europolarist

[europolarist]

Just remembered another reason the crucible wouldn't destroy EDI and the geth. They may both have Reaper code in the but they aren't Reaper constructs, unlike husks.

The Crucible is literally designed to use the Catalyst, and by extension the Citadel, and turn the Reapers' own energy against them

You could say the Crucible creates an energy pulse that overloads the Reapers' internal systems. Like a really big EMP, but using an external power to generate it. And that external power is 100% Reaper.

And the Reapers are extremely unique constructs, there's nothing even remotely like them in the entire galaxy. Hell, they aren't even really machines in the traditional sense cuz they're created with organic material. The Crucible would use that unique energy to precisely target that exact energy signature because everything else wouldn't be compatible.

EDI and the geth may be damaged by an energy pulse that strong but they wouldn't be destroyed by it. A few fried circuits, not enough to completely erase their personalities. Like the mass relays, damaged but not unsalvageable.

[europolarist]

Also, slightly less important question: do the Girl Scouts still exist? 

if so imagine a group of asari, a hanar, a salarian and human scouts selling cookies on the Cididel. 

[europolarist]

I touched on this briefly earlier, but I want to go in to it deeper.

When the geth attack Eden Prime in ME1, the Council’s response is a brush off. “The turians don’t found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems.” “Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went in to the Traverse.” Those are direct quotes.

Except… Eden Prime is NOT on the border of the Terminus Systems. Here, let me dig up the map from the wiki…

See? The maps aren’t perfectly mirrored to each other, but the general shape can be mapped. The Exodus Cluster is where the Utopia System is, where Eden Prime is. An attack on Eden Prim isn’t a random attack on a far-flung colony world. That is well within Alliance borders. Eden Prime itself was established in 2152, ME1 takes place in 2183, it’s been established for more than thirty years, over a generation - Jenkins was BORN on Eden Prime, and is old enough to have enlisted in the Alliance and made it through academy training.

And this is a pattern of behavior among the Citadel Council in specific and the Council races more broadly - the First Contact War happens because humanity activated the Relay near Shanxi, and the turians response was to blow the human ships up, rather than even negotiate. This is because Citadel law is to not activate dormant Relays.

But humanity wasn’t allied with the Council at the time. Humanity was not subject to the laws of the Citadel races - It’s been a constant refrain in the news about being signatories to various treaties creates certain impositions. When the US pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement, it meant that the US was not bound to those agreements. 

Now, there can be political backlash and consequences to not being in these agreements, sure. But the point is, if you’re not a signatory, you are not abiding by that agreement. By definition, humanity, making its first forays into space exploration, this being First Contact, could not be a signatory to that agreement. This is the Citadel IMPOSING their laws on non-signatory sovereign entities, and doing so at gunpoint - no attempt is made by the turians to negotiate. The turians don’t even communicate with the alien ships. They assume threat and open fire. 

And, in the wake of all this, HUMANITY are the ones painted in Citadel space as bullies and aggressors. 

What the FUCK?!

Humanity just got mugged and the cops showed up, took the mugger’s side, and said “now you’re friends, shake hands, and go about your business.” 

And when humanity complains about their treatment, the Council’s reaction is to slap them down with bullshit procedures that make humanity out as the ones responsible for any misfortune. Like above. Eden Prime is not some border colony that’s just finding its feet. This is a colony world that was established before First Contact, closer to the heart of Alliance space. An attack there constitutes a major threat, not just to the Alliance, but several other central worlds.

But… It’s humans complaining again. And slandering one of the Council’s top agents in the process.

Because they don’t accept the eye witness report of Saren’s involvement. They let Saren have access to the files and records of the person he is accused of killing (conflict of interest!). The fact that Nihlus, who, being outside of the Alliance chain of command, was not in a position where anyone could argue with him, chose to proceed on his own, got killed is actually held up as evidence against Shepard’s suitability for the Spectres (and Saren really shouldn’t have any say, as Udina rightly points out, even though it’s framed as Udina being petty). 

Oh, and there’s the fact that Garrus is TOLD that his investigation into Eden Prime is concluded, not that he’s wrapped it up. This is coupled with the fact that all indications are that this investigation takes place in a short time frame - Shepard is out for about two thirds of a day before they arrive at the Citadel, and while the cut to Udina’s office could take place over any length of time, Udina’s comments indicate that it’s probably not that long after the Normandy docked, because he’s commenting on the appearance of Shepard and squad, who Anderson proceeds to introduce, and then when we get control of Shepard, they get to do the first-time tourist thing, meaning they haven’t had the time or opportunity to look around and get acquainted with the Citadel. 

So this is maybe A DAY’S worth of investigation, and seemingly not even enough time to go in person to the site proper and back - if Normandy is still out from the Citadel when Shepard wakes up after sixteen hours or so, then it would be that long for a ship to reach Eden Prime from the Citadel, plus the return trip. Like, standard rule of thumb IRL is that a crime scene ALONE will stand for about a day as evidence is collected. But this is saying that the investigators don’t even have a chance to go in person - AT BEST, we might assume robotic clean up bringing the forensics to the Citadel, but… That seems like bad policy to me, considering the value of actually interacting with the crime scene environment.

