#like the science itself that's getting worked on cool as shit

[dragontamer05]

I love the idea and genuinely hope one day we figure out ways to engineer and revive extinct species - specifically ones where the extinction was cause in part if not entirely because by humans and could have potentially been prevented. But more importantly extinctions that happened in more recent history where in like their existence would suddenly disrupt an ecosystem for the worse upon reintroduction.

Wooly Mammoths which for some reason some people seem really fixated on with the idea of reviving. Is not one of those creatures.

Mammoths/Rhinos large Ice Age Mega Fauna while humans certainly played their role in their eventual extinction realistically they would have likely eventually gone extinct on their own as the world and climate changed. Even without our present environmental impact it has literally been MILLIONS of Years so even in a world where lets say they had survived for longer Mammoths as we know them back then would have eventually died out, evolving and changing into some vastly different species animal.

Mammoths also aren't just simply hairy elephants they were MASSIVE creatures much like lots of other animals at the time because being large was just sustainable like that but now everything has changed. Not just the climate but plant life to you really think there's be enough sustainable food to feed one.

Not to mention there's a lot we don't know about the creatures to even be able to prepare and properly take care of one in captivity let alone more then one (unless you only want to clone one for the sake of research I guess which ehhhh) And that's not touching on the fact that even just taking care of elephants in captivity can have it's own share of problems from time to time.

Since they are distant relatives maybe a Mammoth could get along with and could be joined in a heard with Elephants but who knows.

At bare minimum take a page out of Jurrasic Park in that if at some point we get to a stage where genetically engineering and cloning prehistoric animals- for captivity for educational purposes and what not. Maybe don't go for the biggest of creatures just cause you can. You start small. You start with creatures that won't or at the very least cannot end your life, even just on accident.

Start with creatures we have lot more known written history and info about.

Just you know anything more recent then millions of years cause the world has change a lot since then and it's NOT (just) because of humans.

[erbiumspectrum]

Nuclear magnetic resonance – you are also a sample

Part 1: The Physics

AKA how does NMR even work? Hell if I know. It’s insanely complicated, I can tell you that, and the fact that someone figured it out at all keeps blowing my mind. But the fact that someone figured out how to use it in the “real world”? That’s just beyond me. Propaganda I am not falling for: that the “M” in “MRI” stands for “magnetic” and not “magical”.

Anyway. Let me try to make it simple for you.

Nuclear. The small yet mighty proton.

There’s a whole bunch of atomic nuclei that can be useful to the NMR experiment, but the most common one is the hydrogen nucleus, so let’s focus on it here as well. The good news is the hydrogen nucleus is remarkably simple: it’s just a single proton.

Among the proton’s properties two are of interest to us: electric charge and spin. That’s because together they make the proton act a bit like a teeny tiny bar magnet, which in turn means that it will interact with magnetic fields. From a physics POV spin is a vector, so you can imagine it as an arrow whose tip is pointing to the “north pole” of the proton. Spin doesn’t mean the proton is actually spinning on its axis and you don’t want to get me started on that.[1]

Magnetic. Shit gets serious.

Let’s say you take a proton like some quantum god and put it in a magnetic field. It’s homogenous because we want physicists to be happy. What happens is our proton wants to align itself with the field, but because it acts as if it was spinning, it experiences a force that keeps tilting it. As a result, it begins to precess about the field lines – its arrow draws a cone in space. (The Earth is doing the same thing, so you better enjoy the North Star while it’s still in the north!)

The really cool thing is the frequency of this precession depends on the strength of the magnetic field and the type of nucleus that’s precessing. In the magnetic fields most commonly created in NMR experiments the frequency at which protons precess falls within the range of radio frequencies. Isn’t it incredible?

Resonance. Kicking protons for fun and science.

It turns out that if you fire a radio pulse at the right angle and of the same frequency that protons precess at, you can knock them down a little. That’s resonance. You may think it’s mean to bully them like that, but they always pick themselves up afterwards – and send a precious signal in the process.

In fact, this step in particular is- Oof. Whew. Let’s say I went for some major simplifications. I’d love to talk about the whole thing in more detail, but then this post would go on forever and everyone would cry. There’ll be links below for the curious. There’s no need to torture yourselves, though! We can just move on.

Part 2: The Chemistry

If you’ve read my proton post,[2] then you may already know where I’m going with this. NMR is important in chemistry, because we’ve learnt how to utilize the fact that protons precess in external magnetic fields. How so?

I said in the previous part that the frequency of precession depends on the nucleus and on the strength of the magnetic field. Of course, we have this external magnetic field created by our apparatus, but that’s not the whole story. Let’s look at some molecule; ethanol is the classic example. You probably know what it looks like- Is the structure of ethanol common knowledge? Years of studying chemistry have irreparably skewed my perception. Don’t go to uni kids. And don’t drink ethanol. Anyway, here’s ethanol:

We have all these hydrogen atoms here, whose nuclei give us the signal we’re interested in, but their electronic surroundings are a bit different. Every atom in this molecule contains electrons – electrically charged particles – in motion around their respective nuclei. And remember: a charge in motion creates a magnetic field. Every electron in this molecule creates its own magnetic field which adds up to the machine’s magnetic field. As a result, the strength of the total magnetic field varies from point to point within the molecule and depends on the immediate environment.

But because protons precess in proportion to the magnetic field they “feel”, groups of protons in this molecule will precess at different frequencies and therefore send different signals after being “knocked down”. These signals give us information on the molecular structure of whatever sample we pop into the NMR spectrometer. NMR is thus an organic chemist’s best friend, along with chloroform or whatever these guys like to sniff when students aren’t around, and its importance in organic chemistry can’t be overstated.

Part 3: The Biology

“But, Lena,” you might say, “you hate ochem. Why are you so excited about NMR?” Well, first of all, NMR spectroscopy is still spectroscopy, and spectroscopy is cool as fuck. The physics behind its various types is mindblowing, no matter what kind of sample gets zapped with electromagnetic radiation in the end.

But before I move on to my second point, it’s time to explain the title of this post at last: yes, you are also a sample. See, NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) are actually the same thing (the latter rightly used to be called NMRI – nuclear magnetic resonance imaging – but doctors had to drop the nuclear part because Americans got scared).

Look: the doctor puts you in the tube of the MRI scanner. The scanner creates the magnetic field that almost makes your protons align (because in fact, they begin to precess). Then, a radio frequency pulse is emitted which kicks down your poor protons. They bravely get back up and emit signals that a computer turns into something we can analyze (an image of your internal organs in the case of MRI). It’s exactly the same thing that happens when a chemist puts their sample in an NMR spectrometer (only in the end they get a spectrum instead of an image). MRI works the same way as NMR – it’s just that during an MRI procedure you are the sample.

Which brings me directly to the aforementioned second argument for why I’m into NMR.

If you’ve ever had an MRI scan, you most likely got an injection right before the procedure. You might remember that injection was a contrast agent. Contrast agents are substances, chemical compounds, that alter the time it takes your protons to pick themselves up after the radio pulse knocks them over. We use them to get better images of the examined organs.

There are different types of contrast agents, but a very common group is lanthanide coordination compounds, primarily gadolinium compounds. This is shamelessly self-indulgent, but lanthanide coordination chemistry is what I do… My thesis supervisor’s team – and, by extension, I as well – study this kind of compounds. Not their biological function (that’s for biologists to play with) but their chemical properties, but nevertheless NMR/MRI is always in the back of my mind. And who knows, maybe one day one of the molecules we study and describe will turn out to be an amazing new contrast agent :) (she said, like a delusional moron).

