his little chat with Shepherd, and Ghost doesn’t trust either of them not to plan anything behind their backs.

He knows, given the choice between glory and power, and saving lives, the Americans would go for the former every single time.

In that, they’re not so different from the enemies Ghost erases for them.

The sun is setting, and the Vaquero base is winding down for the day. The bright yellows and oranges remind him of the second thing that’s been bothering him - Johnny.

Well, not the man himself. The amount of secrets hidden beneath that easygoing smile. Ghost has been racking his brain for days trying to figure the Konchar riddle out, and he still is no closer to solving it.

His feet take him to the shooting range. He needs something to let his frustrations out on, and he rather not deal with the screams of Limbo right about now.

To his dismay, there’s someone else there already. Ghost can see the shots coming from one of the sniper nests. Whoever is it, they know their way around a rifle.

His feet are silent when he walks to the farthest nest, and settles down in front of an M24 SWS. He automatically goes through checking the rifle, before setting his scope on a target.

A quick inhale and the target falls, Ghost instantly moving onto another, when his companion shoots it down.

Annoyed, he takes a farther one, downing it perfectly. From then on, him and the other sniper enter an unspoken competition, each of them shooting farther and farther, until they both hit the last one together, the mannequin falling off the track and flying a few meters back.

Ghost huffs. He can appreciate the skills required to match him, no matter how irked he was when they started shooting his targets. He hears footsteps behind him and raises up to meet his new rival in sniping.

From the corner pops out Commander Karim, and she raises her brows, before smirking, “good shots, Lieutenant.”

Ghost nods, “likewise, Commander. Where did you get your training?” he can’t help the professional curiosity.

Farah’s face darkens, something defiant in her expression, “the streets of Urzikstan. We’re not an army - we’re a resistance. No… fancy bases and training programs.” She looks around, at the vast training fields, “my soldiers are people who want freedom, who are sick of seeing their family die for the crime of being born in their own country.”

He hums. Having to face such a great enemy with practically no support, the punishment being death and consequences equal your entire world… no wonder they so readily accepted the PMC revenant.

“I didn’t know that revenant deals in such… vile business.” Farah spits after a while.

Something in him believes her, “be careful who you trust.” 

She huffs, “I learned that lesson the hard way. But I trust the Captain, and so I trust you.” she turns to him, “I will help you hunt him. My soldiers are not safe until he’s out of the game - he knows too much about our operations.”

Ghost crosses his arms, “you got any other skills? Besides being a good shot.”

Farah smiles, walking towards the gunnery behind them. She inspects the weapons hanging on the wall, taking one revolver, opening the chamber to reveal one bullet.

She gives the gun to Ghost, and walks a step back. “Go ahead, shoot me.” she lifts her head up.

He looks from her to the revolver in his hands, thinking about it for a moment, before lining up and shooting her in the head half a second later.

Ghost tilts his head when Farah is completely unaffected, the bullet clinking on the floor. “They call it Ironskin. Shoot me, and the bullet falls to the ground, stab me, and the knife breaks.”

“How’d you get captured?” He returns the revolver to the wall, turning to lean on the table next to it.

“Gas. Not immune to that.” Farah snarls, and he gets the feeling there’s something more to that vulnerability than she lets on. She meets his stare head on, “I’ve heard rumors about you, Ghost. About your powers. Is Limbo truly as powerful as they say?”

“No”, he sighs, pushing off the table to leave, “It’s stronger.”

As he walks by her, Farah nods, silently analyzing him. She would make a powerful ally when Ghost deems her trustworthy. He’ll find out soon enough, on the field.

Price and Ghost are currently scoping out a potential location for the PMC revenant’s deal. The building is a small bar in a dark corner of Las Almas, with a back exit that leads to a car park, where intel suggests a truck housing the ‘goods’ will be.

The Captain has started irritating him about 5 minutes ago, when their very professional conversation about the best way to kill a man with a spoon has taken a sharp turn of topic to become about… Soap of all things.

“So… you and Soap, huh?” Price smirks, his voice filling his mind with his new most hated conversation starter. Seriously, when are they gonna learn there’s nothing interesting to gossip about him and Johnny?

The Captain side eyes him, “I beg to differ, I think it’s quite exciting, what you two got there.”

“What we got is a professional friendship between soldiers, Captain.” Ghost booms in return.

Price nudges his shoulder, cackling in his brain, “that so? Let me take a look…”

Ghost stiffens, “don’t you fucking dare-!”

“Don’t think about Soap MacTavish then, Simon.” He can practically hear the singsong way Price burrows into his memories.

Oh, now this is low, even for Price. Pulling out the ‘don’t think about the red balloon’ trick? Alright. Ghost won’t think about Johnny on principle.

He will not think about how Johnny smiles at him at mess, or how he claps his shoulder before leaving. He won’t think about all the nights he spent awake, staring at the ceiling, falling asleep to the memory of Johnny’s warmth on his skin. He certainly won’t think about how, when their eyes meet, he’s filled with this sudden urge to wrap his arms around him, how he wishes he could just do it one more time, how he’s going insane just thinking about it-

Ghost turns his head slowly, taking in Price’s gaping mouth and wide eyes.

…fuck.

He hears Price inhale to react, and drags a hand over his mask, “I don’t wanna fuckin’ hear it. I know it’s a problem. I won’t act on that, I swear on it Captain.”

Price returns to look at the bar, processing the information. Ghost starts to feel antsy when he finally pipes up, “as long as you keep it quiet, I don’t care what you do. We break a lot of rules, Simon. You really think I give a damn if you two start fucki-”

“We’re not fucking!” he says out loud, glaring at Price, and instantly turns away, unable to hold the Captain’s gaze, “and it’s not… it’s not exactly what I want.”

“What do you want, son?”

What does he want? Scratch that, it doesn’t matter what it is, he won’t get it. Not when it’s…

Price hums, “maybe something like this?” he projects a scene into Ghost’s head - two men, their faces flickering and undefined for a few moments before solidifying into Ghost and Soap. They’re sitting on a couch, in a small living room of sorts. Not talking, not doing anything really, just… cuddling. Trailing hands, flames warming skin, tracing scars, soothing. 

It feels safe. It feels… complete.

Ghost snarls and shakes his head to rid himself of the image, “stop.”

The Captain has a somber look that Ghost catches in the peripheral of his vision, “you want this, Simon. I could feel just how much. Question is, why do you think you don’t deserve it?”

Dead men don’t get to deserve, a memory whispers to him.

“We’re all dead. Doesn’t stop me from wanting, and deserving. Since when has that stopped you?”

Since he couldn’t even vocalise it. Couldn’t even form the words, his wants, in his scarred mouth. 

“Actions speak louder than words, son. I’m sure Soap will understand, he’s smart enough.”

Ghost sighs, “since when are you a relationship counselor, Captain?”

“Comes with the fuckin’ job, apparently.”

They huff a laugh, and return to their actual job, watching this extremely boring bar, and judging silently the people deciding 4 pm on a Tuesday is the time to get fuckin’ wasted.

Intel is slowly being pieced together, Farah and Alex joining on the efforts to plan for every possible outcome of the mission.

The two of them have been quite useful, providing details on the PMC revenant they couldn’t have gathered beforehand. 

The revenant is able to see from the eyes of all their soldiers, the puppets working as a hive mind. They’re not reanimated corpses, or replications of the revenant themselves, but a conjured creation, controlled like a robot from afar.

