#Core cutter System

[vounoura]

I still have a really big soft spot for ESO's class design tbh, I think having to realistically make every spec able to perform every MMO role while also having to make every one of those classes feel noticeably unique and different even in the same role was a really fun design decision

[vexwerewolf]

I know it's new, but I'm trying to build something on a Gilgamesh focused on maximizing limited systems, and using either the Gilgamesh's Battle Rifle or the Tortuga's Daisy Cutter. Any thoughts? Not sure dipping 2 into Tortuga would be worth it/not sure if anything else I'd get from it would carry over well enough.

I call this one Don't Worry, I Brought Spares

-- HA Gilgamesh @ LL6 -- [ LICENSES ] HA Gilgamesh 2, HA Iskander 1, IPS-N Tortuga 2, IPS-N Lancaster 1 [ CORE BONUSES ] Integrated Ammo Feeds, Reinforced Frame [ TALENTS ] Grease Monkey 3, DEMOLITIONIST 3, Combined Arms 2, Siege Specialist 1 [ STATS ] HULL:2 AGI:2 SYS:0 ENGI:4 STRUCTURE:4 HP:22 ARMOR:1 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:11 REPAIR:5 TECH ATK:0 LIMITED:+5 SPD:5 EVA:10 EDEF:8 SENSE:10 SAVE:14 [ WEAPONS ] MAIN MOUNT: Superthermal Blade FLEX MOUNT: Stub Cannon / Stub Cannon HEAVY MOUNT: Daisy Cutter [ SYSTEMS ] Restock Drone x7, Grounding Charges x7, Pattern-A Smoke Charges x8, Pattern-B HEX Charges x8, Personalizations

This mech is a CQB nightmare. It can, if it wishes, effectively spend the entire mission in soft cover. Not only that, but it can more or less negate the "Limited" tag from certain weapons and systems - because of the way Lancer missions are structured, it's actually very unlikely you'll run out of charges here. The Daisy Cutter has seven charges, and then a minimum of one extra from Grease Monkey 3 - unless you're firing that every turn of the first combat (which you certainly could), you aren't going to run out until the end of the mission.

Your Stub Cannons each have 11 (!!) charges, and every time you fire that mount you tick your Loadout die down by two and potentially deal two Knockback on top of a deterministic 6 damage.

You have 8 (+1) HEX grenades AND smoke grenades, so you'll never want for soft cover or non-weapon damage. You can also throw out Restock Drones for you or your friends whenever you want.

[commsroom]

What do you think is the most underrated dynamic in the w359 cast?

hera and minkowski!! eiffel, hera, and minkowski intend to stay together on earth, but because eiffel + hera and eiffel + minkowski are dynamics with way more canon focus / significant emotional beats, the hera + minkowski part of that gets overlooked a lot.

they clash a lot early on for similar reasons to eiffel + minkowski - minkowski values her work and her role on the station in a way hera just doesn't. minkowski signed up to do a job, and it's important to her that she does it right, while hera never had a choice. minkowski thinks she's just criticizing how hera does her job, but it's all deeply personal to hera. they share a lot of insecurities re: a loss of control and a sense that they never get to make decisions for themselves, but they have some very different views when it comes to authority.

there is a really profound trust that grows between them, and, for hera, being able to absolutely trust someone is a really big deal. tactical brain damage is my favorite episode for them - the amount of trust that hera puts in minkowski, confiding in her as well as the physical vulnerability of instructing her to tamper with her systems - "i know you won't let anything happen to me." and how seriously minkowski takes that responsibility to make sure hera's faith in her isn't misplaced. i think trust is really at the core of their relationship - a show of faith in her from minkowski is one of the things hera thinks about at the end of memoria, that helps pull her through. and they're the only two people still communicating, who still trust each other, in pan-pan; minkowski snapping at hera is the real final breaking point.

(and they're friends!! i wish they had more opportunities to just be friends. hera is interested in what minkowski has to say about the plays she likes, and she's the only person who wanted to be in her talent show production. she even agrees it "was a pretty great week" when minkowski drugged eiffel and hilbert. when minkowski brings her back online in tactical brain damage: "who is this hera you speak of? ... joke. commander, i'm fine. i'm here. all of me." / "oh my god, i'm going to kill you." in a better world, minkowski would've at least called hera as her funzo partner in time.)

and honestly, i think "that woman? for the last two weeks, she was the only person who even tried to resist what pryce and cutter were doing to us. so you are going to show her some goddamned respect, am i clear?" is the most ardent and significant defense of hera from anyone in the series, for a whole number of reasons.

[catgirlredux]

>Entryway_memo.17.89 /// Inner City, 55-5073 /// use viewSourceL() to access coordinates

I found one. I really didn’t expect to get this lucky this early on, but I guess the Doors were shining on me today.

I almost missed it; the whole thing was overgrown, and the active muffling was still on so even my pad couldn’t pick it up. I only managed to spot it because the moss and ivy covering its head morphed to the iconic crest: an Equites-class, first-gen rig.

This is big - most current HAKs, your Hoplites and your Lucids and whatnot, exhaust their power core stupidly fast. But the older ones, especially in generation 1, were super inefficient, so to avoid wasting too much leaking energy they implemented a system to recycle power back into the core. This wreck could have fought in the War of Rooms fifty years ago and it would still have plenty of juice left. I reckon I’ll easily get at least 6000 NC for it, if not more.

Tomorrow I’m going back to crack the damn thing open and extract the core.

>Entryway_memo.17.90 /// Inner City, 55-5073 /// use viewSourceL() to access coordinates

I don’t know where to start. Shit got weird. I went back to the wreck with my cutters and started to chop away at the cockpit, same as usual.

When I removed the glass, I saw the first sign that something was wrong. Usually when a HAK this old wrecks, the pilot has already ejected. Without one, the nanofilament bioharness inside the HAK chassis loses its structure and crumbles into powder. That didn’t happen with this one - instead, the fibers were still fully intact and wrapped around each other in a giant fucking gooey knot or something.

Well I mean, I had to get through the operators seat to get to the core, so I started cutting away at the harness. But as soon as my knife hit the nanofibers, the whole thing hardened up.

This is where it got really weird though. My knife couldn’t do jack shit to the harness so my next thought was to use my torch and burn through it. But as I was getting it from my pack, I heard a fucking voice!

“Are you… human?” it asked. It sounded weak and muffled, but I tell you I fucking jumped. There weren’t supposed to be any other scavengers in this quadrant but you never know, right?

The voice asked again, “Are you human?” So I responded, said yeah.

Then the harness loosened up, turned all goopy again, and a hole started to appear right in the middle facing me. It spread wider and wider until the ball of nanofilaments pulled all the way back, and you know what was inside?

A fucking body. Shit, what a sight. It was buried in nanofilaments from the chest down, but its arms and head were free - at least mostly; its hands were still dunked in the nanofiber goop that remained of its harness.

It wore a black catsuit - probably a neural interface - that clearly used to be skintight. However, it was so emaciated that its clothes hung off its shoulders. Its head, completely shaved and exposed, looked almost like a skull, and worst of all, it was lined with thin nanotendrils that crawled across its skin and seemed to pierce right into its cheeks, temples, and eyes. A series of lights in the cockpit around its head flickered, showing clear signs of age.

It didn’t open its mouth but I heard the voice again: “Did they… win?”

I stuttered back, “Win what? Who? You mean the War of Rooms? No, no we won that!”

“The War of Rooms…? Is that… what it’s called now…” The person - I guess it must have been the HAK’s operator - the person seemed happy with this response.

“W-wait, so you really are from the War? B-but that was over 50 years ago, how- how old are you?”

