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shirogane-oushirou · 2 months

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[cw mentions of ableism. talking / venting about the sharing vs non-sharing shit (i do not lean towards supporting one "side" over the other); starts out relatively neutral-toned but i start to sound frustrated part way through. i also have a more personal ramble at the very end that has a separate cw list. it's also long... don't feel obligated to read. i just needed to say things and be Done with it.]

man. i'm ready for all of the sharing vs non-sharing back and forths to stop.

to be clear: this isn't some "i'm above this argument" thing. on the contrary; i completely see where both "sides" are coming from! i simply mean it shouldn't be so difficult for a select few shit-stirrers to Get that selfshipping is a personal thing, and we should be able to ship in whatever way makes us most comfortable.

if someone is non-sharing, they should be allowed to create those boundaries without being harassed or called "immature" or "delusional" by sharing people. beyond how supremely ableist that is, nobody has the right to say they can't view their f/os in a certain way, no matter if other people don't understand those feelings.

if someone is sharing, they should be allowed to share their feelings for a character openly with other sharing people without being sent hate from non-sharing people who think they're "loose" or who want to be their f/o's "one and only". shaming people for being open to sharing is fucked from multiple "sexual / romantic purity" and "anti poly-[sexual / romantic / platonic] relationships" angles, and nobody has the right to claim sole and total ownership over a character they did not make.

and yet, every couple of weeks, we get posts from a vocal minority making a huge fuss over "the other side", when it's just a vocal minority FROM that other side ALSO making a fuss. and then those vague posts leave their intended orbit and cause more mis-worded posts and misunderstandings and off-the-cuff bigoted statements, and the cycle starts again.

we should theoretically be able to respect each other while focusing that energy on, oh i dunno, chasing harassers out of the community? getting selfshippers who aren't part of a specific marginalized group to help selfshippers from that group when they're harassed, maybe?? especially when the sharing vs non-sharing Thing very often coincides with bigotry; people who are harassing others tend to not just stop at being petty or mean, they make it personal.

and -- not as important but a nice little bonus -- i would think that working towards a community that's more safe for everyone in it would also "coincidentally" (/s) get rid of the shit-stirrers, whether because they were kicked out or because they realized what they were doing and grew as people.

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[cw ableism, vague death ideation, non-physical self harm mention]

i was originally gonna put this bit in the tags, but i think i should put it under the cut bc it's a little personal + it got too long.

also, i try to stay in my lane and not discuss details about delusions or how to approach them -- i've only experienced them a couple of times, so i'm not going to claim to know much about them -- so if i've overstepped, PLEASE let me know and i'll edit or remove anything i've misspoken about.

but coming from someone who went too deep into selfshipping in the past and worries about the mental health of people who do: It's None Of Your Business!!

delusions aren't morally "bad" or "wrong". holding deep feelings abt a character isn't inherently delusion-based and also isn't morally "bad" or "wrong". and neither of those is the same as -- speaking from experience (above content warnings come into play here) -- being obsessed with a character to the point that you self-isolate and emotionally self harm because you wish so badly that the character was real and you believe there isn't a point to life if you'll never meet that character... and this is also not inherently delusion-based and ALSO not morally "bad" or "wrong".

these separate things -- delusions, deep feelings, and unhealthy obsession -- CAN intersect but just as often don't. none are immoral, and all are deserving of being approached with compassion and respect, in whatever way is most appropriate.

negative, harmful ACTIONS that some people take in these states are worth bringing up to them when it's safe to do so, depending on the details of their situation, but the states themselves don't have any moral weight. ie, if someone's harassing others for sharing their f/o because they're in a dark, obsessive place, that is a morally negative ACTION, not a morally negative mental state. they need to take responsibility for harm they've CAUSED, not for what they're experiencing internally.

but if you're calling people "immature" or "delusional" as an insult, something tells me you're not really considering that! whether through malice or just a lack of compassion, you don't see worth in how another person approaches this community.

you aren't better for thinking of a character a certain way, and neither is the person you're being ableist towards. if no harm is being done to you or others, you're just being a dick for the sake of being a dick. listen to other people, learn, and do better.

if you think someone is genuinely in a bad mental place because of selfshipping (wrt isolating and self harm), approach them as another human being. meet them where they're at. don't patronize them, don't call them "delusional", treat them like someone who has their own thoughts and values.

they may want help, or they may not, and you have to respect them for their choice no matter what YOU think is right. there is no truly right way to approach someone who's in a dark place, but you can at least avoid saying things that FOR SURE will make them feel talked down to, belittled, or shamed. if they aren't ready now, maybe they will be ready for help in the future, and shutting them down will make them less likely to seek that help.

(i was also going to put THIS in the tags but i should probably put it here: when i say 'learn and change' i mean it as a positive. people have the capacity to learn and grow and become better; if you've said something in all of this that can be read as harmful... consider why it's harmful and why you said it.

you aren't the same person you were a year ago. 5yrs ago. 10yrs ago. you have grown and you will continue to grow. but if you can be more aware of it and grow more purposefully and consciously? all the better.)

#i'm worried this doesn't come across well in my writing bc the second half is very personal #but i am wholly neutral towards sharers and non-sharers. the last bit is just because my personal struggle #is based in specific things said by specific people. in this recent round of Bullshit i've only seen these comments coming #from one 'side' but i can also imagine people from either 'side' saying it for a multitude of reasons. so. this is for them too.#ALSO as a forewarning so nobody can claim otherwise: i'm not going to block anyone who interacts w this in earnest...#but i have a quick block reflex for anyone who's clearly just being a dick. 👍🏻#📌 [ my posts. ]#💭 [ my thoughts. ]#ableism -#death ideation -#self harm -#<- the last two are only at the very bottom in a section with separate content warnings.#vent -

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mysumeow · 1 year

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Wanderer/Scaramouche and Albedo (separately)

Warnings: explicit breeding talk in albedo's one, overstim for both but especially on wanderer's section. afab genitals, gn pronouns.

a/n: "ill take a nap" proceeds to in fact not take a nap and write smut drabbles. i dont have.......any type of comment about this x_x

💌 . .SCARAMOUCHE/WANDERER

"Mind repeating what you said a few moments ago?"

You gripped the sheets and arched your back, ready to cry again if he was planning to stop and start from the beginning. You lost track of how many times he had worked you close to your orgasm, only to stop just right before you could reach it.

"I—ahh, what?" you tried to buck your hips against him, and he clamped his hands harder on your hip bones, causing pain.

"Do I have to remind you? You truly are the definition of all bark and no bite," he squinted, a silent threat if you moved again without permission. "Something about how I wouldn't be able to last more than two minutes? That I'm small and cute?"

"I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

"I don't care how you meant it. All I care about is showing you how small and cute I can really be," judging by the sadistic glint in his eyes and smile, you knew the underlying meaning.

He's going to make you cry.

More than you already were, at least.

Wanderer's not one to complain when he has to put his darling in place, he enjoys all sides you show him. When you're sweet and obedient, or when you do nothing more than make him clench his jaw and switch up his sadistic streak.

"Don't make me repeat myself again," he said, moving his hand to pinch your sore nipple, which had been suckled raw minutes earlier.

"Ow!" you took a sharp breath, and despite the pain, the pleasured spot between your legs became even more drenched. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please let me cum,"

"And here I thought you would be able to withstand it," he sneered, his grin widening. "You've been good, I'll give you what you desire,"

He also likes to play rough, your entire neck and collarbones littered with love bites, your most erogenous spots exploited until you were left nothing but a trembling mess; it was nothing alike to how he then proceeded to tenderly caress your warm cheek with the back of his hand...

Until he grabbed your wrists and resumed his unrelenting thrusting.

"You're going too hard," you whined, you were about to orgasm. "I want to cum with you,"

He groaned and grazed your bottom lip with his thumb, which he then gently pushed into your mouth and pressed down on your tongue.

"I know you can take it."

💌 . .ALBEDO

There was no room in your body left to accommodate his cum's thick volume; more of it spilled with each determined thrust of his hips, hands pushing your legs as close to your chest as they could.

You couldn't even form a coherent sentence or make any sounds other than heavy breathing and whining.

With a very obscene moan, he separated to take a good look at your disheveled and dazed state, your pretty eyes bright with tears and reddened lips from all his biting and kissing.

"One more, please?" he whined, drool-covered fingers playing with your sensitive clit.

"'Bedo, there's so much already," you cried from oversensitivity as his semen trickled down from your sore pussy.

"Not enough. I have to make sure there's no way you're not knocked up after I'm done with you," he leaned down again to tightly hug your body, and you knew what was about to happen. "This is what you wanted, right? To be thoroughly bred by me?"

You locked your legs around his frame, and, despite the evident ache in your muscles, you nodded.

This time, it was the vulnerable flesh of your neck that was the focus of Albedo's heated kisses and possessive marking. Your body shuddered at the unyielding pace he thrust against you. His drive to breed you was absolute, the way he clasped your torso left no wiggle room for you to not feel everything he expressed to you.

There was no way you could formulate a coherent sentence; you couldn't even say you were about to cum.

"Aah—You're—" he tried to focus, but words left him too as his own orgasm hazed his mind, his frame trembled from the intensity.

Yet, another heavy load delivered right into you.

Albedo was right. There's no way you're not knocked up after this.

#albedo smut #genshin smut #scaramouche smut #wanderer smut #/ᐠ - ˕ -マ .. smut

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insidetheravensmind · 1 year

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Stray Kids Recommended Masterlist

This is a masterlist dedicated Stray Kids fanfics. Most of the works are smutty, but not all. I do not know which ones are which. None of these works are mine, as I have a separate list for those. All credit goes to the owners who wrote these, and I hope all of you enjoy them. I will try to update this as much as I can! Note: All members will have their own separated sections, however, anything with 2+ members in them will be located below in their own section.

EDIT (9/15/23): I will be adding more very soon. I am working on making masterlists for each member and linking them at the bottom of their list on here! It will take me awhile because I've got many lines up.

Last updated: 09/15/23

BANGCHAN ~ Crayons ~ Cold Face ~ Channie's Room ~ All Mine ~ Hot and Cold ~ Pain Killer ~ Runaway with Me

MINHO ~ 6:00 ~ Untitled #7 ~ Horror House ~ Nasty ~ Appease Part Two ~ Barb Wired Brat CHANGBIN ~ This Is What I Want ~ Remedy ~ Untitled #4 ~ Mr. Tough Guy ~ Petty Works ~ Prettier When I'm A Mess ~ A Numbing Surprise ~ (No Title) ~ Roommate ~ Say Sorry ~ Needy ~ Dress ~ Trying ~ Red Dress On the Balcony ~ The Island ~ Admiration ~ Pay Attention ~ For Your Eyes Only ~ Reset ~ Own Me ~ Passion ~ Lift ~ Think About Nothing But Me ~ Kinktober Day 12 ~ Sensitive ~ Kinktober Day 3 ~ 7:48 PM ~ Begging Binnie ~ Rubdown ~ Videotapes

HYUNJIN ~ Red Lights Part One ~ Red Lights Part Two ~ Oblivious ~ Spicy Vanilla ~ (No Title) ~ Battle of Wills

HAN ~ A Penny For Your Thoughts ~ Like A Rockstar ~ Hate Sex ~ Inhale Me ~ Payback ~ Public Display of Affection ~ Disobey? Disturb? Disrespect? | Appease Part Three ~ The Right Type Of Wrong ~ Chill ~ Otherworldly

FELIX ~ Pancakes for Two ~ Kinktober Day 15 ~ 20:09 PM ~ Kinktober Day 24 ~ Sharing A Bed

SEUNGMIN ~ Catfish (from series: One By One) ~ Dirty ~ Jealousy, Jealousy ~ Routine ~ (No Title) ~ Home Run

JEONGIN ~ Dean's List ~ Kiss Me, Not Him! ~ The New Pledge ~ Be Mine ~ Oh, Angel

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del-sol-diminutives · 3 months

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Review: The World of Sylvanian Families The Official Guide

This book is relatively new; it debuted around Christmas, 2023. It’s 110 pages, hardbound, and written with children in mind, but with value for adult collectors.

You can find some sample pictures of the interior on Amazon, but I wanted to talk a bit about what they do and don’t include, so you can decide for yourself if it’s a worthwhile addition to your own collection.

