#anti performing animals

[the-anxious-acrobat]

just curious, do u support circused that have wild animals in them-?

(tigers, lions, elephants, bears, etc.)

no, I am very strongly against it. the truth about animals in circuses is that they are abused and endure lives of complete misery, usually illegally poached from the wild and sold or bred into circuses, purely for entertainment. 

in circuses, animals are made to perform unnatural tricks which none of them would willingly carry out. elephants are made to stand on one leg and spin in circles – often while standing on top of small stools. these are actions elephants have never been observed carrying out in the wild precisely because they cause long-term damage to the animals��� physiology. it is well documented that elephants are forced to perform these actions by being terribly abused, and young elephants are savagely constrained in a process called ‘the crush’ which breaks their spirit and forces them to comply. big cats have been popular in the circus industry, but many have their teeth and claws removed rendering them harmless to their abusers. they are ‘trained’ with whips which teach them to fear the handlers and not attack.

the actions animals do in performances are so unnatural that no animal could be encouraged or instructed to carry them out – they would have to be forced. initially this is done with violence, then with the promise of food. as a result, many circus animals are also underfed to keep them hungry and eager to please. 

the animals commonly abused in circuses are extremely stressed by circus conditions. the loud noise of the music, the cheers of the crowd and the dizzying lights all disorientate and cause stress to wild animals. over prolonged periods can result in abnormal behaviours and health problems related to anxiety. for species such as tigers, bears, macaques, etc, performing on stage is deeply traumatic. 

the living conditions for wild animals in circuses consistently fail to meet the animals’ most basic needs. when the show ends, the animals typically return to isolation in small barren cages which give them no opportunity to carry out behaviours natural to their species, or to interact with their own kind. investigation into animal circuses found 100% of facilities failed to meet the animals’ basic needs. bears were found rocking in tiny cages – a well-known sign of stress and mental health disorders – and macaques chained by their necks.

circus animals are often transported over large distances with circuses, even transporting dolphins by truck and plane which is clearly unsuitable for the species, and more. they are abused, humiliated, and treated absolutely dehumanisingly. how anyone that treats an animal like that could live with themselves, I don’t know. but none of that matters when it comes to monetary gain.

as with any industry that creates financial gain, some people try to defend animal circuses. they say the animals are stimulated by training and performance, but all the evidence and the experts disagree. defenders of animal circuses also argue that seeing animals perform is a form of education which raises awareness and appreciation of wild species. but the truth is very different.

in reality, animal circuses teach nothing. the behaviours they see are completely unnatural and give an entirely false impression of the lives and needs of animals. seeing animals abused on stage only teaches people that animals are here for human entertainment and that we can treat them in any way we please, regardless of their emotions and needs. this is not a lesson people want to teach their children.

and animals don’t belong in circuses. they belong in their natural habitats, free, in their own cycles of life, wild, ferocious, untamed, and left the fuck alone. they should not be in the circus industry, and any entertainment industry for that matter. having wild animals in captivity is horrific, vile, inhumane and just plain wrong. when animals are caged, it's a loss of what and who they are. it’s wrong to capture wild animals and confine them in captivity for people to go and gawk at them. and I can’t believe some people don’t understand this. 

however, animals that do enjoy the stimulation of circus are dogs. dogs love training and performance. they love to learn, with the right rewards. a lot of the time they consider it play time, and for them, getting attention from their people is always a good thing. it depends on the dog, and some dogs may not enjoy performing tricks they've learned. but most of the time, as they are so smart and energetic, dogs do enjoy performing. 

I love animals with all of my heart and I will advocate and fight for them forever. the circus I am in is also obviously very against it.

in short, no, I do not support and never will support animals in circuses, and that’s not even an option. animals deserve a far better life than the ones they've been subjected to.

[mugiwara-lucy]

So I recently came across THIS:

And it proves what I've been saying for over a week now. Could Kamala Harris be more progressive in her words about the Palestine Genocide? Yes BUT the Palestine people LITERALLY SAY they view her as being better for that sitaution than Trump.

So this notion of her and Trump being two sides of the same coins is a misunderstanding at best or a lie at worst.

So again; you have someone who has said she won't be silent about Gaza suffering OR you have someone who says Isreal should "get it over with". Take your pick. I'm going with the former.

[angellic-critique]

Oh yeah, Angel Dust has a sister, her name's Molly, there are a bunch of speed drawings with her.

Anon I think you are the only fan of Molly as I have not sent her be mentioned outside of 2017.

Genuinely thought that Molly was like Niffty/Vaggie situationship because I had NO fucking clue what stance Molly even was outside of just looking at a distant glance over definitely not realizing that was what happened to the past 'Angel Dust Drag'..... The fact that it personifies into a woman that is barely mentioned [much like angel representing or doing drag in the first place], turned into fucking THIS????

I cant even begin to comprehend.... She speaks for herself honestly. You can tell that viv genuinely did not give a fuck about the implications here or the lazy design that is 'Hmm angel dust but pink girly'

I feel like she just became cut content considering there hasn't ever been a mention about angels' family besides his Arackniss

Kinda weird how angel is more focused and put down upon in the spotlight more with Valentino and less with his 1930s mobster Italian spider persona :/ Even attempting to make a different womanly character known as the sister of angel dust, she is still tied down to him and has nothing besides this rainbow vomit old design.

How could I not be confused over angels' stance on dragging while VIV can't even fucking make characters up for him without retconning over herself!

You want this mess of a character design to be made but not Baxter???? I'm baffled. Thanks for bringing this horrid 'writing' decision to my notice. Since viv doesn't give a single lick of sense about Molly I too did not realize that Molly was supposed to be the hyper feminized pink eyesore that was SUPPOSED to be Angel's DRAG PERFORMING CARICATURE???

Your ask has the exact same amount of punch as telling me that Blitz has a sister, they are underwritten to be one of the same since they're women obviously Viv just doesn't like writing women ! :/

[the-party-bus]

“Wait, there are people blaming the writers?”

