#oxford canal

[david-sankey]

"His Dark Materials" on telly started with Lyra Belacqua running round "Jordan College" Oxford. There was no Jordan College, but the name was partly influenced by Jericho, where there was an iron works (Lucy's - Eagle Works) and a wharf.   It's now very much gentrified, & I saw that Morse narrowly missed a mucky film at the "Studio Two" flix  (Phoenix Picturehouse now) in a repeated episode recently..... Anyroad, Lucy's gone and the wharf is being redeveloped . There's been a Loooong campaign and there still is, for the redevelopment to be done responsibly (the most minimal of minimum demands) and despite a unanimous rejection by the council of the developers proposals - they have taken the site to Planning Appeal  https://www.jerichowharf.com/news/news_item/time-for-a-turndown .   (photo shows St Barnabas Church behind Jericho Wharf) 

#His Dark Materials #Jericho #Jordan College #St Barnabas Church #Jerichowharf #Lucy's Ironworks #Eagle works #Oxford #Oxford Canal

[giant-steps]

#oxford canal

[urban-hellscape]

#architecture #manchester #uk #buildings #greater manchester #photography #aesthetic #deansgate #grunge #construction #canal #river canal #Oxford road #waterways

[wouldiweresteadfastasthouart]

Botanic Gardens, Oxford

#oxford #botanic garden #botanic academia #botanical #canal #light academia #garden #castle garden #travel

[ancientegyptdaily]

“The Arabic name Medinet Habu (“City of Habu”) was thought to reflect the site's more ancient connection with Amenhotep, the son of Hapu, a respected sage of the 14th century BCE, later deified, whose memorial temple was immediately to the north. No trace of this association has come down from ancient times, however, as the site's formal name in Egyptian was either Djeme, “Males and Mothers”— originally with reference to the eight primeval deities, or Ogdoad, whom the ancients believed to be buried there — although the name continued to be used by the site's later Christian inhabitants.

Medinet Habu's most conspicuous standing monument is the great memorial temple of Ramesses III (reign 1198–1166 BCE). On the grounds of this complex, however, are numerous other structures, most notably the so-called small temple (built in stages, from the mid 18th Dynasty until the second century CE) and the memorial chapels of the divine votaresses of Amun (25th Dynasty and 26th). 

Among other ancient buildings at the site, but less well preserved, is the memorial temple of King Horemheb (reign 1343–1315 BCE), usurped from his predecessor Ay (reign 1346–1343 BCE), which abuts Ramesses III's enclosure on its northern side. To its east are a number of tomb chapels made for high officials of the later New Kingdom.

Most abundantly on the enclosure wall of Ramesses III's temple are the remnants of later mud-brick houses — from the town that engulfed the site beginning in the 11th century BCE until the site was abandoned in the 9th century CE. Reuse of Ramesses III's temple was made especially apparent by the decorated doorways that were cut into its northern outer wall during early Christian times, when the Holy Church of Djeme occupied the building's second court.

The great temple of Ramesses III was called the Mansion of Millions of Years of King Usermare-Maiamun; ‘United with Eternity in the Estate of Amun on the West of Thebes.’  The precinct, 210m × 315m, was entered by two stone gates in the mud-brick enclosure wall, on the eastern and the western sides. The western gate — presumably the normal entrance for employees who lived outside the precinct — was destroyed when the temple was besieged in a civil war, during the reign of Ramesses XI (c. 1096 BCE). The eastern entrance, approached by a canal, terminated in a harbour, from which important visitors and statues could enter the temple.”

SOURCE: William J. Murnane, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt (2001)

#egypt #ancient egypt #egyptology #archaeology #historyedit #mine #my edit #medinet habu #20th dynasty #new kingdom #thebes #waset #luxor #ramesses iii

[evilhasnever]

if xiyao was in a super power au, what powers do you think they'd have (either a 'everyone has powers' or 'xiyao are superheroes' type thing)

Ohh, funny that you'd ask, I've been toying with the idea of possibly writing a superhero AU. It'd be a campy old school Batman setting, so nothing too left field as far as powers go - the Lans are a predictable mix of Batman and Supes so they get: flight, superstrength, bulletproof skin, and money. As for JGY, I haven't decided yet (but if I did, it'd be a spoiler~)

Let me give you an opening snippet I wrote a little while ago:

Every time he’s asked why he stays in Suzhou, Lan Xichen says it’s because it’s his ancestral home, where his family has owned a mansion for generations. If you asked Zewu-Jun, he’d say it’s where he’s most needed.  The crime rate in Suzhou had spiked over the past decade, and when Lan Xichen returned freshly graduated from Oxford he barely recognized the city of his childhood. Charity and public appearances could only do so much - it was Wangji’s idea to don a cowl and take to the streets.  At first, Shufu had been staunchly against such a public display of their powers, but he’d soon realized that Wangji would not be deterred. Lan Xichen, for his part, suggested taking turns - this had the double advantage of sparing them the exhaustion and allowing them to maintain a respectable public life, covering for each other if they were occasionally sighted by the press.  Ultimately, Shufu could not in good conscience stop them from doing what he himself had once done in his youth - that is, wear a uniform that allows for acrobatics and patrol the roofs of Suzhou. Wangji does his “side” job with a grim sense of duty and utter efficiency. He does not seem to find joy in it past a job well done, but that is no small thing in itself. Lan Xichen, for his part,  patrols the streets out of carefully nurtured optimism and some whimsical nostalgia, indispensable to survive the bleakness. There’s beauty in the smoke-darkened canals of Suzhou, in the permanently dark sky crucified by spotlights. There’s resilience in its people, who keep living rather than running. This is a city worth saving, so that it may dream again like Lan Xichen does.  Also, he likes spandex. 

#note: suzhou seems really beautiful so I may change the name I just needed that gotham vibe #xiyao drabbles #in a sense #wip #xiyao #ask box

[outsideratheart]

22 “I thought you were going home for Christmas.” - “Well, I couldn’t leave you all alone.” with laia aleixandri

A/N: Day eighteen of the Christmas advent calendar. 

There are many jokes about the British weather and how it can change in the blink of an eye. You had persuaded Laia to stay in Manchester a few days more than her fellow Spaniards because you wanted a few days just the two of you.

Laia went back to Spain on the 23rd or that’s what you thought. When you received a text message saying that she had landed safe and sound you didn’t think anything more of it.

Before leaving you asked her if you could look after Luke whilst she was away then when you fly out to join her in Spain you will book him into the kennels that the other girls use.

When Christmas morning came you posted a photo on Instagram of you in your childhood bed with Luke licking you making sure to tag Laia in it. Your phone goes off almost straight after and you pick it up without looking who the caller is.

“Laia” you ask as you play with the dog.

“Close but it’s Leila. Why do you have Luke?”

“Because his mum is in Spain” you say even though you are stating the obvious.

“No she’s not. Laia’s flight got cancelled due to the weather and she hasn’t been able to get another one. She is in Manchester”

“What!” You sit up suddenly “why didn’t she tell me? Actually I know why. I have to go” with no further explanation you end the phone call.

Laia couldn’t believe that she was spending Christmas alone. She almost called to tell you, to ask if you would bring her Luke but ultimately she chose against it. She didn’t want to ruin your Christmas just because Mother Nature ruined hers.

Her parents called her in the morning to wish her a Merry Christmas and to make sure that she was ok. She of course said she was even if it couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The apartment she shared with Leila and Lucia couldn’t have felt less like home. Laia began looking at the photo frames that lined the shelves, stopping at one you bought her. It was a photo from your first date which was a walk down the canal stopping by a little cafe under one of the bridges. You told her it was your secret spot, a place where you went when things got a little overwhelming. You told her that she could use it as her spot but no one else could know about it. It is only when she sees a tear on the glass of the frame that she realises she is crying.

As she makes her way to the kitchen she looks at Luke’s corner. All his dog toys were in his basket, something that would never happen if he were here. Technically the dog belong to all three of the Spaniards but she took the role of mum while Leila and Lucia were the fun aunties. She is thinking about the dog so much she could of sworn she heard his bark but that couldn’t be, he was with you and your family in Oxford. Then she is hears it again only it is louder and it sounds like it is coming from outside the apartment door. Laia opens the door and what do you know, there siting at the doorway is her brown fluff ball.

