#how to install primer

[ms-demeanor]

any thoughts on the new post that staff went scorched earth on which is now making the rounds abt tumblr live? it basically screenshots all the tos and claims if you've ever opened the app (or in some rbs, unsnoozed live) tumblr has gotten your data. on the one hand i feel like this is fearmongering, but on the other its true that MOST sites have your data as is so its pretty standard. you seem pretty knowledgeable abt data gathering so i was wondering abt your take

This is going to be pretty unkind but watching tumblr users interact with staff and live is a great primer on how conspiracy theories happen.

Nobody on this fucking website knows how to read a ToS, nobody on this website knows how anything fucking works (sorry, this is not a dig at you but how would tumblr "get" your data from you clicking or unclicking live; the only data that tumblr has on you is the data that you have put on tumblr what data do people think that clicking the "new" button is scooping up that is anything beyond interactions or posts or IP addresses which are the things that tumblr already has information about like you do not introduce new information into the tumblr ecosystem by clicking a button you haven't installed anything you haven't changed permissions on your browser if everyone is so goddamned scared about live stealing their data i strongly recommend they stop using anything but public internet through an anonymizer and making sure location data is shut off on all of their devices and anyone who is flipping their shit about the type of data that live is collecting but who is using chrome on any device needs to chill the fuck out about live and flip the fuck out about google)

this is like that post about twitter's content policy that circulated the other day or that post about deviantart's content policy that circulated ten fucking years ago nobody knows how to read legal documents and nobody knows how to read technical documentation and this comes together into unholy matrimony on the no reading comprehension at all moral panic website

live never violated the GDPR it was just rolled out in the US first but the entire userbase decided that because it hadn't been rolled out simultaneously in the EU and the US that it was SO UNSPEAKABLY PRIVACY VIOLATEY THAT THE EU HAD BANNED IT FOR ITS CRIMES with, like, nothing whatsoever backing that up because, again, even at its most intrusive Live collects about as much data as Twitter or Yelp, both of which are *capable* of meeting GDPR standards with that level of data collection (even if musk sometimes makes decisions that violate GDPR).

Live is significantly less intrusive than any facebook product, than Amazon, and than any Google product. If you use youtube logged in, don't worry about live, the horse is out of the barn and tumblr is the least of your worries *regardless* of live. If you regularly use Google as a search engine please god learn how to evaluate and compare risks across platforms because Live is like a coughing baby compared to about a dozen things that most highly online people interact with every single day.

If you don't want to use live don't use live. Clicking the button doesn't magically transfer your secret FBI file to tumblr and even agreeing to the ToS doesn't share anything that tumblr doesn't already have if you don't continue to interact - if you don't interact with live after agreeing to the ToS it's not collecting any data except your non-interaction.

For everyone who is losing it over Live just turn off your goddamned location on your fucking cellphone and turn off your location on your goddamned computers and that's it, you're good, you're fine, relax. If your response to "turn off your location" is "but I need it for _____" then don't worry about Live, whatever "_____" is was already collecting and selling your data.

Do you use an activity tracker? Congrats, you have much, much bigger privacy issues to worry about than tumblr live.

Okay but also I yelled about that post and the very many ways in which it was incorrect in January.

And I happened to take an archive of the page at that time because I'm a paranoid motherfucker.

And if you want my guess as to why staff went "scorched earth" on that post it's probably because if you scroll down to the bottom of the page on the archive, OP calls on everyone looking at the post to send a kind fuck you to the CEO then tagged his tumblr.

If you look at the other posts that went scorched earth in relation to tumblr staff they were also posts that very pointedly directed a lot of ire at a single staff member.

I don't think that any individual tumblr staff members are above criticism and I don't think that staff as a whole is above criticism but part of learning to read a ToS is understanding that someone can be shitty and vague and use TERF talking points and skirt the line and be technically okay under the ToS while someone can have a legitimate gripe about another user being horrible and manage to violate the ToS by accidentally spinning up a harassment campaign or suicide baiting someone.

Shitty people like nazis and terfs thrive on being edge cases. They are very good at finding a boundary and standing juuuuuuuuust on this side of it and going "la la la I'm not violating the ToS, you can't stop me!" and that blows and it leads to a lot of people encountering a lot of shitty stuff on a lot of websites but personally I'm pretty glad that there's a lot of gray area because when you cut out gray area that's when you see things like It's Going Down getting banned as extremist content alongside white supremacists. Please continue to report nazis and terfs, and when possible go deep into their pages to report because a pattern of behavior is more likely to get recognized as hate speech than a single post that gets reported a hundred times. Please block as many people who it's harmful for you to interact with as possible because it's clear that staff is not going to do the kind of work protecting users that users would like staff to do.

However I just can't get angry on behalf of a blogger who got nuked for saying "Hey everyone who hates this feature that we all hate please go tell the CEO to fuck himself at this URL specifically" - that is an extremely clear violation of the ToS because it is absolutely targeted harassment.

So now tumblr-the-userbase is going off on its merry conspiracy way skipping through fields and lacking reading comprehension and saying "users are getting banned for reporting the crimes of tumblr live and its gdpr violations" and ignoring the fact that the post was nuked because the last line was saying "hey everyone, let's all individually tell the CEO to fuck off in messages sent directly to him that are certainly not going to include any threats, exaggerations, gore, etc. etc. etc."

If I were to make a post that had 50k notes and the last line was "and while you're at it, please send tumblr-user-ms-demeanor a personalized message telling them why they're a terrible person so they know what we think of them" it would absolutely be reasonable to say that was harassing that user. And that post did it with the CEO. Who is not above criticism (and I have my criticisms! I don't think he really gets tumblr and that's a problem!), but jesus fucking christ don't tag the goddamned CEO or any other staff member in a call to action asking users to send them messages saying "fuck off" this is literally the stupidest thing I've ever seen a tumblr conspiracy theory coalesce around.

Anyway thank you for giving me a place to vent i've been getting more and more pissed about this for three days. Everyone feel free to kindly tell tumblr user ms demeanor to fuck off.

[maichan808]

Americans, our democracy is under threat.

Do you reject fascism and oppose the Trump-Musk coup? Want to do something, but aren’t sure what you can do to make a difference? Keep reading for ways big and small you can fight back:

Attend a Protest New to protesting? Here’s a primer for first-time protesters and a schedule of upcoming national days of action:

Mar 1st and ongoing (Tesla Takedown) Website | Find an event

Mar 4th (50501: 50 protests, 50 states) Website | Find an event

Mar 7th (Stand up for Science) Website | Find an event

Mar 8th (Women’s March) Website | Find an event

Search for future protests at /r/ProtestFinderUSA and join the mailing list of grassroots organizations like Indivisible to be alerted to future actions.