[1] Here's my post on the electron where you can see what happens when I do get started on this topic.

[2] And here's the proton post!

Links and further reading

You're free to hmu and ask me anything that might've come up while you were reading this post, but also here are some great (and detailed) resources:

physicshigh.com: amazing videos, probably the easiest, clearest explanation I've ever seen that actually covers all the details

How MRI Works - Part 1 - NMR Basics: great animations, skips some details but includes a tad more math

if you're very ambitious: Spin Dynamics: Basics of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance by Malcolm H. Levitt. Proceed at your own risk though. Shit's crazy

for Polish speakers: Podstawy spektroskopii molekularnej Z. Kęckiego. Miejscami bywa wymagający ale jest bez porównania prostszy od Levitta

This is kind of random but have you ever heard the sounds an MRI makes while it's running? There are those coils that produce the magnetic field and they're to blame. The sounds can be so distressing to some patients that sometimes they start to panic and the procedure has to be stopped. I've had two MRI scans in my life and found those bizarre sounds oddly fascinating. Google them if you're interested and don't get anxiety over strange noises :)

Also: tagging my beloved sibling in STEM @studyblr-perhaps . Misa, you asked me to tag you when I write another post of this kind and I remembered :)

[dann-art]

I know that vampire chronicles aren't meant to be historical accurate. Like you read this and you know that all this events can happen in literally any time and space. Like really. The times doesn't really matter there, there are no nuances.

Listen, I'm not a historian, by any means. It's just like a hobby, but I have millions of them so I don't even learn that much.

Also I usually don't give a shit about accuracy in media, like whatever, until it's science do what you want, whatever suits your story

But sometimes it's time to say enough is enough.

So, we need to talk about Armands origin in Kievan Rus'. Okay, that's cool, we don't really explore it, but well whatever, at least we're not messing this up, right? Right?

While I was reading I ignored it. I was reading TVA in polish translation I thought like okay, names and nuances probably got lost in translation. It's a really bad translation tho.

But out of curiosity today I opened the book in English, because this was sticking in my head.

And it appears it wasn't translators fault.

So well, it's like kinda huge mistake. Like no one really checked it? But this book constantly claims that like Kievan Rus' was then in Russia. And suprise, suprise: that's simply not true. Well the term is kinda not right and can mean anything, like back it existed as state it was huge, but (judging on the mention of Kiev itself) that it was like somewhere in that area.

So I'll spare whole history, it's not relevant. We're stop around 1480's, when Armand was born (based on my calculations). And in that time the region was called Kiev Voivodeship (hope I got it right in english), and it was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and stayed there until 1569, when it passed to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (when the Polish-lithuanian commonwealth was created, but both countries were in union since early XV century)

So in the book we have some lines like this

Armand, bestie, I don't know how to break it to you, you're not russian. You never were. You've never lived in Russia (or back then I would use rather the name Moscow, but again I'm not a historian). More of a Ukrainian if so, but also not the world I would use. Most accurate would be rusyn (I think, or ruthenian???? I'm not sure how it works in English, anyway not russian).

Then we have this, and well... Oh boy. Something went really wrong with geography here. First of all, you've never been to Russia (or better say Principality of Moscow, like it wasn't even called Russia, from what I know, but i might be wrong).

So okay, Moscow and Novgorod were in part of Moscow indeed but Cracow!?!?!?? (Known also as my absolutely favourite city in the world). Like Cracow like Never ever has been a part of Russia. Okay, I get confusion with Kiev if you really really don't care about basic research. But Cracow???

Here's the map. Unfortunately it like administrative of Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth in 1619, but well you'll see my point. That doesn't make any sense

Cracow always was polish. Like it's our second capital. And look how far from Russia it is. Even during the partitions it goes to Austria not Russia.

Last thing I want to point out is this one

Like, man, maybe you speak russian, I do not doubt, like during travel to Moscow you could learn I guess.

I'm not entirely sure, but I guess the language there is ruthenian not russian. Like ruthenian is old language which is base for slavic languages such as Belarusian or Ukrainian. And what is also important it was not the language used in the Principality of Moscow, so it's definitely not russian.

Okay, thanks for reading if anyone is still there. I won't bore you any longer. It just was sitting in my head and I had to throw it out because we'll, basic research I guess.

[maxknightley]

What's your process for coming up with character concepts and powersets for eidolon? I've been putting together one myself after absolutely adoring poprock and especially Harvey and it seems like you'd have an interesting perspective on it

I usually start by choosing a well-established archetype, or an existing character who I like, to model the character on.

Once that archetype is established, I think about a suitable eidolon name and concept for them.

Having established the broad strokes of the eidolon and the wielder, I work to create a fresh spin on the concept. Over the course of the campaign, I differentiate them further over time.

Some examples, keeping in mind that my memory of the older ones isn't going to be 100% accurate.

Harvey D. Godlove (ROCK)

Okay, ROCK is going to be the campaign that leans more Jojo and less Persona. The Virtuoso playbook seems interesting... Hol Horse and Mista are both basically Virtuosos. I'll draw on that - make a ranged attacker who's kind of a dumbass.

Just making the Eidolon "a gun" would be kind of boring, though. I'd like to use an OK Go song for this... hey, I was on a pinball kick recently. What if I made him really into pinball - so that's the skill he mastered - and that means he can fire a pinball like a bullet, and control its movements to some extent like Sex Pistols? Call that shit "Here It Goes Again."

Okay, so he's really into pinball, maybe other arcade games too. Since he's a Virtuoso, he must also be really good at it. Maybe he's got a bit of an ego? Sees the whole "career criminal" thing as a side gig? If he's flashy, that lines up with a high ELE build.

Emilia del Valle (Against!)

You know who's sick as hell. Nico Robin from One Piece. But I wish they had leaned harder into the fact that she's, like, one of the oldest members of the crew and spent time as a hardened assassin. I like it when she's silly but the Context should be there. What if I played someone who's a bit older and worn down by life? A Veteran, but what would their sub-playbook be?

Looking through Against Me songs, there's a few good options. Maybe Cavalier Eternal, maybe Dead Rats... an Alchemist would be fun this time around. Something kind of edgy, to fit the vibe she's got going on. "My eidolon turns love into hate?" "Turns comfort into pain?" No, those are too abstract. I should think of something concrete, something piratey and One Piece-y... say, "Violence" would be a fun pick. Very straightforward. Maybe she can just summon a fuckton of cannons? And if she's an Alchemist, the most efficient material to use would be wood - she can turn a ship itself into a new weapon!

Okay, so she's a bit older than the others. Since she's a Veteran, maybe she was a big deal at one point, but got captured and nearly killed. It's cool when characters have monikers. Since her attacks are technically using plant matter, maybe I'll call her something like "The Wilted Rose" or "The Wilted Lily..."

Solo (SKA)

It's the Mystery Solving Teens season! Gotta have a Beast in there to be the Scooby (or the Goober if you're nasty). We're doing a "two generations" thing, too... maybe go for a Mystery Incorporated inspired vibe, where my character is a bridge between both shows, and has mysterious motives of their own...

If I'm making my character "the bridge" then I should look into some real early ska, something from the 70s or early 80s. That also means we'll get some more variety on the Playlist. Let's see, "The Untouchables" sound cool. What do they - oh my god. Oh my fucking god lol I know exactly what to do here.

"Soul Together" = "Clump Spirit" = Katamari. My guy is a little fucking scarab beetle but instead of a ball of dung he could roll a ball of Everything. Like it's a miniature black hole basically. And I'll double down on the "prince" thing - his motivations are tied up in the politics and faith of a whole little civilization of bug people. What if they lived in a terrarium in the science classroom lol

The only major exception I can think of is Flip, and that's only because I came up with a rough concept long before Luke and Molly had actually figured out the details of the setting or started on the new rulebooks. Even then it still followed the broad strokes of "pick some existing characters I like, draw inspiration from them, and then tweak/iterate until they have their own thing going on."