The operator’s head tilted to the side and the fibers along its forehead pulsed slightly before it responded.

“This unit’s organic component was created… 72 years ago. This unit’s… synthetic component was created 65 years ago.”

72 years ago… that means the damn thing was only 19 when the War ended?? But what’s more, how the hell did it survive for half a century in these ruins?

At least it seemed willing to answer my questions. I started my recorder at this point: following is a transcript of our conversation.

>Entryway_load(KS_0598.rsi)

///KS/// How are you alive - what do you eat?

///EOR/// This unit is… not alive. (unintelligible, closest match >> ****thetic) component supercedes the prior processes of this unit’s organic component.

///KS/// Wait, you keep describing yourself as the “organic component” - what do you mean by that?

///EOR/// This unit was once two. After this unit’s last mission, this unit was unable to move from this location. Time allowed this unit’s organic component and synthetic component to achieve what you call terminus, but what would be better described as unity. This unit’s biological and synthetic components merged, and as such this unit no longer adheres to the biological standard or requirements for organic life as it is currently defined.

///KS/// So you and the HAK are, what, conjoined? Like a Chambered One or something?

///EOR/// (unintelligible, closest match >> laughter?) The Chambered Ones were misguided. At another time this unit might have considered them evil. They believed they could achieve unity through religious mannerisms and compromises. Their “Chambers” are weak imitations of this unit and this unit’s brethren. It is good that they are destroyed.

///KS/// Well, um. They’re not actually destroyed. We signed a peace treaty - they’re members of the Vaulted Rooms now, at least the ones who want to be.

<brief period of silence>

///EOR/// At another time this unit would have been incensed at this news. Now it seems irrelevant. This unit achieved terminus 37 years 7 months and 16 days ago. Since then, this unit has been content with itself.

///KS/// So… I’m guessing you don’t want me to report this wreck to the force?

///EOR/// This unit is no longer desired, nor does this unit desire to return. This unit requests that you do not speak of this unit.

///KS/// Okay okay, chill. I only found you because I thought I could salvage a power core or something.

///EOR/// This unit cannot provide its power core. However…

<Note: at this juncture the operator of the HAK pulled a hand free, grabbed its other arm, and proceeded to wrench it from its socket. There was no blood. A mass of nanofilaments quickly coated the stump.>

///KS/// WHAT THE FUCK?

///EOR/// If the black market still exists, this will sell for a substantial amount. Please take it and leave. And thank you for speaking with this unit.

///KS/// Wait, but I

///EOR/// Thank you for speaking with this unit. Now please, let this unit exist.

I left. I took the arm too. I don’t know what to do now���

[northsealight]

Hey, when you said RHATO Jason is the worst version on your last ask, were you referring to the first comic, second comic, or the Webtoon? (Honestly annoyed the Webtoon took that name, makes things even more confusing)

I have problems with all 3 (Webtoon most of all for sure, with the second and first switching places behind it based on what characters or plots I’m thinking about tbh), but I was just curious haha

oh. oh. oh you're not ready for this. I've been trying this entire week to find a good time to air out my thoughts:

so! in my opinion (again, this is not shaming anyone for liking what they like! if you happen to like RHATO!jason all the more power to you! dont read this!) all three reiterations of RHATO!Jason .. are not great. the one I think might have potential to be salvaged is the second one with Artemis and bizarro! (although roy harper is in my heart of hearts)

the way Jason is written in rhato... the rhato written by Scott Lobdell anyway, (who is actually a sexual predator and when you start to think even a LITTLE about how the women are written in RHATO makes so much sense) portrays Jason as yet another cookie cutter anti-hero-deadpool-esque personality who's mainly confined by the narrative restraints of his character.

I say this because hes so.... the way he goes about his vigilantism is so .. shallow. It's like the narrative is finding excuses to make him violent so the reader can be stimulated with Michale Bay explosions lol. You hardly see any stories in there where Jason is an actual champion for the people, and you hardly see his background as a street kid come into play... its like... he became... a vigilante because....he knows how the system can fail those... alienated and forgotten by those sworn to protect them... and thus channels his energy into said people through acts of radical protection... (also because the whole bruce thing yeah I know)

I keep thinking about injustice!Jason's monologue where he literally says something along the lines of "while bruce and clark were fighting I fought for the people who were being caught up in the whole thing" like if that doesn't just tell you who he is idk what will! and sure, injustice isn't Jason source material, so look at under the red hood! he literally becomes a drug kingpin TO CONTROL crime ... and then instead of getting these immense shows of care he has for the community in RHATO, we get panels like this:

like ok get it I guess 😭😭😭😭

this is the new and improved Jason!! he's suave.. hes American... he's... just like every other antihero now!!

I don't know how to explain it without sounding like an idiot- best bet is to read the comics yourself to kinda get what im saying! but even rebirth Jason is (kind of) getting what RHATO Jason doesn't-- he's a product of his huge heart. rebirth Jason has countless stories where we see how Jason ACTUALLY operates as red hood, and what his symbol means to the citizens of Gotham!

if you pour too much grit and "edginess" into Jason, then you kind of miss what he's all about- he can still be silly and sarcastic! in fact, one of my favorite Jason moments is from red hood: lost days, a series where he's portrayed as an edgy, "misfit" ruffian:

like. hello this is hilarious. and we can still have moments like these while balancing his emotional range as a vigilante that's motivated by his big fat heart! (ignoring the fact that he slept with Talia in the next issue 😭 Jason fans can't have shit 😭)

but anyway! ill likely add more when I'm not feeling so tired, but god!! is it so hard to show Jason's propensity for kindness!! is it so hard to realize that his character to the core is revolved around a deep understanding for others based on personal experience!!

there's a reason why DC (in the rare moments when they know what to do with his character) always writes stories with Jason consoling children, or Jason being good with kids in dangerous situations!

it's because he's been there before. he's felt the grief and confusion of being helpless in a situation of his control. he's felt the consequences of adults who were supposed to protect and raise him! he's been killed for daring to cling on to the notion of trust even after all he's been through!

and I don't know, I think his dedication to the people, children especially, is his way of forgiving himself- his way of telling little Jason that it wasn't his fault.

[basiliskfree]

I wanted to start design work on Hugo’s ship but realized I needed to know what a standard Lamp ship’s insides looked like, so here is that! more info under the cut. 

Lamp Ships tend to all have some common room types that are found in the smallest's scout ships to the Kilometer long mining ships. Even in Hivemind ship these spaces are more colourful then one would think do to how even non sentient Lamp respond to colour. 

Servers and Brain Room:

Lamps Ships use the same brain cores as the much smaller units but Linked together into huge networks that run though a massive biological/mechanical system in it’s center. This system is what allows Lamp ships to jump into the between as well as sent FTL messages through this Subspace (Spectrum Lamps refer to this as “sing”). 

They also have what Lamps call “dumb computers” or “thinking rocks” large silicon base computers that act as servers and archives. this run some of the more mundane tacks around the ship. Surprisingly these computers are programed in binary and function much like human, digital Computers. 

Both are heavy liquid cold (see the blue piping) and are some of the most shielded parts of a Ship.

Kitchen and Greenroom:

Lamps have fairy simple digestion tracts,  so often have some basic cooking systems on board. Though this is one of the rooms where the difference between Spectrum and Hivemind ships is the largest. The Spectrum Lamps caring more about how good, or interesting a meal is vs a Hive ship just wanting the max nutrition per energy spent on the food. Most Kitchens are equipped with a food printer, simple oven  and microwave. As well as freeze driers and cold storage. 

