#all of this also applies and significantly more directly

[seilon]

pro: ran into a coworker at a bar last night who I don’t really talk to usually (he works upstairs, I work downstairs) and we talked and im pretty sure we were highkey flirting and he bought me a drink and the bar merch shirt i was interested in and thanks to the power of alcohol i guess i asked for his number and he gladly gave it to me and. yeah

con: i have the second worst hangover i have ever had and have been fighting for my fucking life just to eat saltines

[vexwerewolf]

God I wish IPS-N had an Artillery Mech.

I have mixed opinions on this. I think it's thematic and interesting that - in the core book, at least - each of the three commercial manufacturers had a missing role. IPS-N had no Artillery, SSC had no Defender and Harrison Armory had no Support. These absences felt like they kind of spoke to the values of each corporation.

Then in The Long Rim, we got the Sunzi, a Harrison Armory Support, and it was interesting to see what sort of thing the Armory considered to be Support - it's a fundamentally more selfish kind of Support, in that instead of repairing or removing conditions from an ally (like the Lancaster) or providing targetting assistance (like the Swallowtail), you're simply deciding where on the battlefield they are.

In Field Guide to the KTB, we got the White Witch, and again, we see what SSC feels like a Defender should be: one that reveres and pushes the boundaries of the human form by simply adapting to damage, becoming inured to it over time.

The problem with an IPS-N Artillery frame is twofold:

Core Bonus Lineup

Firstly, while they initially lacked a class of mech, there was nothing about SSC or HA that innately hampered the idea of one. There was nothing innate about the way SSC frames operate that prevented them from having Defenders, nor HA from having Supports.

IPS-N has one very serious issue when it comes to Artillery frames: its Core Bonus lineup. Two of its Core Bonuses (Gyges Frame, Titanomachy Mesh) are focused exclusively on melee combat, three (Briareos Frame, Reinforced Frame, Sloped Plating) are based around survivability, and the last (Fomorian Frame) is a niche option designed for certain builds. There's nothing in its CB lineup that an Artillery frame wants as a first priority.

Contrast this with SSC, which gets Neurolink Targeting (+3 range to all ranged weapons), and HA, which gets Heatfall Coolant System (Overcharge capped at 1d6), which are both great for Artillery frames.

Now, it's true that HORUS doesn't get any Core Bonuses directly useful for an Artillery frame either, but the one core Artillery frame that HORUS has is the Pegasus, which is extremely abnormal both by Artillery standards and by frame standards in general. (Also, it could be argued that Lesson of the Held Image is good as a way of applying free Lock Ons for yourself).

Not having any useful Core Bonuses is a problem for IPS-N that is compounded by the other major issue:

Combat Ethos

Each of the four core manufacturers is tied to a mech skill - Agility for SSC, Systems for HORUS, Engineering for HA and Hull for IPS-N. IPS-N hulls tend to be biased significantly towards high HP, Armor and Repair Cap, often at the expense of Sensor Range, Heat Cap and SP - the former grouping being stats that Artillery cares less about (since they tend not to want to be in the front lines), and the latter being stats they care more about (since Artillery frames tend to focus around one powerful gun backed up by a large number of support systems).

IPS-N frames are built to get up close and personal with the enemy, usually engaging at a maximum distance of 5 spaces. No ranged weapon that IPS-N makes shoots beyond Range 8.

I'm not saying that IPS-N couldn't have an Artillery, by any means, but there are more mechanical issues with it than any other class-manufacturer combination.

[justwinginglife]

hi!! may I request something again?^^

may I request soshiro found out that you can turn into a Kaiju or see you transforming into your Kaiju form. a little Angst but with happy ending please:›

You may always request something again! Also story note- for this fic, Imma just ignore that Kikoru Shinomiya exists, sorry yall, you're taking her spot now.

Half Human

Your whole life was one big irony in that your life's mission was to kill kaiju and yet you owed the very breath in your lungs to them. Your father, the Director General, Isao Shinomiya, had already lost his wife and he'd be damned if he was going to lose you too. He secretly brought a kaiju back to base alive and had several talented doctors and scientists exchange its core in place of your failing heart. The doctors weren't even sure it could be done, but when the abomination that was you was finally finished, they were all sworn to secrecy. You were to be the first and the only kaiju transplant survivor.

After all, if word got out that it was possible to enhance the human body directly with kaiju organs, without use of a suit, there would be chaos. For one, the suit industry would take an immense hit and the black market would reign supreme. Not to mention how much ungodly human experimentation could come about from failed attempts to successfully recreate the transplant. It might even make the Defense Force's job more difficult- trying to take Kaiju in alive was significantly more dangerous and strenuous than just killing them.

With all these things in mind, your father kept the tightest lid on the situation. No one but you, your father, and the team that had worked on you knew this secret. But today, one more would find out.

Your father always carefully monitored your vitals in case you ever rejected the organ, and you were always reminded to keep your emotions in check so as to not set off the kaiju side of you. You thought that you'd learned to keep most of your emotions at bay, but apparently that control you had did not apply to anything even remotely related to the Vice Captain.

One time you'd heard someone shit talking him and you accidentally stabbed through your own tongue because your anger had called your fangs to emerge. And it didn't help that the Vice Captain glimpsed the blood dripping from your lips and tried to help you. You always wondered if you'd be able to feel human emotions anymore since you no longer had a human heart, but he quickly put that fear to rest because every time he reached for you, touched you, cared for you, you felt like you could feel your nonexistent heart beating rapidly. It felt like he was the only thing grounding you in your humanity.

Your father must have caught onto this at some point because he'd frequently make excuses to call you to headquarters when he felt like you might be getting too close to Hoshina. Today was one of those days.

You had gotten the summon early this morning and you were annoyed but you knew you that as much as you wanted to rebel against your father as his daughter, as a soldier in his Defense Force you couldn't very well disobey a direct order from the Director General. Especially when no one knew the reason you were called to headquarters so regularly. So you went to him.

By the time you finally concluded your business with your father it was late (you refused to stay the night in his division and let him have anymore hold over your life as it was) and you were waiting for the next train back to the Third Division when you felt your comms buzzing in your pocket. You thought it was strange as everyone should be either asleep or going to sleep soon, but you popped the comms in anyway, eager to hear what was going on so late at night. The base was under attack. It was a Daikaiju. The Vice Captain was fighting him. And losing.

You start to get dizzy. Sweat trickles down your forehead. The world seemed to be blinking in and out. You shake your head trying to get ahold of yourself but you know it's no use. You still haven't learned to get your kaiju side under control and on the rare occasion when you slipped and went berserk only your father could bring you back from that place of darkness. You clench your fists, straining, and gripping onto what was left of your humanity but your lower half had already started to turn.

"No- don't. He needs me. I can't be rampaging in another division right now." You beg the beast inside you.

It doesn't listen.

You feel the transformation reach your neck, a growl already starting to rise up your throat.

"I said stop! Damnit, st-"

Your voice is no longer your own. All that's left of you is one half of your face now, and the beast is slowly closing in on it. It's hungry. It hasn't been let out in awhile.

You look up at the moon, blinking back tears, thinking it might be awhile before you see it again, before you're yourself again. You wonder how long it will take your dad to find you and you wonder if he will even be able to change you back this time. He was getting older, getting weaker. What if you killed him this time?

And what if when you woke up, if you ever woke up again, the Vice Captain was dead? What would you do with your life if you weren't listening for his footsteps in the hallways or listening for his laugh in the air? If he wasn't telling you a joke or complimenting your stance, would you make it through the day? If you went through life not ever having told him how you felt, would it still feel like you were living?

You start to spiral in your own dark thoughts as the transformation spreads across your face, but right before it hits your ear you here the comms crackling.

"Vice Captain! Come in, Vice Captain! Sir, please respond!" Okonogi. She's yelling for the Vice Captain. Something must've happened.

Your vision starts to go red. You punch the lamppost beside you, but you're surprised to find that it's your fist that hits the metal. Not the beast's. You look down. Only your legs are still transformed.

You actually laugh out loud. "That's more like it. Time to go." You jump once, and it propels you into the sky. You use the momentum to launch yourself towards the Third Division. Somehow your legs are faster than a moving train, bringing you bounding towards the training grounds in what seems like no time at all.

Before you can even think about the consequences of being half transformed on base where the officers are literally trained to kill kaiju like you, before you can even think about how your father will probably kill you himself for revealing the secret he's worked so hard to protect, you're already jumping in front of Hoshina as you transform your arms and block a blow that could've been deadly.

He doesn't even have time to be stunned, you're injured.

He jumps to his feet, concern on his face, as you spit blood. You've not fought anything in your kaiju form before (the most you've done is scare the shit out of some pigeons before your father found you and changed you back) and it takes some getting used to.

