#indepth

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

[weirdotranny]

Fylesyear line lore

Based out of the town of fylesyear (the one I drew onto the map at the top) on the far north side of the island of sodor the fylesyear line, also known as the FYL is a smaller railway founded by sir Suconsby Wrenn and being finished in 1927 with a mainline to vicarstown which servers a coal mine used to fuel it's steam engines (the yellow line), a secondary line to tidmouth using some trackage from the NWR which serves the harbour at the railway's end of line (the green line) there is also a line going Brendam through using an extension onto the NWRs peel godred electrified route a section of the NWR main line and using the branch line to Brendam (the purple and middle blue line) all lines having connections to the NWR (the railway I didn't draw on) and later being operated under said railway by 1984 the FYL has 11 engines 7 steam and 4 diesel

Sodor industrial; sodor industrial was an engine builder based at the town of crovens gate they sold made to order steam engines of premade for many railways mostly for the global south though they would also sell to many parts of England on occasion they started in 1897 and was bought out by the NWR in 1969

1 engine number one is known as noramby or noram this is a small off the peg 0-4-0 shunter design by sodor industrial or S.I. Built in 1922 it was purchased second hand for a cheap price to helped construct the FYL mainline in from August 1925 to September 1927 after which it would be stationed at fylesyear yard until a crash into the railways number 3 in 1937 where it was sat aside due to lack of funds for a proper overhaul at the time after buying numbers four and five it would be displaced by the railways number 4 until 1939 when sufficient funds were found as well as number 4 being greatly needed for other services in due to the ramping up of the Second World War and so number 1 would afterwards, go on to be the railway's general shunter until the arrival of number 7 where it was once again stationed at Fylesyear yard a this configuration of futures lasts into he modern day

Number 2; the second engine on the railway was bought in 1927 from sodor industrial it was a 4-4-2 Atlantic the engine was sold cheaply as the engine's power was not nearly enough for what was expected of it, as such when this was discovered it was put on goods and light passenger duties until 1956 where it was modified with a new boiler (of which is a slightly modified version of to one in use by number 5), double chimney, super heater, smoke deflectors and mechanical stoker where afterwards it was found to be a much stronger and reliable engine and is now the railways secondary express engine taking night trains to London until 1997. today it, number 3 and number 5 still work the railway's fylesyear to vicarstown mainline

Number 3 ; FYL engine number three known as "Wrenn" after sir Suconsby Wrenn, the founder of the railway. Number 3 is a Sodor industrial 2-6-0 built from 1923 to 1940 to the same design of James on the NWR, built in 1925 as the railway's goods and secondary passenger engine it arrived september of 1925 where it along side noram, built the railway however when it was found number 2 was unsuitable for express work number 3 took on these services until 1936 when number 5 was introduced. after being crashing into by number 1 in 1937 it was overhauled and modified with a new boiler the design of which being similar to number 5's it also received a super heater and mechanical stoker which Improved the engine's performance and would lead to number 2 eventually getting similar improvements. today number 2,3 and 5 still work on the fylesyear to vicarstown mainline

Number 5 ;after the disappointment that was number 2 and the stress placed upon number 3 taking both the main express trains and large goods train another engine was needed meanwhile, a Pakistani railway had scaled back an order for sodor industrials' 2-6-4 export locomotives in 1935 as such there was an unwanted large mixed traffic express engine near the FYL's location as such sodor industrial sold the engine to the FYL for a nocked down price in 1936 the engine preformed well and so it would be given the number 5 the engine would take over express services in the same year as its arrival which left more slack for number 3 to fulfill more goods services on the fylesyear to vicarstown mainline where it and number 2 and number 5 still work into the current day

Number 4; FYL number five is an 0-6-2 medium sized mixed traffic saddle tank engine designed by sodor industrial it was introduced in 1929 as to fill the gap left by number 3 on lighter services after the disappointment that was number 2, number four mainly pulled the railways' fylesyear to tidmouth services until 1937 where it would replace number 1 until 1939 when it was needed for the the aforementioned fylesyear to tidmouth services as such number 1 was overhauled and replaced number 4 on shunting services at fylesyear and so, along with the later assistance of number 6 would continue to work on the fylesyear to tidmouth line until this day

Number 6; during the Second World War a long distance heavy goods engine was needed as number 2,3 and 5 were not properly sufficing for the needed services as such in 1942 an LMS 8f 2-8-0 was loaned to the railway to which was a great assistance to the railway however, after the war the engine was so worn the LMS did not see it worth taking it back as such it would be sold to the FYL in 1946 for a nominal sum it was then rebuilt at S.I. with the same modifications that the other tender engines received after which, it would be placed on fylesyear to tidmouth services with number 4 and, frequently the help of number 8 where as such number 6 took over goods services completely one this part of the railway where number 4 would exclusively take passenger services on the line, the two engines would continue to work the line into the modern era.