The Green Room Pictured is a rack system often used for fast growing fruits and “filter” plants 

Hallway:

Lamp ships have circle hallways that run between the ships thick hull and the interior living spaces. Most have a mix of small workstations, assess points and storage. As picture here Yellow is commonly used as the colour for doors and “Floors”, Ships tend to use acceleration to produce “gravity” but if they are using rotation, or planetary forces to produce a “down” whatever wall or ceiling that has become the floor will become yellow. 

Fusion Engine room B:

Lamp Ships have at least three engines, the Main Anti-matter reactor that is used in Jumps and for their main thruster and is picture as the Purple Lantern like structure at the very front of the ship. 

For the Rest if the Ships systems and back up for the main reactor are two Fusion Engines. These rooms tend to be very purple, a common warning colour do to the high power and magnetic fields in these areas 

“MedBay”:

In Hivemind ships these rooms are not so much true med-bays but are instead used to regrow the flesh bodies of the Lamp units who have “died” or to make new limbs. In Spectrum Ships these rooms have much more medical equipment, so medicine is not ether nothing or melt off your current body and probably dying.

Engineering: 

Depending on the size of the ship the Engineering floors can have everything form laser cutters, metal 3d printers, looms and Skin printers. Produce anything a lamp ship may need to repair themselves in space. most also have a small “Replicator”; a System that can use the Lamps massive energy systems to move around and change atoms into new chemicals. These are normally use to produce rarer elements from simple ones or harder to made chemicals. As even with two fusion engines, these systems use a lot of power and need deep knowledge of chemistry to use outside of the presets.    

[alteredsilicone]

Warframe Quest tier list

Explanations of ratings under the cut:

Great: Quests that hooked me conceptually and are the core of how I view the game/my own characters and worldbuilding

Sacrifice - This quest is worth the hype. That's it. Even though I have gripes with Umbra from a fandom perspective, I love the lore of the Warframes a lot.

Glast Gambit - personal sentimental favorite, this is purely my own bias. I think it's a really good early example of a fun character interaction (Nef and Ergo, toxic old man yaoi LONG before WITW; they are divorced, the worm in my brain told me so) and also an interesting way to show the "choice" system via a moral dilemma (Neewa's fate).

Whispers in the Wall also goes into the "Great" tier, great quest, great characters, great setup for the next era of Warframe and imo a culmination of all the ups and downs that Warframe has been through the years and that ended up in a truly great narrative experience.

Good: Quests I liked but that missed a certain "oomph"

Duviri Paradox - I love Duviri as a place and the mythology around it, but I expected something different from the quest itself. Certain story beats didn't land because I did not feel the emotional connection the game expected me to (coughcoughTeshin'sfakeoutdeathcoughcough). Also didn't like Drifter being a snarky ass in a Marvel-esque way. I'm too used to RPGs and MMOs so when a game forces a characterization on my character I get really antsy if it's something she would not say.

Deadlock Protocol - I LOVE the Corpus so any Corpus content gets instant bias bonus points. Introduction of a very solid villain, Nef bullying. It has it all. This quest could also go in "great" but I think the narrative itself isn't compelling and earth-shattering enough to warrant that.

Waverider - hot take alert! Corpus bias once again, Nef being humbled is always a plus. The k-drive was annoying but I got gud and finished the quest, it was entertaining.

Vox Solaris - good introduction to the Solaris faction but I feel the conflict was solved way too quickly, but I also wasn't around for the release, the ARG and the introduction of the Orb Mothers. Still, I think Nef and the Solaris' conflict could be made into a cinematic three-parter on its own. Oh well, that's what fanfiction is for. (Ps. Nightwave Season 3 had a forgettable side character, Cutter, who touched upon a subject I wish the Solaris plotline explored more)

Call of the Tempestarii - I almost want to put it in "wasted potential" only because I wish Vala had more of a prominent role. Sighs. I love Corpus, I love evil women, I got an evil Corpus woman. Please give me more evil Corpus women.

Chains of Harrow - overall good quest. Rell's story is heart-wrenching. I still headcanon that "Margulis cast him out" is Red Veil propaganda and Rell got separated from the rest of the Tenno in other ways and was brainwashed to believe he was cast out completely.

Second Dream - I knew the Operator existed before I played this quest so I didn't have the HOLY SHIT WHAT!!! reaction, but I think this is a good quest and I understand why people guard the Operator secret even though I think it hurts the narrative of Warframe overall. Oh Well.

New War - To me it's like a Marvel movie, a huge spectacle. It was fun in the way a popcorn movie is fun. It was more fun gameplay wise than story-wise, though I enjoyed the Void/Wally/Zariman lore the most (it's my second favorite thing after Corpus stuff).

Okay - these are quests which either didn't particularly speak to me, or I just have completely forgotten. All the early quests fall into "forgotten" category and things post War Within are more on the "okay" side.

Wasted potential - Silver Grove. My joy, my pain. I WISH this wasn't an ancient quest and the post-quest moral actually applied to New Loka. I think as a concept New Loka are very interesting, but poorly executed, so now they're just "lol ecofascists/plant nazis" so I can't even get people to engage with them on a serious level. Forever seething and malding

Disappointment of the century - Angels of the Zariman. I was there, I participated in the ARG to the best of my ability, I read the logs, I changed my blog title to "Abyssus accipit et Abyssus dat" because I liked it that much. Then I got a 30 minute tutorial quest with a bunch of NPCs I don't care about and my Operator had zero emotional reaction TO RETURNING TO THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL FUCKING BEGAN AND THEY KILLED THEIR PARENTS AND LOST EVERYTHING THEY EVER HELD DEAR JESUS FUCK WHY WHY WHY

anyways

I warmed up to the Holdfasts and Yonta is cute so I have forgiven her crimes. Also this was during an era where I was constantly miffed at DE adding new characters instead of building on old ones.

So yeah, that's that.

tl;dr - I have a bias towards lore regarding the Warframes themselves, Corpus and anything regarding the Void/Tenno. Also I have shit memory.

[cassettesocialism]

Quick Roll Table for Lancer NPCs

Starting off with IPS-N, for when you need to populate a rickety O'Neil cylinder with salty cosmonauts. 1. IPS-N Marine: Nearly two and a half meters tall and loaded with myolace, endodermal NxRA integuments, and titanium-carbide osteoplate. Putting her in a hardsuit only makes her more of a terror in close quarters. She treats her squadmates like a mother bear treats her cubs and takes no shit when it comes to their safety, whether that be from the enemy or IPS-N suits. With any luck, she’ll include you in her pack too. 2. IPS-N Subline Jockey: They’re twitchy as all hell and just can’t seem to sit still. Quite short despite a lifetime in space, and always wears their truncated environmental filter system. They’ve got an impeccable record sitting in the casque of a Walleye; if you need a flak screen penetrated or a patrol cutter outran, they’re the one to call. Willing to fly anyone or anything anywhere for a surprisingly generous rate, no questions asked.

3. IPS-N Suit: Totally unflappable and results driven, station deckhands have taken to calling them ‘Rocky’ for their stone-cold demeanor. One wouldn’t expect someone as relatively unassuming as them to hold the levers of military and civilian procurement in the palm of their hand. Despite the strict IPS-N regs on employing freelancers, they’re willing to take all comers for work. Be absolutely sure you don’t disappoint.  4. IPS-N Mechanic: As salty as any cosmonaut comes, and has little patience for those who don’t know what they’re doing or waste his time. Carries an entire toolbox, fusion torch and all, inside an oversized and very rusty mechanical arm. Some say that he can put a NLS drive back together with his eyes closed. Does repair work on the cheap, but will make you stay and watch him. Take notes, he’ll quiz you once he’s done. 5. IPS-N Miner: A persistent ray of sunshine despite spending all of her time working in deep-core nickel-iron asteroid mines. She lost all of her limbs and an eye doing her job. IPS-N set her up with some second-rate cybernetics, clunky, poorly neuro-tuned, and constantly belching steam. They still expect her to work and pay them back. She quietly wishes she could hurt the company very badly for putting her in this situation. 6. IPS-N Captain: Older than most everyone on the station, doesn't look a day over 65 thanks to the vagaries of nearlight travel, stasis-sleep, and a healthy diet of Ispahsalari cigars and Ras Shamran whiskey. Rough around the edges, with a low brow sense of humor befitting of an old salt cosmonaut. If you can get past both those, you'll find that he's well worth his weight in O2, knows the best deck-teks and merchants on the station on a first name basis

[autisticsupervillain]

Welcome, Ladies and Gentlemen, to Stats Equalized!