They can’t actually die, but destroy enough of their body, and the revenant will deem them useless, opting to melt the creature and focus their efforts on the rest.

Alex suggested attacking from multiple fronts, as the revenant’s greatest weakness is their own brain - they’re limited with how much they can divide their attention.

Optimally, they would go after the revenant themselves, but as Farah told them before, they’re likely not even in Mexico. For this mission, they aim to threaten, to scare the revenant into hiding, following his tracks to the snake den.

The two new revenants introduce the rest to their powers. Ghost already saw Farah’s, but he gets to see how knives just bend and refuse to pierce her. He reckons, if her powers are kept a secret, she can be practically unbeatable, if the enemy doesn’t prepare gas.

Alex’s showcase, while less shocking than Farah’s, is no less impressive. One moment, the man stands in front of him, the next he’s gone. 

Invisibility. Not hard to guess how he died. Ghost morbidly wonders if he lost his leg in the same incident.

Gaz volunteers to have a go at Farah’s Ironskin, and proceeds to throw whole tanks at the woman, who just stands there unamused. Soap is about to join in when Price blocks him, shaking his head. He informs Ghost the muppets had the bright idea of detonating trucks to use as rockets.

Ghost doesn’t even want to imagine how that would’ve turned out.

As he makes his way back to his barrack for the night, Ghost overhears two familiar voices arguing.

He sneaks closer, interest piqued.

“-playing at games you don’t understand, Phil.”

A barking laugh grates his teeth, “you’re always thinking so small, no wonder you’re still a Captain after all this time. You had potential, but you threw it all away to play with your little special soldiers.”

“At least I have soldiers, you two faced bastard.” Price growls, more anger than Ghost has heard in a while in his tone.

What does he mean by that?

“You can’t tell anyone, Captain” Graves mockingly enunciates, “higher brass got you tongue-tied, don’t it?” he chuckles cruelly, “this is what fucking annoys me about the military - so many damn rules!”

Footsteps echo, walking away, “you’ll learn one day, John. Sometimes you gotta step over red tape to get anywhere.”

The Captain is silent as Graves leaves. Eventually, he tells Ghost in his mind, “I know you’re there, son. Come out.”

Price is wearing a tired expression when Ghost slinks out of his hiding spot. “I suppose you have questions”, the Captain sighs.

“Not if the answers will get you in trouble.” he nods at the way Graves went, “is he going to be a problem?”

Price readjusts his hat, overlooking the horizon with contempt, replying honestly, “I don’t know. Keep a safe distance from him, and let Soap and Gaz know to not trust him. He won’t do anything while being tied to Shepherd, but the moment Graves will see an opportunity, I can’t guarantee he’ll keep his loyalties in check.”

Something tightens in his chest at the mention of the Sergeants. If Graves lays his hands on either one of them…

Limbo will be a mercy on him.

Can you tell I hate the military yet

#call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #cod ghost #cod soap #cod gaz #cod price #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #kyle gaz garrick #john price #farah karim #alex keller #phillip graves #philosophy graves if you will #revenant au #call of duty fic #call of duty fanfic #call of duty modern warfare #cod fic #cod fanfic #ghostsoap #soapghost #ghoap #i feel like they did farah dirty in mw3 #(...like they did everyone) #so im exploring how desperate she must be for allies when her country is being occupied #and her closest people betray her #i feel like in some ways she and ghost are parallels #but while farah has people by her side #ghost is alone

[valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn]

tEaM cAp BaD, tOnY gOoD

The fact that takes like this are still being spewed 7 years after Civil War maddens me.

OMG where do I even start... You know, maybe this is the result of the MCU not knowing where they stand in regards to heroism. In the past we used to watch superhero movies that were very clear on defending the heroes and keeping the villains accountable, but for some reason the MCU seems to enjoy questioning their heroes and framing them in a negative light while justifying the bad guys - so I'm not surprised to read these takes.

OP says "Hydra didn't hide themselves after the reveal". Uh, yes, they did, actually. And with good reason. If you have been infiltrating an American intelligence agency for decades and you're finally outed, why exactly would anyone go out there and happily advertise they're Hydra? That... makes no sense.

I honestly have no interest in talking about "Did Wanda and Pietro know or not?". I'll just leave this here.

In the same comment OP shows his anger at Wanda for not facing any consequences for her actions, he defends Stark "not selling more weapons" as enough accountability for his. So he can spend his whole life willfully ignorant of where his wealth is coming from, he only decides to stop selling when those weapons kill Americans (he didn't give a fuck if they hurt other people), he can literally tell the government to suck it when they request his tech (which I'm okay with, but damn, nice display of hypocrisy right there when these stans claim the heroes are awful for not signing the Accords in CW)... and all this shit is enough for Stark to be off the hook?

They want Wanda, sometimes even Steve, to be jailed and punished but when it comes to Stark, if he pouts for a while they call it a day and that's enough accountability for him 🤦‍♀️

OP's line about Edith is even worse: "Edith is designed as a planetary defense system." I always think of Zola's line in TWS whenever I read a take like that one: "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security."

More control doesn't equate more safety, it tends to cause the opposite thing, actually. But of course NWH never addressed the morality of this device so many fans think its existence okay. If they had handled it like Nolan did their ideas would be different. Edith is another Project Insight and Stark was still defending this "control is safety" years after CW 👇

That's Hydra rhetoric. I couldn't care less if it's a so-called "hero" saying it, that line could be said by Zola or Red Skull or Rumlow, that's how messed up it is. But all of a sudden it's Stark saying it and that makes it okay?

OP: "Steve Rogers [...] solves problems by punching things [...] He has no fucking idea how to handle a situation involving a bioweapon or a terrorist." Tell me you don't understand Steve's character without telling me you don't understand him. This stan is one of those who thinks Steve is just a buff guy with no brains who can only punch his way out of things, which is hilarious because he has been shown to be the exact opposite of that.

A guy who figured out how to take that flag from Camp Lehigh, who could easily tell he was being deceived after being defrosted when that Shield woman approached him in the med bay, who figured out Loki's sceptre worked like a Hydra weapon (linking the space and mind stones & how they worked), who knows military regulations well enough to know where a building is built in the wrong place, who can figure out he's going to be attacked in an elevator after only a few seconds...

Sure, he only knows how to punch things 🙄

#anti tony stark #steve rogers #team cap

[bestiarium]

The Thila [Burkinese mythology; Lobi mythology]

At the dawn of time, the supreme deity Tangba You created the world. Tangba You fashioned the land, the seas, and then the humans to populate the world. But human men lusted after women and soon began fighting one another over the women, and the deity eventually grew tired of this. He was the creator god, after all, and we can assume he had better things to do than solve every petty issue among mortals. So he withdrew from the world of men, never again interfering with mortal affairs. Before leaving, however, Tangba You figured he should leave someone to guide and watch over humanity, so he created the Thila (singular: Thil): a group of semi-divine nature spirits.

This is the creation story of the Lobi people, who live in the north eastern parts of Côte d’Ivoire and south western Burkina Faso. They trace their roots back to Ghana.

The Thila play a very large role in traditional Lobi religion. These spirits are not really gods in the common sense of the word, but they are somewhat similar to the angels of Abrahamic religion (but note that they are sometimes described as ancestor spirits). They offer protection to the people, but also tell them how they should act. Though normally invisible to mortal eyes, these beings take on the form of an animal or a human in the rare event that they do appear before people.