The book contains a story of the origin of Sylvania, which is heartwarming and sweet, with cute illustrations. The illustrations are the only time some of the vintage families appear in the book.

It also contains a section on the families themselves, including photos of the figures, their names, and the description of each member that you would usually find on the bottom of the box.

(Please forgive this photo’s strange lighting; the weather changed while I was writing.)

The most popular families get their own page and the Chocolate rabbits actually have a two-page spread. The families included are:

the Chocolate Rabbits

the Walnut Squirrels

the Persian Cats (the Persians)

the Huskies (the Huskys)

the Fennec Foxes (the Fennecs)

the Milk Rabbits (the Periwinkles)

the Ponies (the Manelys, plus Bella Chestnut and Giselle Silver)

the Bears (this is the Petite family of bears)

the Hedgehogs (the Brambles)

the Koalas (the Outbacks)

the Highbranch Giraffes

the Penguins (the Waddles)

the Snow Rabbits

the Toy Poodles (the Cakebreads)

the Sheep (the Dales)

the Maple Cats

the Pookie Pandas

the Marshmallow Mice

the Caramel Dogs

the Midnight Cats

the Kangaroos (the Hoppers)

the Yellow Labradors (the Fentons)

the Red Deer (the Buckleys)

the Reindeer (the Snowdrifts)

the Tuxedo Cats (the Marlowes)

the Bubblebrook Elephants

the Goats (the Brightfields)

and the Splashy Otters

The older brothers and sisters have their own page called “In The Town”, separate from the families. Interestingly, this includes Lionel Grand, who I hadn’t considered to be an older sibling. I might have to check his figure now.

The book also includes maps of Sylvanian Village, Sylvania Town, Seabreeze Cape, and Sylvanian Land, the amusement park for the babies. I think this is a fine bit of inspiration for designing your own layouts.

The book also includes descriptions of the seasons and Sylvanian holidays, including both Christmas and Easter.

In the back is a short timeline of Sylvanian Families history.

It is necessarily incomplete, given the target audience and the amount they’d probably have to pack into a book if they weren’t being general. Unfortunately it does not contain the full information on each of the various families and when they were released. There is definitely still room for a collector’s book for adults that includes information on the vintage families and sets.

Finally, the last page in the book is a delightful encapsulation of Sylvanian Families values.

I think this is a wonderful addition and a perfect capstone to the book, and I am very happy with owning it. I do hope that someday there will be a book for adult collectors, with the same kind of aesthetic, but with the full details we would love to have.

#sylvanian families #calico critters #book review #the world of sylvanian families

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dannyphantomarchive · 1 month

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The Show’s Premiere: April 3rd 2004

👻💚 Happy 20th Dannyversary to all the phans!! 💚👻

Between all the Danno chaos here on tumblr, we bring a very special post that covers in detail the very first time one of our ghost boy’s episodes got aired on television. This was such a precious find and we’re very excited to share it with you all!

Danny Phantom’s first episode “Mystery Meat” premiered April 3rd on the USA Nickelodeon channel at 9:30/8:30 central pm, right after the 2004 Kid’s Choice Awards. And before the episode aired, the channel featured a couple of DP trailers during the KCA’s commercials.

The first version was a quick 15-second trailer that got aired about halfway of the award ceremony, and then was shown again two more times.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; Trailer at 25:00-25:15 & 34:20-34:35 & 40:03-40:18)

[Image Description: Two snapshots of the Danny Phantom trailer.

Image 1 - Three floating screens in front of a blue background that has shots of Danny playing. Each floating screen shows a different scene of the show, currently they all have shots of Danny in his human form from the torso up. First screen on the bottom is Danny in school wearing his backpack and glancing to his left. He is rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand and looking worried. Second screen in the top left is Danny in a suit looking to his right with a worried expression. Tucker in the background. Last screen in the top right is Danny looking down, mouth open and looking worried. In front of these screens, to the left and only slightly obscuring the shots, are white letters that read: ‘Half Teenager’.

Image 2 - Features the same three floating screens in front of the blue background, but now slightly moved to the left. Top left screen shows Danny in his human form holding both arms out to separate Sam and Tucker. Top right screen shows Danny in his Phantom form holding the Fenton thermos in front of him, which is shooting out a beam. He is facing the left of the screen and is completely coated in a light blue glow. Bottom screen shows Danny mid-combat in the air, he is in his Phantom form facing forward, one hand up and enveloped in ectoplasm. In front of these screens, to the right and only slightly obscuring them, are white letters that read: ‘Half Ghost’. /end ID]

(Note: The timestamps on the transcription sections are from the video uploaded at the end of this post, not the original youtube video.)

-Transcription - First trailer (0:00-0:15 & 0:16-0:30 & 0:31-0:45)

“Narrator: Half teenager... Danny: I-I-I’m Danny. Narrator: Half ghost. All new Nicktoon. Narrator: Danny Phantom. The world premiere. Tonight at 9:30/8:30 central right after the Kid’s Choice Awards. Not seeing is believing.”

The second version of the trailer aired right before the premiere and was very similar to the previous one, except for a slight difference on the last frame and last lines of the narrator, which stated the world premiere was coming up next.

Here’s a side by side comparison of the differences in the two trailers:

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; First trailer at 25:00-25:15 & 34:20-34:35 & 40:03-40:18; Second version of the trailer at 48:28-48:40)

[Image Description: There are two very similar snapshots of the Danny Phantom trailers.

Image 1 - Danny Phantom stands in front of a black background, seen from the torso up and looking at the camera with a smug smile. His hair is white, his eyes are green and he’s wearing a black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, collar, and a white stripe across his waist. There is a white shape that looks like splashed liquid next to his head, with the following text inside: ‘Danny Phantom’ and in smaller text below that says ‘Tonight 9:30/8:30c’. There is an orange ghost flying past the ‘y’ in Danny with a fading black tail that wraps under ‘Danny’ and through ‘Phantom’ and stopping in the ‘o’ of ‘Phantom’. On the top left of the splash there’s the Nickelodeon logo plus the Kid’s Choice Awards 2004 logo, written on top of a blue background.

Image 2 - Danny’s pose and background are the same as the first one, the only differences are the lack of the Kid’s Choice Awards logo and the text by his side, which now reads: ‘Danny Phantom’ and in smaller text under it ‘Coming up next!’. /end ID]

-Transcription - Second trailer (00:45-1:00)

“Narrator: Half teenager... Danny: I-I-I’m Danny. Narrator: Half ghost. All new Nicktoon. Danny Phantom. The world premiere. Coming up next! Not seeing is believing.”

This trailer was immediately followed by a 10-second countdown that featured Danny walking in front of the portal, then several scenes of the show floating around in smaller screens in between the countdown numbers, and finally, Danny punching the screen as the countdown ended.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; 10-second countdown at 48:40-48:50)

[Image Description: Four shots of the premiere countdown.

Image 1 - Danny standing in front of the Fenton portal, which has its doors open to reveal a swirling green.

Image 2 - Several transparent screens floating above a blue background, Danny’s face is shown in a close -up in all the screen.

Image 3 - Shows the screen in different positions, as they have moved around. There is a white number six inside all the floating screens, and the Nickelodeon logo on the bottom right corner of the TV screen.

Image 4 - Danny in his Phantom form in front of the floating screens, which now display different shots of Danny in action. He is gritting his teeth in an angry expression and his body is mid-movement, one hand open and one hand pulled back as he is about to punch the viewer. /end ID]

-Transcription - 10 second countdown (1:00-1:10)

“Narrator: And now, the world premiere of Nickelodeon’s first kid superhero Danny Phantom in his debut disappearance.”

The first episode only had one commercial break, which featured Danny Phantom themed bumpers.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; bumpers at 48:50-48:55 and 51:28-51:33)

[Image Description: Two very similar snapshots of Danny Phantom commercial bumpers.

Image 1 - Danny Phantom stands in front of a black background, seen from the torso up and looking at the camera with a smug smile. His hair is white, his eyes are green and he’s wearing a black jumpsuit with white gloves. There is a white shape that looks like splashed liquid next to his head, with the following text inside: ‘Danny Phantom We’ll Be Right Back…’

Image 2 - Almost identical to the first one, except that the text says instead: ‘Danny Phantom Now Back to…’. /end ID]

-Transcription - ‘We’ll be right back’ (1:10-1:15)

“Narrator: We’ll be right back with Danny Phantom, on Nickelodeon.”

-Transcription - ‘Now back to’ (1:15-1:20)

“Narrator: And now back to Danny Phantom. On Nickelodeon.”

After the premiere, the trailer for the next episodes was aired during the DP credits in a split-screen.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; trailer at 51:34-52:06)

[Image Description: Set of 4 split-screen credits from the Mystery Meat episode. The credits are shown on the left side of the screen, in white and orange letters over a black background, they are grainy and hard to read. The trailer for the next episodes is shown on the right side, they all have images shown inside a screen that floats over a blue background.

Image 1 - Shows Danny’s outline in white over a blue background, so he looks transparent. Seen from the chest above, but his arms are cut-off from the screen He is smiling with a determined look and his eyes are the only colored part, with white and green.

Image 2 - Danny as a human, dressed in a blue suit with a blue tie. Seen from the shoulders up, he has a worried face.

Image 3 - Tucker holding his PDA, wearing his usual yellow long-sleeve shirt, glasses, a red beret and a blue backpack. He has an apologetic smile while looking at Danny on his right. Danny is leaning close to Tucker, while staring him down with an annoyed look. He is in his ghost form, seen from the hips up.

Image 4 - Sam and Tucker seen from the chest above, they are both looking at the right with surprised expressions. Tucker is wearing the same outfit as before, and Sam has her usual black sleeveless crop-top with a purple circle on her chest. /end ID]

-Transcription - Next episodes trailer (1:21-1:51)

“Narrator: First you see him. Then, you see him again! Get ready for two back-to-back episodes of Nickelodeon’s newest Nicktoon: Danny Phantom. First, can Danny stop the class beauty from becoming the class beast? Danny: I’m going on a date with a dragon? Narrator: Then, get ready for a second ghost sighting as Danny takes on his greatest foe yet! Skulker: Time to put you in your cage. Danny: Noooooo! Sam and Tucker: Danny! Narrator: These back-to-back episodes of Danny Phantom: next Friday starting at 8:30/7:30 Central. Only on Nickelodeon.”

Here’s the video with all the promotional content aired during the premiere, so you can experience what it was like! None of the videos are cut out so the first trailer is repeated three times.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY)

And this marks the end of our 20th-Dannyversary-special-edition posting spree! We hope you have enjoyed reading about this information as much as we had fun digging it all up all and stitching it together.

We’ll still be posting fun tidbits sprinkled along this week, but then going forward we will change it to a less frequent schedule, so phans have plenty of time to enjoy each new info! 💚👻💚

First - Previous - Next

#Special: 20th Dannyversary #Date: April 3 2004 #Episode Premiere: Mystery Meat #Video included: Episode Premiere #Video included: Episode Trailer #Images Descriptions included #DannyPhantomArchive #Danny Phantom #DPA post 09 #Content: During show’s airing

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drstonetrivia · 5 months

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Chapter 220 Trivia

The chapter cover is a redraw of Ryusui on the final pages, I thought it was a neat detail!

The rocket's various part's functions are a little clearer in the model: the top section is similar to the Soyuz capsules shown throughout the story, with visible shielding and hatch that probably closes when it's not attached to the rest of the satellite.

The bottom two sections are most likely the lunar lander, and the middle two sections are the main part of the satellite holding the bulk of the communication gear and supplies.

This is an approximate flashback to chapter 150 when Stanley first attacks the KoS. The panels exist, but the words are said in separate panels by Ukyo and Kohaku.

Very simplified medusa-shaped aliens and circular petri-beams! This game seems a lot easier to program compared to the flight simulator.

Historically, they've been rushing to their deaths and then relying on the power of petrification to bring them back. This has been happening since chapter 10.

For Chrome's sake, I hope it was filled with water for the demonstration. Getting revival fluid/nital on your skin is a baaad idea since it's highly corrosive, among other things.

I'm happy they have the devices now, but I feel like the creator should have been Chrome…

Neat how Joel's revival fluid watch has the same font and hour/minute hand design as his outfit! Was this a collaboration with Yuzuriha, or did he just really like the clothing he was given?

