#even then there probably won’t be nearly as many people online

[ancestral-steppe]

pokemon sun and moon - festival plaza artwork

[blainesebastian]

normal

words: 3,036 ship: austin butler x reader summary: (anon request) “Lunch date” Austin X reader go out to lunch but on the way back home the paparazzi get to out of hand. notes: as mentioned, i’ll be heading to disney for the next few days :) will post something when i’m back! still working on a handful of requests as well. thank you for reading!!  warnings: none tag list: @killerqueenfan, @karamelcoveredolicity, @elizabethrosecresswell, @gigisworldsstuff, 

Being an actress for a handful of years, you know that pretty much everything you do will fall into the public eye at some point. It doesn’t matter what it is, even if it’s something as mundane as grocery shopping, someone is always up in your business. And that can be frustrating, sure, just wanting privacy, just wanting to feel ‘normal’ doing ‘normal’ things but…at the same time, you kinda have these check-ins with yourself that nothing you ever do anymore will be considered normal. It just won’t. You kinda signed up for this life, this chaos, this wanting to be in the center of people’s attention and under a microscope.

It's not always the easiest pill to swallow? But you do understand what it means to accept it.

You wonder sometimes if Austin has the right idea in distancing himself from certain things, social media mostly. While he has an Instagram, for example, he’s not on it very much. More for promotional material than anything else—being posted on other people’s stories or posts for the most part instead. You know that firsthand since it’s nearly impossible for you to keep him off your Instastory. Experiencing your life through posts and small videos has always been a thing for you and Austin gets roped into that, since he is very much a part of your life now.

And besides…sometimes you can’t help but get a small thrill that you can call him yours. Someone as attractive, successful and wonderful as Austin is. You definitely enjoy putting that out into the world, even though you make sure you’re not greedy with it. It’s not about rubbing people’s faces in it or somehow advertising your boyfriend.

But there’s a softness between you two, an intimacy, the way Austin is with you…you like sharing that. You feel downright lucky that he’s in your life.

Regardless, you’ve been thinking about the fact that Austin doesn’t interact nearly at all with fans through social media. In person when someone comes up to him or he’s at an event with fans, it’s like he exudes a bloom of warmth to anyone he speaks to, signs things for, takes the time to pose for selfies or listen to people’s stories. It’s something you can’t quite put into words no matter how many times you observe it or experience it.

You know that’s something he probably had to get used to with the explosion of Elvis, the fact that he couldn’t be as private as he maybe was before. In terms of your relationship? That doesn’t bother you. Most of the time you don’t mind the feeling of chaos, of the swarm of people asking questions or sometimes getting a bit too close, figuratively speaking. Austin however? He likes that distance, that barrier, that feeling of putting a wall up if he wanted to. Especially when it comes to your relationship.

It's not that he’s overly possessive or doesn’t think you can handle things yourself, but he thinks about that stuff, about making sure it doesn’t cross the line into ‘too much’. Sometimes you don’t know how to do that, to draw a line in the sand and make sure people don’t cross over it—whether it’s online or in person. Austin’s protective when he needs to be and that helps you feel grounded. A good reminder that while you, for the most part, like sharing parts of your life with fans, that it’s okay to create distance too.

It usually helps the most around paps, who sometimes do not understand the concept of personal space. Literally. Offhanded times they can be a bit overwhelming—you’ve had a camera shoved into your face more moments than you’d like to count. On good days? It doesn’t bother you. On bad days? Just one of those things you have to get used to.

It’s a lazy Sunday, your favorite type of day, for once you and Austin actually have time off together that’s not running to interviews, touching base with agents or just crossing paths as you work on different projects. You’re really trying not to bank on this whole normal thing but it’s been the easiest Sunday that you’ve had in a long time.

You both ended up waking up earlier than expected without alarms and laid in bed for a while, soaking one another in, molding under the covers, making plans and kissing in-between. It was decided that you were going to have brunch and then visit a farmer’s market near your apartment before heading back home and maybe baking something. The day was open, yours to change or shift or stay the same.

And because you automatically assume that you’re both going to get recognized when you leave the apartment, it’s unexpected and wonderful when it doesn’t happen. Then again, it’s kinda like waiting for the other shoe to drop, nearly holding your breath as you wait it out.

It’s almost astounding to you that you’ve made it through the whole brunch and not one person has come up to the table. Even the waitress had an air of obliviousness to her. Seems nearly too good to be true but you find yourself reveling in it as Austin pushes the diner door open for you both to walk through. His arm winds its way around your shoulders, drawing you close until you look up at him.

Once you do, he steals a soft kiss to your lips. It’s incredibly unfair how easily he makes your knees weak. A soft hum leaves your chest, taking in a breath of the crisp air—it’s a perfect Autumn day. Not too cold, the sun warm, completely comfortable for walking around. Your eyes trail over the soft cream-colored sweater Austin has on, the dirty blonde tone of his curls beautifully coifed as if the bedhead look is on purpose.

“Alright but you’re not actually sayin’ you’d forgo waffles,” Austin says slowly, shaking his head, “Like forever?”

A gentle laugh of amusement, “I’m saying if there was ever a time I had to pick? I would. Waffles always sound like a better idea but it’s possible to get butter in all the squares.”

Austin scoffs dramatically, “I have no idea who I’m datin’ right now.”

You grin, “Someone who clearly has breakfast priorities.”

Of course, that’s not even touching on the difference in your opinion when it comes to the hand-holding labels that go by the same names. Waffles for lacing fingers and pancakes for cupping hands palm to palm, almost as if you were wearing mittens. You’re definitely waffles on that debate.

You both pause at a crosswalk and Austin’s arm slips from your shoulders to around your waist. You turn a bit into him, hand playing with the fabric of his sweater along his chest, thoughts wandering to what they might have at the farmer’s market. When you look up at his face, you can tell he wants to say something but isn’t sure how to get the words across. A soft sigh leaves your lips, unfortunately you already know the question before he says anything.

“Did you call your mom back?”

You try not to bristle even though it’s nearly impossible not to. Austin’s coming from a good place with checking in, you know that, but it does nothing to alleviate the feelings of frustration and disappointment from wrapping around you like tendrils. There are so many factors at play here motivating your boyfriend, the fact that he attempts to soothe your arduous relationship with your mother because he’s lost his far too young, the fact that holidays are usually stressful and Thanksgiving is coming up, and because he cares about you—he doesn’t want you to make decisions you’ll regret.

Even though your mother is the one with the problem.

“I don’t really know what I’m supposed to say to her,” You mumble, crossing the street with him as the light turns, “She was pretty clear the last time we spoke that she wanted nothing to do with me.”

Austin winces a little in empathy before squeezing you around your waist, “You know she didn’t mean it like that.”

And then you stop walking, turning to look at him right before you reach the market because, “It doesn’t matter.” You know he’s trying to help but he’s got to see how much it bothers you, right?

You come from a mom-and-pop shop town and she owns a flower shop that's been a business in your family's name for so many generations. Of course when you were younger, your parents thought you might take it over, continue the family line in the small town in which you were born because that was the tradition. But you had bigger dreams, you wanted more than what was offered—one thing led to another, a domino effect of disappointment of you leaving town for college, for acting school, for Los Angeles and New York and big breaks. Your career has been surprisingly successful and it humbles you, you know how lucky you are. And while your dad is hesitantly supportive, your mother considers starring in movies frivolous and a waste of your talents.

Talents, apparently, that should be concentrated towards making flower bundles.

“It hurts just the same,” You say after a moment and Austin holds your gaze, nodding gently.

He reaches to cup your cheek, running his thumb along your jawline before wrapping his fingers around the back of your neck. You feel him tug you towards him and you take one step into his arms. Letting out a soft sigh, you allow your eyes to close for a few moments, his fingers brushing through your hair and over your shoulders. The fabric of his sweater is comforting against the skin of your cheek, nose pressing against his shoulder, breathing him in.

“I need you on my side with this,” Your voice is slightly muffled against him and he quickly shakes his head, drawing back a fraction to look down at you.

“I am on your side,” He assures, “Always—” And you believe him, “I didn’t mean to press.”

A small smile tugs at the corners of your mouth because you know he didn’t, that he’s coming from a good place, because he cares about you and doesn’t want any drama festering but…there’s no quick band-aid for that. And holidays? Sure, they’ll be a little tender but…that’s the new normal that you’re getting used to.

You feel like you can tackle it though with Austin by your side.

Pulling back a little, you lean up on your toes and press a kiss to his lips—short and sweet, which makes him smile. “What if I said I wanted a pumpkin at this farmer’s market? Would you say no?”

He laughs lightly, curling your hair around your ear, “I’d ask you if you were gonna be the one to carry it home but I already know the answer.”

You smile, shrugging your shoulders. “I’ll be carrying all the little baby ones I buy—you know, the mini orange ones? Maybe they’ll have white ones too! And gourds.”

There’s an eyeroll there but it’s affectionate, warm, “Whatever you want.”

Turning to walk towards the farmer’s market that’s lined up in tents along a park, there’s a moment where you hear a camera shutter but don’t quite put two and two together. It’s something you’re not completely used to yet, how fast it can happen, but you can feel rather than see Austin’s body tense up beside you.

One or two professional cameras at a distance wouldn’t be that big of a deal but you can already tell this is different. You’re not sure what it is about paparazzi sometimes and operating in packs but all of a sudden at the corner of the street you’re on there’s a swarm of six or seven cameras pointed in your direction. They’re at a distance, for now, but they kinda operate like magnets. They move when you do, nearly parallel.

“Austin can you look over here!”

You can tell Austin does his best not to look automatically annoyed—he’s not even wearing a ballcap or sunglasses as he sometimes does when you two go out. Those few extra layers of security. It’s sometimes difficult not to feel frustrated, this is the unknown part you kinda sign up for when you become a celebrity, thrust into the public eye. At the same time? There’s no reason not to be polite. These guys are very much trying to get into the middle of your day.

“Austin just a few minutes about your upcoming film?”

And those are actually worse, the paps with the video cameras, the ones trying to capture a few questions as if it’ll make or break a career when in actuality they just want to be able to sell it.

Austin puts his hand up, “Not right now guys—just tryin’ to have a day out with my girlfriend.”

You glance over across the street to a subway entrance and wonder if that might be a good escape for right now. Seems utterly ridiculous to be running away from paps, like some sort of messed up version of a movie that doesn’t have a lot to offer plot wise but…you could pop up on the other side of the market? Maybe create enough distance.

Your hand slips down to find Austin’s, gently squeezing his fingers. When he looks down at you, your eyes motion towards the subway without saying anything. He nods, about to turn their direction, when one of the paps starts talking to you—seemingly because Austin is giving them nothing to work with.