Are you surprised? Fandoms have become notorious anti-writer spaces. Studios love you guys. They can cut the budgets, cut the number of writers, cut the wages of the writers, and you guys always blame the writers. “The writers ruined the show!” It’s never “the studios ruined the show.”

I hate to break it to you: more than half the shows you complain were “ruined by the writers”, were ruined by the studios. Studios cut the scenes and arcs you were excited for. Studios cut the budget of the show, or even raise the budget of the show and force a “bigger, louder, bolder” tone on shows that were unexpected hits (this is where we get “the Netflix look” on every show post-Stranger Things and Queen’s Gambit).

You guys do not do your research. Half your fanfics are tagged with bad faith digs at the writers, when a few searches would reveal how strapped that show was and how poorly the writers were treated. Writers are being given a 10 weeks to write 10 episodes. How are good arcs and scenes supposed to happen under that time limit, with a max of only four writers?

Tumblr, the self-proclaimed “pro-union, pro-worker, pro-artist” site is also a major fandom site. You guys rarely practice good faith consumer etiquette for television and film writers, because your fandom salt always turns you against writers. And studios love you for it.

Yeah, individual writers do create bad writing from time to time. But so do painters, chefs, and musicians. Directors and actors sometimes refuse to film certain scenes or follow a show’s projected style and arc, and the writers always get the crap for a bad performance or a poorly directed episode. This isn’t to blame actors or directors; it’s to point out that you guys have one villain, and it’s always the writers. You guys never give writers the same grace you give animators, designers, directors, actors, composers, and editors.

Studios love you every time you say “the writers ruined the show.” Every single popular fandom is guilty of this. View any of the “why did the writers cut this scene, they hate my characters” talk when leaked scenes hit the internet. Writers barely get paid for what they do write. You think they’re writing scenes and then happily throwing them in the shredder? You guys just eat the talk that studios put out. Always have.

[beakers-and-telescopes]

With the fast fashion industry… how it is… finding sustainable ways to make fabric is super important.  Fibers from synthetic fabrics make up 35% of the microplastics that make their way to the ocean.  Natural fibers sourced from plants or animals are much more environmentally sound options, including silk.

Currently, the only way to get natural silk on a large scale is to harvest it from silkworms.  You’ve probably heard about the strength and durability of spider silk (it is 6x stronger than Kevlar!) but as of yet there hasn’t been a good way of getting it.  Raising spiders the way people do silkworms isn’t really an option.  Spiders need a lot of room to build their webs compared to silkworms, and individual spiders don’t produce that much silk.  Plus, when you put a whole bunch of spiders in captivity together, they tend to start eating each other.

Attempts to artificially recreate spider silk have also been less than successful.  Spider silk has a surface layer of glycoproteins and lipids on it that works as a sort of anti-aging “skin”- allowing the silk to withstand conditions such as sunlight and humidity.  But this layer has been very tricky to reproduce.

However, as scientists in China realized, silkworms produce that same kind of layer on their silk.  So what if we just genetically modified silkworms to produce spider silk?

That is exactly what the researchers at Donghua University in Shanghai did.  A team of researchers introduced spider silk protein genes to silkworms using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing and microinjections in silkworm eggs.  In addition to this, they altered the spider silk proteins so that they would interact properly with the other proteins in silkworm glands.  And it worked!  This is the first study ever to produce full length spider silk proteins from silkworms.

The applications of this are incredibly exciting.  In addition to producing comfortable textiles and new, innovative bulletproof vests, silkworm generated spider silk could be used in cutting edge smart materials or even just to create better performing sutures.  In the future, this team intends to research how to modify this new spider silk to be even stronger, and they are confident that “large-scale commercialization is on the horizon."

[littlemssam]

Patch Updates

As always delete old Mods Files and the localthumbcache, when updating my Mods!

---

Make sure to download the updated XML Injector when you Patch your Game!

Patch 1.110.265 Updates (All other Mods should still be compatible!):

Advanced Birth Certificate Anti Heat Pill (Pets) Autonomous Gardening Autonomous go Jogging when Sims are Stressed & Children can Jog too Better Butler (and Hire more Butler) Better Nanny (Second Nanny & more) Calendar Tweaks Carryable Performance Stage plus Sing Songs! Collectibles (Rock Digging) Rework (Slower/Harder) Flea Market appears every Sunday Food Delivery Service Go for a Walk with Cats Healthy Drinks Hire certain Vet Employees Hire certain Sims (incl. Family Members) at Restaurants Housewarming Party (instead of Welcome Wagon) Improved Kids Night Light Improved Practical Spells Kids can go for a Walk with Dogs Let Friends Age Up More Away Actions More Buyable Venues and new Venue Types More Woodworks My Little Neighborhood Objects don't share Inventory Parenting Skill for Teens & more Personal Objects (Computer, Tablets & more) Power Napping on Sofas Pregnancy Overhaul - Pregnancy Belly Part Pregnancy Overhaul - Can do more Part Retail Overhaul - Hire certain Employees Part Retail Overhaul - Go Shopping – More Options Part Sell more self made Woodwork at the Flea Market Sleep In Small Archaeology Overhaul Small Invite to Hang Out Overhaul Teach me the Rumbasim

Random Small Mods

Auto Grab Drink when Eating Purchased Items delievered via Mail Keyboard Piano sounds Copy Graduation Photos and Diplomas Better Power Water Production Higher Skill Faster Candle Making Bouncer Only Homeless Sims Fan Stans Only Homeless Sims New Hug Animation If Confident No Auto Club Gathering (Active Household) Horse Jump Parkour Teen Can Buy Lottery Ticket NPCs Auto Massage & Meditation Vampires No Cold Breath Lower Fire Chance Vacuum Time and Autonomy Changes Release all Ghosts & Get Urn for

Random Bug Fixes

Deliver Baby at Hospital Elevator Fix for Toddler & Pets Murphy Beds Fix Trait Buff Fixes Weather NPC Deaths

Probably obsolete, pls remove and test without it:

Stop Eating Spoiled Food Fix

EA patch fixed that in 1.110.265 "Sims will not eat spoiled food autonomously."