“Feliz navidad Mi amor” you turn from where you are leaning against the wall.

The look of surprise and happiness on your girlfriend’s face made the 3 hour car journey in the snow worth it.

“What are you doing here?” Laia all but jumps in your arms.

“Leila told me your flight got cancelled”

Laia then guides you into the apartment. A small giggle escapes her lips when she sees Luke already emptying his toy basket. She pulls you towards the sofa.

“I thought you were going home for Christmas.” Laia says still a little in shock at the fact that you’re here.

When you hold your arms out she happily settles into your embrace.

“Well, I couldn’t leave you all alone.”

“But what about your family?” Laia knew how much spending Christmas with your family meant to you. Over the past couple of weeks you had told her all the stories about christmases at the Y/L/N household.

It was true. You loved christmas and having some quality time with your family but the thought of Laia being alone, on a day which used to bring her so much happiness, just didn’t sit well with you. You knew that if you were to have stayed at home you wouldn’t have been able to stop thinking about her. In the end choosing to be with her was the easiest decision you have ever made.

“You’re forgetting one thing. It wasn’t just me who was in Oxford. See I might have been with my family but Luke wasn’t”

Upon hearing his name the dog made a bee line for the two of you. Jumping all over you in excitement, not having a care at all for your personal space.

“At this point he is your family too” Laia says.

“And you are mine. We might have only been together a few months but there’s no one else I would rather spend Christmas with” you gently kiss her before settling on the sofa together.

#christmas ficlet #woso x reader #Laia Aleixandri x reader #mcwfc x reader #espwnt x reader #atletico madrid femenino x reader

[redgriffinsphotos]

Oxford Canal, Autumn 2016 (Part 2)

#photography #canal #bridges #countryside #landscape #landscape photography #narrow boats #church #morning #cows

[david-sankey]

Oxford canal - saved by direct action.....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FoxiY5PNw3ngFXT98

https://photos.app.goo.gl/SZaN8JkurPBpao1w9

".....local communities came to its rescue and who better in this world famous city of arts and learning to rally support than a famous poet and an author. In 1955, the poet John Betjeman spoke out against the threatened closure of the Oxford Canal at a Town Hall meeting whilst some 50 years later when the Jericho boatyard and adjoining land was closed and sold for development, Philip Pullman lent his voice to the campaign for its restitution declaring: “It feels like a battle; it is battle for the soul of something, it is a battle for a little bit of Oxford.” " http://www.oxfordcanalheritage.org/about

#John Betjeman #Oxford #Oxford Canal #Philip Pullman

[asrisgratitudejournal]

Easter

Wow kemarin ku habis libur panjang Jumat-Senin easter break 2024. Betulan gak kemana-mana di Oxford aja. Padahal tahun lalu ku bela-belain bikin Schengen visa buat menyeberang ke mainland. Main goalnya buat ketemu Stray Kids di Music Bank di Paris, tapi karena dapetnya visa via Belanda, jadi masuk lewat Schiphol. Dijemput Tharina, lanjut nginep di Ede 2 malam. Ada postingannya gak ya, masa sih ku gapernah recounting di sini?

Oh ada kok: https://asrisgratitudejournal.tumblr.com/post/714943822276231168/paris-pt-1  Tapi emang tahun lalu itu kayanya lagi depresi juga habis dapet rejection pertama kali di bulan Februari-nya lol (sekarang bisa lol lol, waktu itu rasanya udah mau m*ati aja huft).

Anyways… iya. Awalnya mikir duh pengen banget jalan-jalan ke mana gitu karena lumayan banget 4 hari libur. Tapi ya gimana nasib paspor ijo NKRI… Nggak bisa pergi-pergi gitu aja dengan mudah.

Tapi duit juga lagi nggak ada sih. Jadi ya memang situasinya agak tidak memungkinkan juga untuk travelling. Sempat kepikiran mau ke Maroko padahal. Tapi sepertinya mepet sekali (waktu itu kepikiran ini semua di awal Maret).

Akhirnyaaaaa. Di rumah aja. Ada teman yang nginep sih 2 malam dari Sabtu sampai Senin. Sebelumnya di hari Kamis juga nonton Kungfu Panda sore, dilanjut dengan bukber Thai. Dari pertemuan ini ku mendapatkan rekomendasi untuk nonton White Lotus. Oh awalnya kami bahas The Gentleman si Theo James bagus, terus seniorku bilang “kita tahu Theo James dari White Lotus tuh, bagus deh recommended”. Jadinya aku langsung subscribe Now (buat sebulan ini aja sih), dan langsung ngebingewatch 2 season langsung selama long weekend kemarin.

Selain bingewatching, ku juga jalan lumayan. Ada hari yang kami (ku dan temanku yang nginep ini) jalan ke Port Meadow dan menelusuri canal sambil ngobrol. Terus ada hari yang kami keluar rumah buat beli takjil dan makan buka aja. Ada juga hari kami ke Uni Park terus ku melukis radcam dari Fellow Garden. Senang deh, di hari pas ngelukis ini ku disamperin stranger gitu terus dia cerita kalau dia juga painted terus dia nunjukkin foto-foto paintingsnya dia.

Si temanku ini sampai nanya “Non, can you see yourself living in Oxford for good?”. Ku jawabnya agak ragu-ragu, tapi setelah mikir lama: “I think yes”. Ku beneran baru sadar se…bagus, se-safe, se-comfy, se-indah apa Oxford kalau lagi sama teman yang bukan orang Oxford. Di sini tuh beneran yang nggak ada traffic, ke mana-mana literally bisa jalan kaki. Orang-orangnya baik-baik dan ramah-ramah, nggak kayak di London. Hhhh. Betulan deh. Vibenya tuh mirip banget kaya pas aku lagi ngerjain TA tinggal di Tuabatan, Timor. Slow living aja gitu. Saling sapa antar warga.

Udah sih. Apa lagi ya.

Oh, my verdict on White Lotus: it’s great 8.5/10 lah (esp season 1). Season 2 terlalu fokus pada kenikmatan duniawi berupa sex, jadi agak redundant aja menurutku. Season 1-nya OK sih. Apa karena settingnya juga ya. Season 1 di Hawaii, jadi betulan kerasa tropical atmospehere-nya (DAN BIKIN KANGEN RUMAH!). Beres season 1 tuh ku langsung googling resort di Bali. Ku 2019 conference di Inaya Nusa Dua, terus ternyata sekarang udah berubah jadi Merusaka. Ku tidak sabar untuk segera pulang dan LIBURAN HUHU.

Di sela-sela semua kegiatan itu juga ku masih lanjut baca. Setiap hari sebelum tidur (setelah melakukan ritual duolingo), ku usahakan baca sedikit. Ku lagi baca simultaneously: Good Enough-nya Dolly Alderton (agak boring karena pov-nya white man brits banget jadi susah relate), Backwards in High Heels (ini mayan rame, ku suka banget writersnya super sassy jadi selalu giggling sendiri kalau baca ini), sama Your Brain on Art.

Lupa pertama kali kenapa sampe ke-ekspos sama Your Brain on Art tuh. Ku tapi sampe dibeliin sama RSL ni buku karena ku request. So far nggak terlalu seru lagi ☹, jauh lebih insightful baca This is Your Brain on Music-nya David Levitin (jauh lebih scientific dan jelas evidence dari argument yang dibawa). Si your brain on art ini jatohnya jadi lebih kaya anekdot orang-orang cerita aja dia kerja di suatu institusi mental health dan incorporating art in their method and it proved work (for some of them). Tapi yaudah udah kepalang baca jadi harus bertanggungjawab menyelesaikan Non.

Udah sepertinya itu dulu aja update-annya. Kerjaan lagi mayan behind tapi gapapa semangat! Selama masih membalas email dan nyalain laptop sepertinya sudah ok untuk fase saya sekarang ini. Harus udah mulai nulis banget sih karena barusan udah email sponsor kalau ku nggak butuh uang mereka lagi setelah summer HUHU. Jadi ku harus berusaha keras menyelesaikan ini semua!

