#thievesguilding

DANY MY BELOVED MY DEAR FRIEND THE PERSON I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP!!! You get one of my other favorites, measles!! Measles is caused by the Measles Virus, aka Morbillivirus hominis. It should NOT be confused with rubella, which is sometimes called german measles, or roseola, which presents with a similar rash. And speaking of rashes, it is also known as first disease as it is the first in the historical list of six classic rash causing illnesses common in childhood (i've had fifth disease and my friend vengeance had scarlet fever aka second disease).

Thistle Flower! She probably isn’t my first OC, but she’s my oldest that I still care for and still think about often.

yeaaahhh exactly, that’s the main problem. the only major other thing ive seen proposed is the theory that the ‘real’ name of any given lichen is it’s common colloquial name, because the way it exists to us just like, walking in the woods or whatever can be encompassed under said name, but as you can imagine that’s a more philosophical take on it. 

here’s my take, aka ‘what i would do if i suddenly got spontaneous control over all of lichenology’. basically i feel like there’s a few major things that need to happen before we can even start reliably identifying what’s in the lichens themselves. 

to start out, the distress, as i see it, is coming from this idea that we should have to know all the given components of a lichen just from the name. the philosophical idea above tells us why this is impractical: if everyone knows the lichens by a certain name, and all the keys are meant to provide identification down to a certain name, then it really, really seems like we should keep the names on a general level, because the names themselves are doing their jobs; you go to an herbarium and you can find a group of lichens that look the same, but may not have the exact same morphological features and may not test ‘correctly’ on certain chemical tests, indicating different yeasts or something similar. 

meanwhile, the yeasts themselves are…weird. the researchers in the paper found out about the presence of yeasts essentially by accident while trying to figure out why two otherwise identical lichen species (Bryoria fremontii and Bryoria tortuosa) had radically different levels of vulpinic acid; there were papers before that did genetic testing, with no explanation as to why they were so radically different. these researches hypothesized that it was because of different genes being expressed, and did more genetic testing (specifically a transcriptome-wide SNP analysis for those interested) to find that yes, both lichen species are indeed genetically identical– but they were telling the computer running the analysis to search only for known lichenized algae and fungi species. once they expanded the analysis to produce results for any fungi species detected in the samples, they found out about the yeasts, and realized that more yeast seemed to equal more vulpinic acid. 

i tell this extended story because it raises crucial questions about how we identify lichens. these researchers did an extended battery of genetic testing to determine the yeast species in the samples, but in functional lichen identification that happens everyday this is like….so far out of reach it’s laughable. when we identify lichens in the herbarium we plop em down on the lichen bench and follow through a dichotomous key, and the tests include things like ‘drop bleach on the thallus and if it turns a certain color it’s X species and if not it’s Y species’ and ‘look at the lichen under UV light and if it glows a certain color it’s X species and if it doesn’t it’s Y species’. the color lichen thalli turn under these conditions indicate different levels of certain chemicals, or the presence or absence of certain chemicals, and often the key will tell you what chemical is being indicated, and will direct you around depending on the results.

the problem with this is that not all lichens test positive on all chemical tests all the time. it’s a regular thing to have a lichen that like, 400% looks like a certain species but fails a chemical test and is labelled as another, slightly different species instead, and likewise it’s common to have lichens labelled as a certain species that have different chemical test results. 

if we’re working off the assumption that the basis for these minute differences is the species of yeast in the lichen, then we would have to decide– ‘we’ meaning all lichenologists as an academic field, i suppose– whether or not the yeast actually matters, or if it’s entirely conditional. for example, take the infamous Bryoria fremontii and Bryoria tortuosa riddle above. in this case the yeast was like, the answer, and the crucial question then would be, ‘are these the same species but in different forms, or are these two different species differentiated by the species of yeast?’. if it’s the former, then hell, identifying the yeast doesn’t matter, and we can just lump them all in and say that the darker color is the yeastier form or w/e. if it’s the latter, suddenly we have the question of what the chemical tests that have been standard for years actually mean: are they yeast tests??? which yeasts make which colors??? does it change depending on the lichen?? does it matter, if the keys can stay functionally the same??? are we splitting all lichens up based on their yeasts?? what’s happening???

my solution, theoretically, would be this: 

1. we keep the names. just keep them. everybody knows them by the names, all the herbariums have them put in place with the names, etc. yeah lichen names get changed all the time bc of taxonomy discoveries, but it’s sure as hell not practical to just like, do away with all the current names, no matter how weird the archaic fungus-first model is to begin with. 

