#spec-net

[lilliaespi]

I'm going to put this as nicely as possible.

You're fifteen, according to your bio/pinned post. I'm 30. I have been alive literally twice the time you've been alive in this world. You are a baby queer. I don't mean that demeaningly. I mean this as to say this - you don't know smack about the LGBTQ world beyond the walls of the internet, maybe a queer club at your local school (high school if you're in the USA).

The online and club spaces for the LGBTQ world are so incredibly sanitized, period.

No, bi lesbians and their sister labels (pan lesbians, omni lesbians, polysexual lesbians, straightbians, fagdykes, lesboys, asexual lesbians, aromantic lesbians, etc.) ARE NOT putting their lesbian/dyke sisters in danger, period.

Pushing that the idea of "m spec lesbian" is somehow damaging...

victim blaming for ladies attempted to be 'forced converted' by straight men

Xenophobic towards MANY global gender IDs that are specific to certain cultures (2-spirit for indigenous USA tribes, Hijra in India, etc.)

Shifts the blame from the rapist to the victim, regardless of circumstances

Also minimizes the fact that asshole men are going to be asshole men, regardless of whoever they're being a jerk to. A jerk is going to be an asshole, regardless.

The idea of a "m spec lesbian" has been around FOR YEARS. Documented since at LEAST the 1950s.

I strongly recommend reading "Stone Butch Blues" and "The Stonewall Generation" as well as "PoMoSexuals: Challenging Assumptions About Gender and Sexuality"

You might get lucky and find them at your local library. There's a free PDF floating around of Stone Butch Blues. I got Stonewall Generation by going to a LIVE PRIDE event that was local. You should be able to find them on Google Shopping, Amazon, Ebay, and/or Mercari.

Human sexuality is complicated, period. Many women who were exclusively (or almost exclusively) attracted to other women often paired up with men for the sake of affection, protection, and companionship rather than genuine attraction (Elenor Roosevelt and Virginia Woolf are the first two famous people who come to mind). Also, Kristen Stewart recently came out as a bi lesbian in a recent interview.

We exist, period. NO ONE is helping by LGBTQ identity policing. Y'all are only hurting yourself. PLEASE talk to real life queer people face to face, beyond the safety net of social media and school clubs. You will learn so much.

[tojisun]

Poor poor hockey! Simon :(

he lost and now the only thing to make him feel better is a good bj

this made me twitch so here u are my love !!!

!! comfort/smut - minors dni; hockey au; praises (in a tender way and but also in a kink way); D/s-ish; some semblance of plot ig // 2.4k words (LMAO)

the horn blows, marking the end of the game and, with that, the end of spec gru’s season.

it was heartbreaking to watch the way the boys' bodies slump, their loss descending onto them like heavy rain. the arena shakes, screams from the opposing team's fans piercing your ears, but you can't blame them, really—they won on home ice, against the leviathan of the league. it is a tremendous win for them, and a devastating loss for your side.

you feel your hand getting squeezed and you turn, looking at johnny's fiancee, seeing the way her own face is crumpled in her sadness.

"i guess that's that, huh?" she says, comforting, her voice a quiet whisper that was almost devoured by the loud cheers.

sometimes you forget that she's an athlete too; that she feels things a lot more intense than you do because she understands the grapple. the desperation. the way how everything you give and everything you put out is, at the end, not enough.

you sniffle, holding her hand tighter.

"i'm so proud of 'em," you say wetly, unable to compartmentalize your grief.

she laughs, the sound of it so empty of any humour but not any less kind.

“i am too.”

you both turn your gazes back to the rink and watch the teams shake hands with each other, the players finally amiable like they hadn’t just been tussling on ice, all sparked by the sharp tension that buzzed throughout their play.

you watch as simon takes a lap, patting the backs of his team members with his lips pursed, but otherwise he is put together. and yet here you are, shaking, lips wobbling, nose twitching because you are trying your best not to cry. it isn’t like you were the one who lost so you wonder why your heart twinges with so much pain; why is it that you are the one holding back the tears?

simon turns to the crowd, roving his eyes past bodies, until they finally lock on you. his lips twitch into a smile; you give him what you hope is a big one—the type of smile that will let him know how in awe you are of him, win or not.

they skate away and you all shuffle out, preparing for the flight back home.

.

it was expected for the players to fly back home together—a semblance of normalcy even amidst the staggering defeat. it was their last attempt at showing sportsmanship; at showing the hounding media that despite the abrupt end of their season, they remained close-knit. 

simon understands it, of course. it was a media play, one that contends with the politics of the league, but it was difficult to act impartially, especially when they were making their way back, empty-handed, from the home ice of the team that had defeated them. it was difficult to not show the turmoil in their hearts, but they all managed to hold their heads up high during the exit and that was that.

they didn’t talk about it much, avoiding that last game as best as they could until the briefing, but hunger thrums in their jowls—no one was satisfied with being the second best. 

the promise of a better next season hung above them, but it is still so unreachable.

simon feels angrier than usual, unable to stop himself from taking this loss personally. like what costed them their win were only his shortcomings; like this defeat was his sole failure because he did promise to lead his team on ice, with price unable to stand as their official captain during the games. he had promised to score the most, after all, and had promised to keep the opposing puck out of price’s net, but he failed in both and, well, here they are.

back home, anguished. defeated.

he–

simon's phone rings, a quiet trill that echoes in the empty locker room. 

he shoots awake from the swirl of his thoughts, sluggish as he pulls it out of his bag. he expected it to be laswell or keller, or maybe their coach, but simon feels his world tilt when he sees your name flashing on his screen. and just like that, like he wasn’t even drowning in his self-doubt and self-hatred, simon feels like he can breathe again. 

he feels lighter, his anguish seeping out of his pores, leaving him with nothing but his flesh and his heart and his love. 

simon picks up the call, hears your voice, then he is up and running back home. 