[finnmaru]

Let's talk about Netflix's Devil May Cry, and Why it was hot garbage.

Devil may cry Netflix is a 6/10 at best and I'm being super fucking generous

(spoilers)

NOTE: Before anyone says :" devil may cry doesn't have enough material" I'd like to kindly tell you to stfu because you obviously know nothing about DMC, we have short novels, and two mangas, but some egotistical fuck decided to make his own for zero reason other than his ego, the first novel would have made an amazing introduction to Dante. visions of V would have been a wonderful choice, it had backstory, it had a unique character, it had emotions, and cool fights.

Now before I get into my points I'm just gonna say that the dialogue was generally awful, some one liners were nice, but they made me feel like they think we're stupid, and it really pissed me off how trashy it was.

Now the animation was ok the fight scenes were nice, I hate the cgi very much tho, I do not understand why they insist on it, it looks like rubbish

Forgive me if this isn't organized I'll try my best to make it

Episode 6 was nice, I liked how they portrayed lady's backstory, I liked the silence, but I did not like the shift in art style

while the art was good, bunny's side had me forgetting that I am watching devil may cry! not to mention that the story itself is ehh but ill get to that

if you have read the devil may cry manga you will know (spoilers you can skip to next point) that the bunny is connected to Arkham himself, with the 2 backstories playing back to back I thought we were gonna reach the point where that is explained but instead they made something entirely new, adn the way they connected it to lady was by making her the bunny's nemesis

Which brings me to my next point

WHY IS LADY THE MAIN CHARACTER OH MY GOD

the story was always about Dante and his brother, no matter how u look at it, its about these two siblings, Now lady while not being an mc she was always so fuckign cool and badass, her character was amazing from the get-go, you did not have to make her the mc, and make her the "girlboss" SHE WAS ALWAYS A GIRLBOSS but on her own terms, not working for the fukcing military, she was driven by her emotions, she is human, a very cool one, but human nonetheless, they had to make her oh so nonchalant and yeah I'm so badass and cool idgaf attitude ... they butchered my girl, shes one of the coolest female characters in video games, she was never an accessory to Dante, her character was great as it was, also I really disliked her voice and how she says fuck every wee minute ??? it sounds so lame too

Dante is barely there hes a side character for some fucking reason, sure he is sick in fights but that was about it.

And whats with this PHYSICS shit, why are you tryna explain teh demon shit with science?? my god i cringed so hard a that stuff, you don't need to make sense of it,

and this whole refugee demon bullshit is absolute ass, it was unnecessary, we have demons they eat humans its cool af, demons are scary, and we shoot them.

Making it so that its not demons no no its just some oppressed race with big scawy monsters, oh and sparda doomed his people to shits, my god they made sparda look like such an awful piece of shit, they took what's so special about his affinity to humanity, and rendered the demon race (makaians) as the good guys they made the demons

anthropomorphic except for the big bad scary looking monstrous demons, I do not understand why this change was made, but I know for certain it was awful.

Demons are supposed to terrify you, and I will not forgive what they have done to our bosses

Cavaliere Angelo if you look at him in dmc5, is over twice of Dante's height, in the anime he was regular sized, they gave him the Arlong treatment except Arlong was A PERSON AND NOT ANIAMTED, when that enforcer died with his sword she said " an energy sword" which first of all is so fuckign stupid and cringe, secondly if you mention it's an "energy sword" follow up on that? what did we see from Cavaliere Angelo? he was unbelievably lame it broke my heart, my guy couldn't even cut down an elevator door what???? we didn't see his cool lightening attacks, Dante's fight with him was mediocre as fuck, they truly threw Cavaliere Angelo's stature and prestige down the drain.

Agni & Rudra had their heads on their swords when you fought them in dmc3, while they kept their yappy nature, they weren't even as close as to how funny they were in DMC3, and again they weren't cool enough, they felt like accessories to rabbit.

overall, Demons didn't feel as scary as they should be.

The underworlds design was nothing special, it brought me no anxiety (which it should) like the game did, there was a sense of terror from the environment of the underworld in the games and the environment in general, the urge to get out and fear of the unknown, while in the anime it was just "bad air pollution wooo" yeah you're very deep to include pollution, I should give you a star sticker on your ass.

I think in general the music choices were peak but I wasn't a fan of the devil trigger cover, also the fact that Dante has his own theme, and don't tell me "oh but it was at that moment when he triggered his devil trigger bla bla" yeah well it's still Nero's theme...

I also dont like how the show ended, lady is stupid I guess lmfao, Idk what ways are they plotting to ruin the Alpha and the Omega himself.

I just kinda wanna pretend like this adaptation never happened but I know people will talk about it and watch it so I don't know if I should hope for the best for the next season or just not care at all, because I feel like they can't redeem it at this point

[monsters-conquer-the-world]

OOZEPUNK

WHAT IS OOZEPUNK?

Oozepunk is the term I'm coining for the microgenre of urban heroic sci-fi horror-fantasy that first exploded in the mid-80s with movies, shows, and comics like Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Toxic Avenger, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Hellboy, Street Sharks, and others. Lots of natural crossover with Biopunk and Cyberpunk, aesthetically and philosophically.

Your childhood trauma didn't let you forget Roger Rabbit heavily featured colorful nightmare slime, did it?

A ragtag gang of weirdos (often horribly mutated--more on that soon) band together to save a city that doesn't understand them. Grimy sewers, abandoned buildings and graffiti'd brick walls are lit up by neon lights, streams of mysterious, glowing goo and/or the unearthly lights of futuristic particle weapons--ideally all of the above!

Beyond the "cracked concrete and gutters full of liquid plutonium" aesthetic, Oozepunk prankishly asks "What if catastrophic aberrations of science, particularly DUMPING TOXIC FUCKING WASTE STRAIGHT INTO THE ENVIRONMENT created fucked-up monsters... but they're HEROIC fucked-up monsters!" These catastrophic aberrations of science grant the heroes incredible powers, but COST them their place in human society. (Ghostbusters and Roger Rabbit eschew character mutation in favor of discovering that the undead and olde tymey cartoons are real [and exploitable!], respectively. 'Busters and 'Toon sympathizers alike are treated like insane idiots and/or frauds in their respective universes.)

Oozepunk heroes are challenged not only by strange supernatural beings, but by human society itself. The Ghostbusters battle with local politicians as much as they do the undead. In the recent (and delightful) TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, Splinter warns the Turtles of humans and their obsession with "milking" mutants for their blood--on top of the villainous mutants they're trying to thwart!

Crank up the creep factor in Oozepunk and you get awesome anti-establishment goo-horror like 1988's The Blob, The Stuff, Street Trash, and probably a bunch more. Toxic Avenger is a batshit crazy splatter-comedy (i.e. classic Troma)... and still garnered sequels, a kid's cartoon and toyline!

And there's a Shredder's Revenge-style Crusaders beat-em-up coming out next year??

This looks dope as shit

Ghostbusters and TMNT are the only current, "evergreen" (or radioactive green!) Oozepunk franchises I can think of off the top of my head, but Oozepunk elements are buried in almost all of the stories and settings I love the most. Heroic kaiju like King Kong, Godzilla and Gamera paved the way for our freaky friends, but so did comics characters like Fantastic Four's Ben "The Thing" Grimm, The Hulk and Swamp Thing. Hell, I think I blame SESAME STREET of all things for starting me down the Oozepunk path.

