#while i see others in my field (or in general) thriving

[kermiethefroog]

Lessons from a Global Ecological Restoration Conference

I know this is not the usual thing I post on here, but I wanted to gather my thoughts in a place I know that I'll check in the future. I hope that this is somehow useful for others and provides insight to work in this field.

1. Ecologists do have hope for the environment!

If there's one main takeaway I've had so far, it's that people working to restore and protect our natural habitats is that they have passion and a deep hope that their efforts will make a difference.

This field is full of so many challenges when it comes to funding and politics, so it was inspiring to see that despite present barriers people from all over the world are trying their hardest to make things change for the better.

2. This conference has set a precedent towards integrating and including the input from Indigenous and First Nations peoples internationally

The entire theme of the conference was to center and uplift voices of Indigenous people from around the globe who are working in habitat and ecocultural restoration.

This is exciting! Many countries do not have formal systems in place to allow Indigenous voices to be major informants and decision makers on projects that occur on their land. It has been and will always be important to include those who are traditional stewards of the land when considering any sort of restoration or land management decisions.

I cannot be sure what the results of this initiative will be. It is a small step in the right direction though and I hope that this conference created opportunities for connections, lessons, and more conversations in the future.

We all have a part to play in recognizing the First Nations Peoples who inhabit or inhabited our land in the past (this goes without saying that this applies internationally) and working toward a future that creates proper access to funding, land, recognition, reparations, and true reciprocity for Indigenous and First Nations Peoples.

If you have not yet invested time in learning, now is a better time than ever. Research your area, connect with community, and raise your voice to make a difference.

3. Collaboration is Key

Most talks I went to and projects I read about lived and died by their ability to collaborate with a diverse group of people who have stakes in each restoration project.

It works best when implemented early, if all groups are equally represented at all levels of decision making, and if factors like environmental outcomes and the human/social dimensions of planning are considered first before the financial.

The most successful projects in ecosystem restoration were only possible due to connections that spanned industries, cultures, generations, and modes of work.

If we want our planet to thrive we need to be willing to have everyone in the room so as many people as possible can have a hand in creating a better future.

4. Things are still an uphill battle

While many of the presentations I witnessed were hopeful and fulfilling, perhaps just as many lacked a positive or negative conclusion that could wrap everything in a neat bow. Navigating government systems, changing climates, barriers to accessible and affordable resources for restoration etc. are all things that impacted various projects discussed this week.

It's also without saying that governments themselves, the policies they hold, and the rates they pass legislation will always create a delay in working towards restoration of our environment in order to prevent further harm and degradation. This of course goes for most policy making (though I suppose it depends on the country).

Climate change still presents unprecedented challenges and will impact all aspects of our livelihoods. That being said, no one atteding suggested any of the efforts being made were futile. I know it can be challenging to see any bright future with the way climate change is discussed in the media so I want to approach this subject with some cautious optimism.

Beyond policies and politics specifically, it is clear that so many people care about and for the planet that we live on. So much so that I think that it can be taken for granted at times or looked over. Yes the science is bleak, yes the outcomes are scary, yes things are going to change no matter what. We still have time to determine the trajectory of that change.

Scientists, government workers, NGO workers, nonprofits, citizen scientists, and many more groups of people at this conference had a staggering sense of hope that was unexpected and so refreshing. As one of the presenters I watched said, "It's better that we at least try. If the outcome isn't ideal we can at least say we gave it a shot." and I think that's a beautiful way to approach any uncertainty. In this field or otherwise.

I would be happy to discuss my experiences more or elaborate on any points made. I put this together hastily at the end of the conference to make sure I didn't forget anything important.

#ecological restoration #restoration #ecology #forest ecology #juniper's ramblings #i feel like i have so much more to say but can't quite capture it or put it into words quite yet #climate change #climate optimism #science conference #science

[yesloulou]

ALEXIS, I just reblogged your ask about how checo has been flopping since ausgp and your whole point of the narrative remind me of something I’ve been trying to put into words for so long and I think I’ve finally GOT IT:

As much as racing bros don’t want to admit it, F1 isn’t just about racing. It’s theatre and spectacle like literally ALL FORMS of entertainment is. And there always has to be a story. Look at how a large section of F1 fans have termed this season as “boring”. Even during the merc domination years, there was a clear story: Lewis going after record after record (“how high can he climb” type narrative) and he had the nico rivalry to bolster his title reigns. Seb also had a very clear narrative for his return to the title scene.

Max, as much as I love him, doesn’t really have a “story” per say and checo is NOT anywhere close to providing him with one. But who has a better story this season than Daniel Ricciardo? The whole Icarus falling, prodigal son returning, tireless underdog storyline is ALL RIGHT THERE. And that’s why he’s been generating the most headlines all season, even before he got into the AT seat.

While we’re on the subject, who has a better story WITH MAX expect Daniel Ricciardo? His favorite teammate, the only one to beat him in equal machinery, the one who’s clawed his way back to the top after so much struggle while Max has had so much success? Just imagine how much more Max’s third title would mean if it came down to him and Danny in that last race, than him and Checo…who he’s already dominated all season 🙄 It’s actually a disservice to Max more than anything that he doesn’t have a real “battle” like he did with Lewis and Charles the last two years.

But they have Danny there as their ace they can pull out and suddenly EVERYONE is invested in seeing them go at it, even if its only one more time. In short, this is my essay that I’ll be second to RB headquarters as to why they need to switch Danny over in Vegas 👼

What you said!!!

(Btw saying max's season doesn't have a story is not a dig at all imo. He has no story because him and the new reg rb cars have been unchallenged. It really just speaks for how good he is as a driver and rb has been as a team.)

I really enjoy looking at the juxtaposition of how F1 exists because of the athletic spirit of pushing human performance to the extreme but at the same time is a media/entertainment event at its core. Especially in the context of Daniel's career, since he is a bit of an outlier in terms of career trajectory vs marketability (and is therefore more telling of how F1 functions as an ecosystem).

It's really no secret that F1 doesn't thrive under single team dominance. The more competitive the field is, the more interest there will be for the races and ultimately for the sport (source: domenicali himself). People's interest then translates directly into F1's livelihood bc F1 as an organization profits primarily through selling broadcasting rights and ad opportunities. Now that RBR has built themselves a gap even bigger than F1 had expected (source also domenicali) with no signs of slowing down or as you pointed out, alternative marketing angles/entry points like the lewis/nico situation, this season has begun to bore, which will hurt F1 financially, if not already.

On the other hand, it's against sportsmanship for F1 to do anything that can be considered manipulation to change this reality (it was explicitly stated that F1 "cannot intervene" RB's dominance). Domenicali's best bet (and what F1 has been doing so far) is to exercise budget caps in hopes of a convergence over time and a shortening of RB's cycle of dominance, with 'hope' being the keyword since there are way too many factors for anybody to really predict how this RB era will ultimately play out. While the hoping and waiting continue, F1 is in need of other ways to keep their seasons interesting. And you're absolutely right about this being where Daniel's marketability (existing and potential) comes into play. On top of the fact that people are simply massively interested in him in or out of a car, front or back at the field**, he also has the potential ability to make the championship itself interesting again, something Ferarri, Merc, Checo (and Domenicali himself for the time being) have all failed to do. As marketing-minded as F1's management is (remember when Domenicali literally flew to nyc for red bull's 2023 car launch with horner but then decided last minute to not attend in order to give Ford the full spotlight?), I wouldn't be surprised at all if they welcome Daniel's comeback as much as his fans, or maybe even more so due to its financial implications.

This is ofc not to say F1 can or will do anything about it (just like on principle they can't intervene RB's dominance). But if you think about it, at this point, everyone -- fans, media, sponsors, suppliers (the amount of ford/daniel content we've seen so far), Red Bull as a team, F1 as an organization, even (or like, especially) Max himself -- all want to see and benefit from Daniel coming back on top (except for maybe Checo but at the rate he's been going lately i actually don't know anymore lol). This is a momentum whose importance should not be underestimated. This is exactly why, even though Daniel's stock was at an all time low after mclaren, he was given opportunities and tool sets to rebuild and reestablish himself in this otherwise extremely exclusive, brutal in nature sport. Red Bull (and Mercedes at one point) does not do this out of charity or nostalgia. They're simply an acting agent for this momentum.

Anyways, this is why I think Daniel's F1 career is far from over. People who are quick to conclude "without a wdc ricciardo can't just come and go like alonso" fail to recognize that even not racing, Daniel generates more public interest than the majority of the grid**, an interest that ultimately ties back to this sport, which puts him in a very unique position.

** According to google, Daniel created thee biggest headline F1 has had in the past 3 months, with his overall google search volume ranking 3rd amongst all drivers despite not actively racing.

#asks #* #f1 #daniel ricciardo #red bull racing #ss23 #also whenever I see someone dismisses Daniel for 'only having PR value/marketability going for him' or whatever (which is also wrong in #itself) i wonder where they think F1 really get their money from lol. like. that's the whole point.

[therealvinelle]

Tumblr is showing me dogs, so. If freaking the dogs out or eating them wasn't a problem, what breed of dog do you see each Cullen having?