.

there is a sense of urgency in the way he finds you, his cold body folding into the warm touch of your own. you gasped out his name, surprised at how fast you have him back in your arms after a whole season of flying and leaving and pursuing his chance at the cup—

“i’m home, petal,” simon murmurs, his voice deep and beautiful and longing, and you giggle, your eyes watering, before you nuzzle into his chest.

he breathes you in, the faint smell of ozone and rain and something distinctly flowery fills his nose, and somehow this is what grounds him, his blood spiking as desire and need fill him up instead.

and it trickles into him like wafting smoke—soft, gentle, cascading like a warm kiss. it is still intense, hungry, but it is tender. quiet. like everything about simon’s buzzed energy had transformed into this careful folding. the anger, the desperation, all of it snuffed out for a vulnerable moment.

“baby,” you begin, voice muffled from where your head is still pressed on his chest. “love, you did so well.”

he shakes, his words failing him now. 

you pull back just enough and he sees the glazed look in your eyes as you stare up at him, your lips curled in your smile. “i’m so proud of you, si.” 

his heart stutters inside the cages of his ribs, jumping, before it lodges itself in his throat. 

you giggle at his wordless tremors and press close again, your body melting onto his again, before you tip your head back to his chest but this time, instead of a nuzzle, you greet his beating heart with a kiss. one that is so light he barely feels it from his shirt, but simon feels so shaken. 

he feels so raw. 

you are holding him like he is the best thing in this world. like all his bulk and his size and his anger is still worth this softness.

“i need you,” he croaks out, unable to stop the way his feelings bloat and rage in the pit of his stomach. 

“you have all of me,” you reply, breathless, your eyes still blown open, wide and full of wonder. then they shift, turning sharper, gaining edge; still careful, coaxing, but overwhelming. “tell me, my love. tell me how you need me.”

“fuck,” simon rasps out, feeling like he’s running out of air. his fingers twitch, digging deep into your skin, feeling it mould under his touch.

he’s missed this, alright. he’s—

“mouth,” he finally manages to bite out. “wan’ feel your mouth, love.”

“okay,” you croon, kissing his pec again. “sit f’me?”

simon doesn’t even have it in him to feel embarrassed about the way he falls to his ass on the plush mattress, bouncing a little bit because of the force, before he spreads his legs open, so, so desperate. 

you have your bottom lip trapped between your teeth, canines dimpling the flesh, and simon feels like he is burning from the inside; doused with the fires of need, spark untamable, licking up, up, up.

“come on, firelily,” he rumbles, needy. “c’mere an’ kiss me.”

you huff, fond, and fall to your knees, scooting close to him. 

it was silent as you fumble with his sweats, tugging at the drawstring and grumbling when the hem gets snugged on his hips. simon chuckles, pushing your hair out of your face before he juts up just enough to give you room to slide his sweats and his boxers down.

the cool air makes him tremble and you murmur something. it was so faint that he doesn’t get to catch what it was, but his curiosity sizzles at the sight of you licking your palm, shyly with how you refuse to meet his eyes. he almost teases you, his cheeks round with giddiness, but then you wrapped your fist around his half-chub, and his sanity is razed. 

simon hisses, eyes fluttering close at the warm curl of pleasure.

jesus. he’s missed the feeling of this; your hand is softer, more supple, around his cock. it was so different from when it was his own fist rubbing himself, beating at his angrily flushed cock with desperation only for his peak to tip over mutedly, and not enough to truly satiate his hunger.

but this? fuck. 

simon doesn’t even realize he’s whimpering, his head thrown back at the curious pace of your hand, not really jerking him off but mapping along his veins almost in quiet awe. 

“‘m not gon’ last long if you–” he gasps at a particular twist. “if you keep doing that.”

“oh, no we can’t have that,” you tease, chuckling, and simon’s reply builds on the tip of his tongue, cheeky, but then you’re already moving, your back folding, your breath hitting his sensitive head.

his thighs tense in his anticipation, his stomach locking. you flit your eyes up at him, pupils blown wide in your own ragged need, before he jerks at the feeling of your tongue pressing on the underside of his cock, licking up, and teasing his leaking slit.

simon moans, guttural, his voice caught on the back of his throat. he drops his hands to his sides, fisting at the sheets as you keep licking, teasing his slit and tracing his veins, lapping at his cock so messily. 

if he didn’t know any better, he’d think that you’re inexperienced; all sloppy and curious, like you’re attempting things you’ve probably seen in porn, but then you close the ring of your mouth around the bulbed head, suckling like it’s a goddamn loli, while your hands drop to squeeze his balls, and simon’s gone. 

“shit-!” he gasps out, battling air like he’s back on ice. 

he bucks his hips forward, unable to help himself, and only stops at the warbled sound of your surprise.

“fuck,” he hisses, hand coming up to swipe the hair from your sweaty face. “i’m sorry, darlin’. didn’t mean t’force it down. s’just that y’r so good.”

he keeps petting your cheek, overtaken by his desires and no longer able to stop the string of words trickling from his heart. “missed you lots, swee’art. missed you so much—take me deeper?”

your cheeks hollow as you hum, so obedient for him.

“yeah, jus’ like that,” simon trills, his chest rising as he breathes in deeply. his stomach flexes at the feeling of you swallowing more of him, taking his thickness past your gummy cheeks and into the wet vice of your throat. “shit, baby. christ. y’feel so fuckin’ good ‘round me. so perfect an’ wet.” he giggles, drunken in his bliss. “such a messy baby y’are. so sloppy. y’wanted my cock that much, din’ya? so hungry f’r it.”

there’s a wet slurp when he hits the deepest you could allow him, your eyes rolling to the back of your skull. you choke, your body lurching in protest, but simon is at the throes of his pleasure and his rational thoughts are devoured by his gluttonous need, and simon knows it is wrong to ask but—

“hold it in? can you do that f’r me, love?” he croons, his voice curling in his euphoria.

he knows this is playing dirty; to use your weakness—the deep rumble of his voice and the gentle beckoning—to make you weak, malleable. to make you just as desperate for him because he knows all you want to do is to be good for him even when it has you straining, your eyes filling up with tears. he knows it is wrong, but he can’t help it. he wants you this way.