Fighting!!!

YAAMPUN ada part yang paling penting banget kelupaan ku tulis yang kulakukan di break kemarin: NONTON FAN MEETING STRAY KIDS HUHU. Itu literally 4.5 jam dan ku di hari Minggu beneran yang udah bangun dan duduk manis depan TV dari jam 9 pagi. Wow. Tapi ku senang banget. $35 yang super worth it.

Dah gitu aja.

Selamat 10 hari terakhir Ramadan semua!!!

17.42 03/04/2024

Rumah

[thepixelpenguin]

Mario Kart Tour: Oxford Foray

Told you this page would be random.

I think an underappreciated aspect of Tour's city track design is their atmosphere. They don't just tour recognisable landmarks in a believable layout, they really capture the city's character! From New York's dazzling nightlife to LA's casual appeal, Singapore's extreme extravagance to Sydney's energetic simplicity, Vancouver's splashes of colour and natural beauty, Amsterdam's effortless harmony with canals and nature alike, Rome's ancient architecture with comfortable life on top, Madrid's modern bustle with impressive history underneath, Athens' proud (and hilly) past and Bangkok's humble yet hopeful future, and Berlin's seamless integration of all eras: they're all accurate as far as I can surmise. There's only a few that I think don't quite hit the mark. Paris’ modernity is smothered in quaint romanticism, though what else could one expect, Tokyo has little of its maximalist flair, but perhaps the graphics limited that, and then… London.

I'm certainly biased, it being my home country and the only city on the list I've seen for more than a day, but it seems to only hit the beats of its most recognisable icons: laudably no doubt, but the city isn't just its imposing imperial riches! What strikes me about London is its fast-paced mishmash of cultures that fill in all the gaps between the great British statements like water running over cobbled streets: history and novelty around every corner! The course gives me the impression of the former but not the latter. 

I'm not sure I'm qualified to rectify this, but I can make up for it with another English icon! My hometown has its history, but not enough to base a tour around. My current homestead, however, is undeniably culturally significant, and it's not just that. I hope I did well to convey the place as storied and not just interesting, but inviting, a genuinely fun place to stay for a day or a year. That's how I feel about it at least.

HERE WE GO

1: Our foray begins on the left side of the picturesque High Street, between Queen’s College and the Examination Schools. It’s a noticeably wide street (and a noticeably wide gothic limestone starting gate with a waving chequered flag to boot), with a cobbled dividing strip, and plenty of buses to crowd the way! As the road narrows and items are collected, there’s a right turn into the Covered Market, which has three narrow lanes to choose from, and a few opportunities to weave between.

Out of the market is a sharp right turn down a walled alley, with the lovely Exeter and Lincoln colleges adjoining. This is before a huge 180 turn with another item set around the Radcliffe Camera, an impressive dome in the middle of a big communal square. Having lost its fence, at that, so if you’ve got a mushroom and are prepared to miss out on items, the shortcut is worth it! Racers continue north past All Souls College and the Bodleian Library to reach the roundabout connecting Broad Street and Holywell Street. Remember the Bridge of Sighs to your right.

The route continues up Parks Road, a leafy avenue with plenty of boost panels, before splitting around Keble College! If you continue straight forwards, you get an easy wide road, and a view of both the Natural History Museum and University Parks. However, if you take that subtle sharp left, you can find a potentially faster cut-through that’s a bit tougher to navigate. I didn’t even have to design this one!

Both options reconvene at the apex of St Giles, where a patch of off-road leads to an optional ramp, and the road broadens to quite a degree, leaving room for a ridiculous row of coins. The abbreviated straight ends at the Martyr’s Memorial, which now has just a humble patch of grass behind it instead of an entire church, just to improve the flow.

A quick left turn introduces Broad Street, which, you guessed it, also widens out, somewhat narrowed by some of the city’s numerous bike racks. However, this one has its right half covered in short wooden ramps, for the first half! These can be useful for some trick boosts, but more coins lay the other way. Items are given at the halfway point. Before reaching the roundabout at the end, there is a conspicuous diversion past the Sheldonian Theatre (which has no fence, to make way for the race) and through the library complex towards the Bridge of Sighs. Racers may either run straight through the gate (tricking as they go) or take the grated glider ramps to make it over the bridge!

The return to the start line via New College Lane and Queen’s Lane is a winding, narrow path, walled in by the historic namesake colleges. You’ll have to forgive them for not having karts running through their grounds. Nonetheless, navigate those chicanes and a final left turn (with a sneaky cut over the pavement) brings you back to the line. It’s a long one alright!

2: As in track 1, we begin on the High Street, though this time we forge ahead past the Covered Market, the traffic turning off before the Carfax Tower, until the course swerves into the Westgate Centre. In a strikingly similar manner to Coconut Mall, the route has two walkways either side of an optional drop with escalators, before a right turn into a more open area where the drop and escalators are forced. I swear it’s coincidental! The decor is distinct at least. 

After grabbing items wherever you may encounter them, exit the mall via another sharp right turn onto open road. Make use of its breadth before you have to navigate the Castle & Prison, which is exactly what it sounds like! A couple of narrow turns later, there is a brief anti-grav uphill to wind up the Castle Mound to a big glider ramp, from which one must avoid the dreaming spires of Nuffield College and St Peter’s College some random church, or grab some of the revolving coins if you’re daring…

Though you could just drop onto the street, the Ashmolean’s grand ionic forum is a perfect landing place, where one can drift around to jump down the stairs and find themselves heading onto Broad Street once again! This time, the route heads past the theatre and turns at the roundabout, so the other lot of ramps, this time occupying the left half, can be made useful. The lap ends the way you’d expect after turning at the roundabout.

3: Unlike both 2 and 1, we start our race on Cornmarket Street (under a long hanging sign of oil paints on wood, the closest I can get to putting a pub in a kids’ game), a place I would be remiss not to include, along with its clutter of bicycle parking. If there’s one thing you notice about transit in Oxford, it’s how many bicycles are in the way. However, if you can dodge around the racks, you may find some coins or even dash panels…

Anyway, Cornmarket is a simple, if not uninterrupted, straight, which racers take south, spying once again the Carfax Tower and then the Town Hall and impressive Christ Church. You know, the big one. The road continues down St Aldates with all its traffic, but soon turns left through the open gates of Christ Church Meadow! The next half of the lap takes place in greener pastures, first down a puddle-ridden southward straightaway with sparse items and Moo Moos spectating, then when the course meets the Thames and Folly Bridge, a more wide open snaking route with grass shortcuts abound! The riverside path remains intact, but still off-road.

After doing this eastward a while, the course drastically narrows as it winds its way northward strictly following the meanders of the Cherwell. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from driving through the river itself, but the bumpy terrain and drag force balances any advantage of breadth. A wiser path is found by jumping onto a series of punts, which can be quite hard to aim for, but offer a trick each time. They’re not hard to come by in Oxford. This continues all the way to the Botanic Gardens, which can themselves be snuck through via a gap in the fence. Those wishing for a complete row of item boxes and, of course, the exquisite surroundings, can find themselves jumping over the pond in the south section before reaching the north, where a quick right around the fountain directs you between the greenhouses to reenter the river. The river, of course, does continue past the gardens, but who would want to miss out? Especially when that part of the bed gets so muddy…

When you’ve finally made it to Magdalen Bridge, you need only drive under it to find a wide slope up to the roundabout, which is drifted around before crossing the bridge to witness the lovely Magdalen Tower! We then cross the line - the line from the other versions, that is - before sneaking past the University Church to reach the road past the Radcliffe Camera. The Bodleian Library can now be dashed through for a guaranteed double box, if you can find the narrow entry! The rest is obvious: take Broad Street one last time, westward now, to reach the top of Cornmarket Street.

So how might these all fit together if they were given the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe treatment? Honestly, probably better than the individual courses! Lap 1 takes version 1, of course, but stops short of Broad Street, instead cutting through via Cornmarket to start lap 2, with version 2 taking over by way of a right turn at Carfax Tower. Lap 3 simply commences from the High Street and doesn’t bother with the whole Broad Street diversion: we’ve already seen it!

