#5 gyres

[todropscience]

NORTH PACIFIC GYRE NOW WORKS AS A ISLAND, WHERE COASTAL SPECIES CAN THRIVE

Researchers have recently prove that the high seas are colonized by a diverse array of coastal species, which survive and reproduce in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of floating marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean, in the open ocean.

Researchers examined 105 items of floating plastic items collected from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and identified 484 marine invertebrate organisms on the debris, accounting for 46 different species, of which 37 coastal were invertebrate species from coastal habitats, largely of Western Pacific origin. Most of these coastal species possessed either direct development or asexual reproduction, possibly facilitating long-term persistence on rafts. 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is so huge that the findings suggest plastic pollution in the ocean might be enabling the creation of new floating ecosystems of species that are not normally able to survive in the open ocean. 

These emergent properties of plastic rafts may play an important role in sustaining diverse biofouling communities, but more research is needed to understand how such emergent properties may drive colonization, succession and trophic interactions of coastal and pelagic taxa associated with floating plastics.

Photo above: Floating plastic debris from the  the Eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre showing coastal organism living on. Photos courtesy of The Ocean Cleanup.

Photo below: Graphic  of the debris collection sites, illustrated as diamonds, in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean Subtropical Gyre. Model of the predicted concentration of debris, the more red, the most you could find marine debris.

Reference (Open Access): Haram et al. 2023 Extent and reproduction of coastal species on plastic debris in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Nat Ecol Evol

[cosmogyros]

I have become SUCH a summer person in recent years 🥰 Amazing what a difference it makes when you no longer live in the bowels of Hell a.k.a. the American South. Notes on these pics go counter-clockwise from the upper right.

1. Me venturing forth this evening in the 34-degree heat to go pick up an Überraschungstüte from a local Turkish bakery. What's an Überraschungstüte? I'm glad you asked. This is not a paid advertisement, but you should all be using the app TooGoodToGo. At the end of every day, bakeries and other food shops that need to make their products fresh every day can sell the day's leftovers cheap through this app. Überraschungstüte means "surprise bag" - you don't know what you're going to get. Today I paid 4 euros and got a gigantic bag of fresh baked goods: five croissants, four gigantic simits, and this lil pastry you see in picture 2. Popped most of it in the freezer, and there's my breakfasts for the next week taken care of.

2. I FOUND THEM. Y'ALL. I found what I've been looking for in Germany for YEARS: heirloom tomatoes. Yes, the lumpy ugly kind that tastes so damn good you'll never want to eat a normal tomato again. Tell me why we bred all the yumminess out of tomatoes merely in order to make them uniformly round and red?! People are strange. Anyway, this was my dinner tonight: a glass of rosé, a fragrant Turkish savory pastry from my Überraschungstüte, and a big fat heirloom tomato chopped up and topped with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sea salt. Pure ecstasy.

3. My summer drink this year is the raspberry lime rickey. Put a bit of lime juice in a glass, add some raspberry syrup and fill it up the rest of the way with sparkling water. Personally I like to add some frozen raspberries too. It's soooooo tasty and refreshing on these hot days.

4. I adore my Sappho bag. I take it with me everywhere. For those who can't see, it says "Become a voice." It's my very subtle queer rep when I'm out and about.

[knewknow]

The Luminous Dead

This book had a bunch of great elements, which initially got me very excited when I found it in a local little library, but the pacing was what killed it for me.

Here are my biggest gripes, and spoilers:

The Tunnelers - These massive creatures native to the home world where the book takes place, were touted as a constant ominous threat throughout the whole book, but why? At first, we're led to believe that they're attracted by heat, but really it's the human voice? What are these creatures' motivations? Humans are not native to this planet, so why is the specific sound of human voices so ingrained in their hunting practices? Also, are they supposed to eat people, or just crush them? Gyre defeated this in less than one chapter by yelling at it. So anticlimactic and underdeveloped.

The Mushrooms - I wish the author did more with the mushrooms. I thought it was going to play off the mushrooms absorbing the consciousness of their victims and creating a spore ghost, a unique concept I don't think I've seen anywhere else. Nope, it’s just all in her head, a hallucination.

The Relationship - The romance seemed half-baked and added in at the last minute. Why does Gyre even like Em, or vice versa? Em manipulates and drugs Gyre throughout the whole book, even up until the end. Is it Stockholm Syndrome?

I spent so much of this book just skimming through because the interesting parts went by in a flash, and all I was left with was 300 pages of bland, aimless walking and climbing.