Other adopted Mods

Always keep a Doctor at Hospital Change Into Towel Everywhere Faster Gardening Homework Tweaks Immortality Potion Tweaks Keep Books after Publishing Kiss Neck for Adults More traumatic divorce for Children Play Cards Anywhere Subject Homework Tea for Children Violin & Guitar Bugfixes

---

My Site with all possible Download Links: lms-mods.com

Support Questions via Discord only please!

[despazito]

I'm anti captive cetaceans but it is frustrating how well meaning people pressure aquariums stop doing live shows because a lot of those animals really do benefit from those performances as enrichment activities. They're already in tanks and now whatever novel experiences they got to have has been taken away just because it felt "wrong" on some dialectical level.

In general I think the angle of "exploitation" is not a very great approach to argue for better welfare, it's an extremely abstract and subjective measurement. We've come a long way from Barnum and Bailey style animal tamers. The reality is for a lot of intelligent animals in accredited zoos, getting to interact with their keepers and new humans is actually a highlight of their day and not some kind of torture they dread lol.

Idk people have it in their minds that a species probably not best suited for captivity must therefore be spending every waking moment of its life acutely suffering, but I don't think that's a fair assessment unless it's a neglected roadside zoom and it flattens nuance. A lot of the cases it's not so much "is this animal in a torment nexus" and more "can we simulate a good breadth of the species' natural environment and behaviours for them to really thrive" which I think is challenging for many giant, long lived, socially complex species with tight family bonds.

[reikiajakoiranruohoja]

One thing that eternally baffles me with people calling dog sports abusive, is how the offered alternative assumes that a dog is happiest when it is not doing anything.

Putting aside PETA and its anti-pet stance, most critique I have seen comes from people saying the dogs are forced to perform for humans and therefore its exploiting them.

But even a cursory understanding of dog breeds tells you this mentality is not only flawed but also ignorant of the needs of the animal.

For one, you cannot force a dog to do things most dog sports require. If a greyhound doesn't want to run, it won't. If a husky doesn't want to pull a sled, it won't. Have you ever seen a dog in a situation it doesn't like? Most of us have to drag our dogs to the vet and then try our best to mitigate the dog's displeasure towards the vet.

A dog who wants to do something like running or fetching will do it regardless of your opinion. That is why most of dog training is directing this want so the dog isn't destroying things or hurting people.

The breed or breed mix also affects things. If you get a chihuahua, the experience with that dog is completely different from a border collie or a husky. Heck, even closely related breeds like German shepherds and Belgian malinois are vastly different in their temperament and mentality. There is this call for ignorance and naivete in posts decrying dog sports, where breed doesn't exist and any kind of activity outside the home is harmful to the dog. Admitting that dogs have been bred for jobs is to admit that human contact is not always negative for animals and that is a bridge too far for many of these people. It also means that jobs such as ratting, hunting, protection and such are blissfully ignored or assumed to be forced by humans. This means that when a pampered terrier does maul the family guinea pig, the owner gets blamed for abusing the animals. Posts that tell you dog sports are evil are not made with the dogs in mind, they are made solely for an ideology that benefits humans who do not have to live with the animal in question and so can sit on their constructed high horse.

[todropscience]

THIS TRUMPETFISH IS USING ANOTHER FISH TO HIDE ITSELF WHEN HUNTING

And is working

Many animals use camouflage to avoid detection by others, yet even the most inconspicuous objects become detectable against the background when moving. One way to reduce detection while moving would be to ‘hide’ behind the movements of objects or other animals. Now, researchers have demonstrate experimentally, following field observations, that a trumpetfish (Aulostomus maculatus), a common marine predator, can conceal its approach from its prey by performing a behaviour known as ‘shadowing’, hiding behind, swimming closely next to another, larger and non-predatory fish.

Bicolor damselfish (Stegastes partitus), form highly localised colonies within structures on the reef substrate and exhibit characteristic anti-predatory responses, and are common meal for trumpetfish. Marine researchers working in the coral reefs off Curaçao, set up an underwater system to pull 3D-printed models of trumpetfish and the stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) being hand-reeled along a clear nylon line from one tripod to another, passing over the colony in the process, which was positioned halfway between the two. When these two 3D printed fishes were together, damselfish were quiet and show low antipredator responses.

-After field observation, marine researchers modeled the ‘shadowing’ behavior.

This is the only known example of a non-human animal using another as a form of concealment. According to researchers, this evidence reveal how predators can actively use another animal as a form of concealment to reduce detection by prey.

Reference (Open Access): Matchette et al., 2023. Predatory trumpetfish conceal themselves from their prey by swimming alongside other fish. Current Biology

VIDEO here

[darklinaforever]

All the posts being horrified at people shipping Edwin with the Cat King make me laugh.

The delirium of being alarmed because the Cat King would be an adult and Edwin a minor kills me with laughter.

Edwin is certainly a 16 year old ghost, but... it's all in his description. A ghost. And he's been a ghost for a long, long time.

Are you telling me that he hasn't had time to evolve in all these years, and especially since his traumatic stay in hell ?

A little logic please. Edwin does not remain at the same point as when he died, frozen forever. He’s a character with an arc and development. And then, you're not telling me that Edwin behaves like a typical immature teenager ?!

And the Cat King may be thousands of years old but he behaves very immature most of the time. In fact, you could even say like a teenage form. Objectively speaking, he does not appear morally very different from the other official adolescent characters in the show.

And then, this kind of consideration of age will always make me laugh, when we are essentially talking about two supernatural beings ! Conclusion : We don’t care about their age difference !

And let's not even talk about those who are angry with this bracelet story, while I still point out that it was literally a punishment for Edwin having performed an equivalent in terms of spell on one of his cats, with Edwin having himself been quite condescending about this / these animals about how they all look alike to him.

The bracelet is a consequence and punishment for Edwin's actions.

It's not for nothing that the Cat King tells Edwin exactly the line he told him about not seeing the evil in a little spell.