I might be the wrong person to ask as my reference frame isn't American, but I'll try.

Alice gets a pomeranian. They're tiny, pretty, and funny-looking, lots of fur you can have your fun grooming and putting ribbons in, and most importantly they fit in a purse.

Bella gets the dog most similar to Jacob's wolf form she can find. I'm thinking Alaskan malamute with sable coat.

Carlisle gets a low maintenance breed since he wants to be able to work as much as possible and would hate to leave Esme on dogsitting duty. He additionally wants to get a healthy breed. He lands on the gray Norwegian elkhound, a high energy breed but one that sheds little and thrives in dog enclosures (they need to get one anyway, since everyone's getting dogs. The entire lawn is fenced in.) The dog revolutionizes hunting by finding game for him, he just sets it loose and follows the barking.

Edward chooses an intelligent, wise breed that he feels is of a noble disposition without being too mainstream. He gets a German shorthaired pointer, a very intelligent and easily trained bird dog. (Yes, the picture is of a puppy, not an adult, but... look at it)

Emmett gets a hunting dog he can bring along on hunts. It needs to be one that keeps in close contact, one that can spice the hunt up a bit. He ends up getting a bird dog, so they can run around sneaking up on and then spooking flocks of birds. It's awesome. He gets a gordon setter.

Esme gets a pleasant dog that can keep her company inside all day without shedding too much, one that will easily learn tricks. She gets a toy poodle.

Jasper gets a shelter dog because he likes projecting like that. A heartwarming time is had as he uses his gift to alleviate the dog's anxiety and aggression, and they frolic in fields together.

Renesmee was going to get a dog since the entire family was getting dogs, but Jacob got too weird about it. She was campaigning for a cat when Bella and Carlisle's respective dogs had puppies, and the fussy result is given out to the Denali- and to Renesmee. (Having no idea what this would look like, I give you a picture of an elkhound puppy)

Rosalie gets a family dog to accompany her on hunts along with Emmett. In other words, she makes sure either Edward or Emmett get a female and then collects a puppy (while having complicated emotions about motherhood and puppies) (the dog pictured is an english setter-german pointer mix, not gordon setter, but english and gordon being sister breeds it's close enough. For the record I chose gordon over english or irish for Emmett because gordons are more robust than the english while being more generally agreeable than the irish).

#dogs #cullens #the cullens #twilight #twilight meta #twilight renaissance #rosalie hale #renesmee cullen #bella swan #edward cullen #jasper hale #carlisle cullen #esme cullen #alice cullen #emmett cullen

[entropy-game-dev]

Phylogenesia Automatorum Post-game Devlog #4: Content & Balance

In the final stretch of development, I had finished implementing all the various systems and now it was time to make content to fill it all out!

If you haven't tried the game out yet (it has a web version now!) please do if you want to discover the different plants and their behaviours for yourself. You can also rate it here if you have an itch.io account, otherwise read on!

So at this point in development I had 4 plants I was happy with:

Conway Grass: Default/standard plant that needs a critical mass to thrive based on the Game of Life ruleset

Nullberry: A sporadic plant that has a small chance to pop out of nothingness, and disappear just as quickly

Creeping Mold: A hardy plant that can easily take over the field but generates low amounts of life/death points

Overhedge: A plant that rarely dies or propogates, but generates a fixed amount of points when or if it does.

Starting with the Overhedge was very difficult but doable with some luck, and all other 3 plants were about average difficulty. At this stage, I needed the other plants in the game, so I could see what sort of points should be generated on average (irrespective of plant).

And thus, the other plants I conceptualised were:

Crossthatch: A plant with a very limited spawn/sustain range such that it only grows in lines or diagonals.

Dynamite Tree: A plant with more "explosive" growth style compared to Conway Grass, more permissive in spawn range, but with only a chance to spawn more trees, and a high chance to die each turn.

Shrunk Violet: Supposedly a "shy" plant that spawns a bunch at simulation start, then the entire mass shrinks away, layer by layer. The middle of the clump does not die due to the high min/max sustain range.

Shocklily: A plant with similar characteristics to the Dynamite Tree that would spawn and perish unpredictably. Where this plant differed, however, is that it can randomly persist and spawn over ticks.

Paradise Bird: The second M:tG reference (the first was Creeping Mold). With the way I tuned the birds' spawn and instant death chance, you get a really nice pattern where (sometimes) you will see a flock of birds migrating across the field.

0range: The story of the 0range goes something like this: "I need an orange plant to fill out my rainbow of plants, and it needs to be a pun. Oh I know, I will replace the "O" (letter) with a "0" (number), and turn all of its stats to 0 :)".

On the first few playtests, the meta was choosing a plant with a low spawn minimum, and fishing for an upgrade that reduces the minimum spawn to 0. This in effect makes the plant like a Nullberry, allowing it to spawn on any unoccupied tiles, BUT, unlike the Nullberry, most other plants have a 100% chance to spawn. Thus, every turn, all empty cells would be filled with plants, and on the next would immediately die off, only to repeat the cycle. While this was cool, I decided that you could only get to a spawn min of 0 on a critical upgrade roll.

The second problem was that the the shrinking violets were incredibly oppressive late game. In the early game they wouldn't generate enough life/death points to be worth choosing as a starter, but whenever you had an established field, they would choke the life out of all the cells except the very border, and would not leave. Lucinius and I eventually determined that the violets needed to die off randomly, and I also reduced their sustain max from 8 to 7, such that a completely surrounded violet would die off. They are still, by far, the most unbalanced plant, but they aren't run ending now at least.

The third problem was that some plants were just way too weak and variable in how they generate points. Lucinius had the great idea of giving players 5 free restarts (instead of 1 like I had originally programmed), and this not only served to smooth out early-game point gain but also give me a metric by which I was going to balance the game!

Within 5 runs, all un-upgraded plants should be able to generate AT LEAST 5 death points (enough for the first plant upgrade), and at most 14 death points (enough for the first two plant upgrades. Of course, these were just rough guidelines on average, and some plants will be stronger starters than others. However, as I have set it to ensure Conway Grass always appears on the starter plant roll (and the 0range never appears), one can always have a playable game.

It was still quite easy to get to a state where the points generation vastly outpaced the costs of the upgrades, but this was a more fundamental issue that, if I tried to address it by tweaking numbers, would result in an absolutely brutal early game that would be no fun to play, and promote only a single type of strategy. I'd prefer the game to be more lenient, as it lets people try out different starter plants, and different sorts of builds, without worrying too much about their turn count.

I did end up adding way more stats to the end screen so that if people wanted to compete for lowest amount of runs/mutations, or highest points they could do so, without making the game unfun for those (basically everyone) who wanted to play casually!

And that's it for the last part of the post-game devlog, thank you so much for reading (and for playing)! Stay tuned for the post-mortem! I have lots I want to discuss regarding what went right, what went wrong, and future directions for the game!

#gamedev #videogame #gamemaker #devblog #programming #pixel art #indiedev #codeblr #roguelike #roguelite #life sim #incremental

[nevis-the-skeleton]

Would Starscream make a good leader?

So today I'm going to answer a new question about Starscream. Yes I really like this character, so it's often on him that I do analyses X). Anyway ! The question is: Would Starscream make a good leader?

Here, I will answer on each series that I know, except RID15 since it's linked to TFP. So, I will be presenting on these series: G1, Animated, Prime, and Cyberverse.

*

G1:

First, the G1! So I honestly think yes, he could be a good leader. In Decepticon logic. Let me explain. Starscream is rather quite head-burned in this series, it's true, as well as a little oblivious sometimes (not to say often).

But that is what is expected of a soldier, and especially of the leader of the Seekers. If he doesn't set an example for his troops, it's not Thundercraker and Skywarp who will go into battle, very clearly…

The Decepticons need a leader who does not hesitate to fight, and Starscream never hesitates, he is even the first indignant when Megatron sounds the retreat. In fact, the G1 Starscream is the bravest of the Starscreams. The only thing that seems to scare him is Megatron (and still, not that much).

He proved himself capable of creating effective plans, and his scientific knowledge kept the Decepticons out of terrible trouble.

Also, I remember an episode where everything went wrong with the Decepticons, mainly because Megatron was not there, but also Starscream, because of Blitzwing and Astrotrain. And just because the leader and the SIC were absent it became a huge mess!

To summarize: Astrotrain created an army of trains, Blitzwing took a football field hostage, and the Constructicons created a large labyrinth, at the request of Blitzwing. And in the end, it ended in a general fight against Blitzwing and the Constructicons. While Astrotrain was flooding the city…

Starscream and Megatron were out for an hour maximum, and the other Decepticons had time to do all this disaster…

Also, some of those who reblogd my blog "Why Megatron keeps Starscream in his ranks" talked about a theory that said Megaton didn't kill Starscream, because he kept him always alert. And that if Starscream was able to defeat Megatron, that would mean the Seeker deserved the place of leader. Well, of course this is a theory that can clearly only work in the G1… In Prime, that would greatly surprise me, and let's not talk about the other series. But, in the G1, it could easly be true. It's in fact a really good theory.