[cognitivejustice]

Fewer than 60 multinationals are responsible for more than half of the world’s plastic pollution, with five responsible for a quarter of that, based on the findings 

The branded half of the plastic was the responsibility of just 56 fast-moving consumer goods multinational companies, and a quarter of that was from just five companies.

Altria [Kraft] and Philip Morris International made up 2% of the branded plastic litter found, Danone and Nestlé produced 3% of it, PepsiCo was responsible for 5% of the discarded packaging, and 11% of branded plastic waste could be traced to the Coca-Cola company.

“The industry likes to put the responsibility on the individual,” says the study’s author, Marcus Eriksen, a plastic pollution expert from The 5 Gyres Institute.

“But we’d like to point out that it’s the brands, it’s their choice for the kinds of packaging [they use] and for embracing this throwaway model of delivering their goods. That’s what’s causing the greatest abundance of trash.”

[justletmescrolll]

something different - a concept for a Volta do Mar skill portrait

Ok. So,

I'm usually not great at knowing what is and isn't common knowledge, but I feel like I need to explain this one. So here's my entire thought process with evidence.

Transcribing what Charlie is pointing at:

[Image 1: a photo of a clothing tag from Kim Kitsuragi's Aerostatic Jacket - official ZA/UM merch. The tag reads: +1 Hand/Eye Coord. : Airman Kitsuragi. +1 Volta do Mar : A feather on the wind.]

Official merch indicates Kim has his own set of skills unique to Harry's - Volta do Mar.

[Image 2: a screenshot of a wikipedia article on Volta do Mar. The relevant text reads: "Volta do mar, volta do mar largo, or volta do largo [...] is a navigational technique perfected by Portuguese navigators during the Age of Discovery in the late fifteenth century, using the dependable phenomenon of the great permanent wind circle, the North Atlantic Gyre. This was a major step in the history of navigation..."]

Volta do Mar is a navigation technique wherein a traveller strategically enters a current so as to be spit out in a desired direction. At first glance, the technique appears counter-intuitive since travellers have to veer far off-course to reach the "good" currents. More than just going with the flow, the technique requires navigators to be completely at mercy to the flow. A feather on the wind. And Kim does this quite a bit when he (reluctantly) surrenders himself to Harry's unusual Detect-niques.

[Image 3: a screenshot from the Disco Elysium wiki that reads: "Successful navigation of the pale relies not just on technical know-how, but intensive psychic preparation. Some of these tactics have been known for thousands of years, such as Volta do Mar, which resembles the process of writing poetry."]

Volta do Mar is an in-universe technique used to survive the mental toll from navigating the pale. So we know that this universe's version of Volta do Mar is also used in navigation. Mental navigation.

SO. Navigation. Pale. Feather on the wind. Kim Kitsuragi. The Volta do Mar skill has to look like an aerostatic. Like, it has to. And the model aerosratic concept art from the artbook [image 4] kinda looks like a face already so stealing that, thanks.

But how to visually tie that back to navigating the currents...

[Image 5: a screenshot from the Disco Elysium wiki that reads: "Their travel was made possible by the fact that, using a device known as a pale latitude compressor, it's possible to force dimensions on the pale, bouncing radio waves from one end to the other and shortening the path."]

So pale travel is made possible with an aerostatic and some radio waves. This sort of counteracts the "at mercy to the flow" description I used earlier as it gives the navigator more control, but this makes the comparison a better fit for Kim anyway, since he often does step in to set Harry back on course. So lets give the aerostatic creature a hand and have it physically shove the radio waves into a basic representation of the pale. I'm not a writer so heavy-handed metaphor it is 😎 (that wasn't a pun).

I don't necessarily believe Kim's skills present themselves as eldritch gremlins like in Harry's head, but what if.

[lumosatnight]

22 FIC RECS 2022!

There have been some fantastic fics this year. Out of the hundreds that I've read (yes, hundreds) here are some of my favorites! These are all fics that I've read and loved in 2022, although some of them are quite a few years older. Here's to another year in the wonderful HP fandom! 22 fics ordered by ship!

🌼 - fluff | 💔 - angst | 🔥 - smut

—

💫 Drarry 💫

1. help yourself and refuse to be buried by Ingi [Drarry, G, 3k] 💔 🍰 A heartfelt story about food and magical cooking! Master of Death Harry connects with his family and his Indian heritage after the war (and also with Draco ahem).

2. Romp and Circumstance by @wolfpants [Drarry, E, 36k] 🌼 🔥 If you enjoy slag Harry with a heart of gold trying to woo his way into Draco's pants, then this fic is for you. Did I mention it's regency era?

