#this is why my standards aren't even anywhere

[dress-and-impress]

Some of my fave moments in the NCIS LA episode "til death do us part" (in the lead-up to the wedding cos then we'll be here for a while).

The letter Kensi wrote to Deeks:

The beautiful billboard posters of doing rlly cute jumps and stuff:

Kensi's reaction when she saw Kirkin walking through the door:

Mandi (a pregnant hormonal woman) when she threw something on a bad guys head:

The return of Hetty:

Deeks' reaction when Kensi said smth in her vows that he said to her FIVE (or more) seasons ago (before they were together):

The bruises on Kensi's knuckles cos she had to punch a whole bunch of bad guys in her wedding dress (and ofc the ring):

Kirkin handcuffed to two agents/colleagues while crying that Deeks is taken:

The cutest moment ever:

THE ENDING BRO THEIR MARRIED AND IT TOOK AN ENTIRE SEASON PLUS A BREAK UP (feat. some rando dude in the back):

#ncis la #ncis los angeles #densi #kensi blye #marty deeks #ncis la 10x17 #i could watch this episode forever #this is why my standards aren't even anywhere #i want a kensi but i also want a deeks

[ms-demeanor]

sex work is work, no problem with that, but spamming sex work absolutely everywhere now is not okay. bot or not, it is not okay to shove your probably fake/stolen tits or ass into everyone's face even where kids are. it is absolutely the lowest, cheapest trash doing that. are these people showing their barely covered up pussy to school kids on the street to maybe get a customer? because they are doing exactly that on the internet. if you cant find customers and need to lower yourself to std ridden junkey trash standards who missed the way and entitled themselves to begging for money outside trash town, zero support from me!

Yeah you really sound like someone who supports sex workers. That's what I always think when I hear people using words like "disease-ridden" and "junkie" - 'wow, that person must be SUCH an ally. braver than any US marine, thank you for your service, person who believes sex work is work but thinks STIs or drug addiction are 'trash'.'

So, point by point:

It's not absolutely everywhere. You don't see people trying to link their onlyfans on facebook most of the time (i've actually never seen it but i could believe it is happening, though it's not common because FB has real-name policies that are unfriendly to sex workers). You're unlikely to see fansly links as sidebar ads on cspan. People aren't linking their pages in the amazon reviews. You're seeing it "everywhere" because you're not going anywhere. Tell me you spend all your time on two to three platforms without telling me you spend all your time on two to three platforms. Instagram, tiktok, twitter, and tumblr are full of people who are promoting all kinds of brands and one of those kinds of brands is sex work.

Those are also all platforms that have age restrictions and behavior standards, and of all of them tumblr is the one that has the history of being the most openly sexual and the least connected to legal identities. People are linking to their diy porn because of the culture of these websites both currently and historically. I once posted a video on this website of me bringing myself to orgasm in a public bathroom stall then inserting a dildo into my vagina before I went on stage and performed a set with my band. I did it for free and for fun five years ago, the week before the porn ban hit.

What I'm saying here is that the culture of this website has a much longer history of openness about sex and sexuality and the visual presentation of sex than it does of being full of people who think teens shouldn't see nipples. This is an *extremely* reasonable place to post information linking to porn that you make and to use cute pictures of yourself to do so.

It's also really easy to tell that these people aren't bots or using stolen images because the whole point of the live platform is that you can click through and go talk to them. Strange Aeons did just that and you can see what happened. (click on that video for a fun cameo at 6:04) Turns out live users are just a bunch of people (not networks stealing images the way that actual porn *bots* on tumblr do) and the ones who are trying to do sex work on the live platform itself get banned.

But also kids too young to see the occasional boob shouldn't be on tumblr! (like, seriously, define kids. what age is too young to see the kinds of images allowed by the tumblr live tos? how about the ones banned by the tumblr live tos? How old should you have to be before someone shows you an ahegao face on a hoodie in public? What should the punishment be for the ahegao fashionistas for exposing six year olds to anime tongues? What should the minimum age be to go on the beach and see men in speedos? Fifteen, or is that still abusive to children? Maybe we should make it twenty to be safe, or better yet why don't we make it twenty AND ban speedos? this is what you sound like, you fucking asshole). Tumblr has age limits and people under that age limit shouldn't be looking at most things on this website. A smiling woman in a bikini top or a dude with his abs out are fucking nothing compared to the kind of damage you personally and specifically are trying to inflict with your shitty ideas.

Posting t&a on tumblr is not at all comparable to doing street level work and soliciting children for a number of reasons, but I'd just like to really take the time to point out that you just compared the profile pics on tumblr live to sexually soliciting a child. You literally did the "x group i hate are pedophiles" thing, which is exactly why it's such a huge problem that any and all types of nudity have been stigmatized online. We have created an entirely new paradigm of "pedophile" that means "existed around a child while wearing tight pants." You are such a fucking clueless, sanctimonious pile of shit that you can't even see that that's what you're doing. This is literally, exactly kink at pride discourse.

And that's even if I grant you that these people are posting t&a! Go look at the live leaderboards, you don't have to accept the ToS to see the leaderboards! We are talking about *at most* saucy pin-up levels of eroticism. I have seen fucking holiday cards with more visible cleavage than any of the top 200 tumblr live streamers right now.

The only thing in your final sentence that makes any sense is that you are positioning tumblr as trash town.

Yeah. I'm actually not at all impressed by tumblr recently and that has a lot more to do with the influx or resurgence of nuance-allergic, anti-sex, whiny shits like you than it does with a banner that i can scroll past in a quarter of a second.

I want people reading this to really, really sit down and think about what they're calling assault or hypersexualiztion or whatever. We are talking about profile pictures. You are so offended by a bar of 4 profile pictures at the top of your dash that you're comparing regular ass humans (some of whom are sex workers and some of whom are just streamers who took thirst trap selfies) to the real life solicitation and abuse of children.

TOUCHING GRASS IS NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU PLEASE GO INTERACT WITH ACTUAL REAL HUMANS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT DASHCON OR MILKSHAKE DUCK ARE. YOU ARE CRITICALLY INTERNET POISONED AND IF YOU TALKED TO SOMEONE AT THE DMV AND DESCRIBED IT AS ASSAULTING CHILDREN TO HAVE SOMEONE IN A BIKINI ON A BILLBOARD THEY WOULD IMMEDIATELY BEGIN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AWAY FROM YOU. THINK OF THIS POST AS THE CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTOR TELLING YOU THAT THE SHADOWS YOU'RE SEEING AREN'T ACTUALLY DEMONS BUT THAT YOU ARE GOING TO REALLY REGRET IT IF YOU DON'T GO OUTSIDE.

[bruciemilf]

Hi, I was wondering if you had any baby Batkids headcanons, just all of them being extra clingy and obsessed with their dear dad. 😊

YES!! daily dose of fluff!!

Jason keeps a meticulous collection of poems that remind him of Bruce; Some collected from his favourite books, some he's written himself. They progress from love, to rage, to sadness, to regret, to a final, angry forgiveness, to love again

When Dick moved out, when his body was still clumsy and unfamiliar in his apartment, he spent hours just staring at his contact list.

Just aching for the courage to call Bruce. The little boy in him was begging to go home, and Nightwing kept denying him. But he'd know. it's a family tradition that Bruce always calls first.

Damian was never tickled; He hasn't giggled since he was 6, and Talia couldn't give to him what Ra's never gave to her. He was a blade, and blades don't feel.

When Bruce tickles him for the first time, he thinks its a punishment. His stomach hurts from laughing too much.

Tim's obsessive tendencies go root deep. He's vigilant, keeping a faithful watch on Bruce's every move. That's why he's there for. That's his purpose. He's good at that. He's useful for that. Keeping Gotham safe. It makes up for his invasion in the family.

One time, Jason gets hurt on patrol. Its a stab wound. Standard and measly. Just another scar on top of many. But it's a scar Tim could've prevented.

" I should've warned him. Should've-- saved him, been faster," And Bruce says he did warn him; He did everything right. There's no such thing as a good patrol. " I didn't do it on purpose. Bruce, it wasn't on purpose. Please believe me."

Bruce commands emotion in a way Tim is envious of. You think you see past the mask and he always shows you something different. Tim expects to get yelled at, and scolded, and berated for his sloppiness.

And then Bruce holds him, with an intentional tightness and unyielding tenderness, " Oh, my boy. My poor baby."

