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fanfic-obsessed · 2 months

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For the Republic

Here’s an order 66 fix it that is the confluence of several coincidental misunderstandings. Also why outsourcing your brainwashing is overall a bad idea.

Let's set the stage, ok?

The first misunderstanding is relatively simple, near the beginning of the war. A case of similar words causing confusions that is never cleared up. In this case a series of conversations between various clones and their Jedi about the Jedi’s relationship with the Republic. These conversations leave the Clones, all of them, convinced that the Jedi Order belongs to the Republic, instead of being part of the Republic. You know, in the same way that the Clones belong to the Republic (No matter which side you argue is true, this was not what the Jedi meant). This confusion is so deep that when Slick betrays them all to Ventress, his rants are specifically toward the Republic, and do not mention the Jedi Order at all.

The second misunderstanding is a bit more complex. It starts with the earliest flash training for the clones, the basics that are pushed so deep that none of the clones have any conscious memory of them, but are buried in the subconscious. Along with the Orders that would be enforced by the chips, there was the phrase ‘Jedi have Power’. There are other trainings that get layered on top of it, but in the deepest part of the Clone psyche the most basic definition that they have for Jedi is ‘Jedi have Power’. But Power, as a term, is an abstract that can mean so many things. And though they never realized it, the Trainers and Jango Fett and the Kaminoans taught the Clones a very specific definition of Power. Power cannot be had by someone who belongs to the Republic and Power only belongs to those who use it (specifically those who use it to abuse others).

By that definition their Generals and their Padawan Commanders and what is known as the Jedi Order are not Jedi. Instead the Clones view these beings as brothers (having very little grasp of gender) of a higher rank. Again this knowledge is buried so deep the Clones do not realize they think this. It is instinct. Frankly the distinction is somewhat subtle, and is closer to how the Jedi wish to be treated (without the higher rank part) so no one notices the shift.

When Umbara happens the anger that the clones feel toward Krell is not the disbelieving anger of an idol's pedestal crumbling, but the same anger felt for Slick’s betrayal.

When Order 66 happens, the Jedi become traitors. Except…the people that Palpatine intended to be killed were not considered to be Jedi. For Jedi had to have Power, and Power only belonged to those who were free, and only those who showed their Power.

The way that many of the Natborn officers did.

So the Clones immediately turned their weapons on the Naval officers who had been abusive, primarily to Clones or Jedi, but also some instances of civilian abuse as well.

On Coruscant, Anakin begins to lead the 501st to march on the temple. Only, as soon as they realized where they were headed, they stopped their general, confused. There are no Jedi there, they say. Anakin says something about Palpatine having the Power to save Padme. This leads Appo to the conclusion that Palpatine is a Jedi Traitor, who has done something to their General (which yes, but also no). The 501st stuns Anakin, with some taking him to the temple for deprogramming, or whatever needs to be done to counteract whatever the Jedi Traitors did.

The rest march back into the Rotunda to hunt the Jedi Traitor Palpatine. They are met by Fox, who shrugs and goes with them (with his own platoon of CG) without argument when Appo says that Palpatine is a Jedi. The active chips do muffle the Clones in the Force, a deliberate feature that Palpatine never thought could be used against him.

So Palpatine, the shiny new Emperor, is Emperor for about 20 minutes before he is shot through with so many bolts that he is basically left a goo on the floor. This bypasses every single one of his backup plans, many of which could not be fully put in place until he was Emperor, so there is no ‘Palpatine returns’.

At the temple roughly a dozen members of the 501st enter the Healing Halls, carrying a stunned Anakin Skywalker. Even stunned the healers can tell he is in some kind of mental breakdown. The healers (who do filter out anything that is not helpful o figuring out what is wrong with their patients, so ignore the whole ‘Palpatine the Jedi traitor’ thing) take from what the troopers have to say that they believe that Anakin may be possessed by something and that he is worrying about Padme Amidala’s health, both of which are causing the breakdown.

So Padme is collected by the rest of the 501st and brought to the healing halls, and it is decided that Anakin will be kept unconscious until his former Master, Obi WAn, is back on planet (if he is possessed then having his loved ones there is the best bet for breaking through and of Anakin’s loved one Obi wan would be the best equipped to not be killed). The healers, upon seeing Padme’s pregnancy, insist on a full exam. During this exam it is discovered that, due to a growth on her pelvic bone, a natural birth would likely be fatal to her and possibly the children (I do love the idea that Palpatine was feeding Anakin those visions, or that the visions were caused by Palpatine or Anakin causing Padme’s death, but it is also interesting to think that the visions were legitimate and the cause was something natural). Padme is scolded for not seeking out proper prenatal care, which would have noted the problem. The healers schedule her for an induced c section closer to her due date and ask that she check in daily (or sooner if she starts feeling anything weird) to make sure there is nothing else.

The Coruscant Guard continues to hunt through the Senate for ‘Jedi’, of which there is less than you would think. Yes a couple of hundred who meet the clone definition, but that is out of more that 100,000 beings in the building at any one time (with almost 25,000 systems represented, if assume an average of 2 senators per system, that is 50,000 senators. With a retinue of aids, guards, interns, and others that easily clears into 100,000).

And there is just…so much confusion (I find that I love pairing ‘Order 66 happened differently’ with ‘and everyone is confused’, it gives me great joy).

From the point of view of the Jedi, between on moment and the next the clones decided it was time to mutiny and the only explanation that is given is ‘The Jedi are traitors, we must kill the traitors’ as the clones continuously fail to shoot any Jedi (Like even the stormtroopers of canon do not fail to hit their stated targets this badly), though the clones have shot many people.

From the point of view of the Senate, between one moment and the next the Clones chose high treason with no explanation (Because no one conscious on Coruscant knew that Palpatine was a Sith and the beings that knew about the chips and Order 66 ended up pretty high on the ‘Traitor Jedi’ list and killed).

In the Force, and the Manda, respectively, Palpatine and Jango Fett were watching this happening with their own confusion. This was not the plan.

The Generals do eventually get an order to the clones to capture instead of kill the ‘Jedi traitors’. By this point the Coruscant Guard had cleared the Senate and were just starting to descend levels of Coruscant in search of Jedi traitors. It is not too long after this that Mace Windu is found and brought back to the Temple, near death. They also figure out why the Clones do not consider the Jedi, Jedi. It is decided that they cannot correct the Jedi definition issue until they figure out the ‘shoot the Jedi’ issue.