Number 8; by 1966 the FYL's services were under excessive load due the novelty of a still mostly steam hauled railway and the railway would need new motive power that could handle all types of trains by this time the sodor industrial had all but stopped making new steam engines due to lack of demand and the prospect of a NWR buyout in 1967 though, they did still offer maintaice and overhauling services but still, the railway would have to look elsewhere the by this time the British railways (the big 4 British railways put together) was withdrawing many steam locomotives with much life still in them one of which being number 60831 an EX LNER v2 a mixed traffic 2-6-2 steam engine still in serviceable condition the FYL bought the engine from British rail they also bought a spare boiler and cylinder block from another v2 the engine would be given a giesel ejector however this was found to have little effect and so the engine was fitted with a double chimney and German style smoke deflectors from a withdrawn A3 the engine would not be designated to any specific line as it was was transferred to any line that needed an extra engine though it was seen around the line to tidmouth regularly it, along side D11

Number 7; by 1954 the railway would need a new shunter and as such it was found to be more cost efficient to buy a diesel engine for shunting duties as such an engine of the same design of the BR class 08 was bought and and delivered in 1955 numbers 7D denoting it being a diesel engine it would take over shunting for the railway in tidmouth and where the railways number 1 would finally be permanently stationed at fylesyear, this arrangement has lasted into the modern day

Number 9 and 10; in 1977 the fylesyear line was in the prosses of building an extension to the town of peel godred from the central town for the railway of Fylesyear and would use the line, with an agreement with the NWR to use the neighboring railways line as a through route to Brendam and the harbor there unto however, the railway would need larger non-steam traction as the NWR's peel godred route was electrified which would hinder the clearance for the steam engines this was around the time that many first generation British railways diesels were being withdrawn and so the railway would buy quite literally, while the engines were being taken to the scrap yard a British railway class 46 and class 40 these engines were numbered D9 and D10 respectively the engines were overhauled by the Former S.I. site of which was bought by the NWR in 1969 after the ferm's many flops of trying to market diesel engines for export the ferm, located at croven's gate would completely rebuild the engines as to extend the engines lifespans D9 and D10 would handle all FYL services along with D11 on the peelgodred joint line and services to Brendam and would from, December of 1997 man the railways BI weekly sleeper trains to London after number 2 was taken from the service due to excessive wear and old age

Number 11 ; in June of 1976 the FYL was planning to build a branch line to the town of peel godred, however they could not remove any engine from current service to help build the line becuase of an increase of demand for service due to tourism so, the railway needed a new small engine that would be comfortable traveling at slow speeds and so, the railway bought a withdrawn British rail class 08 shunter from the southern region of BR in July of 1976 the engine was given the number D11 and would be modified with larger back windows for aided viability when reversing, in February of 1978 the line was finished along side modifications to the NWR owned section of the line as to accommodate the route to Brendam after the line was finished the engine would man the railway's yard at cronk where the railway's normal goods trains would stop. Number D11 still works in said yard into the modern day.

[salemqz]

Pt.1

Amelia Basics/Home Island

Amelia is one of the first people newer player get to meet when they first sign in. She has been the (optional) tutorial guide since 2016 with the introduction of Monkey Wrench Island and continued to be one with the replacement of Snagglemast Island in 2019, which is no longer the tutorial as of 2024. It is "replaced" with a very short "tutorial" which gives the players the new club house.

Amelia lives (and owns) home island even having her own statue in the center.

She also runs the shop/store; selling outfits, items, pets, and decorations for the club house that the player owns. She lives in said shop with her own clubhouse being the second floor.

Amelia has some references to islands from as far back as Nabooti and as recent as Fairy Tale Island. A good few are visual but others are...teas. (Not joking, being genuine.) I'm also pretty sure that a few of the sprites come from Poptropica Worlds (rip) but that's getting off topic.

When interacting with/looking through the room (working left to right, bottom to top) we learn:

She owns home island (and has so for a while.) Amelia is rich from adventuring so much, but is not in retirement, this is merely a job she's wanted to do for a while and is now able to take time off.

The golden apple is from Mythology meaning she took it from the tree of the gods with no consequences? And didn't take a bite so... nothing magical yet?

There are several teas on this selves and they all come from different islands. In order: Fairy Tale Island, Wild West Island, Mythology Island, Nabooti Island, and one mini game; Legendary Swords.