Normally though, a Thil communicates solely through a ‘Thildar’, which is a human diviner in direct contact with the spirits (the societal role of these people can be likened to shamans of some native American traditions). As per the rules of their religion, a Thildar is always male, and usually there are only one or two of these diviners in a community. Each Thildar stands in contact with his own group of Thila spirits, with whom he can communicate during a divination. He then relays the will of the Thila, which includes guidelines and taboos pertaining to all kinds of subjects, including how the people should dress, have sex, hunt animals, etc. Sometimes the spirits demand to hold great feasts or festive events, and sometimes they forbid certain practises. One example is the village of Korhogo (near Gaoua): the people living here stopped sleeping on mats made from millet stem, because a Thil once forbade it. Also noteworthy is that Thila sometimes demand that the Thildar takes up a specific profession, like becoming a smith or a doctor.

This may sound strict to outsiders, but Thila are kind and benevolent spirits. They receive offerings during special occasions such as births and weddings, and bestow rain and childbirth on humanity. Should the people break the taboos that the Thila enforce, however, they can wreak havoc upon a community.

These spirits are believed to reside in special religious wooden sculptures called ‘Bateba’, which are usually housed in shrines dedicated to that specific Thil. This is important, because the act of placing a Bateba on a shrine greatly enhances its spirit’s ability to manifest in this world, allowing it to protect the people against evil (such as evil warlocks). If a Thil wants a shrine, it will tell this to a Thildar, along with specific instructions of where and how the shrine should be built. Within Burkina Faso, the Lobi are actually renowned for their woodworking skills, and as such the Bateba tend to be impressive works of art.

Finally, I want to mention that there are different kinds of Thila spirits, and the distinction is easily visible in their Bateba carvings. Some examples:

Bateba Phula are humanoid figures with a stiff standing pose. They house regular Thila.

Bateba Ti Puo house protective spirits that defend against evil; they feature raised arms.

A Thil Dorka houses a particularly powerful variant of Thila. It is a humanlike statuette with two heads, referencing the spirit’s ability to watch multiple locations at the same time.

Sources: Asante, M. K. and Mazama, A., 2008, Encyclopedia of African Religions, SAGE Publications, 920 pp. Peek, P. M., 1991, African Divination Systems: Ways of Knowing, African Systems of Thought, Georgetown University Press, 230 pp., pages 98-99. Harvey, G., 2014, The Handbook of Contemporary Animism (Acumen Handbooks), Routledge, 544 pp., page 68. (image source 1: African Arts Gallery, lot 12963) (image source 2: MutualArt)

#African mythology #spirits #Lobi mythology #mythical creatures #ghosts #folklore #Burkinese mythology

[twisting-echo]

Okay, everyone, time for some Luisabi ship dynamics and headcanons!!

For @frie-ice

I love their slight height difference because Wasabi is 6'4" and Luisa is 6'5", meaning that she is an inch taller than him, and I am here for it! Wasabi needs a girl taller than he is!

Luisa's birthday is November 14th, making her a Scorpio, which makes absolute sense! Scorpios are a water sign and are emotional and sensitive. They may be caring, but they are also easily hurt and depressed. This sensitivity can affect their emotional and physical lives. They don't open up easily or let their guard down because they are scared of being hurt. But exclusively, it makes sure they stay strong and makes them great judges of character. They are Resourceful, powerful, brave, passionate, and true friends.

Now I have a theory about the date of Wasabi's birthday, and it involves an episode of BH6: The Series. There was an episode of BH6: The Series called "Steamer's Revenge," and it was about Hiro and the others planning the ultimate birthday surprise for Wasabi to recover his car from the bottom of the bay, but their villain, Baron Von Steamer, was back with a vengeance. The episode's air date was September 22, 2018.

So yes, because it was Wasabi's birthday in that episode, I like to believe that September 22 is also the date of his birthday. Now get this, if Wasabi's birthday is September 22nd, that would make him a Virgo, which absolutely fits his character. Virgos are an earth sign known for their intelligence, analytical skills, perfectionism, hard work, reliability, and problem-solving abilities. They are also known for being critical and pointing out mistakes. Because of their natural elegance and poise, they emit serenity and calm. They are funny and sharp, and they often have a very dry wit. They notice the small stuff and pay attention to the details; they remember everything you ever said to them.

Virgo and Scorpio are compatible signs. They have many common personality traits and can complement each other. They are both goal-oriented, practical, mysterious, and empathetic. They can also have a strong karmic connection and passionate intimacy. There are very strong ties between this couple, and intense mutual loyalty creates their strongest bond. These two can be extremely comfortable in each other’s company, shutting out the rest of the world and enjoying each other for hours (or days) on end—just the two of them. They’re both in it for the long haul, so this can be a long-term match for sure.

Virgo is ruled by quick-moving Mercury, making them good, logical communicators. Scorpio is co-ruled by powerful Mars and transformational Pluto, so verbal (and nonverbal) interactions between them can be extremely intense. Virgo is slow to make decisions, contemplating each little detail before making up their mind, and cautious, suspicious Scorpio is on board with this strategy as well. As a couple, they tend to take their time when making important long-term decisions, which strengthens their relationship in the long run.

Since Wasabi is allergic to every known breed of dog, Luisa insisted that they get a pet baby donkey instead.

Wasabi's surname is No-Ginger in my headcanon; he was born to a Korean American woman with the surname No, also spelled as Noh. No is a Korean surname that means "field" or "wilderness." His father is an African American man of English ancestry with the surname Ginger. So, his parents hyphenated.

Wasabi is fluent in Spanish, so he'll have no problem conversing with his Latina girlfriend whenever she decides to dip into Spanglish.

They are both very, not so secretly protective of each other.

Since both Luisa and Wasabi can easily succumb to stress and pressure, they do couples yoga together. Luisa was really nervous that she'd mess up practicing a lot of the poses with Wasabi when he was teaching her. But luckily, she has such a supportive boyfriend, and he made learning yoga fun and relaxing for her.

Couples' yoga is the practice of yoga poses that involve two people supporting each other physically and emotionally. It can improve flexibility, balance, strength, communication, trust, and intimacy in a relationship. Couples' yoga can range from simple breathing exercises and stretches to challenging acrobatic poses and inversions that require coordination and teamwork and can be practiced in any setting that is comfortable and safe for both partners, such as a yoga studio, a park, a beach, or a home.

Wasabi always makes sure that Luisa doesn't overexert herself to the point where her stress causes her eye to twitch. Stress can cause certain hormones to be released, which can affect the nerves and muscles of the eyelid. So, he helps her with some self-care exercises and makes her tea. And he always makes sure that she doesn't degrade herself by calling herself names like loser, so he builds her up by complimenting her all the time.

Despite all of Wasabi's self-care exercises, the man does not practice what he preaches. All of his poise goes out the window when he's having an OCD episode. An OCD episode is a period when your OCD symptoms are more severe. OCD symptoms include obsessions, unwanted thoughts, images, or urges, and compulsions—repetitive behaviors or mental acts that cause anxiety or distress. OCD episodes can be triggered by anything that causes anxiety or stress.

Luisa helps Wasabi whenever an episode happens by learning the signs, not enabling them, and using positive communication. Luisa listens with empathy, compassion, and avoids criticizing or judging him. She knows that it may take time for Wasabi to overcome his fears and resist his compulsions. But she doesn’t pressure him to stop or change his behavior, as this may make him feel more anxious or guilty.

Wasabi introduced Luisa to 4 2 Sing, and she is now just as big a fan as he is.

They love to go dancing together.