In this version the chips do not do anything to the personalities or memories of the clones, they simply reinforce the flash training for the Orders and remove any ability to disobey.

With the 212th, Obi Wan had spent a decent amount of time over the course of the war finding excuses to get rid of nat born officers that treated the clones as less than sentient. With his mindset of ‘a certain point of view’ he was pretty successful. There were still a handful in the higher command (the higher the officer was in the command structure, the harder it was to get rid of them) but none of the natborn officers that would be on the ground, or even in communication with the forces on Utapau. Though the activation of the chips and the death that followed caused a bit of a shiver in the Force, it was not the screaming darkness of Canon and was lost in the madness of battle.

So it was not until they were being transported back to the Resolute that Cody, quite proudly, announced that the Jedi traitors had been routed from the 212th. Obi Wan had questions. Cody answered with things that explained nothing

Obi Wan: Jedi…Traitors?

Cody (nodding): The Jedi have been discovered as traitors to the Republic, Sir, a kill on sight order is now in effect.

Obi Wan: I don’t remember anyone trying to kill me?

Boil (Visibly offended, even through his bucket): You’re no Jedi, general.

Obi Wan: I’m…I’m not?

Every Trooper on the ship in unison: Jedi have Power.

Obi Wan (Internally):What does that mean? WHAT DOES that mean? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Cody (Now looking a little concerned): Sir, you've gone really pale. Do you need a medic?

They head back for Coruscant. On the way Obi Wan receives a series of messages. First, there are no high council members currently conscious on Coruscant. There should have been five. Anakin had been stunned by his own trooper, is possibly possessed, and is being held unconscious just in case. Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto have simply vanished. Mace Windu had been missing but was found and is now in Bacta with extensive injuries sans one hand.

No one had been told that those four members had been going to confront Palpatine and as soon as Palpatine had been killed (in a hallway), his office had been automatically locked down. So no one knows that behind the shielding are the bodies of three Jedi Masters.

Second, not only was the 212th not the only battalion to commit some form of mutiny, the 501st and the Coruscant Guard had apparently abruptly decided that high treason was a reasonable action. All the while claiming that they are hunting Jedi Traitors (with not a single person they shot being a Jedi). The senate had also apparently realized that without the Coruscant Guard, there is not enough manpower to stop the Clones from killing whomever they wished (Much of the Senate had been so proud of the cost cutting measure of reducing the non clone security forces).

Third, since the remaining members of the council were spread throughout the galaxy (with Obi Wan being the closest), as soon as he arrived on Coruscant Obi Wan would be in charge of figuring out what was going on with the Clones, before the Senate found enough people to capture them. Then deal with the political clusterfuck of mutiny and high treason (as the Clones were considered part of the Order). Find time to help Anakin.

Killing Grievous was supposed to give Obi Wan less to do, not more. With the knowledge that there is something wrong with the Clones, he cannot even flirt with Cody (They had an understanding about exploring a romantic relationship after the war ended, but as stress relief both would flirt back and forth and see how explicit they can get before someone called them on it-The only reason no one had yet is because the 212th had a bet going on CodyWan admitting they are together and no one wants to be disqualified by influencing the results).

It should be made clear, Obi Wan still does not know at this point that Palpatine is the Sith. He does not know that there are chips in the clones. He has no idea that Anakin had chosen to fall (though it did not really go anywhere) and is likely going to wake up half willing to slaughter everyone. He doesn’t even really know that Padme is a week away from being induced (still early but the healers do not want to wait any longer).

So even as he is contemplating everything on his plate, Obi Wan does not even know the half of it.

By the time Shaak Ti, who had to corral Kamino (in which roughly half the Kaminoans in Tipoca city and a third of the remaining trainers were accused of being Jedi by both the battalion stationed there and the cadets), is back in contact, the bodies of the missing Masters were found. She is the one to float the idea of a malfunction to the chips (the report about Tup and Fives was still in the ‘to be reviewed’ queue for the Jedi Council-The Council is about 12-18 months behind on reviewing mission reports).

The news of the chips…does not make things better.

#star wars #star wars the clone wars #star wars au #obi wan kenobi #fanfiction prompt #anakin skywalker #codywan #sheev palpatine #bamf obi wan #anidala #order 66 #order 66 happened differently #Palpatine dies #Coruscant Guard

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hannie-dul-set · 4 months

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— arranged by: member (eldest to youngest) | date (latest to oldest) | type (full-length to drabbles to blurbs) i don’t recommend reading my older works because they’re terrible. still putting them on here for the sake of bookkeeping | last updated: 23.12.18

BLUE HYDRANGEAS. wherein this time, it’s your breath that gets taken away and not the other way around.

PAIRING. lee taeyong x reader. GENRE. romance, humor, light angst, and of course the overall theme of the event — dumbassery (this time, by y/n), florist! taeyong, contract killer! reader. WARNINGS. murder, death i mean lol, violence, swearing, mentions of blood, knives, & guns. WORD COUNT. 2.2k.

MISSED TIMINGS. drabble game; “do i look like i’ve moved on?”

PAIRING. lee taeyong x reader. GENRE. post breakup! au, angst. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 887.

CAUGHT RED HANDED. all you wanted to do was take a picture of the handsome law student during your train ride home. you did not expect things to end up like this.

PAIRING. kim doyoung x reader. GENRE. fluff, humor. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 804.

A FOOL’S GAME. were you the fool for being blind to his intentions? or was it he who forgot what his intentions were in the first place?

PAIRING. jung jaehyun x reader. GENRE. royal! au, drama, romance, angst, slight comedy. WARNINGS. swearing, mentions of death. WORD COUNT. 27.4k.

CONTRARIETY & CONFLUENCE. there was not an instance in your life where your judgement was proven to be mistaken— especially with regards to infatuations outside of your own. after an unpredicted introduction with a far too remarkable farm boy, you took it upon yourself to find a suitable match for him, not realizing that perhaps this time; your usual correct judgements might have been incorrect.

PAIRING. jung jaehyun x reader. GENRE. emma! au, matchmaking! au, strangers to lovers! au, slowburn, period romance, humor, one suggestive scene, very very tiny angst. WARNINGS. implied and borderline smut. WORD COUNT. 16.9k.