3. facedown on my bed (thinking of you) by @onbeinganangel [fem!Drarry, M, 10k] 🌼 💅 A super sweet college AU fic in which Drarry end up being unlikely roommates. They still remain in character while being genderswapped!

4. Good Boy by @lqtraintracks [Drarry, E, 15k] 🔥 🐺 HOT WEREWOLF SMUT!!! Everything you could possibly want with a fic like this. Size kink, breeding kink, scenting, knotting.... um, hell yeah!!

5. An Emerald In The Sky by @corvuscrowned [Drarry, M, 7k] 💔 ⏳ Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Time travel fuck buddies to lovers with Unspeakable Harry. A love story for the ages. Crow, you continue to amaze me with your fics.

—

💫 Common Ships 💫

6. Industry by charlolwut [Wolfstar, G, 22k] 🌼 📷 Sirius Black is a Muggle TV producer. Remus is his editor. Secrets, misunderstandings, and hilarity ensue!

7. oops I did it again by Anonymous [Jily, E, 16k] 🌼 🔥 College AU where James and Lily are accidental fuck buddies and Lily is confused about it. Their dynamic is flirty and combative! I love James so much in this.

8. The funny thing about grief and time by @etalice [Snarry, E, 44k] 💔 🫂 This fic is flipping fantastic! The angst is glorious, the setting is gorgeous, the interactions are beautiful. Time travel and loneliness wrapped into one amazing story!

9. a mass of fools and knaves by @displayheartcode [slash!Romione, T, 2.6k] 🌼 📖 Short but sweet. Male Hermione is instantly drawn to Ron and how they grow together throughout the years. You'll be rooting for them the whole time!

—

💫 Rare Pairs 💫

10. Growing Teeth by @earlybloomingparentheses [Flonks, E, 2.6k] 💔 🔥 This is a story about growth and recovery and fucking. This is also a story about hair and cutting it all off to finally feel free. Fantastic characterization!

11. Crown Enterprises by @storyof-eden [Cissamione, E, 3k] 💔 🔥 I cannot get over this fic!! Mob boss Narcissa and assassin Hermione are the murder lesbians of my dreams.

12. Little Old Witch by @anxiousgoat-blog [Aragusta, G, 12k] 🌼 👶 This is an AU I can get behind 1000%! Augusta Longbottom finds out Harry is being abused and raises him herself. With the help of the friendly neighborhood squib :)

13. Extraordinarily Ordinary by starstruck1986 [Sirron, E, 9k] 💔 🔥 This ship came out of nowhere, but once I read this fic I couldn't unsee it. Ron is just the right amount of innocent and insecure to be taken in by Sirius's charms.

14. Courtship Rituals by @impishtubist [Cedrarry, T, 4k] 🌼 🌹 Cedric tries to court Harry, but of course he's oblivious. This is cute and hilarious!

15. Yes, Minister by iamisaac [Kingco, E, 1.5k] 🔥 👔 This is pure filthy smut between Draco and his minister boyfriend. Hop aboard the Kingsley/Draco ship where there's mind-blowing sex and that sweet sweet age difference!

16. Gyre and Gimble by eldritcher [Drarity, M, 3k] 💔 ☀️ A stunning fic from one of my hands-down favorite authors! Draco is drawn to the prisoner in the manor's basement. Charity is perhaps a little mad.

—

💫 Poly Ships 💫

17. A Life Worth Remembering by @writcraft [Snarryaco, E, 23k] 💔 🔥 Memory loss, de-aged Severus Snape, and established Drarry pulling him into the fold. This fic is such a wonderful dive into polyamory and relationships.

18. Terms and Conditions by @maraudersaffair [Linnansy, E, 8k] 🌼 🔥 Pansy can't get over her ex (Ginny) and is stuck on a trip with Ginny's new girlfriend (Luna). This fic made me laugh, swear, and sweat all in one sitting.

19. Slice of Pleasure by @misdemeanor1331 [Bleonsy, E, 5k] 🔥 🔪 Theo is obsessed with knives, Pansy is obsessed with Theo, and Blaise is just there for a good time. Knife kink and hot smut. Like very hot. Very very hot. But also sweet.

—

💫 Gen 💫

20. Nine Hundred and Twelve by @cannibalschism [Fred & George, T, 5k] 💔 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 This fic is filled to the brim with metaphors, friendship, and life lessons. I absolutely loved this take on time travel and the journey that George takes. Percy is the real MVP!

21. Where You Belong by blue_string_pudding [Severus, T, 6k] 💔 🐀 This is probably the creepiest, most unsettling thing I've ever read. I completely ADORE it. But I was definitely checking around corners after reading it.