"Well fuck. That actually hurt, damnit!" You yell at the kaiju. It laughs at you. You raise an eyebrow. It seems to understand you. You're astounded but you don't care to think too much about it before you launch a punch at its abdomen.

It groans but then it chuckles. "Is that the best you've got?"

"Ah so you do talk. That's fucking creepy, not gonna lie." You punch its chest this time.

It staggers backwards and Hoshina takes advantage of the opening, slashing at its legs. It lands on its back.

You hurl yourself high into the air and then crash down hard on its head with a deafening blow that splits its skull. But it starts to slowly regenerate and it shakes you off of it. You land at the ground by Hoshina.

"So are we ever going to talk about the whole 'you being a half kaiju hybrid' thing?" He asks you, eyes still trained on the shuddering beast in front of him.

"Really? Now? We're a little busy Hoshina."

He laughs- he actually fucking laughs. "Oh really, because here I thought we were having a nice little tea party."

You roll your eyes but you can't help but smile at his poor comedic timing. "I'll treat you to some tea if you tell me where the damn core is."

He points to its back. "Lil fucker is hiding it in there."

You nod. "Got it."

The kaiju rises to its feet, ready for another round.

"Do me a favor and be bait, yeah?" You tell Hoshina and then before he can protest, you charge its back.

The kaiju swings at you but you duck.

"Oh I'm the fucking bait? Real classy." Hoshina grumbles but he complies, charging at its front, slashing at it and keeping it busy while you circle behind it.

You run up the stairs of a nearby building and when you reach the top, you launch yourself from the roof.

"This one is for making Hoshina bleed." You mutter under your breath before sending its organs flying as you rip through its flesh and pummel its core to bits. The aftershock sends you flying and you don't have time to land properly. You smack the floor on your side, tumbling in circles until you finally slow.

Your ribs feel like they're caving in but at least the kaiju is down for good. You lie in the dirt, coughing painfully and looking up at the night sky. You're fully human again, like the beast inside you curled up and went to bed, letting you feel the full force of the pain alone.

Hoshina rushes over to you. "Oh my god, are you okay?!"

You cough again. "Not sure if I'm up for that tea party anymore. Might've fucked up a lung or two."

He rolls his eyes. "You would make a joke at a time like this."

"And who was the one asking me stupid questions mid fucking fight?" You tease.

He laughs.

"So... are we going to talk about it now?" You swallow, wondering how he'll react to this new side of you.

He thinks for a moment. "Talk about what? As far as I know, a human saved me from the kaiju. And it looks like," He chucks a rock at the nearby drone, "The rubble badly damaged any footage that might've been captured."

You sigh, relieved, and relax against the ground.

"But... if there's anything you want to tell me later... when you're ready, I'll listen."

There were so many things you wanted to tell him and you being half kaiju was the least important of them. But you'd save that for another day, maybe when less of your limbs hurt.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"By the way, did you really brutally murder the kaiju just because it made me bleed? Your comms were on."

"Shut up, Hoshina."

[vaggieslefteye]

Alastor's facial expression journey as he says: "Almost makes one sentimental."

Interesting details: -The old radio effect on his voice clears up significantly as he says the words "almost makes." -The use of "one" as the subject of his sentence instead of "me." -Closing his eyes. Alastor decidedly does not look at this group of people while saying this line in particular, despite gazing fondly at them at the start. -Shaking his head. Alastor shakes his head a total of three times as he says the word "sentimental." Shaking one's head side-to-side is considered the universal gesture for no. -This entire moment happens in just over 2 seconds. (Not all frames of the animation are shown here) It's very blink-and-you'll-miss-it.

Of course I have my ideas as to what this could mean. However, attempting to truly prove anything via reading body language in fiction and/or real life is always a lost cause, given that it's pseudoscience and you can never know anything for sure with that information alone. So these are guesses based on what his body language may be suggesting given what we know of his personality, his history with the hotel gang, and the given context of this scene.

I can say this with confidence, though: I think something stirred in him here, and we're very lucky as the audience to have witnessed it.

Everyone during this "last night alive" scene is, in some way, acting with the idea that some or all of them will be dead the next morning. So there's a good chance for emotional provocation. It seems like not even Alastor is immune to it. Has he had these thoughts about getting attached to the group for an amount of time before this scene? Did it hit him right then and there? There's no way to tell. But either way, I think physically talking about it out loud can be a way for him to control it. He can acknowledge that the idea and possibility is there and real, but at the same time insist that it won't apply to him, even though it could.

And yet, it seems he can't look directly at them while acknowledging this hypothetical sentiment. Sometimes we as humans avert our eyes or shut them completely from things that cause discomfort. He also can't quite commit to saying "Almost makes me sentimental. / I admit, I could get accustomed..." and instead puts the burden of this scenario on "one," or, a person just in general. That's interesting. And shaking his head could mean a lot of different things: Is it to release tension? Is it him unconsciously emphasizing the "almost" in his statement, like saying almost, but not quite? Or in that same vein, trying to literally shake the idea of becoming sentimental off of his mind? Multiple of these? Who knows.

As for his voice becoming clearer... When asked during a Q and A if Alastor loses the static in his voice when he's being more honest/genuine, Medrano answered: "That's something I can't reveal. Obviously, that's a big tell." I guess the answer will come with time :)

With all that being said, I don't think these feelings he may be having here are that significant to him. At the end of the day, he's still egocentric as ever and, more than anything, wants his freedom from his deal and to be "pulling all the strings." Friendship with this group is simply a low priority or petty distraction to him at best, and something that could actively get in the way of these goals at worst. If anything, this scene served to plant a seed and provide crucial context for both the ambiguity of his feelings toward the hotel gang in general and for his verse in the song Finale - as well as provide setup for the next few seasons. Either way, it looks like he doesn't want to become attached to them and won't let himself, either.

IF there is sentiment present, this moment here is his attempt to nip it in the bud. Only time will tell whether he was successful or not.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hello! In one of your previous posts you mentioned the game purposefully hiding the faces of figures who play a significant role in each OB boy’s trauma. So do you think this applies to Idia's parents as well (they have masks to cover their faces and they don't even have separate sprites but the default STYX members' sprites)?

[Referencing this post!]

There’s a lot to unpack here, so I’ve put my thoughts under the cut!! I hope you enjoy reading ^^

***Note: Many spoilers for books 6 + 7 of the main story!!***

I definitely wouldn’t put the Shroud parents into the same category as like… Mrs. Rosehearts, who was basically the origin from which other issues stemmed. The Shroud parents themselves were not the “root cause” for Idia’s trauma, the “cause” was Ortho’s death and Idia feeling immense guilt and shame about it. Not once has Idia blamed his parents or implicated them for this misfortune (not counting the Shroud curse, which is really the fault of their ancestors and not the Shroud parents in particular). I guess where some fans feel there is an issue is the implication that the Shroud parents did not seem to be there emotionally for Idia or offer him healthy coping mechanisms for his issue??

Before I give my thoughts on why the Shroud mom and dad obscure their faces (and how this does or doesn’t fit into the “purposefully obscuring the faces of those significantly related to each boy’s trauma), allow me to offer a different perspective to those who find fault with Idia’s parents. Firstly, consider that we know very little about the period of time between Ortho’s death leading up to Idia enrolling at NRC. Even then, most of what we know of this period comes directly from Idia, which provides us with a biased and limited perspective. Idia views most things negatively and does not seem close with his parents, so it makes sense that he would describe them in an inflated and unflattering way.

I think where a lot of the initial thoughts about the Shrouds being bad parents (a sentiment I myself had prior to their book 7 reveals) predominantly comes from them not being present in Idia’s post-OB flashback and Idia stating that his parents care more about results than their son’s feelings. We also learn from later that the family used to go out a lot as a group, but those trips stopped after Ortho died. These heavily imply his mom and dad were not there for Idia after the… incident. But let’s back up for a moment; where does the flashback pick up after Ortho died? Over two years later. That’s a large gap to not be knowing what the Shroud parents were doing during it. The STYX employees present also state that Idia has “completely withdrawn” ever losing Ortho, and this could be inclusive of the parents. So… we don’t really know for sure if, during this expanse of 2 years, the parents never made an effort to reach out. Even if they did, it seems highly likely that Idia rejected them. It’s possible that the flashback didn’t feature the parents because Idia largely shut them out of his life or did not deem them to be deeply linked to his trauma; he laments only the general family curse and the loss of Ortho, he does not direct hate at either parent in the flashback.