[doctor! au] [richkid! au] [sugardaddy! au] [bf discourse] [bf discourse]

PUT A FINGER DOWN. wherein mark lee finds you drunk for the first time and promises to himself that he should make sure that you never get wasted ever again.

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. college! au, humor, fluff, suggestive, drunken mistakes that would probably make you cry in real life. WARNINGS. swearing, alcohol consumption, mature content (sexual & explicit jokes about fingers and — u get the gist) please read at your own discretion. WORD COUNT. 1.6k.

BIBINGKA. legend says that if you finish all nine night masses of simbang gabi, your wish will be granted. mark only hopes that it’s actually true because that’s his last chance in getting you to notice him (but wait— shouldn’t his wish only come true after the nine days?)

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. christmas! au, crush! au, lots of fluff, mark is a piner, mark is also very awkward, some filipino references and customs. WARNINGS. swearing, religious themes. WORD COUNT. 6.9k.

HOW TO GET THE GUY. drabble game; “why haven’t you kissed me yet?”

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. college! au, friends to lovers! au, fluff, humor. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 1.2k.

IS IT BECAUSE YOU’RE ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT ME? video call with your best friend, mark lee.

PAIRING. mark lee x reader. GENRE. long distance (not so relationship) relationship, mutual pining, angsty themes. WARNINGS. none. WORD COUNT. 428.

[hotsauce! au] [bf discourse] [bf discourse] [coworkers! au]

DO YOU WANT ME (DEAD)? murder and making out.

PAIRING. huang renjun x reader. GENRE. high school! au, suggestive. WARNINGS. attempted murder, mentions of blood and self injury, veryy descriptive kissing, mc has a few screws lost, swearing, depictions of unstable behavior. WORD COUNT. 1.8k.

[friends to lovers! au] [skater! au] [skater! au] [tough love! au] [mermaid! au] [tutor! au]

I (HAVE/HAD) A CRUSH ON YOU. running into a past crush at your best friend’s birthday party wouldn’t have been so bad if he wasn’t— well— all that.

PAIRING. lee jeno x reader GENRE. crush! jeno, college! au, rom-com, mildly suggestive moments. WARNINGS. swearing, smoking, mentions of dicks and balls (sorry), an awful amount of men and boys being boys. WORD COUNT. 5.8k

I’LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT AND NO ONE ELSE’S. maybe snooping through your friend’s phone wasn’t that much of a good idea. or maybe it was. either way, you didn’t regret it.

PAIRING. lee jeno x reader. GENRE. friends to something, fluff, lots of bickering. WARNINGS. swearing, invasion of privacy(?) lmao. WORD COUNT. 2.1k.

IT’S FOR YOU. all it took was the heavy rainfall from the sky to clear up your misunderstandings.

PAIRING. lee jeno x reader. GENRE. e2l (sort of), fluff. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 1.5k.

[ceo! au] [spacecore! aesthetic] [hotsauce! au] [bf discourse]

KATHANG ISIP. musings of the mind and heart are always dangerous— it’s easy to get carried away and get lost in your made up scenarios, rose colored wishes, and fleeting daydreams of what you thought would be. that is until reality hits you like the crashing of an ocean’s waves.

PAIRING. lee donghyuck x reader. GENRE. roommates! au, college! au, brief roadtrip! au, angst, fluff, humor. also let’s pretend hyuck cannot drive and that his hometown is elsewhere for the sake of plot, thanks. WARNINGS. swearing, alcohol consumption, one descriptive kissing scene, lots and lots of overthinking. WORD COUNT. 19.8k

DATING 101. drabble game; “you’re not very intimidating”.

PAIRING. lee donghyuck x reader. GENRE. highschool! au, fluff, slight suggestive, slight humore, wannabe badboy! haechan. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 678.

SHAMELESS. drabble game; “did you just— did you just kiss me?” “yeah” “do it again”.

PAIRING. lee donghyuck x reader. GENRE. enemies! au, fluff, humor, co-worker! haechan. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 997.

[grunge! aesthetic] [lipstick! au] [bf discourse]

CAN’T HANDLE THIS. how are you supposed to explain that you and na jaemin started dating just to prove each other wrong and ended up catching feelings.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. strangers to lovers, college! au, matchmaking! au, yet another richkid! au, jaemin is an asshole again, romance, humor. WARNINGS. excessive swearing, a near death experience, drinking and smoking, more than a handful of illegal shit, mentions of vomit, blood, violence, too much sexual tension it’s unhealthy, again jaemin is kind of a dick but he’s an attractive dick, jaemin also likes it when you tell him his personality is trash. WORD COUNT. 16k.

IT TAKES FOUR YEARS TO GROW A PEACH TREE. humans are fickle in nature— it takes a great deal of patience, fortitude, and devotion to have a heart that remains constant. that or having an absolute tolerance for all pain and torment that comes in exchange.

so when you are once again met by the ex-boyfriend that you’ve desperately avoided for four years after tearing up his heart, it becomes a test of how much you can endure, and how much more you’re willing to endure after realizing that you’re still in love with him when his love has already been weathered down.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader GENRE. exes to lovers! au, college! au, romance, angst, fluff, humor, hurt/comfort, SLOW AS FUCK BURN, pining, lots of pushing and pulling, the “its always been you” trope, a modern retelling-ish of jane austen’s persuasion. WARNINGS. swearing, heartbreak, alcohol consumption, parental pressure, stress and anxiety, one scene with a nosebleed, jaemin is kind of a dick in the beginning, mentions of hospitals, one scene with a creep, one makeout scene, ghosting, breakup, a lot of me projecting. WORD COUNT. currently 54k.

ARAW-ARAW. mahiwaga— someone or something that you’ll choose every single day no matter the circumstance. and for you, that was na jaemin. even if time decides to set you apart.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. childhood friends to lovers! au, college! au, romance, slow-ish burn, fluff, humor, tiny angst, biology major jaemin and art major mc HEHE. WARNINGS. excessive swearing, insecurities, some sex jokes LMAO, i project a lot in this i’m sorry JSFJG. WORD COUNT. 14.5k.