The tea pot is one of the matching ones from Arabian Nights. No clue how she got it...maybe there was three and she just so happened to take one?

She has a trophy that she won in a big race. I'm going to assume this is a nod to Monkey Wrench Island or a similar race. Wiki says it's after Monkey Wrench so, okay?

There's a photo of her winning it right next to the trophy. The Red Baroness is in the background and is not happy. She has wrench so possibly before but the shoulder pads say otherwise.

She, at some point, got her face commissioned by the artist in Escape Pelican Rock Island and/or was in prison. I would say she went to prison but her head would need to be colored for that, but she did smuggle tea out of there...sooo 50/50

She is friends with the famous adventure Xavier Pendragon (which little is known about) but according to wiki she used to be his pilot before she, herself, followed in his footsteps and became an adventurer.

Above the entrance to her room is the head of Dragotank from Astral Knights Island, he was a mini boss/distraction on the fire planet.

Now her room...is packed with unicorns and rainbows (🏳️‍🌈?👀.) It is something she is a bit embarrassed about but indulges herself in it. We can't access this room right away, we have to do her mini quest to do so. Our character even comments, "This is all very....extra."

There is a golden trophy on her shelf of a weird slug/bug, well it's official name/species is Chthonians. It is a reference to Poptropica Worlds, specifically Crisis Caverns Island. This is the trophy you earn when completing it, meaning she's gone there and won the island. However our character doesn't seem to know what this is.

There are two shirts hanging on her windowsill, one is a plain red and the other has the same design as the hoodie in game titled, "Rainbow Ride." All I am saying the implications are there.

In the photo pinned on the corkboard, we see Amelia taking a photo of baking session. In the background is two girls ; one is wearing glasses and using her magic to torment the other girl who is being attacked by flying gobs peanut butter. (Despite my search, i couldn't find an identity for either of these girls. There was a hypothesis that since Rumpelstiltskin and her have the same color magic, personally, I don't believe this theory. There's another one about the person being attacked with peanut butter is speculated to be the Red Baroness, but I doubt it.)

Now getting to the top section, Amelia's kitchen is kind of a wreck. She has dishes stacked up in the sink, tea kettle on the stove, books on the fridge(?), and a trash can that looks like it would overflow. Our character comments, "Amelia's kind of a slob..." Props to her for the fire extinguisher though.

She has a conveyer belt in her house, that runs boxes across the screen. It is told by our character that it is shipments, no one knows where they come or go from. They kinda just exist.

So I thought this was a reference to Counterfeit Island but looking at it closer it seems to be Amelia looking at a container with magical lipstick. It poofs purple when you touch it. The wiki stated it was Rumpelstiltskin's lipstick, I don't remember him having it, but pop off king.

I think this ties back into 16. Its a diaphragm of Rumpelstiltskin and it seems like she's trying to figure out something about him. The wiki doesn't mention anything other than Amelia is wary of magical creatures.

This was a fun dive, definitely learned a lot more than I imagined I would.

[banjolandsblog]

STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie — Official Trailer | Apple TV+

[evergreenforevermore]

ive been thinking a lot about reputation and how it is arguably one of Taylors best works. on the surface, it may seem like it is an angry revenge album, but underneath that, it is about finding someone who loves you for you. after the kanye west disaster, taylor disappeared from the public eye for a year, and as was revealed in the miss americana documentary, she was the happiest shed been. she fell in love with joe, someone who truly loved her and didnt just her for her past. in delicate she says "my reputations never been worse, so he must like me for me". the whole album is about not caring what people who dont know you think. its about the little moments. drinking beer out of plastic cups on the roof, holding someones hand in a darkened room, falling in love with someone who doesnt care about the scars and hate. who loves you for you. in call it what you want, she says "i want to wear his initial on a chain round my neck, not because he owns me but because he really knows me". in the reputation stadium tour, taylors talks about reputation before singing delicate, saying how rumors can make us afraid poeple will believe it. on the 1989 tour, taylor says "you are not the opinion of someone who doesnt know you or care about you". and this is at its heart what reputation is about and why i love it so much. "there will be no explanation, there is only reputation"

[snazzyjazzyazzy]

The Problems of Social Media, a Kinder View

This was originally written on another service, so there may be some issues with the paragraphing. Apologies in advance!

It was around 11 AM, when I usually wake up (I know, folks. I know.) I craved morning stimulation in order to properly feel awake, and trust me, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, Twitter or checking my DMs on Discord wasn't gonna do the trick for me. I needed something intellectual, a topic for this newsletter even.