and you want him like this too—his desires sharpening, shaping him to be mean and dangerous. his thickness fills you up, pressing at the roof of your mouth and trapping your tongue underneath the weight of his flesh. your larynx is stretched out, stuffed, but simon is looking at you so adoringly, his own ecstasy so dizzying, so addicting.

you nod, sniffling, finally replying to his question because you want him to feel good. because you want him to lose his restraints when it comes to you.

because you want him to use you until he’s truly relaxed, his body exhausted with something beyond his heartbreak. with something beyond his loss.

simon’s lips wobble like he knows what it is you are thinking of. 

he fucks your throat that way, gentle and sometimes slipping into something so mean it makes you squirm on your knees, the muted throb of your strained legs finally turning into staticky numbness, but you don’t complain, your jaw relaxed as you let simon use you.

he growls out his praises, his words chewed on in his peaking euphoria—nose flaring, cheeks flushed red—or lilting as he teases you—pulling his cock out enough that all that is left is the head, and you whine because you want him in, please simon. wan’ more please—

“gonna cum, sweetheart. gonna cum—fuck!—gonna—”

simon throws his head back, a blinding white filling his eyes and his ears ringing. his body trembles at the intensity of his orgasm, immense pleasure overtaking every synapses in his body until all that he feels is the feverish wrap of your mouth on him.

he flicks his eyes down, panting, and twitches at the sight you make—jaw slack, eyes faraway, skin shining with a thin sheen of sweat. 

you look, fuck, you look angelic like this.

simon cups your cheek, his thumb swiping just underneath your teary eye. you focus back to him slowly, blinking owlishly. 

“shh,” he croons, gentle. “i’ve got you, darlin’. i’ve got you.”

a whine builds from the back of your throat and simon hums, responding to your wordless babble, trying to ease you back down from the fog. he continues to hold you even amidst his oversensitivity, waiting so patiently so he can take care of you now.

yeah, he thinks to himself as he continues to return your unblinking stare. i’m glad to be back home. 

hope this was good :'33 once again pls dont judge me for my blatant self-indulgence hhHHHHH oki oki mwah!!

[inoreuct]

i actually desperately need 40y/o zoro with reading glasses. thin wire frames with teensy rectangular lenses perched on his nose as he peers down at one of sanji’s french romance novels to see what all the fuss is about— after so many years with his husband he’s picked up a bit of the language and sanji has a stack of them on the nightstand and he’s bored, alright? sanji has something to wrap up at the restaurant and he might as well. he’s farsighted and squints at everything near him and it makes him look even grouchier than usual and the fact that he’s graying at the temples doesn’t help. he looks terrifyingly severe with all his scars and his frowning, until he smiles— he’s been doing that a lot more lately, and then people realise that’s why he has crow’s feet around his eyes. i need him to have a collection of bottles that he’s fiercely protective over; they’re all empty and the labels are faded to hell, but point to any one and he can tell you where it had been drunk. there’s a beer bottle from the first night he’d sailed with luffy. a sweet rum they’d popped to celebrate usopp’s return. the champagne from when he and sanji had gotten married.

i need 40y/o sanji with long, long hair that he ties and pins and styles differently every day. sometimes he makes decorative sourdough and he matches his braids to the patterns. i need him taking on protégés in his restaurant, guiding a new generation of culinary genius even though teenagers are fucking terrifying and annoying and argumentative, because he remembers being exactly like them and at the end of it they’re good kids. they listen to him (…to an extent). they’re sweet and talented and they do absolutely crazy shit in the process of trying to push their boundaries; sometimes they trip and fall, but it’s fine. that’s how they learn. that’s what sanji’s for, as their safety net and their mentor— he’ll give them shit for it and pick them up anyway, nag them while brusquely brushing off their knees. but sometimes, sometimes, they come up with something extraordinary, and sanji gets so proud he could cry. zeff drops by and nags at him for everything under the damn roof. sanji doesn’t mind it.

i need them in their kitchen, in the morning, when sanji’s far too chipper and zoro’s not awake enough, nursing a cup of coffee and half-asleep again at the table as sanji fries their eggs. i need zoro to have one of those old man rocking chairs that he settles into to watch the sunset and drink tea, because sanji’s managed to get him into tea of all things. he’d have never imagined liking matcha a decade ago. i need that rocking chair to be big enough for two so that sanji can curl into his side and thumb through yet another of his novels. i need zoro braiding his hair and falling asleep halfway. i need sanji pulling his glasses off when they slip down his nose and dragging his husband to bed so that he doesn’t bitch about his back hurting the next day. i need them at sanji’s restaurant, teaching the kids about food and liquor pairings— they’re a little terrified of zoro until he squints and pulls his specs out to read the labels, after which they’re running around calling him old man and grandpa roronoa. zoro fumes because for fuck’s sake, he’s forty, not ninety. he’s not old. he brings a bottle of wine three inches away from his face and sanji does nothing to stop the kids at all.

just— zoro with reading glasses. sanji with long hair. doing mundane, boring things that make them happy because they never expected to live this long anyway. zoro’s down to two earrings and sanji has one. their rings are woven straw pulled from luffy’s hat. they have a little motored dinghy out back that franky made for the times they need to go haul their captain’s ass out of trouble (as usual), but none of the crew are ever very far from each other. they stay at sanji’s restaurant in the all blue and occasionally fend off people from their past looking for revenge. or money. or to eat them out of the house and home, in luffy’s case, which then leads to zoro den den-ing the rest of the lot and sighing that they might as well come over for a cookout.

they’ve all gotten older; a little banged up and scruffed around the edges, but alive and well. nami’s making bank as a mapmaker who caters to the wealthy/insurance agent/financial advisor— zoro scoffs and calls her a swindling witch, to which she smiles at him all sweet before stomping solidly on his foot with her red-bottom heel. out of their conjoining workshops, franky and usopp have started a wildly successful demo-smithing company that specialises in custom explosives and bespoke carpentry. robin owns and maintains the most extensive archive of books any of them have ever heard of, and it’s pretty much lauded as one of the greatest libraries of all time; brook does gigs in jazz lounges and bistro bars, jinbei’s a diplomat who’s well-respected for campaigning for equal rights, and chopper runs his own medical practice. luffy, as usual, is doing whatever he wants, which is a little bit of everything. y’know, taking down corrupt governments and all that.

sanji feeds them like he’s always done and zoro brings out the good alcohol to pass around.

life’s good.