Stephanie doesn't get upset when people DON'T assume she and Bruce are father and daughter. Mostly because they're right. They're not. At their best, they're co-workers. At their worst, they're Bruce and Steph.

Fathers are overrated, anywhere.

But just for once, she'd like people to assume. She'd like to be mistaken for Bruce Wayne’s bastard child, or his one night stand, or drunken mistake, like the rest of the boys.

But when Bruce does put a hand on her shoulder, when a creep flirts with her at a Gala, " You're not in my daughter's league. You can't even afford tickets." It does feel good.

Cass and Bruce have particular love languages. Cass is tactile. She needs to touch you, and feel you, even if she doesn't speak. It's a proof of existence. It proves she's not an instrument of danger. Even danger deserves gentle things.

If there's anything true about Bruce, it's his lack of judgement. He asses, weights and critics, sure, but he's never one to judge. "Hey, honeybee. " and Cass loves that she doesn't have to hide. She can exist around him, and he can just hug her, and that's enough.

Cass has a tattoo of the bat symbol on her chest. Blsckbat rarely works with officers, but when she does, there's no pleasure in it. Especially when she has to stop them from putting a bullet through a starving kid's head.

"I gotta ask you; How do you do it? Why do you do it? No one's looking. No one's gonna know."

And Cass, angrily, rips a chunk off her suit to reveal the bat symbol. Gotham's mark of worship, it's unholy saint.

Thought saints aren't saints because they're holy. Saints are saints when they bleed. And they don't know how not to do that.

" This means mercy. This means Life."

#yayy fluff time-- SIIIIIIKE #bruce wayne #dc #dc comics #batman #jason todd #dick grayson #tim drake #stephanie brown #damian wayne #cassandra cain #batfamily #batfam #angst #batdad #bruce wayne is a good father #bruce wayne is a good parent #writing #batfamily headcanons

[au-wannabe-the-very-best]

Misplaced Super Train is absolutely AMAZING and is for some reason scratching a bit of my brain so if you don't mind I had some possible thoughts that could maybe be incorperated for like. AU World Building, if that's alright

what if the Super Train "Clan" end up building their camp around the ruins of the battle train, both for the easy shelter it offers but also to keep any other people from poking around and finding Future Stuff

bouncing back and forth between teaching Ingo about who they are and where they came from but also stuff about Hisui and trying to differentiate the two so his "past" and "future" knowledge won't get muddled

the STC's giving the other Clan's/Galaxy Team a HEART ATTACK with just how calm and relaxed they are with their pokemon becuase they've all seen how strong they are

they do bond with Laventon tho since he's very interested in all these new, seemingly domesticated pokemon as well as how powerful they are

I was actually going on the assumption that their camp is where their totaled train is! I still don't know where exactly I'd want them to crash at, I don't want them in either Pearl or Diamond territory, and I don't want them near Jubilife Village. So it just leaves the coastlands and the highlands, I think. And, if Ingo still becomes Lady Sneasler's warden, it makes more sense for the train to have crashed in the highlands.

So I suppose they're, like, the new official Highlands Clan. On account of the fact that they can't live anywhere else. They don't know how to build tents. Have to stick with the train cars.

(Okay I guess I now know where I want them to crash at.)

As for teaching Ingo, he may be able to understand what these people are saying, but despite knowing he has a brother and a family and works with trains etc, he doesn't remember any of it. It becomes clear to the depot agents that telling him these things aren't actually helping his memory at all, just forcing him to feel pressured into remembering, so they stop trying altogether. They'll tell Ingo things if he asks, but otherwise, they're not going to try and force remembrance of certain things anymore.

Akari's own amnesia and the fact that she has no expectations of Ingo or knew him previously is actually part of the reason why Ingo is so comfortable with her, and why he finds it so much easier to remember things around her.

Anyways, I don't think the clans are all too alarmed by being close to Pokémon so much as the Galaxy Team are, honestly speaking. I mean, they all seem to have Pokémon partners? I think it's more normal for the clans than the Galaxy Team, but understandably EVERYONE is very wary of the fact that their Pokémon are just. So insanely strong in comparison to everyone else. Because these crazy people battle for FUN. Nobody else does that! Battling is for survival, judging someone's character, asserting authority, or proving a point. It is NOT for enjoyment!

Every time a Clan or Galaxy Team member passes by them while they're battling, they sort of just skirt the edge and stare wide-eyed at them like they're absolutely insane. Because by native standards, they are.

As for Laventon, he's literally the kind of guy to just run up to a stranger and start a conversation, so I imagine he does actually get along with the depot agents and Ingo quite well. Even if he does ask enough questions to remind them all of reporters.

#Submas #Misplaced Super Train #Ingo #Subway Boss Ingo #Professor Laventon #PLA Ingo #Pokemon #Pokémon #Akari #PLA Akari

[jpitha]

This is one of my old favorites. I cleaned and edited it for reposting.

Downtime on the K’laxi Starbase, two humans wheel their exercise bikes out into the common area and start a ride. Their bikes have large front wheels that hum and whirr as they pedal and they both get into the rhythm of motion, enjoying the feeling of their muscles being used.

After a few moments some K'laxi stop and watch them as they work out. Kelly and Evan don't seem to notice.

After half an hour or so of pedaling Evan finally spoke “You know what I’m sick of?”

Kelly looked up from her bike. “The whole Deathworlder thing?”

“Yes! I don’t think it’s fair that everyone says Earth is a Deathworld. It implies that we’re some kind of strange being. It’s othering!” Evan was gesturing with his water bottle as he spoke.

Kelly leaned up off the handlebars, but kept pedaling. She started counting things on her fingers. “There’s plenty of other places that have storms, plenty of other races that are strong, plenty of other places like Earth”

“Exactly! It’s trying to make us out to be a stereotype and then they don’t have to learn about us as individuals.” As he got more and more animated, drops of water from Evan's water bottle started flying around. Kelly blinked when drops hit her face.

As they talked, the crowd grew. Deep in concentration on their ride, they didn't notice the attention that they have garnered.

Evan and Kelly pedaled in silence for a while longer until Pen'mun couldn't stand it any longer. He looked up from his pad. “You realize you’re having this conversation, on a K’laxi Starbase while pedaling your excise bicycles at -" He looked at a readout on the bike "-180 watts for at least one standard hour now?”

Even looked surprised. “We’re doing a century!”

"That's when you ride continuously for 160km or so." Kelly sounded matter of fact as she reached down and took a sip from her own water bottle.

Pen'mun's pad clattered to the floor. His ears flicked down in surprised frustration. “You’re not even breathing heavy!”

Kelly nodded. “He’s right Evan. Time to step it up.”

As Evan pedaled harder, he looked up and finally noticed the crowd that had gathered. Without saying anything he poked Kelly with a finger and she looked up and did a double take. There were maybe 10 or 12 people watching the two humans pedal without going anywhere. Some in the back were having quiet wagers about how long they could go on.

"What are you all doing here?" Kelly sounded suspicious as she asked.

"Um.. just watching you ride your bikes?" A young K'laxi in the front offered and took a nervous step back.

"I can see that, but why?"

"You're riding so much and you aren't even tired!" Another in the back added.

An older K'laxi on the side of the crowd joined in. "Yeah! How long can you go? I've got 30 credits with Rem'itan that says you can't go the full 160 without stopping."

Pen'mum frowned and looked like he was having a conversation with his translator. “Translator says a century is 100, but you’re doing 160km?”

Evan sighed. “160km is 100 miles. That’s the century”

"What's a mile?" A K'laxi child from the crowd interrupted.

"Old measurement. We don't use it anymore." Kelly finally started to sound like she was having difficultly speaking while she was exerting herself.

Pen found it in himself to actually be amazed in addition to being frustrated. "You're pedaling the equivalent of one hundred sixty kilometers In one session?”

“Yeah” Kelly said between breaths “doesn’t count if you stop between.”

Evan used his nearly empty water bottle to point at Pen'mum. "You're making it sound weird Pen, it's not weird."

At that, a few more K’laxi walked up to watch. People started cheering them on, and that seemed to spur Kelly and Even to go even faster.

Pen'mum opened his mouth and shut it again. His ears fluttered in frustration and his tail poofed out in irritation. He picked up his pad from the ground and went back to his book. eyes back to his book. “Deathworlders” he muttered.