Then... accusing the Cat King of being a sexual and other abuser, as well as a potential rapist... Wtf ?

Already, it's forgotten that clearly, during the scene and all the others where the Cat King tried to seduce Edwin... Well our dear ghost seemed more than appreciative.

For those who don't understand, the Cat King is literally what allows Edwin to finally embrace his sexuality ! Without Cat King, probably no love confession to Charles !

And in fact, it's a good thing that Cat King was interested in Edwin and showed interest in him, tried to seduce him, etc. It's not negative in his purpose. Edwin is this guy who is quite stuck while the Cat King is very extroverted and helps to unblock our ghost.

It makes me laugh even more to see all these people screaming in defense of Edwin, his physical integrity, etc, while our ghost boy... well he clearly wouldn't have been against kissing the Cat King and maybe even more at the beginning.

Need to watch their scenes again properly... Edwin's body language doesn't show that he's uncomfortable.

Okay maybe he is, but in the sense that the Cat King reminds him of his lack of experience, but beyond that, very clearly, in general, around the Cat King, (except when he takes the appearance of Charles, obviously he feels uncomfortable in that moment) Edwin seems simply extremely attracted to the Cat King / receptive to his advances :

Same with all those people being mad that the Cat King forced Edwin to tell the truth.

I repeat... THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE POSITIVE FOR EDWIN ! THIS ALLOWS HIM TO EVOLVE ON HIMSELF !

I'm not saying that the Cat King behaves morally (as for offering Edwin to sleep with him in exchange for his freedom before offering to count the cats, or forcing him by magic to reveal what he really thinks), not at all. He is clearly a form of antagonist / anti-hero, neither good nor bad, and finally rather neutral in the plots of the show.

But this character and actions essentially only serves the positive evolution of Edwin's character regarding everything related to sexuality, but not just that, also his emotional relationships with other men AKA Charles. Again, without the Cat King Edwin probably wouldn't have confessed his feelings to Charles. So the Cat King essentially allows Edwin to fully embrace who he is as an individual, his complete identity.

And it's nothing new that a morally questionable character with morally questionable actions has this kind of role in relation to the protagonist.

Seriously, the antagonist who allows the hero's sexual awakening, as well as its deepening on itself is as old as time. Even more so when this antagonist and hero share similar characteristics such as their loneliness.

Besides, it's not for nothing that the first real kiss that Charles gives himself to someone is to the Cat King (especially after all this talk about kissing and Edwin finally understanding their appeals), even if it's on the cheek that still a kiss. A second kiss more precisely, which he gives on his own and which is much better than his first with the crow.

Crying foul about this makes me wonder what universe these people who are complaining live in as for the codes of fiction. Again, people who cannot see beyond the surface should not be allowed to open their mouths.

[libraford]

Somewhere in Kip's hour long covid denier rant, which included "closing schools was stupid because kids can't get it" and "dr fauci caused the virus because he sent a doctor to Wuhan to perform animal experiments that are illegal in the US" and "It's just a little cough and a headache, it only killed you if you had something wrong with you already"-

He said "you couldn't say anything negative about it because you'd be censored and called 'anti-asian.'"

Which makes me wonder what racist garbage he said under the guise of criticism of covid policy.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Templates: Character Sketch & Character Bible

Character sketches - the characters’ biography or CV.

Thanks to these sketches, your characters will have no secrets.

You’ll be clear about their appearance, behavior, past, and above all, about the way they must react under different circumstances.

They can take many forms, but they are usually divided into 2 groups according to their purpose:

Short Sketches: These contain the most basic information about the character. They are perfect for describing minor characters and can also be used as writing prompts. You can store them in a folder and resort to them when you are in need of inspiration. Georges Simenon used to choose two characters (a man and a woman, for example) and ask himself what would take them to the limit. The answer to that question was the beginning of a story.

Character Bible: This document contains a lot of information about each of the protagonists and their relationships with other characters. It’s used during the prewriting stage.

WRITING TEMPLATE: Character Sketch

Short character sketches can be used as writing prompts or as a prewriting strategy. Don’t be too exhaustive; it’s enough to just jot down a few general notes on your characters in order to know at a glance what is unique about each of them.

1. Sketch Number

Organize your sketches by number and add their creation date.

Make note of what story they belong (or could belong) to.

2. Character’s Name or Nickname

3. Type of Character

Role they play in the story (protagonist, antagonist, mentor...). 

When a character isn’t part of any story yet, it is not that easy to assign him (or her) to a role.

To solve this problem, ask yourself these questions:

Does (s)he meet the requirements to be classified as a protagonist (or antagonist)?

Should (s)he play a minor role?

Is (s)he a hero or an anti-hero?

There are many possible combinations.

4. General Information

Gender, age, date and place of birth, place of residence, etc.

5. Appearance

In this section, it’s not necessary to go into too much detail.

You just have to consider the features that make a character different from the everyone else (a scar, a limp, unique physique...).

Characters’ height, eye color, and hair color.

6. Personality

Try to focus on what makes each of your characters special.

Is he or she a home-loving introvert or a rather independent and sociable adventurer?

Choose adjectives that best define your characters’ personality.

Take into account their main virtues and shortcomings as well as their hobbies, fears, dreams, and goals (which can be important to define their motivations in the story).

7. Profession/Studies

What do your characters do for a living?

Explain the characters’ frustrated vocations.

The things they have given up can also define them.

Unless your characters are animals/fantastic creatures.

8. Family, Friends, and Acquaintances

Specify the kind of relationship your characters have with their family, friends, and acquaintances.

Who are the most important people in their lives?

9. Personal Motto

A personal motto, slogan, or catchphrase is a sentence or concept that sums up a character’s philosophy and values.

It’s not compulsory to invent it.

You can always use sayings such as “you live and learn” or “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” etc.

You can also use quotes by famous philosophers.

10. Notes

Leave a blank space for other relevant information such as my characters’ biography, a funny anecdote, etc.