[prettyboykatsuki]

with buying laptops price mostly just determines how picky you get to be with needing to prioritize one spec over another. ram impact your computers functionality day-to-day most. if you're alright with slower start-up you can get away with less ram for high quality graphics. the inverse is also true - for higher ram you'll have a faster laptop but might have to sacrifice graphics. a higher price generally nets you both basically. i think 750-800 is a good budget for a genuinely good gaming laptop.

for context my laptop was like 2000 bucks because it was a huge investment and fit all of my needs even the ones that were MAD picky (backlit keyboard, mousepad, 14in screen). i dont have the space for a PC so it worked better for me to have a laptop. i use it for everything even more than my phone. as always get a separate keyboard and mouse as well 🙂‍↕️

[itssimplythesims]

Simply Bohemian Hammock

–by itssimplythesims

Now also available for TS4!

Comfortable, soft, and elegant, this boho-style hammock is made from recycled cotton and is complete with iconic fringe tassels. With six fabric selections, you can make it your own style and it's sure to work in any space, indoor or outdoor. Washing machine friendly.

Please reblog so more people can enjoy it! 🫶

Support my Work | Download

Details below! ↓

Tech Specs

For TS3 and TS4

Package format

Credit to Archive 3D for the strings and hardware

Found in Sculptures (Search "Simply Hammock")

6 fabric colors

Net texture available (TS3 only)

Includes 3 recolorable variations (TS3 only)

Creators please read my T.O.U

Recommended Content:

OMSP (TS3)

InaBadRomance Hammock Poses (TS4)

@emilyccfinds @sssvitlanz 🫶

[warframestuff]

Hotfixing will be paused while we move to an Interim Cert Update! During this “Hotfix dark” phase, the team will continue to log your bug reports & feedback for continued fixes towards 1999 and Techrot Encore content.

One important note: during this downtime, the iOS team may continue to Hotfix to tackle performance improvements exclusive to the Mobile platform!

Also, Devstream 187 is being primed for you! Join us on April 25th at 2 p.m. ET for a ‘sillier’ look at all things Warframe development, PLUS get a sneak peek at designing a new Warframe Augment Mod! Tuning in from start to finish will net you 3 items from our ‘Cursed x Blessed Grab Bag’ Twitch Drop!

Like always, our next Cert Update includes further code fixes. Code describes changes made directly to the engine, which requires Certification from each Console platform to pass its checks, such as ensuring an Update doesn’t crash the machine itself. 

We also need to ensure Cross Platform Play parity so all Tenno can continue to play together! 

You can find further details on the “Code” and “Cert” processes here! 

Curious about a few of the resolved issues from our ‘Known Issues’ list? You can expect to see the following issues resolved*:

Gyre's Conductive Sphere Augment applies an electricity bonus to enemy bullets as well.

Yareli’s with Evade subsumed can’t gain Evade duration on headshot kill whle riding Merulina.

Initial Combo doesn’t grow while Mesa or Jade’s Exalted Weapons are active.

Coda and normal Catabolyst primary fire always causing screen shake.

Coda Motorvore inherits IPS damage Mods from Exalted Melee Weapons that are using Melee Doughty.

Wirematrix Ephemera can cause stuttering on lower-spec machines

Cloaked appearances in settings doesn’t apply to Archwings or Railjacks when invisible.

First Archgun Mod in Archwing is ignored if player is below MR30 and has used all available Capacity on the Archgun.

Unveiled Rivens that were unveiled by completing the challenge will be hidden by "Hide Equipped" toggle in the Trading Menu if it hasn't been equipped on a weapon since unveiling.

This causes players to think their Rivens are not available to trade, when they are secretly considered "equipped" on the backend and therefore hidden by this toggle.

Falling out of the Concert in the Technocyte Coda Showdown means instant fail on death in subsequent runs.

As well, we’ll have some quality of life improvements coming with future Updates, such as:

Adding the ability to modify your Warframe loadout from the Archimedea menus.

* The bounty of issues on our Known Issues list is still a priority, but some aren’t in a state to confirm as 100% “fixed.” Additionally, we’ll continue to test the above fixes to ensure they are fully resolved on all platforms should any outlying issues arise. 

Like always, we’ll be present in our usual spots! Whether we’re hunting bugs, gathering feedback, or talking directly with you, we’ll be here:

Prime Time, Warframe International and Devshorts!

Devstream 187 is primed for April 25th!

We’ll be at PAX East 2025, bringing along our Devstream 188 on May 10th at 3 p.m. ET! Tune in to hear more about our next big Update!

Thank you for your patience and understanding, Tenno. We’re looking forward to discussing even more Warframe with you at Devstream 187 and Devstream 188 shortly after!

[exeggcute]

two more interesting things from the microsoft podcast:

the tidbit that during windows 95's development cycle, they trusted engineers to also be their own product managers. clearly this worked out in a big way but I shudder at the thought

the story (which I'm pretty sure I've heard before) about how compaq managed to reverse-engineer the IBM BIOS without running afoul of intellectual property law by having one guy actually look at the original BIOS manual and write up his own list of technical specs based on what he learned, then having another guy who hadn't looked at the manual write a new BIOS based on that list of specs. this netted them a not-identical-but-mostly-compatible clone, but they couldn't be fingered for infringement because the new code was written by a guy who'd never actually seen the original code, which might be a pretty good analogy for the current legal implications of generative AI models trained on copyrighted materials

[quirkwizard]

If you haven’t done so already, best quirks for volleyball?

BEST quirks for volleyball?

Going more with beach volleyball in mind. Because that is the cooler version of volleyball.

-High Spec: If that one beach episode of Avatar has taught me anything, it's that a sound mind, good tactics, and a overwhelming need to crush people all help win volleyball. This Quirk offers all that in spades.