What we also have to remember is that it wasn’t just Idia that lost a brother that terrible day. Mr. and Mrs. Shroud their sons; Ortho literally (he passed away) and Idia figuratively (as he started to emotionally distance and isolate himself). That’s tough for any parent, but the world cannot stop for them just because they experienced a tragedy. Unfortunately, life moves on and the Shroud parents are in such important positions that they need to work. This is especially true of Mr. Shroud, who oversees all of STYX operations and is burdened with a curse that demands he constantly be surrounded by blot or else the curse will start to chip away at his own magical energy. They need to do this while juggling their own sadness over losing Ortho. There’s only so much time the Shroud parents can try to comfort Idia when they have work, their own emotional trauma to work through, and their surviving son who doesn’t seem to welcome any efforts they put in. You could even theorize that the Shroud parents (particularly the dad) threw themselves into work to try and bury their own feelings. The Shrouds do obviously have a responsibility to Idia as his parents, but parenting is not so easy of a task. They’re still individuals who have other things to balance alongside parenting and they realistically cannot dedicate 100% of their time or energy to Idia.

Now, please do not misunderstand me. I don’t want my words to come off like I’m pointing fingers or victim blaming. What I’m trying to say here is that it isn’t Idia OR his parents’ fault that they grew distant; to me, both parties were busy dealing with their own complicated emotions and their coping methods didn’t seem to align (because different people can have very different trauma responses) and ended up hurting Idia even more in the end. Making mistakes is human and normal. We've seen other characters also falter with their past actions and what they were or were not able to do at the time (Trey not standing up for or to Riddle, Lilia acting callously towards his children, etc.). This by itself is NOT necessarily a bad thing or something to hate on them for; I'd argue that what matters much more is how those matters were dealt with and what the results of those efforts have been. In the case of the Shroud parents, they do not appear to have bad blood with Idia or Ortho in modern day and the game has really done little to indicate that the Shroud parents should be viewed in a morally grey light. They've welcomed Ortho as a part of their family, openly refer to him like a third son, supported his official enrollment as a NRC student, and worry about his safety when Ortho tries to rush headfirst into danger. As for Idia, though he sometimes grumbles about his parents and tends to their actions as coming from a place of not caring, his peers have pointed out that being scolded is proof of his parents’ love for him. For example, Idia complains that his parents have sent him back to NRC so they don’t have to deal with a “nuisance” like him. He also says that there has been public interest in STYX and demand for accountability, which has specifically put his father under fire. We could view the situation like Idia has—that has parents wanted him out of their way. However, as Rook so tactfully pointed out, Idia’s parents must hold deep affection for him. This implies that the Shrouds chose to send Idia back to school for his own safety, and Mr. Shroud was willing to take the full brunt of the heat himself rather than let people suspect his son, whom Mr. Shroud must know is socially anxious. Idia has plenty of other stories about how his parents punished him for dangerous tech modifications he made, and how they’d take away his gadgets as punishment. Again, because they care about their children and their safety, even if they (especially his more stern and work-oriented father) may not show it in conventionally affectionate ways. Idia has pessimistic views that color his parents as annoying and isn’t as close to them anymore as he used to be, but this doesn’t condemn the Shrouds to the eternal hall of bad parents who never ever learn or refuse to change their ways.

Now, about their outfits! Mr. and Mrs. Shroud wear the same robes as NPC staff at STYX. This much is true!! … But I don’t think there is any deep meaning in this, seeing as Idia too wears the same robes?? I believe this is just the default work uniform for STYX researchers, regardless of the position they’re in (so this uniform detail does not technically contribute to the “intentional obscuring” of the Shroud parents’ designs).

We don’t really know what the reason for them wearing the helmets is, and nor is there very strong implication as to why. There have been plenty of fan speculations and theories including but not limited to: special personal protective equipment, magical enhancement gear, general Shroud family shyness, cost/time saving measure for the devs, etc. I can’t really say one way or another which is the “most correct” idea 🤷‍♂️

What I will say is that I do not think there was an intent to hide the Shroud parents’ faces for the same reasons that Mrs. Rosehearts’ face was. Why? Well:

Their faces are not censored in the same way as Mrs. Rosehearts was in the manga; she has her face shaded out by black, but we can still see the details of her outfit. The Shrouds, meanwhile are making the conscious decision to wear helmets—and highly personalized helmets at that. (Mr. Shroud’s helmet is different in colors and design than Mrs. Shroud’s.) This indicates individuality and wanting to make the Shroud parents stand out, not to homogenize them as anonymous black blots at which the OB boys’ trauma finds its roots.

To build off of my previous point, the comment about purposefully obscuring the face of the "source" of Riddle's trauma was ONLY said in the context of the manga, NOT the game. Therefore, in-game assets cannot be considered reliable for "the Shroud parents wear helmets to hise their faces; hidden faces = source of an OB boy's trauma" theory. If you doubt this, then please refer to each boy’s post-OB flashback. In the game, it is not just the sources of their trauma that are blotted out in black, it is literally every character (even the ones with positive memories or experiences associated with them). This includes Trey and Che’nya, whose younger form faces ARE openly depicted in the manga. So again, the “obscuring the faces of characters who are major trauma sources” thing only applies to the manga and the game does not follow this.

The Shrouds are largely depicted in a positive light. The negative aspects of them tend to come from Idia, who tends to have a pessimistic slant to his perception of the world and other people.

Idia’s personal accounts and even his post-OB flashbacks do not attribute or credit his parents for any aspect of his trauma. Much of the guilt and shame he feels is self-imposed and directed at himself.

As I’ve pointed out earlier in this post, we are assuming a lot of things about what happened in Idia’s life following Ortho’s death. The downside to this is that it doesn’t grant the parents any grace and takes everything we see (as little as it is) at face value without considering alternatives or how the parents could have changed in recent years.

Again, we don’t have a lot of information on why the Shrouds wear the helmets. I don’t think it’s wise to assume it’s for a bad reason when most of the canon has indicated we are supposed to “like” the Shrouds (or, at the very least, they’re supposed to be “redeemed” compared to the initially negative comment we were given of them).

In conclusion: no, I don’t think Idia’s parents are wearing their helmets because they’re associated with their son’s trauma. To me, the helmets feel like something they must wear for some in-universe purpose such as additional protection or to indicate their role within the organization.

[marzipanandminutiae]

"They're basically saying to compromise our rights" no, they are saying that directly. The headline

"51% of voters think trans rights have gone too far". We're the first scape goats. "Right have gone too far", we literally have less rights and have to jump significantly more hoops than anyone else.

When they say they're here to take your basic human rights away, don't forget they've already started with us, and they very much fully intend to take them away completely

A very good point and I'm fully aware. Thanks for the reminder- the only reason I didn't mention other groups is that I was talking specifically about the whole "women drove men away from the left" phenomenon. But it's so true: this applies to pretty much any group that's been fighting for rights, and we're all dealing with different sorts of oppression with different attacks and nuances. And many of them have indeed already started- see also: the women dying because they're refused lifesaving miscarriage care due to restrictive anti-abortion laws (which definitely could happen to transmasc and NB people, too, of course- while closely tied to systemic misogyny, reproductive rights affect anyone with a uterus).

To the Right, it's white and Identity Politics, straight and Identity Politics, male and Identity Politics, cis and Identity Politics, Christian and Identity Politics, etc. There's a space for talking about our individual issues, but in practice all of us need to fight for...well, all of us. Because dividing us is one of our enemies' favorite tactics.

And trans people are one of the main groups in the spotlight right now as far as targets go, something that's important to remember.

[doberbutts]

Hi, it is a me with yet another dog questions since you seem to have relevant experience!

I just got a chihuahua puppy from the humane society (somewhat unexpected; PUPPY was expected but Chihuahua wasn't, long story) and he and my big 90lb German Shepherd have been getting along very well through crates and pens, but I'm afraid of him getting squished by accident if they hang out together directly. How do your chis and the dobermans get along? What safety precautions do you have going? Anything I should know as a new chi owner? (I'm guessing early tooth maintenance is a must, based on my last small dog, and we have a coat for cold mornings due to being uninsulated by nature)

thanks :)

Oh, congrats on joining the tiny dog army! Glad to see my propaganda working in action 🫡

As far as safety goes, I don't allow offleash or unrestricted access (ie, without a gate) until I am 100% sure that the significantly larger dog will be appropriate. When Tater is 2.5lbs and Fenris is inching towards 80, I simply refuse to chance him stomping her in play because I'm pretty sure he'll break every single one of her ribs.

For a very long time, the smallest dog in the equation gets to control how an interaction goes. This helps teach the big dog how to read signals and also to stop and think before acting. I remove the problem immediately if there is stomping, pouncing, or chasing behavior. For an older big dog, I teach the big dog to lay down and let the little dog approach for interaction rather than the other way around.