#humans are space orcs #sci fi writing #scifi #humans are deathworlders #humans are space oddities #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #humans and aliens #writing #scifi writing

[soulrph]

𝙁𝙄𝙍𝙎𝙏-𝙏𝙄𝙈𝙀 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙎 𝙋𝙍𝙊𝙈𝙋𝙏𝙎 (𝙋𝙏. 1)

as requested by a powerfully patient and endlessly lovely nonnie!! there will be more lists like this, because frankly, parenthood is a whole theme park of roller coasters with unique challenges and milestones in each of them! but these are for parents who have recently become parents to a newborn! i also have requests for prompts based on foster families and adopted children, but i'd like to do my own research before i dive too deeply into those, because obviously the rules vary from country to country, but i digress! i sincerely hope you all enjoy these! unclench your jaw, drink some water, roll back your shoulders! DO NOT ADD TO THIS LIST PLEASE!!

" if you waken that baby, so help me god, there won't be a corner of the universe that will protect you from my wrath. "

" do you wanna hold him/her/them? here, it's okay! just support the neck like... yeah, there you go! you got it! "

" no, no, it's okay, i'm not going anywhere. the baby spit up on everything i own except this sparkly little number, so i'm waiting for the washing cycle to end until i can change out of this! come on in. "

" i don't think i've had a full night's sleep since the baby came along. "

" i'm gonna train this kid, night and day, until they say my name before yours. that's my goal. my name is gonna be their first word. "

" i love my baby. more than i ever dreamed possible! but they've kept me awake since the second they were born! i seriously need a nap... could you keep an eye on them until i wake up? just twenty minutes, i promise you! "

" it kinda feels like every single person in the world suddenly has a PhD in parenting to make me feel incompetent with. "

" i think our sweet angel's gonna be a rock star with that set of lungs! "

" we need a new babysitter. preferably one who won't read rosemary's baby to our newborn. "

" god, they're so precious when they're asleep... can you believe we're that kid's parents?! "

" how can something so tiny go through a billion diapers every single day?! "

" they smiled at me today! actually smiled, i swear! that baby is a genius! and no, it wasn't trapped gas, before you say it. "

" that darling child ripped a fistful of my hair out today, so if you see a bald spot, now you know why it's there. "

" shh... shh, honey, it's okay. the baby woke up, but i'm handling it. you just go back to sleep now, okay? "

" i was thinking... if, for whatever reason, i'm not able to take care of the baby, i was wondering if you might be okay with being their legal guardian? "

" so pre-schools aren't only super competitive, they've also got some insanely high standards now, too! one of them won't even let me bring my car in unless it's completely emission-free! "

" the baby has a remarkably dark sense of humour. they only seem to laugh when i stub my damn toe on the crib at 4 in the morning. "

" we had a somewhat violent reaction at the diaper station this morning. so that meant i had to bathe and change the little cherub twice in ten minutes, and then go take another shower and find new clothes unscathed by infant vandals again. "

" he/she/they have your eyes. and your batshit insane sleep schedule. "

" you know what really pisses me off? when people act as though new parents have it easy. like a newborn is the easiest thing in the world to handle. i'd like to see them make coffee, change a diaper and fold a onesie one-handed! "

" isn't it so crazy that this tiny little human, who can't even hold their own head up yet, might be like, a president or something one day? "

" i'm really sorry, i know we had plans tonight, but i literally just got the baby to sleep and all i wanna do is lie down and eat the leftovers of a bag of potato chips until i fall asleep. i haven't showered all week, i can't remember the last time i wore clean clothes, and... it's just not gonna work out tonight. "

" i figured you wouldn't have much time to cook, what with the baby and all. so i decided i'd bring a lasagna and some groceries over to you, and i can keep an eye on the little one while you take a nice hot shower and eat your dinner in peace! "

" hey... relax. i promise you, the babysitter can handle it for a few hours! and if they need you, they've got your phone number, right? so just... take a night off. sit back. enjoy yourself. the baby is fine, i promise you! "

" you know, if you guys wanted a date night, i could mind the baby for you? "

" i swear, this baby is the freaking jackpot of excuses to not attend all those events! all the times i wanted to throw sharon's awful hummus at her face during those dinner parties, and now i don't even have to go anymore, all because of this beautiful, wonderful little baby! "

" i mean, sure, sometimes i'm crying 24/7 and i don't know what the hell i'm doing! but then i'll tickle the baby's little foot and they'll laugh for thirty minutes, and it just makes me so insanely, immeasurably happy! "

" what do you think? will we try for baby number two? make this little angel a big brother/sister/sibling? "

" i need a night out. please. i'm begging you. i cannot sing another single note of baby shark! please, even a trip to the grocery store would do! "

" god, couldn't you just sit and watch them sleep forever? "

" oh god, he/she/they're crying! the baby's crying! oh man, is that a hungry cry or a diaper cry?! talk to me, little baby! "

" i cannot believe we just paid four figures for a cradle when the baby won't even sleep unless they're in our arms... "

" you know, that little baby is so freaking lucky to have you as their mom/dad/parent. "

" a-actually, maybe you better keep holding them. i mean, what if i hurt them by accident? or what if i scare them? babies don't like me, they never have! "

" you know, i always thought newborn babies looked like potatoes. but this kid is pretty darn cute! "

" i believe congratulations are in order. where's the new addition? "

" i never realized how expensive diapers were until now... "

" mm... honey, the baby... the baby's crying. wake up, baby, go help the baby... "

" nice try, but i got the baby the last time. it's your turn now. probably a diaper change, too, by the sound of it. "

" how can someone so tiny drink so much freaking milk?! "

" i wish people would quit acting like parenting experts every single time they see me. believe it or not, i do know what i'm doing! "

" some stranger on the bus decided to let me know i was a terrible mother/father/parent for not choosing to raise the baby on a vegan diet. "

" did you think of any baby names yet? or is this sweet little angel still anonymous? "

" i'm thinking we should decorate the nursery while the baby's still napping. i got the paint in my car; what do you think? "

" this baby is officially more extroverted than me! every single person we met in the park, this socializing star was waving and smiling at them like crazy! "

" oh my god, remember that little blanket you gave us when the baby was born? yeah! they refuse to go to sleep without it now, it's the cutest thing ever! "

" oh, i took the most adorable photo of the baby yesterday while they were sleeping! wanna see? "

" i don't think you need to worry about your parenting skills. 'cause that little baby in there is the happiest, luckiest kid in the whole world just by having you in their life. they might not know it yet. but they are. "

" well, according to the principal at the last pre-school, we should have been booking placements before the baby was even conceived. "

" i wonder what kind of life this baby will grow up to live? "

" you're such a natural with the baby! he/she/they love you so much already; look how they're gazing up at you! "

" i'm so sorry, but we're gonna have to leave early; the bottle leaked all over my bag, and it's feeding time now, so it's either leave early or unleash a screaming infant on you! "

" would you mind holding the baby for a minute while i go grab my stuff? "

" don't judge, but we were out of clean onesies, so i dressed the baby in that huge old t-shirt you got at that concert five years ago. if i'm being honest, it suits them! "

" listen. i know i complain and i struggle. i honestly think my mistakes outnumber my triumphs, as far as parenting is concerned. but i have never loved anything nor anyone nearly as much as i love this baby. never. "

#rp meme #roleplay meme #sentence starters #dialogue prompts #ask meme #writing prompts #roleplay prompts #rp prompts #ask prompts #meme request. #roleplay prompt #rp prompt #parenthood tw #baby tw

[sreegs]

Would you be willing to share your sources relating to the submarine/submersible technology? I believe you, but I’d love to a. read more on the subject and b. Share something that isn’t a tumblr post with a family member

i linked wikipedia articles in my reblog which, themselves, have sources in their references, but i'm not sure what specifically you're asking for a source on.

i presume you're asking why i asserted a sphere is safer than a cylinder which is more or less just physics and not strictly related to subs. a cylinder has more surface area than a sphere of the same diameter therefore it has more surface for pressure to act on. moreover the nature of material manufacture means that a cylinder has more seams (2) than a sphere (1).

spherical pressure hulls are usually made of two halves of forged titanium or steel then fused together along one seam. the titan was two halves of a titanium sphere attached to the ends of a carbon-fiber tube. where the tube was joined to the spheres it made two seams. this is really oversimplifying it but the point is to highlight that seams can provide a point of failure because they're not part of the same continuous material. the more seams the more potential points of failure

if you're asking about the DSVs themselves, when it comes to functional deep-sea capable vessels i guess it's important to point out the difference between a "submarine" (the long tube shape you see used in the military) and a deep-sea vessel like a bathysphere (which is not a submarine because of its lack of mobility).

