#good lord there's a lot of you

[cellarspider]

Good lord I take a week off of tumblr and now there’s a lot of you

Hello to everyone who’s just followed me in the past week! Most of you have come from a long ramble of mine on interdisciplinary learning, medieval head trauma, and Gallus’ well-wishings on my recent graduation (https://www.tumblr.com/gallusrostromegalus/727017193756327936), thank you to Gallus for that. Thank you to those of you who’ve commented with kind words as well. Specific shout-outs, links to relevant rambles, and questions are below, in the section “Link Roundup and Shoutouts”.

Yes, this is a post with sections. This is how we roll here.

Introduction to Spider

For those who don’t know, I’m Spider! I’ve just gotten my PhD in Mammalian Genetics, having gotten a Masters in Informatics and a Bachelors in Medieval Studies before that. I’ll quite happily ramble about any of them, with the following caveats: an undergraduate degree means I know the basics, but they may be increasingly out of date. And advanced degrees are increasingly specialized in their scope as you go along—you gain the skills to more easily understand things from related specialties, but you only become truly, deeply knowledgeable on very specific topics. However, these topics are not always limited to the field of study generally expected by the degree-granting institution! My focus ended up being significantly divergent from everyone else’s, which resulted in an interesting challenge of communicating my project to others at the institute.

The field I dove into for my PhD was systems genetics. Rather than studying individual genes and how they function, my work examined the wider view: think the difference between a local weather forecast versus modeling the global climate. Both synthesize vast amounts of information, just on different scales and levels of detail.

Many people love studying the tiny details around individual genes, because they can dig down into the mechanisms that make the gene work, how it might break and cause disease, and maybe how to fix those diseases. My love is for the global view of things, which gives you the ability to characterize general statements about how genes are regulated and modified. It’s a field that’s very hard to study without good data that’s complicated to acquire, so it’s a very exciting subject to work on! I’m looking forward to carrying that on into a postdoctoral study, in which I’ll work with a new lab and learn the dreaded skill of grant writing. I’ll be starting this month!

…As Gallus mentioned, my time until then is very much devoted to Baldur’s Gate 3. Happily for me, the new research group I’ll be joining has also been going nuts for Baldur’s Gate 3, so I’ll have a lot to talk about with my coworkers once I’m back to the lab.

In my free time, I’m happy to ramble upon request about the subjects I love, including but not limited to my fields of academic study, my constructed language hobby, scientific ethics and its portrayal in media, creepy-crawlies (always appropriately tagged for people’s phobias), and Baldur’s Gate 3.

…Lots of Baldur’s Gate 3. (I’ve only just reached the Lost Light Inn, please no spoilers!)

Link Roundup and Shoutouts

For those who are interested to see my ramble about why European medical texts in the medieval period tended to be terrible, it’s available here: https://www.tumblr.com/cellarspider/680342023316930560/hi-please-rant-about-medieval-european-medical

Thank you to all those who dug up the name of the academic text I’d forgotten! Its title, in all its wordy glory, is Injuries of the skull and brain, as described in the myths, legends, and folk-tales of the various peoples of the world, with some comments on the significance and reliability of this information in evaluating contemporary concepts as to their nature and lethality by Cyril B. Courville, 1967. It’s a fantastic book, and good lord that title just does not stop

Thank you to fellow spiders @one-spider-from-mars and @vaspider for their comments. We are many. We are mighty.

Thank you to @belovedbright for the fantastic story of the death of Conchobar mac Nessa via brain trauma inflicted by a brain https://www.tumblr.com/belovedbright/727132485919604736

To @doomhamster's question on whether egg whites were used in the medieval treatment of burns: I don’t know! Unfortunately I can’t access the translation of the medical manual I referred to back then (https://worldcat.org/title/1123716578), and the only version I can find online at the moment is in 14th century French (https://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Sloane_MS_1977). Egg whites do appear 33 times in the translation, according to the limited ability I have to search the text, and they show up throughout the book.