As far as how they get along- initially it was rough, because Fenris likes to pounce and the chihuahuas do not like to be pounced by such significantly larger animals. I did apply the use of an ecollar as I had tried a few other methods and he did not seem to be understanding the idea of "stop chasing down the chihuahuas to stomp on them all the time" so instead Thor reached down from the heavens to whisper into his ear the divine message of "STOP CHASING THE FUCKING CHIHUAHUAS". All that other work we did however began to shine through after a few sessions with the ecollar, and now he does not chase the chihuahuas. We went from the chihuahuas hiding whenever they saw him coming, to them being willing to approach and interact with him of their own volition.

He is still pretty obsessed with them but he is an obsessive dog in general. He is friends with Fae and they play wrestle as long as he remembers not to punch her. She will approach and instigate biteyface, and they cuddle together on the couch. She's always been my big dog in a tiny body, so it makes sense that she's pretty OK with him now that he's not actively hurting her (accidentally).

Tater does not like him but Tater takes a very long time to warm up to any big dog. Except Creed whom she loved right away, Tater used to hate Sushi and never got over her hatred of Phoebe. She is- sometimes- willing to use the favored dog bed if he is on it. More likely she will march up to him and bat screech at him until he moves off what she has deemed her spot. He very much wants to be friends with her so he will pull out all of the "please play with me I am such a cute puppy baby" tricks and she wants nothing to do with it. Earlier today she was tolerating him licking her ears- until he started to lick hard enough to knock her off balance and then she was done with him. She's just very small, and he is very big compared to her.

She does eventually warm up to a big dog- she wanted companionship and Fae was on her throne (the couch) and Tater can't get up there by herself so she came to sit and doze next to Sushi. She used to treat Sushi the same way she treats Fenris right now, so I think with time she will be less annoyed by him, but she still doesn't actually *like* Sushi more than she just tolerates the fact that Sushi shares the house.

[bobabisch]

I think it is very interesting that the writers of RDR2 chose to have the Arthur become more involved with the storyline of the Native Americans at the time that they did.

I feel this for many reasons, but mainly because what Colonel Favours' destructive and insecure nature is doing to the native people directly mirrors what Dutch's own insecure and destructive nature is doing to the group. On the first mission Arthur does with Captain Monroe, the Captain tells him many things:

1) That Colonel Favours destructive/insecure/angry nature has corrupted his men, I quote, "There is a culture now in his [Colonel Favours] regiment, the rot has traveled down the trunk". The Captain is stating that the horrific ways the Colonel has been treating the native people has prompted his men to treat them the same. The rotting tree metaphor is easily applied to Arthur's current situation with Dutch and the group (at this specific time especially). After Molly's death the whole vibe of the camp becomes unstable and dreary; nearly everyone has been prone to anger, Arthur included. This attitude in the camp is not unlike the new personality Dutch has begun to show since he returned from Guarma. This corruption can also be seen particularly well in Micah--as he thrives in the chaos in the camp and in Arthur's disintegrating relationship with Dutch--and in Bill's newfound anger/resentment with seemingly everything and everyone.

2) Captain Monroe tells Arthur "He [Colonel Favours] didn't have a very good war so he's trying to start another one." This one seems pretty much obvious, but as Arthur states during a few missions prior to this one (mainly the one with Eagle Flies and the mission where Dutch kills Cornwall) the past few heists/jobs have not gone well. Arthur significantly understates this; rather the last few heists/jobs have gone horribly, terribly wrong. All of Dutch's previous heists/jobs have led to death: I.e. Mac, Jenny, Sean, Hosea, Lenny, and Molly. It's clear Dutch has been feeling lost and inadequate since Blackwater and his recent failures and the recent deaths have only put more pressure on those insecurities, and with Micah in his ear those insecurities have only become more prevalent and dangerous.

3) Captain Monroe also tells Arthur "I think he's taking some of these actions more to protect himself now. If he can incite more retaliation maybe he can prove a stronger defense." Like Colonel Favours has decided to wage his own war with the native people in an attempt to alleviate his insecurities, so has Dutch decided to "wage war" as well, using the conflict with the native people and the army so he may "make noise" (as Dutch calls it) to reassure himself that his insecurities have not become reality. The more "noise" Dutch makes easier it is to claim he is defending the groups honor. Dutch uses people a lot, he used Angelo Bronte, he used the Grays, he used the Braithwaites, but the difference between Dutch using them and Dutch using Eagle Flies and the native people--as well as the army--is that he no longer does it for the reason's that he was doing it beforehand. With the former groups of people, Dutch truly was using them to help the group, to protect those he views as family.

Moreover the former groups of people were not good people in any way shape or form meanwhile the Native Americans are entirely blameless in this situation. "We help those who need helping, feed those who need feeding, and kill those who need killing." It's something Dutch says to Arthur on the very mission they take with Eagle Flies which puts not only the native people in a more precarious position than they were already in, but also makes the situation Dutch's gang are in more dangerous. Dutch has stuck by this motto for what seems like his whole life, but now even it has lost its meaning. He no longer helps those who need helping as he refused to rescue John Marston from being hanged, and he no longer kills those who need killing as he unnecessarily murdered Cornwall and actively urges the native people and the army to kill each other. In this light it is undeniable that just as Colonel Favours is prosecuting the Native Americans to save his reputation, Dutch has taken all of these new measures to save his own reputation and to placate his troubled mind.

4) Captain Monroe's final statement about Colonel Favours hits the hardest however, "A failed man is often the most dangerous." Arthur has come to know this as true, as he watches Dutch slowly descend further into madness, finding new enemies in anyone who is not his "yes man" and actively seeking out his old enemies who have wronged him so horribly in the past, all at the risk of the family which he claims he is trying to protect by doing all of this.

I think it is so clever of the writers this situation with the Native Americans play out as all this is happening with Dutch. Although Arthur probably does not fully understand the parallels, I'm sure being directly involved in such a similar situation helps Arthur to realize at least on some subconscious level just how far gone Dutch truly is.

[cuculine-nelipot]

The way I've seen people twisting themselves into knots trying to prove that Ed's treatment of Izzy does not constitute domestic violence is wild. My main question is, does it matter? Does it matter if it doesn't fall into the strictest definition of domestic violence? Does it take away from the fact that we know their relationship to be intimate, that that has been true for decades, that it has devolved into Edward repeatedly, intentionally inflicting pain on Izzy?

The biggest argument I've seen is that what happens between them somehow falls within the bounds of a pirate-typical employer/employee relationship. Cool story! Still abuse. Yes, much of the language frames their relationship as professional; Izzy calls Ed "captain", and Ed frames his mutilation of Izzy as punishment for insubordination or failure to do what was asked of him up to standard. Ed's talk with "Hornigold" might even suggest precedented, typical pirate behaviour. However, neither structure nor precedent means that it isn't abuse. It's still abuse. I'm not even going to bother with doing a deep dive into Ed's psychology and how his persistent framing of their relationship and his actions as "professional" very clearly stems from his inability to confront the truth of himself and, by extension, his feelings about other people, but it bears mentioning. We also see him designate Stede the role of "former shipmate" which we all know doesn't even begin to cover the scope of things - he just doesn't want Anne and Mary, or even Stede to know how personal it was and how deeply it affected him. We do have to contend with the fact that Izzy's and Edward's relationship is explicitly not just professional. They have known each other for decades, largely in the capacity of working together, yes, but they have also lived together for decades. The ship functions as a domestic space for them, and they have no other home. Yes, it's a working relationship, but that work is their entire lives - every aspect of their work directly contributes to the the maintenance of their home. (So yes, this is also means that there's an argument for Ed's treatment of the other crew members as a form of domestic violence.) Furthermore, they both admit to having love for each other - that does not fall within the bounds of a professional relationship. When Izzy's dying Ed says what we have already been shown - that they're family. The did not suddenly turn into family in that moment - unlike the mentor/father figure thing some people decided existed after the fact, we have been shown since the beginning that a great if indefinable intimacy does exist between them - they could not hurt each other as much as they have otherwise. Do you know what another term for domestic violence is? Intimate partner abuse. They had an intimate partnership in which one party had significantly less power than the other and was abused, and all this happened in the context of a shared home, therefore it's domestic violence. Et voilà. I know a lot of people don't particularly care for Izzy and want Ed to be more easily redeemable so we can better imagine his relationship with Stede working and being healthy, but it's just not the story we got. I'm also aware that the writers did not mean to tell a domestic violence story, may have even tried to avoid it with careful semantics, but it's the story they ended up telling anyway. As disappointed as we all are (I would have loved for this to have not happened, there are so many ways they could have explored Ed's and Izzy's dynamic without turning Ed into an abuser) it has to be taken into account now.

