#as long as its expert-led or -designed

[floralfractals]

I learn through independent research since for me it's easiest to just choose a topic and jump in on Wikipedia and then follow source rabbit holes. But your poll dividing kinds of learning made me curious; I haven't actually *tried* to search for any informal education style stuff online. And bc I tend to stay away from yt in general so my 'algorithm' there is nonexistent. Are there good youtube channels people would recommend for higher level math concepts?

It's not an easy question - by nature of informal science education, math on youtube usually focusses on being accessible and (therefore) not too high level. However, if you're willing to accept simplifications and avoidance of calculations, I can't recommend numberphile enough. They do a great job at making accessible videos while still touching on topics that go pretty deep, such as the Riemann hypothesis, high level probability theory (e.g. Martingales) and - as their name suggests - lots and lots of number theory. Another great channel I love is vihart - they don't post a lot these days but their strength lies in connecting secondary school level math to deep theoretical mathematics.

There's also a few tumblr blogs into high level math! I try to mathpost about more complex math from time to time, mostly explaining stuff about my own research. Those posts can get complicated but my target audience is still the average math-enjoyer-but-not-expert on tumblr. If you are more of a math expert (or want to be one), you could also check out my friend Roos' blog @bubbloquacious. They like to talk about their research as well, but usually their posts don't compromise depth for accessibility. Also, they're super kind, so if you don't understand a post they will likely be more than happy to explain!

[prythianpages]

Hopelessly Devoted | Eris x Reader

Eris x Reader x Azriel | You're hopelessly devoted to Azriel, suspecting he’s your true love. Meanwhile, Eris is hopelessly longing after you. aka Eris being your mate but you're too infatuated with Az to notice.

warnings: slight angst, reader being a bit delulu

*also disclaimer that I am no expert in astrology and my knowledge is usually what I gathered from friends or tiktok so if I'm wrong, please correct me but do it nicely pls bc I am sensitive lol*

a/n: I wasn't sure whether to include Az or not in the pairing but I liked the idea of leaving this fic up to your interpretation. Anyway, happy reading! <3

As you entered the Night Court’s observatory, you traced your fingers along the edge of the great celestial map laid before you. You could feel the soft hum of magic beneath your fingertips, still smell the faintest hint of sage–a remnant of your father’s last ritual here. For centuries, your father has served as the Night Court’s astrologer. He’s guided and advised High Lord Rhysand and on occasion, Keir, the steward of the Court of Nightmares.

Above you, constellations and planets danced across the domed ceiling, the stars gleaming as though they were ready to whisper secrets just for you. You took a deep breath, centering yourself, and placed a palm flat against the massive zodiac wheel etched onto the floor. It began to glow, a warm golden light tracing symbols of the zodiacs and planets.

“Stars above and stars below, reveal the path I seek to know,” you quietly murmured.

The markings on the wheel shifted in response, aligning and realigning with clicking sounds, the warm golden light following. Then, your own chart had appeared, shimmering above you. It was a translucent web of stars and planets connected by silvery lines. You’ve read your birth chart many times, become so familiar with it that you knew it by heart even.

But tonight, you needed the extra reassurance. So you looked up, watching as the planets moved slowly. Your heartbeat a little faster as you spotted Jupiter making transit through your seventh house. The promise of growth, abundance, luck and most important of all, love filled the air. 

You slipped a small vial from the hidden pocket of your cobalt blue dress. The words Love Potion No.9 gleamed on the glass, the dark red liquid swirling. It was the enchanted perfume you’d bought from a witch last week—a little love potion designed to make you irresistibly alluring to your soulmate.

You felt a bit foolish, seeking a witch for guidance on love of all matters. Witches were frowned upon in the Court of Nightmares, after all. But impatience had finally nudged you to venture beyond the court’s dark mountain and into the surrounding forests, in search of someone who could help.

“Seek the one who walks between light and shadow with a mask of cool indifference, where fire meets the edge of night. There your heart shall find its match,” she had told you as she handed you the enchanted perfume.

Her words had only confirmed what you had been suspecting for years, centuries even.

Azriel was your soulmate. 

Azriel, the very embodiment of cool indifference, wore a mask of stoicism in the Court of Nightmares, just as High Lord Rhysand did. But his hazel eyes always seemed to burn with a hidden fire. And when you were alone with him, away from the cold nobility of the Night Court, Azriel would let that mask slip, revealing a kinder side that laughed and smiled with you. He was your friend and not only did he literally walk among shadows, he wielded them. It had to be him!

And then, there was your birth chart. Your seventh house lay in Taurus—a sign ruled by Venus. With Venus positioned in your twelfth house, everything pointed to the idea that your future soulmate would bring your happiness and pleasure. And since you met Azriel all those years ago during a counseling your father led, happiness had been an emotion you'd grown more familiar with.

The stars couldn’t have given you a clearer message!

**

There was a flutter in your stomach as you approached Azriel. The two of you had been stealing glances at one another, as you usually did anytime you found yourselves in the same place. He looked as beautiful as ever. As dreamy as ever. 

Though your High Lord and High Lady had moved to the center of the ballroom for a dance, he had stayed by the dais. “Hello,” you greeted him with a small smile.

Azriel turned to you, that mask of his slipping for just a brief moment to smile back at you. He took the extra wine glass in your hold, murmuring a small thanks. He turned his head back to the dance floor, attentive to his High Lady’s whereabouts. But he shifted closer to you, the coolness of his shadows caressing your bare arm and you couldn’t help but wonder if the perfume was working.

“You look nice,” he commented.

“Thanks.” A blush rose to your cheeks. You’d taken care to match your dress to the exact shade of his siphons. And he noticed. “So do you.”

“I wear this all the time.” Azriel replied drily, referring to his usual Illyrian leathers.

“Yeah, I know.” You cursed yourself inwardly for the awkward response, then shifted closer, leaning toward him. “Do I smell to you?”

Azriel paused, his shadows brushing close, as if curious themselves. “No,” he said after a moment.

“Oh.” Disappointment seeped into your voice despite your best efforts, and his gaze shifted to you, a hint of a frown in his brows.

“Do you want to smell?”

There’s a teasing edge to his tone, a subtle quirk of his lips. You shook your head, letting out a small, nervous laugh. "No. I just wanted to know if I smelled any…different…,” and then, in a much quieter tone, you murmured, “to you.”

Azriel considered your words. He looked to you in what seemed like permission. You gave a nod of your head and he leaned in, his warm breath sending a shiver down your spine. “You smell the same to me.” At the breath you let out, he quickly added: “which is good by the way. You smell nice.”

“Oh, okay,” you smile, albeit a bit awkwardly, the flutter you had felt in your stomach earlier twisting into a knot. 

“Y/n, is everything alright?” Azriel asked softly.

“Yeah, I just thought—” You stopped, not sure how to explain without sounding foolish. It wasn’t like you could admit to feeling disappointed over the lack of reaction from an enchanted perfume you’d spent quite a fortune on. Especially when he was the sole purpose for it. Had the witch scammed you?

Azriel waited for you patiently, concern flashing in his eyes. Maybe the perfume hadn’t worked, but the stars and planets had never led you astray. That still had to mean something, right? 

“I’m fine.” You finally said.

“Are you sure?”

The way he was looking at you had warmth creeping up your neck and settling deeper in your cheeks. “Yeah.”

A single shadow curled around Azriel’s ear and in the blink of an eye, his head turned. Your gaze followed his, to where Rhysand and Feyre were standing. Rhysand sent him a slight nod and with a sigh, Azriel returned it.

“Sorry, I have to go.” Azriel said, quickly downing the remaining wine from his glass.

You held out your hand, offering to take it for him.

“Thank you. I’ll be back. Don’t have too much fun without me, alright?”

“I’ll try not to,” you replied.

You watched Azriel disappear into his shadows before turning away from the dais and making your way to the refreshments table. You were eager for a refill on your glass. Perhaps a little more wine would help ease the sting of disappointment. But he’d said he’d be back, hadn’t he?

As you scanned the room, you noticed your father in conversation with one of Keir’s sons and your mother eyeing potential suitors for your older brother. As an elite warrior of the Darkbringers, he had no shortage of admirers, and it was only a matter of time before your mother secured him a match—perfect or not.

You suspected you’d be next on her matchmaking list, so you busied yourself with small talk among familiar ladies. Conversations were always a mind-numbing, the ladies your age exchanging beauty tips that centered around the male’s eye or fawning over this season’s most eligible males. Which this season just so happens to be your brother. Gross. If only they knew him the way you did….

Second to him was Bret—or some equally uninspiring name. A Scorpio, of all things, which clashed miserably with your chart. Not that it mattered. You had no interest in any noble of the Court of Nightmares. Or any male here. Most, if not all, were cruel and narcissists, only viewing females as child bearers and nothing more. 

There was a reason why this court was burdened with the title “Nightmares.”  And to marry someone from here would mean never waking up from this darkness. No stars to light your night skies, only endless shadow and despair.

So, you’d taken fate into your own hands. You’d turned to your birth chart, hoping the stars would lead you somewhere beyond Hewn City, beyond this never-ending nightmare. And they had. They led you to believe it was Azriel. Azriel, who was not only honorable and single but also, technically, part of the Court of Dreams. He’d been your friend for centuries, seeing you for who you are rather than an object or prize like most males here. 

As you sneak away from the conversation, you bump into something–someone. Behind you, a deep voice huffed a low, mocking chuckle. “Easy there, librarian.” 

You could recognize that voice anywhere, could recognize the heat radiating from him. It pressed down on you, leaving you simmering with irritation.

“I’m a libra, not a librarian.” You bit out. It hasn’t even been a minute and already you were exhausted by the searing presence behind you. “And besides, to you, it’s Lady Y/N.”

When you turned, you found Eris looming over you. His amber eyes gleamed with a familiar, infuriating mischief. He gave you that signature smirk of his, the one that made his sharp features all the more arrogant. “Such a harsh tone. Hardly fitting for a Lady.”

Your gaze hardened into a glare, only to have it stray toward a movement across the ballroom.  A flicker of shadow caught your attention, and your heart gave a small, hopeful jump as your gaze softened. There he was—Azriel.

He had returned to the ballroom…but he hadn’t returned to you…

Eris raised a glass to his lips, amber eyes flicking lazily between you and Azriel. “Disappointment doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m not disappointed.” You muttered hastily.

He gave a scoff, his smirk widening with dark amusement. “Please. I can practically feel it.”

“Liar,” you shot back. 

“Azriel said he’d find me again and unlike you, he’s a male of his word,” you continued, not sure why you were telling Eris this. “He’s…”

Your words trailed off as you watched Azriel, who stood next to Nesta and Elain. He laughed–actually laughed!-- at something Elain had said, shadows absent from his frame as his focus remained solely on her. You couldn’t miss the soft smile playing on his lips, nor the warmth in his gaze. Did he do that with every female he knew? You thought he reserved that just for you…

The bubble in your chest slowly deflated.

“Keep dreaming,” Eris huffed out. He seemed to take special pleasure in your reaction. It prompted your cheeks to flush but this time, with irritation.

“Oh, go away, you prick,” you said, rolling your eyes. “You don’t understand.”

“Oh, wouldn’t I?" he replied, leaning closer, his sharp gaze burning into you. You missed the flash of longing in his amber eyes, too focused on Azriel. Or the way the words that had been on the tip of his tongue faltered as your scent suddenly overwhelmed him, his breath hitching slightly.

 "You smell.”

“Gee, thanks,” you mumbled absently.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, his voice gruff and pupils flaring. “You smell different tonight…good...”

You blinked, barely processing his words. Was he actually being nice to you? In all the years you’ve known him, he’s always had snark remark after snark remark for you. The way it would roll smoothly off his tongue always left you wondering if he’d rehearse them for his visits to the Court of Nightmares. 

