#blame file optimization

[runnerleckie]

dick winters + his cap

[wow-thisismylifeiguess]

Sentient Gotham

- Bruce regularly chats w her. Like, full blown conversations. He can see a physical manifestation of her like she’s right in front of him, but completely invisible to everyone else

- Zatanna does not believe him. She’s Gotham born and bred and a powerful magician, but she cannot sense a living breathing Gotham the way Bruce claims he can

- Constantine does believe him, but it’s mostly to spite Zatanna

- Gotham calls herself Bruce’s mom and frequently whines about him not calling her that

> “I had a mother. And a father. They’re both dead.” > “WHEN WILL YOU STOP BLAMING ME FOR THAT?!” > “When I’m convinced it’s not true.”

- Bruce’s kids also don’t believe him about the whole ‘I talk to Gotham’ thing for a long time and think he’s either lost his mind, he’s schizophrenic, or that he’s fucking w them

- they do eventually see and speak to her themselves

- Jason first sees her right before his death, which was an incredibly difficult task for her. It’s a combination of reasons. 1) like Bruce, Jason is a Gotham City native and has deep ties to the city, 2) he has deep ties to Bruce, 3) she was also there to comfort Bruce because she knew he wouldn’t be fast enough. But Jason sees this gorgeous woman who cradles his cheek and murmurs soft words to him that he’ll only end up remembering many years later

> “Your father loves you. He tried. So please don’t hate him. It’s my fault, not his.”

- Bruce frequently wonders why it’s him who can see her and no one else, to which she always just says it’s because he’s her son

- Bruce’s connection to Gotham…changes him. He is human, at least…mostly. But there’s an otherworldliness to him that grows over the years which he’s stupidly oblivious to for a very long time

- Gotham has beef w Alfred purely because he’s British

> “I could’ve raised you better than that man!” > “I do not tolerate disrespect for Alfred.” > whining, “But babyyyyyy. He’s an outsider!”

- she adores Bruce’s kids and frequently whines about how they don’t believe she’s real. But at the same time, Bruce is her absolute beloved

- after Jason’s death, she’s the one who basically sends Tim Bruce’s way to stop his self destructive behavior. Tim had been taking pictures of Batman and Robin for a while, but Gotham had fogged over his mind just a little bit to prevent him from putting the pieces together about their identity. When she stops, it finally clicks for Tim and it’s what leads him to becoming Robin

- the kids all have their moment when they finally can see and speak to her. It happens at different times, but the important reason as to why they’re able to do so is due to their relationship to Bruce and the length of time they’ve been around him. It comes at the moment where they’ve reached optimal and absolute trust in Bruce

- Bruce does actually call her ‘mom’, but it happened once and she will never let him forget it

> Bruce getting worked up during a conversation w Gotham in front of Dick and Tim > “Dick….who is he talking to?” > “You don’t want to know.” > “My mom won’t stop badgering me- No. No. I didn’t say that. I didn’t call you that! You can’t prove anything!”

- Gotham comforts Bruce often when he feels like he’s not enough. His failures weigh heavy in his heart, but she’s always there to talk him through it

> “Why me? Why am I the one you picked? I’m not enough. I never will be.” > “You are and you always will be. Bruce, you do so much for this city. For me. For your family.” > “It’s not enough.” > “You are only mostly human, Bruce Wayne. You have done things no one else could ever hope to do. If any one else were in your position, they would not have nearly enough strength as you do.”

- several months later, after Bruce is just idly going over case files, he remembers the ‘mostly human’ part of what Gotham said to him. He’d glossed over it before in his depressive spiral, but now he’s like !?

> “Gotham….” > “Yes, my dear?” > “‘Mostly human’. Care to explain what that means?” > awkward laugh, “Uh…..” > “Gotham.” > “I didn’t do it on purpose! I had no control!” > “Gotham.”

- order of who sees Gotham:

Bruce (obviously)

Jason (first time)

Tim

Duke

Jason (second time)

Steph

Dick

Cass

Damian

- the last three take a while but mostly because they’re not Gotham natives. Dick’s a little bitter about it because he practically spent his entire life in Gotham

> “You’re a traitor.” > “WHAT DID I DO?” > disgust, “Blüdhaven.” > “Oh. Whoops.”

- While Gotham is Bruce’s #1 Supporter™️, she is at times critical of his behavior and decisions. Particularly about things that damage his relationship w loved ones and things that he chooses to do in order to hurt himself

- she finds ‘Brucie’ to be distasteful

> “I didn’t raise you to be a whore.” > “You didn’t raise me to begin with.” > “STOP DENYING ME PARENTAL RIGHTS!”

- Gotham is, obviously, restricted to only appear within Gotham City’s borders. She’s only able to break through that restriction a handful of times, w the first being when Jason dies. There are a few other instances and she’s popped up on the Watchtower and jumpscared Bruce by accident. The JL were very confused and incredibly amused

- She’s able to take on the form of anyone, but sticks to a unique appearance of a woman w long black hair and pale skin. Her eyes are white and she’s typically dressed in a suit

> young Bruce, in awe, “You kind of look like me if I were cooler.” > “You’re plenty cool, Bruce.” > adult Bruce, tired, “Why are you in a suit?” > “Because I look cool, Bruce. You said so yourself.” > “I was ten!”

- she once offered to take on the appearance of his mother and Bruce shot it down so fast. She never brought it up again

- when Clark found out about her, he believed Bruce immediately. He’s the only one Bruce ever told who believed him right off the bat

> “You…don’t think I’m insane?” > “I do.” > “Then why would you lie and say you believe me?” > “Because I do. You’re insane about a lot of things, Bruce. But you sounded too serious when you told me about this, so why would I ever think you’re lying?”

- Gotham begrudgingly likes Clark

> “You hate Alfred for being an outsider, but Clark is in your good graces?” > “He’s an alien. It’s different.” > “He’s also from Metropolis.” > “Shhhhhh, don’t remind me. I’m trying to be blissfully ignorant.”

[esote-rika]

𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐤, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝟐 | 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐝

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Waldorf!Reader Category: fluff Summary: Interactions with the local police makes you realize that you’ve done too good a job at Spencer Reid’s makeover. Content: 1.3k words, Early s2 when Elle was on medical leave, glasses!Spencer, jealous reader, post-case clean up, part one here (not necessary to read). A/N: Anon, thank you for requesting more Waldorf!reader <3 I’m making this into a semi-connected series instead of just a bunch of unrelated one shots because I miss her and I have ideas for how she fits into the team as the seasons go on. Plus, I want to write a reader that’s in the BAU but isn’t always hooking up with Spencer lol.

Four confirmed deaths. Another woman had been missing, her bright eyed smile looking plastic and hollow as you stare at the picture attached to the case file. Alana Taylor, the most recent victim, the abduction that prompted JJ to uproot the team from a period of relative calm and travel to rural Ohio. 

The case had been particularly perplexing; an unsub that killed with sadism, but disposed of victims in a way that suggested remorse. Your arrival should have been cause for relief, but it only led to some strange struggle for power between Hotch and the local sheriff, who had only accepted help because the media had started to flock into their small town. 

Regardless of difficulties and differences, Alana Taylor had been saved. Found in an underground bunker beneath an unassuming farmhouse. A success, as far as cases go, although it’s difficult to count it as a success when you know there’s been four prior lives you couldn’t save. Still, it’s a moment of cautious optimism, a case ready to be wrapped up and typed into reports.

Around you, the precinct is abuzz with activity. The rest of the team has left for interviews with the victim’s family, last minute debriefings with the local police. You’re at one of the interrogation rooms, which the BAU had made into a temporary conference spot, tasked with the insignificant grunt work—reorganizing the case files and reports with Reid. Apparently, being a genius doesn’t save him from the regular people job. 

You wouldn’t mind being paired with him, normally. He’s diligent, rarely complains (something Morgan enjoys extensively, even in jest). Mostly, organizing papers with Spencer just means enduring an earful of scientific trivia and random statistics. The same thing is happening today, only that he’s not telling them to you.

Rather, the receiver of his tangential spiel is one of the local officers in the department, Officer Mitchell. Who happens to be young. And pretty. And hanging onto his every word. 

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what she’s doing. While the officers had been given explicit instructions to help the BAU, you know this one’s interest lies beyond providing assistance. No, the too loud laughs, the fluttering lashes, and deliberate hair tucking are all thinly veiled, rather clumsy attempts at flirting. 