Also remember that a lot of people who see it as domestic do so because they have experienced domestic violence and can therefore better identify it when it doesn't fall into the neat, generalised framework we're taught. So I'm just asking everyone to take care how you talk and think about the subject because it is a slippery slope from applying one way of thinking to a piece of fiction, to applying it to reality, and that's a very dangerous game.

[earthstellar]

talking about hearing disabled!Megatron again

listen I’ve had to wear my hearing aids for 12 hours straight today and my ears physically hurt because the plastic bendy part of the tubes is scratching up my ears pretty badly, so here we go: 

(this is mostly about IDW 1 Megatron, but feel free to apply it to any Megatron because all Megatrons are excellent) 

-the helmet dampens his hearing fairly significantly, as it doesn’t have any micro-openings over his audials for sound to permeate. this is intentional as part of the design, and is a safety feature for both him and any other similar mining/heavy manual labour bots who might have similar helm designs.

-that having been said, he does still have actual hearing loss from his younger days in the mine (loud machinery in sound reflective mines/caves + lack of maintenance owing to being lower class/caste and not having the resources = not great for hearing health), so while the helm design prevented it from being more severe (at first), it still didn’t provide enough protection to actually prevent a still-significant amount of hearing damage to occur 

-on top of this, during the war he was constantly getting direct impacts to his helm, standing near heavy explosions, and otherwise very often in situations where his hearing damage had plenty of opportunity to gradually worsen for one reason or another (endless environmental noise + blunt force impacts to the audials even through his helmet is no bueno) 

-at some point during the war he developed a low grade tinnitus in both audials, which he believes may have been caused by Starscream shooting him directly in the face with either his null ray or something else, which is a thing that happened too many times and with too many different weapons for him to be able to guess which specific occasion may have ultimately caused the tinnitus. it could also have just occurred naturally, he has no idea. but he thinks it’s probably Starscream’s fault, somehow, maybe. it’s not impossible, that’s for sure. 

-the tinnitus isn’t bad enough to bother him too much most of the time, but it does irritate him when he’s in quieter moments in his hab suite and trying to settle down to write or consider strategy etc. since that’s when it’s most noticeable to him and it’s distracting whenever he actually focuses on it. it does disrupt his recharge patterns on occasion, which agitates him. 

-he never really considered his gradual loss of hearing in his youth to be that negative or scary, because of course, in the mines it’s already hard to hear anyone or anything, and open internal comms were often impractical due to their mining equipment typically interfering with their comms signals. so the mining bots generally adapted fairly well to both the noise pollution in their work areas as well as their collective general hearing problems, because they already created work arounds between themselves. 

-Terminus was also hearing disabled; Megatron refuses to ever have his hearing fully repaired even if he could, for three primary reasons: 1) it reminds him of where he came from and the struggle which originally inspired him to start writing, 2) it reminds him of Terminus, and 3) he’s personally so used to it that he considers his hearing disability to be a part of himself and his life experiences to such a degree that to attempt repairs would be to remove an important aspect of who he is-- he associates it closely with his sense of identity. 

-they did use sign language in the mines whenever possible, but it was a form of Cybertronian Sign Language unique to low class/manual labour bots. most signs could be made with one servo, to allow them to continue operating certain machinery with their other servo while still talking to each other during work hours-- whenever they could sign to each other without their pit bosses noticing, anyway. 

(BSL, British Sign Language, is usually two-handed. I’m aware that ASL, American Sign Language, has a lot of one-handed signs. Just mentioning this for a real world comparison for how this kind of stuff varies massively on a regional level, for those who aren’t aware!) 

-their sign language was more of a sign supported form of Cybertronian, similar to SSE (Sign Supported English) in real life, as most of them started out with reasonably functional hearing but lost hearing ability gradually. so the grammar structure etc. is more similar to spoken Cybertronian than to most other forms of signed Cybertronian.

-he uses multiple methods to interpret spoken speech and other sounds which he either struggles to hear or can’t really hear at all. only the most observant bots will notice him doing any of this. Soundwave and Ravage are the only two non-medical bots who have ever realised that he does use lip reading in a limited capacity to help “fill in” words that he can’t make out. 

-he suspects that some of the Autobot spec ops bots may have figured out some of this during the war too, but he’s not 100% sure. Jazz probably noticed on at least a few occasions, but may not have realised the extent to which Megatron relies on these “work-arounds”, or necessarily why he was using them. 

-he is aware of the fact that one of the only reasons he could actually tolerate Starscream’s constant yelling at him is because it doesn’t sound as shrill to him as it does to everyone else. Starscream’s voice would just sort of clip in and out, as far as Megatron’s concerned.

-ultimately his hearing by Cybertronian measure is far below what is considered a more “standard” operational hearing range, even without his helmet, but he’s been so used to this for the vast majority of his life that he’s totally fine with it and doesn’t want to attempt any repairs. like I said above, he considers it part of his identity, and he wants to protect/preserve that. 

-at some point on the Lost Light, Ratchet/First Aid/Velocity probably figure out the extent of Megatron’s hearing disability, and initially offer repairs or audial devices to assist in hearing, but Megatron declines and they don’t push him on it out of respect for his wishes 

-as he gets more comfortable on the Lost Light over time, he relaxes a bit and doesn’t bother stressing himself out 100% of the time trying to strain to figure out audial input as much (unless it’s critical to do so, such as when he’s on the bridge in command capacity etc.) 

-this leads to more bots figuring out that his hearing isn’t all that great, but most of them assume it’s because Megs is getting older and they likely don’t realise his hearing has been fucked for essentially forever 

-this in turn leads to a lot of old mech jokes but Megs doesn’t care and Ratchet very much does because uh oh he actually is maybe a little bit losing some audial sensitivity himself due to age and his general condition declining a bit and yes Drift he will see First Aid about it in the morning, no shouting in my audials does not help it just makes you harder to understand, please don’t do this around Rodimus or he’ll start doing it and will never stop etc. 

IDK I just really love the idea of hearing disabled!Megatron because it makes so much sense 

even if you think about it in terms of like, G1 Megatron, I can easily see one of the reasons for him yelling in that super gravelly tone literally all the time is because he can’t 100% gauge the volume/pitch of his own voice and he’s just like, fuck it 

TFP Megatron absolutely took some brutal blows to the head in the gladiatorial ring at the very least and we know he also started out doing manual labour in the mines, so there’s a very similar background to IDW 1 Megatron and a lot of this could apply to this version too 

even with Cyberverse Megatron, the reason his voice is slightly lower in pitch may very well be because he can’t hear higher frequencies so he adjusts his own voice box settings accordingly 

I’m just thinking out loud with all this (and of course I am biased in favour of any hearing disabled characters because I myself have some hearing issues lmao) but I think hearing disabled Megatron in particular just works extremely well 

it’s a concept that could work for Ratchet too though, especially in TFP/IDW 1 where he could gradually be dealing with age related audial damage etc. 

but there’s no way Megs is hearing shit through that helmet either way lmao 

[miquellaluciscaelum]

Apparently publishing posts is like a form of therapy for me and a way to deal with the emotions from the dlc.

The topic of Miquella in no way leaves me, it literally rents free in my mind 24/7 and I keep going through all the options, trying to find some meanings hidden and not, and come to terms with what we got.

It would certainly be a lot easier if people weren't screaming from every corner about how Miquella is evil, Griffith, "it was clear from the beginning", "justice, apologies for Mogh and Radanh" and all of that.

I think it would make me feel better in a way if I spell out how I feel about Miquella, his plot, and the denouement. The first thought is, of course, disappointment. And it is still significantly present. It is difficult to describe in a short and concise way what exactly I am not satisfied with, so I will write what I missed and what I would have preferred to see instead of what we got.

✨Miquella is essentially a central figure in the story and narrative, but there is very little content directly related to him. In the main game we had that one direct phrase (presumably) from him in the description of the Golden Epitaph, a sword that again (presumably) was created by him and got his Unalloyed gold needle but that was the main game. In the DLC, he's literally the plot, the driver of all events, the main mystery we've come to solve. And he wasn't enough. We have his crosses plastered all over the map that give us phrases about renouncing the flesh, but it's literally the same sentence repeated in different ways. It doesn't give any lore other than that Miquella is renouncing himself for the sake of divinity. There's not much to investigate. It would have been enough to add at least one more sentence each slightly more revealing of Miquella's inner world and his feelings as he cuts off parts of himself somewhere on the edge of the world with an unknown future looming ahead. Something along the lines of "Here I renounce my flesh and blood. My heritage that has always weighed on my shoulders and the sins that have stained my soul." or "Here I renounce my heart. The love for those who have been forgotten and abandoned is still hidden deep within." Or add some dungees, maybe at least one legacy dungeon, like a castle or a fort, centered on Miquella, with a boss at the end that would add lore to it. The only bosses we get lore about him from are Radann and Saint Trina with her boss and I'm not happy with that.