22. Family Legacy by @thistlecatfics [The Tonks, T, 2k] 🌼 💔 Following Ted, Nymphadora, and Teddy as they navigate life and queer identity. This is a fic that is so wonderfully poignant, it leaves you in awe of all that it accomplished.

—

💫 Bonus fics! 💫

Here's a WIP I'm excited about for 2023!

One More to Love by @krethes, @theresthesnitch [Wolfstarbucks, E, 94k, WIP] 🌼 🔥 Omegaverse and surprise pregnancy! The sexual chemistry between the three is off the charts! I'm not usually into WIPs, but for this I am (im)patiently waiting for every update.

Also a cheeky self-rec because why not?

What is this, fucking Jeopardy? by @lumosatnight [Drarry, E, 20k] 🌼 ❓Cursed Draco meets Curse-Breaker Harry. Lots of misunderstandings, humor, oblivious boys in love, and talking in circles. Will Draco ever be cured? Was the author in hysterics while writing this?

—

Want more fics to read?

Try my rec tag: #lumosinthelibrary

My 2021 list, b-day oneshots, WLW Library

[rubbish78]

Why you should be slightly “obsessed” with Dougie Poynter the bassist of McFly

1.) I mean he’s hot:

but also very cute and baby-girl coded:

and huggable:

2.) A talented musician that has grown so much throughout the years he was only 15 years old when he joined the band McFly in 2003 (he lied about his age at the audition lol):

He also has a very high-pitched voice that is so friggin CUTEEE

3.) Dougie is obsessed with lizards & dinosaurs so he is a very keen conservationist, working with charities such as WWF, Greenpeace and Five Gyres.

4. Has written the children's book series The Dinosaur that Pooped with bandmate Tom Fletcher:

5.) Lastly, he is very weird and often a mood:

BONUS:

He is also the baby of the band (sometimes their bitch):

Ofc there is other reasons why he is awesome and fun!

Come down the rabbit hole with me....

[your-local-grinning-cat]

‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe…

You have entered the Tulgey Wood, the home of Che’nya. When the curious cat beastman is not attending classes at RSA or out bothering visiting his friends at NRC, Che’nya will often be found here, wandering the Wood. 💜🐾

Make sure you keep a good grip on your mind - you wouldn’t want to lose it now! - because things are a little different around here…

If you’re curiouser and curiouser - please be sure to read the directions to be directed in the right direction…but not necessarily directly… ⤵️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before you go any further, you should know Che’nya is not alone in the Wood. He has kidnapped adopted a pet human of his very own, AR! Where Che’nya goes, AR goes. AR is as much a part of the Tulgey Wood and the world of Twisted Wonderland as Che’nya himself is, so do not be surprised when AR and Che’nya interact!

AR is both a character and the role player. How can AR be the role player for Che’nya if Che’nya adopted them? Well that certainly is an interesting question, isn’t it? I suppose you’ll have to read further to find out. You were warned that things are different around here… 🩷🐾

While all of Wonderland is mad, there are rules here. The Queen of Hearts has made sure of it! Very loudly! And even someone as chaotic as Che’nya listens to the Queen most of the time.

Here are the TALL (rules explained in full and fully in character, posted first) and small (tl;dr, posted second) rules of the Tulgey Wood.

TALL RULES!

1. As said before, Che’nya is not alone here in his Wood. He always drags his human, AR, along with him. AR is not allowed to leave the Tulgey Wood and has been lost here for quite some time. They request their one phone call, a lawyer, and for you all to remember that when you interact with the crazy cat AR will also be present and accounted for

2. If you have any questions, comments, requests for advice, pleas for directional help, etc. for the local stray, feel free to send an ask! Just know that the time period of when Che’nya gets back to you may vary… he is very free-spirited after all. One moment he’s here, the next he’s at NRC stealing tarts from Heartslabyul, then he’s at RSA studying, and then he’s through the Looking Glass and going only Che’nya knows where! So please be patient and respectful of the fact that Che’nya does not stay in the Tulgey Wood 24/7

3. Che’nya and AR both support people no matter where they have wandered from, what they look like, who they love, etc. and will not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Che’nya is mad, not a bigot. If you act bigoted within the Wood, you will either be given a warning (but this is only if AR honestly thinks it was a mistake and a teachable moment, as we all make mistakes and deserve room to learn and grow) or teleported out of the Tulgey Wood and magically barred from entering again 🚫