It’d be amusing if it weren’t so pathetic.

Ironically, the genius in question doesn’t seem to understand what’s going on, rattling off statistics and differences in distance between abduction sites—which had ultimately led to the identification of the perpetrator—utterly oblivious to the flirtatious attention being thrown his way.

Truthfully, you can’t really blame her. Reid seems to have taken your fashion recommendations to heart, avoiding clashing prints in favor of a more flattering color palette. He’s in shades of blue today, a button down the color of cotton candy clouds on a summer morning, tucked neatly beneath a navy blue sweater vest. You’d taken him to a barbershop a few days ago too, instructing the man to cut into his hair in order to give it some dimension. He looks good, even with his glasses—especially with his glasses—which he’s wearing because he’d run out of solution for his contacts. You’re tempted to tell him to keep this bespectacled look, it’s working for him.

But not right now, because 1) you don’t want him to think you’ve been scrutinizing his appearance, 2) you can’t because his attention lies elsewhere and you’re not about to compete for that, thank you very much, and 3) that’s an inappropriate comment to make in the workplace and you are the pinnacle of professionalism. 

Unlike other people.

You glare at Officer Mitchell.

You don’t even realize another team member has returned until a hand rests on your shoulder. You flinch, the action extracting your attention from the scene before you. Looking up, JJ’s amused blue eyes meet yours. “You're almost done?”

“Yeah, almost.” you reply. Grumble, really, as your gaze inexplicably returns to Reid and Officer Mitchell. Still wrapped up in conversation, neither of them seem to notice JJ’s arrival, or particularly interested in helping you. “No thanks to these two.”

JJ chuckles, “Shouldn’t you go rescue her?” 

“Rescue her?” 

“Spence is rambling, you know how he gets.”

“Yeah, and she’s openly flirting on the job.” it comes out in a hiss paired with narrowed eyes. Perhaps too harsh for the conversation, but the idea that anyone needs to be saved from Reid’s rambling doesn’t sit right with you. Rescue is what you do to people in trouble, who need help. Officer Mitchell is not in trouble, and if she needed help, she’d be casting glances to the rest of the room, not looking at Spencer Reid like he holds the key to the universe. Matter of fact, it seems like she’s the complete opposite of in trouble.

Something crosses over JJ’s face, fleeting by so quickly you couldn’t really place it. 

“He’s talking her ear off,” There’s a placating tone to JJ’s voice that you don’t appreciate.

It makes you catch yourself though, so you attempt to soften your own voice, trying to match her calm one but yours still comes across sneering (Oh well, she’s the liaison for a reason), “Yeah, but she initiated the conversation. If she voluntarily subjects herself to Reid’s tangents, that’s not on me. Neither of them need rescue, they seem perfectly happy in each other’s company. ”

Try as you might, that last bit comes out snappy. 

JJ catches it too, shrewd as always. But she doesn’t comment on it, not directly at least. “Hm, I did notice a few people back in the office giving him more attention than usual.”

“Yeah, so he’d proofread their reports for them.” you stand with a huff, paperwork and evidence carefully balanced inside the police issued cardboard box. JJ follows you as you stride out of the room, leaving Reid and Officer Mitchell alone to do whatever they so wish. None of it is your business anyway, you just wish he’d been able to multitask and not leave the dumb task to you.

“Mhm, are you sure it has nothing to do with the little makeover you gave him?” JJ says, matching your quick steps. 

You don’t like the little smirk playing on the blonde woman’s lips. Her idea isn’t far off, Reid does look good. Still himself, with his crooked ties and the converse you couldn’t talk him into replacing, but now more elevated. Less nerdy kid and more rumpled academic. Which means you did exactly what you’d originally set out to do. Reflect who he is through clothes, communicate his intelligence and competency just with a few styling adjustments.

“Good job to me, then.” Why did that sentence leave through gritted teeth? 

JJ doesn’t dignify you with a response, and simply watches you with that same, infuriating smile, as though she knows something you don’t. 

“What?”

“Nothing.”

It doesn’t seem like nothing, but you let it go, walking outside to the SUV that will take you to the airport. Gathered around, you notice that the team is missing one specific member, who’s probably still busy inside, being flirted with.

“Hey, where’s Reid?” Morgan seems to have the same idea. He directs the question at you, though, seeing as you were the last one to be paired with him.

“I’m not his keeper,” you reply dismissively, brushing past the burly man to slide into the back of the car. Any more mention of Reid and that officer and you’re afraid you’ll snap and say something you’d regret.

Outside, Morgan shoots JJ a confused look, baffled by your abruptness. The blonde woman simply shrugs, wearing the same smile from earlier, keeping her thoughts to herself. It’s too soon for anything, anyway, and if she so much as mentions the faintest bit of her theory, JJ knows the entire team will know in an instant. Better to let it play out. Better you figure it for yourself.

waldorf!reader tags @lokisswiftie @lillaberry @libraprincessfairy @yasmin12312 @saintkittykat @brainisrotted @misspendragonsworld @fefa-la-printcessa

[madeline-kahn]

Incomplete and unranked list of albums I enjoyed in 2024

Pictured here:

MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks

Megan Thee Stallion - MEGAN

Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter

Sabrina Carpenter - Short n' Sweet

Katie Gavin - What a Relief

Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

Maggie Rogers - Don't Forget Me

Orville Peck - Stampede

Lizzy McAlpine - Older

The Beaches - Blame My Ex

Vampire Weekend - Only God Was Above Us

Gold Star - How to Shoot the Moon

Remi Wolf - Big Ideas

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

Gracie Abrams - The Secret of Us

Clairo - Charm

Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal

Pom Pom Squad - Mirror Starts Moving Without Me

Kendrick Lamar - GNX

Charli xcx - Brat

The Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstacy

Conan Gray - Found Heaven

Griff - Vertigo

God's Mom - As It Was Given

Other albums that I would have done if time had permitted but it didn't:

girl in red - I'm Doing it Again Baby!

Halsey - The Great Impersonator

Bleachers - Bleachers

Suki Waterhouse - Memoir of a Sparklemuffin

SZA - SOS Deluxe: LANA

Debbii Dawson - How To Be Human

Rachel Chinouriri - What A Devastating Turn of Events

Towa Bird - American Hero

FLO - Access All Areas

beabadoobee - This Is How Tomorrow Moves

Megan Moroney - Am I Okay? (I'll Be Fine)

Ariana Grande - eternal sunshine

Carol Ades - Late Start

The Dare - What's Wrong with New York?

Tyla - Tyla+

Del Water Gap - I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet

Maude Latour - Sugar Water

The Marias - Submarine

Dua Lipa - Radical Optimism

Billie Eilish - HIT ME HARD AND SOFT

Dora Jar - No Way To Relax When You Are On Fire

Sexyy Red - In Sexyy We Trust

Amyl and the Sniffers - Cartoon Darkness

Brittany Howard - What Now

Eliza Mclamb - Going Through It

Fontaines DC - Romance

Mannequin Pussy - I Got Heaven

Normani - DOPAMINE

Role Model - Kansas Anymore

Soccer Mommy - Evergreen

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming

Tyler the Creator - Chromakopia

Adrianne Lenker - Bright Future

Charley Crockett - $10 Cowboy

Lauren Mayberry - Vicious Creature

Mk.gee - Two Star & The Dream Police

Nemahsis - Verbathim

Reyna Roberts - The Lost Files

ROSE - rosie

Sierra Ferrell - Trail of Flowers

Magdalena Bay - Imaginal Disk

Allie X - Girl with No Face

Cheekface - It's Sorted

Maren Morris - Intermission

Father John Misty - Mahashmashana

Lainey Wilson - Whirlwind

[shipburner]

Internal Family Skills, part three! This is the Exile (XIL) Attribute: Your capacity to feel things, to integrate sensory inputs with the body. Its six Skills are:

Architectonics

Gut Instinct

Jouissance

Lakas-ng-Loób

Playground

Wonderstruck

[ Manager | Firefighter | Self ]

Architectonics

Organize, craft, decorate. Create data structures and physical ones.

COOL FOR: Bowerbirds, Secretaries, Sculptors

Architectonics is your ability to assign material properties to the immaterial Things stored in your aphantasic memory. From this fundamental basis, you can arrive first at the ability to categorize objects by these properties, and then at the ability to join and organize objects in physical space. Architectonics gives you reliable access to the simple joy of sorting, whether it's file systems, household objects, or raw materials in an art studio; it also teaches you how to put these together to materially represent the pure concepts in the silvery-black void behind your eyes.