✨I also generally missed the interaction between the Shadow world and Miquella. In terms of the fact, outside of interacting with NPCs, that are related to Miquella, his presence in the world is absolutely not felt. This applies to literally everything. Some of his crosses are located in plot significant locations with other bosses or npcs, that are not related to the main plot, but are related to the Shadow world, and Miquella softly speaking very much affects the Shadow world with his presence, but there is no mention of him. The only one I immediately can remember who mentions him is Count Ymir. This doesn't mean I demand that the whole story and world focus on him, but in terms of depth of immersion and elaboration of the world it breaks the unity of the setting, as if everything that happens is two parallel universes.

✨The denouement itself is not satisfying. The game does not treat Miquella as a full-fledged antagonist (as it is with Radagon, Radanh, Rykard or any other boss in the main game), giving us a bossfight with him, where a unique atmosphere of the character would be created, his lore would be given due credit and most importantly - THERE WOULD BE A CLEAR REASON WHY WE ARE FIGHTING HIM. We literally do not even get rune for Elden ring from Miquella, what is there to talk about.

And game also doesn't make him a "friendly" ally - companion - nps like Melina or Ranni, giving the player no choice or variation at all in the terms of ending. Apparently there was supposed to be another ending along the lines of Ranni's ending, given Miquella's vow in the cut content, but for some reason that was cut. What's the point of it? Miquella's story would have been much better told in quest form, where we could talk to him as a companion, have direct dialog. What we have in the game is not a quest, but an exploration of the world with an extra lore mystery to boot.

✨I don't like the way the game deals with facts. And there are two main reasons for that. First, the game has almost no appeal to facts from the main game. If it was announced that dlc game was about some original characters in the world of elden ring, that's one thing. There would have been new lore introduced about the new characters that would not conflict with the lore of the main game, but complement it. But a character with an already written and fairly elaborate lore from the main game was taken as the basis, whose story is framed within it. And when for the entire game there are no references at all to that lore, fundamental to the character, and the new lore, conflicts with much of what was in the main game, that well, doesn't speak well of the game. It's not even about Malenia or Godwynn. I could also mention the mystery of Miquella's blood, the events of the Shattering, his beef with Outer gods, the connection to Ranni and Melina through the ring and summoning bell.

And second, the game is very noticeably vaguely ambiguous. Especially in key events that define our point of view of the character. I can directly see Miyazaki asking the writers to make all the events so murky and full of white holes that the community just fights each other over lore. Like they say if you want to piss someone off in Souls fandom, tell them they got the plot wrong and you'll never hear the end of it. There's a very simple example with Mogh. We get it, yes, he's the main poor battered boy who no one loved, everyone used him. He just built something of his own, his cute little bloody cult, kidnapping people and glorifying pain, wounds and offering bloody sacrifices to a very peaceful harmless outer god, you get the picture. Miquella came in, bewitched everyone, ruined everything, and seems apparently made Tarnished to kill Mogh too. He took full advantage of the situation. But then what about the kidnapping? Didn't we literally see the place where Miquella's body was ripped from in the Haligtree? Or are you saying that Miquella, who had long planned to merge with the tree, grow it with his blood, did so, spent some time in the tree (his own wooden body literally had time to form there) and suddenly changed his mind. By telepathic communication made Mogh come and steal him? How does that even work? Or the Shapeless Mother? Was she on her lunch break while Miquella was bewitching her darling son and his entire flock? How on earth could Miquella have such a strong influence on someone who was already under the influence of an outer god? What about Radan? Was the oath mutual? Was it an oath at all, rather than a naive child promise that later turned into a commitment? The original Japanese text of Miquella's memory gives a very strange and potentially unhealthy context to this whole pact between them? I'm not asking Miyazaki to write me a hundred-page essay explaining the plot and character motivations, but this ambiguity that generates a huge amount of speculation and debate is not personally appealing to me.

✨Saint Trina is conceptually very controversial to me. I never liked the Marika/Radagon allegory in the context of Miquella, and when it started to be theorized that Trina like Radagon could be a more antagonistic part of Miquella, opposing him in his plans, well.... I've always been more sympathetic to the idea that she was just another guise of Miquella, more of a disguise than a separate entity. In the context of the dlc, I don't see her as anything other than a remnant of kindness, love, and spirit of Miquella gaining a body and asking us to "fix" his mistakes. This for me falls in line with our motivation. We fight Miquella because he himself asked us to kill him because at some point he realized he was on the wrong path but already couldn't stop. Let me believe in something good please(

✨The whole "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" plot. Honestly I expected more. It was the most obvious  way to develop the story far ago, when Miquella was compared to Griffith before the game came out, and now that we have the final product in front of us, it looks even more cheap and second-rate. I realize that Miyazaki is apparently allergic to happiness, hope, and good endings, but he could have come up with something better. What to say, Honkai Star Rail update came out a couple months ago where a neutral-positive character with a desire for a better world at the end turned out to be an antagonist who wanted to plunge everyone into eternal dreams to save them from the pain and hopelessness of the real world🤣 Not a popular plot at all. Endless Tsukiyomi was invented a couple decades ago, it's time to move on.

I won't say it's bad writing, but honestly, I don't compare the end of the dlc and Miquella's plot to anything other than the ending of Attack of Titans and Eren Yeager or S8 Game of Thrones and Daenerys. And such comparisons don't mean anything good.

I agree that the plot adds depth to Miquella's character, through self-denial, through comparisons to Marika, etc. But this should not be done at the expense of alienating its core lore. I can recognize some merit in such a plot, but it's a situation where you as a fan just simply has no choice, where you choose the lesser of two evils between just completely deny the whole plot or adapt it and flip for myself, but actually whatever you choose you still choose evil in the end. Miquella's plot is like making all the wrong choices. And you realize how you got here and accept it, but you can't help but regret the lost potential of other paths.

Please, if you've already played the game and have thoughts different from mine, especially backed up by specific facts from dlc, I'd love to hear them. I haven't gotten through dlc yet, I'm having a very hard time morally overcoming my disappointment in it, and I'm clearly still somewhere in the denial-bargaining stage.

[theramseyloft]

hello, a friend was asking me about actual sources pertaining to the claims that pigeons benefit from living with humans. is it ethical to just scoop one off the street? i personally believe it is, but i also think it's totally fair to want a credible source and not just "i read it on twitter". the work you're doing is great, by the way!

That's honestly a really complex question.

Feral Pigeons (Columba livia) in North America, South America, and Australia are the descendants of birds brought from Europe that had already been fully domesticated for thousands of years at the time.

The Rock Dove from which the domestic birds descend is native to Asia, Europe, and parts of Africa, and on those continents, there are still wild populations that can mix with the domestic ones, and the type of habitat to which pigeons are adapted for feral or semi feral pigeons to return to and live out their lives.

Feral pigeons in these locations may be treated as wildlife.

But feral pigeons in North America, South America, and Australia do not have the wild Rock Doves to interbreed with or access to natural habitat that would allow them even the most remote chance of 'reverting' to something like the wild baseline.

Domestication is achieved by breeding wild traits out.

However many generations any number of dog breeds may be allowed to mix, no litter will ever result in wolf pups, unless full wolves are reintroduced to the breeding population.

The same logic applies to feral pigeons.

You are never going to get wild Rock Dove out of a feral clutch.

So, I honestly apply the same morals in regards to feral pigeons that I do to feral and stray dogs.

They are so human dependent that they can't survive anywhere that we aren't.

Concrete buildings, bridges, signs, and barns are the closest thing to natural nesting habitat available to feral pigeons, who are cliff side crevice nesters.

Food they would be able to forage for in the wild isn't really available to ferals.

In places where feeding them is banned, populations die out because they starve to death.

Feral pigeons eat garbage out of desperation, not because they can actually digest any of it.

So the question to whether or not they benefit from human care is a resounding "Yes!!".

They genuinely do need us, and do suffer if we just ignore them, unlike actual wildlife, which thrives when left alone by humans.

I could die happy if street pigeons were taken in like stray dogs are in the US.

But with out enough shelters or homes, the moral issue of whether or not to bring any given pigeon in off the street comes down to answering: "What will do the most good and the least harm?"

Taking a healthy adult off the street is usually stranding a mate and offspring regardless of the time of year.

Pigeon babies eat SO much that both of their parents can lose a LOT of body mass!! The adults tend to end up weighing significantly less than their offspring, even in a situation where food is always abundant.

So removing one healthy parent is extremely likely to cause the starvation of one or both offspring and severe malnutrition to the other parent, directly causing more harm than good over all.

An adult caught in something or tangled in string with no serious injuries probably still has a mate and young. The best thing for them is to be detangled and released.