Unlike modern net launchers, this one fires like a rocket launcher, with a bullet that splits apart to expose the net. This is probably because net will be destroyed in the explosion (thus not reusable), and packing both a net and grenades together properly is delicate work.

You can clearly see the outer protective layer of the medusa is separate from the delicate inner workings here.

I'm sure Matsukaze would have appreciated having the grenade-laden net launcher back in his time.

You can see how steady each shooter is: Ryusui is perfectly still thanks to his previous practice, Kohaku's hand is the only part of her moving, and Senku is shaking all over.

Kohaku is a natural, managing to nick the medusa with her bullet but doesn't destroy it. This is to be expected with her physical prowess and moving-target training from fishing without a pole.

Senku, on the other hand, completely misses.*

By the way, guns do work in space. Bullets contain their own oxidizer, which means they don't need oxygen from the atmosphere to ignite.

A bigger problem may be the effect of heat (or lack thereof) depending on sunlight, since that'll be more extreme without an atmosphere.

A reminder that the Ishigami villagers do in fact wear underclothes.

Where else would Chrome have gotten his white flag from?

Stanley was still clothed last we saw him (at least partially)… Why'd they strip him and leave him for the plants to take over!? Surely there was a better option here.

I'm assuming the next chapter will be mostly about Stanley and/or his reaction to the situation (his childhood friend is now several years older than him!)… I'm quite excited :) (*I realized when rewriting this that the direction the bullets are going is unclear, and Senku may have been the one to nick the medusa)

#trivia #dr stone #chapters #220

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wander-wren · 1 year

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Remodeling Power: Sex, Gender, and Consent in Dominance Hierarchy AUs

Well, isn’t that a mouthful. Breaking out proper punctuation and capital letters for today’s infodump.

Dominance Hierarchy refers to a group of AUs where people are organized into a new social structure, usually a binary or trinary. Fanlore lists three of these; there are likely more, but I am not aware of them. I’ve added a fourth that does not strictly fit the definition, but feels relevant to the discussion. These are:

Omegaverse

BDSM AU

Sentinel AU

Psychic Wolves AU

I’m going to briefly define each AU and talk about how sex, gender, and consent work within it, with some interesting tidbits about fandom history along the way. This is not a fully fleshed-out essay; I’m drawing mostly from my own experiences and memories. Part of this is because of these four tropes, only Omegaverse has been studied/written about, to my knowledge.

I also want to be extremely clear that I am not in any way making value judgments on these tropes based on my analysis here. I have read and enjoyed fic in each of these AUs. I respect them for what, why, and how they are. That said, I will be discussing sexism and dubcon/noncon at length, so be aware.

Omegaverse

An Overview

I’m assuming if you’re in the fanfiction scene you know something about Omegaverse or A/B/O. But if you do not:

Omegaverse, popularized by the Teen Wolf and Supernatural fandoms, is an alternate universe where everyone has a “secondary gender”: Alpha, Beta, or Omega. These genders are based off of the inaccurate idea of wolf pack hierarchies, and they typically come with some wolfish behaviors, but no wolf traits like ears or a tail. Biological changes can include scent glands, fangs (sometimes with venom), pack bonding, feral behavior, and, of course, wombs for omegas and knots (dicks) for alphas regardless of sex. Also included are heat and rut cycles. Usually, fics set up an alpha with an omega, although of course there are many exceptions. As far as the social strata, alphas tend to be at the top, with betas underneath and omegas on the bottom.

Themes

Like two of the other tropes on this list, Omegaverse was created/popularized as a porn genre. The main draws are the heats and ruts I mentioned above, the uncontrollable (ish) urge to breed/be bred. How strong this is depends on individual writer preference, but in general there is a lot of dub/noncon inherent to the trope, in a similar flavor to sex pollen/fuck or die fics. Just with added snarly possessiveness. The consent issues are a huge part of the Point of the trope. If this is confusing to you, I’m very sorry. Some people have rape fantasies, Susan.

One of the other main draws is, of course, the secondary gender aspect. It’s nothing special, just literally a recreation of our gender binary.

“But Wren!!” you cry. “There’s three of them!”

I know. Look.

Alphas are male

Omegas are female

Betas are a nebulous “third gender” without the special characteristics of either of the others

Alphas usually go with omegas

If betas are remembered in-story, they go with betas

G E N E R A L L Y

Similarly alpha/alpha and omega/omega relationships are typically not a thing

It’s the gender binary again

There’s something to be said about how, even in trying to create a new gender system, we just remake the old one. In fact, many fics base the oppression of omegas off of historical oppression of women. Does that play into the sex/consent deal? Abso-fuckin-lutely, my dude. I initially tried to separate all three sections, but they kept blending together.

As in real life, gender is deeply tied to sexuality. Omegas are the ones capable of bearing children; the ones who go into heat. They’re made to be fucked. And alphas, well, it’s not their fault they were in rut/smelled an omega in heat/lost control.

Interrogating the Trope

As tropes grow and change, especially in the last 3-5 years for all four of these AUs, they tend to be interrogated and subverted more by fans. Of course this can happen at any time, and it does, and I will not discount that work, but it is much more common after a trope has been around for a few years and the “basic” version has run its course.

In Omegaverse, one of these subversions of the trope includes fics that do away with the dubcon/noncon aspect, either forcing the characters to sit and struggle with it, or handwaving it away. There are also fics about transdynamic characters, who transition from one secondary gender to the other. There are also fics which focus on non-alpha/omega pairings, or a flipped hierarchy where alphas are on the bottom.

Originally, when the trope dealt with male omegas, they were still cis men, just with the ability to self-lubricate. I never read female alphas, really, so I’m not sure how they were dealt with in all honesty. Much, much more common in the last few years, at least in my experience, is the idea of intersex omegas/alphas and/or the idea of the secondary gender determining genitals rather than male/female. I am not intersex, so I won’t speak to that much, but I personally am a fan of male omegas with vaginas, as an AFAB trans person. I will say that my fetishization alarm bells are ringing, though I doubt it is intentional, and that ofc there are many many different ways to be intersex other than having both sets of genitals, so. Don’t use fanfic as education. If an intersex person wants to weigh in on this, please do!

Omegaverse has also seen tropes added to it over the years. One of the most significant, which I have only noticed from about 2020-on but may have emerged sooner, is the concept of an “omega drop.” My working theory is that Omegaverse was (is) commonly fused with BDSM AUs, where the concept of “subdrop” and “domdrop” (which are also real things, in real life) is very common. When the two tropes were pulled apart and written separately, some aspects remained stuck, creating “omega drop,” which as best I can tell is just a general depressed/anxious/bad vibes state an omega goes into if their needs are neglected.

BDSM AU

Overview

BDSM AUs are absolutely my favorite on this list, which you may know if you’ve been following this blog awhile. So I know a lot. I will attempt to be normal.

BDSMverse creates a world very similar to Omegaverse, where everyone is either a dom, switch, or sub. I could write another very long post about the history and development of it, and I GLADLY will if anyone is interested, but for now suffice to say that originally D/s was treated like sexuality, not carrying a biological component, but now is very commonly biological. I believe this also comes from the trope being combined with Omegaverse, but it’s a little hard to prove thanks to purges and the like wiping out most of the first 4-6 years of possible content. It’s kind of hard to prove anyway.

But. The two most common biological characteristics are a need for doms/subs to spend time in subspace/domspace or risk withdrawal symptoms. Additionally, doms have the ability to command subs, and commands may be some level of resistible or not. There is also, of course, the hierarchy, with doms on top and subs on the bottom.

Themes

While Omegaverse and BDSM AUs are very similar, there is a huge difference between them on the issue of consent. Of course, the biological imperative I mentioned above and the idea of commands muddies the water, but in general the real-life BDSM community takes consent very very seriously, and this carries over to fic. The very first BDSM fic took a positive light on the trope and took care to stay away from the idea of inequality or dubcon. Clearly this did not become the dominant narrative, because fic writers love angst.

Again, BDSM AUs exist largely for porn purposes. Kinky smut! Hooray! And it is unique here because BDSM exists in real life. There is definitely a lot to say about how closely tied the queer and kink community are, things I have yet to figure out how to properly articulate.

There’s something to say about dom/sub coding and how characters are cast in this AU. Typically the softer, smaller character becomes the sub, while the stronger, more aggressive character becomes the dom. This is directly because of gendered expectations around who is dominant and submissive in the world.

This trope is probably appealing for most of the same reasons that BDSM itself is appealing. For sex, of course, but also for giving and taking control and power.

Interrogating the Trope

This is a fun segment, because BDSM AUs have literally been fought over since their conception. The first fic, the positive one I mentioned? Mere months after it was published, a different author took issue with the optimism and wrote an extremely dystopian variation on the AU. Cue arguments.

In all honesty, there’s not much to say about modern subversions of the trope, because there have always been multiple camps and there has always been a theme of consent and problems with it. Every example I have typed and deleted here has kind of been around for years. I could talk about this more in-depth if/when I make a post specifically about this AU.

Sentinel AU

Overview

Based on the late 90s TV show The Sentinel, the Sentinel AU establishes a world in which some people are Sentinels, with heightened senses that can cause overload, and Guides, who help calm and tether Sentinels. It also commonly involves a soulmate trope, where every Sentinel has one true Guide and the two are compelled to meet and required to stay together, in order for the Guide to best help the Sentinel. The Sentinels and Guides will either be overseen by an organization of some kind, or form pack-bonds on their own. Then there is, of course, the hierarchy, usually with Sentinels on top.

(Sometimes there is also a spirit animal element, but I do not know much about it and “spirit animal” is appropriative, so I will not be discussing it here.)

Themes

“But Wren!” cries no one, “This trope hasn’t talked about gender OR sex yet!”

Bold of you to assume I cannot fit gender into almost anything. First off, we have a binary of Sentinels with super-enhanced senses, who are useful and powerful and often involved in the military, vs Guides, who…calm the Sentinels. Take care of them. Serve them, if you will. Their purpose revolves entirely around the Sentinels. Speaking very generally here, of course, and with zero knowledge of source material.

And, okay, technically this one isn’t about sex. But look me in the eyes and tell me “You have a One True Partner out there in the world who is designed to help you specifically and because you are special, your soulmate will be required to follow you around in order to assist you, and you physically cannot opt out of this” does not carry some Interesting implications about consent.

Like I said at the start, I don’t say this to bash soulmate tropes or this AU. I understand exactly why soulmate tropes exist and why they are attractive. The devotion, the certainty, the angst, the lack of a choice for better or worse…yeah. Anyway, this is one I almost considered leaving out, but it IS a dominance hierarchy according to Fanlore and I did have some things to say about it, so here we are.

I unfortunately have not read a ton of Sentinel AUs, so if there are any common subversions or twists on it, I don’t know them.

Psychic Wolves

Overview

Based on a concept in the Iskryne series, Psychic Wolves sets up a universe where some people (typically military) have the chance to form a psychic soulbond with a special magic wolf. The wolves can communicate telepathically with their pack and with their bonded person, and have near-human intelligence as well as enhanced strength, etc. Wolves and their bonded humans can also feel each other’s emotions and physical sensations like pain to varying degrees. Importantly, the wolves also go into heats and ruts, and when they do, their humans are dragged along for the ride. If your buddy’s wolf is in heat and your wolf is near her, yeah, you two are fucking.

For the record, I have not read the Iskryne series and have only read a small handful of psychic wolf fics, so my experience here again is somewhat limited.

Themes

Obviously straight off the bat we have some consent issues. These are, to my knowledge, inherent to the Iskryne series. What makes this AUs version of heats different from Omegaverse is the presence of wolves, the extremely small population of female wolves, and army/government’s need for strong wolves. This means you can’t really suppress heats or ride them out alone. We also have to consider that a character in this ‘verse is psychically bonded to an intelligent creature, and we have to grapple with whose consent is more important. And if we decide that is the human’s consent, there’s still the issue of the wolf and the psychic bond to deal with. It’s messy, and some fics have done a good job tackling that.

Gender also comes into play a little bit with the bonds. As I mentioned, female bondwolves tend to be rare, and in the original canon I believe soldiers were entirely male. This carries into fanfic. Bonding to a she-wolf as a guy has some connotations, because female = heat, bottoming, and then pups. Top/bottom dynamics are inherently a bit gendered, in spite of best efforts. There’s also the issue of sexuality—the wolves don’t care if you’re gay, straight, ace, etc. The wolves don’t care if you have a human partner (unless that person happens to have a bondwolf that is acceptable for breeding).