submarines, especially modern ones, can handle some pretty impressive depths but they don't go anywhere near as deep as vessels designed to travel to the deep sea. military sub max operational depths are probably classified but their reported depths are in the hundreds of meters

modern dsv's dive past ten thousand meters. which is way, way more pressure.

so to understand modern DSVs, here's the description of the batysphere concept and some of the original designs, which which were the first deep-sea capable vessels just much more primitive. they were lowered on cables and didn't travel on their own power. so they weren't really vehicles

here's the next logical step, the bathyscaphe, which allowed it to move up and down under its own power, however the crew cabin is still a sphere. you can see them protruding from the bottom of the vessel in some photos

"deep-submergence vehicles" (which i linked in that reblog) are a bit more closer to submarines in terms of design and mobility, but their crew cabin designs are still spherical, with few exceptions. the deepest-traveling ones are spherical

crew cabins are pressure vessels. meaning they're built to withstand the force of the pressure of the water outside the vehicle. DSV's may have multiple components in compartments that don't look spherical at all from the outside but it makes sense when you realize some of these compartments aren't pressure vessels. some are solid foam. some even flood with sea water by design

take a look at this diagram of the Alvin with crew inside:

the largest pressure vessel is the crew cabin. there's a few other smaller pressure vessels to provide variable ballast (flooded with sea water or pumped with air) and some mercury vessels to provide leveling trims (to tell which way is up)

the rest of the vehicle is either pressure-resistant foam or empty space in which water can get in because the components inside are small enough and engineered to withstand the pressure. remember, because water pressure acts in all directions, the less surface area you have, the less pressure you need to worry about to maintain whatever function you need to perform. since the crew compartment is so big and so important, it's the thickest titanium and probably engineered to more exacting safety standards than some of the other parts

a couple people have already commented more on what i posted with good insight into things i can't explain as well. here's someone going into detail about the sphere vs cylinder issue:

and here someone linked a very informative youtube about the manufacture of the DSV Limiting Factor including footage of the crew compartment being forged from titanium

#titanic #oceangate #deep sea vehicles #submarines #infodump #physics

[flock-talk]

Transparency With Parrot Food Manufacturers

There's been a significant rise in the expectation of transparency between pet food manufacturers and the general public. Dog food manufacturers, for example; have AAFCO, feeding trials, and an array of nutrient digestibility charts, base nutrient expectations, and sanitary guidelines to follow which a lot of brands then openly share with the public. These standards help pet parents make more active choices in what they feed their pets, tailor their pets diet to meet their individual needs, trust that their food meets a base line of nutrition, and that the food was produced in a sanitary manner. The dog food industry is far from perfect and even these regulations have their flaws and the tests aren't without fault but it is a good base for us to compare to when we're trying to sort out what we want from other pet food manufacturers. In this case I'm focusing on parrot pellet manufacturers.

I had a few different goals heading in to this.

I wanted to see how transparent pellet manufacturers would be with sharing information that is common to ask dog food manufacturers (information is not confidential, revealing formulas, secrets, etc.)

The availability of nutrient analysis charts (breakdowns of how much of each nutrient is in their pellets)

What standards parrot food manufacturers held themselves to

If any feeding trials were performed on their pellets

And to preface this with my own bias, I am pro-pellet, I currently feed pellets.

Before we get too deep in to this let's break things down a bit.

As it stands there really aren't any regulating bodies above parrot food manufacturers as far as I could find. There doesn't seem to be much of any standards when it comes to their sanitization or product quality, the best you get is the FDA/ CFIA which basically just make sure a food isn't outright toxic. As it stands there haven't been enough studies done on parrot nutrition for there to be a governing body stating what the minimum nutrient requirements are for parrot food, we simply do not actually know what those requirements are yet so there cannot be a set standard for it. This unfortunately leaves us open to a lot of problems, if there's no nutritional requirements and no standardized testing then we're really just putting a lot of trust in to a company that wants to turn a profit. We're hoping that the food that says it's nutritionally complete is what it says with no evidence to show for it, and no science to confirm it.

So with that said no parrot food can actually claim to be "100% nutritionally complete", we do not know what nutritionally complete looks like for parrots, there is no science to back up those claims.

So I set out and emailed every parrot pellet manufacturer I could think of and asked them the some questions.

"Does your company do feeding trials? If so, is that data available to the public anywhere?"

"Do you have a nutrient profile available?"

Feeding trials are very simply a test where you feed a set of animals exclusively one diet and then monitor them to see if the food is capable of providing the base essential nutrients needed to live. Usually they do blood work, urine and fecal alongside regular physical exams to monitor things like nutritional deficiency, ailments, and nutrient digestibility. This helps show that a food is capable of providing what the target animal needs to survive without causing health problems and provides vital information on what amount of vitamins/ minerals in the produced food are actually being digested and absorbed. These tests are common among well-known dog food companies and most are more than willing to share that data to give their consumers peace of mind with easy transparency.

And let me tell you I am beyond disappointed at what happened when I asked parrot food manufacturers the exact same thing.

TOPs: No nutrient profile listed on the website, does have a detailed breakdown of why every single ingredient was added though. Happily discloses that parrot nutritional science doesn't have all the data to claim any food as 100% nutritionally complete and advises for the feeding of fresh foods in addition to their food, didn't specify exactly how much of each to maintain optimal nutrition.

I emailed them three times and never got a response back from any of them.

Harrisons: Does say you can feed 20% vegetables by weight while the pellet should be 75%, has an easily available nutrient analysis on their website.

also emailed three times with no response back.

Caitec: no nutritional analysis listed on their main website, website did not state how they want their product to be fed, product packaging states that veggies should be a treat/ addition and lists the pellet as a "complete diet".

emailed three times with no response back.

Lafeber: Primarily promotes mixed seed and pellet formulas, doesn't state any risks of parrot's selective consumption (study on that problem), does promote the feeding of fresh produce in conjunction with their formulas at 20% of the diet, no nutrient analysis on their website.

emailed three times with no response back.

Zupreem (Compana Pet Brands): did respond back but they phrased their response in a way to dance around the subject, after some pushing they confirmed they do not do feeding trials. Encourages use of fresh foods with their formula, at least 60% pelleted diet recommended. Had an extremely small nutrient profile that just skipped over the important nutrient requirements like the Ca:Ph. I asked for a nutrient profile which they did not want to provide but were able to tell me that the naturals pellets have 0.59% calcium

Roudybush: Says fresh foods can be fed but "as a minor part of the diet", does say that science doesn't have enough information to make a product tailored to each species of bird, did make changes to their formula recently to remove menadione in favour of alfalfa due to it's potential toxicity. does seem to be evolving as science progresses. Ingredients list wasn't listed on the website, nor was a nutrient profile.

did not reply to any emails.

Tropican (HARI): I was hopeful for this one by the way their website boasts about their feeding trials and research. So so hopeful.

Talks about doing feeding trials openly on their website, recommends 70% pellet to 30% fresh foods (by caloric content not weight) but mentioned that their birds eat 100% pellets. Easily accessible albeit basic nutrient profile but it covers the main things.

After my email Mr. Hagen actually ended up calling me and what I was hoping would be a motivating call ended up being very hostile. Whenever I asked questions about data or results of a feeding trial I was immediately shut down, the topic was changed, I was interrupted mid-sentence over and over again. I was able to get small tidbits of info that were as vague as "we've fed multiple generations of birds on this food" and "we do annual weigh-ins". He would casually mention data from a study he had done but then dart away if I asked for the name of the study so I could read it later. It was an extremely off-putting phone call. Completely unwilling to say how many birds were in a trial, how many years the trial went on for, if there was bloodwork or nutrient digestibility charts, nothing at all. He also casually mentioned that once the birds are old enough they get sold to stores which was very unnerving to me.

So I guess they maybe do legitimate feeding trials but they will under no circumstances offer that data to the public? I don't know. They wouldn’t provide any published articles or data to actually prove that the trials exist and I will definitely not be contacting them again to find out. They suggested I was trying to steal their formula and lying about my identity. I'm not going to try to get a simple answer out of them again.