Luisa has the working yarn wrapped around her hands as she helps Wasabi maintain the right tension and speed while he knits. (It is called assisted knitting or team knitting.)

(Literal mental image.)

Welp, that's all I've got for now. I'll most definitely make another headcanon list for them in the future.

You don't have to like my headcanons, but please be respectful.  

🚫 IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THIS SHIP, PLEASE DON’T COMMENT 🚫

🚫 PLEASE DO NOT STEAL OR REPOST MY EDITS 🚫

#big hero 6 #bh6 #bh6 the series #bh6 wasabi #wasabi no ginger #wasabi bh6 #encanto #encanto luisa #luisa madrigal #luisa encanto #disney crossover #crossover ship #my otp forever #i ship these two so much #i love them #new edit #ship edit #luisabi #ship name: luisabi #ship headcanons #manip edit #manip

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Julie Jargon

Published: Dec 16, 2023

Boys are struggling in middle school, stuck in an academic setting that they say rewards them for sitting still and taking notes—in other words, behaving more like girls. 

“It’s really hard sitting still for eight hours a day,” says Tyler Brausa, now 16. When he jumped from elementary school to middle school, the lack of recess and daily gym was a jolt. Tyler often got in trouble for talking out of turn and fidgeting at his desk. After school, he and his friends escaped into videogames—a realm where they have purpose and work together toward a shared goal.

School could compete with gaming if it felt more rewarding to boys, he says.

Some of them are. A number of all-boys middle schools—public, charter and private—have begun opening in recent years to meet boys’ needs. Inside the walls of these schools, boys get lots of hands-on learning, frequent breaks and plenty of movement. Some coed schools are also addressing the problem, dividing up boys and girls for certain classes. And they’re having success.

“Instead of making guys change the way we behave,” Tyler says, “maybe schools should change the way they’re structured.”

‘Bumping into things’

At the private, boys-only Field Middle School in the San Francisco Bay Area, which opened two years ago, students start some days sitting in a circle. The school’s 46 students, in grades six through eight, talk about what they’re grateful for and acknowledge mistakes they’ve made.

On other days, they begin by reviewing assignments, cleaning out backpacks and checking they have supplies such as sharpened pencils. Organization and time management don’t come easily to all adolescent boys, as I covered last week.

“Boys tend to learn by bumping into things,” says Jason Baeten, Field’s head of school. Dance classes held in the courtyard aren’t judged for grace and form. “That’s not always a metaphor—sometimes they’re too big for their bodies.”

At Field, 80% of the teachers are male. Overall numbers of male teachers in K-12 education have been falling nationwide, according to Richard Reeves, president of the nonpartisan nonprofit American Institute for Boys and Men. 

The administrators know how distracting technology can be to kids. Every morning the students turn in their phones and smartwatches to the front office for the day. They use iPads for some assignments in class but they aren’t in constant use.

Giving boys a chance to move around and work with their hands is a big focus at Field and other all-boys schools. The students get a 20-minute morning snack break, a 45-minute lunch period and PE three to five days a week. One classroom has standing desks.

The school has a class in which kids design products to solve problems or help people. One boy developed sugar-free recipes so his diabetic brother could enjoy dessert. The school also offers a build class; last year the boys built go-karts. On Mondays, the students cook lunch for each other and the staff. They regularly vacuum and sweep the classrooms.

‘Motivated by competition’

Field is too new to have high-school graduation success rates. But the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy, a public all-boys school for grades six through 12, has proven results. The Dallas school, open since 2011, has a 91% graduation rate; the same percentage of students score proficient on reading, compared with the district average of 52%, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“The biggest reason our students do well is we have a committed staff. The brothers, as we call our students, know we care about them,” says Rashad Jackson, principal of the school, which has 541 boys. “It’s not just about A’s and B’s, we’re invested in their social-emotional well-being.”

The boys at the Obama Academy, as well as the students at Dallas’s two other public all-boys schools, have opportunities to get out their wiggles throughout the day. (The district also has three all-girls’ schools.)

At Dallas’s pre-K through-eighth-grade Solar Preparatory School for Boys, students rotate through a different learning station every 15 minutes because brain science shows boys need frequent movement, says principal Derek Thomas.

Timers buzz to indicate when students need to switch to the next task. 

“When you put a timer on something, it becomes a competition, and boys are motivated by competition,” he says. “If I tell them to work on organizing their binder and I give them two minutes, they’ll do it in one minute 30 seconds.”

‘The boys have voices’

These educators say middle-school boys feel freer to make and learn from mistakes when girls aren’t around.

That’s something administrators at Treasure Valley Classical Academy, a coed charter school in Fruitland, Idaho, also noticed. When middle-school boys and girls are together in PE class, the boys try to impress the girls, and the girls don’t participate as much, says school founder Stephen Lambert

The 580-student school, which serves kindergarten through 10th grade, began separating girls and boys in some PE classes two years ago. The girls became more engaged and competitive and the boys more focused, teachers said.

The school did the same for some music and art classes. When together, girls tend to out-sing the boys, Lambert says. “The boys’ voices are cracking and they’re embarrassed and self-conscious and they won’t sing,” he adds. “When you split them up, you realize the boys have voices and they want to make them heard.”

All students get plenty of time to move, with recess for all kids in kindergarten through eighth grade, and an extended hangout time after lunch for the high-school students.

Leonard Sax is a family doctor who has studied more than 500 schools over the past 20 years, and wrote several books on gender differences. He says that any school could replicate these approaches without being disruptive—or discriminatory.

“Schools can be friendly to boys without being unfriendly to girls,” he says.

==

Apparently, bludgeoning the maleness out of boys doesn't make them better students. Males and females are inherently different. Imagine that.

A program like this would never fly at many co-ed schools where activists masquerade as teachers. For reference, one of the Grievance Studies papers is called "The Progressive Stack: An Intersectional Feminist Approach to Pedagogy" and described thusly:

This is our most appalling paper, and it’s deeply concerning that how it is being treated at the highly respected journal Hypatia. It forwards that educators should discriminate by identity and calculate their students’ status in terms of privilege, favor the least privileged with more time, attention and positive feedback and penalize the most privileged by declining to hear their contributions, deriding their input, intentionally speaking over them, and making them sit on the floor in chains—framed as educational opportunities we termed “experiential reparations.” [..] The reviewers’ only concerns with these points so far have been that (1) we approach the topic with too much compassion for the students who are being subjected to this, and (2) we risk exploiting underprivileged students by burdening them with an expectation to teach about privilege. To correct for this, the reviewers urged us to make sure we avoid “recentering the needs of the privileged.” They asked us to incorporate Megan Boler’s approach called “pedagogy of discomfort” and Barbara Applebaum’s insistence that the privileged learn from this discomfort rather than being coddled or having their own experiences (suffering) “recentered.”

When scholarship around pedagogy - how things are taught - is organized around and motivated by cruelty, malevolence and spite, it seems unlikely that activist scolds will be in favor of sparing boys - even black boys - from an intersectional haranguing. If boys are allowed to be boys, what hateful, sexist harridan will get to shame and berate them into understanding that they'll never, ever have to experience being discriminated against based on their sex?