4. Che’nya is a fairly flirty kitty, but he is mostly SFW. The most he is comfortable with is hugs, cuddles, playful cheek kisses, and perhaps quick pecks. However, he is also a cat beastman, so he is also willing to exhibit/recieve more cat-like behaviors/affections, such as nuzzling, head pats, pets, ear scratches, tail wraps, pinning people while play fighting, and quick kitten licks. And, as a cat, Che’nya has no sense of personal space once he is comfortable with you. Unless you tell him to stop or that you are uncomfortable, you will often find yourself with a lap full of Che’nya or just have him lounging around and/or on you. And when it comes to “verbal” flirting, do not act lewd, crass, or excessively NSFW. Anyone who makes Che’nya and/or AR uncomfortable will either be given a warning or teleported out and magically barred, depending on the severity 🚫

5. NSFW content that IS allowed is cursing. The cat could not care less about that - there are more interesting things to pay attention to

6. Che’nya is very friendly! He is absolutely willing to interact with other rp blogs and OCs! The more the merrier! He believes madness is much more fun when you can share it with more people ❤️🐾

7. Neither Che’nya, nor AR, hardly ever get on Tumblr on anything other than their mobile device. So, needless to say, this entire blog is being created and maintained on mobile. So keep that in mind if anything looks wonky - AR knows some things don’t translate well but they don’t want to hear any complaints. They said it will make them cry so please don’t do that to them

8. Che’nya and AR reserve the right to decide which asks they do and do not answer for any reason

small rules.

(tl;dr the above monstrosity… which, fair)

1. There is an actual person behind this roleplay blog. Remember that and be kind and respectful

2. You can send asks in but please be patient if you are not answered right away - real life does come first

3. Be a decent human being. Don't be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, etc. This will either result in a warning (if it is honestly a mistake, as people should have room to learn and grow) or a block 🚫

4. Keep it pretty much SFW. AR is asexual and neurodivergent and struggles to pick up on flirting cues. View Che’nya as someone who is highly physically affectionate, extremely playful, and perhaps slightly flirty - but that’s as far as it will go. If you want a better grasp of what physical affections Che’nya would be okay with, check the TALL #4 rule. Anyone who breaks this rule will either be given a warning or a block, depending on the severity 🚫

5. Cursing is allowed

6. Other rp blogs and OC characters are absolutely welcome to interact!

7. This blog is being run entirely on mobile so forgive any weird formatting

8. AR has every right to refuse to answer an ask for any reason with no explanation required

Che’nya: I wonder if anyone will ever actually read all of this… You’re putting so much effort into this.

AR: *laughs* Probably not. But I knew that from the beginning. This is just the OCD writer in me. If they actually do read any of it, they’ll probably just skip down to the small rules. It’s why I included them.

Che’nya: *frowns* But what about the tags? They’re next!

AR: *shrugs* Who really wants to read all this Che’nya? Isn’t it enough I had fun making it?

Che’nya: …hmm… *looks out at you all* Let’s make it worthwhile for those that actually read this then! If mew have skipped all of the above, go read it and then get back here. I’m going to go back up there 👆and leave paw prints in colors that you need to remember!

Che’nya: Here are the new paw prints! 💛🐾

AR: What will the reward be?

Che’nya: Well, they’re not done collecting, now are they? They still need to go through the tags of the blog… Heeheehee… 😸

AR: *sighs* Okay, yeah. The tags are kinda important and interesting anyway. They give some blog-specific Che’nya lore, after all.

Che’nya: OOOH LIKE HOW I’M BASICALLY A LOWKEY COSMIC HORROR/CRYPTID/TRICKSTER GOD ENTITY THAT IS ENTIRELY SELF AWARE AND LAUGHS IN THE FACE OF FOURTH WALLS?! 😺😺😺

AR: …yeah that. 🫠

➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️↗️↘️↙️↖️↕️↔️↪️↩️⤴️⤵️🔁🔄🔃

TAGS 🏷️

#Che’nya Chats - when Che’nya replies to asks, regardless of what kind they are

#Che’nya Appears - when Che’nya wanders off to other blogs and sends asks to them, usually to stir up mischief

#Che’nya Comments - when Che’nya pops onto a post where he wasn’t originally a participant… but I guess he is now

#Che’nya Meows - when Che’nya makes any kind of original post speaking his mind (for better or worse)

#Che’nya Grins - when Che’nya finds posts, jokes, riddles, puns, art, etc. that make him happy that he wants to share with his furiends!