Mazuri: recommends 20% fresh foods 75% pellets, nutrient profile available on the website.

did not reply to any emails.

Pretty Bird: Does not do feeding trials, prompt to reply, at least knew what a feeding trial was. Couldn't find feeding recommendations on the website, no nutrient profile aside from the generic guaranteed analysis having a few add-ons but still skipping on the important nutrients you'd want to know about.

Kaytee: Did not know what a Feeding Trial was. Thought I wanted samples and offered me a coupon. I had to explain to this animal food manufacturer what a feeding trial was. Unsurprisingly they do not do feeding trials. Website had no listing of a nutrient analysis. Recommended 70-90% pellets to some fresh foods. In their own published article they went over how damaging seed diets are for parrots but then they also sell seed-only diets with the ingredients they were specifically bashing in their own article. When I asked for a nutrient profile this is what I was given:

"Nutrient levels are calculated based on ingredient data, feed compendium tables and direct diet analysis. Actual levels may vary slightly due to ingredient and analytical variation."

Kaytee exact naturals cockatiel pellet:

"0.4% Calcium 0.2% Available Phosphorus (non-phytate P) 0.1% Magnesium 120 ppm Zinc 140 ppm Iron 700 IU/kg Vitamin D3"

and that's just extremely limited information. I'm glad they were willing to provide something but in comparison to some of the others it's just not a lot of data.

Psittacus: advises for the use of grit in parrots, recommends 100% pellets but says you can feed a minimum of 70% to make room for fresh foods. Their response to feeding trails was really vague: "our products have been evaluated and tested in our centre as well as collaborating centres. This information is for internal use and it is not published anywhere". Wouldn't say what tests were done or elaborate further than that in any way. I then inquired for a detailed nutrient analysis chart saying that Mia's calcium has been a bit of a struggle (since it has been), curious if their brand may have more calcium than the ones Im using now to help her out to which they replied with "our food contains the calcium levels appropriate for him/her". (you literally cannot say that, you haven't run tests on my bird, you haven't worked with my vet regarding my bird, you cannot guarantee a blanket statement like that.). They did offer me a link to this catalogue which has more detailed info on their pellets production and a more thorough nutrient analysis chart.

I am shocked by the responses I received. I am disappointed in parrot food manufacturers. I am frustrated with parrot food regulations.

I knew I wouldn't get much out of these emails since the standards for parrot food are so low but the amount of companies that just pretended not to get my emails or didn't even know what a feeding trial was is ridiculous. The amount of companies that were making claims that science can't back up, or making claims that science actually disagrees with is astounding.

The complete lack of transparency is terrifying.

#I am never doing this again #don’t ask questions to pet food companies they will try to throw you in jail #dude straight up was like WHAT WILL YOU DO WI THE THAT INFO YOURE NOT A VET??? #HUH????? #feed my birds a diet that’s confirmed to be healthy for them…….. #bring the data tm my vet and ask if this looks like a good option for my pets…… #I will now be rethinking their diets entirely #thank you for coming to my ted talk #pellets #science

[ishipgenfics]

You and Your Human: Part 2

Part 1

You let yourself fall apart with your human for a few more moments before pulling yourself up. You are not helpless. You have your own ship now. You can keep yourself and your human safe. But you need a new crew. Loyal ones, who are good at their jobs and don't mind humans. Which... isn't so easy to find.

Luckily, you and your human are at one of the largest trading posts this side of the Starry Abyss. If there's anywhere you can find someone who won't much mind working with a human, it's here.

You do not actually end up finding your first crew member, they find you. In fact, they run up to you, beaming.

"Pronouns?" they say, speaking to you in your native language. You are stunned.

"Er... she/her variance?" you say.

They nod and keep speaking, words tumbling out, accent like that of a native speaker. But unless the setup of the trading posts has very much changed since your last visit, they cannot be a native speaker. They are tall, with feathered wings and puffy gray-white hair. They wear flowing white robes and their beak makes a satisfying clicking noise as they speak.

"Oh my gosh thank you so much, I'm not sure why they sent you as opposed to one of my superiors... are you working for one of the ambassadors? You know what, it doesn't really matter. Anyway, thank you for reconsidering I swear I won't let you down--"

You puff your tail up and step in front of your human. "Pronouns?"

"They/them variant."

You nod. "Excuse me, but who are you and what do you want?"

The Equilian backed up. They looked genuinely remorseful, which made you feel a bit bad.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry," they say. They chuckle nervously, teeth retracted into their beak. "I didn't-- I have been a mess today, Saints. I'll just tangle my way out of here then...?"

They start to walk away, but you let out a high-pitched squeak, a signal to wait. You aren't sure why. Your human squeaks at you, but it has the pitch wrong and you can't tell what it's trying to say. You pat its ankle reassuringly and then turn back to the Equilian.

"How do you know Pyricese so well?" you ask. Most people do not know more than their standard language, and maybe a second one they learned at school. It is the reason why most ships are only one species, why the United Galactic Council failed so badly, and why translators are one of the most coveted resources in the Abyss. Someone like you-- who speaks nearly every language a person might need-- well, everybody wants you. It's why you have to be careful.

"I spent five years as part of an aid program, for the alliance between our two planets." Their head bounces up and down, almost like a nod, and you notice your human copying the motion. "I'm essentially fluent!"

"Aid?" you say. There is a cold spiral of dread in your stomach. You feel sick. "What happened?"

"Oh. Oh Saints you don't know."

"What. Happened." Your human is babbling comforting nonsense in the background. Normally you would be happy to hear it speaking its native language, but you are too hopped up on adrenaline right now. When you get back to your ship, you are going to have a nice hot bath and a long lie down. This much adrenaline cannot be healthy.

"It was a sandstorm," the Equilian says. "A bad one. A lot of things were destroyed, pretty soon after the alliance was formed. So they sent over aid groups to help."

"You were one of them?" you clarify. You are starting to have an idea.

"Yeah." The Equilians wings slump. Their feathers are messy, they must not have preened in a while. "Was. My contract ran out and I wasn't a citizen so... I wasn't allowed to stay."

You realize that you are leaning forward, tail perked up. You look too invested in this, you don't even know this person. You're always emotional after a breakdown. "What I am hearing," you say, recovering magnificently if you do say so yourself, "is that you are in need of a job."

"Are you offering?" the Equilian says.

Your tail shakes upwards. "I am. What can you do?"

"I'm a builder, or have been for a while, but I've always liked to think that I'm a good pilot," the Equilian says.

You smile. "It just so happens that I have acquired a new ship. And I'm not a particuarly good pilot."

The Equilians wings flap in and out. "That's-- that's great! Are you ready to go, or do you have any other business? Is there somewhere I should meet you?"

Your human is making soft muttering noises. From what you can parse, although it is difficult to follow two languages at once, it is trying to figure out what you are saying. It does not seem to be having much luck, which makes sense, you've only taught it it/its variance and this whole conversation has been in she/her and they/them variance.

"Meet me at the docks, in the crow section," you say. "I'll show you where the ship is once I get there." You do not think your pilot would steal the ship, but it is standard procedure, and you do not want to risk getting stranded, especially not now that you have a human to protect.

The Equilian nods, and flutter-walks away. You grab your human by the hand, and head off into the crowd. You have more crew members to find.

#story #story snippet #original character #writblr #second person #humans are space orcs #if anyone wants more details-- about any of this really-- send me an ask! I love talking about my worldbuilding #Part 3: Prequel Time! #you and your human

[menalez]

Passport bros are a bunch of men who are trying to leave the US for Eastern Europe/Asia etc because the American women aren't "traditional" enough for them (too feminist, their standards to supposedly too high, etc).

I think the debate is supposed to be about whether the women they're meeting outside of the US are being taken advantage of/to what extent? Basically some people were calling them traffickers for a little while, and then the people who said this were getting called racist.