But, therefore, that would mean that Megatron sees leadership potential in Starscream, otherwise he wouldn't give him a chance of living.

* Animated:

Next, let's see for Animated. So, I'll be honest: no, he clearly wouldn't make a good leader… I remind you that he isn't even capable of managing his clones…

And those are just parts of himself, so kind of like him. Plus, there are some that aren't necessarily insubordinate, but the original Starscream can't even handle those…

Imagine the carnage it would be with an entire army… Not to mention that as soon as Megatron “died” all the Decepticons jumped ship, leaving Starscream in the lurch… He's a strong fighter, but he hasn't really shown anything that proves any form of leadership abilities.

*

Prime:

Now let's see for the Starscream from Transformers Prime. So, my answer is simple: yes definitely! There's no doubt that he would make a good leader. In fact, the only thing stopping him from being one are his doubts and psychological issues, most of them because of Megatron.

Without Megatron, Starscream has proven to be far more capable and gifted. It's Megatron who blocking him, but in truth, he would surely make a better leader than him.

As a reminder, he lead the Decepticons for 3 years on Earth. He allowed them to have one of the most thriving energon mines, he didn't specifically mess with the Autobots for a long time, simply because it wasn't necessary. In fact, prior to Megatron's return, the Decepticon cause was doing extremely well. And even better.

Also, if Starscream led the Decepticons during Megatron's absence, it was because the latter asked him to. Megatron realizes that Starscream is capable of leading, if he wasn't, he would never have given him leadership. Whatever Megatron says afterwards, telling him that Starscream mishandled things. It was clearly a lie to belittle Starscream, so that the latter would lose the self-confidence he had regained during the absence of the leader of the Decepticons.

But it could also indicate that Megatron sees Starscream as a threat. I think that's why Megatron hurts Starscream so badly it's because even if the Seeker is power hungry, he would still make an excellent leader, and Megatron know it.

Not to mention that Starscream was a political leader of Vos, and the Commander of the Seekers on Cybertron. He has leadership experience, no doubt on that. Also, he was the one who created most of the attack plans, not Megatron. He is practically the mastermind of the Decepticons, Megatron is just the representation.

Without forgetting that when things degenerate, Starscream is aware that it's not necessary to be stubborn! Kof Like facing a space bridge that explodes Kof. So, even if Megatron is intelligent, it does not prevent Starscream from being more thoughtful and less oblivious than him (running away from a space bridge which is about to explode is not cowardice but common sense).

*

Cyberverse:

And finally, Cyberverse. So in the series, after "killing" Megatron, he seemed incapable of making decisions. When the others asked him what to do, he just looked confused.

But I just feel like the directors forgot he's the leader of the Seekers. In addition, he seems to be perfectly respected by them. So if he can lead the Seekers, why can't he lead the Decepticons? Even though it was quite comical, I still found it quite strange. The Seekers are still more loyal to Starscream than to Megatron, so that means they respect his leadership, right? * So, it can be concluded that basically Starscream has the abilities to be a leader, and even a good leader. It's just that his own issues and flaws prevent him from fully reaching that potential. * So, that was my answer on a few series. Of course I can't answer all of them, simply because there are some that I haven't seen ^^; … But, whatever X).

Do not hesitate to suggest me analyzes that you would like me to do ;). Have a nice day (～￣▽￣)～.

#tfp #transformers prime #starscream #tfp starscream #tf g1 #transformers g1 #g1 starscream #tf animated #tfa #tfa starscream #starscream cyberverse #tf cyberverse #cyberverse #analyse #leadership #starscream can be a good leader #particulary in Prime #and G1 #maccadam

[minnesotadruids]

@deckdancer and I were conversing this evening, and he had this question about mass farming practices. My response ended up being a little lengthier than I anticipated, but I was also trying to be concise (which is hard for John the Verbose, lol)

I've been having a lot of thoughts about plants and mass farming practices tonight, and while I know horticulture isn't exactly your specialty, I wanted to hear your thoughts on the disconnect between the symbiosis of nature vs the mass farming practices we use today, and their effects on us today as a society?

One thing I've noticed over the last 10 years is how stressed the corn fields look when we've had year after year of drought conditions. The leaves curl along the edges and look like dessicated spears. Corn is a huge water hog, and an inefficient hog at that. Most of the water is ultimately lost to evapotranspiration meaning the water table doesn't even recharge at all from irrigation.

So much of that corn goes to ethanol plants and livestock feed, so it still has a high demand, but many of the crops just die or are stunted before they can be used. Before irrigation technology was widespread, places like Minnesota grew more wheat. Minneapolis was (and still is) where so many big flour mills are, but now the wheat grain comes in from the high plains. Wheat is what we should be growing for our climate already, but corn became popular because of irrigation. Wheat uses much less water, and some cultivars can be harvested twice a year.

Factory farming of corn has changed noticeably in my own lifetime. I remember the rows used to be a bit farther apart. You could run between the rows and pretend to be the "children of the corn." My dad said he could remember when he was younger there were much wider gaps in the rows of cornfields. We've bred them for higher yield and to be planted closer together that both of those factors mean they need much more water than they used to. Some farmers plant rows so close together you almost can't walk between them now.

A lack of diversification is also a problem as well. The past three years have been really bad for corn, but for many farmers, it's their cash crop. Soy beans have become a novelty... alfalfa a rarity... and I'm shocked if I ever see any wheat at all. Monoculture crops (even beyond grains) are begging for any one-off minor catastrophe to jeopardize the whole crop. If a plant disease or infestation pops up, it will spread much faster than if we had varied crops, and of course it would have a more detrimental effect if that one monoculture crop gets destroyed. Palm oil farming is another example of a fragile monoculture.

Diversification is easier said than done though. You can't use a single type of harvester machine for all crop types. The Cherokee would plant things together: Corn, pumpkins/squash, and vine beans. They understood for generations that those "Three Sisters" thrived better together than by themselves. The beanstalks would climb the corn, the beans would put nitrogen and nutrients back in the soil, and the squash/pumpkins would reduce evaporation from the soil. The large gourd leaves would reduce the amount of sunlight on the ground, inhibiting weed growth. All that today would still require harvesting by hand, and unfortunately it is considered too unprofitable. It would be suitable for people with gardens, self-sufficient homesteads, or small-scale farms (and we gotta WANT to get into that, too).

The big problem is (I think) that first we would need a large-scale, multifaceted cultural shift. Ethanol as biofuel is not as sustainable as the industry wants us to believe. As much as I love beef, we gotta reduce our consumption of large livestock. Cattle need a lot of corn and a lot of water. Other farm animals are more efficient in terms of resources required per pound of meat. That's a statement that sounds great for reducing corn and water usage, but other monoculture crops have their own unique pros and cons.

#permaculture #monoculture #sustainability #ecology #horticulture #symbiosis

[superintendent-b]

If Alpha-Nine had civilian jobs what do you think they would be?

Ooohhg, fun question!! 😁 I actually think about this a lot, although in a very unserious manner. Sorry this took a while too, I struggle with writing (like heavy on the struggle) but I tried my best to give them in-character answers. Anyways! here's what I have for you…

Buck — for Buck, there's the obvious answer of fisherman. He's had a lot of experience with fishing and seamanship in his childhood, plus he has plenty of strength and stamina now as a Spartan. I don't see him being a particularly smart man so anything that requires higher education would not be a great fit for him. He could be a nice athlete coach too. We don’t know if Buck is interested in any sport but if we’re weighing in his role as Fireteam Osiris’ advisor and mentor, it could work.

Dare — if I'm being honest, it's hard to see her outside of ONI but considering she's a Section One agent, I think she’d be a good fit for a career like archivist, data analyst, or researcher. She might also make a good detective.

Romeo — he'd for sure be a business owner of some kind. I don’t see him being anyone's employee since he can be a little abrasive with authority figures. So it goes without saying that being in a position where he has autonomy/independence is best for him – plus I think he’s smart enough. Also taking into account his previous experience as a Merchant Marine, he could become the marketing specialist behind his business.

And a silly answer I will not give context for, Bartender. (Maybe bar owner…?)

Dutch — He could continue pursuing religious studies and philosophy. We know he studied religion and philosophy prior to being drafted, and sometime before then, he was a truck driver. A religious study degree could lead him to do non-profits or social work, but there's nothing directly related to the degree that fits Dutch. It's the same story with philosophy – though it's useful for understanding things like business or economics. That being said, why not become business partners with Romeo? They were pretty attached in Helljumper (tbh that was kind of just Romeo… my poor clingy boy.) Of course, he could always go back to being a truck driver, but according to Bad Blood that wasn't very fulfilling after being an ODST.

Mickey — in my personal opinion, he could be a firefighter. It gives him the chance to help others in his community, which we know he's all for, and it's dangerous enough that I think it could work for someone like him. He could also thrive as a political activist or (less likely imo) a political leader. Regardless, I think making money wouldn't be a big concern for him as he would be way more inclined to work for non-profits than someone like Dutch.

Annnd joke answer: GameStop employee.