Surprise! I've loved screaming trash monsters with secret hearts of gold since I was a fucking baby, and they've ALWAYS been there for me!

But it's not just Oscar, Sesame Street as a whole is a proto-Oozepunk utopia, years before the big Ooze-splosion of the 80s. Muppets, monsters, talking animals and chill humans all live and work together to scrape by with a little dignity in a gritty-but-wholesome urban world!

Sesame Street, a decades-long reminder that educational childrens' programming can and SHOULD be cool as hell looking and loaded with all kinds of friendly mutant freakuloids.

OOZEPUNK! Whaddya think?

[lorata]

Hi! Potentially a bit of a random question but I seem to have the idea in my mind that your wife has studied linguistics. I’m seriously considering applying to do French and Linguistics at uni and I was wondering if she had any thoughts or advice? The course allows people to apply having solely studied French so I don’t have much linguistic experience but I’m really interested by it and I don’t know any other linguists irl haha. I completely understand if not! Have a good day xx

she majored in both those things!

she also studied abroad in 3 different countries bc her program allowed her to and that was fantastic, not only for the experience itself but also for getting jobs later -- the job she's in now hired her with less direct related experience in part because they liked that she'd gone to different countries and done stuff while over there (ok she gave me the direct quote from the hiring manager "we had to meet with the person who had this background")

i'm speaking for her a bit rn bc she's napping but MY two cents is that i feel like people are like "teach" or "be a translator" but they're not the only jobs you can do with it -- one of the fastest growing careers right now is speech therapy/communicative disorders, whether it's developmental (kids) or helping people post-TBI / stroke or seniors with aphasia or more audiology focused but that's linguistics baby! (you totally can do translation, one of my friends works at nintendo doing english localizations but i feel like that's the one everyone thinks of and there's other stuff if it's not your jam)

OKAY SHE'S AWAKE i'm going to take notes while she thought-dumps under the cut

first off, she thinks linguistics is awesome, good on ya! she actually majored in french and japanese and didn't figure out the linguistics until the very last year, so she had to come back for another degree after working for a few years

linguistics is a very cool interdisciplinary field with lots of branches that intersect with many other things -- if you like a particular branch and you want to pursue it, take the electives that connect with that branch (e.g. she took psycholinguistics and cognitive science) which will give you good sense of it and help you if you want to explore more in it later on

when you do your language requirement, she recommends picking up one that's different to english or french in a significant way -- it'll help you wrap your head around different concepts if you speak or are learning a language that has those things (e.g. Japanese is subject-object-verb vs english/french subject-verb-object)

she VERY much recommends non-european languages in general ("tho there is cool shit in european languages too, like basque")

she is curious whether this is a double French major + Linguistics major OR a French linguistics major -- she recommends the first rather than the second, she has been in the second (while studying abroad) and finds that the language tends to colour the linguistics rather than studying cross-linguistically. so if you have the choice she does recommend the two separate majors if you can get it

linguistics is more maths than she expected -- you don't need to do a lot of calculations (unless you want to! you can get very mathsy if you want with quantitative or computational linguistics) but you're looking for trends so you do need to understand data and statistics, and in the higher levels stuff like plotting sentences and sentence diagramming involves way more equations. with that being said, my wife who has a math LD and had a really hard tim e with math in school turned out to LOVE it; it took her a bit to wrap her head around how things worked at first but it blew her mind and she has a huge appreciation for the breadth of the field (if you're from a science background then disregard hahaha)

linguistics intersects with psychology and science in a very cool way that she says also helped her understand some of the hard-science stuff

LEARN THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET -- you have to, it's a requirement, but get on that because it's important; she's obsessed with it, right now i actually need to pause bc she's explaining the layout of the chart to me (it's arranged by place of articulation) but for you i'm going to link it instead

this is a bit off topic and maybe not relevant and also obviously a personal choice regardless but she says if you suspect you have a learning disability and it has not been diagnosed, get it diagnosed, if you don't need to be doing that at 30 it's much easier lol

her username on here is @linguafranka if you want to add her / DM / continue convos! she loves to talk linguistics pretty much any time

[zerodderty]

homestuck is the ikea of narrative.

Or maybe the Ikea store is just the Homestuck of retail experiences? Stay with me here.

ikea stores are built like this:

They're these really narrow hallway corridors that carry you from one furniture “setpiece” to another

And the store doesn't hide this fact- it kinda accentuates at every corner how linear your path here is, and in a lot of ways it's a cheesy wink at how constructed all retail stores are, how each retail store is just funneling you to the stuff the company wants you to buy, and any illusion of "natural ordering" is just that- an illusion meant to lower your guard and making it easier for the marketing magic to work its charms on your subconsious mind.

Even the shortcuts aren't really shortcuts. The store advertises the little points you can "cheat the narrative" by breaking the intended sequence, but that doesn't really matter now does it? You're still going to get to the end, you're still going to get to the finish line one way or the other no matter what you're gonna walk out past the cash registers and go back to your car so if you want to get there sooner rather than later it's not like you're "winning".

If anything, by deluding yourself with that power you're just lowering your guard again, making it easier to be funneled into the things Ikea actually wants you to buy.

And that's fine! Kinda! By being so tongue in cheek with its exaggerated linearity, you can really lead shoppers through a much more planned, deliberate, almost spectacular experience with an almost Disneyland feel. You have pacing, peaks, valleys, little specific niches that can target specific people and not just broadly appealing displays. The little constructed rooms almost work as "setpieces", showing all the pieces of the store's collections put together in these grand ways that create much stronger tone and scene than any old Jcpenny's could.

And that's the thing, right? Jcpenny a while ago did this thing where they stopped it with the 4.99 9.99 shit and just made every item a clean flat price and it failed miserably, I mean like "bankrupted the company" miserably

People don’t like being reminded about how much they’re spending they want to be fooled they want to not know. They want to walk through the stories they are familiar with and not think about what they mean or who is trying to convince them of what, and having a work that dispels its own illusion makes it that much harder to get lost in it in the way people demand to be lost in their stories. They demand characters that go through their arcs well, their proper arcs the one set up by older stories and genre conventions and cultural expectations and the education system and their governments and their parents because that's what you're supposed to do, right? That's just the natural path, it's just science! You don't wanna disrespect science, do you? What, are you too good for the old stories? Too good to do it the right way? Who the fuck do you think you're fooling anyways, everybody knows what you really are.

That's right: a savvy furniture shopper.

But if you let yourself look, if you are okay with the realization that you’re being fooled, you can just have fun with the spectacle itself or hang out in the food court (dreambubbles), you can learn the systems for its own sake not out of some false idea of shortcuts that might take you through the store faster but only to the same destination as everyone else

And then at the end you take what you’ve learned and buy a shitton of stuff in this huge dense frantic warehouse binge, if you want to, and then you leave ikea and get in your car and drive home.

Ikea is less a store and more the framework of a store, stripped bare to leave the skeleton open and exposed

This is maybe upsetting/frustrating to people who just wanted to go buy a couch because they saw a cool ad of that couch making out with a desk on Tumblr in 2012, but also you can buy a couch at Wayfare or Costco or whatever, you go to Ikea to go to Ikea

And maybe, just maybe, going to Ikea and understanding why Ikea exists will make you a little bit better at buying couches and not just flocking to the first fancy display item you see at the window

… the metaphor falls apart a little here but I think the rest carries

[revivivivify]

Want to play Dragon Age: Origins on a modern computer?

Cool! So did I. I loved Veilguard, and I wanted to play the other games. I started with Origins.