US, AGAIN. they say history repeats itself, but you’d like to disagree. you had to disagree. history changes, even if you had to force it. but when all your attempts to twist fate were met by nothing but the flashing recurrences of the past, what were you supposed to do?

or, wherein you try everything in your power to have nothing to do with na jaemin, but na jaemin wants nothing but you.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. college! au, historical! au, soulmate! au, past lives, forbidden love stuff, reincarnation, romance, drama, humor, angst, fluff, looots of flashbacks, this is an entire kdrama, very loosely inspired by the webtoon “see you in my 19th life”. WARNINGS. (updated as the series goes on) character death/s, night terrors, murder, terminal illness, hospital mentions, gun mentions, inaccurate depictions of the joseon era for the sake of plot lmao. WORD COUNT. currently 4.9k.

TOP OF THE WORLD. things had always been the same in the world of na jaemin— him sitting on a throne above everyone else. that was the natural order. but the world as jaemin knew it began to shake after a few fated encounters with someone at the bottom of the food chain.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. private school! au, one sided e2l lmao, a dash of fake dating, romance, heavily suggestive themes, lots and lots of sexual tension and power dynamics. WARNINGS. bullying (lots of it), public humiliation, mildly nsfw, borderline smut, implied smut, swearing, jaemin being a literal asshole. WORD COUNT. 15.6k.

HOSTILITY. making out with the person you hate the most.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. suggestive, stageplay! au. WARNINGS. making out, swearing, reader tells jaem to k himself, reader spits on jaem’s face and he does something…questionable. WORD COUNT. 438.

DO IT AGAIN. maybe you should have paid more attention to your boyfriend. he isn’t always petty, but he has his limits.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. fluff, established relationship! au. WARNINGS. alcohol consumption, kissing. WORD COUNT. 576.

DON’T THINK, JUST DO. an overthinker, a piece of advice, a sudden confession, and a subtle meltdown.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. high school! au, f2l, fluff, humor. WARNINGS. swearing. WORD COUNT. 1.6k.

WHAT BEST FRIENDS DO. drabble game; “i need a hug”.

PAIRING. na jaemin x reader. GENRE. high school! au, maybe secret relationship! au, fluff, light humor. WARNINGS. swearing, mentions of food. WORD COUNT. 988.

[secret agents! au] [richkid! au] [boyfriend! au] [neighbor! au] [spiderman! au] [softcore! aesthetic] [racer! au] [vampire! au] [bf discourse] [bf discourse] [best friends to lovers! au] [reincarnation! au]

[taeil bf discourse] [johnny royal! au] [yuta punk! aesthetic] [yuta bf discourse] [kun richkid! au] [jungwoo royalcore! aesthetic] [jisung bf discourse]

NCT & WAYV MASTERLIST. © hannie-dul-set.

#only a fourth of these are good btw #masterlist

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paxesoterica · 5 months

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Y'know, I can't help but think that, if not for the confluence of the rise of internet use and the peak of Neon Genesis Evangelion's popularity, the meme would probably be, "Get in the robot, Amuro", instead.

On a more serious note, I do think 'the Bright slap' (which occurs in this scene and is frequently memed about by the Gundam fandom) getting decontextualized is unfortunate. Like, Amuro is a 16 y.o. teenager who never wanted or trained for war, and has spent the last 8 episodes killing people, so it's understandable that he's traumatized and unwilling to fight, even though it's endangering his comrades. Bright meanwhile is 19 y.o. teenager who's only been in the military for 6 months and is clearly treading water while trying to perform a leadership role he wasn't ready for or expecting, and keeping his people alive. so while I don't think hitting Amuro was good or helpful, I think Bright losing his temper makes sense in context. Plus, the fact that what actually gets Amuro back into the Gundam is Fraw Bow requesting the operator's manual so that she can fly the Gundam instead?

The whole thing's a little heartbreaking honestly.

#anime #mobile suit gundam #0079 #fraw bow #amuro ray #bright noa

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dduane · 1 year

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Peter and the twenty suits and somehow that story contains tomato aspic? Color me intrigued

No, the aspic was an accidental confluence. But there was definitely tomato juice involved. (Also: not twenty. But a dozen, anyway.)

...So let’s turn our minds back to those thrilling days of yesteryear (i.e. 2008...). The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators kindly asked me to come be a keynote speaker at their yearly get-together, which that year was being held on the island of Hydra, in Greece. Leaving the honor of even being asked to one side, I’d never been to Greece, so I more or less instantly said “Yes!”

(Inserting a cut here. WARNING: this post contains: business travel, alcohol, and lemon zest.)

...Getting to Athens was going to be just a tiny touch complicated because at that point, none of the major airlines serving Ireland offered a direct DUB-ATH service. I thought about this for a while, and (since I’m on a frequent-flyer program with them) it seemed the most sensible way in and out of Athens was to take a Swiss flight to Zürich, stop there overnight if necessary, and catch the next convenient ZRH-ATH flight onward.

So Peter and I did that, and we went to Athens, and from there via catamaran ferry to Hydra; where I had a fabulous time conferring, confabulating and otherwise hanging out with my fellow wizards writers. And when that was all over, we regretfully started the process of heading home. (During the first leg of which process I cut an unexpected notch on my webmastering belt by actually doing website maintenance using a Nokia phone cabled to a laptop, while in the middle of the Saronic Gulf, on a hydrofoil.)

...Anyway. Back through Athens to the airport, uneventful flight from ATH to ZRH, train from the airport to Zürich Hauptbahnhof (the city’s main train station); did check-in for our morning ZRH-DUB flight there, while also checking our non-carryon bags through to the plane. Then, dinner at Hiltl Vegi, crash-and-burn at the favorite little hotel that’s about three minutes’ walk from Zuri HB, and up early the next morning for the train back to the airport: straight through security, and airside.

This version of “airside” was going to be a little more interesting for us than usual, because we’d been flown business class on this run. As a result we could get into one of the Swiss lounges, which are justly famous for their general poshness. More than that: since we were flying to a non-Schengen country, we would be leaving from the (relatively) new and shiny Terminal E.

So we did the underground people-mover underneath the runways and came out in the new terminal, and headed upstairs for the business lounge.

It was large; it was gorgeous. And the view out across the runways to the Alps was amazing. (Though that view was slightly impeded by what was, it was then said, the longest lounge bar in Europe.)

That was, granted, interesting enough. But our attention wasn’t primarily on that. What we were both most interested in when we first got there was a little something to eat and drink while we waited for the 11 AM-ish departure.

Now, this was long before that lounge had been renovated to contain a live open kitchen with hot and cold running chefs. In 2008 there were, however, free snack stations with assorted junk food—chips/crisps and pretzels and nuts, etc—and (that time of day) casual breakfast makings: cereals and milk, and mueslis and yogurts, and breads and butters and jams and cheeses and cold cuts and so forth.... such as you’d normally find in a central European breakfast buffet. There was also a coffee island nearby...