(I didn't really expect your views on it to be positive, but I was just curious about what feminists thought about it- I love your blog btw!)

ugh i didnt know that was the term for it, firstly i hate the fact that thats the term for something so vile?! i thought maybe passport bros was a silly meme or internet trend, not about dudes that make sexually exploiting women & being misogynists their personality traits.

and yeah, i would say they are being taken advantage of. i mean, to what extent will vary and differ because women are not in equally bad or in identical situations in eastern europe or asia or south america or anywhere else. but taken advantage of, without a doubt. these men's entire reasoning for seeking out these women is the fact that they believe these women won't have standards, won't speak up for themselves, will let these men walk all over them, & i doubt that money and survival & a better life arent major factors in the women actually having these assumed lower standards to begin with. guys like that are rapey creeps in my eyes, and blatant misogynists. i don't get how saying that is somehow racist? like, the guys perpetuating this from what i know are overwhelmingly white. ive seen this most prominently directed at southeast asian women, and its often very fetishistic and gross the way these guys perpetuate it. traffickers, idk for sure on that, but i get why someone would feel that way.

its one thing to marry a woman from a different background, or even a more disadvantaged background. its another thing entirely to intentionally seek out women of a more disadvantaged background because you think they'll put up with more shit and let you have your way with them. or bc u have a weird dehumanising fetish

#anonymous

[pearldrone]

the body types of the inkfish in splatoon, what's with them?

this post will obviously have vague references to weight, but not in a serious way. warning you regardless though!

the anatomy of inklings and octolings, or the inkfish in general, is something that continues to interest me. this post will be mainly revolving around them. as you know, there are many defining features between the two species. round or pointy ears, a/symmetrical teeth, connective eye masks or a lined eye look, ten or eight tentacles, the list goes on. however, something that stays consistent within either species if that their body types remain the exact same.

the squid sisters and off the hook for reference. as you can see, putting aside obvious differences between the two species and height, their features are identical. this also applies to any player characters. why is this? let's look more into it.

as i'm sure you are aware, beauty standards more than likely play some kind of role in the designs of idols and avatars. real idols and celebrities are really skinny a majority of the time so it makes sense they'd incorporate it into the designs because of this.

that's not all, though. wouldn't that be too easy?

while typical standards of beauty definitely contribute, personally i believe that isn't the only reason.

something important to remember when talking about the anatomy of the octolings and inklings is that they aren't humans, and naturally will not have the same features. anything from their lack of bones, sensitivity to water, {water isn't lethal to them and can only be harmful in staggering amounts} ink assumingly playing a part in their hydration, their lack of actual hair, thin skin, really the only things "human" about them are that they have limbs, {along with fingers and toes} skin, their facial structures, and the fact they can speak.

bigfin reef squid

real squids and octopuses, even cuttlefish, are really low in fat. from what i can gather, octopus and squid have anywhere from one to six grams of fat per a few ounces. going back with what i said earlier, inkfish are not people, and it's highly plausible that they have a different acceptable body fat range than humanity, and can survive and thrive on very little. this, along with the fact that essentially all younger inkfish are very active, i believe play huge roles in their physique. fat also likely stores in them in the same places, as with real cephalopods.

caribbean reef octopus

conclusion,

do beauty standards have a part with appearances in splatoon? i can almost guarantee. though, it's crucial to remember that the way inkfish present anatomically and the way humans do have a large contrast. inkfish are very heavily based on real cephalopods, and the developers of splatoon are very intentional when it comes to character design and referencing what species they're based on, so i'm going to say that it's safe to assume that this is another huge reason for how they look physically.

what do you think? feel free to let me know. this is something that's floated in my mind on and off, but just today i started really thinking about it. thanks for reading.

#splatoon #inkling anatomy #splatoon 3 #splatoon headcanons #octoling anatomy #splatoon lore #pearl rambles

[blackjackkent]

Here is the thing that bothers me, as someone who works in tech, about the whole ChatGPT explosion.

The thing that bothers me is that ChatGPT, from a purely abstract point of view, is really fucking cool.

Some of the things it can produce are fucking wild to me; it blows my mind that a piece of technology is able to produce such detailed, varied responses that on the whole fit the prompts they are given. It blows my mind that it has come so far so fast. It is, on an abstract level, SO FUCKING COOL that a computer can make the advanced leaps of logic (because that's all it is, very complex programmed logic, not intelligence in any human sense) required to produce output "in the style of Jane Austen" or "about the care and feeding of prawns" or "in the form of a limerick" or whatever the hell else people dream up for it to do. And fast, too! It's incredible on a technical level, and if it existed in a vacuum I would be so excited to watch it unfold and tinker with it all damn day.

The problem, as it so often is, is that cool stuff does not exist in a vacuum. In this case, it is a computer that (despite the moniker of "artificial intelligence") has no emotional awareness or ethical reasoning capabilities, being used by the whole great tide of humanity, a force that is notoriously complex, notoriously flawed, and more so in bulk.

-----

During my first experiment with a proper ChatGPT interface, I asked it (because I am currently obsessed with GW2) if it could explain HAM tanking to me in an instructional manner. It wrote me a long explanatory chunk of text, explaining that HAM stood for "Heavy Armor Masteries" and telling me how I should go about training and preparing a character with them. It was a very authoritative sounding discussion, with lots of bullet points and even an occasional wiki link Iirc.

The problem of course ("of course", although the GW2 folks who follow me have already spotted it) is that the whole explanation was nonsense. HAM in GW2 player parlance stands for "Heal Alacrity Mechanist". As near as I've been able to discover, "Heavy Armor Masteries" aren't even a thing, in GW2 or anywhere else - although both "Heavy Armor" and "Masteries" are independent concepts in the game.

Fundamentally, I thought, this is VERY bad. People have started relying on ChatGPT for answers to their questions. People are susceptible to authoritative-sounding answers like this. People under the right circumstances would have no reason not to take this as truth when it is not.

But at the same time... how wild, how cool, is it that, given the prompt "HAM tanking" and having no idea what it was except that it involves GW2, the parser was able to formulate a plausible-sounding acronym expansion out of whole cloth? That's extraordinary! If you don't think that's the tightest shit, get out of my face.

----

The problem, I think, is ultimately twofold: capitalism and phrasing.

The phrasing part is simple. Why do we call this "artificial intelligence"? It's a misnomer - there is no intelligence behind the results from ChatGPT. It is ultimately a VERY advanced and complicated search engine, using a vast quantity of source data to calculate an output from an input. Referring to that as "intelligence" gives it credit for an agency, an ability to judge whether its output is appropriate, that it simply does not possess. And given how quickly people are coming to rely on it as a source of truth, that's... irresponsible at best.

The capitalism part...

You hear further stories of the abuses of ChatGPT every day. People, human people with creative minds and things to say and contribute, being squeezed out of roles in favor of a ChatGPT implementation that can sufficiently ("sufficiently" by corporate standards) imitate soul without possessing it. This is not acceptible; the promise of technology is to facilitate the capabilities and happiness of humanity, not to replace it. Companies see the ability to expand their profit margins at the expense of the quality of their output and the humanity of it. They absorb and regurgitate in lesser form the existing work of creators who often didn't consent to contribute to such a system anyway.

Consequently, the more I hear about AI lately, the more hopeful I am that the thing does go bankrupt and collapse, that the ruling goes through where they have to obliterate their data stores and start over from scratch. I think "AI" as a concept needs to be taken away from us until we are responsible enough to use it.

But goddamn. I would love to live in a world where we could just marvel at it, at the things it is able to do *well* and the elegant beauty even of its mistakes.

#bjk talks #ChatGPT #technology #AI #artificial intelligence #just thinking out loud here really don't mind me

[ac-liveblogs]

Hello! Just wanna say thank you to you & kyogre-blue (and the anons) for being like the only people I can find that agree that Genshin's storytelling is wack lol I'm surprised how many people praise the writing when it's so confusingly paced and conflicts they bring up don't really go anywhere or the payoff is lackluster. There so much unnecessary dialogue & the last acts of the main story are always such a big rushed mess!

That being said, I wanted to ask if there's any series(game, anime, manga, etc) you'd recommend that does the things genshin wants to do but better, or even just series you'd recommend in general or wish more people knew about!

Hi anon! Sorry for the late response, I have been adding and removing stuff from this list for a few days. I genuinely don't know why people think Genshin is well written - I can understand people thinking it's good in concept and that some of its high concept ideas are interesting, but the actual story itself? Beyond me.

Thank you in return for the validation - the more I see people go on about how great it is the crazier I feel...

As for recs...

The real issue is that Genshin tries to do a LOT of different things, but there aren't a lot of games that do ALL the things Genshin tried to do. That's what makes Genshin stand out, though obviously a lot of what it does do leaves a lot to be desired... I am mostly going to stick to anime/manga/games per your request, but if you like fantasy worlds with lots of lore there's a lot of western high fantasy that might also be your thing.

And you know, these are gonna be subjective recs.