Put Pressure on Congress Want your elected officials to stand up to Trump-Musk and push back against the unconstitutional executive orders, disastrous DOGE cuts, and illegal funding freezes? Already calling your Reps and Senators daily using 5calls.org?

Then it’s time to escalate to in-person action. Visit their websites, join their mailing lists, follow their socials, and call their offices to find out when the next local event will be and make your voice heard. 

Applying pressure to congress works, and we are already seeing the results of constituent push back. House Democrats recently voted as a unified block against the Trump-sponsored billionaire tax cuts, with members breaking maternity leave and leaving the hospital to fly back to Washington just to cast their votes. And on the Republican side, negative town hall blowback has the GOP running scared.

If your congressperson is hiding from you, stage a protest event and put their cowardice on blast. For more information on how to implement these tactics, see the Indivisible congressional recess toolkit.

If your congressperson is already fighting the good fight, then make sure to thank them and provide encouragement to continue opposing the budget cuts. Courage is contagious, and vocal public support will help spur congress to fight that much harder. 

And finally, regardless of where you live, you can sign up to phone bank and reach out to voters in red congressional districts.

Get Out the Vote Did you know there are Special Elections as soon as April 1st that could flip control of the House back to Democrats? We simply cannot wait for the 2026 midterms, we must take action now! You can help get out the vote for Gay Valimont (FL-1), Joshua Weil (FL-6), and Blake Gendebien (NY-21).

In addition, the Muskrat is spending millions to buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Phone bank or write letters to keep a MAGA extremist off the high court and protect Wisconsin elections from future gerrymandering.

Fight the Broligarchy If you own TSLA stock, or *gasp* an actual Tesla vehicle, drop it like a scorching case of herpes, then join the picket line at your nearest Tesla showroom. 

On socials, delete your Nazi-infested X and Meta (Facebook, IG, Threads) accounts and join the open source BlueSky. If you must remain on Meta, at minimum change your account settings so Fuckerberg can’t profit from your data. 

Stop using Google search/Chrome and install privacy-focused alternatives like DuckDuckGo or Firefox. As a bonus, in the DuckDuckGo browser you can permanently hide AI garbage from your search results.

Show your monetary support for companies that have renewed their commitment to DEI programs (like Costco and Apple) and boycott those who have not (like Target and Amazon). Also look up how other corporations score on the democracy scale and adjust your spending accordingly.

 And last, but not least, pledge to join the General Strike!

Stay Informed Corporate media has capitulated to Trump. From the cancellation of minority-hosted shows on MSNBC to the Bezos takeover of the Washington Post editorial pages, MSM cannot be relied upon to provide unbiased coverage of the Trump-Musk regime.

Support independent journalists and media and follow AltGov accounts on Bluesky to stay informed as to what is actually going on in Washington.

Get to Know your Community Authoritarians want you to feel helpless and isolated because they know we the people vastly outnumber them. Get to know your neighbors and join a group/team/club - anything that gets you interacting with your local community whether it is political or not. 

Under Trump-Musk, federal programs like SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, and even Social Security are in danger.  We will need to increasingly rely on our own communities to have our backs. Visit mutualaidhub.org to locate resources and learn how to start your own network.

And finally, remember that resistance is a marathon, not a sprint. So be sure to stop doomscrolling and simply enjoy life as AOC reminds us:

[helloavocadooo]

THE LEMONADE SAVE V3.6

It's been almost a year but I'm back with another update!

Before I get into what’s changed, a quick primer on what this  save is all about: I wanted a diverse save with all the drama we got  back in the Sims 2 days. I call it the Lemonade Save because the Sims 4 is lacking in all that. When EA gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

Here’s what’s new/updated:

Made over all Chestnut Ridge and Tomarang sims and added new families. All new families have relationships (good and bad) with existing sims.

Tweaked existing sims using new in-game assets

As always, this save only includes new and updated sims. The builds are untouched. Due to how The Sims 4 culls relationships, some of the the relationships I created may go poof eventually unless you use a mod that corrects this.

This save requires no cc and uses the following DLC:

DOWNLOAD : SIMFILESHARE | MEDIAFIRE (NO ADS EVER!)

Back up your existing saves before installing. To install, just place the save file into your Sims 4 Saves folder. This save fills slot 11112f so hopefully it won’t overlap with any of your existing ones. If it does, just rename it.

Look for the save called LEMONADE SAVE V3.6 when you open the game to play.

@maxismatchccworld @public-ccfinds​ @alwaysfreecc (thanks!)

Just want the new sims? Well, the gallery is acting up yet again so I don't have direct links yet. They're all on my gallery though and my id is bunnylita. I have listed the households below the cut so it'll be easier to find them all.

Chestnut Ridge Davidson (NEW) Gooseman Grove Nectar Making Duo Sienna & Flapjack Ryder (NEW)

Tomarang Bun Ma Burb (NEW) Cahyaputri Linh Linh-Sadya

[simtanico]

Ellie Williams (inspired by The Last of Us) for The Sims 3

Teen | Brave, Loner, Artistic, Animal Lover

Behold: my pride and joy. You could say that this character is the reason I started creating CC in earnest. Now it's been almost 10 years since I first saved a version of her in CAS and here she finally is! A whole depressing heart-wrenching sequel to her story and a live action adaptation has come out since then!

So maybe this is the opportunity to give her the fun-filled tragedy-less life she deserves?????? Perhaps???????

If you're up for it, Ellie comes with brand new CC including her hair, Fall Hoodie, Summer Top and an edit of the Diesel High Kee jeans I recently released and a soft-launched slider that is soooooooo niche that I don't think merits its own post. You can find it at my sliders page and in the download. :)

And her being a sim of mine, she has a LOT of CC requirements and uses a ton of sliders. You've been warned!!!

The rest of the details below!

The List (and credits):

Skin: @kurasoberina Primer Skin HD+ (Default) with @chinsims Extra Tones [She will probably do well with another skin, as most of her features are slider and makeup reliant.]

Eyebrows: @simmillercc Low Full Tweezed brows from the EA Female Eyebrow Overhaul (Non-Default) collection (MTS archive.org link, current Patreon link does not have the non-default version of the eyebrows, afaik)

Face Details: Gosik Subtle Freckles v2 // v3 // v5 | @pralinesims Delicate Freckles for the Nose // Delicate Freckles for the Cheek

Makeup:

NOTE: ALL MAKEUP THAT WASN'T ORIGINALLY ENABLED FOR TEENS WAS MADE SO. This tutorial covers how to do that with s3pe.