Interrogating the Trope

Psychic wolf fic is not very common. There are a few overlapping tags used, but it’s definitely the smallest trope here. All of the fic I have read, additionally, is from pre-2018. So I can’t speak to any new developments there, BUT there is a fic series from 2011-2013 that interrogates the consent issues pretty well.

(I will be making a fic reclist for all four tropes after this, don’t worry.)

In that fic, heats were mostly just being literally “thrown to the wolves” in the interest of breeding, but the aftermath did not shy away from this. The author built in systems for physical and emotional aftercare and had the characters explicitly discuss the trauma of the heat. Other parts of the series also discussed how the humans in the military technically outrank all the wolves, but the humans are very in tune with the wolves and don’t try to dominate them unless it would put someone in danger.

In Summary

I think the main draw of all of these tropes is actually not something I’ve been writing about: the hierarchy. I’m biased by my own interests, of course, but aside from just writing porn, authors use these tropes to worldbuild a lot. There are clearly defined boundaries, new social norms, systems to combat oppression or enable it depending on taste. It’s about the biological imperative, the lack of choice/control. I think a lot of people find that appealing, not having to negotiate and discuss and talk, just being pushed into something by your body, whether that’s a fugue state or a heat or something else entirely.

Some people find that bad, though, and design solutions, which is also good and cool and fun.

I think another aspect of it is how natural and normal sex is in these universes, especially Omegaverse and BDSM AUs. We live in a society that doesn’t like to talk about sex, especially kinky sex, so having that can be very appealing. Especially since a lot of fics that lean more utopian than dystopian build in new systems around sex, laws and the like. That can be comforting when you look at how sexual assault cases tend to go in our world.

I feel like I both went into more and less detail than I expected to, and I am likely leaving things out. If you made it to the end, feel free to talk about this with me! If I remember anything else I want to add, I’ll come back and make an addendum. Thank you for sticking with me through all of this!

#wren wrambles #fanfiction meta #d/s au #omegaverse #psychic wolves #sentinel au #lazy version of an academic essay i very much want to write #i wrote this incredibly piecemeal and very stream of consciousness so pardon my messiness #but this is something i have been thinking about for months and months and i’m very interested in it

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kscosplaycatalog · 1 month

Text

No. 19 - 2013

Character: Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear Series: Tales of the Abyss by Bandai-Namco

Cosplayer Credits: - Luke : My brother

Photog Credits: - Middle pic: Keishi Cosplay Photography

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This is another costume done mostly for my brother (I also made his Luke fon Fabre pictured here). I was supposed to wear this costume to ShadoCon in 2012, but my dad died and I put a lot of stuff on hold. I ended up debuting it the following year at MetroCon. First and last time I ever con-crunched. 😂

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I used my Belgium wig for this costume, (but I did get a new one at some point) and made her headband in the same way I make Belgium's as well (cardboard, craft wire, fabric, fabric glue, staples, and hairpins).

Her under shirt is a modified pattern of Simplicity's 4059. The top dress is a VERY heavily modified pattern of Simplicity's 4014; I used two different fabrics for each section needed and added the button-down section in the front that loops around separately with a handmade pattern. It is a very complicated procedure that I really wouldn't recommend to anyone prone to ripping their hair out. Those front buttons do nothing to keep the dress closed, by the way--that's a job for the hooks and eyes I sewed in.

Ruffles for both the neck and shoulders were sewn separate and then on the pieces they are attached to. Front buttons were sewn into front piece before front piece was stitched into place on the top dress. All trim happened before final stitch as well. Those circle bits on the front piece... I used appliqué and made a circular pillow onto the piece, hemmed as slowly and neatly as I could, used a white pencil to mark the center hole, hemmed it ahead of time and cut it out.

The gloves and brown tights were bought, not made. Gloves from Gloves Online Inc. on Amazon; tights from We Love Colors. The cravat is actually just one, rectangular piece of hemmed fabric. I wanted it to be wispy and flowy and I didn't want to make something that would be stressful and complicated to put on. So it is one piece that I tie like a necktie only I don't pull it through, I let it hang freely and it works very well.

The thigh/boot covers were made with a handmade pattern as well. I put my leg on the fabric, out lined my leg with several inches of space (especially around the thigh area), cut and sewed to fit. For the bottom area that wraps around the foot... I made the back heel portion look like a Ո, but had the bottoms curve into to touch, and I made the front flare out a bit. The back piece has the trim and Velcro is installed on the little leg bits that attach under the arch of the boot. Brown fabric was added at the top.

The bow is her Elfin Bow and was made by my brother!

I don't remember too much about what I did for my brother here, to be honest. I don't even have many WIP pics of his coat (the thing I mostly made). I know it was mostly white broadcloth. The demon motif was black broadcloth and applique. The bias was gold poly-cotton leftover from Natsu. We used a regular T-shirt and cut to shape. He bought the pants and I just added a bit of the gold to the "pockets." I think the wig was from Arda? I know we got a different one at first, but that didn't work out the way we wanted. I really don't remember. He made his own Key of Lorelei though!

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Natalia: Cost: $100 Time: 36 hrs

Luke: IDK, Probably the same-ish.

#natalia luzu kimlasca-lanvaldear cosplay #tales of the abyss cosplay #tales of cosplay #natalia kimlasca cosplay #video game cosplay #handmade cosplay #cosplay with a prop #luke fon fabre cosplay #for my brother

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nakasumi-sims · 9 days

Note

✩ Can you do the Miscellaneous section from the Ultimate Relationship list for Hikaru & Toshio? Thanks 😊 (or the whole list if you want! I just didn’t want to overwhelm you)

Ah I see you've chosen the characters from my main project of the last 12 years. The original brain rot that is Shuriken Souls. In that case, imma have to go with the whole list 🤣 I would've gone in game to take a sims pic but since I wanna make them better I'm just gonna go with their actual artwork and maybe some sim pics sprinkled in.

Hikaru & Toshio

🌟 Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice?

Toshio

Who threatens to leave but never actually does?

Hikaru

Who actually keeps their word and leaves?

Toshio

Who trashes the house?

Neither of them because they're above that. Plus Hikaru owns way too many priceless artifacts and valuables that he's over protective of so...

Do either of them get physical?

Hikaru might if his demonic side comes out, but he usually has it under control unless he's plastered.

How often do they argue/disagree?

Very rarely, but when it actually happens, it can be quite big. At the start of Shuriken Souls (not the prequel/Freshman Year), they're taking a break due to a fight.

Who is the first to apologise?

Depends on what the fight was about, but neither of them are going to be first if they believe they're in the right.

🌟 Sex:

Who is on top? Who is on the bottom?

They're switches

Who has the strangest desires?

Probably Toshio because he actually likes getting whipped with Hikaru's chain whip. There's definitely a non sexual desire for punishment for loving Hikaru which is also part of it, but he'd keep that to himself.

Any kinks?

Both of them are sadistic, but as above and really just with Hikaru, Toshio can be masochistic.

Specific kinks...uhhh Hikaru likes banging in front of mirrors (if it's convenient enough) so he can show off how good he's making you feel and can get the best views of you. Just a little conceited. The only thing I can really think of for both of them is they both just love loving on each other since Hikaru is more used to occasional sex with humans he doesn't give a crap about and Toshio hasn't been with anyone since his ex wife 15 years prior.

Who’s dominant in bed?

Depends on their moods, but usually Hikaru

Is head ever in the equation?

Absolutely. They be wining, dining, 69ing

If so, who is better at performing it?

Hikaru, but that's just because he has more experience being over 2,000 yrs old

Ever had sex in public?

Sorta? Public place, but it was private due to it being after hours. Their first time was in Toshio’s classroom and they did get caught in the morning. It's known as the Lab Incident (and yes it is available to read if asked because it is nsfw, but I've been told it'sa good read)

Who moans the most?

Toshio

Who leaves the most marks?

Hikaru

Who screams the loudest?

Toshio

Who is the more experienced of the two?

Hikaru

Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’?

Both but more 'make love'

Rough or soft?

Usually softer but they have their more wild nights

How long do they usually last?

They can go for hours

Is protection used?

Toshio insists even though Hikaru

Does it ever get boring?

Nah

Where is the strangest place they’d have sex?

Classroom after hours

🌟 Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children?

Toshio has a son, Michio, from a previous marriage. He's 16 yrs old. Hikaru has no kids and doesn't want any

If so, how many children do your muses want/have?

Just one (Michio) but Hikaru never plans on doing any sort of parenting with him or actually being a stepdad if they get married. Toshio is content with just one and doesn't expect or want Hikaru to do any parenting. Toshio hasn't done much parenting in awhile and finds Michio to be self sufficient. Michio and Toshio have lived separately since Michio left for a mission and didn't return for 2 years. Hikaru didn't even know about Michio until he, Kaori, and Ryo rescued Michio and Sumiko from under a giant boulder.

Who is the favorite parent?

Toshio

Who is the authoritative parent?

Toshio

Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school?

Toshio, but only for special circumstances and it wouldn't be a real day off

Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around?

Neither

Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children?

Toshio used to, but either he doesn't show up now or he only shows up to judge his son's progress

Who goes to parent teacher interviews?

Toshio

Who changes the diapers?

Toshio (single dad life)

Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby?

Toshio

Who spends the most time with the children?

Toshio

Who packs their lunch boxes?

Toshio. Well he hasn't for a long time, but he used to

Who gives their children ‘the talk’?

Toshio

Who cleans up after the kids?

Toshio

Who worries the most?

Toshio used to worry but not anymore

Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from?

Toshio

🌟 Affection:

Who likes to cuddle?

Toshio is definitely more of the cuddler. Hikaru still has some trouble getting used to it since he's not used to being intimate with someone he's in love with.

Who is the little spoon?

They take turns

Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places?

Hikaru

Who struggles to keep their hands to themself?

Toshio

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable?

Hikaru usually gets uncomfortable after a couple hours but he pushes through it to get more used to the feelings even though he does have the desire to hold onto Toshio. Toshio could either be cuddled by Hikaru or hold him for hours even if it gets uncomfortable

Who gives the most kisses?

Hikaru

What is their favourite non-sexual activity?

Slow dancing

Where is their favourite place to cuddle?

In Hikaru's living room because the couch is really comfy and the atmosphere all over is very nice. But rarely do they get to cuddle there because of Ryo and Kaori also living there. It's just best for Toshio not to be over when Ryo is home cause they despise each other and it'll cause problems

Who is more likely to playfully grope the other?

Hikaru

How often do they get time to themselves?

Quite rarely due to Toshio being a professor with classes in multiple subjects and supervising a club and Hikaru having to deal with Ryo's shenanigans on top of attending classes at the Academy, going on missions, and having to travel for work. They usually make time when they can at night when Toshio shows up drunk or they make plans to go get drunk.

🌟 Sleeping:

Who snores?

Neither. Toshio did used to snore when he was younger, but he had to train himself to stop for reasons

If both do, who snores the loudest?

Neither

Do they share a bed or sleep separately?

They share the bed when they can, but normally sleep separately since they don't live together and live in different districts within Tamashi Tera.

If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart?

They cozy up at the start, but Hikaru will separate from him after a couple hours, but then Toshio will end up migrating back to cuddle

Who talks in their sleep?

Neither

What do they wear to bed?

They both wear pajama sets though Hikaru's are a lot nicer fabrics

Are either of your muses insomniacs?

No they both sleep well. Very rarely, but Hikaru can get insomnia when his memories bother him. It's great for his job, but terrible for being able to recall everything vividly. He's gotten over most of it though

Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside?

Nope

Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side?

Mostly side by side unless Toshio is getting cuddly

Who wakes up with bed hair?

Toshio. Hikaru is too perfect and having silk pillowcases helps

Who wakes up first?

Toshio

Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other?

They'd rather order in than cook, but if someone was prepping it, it would be Toshio because Hikaru is used to Ryo doing the cooking. Not that he's bad at it or anything

What is their favourite sleeping position?

Toshio likes when Hikaru lays on his chest so he can hold him close. Hikaru prefers spooning or lying on his side holding hands with a little hand caressing until he falls asleep

Who hogs the sheets?