At high levels, Architectonics will let you personalize your living space and teach you exactly where everything is in your workshop. However, you'll lose yourself in material pursuits, neglecting social bonds and physiological needs in favor of realizing a grand artistic vision that nobody but you will ever see. But with low Architectonics, you'll be trapped in a swamp of immaterial concepts that bear little relation to the world around you, unable to find or create anything outside your head.

Gut Instinct

Be aware of your body’s needs and the physicality of emotion. Make snap decisions and prioritize.

COOL FOR: Survivors, Decision-makers, Clappers Back

Gut Instinct lives in the moment. Your body is the result of hundreds of millions of years of animal evolution, and what's going on inside gives you information without you having to sit down, logic it out, and get eaten. Your gut tells you when to load up on glucose, when to yank your hand back from a hot stove, and when to punch back before the bigger ape hits you. It's all in the interest of keeping your emotional streak going -- be they sympathetic or parasympathetic, Gut Instinct is happy when you're using the nerves that aren't in your brain.

At high levels, you'll always be right where you need to be, responding to stimuli with sabertooth-avoiding speed. You'll say and do whatever keeps you alive in the moment, no matter the consequences for yourself or others -- but at least your comebacks will be good! At low levels, though, you'll see everything as equally portentious, unable to respond in time-sensitive situations or pursue any of your possible avenues to satisfaction.

Jouissance

Seek stimulation, reward, excitement. Perceive and understand the sensations that make life worth living.

COOL FOR: Heartache Enthusiasts, Attention Economists, Masochists

Jouissance is a prickling in your skin, a hunger in your heart, an endless striving for the Lacanian limit-experience. In your quest for mind-breaking aesthetic perfection, Jouissance figures out how to spice up your sex life, pick your playlist, and know whether or not there's any comfort in the video game or the bag of edibles. It also knows exactly how to stay angry, afraid, or grieving, even or especially at others' expense.

At high levels, Jouissance keeps you on the hedonic treadmill -- bad enough when you're losing time to computers and masturbation, but far, far worse when you're holding onto grudges and picking fights for dubious catharsis. But with low Jouissance, you won't know what's worth your time or not, leaving you convinced of the worthlessness of experience in general.

Lakas-ng-Loób

Act with hope and chivalry. Exercise courage and serenity alike.

COOL FOR: Space Cowboys, Impossible Dreamers, Knights of Faith

Lakas-ng-Loób is your strength of will -- spiritual courage, practiced optimism, and commitment in the face of adversity. It maintains your Morale pool by avoiding spirals of victim-blaming, firmly identifying that external sources of harm are external and not, in fact, your fault. Lakas-ng-Loób protects your sense of agency and keeps pain from motivating inaction; likewise, it motivates you to defend others from suffering and fight for common goods.

At high levels, Lakas-ng-Loób will transform lost causes into victories. Your faith will move mountains -- and prevent you from realizing when a mountain can't be moved. You'll tilt at windmills, refuse to pick your battles, and come across as a zealot with your head in the clouds. But with low levels, you'll hesitate to protect yourself or others, trapped in the myth of personal responsibility and the politics of despair.

Playground

Exercise gross motor skills. Maintain speed, strength, balance, coordination.

COOL FOR: Active Children, Derby Dolls, The Terminally Late for Class

Playground is your sloppy, untrained sense of athleticism. As a Skill, it's concerned with having fun and getting where you want to go, and you'll grudgingly admit you have to train and exercise to keep that up instead of just fucking around. Playground's a runner, a climber, a balancer, a vaulter, and lately a skater -- it affords you some heavy lifting skill as a side effect of learning to lift your own body weight, but it hates not being on the move.

At high levels, Playground will shut out everything but the path you want to take. This is great for getting past obstacles with flair and panache and dancing like nobody's watching; it's not great for moving around non-roller-derby-playing humans, who react poorly to being treated as course hazards. Without it, though, you'll be slow, creaking, and earthbound, too out-of-shape to take any joy in motion.

Wonderstruck

Revere the beauty of the world around you. Surrender to your place in the cosmos.

COOL FOR: Protagonists, Storm Chasers, Mortals

Wonderstruck is your sense of "woah, that's awesome" -- whether it's the little "awesome" of a cool turn of phrase from one of your friends or the big "awesome" that made you kind of attracted to Hurricane Sandy. A Skill of aesthetics, Wonderstruck is your heuristic for awe, and thus your capacity for deriving excitement and comfort from a world that operates on scales too big for you to affect or even comprehend.

At high levels, Wonderstruck's euphoria in being a single strand in the cosmic weave gives you a death wish, whether it manifests as wanting a heroic destiny where there's always new impossible odds to vanquish or just a desire to skip right to "happily ever after". But its absence doesn't do anything to supply a fear of death -- it simply renders existence into something mundane and spiritually corrosive, and its failure to deliver on promises of titanic adventure leads you right back into the arms of anomie.

Notes

Jouissance's art is a reference to the "My heart is a fish" song from Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice. The fish being a pleco is an in-joke with a lover.

The design of Lakas-ng-Loób's helmet is a reference to the shaving-basin helmet from the musical Man of La Mancha (I am a filthy musical enjoyer as opposed to the actual text of Don Quixote).

Playground would probably look different if I'd drawn it today, now that I've started doing roller derby.

Thanks again to "Loób and Kapwa: An Introduction to a Filipino Virtue Ethics" (Reyes 2015).

[episims]

on the subject of reducing texture sizes, have you experimented with only importing a single size for dxt images? i know that e.g. content made only using bodyshop sometimes (always?) only has the one size in the .package file, so in theory it would work generally, but i haven’t tested if the additional smaller images usually made by importing/building dxt impact file size or pink flashing in game.

Hi! You're talking about mipmaps and yep, I've experimented with them.

Yes, deleting them makes the file smaller, about 33% so to be precise. And yes, the texture works with or without mipmaps.

But no, I haven't seen any evidence that removing mipmaps would help with pink flashing. I recently deleted them from a big bunch of files to see if that would have any impact, and this is how my game looked like after doing that:

I don't blame deleting them for it since it was pretty unstable even before, but yeah. Didn't really help, either.

The thing about mipmaps is that they are a part of the game's texture memory optimization. This is a common technique that you can google more about, but in short:

Having them takes more memory than a texture without them, but in trade, they're supposed to make memory usage more efficient. The extra space they take is generally considered to be outweighed by the benefits they give for overall texture memory usage, rendering, and performance.

That's the factual theory. What really happens below The Sims 2's engine bonnet, we don't know (or if someone does know, please let me know, I'd love to have that info).

But what I do know is that deleting them didn't help with flashing in my game, and I also know that Maxis objects have mipmaps and the game is nearly impossible to get flash without CC. So personally, I'm not deleting them from my content.

[mikuni14]

Jack & Joker - Ep 10

What an emotional and eventful episode✨

Of course I can't help but start with their 🔥 scene. Everything was very beautifully shot, visually and colorfully a bit like old Hong Kong movies, full of half-tones, very lovely. Yin and War delivered, but no surpise here, it's them. I really liked how they were together in this scene, a very pleasant reference to MaxTul, those muscles, sounds, smacking on naked body, grabbing it, passion and desire at the highest levels, but lined with playfulness, carefreeness, love 😏 In both couples we can see what I always appreciate very much, that is, their naturalness and that as a viewer I have no doubts that these characters played by these actors are super horny for their lovers 😤 Special mention of the Ikea clothes rack, because I recently assembled exactly that type, so I kind of relate, cue Di Caprio pointing at tv meme lol. (hot muscle daddies who push themselves into it for my entertainment were not included in my clothes rack set, I think I'll file a complaint).

The scene with Joke's father: siiiiiiiiigh but yeah, sadly I expected this, I also expected to hear: "we actually love you and miss you / but why didn't you visit us, we were waiting for you god you screwed up again". I don't know how you can go from "he's not my son" and "a thief is always a thief" to "come home for dinner", but what do I know, right? I was prepared for this, I still hate it.

The constant references to death, the repeated words about farewell, about forgiveness, returning as a ghost 😬, don't fill me with any particular optimism. I'm 99% certain of a happy ending, but… I am starting to worry a little. There is also an option that in the finale we will have a time skip 🙄 due to Joke, Jack, or both of them being in prison.

I also watch with neverending sadness Joke's low self-esteem and how he thinks that he doesn't deserve anything good, and how easily he is able to throw away his happiness, ruin his future.