Eyeshadow: 1. Base Game Eyeshadow (w/ lavsm's default replacement alpha fixes) 2. mochi029 inner eyelid make06 [reuploaded by @hyperkaos] 3. @sk-sims Natural Eyebag 4. Ephemera E121228eyeshadow [hosted by me here]

Eyeliner: 1. @sclub-privee Eyelash 3NA 2. Eyelid 2 by me [included in download] 3. Base Game Top Eyeliner

Blush: 1. @gramssims Contour 2 and Contour 5 [Link inactive. Click here for official archive link.] 2. mochi029 plainMakeSet A 3. Tifa Shading Line Blush // Nose Mask V2 [creator inactive, shared by @simdreams] 4. ModernLover Nosemask 5. @agnelid Bloodland Blush N1 Part 3

Lips: 11 IN3S Dry Lips [re-hosted by @villesims] | 2. Lip Definition III by me [included in download]

The Riding Pants in her athletic outfit (with the striped shirt) are by @sweetdevil-sims!

*** she does require a slider that I have not been able to find reuploaded anywhere, Ottershell's Chin Tallness. Link here. ***

For any other defaults and mods installed please visit my newly-updated resources page linked on my page!

Last thing: Feel free to change her up as you need. Simplify her slider usage, use her as a base, whatever. Just, please, do not claim you made her all on your own OR make money from reposting her or subsequent sims. I've spent years making her and worked very hard to compile all this. If you've made it this far, thank you!!!!!!!!!!

Download .sim and included CC (and leave a 💖): https://simfileshare.net/download/4512068/

Please tag me in any photos you might take!

She will also eventually be hosted on simblr.cc!

[madamepestilence]

alright y'all are driving me insane; let's talk about shinigami eyes

im tempted to be sarcastic here but im just going to state it as plainly and clearly as possible: no, shinigami eyes isn't made by a terf, you just don't understand how the plugin works. deciding to mass uninstall the plugin and not contribute actively makes the plugin worse

let's take a look at the extension's actual webpage together

the extension explicitly states within its own documentation that it was initially created by a mix of manual labeling and machine learning, but you can contribute with your own labels. if you understand anything about machine learning, you'll know that it's going to constantly adapt itself based on the inputs it receives

so, when a bunch of terfs install the plugin for the purposes of driving transgender communities apart, transgender people don't make any contributions to shinigami eyes, claim it's run by a terf, and mass uninstall the plugin, what do you think the new data set is for the program?

it also tells you the basic criteria, literally how to use the plugin (it's not passive! it's active!), and warns that it's susceptible to false positives

and if you scroll down slightly further:

the developer explicitly states they're transgender and why the plugin was made

now let's look at the actual guidelines, so you know how you're supposed to use the plugin:

initial primer: do not flag unless you're reasonably confident about your decision

not enough to mark as anti-trans: being a conservative, a swerf, a bad or mediocre ally, ace-phobic, being concerned with, "free speech," and giving voice to, "both sides," with examples of each

the purpose of the plugin is to mark people as trans-friendly or anti-trans (and has a clear function! you can remove either marking!), not for other sociopolitical issues

mark as anti-trans: "protecting wombyn's spaces," alt-right transphobia, restriction or opposition to gender-affirming care and enby-phobia, with examples of each

and, yes, that means that the plugin being used to fraudulently mark trans men and nonbinary people people as anti-trans is using the plugin incorrectly if that's your only basis for flagging them; you shouldn't flag someone based on them being trans, as it immediately points out in the literal next section:

not enough to mark as trans-friendly: being transgender, having some decent minimum standard like, "hurting people = bad," or supporting the overall LGBT community, with examples of each

vague statements don't equate someone as trans-friendly

and finally, mark as trans-friendly: openly supporting the transgender community or calling out transphobia, with an example

and at the very bottom, you can see, "made with [love] by kiran"

additionally, if you go to the actual github page:

it's open source. if you think the code is borked you have an opportunity to figure out what's wrong with it

if the point wasn't clear enough: ignorance of functionality and lack of participation make problems worse via attrition. if you want to make shinigami eyes better, you need to reinstall it and actively participate in fixing the data, not just getting angry at a computer program

[theworldvsyoshiko]

If you just wandered in here for some reason, I've been rambling about this for a while. The short version, though: I forgot to swap people around while I was setting up my initial colonists, so I accidentally started the game with a randomly-generated 13-year-old with almost no skills. She almost immediately picked up an ancient beer from the ground and chugged it, so needless to say, she immediately endeared herself to me.

Since this whole thing started happened by accident, I never documented the basic situation here, so might as well start with that.

Meet Yoshiko "Happy" Russell. She started as a solo mechanitor, which means that she installed a chip in her brain that allows her to control robots mechanoids, got discriminated against as a result, and decided to flee to the edge of known space to live by herself.

As if that wasn't bad enough, this is the backstory the game gave her:

Thanks to this, the game often displays her name as 'Happy, Pushover.'

She isn't good at anything except research. The only other thing she's competent at is shooting. She's not a horrible artist, but she's not good, either. I think she's only managed a single work with a quality above Poor.

She's also now 17 years old, because Rimworld accelerates aging for anyone under 20 to get them to adulthood faster. Going from 13 - 18 takes 2 actual years.

Also, if you are familiar with how Rimworld handles ages, you will notice that she's 3433 chronological years old (i.e. she was in cryosleep for millennia), which has to be one of the highest that I've seen. It's also confusing, because it's now the year 5501, which means that she was born in 2068. According to the fiction primer, humanity started spreading out from Earth around 2100. So this kid was, like, the first person off the planet. I'm gonna say that relativity bullshit is to blame.

She follows the Creticonian Creed, which came from the game's 'randomly generate a lightweight ideoligion and develop it through play' option. I added a couple of precepts to it before starting, and the result can basically be summarized as "it is a moral imperative to automate as much work as possible so I can spend more time on Space Reddit." This is a philosophy that makes her constantly a little bit happier because she has automated turrets outside her front door. The randomly-generated title for the leader is 'Great Great Automancer,' and they are entitled to wear a beret. Which is all to say that it sounds exactly like something that a 13-year-old who's too smart for her own good would come up with. I swear that apart from the tenets, I didn't touch any of this.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

BL & tokusatsu meta master post

(featuring more Utsukare posts than you can shake a stick at)

Posts covering multiple shows

Fungibility in Zettai BL and Zenkaiger - Applying Martha Nussbaum's typology of objectification, specifically the "fungiblity" type, to Zettai BL 3 and Zenkaiger

The pursuer-distancer dyad & how it applies to the world of BL - a primer on this psychological concept and how it applies to BL generally, touching on how it applies to Utsukushii Kare, Semantic Error, and To My Star 2

BL ask game: Long-term pining and grumpy/sunshine

My top 5 rewatched BL scenes, responding to an ask by @wen-kexing-apologist (shockingly, it's mostly Utsukare)

Kamen Rider Gavv

Reblogging @nctzenkane via @fadedsaturated to note the parallels between Shouma Stomach and Stacey from Zenkaiger

Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger

Kaito x Stacey: Being seen authentically & the value of consent - A look at some of the factors that make the Kaito/Stacey ship on Zenkaiger so compelling

He-who-gets-thrown-out-like-garbage - About a possible etymology of Stacey's name

Zettai BL (season 3)

What's different about Hatano, part 1 - In short, Hatano isn't fucking around.