#education #middle school #male students #boy crisis #boys in school #masculinity #competition #religion is a mental illness

[a-sterling-rose]

Day 24: NASA- Casper High Astronomy Club

Thought it would be fun to expand on the club members from one of my Danny Phantom Writing Prompts. I’m on the fence if I should write a fanfic or draw a comic to properly expand on this prompt. Which one would you be more interested to see?

https://www.tumblr.com/a-sterling-rose/711505091641982976/danny-phantom-writing-prompt-the-lack-of-a-hero

Micheal:

Position- Vice President

Ethnicity- Native American

Relationship Status- Single

Grade 11th- Junior

Aesthetic- Celestial Spacecore

Aspiring Profession- Space Historian

Fun facts:

- Believes all the ghost activity in Amity Park is actually alien as he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

- He is Navajo

- Is a totally ready to talk about aliens with anyone.

           - Totally experiences pretty privilege because of the amount of girls who are willing to listen to his ramblings.

- Prefers Star Trek over Star Wars.

- His uncle has land in Arizona that he always goes to visit during the summer to experience UFO sightings. Is totally down to bring everyone along so they can all make their findings more believable.

            - Danny doesn’t have the heart to tell him these ‘alien sightings’ in Arizona are Cowboy Ghosts.

- Doesn’t want to date anyone in Amity Park, so is waiting until college to properly look for a boyfriend.

Caitlyn:

Position- President

Ethnicity- Biracial: Filipino/White

Relationship Status- Taken

Grade 11th- Junior

Aesthetic- Whimsigoth

Aspiring Profession- Uranographer

Fun facts:

- So many people assume she’s into astrology that she learned about it just to annoy people enough to leave her alone, but ended up really liking it and does birth charts for a decent income.

              - Has an older sister, Erika, who did something similar: She learned about Christianity to ward off perverts but ended up really resonating with the religion. Erika is currently in college to become a nun.

- Doesn’t care about Star Wars or Star Trek.

- Has the voice of a trumpet.

- Is dating the former Quarterback of Casper High, Ryan White, who is away at college.

- Yes, she does carry around biodegradability golden glitter in her pockets just to toss around for pizzazz/surprise diversion. 

- Blob ghosts always try to attach to her whenever they get the chance for some reason.

             - The reason is because she’s a type of liminal: a psychic to be exact. Blob ghosts are naturally drawn to her because they can sense her energy- they want to become a part of her. No, she doesn’t have special abilities beyond naturally seeing ghosts without Danny’s influence and naturally being protected from mind-control.

             - This is how Danny finds out he unintentionally made the entire City of Amity Park psychics, thus making ghost activity even more prevalent. Vlad moving to Amity Park just makes Amity Park more noticeable to stronger entity's. This is why ghosts are still not believed despite the amount of ‘proof’ Amity Park citizens post online/new reports about it.

Robbie:

Position- Secretary/Treasurer

Ethnicity- Irish

Relationship Status- Taken?(context below)

Grade 10th- Sophomore

Aesthetic- Casual Spacecore

Aspiring Profession- Chemical Engineering

Fun Facts:

- Always working on a model rocket he consume builds himself.

- Cherishes the shirt Becca helped him design.

- Prefers Star Wars over Star Trek

- Gets into a lot of conflict with his teachers because he doesn’t solve his assignments the way they teach it, but still gets it right.

           - Is the main reason Danny was able to raise his grades easily as Robbie is able to explain it in simply(Sam, Tucker, and Jazz can only explain things academically).

- He’s happy Danny joined the club as he isn’t the only white boy anymore.

- He’s frequently takes girls from Casper High’s rival school out on dates, but he’s very clear he doesn’t want anything serious.

- Bonfires/star gazing is usually done at his house as far enough to where he doesn’t worry about light pollution.

- He does everything in his power to keep the club busy as to not be harassed to join basketball/any other sport. 

Becca:

Position- Member

Ethnicity- Nigerian

Relationship Status- Single

Grade 9th- Freshman

Aesthetic- Casual Goblincore

Aspiring Profession- Astrobotany

Fun Facts:

- Her Dad, Mr. Ringler, is the club’s sponsor.

- Knows how to do embroidery and usually puts mushrooms/celestial designs on her plain clothing.

- Regrets helping Robbie design his favorite shirt(but is happy he likes it so much).

- She is always in the club room as it’s her safe space/she likes spending time with her Dad.

- She points out to Danny how their grade is ‘the cringe of the school’. Becca is always hangs out with upperclassmen, thus why Danny never noticed her before.

                - Danny can’t unseen it.

- She grows mushrooms in the club room, amethyst mushrooms to be exact. 

- She plants little mushroom figurines(which she makes) wherever she goes just because she can.  

- Becca is the last to warm up to Danny joining the club, but customizes him a jacket once she’s finally comfortable with having him around. 

#Danny Phantom #dannymay2023 #danny phantom oc #casper high astronomy club

[spacefinch]

My thoughts on all the MSB friendship dynamics

Carlos & Dorothy Ann: One of my favorite pairs-- both as a ship and as friends. They are just so good together. They bicker a lot, but at the end of the day, there's no one else they trust more.

Phoebe & Carlos: This is such a great friendship. They're best friends. They're honorary siblings. They both know how to make just about anyone feel better.

Carlos & Tim: Just two guys being dudes. They canonically call each other things like "buddy" and "pal." Sadly, there isn't a whole lot we know about their friendship.

Keesha & Carlos: Theater kids. That is all. I quite enjoyed their dynamic in the ants episode. And I have a headcanon that they are both very protective of Phoebe.

Arnold & Carlos: We don't see much of their dynamic in the show, but they seem to get along well in the chapter books. I imagine they bond over their shared love of geology.

Carlos & Ralphie: Officially the silly geese of the crew. In the Dinosaur Detectives chapter book, Ralphie is the only one who doesn't groan at Carlos's puns.

Carlos & Wanda: The reason we didn't get an episode or book focused on the two of them is because they would have been too powerful. I imagine them having the same dynamic as Bucky Barnes and small Steve Rogers from Captain America: The First Avenger.

Phoebe & Keesha: Best friends! I love them so much. I also headcanon that Keesha was the first to befriend Phoebe after she transferred to Walker Elementary from her old school.

Phoebe & Arnold: Whether you ship them or just see them as best friends, they make a good pair. Even better: they both have bird names. ("Arnold" comes from the Germanic words for "eagle" and "power," while "Phoebe" is a type of North American flycatcher.)

Phoebe & Wanda: Yet another dynamic we don't see much of. But their height difference is everything to me. They're girlfriends in every sense of the word.

Phoebe & Tim: Art and nature friends! They probably both love bird-watching.

Phoebe & Ralphie: They are great together. I enjoy reading fanfics where they're stepsiblings.

Phoebe & D.A.: We see more of their friendship in the chapter books compared to the show, but I love them.

Keesha & Ralphie: The other "we bicker all the time, but at the end of the day, we've got each other's backs" friendship. Ralphie's fantastic imagination paired with Keesha's logic makes for a great dynamic.

Keesha & Tim: I like them. I wish I'd seen more of them together. They were great in the "Sees Stars" episode.

Keesha & Arnold: Underrated friendship that we should have seen more of.

Keesha & Wanda: Yet ANOTHER dynamic that was criminally underutilized. But they are best friends. I know, because they told me themselves./j

Keesha & D.A.: Between the two of them, they will get all the facts and get plenty of research in. Also: purple.

Tim & Ralphie: The two biggest sci-fi/superhero nerds in the class. Ralphie comes up with stories, and Tim brings them to life with his drawings.

Ralphie & Arnold: They're probably the most easily scared, but for different reasons. But they can both be brave when they need to be.

Wanda & Ralphie: Judge these two by their size, do you, hmmm? (I hc that they are the two shortest kids in the class, and neither of them like to be reminded of it.)