#spider rambles far too much #good lord there's a lot of you #hello everyone #I guess this is my intro post now

[lazylittledragon]

Hello I love your bg3 content and your Dorian is so lovely! Can we get like an alternative reality with Dorian and Ascended Astarion? What would your headcannon be for them? 🙇

something like this, probably

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #astarion #tavstarion #ascended astarion #tw blood #long post #i may have gotten carried away with this #the only good thing dorian got out of being vampire lord astarion's concubine was a lovely bedchamber and a dramatic robe #i think dorian's attitude to a lot of things is 'it can't be that bad' until it is very very very bad #'maybe he won't be that bad' until you've been locked in a palace for decades and there's nothing left for you to love anymore #i got nauseous writing this i HATE him #it was such a delicious prompt though and i can't say i never thought about it #also i didn't realise until after i wrote it that this was how interview with the vampire ends. nvm

[heartorbit]

i'm sending this endless melody to a nameless you

#SKELETON ORCHESTRA AND LILIA I NEED YOU #project sekai #emunene #emu otori #nene kusanagi #pjsk #prsk #proseka #wxs cover wishlist copium.. 2!! #i have lots more of them i wanna draw but ill do st least one duet for each pair i think. maybe nnks next ive had one for them forever #Gyaaaa #Crying i have szks lunar new years art that idk how to render im missing the holiday. lord in heaven #Ik every leaker or whatever says this is going to mmj snd it probably will and i'll love the cover but still. emunene save me #wxs gets songs with nonsense lyrics its possible right Right right #i also wanted setsuna trip to go to emu in any duet but i looove the mnai cover so i won anways #Kind of too sleepy to do my usual. Sorry viewers who like reading theough my insane tags. Dont get covid it makes you sleep 13 hours a day #For the next month. #my friends saw me going nuts over this drawing actually and i gave up hard on nenes dress i just wanted to be done.. love how emus looks.. #wait i actually can be insane in the tags THE WXS WORLDLINK SONG SJHDDYDJKYMY TGYAYDHUA!!! HAGSGYAAH!!!!! GY6;$;$;$;$;$ WHEHEHEHEHEH #WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH. Its so good please help. Wxs tetrad that illuminates the world save me. #why does the 2dmv have all of them under a WEDDING AROOOR WHY IS THERE A WEDDING BELL. CONGRATS ON POLYSHO MARRIAGE. HWATEVVRR!!!!! #wonderlands x showtime killing me taking damage augh Auughg akk akcghj

[rassebers]

Average highschool experience

#if you haven't watched saiki k what are you even doing #saiki k #tdlosk #the disasterous life of saiki k #saiki kusuo #kokomi teruhashi #riki nendou #chiyo yumehara #suzumiya hii #aiura mikoto #imu rifuta #hairo kineshi #satou hiroshi #toritsuka reita #saiko metori #akechi touma #kaidou shun #aren kuboyasu #mera chisato #good lord that's a lot of tags #my rart

[sciderman]

this isn't THRIVING... this is FALLING APART... with STYLE

#sci speaks #the sci files #I’ve been chasing up a lot of strange symptoms I’ve been having that . haven’t been causing me pain but #you know . unanswered questions . #turns out I’ve been fighting a battle with my biology all this time and didn’t Know because I was fighting so well. #keep fighting sci .. keep fighting .. #I will WIN… Lord watch me I will win.. #I have a tumor. his name is Lamar. #I’m gonna miss him when he’s gone. But he Has To Go. #the burden of being so good at coping . when something is actually Wrong nobody believes you

[marsuro]

My bit for the Cagliostro Reanimated project! :)

#lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin fanart #castle of cagliostro #cagliostro reanimated #this was uhhhh A LOT of messing around #and it took fucking FOREVER #i learned a lot but good lord #animated in sketchbook but its got only the most basic features so #i had to animate all of this on 2 layers total can you believe that lmfao #animation #portfolio

[royalarchivist]

Pac: Do you know that Bagi and Empanada, they created a mafia?

Tina: WHAT?

[Several minutes later]

Tina: You could've lied, Pac. You could've lied. Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I'm gonna let you get away with this?

Tina went through an entire character arc during her conversation with Pac about the Pancake Mafia today!