2. we figure out how to identify the yeasts, whenever and wherever they are present. preferably this can be done with a low-cost dropper test or something similar to what’s already normal for lichen ID. best case scenario, this means just finding out which chemical test results can be associated with certain yeasts reliably, i.e. ‘x species of yeast produces vulpinic acid, and when exposed to bleach on the thallus of this lichen the vulpinic acid turns a certain color, and if it is that color then i can know it’s not just the chemical itself that is present but that x species of yeast in the lichen is the cause of that chemical’. 

3. we get in the habit of writing down on the labels of samples which yeasts are found through said methods. what this would turn out, i have no idea; if we start finding like, 80 kinds of yeast per set of herbarium samples, we’d be in deep shit, but if it’s a simple matter of finding out that half the species in the herbarium have different yeasts from the sample next to them in the box, that would be a little easier to handle.

4. as for fixing the fungi-centric naming issue as a whole: i propose, again, that we keep the names, and instead find some way of indicating easily which combination is present. this, as i have it in my head, would be pretty cumbersome and would probably need a lot of revising to actually be practical, but if lichens are as diverse on a microbiological level as we’re finding out they are, then a flexible coding system would be best. like a dewy decimal system of lichens. we write out all known symbiotes into a chart or put it in an excel program or something, associate a number with each symbiote, and then just put them together, we could come out with a specific number for describing a lichen based on it’s components, in addition to the name, like so: 

[FUNGUS #] - [ALGAE #] - [YEAST #] - [BACTERIA #]

001 - 020 - 2384 - 2

if the lichen doesn’t have a yeast or a bacterial symbiote, it just gets omitted: 

001 - 020

if there’s a second fungus, then the two fungus numbers get put together:

001/004 - 020 - 2384 - 2

if a species in unknown, it gets the code 000:

001 - 020 - 000 - 2

a lichen that can be keyed to a genus but not a species has an asterisk next to the unknown numbers: 

001 - 020* - 000 * - 0* 

Thank you!

Hadas:

27. What’s their family like? Who’s in it? What’s their relationship with them?

My little quarian family! Hadas has two primary partners - Radha’Lemaas vas Neema nar Geyav and Karis’Hinat vas Neema nar Yudir - and one daughter, Zufit’Nereh nar Neema. They’re all very close, as quarian families tend to be. Hadas and Zufit haven’t always gotten along the best, because they’re very different people, but things have mellowed out more recently. 

I haven’t thought much about Hadas’s relationship with her own parents, but I imagine they also are/were pretty close. She’s very much a family person, even if sometimes also being a political person can eclipse that. 

28. Are they literate? Did they go to school? How long? What level? 

She is indeed highly literate, as quarians tend to be. I imagine quarians probably all have something like public education until the equivalent of community college? And then they go on Pilgrimage, and possibly those who are looking at specialized careers would have more schooling on their new ships. Hadas is a political science person, so that probably also included something like an internship with the ship’s council or the Conclave. So basically - education approximately equal to a bachelor’s or maybe master’s degree, I think. 

29. What was childhood like?

The main thing I know is that she and Han’Gerrel are from the same birth ship, so he’s been a thorn in her side literally her whole life. He’s loud and obnoxious and kind of steals the spotlight, and she’s an extroverted politicking type who wanted to be noticed. 

30. What was adolescence like?

She started realizing she’s polyamorous, and had a few short-term relationships and one or two primary partners. This is also when she decided that she wanted to be part of making big decisions, and started trying to cozy up to people who were on the Inbal’s council or knew people on the Conclave and the like. 