A severely injured or sick adult cannot take care of partner or young, and in the time it takes to heal a serious wound or treat a severe illness, chances are that their mate will have taken them for dead and found a replacement.

I keep birds that came in this condition, though they are not likely to ever like me or any other human.

No harm is being done to other pigeons in the flock of origin, and that individual will live a longer, healthier life in an outdoor loft with a constant supply of food and access to medical care when needed.

I would consider it more cruel to release disabled adult pigeons or young in any condition than to keep them as pets.

Remember, they are already domesticated, and physically adapted to human care. Young birds and disabled adults adjust very well to human households.

So, my advice to some one wanting to rescue and adopt a pigeon off the street is to check local laws and make friends with a local flock in a place where there are no regulations against feeding them.

Lost performance breeds can often be recovered from the outer edge of a feral flock, and birds who know you as a food source will be more willing to approach or desperate to eat if they have an injury or illness that makes keeping up with the rest of the flock difficult.

It puts you in the prime position to rescue a bird who definitely needs your help.

Anyone looking to take on the responsibility of rescuing a pigeon directly off the street needs to expect there to be vet bills!

Make sure you have access to a vet who will see pigeons, and specify that the bird is your pet, not a drop off you plan to just leave with them.

If you want to rescue, but do not think you can afford immediate trips to the vet, take a step back and reach out to a rescue organization.

The birds they have available will already have been treated for what ever injuries or illness got them there.

Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue is pretty solid, and you don't have to live in the Great Lakes region to adopt from them.

EDITS:

I previously butt heads with Palomacy on two serious issues, but the facts remain that the birds there need homes, food, and medical care, and having allowed that to prevent me from pointing Californians looking to adopt a pigeon in their direction was frankly petty of me.

@shayvaalski States in the comments: "Palomancy states very clearly that "Pigeons were the first domesticated bird" and "They are domestic and unable to live in the wild." While they also say that they don't think birds should have been domesticated, they also uh, understand that they were and talk about street birds as feral. They do not recommend parrot feed. They say "Pigeons eat seeds and grains and you can buy pre-mixed blends called pigeon feed"."

Both of these are changes since my last interactions with the organization, so I appreciate the correction.

EDIT CONCLUDED.

For further reading, Rosemary Mosco (who writes the adorable Bird and Moon comic) wrote a fantastic book detailing our history with pigeons.

Hope that helps. ^v^

[loverofstufflof]

Airing out my LMK trailer/S5 thoughts cause u gotta do this somehow

Most glaring, animation. It’s not bad, by any means. I’d certainly be proud of myself if I were able to come up with it.

However, I think it’s important to consider the context of the show’s style, and how it’s been improving significantly over instalments. Also, it’s Flying Bark. Flying Bark is just gonna make banger animation.

Am I a bit disappointed when comparing it to Emperor’s Wrath? Yeah. Especially when we’ve been waiting a full year for this—twice as long as usual.

But I’m not saying I won’t be watching the show because of it. I still love this story. Fuck, my favourite series is Epithet Erased. The show that’s best described as JPEGs wiggling around your screen for 2 hours. I can handle less than expected animation if it’s made up for by good writing.

I’ve been seeing a lot of people attacking invisible fans that claim they’re going to boycott the show because of this. Respectfully, source? The most aggressive criticism I’ve seen is “man that’s disappointing ig, still excited tho”. Who are you guys even fighting lmao. (Unless this is something happening on other platforms and you’re just venting on here which, valid)

Nevertheless, as I’ve said before, it’s not bad animation, just not up to the standard we’re used to. People are allowed to be disappointed. Let them be. This show isn’t flawless.

It’s looking to be real, all things considered. We’ve never gotten a fan leak this elaborate before, and it contains a lot of elements that were just recently revealed. Unless they’ve been getting announcements much earlier than we have (considering this fanbase’s sleuth skills, I’d doubt it) then there’s no other explanation other than it being official.

Official, however, doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to look that way the whole time. The animation is being done by another studio, yes, but only partially. Flying Bark is still here for the fun. This other studio also isn’t incompetent, they’re behind things like Carmen Sandiego. They know what they’re doing.

They’re also primarily handling additional material, means promotions, meaning trailers. Listen, it’s a bit of a stretch considering the fact that all trailers so far have been taken directly from the show, but also it’s industry standard to make a trailer before you’re even done, meaning you gotta cut some corners for the scenes you’re showing until you polish them up in post.

We know LEGO has a habit of keeping LMK things in their vault until they need to, this may be something they had lying around from early prod and released to maintain hype.

Any which way, this development is very much temporary, only applying because the team is currently working on a movie and need to momentarily lessen their workload. Even if the odds are against us and S5 looks like a PowerPoint presentation, it’ll likely go back to normal later.

Biiig animation rant aside, I am a tad bit sad about the direction the story is going in (namely the abandonment of Red Son) and the fan service is a bit much, but honestly what else are we expecting from JTTW fanfic.

I’m stoked to see more Macaque though—he’s looking to be becoming a proper protagonist, which is great for angst! Yippee!

One thing I haven’t seen anyone talk about is the complete lack of Nüwa. You know, the character they’ve been teasing this whole time? Where is she? Not in the trailer. Not in the posters.

Makes me wondering if this is a part of the new season, teasing the next one, the one Nüwa’s in, later.

[yangvik]

x-men and zionism

i wanna stay this post by saying i am a lifelong marvel fan (art, not corporation of course) and that i am anti zionism. if you’d like to argue with me on why palestinians are sub-human and should all be forced out, don’t bother. this post is more questions about artistic intention and other peoples’ analyses than an analysis of my own, and questions as to whether or not the intentions of certain writing decisions stain the whole franchise. this post is directed at fellow anti-zionist comic readers. i also talk shit about the last of us towards the end, by the way.

my introduction to x media was x-men evolution, and little me took its themes as a simple, monster high esque “be nice to people who look different and be proud of yourself”. as i grew up, i was always led to believe that the x-men acted as a metaphor for the civil rights movement, with xavier representing a more “respectable” approach and magneto representing a more militant. so imagine my shock when i recently learned that chris claremont lived in a kibbutz and based his interpretation of magneto on israeli pm begin (i’ve seen claims that xavier is based on ben-gurion, but i haven’t found him saying this). he says he based magneto’s redemption on how begin went from being a terrorist to winning the nobel peace prize- which is frankly quite confusing narrative wise because begin never stopped being a zionist, while magneto eventually abandoned his ideas of mutant separation and supremacy. i found all of this so particularly surprising because to me, if we applied zionism to the x-men, it seemed as though magneto served as a metaphor for someone leaving zionism. when he hurts kitty, he realizes that he has become as violent as those he claims to hate and instead devotes himself to teaching. this seems to send an anti-zionist message, but claremont’s seeming continued support of israel greatly muddies the waters. to further complicate things, claremont wrote storm as an orphan of the suez crisis and the first to confront magneto post his epiphany. based on all the evidence above, it seems claremont condemns the hostility between the state of israel and egypt. regardless of his intention, the story comes off as being against violence in the name of isolationism, something antithetical of zionism. basically, i’m super lost.

claremont stopped being the principal x-men author in the 90’s, and this brings up my first question. has the influence of other authors altered the characters significantly enough to divorce them of their strange zionist origins? usually i can brush off all the weird shit claremont and byrne did as being claremont and byrne, since i am unfortunately very used to misogyny in comics (i was quite disgusted to read claremont saying he was inspired by gun culture to make female superheroes, considering his female characters have become some of the best in comics with the help of future writers). but i think this is more than something that can just be brushed off, as magneto’s past affects the story so deeply. has he grown past claremont’s interpretation? has he become something better than a comparison to a butcher? does this stain the whole franchise as zionist, or does the collaborative nature reduce the impact of claremont’s contribution? does the fact that it can be interpreted as anti-zionist make it okay, even if the creator meant something else? how does this affect adaptations (ie- x-men 97) as well as the continuation of 616? does the fact that other writers did not share this intent, but were inspired by claremont’s character, bring the idea forward?

i would like to go more into the story- how israel is directly criticized in the beginning of the krakoa era (despite also being the setting? magneto defends krakoa by saying it was not founded on colonization, and he says this in israel occupied territory, which reads like a liberal condemnation of zionism made by hickman), how i thought krakoa was going to be a clear criticism of ethnostates because of the problems they cause the very people they claim to represent (some authors did pull on this thread, others did not), the complicated history of genosha and how it would be hypocritical to condemn apartheid in south africa while still supporting israel- but i think that’s for another day. i’ll be honest, i’ve been pretty emotionally torn up about this for days. some x-men characters are my favorites of all time, and i often thought of the series as a political fantasy more than a reflection of real world geopolitics. i don’t want to support a series that promotes zionism in its very plot. sabra can be written out of marvel, but i don’t see how this can be erased. i can see how it can be altered; they can have magneto specifically criticize israel as an ex-settler (he does claim he will fight on behalf of all oppressed people, and i dream one day they’ll explicitly include palestine). this sort of goes back to the question as to whether the authors who came after claremont have made the story evolve past its origins.

when the last of us television series was airing, i became aware of druckmann’s gross intentions behind the second game. oddly, claremont doesn’t seem to mention palestinians or the violence against them at all, unless one were to interpret kitty as a stand in for all victims of israeli violence. again, extremely hard to tell what is being said there. the lack of glorification of violence makes it feel less repulsive than tlou, but not completely free of any potential bad messaging. i know sabra is the primary goal of the bds pressure on marvel, but i don’t think we should stop there. i think it’s important that if they’re to keep such a beloved series going that they acknowledge its past wrongs.

again, i am open to discussion with fellow anti-zionist comic readers, if anyone should even see this post. i would ask people more directly, but i don’t exactly feel comfortable going into someone’s dms and demanding they explain their political relationship to art. and for the time being, i think it’s best that people stop saying “magneto was right” so often.