It absolutely refused to run, but my roommate is a computer science major so I’m tangentially familiar with the art of fucking with your files and I have the fatal conviction that I could do anything at least half decently, so I was determined to fix it. Through some intensive Googling and multiple failed attempts, I’ve gotten it running like a dream.

Origins is a very old and very fragile game that wants nothing more than to die badly. Chances are it won’t work right away for you either, so let’s get started.

Note: I got it off of Steam, so I’m not certain if these fixes will work for the EA app.

Once you get it downloaded, you’re going to open the launcher. If you’re like me, the game will immediately shit itself and crash upon opening the configuration menu when you hit play. That’s okay! That’s where our first fix comes in.

You’re going to follow these instructions (from HERE) but if you’re not super familiar with computers, it might be a little hard.

I struggled with these instructions. To find the file I needed to apply the fix to, I had to go to the Steam files first. I right-clicked the game and went to manage and then local files to see what the pathway was to get there. Hover over manage, then click on browse local files. You’ll see a file menu pop up, and a line across the top of it that reads Steam > steamapps > common > Dragon Age Ultimate Edition. In those files is a folder called bin_ship. That’s where the DAOriginsConfig file is. That’s what you need to attach the fix to, so make a note of it. To find that file once you’ve gotten the instructions above started, hit the browse button and go to This PC, then your drive, then program files (x86). Then follow the folders from there in the order they were in the Steam window.

Now the configuration menu should work as intended and let the game start up, but if you’re like me, it’ll start crashing every time you hit New Game. But that (or regular crashes) can be fixed too, with the walkthrough in this YouTube video, which uses two patches from this Steam post.

Go forth, and happy patching! These three things should get your game running without crashing.

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

🎵 Precinct 41 Major Crimes Unit

"Vrrr… Viva la Revolución!"

+1 Communism

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Cool. To me it sounds like you got played by Evrart Claire. And it's true -- you *are* his little peone.""

"Is that why you want us to investigate the assassination of the previous Union head thing? To get off Evrart's hook?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "No. It's *nothing* like that. He was reckless with information -- but ethical. We don't owe anyone anything. This allowed us to stabilize things in Martinaise."

JUDIT MINOT - "God... Calm down, Jean."

REACTION SPEED [Medium: Success] - Silence. Good. The man doesn't know what to say.

6. "There was also a dead man -- on the boardwalk. A missing person I found."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Yes-yes. Fallen through a gap in the boardwalk, drunk."

"How did you know I found him?"

JUDIT MINOT - "The body was transported to Precinct 41. Our morgue. I had Tillbrook and Mollins take care of funeral arrangements and family-stuff."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "You're not the only cop in the world, Harry. This all comes back to us."

JUDIT MINOT - "Still," she says quietly. "Good work with the missing person, detective."

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - It's still a point for you. No denying it.

7. "I also looked into the mystery of the Doomed Commercial Area."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - He shrugs. "I don't know what a 'Doomed Commercial Area' is."

"Rue de Saint-Ghislaine 10. A commercial building where all businesses go bankrupt. I looked into it."

"The curse turned out to be possibly entroponetical. Part of my larger investigation -- into Martinaise itself."

"Nothing. It's not important."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "No, it didn't -- it didn't turn out to be entroponetical *again*. Enough with the isolary-pale two-millimetre-hole-in-the-world line. This isn't Paradox B. We're a police force."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Paradox B is a fringe science magazine published in Graad. Its mission is to explain theories like telekinesis and intraisolary pale, before they get out of hand.

KIM KITSURAGI - It doesn't look like the lieutenant wishes you to push this angle further.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Easy: Success] - 'Cut it out' is indeed what he is thinking.

8. "I confiscated drugs from Cuno's dad."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Who's *Cuno*?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "You don't want to know."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "You're right, lieutenant -- I don't." He turns to you. "You snorted the drugs, I know you did. It's all right, I mean, at this point -- *anything* is but the drink."

9. "So what do you say? Wanna take this hot shit back?" (Point to yourself.)

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "I don't *want* to. But you discovered a new species. And solved the murder..." He shrugs.

"So I *have* to. Jude?"

JUDIT MINOT - "Anything that ends the *trial* is okay with me." A quick nod.

ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success] - You haven't been drinking, she thinks. So maybe this time...

TRANT HEIDELSTAM - "Agreed. The public relations potential of this is too valuable to let go."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Okay." He sighs. "We have vehicles in the square. And the perpetrator needs to be taken into custody. Let's go."

Task complete: The Return

+10 XP

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - Now! Now you will *finally* get to know who you are!

"Wait. I have a *few* questions before we go. About who I am."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - The man looks westward, impatiently.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - Jingling his car keys in his pocket.

"Who *am* I?"

"Why am I *like* this?"

"Okay. Am I a dirty cop working for La Puta Madre?"

"Precinct 41… what kind of station is it?"

"The phasmid -- I need to tell Lena about this ASAP."

"Lieutenant Kitsuragi -- what will you do now?"

"I'm ready." (End.)

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Who *are* you? You're a gym teacher, Harry."

"What?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Well -- obviously you're not a gym teacher anymore, but..."

+5 XP

"But before..."

JUDIT MINOT - "Before you were a cop, you were a gym teacher in Couron." She looks around. "It's getting really cold outside. Should we maybe..."

"That does explain a lot."

"No way. I was a flagellant monk."

"A guerrila soldier / gym teacher?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "No," he remarks dryly, "a regular one."

2. "No way. I was a flagellant monk."

JUDIT MINOT - "You haven't told us about that -- you've just told us about being a gym teacher."

"That does explain a lot."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Harry... it explains *everything*. The running around. The jumping. The *shot-put*. Your inexplicable facial hair..."

"The collection of FALN sportswear I've amassed..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "The fact that you don't seem to *know* what homo-sexuality is... Your moves on the church floor -- which, honestly, were just *jump aerobics*... And how you're able to perform a 360-degree spin-kick too!"

PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success] - Also -- *this* guy. Just... everything about this guy.

SAVOIR FAIRE [Medium: Success] - And this guy too.

HAND/EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success] - God... even this javelin-throwing freak here...

"Oh god -- *Contact Mike*..."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Of course! Contact Mike!"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "He's been on about Mike again?" The detective shakes his head. "I hate that guy."

"Contact Mike is a reprise of the most inspiring basic sporting principle of open competition! A 5,000-1 rank outsider!"

"When was this? When was I a gym teacher?"

"You said in Couron? I was a gym teacher there?"

"Why did I join the RCM then?"

"Okay. I see now." (Conclude.)

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Oh -- you don't say?" He arches an eyebrow. "Does he also *vault an impassible gulf of finance and privilege*?"

JUDIT MINOT - "It is... it *is* getting cold out..." She looks around -- at the dilapidated fishing village.

2. "When was this? When was I a gym teacher?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "In your twenties or late twenties. You've really let yourself go since then." He looks you over.

3. "You said in Couron? I was a gym teacher there?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Yes, you *taught gym* in Couron. I believe that's the term? Taught gym at a high school. You were a high school gym teacher."

PERCEPTION (SMELL) [Easy: Success] - The smell of sweat and glue, the worn floorboards...

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Couron is just east of Jamrock. It was a short walk, every morning -- to the baseball field or the sports building...

KIM KITSURAGI - "High school. Harry! Your goings-on with Cuno, Andre, Acele -- the whole thing on the ice. That's why you're so *juvie*."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - His smirk suggests barely contained laughter.

4. "Why did I join the RCM then?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "The regular -- you found some chick. She inspired you to fight the *big fight*. Be more than you are. All that."