In general, if you're looking for more JRPG fantasy games - Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest and Tales of Franchise are good places to start. They're all self-contained stories and you can easily jump from one entry to another. My experience with anything except Final Fantasy is really spotty, but narrowing it down a bit;

Tales of Vesperia and Tales of Symphonia are generally the most well-regarded Tales of games; they're on my 'to-play' list so I can't rec them personally. I am playing Tales of Berseria (very slowly) and quite enjoying myself, but it's supposed to be pretty different to the rest of the series.

Dragon Quest XI is a very well-regarded entry into the series, and the most recent. It's a fun game with a cute cast; it doesn't do anything particularly exciting and is a very standard 'save the world from the forces of darkness!' plot, but it's very cute and I had a good time.

As an generally well-regarded MMO Final Fantasy 14 probably comes the closest to encapsulating what Genshin offers, though I never got far (no shade to 14; I just don't like MMOs). Apparently the guy that wrote FF16 is also a 14 writer, but I thought FF16's writing sucked so take that with a grain of salt. Actually, FF16's combat reminded me a lot of Genshin too lmao. Lots of waiting for skills to cool down.

Final Fantasies 6, 7 and 9 are generally pretty safe jumping-on points - 7 being the most well-regarded for a reason, though arguments on the 'best Final Fantasy' can get vicious. 15 is also open-world but, uh, I got bored and couldn't finish it.

Final Fantasy Remake, Intergrade and presumably the upcoming Rebirth are very good, I just disagree with some choices made (and every they're not ALL bad choices.) Rebirth will apparently be open-world, but it's not a cheap investment to get them all.

Games that have elements similar to Genshin's;

Legend of Zelda; Breath of the Wild inspired Genshin's open-world and though it's not as pretty, it's certainly more engaging. It's not as story-heavy as Genshin. It handles exploration a lot better in almost all regards, imo.

Bravely Default and/or Octopath Traveller (party-based RPGs with HEAVY party customisation options - if you wish Genshin allowed for more variety/options there. Very different experience, BD is a 'complete party' and OT is '8 separate storylines')

Similarly, if you like character/party building and strategy games in general, while I didn't love the story Fire Emblem Engage was really fun to play. If you want a cute party and story, Fire Emblem Awakening is a pretty solid entry too.

Ace Attorney, if you need to detox after Fontaine's attempts at writing trials. Ace Attorney vs Professor Layton has a batshit ending, but its about witch trials, which is cool.

I'd also tentatively recommend Kingdom Hearts. A game about traveling to different worlds, meeting new people, searching for people that you've lost but still care about despite everything. Very fun hack and slash gameplay from KH2 onwards; iconic villain squad and some of the best (bonus) boss fights in the business, incredible soundtrack and plays around with identity and personhood as concepts in more interesting ways than Genshin does. Clunky and cheesy, but still close to my heart. But yes the worlds are mostly Disney.

Fate/Samurai Remnant is both probably currently the best introduction* to the Fate universe and a good game in it's own right. And if you like series with a fucktonne of lore and world-building that take their own spin on history and mythology, you'll probably like the Nasuverse. The original Fate/Stay Night will be getting an official english release later this year, along with Tsukihime. Witch of the Holy Night is also already out - they're meaty visual novels. FGO walked so that Star Rail could faceplant into the ground, etc etc.

Some general adventure anime/manga;

One Piece Live Action: Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this. You might also enjoy actual One Piece, on the off-chance you haven't already seen it. (maybe that's the more sensible recommendation? I really wish I liked One Piece more than I do) After all this time, Romance Dawn is still my favourite One Piece saga.

Hunter x Hunter is generally just good and fun, though its a bit of a slow start. Finally finished 2011's anime adaptation. It made me cry. Also, the Phantom Troupe are just. So fun. Chrollo my beloved scumbag

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Delicious in Dungeon are two adventure anime with extremely different vibes. Though you might already be watching those. Frieren has themes of living longer than your friends and companions, and watching people you care about vanish while you stay young - what it's like to experience that, and how to move on. Delicious in Dungeon is a comedy in a well thought out fantasy world.

Trigun's anime, Trigun's manga and Trigun: Stampede are all very different but similar narratives about a semi-immortal inhuman character traveling across an apocalyptic planet humanity failed to properly settle. I haven't watched the original anime, but the manga and Stampede were both fun.

If you haven't seen Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood yet, rocket that to the top of the list.

I'm currently watching a mid-2000s shonen isekai - Marchen Awakens Romance - with a friend. We're enjoying ourselves so far... at ep 40/ out of 100ish. If it gets bad it's not my fault.

Classic old-school isekai I haven't seen in ages are Inuyasha and Magic Knights Rayearth. Didn't finish InuYasha, actually. Fushigi Yugi is on my to-watch list.

Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles is a mid 2000s adventure manga that involves a LOT of dimensional travel and found family feels. It gets very mind-screwy by the end and has a sister series partially needed to understand what's going on - xxxHolic, which I also remember liking though it has been a hot minute (over a decade) for both of them. Go manga, not anime. More of a 'alternative to Star Rail' rec, tbh.

I think if you mentioned some specific characters or potential plotlines in Genshin I might be able to offer alternatives? Like, if you liked the House of Hearth as morally grey found family trying to protect Fontaine, I could say you might like Moriarty the Patriot or Bungou Stray Dogs, but a lot of that's gonna be way more subjective than broader fantasy/adventure story recs...

(If you wish Scaramouche had ever been able to confront his creator and his vague allusions to 'having a heart' and personhood/identity were more of a thing - Lies of P! If you liked Diluc but wish he still did anything vigilante-like, you'll probably like... some... Batman media! Depends why you like Diluc! Stuff like that.)

The thing I've watched most recently that I really, really liked was Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I read the books in high school and revisiting it (and it revisiting itself) was really interesting. The show has some extremely interesting animation choices and generally looks incredible - it's also pretty funny, so there's that. I'd recommend either reading the books or watching the movie first (the entire movie cast returned to voice act Takes Off, actually - and do an incredible job).

I've also been playing a shitton of Castlevania lately. I didn't like the shows very much, but I found myself enjoying the games I got on the Switch store.

#replies

[hellolulu]

Thinking about how Hunter probably thought he'd just live in the human realm forever.

He was probably looking at how everyone treated Vee in relation to her traumatic history and thinking "hey, maybe they'll understand that I'd rather come back here after we defeat The Collector." He was helping them finish the portal so he could help them all get back, help them defeat the collector, but thinking of spending his time after that living in the human world.

He was probably thinking of his future for the first time in his life, thinking he might have one among humans, who have no magic ability, like him. In the human realm where book-smarts and theoretical knowledge are the standard, where he can excel as a lover of learning.

Sure he had a couple things that would have made him want to go back, too - but those things are people. And although being with the people you love (and who love you back) is good for you, I'm sure even he knows it's best to just hope they can visit each other (especially knowing they would if they could). The human world offered him a safe place, a home, and a mother who had spent months being able to prove to him he's worthy of parental affection.

Now, everyone says the death of flapjack means he won't see the human world as a home anymore, but I very strongly disagree. I think he's spent all this time thinking and realising Belos is the root of all his issues, and Belos killing flap only serves to teach him that the Boiling Isles aren't a bad place, and that he has a choice for his future in either world, so long as Belos is gone.

He didn't say "time to go home, Flap" because he no longer sees the human realm as a home, but rather because the Boiling Isles are also his home. He's probably going to go on a revenge mission and act a little off (I'd like to see him taking that route just for once and for the others to be on board tbh) - but Flap's murder isn't something that'll paint the human world as unsafe or not-home, the problem is Belos. His home is wherever Belos is not, and Belos evidently won't leave him alone. So, simply, once Belos is gone For Good, he can rest, find a home, and maybe even travel around, maybe recreate portal technology that's ethical and usable so he can explore even more because the whole universe can be his home (he spent his childhood practically locked up in his room, why wouldn't he want to go exploring? Maybe even with Lilith, his fellow nerd/historian! Actually I really love this idea and I'm going to think about it so much: not dadrius or camumla, but a secret third thing; cool aunt Lilith)

Sure, the little guy may choose to become an ambassador for humans/witches along with Luz and Gus in future, but first: he gets to finish school and carve a palisman and be part of a cool sports team and do all the dumb kid stuff he wasn't allowed to do. And he can do all that before he even has to think of a future, because I think actually he'd be able to see anywhere as home so long as Belos isn't around to hurt him. A boy whose world was so small, becoming a boy whose home becomes the whole universe. That's my take, at least!