The show where we equalize strength, speed, and durability to decide who would win a battle of hax, skill, and versatility.

This Month's Fighters...

Isaac Clarke vs Jacob Lee!

Conditions:

No Restrictions.

Jackb has his Final Transmission weapons

Scenario:

The illegal cargo that Jacob was smuggling to Callisto included detailed instructions on how to construct a Necromorph Marker. This results in Isaac tracking him to Black Iron prison to kill him and destroy the Marker's instructions.

Analysis: Isaac

I feel like every job becomes a lot cooler when you do them in Space. Tax Accountant... IN SPACE! Retail Worker... IN SPACE! Maintenance Engineer... IN SPACE! Sure, there's an increased chance that you might get devoured by a bloodthirsty hive mind that's hellbent on devouring all life in the galaxy, but for some unlucky space engineers, that's just an occupational hazard.

Meet Isaac Clarke, a lowly systems engineer employeed by the Concordance Extraction Corporation who gets called in to repair the "planet cracker" USG Ishimura when they send out a distress signal. Rather than, say, a broken antenna or an overloaded reactor core, the Ishimura has come down with a rather more unusual case of man eating space monsters.

Meet the Necromorphs, undead hive mind abominations intent on devouring, assimilating, or just out right killing all life that isn't them. They're none too picky with how they kill you and none too picky with what you do to them. They just don't die no matter what you do to them. Blow their heads off, cut them in half, pump them full of lead, it doesn’t matter. They will rush you down with zero hesitation regardless. And what's worse that they can get humans to do their job for them, using their "Markers" to not only organize the Necromorphs like one organize, but also corrupt the minds of humans into forming an cult around the Necromorphs, serving the Marker's whims.

Luckily for Isaac, he's a bit of a master of improvised weaponry, meaning he has all the tools he needs to clear these Markers out. Firstly, he's decked out head to toe in a fancy RIG suit. This Resource Integration Gear comes equipped with all the tools necessary to help its user survive on the job hazards, even if Space Aliens probably weren't what the makers had in mind for it. His RIG suit can vacuum seal when exposed to suboptimal breathing conditions, be that poisonous gas or the vacuum of space, forcing Isaac to rely on an internal oxygen supply. However, this supply is limited and only lasts for about a minute and a half. Furthermore, his RIG is equipped with thrusters that allow to freely fly around in zero g or low g environments like Iron Man.... IN SPACE! ...Ahem. Sorry. I'll stop.

Furthermore, his suit can come equipped with several Modules that can modify its performance and abilities. The Kinesis Module can allow him to telekinetically lift and throw heavy objects from several meters away with just the wave of his hand, while the Stasis Module temporarily slows down time for whatever object he waves his hand at, allowing him to dodge super fast projectiles, freeze enemies in place, or catch Necromorphs that are glitching through time thanks to their damages Stasis RIGs.

In terms of fire arms, Isaac has fire power to spare. His improvised plasma cutter, original designed to cut up large boulders, is equipped with a rotating blade, allowing for long horizontal and diagonal shots that are just perfect for cutting the limbs off Necromorphs. Even if you can't kill them, they can't chase you down without limbs.

The pulse rifle is a powerful motorized gun with a secondary fire the shoots bullets in a 360 degree radius, while the Disc Ripper shoots out a powerful romote control buzz saw that cuts through anything in its path, with a secondary fire that makes the spinning blades bounce all over the damn place. The torch flame thrower spews out fire that burns at 4000 degrees Celsius with a secondary fire that shoots a big napalm grenade, while the Cutter Line Gun is a more powerful Plasma Cutter that shoots out landmines with its secondary fire.

The contact beam is an energy jackhammer meant to blast apart rock that can create shockwaves across the ground to dispatch swarms. The Javelin Gun fires electric titanium spikes that can explode, the Seeker Rifle is a futuristic sniper rifle, and the Force Gun obliterates everything in front of it by firing pure kinetic energy. Finally, the Hand Cannon is a large foam sports hand that kills everything Isaac points at with it. Without exception.

Isaac in an experienced technological genius, capable of throwing together a good chunk of his weapons by himself on the spot. Hell, he's smart enough to build a Marker on his own... while under a Marker's mind control, granted, but still. You can't really hold that against him. As time gas gone on, Isaac has grown more and more resilient to the influence of Markers, capable of resisting their control and effects through sheer will power alone. This is impressive when you realize the Marker's mind control is collectively powerful to formulate one of the most dominant and wide spread religions in human history, with a mental influence that can span planets or even the entire solar system. Moreover, Isaac's suit is resilient against extreme temperatures, radiation, and acid and can pump him full of stimulants to keep him from being drugged unconscious.

One man, one lowly engineer has done what an entire army could not and, by himself, destroyed three Markers over the course of his life. Hell, those first two might as well have happened the exact same day from his perspective. Isaac Clarke, ladies and gentlemen. The man the dead fear.

Analysis: Jacob

Space. The Final Frontier. A place only fit to be explored when all other options are exhausted. When the Earth has no more life left in it and humanity has no other place to go. It is a hellish, lifeless void incapable of even carrying your screams. It is the graveyard of the universe and in no other world is this fact more apparent than the hellish world.... of PUBG.

....What's that? That got retconned? The Callisto Protocol isn't canon to PUBG anymore? Fuck. Alright, fine. In no other universe is this fact more apparent than the hellish world of The Callisto Protocol.

Humanity is struggling to survive in space after all other options have been extinguished and Earth's resources have been used up. Without the means to leave the solar system, crime and poverty are rampant across human society, forcing down on his luck space trader Jacob Lee to turn to some ethically questionable lines of work. He strikes up a deal with the United Jupiter Company to smuggle some illegal cargo to Jupiter's moon Callisto. This results in him getting hijacked by The Outer Way, a terrorist group fighting against the UJC, which then results in him crash landing on Callisto. This gets him thrown into the supermax prison Black Iron for illegal smuggling.

Thankfully, he isn't there long, as a riot begins not long after he's thrown into his cell. Unfortunately, the riot was caused by a zombie outbreak. The warden had discovered a super virus called the Biophage deep within Callisto and, believing it's adaptive properties would allow humans to better survive in space, unleashed the virus on all the inmates and ordered the security drones to kill everyone as a way of testing it. Now, Jacob must desperately fight for his survival in a prison where everyone and everything wants him dead.