As a big fan of communication between characters, between lovers, I have a "I told you so" moment that doesn't give me any satisfaction tho, it's just too sad. Because technically, objectively, almost everything actually is Joke's fault (I know that Boss is first and mainly to blame) and he constantly does things behind Jack's back - with the best and purest intentions - but still. He keeps throwing himself into situations, sacrificing himself completely, just to help Jack, but in reality… well. He only gets him more into trouble every time. Joke never asks Jack if he wants his "help", he just decides for him. Besides, Jack clearly told him not to try to help him anymore. I wholeheartedly support them, but looking from the outside, this is not a healthy relationship, in which there is so little honesty, trust and communication. And in which one has clear, unaddressed tendencies towards self-destruction, not taking into account his health, life, or even the possibility of being in prison again.

Save and attempts to whitewash him "because he's stuck too" and "there's no other way for him" irritate me. Oh he's sorry? He's sad? Well, his victims don't even have that luxury, because they're dead. Save didn't even try to soften what he's doing, trying to help somehow, warn Boss's victims, he just did what he was told without hesitation and on top of that showed unnecessary overzealousness. I don't want to hear that he's "like the others" because he actively works for Boss without even trying to mitigate the evil he's doing. Sorry, but fuck this guy.

I've seen emerging controversies related to trans characters, who seem to be treated worse in J&J. Please remember that during the first ring heist, in the same ep Noo Lek was treated badly and a male model was also attacked and beaten, who was completely innocent, who earns money for a living with his face and his body, so this beating was doubly bad. And regarding Jennie's character being thrown from a height: in the same episode, a literal child was also thrown from a height (and survied because of the plot armor, let's be honest). I know it seems like trans people are treated worse, but in this show, something bad happens to someone all the time, people are hounded, beaten, tortured, attacked, poisoned, exploited, cheated, forced to sell their body parts (!) and no one is spared, including children and the elderly. I think we noticed what seems like a pattern because there are simply more of trans / non binary people than in other series, and they are just as much victims of the system.

........

So a lot happened, I'm starting to worry a little about the ending, so I'll go back to my favorite moment in this episode: Jack grabbing Joke by the chin and guiding him to a kiss and then pinning his hand 🔥

[hopefull-mindset]

do you believe mori is a pedo or a lolic0n? I don't! but I just wanted to ask you about what you thought about it ><

Oh dear, this is the type of discussion I was thinking about but was too much of a shitfest to really dip my foot in. It's an incredibly loaded discussion to have, so I'll talk about this to the best of my abilities.

Let’s start with me saying that there is no good answer to this and it’s not as easy as “the grass is green”. There is no “I'm right” and “you're wrong”. I know the answer looks obvious at first glance, especially if you choose to primarily look at his relationship with Elise that way, but Asagiri makes some decisions that put this belief into question.

However, we can’t blame anyone for seeing Mori a certain way due to Asagiri’s choices in a poor tasted gag, so I don’t think I can ever say someone completely misunderstood Mori’s character (at least, in this regard) when we ask this question. We cannot chalk up this belief about Mori to be the fault of the audience misunderstanding him because of some “translation error” because it blatantly ignores the fact this is a joke Asagiri chooses to make a lot.

I am also not defending Asagiri when I call it a joke because it's obvious to me that's all he sees it as: a joke. Not a great one, but it's there. It's as serious as the Tanizaki siblings should be taken (kinda wish people knew that there's implications about them not being siblings more though, even if it won't make it much better for them).

Just needed to lay that out before I started talking so I'm not misunderstood when I talk about the questionability of labeling him this. I do think we need to talk more about Asagiri’s position in this when this is brought up, so I will be doing that as well.

Firstly, Elise is not the product of sexual desire came to life. That's something people understand the least if they keep looking at her in this point of view. I've seen many frame the connection between her and Yosano to be one where Mori “finds out his type to be younger”, which yuck! Thankfully, I can debunk this by just bringing in Beast Mori.

It's a little comical that people are insistent that they have nothing to do with each other when they have no problem doing so with any other character from Beast. As of canon right now, we have no idea about any specification on how this ability works or how he controls it. My assumption is that it has to partially do with Mori’s need for a companion while not needing to give himself up and be vulnerable with others. He tends to have that problem of looking over his shoulder, like with Dazai and presumably kicking him out because of the typical human fear of death.

I also tended to notice that in the three ways Elise shows up, she forms into someone that Mori might need at the moment and reflective of his mindset. During the Great War, she is at her most subservient and robotic when Mori’s mind was only on gaining the most optimal solution with no consideration for anyone’s feelings.

Post-Great War to the present day, she has been a bratty child and a lot like 11-year-old Yosano with a bow in the same place her butterfly was. She is human and expressive when he can't afford to be and a living reminder of the child he had broken down for the price of an optimal solution. If you were to ask me, Mori has grown in his mindset with the help of Fukuzawa. To consider more heart and comradery than he used to when navigating the Port Mafia. Like how he saw worth in learning about dead subordinates when Ango was insistent on filing them.

In BSD Beast, he is able to roam without considering the need for the optimal solution and Elise appears as a 20-year-old adult bratty as ever. He needs a fellow caretaker to take care of the orphanage he was put in charge of, and has let himself come back into touch with his humanity when caring for these children.

I can’t give you any personal answer for why Asagiri chose to name it “Vita Sexualis” or why her age changes like that. I don’t know what goes on in his mind and we haven’t been given any specifics. We should remember that Asagiri was actually hiding that she was his Ability up until Cannibalism arc, and that this name might not mean anything you think it does.

Why? I have no idea why Asagiri did this. I think he was having fun tormenting us with what this ability name could mean from.

I also hadn’t finished Vita Sexualis because I have a lot on my reading list, but even if it’s described as an “erotica” by public sources, your expectations of what that means might not actually be lived up to. I think one of the most creative answers to her age and this chosen name instead of “Dancing Girl” (the book of which she’s based on) have to do with the real Mori’s love of children as a father and the act of intercourse being what gives life.

But even without those bits of speculation, I have already made it clear why she has nothing to do with sexual influence and I wish people talked about her out of that type of context. She has not been sexualized by the narrative or by Mori himself. If you saw the scene where she was undressed and Mori was begging her to put on some clothes as it it was creepy, that was your choice. She has also never been put in a genuine romantic light by him ever in this story.

The omake where he calls Elise his wife is not definite evidence of some belief he genuinely has of her. If you actually read it and don't look at our context panels, it's obvious that he's doing it to ruffle Fukuzawa’s feathers and get a reaction out of him. Besides poking at his integrity, I would also assume he would do so because he can't just call her his daughter as he'd usually would in these situations since he doesn't tend to reveal it publically. King-in-Yellow made a good contribution in context to why Kafka Asagiri would make this joke with Mori and Elise.

Please note that Elise is also not a real child or his daughter, but another piece of him like all abilities are. Do not separate them in a conversation and act as if she's her own person. Abilities have shown to be able to act on their own and take over their user (Shibusawa, Fukuchi potentially, Gab from 55 Minutes), but that does not mean they have become their own being. They are still restricted by the humanity of their user and these cases only happen when the user is dead or is facing backlash against their own ability’s power.

Moving on, I need to talk about Asagiri and the way he chooses to frame Mori’s fondness for cute little girls because there is no way else to talk about these jokes and not sound like an ass unless I speak about it like this.

Now, Mori has not done anything in his actions to be pedophilic currently except these very vague “maybe, maybe not” jokes. No sexualization of Elise, no praying on Yosano, and especially nothing with Dazai???? Where did that come from???

Cases of these jokes in manga:

Ending of the guild arc where he says about how he only deals with young girls under 12 in repknss to Kouyou (do not bring up the dub, I will stare at you frowning for not acknowledging the fact that Dubs tend to be very off to fit the mouth flaps)

Fukuzawa commenting how he still has his dumb facination with cute girls

Omake (already talked about that)

The first example is where he responds to Kouyou’s words of sticking around to help and protect him in the organization. This is not a joke about sexual attraction, this is a questionable joke about her age as most media does about women at times. The “lolicon” -ness of it is still there of course, but please understand the point of it. The other implies she's flirting with him, and for him to make a joke that pokes at her for somehow flirting would be incorrect. To emphasize this, the manga chooses to translate this as “I only protect young girls”.