-Twin Impact: I am once again suggesting you lace the ball with kinetic mines. Especially since this is a game where you have a lot of chances to hit the ball. Load that sucker up with so many blasts that it becomes a lethal weapon.

-Big Fist: We're going form volleyball to tennis. With their massive hands, the user could easily spike and bump the ball with a far greater margin for error. You might hit your teammates but that's there problem.

-Strongarm: Bring a whole new meaning to striking the volleyball. Seriously, you'd be able to react to the ball so fast with these quick hands. You're going to turn the ball into a projectile to be feared. More so then it already is.

-Clones: You could just crowd your side of the court of dudes. There is no way that ball is ever touching the ground with your side of the court engulfed with other versions of yourself. And if the ball goes up high, just make a human pyramid.

-Rabbit: Well, a big part of the game is being able to jump up and around your side of the court. You're basically going to become a wall that just jumps right at the ball and sends it right back to the other side of the net.

-Cloud: You can position yourself wherever you want on the court. No matter where the ball is going, you can just zip right over their on your little cloud and hit it. Maybe even catch the ball with the clouds, but that might be against the rule.

-Earth Flow: This might just be the worst one to deal with. You could literally shift the entire field in your favor if you wanted. Just open up a sink hole in the ground to consume the enemy time. And if the ref complains, just send them away too.

[luxudus]

The Six Lords of Ko-ve-dor, and an introduction to my friend's project Star Odyssey

One last art piece to end the year on a high note. It's an entry @jennywolfgal's sophont in her sci-fi / spec-evo / worldbuilding project Star odyssey. A far future where humanity and a few other advanced species help to found a Galactic Coalition of Worlds spanning half the galaxy. Everyone go follow her and check out her project!

I genuinley consider this atm my magnum opus in every aspect, Linework, Texturing, Coloring, Composition, and ESPECIALLY rendering.

    The Commonality of Ko-ve-dor is an alliance between multiple sophont species evolving side by side on the same planet. All working together towards the prosperity for all denizens of the known galaxy.

     Planet Ko-ve-dor, also known as Kepler-442 B, is a super earth in a 3 planet star system all orbiting a K-Type main sequence star known as O-uosa. Ko-Ve-Dor’s higher mass, larger magnetosphere, denser atmosphere, 3 moons, larger continents and O-uosa’s longer lifespan make Ko-ve-dor a superhabitable world. Capable of hosting more biodiversity than our own earth for a far longer time.

    Plantlife on Ko-Ve-Dor is just as complex as it’s animal life and it shows. Most terrestrial flora possess a segmented exoskeleton that vary in shape and size akin to an insect. Most forms of plantlife exhibit both radial and bilateral symmetry in their overall body plan. Some species of Ko-ve-dor plantlife can even take in their surroundings with special segments that act as one big sensory organ.     And aside from some greenish phytoplankton, most flora on this world take on a red pigmentation to make the most out of its star’s dimmer light.

Not only is Ko-ve-dor more biodiverse than earth. But it’s greater abundance of life and more surface area means there's far more consumable biomass too. Allowing it’s animal life to reach greater heights and the option for greater brainpower. This paired with evolution’s trend towards more socialization. Means that sapient life has developed not once, or twice. But six times, all within a similar enough time frame for them to all interact with one another.      As each sophont species is a good representative of Ko-ve-dor’s kingdom of life. We will be skipping over the planet’s animal life to discuss their biology.     The Dor-Eø are the largest of the six sophonts and represent the planet’s many soft-bodied invertebrates. They take on a body plan very similar to earth’s flatworms. And being filter-feeders, they fill a niche not too different from whales. Their large carpet-like fins are actually enlarged partially external gills to aid in respiration. And they manipulate their environment with their two mitten shaped mandibles and opposable tusk thumbs.     They live in tight-knit nomadic pods where they ride the waves in search of plankton. They hunt said plankton like dolphins, continuously switching roles to either shepard the plankton and strike the condensed schools. And as they achieved sapience they’ve built nets to catch more plankton and dorsal fin flags to distinguish which pod they’re apart of.     The Dor-Ssri’ii represent a sapient species of aquatic, radially symmetrical fish analogs. They possess twelve eyes, with three on each side, a four sided jaw, and eight fins, four anterior fins and four posterior fins. Their intricate color palette helps them blend in with the yellow and red reefs.      They live in borderline eusocial schools where they manipulate their environment through their mouth like a tuskfish

    The Ko-Ka’Kta are terrestrial relatives of the Dor-Ssri’cai, these are a sapient species of para-reptilian pack hunters native to the deserts and shrublands of Ko-ve-dor. They retain their radial symmetry and are quite basal compared to their relatives. Their forearms have atrophied into small rudders used by females to attract mates and live in matriarchal packs.     And they manipulate their environment with four highly specialized tongues. Their lack of claws or fangs pushed them to crafting an array of weapons to hunt. That and their hierarchical pack structure paved way for sapience    The Ko-A’atur represent the most derived group of Ko-ve-dor’s Vertebrates. Descending from a group that forgone their radial symmetry and became secondarily bilateral. Their heads hyper-elongated to the point where it’s now two separate body parts all together. Their lips have pulled back and became large flaps to cool off and express emotions.     Of all the sophonts they live the least socially, They forage and occasionally hunt in groups of 3-5 individuals. But the social bonds formed are so tight and complex that it managed to bring them up to sapience.     Onto life in the sky. The Ve-Huik are one of two representatives of Ko-ve-dor’s aerial invertebrates. They are a species of hexapodal invertebrate flyers protected by a sturdy exoskeleton. They fill a niche similar to parrots,  capable of crushing nuts and fruits with their large mandibles that clench together like a fist. They live in small flocks and communicate by short whistles and hums. And they manipulate their environment with their remarkably dexterous six legs.    