Luckily, he stumbles across quite a few useful gadgets while on his way out. His armored space suit allows him survive the hellish conditions of Callisto's surface, where the temperatures can get as low as -139.2 C°. His prison shiv, crowbar, and electric stun baton allow him to pummel the infected up close, even against monsters strong enough to rip off heads, crush skulls, and rip human beings in half. Final Transmission gives him the Kinetic Hanmer, a massive hammer that can store and charge up kinetic energy to make his swings hit even harder. His Hand Cannon is a nifty side arm with an alt fire that fires explosive rounds, while his tactical pistol comes with a burst fire mode. His skunk gun shotgun fires homing rounds, his riot gun shotgun fires explosive rounds, and his assault rife fires smart bullets, advanced homing rounds that can maneuvers themselves around obstacles while tracking down their targets. And each of these guns is powerful enough to pierce the metal alloy of Black Iron's security drones, who are strong enough to effortlessly rip the titanium doors off spaceships. But Jacob's most advanced weapon is his Gravity Restraint Projector, a drvice on his arm that manipulates gravity to allow Jacob to effortlessly lift heavy objects and even people. He can throw you off a cliff or into a wall of spikes with just a wave of his hand.

His arsenal isn't entire good, though. Jacob suffers from what I like to call Gordon Freeman Syndrome, where his perfectly serviceable space suit and armor doesn't have a helmet. Only Jacob's is worse because he DID have a perfectly good helmet, he just took it off for no reason. And secondly, there's the CORE device strapped into the back of his neck. While it does monitor the health status of all prisoners at Black Iron and make him compatible with their Health Injectors, which Jacob can use to rececitate himself even while his heart is stopping, it also exists to monitor his memories. Meaning Jacob is frequently getting flashbacks and suffering from severe hallucinations as a result of his CORE device fucking with his head.

Despite all of that, Jacob is still a survivor. Even as the Biophage zombies evolved to match his tactics, Jacob powered through. Sneaking past blind zombies who had developed echo location and shooting out the weak spots of Zombies who grew hardened skin to resist his bludgeoning. For better and for worse, he's willing to do whatever he has to ensure his own safety. To the point that the breakout at Black Iron was actually his fault, as the illegal cargo he was carrying for the UJC turned out to be the Biophage pathogen. Realizing that he's indirectly killed thousands in his selfishness, Jacob works to undo the harm he's done, working with The Outer Way to reveal the Warden's corruption and ultimately giving his life to ensure the solar system knows about all that happened at Black Iron.

Throwdown Theme:

Throwdown Breakdown:

What's interesting about the dynamic of this matchup is that their advantages are flipped relative to their gameplay. The gameplay of Dead Space prioritizes keeping your distance and carving Necromorphs to bits before they get you, but here Issac's wide variety of weapons gives him an edge in close quarters combat. Jacob has no counter to something like the flamethrower up close and melee range would make it easier for Isaac to land Stasis on him for an easy win. Meanwhile, the gameplay of Callisto focuses strongly on melee combat, while here Jacob's guns give him an advantage over Clarke at a distance. Especially with homing bullets. And, of course, both have what is essentially sci-fi telekinesis.

However, Issac has a few distinct advantages here that make this his game. While Jacob's weapons are better suited to ranged combat, Issac's wider variety of weapons gives him a lot of answers to Jacob's tricks, leaving Lee struggling to adapt. The Disc Ripper and the Plasma Cutter's give Isaac a control over the environment that Jacob would struggle to adapt to, while the Pulse Rifle's secondary fire makes getting near him a death sentence. And Isaac's just plain and simply smarter and more experienced, with three games of monster killing under his belt to fall back. Jacob is determined, but Isaac's been pushed past the point of madness more than once, and most of his arsenal is stuff he's made himself. Isaac would almost certainly understand how stuff like the Kinetic Hammer works just by seeing Jacob charge it up.

Jacob is a tough bastard to kill, but against someone who's just as tough to out down, but much smarter and more versatile than he is, he can only do so much.

This Throwdown's Winner is...

Isaac Clarke!

[meriadoc-doc-hamilton]

Out of Character Note:

this is my idea of Doc's Albatross Lancaster if i were to play him in something and had to justify starting him at LL1 I'd just say he couldn't use his company license for whatever reason probably privacy don't want IPS-N lookin at his off-hours missions

-- IPS-N Lancaster @ LL6 -- [ LICENSES ] IPS-N Lancaster 3, IPS-N Nelson 3 [ CORE BONUSES ] Fomorian Frame, Sloped Plating [ TALENTS ] Black Thumb 3, Leader 3, Field Analyst 3 [ STATS ] HULL:4 AGI:0 SYS:4 ENGI:0 STRUCTURE:4 HP:17 ARMOR:2 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:6 REPAIR:12 TECH ATK:+5 LIMITED:+0 SPD:6 EVA:8 EDEF:12 SENSE:8 SAVE:13 [ WEAPONS ] Integrated: Latch Drone MAIN/AUX MOUNT: Assault Rifle / Cutter MkII Plasma Torch (Thermal Charge) [ SYSTEMS ] Whitewash Sealant Spray, Cable Winch System, Aceso Stabilizer x3, COMP/CON-Class Assistant Unit, Restock Drone x2, Bulwark Mods

This boy's heavy duty ain't nobody knocking him over

[unsoundedcomic]

Could an effehby solve Cutter's core motivation by dissolving his soul, thereby erasing it from the Khert? Does Cutter want to destroy the system or just end his own suffering within it? I imagine these are places where his will vs Ilganyag's will have been clouded, but just curious if he had ever considered such an option.

Cutter is best thought of as the spokesperson for the red ghosts. He wants what they want because they are an inextricable part of him. So he wants the system destroyed. With that destruction, his own peace is assured, keeping his mind from straying towards other solutions, preventing Prakhuta from wondering: "Wait a sec, all I want is to sleep. Must our plan truly cut so deep?"

[bipirate]

Have you read Iron Widow? If so, what's your thoughts on it?

lmao yeah i have read it! it sure was a decision. i've posted about my thoughts before but never super in depth, but here is a post i made as i was in the middle of it. otherwise my thoughts can be summed up as follows:

for a book branded as being unapologetically feminist it's incredibly un-feminist actually. there aren't that many female characters aside from the protagonist, and the ones that are there, are the same old cookie cutter stereotypes i had hoped this novel would avoid when it was marketed as a feminist book. the feminism is very superficial imo it's almost insulting. also... it's supposed to be a book about feminism and the main character has TWO boyfriends and not a single female friend, it's tragic

it's racist/colourist, specifically against people of central asian decent. i'm white so i don't feel like it's my place to go on about this but you can find plenty of posts by central asian people who spoke out about this. long story short, one of the love interests is darker skinned and explicitly not han chinese, he is described as very violent, an alcoholic, and he is kept in chains and on a leash. there's also a central asian female character who is aslo very brash and violent, while the han chinese characters are all described as super gentle and pretty

the writing in general is not great, it's a YA book and the writing does reflect that, but even for a YA book it has some unbearably cringey lines and scenes. there's a scene where the mc and one of the love interests have to learn to ice skate together so that they will become more in sync to pilot their mech together. and it's very cringe imo. also the mc has bound feet and is disabled because of that so the idea of having her ice skate is insane to me. it was easy to read though, i'll give it that, and i had a fairly enjoyable time blasting through it and editing it in my head

i thought the twist at the end was very predictable and boring

at its core i think the concept of chinese historical and cultural elements being adapted for a fantasy/sci fi setting is really cool and i think in terms of wordbuilding there was a lot of potential. it's just that the execution wasn't great. the magic system (if you can call it that) wasn't really explained well, and the descriptions were really lacking at times. i just couldn't visualise the mechs or the big bad alien species they fight very well. speaking of those aliens... idk they fell flat for me

similarly i think finally seeing a polyamorous relationship instead of the tired love triangle is a really good step for YA, but the execution really didn't land either. the interpersonal relationships weren't well fleshed out, especially the relationship between the two dudes. when they got together it felt so out of left field

so all in all not the worst book i've ever read in recent years (that honour goes to where the crawdads sing, which my bookclub tore to shreds) and it had its decent points, but mostly it was bad

[vexwerewolf]

How do I make my daisy cutter more busted I already took vanguard ii

Weapon Mods

Nanocomposite Adaptation from Balor 2 makes it ignore cover regardless of range - Vanguard 2 only does it within range 3.