Oh right, I also made the music for it! You'll have to forgive Musescore's playback engine, they try, bless 'em.

It too had to be truly emblematic of Oxford, and besides the obvious historical, academic, fancy vibes, no sound reminds me more of this place than the echoing of church bells! And there are choirs in every college. So I ended up with a rather baroque piece, arpeggiated bass, change ringing, suspensions and all, which certainly suits the locale, but does NOT typically suit Mario Kart's encouraging energy. Heck, they almost always rely on synths, too, let alone their melody-first composition style that is entirely unfamiliar. How did I fit the mould? By focusing on intensity of Biblical proportions! If there's one thing choirs and organs can do, it's a ramp-up of DRAMA. With enough build and release, it's got the natural energy. Slap on a drum-beat and it ends up shockingly fitting. With all the zero inspiration I had to go on, I seriously surprised myself with this one. Judge for yourself!

Oxford is quite a convenient place to work with: most cities are so massive that you have to smush all the landmarks together and the layout doesn’t quite come naturally. But this place is already so compact, and packed with unmistakable buildings! Also, I know they’re trying to be flattering, but can you believe London saw not a drop of rain?! I think Oxford should be partially cloudy by contrast, providing a gentle rainfall, but with enough streams of sunlight to pierce the depressing grey… it could make the meadow look positively angelic!

Perhaps one day I’ll try my hand at Hong Kong Hustle to address Tokyo’s plight… or Shanghai Streets, I can’t decide! And then there’s one that is so easy to make that it’d be kind of funny just to do for the sake of it. We’ll see.

If anyone wants to take the names Rio de Janeiro Jaunt, New Delhi Journey, Moscow Scoot, Stockholm Swing, Cairo Cruise, Geneva Chase, or best of all, Brussels Bout, be my guest. And if any modders feel like 3d-modelling most of Oxford for me, I would love to give it a look :D

#mario kart #mario kart tour #mario kart 8 dlc #fanmade #soundtrack #level design

[owlsie-hoot]

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024!

2023 you were not the year I hoped you'd be. You started alright and with a wonderful fun trip to Edinburgh where we had such a great time! But from then on, everything went a bit downhill to be honest.

I was extremely fortunate to have found the courage to join the ACGAS fandom properly. So grateful for all the lovely people that are in it. You've been the highlight of this year for me. Thank you for that.

Instead of doing things I love, I somehow ended up staying at home more than I wanted to. Did less outdoor activities than I used to, took even less pictures. Which is so not me. That was the absolute downside of 2023, the weeks where I seemed fine on the outside but wasn't fine on the inside.

But again: fandom helped. Singing helped. It allowed me to go on crazy trips to Yorkshire, meet wonderful people online and offline.

I also had the best holidays EVER in September when a friend and I went on a Narrow Boat trip on the Oxford Canal, followed by a few days in Brighton for singing and meeting friends, followed by a few days in London that included three very memorable theatre visits. Oh and I sang together with Sophie Aldred in a "Whovian" Choir at the German Doctor Who Convention.

The UK trips basically saved 2023. And I hope to repeat some of the journeys in 2024. For now: BYE 2023. I will only miss January, April, June and September of you. 2024 please be kinder and with less illnesses. Thanks.

#personal

[contaminaciondebidoaaceites]

Universidad Autónoma del Estado México.

Plantel: Lic. Adolfo López Mateos

Asignatura: Cultura ambiental y desarrollo sustentable

"Colaborativo Módulo IV problemática ambiental, Contaminación silenciosa debido a aceites, en la Vialidad Adolfo López Mateos No.218, Zinacantepec, México "

Profesora: Miriam Vilchis Mata

EQUIPO 4:

1. López Campos Mariana

2. Macedo Miranda Vanessa Michelle

3. Mercado González Teresa Ximena

4. Neri Reyes Ximena

5. Olmos Morales Orlando

6. Rangel Jaimes Sofía Fernanda

Vespertino

Grupo: 519

Al comenzar con nuestras propuestas ambientales y analizarlas con detenimiento pudimos notar un factor que se nos presentaba constantemente, lo cual es realmente preocupante ya que estamos hablando de un recurso vital para cualquier ser humano y llegamos a la conclusión de que nuestro tema elegido será la contaminación del agua debido al desecho de aceites y grasas.

Antecedentes:

Ubicada en la vialidad Adolfo López Mateos número 218 segundo piso En la

localidad de San Luis Mextepec, municipio Zinacantepec, México, problemática

ubicada en el restaurante del mismo domicilio.

Planteamiento del problema:

El problema se encuentra en el manejo de las grasas y aceites dentro de la dirección e inclusive en la cuadra completa, debido a la desinformación que existe sobre ciertos temas ambientales llegamos a hacer mucho daño sin darnos cuenta, Debido a esto nos encontramos con un problema de contaminación del agua que se presenta a través de desechar grasas y aceites a través del desagüe o de la tubería que se encuentra en nuestras casas, agregando a esto que se encuentra un establecimiento público de comida donde constantemente se necesita hacer uso de aceite vegetal.

Lo cual es realmente inquietante debido a qué según diferentes fuentes, una gota de aceite puede llegar a contaminar entre mil y un millón de litros de agua, dependiendo de las condiciones ambientales este capaz de crear una capa sobre la superficie del agua que dificulta el paso de oxígeno pudiendo matar a los seres vivos de los ríos, canales o mares.

Objetivo general: Nuestro objetivo es informarnos y platicar con nuestra familia acerca de las consecuencias que tiene tirar aceite al desagüe, para así implementar las acciones necesarias y reducir el problema en nuestros hogares.

Objetivo particular o específico: Comenzar a guardar el aceite que ya no nos sirve en una botella de plástico limpia, para ir acumulándolo paulatinamente, posteriormente podemos entregarlo a campañas de recolección de aceite como las que se encuentran en nuestro plantel “Lic Adolfo López Mateos” ayudando al medio ambiente y cooperando con la sociedad.

Sustento teórico

• Aceite: Sustancia grasa de origen mineral, vegetal o animal, líquida, insoluble en agua, combustible y generalmente menos densa que el agua, que está constituida por ésteres de ácidos grasos o por hidrocarburos derivados del petróleo. (Oxford Languages and Google - Spanish | Oxford Languages, 2022)

• Agua: El agua es una sustancia que se compone por dos átomos de hidrógeno y un átomo de oxígeno (H2O) y se puede encontrar en estado sólido (hielo), gaseoso (vapor) y líquido (agua). Las propiedades físicas y químicas del agua son muy importantes para la supervivencia de los ecosistemas. (Valdivielso, 2023)

• Reciclaje: El reciclaje es el proceso de recolección y transformación de materiales para convertirlos en nuevos productos. BBVA. Comunication (2023)

• Contaminación del agua: La contaminación del agua ocurre cuando sustancias nocivas, a menudo productos químicos o microorganismos, contaminan un arroyo, río, lago, océano, acuífero u otro cuerpo de agua, degradando su calidad y volviéndola tóxica para los seres humanos o el medio ambiente. (¿Cómo nos afecta la contaminación del agua?, s. f.)

• Materiales contaminantes: Definición: Una sustancia que se encuentra en un medio al cual no pertenece o que lo hace a niveles que pueden causar efectos (adversos) para la salud o el medio ambiente. (Glosario: contaminante(s), s. f.)

• Estación depuradora de aguas residuales: Una estación depuradora de aguas residuales puede definirse como el conjunto de instalaciones que tiene por objeto la reducción de la contaminación de las aguas residuales hasta límites aceptables para el cauce receptor (EDAR). (Fundación Aquae, 2021)

Teórico

El aceite es una sustancia no biodegradable, que al llegar a ríos o mares perjudica a la vida acuática y propicia la proliferación de microorganismos dañinos para la salud. Ya que no se mezcla con el agua, se queda encima de ella, formando una capa que impide la correcta oxigenación de las aguas. (¿Por qué no debes tirar aceite de cocina usado al desagüe?, s. f.)