Part 2 - Hatano's awareness of Mob's fourth wall-breaking and other ways he sometimes senses Mob's reality in a way no one else has

Part 3 - Hatano's perseverance, his oddly effective running-away strategy, and exploiting the age gap

Part 4 (the final installment) - Hatano seeing Mob authentically (not objectifying him) and the way the BL-within-a-BL storyline changes the way the audience relates to him

25 ji Akasaka de

Prying off the shell - Mihara's observation about how Shirasaki lacks a "shell" (a kind of social self) while Hayama has an impenetrable series of shells within shells, what this really means psychologically, and the implications for how they relate to each other.

Nominating a runner for 25 ji - After the penultimate episode, @my-rose-tinted-glasses and @lurkingshan posted about who should have to do the traditional JBL run (or the equivalent thereof) and I responded.

Hayama's mask finally slips - Looking closely at Hayama's affect in the opening scene of episode 9 and processing the level of blorbo distress this entails .

Over-analyzing the finale trailer in a vain attempt to try to manage my pre-finale angst.

The Eighth Sense

The Eighth Sense e5 & e6: Portraying trauma with nuance

On The Eighth Sense episodes 7 & 8

The Eighth Sense episodes 9 and 10: All we can do is try

Bokura no Shokutaku/Our Dining Table

Thoughts on the "spinoff" (bonus episode) as a logical extension of the leads' character arcs.

Old Fashion Cupcake

I had a realization about Nozue's constant, somewhat inappropriate complimenting of Togawa while looking at a gifset and reblogged it with my thoughts.

To My Star

Revisiting To My Star: A pursuer meets a distancer (season 1, episodes 1 & 2)

Revisiting To My Star: It's really hard to meet someone who's fun to be around (season 1, episodes 3 & 4)

Revisiting To My Star: This is considered flirting (season 1, episodes 5 & 6)

Revisiting To My Star: If it's hard for you (season 1, episodes 7, 8, & 9)

Notes on a gifset by @jimmysea - Nerding out big time on that one season 2 kiss

Only Friends

Sand, compulsive caregiver - On Sand's documented history of parentification and how it relates to his relationship with Ray

Only Friends characters' fragrance preferences - Assigning each of the lead characters a favorite fragrance based on their personalities, with some made-up backstory

Minato's Laundromat

About that Minato's Laundromat season 2 storyline... - Commenting on a certain character's traumatic brain injury and its effects from a psychology perspective

Kiseki: Dear to Me

Chu chu chu; or, intimate scene tips from the Kiseki cast

Brief commentary on a reblog of some behind-the-scenes footage

HIStory 3: Trapped

A reblog of the "chu chu chu" post about Kiseki that adds similar information about how intimacy was handled on the set of HIStory 3: Trapped - featuring a helpful linguistic note from @nibupei

and, last but not least...

Utsukushii Kare meta

The psychological paradoxes of Utsukushii Kare

This was intended to be a series of three posts (maybe one day I'll get the other two out?) discussing things about the characters that may seem contradictory at first but can be accounted for by digging deeper into some psychological concepts.

Part 1: Covert grandiosity and finding status through idealization - A look at 1) the subtle ways Hira shows that while his self-image can be highly negative in some ways, in other respects he feels superior to others and 2) how by elevating Kiyoi’s status and humbling himself in comparison, Hira attains a different kind of status.

An addendum of sorts to part 1: Hira's parents and his self-defeating tendencies - Some guesswork about how Hira's parents could have contributed to his self-defeating personality and specific self-defeating strategies he uses in his relationship with Kiyoi and elsewhere.

Utsukushii Kare through the lens of pursuer-distancer dynamics and related psychological concepts:

The pursuer-distancer dyad & how it applies to the world of BL - See above in the list of multi-BL posts. This one isn't super focused on Utsukushii Kare but is pretty de rigeur for understanding my UK posts on this topic.

Paradoxical roles; or, I think I finally figured out the pursuer-distancer dynamic in Utsukushii Kare - This post comes after some of the ones listed below but I recommend reading it first as this is really where I finally cracked the code on this aspect of the story.

Pursuer-distancer roles & attachment style in Utsukushii Kare, Part 1: Hira - In-depth discussion of Hira's role in the pursuer-distancer dyad, his attachment style, and his personality.

Pursuer-distancer roles and attachment style in Utsukushii Kare Part 2: Kiyoi - In-depth discussion of Kiyoi's role in the pursuer-distancer dyad, his attachment style, and his personality.

Re-evaluating pursuing & distancing in Utsukushii Kare season 1 - working out my thoughts about pursuing and distancing in season 1.

On the way Sakai Mai (the series' director) uses seme left, uke right framing and its significance in BL and other Japanese media:

Using an example from the s2e1 with the girl who hits on Hira at a party (via a reblog of a gifset from @nanons)

On the way Sakai flips Hira's and Kiyoi's position in the frame in two versions of the same scene and what it tells us about its significance

How the persistent/cute trope plays out in Utsukushii Kare season 2, plus related overanalyses of the big season 2 finale kiss:

The persistent and the cute - how "persistent" and "cute" are code words with specific meanings in BL/yaoi/other drama and manga genres/Japanese culture more broadly.

Analyzing the season 2 finale kiss in light of seme left/uke right framing and the persistent/cute trope in a reblog of a gif post by @nanons

Reblogging @bl-bracket to lobby for the season 2 finale kiss, with more overanalysis

Fragrance nerd discussion:

This bittersweet fragrance - on the significance of osmanthus/tea olive in Utsukushii Kare season 2, with additional information on the possible significance of the fragrance of osmanthus and perfumes that are either osmanthus soliflores or feature prominent osmanthus notes

Posts on specific season 2 episodes:

initial thoughts about S2e1

Additional (informal) thoughts on s2e1

S2e1 rundown

Hira's incongruous/misaligned affect at the end of s2e1

S2e2 rundown

on S2e2, including pursuer-distancer dynamics and seme left, uke right

Utsukushii Kare S2E4: “face me straight on” (mostly discussing relationship dynamics pointed out in topic-specific metas)

on Utsukushii Kare: Eternal:

Kiyoi and Anna: on Kiyoi’s friendship with Anna and its significance for his personal growth

[sportspuckball]

Not the same anon that suggested Larsdunn, but here is the primer for them: https://www.tumblr.com/yamball/763621719057612800/update-23-24?source=share

tldr; they're married (the only consistent pairing in Seattle kraken) and crazy about each other

i read your addie-verse series, and the whole angst of it at the first installment could be one of the reasons anon thinks you can write them well. non-verbatim but dunn have said so many times that he trained really hard during seattle's first off-season to be deserving and to continue playing with lars and their whole relationship on and off ice is dependent on how they take accountability for their mistakes and just wanting to play for each other better.