Paracausal Mod from Saladin 3 gives it Overkill, ensuring a higher damage floor at the cost of heat, and causes it to deal true damage (i.e. ignores Resistance, Armor and other reductions that are not Immunity). Very high SP cost, though, and Saladin 3 is one hell of a splash just for this, but on the plus side it gives you three ranks in an HA frame and thus access to the Integrated Ammo Feeds core bonus - see below.

Supermassive Mod from Caliban 1 also gives it Overkill, while also giving it Knockback, or even more Knockback if you're willing to lose the ability to use it in Overwatch. Very low SP cost.

Systems

Type-3 Projected Shield allows you to do something really funny - interpose the shield between you and your ally and then include them in the Daisy Cutter's cone. You receive +2 Difficulty to hit them, but not any of the enemies around them.

Hunter Lock from Pegasus 1 allows you to declare "fuck you" to one enemy in particular. Unlike many other sources of bonus damage, this is not halved because it only affects one target.

LUCIFER-Class NHP from Tokugawa 3 lets you deal bonus damage based on your heat so long as the attack deals any Energy damage. Daisy Cutter doesn't usually do this, but if you combine it with the Nuclear Cavalier talent, your first attack while you're in the Danger Zone will deal Energy damage. Remember that this bonus damage is halved if an attack hits more than one character.

ASURA-Class NHP from Sherman 3 doesn't really do anything specifically useful for the Daisy Cutter, but the ability to more or less take an extra turn is S-tier on literally every single mech in the game.

Core Bonuses

Integrated Ammo Feeds from Harrison Armory simply lets you fire the weapon twice more per mission. It may or may not be worth the CB slot, depending on whether your build also has other Limited systems.

Auto-Stabilizing Hardpoints from GMS gives all your attacks automatic +1 Accuracy. This isn't particularly interesting, but goddamn is it effective.

Overpower Caliber from GMS gives the attack +1d6 bonus damage. Remember that this bonus damage is halved if an attack hits more than one character.

Talents

Nuclear Cavalier gives your first attack roll while in the Danger Zone heat application and bonus damage. Unlike most sources of bonus damage, this only applies to the first attack roll, not the first attack, so the bonus damage won't be halved. Better yet, you get to pick which target this applies to, since for AOE attacks, you get to decide the order in which your rolls are made.

Heavy Gunner gives you the most absurdly flexible reaction attack and control tool in the game, and it pairs fiendishly well with the Daisy Cutter. Unlike almost every other reaction in the game, you can decide precisely when it triggers, and this allows you to use an enemy as an aiming tool for your cone, meaning that unless they move away from their allies, you can just wait until they line up the perfect cone and then fire. Sure, you only deal half damage, but with the right tools you can still make the hit pretty punishing

[acourtofthought]

What’s your opinion on Gwyn? I’m just starting ACOSF and from what I see, she’s a very sweet character, but kind of strikes me as a typical fantasy heroine if she gets a book. Although I think I’ve seen a bit too much fanon about her and that’s what’s influencing me. That, and the friends to lovers trope has always been a bit boring for me… but maybe SJM will make it good. I’m kinda worried it’s gonna be a book about her pursuing Azriel and I don’t like that. Women running after men and begging for attention kills a book for me 🫤

I’m really hoping for something more unique, because I feel like Rhys/Feyre and Nesta/Cassian are sort of similar with only a few core differences. That’s why I’m hoping for Elain and Lucien’s book to be next. I feel like they’ll be a breath of fresh air from all that. Like, it’s time to travel around Prythian… let’s see some other courts and territories.

I understand how some might feel that at the moment Gwyn could be perceived as a typical fantasy heroine because she's:

Selfless

Brave

Sweet

Kind

Beautiful

Good at Everything

Tragic Backstory

Truth be told, in SF she would be a little cookie cutter for an SJM heroine. But a few things with that -

She's not really meant to be antagonistic in Nesta's book. Her main purpose in SF was to become a best friend and support system for Nesta and be introduced as a possible / probable love interest for Az. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for her to come on the page and cause issues for anyone, she needed to be unproblematic so we could understand why she became the family Nesta never felt she had.

I do think that if she and Az were to get a book, Gwyn would become more layered and complex.

At their core, Feyre, Nesta, and Elain are all really good people. They don't all express it well but they do love one another. However, sisters can bring out the worst in someone as does anyone we end up dating. 😂 Feyre is extremely brave and would sacrifice herself for anyone but she has a habit of judging people or not really grasping the full picture of who they are. Nesta will always fight for what's right even though she can be extremely hurtful with her words. Elain tries to make the best of every situation & tends to see who people are (despite the front they put up) however she's often been way too complacent and timid and tries to turn away from the dark side of things. It's not that she's unaware but she prefers to live in the light and I think that can make her come across as naive.

Gwyn hasn't had any real reason to have conflict to anyone close to her. We never saw her with her sister, her mother, or having an actual argument with a love interest (as right now she and Az are not in the romantic stage of things).

When she becomes a FMC though, I have no doubt that we'll see all the sides of Gwyn. The good we've already been shown and the negatives that every single other character in an SJM book has. Because things are definitely going to happen to draw that out of Gwyn, her story would be boring otherwise.

As far as friends to lovers, I don't know that we have to worry about that so much (at least not in the way I think you're thinking).

No SJM couple has EVER been friends to lovers with no other trope thrown in there. Feysand was a one sided enemies to friends to lovers. Rowelin was DEFINITELY not friends to lovers. Maybe not enemies but extreme dislike to lovers. I don't know what you'd call Nessian 😂. Bryce and Hunt were dislike to friends to lovers. Elide and Lorcan were sort of friends to enemies to lovers.

I really can't imagine she would turn Gwynriel into something as basic as friends to lovers. I think she's going to create some drama and angst between them at some point (and no, I don't think that drama will involve Az and another love interest. I imagine whatever conflict that exists will exist solely between the two of them).

SJM has spoken of Az in interviews and said his character has scared her. Rhys is often SJMs "voice" and he too says that Azriel sometimes scares the shit out of him.

Az is definitely going to be an amazing Mate to Gwyn but that doesn't change the fact that he's dark, jealous, aggressive, and has a whole bag of issues. It's mentioned how he was locked away, not permitted to fly even though his Illyrian instincts screamed at him to do so. Rhys tells us that not using ones magic can make someone go mad. Maybe magic and Illyrian instincts are not meant to be placed into the same category but to me, I do get the vibe that Az might be a bit crazy😂 But in a good, anti-hero who is still the hero way.

He's extremely complex. So if Gwyn is his Mate, I find it impossible to believe she's not going to end up extremely complex too. They just wouldn't match otherwise and making her a Mary Sue just so Az, with all his darkness and rage can feel he is finally "worthy" (because he was Mated to this pinnacle of peak perfection and goodness) doesn't ring true to SJMs writing. Her characters tend to be equals in their strengths and flaws. Not that I think Gwyn will completely match Az as I still think she's the "light" (as in moonlight) to his darkness and shadows, but I do think she's going to have a little of a vengeful side to her when it comes to enemies (a little darkness of her own) and complexity (good and bad).

Even if I'm way off base, I really would prefer an Elucien book next only because, like you said, it would be a bit of a breather. Nesta's book was pretty heavy and I imagine Az's book will be too because of the intensity of his self loathing. I know Elucien will have their own issues to overcome but to me, their story doesn't seem like it will be quite so dark. And I do agree that it's time to take a break from the NC and travel around Prythian / the Continent for a bit and Elucien is the best chance for us to have that.