El principal problema reside en la contaminación de las aguas residuales urbanas.

La grasa, debido a su característica aglutinante, genera bolos que producen importantes atascos en las cabeceras de las canalizaciones de la red de aguas residuales. Teniendo en cuenta que un litro de aceite de cocina puede contaminar de 10,000 a 40,000 litros de agua, la cual no podrá ser tratada y está inevitablemente contaminada (Aquae, 2021)

Por otro lado, estos vertidos contribuyen a la reproducción de bacterias nocivas en las tuberías, lo que a su vez produce un aumento de plagas urbanas y a la generación de malos olores en las casas. Se estima que cada consumidor genera al año unos cuatro litros de aceite doméstico usado. (Aquea, 2021b)

Teniendo en cuenta que el Estado de México tiene 17,934,893 e estado genera 71,739,572 litros de aceite vegetal anualmente (Coespo. 2019)

Para tener datos un poco más específicos y concretos acerca del tema tomamos una muestra de la población que nos rodea, haciendo una serie de preguntas a 16 personas para poder saber con más certeza información, respaldando nuestra investigación.

Jurídico

Para brindar seguridad del correcto desecho del aceite existen fundamentos jurídicos explícitas en la Ley General Del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente, que nos permiten sentar bases en la solución y existencia del problema:

ARTÍCULO 121.

-

“No podrán descargarse o infiltrarse en cualquier cuerpo o corriente de agua o en el suelo o subsuelo, aguas residuales que contengan contaminantes, sin previo tratamiento y el permiso o autorización de la autoridad federal, o de la autoridad local en los casos de descargas en aguas de jurisdicción local o a los sistemas de drenaje y alcantarillado de los centros de población.” Ley General Del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente [LGEEPA]. Art. 121. 08 de mayo de 2023 (México).

Esta medida establece la necesidad de tratar y obtener permisos antes de verter sustancias contaminantes en cuerpos de agua, suelos o sistemas de drenaje, con el objetivo de prevenir la contaminación y proteger el entorno natural y la salud de la población.

ARTÍCULO 139.

-

“Toda descarga, depósito o infiltración de sustancias o materiales contaminantes en los suelos se sujetará a lo que disponga esta Ley, la Ley de Aguas

Nacionales, sus disposiciones reglamentarias y las normas oficiales mexicanas que para tal efecto expida la Secretaría.” Ley General Del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente [LGEEPA]. Art. 121. 08 de mayo de 2023 (México).

Esta ley no sólo especifica el mal uso de materiales contaminantes en el agua sino también expone una protección ante el recurso natural, además establece un marco legal integral para prevenir la contaminación tanto del agua como del suelo en México. Se asegura de que las personas y las empresas que realicen actividades que puedan contaminar el suelo. Esta disposición es esencial para garantizar un manejo adecuado de las sustancias contaminantes y para prevenir daños ambientales, lo que a su vez contribuye a mantener la calidad del agua y la salud de los suelos en México.

Propuesta de solución

Nuestra propuesta de solución es informarnos e informar a las personas que viven con nosotros sobre las consecuencias que existen al tirar aceites o grasas al desagüe, llevar a cabo un correcto procesamiento del aceite vegetal que ya "no tiene uso" en nuestras casas y tratar de fomentar campañas de correcto desecho de aceites y grasas en nuestra comunidad. Asimismo, divulgar esta información en redes mostrando los beneficios que conlleva correcto desecho del aceite. Indicando que el aceite que se usa en las cocinas puede ser guardada en una botella para después llevarlas a plantas que puedan tratar correctamente el aceite vegetal o llevarlo a una campaña de recolección de aceite para así beneficiarnos entre todos y cuidar un recurso tan fundamental como es el agua.

Conclusión

Entendemos que esta problemática se encuentra en más de un hogar por lo tanto nos interesa informarnos y hacer conciencia acerca de las consecuencias que puede llegar a generar, este estudio llama la atención del público ya que se encuentra directamente ligado a nuestras casas más específico a nuestras cocinas sobre el problema vertido en el aceite de cocina usado que posteriormente es desechado al desagüe, tanto para el medio ambiente como para la infraestructura sanitaria, donde al desechar aceite de cocina por la tubería genéranos gastos extra parar la empresa de aguas residuales, Además del daño irreversible que le genera al agua, haciendo reflexión que este es valorado por su recolección y posteriormente lleva a cabo un procesamiento para producir biodisel, jabones, velas entre otros, impulsando la actividad económica y evitando tener problemas ambientales a futuro, dando a entender que si nos informamos y tomando acción podemos disminuir nuestra huella contaminante.

Por último se presenta el link del video colaborativo basado en este mismo artículo

#blog #ambient #aceitedecocina #agua #cuidado #Youtube

[notasfilosoficas]

“Las cadenas del hábito son generalmente demasiado débiles para que las sintamos, hasta que son demasiado fuertes para que podamos romperlas”

Samuel Johnson

Fue un poeta, ensayista, biógrafo, crítico literario y lexicógrafo inglés nacido en Lichfield Staffordshire en septiembre de 1709. 

Conocido como el Dr. Johnson, es una de las figuras más notables de Inglaterra y conocido como uno de los mejores críticos literarios en el idioma inglés. 

Fue autor del primer diccionario de la lengua inglesa, poseedor de un gran talento y una prosa de estilo inigualable.

Estudió en la universidad de Oxford, la cual abandonó debido a problemas económicos. Trabajó en condiciones difíciles como periodista y traductor en Birmingham y como maestro de escuela en su ciudad natal. 

En 1737 se trasladó a Londres en donde comenzó a escribir para una revista literaria. En 1755 tras nueve años de esfuerzo publicó el primer diccionario de la lengua inglesa. El Diccionario de Johnson fue muy importante en su tiempo y hoy en día es aclamado como “uno de los mayores logros de la erudición”.

Escribió numerosos ensayos y críticas literarias a la obra de William Shakespeare.

De carácter brusco, de estatura alta, de complexión robusta y un tanto desarreglado y afectado de tics y de gesticulaciones nerviosas, a veces desconcertaban a los que lo conocían. A raíz de la publicación de su diccionario, se convirtió en una celebridad y le fue concedido el título de Doctor, por parte del Trinity College de Dublín.

Su personalidad contrastaba con su profunda erudición, su brillante conversación y su aparente conservadurismo.

Jamás hizo fortuna, y vivió la mayor parte de su vida en precarias condiciones, fracasó en su intento de ser director de una escuela y fundó su propia escuela en Edial, a las afueras de Lichfield. El colegio fue un fracaso y le costó buena parte de sus ahorros, dedicándose a la escritura.

Como crítico literario, Johnson tuvo una influencia duradera, aunque no todo el mundo lo veía con buenos ojos. Sentó las bases del debate literario en lo concerniente a las figuras de Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, McPherson y Gray. Durante la primera mitad del siglo XIX la literatura secundaria empezó a ignorar los escritos de Johnson, y no fue que a partir de finales del siglo XIX que su figura como escritor y crítico literario comenzó a revitalizarse.

En el Reino Unido, la figura de Johnson sigue causando profunda admiración, y existen numerosas sociedades formadas en torno a su figura y legado, dedicadas al disfrute de su vida y obra. En 1999, el canal de television BBC Four, puso en marcha el premio Samuel Johnson como galardón de obras de no ficción.

Johnson cuenta con dos museos en el Reino Unido. El principal en su casa natal en Lichfield y alberga numerosos objetos personales, correspondencia y escritos. El segundo museo está en la casa en la que vivió entre 1748 y 1759 en Gough Square en Londres, así también hay un monumento en su honor en la Catedral de San Pablo en Londres.

Fuente: Wikipedia.

#frases #frases de escritores #poetas #citas de la vida #samuel johnson #inglaterra #londres #notas de vida #poesia #ensayista

[rappaccini]

arachnophobia ch 5 notes

chapter title

from 'fire and ice' by nova twins.

quote

from alfred tennyson's idylls of the king

spoken by guinevere, a another famous gwen in literature, who is also the beautiful blonde love interest of the hero, whose relationship ends tragically, who falls for the wrong guy (one of her husband's friends) and is remembered… controversially for it.