Gretchen — unfortunately there's not a whole lot on her so anything I say would be pure headcanon. However, I don't think a desk job would make her happy. Despite her disability, Gretchen is still a dedicated and ambitious woman – I’d love to see her in the automotive mechanist/technician field or even just general maintenance and repair (again, there’s nothing to suggest she would, but there’s also nothing to suggest she wouldn’t.) On the other hand, I believe she'd be employed with Romeo and Dutch in whatever business idea they’ve cooked up. She served with them both for… however long… I like to think they became a family.

The Rookie — professional sleeper. 64k a year. I'm joking, Rooks can be whatever you want him to be :)

#thank you for the ask!! :D #voidedbattery #halo #halo 3 odst #alpha nine #edward buck #veronica dare #halo romeo #halo dutch #halo mickey #gretchen ketola #the rookie #ask post #ask prompt #txt post #im so nervous. the writers are going to kill me

[prof-peach]

Followup to the shroomified Torterra ask!

I did as you said and kept my buddies away from the Torterra, but they still look freaked out. Solosis tried to do something funky with the psychic energy when it came within sight of our house, either stoking aggression or straight up making a hallucination for the Torterra to attack, but as far as I can tell none of their efforts had any effect. Leafeon won't go further than the Pecha trees outside the front door since that.

I remember you asking about region - I live in Sinnoh, near the edge of Eterna Forest and the Floaroma flower fields. As you can imagine, I see a lot of grass types, but not so many at the forest's edge in the last couple of days. Flower field mons seem normal, though. Are they all avoiding the Torterra?

Went ahead and contacted the rangers too, and while they aren't telling me much, it kind of sounds like they're having trouble finding it. How does a shroom turtle that big hide anywhere?? And more constructively, is there anything I can do to ward it away from our home? I don't want poor Leafeon getting even more stressed out.

Fascinating that your solosis tried to evoke a reaction and got nothing. Not a great sign for the host pokemon, i'd put my money on that thing being a deceased mon who's being piloted by the invasive mushrooms. Wouldn't be the first pokemon to have this happen to. I'd kill to study that thing, it's a rare occurrence to see something so big still moving if thats the case. Fingers crossed local experts are too busy and they call us up, though sinnoh is a little out of our usual jurisdiction.

They're surprisingly evasive when they want to be. Settle right into the dirt and basically disappear. It seemed to sneak up on you with a surprising lack of noise, i'm not shocked the rangers aren't able to locate it right away, their camouflage is pretty adept. If they continue to struggle in finding it, I don't doubt a specialist will be brought in to track and investigate it.

As for warding it off, well, if its not conscious of its actions, it'll be very difficult to keep it away should it want to move in your general direction. It has not shown hostility, but may be moving about to find a new host or otherwise infect other things with its spores. I suppose you can see if a cleanse tag warding line would work. thread a load on wire or string, hang them up around the area you want to protect. Theres no guarantee it'll work, but might do something if theres a shred of the original pokemon still in there. Fungi based creatures will stay in the dappled shade and deep forest, they need shade and moisture to thrive, so exposing themselves in wide open fields much like Floroma has would be risky. Not something it should in theory do, unless pushed hard. Take your breaks and walks in the open spaces, bright sun, try to avoid the forests until the local rangers inform you further. Without more information i'd not be 100% certain what to suggest. Still, avoid it wherever possible.

Whatever is happening there, it could very well be very dangerous for the local flora and fauna, wonder where it came from, or what its goal is?

plz rangers, plz call us. We get a handful of cases like this per year, and each is totally wild, love studying it, usually gives some crazy data on the habits of invasive species.

#cmon guys #hand the case to us #we do this #its our thing! #plz rangers #i will stop stealing your data files #if you just let me come take a look #prof.peach #pokemon

[rhymeswithfart]

Hello hello! Just dropping in to say that your different Sonic SATAM verses are really really cool and your art is lovely! It’s so pretty! ;u;

I’m so interested in these verses now. I was wondering, do you have a story, or a comic, or a post about the lore of them? They’re just so neat I wanna know more! It’s so interesting!

Have a great day! :)

Thanks so much!!! 💖💖💖💖 I'm so glad you like it!

(I actually forget if I made an actual lore post with all the stuff in one place rip) my lore is also pretty disorganized for most stuff, I'm just doin whatever, but here's some of the more fleshed out lore I have.

The reverse aus mostly follow similar storyline points to canon, with diversions due to the characters having different personalities. The satam one is based on that plot point where Robotnik and Snively are the sole survivors of a space colony, while the Archie one is based on the overlander-mobian war thing.

Both Satam and Archie reverse have a bloody war (which Julian served in as a medic before becoming Minister of Medical Science) that ends in The Great Peace, ushered in by Jules Hedgehog. However the "peace" is only in name, as the empire of anti-King Acorn is fraught with oppression and state violence. The lower classes starve while being crushed under Acorn's brutal rule. Julian and Johnny, along with several other revolutionaries, succeed in overthrowing the tyrant, but the kingdom is thrown into turmoil in the process. Princess Alicia, (anti-Sally), takes this opportunity to throw her father into the Zone of Silence with the help of anti-Sonic (this happens later than Robotnik's coup in the canon universe).

The Suppression Squad (anti-FF) is either staging a coup, being mercenaries for whichever forces are fighting for power, or just being general troublemakers at this point. Anti-Sonic hasn't yet become known as Scourge. Julian retires from his position as minister and sets up his clinic. Johnny manages the security and more actively fights against any would-be tyrants/terrorists. He doesn't have the same code against violence as Julian.

As the Suppression Squad gets more violent powerful, and Scourge starts his conquest of Moebius in earnest, Johnny and Julian flee into the Great Forest and create a force-field that makes their encampment invisible to unwanted guests. They take refugees and injured people in.

Here's some of my reverse StC lore. It follows the "Ovi Kintobor was transformed into Doctor Robotnik in an accident" storyline, but it has Kintobor being part of a very suppressive, fascist ideology. Robotnik is the product of Kintobor's repressed kindness and compassion, things that Kintobor would see as weakness and treachery. The badniks (goodniks?) in this au are like ai life support systems and mobility devices for disabled Moebians, as well as protection from danger. They're like mech suits that protect their little buddies.

Reverse Sonic Underground is based on some of my conjecture about the ppl from the Six is a Crowd episode. Robotnik was once the music teacher for the triplets. Anti-Aleena ruled over a society similar to the "Great Peace" I described in Satam/Archie, where the upper classes thrived and the average citizen struggled in poverty. Robotnik was part of the lower class, and suffered from an ailment which he couldn't afford to have looked at (also lived in a dirty-ass apartment with nasty water and mold probably). Despite this, he did genuinely care about the triplets, even being closer to them as a parental figure than their mother. At some point, his illness caused him to develop necrosis in his arms and legs (or something I'm still figuring it out) and he had to have them all amputated, nearly dying in the process. Aleena arranged for him to have cybernetic limbs attached, and moved him out of his deathtrap apartment and into the palace. (that's the backstory and I'm still figuring out how they got to the point in the episode)

#answers #text #lore post #sonic au lore #reverse Archie lore #reverse satam lore #long post #revetse stc lore #sonic au #moebius #reverse underground #reverse underground lore #queen aleena #reverse robotnik

[izabesworld]

I’m very interested in knowing more about the Appleby horse fair and any other cultural knowledge you’d like to share! Thank you for being such a generous resource for information!

Appleby Horse Fair

Appleby is the largest traveller fair in Europe, people from all over the world come for it and I'm not joking! I've been many a time with my Grandad and have made friends globally, while I think the furthest person I met that came to Appleby was a 23-year-old girl who was living in Vietnam at the time.

We call Appleby Horse Fair a huge family gathering as there are all types of traveller groups that attend to show off their culture: Romanichal, Irish Travellers, Scottish Travellers, Kale and English Travellers.

Appleby takes place beside the River Eden where the horses wash, if you search for photos of the fair you'll see people on their horses all in the same body of water. There's a photo of myself doing the same on my Grandads Facebook! It's weird to think we're all washing our horses modern day in the same river our great granny and grandad did at our age.

At the fair, there's a market on the field, I think it used to be called "Our Jimmy's Field" but I'm not too sure now so maybe don't quote me on it, lol. However, at this market, you can buy and sell things from other communities, so the Irish would come to buy trinkets from us and we'd buy concrete house standing from them.

The fair isn't in Appleby, instead is outside it, not too far from Gallows Hill (which was named after the place hangings took place).

Now, if you ask us, we'd say the fair was organised and given to us in 1685 by King James II of England, however, it's BS. The fair began in 1885, which we called the "New Fair". The place once was used by horse and sheep dealers to sell their animals but developed into what we know it today.

CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE FAIR

Many dislike this fair, not travellers but country people. Rather than celebrating the culture, year after year we receive abuse about the mess we "may" make, rather than any mess we do.

Obviously, I can only speak for myself, but I've never gone somewhere and not cleaned up after myself. Travellers love nature, love outside and we rely on it thriving to support our culture. If you want to complain about a cultural, once-a-year, fair - which has paid cleaners to clean the land after... Maybe complaining about the many festivals a year run by country people where they leave is DISGUSTING and is a hot spot for drugs.