...and a drinks station with juices and sparkling water and soft drinks and beer and wine. Next to that one was a selection of basic alcohols and mixers.

...The lounge was pretty full of people that morning: a lot of business folk were apparently getting ready to board pre-lunch or lunchtime flights. A lot of them were up at the bar for coffee or whatever, and the bar staff had their hands full. We’d had our coffee and our breakfast, and then Peter looked over his shoulder at the juice-and-drinks setup, and said, “You know, I might have a Bloody Mary.”

“Okay,” I said. “Make me one too?” Because we were in no rush, and this whole situation was looking rather brunchlike. Why not complete the picture? “...And if they’ve got something like V-8, do mine with that.”

So over to the drinks installation P. went, rolled up his sleeves, scoped out the available supplies, gathered together the necessary ingredients, and started making Bloody Marys with his usual air of proficiency. (If you’ve ever been at a convention where he happened to be doing bartender duty—such as a Minicon or similar—you’ll know what I mean. A careful eye for appropriate ingredient amounts, and great thoughtfulness about seasoning.)

He made mine first, and brought it over to where we’d been sitting. And then he went back and started making his. I wasn’t paying much attention to that: I was mostly drinking mine and gazing at the Alps. (If you put me within sight of mountains, I’ll be staring at them. It’s what I do.) ...And eventually I turned around to see if he was done making his, because I was thinking maybe I might want another one.

Except I couldn’t see him. He was surrounded by suits. (Or, more accurately, people wearing them.)

He was making them all Bloody Marys.

Yeah, okay, the bar was busy. But apparently somebody had seen Peter using the bar measures at the drinks station to get the shot sizes just right, and saw him teaspoon-measuring the Worcestershire sauce, and doing the dash-of-Tabasco thing, and employing the lemon zester, and and and... They got suckered in by the air of expertise, is all I can suggest. Guys in suits (and a couple/few very well-suited ladies) had begun surrounding him and asking him questions, most of them apparently beginning, “Sir, what are you doing? What is that?” and “What are you putting in there?” ...and eventually, “Would you show me how?”, and/or “Would you also make one for me?”

...And so he did. What can I tell you? ...I couldn’t see him well, except when someone in the surrounding group moved aside a little. (They totaled ten or twelve people, finally, as they drifted in and out.) ...But there he was at the core of that group, surrounded by an extremely complex comics-style talk-balloon of queries in several languages (it was Switzerland, after all; just in-country, you’ve got five or more to choose from...). Some of those people were translating for other ones. And celery and tomato juice and Ireland and science fiction and Tabasco and Star Trek were being discussed (and V-8: turned out there wasn’t any...) and God knows what else. And all these nice people in suits, one after another, were being equipped with Bloody Marys.

Eventually the crowd thinned out to nothing, and finally Peter came back with his own Bloody Mary, and sat down, shaking his head. Then he showed me a little sheaf of business cards.

We went through them. Futures traders and a couple of publishing execs and a guy who worked sales at the company that builds Irish pubs for international export and the lady who brokered high-end underground rare-cheese storage and the guy who did logistics on worldwide custom transport of organs for transplant. And a lot of offers to “Call me/us when you’re in town and let me/us buy you a drink to thank you.”

I shook my head. “Networking?” was all I could find to say at last.

Peter shrugged. “With tomato juice.”

#Travel stories #Peter and the Suits

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indigovigilance · 5 months

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After so nicely helping me out with the bookshop maybe you can help with a more serious question. I know we all have different theories and opinions about what happened in the last fifteen, so there won't be the one answer until S03. What haunts me most since finishing is the "I forgive you". For me it seems not to be the trained angelic phrase he always uses when they are arguing again. There must be more behind and I don't want to believe that it's about loving the Angel Crowley over the Demon Crowley and it's an act of mercy.

I have given much more full and nuanced answers in primarily these two metas:

A Nightingale Sang in 1941

Continuity Errors

In both cases, I believe two things:

Aziraphale is actually forgiving Crowley for doing something that upset him, which goes beyond just kissing him. Aziraphale is upset that Crowley is trying to force his hand, that he used this as cover for a trick, or that he made Aziraphale have his first kiss under the worst possible conditions. Whatever the exact reason or confluence of reasons, it really is a forgiveness.

Aziraphale is protecting Crowley from the Metatron because *a demon sexually assaulting an angel* (which is what Aziraphale has to pretend that was, since he can't own his feelings back) could get Crowley into really big trouble, and he's trying to preempt any punishment by granting Crowley his celestial forgiveness, under the hope/theory that the Metatron isn't going to violate that and punish Crowley anyways.

That's my working theory of "I forgive you" as of time of publishing. But I'm doing a lot of research and cogitation to figure out exactly who Crowley and Aziraphale are from an apocryphal perspective, and what I discover may change my mind. So there's that. If you'd like a peek at what I'm looking into, you can check this out:

Baraqiel and Azazel

#good omens meta #the final fifteen #i forgive you #good omens kiss #total aside but I think “do it again right now” is absolute bullshit #it is not canon #and I think MS is too polite to openly contradict that guy but personal opinion he is dead wrong in his interpretation #indigovigilance answers asks

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quirkconsulting · 7 months

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Real-Life Agile Project Management Examples That Inspire

In the ever-evolving landscape of Australian business, the Agile approach to project management has gained remarkable prominence. Agile methodologies, with their emphasis on adaptability, collaboration, and customer satisfaction, have enabled businesses to achieve remarkable outcomes. At Quirk Consulting, we believe in the power of real-life examples to inspire and demonstrate the transformative potential of Agile coach training & project management. In this article, we'll explore real-life Agile project management examples from Australia that serve as beacons of success and innovation.

1. Atlassian: Pioneering Agile in Australia

One of the most prominent success stories of Agile project management in Australia comes from none other than Atlassian, the software giant headquartered in Sydney. Atlassian is the creator of popular project management tools like Jira and Trello, which are widely used by Agile teams worldwide.

Atlassian's Agile journey started internally, with the company implementing Agile methodologies across its various teams. This shift enabled Atlassian to accelerate product development, increase transparency, and enhance collaboration. As a result, the company experienced significant growth and became a global leader in the software development space.