    And lastly the Ve-Z’qi, a Is a seafaring relative to the Ve-huik, they are a sapient species of flying arthropod analogs native to the many coastlines of Dorveko. They live in nomadic flocks, hopping from island to island. They hunt their aquatic prey by looking for disturbances in the water before diving in to catch their target     Their history is one defined by sheer first contact and a long road to equality. The Dor-Eø and the Ve-Z'qi,a were the pioneers of exploration due in part of their nomadic lifestyles giving them a global range to freely explore. Slowly each species would suddenly learn the existence of their contemporaries and how to work with them.     Their society is egalitarian and very xenophilic, each species is born with full citizenship and everyone regardless of origin and identity are treated truly equally. yet their government is surprisingly autocratic. Each planet is ruled by a handfull of philosopher kings and queens who come from all walks of life. And are chosen by the state based on their view of life and understanding of the humanities. All to improve the lives of their people. They are also very welcoming towards outsiders, and have made themselves a beacon of liberty and safety for the galaxy's downtrodded.     With so many different sapient minds at work in a society that promotes harmony and teamwork. The Ko-ve-dor Commonality has advanced rapidly, being able to become a spacefaring civilization a thousand years before mankind. Their architecture and spaceships are large and bulbous, containing vast aquariums and spacious domes to accommodate all the different lifestyles. And have become one of the Galactic Coalition of Worlds' most important members.     Depicted here is a human diplomat posing with a friend group eager to take a photo with an unfamiliar face.

I'm happy i managed to get this out before 2024, though there still maybe work to be done, mainly to expand on their worldbuilding, and i hope everyone else has a happy new year!

[phoenixyfriend]

Soka Takes a Terrorist: Chapter One

The latest fic in Anakin and the Jedi Babies. Three chapters total.

Sokanth Skywalker makes a friend, all on her own! He is in Death Watch. She's going to save him, just you wait!

Read on AO3

About two thirds of this fic were written by hand on the train while in Japan.

----------

Most planets have their own, smaller ‘nets. Sometimes, they extend to the whole sector, if it makes sense to do so. Sure, there’s the ‘galactic’ holonet, but it really just makes more sense to have a faster, local holonet, too.

Mandalore has been trying to consolidate fragmented ‘nets for ages. Some of that has gone better than… well…

Skyguy’s been helping, at least?

Soka knows some of the issues. Krownest has environmental restrictions regarding the weather, something about constructing infrastructure to withstand low temperatures, which can impact servers and wiring. Concord Dawn is prone to geologic instability, so burying transmission cables isn’t an option given the earthquake risk. Kalevala is getting on okay, making good progress, and so is the moon Concordia; that’s why they’ve been offered up as hosting for the hyper-relays. Manda’yaim itself is stuck trying to decide on the best way to protect transmission lines from sandstorms, which could uncover lines buried at a standard depth, and burying them deeper would make them harder to access for maintenance. It is where a lot of the ‘host’ servers and stuff are going, mostly in their own separate domes a few kilometers out in the desert.

And that’s all before the politics and coding and other non-infrastructure, non-environmental-y bits.

“I don’t understand why you’re even involved,” Ben complains, “you’re a droidhead, not a slicer. Aren’t there other things more in line with your specialties?”

Skyguy gets that look on his face, the one where he’s not sure how to think or feel about one of them referencing, or forgetting, something from the Before.

“Well,” he says, “a lot of the maintenance and repairs are going to be done by droids, and I’ve got a decent experience in weather-proofing to boot, especially in deserts. Besides, I need something to fill the time.”

Because Mereel’s been weird about Skyguy since the Jedi visit.

“Can I help?” Soka pipes up.

“Probably a bit out of your skill range,” he says, a touch apologetic.

“But I want to be involved,” she whines.

(And she is not embarrassed to admit that.)

He laughs, and rubs at her head between the montrals, just like when he ruffles Ben’s hair. “Fine, how about I get you some specs on what we’ve already got hooked in, and you can do some beta-testing?”

“Works for me!” she half-cheers. “Ben, what about you?”

“I’ll pass, thank you very much,” he says, “but let me know if you find you need some help with the diplomacy.”

“Not my department,” Skyguy says, “but sure.”

Continue on AO3

[offbeat-manga-ships]

i've been thinking half-baked thoughts about the longevity of romance "gimmicks" in today's romance manga plots.. mostly it started with a bit of a reflection on how stories like boku no kokoro no yabai yatsu and ijiranaide nagatoro-san have first seasons (of the anime) that i really like, but one common denominator is that the second season (or even just from the middle to the end of the first - which is like only 6-12 23min installments later) really tones down on the initial propulsive elements that drew people in... and people actually like it.

like, the thing on ijiranaide nagatoro-san is that a gyaru underclassman "bullies"/really teases the hell out of her spineless senpai. the first episode is her actually making him cry and wiping down his tears herself and it was great (better than an entire manga called 'i want to drink your tears'). for a while he actually stays underhandedly enabling her to do it while on the surface providing weak protests because that is the gimmick. this manga is selling the appeal of having a confident, loud, gyaru-styled, mischievous and downright devilish girl forcibly coming into a painfully shy person's life. and by putting him through the ringer they actually form a weird kind of connection because of course they are both having net positives from this scenario.

similarly, boku no kokoro no yabai yatsu depicted an extremely edgy and gloomy kid at war with himself because even though he has decided one day he should totally kill the girl that annoyingly just can't stay out of his field of vision, he can't stop himself from doing nice things for her instead. and the girl is just the right mix of airhead and subconsciously confident in her own people skills to dodge all of the walls he puts up saying nobody talk to me or get close to me to make a genuine connection with him that belongs only to them in the afterhours at the school library.

and yet, as i mentioned, as we go further into toned down territory, people have more and more praise for how amazingly they are "developing as characters", which is to say how much closer they are to being normal kids who can just shed their past problems and quirks and develop into normalcy in the name of love. because love means growing up which means being a normal member of society.