Hikaru

Do they set an alarm each night?

Yes because Toshio has work and Hikaru has work/school

Can a television be found in their bedroom?

Hikaru has one in a separate sitting area of his room. Toshio doesn't have a tv in his room

Who has nightmares?

Hikaru

Who has ridiculous dreams?

They both do, but Hikaru's are ridiculous in the sense of wacky things that have happened in the past. Toshio’s got normally wacky dreams when he has them

Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed?

Neither

Who makes the bed?

They both make their beds

What time is bed time?

Depends what they're doing. If it's a normal night, around 11pm-12am. If they've been out, then around 4am

Any routines/rituals before bed?

Hikaru has a shower and useless skincare routine. He doesn't need it as a demon, but he just likes it. Toshio has a drink, prays, but keeps it to himself

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up?

Hikaru because he has to deal with Ryo

🌟 Work:

Who is the busiest?

I would say Toshio is, but only by a slight margin. Hikaru is usually just about as busy.

Who rakes in the highest income?

Hikaru by a looooooong shot

Are any of your muses unemployed?

They're both employed

Who takes the most sick days?

Toshio just because he can actually get sick since he's human. He does have a good immune system from being a father and working at the Academy though so it is rare he uses a sick day for actually being sick. He'll usually use them for other reasons.

Who is more likely to turn up late to work?

Toshio

Who sucks up to their boss?

Neither of them are suck ups per se, but they'll be manipulative in their jobs if needed to get something done. Usually Hikaru has to do it more in his line of work

What are their jobs?

Toshio is a professor at Southern Temple Academy in Tamashi Tera. He has classes in most of the sciences, maths, computer science, combat, and is the advisor of the sewing club (the club was forced on him cause no one would take it)

Hikaru is a historian and works with and as a museum curator in many museums across the world. He's also an archeologist, but the reality of that is that he's just "finding" things he's hidden around the world over his centuries of travels and digs them up/finds them again once they're of value depending on the time period. Most of the antiquities he's recovered, stay in his own private collection which he keeps in multiple floors of his building and then he loans the artifacts out. He also gives talks on them and writes history books. At the same time, he attends Southern Temple Academy as a student even though he really doesn't need to, but he does it for Kaori and it has some benefits even if it's dangerous as a demon.

Who stresses the most?

They're equally stressed and bond over how much Ryo stresses them out

Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations?

They both love their jobs. The only thing Toshio hates about his job in recent years is dealing with Ryo because, like Hikaru, he doesn't need to be there so he puts in zero effort (except combat for fun) and is a nuisance.

Are your muses financially stable?

Yes

🌟 Home:

Who does the washing?

They both do their own washing

Who takes out the trash?

They both do their own

Who does the ironing?

They both do their own. Hikaru does typically goes for dry cleaning though for most of his clothes

Who does the cooking?

Neither

Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying?

They're both competent enough not to burn the house down, but I'd say Hikaru just because Ryo might prank him or something

Who is messier?

Toshio, but he's barely messy

Who leaves the toilet roll empty?

Neither

Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor?

Toshio

Who forgets to flush the toilet?

Toshio

Who is the prankster around the house?

Neither, but if Toshio is over at Hikaru's and Ryo is bothering them then he might pull a prank as revenge

Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere?

Toshio. Neither of them actually own a car though. They both can drive, but Hikaru hasn't driven in decades and Toshio doesn't really need a car in Tamashi Tera cause it's walkable and has excellent public transportation

Who mows the lawn?

Neither of them have lawns

Who answers the telephone?

Hikaru is more likely to answer

Who does the vacuuming?

Hikaru hires a cleaning service and Toshio does his own

Who does the groceries?

They each do their own

Who takes the longest to shower?

Toshio because he's often dirtier after working on his inventions

Who spends the most time in the bathroom?

Hikaru. He's gotta get his hair styled juuuust right

🌟 Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem?

For Hikaru, hell no, he's ridiculously wealthy, but unlike rich humans he uses a lot of his money for good. For Toshio, he's comfortable enough

How many cars do they own?

Do they own their home or do they rent?

Hikaru owns the building he, Ryo, and Kaori live in the East District as its only occupants while the rest of the space is for his collection. Toshio rents a condo in the Southern District closer to the Academy

Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside?

Sort of coast? Tamashi Tera is its own partially man made land mass (lots of lore stuff)

Do they live in the city or in the country?

City

Do they enjoy their surroundings?

They do. It's really one of the only nice places left even if there is some problems

What’s their song?

Mmm I'd probably say La Vie En Rose

What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Focus on work, but they'll often text each other when it's convenient. They both know that they're busy people and mostly respect that

Where did they first meet?

At Southern Temple Academy! Here's a doodle comic of it! (Right to left)

How did they first meet?

See above

Who spends the most money when out shopping?

Hikaru

Who’s more likely to flash their assets?

Hikaru

Who finds it amusing when the other trips over?

Toshio just because it's nice to see that Hikaru isn't always perfect

Any mental issues?

Hikaru has a lot of unaddressed trauma from his childhood, maybe a little ptsd, but he's mostly over what happened and gets rare nightmares. Toshio....uhhhhhh idk if there's anything to truly label him with

Who’s terrified of bugs?

Neither

Who kills the spiders around the house?

Either

Their favourite place?

A little live music cafe not too far from Hikaru's place in the East District

Who pays the bills?

They each pay their own. (Ryo technically splits with Hikaru though as they are brothers)

Do they have any fears for their future?

The both have fears for the future of their relationship. Each for different reasons which are extreme spoilers

Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner?

Hikaru

Who uses up all of the hot water?

Toshio probably on an experiment vs showering etc

Who’s the tallest?

Hikaru by an inch

Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other?

Hikaru

Who wanders around in their underwear?

Neither, but if it's a lazy morning in a hotel room, Toshio might

Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio?

Hikaru

What do they tease each other about?

Dealing with Ryo mostly

Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times?

Hikaru, even though it's like boi you've 100% worn some wacky ass shit over the last couple of millennia

Do they have mutual friends?

Not really

Who crushed first?

Toshio

Any alcohol or substance related problems?

They're both alcoholics. It affects Hikaru differently with him being a demon and even more so being a sin of gluttony demon. Toshio also smokes cigarettes.

Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am?

Toshio

Who swears the most?

Probably Toshio. Hikaru does swear, but he tries not to so he comes off as more eloquent and poised

#naka answers #hikaru isuto #toshio shoma #stargazer-sims #naka's sims #long post

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exitrowiron · 2 years

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Day 36: Oberlin to Newbury, OH

80 miles, 3,286ft ascent, 4:57

For the second time in three days we started the ride on wet streets, chasing a storm that had passed through hours earlier and hoping to arrive at the day’s destination before the next predicted storm in the afternoon.

Our exit from Oberlin was on several miles of freshly milled but not yet repaved asphalt; when you drive on roads like this it is noisy, riding it is a bone jarring challenge. As I was navigating this stretch of road I couldn’t help but think of the lyrics of the 38 Special song:

Just hold on loosely

But don't let go

If you cling to tightly

You're gonna lose control

This is in fact exactly how to ride rough pavement. I rode with Pat this morning, a female rider from Big Sky, MT. She is the strongest female rider and one of the strongest of all the riders on the trip. This fact is even more amazing considering she had a partial replacement of her left knee three years ago. Pat and I rode together to the first refueling stop but then separated and each of us rode solo.

Today’s ride took us on a wide arc between Cleveland and Akron. The flat terrain we’ve enjoyed the last three days has given way to gently rolling hills; today’s route was a net ascent but I didn’t mind the extra work. Wisconsin’s hills reminded me of the runaway truck exits you find on the downhill sections of Colorado interstates. These exits lead sharply uphill (and are usually paved with loose gravel) and are designed to quickly slow and stop the momentum of a run away truck. Wisconsin’s hills are like that. You grind your way to the top of a large climb, only to have your inertia robbed by a steep little hill at the bottom. This part of Ohio is more like a roller coaster. You still have to get yourself to the top of the big hill, but the subsequent rollers are small enough that you can keep some momentum and crest them.

We are close enough to Cleveland that our route wound through once rural communities which are now full of upscale subdivisions, large homes on huge lots and horse farms. Occasionally I could see an old farm house between the new mansions, but the farm fields had largely been lost to well manicured lawns. It reminded me of Wildwood, MO, but without the limestone bluffs.

The local motorists have distinguished themselves as being the least agreeable in our journey so far. Two rednecks in a pickup shouted and honked at two of our riders and then threw roofing nails on the road shoulder for a few miles. Later in the day, traffic was stopped at a construction zone waiting for the signal from the flagger to proceed; a bike group was at the front of the line. When the flagger gave the go ahead, a woman tried to zoom ahead and clipped one rider and hit another. She reluctantly pulled over at the insistence of the flagger, but was shouting and angry and refused to provide her license. The biker who was hit (one of the female Trek guides and obviously a VERY skilled rider) got some scrapes and her bike was damaged. Other riders took pictures of the license plate and this time a police report was filed. If I was Batman I would spend my time and fortune imposing justice on people who are assholes to bike riders. The good news is that we beat the rain.

Tonight we are staying at the Punderson Manor, a state lodge in Punderson Park. The bikers are obviously relieved to put this day behind us and are looking forward to sleeping late as tomorrow is a short 64 mile day.

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theresa-of-liechtenstein · 2 years

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The Herc and Linda Meta: What’s Up With These Two, Anyway?

“Every series, it seems,” Mang Juan wrote on his blog in 2011, “one episode causes me more trouble and hair-tearing than any two and a half of the others combined. […] This series it was Newcastle.” Though three years later, he would partially recant his judgement on the matter, concede that Newcastle was “a good introduction” for Herc Shipwright, and accept his pacing of events, it is a truth universally acknowledged, that even self-decreed flops conceal the biggest of slays.

Mang Juan wrote after Newcastle had aired in 2011 that its difficulty had to do with the sheer amount of information that he had attempted to cram in, and that Herc Shipwright and Linda Fairbairn’s flight deserved a separate episode. Though some of Herc’s most memorable character traits (including his fear of sheep) are only revealed in subsequent episodes, I believe that Newcastle alone is ripe with details and implications that make it possible to extrapolate more about either character, but especially Linda. Moreover, these same details make it possible to form an interpretation of the duo’s dynamic that is congruent with information provided later, as well as narrative themes and motifs.

Under the cut, this will be explored in the following parts.

“Old Friend Of Mine from Air England”: Herc Shipwright, or A Study in Minding the Gap

“The Plane-Spotting Pride of Penicuik”: Who is Linda Fairbairn, Anyway?

“The Best Candidate For the Job”: Putting Everything Together (I: “The Wee Scottish Airline”; II: Shipwright & Fairbairn)

1. “Old Friend of Mine From Air England”

I have said it before, and I will say it again: pilots do not make lateral career moves unless there is a very, very good reason for doing so. Herc Shipwright must have had a very, very good reason for forsaking a job at an implied flagship airline for a position at a much smaller one.

But before we speak more about (as of Newcastle) Cabin Pressure’s newest recurring meow meow—gentlemen, a brief diversion.

Airline Structure: Not Your Garden Variety Corporate Ladder

This section is based on five years’ worth of research, at least of two of which were owing to the fact that I wanted to become a pilot myself and thought I should know what I was getting myself into. The only reason this changed to engineering was that 1) I couldn’t afford ground school and 2) I am 150 cm tall and had a very rude awakening when I realized I could not, in fact, see over the control panel of an Embraer 175 while sitting in the first officer’s seat. The following is based on what I’ve gleaned from articles and forum posts over those years.

Commercial airlines, as the title of this section states, do not work like many companies. God knows why. (There are reasons, most likely, but they’re irrelevant to the scope of this write-up.) Since Ernest Gann was staunchly criticizing the very similar predecessor to the current system in 1961, I’ll just say it’s probably precedent.

In an airline, seniority is everything. When one is hired, they receive a number. This number determines a lot: the likelihood of them getting their first choice of a route (or “line”), how soon they can “upgrade” (upgrade = become a captain), and importantly—their job security. If things go south at the airline, the last through the door are the first to be asked to leave. If this sounds harsh—Yes. It is.