INLAND EMPIRE [Trivial: Success] - You, every morning, walking from Voyager Road to teach gym. She -- leaving for the academy with her spring coat on. The air filled with the smell of smoke and raspberries and incredible hope. An ocean full of hope.

5. "Okay. I see now." (Conclude.)

KIM KITSURAGI - "I knew it. I knew no normal human being can run like that. He's an-honest-to-god gym teacher."

2. "Why am I *like* this?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "It's not a mystery. Some chick fucked you over. Also, you're a drunk."

PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success] - You really went with it too. Really maximized the damage.

"Some chick -- who?"

"Was she called Dora Du Bois?"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Du Bois?" He shakes his head. "It was... Dora Ingerlund, I think. You've said her name. But you weren't married. You were engaged."

"Wait, Dora Ingerlund?"

"So we weren't even married…"

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "Something like that. Half-Vaasan."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - Vaasa is where beautiful and impossibly blonde people come from.

2. "So we weren't even married..."

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "No one is married anymore. This is Revachol."

"When was this?"

"I've heard enough." (End it.)

JEAN VICQUEMARE - "God, I don't know..." He thinks. "Six years ago? She was way before my time."

VOLITION [Easy: Success] - Six years and you haven't gotten over it, what the hell is wrong with you?

[stepfordgoth]

Btw I think I may have cracked the code in my years long aphid problem. It's because I'm an idiot lol. A well-meaning idiot, but an idiot nonetheless. (This is probably going to be a long post.)

So, I started composting a few years ago and honestly I didn't really know what I was doing at all. Fully winging it. The majority of things that I've been composting have been kitchen and garden scraps, which are "green" compostables. I vaguely knew of the concept of "green" and "brown" compostables so I would occasionally toss my greens in a brown paper lunch bag and just compost the whole thing and I figured that was enough....... It turns out that was not enough. Lol. Apparently you're supposed to be composting way more browns than greens, and if you compost way more greens than browns (like I did) you're going to get ANTS. Lots of them. This happens because the compost takes a lot longer to decompose when there's too many greens and not enough browns (there's a lot of science at play here and I'm not gonna go into all of it in this post, but just know that much). And slow decomposition attracts ants.

I have found SO MANY ANTS in my compost pile in the last couple weeks. I am not exaggerating when I say literally hundreds of thousands of them in the small area of the compost pile that I was trying to work with. I didn't notice them at first, and I added a lot of that compost to my garden beds. When I got to the point of realizing.... Shit man, that's a lot of ants...... I googled it because, again, I'm a well-meaning idiot and I was curious exactly how bad tons of ants in my compost (and eventually in my garden) is. Most of the stuff I read said that it's a totally normal part of decomposition to find lots of ants in your compost. So I, again, an idiot, was like. Cool. And added more of it to my garden beds.

Then last Sunday I noticed, AS I WAS SHOVELING COMPOST INTO THE BED, that the first aphid colony of the year has arrived on my chamomile. And that's when the lightbulb moment happened. I realized, with sudden "oh you dumbass" clarity...... Wait, if I'm adding ants to a bed that has aphids already, won't that make my aphid problem worse? Since ants farm and protect aphids and all that? And I dropped my shovel and ran inside and did some more googling. And yeah, I'm correct about that hunch. And also, I should've read more in depth about ants in my compost in the first place. It turns out that yes, ants in your compost are a perfectly normal sign of decomposition, but they signify that it's still in the process of decomposition and should not be used in garden beds yet because it will cause a variety of problems if you do....... Several of which I have seen firsthand in the last few years, including rampant aphids. Last year I had a big slug problem, that's also probably because of not fully decomposed compost in my garden beds. Also I might not have mentioned it, but there's been a weird smell around my garden for the past couple years that I assumed was the smell of the "honeydew" secreted by the aphids feeding on my chamomile..... Turns out that's actually the smell of decomposing, not yet ready for use compost. 😮‍💨

So, to sum it up, here's the exact chronological flow of the fuckups I've created that have caused my current garden problems:

Composting too many greens, not nearly enough browns for several years -> creates high-nitrogen, slow decomposing compost -> encourages ants in the compost pile

Putting that unfinished compost (infested with i don't even want to think about how many ants) in my garden beds for years -> encourages more ants -> exacerbates an existing aphid problem

I thought I was doing all the right things too 😮‍💨 I didn't even know all the shit I didn't know. I'm disappointed in myself tbh.

Anyway, really the only fix now is adding a LOT of browns to the compost pile and giving it time to correct itself. I bought a bag of those brown paper lunch bags the other day just to cut them all up into little strips to compost them. Hopefully that helps, and soon!

[raptorladylover6969]

VERY passionate rant under the cut

“The Handler has dino DNA‼️” “The Handler is a robot‼️” “The Handler is a Brooklynn clone‼️” GET OUTTTTTTT GET TF OUTTTTTT I AM SO SICK OF THE SAME. GOD DAMN. DOG SHIT THEORIES. IM TIREDDDD OF IT. ITS THE SAME THING EVERY TIMEEEEEEEE AND I HATEEEEE IT. I WANT NEW THEORIES. ONES THAT ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE. ONES THAT ARENT THE SAME FUCKING THEME ALL OVER AGAIN UGHHHHH.

One thing I hate about Jurassic World youtube channels is when it comes to theorizing abt characters, THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO ACTUALLY AND PROPERLY ANALYZE. It’s like they never payed attention in english class 😭 esp when it comes to The Handler, because yes offence, just saying, their “character analysis” videos are absolute shit. I was yapping abt this early with @koi-fish-boy

What I mean is, instead of coming up with new theories, these “theorists” just take already existing theories, slap it into a video, add some other info that is not even considered a character analysis but just info thats RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR FACES. The other worst part is, they never show any evidence to support their theories, they don’t make connections. They just go like “Oh The Handler blah blah creepy lady blah blah whats her deal? Blah oh shes probably part raptor or a clone blah blah blah k like and subscribe” GET OUT- 🗣️🗣️💥💥‼️‼️

I could debunk some of these theories right now even I am feeling THAT petty. “Brooklynn clone?” They don’t have the same facial structure, The Handler is 10x more paler, Brooklynn has a button nose while The Handler’s is straight, and have you taken into consideration that other blue eyed white ppl with freckles exist????? Brooklynn isnt the only white chick that exists 💀 “Dino x human hybrid?” this idea for a plot has been scrapped long ago. And even if she was a dino hybrid, she HAS to retain dino like features, like scales, vertical pupils, dino vocals, sharp teeth. NO, her having big eyes and pale skin DOES NOT = DINOSAUR FEATURES. Theres millions of people with big eyes and who are also sickly pale. “But she doesnt blink!” Yes tf she does I have the timestamps to prove it, she actually blinks A LOT considering the little screentime she has. “Robot??” We see her display humane emotions such as empathy in the final episode (I mean this theory itself has already been scrapped by countless ppl so 😼)

The problem here is that ppl dont reeeeealllllyyyy ANALYZE a character, they just observe the surface, find a couple of things here and there, and call it a day. They don’t use all of their senses when looking into a character, they only document what the naked eye can see. That is NOT what analyzation is about. Character analyzation is about digging DEEPER into the character, putting yourself in their POV, in their shoes, reading their facial expressions, their body language, spending hours playing back the same clips over and over again just to find new info, taking note of the dramatic lighting changes, the ambience, making connections, USING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO UNBOX THE MYSTERYS OF SAID CHARACTER. Cmon guys did we learn nothing from Brooklynn??🤨🤨 like no joke me and @koi-fish-boy spent hours rewatching scenes with The Handler and found a BUNCH OF COOL NEW SHIT THAT NO ONE HASNT EVEN TALKED ABT YET.