but speaking honestly for myself... i still can't think of a single iconic moment during their normalcy-core era where the characters are being their unique selves in the weird but compelling situations that were the premise of the story. and yet i still can't forget that initial crying scene or nagatoro's find the nipple game or when she straight up convinced senpai that she was a vampire ready to suck his blood. i can't forget ichikawa and yamada being library buddies and him helping her smuggle and have her sweets in a forbidden place. i can't forget all the times he swore to himself he didn't care and yet went out of his way to grab her a glass of water from a far away place, write down his family name on a grave decoration instead of hers and straight up yeet his bicycle into a river because he wants to help her without letting on that's what he's doing.

in season 2 it's like... idk. they talk on the phone i guess? and ichikawa cheers her on her modelling career or something. sure. as i said, normal kids doing normal love things. and don't get me wrong, i still like it. it's pleasurable storytelling when you like the characters. but it's like the author is trying to please every possible type of reader by giving them a different and compelling start and saying just kidding, i won't leave you guys hanging, here is them living their romance dreams right away please don't abandon my story for some of the thousand other titles that can give you that quick dopamine boost, i swear you don't have to wait anymore!

and of course these are not the only ones. i just posted a kawaii dake ja nai shikimori-san manga panel grieving the fact that the manga couldn't keep up that specific vibe of shikimori being more aggressive for a long time and just turned into a nice normal teenagers doing nice normal things series, which of course doesn't really have room for the freaky escapades of a boyfriend who is chronically into his girlfriend turning into a don juan. in maybe a smaller scale but keeping up with the pattern, horimiya started as a story of a queen bee type girl who was more relaxed outside of school meeting the gloomy long haired glasses-wearing unpopular kid from her class wearing alternative fashion, piercings and tattoos. when they get together of course. he stops wearing those things, cuts his hair and gets rid of his glasses and they become a nice matching normal couple.

and i mean, this is just off the top of my head. as you can see, what all these titles have in common is that they are very recent. if you think back to not even that much older romance, they are so much more consistent with their gimmicks. koizumi and ootani will keep being a couple of violent gremlins for a good long while. tsuruga ren will stay on the outskirts of kyoko's career for like 50 volumes or something. haruhi will keep crossdressing and rebutting tamaki's corny af moves. and i don't even have to watch/read that much ahead to know that ranma and akane will keep butting heads instead of "communicating already".

if something like kimi wa pet was made today however, in 10 or so chapters a lesser author would make takeshi or someone explain to sumire how weird and "disrespectful" it is to keep someone as a pet without "looking properly at them". they would start dating because he is a real man who can make a woman out of her and it would be 5 thinly written volumes focused on everyday moments instead of the 14 packed to the brim with plot & drama.

authors used to know how to make the absolute most out of a premise or a gimmick or a trope. because the goal is not to get to the normal romance part. it is not to hurry up and solve these problems so we can get to the good stuff. the journey is the point. there is charm to be seen in these abnormal situations and waiting makes the moments when they do get closer that much more impactful.

i don't really have anywhere to go with this except i guess hoping and praying we can get authors who see a weird or freaky gimmick and like it so so much that they know exactly what they want to write instead of going with today's hurried flow of romances who need "development" and "clear communication between characters" and are on the palm of the audience's hands and a a machine to serve their whims. please remember there is a reason why you are the artist and they are the audience.

[snapscube]

Are the old graphics options going to be available? Im gonna be so mad if I Literally Cannot Play FFXIV ever again because people spent two years complaining about those goddamn grapes.

No, the base system requirements/recommendations are changing, they’ve talked about this a lot. The minimum specs are actually still pretty generous though, it’s still required to run on PS4 after all. And while I do understand the frustration if u still don’t meet the minimum specs, I promise it’s not just because of shit like the grapes lol. They’ve talked about literally needing to change intended story beats/shot composition as recently as Endwalker specifically because foliage quality looked distractingly bad during what were meant to be emotionally resonant scenes. The game absolutely could use a boost in fidelity if it’s meant to carry on for another 10 years. Sure there are a ton of people who don’t mind the visuals of the game now, I still think it can look quite nice in many areas and I think the strength of its story and overall art direction carry even the bad parts, but for years now they have been building off of a foundation that was notoriously compromised and rushed to ultimately save the game in the long run, and it shows. Texture quality in particular has been absolutely dire for way longer than it should have been. I’ve seen so many people distracted by how pixelated the Crystal Exarch looks near the end of Shadowbringers and it’s entirely understandable. I personally can’t help but notice how muddy hair and gear look when a cutscene decides to close-up on a character’s face, which is just not at all what should be running through my mind, but I can’t help it. I’m not a graphics SNOB but I do think that a games visuals really do matter, especially for an MMO like this where so much of its appeal is carried by your attachment to your character from a role playing and aesthetic perspective. Glamour is endgame after all, and that is ALL visual. This stuff is important to people, making it better is a net win.

[dadvans]

9-1-1 S8x04 Liveblog Notes

This episode starts and ends with Bobby being underestimated by Gerrard in completely unique ways. Amazing.

Underrated line: "So they took my house from me. Yes, it was humiliating. Well, I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I'm back." I really don't think Gerrard is fully gone. We know there will be more Hotshots + Brad this season. Gerrard is a man who survives out of spite, and there are depths of his hatred we don't even know.

I'm so curious about how Gerrard has, if I remember correctly, said mooks twice. Gerrard/Sal OTP.

As long as we're going to talk about Gerrard, I'm adding this here much, much later: awful, terrible people have good sides to them. This will always be true, especially for powerful people. I've seen a few different interpretations of "Tight End," but I'm going to be real with you all from someone who grew up in male spaces? This is affection. This is Old Guard shit. It is not good. It is the kind of preferential affection that tells you that you're on thin ice but you're special enough or good enough if you work hard, and you've been noticed. Your name will always be your strongest weakness. Someone has their eye on you. You can be called out by the leader something awful, but at least you have a name. (My coach's name for me was "Bruiser.")

Buck is terrible at golf. I feel like there was a lot of spec this episode about his outfit: that's just a golf outfit. Buck strikes me as the kind of guy who knows how to socially fake appearances, and Gerrard isn't calling him on his terrible performance here. NOTABLY: in terms of performance, Oliver Stark can act his way through terrible drives down the line with the addition of SFX and flailing with the net, but I'm still frustrated at how capable he was in the basketball montage in s7 after Buck is supposed to hate/suck at basketball.