[void-star]

I posted 6,945 times in 2022

That's 317 more posts than 2021!

441 posts created (6%)

6,504 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@perfect-cecilos

@blue-eyes-white-privilege69

@bugssiesbeans

@thisautistic

@closet-keys

I tagged 3,745 of my posts in 2022

Only 46% of my posts had no tags

#wtnv - 306 posts

#pretty art - 199 posts

#dragon age - 170 posts

#malevolent - 167 posts

#amc iwtv - 138 posts

#ofmd - 116 posts

#hfth - 114 posts

#spoilers - 94 posts

#toh - 88 posts

#good fucking content - 88 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#another friend of mine started listening to night vale bc she needed something for her commute and because it gave us a reason to talk more

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

It isn't until Change of Mind that you really realize just how short staffed Minkowski's mission was.

80 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#4

I listened to Memoria this morning while getting ready for work which was a terrible decision cause it's difficult to put make up on while you're crying.

I just want to say the idea of Pryce inputting a core thought meant to tear Hera down, that runs every time she does anything, and the idea of "giving them my own voice" so the thought is indistinguishable from her own, really fuckin hits me in the mommy issues.

I think one of the coolest things they did with Hera as an A.I. was to create a computer metaphor for some aspects of human psychology; that a self-defeating thought is implanted in someone by another person that occurs at runtime every time.

That a small, single line of "code" recited subconsciously before every thing we do effects our whole systems.

That we need to know it's there to cope and work around it.

It's just very, very good. I like it a lot.

82 notes - Posted May 30, 2022

#3

Wolf 359 is just so good I will never be over it. That whole sequence at the end of episode 28 when they've just pulled the Hephaestus station into a stable orbit, Eiffel is in Lovelace's shuttle detached from the station and drifting very slowly, and he convenes with Minkowski in the medical lab where he gets suddenly interrupted by Lovelace flatlining?

And after a moment of the drama of trying to get Lovelace's heart beating again, the last thing we hear from him is, "Diiiiiiiiid....... was thaaaaaaaaat......??" and then the shuttle explodes?

Just amazing.

I love the flow of the scene and the tension. I love the voice acting. I love that we're hit with two more crises while still exhausted from the cost of narrowly escaping the last one. It's a bunch of emotional beats all in a row.

I literally dream of being this good at writing.

92 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

#2

I’m 25 episodes into Hello from the Hallowoods and I have decided I really like it. Here are some reasons why:

Lots of queer characters at lots of different ages and lots of different stages.

Some of the older characters are just beginning to engage with their queerness and it’s so sweet.

An asexual character!

I appreciate that the writer just threw in anything that seemed fun to them. Eldritch deities? Demons? Spirits? Doll zombies? Punk rock stars? Elemental mages? Capitalism trying to persevere after the apocalypse? Evangelism? All yes, and that’s goals tbh. I wish I could capture that energy.

Consistently the best openers I’ve ever heard.

Fuck, even the eldritch narrator is queer.

The particular way that death shows up as a theme here is really interesting. Death as a lingering consciousness, or a continuation, rather than an emptiness or an end.

Even though they’re mostly all the same voice actor and it’s basically the narrator reading a story to you, there are distinct enough voices for most of the characters that you can tell who is who even without the cues.

My fave audio drama villain archetype, the creepy evil boss, literally thinks she can take on an eldritch god and win. I’m so, so into it.

Water as giving life... especially after death.

Ahhh I recommend giving it a try if you like audio dramas.

104 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Cutter's "recruitment" of Eiffel is such an interesting interaction because until this point, with the exception of Hera, everyone else's sign on has not been so deeply resisted.

Hera AND Eiffel are not thrilled to take Cutter's deal, in fact they really have no other choice.

But Eiffel's scene is the first time we've ever heard Cutter struggle to control someone. He doesn't have the same tools he had with Hera.

It's the first time we hear someone laugh at Cutter, set a hard boundary with him, and literally call him a motherfucker to his face!

I'm also trying to think if anyone else aside from Hera ever really caught on to Cutter. Eiffel literally likens him to Patrick Bateman (American Psycho).

And I really feel like Cutter's agitation is palpable in his silence before he cuts Eiffel off with, "okay, okay! before you say any more things I'm going to make you regret..."

Like, Cutter still successfully lands the hook by making promises about what Goddard can do about supporting his daughter, but THAT MOMENT OF PEAK TENSION!!!!!! And only after Eiffel has been bought into it does he fall in line with the hierarchy and switch to calling Cutter, "sir."

111 notes - Posted May 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[spoonyglitteraunt]

Good grief they just can't leave well enough alone can they? I don't generally bother to react to these posts about idiot changes, knowing they don't read this stuff anyway but this one just asks for it.

Who (and it's a rhetorical who because we all know who) thought it a great idea to decide they're going to add the one thing almost all of us are here to escape? Because prizes for them for misreading the room. It's just a complete and utter disconnect from and disregard for the users. Which isn't novel but still annoying in its boring predictability. It's the tried and true failure of a method of prioritising number of signups over longevity. We've seen it time and time again what damage this does to communities and sites as a whole, but lessons are never learned.

New users mean nothing if you can't turn them into longtime ones. And if your current longtime users get alienated and repelled, who will keep providing the 'content' you so crave to use as bait for the hypothetical new ones?

Like, sure. Make the site easier to watch logged out. Improve the search that we've been told was impossible to fix over and over. We'd love to see that magic trick. But don't think we are naive enough not to understand what you're really after. To know how hard this site is or isn't to use. We live here. And most of us have enough experience with being talked down to to know it when we see it.

Algorithms and changing core elements of how conversations happen here is not for our benefit. Or even those of the supposed potential new users. It's one thing and one thing only.

Marketability.

Just like discord changing its username system was not an inevitable force of nature they could do nothing about but implement. Or to help the poor confused new users. Just like reddit cutting api support was not for site stability. Or about the pitiable confused new users. This too is once again not about the lamentable confused new users.

It's a show to investor to go look, we too got the hot new coolness wrecking ALL the sites. We too can fit in the one size fits none cookie cutter model that doesn't make the girlies investors run for the hills screaming. Because anything even slightly different makes them nervously clutch their virtual check books.

And I get it. Site need make money to exist. But you know what makes site not exist even quicker? All those people who currently were paying and buying stop doing so. Half the reason things like the checkmarks work (and you know this or else you wouldn't merchandise it) is exactly because it mocks the sites we hate. Sites you are now trying to emulate.

But no one is going to come here for the new twitter experience. They'll go to privacy hell threads for that instead. No amount of slapping paint on the walls and going hello fellow kids is going to make you appeal to them. No matter how hard you break the site. It's your uniqueness and functionality reminiscent of older ways thay has kept you your current users and attracted those fleeing reddit and twitter hell. As evidenced by the numerous threads going around about people finding it a breath of fresh air to not suddenly not be algorithms' bitch.

You should lean into that not change the one thing going for you. The one thing that makes you irreplaceable by a hundred carbon copies.

So sure. If this really is what you say it is about, build a site welcome tutorial. Explain the features and help them set up quickly and easily. Have extensive help documentation that's easy to find. Make the dash even more easy to sort and curate by maybe finally not hiding the notifications dash and building that out more. Improve the search and the for you page if you must. Which is your beloved algorithm right there, if you so desire the sweet embrace of lack of choice. But leave it optional and let the actual users, not those dreamt up by the capitalist number go up graphs, alone. We don't need the algorithm to hold our hands. People are not as helpless and confused as corporate speak likes to pretend.