“What about you, Y/N, can we get a nice smile?”

And that bothers you more than anything else, how original, men telling you to smile. You attempt to keep comments to yourself, biting down on the inside of your cheek. Austin’s arm winds around your waist, his hand on your lower back to encourage you to step in front of him, his body acting almost like a shield as you both make a beeline for the subway entrance.

There’s a moment where you have to pause for a bus to pass before you can cross and one of the paps reaches out to grab at your arm, he’s not exactly gentle either, “Y/N let me ask one question while you’re here.”

Pulling your arm free, you’re about to tell this guy where he can shove his question but Austin is already there, knocking this guy’s camera right out of his hand. It doesn’t fall to the ground and break, the strap on the man’s arm saves it, but the feeling behind the motion is more than obvious,

“Don’t put your hands on her,” He snaps, “I don’t care what you want to ask me or whether you’re in my face or not but we’re not doin’ that.”

There’s a short breath that leaves his lips and you get how challenging it is—to have to deal with this on a day that was supposed to be shared with zero obligations and the reality that this is gonna happen. That paps especially will find a way to be in your business. His words are firm but his tone is slightly lighter when he speaks again,

“Sorry about your camera man but you gotta understand, right?” Austin says and the guy seems to nod but he’s definitely backed off more than before. He actually looks…apologetic? Some celebrities probably haven’t been so patient, “There’s no reason to grab at her.”

When the street is clear, both of you move quickly and luckily it doesn’t seem like the paps are going to follow. But just to make sure, disappearing into the subway and coming up on the other side should give you and Austin enough space that they won’t linger. Letting out a soft sigh, you pause at the bottom of the steps, before taking your phone out to enter the turnstile.

Grabbing Austin’s hand again, both of you move through the subway station, taking your time to wander towards the other side. Glancing up at him, you can see that there’s still a harsh line along his shoulders, annoyance still lingering on his mouth, settled in his blue eyes. Chewing on your lower lip, you let him have these moments to collect himself, walking up the steps when you reach them and exiting on the other side.

You glance over your shoulder, hesitating for a moment and almost hold your breath but it seems like it’s clear. Your Sunday is restored.

Looking up at your boyfriend, you reach for his hands and give them a gentle squeeze. Before you can say anything, Austin lets out a long breath through his nose, “Sorry—I know you can handle yourself but…” He trails off, shaking his head.

He really doesn’t have to explain, “I can,” You agree, “But I like when you stick up for me.” And you’re not just saying that, it means something to you to have him in your corner. Protective but never in a way that’s overbearing.

Humming softly, he reaches out to play with a strand of your hair near your cheek before he tucks it behind your ear. You feel your eyes close when he leans down to plant a kiss to your forehead, his lips lingering on your skin for a few moments.

“Come on,” You motion towards the farmer’s market with a soft head tilt—you’re not gonna let any part of your day shift from an offhanded pap interaction. “You’re not gettin’ out of this pumpkin thing.”

Austin lets out a short breath, his eyes rolling towards the sky as you tug him forward towards the market, “Never even crossed my mind.”

Before you can get too far, he squeezes your hand and tugs you back against his chest, his arm wrapping around your waist. A soft laugh flutters from your chest, head resting against his shoulder as you look up at him. He dips his chin down to press another kiss to your cheek, affection warm and rolling off of him in waves.

Definitely not a bad Sunday.

[b1adie]

Oh my bad I should've elaborated! What I meant exactly was that it seems REALLY buggy/glitch-y and a lot of people online are complaining about it and that the EN voiceovers are bad is another popular complaint rn

Is that true? In your experience at least :0

OHHHH okay well here are my thoughts

well i don’t seem to be getting nearly as many crashes/disconnections as i’ve seen people complain about (it’s never crashed for me, but it occasionally will say “reconnecting” for a few seconds). kind of glitchy, but not in a way that really effects anything too badly. like 90% of the time you can just run straight up a wall, which honestly? hope they never patch that, i love it. also you don’t take fall damage which rocks. leave that.

the en voices though,, yeah, they’re not great. really flat and peculiar imo. like you can tell they’re reading off a script and it sounds like it’s the first time they’ve ever read it. not much of an issue for me since i rarely play games with sound on, but it is kind of disappointing (and sometimes irritating…)

they’re also just throwing a bunch of words at me all the time and its so much of a lore dump that i didnt even bother trying to keep up and just started skipping cutscenes LMAO like yeah i’d like to know more but i dont know half the shit they’re saying to me and they’re not making me interested enough to find out. i was only playing the main story for the xp and shit but i got to a point in it where it was like “you have to increase your level more before you can continue” so ive just been running around exploring and fighting shit. which! is mostly what i like doing, anyway. i like to pick flowers and kick the shit out of monsters

i’ve been having fun but i am disappointed with the story and the voiceovers. like, they really just start throwing so many words at you and dont give you a second to catch up… i LOVE video game lore, but they didnt even let me get a slight grip of the world before saying a bunch of new shit to me, so i lost interest in trying to figure out what anyone was talking about.

but! like i said, i just love running around. i’m a big fan of open world games and exploration. if you knew anything about the story/characters and were interested in those you probably won’t be too happy.

OH BUT YOU KNOW WHAT PISSES ME OFF?? they make you click the scroll wheel of the mouse to lock on to enemies, if you don’t click it you don’t auto target enemies and just kinda fire at whatever. I DONT HAVE A MOUSE I PLAY WITH A TRACKPAD!!! so i had a harder time starting off but now i’m really good at rotating my camera fast as fuck. still, super annoying that they won’t even let me change the key input for it in settings…

[north-blue-hearts]

Famous Last Words

CisFem Reader x Trafalgar Law

CW: Violence, swearing, mature themes, erotic romance, angst, creative use of devil fruits, this story is still in progress, I will add content warnings as needed.

Chapter 3: SING

Shopping with Nami and Vivi had been the experience you expected. You went to so many shops that by the end of it you were exhausted and grateful that you had another day to recover before you’d have to go back to work. Nami was giving Vivi a piggy back ride back to the car, while you pushed a hand cart with entirely too many bags on it.

Eighty percent of it was Nami’s, the other 20% was split fairly evenly between you and Vivi. As much as Nami haggled for herself, she had haggled for both of you – though most of her haggling was finding sales and coupon codes online and having the cashier put them in. Both Nami and the cashier seemed unbothered – “If it’s not valid, the computer won’t take it” was apparently the common belief.

Still, somehow, it almost felt like stealing, with how effortlessly Nami went about it.

Your outfit was more for comfort than much of anything else. You had a stone blue, thin turtle neck to go under a slightly oversized black t-shirt with the band’s logo on it. The gold of the stylized smiling “germ” went well with the blue.  Short black shorts with striped opaque tights went down into a pair of knee-high blue converse shoes.

Comfortable, and within the requirements of an emo concert’s unspoken dress code.

The next two weeks went by easily enough. You hung out with your friends when time allowed, and made it through your job. Nami and Vivi both offered to do your makeup for the concert, but you turned them down politely.

Before you knew it, it was a few hours before the concert and you were hanging out at Franky’s shop, eating a veritable feast thanks to Sanji.  

“Alright!” Nami claps her hands together to get most everyone’s attention. “Buddy system is in effect tonight. Me and Vivi, Sanji and Luffy, Zoro and Dia.” She declares. “We’ve got floor seats before we go backstage, and it can get a little wild on the floor. Sanji your job is to keep Luffy from fighting.”

Nami leans over and grabs Luffy’s cheek, stretching it out and snapping it into place enough to rattle his head. “Luffy! No fighting.” She yells at him.

You remember the first time you saw Luffy stretch your eyes nearly fell out of your head. Devil Fruits were a thing, certainly, but they were rare, and more than that – most people who consumed a fruit didn’t talk about it. They didn’t show their powers off unless it was necessary, or they trusted the people they were dealing with.

A few people were famous for their abilities, but most of those people were marines. Your serial killer was infamous for his devil fruit ability – long before you ever saw his face.

As it was, you knew Luffy had consumed a fruit, and so had one of his brothers. He talked about Ace and Sabo more than he did Uta, but you hadn’t yet met any of them. You didn’t expect to, either. Ace was in the Grand Line, and no one was really sure where Sabo was. Uta did a lot of tours, and well, she was Uta – probably the most popular pop star in the world right now.

Her music wasn’t bad, it was really good, but not what you generally listened to.

“Zoro’s going to be Dia’s bodyguard.” Nami adds, looking over at you as you tilt your head.

“Figuratively?” You question, knowing he was literally a bodyguard by profession.

“Literally.” Zoro answers, arms crossed.

Your jaw drops and Robin closes it gently. “We all chipped in a bit,” she states evenly, that infuriatingly knowing smile on her face. “You can’t just get mad at Nami.”

You put your head in your hands. “You’re all too much.”

“This way you can enjoy the concert.” Nami declares. “Zoro will keep away anyone you want.”

“If it gets to be too much he can even guide you out of the venue.” Vivi adds, reaching out and putting a hand on your shoulder. “I know it’s been a while since you’ve gone out, and you said before that the prospect makes you nervous. I hope we’re forgiven?”

“… you are.” You admit with a smile, and sigh, wiping away an errant tear as you take in a deep breath to calm yourself. “You all are too kind. Thank you.”

“Suuuuper!” Franky yells, putting his hands up over his head. “Let’s get you all loaded up in the General and start heading that way then.”

“Eh? You’re driving? I though there were only -.”

Robin holds up a couple tickets and smiles. “We’re planning on tailgating outside the venue, but we were provided tickets just in case.”

After everyone ate a little more you all loaded up into what Franky lovingly called The General. It was a modified hearse – extended a little more than the common variety, with the roof lifted as well. It was almost like a high-top stretch limo, but not quite as long or tall. The interior was practically elegant, handmade leather seats, a snack bar, a mini bar, and a tv screen set into the back of the front seats.

The front cab had enough space for four people, though generally it was just Franky and Robin up there. There was impressive trunk space as well, and Franky loaded up a mini grill and a few coolers of food and drinks before you all headed toward the concert venue.

Franky and Robin hooked everyone up with a little bit more to eat before they waved you off toward the venue. You filed in with the massive throng of people that had already started arriving, making your way to your designated area.

As packed as the place was, you noticed that once people turned to look at Zoro they took a step back. All of them. Fishmen, Humans, Minks – he wasn’t even bumping into anyone. You were reminded of Nami always saying he had an aura of intimidation. It was certainly useful now.