#Che’nya the [REDACTED] - when Che’nya does something that reminds us that there’s more to him than just a cute little kitty beastman… 🖤🐾

#Che’nya Knows No 4th Wall - when Che’nya once again flaunts that he is 100% self aware, the little shit 😒

#AR answers - when AR replies to asks in the actual body post, not just the tags; usually for asks that need/ask for AR specifically

#AR speaks - when AR makes any kind of original post speaking their mind; includes posts looking past the 4th wall as AR is both a character and the roleplayer

➡️⬅️⬆️⬇️↗️↘️↙️↖️↕️↔️↪️↩️⤴️🩶🐾🔄🔃

BONUS TAG INFO 🏷️ 🏷️

#AR: / #Che’nya: - AR and Che’nya are speaking in the tags; if #AR is not included, and the tag is not a sorting tag of some sort, then the tag is most likely Che’nya adding more to to conversation as he is the default speaker when AR is not included

#OOC: - While AR can answer things OOC as they are both in character and OOC, to keep things from being confusing in the tags since sometimes AR and Che’nya converse there, any OOC moments in the tags will be preceded by “OOC:” Anywhere else, AR will simply respond to any “4th wall breaking” comments

Che’nya: Is that is?

AR: Yeah, I think that’s it.

Che’nya: Yay! 😸 You did it!

AR: So are you done having your Blue’s Clues moment?

Che’nya: …💙🐾

AR: You’re enjoying this far too much.

Che’nya: LET ME HAVE THIS! I LET YOU HAVE THE PINNED POST! 😾

AR: *sighs* Okay, Steve, what do the good little children get for collecting the multi-colored paw prints?

Che’nya: Heeheehee! They’re not done~!

AR: What?

Che’nya: They have to find the last one at the very end, then they have to put 💕🐾 in the comments of this pinned post (and no, ↖️ that print does not count as one of my magic paw prints!), and then send me an ask saying they have been directed to me via the magic paw prints and include all the paw print colors in order! And if they do ALL OF THAT……

AR: …

Che’nya: I will reply to their ask with something fun. Like a cool joke or a riddle or a cute cat picture or something. 😺

AR: …that’s it?

Che’nya: THEY WILL ALSO GET TO HOLD THE FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE OF THE MAGIC PAW PRINTS OVER THEIR FRIENDS’ HEADS! Because you can’t tell other people where you found the paw prints. That’s cheating. 😾

AR: That is ridiculously convoluted just to get a joke or something, Che’nya.

Che’nya: But I will be sure to give them a shoutout for following the magic paw prints. They will be special. They will have bragging rights.

AR: … *walks away, satisfied with my post and 100% done with Che’nya*

Che’nya: Liar! You’re not 100% done with me or you wouldn’t be roleplaying me! *snickers, glances back at you all reading this, winks, and then follows after them, grinning*

Che’nya: *calling back to the readers over his shoulder* Remember, there’s one last paw print to find. I’ve already given hints as to where it could be~!

Now it’s time for the cat to play…

Heeheehee… 😸

[sallysavestheday]

I worked my way through the SWG Tengwar Challenge last month with a drabble per tengwa but never posted them here. Let's do one a day!

Here's #5:

Unque (hollow) The Withywindle steps down and down as it winds through the forest, chattering and singing as it falls. All its songs slip, finally, into a pool of darker water, smooth as silk, or glass, caught among the willow-branches from which pale leaves fall. Goldberry bathes there: river-daughter, wild of mind and soft of limb, her hair like golden weeds, dancing in the water. She collects the river’s gifts: strange blooms, water-polished branches, and the last son of Fëanor – poor lost, wet thing – turning in the hollow’s gyre with wide, pale eyes that look beyond the trees into the burning sky. 

Full collection is here on AO3.

[timdrakequotes]

Tim: He’s like John McClane.

Bruce: Who?

Tim: You’ve gotta crack open a DVD every once in a while, Bruce.

--Tim Drake with Bruce (Batman: The Widening Gyre #5 – Mere Anarchy)

[kp777]

By Olivia Rosane

Common Dreams

Dec. 6, 2023

"Averting this crisis—and doing so equitably—must be the core goal of COP28 and ongoing global cooperation," one expert said.

Current levels of global heating from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of nature risk triggering five tipping points that could throw Earth's systems further out of balance, with three more at risk of toppling in the next decade.

The Global Tipping Points Report, released Wednesday at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the United Arab Emirates, argues that policymakers have delayed climate action long enough that "linear incremental change" will no longer be enough to protect ecosystems and communities from the worst impacts of the climate crisis. However, world leaders can still choose to take advantage of positive tipping points to drive transformative change.

"The existence of tipping points means that 'business as usual' is now over," the report authors wrote. "Rapid changes to nature and society are occurring, and more are coming."

"Crossing these thresholds may trigger fundamental and sometimes abrupt changes that could irreversibly determine the fate of essential parts of our Earth system for the coming hundreds or thousands of years."