Nothing good ever comes from breaking those who stuck by you all this time. Don't mistake our decision to remain as an inability to leave.

Tumblr’s Core Product Strategy

Here at Tumblr, we’ve been working hard on reorganizing how we work in a bid to gain more users. A larger user base means a more sustainable company, and means we get to stick around and do this thing with you all a bit longer. What follows is the strategy we're using to accomplish the goal of user growth. The @labs group has published a bit already, but this is bigger. We’re publishing it publicly for the first time, in an effort to work more transparently with all of you in the Tumblr community. This strategy provides guidance amid limited resources, allowing our teams to focus on specific key areas to ensure Tumblr’s future.

The Diagnosis

In order for Tumblr to grow, we need to fix the core experience that makes Tumblr a useful place for users. The underlying problem is that Tumblr is not easy to use. Historically, we have expected users to curate their feeds and lean into curating their experience. But this expectation introduces friction to the user experience and only serves a small portion of our audience. 

Tumblr’s competitive advantage lies in its unique content and vibrant communities. As the forerunner of internet culture, Tumblr encompasses a wide range of interests, such as entertainment, art, gaming, fandom, fashion, and music. People come to Tumblr to immerse themselves in this culture, making it essential for us to ensure a seamless connection between people and content. 

To guarantee Tumblr’s continued success, we’ve got to prioritize fostering that seamless connection between people and content. This involves attracting and retaining new users and creators, nurturing their growth, and encouraging frequent engagement with the platform.

Our Guiding Principles

To enhance Tumblr’s usability, we must address these core guiding principles.

Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Retain and grow our creator base.

Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Improve the platform’s performance, stability, and quality.

Below is a deep dive into each of these principles.

Principle 1: Expand the ways new users can discover and sign up for Tumblr.

Tumblr has a “top of the funnel” issue in converting non-users into engaged logged-in users. We also have not invested in industry standard SEO practices to ensure a robust top of the funnel. The referral traffic that we do get from external sources is dispersed across different pages with inconsistent user experiences, which results in a missed opportunity to convert these users into regular Tumblr users. For example, users from search engines often land on pages within the blog network and blog view—where there isn’t much of a reason to sign up. 

We need to experiment with logged-out tumblr.com to ensure we are capturing the highest potential conversion rate for visitors into sign-ups and log-ins. We might want to explore showing the potential future user the full breadth of content that Tumblr has to offer on our logged-out pages. We want people to be able to easily understand the potential behind Tumblr without having to navigate multiple tabs and pages to figure it out. Our current logged-out explore page does very little to help users understand “what is Tumblr.” which is a missed opportunity to get people excited about joining the site.

Actions & Next Steps

Improving Tumblr’s search engine optimization (SEO) practices to be in line with industry standards.

Experiment with logged out tumblr.com to achieve the highest conversion rate for sign-ups and log-ins, explore ways for visitors to “get” Tumblr and entice them to sign up.

Principle 2: Provide high-quality content with every app launch.

We need to ensure the highest quality user experience by presenting fresh and relevant content tailored to the user’s diverse interests during each session. If the user has a bad content experience, the fault lies with the product.

The default position should always be that the user does not know how to navigate the application. Additionally, we need to ensure that when people search for content related to their interests, it is easily accessible without any confusing limitations or unexpected roadblocks in their journey.

Being a 15-year-old brand is tough because the brand carries the baggage of a person’s preconceived impressions of Tumblr. On average, a user only sees 25 posts per session, so the first 25 posts have to convey the value of Tumblr: it is a vibrant community with lots of untapped potential. We never want to leave the user believing that Tumblr is a place that is stale and not relevant. 

Actions & Next Steps

Deliver great content each time the app is opened.

Make it easier for users to understand where the vibrant communities on Tumblr are. 

Improve our algorithmic ranking capabilities across all feeds. 

Principle 3: Facilitate easier user participation in conversations.

Part of Tumblr’s charm lies in its capacity to showcase the evolution of conversations and the clever remarks found within reblog chains and replies. Engaging in these discussions should be enjoyable and effortless.

Unfortunately, the current way that conversations work on Tumblr across replies and reblogs is confusing for new users. The limitations around engaging with individual reblogs, replies only applying to the original post, and the inability to easily follow threaded conversations make it difficult for users to join the conversation.

Actions & Next Steps

Address the confusion within replies and reblogs.

Improve the conversational posting features around replies and reblogs. 

Allow engagements on individual replies and reblogs.

Make it easier for users to follow the various conversation paths within a reblog thread. 

Remove clutter in the conversation by collapsing reblog threads. 

Explore the feasibility of removing duplicate reblogs within a user’s Following feed. 

Principle 4: Retain and grow our creator base.

Creators are essential to the Tumblr community. However, we haven’t always had a consistent and coordinated effort around retaining, nurturing, and growing our creator base.  

Being a new creator on Tumblr can be intimidating, with a high likelihood of leaving or disappointment upon sharing creations without receiving engagement or feedback. We need to ensure that we have the expected creator tools and foster the rewarding feedback loops that keep creators around and enable them to thrive.

The lack of feedback stems from the outdated decision to only show content from followed blogs on the main dashboard feed (“Following”), perpetuating a cycle where popular blogs continue to gain more visibility at the expense of helping new creators. To address this, we need to prioritize supporting and nurturing the growth of new creators on the platform.

It is also imperative that creators, like everyone on Tumblr, feel safe and in control of their experience. Whether it be an ask from the community or engagement on a post, being successful on Tumblr should never feel like a punishing experience.

Actions & Next Steps

Get creators’ new content in front of people who are interested in it. 

Improve the feedback loop for creators, incentivizing them to continue posting.

Build mechanisms to protect creators from being spammed by notifications when they go viral.

Expand ways to co-create content, such as by adding the capability to embed Tumblr links in posts.

Principle 5: Create patterns that encourage users to keep returning to Tumblr.

Push notifications and emails are essential tools to increase user engagement, improve user retention, and facilitate content discovery. Our strategy of reaching out to you, the user, should be well-coordinated across product, commercial, and marketing teams.

Our messaging strategy needs to be personalized and adapt to a user’s shifting interests. Our messages should keep users in the know on the latest activity in their community, as well as keeping Tumblr top of mind as the place to go for witty takes and remixes of the latest shows and real-life events.  

Most importantly, our messages should be thoughtful and should never come across as spammy.  

Actions & Next Steps

Conduct an audit of our messaging strategy.

Address the issue of notifications getting too noisy; throttle, collapse or mute notifications where necessary.  

Identify opportunities for personalization within our email messages. 

Test what the right daily push notification limit is. 

Send emails when a user has push notifications switched off.

Principle 6: Performance, stability and quality.

The stability and performance of our mobile apps have declined. There is a large backlog of production issues, with more bugs created than resolved over the last 300 days. If this continues, roughly one new unresolved production issue will be created every two days. Apps and backend systems that work well and don't crash are the foundation of a great Tumblr experience. Improving performance, stability, and quality will help us achieve sustainable operations for Tumblr.

Improve performance and stability: deliver crash-free, responsive, and fast-loading apps on Android, iOS, and web.

Improve quality: deliver the highest quality Tumblr experience to our users. 

Move faster: provide APIs and services to unblock core product initiatives and launch new features coming out of Labs.

Conclusion

Our mission has always been to empower the world’s creators. We are wholly committed to ensuring Tumblr evolves in a way that supports our current users while improving areas that attract new creators, artists, and users. You deserve a digital home that works for you. You deserve the best tools and features to connect with your communities on a platform that prioritizes the easy discoverability of high-quality content. This is an invigorating time for Tumblr, and we couldn’t be more excited about our current strategy.