Even more (and this is crucial to understanding Herc, but we’ll get to that soon), seniority does not transfer between airlines. A brief example: if one is a captain for the A380 at British Airways, and decides they now want to work at—let’s say—easyJet for whatever reason, they cannot take their accumulated seniority from BA with them. They must start over again at the bottom.

This is why, historically, when pilots are hired at an airline, they expect to stay there for the rest of their careers. As Beyoncé once said, “If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it.” This isn’t the case all the time; plenty of regional carriers are often a pilot’s first step before going to the major airlines. Some have even collaborated to set up contracts and training programs that offer a path to the major airlines for young pilots through regional carriers.

Now, a relevant caveat: There are ways for someone with previous captaincy experience to, while still giving said pilot a low place in the seniority list, nevertheless hire them as a captain. This is called “direct hire,” and it happens if there are not enough first officers at the airline eligible to upgrade, or if the airline is expanding too quickly to upgrade the first officers it already has.

This brings us back to Herc Shipwright.

(End of diversion. Snack break!)

From the details we get in Newcastle, it appears that Herc Shipwright, despite every single warning to pilots ever made to focus on building seniority, has somehow managed to successfully execute a lateral career move at his age and stage. For starters, he’s a captain. Actually! That’s the single, biggest, most important thing. After enough of a career at Air England to build seniority and bulge logbooks, he makes the move to Air Caledonian and we meet him in Newcastle as a line captain. Since one cannot transfer seniority, something else has probably happened. It is likely, then, that Herc himself (on merits of his prior experience, and possibly, need) was a direct-hire captain.

But why? Why leave a much bigger, seemingly more prestigious airline for a smaller one that Herc essentially likens to a flying bus depot by the end of the episode? (Although, he’s probably somewhat bluffing in context; otherwise, why would he try to get Arthur Shappey a job at Air Cal?)

I—and my betters—have chosen to conclude that this is where Douglas Richardson comes in.

Perhaps Martin Crieff may have seen his hopes for networking go swirling down the drain when Herc and Douglas started chanting at each other upon first glimpse. And of course, there’s Herc and Douglas’ joshing over opera during the delay in Birmingham. But it’s the one scene in which these “old friends” are alone together, where Douglas is expecting something, and will take anything Herc will wanna give him, baby—Sorry. My bad. That’s Mitski.

Within the context of Newcastle, there is a certain tension in the way Herc and Douglas interact in that little exchange which adds an intriguing depth to the “old friend” moniker. To begin with, Douglas’ posture here is a subversion of what the audience has come to expect from him. It’s Martin who we’d expect to be the opportunist when it comes to career moves (easyJet, easy go…) But rather than taking Martin’s approach to Verbal LinkedIn, Douglas approaches a monumental shift in a pilot’s career as a favor to be begged of someone in a higher position than he. One has to feel for the desperation, knowing that he’s even pretended to be a captain for his now ex-wife, and knowing in context of the airline industry that Douglas is taking a huge gamble: he probably wants a low-seniority, high-rank treatment akin to what Herc has most likely gotten. (Funnily enough, if it was Herc copping Douglas’ act—Douglas is hoping to cop Herc’s here.)

But how does Herc react to this, probably knowing Douglas enough to anticipate what is going through the other man’s mind?

He coolly rebuffs him. And as Mitski so eloquently puts it, Douglas takes it, and retreats.

My betters have long touched the scorched ground at this point and murmured, “Something terrible has happened here.” I agree. We know that Douglas has had a severe fall from grace, losing the security he gained from working at Air England by his own fault. The question is, why did his “old friend” leave too? My betters have postulated that whatever caused Douglas to fall so far, Herc must have played some role in it, and come off better. He still leaves Air England, but he’s not the one knocking on the window asking to be let into Air Cal.

This has been an oft-explored concept; it meshes in so well, I even had to ask a friend who’s been into the show for far longer about whether it was actually written in or had just been extrapolated. (Okay, but I can at least pull the card that I was a kid and definitely not thinking about this show when Newcastle aired.)

We know why Douglas left Air England; he was forced to. But why did Herc leave, and how did he manage to stay within enough good graces that his experience would likely be considered as a factor when he was hired at Air Cal? He is a pilot, a long-established member of that workforce. He cannot plead ignorance about the ramifications of a lateral career move. Perhaps whatever he did to play a role in Douglas’ expulsion did affect Herc’s reputation at Air England, and he had no choice but to move somewhere that probably wouldn’t know him as well. After all, as this noticeably English man tells Douglas, “you don’t have to be Scottish to fly for a Scottish airline.”

Ouch. That would probably hurt even the most emotionally fortitudinous person.

And so, the question arises: what happened to Herc between what most certainly would have been a deeply traumatizing departure/life change and the incredible, amazing, show-stopping, never-the-same positioning flight he takes in Newcastle?

I think now is a good time to talk about his co-worker.

2. “The Plane-Spotting Pride of Penicuik”

Her name is called eight times in the episode. She utters 39 lines in the whole show. And she’s struggling to fully grow out of her father’s shadow.

Linda Fairbairn may not have been in Cabin Pressure for a long time. Maybe it wasn’t a very good time, either. (To be fair, there was no way her experience could top the very good time her co-worker had in this episode. Anyways.) But the little she says is a veritable treasure trove of characterization that—over a decade on—remains tantalizingly ripe for the picking.

From the moment she walks in, the audience is made well aware that First Officer Fairbairn is not a woman to be trifled with. After Martin Crieff unwisely makes an outburst at the apparent subversion of his expectations (namely, that he’d be encountering two male pilots he could potentially call co-workers, if he can get a foot in the door), the door has barely closed behind her colleague before Linda rounds on Martin and pointedly mimics his exclamation. This same defensive-to-the-point-of-aggravated posturing is all too familiar to any person in a field where they are a minority, but Linda’s righteous indignation strikes a particularly resonant chord with those who present and/or identify as female in a “male-dominated field.” (Sidenote: There is another character who, in this episode, similarly reacts in a similar situation. But we’ll get to that later.) It is no surprise, then, that this encounter has immediately set her up to treat Martin with suspicion, as she admits to doing by the end of the episode. This is only exacerbated by Martin’s failed attempts to question her about her (already gender nonconforming) hobby of rally driving, which only escalates the issue until he manages to poke the sleeping dragon that is Chief Pilot Fairbairn. This, above all, is what truly sets Linda off. “I can excuse you blundering your way into microaggression,” she essentially says, “but I draw the line at bringing my Dad into this!” Up to this point, every patient dealing with Martin has culminated in what can only be characterized as an explosion. Her patience has been worn thin; it is obvious that Martin, however inadvertently, has managed to hit a very sore spot.

Which brings us to what is the most interesting and ironic part of her character: Linda’s relationship with aviation. She may be utterly vehement toward the idea of her father having anything to do with the career path she has taken, but the truth is that her father probably played the largest role in her life’s path—by being the reason she’s into aviation at all.

From the beginning of Newcastle, Linda displays a knowledge and passion for flight that enthralls even Martin, who is the show’s epitome of a flying fanboy. She’s a line pilot herself—a profession which, in general, one has to like to be able to do successfully. She’s been in the skies for twelve years. She can identify MJN’s rare plane on sight. When they land in Birmingham (it’s the tiniest of details, but it’s there!) she even questions the engineer about G-ERTI’s state. This is not a woman who resents what she does or is only in it for the “glam factor.” Most tellingly, she literally tells Martin (to humorous effect when he tries to relate and she tries to work in a tease) that she’s been at it since childhood.

At this point, there can only be one explanation for this long-established love affair: Chief Pilot Fairbairn.

Now, hearing the emphasis with which Linda declares that her father has had nothing to do with her employment—and by extension, the path of her career—it would be easy to arrive to the fallacious conclusion that Linda resents or dislikes her father. But since Linda is at the very least implied to be a competent pilot (she’s still in this industry after twelve years, she insists that she was the “best candidate for the job” and—one does have to be good at flying and have potential for leadership to be hired at an airline, however ‘wee’), it would be safe to assume that she’d have gotten a job with any of the other airlines in the British Isles or even on the Continent (of course, barring existence of any financial crises or world events in-universe that would override any push factors for migration). It does not make sense for Linda to have a lifelong passion centered around the profession her father holds, enter that same profession, and work in the same company as her father—if she did not have a good relationship with him.

Ah…fathers.

Out of the range of fathers and father figures presented in Cabin Pressure canon—from the truly horrifying to the mellowly disapproving, the well-meaning but frustrated to the one who can solve anything, and of course the concerned and genuine one who needs no blood relation to have and express his love—there are not many notable examples of a father-daughter relationship being portrayed. The closest we get to this is Douglas’ relationship with his daughter(s): there is enough contextual evidence to at least suggest it’s not the greatest, which my betters have proposed. Even Theresa of Liechtenstein (who parallels to Linda in some ways) only speaks of her father in context of a joke about his desperation for a male heir. (Booooo, agnatic primogeniture! It’s the 21st century!) Linda’s relationship with her father, as implied through what she reveals and what can be inferred, is then one of the best examples of a relationship between a parent and child in the whole show.

Linda has a father, whom she must love dearly; and yet, she is adamant of her self-determination, explosively so. In combination, this is a woman who is sincerely cherished by a father she both loves and whose lengthy shadow she longs to escape: a delicious tension for a character who only appears in one episode.

May I remind the reader that this was taken largely—if not solely—from Linda’s 39 lines in Newcastle. What a picture these 39 lines paint!

Her appearance in the show, however brief, nevertheless continues to raise questions: about the aviation world in which the show is set, Linda’s career proper, and the crucial question addressed in the title of this write-up. I’ve been teasing about these questions for too long. It is now time to address them.

3. “The Best Candidate for the Job”

I. “The Wee Scottish Airline”

In the same way that Newcastle’s wealth of detail provides insight into the individual characterizations of Herc and Linda, it is also possible to make reasonable inferences—based on what is given in the episode—about what kind of an airline Air Caledonian is.

Hints about Air Cal begin early, with the whole premise of the episode being a positioning flight for a crew on standby or reserve over a relatively short distance—from an airport within the vicinity of Fitton (most likely Bristol, as one of the designated alternates to Fitton) to Newcastle. The proximity of the two locations might indicate, at first, that Air Cal is a small, regional carrier—but this theory is refuted by Herc describing his aircraft as a “bus” to Douglas by the end of the episode. Granted, it is possible to call anything bigger than G-ERTI a bus. But Herc’s description would ring most honestly (and sardonically) if Air Cal takes a niche similar to a low-cost airline like easyJet, Ryanair, WizzAir, or even Jet2; if Air Cal operates single-aisle, narrowbody twinjets on short-haul routes around Europe and to seasonal destinations.

Air Cal doing long-haul does not make sense in terms of Herc or Douglas’ characterization. Both men speak of Air Cal as if it were a “step down” from Air England. It is difficult to glamorize or romanticize a several-flights-in-one-day lifestyle, jetting off not to some distant land but a city that’s probably a few airspaces away. Yet, it is still a well-known airline, enough for Carolyn to reference it in jest and speak of their passengers as “proper pilots”—much to Martin’s consternation! Adding prior evidence to support this claim, Martin has already applied to easyJet (mentioned in Boston). If he’s trying for Air Cal now, it would be safe to guess that this airline is similar, lying in the middle between a small regional carrier and a long-haul flagship airline—a budget airline that flies short-haul.

We’ve been able to take a few guesses as to the corporate side of Air Caledonian. Now, we ask the question: what’s it like to work there, anyway? To answer this, we return to Linda Fairbairn.