You were far enough back from the front of the stage to be able to see it easily without craning your neck, and close enough to be able to see all the details of the stage. A little closer and you’d almost be tempted to push the last few feet and try and reach across the fencing they had set up to keep people back.

A giant screen was along the back of the stage, a drum set raised up from the stage a little, and all the equipment needed by the band was set up. You could already feel yourself getting excited by the prospect of the concert, just from what little you could see.

Once everyone – or most everyone – was in, the lights in the arena were cut. The darkness sparked a few gasps and concerns, and Zoro put a hand on your shoulder as you stepped toward him a little. His grip was relaxed, it was just enough for him to be sure he wouldn’t lose you in the dark. You understood he had been paid to keep you safe, but you were pretty sure he was the kind of friend who would’ve been doing the same thing, money or no.

Despite the darkness and the fever pitch of screams from the crowd, there was still more room around you and Zoro than you had expected was possible.

The large screen at the back of the stage came to life, the darkness projected on it, just a little less dark than the venue was, and your breath caught in your throat.

A pair of hands came up to the screen, like they were reaching from the depths of the ocean, pressing against water they couldn’t push past. Golden eyes shimmered and glinted in the depths, shining bright from a formless face.

The visual made your heart wrench in your chest. You hadn’t thought much about the dream since you had it, but the similarities were almost unsettling. The fans’ screams became even louder as the tour name floated over the image.

The hands changed their position, forming the shape of a heart as World came into view above the hands, and Infection bubbled up to the surface beneath them. The screen “burned” out, as though the film itself had been melted away, causing the giant screen to flood the venue in bright white light for a moment.

Zoro squinted, and you had to look away, as did most of the crowd. Some people were still screaming and cheering even as the band came out onto the stage. You imagined most of the people screaming around you were going to be hoarse for weeks after the concert was done.

Especially if they kept screaming through all the songs.

A spotlight lit up and two masked men pushed a gurney out onto the stage, with someone under the sheet. It was likely the lead singer, and given the deafening volume of the crowd, you were certain everyone else knew too.

A steady beep like a heart monitor begins to play, with the drummer joining the pace shortly after. The crowd begins to quiet comparatively, and the sheet over the gurney is moved aside as the “corpse” underneath begins to sing.

Now, come one, come all to this tragic affair.

The voice drifts through the air, managing to beat out the frantic crowd who has abandoned their earlier momentary calm.

Wipe off that makeup, what’s in is despair.

The lead singer sits up, turning away from the crowd as he rolls off the gurney, never missing a beat in the song he’s singing. He turns toward the audience as he continues to sing, but you can’t really hear the words anymore.

“You just know.” Nami’s voice bubbles up in your mind for a moment.

You can’t hear the screaming either. The whole arena is gone, fallen away from any manner of concern you might have for it. There’s no stage.

It’s just a wide, endless ocean. Glass flat, stretching for miles, with a wide bright blue sky overhead and a few wisps of clouds. Like a dream. Just like that dream. Only there’s no formless creature beneath the waves, no warm hand just out of reach.

Your eyes are locked on him, and for a few impossibly long seconds nothing else matters.

Just you.

And him.

Statistics be damned.

[realcatalina]

Catherine Parr's depiction-Part 2: miniatures

-Those you knew and those you didn’t think was her. Until now.

According to Philip Mould, Catherine’s own records show that up 7 miniatures were done by John Bettes the Elder alone! None have been atributed to him this far.

Plus she employed 3 female miniaturists! ...There is bound to be many miniatures of her! Problem is, which?

There are many miniatures which people tend to label as Catherine Parr. However in just one case it is both identified as her and we are certain it is her because of the jewelry and features-the miniature bellow.

First miniature: formerly in the collection of Horace Walpole and now located at Sudeley Castle:

(No idea why I can't find it in HD online.)

Some say it is by Lucas Horenbout, idk tbh(with miniaturist it is much harder to tell, because you can do fewer tests), but importantly this time the backrgound is in such good state I’d say it is intact. So likelihood of age being correct is pretty good. XXXII=32 years of age. So c.1544, because her birthyear is not certain-it’s c.1512.

The styling of hair would also suggest it is c.1543/1544, unlikely to be of later date.

2nd miniature which once existed, but probably no more:

This is nearly exact match to previous miniature. Many people assume it is based upon it-but the upper bilement is different. Plus different cross, it’s not t-shape cross, more likely the ruby cross:

Possibly two different ruby crosses, hence possibly two separate miniatures. But I am not certain of it, so I am at the moment putting them as same one. 

Imo the 1st and 2nd miniature were a matching pair, done at same time. Just part jewelry switched, as with Jane Seymour’s portraits and Anne of Cleves miniatures(those mislabelled as Howard). I call these 'twin' portraits.

Parr bought many jewelry from France(and elsewhere), including billements, and she had her favourites in which she kept being portrayed in. Thus you cannot do chronology based upon biliments-becuase it won’t fit! She didn’t always wear new ones, she rewore those she already had.

She doesn’t seem to be fond of partlets(which are not that great indication of dating anyway), hence one would have to rely solely upon shape of her headwear and styling of hair, to try to narrow down the dating.

In larger portraits I could say conclusively, but in miniatures, it’s much harder. So in this post they are put in order as i think they chronologically go, but i am definitely not certain of it. Take it with pinch of salt. 

3rd possible miniature(which once existed) is assumed to be based upon one of her much larger portraits-those  done by Scrots in c.1545-1546 because you can see the resemblence. But it doesn’t seem to be perfect match. Yes, gown and brooch with crown are same, pendant same. 

But rest of jewelry is not same.  Different billements and jewels lining the gown.

Her billements and bodice jewels look more like bodice jewels in portrait by master John, though i am not sure if they are exact match(maybe just similiar style):

(The jewelry in similiar style is also on lesser known portrait of Henry VIII.)

Similiarities to 3rd made me immediately question identification of another miniature(on right).Because that looks like same person.

4th possible miniature-currently labelled as Mary Howard (with no solid evidence of it):

Dressed extremely lavishly. Parr was known for that.

Mary Howard as King’s daughter-in law (widowed by 1540s) probably by law could dress so lavishly...(I mentioned this when talking about lady in purple).But you can bet it’d be talked about and chances would be that it would be directly mentioned in records.

Imo it is mislabelled portrait of Parr. And the newly atributed original portrait of Parr really drives up that theory home! And I even wonder...if both could be by same artist. It's very strong resenblence.

I was 90% sure it was Parr before...now I am ready to write to national museum of Sweden about it. (Inventory No. NMB 935)

They should at least take Parr into consideration. Also, they have slight mistake in information about it.

It’s labelled as after Holbein, by some mistake they put it under artist, instead of dating. Because yes, this is after Holbein, after 1543, but it is not done after his work, this is not a copy of his work. It is period original by another miniaturist.

Miniatures aren’t as easy to date(even roughly). They cannot run as many tests upon them. Because usually they are painted upon cards and are very small and kind of fragile. And that makes it harder to identify the artist.

1st and 2nd have one maker imo, and 3rd and 4th have different one-hence the differences in face and posture.

Different miniaturist=different face.

Usually not drastically different face, but can happen. And that is why you also have to look at rest of the outfit.

But how come this miniature shows blond hair? In part 1 I explained that portraits with red or reddish brown hair are all copies and there were strong suggestions that Parr's hair was actually dark strawberry blond. Jersey's portrait being proven as original, proves that she truly had dark golden hair(literally golden), and in rare instances that can be depicted as light blond instead.

It's not darkening of pigments, but likely fading of it. Fading of red pigment within the mixture.

On this miniature gold and hair seems to be in cold spectrum, while they are supposed to be at least slightly in warm spectrum of colours:

And if you change that, the hair starts to look more strawberry blond.

The miniatures from this artist might explain the notion she was blond. He/she painted her hair as very light(more than it owed to be), his/her work faded in colour and turned blond and people assumed it was her original hair colour. 

(Same way when darkening of pigments caused blond hair to go brown, people asume that is the original colour.)

I truly think this miniature,from all the miniatures people call her, has the biggest shot on being actually her.

(smile vs no smile here.)

Tbh I am surprised that the identification as Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond has not been questioned by experts as of yet.(As far as i know) Because the sumptuousness of the outfit, is something not even a Queen Consort would wear on normal basis. (Well maybe Parr with her lavish style would have.)

Not in Henry VIII’s reign. In Elizabethean times there was explosion of goldwork(golden embroidery) or silverwork among nobility.(Imo Elizabeth changed sumptuary law). But prior, it was highly unsual. Except on royals.

Henry VIII and his son were depicted with it in 1540s portraits constantly. But Parr having only 1 portrait with goldwork(with red cloak)? I found it odd, because a big amount of goldwork embroidery we can already see on Mary Rose(d.1533), we see bit less of it on Jane Seymour  and I always knew there are some missing depictions of royal women with it. This is one of them:

Also you should note that lower necklace is styled in non-english way. This is netherlandish style(present already in 1510s there), possibly Parr was searching for style of her own and experimented. 

(It is not found in depiction of english women from Henry VIII's reign otherwise. I think it is literally the only example.)

It is a black gown, heavily embroidered with goldwork(in knots patterns-which were popular also in gardens, which Parr also loved!) and hundreds of pearls are sewn upon it. Frankly, the miniature doesn’t do it justice. It’s beyond sumptuous. Catherine Parr was known for being very into sumptuous outfits.

Had Mary Howard been as well, i think there would be mention of it somewhere.As widow of King’s bastard son might have been allowed by law to wear such thing, but i doubt she’d dare.

I also wonder if Mary I could have inherited that dress or had similiar. Because there is period description which states that ‘princess Mary had items of costume embroidered with 581 pearls in total.’ This dress could have such amount.

That she was described as princess, doesn’t necessarly mean that she couldn’t be Queen at the time of the report, because occasionally Kings were described ‘as most ilustrious prince, the King Henry VII etc.’ Idk why, but they did this and it confuses the heck out of modern reader.

Possibly Mary inherited the gown from Parr, or they had two. But it'd be great spectacle.(Which I hope somebody will recreate.)

Alternatively...if it is not Parr...then it should be Mary. She is recorded as having such gown and she resembled Parr to great degree.

And that could explain why the fingers are shorter...but then perhaps the artist wasn't that good with hands. But then the mouth imo resembles Parr more...and Jersey portrait to incredible degree.

Now for the part which fans of Parr might not enjoy.

Don’t hate  me for this, please.(Or at least be polite). I know people are convinced these are Parr:

I will have to disappoint you. I don’t believe Parr is in either of them.  

Hair colour? Explainable. I went over it in part 1, read it.

Similiarities in posture? Yes.

Similiarities in face? Yes.