The highest amount of arrests we've EVER had at Appleby was 24 arrests, compared to the country festival high of 710. The nuisance people think we cause really isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

NEVERTHELESS

Travellers rely on this event to build our community stronger. Although we're all of different ethnicities and backgrounds, we're all brought together by this fair.

Here we find family tree connections, build stronger friendships and seek advice from the old. Year after year the older members of our community seek us out and tell us how to live a full life.

It's spiritual, you find yourself here. You feel a sense of tradition and a sense of ancestry.

When it began, many travellers couldn't read or write, and many travellers still can't. Many didn't have a home address to send letters. You'd see the families you know once a year only - someone may have been born, passed away or married.

I have so much more to say about this and may end up making several posts about Appleby, but this is all I have for now, I end up spending WAY too much time writing and not enough time doing real-life things. So, thank you so much for this question. Feel free to ask anymore you may have, and have a blessed day! <3

[historia-vitae-magistras]

Aight so we’ve heard what paternal feelings Arthur and Francis have re: their people, but I’m curious to hear your impressions of nations who don’t actually have kids of their own. Gilbert has Ludwig but they’re still very much brothers, not parent/child. Does that change the dynamic? What about, say, Mexico? She doesn’t have kids but family is massively important to her culture. Then you got ones who act like actual children more often than not—USA or Australia would be my first thought.

Idk this is a fascinating thought experiment I’m curious to hear more

!!! Hello you, I haven't seen you in an inbox in a while <3. So I've got a question in the box about this for the young Anglos going to focus on Gilbert, Ludwig and Maria.

Gilbert, before 1918 takes a rather heavy-handed approach to his citizens in many contexts. I have varied wildly with whether Ludwig calls him his brother or Papa throughout my time in this pit. But is it a very paternal relationship in general? Being raised in a militaristic order with the hierarchy of the church and then later becoming what's essentially an army that just happens to be attached to a state made him a man who tries very hard to be both strict and fair. The Prussian education system was the finest in the world for much of the 19th century, with the larger German-speaking world leading the way in medicine, education, chemistry and several other fields. He wants to see his people thrive. He has a certain callousness regarding the lives of men; war is, after all, the endless meatgrinder, and it is what he's best at. But with his women and children, that relationship also exists. Obedience, discipline and loyalty from them correspond to Gilbert's devotion, even-handedness and sense of duty in return.

Ludwig for much of his history in the structure of the Prussian-dominated German Empire, where Gilbert filled the role of pater familas, soldier and usually had the final say; Ludwig filled that more domestic, civilian counterpart. He was and still is very young. He loves trains, he loves cars, he wants all the engineering advancements and is keenly interested in them and their practical applications of improving the quality of life for his people. In addition, he has always been very awkward in artistic spaces (baby gay didn't know why the fuck he liked men's butts so much yet) but is still very interested in the artistic developments of his people. Especially musically. I've always thought of adult Ludwig as having a very pleasant baritone singing voice and a very clear crystalline one as a child. He goes to the film premieres, he goes to the ballet, and he subtly pushes for artistic funding if he feels he can help there.

Maria, in my view, doesn't view herself as much of a maternal figure in the lives of her people. As semi-magical, semi-immortal creatures, they have that slightly uncanny effect. In some nations, people are just comfortable handing their children over to be held. She's one of those. She'll hold babies a bit awkwardly, but she loves them. And due to what she is, people don't comment on her singleness or her lack of an immediate family in Mexico itself. She feels most herself amongst them and usually passes among them without any problem. On the Day of the Dead, she's just another daughter putting flowers on her mother's grave. When the population takes to the streets, she's another protestor in the streets. She speaks Nahuatl She shops and eats in the markets. She has Valencia and Navelina orange trees in her yard. She doesn't mind the local children plucking their share from the branches. She lives and works and loves amongst her people.

#Maria || lo que viví lo estoy muriendo todavía #Gilbert || from this baltic cannonball #Ludwig || in deinem Herzchen klein #the ask box || probis pateo

[concussed-to-pieces]

The Chance And The Change; Part One

Fandom: Boku No Hero Academia/My Hero Academia

Pairing: (Eventual) Villain!Mirio/AFAB Shie Hassaikai!Reader

Rating: Holy shit M.

A/N: Come one, come all! Welcome to our first installment of my attempt at writing “Villain” Mirio (since it’s me, you all know what to expect). I’ve decided to do my best to post these in slightly more ‘digestible’ chunks, so chapters may be a bit shorter than what is my usual custom. Updates, should there be any, will come on Tuesdays! Also, for the sake of this story all students have been aged up. Enjoy!

Tag List: @hijackser @nonstop-haikyuu @zombiexbody @buttons-beads-lace

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: This installment contains verbal abuse, implied child abuse, mentions of past abuse, discussion and use of medication/drugs (pills) and general peril. Stay safe!]

"My goal is to defeat one million heroes in combat! I want to show the world that heroes need more freedom in the field!"

You had only agreed to shack up with Overhaul's merry band after the germaphobe himself had recruited you, claiming that he could provide you with a drug that would make your half-functional healing Quirk into something a bit more utilitarian. When he had later admitted that had been a…slight exaggeration, and that he was only in the early stages of developing such a substance, you were in too deep to back out. You had become hooked on the all purpose Quirk enhancers he was supplying, and you would do anything to keep them coming. At least you were useful! You couldn't say the same about all the members of the Shie Hassaikai group.

Amidst the infighting, self-importance and almost fanatical dedication to Overhaul, Mirio Togata was a refreshing change in a sea of dark, brooding villains who often took themselves way too seriously (yourself included).

Mirio was all good-natured smiles and white spandex, an admittedly-odd fit for the broody Shie Hassaikai group. His motivations were almost comically straightforward and he didn't pretend to share the cause with any of the other members, simply doing as he was told with a flair all his own. He needed no enhancers for his Quirk, you had noticed enviously. Permeation wasn't simply a strong Quirk, it was outrageously useful in skilled hands, and Mirio was nothing if not skilled. 

The blond man was eternally butting heads with Overhaul, their ethics clearly not on the same page. Mirio thought that heroes needed to see the errors of their ways when it came to deferring to government powers, while Chisaki believed that heroes and villains were nothing but a plague, an affliction that must be eradicated. They argued and squabbled until they were blue in the face, but they could never seem to come to an acceptable compromise. You had to respect Mirio's bravery for being willing to talk shop with the boss, though it probably helped that he could become intangible at a moment's notice if Overhaul got too irate and attempted to disassemble him. Overhaul would usually just mock him though, calling him Schoolboy and saying his ideals were naive.

However Lemillion, for all his jovial naviety, was not an individual to be trifled with. You were baffled when he mentioned that he had been turned down by multiple gray market and fringe organizations before coming on board with the Hassaikai. From what you had seen he was downright demoralizing, his body hurtling through solid matter like a missile as he took down multiple foes at once. Indeed, he seemed to thrive against as many opponents as could fit in an area, the signature red blur of his cape the only way to really keep track of him when he fought.

It was terrifying to watch him in action. You had only witnessed it once and the idea of his Quirk being used against you had you breaking into cold sweats (although that may have been the last dose of amplifiers wearing off!). Rappa was the only member of the group that ever demanded to spar with Mirio, but even he had grown less eager after taking a few lightning-fast jabs that phased easily through his defenses.

"His hands are cold." The large man had mumbled while you were tediously repairing his fractured orbital. "Probably has shit circulation."

"Unless his poor perfusion will keep you from getting punched in the eye next time, I suggest you spar with someone else," had been your dry retort.

Someone always needed something fixed, and unfortunately you were usually the individual for the job. Nobody ever wanted to ask Overhaul for a hand as everyone was a little too anxious about things not being quite right after their repairs. 

So the task fell to you. 

It honestly wasn't that bad of a gig; you kept the ranks in semi-decent shape and you were provided with a steady trickle of enhancers for your trouble. 

It really wasn't a bad gig at all. Sure, the Quirk amplifier capsules were slimy and left a bitter taste in your mouth, but at least you were good for something now. 

It wasn't that bad. You'd heard of worse things happening to stronger people. So you told yourself it was alright, you told yourself it was better this way.

Until the day came when it wasn't.

…

"She's been hurt bad." Mirio's smile was the first thing you noticed the absence of, his expression uncharacteristically grim. The unconscious girl he held cradled in his arms was clearly too young to simply be wandering around unsupervised, yet you couldn't seem to recall any of your Hassaikai contemporaries mentioning a child. "Can you do anything about freshly-healed stuff?"

"Not my specialty, but I can give it a shot. Who is this? Did we have 'bring your kid to work day'?" You asked curiously as you popped the pill out of its foil sheet. Ugh, only seven left. Overhaul had been experimenting with the dosage levels and unfortunately this most recent run of enhancers were barely worth the sheets they were manufactured in. After a momentary consideration, you popped out a second capsule and downed them both. 

Mirio just shook his head. "Later, we don't…I can't really explain."  