(by controversially i mean when the kingdom falls her husband blames it on her affair. like that makes sense.)

in context this line is guinevere meeting with lancelot one last time as shit blows up, and denying his request that they hide away together, so she can seek redemption on her own. which is what happens in this chapter.

lancelot is hobie. he's the friend of the hero, miles, who the hero's designated love interest, gwen, is drawn to instead. and if the hero's friend and the hero's love interest fall for each other instead, it will be treated as a betrayal with most of the blame landing on the love interest's shoulders, even if the love interest and the hero were never together in the first place (it basically is already; just look at how the fandom reacts to the thought of gwen and hobie together).

gwen's arrival

interdimensional jet lag is a thing: notice how it's twilight on 1610 but midday on 50101 and 928, and the middle of the night on 65?

orb web: the geometric shape of the society portal most resembles one.

in the comics, the vulture yeets gwen into a garbage barge. fond memories.

garbage strikes in the uk in the mid to late 70s are arguably the spark that started punk culture in the country.

if you look closely in hobie's intro, fisk is the prime minister, not osborn, who's the fascist president of his comics counterpart's world.

venom, in hobie's world, is a riot armor worn by specialized police sent in to break up demonstrations.

it's real telling that gwen finds a fascist dictatorship safer than her own home. i figure that hobie would find that significant too.

in the 616 comics, gwen goes to london after her father dies to get away from her grief, before returning because she misses her friends and peter. in the amazing spider-man movies, she nearly goes to oxford, but stays in part bc of her relationship with peter. if she'd stayed in/gone to london, she'd have lived. very significant that the spider-man who gives gwen her freedom happens to be from there.

at this point gwen thinks she's going to die by glitching out. she has no portal watch and no reason to think she'll get another. (she's not thinking clearly enough to consider hobie might loan her his, and even if it did cross her mind, she wouldn't accept it.)

in the script for the first issue of gwen's comics, it's discussed that they want her world to have the vibe of 'it's not a watchmen-style police state yet, but it could be in a few years, and that's part of gwen's motivation for wearing the mask' --- and throughout the latour run, gwen's world's cops, courts and government are deeply corrupt, and gwen constantly opposes them. one would think that 138 would be of particular interest to gwen as a potential outcome for her world.

howard the duck is president in earth-65. yes, it's a trump analog.

alliteration is fun, so all the places gwen looks for hobie start with the letter c:

cellar: mattea murdock is 138's daredevil. since she's blind, she gets to live in a basement. and it's a basement, so the acoustics are probably great, so the band probably practices there.

the coleherne: in the 70s, it was a leather bar. rick is the romantic partner of karl/138-captain-america. it's not mentioned in the fic explicitly, but i think of hobie as queer. him hanging out in a leather bar was a nod to that, though hobie seems like he'd have no issue chilling in a gay bar (or beating up bigots) regardless. also, a reference to hanging around, which was on loop while writing this chapter.

canal: concept art has hobie living in a boat. if he lives in a boat, he needs somewhere to park it, preferably close to his home neighborhood. and what do you know, there are canals near camden.

catacombs: the camden catacombs. figured they'd be a good place to hide a fugitive.

community center: in the comics, hobie operates out of one in brooklyn. i figure it's where movie hobie might have spent some of his nights, and would be a backup place to live.

gwen lands just after sundown to give her time to websling all the way from peckham to camden looking in all these places.

movie-138's art style is a beautiful collage, reminiscent of zines.

gwen's dragging her hands on it because in a few days she'll be molecules. those handprints might be the last trace of her.

the spider-slayers are hobie's band. supposedly, he named them that without their permission.

comics-gwen's gone to rock shows and jumped into the pit when she was depressed. small homage to that here.

hobie's theme song is real. supposedly he's the one who wrote it, and he sings it to himself bc he's a dork.

mindy is 616 hobie brown's wife. here, she's a former flame.

mattea murdock in the comics is from philly. i went with peckham because alliteration.

there's no way gwen wouldn't have started looking at every girl who has a first name starting with 'm' with even the vaguest romantic connection to a spider-man who's into her, without thinking 'you don't happen to have a middle name starting with j, do you?'

even though gwen doesn't want to compete for a guy (especially not miles, who she doesn't even want to be with), she's still anxious about being replaced.

616 gwen dies in 1973. since hobie's world is in the late 70s (according to his mugshot), i figured it would work to keep the year of gwen's death the same. thus, she died in 1973. and since hobie was spider-punk for three years as of '78, he hadn't been bitten yet when she was killed.

and if hobie encountered her in 1970-73, he'd have been 10-13. no way would a preteen be confident enough to talk to a musician who'd be in her late teens at the youngest.

(138 gwen and hobie have the same age difference as 65 gwen and hobie; with her being 6-7 years his senior. huh)

her importance to him isn't romantic. it's parasocial. she's an idol of his who gave him the punk values he now lives by.

hobie brown adores gwen stacy's music and considers her a massively influential punk. given he's so counterculture, i doubt his idol would be selling out stadiums or playing to large crowds.

since punk was arguably born in the uk in the mid-70s garbage strikes, that puts the birth of the subculture at the exact same time hobie, the Punk, was bitten by his spider. interesting parallel.

punk is anger given purpose. lots of people who come to the subculture come angry, seeking a way to channel it. i figure hobie, being a homeless boy without a family, would probably have done that.

what's most vital about the gwen problem isn't not having a gwen to compare her to-- it's being able to get over that comparison (or, in spider-man terms: getting back up after you fall). miles and pav were untested and naive. peter, jess and miguel wouldn't let go of their respective gwens. hobie adapted and changed his behavior-- that's what makes him stand out to her.

meeting hobie

i figure being tipsy in 138 probably makes the world look like a perspiring glass ring on paper. and being tipsy in 65 would color things booze-yellow. combined here.

small bands tend to hang out with their crowds after concerts, especially in the punk scene.

wendy darling is the protagonist of the novel/film/story, peter pan.

soho: at this point would have been full of crime, particularly sex work. i think hobie would've hung around there in his modeling days.

soho, the spitalfields, hackney and hampstead: all neighborhoods in north london, which is hobie's stomping ground.

specifically, he's from camden, which is where punk refined as a sound. camden is to hobie like brooklyn is to miles and queens is to peter.

and hobie's world looooves him. they love him enough to make him the face of their revolution and won't stop loving him after his identity's revealed. to gwen, whose world hates her, that'd probably be a bit painful.

hobie's stopping gwen from drinking any further.

according to lace code, the color blue means you've killed a police officer. hobie having blue laces + being defensive when miles asks about his captain's death = he killed his captain.

if the other elements of that event are at play children in danger, a fight between the spider and an enemy, falling debris), then i can't imagine hobie killing a cop who's trying to save kids. therefore, the cop was probably the one putting the kids in danger, and hobie killed him to protect them. maybe he dropped debris on his head, maybe the debris fell on its own, and hobie took a brick and made sure the cop wouldn't get up.

hobie brown is a killer in the comics too. dude's the top enforcer of the Murder Is Okay faction of the spider-squad.

karl morningdew is comics-hobie's best friend

hobie's mask is the face of a revolution. that revolution probably puts a lot of pressure on him to always wear that face.

basically, hobie was already on the trail of his brother when he ran into him while being arrested. the records just confirmed it in a comics-like coincidence.