To explain the second example, we need to talk about the disconnect between us as an audience and Asagiri’s way of using Lolicon. On a trope basis, lolicon is when the creator presents a prepubescent-looking girl of varying “ages”, but still acts like a child and is continuously sexualized by the creator to cater to the male character’s gaze. Mori… is not written like that or is Elise for the matter like I brought up earlier, but then why does Asagiri joke about it even outside the text?

If you've ever been around this crowd in anime spaces, you would know one of the first things people say to explain it is not what I said. They’d say it's a trope about “cute little girls and fawning over them”, and then everything else is left for you to figure out. I have no idea what Asagiri actually thinks about this (probably pretty indifferent), but I'm baffled by his very surface-level take on Lolicon being presented into his own work.

This is one of those times where you have to think of Asagiri as another anime fan first rather than a creator in that space. Asagiri is just a guy who became internet famous briefly for his Touhou Cthulhu TRPG series and got signed into making his own nerdy manga about literature.

For Asagiri to narratively compare it to Fukuzawa’s love for cats, it's telling to me how this supposed “lolicon” joke is supposed to be seen. I don't think Asagiri would willingly put him in charge of an orphanage of all things and then expect us to actually think of him as a Pedo.

This has had me boggled for a while on what to think, but in the end, thinking of him as one would leave me more baffled than if he wasn't. Authorial intent can't always stop us from actually seeing what looks like, but on top of everything else… well? What am I supposed to think?

So no, I don't believe that he's a pedophile and I hope it stays that way. Sorry this took a bit to write, I needed to build some semblance of my thoughts without gaining a headache. I wish this fandom had a better discussion about him half the time and created their own opinions instead of falling back on “Oh he abused Dazai” or “that he's a nasty pedophile who should be locked up for his crimes”.

Lolicon and Pedophilia are interlocked when you speak about them, so it'd be wrong of me to completely disregard these ideas on Mori. I just thought we needed to have a better conversation on this than some accusations thrown around about who's correct. This topic deserves a bit more maturity and care than I've seen some talk about.

[follow-up-news]

Big Lots, the beleaguered discount retailer that previously warned it had “substantial doubt” about its survival, has filed for bankruptcy. As part of its Chapter 11 filing, the retailer announced that private equity firm Nexus Capital Management is acquiring “substantially all” of Big Lots stores and business operations. During the process, its locations and website will remain open for shopping. “The actions we are taking today will enable us to move forward with new owners who believe in our business and provide financial stability, while we optimize our operational footprint, accelerate improvement in our performance, and deliver on our promise to be the leader in extreme value,” said Big Lots CEO Bruce Thorn in a press release. Big Lots blamed several economic factors for its bankruptcy, including high inflation and interest rates. That has led customers to change their purchasing behavior. They’re seeking out value – but not necessarily lower costs. That’s why dollar stores have been struggling while sales at Walmart and Amazon have been booming. It’s also why McDonald’s has been struggling while casual chains like Applebee’s have been growing.

[moonshine999]

The Crows as Taylor Swift albums (pt.1)

because why would we have a sane method of characterisation

Kaz Brekker : Midnights 

♟️”And I wake up with your memory over me // That’s a real fucking legacy to leave” - Maroon 

♟️”Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism // Like some kind of congressman? (Tale as old as time) // I wake up screaming from dreaming // One day I’ll watch as you’re leaving and life will lose all its meaning” - Anti-hero 

♟️”And the touch of a hand lit the fuse  // Of a chain reaction of countermoves // To assess the equation of you // Checkmate, I couldn’t lose” - Mastermind

♟️”Do you wish you could still touch…her? // It’s just a question” - Question…? 

♟️”Uh oh, I’m falling in love // Oh no, I’m falling in love again // Oh, I falling in love” - Labyrinth 

♟️”Spider-boy, king of thieves // Weave your little webs of opacity// My pennies made your crown” - Karma 

♟️”Passing by unbeknownst to me // Life is emotionally abusive// And time can’t stop me quite like you did” - Snow on the Beach 

♟️”All that bloodshed, crimson clover // uh-uh, sweet dream was over // my hand was the one you reached for // All throughout the Great War // Always remember// Uh-uh tears on the letter // I vowed not to cry anymore // if we survived the Great War” - The Great War

♟️”I drew curtains closed, drank my poison all alone // You said I have to trust more freely // But diesel is desire, you were playing with fire” - The Great War

♟️”Every single thing I touch becomes sick with sadness // ‘Cause it’s all over now, all out to sea” - Bigger than the whole sky

♟️”If I was some paint, did it splatter // On a promising grown man? // And if I was a child, did it matter // If you got to wash your hands?”- Would’ve could’ve should’ve

♟️”And now that I’m grown, I’m scared of ghosts // Memories feel like weapons” - Would’ve could’ve should’ve

♟️”Dear reader // Burn all the files, desert all your past lives // And I’d you don’t recognise yourself // That means you did it right “ - Dear Reader

♟️”Dear reader // The greatest of luxuries is your secrets // Dear reader // When you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss” - Dear Reader

Inej Ghafa : Speak Now

🪷”Left yourself in your warpath // Lost your balance on a tightrope // Lost your mind tryin' to get it back” - Innocent  

🪷”Oh, who you are is not where you’ve been // you’re still an innocent” - Innocent

🪷”My mind forgets to remind me you're a bad idea // You touch me once and it's really something “- Sparks Fly 

🪷”Maybe this is wishful thinkin' // Probably mindless dreamin'” - Back To December 

🪷”Miscommunications lead to fall out // So many things that I wish you knew // So many walls up I can't break through” - The Story Of Us

🪷”The battle's in your hands now // But I would lay my armor down // If you'd say you'd rather love than fight “- The Story of Us 

🪷”But I never thought I'd live to see it break // It's getting dark and it's all too quiet // And I can't trust anything now” - Haunted 

🪷”but Sophistication isn't what you wear, or who you know” - Better Than Revenge 

🪷”The playful conversation starts // Counter all your quick remarks // Like passing notes in secrecy” - Enchanted 

🪷“same old tired, lonely place // walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy // vanished when I saw your face // All I can say is, it was enchanting to meet you” - Enchanted

🪷”The crowds in stands went wild // We were the kings and the queens// And they read off our names” - Long Live 

🪷”And the cynics were outraged // Screaming, "This is absurd" // ‘Cause for a moment // a band of thieves In ripped up jeans got to rule the world” - Long Live 

🪷”Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?” - Dear John 

🪷”Well maybe it’s me // And my blind optimism to blame // Or maybe it’s you and your sick need // to give love and then take it away” - Dear John

🪷”Memorise what it sounded like when your dad gets home // Remember the footsteps // Remember the words said // And all of your little brother’s favourite songs” - Never Grow Up

(Nina, Matthias, Jesper and Wylan are already posted)

[autumnstated]

Small Boat: Morality and the Migrant Crisis

Rating: 3.5 stars

Recommend: Yes

Are we all complicit in watching the "spectacle of suffering?"

Such is the question Vincent Delacroix raises in Small Boat, in which the desensitized narrator argues that the drowning of migrants on a small boat was the result of a long series of events that just happened to end with her negligence.

The police investigator and the media alike are quick to call the narrator "evil," and try to file away her actions as an independent anomaly stemming from personal trauma, rather than a manifestation of the corporate-instilled numbness instilled by her job—which seemingly would put all of humanity at blame for what happened, rather than just the narrator herself. 

However, the impact of this message is limited by Delacroix's failure to examine the role of individuals within larger immoral structural systems. He never goes into depth about what exactly causes the migrants to risk their lives on these small boats—or what causes them to have "sunk long before they sank" in the sea, as the narrator put it. At one point in defense of her actions, the narrator shallowly justifies herself by saying that most people do not care about "the war in Syria or the famine in Sudan," which could have been what Delacroix was considering. Part II of the book is entirely dedicated to the migrant perspectives, making it the optimal place to explain the factors that push migrants northward. And yet, rather than describing what life was like in their home countries, he focuses on vague racial descriptions of their appearances and recounts their panicked drowning. 

A potential reason why Delacroix does not deeply examine why migrants risk the journey could be because he wants to focus on how we react to suffering, rather than explore why it happens. Additionally, the vagueness of the portrayal of the migrants in Part II might be intentional, to reflect their erasure in the west, or to universalize migrant suffering in general.