31. What’s their current main conflict?

Oh, this super depends on what part of her story I’m thinking about. When Karis passes away, it’s dealing with her own grief as well as Radha’s and Zufit’s, and learning how to not lash out because Zufit’s grief seems to push all her buttons. If it’s right when Zufit’s gone on Pilgrimage and Tali has returned, it’s worrying about Zufit being okay out in the big wide galaxy and also about being an effective mentor to Tali. If it’s during Tali’s trial, it’s dealing with knowing her mentee is falsely accused and no one’s listening to her (and also dealing with agreeing with Admiral Han’Gerrel for the first time in her life). 

Other times, it’s the general stress of being on the ship’s council, and of constantly butting heads with said Admiral. 

32. What steps have they taken to overcome this conflict?

The grief was mostly time, and accepting that not everyone was going to process things the same way she did (and also realizing that “throw yourself into work” is kinda also what Zufit did, it’s just very different work from Hadas’s). Worry about Zufit and Tali was also time. But Tali’s trial was definitely using her politicking skills to try and persuade the crowd to side with Tali, helping Shepard where she could, and swallowing her disdain for everything Han’Gerrel has ever said. 

33. How have they changed over time?

She’s kind of mellowed out a lot since having a family and really learning how to be good to them. She’s still a politician, but it doesn’t come home as often as it used to. Zufit being so different from her (on the surface) really pushed her to figure out how to put her own thoughts aside and really listen to what other people need. 

Zufit:

27. What’s their family like? Who’s in it? What’s their relationship with them?

Three parents (Hadas, Radha, and Karis), no siblings. She’s always been closest to Karis because she was like his mini-me, always interested in tinkering and engineering just like him. As she gets older she gets closer to Radha and then to Hadas as well, tightly knit little family. 

28. Are they literate? Did they go to school? How long? What level? 

Also highly literate, as quarians tend to be. Enjoys numbers more than words. Also had the standard quarian before-Pilgrimage education, and when I think about her life after Pilgrimage it will probably also include some more schooling because engineering. 

29. What was childhood like?

A very up-and-down sort of childhood. Her parents love her deeply and very much wanted what was best for her, and pushed for that always. But Zufit is pretty intense and sensitive, especially emotionally, and she didn’t always get along super well with other kids her age. She didn’t have many friends for a while, until they started finding better niches for her personality and skills and things got a little better. 

She’s also got some sensory sensitivities, and trying to learn how to best accommodate those in crowded quarian spaces was sometimes difficult. 

Her favorite thing to do as a kid was to take stuff around the apartment apart with Karis, which drove Hadas a little nuts. It tapered off as she got to do more exciting projects in school and wasn’t as bored. 

30. What was adolescence like?

The beginning of her adolescence was pretty similar to her childhood, with the addition of a few more friends. But then Karis passed away when she was the equivalent of 16 human years old, which was a huge shift for her. She really struggled to stay engaged with her moms once her dad was gone, and went back to dismantling a lot of stuff in the apartment because it reminded her of her dad. She and Hadas got in a lot of fights, until Radha finally intervened and tried to explain that their methods of grief just looked different. 

Once Hadas realized something needed to change, she and Radha both worked hard to make sure they were supporting Zufit the way she needed and such. Things have gotten a lot better for all of them, now. 

31. What’s their current main conflict?

Also depends on what I’m writing about :P definitely her dad’s death was a big one. At the time of the current story I’m working on, she’s on Pilgrimage on Illium, and she’s trying to navigate being alone without her parents for the first time and also navigating such a different place. 

32. What steps have they taken to overcome this conflict?

The grief was mostly time. Illium has been finding places that she feels more comfortable. I have thoughts about her taking part in an “exotic dance” show or something, because she loves to dance, so we’ll see where that goes. 

33. How have they changed over time?

if a tree falls in the woods and there are no jews around to argue about it does it make a sound

Questions About Creating Your OCs

I deserve the Maths.