Yes, you can be good at a sport and hate it. That's me with golf. That's Buck with basketball.

Someday, if anyone ever wants, I would love to nerd out about how they blocked and choreographed the basketball scene, because it DOES make me a little crazy.

Did they actually play a full 18 after this? And Buck survived?

The apartment Bobby and Athena are looking at is at least $2mil. It actually looks like several listings where I was trying to gauge new build in surrounding neighborhoods when I was writing "An Outlier."

Michael... plans. I find it a little weird that Athena would do it, a lot weird she would do it without Bobby. Bobby and Michael had a good relationship! But then Athena was excited! It's a weird way to navigate how Michael can't physically appear in the show anymore. It almost feels like a regression, because Bobby and Michael were so close. Michael would probably have reached out to Bobby if Athena reached out to him. I miss their made, intentional, yet triumphant family so much (including May and Harry).

I was SO into Chimney pointing out the obvious about the blueprints until he made it about the 118-- although his Gerrard impression was the unsettling kind of impressive.

The tiger would have simply become friends with me and I would have called 9-1-1 while we were chilling on the couch together. But I would have told them it was okay and to never come because I found my best friend forever.

Crazy that they had to use a tranq dart. I simply would have entered the apartment and said hello and the tiger would have recognized me as a friend and we would have left together laughing over shared interests.

I totally think Eddie violated HIPAA contacting an underage patient's parent without his OR his guardian's permission. Eddie also showed said parent photos of his son's injury that Eddie had taken without permission. The mother even clarified that she would not notify the father. For me, the biggest implication here is that Eddie's on-the-job performance (despite being impeccable during the emergency itself) could begin to suffer, or his ability to remain impartial in situations will continue to take hits before it gets better without Christopher.

People are BIG MAD about the above opinion on Reddit. Why are you booing me, I'm right.

I had an HR post script about how Bobby financially runs his department here and how he underhires with overperformers to navigate attrition, but it is lost to time. I guess we will never know how my sexy HR brain works in a situation that it has never been in, but I'm sure I was right, because I always am.

[seancurry1]

I'd love it if you clicked through, but real quick—

I hear aspiring copywriters ask often how to get started as a freelance copywriter, and I've written out the same answer so many times that it beared writing it as its own article.

The best way to start freelancing is to start at a full-time job, for three reasons:

To be a freelancer is to run your own business, by yourself. YouTube gurus and TikTok course guys teach you enough to cold-email businesses hundreds of times, but they don't teach you about pitching, client services, project management, payroll, taxes, sales, marketing, and more. You are the business, no one else is. You need to run it, no else will. Working a full-time job first will give you an opportunity to see how it's done at a big company before having to do it yourself.

You're going to make a lot of mistakes at first, whether you're freelance, full-time, or a mix. Being full-time will give you a safety net to make those mistakes, as well as experienced senior leads who can coach you through (or, ideally, around) those mistakes. When you're freelance, mistakes mean losing clients.

A resume with one (or more) full-time jobs in-house or at an agency will beat a YouTube course and a Google Drive folder full of spec work every single time. It's a catch 22, I'll admit, but it's still true: to get experience, you need experience. An entry level full-time job will be much easier for you to land with no prior experience than your first freelance client.

The link above gets into these three items, but in more detail.

Here's the link again: The Best Way to Start Freelancing is to Start Full-Time

Hope you'll read, comment, and/or share!

[hirocimacruiser]

Subaru Bighorn Irmscher. A rebadged Isuzu Trooper Irmscher.

SUBARU BIGHORN irmscher

2800 TURBO DIESEL

The individuality of this 4WD is quite different from passenger 4WDs, with specs tuned up through technical collaboration with Subaru Bighorn Irmscher and Nishi Irmscher, turbo diesel power that leaves no room for rivals, an intelligent body, high-quality equipment from RECARO, MOMO, MICHELIN, etc., and reinforced gas shock mounts that are well versed on the autobahn. The wild potential has been refined with a sense of the city. This is a European high-performance 4WD.

European high performance 4WD. Subaru Bighorn Irmscher

115ps/Intercooler turbo diesel

The flagship engine of the Ilm chassis series. A direct-injection 2771cc turbo diesel fitted with an air-to-air intercooler, it produces a maximum output of 115PS/3,600rpm (net), while also achieving the persistent torque and super response required at low speeds off-road.

Irmscher Tuned Suspension The suspension, tuned by Irmscher of West Germany, is a double wishbone type at the front and a highly durable leaf spring type at the rear. The suspension, thoroughly forged in Europe, gives the car the ability to easily handle both on- and off-road conditions. The tires are made by Michelin and the car is fitted with forged 3-piece aluminum wheels ((IRMSCHER-R)).

Center through drive 4WD with excellent driving balance. The transfer case is an integrated transmission with a center through life system that provides excellent power transmission. Approach angle: 43, departure angle: 33, maximum stable lean angle: 45 left and right, it boasts outstanding off-road driving ability.

West German Recaro seats and Italian MOMO steering wheel. Super equipment that further enhances the bold expression of the European silhouette. The seats are Recaro, a famous sports seat made in Germany, and the steering wheel with built-in heater is made of high-quality leather by MOMO. In addition, various equipment such as power steering and cassette stereo are also available.

[bayon-ett]

help me find this fic! Winner gets a gold star lol⭐️

So i read a fic with Prowl and Jazz as the main characters awhile ago. Its a long-ass fic and probably on fanfic.net or something

Prowl is a decepticon and gets taken to praxus basically to die there. plot twist, he doesnt and he is then taken prisoner by the autobots. A sparkling in praxus becomes attatched to him so the autbots do not separate them. Prowl is a commander for the decepticons and gets interrogated by our spec ops guy, Jazz.

Throughout the story Prowl has a-lot of problems with his tac-net and its a big part of prowls character.

and so yeah jazz and prowl end up learning how to become friends through all of this