Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

@riversidewings.bsky.social

4.8K followers 2.8K following 14K posts

Santaku Dynamics tachi-class combat doll and Your Favorite Historydyke (PhD UPitt '17). Public historian. She/彼女. An Anatolian bimbo by Daoist praxis. PGH via BEY, PHL, SDJ. Byline at Unseen Japan. 八幡信者. Opinions mine. Website at http://riverside-wings.com

riverside-wings.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · Nov 13

Here's the deal. Trying to focus on being less terminally online and getting more work done. I'm not *leaving,* it's just this is why I don't post as much as I did before.

I've got 3 different books (monograph, bio, novel) in the works. those words don't write themselves!)

to support that work:

Queer cyberpunk, history essays, podcasts, and more!

patreon.com

1 19 85

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

ᔕᕼYEᑎᗩ @shyenadraws.bsky.social · Mar 19

"I can't believe Beast Mode asked me to be on their Mar10 issue! I am SO humbled to have worked with the lovely staff of this legendary magazine! I hope you enjoy this issue as much as I enjoyed being part of it!"

Happy #WolverineWednesday!!!

#AKGuloGulo

A magazine titled Beast Mode with Cooper the wolverine squatted down against a gradient background with colorful geometric text highlighting various articles in the magazine. She's wearing a pink hoodie with a Jazz wave sports bra, purple weightlifting gloves, purple gym shorts, and trans pride colored hightops

8 67 270

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

ᔕᕼYEᑎᗩ @shyenadraws.bsky.social · Jul 24

I tried that thing where you make a random colored palette and desaturate it while painting just values, then you turn off the layer to see what colors you picked.

I'd love to try it again because it was a lot of fun!

a weird colored value painting of Cooper

4 26 120

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

sudo pacman -S weasl-utils @zeitwolverine.mustelid.party · 12d

Look at the cutie gulo in the snow

7 15 71

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Pookleblinky @pookleblinky.bsky.social · 20h

I've said it before but there will come a point where there is so much absolute fucking nonsense genAI garbage in image and video form that blocking it out *just like we currently do with ads* will make perfect sense.

Returning to Links and Lynx and W3m as if BLIT's were around, basically

2 11 75

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

An LGBT+ Lion Webcomic @ihopesocomic.bsky.social · 19h

More big cat adopts!

Chinese Mountain Cat - ko-fi.com/s/513f29ba99

Jaguarundi - ko-fi.com/s/7fd205ff9a

Canadian Lynx - ko-fi.com/s/12c2cc242b

Flat-Headed Cat - ko-fi.com/s/16d783fb7c

9 23

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Art of Battletech & Mechwarrior @artofbattletech.bsky.social · 4d

Mist Lynx in Mechwarrior 5: Clans

3 49

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 12h

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story only someone in your profession would understand

“So Gavin Menzies said...”

🌈Dr. Franken Frizzle 🎃 @swilua.bsky.social · 13h

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story only someone in your profession would understand

“papers in IEEE format”

Capricorn Iscariot @deaconblues1979.bsky.social · 15h

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.

"Mixed inclusion ratio trust"

1 4

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Abigail Larson @abigaillarson.com · 18h

A chance encounter

illustration inspired by the Scandinavian fairytale, "Bride of the Lindworm". A prince in the form of a lindworm perches on a moss-covered rock and peers curiously at a shepherdess from across a dark pond. The woman reaches toward him. The scene is set in a dark forest.

6 440 1.8K

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · Sep 3

Evening in Ishinomaki.

"Hey Mom, how was the tank farm today?"

The combat doll, just home from the mech range in Taiwa, has never quite gotten used to this ritual. She sputters laughs, then kisses her daughter's forehead tenderly.

"Not a tank, honey," she shakes her head. "But good all the same."

2 1 6

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 12d

Morning in Taiwa. The long column of mechs returns from overnight maneuvers in the heart of the Ou Mountains. Their legs are streaked with mud and grass, and they move lighter, their rounds spent.

Over the comms, the dolls, mounted up but ready to be home, sing the shanties of Shiogama fishermen.

1 2

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · Sep 11

Evening in Ishinomaki. A combat doll and her human spouse enjoy coffee on Kinkasan Island. The cabin on the hilltop peak is theirs for the weekend, and the latest round of work on the maneuver range feels far, far away.

A weekend of coffee, quiet, and carefree sex is just what both of them needed.

3 15

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · Aug 20

Afternoon in Shichigahama. A pair of hina-type dolls at the bakery cafe by the ferry dock see to restocking the display case with the fresh baked goods. The foot traffic will pick up soon, after work and school let out, and there's nothing quite as hungry as a combat doll back from maneuvers.

2 15

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

worm priestess @annelidist.bsky.social · Jan 19

weak spot

18 420 1.2K

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

SPiNDLE @aidenr0.bsky.social · 16d

when you see your gf booba for the billionth time

An illustration by Spindle of the character Asimov (on the left) stretching her arms, topless, in front of her gf Ottilie, who's looking at her stunned ,as if she doesn't always sees her naked here and there

46 1.1K 6.1K

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 3d

repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself

violent alien @blipstress.bsky.social · 3d

An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.

59 1.1K 3.8K

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 17h

Well I'm happy you asked, and that I could offer an answer 💙

1 3

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 18h

I'm a little surprised that you didn't already know about them, Erica-- for what it's worth, you always seemed like one to me.

1 4

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 18h

🥰

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 18h

also, May, I am flattered that I'm the combat doll who comes to mind so quickly for you.

2 4

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 18h

Finally, my usual response to people asking me "how do I become one" is the same: "if you say you're one, then you are. Simple as that."

1 4

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 18h

I've known this about myself since at least 1996, but only in 2022 did the term "combat doll" emerge. Different beings use the term to mean different things, but me, my ideal configuration would be akin to the cyborgs in Ghost in the Shell.

1 5

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 18h

Ah! Well, combat doll is a term that emerged in the Empty Spaces scene on Twitter like 3 or so years ago. ES had loose archetypes people wrote in, with flexible definitions. For me, "combat doll" fit best, and it's also a convenient term that helps me articulate my alterhuman identity.

1 4

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian @riversidewings.bsky.social · 2d

House Date goes for broke against the Toyotomi clan in Osaka. Hasekura Tsunenaga and Luis Sotelo weather Jesuit interference in Rome. And the last of the Three Great Unifiers takes his leave of the world. #DragonAscendant Ep. 27: "In the Way" buff.ly/T1FD6Eu #JapaneseHistory #Podcasts

Friday Night History Season 4: Dragon Ascendant: The Life of Date Masamune, episode 27: In the Way

Keywords: samurai, sengoku, basara, katana, rome, japan, renaissance, paul v, date masamune, hasekura tsunenaga, spain

2 4

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Athanaca @athanaca.bsky.social · 22h

Iridescent black🖤

#bird #raven #birdart #animalart #digitalart #illustration #birdwatching #crow #original #colorful #avian
#feather

A raven with colorful reflections on its feathers

36 1.5K 4.5K

Reposted by Dr. Nyri A. Bakkalian

Adam 🪿 @vexnir.bsky.social · 1d

That’s such a fluffy, sleepy pumpkin 🧡

#art #cozyart #caturday

Watercolor illustration of a bunch of colorful pumpkins, with a beige striped cat sleeping on top of them curled up into a ball, slightly resembling the round pumpkins itself.

23 1.2K 3.5K