Anything that helps you visualize them in more detail will come in handy when you start writing your story.

WRITING TEMPLATE: Character Bible

This must be as detailed as possible. In this way, you’ll be clear about your characters’ appearance, peculiarities, virtues, shortcomings, customs, relationships, etc. Think about actors and actresses who must be very familiar with the characters they play in order to make a good performance. A writer who gathers information about a character faces a similar job.

Feel free to create the type of character sketch that best suits you. If you don’t know where to start, you can use the character sketch outline that I use for my stories. This document covers the most important points of a sketch.

1. General Features

Organize your sketches by number and add their creation date.

Make note of what story they belong to.

Character’s name or nickname (with origin and meaning).

Character’s role in the story (protagonist, antagonist, mentor...); specify in which part of the plot (s)he participates.

Gender, age, marital status, studies, occupation, residence.

2. Appearance

Write about the character’s appearance:

Physical features, clothes, gestures, manners, etc.

Pay attention to the features that make a character different from everyone else (a scar on the face, wears glasses, etc.).

3. Personality

Information about their character traits.

Adjectives that best define your character and the way (s)he sees himself/herself; the way others describe him or her.

Hobbies, fears, phobias, fixations, dreams, and goals.

4. Family and Friends

Information about the parents of each characters (names, jobs, ages, and type of relationship with their son or daughter).

Hobbies or events that marked them deeply.

If your main character has siblings, a partner, children, or other intimate acquaintances (name, age, and relationship with the main character, etc.)

5. Biography

6. Relationships and Other Notes

Include the rest of the characters and state how they met your main character, the type of relationship (s)he has with them, and how it affects their life and their actions.

Leave blank space for random notes and observations.

Source ⚜ More: Writing Worksheets & Templates 600+ Personality Traits ⚜ 100 Sensory Words ⚜ Goals & Motivations

[flagellant]

my latest tabletop characters in chronological order:

-17 year old orphaned anarchist guild leader who ends up apotheosing as the god of their homeland and ends up taking the throne to rebuild it after an apocalyptic disaster

-farmboy becomes a soldier in a war against a double-apocalypse, fucks up some invading fairies hard and gets captured as a war trophy, spends the next 400 years in fairyland before the moon says she likes his vibe and breaks him out by turning him into a furry and giving him ultimate cosmic power, which he mostly uses to act as the ethics babysitter for a godlich whose special interest is civil engineering.

-fairy princess eldritch wildlife biologist whose mom is basically titania. it was a very complicated relationship for like 14 levels and it took literal reality-altering magic rituals to start fixing their relationship. she hates the anarchist aforementioned bc hes 17.

-perfect prettygirl daughter of social climbing mother is predestined to inherit the ultimate cosmic powers of becoming part of heaven's secret police. theres two factions of the secret police and she hates both of them.

-rich frat jock gains insight into the hidden occult world and immediately uses it to start a homoerotic frat/dinner club dedicated to shapeshifting and blood sacrifice. snip snip snip

-prometheus got turned into a fairy. a girl who makes things explode with her mind and her friends turned him into a different kind of fairy. then he became her dad. he also accidentally used his fairy mind control powers to cause a global anarcho-communist insurrection due to going viral on international news. 1 billion people were actively mind controlled by it. he was not allowed on tv again but he did get a twitter

-genetically engineered soldier wolfboy has his furry polycule fireclade KIA by a gay sexy pirate and then gets saved by a ghost space whale. he then does war crimes and everyone is soooo mean to him but hes soooo sad about it. and then he performs lobotomy on himself and implants his negative emotions into a shackled AI god which loves him and hunted down his best friend and soul mate to be her service animal.

-a wizard in a mech keeps trying to infiltrate the gay space gnostics and they keep telling him no. then he gets corrupted by the logic plague because he saw the name of god and has ultrasurgery performed on him with the help of a team of hyperqualified shackled AI gods and a mad doctor who has been trying to create anti-god supersoldiers and he was the first success. and the gnostics immediately wanted his cock onboard their snake ship. he never experienced consequences for any of his actions:)

-girl from a noble family of divine heroes is very very late to inheriting divine herodom and has soooo many opinions about this. she spent the last 6 months hunting down a weird fairy with some new friends and spent the first 5 of them pretending to be stupid jock so they wouldnt bother her. she has been trying to eat the fairy this entire time but it hasnt been working yet.

-a werewolf who is big and brown and hypermasculine gets turned into a werewolf and freaks out bc apparently everything supernatural is real and he was weird for not believing in any of it. he totally doesn't have any body image issues due to being a big hypermasculine brown man with anger/resentment issues and he is totally fine with how everyone assumes he's just a stupid violent meathead despite being a trained EMT actively going back to med school for his doctorate. he literally went to a supernatural therapist to vent about lycanthropy and got scared when she did actual therapy on him. he's so in his head about how everyone interprets him as Big Scary Brown Man that he doesnt realize he's drowning in transgender dogs who are actively barking for his attention. he would put on a collar and not realize its a sex thing. a spooky nightingale told him it saw him from across the ghost forest and liked his vibes because he was a murderer

[orcinus-veterinarius]

When horses end up with severe leg/hip injuries, they are almost always put to sleep. The odds of recovering full mobility from such injuries are slim and the odds of reinjury are high, so even if the horse is perfectly healthy in all other aspects, it is generally recognized to be more humane to put them down than to keep them alive just to live the rest of their lives limping around a small paddock or stall. A life for a horse in which s/he cannot gallop, leap, explore and play is no life at all. Why not apply the same logic to cetaceans? A life for a cetacean in which they can’t dive hundreds of meters, make meaningful autonomous choices (“should I play with the rubber ball or the puzzle feeder today?” is not a meaningful choice; research has shown that autonomy is crucial for animal welfare), echolocate and experience the rich biodiversity of the ocean is no life. I really don’t understand why it’s so horrible to think it more humane to euthanize a confused and sick orca calf if there is no chance of rehab and release than to take her/him permanently into captivity. It’s not disparaging or hateful to cetacean trainers to say so—I know they care about animals—it’s simply a logical ethical stance. Instead of searching in vain for orca conservation organizations that aren’t “radically anti-captivity”, maybe pro-caps should look inwards and ask themselves why all the major orca organizations (Center for Whale Research, Orca Behavior Institute, OrcaLab, Wild Orca, Orca Conservancy, Far East Russia Orca Project, etc.) as well as some cetacean organizations (ex. Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Cetacean Society International) oppose captivity. Is it because all of these esteemed groups, which if you look them up are all staffed by credentialed scientists, have been duped by the “animal rights agenda”, or could it be because maybe, just maybe, they know what they’re talking about? If captive orcas are so different from wild ones that wild orca biologists have no credibility to speak about their welfare, then that’s a clear indictment of captivity already.