FASCINATING.

As an East Coaster, I am totally out of the loop on most Western Conference lore. I'll dig into all of this. I was with a fellow RPF fan IRL this weekend, and I showed them this post and they agree with the logic!

These muppets have been thrown into the tumble dryer - watch this space

[d--t]

I don't want to put anyone in the notes on the print/steal a replacement knob for an oven post on blast but nope. wrong. printer beam attack.

also wrong, but with more qualifiers. Taking a peek at the local hardware store, a low end stove is in the $800s on sale. A good medium-high quality 3D printer is also in the $800s. A cheapshit 3D printer can be had for $200. So you can do the math on that one.

But to discuss a 3D printer paying for itself in home repairs, that's actually pretty easy.

I got a 3D printer for about $800 in 2018. In the last two years, for home repairs, improvements, and quality of life, I've printed about:

30 custom color matched brackets for a lighting system, none of which could be purchased. To approximate it, you'd need to buy all of the pieces and then modify them using sandpaper, primer, and paint and just the materials to modify the pieces would run you about $30 and 2-3 days of work.

Nail guides for installing a pocket door, not a purchasable item

12 fancy shelf brackets for the bathroom closet, $10+ per piece

36 basic shelf brackets for the basement storage racks, $5+ per piece

various glue and cut guides

cover for drier exhaust tube hole

4 brackets for curtain to cover unwanted mirror, can't be bought

6 custom brackets for curtains over main windows, can't be bought

2 windowsill cleats to tie off the curtain pulls, $5+ each

3 bends for the hand rail replacement project, $60+ each

blast gates for dust collection system for power tools in the basement, $30 per gate

30 clips for the gallery hanging system to work with my cheapass frames, the clips that don't work are $2+ a piece

plumbing pieces for the wet/dry vacuum, can't be bought

plumbing pieces for the rain collection system, can't be bought, similar parts $15/piece

various small boxes and organizers, $5-30 piece

tabs to secure forces air register covers to the wall, $0.50/piece but they'd look like shit

and some stuff I'm forgetting

Not counting the things that couldn't be bought, gas to run to the store, shipping costs, or the money my time is worth and using the minimum estimates, that list totals $1017. Estimating the uncountables, I guess that I've gotten upwards of $2000 of value from the printer.

Materials cost, not counting the printer:

about two hours per model (average, some take like 10 minutes) to create the model, total 32 hours. At $20/hr for my time, that's $640.

about two hours per print run (average, some take a few minutes, others take 6 hours).

electricity for the computer to model and the printer to run. Given that heating and cooling and cooking in this house is all electric, I consider this round off to the total costs of operating the house.

filament to feed the printer: three reels at $30/reel (estimated) = $90

That totals about $730 of costs to operate the printer.

Subtracting operating costs from obtained value, I get $1270. So in two years, the printer has well and thoroughly paid for itself and left $400+ in my pocket.

And the convenience of having parts made exactly the way I want them, the first time, with limited modifications, almost zero waste, and almost instantly is truly a lifesaver. I cannot overstate how much better that has made my life. I can start work on something, realize I need a part, and have the part ready to go by the time the work gets to where the part is needed. And I live super close to the store; it would be even more valuable to me if I lived further from the store.

and for funsies I've also printed:

hand wheel for antique sewing machine. If you can buy the parts, it'll run you over $1000.

Spinning wheel. IDK $300-$3000.

cute watering can for my plants. Can't buy it but equivalent would be $30-50.

and more!

I joke about the 3D printer being my most valuable tool but it really is. Many, most even, of my most annoying problems can be solved with it.

[hikkineetboi]

Transphobic "mutuals" on Instagram are mad that I had my top surgery?

Let me put on a wig and makeup and watch them get even more mad because "boys can't wear that!" :)

The photo on the left is not edited! This is just lighting and angles. I am facing a large kitchen window with the sun flooding the room. The camera is eye level and an arm length away from my face.

The photo on the right is the same makeup in different lighting and different angle. I'm bringing my face down and holding the camera close so you can see I am wearing a full face of makeup! (Primer, foundation, concealer, blush, highlight, contour, eye shadow, eyeliner, eye contacts, lip gloss, eyebrow pencil, etc)

How to piss off transphobes with gender non conforming/crossdressing cosplay:

Actually take years of practice and learn how to do makeup. The different techniques, different products, how to suit your own features and style. Learn more than they do.

Learn about eye contacts, what styles suit you and your makeup look. Learn which stores are reputable to buy from. I really trust uniqso it's been a staple in the cosplay community for decades.

Learn how to store the contact lenses properly so u don't infect your eyes!!

Learn proper skincare. Take years learning from different resources and find out the best routine for you! Stick to that routine consistently and see the results.

Take care of your body and health! Learn about your body and your health and take care of yourselffff

Stay active. stay active and stay consistent for years. They don't need to know how far it took you to get where you are now. They don't need a before picture to see the results. The body you're looking at is a result of your hard work. I am STILL learning what works for me!

Spend time and money finding the right stores for you.

Use tools for your wigs!! Don't just put it on straight out the box. Style your wig

Learn BASIC wig styling. Dont just stick to one source when studying techniques and tools. Black people have amazing install techniques, users on douyin taught me a lot about cutting and shape.

Actually properly store your wig and take care of it so it lasts longer.

spend time and money learning what cosplay stores are best for you.

Block them and let them call themselves a victim of "the intolerant transgenders"

Basically what I'm saying is that I've spent years teaching myself my hobby because it is something i fucking enjoy!

I blocked the transphobes ofc but I know why they misgender me when I crossdress, it's because they are mad thinking that a trans man can "compete" with them. It hurts more to see a post top surgery trans man as competition than a cis woman.

I don't see anyone as competition (and I don't care about fighting over the attention of cishet men) but it's only the mutuals who followed me "to network" (aka clout chasers looking to get close with my friends) that have outed themselves as transphobes post op :)

[all-things-are-nothing-to-me]

A fresh zine order.

Left to right.