People dont also seem to have enough balls to connect neuroscience to their theories, which is strange because incorporating psychology and the human brain, or any kind of science to a character analysis can rlly help with coming up with new theories. Why do you think MatPat’s theories were so good and interesting? It’s because he makes CONNECTIONS. He incorporates math, history, folklore, religion, and science into ALL OF HIS THEORIES. HE PUTS WORK INTO THEM. HE THINKS CRITICALLY.

All theories are valid, even the far-fetched ones, thats the whole point of a theory, its supposed to be crazy, but actually putting in the work to find evidence to support your theory WILL STRENGTHEN IT, and make it 100x more interesting. You can’t just introduce a theory without evidence to back it up, there needs to be at least 1 reason to even consider your theory plausible. Like the clone theory, I’m not entirely against it cuz cloning IS a thing in the JW universe, like that theory makes the most sense cuz its happened before, so why not again? I still think its absolutely crap, but I’ll admit, it makes sense. Why? Cause theres evidence to back it up.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk 🤗

[goldenstorm0]

Random petpeeve: Laptops aren't as easy to upgrade as your normal tower computer

Like, maybe you can get more ram if they didn't solder them in. But fans/cooling systems are usually custom to the model. And same with literally every other part head to toe, but I usually find I want better cooling because I usually use harder programs for whatever editing I'm doing. Little tiny things like CMOS batteries, keys, screws, whatever can be fucked around with to fit. I literally file down a couple little tabs on CMOS batteries for work because we bought 30 of the wrong model, but the thats the fanciest we get with it

Maybe If you are a giant need you can Frankenstein something together, my BIL specializes in computer science has friends who have done that a few times to fuck around, but it's never more extensive than putting a different model monitor half on the keyboard half. Which is impressive in itself tbh, for some ungodly reason it's a lot harder than it should be.

Like straight up I would be happy with a giant slab of a computer if that ment i could more easily replace parts. Big enough that I could put in whatever motherboard I want, a new graphics card when I need an upgrade, extra fans so maybe it doesn't burn up as much when running aftereffects or indesign or whatever I'm trying to teach myself. But small enough that I can put it in a bag and plug it in at a cute coffee shop and people watch while I work. But noooo everyone wants to have the coolest sleekest design that's less than a pound and can barely maybe run unmodded stardew valley and possible chrome (not at the same time) so you can check your email then watch something (not at the same time) on one of you monthly subscription services and make powerpoints for work (again, not at the same time, unless you like things running at a snails speed, honestly it will do that even if you only run one thing at a time)

idk, I'm awake earlier than usual and I want to go out to a coffee shop and people watch and work on a random project, but I haven't touched my laptop in a couple years since I got a tower. Like, I'm not a computer person, but I do a lot of DIY shit and work has a few laptops rn that we plan on recycling cause they are old and slow, and part of me wants to see if I can take one home to fuck around with to see if I can some art programs running on it. Buuut I know these laptops well enough to know that I'd want to upgrade a lot of parts, and I haven't even started this project and I am already frustrated at this maybe sisyphean task.

[madohomo]

its my golden bday babyy i am 29 on the 29th today

life updates under the cut!!

i feel like my lifes been going 1000mph for a while now but some notable moments

- i got my masters degree and it was the hardest thing ive ever done honestly i didn't think i was gonna make it but my degree is in applied biosciences!! im v passionate abt a lot of science research so im excited to see where that takes me.

- im a homeowner now !! living w my 3 siblings and splitting a mortgage and its honestly so nice. the house so lovely and ive been through so much roommate hell in the past decade so its been nice to have housing security and ppl i can count on. house is kind of a zoo with so many animals though (2 cats, cockatiel, snake, axolotl, fish & coral) but we make it work

- I'm still working in clinical research as a coordinator on the only NIH funded long covid trial and it's been kind of brutal. not just because of the topic and the study itself being all over the fucking place, but they recently fucked me over financially and now I'm pretty much stuck working there until at least early next year.. but it does feel cool to contribute to such important research that is going to affect millions of people! I've been working on covid studies since summer of 2020 on both treatments and vaccines and now long covid. so I'm pretty burnt out but grateful that I've learned so much about how to protect myself and my loved ones because I'm pretty much the only person I know that still hasn't gotten covid yet. please PLEASE continue to mask, most importantly protect your face holes, and care for each other because everything we know so far is so horrific and we still have very little in terms of treatment options. the future is really looking so grim tbh.

- since October of last year I've been pretty involved in local organizing centered around Palestine. since then and especially during the international call for encampments I've really gotten to know a lot of amazing people who inspire me and remind me that a better world really is possible and we can really fucking build it ourselves. I feel like I've spent a really large portion of my twenties grieving my future because of climate catastrophe and endless war. but for the first time I feel safe and hopeful. I really encourage everyone to connect with your local organizations, meet people and get involved because getting connected and organized is really the only solution to every problem we face and if you're like me and feel existential dread on the daily, this is the best solution.

- and speaking of the friends and comrades we met along the way... I just want to talk about how much I love my friends and the people around me because I would have never made it to 29 without you. I love my local sapphic squad That makes that drained social battery go back to being full. and I love love all my out-of-state friends who continue to talk to me and want to be in my life still despite the distance!! I'm literally flying out tomorrow and seeing East Coast friends I started hanging out with during Homestuck days back in 2013 and now 11 years later. we're still planning shit together.

[decepti-thots]

for the director's cut ask meme, if you fancy it: the bit in ch 3 with Thundercracker. (If you don't fancy it, anything you do want to do would be cool...)

(This is the fic in question- as Jariktig says, the scene in question is the second of chapter three!)

So I really wanted to get Senator Shockwave in that fic, which I assume is obvious from the fic itself, lmao. Because, well, I think the idea of Mesothulas knowing him pre-Shadowplay is great, and just very funny in general. So I knew I was going to be somehow tying Mesothulas to the academy, not as a student but in some way.

Anyway, one of the things I really like that rarely comes up in fandom is that Thundercracker and Skywarp were students at Shockwave's like… X-Men ripoff school- and it really does not sound as fun from Skywarp's perspective as it looked in Shadowplay, huh? Skywarp believes that a) the primary interest was in 'poking and prodding' them, not helping them, and b) that there was as much prejudice against them as fliers as there was anywhere else. Which, sure, he might himself be biased towards negativity, but I thought that was interesting, the contrast between the very rosy view Shadowplay presents versus what Skywarp, who doesn't get to be the main character, finding it unpleasant. So I wanted to nod at that underappreciated bit of canon, and I knew I'd have Mesothulas interact with SOMEONE in the lab as a cameo, and that gave me two options.

…I couldn't see Skywarp giving a shit about science tbh, so I gave it to TC, haha. He's not really there to 'study', or anything; actually, I think I noted he was probably there making deliveries somewhere in my outline? (Skywarp mentions they were used, as fliers, for 'transport' a lot.) He hangs around talking to people, was the idea, asking people about what they're doing out of genuine if somewhat under-educated curiosity.

Anyway, I wanted to establish Mesothulas as a very clear outsider who is just sort of constantly worming his way into spaces he doesn't really belong in, and demonstrate that for all Shockwave is affable in private towards Mesothulas, he would much prefer nobody come into contact with his little side project, and why. And so: the Thundercracker cameo.