Key Takeaway: Atlassian's success illustrates how embracing Agile methodologies can drive innovation and transform not only products but also entire organisations.

2. MYOB: Delivering Customer-Centric Solutions

MYOB, a leading Australian accounting software provider, adopted Agile project management to enhance its product development processes. By transitioning to Agile, MYOB aimed to become more customer-centric and responsive to market demands.

One of the notable outcomes of MYOB's Agile transformation was the development of MYOB Essentials, a cloud-based accounting solution. Agile methodologies allowed MYOB to release frequent updates and improvements based on customer feedback. This customer-centric approach resulted in higher customer satisfaction and retention.

Key Takeaway: MYOB's success showcases how Agile methodologies can enable Australian businesses to deliver products that closely align with customer needs and expectations.

3. REA Group: Agile for Continuous Improvement

REA Group, the owner of the popular Australian property website realestate.com.au, adopted Agile project management to streamline its development processes. By implementing Agile, REA Group aimed to foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

One of the notable initiatives at REA Group was the introduction of hackathons, where teams came together to work on innovative projects outside their regular work. These events encouraged creativity and experimentation, leading to the development of new features and services that improved the user experience on the website.

Key Takeaway: REA Group's Agile journey demonstrates how Agile methodologies can drive a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, resulting in enhanced customer experiences.

4. Suncorp Group: Agile in Banking

Suncorp Group, a major Australian financial services company, recognised the need for agility in the competitive banking sector. The company embarked on an Agile transformation to improve its project delivery and customer-focused initiatives.

One of the notable achievements of Suncorp Group's Agile transformation was the launch of its digital bank, called "Vero." Agile methodologies allowed Suncorp to develop and release the digital banking platform in record time. This responsive approach to customer needs helped Suncorp gain a competitive edge in the market.

Key Takeaway: Suncorp Group's Agile success demonstrates how Agile methodologies can enable Australian banks to innovate and deliver digital solutions that meet customer demands.

5. Telstra: Agile in Telecommunications

Telstra, one of Australia's largest telecommunications companies, embraced Agile project management to enhance its product development and customer service processes. Telstra's Agile transformation aimed to make the company more responsive to customer needs and market changes.

One of Telstra's successful Agile initiatives was the development of its "24x7" app, which provides customers with self-service options and real-time information. Agile methodologies allowed Telstra to iterate quickly, delivering updates and improvements based on customer feedback and changing market conditions.

Key Takeaway: Telstra's Agile journey highlights how Agile methodologies can empower Australian telecommunications companies to deliver customer-centric solutions and improve service offerings.

Inspiring Agile Success Stories in Australia

These real-life Agile project management examples from Australia demonstrate the transformative power of Agile methodologies in various industries, from software development to banking and telecommunications. By embracing Agile principles and practices, these organisations have achieved remarkable outcomes, including increased innovation, customer satisfaction, and competitive advantage.

If you're considering implementing Agile project management in your Australian business, these success stories serve as powerful inspirations. Quirk Consulting is here to guide you on your Agile journey, helping you unlock the full potential of Agile methodologies and drive success in your organisation. Stay agile, stay innovative, and let these examples inspire your path to excellence.

#atlassian bitbucket training #atlassian training #certified enterprise coach #consultant #confluence training #consulting #atlassian classes #jira and confluence training #motivateyourself #atlassian jira training

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nilaniraj · 1 month

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#flutter course in madurai #full stack developer course #react js course in madurai #confluence training #android course in madurai #figma course in madurai #full stack course

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coloradocharmiegirl · 5 months

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Chapter 39 here--New 11/26/23

Summary:

Timmy's idyllic morning ends as he steps through the classroom door, setting in motion a confluence of expectations, assumptions, and just plain bad luck that threatens everything that had seemed so sure just hours before, leaving Armie blindsided at the worst possible time.

Excerpt:

His eyes fell on the metallic blue key hanging from his ring and he could barely swallow, his food suddenly tasteless and dry. How was it that only a few hours ago he’d sat right here, thinking about his and Armie’s life together to this point and all that the future could hold, so anxiously happy about moving in together? And now?

Now he didn’t see how he could.

How could he live with someone he couldn’t trust?

Deep down in his heart, he knew he couldn’t.

His chest felt tight as he pondered–how could he have been so wrong? He thought…

Well, it didn’t matter what he thought he knew, did it?

As a doctor, he’d been trained to see what was in front of him, not to rely on what people said. People lied, for all sorts of reasons.

He just hadn’t thought Armie would.

Or start from the beginning here

Hello! For all of you still hanging around, thank you! I'm sorry this has taken so long, but it's an important chapter to me, and it deserved special care (as well as just being somewhat emotionally hard to write.) For those of you who love angst--this is for you. But please remember--this story has a happy ending. I promise.

Much love, CCG 💙 💚

#charmie fanfic #charmie ff #charmie #doctor timmy #fireman armie #charmie fic #rollercoaster of angst #please don't hate me

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copperbadge · 1 year

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rosefyrefyre

Okay, but what IS your favorite dumb conspiracy theory about JFK?

So, I can’t ever in good conscience actually recommend this podcast, since it’s more than a little risque and the boys have been quite problematic in the past, but Last Podcast On The Left did a massive series about the JFK assassination and dedicated at least an entire episode (possibly two) to the conspiracy theories surrounding it, from the plausible to the absolutely ludicrous.

The one they put forward that they found reasonable (and so do I, though I do believe it was Oswald, acting alone) was that it was a confluence of a couple of things -- the Secret Service agents had been out drinking the night before, so were hungover or still drunk during the parade, and one of them was very young and not well-trained, and didn’t secure his gun properly. When Oswald fired, the young agent startled and the gun went off, and that’s the shot that hit Kennedy. The Secret Service covered it up to keep themselves from being implicated and protect the agent who fired from a lifetime of persecution for killing a president.

It has the advantage of being somewhat believable, but also being fucking wild, that you think Oswald shot at the president but didn’t hit him, but caused someone ELSE to hit him. So it’s a fun one to bring up when discussing it.

#rosefyrefyre #death #kennedy assassination

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thelonglist · 2 years

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Masterlist - Part 5 - BNHA fan fic recs

Hi! don’t have much to say here but i do have more fic recs! Hope y’all enjoy! I apologize if some of the fics do not quite fit their categories.