#Tina Kitten #Pactw #QSMP #Tina #Pac #Edited #March 14 2024 #WHEEZES THIS TOOK WAY LONGER THAN IT SHOULD'VE #their conversation was very long though #It was ~7 minutes long but they continued talking for a long time #I need to catch the rest of the VOD later #no subtitles today because good lord this took way longer than anticipated and I have gotten NOTHING done today #aghhhh #I did a lot of audio adjustments for this video because you could BARELY hear Pac in the actual stream

[forcedhesitation]

astarion origin playthrough worth it just for all the extra moments where he does the "sad wet cat" face

#bg3 #bg3 spoilers #thoughts about media #astarion #*kisses his forehead* my awful little bastard man... i love you and your big sad watery eyes. #IT'S SO FUCKING QUIET THOUGH IF YOU YOURSELF ARE PLAYING HIM GOOD LORD #I'M SO USE TO HIM COMPLAINING TO MY TAV!!!! #OR BANTERING WITH HIM OR KARLACH OR WYLL!!! #I MISS HIS THEATRICS!!!!!!! #not that it's ENTIRELY quiet. until i found karlach i was travelling with shadowheart lae'zel and gale. #and let me tell you. gale and lae'zel do NOT shut the fuck up if they are together. #they were literally having an entire tinder date while we were trecking through the woods to go get karlach. #i NEVER knew they talk so much because while i've travelled with them individually in past saves... #...i've NEVER had them in my party at the same time! #gale is actually pretty nice to lae'zel! he asks a lot of questions but doesn't condescend her as he does others sometimes. #that's probably because he's afraid of her though. I would be too were I nothing more than a wizard with 8 strength. #I do like how you can look at pretty much any two companions and get a well written and generally enjoyable dynamic! #It feels like they considered that a lot of people would want to maybe pair off the companions they didn't romance with each other! #and wanted it to be easy for really any pairing to work... if a person just paid attention to their shared interactions.

[jeanne-de-valois]

sometimes fan work is just a good excuse to try out new inking pens

Also I forget if Thorin actually gets a bust out a harp in the later movies but I feel robbed, robbed I tell you! 

#the hobbit #tolkien #lotr #lord of the rings #thorin oakenshield #bilbo baggins #gandalf #fili and kili #bagginshield #a smidge #this ink pen is pretty fun to use and drawing thorin with a lot of flat blacks helps #you draw over 200 pages of color comics and black and white feels really good again I'll tell you what

[sunlaire]

The crew make it back to England and a few months later, the admiralty host a social function and crozier is only going so he can check in with the men, see how they're recovering. And while he's there, he spots James. But as he approaches, he overhears him talking about this "beautiful and elegant creature" he has back home

And crozier thinks "ah, alas. He is straight. But I'm happy he found someone..."

Meanwhile James won't stop telling people about his cat. Also he's carrying the BIGGEST torch for his co-captain, who is tragically uninterested in men. Whacky shenanigans ensue

#the terror #james has to hunt crozier down to talk to him #and the whole conversation is just #crozier: i heard about youre new friend #james: who? oh lady marie! #crozier: of course shes a lady... #james: (assuming hes making fun of the name) well it might be silly but shes brought a lot of joy to my little apartment #crozier: thats good. truly. im glad. #james: (playful flirting) id love for you to come by and meet her sometime. perhaps we can make a day of it... #and they are just completely on different pages #good lord... #fitzier #lol but what if he accepts the offer for a chance to see james again #and when he gets there and sees a damn cat #hes just baffled #crozier: so this... #james: yes! my little lady 🩷🩷🩷 #shes a fluffy tortoiseshell #crozier: so youre not...enganged ? #james: what? no! #james practically has to shake Crozier and say 'I LIKE MEN'