The report defines a "tipping point" as "occurring when change in part of a system becomes self-perpetuating beyond a threshold, leading to substantial, widespread, frequently abrupt and often irreversible impact." A group of more than 200 researchers assessed 26 different potential tipping points in Earth's systems that could be triggered by the climate crisis.

"Tipping points in the Earth system pose threats of a magnitude never faced by humanity," report leader Tim Lenton of Exeter's Global Systems Institute said in a statement. "They can trigger devastating domino effects, including the loss of whole ecosystems and capacity to grow staple crops, with societal impacts including mass displacement, political instability, and financial collapse."

Because current emissions trajectories put the world on track for 1.5°C of warming, this is likely to trigger five tipping points, the report authors found. Those tipping points are the melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, the mass die-off of warm-water coral reefs, the thawing of Arctic permafrost, and the collapse of the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre circulation.

The melting of just the Antarctic ice sheet, for example, could raise global sea levels by 6.6 feet by 2100, Carbon Brief reported, meaning 480 million people would face yearly coastal flooding. Three more tipping points could be triggered in the 2030s if temperatures rise past 1.5°C. These include the mass death of seagrass meadows, mangroves, and boreal forests, according to The Guardian.

"Crossing these thresholds may trigger fundamental and sometimes abrupt changes that could irreversibly determine the fate of essential parts of our Earth system for the coming hundreds or thousands of years," co-author Sina Loriani of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research told The Guardian.

Contributor Manjana Milkoreit of the University of Oslo said in a statement that "our global governance system is inadequate to deal with the coming threats and implement the solutions urgently required."

But that doesn't mean the report authors believe that hope is lost. Rather, they see it as a call to ambitious action at the current U.N. climate talks and beyond.

"Averting this crisis—and doing so equitably—must be the core goal of COP28 and ongoing global cooperation," Milkoreit said.

One way to do this is to take advantage of positive tipping points.

"Concerted actions can create the enabling conditions for triggering rapid and large-scale transformation," the report authors wrote. "Human history is flush with examples of abrupt social and technological change. Recent examples include the exponential increases in renewable electricity, the global reach of environmental justice movements, and the accelerating rollout of electric vehicles."

The report authors made six recommendations based on their findings:

Immediately phasing out fossil fuels and emissions from land use changes like deforestation;

Strengthening plans for adaptation and loss and damage in the face of inevitable tipping points;

Taking tipping points into account in Paris agreement mechanisms like the global stocktake and national climate pledges;

Collaborating to trigger positive tipping points;

Organizing a global summit on tipping points; and

Increasing research on tipping points, including through a special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"Now is the moment to unleash a cascade of positive tipping points to ensure a safe, just, and sustainable future for humanity," Lenton said.

An earlier version of this article said the sea levels could rise by 656 feet by 2100 if the Antarctic ice sheet started to melt. It has been corrected to reflect the fact that they would rise by 6.6 feet.

[cosmogyros]

Some messages I just sent to my friends. I have a lot of thoughts on this topic. I guess the one at the forefront of my mind is the conviction that this sort of thing is NOT "female power" or an example of "how good women have it". Why? Primarily because I'm white and straight-sized. Not all women are. So as long as I'm getting these so-called "benefits" (🤮) while other femme folks are not, that's not "female power". That's division instead of solidarity.

Of course I joke about it and go "oh, the guy was so nice to me and gave me a discount, wink wink" but tbqh, behind the joking, it always feels a bit gross and sad. I try to tell myself that it's only fair to get what I can (see my message about the wage gap above), considering that I'm pretty damn poor... but that doesn't make me feel a lot better.

Also I have a lot of complicated thoughts and feelings about the fact that I do try to coax myself to see the best in it. Is that a good thing - me just being optimistic and seeing things positively? Or is it a typical "woman in a man's world" thing - me automatically stepping up to do the emotional labor of smoothing away awkwardnesses and injustice? Or is it both?

Part of me would love to have a further-reaching feminist-philosophy conversation about this intricate topic, but another part of me is regretfully very aware of the way shit can devolve on the Internet, so: please do not reblog. But anyone who wants to message or comment about this is welcome to! I love thought-provoking discussions.

[gothyanki]

WIP Thursday

@adoenamedjane tagged me in this WIP meme - thank you!!