Here are links for Part Four, Part Three, Part Two and Part One

For reference:

L - longer fic (100,000+ words)

O - One shot

& - ongoing

# - Complete

! - favorites

Thank you!

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -

UA Fun

Mortality VS Morality (And Other Things To Know About Fighting Villains) - &

The Problem Child and the Teacher’s Pet - O #

Hidden Heroes - O #

(What's) Under the Surface - O # past revealed mina's pov

Speak of the devil - # demon izuku makes a deal with 1A

staying power - O # izuku & shinsou

snap - O # izuku & shinsou

achilles' heel - O # izuku & shinsou

Adaptation week - O #

normal? what the hell is that? - O # personality swap prank

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Haunted OFA

They Were What?!? - O#

A Good Man Never Dies (not in a way that matters) - & DFO ghost yoichi

hello, nine - O # haunted ofa terrorizes haunts 1A

The Acquisition - # Kid izuku w/ vestige parents

Sharing is Caring, Except When It's My Body So Get Out - &

Flashing Lights - O #

Sounds of Laughter, Shades of Life (are ringing through my open ears) - &

seeping through - O #

haunted (glimpse a truth) - O # shindeku

Eldritch Horror or Haunted? - O #

One for all is... sentient? - Series &

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Zombie

I'm dying to know how this ends - &

! My Hero Apocalypse - &

Last Man on Earth (+1) - O # bakudeku

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Izuku isn’t human

local gay realizes he's a monsterfucker and falls in love, more at 12 - series - & shindeku also eldritch

Summoning a Demon (on accident) - & demon Izuku Shindeku

that ocean is not silent - O # eldritch

Cosmic Confluence - O # shindeku grim reaper

Across The River Styx - O #

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Ships

A Night For Trying Something - O # IzuMomo

playing the game (i'll break the rules for you) - O # Bakudeku

Cute Nurse and Unruly Patient - O # bakudeku

Dance With Me - & izuocha

Pieces of Heart - O # izuocha

Sweet deception and its benefits - O # Rody/Izuku

Down the Rabbit Hole - O # dustbunny

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Grown up au

You Put the Lie in Library - O # Vigilante Deku Shindeku

! Trust Fall - & Shindeku

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Time Travel

Through the cracks - # time travel

that time long past - O # time travel

Aizawa's School Daze - O #

! I’ll Be Back - #

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

No Quirk AUs

The Obake's Soulless Boy - O # spirits

to have and to hold - O # kiribaku

Foxfire - & spirits DFO

A spark, a breath, a life. - & DFO cyborg AU

A Blast from the Past - O # bakudeku

Perfect Match - O # bakudeku

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Angst

The House Seven Stories Under - O # dfo vaulted izuku

always just out of reach - O #

We tried the world; good god it wasn't for us. - & lady nagant is cool

One Horn - #

backstage - O # izuku is trained by the HPSC

Repurposed - & noumu izuku

You Can't Run - O # villain izuku made me so mad and sad in the best way possible

in my remains - O # de-aged dabi this one hurt real bad

vii. isolation - O #

That Paradise is Buried in the Dust - O # de-aged shigaraki

Post Mortem (Post Mortal) - & ghost deku

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Crack

A Hair Raising Experience - O # USJ

Stupidity is Not a Crime so You’re Free to Go - O #

the road to heaven is paved with bad intentions - O #

Smile Through the Tears - O # Dfo big bro tomura, midoriyas’ crying issue

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Quirk causes plot

Headphones, Calluses, And A Capture Weapon (All The Things That Make You Safe Here) - O # dadzawa

Into oblivion - O # timeloop shindeku

the light is fading (but i'm still here) - O #

silence is what i do best - # truth quirk

the only way out (is through) - &

You look different, but not - O # dabi/hawks

yesterday i died, tomorrow's bleeding - H time travel

photo album - O # de-aged izuku

The Only Constant in the Multiverse: Novelty Keychains - & dimension travel

Little do you know (why we are sorry) - O # amnesia

Scorpions and Chains - # bad memory coma class 1A finds out abt izukus past

! Corgizuku - O # izuku is turned into a corgi and unwillingly adopted by shigaraki

walk a mile - O # bodyswap quirk shinsou & izuku

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Cute as fluff!

! one foot in front of the other - O # kid izuku meet yagi and fanboys to him abt all might

! smiles are reserved for those in need - O # big bro touya

Wanted: A Dad To Be Here For Me And Mama (Someone With Dark Hair And Red Eyes, Pretty Please?) - O # dadzawa

Watermelon, Sakura, Katsudon (Home Is Here) - O # dadzawa, sis eri big bro izu sickfic

baked s'mores & joint pain - O # izuku accidently gets to high shindeku

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

I love izuku

parlor tricks - &

Shadow's Whisper - O # izuku is a demon who haunts tartarus

!!Fear No Evil - # 3rd movie au dfo, dadmight

Masks (both literal and metaphorical) - O # dfo forced villain izuku

!!Beyond the Broken Horizon - & L

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

The only full smut fics I have ever completed

Perfect Enemy - O # fuck or die fem!izuku Midoriya Izuku/Shigaraki Tomura

What're Friend's For? - O # tododeku hit by a quirk

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

HPSC being crappy

The Price of Peace - & unhealthy dadmight

A Straight Shot - O # kid izuku & lady nagant

No Solace Left to Spare, Not Painted in the Blood We Bare - O #

backstage - O # izuku is trained by the HPSC

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Miscellaneous AUs I love

How to train your Terran - & Space AU humans are space orcs

What is this feeling? - O # kid izuku and bakugo puppy love

Mob Mentality - & izuku is arrested

Open your eyes (Intoxicate) - & shindeku vigilante izuku

burnt to the core (who is left behind) - O # izuku and touya are quirk trafficked and become brothers

first number i'd call (after my real first, that is) - O # nana and gran torino

In a Future's Woes - Series & Izuku sees the future

put your teeth into it - & Izuku and hitoshi friendship, hitoshi pretends he is quirkless

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

DFO

First (real) Date - O # AFO/Inko

Grandma Nana and Dad for One AU - Series &

Inko Midoriya: Loved By Many, Feared By All (for one) - & DFO

Alike as Opposites - O # dfo

Gravitational Pull - Series & DFO Space

A Good Man Never Dies (not in a way that matters) - & DFO ghost yoichi

A spark, a breath, a life. - & DFO cyborg AU

The House Seven Stories Under - O # dfo vaulted izuku

Smile Through the Tears - O # Dfo big bro tomura, midoriyas’ crying issue

!! Fear No Evil - # 3rd movie au dfo, dadmight

Masks (both literal and metaphorical) - O # dfo forced villain izuku

Foxfire - & spirits DFO

#bnha #my hero academia #fanfic #fic recs #midoriya izuku #tododeku #bakudeku #dfo #dadzawa #dadmight #izuocha #izumomo #dustbunny #bnha fanfic recs #bnha fanfiction

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asurrogateblog · 2 days

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Cannibals, Pirates, and PhDs: How Did I Get Here?