Oh, and let’s not forget Garrus’s credentials - he’s a cowboy cop in C-Sec’s structure, chafing under the standard rules and procedures. And he is the ONLY C-Sec officer assigned to the case that we see. On top of Pallin telling him that his investigation is over. This just SCREAMS that the Council is suppressing the investigation - they want it over and done with, and the complaint to go away. Never mind that the geth were involved.

And the thing that is called “irrefutable evidence”? It’s Tali, a quarian, whose species are considered vagrants to the Citadel races at large, providing a fragment of memory from a geth, something that Anderson says he thought was impossible.

Combined with everything above, it comes across as the Council finally deigning to act now that humanity has a non-human advocate, even if it is a quarian.

And then there’s also how the Council SAYS to Shepard that every effort will be made to help them track down Saren, but then we have Saren openly retaining his position with Binary Helix - Binary Helix does most of its business in Citadel space, if they have business ties to a known and wanted fugitive, it’s in their business interests to at least APPEAR to cooperate. But Shepard doesn’t get to even say “Saren is a wanted criminal I have been sent to apprehend, help me find him or watch your contracts disappear.” 

Honestly, all of this being the case, the Council contacting Shepard after each mission comes across more like them waiting to catch Shepard in a mistake and prove that humanity isn’t ready for the Spectres.

All of this, all of it, and then we reach ME2, when the colonies that actually ARE on the edge of the Traverse are being attacked, and the Council’s response, even though humanity is now ON the Council, is exactly the same. They learned nothing. They’ll still hang humanity out to dry.

And in all of it… The Council races STILL can’t admit that THEY caused this. It’s all still “humanity are bullies and aggressive, determined to have their way.” When really it’s more that humanity got attacked in a dark alley, the cops laughed it off and said “that’s the law,” and so humanity decided “fine, then we want to be in a position to influence and change that law, because it’s unjust.”

So when Ashley is saying that she doesn’t trust the alien governments, believing that they’ll leave humanity to die, that, in a metaphor of a bear attacking and you sicing your dog on the bear in the name of getting away while it’s distracted, humanity is the dog and the Council are the person getting away… Yeah, she’s right. That’s kinda the whole point of at least the first third of ME3, the Council throwing Earth and human interests in front of the bear so that they have a chance to get away.

She’s also right to be concerned about a cowboy cop and a merc taking a mission for gratis being given full access to the most advanced stealth ship in the Alliance fleet, which has a database full of schematics and secrets. She does what is right and proper in this instance - she approaches her CO in confidence, voices her concern, accepts the decision made, and does not let this interfere with her duties. In point of fact, she’d be a poor soldier if she DIDN’T make Shepard aware of her concerns and just acted as their personal yes-woman, going along with their decisions with no hesitation, even if they’re wrong.

[europolarist]

Close-up of the lovely Lynnie

[europolarist]

Meet Lynnie: Navy brat, War Hero, and Vanguard. Plays by the rules - at first, and has a bit of a rebellious streak. Hello Pink Hair!

[europolarist]

@medic981 @xjsteph

[europolarist]

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN dir. Stanley Donen + Gene Kelly 

[europolarist]

imagine if the oceans were replaced by forests and if you went into the forest the trees would get taller the deeper you went and there’d be thousands of undiscovered species and you could effectively walk across the ocean but the deeper you went, the darker it would be and the animals would get progressively scarier and more dangerous and instead of whales there’d be giant deer and just wow

[europolarist]

okay I’m v curious about this so fanfic writers reblog and put in the tags whether you title your fic before or after you write it

[europolarist]

Tom Holland does Rihanna’s “Umbrella” on Lip Sync Battle

[europolarist]

Skyhold from Dragon Age: Inquisition

604 619 simoleons｜64 x 64 lot size

I started this build over a year ago, but it’s finally finished! I just love Skyhold in Dragon Age: Inquisiton so I wanted to make it in sims. The scale isn’t as big as it should be obviously and there are some elements missing. The tower was especially difficult and this build uses quite a lot of packs. I built all the things I could that you see in the game so there r no toilets, but there is plenty of space to add some. Works best in the 64 x 64 island lot in Windenburg. Needs moveobjects to place.

Download: OutoSims in the gallery.

More pics under the cut:

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[europolarist]

if a hand kiss isn’t done with either reverent trembling and closed eyes or with a certain slow sensuality and direct ‘fuck me’ eye contact, you are wasting my time and everyone else’s

[europolarist]

Writing With Color – Featured Description Posts

Some of our most useful posts on describing People of Color, all in one place.