Does the dating fit?  it's borderline. I know for certain that these are between 1538-1543, but in my opinion more likely to be 1540-1542, but I could be off by one year.

And who is to say Parr couldn't have miniature done prior to becoming Queen?(possibly after already catching King's eye).

Could she afford the same bilements as rich and powerful women wore in time prior to becoming Queen? Not likely, but she was on friendly terms with Mary I and Henry started to persue her. So perhaps she was gifted some. 

So far, all is explainable! But there are two big problems.

Problem A on left, and problem B on right:

They fit Katherine Howard and Mary I way better!

Tbh Parr loses to those two each time. She doesn’t resemble these two miniatures nearly as much as those two do! 

Some of the differences could be explained by artist's skill not being that good(Parr employed 4? miniaturists. Several of them linked to highly over-praised Horenbout, who managed to make everybody ugly.)

...So it's possible that the miniatures are simply not that well executed. But more of proven original depictions of Parr we have, the less likely it seems to me that these two depict Parr:

I am not feeling it. Sorry, but I really don't think it is Parr in either of them. (But i am only human, I do mistakes. But at this moment I don't believe it.)

I hope you've enjoyed this and don't you worry, I know of several larger condidates on Parr's portraits.

[shoppncarticles]

SG Feature: Introduction

Well HEY there. Thanks for coming to my blog and checking out a new segment I want to run, the SKULLGIRLS FEATURE. A sort of offshoot from the Creature Feature, this will be a series of articles where I talk about all the wonderful characters and designs from Skullgirls universe, or at least as many as I feel like discussing in detail. Don’t worry, that’ll encompass a majority of them, since Skullgirls may have the highest concentration of unique and interesting character designs in a single series, in my opinion. There’s just so much detail and history here that I hardly know where to start.

Here’s an idea though, why don’t I get you a little familiar first? After all, I don’t expect nearly as many people coming into this article already having an extensive knowledge of Skullgirls and its world, or at least a general idea of how things work like I could with Pokemon. After all, there’s a crazy amount of worldbuilding going on here, and (almost) every character interconnects with the main story in some important way, so it’d probably help if you knew some of these things before I got to explaining the complexities of each character individually. Though, if you’re already pretty familiar with the Skullgirls world and story, you can probably skip this article since it’d just be repeating a bunch of stuff you already know. If not, keep reading!

As for a brief introduction of Skullgirls as a whole though, it’s a fighting game project created by artist & designer Alex Ahad, which started all the way back in the early 2000s as a Mugen mod, of all things. The first pre-alpha was made by Alex in 2005, before getting help from programmer Mike Z and other developers in order to create Skullgirls in full.

Compare these two videos of the game’s progression, five years apart, and see how far this passion project has come since its initial conception.

Just look at this wacky roster of characters from the conceptual stage! I’m sure they won’t be immensely polished up and redesigned during development.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Skullgirls finally saw a full release, with an initial roster of 8 characters. Support for the game would continue for a few years after its release, with new characters getting added through DLC until 2015, and for quite some time it seemed like Skullgirls was put on the backburner while its studio, Lab Zero Games worked on new projects. After some internal disputes though, which lead most of the staff to leave Lab Zero and form Future Club instead, Skullgirls resumed active development in 2021 with the addition of more DLC characters. The game would even land a spot at the competitive gaming tournament EVO in 2022, a full decade after its initial release.

The game has a crazy amount of attention to detail put into it, since not only is every sprite and frame for each fighter hand drawn and fluidly animated, but hitboxes are also extremely precise, matching some of the game’s other frame-specific mechanics. It’s also famous for having one of the most stable online netcodes of any major fighting game, which has been a huge plus in keeping it alive for so long.

Not every fighting game has this kind of luxury, you understand.

Complexity like that is what kind of gives Skullgirls a thick barrier to entry and prevents a lot of people from playing it comfortably. Hey, I don’t blame you, fighting games are hard to get into and Skullgirls can get especially tough if you aren’t fully aware of what you’re doing and what you’re capable of. But that’s why I’m here, to help you learn and read about the world and characters without having to go through the experience of learning the ins and outs of such a dynamically complex game. For whatever you might say about the game itself, I feel like all the care and effort put into it artistically can’t be overstated, because what we’ve got here is a real gem.

So, sit yourself down and get comfortable, because we’re in for the long haul on this one.

The Setting

The main setting of Skullgirls is the Canopy Kingdom. Ruled by the royal Renoir family, the kingdom itself consists of the regal capital Canopolis, the dense and lively metropolitan city of New Merdian, the smaller fishing village of Little Innsmouth, and the suburbs of Maplecrest, to name a few major locations. Inspiration for the Canopy Kingdom is kind of all over the place, so it makes placing a real world equivalent kind of difficult, but the developers have described its climate most closely resembling Northern California, while Canopolis visually resembles parts of central Europe. The devs have also admitted that they kind of just do whatever ends up looking cool in terms of design for the locations.

Honestly, that’s part of what’s special about Skullgirls to me. It does just about whatever it wants with its artistic design without sticking to one specific inspirational source or theme. For instance, while many environments and technology seen in the hands of average civilians may resemble that of 1940s-50s America, advanced cybernetics and arcane magic are also relatively commonplace in the Skullgirls world that no one finds them to be too terribly unusual. This extends even to the world’s inhabitants, since alongside normal humans, the Skullgirls world is also populated by animal-human hybrids called Ferals, fish-human hybrids called Dagonians, and monstrous giants referred to as Gigans. No exact explanation is given as to why these various species coexist with each other, and in my opinion none are necessarily needed. They just helps things feel much more varied, really.

Another important location worth mentioning is No Man’s Land - a war-torn wasteland on the outskirts of the Canopy Kingdom, lying between it and its neighboring kingdoms. There used to be developed civilizations here, but they’ve all been reduced to rubble in a devastating war that occurred seven years prior to the game’s main story. What little life does still cling to this area is easy pickings for the seedy underbelly of nearby city.

Speaking of, most of what happens in the various characters’ stories takes place in the city of New Meridian, its major strengths being its diverse population, renowned art and culture, and bustling entertainment economy. Things aren’t perfect in this city, though, since behind the scenes it’s being run by...

The Medici Mafia

The Medici Mafia are the ones who have proper control over the bustling city of New Meridian while the Renoir family are busy trying to manage the entire Canopy Kingdom. While the Medici have a pleasant reputation amongst the average New Meridian citizens, thanks to their organizing of several city facilities such as the River King Casino, their true nature is a bit more uncouth. Nothing will prevent the Medicis from dabbling in more unsavory activities if it helps strengthen them in some fashion, typically financially. Due to how much power they hold over the central location of the game, if there’s something that goes wrong in the Skullgirls story you can usually tie it back to them in some way.

The other major threat to the world, however, lies in...

The Skull Heart

The Skull Heart is an ancient relic, created by the divine creators of the Skullgirls world, the Trinity. Think of your typical cursed wishing treasure, and you’ll be pretty close to what the Skull Heart is. It can be used by any woman who gets their hands on it to grant a single wish, but if the wish is not pure the heart will twist that wish in a morbid fashion like a demented genie. In all of its centuries of existing, the Skull Heart has yet to be given a pure wish to fulfill, and thus continues to reappear every seven years to an unlucky soul. As per the developers’ words, wishes are inherently selfish and thus impossible to be completely pure.

What’s worse is that anyone who uses the Skull Heart ends up being cursed into becoming the Skullgirl, a god-like being of pure destruction and death that carries out the Trinity’s goal of destroying the world entirely. Why they couldn’t just destroy the world outright if they wanted to isn’t exactly known, but it is implied they’re quite entertained by watching all the chaos of the mortal world, so maybe that’s where the idea of a cursed wishing relic came from.

Of course, you could always not wish on the Skull Heart. It is actually quite fragile and can be easily destroyed if it isn’t currently empowering a Skullgirl, but nothing will prevent it from eventually returning in seven years.

Speaking on the Trinity, they of course haven’t been seen in person outside of some joke cutscenes, but are important not only for creating the Skull Heart but also making up the religion followed in the Skullgirls world. They can be seen here, visualized in the windows of New Meridian’s Grand Cathedral. Respectively, they’re known as Venus, Mother, and Aeon.

Anti-Skullgirl Labs

Given how much of a problem the Skullgirl is for the safety of the world at large - but specifically the Canopy Kingdom, since that’s where they keep appearing for the past few cycles - King Renoir started a project involving the Anti-Skullgirl Labs. These were a series of laboratories each specializing in a different field with the end goal of finding ways to efficiently exterminate Skullgirls before they can cause mass damage to the kingdom. The overall success of these labs are quite mixed, and after the failure to handle the previous Skullgirl before the game’s main story takes place, King Renoir put through an order to shut down all ASG Labs. Despite this, a couple remain active underground, continuing to produce technology in order to combat future Skullgirls. The most noteworthy of these is Lab 8, which specialized in Synthetic Parasite production. What are Synthetic Parasites, you may ask?

Parasites (and Living Weapons)

Parasites are another sapient species of the Skullgirls universe, but cannot survive on their own for extended periods of time and thus must continually bond with a host. Despite their name, Parasites are typically mutualistic in biology and work in tandem with their hosts rather than causing them discomfort or leeching off their body. Parasites also need to replace or take some part of their host’s body in order to form the connection, though not all Parasites are required to be physically connected. It’s said that Parasites were once revered as being very powerful and respected pieces of society, but have since become subject to discrimination and prejudice in the Skullgirls world following some ambiguous incident.

As I said previously, ASG Lab 8 specialized in Synthetic Parasites, specifically the creation of cybernetic Parasites in order to effectively give people superpowers which they could use to better combat Skullgirls and other potential threats. These Parasites typically do not resemble living creatures and are treated more like tools compared to the real Parasites, though there are a few exceptions.

Speaking of tools which may or may not be alive, there are also Living Weapons in Skullgirls too! Living Weapons are typically far less sapient than Parasites though, and none (with one exception) have been seen with individual personalities or the ability to speak thus far. They’re quite selective too, only certain chosen individuals are capable of wielding specific Living Weapons.

Got All That?

Alright, that should do it with all the preliminary info you’ll need to know before heading into these Skullgirls articles. I just want to make sure you’ll know what I’ll be talking about in these things, y’know? I don’t want you wandering around all confused and stuff because someone didn’t tell you what a Maplecrest was, or something.