[lokh]

its sooo fun how dungeons reveal the psyche of the dungeon lord like. thistles dungeon was so planned and meticulous but so full of ghosts and unravelling at the end. mithruns dungeon was apparently so convoluted and 'made out of jealousy, lies, anger and inferiority'. marcilles dungeon was like.... that lmao, everything being brought to the same level with no real regard for what that might do to the ecosystem, and laios' dungeon ultimately ends up spilling out onto the surface. becoming one with it you might say

anyways if you were a dungeon lord what would your dungeon look like

#your dungeonsona. if you will. ur dungeon lordsona? #dungeon meshi spoilers #dungeon.... does not look like a word to me anymore. #dungeon meshi #me realising i never answered my own question. in my dungeon i force u to make ur own dungeon #to be real though probably a lot of dead ends both ways #realising that there are probably desires antithetical to. having a dungeon #but also desires that if eaten first would drastically change someones outlook/goals #and maybe even dungeon...? #i suppose a demon might eat that last though. seemed the case with thistle #so probably a very inconsistent dungeon tbh but in an unfortunately (for me) predictable way #in the sense that some areas would be like. fleshed out and detailed and others are just not good.... #we cant all be thistle or laios!!!! #how quickly would someone be able to crack my dungeon?? another good question #i would be super mad if people solved it quickly #but im thinking harder about it and. that demon might starve to death dhfbbfbf #would not be an ideal target ....... #but playing in the space where somehow im convinced to become dungeon lord

[idolomantises]

ngl, the more I think about it, the more I feel conflicted over how people sexualize my characters.

On the one hand, it would be silly to deny that I don't go out of my way to create aesthetically pleasing/attractive characters because I love to draw what I enjoy, and I love it when people simp for them.

But on the other hand, sometimes it does bother me that people are so fixated on sex and their own arousal that they miss important lore/plot information that I get a bit frustrated

#txt #i dont really mind that people missed the fact that powers had horns but i do have issues with people thinking the scene would lead up to #sex??? lili had a very clearly shocked face but people were expecting them to just. have sex and fall in love #twitter and instagram is pretty respectful to my works but i think webtoons and especially tiktok (good lord tiktok) is where people are #just. like they're not even paying attention because they wanna fuck my ocs lol #its a lot of work to try to give these incredibly short comics decent pacing and dialogue and it sucks when people ignore gestures or #verbal communication because they saw powers muscled chest and went 'oh yeah. its sex time' #i started posting my bugtopia comics to tiktok and these people are so goddamn obsessed with sexualizing everything that i read comments #where people were expecting arachne to peg her FOUR YEAR OLD SON #and its like. hey guys. im glad you enjoy my work but i dont like how you cannot perceive my characters as anything #but something to whack off to #anyways i dont see myself discussing this on twitter because unfortunately people have 0 fucking reading comprehension lol #to this day i get rude messages accusing me of hating people who enjoy lesbian media or finding my characters hot #because i asked people to not call me a fucking f*ggot when i draw to men kissing

[justarandombrit]

Uh. Hatchetfield art dump. (Feat. My love of Blinky)

#yeah ive been forgetting to post a lot of my art #the good news is i now know sort of how to draw lauren and angelas characters #and i got a new tablet so some of these were drawn on that with a stylus rather than on my phone with my finger so. thats cool #also i love making hypothetical watcher world merch (starkid if you ever release watcher world merch i WILL buy it) #hatchetfield #starkid art #nerdy prudes must die #black friday #starkid fanart #bliklotep #blinky #wiggog y'wrath #wiggly #the lords in black #grace chasity #lex foster #art dump #(sorry. i didn't want to spam multiple posts :/ ) #starkid #team starkid #starkid productions

[thatumbrellaoni]

we get the Ring this time! it has recorded voices of the three Bakuras, the OP song "Overlap", and these select bgm 01, 02 (second's my favorite btw).

heres the promo vid.

yknow... I wouldve bought this in a heartbeat (more ryou!!!!) BUT in the promo vid, bakura, for some reason, refers to ryou as 主人格様 (shujinkaku-sama = master, main persona) rather than 宿主さま (yadonushi-sama = host, landlord). so Im wary that error is going to be all over the recordings. then again this might be more in line with the anime and the two barely interact there, and ryous lines might be sparse and lacking substance... (gasp unless ep 13-14 lines are in it......)

anyway????? did... did nobody really care enough to do their research???? unacceptable!!! Im writing an email for them to fix their goddamn mistake 💢💢💢

I cant really blame matsumoto rica for not knowing any better (if she had any input at all). bakura refers to ryou as 宿主 like 3-4 times in the anime. its few and not very prominent moments. theyre almost throwaways/negligent (excluding ep 84s iconic moment, of course).