As was explored in Part 2, Linda has probably heard everything about her father and would certainly rather not hear more, please and thank you very much. One can only imagine a tight-knit working environment at Air Cal, where people know each other well. Linda herself must also have been well-known in that kind of a community. Being the daughter of the Chief Pilot, it wouldn’t be a stretch to theorize that Linda must have been the subject of a fair bit of teasing from her colleagues. That could help to explain the explosiveness of her reaction to Martin. Linda’s only just met the man and she automatically thinks that he’s in on the joke too! It’s a cute image (and probably even more annoying to Linda) to think about, nevertheless—Linda growing up in and around Air Cal as her father builds seniority and eventually earns the title and responsibilities of Chief Pilot. Imagine, if you will, the possibilities for Take Your Child to Work Day! Add to that the detail that she’s certainly spent her childhood in a pre-2001 world (if Newcastle does take place in 2011)—now imagine, if one will, a young Linda essentially growing up in the flightdeck whenever she wasn’t in school? I’ll wait a second for the Awww’s to subside. Okay, okay. Now imagine Linda’s dad presenting her with the Air Cal wings when she was hired…

Hey, it’s a good time to talk about Linda’s career. (If you know me, it’s actually always a good time to talk about Linda’s career!) Linda says she’s been a pilot for “12 years,” and if she is around Martin’s age (who was 32 in Helsinki. Give or take a couple of years, we’ll say he’s 34 in Newcastle) we can subtract back to figure out when she got her license. Given that she’s the daughter of an airline Chief Pilot and has harbored an affinity for aviation since childhood, it would be no surprise if she wanted to get licensed as fast as possible. So 12 years subtracted back can put her very neatly into the minimum age at which a pilot in the UK can hold a license (21 years old). That checks out.

12 years still seems like an awfully long time in an easyJet-type airline where many of the pilots’ goals include moving to bigger airlines with prospect of more experience and pay. And in Linda’s case, she would probably want to minimize any notion that her father is playing favorites during the hiring process. So let’s shave off four of those years, and devote that to Linda building up hours to make her case to the Dad-less selection panel. (Maybe this is also where her rally driving begins, too!) That gives up to eight years thus far spent at Air Cal when she walks through the MJN office door in Newcastle.

That’s still a long time. Eight years—and she’s still a first officer? Considering the probable business model of Air Cal, Linda should probably be at least a junior captain by now! What if Linda wants to be exactly like her father—in more ways than just the general profession? What if she’s fully expecting to build a career at this one airline: to quote Dan Fogelberg, be “a living legacy to the leader of the band”? That doesn’t match well with her clearly expressed eagerness to live outside her father’s shadow.

There are consequences for delaying an upgrade that can, and do, have material effects on a pilot’s life. There’s the financial aspect: higher pay. The seniority factor. The ability to have and execute command. Linda is giving up all these things by not electing to upgrade, and they are not mere trifles. What’s more, she absolutely cannot plead ignorance of these realities of her industry. For better or for worse, she grew up the daughter of her company’s highest-ranking line pilot. She has undeniably seen first-hand the importance of seniority. She must know that an eligible and qualified pilot (which after eight years, she must be) cannot waste time refusing to make the switch.

There must have been a very good reason for Herc to leave Air England for Air Caledonian. Likewise, there must be a very good reason for Linda to delay the advancement of her career.

We now approach the last part of this write-up, which I believe to be the apex of this whole affair.

II. Shipwright & Fairbairn: The Bestieworstie Case

If there is one single, overarching argument that I believe Cabin Pressure posits, it is that the end of all things is love. To extend, this love is then a unitive force—and how many times does our author make it so clear that the unitive force between his characters far, far outweigh their intensely varied and at times clashing backgrounds and personalities? It is what makes this story so resonant, especially and particularly among those who are yet to experience that genuinely unitive force in their lives, who are yet to find the true community that is built off of that force and not false, superficially unitive forces.

As has been previously proposed, Herc Shipwright must have come and was broken by such a “false” community. After years spent most likely copping Douglas’ act at Air England, a messy end has driven him to a downgrade of an airline, where he barely knows a soul and probably feels excluded due to his age, generational difference, or other factors.

Linda Fairbairn could not have come from a more different background. Linda is apparently cherished and has been introduced to a lifelong passion by a man who commands respect from others—due to his position, but most likely also to his character. She follows this man to this airline that’s probably been a major player in her whole life, but maintains a keen sense of self-determination and agency.

It’s been about eight years, and now, these two very different characters are being positioned together on a charter flight to Newcastle from an airfield that isn’t too far from Bristol, the major airport where Air Cal has perhaps set up a base. They get out of the car and take out their flight bags, squinting across the car park at the smaller airline’s little office. Linda spots a plane, parked at stand, that catches her eye; she wanders up to the fence to have a look at it. Maybe Herc shakes his head behind her, smiling, and enters the office in full trust that she’ll follow him in. And Linda does, maybe after taking a quick photo of G-ERTI.

When she opens that door, Herc is standing there, all relaxed confidence and practiced suavity: with a very affronted woman, two pilots who couldn’t look more different if they’d tried, and a slightly younger man who looks very happy to be there.

And Herc looks at her, and tells her with a smile shining through an incredibly affectionate tone— “I thought I’d lost you.”

This is literally their only documented interaction in the whole show. Yet, this—and the earlier conclusions I have drawn from the rest of Newcastle and using details from other episodes—was and is enough for me to beg another question, the same one that titles this write-up.

It is also enough for me to propose an answer. I argue that the gap between Herc’s departure from Air England and his appearance in Newcastle did not stand empty, and that it provides hints as to his journey as a recurring character to Zurich. I argue that Air Caledonian was what filled not only that temporal gap, but the emotional wounds Herc likely had as a character. Most of all, I propose that in keeping with Cabin Pressure’s exploration of the definitions of family and expression of love in its truest form as a charitable, unitive force of will, it is not only justifiable but logical to extrapolate that a friendship between Herc and Linda existed beyond what is presented in the canonical storyline.

By the time Herc is hired at Air Cal, he has been married four or at least three times (as we find out later in Vaduz). It is safe to assume he is not a father; not once does he mention children, estranged or otherwise. It is also safe, as outlined earlier, to treat Herc as being hired in the midst of a massive midlife crisis—or at least a sharp reckoning of his life choices. Imagine this man getting paired up to fly with this kid with huge starry eyes about the profession, who’s ostensibly doing what she’s dreamed of since childhood. And what if they keep getting paired together, to justify the familiarity in Herc’s tone in Newcastle and the fact that, were it not for Herc and Carolyn’s ongoing argument, she’d stay in the cabin with him? I propose it would have been Linda who made the choice to stick with Herc. He probably fully expects this young woman who’s been raised by a loving, respected, incredible father to want nothing to do with him and the sordid details of his past. But she stays—again, as has been explored, she has no shortage of aspiration but is stuck in a position where people know her probably a little more than she’d like. Wishing to grow out of the shadow of her father, and maybe feeling awkward about getting close to captains she’s probably known from a young age, Herc is a logical person for her to turn to. Someone new, who knows enough to know that Fairbairn = Chief, but not enough to have seen her grow up.

Herc, then, becomes a sort of proto-father figure, no matter how much he might want to be an actual father figure at this point. Linda, if we can be reminded until my face turns blue, already has a father. And yet, as Herc is the newcomer who does not have enough knowledge of the company to remember a younger Linda, she would most likely be least apprehensive to turn to him for advice and know-how when it comes to aviation matters. This would mean something to both of them; I propose this is what could have sparked a friendship.

Additionally, Linda demonstrates a parallel to another character, whom Herc also comes to like, that might support the argument of her and Herc getting along and becoming friends—Carolyn! Both Linda and Carolyn, when aspersions are perceived to be cast on their capabilities as women in similarly “male-dominated” fields, respond aggressively. That is to say, to quote the way a longtime friend once eloquently put it, Herc seems “utterly enchanted by the powerful and terrifying women around him.” (She has more to say about this than I could suitably put it without having to cite literally every other line, so all I can do here is raise a glass to her.)

Lastly, postulating a friendly/mentor-mentee/slightly paternal dynamic between Herc and Linda can provide clues as to Herc’s further journey to Zurich. While Linda cannot honestly and truly be the daughter figure Herc might deeply desire at the beginning of their acquaintance, there is a character who neatly fits into that niche: Arthur. In their first meeting, Herc is so impressed by Arthur’s character that he offers to use ways to find employment with him at Air Cal! (Sidenote: Mang Juan wrote in his outline for Newcastle that Herc “knows [the] Chief Pilot.” Yeah...that’s his bestie’s dad.) And indeed, as the characters progress through the show’s canonical narrative journey (of course, sans Linda) the audience comes to understand that Herc is the father figure that Arthur deserves: I argue that on Herc’s end, he realizes that he does not have to be a universally respected or idealized figure of strong character like Linda’s father probably is (and that has possibly caused him a lot of emotional distress in the past, considering the desperate state in which he makes his career move). He must realize, at some point, that the important thing is for him to be: to appreciate and cherish the Beloved how they are, as they are. Such is the definition of a true, charitable love. Postulating a previous history of such a relationship between Herc and Linda would then anticipate Herc’s relationship with Arthur later on.

Conclusion

Newcastle is one of my two favorite episodes of Cabin Pressure (it is tied with Vaduz for the top spot!). With its wealth of detail and the implications that these details present, it is a deeply intriguing episode that—while probably not entirely faultless—poses many questions about two of the characters presented therein.

I have postulated that the evidence presented through Newcastle’s treasure trove of detail can be used to propose a possible interpretation of the temporal gap between Herc Shipwright’s departure from Air England and his appearance in Newcastle. I have used the details given in Newcastle to outline the backgrounds of both Herc Shipwright and Linda Fairbairn as they arrive in the episode; to propose an explanation for the business structure and company atmosphere at Air Caledonian; and to argue that interpreting a dynamic of friendship between Herc and Linda is not only compatible with the information presented canonically, but compliant with the themes and canonical narrative arc of the show itself, as it explores love as an action; it argues for love as an act of charity and force of will toward unity.

I have been thinking about all these points for at least a year. In preparing to compile my thoughts into a comprehensive argument, I was surprised to learn that Newcastle was, apparently, not universally enjoyed in the same way as I had come to enjoy it. I could not disagree more with that sentiment! Newcastle proposes implications that can be extended, which can explain and enhance what is already there.

We have only to draw it out.

#cabin pressure #em writes #meta #herc shipwright #linda fairbairn #passing out actually #this is four thousand words long.#under the hood

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gravelish · 10 months

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Quilcene Loop

26 June 2023

I’ve had ideas for rides in this corner of the Olympics for a long time, but it took a recent piece by Jan Heine on the Rene Herse Blog to spur my interest enough to get me out here. I picked up coffee, caught the ferry in Edmonds, and was pedaling from the Quilcene Ranger Station by 9:00. Despite what I was afraid might be a very long, grueling day of climbing, I was back to the car by 2:30. The total ascent was more than 5600’, but while the climbing was certainly hard, it was never painfully so. On the other hand, I was very happy to reach the final summit.

I rode the loop counterclockwise, which meant that the elevation ratcheted upwards in several separate climbs over more than 30 miles before the much quicker drop back to sea level at the end. The route crosses Bon Jon Pass at Mile 25, but the high point (3500’) comes later at Mile 32. All of the climbing was on gravel, while much of the descent was on pavement, which was my main rationale for doing the loop in this direction.

The downhill at the end was great, although it would have been greater had there not been an uphill segment half way down. Much of the descent is on a single-lane paved road (generally good surface, but with some big divots that require some caution), although there was an annoying section of fresh gravel near the bottom (which masked, but didn’t eliminate some nasty washboard). The final couple of miles are back on a regular two-lane road. This side would make a great climb if you simply wanted a stiff 1000+meter ascent without the longer loop (but that short gravel section would be tough on a road bike).

I saw almost no cars the entire ride. There were a few in the first and the last few miles, but that was about it, other than a few parked cars at trailheads. I stopped and chatted with one guy on an ATV who was hopelessly turned around - but I think I got him headed back in the right direction. It’s pretty easy to get lost back here. The roads aren’t marked well, the terrain is confusing, the trees are thick, and in the morning, clouds still obscured the sun. I was certainly grateful for having my route loaded on my GPS (I use RWGPS and a Wahoo Bolt) and for Gaia GPS which I use for offline maps on my phone (I also use a Garmin Messenger for tracking when I’m away from cell coverage).

The entire ride is in the trees, except for a few clear cuts and a couple borrow pits. I got a few glimpses of the surrounding hills and cliffs, occasional glimpses of Mount Townsend (the trailhead for which is near the high point of this route) and one view of Mount Constance(?) (with a large Texas camper van parked strategically in front), but it’s mainly just a lot of trees. Above 3000’, the rhododendrons start showing up in the understory.

The last time (the only other time) I was up here was in 2016 when I hiked up Mount Townsend (hshipman: Mount Townsend).

#bike #bike journal #washington #olympic peninsula #gravelbike

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thewirewitch · 1 year

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Gem show haul (finally)

I'm finally going to post the stones I got at the gem show earlier this year! I kept forgetting to (woops).