You fidgeted, fingers grazing your wine glass as you cast a hesitant glance back at Azriel. Your chest tightened as he remained engrossed in conversation with Elain. Turn around, please. But he hadn’t even looked your way once. 

Eris stepped in front of you, drawing your attention back to him. His gaze roamed over you, your dress. He took in the shade and he knew why you had chosen it–and for whom.  "You know," he said, his gaze lingering on your face.  "Red suits you far better.”

“And there he is, you’re back…”

"I’m serious. This—" He gestured to your gown with a slight grimace, his fingers brushing the silk fabric in disappointment. "This color washes you out. Red would bring out the color of your eyes…”

Your jaw clenched but you remained silent, refusing to admit that his words stirred something within you. Eris was insufferable, arrogant, and yet you couldn't deny his eye for detail. He, after all, was always dressed impeccably in the finest Autumn attire. But you would never give him the satisfaction of admitting he might be right.

His smirk widened, as if he knew exactly what you were thinking. “Do you want to know another thing?”

“No,” you said immediately.

But he leaned in anyway, his breath warm against your ear. “You’re hopelessly devoted to a male who doesn’t even look your way.”

Your mouth opened, brows furrowing in protest, but he went on. His smirk softened, fading into a half-smile. One that didn’t reach his eyes, dimming the fire that usually burned so brightly there. And then, in a much quieter, reluctant tone, he murmured, “And I am no different, it seems.”

"But…" You stammered, resisting the urge to steal another glance at Azriel. "He does look my way…sometimes.”

Eris’s smile faded, his expression tightening. A flicker of pain crossed his face. So brief, you almost thought you imagined it.  "You’re delusional.”

“And you’re insufferable.” You scoffed, heart pounding.

“Better than being a fool.” 

The mocking tone was there but the usual sharpness had been softened by a strange, subtle sadness. Was this… pity?

You swallowed, lifting your chin defiantly. “The stars wouldn’t lie to me,” you said, though the conviction in your voice wavered. “He’s the one for me.”`

You met his eyes then and Eris held your gaze. His amber eyes warm and molten, the intensity of his stare prickling at your skin. An unsettling flutter erupted in your stomach, rising to your chest. A feeling you quickly dismissed when you felt something cool brush against your arm.

“Is he bothering you, y/n?”

Eris scoffed at the sudden presence beside you. It sickened him to see that sweet, adoring look on your face, the triumphant gleam in your eyes as you looked up at Azriel. The sight made Eris grit his teeth. His instincts roared at him, the fire in his veins was scorching.

You blinked, snapping out of your daze, realizing both males were waiting for your answer. “No,” you said but the way you shifted to stand behind Azriel said otherwise.

Azriel’s gaze hardened as he looked toward Eris. “Stay away from her,” he seethed.

A low growl rumbled from Eris’s chest as he took a step forward, his amber eyes flaring with rage. Though not as tall as Azriel, he seemed to tower over him at this moment. His teeth flashed as his lips curled into a snarl. “I do not take orders from bastards like you.”

Azriel’s wings tensed, threatening to unfurl and the movement of his shadows quickened. Like a storm ready to unfold. But before it could, you placed a hand on his arm. Right over one of his glowing siphons that seemed to be growing hotter and hotter, daring to match the fire coursing through Eris’s veins.

“Az, don’t,” you told him gently, not wanting to draw any attention to the three of you. You felt his muscles ease under your touch, his shadows brushing over your hand in agreement.

Eris’s gaze dropped to your hand on Azriel’s arm, his expression darkening into something unreadable. He exhaled sharply, turning his head as though trying to shake off whatever thought had crossed his mind.

When he looked back, his features had shifted into his usual cool mask, that infuriating smirk sliding back into place. He looked right at you.

“When you wake up from this deranged dream of yours, come find me.”

You watched him, feeling a strange, unwelcome tug in your chest as he turned to leave. Perhaps, one day you’d realize that the enchanted perfume you had bought was not a scam. 

And that the male you searched through the stars and planets for was not the one standing beside you, but the one who’d just walked away.

a/n: sorry if you're not a libra, I just thought it'd be funny for Eris to purposely say reader's sign wrong as he knows astrology is a huge influence on her.

[series masterlist]

[Eris masterlist]

General tag list: @scooobies, @kennedy-brooke, @sillysillygoose444 @lilah-asteria @the-sweet-psycho

@daycourtofficial, @milswrites, @stormhearty, @pit-and-the-pen, @mybestfriendmademe

@loving-and-dreaming @azriels-human @mrsjna, @adventure-awaits15, @lorosette

@alwayshave-faith

[mortalityplays]

Forgive me if I'm mistaking you for another person, but I remember you speaking at multiple points on the unsustainability of free social media services (I think especially in response to the cohost collapse?), and I'm curious on what your thoughts on bluesky are so far. I'm not an expert on the subject, but from what I've read previously it seemed like they were on track to be financially sustainable, but I don't know if the recent floods of users has thrown those projections off. Sorry if I'm mixing you up with someone else on my timeline, in that case just ignore me.

bluesky will almost certainly follow the same trajectory of monetisation => bloat => enshittification => decline as every other major platform built on venture capital and user hoarding. it's a terrible model that only works in the short term as a mirage for attracting funding and making founders look good for a year or two before they sell.

you can see the same effect in the decline of all the subscription box services that came into vogue just before covid: they feel great to use for as long as the initial injection of venture funding lasts, because the purpose of that funding at that stage is to attract users and impress the next round of funders with how pleasant/intuitive/efficient/ethical/good value the service is. that's the stage where they're handing out freebies and bowling over influencers, and every ingredient in the box is fresh and high quality and locally sourced. wow what a good deal, what a great system!!! why hasn't anyone done this before? the answer is because it's unsustainable by design. they rack up good reviews, sign on a billion new users, attract new funding from a bunch of much more credulous investors, and then gut all of the expensive parts. portions get smaller, ingredients get worse, packaging gets flimsier, prices go up, freebies turn into "5% off your first 9 boxes when you invite 3 friends", and customer service vanishes.

with social media (and platforms like discord) the logic is the same, it's just a little less glaringly obvious to the end user because they're not coming home to leaking packages of rancid chicken on the doorstep. bluesky has an advantage over tiny operations like cohost because it was founded by a billionaire making a point for the sake of his own image. it got a really significant chunk of startup funding, and the owner had existing connections and rep in the space to attract more. That's why it has survived the goldrush period, why it still feels good to use, and why users who have been burned so many times before are finally accepting it as a stable, reliable option. It's still in its venture capital honeymoon phase where the only thing worth spending money on is making the service attractive to users.

What I expect we will see next, with another mass influx of users from twitter and new funding from a rogue's gallery of tech venture sickos led by Blockchain Capital is a strong ramp up into monetising that userbase. They've already been pretty forthright about how they plan to do this, and I think it's a solid roadmap of how Bluesky will bloat and decay over the next few years:

this is a huge lol. don't worry, we're not going to hyperfinancialize the social experience through NFTs. the thing even crypto freaks started feigning amnesia about a year ago. real "our health conscious sodas are 100% arsenic free" messaging here. They know perfectly well that rubes users are suspicious of their typical 5 dimensional tech finance chess games and are patting our hands about last week's bogeymen so nobody worries too hard about whatever 'decentralised developer ecosystem' just happens to be helmed by a bunch of crypto guys. this definitely means something good and based and not a google-like single sign on user data harvesting operation.

This is the same shit that's currently rotting the floorboards of discord. Bluntly, there is no way to run a platform on this scale without gating functionality behind paid services. Discord has been squeezing free-tier file uploads and call quality etc. down steadily and cranking up subscription costs over the last year or two, throwing in chaff like animated avatar frames to try and justify the user cost. They're also doing the same misdirection thing again here, pointing to Thing We All Hate to deflect from thing we might not like very much when they do it. Booo elon booo we all hate elon!!! wait how do we feel about subscription models again,

watch out for this to kill porn on bsky like it has killed porn on every other social platform 👍 boooo we hate elon boooo stupid idiot and his 'everything app' booooo wait why do you need my tax information, what's that about mastercard,

Look, we are all aware social media is a money pit. Let's not forget dorsey was looking to sell twitter in the first place, long before elon's very public plunge into total online derangement. Subscription services are not going to plug the hole, so we are gradually going to see more and more spaghetti thrown at the wall while early funders shuffle cards and do their pyramid scheme bit bringing in stupider and stupider investments. this is the window in which bluesky will be temporarily worth using for us, for the idiot public, the poorly rendered crowd jpegs in the background of their venture capital MOBA. it's in their interests to slow and pad the decline as much as possible, because that is how they get maximally paid.

Given the scale of the money involved, and dorsey's weird ego investment, I think bluesky will probably manage a controlled drift for a good few years before it gets really bloated and painful. and by then we will all be so used to the *checks notes* decentralised developer ecosystem that we'll just be posting through it, watching another generation of columnists call another collapsing platform 'their beloved hellsite' and passing around that meme about not getting out of our chairs no sir until idk we all get on a fediverse neurolink alternative to stick it to the elongated muskrat and our brains pop peacefully in our sleep. which I guess is the closest thing to viability any social media platform can achieve.

anyway diogenes the cynic is also on bluesky

[0oolookitsme]

Another One?

Type - A One-Shot!

Verse - Model!Harry x Fashion Designer!y/n

Word Count - 4k (she's a thick one y'all)

Warnings - A little bit of crying (subrry), cursing and well, smut.

A/N - Damn, this is the second longest smut piece I've ever written!

Kinks - Dry Humping, Mirror Sex, Mommy Kink, Over Stimulation.

KINKTOBER MASTERLIST | MASTERLIST

Please rb to share!

It was a formal get-together organized by a friendly colleague of Y/n's. "I've met some new professionals, and I think it's going to be helpful for the newbies to make some connections," she had told Y/n while they were having lunch together. Y/n had only appreciated her idea in response, saying that she too would love to chat with them.

When it came to the decision of a 'plus-one', everyone knew she was going to bring Harry. After all, it had almost been a year since they went public with their relationship. The party was formal, but it was held on the rooftop of a restaurant so everyone had settled on dressing up pretty casually.

Most men were seen wearing button-down shirts with pants or jeans, and women were mostly in flowy dresses. And Y/n was one of them – wearing a one piece long-maxi dress. Its sleeves came right till her elbow, the shoulders were puffed. It was plain black in colour and she had worn her platinum jewelry and white heels at the end. To match her Harry was wearing a shirt that faded from white on the top, to black at the bottom. Shedding leaves were patterned on the shirt, and he had styled it with a pair of retro-black jeans – tying the outfit together by wearing some black Converse that had white stripes on them.

She had french-twisted her bun, and Harry had his hair tousled to the side. They had left the house with Harry trying to seduce Y/n into a quickie, and Y/n sliding her hands on his chest, and leaning in to promise in his ear that she'd reward him if he'd be good for her at the party.

Both of them knew that she didn't need to tell him that – he knew his way around at any gathering. But, just out of habit, Y/n had radiated some dominance and almost called him a good boy. Which led to Harry's mind being in a frenzy all night.

They talked to people together, Harry's hand on her lower back as his thumb rubbed against her clothed-skin. As the time passed, Y/n had fled away from him and was chatting with other people while he was stuck in a group of men who he had no interest in talking with.

He was, at the end of the day, an introverted guy. Sure he walked on runways for the biggest of brands, for the millions of people to watch but he just couldn't shed down the shyness of his personality. And, y/n loved that.

He was an introvert, she was an extrovert so they balanced each other out perfectly. But a lot of the times she felt like she was leaving Harry out, abandoning him whenever they went out with many people. But Harry swore he wasn't bothered by it, well, most of the time he wasn't. But tonight wasn't like the most and he was very bothered by all of these people around him. He just wanted to be alone with his girlfriend, but he knew that she wouldn't want to leave this party due to the 'important' people that were here.