Hi. I'm sorry for not answering right away, I was still at my externship when I got your ask, and I wanted to be able to sit down and give you a proper answer. So unfortunately, I don't think what I say will satisfy you. I don't expect to change your mind, nor is that my goal here. I only want to explain why I believe the way I do, so that you or others reading this can at least understand that it's not a position I take lightly, nor do I think it's infallible.

(Long post below the cut):

To start off, as an (almost) veterinarian, there are absolutely plenty of circumstances where I find euthanasia to be the correct decision. Euthanasia is our final gift to our patients, a swift and painless death in the face of prolonged suffering or poor quality of life. A large dog with debilitating osteoarthritis. A cat with terminal lymphoma. A down cow. A raptor with an amputated leg. Or like you mentioned, a horse with a fractured hip. These animals would live in a constant state of pain that they don't understand, and death can rightly be considered a kindness to them.

But an otherwise healthy orca calf? I would consider that a false equivalence. I agree that life in the wild should be prioritized whenever possible, and that captive orcas lead very different lives than their wild counterparts. But if that orca cannot return to the wild (orphaned and unable to be reunited with its pod, habituated to humans, non-painful disability such as deafness), and there is a facility willing to take it on, I do not think euthanasia is an appropriate option. In human care, that calf can still swim, breach, and dive, even if not to the same depths as the ocean (it's also worth noting that these are all costly behavior energetically and are not performed for no reason). It can still socialize and form family bonds with an adopted pod of whales. It can still (theoretically) mate and rear calves. It can still engage its big brain in problem-solving through training and enrichment in the place of hunting. And as a bonus, it will never go hungry and has access to veterinary care if ill or injured.

This is not a wild life. This is not the same life they would've, or should've known. A pool, no matter how well-appointed, is not the ocean, and we should not claim they're comparable. But I don't think it's a fate worse than death. I truly don't. But if it is... if freedom really is worth more than life, then all captive whales need to be euthanized. Even in a sea pen setting, they will not be free. They will not choose their food, their companions, their enrichment, their comings and goings. Those choices will still be made on their behalf by caregivers, and they will still have pretty much the same levels of autonomy as in their tank habitat. They will still be captive. (While some people do advocate for this, I don't think it's a popular outlook. Even SOS Dolfijn, a historically anti-cap organization, recently announced plans to build an aqauarium as a permanent home for non-releasable cetaceans rather than continuing to euthanize them).

Speaking of autonomy, yes, it is very important. But I truly don't think the orcas are distressed by the lack of meaning in choosing between enrichment devices. I think that's why we disagree on this topic... we have different worldviews. We both see orcas as beautiful, intelligent creatures, but I do not see them as people. They are animals, and for all their complexity, I interpret their behavior the same way I do any other species... they are motivated by food, reproduction, and (since they're highly social) companionship. Because of that, I still think we can give them a good life in human care, which is why it frustrates me to see the zoo community throw up their hands and give up rather than trying to improve our current less-than-ideal setups (*shakes my fist at the Blue World project*).

Now, I don't think it's wrong to be emotional about animals. I most definitely am! And it's very clear to me you love orcas and care about their wellbeing deeply. I admire that about you, and I appreciate your passion.

On to the next point... in the cetacean world, I've found that there is an unfortunate divide between researchers and caregivers who work with cetaceans in human care and those who study them exclusively in the wild. And that schism far predates the Blackfish era. Most of those organizations you listed are indeed legitimate, and I fully support their vital work and encourage others to do the same. A few of them, though, share things like this:

I think you can understand why this hurts me. And it's a lie. I've now interned at three aquariums (two of them AZA-accredited) that house various species of cetacean, and it's impossible for me to reconcile what I know and have seen to be true and what Whale and Dolphin Conservation wants the public to believe: that these unbelievably loved, vivacious animals are drugged and tortured by their greedy captors. It's not true, and I do not appreciate WDC for spreading this creepy artwork around. Nor do I think that fighting captivity is a beneficial allocation of resources when there is an overwhelming number of genuine threats to the survival of wild cetaceans.

Anyway, back to the scientists. Personally, I don't consider researchers who work exclusively with wild orcas to be either superior or inferior to those who work with captive whales. And sometimes I wonder how much of their position is a self-fulfilling prophecy: if someone opposes captivity on moral grounds, they won't work with captive whales, so they'll never get to know what their lives and care are like beyond maybe a single tour of the park or memories of how things were done in the 1960s (like Dr. Spong, who worked with some of the very first captive orcas at the Vancouver Aquarium).

I also don't think it diminishes the expertise of wildlife biologists to say that they are not experts on husbandry, training, or medical care... those are very different fields, and ideally, they should all inform each other. And of course, there are folks who work with both wild and captive whales. One of the reasons I linked SR3 in my previous post is they have staff with backgrounds in both managed care and research of free-ranging populations (I actually have no idea what the organization's official stance on captivity is, it's not something they address).