#the owl house #toh #cartoon #cartoon network #hunter toh #toh hunter #hunter #golden guard #bad but sad boy #lulu on the mic #huntlow #belos #toh spoilers

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #2

I saw some disheartening news today:

I was truly hoping that no one would have to be taken from us this time. Of course, I understand that sometimes our hopes don't pan out, and that, ultimately, that sort of thing has to be okay; we can't get our way all the time - it's not how living works. Still… I'm sure you're aware that Cloud and his friends are a very good group of people who, like you, are caught up in the machinations between an evil corporation and a cosmic horror. It's terrible when innocents get caught up in the crossfire between things that have nothing to do with them. Sadly, our worlds aren't all that different in that regard: these sorts of things happen all the time, anywhere you go.

…I don't imagine, though, that it's going to be Aerith who gets sacrificed this time. I'm terrified to think that somehow, some way, instead, it will be you. I feel somewhat sick to my stomach at the thought of how terribly possible this feels, and I'm not really sure what to do with all this anxiety that's welling up in the pit of my stomach.

You saved my life. Your existence offered me someone whose circumstances looked similar to mine when I was growing up. My world is filled with a lot of people who are very much like you - people who grew up in abusive environments, groomed as tools to be used instead of treated like people to be loved, cared for, and understood. People who are valued not for who they are, but for what they look like or what they can do. People who, tired of how much pressure they're under, tired of how few seem to care, and tired of being exploited, lash out, only to be called "monsters" and "bad people" for it.

Stories like yours influence what society thinks is the appropriate way to treat people like us. As it is now, all too often, people like us get pushed out towards the margins of society as unwelcomed things to be excluded or even eliminated. People look at the bad things that others do as evidence that their blood should be spilled, rather than looking at and correcting all the factors that caused them to get to the point of doing bad things in the first place, and this is very sad.

I was very sad that at the end of the original storyline, instead of trying to help you to return to the light, they decided to beat you, bleed you, and break you. And people called that "justice". They didn't try to do anything about the suffering that drove your choices. They didn't offer you even a shred of empathy or concern. And this sort of "justice" happens to all kinds of people in my world, all the time, especially to those of us who are, for whatever reason, considered "non-standard".

I am very frightened of this terrible version of "justice" that most people, both in your world and in mine, seem to subscribe to. There is no mercy to it. It does not heal. All it does is call for those who fall down to suffer. I'm terrified that this version of "justice" is imminently about to happen to you, and it breaks my heart to think of all the people who will be cheering as it happens.

I just wish that nobody had to get hurt.

At the same time, though, I'm very aware that you've survived things worse than death. You were raised by the staff at Shinra, after all. Tortured as a boy by Hojo. Groomed into the role of child soldier, told that you had to function at maximum capacity all the time, at all costs, and deprived of the basic human comforts that should come with everyday living. Even after being thrown into the reactor core at Nibelheim, and even after Cloud and his wonderful friends stopped you at the Northern Crater, you still tenaciously kept your head held high and bravely moved forward, towards a world in which no one else should have to be made to suffer in the same ways that you, Angeal, and Genesis were forced to endure. I know you'll get through this somehow, but I wish you didn't have to try to. I'll leave you with this nice picture that a person named Kate made:

I don't know what else to put, and I think I'm running out of space, anyway. So I'll just say this: I love you. I'm scared for you. I wish wholesome things would happen to you. Please stay safe… Your friend, Lumine

#sephiroth #ThankYouFFVIIDevs #ThankYouFF7Devs #ThankYouSephiroth #final fantasy vii #final fantasy 7 #crisis core #final fantasy crisis core #ff7 #ff7r #ff7 remake #ff7 rebirth #ff7ec #ffvii #final fantasy 7 rebirth #ever crisis #the first soldier #wholesome

[tobiasdrake]

Before we continue, Desuhiko has a new Hangout to attend as well.

YES. FINALLY, I got to eat at the hotel's diner. Only took several murders to get here.

Wouldn't have thought Desuhiko would be my ticket to diner food but here we are.

REALLY, DESUHIKO?

I can't escape it. Even in the Hangouts that are supposed to be about Desuhiko, he's still only interested in shilling the game's main ship. I'm pretty sure Desuhiko has had more lines of dialogue about Yuma/Kurumi shipping than Yuma and Kurumi have.

Which, to be fair, isn't hard since most of Yuma and Kurumi's shipping moments have consisted of awkward pauses and blushing at each other.

You know what I would like more than a Gumshoe Gab with Desuhiko about how Yuma's totally feeling feelings oh so very much for Kurumi? A set of five Gabs for Kurumi where they get to be sweet and romantic together. But we can't have that, because then Kodaka would have to write romance instead of regurgitating the same lazy pining cliches that everyone uses to talk around their own subplot.

Writers give so few fucks about their obligatory love interests that they'd rather give us an intimate private conversation with Desuhiko about Kurumi than an intimate private conversation with Kurumi.

This is why all of the most popular ships are gay. That's what audiences take away when characters only get to express themselves on a personal level with their same-sex besties. Frodo and Samwise are the ship because nobody gives a shit about Rosie Cotton. Why would they?

Sorry. I aggressively hate the Stock Romance Tropes and it's triggering for me. What were we talking about?

We're supposed to be like "LOL That delusional Desuhiko" but it's not like Yuma and Kurumi's relationship has had much more development than that.

We talked about this before with Desuhiko's aspirations to be a star. He has low self-esteem and is more interested in the validation of having people adore him than he is in cultivating an artistic talent.

His skirt-chasing is very much the same. He's not chasing skirts, so much as he's chasing the optics of masculinity. He doesn't have a type because it's not about the women; It's about the image he projects, but to others and to himself.

That's why he was so inexplicably well-behaved at Aetheria Academy. A "comical pervert" in an all-girls' school is a scenario ripe for raunchy shenanigans, but the worst thing Desuhiko did was get on stage to try and play guitar badly to a captive audience. A lot of "comical pervert" type characters in his position could have taken far more advantage of this scenario, especially from the guise of an authority figure. But he didn't. He was. Chill. About the whole thing.

We violated the girls' privacy more than Desuhiko did.

And despite having the ability, there's no indication he's ever gone back. He's instead resumed his standard practice of accosting random women on the street to go, "Hey baby what kind of man do you like" and then fucking off.

I don't think this is about women. I think it's about Desuhiko, a boy with low self-esteem who craves external validation, trying to feel secure in his fragile masculinity by projecting the image of a Ladies' Man. The larval form of a PUA.

It's 'cause your heart wasn't in it, my dude. Trust me, I've been there. If success with women causes you to have a panic response and want to be anywhere but here, it probably means you don't want to be here.

Could be you're gay. Could be you're ace. Could be your interests in women aren't as universal as you've convinced yourself and you do, in fact, have a type. Could even just be that the surrounding circumstances made you feel uncomfortable.

Desuhiko writes it off as "Oh, I just hate northern accents" and. Sure. Maybe that's it. But it's nonetheless a chink in the armor of his playboy self-image. He had his chance and couldn't bring himself to take it because when push came to shove, he wasn't interested. He only wanted to look like he was.

This is the part that PUAs don't like to talk about. "The Game" doesn't make you happy. You listen to Manosphere bros talk about women for five minutes and you quickly realize that they are miserable. Even when they're successful, they aren't having any fun. They talk about sex in clinical terms, describing it as "inserting a rod of tissue" or calling it "not an especially pleasing activity".

Imagine dedicating your whole life to the pursuit of something you don't even enjoy. Desuhiko had his shot, and he got a taste of how miserable it feels to have your relationship with another human being reduced to Insert Tab A. He may regret it now, but the fact that he freaked out and bailed on that situation rather than grit his teeth and forge his way through means there is hope for him. He may yet avoid a redpill future.

And also, I'd be remiss not to bring this up, but good on him for getting out of that situation. A "stunningly beautiful" woman who's VIP enough for the WDO to provide her with private security, something that is very much Not My Job? Sounds like a grown-ass woman to me. And she was constantly hitting on him, to the point that he regrets "having his chance" and panicking?

Desuhiko is like 14. He doesn't know it but he escaped the clutches of a predator.

#master detective archives: rain code #drake plays rain code #desuhiko thunderbolt