So, he excused himself out of the group chat and beelined his way to Y/n, who was clearly faking a laugh. "Hi," he mumbled as he kissed her jaw, his hand immediately sneaking around her waist. He needed to be touching her to stay calm or he would surely lose his mind by all of this overwhelmness.

"Hi," she genuinely smiled back at him, kissing his cheek in return. "Meet Harry, my boyfriend," she introduced him to the lady she was talking to. "Harry, this is Ms. Holly, an expert-tailor for Gucci," she said regarding the lady.

Holly extended her arm to shake hands with him. Harry dreaded having to touch anyone else, but out of politeness, he did. "Of course I know him!" She exclaimed and then added a brag, "the world renowned model – Harry Styles." She wasn't really exaggerating, it was true – still a blush creeped up Harry's neck as he mumbled a small 'thank you'. She turned her head at the call of her name and muttered, "it was very nice to meet you guys," with a wide smile before walking away.

Harry, on the other hand, was getting impatient. He did not want to be near anyone else but Y/n right now. "How long is it going to take?" Was the first thing Harry asked her, moving closer to her so that their bodies were touching.

"I think we'll be having dinner soon, and should leave after that. Why?" She asked him, wrapping her hand around his bicep. "Is something wrong?" She continued when his eyes flicked away from hers.

"No, everything's fine. Just wanna go home," he muttered lowly, suddenly remembering that there were people around who had caused him to straighten his back.

Y/n understood just then that he wasn't feeling it tonight. She knew it could be hard to socialize sometimes, especially as an introvert. And, over time she had realized that Harry wasn't quick to voice his discomfort in public until he was feeling too overwhelmed.

"Okay, let's just bid our goodbyes quickly," she said, kissing his temple.

Then Harry's eyes went wide. "W-what?" He stuttered. "I can wait a little longer, I know this is important for you," he assured her.

"Well, it isn't really important for me, per se. After all, this was hosted for the new employees, and I know most of these people," she said with a slight roll of her eyes.

Harry knew that if this really was important, Y/n wouldn't be this dismissive about it and ready to leave. And, while the host was a good friend of theirs and would understand, Harry still wanted to respect her and well, it was only a matter of time now.

He'll just spend it listening to people chat and laughing every once in a while. "Its only going be a little more. We've stayed for so long, might as well stay till the end," Harry shrugged.

"Are you sure? Because I'm ready to go home," Y/n told him, feeling a little unsure when he replied with a 'yes'. "Okay, but tell me when you want to leave, yeah?"

"Mhm," he hummed, pecking her lips before putting on a wide grin on seeing a couple approaching them. He knew that if he were to behave good right now, he'll be rewarded for it at the end of the night, in his bedroom that he shared with Y/n.

He brushed his uneasiness under the rug right then and there, and decided that if he's going to stay for longer, he might as well make it fun.

That's when all the sneaky touches and grazes started. Brushing up against her bum, or kissing her jaw, or spreading his legs when he sat in front of her. He knew that she was catching up with him, and he loved seeing her ignore his antics and interact professionally with the people who thought licking her ass would get them somewhere.

"Don't make me take you home, Harry," she leaned in to whisper in his ear, smiling at him later to make sure that the people around didn't think they were having any issues.

It was a warning, but Harry was suddenly feeling way too confident. He proceeded to tease her throughout the night. When it did come down to dinner, he was hoping he would get her alone but Y/n invited a couple over and decided to mingle with them instead. Now, she was doing it intentionally.

If he was going to act like a brat, then he was going to be treated like one.

He kept brushing his thigh against her, kept slipping his hand way too low on her back and even kept a hand on the inside of her thigh as they chatted and ate desert.

At the end of the night, Y/n made sure to stay as long as she could. She knew it'd frustrate Harry, but that's what he gets for acting up. "Please, need you," he whispered defeatedly in her ear, again moving closer to her in a manner that their sides touched. The rebelliousness in him was gone once he wasn't in the spotlight anymore.

A smirk pulled up on her lips, as a woman walked away from her and towards the car her husband was sitting in. "Yeah, what do you need, baby? She asked him, just filling up time knowing that he wasn't going to be 'rewarded'.

"Anything. Anything from you, I promise I'll be good," he cried silently, his hold on her hand tight as they walked to their car.

"What good will be being good now? You've been nothing but a brat for most of the night," Y/n said as a matter of fact, sitting in the driver's seat of the car as Harry slipped in the passenger side, feeling dominated and fuzzy.

"But I was also good! I waited for the night to be over, and I socialized! I was good!" Harry shifted in his seat to partially face her and insisted. "I behaved well!" Frowning, he said, feeling like he was being injusticed.

Y/n shrugged again, and Harry was feeling more and more agitated. "Who are you trying to convince, baby?" She asked, looking straight ahead at the road.

"I- but I was good!" Harry whined this time, wanting some sort of acknowledgement for his good behaviour.

"Oh? So was it me who sat with my legs spread when people were watching? Or was I brushing up against you as you talked to some people who were ecstatic to be in the same room as you? Ok, wait up – was it me who had my hand on your thigh as you sat with your new colleague on a dinner table. Well, it surely was me who's hand was slipping lower and lower down your back, wasn't it?" Y/n looked away from him once she was finished, a victorious smirk on her face as finally Harry had nothing to say.

She heard him sigh and saw from the corner of her eyes as he shifted again and sat straight this time, peeping out of the window. Just because she didn't want to push him too far, she placed her hand on his thigh, rubbing her thumb against it as they drove without any more talking, with music playing on medium volume.

Harry never once looked at her again but Y/n wasn't fazed by it. She had seen him like this before, and she wasn't going to melt at this little drama and not punish him. He was going to get what he deserved, whether good or bad.

Harry felt she was being unfair – he deserved something after that long night. Yes, he didn't behave well for the whole of night, but what about the parts when he was a good boy?

Once they reached the garage, she shifted her hand from his thigh and placed it behind his seat as she backed inside once the automatic doors opened. She didn't miss the way his head turned so quickly at the loss of her touch.

"C'mon, I can't wait to get to bed." Y/n said as she got out of the car and in that moment, Harry's stomach dropped.

He trailed behind her, feeling low because she just denied touching him but somewhere inside him, something told him that it wasn't going to be this easy. He watched the sway of her bum as she climbed the stairs ahead of him, feeling painfully hard in his pants. He was sure he had a wet patch on his underwear by now.

He sat on the bed after changing and saw as Y/n paced around the room, removing her jewelry and make up or taking down her hair and changing her clothes or putting her purse away. And, Harry's pretty sure this is the longest it has ever taken Y/n to unwind.

When finally she came to the bed, Harry couldn't help but curl around her like a little puppy. He layed his head in her lap as she went through some of her mails, making circles on her thigh with his index finger.

Y/n faked a yawn above him and made sure he realized that she had put her phone away. And just when he did, he sat up straight, looking at her with pleading eyes. "Please, mommy," he whispered, his eyes glossing over. "Need you."

That's when she knew it was go time.

"Why don't you use my thigh, baby? I'm too tired tonight to give you anything more," she said as she slipped down the bed, raising her thigh up a little.

Harry only nodded frantically, getting up on his knees to unbutton his sweats. "Keep them on, don't want the bed to get dirty," he heard her say and her slight coldness was starting to get to him as he felt more and more sensitive by each second.

"Y-yes mommy," he said before putting one of his knees on the other side of her thigh, and lowering on it. The moment he felt slight pressure on his dick, he let out a whiny noise as he built a pace, going back and forth on her thigh. His head was thrown back and somewhere, he was waiting for Y/n's hands. Anywhere, he just wanted her to touch him.

But when he opened his eyes, he saw that she had picked her phone up again felt pathetic to still be grinding. But he couldn't stop himself, not when he felt so sensitive and felt like comming already. So, he used his own hands to pinch his nipples and travel on his abdomen and neck – they weren't as soft as hers but felt good nevertheless.

"Oh fuck," he breathed as his body felt hotter and his pace of rubbing increased and then broke. It was hard to keep it the same when he felt pleasure getting more intense and he kept on touching his body.

"Stop."

His hips stuttered once, but they didn't stop. "Hm- w-what?" He asked, still going.

"I said, stop. Won't say it again," Y/n said from below him, her voice stern and her phone gone.

Harry stopped, but his hips were still twitching every other second. He looked down when her hands held his hips in place, and met her furious eyes. He got off of her when she lowered her leg and watched in despair when she got off the bed.

She moved to braid her hair in front of the mirror and Harry felt like he was going to lose it. "I need to come, please. I'll do anything," Harry begged, his eyes glazed over and mind fuzzy. He was aching so badly, he just needed to release.

Y/n walked back to the bed, and offered him her hand to help him get off the bed. Her brows were raised at the corners, and her eyes had fallen into angry slits.

Harry met the floor on wobbly legs, and kept holding her hand as she took the two of them to the bathroom. He wasn't even confused, he just wanted to come.

"I'm going to punish you in front of the mirror, so you can see just how bratty and pathetic you are." Her tone was firm and slightly disapproving, as she switched on the lights.

Harry was pulsing by now, sure that he was going to burst if she even brushed against his body. "Sit." She commanded him and he slid atop the counter which had a mirror in front of it. Right now, his back was faced the mirror. "Back on that wall," Y/n ordered him again, tapping her foot impatiently as she watched him dumbly figure out the obvious position.

"Took my dumb baby too long to just sit?" She teased him, lowering her head to look at him when he looked down. "Why so shy now?" She cooed at him, raising his chin by her thumb and index finger.

"Please," he whispered again, looking at her with doe eyes and wobbly lips.

Y/n only hummed in response, brushing away the waves that had fallen and stuck on this forehead. "Begging is a good look for you," she told him, a small smile on her face as she wiped the sweat off of his skin and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"I'll give you one more chance to be a good boy," she said and watched his eyes light up. "Spread your legs for me."

And Harry did, very eagerly so. He turned to look at himself in the mirror on her command and saw 'just how pathetic he looked'. His cock sat on his tummy, achingly hard – its tip an angry red and beads of precum leaking from its slit.

"See, what a mess you are and I haven't even touched you once," she bragged with a proud smirk. "Looking so fucked out already," she teased, chuckling when his cheeks turned red.

"You wanted to come, right? Think you've earned it?" She asked him, her hands behind her back. She scoffed at his silence, "sure you did."

Bending towards him, she placed her hands on his thighs. "So, you will come." She said as if she had it planned all along. And before Harry could do or feel anything else, she was spitting in her hand. "Colour?" She asked, and held his cock when he mumbled "green." She gave him a few strokes before leaning further in to press a kiss right on his slit.

He hissed at the feeling, and already started bucking into her hands. "Sit still or I will stop," he heard her say and placed his bum down again, feeling overwhelmed will all the pleasure. He felt so sensitive down there, that he was ready to come already.

Y/n wrapped her mouth around his cock, and started sucking on it. She didn't go all the way down, instead pumped the length that wasn't in the mouth, with her hand. The precum kept leaking in her mouth and she kept spurting little bits of it out, watching as it slid down his girth. She was having fun, watching as he ached to move but was wise enough to not fuck up his one chance of getting a release.

She felt his thighs start to shake and his veins grow more prominent under her hold, and knew he was going to cum.

"Fuck, fuck- m-mommy, gonna cum-" he stuttered. So she sucked just a bit harder, swept a kitten lick once more on his slit and he was shooting ropes of white cum in her mouth. And, when she backed away just after a few, some of the cum went on her chin and the rest went on her hand.

Tera were slipping down Harry's cheeks as he quivered. He felt way too sensitive now but he also felt as he was electrified. Ecstasy and bliss flowed in his body at the release and he felt like he could come again just by reminiscing on the pleasure he was feeling.

But he felt too sensitive so when he opened his eyes, and saw Y/n wipe the cum off her chin and hold it out for him to lick, he did and had her finger come out clean.