1. From a Matter of Principle to a Matter of Tactics by Anonymous

2. It All Goes or It All Stays the Same, by Spindrift

3. Vegan Cooking is Easy (Recipe Zine)

4. Counter-Info: A "How-To" Guide

5. An Herbal Medicine-Making Primer, by Simon the Simpler

6. The Cloak & Dagger Compendium Issue #2 - Lockpicking: A Handbook of Practical Skills and Invaluable Knowledge for Thieves, Rogues, Scallywags, & Other Disreputable Persons

7. Museifushugi: A Brief History of Anarchism in Pre-War Japan

8. Mutinies: Vietnam

9. The Diary of Bobby Sands

10. Illegalism: Why Pay for a Revolution on the Installment Plan…When You Can Steal One?, by Paul Z. Simons

11. Beyond the “Movement” – Anarchy!

12. Subversive Anarchy Past and Present, by Renzo Connors

13. Professional Anarchy and Theoretical Disarmament: On Insurrectionism, by Miguel Amorós

14. Illegal Anarchism: The false dichotomy, by Gustavo Rodriguez

15. Antagonistic violence: Approaches to the armed struggle in urban environments from an anarchist perspective, by Gustavo Rodriguez

16. Revolutionary Solidarity

17. Together We Can Break These Chains: Art & Writing by Trans Prisoners in Texas

18. Heart of A Warrior: 2 texts by NC prison rebel Joseph Shine White [You can write to Shine White at:

Joseph Stewart #0802041

Maury Correctional

PO BOX 247

Phoenix, MD 21131]

19. STG, Good Time, and the Malicious Demons of Coercion, by Jonathan Summers [ You can write Summers at: Jonathan Summers #459083

Chippewa Correctional Facility (URF)

4269 W. M-80

Kincheloe, MI 49784]

20. It's Time to Turn Up the Heat, by Dan Baker

[lonestarbattleship]

August 8, 2024 Update from the Battleship Texas Fountation

The ship is currently moored at Pier D in Gulf Copper Shipyard where it will continue to undergo repairs and preparations to become a museum ship once again.

PINE DECK REPAIRS: Workers are currently laying the pine deck on the ship's bow. Below is a breakdown of how this is done. Yes, Battleship Texas had a deck made up of mostly pine during the ship's service career.

The underlying steel deck has been repaired and made watertight with all existing studs removed and ground flush. Once welding has concluded in each area, the steel is properly coated.

4"x4" treated southern yellow pine deck planks are shaped and fitted to the deck then coated to protect against moisture. A Dolphinite Bedding Compound is applied to both the steel deck and bottom of the board prior to final installation. Boards are secured by studs which are welded to the steel deck during installation.

Plank and margin board seams are caulked using on strand of cotton caulking, three strands of oakum, and sealed with a marine sealant.

MEASURE 21: The ship is being painted in the Measure 21 camouflage scheme. All horizontal surfaces will be Deck Blue 20-B, and all vertical surfaces will be Navy Blue 5-N. Battleship Texas is only one of two battleships in a WWII camouflage scheme.

MAIN MAST: The ship's main mast has been primed and painted in Navy Blue 5-N. The radar top mast, along with its SG and SK, will be reinstalled to the main mast once repairs are complete.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

WHAT’S NEXT? - Battleship Texas will remain at Gulf Copper Shipyard while the ship’s new home in Galveston, Texas, is prepared. Additional steel work, replacement of the ship’s deck, further restoration, and painting will be done during this time.

TOURING? - The Battleship Texas Foundation will be offering touring options while the ship is in the shipyard. Participants will be able to view ongoing work and restoration or learn all about how the ship operated during its service career. Tours are expected to begin in late 2024.

REOPENING? - There is a lot to be done before the ship is ready for touring at its new home in Galveston, Texas. Reopening is projected to happen in the later half of 2025.

MISSING GUNS? - The ship's anti-aircraft guns are currently undergoing restoration. The guns and gun directors will be replaced once their restoration is complete.

Come on Texas!

To donate to the preservation and operation of Battleship Texas, please visit: battleshiptexas.org/

Support Battleship Texas by making a purchase through the ship's store: https://store.battleshiptexas.org

The ship is currently moored at Pier D in Gulf Copper Shipyard where it will continue to undergo repairs and preparations to become a museum ship once again.

The underlying steel deck has been repaired and made watertight with all existing studs removed and ground flush. Once welding has concluded in each area, the steel is properly coated.

Workers are currently laying the pine deck on the ship's bow. Below is a breakdown of how this is done. ne sealant.

MEASURE 21: The ship is being painted in the Measure 21 camouflage scheme. All horizontal surfaces will be Deck Blue 20-B, and all vertical surfaces will be Navy Blue 5-N. Battleship Texas is only one of two battleships in a WWII camouflage scheme.

Pictured is the ship's portside crane being painted Navy Blue 5-N.

Pictured is the ship's radar mast after being painted Navy Blue 5-N.

The ship's main mast has been primed and painted in Navy Blue 5-N. The radar top mast, along with its SG and SK, will be reinstalled to the main mast once repairs are complete.

The barbette of turret 4, and reverse of turret 5, are currently being sandblasted and await a primer."

Posted on the Battleship Texas Foundation Facebook page: link

[oliveoilcorp]

Happy 2024! 

A new year has started so I wanted to give a quick primer to newer followers about my Patreon offerings and how you can support my ongoing comic, DARLIN’ AND HER OTHER NAMES...

DARLIN’ AND HER OTHER NAMES is a werewolf-western-horror-romance comic set in 1881. The story follows two strangers who meet in a moment of mutual desperation and forge a vengeful partnership. The first installment, Part 1: Marta, was self-published online in March 2023. Since then, DARLIN’ has won an Ignatz Award and I’ve been bowled over by folks’ enthusiasm for the comic!

At the end of the day, DARLIN’ is a passion project created in my free time and it relies on reader support to continue. In addition to helping me dedicate more time to DARLIN’, pledging to my Patreon includes perks! 

For $1+ a month, you receive access to:

Weekly process posts about progress on DARLIN’ and various other projects

50% off discount code on all PDFs

For $5+ a month, you *also* receive access to:

100% off discount code on all PDFs

Weekly “Director’s Commentary” posts: I serialize Part 1 of DARLIN' a page or two at a time alongside my notes, reflections, challenges, and influences for each specific page/scene. It’s a chance to dive even deeper into the nitty gritty of my process. I’ve unlocked the very first Director’s Commentary post for the public as an example: https://www.patreon.com/posts/part-1-marta-000-87167548

I’m excited to keep making comics independently this year. But the amount of time I’ll be able to pursue them depends largely on the support of readers, so consider pledging if you want to see more DARLIN’ (and other weird comics) from me in the future! 