Speaking of, I should mention how I’ll be structuring these articles. Things will be split into three major chunks, first, an intro where I give a brief synopsis on the character. Then, a story segment where I talk about the character’s history, what they do in the ‘main’ Skullgirls story (main in quotes since Skullgirls does have a central plot that it revolves around - but each of the character’s individual Story Modes are non-canonical What Ifs), and what happens in each of their Story Modes. Last, I’ll dedicate some time to each of the characters’ visual designs, talking about any clever features that may be apart of their appearance or their attacks. Trust me when I say that each of Skullgirls’s characters are ripe with detail and talking material, so these articles are sure to be quite hefty. I hope you’ll be looking forwards to it, because there’s quite a bit to go over!

[Skullgirls Archive]

[alesyira]

the call

i'm working on accidental vigilante and remembered some stuff that needed to be addressed. This oneshot scene (and the one i'm thinking might get posted here in a day or two) falls right after the oneshot 'glitch in the timeline' and kind of further explores these things in a roundabout way.

warning: implied character death(s)

The net is inundated with conflicting information about the mysterious disaster that claimed the Nighteye Agency. There are far too many “clarifying” statements that don’t clear up a damned thing. 

Izuku knows he probably won’t be able to get his hands on any footage from within the agency nor any cameras that might point at the building itself, but usually the city blocks surrounding an agency aren’t so locked down. 

Any video recorded on that day within a one-mile radius of the agency is under some of the heaviest classified protections he’s seen.

Even his classmates are baffled.

One of his classmates, X, offers to try spinning up a decryption run, but Izuku’s not sure it’ll be necessary. They might want answers right away, but it’s possible the footage will be released once investigations have completed, and it makes little sense to poke at a hornet’s nest and risk getting in trouble if they don’t have to.

He skims through the available news with escalating disbelief. 

“No comment.”

“The investigation is still ongoing.”

“We’ll release a press statement as soon as we know anything.” 

Three days pass. 

The few reports of survivors are overshadowed by the grim news of the rising death toll, clips of tearful pleas for information about missing people, and relentless social media footage that covers every angle of the aftermath. 

The commission refuses to release names of the injured or dead.

The main recovery efforts are called off after rescuers realize a water main has broken. A news feed shows water gushing out through cracks in the rubble, and it’s assumed that the basement levels have entirely flooded.

The crews clearing the mess continue to work tirelessly, carefully extracting the remainder of the debris in case they find another lucky soul.

The last unnamed survivor had been found the previous morning, though they died on the way to the hospital.

Izuku used to think quirks could do everything.

(He hasn’t thought that way for a very long time.)

He’s seen hints of rumors online that Lemillion had been spotted an hour earlier with an escort at the hospital, ducking out through a side exit to avoid the press.

Izuku hasn’t been able to find any hint of the hero’s presence at the disaster, but he’s done enough reading to be absolutely convinced there’s something big going on.

The commission never waits this long to release names of victims or survivors, or even a preliminary statement. This big of a disaster needs positive media coverage to maintain the public’s confidence. Delays with information can ripple out to cause other effects, such as dips in economy as fearful citizens stay home and criminals that take advantage of strained emergency resources to prey on the unprotected.

Izuku has teamed up with X to dig into a media network’s messaging system when the phone rings, startling him from the tiny text scrolling across his screen.

His mom mutes the TV and hurries over to the phone. 

He’s been dreading this moment, when his mom’s work calls her back from vacation because they need more hands to help with the emergency. 

He wants to keep her home with him, where she’s safe.

He’d seen something terrifying that day, and the longer he can keep her indoors, the better he’ll feel.

She fumbles the handset and nearly drops it, then presses it to her ear with a shaky, “Hello?” 

Silence.

His mom gasps.

Izuku’s gaze snaps in her direction just in time to see her hand flutter up to clutch at her throat as her expression crumples. 

She moans out a low, "Oh, no. Mitsu."

She sinks slowly to the floor and grips at the phone with both hands. 

There’s been an unspoken acknowledgment that his childhood friend had been part of his bullying in school.

She’s seen his burns, heard the stories of Kaachan just playing too rough.

He thinks she eventually understood what he’d been hiding, once she stopped making him go back to that place and let him enroll in online courses.

Yet, as much as he knocked Izuku around, he’s certain he wouldn’t have pushed him from the window. It was against his nature to hurt someone with their back turned. 

He’d always been so directly confrontational and wanted to be known for his actions.

His mom hasn’t spoken with Mitsuki since sometime after the 'accident' at the school. 

That she’s calling now can mean only one thing.

He turns his attention back to the muted TV, tuning out his mother’s tearful words as she tries to soothe her closest friend.

How many work-study students had been present at the disaster?

Why is the commission still being so quiet about what happened?

His mom throws on her shoes, grabs her keys, and shouts out a hasty farewell as she hurries out the door.

He doesn’t look up as his memory is stuck on repeat, cycling around the vision of black bursting through shattered glass, shivering inches from his face, the scent of ozone in his nose, electricity tingling through the air.

What the fuck kind of eldritch horror had exploded out of the building that day?

i will probably post this to ao3 soonish, but a creative title, summary, author's notes etc takes some more thinking and i'm just about out of spoons. (...and the chapters I have already posted for villain really need some heavy revision with all the storyline bits i've been adding lately)

enjoy early :) :)

[gnzma]

General RP style and preferences

Repost, don’t reblog. Bold what applies. Strikethrough what does not. Elaborate on any points you’d like with a *

Please be honest, we all want to find the people who work best with how we RP.

𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐑𝐏 & 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐈 𝐃𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒

| I don’t I just do whatever is on my dash when I’m online | Mainly asks | I do little short things mostly | I do my threads on discord | Long running threads that slowly build upon the muses |

𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒

| Wing it | Get a general idea ooc and then run with it & plot further if need be | Long expansive thought out story arcs* |

* again. a mix really but i love winging them too the most

𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒 𝐈 𝐃𝐎 & 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑

| Oneliners only | Whatever dash shenanigans I’m online for | Para or Mulit para | Literal Novels |

𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒 & 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐘 & 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐒

| I lose threads all the time & don’t usually get back to them | I tend to lose threads but please tell me if I have and I’ll reply! | I drop threads pretty easily | I’m really slow but I WILL get back to you | I reply on a schedule/queue (specify if you’d like) | I usually reply within a week | I reply every day | I reply almost instantly |

*man literally anything goes i go with the flow bro

𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒

| I don’t do these ships (specify reason if you would like) | I’m not against them happening but it is not the main point of my blog | All ships will have to be super slow burn & discussed a lot OOC, super chemistry based (Mutuals and friends only) | I love doing ships, HMU I probably already ship it just ask!* | I ship really quickly | I autoship or ship within a few interactions | I mainly RP for the cute ship fluff |

* i had one person i Literally never interacted with too many asking me to ship immediately and. no offense but shoo. give me chemistry give me reason to care god damnit!!!!!!!!!! but yea if we’re friends and we see sparks hmu

𝐒𝐌𝐔𝐓

| I do NOT do smut at all (this muse is a minor!*) | I’m very selective about it | I only do it on a separate (blog/discord/specify here)** | I mainly only do asks relating to nfw headcanons on Sundays | I write it a medium amount | I write it all the time and love to |

*this goes with any minor muse i have ofc. if you write nsfw with minors explode Now!!!!!!!

**no separate we readmore like men (gender neutral)

𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 [ GMT+1 ;; Rome Timezone ]

| Mornings 8-10 | Midday 11-1 | Afternoon 2-5 | Evenings 6-8 | Night 9-12 | Ungodly hours of the day 1-onwards |*

*swagever when i’m in i’m in

𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐄

| SUPER slow and sporadic, like once a month or so | Slow and sporadic week long gaps between activity | Bi-weeklyish activity | Weekly activity | Daily activity | I’m online nearly all the time |

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

| I don’t do starter calls | I want to do starter calls but often don’t have time | I do selective calls (ask calls) | I don’t do calls, but always fee free to ask me for one! | I do starter calls rarely/regularly/often |*

*starters hard send memes :(

𝐀𝐔𝐬

| I don’t do AUs | My blog is an AU but outside of that I don’t do them* | I sometimes do them but only with a lot of plotting | I have a couple of AUs already feel free to request them! | I have AUs coming out of my ears please interact with them! | I love making AUs HMU to plot if you think of one! | There are some AUs I won’t do (specify here) |

*Sometimes.

𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐒

| I don’t do crossovers  | I’m selective with crossovers (specify reason if you’d like)* | I love crossovers! |

*i do crossovers that Makes Sense. i’m not rping, like. with a sonic character w guzma, for example, if not via the funny crack tag

[lovecolibri]

Exactly what you said about GA!, they're not like us, they don't spend days saying" see eddie raised an eyebrow!! Buck sneezed in his direction!!" At this rate if in s6 we'll have some buddie canon thing they will be completely shocked cause they don't even talk like normal friends do. And I get 6a maybe focused on hen, but 5b was eddie season and well i'm still bitter we barely saw him, but we saw all the other couples why we can't have some buddie scene in the middle of everything?

Yeah, I'm certainly also getting frustrated because the team was so separate in most of season 5 but now they're all together, all back at work, and everything still feels...off. I LOVED Tomorrow and I think Henren absolutely deserved an episode about their relationship and setting in the middle of an emergency centered on Karen’s work helped keep the firefam involved too, kinda like we saw with Eddie and Buck Begins. However, because we already had an episode that entirely excluded the firefam and first responding, followed by episodes where beats were set up for good firefam interactions but totally missed, it does feel like we're still not focusing well on what should be the heart of the show! Which was exactly the problem with 5b, and you’re SO right about wanting to see more of the Eddie breakdown. And yes, this is an ensemble show, however this wasn’t nearly the issue it is now in previous seasons. There was always a pretty good balance of everyone getting scenes and arcs and focus and things didn’t feel so glossed over. And it’s not just Buddie either. People keep touting 6x05 as a “Madney” episode when they barely had any scenes *together*, and Maddie only briefly brings up what’s going on at work but they don’t really talk about it and Chim getting abducted at work doesn’t get brought up either! You can’t really claim Buddie aren’t getting scenes because it’s an ensemble show when by that token, we SHOULD be seeing a little bit of everyone’s dynamics or mention of their arcs even if they aren’t the full focus of the episode! Instead the sperm donor arc has sat for a month before it’s going to come back up, Buck losing someone on a call hasn’t come up again, Bobby has been just in the background of other plots, we barely see Chim and since they cut the Madney going to couples therapy arc they’re just together now with very little focus on the resolution for that arc and Chim getting abducted at work didn’t even end up amounting to anything and if it *does* come back later, the GA will probably have forgotten all about what happened so it won’t hit the emotional beats it should have. I mean, I can’t tell you how many people I saw online who had NO idea what Karen did and thought she was a lawyer or something when they’ve brought up her space/science centered job multiple times! 