I mentioned in some tags earlier that I’ve only actually been a real fan of Pink Floyd for under a year, and that the confluence of events that led up to it is pretty absurd. Some interest seemed to be taken in this, so I though I’d elaborate.

I didn’t know how to shorten this timeline and have it make any sense, so it’s... long. But idk, I think it’s pretty funny. If you’re nosy like I am this is for you.

My Backstory Timeline:

early childhood: my parents essentially mainline me and my little sister with The Beatles. I know almost no songs written past the 70’s until at least sixth grade. I develop a childhood crush on Paul McCartney, a joke that the universe really decides to play the long game on.

2014: my dad calls me over one night, and gravely tells me he’s been waiting to share something until I’m old enough. I brace myself to be told about sex or secret half-siblings. Instead, he tells me I need to listen to The Wall. Irritated at the idea of wasting an hour and half of my night, I nevertheless comply and go up to my room and put it on. I do not come back from this, clearly having inherited some sort of generational curse.

Around the same time, I am also secretly watching Hannibal every time my parents send me upstairs because Game of Thrones is “too gory”. This will trigger three important things: an interest in psychology, a love of horror media, and a classical music phase will train my attention span to last well past the three minute mark.

2014-2023: Over the intervening years, I become a casual fan of Pink Floyd, but make a deliberate point not to learn anything about the band. I like being able to imagine my own meanings for the songs. Also, I am motivated against this by a childhood memory of being deeply frightening by a picture of old Paul McCartney (LOL). I do not want that to ever happen again, so no learning.

Cut to April of 2023: I am finishing up my first year of my PhD program studying media psychology. I am in a bad place mentally, and am going through another horror movie phase to fill the hole. As a result, I get very into American Psycho. The main character, Patrick Bateman, is a fan of superficial 80’s pop music, particularly Genesis. I decide to start listening to Genesis to see if I agree with his tastes. While researching “best Genesis albums”, I come across The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. I listen to it, and am blown away. I had no idea that the Phil Collins band made music like that. This sends me down the prog-rock rabbit hole. I still won't learn any lore.

Summer of 2023: MEANWHILE, I am also going through another pirate phase. I have a fairly encyclopedic knowledge of 18th century piracy (and am still quite active in the Black Sails fan community). Around this time, I get really obsessed with this one random guy named Dennis McCarthy who was hanged in 1718.

I decide to work poor Dennis into a science fiction story I’ve been working on. The premise is essentially that the universe is an abandoned simulation, and a ‘glitch in the matrix’ starts to, among other things, bring people from the wrong time periods back to life. The format of the story is vaguely monster-of-the-week, in which the characters have to solve various problems caused by mistakes in the code. I think, “hey, you know what would be perfect for this? that fanfic I wrote about The Wall in high school.” Said fic (which that stupid fucking beatles movie stole from me) is about a world in which Pink Floyd never existed, but a wannabe rock-star discovers a box full of their records and decides to copy them. While he is touring his plagiarized version of The Wall, he realizes that the events of the album are starting to happen to him in real life. By working this concept into my new story, I go through another one of my periodical The Wall phases. It's in full swing when fall rolls around.

September of 2023: This semester, I take a grad-level narrative theory class in the English department. I decide it would be helpful to follow along with a specific example, so I choose The Wall. Using the terminology I am learning in the class, I start to realize that The Wall is…. incredibly narratologically fucked up. To help orient me, I watch the bootleg concert recordings, and the trick with the surrogate band sends me so out of my mind that I decide I must break my rule about never learning band lore.

This is where the two plot-lines converge. I don’t remember which came first, but around this same time, I think to myself “hey, if Genesis was hiding such an incredible album under the 80’s pop, what must Pink Floyd be hiding?” On that whim, I put on Piper at the Gates of Dawn, which equally sends me so out of my mind that I decide I must break my rule about never learning band lore. I needed to know what the fuck happened to get them from Piper to The Wall.

September-November: In the two months between the onset of this and finally making another sideblog, I dedicate all of my free time to learning as much about Pink Floyd as humanely possible (and writing a 20 page essay for that narrative theory class). As you can imagine, this is a lot to unpack all at once for someone who didn’t even know who Roger or Syd or any of the rest of them were. Luckily, I am over-educated enough to be a very fast learner. Aside from the band lore itself, I of course also fall in love with the rest of Pink Floyd's discography musically-speaking. Having this interest to latch onto genuinely pulls me out of my depression.

Cut to February 2024: I am really enjoying myself, and want to keep this going as long as possible, but I am starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel on Pink Floyd lore. I decide I need to feed the fire by supplementing with lore from another band. The Beatles seem to have a strong fan presence on tumblr, why not revisit a childhood favorite? The universe laughs at my expense.

That about brings us up to date. I have gone through so much character development over the last eight months, it’s crazy. Pink Floyd is definitely one of those things that is less of a “phase” and more of a permanent part of my mindscape. Weirdly enough, since I am studying media psychology, all of this has also been really good for my career? I never took an interest in -real- media figures (as opposed to fictional characters) before, and I feel like I have a much clearer sense of things now. It's definitely influenced my research, so whatever domino effect this has on my future is bound to get even funnier.

Anyway, that’s my backstory!

#it’s interesting re-examining how my relationship to The Wall has changed over time.#strange how you can love something as a kid but not really personally relate to it. and then you grow up and suddenly you’re like...#...oh shit. there -must- have been a door there when I came in #//#that makes it sound less fun than its been tho #god. i've had so much fun. im actually glad i took so long to get into band lore so I could learn all this -now-#i had kind of worked myself into a (very silly) mental spiral of 'what if I've run out of new things to discover'#and it's been so. idk... healing for me to realize all of this has been here the whole time #(clenching my teeth: ....emotional vulnerability....)

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