However, the focus on the Western gaze is nothing new. And if Delacroix was going to come at this moral conversation from a Western perspective, why create a migrant perspective in Part II at all? Why add to the supposed suffering fantasy that the narrator calls the police investigator and the media out for having? Overall, while Delacroix's argument on the collective nature of individual moral failure is rooted in the negligence upheld by the systematic framework, his argument falls short because it lacks a dissection of what this structure consists of. To provide a few examples, the book would have benefitted from naming and describing historic colonial legacies, policy consequences, and economic exploitation. 

There are many broader themes and concepts from this book—banality of evil, empathy versus apathy, the definition of morality, and more. Although it falls short of examining the underlying systematic causes of the migrant crisis at the heart of the conflict, it's worth the read for its reflective messaging. 

[tellyreviews]

GHKKPM 25th March 2025 Written Update: Teju meets Neil

GHKKPM 25th March 2025 Written Update: Teju meets Neil. Today in Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Mein written update. the episode kicks off with Amol dialing an ambulance like it’s a speed-dial emergency hotline. Yash dramatically announces that Neil isn’t reacting — because what’s a daily soap without a little near-death suspense? Leena, in full melodrama mode, goes for the age-old “sprinkle water” technique, because apparently, medical science has yet to surpass the wonders of water therapy. Unsurprisingly, Neil stays unconscious, but the real twist? He’s mumbling sweet nothings about Tejaswi under the oh-so-secret nickname “Aparajita.” Smooth, Neil. Nothing screams ‘stealth’ like calling your ex by a pet name in front of the entire Pradhan family. Meanwhile, Vinod reports Neil’s 104-degree fever like it’s breaking news, and Satish brushes it off with the kind of optimism only a soap villain can muster. Why worry about a mere life-threatening fever when there’s an engagement on the line? Vinod, attempting to inject some logic, suggests postponing it. But Satish, being the king of misplaced priorities, insists the show must go on — Neil can just swap his fever for a flower garland. And when Vinod tries for a second time to explain the severity, Satish responds with the ever-classic, "But Omi will get stressed!" Because obviously, Omi’s blood pressure is the bigger crisis here. Back at Satish’s household, he dramatically declares the engagement is off. Lakshmi, as predictable as ever, blames Teju faster than you can say “scapegoat.” According to her, Teju and Neil’s city stroll caused all this, as if sightseeing suddenly comes with a medical disclaimer. Satish eagerly piles on the blame train, while Teju and Aditi roll their eyes in synchronized disbelief. Omi joins in the chaos, confirming the engagement will be shifted to the wedding day instead. Naturally, Satish isn’t satisfied and doubles down, accusing Mukta and Teju’s evil eye of striking Neil. At this rate, someone might actually suggest an exorcism. Prajakta finally introduces a sprinkle of sanity, suggesting that instead of running a blame marathon, Satish should maybe check on Neil. Satish agrees, but not without issuing a dramatic decree: Teju isn’t allowed to come along. Lakshmi gleefully predicts a showdown at the hospital — because why let an actual medical emergency ruin the family drama? Juhi, the perpetual peacemaker, begs for Teju’s inclusion, leading to Satish’s half-hearted surrender. Teju, Juhi, Aditi, and Satish arrive at the hospital, where Vinod sends Rituraj on a noble quest to fetch Neil’s medical file from home. In true soap fashion, Teju and Rituraj miss each other by a heartbeat — because coincidences are the backbone of prime-time drama. Satish, still laser-focused on his monologue practice, greets the Pradhans and resumes his "How's Neil?" routine. Vinod, somehow keeping a straight face, briefs him on Neil’s status. Inside Neil’s room, the melodrama escalates. Aditi wakes him up like a concerned guardian angel, while Teju asks Neil how he’s doing. Neil, now fully embodying his inner tragic hero, shoots back with, "Why does it matter to you?" Apparently, regaining consciousness isn’t reason enough to drop the unnecessary sass. Teju, because no self-respecting soap heroine backs down, retorts right back. GHKKPM 25th March 2025 Written Update Precap: Rituraj pops in like an uninvited party guest and smugly announces to Teju that her wish will be fulfilled — she will marry him. Teju, with the perfect soap queen flair, shuts him down, declaring she has bigger goals now — like taking care of her family and perfecting the art of dramatic comebacks. Buckle up, because this engagement saga is just getting warmed up. Read the full article

[here-there-were-dragons]

my mother is absolutely convinced she knows exactly how ai works to the point of being able to program one for me and that the only thing stopping her is "material costs" of maintaining the servers (this is the same woman who still doesn't understand the concept of serverside vs clientside storage and who i've had to repeatedly explain basic file moving to, to which she always gets mad and never absorbs anything), and is now continuously blaming literally every single tech problem she has in anything even remotely computer-related ever on "the ai bots weighing everything down" and goes on another identical rant about it literally every single time there's an issue.

internet slow? it's all the ai bots weighing it down. even on sites that explicitly forbid it.

connection blip? the ais did it.

glitch in an online game? ai scrapers must be damaging the servers by stealing out city of heroes chatlogs.

person online has an opinion she doesn't 100% agree with? either a "paid troll" or ai.

someone posts nonsensical comment? ai.

program crashes? ais did it.

program runs poorly? can't possibly be that it's horribly optimized, no, the internet ais did it.

minecraft glitched? ai.

discord slow to boot? it must be the ais engaging their scraping routines when it starts up.

files dissapear? stolen by ai.

lag in any capacity? ai.

paint dot net freezes? ai.

wordpad crashes? ai.

visual glitches that are clearly some sort of graphics card issue? ai.

all of these and more are actual examples that she has said multiple different times.

anyway now she's stomping around screaming and ranting about me and demanding my father kick me out of the house because i'm a deranged insane delusional ungrateful little whore that she sacrifices everything to provide for (somehow this "sacrifice" looks like sitting on her ass all day playing mmo's and dnd while my father does all the moneymaking and shopping and she screams at us to clean something whenever she gets annoyed or bored) again because of this.

[desktrack-time-tracking]

Optimizing Projects: How Time Tracking Tools Drive Efficiency and Accountability

Mastering project management now is a completely different thing as we are in a completely different scenario nowadays. Today, in the data-driven, technology-oriented, employee-centric, and fast-paced work world and environment, organizations can’t deny but accept multiple complex projects. This dawns on employees when it comes to simultaneously handling them. We need a solution, which can make project management simple again. How about using project time-tracking software? This will help simplify things and make workflows more efficient and productive. How? Let’s get right into it. 

An Overview of Project Time Tracking Software

Software for project time-tracking or in short project time-tracking software, helps track the time and progress of various tasks for each project with a plethora of features. 

For Whom?

The employees working in your organization.

Why?

Simplify handling of multiple and complex projects simultaneously.

How?

We suggest configuring the project time-tracking software as per your needs for the best results.

Are there any Benefits?

We can see higher project completion rates as one of the advantages.

Read More : Human Resource Management Software: The Complete Guide in 2024

Key Features of Project Time Tracking Software

With the above, we put the overview of project time-tracking software under wraps. Plus, we also mentioned that they have features. However, what are they? What do they do? How do they work? Let’s get right into it.

Project Time Tracking

It wouldn’t be called project time-tracking if it didn’t provide you with project time-tracking. Would it? This feature, which is the name of the game gives you a bird’s eye view of the time and progress of each task of your project individually. 

Task Management

Task management is a very useful feature of project time-tracking software, which we often use. Not only we can create as many tasks, subtasks, and checklists as required and individually track times but it also lets you know who is working on what.   

Alerts and Notifications

This is another useful feature of project time-tracking software, which we often use. What we do is create reminders for various essentialities including deadlines, timelines, visiting non-useful URLs, and suspicious user behavior.

Real-Time Activity Monitoring

Whether built-in or through integration with your desktop activity time-tracking software, this is another useful feature that gives you a bird’s eye view of the files, URLs, app usage, and work patterns of your employees. 

Behavior Analytics

Only tracking employee activity is not enough. You also need to identify unusual behaviors. Not to worry. For that, your software for project time-tracking provides you with real-time behavior analytics and reporting feature

How can Project Time Tracking Software Enhance Project Management?

With that, we put the features of project time-tracking software under wraps. However, are there any benefits of utilizing them? How can project time-tracking software enhance project management? Let’s get right into it.  

More Accountability

Utilizing the task management feature results in you ending up with employees who are more responsible and accountable. Since you have a clear idea of who is working on what, your employees can’t blame each other for incompetency.