Point is, they can have a “Hen focused 6a” without feeling like half the characters aren’t doing anything most of the time, but if s5 and what we’ve seen so far in s6 has taught us anything it’s that KR cannot manage an ensemble cast or multiple arcs at once 🤷🏻‍♀️

[copybytaylorbolduc]

Using Chrome: Can We Really Trust Google?

(Originally written for MakeUseOf)

It seems there’s no escaping Google. 

What started out as a small web company struggling to find investors in the 90s has transformed into a multi-billion dollar corporation that offers a pretty wide variety of services while also trying to find a place in almost every aspect of our lives. 

In the year 2015, Google is no longer just a search engine. Since Chrome was released in the year 2008, it now boasts upwards of a billion users, making it the most widely used web browser today. Gmail has become one of the most popular and versatile email clients, particularly among colleges, businesses, and freelancers. Google Drive is not only an impressive cloud service, but also features a word processor, slideshow creator, and spreadsheet program that puts Microsoft’s Office to shame. Google does phones, map services, and is now even working on a self-driving car. 

One can hardly browse the Internet without coming across websites featuring some sort of Google service or product. Be it the option of allowing you to log into a site automatically with your Gmail or Google+ account, or even ads through Google Adsense, 

All in all, Google is a great company leading our society into the future. Google has done what many companies strive for and only a few have accomplished - consistently rising to the occasion to meet new demands from its users, while also earning the trust of the masses. Why not trust Google? They clearly know what they’re doing; why else would the company’s services pop up on almost every website? They also put super cute easter eggs and jokes in their products! 

Clearly, Google cares about its user base and is absolutely trustworthy. 

… Or is it? 

After all, it’s not like Google hides the fact that their automated systems scan your emails and certain cookies in Chrome allow them to track and collect your browsing data. 

What Do You Mean, Google Collects My Browsing Data?

Here’s the thing: in this day and age, we can’t exactly go about naively trusting that online companies have our best interests at heart. At the end of the day, they are still companies trying to make a profit. At its core, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s only natural and fair for people and companies who offer services and products to want to receive compensation. 

Google doesn’t charge users for many of its services. Many are offered freely to users, such as Gmail, Chrome, and Drive. 

But, how do you provide a free service while still making money? Some websites are financed from donations, but that’s not always an option. Advertisements are responsible for a large portion of income for many online companies, but they are nothing like the goldmine that is selling their users’ information. 

See, if you’re using a service and you’re not paying for anything, you’re probably not the customer. You’re probably the product being sold instead. As Chris Hoffman explained, your information is increasingly being collected and stored in databases to create a sort of ‘profile’ of you. This information is often shared and combined with information gathered about you that’s stored in other databases, thus allowing advertisers to create an accurate and detailed profile of you. 

What better way to learn your interests and priorities than by examining your web browsing habits? They’ve already come out saying that ads in Gmail are tailored to information and keywords found in emails sent and received.

This is just the first step for the mass adoption of customized advertisements, and Google is already getting a head start and making a fortune providing our information to advertisers. Of course, if you’re not really concerned about privacy and looking to make some extra money, you can sell your information yourself. Of course, you likely won’t be pulling in nearly as much as a company like Google would be getting. 

What About When I Go Incognito?

Incognito Mode on Chrome really only serves one purpose - it keeps browsing history and website cookies from being stored on your computer, but only after the window is closed. It doesn’t mean websites can’t track your IP. It doesn’t mean your connection is any more encrypted. 

What you search will still be tracked by Google. Incognito Mode will not prevent that. 

But The Data They Collect is Just Sold to Advertisers, Right?

Not all of it. 

Certain user data is sold, but much of it is used for Google’s own purposes. If you so choose, Google will receive usage statistics and crash reports from you. While the information gathered for this purpose is meant to be non-identifying, it still contains system information and what actions led up to the crash. 

If ordered to do so, Google has no issue handing over your data directly to the government. If there is a warrant for your browsing history or accounts, Google will not protect you. They can’t, legally. 

But At Least Chrome Is A Secure Browser, Right?

Sort of. It’s more secure than Internet Explorer, at least. 

With recent security breaches on websites like yadda yadda yadda, there’s been a push for online companies to beef up the security of their websites. But websites are still being hacked and thousands of people are at risk of having their private information like addresses and credit card numbers accessed for nefarious purposes every day. 

Sometimes, hackers can even gain control of your computer after you’ve been exposed to a compromised website. Google does provide defense against this yadda yadda yadda. 

Certain protocols like SPDY also provide an extra layer of defense on certain sites. 

Can we trust Google’s dedication to Chrome’s reliability?

So far, yes. Google has a good thing going here with Chrome and isn’t likely to just abandon a userbase of a billion people. They have incentive to put a lot of resources into developing the latest technology to keep Chrome competitive. 

For example, Chrome uses the SPDY protocol rather than HTTP on Google services or certain other websites like Twitter. The SPDY protocol, designed by Google, was created with the intent to reduce web page latency. Web page latency is a huge problem with HTTP and the slow loading times can be a pain when trying to browse certain websites. 

SPDY also requires SSL, a security encryption protocol, meaning that sites with this protocol are more secure than sites that only use HTTP. Only 2.8% of the internet has SPDY enabled, so while it doesn’t make a huge difference in the big picture, it is reassuring that Google’s services have that extra layer of security. 

Other browsers now use SPDY as well, such as Mozilla Firefox and Safari. However, SPDY was originally designed by Google and released to the public. This only adds to Google’s reputation as a company of inventors and innovators. Google is likely to continue to invest in developing new technologies, and we can expect maintaining and improving Chrome to be a long-term priority.

Can We Really Trust Google to Stay Around for the Long Term?

I recall sitting in an economics class many years ago listening to a teacher talk about why he had foolishly decided not to invest in Google in 2004. His financial advisor had tried to convince him, but he declined, as several other early Internet companies had tried to start up and simply failed. Shares were initially sold for $85, but their value soon skyrocketed. 

Today, Google is worth about $350 billion. Its shares are going for about $660 apiece at the moment. Despite the usual ups and downs of share prices, Google’s worth has been steadily on the rise for several years now, recently hitting a record high back in July at $699.62. 

S&P has given Google a credit rating of AA. For comparison, the United States’ rating is AA+. All in all, many are of the opinion that it looks like Google has a chance of a secure future. We may indeed be able to trust, at least, that Google will not disappear without a fight. 

Is Google Evil?

That’s for you to decide. It depends on what your personal definition of evil is. You could say Google is an example of capitalism and the free market system at its finest -- what started out as the research project of two PhD students has transformed into a multi-billion dollar international corporation in a matter of years that consistently meets consumers’ needs. 

You could also say that Google is a greedy soul-sucking corporation that cares more about large profits than the privacy of its users. 

Unfortunately, this may just be how online companies of the future operate. The anonymity granted to us by the internet is swiftly disappearing. Sure, new laws struggling to catch up to modern day technology are playing a role in this change, but the biggest influence is large corporations like Google who see putting a name and profile to a user as a potential source of revenue. As long as our data is worth money, companies are going to be trying to what they can. 

Can Google Really Be Trusted? 

No corporation can be completely trusted. Google is no exception to this. Sure, Google can be trusted to keep Chrome secure and well-maintained, and Google can also be trusted to be around for the next few years. But that’s it. 

We can’t trust Google to keep our information private. We can’t trust that our emails won’t be scanned by their automated systems, or any of our documents in the cloud won’t disappear. We can’t even completely trust Google to not disable our accounts at will. 

With how expansive its presence is on the Internet, boycotting the company isn’t an option for most users. We can try to avoid sending as much information as possible to Google, such as by using a different browser and search engine, among other methods. But our anonymity on the internet is slipping away, and Google is only contributing to that. 

Google - nefarious or actually trustworthy? Here to stay, or just a blip in the timeline of what’s sure to be an incredible digital age? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think!

[ntriani]

WHO KNOWS WHERE THE TIME GOES? Fast Forward/Rewind As the decade draws to a close, many are trying to fathom what just happened over the last ten years. Be it cultural, political or the climate catastrophe that most conscientious types realise they find themselves in, the past decade might be remembered as an introduction to what may be our most challenging times here on earth. In layman’s terms – we are in the midst of a climate emergency.  As The Clash once warned – the ice caps are melting at an alarming rate, the planet’s heating up – and we’re not doing enough to stop it.

The diagnosis is critical, yet most of western privileged society just shrugs with an uninterested uneasiness born out of a selfless need for non-reflection, a simmering vacuousness of staring into the void and merely asking “isn’t there anything good on Netflix I could watch so I don’t have to face this reality?” The need for escape is exemplified by our own immersion into the internet and the virtual pleasure or pain that belongs to someone else.

My main take-away from the last decade could be about screen addiction, at least in the sense of what I can see from my own environment. This particularly relates to me being a culture junkie and most of the culture I obsess over has moved online. Over the last ten years I simply haven’t been able to get enough of that light, those words, that browse, the fear of missing out on the latest tweet, FB update, email, news headlines and of course, the biggest attraction: my own virtual social engagement. So many of us have become the arbitrators not only of our own cultural worlds, but political opinion combined with a great capacity for trolling and nastiness. The internet is an outlaw land and creates its own web (ouch!) of intrigue, opinion, controversy or simply bat-shit craziness. It’s this wild cacophony of noise that keeps us hooked, a place where YOU can have a voice (even if no one is really listening). Yes, I’m hooked (though increasingly growing weary.)

Boomtime is over As the decade ends social media as a time consuming phenomenon wanes for me, while at the same time I am aware that the internet has become a routine part of nearly every aspect of my life. I have a peace of mind now that I don’t stress if I haven’t posted anything on one of my many social media platforms. Social media’s decade-long sprint to offer a consumerist paradise has merely hastened my move for the shutdown button. I prefer to live in the moment now rather than documenting that moment. Ironically, the fast sprint of social connectivity has made me more remote and less willing to share and connect.

Of course, as I get older and the looks fade and certainly as regards a platform such as Instagram, I have become less comfortable in my own skin, a development I don’t really feel like sharing with the world. Did anyone ever mention the visual vanities of older lives? They should, it’s a heartbreaker. More vivid pursuits inform me nowadays. Time spent with my family have become the best of times, though my family will probably attest to me being still addicted to screens. I have no particular vice or drug habit, I eat healthily and don’t really drink, I’m proud of my clear-headed sobriety. I merely spend time with the things that interest me most. This is the privileged life of a white-passing +50 male. I have become extremely selfish with my time. 