"Such a good little pup, aren't you?" She praised him, wiping the tears away. A little pout formed on her lips, "came so fast – barely even touched you," she said and Harry knew the pout was to mock him.

She moved away and wiped some sweat off of her own forehead. "Think I want a taste one more time, do you think you can give it to me?"

"Too sens-sensitive, mommy," Harry whispered.

"But you wanted to come baby – you thought you'd earned it!" Y/n claimed, looking at him with a surprised expression. "I think you should come once more, after all, you were so good for me all night," she shrugged with a chuckle.

Harry felt mocked and taunted and as much as he wanted to be offended, he didn't feel so. Instead, he felt blood rush to his dick yet the tip was so sensitive that the slight breath of Y/n was making him wince.

"Gonna be your g-good boy, mommy," Harry choked out.

"Cry all you want, baby– I'm starting to think you're quite enjoying this," Y/n said with her gaze settled on Harry's hard on. "Such a brat," she teased him, looking at his flushed face.

Y/n leaned in again, this time she was kneeled on the floor as she took him in all the way. His tip went a little past the back of her throat and she gagged, before pulling him out completely.

She wiped the saliva off her chin by the back of her hand as she looked up at the way he had thrown his head back. "Don't close your eyes, baby. Look at me," she calmly ordered him.

Still looking up at him, she took his cock in her mouth again. Now, she going all the way in with every bob of her head. Saliva mixed with his precum trickled down her chin and on the marble floor as gagging and gurgling sounds filled the bathroom.

She still hadn't looked away, her eyes had glossed over and Harry felt the knot in his belly moving lower and lower. God, she was being so messy he felt like bursting at the seams.

She backed off for a minute to breath. "What was that?" She asked him when she saw his mouth move. "Can't hear you over all the noise you're making, baby," she said, taunting him again.

"So- so good mommy," Harry heaved, his lips bitten and face looking as if it was sprayed with water.

"Aw, you're out of breath! Was that too fast baby?" She laughed, getting up on her knees again. The floor below her was a bit slippery now because of her sweat and the mess she had made. She smiled when Harry chuckled and shook his head lightly before she took him in her mouth again.

She sucked on his sensitive tip for a bit before taking him in, inch by inch with each bob of her head.

"Jusus- fuck I'm gonna come again," she heard Harry groan, and increased her pace. She reached his base, the baby hair tickling her nose as she stayed like that before backing off. She took a huge breath in before going all the way down again.

The tip of his cock hit the back of her throat again and again, and the gurgling sounds were back. Her hand crawled up his chest before she started pinching and twisting his nipple, while her other hand played with his tight balls.

"O-oh mommy! I'm cumming, I'm cum-cumming," Harry shrieked, heaving heavily and shaking before he felt himself start to release in her mouth.

Y/n though wasn't stopping which caused the cum to dribble down her chin along with her saliva. The floor below her was covered in the mess she had made and when she finally took her mouth off of him, she had completely milked him out and immediately sat back on the floor.

"Fuck, that was good," she chuckled, breathing heavily. Some of the hair strands had fallen out of her braid, and framed her face while the white t-shirt she had been wearing was drenched in sweat and her saliva, making her boobs quite visible. "Another one, baby? Think you deserve one more?" She laughed.

Harry remained limp atop the counter, heaving with his eyes closed and a small grin on his mouth. His hair was sticking on his forehead again and lips were bitten into a sharp pink colour. "Can never earn that mouth of yours," he laughed dryly, shaking his head with all his might.

[coconox]

my 2 cents on the state of whb

i've been contemplating about my thoughts on this game since i never really sat down and processed it, and a month of not playing the game and just keeping up with fandom content/official game news i think i can properly format my words (hopefully idk lol)

if you're looking for a specific section dw i'll properly format everything under the cut so you can just scroll till you find whatever you're looking for (also head's up it's insanely long i'm sorry but kinda not sorry i wanted to just put all my thoughts into one post rather than multiple)

SMALL INTRO

for some context on my experience, i have been playing this game everyday since launch/day 1, i was f2p up until i got juno's card, which i'll talk about later, but just know in advanced that juno was the only case where i've spent money. i uninstalled around the time the announcement was made in regards to no posting full stories of paid content, so almost month ago, and only reinstalled recently to grab certain items to add to the spreadsheet that i've been maintaining since november (aka a month after launch)

i've said it privately to a couple of close friends but i'll say it publicly here: imho, i think they released the game way too early even with the fact that they delayed launch 3 times.

i understand a handleful of bugs are from the fact that the public servers are significantly larger than test servers, but playing this game after the servers kinda stabilized feels like we are the test players, like we're constantly given rough drafts rather than the final copy.

the localization is rough to say the least, but i think i've been so used to it from other gachas that i've played that it didn't really ruin the experience for me,,, except when the text would switch to an entirely different language HJGFDHJGK

from visual bugs to gameplay bugs to voiceline bugs, there's been a lack of communication in terms of what has been fixed and what is still a wip. instead the players just have to "fuck around and find out" in terms of whether something has been fixed or not.

as i continue to state the issues with this game and its direction i'd like to put a disclaimer that i am by no means an expert in any of this stuff lol. i'm just a guy who nerds out over math, spreadsheets, and video games and everything i'll be saying is my personal opinion based on what i've seen/experienced.

THE ISSUE(S)

SOLOMON SEALS AND GACHA

i think the first mistake was them adding solomon seals in the first place. based on what packs in the past looked like, it looked like red keys were originally designed to be for debut characters, but instead they throw a curve ball and add ANOTHER gacha currency that was essentially p2w only up till some point early this year. this ultimately led to there being 2 standard banners, both of which essentially do the same thing except one doesn't have A/B/C-ranks. the fact that now even with realm of seraphim, in order for f2ps to have enough to guarantee with seals, they need to save for a year and a half. that is WAY too long for ONE character. this is of course worst case scenario of needing to hit pity, i'm aware you can get characters early but you should never always expect you'll get early in gacha games, i learned that the hard way during my idk how many years i've been playing gachas lol

i personally think that there's no winning across any of the gacha banners. there's no pity for either of the standards, and debut L/S-ranks have imo too high of a pity for what we're actually receiving per week. we essentially get more or less 1 pull per week in terms of red keys, yellow keys, and seals through dailies/weeklies alone, though of course that can vary cause of the rng key boxes, monthly login rewards, etc.

PANCAKES

there seems to be a general pattern that i've noticed of rather than confronting an issue directly they try to create something new in hoping that fixes the issue instead. an example of that would be the pancake shop.

the old pancake shop was fine as is, we could get a multi for relatively cheap price and get pie boxes everyday (albeit they're rng but pies are pies). what they could've done was add the L-ranks and skip tickets or whatever new thing they wanted to add into that old shop, adjusting the currency wherever necessary. yet instead they just remove the old system entirely and replace it for a new one that no one really asked for? while having the L-ranks in shop are nice, an entirely new system wasn't necessary to make that one relatively small addition. having A+-ranks and lower give gold and books was also not necessary, we have resource stages containing those 2 things and it's very accessible to everyone. what resources we are lacking in however are tears and pies, which are arguably more important than gold and books since those 2 currencies are the core to ascending/lvling characters and their skills.

PIES

i've emailed pb in the past in regards to if there will be other permanent methods for obtaining pies, and their response was holy coin portal and events. those two are NOT stable enough for pie income considering the prices of skills. if there's instances in unholy board where we need to level a character's skills, i'd expect there to be some sort of resource stage that would allow us to get pies so that we can easily obtain that skill level requirement.

"META" GAMEPLAY

i'll explain the quotes in a bit but i do want to put a disclaimer that whb was the first time i've experienced a full on tower defense style gameplay for gachas. i was already familiar with how it works kinda because of neural cloud even though the game as a whole is more like an auto-chess game of sorts, but some story gameplay had tower defense mechanisms and i learned a fair bit from playing that. personally i also haven't played arknights since i'm trying to cut down on the amount of gachas i play but i am aware of its playstyle through friends who like to attempt to drag me into playing it cause of certain characters that i might simp over (*cough flamebringer cough insider cough chongyue cough*)

disclaimer aside, trying to piece together what characters work and what don't genuinely hurts my brain. i put "meta" in quotes because realistically there's only 1: all L-rank light types, ideally at least 1 tank, maybe 1 healer (though a tank can act as both), rest be whatever dps you'd like really (preferably satan considering the fact he can be extremely reliable without his ultimate unlike a few characters). of course, everyone will have a different opinion on what they deem as meta, but that's the general idea i'd personally follow based on what kind of battles have been given to us, what characters are available, etc. the rest tbh are just "cope and seethe" for lack of a better term.

there's a huge type advantage with light and dark types, and i really wish they could buff the other elements more just show they have some spotlight too. i also wish there were more non-light L-ranks. as of making this post, out of the 23 L-rank characters there is currently only 1 non-light L-rank, and it's juno, an L-rank fire marksman.

the part that really "hurts" me the most (don't really know what other word to put here LOL) is the fact that this game is going in a very specific direction of just dps'ing through everything and hope you clear the stage before the enemies kill you.

this game has a huge and imbalanced ratio between dps characters and support characters regardless of element. the fact that we only have 5 healers (NOT including lucifer (victory) considering he's technically a marksman and the healing is from his artifact and not in his skills) and 8 tanks, whereas marksman and close-rangers have twice or thrice the amount is absurd. what pains me more is the fact that for tanks, if you don't have mammon, you're screwed. arguably the best non-mammon option players have that's accessible is bimet. valefor and eligos share the same kit with the fact that their downfall is the possibility that they could be instakilled the second they pop their ult. healers on the other hand are somewhat more lenient. if you don't have lucifer, marbas is your next best, then gamigin (marbas and gamigin can technically be placed interchangeably since their healing differs by 0.1%, it just depends on who you have), then morax, then maybe buer but he only heals 1 unit at a time rather than multiple but i digress. healers still have multiple and very reliable non-L-rank alternatives whilst tanks really only have 1. i really, really hope there's more support units in the future cause man this sucks.

NIGHTMARE PASS

spending $50-$70, on paper, is significantly better than spending ~$400 for a character, and that's really the only "good" thing about it 💀

$50-$70 may feel like nothing to some players, but to a majority, that is a portion of a cost towards food, groceries, rent, etc. basically, i'd assume a majority of people would prioritize surviving than watching pixels on a screen.

i understand at the end of the day pb is running a business, but for kings to be fully locked behind a paywall knowing for a fact that a majority of the player base are 1. casuals/f2ps and 2. are here for the kings is absurd. plus with the fact that typically nightmare pass characters aren't added to standard and aren't always 100% guaranteed to rerun in the future just puts the nail in the coffin for me.

i think it makes more sense for non-kings like juno to be in nightmare pass because it's just additional fun and silly content that arguably won't be tied to the main lore and whatnot, maybe referenced as a silly bit here or there but it'd be more of an easter egg than something important that you absolutely need to know.

personally i bought juno's pass because i love his design, kit, and voice. story was kinda meh for me personally but i really just cared more about the va and gameplay. gameplay-wise, he certainly does not disappoint as a gehenna support unit. but do i regret purchasing him? yes and no. oddly enough this was probably the first i've ever felt guilty in terms of buying something i wanted in a gacha game. yes i regret it in terms of i'm no longer really playing this game anymore, which is unfortunate considering i barely made it through half a year of this game's release. yet at the same time, no i don't regret it because he is a really fun unit. for example, when it's gabriel's rotation in realm of seraphim, juno's, leraye (nostalgia)'s, and leraye's ultimates absolutely DESTROY gabriel in a matter of like <10 or so seconds and it's so satisfying to see. i also just really like his va, scratches a very particular itch in my brain.

anyways before i get sidetracked over appreciating juno, the fundamental flaws of nightmare pass are essentially

you shouldn't need to buy both tiers to get the character. you should realistically need to buy the highest tier and by default it unlocks all previous tiers below it

ui is a bit confusing. i still don't get why f2ps have to unlock parts of nightmare pass that they can't even access/obtain. there should be a clear separation between what f2ps get, what advanced tier gets, and what premium tier gets.

it's too expensive. most bp's i know are ~$10 at the highest tier, though that's considering the fact that bp's i'm familiar with only give cosmetics rather than actual units

from what i've heard through the grapevine, beel (bath) is basically in the same formatting as all the other currently existing bath cards, which are all currently obtainable through gacha. beel has no reason to be in nightmare pass. it genuinely makes no sense as to why pb put him there aside from getting money and that in-turn alienates a majority of the fan base since we can't even view the prologue of card stories if they're a nightmare pass character.

when nightmare pass was first released during christmas, everything was in chaos. the fact that a nightmare pass character needed the other two limited gacha characters gameplay-wise is absurd (mind you, this was before we were given the chance to earn seals through weeklies). everything was too expensive, and rather than an enjoyable christmas event it felt like a "merry christmas, now give us money" kind of situation. i think nightmare pass should not be happening as frequent as it is now. the gap between gabriel and juno was perfectly fine (4 month gap btw), but for a nightmare pass to happen back to back on top of gacha events is too much for both f2ps and p2ws.

the point of buying packs, bp, anything that costs real money in a gacha game is so it makes your gameplay experience easier, paying shouldn't be the main component of your game. personally based on what i've experienced through playing gacha games you should theoretically be able to pull for almost every character on debut just by playing dailies/weeklies/events, yet here we get a bit over a multi per patch (this includes playing realm of seraphim).