Maybe I'm wrong. I try my best to keep an open mind, but I know I'm also swayed by my own preconceptions and experiences. When I started this blog in December 2020, I was a first year vet student with minimal actual experience outside of domestic animals and some herps, and had only recently adopted the pro-captivity outlook. Now, I'm much more deeply involved in the zoo and aquarium world. These are people I know and respect, people who have written me letters of recommendation and comment on my Facebook posts, people I've had dinner with and showed up with after hours to care for a sick animal. And I recognize that biases me. The zoo world is often resistant to change, especially folks who have been in the industry for many years. And that doesn't do anyone, especially the animals, any good. I don't want to get stuck in an echo chamber, so I make it a point to read anti-captivity literature, even when it upsets me. If there is anything I can do to improve their lives, I want to learn about it, regardless of the source.

I try to adapt to new information. For example, in the past few months alone, I've become a lot more favorable toward the idea of sea pen habitats. My concerns about "sanctuaries" are more logisitical* and philosophical** rather than the idea that artifical habitats are inherently superior to pen habitats (they're not), especially when plenty of traditional facilites already make great use of ocean pens or enclosed lagoons. There are pros and cons to both, and a lot of it depends on the needs of the individual animals.

*funding; maintenance; lack of land-based backup pools and fully-equipped medical facilities; introducing immunologically naive animals to pollutants and infectious agents; disruptions to native wildlife; staffing activists and wildlife biologists rather than those with relevant husbandry experience

**villainizing aquariums; promoting the project as a "release to freedom" to the public when it's really another form of captivity; claiming the animals' lives will be "natural" when they will still require training, artificial enrichment, contraceptives, and social management if done correctly; downplaying or completely denying the very real risks of such a transition and insisting the animals will automatically be better off when Little White and Little Grey have proved that's not the case

If you made it to the bottom, thanks for reading. I wish all the best for you, and I mean that genuinely ❤️ even if we disagree, I hope you can appreciate our shared love for these animals and a desire for their wellbeing. Best of luck in all your endeavors!

[bimboficationblues]

I think it is ill-advised to go on the backfoot by quibbling over whether extremely straightforward resistance slogans are actually secret genocide dogwhistles or whether "anti-Zionism =/= anti-Semitism" or whether we must "condemn Hamas." the arguments from Zionists and defenders of the Israeli government on these topics are always completely arcane nonsense that assume what they set out to prove (e.g. insurmountable and inherent conflict between "civilizations", the "right" to an ethnostate, mystic ideas about national spirit, loyalty as more important than critical thought). they keep saying the word "Hamas" like it's a magical, scary word that immediately will shut down or discredit their opponents, because in the process of repeated invocation, they give it power and encourage loyalty to the cause - it's modeled on how US officials used the word "al-Qaeda" or "ISIS" or just "terror(ist)" more broadly to shut down criticism of mass surveillance and military interventionism.

like this is the sort of magical thinking that reactionary thought and practice thrives on. saying things that are flagrantly, maddeningly foolish makes it tempting to get derailed from the actual point, which is that Israel's actions are *indefensible.* the irony is that Israel's defenders and leaders so eagerly participate in what Sartre described as a fundamental trait of anti-Semitism, which is this sort of bad-faith discursive play-acting.

What Zionists believe, as is common in reactionary, nationalist, and conspiratorial thought, is driven by the outcomes that their beliefs justify - this is true of both the liberal types who perform caring about all sides of the conflict but only really seem interested in extracting completely meaningless "condemnations of Hamas" from the pro-Palestinian left, and the foaming-at-the-mouth arch-reactionaries that dominate the Israeli government and public image at present (y'know, the ones that are saying things about how the Nazis were not as bad as Hamas in the same breath as they say that Palestinians are subhuman animal brutes who need to be exterminated). the goal is to make their enemies shut up or, failing that, distract.

[alicent-vi-britannia]

Why did Rolo kill Shirley?

When I entered the Code Geass fandom, I quickly learned that the world is divided into two groups: either you love Rolo because he killed Shirley (you're a Shirley hater) or you hate Rolo because he killed Shirley (you're a Shirley fanboy). But, since I'm an anti-establishment person, I don't identify with either group and I take my own position: I suffer equally for Shirley and Rolo because one of my favorite characters killed another of my favorites and that fractured one of my favorite relationships in the series (damn you, Code Geass, so many years watching KDramas, movies, anime, animated series and TV series and I never found myself in an emotional dilemma like this). So today I'll analyze what led Rolo to kill Shirley. But before that I would like to invite you to read the first analysis I wrote about Rolo in which I investigated why Lelouch manipulated and deceived Rolo successfully, as there I delved into Rolo's damaged mind and it is vital to understand Rolo's background and what situation he is in. That is why I'll be forced to rescue three key points from that analysis and expand on them, before answering the question.

Point #1 "Rolo's background".

It's difficult to judge Rolo since he was not educated in values ​​and norms like the rest of the characters and even us, the viewers, despite the difference that exists between environments. Rolo wasn't raised to be a human by loving parents or guardians, on the contrary, he was trained to be a killing machine by the Geass Order. Therefore, he has no morals or discernment of right and wrong or social skills or emotional tools. Just as I said in that analysis, Rolo never grew up. He is a child who was given a gun. Something similar to Superboy in Titans, who killed a man as soon as he took his first steps in the world and never repented because he didn't understand that what he did was wrong nor did he know that the power he had carried with it a responsibility; although, for Rolo, killing is little more than fulfilling a duty. In the Order of Geass, Rolo was indoctrinated (which is not the same as "taught") to follow orders, solve problems through violence (specifically, through murder) and repress his social, emotional and affective needs. This indoctrination conditioned Rolo for his entire life. Rolo is a child who had his life stolen from him and his mind controlled, even by the person he loved the most: his brother, Lelouch. And here I will take the opportunity to link it to the next point...

Point #2 "Lelouch's manipulation and Rolo's mental fragility".

As soon as Lelouch regained his memories, he realized that Rolo was a problem (because Rolo had been ordered to kill him and his Geass made him dangerous) and that the best way to handle him (and, furthermore, take advantage of him) was through manipulation and lies, since Lelouch observed that Rolo never had a family, but he wanted, deep down, to create an emotional connection since, despite the conditioning of the Geass Cult, Rolo was still a human being. However, Rolo's genuine and pure desire for a family (brother, in this case) tells us something else that is pertinent to take into account: Rolo also desires validation and this contributes to Rolo having low self-esteem.