D.A. & Ralphie: If these two are working together-- be it in a baseball game or in a group project, it's over for you. That is, if they aren't bickering.

D.A. & Tim: A fantastic mystery-solving duo. D.A. is very detail-oriented, while Tim sees the bigger picture. But if they're on opposing teams, they're very competitive.

D.A & Arnold: Probably the most by-the-books pair (that is, on paper). In reality, things don't always go according to plan, but they always figure something out.

D.A. & Wanda: Another great friendship, even though they quite literally don't always see eye to eye. (Sorry, Wanda.)

Tim & Wanda: I don't know why, but I like seeing them together.

Wanda & Arnold: A classic. Love these two.

TL,DR: Every friendship dynamic in Ms. Frizzle's class is Valid (TM).

Which friendship is your favorite?

#magic school bus #long post #finch rambles #phoebe terese #carlos ramon #dorothy ann #keesha franklin #ralphie tennelli #wanda li #Tim wright #arnold perlstein #friendship dynamics

[galahadwilder]

The Scars War Leaves Behind

Chapter 2

AO3 is Linked in Bio

~

When he was a boy, Simon had loved comics. Knightowl had been his favorite—he'd related, in a lot of ways, to Sparrow, and he'd been inspired by the Dynamic Duo's insistence on doing the right thing, even in the face of overwhelming odds. Before Hawkmoth, Monarch, reading about the adventures of those superpowered Americans, how evil always lost and problems were always solved and villains always defeated, had been calming, inspiring—until Hawkmoth had terrorized Paris for half a decade without any sign of getting caught.

But before that, he'd read one comic that had been very... different. Darker, full of failure and loss, of broken heroes who sacrificed everything to win, and sometimes the wins weren't even worth it. Violent, bloody, desperate. He probably shouldn't have had his hands on it, not at that age, but he'd been fascinated. Horrified, but fascinated. And there had been some elements that had stuck out to him, that he remembers even to this day.

In the first chapter of the comic, there'd been an old joke about a therapist and a clown. He knows there’s an earlier version of the joke, but the one from the comic is the one he remembers:

A man goes to a therapist about his depression. He tells his therapist that life seems harsh and cruel, that he feels all alone in a threatening world, that what lies ahead is vague and uncertain.

The therapist thinks for a bit, then tells him, "I have an idea for you. The great clown Grimaldi is in town tonight. You should go and see him—that should pick you up!"

The patient bursts into tears. "But Doctor," he sobs, "I am Grimaldi!"

Looking at Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng—at Ladybug—the joke seems a lot less funny. With a lot of his patients, he frequently recommends calming their flashbacks or their panic attacks by imagining their fear as an Akuma and then visualizing themselves as Ladybug or Chat Noir, invincible, unstoppable, powerful enough to take on anything. It helps a lot of them—his whole generation grew up idolizing Ladybug, believing in her, looking up to her as the ultimate hero.

It doesn’t take a genius psychiatrist to recognize that, with this patient, that approach would only trigger her worse. One look in those haunted eyes and he knows, Ladybug is a trigger. Akuma aren’t something easily conquered, not to her—they’re fear and responsibility and pain and panic. Now that he’s looking for it, it’s pretty obvious that her glances around the room at his various superhero pictures and collectibles aren’t grounding her, they’re agitating her. And he’s not entirely sure what to do with that.

So he does the only thing he can.

”Start from the beginning,” he says, leaning forward and steepling his fingers.

Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng takes a deep, steadying breath, pulling her legs onto the chaise and crossing them under herself. “When I was 13,” she says, shrinking into herself, “I was late for my first day of school.”

Hearing that feels like queuing up for the bathroom at the back of an airplane and then suddenly getting hit by a train. It’s such a mundane thing to say, such an average, run-of-the-mill problem, he’d never have expected that to be the start of it. He’d figured it would be something bigger, something momentous, some moment where she’d found a secret cave behind a waterfall or met a wise old mentor who bestowed upon her the magic jewels. Not something as simple, as prosaic, as being late for school.

But if there’s one thing Simon has learned from this work, it’s that it’s the small things that stick in someone’s mind sometimes. And if something like that stuck… it would be because it was part of something very big. And sometimes starting small, starting with the mundane, is how his patients ease themselves into talking about the big, damaging stuff.

The way she tugs on her own fingers, not looking up at him, but staring resolutely at the Ladybug-red carpet—he'll have to do something about that for her visits, that's probably not a good color for her—only reinforces his assumption.

"I lived in my parents’ bakery, back then,” she continues. “It was right across the street from the school, but I was a chronic oversleeper.”

That’s another unexpected detail to file away about Ladybug, then. Not a morning person, probably very tired. More tired than she ever let on to the public. Even without the Akuma to keep her awake some nights.

”I was running across the street, and…" Her voice starts to grow more ragged as she speaks. "This... little old man." Her hands go completely still at the mention of this person. "He dropped his cane and fell, in the middle of the crosswalk. There were cars coming.”

Simon's stomach drops, knocking him back in his chair. The way she's speaking, the way she's moving, something clearly happened to this old man, something she's still dwelling on to this day. He remembers, in the comics he loved, how frequently the superhero would have some kind of tragedy in their backstory, some trauma that drove them. Did Mme. Dupain-Cheng watch this man get hit by a car? He knows full well the kind of effect something that violent would have on a 13-year-old—he's seen the haunted looks in patients who'd had to watch their parents or friends or siblings die, only to be magically brought back again. But this accident would be pre-Ladybug. Pre-cure.

Simon's mind spins, thinking about possibilities. Maybe this man been carrying the magic jewels, the Miraculous, and they'd spilled across the street for anyone to grab. Was that how Ladybug had gotten hers? Was that how Hawkmoth had gotten his?

"I ran back to help him up," she says, and Simon feels the tension in his shoulders release. Not that, then. Not the worst-case. Still, though, something bad happened to this man, something she still hasn't processed.

She brushes a bit of hair out of her face, still staring at the floor. "Apparently, that was the test!" she says—she's laughing, but there's no humor in it. "He purposely fell down in the street, and... whoever stopped to pick him up..."

It's not hard to notice her word choice. Whoever, she said. Implying that she felt like it could've been anyone. Implying two very different statements: I'm not special, and Why did it have to be me?

Then her face softens. "Adrien had a similar test, apparently," she says, and for the first time since she revealed her identity, she finally looks up and meets his eyes. "Master Fu fell down in front of him, too. He had to choose between his own freedom, or helping a stranger."

"Freedom?" That’s a concerning word, especially if this Adrien was the same or similar age to her when it happened.

"His dad..." She stops, starts picking at her fingers again. Her gaze shoots to the left, at the picture of the victorious super team taken less than an hour after Monarch’s arrest. "His... his father..." 

"You don't need to tell me anything you don't want to," Simon tells her, gently.

Marinette swallows, tearing her eyes away from the picture and back to Simon’s sweater. "...Okay."

"Adrien." Circling back to that. Talking about Adrien is the most comfortable, the happiest, he's seen her since she entered his office, and he wants her to be at ease. "This would be... Chat Noir?"

Marinette nods. "I think Fu was testing whether Adrien would use his power selfishly, or whether he'd put others first." She purses her lips. "I... my test was... it was so simple, in comparison. I don't even know what it was for."

Translation: I don’t know why I deserved to be Ladybug over anyone else. He suspects she does know, or at least did at one point, but it’s been buried under so much pain that she can’t retrieve the memory. But he does have a suspicion.