DICTATING FANDOM INTERACTIONS

i wholeheartedly believe a fandom is what keeps a game alive. a hindrance to the fan base is a hindrance to the game, which can be seen with the aftermath of pb announcing that legal action will be taken if full stories of paid content are shared publicly. while i understand from a business standpoint that pb would want to enforce the "no sharing full story" thing for paid content since they want players to yk, buy the card, like i mentioned in the previous section, the majority of the player base just cannot afford it.

the people who posted full stories wanted to share to those who cannot afford it, some people may not want only tidbits of the story but rather the whole context, especially those who enjoy dissecting character lore but don't have the irl funds to fully experience it themselves. some people may even want to archive it, cause honestly no one knows how long this game will stay up and we want to archive story so that it's something we can easily look back on. to essentially make players borderline terrified on trying to figure out whether or not it's ok to publicly post stuff in relation to any sort of story content is absurd.

there is also that loophole of what is defined as a paid story. when events end and get put behind a paywall, does that now count as paid story or is that still ok? what about debut L-ranks that are behind seals and there's a 3 month downtime till they're added to standard? or is it just referring to nightmare pass characters? paid stories in the context of the state of the game right now is insanely broad, it's practically at least 50% of this game (i'm exaggerating (or maybe not i wouldn't be surprised if that was actually the case)).

i understand no datamining, while it technically speaking isn't illegal, it's disrespectful to the devs, but a lot of these call to action methods they're announcing are rather extreme imo.

with the most recent cards either being put to standard 3 months after their banner ends or flat out paywalled and not 100% guaranteed to have a rerun, story content as of late has been very sparse. what people want most is a main story update, which we were originally promised to be updated every 3 months and it is now month 6 and we still have nothing.

EVENTS AND EVENT STORIES

event stories being locked behind a paywall after the event ends is probably the first time i've ever seen a gacha game do this. most of the gachas i've played either don't archive event story at all and just rerun it every year, don't rerun or archive the event at all (i.e. if you miss it, cope and seethe), or they archive it for FREE. it feels insanely greedy how EVERY event story needs payment if you ever want to backread an old event.

what also concerns me is the fact like instances like gamigin's event or beleth's event carry so much lore for their respective region and that may never show up in main story, which then screws new players over in not knowing the full context behind every region. events like minhyeok's or bimet's are fine in the sense that it doesn't carry that much lore in comparison to the more recent events. the first few events were like silly banter and getting to know a bit more about the cast.

also changing the event shop from daily pies to a set limit per account was an awful choice it just emphasizes my point earlier of how unstable obtaining pies are in this game.

FULFILLING PROMISES

i think while it was a smart move to list what's gonna be implemented throughout the year, they shouldn't have stated deadlines on when they're doing so.

the following are the things that still aren't implemented yet as of making this post:

new daily chats (expected within february)

friends system (expected within march)

birthday system (more specifically celebrating your bday) (expected within april)

new main story chapter (new chapter expected every 3 months)

if pb were to just say "here's what to expect in 2024" and NOT give specific months, that's fine, but giving these specific months sets an expectation that they would complete it within that timeframe. main story for example is probably the one people have been anticipating the most. by now as of july, if we were to follow the expectation pb gave us, we would currently be on chapter 7, or at the very least chapter 7 would've been released some time this month. we have not even gotten chapter 6 yet. chapter 5 was released in january. it has been 6 months since the last main story update. failing to meet these timeframes will make people upset, because it was mentioned in the announcement that it's 1. a promise (i hope i'm not the only one that takes promises seriously) and 2. in bold yellow text, "what we can realistically expect to see in 2024." the only promises that were fulfilled on-time were the ones in january, the rest have been delayed by at least a month. if you're giving a timeline of what's happening, announce if there's any changes to that timeline, because not doing so will make players believe you were lying to them even though you probably aren't and are instead just falling behind schedule.

i think what hurts more to me is the fact that they aren't publicly communicating these delays. it shouldn't be our responsibility to find out why or when something isn't happening within the timeframe they promised (e.g. by emailing them), it should be up to the devs to communicate that publicly to us. i'm not saying they should overshare what's going on behind the scenes, it can simply just be a simple announcement of "hey, we're very sorry but we're having some technical difficulties with this certain feature and we need more time. here is some compensation in the meantime, thank you for your patience and again, we're very sorry." it's that simple.

FINAL THOUGHTS

i mentioned back in my intro that i feel like this game was released too early purely because the fundamentals of making a bare minimum decent gacha game are just not there. if every patch update has people complaining on what's just recently been added/removed, you're not fully listening to what the audience wants. while i understand pb is a small business, a business is still a business regardless of size and criticism/feedback is necessary especially in a game dev setting.

i've followed this game's news ever since it was teased, which was december of 2022, i've lurked/participated in the fandom (on here at least) ever since september of 2023. i've felt a rollercoaster of thoughts and emotions of "omg this is so great" to "why is this even a feature," hoping that over time the game would get better, but the only thing that's improved was server stability (and even that's still a bit rocky 💀).

a huge part of my stay was just being a lurker in the fandom. i genuinely appreciate all the creatives who fulfill asked prompts of characters, make ocs, fanart, write theories, reactions + many more. i love seeing other people's works/opinions and having just a lively fandom made it all more fun.

but at this point this game is just not for me. i've really only stuck around to read mammon's lore but since main story hasn't been updated in 6 months i'll really only chime back in when there's finally an update. it still amazes me to this day that my patience lasted this long. i think i've covered everything i wanted to cover but my memory is swiss cheese so if i forgot something,,, woops 💀

as for the future of the spreadsheet for those who check back on it, it's still being managed by myself and windy, who has been a huge help since day 1 of creating the build lists and team comps and i honestly can't thank her enough for also enduring this pain of a game with me as we've worked on this spreadsheet together hgjdfgh (luv u bestie 🫶). though it's written in the narrative that both of us will eventually quit updating it entirely if this game persists on not having any signs of improvement. when that day comes i'll make sure to post an announcement about it.

as for myself i'm probably still gonna lurk in the fandom/keep an eye out on game news. i doubt i'll be making any fanart anymore unless if i really have the motivation/boredom for it, but currently i'm revamping the "aesthetics" of this account so nothing's really set in stone. maybe i'll make a few whb rambles here or there if some game news really irks me but for the most part i've already been in the process of moving on to other things.

if you've stuck around this long to read this mess of a post, thank you for sticking around and have a cookie, you deserve it 🫴🍪

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

California has long had more cars on the road than any other state. As its population exploded in the first half of the 20th century, so did the number of drivers, particularly in Los Angeles. By the 1940s, exhaust from millions of cars, fumes from power plants and a booming oil industry shrouded the famously sunny city in a noxious brown haze that left Angelenos wearing gas masks on days they couldn’t see more than three blocks.

A chemist identified automobile exhaust as the major source of the smog that regularly darkened city skies, laying the groundwork for California to pass the nation’s first tailpipe emissions standards in 1966. 

The state has continued to implement the most aggressive air pollution policies in the country. But even as they cut exposure to one of the deadliest components in vehicle exhaust by nearly three-fold statewide over two decades, exposure disparities persisted or increased for people of color and residents of overburdened communities, a new study reports.

California environmental and climate policy has long focused on reducing air pollution for everybody because that clearly has big health benefits, said Joshua Apte, an air quality engineering expert at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances. Apte and his colleagues wanted to know if state policies designed to address climate change and improve public health in California also reduced air pollution exposure disparities. 

The team focused on pollution from vehicles, the largest source of greenhouse gases in California and the primary source of fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, which kills an average of 5,400 residents a year, according to the California Air Resources Board, or CARB. Vehicles release PM2.5 directly from tailpipes and indirectly when byproducts of gasoline combustion form particles through chemical reactions in the atmosphere.

To track the disparate exposures to PM2.5 across a state with nearly 36 million registered vehicles, Apte forged a unique partnership with two agencies under California’s Environmental Protection Agency, CARB and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, or OEHHA. CARB provided estimates of mobile emissions by year and vehicle type from 2000 to 2019 at a fine geographic scale. Three scientists from OEHHA, which funded the work, collaborated on the study design and data analysis.

The team used CARB models to track both direct particle emissions and the gases that form atmospheric particle pollution. To understand how cars, light trucks and heavy-duty vehicles contribute to PM2.5 exposures across the landscape, they created a user-friendly tool called ECHO-AIR.

California’s aggressive policies to control vehicle emissions reaped across-the-board benefits, the team found, reducing PM2.5 emissions by 65 percent. Groups that have historically lived near the worst PM2.5 pollution saw the biggest declines in absolute terms, Apte said. But as exposures continued to drop for white residents, disparities in exposure rates held steady or increased for Hispanic, Black and Asian Californians and for residents of “overburdened communities,” where people are disproportionately affected by hazardous pollutants.

The 65 percent decrease from the transportation sector is a “big public health win,” said Alvaro Alvarado, chief of OEHHA’s Community and Environmental Epidemiology Research Branch and a study coauthor. “But the challenge remains that the most polluted are still the most polluted.”

[fragrances-for-men]

Best Perfume for Gentleman in USA:

The Unique Allure of Urban Oud by Habibi New York

When it comes to defining a gentleman’s signature scent, choosing the right fragrance can make all the difference. For many, it is an essential accessory that completes their look, enhances their personal brand, and leaves a lasting impression. In the United States, where confidence and self-expression are highly valued, one fragrance that stands out for the discerning gentleman is Urban Oud by Habibi New York.

Why Perfume Matters for the Modern Gentleman

Perfume is more than just an aromatic luxury; it’s an extension of one's personality. For a modern gentleman, a carefully chosen fragrance represents class, sophistication, and individuality. In the U.S., with its diverse and fast-paced culture, having a unique scent can be a defining element of personal style. A quality fragrance such as Urban Oud by Habibi New York not only attracts attention but also reinforces a sense of elegance and self-assurance.

The Fragrance Market in the USA

The American fragrance market is vast, filled with options ranging from popular designer colognes to exclusive niche perfumes. With so many choices available, many men seek out distinctive scents that offer more than the typical offerings found at department stores. This pursuit of individuality has led many to discover and appreciate luxury scents like Urban Oud by Habibi New York, which blends tradition with modern sophistication.