Bitstream is, of course, a real character; the name given to the not-quite-Thundercracker blue seeker character in the intro to the G1 series. Thundercracker's not really being fair, is he- telling them apart is possible (solid blue torso vs grey torso), but let's be real. I enjoy bringing up Hasbro's tendency to turn EVERY tiny background G1 generic into a named character in their desperate ongoing quest to justify releasing 3763585 seeker toys; it's my favourite hobby. (One thing that was a total coincidence; in IDW2, he does in fact work for Shockwave, a fact that totally slipped my mind- but I suppose in this fic he must do too, if Mesothulas knows of him!)

[weatheryear]

Mass Effect 3 - Multiplayer

Bioware was a storied company before the original Mass Effect was even announced. Mass Effect wasn't a surprise, other than the fact it was as good was expected.

Now, good needs to be explained. It used a shitty, weird knock-off FPS engine, and tried to give a FPS a full, D&D-style skill system WHILE combining it with a video game skill tree.

It was - ALL - shit. Not terrible enough to stop you from playing, which is a crucial threshold. Not ever part of a video game has to be perfect, but it has to at least be unobtrusive.

The reason the game was good was the story, setting, world building, and characters.

You could land on ANY planet that would not immediately be fatal to do so. And I do mean immediate. You normally deployed in a cool tank. Some planets have environmental warnings, and you would die if you spent at most a minute on foot, (a bar appears and quickly drops, followed by an immediate angry screaming siren to warn you of the danger.

Now, while it spanned the whole galaxy, the in-universe justification had precursors leave Mass Effect Relays. They could launch you across the galaxy in seconds. Space faring species typically have a cheap knockoff of this that makes it difficult to jump a few systems over.

But, no one is going to fault them for not having trillions of planets to land on.

Half of the game was simply exploring.

The world was as hard as you can get science fiction while still being able to do planetary romance. And then it turns out it's a cosmic horror. The only thing you can do in the first game is stop the god-machines, (angry yellow colour from space, each a nation unto itself), asleep in the dark space beyond the galactic rim, from waking up. And it takes the combined firepower of all of the major powers to kill ONE of them.

Oh, and even fragments of them can brainwash you into becoming a Lovecraftian cultist.

I have no seen anything do anything near as impactful. Most things that try to deal with galaxy-wide civilizations get stretched too thin, (as doing a whole galaxy is extremely difficult).

Onto this they added complex characters that you can love and hate, and these stories carry on between games, with your choices carrying on between them.

---

And, then what happened? Bioware sounds like the perfect video game studio. What could possibly?..

EA. EA happened.

EA forced them to use the same engine as the other EA FPS games, which dramatically improved gameplay, even if it made it dramatically more cliché.

In Mass Effect 2, your start the game working with space racists that you could optionally fight against in the first game. To be fair, they put so much love and care into this questionable faction that even if I still hate that they did it, I would never want to see it changed.

Also Miranda's ass, which is just as perfect as her backstory makes it out to be.

One of the things the first game lacked was sexiness.

Well, after a lot of soul searching, I fell in love with the new setting, because of how much love and care was put into it's design.

And then they added a late game DLC. The DLC, Arrival, has you war crime, and your moral choices are maybe being sad about it.

Mass Effect 3 starts with you being charged with a war crime. The war crime you committed in the DLC. Didn't download the DLC, or didn't play it? Well, don't worry, the game

*waves it's hands about, implying how bad you were, even if playing a perfect Paragon playthrough*

In Mass Effect 1, you investigate what you think is a rogue agent, only to discover he's trying to wake up Lovecraftian horrors. You stop him, and prevent the alarm clock from sounding to wake up the Lovecraftian horrors.

In Mass Effect 2, no one believes you, despite literally having a space battle with one of the Lovecraftian horrors right outside the space capital. So, the renegade Human organization lead by Mr. Space Racist, gives you a ship and gives you information it founds out about missing Human colonies that might be tied to the Lovecraftian horrors. Which, they did a good job of showing how distasteful a Paragon Shepard would find this alliance. You end up fighting an species that has been genetically engineered and indoctrinated into husks of themselves to act as fingers for the god-machines between the rim, in the dark space between galaxies.

In Mass Effect 3, you fight an open war.

Wait, what? You... you fight Lovecraftian horrors? HOW?

Good question. Don't look for answer. In fact, mute the sound for the first part, and look away during cutscenes until you get into space

Okay, are you space now?

Alright, now, you're not actually in space. Keep the sound turned off, and look away for cutscenes until the one cutscene with a quicktime event, and then you get in space, for real. You can even choose where to go. If it's on the short list the game lets you visit at this current time.

Alright, Mass Effect 3 is an absolutely FANTASTIC GAME. Except:

Beginning

Middle

Ending

Main Plot

Main Villain (it's not the one you are thinking, unless you are brilliant enough to piece together that the main villain is EXACTLY who you think it is)

His main sidekick.

etc.

The really fun part is that I'm not exaggerating, at all.

Mass Effect 3 is an absolutely fantastic game, despite the fact that the main story is completely dogshit. It even knocks it up a notch, by making these cutscenes unskippable, because nothing says your boring henchman is a mary sue like making him unskippable. Oh, and HE'S JUST LIKE YOU *dum dum dum*

The reason it's such a good game is shear inertia, because the world and characters are still here from the original. The characters you fell in love with, and the ones you hate.

The Arrival DLC was so terrible that I refused to buy any DLC, until The Citadel. This is a gift to the fans. You bring back your entire team, from every game, (if they are still alive), throw a rager, on go on a mission, with everyone on board. You are team Shepard, naturally, but the other two are Team Mako and Team Hammerhead, the tanks from Mass Effect 1 and Mass Effect 2, and the teams argue about which is better. You then unlock a simulator, where you can play with all of your old team mates.

So, play through the end game once. You don't actually have to beat it, and it's probably better if you don't. But at least find out EDI's orgins. From then on, playthrough the game to the Citadel, throw your party, and then either play online or in the simulator.

---

Mass Effect Online is an absolutely fantastic experience, with a wide variety of unlockable characters that all feel unique. It also has tangible benefits to not just the main game, but every - single - playthrough of the main game, allowing you to get more of the absolutely terrible ME3 endings.

Unfortunately, they take the unlockable thing a little WAY too fucking far.

You start with a small selection of playable characters, that are each stripped down versions of the characters you play in single player. Every other character is gathered through, you guessed loot boxes.

But wait, there's more!

Every single character can be unlocked multiple times, and you get slightly more customization. So, what this means is that even after you get the common characters THAT YOU LITERALLY START WITH, you can unlock them again, and again, and again, and again, with no guarantee of ever getting one you wanted. Not even gatcha pulls and a mercy system, but literally just random chance.

But wait, there's more.

Core aspects of the original game were farmed off to loot boxes, so you can you spend your money just to play the game.

I played through Bronze, and the Silver, and then Gold, and then Platinum. And while I can play Platinum, and honestly prefer to play Platinum, it uses up too much combat consumables to actually be sustainable. Before I realized it, I had depleted the consumables I had built up by playing the easier difficulties. But now I had to spend most of my money on consumables, and so the lower, less fun difficulties were better ways to farm money.

But, I did get the N7 Paladin, and Geth Juggernaut, and Geth Trooper, etc. all, so I can't be too butthurt, other than the fact they made the game pointless to play.

---

And then they made Andromeda, who's very existence violates the world, story, and principles of the original trilogy. Of course, it wasn't Bioware that made Andromeda. EA wanted Bioware, famed for their RPG's, to make an Overwatch Killer, (Anthem). They then hired a new team of woke retards, called them Bioware, and had them make Andromeda.

For the record, this is how EA took the Titans out of Titanfall.

And killed of Maxis.

And so many other gaming studios.

EA just buys them, takes them out behind the woodshed, and shoots them.