Improved Efficiency

The time-tracking feature gives you employees who are more efficient at their work. Since they are not focusing on the clock ticking and concentrating more on the task at hand, they become more efficient at completing projects. 

Improved Time Management

The time-tracking feature also lets you have a clear idea of where your work-time is being utilized the most. This way, you can easily eliminate time-wasting activities. Overall, this also improves time management one way or the other.

Prevents Insider Threats

Thanks to real-time behavior analytics, reporting, and alerts, spotting insider threats is also simple. You can set up the software to send alerts on unusual user behavior, which will let you identify whether it’s an employee pain point or an insider threat. 

Higher Project Completion Rates

All of the above benefits lead to the ultimate advantage, which is higher project completion rates. Thanks to insider threats prevented, improved efficiency, better time management, and more accountability, your timely project completion rate with quality work increases. 

Conclusion 

Finally, we put our post for today’s topic under wraps. To summarize, project management these days is not as simple as it used to be before. Nowadays, the projects are more complex, plus there are simultaneously multiple projects to handle for your employees. So, we need a solution that can make it simple again. That solution is project time-tracking software. With its plethora of features including project time-tracking, task management, alerts and notifications, real-time activity monitoring, and behavior analytics, you get many benefits, all of which lead to better project management. Looking for the best productivity monitoring software? We recommend DeskTrack.  

[doesoctanevpnblocktorrentsites]

can tl-wdr4300 support vpn slow

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can tl-wdr4300 support vpn slow

TL-WDR4300 VPN compatibility

The TP-Link TL-WDR4300 is a popular wireless router known for its reliable performance and extensive range. For users looking to enhance their online privacy and security, VPN compatibility is a crucial feature to consider when selecting a router. Fortunately, the TL-WDR4300 offers robust VPN compatibility, making it a great choice for individuals seeking to establish a secure connection while browsing the internet.

With VPN support, users can easily configure their TL-WDR4300 router to work seamlessly with a VPN service, allowing them to encrypt their internet traffic and mask their IP address. This added layer of security is especially beneficial for those who frequently connect to public Wi-Fi networks or engage in online activities that require a high level of privacy, such as online banking or file sharing.

Setting up a VPN on the TL-WDR4300 is a relatively straightforward process, typically requiring users to access the router's settings and enter the VPN credentials provided by their service provider. Once configured, the router will automatically encrypt all internet traffic passing through it, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected from prying eyes and potential security threats.

In conclusion, the TL-WDR4300's VPN compatibility makes it an excellent choice for users looking to bolster their online security and privacy. By enabling VPN support on this router, individuals can enjoy a safe and secure browsing experience, knowing that their personal data is shielded from unauthorized access.

Slow VPN performance on TL-WDR4300

Title: Troubleshooting Slow VPN Performance on TL-WDR4300

Are you experiencing sluggish VPN performance on your TL-WDR4300 router? Slow VPN speeds can be frustrating, especially when you rely on a VPN for secure browsing, accessing geo-restricted content, or remote work. Fortunately, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to improve VPN performance on your TL-WDR4300.

Check Your Internet Connection: Before blaming the router, ensure that your internet connection is stable and running at its expected speed. Slow internet speeds can directly impact VPN performance.

Router Placement: The physical location of your router can significantly affect its performance. Place your TL-WDR4300 in a central location, away from obstructions and interference sources like microwaves and cordless phones.

Update Firmware: Outdated firmware can lead to compatibility issues and reduced performance. Check for firmware updates on the TP-Link website and install the latest version to ensure optimal router performance.

Choose the Right VPN Server: The distance between your VPN server and your physical location can impact speed. Connect to a server closer to your geographical location for faster VPN speeds.

Reduce Encryption Level: While strong encryption is crucial for security, higher encryption levels can slow down VPN performance. Consider lowering the encryption level in your VPN settings to see if it improves speed without compromising security.

Limit Concurrent Connections: Too many devices connected to your router can strain its resources and lead to slower VPN speeds. Limit the number of concurrent connections to prioritize VPN performance.

Restart Router and Devices: Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve connectivity issues and improve performance. Turn off your TL-WDR4300 router and all connected devices, then power them back on after a few minutes.

By following these troubleshooting steps, you can optimize VPN performance on your TL-WDR4300 router and enjoy faster, more reliable secure browsing experiences. If the issue persists, consider reaching out to TP-Link customer support for further assistance.

Troubleshooting VPN speed on TL-WDR4300

Title: Troubleshooting VPN Speed Issues on TL-WDR4300: A Comprehensive Guide

Are you experiencing sluggish VPN speeds while using your TL-WDR4300 router? Slow VPN connections can be frustrating, but fear not, as there are several steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially improve the speed of your virtual private network. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you get back to seamless browsing and streaming.

Check Your Internet Connection: Before diving into router settings, ensure that your internet connection is stable and performing well without the VPN. Slow speeds could be due to issues with your ISP or network congestion.

Restart Your Router: Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve connectivity issues. Power off your TL-WDR4300 router, wait a few seconds, and then power it back on.

Update Firmware: Outdated router firmware can lead to performance issues. Check for firmware updates on the manufacturer's website and install the latest version for your TL-WDR4300.

Optimize VPN Settings: Review your VPN settings and ensure that you're using the recommended protocol for speed. Switching to a different protocol like OpenVPN or IKEv2/IPSec may improve performance.

Adjust MTU Settings: Modify the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) size in your router's settings to optimize data packet transmission. Lowering the MTU can sometimes improve VPN speeds.

Change VPN Server: If you're connecting to a distant VPN server, try switching to a server closer to your location. This can reduce latency and improve overall speed.

Disable Background Apps: Background applications consuming bandwidth can impact VPN performance. Close unnecessary apps and services running in the background to free up bandwidth.

Contact VPN Provider: If you've tried all troubleshooting steps and still experience slow speeds, reach out to your VPN provider for assistance. They may have specific recommendations or server optimizations to improve performance.

By following these troubleshooting steps, you can potentially enhance the speed of your VPN connection on the TL-WDR4300 router, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable online experience.

Enhancing TL-WDR4300 VPN performance

Enhancing TL-WDR4300 VPN Performance: Tips and Tricks

The TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router is a popular choice for home and small business networks due to its affordability and reliability. However, when it comes to using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) with this router, users may sometimes experience performance issues such as slow speeds or dropped connections. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to enhance the VPN performance of your TL-WDR4300 router.

Firstly, ensure that your router's firmware is up to date. Manufacturers often release firmware updates that include performance improvements and bug fixes, so regularly checking for and installing updates can help optimize your router's performance.

Next, consider using a lightweight VPN protocol such as OpenVPN or WireGuard. These protocols are designed to minimize overhead and maximize throughput, which can lead to improved VPN performance on your TL-WDR4300 router.

Additionally, optimizing your router's settings can make a significant difference in VPN performance. Adjusting MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) settings, enabling hardware acceleration if available, and prioritizing VPN traffic in Quality of Service (QoS) settings can all help improve performance.

Furthermore, consider the location of your VPN server. Connecting to a server that is geographically closer to your physical location can reduce latency and improve overall VPN performance.

Another tip is to limit the number of devices connected to the VPN simultaneously. Each device connected to the VPN consumes bandwidth and processing power, so reducing the number of simultaneous connections can help improve performance for each individual device.

Finally, if none of the above steps yield satisfactory results, consider upgrading to a more powerful router that is better suited for VPN use. Investing in a router with a faster processor and more RAM can significantly enhance VPN performance and overall network stability.

By following these tips and tricks, you can optimize the VPN performance of your TP-Link TL-WDR4300 router and enjoy a smoother and more reliable VPN experience.

Optimizing VPN settings for TL-WDR4300

Title: Optimizing VPN Settings for TL-WDR4300 Router: A Comprehensive Guide

In the realm of cybersecurity and online privacy, virtual private networks (VPNs) play a pivotal role in safeguarding your digital footprint. However, to ensure optimal performance and security, it’s crucial to fine-tune the VPN settings on your TL-WDR4300 router. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you optimize your VPN configuration:

Firmware Update: Before diving into VPN settings, ensure your TL-WDR4300 router is running on the latest firmware version. Firmware updates often include security patches and performance enhancements, which are essential for seamless VPN functionality.

VPN Protocol Selection: TL-WDR4300 routers typically support various VPN protocols such as OpenVPN, PPTP, and L2TP/IPsec. While OpenVPN is renowned for its security and flexibility, PPTP offers faster speeds but may lack robust encryption. Evaluate your priorities—whether it's speed or security—and choose the appropriate protocol accordingly.