Introducing Urban Oud by Habibi New York: A Timeless Classic

Urban Oud by Habibi New York has become a standout in the niche perfume sector. Known for its expert craftsmanship, Urban Oud combines the richness of oud—often called "liquid gold" due to its rarity and depth—with modern aromatic elements that resonate with today’s stylish man.

The Composition of Urban Oud by Habibi New York

Top Notes: The fragrance opens with a burst of citrus and aromatic spices, creating a bright, invigorating introduction. This first impression captures attention and sets the stage for a more profound olfactory experience.

Heart Notes: The heart of the scent reveals a luxurious blend of saffron, velvety rose, and complex aromatic resins. These middle notes infuse the perfume with warmth and an exotic touch, enhancing its opulent character.

Base Notes: As the scent settles, the depth of oud wood becomes the star, intertwined with rich amber and a hint of musk. These base notes ensure that Urban Oud by Habibi New York leaves a long-lasting, powerful impression that is both strong and refined.

What Makes Urban Oud by Habibi New York Unique?

Several features make Urban Oud by Habibi New York a must-have for gentlemen:

Exclusivity and Luxury: Habibi New York’s commitment to quality and sophistication ensures that Urban Oud stands apart from mass-market colognes. It exudes a sense of exclusivity, perfect for men who appreciate depth and distinctiveness in their fragrance choices.

Long-Lasting Sillage: Crafted with premium ingredients, Urban Oud promises exceptional longevity. A single application can last through an entire day, making it ideal for work, social events, or evening engagements.

Versatility: While Urban Oud boasts a robust profile, its blend of citrus and spices allows it to be worn year-round, adapting seamlessly to any occasion or season.

The Experience of Wearing Urban Oud by Habibi New York

Wearing Urban Oud by Habibi New York is an experience in itself. It’s not just a scent but a journey through different olfactory phases. The initial burst of citrus and spice captures the energy of a bustling city morning, while the rich heart notes envelop the wearer in an air of mystery and elegance. Finally, the warm, enduring base notes reflect the strength and confidence of a true gentleman.

Tips for Applying Urban Oud for Maximum Impact

Apply to Pulse Points: For maximum effect, spray Urban Oud on pulse points such as the wrists, behind the ears, and at the base of the throat. These warmer areas help diffuse the scent more effectively.

Moisturize the Skin: Perfumes adhere better to well-moisturized skin, so apply an unscented lotion before using the fragrance for longer-lasting results.

Avoid Overapplication: Urban Oud is potent. A few strategic sprays are enough to maintain an elegant, subtle presence without overwhelming those around you.

Urban Oud by Habibi New York: The Signature Scent for the Modern Gentleman

In an era where personal expression is highly prized, wearing a fragrance like Urban Oud by Habibi New York can set a man apart. It communicates taste, ambition, and an appreciation for fine craftsmanship. This perfume’s layered profile not only tells a story but also evolves throughout the day, adding an element of intrigue and allure to the wearer’s presence.

Why Urban Oud by Habibi New York is Perfect for U.S. Gentlemen

Urban Oud appeals to the American gentleman's desire for both timeless tradition and modern sophistication. Its complex scent profile, luxurious ingredients, and lasting power make it a perfect companion for men who appreciate the finer things in life. Whether worn with a bespoke suit or casual weekend attire, this fragrance complements any look, enhancing a man's natural charisma.

Conclusion

Selecting the right fragrance is an art form, and Urban Oud by Habibi New York is the ideal choice for gentlemen seeking an impactful, long-lasting scent. It’s more than just a perfume—it’s a statement of confidence, elegance, and personal style. For men in the U.S. who value uniqueness and quality, Urban Oud embodies the very essence of modern masculinity.

[hindahoney]

What does it mean for a prospective ger to feel they have a "Jewish soul". I understand that wanting to search, love and search G-d is something gentiles can do... can it really come down to feeling like observing mitzvot (and being bound to do so) makes us closer to Him? I don't take Judaism lightly, and I'm not implying mitzvot are simple, but is this an example of what people refer to as a Jewish soul?

This is actually a brilliant question and I've thought about this a lot since I received this ask. Definitely led me to a lot of reading over Shabbat.

So, the Kabbalistic interpretation (I am not a Kabbalah expert, and you should be suspicious of anyone who claims to be, there are very few) is essentially that a soul is created every time a husband and wife have relations. The soul either comes down to become a human or it stays in heaven. For Avraham and Sarah, they tried many times but Sarah was barren for many years. It is said that the souls they created stayed in heaven, and these are the souls that have been put in converts. This is why they're called sons and daughters of Avraham and Sarah, they are directly from them.

Speaking from those I know who have converted, their paths TO judaism are all unique, but what binds them all is a deep, intense, unwavering, life-long connection to Judaism and the Jewish people. Some converted later in life after growing up in Jewish communities, some converted later after meeting a Jew for the first time, discovering more about their people, and feeling instantly connected. Most have faced intensely painful hardships and rejection from friend and family for their choice to convert to Judaism, but all have said they would make the same choice, because their soul feels at peace, it feels at home. Their neshama is with its mishpacha.

The conversion process is long and difficult, and it's designed to be that way for many reasons. Mainly, it is to weed out those who don't have this Jewish neshama, and keep those who are dedicated and sincere. It is a life long commitment, once you convert you cannot go back.

I have only ever met one person in my lifetime who converted and regretted it. She converted when she was in her late 20s, and the process only took about a year for her type of conversion. She's still active in the community, married a jew and has jewish children. But once I stayed up with her late one night and she confessed to me that she wished she had chosen another faith because Judaism is very demanding, and she never understood what people meant when they described the feeling of a jewish soul. She expressed that while she loved her family, if she could do it over she would have converted to another faith that called her more.

I feel for her. She is saddled with all of the mitzvot and she does them because now she is required and her husband does them too, but she wishes she did something different in her younger years. This is incredibly rare though, most converts who have gone through the process never express regret. But it's rare because the process is meant to be long and difficult. We don't want to bind you to mitzvot you no longer want to do.

[beardedmrbean]

Turkish air strikes in drought-struck north-east Syria have cut off access to electricity and water for more than a million people, in what experts say may be a violation of international law.

Turkey carried out more than 100 attacks between October 2019 and January 2024 on oil fields, gas facilities and power stations in the Kurdish-held Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), according to data collated by the BBC World Service.

The attacks have added to the humanitarian crisis in a region reeling from a years-long civil war and four years of extreme drought exacerbated by climate change.

Water had already been scarce, but attacks on electricity infrastructure in October last year shut off power to the region’s main water station, in Alouk, and it has not been working since. On two visits there, the BBC witnessed people struggling to get water.

Turkey said it had targeted the “sources of income and capabilities” of Kurdish separatist groups it regards as terrorists.

It said that it was well known there was a drought in the area, adding that poor water management and neglected infrastructure had made things worse.

The AANES has previously accused Turkey of seeking to “destroy our people’s existence”.

More than a million people in the Hassakeh province who once got their water from Alouk now rely on deliveries of water pumped from around 12 miles (20km) away.

Hundreds of deliveries are made by tanker each day, with the water board prioritising schools, orphanages, hospitals, and those most in need.

But the deliveries are not enough for everyone.

In Hassakeh city, the BBC saw people waiting for the tankers, pleading for the drivers to give them water. “Water is more precious than gold here,” said Ahmad al-Ahmed, a tanker driver. “People need more water. All they want is for you to give them water.”

Some people admitted they fought over it and one woman threatened: “If he [the tanker driver] doesn’t give me water, I’ll puncture his tyres.”

“Let me tell you frankly, north-east Syria is facing a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Yayha Ahmed, co-director of the city water board.

People living in the region have been caught up not only in Syria’s ongoing civil war but also in Turkey’s conflict with Kurdish-led forces, who established the AANES in 2018 after they - with support from the US-led coalition - drove the Islamic State (IS) group out of the region. Coalition forces are still stationed there to prevent a resurgence of IS.

Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has described the AANES - which is not officially recognised by the international community - as a “terror state” next to its border.

The Turkish government considers the Kurdish militia that dominates the main military force there to be an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebel group, which has fought for Kurdish autonomy in Turkey for decades.

The PKK is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the EU, the UK and the US.

Between October 2023 and January 2024, electricity transfer stations in three areas of the AANES were struck: Amouda, Qamishli, and Darbasiyah, as well as the region’s main power plant, Swadiyah.

The BBC confirmed the damage by using satellite imagery, eyewitness videos, news reports, and visits to the sites.

Satellite imagery of night-time lights from before and after the January 2024 attacks indicated a widespread power outage. “On January 18th.... a significant power outage is evident in the region,” said Ranjay Shrestha, a scientist at Nasa who reviewed the imagery.

The UN says Turkish forces carried out the strikes in Swadiyah, Amuda and Qamishli, while humanitarian groups say Turkey was behind the attack in Darbasiyah.

Turkey said it had been targeting the PKK, the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The YPG is the biggest militia in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and is the military wing of the PYD, the main political party in the AANES.

“Civilians or civilian infrastructure were not among our targets and have never been,” Turkey said in a statement to the BBC.

But in October last year, the country’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said all “infrastructure, superstructure and energy facilities” that belong to the PKK and the YPG - especially in Iraq and Syria - were “legitimate targets” for its military, security forces and intelligence units.

[blueiscoool]

1,800-Year-Old Roman Shipwreck Discovered off Israel with Rare Marble Artifacts

A diver discovered a 1,800-year-old Roman shipwreck off the coast of Israel, containing 44 tons of artifacts, including Corinthian columns adorned with ornate vegetal patterns.

Although archaeologists were aware of the shipwreck’s existence, they did not know its precise location because it had been hidden by layers of sand. Recent storms, however, appear to have played a role in revealing the sunken vessel.

The diver, Gideon Harris, made this significant discovery and promptly reported it to the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

Koby Sharvit, the director of the underwater archaeology unit at the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), mentioned in a statement released on Monday (May 15, 2023) that this unexpected exposure of the cargo was likely aided by the turbulent weather conditions.

Oldest sea cargo wreck

The ship from the ancient Roman era had an extraordinary cargo of 44 tons (40 metric tons) of marble. This precious load included Corinthian columns embellished with intricate vegetal designs, as well as capitals, which are the uppermost part of the columns.

Additionally, there were marble columns measuring approximately 20 feet (6 meters) in length. Remarkably, this shipwreck represents the oldest known instance of a sea cargo wreck in the Eastern Mediterranean, as stated in an official announcement.

Analysis of the components found

By carefully analyzing the size of the architectural components found at the site, experts were able to estimate the dimensions of the original merchant ship. Their calculations led them to conclude that the vessel had the capacity to carry a minimum of 200 tons (181 metric tons) of cargo.

Based on their observations of the ship’s remains and their understanding of maritime history, archaeologists believe that the vessel encountered a fierce storm while navigating the shallow waters.

In a desperate attempt to prevent the ship from running aground, the crew dropped anchor. This decision, however, proved insufficient to save the ship from its fate.

“Such storms often blow up suddenly along the country’s coast,” Sharvit said, “and due to the ships’ limited maneuvering potential, they are often dragged into the shallow waters and shipwrecked.”

The debate regarding Roman’s import

For a long time, archaeologists have engaged in a heated debate about whether the ancient Romans imported fully crafted architectural elements or if they transported partially finished pieces. This recent discovery finally settles the argument, providing valuable insights.

It reveals that the marble pieces found in the shipwreck were not complete structures but rather originated from the quarry as basic raw materials or partially worked artifacts. They were then shaped and finished at the construction site.

The craftsmanship involved in the final stages of creating these architectural elements was carried out either by local artists and artisans or by skilled individuals who were brought to the site from other regions. This practice mirrored the approach taken by specialized mosaic artists who traveled from place to place, working on commissioned projects.

Although the precise intended location of the marble columns remains uncertain, experts speculate that they were intended to embellish an impressive public edifice. Possibilities include a grand temple or a theater, where these majestic columns would have contributed to the overall splendor of the structure.