"You 'can't really explain' a random injured child? Or not like, actively injured, but y'know, recently injured?" You pressed, a little more incredulous now. 

Mirio had begun to unwrap the bandages that covered the child's pale arms and legs, but at your words he turned his head to snap, "yes." His tone didn't exactly encourage further questioning, so you cracked your knuckles and got to work.

The extent of deeper scar tissue beneath the fresh injuries made it difficult for you to provide much in the vein of noticeable assistance. Her surface wounds didn't seem to have even scabbed over, which was odd, and the damage looked too clean, almost surgical. The long edges on the seam-like cuts were smooth and eerily perfect, as though she had been…reassembled, instead of getting stitches or staples.

Mirio expressed his gratitude all the same when you eventually had to admit defeat. Healing anyone was an exhausting task with or without the enhancers, but at least with them you could make a decent dent in the trauma. 

The large blond roughly bumped your shoulder in thanks once he picked the girl back up, his face still strangely fierce. "Hopefully we won't be back," was all he said before departing.

It occurred to you later that evening that you had never seen what Overhaul's Quirk looked like on a human body, and a grisly suspicion began to worm its way into your mind.

…

Mirio's hope had clearly been wishful thinking. They were back within two weeks, the child in nearly the same scarred shape as before. 

"Mirio," you began to protest as he laid her carefully on the examination table, wanting answers. The look he gave you, however, was enough to quell whatever curiosity you may have harbored, and thus you once more kept your questions to yourself. It was smarter to do as you were told, right?

"I'll pay you back for this." The blond man promised quietly as you worked. "I've got some stuff saved up, a little off the top from a few jobs." He said it so casually, like he trusted you not to turn him over. Chisaki didn't appreciate being stolen from, regardless of who was attempting the theft. Ambition, while occasionally fostered, was thoroughly discouraged when it involved the boss' profits.

You shook your head, frowning. "Hell no, I want no part of that. I've seen what happens to guys who think they're smarter than him."

Mirio's chuckle had no warmth to it, the noise foreign. "I bet you have." One of his hands landed on your own. "But I'm good at what I do. Skimming is easy if you don't get greedy and you know what to take, and if you know how to take it." That hand phased through yours, as if to illustrate the ease of the task. His touch, or the lack thereof, sent an odd tingle up your arm.

You declined all the same, and returned to your quarters that evening thoroughly conflicted. 

You knew you ought to report him to Overhaul. You ought to tell Overhaul that his schoolboy was robbing the coffers. 

Your honesty would certainly be rewarded. The boss prized loyalty above most things; it would definitely be worth your while to turn Mirio in.

You rubbed your eyes tiredly. You weren't getting much rest these days, what with the drug refining and distribution operations. Big doings were afoot and that meant more work for everyone involved. 

I'll leave it for now, you decided. The thought of what Overhaul might do to Mirio made your blood run cold, but you told yourself you were only keeping this a secret to ensure that you had an out should things go sour. It had nothing to do with Mirio as a person, and it certainly had nothing to do with however you may or may not feel towards him.

Absolutely unrelated.

…

"She's Chisaki's daughter." Mirio finally spat during yet another appointment, his fury clearly only just leashed. 

You glanced up from your work, confused. "I didn't know he had a kid."

"According to him he does." His gloves creaked audibly from the tightening of his fists. "And the scars are from him."

You paused, horrified by the confirmation of your unvoiced suspicions. "He's doing this to her?" Maybe you were a little naive, forcing yourself to believe that she had just been injured in brushes with prejudiced members of the general public or something to that effect. This, however, this was…it felt monstrous. The idea of willfully causing a child harm, intentionally causing a child harm–

"Her Quirk is stupid strong, I guess. I don't know what it is or what it does, but he sure does and he wants to use it. I'm not sure if all this," Mirio gestured at the marks running up and down the frail girl's arms and legs, "is from the actual experiments, or if it's just him taking out his frustration. I don't think things are going as smoothly as he would like. He talks about 'starting over' a lot, but I don't know if that means he's…" He took a breath, looking a little queasy. "Putting her back together."

The implication hung heavy in the air. Everything felt too immense, too much to think about. The knowledge that your intuition had been correct was a poor consolation; now that it was essentially confirmed you desperately wished that you had never thought of that particular possibility.

Nerves writhed in your gut. You debated on speaking your mind for several long seconds, using the time to take in Togata's clearly-agitated body language. Finally, you said, "that's not right." Mirio's head jerked up and the man gave you a hard look through his yellow visor. "I-I mean, I know he's the boss and he's done a lot for me, a lot for us," you hurried to amend, your hands trembling wildly. "Except…this is a little kid, Mirio. I'm not trying to say I'm a decent person or anything like that, I've got the moral backbone of a chocolate eclair. But I'm also not…look, I didn't sign on to let kids get hurt. If you have to tell Overhaul, that's fine, but-"

"No, no, I agree." Mirio interjected, seeming strangely relieved. 

Both of you stared at each other over the table. 

A moment passed, then two, and you could almost see the beginnings of a tentative alliance hanging in the balance. "Okay." You said slowly.

"Okay." Togata echoed, a shadow of his usual smile touching his mouth for a split-second. "Okay."

…

"If you pull another stunt like this right before an investor meeting, I'll tear you apart on a molecular level."

You blinked, a little startled at the level of vitriol in Overhaul's words. He usually maintained an even tone but today he sounded furious. You didn't have to guess why he was in your meager workspace. 

As you rounded the corner from the supply closet and found Mirio sitting on the edge of your examination table, Overhaul hissed, "don't become more trouble than you're worth, Schoolboy." The head of the Hassaikai then turned on his heel, departing in a huff.

Mirio looked oddly banged-up and you said as much, getting a chuckle out of the larger man. "I stopped a mugging. Didn't wanna' use my Quirk in case the police showed up. The victim had already called them, panic-button stuff, y'know." He shrugged, wincing. "I'm a little rusty at actually dodging, normally I can just let the hits pass right through."

"How brave of you to save the day. You trying to give the Hassaikai some good press?" You teased, moving closer to examine him.

His left eye appeared to have suffered the worst injury, already swollen shut and ringed with an angry bruise. You frowned, popping three capsules into your mouth and then placing both hands over the area. After that you tensed up, locking your elbows and trying your hardest to not actually push into the already-contused skin. Your Quirk was sluggish on a good day so you kept lifting a few fingers every couple of minutes to check on the state of the bruising. 

This atmosphere didn't feel the same as when he was waiting around for you to heal Overhaul's kid. This felt…different, somehow. Mainly because Togata was worryingly silent, his uncovered eye focused on somewhere beyond your right shoulder. 

"What's wrong?" You asked before you could think better of it. "You know Overhaul likes you, he won't actually take you apart. Probably. Or is it just that you enjoyed being the hero for once?" 

Your observation, absent though it was, appeared to have struck a nerve; you felt a tremor run through him beneath your touch.

"Today, I…" Mirio's hands clenched where he had rested them on his knees. He quickly switched topics, saying in an undertone, "it's getting worse. The testing he's doing on Eri. I don't know what to do."

Eri. He had never said her name before. You were immediately on edge.

"I can stop a mugging, can take out three guys with knives even without my Quirk, but we can't get one little girl out of here?" Mirio continued, his expression bleak.

"Is she still alive?" 

"Yeah." His somber tone indicated he wasn't particularly impressed with that fact. "If you wanna' call that living." 

"Listen I can't bring people back from the dead. I'll fix anything before that threshold." You tried to joke, your stomach sinking when Mirio shook his head.

"We meet with another potential investor today about the stuff Chisaki is engineering. He's got the pills but he's also working on some other things he's not telling me about. All I am is muscle, right?" He muttered. "He needs Eri to make this stuff. The pills and the other things, and I know it has something to do with her Quirk, but I don't know what."

His bruising had faded to a yellow-green and you dared to press down on the area around his eye now. The swelling quickly vanished under the pressure, so you stepped back after a few more sweeps of your thumbs. "Alright, worst is over. You're officially presentable." 

A wave of lightheadedness came over you and you grabbed the counter to keep your balance. Mirio was suddenly at your elbow, offering a hand for support. "Whoa, easy. You shouldn't have pushed yourself so hard!" He chided.

You waved him off, laughing a little. "Look, bossman said the meeting was soon. Had to kinda' rev the engine to get you touched up before then."

"How many of those pills do you need to take?"

The abrupt change of subject caught you off-guard. "I…uh, I'm taking three. At a time." You answered his query, confused. 

"Is he making you increase the amount?" Mirio asked sharply. "I mean, is he instructing you on how to take this stuff? You only took two the other day."

"It's not like there's a real science to this, Mirio. They're not as kickass as the last batch he made, so he told me to use my best judgment. Why, what's the problem?"

The blond man looked absolutely thunderous, but the hand on your arm remained gentle. "I'm not sure if there is one yet." He mused. "But I'm willing to bet there's more in those pills than your daily recommended dose of vitamins A through Z."