Server Selection: The location and quality of VPN servers significantly impact your browsing experience. Opt for servers that are geographically closer to your physical location to minimize latency and ensure faster connection speeds. Additionally, prioritize servers operated by reputable VPN providers known for their reliability and security measures.

MTU Adjustment: Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) refers to the maximum size of data packets transmitted over a network. For optimal VPN performance, consider adjusting the MTU settings on your TL-WDR4300 router. Experiment with different MTU values to find the ideal balance between speed and stability.

Port Forwarding: Some VPN protocols require specific ports to be forwarded for uninterrupted connectivity. Refer to your VPN provider’s documentation to identify the required ports and configure port forwarding settings on your TL-WDR4300 router accordingly.

DNS Configuration: To enhance privacy and bypass potential DNS leaks, consider configuring custom DNS settings on your router. Use reputable DNS servers such as Google DNS or OpenDNS to ensure secure and reliable DNS resolution.

By following these steps and fine-tuning the VPN settings on your TL-WDR4300 router, you can optimize your online security and privacy while enjoying seamless browsing experiences. Remember to periodically review and update your VPN configuration to adapt to evolving threats and technological advancements.

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VPN connection troubleshooting on Android

A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a technology that enhances your online privacy and security by creating a secure connection to another network over the internet. VPNs are commonly used on Android devices to protect sensitive data and bypass geo-blocking restrictions. However, sometimes you may encounter issues with your VPN connection on Android. Here are some troubleshooting steps to resolve common VPN problems:

Check your internet connection: Ensure that you have a stable internet connection before attempting to connect to your VPN. If your internet is unreliable, the VPN connection may fail.

Restart your device: Sometimes, a simple device reboot can fix connectivity issues with your VPN. Restart your Android device and try connecting to the VPN again.

Update your VPN app: Outdated VPN apps may cause compatibility issues with your device's operating system. Check for updates in the Google Play Store and install the latest version of your VPN app.

Clear app cache and data: If your VPN app is still malfunctioning, try clearing the app's cache and data. This step can resolve corrupted files that may be causing the connection problem.

Change VPN server location: If you are unable to connect to a specific server, try switching to a different server location within your VPN app. Sometimes, server congestion or maintenance can affect connectivity.

By following these troubleshooting tips, you can resolve common VPN connection issues on your Android device and enjoy a secure and private internet browsing experience. Remember to contact your VPN provider's customer support if problems persist for further assistance.

Internet access issues on Android without VPN

Title: Addressing Internet Access Issues on Android Without VPN

In an era dominated by digital connectivity, encountering internet access issues on Android devices can be a frustrating experience. While Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are often touted as a solution, many users may not fully understand their functionality or may prefer not to use them for various reasons. So, what can you do when facing connectivity challenges without resorting to a VPN?

Firstly, it's essential to diagnose the root cause of the problem. Poor network coverage, router issues, or ISP-related problems could be to blame. Begin by troubleshooting these common culprits before considering VPN alternatives.

Next, delve into your Android device's settings to ensure everything is configured correctly. Check Wi-Fi settings, mobile data settings, and any network-specific configurations that may impact your connectivity. Sometimes, a simple adjustment or reset can resolve the issue without the need for additional tools like VPNs.

Another strategy is to explore alternative browsers or apps designed to optimize internet connections on Android. These applications often employ advanced algorithms to enhance browsing speeds and stabilize connections, offering a viable alternative to VPNs for users wary of privacy concerns or performance drawbacks.

Additionally, keeping your Android device's software up to date is crucial. Manufacturers regularly release updates that address bugs, security vulnerabilities, and performance optimizations, which can indirectly improve internet connectivity issues.

In conclusion, while VPNs remain a popular choice for circumventing internet access problems on Android, they're not the only solution. By troubleshooting network issues, optimizing device settings, exploring alternative apps, and staying updated, users can overcome connectivity challenges without relying on VPNs. With a bit of patience and know-how, smooth and uninterrupted internet access on Android devices is within reach.

VPN setup problems on Android device

Setting up a VPN on an Android device is a reliable way to enhance online privacy and security; however, errors during the setup process are not uncommon. If you're facing VPN setup problems on your Android device, several troubleshooting steps can help you resolve the issue.

Firstly, ensure that you have downloaded a reputable VPN application from the Google Play Store. Sometimes, using a VPN from an untrusted source can lead to compatibility issues with your device.

Secondly, check your internet connection. A stable and strong internet connection is crucial for the VPN to work correctly. If you are experiencing connectivity issues, try switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data to see if the problem persists.

Another common problem is incorrect login credentials. Double-check your username and password to ensure they are entered correctly. Additionally, verify that the VPN server settings are accurate.

If the VPN connection still fails, try restarting your Android device. Rebooting can help resolve temporary glitches that may be affecting the VPN setup.

If none of the above solutions work, consider reaching out to the VPN provider's customer support for further assistance. They can provide specific troubleshooting steps based on the VPN service you are using.

In conclusion, encountering VPN setup problems on an Android device is a common issue that can be resolved with the right approach. By following these troubleshooting tips, you can get your VPN up and running smoothly to enjoy a secure internet browsing experience.

Android VPN connectivity errors

Title: Troubleshooting Common Android VPN Connectivity Errors

Are you encountering issues while trying to connect to a VPN on your Android device? VPN connectivity errors can be frustrating, but they are often fixable with some simple troubleshooting steps. Here are some common problems you might encounter and how to resolve them:

Authentication Failures: If you're seeing authentication errors when trying to connect to your VPN, double-check your login credentials. Ensure that you're using the correct username and password provided by your VPN service. Also, verify that your subscription is active and hasn't expired.

Connection Timeouts: If your VPN connection is timing out, try switching to a different server location. Sometimes, certain servers may be experiencing high traffic or technical issues. Experiment with different server options provided by your VPN service to see if that resolves the problem.

Network Errors: Poor network connectivity can also cause VPN connection issues. Make sure you have a stable internet connection by switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data or trying a different network altogether. Additionally, restart your router or modem to refresh the connection.

VPN App Crashes: If your VPN app keeps crashing when you try to connect, try updating the app to the latest version from the Google Play Store. If the issue persists, clear the app cache or reinstall the app to fix any potential software glitches.

Firewall or Antivirus Interference: Sometimes, firewall or antivirus software installed on your device may block VPN connections. Temporarily disable these programs and try connecting to the VPN again to see if they're the cause of the problem.

By following these troubleshooting steps, you should be able to resolve most Android VPN connectivity errors. If you continue to experience issues, reach out to your VPN provider's customer support for further assistance. With persistence and patience, you'll soon be able to enjoy a secure and stable VPN connection on your Android device.

Resolving VPN connectivity problems on Android

Title: Troubleshooting Guide: How to Resolve VPN Connectivity Problems on Android

In today's digital age, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have become essential tools for safeguarding online privacy and security. However, like any technology, VPNs on Android devices can encounter connectivity issues, causing frustration and hindering user experience. Below are some common problems and effective solutions to resolve VPN connectivity issues on Android:

Check Network Connection: Begin by ensuring that your Android device has a stable internet connection. Switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data to see if the issue persists.

Restart VPN Service: Sometimes, the VPN service itself may encounter glitches. Restarting the VPN app or service can often resolve minor connectivity issues.

Update VPN App: Outdated VPN apps may not be compatible with the latest Android system updates, leading to connectivity problems. Update your VPN app to the latest version available on the Google Play Store.

Clear App Cache and Data: Accumulated cache and data within the VPN app can cause performance issues. Go to your device's settings, navigate to the Apps section, select the VPN app, and clear its cache and data.

Check VPN Settings: Review the VPN settings to ensure they are configured correctly. Verify that the server address, username, and password are accurate.

Try Different VPN Servers: Overloaded or malfunctioning VPN servers can cause connectivity problems. Experiment with connecting to different servers offered by your VPN provider.

Disable Battery Optimization: Android's battery optimization feature may restrict VPN activity in the background, leading to disconnections. Disable battery optimization for the VPN app in your device settings.

Update Android OS: Ensure that your Android device is running the latest operating system version. System updates often include bug fixes and performance enhancements that can address VPN connectivity issues.

By following these troubleshooting steps, users can effectively resolve VPN connectivity problems on their Android devices, ensuring a seamless and secure online experience. Remember to contact your VPN provider's customer support if the issue persists or for further assistance.