By Nisha Zahid.

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Ultra-small spectrometer yields the power of a 1,000 times bigger device

Spectrometers are technology for reading light that date back to the era of famed 17th-century physicist Isaac Newton. They work by breaking down light waves into their different colors — or spectra — to provide information about the makeup of the objects being measured. 

UC Santa Cruz researchers are designing new ways to make spectrometers that are ultra-small but still very powerful, to be used for anything from detecting disease to observing stars in distant galaxies. Their inexpensive production cost makes them more accessible and customizable for specific applications. 

The team of researchers, led by an interdisciplinary collaboration between UC Santa Cruz Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Holger Schmidt and Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics Kevin Bundy, published the details of their device in a paper in APL Photonics, a premier journal in the field. 

The researchers demonstrate a novel, extremely high-performance spectrometer that can measure light with a 0.05 nanometers wavelength resolution. That’s about 1.6 million times smaller than the width of a human hair, and the same resolution that can be achieved on a device 1,000 times bigger.

“That's essentially as good as a big, standard, expensive spectrometer,” said Schmidt, the senior author on the paper and a long-time expert in developing chips for light detection. “That’s really pretty impressive and very competitive.”

Miniature devices

Miniaturizing spectrometers is an active area of research, as spectrometers are used in many fields but can be as big as a three-story building and extremely expensive. However, miniaturized spectrometers often do not perform as well as bigger instruments, or they are very difficult and expensive to manufacture because they require extremely precise nanofabrication. 

UC Santa Cruz researchers have created a device that is able to achieve high performance without such costly manufacturing. Their device is a miniature, high-powered waveguide which is mounted on a chip and used to guide light into a specific pattern, depending on its color. 

Information from the chip is fed into a machine learning algorithm that reads the patterns created by different wavelengths of light in order to reconstruct the image with extremely high accuracy and precision — an approach is called “reconstructive” spectrometry.

This technique produces accurate results because the machine learning algorithms don’t require highly precise input to be able to distinguish the light patterns, and can constantly improve upon their own performance and optimize themselves to the hardware. 

Because of this, the researchers can make the chips with relatively easy and inexpensive fabrication techniques, in a process that takes hours rather than weeks. The lightweight, compact chips for this project were designed at UCSC, and fabricated and optimized at Brigham Young University in partnership with Schmidt’s longtime collaborator Professor Aaron Hawkins and his undergraduate students. 

“Compared to more sophisticated chip design, this only requires one photolithography mask which makes the fabrication much easier and much faster,” Hawkins said. “Someone with some basic capabilities could reproduce this and create a similar device tuned to their own needs.”

Reading the stars

The researchers envision that this technology can be used for a wide range of applications, though their preliminary focus is to create powerful instruments for astronomy research. Because their devices are relatively inexpensive, astronomers could specialize them to their specific research interests, which is practically impossible on much larger instruments that cost millions of dollars. 

The research team is working to make the chips functional on the UC-operated Lick Observatory telescope, first to take in light from a star and later to study other astrological events. With such high accuracy on these devices, astronomers could start to understand phenomena such as the makeup of atmospheres on exoplanets, or probing the nature of dark matter in faint dwarf galaxies. The comparatively low cost of these devices would make it easier for scientists to optimize them for their specific research interests, something nearly impossible on traditional devices. 

Leveraging long standing expertise at UC Santa Cruz in adaptive optics systems for astronomy, the researchers are collaborating to figure out how to best capture the faint glimmers of light from distant stars and galaxies and feed it through into the miniaturized spectrometer.

“In astronomy, when you try to put something on a telescope and get light through it, you always discover new challenges — it’s much harder than just doing it in the lab. The beauty of this collaboration is that we actually have a telescope, and we can try deploying these devices on the telescope with a good adaptive optics system,” Bundy said.

Uses for health and beyond

Beyond astronomy, the research team shows in this paper that the tool is capable of fluorescence detection, which is a noninvasive imaging technique used for many medical applications, such as cancer screening and infectious disease detection. 

In the future, they plan to develop the technology for Raman scattering analysis. This is a technique that uses light scattering for the detection of any unique molecule, often used as a specialized test to look for a specific chemical substance, such as the presence of drugs in the human body or toxic pollutants in the environment. Because the system is so straightforward and does not require the use of heavy instrumentation or fluidics like other techniques, it would be convenient and robust for use in the field. 

The researchers also demonstrate that the compact waveguides can be placed alongside each other to enhance the performance of the system, as each chip can measure a different spectra and provide more information about whatever light it is observing. In the paper the researchers demonstrate the power of four waveguides working together, but Schmidt envisions that hundreds of chips could be used at once. 

This is the first device shown to be able to use multiple chips at once in this way. The researchers will continue to work to improve the sensitivity of the device to get even higher spectral resolution.

IMAGE: This simulation shows a top-down view of how different light patterns in red and green are generated when fed with input from a waveguide on the left. Credit Md Nafiz Amin

[thepastisalreadywritten]

A historic gold pendant and chain, believed to be associated with Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon, has been revealed by the British Museum.

The artifact, made of gold and adorned with red and white enamel, was discovered by a metal-detectorist in Warwickshire and reported to the local Finds Liaison Officer of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, who then informed Historic England.

An archaeological excavation was conducted at the site to gather more information about the item and its location, reports Historic England .

Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England noted:

A Symbol of Henry’s First Love

Henry VIII was the king of England from 1509 until his death in 1547.

He was well known for his six marriages and his role in the English Reformation, which led to the Church of England breaking away from the authority of the Pope.

Katherine of Aragon was Henry's first wife and was a Spanish princess who was highly respected by the English people.

The couple were married for over 20 years, but their marriage was annulled by the Pope, leading to a long-standing political and religious crisis that ultimately resulted in England breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church .

The pendant, which is heart-shaped and attached to a 75-link gold chain via an enameled “hand,” is thought to date back to the early 16th century, between 1509 and 1533, with the most likely date being around 1521.

The front of the pendant features the red and white Tudor rose symbol, intertwined with a pomegranate bush, which were the symbols of Henry and Katherine.

The back of the pendant features the letters H and K, for Henry and Katherine, in Lombardic script, linked by ribbon and featuring the legend "TOVS + IORS".

According to experts, the pendant may have been produced quickly for a special event, such as a joust, and could have been used as a prize or worn by those participating.

Its design is similar to the horse bards used at a joust in Greenwich in 1521.

Perhaps this was a trinket from a joust in which Henry himself participated.

He was known as a skilled jouster. However, in 1536, he was torn from his horse and injured, knocked unconscious for 2 hours.

The location of this event was unknown until just 2 years ago, when it was revealed to be Greenwich Palace.

Showcasing British Antiquities

The pendant is being showcased by the British Museum to mark the launch of two annual reports, the Treasure Annual Report for 2020 and the Portable Antiquities Scheme Annual Report for 2021.

The Portable Antiquities Scheme, which is funded by the British Museum and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, records archaeological finds made by the public to advance knowledge and increase public interest in history.

The reports show that 45,581 archaeological finds were recorded in 2021, including 1,085 Treasure cases, with 96% of these discoveries made by metal detectorists.

The counties with the highest number of PAS finds in 2021 were Gloucestershire, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire, with significant numbers also recorded in other counties such as Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Kent, and Wiltshire.

The discovery of the Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon pendant highlights the significant contribution that everyday people, who enjoy metal detecting as a hobby, can make to the field of archaeology.

By recording these finds, they are helping to deepen our understanding of Britain's rich and fascinating past.

[colonelrajyavardhanrathore]

Maha Kumbh of Gems and Jewellery Begins in Sitapur: Inaugurated by Cabinet Minister Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore

The vibrant city of Sitapur witnessed the grand commencement of the Maha Kumbh of Gems and Jewellery, a landmark event that celebrates the rich legacy and booming industry of gemstones and jewellery in India. The inauguration was graced by Cabinet Minister Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore, whose presence added prestige to this much-anticipated gathering of artisans, traders, and industry leaders.

A Celebration of Craftsmanship and Industry Excellence

The Maha Kumbh of Gems and Jewellery is more than just an exhibition — it’s a confluence of tradition, innovation, and global opportunities. The event showcases India’s unparalleled expertise in gemstone cutting, jewellery design, and manufacturing, with Rajasthan standing at the forefront as a key contributor.

Key Highlights of the Inauguration

1. Inaugural Address by Col Rajyavardhan Rathore

In his speech, Col Rathore emphasized the importance of the gems and jewellery sector to Rajasthan and India’s economy, stating:

The sector’s contribution to employment generation and exports.

The need for innovation while preserving traditional craftsmanship.

Opportunities for India to establish a stronger foothold in the global market.

2. Unveiling New Opportunities

The event saw the announcement of several initiatives, including:

Government support for artisans and traders.

Policies to boost exports and attract international buyers.

Investments in technology to enhance manufacturing capabilities.

3. Interactive Sessions and Exhibitions

Artisans displayed exquisite handcrafted jewellery, highlighting India’s rich heritage.

Global buyers and traders engaged in discussions to forge long-term collaborations.

Cutting-edge technology in gemstone processing was showcased to underline the industry’s modern evolution.

Importance of the Gems and Jewellery Industry in Rajasthan

1. Economic Contribution

Rajasthan’s gems and jewellery sector contributes significantly to the state’s GDP and provides employment to thousands of skilled artisans.

2. Cultural Legacy

Rajasthan is renowned for its traditional designs and expert craftsmanship, which continue to attract both domestic and international buyers.

3. Export Powerhouse

Cities like Jaipur are pivotal in exporting high-quality gemstones and intricate jewellery to markets across the globe.

Col Rajyavardhan Rathore’s Vision for the Industry

As a strong advocate for Rajasthan’s development, Col Rathore envisions:

Enhanced global recognition of Rajasthan’s gems and jewellery.

Sustainable practices to ensure the sector’s long-term growth.

Greater support for artisans to preserve traditional methods while adopting modern techniques.

The Way Forward

The Maha Kumbh of Gems and Jewellery serves as a platform to:

Celebrate India’s legacy in the sector.

Foster collaborations between artisans, traders, and international buyers.

Highlight the role of government initiatives in driving growth and innovation.

With leaders like Col Rathore at the helm, the industry is poised to reach new heights, ensuring that India remains a global leader in gems and jewellery.

Conclusion

The inauguration of the Maha Kumbh of Gems and Jewellery in Sitapur marks a significant milestone for the industry. This grand event, led by Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore, is a testament to India’s commitment to preserving its cultural heritage while embracing innovation and global opportunities.

[kingoftieland]

As work continues on finishing up the lower arm portion of my prehistoric sleeve, take a look at my most recent piece – a fossilized plesiosaur skeleton! Interestingly, when humans first found bones of this marine reptile, they didn’t realize that they actually went extinct millions of years ago. Instead they assumed plesiosaurs were still alive, which led to legends of mythical creatures like the Loch Ness monster! 😮

Thriving for nearly 140 million years, plesiosaurs were some of the largest apex predators the Earth’s oceans have ever seen. They preyed primarily upon cephalopods and bony fish and could reach lengths of over 50 feet, but experts still debate the purpose of its long neck. The best explanation to date is that the length of the neck made it possible to surprise schools of fish, with the head arriving before the sight or pressure wave of the body could alert them. Whatever the reason, I’m happy to pay tribute to this uniquely designed creature with this amazingly detailed forearm tattoo!