Brook

3. How did you choose their name?

I’m pretty sure I picked it just because I thought it was a nice name? Tends to be my thought process for most OCs, to be completely honest - “name pretty”. For other AUs she sometimes gets different names - in Spireverse and Skyrim she’s Brynja Runasdor, to fit in better with the vaguely nordic theme to her home cultures. In that one mass effect AU where she’s a Turian she’s Bruccia Aurius, in SWTOR she’s Breena Amej, and in Dark Souls, she’s Brihtiue. In all of these cases I picked names because they sounded nice to me, and fit in better with the world she inhabits than Brook Amell did.

6. Is there any significance behind their eye color?

Not hugely? I do enjoy playing off of the blue color and the cold looks she gives people in narratives, though. Icy eyes and an icy stare, y'know? :}

9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

Oooh boy. Not entirely? But there are elements of myself I couldn’t help weaving into her. She has a lot in common with me in regards to reaction to trauma which I did largely to find catharsis; boiling rage, missing memories, blaming herself and having trouble letting herself get close to people in fear of getting hurt again - all of that is me. And writing Brook being not okay usually helps me working through me being not okay.

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Not really? I’ve had trouble drawing Brook in a way I’m satisfied with, but that’s just a skill/vision gap. She comes to me as a character very naturally. I love her.

15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh?

She is just terrible about crushes, watching her try and work through liking someone and telling them is like watching someone drown on dry land and it’s fucking hilarious. When she first met Jack, she told him to fuck off because she got mad his smile gave her butterflies and making her feel nice is not allowed, nope. In the early days at the Circle, flirting with Cullen was half as a fun side activity to the existential terror, but half because she knew he’d book it if she just flirted with him as aggressively as possible. She has never been graceful at all about her romantic attraction. And then there’s every single fucking thing she and @elswiththetubularbells2‘s Arran get up to.

18. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

The most recent major thing was the bondage incident, or in other words, Brook is the toppiest chaotic top until someone brings out the rope, and then she’s a total switch. For more minor things, she very much likes being called pet names, but only if you’re close to her.

Arnjolf

2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

I knew I wanted a foil for Miraak, which is where the nord Hermaeus Mora follower came from as a concept. I also felt like I needed an OC with a tentacle kink already, but I can’t tell if Arnjolf is that OC, or whether Qodek fills that niche. But then again, Qodek is the one with the tentacles so you know what never mind

3. How did you choose their name?

Arnjolf is just a name plucked from a generator - Oath-Shifter came with more nuance, that being that Arnjolf is suspiciously trickster-like. Oath-Shifter came from the fact that he’ll keep every oath he makes, but he’ll wilfully misinterpret the wording in order to get away with changing the spirit of the arrangement. He promised he’d contain the threat Miraak posed, and then he soul-trapped Miraak. It counts!

5. Is there any significance behind their hair color?

blond boys hott 

7. Is there any significance behind their height?

tol boys hott

11. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I’m still not sure what his sexuality is now, but I tend to lead with my OCs being pansexual unless proved otherwise, and Arnjolf hasn’t yet indicated whether he has a preference, so, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

13. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Not far! I still can’t decide how he handles the end of the Dragonborn DLC, lmao

17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

I started out with some ideas about Arnjolf with regards to his relationship to the Nordic pantheon which I’ve since stepped away from - at first, I had him completely reject the main pantheon, but now, I’m convinced he has a much more complicated relationship with the gods of the Nords. There’s respect there, but little reverence for the ‘good’ gods. After all, he did choose Herma-Mora over them. He is definitely more of an old-ways guy, but he is a good couple of centuries old, so, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ he’s forgiven.

TL:DR; Misrepresented Arnjolf’s religious feelings at the start, patched in the latest release of world’s worst hero

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Submitted by thievesguilding:

I set up a snabitat for three garden snails today! They’re in a quarantine tub at the moment but will be moved in here in a week or so, so if anyone has suggestions for improvements, I’ll have plenty of time to implement them!