And then I read this fascinating article on Pocket that was rather long and detailed a lot of things about social media and society. I didn't agree with all the things stated, but I'd recommend reading it all the same, quite a fascinating read. It touched, albeit somewhat briefly, on the topic I actually wanted to dicuss this issue! Such luck! I have linked it here for you all to read if you wish. Right then, onto our topics!

Is society coming apart? | Jill Lepore

The long read presents Reconstruction after Covid: Despite Thatcher and Reagan’s best efforts, there is and has always been such a thing as

Censorship- Is It Important?

Censorship has been a word that gets bounced around in various areas of our lives. Online and in the real world, it seems to pose a significant threat to freedom of speech. Or does it truly? The issue seems to get far more complicated when you factor in several things, especially online.

What the article I linked proposes is that social media as a whole has undone the fabric of society- that it enforces almost too much of an individuality rather than a sum of a whole. I would argue this to rather be a good thing, especially regarding politics, as things such as siding with political parties on every aspect is becoming a rather senseless idea. But then it brought me to a question. What about censorship? Certain social medias, if not all, have all practiced a degree of it. In some cases it was politics- i.e. Facebook and Twitter with political individuals. Tik Tok, Youtube, Instagram and most other socials often remove media that might be seen as racist, promoting violence or homophobic might be removed entirely from the platform.

Triggers and The Safety of Minors

THIS NEXT PART CAPTURES MOSTLY MY OPINION AND TOUCHES ON PTSD, ANXIETY AND THE RISKS OF BEING A MINOR ONLINE. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ PLEASE SKIP TO THE PARAGRAPH AFTER A MESSAGE THAT STATES IT HAS BEEN CONCLUDED.

Respecting triggers but choosing whether it's individual responsibility or responsibility of a community is a touchy subject. I will admit I have PTSD and anxiety triggers myself, and at times triggers are unavoidable, to which one has to learn to manage their triggers themselves and heal over the trauma. But I will argue in certain respects triggers should be respected by the other individual. An example would be a private conversation. It would be considerate to respect the trigger of the individuals involved in that direct conversation. An example where it is not applicable however, would be a per se a server on Discord, unless the server itself is a mental health space. Of course, this is all my opinion, as many people have their own ways of handling their triggers and discussing the boundaries surrounding them.

For the cases of minors, things get even messier. I myself am not a minor, but being fair I've only been a consenting adult for three years. I remember being a minor on Discord, and the amount of risks involved with certain servers, spaces and even DMs. I even was groomed by an adult who was 10 years older than me, but that is a topic that is rather difficult to discuss. However it happens more often than many would like to admit, and the presence of social media, and it's anonymity has only worsened this factor.

It is important to remember, if you are a minor, that you have to either have a parent or guardian you can trust to communicate potential issues to. I didn't when I joined Discord and it's one of the biggest regrets of my life as it guided me toward a lot of pain, abuse and darkness. Though the freedom in a sense was healthy for me, too. But I do not ever personally recommend being online alone if you're 15 or younger.

You may resume reading if you skipped the previous paragaph.

Don't Forget the Trolls!

Ah yes, the trolls... Oh those "fun" folk who love poking your nerves in just the right places. We've all likely met a few in our lifetimes online, and in a sense in person as well. That one kid in the neighbourhood who just clowns on everyone and deliberately annoys the ever loving fuck out of you for no reason? Yea, you know I'm talking about you, Zach.

There's a lot of reasons one can become a troll, and it would take more than this issue to cover them all. So, I will instead link this article that does way better than I would and carry forward. Plus, trolls get way too much attention already. Best to shorten this, yea?

Why do people troll and what can you do about it?

Social media influencers talk about their experiences of internet trolling.

The Conclusion?

So then, as the article I linked earlier mentions, what of the fabric of society? Does social media really damn society as it suggests? Are these negatives too overwhelming for social media to be a good place at all? I would personally argue, yes and no. It's a fairly complicated issue, one I didn't even begin to really capture in this article at all. Instant messaging, long distance communication, practically unlimited access to information and more has made the internet a free ground, and that in itself provides both freedom, individuality and unleashed creativity, but it also provides ground for much more harmful and horrible things that one can't even begin to fathom.

However, in the words of one of my friends on Discord,

"I would say one benefit is you can make cool friends."

He's not wrong, he's one of my coolest friends ever.

This article might've been a bit of scrambled a mess, but I hope it more inspires you all to research into the issues yourselves! Next issue will be far cleaner, I promise! If you want to give an opinion on the future of this newsletter (yes, another poll, groan, I'm sorry sob) I will link the tweet below where you can give your opinion!

[samitdas]

[drabstracto]

NUCLEAR

19-04-2021