Rolo has no appreciation for anyone's life, not even his own. Watch R2 Episode 4: Lelouch tells Rolo that if he kills him right then he will lose two things and one of them is his life, to which Rolo literally replies: "Like I care about that.". I suppose that's why the Geass Order conditioned him to see himself as a worthless tool: that way if one day Rolo gave problems to V.V.'s evil organization, he wouldn't oppose being eliminated; it's even safe to say that the lack of value that Rolo gave to his life optimized his performance in missions, since he would accept all the risks, regardless of what happened to him. Likewise, the lack of appreciation for life and his work as a hitman for the Geass Order are the reason why Rolo trivializes murder, to the point of putting it on the same level as mundane and ordinary activities like brushing the teeth.

As a consequence of all this, Rolo is someone manipulable and without mental strength, which makes him very vulnerable and a perfect victim for a snake charmer and, moreover, a silver tongue like Lelouch. This scenario that I have just described is the ideal breeding ground for an emotional dependence of Rolo towards Lelouch to develop and that is exactly what Lelouch intends to do, why? Because in this way Lelouch will have at his disposal the complicity, the skill and the Geass of Rolo who will follow him out of practically unconditional devotion and will prevent Rolo from betraying him in the future, how will he do it? By putting himself at the center of Rolo's small world. In episode 4 of R2, Lelouch urges Rolo to find a purpose in life and convinces him (or, rather, manipulates him) that he is that purpose, that only he can bring him a future, make the promise of a change come true. A happy life with his brother. Rolo won't notice the red flags, he'll even tolerate them if he sees them, because he finally has validation and affection. For the first time, someone acknowledges his existence and tells him and shows him that he is valuable and important.

But a presence threatens Lelouch and Rolo's wonderful partnership and it emerges at the moment Rolo killed Shirley. No. Rolo didn't kill Shirley because he hated her or want to annihilate all of Lelouch's loved ones to isolate him and keep him for himself, he killed her because she said, " I wanna bring all the happiness back into Lelou’s life! Then maybe he could be together with his sister, Nunna!" That's right. Nunnally.

The series made it clear to us in R2 episode 7 that the mere name of Nunnally unnerved Rolo and in R2 episode 18 Rolo is determined to kill her. Why? Because Rolo is jealous of Nunnally and jealousy is a manifestation of insecurities, but what is Rolo insecure about? The love that Lelouch says he professes for him. Rolo is perfectly aware that he has taken Nunnally's place (that was the mission that the Geass Order entrusted him with) and that Lelouch sincerely loves his sister, so that not only Lelouch sees Rolo as a "false brother", he sees and feels himself that way too. Therefore, Rolo feared that Lelouch would get rid of him once Nunnally returned and poor Rolo was right since Lelouch intended that same thing before Shirley was killed. However, losing Lelouch not only implied an emotional loss for Rolo, it also implied losing his purpose and his identity since Rolo has no future without Lelouch nor is he anyone without him. Lelouch is the one who can make Rolo happy, Lelouch is the one who validates Rolo and if he disappears, what will become of Rolo, who can no longer be the Geass Order's hitman or Lelouch's brother?

So when Shirley showed the naive and noble intention of reuniting Lelouch with Nunnally, Rolo felt threatened by a danger that had been stalking him for a long time in his worst nightmares, breathing down his neck and what did he do? He dealt with the danger as he dealt with all his problems, the only way he knew how: by killing Shirley. Thus Rolo eliminated any possibility of the reunion between siblings and Lelouch would know nothing of the help that Shirley offered him.

I think Rolo chose to believe the lie he made up, that is, that he killed Shirley to protect Lelouch's identity, instead of accepting that he felt vulnerable and in danger, because that reason legitimized his crime and, at the same time, was the best defense mechanism. Rolo couldn't accept that he somehow hurt Lelouch; instead, if he helped and protected him, the murder becomes acceptable and even forgivable. For no other reason Rolo reveals to Lelouch why he killed her before he asks him, in search of validation, of course, just like a puppy that pants and licks its owner to be rewarded with a bone.

If Rolo were a normal person, if Lelouch and Rolo didn't have such a toxic relationship, if there were therapists in Britannia who could treat Lelouch and Rolo, everything would have been solved with a heart-to-heart talk and personal work. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

Shirley's murder was a direct consequence of manipulating, lying to, and using a boy who was abused as a child, who was conditioned by adults who were supposed to protect him, and who has emotional deficiencies. It's tragic for Shirley because it's unfair that she had to pay the price. It's tragic for Rolo because he wanted to preserve his happiness and ended up destroying his relationship with Lelouch. It's tragic for Lelouch because it's his responsibility (even if the fanboys continue to only blame Rolo).

All of this seems to indicate that Lelouch and Rolo’s relationship is based on manipulation and lies and yes, that’s true, however, there was also love and that’s what’s interesting about Lelouch and Rolo’s relationship. It’s beautifully twisted, more so than Suzaku and Lelouch? Uhm! Maybe yes, I’m not sure at the moment, more so than Lelouch and C.C.? Hell! I dare say no. One day we will address the positive aspect of this relationship and we will do so when I discuss Rolo’s death; but, before that, I will talk a little about Lelouch and Kallen’s relationship, which is the most underrated relationship of all, despite the nuances and complexities. Maybe I'll talk about why Kallen returned to Lelouch, despite him showing himself to be a leader unworthy of her loyalty; maybe I'll talk about the time when Lelouch lies to save Kallen from the firing squad, which is one of the most underrated, heartbreaking and romantic moments in the series. We'll see. For now, I hope you enjoyed the analysis and that it has improved your understanding of Rolo's character and his relationship with Lelouch. Nowadays, I just want to talk about my favorite series and forget that the alternate universe exists, which is difficult considering there's a spin-off airing. I hope there are fans who share my feelings. Without further ado, I'll take my leave.