Under the cut will be better pictures of each, as well as a video for one of the stones.

First is this star rose quartz sphere I got. My camera doesn't like picking up asterism in stones, so I apologize for the star looking so faint.

Next is a banded fluorite cabochon. The colors are a bit hard to see unless a light it behind the stone (shown above).

Third is this sterling silver and amethyst ring I got. It was actually half-off, so instead of $26, it was only $13. It's quite small, so I decided to buy it for my pinky if I decide to wear a ring on that finger.

This stone, I'm not entirely sure what it is. I believe it to be rose quartz due to its price and color (it has more of a pinkish hue in person). I bought this one from a wholesaler who sold stones by the carat.

I bought these two from the same vender as the one above. These are white/grey star sapphires. Despite their lack of color, I tend to prefer them over blue star sapphires.

Next up is this star ruby. It's treated (fracture filled) but the color was not enhanced. This is my first true/red star ruby.

Here is a small lot of peach moonstone cabochons I got. This is the third color of moonstone I've gotten (I also have some white and grey).

Here are two pieces of Ethiopian opal which were paired together. One has a more "sparkly" pattern while the other has large sections of color.

This is a lot of four tiny Ethiopian opal cabochons I got. The bottom two aren't as interesting/colorful as the top two, so I didn't post any additional pictures of them. The one on the top right has a very interesting pattern on the bottom side. The top left one is my favorite of the lot.

These last ones are a pair of banded fluorite towers. They were sold separately, however they were cut from the same stone! There were about 20 or so in the same bin, so I wonder if all of them were from the same original piece of fluorite, or if I just got lucky and happened to pick two that were.

#my stuff #gemstones #quartz #rose quartz #opal #Ethiopian opal #sapphire #star sapphire #ruby #star ruby #amethyst #jewelry #fluorite #rainbow fluorite #banded fluorite #moonstone #cabochons

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the-firebird69 · 1 year

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There are several boats in this harbor the fisherman's village that my husband says are probably home from the Titanic or parts of it and they're not very big they don't match any of the size requirements but he says that the bottom of the ship was flat and a lot of the this two of them they are flying on the bottom and they would join up and there's a lot of parts that would fit inside and people are saying no but he's wondering if it's if it is if you look at the QE2 in Los Angeles some people say that the windows are similar on part of it up on the bridge and the hall is actually part of an inner Hall design and they're wondering about it and he says it might be the lifeboats which might be true and it might be a tugboat and so they're going to check into it but he's getting a vibe from it the other night there's a song playing

Hera and yes I said the whole thing they had some input

Zues

There's a huge amount of arguing with them too constantly but they're straighten it out. And yes they're right they looked at it and they said it's from her and the metal might be different and they're not sure and they're looking at the other boat and our son says it tugboat it works with it and we think so but these might be lifeboat holes the other one might be a bit big for a lifeboat no there's the captain's life boat and the rest of it might be part of the actual wheelhouse so they're looking at that too but these life boats are very famous. And JFK was on one of them and he looked at and said no and he checked the dimensions and they're almost exactly the same any wondered what they're doing here and he started investigation and it's not bad no it is and he said this is incredible my friend came up with it you got little fight with him all such as s*** happened to him. It's going around because of Tommy f and the max plan what time you f might be the last stop because he's pushing for everything. So he came down investigated and looked at everything and the son said the last two lines but this is me nuata and Ariana and it is an impressive thing that it could be sitting right here so everybody is looking at it and they did say it looks like part of it but yes certain portion in the lifeboats some of them were enclosed so really it's the whole boat and the canopy is separate and you can see where it's bolted on and the canopy is up top and it's about that big combined it's not a huge one and it's only 94 or 80 ft across or something and those two sections would be it looks like that so they're very attentive to it but really it's like a fairy and our son's mom was on it and she remembers d going on it the other half and I was terrified and he said mom don't worry the ship won't break it's made out of something different so the only thing you have to worry about is sinking it it should be mostly enclosed and it was and she said oh sat back and said not to worry to people that we are we have protection and they win it all inside and she said from what instead of distraction and she said it might be the lifeboat from the Titanic I said why would that protect us they went on and she's smiling and said wow that thing kicks butt it really was pushing through the water it's going over and nothing was happening and then said we're really sorry about that never happens he said the post designed for it said what are you talking about he said it's almost indestructible. He said it's one of my designs and it kind of is a little bit and my father and they checked it out and said no way and there's a big fight

It was a rivets because the rivets were not made of the same material

Nuada Arrianna

And yeah in a concert two or three times before it broke up in the air a 10 ft and someone wait destroyed it and with trespasser so people are trying to find it it's really easy it's near where the Matterhorn is that's knifehead cuz they shrink down but usually they're that big about 10 miles long

Thor Freya

Well I'm going out there and have to find this thing it says it might be there and my grandson says I'm not sure why it would go back there it's like Satan's cavern they can't the thing doesn't go back there so that's a good point and I'm not sure where it would be based off although you know where's Godzilla that's I mean if it's from here where is it now so that was my grandson and we know about them and they usually stay around where they came from so I'm going there

Biden

So my grand nephew says we have one Irishman who's going to skip town and he's going out there it's Bavaria it's going to grab Mr cheesman there was a whole area since I'm not going out there to find the thing and my grand nephew says I'm not either. Since when I go footlong can kick my ass. It's kind of a weird thing so little nasty creature or a big huge disgusting monster it's not supposed to be the cracking turns out to look like this huge hot steaming black guy no that's a nasty monster too

After this thing we're going after now I'm going to find it I'm going to take it down because sake we've got JFK on board he says why do we figure that out they're telling us the thing jump bounced it up and down until it broke and you can see the movie that it's moving around thought it was Godzilla and it's not you can't tell by damage what it was the ship doesn't look damaged it just looks pulled apart you know what this is what it is they may have attacked it because you can't see in it and he says no it's not really that simple and said they must just have spies so what year did the Titanic sink and I get what you're saying this is going to be hell those things that are awake and alive and it can talk and stuff going to go out there he says there might be talisman there might be old timers there who are like sergeants or corpus or and they might know about it and this old stories and tails I've heard it before but not out there there might be a statuettes and all sorts of things he thinks that Temple exists too somewhere there's no where we're going to go out there now somewhere in Norway that was JFK we're going on this now

Mac

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jaslynnsblog · 1 year

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NM3217 Assignment 3

For this assignment, we were tasked to do an infographic for a selected topic. I contemplated on what topic to work on, and eventually decided to make an infographic on basic information about international dancesport - standard dance and latin dance. The reason behind this is because I have dedicated my entire year 2 to my cca Viva LatiNUS, which is a latin dance cca, and I wanted to do an infographic to share more about this niche dance and its genres.

Drafts In each of my drafts, I designed the infographic using categorisation, with only 3 main sections in each infographic draft. The information was grouped according to their characteristics, and there was a clear hierarchy of information. I decided to go with 3 sections of information.

For the first and second drafts, I had intended to show the types of genres, heel height, and to draw out dance figures respectively. However, the infographic showed little information, and was not really educational. Hence, I decided to add in more information in the third and fourth draft.

For the third draft, I considered adding 3 facts about latin dance that people should know, but eventually concluded against that because of issues of readability, having that the words would be quite small as there was a lot of information on the infographic already. In order to add in the facts, I would have to decrease the type size, leading, and line length, which would decrease visibility and legibility of the words, as the infographic is intended to be A4 sized. I also wanted to avoid having key facts in the foot margin area.

In the final draft, I intended to have a row of visual elements at the bottom, one for each genre. I tried it out using a drawing of tango that I had done, but the visuals were in the foot margin area, and made the infographic very cluttered and messy. Hence, I decided to remove it, and kept my final infographic to simply the main 3 sections of heel height, genres, and timeline of dance popularity.

I also considered adding a header ‘Genre’ in the final draft, but the header also made the infographic look messy. I decided against it as I felt that the visual element of a vinyl was self explanatory, and after discussing with other students in class, I decided to remove the header.

Infographic created The final infographic was a comparison infographic, where I compared standard dance and latin dance, which were both categorised under international dancesport. An additional element I used was a timeline, at the bottom section, to showcase when each genre gained its popularity. There was a clear hierarchy of information, starting with comparison of heel height, into types of genres, and finally the timeline.

Originally, I had separated the two timelines, but feedback given during the critique mentioned that I should combine them, since the last genre of standard gained popularity at the same time as the first latin genre. I felt that this was very useful, making the infographic more readable. In addition, I also edited the header, for a clearer explanation of the information. Here are the two timelines in comparison:

I decided to use a bright pastel purple for my infographic, because I had intended for the infographic to be put up at dance studios, to give new dancers or visitors a brief guide to what international dancesport is. The pastel purple tone would be attractive and highly visible against the white walls that most dance studios have. The lighter tinted purple colour is also more of a cool tone, which would allow readers to feel calm and light-hearted, which is nicely connected to dance. Furthermore, the light purple colour is relatively complementary to the brown I used to colour the shoes in the infographic.

I created the purple background by drawing a rectangle, and selecting the purple fill that I desired. After which, I locked the layer to avoid any unwanted edits on it.

I started the infographic with a header 'International Dancesport’, which was the main topic. For this, I used the font ‘Swear Text Black’, because the font was widely used in the traditional dancesport scene, prior to the rebrandings of organisations and federations. As the font is well associated with Dancesport, I decided that using it as a header was effective. I also added some curve to the header to highlight the main topic, because the words were long and it was difficult to simply increase the font. This ensured that the main subject was visible to the audience.

For the remaining headers and sub headers, I created a pattern by using the same font, ‘Marker Felt’, as I felt that the font was clear and distinctive, directing the flow of the infographic to the next section. The header was also layered with a satin brown colour, which I used for the dance shoes, to keep a unified style. Furthermore, the light brown colour contrasted gently against the black words, making the header stand out more. The font I used for the remaining information like the genres, timeline, and heel height was ‘IvyOra Display Bold Italic’. This font was selected as it was professional and elegant, and matched well with the vibes of both standard and latin dance.

As compared to the infographic I submitted for critique, the final infographic is much neater and easier to read. In my original infographic, I utilised many different fonts for my sub headers and words, which made the infographic hard to read and understand as there was no clear flow of the information. Removing the unnecessary fonts made the infographic much more comfortable on the eyes, and clearly showed the different sections of information to the audience.

Visual hook My main visual hook for this infographic was the white shape of two characters dancing. This was done by first outlining my image of my club members dancing using the pen tool in adobe illustrator, and then later adding in a white fill. I considered keeping a black stroke to see the outline of the characters, but eventually decided against it as the overall infographic appeared quite cluttered with many black lines and outlines. The visual hook was strategically placed in the centre of the infographic, to attract the attention of people. Using a white fill was effective as it placed emphasis on the visual through contrast against the purple background of the infographic, and would be eye catching from afar.

Two other visual hooks that I had were the standard and latin dance shoes. For this, I outlined the shoe using the pen tool in illustrator, with the shoe image set to 70% opacity. During the critique, I did a self-critique and mentioned that I would add in colour for the shoes, as they were only simple outlines, and the infographic appeared to be quite plain.

After the critique, I worked on adding colour to the shoe portions, as they were visual hooks that needed to grab audiences attention. I decided to use one light brown colour, that was similar to most satin ballroom dance shoes, and used a darker shade of brown to highlight the straps and soles. To find a good shade, I utilised adobe color, which created a palette that I used to easily identify a darker shade.

The final visual element I used was a vinyl, to represent the songs and genre of each dance. For this, I used the ellipse tool in adobe illustrator to draw the first circle with a black fill, and 2 grey circles, with the centre part the same brown colour used for the shoes, to avoid having too many colours. I experimented using multiple other symbols, and I felt that the top 2 were the soundwave lines, and the vinyl. Eventually, I decided to use the vinyl as many of the genres and songs dated back to when the vinyl was commonly used for music, and this would add a hint of nostalgia to the infographic. Here are the other symbols I drew and considered:

Conclusion Overall, I really enjoyed the assignment, as it allowed me to gain a greater understanding of how to create effective infographics, and that I should not try to add unnecessary and irrelevant information which would be distracting and reduce the effectiveness of conveying information or educating the audience.

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