And even if you aren’t able to pledge, it’s always massively helpful to share posts and tell your friends about indie work that you love, especially in our current social media nightmare. 

Thank you! Every bit truly helps. 

[helloavocadooo]

THE LEMONADE SAVE V3.5

Finally! Another update! I made it before the horses! And I finally made a new promo image!

Before I get into what’s changed, a quick primer on what this  save is all about: I wanted a diverse save with all the drama we got  back in the Sims 2 days. I call it the Lemonade Save because the Sims 4 is lacking in all that. When EA gives you lemons, you make lemonade.

Here’s what’s new/updated:

Updated ALL existing families with family dynamics.

Made over all San Sequoia sims and added new families. All new families have relationships (good and bad) with existing sims.

Tweaked existing sims using new in-game assets.

Added new townies.

As always, this save only includes new and updated sims. The builds are untouched. Due to how The Sims 4 culls relationships, some of the the relationships I created may go poof eventually unless you use a mod that corrects this.

This save requires no cc and uses the following DLC:

DOWNLOAD : SIMFILESHARE | MEDIAFIRE (NO ADS EVER!)

Back up your existing saves before installing. To install, just place the save file into your Sims 4 Saves folder. This save fills slot 9992f so hopefully it won’t overlap with any of your existing ones. If it does, just rename it.

Look for the save called LEMONADE SAVE V3.5 when you open the game to play.

@maxismatchccworld @public-ccfinds​ @alwaysfreecc (thanks!)

Just want the new sims? There are direct links via the gallery under the cut.

Azevedo (NEW) Douglas-Miner (NEW) Luna-Sullivan Michaelson Robles-Ruano Ruano The Magical Wongs (NEW)

Kyle was unchanged. Kyle is perfect.

[morporkian-cryptid]

Hey, y’all wanna see some more Very Inadvisable Gun Practices by Daisuke “Supposedly The Best Gunman In The World” Jigen,

the same absolute madman who brought us timeless classics like “shooting over your shoulder with the hammer right next to your ear”, “shoving a loaded gun into your waistband”, "twirling a loaded gun by the trigger guard", and of course “using the wrong ammo for so long that your gun just blows up into pieces and buries itself into some guy’s chest”?

-cracks knuckles-

Suppose you are stranded in the Middle Ages (thanks Mamou); Middle Ages People have stolen your gun and used up all the bullets, before kindly returning the now useless gun to you. Do you:

Use your gun to bash people on the head

Acquire a crossbow or perhaps a slingshot

Forge new bullets out of some random metal you melted over a campfire and poured into a hole in a block of wood, then shove them into your used bullet cases, presumably with some gunpowder that you just found somewhere

WHY, OPTION C OF FUCKING COURSE!

I sent these pictures to J (@whosayscrimedoesntpay), my Friend Who Knows Guns™, and he was kind enough to give me a detailed run-down of what exactly is wrong with Jigen. I will now hand the keyboard over to him, so he can explain why, in his own words, “there’s… so much wrong here… so much…”

What the fuck is that metal? Why are you able to melt it over a normal fire?? Why doesn’t the powder flash deform it if that’s the case?

How did you just… find a bullet-shaped hole?? Did you make it?? How did you do that so it was the right size and shape? The wood grain would affect the aerodynamics!

Pouring water on it is just a questionable idea in terms of physics. It could cool weird and possibly deform, if not have water trapped in it.

WHY DOES HE HAVE NO BULLETS, BUT SPARE BULLET CASINGS? [NB: the answer is that he had the spent cases from already fired bullets, which sent J into even more hysterics]

SAME FOR THE POWDER [NB from your local Japan History Nerd™: this movie takes place in the early 1500; firearms were introduced to Japan in 1300 so it’s not completely impossible that Jigen would have acquired some, but then again the villagers there were very clearly established to Not Have Firearms, so…]

Is he… hammering it?? Into the case?? With a rough object?? Risking deforming the bullet?? See point 2 for my point about aerodynamics.

If he doesn’t have spare cases and he’s just using old ones that he’s spent already, no he’s not. THAT’S NOT HOW THAT WORKS.

Expanding on point 7: the whole way a bullet works is the hammer hits the base of the case, either on the rim (the flared bit) or on the center (no flare on those so these are likely rimfire, unless the animators don’t know that either) [NB: .357 Magnum bullets have a flare on the base, so yes the animators did indeed get that wrong.]

That silver bit in the middle of the base houses the “primer”, which is the thing that initially causes the heat/spark that sets off the powder. Depending on if your gun/ammo is rimfire or centrefire, the pin will either strike the rim or the center. On the picture of the spent case (on the right) you can see a dent in the little silver bit.

If they’re spent, you can’t just reuse the exact same case. The primer in the rim/center is spent. You can’t replace that.

Well, technically you can reuse centrefire cases, but you have to replace the bullet (which Jigen did, very badly), the powder (did he?? We didn’t see him do it) and the primer (same here). In the end, the only problem Jigen had with these bullets in the movie is that the aim was very bad, even though the fact that his gun even fires at all goes against the laws of physics.

--------

TL;DR: Jigen is once again defying both science and gun logic. According to J, it basically boils down to “even if the metal is suitable (which it isn’t) and the bullet is made correctly (which it isn’t) and he just… has gunpowder up his ass, he STILL needs a new primer”.

Thank you for tuning in to this new installment of “Daisuke Jigen should not, in fact, be trusted with a gun”!

[dominimoonbeam]

To The Edge - 3

This work is mine and I do not give consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted without my permission. I am sharing chapters as I work on this story but it is copyrighted material that I plan to rework and publish when completed.

story tags: scifi romance, hijinks in space, rogues learning to trust, violence, blood, guns, death, explicit language, so much kidnapping,

Works organized and easily found over on the patreon. <3

TO THE EDGE - CHAPTER 3.

Rory dropped his head back and groaned. This Primer was a piece of work. He wasn’t sure he’d ever had to do this much work to get someone to take their clothes off for him before. “Yes, if I break the promise you get to break my nose, I understand the terms of agreement.”

They released his pinky.

“Idiot…” he mumbled.

Stardust pulled their shirt off. It was an unsalvageable rag and he was honestly looking forward to shoving it into the incinerator.

He saw it immediately, catching a glimpse from the side and craning his neck to get a better look at their back. “Oh. That is one hell of a tattoo… Okay, I admit I wasn’t expecting that. What is that?”

“Hey!” they barked, turning to face him rather than letting him squirm around their back to see the moving ink. It looked like it covered them from shoulders to waist.