You tried to explain it away, saying, "well yeah Mirio, I've got a pretty garbage Quirk. I need a lot of help. There are worse things for me to be hooked on, right?" In the back of your mind though, that fear had already been firmly established for months. The Hassaikai dealt in drug rackets throughout the district, both selling and manufacturing. It would be so simple for Chisaki to slip something into an already-illegal enhancer, something that would have a person desperate for more. 

"And you're okay with that?" Mirio was asking, the young man sounding troubled.

"It doesn't really matter. This is the only way I can be useful, so this is what I'm doing."

"I…" Togata hesitated. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that every time I came to you with Eri, you had to…do that."

"Don't apologize. It's what I'm here for." You sat down heavily in the chair beside your examination table. "You wouldn't get upset with me for asking you to phase through a wall and unlock something from the inside, right?" 

You often experienced nausea and vertigo after particularly rushed or lengthy sessions of using your Quirk, and today was no different. Your forehead rested on the cool metal of the table and you focused on your breathing, shutting your eyes tight in a bid to ward off the nausea.

"It's different for me, though." Mirio argued, his voice softening slightly. A hand landed on your back, rubbing soothing circles between your shoulder blades. "You're okay." He murmured.

"That's my line." You retorted in an attempt to lighten the mood, weirdly reassured when you heard him stifling a laugh. With that, it felt like the tenuous equilibrium between the two of you had been restored (your lack of balance notwithstanding). "I had a thought on how we can get her out, it's kind of a long shot though," you offered, your voice half-muffled by the table.

"At this point, anything is a help."

"What if we submit an anonymous tip?"

Part Two

#mirio togata #slow burn #eventual romance #villain!AU #villain!mirio #lemillion #villain!lemillion #mha au #bnha au #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mirio x reader #mha fandom #mirio imagine #my hero fanfic #villain au

[wondersbeyondcompare]

Juro’s Extended Profile!

…which was long overdue (^◇^;)

Tbh this is more for my reference than anything else; that’s why I included these 2 drawings of Juro that you can look at before my rambling under the cut 🥺

*btw!! Juro uses she/he/they pronouns, so I use them interchangeablely down below! Just as an example that using any of these options are ok for them! In other writings for Juro, tho, I tend towards one or the other to eliminate confusion.*

Full Name: Juro Parva

Name Meaning: Taken from the scientific name “Jorunna parva”; The sea bunny/slug Juro is based off of was popularized on/by JPN Twitter in 2015, so their first name is Japanese.

Dorm: Octavinelle

Year: 3rd year

Birthday: October 6

Age: 18 years

Height: 5’4”/161.5cm

Place of Origin: Coral Sea

Voice Headcanon: Igarashi Hiromi

Personality:

The very definition of a “social butterfly” and a picture perfect example of networking, Juro is almost never seen by themself. He thrives in social environments, flitting from one conversation to the next in her tireless search for gossip at Night Raven College. They don’t mind small talk, but can get visibly antsy if a meaningless conversation drags on for too long. He’s one of the central hubs for controversy, after all, if she’s not doing something useful with her time then it’s all just a waste.

And although they were born blind, Juro seems to have a heightened spatial awareness due to the sea bunny blood running through their veins. So while she still has some trouble navigating new environments, she has a general sense of whatever’s within 5 feet (or less) of her, so he doesn’t bump into or fumble around with things as often as some people would assume he would. He also takes a tremendous amount of care into their appearance, as they were often the test subject of their parents’ (a photographer and a journalist respectively) photographs and exorbitant praise. So although they can’t see themselves, it always fills Juro with delight at being told that they look cute today. It wouldn’t be too far off to describe them as vain, as Juro is often seen enlisting the help of her peers or siblings when it comes to things like outfit coordination or making sure no accessory is out of place.

Likes: Socializing, Gossip, Cute things, Their siblings, Good food, Research, Music (tries to keep up with whatever’s trending, surprisingly likes listening to hard rock + heavy metal when alone for stress relief), Pleasant smelling perfumes/aromas, Podcasts, Their bunny eared headband

Dislikes: Boring people, loud and unexpected noises, experimentally prepared food, extremely crowded locations, not looking cute, being ignored

Background:

Juro was adopted at five years old by his fathers. They don’t remember much of what happened before then. One of his dads is a professional photographer while his other dad is a journalist. Juro remembers having to travel a lot during his younger years while his parents were still both relatively new in their professions, trying to break into their fields as quickly as they could by seizing any opportunity they could find. Most of his siblings (all of whom are younger than him) were adopted a little bit later, once their family became more financially stable.

She loves her family dearly, and her family loves her, often shown in the amount of praise she received when she was younger, especially when it came to her appearance. Although she couldn’t see it for herself, she adored the attention that came with it and continues to take great care of her looks to the present day. Their siblings sometimes get tired of being used as a “magic mirror” everyday by Juro (and sometimes mess with him by occasionally lying about him looking ok; they get their asses handed to them as soon as Juro finds out lol), but they depend on him a lot. He gets told that he shouldn’t stress too much over them, but with how free-spirited his parents are, he can’t help but be a little concerned.

Her penchant for sticking her nose into other people’s businesses may have stemmed from her parents as well. She never became too intrusive though. He always makes sure to take care of both his physical image as well as his figurative one. It would be a shame if everybody stopped paying attention to him because of a tarnished reputation, so he always does thorough research and makes sure to build up/fortify his social standing before spreading word of some of the more weightier scandals around campus. And even if the information given to her wasn’t entirely true, Juro might be able to work her way around it, either through the use of her unique magic or by leaning heavily into half truths that make things appear worse than they actually are. As long as everything continues to work out in their favor, Juro doesn’t really mind who they have to tear down to get what they want.

Powers:

Toxic Glamour (Unique Magic): Allows Juro to verbally or subconsciously “push” a thought into people’s heads, forcing them to believe it’s true. Those more deeply rooted in their convictions are harder to ensnare, but not impossible. Can be used on multiple people at once.

Mild Toxins from Touch: Allows Juro to temporarily numb a body part through direct touch; can try to numb more body parts or the whole body but the victim may experience major bouts of nausea if Juro chooses to do so. This ability provides a protection against toxins as well, but only for Juro.

Trivia

They’re a part of the light music club but only drops by once and while. If begged to, Juro normally joins in on the keyboard or as vocals. They know some guitar due to being taught by Cater and Lilia, but this is less frequented by them.

Her dislike of experimentally prepared food stems from Jade feeding her some strange dishes without telling her what it was beforehand. It was only halfway through her meal did he reveal that he slipped in some poisonous herbs + mushrooms in order to test her immunity to certain toxins. Juro was fine afterwards, but now she refuses to eat anything prepared by Jade.

They also really don’t like Floyd on that matter, still resenting the time he shifted everything in their dorm room slightly to the right without telling them. Juro temporarily numbed Floyd out of anger but became even more upset upon seeing him become delighted at the weird feeling their ability brought him.

Juro likes Azul slightly more than the tweels but knows not to enter into any contracts with him. They often exchange pleasantries as they pass by each other in the hallways or during slow days in the lounge. Their quid pro quo views on life are pretty similar, so it’s not uncommon for them to do small favors for one another as well.

As reference to the sea sponges sea bunnies typically eat, Juro “absorbs” information almost obsessively. Whether it be what he’s learning in class or whatever he can glean from the people around him, he can’t go one day without learning something new. The sponges sea bunnies eat are also toxic which alludes to his “toxic” personality as well.

I do have a vague concept of one of her siblings in my head! He’s gonna be a 1st year Octavinelle student (my… 3rd… octavinelle… oc… oh god) who often checks in on Juro. He helps run Juro’s social media accounts as well, acting as Juro’s personal photographer.

Juro’s never seen without their bunny eared headbands. To draw Juro without one is sacrilegious idk what else to tell you :/

As for pronouns, Juro doesn’t really care which ones you use for them. They themselves tend to change the way they refer to themselves depending on the situation (cycling between “boku (僕)”, “watashi(私)”, “atashi(私)”; rarely uses “ore (俺)” unless they become angry/upset, but even then Juro tries to keep up their facade as best they can.

Juro’s blindness is also due to irl sea bunnies not having any eyes or visual systems to rely on (or maybe they do idk some sources say otherwise), so their fur and ears are used to navigate their surroundings instead. I could’ve gone for the full “no eyes” route, but (*´-`) coloring in the eyes is my favorite part of drawing, even if they’re faded.

#if anybodys curious yes toxic is the 1st song listed in juros playlist #i wanted it to be the only song too for jokes and giggles but sadly 😔 i was inspired by other songs too #making octa ocs is so fun for no reason #literally take any sea creature and 👀✨ ‘i can make an oc out of that’ ITS SO FUN #twisted wonderland oc #twst oc #art #twisted wonderland #my art #my post #my writing #Juro #Trey #Lilia #also juros obssession w/ attention alludes to actual bunnies needing a friend to keep them company #or a lot of attention from their owner otherwise they get depressed #and juro has abandonment issues but most of my ocs do so 😟 ig its not worth noting huh

[megamindsupremacy]

Misc Marvel Fic Recs (Part 5)

Say you don’t know me (or recognize my face) by showmeahero

Daredevil is kind of dark and broody. He doesn't want anyone to know his real name, he never smiles, and he has kind of a loner attitude.