Words to Describe Hair

Words to Describe Skin Tone

Describing Asian Eyes

Describing Wide Noses

Describing Undead & Sick Dark Skin

Describing POC and Avoiding Caricatures

Describing Unnatural Skin Tones: Green

Describing Unnatural Skin Tones: Jaundice

Indicating Race of Characters (FAQ Questions #3-4)

Not Indicating Race at All – Note: You Probably Should

Praising Beauty Without Fetishizing

Olive Skin, Race and Ethnicity

Specific Description Posts  

Describing Skin as Swarthy (Spoiler alert: it’s sketchy)

Describing East Asian Skin as Porcelain (Spoiler alert: it’s also sketchy)

Describing Skin as Russet (Spoiler alert: it’s alright)

Describing PoC as Exotic (SA: it’s othering)

Describing Skin as Ebony (SA: it’s cliche)

Describing Natural Hair as Cloud-Like (SA: it’s cool)

Describing Black Hair as Unkempt (SA: it’s offensive)

Describing Black Hair as Kinky (SA: it depends)

Describing Skin as “Dark as Night” (SA: it also depends)

Describing Skin as Like Dirt or Soil (SA: See above)

Describing Skin as just “Dark.” (SA: it’s vague)

Describing Black Hair as “Nappy” (SA: it ain’t recommended)

Describing Skin With Food (SA: it’s a no-no)

–WWC

[europolarist]

Resources for Writing Injuries

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

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Head Injuries

General Information | More

Hematoma

Hemorrhage

Concussion

Edema

Skull Fracture

Diffuse Axonal Injury

Neck

General Information

Neck sprain

Herniated Disk

Pinched Nerve

Cervical Fracture

Broken Neck

Chest (Thoracic)

General Information

Aortic disruption

Blunt cardiac injury

Cardiac tamponade

Flail chest

Hemothorax

Pneumothorax (traumatic pneumothorax, open pneumothorax, and tension pneumothorax)

Pulmonary contusion

Broken Ribs

Broken Collarbone

Abdominal

General Information

Blunt trauma

Penetrating injuries (see also, gunshot wound & stab wound sections)

Broken Spine

Lung Trauma

Heart (Blunt Cardiac Injury)

Bladder Trauma

Spleen Trauma

Intestinal Trauma

Liver Trauma

Pancreas Trauma

Kidney Trauma

Arms/Hands/Legs/Feet

General Information | More

Fractures

Dislocations

Sprains

Strains

Muscle Overuse

Muscle Bruise

Bone Bruise

Carpal tunnel syndrome

Tendon pain

Bruises

Injuries to ligaments

Injuries to tendons

Crushed Hand

Crushed Foot

Broken Hand

Broken Foot

Broken Ankle

Broken Wrist

Broken Arm

Shoulder Trauma

Broken elbow

Broken Knee

Broken Finger

Broken Toe

Face

General Information

Broken Nose

Corneal Abrasion

Chemical Eye Burns

Subconjunctival Hemorrhages (Eye Bleeding)

Facial Trauma

Broken/Dislocated jaw

Fractured Cheekbone

Skin & Bleeding

General Information (Skin Injuries) | More (Arteries)

femoral artery (inner thigh)

thoracic aorta (chest & heart)

abdominal aorta (abdomen)

brachial artery (upper arm)

radial artery (hand & forearm)

common carotid artery (neck)

aorta (heart & abdomen)

axillary artery (underarm)

popliteal artery (knee & outer thigh)

anterior tibial artery (shin & ankle)

posterior tibial artery (calf & heel)

arteria dorsalis pedis (foot)

Cuts/Lacerations

Scrapes

Abrasions (Floor burns)

Bruises

Gunshot Wounds

General Information

In the Head

In the Neck

In the Shoulders

In the Chest

In the Abdomen

In the Legs/Arms

In the Hands

In The Feet

Stab Wounds

General Information

In the Head

In the Neck

In the Chest

In the Abdomen

In the Legs/Arms

General Resources

Guide to Story Researching

A Writer’s Thesaurus

Words To Describe Body Types and How They Move

Words To Describe…

Writing Intense Scenes

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[europolarist]

[europolarist]

I am begging people on AO3 to stop tagging characters and relationships unless they are a major, featured, significant part of their stories. If you want people to know the worldstate of your fic that badly, put your pairings of choice for this fic in the author’s note. Character tags aren’t warnings; I’m not going to throw a fit if I come across an untagged minor character if I’m reading fic for that fandom, especially if they have one (1) snarky line and then vanish. 

Clogging up the tags like this makes finding actual fic that focuses on side characters and supporting relationships a slog. I truly dislike FF.net for a variety of reasons, but sometimes I think they had something going when they were like, “PICK FOUR. YOU GET FOUR.” 

[europolarist]

German Accents | Studynsuch

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The Umlaut (Ä/Ö/Ü)

The Umlaut is the only accent used in the German language, and it is used exclusively over ‘a’,‘o’, and ‘u’. They occur when two vowels are pronounced in immediate succession, usually the umlauted vowel followed by an ‘-I’.

Umlauts are particularly complicated because each one has two variations, the short and the long pronunciation. These variations distinguish the meaning of the word, so memorizing which words include an umlauted vowel is very important. The pronunciation of long versus short umlauts is fairly simple. Short umlauts indicate that the vowel sound is held for less time, whereas a long umlaut is held longer.

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