“Okay. Okay. Sorry.” He held up his hands in surrender. He had promised no funny business, after all. He was on a mission to make sure his bounty wasn’t injured. The last thing he needed was for them to kick the bucket before they got back to their family.

He pulled on a pair of latex gloves, eyeing the splotches of bruising and scrapes on their torso and arms. They had a large red welt across their shoulder. “Shit, that’s a nasty burn.” It was blistered. He grabbed the supply box and set it on the cot, flipping it open. “The antibiotic gel will numb it. It should heal pretty quickly, but I’ll bandage it.”

He gently applied the gel, pressing back a smile at how they set their lips and stared a hole into the wall, refusing to flinch let alone actually cry. They did hiss at him when he covered one of those blisters though.

“Shh. It’s okay. You were tough enough to get that tattoo, you can handle this no problem.”

“I don’t think it’s comparable…” Stardust ground out.

Rory smiled, nodding. “Yeah. Okay. Getting a tattoo isn’t really the same as being in the trunk of a shitty pirate ship for the better part of a week…”

“It’s only been a week?” they asked, the words rushing out in surprise. Their shoulders slumped under the weight of what he imagined was relief and exhaustion. He gently taped the bandage down before spraying some of their other cuts and scrapes.

He felt them sneaking glances at him now, looking him over like they’d only just seen him.

“I wasn’t sure you were hired by my family at first…” they confessed.

Rory laughed. “What? You thought I was just stealing their mark to ransom you myself?”

They shrugged.

“I’ll admit I’ve done that before, but you’ve got one of those bloodlines that shouldn’t be fucked with, Stardust. Your family doesn’t pay ransoms, everyone in the business knows it. That doesn’t mean they don’t send assholes like me to get you back though.”

Something curious darkened their gaze. “How much?”

Rory snorted, taping a gash on their shin shut. “Trust me, what they paid me to put those half-assed pirates down was more than I’d get on any other ransom.”

He felt them watching him the whole time he wrapped their leg. “Is that bandage too tight?”

They shook their head.

“No? Okay.” He looked them over again. “The rest just looks like bruising. No broken bones. You know, I heard a rumor once that some of you high borns had titanium plating on your bones.”

Stardust looked back at him, straight-faced. “We did but it kept setting off metal detectors. For a while we tried to make the whole Solar Court install new metal detectors that would omit titanium, but they seemed to think it would be hazard… Like anyone else could afford titanium guns to sneak through security with…”

Rory stared at them. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

For another second they gave nothing away, and then their mouth quirked with the subtlest of smiles.

He laughed, tossing the bloody cloth he’d used to clean them up into the trash and grabbing a new one. “Fine. Keep your rich kid secrets.”

“Wouldn’t be secrets if we told them to every cosmic jockey that came to our rescue…”

“Fair enough. If everyone knew you had titanium bones for sure, they’d probably have scrapped you for parts like your jet.”

They sighed, mourning the loss of that jet. Rory had seen the specs. It was definitely worth mourning, but he was still surprised to see someone like Stardust Solinoh Fairvell Malou doing so. They were from a more removed and obscure branch of Galileo’s family tree, but that didn’t mean the name wasn’t known. The Solinoh Fairvell Malous were wealthy and carried all the threat and power of their great grandmother’s name.

Galileo was the most powerful person in the known galaxy. She owned the controlling interests in three of the seven corporations of the Solar Court and was rumored to be making moves on a fourth. The family had a legend stretching back to Earth, before the first space colonies and mining settlements. They were rumored to have been involved in nearly every step of mankind’s walk away from their home world and into the stars.

Rory had heard that Galileo herself was over three-hundred and showing no signs of slowing down or handing over the reins to anyone else. He’d never seen her in person, because he didn’t leave the deep and the Solinohs never came past the edge of charted space… or, at least, they hadn’t before Stardust Malou.

“Let me get that lip cleaned up,” he said, gently tipping their chin up and dabbing the layers of crusted blood and dirt off their lip. “Hold still.”

They winced and tried to swat him away. “It hurts!”

“Yeah, of course it fucking hurts. Not that that’s kept you from talking…”

They curled their lip at him in a snarl and it bled down their chin. He fought not to smile. With his face that close to theirs, they’d be able to see the admiration in his expression and the last thing he needed was for this rich kid to think he liked them.

“What’s your name?” Stardust asked.

“What? You don’t need to know my name,” Rory held some gauze to that cleaned gash in their lip, soaking up blood and waiting for the flow to stop.

“What do I call you?”

“You don’t need to call me anything,” he countered.

“Then I’ll give you a name,” they threatened.

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t care.”

“How about Captain Asshole?”

“Okay, no, don’t call me that.”

“Cosmic the Pirate Slayer?”

His smile got out before he could stop it, but he tried to take it back, sneering, “Cosmic? What kind of name is Cosmic?”

They smirked. “I guess I’ll just go with my first—”

Rory gave a dry groan. “Oh, funny. Fine. Better than Captain Asshole.” The gauze soaked through and he took it away, tossing it into the bin. Their lip was bleeding worse than any of their other cuts. “Now seriously, hold still. Your lip is bleeding all over the place.”

He tore open another pack of gauze and pressed it to the wound. He was going to need to glue it shut.

He tsked when they leaned away, but before he could complain, they were tipping to the side…and then back toward the center.

“Stardust? Are you about to faint again?”

“No. I don’t faint,” they slurred.

He leaned back just enough to look them in the eye. This close, he could see the faint circle of their optic implant, a permanent lens connecting them to the galaxy. He realized then that he hadn’t seen it shimmer or light up, not once. Had they not used it? Not contacted anyone? There was no way that a Primer like them wasn’t outfitted with all the best apps and connections.

Their pupils swallowed their irises and their breath came jerkily.

Rory smirked. “No? Really? Either that or you’re swooning hard and about to kiss me…”

“Fuck you,” they said, the words garbled in their mouth.

“My face is like five centimeters away from yours. I’m literally watching your eyes lose focus.”

They turned a shade that could only be described as yellowish-gray, but they still shook their head, frowning like they could will themselves not to pass out.

Rory still held the gauze to their lip. “Go ahead and faint. I’m going to scan your brain when you’re out this time…”

They opened their mouth to argue but then their eyes finally rolled back, and their body slumped, head back and chest forward. They would have tipped right off the cot if he wasn’t standing in front of them, ready to catch their shoulder and guide them down.

Warning bells rang out in his head, crying that this bounty was going to be more trouble than even he’d prepared for. But Rory ignored those bells, because how much trouble could one spoiled brat be? Worst case scenario, he’d lock them in his room for the remainder of the trip.

First, he was going to finish bandaging them up and give them that brain scan. Above all else, he was not going to get caught with a dead Solinoh.