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Bruce Schneier's "A Hacker's Mind"

A Hacker’s Mind is security expert Bruce Schneier’s latest book, released today. For long-time readers of Schneier, the subject matter will be familiar, but this iteration of Schneier’s core security literacy curriculum has an important new gloss: power.

https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393866667

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/07/trickster-makes-the-world/#power-play

Schneier started out as a cryptographer, author of 1994’s Applied Cryptography, one of the standard texts on the subject. He created and co-created several important ciphers, and started two successful security startups that were sold onto larger firms. Many readers outside of cryptography circles became familiar with Schneier through his contribution to Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, and he is well-known in science fiction circles (he even received a Hugo nomination for editing the restaurant guide for MiniCon 34 in 1999).

https://www.schneier.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/restaurants-san-jose.pdf

But Schneier’s biggest claim in fame is as a science communicator, specifically in the domain of security. In the wake of the 9/11 bombings and the creation of a suite of hasty, ill-considered “security” measures, Schneier coined the term “security theater” to describe a certain kind of wasteful, harmful, pointless exercise, like forcing travelers to take off their shoes to board an airplane.

Schneier led the charge for a kind of sensible, reasonable thinking about security, using a mix of tactics to shift the discourse on the subject: debating TSA boss Kip Hawley, traveling with reporters through airport checkpoints while narrating countermeasures to defeat every single post-9/11 measure, and holding annual “movie-plot threat” competitions:

https://www.schneier.com/tag/movie-plot-threat-contests/

Most importantly, though, Schneier wrote long-form books that set out the case for sound security reasoning, railing against security theater and calling for policies that would actually make our physical and digital world more secure — abolishing DRM, clearing legal barriers to vulnerability research and disclosure, and debunking security snake-oil, from “unbreakable proprietary ciphers” to “behavioral detection training” for TSA officers.

Schneier inspired much of my own interest in cryptography, and he went on to design my wedding rings, which are cipher wheels:

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/09/contest_cory_do.html

And then he judged a public cipher-design contest, which Chris Smith won with “The Fidget Protocol”:

http://craphound.com/FidgetProtocol.zip

Schneier’s books — starting with 2000’s Secrets and Lies — follow a familiar, winning formula. Each one advances a long-form argument for better security reasoning, leavened with a series of utterly delightful examples of successful and hacks and counterhacks, in which clever people engage in duels of wits over the best way to protect some precious resource — or bypass that protection. There is an endless supply of these, and they are addictive, impossible to read without laughing and sharing them on. There’s something innately satisfying about reading about hacks and counterhacks — as authors have understood since Poe wrote “The Purloined Letter” in 1844.

A Hacker’s Mind picks up on this familiar formula, with a fresh set of winning security anaecdotes, both new and historical, and restates Schneier’s hypothesis about how we should think about security — but, as noted, Hacker’s Mind brings a new twist to the subject: power.

In this book, Schneier broadens his frame to consider all of society’s rules — its norms, laws and regulations — as a security system, and then considers all the efforts to change those rules through a security lens, framing everything from street protests to tax-cheating as “hacks.”

This is a great analytical tool, one that evolved out of Schneier’s work on security policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. By thinking of (say) tax law as a security system, we can analyze its vulnerabilities just as we would analyze the risks to, say, your Gmail account. The tax system can be hacked by lobbying for tax-code loopholes, or by discovering and exploiting accidental loopholes. It can be hacked by suborning IRS inspectors, or by suborning Congress to cut the budget for IRS inspectors. It can be hacked by winning court cases defending exotic interpretations of the tax code, or by lobbying Congress to retroactively legalize those interpretations before a judge can toss them out.

This analysis has a problem, though: the hacker in popular imagination is a trickster figure, an analog for Coyote or Anansi, outsmarting the powerful with wits and stealth and bravado. The delight we take in these stories comes from the way that hacking can upend power differentials, hoisting elites on their own petard. An Anansi story in which a billionaire hires a trickster god to evade consequences for maiming workers in his factory is a hell of a lot less satisfying than the traditional canon.

Schneier resolves this conundrum by parsing hacking through another dimension: power. A hack by the powerful against society — tax evasion, regulatory arbitrage, fraud, political corruption — is a hack, sure, but it’s a different kind of hack from the hacks we’ve delighted in since “The Purloined Letter.”

This leaves us with two categories: hacks by the powerful to increase their power; and hacks by everyone else to take power away from the powerful. These two categories have become modern motifs in other domains — think of comedians’ talk of “punching up vs punching down” or the critique of the idea of “anti-white racism.”

But while this tool is familiar, it takes on a new utility when used to understand the security dimensions of policy, law and norms. Schneier uses it to propose several concrete proposals for making our policy “more secure” — that is, less vulnerable to corruption that further entrenches the powerful.

That said, the book does more to explain the source of problems than to lay out a program for addressing them — a common problem with analytical books. That’s okay, of course — we can’t begin to improve our society until we agree on what’s wrong with it — but there is definitely more work to be done in converting these systemic analyses into systemic policies.

Next week (Feb 8-17), I'll be in Australia, touring my book Chokepoint Capitalism with my co-author, Rebecca Giblin. We'll be in Brisbane on Feb 8, and then we're doing a remote event for NZ on Feb 9. Next are Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. I hope to see you!

https://chokepointcapitalism.com/

[Image ID: The WW Norton cover for Bruce Schneier's 'A Hacker's Mind.']

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Landscape Lighting Service: A Complete Guide to Illuminate Your Outdoors

Landscape lighting is an essential aspect of outdoor design, combining aesthetics with practicality. A well-lit landscape enhances the beauty of your home, highlights architectural features, and increases security after dark. Whether you’re looking to install new lighting or upgrade your current setup, hiring a landscape lighting service is the best way to achieve professional and long-lasting results. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore what landscape lighting entails, the benefits of hiring a professional service, and how to choose the right provider for your needs.

What Is Landscape Lighting?

Landscape lighting refers to the strategic placement of lights around a property to highlight outdoor features, create ambiance, and improve visibility and safety. It can be used to illuminate pathways, gardens, patios, decks, trees, or architectural elements of a house.

Types of Landscape Lighting

There are several types of landscape lighting available, each designed for specific purposes:

Pathway Lighting: Lights installed along walkways and driveways to guide people safely to and from your home.

Accent Lighting: Used to highlight specific features such as sculptures, water features, or trees, creating dramatic visual effects.

Floodlights: Provide broad, bright illumination for large areas like backyards, driveways, or outdoor workspaces.

Deck and Step Lights: Installed on decks, stairs, or patios, these lights improve visibility and reduce the risk of accidents.

Spotlights: Focused beams of light used to illuminate architectural details, trees, or garden features, enhancing your landscape’s overall aesthetic.

Benefits of Hiring a Professional Landscape Lighting Service

While some homeowners may opt for a DIY approach, hiring a professional landscape lighting service offers numerous advantages. Here are some reasons why you should consider leaving your outdoor lighting needs to the experts:

1. Expert Design and Installation

Professional landscape lighting designers have the expertise to create a lighting plan that not only beautifies your home but also enhances its functionality. They know how to place lights in strategic locations to highlight the best features of your landscape while ensuring proper coverage and energy efficiency.

2. Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

A professional service can install energy-efficient lighting solutions, such as LED bulbs, that consume less power while providing optimal brightness. LED lights also last longer than traditional bulbs, reducing maintenance costs and environmental impact. Many landscape lighting services also offer options for solar-powered lights, which harness renewable energy and further reduce your carbon footprint.

3. Enhanced Safety and Security

Proper landscape lighting improves the safety of your outdoor spaces by illuminating walkways, stairs, and dark corners. This helps prevent trips and falls and makes it easier for guests to navigate your property at night. Additionally, well-lit exteriors deter potential burglars by eliminating hiding spots and making your home more visible from the street.

4. Increased Property Value

Investing in landscape lighting can boost the curb appeal of your home and increase its market value. A beautifully lit yard not only enhances the overall aesthetic but also makes your home stand out, which can be an attractive feature for potential buyers.

5. Customized Solutions

Each property is unique, and a professional landscape lighting service will tailor their designs to suit your specific needs and preferences. Whether you want a soft, romantic glow for your garden or bright, functional lighting for your patio, the experts will provide customized solutions that fit your style.

6. Long-Term Savings

Though hiring a landscape lighting service might require an initial investment, it pays off in the long run. Professional installation ensures that lights are correctly positioned and connected, reducing the chances of malfunction or premature failure. Additionally, energy-efficient options, such as LED or solar lighting, will help you save on electricity costs over time.

Choosing the Right Landscape Lighting Service

When it comes to finding the best landscape lighting service for your home, there are several important factors to consider. These key points will help you select a reliable, skilled, and trustworthy provider.

1. Experience and Expertise

One of the first things to look for in a landscape lighting service is their level of experience. An established company with a proven track record will have the necessary skills and knowledge to handle different types of lighting projects. Look for providers that specialize in landscape lighting and can showcase a portfolio of previous work that aligns with your vision.

2. Licensed and Insured

Always choose a licensed and insured landscape lighting company. This ensures that they follow industry standards and local regulations for electrical work. If an accident happens during installation, insurance will cover any damages to your property or injuries to the workers, saving you from potential legal and financial issues.

3. Customer Reviews and Testimonials

Reading customer reviews and testimonials is an excellent way to gauge the quality of a landscape lighting service. Look for feedback on their professionalism, reliability, and the quality of their work. Sites like Google, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau can provide valuable insights into the company’s reputation.

4. Customized Designs

Every home and outdoor space is unique, so it’s important to work with a landscape lighting service that offers customized designs. During the consultation, ask if the company will create a personalized lighting plan based on your property’s layout, your preferences, and your budget. A good designer will consider both form and function, ensuring that the lights are not only beautiful but also practical.

5. Warranty and Maintenance

Landscape lighting systems require regular maintenance, including replacing bulbs and checking connections. Find out if the service provider offers ongoing maintenance packages or warranties for their installations. This ensures that your lighting system will remain in good working order and that any issues will be addressed promptly.

6. Budget and Pricing

While it’s important to invest in quality, you also want to make sure the service fits within your budget. Before committing to a company, request a detailed quote that outlines the cost of design, installation, and materials. Be cautious of unusually low prices, as they may indicate subpar products or inexperienced workers. It’s essential to strike a balance between affordability and high-quality service.

Popular Landscape Lighting Trends

Landscape lighting continues to evolve, with new technology and design trends offering exciting possibilities for homeowners. Here are some of the latest trends in landscape lighting that you may want to consider for your own outdoor spaces:

1. Smart Lighting Systems

Smart lighting systems allow homeowners to control their outdoor lights from their smartphones or through voice commands. You can schedule lights to turn on or off at specific times, adjust brightness, and even change the color of the lights with a tap of a button. Smart lighting offers convenience, energy savings, and added security.

2. Moonlighting

Moonlighting is a technique that involves placing lights high in trees to mimic the effect of natural moonlight. This creates a soft, subtle glow that illuminates paths, patios, or gardens without harsh shadows. It’s an elegant and romantic option for homeowners who want understated but effective lighting.

3. Color-Changing LEDs

Color-changing LED lights offer versatility and creativity in outdoor lighting design. These lights allow you to change the color scheme of your outdoor space for special events, holidays, or simply to match your mood. With color-changing LEDs, you can easily create a festive atmosphere for a party or a relaxing ambiance for a quiet evening outdoors.

4. Eco-Friendly Solar Lighting

For environmentally conscious homeowners, solar-powered lighting is an ideal solution. These lights use solar panels to capture energy from the sun during the day, then illuminate your yard at night. Solar lights are low-maintenance, cost-effective, and perfect for paths, gardens, and patios.

5. Underwater Lighting

If you have water features like ponds, fountains, or pools, underwater lighting can add a striking visual element to your landscape. Submersible lights create stunning reflections and add depth to your outdoor space, turning your water feature into a focal point, even after dark.

Conclusion

A well-designed landscape lighting system transforms your outdoor space into a beautiful and functional environment that can be enjoyed day and night. By hiring a professional landscape lighting service, you benefit from expert design, energy-efficient solutions, and increased safety. Whether you’re enhancing your garden, lighting up your patio, or boosting the security of your home, landscape lighting is an investment that will not only improve the look of your property but also increase its value. With the right service provider, you can create an inviting and well-lit outdoor space that complements your lifestyle year-round.