"How close were the cars?" he says.

Marinette blinks, startled. "I, um." She swallows, uncrossing her legs and pressing her feet down into the plush if the carpet. "I don't know."

Simon nods. He wouldn’t expect her to, but he’s willing to bet that there had to be at least some danger. "Maybe this... Master Fu?"

Marinette nods.

"Maybe Master Fu was testing to see if you'd put yourself in danger to save someone else."

As soon as he says it, he can see in her face that it's absolutely the wrong thing to have said. All of the shaky, nervous, extraneous movements suddenly stop; her face turns ashen as her eyes sink further into her head. He knows she's not in his office anymore—she's somewhere far away, somewhere dark and painful, and the hitch in her breath is the only way he can tell she's still alive.

"Mademoiselle?" he ventures, hesitant. He's tripped over a trigger, and he's uncertain as to how to proceed until he knows what it is.

"If—" she begins, then halts. Closes her eyes, tears squeezing out from the corners of her eyes. "If... if I'm the one who's supposed to be in danger..."

Simon's eyes widen as he straightens in his chair. Oh. Oh no. Oh no, he knows where this is going, this was just supposed to be a gentle introduction to—

"He... he k-keeps..." Marinette sobs, before slamming her fist into the couch's armrest, her voice rising to a tear-filled, grief-stricken scream. "S-s-stupid fucking bastard cat won't! Fucking! Stop! Goddamn! Dying!"

@ravnskold @shinyredjacket @bitterblue-city @bugaboooooooooo @steelblaidd @naresar @flightfoot @gentil-minou @mari13606 @trippingovermyfeet @caissa2021 @s-n-arly @dorkwingdad @ineedabettername2124 @fandomthoughts0620 @placeholdernr57@turtle-gem @sadwinistic @onenerdymoth @booksfoodmusic-minion @lady-charinette @backyardbob01 @turandont @mishkamitsukuni @northernbluetongue

#miraculous ladybug #my fic #original content #marinette dupain cheng #the scars war leaves behind #ptsd #grief #therapy fic #original therapist character #master fu #ml origins #adrienette #adrinette #post reveal established relationship #angst

[olderthannetfic]

About the fandom racism thing

Didn't ao3 just implemented a usar block feature? Like, that's gotta help, right?

Also, I do think some overtly and explicitly racist fics could be tagged by the system itself with the Racism tag, since the writer itself would never do it otherwise (I feel like it's very easy to spot when a fic is dealing critically with racism or depicting it as the horrible thing it is and one in which is glorified and in-your-face)

Then the content could be more easily ignored but wouldn't have to be banned

--

That other anon was blatantly talking about content policy, not block and mute features, but yes.

It kills me how many different people have come up to me with the bright idea to open the floodgates to bullying. Before you propose a feature where we tag other people's fics for racism, take two seconds to think about how this will play out in practice.

Scenario 1: It's user tagging based, so someone with 100k followers on twitter sics their minions on fics of their NOTP.

Scenario 2: AO3 enforces this itself, so 3 white Americans who happen to have volunteered to be on the Abuse committee scratch their heads over a reported fic.

Admittedly, IDK who's on committees currently or what their backgrounds are, but with the absolutely tiny staff AO3 has always had relative to the size and popularity of the archive, scenario 2 is not only possible but likely. 2 will go less poorly than 1, but it's still a recipe for disaster.

But okay, I'll bite: which fics specifically should be tagged? Can you point to some that aren't strawmen and that also aren't widely known to suck within ten seconds of them being posted (like sad plantation owner Castiel)?

I'm sure microaggressions are legion, but those won't be solved with this warning. Muting their authors is the answer to that, and it's only a matter of time before AO3 implements the rest of the blocking and muting features.

(I feel like it's very easy to spot when a fic is dealing critically with racism or depicting it as the horrible thing it is and one in which is glorified and in-your-face)

Then you're a fool.

The level of reading comprehension displayed in the typical internet comments section should tell you all you need to know about this assumption.

People are incompetent writers. People are incompetent readers. AO3 is full of EFL fans. Fandom is full of people from all over the world who understand identity and bigotry differently.

Go look at Captive Prince Discourse and then tell me that bullshit with a straight face.

Your average internet denizen can't even understand the concept of a pan-Mediterranean identity that contrasts with an Anglo or Northwestern European identity and how that might matter to the Australian author of Captive Prince. There is no hope that people will be able to pass any kind of consistent judgment on incomprehensible first drafts on AO3.

[sabakos]

I know we all rightfully dunk on English orthography for being horrible but I feel like English grammar is kinda broken in the same way?

Maybe the concept of grammar itself is what's broken, but English grammar rules just seem very... underdetermined? As in, there are actually far fewer "correct" ways of phrasing something than the rules would imply, and making something flow correctly might potentially even require breaking those formal rules, even in "formal" English.

As a native English speaker, I don't consciously think of what these unwritten rules are, but I often find myself applying them when reading my own work or copyediting others. Something like adjective order or which preposition or conjunction will fit in any highly particular context just comes automatically to me, as it does (I think...) to almost any other native speaker, even if we have to knock things around a bit first to find the right arrangement of words. Sometimes there probably are formal grammar rules underlying these somewhat arbitrary seeming decisions, but if so, it seems odd that no one ever had to teach them to me in school, but that instead they taught me a much more simplistic set of rules that don't actually fully describe and even contradict what sounds "right" in regular speech.

It's appealling to think that this is because grammar education itself is somewhat of a farce, and that learning rules isn't as helpful as building intuition. But it could also be that the rules are useful approximations that give a baseline, and that that baseline allows the deeper complexities of sentence structure to more easily come from repeated exposure and use. This whole post could also just be the madness talking, and perhaps I've invented a whole set of arbitrary rules that no one else follows, and maybe even the admission that I'm a native English speaker is news to you all because you actually think my writing style is awkward and stilted, which made you assume that I wasn't. But I think even *that* would probably validate the point I'm aiming at because it would mean that there are unwritten rules that the rest of you all know, and that I'm just bad at them. I don't have words to describe this, or methods that would allow me to investigate it.

What makes me think that this isn't just madness is that I can often identify non-native speakers, even if their English is very good and they follow all of the grammar rules well, because they are consistently worse at the unwritten rules. And even they do follow *some* of these unwritten grammar rules, which is probably a mixture of the repeated exposure they've had to native speakers and that as second language speakers they probably had to learn a broader and more thorough set of rules than I did. Admittedly I do read and write and copyedit more than an average native speaker so it's possible I'm more attuned to the awkwardness, but I suspect this also means other Tumblr people are more likely to know what I'm talking about.

And this isn't mere dialect chauvinism here - Americans, Australians, and Canadians follow the same sets of these rules that British or Irish people do, across both formal and informal registers, with only minor vocab substitutions that don't seem *wrong* to me grammatically so much as unfamiliar. Whereas Euro English speakers and some Indian English speakers seem consistently worse at following these unwritten rules, which I'd attribute to English not being their native language and a resulting lack of exposure to how native speakers use the language.

But without getting too prescriptive, it seems like it should be possible to describe these rules, or possibly restructure grammar education differently, which might help clarify where non-native speakers are going astray if they care to. This is not a problem that needs to be solved for me though, I can understand what most non-native speakers are trying to communicate even if they aren't anywhere near fluent and often even if they break several of the "formal" grammar rules, just perhaps some of them might find it useful? Or possibly it would be maddening and less useful than further exposure, I do suspect that the arbitrary nature of orthography alone has already tried most second-language English learners' patience. So ultimately this is just for my own edification, navel gazing into what makes English composition flow better, I want to know why I think the things about the language that I do and how to speak meaningfully about it with others.