SIGH.

#bakura ryou #yami bakura #thief king bakura #ryou bakura #dark bakura #tkb #tendershipping #gemshipping #word of god #what is up with the bakuras #as an aside: its yami marik who refers to marik as 主人格様 #good lord why does NO ONE get the bakuras right #not even officially #give these character rights to me so I can avenge them!!! so much injustice!!! #Im not even sure how much of ryous lines are in this #omg do we get monster world..... #also man bakuras voice is less shrill and maniacal #his voice is a lot lower #ryous voice too if you compare it to dsod even #time does get to your vocal cords #matsumoto rica I still adore you so much #I wonder how terrible the sound quality will be tho lmao #those cant be good speakers in there #will it sound like its coming out of a tin can... #imagine built in speakers for windows vista #oh the horror

[andromeda3116]

people actually went on about how game of thrones made it socially acceptable to be a fantasy nerd, as though the lord of the rings movies hadn't been released less than a decade earlier and left far greater cultural ripples and i am just

got may have made the adults feel better about liking fantasy, but lotr got into the kids' heads when they (we) were just young and impressionable enough to be absolutely transported and emotionally rewritten by don't you leave him, samwise gamgee and my brother, my captain, my king and and rohan will answer

lotr was rewriting entire generations' brain chemistry long before asoiaf and so obviously it's not fair to compare any post-lotr fantasy novel to it, and each book series was trying to do different things within their own spheres and so that also is not a fair comparison, but in terms of the cultural impact of the adaptations that came out within a decade of each other, saying that it was game of thrones that made fantasy mainstream is baffling

game of thrones could only run because the lord of the rings movies laid the path, and i will die on this hill

#lotr #lord of the rings #lord of the rings movies #i started this post because ''may it be'' came up on my playlist but now i think i'm going to start my nth rewatch of the trilogy #there is a lot to discuss about it re: comparison to the books but it's like... #for all the changes they made - good and bad and neutral - everyone involved in making the films *loved* the source material #they all *wanted* to do justice to it and believed in it and it shows #i think of some posts i've seen about how frustrating this modern push towards tongue-in-cheek irony over sincerity #so afraid to be corny or cheesy that you have to tack a joke onto every real emotional moment #like no fuck that #give me sam hauling frodo onto his shoulders saying ''i can't carry it for you but i can carry you'' #give me aragorn gently kissing boromir's forehead as he dies #give me merry and pippin throwing themselves at the uruk hai to distract them from frodo #give me theoden's grand speeches and gandalf's pained expression when frodo says he'll carry the ring #tbh i think that sincerity is a large part of *why* it has such staying power even now #because it is a story you are meant to get deeply emotionally invested in and not hold yourself a little ironically apart from #it isn't meant to sell merch it's meant to bring you to middle-earth and capture your heart and make you believe that the war can be won #with love and loyalty and hope and fellowship and fidelity and integrity and just... just refusing to give in to despair #it is earnest. it is unafraid to be melodramatic or corny because it believes in the story it's telling. #and so it imprinted onto a whole generation growing up right at the cusp of a barrage of apocalypses #anyway. i have Feelings about these movies and their impact and how that mirrors and enhances the books' own impact

[busaikuknee]

it is still so funny to me that the initial pitch for bcc was "we're going to train the next generation of wrestlers" and after a year they still have. one protege. dril voice please help me budget my combat club is dying

#on a more sincere note i'm very glad that the direction they're going with rn is #we want this company to succeed and thrive #and we're going to do that by being an obstacle you have to overcome #i've cooled a lot on the faction due to the execution but i'm still very fond of everyone in it so i'm glad they're doing anything neat #good lord those tags got fucking mangled my b