List the titles of all the stories you’re working on/that are eating your brain below, then let people send you an ask for either a snippet from one of those stories or a brief summary/description of what the story is about:

1: “self-same” (BG3, Vin'ath/Vin'ath [sort of] + Vin'ath/Karlach)

2. chapter 2/3 of “a reaver to the bone” (BG3, Therezzyn/Lykos + Lae'zel/Shadowheart)

3. “most loyal” (BG3, Gith/Vlaakith I)

4. “it is not down in any map” (Pillars of Eternity, Watcher Ahimi/Queen Onekaza II)

5. “hyphae” (The Luminous Dead, Em Arasgain/Gyre Price)

As always, I blanket-tag everyone who’s interested in doing this!

[emachinescat]

A Year in (Book) Review: My 2024 Reading Journey 📚

#13 - Unbirthday by Liz Braswell

Fantasy / Twisted Tales #10 / 380 pages / published in 2020 / Finished Jan. 25

One Sentence Review: A surprisingly dark iteration of Wonderland, this Twisted Tale is a striking commentary on political power, xenophobia, and the importance of Nonsense not only in our fantasy worlds, but in the real world as well.

Favorite Quotes

"Let us do just ... be."

*

"Please do not attempt to inform me what well-behaved girls do or don't do, or assume I am well-behaved or wish to be well-behaved, or even if I am a girl."

*

"The landscape was empty of movement now; not a single creature gyred or gimbled out in the open or the shadows; not a mome rath, or mouse, or bandersnatch."

*

"I'm tired of being something else for everyone else. It's long past time Wonderland started changing for me."

*

"'A man cannot walk into the same river twice, for later he is not the same man and it is not the same day and it is not the same river,' the Cheshire answered."

*

"But Xanadu was destroyed the moment Coleridge awoke. He never went back."

*

"Saving the world was one thing. Fixing it was another."

My rating: 4/5

A Few More Thoughts (Spoilers)

I really enjoyed it, though I had a harder time getting into the Wonderland parts - perhaps because I was so much more invested in Alice's real-world story. The ending fell a little flat since it felt like all Alice did and went through was for nothing. I loved Mr. Katz and their dynamic, though.

I was surprised that I was more invested in Alice's real-world narrative than that in the fantasy world. I just really loved the political and social drama of the xenophobic politician and the way this paralleled what was happening in Wonderland. I was also unusually invested in the romance with Mr. Katz.

We all need a little Nonsense in our lives. We are often all so serious, and certainly, there are many serious issues, but in the end, isn't it all Stuff and Nonsense?

[justconstantly]

list 5 topics you could talk about for an hour without preparing any material

thanks for tagging me @belladonnafey !!

1) obvs my thesis material, so if you want to know anything about freshwater content in the Arctic ocean I'm your person, very interested in Russian Shelf transport, Beaufort Gyre dynamics, the Arctic Oscillation's influence on surface circulation, and ice export <3

2) love talking about paleoclimate as well, hated the course in undergrad but probably the class I remember the most about, ask me about milankovitch cycles or the Gaia hypothesis or meridional overturning circulation

3) what I call my fungus thesis which isn't actually a coherent idea except that I love the resourcefulness of rot and I always enjoy sci-fi that makes me contemplate the difference between a biological imperative of another species imposed onto ur free will via chemistry v.s. actual communion with a higher plane of existence thru holy, fungus-y mediums, and wether you'd ever be able to tell the difference, whether an ant taken over by cordyceps climbing a tall tree feels ant euphoria for reaching the top, etc

4) also adore thinking about sustainable farming and food cultivation methods, permaculture, traditional foods and practices from various indigenous communities, etc, took a class about restorative ecology and another comparing agriculture and indigenous methods like native American food forests across the Holocene to today and it was SO cool, also ties into paleoclimate, the anthropocene, humans intrinsically being a participant in earth systems instead of outside of them, etc, love it

5) this is getting long uuuhh also teaching and evaluation methods in higher education, both for students and professors, I'm by no means an expert but I have been taking teaching classes and having taken a plethora of classes at this point I have Thoughts

tagging @knifepadme @izzfizzpop @pathos-logical @sadclowncentral @azertykeys @junewild but no pressure

[chubby-aphrodite]

well folks, it's official: i'm on page 5 of my list of fun words; triple column, single space, 11 point arial; my 517th word is "karambit"

choice fun words include:

magnanimous - generous or forgiving

blatherskite - someone who talks about nonsense for far too long

abacinate - to blind someone as punishment, esp. by usage of hot metal

gyre - a spiral or vortex

cotton (verb) - taking a liking to someone or something

orotund - describing a loud, imposing voice; or describing pretentious or pompous writing

vicissitude - an unwelcome change in fortune; or, the juxtaposition of opposites

ribald - vulgar, especially in an amusing way

zaftig - having a round, full figure

agravic - of or relating to matters of zero-gravity

and many more!