Calling it out A new development has seen a general consensus driven by public opinion becoming our barometer of what classifies as the word of the day. For me the past decade has seen standards become lowered to a simple classification of; “if enough people like something, then it must be good” (the reverse of this premise also applies). Mixing commercial revenues with quality of endeavour is something that has become heightened, at least in most MSM. It’s more escapism with an extra dose of dumbing down. Yes, an elitist view perhaps, but I won’t apologise for calling out something that is truly dreadful or politically odious, especially if that something’s only merit is being popular. We have accepted capitalism as high art or as our only aspiration. Popular opinions define critical consensus, yet if we lose the ability to take on or offer criticism, worryingly we lose our capacity to discuss or communicate. Despite our supposed hi-speed connectivity, I have finally come to the pessimistic conclusion that this past decade has been one long communication breakdown.

This sporting life As a fan of nearly 50 years, I can revel in Tottenham Hotspur’s general improvement as a football team; it’s been a highlight of my decade – Spurs’ competitiveness. Football has become all-enveloping for me. I ignore the obvious, devious and evil commercial aspects of the beautiful game and give into my innate state of tribalism (I really never knew I had it in me.) Come match-day (which is ever frequent) my passion knows no bounds and I am lost in the increasingly intense revelry of the sport. Yes, football has become more intense, the pressure often unbearable; the increased speed of each game, the superstars, the global reach all entwine in my mind to create the perfect 90 minute exaltation of personal release. So two of my highlights of this decade have been Mauricico Pochettino and Harry Kane. Football as full throttle escape has been essential to me, an escape as much from the daily grind but also an escape from the intensity of my partner’s chronic illness.

It’s all about numbers Music has intensified as the main line that runs through my veins both professionally and as cultural recreation. The way we consume music and interact with music has been as much a talking point this past decade as the music itself (which is a bit sad), but as a music consumer I feel it’s never been so good. A purist music culture still thrives even though an over-reliance on numbers and stats to justify success often overshadows any perceived artistic accomplishments. 

For all the knowingness of pop music in 2019, music culture has mourned the passing of Prince, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin, Scott Walkerand others because they dared to dream; artistic choices were simply de rigueur and not based on any commercial aspirations. Rare exceptions such as Beyoncé’s Lemonade and Kanye West’s My Dark Twisted Fantasyalbums cut across cultural lines to become something more meaningful, helping pop-music reclaim the critical consensus and capture the spirit of the times. 

Still, for me popular music has become a slightly duller place over the last decade, with risk aversion and social media compliance an essential part of making it. In simple terms I started listening to a lot of old music and relishing the freedom of jazz as a form of expression. If anything dates me, it’s this. Sic Alps final album tapped into my own inner sadness and seemed to reflect feelings that were closer to home. An increasingly important record for me personally and one that captures a world-weary mood music of the 2010s – Sic Alps surmises my musical direction and word-view these past ten years. I regress to my inner child Reading books has become a chore for me. Fiction has fallen by the wayside, but this has been increased by my becoming a near full-on digital reader. The literal printed page has virtually disappeared from my grasp. Most of my physical book reading has been in the service of my child. Harry Potterand Lord of The Rings have taken the limelight, but my still alive inner child has secretly thrilled at these works. Graphic novels have been a regular staple: too many to mention but Pat Mills’ Charley’s War reigns above most. To emphasise my move to the virtual, The Guardian online has been a constant companion. It’s my first port of call everyday and of course more than anything fuels my screen time. As an outlet for free online journalism with balanced reporting and great writing, it remains peerless. 

But a certain sorrow and even guilt accompanies my abandonment of physical books (the digitisation process has impacted most cultures important to me.) Technical progress feels more impersonal and this decade’s rush to digitise has increased the sense of commercial possibilities in exploiting hi-art. My old punk heart is weary as much as wary, scrolling on my phone has replaced reading a well thumbed paperback novel on any journey I take nowadays. The passing of the silver screen In 2010 I was still spending as much as I could afford on DVDs and along with my Sight and Sound subscription; cinema, film history and the writings of David Thomson and others fuelled a passion for film. Hell, me and my partner even went a little crazy and started a very active movie-blog, which let’s be honest, probably helped give us an idea for you know what.

The home movie streaming revolution, pioneered by Netflix, again gives us pause for thought for the issue of more screen time. As life becomes increasingly busy and tiring, Netflix has offered even more simple escapism that has impacted further on our own social behaviour.  TV streaming handily also supplied a his and hers menu which rarely crosses over into mutual gender lines and impacted negatively onto shared time with my partner. We still watch things together, but we have so much more to consider nowadays, tailored to our own individual wishes and desires. The dividing lines on streaming culture has developed a new phenomenon for couples addicted to binge watching (and no doubt more scrutiny on fragile relationships).

But Netflix and HBO (and increasing others) have also managed to deliver some genuinely startling art beamed straight into our living rooms. Twin Peaks: The Return bettered most cinema and TV over 18 slow episodes of small screen nirvana. Cut from similar cloth but equally mind-blowing was Damon Lindelof’s The Leftovers, a three season series that deals with loss and stays with you and never quite leaves.

But the biggest cinematic achievement of the decade away from the small screen has been the relevance of the franchise (a TV serial for the big screen if you like) and especially the all-conquering power of the superhero movie, from Marvel’s slick, witty Avengers universe to the polarising populism of this year’s Joker. Martin Scorsese, not sounding like one of his onscreen streetwise characters, rounded off the decade by decrying the success of Superhero films and describing them as anti-cinema. The authority of Scorsese’s quotes mixed with the fawning love for his new, overrated film also displayed the privilege a director like Scorsese is afforded due to his reputation. It’s our own perceptions of quality and nostalgia for Scorsese’s CV that gives his words such authority, even if I think some of the films he’s criticised have far exceeded the quality of his own work.  

I make the connection with reputation and white male privilege because cinema suffered its greatest fall this decade, with the emergence of the #metoo movement and a greater call for equality between men and women in general. #metoo chimed with an awareness for feminism in the 2010s, a development that has jump started the process of change towards women receiving overdue equal billing not only in the workplace, but at home. 

The universal lurch to the right What has defined this decade for me has been the increased and unopposed shift to a right-wing ideology throughout many nations of the world. Conservatism with a small c has given way to an array of populist theories that often result in racism with a capital R. An increase in the  harbouring of natural resources often against the needs of the planet and the greater good. Keeping the establishment and their capitalist values in place, the rightwing thinking lobby have exerted greater control, often using the seemingly liberal tag of ‘freedom of expression’ to legitimise overt criticism of being racist or just talking shit about minorities or even attacking an overtly critical media. Under such guises and hammering home a continued, legitimised worldview against ‘the other’ in our societies has now become the norm rather than something that should be a source for feeling deep shame. The rhetoric of this decade has made many of our communities divided – and destroyed that essence of community itself. Trust in leadership has become an issue like never before. From the populism of Trump to the logical conclusion of the Nigel Farage/ Boris Johnson axis, which fuels division and hatred, extreme views and opinions nowadays reflect our society and sense of humanity. Erdoğan, Orbán, Bolsonaro, Italy’s Salvini and Finland’s Finns Party;  the trend in right wingers gaining political power seems irreversible. How did we get here? Does anyone really know? A heightened awareness of my own Brexit fuelled vulnerability have made these the most uncertain of times. I’ve noticed a subtle shift with a more  normalised racist expression toward me and my family during this period. In Finland I feel alone in having to try and combat these situations, even amongst my most liberal associations. As Jeremy Corbyn is crushed by electoral defeat in the UK, recriminations and humiliation end the decade with me feeling we’re in an unsafe place. As political tribalism sinks the centre ground we all search for our own visions of extremism that we can place our own ideological hat on. Compassion and solutions have to be our way forward, yet we’re still arguing with big business and corporations about being fair and creating safe climate environments for future generations. Self-interest has won the day.

Movements such as Extinction Rebellion, Momentum, Occupy Wall Street, #metoo, Black Lives Matter, Wiki-Leaks and Anonymoushave offered us some hope and often questioned this era defining status quo. This last decade represents a new era of protest, a new voice, a reactivated youth movement that expresses shared values and the concerns of all ages. A new level of responsibility, a real taking back control. We need more Greta Thunberg and less Rudy Giuliani in all our lives. An uncertainty at home to add to the feeling of international insecurity has permeated much of this most immediate passing decade. My dearest and nearest have been the barometer by which I have to measure our progress. With a chronic illness in the close family not only defining our day to day routines, my partner’s illness has come to define how I am viewed by others. Increased public recognition of my partner’s condition has cemented a new public picture of who I am. That’s often hard to take, but I am now regarded by many as the partner of a cancer patient. Sympathy for my own new condition is widespread. My own ageing and the toll it’s taken, both physical and mental, has only contributed to a personal feeling of lack of relevance whilst bringing more awareness of my own sense of mortality. My only response to this decade of freewheeling doubt and extreme movements is to keep the ones I love near me and never let go. 2020 finally sounds like The Future. Let’s hope a new positive dialogue, face to face, can develop amongst all the other ideas. 

[splitminiusa]

How Loud is It? Sound Ratings of Ductless Heat Pumps

When your air conditioner is loud or making strange noises, it is probably time to search for a replacement. A ductless mini-split should be a contender for a replacement HVAC system because of its compact design and flexible applications. A mini-split heat pump is ultra-efficient compared to traditional air conditioning equipment. If you are adding a room or another small area to your home or office, a ductless mini-split is ideal for cooling and heating this space.

A mini-split heat pump is very quiet and efficient. Since there are no ducts, the system gives you one of the most silent cooling operations with a 30 SEER rating. They also typically have a low-noise mode that makes them almost undetectable.

For comparison, a wall unit air conditioner can emit almost seventy decibels, while a whole-home central air conditioner emits between fifty to seventy decibels. A mini-split emits around thirty-two decibels, comparable to someone whispering beside you.

You know that you’ll rely on your air conditioner to keep you cool for several months out of the year. So, the last thing you want is a noisy system that keeps you up at night or makes it difficult to hear your television or radio. This is downright frustrating.

If you’re in the process of upgrading your current system or installing a new one from scratch, it’s important to focus on the noise output. This leads many people to address the question of whether ductless air conditioners are noisy or quiet.

Let’s just get it out of the way: ductless air conditioners are known for quiet operation. Furthermore, this holds true both inside and out. For example, central AC systems are known for having a noisy condenser unit outside the home. And even though it’s outdoors, the noise can still travel indoors depending on its location.

Ductless air conditioners also have an outdoor condenser, but these are designed to be quieter. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to hear any noise when you’re inside your home. Moving to the inside, the quiet operation continues. Even with multiple indoor units, you won’t hear much more than a quiet whisper coming from each one. This is similar to the level of noise you hear when air is forced through ductwork with central air.