616 hobie's family situation: father was drafted and killed when he was a baby, mom became an alcoholic, his eight older siblings raised each other. adapted that here.

all hobie's siblings except for abe aren't named in canon. i'm gonna explain it as 'hobie was split from them so young he genuinely doesn't remember anyone but abe, because abe was his favorite.'

in this fic, i'm adding the element of: the state intervened and took the kids from their mother, split them up and sent them various places. hobie eventually ran away and ended up on the streets, probably around age 11-13.

hobie was born around 1960, putting his parents at the right age to be windrushers.

abe in 616 is a z-list martial artist antihero. since hobie's adapted from a 616 antivillain to a 138 antihero, i'm applying the same shift to abe. now he's an antivillain. and since villains in hobie's world are connected to the fascist government, and abe would've been a poor kid in the system, him becoming a cop felt the most organic way to make him a hand of the state while preserving the martial angle.

also a great way to give hobie conflict. you hate cops? oh shit, now your brother, the only family you've managed to find, is one. good luck with that!

hobie's a deep believer in his revolution's cause. he's also a teenage boy with no family, who wants people to care about him. very easy for that need to be exploited by adults in his cell.

it also gives him commonality with gwen, and her something she can coach him through. i want their relationship to be reciprocal, not just him mentoring her.

fandom salt: hobie's lectures are always right and his heart's in the right place. but gwen stacy does not need a man telling her why patriarchy is bad. she gets it better than he ever will.

fandom salt: everyone focuses so much on spider-punk that they’re neglecting hobie brown. inverse of the pav problem. yes, he’s a brave anarchist hero. he’s also a teenage boy who is capable of vulnerability, fear, anxiety, insecurity, arrogance and loneliness.

hobie notices gwen's watch is gone when he touches her wrist. at this point he knows she’s out of the society.

i figure hobie probably gets the notifications from the society, but just ignores them unless gwen or pav are explicitly mentioned. so he knew shit was going down and just left them on read.

the houseboat

according to concept art, hobie lives on a houseboat. i went with a canal boat, bc it's the most maneuverable.

hobie's leaving the watch at the door because he doesn't want to be overheard.

those engineering textbooks are going to be used to make the watch later. 616 hobie's also a tech genius.

if gwen is wendy darling, and neverland is the spider-society, and miguel/peter/miles are peter pan, then hobie is captain hook, the outlaw who lives on a boat, is neverland's biggest threat and whose antagonist is represented with a clock/watch face.

hobie's various sleeping spaces include the community center cot (from the comics), a bedsit, the spider-van (comics), a tent, various squats (comics). gwen's been around for the cot and the bedsit. and yes, comics-hobie named it the spider-van.

since hobie's transient, him staying in one place for a while is notable. makes more sense when you consider that if he knows someone's going to be sleeping over at his often, he should probably have a stable address for her to be able to find.

(he's also a teenage boy. if a teenage boy knows a girl he likes is going to be spending a lot of time at his, he's going to want a space to be alone with her)

and truly. comics-hobie, do not sleep surrounded by tons of people if you're the fascist government's most wanted. dumb idea.

gwen has trouble asking for help, because she's a spider, and because she's a gwen who doesn't want to be considered helpless.

i love a good heroes-patch-each-other-up scene. ideal for gwen to be mentally undressing and unloading her troubles, as it happens physically.

anyway hobie's been Avoiding The Breakup Drama for the past few months. dude does not want to be involved.

(but he’s on gwen’s side. putting aside the personal bias— he simply knows her better than miles— that shit was entrapment, and she was the one who recognized that. she’s also the one who was going to be harmed more by it.)

and he and miles have a great dynamic... but let's be real, no 15 year old boy who had his heart stomped on by his crush is gonna hang out with the guy he thinks his crush left him for, no matter how good an influence the guy is. hobie doesn't want to take sides, but miles picks them for him.

hobie being so hands-off with gwen is a side effect of his watch part heist. gotta be subtle to stick around long enough to pull it off. consequence being: he can't step in when miguel's being abusive, or directly tell gwen she needs to get out. consequence being: she's getting hurt and doesn't think he can help her, and he feels guilty.

he is also assuming at this point that their hookup situation is coming to an end, and that gwen arrived to tell him that.

ok, mask off: hobie and gwen's vibe is n o t p l a t o n i c. those two were fucking. girls don't leave a toothbrush and multiple articles of clothing at a guy's place unless they're sleeping with him, or intend to sleep with him. she's literally wearing his shoes, and he didn't give them to her, and she's flustered when he points them out, which means that gwen was at hobie's, in a state of undress, throwing clothes on fast, and his clothes were tangled up with hers. your honor, they were exploring each others bodies.

they have similar interests, worldviews and politics. they've fought together for dozens of missions and hung out in their civvies. they're lonely and they care deeply. and they have no adults around. obviously something happened.

one of the big questions surrounding spider-gwen is whether she'll ever be able to fall in love with spider-man without dying or sacrificing her autonomy for him, or if she'll have to essentially be a nun in order to keep her narrative.

the movie at least acknowledges that she should be allowed to love spider-man and live, so points there.

look if the spider-society's invested in gwen being spiderman's gf, they're gonna have Opinions about spider-gwen's romantic life. they're gonna insist she can only date a few preapproved respectable guys. and inevitably, she's going to be expected to have sex with them.

fandom salt: guys. why the fuck would the anarchist who resents canon and power structures be all 'oh no gwen, i must refuse your advances, your sexuality belongs to some guy i barely know.' if she asked him to fuck her, he'd say yes.

to a girl for whom being a girlfriend will always mean death or disempowerment, a boy who actively refuses labels and keeps his relationships unhierarchal would be very attractive.

anyway in this fic, gwen and hobie started hooking up, and agreed not to label their relationship, or call attention to it. equal parts disdain for the trappings of a relationship and sidestepping what canon dictates will happen to it. and they're past the point of casual, but can't admit it.

dude's cool with gwen having other partners, and would have been fine and not at all jealous if she wanted to end the relationship and go back to being friends. but man does he not want to end it.

(more conflict: hobie’s ideology clashing with his feelings. uh oh, you caught them anyway. now what?)

so after he clears the air on that, time to talk about the watch.

hobie's looking at the amps because he's thinking about assembling that watch so gwen can get away from miguel.

he thinks at this point that gwen was kicked out of the society. she has to correct him.

how does hobie know about miles's venom blasts? how does he do THAT with his guitar? well, they're both prowlers in alternate timelines. maybe electric hands are a prowler power.

(interesting that spiderverse gwen has a type: artistic, kind, heroic black boys with a dark side who are at risk of becoming the prowler.)

star wars would've just come out in hobie's timeline. that boy probably saw it a ton.

hobie doesn't trust miguel alone with gwen for a lot of reasons. he comes from a world where the worst abuses of power are commonplace, as an ex-model he knows what happens when teenagers are isolated from their peers, made to work like adults and surrounded by grown-ups who are attracted to them, and miguel has a certain vibe with her (being that gwen has been both his love interest and daughter in different timelines, which he would be aware of) that hobie wants to keep an eye on.

aka when gwen turns up unexpectedly after being totally missing for a week with claw marks on her face and waist, bruises on her hip, ripped thighs and defensive wounds on her hands, and she’s mysteriously out of the society after a late night conflict with miguel that she's antsy about discussing, hobie’s first assumption is that gwen was sexually assaulted but managed to escape. and, given that she's been withdrawn, evasive and skittish about intimacy for months after the miles rejection, that it might have been happening even before tonight. he’s put it together by now that this didn’t happen, but that was his first thought.

65a gwen directly killing her peter is one of the most important beats of her character. i'm very salty that 65b gwen was denied the ability to do that. its why 65a gwen's so compassionate towards her villains, and pulls so many of her punches. 65b gwen never learned those lessons.

65b gwen is taking on more of her comics counterpart's characterization as the fic progresses. she's getting clumsier, more foul-mouthed, more compassionate.

houseboat ii

hobie is the prowler on 616.

and punk's the only spider-hobie. that's the one chance he gets to be something other than a villain. i figure the society would hold that over him.

and that hobie wouldn't blink at all the alternates. he's too affirmed in his own identity.