Matt Murdock, on the other hand, is completely unrecognizable to Jessica the first time she really sees him.

-

I’ll build a house inside of you by magdaliny

Natalia is stacking blocks very carefully when the adults come into the room. None of them look at her, because they're all looking at her father. He's wearing combat gear, and the hair on the left side of his head is slicked back with blood. He smells like smoke and something unnameable, sweet and dark and a little sickly in her nose.

Father is saying, “Don't be ridiculous. The only thing children are good at is disobeying.”

-

Night nurse by whichry9

Danny's the one who sets up and funds the clinic, but Claire's the one who's there night in and night out, patching up those stupid superheroes.

-

Coming Home by longforgottenhymn

Fury doesn't missuse the pager - not in his own opinion. Though, he has to admit, sometimes he and Carol have different views on what counts as an emergency.

And then there's the times they agree.

-

Galactic Response Time by SassySnowperson

All the OTHER times Nick Fury texted Carol Danvers.

May 4th, 2012

Get your ASS over here there is an INVASION. Aliens are coming out of the SKY HELP US

May 10th, 2012

"Invasion, Fury, the word you used was invasion! I made it across three quarters of the galaxy in six days! Where are the aliens?"

-

Exclamation, Question, Statement, Command by shipNslash

As a child, Foggy Nelson is diagnosed with a rare, terminal brain disease. Thankfully, a team of scientists is working on an experimental treatment. Foggy bonds with another boy in the trial, Kevin Thompson, whose parents are both doctors. This sets Foggy and Kevin's lives on a path that neither of them would have ever imagined….

Two decades later, Nelson Fogwell, his friend Marci Stahl, and his fiance Matt Murdock are running a “thriving” law office when a Miss Jessica Jones knocks on their door. She's out to stop a man going by the name of Kilgrave and she's looking for his childhood companion that she thinks might be able to help.

A mind-control!Foggy AU with generous helpings of fluff and angst.

-

the identity crisis of one nicholas j fury by sevenfoxes

“… And you should really get your cat spayed,” Earl says smugly, staring at Goose who is resting a few feet away, licking her paw.

Shit.

Goose eats Earl. Nick files an incident report and takes Goose to the lab to wait for her to barf up Earl because Nick is tired of replacing the accent rug in his office. Finance has gotten really stingy with the office budget lately, and Goose’s cat-flerken vomit reeks.

HR assigns Goose her own incident code and installs a BEWARE OF CAT sign on Nick's office door under his nameplate. Earl stops offering unsolicited advice, and Nick buys Goose one of the new expensive horizontal scratching posts that looks like a wave.

Goose looks way too pleased with herself.

--

All the things Goose has eaten and the all the things people have called Nicholas J. Fury, with or without his consent.

-

Scrambled by ForgedObsidian

The first message Fury sends Carol is . . . unexpected, in a variety of ways.

-

Everyday Superhero by stoneage_woman

When a field trip to Stark Industries ends in disaster, Roger Harrington finds himself faced with an impossible choice. Suddenly, Tony Stark is shoving an NDA in his face while Peter Parker stares at him with terrified, desperate eyes. Nothing in his 13-year teaching career could have prepared Harrington for this, but he knows one thing for sure: ten years ago, he'd stared down into the sightless eyes of a seventeen-year-old girl, and he'd sworn to himself that he would never again lose another student. He's going to do everything in his power to keep that promise now…even if it costs him everything.

Set during and post Spider-Man Homecoming. A realistic field trip story that also explores the long-term consequences of trauma and responsibility, written by a real-life teacher.

-

What is the Lifespan of a Flerken? by csmithman

The intertwined lives of Nick Fury, agent of SHIELD, and Goose, Flerken. How did these two spend the years between Captain Marvel and Infinity War?

-

this one goes out to all the children of the stars by GrimRevolution

Sometimes it takes space to teach the lessons we all need: that light continues endlessly even after its source is gone, that each breath is a measure of the infinite, and that, in all the miracles of the universe, matter came together to create you.

-

#mads posts #this is the last of the marvel ones folks #thats why its so short #fic recs #fic rec list #marvel fic recs #marvel fic rec list

[chaotic-archaeologist]

so i’m only in my second year of my bachelors but i’m looking ahead and i’m worried about field school and excavations because i have chronic illnesses and an eating disorder. how strenuous is the work? is it more endurance or hard labor? maybe a mix?? what kind of environments have you dug in? do people do only lab work? i’m excited about digging though so i really don’t want to miss it. (also i’m trans too! yay bringing pride to the field!) sorry if that was too many questions aaa 🐡

Hi there, dirtling, I'm glad to hear that you're excited about field schools! Let me see if I can address some of your questions.

I'll start off by saying that I also have a chronic illness, and while every situation is unique, I don't think that it should be a barrier to you participating in a field school. Some programs are better about making accommodations than others though, so that might be something that you want to sound out before you commit to going somewhere.

Again, programs differ in intensity depending on who is running them. I did a field school where we dug from 9am until 4pm every day for seven weeks, and I'll admit that was probably more than I should have forced my body to go through. Right now I'm working for a field school where about half the time is spent in the lab, so there's significantly less physical exertion. In general, you should expect to be digging for around 7 hours a day, which is sort of a combination of endurance and hard labor. Most field schools are 4-5 weeks.

I personally have dug in a field and in a (drained swamp) but that's another variable that will change with the location. If you especially don't deal well with heat or humidity, I would encourage you to look for field schools in more moderate climates.

There are definitely people out there who do only lab work— I'm one of them! Check out my advice master post for some posts I've made about being an archaeologist with a disability. Unfortunately, right now a field school is a prerequisite for most archaeology graduate programs, but I do believe that you can find a program that will be able to make accommodations to help you succeed.

I've set up my PhD track to involve exactly zero fieldwork, and my advisor and department are totally fine with that. Instead, I plan to work in a lab with an pre-existing collection! Lab work is an important part of archaeology, and that's where a lot of disabled archaeologists make their home.

There is absolutely room for you in archaeology, and I fully expect that you will find opportunities to thrive. Please don't hesitate to come back if you need anything else.

-Reid

#he speaks #he answers #disabled archaeologist #trans archaeologist #archaeology advice

[alligaytorswamp]

what made u ship benyun, i followed u for chaeya but they grew on me too :'D is there some lore im missing or r they just sumn you liked, both of which are good btw !! id like to know more abt them

omg anon you are so real for this i cry

short answer: i simply noticed that chongyun and benny have some similarities, thought 'wow what if they hang out sometimes ^^' and was instantly hit in the head with a huge can of brainworms. have not recovered since.

longer rant on them under the cut <3

i will prefix it with - no they Do Not have anything canon going on, i keep my otps as non-canon as possible to be in as much pain as possible :)

my undying love for benyun started and is fueled by the way they just seem to fit perfectly together? (similarly to what i feel about chaeya)

like it was this instant realization of just how much potential their interactions could have and how they could experience the world together and that their personalities seem to clash in the most positive way humanly possible <3

so as i said, it's started just with a silly observation that both bennett and chongyun have the same bonus for expeditions, both put out some sort of "field" with their e/ult and both don't like spicy food. that made me think they would be great friends, likely they would enjoy adventuring together :') and then there was the idea of bennett being just Unlucky and chongyun being ... too Lucky(yang energy)? which could be balanced out when they're together! so like bennett no longer as unlucky, while chongyun's positive energy isn't strong enough to keep all the spirits away and it could work out in rather silly situations where a random rock doesn't hit bennett's head because chongyun caught it, or he just chooses the right path through the forest, quickly finds a random key for the door, monster doesn't get him, etc

and chongyun's energy will be suddenly not as effective, allowing him to see spirits and maybe handle the heat (perhaps of more emotional kind heh) better! furthermore i think they would be very delighted around each other suddenly feeling so much luckier :') kind of like they let each other live fully and their general world view/love for adventuring aligns well. i think they would thrive around each other <3

and not to repeat myself but them being together means bennett is less unlucky or perhaps his "mistakes" have positive outcome (because of yang energy) and chongyun can be a proper exorcist and have all of these strong emotions towards someone because his yang energy just doesn't work as intensely anymore (because of bennett's unlucky-ness)

overall, i fell for this ship very quickly because they give me intense Good Vibes <3

#thank you for coming to my ted talk #ask adry #anonymous #dear anon idk what i am more insane about that you followed me for cha'eya or that i managed to make you consider benyun?? #probably the latter ... #if anything i draw or say ever makes people like this ship i will die happy #also i think u r right w ur 2nd idea they might be one of my fav dynamics #judging by the fact that i had exact same 2 otp types in the prev fandom i was in (aka one like cha'eya and one like ben'yun) #i assume i just enjoy having an otp that is just fluffy and good and great #TOO BAD EVERY TIME IT'S SO RARE THAT I END UP BEING THE MSOT ACTIVE PERSON IN THE TAG.. #no fr it was like this last time too! how! how do i end up like that!! #ok im done talking i swear-