[chwiirleader]

A Eulogy to the Métis Nation of Canada

Métis Nation of BC (MNBC) has now formally withdrawn from the Métis Nation of Canada(MNC), following in the footsteps of Manitoba Métis Federation(MMF) and Métis Nation Saskatchewan (MNS). Here is a bit of background on what's going on.

MNC was seen as a dead end after MMF and MMS left. The remainder of MNC stopped being viable because Métis Nation of Alberta/MNA held disproportionate power in over the others. So Métis Nation of British Columbia/MNBC elected to pull out and negotiate directly rather than through an organization they would have minimal power to negotiate in. This is my understanding of the reasoning behind MNBC's departure from MNC.

As part of this divide and conquer strategy, MMF is getting a treaty, which is great, but my concern is that this appears to be being done by closing the door on other settlements citizenship pathways. It is currently challenging to register with MMF if you live outside of Manitoba for example. I’m hearing reports this either has somewhat begun to change (it was impossible previously)  or is headed towards being changed but at present Métis people are told to register with their province/territory of residence which creates a conflict.

Currently I am aware Métis citizens applying from outside of district have faced friction in getting applications submitted as the process doesn’t even have an option for those currently living outside of Manitoba. This certainly creates the impression that you need to live in the homeland in order to be a citizen, which seems like a very flawed approach to a kinship network based citizenship system where many of us live outside of our traditional territories for work, family etc. This feels a bit like an attempt to force us back to reserve.

There are also reports of severe issues of nepotism and lack of democratic process in MMF which has the rest of us concerned about how they will act when they hold more power than the other nations. .

It was believed that bowing out of MMC was the best of two bad choices, though only time will tell if it was the right choice, being independent for the moment leaves us room to join in a new national movement/representation system if such an opportunity arises. In the meantime, MMF being in charge of rights negotiations for all Métis people sounds like a path towards exclusion for a majority of Métis people and less accountability. This has me concerned.

MNBC has also made many mistakes. Probably more than I am aware of. Locally a previous generation of elected officials made some major tensions with the local First Nations by being very disrespectful, a rift that’s been challenging to heal. Métis Nation of Ontario/MNO was a lost cause and has continued down this path of disrespect which I think is the fundamental reason these cracks began to show so blatantly. MNBC and the other Métis Nations have increasingly distanced themselves from MNO mostly due to this and the shared impression that their citizenship requirements are too lax. Our rights cannot come at the expense of the local land holding nations, which is exactly how the federal and provincial governments like to position the debates.

My concern is that this is being used to close the door to those from Métis settlements outside of the red river valley. My family has both in our past with family from the Red River Valley, Paperchase Reservation and Lac St Anne as well as deeper roots further east in Haudenosaunee and Anashinabeg kinship networks so it’s disturbing to see the other clearly indigenous part of our heritage essentially put out to drift even when it won’t impact my own citizenship significantly.

In general I think settled treaties are being used to close the door on new treaties to try to “wrap up” the reconciliation process from the federal government's viewpoint. This feels like a divide and conquer strategy and disturbs me greatly that so many of us appear to be adding fuel to this fire.

It’s a troubling time to be Métis, I’m very curious to see what developments occur over this next year. This is disappointing in BC for 2SLGBTQQIA+ folx because we just had our bill for representation at the provincial level approved a couple of months ago and now the future of MNBC is uncertain. I’m not sure we will get the same kind of respect and consideration outside of the current framework.

This all being in the backdrop of an anti-incumbent and anti-2SLGBTQQIA+ wave has be extremely concerned for the well-being of my people.

My efforts will continue to be towards building community locally by creating reasons and excuses for us to meet up and hang out as Métis people. At the end of the day, its the community and people that matter and no amount of legislative change will make us stop being proud to be Métis.

Please note that I am speaking as a citizen, not in my capacity as a local chapter’s elected 2S rep. I listened to the debates and gave feedback through our rep (mostly that we needed more time to consult our citizens) but I had no direct vote in this decision.

[mariacallous]

The incoming Trump administration has even more plans to delay electric vehicle adoption than previously thought. According to Reuters, which has seen transition team documents, the Trump team wants to abolish EV subsidies, claw back federal funding meant for EV charging infrastructure, block EV battery imports on national security grounds, and prevent the federal government and the US military from purchasing more EVs.

During the campaign, candidate Trump made repeated references to ending a supposed EV mandate. In fact, policies put in place by President Joe Biden only call for 50 percent of all new vehicles to be electrified by 2032 under US Environmental Protection Agency rules meant to cut emissions by 56 percent from 2026 levels.

Instead, the new regime will be far more friendly to gas guzzling, as it intends to roll back EPA fuel efficiency standards to those in effect in 2019. This would increase the allowable level of emissions from cars by about 25 percent relative to the current rule set. US new vehicle efficiency stalled between 2008 and 2019, and it was only once the Biden administration began in 2021 that the EPA started instituting stricter rules on allowable limits of carbon dioxide and other pollutants from vehicle tailpipes.

About a third of the population looks to the California Air Resources Board, rather than the EPA, to get their emissions regulations.

The so-called ZEV states (for zero-emissions vehicles) do have something closer to an EV mandate, and from model-year 2026 in these states (California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington) and the District of Columbia, a third of all new cars sold by each automaker will have to be battery-electric—assuming the EPA grants California a waiver to allow this to happen.

As with the first Trump administration, we can expect a sustained attack on California's ability to set its own vehicle emissions regulations and any attempts by other states to use those regs.

More Tariffs

Trade tariffs will evidently be a major weapon of the next Trump administration, particularly when deployed to block EV manufacturing. Even the current administration has been wary enough of China dumping cheap EVs that it instituted singeing tariffs on Chinese-made EVs and batteries, with bipartisan support from Congress.

The Biden tariffs were justified on economic grounds as a way of defending US industry against an unfair level of state support from China toward its own automakers. The Trump team plans to use national security as the justification for its own barriers to EV imports, using section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.

But according to the documents seen by Reuters, the tariffs on battery materials will be applied globally, something that should significantly increase the cost of a new EV. The transition team plans to allow individual countries to try to negotiate exemptions to the tariffs, Reuters wrote.

No More Tax Credit, No More Public Chargers

While the Trump team plan is meant to boost US auto manufacturing versus imports, a key tool in forcing more local EV production is also not long for this world. As we thought, the $7,500 clean-vehicle tax credit will be eradicated once Trump takes office.

But according to Reuters, the Trump transition team also plans to claw back as much of the $7.5 billion allocated for charging infrastructure put in place by Congress as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Much of this money has not been spent, due to the lengthy timelines involved. Rather than be disbursed directly by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the funds were instead allocated via the states, in the same manner as highway funding. As such, there could be significant amounts of this program that will never see completion.

One Trump team idea could speed up EV charger deployment—the incoming administration intends to do away with environmental reviews that are required for projects like charging stations.

Other rules and regulations meant to protect the public are also set to be scrapped, including one that requires all automakers to report to the government when one of their vehicles crashes while operating under partial automation, such as Tesla Autopilot. This standing order has caused plenty of grief for Tesla following more than 1,500 crashes, with multiple injuries and deaths, and Tesla's opposition to the requirement is widely known.

Finally, the US government fleet can be expected to get more polluting. Currently the federal government is required to purchase more EVs as it replaces old vehicles, with a requirement for all light vehicles to be zero emissions by 2027. This will no longer be the case under Trump, who will also end any Department of Defense programs that are meant to purchase or develop electric military vehicles.