65-hobie is a preteen in a street gang who tags construction sites to protest gentrification. he actually teaches gwen about that and has a mini-arc in the latour run where he gains respect for her. good kid.

now that miles is so popular, all the new prowlers are variations on aaron davis. so in a sense, because of miles, prowler hobie brown was left behind.

but as of the spiderverse comics events and movie, the definitive hobie is spider-punk, and he couldn't have existed in the first place if miles morales hadn't been such a success and proved that other spider-men (black spider-men) could be accepted. so in a way, miles is also the reason hobie gets to be the hero of his own story.

hobie being a mentor to miles is a great concept. especially if they bond over being prowler-alternates.

gwen's a standin for white girls, miles for brown boys: consider how the society responds to them: it lures her in and promises her a seat at the table, while stripping her autonomy and walling her up inside it (... and as a queer girl, tells her to repress her feelings and stick to the heteronormative). it stonewalls miles and freezes him out unless he follows a white guy's playbook.

hobie's fallible. when he first joined and heard his favorite musician gwen stacy was in the lobby, his nonconformist ass decided to stick around... and after their interaction re: the gwen death canon, he kept sticking around, since the entire reason he's in the society is to be close to her. yes, it was to help her escape, but he still gave the society a lot of time and labor in the interim. it worked.

that's one of the advantages of having gwen in the society. she's a lure to spiders on the fence about joining or who doubt about the mission.

'what does it matter what we want if everyone else already decided what we get to be' -- big theme here. does it matter if gwen and hobie's relationship isn't based on traditional patriarchal ideas about relationships, if everyone else assumes she's His Girlfriend? and how can gwen redefine her narrative if no one will let her?

more first aid

again, i like that the trans coding made gwen's ballet subversive again. now she's raiding the ultimate form of femininity for the tools to make herself a girl, instead of being femmed up to appeal to a male love interest.

hobie's modeling stint is intriguing. guy's canonically extremely physically attractive, aware of it, and was at least at one point willing to use it to get ahead.

and he's adept at using aesthetics to communicate his message (re his politics) and throw suspicion off himself (everyone in the society writes him off as all bark, no bite, in no small part because of the way he dresses himself). i figure he probably learned about that from his time in the fashion industry.

616 manny lopez is a little boy hobie brown mentored, who was killed in a gang conflict. adapted here as a younger boy hobie felt protective of, who died while hobie was in his use-powers-irresponsibly phase, probably his time as a model. manny's his uncle ben, so to speak. idk if manny's a kid from the neighborhood who was killed or if a fellow model who fell prey to the skeevier parts of the industry. regardless, he ends up dead because hobie went partying when he should've been looking after him, hobie took this loss hard, and it motivated him to quit and start using his powers to protect his community.

hobie's tendency to put his foot in his mouth is a fun character flaw. dude, you're right, but read the room.

especially when it comes to the canon. he might hate it, but it gives him everything he wants. his resentment of it is not the same as gwen's.

which is why his disillusionment has to be triggered by her: it's an expansion of his worldview, to understand that just because he gets what he wants from it doesn't mean it's good.

hobie and gwen are both doomed by the narrative to die young. one would think they'd bond over that.

hobie's guilty about not wanting to die young. dude's an idealist, who doesn't want to die for the cause. of course it'll eat at him. it IS selfish. but just because it's selfish doesn't mean it's bad.

hobie's a revolutionary. he's also a person, a teenage boy. he's going to want to have things that don't revolve around the cause. things like a personal life, with friends and a romantic partner.

the 'no future' song (god save the queen, by the sex pistols) and ideology would resonate a lot with a girl who literally doesn't have one.

it's weird as hell that in itsv gwen is in 1610 for a week and doesn't glitch for most of that time, when peter is there for like a day and he's already fuzzy.

this is the depression stage of grief. gwen thinks she's going to die, and is evaluating things in those terms: wanting miles and hobie to make up, wanting margo to replace her so at least the group won't have a girl-shaped hole in it, wanting to drink and dance and leave her mark on a world she thinks she won't see again. and seeing someone who means a lot to her, one last time.

she's come to the one person who won't judge her for her mess, and who she knows is capable of avenging her.

and no, it's not enough of a change for her to choose the spider-man who avenges her. but she's cornered, and she's taking what she can.

most of all, gwen's here for comfort. it's why she lets him patch her up even though her healing factor's got it and she'll be dead in days as far as she knows.

the subtext intended here is that gwen and hobie are definitely not casual about their intimate relationship anymore, and their feelings are running deep, but haven't quite tipped over into full-on love yet. they especially haven't admitted it to themselves or each other.

hobie absolutely is thinking 'i can save you' but he gets that it isn't what she wants to hear.

he's fully dressed because he's not going to fall asleep-- he's heading right into his allnighter to get the watch done.

the watch

the burst of light is hobie testing the watch. it works.

gwen slept to the afternoon; girl had a busy day yesterday.

gwen's dressing herself in things that remind her of people she loves: shoes that both belong to hobie and remind her of 65a gwen, a shirt that belonged to gayatri, a cuff that was pavitr's, a sweater she probably got from hobie, and her hair's still in the cut miles caused.

hobie making the watch for her birthday WAS a happy accident. that's how my timeline ended up by mistake. it works!

very telling that in the movie, hobie only makes two watches. one for him, one for gwen.

one of the best things about movie hobie is how methodical and cunning he is. dude pretends to be spontaneous, but everything he says and does is carefully thought out.

the watch construction is all the more impressive when you consider that hobie has to work with tech from 100+ years in the future.

in the movie, hobie was only at the society to keep gwen safe. as soon as 1) he had what he needed to make the watches, and 2) she left-- he'd have quit. which is what happens.

the appeal of hobie isn't that he's a hot bad boy. it's that he gives a shit about gwen's problems and wants to help her solve them, but not at the cost of her being able to make her own choices. it drives me insane how good he is at walking that tightrope.

he's the one that gets how to solve the gwen problem: help her, yes, but only when she can't help herself. and only then, with the goal of getting her to a place where she can help herself.

gwen's hugging him to stop herself from kissing him.

even though hobie won't make her subservient to him in his narrative, nobody else will see it that way if she stays. to them, she's just slumming it with a subpar spider-man. which is why she can't kiss him right now.

yes, gwen can fall in love with spider-man without dying or losing her autonomy... but she can only do that AFTER she obtains her independence and uses it to advance her own story.

gwen-138 died 'epically' by punk's standards. so she probably went down in a clash with the fascists... and since the cops are an arm of the fascists, and george stacy is a cop... one must assume if that's still the case and he hadn’t died yet, george either was complicit in or responsible for his daughter's death.

and if george was the captain... then hobie not only killed gwen's dad, but avenged her death, something basically none of the spiders end up doing.

i went with that hc because of how well it suited the fic. perfect way to discuss hobie's backstory, tie it back in to gwen 138 and gwen 65, and give gwen 65 the kick she needs to want to engage with gwenom.

the implications gwen's absorbing: a version of my dad killed a version of me so it could get that bad if i go home, my new friend who i'm attracted to killed a version of my dad, who i still love... and a spider-man actually avenged me.

look there's no way that a teenage girl who's told over and over that ~we sure can't get retribution for your murder because of Our Precious Morals~ wouldn't find a handsome boy who actually did avenge her extremely attractive.

in my mind this is the moment gwen decided she wanted to fuck him. she realized those hands got the job done, and wanted them on her. that's why she took down the barrier. it was always possible for things to go that way, but that was the moment she decided to make it definitive.

this fic is t-rated, so that's as far as i was willing to take it. but in my head, their relationship became sexual a short time afterwards. not that night, but within the next few days.

65b gwen wants to talk to 65a gwen. she's finally ready to do it.

the violence she's considering is a prison break, bc at this point she thinks gwenom is still incarcerated.

time for a classic comics gwen emotional speech!

reciprocity again: not only does gwen teach hobie that canon sucks, but that dying young isn't attractive and you should want to live long. and that not everybody in a corrupt system is terrible; most of the people in it are just as downtrodden, and could use empathy and help. things he can apply to his own world, personal life and narrative for the better. he can live long, make more friends, rebuild his family, and form a bigger coalition for his revolution, which means it'll be more successful.

the hand-catch is a reference to their first meeting in the comics. that panel of him clutching her hand lives in my head.

again, hobie gets it: don't fight gwen's battles for her, but offer your support and jump in if she asks for it.

my goal was make this chapter as romantic as possible without a kiss.

gwen lands in 65a.

end quote

from seanan mcguire's ghost-spider run. issue 4, again.

spoken by hobie to gwen during noir's funeral, which they facilitate together. one of the prime gwobie moments of the comics.

because no, she should not have to fight her battles alone. and she's currently on her way to find someone who can do it with her.

#arachnophobia fic