#yet again ancient greek has made me squint harder at english #so yeah this is kinda about koine greek also

[gothamscormorant]

this is how i imagine tim drake…

(a lot of this is also canon/inspired by canon)

click here for the other boys

- absolutely obsessed with star wars.

- has forced everyone to individually binge the series with him at least once.

- but also uk love island and australian bellow deck is definitely his guilty pleasure.

- call me patriotic but i refuse to believe he watches the american versions of reality shows.

- overworks himself on such little sleep that his body giving up and him fainting is a scarily regular occurrence.

- insane martial artist -which people (like most things he can do/does) completely overlook or just don’t care about. this is also canon btw.

- like he can easily knock anyone to the ground in a second, yet because of his small build and mmmm relatively unhealthy state, it goes unnoticed and sometimes unused.

- people always overlook him because of his innocent seeming personality, but he’s so cruel sometimes.

- like he punched jason out cold once for picking up his stuff and holding it over his head, put itching powder in dick’s boxers and bed for hiding the cases he was working on, roofied damian’s nightly hot chocolate so he’d miss family movie night because dami was pissing him off… true slytherin.

- but just like a lot of the things he does, it goes unnoticed/un-delt-with most of the time so he gets away with it. middle child tings.

- not to mention he literally stalked batman and would run around solving murders and dropping off the evidence to gordon before even being a robin.

- he was on the CIA’s watch list for crying out loud!

- doesn’t break the unassuming facade often, but when he goes off the deep end, he goes, and doesn’t stop until he’s satisfied -or stopped.

- scarily persuasive -some would say manipulative, i would say ambitious. i mean he did wiggle his way into the position of robin with sheer willpower.

- i think one of the reasons i love tim so much and are so fascinated by him is because of his capacity to be a villain so easily if he wanted.

- like if he decided one day to turn on everyone… in an instant he has control of a multimillion dollar company, can easily gain control the police, has dirt on every single person, and access to anything he decides he wants: and yet he chooses to do good.

- he could have the world on their knees and yet people still decide to fuck with him because of their naivety.

- villain tim would be terrifying.

- his childhood and a normal loving and attentive family setting was stolen from him. he was always made out to be “mature for his age” and “quiet and sensible” when in reality he was just neglected and bored.

- being a gifted child always comes with its downfalls. like being so unstimulated by his schooling and classmates that he acts out a little bit out of boredom and a craving for attention from his parents; not to mention the social rejection because he’s too “mature” for his peers antics.

- he’d be super socially unaware for his age group. being an only child surrounded by adults (yet forever alone and isolated) would’ve prevented him from ever connecting with fellow kids and their interests.

- so now he likes doing a lot of random “childish” things like skating down the halls in the manor, having a gamer chair as his office chair, playing his nintendo switch in his wayne ent office when he’s bored, having bento box lunches filled with sugary cereal and roll ups, having a mini fridge in his office exclusively filled with yakults, strawberry milk and coffee milk boxes, being fully versed in gen z lingo (which he uses correctly don’t worry) that he uses to talk to people he works with and interacts with at galas etc etc.

- likes to leave little notes in library books for the next people to find; often mildly threatening like “i know what you did”.

- definitely has minor nearsightedness (though he hardly ever wears his glasses, even if he looks really good wearing them).

- when he’s not drinking coffee, he’s chewing gum or mints to counteract the coffee.

- ambidextrous, but favours his left hand meaning his already inconceivably messy quick-notes are also smudged by his hand.

- hands are always cold and numb (leading everyone to believe he probably has rayynaud's syndrome).

- he gets really nervous and tries to avoid people being able to touch his hands, like when they’re handing something to him, or makes sure handshakes are firm and quick -but still respectful- etc (but he loves hand holding, he just worries no one would want to 🥺).

- really good at taking in information and his surroundings quickly.

- often points things out to people that would otherwise go unnoticed like “your eyes look really pretty today” or “your freckles have darkened from the sun” or “they ordered two sugars with their coffee… they always order three” etc.

- he doesn’t constantly say the things he’s thinking, but they come out a lot more when he’s loosing his filter from fatigue.

- he’s always apologising profusely for pointing out things bc he thinks they will think he’s weird or become uncomfortable.

- tim is allergic to almost all nuts except for almonds (wog runs through my veins, i refuse to believe he can’t eat almonds).

- he’s not like epipen allergic, all he needs it some cetirizine.

- bc of this “relatively low risk” (as he would say), if he accidentally eats a nut he’ll usually just not tell anyone while his throat is closing over and his mouth feels like it’s been attacked by mosquitoes.

- he’ll just silently slip away to buy some cetirizine or get some from his pocket/bag.

- this sweet old lady at a charity bake sale once offered tim to try a free slice of her rocky road and it had walnuts in it (btw you guys are monsters if you make the nutty rocky road).

- and he was too anxious to refuse so he took it and finished the whole thing in front of her.

- it took him about 20 minutes and to the point where he was crying and his lips looked like they had fillers that he whispered to bruce he was having a reaction.

- bruce was hysterical.

- he always carries cetirizine on him now just incase tim does that again.

#dc comics #red robin #tim drake #batfam #batboys #headcanon #batfamily #tim drake x reader

[no-side-us]

Letters From Watson Liveblog - June 2

Wisteria Lodge, Part 4 of 4

Holmes is either paying him a lot of money, or Warner here just really hates his old boss. Either way, he's a real hero for jumping in and saving Miss Burnet, especially since he knows how violent Mr. Henderson can be.

The image of Baynes and Holmes hiding in different forms of foliage at the same time is very funny to imagine. Holmes has really found someone as dedicated as he is to solving a mystery.

A vague Central American dictator! That's certainly an interesting reveal, and it is in line with Doyle's tendency to include what I presume to be international hot topics in his stories.

It also means I was right the first time about this whole case being connected to politics! From Central America of course and not Spain, so I was wrong there, but still.

I'm surprised a dictator cared enough about his children to hire a governess for them. And now those poor kids are probably going to have a terrible life for the foreseeable future, or at least as worse as their life has been so far.

And that explains what happened to Garcia. A terrible, gruesome death at the hands of a terrible, gruesome man.

As a side note, I do wonder what Scott-Eccles thinks of all this, cause there's a lot going on here involving dictators, revolutionaries, subterfuge, etc. that he was dragged into one night.

Also kudos to Miss Durando for fighting back, while drugged, against her captors. This story is full of great people, that I feel like Holmes and Watson were almost inconsequential to the whole thing. Even Warners, whom Holmes asked for help, could easily have been hired by Baynes instead.

Well, it may have taken six months but at least they finally got their comeuppance. No mention of the kids though, which is worrying. A somewhat satisfying conclusion then.

The story did not need this. It could have happily ended with the murder of a dictator and without this extra display of racism at the end. This story has pretty consistently painted people from Central America with such discriminatory descriptions, and it's just awful to see.

This sounds familiar but I forget what it's referring to. Hopefully it's not as racist as Wisteria Lodge was.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

#letters from watson #wisteria lodge #sherlock holmes #john h watson #inspector baynes #aloysius garcia #john scott eccles #miss burnet #mr henderson #mr lucas #john warner #don juan murillo #signora victor durando #arthur conan doyle #liveblogging sherlock holmes