Other Factors to Consider

There are two other factors that impact the noise emitted by a ductless air conditioner: Age and Manufacturer. Generally speaking, as your system ages, you can expect it to become noisier. On the plus side, many of the parts that are responsible for the noise can be replaced or repaired. Secondly, some manufacturers are well known for quiet operation, while others don’t have nearly as good a reputation.

Before deciding in favor of any ductless air conditioner, ask your install professional about the design of the system and the features employed to minimize noise. You can also read online reviews for first-hand accounts from experienced and knowledgeable homeowners.

[sana143sblog]

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[nickgerlich]

If The Top Fits

Buying clothing online has always been problematic. In fact, it has long been one of the most contentious concerns, a reason why people still prefer brick and mortar stores, at least for some things. After all, you never really know how it will fit or even look until you can actually try it on.



When I received my regular Wired Magazine email yesterday with their latest stories, one item caught my attention: Google is now leveraging AI to create an online tool that allows shoppers to “try on” a garment before ordering. Although it is limited to women’s tops for the time being, and specifically only to items available via Google Shopping, it offers hope to women uncertain about pulling the trigger on that order.

Interestingly, though, Google is a little bit late to the game, just as it was with Bard in the wake of Chat GPT. I’ll forgive them once again, because there is still a lot of room for growth and tweaking in this race. You see, nine months ago Walmart beat Google to the draw when it announced its own Virtual Try-On tool.

Essentially, both programs involve sharing some personal information so the software can then artificially drape the garment onto a virtual model. It’s little different in outcome from going to the fitting room, trying it on, and standing in front of a full-length mirror. Problem solved, right?

Well, not so fast. There are still limitations, not the least of which is a nearly universal inconsistency across women’s clothing brands and garments regarding sizing. Men have it pretty easy, because our shirts and trousers are typically measured in inches. But what is a 12? A 16? An 8?

I’m not even sure that women know, because there is so much variability. Never mind the social pressures we place on women, the result being a downward trend in sizing numbers even if only for the ego, and more confusion than ever. Incorrect fit is the most common reason for returned online clothing purchases.



Amazon has worked to solve this problem with its Amazon Prime Wardrobe program, whereby a customer can have up to seven items sent risk-free; keep what you want, return the rest, and you will be billed accordingly. Many customers thus buy the same garment in several sizes, and keep the one that fits.

All of these returns are costing businesses money. It’s one thing to take three items to the fitting room, and then let an employee return two to the rack. In the online world, the time gap between browsing, buying, and returning can easily hit two weeks.

But back to AI, which we also discussed just yesterday. While the execution is still not perfect with either Google or Walmart’s versions, they are steps in the right direction. Yes, there are some privacy concerns, because the customer is, after all, sharing personal data. In Google’s instance, the customer must select a body type from among 40 examples; in Walmart’s case, the customer uploads a selfie. Still, there is no guarantee the garment will fit perfectly, because everyone, men and women alike, have bulges in places that may defy rational thought and garment manufacturing.

Furthermore, as we all know, our shape will probably ebb and flow over time, thanks to dieting, good or bad, and physical activity—once again, good or bad. Just getting older sees most of us putting on some weight, by virtue of slowing metabolisms. Both of these AI systems would necessarily have to allow customers to update their information.

There are still many challenges for AI in the fitting room, and women’s tops are just the tip of the iceberg. If you think getting a top to fit correctly is tough, just try pants or dresses. And even for the guys, in our relatively simple world, it won’t be that easy. There are too many variables with values in flux to be entered into the algorithm.

But it’s fun to watch the computer scientists try to solve these problems nonetheless. If they can indeed address them, it will relieve me of one of the things I hate doing the most: trying on clothes. And it might just cure me of my tendency to buy the same pants in three or four shades once I find one that works.

Here’s to ya, Google and Walmart. Keep going. Shortcomings aside, I’m willing to try this all on for size once you unleash it in the Men’s department.

Dr “Fit To Be Tied” Gerlich

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What Is Your Evaluation Of Free Australian Courting Sites?

What Is Your Evaluation Of Free Australian Courting Sites?

There are 26 million matches made on Tinder per day; however only some of the people that get matched contact one another and set up a date. Dating web sites have been around for decades; however, today it has by no means been simpler to discover a good friend, acquaintance, or long-term relationship. The technological age has superior to a degree the place singles are not going out to a bar or celebration to socialise. More than ever courting apps and websites have turn out to be the most popular platform to attach with other like-minded folks around the world. According to census knowledge, over 83% of Australians have entry to web from their home. This means there’s never been a greater time for Aussies to find love on-line than now.

Initially, Tinder’s users had been in search of easy hook-ups, but just lately more customers are finding long-term relationships by way of this app. You simply swipe left or proper and if somebody has done the identical dating sites reviews uk on your account, this will decide if you're matched or not. In Australia, Tinder has virtually 5 million users and there's no limit to how many individuals you can swipe over.

Aussie On-line Courting Faq

All Premium Light memberships grant users entry to 100% of eHarmony’s features, ranging from $65.90/m for 6 months, $45.90/m for a yr, and $35.ninety per month for two full years. The discounts when registering a membership turn into higher the longer the time period you select. The solely main draw back to not paying for a membership is that you simply won’t have the power to see profile photos of different users. Australia is residence to more than 4.5 million citizens and relationship is no longer just for the younger generations. From teenagers to over 50s, heterosexuals to the complete LGBTQIA group, listed here are the best on-line relationship sites if you stay in Australia.

That will present you with nearly one hundred different choices to look into in your journey for the ideal Australian relationship app. % of inhabitants that’s single – Good news, over 50% of the population in every of the cities we research are single. This means there are a ton of Australian singles you'll be able to meet via on-line dating. There is one web site that stands out to our staff and and has gotten a ton of curiosity from Australia’s elders–and that’s SilverSingles.

Finest For Seniors: Eharmony

That’s what makes it an excellent selection not just for Australia relationship however for all among you who're on the lookout for a stable and committed relationship. In addition to this, the site is equipped with multiple sensible options so you probably can specify what sort of particular person you are looking for. Match.com Australia has a fine number of options that can not be discovered on different sites. If you need to minimize all the effort, you can even register on the positioning through your Facebook account. Thanks to numerous handy filters , one can specify the hunt and improve the probabilities to find the soul mate utilizing this page.

People who observe our courting web site suggestions have on average 2 more dates per thirty days. Hi, my name is Collette, I was born, raised in New York the place i still at present live. This neighborhood is a safe place for women and like minded men who want to keep away from misogyny, sexism, degrading comments and racism. Possibly one of the best part about this app is that it hosts gay cruises and exciting tours the place users can select to journey to fulfill or just have fun. This app is the most effective gay online relationship website in case you are on the lookout for something protected, sociable, convenient, and simple to use.

The purpose we included this one on our record is that its recognition goes past the boundaries of a single country and area. Wanting to establish a dating platform that might be created by a girl with a lady in thoughts, the Bumble was born. There are devoted sections based on various places in Australia so you'll be able to additionally narrow down your search. The complete and well-structured system helps you slender down the quest by displaying only those with whom you'll find a way to establish a quality relationship.

There is an app for bizz individuals that can help seek for the job, nevertheless. On the draw back, Fb profiles are not verified for the legitimacy, which implies that there could additionally be plenty of scammers here. If you opt for the first method, all the data from this social media account will be imported instantly, minimizing the trouble that often comes when registering. The platform is well-organized due to multiple navigational and drop-down menus and tabs as properly.

According to out there search knowledge over 5,000 users are looking for the site. This means that there is a fixed circulate of new singles signing up from areas like Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne . The website has been rated extremely nicely (9.7/10) and better of all is 100 percent dedicated to online courting over 50.

Every day at not a member will obtain his/her every day dose of “bagels” . Men receive as a lot as 21 recommendations, whereas ladies will be listed only those that match their criteria. There are some details that make an enormous difference between POF Australia and heaps of other courting websites. The website is organized in a way that both those on the lookout for a committed relationship and people thinking about hook-up stand good chances of discovering the associate on this site. However, in case you are willing to invest some money and provides an opportunity to a paid membership, loads of useful features might be at your disposal. Bumble is an ideal place not only to satisfy people, however do the bizz as well.

We focus on courting site evaluations and how to efficiently get started with on-line dating. This page is also not particularly focusing on the Australian market, however surely is among globally most popular among customers, primarily those that use finest relationship apps Australia. Similar to nearly all of courting platforms, to speak with different customers, you should have a paid subscription which can unlock the versatility of messaging choices. With any type of relationship you get out of it what you put into it. If you’d like to begin exploring some more of them we suggest giving our dating website review section a peek.

Where Am I In A Position To Find Extra Australian On-line Relationship Options?

You also can enter your favourite music, books, and so forth. and join some RSVP groups. Founded on Valentines Day 1997, RSVP is the location that I would undoubtedly join whether or not you may be an expat in Australia or an area looking for love. It is user friendly and has actually improved since I first entered the location way again in 2013.

As it name says, there’s plenty of fish on this website ready on you to catch them! Aside that it sounds unusually perv, it’s greater than only a hook-up site. Then, girls have the likelihood to ship personal messages, males do not have such privileges. At this level, the consumer selects both to start the convo or keep on swiping through different accounts. EHarmony is a nicely known courting web site that helped millions meet their family members. The website is huge and you have to use filters to improve your search outcomes.

How A Lot Do These Aussie Courting Apps Cost?

Having entry to the good outdoors is an enormous part of courting in Australia and based on the Australia State of the Environment, Canberra is the Australian city with essentially the most greenspace per capita. It is price noting nevertheless, that higher Melbourne has probably the most parks, gardens, and reserves. If you may be like me who does the “cast the web wide” method but loves being on a finances, you will notice that your wallet shall be drained faster than you'll have the ability to imagine.

The highest subscription is $39.ninety eight relying on the length of the subscription you choose. In the world of online dating only a few utterly free options are actually worth your time. Luckily, this doesn’t imply you must shell out the massive bucks to find love online in Australia. Every website that we’ve really helpful on this web page has a free membership tier out there that will permit you to poke round and resolve whether or not or not the app is an effective match earlier than paying for something. Average value of a 1 month fitness center membership – If you’re relationship on-line in Australia (or anywhere else really…) you need to look your greatest.

That being stated, it’s excellent for anyone that happened to be in Australia, or lives there. This platform has a little bit of a scientific approach to dating, and that’s reflected in one of the main highlights- Compatibility Matching System. In addition to this, there’s an extensive list of traits where you can categorical your preferences precisely and enhance the chances to discover a appropriate associate.